Random Access

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

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

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

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

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

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

Stray Toasters

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



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

The show must go on.

Namaste.

Hello, knee-jerk reaction: Verizon, Time Warner Cable, and Sprint to Block Usenet

Monday – 09 June 2008
Here comes the work week.

I can’t complain about the weather, though.

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

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

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

Stray Toasters

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

  

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

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



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

Whee!!!!

Namaste.

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

Windoze Sleeper 2003 Training Kit

Thursday: Coda

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

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

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

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

Stray Toasters

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

And that’s a wrap.

Namaste.

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

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

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

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

And so it goes.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Stray Toasters

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

• The Picture of Everything

Conjunction Junction, what’s your function?

Namaste.

Tuesday: Coda
When I got home, I turned on the TV and started surfing. I landed on CNN. As the Montana and South Dakota primaries were tonight, I watched the coverage. I missed Hillary Clinton’s… “No I’m not done, yet” speech. There’s a part of me that’s glad I did. I did watch Barack Obama’s speech. Once again, it was a classic. He didn’t bash Senator Clinton and there was only one jab (that I picked up on) at Senator McCain. Other than that, he seemed sincere and humble and appreciative.

After I watched a little more primary coverage, I flipped over to L&O: SVU. It was a rebroadcast of the season finale, which I didn’t see in first-run. It was a good episode, but it left a few questions about next season.

While waiting for dinner to cook (i.e.: “putting it the nukerator”), I installed a light in one of the display cases. It looks nice. I may move some things around to catch the light better. I may not. We’ll see.

Stray Toasters

• I chatted with Rana briefly this evening. She and Bit are back in the States and doing well.
• Liv Tyler is on The Tonight Show. She seems so… grounded. I find that odd/interesting, as her father is Aerosmith front man Steven Tyler. I guess that I was expecting her to be more Jack and Kelly Osbourne.
• , guess what character is getting a new action figure made. Here’s a hint:

  

• With Eric’s help, I was able to recover data from DS9’s former hard drive. After the process, I dismantled the drive – it was the first time that I had done that.
• I made the mistake of flipping to Boomerang a little while ago. Space Ace was on. That reminded me of the proliferation of video game-related cartoons that were part of the CBS Saturday morning lineup in the 80s.
• By way of Despair.com:



• AirPort Extreme. Hmm.
• A commercial for Burger King, featuring The Artist Formerly Known as Puff Daddy, was just on. In it, a BK marketing guy tells P. Diddy (as he is now known),”We need a new ad campaign.” Young Mr. Combs looks at him and, very simply says, “Tell ’em Diddy says ‘BK is open late.'” And then something FINALLY hit me: Something about the name “P. Diddy” struck me as both odd/ridiculous… but strangely familiar, however I didn’t make the connection until tonight:

  

  That’s right: Diddy Kong. He renamed himself… after a cartoon/video game monkey.

• Donkey Kong was adapted into a cartoon, too. Also on CBS. Also far from good.
• There’s a Utah Blaze game Monday night. That could be a nice change of pace way to spend the evening.

Time to figure out what I want for a pre-bed snack.

Namaste.

Tuesday – 03 June 2008
Last night, I got home to find that my Giants set of ‘Clix had arrived. As I had some errands to run, I took the package, unopened, with me. I’ll come back to that one in a minute.

One of the evening’s errands was to take my guitar to Acoustic Music. The bridge had… separated… from the body, rendering the instrument pretty much useless. They will reattach the bridge and restring the guitar; I should have it back inside of a week. I had asked Tom (SaraRules’ friend) and Bruce (from Jitterbug) where the best place to take it would be – both of them said Acoustic Music. First choice. No hesitation. (Well, there was a little hesitation from Tom, as he tried to recall the name of the place, but it was still his first choice.)

One of the other “errands” was to see if Chris was home and show him the Giants set. He was. I did. He laughed when I told him that I came by just to show him the figures, but he liked them. (The sculpts and paint jobs are really good, the pictures on the site don’t do ’em justice.) He didn’t recognize all of the characters, but he did know a few of them.

