 |
| The Arch. |
 |
| Looking down |
 |
| Looking out. |
 |
| Down again. Geez that's a long way down. |
 |
| Yummy looking down. |
 |
| I can see the building I'm standing in from here! |
 |
| So it really is a long way down. 630 ft. |
 |
| The washing machine we rode up and down in. |
Thursday, June 14, 2012
Vacation pics: The Arch
Wednesday, June 13, 2012
Sod Off Wednesday: Snow White and the Huntsman
There's an explosion of Snow White related stuff coming out now. Besides "Snow White and Thor The Huntsman" there's the show "Once Upon a Time", the movie "Mirror, Mirror", and, if you stretch it a bit, the TV show "Grimm". Despite this, I was getting behind this movie. Looking forward to this movie. Then I saw another trailer. The one that showed before "The Hunger Games". The one that showed Snow White being played by Wooden McStoneface. Because, seriously? Why does that woman have an acting career? Kristen Stewart has the emotional range of moss. She's a creature of such astonishingly poor acting skills that even Anakin and Padme are complaining that they just don't feel the passion between her and either one of her love interests.
The movie started with the queen wishing for a child with snow white skin and raven hair. The movie went wrong about a minute later when we saw the kid with brown hair and a tan. Did ANYONE read the script? Screw the script, did anyone involved with this movie have a childhood? How do you not know what Snow White is supposed to look like?
Then the queen died, the king fought off magical invaders, met Charlize Theron, married her, and 48 hours after they met the king was dead. Snow White was promptly thrown in a cell where, much like Gollum in a cave, slowly transformed over the course of years into the dark haired, pale skinned, emotionless, necrophile of Twilight fame. From here on her range of emotions became defined by how closed her eyes were.
They had a good story. And a cast of actors with known history and acting skill. It's as if they're trying to cover up Kristen's dearth of skills by having great actors all around her. But, Mr. Director Person, acting talent doesn't average. Good is good and bad is taking up the title role.
Aside from her, I liked the movie. But she does a bad enough job that I would skip the movie if I knew what I was getting in to. I wanted to believe I was suffering from bias due to her involvement in the Twilight series. I wasn't. She's awful. If she's in Star Trek 2 I'll skip it. If she's in Avengers 2 I'm... OK, I may still see that, but I'm gonna agonize over it first. Agonize, I say.
You won't hear me say this often because I have a good movie filter, but skip this movie.
Kristen Stewart needs to Sod the fuck Off.
The movie started with the queen wishing for a child with snow white skin and raven hair. The movie went wrong about a minute later when we saw the kid with brown hair and a tan. Did ANYONE read the script? Screw the script, did anyone involved with this movie have a childhood? How do you not know what Snow White is supposed to look like?
Then the queen died, the king fought off magical invaders, met Charlize Theron, married her, and 48 hours after they met the king was dead. Snow White was promptly thrown in a cell where, much like Gollum in a cave, slowly transformed over the course of years into the dark haired, pale skinned, emotionless, necrophile of Twilight fame. From here on her range of emotions became defined by how closed her eyes were.
They had a good story. And a cast of actors with known history and acting skill. It's as if they're trying to cover up Kristen's dearth of skills by having great actors all around her. But, Mr. Director Person, acting talent doesn't average. Good is good and bad is taking up the title role.
Aside from her, I liked the movie. But she does a bad enough job that I would skip the movie if I knew what I was getting in to. I wanted to believe I was suffering from bias due to her involvement in the Twilight series. I wasn't. She's awful. If she's in Star Trek 2 I'll skip it. If she's in Avengers 2 I'm... OK, I may still see that, but I'm gonna agonize over it first. Agonize, I say.
You won't hear me say this often because I have a good movie filter, but skip this movie.
Kristen Stewart needs to Sod the fuck Off.
Tuesday, June 12, 2012
Movie Review: Men in Black 3
Some movies you walk out of really let down.
Some movies you walk out of having gotten exactly what you expected.
Once in awhile you come out of a movie feeling that it was better than you expected. "Men in Black 3" was one of those movies.
Don't get me wrong. There's still lots of other movies that I like more. But I went into "The Avengers" with a good idea of what to expect. "Prometheus" was great, but not as scary as you might expect. "Men in Black 3" ended up better than I thought. See, when I first saw the trailers I liked what I saw. And since it had been so long since the previous movie I assumed that someone had a good idea. I was psyched. But, a few weeks ago I heard they'd been working on getting this movie made for years and had even pulled a "Transformers 3". A Transformers 3 is where they start filming before they have a script. How seriously can you be taking your film if there's no script? My expectations dropped significantly, but the trailer still gave me hope.
So, we saw it. I'd heard it was kinda slow in the beginning. Luckily, I don't mind that. Things don't necessarily have to explode to catch my interest. They were setting the stage for things to come. As it went on the movie kept giving us the unexpected. I often use MiB 1 and 2 as examples of what I was talking about yesterday where sequels don't give us the new world to explore that the first movie does. But MiB3 doesn't suffer from that too much. It is a known world, but a long time has passed. J has had a few promotions. Some characters have died. A new leadership has taken it's place. Just as you're settling into this new world something changes back in the late 60's and things change. So J has to go back in time to save K and set history right. Yummy fell for a freakish character who sees multiple timelines at once. He starts off as another freak, but you soon start to like the guy. And then there's a horrible, wonderful ending that you really just don't see coming.
I am wondering, though... didn't K get his mind wiped at the end of MiB2 so he could retire and return to the love of his life? Yeah, best forget that movie.
I'll be getting this on DVD. And I should check to see if I have the original. I think I had it on VHS.
Some movies you walk out of having gotten exactly what you expected.
Once in awhile you come out of a movie feeling that it was better than you expected. "Men in Black 3" was one of those movies.
Don't get me wrong. There's still lots of other movies that I like more. But I went into "The Avengers" with a good idea of what to expect. "Prometheus" was great, but not as scary as you might expect. "Men in Black 3" ended up better than I thought. See, when I first saw the trailers I liked what I saw. And since it had been so long since the previous movie I assumed that someone had a good idea. I was psyched. But, a few weeks ago I heard they'd been working on getting this movie made for years and had even pulled a "Transformers 3". A Transformers 3 is where they start filming before they have a script. How seriously can you be taking your film if there's no script? My expectations dropped significantly, but the trailer still gave me hope.
So, we saw it. I'd heard it was kinda slow in the beginning. Luckily, I don't mind that. Things don't necessarily have to explode to catch my interest. They were setting the stage for things to come. As it went on the movie kept giving us the unexpected. I often use MiB 1 and 2 as examples of what I was talking about yesterday where sequels don't give us the new world to explore that the first movie does. But MiB3 doesn't suffer from that too much. It is a known world, but a long time has passed. J has had a few promotions. Some characters have died. A new leadership has taken it's place. Just as you're settling into this new world something changes back in the late 60's and things change. So J has to go back in time to save K and set history right. Yummy fell for a freakish character who sees multiple timelines at once. He starts off as another freak, but you soon start to like the guy. And then there's a horrible, wonderful ending that you really just don't see coming.
I am wondering, though... didn't K get his mind wiped at the end of MiB2 so he could retire and return to the love of his life? Yeah, best forget that movie.
I'll be getting this on DVD. And I should check to see if I have the original. I think I had it on VHS.
Monday, June 11, 2012
Movie Review: Promethius
I'm not sure how to review this movie. If you already plan to see this movie but only know what you've seen in trailers then you might want to skip it. I'm trying to avoid spoilers, but there may be some hints you want to avoid.
I've known for a long time that it was a prequel to another science fiction horror movie. But that fact has been left out of the trailers and posters. By the end of the movie you'll have figured it out. Some logos, the artistic styling, these provide hints. But at the end there's a big hint and then a good whack on the head.
You don't need to have seen the other movies in this series to enjoy this one. This one stands on it's own quite nicely. But, a familiarity with the first movie does add an element to this one. But you can enjoy catching those references in your second viewing.
I find that an original movie has an advantage over later movies in the same series because the world we're being introduced to is new. Part of the movie is exploration and discovery. They have to come up with something extra to show the audience. The original Star Wars trilogy took us to at least three radically different worlds in each movie. New color schemes and environment so that even in the same movie there was always something new. "Promethius" has something new for people unfamiliar with the other movies, but people who know what they're walking into get something, too. They'll recognize a corpse from the original movie. And there are certain assumptions made about the corpse that will be challenged. Don't recognize him? Never mind. Even knowing what's coming you'll find a lot to discover.
Obviously, if you're not into science-fiction horror this isn't the movie for you. After seeing the trailers Yummy flat out refused to go. The movie isn't as scary as the trailers make it out to be. It's not as scary as the original. It's better lit than the original movie, but I'm wondering if that's because there's a 3D version which would have just been pitch black if it were as poorly lit as the original. There's one scene which I think would have made it worth the 3D, but even in 2D my eyes got big and part of me screamed "run".
I will be getting this and the sequel to the prequel on DVD. I may have to buy the original to go with it.
I've known for a long time that it was a prequel to another science fiction horror movie. But that fact has been left out of the trailers and posters. By the end of the movie you'll have figured it out. Some logos, the artistic styling, these provide hints. But at the end there's a big hint and then a good whack on the head.
You don't need to have seen the other movies in this series to enjoy this one. This one stands on it's own quite nicely. But, a familiarity with the first movie does add an element to this one. But you can enjoy catching those references in your second viewing.
I find that an original movie has an advantage over later movies in the same series because the world we're being introduced to is new. Part of the movie is exploration and discovery. They have to come up with something extra to show the audience. The original Star Wars trilogy took us to at least three radically different worlds in each movie. New color schemes and environment so that even in the same movie there was always something new. "Promethius" has something new for people unfamiliar with the other movies, but people who know what they're walking into get something, too. They'll recognize a corpse from the original movie. And there are certain assumptions made about the corpse that will be challenged. Don't recognize him? Never mind. Even knowing what's coming you'll find a lot to discover.
Obviously, if you're not into science-fiction horror this isn't the movie for you. After seeing the trailers Yummy flat out refused to go. The movie isn't as scary as the trailers make it out to be. It's not as scary as the original. It's better lit than the original movie, but I'm wondering if that's because there's a 3D version which would have just been pitch black if it were as poorly lit as the original. There's one scene which I think would have made it worth the 3D, but even in 2D my eyes got big and part of me screamed "run".
I will be getting this and the sequel to the prequel on DVD. I may have to buy the original to go with it.
Friday, June 08, 2012
Friday Links: June 8
Because we demanded it... DOCTOR WHO CARRYING THE OLYMPIC TORCH! [link]
Sure, it should have been David Tennant and he should carry it the last leg of the race, but deal with it, people! Be happy we got this!
That was not inspired by this. Another Doctor Who mini-episode written by kids.
