Random Access

Thursday (part II)
Work wasn’t too bad today. No one had to feel the business end of my shoe, so I guess that is a good thing, as well.

NPR/PRI Stories
Talk of the Nation had interviews with (comedic) performance troupe Culture Clash and Justin Lin, director of the new movie Better Luck Tomorrow. There was also a segment that dealt with water and the laws concerning ground water and surface water rights.

Fresh Air guest host did interviews with comic book writer and artist Frank Miller and actor Bruce Campbell.

Stray Toasters

• There is something about the songs Don’t Stop Me Now (by Queen) and Indiana (Rockapella) that have the ability to put a person in a good mood.
• showed me this link for My Virtual Model. With it, you can create a 3D model of yourself and then “try on” outfits to see how they would look on you. Imagine that: All the benefits of shopping without having to change clothes. What a deal!
• and I were talking about my idea for the U.S.S. Ass-Whomper and its crew. I was originally going to use her as my Science Officer, but then I determined that she would do better as my Chief Medical Officer. We also came up with the possible idea of christening the ship the U.S.p.S. Ass-Whomper… and yes, the lower-case “p” is intentional. In fact, I think that it should be “U.S.S.” with a spray-painted “p,” if that were possible.
• It’s still not the weekend yet…
• I have a lapful of Sissy the Wonder Kitty.
• I should be in bed.

Let’s change that from “…should be in…” to “…am going to…” Off to my nightly excursion in The Dreaming!

Namaste.

…or “So much poison in power, the principles get left out… so much mind on the matter, the spirit gets forgotten about.”

Thursday
Sixteen more work hours in this week. Mercifully.

They are adding a new crew for career employees soon. I found out yesterday how they are intending to implement it. Wait. Let me rephrase that: I found out ten minutes before the end of my shift yesterday how they are intending to implement it. There are nine slots available at my level; they had 15 people who are interested in the shift. So… they will get to bid, by seniority, on those positions. At the same time, they are going to eliminate the nine most junior positions (one of which is mine because when I transfer here, I lost ALL of my seniority that I had in N.C. – I went from 11th most senior to the 2nd most junior. But that is an issue for another time…) Anyway, the nine of us whose shifts are to be eliminated will have to bid on the positions that the top nine vacate. Rough translation: I may keep the same shift or I may have my time and days off shifted. Whoop-de-fuck.

Okay, I feel better now that I have gotten that off my chest.

Song of the Day: Today’s Thursday Triple Play comes by way of the late Jim Croce. The songs: Bad, Bad Leroy Brown (you know: “The baddest man in the whole damn town…”), Operator (That’s Not the Way It Feels), and You Don’t Mess Around with Jim.

NPR Stories:

• Both Talk of the Nation and All Things Considered had interesting pieces on homelessness yesterday. It was interesting (and in some cases, a little disturbing) to hear some peoples’ opinions on what should be done about the homeless in their cities/communities.
• Fresh Air had an interview with Fred Rogers. That’s right: Mr. Rogers from Mr. Rogers’ Neighborhood. It was good… and had some funny moments. If you get a chance, listen to what he had to say about pranks on the set of the show (it’s around the 20-minute mark of the interview); it also seems that Michael Keaton was a purveyor of many pranks when he worked on the show.

  On today’s show: Interviews with comic book/graphic artist Frank Miller and actor Bruce Campbell. Did I mention: “Frank Miller?” I did? Okay, just wanted to make sure.

• All Things Considered also did a story about “Megan’s Law.” The U.S. Supreme Court is reviewing “…whether alerting communities to a convicted sex offender’s whereabouts is constitutional.”

Stray Toasters:

• Today’s “Quote of the Day” from Brainyquote comes from Ralph Marston: “Excellence is not a skill. It is an attitude.” Unfortunately, I can name far too many people whose attitude is more along the lines of “mediocrity,” at best.
• I think that the U.S.S. Ass-Whomper will make her maiden voyage this weekend. “To boldly kick ass where no Federation starship has kicked ass before…”
• “Nobody bakes a cake as tasty as a Tastykake.” I still think that this, on the whole, is true… but Drake’s Cakes Coffee Cake is pretty damn good, too.
• They are doing construction on Redwood Road, the road on which our complex borders. Right now, it’s not bad. But, I can see it becoming a complete clusterfuck in the next four to six weeks.

