WATCHMEN pics.
Yes, that's probaby an un-CGI'd Rorschach.
The JOKER from the upcoming Batman Begins sequel: The Dark Knight
Thanks to Randy for the forward.
And INDY IV
Some people have complained that Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull is too long of a title, but I dig the pulp, Doc Savage feel of the name.
I still am not sure if we get Karen Allen back in this one.
And the upcoming Justice League: New Frontier had a press release with some stills and images of box art-work. This was a great, self-contained comic and I think it'll be a great movie.
Tuesday, November 27, 2007
Keep the Car Running = Thunder Road?
This morning I was driving into work and listening to Springsteen's "Thunder Road" and it struck me how much parts of the new Arcade Fire album (or, rather, latest Arcade Fire album) sound like Springsteen when Springsteen is at his rocking best.
It must have been something nigh-tangible in the zeitgeist.
Check out this post on Stereogum.
Yeah, that's the E Street Band with Win and Regine playing "Keep the Car Running". Holy smokes.
Apparently I was very late in making the comparison, but as I don't think I've read an actual music or album review since college, I missed out on the comparisons at the time of the release of Arcade Fire's "Neon Bible".
An article in SPIN.
It must have been something nigh-tangible in the zeitgeist.
Check out this post on Stereogum.
Yeah, that's the E Street Band with Win and Regine playing "Keep the Car Running". Holy smokes.
Apparently I was very late in making the comparison, but as I don't think I've read an actual music or album review since college, I missed out on the comparisons at the time of the release of Arcade Fire's "Neon Bible".
An article in SPIN.
Monday, November 26, 2007
New Blog Featuring the Baby-Growing Talents of Denise!
Hey, Leaguers!
Our own Denise is about to have kids. No, not a pair of goats, but a pair of babies.
And, for once, there is a slight chance one may be named Ryan II. You see, Denise's husband is also named Ryan. So while she may lead him to believe that she is naming the babies after that guy, we at League of Melbotis know the truth.
Check out the Bambino Blog!
Our own Denise is about to have kids. No, not a pair of goats, but a pair of babies.
And, for once, there is a slight chance one may be named Ryan II. You see, Denise's husband is also named Ryan. So while she may lead him to believe that she is naming the babies after that guy, we at League of Melbotis know the truth.
Check out the Bambino Blog!
Day Off
I had today off, sort of. Technically, I had the day off, but the world of eLearning never sleeps, and so I had to get online and do some work in the afternoon, as well as call a client.
Mostly, I just hung Christmas lights.
When we bought our house, I knew that the two-tiered porch and columns meant we'd be lighting the whole front of the house. Fortunately, this year, I didn't have to figure out how this was going to work, and I more or less repeated from last year, with a few extra items and ideas I got walking around the neighborhood last year.
I also managed to get the tree up, but we didn't decorate it yet. Perhaps tomorrow night. We'll also need to figure out our floor plan for the 2007 Holiday Heckstravaganza and think a bit about getting out the rest of the decorations.
Tomorrow is back to the office for a short week, and cramming in the last few weeks before everyone disappears for Christmas, including me.
Jamie slept a lot.
When one is on dialysis, the body does not adjust terribly well to temperature changes, and so, with fall-like weather now upon us, Jamie is getting cold quite easily. I actually woke up last night to her shivering and covered her with a few blankets. I give her a hard time for getting cold during winter, but I know she really does get chilled to the bone. So I don't think she slept terribly well last night until I located the blankets.
The dogs, still recovering from their respective Thanksgiving weekends, also spent most of the day asleep.
It was nice having a day off and getting some sun and enjoying the cool weather.
Mostly, I just hung Christmas lights.
When we bought our house, I knew that the two-tiered porch and columns meant we'd be lighting the whole front of the house. Fortunately, this year, I didn't have to figure out how this was going to work, and I more or less repeated from last year, with a few extra items and ideas I got walking around the neighborhood last year.
I also managed to get the tree up, but we didn't decorate it yet. Perhaps tomorrow night. We'll also need to figure out our floor plan for the 2007 Holiday Heckstravaganza and think a bit about getting out the rest of the decorations.
Tomorrow is back to the office for a short week, and cramming in the last few weeks before everyone disappears for Christmas, including me.
Jamie slept a lot.
When one is on dialysis, the body does not adjust terribly well to temperature changes, and so, with fall-like weather now upon us, Jamie is getting cold quite easily. I actually woke up last night to her shivering and covered her with a few blankets. I give her a hard time for getting cold during winter, but I know she really does get chilled to the bone. So I don't think she slept terribly well last night until I located the blankets.
The dogs, still recovering from their respective Thanksgiving weekends, also spent most of the day asleep.
It was nice having a day off and getting some sun and enjoying the cool weather.
Writers Strike = Return of Best Show Ever
Do I even need to tell you what that show is?
