Random Access

Tuesday – 16 March 2010
Last night, a group of us took the advice of Queen and had “A Night at the Opera.” We saw Utah Opera’s production of The Italian Girl in Algiers, by Rossini. Thanks to SaraRules, we had amazing seats: Grand Tier, second row center. This afforded an amazing view of the stage and supertitles.

The opera was more light-hearted than your standard fare. And, after the production, SaraRules informed me that it was directed by the same person who directed La Cenerentola a couple of years ago — once she said that, I could note similarities in the staging. It was a fun opera, made even more enjoyable by the group who went… and, more notably, by the fact that SaraRules was in the production. She was a supernumerary; her role was as one of the harem girls. She and her coworker, Melissa (another super in the production), even garnered a small write-up in The Salt Lake Tribune, where they were noted as being “remarkably funny.” It was a good way to spend the evening. The opera runs through Sunday, if you’re looking for a fun change of pace, you should consider seeing this production.

Stray Toasters

• I’m still finding things that I do – and don’t – like about MacJournal. Testing continues…
• Nude performers cause a stir at New York museum
• Steampunk St. Patrick’s Day video
• From the “Don’t call it a comeback, he’s been here for years” file: Tiger Woods to return to golf at Masters
• How to Make Peanut Butter and Jelly ‘Sushi’ Rolls
• You’re Leaving a Bacterial Fingerprint on Your Keyboard
• LaDainian Tomlinson is going from the Chargers to the Jets.
• Undateable: A Style Guide to Everything You’re Doing Wrong

Back to the grind.

Namaste.

Tuesday – 09 March 2010
Another workin’ day in the valley…  This one begins with a few high clouds, but they’re moving eastward and they seem to be leaving sunlight in their wake.  I’m good with that.

Last night, I treated myself to dinner at Outback Steakhouse. I had been craving their bad-for-you-but-oh-so-tasty Aussie Cheese Fries for about a week and decided that it was time to do something about it. So… I decided to go. Stag. When I mentioned this to a couple of people I got the “raised eyebrow” treatment:

“You’re going… by yourself?”
“Yep.”
::: blank stare :::

I don’t understand why it is that going out to eat alone is such an alien concept. People go shopping alone. They go to the movies alone. It seems, to me, a natural progression that one might choose to eat out alone. *shrug* Oh, well.

Dinner was good. I got the full order of cheese fries, which means that I have a fair-sized portion of left-overs waiting in the fridge.  My steak was good, despite originally brought to the table slightly undercooked. I sent it back so they could do more than just scare it with the flame. Both my waitress and the manager we quite amenable about the whole thing. All-in-all, it was a rather pleasant dining experience.

Stray Toasters

• Female WWII Pilots: The Original Fly Girls
  I have to say that I’m a little disappointed that NPR missed having this article ready yesterday, in time for International Women’s Day.
  
• How Henrietta Lack’s cells fueled medical breakthroughs
• For and shockpuppet:



• Purdue Men’s Basketball Brings Home a Bevy of Conference Honors
• Have you seen the latest trailer for Tron: Legacy? If not, click here and enjoy.
• Straight out of the “Whiskey Tango Foxtrot…?!” files:
  Yesterday, posted the following:

  [19:11] ok r0b
  [19:11] i know you’re into star wars.  and legos.
  [19:12] but can you identify star wars lego figurines using ONLY YOUR MOUTH?   cause this german kid can:

  I shared the vid with my friend, Eric.  He countered with this:
  

  I shared that video with who, in a masterful stroke, retaliated with:
  

• Boldin Seeking Revenge on Steelers
• By way of come a couple of things:
  • Up, Up & Away – Get Your Own Jet Pack for $75k (This goes squarely on The Covet List.  Duh.)
  • 1024-bit RSA encryption cracked by carefully starving CPU of electricity
• Real-life Hurt Locker: How Bomb-proof Suits Work

Namaste.

Saturday – 06 March 2010
Today… I’m not really sure exactly what I’m doing today. SaraRules is currently off at quilting; I don’t really have anything that I have to do. After she gets back, there will be a bit of errand-running, but beyond that…? No clue. I may run up to Dr. Volt’s and actually play a game or two of ‘Clix (as opposed to running around, answering rules questions). We shall see…

Yesterday, I went to visit Perry and the kids for a bit. We’re still trying to see if we’re going to make it to the Hostlers Model Railroad Festival this weekend. After that, I headed back home to wait for SaraRules to get home so that we could run some errands. Then, it was time for Clitorati.

Chew on This: Food for Thought
I was going through an old notebook and came across the following quote:

We excuse ourselves from greater efforts. We learn to be good and to treat well those who treat us well. But we don’t give ourselves over to that which demands not goodness, but greatness.
-Paul Darcy, author/speaker, Sacred Journey (Aug. 2004)

Stray Toasters

• I just found myself craving a Chicken Filet Biscuit from Bojangle’s. *sigh*
• A few days ago, I posted a link to this Evil, Inc. webcomic. I was talking with MarknTyme, and he mentioned that he “…didn’t get the bulletin board reference.” It was kind of obscure, to be honest — the last two panels of the strip reference A Cask of Amontillado, a story by Edgar Allan Poe.
• And, since we’ve mentioned Mr. Poe, that gives a (loose) tie to the next item: Ravens Trade for WR Anquan Boldin
• The Brave and the Bold Preview: Green Lantern and Green Arrow

  

  GL/GA duo figure. Quite nice. It also seems that Captain Jordan is getting a lot of play (so to speak) in the world of HeroClix lately:

  • He had a solo figure in the Crisis set, released in 2008
  • This figure — and the GL/Flash figure — being released next month and
  • The figure being released in the Blackest Night Starter Set, in May.
• US administration to block vote on Turkey ‘genocide’
• Infographic: Mega Shark, courtesy of
  (Don’t forget to click on the link at the bottom of the first paragraph, either!)
• 
• From the “Whiskey Tango Foxtrot…?!” file: South Korean couple starved child while raising “virtual baby”
• Android Phone Grows Up, Becomes Brain for Real Robot
• From CNN and HLN: Gunn: Kardashian look is vulgar
• The Jobs of Yesteryear: Obsolete Occupations
• New Jersey snow sculpture gets frosty reception

I should probably get some coffee and prepare to face the day.

Namaste.

Monday – 01 March 2010
There’s an old proverb that says “March comes in like a lion and goes out like a lamb.” Looking outside, it’s sunny and clear – at least as clear as the valley gets when the smog/inversion sets in. It’s supposed to be somewhere around 50F today. If this is a lion, it must be Kimba, the White Lion.

I watched the third period and overtime of the Team U.S.A. vserus Team Canada hockey match for the Olympic gold medal. Wow… That was an excellent game. I can only imagine how dejected the American players were at the loss, but they played very well. Kudos to them one a well-played game.

Last night, Bonne, Logan and Justin came over for dinner – mahi mahi, rice pilaf and salad – and a movie: Dead Snow. Dinner was quite delicious. The movie was… pretty damned good, actually. The synopsis:

A ski vacation turns horrific for a group of medical students, as they find themselves confronted by an unimaginable menace: Nazi zombies.

I think the only thing that they left out of that synopsis was: “Hijinks ensue” or “Mayhem ensues,” either fits.  While it wasn’t necessarily an Oscar-calibre movie, it was entertaining and fun.

Stray Toasters

• It’s definitely “a Monday.”
  I’m trying to determine where my alignment is today (trending towards “Neutral”)… and whether I should use the 9-position grid or the “flat” alignment system.
• How to Live a Simple and Peaceful Life
• America’s Worst French Fries (And What You Should Eat Instead!)
• Pounding in your temples
  And a surge of adrenaline
  Every muscle tense-
  To fence
  The enemy within
• Palladia is a nice amalgamation of Viacom’s MTV Networks (MTV/VH1/CMT) programming… where they actually (are you ready for this…?) play music!
• Gene test to aid cancer treatment
• *grblsnrkx*
• Duel 365
• I should go bowling. Soon.
• Russia-Georgia border crossing reopens
• ZipList

He knows changes aren’t permanent
But change is…

Namaste.

