Oh, while it was Denby who sent the link of Ashcroft belting out his tune, she credits Ryan "Ted"/ "Ryan 2" Weston with the location of the clip.
Ryan can be seen performing with his band, Black Before Red, on a fairly regular basis in the greater Austin area. They're really good. Check them out.
Wednesday, June 09, 2004
Donald Duck turns 70 today.
Hurray for Donald! As one of the three mainstays of Disney Cartoons, Donald remains steadfast as a true piece of Americana, and his cartoons still work as well today as they did when they first debuted.
I need to find the Donald cartoon where it's snowing and he and his nephews have a snow-fort arms race. I think it's simply titled Donald's Snow Fight, but it's one of my favorite Donald shorts.
Happy B-Day, Donald!
thanks to Randy for the link...
Hurray for Donald! As one of the three mainstays of Disney Cartoons, Donald remains steadfast as a true piece of Americana, and his cartoons still work as well today as they did when they first debuted.
I need to find the Donald cartoon where it's snowing and he and his nephews have a snow-fort arms race. I think it's simply titled Donald's Snow Fight, but it's one of my favorite Donald shorts.
Happy B-Day, Donald!
thanks to Randy for the link...
there's nothing like contradictory real-life experience to shake your faith in television.
Granted, most of my life is now vicariously lived through television (who lives in a pineapple under the sea...? Why, I think it might be me...), but every once in a while I have an honest-to-God real life experience.
So last night I was watching Mythbusters on Discovery (part of the line-up of shows which have come to overwhelm my prime-time viewing habits). Mythbusters essentially takes urban legends and puts them to the test to see if they could happen. Two special effects professionals try to recreate the scenario as closely as possible, and then try to see if the scenario could have ever really happened. THey are usually assisted by this kind of spacey folklore expert they dug up form the local university.
Anyway, they'll take a story like "Peeing on the 3rd rail will kill you," and then test the hypothesis.
Last night they tested whether or not a soda can may blow up if left in a hot car, and, bizarrely, they concluded this was a myth, and could not happen.
Bullshit.
In 1994 my pal RIchard and I borrowed his grandmother's enormous Town Car for a trip down to Astroworld. In order to get into Astroworld more cheaply, we wanted to hand in empty Coke cans with coupons printed on the back. So, en route, I drank a ton of soda. But not ALL of the soda.
Four days later, we'd forgotten to take the soda out of the car, and in the heat of a Houston summer... BLAMMO!!! Richard's grandma's car was coated in Coke which dried to a fine sheen on her leather interior.
In 1998, I was PA for the last Don't Mess with Texas commercial. We shot on several different locations around Austin, and part of my job was carting Cokes around town for the crew to enjoy during breaks.
It was unusually hot that June (I remember wilting, standing in an alfalfa field while some actor couldn't finish the line "It's just a little cigarette butt..!" THe shot was NEVER USED.). The last day of the shoot, I got into my car and discovered a few cokes had exploded inside my car, coating the interior with sugar and carmel coloring. While my car smelled terrific, it took a while to clean it. And then I stuck a Coke covered tape into my tape-deck, effectively ruining the deck.
The flaw in the Mythbusters experiment was that they put a Coke into a toaster over, and believed the oven had to reach 300 degrees before the Coke would explode. I don't think they gave the soda in the can enough time to heat up, so it's not as if the soda in the can ALSO reached 300 degrees before it blew. There was simply no measure of the liquid's temperature inside of the can. I'm also no scientist, but I do know how a solar convection oven works. I mean, you can literally roast a turkey in an aluminum and glass box if you leave it in the sun long enough, so tell me again why can't you properly heat a Coke in yoru car?
Anyway, the rapid heat change of the oven was also not indicative of the actual conditions of the car, nor the curve of how long it would take to heat liquid versus air. Come on. I wasn't even in honors level science classes for chemistry or physics, and I know this.
Apparently the Mythbusters guys, based in San Francisco, do not think it gets hotter than 85 degrees on a summer day (equating to 100 degrees in a car). To that, my friends, I say "HA!" As any of us from the rest of the country know, if it's 110 degrees outside (as it already is here in Sunny Phoenix), it's more like 160 degrees in your car. Hot enough to make you expire in pretty short order, anyway. Hot enough that you should know better than to leave any compressed gasses, aerosols, etc... in your car if it's going to sit in the sun.
Anyway, my faith in the Mythbusters' experiments is now forever shaken. I shall forever be left wondering whether or not the conditions of any and all of their experiments are not properly controlled.
