Happy Halloween, everyone!

Why Tea-Baggers shouldn't Chrono-Hop

    It takes a certain IQ level to Time Travel responsibly.  Otherwise you just screw things up worse than they already are.  It's kinda like being a Federation starship commander.  You're safe with Jean-Luc Picard.  You're iffy with James T. Kirk.  You're hosed with Beavis & Butthead.

Why chopsticks?

    There's a lot of truth to this.  Some years back, I spent 10 days on a business trip in mainland China.  We were in the Hangzhou region, and on the road a lot.  The little restaurants we ate at did not have knives, forks, or spoons.  So I had to make do with chopsticks.

    I suck at using chopsticks.  I lost about 10 pounds on that trip.

Childhood Home

    Oh my.  I simply have to visit Google Earth more often.  They've added some fantastic features, including "Street View".  So I can now revisit my childhood home, back in Lenhartsville, Pennsylvania and see how it's changed in the half-century since we left it.



    First of all : no, that door in the middle of the wall is not photoshopped.  Until recently (meaning 1993, when I last had a chance the house in person), there were porches for each of the three floors, and that door opened out onto the second-story one.

     Second, we actually shared the house with another family.  We lived in what amounts to the left-four windows' worth of space.  They lived in the right-three.  There was also a basement, which means there was lots of room and lots of rooms.  The stones in the facing have either been redone or repainted.  I remember them as various shades of gray.

   The side yard has changed extensively since my childhood.  When we lived there, there were two huge maple trees along the left-hand fence.  And in front of the fence, we had a christmas-type tree that was about 5' tall; which had rocketed to about 30' tall when I was there in '93.  We had a backyard patio, which I remember my dad making by laying a sh*tload of hexagon-shaped cement pieces.  And that shed in the back yard is new.

    Still, the yard looks quite nice, and the structure itself hasn't changed too much.  It's good to see it still standing.  No one knows how old it is, but it was a hotel during the Civil War.

We "no" who you are

Book Excerpt for the Day

    "You're sh*t scared, aren't you?" Calvin said.

    "You can read my emotions now, is that it?"

    "No.  It's just that your emotions ought to mirror mine.  We think very similarly, you and I.  More so than ever now."  Calvin paused.  "And I don't mind admitting - I'm very, very scared.  Probably more scared than a piece of software has any right to feel.  Isn't that profound, Dan?"

    "Save your profundities for later - I'm sure you'll get the opportunity."


(from Revelation Space, by Alastair Reynolds)


The full review is here.

The worst thing about censorship

the 2011 version of Monopoly

Bachman-the-Nut on Science

       It amuses me that Bachman-the-Nut repeatedly comes off sounding so moronic and so ditto-headed that Sarah Failin' Palin decided not to run for president.  They'd both be going after the Idiot vote, and thus far, Bachman comes off as the bigger idiot of the two.

    Not that either is/was a serious threat to win the Presidency.  They're a couple of dingalings, and even fatcat Republicans are reluctant to waste their money contributing to the campaign of a can't-win candidate.

Demotivational Wednesday

Book Excerpt for the Day

    ... Theseus the Athenian, team-leader of the Cranes; the odds-on fancy, the back-somersault boy, the first of the bull-leapers.  They had painted me on the walls of the Labyrinth, carved me in ivory; there had been little gold Theseuses on the women's bracelets.  The ballad-makers had promised themselves and me a thousand years of singing.  In these things my pride still lingered.  Now it was time to be my father's son.

(from The Bull from the Sea, by Mary Renault)



The complete review is here.

wye eye dunt lyke howmskewling

    Because we're dumbing down America.  And idiots vote Republican.

The Element of Surprise

the Grammar Nazi strikes again

    Listen.  I know it's an internet comic.  And it's free.  And the emphasis is on the humor not the grammar.  But c'mon now.  When something shrivels up, the word is "wither".  Like it's used here.

    The "whither" word is for when you want to use a high-falootin' word for 'where'.  As in "Whither goest thou?"  Eeeeeshhh.  Like fingernails on a chalkboard.

Book Excerpt for the Day

    "I am a damned man, Miss Drapes, judged and damned," said Mr. Bent, staring at the wall.

