7.31.2001

Mawwiage. A dweam wiffin a dweam...

This week, Dennis Miller takes on the Institution of Marriage:

"Until recently, television was notorious for romanticizing bachelor-hood, while making vague insinuations about the sexuality of the "unattached woman." Magnum, P.I., got more different ass than a rental car, while Laverne actually had an 'L' sewn onto her sweater." (excerpt)
Hmm.

You know, I just had a thought (believe it or not)...I was reading the NY Post article about Lucy Lawless joining The X-Files in the fall and the notion that she could be playing Mulder's long-lost and supposedly long-dead sister Samantha occurred to me. Yes, they had someone else playing her throughout the course of the series, but she was a clone (or was she?) or alien hybrid or whatever; Mulder hadn't seen her since she was 8 years old - how does he know what she really looks like? Lawless has the right look, I think. And the chance to finally find his sister, whose disappearance was the underlying cause for Mulder's obsession with his search for the "truth", would in my opinion be one of the very few valid storylines they could use to take him away from Scully for such a long period of time, especially now. If she isn't playing Samantha herself, she could be someone who knows something about what really happened to her, starlight be damned.

Will the real Samantha please stand up?

7.30.2001

CodeRed

A computer worm that proliferates on Microsoft operating systems and causes widespread Internet slowdowns could unleash a second and more virulent epidemic on Tuesday, government and corporate anti-virus experts warned.

I suppose the best we users can do is sit and wait and hope that web administrators have taken the necessary precautions on their web servers.

X-Files Casting News

This, I'm excited about. Any information regarding Lawless' new character is being kept hush-hush, per usual, but since she's appearing in the first two episodes of the season, I'm going to assume that she has something to do with Mulder's departure. Or at the very least has knowledge of why he leaves. I wonder if she's going to be a new bad guy. There would be a weird sort of symmetry to that - Lucy Lawless attended the acting school run by William B. Davis, who of course played the Cigarette Smoking Man until his untimely (and unaccepted by this viewer) death at the end of the seventh season.

Only in New York. Unfortunately.

A Cunning Climber, Armstrong Joins the Gods of Cycling.

I'm not a huge sports fan, but following his story and sharing in his victories has been a blast.

It's Time For Invisibles Again.

The new qiuz is up, and so are last week's answers and top scores. I found this week's to be a bit more challenging than most, but I still managed my usual score. How boring of me.

Well, Whadya Know

Why do they play "Taps" at military funerals?

Taps was originally used in the military only to end the day. It took on its additional, more solemn function during the American Civil War. Traditionally, a soldier's funeral included the firing of a three-shot salute. The Civil War produced fatalities wholesale, and the military usually lacked the means to ship the bodies home. This led to funerals on or near the battlefield after the shooting stopped. Firing a salute might have been misinterpreted by the foe as a resumption of hostilities, so Taps, with its evocation of day's end, was substituted. The custom has survived along with the rifle salute.

[source: Just Curious Jeeves by Jack Mingo and Erin Barrett]

Who built the first bathrooms, and where?

Bathrooms actually come from a place famous for its pipes, but of another kind: Scotland, known more for bagpipes than plumbing. The place was the Orkney Islands, off the Scottish coast, ten millennia ago, where some nameless individuals finally took a stand for comfort. They left their mark in the annals of latrinery by throwing together a primitive drain system that carried wastes directly from their huts to the local stream – the first in- house outhouse. It would take another 10,000 years for folks to notice that this created as many problems as it solved, waste-wise.

[source: Extraordinary Origins Of Everyday Things by Charles Panati]


7.27.2001

ain't I a stinkah?

Guess who's 51 years old today? Mr. Bunny made his debut in 1940 in the Warner Bros. cartoon, "A Wild Hare", making the world safe for wise-crackin' transvestite rabbits around the world. I would love to have a DVD of Bugs Bunny cartoons - is there such a thing? Nevermind how old I am. I prefer to think that I have an appreciation of classic pop culture. A pop culture connoisseur, if you will. So there.

eh, what's up doc?
image courtesy cartoonnetwork.com

7.26.2001

Silly Quiz!

Anyone up for a meaningless Emode quiz? I just took their Passion Predictor Test and here are my (corny) results:

You're a Synchronized Swimmer!

What could be more comforting than moving in lockstep with your partner? Living in a permanent state of "we" warms the cockles of the heart.