Granted, most of my life is now vicariously lived through television (who lives in a pineapple under the sea...? Why, I think it might be me...), but every once in a while I have an honest-to-God real life experience.
So last night I was watching Mythbusters on Discovery (part of the line-up of shows which have come to overwhelm my prime-time viewing habits). Mythbusters essentially takes urban legends and puts them to the test to see if they could happen. Two special effects professionals try to recreate the scenario as closely as possible, and then try to see if the scenario could have ever really happened. THey are usually assisted by this kind of spacey folklore expert they dug up form the local university.
Anyway, they'll take a story like "Peeing on the 3rd rail will kill you," and then test the hypothesis.
Last night they tested whether or not a soda can may blow up if left in a hot car, and, bizarrely, they concluded this was a myth, and could not happen.
Bullshit.
In 1994 my pal RIchard and I borrowed his grandmother's enormous Town Car for a trip down to Astroworld. In order to get into Astroworld more cheaply, we wanted to hand in empty Coke cans with coupons printed on the back. So, en route, I drank a ton of soda. But not ALL of the soda.
Four days later, we'd forgotten to take the soda out of the car, and in the heat of a Houston summer... BLAMMO!!! Richard's grandma's car was coated in Coke which dried to a fine sheen on her leather interior.
In 1998, I was PA for the last Don't Mess with Texas commercial. We shot on several different locations around Austin, and part of my job was carting Cokes around town for the crew to enjoy during breaks.
It was unusually hot that June (I remember wilting, standing in an alfalfa field while some actor couldn't finish the line "It's just a little cigarette butt..!" THe shot was NEVER USED.). The last day of the shoot, I got into my car and discovered a few cokes had exploded inside my car, coating the interior with sugar and carmel coloring. While my car smelled terrific, it took a while to clean it. And then I stuck a Coke covered tape into my tape-deck, effectively ruining the deck.
The flaw in the Mythbusters experiment was that they put a Coke into a toaster over, and believed the oven had to reach 300 degrees before the Coke would explode. I don't think they gave the soda in the can enough time to heat up, so it's not as if the soda in the can ALSO reached 300 degrees before it blew. There was simply no measure of the liquid's temperature inside of the can. I'm also no scientist, but I do know how a solar convection oven works. I mean, you can literally roast a turkey in an aluminum and glass box if you leave it in the sun long enough, so tell me again why can't you properly heat a Coke in yoru car?
Anyway, the rapid heat change of the oven was also not indicative of the actual conditions of the car, nor the curve of how long it would take to heat liquid versus air. Come on. I wasn't even in honors level science classes for chemistry or physics, and I know this.
Apparently the Mythbusters guys, based in San Francisco, do not think it gets hotter than 85 degrees on a summer day (equating to 100 degrees in a car). To that, my friends, I say "HA!" As any of us from the rest of the country know, if it's 110 degrees outside (as it already is here in Sunny Phoenix), it's more like 160 degrees in your car. Hot enough to make you expire in pretty short order, anyway. Hot enough that you should know better than to leave any compressed gasses, aerosols, etc... in your car if it's going to sit in the sun.
Anyway, my faith in the Mythbusters' experiments is now forever shaken. I shall forever be left wondering whether or not the conditions of any and all of their experiments are not properly controlled.
Texas Story
A man walked into the produce section of his local
supermarket and asked to buy a half head of lettuce. The
boy working in that department told him that they only sold whole heads of lettuce. The man was insistent that the boy ask his manager about the matter.
Walking into the back room, the boy said to the manager,
"Some asshole wants to buy a half head of lettuce." As he finished his sentence, he turned to find the man standing right behind him, so he added, "And this gentleman kindly offered to buy the other half."
The manager approved the deal and the man went on his way
Later the manager said to the boy, "I was impressed with
the way you got yourself out of that situation earlier. We
like people who think on their feet here. Where are you
from, son?"
"Texas, sir." the boy replied.
"Well, why did you leave Texas?" the manager asked. The boy said "Sir, there's nothing but whores and football players down there."
"Really?" said the manager. "My wife is from Texas.
"No kidding ?" replied the boy. "Who'd she play for?"
A man walked into the produce section of his local
supermarket and asked to buy a half head of lettuce. The
boy working in that department told him that they only sold whole heads of lettuce. The man was insistent that the boy ask his manager about the matter.
Walking into the back room, the boy said to the manager,
"Some asshole wants to buy a half head of lettuce." As he finished his sentence, he turned to find the man standing right behind him, so he added, "And this gentleman kindly offered to buy the other half."