Idiotstick of the Day
On the way back from getting some espresso-laden frozen mocha goodness, I came the back way into the complex, along 22nd West (heading north). There was a lady in a green Chrysler who was turning onto 22nd W, intending to head south. She came flying up from the cross street, looked to her right and then seemed to remember “Gee, I’d better look to my left, too!” Of course, this seemed to occur to her at the same time that she thought that it would be a good idea to start to pull out onto the road. Oh yeah, one other detail: I was approaching her cross street as this concept formed in the cognitive centers of her brain. She turned, saw me approaching and a look along the lines of: “Well! What is that car doing there when I am trying to turn?!?” crossed her face. I continued past her, nonplussed.

And, that’s all for now. Time to make sure that the world’s mail gets delivered in a timely manner. Or something that reasonably approximates it.

Namaste.

Wednesday
If I started going to bed earlier (i.e.: “on time”), I might not have such issues with waking up and dragging my lazy carcass out of bed. I may have to test that theory soon. But, I did bring myself to what passes for coherence and made it to the gym. Now, there is coffee brewing and a shower that is calling me.

Song of the Day: Long Train Runnin’ by The Doobie Brothers, from the CD “Captain & Me.”

Stray Toasters:

• So far, there has been no sign of the mystery kitten.
• I don’t want to be productive today. Not in a ‘work’ sense, anyway. I want to be lazy. Draw. Maybe do some writing. But not work.

Oh well, off to get that shower and get ready to go to “the fifth happiest place on Earth,” as I like to call it. Why the fifth? Because there are four Disney theme parks (Disneyland, Walt Disney World, EuroDisney, and Tokyo Disney). Hmm. I wonder if the Disney cruise line would count as #5 and thus shove the REC into the #6 slot….?

Namaste.

Tuesday (part II)
Work wasn’t too bad today; I spent most of the first half of the day in flats and most of the second half in letters. Other than that, nothing to extraordinary there.

NPR/PRI
Talk of the Nation was good today. The first hour discussed the boom of “ethnic media” in America; the second hour was an interview with Margaret Cho.

There was an article on The World about a high-tech (and from the description, that’s an understatement) pool table. It’s supposed to help you improve your game. No, let me rephrase that: It teaches you and helps you improve your game.

All Things Considered had a story about a lawsuit involving Victoria’s Secret and a shop in Kentucky called “Victor’s Little Secret.” (Make your own jokes.)

More Stray Toasters:

• Jess ‘found’ a stray cat on the doorstep when she was on the way to work; she left some food and water out for it. She asked me to look for it when I came home and if we could keep it, if it was here. Three cats. That would be three cats. I told her that I would look for it… and that IF it was here, that we could keep it. Unfortunately, it was not here (I left the food out, just in case…). I just hope that it either: a) found its home or b) found someplace warm.
• Talked to my dad for a bit. All’s quiet on the homefront.
• Holy Mini-Me, Batman! showed me the URL for this. Bizarre… and oddly compelling.

Quotes of the Day:

• Dee: If this place had an ass, I would have kicked it by now.
• Dee: Have you played much Madden? (Madden 2003)
  Me: Not much.
  Dee: Just one or two games…?
  Me: Yeah.
  Dee: How’d that go?
  Me: We won’t talk about it.

• Me: I want to develop the kind of persona where, when I’m mad, people just cut a swath for me to walk through.
  Dee: You already have it. In fact, I even have a name for it.
  Me: You do?!
  Dee: Yeah, ‘Man-ses.’ You walk into a room and it’s like: “Part, White Sea!”

And that’s it… for now.

Namaste.

Tuesday
Back to it this morning. I stayed in bed a little longer than I should have (about :30), got up, went to the gym, came home, observed the hygiene rituals and am now just hanging out for a bit before returning to indentured servitude.

Stray Toasters

• I forgot to mention something from the Borders trip (the first one) last night. I found a copy of Ego Trip’s Big Book of Racism (link). I thumbed through a few pages. It looks interesting; I may have to give it further perusal.
• I was looking at the Comics2Film site and noticed that they had an article on Hallowe’en costumes that I had previously missed. So, I checked it out. All in all, not a bad piece. Not surprisingly, it was even a little tongue-in-cheek.

