Random Access

Thursday – 04 November 2010
Another NBN Thursday is upon us.

Last night, SaraRules! and I had Angela, Kate, A.J. and John – Utah Opera’s resident artists – over for dinner. We had a fantastic meal (maple chicken, roasted root vegetables, sauteed green beans with mushrooms) and got to learn a little bit more about the artists and what they do. It was a lot of fun. We also had an excellent dessert, as the residents brought a German Chocolate cake with them. It was a great way to spend the evening.

After the residents left and the dishes were put away, it was time to read this week’s comics haul. There were a couple of good reads, including Adventure Comics #520 and Superboy #1.  (I foresee a new Four-Color Coverage in the not-too-distant future…) I should also admit that I’ve been rather pleased with how Paul Levitz and his conspirators have reintroduced a young Clark Kent and Kara Zor-El back into Legion continuity. I was curious to see how it would work, given that Kara has already spent time with the Threeboot Legion, but Supergirl Annual #2 (last week) did a good job of it.

Today’s musical interlude: Anita Kelsey – Sway (“performed” by Jennifer Connelly)

Tonight: Carmina Burana at Ballet West

Stray Toasters

• I woke up this morning with Rocket 2 U, by The Jets, running through my head. I have NO idea “why.” I was more than “a little” disturbed and worried by it.
• Tennessee Titans Claim Randy Moss on Waivers
• might want to consider clicking here.
• 
• 2010 Hess Toy Truck and Jet
  I used to get Hess trucks for Christmas as a kid… but none of them had a jet.
• More than 20 tons of pot smuggled in border tunnel
• Covet!

Namaste.

Saturday – 30 October 2010
It’s Hallowe’en weekend.

There’s been a lot of debate going around as to whether or not kids should be out Trick or Treating tonight or tomorrow night. *shrug* I’m not sure that I care either way. I know that we’re giving out candy tonight and, assuming that we’re home tomorrow night, we’ll probably give some out then as well.

Yesterday, and I headed up to Ogden to pay a long overdue visit to The Wonderful World of Trains. We both found things that we liked, but I was the only one who wound up walking out with a few things:

• Atlas O Signal Tower
• Lionel K-Line B&O Double Door Boxcar
• Lionel K-Line “Happy Birthday” Boxcar (minus the “Tavis 2nd” part)

After we got back to SLC, I stopped in at The Train Shoppe and picked up some more track; I needed it to try out a layout I had in mind…

After SaraRules! got home from work, we headed to The Blue Iguana to have dinner with Bill Byrnes, one of her former professors. I’d been to The Red Iguana before, but never to The Blue Iguana. I had the beef enchiladas and they were quite tasty. Post-dinner, we met up with a few of the usual suspects for coffee and dinner… or, rather just drinks and a snack for us.

Back at home, I headed to the basement to work on my model railroad. The layout worked pretty much the way I had hoped: I did a single L-shaped dogbone loop…

Dog-bone arrangement of a continuous loop; the sides of an oval are squeezed together so it looks like a double-track section with a loop at each end where the trains turn around.

…with a couple of spurs off the inside line.

Today started lazily. (That’s far from a “bad” thing.) After breakfast, we got to the business of painting the guest bedroom. We used a different brand of paint than we used in the other rooms; it was thicker and took a little more effort to apply, but I think that we may only need one coat of it. As to the rest of the day, we’ll do a little errand-running this afternoon, but I think that this evening will mostly involve watching horror movies and handing out candy to the intrepid ghosts, ghouls and other assorted creatures who wander the streets tonight.

Stray Toasters

• The Magic of Harry Houdini’s Staying Power
• Black Republican Set to Make History in S.C.
• The Minivan Video Your Kids Shouldn’t See. Ever.
• 
• A Science Joke for Your Saturday Morning
• For the First Time, the TSA Meets Resistance
• Lost Animaniacs Clip – “Dear Mister Gingrich”
• A Giant LEGO Map of Europe

And with that, I think we’re off to seek out what the day has to offer.

Namaste.

