Happy 35th Birthday Seth Green

Posted on February 8, 2009 by Steve

He’s done a pretty amazing job of making the shift from bit player/child actor in numerous movies and sitcoms during the Eighties (Mr. Belvedere, Wonder Years, My Stepmother is an Alien) to what he does now: voices on Family Guy, co-creator of Robot Chicken and star in various comedies. Personally, I think his breakout moment was playing Dr. Evil’s son in the first Austin Powers movie. Good thing he was able to push forward into the better things he does now, Mike Myers won a slew of Razzies for his last flick.

I have a feeling Seth is going to be factor in show business in one aspect or another until he retires in another 30 years.

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The Hidden Fortress

Posted on February 8, 2009 by Steve

Film geeks are compelled to mention this famous Japanese movie whenever there are discussions about Star Wars. Somara rented it recently which blew my mind. Blockbuster? A foreign film section? In Pflugerville? International around here usually means it comes in Spanish.

As with all of Kurosawa’s films, it’s long and I fell asleep half-way through from exhaustion, not boredom. It could be edited down by 30 minutes to tighten the narrative but its length isn’t a serious flaw. My frustration with it is a lack of backstory. Why was their a war between the Yamana and Akizuki provinces/clans? Roughly what year is it? Since the Yamana soldiers have muskets, this definitely takes place during or after Japan’s initial contact with Europeans. Is Tokugawa ruling yet? So on. Yeah, I know, it’s just a movie, sit down and enjoy it.

The story begins with a pair of peasants (C-3PO and R2-D2) wandering the aftermath of a battle. They sold their belongings to join the fight but arrived too late. The Yamana army branded them as members of the losing Akizuki side, took their gear and made them bury the dead. Now they’re going home in disgrace to Hayakawa which is adjacent to both of the feuding provinces. Unfortunately, the border between Akizuki and Hayakawa is heavily guarded so they decide to get back through Yamana territory because that border won’t be as heavily manned. Along the way they meet General Makabe (Obi-Wan Kenobi) who bullies them into helping him smuggle the only survivor of the Akizuki family, Princess Yuki (Princess Leia) and her clan’s gold (the Death Star plans) to safety. The peasants’ plan to hide in plain view is brilliant in Makabe’s eyes so he cajoles the two by appealing to their greed.

It’s an awesome story and the execution is solid which makes it’s no wonder why Lucas gambled on its foundation in the Seventies. Too bad Kurosawa didn’t get a piece of the action, I think he would’ve been more modest than Lucas. This is certainly a better tale about Japan than the miniseries which introduced me the country, the highly inaccurate Shogun starring Richard Chamberlain. If you’re looking for a change of pace, I highly recommend this.

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The equivalent of TP on your shoe for cats

Posted on February 7, 2009 by Steve

I have no idea why Miette is the only cat in our home who gets cat litter (really the sawdust) on her forehead (or maybe it’s the bridge of her nose). It took a few attempts to get her to hold still for the picture which explains her irritated mood. Normally, Miette is oblivious to the litter but I think I was bringing it to her attention.

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The Flyers’ owners blunder

Posted on February 5, 2009 by Steve

Shows you how much I’m out of the loop on hockey lately. I hadn’t heard any rumors about the Phantoms being sold. I knew they lost their spot at the Spectrum for yet another unnecessary, overpriced shopping center the tax payers of Philly will be saddled with. Oh yeah, it will create jobs…crappy, low wage retail and food handling ones which can’t pay the bills in the country’s fifth largest city.

For a long time, the alleged plan was to move the AHL franchise over the river since New Jersey had some openings in one of their nearby communities.

Instead Comcast-Spectator (the primary owner) decided to sell the team. No only was this asinine, the buyers (The Brooks Group) have partial ownership of the Flyers’ cross-state rival, the Penguins. I read all the wishes about keeping them close to Philly from the Comcast-Spectator flak. It’s not going to happen much like the long shot I could hope for, this is the team the Austin Stars will transform into—the Stars will probably be one of the financially faltering franchises already in the West Division; smart money says the Quad City Flames.

The loss of the Phantoms is going to hurt the Flyers in the long run. In my opinion, having its AHL partner in the same city and its players practicing, celebrating and working with the NHL parent team made a difference. Toronto caught on which is why the Marlies moved. Sadly, this hasn’t yielded any improvement from the Leafs but I think the NHL’s cornerstone team has a mental problem to overcome first. Now the Flyers are going to struggle even more because the replacements will lack the cohesion they developed over 12 years from this past arrangement. I fear they’ll become similar to all the other teams with cycles of being Atlantic Division chumps for several seasons, sucking on purpose to get draft picks like the Penguins. Then there will be a surge of winning which won’t last thanks to Bettman’s salary cap, or as my friend Brian calls it, all the special rules to keep the Red Wings down.