On to the store to pick up a few groceries and then home. I cooked dinner: Grilled chicken over angel hair pasta with a garden salad and a glass of Gewurtztraminer to wash it down. Aside from neglecting to turn on the range hood fan while cooking – and thus having a little too much smoke in the apartment and THUS setting off the smoke detector – it was good.

I even got to watch ST:DS9 and Seven Days. before calling it a night.

Workout
Back in the saddle again:

• Leg Raises: 3 sets/20 reps
• Bench Press: 3 sets/10 reps, 185 lbs
• Pulldowns (close grip): 3 sets/12 reps, 120 lbs
• Shoulder Press (dumbbell): 3 sets/15 reps – 30 lbs (1 set), 35 lbs (2 sets)
• Bent-over Row: 3 sets/10 reps, 35 lbs
• Wrist Curls: 2 sets (each)/15 reps – 55 lbs (reverse), 45 lbs (forward)

Pre-workout weight: 172.4 lbs.

I don’t know what I did to lose two pounds over the last week, but I’m not going to argue.

Stray Toasters

• SaraRules got to interview the Mayor of Aspen yesterday. Her recap of it made me laugh.
• Radio From Hell (known as “Radio from Heck,” in Happy Valley) has a LiveJournal account. Who knew!?
• “Secret Agent” and “Salmon”
• America’s Unhealthiest Drinks Exposed
• 
• Steampunk R2
• Interesting note: Jonathan LaPaglia, Seven Days‘ protagonist and his brother, Without a Trace‘s Anthony LaPaglia, are Australian; you’d never know from their accent… or lack thereof. Jonathan LaPaglia was a physician before switching to acting. He graduated with an M.B.B.S. degree from the University of Adelaide.
• Mel Gibson, however is NOT Australian; his family moved there from New York when he was a young boy.
• 13 Movie Mementos Lost in the Universal Studios Fire That No One Will Miss
• 
• Hugh Jackman is still Australian.
• Bardot fined for stoking hate race

/lunch

Namaste.

In no particular order:

• and I walked over to Dask’s for lunch. When we got to the little shopping center where it is, he noticed that a new restaurant, Cafe Zupas, had opened. We decided to give it a go. It specializes in salads, sandwiches and soups. I had the Honey Bacon Club and it was good.
• is on a roll today. She sent me this:

• , having watched the above video, went on to watch this one… and send a link to me:

• I am looking for a new hard drive for Defiant. I guess that I should get an external HD, too, for use with Time Machine.
• , Mike and I discussed adding a new class to FRPGs/MMos: Barbarian Lush.
• Stormtroopers vs. London Cops

  

Back to it.

Thursday – 29 May 2008
A couple of things that started the morning nicely:

1. I Am LEGO



2. Sent to me by CoworkerJG, who knows my proclivity for City of Heroes/Villains:

I think that these were good ways to kick of any NBN Thursday. And this morning’s coffee didn’t hurt, either. Nor did “The Boys in Brazil,” the behind-the-scenes movie from Disc Two of Rush in Rio, made during the Vapor Trails tour, playing on my port side monitor; it’s not only a cool look at what you might not otherwise see or know about putting together a concert and/or a tour, but it’s fun, too.

So, all together, I guess that it would be “No Bad News Sushi and Comic Book ‘Wednesday’,” too.

Stray Toasters

• I am “this close” to ordering a set of HeroClix Giants. It has Colossal Boy and Validus ‘Clix. Must have.
• Terminator Salvation: The Future begins principal photography
• principal != principle
• sent me a link to an article about Nepal abolishing it’s monarchy. In honor of that, I dedicate this Schoolhouse Rock! toon:

  No, it’s not entirely the same thing, but it’s as close as I could get.

