Enjoy!
( Oh, and one more thing! )
Leviathan's Boring Sorta-Blog
Well, crap, this has too many entries not to be a blog...
Enjoy!
( Oh, and one more thing! )
You can't make this stuff up.
From http://www.eonline.com/uberblog/b126764
Daniel Craig Is Double-Oh Delicious
Today 9:16 AM PDT by Breanne L. Heldman
Who wouldn't want to get a taste of Daniel Craig?
Lucky ladies in the U.K. will have the opportunity to lick his well-chiseled abs freely. Del Monte's Superfruit Smoothies is releasing limited-edition lollies—that's Popsicles to us—of the Bond star's, ahem, delicious torso and head. The purple frozen treats are blueberry, pomegranate and cranberry flavored, and will only be available this week during Britain's National Ice Cream Week. (Sidenote: U.S. National Ice Cream Month is in July—anyone for a Robert Pattinson flavored treat?)
The fruit company conducted a poll asking women who they'd like to see melting from a wooden stick, and 41-year-old Craig was their man.
"Daniel Craig topped our poll of Britain's coolest celebrities and, thanks to our Del Monte lolly replica, he is officially immortalized as super smooth and licensed to chill," spokesman Matt O'Connor said in a statement.
From http://www.eonline.com/uberblog/b126764
Daniel Craig Is Double-Oh Delicious
Today 9:16 AM PDT by Breanne L. Heldman
Who wouldn't want to get a taste of Daniel Craig?
Lucky ladies in the U.K. will have the opportunity to lick his well-chiseled abs freely. Del Monte's Superfruit Smoothies is releasing limited-edition lollies—that's Popsicles to us—of the Bond star's, ahem, delicious torso and head. The purple frozen treats are blueberry, pomegranate and cranberry flavored, and will only be available this week during Britain's National Ice Cream Week. (Sidenote: U.S. National Ice Cream Month is in July—anyone for a Robert Pattinson flavored treat?)
The fruit company conducted a poll asking women who they'd like to see melting from a wooden stick, and 41-year-old Craig was their man.
"Daniel Craig topped our poll of Britain's coolest celebrities and, thanks to our Del Monte lolly replica, he is officially immortalized as super smooth and licensed to chill," spokesman Matt O'Connor said in a statement.
Trust me. I mean it. Trust me.
Go see UP!
I mean it. Now. Why are you still reading this?
Go see UP!
I mean it. Now. Why are you still reading this?
Because in the beginning was the word...
I'm going to be posting another fic starting shortly, a crossover featuring The Tenth Doctor an Martha Jones, and the Third Doctor and Jo Grant, both meeting at different times and dealing with two of the greatest characters in the history of detective fiction, Nero Wolfe and Archie Goodwin.
A great source for a lot of information on this intrepid pair can be seen at Nero Wolfe's Wikipedia Entry.
The short form:
Born in the Balkan state of Montenegro, Nero Wolfe is a genius, an eccentric, an agoraphobe, and probably the greatest private detective in the world.
He lives in a brownstone house at 922 East 35th Street, in New York City, with his able assistant, Archie Goodwin, and his chef and housekeeper, Fritz Brenner. He is a very fat man (at least the whippet-thin Rex Stout, who created him, thought so, referring frequently to his seventh of a ton. That's only 285 pounds, but Stout, who was probably about 160 pounds soaking wet, probably thought that prodigious.) a gourmand, chef, and orchid grower who never leaves his house on business, and keeps rigidly to a schedule: From nine to eleven each morning, and from four to six each afternoon, he ascends in his private elevator to the greenhouse on the roof of his three-story residence to work with his orchids, assisted by a daytime employee named Theodore Horstmann, who is seldom seen. Wolfe will not discuss business at meals, drinks far too much beer and is quite fussy about language, sometimes charging clients higher fees -- and his fees are prodigious -- if they dare to use "Contact" as a verb.
His stories are narrated by Archie Goodwin. Goodwin is a first-class private eye, tall, strong, handsome, brave, with a photographic memory. He has a thousand jobs with Wolfe, but the two main ones are these: He does all the actual "Investigating" when Wolfe is hired to solve a mystery. He visits crime scenes, questions witnesses, gathers evidence, takes notes, memorizes conversations. Then, later, back at the office, he tells Wolfe all that he learned, often verbatim. Wolfe then solves the case. His second job is to ride Wolfe and make sure he actually works. Wolfe is a deeply lazy man, and would end up penniless and homeless without Archie Goodwin to hector and annoy him into doing his job. Goodwin is likeable and sarcastic, and forgets nothing. Archie will do a fairly good job of introducing you to other characters, so trust him to guide you: Wolfe won't always play fair with him, but he will always play fair with you.
Most of you know "Doctor Who" at least from the new series, so you'll know the Tenth Doctor and Martha Jones. Later, we'll be spending time with the Third Doctor and Jo Grant, who few of you will know, but I hope you'll give them a chance.
To the best of my ability, though, this story will be told in the fashion of a Nero Wolfe mystery story, so please be prepared for that point of view.
One more point about the Wolfe characters: They don't age. It was a deliberate choice by the author: From 1934's "Fer de Lance" to 1975's "A Family Affair," published just a month before the death of Stout, Wolfe has remained in his fifties and Archie in his early 30s, while world events stay current and pointed. This is at times very "In your face:" In 1964's "A Right to Die," 50-ish Wolfe and 30-ish Archie are hired by character from 1936's "Too Many Cooks," who explicitly states that they first and last met him 28 years before. That's just the fact of the Wolfe universe, and one I'm adhering to, with an opening chapter set in 1968 before the story picks up in "The Present Day."
