Peter and the Shadow Thieves has finally been released and now I've read it. If you read and liked the previous entry in this series Peter and the Star Catchers, you'll also like this book as well. If you didn't, you just might like this anyway.
As prequels to JM Barrie's famous Peter Pan, they have some limitations. This one, though, is freed of the first novel's need to end up at a certain place in time. At least that's my take. I liked this one a bit better. The plot was more interesting, and it was less of a child's book. Even Mr. Barrie himself has a cameo in this one, though if you're not paying attention you might not realize that's what it is.
Like all children's books this one is a bit predictable but I don't fault the authors because in general that's how the genre plays out. The book's a bit short on character development but it makes up for it in atmosphere and plot.
Tag: Book and Review and Peter Pan and Dave Barry
Monday, July 31, 2006
Sunday, July 30, 2006
Friendship
My semi-friend (ex-friend?) Josh said we were doing something this morning and, as usual, he neither called nor e-mailed leaving me sitting at home with nothing to do. (And I even sent a follow up e-mail to remind him.) He’s stood me up a number of times, and that’s pretty much what led me to thinking about friends and such. He’s an example of how not to be a friend. I like him but he’s poor friend material because he treats his friends like shit and that says a lot about his character or lack thereof.
I have a number of people who are friends but not Real Friends. I am sure all of you can make sense of that. Why don’t I have many Real Friends? Probably because I do not suffer idiots gladly. I expect very few things out of my Real Friends but “few” doesn’t mean “easy.”
I expect them to be intelligent and to be able to have an intelligent conversation about lots of different topics. It doesn’t matter if it’s books, politics, movies, religion, current events, or the theory of relativity. There’s many more topics too. It’s just that for a friendship to work it needs to be intellectually stimulating.
I expect them to be reliable – getting let down sucks. My friends let me down less than my family, a sad state that probably explains more about me than I’d like. That’s probably why most people I deal with never become more than casual friends. “Yeah, I’ll call you tomorrow*” and I don’t hear from them at all. I understand that sometimes things come up, but there’s this device called the telephone and it works great. Even an apology after the fact works. It’s the repeat offenders that piss me off, like Josh above.
I expect loyalty, which is where I lose most people, because most people don’t even really understand loyalty. It’s easy to be loyal to someone when you agree with him.her, but it’s hard to be loyal when you don’t. Let’s use an absurd example. If you found out your very best friend killed someone in cold blood for a reason you couldn’t accept, would you turn him/her in? If you would turn him/her in, you’re not the kind of person I’d be good friends with. There’s nothing wrong with your position, but it’s not a mindset I can deal with.
And then there’s trust. Trust has to be earned you know. It’s a slow, arduous process that takes aeons. Sometimes you get lucky and there’s a seminal event that pretty much proves someone is trustworthy, but that’s rare. Sometimes you just take that leap of faith and trust someone without evidence, but that’s really hard to do. The older you get, the more jaded you become -- reality does that to people -- and the harder it is to trust someone. Sad, simple fact of life there.
Think of your deepest, darkest secret. Who could you tell and they wouldn’t change their opinion of you? Who would you tell? This doesn’t mean you have to say anything, but think about it. It’s a great mental exercise. I think if you look in your heart of hearts, you will find most of the people who call you “friend” would change their opinion of you if you were gay, a murderer, a jewel thief, or whatever. Everyone has a secret, but some people’s secrets are darker than others. Honestly, I don’t mind sharing my secrets with some of my friends but I am extraordinarily selective about it.
If I actually had to count the people who meet all of these qualifications I might get to three if I’m lucky and thought about it hard. The number has decreased over the years because I haven’t made a lot of effort to replace friends. I’m lazy like about that.
Wow, a personal insight on me.
* That isn't the same as "I'll try and call you tomorrow."
(As a corollary to this, someone asked me what would happen if I found out one of my friends was a racist. That's a good question, but I doubt we'll ever know. The odds on anyone who's a racist ever becoming one of my friends is so remote as to be not worth considering. Are there intelligent racists? Sadly, yes. However there are so few, the odds on me coming across one is minimal. Further, the odds of someone who thinks like that ever getting remotely close to me is laughably low.)
I have a number of people who are friends but not Real Friends. I am sure all of you can make sense of that. Why don’t I have many Real Friends? Probably because I do not suffer idiots gladly. I expect very few things out of my Real Friends but “few” doesn’t mean “easy.”
I expect them to be intelligent and to be able to have an intelligent conversation about lots of different topics. It doesn’t matter if it’s books, politics, movies, religion, current events, or the theory of relativity. There’s many more topics too. It’s just that for a friendship to work it needs to be intellectually stimulating.