    "You, Mr. Bent?  That's no way to talk!  You, who've never made a mistake?"

    "But I have sinned.  Oh indeed I have!  I have worshipped false idols!"

    "Well, sometimes you can't get real ones," said Miss Drapes, patting his hand and wondering if she should call someone.  "Look, if you want absolution,  I understand the Ionians are doing two sins for one this week -"

    "It's caught me," he whispered.  "Oh dear, Miss Drapes.  There is something rising inside that wants to get out!"

    "Don't you worry, we've got a bucket," said Miss Drapes.


(from Making Money, by Terry Pratchett)


The complete review is here.

but it's okay

    I'm always dismayed by how short of a memory the Electorate has.  The economy was on the brink of collapse when we dumped Dubya's sorry a$$ in 2008.  We are still in the midst of a recession no matter what anyone says; but overall, things have stabilized economically.

    We have a long way to go, and one critical reform needed is to the Banking Industry.  Alzheimered Reagan foolishly pushed deregulation, and Dubnutz allowed lending policies during his regime that border on being criminal.  Wall Street Moguls are greedy fat-cats who will gouge the poor unless specifically forbidden to do so.

    So join your local "Occupy" organization and march/protest/occupy to show your support.  You ARE part of the 99%, not the 1%.

back from Los Angeles

    Three wonderful, thrill-packed days - one each at California Adventure, Disneyland, and Six Flags Magic Mountain.  Lots of walking.  My feet are sore, my calves are barking at me, and my stomach is still not quite recovered from the roller coaster rides at 6F-MM last night.

    The weather was perfect, the company and conversation was fantastic, and lots of great pics were taken.   With a bit of luck, I'll find time to post some of them.  It was nice to get away, but it's also nice to be back home.  Our puppies are glad we've returned as well.   

Off to see Dumbo and Goofy

    We're off to spend the weekend in L.A.  The plan is to do Disneyland, California Adventure (or whatever it's called), and Magic Mountain.  Okay fine.  But I've seen Disneyland 3 or 4 times already.  So I've hatched a plan to sneakily divert us into a parallel universe.  Similar to ours of course (that's why they call it 'parallel'), but one in which Zombies rule.  BRAINZ!

Occupy Phoenix

When  :  Saturday, 15 October  (not sure of the time)

Where  :   Wesley Bolin Plaza

Why  : Cuz I'm part of the 99%, not the 1%

    Besides, I haven't illegally occupied anything since my college days, when we liberated a fountain at ASU in the name of the National Front for the Liberation of South Vietnam (Viet Cong), and held it for two weeks.

Picacho Peak Pile-Up

    We know Arizona drivers aren't worth a sh*t when it rains.  And they're even worse in snow.  This is not a critical thing, since those two phenomena seldom happen here.  But dust storms are a different matter.  Arizona gets dust storms like L.A. gets smog.

    And we got one today.  No, not a mile-high "haboob-sized" one; just your ordinary happens-all-the-time variety.   But you still have to take care.  At zero-visibility, it is advisable to slow down to at least 80 mph while transversing the freeways.  And pay attention to your surroundings a little bit; maybe going so far as to hang up your cell phone.  You might even consider exiting the freeway until the storm passes.

    Someone apparently forgot all that this afternoon on the I-10, somewhere around Picacho Peak.  The result was a 30-vehicle pile-up; 1 fatality; and several more with life-threatening injuries.  Perhaps Arizonans should be forbidden to drive whenever anything more than two clouds appear in the sky.

Wall Street Protests

    It is interesting to watch the "Wall Street Protests" unfold. First of all, because they're so under-reported.  Second, because they refuse to be "polite" demonstrators - carefully complying with every stoopid police regulation ("Do Not Block the Roadway"; "Stay Several Blocks Away From Meaningful Landmarks"; "Inform the Police Beforehand of Everything You're Going to Do"; etc.) .  Third, because unlike we protesters from the 70's, they don't really have any clearly-stated goals.

    Methinks it is a balancing reaction to the Tea Bag Idiocy.  Elections are coming up; it looks to be a dogfight, no matter which wing-nut the Gopheads nominate; and someone needs to grab the headlines from the Tea Baggers.
   
