Couple of Things I'm Not Funny Enough to Write

...as much as I wish I was:

• Fantasy author Jim C. Hines list of 20 Neil Gaiman Facts--eat your heart out Chuck Norris
  

  1. Neil Gaiman once wrote a Nebula-winning story using only the middle row of his keyboard.
  2. Harper Collins has taken out a 2.5 million dollar insurance policy on Neil Gaiman’s accent.
  3. If you write 1000 words and Neil Gaiman writes 1000 words, Neil Gaiman has written more than you.
  read the rest



• Music Reviewer/Author Chuck Klosterman reviews the remastered works of The Beatles

  Like most people, I was initially confused by EMI's decision to release remastered versions of all 13 albums by the Liverpool pop group Beatles, a 1960s band so obscure that their music is not even available on iTunes. The entire proposition seems like a boondoggle. I mean, who is interested in old music? ...
  
  It is not easy to categorize the Beatles' music; more than any other group, their sound can be described as "Beatlesque." It's akin to a combination of Badfinger, Oasis, Corner Shop, and everyother rock band that's ever existed.
  read the rest

Vah! Denuone Latine loquebar?

(trans. "Oh! Was I speaking Latin again?")

Today's the traditional day around here for the last minute bursts of activity in preparation for the upcoming school year. Most of which would've been done by someone far more organized by myself (like, say, TLomL) earlier than today--but if I didn't procrastinate weeks/days ago, what would I do today? Thought I'd take a quick break and mention a resource that some of you might be interested in (am sure some of my readers have this site and others like it bookmarked, but just in case)

I was doing a bit of reading this afternoon, trying to remind myself of the benefits to the Offspring learning Latin (only Frodo will be doing a formal Latin curriculum, but the rest will be getting ready). Not that I needed the reminder, but I do need to be ready to respond to the extended family's "What, your kids aren't oddly educated enough already?" type questions. The website for the National Committee for Latin and Greek is quite the handy resource for these type of answers, along with some nifty propaganda to convince prospective students to take up the subjects.

The flyer, Harry Potter Knows Latin!, for example, is a nifty sampling of some the more common spells non-Muggles learn at Hogwarts and their Latin roots. I can't imagine it's that convincing, but it's cute.

Frankly, I find Henry Beard's books on the subject (some samples are here), to be a much greater incentive, but hey, whatever works...

Thought for the Lord's Day - #44

Though sense of God’s love fail, faith may continue to be strong. For faith is not grounded upon sense and feeling, but upon God’s gracious promises, immutable, goodness and infallible truth. Yea, when sense and feeling cease, then faith which the evidence of things not seen, begins it chief work. And the most excellent faith shows itself most clearly when we have no sense or feeling, or when we feel the opposite.

- John Ball

(via Patrick's Pensees, had to share this one...)

Technically Not a Miracle, but Ever So Close

I'm not a football guy, really. I can watch a game and understand it/not sounds like a moron, but really I'm with George Will: it's the two worst aspects of American culture, 20 seconds of violence followed by a committee meeting.

But for some reason that I don't care to spend the time figuring out, for me (and countless others who really don't care about sports in general/football in particular), when it comes to your college's team...all bets are off.

I'm a third-generation Idaho Vandal, came of age during the Decade of Dominance, back when the team had it's act together--until it won it's first bowl game (I was in the stands!), lost the coach, and the wheels fell off.

It's been a miserable ten years since then (I haven't mentioned to Frodo that he was born just months before the team forgot what "win" meant), and the team has become a joke--especially in this media market dominated by Boise State University. It's really remarkable what can happen to a program like that overnight (and then keep happening, and happening, and happening)

And then tonight--the University of Idaho Vandals won over their conference opponent the New Mexico State Aggies. Their first win on the road since 2006, their first season opening win since 1999.

21-6. Beautiful. Yeah, it's just one game, but come on--this is great.

I. D. A. H. O. Idaho, Idaho, go, go go!

Not Exactly Sure How This is Supposed to Make Me Sleep Better

As I've mentioned before, I have sleep apnea, and occasionally (far to rarely, to be honest) use a CPAP machine. Ideally, this device is supposed to keep air flowing into my lungs no matter what my body wants.

In reality, this device makes a lot of noise, makes my face sweat and will frequently convince me that I'm being smothered in my sleep.

But anyway, it's something I need to use, because if I remember my 8^th grade health class, breathing is a pretty important thing to do.

So now I get a recall notice from the machine's manufacturer. If I have a DC powered humidifier, I may be in jeopardy--I'm fine if it's AC powered. Somehow, this is the only appliance I have with a power chord where both the chord and the place you plug it into have no labels about amps, volts, or other words used by energy drink marketing gurus. So instead I get a grainy, black and white zerox of a photo of the back of a DC powered machine.

I think my machine matches--I may have to take a digital photo, print it on an old printer and run it through a copier for a few generations to be sure, tho. So now having determined that I probably have a DC machine, "There is a remote probability that some failures may result in thermal deformation..." Now, I'm not a technician, or an engineer, so I'm not absolutely certain, but to me "thermal deformation" sounds like "things will melt due to heat."

I'm assured that, "There have been no reported injuries or property damage as a result..." That sentence is just begging for a "yet", isn't it?

The thermal deformation will be accompanied by a "blinking blue light" on the control knob, so I'll have some warning before I become eligible to be the exception to the "no reported injuries or property damage."

Of course, the only time I use this doo-hickey, I'm asleep, and I tend to do that with my eyes closed, so I probably won't notice any blue lights, blinking or otherwise.

That is, if I ever sleep again.

Happy Blogg-iversary to Me, Happy Blogg-iversary to Me

It was seven years ago today that I first posted to this blog, time for the onset of the Seven Year Itch--guess I shouldn't be surprised that I've been looking at wordpress.org. I'm fairly surprised I kept at it this long, honestly, and see no reason to stop anytime soon. Figure this is as good as time as any to take a breath and reflect on what I've done here. How close have I come to keeping the purpose I had from the get go?

On that first day, I said:

Why blog? It's an effort to discipline myself to write something every day. I figure if I can do that, I will begin having more discipline in different areas, I'll become a better writer, get published, make enough money to quit my lousy job, become a world-famous theologian, and attain entire sanctification!

Including this post, I've posed 1688 times--an average of .66 posts a day. Not quite as disciplined as I'd intended...I've never really gotten the "daily" thing down--tho' last year I had a 43 day streak. I'm sure that's the main reason I haven't accomplished the rest of that list.

Okay, so much for quantity/regularity of posts--we'll just ignore quality, because I'm in the mood to feel good about myself. That leaves theme (probably some other things, too, but can't think of them at the moment).

The original name of this patch o' cyberspace was White Noise, which I took from the name of one of my top 2 novels of all time. Again, on that first day, I laid out the direction I hoped things would take:

The name for this blog came from one of my favorite novels, Don DeLillo's White Noise. In discussing that novel, DeLillo said:
"In White Noise in particular, I tried to find a kind of radiance in dailiness. Sometimes this radiance can be almost frightening. Other times it can be almost holy or sacred.... Our sense of fear--we avoid it because we feel it so deeply, so there is an intense conflict at work.... I think it is something we all feel, something we almost never talk about, something that is almost there. I tried to relate it in White Noise to this other sense of transcendence that lies just beyond our touch. This extraordinary wonder of things is somehow related to the extraordinary dread, to the death fear we try to keep beneath the surface of our perceptions."

Similarly, my original epigraph (have abandoned those for the time being) for the blog was also from DeLillo describing the book elsewhere:

"It's about fear, death, and technology. A comedy, of course."

