Union Pacific's Great Excursion Adventure

“Colonel Von Luger, it is the sworn duty of all officers to try to escape.”

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Saturday – 24 January 2009
Last night, after coffee, SaraRules and I started watching The Great Escape – it’s on Comcast’s On Demand. Good movie… but long. We stopped with about an hour left in the film. I flipped on The Late Late Show after that, to see who the guests would be. I hit the jackpot: James Earl Jones. It was a fun interview, in fact they were having so much fun that they pre-empted the second guest.

After hitting the rack, I had a strange The Great Escape-induced dream. It was set in a POW camp, of sorts, but I don’t recall anything about escape attempts. The odd/most odd part of the dream was once the prisoners were liberated and the returned home, twenty or so years had passed… outside the camp. Leaving these men out of their time, so to speak. (Now that I think about it, part of this dream seems like it has ties to a Hellblazer story I read a few weeks ago, too…)

SaraRules is on her way to another bridal fare and to look at a few more possible venues.
I’m getting ready for a ‘Clix tournament – today’s theme: Xtreme Wrestling Federation.

And with that…

ZOOM!

“Misty Morning Hop”

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Friday – 23 January 2009
The week draws to a close… with fog and haze in the valley. It’s dense enough that I can barely see the freeway. Then it rolls out. And back in. Even Otis Redding didn’t see this much action.

Last night, OnlyAly and came over for dinner.  SaraRules cooked a maple chicken, with carrots and roasted potatoes, which was delicious. During and after dinner, the four of us discussed wedding-related items: Things that SaraRules and I have talked/thought about and things to consider, reminiscences of their wedding and the lead-up to it, and the like. It was a great way to spend the evening.

Later in the night, I watched an NCIS rerun and the new episode of CSI:. I am liking Laurence Fishburne’s character, Dr. Ray Langston. He portrays him with an interesting sense of curiosity and wonder… balanced with a desire to prove that he can hold his own on the established team. I didn’t get to watch the season premiere of Burn Notice, but it’s on the DVR.

Stray Toasters

Namaste.

“Everybody need a soft filter…”

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Thursday – 22 January 2009
Last night, SaraRules and I went downtown to see Utah Opera’s performance of Regina. I was looking forward to it, as it is not only a modern (1949) American opera, but it is performed in English – I wanted to see if it was easier to follow without having to divert my attention to the supertitles.

It was… well… let’s just say that I now have a “least favorite opera.” I was truly underwhelmed by the overall performance, as was SaraRules. I asked her to rate it, she gave it a 5.8; she asked me to do the same – I gave it a 4.0… possibly a 5.0… out of ten.  Why? My reasons include:

  • In the first act, there were two or three portions where the cast broke the fourth wall… that seemed rather contrived, almost as if they didn’t expect the audience to be able to piece together something that had just occurred onstage,
  • The breaks between accompanied and a capella parts – both spoken and sung – were harsh and jarring to me,
  • The casting of Deanne Meek as Regina Giddens – mostly her voice didn’t seem to lend itself to the performance; she often seemed overwhelmed by the orchestration,
  • The costuming seemed out of place for the period, and
  • The production quality – sound, use of microphones(!?) – didn’t seem up to Utah Opera’s normal standards.

There were some redeeming qualities, however:

  • The casting of Lisa Vroman as Birdie Hubbard
  • The casting of Kristopher Irmiter as Horace Giddens
  • The casting of Tracey Luck as Addie
  • The set design – I really liked how the set transformed from indoors to outdoors and back

And, to be honest, the redeeming items added at least two points to my rating. To be fair, I would be willing to see this again, if performed by another company, to juxtapose the performances before completely writing off this opera.

Stray Toasters

Namaste.

Smallville: “Legion”

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I’ve been looking forward to tonight’s episode of Smallville for a couple of months. Let me backtrack a little: I enjoyed the show when it first aired. In fact, I think that I was pretty good about regularly watching the first two or three seasons. Somewhere in the middle, I stopped – possibly when it was in the height of its “Kryptonite-infused Freak of the Week” mode. I was still enjoying the show for the most part, but I didn’t feel compelled to watch.