That's right, NBC is doing The League a big favor and bringing 90's late-night viewing fave "American Gladiators" back on the air.
American Gladiators was a staple of my TV viewing during my high school years, which can be accurately reflected in the list below:
1) MST3K
2) Tale Spin
3) Tiny Toons
4) USA's "Up All Night"
5) 120 Minutes
6) Cheers
7) Headline News (with the always amazing Lynne Russell)
8) Saved By the Bell
9) American Gladiators
10) Ren & Stimpy
American Gladiators featured a colorful cast of 'roid freaks doing sportsman-like battle with steroidless athlete-types. Sometimes this included pummeling one another with huge q-tips. Sometimes it entailed the Gladiators shooting tennis balls from a gun at the contestants as they tried to make it through a maze, or climb up a rock wall.
Basically it was Malibu beach freaks beating the snot out of one another in games designed to favor the Gladiators. And they wore sort of superheroish costumes.
This was back before there was a sort of backlash against competitive women's fitness. Younger readers may not recall, but in the 80's, women joined in with body-building, which meant that the women competitors took on the same, weird muscleliness that the men were aiming for. In recent years, the Ms. Fitness competition took a turn towards being less... uh... about huge muscles and more about being in really good shape.
My favorite Gladiator? Zap.
I guess as a high school dude, you feel like you have to pick a favorite.
So, anyway: American Gladiators returns in 2008. Be prepared to see 'roid freaks totally wail on one another.
And some blasts from the past
That's right, NBC is doing The League a big favor and bringing 90's late-night viewing fave "American Gladiators" back on the air.
American Gladiators was a staple of my TV viewing during my high school years, which can be accurately reflected in the list below:
1) MST3K
2) Tale Spin
3) Tiny Toons
4) USA's "Up All Night"
5) 120 Minutes
6) Cheers
7) Headline News (with the always amazing Lynne Russell)
8) Saved By the Bell
9) American Gladiators
10) Ren & Stimpy
American Gladiators featured a colorful cast of 'roid freaks doing sportsman-like battle with steroidless athlete-types. Sometimes this included pummeling one another with huge q-tips. Sometimes it entailed the Gladiators shooting tennis balls from a gun at the contestants as they tried to make it through a maze, or climb up a rock wall.
Basically it was Malibu beach freaks beating the snot out of one another in games designed to favor the Gladiators. And they wore sort of superheroish costumes.
This was back before there was a sort of backlash against competitive women's fitness. Younger readers may not recall, but in the 80's, women joined in with body-building, which meant that the women competitors took on the same, weird muscleliness that the men were aiming for. In recent years, the Ms. Fitness competition took a turn towards being less... uh... about huge muscles and more about being in really good shape.
My favorite Gladiator? Zap.
I guess as a high school dude, you feel like you have to pick a favorite.
So, anyway: American Gladiators returns in 2008. Be prepared to see 'roid freaks totally wail on one another.
And some blasts from the past
A (musical) note on food
CB's latest Musical Recipe is up at Dessert Lounge!
Also, Scan My Recipes is now LIVE! And if you haven't been there yet, remember to check out Key Ingredient (not a bad thing to try out as you head into the holidays, Leaguers...)
Also, Scan My Recipes is now LIVE! And if you haven't been there yet, remember to check out Key Ingredient (not a bad thing to try out as you head into the holidays, Leaguers...)
Saturday, November 24, 2007
I should probably be getting to bed.
It's Saturday night at the end of a few days stay here at Jamie's parents' house, and, as I understand it, this could be the final holiday we spend in Lawton. Jamie's parents recently purchased a home in San Marcos and will be moving there in the not-too-distant future. It's going to greatly change things, which I think came to a stunning conclusion in my head during dinner when Jamie suggested that my desire to consider Wisconsin or Minnesota as a destination when we were looking and wound up in Arizona was something that would no longer apply. Not sure of where she came to this conclusion, I stated that I would, in fact, go to Wisconsin now.
This was met with a "You better not" by the in-laws who have recently made plans to live closer to their daughter by buying the aforementioned house. Luckily, I have no plans to leave Austin, so all is well. But it does illustrate a point as to where I am in the game of life.
Fortunately, the point I was trying to make vis-a-vis the Wisconsin conversation was that I still don't mind the cold. When you are of the unconventional size of a Steans Bros., and tend to sweat when you just think about a hot day, places like Arizona lose some of their je ne sais quo. Even Austin on a humid day in August loses some of its charm.
Today we visited the new Comanche Nation Museum in Lawton, as well as the Great Plains Museum. The past which is reflected in both museums is not necessarily long-forgotten history, but of people who have lived during my parents' lifetime. Oklahoma is only now celebrating its Centennial of Statehood, and as much as one would like to imagine that the range wars are of the ancient past, they most assuredly are not. The inhumane treatment of Native Americans continued through much of the 20th Century, well after the Comanche were on reservations and the paternal Federal government took children from their families and placed them in Indian Schools.