Saturday – 27 February 2010
Today has been a good day.

It started off with sleeping in. I was so tired, in fact, that I barely remember SaraRules leaving to go to a Junior League meeting.

That was followed by picking up Chris and then heading up to Dr. Volt’s for today’s HeroClix tournament. I called the event that I ran “All Teams Great and Small…” Players built either a 500 or 1000 point team: If a player built a 500-point team, they would be paired with another 500-point player; if they built a 1000-point team, their build had to include a colossal figure and they fought alone. There were fifteen players, with ten players at 500 points and five at 1000.

After the first round, SaraRules showed up to say “Hi.” I took a few minutes to go and grab lunch at Oh Sushi! Then, it was back to the gaming. I wound up playing “bye” rounds with a 1000-point team of Uncanny X-men:

• Colossus (Mutations and Monsters)
• Cyclops (Danger Room; “Astonishing X-Men” repaint)
• Phoenix (Armor Wars, rookie setting)
• Professor X (Mutations and Monsters)
• Storm (Mutations and Monsters)
• Wolverine (Sinister)

The format was well-received and people seemed to have a fun time.

Back home to get ready to see the Jen (also known as ) and the Treasure Valley Rollergirls take on Midnight Terror:

We got to see Jen briefly at halftime. TVR went on to win the bout!

Quick trip back home so that SaraRules could change… and head back downtown to escort Utah Symphony’s guest artist to this evening’s Vivace event. (Meanwhile, I’m here at home, catching up on 24.)

Chew on This: Food for Thought – Black History Month
As February has 28 days – and the alphabet only has 26 letters – I need something to fill in the last two days of the month. SaraRules suggested a look at a brief timeline of Black History in America. Capital idea!

1619	The first African slaves arrive in Virginia.
1773	Phillis Wheatley’s book Poems on Various Subjects, Religious and Moral is published, making her the first African American to do so.
1793	Poster advertising $100 reward for runaway slaves from 1860 A federal fugitive slave law is enacted, providing for the return slaves who had escaped and crossed state lines.
1808	Congress bans the importation of slaves from Africa.
1820	The Missouri Compromise bans slavery north of the southern boundary of Missouri.
1831	Nat Turner, an enslaved African-American preacher, leads the most significant slave uprising in American history. He and his band of followers launch a short, bloody, rebellion in Southampton County, Virginia. The militia quells the rebellion, and Turner is eventually hanged. As a consequence, Virginia institutes much stricter slave laws.
1846	Frederick Douglass launches his abolitionist newspaper.
1850	The continuing debate whether territory gained in the Mexican War should be open to slavery is decided in the Compromise of 1850: California is admitted as a free state, Utah and New Mexico territories are left to be decided by popular sovereignty, and the slave trade in Washington, DC, is prohibited. It also establishes a much stricter fugitive slave law than the original, passed in 1793.
1854	Congress passes the Kansas-Nebraska Act, establishing the territories of Kansas and Nebraska. The legislation repeals the Missouri Compromise of 1820 and renews tensions between anti- and proslavery factions.
1857	The Dred Scott case holds that Congress does not have the right to ban slavery in states and, furthermore, that slaves are not citizens.
1859	John Brown and 21 followers capture the federal arsenal at Harpers Ferry, Va. (now W. Va.), in an attempt to launch a slave revolt.
1861	The Confederacy is founded when the deep South secedes, and the Civil War begins.
1863	President Lincoln issues the Emancipation Proclamation, declaring “that all persons held as slaves” within the Confederate states “are, and henceforward shall be free.”
1865	Congress establishes the Freedmen’s Bureau to protect the rights of newly emancipated blacks (March). The Civil War ends (April 9). Lincoln is assassinated (April 14). The Ku Klux Klan is formed in Tennessee by ex-Confederates (May). Slavery in the United States is effectively ended when 250,000 slaves in Texas finally receive the news that the Civil War had ended two months earlier (June 19). Thirteenth Amendment to the Constitution is ratified, prohibiting slavery (Dec. 6).
1865-1866	Black codes are passed by Southern states, drastically restricting the rights of newly freed slaves.
1867	A series of Reconstruction acts are passed, carving the former Confederacy into five military districts and guaranteeing the civil rights of freed slaves.
1868	Fourteenth Amendment to the Constitution is ratified, defining citizenship. Individuals born or naturalized in the United States are American citizens, including those born as slaves. This nullifies the Dred Scott Case (1857), which had ruled that blacks were not citizens.
1869	Howard University’s law school becomes the country’s first black law school.
1870	Fifteenth Amendment to the Constitution is ratified, giving blacks the right to vote. Hiram Revels of Mississippi is elected the country’s first African-American senator. During Reconstruction, sixteen blacks served in Congress and about 600 served in states legislatures.
1877	Reconstruction ends in the South. Federal attempts to provide some basic civil rights for African Americans quickly erode.
1881	Spelman College, the first college for black women in the U.S., is founded by Sophia B. Packard and Harriet E. Giles. Booker T. Washington founds the Tuskegee Normal and Industrial Institute in Alabama.
1882	The American Colonization Society, founded by Presbyterian minister Robert Finley, establishes the colony of Monrovia (which would eventually become the country of Liberia) in western Africa. The society contends that the immigration of blacks to Africa is an answer to the problem of slavery as well as to what it feels is the incompatibility of the races. Over the course of the next forty years, about 12,000 slaves are voluntarily relocated.
1896	Plessy v. Ferguson: This landmark Supreme Court decision holds that racial segregation is constitutional, paving the way for the repressive Jim Crow laws in the South.
1909	The National Association for the Advancement of Colored People is founded in New York.
1920s	The Harlem Renaissance flourishes in the 1920s and 1930s. This literary, artistic, and intellectual movement fosters a new black cultural identity.
1947	Jackie Robinson breaks Major League Baseball’s color barrier when he is signed to the Brooklyn Dodgers by Branch Rickey.
1948	WWI Black Soldiers Although African Americans had participated in every major U.S. war, it was not until after World War II that President Harry S. Truman issues an executive order integrating the U.S. armed forces.
1952	Malcolm X becomes a minister of the Nation of Islam. Over the next several years his influence increases until he is one of the two most powerful members of the Black Muslims (the other was its leader, Elijah Muhammad). A black nationalist and separatist movement, the Nation of Islam contends that only blacks can resolve the problems of blacks.
1954	Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka, Kans. declares that racial segregation in schools is unconstitutional (May 17).
1955	A young black boy, Emmett Till, is brutally murdered for allegedly whistling at a white woman in Mississippi. Two white men charged with the crime are acquitted by an all-white jury. They later boast about committing the murder. The public outrage generated by the case helps spur the civil rights movement (Aug.). Rosa Parks refuses to give up her seat at the front of the “colored section” of a bus to a white passenger (Dec.1). In response to her arrest Montgomery’s black community launch a successful year-long bus boycott. Montgomery’s buses are desegregated on Dec. 21, 1956.
1957	Nine black students are blocked from entering the school on the orders of Governor Orval Faubus. (Sept. 24). Federal troops and the National Guard are called to intervene on behalf of the students, who become known as the “Little Rock Nine.” Despite a year of violent threats, several of the “Little Rock Nine” manage to graduate from Central High.
1960	Four black students in Greensboro, North Carolina, begin a sit-in at a segregated Woolworth’s lunch counter (Feb. 1). Six months later the “Greensboro Four” are served lunch at the same Woolworth’s counter. The event triggers many similar nonviolent protests throughout the South.
1961	Over the spring and summer, student volunteers begin taking bus trips through the South to test out new laws that prohibit segregation in interstate travel facilities, which includes bus and railway stations. Several of the groups of “freedom riders,” as they are called, are attacked by angry mobs along the way. The program, sponsored by The Congress of Racial Equality (CORE) and the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee (SNCC), involves more than 1,000 volunteers, black and white.
1963	The March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom is attended by about 250,000 people, the largest demonstration ever seen in the nation’s capital. Martin Luther King delivers his famous “I Have a Dream” speech. The march builds momentum for civil rights legislation (Aug. 28). Four young black girls attending Sunday school are killed when a bomb explodes at the Sixteenth Street Baptist Church, a popular location for civil rights meetings. Riots erupt in Birmingham, leading to the deaths of two more black youths (Sept. 15).
1964	President Johnson signs the Civil Rights Act, the most sweeping civil rights legislation since Reconstruction. It prohibits discrimination of all kinds based on race, color, religion, or national origin (July 2). The bodies of three civil-rights workers are found. Murdered by the KKK, James E. Chaney, Andrew Goodman, and Michael Schwerner had been working to register black voters in Mississippi (Aug.). Martin Luther King receives the Nobel Peace Prize. (Oct.)
1965	Malcolm X, black nationalist and founder of the Organization of Afro-American Unity, is assassinated (Feb. 21) Congress passes the Voting Rights Act of 1965, making it easier for Southern blacks to register to vote. Literacy tests, poll taxes, and other such requirements that were used to restrict black voting are made illegal (Aug. 10). In six days of rioting in Watts, a black section of Los Angeles, 35 people are killed and 883 injured (Aug. 11-16).
1966	The Black Panthers are founded by Huey Newton and Bobby Seale (Oct.).
1967	Supreme Court Justice Thurgood Marshall Major race riots take place in Newark (July 12-16) and Detroit (July 23-30). President Johnson appoints Thurgood Marshall to the Supreme Court. He becomes the first black Supreme Court Justice. The Supreme Court rules in Loving v. Virginia that prohibiting interracial marriage is unconstitutional. Sixteen states still have anti-miscegenation laws and are forced to revise them.
1968	Martin Luther King, Jr., is assassinated in Memphis, Tenn. (April 4). President Johnson signs the Civil Rights Act of 1968, prohibiting discrimination in the sale, rental, and financing of housing (April 11).
1972	The infamous Tuskegee Syphilis experiment ends. Begun in 1932, the U.S. Public Health Service’s 40-year experiment on 399 black men in the late stages of syphilis has been described as an experiment that “used human beings as laboratory animals in a long and inefficient study of how long it takes syphilis to kill someone.”
1992	The first race riots in decades erupt in south-central Los Angeles after a jury acquits four white police officers for the videotaped beating of African-American Rodney King (April 29).
2008	Sen. Barack Obama, Democrat from Chicago, becomes the first African American to be nominated as a major party nominee for president. On November 4, Barack Obama, becomes the first African American to be elected president of the United States, defeating Republican candidate, Sen. John McCain.
2009	Barack Obama Democrat from Chicago, becomes the first African-American president and the country’s 44th president. On February 2, the U.S. Senate confirms, with a vote of 75 to 21, Eric H. Holder, Jr., as Attorney General of the United States. Holder is the first African American to serve as Attorney General.

