Random Access

Saturday – 02 May 2009
It’s 9:30, grey and rainy… and I’ve already been up for two hours.

SaraRules and I are heading down to Cedar City this morning. We’re going to the CPVA Commencement for the (now) second-years in her program/department, including Rachel and Tyler. We got up a little early because:

1. She has Quilt Club this morning and
2. We wanted to grab a bite to eat at Paradise Bakery and Cafe.

We haven’t been to Paradise for… close to, if not more than, a year. It was a nice change of pace our respective breakfasts were tasty.

Stray Toasters

• Today is Free Comic Book Day. Go get free stuff!
• Prelate Derek found a LEGO Super Mario and forwarded the link.
• Battle Looms Over Souter Successor
• Ryan Reynolds, who portrays Deadpool in the new X-Men Origins: Wolverine movie, was a guest on The Late Late Show last night. It was a fun – and funny – interview. While I’m not a huge Deadpool fan, I found his portrayal to be fairly well in line with what I remember of the character.
• For and shockpuppet: When the Engineer Gardens
• Models As Muses

Time to get ready to pull up stakes.

Namaste.

Friday – 01 May 2009
It’s May Day, but more importantly (to me, at least) it’s my friend’s birthday.

Happy Hatching Day, Bret.

Last night, SaraRules and I had dinner at the local Olive Garden. We both had the Chicken & Gnocci Veronese; we also both had the same opinion of it: It was good, but the dumplings left a little something to be desired. They felt/tasted “too doughy,” as though another few minutes of cooking would have firmed them up just a little more. Otherwise, dinner was good. Our waitress, Kyrsten, was good and rather attentive, which is always a plus.

We came home and had a laid-back evening, including reading this week’s comic book haul and watching CSI: and a good portion of Hellboy. I also built a bus, from the Bits of Mayhem set, for my city. We also watched The Late Show (Dave’s laryngitis was much better) and The Late Late Show, on which Craig’s monologue included an amusing bit about Olive Garden.

This morning has been quite lazy. Despite turning off my alarms, I was awake at 7:08 this morning. Fortunately, I was able to turn over and fall asleep again. After all, getting up that early is no way to kick off a long weekend, now is it? I’m not sure what’s on tap for the rest of the morning and afternoon, but I’m good with the idea of just being lazy.

Four-Color Coverage
This week’s haul was a bit of a mixed bag. But, by the numbers, the “good” outweighed the “bad,” fortunately.

• Green Lantern #40 – This was another “Prelude to Blackest Night” issue. We start with a look at Yrra Cynril, the Star Sapphire formerly known as the Green Lantern-killer, Fatality. From there, we move to Oa and witness the creation of the Fourth Law of the Book of Oa. And that leads to a run-in with the Orange Lanterns.
• Justice Society of America # 26 – This issue was a great example of what the JSA stands for: Family and legacies. We get to see this, in a unique way, through the vantage point of Stargirl. Though she’s one of the younger members of the team, we see the affect she’s had on her peers – older and younger.
• Uncanny X-Men #509 – Just when it looked like things were going (relatively) well for the X-Men and they were settling into their home in San Francisco, it seems as though someone wants to pass (yet another) new legislation limiting mutants’ rights. On top of all of this, Madelyne Pryor’s master plan is brought to light… and, she decides to pay the X-Men a visit.
• Wonder Woman # 31 – Former head of the Queen’s Guard, Alkyone, made a deal with [SPOILER DELETED]. Achilles paid a visit to the United Nations. Diana got a visit from [SPOILER DELETED] and learned a few interesting facts about Genocide’s origins. None of these came under the heading of “good things.”

…and, last, but far from least…

• Final Crisis: Legion of 3 Worlds #4 – I have been enjoying this series and will be sad to see it end. This issue bounced between the 21st and 31st Centuries… and the end of time. [SPOILER DELETED] is back and Superboy-Prime is not happy to see him; nor is he thrilled about seeing Sodam Yat, for that matter. The Time Trapper makes his move. Starman’s mission in the 21st Century is revealed. [SPOILER DELETED] joins the fight. And, in one of the best origin revisions I think that I’ve ever read, the true identity of [SPOILER DELETED] is revealed.