In the words of Joe Cocker's immortal ballad, "Love lifts you up where you belong." It makes you feel alive and brings joy to your lover, too. When you and your honey are on cloud nine, life couldn't be sweeter. The rewards of caring so much pay off again and again.

But, there is a rub here: Do you get little anxious when your sweetie is out of your sight? If you don't get a call when you're supposed to, do you worry that perhaps something's wrong?

If you're feeling unappreciated or taken for granted, your insecurities can make you a little needy. Sure, you've got a lot of love to give. But is it possible that you have a tendency to lose yourself in relationships? The best pairings always happen when two whole people come together as equals. So take care of yourself first before you worry about your partner.

How you rate:

Intimacy: 6
Being your fabulous self does come at a price. When you're devoted to caring, giving, and listening to others, sometimes you need a little quiet time with number one. That's definitely not a bad thing, as long as your sweetie-pie doesn't feel shut out. Maybe it would help to offer a little reassurance before retreating to your cave. That way the one you love won't misinterpret your withdrawal.

Passion: 7
In the endless battle between the mind and heart, you probably lean toward leaving the boring one behind (yes, that's the head). Throw in some candles, chocolates, and a dash of Kama Sutra, and you're right at home. You set the temperature to sizzling — that's just one of the reasons why you thrive in romance. So until you hear otherwise from the doctor, we say keep up the good work.

Commitment: 6
Maybe you're not exactly dreaming of an idyllic fairy tale wedding, but you just might have secretly entertained the idea of a little house with a picket fence. Maybe you've even stared wistfully at couples with baby strollers passing by on a Sunday afternoon. That's what's so great about you — you understand the value of maintaining and nourishing your relationship. Ahh, it's all so romantic.

How passionate are you?

Soprano's fans, listen up...

From TVGuide Online:

TVGO: Speaking of the show returning, there are reports that the new season won't begin until Sept. 2002. That's a joke, right?
Chase: It's a possibility. I'm actually here [in Los Angeles] to talk about it this week with HBO. I think they would rather it start sooner. I've been away, so I don't really know what it is they want. I'm sure they'd rather it went on sooner, but I haven't gotten any heavy pressure from them.

Oy.

Monkey Business

Rule the Planet 7.27.01

Tomorrow is opening day of the new Planet of the Apes movie. Woohoo! I am really excited about this. The original movie is a favorite of mine because it brings with it memories of watching it alongside my father, several times. That, and I just think it's cool. Description of the new movie from the official site:

Planet of the Apes depicts an upside down world - a brutal, primal place where apes are in charge and humans scavenge for subsistence, hunted and enslaved by the tyrannical primates. The sudden appearance of one man, alien to the present order and unaffected by its oppression, serves as a challenge to the status quo and a catalyst for revolutionary social change.

Sounds like the old one. Aside from having seen the original film, I'm spoiler-free. I saw something online today, at abcnews.com, I think, that the ending has been leaked. Why? I just don't understand. I'll be interested in seeing what Tim Burton has done with this story. I am a huge fan of his, and have yet to be disappointed with anything he's done. Well, not seriously disappointed.

Check out Project A.P.E. if you get the chance. Looks like some neat bit of marketing on the part of the film's studio (there is a link to Project A.P.E. from the official site).

And in a related story...cheeky monkey!

What a remarkable photograph.

Say Hi to Gari.

7.25.2001

Bizarre

I'm sorry, but this story just leaves me speechless.

"The Southernmost, Frost-Free, Tropical city in the continental United States. Without a doubt Key West has the best diving, snorkeling, fishing and boating the continental U.S. has to offer. With a laid back attitude like a summer breeze off the ocean, the people of The Conch Republic know that a comfortable hammock and a frozen margarita are much more fun than rush hour traffic or shoveling snow.

Just a three by five mile Island dotted with historic homes, quaint restaurants and "local's bars" this Island offers a treat for the tired masses that flock here to relax and explore the weird, wild and wonderful sites that make Key West unique. One of the most beautiful sites in Key West are the sunsets. Nightly local's and tourists alike take the stroll down Duval Street to Mallory Square to the Sunset Celebration. There you'll find live entertainers performing music, magic, tight rope walking and other fun and zany antics. You'll also find hand-made souvenirs made by Island craftsman, plus an array of munchies and cold drinks.

