Random Access

13 June 2008
Greetings from Snowmass Village.

As it had been almost three weeks since I’d seen SaraRules, I decided that a trip was in order. I had originally planned on taking the train out here, but Amtrak apparently decided that this was the weekend to do track maintenance. So, no go. *blah* We looked at other methods of getting me here: Airplane. Bus. ICBM. We finally settled on me coming out next week. Okay, to say that “we” settled on it, isn’t exactly right. We said that it seemed as though it would be next week before I would be out here. In the back of my head, I was calculating the mileage and planning to just hop in the car and drive it. And that’s exactly what I did. Hello, surprise visit. The hard part, as usual, would be making sure that I – or anyone else who knew what I was planning – didn’t tip my hand.

Fortunately, as most of my work for the past few weeks has been training-related (i.e.: LOTS of reading) – and since books are rather portable – I was able to parlay that into working on the road. The drive out here was rather nice, despite a few construction zones in both Utah and Colorado.

I have driven through Colorado twice before – when I moved to Utah and again a couple of years ago – but, both of those trips were east-to-west. And, both of those trips were along I-70, so I’m… familiar… with the road. But, I noticed things heading eastbound that I hadn’t seen before. And, I also stopped in a different part of Grand Junction than usual.

Before last night, I had never seen more of Glenwood Springs than what you get from I-70. That’s a shame. The part of it that I drove through last night seemed nice… for a small town. And, from what SaraRules has told me, the cost of living here is still a little higher than SLC, but not quite as bad as in Aspen.

The drive into Snowmass Village wasn’t bad. Until I got “to” the condo complex where AMFS is lodging SaraRules for the summer. Apparently they don’t believe in putting street signs in locations where you can see them easily, especially at night. I drove right past the entrance. I continued all the way up to Snowmass Village Town Center, which I knew to be too far. *sigh* Turn around and drive back towards Aspen. Fortunately, I was able to see the sign for SaraRules’ complex this time. Turned in, found the building, parked.

The look of surprise on SaraRules’ face – a combination of “I’m glad to see you” and “What are YOU… doing HERE… NOW?!” – was worth the drive. We unpacked the car and I got to relax. I also met her roommate, Rachel. The condo itself is nice: 2BR/2BA, nice kitchen and living/dining areas. It’s roughly the size of my apartment, maybe a little bigger. And one of the owners has a thing for bears. Pictures. Figures. I am almost at the point of wondering if she’s a shaman and it’s her spirit guide.

Today’s biggest hurdle was getting Defiant (in Windows mode) to recognize that there really was a wireless connection, so I could connect to work’s network and do some morning housekeeping. In OSX mode, it found it immediately. A few button-pushes later and I was in like Flynn.

Stray Toasters

• I chatted with MarknTyme a little while ago; there have apparently been a couple of teen phone pr0n incidents in his school system.
• 3 Smart Things About Music
• The Onion has news about the new WoW sequel: World of World of Warcraft
• Adoption system seen failing kids from minorities
• A question to those of you who use laptop/notebook computers: If/when you connect to a secondary monitor, how do you configure your setup? For example, I use Defiant‘s monitor as my primary monitor, whereas uses his laptop’s screen as his secondary. What do you do?
• Egypt bans 92-year-old’s marriage
• 
• I still have no idea who I want to use in next weekend’s ‘Clix tourney… although I still think that Phoenix would be fun as a power piece.



• Celtics stun Lakers to move to brink of title
• Leonardo DiCaprio as Captain America…? I don’t know. I wouldn’t be upset if they went with an unknown here, to be honest.
• Internet addiction nominated for entry in the Manual of Mental Disorders
• Hmm, maybe Gary Gygax was “a little” older than he let on…
• For :

Two cups of coffee into the game, I can make like Tom Sawyer and get “…right on to the friction of the day.”

Namaste.

Thursday – 12 June 2008
So far the day goes well. That’s always a good thing.

<< Rewind <<
Last night, I was unbelievably lazy. I’d planned to do some straightening around the apartment. Nope. Didn’t happen. I think that the closest I came was putting the Sentinel in the case behind Phoenix… and then deciding that I liked the way Phoenix looked alone on the shelf better.

