Friends
May. 9th, 2008
10:38 am - GIP
Because I made a new default icon after trying to get pics of just how bloody RED the new highlights are. The pic doesn't do it justice, but I liked the image, so whee! New icon.
10:09 am - Non Productivity
So, some kinds of sick result in productive writing or reading. This most recent case has mostly resulted in video games and staring at the television. While not terribly useful in its own right, it's been handy for getting a few things found and a few things out of the way.
* Finally saw the third Pirates of the Caribbean movie, and it was not very different than not seeing it.
* Got my toon to 70 on WoW. Looked at some of the new content that opened up, but I suspect that it's the sign of my interest winding down again.
* Thanks to ![[info]](http://p-stat.livejournal.com/img/userinfo.gif){kind=small}
ect and multiplexer I now have a wireless adaptor for my xbox 360, which has allowed it to realize it's full potential. I speak not of Rock Band, GTA or even my much loved Mass Effect - I now have Settlers of Catan and Carcasonne, playable from my couch.
So, could be worse. Anyway, I'm feeling much better today, and while that's relative, I;m hoping to be at least a bit more productive.
09:04 am - [To Do]
Okay, it is sad enough that I put this up late enough last night and am starting early enough today that there are no posts in between the two.
( todo list )
04:10 pm - 09.05.2008
Manoki Indian, Amazon River Basin, Brazil, 2007 Photograph by Alex Webb
A Manoki Indian in a feathered headdress and beads glides down a stream in Brazil's Amazon River Basin. The Manoki are one of about 170 indigenous Amazonian peoples whose homelands are imperiled by an intense land rush in the Amazon fueled by the timber, agriculture, and cattle industries.
(Photo shot on assignment for, but not published in, "Last of the Amazon," January 2007, National Geographic magazine)
06:13 am - Movie Review 2008 #58: Atlantis the Lost Empire
One of the last old school Disney animated films, with voices by Michael J Fox, James Garner and Claudia Christian.
( Read more... )
06:43 am - Mea Culpa, Mea Culpa
Somehow, I managed to forget all about mrs617's questions! I shall answer them with no further delay:
1. What do you think of popcorn with brewer's yeast ?
I have never used brewer's yeast for anything but brewing and for putting on cat food (for the cats to eat), so I don't really know!
2. When did you last chase your husband?
I think it was Sunday. We have a nice circular floor plan between the living room, dining room, and kitchen.
3. spring or fall and why?
Well, Id rather spring, because when I fall I tend to hurt myself.
4. What did you have for your 30th birthday cake?
I think it was an orange-flavored cake.
5. What's your favorite drive?
The one through Tensleep Canyon in Wyoming. It has perfect views from every vantage point.
6. How would you spend a million dollars?
Pay off the house, put some in savings, throw an awesome party, and then give it all away.
7. Who would you most like to visit (that you've never met in person and that you don't currently have plans to meet) ?
There are so many! You, of course. LOTS of LJers. I don't think I can choose just one!
06:08 am - Movie Review 2008 #57: The Kingdom
An action thriller set mostly in the epynomous kingdom of Saudi Arabia, with a powerhouse cast starring Jamie Foxx, Jennifer Garner and Chris Cooper.
( Read more... )
07:05 am - Tweetle-dee-dee
- 07:09 A little wikifying, and now ... a little cornbread-baking. Then work. #
- 08:44 Thinking about what's next ... Derby proofed & corrected, Durham missing. Time to go on to "E" towns. #
- 08:49 @PrimPerfect - I've got to remember to update the log of the Claudio & Delluth pregame thread we've got going ... it's gotten a bit long ... #
- 09:26 @PrinceJvstin - Alesia Markstein wiggles her nose. #
- 12:44 Today's DRAMA: where's hubby's wallet? Resolution: the cat was sleeping on it. #
- 15:33 Woot! L$ L$ L$! Tho I think I might've been overpaid, if word of my advance payment didn't filter thru ... #
- 16:28 @PrinceJvstin - What reason? #
- 19:41 @PrinceJvstin - GEEEEK! (Ahem. Wonder if that's coming to *my* region ....) #
- 20:20 Reading a good poem: exceptindreams.livejournal.com/51097.htm
l # - 22:50 Well, SL is definitely made of fail this evening. So much for all that ... #
01:46 am
Party like it's 1959
I wanted to write something here all day, but it's been a really busy day. I'm finishing up something for a deadline and then tonight we went to a fantastic concert, both of which I'll write about later. I had two ideas of what I wanted to write about, the 7th Voyage of Sinbad and the latest issue of Weird Tales.
A Ray Harryhausen movie and Weird Tales? Just what decade are we in?* Next I'll be commenting on Burma Shave signs or looking for advice on how best to see Sputnik in the night sky.
In all (modern) seriousness, though--saving my thoughts on Weird Tales for later--I just recently watched the 7th Voyage of Sinbad for the first time in about 20 years. And it was great. I loved every moment of it, probably because most of those moments were filled with Ray Harryhausen goodness. I love his animation, and it really shines in this movie. And the Bernard Herrmann score is fantastic. (I have it on CD and use it during games.) The plot is just so over the top weird that it's a jumbled mess, but in a good way. (Why is the river on the island made of wine?) Sure, it's weird that all these white actors are playing Middle-Eastern characters. Sure, it's campy. But it's just that kind of camp that makes for fun D&D adventures. In other words, while I wouldn't want to try to use something like this to influence current books or movies, I could see stealing liberally from it for a D&D game, where the standards are a lot different. I mean, an island of cyclopses guarding treasure? An underground castle guarded by a chained dragon? Needing a roc's egg as an ingredient in a potion to restore a shrunken princess to normal? This is good stuff. On second thought, maybe we do want to influence current books and movies with this kind of thing. On third thought, I'm positive that we do.