I think I've come closer to the goal on this one. The main topics (although I haven't tagged every post with labels, so I can't promise this is totally accurate) I've touched on are things happening with me, my family and in the news. Pretty typical for bloggers. The next big grouping involve various aspects of theology and various media (books, movies, TV, music, etc.), baseball and education follow close on their heels. It's at the other end of the spectrum that I find some surprises: I've only tagged Joss Whedon, caffeine, coffee, and Narnia once each. Not so surprisingly, I've only tagged travel and celebrities once. I've started a handful of series on this topic or that, think I've finished none of them, which tends to explain why I've started fewer lately, but am pretty sure I'll try again. I seem to do best at just grabbing what's at the forefront of my mind (and believe you me, you don't want to go further back then that--scarrrrryyyy stuff. Although, that's where we keep all the shoes in your size). In short the everyday stuff of my life comes up a lot, "the radiance of dailiness", I guess.

Of course, about a year ago I changed the name of the blog--it's also from a beloved work of literature, but carries the bonus of not leading people to think this is going to be a tech-inclined space (you wouldn't believe how many emails I've gotten about that). Also, it's in Latin--which carries a lot more weight in Reformed and Homeschooling/Classical Ed circles than technobabble, and you know me, I'm all about currying favor. "Peace, Love, and a Sense of Fun," I think it's safe to say I touch on that regularly. Either that, or I need to read myself more closely.

I can't pause to talk about the blog without thinking of you, gentle readers (and the nastier ones, too). Some of you are sporadic, some are regular, some of you really have no business being here, but you come anyway. I wish there were more of you (the numbers ebb and flow, but there's generally 20-30 of you), but I'm very glad for each page view. Thanks for reading, I'm glad you do, I truly appreciate it. Wish you'd comment more ('tho the emails, IMs, etc. are nice, too). I guess while I have your attention, I should ask for your suggestions: what should I do more of/less of? What should I start doing/stop altogether? Is there a way for me to fit more of this orange into things?

Hope to see you around for awhile longer.

'nuff said

While the Summer TV Season Wraps Up...

If you can't watch TV, sometimes reading about it can help fill the void.

• Women of NCIS -- Sara Paretsky takes a glance at the troubling way NCIS deals with female characters (the inestimable Abby Sciuto excluded).
• My Supernatural Summer -- Matt Roush spent the summer catching up on Supernatural a show I'd not bothered with until recently myself, read this to discover why I was wrong to do so. Best line: "this show is less Touched By an Angel than, say, bitch-slapped".
• Everything you wanted to know about the CHEERS' Bar Wars -- Ken Levine discusses the background on some Cheers episodes that were always filled with laughs.
• Top 8 Happy Moments (Sorta) in the Whedonverse -- this one's pretty self-explanatory, actually. I do find it sorta odd that a creator that brings so many such happiness in watching would only have 8 such moments in his Verse (and do note the 'sorta'). I couldn't help but notice that Dollhouse has zero entries on this list, and frankly, am not sure what a happy Dollhouse moment would be.

I woke up in Escher's World today...

My mother said it was okay

Up's down, down is out, out is in
Stairways circle back to where you've been
Time falls, water crawls, are you listening?

- Chagall Gueverra
"Escher's World"

I couldn't stop Chagall Gueverra's song from playing in my head as I read the Reuters's story "Grandson sues to clear Stalin over killings."

MOSCOW (Reuters) - Josef Stalin was in the dock on Monday when a Russian court held a preliminary hearing in a libel case brought by his grandson over a newspaper story which said the tyrant had ordered the killings of Soviet citizens.

Rights groups say the case shows a creeping attempt in modern Russia to paint a more benevolent picture of the Soviet Union's most feared leader, under whose rule millions perished.

The mind just boggles, doesn't it? I know, I know living in the age of Holocaust deniers, 9/11 Truthers, and Dan Brown, I shouldn't be surprised at people twisting history to their liking, but come on! Stalin?

Leonid Zhura, a convinced Stalinist who is representing Dzhugashvili [the grandson] in court, said that the article -- based on declassified Kremlin documents -- damaged Stalin's reputation.

"Half a century of lies have been poured over Stalin's reputation and he cannot defend himself from the grave so this case is essential to put the record straight," said Zhura.

"We want to rehabilitate Stalin," he told Reuters. "He turned populations into peoples, he presided over a golden era in literature and the arts, he was a real leader."

One more time, "We want to rehabilitate Stalin."

Jane, get me off this crazy thing!

Eschers World - Steve Taylor

From my Netflix Queue...

Caught a couple of good ones last week:
Sunshine Cleaning sounds like a dreary film: a single mother, struggling to make ends meet working as a cleaning lady/waitress who has to pay for a private school 'cuz her kid keeps getting kicked out of public schools. She's having an affair with her (married) high school sweetheart, her sister is an immature and unreliable wreck, and her father is a conniving loser. But to pay for tuition, she goes into business with her sister...enter heart-warming ending and sell it to Lifetime. But it actually works! When you cast the Amy Adams (who can play any kind of role, apparently) as the mom, Emily Blunt as the sister, the hilariously sublte Alan Arkin as the dad,^* throw in some wry humor and genuine emotion, it's a charming, and endearing black comedy.

Black comedy? Oh yeah, the business they start is a biohazard removal/crime scene clean-up service. Adams + Blunt + blood/guts/associated smells/stains = Hilarity.

There's actually not as much of that as I expected (even wanted)--that's just the hook to get you into the flick. The real heart of the film is in the sisters learning to trust each other, dealing with death--and helping others to do the same, and in the shadow of death, finding life and hope. Great script, great cast, decent story...well worth your time.

A-

The quietly humorous story of a group of twenty-somethings working at a crummy amusement park in 1987. Our protagonist, James, a new college grad, finds that a family financial crunch leaves him without the means to travel Europe over the summer as he planned. Instead, he has to return to Pittsburgh and get a...job. Of course, the market for comparative lit majors is pretty small (whether or not they're headed to Columbia in the fall for grad school). So he ends up getting a job at the amusement park, thanks to a tip from his former best friend, who apparently lives only to frequently punch James in the testicles.

The park is owned by the hilarious married couple played by Kristen Wiig and Bill Hader--who both are a strange combination of cluelessness and skill, callousness and support. But more importantly, the park is staffed by a tight-knit group of kids who return year after year and quickly befriend James. It's not long before James starts seeing Em (Kristen Stewart displaying the talent that probably got her that other role she's known for but didn't get the chance to display). On the one hand, the movie plays out from that point pretty much in the way you'd expect. But it's so skillfully and honestly told, it doesn't matter.

Harry Knowles summed it up better than I could:

This is about that fragile point in a person’s life where they have to come to a realization that they’re not going to be about the dreams you had in High School – that you can’t live at home forever, that you must evolve beyond the plan. And in a very different way, this is that story about the last time you lived at home and that moment that you left knowing it was never going to be the same.

Martin Starr, naturally, threatens to steal the movie, but in the end provides it's heart. Really wish he'd get more work.

As an aside, I'm clearly getting old when Ryan Reynolds is cast as the older mentor-like figure to a college grad. Think Matthew McConaughey in Dazed and Confused, only slightly less creepy.

A-


^* ...probably shouldn't forget Steve Zahn not playing an obnoxious moron (I knew you had it in you, Steve!)

The Government Can

a little comic relief:

Boise Beer Fest 2009

One of the greatest things about blogging is the immediacy of publishing--as soon as an event happens (or even while it's still going on)--descriptions, reviews, photos, etc. can be put out there for the world to see. Which is why I'm just now talking about a two-day event that started 17 days ago.

I am so on top of things.^*

The weather couldn't have been better for this event at Ann Morrison Park--more than warm enough, but not the swelter that August can bring. The weather was a double-blessing in that there were HUGE numbers of people that attended, and the B.O. generated under the beer tents was bad enough already--if it'd been hotter, it probably couldn't turned off more than a few appetites. But it was the perfect setting for a really great local experience. (and yes, I assure you, my underage niece only drank Monster energy drinks, pretty sure she was holding one while I snapped that picture of us)

I've read some criticism of the pricing--token system vs. admission price. I had no problem with the tokens, after buying a $5 sample mug the tokens were $1/ea. which could be traded in for roughly 1/3 of a mug (or a can of Oly...shudder)--I bought the smallest package, and couldn't use them all up, and walked away very satisfied with my intake. We gave our extra tokens to my niece who could turn in 3 for a can of Monster. I should note that I didn't have to shell out anything for my mug as I won mine from a radio station (Thanks BOB!), but The Love of my Life and my sister did, and there were similarly pleased with the value.