Tonight, I was compelled.

Why?

Because tonight’s episode featured the Legion of Super-Heroes… or, at least its founding members: Saturn Girl, Lightning Lad and Cosmic Boy:

The episode broke from canon in the how/why of the meeting, but it was still very much in keeping with spirit of both the Superman mythos and Legion lore. Even though I knew that the episode was written by Geoff Johns, I was a little surprised to find that they incorporated a small part of the storyline that Johns wrote in Action Comics.

It was fun to hear the trio banter with – and about – Clark and his significance to the Legion… while still maintaining a bit of awe and confusion about the man that he would become versus the young man they met.

On the whole, the episode was good – despite a couple of slow spots – but I think that Superman fans and Legion fans alike should be quite satisfied after watching it.

Long live the Legion!

“KHAAAAAAAAAAAN!”

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I just found out that Ricardo Montalban has passed away.

Even James T. Kirk was upset by this…

Odin’s Day Update

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Wednesday – 14 January 2009
Midweek and all’s pretty much ship-shape.

Last night, SaraRules and I watched Hellboy. I’d only seen bits and pieces of the movie over the past few years, so it was nice to see it all the way through. And, it was fun.

Stray Toasters

And tonight: We’re having SaraRules’ parents over for dinner. On the menu: Jambalaya.

Namaste.

They want what?! Really?

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Monday – 12 January 2009
Another grey workday in the valley begins.
There’s a rumour of snow, too. We shall see…

The weekend was good, but too short… as is the complaint with most weekends. I’m extending next weekend by a day by taking Martin Luther King, Jr Day off.

Last night, SaraRules, Logan and I went to see Gran Torino. It was an amazing bit of cinema.  In trying to find things that it reminded me of, I came up with the following:

The analogies are not perfect, the film was not “just like” any of those, but it seemed to evoke elements of them in different ways. If you have not yet seen it, I wholeheartedly recommend it.

Stray Toasters

Time to see what other  kinds of trouble are looming in the wings…. or that I can stir up.

Namaste.

So close now…

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Friday  – 09 January 2009
The weekend is within sight. Yesterday wasn’t a bad day, in accordance with NBN Thursday bylaws. There were a few issues, mostly resulting from some office/cubicle moves, but those were easy to deal with.

After dinner, Logan came over and watched Hellboy II: The Golden Army with us. Then he mopped the floor with me at Madden 09.

Stray Toasters

Namaste.

“Something in the water does not compute…”

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Wednesday – 07 January 2009
Ugh. That’s my description for the day so far. “Ugh.” You’d think that with blue skies and temperatures pushing 50°F, I’d be in a far more positive mood. Maybe tomorrow.

The morning started off well enough. Then, I got a phone call from my boss – two rungs up the ladder – asking how soon I could be in the office. That’s never a good sign. I told him roughly 20 minutes… and set about making it so. I got in to find that the network was down; that’s not a good thing for a tech firm. I made a couple of calls and went about working on the parts of the problem within my skill set. Turns out the problem was out of my depth, so all that I could really do was damage control until the guys who handle that portion of the infrastructure got in. (And, when they got in, they isolated the problem – which was worse than originally surmised – and wrangled it into submission.) Then, came a few other fires to put out.

On the plus side: I went out for lunch to get sushi and pick up this week’s comics. It was a nice oasis of “calm” in an otherwise intermittently turbulent day.

Tonight, there may be a bit of drinking.

Stray Toasters

Namaste.

“I love you more than I did the day before I discovered alcohol…”

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Tuesday – 06 January 2009
Another cold and snowy day in the Land Behind the Zion Curtain. “Snowy” may be a little bit of an exaggeration; there are flurries, though.

Getting back into the swing of things around the office.  And it seems that we’ve acquired a new team member, too.

Stray Toasters

Namaste.

