My brother celebrates the big 4-1 which is a cool prime number. It went pretty well for me: a visit to DC; meeting Viv Savage (keyboardist of Spinal Tap), Elvira and Roseanne Cash; and seeing numerous movies or concerts. May the same happen to Brian and more!
I sent him his card rather early this year since it was in a batch for others in the Chicago area. I do hope he got a chuckle from it.
Should you know him, don’t forget to drop Brian a line.
This does drag on a bit and get childish, but I still found it more entertaining than the recent Abrams’ movie.
Apparently, the cats and I could recharge our own personal fuel cell if what this scientist proposes becomes feasible. Due to the ammonia content in feline whiz (since they’re originally desert creatures), I think they would create a surplus for my house.
Well, at least there’s no sign of Jar Jar Binks.
Here’s a link from the Guardian about an upcoming coffee-table/photo book of David Bowie’s early years. It covers mostly his time during the mid to late Sixties when he was in various bands, following the current trends and concludes with his transformation into Ziggy Stardust. Some previous pictures are a bit comical because we’re all so accustomed to Bowie being the Thin White Duke, a suave trendsetter who leads the pack, not the other way around.
I still think he’s cool, the shots just show he always had a human side.
Meanwhile, Alamo Ritz will be screening Velvet Goldmine for Music Monday. Coincidence?
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Number three from my possible (I’m still debating) Sick Day Theater run and it had been sitting in my insta-queue for over a year. Back when we signed up, NetFlix streaming was heavier with Foreign/Indie stuff I like. I think this movie failed to garner any real steam or decent publicity thanks to the marketing campaign. No amount of festival awards will get many people to see it with such a poster and a vague description as I found on the DVD box at Blockbuster. Never mind that the UK isn’t really known for making softcore porn comedies nor does Blockbuster carry such material. Why didn’t I check it out? Around the time I stumbled upon it, BB was starting to irritate me with all the scratched DVDs our player struggled with and the favorable reviews on the box were dubious: two Web sites and Variety.
Through the beauty of streaming I could start watching, give it 30 minutes and stop if it just was plain awful; sadly this was the fate of Big Fan during my illness.
The story begins with Ben being yelled at by his girlfriend Suzy in slow motion. Through his narration he explains that what you’re witnessing is their breakup. She doesn’t take it well from the yelling and cursing you can make out. Days later Ben develops insomnia over it. At first he uses the additional time to read books he never got around to but when those run out he decides to take a third-shift job at a grocery store. There he observes how all his co-workers deal with time: for one, it’s the enemy so she puts tape over her watch; the rest pass their shifts by annoying customers or having scooter races in the aisles. For Ben, he discovers he has the power to stop time. This becomes important to the story yet I need to explain another aspect regarding the protagonist.
Ever since Ben was a young boy, he developed a fascination with the female form after his parents hosted an immodest Swedish exchange student (a tired stereotype caused by the film I am Curious Yellow). It isn’t perverse, it’s why he decided to attend art school. There are some other amusing flashbacks explaining Ben’s mindset which reinforce my argument.
Now by putting these two plot elements together, you can see why some reviewers found the film prurient, juvenile and a tad pornographic: Ben uses his newfound time-stopping power to sketch nudes of the attractive female customers. I would say his actions are unwise, unethical and probably criminal in most Western justice systems due to consent laws. Thankfully Ben’s moral compass is strong enough to avoid entertaining what lesser men would probably do. Besides, he is looking for a solution to the sleeplessness, not find cheap thrills. Without giving away anymore, good things do come his way and it ends happily for Ben.
I loved this film. It took something we all can relate to, a very ugly ending to a relationship and its aftermath; the regret, the pain, the restlessness, etc. Then a Fantasy element is introduced to take it in an interesting direction none of us can ever go yet we wish we could. Cashback shares some of its DNA from another personal favorite, Sliding Doors despite it starring Gwyneth Paltrow. Hence it receives my endorsement for adults. People under 14 would find it boring and slow.
One major casualty in the Great Recession has come to roost here, no more free parking on weekday evenings and Saturdays. Yet another step Austin has taken toward becoming Dallas II or Houston Jr from my perspective. Chicago had a huge fight over privatization too, a major mistake; the revenue belongs to the people of the city or county, not a corporation that will jack rates without any accountability or transparency. Something the Chicago Tribune favors until the sunlight is focused on their dirty laundry.
However, I’m of two minds about this. As a concert fan and special events attendee, taking away the free parking after 6 PM pisses me off. It feels like the tone-deaf City Council doesn’t care if they kill the gold-egg laying geese (Stubb’s, Alamo Ritz, the Parrish, Mohawk and most of Sixth Street). Never mind how this makes the title of Live Music Capital of the World a sad, sick joke when the creative people who made Austin can no longer afford to reside here. My original criticism, which almost made me leave in 1995, draws closer to being true…Austin is just a resort/playground for the children of wealthy assholes from Dallas, Houston and San Antonio.