I expect them to be reliable – getting let down sucks. My friends let me down less than my family, a sad state that probably explains more about me than I’d like. That’s probably why most people I deal with never become more than casual friends. “Yeah, I’ll call you tomorrow*” and I don’t hear from them at all. I understand that sometimes things come up, but there’s this device called the telephone and it works great. Even an apology after the fact works. It’s the repeat offenders that piss me off, like Josh above.
I expect loyalty, which is where I lose most people, because most people don’t even really understand loyalty. It’s easy to be loyal to someone when you agree with him.her, but it’s hard to be loyal when you don’t. Let’s use an absurd example. If you found out your very best friend killed someone in cold blood for a reason you couldn’t accept, would you turn him/her in? If you would turn him/her in, you’re not the kind of person I’d be good friends with. There’s nothing wrong with your position, but it’s not a mindset I can deal with.
And then there’s trust. Trust has to be earned you know. It’s a slow, arduous process that takes aeons. Sometimes you get lucky and there’s a seminal event that pretty much proves someone is trustworthy, but that’s rare. Sometimes you just take that leap of faith and trust someone without evidence, but that’s really hard to do. The older you get, the more jaded you become -- reality does that to people -- and the harder it is to trust someone. Sad, simple fact of life there.
Think of your deepest, darkest secret. Who could you tell and they wouldn’t change their opinion of you? Who would you tell? This doesn’t mean you have to say anything, but think about it. It’s a great mental exercise. I think if you look in your heart of hearts, you will find most of the people who call you “friend” would change their opinion of you if you were gay, a murderer, a jewel thief, or whatever. Everyone has a secret, but some people’s secrets are darker than others. Honestly, I don’t mind sharing my secrets with some of my friends but I am extraordinarily selective about it.
If I actually had to count the people who meet all of these qualifications I might get to three if I’m lucky and thought about it hard. The number has decreased over the years because I haven’t made a lot of effort to replace friends. I’m lazy like about that.
Wow, a personal insight on me.
* That isn't the same as "I'll try and call you tomorrow."
(As a corollary to this, someone asked me what would happen if I found out one of my friends was a racist. That's a good question, but I doubt we'll ever know. The odds on anyone who's a racist ever becoming one of my friends is so remote as to be not worth considering. Are there intelligent racists? Sadly, yes. However there are so few, the odds on me coming across one is minimal. Further, the odds of someone who thinks like that ever getting remotely close to me is laughably low.)
Terry Goodkind's Phantom (Review)
(I will warn you before I get to spoilers, so read on without fear)
Ah, yes, I went book shopping yesterday with Adrian. Book shopping is a wholly satisfying thing in almost every way, even if you buy nothing. But this trip was a success because I bought the new Phule's Errand book (sure to be an empty but satisfying read), the new Dave Barry Peter Pan & The Shadow Thieves book, and Terry Goodkind's Phantom. I also bought a Holiday gift for someone but will leave the details out hence the person read my blog.
I started reading Phantom last night around 7:15 and with two breaks -- dinner and a shower -- read it from front to end, fishing just after 12:20am. I barely noticed the time. There were pauses while I zoned out and thought of things -- I'm funny like that -- and also to try and recollect the previous tome, Chainfire which I read nearly two years ago I think.
This book is the next to last in the series. The end of the book clearly says to look for the next and concluding book in this series. That's good because it's gone on too long. Most of it's good but there have been some missteps. Not nearly as bad, though, as Robert Jordan, who I've entirely given up on as an author.
This book is an engaging read front to back, which is good because that's what a summer read is about and at 587 pages, it's hard for many authors to keep the pace going. Like all Goodkind books, you normally see everything coming before the book gets there -- but there is one surprise that definitely laid me flat.
(SPOILERS BEGIN)
I won't reveal that surprise here, because it's a good one. However I will say that some old characters seem to becoming more two-dimensional with age, and that's not a good thing. Cara and Bernedine pretty much are there as decoration and serve no purpose, and there is nary a mention of Vera, Ann, Zedd, and Nathan. I don't like Nathan so I don't care. This story is Richard and Kahlan from front to end and it's just about those with them while they get where they need to be. (This is not a criticism, but it's certainly a 'middle book' syndrome here).
I like what happens in the book because it feels right and with a fantasy novel that's very important. Nothing like a 'doesn't feel right' to ruin a good story. Like the last one, this just ends with a cliffhanger, though it's pretty obvious what's going to happen next. The surprise here is going to be zero simply because he's written himself into a Richard meets XXX next corner, and that's just fine.