As vacation comes to a close…

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Sunday – 04 January 2008
It’s been a good – and busy – weekend… with a good bit of traveling thrown in, for good measure.

Yesterday, SaraRules went to her quilt club; I slept in a little. Then I remembered that I wanted to take the car in for an oil change and to finally replace the center cap on the front driver’s side wheel. So, off I went. They changed the oil. They replaced a burned-out tail light. They replaced the center cap… the $103 center cap. *blink blink* Wow. Knew it wasn’t going to be cheap, just didn’t expect it to be quite that much.

Back home to pack – we were heading to Cedar City for the wedding reception for Skott (brother of Tom Chandler) and Shannon (fiance of brother of Tom Chandler). It was a small affair, but nice. It was good to see Tom and Jo – the only people I knew there, although I met other members of the family. We also picked up a few more things from SaraRules’ storage unit, before the reception. In the dark. In the COLD. Oh so bitter cold. Something in the neighborhood of 6°F. Yeah…. That cold. We drove back last night.

This morning, we got up and headed to IKEA to pick up a MALM 6-drawer chest (medium brown). We got there about 9:50, thinking that the restaurant opened at 9:30 and the store at 10:00. WRONG. On Sundays, they open at 10:30 and 11:00, respectively. Verdammt!  I wanted to be home for kickoff. *sigh* So, we sat in the car for :40, while waiting for the store to open. We went in, had breakfast and shopped. On the way through the store, I decided to look for a yellow/amber MÄKTA sphere… and found one! That’s right, I’m going to have a Sinestro Corps shelf – as well as the GLC shelf – in one of the display cases. I needed another light, so I got a set of NON lights. They come in a two-pack, but that turns out to be good, as both lights are wired to a single switch – saving the need for another cord/plug. We picked up the chest of drawers and a few other items and headed home for…

Football! The Ravens-Dolphins Wild Card game. We got home about halfway through the second quarter. (Fortunately, Kris was watching the game and was texting me info about it.) The game was amazing:

Baltimore Ravens at Miami Dolphins
27 – 9
The Ravens went on the road to take on the Miami Dolphins in Dolphin Stadium. The last time they played each other this season, the Ravens came away with a 20-3 win.

The first quarter was apparently a defensive struggle – both teams only scored one field goal. The second quarter saw a little more action. With 6:56 left in the quarter, FS Ed Reed picked off a Chad Pennington pass and ran it back for a 64-yard TD. Matt Stover kicked another FG, with 21 seconds left in the quarter, to give the Ravens a 13-3 lead going into the half.

After a couple of fruitless drives by both teams early in the third quarter, Ravens’ DE Marques Douglas forced a fumble, which was recovered by Terrell Suggs. This wound up leading to RB Le’Ron McLain rushing TD. On Miami’s next drive, Ed Reed picked off another pass. Baltimore wasn’t able to capitalize on this, however. In the fourth, Pennington connected with Ronnie Brown for a spectacular one-handed TD catch. This seemed to put a little more wind in the Dolphins’ sails. Both teams had a couple of three-and-out drives, but Baltimore was able to seal the win when QB Joe Flacco ran in a 5-yd touchdown.

With this win, the Ravens move into the fourth AFC playoff spot. Saturday, they take on the Tennessee Titans in Adelphia Stadium.

After the game, we went to the Utah Museam of Fine Arts to see Wrapped in Pride: Kente Cloth. It was a fascinating exhibit.

We went to visit SaraRule’s parents. We watched the end of the Philadelphia-Minnesota game. And then watched Day of the Dead, which I haven’t seen in many moons. SIDENOTE: The music at the beginning of the movie sounded familiar, but I couldn’t really place it… until Miguel started yelling “Hello…?!  Is anybody there?!” Then it clicked for me. Immediately. It is used at the start of Gorillaz’ M1A1, from their debut CD. It had never occured to me to see where it had come from and I hadn’t previously put two and two together.

Four-Color Coverage
Friday, I was chatting with Markyn Time, who recommended that I stop what I was doing, pick up my copy of Justice Society of America #22 and read it. Immediately. Because, in his opinion, it was one of the best JSA arcs he’s read.