Friday – 29 October 2010
It’s my 9/80 “off” Friday and the start of my weekend. Amen.

Last night, SaraRules and I went to Market Street Grill for the retirement party of my company’s President/COO.  It was done as a cocktail hour… without cocktails, but was still a nice affair.

After that, we came home and got ready for the evening’s entertainment: We had SaraRules!’s parents, brother and his fiancee over for Hallowe’en cookie decorating and then watched the classic Disney The Legend of Sleepy Hollow, featuring the voice of Bing Crosby.  It was a fun way to spend the evening.

Stray Toasters

• What Can You Do in Twenty-Five Words?
• The year is 2010. Detroit is a crime-ridden carcass of the gleaming metropolis it once was. The city only has one hope. And he’s 2 years old.
• Is the proper use of an apostrophe really that hard to figure out?
• Welcome to Dracula’s Castle
• Lisa Black: Gear-Turning Steampunk Taxidermy
• 
• National parks have room for all races
• Comic Book Resources has a preview of the upcoming Superboy #1, from Jeff Lemire and Pier Gallo. This version of Superboy is not a young Clark Kent, but a clone spliced from the DNA of Superman… and Lex Luthor, known as Conner Kent. The character first appeared in the “Reign of the Supermen” storyline, following the “The Death of Superman” in 1992.  I think that I have a fair portion of his first series (1993-2000), but mostly followed it because it was a Superman-related title; the character was still a bit… rough. Over the past year, Paul Levitz has breathed new life – and definitely added some depth – to the character. (That… and he’s renewed/strengthened Conner’s ties with the Legion.) This new title has the potential to be good. And just plain fun.
  • I just talked with Jeremiah – one of the guys from Dr. Volt’s Comic Connection – and found out that he did an interview with Jeff Lemire for Big Shiny Robot.
• The Biggest Movie Monster Ever
• From the “Whiskey Tango Foxtrot…?!” file: Police arrest man after beer found in child safety seat

That’s good for now. I need to get ready to get out of here — and I are grabbing lunch and then heading up to Ogden to visit The Wonderful World of Trains.

Namaste.

Wednesday – 27 October 2010
First day back in the office.
First day of snow in the valley.
Yay.

But, it’s Comics and Sushi Wednesday… so that helps to make it considerably better.

Yesterday was an amazing day. That’s really the only way to sum it up. Although I’ve known for a few weeks that I had a “birthday surprise” on tap from SaraRules!, I had no idea what it was until 0830 yesterday morning:

Yep… she got me the Ford Racing High Performance Driving School Mustang Experience package at the Miller Motorsports Park. And it was fantastic!

Granted, first thing in the morning, I wasn’t quite as gung-ho about it. In fact, I would describe it more as “ho-hum.” But, when I got out there and discovered exactly what I was in for, my attitude changed. A lot. Over the course of the day we:

• …took a tour of The Larry H. Miller Total Performance Auto Museum, which houses part of the LHM auto collection,
• …got 30 minutes of class instruction on high performance driving,
• …went out on the track and got to drive race-tuned Mustang GTs for ten (10) laps, in a lead-follow behind a professional driver,
• …rode for two (2) laps with a pro driver — we got to see how the course is supposed to be run,
• …toured the entire MMP facility, and
• …got to ride on the go-kart track.

After the whole thing was over, I went back to the museum and took pictures of the car collection. A lot of pictures. Jason, who did our earlier tour of the museum and grounds, was around to talk about each car and the stories behind them; he was very informative. I was expecting to be gone for two (maybe three) hours; all told, it was there for nearly five-and-a-half hours! And it was chock full of awesome!

On the way back home, I stopped at SaraRules! office to thank her (profusely) for such a fun birthday present. From there, I went to The Train Shoppe — I needed some rails to make a couple of siding spurs. Then… home.

We went out for dinner to Rodizio Grill.  Can you say “Meat o’clock,” boys and girls?  I knew you could! Yeah, it was totally “game on” with meats on a stick. And grilled pineapple. And caiphirinas. And their Chocolate Cake Sundae. Want to talk about a couple of VERY full people…?  We were stuffed to the proverbial gills.