• also (indirectly) had to deal with a monkey today:
  

  : there was a goddamn monkey in my yard today
  : O.o
  : while the movers were packing things up
  : Did it get packed into the truck?
  : you assume there was a moving truck
  : Oh.
  : the 9 crates are still in my yard
  : Right.
  Wait…. WHAT?!
  : they have to take them to the airport one by one in a tiny little jeep
  : …
  Wow.
  : yea
  so this little fucker is running around trying to bite the movers
  he climbed inside the crates while they were packing boxes into them
  i was laughing my ass off
  but admittedly
  i was laughing from behind the window inside
  those things are freaking mean

• NBC launches horror anthology series Fear Itself
• Does anyone else remember Tales of the Gold Monkey?
• Private Donor Saves Fermilab
• Update: I bought the ‘Clix Giants.
• Tyranist: James Bond Book Covers
• Ken Jennings, the man who holds the record for the longest winning streak on Jeopardy!, has written a blog post about Mike Allred’s Madman!, whose protagonist is apparently Mormon. I recall reading many rains past that The New Mutants’ Cypher was supposed to be Mormon, but the only other character that I knew was definitely LDS was Dr. Deseret (1, 2) from Will Shetterly’s Captain Confederacy.

/lunch

Namaste.

There are things that I could be doing around here:

• …cleaning up the dining room
• …finish sorting my ‘Clix (including the new ones I picked up last night)
• …cleaning my office and making room for a new desk
• …cooking dinner (although there are leftover Sloppy Joes in the fridge)

…instead, I’m doing none of the above.

were talking about comic books earlier. He’s been asking questions about different characters and even brought up the classic “Who would win if Character X fought Character Y?” question. One of the combos he asked about was Doomsday (the creature that killed Superman) versus Galactus, devourer of worlds. I said Galactus. Hands down. And a very short fight, at that.

Then I looked over at my Galactus ‘Clix.
And tried to remember where my Doomsday ‘Clix is.

versus

I stopped short of getting the figures to duel it out, though. Just barely.

Chew on This: Food for Thought
I have proof that God, in His infinite wisdom, knew what he was doing when he didn’t grant me infinite cosmic power:

Read this article

He must have known that when I read it, I would be compelled to use my power to give Michelle Malkin a telepathic lobotomy. Come ON, people… it’s a scarf. A SCARF!

Is the next thing that someone’s going to get outraged about jeans, if we happen to see a picture of someone we don’t like wearing a certain brand?! But, why stop there? Pants! ANY pants! Let’s get outraged because someone – somewhere – who may or may not be connected to… oh, Hell… ANY organization (not even a terrorist organization)… might be wearing pants!

Dammit, Ethel! Didn’t you see for yourself that (fill in a person/archetype) was wearin’ pants?! PANTS, I say! I’ll be damned and in my grave before I ever wear pants ag’in!

Now, George… don’t say such things. You know there’s nothing wrong with…

Nope! My mind’s made up! I’m never wearin’ the damned fool things ag’in! Ever! Do you think I want ever’body in town thinking that I associate with people like that! Pants-wearing people?! Hell no! My daddy didn’t raise me that way and I’m damn sure not goin’ along with all that foolishness! In fact, I’m goin’ upstairs right now and throwin’ all them pants right out!

That kind of thinking is utterly ridiculous and asinine.

Stray Toasters

• I’m (still) taking suggestions for new musicians/bands to put on my radar.
• Cat Saves Japanese Railway
• Galactus is a force of nature. Well, he’s a cosmic entity (like Phoenix… but not, by the same token.) This goes a long way to explaining normal beings’ perception of him. Sort of like Cthulhu… but without the insanity.
• And, since I brought up Phoenix, this provides a great answer to Jean Grey’s relationship to/with Phoenix:



• Ballmer and Gates Demo Windows 7
  I’m not hawking Windows; I was just amused by some of the mid-article comments/asides.
• Green Beret electrocuted in shower on Iraq base
• Fact: Galactus has been prevented from eating Earth… by Hostess Twinkies.
• MacBook Air sharp enough to slice bread, bone human flesh
• I don’t need a hand-held mixer, but I want one.
• Iron Man Rockets Into Space: For Real

Okay, time to heat up some Sloppy Joes and give some thought to hanging out in Paragon City.

Namaste.

Tuesday – 27 May 2008
The rain is gone.
The boxes are no longer in my car.
SaraRules is on her way to Colorado for summer camp The Aspen Music Festival.