  The article included a link for Bruce and Valerie’s Spandexwear, noting that they had different heroes’ costumes available. That being said, my curiosity was piqued and I clicked the link. The costumes weren’t too bad, but some of the pictures…? *shiver* How bad were they?

  [09:32] ShadoRunr: http://www.spandexwear.com/
  [09:33] ShadoRunr: Ummm…..
  [09:36] m3lodywise: *apprehensively clicks*
  [09:37] ShadoRunr: The costumes
  [09:38] m3lodywise: GAH!
  [09:38] m3lodywise: fat spiderman@~! GAH GHA GAH
  [09:39] m3lodywise: GAH CAMELTOE FLASH *blinded*
  [09:51] m3lodywise: http://www.spandexwear.com/buffet/buf110-1.jpg
  [09:51] m3lodywise: the horror…….. the TOE……

  and

  [09:32] ShadoRunr: http://www.spandexwear.com/
  [09:32] ShadoRunr: *sigh*
  [09:52] : http://www.spandexwear.com/buffet/buf074.htm
  [09:53] : ha! ha! erotiasphixiation. for those just faking it…

• The U.S.S. Ass-Whomper. As David Letterman would say: “I don’t have a joke here; I just like saying the name.”

Song of the Day: For today’s Two-Fer, we turn to the Brian Setzer Orchestra and the songs This Old House and You’re the Boss, a duet with No Doubt’s Gwen Stefani. Both songs can be found on the CD “The Dirty Boogie.”

And with that, it’s time to get something to eat, prepare lunch and get ready to face the music mail.

Namaste.

Monday
And now, another episode of “How I Spent My Day Off…”

• I got to sleep in. Until 9:30. And that was fine with me. Didn’t do much of anything during the early part of the day. That, too, was fine.
• Jess and I (imagine that… BOTH of us had the day off!) went to Guru’s for lunch. After that, it was a trip to Old Navy (bought nothing) and Barnes & Noble (bought magazines, a new journal and a new sketchbook) at Fort Union.
• After that, off to Borders. Yes, another bookstore. I was still looking for a book that the B&N didn’t have. Borders didn’t have it, either, but they did have a book that I have been seeking (without having to order it) for the past… four to six months. So, I got a few more magazines and the book. And, while I didn’t know it at the time: I left my Palm Pilot there. More on that later.
• Jess wanted to go over to Fascist Place so… we did. She was looking for some clothes; I was just looking. She pointed out Justice League Monopoly at Hijinks. Meanie-head!!! After that, we split up: She went in search of clothing… I went to Gamestop. I found a copy of Qix (one of my all-time favorite arcade games) for the GameBoy…. and…. a copy of Star Trek: Starship Creator Deluxe. Only 9 bux! In the words of Eddie Murphy: “What a bargain! What a bargain for me!” Of course, this now means that I will have to follow-up on an idea that I had a couple of years ago: To make a starship, christen it the U.S.S. Ass-Whomper, create a crew based on friends from work and go out and… kick some intergalactic ass (or the closest analogue for some alien species).
• Came home. Shortly after we got in, I got a call… from Borders. It seems as though I left my Palm Pilot there. *sigh* So…
• I went back to Borders, got my Palm and then headed to the gym.

And now, I’m home and eating dinner. And watching the David Letterman show. Tomorrow, it’s back to the work-a-day grind. But, for now, I’m going to enjoy my remaining time off.

Song of the Day: In honor of Veteran’s Day, today’s selection is March from Midway, by John Williams and the Boston Pops Orchestra. This is John Williams the composer, not the classical guitar player (although the latter Mr. Williams’ work is also very good).

Site of the Day: m3l showed me this URL for “The Classic Comic Reading Room.” , are you paying attention? Good. This site has a number of famous first appearances of the heroes (and other characters) that have become mainstays in the comic book/graphic novel genre. Verra cool.

And that is all for now.

Namaste.