From Hemingway to Buffett to the beaches and bars and of course Fantasy Fest, there's something for everyone. So relax, grab a drink and enjoy our little piece of the Web and remember as Jimmy says " the weather is here...wish you were beautiful...
"

(quote from www.keywest.com)

I just booked our hotel room in Key West for my brother's wedding in February. :)

That hammock and margarita combo sounds like just my kinda thing.

I can't believe I'm going to say this but, I don't want to leave work. It's a good 95 degrees out there and so humid you might as well try to breathe underwater. And I have no air conditioning at home.

What the...

I just finished reading an article about the end of The Hunger Site (linked to from this page, right). I had no idea this was happening. What a shame that a charity that "attracted about 600,000 visitors a day and brought in more than $4 million in donations for the U.N. World Food Program" has become yet another victim of the dot.com backlash.

Confession time... Since today is the 25th, and the AP article is dated July 21, I suppose it's pretty obvious that I haven't been making my daily visits to The Hunger Site, at least not since July 21. I did go within the last week, though, I swear! I just clicked on my link and this is what I got:

The Hunger Site is undergoing routine maintenance. We are very sorry for the inconvenience. Thank you!

Maybe they're hoping they won't have to stay closed forever?

Now, these guys know how to make the most of a hot summer day.

Mighty Blue Justice!

In a city filled with danger
One man stands in the shadows
Waiting for Evil to rear its ugly head
And feel the power
Of his superhuman noogie!

The Tick. The new show that I am most looking forward to seeing this fall.

It's bleepin' H O T out there this morning. Already. *w e e p*

7.24.2001

blank

I don't have much of a view from my fourth floor downtown office. Just the backs and roofs of adjacent buildings. Which is why the butterfly that just flew up to my window was such a pleasant diversion.

More News from Outer Space

"Astronomers involved in the search for extraterrestrial intelligence (SETI) are broadening their hunt and looking for light signals directed at Earth."

"He vould have an enormous schwanzstucker!"

Not if he was German.

Dennis Miller's Latest

This week, DM takes on Bureaucracy:

"And is there any welter of perdition more soul-destroying than the Department of Motor Vehicles? People go in whistling like Andy Griffith skipping rocks and leave more pissed off than Gary Condit's wife. In exchange for the privilege of operating an automobile, you have to embark on a Hieronymus-Bosch-like odyssey through the dingy, institutional-green, cinderblock-lined bowels of the System at its most wearisome. First you find the line for the people who have appointments, then you wait for them to call your name, then you get in another line for people with your blood type and birth date, then the clerk who's been taking people in your line goes to lunch, so you have to line up at another window, then after several evolutionary epochs, during which innumerable species have arisen, roamed the earth and then succumbed to eventual extinction, you finally reach the front of the line where the whole process culminates in you challenging Death to a chess match."
I wanna see one!

7.23.2001

Oops.

I don't think this is what they mean when they say "end with a bang"

Skip the big words, George

His Holiness listens, as young George reads the Lord's Prayer aloud...

Picture 1
Picture 2

Sleepless in Limnos

Those are some awfully vindictive monks.

New Invisibles Quiz

So, how did we all do last week? I got my usual 5 out of 8 when I took the quiz, but now that I look at the answers, I actually got 6 out of 8 (sorta) - I put "Looking for Bobby Fisher" instead of "Searching for Bobby Fischer." Picky! ;-)

This week's quiz, Invisibles #33: Behind the Wheel, is fun. I thought I was going to get them all, but I only got 6. One of these days, I'm going to get a perfect score, as God is my witness and all that...

How'd you do?

Hopeful Retraction

Former Beatle George Harrison has dismissed newspaper stories that he is close to death as untrue and insensitive.

Aauugghh!!

Can you say Holy Heebeejeebees?!

She's a SuperFreak!

Actually, she's not as much of a freak as she thought she was. Who's she? Why she's me, of course.

According to the results,
My Need to be unique: 60% percentile
Need to NOT conform: 31% percentile
Willingness to express dissent: 59% percentile
Overall: 49% Freaky

I guess I'm more of a conformist than I prided myself on being. Darn. Want to know how much of a freak you are? Take the test.

[link courtesy swallowingtacks.com]

7.22.2001

Well, Whadya Know

Why does the word "gauntlet" describe both what one runs and what can be thrown down as a challenge?

Although the words are coincidentally the same in each sense, they derive from different languages. The expression running the gauntlet (or gantlet) entered English in the 17th century. This military punishment, in which a soldier had to run between parallel lines of men who beat him as he passed by, comes from the Swedish word gantlope, which means a path or course (not a mammal with horns or a melon.)