I’m not naive but I don’t care to waste the energy on being cynical. Professional sports is a business, even John LeClair accepted that when he was tossed aside after a decade like a worn-out sock. However, the ownership should always, always strive for winning. Otherwise, the team is just a tax write off as my father once said. He certainly described Dollar Bill Wirtz to the letter.

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Off the wagon…Part Two

Posted on February 5, 2009 by Steve

Yesterday I blathered on about my weight, crummy CL number, so on. It was still smart to get a gauge of where I’m going, bodily. The results were odd yet not super complete in my opinion because I had a blood test near the end of last year. My “head” doctor (as I call him) said the numbers were pretty stellar for my age. Maybe I’ve been going downhill starting from the Vegas trip. I know since Thanksgiving on, I was indulging in too much food and definitely in the sugar department.

Anyway, the thing I went to had more to it than just having blood drawn, the tea leaves read and the usual lecture of “no more Whataburger, especially the fries.” There was a web page I went to and I gave more details about my health. Let’s start with the bad news: I haven’t been eating enough vegetables/fruit (my brain had been turned off there); I don’t exercise at all (no, I will not sell you my Wii Fit); and more of it involved why I see Dr. Custer every month. The good news: booze and smoking aren’t a problem (duh!); I drive near the speed limit and there’s an adequate fire safety in my house (double duh!). The better news, this was managed by the Mayo Clinic, yes, that Mayo Clinic in Minnesota. The best news, I received a phone call from a very nice lady associated with MC to have some reminder/assessment calls for the first half of this year to help me with my weight goal; I would like to get back to my old svelte 190 range eventually. Ditching the first 10 pounds in 2008 to stay out of the upper 230s was achieved. I haven’t had any success breaking out of the 220s. I think this will help and I received a $25 gift card for participating.

The first phone call will be on March 2. I’ll let you know how it goes.

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Off the wagon…

Posted on February 4, 2009 by Steve

…according to the Mayo Clinic. My cholesteral level is back up to 247.

I know, I know, I know. I’ve been slacking in the exercise department and when I followed the web page part, I realized the lack of fruits/vegetables in my diet. Don’t worry, Somara will rectify this.

Being such a geek, I tried to find any kind of connection to the number. My first guess was it being a prime number. Nope, I quickly figured it out to be divisible by 13 (13 times 19). Fear not, I remembered it being the exit number for my neighborhood on I-35.

Meanwhile, back to 200 or lower. This time (you’ve heard it all before fellow dieters)…I mean it.

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1994: Austin or Bust Day Three

Posted on February 3, 2009 by Steve

I slept well enough in Dallas but I was too excited about how close I was to Austin. Still, I made the time to check out the Sixth Floor exhibit to make up my own mind regarding JFK’s assassination; it was early 1994 and there was a guy at DG who obsessed over the details (or falsehoods) brought up by Stone’s recent movie. For laughs, I called their toll-free number, got my old boss, told him my prank about a message from Colonel X; CJ (my former boss) enjoyed it.

Quite a little museum for a city that didn’t like Kennedy much. My verdict after 15 years? I don’t really know since so much of it all is pretty implausible, namely the grassy knoll because it’s awfully close to the street. However, I can see why people have doubts in Oswald’s ability; the street curves in an S-shape and it’s downhill. In the long run though, Kennedy has been dead for over 45 years now. The game of “what if…” and conspiracies surrounding him were supplanted by the 2000 election results and September 11th. His assassination will be relegated to history with McKinley, Lincoln and Garfield.

My curiosity satisfied, onward to Austin I went. It was raining but the temperature outside was a balmy 50F, how I loved being in Texas now. Back in Illinois, it was still freezing!

I had a call today from a co-worker in Chicago. He let me know just how cold it was too.

Anyway, I’m cutting it short at this. The rest of Austin has been a great time.

Here are all the entries I wrote about it in 2006.

Day One

Day Two

Day Three

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Happy 60th Birthday Brent Spiner

Posted on February 2, 2009 by Steve

He was definitely the breakout character from Star Trek: The Next Generation. Now I only see him in bit parts on sitcoms and movies, namely the voice of Conan O’Brien in the South Park movie. My one regret is not buying his CD, Old Yellow Eyes is Back at the last GenCon I attended.