Feral chickens in LA. [link]
The name orange for the color comes from the fruit, not the other way around. [link]
You've heard of first, second, and third degree burns. Turns out they go up to sixth degree. The last two usually are only diagnosed by coroners. [link]
Red Solo cups have lines in certain places for a reason. [link]
Unpublished photos from an old A-bomb test. [link]
Doggie MRIs. [link]
Jay Leno stole this guy's video. [link]
Cleaning oil soaked animals doesn't work. [link]
The Goon Show Radio show broadcast 24/7. [link]
In 1868 a clown ran for President. One might argue that a clown runs for President EVERY four years. [link]
Check out the Expressions section at the end.
Oklahoma State University is trying to patent a steak. [link]
The combover has already been patented. [link]
230% efficient LEDs. [link]
NASA returns $8 in economic benefits for every dollar invested. [link]
Mitt Romney's ads... lying or just quoting liars? [link]
A brief history of motorcycle design. [link]
The dying sound of modems. [link]
Check out the link to the Museum of Endangered Sounds. It's a link I ended up not using.
A comparison of the books Illuminatus! and Atlas Shrugged. [link]
Trailer for "Wreck-It Ralph". This movie is gonna be great.
The work that must have gone into getting the rights to all these video game characters had to have been insane.
Tiny satellites will be using the XBox Kinect to dock with each other. [link]
Beginning modders can learn a few things from this guy. Nerf guns into sci-fi weapons. [link]
Cable TV exec is a big whiner. [link]
Suck it up and die already, cable TV.
Meanwhile, a cable network is being sued by Fox, CBS, and NBC for having a service to skip commercials. [link]
Damn, I read a story not too long ago about a guy who got rich selling that exact gadget. What book was that in? It's gonna bother me for days.
I knew that they had Eddie Izzard playing Grandpa Munster, but now they have Jerry O'Connell as Herman Munster in the new Munsters series. [link]
The Trololo Guy died the other day of a stroke. [link]
The original Green Lantern, Alan Scott, has been made gay after the DC universe reboot. I've already seen some questioning the wisdom of making the superhero with a vulnerability to wood gay. Criticism of this decision by One Million Moms on Facebook backfired spectacularly and they took down their Facebook page. [link]
I'm not as much a fan of the SCP Foundation as some, but have a look at the articles mentioned here. [link]
Another death. Damn. RichardDawkins Dawson this time. The only proper host of "Family Feud". [link]
Wondering about the effects of sun on your skin? Check out the face of this truck driver. 28 years with one side of his face getting all the sun. [link]
Kinda like this guy who cracked the knuckles on one hand but not the other for 60 years. [link]
Hey, neat! Look at this desert feature. [link]
A cappella Skyrim Theme.
Deleted Tweets by politicians. [link]
Board game flow chart. [link]
Cars is really a far distant sequel of Wall-E. [link]
Alright, I need this iron. [link]
Watch the video for this KickStarter project. They want to make quality sci-fi movies for a reasonable price. I think they can do it. [link]
My kind of motorcycle. One that can't fall over. [link]
Here's what happens when I get into the weird parts of YouTube.
40,000 year old musical instruments. [link]
Skyrim: Bear
Part 2 - Skyrim: Dovahbear
New Simon's Cat.
Gentlemen. How do we kill... The INTERNET! (dramatic sound que). [link]
NASA has compiled a short list of things that they ask you not touch if you find yourself on the moon. [link]
Some of the most powerful photos ever taken. [link]
Sure, it should have been David Tennant and he should carry it the last leg of the race, but deal with it, people! Be happy we got this!
That was not inspired by this. Another Doctor Who mini-episode written by kids.
Feral chickens in LA. [link]
The name orange for the color comes from the fruit, not the other way around. [link]
You've heard of first, second, and third degree burns. Turns out they go up to sixth degree. The last two usually are only diagnosed by coroners. [link]
Red Solo cups have lines in certain places for a reason. [link]
Unpublished photos from an old A-bomb test. [link]
Doggie MRIs. [link]
Jay Leno stole this guy's video. [link]
Cleaning oil soaked animals doesn't work. [link]
The Goon Show Radio show broadcast 24/7. [link]
In 1868 a clown ran for President. One might argue that a clown runs for President EVERY four years. [link]
Check out the Expressions section at the end.
Oklahoma State University is trying to patent a steak. [link]
The combover has already been patented. [link]
230% efficient LEDs. [link]
NASA returns $8 in economic benefits for every dollar invested. [link]
Mitt Romney's ads... lying or just quoting liars? [link]
A brief history of motorcycle design. [link]
The dying sound of modems. [link]
Check out the link to the Museum of Endangered Sounds. It's a link I ended up not using.
A comparison of the books Illuminatus! and Atlas Shrugged. [link]
Trailer for "Wreck-It Ralph". This movie is gonna be great.
The work that must have gone into getting the rights to all these video game characters had to have been insane.
Tiny satellites will be using the XBox Kinect to dock with each other. [link]
Beginning modders can learn a few things from this guy. Nerf guns into sci-fi weapons. [link]
Cable TV exec is a big whiner. [link]
Suck it up and die already, cable TV.
Meanwhile, a cable network is being sued by Fox, CBS, and NBC for having a service to skip commercials. [link]
Damn, I read a story not too long ago about a guy who got rich selling that exact gadget. What book was that in? It's gonna bother me for days.
I knew that they had Eddie Izzard playing Grandpa Munster, but now they have Jerry O'Connell as Herman Munster in the new Munsters series. [link]
The Trololo Guy died the other day of a stroke. [link]
The original Green Lantern, Alan Scott, has been made gay after the DC universe reboot. I've already seen some questioning the wisdom of making the superhero with a vulnerability to wood gay. Criticism of this decision by One Million Moms on Facebook backfired spectacularly and they took down their Facebook page. [link]
I'm not as much a fan of the SCP Foundation as some, but have a look at the articles mentioned here. [link]
Another death. Damn. Richard
Wondering about the effects of sun on your skin? Check out the face of this truck driver. 28 years with one side of his face getting all the sun. [link]
Kinda like this guy who cracked the knuckles on one hand but not the other for 60 years. [link]
Hey, neat! Look at this desert feature. [link]
A cappella Skyrim Theme.
Deleted Tweets by politicians. [link]
Board game flow chart. [link]
Cars is really a far distant sequel of Wall-E. [link]
Alright, I need this iron. [link]
Watch the video for this KickStarter project. They want to make quality sci-fi movies for a reasonable price. I think they can do it. [link]
My kind of motorcycle. One that can't fall over. [link]
Here's what happens when I get into the weird parts of YouTube.
40,000 year old musical instruments. [link]
Skyrim: Bear
Part 2 - Skyrim: Dovahbear
New Simon's Cat.
Gentlemen. How do we kill... The INTERNET! (dramatic sound que). [link]
NASA has compiled a short list of things that they ask you not touch if you find yourself on the moon. [link]
Some of the most powerful photos ever taken. [link]
Thursday, June 07, 2012
Ray Bradbury - RIP
Lucky you. I'm interrupting my vacation slides to mourn the passing of space fantasy writer Ray Bradbury. He passed away yesterday morning. He was 91.
I'd been thinking about Ray Bradbury lately. I'd wondered if he knew how widely his stuff was known even by people who didn't know they'd read his stuff. I've talked to a lot of people who read a lot but who completely dismiss the science fiction genre from their libraries. But often there'd be a story about a guy who was hunting dinosaurs, stepped on a butterfly, and ruined the future. And you could see a light come on in the minds of these people who refused even to watch Star Wars. They knew this story. There was a volcano. And a T-rex. And a path. A silver path that they weren't supposed to step off of. And how did they know this story? It was in their head, but they had no idea why or where. And it kinda freaked them out! WHY DID THEY KNOW THIS STORY!?! The story was called "A Sound of Thunder". It graces a couple of reading textbooks that I and they and a whole lot of kids in our country had read around 6th grade and possibly in another grade, too. This textbook also included "The Lottery" by Shirley Jackson and "Harrison Bergeron" by Kurt Vonnegut Jr. I know I have a lot of overseas readers, but in the US these stories are rather universally known and most people don't know why they know the stories. You can read "A Sound of Thunder" here.
As of 1984 "A Sound of Thunder" was the most re-published science fiction story. It was adapted for the radio show "X Minus One" and turned into a really horrible movie. Honestly, I thought if Bradbury could survive seeing that done to one of his stories he may just be immortal.
There was a book or two that I found in the creepy part of the basement on Dad's bookshelf. They were books that he'd gotten when he was a kid. They were Ray Bradbury stories that had been published in horror comics and then collected in paperback books. I don't know how many times I read that book. If I found a modern reprint it's one I'd buy a dozen of and give to the kids of my friends.
I remember being creeped out by "The Martian Chronicles" movie when I was little and loving it when I got a bit older. The book is the best by far as it contains so many stories that were cut from the movie, but were used in radio shows or "The Ray Bradbury Theater" TV show.
In high school we had to read "Fahrenheit 451". It's such a universally known book I don't know what to say about it. It's about a world where firemen burn houses and books of all kind are banned. It, as well as The Illustrated Man, Dandelion Wine, and Something Wicked This Way Comes are all novels that I'd happily recommend to anyone from young adult to crotchety adult.
He was also one of the last of a particular era of science fiction writers. Asimov, Clarke, Heinlein, I hate to see them all go. I think I'll be populating my Netflix queue with a lot of what I'm seeing on his Wikipedia site. And I think I need a copy of "From the Dust Returned", a collection of stuff he did while working with Chas Addams (Addams Family cartoonist).
This obit wouldn't be complete without the music video "Fuck Me, Ray Bradbury!".
I'd been thinking about Ray Bradbury lately. I'd wondered if he knew how widely his stuff was known even by people who didn't know they'd read his stuff. I've talked to a lot of people who read a lot but who completely dismiss the science fiction genre from their libraries. But often there'd be a story about a guy who was hunting dinosaurs, stepped on a butterfly, and ruined the future. And you could see a light come on in the minds of these people who refused even to watch Star Wars. They knew this story. There was a volcano. And a T-rex. And a path. A silver path that they weren't supposed to step off of. And how did they know this story? It was in their head, but they had no idea why or where. And it kinda freaked them out! WHY DID THEY KNOW THIS STORY!?! The story was called "A Sound of Thunder". It graces a couple of reading textbooks that I and they and a whole lot of kids in our country had read around 6th grade and possibly in another grade, too. This textbook also included "The Lottery" by Shirley Jackson and "Harrison Bergeron" by Kurt Vonnegut Jr. I know I have a lot of overseas readers, but in the US these stories are rather universally known and most people don't know why they know the stories. You can read "A Sound of Thunder" here.