The manager approved the deal and the man went on his way
Later the manager said to the boy, "I was impressed with
the way you got yourself out of that situation earlier. We
like people who think on their feet here. Where are you
from, son?"
"Texas, sir." the boy replied.
"Well, why did you leave Texas?" the manager asked. The boy said "Sir, there's nothing but whores and football players down there."
"Really?" said the manager. "My wife is from Texas.
"No kidding ?" replied the boy. "Who'd she play for?"
You never saw that bespectacled bore, Reno, bringing the house down like this...
You know, kind of puts Dean's "YEEEAAAAAAGGHHHH!!!!" into perspective.
Really, this could give me enough ammo to last until next Thursday. Instead, I open the forum.
But I can't close without this... And I mean it, with all sincerity...
Let the Mighty Eagle of your talent soar, Mr. Ashcroft. Let it soar.
thanks to Denby for the link...
You know, kind of puts Dean's "YEEEAAAAAAGGHHHH!!!!" into perspective.
Really, this could give me enough ammo to last until next Thursday. Instead, I open the forum.
But I can't close without this... And I mean it, with all sincerity...
Let the Mighty Eagle of your talent soar, Mr. Ashcroft. Let it soar.
thanks to Denby for the link...
Tuesday, June 08, 2004
2 good bits of news courtesy of the Superman Homepage.
1) Looks like Cartoon Network has confirmed production on a "Krypto the Superdog" TV show. The show doesn't follow the comics too well, but who cares..? KRYPTO IS GETTING HIS OWN SHOW!!!!
Krypto is essentially the Kryptonian equivalent of Laika the Cosmonaut Dog. In the 1950's Superman Comics, Superman's Dad supposedly sent Krypto in a test rocket to earth, but the rocket was knocked off course by a rock or something. Anyway, Krypto DID eventually make it to Earth, and became one of the five or six most powerful beings on earth.
Krypto wasn't around in the comics for years and years, but he returned around 2001 with a squeaky clean new origin story, devoid of animal experimentation. Hurray for Krypto getting a show, no matter how short-lived or silly.
(***note: I haven't seen ANY concept art for this show. Hopefully we'll see some soon. The pic on the Superman page is old Krypto art from the 50's.***)
2) JAKKS Pacific is going to produce several TV games based on DC Comics properties. I have two of the Jakks games now (who needs a PS2?). Essentially, the Jakks TV games consist of a joystick with all the games built into the handle. You just plug into the RCA plugs on your TV, switch to the right input on your TV, and you're in business (provided you have 4 AA batteries).
There are going to be Superman, Batman, and Justice League games. Should be fun (and wayyy cheaper than buying a PS2, memory card and a game).
1) Looks like Cartoon Network has confirmed production on a "Krypto the Superdog" TV show. The show doesn't follow the comics too well, but who cares..? KRYPTO IS GETTING HIS OWN SHOW!!!!
Krypto is essentially the Kryptonian equivalent of Laika the Cosmonaut Dog. In the 1950's Superman Comics, Superman's Dad supposedly sent Krypto in a test rocket to earth, but the rocket was knocked off course by a rock or something. Anyway, Krypto DID eventually make it to Earth, and became one of the five or six most powerful beings on earth.
Krypto wasn't around in the comics for years and years, but he returned around 2001 with a squeaky clean new origin story, devoid of animal experimentation. Hurray for Krypto getting a show, no matter how short-lived or silly.
(***note: I haven't seen ANY concept art for this show. Hopefully we'll see some soon. The pic on the Superman page is old Krypto art from the 50's.***)
2) JAKKS Pacific is going to produce several TV games based on DC Comics properties. I have two of the Jakks games now (who needs a PS2?). Essentially, the Jakks TV games consist of a joystick with all the games built into the handle. You just plug into the RCA plugs on your TV, switch to the right input on your TV, and you're in business (provided you have 4 AA batteries).
There are going to be Superman, Batman, and Justice League games. Should be fun (and wayyy cheaper than buying a PS2, memory card and a game).
The WB's Superstar USA.
Upon watching this show once again, I can only say it is absolutely dastardly and cruel, and yet I cannot look away. It debases and humiliates. It embodies all which is loathsome about both television and our culture of quick fame and entitlement.
I am ashamed to watch, but it never enters my mind to change the channel.
Vitamin C: You are like the horrible mean girls from high school who I thought were awesome but would never date me.