As much as that recent history continues to live on in the language and memory of the people who've established and run the museums, its too infrequent we look away from our laptops and iPods and remember that 100 years ago, the machines we used to till the soil were pushed by hands and pulled by animals. It's the dates on photos of men busting horses and pulling steer to the ground with their bare hands that now is left as mostly a sport, when, once, that was s kill that put meat on the tables of millions across the US. Maybe we haven't grown soft, but it reminded me that I am.
Perhaps we weren't meant to sit behind desks and push icons around on a screen of glowing liquid crystal, or maybe that's where we're headed. Maybe that's why we try to invent $100 laptops for starving kids in Africa, because we haven't got a clue what those kids need to make food as readily available as a Lunchable for them, but maybe if they can blog about it..?
There was a time in our grandparents' and great-grandparents' lives when they could live in Indian Territory, at the edge of the world as maybe they'd known it. When a day of work meant pushing the seed tiller and hoping it didn't break today because you had how many acres to plant, and you had no animal behind which to pull the damn seed spreader.
It's an odd thing to realize you could not survive in your great-grandparent's shoes, and wouldn't begin to know how to put in the effort that was expected daily of people for the past 60,000 years. But, hey, you know how to freeze a pane in Excel, so that's something, right?
I have an idea how to carve something out of nothing, but we're an odd people now, we are. Brilliant leaps as we've touched the moon and done the math that tells us the Universe is expanding and collapsing. We've got the ability to store our food endlessly and the ability to chat with someone via voice and picture as a basic add-on to our Power Mac. But, really, we can't feed or clothe ourselves.
I dunno. I'm going to bed.
Hope you're well, Leaguers.
It's Saturday night at the end of a few days stay here at Jamie's parents' house, and, as I understand it, this could be the final holiday we spend in Lawton. Jamie's parents recently purchased a home in San Marcos and will be moving there in the not-too-distant future. It's going to greatly change things, which I think came to a stunning conclusion in my head during dinner when Jamie suggested that my desire to consider Wisconsin or Minnesota as a destination when we were looking and wound up in Arizona was something that would no longer apply. Not sure of where she came to this conclusion, I stated that I would, in fact, go to Wisconsin now.
This was met with a "You better not" by the in-laws who have recently made plans to live closer to their daughter by buying the aforementioned house. Luckily, I have no plans to leave Austin, so all is well. But it does illustrate a point as to where I am in the game of life.
Fortunately, the point I was trying to make vis-a-vis the Wisconsin conversation was that I still don't mind the cold. When you are of the unconventional size of a Steans Bros., and tend to sweat when you just think about a hot day, places like Arizona lose some of their je ne sais quo. Even Austin on a humid day in August loses some of its charm.
Today we visited the new Comanche Nation Museum in Lawton, as well as the Great Plains Museum. The past which is reflected in both museums is not necessarily long-forgotten history, but of people who have lived during my parents' lifetime. Oklahoma is only now celebrating its Centennial of Statehood, and as much as one would like to imagine that the range wars are of the ancient past, they most assuredly are not. The inhumane treatment of Native Americans continued through much of the 20th Century, well after the Comanche were on reservations and the paternal Federal government took children from their families and placed them in Indian Schools.
As much as that recent history continues to live on in the language and memory of the people who've established and run the museums, its too infrequent we look away from our laptops and iPods and remember that 100 years ago, the machines we used to till the soil were pushed by hands and pulled by animals. It's the dates on photos of men busting horses and pulling steer to the ground with their bare hands that now is left as mostly a sport, when, once, that was s kill that put meat on the tables of millions across the US. Maybe we haven't grown soft, but it reminded me that I am.
Perhaps we weren't meant to sit behind desks and push icons around on a screen of glowing liquid crystal, or maybe that's where we're headed. Maybe that's why we try to invent $100 laptops for starving kids in Africa, because we haven't got a clue what those kids need to make food as readily available as a Lunchable for them, but maybe if they can blog about it..?
There was a time in our grandparents' and great-grandparents' lives when they could live in Indian Territory, at the edge of the world as maybe they'd known it. When a day of work meant pushing the seed tiller and hoping it didn't break today because you had how many acres to plant, and you had no animal behind which to pull the damn seed spreader.
It's an odd thing to realize you could not survive in your great-grandparent's shoes, and wouldn't begin to know how to put in the effort that was expected daily of people for the past 60,000 years. But, hey, you know how to freeze a pane in Excel, so that's something, right?
I have an idea how to carve something out of nothing, but we're an odd people now, we are. Brilliant leaps as we've touched the moon and done the math that tells us the Universe is expanding and collapsing. We've got the ability to store our food endlessly and the ability to chat with someone via voice and picture as a basic add-on to our Power Mac. But, really, we can't feed or clothe ourselves.
I dunno. I'm going to bed.
Hope you're well, Leaguers.
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