As of 1984 "A Sound of Thunder" was the most re-published science fiction story. It was adapted for the radio show "X Minus One" and turned into a really horrible movie. Honestly, I thought if Bradbury could survive seeing that done to one of his stories he may just be immortal.
There was a book or two that I found in the creepy part of the basement on Dad's bookshelf. They were books that he'd gotten when he was a kid. They were Ray Bradbury stories that had been published in horror comics and then collected in paperback books. I don't know how many times I read that book. If I found a modern reprint it's one I'd buy a dozen of and give to the kids of my friends.
I remember being creeped out by "The Martian Chronicles" movie when I was little and loving it when I got a bit older. The book is the best by far as it contains so many stories that were cut from the movie, but were used in radio shows or "The Ray Bradbury Theater" TV show.
In high school we had to read "Fahrenheit 451". It's such a universally known book I don't know what to say about it. It's about a world where firemen burn houses and books of all kind are banned. It, as well as The Illustrated Man, Dandelion Wine, and Something Wicked This Way Comes are all novels that I'd happily recommend to anyone from young adult to crotchety adult.
He was also one of the last of a particular era of science fiction writers. Asimov, Clarke, Heinlein, I hate to see them all go. I think I'll be populating my Netflix queue with a lot of what I'm seeing on his Wikipedia site. And I think I need a copy of "From the Dust Returned", a collection of stuff he did while working with Chas Addams (Addams Family cartoonist).
This obit wouldn't be complete without the music video "Fuck Me, Ray Bradbury!".
Wednesday, June 06, 2012
Towel Day driving
We started our latest trip on Towel Day. I'd heard about someone else taking a road trip that day that planned to have his picture taken with his towel at each state line he crossed. I wanted to do the same. But, knowing that state line photo ops aren't great we had to fudge a bit.
Do you know where your towel is?
 |
| Me and my towel at the Cumberland Gap. It's a major passage through the Appalachian Mountains. |
 |
| My feet and my towel entering West Virginia. |
 |
| Me and my towel at an Indiana welcome center. |
 |
| My feet and my towel crossing into Illinois. |
Do you know where your towel is?
Tuesday, June 05, 2012
Team Cul De Sac
My camera has been found and we should get to the pictures of our backwoods travels soon. Until then I want to point you at a fundraiser by Team Cul De Sac.
First, the auction!
Second, telling you what's for sale.
Richard Thompson, occasional reader of this blog, creates the popular comic strip Cul De Sac. He was also diagnosed with Parkinson's some time back. To raise funds for Parkinson's research he and his friend Chris Sparks set up Team Cul De Sac, part of the Michael J. Fox Foundation, as a way to raise money for Parkinson's research. Richard is a popular guy among the cartoonist community. So when he told them that he wanted them to come up with some fan art that could be auctioned off the submissions poured in. They are up for auction until this weekend. You can bid on drawing by Bill Amend (Fox Trot), Sergio Aragones (Mad Magazine), Brian Basset (Red and Rover), Jerrys Borgman and Scott (Zits), Danielle Corsetto (Girls With Slingshots), Jim Davis (Garfield), Greg Evans (Luann), Cathy Guisewite (Cathy), Bill Holbrook (Kevin and Kell), Lynn Johnston (For Better or for Worse), Rick Kirkman (Baby Blues), Jef Mallett (Frazz), Mark Parisi (Off The Mark), Stephan Pastis (Pearls Before Swine), Lincoln Pierce (Big Nate), Mike Peters (Mother Goose and Grimm), Rina Piccolo (Alice), Jen Sorensen (Slowpoke), Mort Walker (Beetle Bailey), Bill Watterson (Calvin and Hobbes), and so many others from political cartoons, animated cartoons, and even non-cartoon art. I've only listed the people whose names I recognize.
And if you don't feel like bidding you can always buy the book version. The release party is Sunday with several of the contributors in attendance.
Thanks to My Krodie, friend of mine and Richard Thompson, for letting me know about the auction and book release. And for pointing Richard at Friday Links just enough that I can call him a reader.
First, the auction!
Second, telling you what's for sale.
Richard Thompson, occasional reader of this blog, creates the popular comic strip Cul De Sac. He was also diagnosed with Parkinson's some time back. To raise funds for Parkinson's research he and his friend Chris Sparks set up Team Cul De Sac, part of the Michael J. Fox Foundation, as a way to raise money for Parkinson's research. Richard is a popular guy among the cartoonist community. So when he told them that he wanted them to come up with some fan art that could be auctioned off the submissions poured in. They are up for auction until this weekend. You can bid on drawing by Bill Amend (Fox Trot), Sergio Aragones (Mad Magazine), Brian Basset (Red and Rover), Jerrys Borgman and Scott (Zits), Danielle Corsetto (Girls With Slingshots), Jim Davis (Garfield), Greg Evans (Luann), Cathy Guisewite (Cathy), Bill Holbrook (Kevin and Kell), Lynn Johnston (For Better or for Worse), Rick Kirkman (Baby Blues), Jef Mallett (Frazz), Mark Parisi (Off The Mark), Stephan Pastis (Pearls Before Swine), Lincoln Pierce (Big Nate), Mike Peters (Mother Goose and Grimm), Rina Piccolo (Alice), Jen Sorensen (Slowpoke), Mort Walker (Beetle Bailey), Bill Watterson (Calvin and Hobbes), and so many others from political cartoons, animated cartoons, and even non-cartoon art. I've only listed the people whose names I recognize.
Thanks to My Krodie, friend of mine and Richard Thompson, for letting me know about the auction and book release. And for pointing Richard at Friday Links just enough that I can call him a reader.
Monday, June 04, 2012
Repost: How to tell when to harvest the wheat
A major concern last week was the condition of the wheat. My family was in St. Louis for a wedding while the wheat was about ready to cut. People were doing test cuts as my brother left the farm. So enjoy this repost and I'll be back with original content tomorrow.
This is Wattson's wheat.
As of this picture, it was not ready to harvest.1
This, too, is Wattson's wheat.
It looks ready to harvest.
Do you see the difference between those two fields?
The difference is in the angle of the heads on the wheat.
Turning from green to brown is one excellent way of judging the development of the wheat. Then you need to watch the head. Straight up and down means that it's not there yet. When it bends over to better release it's seeds you know it's very close.
The final test is to check the moisture content of the seed. The proper way to do this is to cut a small test sample, take a can of grain to your local grain elevator, and let them use the machine on it. In less than a minute it'll tell you the moisture content. You want it under 15% or they dock you.
But how do you tell if you should even attempt the test sample?
Take a head from a stalk of wheat.
Jam the head into the palm of your hand and grind it in circles.
This breaks up the head to release the seed.
You can blow on the debris in your hand, pour the debris from hand to hand, or both. The point is to separate the seed from the chaff.
Ta-da! Wheat seed.
Pop that seed in your mouth and chew it up. Ideally, the seed should be hard enough to make you worry about your fillings. This stuff wasn't that hard. It was kinda chewy, really. Like oatmeal that hasn't been cooked anywhere near long enough. We guessed that it was about 22%. Definitely more than 15%. It was an educated guess. You have to chew a lot of seed and run it through the tester to figure out what chewiness equals what moisture level.
The field we checked after this one had harder, but not ideal, wheat. The machine measured it as 14.7%.
This part is optional.
1The grain elevator in the background is three and a half miles away.
This is Wattson's wheat.
As of this picture, it was not ready to harvest.1This, too, is Wattson's wheat.
It looks ready to harvest. Do you see the difference between those two fields?
The difference is in the angle of the heads on the wheat.
Turning from green to brown is one excellent way of judging the development of the wheat. Then you need to watch the head. Straight up and down means that it's not there yet. When it bends over to better release it's seeds you know it's very close. The final test is to check the moisture content of the seed. The proper way to do this is to cut a small test sample, take a can of grain to your local grain elevator, and let them use the machine on it. In less than a minute it'll tell you the moisture content. You want it under 15% or they dock you.
But how do you tell if you should even attempt the test sample?
Take a head from a stalk of wheat.
Jam the head into the palm of your hand and grind it in circles. 
This breaks up the head to release the seed.
You can blow on the debris in your hand, pour the debris from hand to hand, or both. The point is to separate the seed from the chaff. 
Ta-da! Wheat seed.Pop that seed in your mouth and chew it up. Ideally, the seed should be hard enough to make you worry about your fillings. This stuff wasn't that hard. It was kinda chewy, really. Like oatmeal that hasn't been cooked anywhere near long enough. We guessed that it was about 22%. Definitely more than 15%. It was an educated guess. You have to chew a lot of seed and run it through the tester to figure out what chewiness equals what moisture level.
The field we checked after this one had harder, but not ideal, wheat. The machine measured it as 14.7%.
This part is optional.1The grain elevator in the background is three and a half miles away.
Friday, May 25, 2012
Friday Links: May 25
I'm gonna start with some mad props for the Justice Department.
You've heard about places where it's illegal to film cops. The Justice Department has notified police departments in general and the Baltimore PD specifically that interfering with the recording of police officers is unconstitutional. [link]
"Back in Time" from "Back to the Future". [link]
"Back in Time" from "Men in Black III". [link]
The names of The Avengers written in Gallifreyan. [link]
Don't ask me. I don't know why.
A Hebrew scholar explains how some controversial passages of Leviticus actually translate. [link]
When a star forms iron it's pretty much fucked.
The racing mind issue in sleepless nights. [link]
Numbers have upper and lower case. [link]
Donner and Blitzen derived from Donder and Blixen which are German for thunder and lightning. [link]
Jim Cummings, one of the people who voiced Winnie the Pooh, calls sick kids in hospitals in character to cheer them up. [link]
Disney/Pixar owns Marvel. This makes the fact that The Avengers was so good that much more impressive. Of course, that means that over the next 20 years we're going to see 12 more Avengers movies with most of them going straight to video. Anyway, someone realized that Marvel Studios and Pixar both have movies with archers in them. [link]
Better yet, The British Avengers. No, not with Emma Peel! [link]
The first known prank calls. [link]
That Star Wars TV series isn't dead. No, really! So what if it's been in development for years and it'll be at least a few more years before we see an episode. And, apparently, it's not at all the same show originally described. [link]
"Don't go down that road. It's a warzone down there."
"Oh yeah? Then I'll just turn my car into a motorcycle!" [link]
GTA: R2-D2 - I was wondering if it was really worth posting when R2 suddenly became Dragonborn.
In the foreground, a mouthpiece for Rupert Murdock smears the BBC. In the background, well, it appears to be a villain from an original run Doctor Who episode running free.