Tone Loc: While your star has fallen, you still bring in an incredible amount to the table for one who is so clearly stoned.
Other guy: I have no idea who you are, but if there is any justice, you will be a millionaire who burns out in a mountain of strippers and blow, never knowing what horrors you gleefully wreaked upon a public you always despised.
Thank you, WB. Like that dude in Krull retrieving the glaive from the lava... you have reached into the blazing pits of hell and pulled out something totally scary and awesome. You have handily bested The Surreal Life, Bachelorettes in Alaska and Who Wants to be a Playmate?
Yes, WB's Superstar USA, I salute you. Your abject misanthropy is an inspiration to us all.
Upon watching this show once again, I can only say it is absolutely dastardly and cruel, and yet I cannot look away. It debases and humiliates. It embodies all which is loathsome about both television and our culture of quick fame and entitlement.
I am ashamed to watch, but it never enters my mind to change the channel.
Vitamin C: You are like the horrible mean girls from high school who I thought were awesome but would never date me.
Tone Loc: While your star has fallen, you still bring in an incredible amount to the table for one who is so clearly stoned.
Other guy: I have no idea who you are, but if there is any justice, you will be a millionaire who burns out in a mountain of strippers and blow, never knowing what horrors you gleefully wreaked upon a public you always despised.
Thank you, WB. Like that dude in Krull retrieving the glaive from the lava... you have reached into the blazing pits of hell and pulled out something totally scary and awesome. You have handily bested The Surreal Life, Bachelorettes in Alaska and Who Wants to be a Playmate?
Yes, WB's Superstar USA, I salute you. Your abject misanthropy is an inspiration to us all.
Monday, June 07, 2004
Okay. Squawkbox has been successfully implemented.
A few ground rules:
1) Keep it clean. Let's keep some of the choicer profanity off the comments box. Unless it's really funny. Then you may drop whichever bomb you like.
2) I take no responsibility for anything anybody else says.
3) Make sure to identify yourself.
4) All responses in the form of haiku will receive generous praise.
5) Jamie may use this forum. Please ignore all which she says. She's on a lot of medication, but she still has occasional "episodes". Just ignore whatever she says.
6) Freedom of speech goes both ways. If you post something with a little political vitriol, be prepared for someone else to step up to slap you back. I provide the Squawkbox, but I do not monitor, edit or censor the opinions and blatherings of anyone. Freedom of speech and all that.
7) Lefties and Righties... everybody play nice. "Because you're an imbecile" is not a good debating point. Try to write in that nice 5-paragraph persuasive paper style they taught you in high school. At least make sure you have a point and evidence to back yourself up.
8) Type-o's are fine.
9) "Hoo-AHHHH!" is a legitimate response.
10) Everybody try to have fun. The League is a journal, sure... but it's also intended to be fun most of the time. I haven't posted a squawkbox up to this point as I have been deathly afraid of this site ever turning into some sort of place where people get all crabby with each other.
11) letters are STILL my preferred mode of communication for lengthy discussion, but that may change if you Loyal Leaguers use the comments section well.
A few ground rules:
1) Keep it clean. Let's keep some of the choicer profanity off the comments box. Unless it's really funny. Then you may drop whichever bomb you like.
2) I take no responsibility for anything anybody else says.
3) Make sure to identify yourself.
4) All responses in the form of haiku will receive generous praise.
5) Jamie may use this forum. Please ignore all which she says. She's on a lot of medication, but she still has occasional "episodes". Just ignore whatever she says.
6) Freedom of speech goes both ways. If you post something with a little political vitriol, be prepared for someone else to step up to slap you back. I provide the Squawkbox, but I do not monitor, edit or censor the opinions and blatherings of anyone. Freedom of speech and all that.
7) Lefties and Righties... everybody play nice. "Because you're an imbecile" is not a good debating point. Try to write in that nice 5-paragraph persuasive paper style they taught you in high school. At least make sure you have a point and evidence to back yourself up.
8) Type-o's are fine.
9) "Hoo-AHHHH!" is a legitimate response.
10) Everybody try to have fun. The League is a journal, sure... but it's also intended to be fun most of the time. I haven't posted a squawkbox up to this point as I have been deathly afraid of this site ever turning into some sort of place where people get all crabby with each other.
11) letters are STILL my preferred mode of communication for lengthy discussion, but that may change if you Loyal Leaguers use the comments section well.
Today marked the 60th anniversary of my Grandfather's participation in the Allied invasion of occupied Normandy. My grandfather (Marvin J. Ross) was part of the 82nd Airborne, and was a paratrooper, jumping into France on that infamous day.