Today’s going pretty well. For today’s workout, I wanted to do a few back-related exercises, as I feel like we’ve been ignoring that area. So, it went a little something like this:

• Leg raises: 3 sets/20 reps
• Bench press: 3 sets/12 reps, 185 lbs
• Reverse fly: 3 sets/10 reps, 82.5 lbs
• Decline press: 3 sets/12 reps – 135 lbs (first and third sets), 155 lbs (second set)
• Rows (standing, barbell, close grip handle): 3 sets/12 reps – 45 lbs (first set), 70 lbs (second and third sets)
• Leg raises: 3 sets/10 reps
• Back extensions: 2 sets/12 reps

All-in-all it was a good workout. Today’s weigh-in weight: 174.4 lbs.

Stray Toasters

• I’ve been trying to convince a coworker to buy a (at least one) MacBook. He’s considering it.
• Pain Lies on the Riverside
• Do whites need training before raising black children?
• Happy 5th Birthday to WordPress.
• Plants, for your health
• I may have to make a trip to Aspen to attend this.
• If Will Smith had one of these, I Am Legend might have been a (slightly) different movie.
  (Thanks to for pointing this out.)
• Adult balloon-twisters and gospel balloon-twisters battle
• SaraRules just called; she made it to camp Aspen safely and is getting settled in.

Quote of the Day
Just when I think that conversations with can’t get any better, he proves me wrong:

: bot/bit made it to US soil. not to DC yet tho
: Good deal.
They still have about 1:30 to go before they hit DCA, right?
: give or take. she said they were running late but not sure if it was them being late or the planes
: Gotcha.
: How are you this evening/early morning?
: eh…didn’t sleep last night. probably won’t sleep much tonight. frazzled. and in the middle of a packout. no pressure.
: Packout?
: yeah, movers came and started to pack and crate all our stuff
: ah.
: Dude. Condi… on the piano?
In Aspen?
: yeah she’s actually really good
: HAVE to see if SaraRules can score tix for that.
: wait…black person? in aspen?
: *ding*
: is that allowed?
: We’ll find out in 3 weeks.
I’ll send detailed reports.
But… Condi’s there in August. Performing, apparently.
http://www.aspenmusicfestival.com/index.cfm?&swf_plugin=0,9,0
: she going to take over any small countries full of brown people w/oil on her way over?
: No idea.
: there are brown people in texas. maybe we can make arrangements
: True enough.
And there are a FEW in Kansas.
: doubtful. it’s kansas.
: Seen ’em.
Been in a couple of rib joints.
: people see bigfoot too, rob
: But…
*sigh*
FINE.
: lol i think we have the makings of a really offensive comedy sketch
“crikey…i’m on the lookout for a negro…”
: By Jove! Kansas!
: i believe you. really i do
next thing you’ll tell me is that there are black people in utah.
: No.
There aren’t.
Just me.
And I tell people that I just had a really bad sunburn.
: damn. that’s some 4th degree shit
: You’d be amazed what people believe here.
*rimshot*
: dammit. now you have me thinking of ribs.
: 🙂
: http://www.cnn.com/2008/LIVING/wayoflife/05/27/tranracial.adoption.ap/index.html?eref=rss_topstories
: so….moral of the story is that it’s better to leave the little black kids in orphanages/foster homes?
: Apparently.
: i noticed no mention of any white kids being adopted by non-white families
: What self-respecting “person of color” wants to adopt a white kid?
Hell…
Bruce Wayne didn’t even want to.
He just made Dick Grayson a “ward.”
: well if you’re looking for well adjusted, master wayne isn’t the way to go
: I’m just saying…
Mr. Drummond adopted two!
: yes but one of them was a sassy midget
who wouldn’t take that kid?
: Touche.
: he’s the rich man’s webster
: And there’s another case: Webster.
White folk.
Black kid.
Adopt a white kid?
No way, man.
: big fat greek guy.
: I see…
Greek guys want to have black kids.
Is that why you married Bot?
: lol yes, we’re all infected with the fever
: (I’ll allow you to decline to answer that)
: me? decline? please.

Tonight: ‘Clix and Scion.