What I find a bit unsettling, and I am not sure if it's an intentional metaphor or not, is Goodkind's war solution for the D'Haran army. From a tactical standpoint, I make no arguments (but Richard's speech very well could have bored the enemy to death saving untold bloodshed). However the Order is a religious movement and Goodkind's characters advocate bringing the war to the Order's soil in a "just kill them all" approach. The more I read the more it sounded like he was advocating using American troops to wipe out the Muslim Terrorists while trying not to kill the Muslim People. This plan doesn't work in real life, though it's perfectly fine for a fantasy novel. However the overriding sense of having a message rammed down my throat never left me and that's my biggest complaint about this novel.
Ah, yes, I went book shopping yesterday with Adrian. Book shopping is a wholly satisfying thing in almost every way, even if you buy nothing. But this trip was a success because I bought the new Phule's Errand book (sure to be an empty but satisfying read), the new Dave Barry Peter Pan & The Shadow Thieves book, and Terry Goodkind's Phantom. I also bought a Holiday gift for someone but will leave the details out hence the person read my blog.
I started reading Phantom last night around 7:15 and with two breaks -- dinner and a shower -- read it from front to end, fishing just after 12:20am. I barely noticed the time. There were pauses while I zoned out and thought of things -- I'm funny like that -- and also to try and recollect the previous tome, Chainfire which I read nearly two years ago I think.
This book is the next to last in the series. The end of the book clearly says to look for the next and concluding book in this series. That's good because it's gone on too long. Most of it's good but there have been some missteps. Not nearly as bad, though, as Robert Jordan, who I've entirely given up on as an author.
This book is an engaging read front to back, which is good because that's what a summer read is about and at 587 pages, it's hard for many authors to keep the pace going. Like all Goodkind books, you normally see everything coming before the book gets there -- but there is one surprise that definitely laid me flat.
(SPOILERS BEGIN)
I won't reveal that surprise here, because it's a good one. However I will say that some old characters seem to becoming more two-dimensional with age, and that's not a good thing. Cara and Bernedine pretty much are there as decoration and serve no purpose, and there is nary a mention of Vera, Ann, Zedd, and Nathan. I don't like Nathan so I don't care. This story is Richard and Kahlan from front to end and it's just about those with them while they get where they need to be. (This is not a criticism, but it's certainly a 'middle book' syndrome here).
I like what happens in the book because it feels right and with a fantasy novel that's very important. Nothing like a 'doesn't feel right' to ruin a good story. Like the last one, this just ends with a cliffhanger, though it's pretty obvious what's going to happen next. The surprise here is going to be zero simply because he's written himself into a Richard meets XXX next corner, and that's just fine.
What I find a bit unsettling, and I am not sure if it's an intentional metaphor or not, is Goodkind's war solution for the D'Haran army. From a tactical standpoint, I make no arguments (but Richard's speech very well could have bored the enemy to death saving untold bloodshed). However the Order is a religious movement and Goodkind's characters advocate bringing the war to the Order's soil in a "just kill them all" approach. The more I read the more it sounded like he was advocating using American troops to wipe out the Muslim Terrorists while trying not to kill the Muslim People. This plan doesn't work in real life, though it's perfectly fine for a fantasy novel. However the overriding sense of having a message rammed down my throat never left me and that's my biggest complaint about this novel.
Friday, July 28, 2006
Harry Potter Actor to Be Naked on Stage
(Newer blog entry with photos here).
Wow, now there's news I never expected unlike yesterday's non-news that N-sync's Lance Bass is gay. I mean anyone who didn't see that coming is dumber than President Bush.
Not that I have plans to go see this play, 'cause I'm not sure I have any interest in it, what with killing critters and such. But can you imagine the throngs of teenage girls lined up to see Harry's wand in all its glory. I'm sure the boy wizard will work magic on them and have a horde outside the stage door after every performance. It will be an event where all his fans can come together.
I find it a bit odd that any teenager would want to be on stage naked, though. Anything to get laid I suppose. Daniel Radcliffe is either brave or stupid, or perhaps a bit of both. Can any teens out there shed light on this?
By KATIE FRETLAND (Associated Press Writer)
From Associated Press ON July 28, 2006 10:42 AM EDT
LONDON - Daniel Radcliffe will strip off his Harry Potter eyeglasses and robes for his London stage debut next year.
The 17-year-old actor, who plays the bespectacled schoolboy wizard in the Hollywood adaptations of J.K. Rowling's novels, will star as a troubled stableboy in Peter Shaffer's "Equus."
The play delves into the psyche of a boy named Alan Strang who blinds six horses with a metal spike. The production is scheduled to open next March in the West End theater district, said spokesman Peter Thompson.
"It is an extraordinary play, and he's very much looking forward to the role," Radcliffe's spokeswoman, Vanessa Davies, said Friday. "He is maturing as an actor and beginning to take on new and challenging roles."