I was only there for a few hours, and didn't move around a whole lot so I'm not claiming any sort of exhaustive knowledge, but in the time I was there, we only saw 2 people who'd over-indulged. And the Festival volunteers and Police were quick to assist them out of the area.

We could only come up with a few needed improvements: more chairs, more food vendors (I'm sorry, a 45 min. wait after you've paid for French Fries is inexcusable, no matter how big the plate or how nummy nummy they looked), and more space--I've been in mosh pits with more breathing room--both outside the beer tents and within them. A little wiggle room goes a long way.

Let's see, I think I've covered everything in my disorganized ramble...oh, whoops, I forgot the beer! Here's what I sampled (some more than once):

Mac & Jack's African Amber: I'd had this about 3 years ago when I was in Seattle for a weekend, loved it then. Really enjoyed it now--it was hoppier than I recalled, but still yummy. My sister showed up a few hours after we did and they'd run out by that time--apparently we weren't the only ones to enjoy it.
Budweiser American Ale: based on a recommendation of a friend, I'd been tempted to try this one for a while, but really couldn't bring myself to spend money on an Anheuser-Busch product, so this was the perfect chance for me. It wasn't horrible. Pretty fruity. Can't see myself buying another one, but I probably wouldn't turn down a free one.
Perseus Porter Gave this coffee-ish porter a solid B, and will not hesitate to try it again.
Sierra Nevada's Brown Saison: blech.
Arrogant Bastard Ale I wasn't sure what to try after that disappointment, and then TLomL spotted the banner for Stone Brewing. After reaffirming my love and devotion, I hastened to this line for a couple tokens worth of one of my favorites.
Full Sail Imperial Porter This was pretty good, and I've not had great success with Full Sail beers in the past (never picked the right one), but I'll keep an eye out for this one.
Fire Rock Pale Ale From Kona Brewing Co., maker of the only other beer I've talked about on the blog. This was a pleasant surprise, and definately helped me get over my disappointment in their Porter not being available. I think both my sister and wife went back for seconds and maybe thirds (I would've too if I'd had the time).
Georgetown Brewing Company's 9lb. PorterMy notes on this one read simply, "niiiiice". Truly a shame I didn't have time to try other beers by Georgetown, they looked/sounded great. Even a greater shame that they don't bottle their beers yet so I could buy 'em here.

While I was waiting in line for the 9lb., a gentleman in his late 50's/early 60's standing next to me asked if I'd heard of a couple of the other beers from Georgetown and we chatted a bit about how nice the Fest was and how we were both surprised at how many people were there to which he added, "Yup, this makes me think there's hope for Boise yet."

Now, I don't know that I'd go quite that far, but I had a lot of fun and am looking forward to next year's.



^* I really have no idea why it's taken me this long, I sat down to write this 6-7 times before the 10th.

Spider Woman the Motion Comic?

As dead-tree publishing (books, newspapers, magazines, etc.) tries to figure out where they fit into our increasingly digitized media world, it's really no surprise that the comic book industry would experiment as well.

Both the "Big 2" and Indy comic companies have experimented with "Motion Comics"--not quite animated versions of print comics set to musical scores and with voice acting. The motion comes in from taking elements of the original panels and zooming, panning, moving of certain elements of panels, etc.

Up 'til now, motion comics have made from pre-existing comics--Image's Invincible or DC's Watchmen, for example. I enjoyed, but wasn't crazy about the former, and from the samples of the latter I glanced at, I figured I'd have a similar reaction.

This week, Marvel Comics released the first issue/episode of Spider Woman: Agent of S.W.O.R.D. which promises (and may deliver) to be a game-changer. This series was designed to be a motion comic from the get-go. The drawings, script, etc. were intended for the medium, not revised for it (a print edition, which will have some new elements should be released next month).

And the improvement in quality is obvious.

I'm not the biggest fan of Jessica Drew/Spider Woman, nor of the artist, Alex Maleev. The writer, Brian Michael Bendis, is almost never fails tho, and I wanted to see how it worked. I'm glad I did--episode 1 worked so much better than anything others have tried, the voicework was spot-on, the art was compelling, the length (about 10 min.) was long enough to satisfy, but not so long as to bore (can't imagine this format working for longer pieces), and the script was...well, I said Bendis wrote it.

Will this be enough to broaden Marvel's audience? Will other motion comics follow the same scheme? Who knows, but it's worth a shot. And as long as iTunes has it for $.99 (for another week or so), you can't go wrong.

Poor Preparation

One of my daily reads is the blog, The Outfit: A Collective of Chicago Crime Writers. Not only do I get exposed to some things/people I need to be reading, a lot of great advice for the writing I purport to do, and some great commentary on things that too few care about, 5th amendment rights, for example.

Today, Michael Allen Dymmoch, had a great post on education. His punchline is:

It seems to me we’re preparing students to pass tests, but we’re not preparing them to learn or think. We’re not preparing them to live in our complex world.

Why do so few get this? Especially so few who are supposed to be doing the educating? Tolle Lege.

Brushes with Disappointment

Obviously, I've failed my 1 post a day 'til the end of Summer goal, for no good reason. Oh well.

I typically only blog about books/shows/movies that really impress me--or at least aren't complete wastes of time. But I've decided as a public service, to warn my readers away from a few items--all of which are critically acclaimed, I should add, so take my warnings with whatever measure of salt you find appropriate.

First off is Two Lovers, supposedly Joaquin Phoenix's last film. Not the way someone should go out. This was dismal story about a suicidal young man reeling from a broken engagement who falls for a wreck of an inaccessible girl (Gwyneth Paltrow) while being pushed into a relationship by his overbearing, but caring parents. Phoenix's character is a horrible, selfish man who deserves neither of the girls' affections/time. I spent most of the movie wondering if it was morally acceptable to root a suicidal character to succeed in one of his attempts since he's only a fictional character. The indy movie (inexplicably nominated for the Palme d'Or at the Cannes) didn't have the indy ending I expected, but that small surprise was little compensation for this waste of time.

Visioneers is another much-heralded movie that I just don't get the raves for. Set in a distopian near-future where people explode from stress (mostly from not being the happy, productive people that they're supposed to be, I think) . The opening sequence (about 7 minutes is my guess) sets up what could be a great dark satire--what Idiocracy wanted to be, but at least it featured likeable characters. After that, the wheels fall off. This is a movie full of wasted potential--the only attribute of Zach Galifianakis' that was really used to his potential was his bushy beard. On the plus side, the criminally underemployed Judy Greer got some good screen time (where she didn't get to be terribly funny at all, of course)--ditto for James LeGros and Matthew Glave (who, I have to admit, was pretty amusing). I had to wonder if I'd "get" the flick, or at least enjoy it, if I'd been smoking marijuana at the time. But since I have never/would never do that (and I was on duty at a rehab center while watching it), the movie's appeal shall elude me.

Last, and possibly least, let's look at Benjamin Anastas's debut novel, An Underachiever’s Diary (newly republished). The recommendation I read for this called said it "may have been the funniest, most underappreciated book of the 1990s". Really? I remember the 90's having better taste. This is the very colored reminiscences of the lesser of two twins. William is constantly outshone by his brother Clive (despite testing as well as, if not better than) from the cradle onward. Clive's more successful in school, socially, athletically, etc. He's better looking, healthier...better in ever conceivable fashion. William sees this from an early age and determines to keep things that way--to basically excel at not being as good as his brother (or anyone else for that matter). And in that, and in that only, does he find success. There are sentences/paragraphs scattered throughout the novel that almost make it worth the effort, like:

universal LOVE, the failing panacea of my parents' generation: flower children, baby boomers, whatever name you'd like to use. Exactly what had the sexual revolution gained them, after all? Some measure of bodily happiness, a sex instinct unfettered, the herpes virus, the social acceptability of T-shirts and cutoff shorts, but what else? Had they really changed our values and attitudes?