It appears that a grandson from my Grandfather's first marriage, Sgt 1st.Class William Marcus Tucker of the 101st Airborne, participated in the reenactment today.
A big thank you to them both for their courage and dedication.
It appears that a grandson from my Grandfather's first marriage, Sgt 1st.Class William Marcus Tucker of the 101st Airborne, participated in the reenactment today.
A big thank you to them both for their courage and dedication.
We were supposed to be going to Austin this weekend, but it didn't pan out. Lots of things came up, and Jamie's been not feeling great on and off for a few weeks, so it just wasn't a good time to go. We had some other family business which I am still wrestling with, and I still haven't resolved it all.
The biggest problem with big issues is that, very often, you don't see them coming. Or you ignore the warning signs until it's too late. I'm desperately guilty of ignoring the warning signs in both my professional and personal life, and so things tend to smack upside the head a lot harder than they should.
Which is why I need a pair of minute Japanese fairies.
The Godzilla films from Toho feature a pair of parakeet sized magical girls referred to, as best I can tell or remember, as "The Cosmos". It helps to understand that Godzilla is not, in the Japanese films, a stupid animal. Godzilla is sort of a living angry god who only stomps Japan when it's time for the arrogant humans to learn an important lesson about, say, recycling. Godzilla's not exactly benign, but he wouldn't show up if the humans didn't keep screwing up. After all, Godzilla also protects Japan from a series of invaders (like FRANKENSTEIN! and SPACEGODZILLA!). Of course, some monsters are even MORE nice than Godzilla, such as Mothra.
Anyway, the Cosmos show up just before things go sour, to forewarn of Godzilla's impending rampage. These cute little elves can also sing to soothe Godzilla and keep him from using his atomic breath to level the Starbucks.
And given their usefulness (and the likelihood I would listen to the tiny little munchkins more closely than an evil corporate tycoon), I conclude that I need the Cosmos to help me avert personal and professional disaster. Anyone spotting two minute Japanese women dressing alike and showing a penchant for singing, please forward them to The League. (Molly, your help here is greatly appreciated).
The biggest problem with big issues is that, very often, you don't see them coming. Or you ignore the warning signs until it's too late. I'm desperately guilty of ignoring the warning signs in both my professional and personal life, and so things tend to smack upside the head a lot harder than they should.
Which is why I need a pair of minute Japanese fairies.
The Godzilla films from Toho feature a pair of parakeet sized magical girls referred to, as best I can tell or remember, as "The Cosmos". It helps to understand that Godzilla is not, in the Japanese films, a stupid animal. Godzilla is sort of a living angry god who only stomps Japan when it's time for the arrogant humans to learn an important lesson about, say, recycling. Godzilla's not exactly benign, but he wouldn't show up if the humans didn't keep screwing up. After all, Godzilla also protects Japan from a series of invaders (like FRANKENSTEIN! and SPACEGODZILLA!). Of course, some monsters are even MORE nice than Godzilla, such as Mothra.
Anyway, the Cosmos show up just before things go sour, to forewarn of Godzilla's impending rampage. These cute little elves can also sing to soothe Godzilla and keep him from using his atomic breath to level the Starbucks.
And given their usefulness (and the likelihood I would listen to the tiny little munchkins more closely than an evil corporate tycoon), I conclude that I need the Cosmos to help me avert personal and professional disaster. Anyone spotting two minute Japanese women dressing alike and showing a penchant for singing, please forward them to The League. (Molly, your help here is greatly appreciated).
Saturday, June 05, 2004
Wednesday, June 02, 2004
For some reason if you Google for "Melbotis" today, this site comes up...
What, exactly, are they insinuating that The League needs?
I suspect the linkage is due to my earlier posts about the host of an Alzare infomercial.
What, exactly, are they insinuating that The League needs?
I suspect the linkage is due to my earlier posts about the host of an Alzare infomercial.
Yesterday my brother e-mailed me to snap me back from my reverie and remind me that, even now, Austin is hitting the high-90's and 80% humidity. Even this did not dissuade me from my illusions. After all, it is supposed to be 111 degrees here in Chandler by Friday. When we cross the 110 threshold for two days in a row, I am often heard to declare loudly that I wish I were dead.
Before I ever blog in the morning, I try to make it a practice to see what my little blogging loop of Dedman, Randy and Molly are up to. I was surprised my posting pinged off anyone at all, let alone would it cause others to blog in response.