    And one has to be impressed by the way these protests are spreading.  The New Yorkers are overcoming the media stonewalling.  The Chicago protest is sustaining itself.  And Los Angeles has its own Anti-Bankers demonstrations going.

    By coincidence, I will be in L.A. this weekend.  Mostly to go see Dumbo and Nemo.  But I just might find time to join the demonstrators.  Jeez, I haven't been in a protest since 2003.  And that was in London.  I'm overdue.

the new FaceBook buttons are here

    and I for one am looking forward to using the "Stare Creepily" one a lot.

Demotivational Friday

    Listen.  I'm not anti-Star Wars.  I love Star Wars.  But do we really need yet another re-release of the DVD's?  So it's got a few more minutes of deleted scenes.  So Leia and Han get kissy kissy.  So what.  Shouldn't all this have been included in the first release?  Or the second?

    But now, if you replace the ugly old emperor with the above-pictured Sith Lord.  Now you got my interest.

Edgar Allan Pooh

    I'm sure the sequel will be Murders in the Roo Morgue.

Book Excerpt for the Day

    Ka was a wheel, its one purpose to turn, and in the end it always came back to the place where it had started.  So it had been and so it was now; Susannah was once again facing the bear, and her face said she knew it.


(from The Waste Lands by Stephen King)


The complete review is here.

ASU 43 - USC 22

    You!  Yes, you!  Yer going down, suckah!

    And they did.  I stayed up way past my bedtime Saturday night to watch this glorious ASU victory.  First time we beat the Trojans in a dozen years.  Even longer since we beat them here in Tempe.

I knew it

Vinyl Giveaway #3

   Time to get rid of another stack of LP's that are sitting on my computer room floor and have been converted to MP3's.  The usual caveats apply.  Most of these are $1-$5 used acquisitions, so expect scratches.  AFAIK, none have backward skips (I tossed those); and very few have forward ones.  The LP's are free, but they need to be picked up by next Saturday, when I take the remainder to Rockzone.

    Drop me an e-mail if any of these tickle your fancy.  I'll divvy up albums that more than one person has an interest in.