On the other hand, throwing down the gauntlet (a glove), originally a challenge from one knight to another is from the Old French word, gantelet, or small glove.

[source: Brewer's Dictionary of Phrase and Fable]

Are there any animals that never sleep?

Dolphins can't go to sleep. They are mammals, need to surface to breathe and will drown if they doze off. For eight hours a day dolphins are fully awake, but the rest of the time they're on cruise control. In those 16 hours, half of their brain is asleep for one eight-hour stretch, while the other half snoozes during the next eight-hour shift.

[source: Do Fish Drink Water? By Bill McLain]

Where did people first eat chocolate, and when?

Ccivilization as we know it began about the year 1000 AD in South America when several cultures started to use a bitter concoction made from the cocoa bean in important rituals. Columbus, who also discovered America, made a significant contribution to European culture when he brought this liquid back from the New World. Sweetened, it became "cocoa." By the 17th century, cocoa was the cat's meow among the nobility and was spreading to the lower classes.

Chocolate remained a drink exclusively until the middle of the 19th century, when chocolate candy was developed in Europe. Now if we can just figure out how to smoke it…

[source: Panati's Browser's Book of Beginnings by Charles Panati]

A Good Sequel

Sheila and I went too see Jurassic Park III (flash heavy) today and I'm happy to say I enjoyed it. The sense of wonder and discovery that was present in the first movie is missing since, after all, these CGI monsters are nothing new to us. The movie's makers are aware of this, I think, and what we get is a tight, fast, funny and terrifying 90-minute ride. Great popcorn movie.

I have to mention that we saw a fantastic trailer for the new Spiderman movie. Looks like very cool stuff, but it's not coming out until next summer! No fair.
Ailing Beatle

"The Mail on Sunday said Harrison had told his friend and former producer George Martin... that he does not have long to live."

7.19.2001

Silver Reticulan Awards

I don't know how I missed this. AssignmentX (formerly Fandom) has published their Silver Reticulan Awards, drawn from an online X-Files poll. Where was I when the questions were being asked? Regardless, the results are fantastic - probably one of the best online polls I have ever read. And I think it has more to do with the writing style of the author (Tina Stanley, whose column at AssignmentX is Musings of a Cigarette Smoking X-Phile), than the actual results (although I tend to agree with her honorary awards). You'll laugh, you'll cry, and if you're not a fan, you won't know what the hell she's talking about.

The results have been published in three parts:

Part One
Part Two
Part Three

Enjoy, and let me know what you think!

Hepburn Hospitalized

Katharine Hepburn has always epitomized for me what a woman ought to be - independent, smart, feminine, strong-willed, funny and beautiful. She was who I wanted to be when I grew up. Ms. Hepburn, 94, was hospitalized today here in CT. I wish her well.



We have plenty of sex in the library but I'm afraid it's all in books.

Webbys

The 6th Annual Webby Awards were handed out last night and you can see the list of nominees and winners here. Blogger didn't win in the Personal Web Site category, unfortunately; but, the list of winners and nominees is a great source for good stuff on the web and browsing these sites could make for hours of Internet fun.

7.17.2001

Danger, Will Robinson!

New Jersey Mystified by UFO Sighting

XF fans take note of the town's name.

7.16.2001

Oh, come O N

The start of this past season of The Sopranos, its third, was pushed back from January to March. Those extra three months of waiting were excruciating. What's the word on the date for the start of next season? March of 2002? No.

June 2002. Jesus Mary and Joseph.

Pretty Hip, Huh?

I just took the Weblog Hipness Quiz, and I am happy to report my score was 16:

13-24 : You're pretty hip but you don't care much about popularity. That makes you better than any A-Lister.


[link via swallowingtacks.com]

Zachary

the latest in a long line of goofballs

Invisibles!

Filmwise has the new Invisibles quiz up. And you can find the answers to last week's quiz here

Awwww.

Wild & Wooly

Woo! What a weekend. I made up for my lame-o birthday night in grand fashion on Friday, an evening that included such drunken antics as dancing on tables in a cowboy hat and giving my telephone number to a 28-year-old Yale PhD candidate with freckles on his face. Many photos were taken, some of which I may even post here, if Sheila's extortion price isn't too high.