I didn’t. Instead, I went to coffee.
I did read it after I got back, though. And he was right.

This issue tied up both the Gog storyline and the Earth-22 Superman storyline. And it did both wonderfully. And… AND… it also had not only a great tie-in to Kingdom Come, but also to what I think was the v2 (“Rebooted“) Legion. All of this… and an amazing last page, too.

I was glad that I saved this book for my last read from this week’s haul.
It was just that good.

Stray Toasters

Tomorrow, the grind begins again… but, I still have a few hours of vacation to enjoy.

Namaste.

Yep, it’s another lazy Friday

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Friday – 02 January 2008
Today has been a good – and even “productive” – day. I slept poorly last night – first, I couldn’t fall asleep, then… I couldnt stay asleep. On top of that, I started having a rather odd dream, somewhere around 5:00 or so this morning. I woke from that rather disconcerted. After wrestling with sleep for a few more hours, I got up a little after nine.

I spent about an hour or so on the couch, watching TV. Then, I decided to take care of the morning hygiene rituals. Next up: video games. I played a little HALO 3 and Marvel Ultimate Alliance; I made a bit of progress in both.

We met SaraRules’ parents for lunch. We went to Jasmine China Bistro and Sushi Bar. It’s apparently been there for years (many years), but I never knew of it. The food was good, as was the service. I will have to keep it in mind in the future.

Back home. After a little down time, we set about assembling a couple of Billy bookcases. The office is coming along nicely. It’s still a little cluttered – mostly with ‘Clix paraphenalia and things that have moved out of other rooms – but progress is being made.

Stray Toasters

Tonight, assuming that the weather doesn’t take a complete nosedive in the next hour: Clitorati.

Namaste.

“Beyond the rim of starlight…”

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Tuesday: Coda
Today was a very lazy, lie-about day.

Around 4:00, I finally got under way to change my cable box for an HD box. I headed to the Comcast office, figuring that the whole thing should take under ten minutes. What I hadn’t accounted for was the line of people who would also be waiting for service. I was there for forty-five minutes. But, when I left, not only did I have an HD cable box, I had an HD box with a built-in DVR. Welcome to the 21st Century.

This evening, Chris and I played ‘Clix. We’d discussed terms a couple of weeks ago: The Green Lantern Corps versus the Sinestro Corps, 1600 points. I played the GLC, Chris played the fear-mongers. The game wound up running nearly three hours. Chris won, but it was a win by attrition – I took out seven of his characters, while he took out nine or ten of  mine. I conceded the game when I was down to Kyle Rayner versus Superman Prime, Lyssa Drak, Cyborg Superman and Amon Sur. However, considering that most of my force came from older sets – their stats don’t *quite* match up to newer figures’ stats – I’m proud that I was able to hold out as long as I did. We’re going to have a rematch, but we’re flipping sides and will have a slightly different point value. I’m looking forward to it.

After the game, I stopped by to visit SaraRules for a while before heading home. I’d missed seeing her earlier in the day, thanks/no thanks to the line at Comcast… and my inability to get up off my lazy tuckus and get to Comcast.

I came home, turned on the TV and started flipping channels. I found Star Trek: Deep Space Nine on Spike. I stopped there, as they were showing one of my all-time favorite episodes: The Visitor. It is one of the few episodes – of any show – that can (and usually does) make me cry. Every time. It is definitely one of the most well-written episodes of the Star Trek franchise.

Tomorrow, 2008 comes to an end. What a year it’s been.

Namaste.

“I come from the land of the ice and snow…”

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Tuesday – 30 December 2008
We’re back. Actually, we’ve been back since 4:00 PM yesterday. The flights were uneventful, as was the layover in Atlanta. It was a little warmer here than I expected. Granted, it’s still colder than in NC, but what can you do about that?