In one scene the actor playing Strang is required to simulate sexual ecstasy while riding a horse naked. But Davies said nudity was not the focus of the play.
Radcliffe is now filming "Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix," the fifth installment in Harry's adventures, and recently finished shooting "December Boys," the story of four orphans who compete for adoption.
(Due to popular demand, here's an index of all the Potter posts involving this play Equus)
I have made three previous posts about this and this is the fourth one (12 March 07):
Wow, now there's news I never expected unlike yesterday's non-news that N-sync's Lance Bass is gay. I mean anyone who didn't see that coming is dumber than President Bush.
Not that I have plans to go see this play, 'cause I'm not sure I have any interest in it, what with killing critters and such. But can you imagine the throngs of teenage girls lined up to see Harry's wand in all its glory. I'm sure the boy wizard will work magic on them and have a horde outside the stage door after every performance. It will be an event where all his fans can come together.
I find it a bit odd that any teenager would want to be on stage naked, though. Anything to get laid I suppose. Daniel Radcliffe is either brave or stupid, or perhaps a bit of both. Can any teens out there shed light on this?
By KATIE FRETLAND (Associated Press Writer)
From Associated Press ON July 28, 2006 10:42 AM EDT
LONDON - Daniel Radcliffe will strip off his Harry Potter eyeglasses and robes for his London stage debut next year.
The 17-year-old actor, who plays the bespectacled schoolboy wizard in the Hollywood adaptations of J.K. Rowling's novels, will star as a troubled stableboy in Peter Shaffer's "Equus."
The play delves into the psyche of a boy named Alan Strang who blinds six horses with a metal spike. The production is scheduled to open next March in the West End theater district, said spokesman Peter Thompson.
"It is an extraordinary play, and he's very much looking forward to the role," Radcliffe's spokeswoman, Vanessa Davies, said Friday. "He is maturing as an actor and beginning to take on new and challenging roles."
In one scene the actor playing Strang is required to simulate sexual ecstasy while riding a horse naked. But Davies said nudity was not the focus of the play.
Radcliffe is now filming "Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix," the fifth installment in Harry's adventures, and recently finished shooting "December Boys," the story of four orphans who compete for adoption.
(Due to popular demand, here's an index of all the Potter posts involving this play Equus)
I have made three previous posts about this and this is the fourth one (12 March 07):
- I first blogged it on 7-28-06 when it made the news he might do it.
- Then they made the first publicity photos on 1-31-07 and I blogged that. That's when I started getting teen girls and pervs asking for photos. (For the record I do not reply to those emails.)
- And lastly on 3-4-07 I was amused that he doesn't want his castmates to see him naked.
Monday, July 24, 2006
Schadenfreude and Airbus re-unite yet again
I had previously blogged this: More on Airbus Crashes: Schadenfreude
Life is good if you hate Airbus. Now they're having fuselage problems. They're trying to minimize the publicity but a fuselage problem is a very serious problem. Anyone who gets on one of these planes is nuts. They're going to force that thing out the door to minimize any further embarrassment and then they'll be forced to ground the fleet when they start falling out the sky. Boeing is dusting their pants and rightfully so.
Airbus Admits A380 Fuselage Problems
By ANGELA CHARLTON (Associated Press Writer)
July 24, 2006 7:08 AM EDT
PARIS - Airbus acknowledged Monday it had reinforced the rear fuselage of its superjumbo A380 after problems were detected, but insisted the issue did not cause any further delays in the plane's production timetable.
Airbus spokeswoman Barbara Kracht sought to play down a report in German weekly Der Spiegel on Monday describing troubles with a section of fuselage in the rear cone of the world's biggest passenger plane.
A "minor" problem was discovered with a section of the fuselage during a trial flight in Toulouse, Kracht said. The fault was fixed in April, she said. She would not reveal estimates of how much the reinforcement cost or give any other details. Kracht said it did not cause any adjustments in the double-decker plane's production schedule, which has already been pushed back more than a year.
Der Spiegel said internal Airbus documents showed that at the beginning of March, the company decided to strengthen the problematic fuselage - resulting in extra costs and extra weight. The report did not elaborate on the problems.
Life is good if you hate Airbus. Now they're having fuselage problems. They're trying to minimize the publicity but a fuselage problem is a very serious problem. Anyone who gets on one of these planes is nuts. They're going to force that thing out the door to minimize any further embarrassment and then they'll be forced to ground the fleet when they start falling out the sky. Boeing is dusting their pants and rightfully so.