Everything is a blur from that night on...Mary and the kids came to stay the weekend and we did the mall thing and the amusement park thing on Saturday. The night was capped off with an overnight visit from our cousin, Karen. Finally, yesterday was the Jack and Jill Bridal Shower/Luncheon/Brunch for my brother Tommy and his fiance Stacey, who just arrived from Florida. It was wonderful to see them after so long, and the food was awesome. I had plates and plates of shrimp and clams on the half shell - even the cocktail sauce was to die for. I finished off the meal with a big ole warm Belgian waffle covered in raspberry sauce and real whipped cream. I'm sure you can imagine how I felt by the time I got home! I went for a nap at around 6:00 and slept for too long - I ended up not falling asleep later until after 2:00 A.M.

And now it's Monday, I'm at work, and I'm a wreck, at least physically. Just a few more hours to go...

7.12.2001

Gnome Liberation Front

I had to close my office door, I was laughing so hard at this.

"No, but I got a hug and a handshake, and that's better than an autograph"

He just makes me weak in the knees.

7.11.2001

Oh, H A H A

What was the first thing that came blaring out of my car stereo as I was leaving work tonight? Mick Jagger singing the opening line of "Mother's Little Helper."

What a drag it is getting old.

Very funny.

ID, please.

37!

I'm how old?

Happy Birthday to Me,
Happy Birthday to Me,
Happy Birthday Dear Mee-eeee,
Haaaappy Biiiirthday tooooooo Meeeeeee!


Oh man, how sad is that? Not as sad, I suppose, as the fact that I am seriously considering watching Chicken Run prior to the chicken documentary I mentioned below, giving the night a general chicken theme. Oh, the depths to which I have sunk.

Never fear, faithful readers. I will be hitting the town on Friday night to celebrate with friends, so life is not quite so desperate. Yet.

And if I'm really lucky, I'll get carded at the bar.

The Natural History of the Chicken

Most people best know the chicken from their dinner plates -- whether as thigh, wing or drumstick. Consumers barely pause a moment to consider the bird's many virtues. Filmmaker Mark Lewis (Cane Toads: An Unnatural History and Rat) expands the frontiers of popular awareness and delightfully reveals that this small, common and seemingly simple animal is as complex and grand as any of Earth's creatures.


Tonight at 9:00 PM EST , on PBS.

7.10.2001

Invisibles!

Invisibles #31 - come and get it! I think I should win a prize for the Most Consistent Scoring. Mhm, I got 5 out of 8. If you'd like to see the answers to last week's quiz, um, click on what I just typed. Sorry, didn't think that last sentence through.

Well, Whadya Know

Do identical twins have identical fingerprints?

Identical twins are born virtually indistinguishable, mirror images from the same egg. But that's only the half of it. As they age, life leaves separate tracks on each in the forms of scars and more subtle markings. It's the same with their fingerprints, which are very similar but also different on close examination. In addition to the influence of their environment after birth, they are even born with very slightly different prints due to chance occurrences in the womb, such as position, etc. - what scientists cryptically call "random events."


[source: National Science & Technology Week]



In the Get-A-Life Category...

I suppose this dodo thinks everything else in the Harry Potter books is real.

Could somebody open a window, please??

Thankfully this was just a false alarm, but I think someone needs to ask the crew what they had for lunch. ;-)

The enormity of this son-of-a-bitch's crime makes it almost unfathomable.

My sister will be out of town for the next couple of days for business and will be away for my birthday (tomorrow...*wink* *wink* *nudge* *nudge*). Anyhoo, I woke to find a birthday card this morning, with this message:

I hope you wake up the morning after in a strange bathtub with your underpants on your head and a carrot in your navel and absolutely no recollection of the previous 12 hours.

Well, hell...so do I!

7.09.2001

GeekSpeak

XF-related news: Much to our shared pleasure, Red has taken up writing her CRCs (Character Report Cards) once again. If you miss them at the XPA Board, you can find them at GeekSpeak. For those of you unfamiliar with GeekSpeak, well, it's an archive, of sorts, of fan commentary from this past season of The X-Files. You should really check it out - it makes for some interesting reading, whether you're a fan of the show or not.

[yes, some of the commentary posted at GeekSpeak is my own. just what are you implying?]

Oh, give me a B R E A K.

7.06.2001

I hear dead people

Sheila and I were watching television the other night and we came across this show on ghosts and paranormal phenomena. As part of the demonstration of "proof" of hauntings, several photographs with strange glowing orbs floating through them were presented. I suddenly got extremely creeped out.