It’s late; no ‘Toasters tonight.

Namaste.

Thursday – 25 February 2010
It’s NBN Comics Thursday.
Finally.
Amen.

One more day, then this week can be put to bed.

After yesterday’s stay in the hinterlands, I got home and cooked dinner – grilled chicken with rice (prepared in cream of mushroom soup) and stir-fried vegetables. While we ate, SaraRules and I watched Justice League: Crisis on Two Earths. It was an adaptation of two stories:

1. Grant Morrison’s Earth 2 and
2. Dwayne McDuffie’s story concept to bridge the Justice League and Justice League Unlimited series.

It was a good movie. I was a little disappointed in a couple spots with the voice casting:

1. William (Billy, Bubba-ho-tep, whatever they’re calling him this week) Baldwin was an… okay… Batman, but wasn’t quite what I expected.  Or, perhaps, he was trying a bit too much to emulate Kevin Conroy. I’m not sure.
2. Billy Bloom’s portrayal of Ultraman was…. well… I read someone’s critique where they said that he “…sounded like a Jersey Guido.” Spot. On. Assessment.
3. Mark Harmon’s Superman wasn’t quite right, either. Don’t get me wrong (if I come and go like fashion): I like Mark Harmon; he’s a big part of the reason that I watch NCIS semi-religiously. I think that this might come down to a lack of experience with animated voice acting. It wasn’t “bad,” it just wasn’t as spot-on as I had hoped. But, since it’s Mark Harmon, I’ll give him benefit of the doubt.

One place where I wasn’t let down: James Woods as Owlman. I don’t think they could have made a better choice.

The movie’s plot revolves around a plan by Lex Luthor. Not “that” Lex Luthor. This Luthor comes from a parallel Earth… where he is his world’s last remaining (super)hero. His opposition: The Crime Syndicate of America, a sinister analogue of the Justice League. Luthor goes to Earth-1 to recruit the JLA to fight – and hopefully defeat – the CSA.

As I said above, “It was a good movie.” It was fun, there were nice Easter Eggs for longtime DC fans, there was humor… it was a good package on the whole. I have yet to watch the DCUA short featuring The Spectre, but I’m looking forward to it.

Workout
Last night, SaraRules and I hit the gym:

• Bench Press: 3 sets/8 reps, 205 lbs
• Calf Raises: 3 sets/10 reps, 100 lbs
• Deadlift (barbell): 3 sets/10 reps, 50 lbs
• Bent-over Rows (dumbbell): 3 sets/10 reps, 35 lbs
• Shoulder Press (dumbbell): 3 sets/10 reps, 40 lbs
• Curls (dumbbell): 3 sets/10 reps, 30 lbs

Chew on This: Food for Thought – Black History Month
Today’s personal profile is: Andrew Young

Andrew Jackson Young (born March 12, 1932) is an American politician, diplomat and pastor from Georgia who has served as Mayor of Atlanta, a Congressman from the 5th district, and United States Ambassador to the United Nations.

Young was reared in a middle-class black family, attended segregated Southern schools, and later entered Howard University (Washington, D.C.) as a pre-med student. But he turned to the ministry and graduated in 1955 from the Hartford Theological Seminary (Hartford, Conn.) with a divinity degree.

Young was appointed to serve as pastor of a church in Marion, Alabama. It was there in Marion that he met Jean Childs, who later became his wife. In 1957, Andrew was called to the Youth Division of The National Council of Churches in New York City. He produced a television program for youth called, Look Up and Live, travelled to Geneva for meetings of the World Council of Churches around the United States. Also while in Marion, Young began to study the writings of Mohandas Gandhi. Young became interested in Gandhi’s concept of non-violent resistance as a tactic for social change.

His work brought him in contact with Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., and Young joined with King in leading the Southern Christian Leadership Conference (SCLC). Following King’s assassination in 1968, Young worked with Ralph Abernathy until he resigned from the SCLC in 1970.

In 1970 Andrew Young ran as a Democrat for Congress from Georgia, but was unsuccessful. He ran again in 1972 and won. He later was re-elected in 1974 and in 1976. During his four-plus years in Congress he was a member of the Congressional Black Caucus, and he was involved in several debates regarding foreign relations including the decision to stop supporting the Portuguese attempts to hold on to their colonies in southern Africa. Young also sat on the powerful Rules committee and the Banking and Urban Development committee.

He was an early supporter of Jimmy Carter, and, after Carter’s victory in the 1976 presidential elections, Andrew Young was made the United States’ ambassador to the United Nations. His apparent sympathy with the Third World made him very controversial, and he was finally forced to resign in 1979 after it became known that he had met with a representative of the Palestine Liberation Organization. In 1981 Young was elected mayor of Atlanta, and he was reelected to that post in 1985, serving through 1989.