We ended the evening with Buckaroo Banzai: Across the 8th Dimension.  Somehow, I had never seen this movie before, although it was apparently a staple of SaraRules! and her sibs’ childhood. It was silly. And campy. And terribly fun.

All-in-all, it was a wonderful day to turn 40.

Stray Toasters

• For SaraRules!: Graffiti of New York’s Past, Revived and Remade
• Take a Model Train to Work Day
  I think that I’ll have to do this.  I believe that I’ll bring in my LEGO train…
• Glaxo to Pay $750 Million for Sale of Bad Products
• 
• By way of former coworker Kristi comes: 2006 Tony Awards – Excerpt from Threepenny Opera, featuring Cyndi Lauper and Alan Cumming
• Electromagnetic burst impact far and wide
• Schomburg Center in Harlem Acquires Maya Angelou Archive

Yeah, that’s good for now.

Namaste.

Saturday – 16 October 2010
Yesterday, and I headed up to Clearfield to check out a new (to us) train shop: Almosta Junction.  They have the largest O-scale selection that I’ve encountered in Utah. And, they had an amazing layout, including one train that had at least 40 cars on it. pointed out that it “…isn’t just a toy train set, that is definitely a model.” We didn’t get to see the trains in action, but just seeing the layout was great. The shop was pretty cool and I am Ivory Soap sure that I’ll be heading back there again in the not-too-distant future.

After the model railroad outing, I came home and hung out until it was time for Clitorati. Last night’s gathering was small, but nevertheless good. And, I had recovered enough of my appetite to have a little something to eat when dinnertime rolled around.

This morning, we got up and took SaraRules!’ car to the shop to have tire and brake work done. After that, we made a quick stop at the store to pick up breakfast-typed food stuffs. While there, we ran into my former coworker, Brooke, whom we haven’t seen in a few months. Then it was back home for breakfast (French Toast and eggs).

Stray Toasters

• Prince announces tour to start in December
• The Swiss Have the World’s Longest Tunnel and They’re Proud of It
• 
• From the “Whiskey Tango Foxtrot…?!” file: Passenger: Airline said I’m ‘too disabled’ to fly alone
• Fox channels go dark amid financial dispute
• 
• HOW TO: Make a Zombie Barbie Garden
• 12 Awesome Airplane Paint Jobs

Now: Yard and garden work (ostensibly the last of the season)
Next: Red
Later: La Boheme

Namaste.

Wednesday – 13 October 2010
Technically, I wrote this last night, before going to bed. But, thanks to the miracle of WordPress’ scheduler, I can have it post after the sun is up.  (Or, at least after it’s up on the east coast.)

It’s Comics and Sushi Wednesday. Amen. After a couple of days of getting into the office between 0600 and 0615, I shall gladly take some time in the middle of the day to retrieve my four-color crack and indulge to in a bit of raw fish goodness.

To recap the past couple of days…

I went to work for a couple of hours on Sunday afternoon.  Some progress was made, but there were still a couple of issues to be dealt with on Monday.  After that, I went with the lovely SaraRules! (I keep forgetting to add the exclamation point on that) to enjoy a lovely German-themed dinner with the in-laws. It was quite good.  After we got home, I was a bit brain-dead and all I wanted to do was flop down on the couch and watch some TV. The ever-understanding SaraRules! was kind enough to keep me company until it was time to hit the rack.

Monday was… “a day.” I was in the office early — I expected it to be a “less than pleasant” day of work and I wanted to just get it over with.  And, I was right: It wasn’t pleasant.  As I noted in a brief foray to Facebook, I felt like the mythical Sisyphus. (Unfortunately, no matter how many times Carve Away the Stone ran through my head, it did nothing to alleviate my mood.) The day got better after I left work… despite dropping a full cup of frozen mocha goodness on the garage steps – and myself – while getting ready for Monday Night Football. *sigh*

Tuesday was a remarkably better day. While it wasn’t a necessarily “perfect” day, things fell into their proper places and my urge to punch people in the throat was notably absent. After work, I strolled up to Pin-up Girl Espresso for a white tea with peach. I chatted with Jim and Natalie (and Deja, from the neighboring floral/garden center) for a bit before walking back home. After dinner, SaraRules! went gallivanting, while I waited for Chris to come over.  On tonight’s agenda: Halo: Reach.  There was a wonderful bit of (much needed) catharsis in wantonly shooting things. It was a good way to spend the evening.