There is no new sci-fi next season on Fox. Sadly, that's only 1 less than on theSciFi SyFy Channel. [link]
SpaceX has an active mission in orbit to dock with the ISS. That's right, kiddie. America's back in space! If things are going right they'll be docking today. [link]
Nope. Not living there. Not in a totally see through house. In fact I'd think it would only work as an art project using paid actors to live there. [link]
How fast do you read? AND comprehend. There'll be a quiz. [link]
DING! That sound is Google Chrome passing IE as the most used web browser on the internet. [link]
Why aren't cities littered with dead pigeons? WARNING: Page contains disturbing video. [link]
I'm stealing the plans for this room. Anyone mind? [link]
NAACP comes out in favor of same sex marriage. It's probably motivated by a need to counter balance the rather conservative nature of "black" churches in the face of the recent announcement by the black President. Preacher says it's bad. NAACP says fine. Looks like black voters may have to think for themselves on the issue. [link]
You don't have to be comfortable with it. It doesn't affect you.
An analysis of The Avengers and Joss Whedon in regards to character development, story telling, and writing for 4 main characters and several secondary but still important characters. [link]
To wrap things up I want you to jump 6 minutes in to this video. [link]
Having finished "The Avengers" Joss Whedon pulls together a group of his friends and films his next movie entirely at his house. This version of "Much Ado About Nothing" may challenge the Captain Picard/Doctor Who version of "Hamlet" as the most watched Shakespeare adaptation. Release date of ... someday.
You've heard about places where it's illegal to film cops. The Justice Department has notified police departments in general and the Baltimore PD specifically that interfering with the recording of police officers is unconstitutional. [link]
"Back in Time" from "Back to the Future". [link]
"Back in Time" from "Men in Black III". [link]
The names of The Avengers written in Gallifreyan. [link]
Don't ask me. I don't know why.
A Hebrew scholar explains how some controversial passages of Leviticus actually translate. [link]
When a star forms iron it's pretty much fucked.
The racing mind issue in sleepless nights. [link]
Numbers have upper and lower case. [link]
Donner and Blitzen derived from Donder and Blixen which are German for thunder and lightning. [link]
Jim Cummings, one of the people who voiced Winnie the Pooh, calls sick kids in hospitals in character to cheer them up. [link]
Disney/Pixar owns Marvel. This makes the fact that The Avengers was so good that much more impressive. Of course, that means that over the next 20 years we're going to see 12 more Avengers movies with most of them going straight to video. Anyway, someone realized that Marvel Studios and Pixar both have movies with archers in them. [link]
Better yet, The British Avengers. No, not with Emma Peel! [link]
The first known prank calls. [link]
That Star Wars TV series isn't dead. No, really! So what if it's been in development for years and it'll be at least a few more years before we see an episode. And, apparently, it's not at all the same show originally described. [link]
"Don't go down that road. It's a warzone down there."
"Oh yeah? Then I'll just turn my car into a motorcycle!" [link]
GTA: R2-D2 - I was wondering if it was really worth posting when R2 suddenly became Dragonborn.
In the foreground, a mouthpiece for Rupert Murdock smears the BBC. In the background, well, it appears to be a villain from an original run Doctor Who episode running free.
There is no new sci-fi next season on Fox. Sadly, that's only 1 less than on the
SpaceX has an active mission in orbit to dock with the ISS. That's right, kiddie. America's back in space! If things are going right they'll be docking today. [link]
Nope. Not living there. Not in a totally see through house. In fact I'd think it would only work as an art project using paid actors to live there. [link]
How fast do you read? AND comprehend. There'll be a quiz. [link]
DING! That sound is Google Chrome passing IE as the most used web browser on the internet. [link]
Why aren't cities littered with dead pigeons? WARNING: Page contains disturbing video. [link]
I'm stealing the plans for this room. Anyone mind? [link]
NAACP comes out in favor of same sex marriage. It's probably motivated by a need to counter balance the rather conservative nature of "black" churches in the face of the recent announcement by the black President. Preacher says it's bad. NAACP says fine. Looks like black voters may have to think for themselves on the issue. [link]
You don't have to be comfortable with it. It doesn't affect you.
An analysis of The Avengers and Joss Whedon in regards to character development, story telling, and writing for 4 main characters and several secondary but still important characters. [link]
To wrap things up I want you to jump 6 minutes in to this video. [link]
Having finished "The Avengers" Joss Whedon pulls together a group of his friends and films his next movie entirely at his house. This version of "Much Ado About Nothing" may challenge the Captain Picard/Doctor Who version of "Hamlet" as the most watched Shakespeare adaptation. Release date of ... someday.
Thursday, May 24, 2012
Towel Day
 |
| me and my towel May 25, 2006 |
For the uninitiated I should explain.
Douglas Adams died 11 May 2001. A date was chosen exactly two weeks later to commemorate his life and work. Time was needed for word of this memorial to get around the internet. Some people have tried to move the date to the actual date of his death or the date of his birth or some other date more appropriate. But by popular consensus it has remained May 25.
Douglas Adams was a writer. He wrote for the original Dr Who series making Tom Baker the one original Doctor that most people recognize. He did some work for Monty Python's Flying Circus. He's best known for the radio and book series The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy. Anytime you see the number 42 on TV, cartoons, or software it's almost certainly a reference to that series. He also did a great but little known book called "Last Chance to See" where he and a proper biologist traveled to remote parts of the world looking for rare animals.
Within a week of his passing there was an asteroid named Arthur Dent. Early in 2005 asteroid 2001 DA42 was named Douglasadams.
Why a towel?
This next bit is from The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy.
--------
This is what The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy has to say on the subject of towels.
A towel, it says, is about the most massively useful thing an interstellar hitch hiker can have. Partly it has great practical value - you can wrap it around you for warmth as you bound across the cold moons of Jaglan Beta; you can lie on it on the brilliant marble-sanded beaches of Santraginus V, inhaling the heady sea vapours; you can sleep under it beneath the stars which shine so redly on the desert world of Kakrafoon; use it to sail a mini raft down the slow heavy
river Moth; wet it for use in hand-to-hand-combat; wrap it round your head to ward off noxious fumes or to avoid the gaze of the Ravenous Bugblatter Beast of Traal (a mindboggingly stupid animal, it assumes that if you can't see it, it can't see you - daft as a bush, but very ravenous); you can wave your towel in emergencies as a distress signal, and of course dry yourself off with it if it still seems to be clean enough.
More importantly, a towel has immense psychological value. For some reason, if a strag (strag: non-hitch hiker) discovers that a hitch hiker has his towel with him, he will automatically assume that he is also in possession of a toothbrush, face flannel, soap, tin of biscuits, flask, compass, map, ball of string, gnat spray, wet weather gear, space suit etc., etc. Furthermore, the strag will then happily lend the hitch hiker any of these or a dozen other items that the
hitch hiker might accidentally have "lost". What the strag will think is that any man who can hitch the length and breadth of the galaxy, rough it, slum it, struggle against terrible odds, win through, and still knows where his towel is is clearly a man to be reckoned with.
--------
Towel Day is celebrated by carrying your towel with you all day. If that's too embarassing the Dougintologists also use the occasion to plant a tree or contributing to an enrironmental charity.
Favorites include:
* Dian Fossey Gorilla Foundation (http://www.dianfossey.org/home
* Save the Rhino (http://www.savetherhino.org/)
* Solar Electric Light Fund (http://self.org)
* Trees for the Future (http://treesftf.org/)
We will be driving to St. Louis with a towel. I'll try to get pictures. I think I need to dig out the radio show to listen to.
Wednesday, May 23, 2012
Sod Off Wednesday: May 23
Yesterday my car was parked on a street scheduled for street cleaning. The city was fully justified in telling me to sod off and put a ticket on my car.
Yesterday my car was towed. Sod off DMV.
After an hour in the phone system (multiple calls. Still, sod off DMV phone system) I talked to a person. He told me they'd moved my car around the corner instead of an impound lot. Thanks for not impounding my car. Still, towing was an overreaction. And the guy who just got ticketed and not towed went from fury for being ticketed to feeling pretty good about his day when I told him my car was gone.
When I went online to pay my ticket I found out that it would take 20 days for my ticket to appear on the website. Sod off DMV.DC.com.
I also found out that there were four tickets that I knew nothing about. Did I deserve them? Totally. But I do feel that there's a certain obligation to let me know I have parking tickets. Like the time they e-mailed me. Baltimore has no hesitation about telling you. Ticket? Yeah. On the window and in the mail. Baltimore wants their fucking money. But the DC DMV needs to get their shit in gear or sod off.
Yesterday my car was towed. Sod off DMV.
After an hour in the phone system (multiple calls. Still, sod off DMV phone system) I talked to a person. He told me they'd moved my car around the corner instead of an impound lot. Thanks for not impounding my car. Still, towing was an overreaction. And the guy who just got ticketed and not towed went from fury for being ticketed to feeling pretty good about his day when I told him my car was gone.
When I went online to pay my ticket I found out that it would take 20 days for my ticket to appear on the website. Sod off DMV.DC.com.
I also found out that there were four tickets that I knew nothing about. Did I deserve them? Totally. But I do feel that there's a certain obligation to let me know I have parking tickets. Like the time they e-mailed me. Baltimore has no hesitation about telling you. Ticket? Yeah. On the window and in the mail. Baltimore wants their fucking money. But the DC DMV needs to get their shit in gear or sod off.
Tuesday, May 22, 2012
RIP Joel Goldsmith
My mother's maiden name is Goldsmith. It's for that reason that the names of Jerry and Joel Goldsmith stood out in TV credits.
Of all the work he did, I would have noticed Jerry's name in the credits for a few "The Twilight Zone" reruns and a whole lot of Star Trek TV and movie work. Later, I'd notice the name Joel Goldsmith popping up a lot, too. Joel became the sound of Stargate much the way his father was the sound of Star Trek. They both have a ton of other shows to their name, but I saw them primarily in their sci-fi work.
Joel passed away near the end of April after a long battle with cancer. Jerry died of cancer back in 2004.
I'm gonna miss their music and seeing their last name on screen.
Of all the work he did, I would have noticed Jerry's name in the credits for a few "The Twilight Zone" reruns and a whole lot of Star Trek TV and movie work. Later, I'd notice the name Joel Goldsmith popping up a lot, too. Joel became the sound of Stargate much the way his father was the sound of Star Trek. They both have a ton of other shows to their name, but I saw them primarily in their sci-fi work.
Joel passed away near the end of April after a long battle with cancer. Jerry died of cancer back in 2004.
I'm gonna miss their music and seeing their last name on screen.
Monday, May 21, 2012
Et cet ter uh
Oh....
pain...
You can't sit cross legged on the couch for five hours straight without regretting it afterward. Well, at least I can't. Not anymore. I'm sure the four hours of doing the same thing before that didn't help. There was a supper break in there. With walking.
So, productive weekend. I stayed home this weekend. I finished reading a book that I'll tell you about soon, and made a lot of progress on another book.