Young ran unsuccessfully for Governor of Georgia in 1990, losing in the Democratic primary run-off to future Governor Zell Miller. However, while running for the Statehouse, he simultaneously was serving as a co-chairman of a committee which, at the time, was attempting to bring the 1996 Summer Olympics to Atlanta. Young played a significant role in the success of Atlanta’s bid to host the Summer Games.

Young is currently co-chairman of Good Works International, a consulting firm “offering international market access and political risk analysis in key emerging markets within Africa and the Caribbean.”

Stray Toasters

• Meetings!
• 12 Styles of American Man: Which One Are You?
• Snake Oil? – Scientific evidence for health supplements
• RIP: Old-school electro great Chilly B
  

• Failed Justice Leaves Rape Victim Nowhere to Turn
• Baltimore Blast
• From the “Whiskey Tango Foxtrot…?!” file: Teachers filmed lap-dancing at school event
• Make This Year a Perfect ’10
• Light art performance photography

Namaste.

Tuesday – 23 February 2010
It’s a brisk – but sunny – morning.

Once again, there’s residual achiness from Sunday’s workout. Nothing incapacitating, but it’s there. I’ll hopefully work out the kinks and stretch it out on the next gym excursion.

Meetings!  Yay.

Chew on This: Food for Thought – Black History Month
Today’s profile: Booker T. Washington

Booker T. Washington, born Booker Taliaferro, was born in 1856 on the Burroughs tobacco farm (in Virginia) which, despite its small size, he always referred to as a “plantation.” His mother was a cook, his father a white man from a nearby farm. “The early years of my life, which were spent in the little cabin,” he wrote, “were not very different from those of other slaves.”

He went to school in Franklin County – not as a student, but to carry books for one of James Burroughs’s daughters. It was illegal to educate slaves. “I had the feeling that to get into a schoolhouse and study would be about the same as getting into paradise,” he wrote. After emancipation, moved with his family to Malden, W.Va. Dire poverty ruled out regular schooling; at age nine he began working, first in a salt furnace and later in a coal mine. Within a few years, Booker was taken in as a houseboy by a wealthy towns-woman who further encouraged his longing to learn. At age 16, he walked much of the 500 miles back to Virginia to enroll in a new school for black students. He knew that even poor students could get an education at Hampton Institute, paying their way by working. Determined to get an education, he enrolled at the Hampton Normal and Agricultural Institute in Virginia (1872), working as a janitor to help pay expenses. He graduated in 1875 and returned to Malden, where for two years he taught children in a day school and adults at night.

Following studies at Wayland Seminary, Washington, D.C. (1878–79), he joined the staff of Hampton. In 1881, Hampton president Samuel C. Armstrong recommended Washington to become the first leader of Tuskegee Institute, the new normal school (teachers’ college) in Alabama, an institution with two small, converted buildings, no equipment, and very little money. Tuskegee Normal and Industrial Institute became a monument to his life’s work. At his death 34 years later, it had more than 100 well-equipped buildings, some 1,500 students, a faculty of nearly 200 teaching 38 trades and professions, and an endowment of approximately $2,000,000.

Washington the public figure often invoked his own past to illustrate his belief in the dignity of work. “There was no period of my life that was devoted to play,” Washington once wrote. “From the time that I can remember anything, almost everyday of my life has been occupied in some kind of labor.” This concept of self-reliance born of hard work was the cornerstone of Washington’s social philosophy.

Washington received national prominence for his Atlanta Address of 1895, attracting the attention of politicians and the public as a popular spokesperson for African American citizens. Washington built a nationwide network of supporters in many black communities, with black ministers, educators, and businessmen composing his core supporters. Washington played a dominant role in black politics, winning wide support in the black community and among more liberal whites (especially rich northern whites). Many charged that his conservative approach undermined the quest for racial equality. “In all things purely social we can be as separate as the fingers,” he proposed to a biracial audience in his 1895 Atlanta Compromise address, “yet one as the hand in all things essential to mutual progress.” In part, his methods arose for his need for support from powerful whites, some of them former slave owners. It is now known, however, that Washington secretly funded antisegregationist activities.

Despite his travels and widespread work, Washington remained as principal of Tuskegee. Washington’s health deteriorated rapidly; he collapsed in New York City and was brought home to Tuskegee, where he died on November 14, 1915 at the age of 59. The cause of death was unclear, probably from nervous exhaustion and arteriosclerosis. He was buried on the campus of Tuskegee University near the University Chapel.

Stray Toasters

• I Only Hang with Sheepdogs, an item that Perry told me a bout a few months ago. Interesting read.
• Office monkeys!  *grblsnrkx*
• From the “Whiskey Tango Foxtrot…?!” file: Wanted: A redesigned hot dog
  Are you kidding me!?  As SaraRules put it last night, when we saw an item about this on the local news:

  “Are people really that stupid?! That’s why [parents] cut up the hot dog before feeding it to kids!”

  I couldn’t agree more.
  And, for my two cents’ worth: The brainchild – or children – behind this fall somewhere between “idiotstick” and “monkey.”

• Hollywood movies follow mathematical formula
• The Shortcut Back Into Her Heart
• 
• Abbey Road Studios declared national landmark
• Giant T-Rex Garden Statues

  

  I can’t say that having an eleven-foot-tall T-Rex in your yard wouldn’t be cool, but I’m still partial to having a ‘Mech…

• Owner of Sears, K-Mart to close 21 stores by spring
• 
• …on an oddly related note and also from the “Whiskey Tango Foxtrot…?!” file: Don’t Get Mad, Get Even Send a Bag of Crap
• Resistance is delicious
• Chargers officially cut ties with LaDainian Tomlinson

Namaste.

Monday – 22 February 2010
“Ugh.”

That, literally, was my first thought upon waking up this morning. It was immediately followed by a line from the chorus of L.T.D.’s Back in Love Again:

Every time I move, I lose

I attribute all of this to the fact that my sides and thighs are achy from yesterday’s workout. Good for me? Yes. Good training? Yes. Builds character? Sure thing.  But, no matter how you spin it, there’s still that pesky “sore from working out” factor to be dealt with. “That which does not kill me,” I guess…

Last night, SaraRules and I (finally) finished off the last two features on the Planet Earth DVDs. Both were pieces about conservation and sustainability. Both were, as with the entire series, done quite well.

Logan and Sanaz came over for a while after dinner. We had coffee and chatted – including a video-chat with Melissa – for a while. It was a nice way to wind down the evening. I also chatted with last night. He regaled me with tales of his excursion with Bot, Bit and Pixel to an Olympic curling event yesterday; I was laughing so much that I was crying. Trying to explain to SaraRules”why” I was laughing so hard was nigh-impossible for a couple of minutes.

Chew on This: Food for Thought – Black History Month
Today’s profile: James Van Der Zee

James Van Der Zee, a leading figure in the Harlem Renaissance, was an African American photographer best known for his portraits of black New Yorkers.

After attending schools in Lenox, he went to New York City (c.1906). Arriving in Harlem as an aspiring violinist, he formed—and performed with—the Harlem Orchestra. From 1909 to 1915 he played in Fletcher Henderson’s band and the John Wanamaker Orchestra (and in an orchestra that accompanied silent films).

On regular return visits from Harlem to his hometown of Lenox, Massachusetts, VanDerZee found himself shooting pictures of the beloved place as a hobby. In 1915 he landed a job as a darkroom technician, and after learning the fundamentals of photography he opened his own studio in Harlem (1916). In 1932, he outgrew his first studio and went on to open the larger GGG Studio, with his second wife as his assistant (since closed, but the building with its original sign can still be seen on the east side of Lenox Avenue between 123rd and 124th Streets in Harlem).

