Random Access

Friday
The work week has ended.
Fait accompli.

Work wasn’t much to talk about. The ever-amazing and I polished off the paperwork that we’ve been dealing with working on this week. A victory dance followed.

Post-work was good. I headed to Borders to hang out with , , . We chatted, drank coffee, people watched… and and I drew. Here’s what tonight’s foray into the world of graphite produced:

Song of the Day
In homage to whomever it is who has the remote control for the radio in my head…

42nd Street (the Broadway tune)

…which was playing – incessantly – in my head as I showered this morning.

Stray Toasters

• It seems as though Marvel Comics has performed a rectal craniotomy and nixed the “Di Another Day” story that was supposed to run in five issues of X-Statix. Haven’t heard about that? Take a look here.
• There’s a fire burning in one of the canyons just north of SLC. You can see the smoke across the valley. It was set by a homeless person… who wanted to be arrested… so that he could be taken to jail… so that he would have a place to stay. ::: boggle ::: The irony here is that he was arrested… and taken to jail. Just like he wanted.
• “S’not funny.”
• Second season episode of Lexx on SciFi. Different actress playing Xev. Interesting.
• Beware the Uni-brow, the Shuffler and the Headband…
• Edward James Olmos, best known for his role as Lt. Castillo on Miami Vice and also in the movie Stand and Deliver is currently filming the new Battlestar: Galactica mini-series. In a recent interview, he told fans of the original series not to watch the mini-series. Why? Because it’s not retelling the story in the same way that the late 70s series did. As a fan of the original series, I’m interested in seeing how this “re-invention” goes. And, good for the producers for taking a different tack in bringing this project back to life.

Quote of the Day

[00:19] Todd: http://www.marvel.com/news/
[00:32] [Iso8]: a giant silver fag from space? *boggle* that’s too close to the grays and the alien abductions people claim are going on.
[00:37] * Gibraltar cracks up.
[00:37] has todd developed an interest in comics?
[00:37] Nah.
[00:37] Well…. I don’t know.
[00:38] We were watching the History Channel special last night.
[00:38] He didn’t know who the Silver Surfer is.
[00:38] * Gibraltar cracks up.
[00:39] [Iso8]: I can honestly say I have never actually read a comic book. looked at a few, but never read any. last thing close to one I bought was mad magazine when I was about eight.
[00:40] the kids are into skateboarding now. he should be the silver skater.
[00:41] silver surfer sounds like a super hero that can only fight evil on the beach. kind of like aquaman.
[00:42] *cracks up*
[00:44] [Iso8]: yeah that would suck. standing there waste deep in the water shaking a slimy webbed fist at the bad guy and trying to taunt them into the water.
[00:45] BWAHAHAHAHAHA!!
[00:45] BWAHAHAHA!!
[01:14] [Iso8]: how come there are no arab super heroes?
[01:15] There are.
[01:15] Sabra,
[01:15] Marvel
[01:16] Marvel Comics, that is.
[01:16] Umm…
[01:16] There are a couple in the DCU, but I can’t think of any who’ve been in anything recently.
[01:23] [Iso8]: seems like you can just pick a color and an activity and make a super hero. silver surfer, purple shithead, crimson doushbag etc.
[01:24] heh
[01:24] Seems like it.
[01:30] [Iso8]: that would be a good haloween costume for you balt. gold cape, red tights with a big letter “D” on your chest. jump out in front of people, put your hands on your hips and proclaim. “I am the crimson doushbag!!!!!!!”
[01:35] [Iso8]: he could have the power of insanity that allowed him to get away with any crime and only have to have a few days of observation.
[01:52] [Iso8]: you don’t have to be from anywhere fancy like outer space. you could just be from orem.

Namaste.

I got an email this morning.

Three guesses who it was from.
(First two don’t count…)

I’m glad that I wasn’t holding my breath, but guess what was in it.

Yeah.
That.

::: jawdrop :::

…for 7-11!
(as the commercial would say)

That’s right, it’s 11 July 03.
7-11.

Don’t forget to go to your local Sev for your free Slurpee®.

Thursday
Another day done.
And mercifully, tomorrow is Friday.

After work, I watched Comic Book Superheroes Unmasked on The History Channel. It was a look at the comic book genre and how it has grown and changed through the years. : This is one that you should definitely try to see.