Stray Toasters

• I’ve been given the green light to post a link to robandsara.org
• Daily LEGO: Exterminate!
• Someone has created a papercraft Defiant…
• ArtWerk’s map of his “beloved Europe

  

• sent me the following: IKEA lover or hater? You’ll know soon enough
• Apple not paying iPhone developers, reports of lawsuits brewing
• Have you ever wondered “What if Cthulhu was a furniture-maker?” Wonder no more.
• The Mind-blowing World of Human Chimeras
• Can’t get enough of William Shatner? Shatnerquake might be up your alley.

Quote of the Day
From this week’s issue of Legion of 3 Worlds:

Brainiac 5 (Legion 1): Have you ever read Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein?
Brainiac 5 (Threeboot Legion): Frankenstein? That book is for children.
Brainiac 5 (Zero Hour Legion): And incomplete. I followed it step-by-step with little success.
Brainiac 5 (Legion 1): You’re both missing the point.
Gates: What is the point?
Brainiac 5 (Legion 1): “The point is, with the right amount of genius and a touch of perceived insanity, science can conquer anything.”

Namaste.

Thursday – 30 April 2009
It’s another NBN Thursday and this one kicks off a four-day weekend. Selah.

Last night was a lazy evening in, which was nice.  SaraRules and I watched Tuesday night’s episode of NCIS, “Legend,” the first of two parts which introduces the “Office of Special Projects.” (It looks as though NCIS is about to spin-off a new series in the same manner in which it was spun-off from from JAG.) The new group features LL Cool J, Chris O’Donnell and Louise Lombard, late of CSI:. SaraRules made the observation that Lombard’s character, Lara Macy, was virtually no different than her CSI: character, Sofia Curtis – her hair, clothing and overall disposition was exactly the same.  (We also had an apparent age discrepancy issue… but that’s a story for another time.)

The episode took Gibbs and McGee to L.A., to work on a joint investigation with OSP, while Tony and Ziva remained in D.C. There were a couple of references to “Judgment Day,” the episodes in which then-NCIS Director Jeny Shepard took Tony and Ziva to L.A. and wound up getting killed; those scenes created a couple of tense moments, which I thought played well to character development. On the whole, the episode was good and it will be interesting to see how the new series does, if it gets off the ground.

Stray Toasters

• SaraRules started setting up wedding registries last night.
• referenced an interesting comment on MetaTalk this morning:
  

  My favorite thought-piece about Ferris Bueller is the “Fight Club” theory, in which Ferris Bueller, the person, is just a figment of Cameron’s imagination, like Tyler Durden, and Sloane is the girl Cameron secretly loves.

  One day while he’s lying sick in bed, Cameron lets “Ferris” steal his father’s car and take the day off, and as Cameron wanders around the city, all of his interactions with Ferris and Sloane, and all the impossible hijinks, are all just played out in his head. This is part of the reason why the “three” characters can see so much of Chicago in less than one day — Cameron is alone, just imagining it all.

  It isn’t until he destroys the front of the car in a fugue state does he finally get a grip and decide to confront his father, after which he imagines a final, impossible escape for Ferris and a storybook happy ending for Sloane (“He’s gonna marry me!”), the girl that Cameron knows he can never have.

• Lose the Fish and Justice LEGO of America
• Obama “Pleased” But Says Much Work Remains
• For Free Comic Book Day, DC Comics is releasing Corps 101: The Sinestro Corps
• 
• Raising Katie: What adopting a white girl taught a black family about race in the Obama era
• For the fashionable gamer in your life: Wiimote Cufflinks
• Windows 7 Will Be Free for a Year
  • Microsoft To Disable Autorun
• Virgin America Now Serves Absinthe
• One Nation, Seven Sins

…right on to the friction of the day

Namaste.

Wednesday – 29 April 2009
Last night, I went over to Chris’ to play the second half of our Brotherhood vs. X-Men match. (Pictures can be seen here.) This time, he fielded the Brotherhood and I had the X-Men. The game, again, was rather balanced… mostly because I decided not to use my biggest gun, Phoenix, although I did take her. I wound up losing the game, in no small due to the fact that I completely forgot something that would have been a huge game-changer during my first turn. *grblsnrkx* On the whole though, it was a good match.