VanDerZee’s work exhibited artistic as well as technical mastery. Thanks to his genius for darkroom experimentation — retouching negatives, for example, and creating double exposures — the demand for his portraiture soon skyrocketed.

Aside from the artistic merits of his work, Van Der Zee produced the most comprehensive documentation of the period.

Although Van Der Zee photographed many of the African American celebrities who passed through Harlem, most of his work was of the straightforward commercial studio variety – weddings and funerals (including pictures of the dead for grieving families), family groups, teams, lodges, clubs, or people simply wanting to have a record of themselves in fine clothes. Many of VanDerZee’s photographs celebrate the life of the emergent black middle class. Using the conventions of studio portrait photography, he composed images that reflected his clients’ dignity, independence, and material comfort, characterizing the time as one of achievement, idealism, and success. VanDerZee’s photographs portray the Harlem of the 1920s and 1930s as a community that managed to be simultaneously talented, spiritual, and prosperous.

National recognition was given to him at age 82, when his collection of 75,000 photographs spanning a period of six decades of African-American life was discovered by the Metropolitan Museum of Art. His photos were featured in 1969 as part of the Harlem on my Mind exhibition. From the 1970s until his death in 1983, Van Der Zee photographed the many celebrities who had come across his work and promoted him throughout the country.

Stray Toasters

• Guess who gets to work in “the other office,” at least for a while, today…
  Since loonybin88 and Minion #2 are both on vacation, someone has to cover IT for that office. Hopefully, the monkeys will be (relatively) well-behaved.
• 
• Today is apparently National Margarita Day.
• Does the Space Shuttle’s Computer Really Run on Just One Megabyte of RAM?, by way of
• In “Upset of the Century” news: USA beats Canada 5-3, gains top seed in quarterfinals
• 
• Detroiters press for real renaissance — online
• I’m ready to get back to work on my Static custom ‘Clix figure again. I had a bit of an epiphany yesterday in how to deal with a piece that I wasn’t sure how to make.
• U Wisconsin symphony concert based on fantasy novels, video games, manga, anime

Hi-ho, hi-ho…

Namaste.

Sunday – 21 February 2010
Today started out as a lazy day, but it wound up with a little bit of productivity thrown into the mix. I can’t say that’s a bad thing. I slept in this morning, which I didn’t really expect to do. After eating and watching a little Top Gear, SaraRules and I headed to the gym. (That was a good thing.) After the gym, we drove around a bit and scouted a few houses.

And, we still have the rest of the day to do whatever we want.  *nod*

Workout
Today’s workout consisted of:

• Elliptical: 10 minutes, random program
• Squats (Smith Press): 3 sets/10 reps, 65 lbs
• Sit-ups (Incline): 3 sets/20 reps
• Bench Press: 3 sets/8 reps, 205 lbs
• Lower Back Extensions: 3 sets/10 reps
• Reverse Punches: 3 sets/10 reps, 10 lbs
• Side Bends: 3 sets/10 reps, 10 lbs
• Curls (Barbell, Reverse grip): 3 sets/10 reps, 50 lbs
• Overhead Tricep Extensions (Dumbbell): 3 sets/15 reps, 40 lbs
• Treadmill: 3 minutes

Post-workout weight: 183.5 lbs (13 stone, 1.5 lbs)

Chew on This: Food for Thought – Black History Month
Today’s spotlight isn’t so much a “who” as a series of “whos” and “wheres” – The Underground Railroad.

The Underground Railroad was an informal network of secret routes and safe houses used by 19th century Black slaves in the United States to escape to free states and Canada with the aid of abolitionists who were sympathetic to their cause. It effectively moved hundreds of slaves northward each year — according to one estimate, the South lost 100,000 slaves between 1810 and 1850. Other various routes led to Mexico or overseas.

An organized system to assist runaway slaves seems to have begun towards the end of the 18th century. Churches also often played a role, especially the Religious Society of Friends (Quakers), Congregationalists, Wesleyans, and Reformed Presbyterians as well as certain sects of mainstream denominations such as branches of the Methodist church and American Baptists. In 1786 George Washington complained about how one of his runaway slaves was helped by a “society of Quakers, formed for such purposes.” The system grew, and around 1831 it was dubbed “The Underground Railroad,” after the then emerging steam railroads. The system even used terms used in railroading:

• People who helped slaves find the railroad were “agents” (or “shepherds”)
• Guides were known as “conductors”
• Hiding places were “stations”
• Abolitionists would fix the “tracks”
• “Stationmasters” hid slaves in their homes
• Escaped slaves were referred to as “passengers” or “cargo”
• Slaves would obtain a “ticket.”
• Just as in common gospel lore, the “wheels would keep on turning”
• Financial benefactors of the Railroad were known as “stockholders”.

The Underground Railroad consisted of meeting points, secret routes, transportation, and safe houses, and assistance provided by abolitionist sympathizers. Individuals were often organized in small, independent groups, which helped to maintain secrecy since some knew of connecting “stations” along the route but few details of their immediate area.

For the slave, running away to the North was anything but easy. The first step was to escape from the slaveholder. For many slaves, this meant relying on his or her own resources. Sometimes a “conductor,” posing as a slave, would enter a plantation and then guide the runaways northward. The fugitives would move at night. They would generally travel between 10 and 20 miles to the next station, where they would rest and eat, hiding in barns and other out-of-the-way places. While they waited, a message would be sent to the next station to alert its stationmaster.

The fugitives would also travel by train and boat — conveyances that sometimes had to be paid for. Money was also needed to improve the appearance of the runaways — a black man, woman, or child in tattered clothes would invariably attract suspicious eyes. This money was donated by individuals and also raised by various groups, including vigilance committees.

Due to the risk of discovery, information about routes and safe havens was passed along by word of mouth. Southern newspapers of the day were often filled with pages of notices soliciting information about escaped slaves and offering sizable rewards for their capture and return. Federal marshals and professional bounty hunters known as slave catchers pursued fugitives as far as the Canadian border.

Upon arriving at their destinations, many fugitives were disappointed. While the British colonies had no slavery after 1834, discrimination was still common. Many of the new arrivals had great difficulty finding jobs, in part because of mass European immigration at the time, and overt racism was common.

When frictions between North and South culminated in the American Civil War, many blacks, slave and free, fought with the Union Army.While some later returned to Canada, many remained in the United States. Thousands of others returned to the American South after the war ended. The desire to reconnect with friends and family was strong, and most were hopeful about the changes emancipation and Reconstruction would bring.

Following passage of the Thirteenth Amendment, in some cases the Underground Railroad operated in reverse as fugitives returned to the United States.

Stray Toasters

• I just chatted with my God-sister, Kim. I haven’t talked/chatted with her in a couple of years, so there was “a little” bit of catching up to do. She congratulated me on getting married; she also informed me that she will be celebrating her 25th anniversary in June. I told her that I’d try not to pass out on her anniversary. (I managed to pass out at her wedding… and I was a groomsman. YAY!) She retorted that she would have reciprocated and passed out at our wedding, but we lived to far away. It was nice to chat with her.  You know, this whole “Interweb” thing might catch on, after all!
• LEGO Mindstorms RCX solves Rubik’s Cube in 12 seconds flat
• And, in a related note: U.S. LEGO Sales Up 31% in 2009
• The Melonia Shoe: A world’s first? Wearable 3D printed footwear
• We watched a little of the Canada vs. U.S. Women’s Curling event last night; it still strikes me as “shuffleboard on ice.”
• Actor and director Lionel Jeffies dies, aged 83
• The 100-Watt Lightbulb Goes Out: Ronald Howes, Easy-Bake Oven Inventor, Dies at 83
• GelaSkins
  

  GelaSkins are removable covers for protecting and customizing your portable devices. They feature stunning, photo-quality graphics ranging from fine art prints to contemporary urban images designed by our growing family or artists from around the globe. Stand out in the crowd with personalized protection from GelaSkins.