Dedman blogged on it here (drawing Garrison Keillor comparisons that I can only take as a compliment, I guess). And also twice here, where he brings up a hilarious quote concerning nostalgia, and points over to where Molly shares my sentiment regarding Austin summers.
1) I'm not sure about the actual chronology of O'Henry's stay in Austin vis a vis the introduction of the Moon Towers, but at one point Austin was illuminated by a series of "Moon Towers", meant to keep the streets lit in an era after the gas lamp. These towers (seen most famously in Dazed and Confused) gave off a blue/ purple glow. Which might account for the Violet Crown. Or he might have just been drunk. At any rate, several of the towers remain standing and unused. You can still spot them around town.
2) I did not just spend 4 years of college in Austin. I moved to Austin when I was in 4th grade, and moved the summer after 9th. I returned in 1993 for college, spent 5 glorious years getting kicked around UT. I then lived and worked there until May 31st, 2002. In the end, it was somewhere in the neighborhood of 14-15 years I lived in Austin, which is far longer than I've lived anywhere else. I graduated, got educated and got my first real job in Austin. I even got married down on Live Oak (just South of Mary). My brother and many of my friends still live and work there. So, kids, to me, Austin is homebase.
Was it a time of limited responsibility and all that while I was waiting for life to begin? Tough to say. I never really had any plans for moving on past that stage. After all, it was pretty pleasant.
3) How can you not miss those disgusting rats of the sky, the grackles? They're unbearably loud, they poo everywhere and, for some reason, they're considered endangered. Which means UT employs someone to go around with a shotgun filled with blanks so they can scare off the birds in the evening hours (which, as we all know from the condition of the pavement around UT, must have made the groundskeeper responsible feel a bit like Sisyphus). Grackels are as omnipresent as musicians and sound engineers in Austin, and baffle the mind with their shameless aggressiveness... I had a grackle try to share my fries once at Mad Dogs and Beans.
But here's the deal: As I no longer live in Austin and have moved to the desert, I have noticed that NOTHING GOOD LIVES IN THE DESERT. All of those squirrels and birds you see everyday when you look out your window? I've got none of that. Occasionally birds perch on the fence or in a tree, but you're never going to see an opossum hanging from your tree here. You're never going to see a squirrel jumping from your fence to your garage. You will see a lizard or spider occasionally skitter by, but that's about it. Disney didn't fib in their old nature films when they discussed how the desert is abundant with life, you just need to look for it... but a lot of the life is poisonous or creepy. So I try not to turn over rocks out here unless I have to.
I'll be curious to follow the talkback threads over on www.jdedman.com and on Osakatomebaby. The former Austinites are coming out of the woodwork.
Before I ever blog in the morning, I try to make it a practice to see what my little blogging loop of Dedman, Randy and Molly are up to. I was surprised my posting pinged off anyone at all, let alone would it cause others to blog in response.
Dedman blogged on it here (drawing Garrison Keillor comparisons that I can only take as a compliment, I guess). And also twice here, where he brings up a hilarious quote concerning nostalgia, and points over to where Molly shares my sentiment regarding Austin summers.
1) I'm not sure about the actual chronology of O'Henry's stay in Austin vis a vis the introduction of the Moon Towers, but at one point Austin was illuminated by a series of "Moon Towers", meant to keep the streets lit in an era after the gas lamp. These towers (seen most famously in Dazed and Confused) gave off a blue/ purple glow. Which might account for the Violet Crown. Or he might have just been drunk. At any rate, several of the towers remain standing and unused. You can still spot them around town.
2) I did not just spend 4 years of college in Austin. I moved to Austin when I was in 4th grade, and moved the summer after 9th. I returned in 1993 for college, spent 5 glorious years getting kicked around UT. I then lived and worked there until May 31st, 2002. In the end, it was somewhere in the neighborhood of 14-15 years I lived in Austin, which is far longer than I've lived anywhere else. I graduated, got educated and got my first real job in Austin. I even got married down on Live Oak (just South of Mary). My brother and many of my friends still live and work there. So, kids, to me, Austin is homebase.
Was it a time of limited responsibility and all that while I was waiting for life to begin? Tough to say. I never really had any plans for moving on past that stage. After all, it was pretty pleasant.
3) How can you not miss those disgusting rats of the sky, the grackles? They're unbearably loud, they poo everywhere and, for some reason, they're considered endangered. Which means UT employs someone to go around with a shotgun filled with blanks so they can scare off the birds in the evening hours (which, as we all know from the condition of the pavement around UT, must have made the groundskeeper responsible feel a bit like Sisyphus). Grackels are as omnipresent as musicians and sound engineers in Austin, and baffle the mind with their shameless aggressiveness... I had a grackle try to share my fries once at Mad Dogs and Beans.