This morning, it took a few moments for my brain to process that the alarm was going off. Once I did, however, things fell into place.  Now, if only the last of the network issues would resolve themselves, as well…

No comics or sushi today. But tomorrow, oh tomorrow, there shall be blood raw fishes and four-color goodness.

Stray Toasters

• Coffee and homemade blueberry muffins.
• Past Chiefs of Staff Analyze Obama
• Metropolitan Opera cuts back on live park performances
• 
• Sean just informed me that the Cardinals cut Edgerrin James. O,o ?!?
• ‘Camina Burana,’ Music of Monks and Drunks
• Cirque du Soliel, in New York (Mostly) to Stay
  
• From Comic Book Resources: Sample Pages from Was Superman a Spy?

I turn my back to wind
To catch my breath
Before I start off again…

Namaste.

Friday – 24 April 2009
This morning started slowly and lazily, thanks to the server room upgrades. I got to come in a little late… since we have to work later into the evening.

Many evenings, SaraRules and I will kick back and watch The Herculoids (1, 2, 3).  (Hey, it’s a childhood favorite…) Sure it’s horribly dated, but we enjoy watching – and MST3K-ing the episodes. I’ve been wanting to mod a few ‘Clix figures into Herculoids figures, mostly because it would amuse me to do it, but last night, I started to wonder: “Why haven’t there been any Herculoids toys?” To the BatWeb!

A few keystrokes later, I came across this:

That’s right, Toynami is producing a line of Herculoids toys. Yep, yet another “Add” for the Covet List.

Stray Toasters
…are going to have to wait until later – we’re elbow-up in server room work.

Namaste.

Thursday – 23 April 2009
Another NBN Thursday begins. It’s not quite as bright and sunny as the past couple of days have been, but it’s supposed to get into the 80s. And, this morning’s commute started with Limelight… so, that can’t be all bad.

I picked up yesterday’s four-color haul after dinner last night; I haven’t read anything yet. I might get to that this evening, post-CSI:.

Last night, SaraRules finished a new quilt and I finished up both the Mayhem Rail platform and the WildWood Grove chapel. I stuck them both on the masterboard… and I took pictures. (Big surprise, I know. But, I did.) I still need to do some of the interior props for the chapel, but I’m happy with the way the exterior turned out. And, there’s something about having an 18 square foot play area that amuses me.

Stray Toasters

• SaraRules made banana bread. (You can be jealous now.)
• Queen Rania: The World Cannot Afford to be Cynical
• The NFL Draft begins tomorrow.
• Could YOU Be Batman? Here’s How You’d Do It.
• Historic St. Louis Schools Face Uncertain Future
• 
• A Eulogy for the Boombox
• From the “Paging Mr. Cobblepot…” file: Bionic penguins take to the water – and the skies
• Pentagon Cyber-Command in the Works
• Star Wars cupcakes

Namaste.

Sunday – 19 April 2009
Last night, SaraRules and I went to Abravanel Hall to hear Utah Symphony and Jon Kimura Parker perform. The guest conductor was Thomas Wilkins. The performance consisted of:

• James Beckel ~ Toccata
• Ludwig van Beethoven ~ Symphony No. 4 in B-flat major, op. 60
• Sergei Rachmaninoff ~ Concerto No. 2 for Piano in C minor, op. 18

The performance was very good. I was especially surprised to enjoy the Beckel piece as much as I did – I’m not usually a fan of modern classical pieces. I’m not sure if Mr. Wilkins is one of the candidates for taking over as conductor of Utah Symphony after Gilderoy Keith Lockhart leaves, but if he is, I’d be more than happy to see him take over that role. After Mr. Parker finished the Concerto, he had two encores, in which he performed:

1. Rachmaninoff ~ Prelude in G
2. Billy Joel ~ Scenes from an Italian Restaurant

Today has been a lazy day. I’m good with that.  SaraRules fixed sauteed spaghetti for breakfast. We’ve been watching Doom (yes, that Doom) and Inside the Actor’s Studio, in which Dave Chappelle was interviewing James Lipton. I had forgotten that Karl Urban, soon to be seen as Dr. Leonard “Bones” McCoy in the upcoming Star Trek movie, was in Doom.