01. Petula Clark - Portrait of Petula Clark
    Easy-listening stuff, but a nice selection.
02. Silver Creek - Silver Creek
   A one-LP group that shooda done better.  Kewl Orange Blossom Special rendition.
03. Allan Sherman - My Son, The Celebrity
   Yeah, he's the "Hello Mudda, Hello Fadda" guy.  But that's not on this LP.
04. Chilliwack - Opus X
    Album #10 from a Canadian prog band.  "Whatcha Gonna Do" got some air play.
05. Jimmy Dean - The First Thing Ev'ry Morning
    Might have his signature on the back.  An otherwise terrible album.
06. Rare Earth - In Concert
    2x-LP  Kewl album design - in the form of a backpack.  Good music too.
07. Marshall Tucker Band - Carolina Dreams
    Has "Heard It In a Love Song" on it.
08. Andreas Vollenweider - White Winds
    Ambient music from an electric harpist.  How kewl is that?!
09. Bill Monroe - The Original Blue Grass Sound
    The father of bluegrass.
10. Ronnie Milsap - One More Try For Love
    Nice, but nothing special.
11. Lone Justice - Lone Justice
    Maria McKee's first group.  This was their debut LP, I think.
12. Kenny Rogers & The 1st Edition - Something's Burning
    Pop music sweet enough to make you gag.
13. Leon Russell & Marc Benno - Asylum Choir II
    Leon's done better; Leon's done worse.
14. Walter Murphy - A Fifth of Beethoven
    Half disco; half rockicized classical music.  The disco half sux.
15. Sheena Easton - You Could Have Been With Me
    Nice.
16. Tom Paxton - The Compleat Tom Paxton
    2X-LP.  Live.  All his hits.
17. The Limeliters - Tonight : In Person
    Kingston Trio wannabees.  Which is not a bad thing.
18. Black Oak Arkansas - I'd Rather Be Sailing
    In immaculate condition, but the worst rock-&-roll album ever.  Ask me why.
19. Chilliwack - Chilliwack
    2X-LP.  Some of their early proggy stuff. 
20. Roger Miller - Dang Me
    His debut album.  Good stuff.
21. Allan Sherman - For Swingin' Livers Only
    Jewish-humor songs.
22. Chet Atkins - This Is Chet Atkins
    2X-LP.  A fine guitarist.
23. Pure Prairie League - Live Takin' The Stage
    2X-LP.  A nice live album.  With all their hits.  Both of them.
24. Don Nix - Skyrider
    Not his best.  But I am a huge Don Nix fan.
25. Mike Oldfield - Airborn
    2X-LP.  An early re-issue of some of his songs.  Includes Tubular Bells.
26. The Earl Scruggs Review - Strike Anywhere
    A bluegrass band that sings songs about Muhammed Ali.  Kewlness.
27. Three Dog Night - It Ain't Easy
    My favorite 3DN album.
28. Tommy - The Soundtrack
    2X-LP. Elton doing Pinball Wizard.  Clapton on it as well.
    Warning : This one is excessively scratched.  I'll probably toss it.
29. Smothers Brothers - Tour De Farce
    Excellent!
30. Smothers Brothers - Golden Hits, Volume 2
    See above.
31. Steve Harley & Cockney Rebel - The Best Years of our Lives
    A British glam band that I'm partial to.
32. Bee Gees - Horizontal
    Their first US album, I think.  Has "Massachusetts" on it.
33. Four Tops - Anthology
    3X-LP.  Good stuff, but way too much Motown for one sitting.
34. John Denver - Back Home Again
    I'm learning to like JD.
35. Beck-Bogart-Appice - Beck, Bogart, and Appice
    Three guys that you really should wiki.
36. Blue Oyster Cult - Blue Oyster Cult
    Decent, but doesn't contain "Don't Fear The Reaper".
37. Dan Fogelberg - Nether Lands
    Nice story-telling songs.
38. Stealer's Wheel - Stealer's Wheel.
     I'm still not learning to like Gerry Rafferty.
39. Barry McGuire - Eve of Destruction
    Is there a reason why Barry deliberately sings off-key?
40. Lindsey Buckingham - Go Insane
    A nice effort.
41. Leon Redbone - From Branch to Branch
    A white guy singing Muddy Waters era blues.  Kewl.
42. Procol Harum - Exotic Birds & Fruit
    No hits, but nice.
43.  Rare Earth - Band Together
    Lounge Music stuff from their later years.
44. Isaac Stern - 60th Anniversary Celebration
    Classical violin.  Excellent.
45. Berlin Philharmonic - Dvorak Symphony #8
    Hey, I love light classical music.  Back off.
46. Chris Rea - Deltics
    A fantastic guitarist that no one knows.
47. Josh White - Archive of Folk Music
    40's folk/blues music, issued soon after his death.
48. Ned Kelly Soundtrack
    Mick Jagger, Waylon Jennings, and Shel Silverstein team up.
49. The Highwaymen - The Highwaymen
   No, not Willie and Waylon.  This is the 60's group who did "Michael Row the Boat Ashore"
50. Bonnie Tyler - Secret Dreams and Forbidden Fire
    Bonnie roolz!
51. Bonnie Tyler - The World Starts Tonight
    See above.
52. Chet Atkins & Hank Snow - Reminiscing
    Easy listening, but finely done.
53. Hoyt Axton - Joy To The World
   Debut album, I think.  Eclectic mix of songs.
54. Ozark Mountain Daredevils - OMD
    "If You Wanta Get To Heaven", et. al.
55. Chad Mitchell Trio - Singin' Our Mind
    More Kingston Trio type stuff.
56. Jean-Luc Ponty - Cosmic Messenger
    Excellence in ambience.
57. John Mayall - The Turning Point
    White-boy blues.  Nice.
58. Ozark Mountain Daredevils - Sidemen From Earth
    Good stuff.  What ever happened to these dudes?
59. Lindisfarne - Roll On, Ruby.
    Better-than-average.
60. Harmonium - L'Heptade
    Obscure French-Canadian prog-ambient band.
61. New Christy Minstrels - Tell Tall Tales
    Happy folksy 60's stuff.  I like them.
62. Blues Project - Best Of...
    Excellent honky R&B.
63.Smothers Brothers - Curb Your Tongue, Knave!
    See above.  Way above.
64. Marshall Tucker Band - Running Like The Wind
    No hits, but nice nevertheless.
65. Barclay James Harvest - Best of...
    Early BJH stuff, actually.  A proggy folksy rock band.