Airbus Admits A380 Fuselage Problems
By ANGELA CHARLTON (Associated Press Writer)
July 24, 2006 7:08 AM EDT
PARIS - Airbus acknowledged Monday it had reinforced the rear fuselage of its superjumbo A380 after problems were detected, but insisted the issue did not cause any further delays in the plane's production timetable.
Airbus spokeswoman Barbara Kracht sought to play down a report in German weekly Der Spiegel on Monday describing troubles with a section of fuselage in the rear cone of the world's biggest passenger plane.
A "minor" problem was discovered with a section of the fuselage during a trial flight in Toulouse, Kracht said. The fault was fixed in April, she said. She would not reveal estimates of how much the reinforcement cost or give any other details. Kracht said it did not cause any adjustments in the double-decker plane's production schedule, which has already been pushed back more than a year.
Der Spiegel said internal Airbus documents showed that at the beginning of March, the company decided to strengthen the problematic fuselage - resulting in extra costs and extra weight. The report did not elaborate on the problems.
Saturday, July 22, 2006
Revisting Why Dell Sucks and Blows!
Why Dell Sucks was my original anti-Dell blog post. So I am now experiencing a huge, joyful rush of schadenfreude* at this news:
Shares of Dell Inc. plunged to their lowest level in nearly five years Friday after the world's largest computer maker slashed its second-quarter earnings outlook below Wall Street's estimates, blaming its aggressive price cutting and a slowing global market.
Maybe it's the fact they treat their customers like shit and word is finally getting out? Remember, don't buy a Dell, or you deserve what you get.
The sell-off wiped out nearly $5 billion of Dell's market value in a single day. And even though analysts believe the shortfall is largely a company-specific problem, the news sent shivers through the entire technology sector, with shares of companies that supply parts to computer makers....
Happy, Happy, Joy, Joy.
The news highlighted the notion that the "Dell era" is over, wrote UBS analyst Benjamin A. Reitzes in a note to clients, keeping a "Hold" rating on the company's stock."Internally, the company is in disarray. They are finding it difficult to compete because they are so used to winning,"
I pretty much feel like yelling at the top of my lungs: FUCK YOU MICHAEL DELL -- YOU FESTERING WORTHLESS PILE OF SHIT.
BTW, in other Dell news, my Aunt has a new Dell laptop which he job provided. The transformer sparked and threatened to burst into flame when she tried to plug it in. She called them and they promised to send her one Next Day Air on Monday. As of Wednesday it hadn't arrived. She's surprised at this. I can't imagine why she'd be surprised at it, but she is.
* wow I've used this word twice in my blog -- what a shock
Shares of Dell Inc. plunged to their lowest level in nearly five years Friday after the world's largest computer maker slashed its second-quarter earnings outlook below Wall Street's estimates, blaming its aggressive price cutting and a slowing global market.
Maybe it's the fact they treat their customers like shit and word is finally getting out? Remember, don't buy a Dell, or you deserve what you get.
The sell-off wiped out nearly $5 billion of Dell's market value in a single day. And even though analysts believe the shortfall is largely a company-specific problem, the news sent shivers through the entire technology sector, with shares of companies that supply parts to computer makers....
Happy, Happy, Joy, Joy.
The news highlighted the notion that the "Dell era" is over, wrote UBS analyst Benjamin A. Reitzes in a note to clients, keeping a "Hold" rating on the company's stock."Internally, the company is in disarray. They are finding it difficult to compete because they are so used to winning,"
I pretty much feel like yelling at the top of my lungs: FUCK YOU MICHAEL DELL -- YOU FESTERING WORTHLESS PILE OF SHIT.
BTW, in other Dell news, my Aunt has a new Dell laptop which he job provided. The transformer sparked and threatened to burst into flame when she tried to plug it in. She called them and they promised to send her one Next Day Air on Monday. As of Wednesday it hadn't arrived. She's surprised at this. I can't imagine why she'd be surprised at it, but she is.
* wow I've used this word twice in my blog -- what a shock
Monday, July 17, 2006
The latest on my roof
Yes, there has been progress of a sort. I have the world's slowest roofer*, you know. I'm sure you've been reading the saga here with keen interest**. I've not been posting the ongoing details for fear of running off my remaining blog visitors. However, after many missed promises and delays, the base roof is done. All we need now is tiles. Aye, there's the rub. They ordered my tiles in December, though the contract was signed in November. Even so that's only a month. I am now being told another four months even though other neighbours of mine actually have tiles roof-loaded and ready to install.
* BET Construction & Roofing (or some permutation thereof)
** As if.
* BET Construction & Roofing (or some permutation thereof)
** As if.
Saturday, July 15, 2006
Pirates of the Caribbean Sequel Review
Well I had high, high hopes for this film because I really enjoyed the original. But, YARRR, this one disappointed. It's not that it was terrible, but that's a far cry from good sez I. The biggest failing was it was far, far, too long and lost its way in the middle never to be found again.