Stray Toasters

• By way of MarknTyme: Homeless Man – Under Pressure
  (NOTE: Be sure to watch the CNN interview with the performer.)
• Dan Savage’s Message to Gay Youth: ‘It Gets Better’
• Worf: Worst Klingon Ever
• 
• IRS servers go down during crucial week
• X-Men Arcade Coming to Playstation Network and Xbox Live Arcade
• WWII Star Wars action figure mods
• This both amuses and frightens me…



• …however, the cosplay photography of Jay Tablante reaffirms my faith.
• 10 Things You Didn’t Know about The Empire Strikes Back
• Monkeys…
• Improv Everywhere’s 8 Geekiest Stunts

I should get to bed: It’s early and I have to get up later.

Namaste.

Sunday – 10 October 2010
That’s right… it’s 10/10/10.
So far, it’s been a good weekend.

Yesterday, I had breakfast with Chris before heading off to judge a HeroClix tournament at Dr. Volt’s. It was another 500/1000 event: Players could field either a 500-point team with no restrictions or field a 1000-point team, with at least one colossal figure. Two 500-point teams would be paired to take on the 1000-point team.

Only one player brought a 1000-point team… with the newest colossal figure: Dr. Manhattan.

However, as there were six (6) other 500-point teams, that meant that all six teams faced off against the good doctor. Needless to say, “The Doctor was in.” All the way in. There wasn’t anyone who could really do enough to him to effectively take him out of the game.

After the game, SaraRules and I met up with the in-laws and ventured to the home of some friends of the family for a Canadian Thanksgiving dinner. We had a wonderful dinner and the company was excellent, as well.  It was a good way to spend the evening.

When we got home, SaraRules turned on The Fly (1986) – which I had somehow never seen – and I fired up LEGO Universe. I had to start a new character, now that the game is out of beta. Most of what I did was “review” from gameplay in the beta, so while I did a little more looking around and lollygagging, there wasn’t a lot “new” that I did.  That does not, however, mean that I didn’t have a lot of fun doing it.

Today, I slept in a bit. That was nice. SaraRules also fixed a tasty breakfast and then came over to help me turn off the sprinklers for the year. And, after that…

…it was time to watch some football: The Broncos at the Ravens.  Boo-yah!

Instant Replay: Football

Denver Broncos at Baltimore Ravens
17 – 31
The Ravens hosted the Broncos at home this week……and the game was televised locally. Hoo-AH! The Boys from Baltimore looked solid.  They opened the game with a drive down to the goal line, but couldn’t convert it into a touchdown… and turned it over on downs.  But that’s okay. They held the Broncos on their drive. The Ravens’ offense and defense looked good, despite a series where QB Joe Flacco couldn’t buy a reception. On the other side of the field, Broncos (and former Purdue) QB Kyle Orton passed for a 300+ yard game… his second in a row. But, all in all, it comes down to this: Baltimore is now 4-1, putting them atop the AFC North.

Ray Rice, you rushed for over 100 yards and two touchdowns today, how does that make you feel?

Yeah… I’d feel like breakin’ it down a little, too.

Stray Toasters

• I’m about to head into work. Yeah, I know… I know…
• BOOM! How Comic Book Sounds Become Movie Sounds
• Add each of these to The Covet List.
• The Periodic Table of Super-Powers

Okay… might as well stop procrastinating and head to the office.

Namaste.

Monday – 04 October 2010
A new work week is upon us.