But here's the deal: As I no longer live in Austin and have moved to the desert, I have noticed that NOTHING GOOD LIVES IN THE DESERT. All of those squirrels and birds you see everyday when you look out your window? I've got none of that. Occasionally birds perch on the fence or in a tree, but you're never going to see an opossum hanging from your tree here. You're never going to see a squirrel jumping from your fence to your garage. You will see a lizard or spider occasionally skitter by, but that's about it. Disney didn't fib in their old nature films when they discussed how the desert is abundant with life, you just need to look for it... but a lot of the life is poisonous or creepy. So I try not to turn over rocks out here unless I have to.
I'll be curious to follow the talkback threads over on www.jdedman.com and on Osakatomebaby. The former Austinites are coming out of the woodwork.
Tuesday, June 01, 2004
It's hard to get wistful about the greater Chandler area, but I know one day, that may change.
But summer is newly arrived like a ferocious housecat. You want to love it, but, let's face it... it's kind of mean. And it smells bad.
Austin summers are great. There's so much to do that it can actually be paralyzing. The Paramount has the classic movies showing with the shorts beforehand. The snow-cone stand is open on South Lamar. Barton Springs is open and taunting you (sure I'm refreshing, but you KNOW you can't stay in for more than 30 minutes, sissy...). People are out Bar-B-Qing, the 4th of July offers fireworks and live music. Baby A's is never that far away for a drink. Or really any place on Barton Springs.
Hot as hell, but it's a good place to be for a few months.
Of course, we used to have a squirrel infested back yard where I could toss some tennis balls for Mel while I was grilling out. The back stoop was ideal for sitting and watching grackels while enjoying a beer or two. And we had the front porch where you could sit and watch the neighbors go by while Mel threatened them from behind the chainlink fence. We had a horseshoe set we put in the front yard, and we'd chuck them around a bit, occasionally playing with the neighbor kids until they decided to become thugs when they hit middle-school.
Occasionally, I even mowed the yard. Good neighbor Ry, Jason would call me, as I was out there whacking away at weeds. Don't ge tme started on the sticky grass and burrs in the yard.
We had good neighbors. Todd the mysterious Catholic guy on our right. And the ever-changing cast on our left. The ever changing cast (starring Henry and Carol) invited us over for Bar B Q and their son's 13th birthday party. I mean, how cool is that? And we had flamingos in the yard, and the pinwheel sunflowers and the weird silver ball Jamie always hated. Our landlord was this great lady who LOVED Jamie. She even dropped our rent when Jamie asked nicely.
Sure, we had no hot water, and the AC barely pumped out from the window units, and the house occasionally threatened to burst into flames, but it was a fun place to live when we didn't fear for our lives.
And it got SO HOT in the summertime that we would just lie on the bed in front of the AC unit, wishing it were winter.
But, man, I loved that house.
In the summertime, folks would swing by, and you'd sit in the house for a while, but there was ALWAYS something else to go do, you know? We didn't go to swimming holes too much anymore by the time I left (that one sunburn in '98 really turned me off of swimming too much), but it was a possibility. And we could always walk to David's Food Store and get some soda and gum.
Summertime, man. Hurray for summer.
But summer is newly arrived like a ferocious housecat. You want to love it, but, let's face it... it's kind of mean. And it smells bad.
Austin summers are great. There's so much to do that it can actually be paralyzing. The Paramount has the classic movies showing with the shorts beforehand. The snow-cone stand is open on South Lamar. Barton Springs is open and taunting you (sure I'm refreshing, but you KNOW you can't stay in for more than 30 minutes, sissy...). People are out Bar-B-Qing, the 4th of July offers fireworks and live music. Baby A's is never that far away for a drink. Or really any place on Barton Springs.
Hot as hell, but it's a good place to be for a few months.
Of course, we used to have a squirrel infested back yard where I could toss some tennis balls for Mel while I was grilling out. The back stoop was ideal for sitting and watching grackels while enjoying a beer or two. And we had the front porch where you could sit and watch the neighbors go by while Mel threatened them from behind the chainlink fence. We had a horseshoe set we put in the front yard, and we'd chuck them around a bit, occasionally playing with the neighbor kids until they decided to become thugs when they hit middle-school.