Four-Color Coverage
This week’s haul had a few good items:

• Action Comics #876 – This was a good Kryptonian vs. Kryptonian issue: Ursa, General Zod’s second-in-command and wife, vs. Lor-Zod (her son/Clark and Lois’ foster son, Christopher) and Thara Ak-Var. This issue showed just how ruthless and cold Ursa could be. And the last panel…? Didn’t see that one coming.
• Captain America #49 – This was a solid character issue, in which Sharon Carter faces ghosts of the past and the present.
• Green Lantern Corps #35 – This issue brings us one step closer to the War of Light. Sodam Yat has a… less-than-heartwarming return to Daxam, while Soranik Natu takes a meeting on Korugar with the last person you’d suspect.
• Haunted Tank #2-5 – How is it that a Confederate General (or his ghost) come to the aid of a Black soldier – whos happens to be his descendant – in Iraq? That question is answered in this series.  And while, it’s not exactly a hugs-and-kisses family reunion, it makes for a good read.
• Tiny Titans #15 – Pet Club at Wayne Manor redux. Hilarity – and mayhem – ensues. Also, Ravager has to babysit the Tiny Terror Titans. What could possibly go wrong?

Stray Toasters

• Revise an Email so People Will Actually Read It
• 3D Star Wars Starfighter Kites
• 
• Doom update: The movie just hit the FPS section.  *amused*
• CYBERDYNE creates exoskeletons
  (Repeat after me: “SkyNet is now online…”)
• Is Scarlett Johansson getting in shape to portray Black Widow?  Could be.

Namaste.

Friday – 17 April 2009
Another 9/80 “off” Friday has begun. I managed to sleep in until a little after 9:00 this morning. That was nice. After a quick bite to eat, SaraRules and I headed to the gym to get in a workout. Today’s routine included:

• Leg Press: 3 sets/10 reps, 140 lbs
• Kick-backs: 3 sets/10 reps, 60 lbs
• Calf Raises: 3 sets/10 reps, 100 lbs
• Bench Press: 3 sets/10 reps
  • 2½ sets @ 205 lbs
  • ½ set @ 185 lbs
• Fly: 3 sets/10 reps, 110 lbs
• Curl w/ Shoulder Press: 3 sets/10 reps, 20 lbs
• Bent-over Row: 3 sets/10 reps, 35 lbs
• Tricep Extension (rope): 3 sets/10 reps, 45 lbs

Post-workout weight: 182.5 lbs.

We also ran into Josh, a former coworker, while in the free weight room. That was a pleasant and unexpected surprise.

Stray Toasters

• I wound up getting the Mayhem Rail and Wildwood Grove sets for my masterboard. With the other corners that I have, I can fully populate two city blocks… and then some.
• SaraRules showed me LEGO Chocolate Wedding Favors.  (If only I could find some LEGO  ice trays…)
• forwared a link to Uncomfortable Plot Summaries
• For those of you in the SLC metro area:

  
  (click image for details)

• Obama Proposes High-Speed Rail System for the US
• Motorized LEGO Mech
• CIA Officials Won’t Face Charges for Waterboarding
• Green Lantern to film in Australia in November
• 
• How did Batman’s alter ego, Bruce Wayne, get his name? Find out here (about halfway down the page).
• Trendsetters on the Streets of New York: Then and Now
• Faster Than a Speeding Bullwhip: Superman Creator’s Kinktastic Art
• 

  (click image to read the Brothers Brick article)

• From NPR Music:
  • Bringing Up Baby, As Music Lovers Might
  • How Do You Get to Carnegie Hall? YouTube, YouTube, YouTube
• Device Keeps Lungs Breathing Outside Body

Next up: Errand-running and miscellaneous stuff.
Later: Clitorati

Namaste.

Wednesday – 15 April 2009
It’s Tax Day in America once again. Appropriately, it’s a grey and rainy day in Salt Lake City.