Probably about two years of comic books got sorted and bagged and boxed and removed from my bedroom and added to the mass in the attic that will some day squish me flat.
And I talked to a homeless guy at Starbucks. Not the one in the wizzard hat who kept making grunts and moans and chuckles and was really freaking Gandolf out. No, the other one who seemed totally lucid until you realized what he was talking about. We had a nice chat, well, he had a nice chat and I had a nice smile and nod and "yep" at the right places. I didn't feel that I could add much to the discussion about the relative merits of alien spaceship drives. But I felt I contributed nicely when talking about 8 dimensional FTL drives.
And then I spent about nine hours working on a wedding gift for Der Muffinmann. Hey, Muffin, you don't have an allergy to week old mayonnaise substitute, do you? How about if the substitute is something I found growing under the house? Is sandwich spread supposed to speak?
Question for the masses:
Yummy and I and a bunch of people with chromosomes that resemble mine if you turn your head and squint are going to be in St. Louis next week. On our list of places to hit are the City Museum, the Anheuser-Busch brewery tour, and those claustrophobic washing machine tumbler things that get you to the top of the St. Louis Arch. What else would you add to the list?
Don't forget Mimi the cat. It needs a home.
pain...
You can't sit cross legged on the couch for five hours straight without regretting it afterward. Well, at least I can't. Not anymore. I'm sure the four hours of doing the same thing before that didn't help. There was a supper break in there. With walking.
So, productive weekend. I stayed home this weekend. I finished reading a book that I'll tell you about soon, and made a lot of progress on another book.
Probably about two years of comic books got sorted and bagged and boxed and removed from my bedroom and added to the mass in the attic that will some day squish me flat.
And I talked to a homeless guy at Starbucks. Not the one in the wizzard hat who kept making grunts and moans and chuckles and was really freaking Gandolf out. No, the other one who seemed totally lucid until you realized what he was talking about. We had a nice chat, well, he had a nice chat and I had a nice smile and nod and "yep" at the right places. I didn't feel that I could add much to the discussion about the relative merits of alien spaceship drives. But I felt I contributed nicely when talking about 8 dimensional FTL drives.
And then I spent about nine hours working on a wedding gift for Der Muffinmann. Hey, Muffin, you don't have an allergy to week old mayonnaise substitute, do you? How about if the substitute is something I found growing under the house? Is sandwich spread supposed to speak?
Question for the masses:
Yummy and I and a bunch of people with chromosomes that resemble mine if you turn your head and squint are going to be in St. Louis next week. On our list of places to hit are the City Museum, the Anheuser-Busch brewery tour, and those claustrophobic washing machine tumbler things that get you to the top of the St. Louis Arch. What else would you add to the list?
Don't forget Mimi the cat. It needs a home.
Friday, May 18, 2012
Friday Links: May 18
I've been sitting on this one until I could read it. It's an article based on an interview with Joss Whedon. It talks about his history, why he had the credentials to do "The Avengers", and the projects that died or never happened. If nothing else, skim for his contribution to the Alien franchise and the Batman movie that never happened. [link]
Plans for how to make model airplanes from aluminum cans. [link]
A car with fold out wings. You know you've thought about how to make something like this. Maybe not since high school, but it's crossed your mind. [link]
Terry Gross from Fresh Air and an interview gone wrong. May seem a bit long, but stick with it.
The ampersand (&) used to be part of the alphabet. [link]
This paralyzed woman completed a marathon using robotic legs. Think Wallace and Grommet in "The Wrong Trousers". [link]
Black holes don't eat as much as they accrete. [link]
18 year old girl has body and mind of a toddler. [link]
What bothers me is that her mind hasn't developed. What does this mean about brain development? Is 18 years of experience not recorded? Why bother living forever if you can't remember or learn anything?
Here's some people having luck making mice live longer. [link]
They're making the mouse telomeres longer, but in the case of the girl in the previous article her telomeres are shortening normally. So there's something else that needs attention.
A Fallout fan film.
Movie posters if the movies were released decades earlier . [link]
Here is why that famous Van Halen concert tour rider said "no brown M&Ms" explained by a member of the band. [link]
How to make a costume Iron Man style arc reactor. [link]
Huh. The only unmarried American President was gay. Who would have guessed? [link]
Cockroaches wouldn't do as well during a nuclear war as one might think. [link]
Too much body spray can set off fire alarms. [link]
Data collected since the Kennedy administration shows that Democrats are better job creators than Republicans. [link]
I was too young to remember anything about Carter other than that he existed, but everything I've seen from Reagan on puts this study firmly in the DUH! column. Jobs = Democrats. Debt = Republicans.
"We're Trekkies and We Know It" - I wasn't gonna post it, but then I laughed at 2:11.
An animation done to an explanation of how Pixar accidentally deleted Toy Story 2 late in production.
See also [link] and also [other link]
Can you say doomed to fail?
"We want to build a working Enterprise over the next 20 years." [link]
There. I knew you could do it.
Just some random visual gags from the Marvel Universe.
Some day we'll be able to upload ourselves into computers. It will probably go something like this.
Can we call these space stations something OTHER than inflatable? They're going to be enough like a Moon Bounce already. [link]
All new Cave Johnson dialog.
A fact overload about the cartoon "Animaniacs". [link]
The filming of Star Trek 2 has wrapped. Four months of filming and something like a year of special effects before it's released. Am I the only one who has a problem with this? [link]
Catnip PSAs. [link]
There's a myth debunking e-mail filter. Google needs to buy them and put it in their system. [link]
Didn't read it all, but here's an article about blood used in foods. [link]
Have your kids' drawings made into plushies. [link]
Old pictures of Earth. [link]
Gnarliest wave ever to be surfed. [link]
Mid-century garage doors. [link]
Remember that time they found bodies in Ben Franklin's basement? [link]
An interview with one of the leaders of Anonymous. [link]
Whatever happened to Flickr? Same thing that happened to Yahoo. Yahoo happened. [link]
A bunch of economists were asked, given $75 billion, how do you save the world? [link]
I don't check John Scalzi's site nearly as much as I did when I had an office. I've been relying on my other sources to point out particularly good posts. In this one he tries to explain how much easier straight white men have it than any demographic that varies from that. He does it by saying that in the game of life Straight White Male is the lowest difficulty setting. It contains links to follow-up posts. [link]
Why the Star Trek universe is secretly horrifying. [link]
The sandwich is 250 years old. [link]
In general, that is. The sandwich as a concept. Not a specific sandwich. Ok, maybe that one I saw for sale at the gas station... No, that was 180-190 at most.
Look! Camels that must get their hair cut by the same person as that guy I saw on the subway last week! [link]
The Immortal - a collection of life support machines that keep each other alive. [link]
Need some cheap maps? The USGS is having a sale! [link]
Higher social class predicts increased unethical behavior. [link]
The real question, are they unethical because they're rich or are they rich because they're unethical?
Some spiders hunt in packs. Don't try to sleep tonight. [link]
2 1/2 year old meets a robot dinosaur.
Recursive Drawing - watch the video before you start drawing. [link]
Plans for how to make model airplanes from aluminum cans. [link]
A car with fold out wings. You know you've thought about how to make something like this. Maybe not since high school, but it's crossed your mind. [link]
Terry Gross from Fresh Air and an interview gone wrong. May seem a bit long, but stick with it.
The ampersand (&) used to be part of the alphabet. [link]
This paralyzed woman completed a marathon using robotic legs. Think Wallace and Grommet in "The Wrong Trousers". [link]
Black holes don't eat as much as they accrete. [link]
18 year old girl has body and mind of a toddler. [link]
What bothers me is that her mind hasn't developed. What does this mean about brain development? Is 18 years of experience not recorded? Why bother living forever if you can't remember or learn anything?
Here's some people having luck making mice live longer. [link]
They're making the mouse telomeres longer, but in the case of the girl in the previous article her telomeres are shortening normally. So there's something else that needs attention.
A Fallout fan film.
Movie posters if the movies were released decades earlier . [link]
Here is why that famous Van Halen concert tour rider said "no brown M&Ms" explained by a member of the band. [link]
How to make a costume Iron Man style arc reactor. [link]
Huh. The only unmarried American President was gay. Who would have guessed? [link]
Cockroaches wouldn't do as well during a nuclear war as one might think. [link]
Too much body spray can set off fire alarms. [link]
Data collected since the Kennedy administration shows that Democrats are better job creators than Republicans. [link]
I was too young to remember anything about Carter other than that he existed, but everything I've seen from Reagan on puts this study firmly in the DUH! column. Jobs = Democrats. Debt = Republicans.
"We're Trekkies and We Know It" - I wasn't gonna post it, but then I laughed at 2:11.
An animation done to an explanation of how Pixar accidentally deleted Toy Story 2 late in production.
See also [link] and also [other link]
Can you say doomed to fail?
"We want to build a working Enterprise over the next 20 years." [link]
There. I knew you could do it.
Just some random visual gags from the Marvel Universe.
Some day we'll be able to upload ourselves into computers. It will probably go something like this.
Can we call these space stations something OTHER than inflatable? They're going to be enough like a Moon Bounce already. [link]
All new Cave Johnson dialog.
A fact overload about the cartoon "Animaniacs". [link]
The filming of Star Trek 2 has wrapped. Four months of filming and something like a year of special effects before it's released. Am I the only one who has a problem with this? [link]
Catnip PSAs. [link]
There's a myth debunking e-mail filter. Google needs to buy them and put it in their system. [link]
Didn't read it all, but here's an article about blood used in foods. [link]
Have your kids' drawings made into plushies. [link]
Old pictures of Earth. [link]
Gnarliest wave ever to be surfed. [link]
Mid-century garage doors. [link]
Remember that time they found bodies in Ben Franklin's basement? [link]
An interview with one of the leaders of Anonymous. [link]
Whatever happened to Flickr? Same thing that happened to Yahoo. Yahoo happened. [link]
A bunch of economists were asked, given $75 billion, how do you save the world? [link]
I don't check John Scalzi's site nearly as much as I did when I had an office. I've been relying on my other sources to point out particularly good posts. In this one he tries to explain how much easier straight white men have it than any demographic that varies from that. He does it by saying that in the game of life Straight White Male is the lowest difficulty setting. It contains links to follow-up posts. [link]
Why the Star Trek universe is secretly horrifying. [link]
The sandwich is 250 years old. [link]
In general, that is. The sandwich as a concept. Not a specific sandwich. Ok, maybe that one I saw for sale at the gas station... No, that was 180-190 at most.
Look! Camels that must get their hair cut by the same person as that guy I saw on the subway last week! [link]
The Immortal - a collection of life support machines that keep each other alive. [link]
Need some cheap maps? The USGS is having a sale! [link]
Higher social class predicts increased unethical behavior. [link]
The real question, are they unethical because they're rich or are they rich because they're unethical?