I did play City of Heroes, though. Not only did I play, I tacked two-and-a-half levels onto Kurigari. I hooked up with a good team and we ran through a few missions in The Hollows. It’s still a crappy zone for ground-pounders, but at least I’m less than two levels away from Superspeed. (Hover and Flight just don’t fit this character, so I’m not using them.)

I also watched Justice League Unlimited and ST: DS9, along with a couple of episodes of L&O: SVU. Decent episodes of each show: “Chaos at Earth’s Core,” “Emissary, Part II” and… I don’t remember which SVU episodes.

One thing that’s not a win: I’m remembering why I don’t watch G4’s Attack of the Show with any regularity. I keep comparing it – unfavorably – to The Screen Savers. TSS was a good show, you got tech news and info… with a little levity thrown in on the side. But the humour was smart and witty. AotS… just seems to go for the quick/cheap laugh or thrill and throw in something technical for fun or as an afterthought. Or maybe I’m no longer part of their core demographic.

> Play >
Coffee is a wonderful thing.
Coffee cake would be a nice addition… but I don’t have any.

Stray Toasters

• I have a doughnut. It’s not coffee cake, but beggars should not choosers be.
• Dinosaur
• By way of Indexed:



• Thanks to for pointing out Religulous. I’m interested in seeing this.
• Teens sending nekkid pics of themselves on cell phones! Oh, my! We never saw this coming, did we? Not in a million years. Apparently, Utah news sources are jumping on the bandwagon. Let’s hope that this doesn’t go over the same way as “the emo epidemic” did.
• …of course, then there’s this: Health group denounces Incredible Hulk for smoking
  Because, Heaven knows that kids would never see anyone smoking out on the street or anywhere else in everyday life. Flaming idiotsticks.
• 
• I’m spoiled. I had to change out a workstation’s power supply… with a manual screwdriver rather than a drill/driver.
• From the “Whiskey Tango Foxtrot” file: Man in court over comedy TV show
• Trial halted over judge’s website

The show must go on.

Namaste.

I just saw one of the new The Incredible Hulk trailers, with Robert Downey, Jr.’s cameo as Tony Stark. Not bad. I’ll admit it: I’m looking forward to the movie. I’m probably one of seven people in the world – aside from Ang Lee and Louis Leterriere who liked Ang Lee’s Hulk.

As usual, I’ve tried to stay away from reading most reviews of the film. I’d prefer to draw my own conclusions.
If it’s good, great.
If not,… well…

I’m sure that it can’t be any worse than Cool World.

Wednesday – 11 June 2008

That’s representative of today’s weather in Salt Lake City. The forecast says that we should even break 60°F. Considering that Monday’s high was 80°F, I’m not overly enthused. I shouldn’t complain too much: SaraRules said that there was snow in Aspen this morning.

The morning has been relatively uneventful. So far.

Last night’s Scion game was fun. No one died. Correction: “No one from our group died.” A few otherwise-innocent bystanders? Well… um… oops.

Stray Toasters

• called me this morning to relate the following story: She heard someone (on the radio, I believe) singing a song called If You Could Hie to Kolob…to the tune of the theme from The Beverly Hillbillies. I was intrigued by this. I looked up the lyrics and hummed the theme to myself. It worked. Beautifully, at that.
• If you’re unfamiliar with “Kolob,” click here for more information.
• Thanks to for pointing out the following t-shirt/bumper sticker:

  

• I took some… creative license… with a couple of HALO 3 screenshots a few months ago, but neglected to post them:

  
  (click images for larger size)

• Time travel back to 1000 A.D. : Survival Tips
• Loonybin88 sent me a link to this:

• My friend Jonni has posted a new song on his MySpace page: End of Alone. Check it out.

Namaste.

Today is Kris’ birthday. I called her this morning… but didn’t get an answer. I tried again this afternoon with much better success.

After work, I headed home to change clothes and have a bite to eat.

Next up: Scion… for the first time in nearly two months.

Workout
Today’s workout wasn’t too bad… considering that it’s been a week since I was last in the gym.