• 
• Singing ‘rewires’ damaged brain

Yep, that’ll do for now.

Namaste.

Thursday – 18 February 2010
Thank God it’s NBN Thursday!  (And, Technical Friday, too!)

Yesterday wound up being “Comics Wednesday” only; we didn’t go for sushi at lunch and I decided not to pick any up last night after work. S’okay. There’s always next week. As far as the comics aspect of things, it was good. Jake Black was at Dr. Volt’s, signing copies of Supergirl #50, in which he co-wrote a story with Helen Slater.

Once I got home, I fixed a couple of Chicken Cordon Bleu chicken breasts, rice and mixed vegetables for dinner. I watched Human Target while SaraRules finished up Starship Troopers (the book). After that, it was time to dive into the week’s comics. (For reviews of this week’s comics haul – click on over to Four-Color Coverage.) We also watched a bit of The Late Show and The Late Late Show before calling it a night.

Chew on This: Food for Thought – Black History Month
Today’s highlighted person is Wilma Rudolph

Wilma Rudolph was an American athlete who became the first American woman to win three gold medals in track and field during a single Olympic Games, despite running on a sprained ankle at the time.

Wilma was the 20th child of a family of 22, born prematurely and at only 4.5 pounds! She was born with polio and as a result of the diease was crippled and was unable to attend school. Her mother educated her at home in her early childhood, also having to bring her to a hospital for blacks 50 miles from their home twice a week. Wilma eventually attended a segragrated blacks-only school when she was seven. In 1952, 12-year-old Wilma Rudolph finally achieved her dream of shedding her handicap and becoming like other children.

Wilma’s older sister was on a basketball team, and Wilma vowed to follow in her footsteps. While in high school, Wilma was on the basketball team when she was spotted by Tennessee State track and field coach Edward S. Temple. Being discovered by Temple was a major break for a young athlete. The day he saw the tenth grader for the first time, he knew he had found a natural athlete. Wilma had already gained some track experience on Burt High School’s track team two years before, mostly as a way to keep busy between basketball seasons.

While still in high school, Rudolph qualified for the 1956 Olympic Games in Melbourne, Australia. At the age of 16, she was the youngest member of the U.S. team and won a bronze medal in the sprint relay event. After finishing high school, Rudolph enrolled at Tennessee State University where she studied education.

At the 1960 Summer Olympics in Rome she won three Olympic titles; the 100 m, 200 m and the 4 × 100 m relay. Rudolph ran the 100-meter dash in an impressive 11 seconds flat. However the time was not credited as a world record because it was wind-aided. She also won the 200-meter dash in 23.2 seconds, a new Olympic record. After these twin triumphs, she was being hailed throughout the world as “the fastest woman in history”. Finally, on September 11, 1960, she combined with Tennessee State teammates Martha Hudson, Lucinda Williams and Barbara Jones to win the 400-meter relay in 44.5 seconds, setting a world record.

A track and field champion, she elevated women’s track to a major presence in the United States. The powerful sprinter emerged from the 1960 Rome Olympics as “The Tornado,” the fastest woman on earth. The Italians nicknamed her “La Gazzella Nera” (the Black Gazelle); to the French she was “La Perle Noire” (The Black Pearl). Rudolph retired from track competition in 1962 after winning two races at a U.S.–Soviet meet.

In 1963 she was selected to represent the U. S. State Department as a Goodwill Ambassador at the Games of Friendship in Dakar, Senegal. Later that year she was invited by Dr. Billy Graham to join the Baptist Christian Athletes in Japan. There was one “first” accomplishment that was more special than any of the others, however: She insisted that her homecoming parade in Clarksville, Tennessee be open to everyone and not a segregated event as was the usual custom. Her victory parade was the first racially integrated event ever held in the town. And that night, the banquet the townspeople held in her honor, was the first time in Clarksville’s history that blacks and whites had ever gathered together for the same event. She went on to participate in protests in the city until the segregation laws were struck down.

After her successes on the track she became a teacher, coach and sports commentator. In 1963 she married Robert Eldridge and the couple had four children. Wilma wrote her autobiography in 1977, entitled ‘Wilma’ which was later adapted into a television movie.

Stray Toasters

• I had to give 4CC a facelift this morning, after realizing that the theme I had chosen didn’t play well with the LEGO brick images I use in reviews.  *sigh* The new theme works – and looks decent – but I’m still on the lookout for something that I like a little better.
• forwarded a couple of items:
  • Straight from the “Whiskey Tango Foxtrot…?!” file: Girl’s arrest for doodling raises concerns about zero-tolerance
  • Brush Up on Your Fashion Knowledge with This Geek-Friendly Primer
    
• Ravens Sign Receiver Stallworth
• Shaun White proves he’s still the best snowboarder in the world
• 
• Adam Voohees Photography: Exploded
• I Use Twitter, Please Rob Me
• There is no new episode of Fringe tonight. Perhaps I’ll use the time to catch up on 24…
• Experts reboot list of 25 most dangerous coding errors

Namaste.

Wednesday – 17 February 2010
It’s Comics Wednesday; whether or not there will be “Sushi” remains to be seen…

Last night, SaraRules fixed a very tasty chicken and broccoli alfredo for dinner. After that (and a recorded episode of Castle), we headed to Best Buy (I wanted to pick up HALO Legends) and then to Iceberg (SaraRules wanted a chocolate malted milkshake) and up to the in-laws’.  While visiting the famn damily, we watched a bit of Olympic coverage – snowcross and the men’s figure skating short program. I reaffirmed my conclusion that the color commentary provided by family is far more entertaining than the coverage provided by sportscasters.

Chew on This: Food for Thought – Black History Month
Today’s person of note is Peggy A. Quince:

Peggy A. Quince is the Chief Justice of the Florida Supreme Court; she is the first African-American woman to sit on the state’s highest Court and the third female Justice.

Quince was raised in Chesapeake, Virginia. She had to attend segregated schools, but she excelled as a student. Quince attended Howard University as an undergraduate, and received her Juris Doctorate from the Columbus School of Law at The Catholic University of America in 1975.

Justice Quince began her legal career in Washington, D.C. as a hearing officer with the Rental Accommodations Office administering that city’s new rent control law. In 1977 she entered private practice in Norfolk, Virginia, with special emphasis in real estate and domestic relations.

She moved to Florida in 1978 and opened a law office in Bradenton, Florida, where she practiced general civil law until 1980. In February, 1980, Justice Quince began her tenure with the Attorney General’s Office, Criminal Division. As an assistant attorney general she handled numerous appeals in the Second District Court of Appeal, the Florida Supreme Court, including death penalty cases, the Eleventh Circuit Court of Appeals and the United States Supreme Court. Her thirteen and a half year tenure at that office included five years as the Tampa Bureau Chief.

From 1993 to 1997 she served as a judge on Florida’s Second District Court of Appeal. On July 1, 2008, Quince assumed the office of Chief Justice of the Florida Supreme Court, the first African-American woman to head any branch of Florida government.

Quince is the only Supreme Court Justice in Florida history to be appointed simultaneously by more than one Governor. Because her term began the exact moment that Governor-elect Jeb Bush assumed his office, in order to avoid potential future controversy over her appointment, Bush worked out a joint agreement with lame duck Governor Lawton Chiles whereby they both agreed upon and jointly announced Quince’s appointment in December 1998. When Chiles died of a heart attack a few days later, the task of signing Quince’s commission to office fell to Chiles’ temporary successor, Governor Buddy MacKay. Thus, three Governors were involved in Quince’s appointment.

