At David’s parents (Sheldon and Leah’s, to the uninitiated) place for a holiday get-together today, many laughs were had. The youngest niece insisted on having only peanut butter and jelly in a hot dog bun – no other bread product would suffice, no other filling was acceptable. Her objection to the regular peoples’ menu was final and non-negotiable, so the substitution was made “on the fly” with the ingredients brought to the table and assembled in her watchful eye. The rest of us made do with turkey, cranberries, pickled herring, kugel, and gefilte fish – the all-purpose, all-American holiday meal…
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I was on my normal morning route to work – a little earlier than usual because I’m backing up my team leader, who’s out today. And I was not looking forward to it on a Friday, and on this particular Friday. So I was bombing along passing big-ass trucks on the right because there was a motorcyclist riding along over on the left, and I wanted to give him plenty of room. And he had that body language that big guys on big bikes get: leaning back in a relaxed, uber-macho position with his big engineer boots propped up on…
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Gus Openshaw’s Whale-Killing Journal is getting interesting. Everyone ended up in the hospital after the big battle with the fanatical whale-worshiping Conchians, except for Thesaurus the 2nd harpooner, who is MIA and presumed dead. Sybil, the rebellious iconoclastic Princess of Conch, is also MIA, status unknown. The Lucky Sue went down with all hands during the battle (less the one hand Nelson had already lost back in the first installment) and Nelson suffered a head injury. Which means, of course, that he’s fine but not conscious at the moment, which is a positive development. Otherwise, he’d be literally horning in…
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Eliminated in Hour 1, Leg 11: Bowling Moms. The 4th Place Curse is still undefeated, as a popular team gets the [BOMP!] on the last elimination leg. Winners in Hour 2, Leg 12: Chip and Kim – and yes, there was much screaming. My throat hurts. 2nd: Colin and Christy – MUCH more satisfying than third place, as far as I’m concerned. Karma, baby. Sweet karma, ass. 3rd: Brandon and Nicole, who were first to the last Pit Stop, last to the Finish Line. God? Needs a little more hot water and some bath salts, please. What happened: A flight…
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It’s to-night! The finale for! Amazing Race! At last we get to see! Who’s out leaving just three! To chase a million bucks! Around the world! [BOMP!] I’m about to start watching the two-hour finale: anyone calling the house will be totally ignored unless there’s blood, tragedy, or it’s Phil on the line calling from TARCon. As David says every week before he hides in the basement: “Let the screaming begin.”
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Sometimes I feel like I’m keeping a few too many faces in the jar by the door. I’ve got my “real” life, with my travel agent face, my commute face, my family face, and my church face (except I don’t mutter “goddamn it, I’ve got too much stuff to do” under my breath while actually in church). They all look pretty much the same; generally, squinched up in a grimace, laughing like a loony, or mugging like an asshat. Then there’s my “virtual” life – way too many faces over the years, mostly laughing and having a good time, occasionally…
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“We shouldn’t be here,” said one Marine infantryman bluntly. “There was no reason for invading this country in the first place. We just came here and [angered people] and killed a lot of innocent people,” said the marine, who has seen regular combat in Ramadi. “I don’t enjoy killing women and children, it’s not my thing.” That’s what a small but more and more vocal minority in the US military are saying. Meanwhile, there’s a very, very large push on to get their absentee ballots properly postmarked and counted this time around. Either way they vote, O.K. by me, because…
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As my chum Bard Sinister points out, the comment feature is acting up again. It’ll time out after you click Post, and seemingly nothing happens. However, in actuality the tiny virtual hamsters that run this site are still running in their wheels, and the post gets updated with the new comment. So if you hit “Post” a second time, as I did earlier today, you get 2 posts for the price of one. Argh. I’ll look into why that may be happening – might have been a temporary glitch. Also, due to a strange conversational convergence, comments were going up…
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I ran across this speech that Bill Moyers gave to the Society of Professional Journalists on Sept. 11th, 2004. He covers a lot of ground. Get a cup of coffee and read it like your life depends on it. A profound transformation is happening here. The framers of our nation never envisioned these huge media giants; never imagined what could happen if big government, big publishing and big broadcasters ever saw eye to eye in putting the public’s need for news second to their own interests — and to the ideology of free-market economics. I was looking for something completely…
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Title: Darklight Stars: Richard Burgi, John DeLancie, David Hewlitt, Sherri Appleby Official Website: Sci Fi | Darklight my husband David recorded this movie because John DeLancie was in it. We always, always enjoy his work, so I thought “How bad could it be?” and sat down to watch with him. There was some sort of incomprehensible pre-show sequence about a demon or woman that walks up out of a swampy place all nekkid and covered with goo, and some guys sitting around in a futuristic chapel being told that their sacrifice was for the good of mankind before they get…