Aside from those momentary displays of authorial talent, there's no profit from spending time with this determinedly miserable character.

Ukraine's Got Talent, Indeed

This just knocked my socks off...

(h/t: Kung Fu Monkey taking a break from a great Leverage season)

Life Moves Pretty Fast - Fixed

sigh...forgot to embed the montage I talked about...oops.

Life moves pretty fast.
You don't stop and look around once in a while,
you could miss it.
- Ferris Bueller

Hardly an original quote to tag a post about the late, great John Hughes, but why be the only guy to ignore perfection?

I've been wanting to say something about the filmmaker who (tho I didn't realize it at the time) captured, crystalized, and yes, defined the experience of the young American in the 1980's. His stamp on American pop culture generally and particularly on so many of the novelists, filmmakers/writers and actors that I admire, will probably only be understood in 20-30 years.

Maybe the greatest thing about Hughes was that he got out of doing what he needed to for all the right reasons. Something far too few have had the courage to do.

This montage is well worth watching--especially if you read this and have no idea who John Hughes is...you'll keep saying "ooooh, that guy" and you'll suddenly care about his death last week.

And if you've ever doubted the effect one filmmaker, one writer can have on an individual not in the entertainment industry, or if you just want to read a fantastic tribute to the man...you've gotta read Alison Byrne Fields' story of her friend.

This is the Kind of Thing Parents Live For

their families must be so proud:

Two Caldwell fugitives were arrested in the county courthouse Tuesday afternoon when they attempted to attend an unrelated court hearing, Caldwell police announced Wednesday.

Maxamillion Chavez Zavala, 19, and Rocky Chavez Hernandez, 21, eluded an early June gang sweep that yielded 15 arrests. They are now in the Canyon County jail on federal charges of conspiracy to recruit gang members, conspiracy to intimidate a witness and conspiracy to unlawfully discharge a firearm

Y'know, you hear these things on Morning Drive Time Radio all the time and chuckle. But when it's in your backyard, you just want to call the School Boards and demand some resignations.

(well, okay, yeah, after you get done laughing)

The Idaho Stop

This is great...for years, I've felt bad for poor California, demonized in the name of the dreaded CRS (California Rolling Stop) as explained in Driver's Ed classes around the country. And this morning, I learn that we in Idaho (state mottoes: "Remember Us?" "No, not Iowa") we have been similarly immortalized in the biking world with "The Idaho Stop."

(h/t: TreasuredValley)

Shocked, Shocked to Hear this About Oregon's Assisted Suicide/Health Care

I'm also still having problems believing that there's gambling at Rick's...

Basically, Oregon's Health Care system won't pay for this lady's chemo, but they'll chip in to help in other ways, like say, Assisted Suicide.

Thought for the Lord's Day - #43

(h/t: Christian Theology)

Excuses for Missing Work

I gotta admit, I thought it was pretty strange to get a newsletter from Monster.com featuring an article called, "Ten Excuses for Missing Work." Odd sort of thing for a employment service to be talking about, I thought, but hey--if it passed muster here, there's probably some gold to mine.

The article starts off sounding like an attempt to echo Ferris Bueller for the mature-set.

We've all been there. It's a beautiful day, and you can't bear the thought of going into work. So you call in with some excuse about feeling ill, but you know in your bones that your boss doesn't buy it.

The feeling ill excuse is a short-term solution that won't win you any fans at the office -- someone else will have to pick up the slack, or you'll miss deadlines. And it won't help your career any. Here are 10 excuses -- five smart and five not-so-smart -- to help you save face and your sanity.

All-righty! Here's something useful, how to take a random day off, with little-to-no fall out from the boss!! Now, go on and read the thing and then come back to finish this (otherwise, it'll just make no sense)

Sadly, the payoff in the article doesn't match up with the promise. The five not-so-smart excuses are just lame, and yeah, I can people trying them (or things similar), prima facie they're beyond not-so-smart. "I can't find my polling place?" Even if that wasn't the equivalent of asking Bill Engvall for his trademark sign, that'd only work 1 or 2 days a year (and rarely, if ever, on a "beautiful day").

But I can't see where most of the "Smart Excuses" fulfill the promise of cashing in on a beautiful day. Maybe, maybe if you're in sales/client relations (and can find an accomplice in your client's office at the last second), you can get away with the "Golf with a Client" thing on the spur of the moment. Three of the other "Smart Excuses" aren't really excuses at all--they're the result of pre-planning, and involve work and/or something potentially as unpleasant. How does this deliver on the promise of the lead-in?

Which leaves us with one option for a Smart Excuse, "I Have Cramps"--which only works for women (and probably only so often--especially if there's an equally devious female supervisor involved).

So essentially, the lesson that Monster.com teaches us to "save face and our sanity" is do the job you're hired to do and schedule permitted time off. Yeah, okay, that makes sense for them to promote :)

Living with the Top of Our Son's Head

This is pretty much all we've seen over the last week of Frodo. It's mostly encouraging, but a little strange at the same time.

Frodo, like his siblings, reads more than your average kid--he really has no choice in this household, like I've intended it all along (TLomL has intended it, too...probably not as intensely as me).^* I should add that it's not all by coercion, he actually enjoys reading. Granted, he's not at the level I was at his age, but that's probably a good thing. He might actually have a social life in a couple of years.

Things changed a week ago, though. After repeated suggestions from his parents over the last few months, he pulled down Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone from the shelf and dove in. I'm not going to be one of the roughly 97 bazillion people to use the line about Rowling casting a spell on him, but...she basically did that. He's been plowing through them at a rate he's never hit before--seven days after he started Sorcerer's Stone, he started in on Half-Blood Prince. Samwise has been following his lead, but not at the same rate.

What's more, he's devoted hours to this project--he's ignored opportunities to play outside, to play video games (not every opportunity, mind you), to do basically everything he normally does so that he can sit with a Potter novel open in front of him.

I do realize that parents all over the world have experience this phenomenon. It's just great to see this in action. Never would've figured the top of his head would be such a great thing to look at (cowlick and all).


^* Can I legally call that a sentence? Someone grab a Defibrillator for my inner-editor...

Thought for the Lord's Day - #42

God delights in our temptations, and yet hates them; he delights in them when they drive us to prayer; he hates them when they drive us to despair. The Psalm says: "An humble and contrite heart is an acceptable sacrifice to God," etc. Therefore, when it goes well with you, sing and praise God with a hymn: goes it evil, that is, does temptation come, then pray: "For the Lord has pleasure in those that fear him;" and that which follows is better: "and in them that hope in his goodness," for God helps the lowly and humble, seeing he says: "Thinkest thou my hand is shortened that I cannot help?" He that feels himself weak in faith, let him always have a desire to be strong therein, for that is a nourishment which God relishes in us.

- Martin Luther

Couple of Unrelated News Items

The triple-digit/near-triple-digit weather we're enjoying experiencing seems to have tapped my ability to compose anything original, so yet again, I'll only be re-blogging (the forerunner of re-tweeting) what others have done.

The first story that prompted me to open a tab for blogger.com was one about The Church of England. Now frankly, I don't know anymore why I'm even vaguely surprised at anything the CofE does any more, but it happens sometimes.

The Church of England unveils a two-in-one wedding and baptism liturgy today as it seeks to make peace with families "living in sin."

The "hatch-and-match" service allows couples to baptise their children after the wedding ceremony. Parents can even get baptised themselves.

The aim is to encourage cohabiting parents to marry as the Church tries to become more relevant...

At the end of the day, I should just be encouraged that they're promoting marriage, but come on...

(via Christian Theology).