Some spiders hunt in packs. Don't try to sleep tonight. [link]
2 1/2 year old meets a robot dinosaur.
Recursive Drawing - watch the video before you start drawing. [link]
Thursday, May 17, 2012
Mimi the cat
I regret to say there's another cat that we need to find a home for. Her name is Mimi and the apartment complex she lives in has imposed a $300/month fee for keeping a pet. That kind of expense is too much for her owner to handle so Mimi needs to find a new home.
Her owner describes her as "a very loving cat, loves alot of attention. Very well mannered cat."
I got to meet Mimi once. At first she ran off because of the sudden introduction of strangers to her house. Within a minute she was peeking into the room. Once she got a chance to look us over she came right back and rolled on the ground by us. Yummy got to pet and snuggle Mimi. I scooped her up and scratched her ears. I remember thinking she was rather small. Not a 16 pounder, for sure. She really is a sweetheart and seems like she'd adjust to a new home fairly well.
We're looking for someone to take her. Please, ask around. Forward this blog post to friends, coworkers, people you wish to annoy, anyone you know who is a soft touch. We need to find this kitty a home.
We'll be going to St Louis in a week. We can deliver to someone living between Baltimore and St Louis as long as they're not an absurd distance from I-70. Or, if someone in St Louis would like a kitty for a wedding gift, we can totally do that, too.
Her owner describes her as "a very loving cat, loves alot of attention. Very well mannered cat."
I got to meet Mimi once. At first she ran off because of the sudden introduction of strangers to her house. Within a minute she was peeking into the room. Once she got a chance to look us over she came right back and rolled on the ground by us. Yummy got to pet and snuggle Mimi. I scooped her up and scratched her ears. I remember thinking she was rather small. Not a 16 pounder, for sure. She really is a sweetheart and seems like she'd adjust to a new home fairly well.
We're looking for someone to take her. Please, ask around. Forward this blog post to friends, coworkers, people you wish to annoy, anyone you know who is a soft touch. We need to find this kitty a home.
We'll be going to St Louis in a week. We can deliver to someone living between Baltimore and St Louis as long as they're not an absurd distance from I-70. Or, if someone in St Louis would like a kitty for a wedding gift, we can totally do that, too.
Wednesday, May 16, 2012
Sod Off Wednesday: May 16
It is now legal to marry your cousin in North Carolina, but not someone of your own gender.
You know what the voters of North Carolina can do.
You know what the voters of North Carolina can do.
Tuesday, May 15, 2012
Schlock Mercenary
You've heard me talk about Schlock Mercenary before. Pretty much every time there's another book or I list my webcomics. First I want to talk about the author/illustrator.
Howard Taylor is living the dream. I don't mean he has a big house or is rolling in money or has hot and cold bikini babe dispensers in his house. He had a job that was stressing him out. One day, with no artistic ability beyond knowing which end of a pencil did the line making, he started cartooning. It started with simple gags, simpler art, short stories, and a kitchen table. As time went on his drawing got better and the stories more involved. He tried to keep doing some kind of punchline each day but dumped the kitchen table. I wrote to him a couple of times offering to layout books for him, but he gave me a pass. He wasn't ready, yet. When he was ready there came the books, the string of Hugo nominations, and the ability to quit the thrice damned job that started him on this road. So when I say he's living the dream I mean he hangs out in a comic book store all day drawing a daily cartoon that he owns the rights to and that supports the one woman (from the hot tap) and four kids waiting for him at home. And he once again gets to enjoy what he liked about engineering before his old job turned it dark and evil.
I'd be happy supporting the comic just for the reasons stated above. It's the flip side of avoiding Tom Cruise or Mel Gibson movies because they're batshit crazy. But the comic is what got me reading in the first place.
Schlock Mercenary is about a company of intergalactic mercenaries. They don't stick with one employer. They don't always work willingly. They don't always get to keep the same ship. In fact, one of their old ships is now the head of an interstellar hive mind empire, but that's a long story.
The company is commanded by a man named Kaff Tagon. He embodies the military mind while maintaining an understanding of the grunts mind. He's not what you'd call a brilliant strategist, but he understandsThe Seven Habits of Highly Effective Pirates Seventy Maxims of Maximally Effective Mercenaries, an oft quoted credo that one learns either by book or is beaten into you by experience if you survive the beating.
A central character and significant source of funding for the company is Schlock. If you're being polite he resembles what happens when the soft serve ice cream machine won't shut off. If you're not then he resembles the floor of an elephant's pen both in shape, color, and composition. Some people just want to watch the world burn. Schlock loves these people. More specifically, he loves the excuse they give him to play with ridiculously overpowered, ominously humming weaponry.
Making up for the brains lacked by the captain or chief carbosilicate amorph is Kevyn Andreyasn, the company scientist. Some would freely apply the adjective "mad" to his title. Everyone else would do so quietly. Kevyn is really quite brilliant. Some of his inventions would get him compared to folks like Robert Oppenheimer of the Manhattan Project. They would also wish his work was ONLY that destructive. There has been at least one major war fought because of his inventions. More if you don't count all the resulting conflicts as part of that same war.
There's plenty of other cast that come and go. Kevyn's sister is a business woman and admiral. The standard sci-fi crotchety old doctor got replaced with a bipedal hourglass. As time went on the exclusively human crew became populated with creatures that are alien enough that it becomes hard to criticize the author for variable proportions. And between major story arc there are lawyers that are fortunate to survive for three panels.
If you've ignored my previous suggestions to check out the comic I'm going to repeat my insistent demands yet again. But, well, remember how I said Terry Pratchett needed a couple of books before Discworld got good? Same thing here. It's not just me. When Howard put out his first book he didn't go to the beginning of the archives. In fact, he started with book three. That's either a lack of confidence in his early work or an inability to count we haven't seen since George Lucas decided to make a space opera. In accordance to the wishes of his marketing department, I'll point you to the beginning of book three [link].
Before I finish I'd like to make an appeal to Taylor and associates. If you're not going to send me a free book I'd really like to see a return of the scientific footnotes to the comics. Those were one of the things that helped hook me in the first place.
Howard Taylor is living the dream. I don't mean he has a big house or is rolling in money or has hot and cold bikini babe dispensers in his house. He had a job that was stressing him out. One day, with no artistic ability beyond knowing which end of a pencil did the line making, he started cartooning. It started with simple gags, simpler art, short stories, and a kitchen table. As time went on his drawing got better and the stories more involved. He tried to keep doing some kind of punchline each day but dumped the kitchen table. I wrote to him a couple of times offering to layout books for him, but he gave me a pass. He wasn't ready, yet. When he was ready there came the books, the string of Hugo nominations, and the ability to quit the thrice damned job that started him on this road. So when I say he's living the dream I mean he hangs out in a comic book store all day drawing a daily cartoon that he owns the rights to and that supports the one woman (from the hot tap) and four kids waiting for him at home. And he once again gets to enjoy what he liked about engineering before his old job turned it dark and evil.
I'd be happy supporting the comic just for the reasons stated above. It's the flip side of avoiding Tom Cruise or Mel Gibson movies because they're batshit crazy. But the comic is what got me reading in the first place.
Schlock Mercenary is about a company of intergalactic mercenaries. They don't stick with one employer. They don't always work willingly. They don't always get to keep the same ship. In fact, one of their old ships is now the head of an interstellar hive mind empire, but that's a long story.
The company is commanded by a man named Kaff Tagon. He embodies the military mind while maintaining an understanding of the grunts mind. He's not what you'd call a brilliant strategist, but he understands
A central character and significant source of funding for the company is Schlock. If you're being polite he resembles what happens when the soft serve ice cream machine won't shut off. If you're not then he resembles the floor of an elephant's pen both in shape, color, and composition. Some people just want to watch the world burn. Schlock loves these people. More specifically, he loves the excuse they give him to play with ridiculously overpowered, ominously humming weaponry.
Making up for the brains lacked by the captain or chief carbosilicate amorph is Kevyn Andreyasn, the company scientist. Some would freely apply the adjective "mad" to his title. Everyone else would do so quietly. Kevyn is really quite brilliant. Some of his inventions would get him compared to folks like Robert Oppenheimer of the Manhattan Project. They would also wish his work was ONLY that destructive. There has been at least one major war fought because of his inventions. More if you don't count all the resulting conflicts as part of that same war.
There's plenty of other cast that come and go. Kevyn's sister is a business woman and admiral. The standard sci-fi crotchety old doctor got replaced with a bipedal hourglass. As time went on the exclusively human crew became populated with creatures that are alien enough that it becomes hard to criticize the author for variable proportions. And between major story arc there are lawyers that are fortunate to survive for three panels.
If you've ignored my previous suggestions to check out the comic I'm going to repeat my insistent demands yet again. But, well, remember how I said Terry Pratchett needed a couple of books before Discworld got good? Same thing here. It's not just me. When Howard put out his first book he didn't go to the beginning of the archives. In fact, he started with book three. That's either a lack of confidence in his early work or an inability to count we haven't seen since George Lucas decided to make a space opera. In accordance to the wishes of his marketing department, I'll point you to the beginning of book three [link].
Before I finish I'd like to make an appeal to Taylor and associates. If you're not going to send me a free book I'd really like to see a return of the scientific footnotes to the comics. Those were one of the things that helped hook me in the first place.
Monday, May 14, 2012
Play Review: Young Frankenstein
No movie this weekend. Instead we saw the touring production of "Young Frankenstein: The Musical".
If you haven't seen the movie then I should tell you a bit about it. It's not about Frankenstein when he was young. It's about his grandson, who has spent his life trying to live down his grandfather's reputation, being pulled, grudgingly, into the world of reanimating dead tissue from a Transylvanian castle. It's a comedy.
For the rest of you let me tell you about it.
We didn't get the regularly scheduled Frederick Frankenstein. Instead there was some guy who bore a striking resemblance to a young Martin Short. But, given that handicap, he was able to channel Gene Wilder several times during the performance.
Igor... well, he was not Marty Feldman. Nobody can be Marty Feldman. Although, I felt that the guy cast as the village idiot could have done a decent job. So did they, apparently. The playbill listed him as a stand in for Igor. The guy playing Igor when we went didn't come off as Igor so much as he did a slapstick version of Death from "The Seventh Seal".
The Creature was fantastic. Looked a whole lot like the Peter Boyle version and acted like him, too. And the highlight of the movie turned out even better on stage. The "Puttin' on the Ritz" part lasted the whole song with extra singing and dancing and some scat from The Creature.
I keep comparing the actors in the play to those in the movie. I don't mean to say it has to be done the same to make a good play. But when it was done right the first time it's hard to do anything but compare. Still, there was enough new material or scenes that were significantly different for the actors to shine on their own. The play explained what happened to the arm and the leg of that townfolk's constable. And there was a pretty good song and dance number with all the Frankenstein ancestors. Those aren't the only things, but it's 11:30 at night.