Sunday (part II)

• Today was a good day. It was chilly, overcast and wet… but it was still a good day. Dee and Jerry came over around 14:00. We watched football. We gamed. We just hung out. Jerry had to leave around 17:00, so Dee and I played Halo multiplayer. That game kicks major ass. And so did we. Much ass.
• Jess, Angie, Dee and I went to get dinner at the (relatively) local Applebee’s. We ate, we talked, we had a good time. We came back here and: Dee and I went back to Halo while Jess and Ang watched The Anne Nicole Smith Show.
• After everybody left, I watched a bit of TV. You didn’t think that I got the new system just for the football, did you? No. That was just the major reason. I started watching Boomerang; Boomeraction was on – a collection of different cartoons. For the first time in a VERY long time, I saw episodes of: Dino Boy, Bird Man, The Arabian Knights and (this cracks me up) The Impossibles. Watching these toons reminded me of when I watched them before and after school when I was younger. It also made me realize how… dated… they look and sound. But, it was still fun.
• After that, I flipped to TV Land and watched The Dick Van Dyke Show. This would have to go on my “all-time favorite TV program” list. And now, I’m watching Barney Miller. I remember that I used to watch this with my father in the early/mid 70s. It, definitely, looks a little dated… but it’s still pretty funny. Sitcom? Maybe, but to me it (now) seems to be a little closer to a satirical humor.

::: Football Update
The Ravens won; aside from a few errors, they played well.
The Dolphins and the Panthers didn’t; they both lost.
::: End Update :::

I was going to watch tonight’s episode of Alias… but, I think that I will save that for sometime tomorrow. Instead, I will watch Stargate SG-1. Geeky? Maybe, but I’ll file it under “Guilty Pleasure,” instead.

Tomorrow is Monday. The start of the work week. Thankfully, I can sleep in. Sleeeeeeeep in. ::: bliss :::

Namaste.

Sunday
First off: Happy birthday to my friend Adrian.

So far, it’s been a relatively quiet day. I’m waiting for a few friends to come over for a day of football and X-Box goodness. Tomorrow is Veteran’s Day… which also means that I have the day off. Nothing wrong with a short work week. Nothing at all.

Stray Toasters:

• , Mycah and I went to see 8 Mile yesterday. I liked it. I had to explain a couple of things later, but all-in-all, we thought that it was a good movie. I give it a thumbs-up.
• Bowling was pretty good last night. We had to deal with a couple of people who don’t understand the concept of “lane courtesy” (Person B should wait until Person A, who is about on the lane and about to bowl, to finish their delivery before Person B bowls). It wasn’t an insurmountable situation… it was more of an annoyance.
• The writer of 8 Mile has the same name as a friend of mine. We looked up his info on IMDB. I just looked up my name on there… and it came back with someone. Who needs Googlisms?
• Jess and I had dinner at Stuart Anderson’s Black Angus last night. Damn fine meal!
• From a conversation with :
  

  [10:02] : The following is an excerpt from a CHILDREN’S BOOK, “Captain Underpants
  and the Perilous Plot of Professor Poopypants”, by Dav Pilkey: The evil Professor forces everyone to assume new names…

  Use the first letter of your first name to determine your NEW first name:
  a = stinky b = lumpy c = buttercup
  d = gidget e = crusty f = greasy
  g = fluffy h = cheeseball i = chim-chim
  j = poopsie k = flunky l = booger
  m = pinky n = zippy o = goober
  p = doofus q = slimy r = loopy
  s = snotty t = falafel u = dorkey
  v = squeezit w = oprah x = skipper
  y = dinky z = zsa-zsa

  Use the first letter of your last name to determine the first half of your NEW last name:
  a = diaper b = toilet c = giggle
  d = bubble e = girdle f = barf
  g = lizard h = waffle i = cootie
  j = monkey k = potty l = liver
  m = banana n = rhino o = burger
  p = hamster q = toad r = gizzard
  s = pizza t = gerbil u = chicken
  v = pickle w = chuckle x = tofu
  y = gorilla z = stinker

  Use the last letter of your last name to determine the second half of your NEW last name:
  a = head b = mouth c = face
  d = nose e = tush f = breath
  g = pants h = shorts i = lips
  j = honker k = butt l = brain
  m = tushie n = chunks o = hiney
  p = biscuits q = toes r = buns
  s = fanny t = sniffer u = sprinkles
  v = kisser w = squirt x = humperdinck
  y = brains z = juice

  Thus, for example, George Bush’s new name is Fluffy Toiletshorts. Go figure.
  [10:15] : *chuckles*
  [10:15] ShadoRunr: 🙂

::: Football Update :::

The Ravens are playing the Cincinnati Bengals in Ravens Stadium.