Last night, Chris came over and we played ‘Clix. The matchup: The X-Men (Chris) vs. The Brotherhood of Mutants/Hellfire Club (pictures). It was a very good fight; it was probably the most balanced match we’ve had. We had to call the game before things got cooking, but at that point, Chris had a 24 point lead. He said that he didn’t really call it a “win” because we didn’t really get too far into the game. *shrug* It was fun, either way.  I’m looking forward to the flip-side rematch.

Stray Toasters

• SaraRules and her mother met with a potential our wedding photographer yesterday.
• Education Standards Likely to See Tightening
• April 15, 1726: Apple Doesn’t Fall Far From Physicist
• Mythbusters: Compact Compact Rocket Sled

• The Ravens’ 2009 schedule was released yesterday. They didn’t soft-peddle them this season.
• A Grand Entrance at St. Patrick’s Cathedral
• From the “Whiskey Tango Foxtrot” file: Man bites snake in epic struggle
• Simulated crime scene bathroom accessories
• Manifesto of a Comic Book Rebel
• 
• forwarded a link to Pulp Browsers…
• …which reminded me of this.  (Audio will most likely fall under “NSFW”)
• T. Boone Pickens relishes role in push for alternative energy
• Chesney’s “Victorian Underground” – the secret Victorian underbelly of cyberpunk
• Tetris Furniture

And that’s a wrap.

Oh, look… it’s snowing now.

Namaste.

A few late-afternoon distractions have been discovered:

• By way of and Not Always Right: May Contain Scenes of Gratuitous Bowie
• Erfworld
• From the “Whiskey Tango Foxtrot” file: Woman rubs chili pepper seeds in her eyes after setting new world record
  I can’t just make her “Human of the Day.” It would be… too much of an understatement.  So, we’ll make her “Hardcore Human of the Day.”  Yeah, that’ll work.
• Obama eases curbs on Cuba travel
• Ariana Page Russell: The Human Etch-A-Sketch
• 
• We are in the midst of a server room upgrade. Along with this, we’re getting some new cabinets for servers. Julie fielded a call this morning from the shipping company to schedule delivery of the cabinets. She set us up for Thursday delivery.  Ten minutes ago, a driver from the company showed up… with the racks in his truck. We couldn’t take delivery for a couple of reasons
  1. The truck had no liftgate.
  2. We have no forklift.
  3. Our building has no loading dock.  (FAIL!)
  4. We weren’t expecting them until… um… Thursday maybe?!

  So, Julie sent the driver packing. The cabinets will be delivered… on Thursday, as agreed upon… in a truck with a liftgate.

Namaste.

Friday – 10 April 2009
Another 9/80 “on” Friday. There are rumors that it’s supposed to be in the 60s today.  We’ll see how that pans out.

Last night was a lazy Date Night: We had pizza and watched this week’s NCIS (Thanks, On Demand!), CSI: and then Aladdin, which is still one of my favorite modern (pre-Pixar) Disney movies.

Stray Toasters

• Island DIY: Kauai residents don’t wait for state to repair road
• The Girl in the Window
• By way of Not Always Right:
  • Best Idea I’ve Heard All Day
  • Speechless
• What’s Your Zombie Contingency Plan
• …and, speaking of zombies: CompUSA Comes Back From the Dead
• Banks asked to keep quiet on stress tests
• IGN has a trailer for the upcoming Green Lantern: First Flight
• ABC to conclude Eli Stone and Pushing Daisies this summer
• A simple case of over-egging
• “Science to do” t-shirt
• Sims creator Will Wright leaving Electronic Arts
• I’ve finished Queen & Country Volume 02; moving on to Volume 03.

Time to see what kind of trouble I can get into today…

Namaste.

Tuesday: Coda
This afternoon, SaraRules and I decided to check out a few comic shops near her aunt and uncle’s. We had three stops on the agenda. Thanks to GoogleMaps, we had a circuit planned that would take us from one shop to another and then to the third and bring us back home, jiggity-jig. Map in hand, we got under way.

The first place was what I expect most non-comics fans would anticipate a comic shop to look like: Jam-packed, floor to ceiling, with comics, statues, toys and whatever else they could get away with. It was a claustrophobic hole-in-the-wall. There was some sense of order to things in there, but damned if I could figure it out in the ten minutes we were there.