The tickets were expensive. I could have gotten cheaper seat and gone for general admission, but I was taking Yummy and I wanted good seats. What those tickets paid for was more than just the song and dance routine. The sets were impressive. I doubt the stage could have handled more backdrops. Many of the props seemed to just appear and disappear. Sometimes the stage was dark, but often they'd just get you looking at one thing while things changed elsewhere on stage. It was very well done. But when you need at least four semis to move the sets and costumes from city to city it better be.
Almost forget. Much of the cast, at least the secondary characters, had their microphones on their foreheads. They had to get off stage, change outfits, and get back on stage as a different person quickly and repeatedly. Putting the mic on their clothes would have been a problem. This fixed it, but made everyone look a bit like Clark Kent.
I'm glad that I saw this, but if I were doing it over I'd get the cheaper seats.
If you haven't seen the movie then I should tell you a bit about it. It's not about Frankenstein when he was young. It's about his grandson, who has spent his life trying to live down his grandfather's reputation, being pulled, grudgingly, into the world of reanimating dead tissue from a Transylvanian castle. It's a comedy.
For the rest of you let me tell you about it.
We didn't get the regularly scheduled Frederick Frankenstein. Instead there was some guy who bore a striking resemblance to a young Martin Short. But, given that handicap, he was able to channel Gene Wilder several times during the performance.
Igor... well, he was not Marty Feldman. Nobody can be Marty Feldman. Although, I felt that the guy cast as the village idiot could have done a decent job. So did they, apparently. The playbill listed him as a stand in for Igor. The guy playing Igor when we went didn't come off as Igor so much as he did a slapstick version of Death from "The Seventh Seal".
The Creature was fantastic. Looked a whole lot like the Peter Boyle version and acted like him, too. And the highlight of the movie turned out even better on stage. The "Puttin' on the Ritz" part lasted the whole song with extra singing and dancing and some scat from The Creature.
I keep comparing the actors in the play to those in the movie. I don't mean to say it has to be done the same to make a good play. But when it was done right the first time it's hard to do anything but compare. Still, there was enough new material or scenes that were significantly different for the actors to shine on their own. The play explained what happened to the arm and the leg of that townfolk's constable. And there was a pretty good song and dance number with all the Frankenstein ancestors. Those aren't the only things, but it's 11:30 at night.
The tickets were expensive. I could have gotten cheaper seat and gone for general admission, but I was taking Yummy and I wanted good seats. What those tickets paid for was more than just the song and dance routine. The sets were impressive. I doubt the stage could have handled more backdrops. Many of the props seemed to just appear and disappear. Sometimes the stage was dark, but often they'd just get you looking at one thing while things changed elsewhere on stage. It was very well done. But when you need at least four semis to move the sets and costumes from city to city it better be.
Almost forget. Much of the cast, at least the secondary characters, had their microphones on their foreheads. They had to get off stage, change outfits, and get back on stage as a different person quickly and repeatedly. Putting the mic on their clothes would have been a problem. This fixed it, but made everyone look a bit like Clark Kent.
I'm glad that I saw this, but if I were doing it over I'd get the cheaper seats.
Friday, May 11, 2012
Friday Links: May 11
At a recent geek convention in Calgary they had the cast of Star Trek: TNG together for a 25th anniversary thing. In this video from that convention Wil Wheaton makes you tear up a bit.
Using camera technology similar to that used for the "bullet time" shots in "The Matrix", these people did some light painting. [link]
How to build a laser Zippo lighter. [link] [video]
What happens if you stick your hand in the beam of the LHC?
A TARDIS shawl complete with instructions. [link]
Avengers themed eye make-up. [link]
A chemist's tea set. [link]
The designer of the Hitler's Volkswagon was a Jew. [link]
A cat with backwards legs gets them surgically corrected.
WARNING: Animal lovers may be horrified by the picture and video. [link]
Pictures of an octopus killing and eating a seagull. [link]
Real world inspiration for some Simpsons characters. [link]
Greatest Craigslist car ad ever. [link]
Plant/animal hybrids. [link]
Power has effects similar to cocaine. [link]
The new World Trade Center isn't done, but it is once again the tallest building in New York City. As one cartoonist said "It's a shame Bin Laden couldn't be here to see this."
Here's some pictures of the construction. [link]
Tennessee has piled idiocy on top of idiocy by adding a "gateway sexual activity" bill on top of their horrible failure of an abstinence-based sex ed program. [link]
A motorcycle washed out to sea by the tsunami that hit Japan turned up on the shore of British Columbia and was returned to it's owner. [link]
Temporary e-mail addresses. [link]
Hillary Clinton was offered a cameo in "The Muppets". Here's the letter she wrote to turn it down. [link]
If realists were in charge of US foreign policy. [link]
How to detect useless political articles. [link]
How to repair books. [link]
In 1989 an address appeared in a Spiderman comic that was supposed to be the home of Peter Parker and his Aunt May. There are actual Parkers living in that house. There's an Osborne living next door. [link]
You can make shopping carts lock up with your car stereo. [link]
Stephen King article - Tax Me for F*** Sake. [link]
The Pentagon pulled it's support from The Avengers because Marvel couldn't point to where SHIELD belonged in the chain of command. [link]
The author of "Where The Wild Things Are" passed away. [link]
An excuse to get a signet ring. [link]
Let's just say it: The Republicans are the problem. [link]
A safety pin memory stick. [link]
Despite recent research honeybees colonies are still dying. [link]
America's economic suicide. It's long. I haven't finished it yet. [link]
31 uses for beer. [link]
The great aurora storm of 1859. It allowed the telegraph system to work for two hours without batteries. [link]
A driving test that requires texting while driving.
Name a style of music you hate and someone has to find a song to change your mind. Hopefully I'll get to listen to the country section soon. [link]
Shipping container homes. [link]
Abbey Road webcam. [link]
Make your own concrete planter molds from stuff in your recycling bin. [link]
It's a ... a ... thing.
More evidence of water found on Mars. Ancient water. Not terribly exciting really. Other than to say settlers will be able to use the gypsum to make their own sheetrock. [link]
Trippy. [link]
A 3D print of one of the Portal 2 multi-player characters. [link]
These are your kids on books. [link]
Cat vs fish.
If I Were A Core (parody of "If I Were A Boy" which I've never heard)
David Tennant has to light the Olympic torch. To save time, of course! [link]
A fingernail bruise growing out. [link]
A guy using a lathe to turn a jawbreaker into a shot glass.
Justice League toy movie trailer.
Live action Skyrim short film.
Oh, thank god. I thought I'd never get through all that.
Using camera technology similar to that used for the "bullet time" shots in "The Matrix", these people did some light painting. [link]
How to build a laser Zippo lighter. [link] [video]
What happens if you stick your hand in the beam of the LHC?
A TARDIS shawl complete with instructions. [link]
Avengers themed eye make-up. [link]
A chemist's tea set. [link]
The designer of the Hitler's Volkswagon was a Jew. [link]
A cat with backwards legs gets them surgically corrected.
WARNING: Animal lovers may be horrified by the picture and video. [link]
Pictures of an octopus killing and eating a seagull. [link]
Real world inspiration for some Simpsons characters. [link]
Greatest Craigslist car ad ever. [link]
Plant/animal hybrids. [link]
Power has effects similar to cocaine. [link]
The new World Trade Center isn't done, but it is once again the tallest building in New York City. As one cartoonist said "It's a shame Bin Laden couldn't be here to see this."
Here's some pictures of the construction. [link]
Tennessee has piled idiocy on top of idiocy by adding a "gateway sexual activity" bill on top of their horrible failure of an abstinence-based sex ed program. [link]
A motorcycle washed out to sea by the tsunami that hit Japan turned up on the shore of British Columbia and was returned to it's owner. [link]
Temporary e-mail addresses. [link]
Hillary Clinton was offered a cameo in "The Muppets". Here's the letter she wrote to turn it down. [link]
If realists were in charge of US foreign policy. [link]
How to detect useless political articles. [link]
How to repair books. [link]
In 1989 an address appeared in a Spiderman comic that was supposed to be the home of Peter Parker and his Aunt May. There are actual Parkers living in that house. There's an Osborne living next door. [link]
You can make shopping carts lock up with your car stereo. [link]
Stephen King article - Tax Me for F*** Sake. [link]
The Pentagon pulled it's support from The Avengers because Marvel couldn't point to where SHIELD belonged in the chain of command. [link]
The author of "Where The Wild Things Are" passed away. [link]
An excuse to get a signet ring. [link]
Let's just say it: The Republicans are the problem. [link]
A safety pin memory stick. [link]
Despite recent research honeybees colonies are still dying. [link]
America's economic suicide. It's long. I haven't finished it yet. [link]
31 uses for beer. [link]
The great aurora storm of 1859. It allowed the telegraph system to work for two hours without batteries. [link]
A driving test that requires texting while driving.
Name a style of music you hate and someone has to find a song to change your mind. Hopefully I'll get to listen to the country section soon. [link]
Shipping container homes. [link]
Abbey Road webcam. [link]
Make your own concrete planter molds from stuff in your recycling bin. [link]
It's a ... a ... thing.
More evidence of water found on Mars. Ancient water. Not terribly exciting really. Other than to say settlers will be able to use the gypsum to make their own sheetrock. [link]
Trippy. [link]
A 3D print of one of the Portal 2 multi-player characters. [link]
These are your kids on books. [link]
Cat vs fish.
If I Were A Core (parody of "If I Were A Boy" which I've never heard)
David Tennant has to light the Olympic torch. To save time, of course! [link]
A fingernail bruise growing out. [link]
A guy using a lathe to turn a jawbreaker into a shot glass.
Justice League toy movie trailer.
Live action Skyrim short film.
Oh, thank god. I thought I'd never get through all that.
Thursday, May 10, 2012
Automatic hair washing machine
You may wonder why they'd build a machine like this. Seriously, how hard is it to shampoo someone's head? A lot of the robot technology being developed in Japan these days are for the growing elderly boom. There's not a large enough population of non-elderly to take care of all the elderly. So they're making robots to carry stuff, perform simple tasks, and powered exoskeletons to help them walk or carry their own stuff. These hair washing machines are for use in hospitals and nursing homes.
More than that, they mark another step in developing dynamic robots. On an assembly line robot arms fly all over a car's frame putting parts in place and welding. But they go to the exact same place every time. They have trouble doing things different. Welding is fine, but putting a bolt into place without cross-threading them is still pretty tricky. Humans, and their heads, come in all shapes and sizes. A robot designed to wash my hair would end up hurting or maiming many other people. These robots adjust to the shape of your head so they don't crush your skull or pull out your hair.