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1994: Austin or Bust Day Two

Posted on February 2, 2009 by Steve

Started the day off right with my first visit to Graceland and the last one with all the tour guides giving explanations of each room. I only spent enough to see the house and cars. I think I didn’t bother with the rest because I wasn’t sure how long it would take me to get to Dallas. If you ever get the chance, I highly recommend seeing Graceland, it’s not tacky or kitschy, it’s more of a time capsule.

Little Rock was just a quick stop to see all the Clinton stuff, otherwise, passing through the state was the plan. I had been there in the past and wasn’t impressed in the Eighties.

Texarkana appeared around dinner time. I couldn’t think of anything to see so I refueled and enjoyed the NPR affiliate playing Fresh Air, Maurice LaMarche discussing his role on The Critic.

Didn’t see much of Dallas in the dark but found a decent hotel room in Garland next to another Waffle House. Then I made my plans for the Sixth Floor downtown before bed.

Still my favorite Groundhog Day ever.

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New spam filter works pretty well

Posted on February 1, 2009 by Steve

One of the biggest frustrations I had with Blojsom, right after its pokey nature, was all the spam it couldn’t block. Truthfully, it wasn’t really the software’s fault. These jerks bombarding my site have robots hitting everything and anything on the Internet regardless of what’s used. There were options to install a plug-in but easy-to-follow instructions were absent in the DNA of this freeware.

I should’ve made the move to WordPress sooner. In the two months since making the transition, I have been able to install a couple plug-ins to customize my site and the big one last week was a spam killer. In the beginning, I was content to have moderation powers. Somebody posts a Comment, I receive an e-mail to check it out, and I mark it appropriately. This grew old by the 50th time I had to give a Comment the spam tag. Now this addition knows to reject the spammer’s attempt because the plug-in’s author says the robots lack certain abilities a real human’s Web browser. Works for me. In a week’s time, it has blocked 83 (there’s a counter in the Dashboard area it reports in).

However, I want to make sure nobody’s actual Comments on my site are being improperly rejected. Please let me know since I have only receive ONE after making the transition in November.

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1994: Austin or Bust Day One

Posted on February 1, 2009 by Steve

The day of reckoning. Hard to believe I had my rental car packed and ready to go by 10 AM, I had a past reputation for being late and unprepared. I also remember the look on my grandparents’ face of “he really is leaving, we thought he was bluffing!” Grandma called my mother, maybe thinking I would reconsider. Mom said I was welcome in Raleigh if Austin fell through. I replied that I’d rather live in a dumpster than be in North Carolina; yeah, I had a big plate of crow three years later on my statement.

First was the “quick” detour in Springfield to see the house my family lived in from 1979-82. I had resided in Bloomington-Normal for over two years and never made any effort to travel there until this day. It would’ve been a faster diversion if I retained my knowledge of the town’s geography. I also killed some time at White Oaks Mall to have a little more nostalgic memories of the place which used to be the center of my adolescent universe.

St. Louis was a bit worse. I hit the place during rush hour and took the wrong exit to find the Arch. Imagine how much smoother my driving would’ve gone if I had my iPhone then. I managed to find a place to park, took in the museum underneath because my fear of heights was too great to go inside. As dusk approached, I celebrated crossing the Mississippi River with some Jack in the Box for dinner, this chain isn’t on the eastern side.

Memphis appeared sooner than I anticipated. I found a nice motel in West Memphis with a nearby Waffle House (dinner) to spend the evening. I could’ve pressed on to Little Rock but I wanted to take in Graceland and I was using this relocation opportunity to take a vacation.

I’m glad the rental car had a tape deck too. My WMAG series of mix tapes (1-14, 1991-93) kept me entertained between the “major” cities along the route. So-called Alternative stations did appear on the radio in St. Louis, Memphis and Dallas to create the soundtrack for the trip. Ever since the “final” weekend in Chicago, I constantly heard Beck’s “Loser,” James’ “Laid,” and Sheryl Crow’s “Leaving Las Vegas.” Or those are the ones I was pretty sick of by the day I arrived in Austin.

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Floppa not coming back to the NHL… this season

Posted on January 31, 2009 by Steve

This should bring a collective yell of relief from Philadelphia and other strongholds of Flyers fans because there were rumors of Peter Forsberg returning. Holmgren would’ve had to throw away several effective players to bring back the frequently injured has-been to make (salary) cap room. Last season proved he was a waste of $11 million for two years when they made it to the Conference championship without him.

Besides, Philly needs to improve its defensive game.