The second is a little more light-hearted, but still in the "what fools these mortals be" vein, according to the Omaha World-Herald:

A national vegan advocacy organization Wednesday filed a class-action lawsuit in New Jersey Superior Court against five hot dog manufacturers, including ConAgra Foods Inc., asking that they be ordered to attach warning labels to their packaging.

The Cancer Project [one blogger described them as: "a non-profit dedicated to cancer prevention, nutrition education, research, and buzzkills"], based in Washington, D.C., said in the lawsuit that a study by the American Institute for Cancer Research showed that the daily consumption of hot dogs and other processed meats can increase the risk of developing colorectal cancer by as much as 21 percent.

Other manufacturers named in the suit, filed on behalf of three New Jersey residents, are Nathan’s Famous, Kraft Foods/Oscar Mayer, Sara Lee and Marathon Enterprises.

The Cancer Project wants packages of hot dogs to carry the following words: "Warning: Consuming hot dogs and other processed meats increases the risk of cancer."

The Omaha paper contacted local company, ConAgra, about the suit. The company directed them to the president of the National Hot Dog and Sausage Council (yes, there is such a thing), Janet Riley, "who calls herself the 'Queen of Wien.'" Anyone calling herself something like that should automatically win any and all arguments with tight-shoed Health Nazi groups. The World-Herald continues:

"Just as tobacco causes lung cancer, processed meats are linked to colon cancer," Dr. Neal Barnard, president of the Cancer Project, said in a press release. Riley said comparing hot dogs to cigarettes was "absurd."

"Other than pleasure, (cigarettes) offer no benefit to your health," she said. "I am the mother of two kids, and if I had any safety concerns, I would not be feeding (hot dogs) to my children."

Frankly, doesn't matter if they put those warning labels on the hot dogs (unless the government takes over health care, in which case they'll likely be banned), Denis Leary's rant about warnings on cigarette packs comes to mind:

There's a guy- I don't know if you've heard about this guy, he's been on the news a lot lately. There's a guy- he's English, I don't think we should hold that against him, but apparently this is just his life's dream because he is going from country to country. He has a senate hearing in this country coming up in a couple of weeks. And this is what he wants to do. He wants to make the warnings on the packs bigger. Yeah! He wants the whole front of the pack to be the warning. Like the problem is we just haven't noticed yet. Right? Like he's going to get his way and all of the sudden smokers around the world are going to be going, "Yeah, Bill, I've got some cigarettes.. H--- S---! These things are bad for you! S---, I thought they were good for you! I thought they had Vitamin C in them and stuff!" You f------ dolt! Doesn't matter how big the warnings are. You could have cigarettes that were called the warnings. You could have cigarrets that come in a black pack, with a skull and a cross bone on the front, called 'Tumors' and smokers would be lined up around the block going, "I can't wait to get my hands on these f------ things! I bet you get a tumor as soon as you light up! Numm Numm Numm Numm Numm

(h/t: The Hardball Times).

Apollo 11 Anniversary

update: this post has been linked by the super-dooper area blog, Treasured Valley! Running with the big dogs now... Thanks, Mr. Oates!

I really feel like I should/should have posted something about the 40 year anniversary of Apollo 11's moon-landing, but frankly, I can't think of anything to say that hasn't been said better by others.

So instead, I'll throw up a link to Wired's 10 Reasons Why The Apollo 11 Moon Landing Was Awesome, which is a little tongue-in-cheek, a little serious, and all worth the short amount of time to read.

It starts with:

We made the Russians look like chumps

We won the Space Race by putting a man on the moon. Sure, the Russians were there first having bounced their Luna 2 spacecraft off the moon 10 years earlier, but we left our footprints there. The Cold War may have lasted another 15 years or so after that, but it gave us the confidence to make movies like "Red Dawn." It also showed the world what could be achieved by democracy over communism.

Pretty much official now

• Prince reportedly needs hip replacement surgery
• Michael Jackson is dead
• One of the Beastie Boys has cancer.

Wow.

For those of you (us) unwilling to admit it, the 80's are over.

I feel so old.

Thought for the Lord's Day - #41

No man can estimate the great charge God is at only in maintaining birds and such creatures, comparatively nothing worth. I am persuaded that it costs him, yearly, more to maintain only the sparrows, than the revenue of the French king amounts to. What then, shall we say of all the rest of his creatures?

- Martin Luther

Classy Move by Scentsy

according to The Idaho Statesman (so it's likely true):

Scentsy, which makes and sells fragrant, wick-free candles, is celebrating its fifth anniversary with a novel gift to its workers and suppliers - and to fellow Treasure Valley businesses.

On Saturday, Scentsy said, nearly 1,000 employees, suppliers and their family members will fan out across the Valley, buying $2,500 in goods from each of 40 locally owned retailers, restaurants and other businesses.

The businesses were selected based on nominations by Scentsy employees. The Scentsy participants will visit the businesses in groups of 50. Each participant will spend $50 at each of two businesses - and keep the goods.

Giving to the employees and to the area...couldn't really ask for more. Knowing Scentsy's that kind of company makes it a little easier to tolerate the strange-looking green ceramic doohickey on our mantle.

Szasz on Universal Health Care

Thomas Szasz, who should be required reading for everybody on Pschology, has some wise words on the idea of Universal Health Care. Go check out his WSJ Opinion piece "Universal Health Care Isn't Worth Our Freedom". He begins with:

People who seek the services of auto mechanics want car repair, not "auto care." Similarly, most people who seek the services of medical doctors want body repair, not "health care."

We own our cars, are responsible for the cost of maintaining them, and decide what needs fixing based partly on balancing the seriousness of the problem against the expense of repairing it. Our health-care system rests on the principle that, although we own our bodies, the community or state ought to be responsible for paying the cost of repairing them. This is for the ostensibly noble purpose of redistributing the potentially ruinous expense of the medical care of unfortunate individuals.

But here is the crux of his point (but leaving some of the details for you to read in the original)

The idea that every life is infinitely precious and therefore everyone deserves the same kind of optimal medical care is a fine religious sentiment and moral ideal. As political and economic policy, it is vainglorious delusion. . . .

Our national conversation about curbing the cost of health care is crippled by the vocabulary in which we conduct it. We must stop talking about "health care" as if it were some kind of collective public service, like fire protection, provided equally to everyone who needs it. No government can provide the same high quality body repair services to everyone. Not all doctors are equally good physicians, and not all sick persons are equally good patients.

Note from the Parenting Front

One of the privileges we get as parents is to watch our kids grow up, to transform out of the little helpless and self-centered balls of flesh that only care about eating, sleeping, and filling diapers into odd little rug rats and then into (if God is gracious) proto-adults who might actually be worth the time and effort we parents extended, and beyond (haven't gotten to the next stage yet with mine, so I can't cynically describe it).

Samwise isn't quite at the last stage I described yet, but he's getting closer. The last couple of weeks have brought some medical issues into our conversations--one involving my sister (she's fine, but it was a long and complicated road to find out there's nothing wrong with her...medically, anyway) and another involving something happening at TLoML's workplace. While not trying to suggest that his siblings didn't care, Sam always appeared more thoughtful (usually with a shade of troubled) and asked follow-up questions. The others took what I told them at face value, and got on with life. Sam thought about it, and then asked questions that displayed a care for the well-being/health/safety of the person, the nature of the issue (esp. as it would affect others). At least twice, he asked something I hadn't thought about and caught me off-guard. Watching his mind work like this makes me nothing be proud.

I should note, of course, that minutes (if not seconds) after these episodes, he was back acting like a capuchin throwing back triple espressos.

The Invisibles

In the 70's and 80's a team of cat burglars had a very successful run in England, the police never captured them--never even identified them, as if they were invisible. Eventually, two of the team retired to the Spanish Mediterranean with their families. Now near 60, they've returned to England and moved into a senior living facility, to deal with aging, an empty nest, and boredom.

Of course, that just won't do--particularly when it turns out that the owner of the local pub is the son of their late partner, who's spent his lifetime idolizing them and dreaming of replacing his father on the team. It doesn't take long at all before the trio are back in action, committing the perfect crimes with a skill that this generation doesn't display.