Both teams put 7 points on the board within the first 5:00 of the first quarter. Baltimore had a chance to go up by 7 after an interception, but Ed Reed started showboating a few yards outside of the endzone… and had the ball stripped. That resulted in a turnover. Fortunately, they were able to hold Cinci to no points. Baltimore was able to convert a later interception into a touchdown.

As I’ve said before: With a lot of the veterans gone, due to injuries, the younger members of the team have stepped up and shown that they can be an effective team. Sure, they make some mistakes, but they are learning and they are showing that they can apply the things that they have learned.
::: End Update :::

I should finish straightening up the office. Whether or not I will is up in the air, at the moment. But, it’s leaning towards “put it off for a while.”

Namaste.

Saturday
So far, I’ve managed to get away with not doing too much. However, that’s something of a two-edged sword since I really need to do some cleaning this afternoon. But, there is something to be said for taking some lazy time for oneself.

NPR/PRI
Talk of the Nation – Science Friday had a discussion about the latest debate over teaching evolution vs. creationism (or “Intelligent Design”). The Ohio State Board of Education has proposed new guidelines for teaching science and this was one of the issues that they address. The second hour looked at smallpox, the risks of vaccination against it and its uses as a weapon.

Joss Whedon, creator of Buffy the Vampire Slayer among others, was one of the guests interviewed on Fresh Air. I don’t think that I had previously heard nor read any interviews with him. He presented some interesting ideas about his writing style and the things that he seeks to achieve in creating characters and storylines.

Quote of the Day

Paul: I used to think that I was of pretty average intelligence. But, when I got to know more about people in society, I realized: I must be a fucking genius.

Stray Toasters

• I’m going to see 8 Mile in about an hour.
• I am going to go ahead with plans to set-up a discussion group for next weekend.
• I still need to get this cleaning done.
• I still don’t have the motivation to get started on it.
• Must… remember… to… record… Justice League: The Savage Time.
• I [heart] my X-Box.
• Purdue seems to be having a hard time putting points on the scoreboard against Ohio State. Maryland is getting schooled by N.C. State.
• I just found out that a friend recently got hired by M$. I’m assuming that since he is a game designer that he will be working for them in that (or at least a very similar) capacity.
• has one of the best IRC quit messages that I’ve seen in a while: Quit: ride my karmic wheel of kick ass!

Okay… I guess that I should go and get ready for the movie. And then come back and clean the Hell (the Abyss, Purgatory and the other dark planes) out of the apartment.

Namaste.

Friday
Four down and one to go. As far as work weeks go, this one has been pretty painless. Of course, the song said that Suicide Is Painless¹, too, but I don’t think that is an option that I would like to exercise. Although, it could be said that eight hours of work is a daily form of attempted suicide. Hmm. That may be a thought to be taken up at a later time.

NPR/PRI News
The Shrub gave a press conference yesterday; it pre-empted the first hour of Talk of the Nation. No big deal. I have to admit something: Even though I am not the man’s most ardent supporter, I think that he did a decent job. He was fairly open and downright jocular with the reporters. Was there any spin in his speech? Uhh… Does James Brown sing Sex Machine? You bet your ass there was spin! But, it was a post-election press conference. Go figure. And, the overall tone of the conference/interview was good. And, he said “nucular” eight times, that I counted. Hoo-AH!

Talk of the Nation discussed the Catholic Church’s new policy on dealing with the sexual abuse scandal and the reasons why members of the clergy and the laiety like and/or dislike it, in its current form.

On Fresh Air, Terry Gross interviewed Bill Maher, the former host of Politically Incorrect. As ever, Mr. Maher is a man of strong opinions and he is not afraid to assert and defend them. I thought that it was a very well-done interview and it even evoked some rather strong opinions among some people at work.

Song of the Day: In light of the George Clinton interview on The Screen Savers yesterday, today’s SotD will be the Friday Morning Funk-for-All with a spotlight on the Funkmaster himself and the Parliament Funkadelic. That’s right. The Mothership has landed and it’s here with P-Funk for your ears: Flash Light, Up on the Down Stroke, Aqua Boogie, Dr. Funkenstein, Motherhip Connection (Star Child), Testify, and… of course: Tear the Roof Off the Sucker (Give Up the Funk).