The last half hours was really a preview for part three. And make no mistake this is only half a movie. It just ends, leaving you wanting (or maybe not) the sequel. At well over 2-1/2 hours, you want more. Lord of the Rings proved you can make a very long movie and not have the audience checking their watches repeatedly. Sadly, Pirates disappointed all the way 'round.
At least I had fun with my friends whilst being bored at the film most of the way.
The last half hours was really a preview for part three. And make no mistake this is only half a movie. It just ends, leaving you wanting (or maybe not) the sequel. At well over 2-1/2 hours, you want more. Lord of the Rings proved you can make a very long movie and not have the audience checking their watches repeatedly. Sadly, Pirates disappointed all the way 'round.
At least I had fun with my friends whilst being bored at the film most of the way.
Wednesday, July 12, 2006
The Newly Tagged Blog
Wow. I have tagged almost every post in my blog -- manually. That took two days of detailed HTML editing because Blogger doesn't really support tags. I'm not big into tags myself, but a careful experiment showed a tagged entry got 10% more hits than an untagged entry. Now if the visitors would all clink an ad-link I could be rich. Online advertising must work because someone's making money, but it isn't me.
Anyway, I hope everyone appreciates the tags. Yay, Technorati!
Anyway, I hope everyone appreciates the tags. Yay, Technorati!
Tuesday, July 11, 2006
Jack And Bob
This is an old, old, old joke from my Boy Scout days.
Two friends-for-life, Bob and Jack, lost touch with each other during boy scouts when one moved away. By chance, they ended up in the same college.
They decide to go camping for old-times sake and to renew their friendship. On the appointed morning they drive into the mountains, park their Jeep and walk down a trail. Not long after, they pass a ranger station, but they keep going.
Pretty soon they're miles from anything and anyone. They see the ideal place to set up camp and proceed to do pitch the tent, and dig a campfire ditch.
Bob says, "Jack, I really gotta' take a whizz. Be right back," and heads off to the edge of the clearing. Bob starts to do his business.
Suddenly Jack hears Bob let loose with a really loud scream and runs over. "What happened, Bob?"
I was taking a whizz and a snake fell out of the tree and bit me on the end of my dick."
"Oh, man! That's terrible." Jack whips out his mobile phone to call for help, but there is no signal because they're too far away. Being ex-boy scouts, he knew that having Bobby walk back to the ranger station could kill him by making the venom flow faster though his blood stream. "I'm going to go to the ranger station and get help. You lie down and don't move."
Jack runs as fast as he can back to the ranger station, but it takes him nearly an hour. He beats on the door but nobody's there. He goes around back and breaks a window, hoping to find a phone inside. It's Jack (and Bob's) lucky day, for there is a phone. He picks it up and is almost instantly connected to a park ranger. He explains the situation.
"Sir, that sounds really bad. Can you describe the snake?"
Jack describes it.
"Oh, that's REALLY bad. The fastest we can be there is two hours because we're on the other side of the park. Your friend doesn't have that long. You gotta' cut a small slit where the snake bit, suck out the venom and spit it out. We're on our way as fast as we can."
"I gotta' do what? I gotta suck what?" Jack gives the ranger directions, then heads back to camp where he sees Bob, who isn't looking too good now.
"I'm sorry Bob, I've got bad news."
"What?"
"The ranger says you're going to die."
Okay, so that's the joke. It's old, it's funny, and you've probably heard it before in some form or another.
Now, here's a test question for those of you guys brave enough to answer publicly. If it was your best male friend, would he live or die? (I will not approve anonymous posts. You gotta use your real name if you reply to this one.)
Two friends-for-life, Bob and Jack, lost touch with each other during boy scouts when one moved away. By chance, they ended up in the same college.
They decide to go camping for old-times sake and to renew their friendship. On the appointed morning they drive into the mountains, park their Jeep and walk down a trail. Not long after, they pass a ranger station, but they keep going.
Pretty soon they're miles from anything and anyone. They see the ideal place to set up camp and proceed to do pitch the tent, and dig a campfire ditch.
Bob says, "Jack, I really gotta' take a whizz. Be right back," and heads off to the edge of the clearing. Bob starts to do his business.
Suddenly Jack hears Bob let loose with a really loud scream and runs over. "What happened, Bob?"
I was taking a whizz and a snake fell out of the tree and bit me on the end of my dick."