We hit the second shop… after discovering that GoogleMaps had apparently gone on a coffee break when we asked it for directions. We figured out where we were supposed to be going and found the store. It was a satellite of a store that I visited the last time that I was in L.A.  I liked the original store quite a bit; this one left a bit to be desired, though. It was laid out decently, but the stock was, by comparison, quite lacking.

We literally stumbled over what wound up being the “third” store. I saw it as we were driving past the strip center in which it was located. It was part-comic shop…. and part-fabric store. O,o ?!? Explain that one, if you can. I think that we were there for five minutes, tops. Definitely an entry for the “Whiskey Tango Foxtrot” file.

On the way to the now-fourth store, we discovered that GoogleMaps screwed the pooch again. A few course corrections later, we wound up at Galaxy of Comics. It’s a new store (opened on 04 Feb 09), but it was clean, well-organized and inviting.  Dana, the associate on-duty, was friendly and helpful. I found a few pieces of plastic crack (which I was looking for) and a graphic novel (which I wasn’t looking for, but looked interesting).  Of the comic shops we visited today, Galaxy of Comics was the best shop, hands-down. I’ll be stopping here again, when I’m back in town. If you’re in the San Fernando Valley – and more specifically, in the Van Nuys area – you should check it out.

This evening, we went to dinner at Wood Ranch BBQ and Grill. I had a combination of the Beef Ribs and Babyback Ribs, with Incredible Mashed Potatoes and Steamed Broccoli… and a Guinness to wash it down, naturally.  SaraRules had the Tri-Tip, with the mashed potatoes and Mac and Cheese. The food was delicious and the service was great. Unfortunately, there is no Wood Ranch in the Land Behind the Zion Curtan nor back home in NC or MD.  BAH!

We hit the road back to SLC tomorning.

And that, as they say, is that.

Namaste.

Monday – 06 April 2009
Day One of the Sunny Southern California Adventure. Well, I guess this is technically “Day Two,” since we got in last night. *shrug* We’re here to:

1. …visit SaraRules’ aunt, uncle and cousin
2. …see her sister and
3. …to let her get in a bit of dress shopping with her mother, sister, aunt and cousin.

I’m hanging out with her father and uncle (or, as SaraRules calls it: “Listening to them sit around and tell lies…”). We’ve been having a good time while they’re out gallivanting.

Yesterday, SaraRules and I got up, watched an episode of The Brave and the Bold, packed up, ran a couple of errands and then headed to her folks’ place to get on the road. We stopped at the In-N-Out Burger in Vegas. (Tasty burgers and fries, with chocolatey shaked milk!) The trip, while long, was rather uneventful… although, we did encounter many road monkeys. (Uneventful pictures here) When we got L.A., I met the family: Marie, Stan and their daughter Angela.  And then… SLEEP! (It’s amazing how tired just riding in a car can make a person.)

Today has been fairly low-key. We started off with breakfast and a fair bit of catching up, then the ladies were off to hunt for dresses. So far, we (the guys) have gone to Target, Best Buy – where Steve and I introduced Stan to the joys of Mac – and an Italian deli. Amusing side story: Steve and I were talking about the different flavors of Mac (Mini, iMac, Pro and MacBook) and discussing some of the features when a sales associate walked up… whom we effectively ignored. He just stood looking while we talked up the machines and their software to Stan. He silently wandered away at some point, because I turned around again and he was gone.

I’m not sure what’s on tap for the rest of the evening.  I’m good with that, though; that’s what “vacation” is all about.

Stray Toasters

• Obama reaches out to Muslim world
• 10 Best Geeky Last Words
• Top 10 Home Office Hacks
• Aim that rage against the corporate fee machine
• Computer Program Self-Discovers Laws of Physics
• 
• Paris liberation made ‘whites only’
• Tyranist, you might be interested in this: Six good technological ideas for improving publishing
• How scratching can stop an itch
• Jazzy covers of Mister Rogers songs

The weather’s here
Wish you were beautiful.

Back to that “relaxing” thing.

Namaste.