Today is also the birthday of my Godsister, Tammy (who kindly served as “stunt double/stand-in” for Sib-1 at our wedding):

This past weekend was good, all the way around. I “kidnapped” SaraRules to Park City on Saturday night. She was preparing to fix a dessert when I told her to grab whatever she’d need for the night. Her expression and  response:

“But… I’m making an apple tart…”

…was along the same lines as my “But, I have dinner plans,” before my bachelor party. It was classic. And off we went. It was nice to be out of the valley, if even just for the night.

Yesterday morning, we got up, had brunch at Cisero’s and leisurely made our way back home. Upon arrival, I turned on the TV to watch the Ravens-Steelers game… which, despite all ads to the contrary, wasn’t aired here.  So, I tracked the game on NFL.com’s Game Center. The Ravens beat the Steelers – in Pitt – for the first time in the last five games they’ve played there; in SaraRules’ words, it was “a one-iversary miracle!”  I agreed.

In the evening, we headed out for dinner; we went to Fleming’s Prime Steakhouse and Wine Bar. We were impressed with the Fleming’s in Greensboro (where we had our engagement dinner), and hoped that the one in Salt Lake City would be able to uphold that standard. It did. Easily. Our waiter, Daniel, was very attentive and also very helpful in helping make suggestions as to food and wine pairings. Our dinner consisted of:

• Sweet Chili Calamari
• Prime Ribeye (SaraRules)
• Prime New York Strip (me)
• Peppercorn Parmesan Mashed Potatoes
• Sauted French Green Beans

SaraRules had a Pinot Noir, along with a sample of a Shiraz, while I had a Merlot.  For dessert, we had the Chocolate Lava Cake.  The meal was excellent.

After dinner we headed back home for a couple of episodes of Mad Men, a little champagne and anniversary cake. (Bonus points to SaraRules for having a new cake made, rather than our trying to choke down year-old, freezer-burned cake!)

All-in-all, it was a wonderful first anniversary.

Instant Replay: Football

Baltimore Ravens at Pittsburgh Steelers
17 – 14
The Ravens traveled to Heinz Field to take on the Steelers. In their previous four trips, they had been unable to penetrate the Steel Curtain… …but that wasn’t the case yesterday.  The Ravens came home with a win, cemented on the Steelers’ last play, by a Ray Lewis interception. Too bad that this game wasn’t televised here… but I’ll be looking for it on NFL Network.

.

Houston Texans at Oakland Raiders
31 – 24
The Raiders fought… but wound up losing this one to the Texans. Sorry, SaraRules and 1silver_seraph.

.

Carolina Panthers at New Orleans Saints
14 – 16
The ‘Cats headed down to the Big Easy to face the Saints… and were sent home with a loss.

.

Cincinnati Bengals at Cleveland Browns
20 – 23
The Browns beat up the big cats in this battle for Ohio bragging rights. Sorry, and .

Stray Toasters

• 98 Rock: The Official Flagship Radio Station for the Baltimore Ravens
• DC Entertainment shake-ups lead to executive departures
• More States Allowing Guns in Bars
  (Umm… is this really a “good” idea?)
• Baby dolls from the Uncanny Valley
• Why Johnny Can’t Program: A New Medium Requires a New Literacy
• Verizon to refund millions in “mystery fees”

Back to the grind…

Namaste.

Saturday – 02 October 2010
So far, it’s been a good weekend.

Yesterday morning, I got to hang out with Perry and a couple of the kids.  All were well. And, since I was in the area, I popped into MRS Hobbies, as well.  I only walked out with a catalog. I had a couple of errands to run and then I met back at the house…

…so that we could head to Orem and take a tour of the ExactRail offices. had a problem with a set of rolling stock that he’d picked up and – learning that ExactRail was a local company – asked if he could come in an have it repaired or replaced. And… if he could have a tour of the facilities. He was kind enough to ping me and ask if I wanted to tag along. (I did. Duh, TRAINS!)

We met with Blaine, VP of Operations. He was very candid about the business and operations. We walked through the offices and were introduced to a few members of the staff, including a couple of their graphic designers. They told us a little about the process of going from concept to finished design work. We also got a look at their shipping and warehousing operations, as well as a (somewhat distant) view of their molding/modeling operation. At the end of the tour, Blaine presented us with a couple of ExactRail boxcars…

…one each in HO-scale and N-scale.