On the flight from ATL to SLC, we watched The Air I Breathe, loaned to me by a coworker. Neither SaraRules nor I had heard of the film, but we decided to give it a go. It was good. It basically deals with stories/lives of four characters and how they intertwine. It was interesting to see Brendan Frasier in another serious turn… and, again, another one in which he does a good job. If you get a chance to check it out, I recommend seeing this movie.

After coming home and unpacking, I headed over to SaraRules’ parents’ for a bit. We recounted a couple of stories of the trip to her mother. I also picked up the new TV and brought it home.

Setting up the TV also meant rearranging things in the entertainent center. I’m mostly done with that, but still have to figure out where to put a couple of things.

Four-Color Coverage
Over the last few trips to Dr. Volt’s, I picked up Fables Volume 2: Animal Farm, Fables Volume 3: Storybook Love and Hellblazer: Original Sins, along with The Sandman: The Doll’s House. Of those titles, I’ve read both Fables books and have started in on Hellblazer, which I haven’t really read in… probably six or seven years, at least.

Animal Farm dealt with the non-human-looking members of the Fables community and their… well…. Orwellian uprising against their human-looking brethren. When Snow White and Rose Red journey to “The Farm,” to discover why communications with between The Farm and Fabletown have broken down, they stumble into a vast right-wing conspiracy, led by none other than [spoiler deleted].

Storybook Love focuses on Snow White and Bigby Wolf, their search for a couple of rogue members of The Farm community and… could that be… a budding romance?

I’ve been enjoying the stories of Fables and recommend the series quite highly.

Hellblazer. How does one really talk about John Constantine? And, I don’t mean the version of the character as portrayed by Keanu Reeves in the (decent) movie that fortunately didn’t carry the Hellblazer name.) Possibly, the best way to do it is to take a few lines from “Hunger,” the first story:

He has been variously described as:

“The Aleister Crowley of his era, but more insidious.” (Guardians of Youth, media-watch group)
“A man of great courage, principle and humanity.” (The Archbishop of York)
“A cheap, flashy little crook.” (his father)
“Dangerous to know” and “A thorough bastard.” (Ted ‘Gold’ Digger, unconvicted acolyte of the Manson Family)
“A good mate of mine.” (John ‘Pearly’ Grey, Eastend autocrat of crime’ reputedly the only man feared by the notoroius Kray Twins)

Got him yet? No? A few more clues then.

Lead singer with the short-lived but brilliantly vitriolic MUCOUS MEMBRANE back in ’78.
Notorious occultist who spent two years in the bin after failing to pull off, in real life, as successfully as William Friedkin did on film.

No? You disappoint me. I thought you were street people.

For as long as this hack has been on the scene, people who know people have been talking about John Constantine.

He’s all of those things. Or none. Or some odd amalgamation of some of them. Hellblazer: Original Sins leads us – first, by the hand… before pushing us face-first – into the world of John Constantine. Sometimes, it’s the world we know. Other times, it’s the world we glimpse out of the corner of our eyes, in the dark. But, you can be assured, that when John Constantine is involved, it is sure to be interesting. And dangerous. But it definitely makes for a good read.

Stray Toasters

Time to find some (more) trouble to get into.

Namaste.

‘Twas the day after Christmas…

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Friday – 26 December 2008
Happy Boxing Day, Happy (first day of) Kwanzaa, and a belated Happy Hanukkah, but more importantly – Happy International Day:

Yesterday was fun. Post-gift-opening, we hung out for a while before SaraRules and I went to pick up a friend of the family to join us for Christmas dinner. We came back for more pre-dinner hanging out. We had about 20 people, give or take, who came by for dinner… including a cousin (from Mom’s side of the family) that I haven’t seen in probably 20 years. Otherwise, it was a typical Christmas around here – a few of Mom’s students sang, lots of story-telling, and all-around good cheer.

Today, I think that SaraRules and I are heading into Greensboro to meet up with a few friends and to get my suit returned and/or altered. My uncle will fly in from New York this evening and we’re all heading to my cousin’s for dinner. At least, those are the (current) plans, as I understand them.

Stray Toasters

Attack the day…

Namaste.