Namaste.

Monday – 26 May 2008
Once again: Up at 6:00. But, I managed to nod off again until a little after 10:00. So, it wasn’t a complete loss.

SaraRules and I got up, observed the hygiene rituals, had breakfast and then she started packing for summer camp her internship in Colorado. When she was (nearly) done, I asked if she wanted to go with me to run a couple of errands before she took off. She agreed… and we were off:

1. Trip to one of the local Deseret Industries locations to drop off three boxes of clothes. Unfortunately, they were closed for the holiday, so I still have three boxes of clothes in the car.
2. Trip to Expercom to pick up some new memory for SaraRules’ PinkBook. We ran into there. Random. There was a new employee in the store; when he rang up the memory, it came up at FOUR TIMES the price listed Expercom’s website. Needless to say, I was “a little” concerned by this. The more seasoned employee looked over at the screen, pushed a few buttons and the price dropped down to a much more reasonable rate… and so did my blood pressure.

Home again, home again.

SaraRules did more packing and I set about putting more ‘Clix away in their new homes. I still have a plethoric butt-load of them to deal with, but I’ve reclaimed a large portion of the floor. I still need to figure out who I want to use in tomorrow’s tournament.

Speaking of which, tomorrow will be a two-game day: I have the ‘Clix tournament at 5:00 and Scion around 7:30… or whenever I get done with the tourney. This should be interesting.

SaraRules decided that she doesn’t want to deal with the weather, so she’s leaving in the morning. Win-win!

Stray Toasters

• I chatted with a little while ago. Rana and Grace are on their way back to the States; they should arrive tomorrow. He also shared an amusing story:
  

  rana is in full mother hen mode too
  today on the flight to bkk
  some chick went to compliment her on how good grace was the entire flight
  and then the asshole went to touch grace on the face
  rana said she wanted to punch her in the gut
  i would’ve bought her a car if she did that
  talk about an awesome story
  “i had to bail my wife out of a thai jail for punching an asshole in the gut”

  Reason #283794 of “Why is such a cool brother-in-law”

• 
• The original Indiana Jones: Otto Rahn and the temple of doom
• will be able to appreciate this:



• By way of Comics2Film: G.I. Joe‘s bloody Baroness
• Iron Man has grossed over $252 million (USD) since opening almost four weeks ago.
  It had a $140 million (USD) budget.
  If the honchos at Marvel Studios aren’t happy about these numbers, I don’t know what will do it for them.
• New icon:

And now, time to find fixin’s for dinner!

Namaste.

Thursday – 22 May 2008
It’s a wet and rainy morning in the Land Behind the Zion Curtain.
After Tuesday’s 90° high and yesterday’s (possible) 60° high… today’s projected high is 50°.
Fifty. Five-zero.
Unglaublich!

Last night, SaraRules and I watched Poolhall Junkies. Christopher Walken. Rod Steiger. Chazz Palminteri. Lex Luthor Michael Rosenbaum. And where in the world has Carmen Sandiego Ernie Reyes, Jr. been?! Somehow, I had managed never to see this movie. That’s a shame – it’s a good movie. And, although they never overtly say it, it was filmed (and set) in Salt Lake City – you can even see the SLC LDS Temple in an exterior shot. (That, I did know before seeing the movie, though.) Being a film about a young hotshot pool player, it reminded me of The Color of Money. I even considered watching both of them for a better juxtaposition. And, if I do that, I am Ivory Soap sure that I will add The Hustler to the mix, just for good measure.

Not only is it NBN Thursday, it’s also “Sushi Wednesday.
And “Comic Book Day-After-Wednesday.”