All-in-all, it was a very cool trip and I thank for inviting me to tag along.

After that, we had something of an adventure: I-15 northbound was congested, thanks to an accident near 90th South. So, we opted to get off the freeway at 106th South and take surface streets back to my place. And, in doing so, we drove through just about every construction project in the south-central part of the valley. Yay.

This morning, SaraRules and I got up and had breakfast at Millcreek Cafe and Eggworks. It was a nice change-of-pace way to start the day. After that, we stopped at Heritage Gardens to pick up our anniversary cake. SaraRules had the brilliant idea of having them prepare a new cake for our one-year anniversary (TOMORROW!!!), rather than trying to eat year-old, freezer-burned cake. Brilliant, I say! And, next on the docket: A couple’s massage.  Mmm, relaxation. We’ll see what the rest of the day brings…

Stray Toasters

• WorldWorksGames has just released a papercraft 1:1 steampunk gun prop, called The Lightning Gun.
• What do you get when you mix Marvel Comics and Isaiah Mustafa?  I think it’s a little something like this:
• David E. Kelly to take on “Wonder Woman”
• Phil Collins: ‘Going Back’ to Motown

And that’s a wrap, because it’s almost massage time!

Namaste.

Wednesday – 29 September 2010
Comics and Sushi and D&D Wednesday is upon us.

Here’s a little something to get your day moving: Stevie Wonder – Superstition… as performed on Sesame Street:

Last night, after some errand-running, SaraRules and I sat down to watch Superman/Batman: Apocalypse.

The story was adapted from the second story arc, “Supergirl,” in the Superman/Batman book, in which a young Kryptonian girl named Kara falls to Earth… claiming to be Superman’s cousin. Darkseid – ruler of Apokalips and the film’s primary antagonist – seeks to harness the power of the young Kryptonian for his own ends. There were a few changes, but nothing that seemed to detract from the source material. The film is rated “PG-13” for language and violence… and there’s plenty of violence to be found, from Wonder Woman and Big Barda‘s fight with the Female Furies to Superman’s fight with Kara to the climactic battle with Darkseid.

Kevin Conroy and Tim Daly reprised their roles as Batman and Superman, respectively; Susan Eisenberg, who voiced Wonder Woman on the Justice League/Justice League Unlimited series, returned as the Amazon princess. Andre Braugher was brought in to voice Darkseid.  (Andre Braugher. Darkseid. Win-Win!) Summer Glau (Firefly, Serenity, Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles) voiced Kara.

The DVD also contained a “DC Showcase” backup featurette, starring Green Arrow. In it, Green Arrow has to protect a young princess from an assassination attempt. The piece was well-written, with a wryly witty Green Arrow. The piece also featured appearances from Merlyn, a long-time Green Arrow villain, Count Vertigo and Black Canary.

All-in-all, this was a worthy addition to the new DC Universe animation line.

Stray Toasters

• In a bit of a new twist, I started to mistype the title as “Stray Roasters.”
• The Gods Are Stranded as Set Misfires
• Background Listening and Passive Exposure Can Improve Your Skills
• Tron’s long journey back to into theaters, by way of
• “Birds of Prey” from Batman: The Brave and the Bold
• Toy Makers Fight for Exemption from Safety Rules
• Amtrak unveils plan for high-speed rail on East Coast
• The New Xbox Software Is Here and It’s Better

And that’s a wrap!

Namaste.

Tuesday – 28 September 2010
Work Week Day 2.

Here’s a little something to get your morning moving:

Tom Brown: Funkin’ for Jamaica

Moby (ft. Gwen Stefani): Southside

Instant Replay: Football
Last night, I had a few of the guys over to watch Monday Night Football…

Green Bay Packers at Chicago Bears
17 – 24
The Green Bay Packers traveled to Chicago to take on the Bears at Soldier Field.It was a sloppy game for the Packers. Early on, it looked like they came to play, but their zeal seemed to wane a bit as the game went on.  On the other hand, Chicago looked kind of lax early on, but dialed up the effort in the second half… just enough to come away with a late game-winning field goal.