• Bench Press: 3 sets/10 reps, 185 lbs
• Flys (Nautilus, high-to-low): 3 sets/12 reps – 1 set @ 95 lbs, 2 sets @ 110 lbs
• Bent-over Rows (barbell): 3 sets/12 reps – 1 set @ 55 lbs, 2 sets at 70 lbs
• Bench Dips: 3 sets/15 reps – 1 set with 40 lb dumbbell, 1 set with 45 lb plate
• Lateral Raises (with forward extensions x3): 3 sets/4 reps – 2 sets @ 15 lbs, 1 set @ 8 lbs
• Push-ups: 1 set/10 reps

Post-workout weight: 175.6 lbs

Stray Toasters

• Terence Stamp talks Valkyrie and Superman II
• …which reminds me: General Zod – 2008 Presidential Candidate

  

• Best and Worst-Dressed in Sci-Fi
• “Genuine Leather”



• How… HOW… in the Nine Hells do you manage to hit yourself in the head with a nail gun?!
• Edo Period-style Pac-Man fan art
• Giger-esque furniture from old motorbikes

Namaste.

just sent me a link to the following:

Star Trek: The Motion Picture (Pon Farr Edition) from Darth Mojo on Vimeo.

Two disclaimers:

1. The audio is pretty much NSFW in 98.3% of work environments
2. You can watch the first… minute or so… and just skip to the 3:20 mark without missing anything.

What made this even more surreal was that a Goldfrapp’s Strict Machine (audio only) started playing on iTunes almost immediately after I was done watching the video.

Monday – 09 June 2008
Here comes the work week.

I can’t complain about the weather, though.

It’s supposed to get up to the upper 70s. I can deal with that… especially since SaraRules just told me that it’s cold enough in Aspen that she had to wear a sweater this morning. In June. That just ain’t right.

I played a little CoH last night. I may switch over to CoV in the next day or two and show Mr. Dhoruba some love. Speaking of whom, I need to get a screenshot of his updated look… as well as a shot of my new Hero-side character, Kurigari.

This morning, I apparently woke up long enough to turn off the alarm… and roll back over. I don’t really , remember it, though. I was up about twenty minutes later, though. It didn’t take too long to kick the morning into gear. And the frozen mocha didn’t hurt, either.

Stray Toasters

• WWDC.
• SaraRules and kind of bonded over a common… um… “lack of bonding” experience.
• Have you ever listened to Space Oddity with only one channel (right or left)? Try it sometime.
• I have started trying a couple of new layouts of items in one of the display cases:

  

  I know that this leaves a lot of empty space on that shelf, but I really like the way it accents the figure. The only better thing that I could imagine would be to have an LED in/on the figure, similar to the McFarlane HALO3 Cortana figure. I also wish that I had about a half-inch more height to work with – Galactus would look nice behind Jean.

• New rocket car spotted in Silver Lake
  (Why does this many me want to hum the theme from Chitty Chitty Bang Bang?)
• My coworker Robert came over a little while ago to ask me if I had seen Stuff White People Like. I told him that I had and that I found it amusing.
• I find this particularly apt, especially given many Utah drivers’ aversion to roundabouts:



• Okay… this is a little uncanny (and weird): Without any input/coercion from me, a dialogue clip from Chitty Chitty Bang Bang just played on iTunes.
• Joshua Ellingson Fine Art & Illustration

Whee!!!!

Namaste.

Before I forget (again): Happy Hatching Day to !

The move went much faster than expected. I think that we were done with the lifting/shuttling in just over thirty minutes. We even got to use Forearm Forklift straps; different, but not bad. Nizlee’s folks fixed us a nice lunch in return for the elbow grease, which was very nice of them.

I had some time to kill before heading to Chris and Mary’s, so I thought I’d go by and play with the kids, since I was nearby. I called to see if she was at home; she wasn’t but said that I was welcome to stop by. And that’s exactly what I did. It’s been a few months since I’ve seen them. The biggest noticeable difference is that the fur on Presto’s lower back is developing more of an orange tint. But they’re all still very cute.

(click images for larger versions)

On to Chris and Mary’s to watch Diary of the Dead. It was a George Romero film, so of course there was a bit of commentary… but it was also a pretty good movie, too. It got a little campy for a couple of scenes near the end, but it did wrap up nicely.

Stray Toasters

• “I’m Samuel. Hello.”
• I picked up a pass to a sneak preview of The Incredible Hulk after the tournament yesterday. The screening is Monday night… at 7:00. I was actually looking forward to going… but then I remembered that I am going out to dinner with SaraRules’ family tomorrow evening.