We live in a renovated farmhouse, in a second floor apartment, in Connecticut. I don't know how old the house is, exactly, but I do know it was likely built before WWII. I'm not really a believer, so to speak, in paranormal phenomena. I love thinking about it and a good ghost story is hard to beat, but I'm a pretty matter-of-fact sort of person, possessed of very little imagination, and so I tend to dismiss or try to explain away most ghost stories. I do admit, however, to the occasional speculation that my house, especially my bedroom, is haunted. Why? Well, the usual things - my cats are always popping up from a dead sleep, hearing or seeing something I don't. And this is going to sound crazy, but there have been a couple of times, when I have been juuuust about to fall asleep, that I have heard someone say my name, whisper it actually. Up until now I have written that off as one of those moments you have when you're floating somewhere between sleep and wakefulness, where you can't tell the difference between reality and fantasy.

Then I saw that show with those pictures and recalled the photo that I took of my room and posted here in the In My Life gallery:

ghost moons?
view larger image here.

Yikes. I got myself into a state that night and by the time I got to bed I was Shaggy and Scooby. I laid there in bed, willing myself to sleep despite the fact that my body was completely rigid with fear. I jumped out of my skin every time one of the cats would push open the door on the way in or out of my room. All of a sudden, my door slammed shut, making me shoot right up in bed. I nearly freaked right out when I realized that my room was bathed in a bright, flashing light. A few seconds later I realized it was the wind that slammed the door shut and the light I was seeing was a police car outside my window, but damn, that scared the shit out of me! It's amazing how easily I just freaked myself out.

I found a site today, Ghost-Hunter.com, that features paranormal photos. This is what it had to say about "orbs":

"The orb or globule- round transparent balls (sometimes rumored to be the wayward souls) that are produced by spirits. (Watch out for water spots or dust particles on your camera lens- especially under adverse conditions!) Globules are usually white to yellow in color and are normally translucent but are sometimes known to appear on film in every color, size, shape and translucency. Sometimes only one may appear on film or, if taken at a graveyard, you may find numerous globules.

Did you ever wonder why most of these "orb" photos occur outside or in dusty basements and old homes? Some interesting research has been conducted over the past several months, and the number one cause for these objects - SKIP THIS SECTION IF YOU WANT TO REMAIN MYSTIFIED - is dust, pollen, and fibers in the air. When caught in transit, close enough to the camera lens with a bright enough flash and quick enough film, you too can produce your own "orb" photos to delight and mystify all."


I would like to think that those moons over my bed are simply dust particles - God knows there are plenty of those to go around in my house - but I just don't know... I was using a disposable camera, which does not have a particularly bright flash or fast film. And none of the other photos on the roll had those moons.

What do you think? I know one thing - my mother gets that room!

Does anyone besides me see the real story here?

Picture This

Will this be the world's tallest sand sculpture?

The Hubble Space Telescope has snapped the best picture of Mars ever taken from near Earth, as a NASA spacecraft fast approaches the red planet.

I apologize to all who have been experiencing difficulty accessing this site this week. Besides my publishing difficulties and the fact that the site was unavailable for most of yesterday, there are still people who can only intermittently get here. Unfortunately, my provider provides very little tech support for personal home pages. Basically they say here's your free space - you're on your own from here on in. Hopefully I'll be able to zero in on the problem soon.

I also have to apologize for a lack of content updates recently. No new pictures, no new X-Files commentary...there is really no excuse except that I have found other things that I would rather be doing. And since those "other things" constitute nothing more than watching movies or going out and partying, there really is no excuse! Some of the things I would like to work on in the coming weeks:

updates to the photos section (kids, vacations, etc)
finish season 8 x-files episode commentary and hopefully start on some older episodes
add content to the I like page
polish off my home page


Life will be getting particularly crazy in the coming month(s), however; my mother will be moving in with us on a temporary basis either at the end of July or August, depending on how quickly we can get our butts in gear and get her out of her current place. It's going to be a swell time, getting her packed up! I'm trying not to think about Life with Mommy once she gets here. I'll keep you posted.

Well, Whadya Know

Why might we say that someone who acts crazy has gone 'berserk?'