Stray Toasters

• SaraRules shared this video yesterday:

  I found this picture this morning:

  

• 4,100 Students Prove ‘Small Is Better’ Rule Wrong
• How to Survive When Your Elevator Plunges
• By way of the Council for Better Driving: Texting ban may add risk to roads
• Still Few Women in Management, Report Says
• 
• Philharmonic President to Depart, as Music World Changes
• By way of : Atheists, agnostics most knowledgeable about religion, survey says
• Skyy pushes the envelope with sexy ad campaign
• Former Marvel E-i-C Bob Harras Named DC Editor-in-Chief
• Websites suffer from 13 security flaws on average
• Ben & Jerry’s Take ‘All-Natural’ Claims Off Ice Cream Labels
• It would seem as though Raytheon isn’t the only one with a “death ray” these days: Vegas’ Vdara focuses sunshine into hair-singeing death ray

Namaste.

Thursday – 23 September 2010
Last night SaraRules and I went to Capitol Theatre  and saw The Lion King.

Simply put: It was fantastic, from the opening number to the closing curtain. I had been told that it was an impressive production, but I fear that assessment was a gross understatement. The costuming, the staging, the performances — everything was amazing. Among the items that struck me were:

• …the way the scenery moved — Pride Rock, the grasslands and the jungle;
• …the birds;
• …the cheetah;
• …the way they portrayed the animals interacting with their environment;
• …the use of aerials in the performance;
• …Simba’s run with wildebeests/Mufasa’s death scene;
• …the transition from young Simba to the older Simba;
• …the ghost of Mufasa;
• …the final battle between Simba and Scar;
• ..and… and… and….

Suffice if to say that there were MANY things that I enjoyed about the performance.

If you have the opportunity to see a performance of this musical, I recommend it very highly.

Many thanks to SaraRules for getting us tickets for this.

Stray Toasters

• Have I mentioned lately that I have the world’s most awesome wife?  No?  Well, I do.
• Munich toasts 200 years of Oktoberfest
• Prosecutors’ conduct can tip justice scales
• For Many, Health Care Relief Begins Today
• 
• Fashion Week: Samantha Pleet proves eco-couture need not ‘scream green’
• Alleged ringleader of ID theft ring extradicted to New York
• I’ve had to ask two people “Is it plugged in…?” with relation to problems with two separate systems this morning. One was plugged in; the other was “kind-of” plugged in. I love my job.
• Two new dinosaur species discovered in southern Utah
• Mattel introduces new Journalism Barbie
• From the “Go, Go, Godzilla!” file comes this item.

Namaste.

Tuesday – 21 September 2010
Day 2 of the work week. Yay.

Today also would have been Jess’ 36th birthday.
Maybe Billy Joel was right:  Only the good die young.

Last night, I had a few friends over to watch Monday Night Football – New Orleans Saints at San Francisco 49ers. I have to say that it was a far better match-up than I had anticipated. I had thought that the Saints would pretty much roll over the ‘Niners, given San Fran’s last few seasons.

No way.
Uh-uh.
Forget it.

After some early-in-the-game flubs, QB Alex Smith led an invigorated and determined team against Drew Brees and the Saints. Play on both sides of the ball was solid. I mean REALLY solid.  In the end, it came down to the Saints nailing a field goal with two seconds left in the game.

And it appears that Saints’ RB Reggie Bush broke his leg on his last play. He is expected to be out for six weeks.

Stray Toasters

• By way of SaraRules: Build London with LEGO

  
  Build Anything from Studiocanoe on Vimeo.

• Disney Princesses Reimagined as Superheroes
• By way of my friend, Anne: Arts Jobs Are Jobs, Too
• Squishable Cthulhu
• Why is it that orange-flavored medicines taste so bad?
• Eric Merced Keeps His Card Art Rare But Easy to Acquire
• 
• From the “History” and “Whiskey Tango Foxtrot…?!” files: British Intelligence Agency Used Semen as Invisible Ink
• Wait… I think that THIS trumps the previous item for “WTF?!”
• Hourly Desk Stretches Relax Your Brain and Body
  (This was one of the “positive” things that I learned during my tenure with the U.S. Postal Service.)