On the other hand, I am fortunate. Whenever I volunteer for an Ecology Action-backed show with Stubb’s, I’m allowed to park in their lot without fear (of being towed). Having a conscience, I will only do this when I have previous permission through my contact and I am a volunteer, not a paying customer which I will be for the upcoming Scissor Sisters concert, definitely one the events of this Spring! Even with other downtown events, the metered parking will remain a bargain. Currently the rate is roughly a buck an hour which is cheaper than the vulture lots; at least seven dollars regardless of the duration you may need it for. Plus Austin recently upgraded to meters capable of taking plastic, the lots remain cash only.
So I grudgingly side with the change but take the Council to task for the means by which they did it. I know what people would say in the public hearing because elected officials (especially at the lower, local levels) lack the courage to lay it on the line with the citizens. After all, they do want to keep their jobs too.
As you can see, Beavis is doing his best Terry Sawchuk imitation by not wearing a helmet and mask.
I can see the designer using a dark background to get them to show up yet the detail colors should match somewhat with the characters. It’s hard to like because you’ve got America’s favorite dumbasses wearing what appears to be the NY Rangers’ colors (Viacom, MTV’s parent corporation owned that team in the Nineties) pressed on a Pittsburgh Penguin’s jersey.
Still, I wouldn’t mind owning this. I could hear them now going, “Let’s kick Crosby’s ass. He’s such a fartknocker.”
I’m confident all four of our cats know that what prevents them from getting all the food or treats they want are opposable thumbs. Then they could pop open the lids on the containers.
Years ago, my brother had a big gray cat he called Buzz (due to his loud purring) who understood how a doorknob worked. You could tell from the scratches on the hallway’s handrail; Buzz was hopping up there and then trying his damnedest with his front paws while digging in with his rear claws for balance/traction. If he had thumbs, he would’ve had free reign of Grandma’s house and gradually warmed his way into her heart.
Last night I completed (roughly) my 100th lap in my new skates. Much like my treadmill, I’m breaking down the cost to feel better about such a rather steep purchase…$195 yet they’re great skates. Trust me, having your own pair is better than using the rentals. Bowling isn’t that big of a deal, hell you can play wearing just your socks. With ice skating, no dice. I’ve never seen anyone break his head open bowling.
So these things have no cost me under two bucks a lap and indirectly saved the Maggi Republic 12 bucks.
I saw the news about Frank Buckles via Mental Floss. Rather odd I couldn’t find it easily through the other “papers of record” earlier in the week.
Two known documented participants remain. One retired sailor in Australia and a waitress in the UK; for some reason the RAF recruited women to wait tables during World War I.
My personal connection to the Great War was only through my grandfather’s stories about those years. When the conflict began he was 10 and as it dragged on, I’m confident his family worried about getting involved since Grandpa had older siblings who could’ve been drafted once the US joined. It panned out in his favor thankfully.
On Grandma’s side of the family she had a cousin who may have been a veteran. In the late Seventies we got to meet Cousin Frank in nearby Gibson City (in relation to Champaign-Urbana) and he quickly became a great friend to us all until we moved away to Houston. I don’t know if he volunteered or was drafted but Frank was a lucky man. He contracted influenza during an outbreak at basic training and missed out on the fighting in Europe. Frank’s good fortune continued too because it was a strain he said killed a few people on the base.
Today is when things really got moving in the ongoing fight between Mexico and the mostly Anglo settlers.
The mutual relationship deteriorated enough to have the occupants issue an official document about why they were making their own nation. It wasn’t built to last since both sides were using each to achieve different, cynical goals.
Mexico couldn’t develop the Texas region very much since it had only gained its independence from Spain in the last generation. Besides, the country was under the control of General Santa Anna and he wasn’t exactly a forward-thinking ruler in the mythical vein as James Madison. The indigenous inhabitants (aka American Indians) also proved formidable so enter the Anglos, primarily setters from the United States. The Mexican government figured they could use the Anglos to kill off the Comanche, Caddo, etc. without risking their army and probably move back in later to control the place more easily. Settlers came in from other American States looking for cheap property, nation-building, the expansion of slavery, adventure and whatever. I’m confident many didn’t plan on being part of Mexico forever due to their WASP superiority complexes.
Things came to a head today with the declaration. Hey, if it worked in 1776 against the UK, why not again 60 years later? Hollywood agrees with this strategy due to all the remakes in production.
It’s odd they don’t mention their beef over Mexico’s slavery ban but as I’ve been reading James Loewen’s collection of Confederate writings, rants and rationalizations, the word “property” was usually the preferred term the South employed. One funny point was brought to my attention by a friend though.