"Oh, man! That's terrible." Jack whips out his mobile phone to call for help, but there is no signal because they're too far away. Being ex-boy scouts, he knew that having Bobby walk back to the ranger station could kill him by making the venom flow faster though his blood stream. "I'm going to go to the ranger station and get help. You lie down and don't move."
Jack runs as fast as he can back to the ranger station, but it takes him nearly an hour. He beats on the door but nobody's there. He goes around back and breaks a window, hoping to find a phone inside. It's Jack (and Bob's) lucky day, for there is a phone. He picks it up and is almost instantly connected to a park ranger. He explains the situation.
"Sir, that sounds really bad. Can you describe the snake?"
Jack describes it.
"Oh, that's REALLY bad. The fastest we can be there is two hours because we're on the other side of the park. Your friend doesn't have that long. You gotta' cut a small slit where the snake bit, suck out the venom and spit it out. We're on our way as fast as we can."
"I gotta' do what? I gotta suck what?" Jack gives the ranger directions, then heads back to camp where he sees Bob, who isn't looking too good now.
"I'm sorry Bob, I've got bad news."
"What?"
"The ranger says you're going to die."
Okay, so that's the joke. It's old, it's funny, and you've probably heard it before in some form or another.
Now, here's a test question for those of you guys brave enough to answer publicly. If it was your best male friend, would he live or die? (I will not approve anonymous posts. You gotta use your real name if you reply to this one.)
RIP: Syd Barrett of Pink Floyd
Legendary original Pink Floyd member Syd Barrett has died. The troubled Pink Floyd co-founder spent his last years in reclusive anonymity. A spokeswoman for the band said Barrett died several days ago, but did not disclose the cause of death.
The surviving members of Pink Floyd - David Gilmour, Nick Mason, Roger Waters , and Richard Wright - said they were "very upset and sad to learn of Syd Barrett's death. Syd was the guiding light of the early band lineup and leaves a legacy which continues to inspire," they said in a statement.
Barrett suffered from mental instability, greatly exacerbated by his use of LSD. His behaviour grew increasingly erratic, and he left the group in 1968 - five years before the release of Pink Floyd's most popular album, the legendary "Dark Side of the Moon." Barrett was replaced by Gilmour. Pink Floyd recorded the album "Wish You Were Here" as a tribute to their brilliant but deeply troubled troubled bandmate.
We've been discussing Pink in the infamous Why Led Zeppelin Sucks thread.
The surviving members of Pink Floyd - David Gilmour, Nick Mason, Roger Waters , and Richard Wright - said they were "very upset and sad to learn of Syd Barrett's death. Syd was the guiding light of the early band lineup and leaves a legacy which continues to inspire," they said in a statement.
Barrett suffered from mental instability, greatly exacerbated by his use of LSD. His behaviour grew increasingly erratic, and he left the group in 1968 - five years before the release of Pink Floyd's most popular album, the legendary "Dark Side of the Moon." Barrett was replaced by Gilmour. Pink Floyd recorded the album "Wish You Were Here" as a tribute to their brilliant but deeply troubled troubled bandmate.
We've been discussing Pink in the infamous Why Led Zeppelin Sucks thread.
IFA to Investigate Zidane's Head Butt
The AP is reporting (excerpted)
I am glad, again referring to my previous post below....
FIFA will open a disciplinary investigation into Zinedine Zidane's conduct in the World Cup final, when he was sent off for head-butting Italy's Marco Materazzi. Zidane and Materazzi exchanged words after Italy broke up a French attack in extra-time of Sunday's final in Berlin. Seconds later, Zidane lowered his head and rammed Materazzi in the chest, knocking him to the ground.
Materazzi admitted he insulted Zidane before the France captain head-butted him, but denied calling him a "terrorist."
Sunday, July 9, 2006
Bravo Italy -- Zidane Sucks
Well, the World Cup is over and Italy has won. I am pleased and glad as I didn't want the French to win. And quite frankly, after Zindane's brutal head-butt on Materazzi, the French deserved to lose. What a piss-poor example of sportsmanship in front the whole world. True the officials have been handing out yellow and red cards like they're on the quota system but in this case the red card was well deserved.
I am opposed to any game being decided in a shootout. I have long been a detractor of the shootout in hockey as I feel it's very minor league. I feel no different about the Penalty Kick. It's not the way to decide a game. There's nothing wrong with a tie, and if you can't have a tie, play until one team loses.
ABC's coverage was surprisingly decent though promptly at 4:30pm EST their HDTV feed reverted to standard definition. I am assuming they didn't buy enough satellite time. Univision's coverage was substantially better, though they were broadcasting in a lower resolution of HDTV.
Congratulations Italy.