Presently, Justice Quince is on the executive counsel of the Appellate Section of the Florida Bar and is the Supreme Court liaison to the Workers’ Compensation Committee, the Judicial Ethics Advisory Committee, and the Supreme Court’s Family Court Steering Committee. She has lectured at a number of Continuing Legal Education programs on issues involving search and seizure, probation and parole, use of peremptory challenges, postconviction relief, professionalism and ethics, and the independence of the judiciary.

Stray Toasters

• pointed out this article: Dr. King to get a partner?
  The article describes a bill, “John M. Browning State Holiday,” that has been submitted “…that would combine the King holiday with a celebration of Browning, an Ogden native and one of the most significant pioneers in firearms manufacturing.”

  YeahbuhWHAT!?

  said that he found it “a little disappointing.” I can’t say that I disagree with him, but given the (perceived) problems that Utah has had in recognizing (read: “dealing with”) the King holiday, I can’t really say that I’m all that surprised, either.

• Women at war: How roles are changing
• Scientists rule: King Tut felled by malaria and broken leg
• I took a tour of our storage facility. Very cool.
• 
• German railways shunt English into sidings
• Ruins of Electric Train Turned into Terribly Cool Amusement Park in Lima
• CarrieFisher.com (Yes, that Carrie Fisher.)
• Calculate the Speed of Light by Melting Chocolate
• 
• Atlanta Progressive News fires reporter for trying to be objective
• Vintage Japanese industrial expo posters

Namaste.

Monday – 08 February 2010
Another work week kicks off a little on the cold side, but there’s sun… so it can’t be all bad.

Loonybin88 just arrived in the office, decked out in his scouting finery. I asked what the occasion was; he informed me that today is the 100th Anniversary of the Boy Scouts of America.

Chew on This: Food for Thought – Black History Month
Today’s entry also comes by way of SaraRules:

Langston Hughes

Langston Hughes was an African-American poet and playwright, and one of the leading figures in the “Harlem Renaissance”, an explosion of African-American cultural life in the 1920s and ‘30s.

Hughes moved to New York at the age of 19 to attend Columbia University. He left after one year, and traveled to West Africa, Paris, and England.  He returned to the United States in 1925, and enrolled in Lincoln University, a historically black university in Pennsylvania. He earned his B.A. from Lincoln in 1929, and moved back to Harlem, which was his primary home for the rest of his life.

As an author, Hughes was focused on the strength, joy, music, and life of blacks living in America. His writing expresses a great pride in African-American identity, but goes beyond the big-city experience of Harlem and enjoys the diversity of the African-American culture throughout the nation.

This poem, The Negro Speaks of Rivers, was one of his first poems, originally published in 1921, and is his best-known work.

The Negro Speaks of Rivers
I’ve known rivers:
I’ve known rivers ancient as the world and older than the
flow of human blood in human veins.
My soul has grown deep like the rivers.
I bathed in the Euphrates when dawns were young.
I danced in the Nile when I was old
I built my hut near the Congo and it lulled me to sleep.
I looked upon the Nile and raised the pyramids above it.
I heard the singing of the Mississippi when Abe Lincoln
went down to New Orleans, and I’ve seen its muddy
bosom turn all golden in the sunset.
I’ve known rivers:
Ancient, dusky rivers.
My soul has grown deep like the rivers.

Stray Toasters

• Congrats, once again, to Sean Payton, (former Boilermaker) Drew Brees and the New Orleans Saints on their victory over the Indianapolis Professional Football Club!
• The Planet Hulk DVD wasn’t bad. It followed the “Planet Hulk” storyline by Greg Pak, that ran through issues 88 – 95 of The Incredible Hulk in 2006. I was a bit surprised to see how violent they allowed the characters – not just the Hulk – to be. Of course, that’s why it was released directly to DVD as opposed to being “Saturday morning fare.” There were a number of Easter eggs thrown in – mostly cameo appearances – for longtime Marvel Comics fans. I’m curious to see if there will be a “World War Hulk” DVD that follows the aftermath of the “Planet Hulk” story.
  
• 10 Ways to a Geeky Girl’s Heart
• Art Tatum: The Musician’s Musician
• ‘Red Riding:’ Noir horror in Britain’s Grim Grey North
• Wizkids has released the new Atom figure from the upcoming Blackest Night set:



• Body found in plane’s landing gear bay in Japan
• From the “Whiskey Tango Foxtrot…?!” file: Hello Kitty pancake shop

Namaste.

Sunday – 07 February 2010
It’s been a good day.

I woke up this morning (the second time) a little before 1100. It was nice to sleep in. SaraRules and I did some cleaning up before our little Super Bowl gathering. After that, I ran to Hastur Hobbies to pick up some purple paint – I have decided to go ahead with my Astonishing X-Men team for next weekend’s tournament… as such, I need a Lockheed figure. While at Hastur’s, I decided to see if I could find a “better” dragon than the one from Dungeons & Dragons Miniatures.  I did. Reaper Miniatures has a pack of figures that includes a dragon that’s just about the perfect size for Lockheed:

(the dragonling on the far left is the one I’m using)

Now, I just need to get him painted.

, Justin, Logan and Steve came over for the game around 3:30.  SaraRules fixed queso dip and some very tasty egg rolls; I fixed bratwurst. Justin brought over some shrimp. Ms. Lightning fixed some cherry bars. Steve and Logan brought over wings and rib tips from Sugarhouse Barbecue.

And then it was game time!
(More on that below.)

Chew on This: Food for Thought – Black History Month
Today’s entry comes from guest writer, SaraRules.

Today’s people are the Golden Thirteen.

In January 1944 there were over 100,000 African-American’s enlisted in the United States Navy, however, they were only allowed to enter the messman’s branch, which was segregated from the rest of the Navy community, but also didn’t allow them to become commissioned officers.

President Roosevelt had signed legislation prohibiting discrimination in government agencies, but it was allegedly pressure from Eleanor Roosevelt that led the Navy to open up the first officer’s training class for African-Americans.  There were a total of 16 members of the class at Great Lakes Naval Training Station; they all passed the course, and thirteen were commissioned.

The U.S. military was officially desegregated by President Truman in 1948. For more information on the Golden Thirteen, check out Golden Thirteen: Recollections of the First Black Naval Officers, by Paul Stillwell.

Instant Replay: Football

New Orleans Saints at Indianapolis Colts
31 – 17
The Saints and the Indianapolis Professional Football Club met in Miami to battle for the Vince Lombardi Trophy. The Colts came out like gangbusters. The Saints – who I wanted to win – couldn’t seem to get their game in gear; they went into halftime down by four points, 10 – 6. I don’t know what Coach Payton told them in the locker room at halftime, but it seemed to get them back on their “A” game. Following an interception by Saints’ CB Tracy Porter jumped the route and intercepted a Peyton Manning pass to Reggie Wayne… and ran it back for a touchdown, putting the Saints ahead of the Colts, 31-17.

Stray Toasters

• The Who looked… a bit aged at the Super Bowl halftime show. They sounded “alright,” nothing to really write home about but, as put it: “At least they don’t sound like they phoned it in, like the Stones did.”
• By way of SaraRules: The Origins of 10 Winter Olympic Sports
• By way of SaraRules’ father, Steve:



• I finished my repaint of a Cyclops HeroClix figure last night. I’ve wanted one in the costume he wore when Astonishing X-Men first went to print. And, now, I have one.


(click here for more pictures)

• SaraRules and I are now watching Planet Hulk, based on the Marvel Comics story arc of the same name. It’s… interesting so far.

Okay… back to the movie.

Namaste.

Monday – 01 February 2010
Not only is it the start of a new work week, it’s the beginning of Black History Month. (More on this below.)