In the 11th paragraph, the authors list this specific complaint:
“It [meaning Mexico] has failed to establish any public system of education, although possessed of almost boundless resources, (the public domain,) and although it is an axiom in political science, that unless a people are educated and enlightened, it is idel to expect the continuance of civil liberty, or the capacity for self government.”
Rather interesting that the current Texas governor (practically a dictator as per the same yardstick the GOP applies to FDR) is in the process of slashing public education. It wouldn’t be the first time the well-coifed Aggie got a failing grade in History.
Okay, if you see the widget on the side, I’ve just achieved the 26.2-mile mark. It took me about seven weeks to achieve this.
I’m making progress though. My weekday goal is now 1.1 miles and weekends are 1.3. This also puts me 12 percent of the way to Jose’s house in Frisco.
On to 52.4! Two marathons!
February is practically over so that means Austin’s annual cake decorating (and etc.) competition was upon us. This year the theme was superheroes/comics. Since Somara took third with her retro Sci-Fi cookies, she stuck with this category and really pushed the envelope by making a “through-the-decades” tribute to the Crimson Chin.
Who? On the Nick cartoon The Fairly Oddparents, the Crimson Chin is the star’s favorite comic book character, a superhero who has chin-based powers and Jay Leno’s voice! I think it was a bit obscure but Somara told me the was an army of Wonder Woman-based confections so I was glad to be wrong about her choice. The “through-the-decades” part was a real episode in which all the different incarnations of the Crimson Chin were needed to help the protagonist defeat some villains.
Mandibles of Justice! How we wish creator Butch Hartman could see this!
One of my biggest peeves with Hollywood is their failing grades in Astronomy, they’re almost as bad as the Deep South’s grades in Science overall. I know they’re just movies or TV shows, but c’mon, our understanding regarding the galaxy has improved a thousandfold since the days of Flash Gordon serials from the Thirties. Back then, the Earth being invaded by the passing planet Mongo was cool despite it being completely implausible if you struck up a conversation with Dr. Hubble or anyone studying Physics at a college level. However, that was eighty years ago. Science Fiction’s authors, creators and audience have matured decade by decade as new discoveries were made.
So when Star Trek was being developed in the Sixties, Mr. Spock was originally a Martian. This probably got shot down quickly in the writing room because the average Westerner knew Mars was a lifeless rock (by terrestrial standards) and they were trying to shoot for more accuracy in light of the Space Race. Hence, everyone’s favorite intellectual alien came from the more credible Vulcan which orbits Epsilon or 40 Eridani…currently a billion-to-one possibility thanks to what we’re learning every day about Exoplanets.
Other attempts didn’t even bother yet I didn’t know any better during Battlestar Galactica‘s initial run from 1978-79. I was 10 and I loved any shows which filled the three-year void between Star Wars and The Empire Strikes Back. Recently I re-watched the original episodes on Netflix. Besides it being Mormons in Space with the pilot and the re-discovery of Kobol, the Astronomy, Astrophysics and Physics throughout the show were atrocious, practically insulting even by Seventies’ standards! I’ll spare you the details, unless you ask.
Despite my gripes with the re-imagined BSG, I thought it blew away the original, all Star Trek shows since Next Generation, Space Above and Beyond (not very hard to do) and all the other sorry attempts by the major networks. The only show it didn’t beat for me is Babylon 5. Sure this program appears fairly dated (we’re watching it on Netflix streaming too) with the Nineties fashions but it pulled fewer punches on the stories, characters and consequences. B5‘s rough first season and clumsy fifth get a pass due the program’s shaky syndication/TNT issues.
What really cinched BSG (2003) and B5 for me were the use of real-world Physics. The fighter battles in Star Wars are awesome yet the participants are zipping as if the rules of atmospheric flight applied. Therefore Darth Vader picks off the Rebels in the Death Star‘s trench from behind because nobody can flip around 180 degrees to shoot back like Starbuck could in her Viper or Sheridan in his Starfury.
I’m nitpicking and I’m finally getting to my point.
Last month, Dr. Plait plugged this fan-gift site called QMX Online for its just released map of the Twelve Colonies from the 2003 version. This isn’t any goofy fan-boy, theoretical attempt on trying to postulate the planets’ locations. It was developed by one of the co-executive producers (Jane Espenson) and the show’s science advisor Dr. Kevin Grazier (an astrophysicist with NASA). In plain English, the map entails pretty much everything we know about the galaxy today and applies how a place with 12 habitable, Earth-like (some near-Earth-like, see Aquaria) worlds could exist in such a relatively small area. The odds are slim, probably in the quadrillions yet is not impossible. At least, they stuck with stars (Gs and massive Ks) which are the stronger candidates to have decent-sized “life zones.”
This is what I gave my friend Jeff. He loved it since there were be only so many of these printed and he’s with me on supporting Science. Fear not, I bought one for me too, it’s just on hold at the UPS center.