  

  Oh, well. I’ll catch the movie when it releases. So, if anyone is interested in a free pass to the movie, let me know.

• I should play City tonight.
• Or Marvel Ultimate Alliance.
• Or go old school and play MechCommander, which I just got back from Chris.
• This is a cool picture of Wonder Woman.
• X2: X-Men United is on FX. I like this movie. And its predecessor. X3… not so much.

And with that… I’m a vapor trail.

Namaste.

Sunday – 08 June 2008
Last week, I mentioned going for a morning walk with , but I was too out of it Sunday morning. At Clitorati, we bandied about the idea of trying again today. said that he wanted to go to the Gay Pride parade… and I figured that we could kill two birds with one stone: Get in a walk and fly wingman for .

Great plan.

In theory.

I was up later than I had planned to be and slept in again this morning. I woke up to find that had been up working on a project until O’dark-thirty himself. I’m not sure if he wound up heading downtown or not. And I don’t know what wound up doing, either.

O, na.

In a couple of hours, I’ll be helping parents move some furniture. Nothing like some good, old-fashioned heavy lifting to kick off your day! And, I’m counting it as another (much needed) workout… of sorts. Today is also Chris’ birthday; we’re celebrating by watching a zombie movie: Diary of the Dead.

Stray Toasters

• posted this video earlier. I’m sharing the love:

• After watching that, I noticed that was still online, so I chatted with her for a few minutes. I may have possibly condemned her to a corner of Hell near mine as we wound up talking about dust bunnies, “cool beans” vs. “hot beans,” and the possible origins of the term “holy shit.”By
• My angels
  My devils
  Thorn in my pride
• By way of Esquire: Tips on Buying Denim and Three Ways to Wear Denim
• I should get my guitar back tomorrow or Tuesday.
• What Went Wrong? Twelve Experts on the Clinton Campaign
• No cure for the Summertime Blues? I find that hard to believe.
• hall != haul
• 
• I just heard from lj user=”tofer1977″, he didn’t go downtown, either.
• Tin Machine just played on Nomad. I’d forgotten how much I liked their second CD.

Time to get ready to face the day.

Namaste.

Saturday – 07 June 2008
Today is my mother’s birthday.

It is also Prince’s birthday.

I called Mom to wish her a happy birthday.
I did not call Prince.

Despite waking up late, it was a good day. There was another ‘Clix tournament at Far West today; I picked up Chris on the way to the store. I decided to try a different team, as I don’t want to become a one-trick pony with the Legion. I went with the Doom Patrol:

• The Chief
• Mento (yes, I received a lot of jibes referring to him as “The Fresh-Maker”)
• Rita Farr and
• Red Arrow

I know… I know… Red Arrow is not – nor has he been – a member of DP, but he filled a slot that I needed for long-range attacks.

As Fate would have it… I drew Chris as my first round opponent. Before the match even started, I was ready to chalk it up as an automatic loss. And, boy, was I right. He obliterated me. I think that I damaged one of his characters. Maybe.

Second round, I played a guy named Frank. He had a three-person team of X-related people:

• Archangel
• Emma Frost
• Jean Grey (Age of Apocalypse)

I won this game… on points. Frank played a defensive game and I was able to effectively set up a pincer offense. I lost The Chief in the gambit, but I was able to take out Emma and Jean (and was working on Archangel) before time was called.

Third round: Sean. He played with a mixed force:

• Accomplished Perfect Physician
• The Leader
• Unus the Untouchable

This was a good game. I kept trying to hit Physician, but his damned Super Senses let him keep dodging the attacks. Rita didn’t get close enough to do any damage. The Chief and Mento…? Well, let’s just say that they aren’t exactly damage cannons. In the end, I lost the team to attrition.

So, I was 1 – 2 for the day. On the up side, I won the “Fellowship” (think “Sportsmanship/Good Conduct/etc”) award, for which I got a Stardust figure. Stardust… Herald of Galactus. Nice! And… Chris was the big winner of the day. His prize: A spot in the HeroClix 2008 World Champioship at GenCon… with a first round bye. VERY nice!