Occasionally, I even mowed the yard. Good neighbor Ry, Jason would call me, as I was out there whacking away at weeds. Don't ge tme started on the sticky grass and burrs in the yard.
We had good neighbors. Todd the mysterious Catholic guy on our right. And the ever-changing cast on our left. The ever changing cast (starring Henry and Carol) invited us over for Bar B Q and their son's 13th birthday party. I mean, how cool is that? And we had flamingos in the yard, and the pinwheel sunflowers and the weird silver ball Jamie always hated. Our landlord was this great lady who LOVED Jamie. She even dropped our rent when Jamie asked nicely.
Sure, we had no hot water, and the AC barely pumped out from the window units, and the house occasionally threatened to burst into flames, but it was a fun place to live when we didn't fear for our lives.
And it got SO HOT in the summertime that we would just lie on the bed in front of the AC unit, wishing it were winter.
But, man, I loved that house.
In the summertime, folks would swing by, and you'd sit in the house for a while, but there was ALWAYS something else to go do, you know? We didn't go to swimming holes too much anymore by the time I left (that one sunburn in '98 really turned me off of swimming too much), but it was a possibility. And we could always walk to David's Food Store and get some soda and gum.
Summertime, man. Hurray for summer.
Monday, May 31, 2004
The weekend passed without incident, for the most part.
I saw Shrek 2. The movie definitely was a crowd pleaser and had parts I liked, but it still isn't in my "Holy cow, I NEED THIS ON DVD" list. I will say, I was a tremendous fan of Puss in Boots. Especially during the "Knights" sequence. Jamie even picked up on a Garfield reference which went right over my head (which is weird, because she kind of hates Garfield).
But even better, I saw the Justice League Series Finale. Now THAT'S what Justice League is all about, Leaguers. Hoo-AHHH!!!!
And don't read too much into it, but it also cemented my preference for John Stewart GL as my favorite part of that show. No no no... he has not supplanted Superman as best of the best... They've just given John Stewart a lot of room to grom on Justice League, space that I don't think he gets enough in the comics.
At the end of the show, CN showed a preview for this Fall's new series, Justice League Unlimited. Supergirl. Green Arrow. Captain Atom. The Question. Holy Hannah! I hope that the actual Atom (Ray Palmer) was just too small to see in the pan-shot they did. He's a favorite second-stringer here at League HQ.
Am busily re-arranging the comic-book room/ office. I'm trying to maximize space in there, and I think I figured out a fairly decent solution for the time being. The moving of furniture also means I can plan to build shelving, which allows me to use power tools. And that's always a high light. I really want to do something different with this shelf, so we'll see how it goes.
Hope everyone had a good Memorial Day, and I hope every got to see the footage of the new WWII Memorial in DC. It looks amazing, and I hope to make it up there to see it soon. I also have an aunt and uncle in DC whom I haven't seen in two years, so I'm probably due, anyway.
Hope all is well with you Loyal Leaguers.
I saw Shrek 2. The movie definitely was a crowd pleaser and had parts I liked, but it still isn't in my "Holy cow, I NEED THIS ON DVD" list. I will say, I was a tremendous fan of Puss in Boots. Especially during the "Knights" sequence. Jamie even picked up on a Garfield reference which went right over my head (which is weird, because she kind of hates Garfield).
But even better, I saw the Justice League Series Finale. Now THAT'S what Justice League is all about, Leaguers. Hoo-AHHH!!!!
And don't read too much into it, but it also cemented my preference for John Stewart GL as my favorite part of that show. No no no... he has not supplanted Superman as best of the best... They've just given John Stewart a lot of room to grom on Justice League, space that I don't think he gets enough in the comics.
At the end of the show, CN showed a preview for this Fall's new series, Justice League Unlimited. Supergirl. Green Arrow. Captain Atom. The Question. Holy Hannah! I hope that the actual Atom (Ray Palmer) was just too small to see in the pan-shot they did. He's a favorite second-stringer here at League HQ.
Am busily re-arranging the comic-book room/ office. I'm trying to maximize space in there, and I think I figured out a fairly decent solution for the time being. The moving of furniture also means I can plan to build shelving, which allows me to use power tools. And that's always a high light. I really want to do something different with this shelf, so we'll see how it goes.
Hope everyone had a good Memorial Day, and I hope every got to see the footage of the new WWII Memorial in DC. It looks amazing, and I hope to make it up there to see it soon. I also have an aunt and uncle in DC whom I haven't seen in two years, so I'm probably due, anyway.
Hope all is well with you Loyal Leaguers.
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