It's a lighthearted drama, emphasizing character and personality over action and suspense. To be perfectly honest, the story moved slowly enough that in 2 or 3 of the six episodes in the first series' DVD set my attention waned (a lot), but perseverance paid off in the end. All around, a fun series with a lot of heart.

The cast, honestly, was what drew me to the series: Mina Anwar, who was so much fun on The Thin Blue Line; Dean Lennox Kelly, Doctor Who's rock-star Shakespeare and Puck from the BBC's Shakespeare ReTold (also starring Anwar, incidentally); and Anthony Head, Merlin's Uther Pendragon, Doctor Who's creepy alien posing as a headmaster, the RepoMan in the nightmare that was Repo! The Genetic Opera, and some US show about a teenage girl who killed vampires (the name escapes me). The Invisibles was a good, but not great, showcase for each.

The Invisibles was released here on DVD in May, two months after the BBC confirmed it wouldn't be getting a second series/season. So enjoy, but don't get attached :)

Oh, I Get By...

anyone out there want to help me set up a small network with a router of questionable trustworthiness?

On Open Letter on the Occasion of Reading Invincible #63

What a gut-punch of an issue!

I have a few things to say about/to Robert Kirkman, but none of them are printable. Anyway, my Gram always told me to say nothing if I can't say anything nice. So, in honor of Gram, here's my open letter.

Dear Mr. Kirkman,








































Sincerely,
H. C. Newton

Who Needs Van Til When You've Got Woolery?

^*





There's the occasional news bit I run across that's so out there it's hard to find a way to comment on it that's more humorous than the original story. But I'll try.

According to the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation:

A new game show on Turkish television will pit a Greek Orthodox priest, a rabbi, an imam and a Buddhist monk against one another in attempt to convert atheists to their respective religions.

In each episode of Penitents Compete, to be broadcast by Turkey's Kanal T television station in September, the four faith guides will try to persuade 10 atheists of the merits and truth of their creeds.

Yeah, okay, I got nothing...I mean, come on, Reality! There are struggling amateur humorists out here looking for material--How do I top this?^**

The article goes on to say:

The show's producers say there is a good chance none of the atheists will be converted, Turkey's Hurriyet Daily News and Economic Review reports.

Uhhh, ya think?

But what's a game show without prizes?

But those who [do really convert] will be sent on a pilgrimage. New Muslims will head to Mecca, Buddhists to Tibet and Jews and Christians to Jerusalem – with television cameras following them.

"They can't see this trip as a getaway but as a religious experience," Ahmet Ozdemir, Kanal T's deputy director, told Hurriyet.

And they'll have none of that "denying your faith to pretend atheism just to get a free trip" nonsense, thank you very much.

only true non-believers need apply. An eight-member team of theologians will vet contestants to ensure they really are atheists before deciding who will participate in the show.

I keep seeing this as some sort of jury-selection kind of process, instead of voir dire maybe they call it voir Deus? Featuring such questions as "Have you now, or have you ever been a member of the Catholic Church?" or questions guaranteed to trip up potential contestants, "When's the last potluck you attended?" being a sure-fire way to discover fibbing Baptists.

The show isn't without its critics (no, really?)

Some say it will be good for interfaith relations. But Hamza Aktan, chairman of Turkey's High Board of Religious Affairs, told the state news agency, Anatolian, that "doing something like this for the sake of ratings is disrespectful to all religions. Religion should not be a subject for entertainment programs."

Aktan failed to mention that religion cannot be a subject for programs with real entertainment value, as Mel Gibson, the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association and TBN have taught us repeatedly.



^* Proof I need to get Micah to do all my graphics work.
^** I almost called this the biggest set-back to serious apologetics since the publication of the first Lee Strobel book, but I decided that was too mean-spirited.

Quote of the Day

a little wisdom to meditate on today, from a Quote of the Day widget somewhere:

Life... is like a grapefruit. It's orange and squishy, and has a few pips in it, and some folks have half a one for breakfast.

- Douglas Adams

Celebrate the 4th with a lil' Constitutional Satire

for those who think contemporary Liberals and Conservatives don't agree on anything, this quick video shows they do approach the Bill of Rights similarly:

Summer Movies

Is it a sign of maturity or just the quality of the summer blockbuster that the only three movies I'm really wanting to check out in this season of explosions, events, FX and sequels are:

and this one I can't embed.

Derelict in Duties

No real post yet today...mayyybe later. There are a handful of reasons:

1. Played a couple of games of Checkers with the Princess in lieu of teaching her how to play chess.
2. I've been really fuzzy-headed and my concept of time today rarely matched reality.
3. 
   This is just one of the most endearing novels I've read in months, and despite not being far into it, just wanted to talk about it.
4. 
   and I've spent far too much time preparing responses to several of these wrong people, only to delete them, walk away with disgust, come back and rewrite a response, delete again, walk away again and then ultimately return to post something. Utter waste of time regardless. Would've been a much better use of time to write something pointless here. Sorry!

Don't Stop Believin'

Dont stop believing - Journey

Stumbled upon this profile from the Los Angeles Times that's been reprinted on more than a few websites today, by Chris Willman, about (of all things), the Journey classic, "Don't Stop Believin'." Willman begins:

There's an old pop aphorism that goes: "Don't bore us -- get to the chorus." By that yardstick, Journey's "Don't Stop Believin' " should be one of the most boring and unsuccessful rock recordings of all time.

Structurally, it's a mess: Surely one would get tossed out of songwriting school for a tune that follows its opening piano riff with a verse, a guitar arpeggio, a second verse, a bridge, a guitar solo, a third verse, a repeat of the bridge, another guitar solo . . . and then, 3 minutes, 20 seconds in, when the song is ready to fade out, one of the most unforgettable choruses in rock.

Despite this, the song has incredible staying power, and is nearly ubiquitous--it shows up on movie/TV soundtracks of all flavors; in sports arenas; karaoke bars; Broadway; many, many youtube covers...

"There is an odd form to the song as well, because it's almost like an A-B-A-B-C pattern," [Jonathan Cain, Journey keyboardist/song co-writer] says, perhaps understating the true nuttiness of the song's structure. "So there's that chorus they hadn't heard before at the end. But we knew we wanted to save it. It's like a wave about to happen -- the anticipation of something happening, a change in your life," Cain said

That sense of tension and eventual anthemic release may have given the song more staying power than a song that gives away all its goods in the first minute.

"Don't Stop Believin' " has become the top-selling digital download of a track not originally released in this century, selling 2,803,000 units since online single sales began to be tracked in 2003, according to Nielsen SoundScan.

2 million downloads...that ain't chump change. The whole story is pretty interesting--oh, but I should've warned you at the beginning of this post, once you start reading about the song, you won't get it out of your head all day. (which is why I didn't warn you, honestly...why should I be the only one?)

The Sandman's 500th (and his 1st)

Mo is not only the most feared closer in baseball, he's the most feared hitter in baseball, walking 33% of the time. Not since Babe Ruth have the Yankees been blessed with a player that dominates as both a pitcher and hitter. (from Respect Jeter's Gangster)

The expression on Jeter's face when K-Rod pitched to him at the beginning of his at-bat (2 on, 2 out, with Mariano Rivera waiting for his 3^rd career at-bat) was enough to make any Yankee fan laugh, but the laughter turned to gleeful hysterics he (eventually) was intentionally walked to bring up Mo for a quick third out. Why? 'Cuz one of the most feared closers working today enabled Mariano to work him to a full-count and then drew a walk, adding an insurance run to the Yankee totals, and giving Mo yet another statistic: 1 RBI (or, as Big League Stew noted, 2,296 behind Aaron). Not to overload this post with quotes, but...I laughed out loud (only funny because it's tuh-rue) at Craig Calcaterra's comment:

Francisco Rodriguez gave it up, which in some cosmic way illustrates the vast gulf between those two pitchers in my mind. How do you walk Mariano Rivera? Nerves is all I can think, and you can bet your ass that if the situation was reversed, Rivera would never have walked Rodriguez, because Rivera's body temperature runs at a constant 57 degrees.