I am opposed to any game being decided in a shootout. I have long been a detractor of the shootout in hockey as I feel it's very minor league. I feel no different about the Penalty Kick. It's not the way to decide a game. There's nothing wrong with a tie, and if you can't have a tie, play until one team loses.
ABC's coverage was surprisingly decent though promptly at 4:30pm EST their HDTV feed reverted to standard definition. I am assuming they didn't buy enough satellite time. Univision's coverage was substantially better, though they were broadcasting in a lower resolution of HDTV.
Congratulations Italy.
Monday, July 3, 2006
Profundity
Every now and then I steal from my own website for a post. This is from the "CMOT TMPV" section and entitled profundity.
* I also have a guide for Las Vegas, Nevada.
- 9-11-01. The unbearable sadness of life in the modern world. I still can't watch those pictures. (I'm sure you know which ones I'm talking about.)
- The Challenger accident. It affected me deeply, perhaps because I witnessed it as it unfolded on television.
- The death of Princess Diana. I don't know why this affected me. There's no rational reason for it.
- My first flight on Concorde. Many people don't understand my obsession. Anyone who has flown her, understands deep within their soul. I feel sorry for the people who haven't experienced it.
- Ralph Bakshi's rather trashy animated film of Lord of the Rings because it inspired me to read the book. The book changed my life. And in the same vein, the first few moments of Peter Jackson's Fellowship of the Ring made me believe I was there.
- My first subway ride. Toronto, Canada.
- I hear Imagine for the first time.
- My first computer (TRS-80 Model 1, 4k Ram); AppleLink Personal Edition (which one day will become AOL), and the Internet.
- Moving to Berkeley, California in sixth grade. I left my heart in San Francisco while discovering Herb Caen. There is no other place like it on earth.
- My first trip to London, England. I found a city that I could live in. It's everything a city should be -- except affordable. (What to see, where to eat, and what to do in London: My Complete Tour Guide)*.
* I also have a guide for Las Vegas, Nevada.
Sunday, July 2, 2006
Randomness
Wow. I realize it's time I get some updated into this blog, so here's a large collection of Random thoughts to bring us up to speed.
- I went to work this weekend but the DSL was down so I didn't accomplish as much as I would have liked.
- My DirecTV has been out for over a week now. Although a crew came, they couldn't find the entire problem. I was back up and running, but now one of the three satellite signals is again not working. I guess I can hold out until the 8th when they replace the entire shebang.
- I bought some cargo pants (yay! I love cargo pants)
- I love playing with Velcro. Erin has a pair of pants with Velcro pockets. I always like to pull the Velcro apart. I have a number of friends with Velcro fastened accoutrements, and I like to terrorize all of them. This weekend, Erin had her revenge. I was wearing cargo pants (see above) that have a number of Velcro pockets. She kept opening them all day, and was a bit perturbed that I was basically nonplussed. She then noticed what she thought was another piece of Velcro and pulled on it. Imagine her surprise when she found out it was the zipper and my fly opened. Hell, imagine my surprise.
- I diddled with my computer today and intended to finish early and then go read, but I didn't.
- I was really hoping Josh would call me, but that was (of course) another let-down. I am truly retarded because I keep thinking he will call. Stupid-ass me. That's pathetic, I know. Hope springs eternal.
- I renewed my Panther tickets. Yes, indeed. They made me an offer I couldn't refuse. See my Panthers Hockey Message Board for details.
- It won't stop raining so my roofers haven't been here in ages. That's not their fault but that membrane has been sitting on my roof for ages and I wish they'd install it so my roof would be water-tight.
- I upgraded to Tiger (10.4.6) on my Mac today, finally. That probably shocked most of my friends but it's done and I don't hate it -- except it's so damned slow I don't know what to say. I installed some cool widgets and otherwise played around with that.
- My friends Jace and Grant may be coming to visit 7-21/22 and Thomas is off to New York from late July through early August so I better find something to do to keep me busy.
- I wanted to go see Cirque Du Beatles in Las Vegas, but so far I've not heard anything from anyone which, quite frankly, is pissing me off. People need to check e-mail more often
- I tried to get some interest in a group trip to London with some friends, and towards that end I sent a spreadsheet to five people. Guess how many people even acknowledge receiving it? Yeah. Zero. Just goes to show you can't do anything nice for anyone.
- Erin is helping with some SSI stuff so I can make my pages easier to maintain. She's got a hell of a brain when it comes to HTML. Yay, Erin!
- I was missing some of my friends/ex-friends today (Tom, Jose, Josh, Eric). I hate when I get like that, but I do it often. It depresses me.
- I made a filet mignon for dinner accompanied by buttered rice -- and for dessert I had Raspberries mixed with vanilla custard. And I just ate some cotton candy. Yum.
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