The only bad thing was, the squawks of the baby roc really riled Marley up, so much so that she watched most of the last third of the movie as if waiting for that strange bird to make another appearance. Normally she doesn't pay much attention to the TV other than to bark when dogs bark in shows but this time was kind of weird.
*Yes, to be particularly pedantic, Weird Tales wasn't available in 1959. It stopped publication in 1954 and didn't start up again until years later.
11:23 pm
Today, I went to the Carlisle Historical Society, after having been asked to go there by one of the members. I figured that it was so that I could finish a project I started a couple of years ago, of putting some old books they have in phase boxes. When I got there, I was told, "Well, the archivist we used to have left a couple of years ago, and we're not sure what exactly she did, or what we have, and we really need everything done."
End result, I seem to become the volunteer archivist.
Huh.
07:57 pm - This Week
- I slept too little.
- I cried about money (for no good reason)
- I got over it.
- I bought a pair of rose-colored glasses
- I worked myself silly.
- I took two practice ACT-style tests, just to see...
- I felt smart and then dumb and then smart and then dumb and then smart again.
- I cried at the piano.
- I got over it.
- I found out that I have a recital coming up.
- I wanted to spend more time on friends.
- I didn't have it to spend.
- I sang.
- I almost fell into a puddle of water.
- I got my sock soaked in a different puddle.
- I spent my last $14 cash on lunch with my friend Patty.
- I laughed until I thought I'd get dizzy.
- I was really, really thankful.
12:08 am - Tweets for Today
- 07:53 Awake and anticipating full irish breakfast before heading for home. Wonder if there'll be black pudding #
- 14:52 :-@divaregina - crisis? What crisis??? #
- 14:56 Back in the uk and heading for home #
May. 8th, 2008
04:38 pm - Picture a Day 05-08-08: Meet the Neighbors
With the DSLR, I couldn't resist taking a picture of a woman, her three kids, and their little red wagon.
01:35 pm - Skim
I don't suppose Evan Dorkin needs to be handled with velvet gloves. So this is my take.
( contains language )
04:59 pm - MBV ATP NY
I just bought my ticket to the All Tomorrow's Parties music festival at a Catskills resort in Monticello, NY this September. It's "curated" by My Bloody Valentine, who miraculously appear to actually be playing shows this year (after being "on hiatus" since 1992), but I'll believe that when I see it! But even if they don't show up, it's a pretty incredible line-up for those of us who came of musical age in the early '90s:
( Polvo and Shellac and Dinosaur Jr, oh my! )
I didn't spring for the full package including accomodation, because I figure I can probably get a better deal at some other nearby motel (and I was too late for the on-site rooms that sold out a couple weeks ago). Or, maybe I'll try to share a room. Is anyone else here going?
I'm also seriously considering getting a ticket to one of the MBV NYC shows that go on sale tomorrow, since they do not seem to have any plans to visit Boston on their supposed tour.
03:24 pm - [To Do]
Finally getting to this today... and have realized some of it just isn't getting done.
( todo list )
10:03 am - Bleh
For a few days my wife has been warning me that I'm showing signs of getting sick. I have denied this fiercely. Sure, I was a little sluggish and achey, but that was no big deal, right?
I sincerely hate it when she's right.
08:17 am - The Last Set of Questions
mairesue asked, and I answer:
1. What do you think of eggplant ?
I keep trying to like it, but it's still not grabbing me.
2. When did you last eat something that you really hated?
Hmmm...it's been a while. Probably at a potluck. I'll try anything at potluck, and sometimes that means I get something I don't like at all. Still, nothing venture, nothing win--and sometimes I find something awesome!
3. Bananas or apples and why?
Bananas, because they're neater to eat. Also, fewer pesticides!
4. What did you make for dinner last night?
We had pasta with white sauce and tomatoes, and eggplant-and-tomato gratin.
5. What's your favorite type of potato?
Fried or hash browns.
6. How would you make a cheesecake?
I would cheat and make a no-bake cheesecake with whipped cream and cream cheese and lemon juice and sweetened condensed milk in a cornflake-crumb crust, and I would serve it with fresh or frozen blueberries.
7. Who would you most like to go out to a family dinner (meaning Chris and co.) with if you could pick anyone in time, made up or real? There are so many! Obviously, I'd LOVE to go to a family dinner with you and co., but that sounds fawning. So I'll say Galahad Threepwood, who would probably enjoy the boys' lemon-eating trick and could teach me a bit about cocktails.
04:10 pm - 08.05.2008
Bathing Snow Monkey, Japan, 1995 Photograph by Jodi Cobb
Japanese macaques, also called snow monkeys, live farther north than any other non-human primates. Their thick coats help them survive the frigid temperatures of central Japan's highlands. But when the mercury really plummets, they go to plan B: hot-tubbing in the region's many thermal springs.
(Photo shot on assignment for, but not published in, "Geisha," October 1995, National Geographic magazine)
07:07 am - Tweetle-dee-dee
- 07:30 :yawning: So much for getting up early and wikifying. #
- 08:44 Realizing I have less than a month to prep for the class in June ... and I'll be away for a week of that time! Ulp! #
- 16:37 Brain. Isdead. But at least I'm back home. #
- 20:46 @torley - That works ... I only had a few minutes to spare, but I wanted to at least start! #
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