Random Access

You have to wonder what the rest of the day will be like when you wake up, go to the Campbell’s Condensed Soup News (USAToday) website and see the following item in the “Offbeat News” column:

Libation taxation without representation
SALT LAKE CITY – Call it the Great Salt Lake Beer Party. Saying he was a prime target of the beer tax bill that mostly Mormon state lawmakers passed last month, brewer Greg Schirf says he will assert his free-speech rights by pouring the first kegs of his new 1st Amendment Lager into Great Salt Lake. On Thursday, Schirf says he’ll dress up as founding father and notorious tippler Ben Franklin, and, in an updated version of the Boston Tea Party, protest taxation without representation. With the tax now $12.80 a barrel, Utah suds are among the most expensive in the nation. That’s fine with Waddoups, who said Friday his main reason for the tax hike proposal was to continue funding the state’s anti-drunken driving measures.

Wednesday
Another windy/dusty day in the valley. And cold. Something in the neighborhood of 15 degrees colder than yesterday.

Song of the Day
No More Words by Berlin

Stray Toasters

• When I went to lunch today, I saw something that I’ve seen many times before but never really gave much thought: The “graffiti” that people leave on hot air hand dryers. On most of the ones that I’ve seen, they have the following instructions:
  1. Push Button.
  2. Gently rub hands under warm air.
  3. Stops automatically.

  And, this is how they usually wind up:

  1. Push button.
  2. Gently rub hands under warm air.
  3. Stops automatically.

  Women don’t engage in this puerile a level of behavior, do they? Please restore my faith in at least half of the species…

• It seems that the old adage: “March winds, April showers bring forth May flowers” was not written with Utah in mind. Because these damned April winds are blowing as if Thor himself was standing atop a nearby mountaintop.
• While watching Voyager tonight, I was reminded of something that I’ve wondered about the bridge crews: When a member of the crew leaves his or her post to go on an away mission (even a “sudden” one), there’s always someone there… just hanging around, it seems… ready to take up the about-to-be-vacated post. “Ensign Johnson, your assignment on this ship will be to fill in for crew member X whenever we need him/her for an away mission. Otherwise, you are simply to stand in an out-of-the-way corner and be quiet.” What kind of assignment is that?!
• “Reality television.” I’ve asserted my opinion of it on more than one occasion. For those who may have missed it: I don’t care for it. It seems that there’s about to be a new twist on the genre. This gem comes from Comic Book Resources:
  

  WHO WANTS TO BE A SUPERHERO?

  According to The Hollywood Reporter, the WB Network has ordered up six episodes of Stan Lee’s and reality-show maven Bruce Nash’s new superhero contest “Who Wants To Be A Superhero?”

  The show, would run in the vein of “American Idol,” but instead offer contestants a chance to create a superhero persona.

  “The tone of the show is going to be fun,” Nash, creator of “Meet My Parents,” told The Reporter. “It’s wish-fulfillment, a blend of fantasy and reality. … It’s not going to be about sexual tension or winning a million dollars.”

  The winner could see his character further developed by Lee and company as a comic book or other media production.

• In “Truth Stranger than Fiction” news: Rob Zombie and Lionel Richie teamed up to cover the old Commodores hit Brickhouse for House of 1000 Corpses, a movie that Zombie wrote/directed. I’ve heard of unexpected duets before, but this just about takes First Place.

Question of the Day
Breakfast Cereals: What is/are your favorite cereal(s)?
Me: Total (original), Honeycomb, Honey-Nut Cheerios, Honey Bunches of Oats

Namaste.

Tuesday
It was a semi-busy day at work. Not a sweat-breaking kind of day, but I had things to do. And, more of them tomorrow.

It was windy and very (very) dusty. I’ve mentioned how living in the valley is like living in a snow globe. That applies when it’s snowing; on days like today, it’s close but not quite the same. The particulates in the air make it hazy. Grey. Drab. Not exactly claustrophobic, but you get the idea.

On the up side of the day: I got to hang out with Mary, Kristen and Chelsea for a bit. I stopped by Mary’s to drop off some books and we decided to get something to eat… so we stopped by the restaurant where Kristen works… and Chelsea and her friend Becky showed up while we were eating. Spending time with good company is always a good way to spend an evening.