There’s another tournament in a couple of weeks. 1,000 points… per player. Unrestricted, which means that if it’s EVER been a figure, it’s usuable. Ostensibly, this means that I could field both Galactus AND Phoenix. Of course, that would be ALL that I could field. And they would be targets. Big targets. Colossal targets, in fact.

After the tourney was over, Sean and Frank wanted to play some more, so Chris and I took them on. 400 points per player. We fielded a mixed team, as did Frank and Sean. We wound up taking out Frank’s part of their team and shortly thereafter – with most of their heavy-hitters gone – Sean conceded the game.

I stopped at Jitterbug to have a bite to eat. Uriah was there and we, along with the other folks in the shop, sat around and gabbed for a while.

From there, it was off to say “Hi” to SaraRules’ family. They were watching Amazon Women on the Moon when I got there. I had not seen it before, so they played a couple of scenes – featuring David Allen Grier as Don “No Soul” Simmons. I cracked up. Check ’em out:

…and…

Next up: Breakfast.

Stray Toasters

• By way of MarknTyme: AA-12: World’s Deadliest Shotgun
• By way of : Indian school names monkey god chairman

Namaste.

I’ve apparently been misreading the title of this book. I’m Ivory Soap sure that it should have really been called:

Windoze Sleeper 2003 Training Kit

And, yes, “toasterifficness” is a word.
His Chocolate Holiness has decreed it, so shall it be.

• I had an interesting thought while taking a walk at lunch: I passed some flowers outside one of the buildings in our office park; some of the flowers had begun to wilt. My first thought was “Why is beauty so transitory?” I mused on it for a few moments and then had to amend the thought to: “Why is our perception of beauty – or what is considered ‘beautiful’ – so transitory?”
• Somebody’s Somebody
• Lish wanted me to make a note of Bacon Salt. I seem to remember that someone else (possibly or ) had pointed this out to me a few months ago.
• Lish also thinks that I should audition for Top Chef… based solely on the strength of my S’mores Brownie Pie. I’m not so confident that they alone are enough to get me on – let alone through – a season of Top Chef.
• I’m anxious to get my guitar back from the shop. I wasn’t really aware how much I missed having it around… until it wasn’t. Go figure.
• Rowling’s Harvard Speech Doesn’t Entrance All
  Wow. I was pretty amazed at some of the graduates’ reactions in this article. Want to talk about “entitlement,” check these out these quotes:

  “I think we could have done better,” shrugged computer science major Kevin Bombino. He says Rowling lacks the gravitas a Harvard commencement speaker should have.”You know, we’re Harvard. We’re like the most prominent national institution. And I think we should be entitled to … we should be able to get anyone. And in my opinion, we’re settling here. “

  …and…

  “It’s definitely the ‘A’ list, and I wouldn’t ever associate J.K. Rowling with the people on that list,” says senior Andy Vaz. “From the moment we walk through the gates of Harvard Yard, they constantly emphasize that we are the leaders of tomorrow. They should have picked a leader to speak at commencement. Not a children’s writer. What does that say to the class of 2008? Are we the joke class?”

  As SaraRules put it: “I’m sorry that probably the most published living author isn’t good enough for a CS major.” I think that the best summary to the article was this:

  “They’ll grow up,” says 1983 graduate David Epstein. “They’ll have a broader worldview and they’ll understand that there are many, many ways to contribute. You know what they say — the freshman bring so much, and the seniors take away so little.”

• Today’s iTunes random play has been full of Prince songs.

Friday – 06 June 2008
This morning started off with the alarm going off… and me waking up with a headache. I didn’t consider that the most auspicious start to a Friday morning, so I stayed in bed for a bit. I should have gotten up then, because I wound up in an odd, rather disturbing corner of The Dreaming.

The second go-round of waking up went considerably better. I hit B&B for a large cup of frozen, triple-shotted goodness and Einstein Bros. for a bagel sandwich. Add to that having some decent commuting tunes and Bob’s your uncle, as the saying goes.

The Best: Sugar Sugar
The Archies vs. Mary Lou Lord (with Semisonic)

This song was originally done by The Archies in 1969.
It was covered by Mary Lou Lord in 1995 for Saturday Morning Cartoons’ Greatest Hits.

It’s a bubblegum pop song at heart – and one that I’ve liked since I was a kid – but the edge that Ms. Lord gives it, pushes it ahead of the original in my book.