Stray Toasters

• I actually managed to play Halo last night! After four days of trying to get to it, I did last night.
• From this morning’s conversation with :
  

  [09:29] : “At four o’clock, an evil man made his bed and lay in it, a pot called a kettle black, a stone-thrower broke the windows of his glass house. You look for this one under ‘F’ for fanatic and ‘J’ for justice – in the Twilight Zone.”
  [09:30] ShadoRunr: I just read that.
  [09:30] : isn’t that funny imagery?
  [09:30] ShadoRunr: I have never made any statements disavowing my evil nature.
  [09:30] : a pot calling a kettle black?
  [09:30] ShadoRunr: You have heard of that saying before, have you not?
  [09:30] : yeah
  [09:30] : I know what it means
  [09:30] : but really.
  [09:31] : who’s ever heard of a talking pot?
  [09:31] : it’s like Homer Simpson’s movie idea with the Talking Pie
  [09:31] ShadoRunr: Ever see Disney’s Beauty and the Beast?
  [09:31] : oh.
  [09:31] : well.
  [09:31] ShadoRunr: That had a talking pot
  [09:31] : a talking TEA pot
  [09:31] : and the teapot wasn’t black.
  [09:32] ShadoRunr: No, but it was a pot and it did talk.

• And, from a conversation with my friend, m3lody, ‘s (whom we often refer to as “Balt,” for short) girlfriend:
  

  [09:38] ShadoRunr: After an overwhelming and almost unanimous vote by Gibraltarians to reject plans by London and Madrid to share sovereignty over the Rock, BBC Monitoring looks at what is being said in the media in both Gibraltar and Spain.

  [09:38] ShadoRunr: Since when did Balt get into managing wrestlers?
  [09:38] m3lodywise: bwahahahaha!
  [09:38] m3lodywise: so… since we’re friends of balt…. are we gibraltarians too?
  [09:39] ShadoRunr: Hmmm. I guess so.
  [09:39] m3lodywise: cool!

• In talking to m3lody and some others, I mentioned The Association. They had a song called: Pandora’s Golden Heebie Jeebies. You can check out the lyrics here.

Quotes of the Day:

• Dee: I like the environment. It doesn’t annoy me.
• Dee: One minute, I’m just Dee… minding my own business; the next, I’m Ike Turner all over the lunch room.
• Rick: Throwing up is just tears from my stomach.

Namaste.

¹ – Suicide Is Painless was the title of the theme from M*A*S*H, both the movie and the television show. The lyrics can be heard at the opening of the movie, but (for some reason) they used an instrumental version for the TV show. Go figure.

Thursday
Morning. I think that’s what they call this. I am slowly getting used to remembering what it is. And, I am getting used to going to the gym in the morning again. I think. “Jack Bristow” and “Scotty” both spoke to me this morning.

NPR/PRI Stories
Lots (and I mean “plethoric buttloads”) of post-election coverage.

Fresh Air had a rather interesting interview with John Burns, Foreign Affairs correspondent for the New York Times. They discussed the most recent three weeks that he spent in Iraq (post-election and the presidential amnesty that was granted to almost all inmates in Iraqi prisons).

Song of the Day: Today, our musical notice turns to His Purple Badness, the artist formerly (and once again) known as Prince. The songs Pope, The Sacrifice of Victor, and Electric Chair will be your Thursday Triple Play.

Stray Toasters

• I have been looking for the connector cable that goes from my camera to my laptop/PC. For two weeks. No luck. So, I bought a SmartMedia/CompactFlash dual-format card reader Sunday night. Yesterday, while sitting at work, I had my laptop case sitting on my desk (where I almost never put it). I had the back of it facing me… and I saw something. Something that looked notoriously like… a wire. Or a cable. I opened that pocket, which (again) I almost never use… and there was the cable. *sigh*
• Does anyone, besides me, remember what the “M” in “MTV” stands for? Apparently, the folks at Viacom have only a vague recollection of it. And in a related note: Ja Rule and Bobby Brown are doing a song/video? Who would have thought it possible?
• The servers on Dalnet (IRC) are being complete bastard-asses.
• I may be in a minority here (well, aside from being non-LDS in Utah), but I’m rather interested in seeing 8 Mile.
• I want to see the new Harry Potter movie, too.
• This may forever condemn me as a geek (or geek-in-training), but I can live with that: I like The Screen Savers on TechTV. It’s become part of (…actually most of…) my pre-work morning television fare. Not only is it a tech-savvy show, but the hosts are entertaining. And it’s fun. Besides, you gotta give ’em props for having an interview with the Funkmaster himself: George Clinton.
• Last night, I got the tickets for my brother to fly out here. He’ll be one of the masses who travels during the Thanksgiving weekend.