Rivera (the other #42) then went on to do what he does best: sending batters to bed, earning his 500th save in the process.

His reaction? After hugging every teammate and coach, he had to go speak to the press. He was nothing but class, of course. "I don't play for the records, I play for the Yankees."

He's simply the best.

Monday Movie Wrap-Up

One of the things that was bugging me about this blog just before that breather, was the number of TV shows/movies/books I was talking about/reviewing (not that many of these are real reviews, just blurbs) about. But it's something to talk about, and I've been told they're occasionally helpful. So I'm going to restrict myself to a weekly (maybe bi-weekly) post about some of the movies I've watched over the past week--unless there's something mind-blowingly great or so freakishly horrific that I think warrants it's own post. I do not promise that these are exhaustive lists of what I've watched, for those keeping score at home, there's one movie I watched last week that I'm reticent to admit I've seen in public.^*

First up is Kenny, a tremendously funny, very endearing film about a portaloo^** plumber. Kenny's one of seemingly ever-increasing number of mockumentaries. It's so well made, however, I kept forgetting that it wasn't a documentary about a very real person. Kenny is an everyman of sorts, fairly content with his lot in life, who has a certain pride in his work--which is unfathomable to just about everyone he comes into contact with--clients and family, particularly the latter. Whether addressing the camera or those he interacts with, Kenny comes across as a genuinely nice guy with a decent dose of common sense and a very quick wit.

The comedy kicks into high-gear when his employer (Splashdown) sends him to the International Pumper and Cleaner Expo in Nashville, TN (Kenny refers to it as "Poo HQ"). Kenny just wanders around and riffs on the exhibits and products. But there is a real story here, it's not just a collection of toilet humor (pun intended), and one with a lot of heart.

Grade: B+/A-

The Life of David Gale wasn't as bad as I thought it would be, and while it wasn't shy about it's anti-capital punishment agenda, there was enough of a plot that you could ignore it. Not a fantastic plot, but a decent one. Here's the set-up, reporter Kate Winslet is assigned to interview David Gale (Kevin Spacey), a former professor/anti-capital punishment activist, in the days before he's executed by the state of Texas for a rape/murder. Gale claims to have been framed, of course, and Winslet soon finds herself in a race to find the framer(s) before he's executed.

It's a decent movie, with a can see it coming a mile-away "shocker" ending. Not the best work I've seen from Spacey, Laura Linney, or Winselt--it's probable that it's the best I've seen from Rhona Mitra, who was able to hide her accent capably. A good way to kill a couple of hours, but little more.

I toss this out for those who've seen it: Roger Ebert said in his review, "I am sure the filmmakers believe their film is against the death penalty. I believe it supports it and hopes to discredit the opponents of the penalty as unprincipled fraudsters." Which made me happy to see I wasn't alone in thinking this. What did you think?

Grade: C

I only sat through 1408 because it was on at work, and I had little choice. Not a horrible horror flick, and Cusak owns the screen throughout as a skeptical writer who's out to debunk a myth about a haunted room. Really not sure why he agreed to this (other than to help fund some of his smaller, worthy, projects). Not terribly bad for a horror flick--overly gross, a few legitmate thrills, and the plot does move in a few unexpected ways. Samuel L. Jackson is capable the few moments he's on screen, and the movie does answer the question I'm sure someone has long been asking, "How would Mary McCormack look with brown hair?"


Grade: B- (a lesser actor than Cusak would've earned it a C- at best)

Lastly, we have Inkheart, based on what I'm told is a really good novel about a man who's able to bring characters/things from books to life just by reading aloud. Fraser (the reader in question) has to use his ability to save his family (and the world) from some escaped fictional villains.

It was a fast-paced movie that tried really hard to be great. The book's obvious love of words, novels, and the realm of the imagination are on fully display for every viewer (which is just a little like "a free ride when you've already paid"). This is one you can sit down and watch with the kids (and you'd probably be better off doing so than watching alone).

There are a few beefs: the villains are mostly too cartoonish and bumbly to take as a credible threat, the plot meanders a bit, and Fraser's the only guy without an accent (making him stick out like Costner in Sherwood Forest).

The movie makes a couple of significant departures from the book. One I could spot from reading the back of the novel's sequel, another I was told about (a significant supporting character from classic lit is replaced with another significant supporting character). Both are very understandable and forgivable if you think about this as a single movie with budget restrictions, not the beginning of a franchise.

Grade: B

^* it was PG-13, so spare me the obvious jokes. Unless they're really funny.
^** translated into American: port-a-potty

Thought for the Lord's Day - #40

The greater God's gifts and works, the less are they regarded. The highest and most precious treasure we receive of God is, that we can speak, hear, see, etc.; but how few acknowledge these as God's special gifts, much less give God thanks for them. The world highly esteems riches, honor, power, and other things of less value, which soon vanish away, but a blind man, if in his right wits, would willingly exchange all these for sight. The reason why the corporal gifts of God are so much undervalued is, that they are so common, that God bestows them also upon brute beasts, which as well as we, and better, hear and see. Nay, when Christ made the blind to see, drove out devils, raised the dead, etc., he was upbraided by the ungodly hypocrites, who gave themselves out for God's people, and was told that he was a Samaritan, and had a devil. Ah! the world is the devil's, whether it goes or stands still; how, then, can men acknowledge God's gifts and benefits? It is with us as with young children, who regard not so much their daily bread, as an apple, a pear, or other toys. Look at the cattle going into the fields to pasture, and behold in them our preachers, our milk-bearers, butter-bearers, cheese and wool bearers, which daily preach unto us faith in God, and that we should trust in him, as in our loving Father, who cares for us, and will maintain and nourish us.

- Martin Luther

Would You Like to Play a Game?

I could really use some recommendations for some computer games to play while I'm at work, Free Cell and Spider Solitaire can chew up the time just fine, but I could use a little variety, but when I go looking at game sites, I'm just not seeing anything that grabs my attention.

I'm not looking for something very involved (like say, World of Warcraft), I'm not looking to invest hours into something complex. Just a little distraction. Nothing web-based, either, I need something for those times I can't connect to the Internet.

Any ideas?

Behind Already!

So much for a post a day, eh? Will try to do two today to make up the debt to my Blog Karma.

I did add a few links to the blogrolls on the right on Friday, so it wasn't like I did nothing to this place between errands and dental work.

Have a pleasant weekend, ya'll.

A Sign of Life (no promises regarding the intelligence thereof)

Clearly, it's been awhile since I've done anything around here, and the layer of dust on my Blogger account is thick enough to choke a marmoset.^* Initially, it wasn't a planned silence or anything, just something that happened. Then it steamrolled into a cessation of microblogging (and other activity) on Facebook and other InterWeb haunts.

Much to the consternation of at least a few loyal readers/friends/non-donors. I do appreciate those who've written/IMed/nagged about my silence, sorry, folks...am back.

A few days ago, I figured a month off was a good, round timespan, and I'd get back into action today. When I made that call, I hadn't really taken into consideration the fact that I had a wisdom tooth extraction scheduled for the 24^th, and am in no mood whatsoever to write anything today (and I did have something in mind). Oops...best laid plans of Mus musculus and Homo sapiens and all that...

I do have most of a plan in place to get at least a post up a day until at least Aug. 26^th (that date will become clear, D.V., the day before), which should take care of the general malaise I seem to have developed towards this little project. We'll see how that goes.

Thanks for reading :)


^* not that I've tried, mind you--PETA, call off your lawyers.

Hey, you sass that hoopy Douglas Adams? There's a frood who really knows where his towel is.

I may not have gone where I intended to go,
but I think I have ended up where I needed to be.
- Douglas Adams

Douglas Adams
(1952 - 2001)

What's Towel Day? Wired has a handy article.