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Death from the Skies by Dr. Phil Plait

Posted on January 31, 2009 by Steve

Hooray! Phil’s long awaited follow-up book to Bad Astronomy hit the shelves last Fall; he doesn’t like to be addressed as doctor. He told everyone last year at the Iron Cactus get-together about it and I bought this at Book People as soon as I spotted it at a chain.

First I have to explain that the title is misleading. It’s not a doom-n-gloom book which is the last thing the world needs in these ugly, uncertain times. DFtS is a reassuring, matter-of-factly, well-written assessment on how the human race has beaten some staggering odds because the Universe is pretty hostile. Actually, many of the dangers are highly improbable in most people’s lifetimes but he makes them fascinating while dispelling several myths purported by science classes, the media and popular assumptions.

Each chapter begins with the disaster’s description like it were written for a novel. Sadly, they end in doom, except for one: galactic collisions which occur at speeds that even glaciers outrace. Phil also writes about the events in order of likelihood and if humans can do anything to prevent their dire outcomes. Only one can be stopped; an asteroid or comet impact; and another can be worked around; a solar flare. The remaining possibilities are fatal: a nearby star going supernova, a gamma-ray burst, a black hole, an alien attack (if they’re hostile to all life), the death of our sun, galaxies colliding and entropy. Not like the human race has any means to combat them now. Again, it seems morbid yet if you read on, especially to the end, there’s a table showing how infinitesimal the odds are. Getting bit by a shark, hit by lightning or winning a major lottery are more likely than the earth being sterilized from a gamma-ray burst.

I’m not sure if his real goal was to dispel the irrational anxiety I had as a kid after seeing The Black Hole or to give me a better understanding of Hawking, the Big Bang and how the Universe really works. Probably both since you can’t have one without the other. Either way, I enjoyed every page because Hawking’s theories/work are mind boggling (I needed it dumbed down) and he did it without me requiring to relearn all the complicated math I’ve forgotten over 20 years. This book should be mandatory with Bad Astronomy in all diehard high school Astronomy classes and all college-level courses, especially if it finally dispels the old belief of the Earth being swallowed up by the Sun in a few billion years.

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1999: My last show at Liberty Lunch

Posted on January 30, 2009 by Steve

Before Austin’s gov’t practically gave away the land to CSC, I caught my last concert at this venue with new friend Ethan. Despite it being a somber event, I was pretty excited to see Semisonic. The Minneapolis trio was still riding high on their overplayed hit “Closing Time,” but for me it was like seeing Trip Shakespeare II since two members came from that Eighties band; I did see TS in 1992.

The Lunch (as I heard some people call it) used to be my favorite place to catch a touring gig during the first Austin stint (1994-1997). When I lived at 38th and Guadelupe, I could take the bus or ride my bike; it was located on Second Street which meant an after show dinner at Katz’s (Sixth and Rio Grande) was possible when I had more money.

First concert there was oddly Gwar. A University Towers co-worker invited me to tag along and I decided to go for it, see what else my new home had to offer besides the Backyard. The shows I took in over the next three years improved thankfully: Matthew Sweet (three times), JudyBats, Posies, Velocity Girl, Southern Culture on the Skids, Violent Femmes and The Heads (Talking Heads minus David Byrne). Looking back, it seems I didn’t see many shows in such a relatively long period of time. Well, I do know I missed some great opportunities thanks to my early days being plagued with underemployment: Garbage, Foo Fighters, Sugar, James, Sonny Landreth and Better Than Ezra.

Semisonic was great too. They played the hits from their current two albums plus a pair of covers: “Erotic City” due to their Minneapolis heritage and “I Got You” which they were practicing for their upcoming tour of New Zealand. Remy Zero was one of the better openers I had seen. They had a small hit going at the time which helps.

Nowadays, I would say Stubb’s fills the void left behind. La Zona Rosa might be more similar through its size, location (near Second) and being indoors but the ticket prices put it closer to an arena concert.

Hopefully other Austin friends will post their experiences and share what were the best shows.

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Where’s Shaun when you need him?

Posted on January 30, 2009 by Steve
It could've been Phish fans, they have a similar stench.

Hopefully they're the zombies from the George Romero movies you can easily outrun, not the "athletic" Undead from the Zack Snyder remake.

Some pranksters got into the controls of this road sign and left a funny message. I wish I saw it the evening I was traveling home on I-35 from Waterloo Records but according to a more detailed story, (caution, there is a video segment from a local pair of TV news zombies) it happened sometime between Sunday night and Monday morning; I went through the intersection on Tuesday evening.

A big round of applause for Austin’s police department for not overreacting unlike Boston’s finest two years ago.

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