Tonight, I get to do my best Paul Bunyan impression and take down at least one of the trees in the front yard.

Namaste.

Sunday – 19 September 2010

Yesterday was a good day off. I didn’t get to sleep in, as we had to drop off SaraRules’ car at the shop at 0800. After that, we swung past Pin-up Girl Espresso for some morning go-juice. Back home for a bit before SaraRules headed off for quilting and I met up with Kate, Perry and the kids.  (A visit that included a trip to Toys ‘R’ Us, no less!)

Back at home, we had lunch and tried to figure out the rest of the afternoon. SaraRules had a quilt that she needed to work on, while I headed to Dr. Volt’s for the 20th Anniversary Sale and Signing.  Jake Black, Derek Hunter, Gabriel Hardman and Jeff Parker were in the store for signings and doing sketches. And Kerry Jackson and company were taping an episode of The Geekshow Podcast.  I got a chance to speak with Jake and the other creators and even wound up with a couple of sketches:

Derek Hunter’s GL John Stewart:

Jeff Parker’s Luke Cage (from The New Avengers and Thunderbolts):

Shortly after I returned home, pinged me to see if I wanted to make a quick trip to The Hobby Stop. Hm… trip to another model railroad store…? Yes, thank you.  And we were off. We both found things that piqued our interests, but we both managed to walk out empty-handed. But, we didn’t leave Utah County empty-handed, thanks to a stop at the local Krispy Kreme.

Back home to change and get ready for a night on the town with SaraRules. Last night’s entertainment was seeing Utah Symphony performing with the Duke Ellington Orchestra. It was a great concert.

I was up early this morning (0715) and made my way to the living room. I found Renaissance on IFC. I watched it before heading over to HGTV for an episode of Yard Crashers.  (Imagine that…)

And now, after a hearty breakfast, SaraRules and I are on the way to the Utah State Fair.

Namaste.

Wednesday – 15 September 2010
It’s the middle of the week.
It’s the middle of the month.
And, it’s Sushi and Comics Wednesday.
Triple-score win.

Last night, SaraRules and I went to Kingsbury Hall for an event:

Mr. Lee talked about his background, his introduction to film and his reasons for wanting to get into film. He also discussed how he has used the director’s chair to make films that deal with race relations as well as other subject matter. Following his roughly hour-long talk, he did about forty minutes of Q&A. He prefaced the session by saying that he would entertain “intelligent questions, but wasn’t here to take auditions, screenplays, mix-tapes” or other “Hey, notice me!” fare. His answers to the questions seemed sincere and direct, but were also rather no-nonsense.  It was a great event and a fine way to spend the evening.

We tried a new place for sushi today: Sushi Groove. We liked it. A lot. It had a lot of things going for it: Good atmosphere, good food, and some of the former Oh Sushi staff. It was full of “Win” all around.

Stray Toasters

• Have I mentioned that I have the Coolest Wife in the World lately?  No? Well, I do.
• Today is another suit day: Black suit, light blue shirt, black tie with gold and blue swaths and a gold pocket square.  And, yes, it has raised the obligatory “What’s the occasion?” questions.
• Tyranist was in the north office yesterday. We chatted about a number of things, including our mutual affinity for Cee-Lo’s new song. A short while later, Tyranist told me that I had gotten the song stuck in his head; I told him that was payback for getting Scotty Doesn’t Know stuck in my head a year or two ago. We then noted that the two songs were actually complementary sides of the same figurative coin.
• For the Dishwasher’s Sake, Go Easy on the Detergent
• Awesome Limited Edition Cycling Prints
• 
• Ray Lewis’ son has a 504-yard monster game in Florida
• Rokenbok has updated their website.
• “Elder Spice”
• I’m not sure if I even care about getting the “Buy It By The Brick” figure for Web of Spider-Man…
• A New Name for High Fructose Corn Syrup
• The 20 Worst TV Shows

Namaste.