Well, off to save the world… or, at least it’s mail.

Namaste.

Wednesday
I can tell that getting back into the swing of things is going to take a while. We’ve been back since Saturday evening, but I’m still trying to get my body to acclimate to the concept of “a schedule.” As such, the snooze button on the clock became my good friend this morning. So much so that I will be going to the gym tonight.

Song of the Day: The Monkey Song from “The Animaniacs Faboo! Collection.” Why? Because it’s fun. And funny. And… and…. “just because.”

Stray Toasters:

• Last night, Jess, Angie and I went to see Spirited Away. The movie was very good. And cute. It was a good companion piece to Princess Mononoke.

  and her bf were there… but since I hadn’t actually met her before, I didn’t know that. And I was not about to stand up in the (nearly-empty) theatre and yell out someone’s name…. especially when the only name that I knew, at the time, was her LJ user name. *sigh* It turns out that they were sitting two rows in front of us. Go figure.

• I’m trying to find airfare for my brother to come here over his Thanksgiving break. It has become something of a quest than a regular “search.”
• Have I mentioned that I have a severe dislike of the commercial for Yoplait Custard Style Yogurt. I find it… highly annoying. Especially the part where one of the women compares it to being “‘…favorite song on the radio’ good.” *cringe* I hadn’t seen the commercial in some time. I was perfectly happy with that. Then, while watching a tape of last week’s Bird’s of Prey, there it was. And I was out of the room doing something… and got an earful of it. Yay.
• In getting ready to shave this morning, I had a dallop of shaving gel in my hand and was putting away the can of shaving gel. What I didn’t think about was the fact that the gel and the can were in the same hand. The result: Shaving gel all over my foot. I had to laugh.

And that’s all for now. Time to watch X-Men: Evolution, have a cup of coffee and something to eat and head to the joyous place of employment.

Namaste.

Tuesday
It wasn’t easily waking up this morning. Getting out of bed? That was a Herculean effort. Going to the gym, once I dragged myself out of bed? No problem.

Song of the Day: Holy Two-fer-Tuesday, Batman! (Sorry, I couldn’t resist… but that does segue nicely into the two songs for today: The End Is the Beginning Is the End and The Beginning Is the End Is the Beginning, both by the Smashing Pumpkins and both from the Batman & Robin soundtrack (movie link). Once again, this is a case of crappy movie/good soundtrack. It holds a long-standing and low-ranking place on the “Cool World – Long Kiss Goodnight Scale.” The songs, for those of you who aren’t familiar with them, are basically the same song played at radically different tempos and with different lyrics; End is the uptempo song while Beginning is slow and almost dirge-like. But, both are good songs.

Stray Toasters

• Kris was online this morning; she was checking her email between classes. This means that I got to talk to her for a few minutes.
• Rana messaged me around 0500 MST. She wanted me to relay a message to the ‘rents, so…
• I talked to Dad for a few this morning.
• We (Jess, Angie, Dee and I… and whomever else wants to join) are going to see Spirited Away tonight @ 21:20 @ Jordan Commons (hereafter referred to as ‘Larryland: South’). If anyone would be interested in tagging along, email me or leave me a message on AIM/ICQ.

And now it is time for some coffee, maybe a bowl of cereal… and if I have time… a little bit of Halo.

Namaste.

Monday (part III)
Wouldn’t you know it… I forgot two things from the Stray Toasters in the last post:

• G.I. Joe was on Cartoon Network’s “Midnight Run.” I remember watching that after school in the mid-80s. Buying (or, more likely: “Having my parents buy…”) the action figures and a couple of the vehicles and playing with them with friends. Ah, nostalgia…

  One thing that I never really paid attention to when I was younger, but that I became aware of years later: No one ever died in the G.I. Joe toons. No Joes. No members of COBRA. Hell, not even innocent bystanders (of which there always seemed to be far too few). It was sort of like The A-Team for kids. No one ever died on that show, either. Not even the A-Team, as they faked their deaths and basically became Robert Vaughn’s private freedom fighters in the last season of the show.