As nifty as these robots are, I think I'd miss having that chesty stylist massaging my scalp.
Wednesday, May 09, 2012
Sod Off Wednesday: May 9
Pastors that advocate punching and humiliation and bullying of children who don't behave how their narrow worldview says they should need to [omitted] and sod off.
TRANSCRIPT: "So your little son starts to act a little girlish when he is four years old and instead of squashing that like a cockroach and saying, “Man up, son, get that dress off you and get outside and dig a ditch, because that is what boys do,” you get out the camera and you start taking pictures of Johnny acting like a female and then you upload it to YouTube and everybody laughs about it and the next thing you know, this dude, this kid is acting out childhood fantasies that should have been squashed.
Can I make it any clearer? Dads, the second you see your son dropping the limp wrist, you walk over there and crack that wrist. Man up. Give him a good punch. Ok? You are not going to act like that. You were made by God to be a male and you are going to be a male. And when your daughter starts acting to Butch you reign her in. And you say, “Oh, no, sweetheart. You can play sports. Play them to the glory of God. But sometimes you are going to act like a girl and walk like a girl and talk like a girl and smell like a girl and that means you are going to be beautiful. You are going to be attractive. You are going to dress yourself up.”
You say, “Can I take charge like that as a parent?”
Yeah, you can. You are authorized. I just gave you a special dispensation this morning to do that."
TRANSCRIPT: "So your little son starts to act a little girlish when he is four years old and instead of squashing that like a cockroach and saying, “Man up, son, get that dress off you and get outside and dig a ditch, because that is what boys do,” you get out the camera and you start taking pictures of Johnny acting like a female and then you upload it to YouTube and everybody laughs about it and the next thing you know, this dude, this kid is acting out childhood fantasies that should have been squashed.
Can I make it any clearer? Dads, the second you see your son dropping the limp wrist, you walk over there and crack that wrist. Man up. Give him a good punch. Ok? You are not going to act like that. You were made by God to be a male and you are going to be a male. And when your daughter starts acting to Butch you reign her in. And you say, “Oh, no, sweetheart. You can play sports. Play them to the glory of God. But sometimes you are going to act like a girl and walk like a girl and talk like a girl and smell like a girl and that means you are going to be beautiful. You are going to be attractive. You are going to dress yourself up.”
You say, “Can I take charge like that as a parent?”
Yeah, you can. You are authorized. I just gave you a special dispensation this morning to do that."
Tuesday, May 08, 2012
Department of Acquisitions: Commodore 64
I have a memory of being at Grammie's for some family get together or other. I forget the age, exactly, but I'm pretty sure that while walking was no longer the achievement that it once was, it was something that still needed some fine tuning. Gathered around the TV was much of the family. And there was a game being played on it. "Centipede" I think. And maybe "Lunar Lander". It belonged to my uncle, El Cid, father to the oft mentioned Muffinmen. It was a Commodore 64 and may have been my first exposure to personal computers. If not the first then damn close.
Yummy got this for me. It needed power cables and some sort of data storage device. That's what got me on the most recent Ebay addiction that resulted in all these new acquisitions for the museum.
I've hooked it up. It does work. I just need some software for it. I'm working on that.
I feel that I should note that Commodore, LLC is still in existence. They released a Commodore 64 replica that runs modern software. When "Thief 4" finally comes out I'll be looking to them first for a Windows machine. You can get yours at http://www.commodoreusa.net/CUSA_C64.aspx.
Yummy got this for me. It needed power cables and some sort of data storage device. That's what got me on the most recent Ebay addiction that resulted in all these new acquisitions for the museum.
I've hooked it up. It does work. I just need some software for it. I'm working on that.
I feel that I should note that Commodore, LLC is still in existence. They released a Commodore 64 replica that runs modern software. When "Thief 4" finally comes out I'll be looking to them first for a Windows machine. You can get yours at http://www.commodoreusa.net/CUSA_C64.aspx.
Monday, May 07, 2012
Movie Review: The Avengers
This was a fantastic movie. I will be getting it on DVD. I may get 3 or 4 so I can watch it on several screens at once. It seems likely that I may see it in theaters again. Seriously, an awesome movie.
If you've missed the Hulk movies, Iron Man, Thor, Captain America you've already missed some damn fine movies, but there's not a lot that you need to know coming into "The Avengers". Here's a quick list for those who have missed the movies. Where things differ from what you may have seen on TV or in comics is explained by the fact that Marvel has multiple universes. These movies occur in Universe 199,999.
During WWII the US Army had a Super Soldier program that they intended to use to make their soldiers faster, stronger, more durable, with a great healing factor. Steve Rogers was the test subject. When it succeeded the Nazi's killed the lead scientist and the man who knew how everything worked. This left Captain America as the only success. His plane crashed into Arctic waters where he froze and was recently rediscovered and revived.
Doctor Bruce Banner was working on rediscovering the Super Soldier serum by using Gamma rays. A lab accident caused him to be irradiated. Now whenever he loses control of his temper he transforms into The Hulk. Bruce Banner hides from society so he won't hurt anyone, or better yet, change.
Tony Stark is a billionaire, genius who owns Stark Industries, former weapons manufacturer for the world. A terrorist attack left a shard of metal in his chest that is trying to burrow it's way into his heart. It is held out by an electromagnet powered by an arc reactor that he invented in a cave in Afghanistan. This reactor also powers a suit of battle armor that he wears to become Iron Man.
Thor is a god.
The hypercube is more commonly known to comic book readers as The Cosmic Cube. It is a source of power far beyond mere electricity, but that's not important right now. The Red Skull used it during WWII to power weapons for his organization - H.Y.D.R.A.
Black Widow and Hawkeye have no particular powers outside of being extremely good at what they do. She's a spy, martial artist, sniper. He's an archer.
Again, you want to see this movie.
It doesn't fall into the trap that the Mission Impossible movies (and so many others) did of having one member of the team being central to the movie and the rest being crap. Everyone has a role, even those who didn't get their own movie. They all get their moments to shine and to screw up. They bicker among themselves, they fight each other, but they become friend and pull together when needed.
The action sequences make sense. They don't shake the camera so much that it's all a blur that covers up bad special effects or the fact that they can't write action. You can see what's happening.
It's hilarious. Remember what I said before about Joss being able to write banter? Remember what I said about him writing action scenes as opportunities to crack joke. All of that. A lot. Very little of it seeming forced. And it compliments the action instead of upstaging it.
You will laugh, you will cheer, you will applaud, and you will gasp. You and everyone else in the room. Most of all, you will sit through the credits. ALL of the credits.
Friday, May 04, 2012
Friday Links: May 4
Mozart wrote a song called "Lick Me In The Ass". [link]
This guy is going to sky dive from the edge of space. He'll break the sound barrier on the way down. [link]
We've all heard about him. This is the Japanese soldier who kept fighting WWII for 30 years after Japan had surrendered. [link]
6 great crossovers. [link]
Opening today is a story from Marvel Comics Universe 199,999. You know it better as "The Avengers". [link]
An extinct animal has been cloned. Not perfectly, apparently. [link]
Too bad I got an Atari 400 instead of an Atari 2600. With a 2600 I could play Halo. [story] [making of] [flash version of the game]
Mars - where the soil is red and the sunsets are blue. [link]
Google has a mad science lab. [link]
Documentation of the fact that the founding fathers (of the United States) were not christians. [link]
Haven't watched it yet, but here's videos from the White House Correspondents' Dinner. [link]
This guy is going to sky dive from the edge of space. He'll break the sound barrier on the way down. [link]
We've all heard about him. This is the Japanese soldier who kept fighting WWII for 30 years after Japan had surrendered. [link]
6 great crossovers. [link]
Opening today is a story from Marvel Comics Universe 199,999. You know it better as "The Avengers". [link]
An extinct animal has been cloned. Not perfectly, apparently. [link]
Too bad I got an Atari 400 instead of an Atari 2600. With a 2600 I could play Halo. [story] [making of] [flash version of the game]
Mars - where the soil is red and the sunsets are blue. [link]
Google has a mad science lab. [link]
Documentation of the fact that the founding fathers (of the United States) were not christians. [link]
Haven't watched it yet, but here's videos from the White House Correspondents' Dinner. [link]
Thursday, May 03, 2012
don't stress the computer
My computer is nearing the end of a week long task. If my computer reboots the task would have to start over. So I'm trying not to use it much. It often goes multiple weeks without a reboot, but when it does reboot it's always at an inconvenient time. So I'm not saying much today and Friday Links is likely to be sparse.
Wednesday, May 02, 2012
Sod Off Wednesday: May 2
I spent yesterday with a show called "Afterworld" streaming from Netflix. It follows this guy who was in New York on business when the world ended. Actually some 99%+ of the population vanished and all the electronics stopped working. He tries to make it back to his family in Seattle. Along the way he makes friends and enemies and slowly begins to uncover a conspiracy surrounding what actually happened and who caused it. He gets to Seattle, returns home, and the series ends with a cliffhanger.
SOD OFF "AFTERWORLD!"
Here's the YouTube link, but you're really gonna want something like Netflix that gives you 13 episodes of 20+ minutes each instead of something like 150 episodes of 3 minutes each.
SOD OFF "AFTERWORLD!"
Here's the YouTube link, but you're really gonna want something like Netflix that gives you 13 episodes of 20+ minutes each instead of something like 150 episodes of 3 minutes each.
Tuesday, May 01, 2012
Movie Review: The Pirates! Band of Misfits
They said this movie would be based on the book "The Pirates! In an Adventure With Scientists." That was a lie. I've read the book in question and beyond the inclusion of pirates, a guy based on Charles Darwin, and a monkey who holds signs, there was next to nothing in common. Certainly not the story.
Some changes should be expected. Movies are a much more visual format than books. Heck, movies are a much more visual format than television. I can have TV shows on in the background while working and still know what's happening. I can't do that with movies. I end up missing a lot and having to rewind. Anyway, The Pirates! movie is full of gags that just couldn't be pulled off in a book. So you have to give them credit for making a funny movie instead of just retyping the book. But, I rather liked the gag from the book where the pirates where Bellamy sent them to the far side of the world on a bullshit quest. On the other hand, this movie had some Darwin gags that weren't in the book. And since Gideon Defoe wrote both the movie and the book I don't think I have a damn thing to bitch about.
Uh... did I have a point when I started this? Maybe about how it's not a proper Aardman Entertainment pictures without Nick Park? No... that wasn't it. But this was as close as one would get without his involvement. Maybe about how the end credits should have said
The Pirate Who Produced ... Susan Breen
The Pirate Who Wrote the Music ... Theodore Shapiro
The Pirate Who Made Models ... Kerry Dyer
No. That wasn't it either.
Anyway, good movie, probably gonna get it on DVD. Go read the damn book - it's short.
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