(thanks to Travis Avery for the banner)

Some People Just Shouldn't Use Certain Phrases

(And no, I'm not talking about "unwholesome words")

I just read Darryl G. Hart, Orthodox Presbyterian extraordinaire, use the phrase "Man Crush" in respect to Leon Kass*.

I have to go wash my brain out now.


* from what little exposure I've had to the man (mostly from Ken Myers), he does seem deserving of the affection.

An Open Note to:

(tried to get all this in the subject line, but apparently there's a character limit)

An Open Note to: NBC, Subway, Alan Sepinwall, Mo Ryan, Give Me My Remote, Daniel Fienberg, Chuck TV, and Save Chuck

Thank you. Thank you very much. From the bottom of my deeply shallow, quality-entertainment-loving heart, thank you.

I'll be there in March, buying as many foot-longs as I can.

A Little Political Satire to Get Your Week Started

by Victor Davis Hanson at NRO:

The first 100 days of the Palin presidency, according to a consensus of media commentators, have proven a near disaster. Perhaps it was Palin’s scant two years’ experience in a major government position that has eroded her gravitas, or maybe it was her flirty reliance on looks and informal chit-chat. In any case, the press has had a field day, and it is hard to see how President Palin can ever recover from the Quayle/potatoe syndrome. Here is a roundup of this week’s pundit mockery.

LET THEM EAT MOOSE
"Ted Stevens may have gotten off," wrote Bob Herbert in the New York Times, "but he taught our Sarah something first — like using $100-a-pound beef for her state dinners. And what's this $50 mil for her inauguration gala? Since when do you fly in your favorite pizza-maker from across the country on our dime? Or send the presidential 747 for a spin over the Big Apple for a third-of-a-million-dollar joyride? Does Palin think she’s still in Alaska and has to have everything flown in from the South 48 by jumbo jet?"

read it all

(and no, I didn't get chained to my keyboard this weekend, just the opposite)

What's On My Mind at the Moment

Nothing major here, just thought I'd share a bit...

On this fine Sunday evening, I find myself mediating on the manifold gifts our great God blesses us with, from:

• The Awe-Inspiring (for example, saving grace)

• The Oft-Overlooked (for example, opposable thumbs)


• to The Sublime (for example, Samuel Smith's Oatmeal Stout)

Choking

I was asked yesterday if I remembered I had a blog. Hadn't realized exactly how long it had been since I posted anything, sorry 'bout that, faithful readers (all 3 of you).

I have more than one post in mind, but haven't been able to get 'em out, I guess. It's not that I'm claiming writer's block (I tend to agree with Robert B. Parker, there's no such thing), but I do think I'm over-thinking my writing lately.

I remember a couple years ago, A-Rod was having a rough season and pundits, analysts and guys who watch too much ESPN were talking about him trying too hard. You could see him gripping the bat too tightly, for example--which only helped to throw his mechanics off.

I find myself doing similar things lately (obviously I don't squeeze the bat too tightly, but maybe, just maybe I hit the keys too hard), I've got a couple of short pieces I need to have written weeks ago--and in a sense, I've written them, I know exactly what I want to say, but I can't get them on paper. I re-write phrases as I type--I can't even get full sentences out. And 'til I get them out, I'm having a hard time getting anything written (even my Facebook statuses are fewer and farther between than normal--I think duller, too, but other can be the judge of that).

I'm going to try to chain myself to my keyboard this weekend and pull those two pieces out, which will hopefully break the log jam (and relieve the great burden of guilt I'm carrying over not getting them done)--so hopefully by the Monday or so, there'll be a steady flow of posts again.

To sum up: keep checking, I haven't forgotten about this place.

To paraphrase the 16th president, I'm sorry this is post is so long. I did not have the time to write a short one.

For Our Mom

From Frodo, Samwise, the Princess, and Arnold

Just had to Share this One

This is one of those, I have to write down so I'll remember it in the years to come.

Arnold and his sister went camping and fishing with my parents this last weekend--because of the rain, "camping" is loosely defined as sleeping in sleeping bags on the living room floor. Which explains all the grass underneath Arnold's feet in this picture.

Of course, since they were camping, they had a cookout or two, and roasted marshmallows. Towards the end of the roasting, Arnold declares that he's making one for his dad, which probably elicited it's share of chuckles, and they tried to move on. But he's got this way about him that makes his parents do things they normally wouldn't do--making Grammy very susceptible to his whims. So, she wraps it in a piece of wax paper and plastic wrap.

And he kept it.

Sunday when he came home (after the excitement of meeting Wonder Mutt had died down), I was given this clump of plastic wrap around something. I could tell he thought he was being thoughtful and generous when he presented it to me, so I thanked him and hoped he'd explain.

No such luck--apparently the nature of the clump should've been obvious, so I thanked him, and he glowed. Thankfully, Grammy was still around to explain what I'd been given.

How thoughtful is that, really? Only time anyone's ever bothered to make me a roasted marshmallow and then keep it for a day.

Incidentally, it tasted great, still had some of that fresh off the stick smokey taste to it, too. :)

Is it Time for a Cast Change?

I've been thinking this for awhile, but while watching "The Beaver in the Otter," last week's episode of Bones, I've gotta say it. It's time for another casting change.

They've made some minor tweaks in the past--swtiching from Dr. Goodman to Cam, losing Zack, adding Sweets, and so on. But the one I'm proposing is a bit more drastic...

It's time to lose Dr. Brennan.

She's dull. She's boring. The "I don't get how non-genius types think" schtick is tired and worn. Time for her to either wise up to the rest of the world or move on.

This show would be so much more entertaining if it was just Booth and the rest of the Squints. Booth, Cam, Angela, Hodgins, Sweets and the Intern of the Week could fight crime on their own just fine without the lack-of-social skills Brennan (how can anyone be a best selling mystery author while knowing so little about how people act/live/think?).

Latest Member of our Pack

Meet Wonder Mutt (not her real name, but I figured everyone else has a blogname, she should, too. Which reminds me, I really need to watch Summer School again.)

I'd fully intended on writing more here, but the morning's getting away from me, and we still have to take our W-A-L-K (you gotta spell it out or she gets all excited).

Our Government at Work

from The Idaho Statesman:

The political rhetoric surrounding college football's Bowl Championship Series intensifies Friday in Washington, D.C. - and Boise State athletic director Gene Bleymaier will be part of the show.

Bleymaier is one of four college football officials scheduled to testify in front of a House of Representatives subcommittee in a hearing designed to push the sport closer to a playoff system. The idea has the support of President Barack Obama, which has stoked the interest of Congress again. The BCS was a hot topic there in 2005, too.

Congress is attacking two central issues - the lack of a "true" national champion and the imbalanced distribution of revenue, which favors the more powerful conferences.

"We are trying to create enough public pressure to cause them to switch voluntarily to a playoff system," Rep. Joe Barton, R-Texas, said, according to ESPN.com. "I have not yet pushed the bill. I emphasize the word 'yet.' If our friends at the BCS sit on their hands and yawn, this legislation could end up on the president's desk for his signature."

In other words, if they don't "voluntarily" do what we want, we'll make 'em!

Aside from that bald threat, what we have here in these days of a collapsing economy, our troops engaged in wars, threats to health (overstated or not) & security, a vacancy on the High Court, a reserve bank that screams to be audited, among so many other things, we have the government sticking it's nose into college sports.

This subcommittee would make a great list of Congresspeople to be recalled/impeached. It's past time we wake up and do something about these people.

Cuz I Needed Another Site to Obsess Over

I'm already spending almost as much time reading cooking/recipe sites/blogs as I do National League baseball (sorry, I'm an AL guy, what can I say?) and writing sites, and now, the beloved FoodNetwork has launched another, very helpful looking, site: Food2.com.

Full of flashy stuff, and helpful videos/tips. Check it out.





(I should also add they're giving goodies away today to random people who give 'em a shout-out on their blogs...)