NPR/PRI Stories

• Talk of the Nation: Family Series – Part II: Marriage
• Talk of the Nation: Anger Management at Work
• All Things Considered: Nike Buys Converse (Sorry, .)

Song of the Day

• Superman by R.E.M.
  Superman by Goldfinger
  Superman by Five for Fighting

Stray Toasters

• Big Brother is watching you…
• In another bit of “Every breath you take… every move you make” news: Driver convicted with ‘black box’ evidence gets 30 years
• Excerpted from tonight’s Divine Irreverence conversation with :
  

  [20:55] : hey lovely it’s hailing
  [20:56] : Ah oh….
  [20:57] : tornados, hail, barry white dies…i think god is pissed
  [20:57] : S’cause He doesn’t have anyone to listen to when He wants to get His swerve on.
  [20:57] : I mean…. Luther’s in a coma.
  [20:58] : Barry was the standby go-to guy.
  [20:58] : he already took marvin gaye!
  [20:58] : let’s not be divinely greedy
  [20:58] : And Teddy Pendergrass
  [20:58] : lol forgot about him

That’s plenty for now.

Namaste.

No you did not misread that.

“Di Another Day” is the name given to a five-part story that is soon to be published in an upcoming issue of Marvel Comics’ X-Statix comic book.

Diana Spencer, the late Princess of Wales, is coming back… to life… as a mutant superhero.

:::braincramp :::

It’s no secret that I am a fan of comic books (or for the more effete: “graphic novels”). Many of the movies that I have seen over the last few months have been comic book-related films. But, this… This is too much. Even for me.

Marvel Comics’ affectionate nickname is “The House of Ideas.” In their history, they have done a number of things – good and bad – that have rocked the comics world and the way that people think about comic books.

• They have created characters with amazing powers and abilities…. and all too-human failings.
• They have cut production of a number of titles that were selling well in order to consolidate their brand names and tidy up plots, subplots and story lines that had been running for years without any resolution in sight.
• They hired creative teams to infuse fan-favorite characters with new life.
• They broke with the Comics Magazine Association of America and the Comics Code Authority – organizations founded over fifty (50) years ago to oversee the content of comic books – to police and edit/censor their books on their own. In doing so, they instituted their own “ratings system” to identify the market to which given books were being aimed. (More information on this can be found here.)
• They have almost single-handedly reinvented the comic book movie genre.
• They have even – quietly – broken characters of their smoking habits in an effort to enhance the “role model” image of their characters.

Now this.

Diana was a special woman. She actually lived the fairy tale life: She was born an English commoner (don’t quibble on the details), she met and married the crown prince, she did great things not only for the U.K., but for people worldwide. She died a tragic and untimely death.

Let her rest in peace.

I really don’t understand this… thing. That’s really the only way that I can describe it. X-Statix is being called “…a spin off of The X-Men.” This is true and untrue. The book, while set in the Marvel Universe has a very tenuous connection to the X-Men. And to call it “tenuous” is being rather generous. Most people have at least a passing idea of whom the X-Men are. Marvel’s web site explains X-Statix in the following manner:

Fame. Money. Sex. Power. What happens when the blinding light of the media turns mutants into celebrities? When a group of costumed “freaks” – each with their own dark secrets — are gathered together and presented to society as the next group of pop culture stars, all bets are off!

When you add a high-profile figure… who happens to have been one of the most popular non-political/non-sports related figure in recent history AND who has been deceased for nearly six years… to the mixture, not only are “all bets off,” you have stepped into a morass of self-serving moral bankruptcy so deep and dark that one can only wonder how this idea not only germinated, but took root and was allowed to grow. How this made it past the desks of Joe Quesada and Bill Jemas – the head honchos at Marvel – also eludes me.

In an interview, Milligan said that Diana was “…tailor made for the series because she is someone famous for being famous. At a glance, Diana may not resemble the flying, teleporting, lethally oscillating characters that populate my comic, but the same power she exerts from beyond the grave certainly makes her a valid subject to explore. And, of course, she looks great in spandex!”

I wonder: Do you think that he ever considered what her family might think about this idea? Somehow, I doubt it.

Hmm… That makes me wonder: Did he really think about it at all?

Only he and his conscience knows.

Wednesday
Work was. The first couple of hours were long and slow… but I made it through them, thanks to the power of coffee!