Song of the Day
Monday (yep, I forgot it last night):

• The Devil Is Bad by The W’s

Tuesday:

• Suffragette City by David Bowie
• Erotic City by Prince

Stray Toasters

• The Crow: Wicked Prayer. Yes, another Crow movie. Starring… Edward Furlong. Hmm. I’m not sure whether or not this is a good thing. But, I’ll keep my fingers crossed, just in case.
• Penny Arcade
• Christopher Walken. ‘Nuff said.
• Another unusual Samuel Adams commericial: This time, it was a business lunch setting. And, once again, no one noticed that there was a man attired in 18th Century Colonial American attire sitting in their midst.
• Ringo Starr was on the Carson Daly show tonight – at the end of the show, he sang I Get By with a Little Help from My Friends. There was a lady in the audience who seemed to be having the time of her life to be standing there singing along with Ringo.
• I got to watch tonight’s episode of The Adventures of Superman (the old 50s series). It almost made up for missing Smallville. Almost. Tonight’s ep was more than a little hokey… and that series had a LOT of hokey episodes. Tonight’s show featured (and I’m not making this up) a donkey, named “Carmelita,” that could read minds. It even knew that Clark Kent was Superman. But, the most bizarre/funniest thing was when Carmelita read a bank employee’s mind to get the combination to the safe… and then tapped out the combination on the floor to bank robbers. O_o

Question of the Day
What are some of your snacktime guilty pleasures?
For me: Popcorn, ice cream, Zours, Twizzlers (Strawberry), sweet potato pie or (when I can find them) Toblerone White Chocolate Bars.

Namaste.

April Fool’s Day.

Beware…

Monday
Whew.
What. A. Bizarre. Day.

Work. It wasn’t too bad. Actually, it wasn’t bad at all. It just seemed like a long day – the first four hours took about three days to get through. The last half of the day seemed to go by a bit faster, though.

and a friend invited me to go with them to a presentation at a local model and talent agency. They were going because another friend of theirs works there; they were mostly going to help his numbers. So, I decided to go with ’em. It was interesting. The three of us actually did cold reads and met with one of the agents. She liked all three of us.

::: jawdrop :::Nyx aced the cold reading, I did pretty well. She’s up for acting, if I remember correctly; I’m going mainly for voice (voiceovers, etc… not singing), but possibly some print ads as well. We’re taking a little time to brainstorm and decide if we really want to go through with this.

So, like I said: Whew.

Stray Toasters

• What in the Nine Hells is up with the new Samuel Adams commercial?! A Revolutionary War-era colonist at a modern day party and no one notices anything out of the ordinary? Right.
• Knotty pine.
• To answer the question posed by : Could you describe a “not-well-spent day” so the reading audience has something to contrast this entry to? Yes, I could, but I like to think that most people can come up with enough analogues to poorly spent days on their own. Therefore, I shall not.
• *sigh* This takes me back to the days when I played Call of Chthulu many rains ago, many rituals past…
  

  I amAzathoth! Known as the “Blind Idiot God”, the center of all cycles known as Azathoth is the great void itself, infinite creation and inescapable oblivion made one. The Great God is without ego, as it has been embodied in a separate consciousness as Azathoth has cast off the curse of self-awareness. Surrounded by the host of flautist servitors, piping the songs of the unknowable, Azathoth is not to be known by his aspirants. That is the purpose of another God…

  Which Great Old One are you?

• From the If I Could Put Time in a Bottle news files comes this item.
• It seems as though there is going to be a direct-to-video sequel to Timecop. Let the wailing, moaning and gnashing of teeth begin…
• As I was continuing with my reading of The Art of War today, I came upon a section that made me wonder if anyone in charge of the current overseas campaign has ever read it. The particular passages that elicited this thought were:
  • When you do battle, even if you are winning, if you continue for a long time it will dull your forces and blunt your edge; if you besiege a citadel, your strength will be exhausted. If you keep your armies out in the field for a long time, your supplies will be insufficient.
  • Therefore I have heard of military operations that were clumsy but swift, but I have never seen one that was skillful and lasted a long time. It is never beneficial to a nation to have a military operation continue for a long time.

  Wisdom written over 2000 years ago…

Namaste.