Stray Toasters

• I’m not a fan of “reality TV,” generally speaking. I think I’ve made that fairly apparent over the years. However there are two things that have come to my attention this season that are somewhat noteworthy:
  • American Idol. I didn’t watch the show, but I caught a couple of episodes at Kate and Perry’s over the past couple of months. I mentioned David Cook back in March as having caught my attention. And, as of last night, he was chosen as American Idol’s champion for the 2007-2008 season.
  • Deion and Pilar: Prime Time Love. Kris (Sib-2) brought this show to SaraRules and my attention when we were in Florida. This show is… to call it “a trainwreck” doesn’t do it justice. You just can’t help but stare at, mouth agape. And laugh. Doubled-over on the floor, holding your sides laughing. And the opening theme? Comedy. Pure comedy. , I take back (just about) everything I ever said about your fascination with The Anna Nicole Smith Show after watching Deion & Pilar.
• Claire Beale interviews Apple’s Jonathan Ive
• I am looking for suggestions of new musical artists/bands.
• Pirate’s Booty: An ex-Jack Sparrow spills on life at the Magic Kingdom
• Getting ‘Nine back into shape is becoming… tedious. Certain things don’t seem to want to install properly. It’s getting a little annoying, in fact. And, it really is making me give more consideration to picking up a Mac Mini or an iMac this year, maybe as a second birthday present or Christmas present to myself.
• Sushi Jihad!
• The Secret History of Star Wars
• SaraRules left me a message: My friendly, neighborhood Spider-Man letter carrier brought me a package chock full of plastic crack. Selah.

Quote of the Day
Somehow, Christopher Walken always manages to get both some of the most random – and some of the most cool – lines in any movie he’s in:

Mike: You watch those nature documentaries on the cable? You see the one about lions? You got this lion. He’s the king of the jungle, huge mane out to here. He’s laying under a tree, in the middle of Africa. He’s so big, it’s so hot. He doesn’t want to move. Now the little lions come, they start messing with him. Biting his tail, biting his ears. He doesn’t do anything. The lioness, she starts messing with him. Coming over, making trouble. Still nothing. Now the other animals, they notice this. They start to move in. The jackals; hyenas. They’re barking at him, laughing at him. They nip his toes, and eat the food that’s in his domain. They do this, then they get closer and closer, bolder and bolder. Till one day, that lion gets up and tears the shit out of everybody. Runs like the wind, eats everything in his path. Cause every once in a while, the lion has to show the jackals, who he is.

/lunch

Namaste.

Wednesday: Coda
Today hasn’t been bad. I started the day (briefly) in SLC and then headed to AF. Not too much was going on there, but there were a couple of small… not even fires… to deal with. And the first workout in about two weeks. It was a decent workout, but having been out of the gym for so long, it was a definite challenge:

• Leg Raises: 3 sets/20 reps
• Bench Press: 3 sets/10 reps, 185 lbs.
• Upright Rows: 3 sets – 1 set/8 reps @ 70 lbs, 2 sets/10 reps @ 50 lbs (we think)
• Curls (dumbbell, concentration): 3 sets/10 reps, 25 lbs
• Rows: 3 sets/12 reps, 120 lbs.

I weighed in at 174.4 lbs. I don’t think that’s too bad.

I headed back up to SLC to round out the day. It was pretty quiet, so I was able to get a decent bit of Win 2K3 reading done.

Home to play around with ‘Nine. Installing a couple of the drivers was like going around my ass to scratch my nose. Yay for Windoze. Blah.

Stray Toasters

• City of Heroes/City of Villains new update, Issue 12: Midnight Hour, went live today.
• asked me if I had seen this article about PHP coding (all functions that begin with the letter “a”). I hadn’t. I asked him if he had heard A, by Barenaked Ladies. He hadn’t. He has now.
• On today’s Fresh Air, David Bianculli interviewed Mark Evanier, author of Kirby: King of Comics
• Five Gadgets That Will Make You a Super Hero
• …however, although I don’t think that injections of radioactive scorpion venom will turn Senator Kennedy into a superhero, it will hopefully slow the progress of his tumor.
• Spider-Bot!
  Spider-Bot!
  Does what Ted Kennedy cannot!
  (Climb walls, that is.)
• I bagged on Twitter a few of days ago. I still agree with ‘s comment – and I find this Penny Arcade toon to be fairly spot-on (and amusing) – but I think that Gizmodo found a good use for Twitter.
• 
• Refurbished iPhones Might Still Have Previous Owners’ Personal Data, No Way to Erase It

Namaste.