The sky is falling...

    WTF?!  Some people are actually worried about (debris from) the satellite hitting them tonight?  Peeps, we need to talk about statistical odds.  It's why I don't play the lottery.

Book Excerpt for the Day

    "I really have only one question," Hemberg began. "What do you think it is?"
    "You're of course wondering what I'm doing here."
     "I would probably put it more forcefully," Hemberg said. "How the hell did you end up here?"
     "It's a long story," Wallander said.
     "Make it short," Hemberg replied. "But leave nothing out."

(from The Pyramid by Henning Mankell)

The complete review is here.

RIP R.E.M.

    Damn, dudes.  Was it something I said?

The Limitations of Science

    If you haven't found Jesus & Mo yet, you really ought to.

Talk Like A Pirate Day

    One of my favorite holidaze is September 19 - Talk Like A Pirate Day.  I find it amazing that it has not yet been recognized as a national holiday.   Next year I might even dress the part.

A child's prayer

    Sent to me a long time ago by my friend, Buffy.  Who cared deeply for those poor ladies. 



Book Excerpt for the Day

    It was something everyone who lived in Berlin seemed to experience.  You began to think differently about whom you met for lunch and for that matter what café or restaurant you chose, because rumors circulated about which establishments were favorite targets of Gestapo agents - the bar at Adlon, for example.  You lingered at street corners a beat or two longer to see if the faces you saw at the last corner had now turned up at this one.  In the most casual of circumstances you spoke carefully and paid attention to those around you in a way you never had before.  Berliners came to practice what became known as "the German glance" - der deutsche Blick - a quick look in all directions when encountering a friend or acquaintance on the street.

(from In The Garden of Beasts by Erik Larson)


The full review is here.

RIP - Carl Oglesby

Carl Oglesby

b.  :  30 July 1935

d.  :  13 September 2011

    Carl Oglesby was a powerful speaker for the Left Wing, and was president of the Students for a Democratic Society (better known as "SDS") 1965-1966.

    SDS was a high-profile student political force when I was a freshman at Penn State (1968).  That year, students took over the Dean's office at PSU, and occupied it for several days.  I'm sure SDS was a major player in the protest.

    Alas, my main aim my freshman year was to get as drunk as I could, and as often as I could; and it's hard to protest when you're passed out on the floor.  To boot, my political leanings were decidedly right-wing.  By the time my politics changed leftward (1971), SDS was kaput, Oglesbly had been kicked out, and I had transferred to ASU.

    So this is more of a requiem for SDS, using Carl Oglesby's passing to put a face on them.  They did influence my life, but not until my junior year.

   We'll leave you with a quote from him.  There were quite a few to choose from, given his mastery of speech-giving.

    "It isn't the rebels who cause the troubles of the world, it's the troubles that cause the rebels."

Parallel Universes

    There's Time Travel and there's Dimension Hopping.  Both of these are fairtly straightforward, once you get the hang of it.  But visiting Parallel Universes is a bit trickier.  You're there, and you're there also.  But one of the you's isn't you, cuz he/she was subject to a different set of events following a spin-off at a Key Historical Juncture.

    That's how Parallel Universes come into existence, you know - at critical points in History.   In theory, there are an infinite number of PU's.  But when you're in one, with another you, it's dreadfully diffucult to make a jump to yet another PU.  And you really don't want to get too far away from your Home Reality.

You spell "Serena" : b-r-a-t

    Ah, Serena.  Classless you were.  Classless you are.  Classless you shall forever be.

Book Excerpt for the Day

    "Well, Citizen," Yorrov-Voppov said, "the present signals are clearly coming from as upper-atmosphere vehicle which is circumnavigating the planet.  The question is, undoubtedly, where did this vehicle come from?

    "As I see it, there are two possibilities; either it came from somewhere on this planet, or it came from somewhere out there."  He gestured in a vaguely upward direction.

    "Continue," Karv-Torov said, not visibly impressed by the analysis so far.

(from First Cycle, by H. Beam Piper & Michael Kurland)


The full review is here.

Demotivational Thursday

    Sad.  Really sad.  Pathetically sad.