Winner: Mary Lou Lord

Stray Toasters

• Would LeVar Burton have had Windows Server 2003 books on Reading Rainbow? Should he have added them to the line-up?
• Cosby sweaters for auction
  I just want to know if you get Jell-O Pudding Pops and/or a TI-99/4A with each sweater?
• Jon Favreau on Iron Man 2 and Beyond
• Would X-Men: The Last Stand have been a better movie had Jon Favreau been the director, rather than Brett Ratner?
• All we hear is…

• New club drug: Preparation H?
• They were singing
  Back to back
  Belly to belly
  I don’t give a damn, ’cause I’m stone dead already
  Back to back
  Belly to belly
  A zombie jamboree
• Speaking of zombies: Blog Like It’s the End of the World Day is coming up next Friday.

Namaste.

Thursday: Coda

After work, I came home for a bit, read today’s four-color haul and then went to Borders to do some drawing. I’ve decided that I am entering Project: Rooftop‘s latest contest – “Superman: Man of Style,” in which the challenge is to reimagine Superman’s costume. I think that I have a decent idea with good reasons for the changes to the iconic costume. After settling on what I wanted to do, I tried some preliminary sketches. (And the fact that I haven’t really drawn anything in months really shows…) The deadline is 15 June 2008, so I do have some time to get things worked out. I hit a bit of a wall, so I switched gears and decided to work on the new piece I started last week. Progress was made.

Back home. I installed the light in the second display case. The two cases look good. I do think that I’ll be rearranging what is on the shelves though.

Four-Color Coverage
It’s been forever since I’ve done one of these, but it was a light week – I only picked up five books – and today’s haul was pretty good. So, on with the show!

• Avengers/Invaders #2 (of 12) – The Invaders, Marvel Comics’ WWII-era supergroup, have wound up in New York City of 2008. Having left the 40s in the middle of an attack on a Nazi stronghold, they aren’t sure what to make of their new surroundings… even to the point of thinking that everyone around them is a Skrull. I mean Nazi. On the other side of the coin, the Avengers have to find a way to subdue the Invaders and minimize their contact with the world of 2008, so that they don’t corrupt the timestream. Piece of cake, right? Riiiight.
• Justice Society of America #16 – I can’t say enough good things about this book. At the end of Issue #15, we were introduced to Gog. The being who gave Magog his power. A self-proclaimed god who was cast out of the Third World. What’s he doing here on Earth? Why does he know Earth-22’s (Kingdom Come) Superman? And what did he do to Damage?
• Secret Invasion #3 (of 8 ) – Skrulls. Everywhere. A couple of new reveals. And… who’s that guy with the eyepatch?
• Supergirl #30 – This version Supergirl has been… an uneven book during it’s fairly short span. Homicidal pawn of Darkseid. Rebellious teen. Super-smart heroine, out to save the world…. literally. DC has said that they are going to more fully integrate the book with the Superman corner of the DCU. They took a giant step in that direction with this issue. Kara, still feeling out of place, tries to find some answers and figure out what to do now that the baby she was sent to Earth to protect is now almost twice as old as she is. And she even has a bonding moment with a certain Dark Knight. I was on the fence about this book recently; it will be interesting to give it a few issues to see if it’s back on track or if this was only a momentary flicker of hope.
• Trinity #1 – When Diana Prince, Clark Kent and Bruce Wayne get together (in their civilian identities, no less) to compare notes about having variations of the same dream, it’s a pretty good indication that something is afoot. In their dreams, a powerful entity is trying to break free from some form of captivity. Sorceress Morgaine LeFey is also aware of the power… and wants it for herself. Kurt Busiek (Astro City) and company have kicked of DC’s newest weekly series nicely. I’m not sure if I’m up for yet another weekly, but I may give it a few weeks to see how it shapes up.