In Old Norse, "berserk" meant "bear shirt" - a shirt made from bear skin, not a shirt typically worn by bears. It's what Norse warriors wore when they went into battle, earning them the name, "berserkers." These guys really went nuts when they took up the sword -- hence our modern meaning of berserk -- in no small measure because they first got stoned out of their minds by munching on hallucinogenic mushrooms.

[source: Who Put The Butter In Butterfly? By David Feldman]

During the McCarthy period in the US in the 1950s, anti- communist feeling was so strong that it even reached into the world of sports. The Cincinnati Reds baseball team, in order to prevent any misunderstandings, temporarily changed its name to the Cincinnati Redlegs. After the hysteria died down they reverted to their original name.

[source: Just Curious Jeeves]

Why does the president of the United States work in an oval office?

When the White House was built, in the late 1790s, it contained several oval rooms, one of which, on the second floor, was used by early presidents as an office. But before there could be a TV program called "The West Wing," the executive mansion had to have same. Teddy Roosevelt added it in 1902, and the proponent of the "Square Deal' went to work in a similarly shaped office in the new wing. It was the next president, William Howard Taft, who turned it into an oval when he renovated, because people had come to associate oval rooms with the White House.

[source: Why Things Are & Why They Aren't by Joel Achenbach]

7.04.2001

Success!

But not for the reason I mentioned below. Cleaning out the site, although a task that was desperately needed, didn't take care of the problem. So I turned to Blogger's troubleshooting section for help. Up until now, my blog settings had my ISP's FTP server name, pages.cthome.net, for the FTP path. Blogger Help suggested that I ping my FTP server and get the IP address and substitute the server name with the IP address in my blog's FTP settings. And it worked. Yay!

Why the server name no longer worked is beyond me. I'm just glad it's fixed.

I guess what they say is true...

You get what you pay for. This site is hosted for free by my ISP and there are, of course, space limitations. I've been having trouble publishing the past couple of days (hence the dirth of fascinating insights from me), and I believe it's because I grew too big. The bathroom scale's been trying to tell me the same thing for a while now, but I just don't wanna hear it.

I've done some site cleaning in the hope that it will take care of the problem, at least for now. Here goes nothin'...

7.03.2001

The Man, The Myth, The Shoes

Ladies and Gentleman, the Most Fabulous and Groovy Executive Transvestite Comedian in the world...

Dress to Kill

Eddie Izzard. This is my favorite Eddie Izzard site. Who in blazes is Eddie Izzard, you ask? Well, I already said who - he's the Most Fabulous and Groovy Executive Transvestite Comedian in the world. Go read about him and rent a couple of his tapes. You won't be sorry. (Or maybe you will, who knows)

~"If you've never seen an elephant ski then you've never been on acid!"

Twacy, you can have my stahs...

The European Union Competition Commissioner has a cartoon moment.

Clever Girl

Now that's what I'm talking about!

Things That Make You Go Hmm...

Salon has an article up today that recounts the experience of a man who underwent the same procedure as Vice President Dick Cheney this weekend. He wonders how the hell Cheney was able to just walk out of that hospital.

Oh, the horror!

Well, what are you waiting for? Get on over to Filmwise and play Invisibles #30: Oh, the Horror!. The one I couldn't get in last week's quiz was Billy Madison. No wonder. I don't like to admit that Adam Sandler even exists, nevermind that he makes millions of dollars making movies.

While you're at Filmwise, check out their new contest, Heavy Petting. It's fairly challenging, but most of the fun comes from looking at the pictures, especially the one on the bottom left, LOL.

Long time no see!

Here I am. My life has been a bit topsy-turvy lately, but in a not-so-bad way. Just a lot of stuff going on.

But I'm back with a bunch of goodies for ya...to start with, why don't we take a peek at Dennis Miller's most recent rant. My favorite part (well, the one with the least swear words):

"You know, I may pretend not to care about what happens thousands of miles away in a place I'll probably never see. But I know that all of life is deeply interconnected and interdependent in a symbiotic, primal dance. That a butterfly beating its wings in the African bush can dislodge a particle of dust that makes a monkey sneeze, which startles a herd of gazelle into stampeding, causing a rockslide down a hill which dams up a stream and floods it, creating moisture which evaporates and cools the air, which rushes into the hot air above it, becoming a cyclone, which whirls out to sea and joins up with other storm clouds, forming an enormous raging squall that travels thousands of miles across the ocean, disrupting electromagnetic fields and making my cell phone cut out. Fuckin' butterflies. "