After work, met the beer/coffee group for coffee. The person who usually organizes these get-togethers is out of town this week, so I wound up sending out the “Hey, if you want to go for coffee tonight, go here at this time” email. We had a pretty decent number of people show up, including special guest star: . We discovered that he even knew a few of the people there. Apparently, the folks at the Great Disney Empire knew what they were talking about when they said “…it’s a small, small world after all.”

After that, Jess, Mary, Matt and I headed to the Hard Rock Cafe for dinner. When we got there, the hostess asked us if we had tickets. Tickets?! She explained that Pete Best, one-time drummer for The Beatles (before they became an international sensation), was performing there tonight. We didn’t have tickets, so we ate out on the patio; the weather was perfect for it.

• Live music at the HRC. Okay.
• Former drummer for The Beatles. Okay.
• Live music at the HRC… in Salt Lake City… on a Wednesday night. O_o
• Playing more than “a few” Beatles songs. ?!?!?

We wondered if he was bitter about not being part of the phenomenon that was “The Fab Four” in their heyday. And if not, why was he playing so many of their songs? *shrug* In any case, Heather – our server (not to be confused with our client or workstation) – was very capable and had a good sense of humor. Always a good combination.

Song of the Day
Anytime of the Year by Nurit Hirsch (to the tune of Bashana Haba’a)

Stray Toasters

• Trying to find what I consider a “decent” mp3 of the aforementioned song has been… difficult.
• Researchers say Stonehenge depicts female genitalia *boggle*
• Antigravity machines…? Hmm. Wired’s article on them.
• This one, courtesy of , you’ll just have to see for yourself…

There was more that I was going to say, but I there’s nothing that won’t keep until sometime tomorrow. Or whenever I get around to posting it.

Namaste.

Chopin’s Fantasie Impromptu (Opus 66)
This is a beautiful piece of music and one of my all-time favorite pieces.

Tuesday
Another day done. I think that mentioned, in her journal, that it started off on a less-than-pleasant note. But, it got better. Much better.

The post-work day was quiet and rather uneventful. A hearty thanks to and her S.O. for babysitting/power leveling my EverCrack character… in spite of the idiotstick who kept trying to horn in on the kills that they were trying to set up for me. Some peoples’ children…

Song of the Day

• Moonlight Sonata by Ludwig von Beethoven
• Moon over Bourbon Street by Sting, from “The Dream of the Blue Turtles”

Stray Toasters

• : This article gives a little insight into The Legion‘s current composition.
• According to a BBC News item, Hi-tech Babble Baffles Many. “Most people are confused and flummoxed by the jargon used to describe new technology, says a survey.” (You know, you just don’t see “flummoxed” in sentences too often, these days…) If you feel a bit like a dinosaur in the digital age, I recommend checking out – and bookmarking – whatis.com. It contains definitions for technical and a few non-tech terms.
• The Gaming Trilogy:
  • Gamers Aren’t (Always) Geeks
  • Thailand Imposes Gamers’ Curfew
  • Videogames, Learning and Literacy
• Robert: Since you’ll probably see this before I see you at coffee tonight: .Net: Three Years Later
• Thinking of getting a new printer? Take a look at this model.
• Our UPS account rep (and his supervisor) came into the office this afternoon. We started talking about random things – from motorcycles to “reality TV” to “Bertie Bott’s Every Flavor Jelly Beans.” One of the things that came up was: deodorant. Like I said: It was a random conversation… I gave him more or less of a retelling of this. They both laughed.

Namaste.

Monday
It was a good day.

Song of the Day
Good Day Sunshine by The Beatles

Stray Toasters
That would require more thought and effort than I am willing to exert at the present time.

Maybe I will make a more detailed post tomorrow, but for now… sleep.

Namaste.

…ditto for Procul Harem’s Whiter Shade of Pale

I’ve said it before, but having just listened to it, I shall say it again:

George Gershwin’s Rhapsody in Blue is a fine piece of music.

Sunday
Another relatively quiet day.

I got up and hung out around the apartment for about an hour before heading to Borders. I ran into Lisa, Shona and Robin (from the impromptu discussion group a few weeks ago). We chatted for a bit. A little while later, my friend Stephie showed up and we hung out with Jonahs and Charlie (while they were working/on breaks/whatever). There was even a surprise visit from Angela and a friend of hers (whose name eludes me). And, I even managed to get some drawing in. And a mocha. But no cheesecake.