• I haven’t gotten any feedback on an idea that I pitched in my 25 Oct 2002 post. So… consider this a swift kick in the “let me refresh your memory” department: Read ‘Toaster #2 from that and give me some input! Please.

Okay, that’s really it.

No, I mean it this time.

Nothing more.

I’m going to bed. Or, as Eric Cartman would say… “Screw you guys, I’m going home.”

Namaste.

Monday (part II)
It wasn’t as bad a day (at work) as I had anticipated. Mercifully. In fact, while talking to Land, I got an idea for another discussion group. The only problem is that it would have to be in two weeks… otherwise, that starts to cut into peoples’ holiday time (and the beginning of our busy season at work). We shall see…

Land, Harmon, Jenny and I got into a conversation that ranged from handgun control (a “hot button” topic for Land) to… let’s call it “cultural sensitivity” (a hot topic for me). It’s nice to be able to discuss topics in an adult manner. Especially when: a) The topic is outside a person’s normal paradigm and/or b) The topic(s) can be discussed without anyone feeling threatened or made to feel “stupid” by others’ opinions. I had to draw upon a couple of conversations that I had with some people that I met in college to make my points, but I think that I stated my views effectively.

NPR/PRI Stories
Umm… I don’t know. I didn’t listen to the radio today. I spent the first half of my shift talking with people and catching up on what happened while Jess and I were gone.

Stray Toasters…

• It seems as though one of my new favorite shows is under the gun, so to speak: Birds of Prey has (still) not been picked up for a full season; the heads at WB haven’t decided what they are going to do. *sigh* There is a campaign to save the show. If you’re interested, you can sign the online petition. Maybe this is a combination of “first-year jitters” and “maybe this isn’t the best timeslot,” but I don’t think that the show is that bad. In fact, I think that it is a complementary program to Smallville. Hmm… Maybe they should consider airing them back-to-back.
• While looking at the Digital Concept Gallery (DCG) on the Comics2Film site, someone had posted a “Micro Hero” picture of Hawkeye, from Marvel Comics’ “The Avengers.” Curiosity, being the nearly insatiable beast that it is, I looked up “micro hero” on Google and came up with a more links than I had expected. I decided to check out this one… which led me to this one… which, in turn, led me to this one. A Legion site. And, a fairly comprehensive one, at that. ::: bliss :::
• The Late Show with David Letterman had their famous (or would it be ‘infamous,’ in this case) “Stupid Human Tricks” segment tonight. I only saw two of the tricks. One was truly… well… “stupid.” The other one was “creative,” to say the least. I have NO idea where they came up with the idea, but it was definitely different. What was it? A guy and a girl who (and I am not making this up) “exchanged underwear without taking off their pants.” Ô_õ What in the Nine Hells?!?! Of course, I had to watch this. And I made Jess watch it, too. In the words of Dr. Rosenblatt, “It’s so bizarre!”

  If you want to see it, click here to go to the Late Show website. After it loads, click on “Big Show Highlight” in the “DaveTV” section. (There should be a picture of two people who look like they are halfway through a jumping-jack.) Watch the RealPlayer video. It’s bi-fucking-zarre. And, I will apologize here to those of you who are on a dial-up connection… but I will also say that it’s worth the load time to see this… this… spectacle.

Quote of the Day: Today’s quote comes from Land. Yes, Land. Owner of the boy-truck (which was effectively castrated during an off-road adventure this summer). Orator of speeches (1, 2)that make congregations squirm in their seats.

“Penis.”

By itself, it may not seem amusing. But when you hear it in context [Land, sitting next to me, looked at me, said “I think that I’m about to have a moment….” and then stood up, looked across our row of terminals at Dee and Harmon, on the opposite row and just…. blurted that out] it was priceless. I wish that I had taken my camcorder to get that moment. All four of us spent the better part of the next 90 seconds laughing.

And now… sleepy-bye time.

Namaste.