Stray Toasters

• I talked with the parental units today; all’s well in their respective parts of the seaboard.
• I neglected to mention something that I saw on Sunday at Borders: There was a woman, curled up in a chair in the cafe. Her cell phone rang; she answered it. When I looked up, there was a man standing outside the cafe window; he was on his phone. For a few moments, their conversations were synced to the point that you would have thought that they were talking to each other.
• There was a lone box of Mutations and Monsters ‘Clix in Dr. Volt’s today. I couldn’t just leave it there. I’m glad that I didn’t. In it was a rare figure: Omega Red
• I checked out a couple of movie trailers on Apple.com. Has anyone heard anything about City of Ember? I was intrigued by its trailer. I also saw the trailer for The Mummy: Tomb of the Dragon Emperor. This looks like it could be fun.
• Burn Notice. On USA. I’ve only seen a few episodes, but I’m enjoying it.
• WWDC. Monday.

And that’s a wrap.

Namaste.

Thursday – 05 June 2008
I must really like Sting’s Shadows in the Rain at a very deep level.

Why do I think this?
Because I keep enacting the “Woke up in my clothes again this morning” line.

I have a rather comfortable couch. Last night, I watched the end of DS9. I felt fine, fairly alert. Seven Days came on, but it was an episode that I’m not overly fond of, so I switched over to Law & Order: SVU. I don’t even think I made it to “Law.” I may not have even made it past the “L.” Next thing I knew, it was 6:30. I didn’t think that I was that tired. Guess I was wrong. *shrug*

Got up. Did the rituals. Ran into two of my neighbors on the way to the car. Hit the B&B for an iced mocha. And started the day.

And so it goes.

And so far, it goes well. Besides that… it’s Sushi and Comics NBN Thursday. Win-win.

Chew on This: Food for Thought
Now that the Democratic Nomination Debacle seems to be over, I’m… somewhat intrigued… by some of the news media’s choices in whom to interview about the groundbreaking importance of Senator Obama’s campaign and nomination.

CNN interviewed Jesse Jackson a couple of days ago. I was torn about this. On one hand, it made logical sense, as Rev. Jackson has run for office in the past. On the other hand, it seemed as though part of the reason they chose him was because of his role as a so-called “Black leader.” That gives me some pause. I’m not sure that I would really bestow that title upon him today. Yes, he’s done good things in the cause of the advancement of Black – and others’ – civil rights… but, to me, he seems to have moved from that to be more of a demagogue (def. 1) than an actual leader. Or, dare I say it: A rabble-rouser.

Sometimes, he seems to just… magically appear… at whatever scene is getting the most coverage. He’ll say a few words that play to the crowd and/or are useful as sound bites, but I don’t often find myself agreeing with him.

I would also put Rev. Al Sharpton in this “Who can we interview to get ‘the Black perspective'” category. However – and this is a pretty big “however” – I have to admit that I’ve seen Rev. Sharpton jumping on the latest bandwagon far less often in the past few years. I don’t know if I would say that he has “calmed down in his own age,” but it seems as though he’s more judicious about which windmills he chooses to joust.

I would go on to say that I’m not sure that there is “a” Black leader… or even two or three of them. (Of course, I currently live in Utah, so they could be out there, but I just don’t hear about them from behind the Zion Curtain…) The leaders of the 60s through… 80s, I’d say, have a certain perspective that I’m not sure is completely relevant today. I don’t mean this to diminish any of their accomplishments; I wouldn’t have many – possibly ANY – of the opportunities that I have enjoyed had it not been for their struggles and the paths they trod. But, when listening to them, it sometimes seems as if some of their old biases and prejudices still tinge their opinions.

To be honest, I’m not sure that I really want a “Black leader.” The “Black Experience,” as it is called, draws from a common history, but has so many facets that I believe that no single leader would be able to bridge them all.

Besides I’d rather have a leader who can speak to all people and draw them closer, as a whole, while acknowledging and respecting their differences.

Stray Toasters

• While I like many versions of Ave Maria, I am particularly fond of the Franz Schubert version.
• The 31 Places to Go This Summer
• There’s been a shake-up at the top of the Air Force chain of command, due largely to the nuclear warhead-laden B-52 that flew from North Dakota to Texas last year.
• How Tech-Savvy Will the Next President Be?
• 
• New trailer for Hunter S. Thompson documentary
• Forty days and forty nights,
  Didn’t it rain, children.
  Not a speck of land in sight,
  Didn’t it, didn’t it rain.
• Photographers aren’t terrorists and vice-versa
• ST: TAS / Common People mash-up:

• The Picture of Everything

Conjunction Junction, what’s your function?

Namaste.