After that, I came home for a bit and then headed to see Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines. It ended a little differently than I expected, but I wasn’t disappointed, on the whole; iIt’s kind of like going to see a James Bond movie – in Bond films, you know that you’re going to see girls, gadgets and lots of explosions. In this case, you knew that there’d be lots of violence, lots of explosions, and a lot of watching the heroes on the run.

Post-movie hanging out was done at the nearby Denny’s. It was… *ehhh*. Not the worst, but not exactly five-star (for Denny’s), either. But, the company was good and that made it all right.

Stray Toaster
I came across this article through some random news crawling. I would have never thought of The Blues Brothers as having attained a similar kind of cult status as The Rocky Horror Picture Show.

And that’s all the news from Lake Saline.

Namaste.

…it was a good day. Lazy. Quiet. Restful.

I chatted with for a while this afternoon.
I watched billiards and the DC United vs. the Metrostars game on ESPN2.
I scanned comic book covers for my database.

I went to Black Angus for dinner with Jess and Mary. I stuffed myself on way too much food. After that, we went to B&N to kill some time before bowling. Bowling was good. Post-bowling breakfast was good.

And now I’m home and contemplating making a relatively early night of it.

Quotes of the Day
Ray Charles was the interviewee for the “What I’ve Learned” column in this month’s issue of Esquire. The following are his responses to the opening comments (which are noted in boldface):

• I remember one night we did a thing with Duke Ellington. He wa on an oxygen tank until they called him to come out onstage. But he went out there and you’d never have known that there was anything wrong with the man. That’s what music can do. If you’re sad, you can go home and play some records and make yourself better. If you’re in the hospital and you’re sick, music can be soothing. I know I’m gonna get shot down for this, but I think music is the greatest art form ever, bar none. I know that people who are into movies or into sculpture or writing or whatever are gonna say,”Ray, you must done lost your brain.” And they probably right. But, I still think that music is the greatest art form ever.
• I’m a firm believer in God himself, but that’s as far as I can go. I’m not any denomination. I’m not Catholic or Presbyterian or Baptist or Methodist or Jewish or Muslim. I’m none of those things. And I’m sure that’s just fine with God.
• You better live everyday like it’s your last, ’cause one day you’re gonna be right.
• Nowadays they say you need to get a special chip to put in the TV so kids can’t watch this and that. In my day, we didn’t need that. My mom was the chip. End of story.
• I’ve always been the kind of person who, if there’s anything that can kill me, I want to know something about it.

And with that, good night.

Namaste.

There’s a ice cream vendor who drives through our complex most afternoons/evenings. He drives a white Jeep. The music that he plays is Music Box Dancer. And, as it’s just being used as an attention-getter, it’s just a loop of the first six to eight measures – the part that most people would know.

I like the song. The whole song. This isn’t to say that I don’t like the opening… but, I’d like to hear more than just the opening. This is starting to remind me of Top 40 radio and the way that they play a new song… until the song is horribly overplayed and people begin to change stations after hearing the first few notes: “Not this song again…” *click*

Happy Independence Day to all.

Ooh, there’s gonna be fireworks (fireworks!)
On the Fourth of July (red, white and blue!)
Red, white and blue fireworks
Like diamonds in the sky (diamonds in the sky!)
We’re gonna shoot the entire works of fireworks on fireworks
That really show, oh yeah,
We declared our liberty two-hundred years ago.

“Fireworks” from Schoolhouse Rock! (gotta love the Schoolhouse Rock!)

In the hour-and-a-half that I’ve been awake, I have had at least three conversations along the following lines:

Person: Do you have any big plans for today or the weekend.
Me: Nope.
Person: WHAT?!?! Nothing? You’re not even going to see fireworks tonight?
Me: Yes, but that doesn’t fit into my definition of “big plans.”
(at this point the other person usually falls silent)

“Plans,” yes.

• We may hang out with friends this afternoon.
• We’re going to see fireworks tonight.

“Big plans,” no.

• We don’t have plans to cook-out.
• Nor to attend someone’s cook-out.

To me, “big plans” would include travel or making a to-do over going somewhere or doing something exceptionally out-of-the-ordinary… which attending a fireworks display (something I tend to do annually) doesn’t entail. *shrug* Maybe it’s just the way I’m wired.

However, for those of you with “big plans” – and those of you with just “plans” (or even “no plans”) – I hope that you have a safe and enjoyable holiday.

Namaste.