Friday – 03 April 2009
It’s my 9/80 “off” Friday, but I’m working today – I’m shifting my day off to Monday.

Last night, SaraRules and I headed over to visit . I knew that and would be there, but we were surprised to find there; he had dropped in before heading to the airport. showed up a little later, too. Nyx was doing henna on and when we got there:

SaraRules and I had dinner with and after leaving ‘s.

Back at home, SaraRules and I hung out in front of the TV – she quilted while I played on the Interwebs. David Letterman had Michael J. Fox as his guest on The Late Show. I was impressed to find that Mr. Fox hasn’t let his bout with Parkinson’s Disease get/keep him down. In fact, one of the things that he discussed was a trip he took to Bhutan, including hiking up mountains there. It was a good interview.

Stray Toasters

• This morning, I woke up with Chicago’s Stay the Night running through my head.

• We got the proofs back on our “Save the Date” announcements.  They look good. Really good.
• Angry Villagers Run Google Out of Town
• Mow the Lawn – I don’t have the words to do this justice, you’ll just have to watch it.
• I was pleasantly surprised to find that LilFormers has grown into a full-blown webcomic:

  

• …speaking of LilFormers, while at dinner last night, made a comment that reminded me of this toon. I decided to do a little digging, because my Transformers knowledge wanes from the period just before the movie. One thing led to another and I wound up looking up information on Transformers: Beast Wars, that’s when I came across this gem:
  

  The later plot was developed following the discovery of a message made by the original Megatron for any Decepticons who would uncover it within the Golden Disks.

  I shared it with Nyx, along with the following question:

  By this rationale, it’s not too much of a stretch to wonder: Were the Decepticons Mormon?

• Batman Icon’s Mutation – a look at the bat-symbol through the years
• By way of Nyx and Not Always Right: There Can Be Only One Insane Customer
• Gorillaz go Bananaz
• Flurries. Again.
• After Sweden’s New Law, Drop in Internet Traffic

That’s a good start for the day.

Namaste.

Thursday – 02 April 2009
Sushi Wednesday was postponed until today. But, I’ll have to miss it, as I have a lunch meeting. I may also have to fore go (or maybe just postpone) today’s workout, for the same reason. On the plus side, I stopped by to visit for a bit, after work.

Next, home for dinner and a movie with SaraRules and her mother.  Dinner was shrimp jambalaya, the movie was Australia. The movie was… interesting. It looked really nice. Hugh Jackman and Nicole Kidman did well in their roles. The main problem was… no, “problems were”… that:

1. The movie was long, nearly three hours. (Granted, it didn’t feel long.)
2. It felt like they tried to shoehorn too many movies – not just stories – into that time.
3. It was a bit disjointed – the movie seemed to take a huge left turn about 2 hours in.
4. Elton John’s closing song.  (He should not be allowed to write lyrics. Ever.)

Despite these things, I did enjoy the movie; although, as SaraRules put it: “It’s not like I need to see it again.” It was an entertaining way of spending an evening. And, at one point, I even broke out a “Wolverine in a cowboy hat” ‘Clix, just to get a smile/eyeroll out of SaraRules. It worked. (Thinking about it, with Hugh Jackman as Wolverine, I could actually see Nicole Kidman as Emma Frost, the White Queen (1, 2)… especially after her turn as Mrs. Coulter in The Golden Compass.)

Stray Toasters

• I heard part of an interesting cover of Major Tom on a Lincoln ad last night. You can see the ad here. The ad made me want to look up trivia about the song. And, by the power of Greyskull with the power of the Interwebs, I did:
  • Wikipedia
  • The Straight Dope
• By way of : Umbrellas for the Civil but Discontent Man
• The Beats: A Graphic History
• Cute and amusing: Bunnysong (video)
• 
• The title of this is self-explanatory: Giant Star Wars pool toys and kites
• What would President Obama look like as an action figure? Something like this, I’d suspect.
• Marvel prepares to showcase Wolverine from a very different perspective
• I found Code Monkey: Stargate Atlantis online again. Now, I must find a way to procure it for my collection…
• From the “Whiskey Tango Foxtrot” file: Lindon (UT) police bust family-run prostitution ring

Namaste.