This past weekend was pretty well chock full of action. Saturday, I ran another ‘Clix tournament at Dr. Volt’s. I stole borrowed creatively acquired liberated in the name of the people (yes, that’s much better) the format from – HeroClix Extreme Wrestling Federation:

Each player’s team was comprised of six (6) figures, one at up to each of the following values: 75, 125, 175, 225, 275 and 325 points. Each player rolled a d6 to see which of their figures started the game – this created a few interesting dynamics, as some players’ lowest-point figures went against others’ highest-point figures.  🙂 Whenever a figure took damage from an attack, it had to “tag out,” so the player would roll the die to see which figure replaced the “old” one.

There were eleven players (ten teams again, as the two youngest played as a team). The format seemed to go over quite well. I wasn’t sure that I would get a chance to play, but I took a team, just in case:

• 75 points – Gamora
• 125 points – Susan Richards (Skrull)
• 175 points – Ms. Marvel (Skrull)
• 225 points – Crispus Allen (LE), with Fortitude
• 275 points – Apocalypse, with Fortitude
• 325 points – Superman (Earth-2, Crisis)

It was a good thing that I took them, as one player had to leave early and I played a bye round. Wayne, the player I faced off against, tossed in the Malice Feat

I have determined that I am not a fan of this card… at least not in one-figure-on-the-table format. It’s a killer. But, it’s one that I might have to consider using in future games. I won the game, pretty handily – I only lost Cris Allen, but Wayne got the win, because of the bye.

After gaming was done, I headed home and changed. SaraRules and I then headed downtown for dinner (Olive Garden) and an evening at the symphony. They performed Shostakovich’ Tenth Symphony, under new Music Director Thierry Fischer. The program consisted of:

• Dmitri Shostakovich – Festive Overture in A Major, op. 96
• Johannes Brahms – Concerto for Violin in D Major, op. 77
  • featuring guest violinist Baiba Skride
• Dmitri Shostakovich – Symphony No. 10 in E Minor, op. 93

I’d never heard the Festive Overture, but it was the perfect piece to introduce “the new sound” of the Utah Symphony under Mr. Fischer’s guidance. It was brash, a bit ballsy and afforded the audience a great presentation of the orchestra’s range, from pianissimo to fortissimo. Mr. Fischer is a… dynamic… conductor.  I am looking forward to the seeing where Utah Symphony goes in the coming seasons.

Sunday, I woke up and headed to the local Borders to get in some drawrin’ time. I haven’t sat down to seriously focus on drawing in over a year. That’s bad. I took a few ‘Clix figures with me as models – they don’t complain about holding poses and they are easy to carry from place to place.  After a couple hours, I was satisfied that I’d made a decent foray back into the realm of applying pencil to paper.

Next, SaraRules and I made a pilgrimage to The Garden of Sweden. We went.  We shopped. We left… without cinnamon rolls. *shakes fist*

From there, we dropped off the new stuff at home and then headed up to the in-laws’ for dinner and the Pro Bowl. After they were done, we returned home… and did our taxes. Yay.

Chew on This: Food For Thought – Black History Month
As I mentioned above, today kicks off Black History Month. With that in mind, I thought that it would be interesting to do something along the lines of “The ABCs of Black History.” Today, we will kick off with The A&T Four:

On, 01 February 1960, Franklin McCain, Jibreel Khazan (formerly known as Ezell Blair Jr.) and Joseph McNeil and the late David Richmond sat at a segregated lunch counter in the Greensboro, North Carolina, Woolworth’s store.

The store’s manager told his staff to leave the students alone, hoping they would eventually leave. However, Harris grew nervous that violence would soon ensue so he went to the police. Although he did not have the men arrested, assuming their demonstration would soon end, he did have several police officers stationed in the store.

The following morning the four students, along with 23 other men and 4 women showed up at Woolworth’s to protest. As the days went on, more and more students participated in the Woolworth sit-in. The number of students grew so large that by February 5, four days after the sit-in began, 300 students arrived at Woolworth’s to take part in the peaceful protest. On February 6, tensions mounted between the blacks and whites at the lunch counter. As white reaction to the demonstration grew more violent, a bomb scare forced the protesters out of Woolworth’s and C.L. Harris closed his store for over two weeks.

All four would emerge unscathed and eventually be recognized as heroes of the civil rights movement.

For more information, see http://www.sitins.com

Stray Toasters

• It looks like a trip to the southern reaches of the Right Coast will have to be on tap for next year: LEGOLAND Florida scheduled to open in 2011
• posted a link to this entertaining read: All the Many Ways Amazon So Very Failed the Weekend
• Cool NASA Tech That Will Never See Space
• Perry just called to ask if I had seen this.

  

  I hadn’t. It is the Green Lantern figure from the upcoming HeroClix Blackest Night Starter Set. Now that I have, I can’t wait to get my hands on one.

• Who said it never rains in southern California?
• 
• found these items:
  • Black History Month Motivational Posters
  • Paint Your Own Glow-in-the-Dark Sketch Wall
• Paradise Highlands: Wonder Woman thoughts from Scotland
• Following up  a conversation thread from Clitorati last week: Inventor unveils $7,000 talking sex robot

Namaste.

Monday – 25 January 2010
Welcome to the beginning of the work week.

Yesterday was a chock full of football action. Justin (from work) and Logan came over to watch the NFC Championship game… or the NFC Flub Fest, as it was. I fixed dinner: Steaks, homemade macaroni and cheese (with pepper jack) and salad. After the game, I headed to the airport to pick up SaraRules. She recounted her weekend – including what sounded like a great, though rainy, time at Disneyland. All-in-all, she had a great time hanging out with Meliko.

Instant Replay: Football

New York Jets at Indianapolis Colts
17 – 30
After stunning the rest of the AFC, the Jets headed into Indianapolis to take on the Indianapolis Professional Football Club at Lucas Oil Stadium.The Jets’ defense came out like gangbusters, stopping the Colts’ run and pass offense. After a scoreless first quarter, they rallied to score 17 points in the second quarter. However, those would be the only points the Colts let them score. Somewhere between the booth and the field, the Colts started picking up on what the Jets were doing and proceeded to pick them apart. Congratulations to rookie coach Jim Caldwell, Peyton Manning and the rest of the Colts franchise..

.

Minnesota Vikings at New Orleans Saints
28 – 31
I don’t really know what to say about this game. The teams looked to be well-matched… so why is it that the Vikings looked so bad?! (And that’s not “Bad,” in the Michael Jackson sense, either.) The Vikings’ O-line wasn’t there, at least not in the first half. Favre was rushed and knocked down… A LOT. Additionally, there were miscues and errors that resulted in six fumbles, dropped passes and even a couple of interceptions. On the Saints’ side of the game, they seemed to just… “click.” Offensively. Defensively. They showed up to play. Yes, there was the “questionable touchdown,” but even without that, they played hard and well. Congrats to Coach Sean Payton, QB Drew Brees and the rest of the Saints’ squad.

Stray Toasters

• Brain Slug Cupcakes
• 
• Get Paid What You’re Worth
• A few days ago, posted a link to the Mass Effect 2 trailer. I saw the trailer again during last night’s NFC game… and pointed out the following to Logan and Justin: With a few word substitutions…
  • Replace “One very specific man..” and/or “Shepard” with “Master Chief”
  • Replace “Repears” with “Covenant” or “The Flood”
  • Replace “Omega 4 Relay” with “Halo (rings)”

  …you could turn this into a new HALO trailer:

• After I showed him the Bugatti Veryon vs. Eurofighter Typhoon race, Justin pointed out this video yesterday, to which all I could respond was,”Some peoples’ children…”
• Superman – The 1948 Serial
• By way of comes: A Brief Guide to World Domination
• Mandelbrot Set you’re a Rorschach Test on fire
  You’re a day-glo pterodactyl
  You’re a heart-shaped box of springs and wire
  You’re one badass fucking fractal
  And you’re just in time to save the day
  Sweeping all our fears away
  You can change the world in a tiny way
• Ambidextrous children ‘more likely to be hyperactive’

More later. Maybe.

Namaste.