So I hope you'll come along with me and meet Wolfe and Archie. If you like them -- and I believe you will, or I wouldn't be here -- pick up Stout's original books: they're still easy to find. I also recomend the recent A&E TV Series "A Nero Wolfe Adventure" starring Maury Chaykin as Wolfe and Timothy Hutton as Archie, seen in my Icon.
A great source for a lot of information on this intrepid pair can be seen at Nero Wolfe's Wikipedia Entry.
The short form:
Born in the Balkan state of Montenegro, Nero Wolfe is a genius, an eccentric, an agoraphobe, and probably the greatest private detective in the world.
He lives in a brownstone house at 922 East 35th Street, in New York City, with his able assistant, Archie Goodwin, and his chef and housekeeper, Fritz Brenner. He is a very fat man (at least the whippet-thin Rex Stout, who created him, thought so, referring frequently to his seventh of a ton. That's only 285 pounds, but Stout, who was probably about 160 pounds soaking wet, probably thought that prodigious.) a gourmand, chef, and orchid grower who never leaves his house on business, and keeps rigidly to a schedule: From nine to eleven each morning, and from four to six each afternoon, he ascends in his private elevator to the greenhouse on the roof of his three-story residence to work with his orchids, assisted by a daytime employee named Theodore Horstmann, who is seldom seen. Wolfe will not discuss business at meals, drinks far too much beer and is quite fussy about language, sometimes charging clients higher fees -- and his fees are prodigious -- if they dare to use "Contact" as a verb.
His stories are narrated by Archie Goodwin. Goodwin is a first-class private eye, tall, strong, handsome, brave, with a photographic memory. He has a thousand jobs with Wolfe, but the two main ones are these: He does all the actual "Investigating" when Wolfe is hired to solve a mystery. He visits crime scenes, questions witnesses, gathers evidence, takes notes, memorizes conversations. Then, later, back at the office, he tells Wolfe all that he learned, often verbatim. Wolfe then solves the case. His second job is to ride Wolfe and make sure he actually works. Wolfe is a deeply lazy man, and would end up penniless and homeless without Archie Goodwin to hector and annoy him into doing his job. Goodwin is likeable and sarcastic, and forgets nothing. Archie will do a fairly good job of introducing you to other characters, so trust him to guide you: Wolfe won't always play fair with him, but he will always play fair with you.
Most of you know "Doctor Who" at least from the new series, so you'll know the Tenth Doctor and Martha Jones. Later, we'll be spending time with the Third Doctor and Jo Grant, who few of you will know, but I hope you'll give them a chance.
To the best of my ability, though, this story will be told in the fashion of a Nero Wolfe mystery story, so please be prepared for that point of view.
One more point about the Wolfe characters: They don't age. It was a deliberate choice by the author: From 1934's "Fer de Lance" to 1975's "A Family Affair," published just a month before the death of Stout, Wolfe has remained in his fifties and Archie in his early 30s, while world events stay current and pointed. This is at times very "In your face:" In 1964's "A Right to Die," 50-ish Wolfe and 30-ish Archie are hired by character from 1936's "Too Many Cooks," who explicitly states that they first and last met him 28 years before. That's just the fact of the Wolfe universe, and one I'm adhering to, with an opening chapter set in 1968 before the story picks up in "The Present Day."
So I hope you'll come along with me and meet Wolfe and Archie. If you like them -- and I believe you will, or I wouldn't be here -- pick up Stout's original books: they're still easy to find. I also recomend the recent A&E TV Series "A Nero Wolfe Adventure" starring Maury Chaykin as Wolfe and Timothy Hutton as Archie, seen in my Icon.
This moment moved me to tears. It stunned and awed me that we paused in the middle of something as gigantic as a change of government to hear four of the world's greatest musical talents -- five if you count composer John Williams -- making this somber, ethereal, challenging music...
And how lovely was it seeing these four -- especially Yo Yo Ma -- smiling at one another, digging on one another -- jamming, even while holding note-to-note to the composed score of rehearsed music.
Glorious!
And how lovely was it seeing these four -- especially Yo Yo Ma -- smiling at one another, digging on one another -- jamming, even while holding note-to-note to the composed score of rehearsed music.
Glorious!
The outgoing President's words tonight:
Good and evil are present in this world, and between the two there can be no compromise. Murdering the innocent to advance an ideology is wrong every time, everywhere. Freeing people from oppression and despair is eternally right.
So where does that leave room for:
The top Bush administration official in charge of deciding whether to bring Guantanamo Bay detainees to trial has concluded that the U.S. military tortured a Saudi national who allegedly planned to participate in the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks, interrogating him with techniques that included sustained isolation, sleep deprivation, nudity and prolonged exposure to cold, leaving him in a "life-threatening condition."
"We tortured [Mohammed al-]Qahtani," said Susan J. Crawford, in her first interview since being named convening authority of military commissions by Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates in February 2007. "His treatment met the legal definition of torture. And that's why I did not refer the case" for prosecution.
Mr. President? You need to know this: Torture is always, eternally evil.
And if there can be no compromise between good and evil, as a man who ordered torture, it's clear which side you are on.
Good and evil are present in this world, and between the two there can be no compromise. Murdering the innocent to advance an ideology is wrong every time, everywhere. Freeing people from oppression and despair is eternally right.
So where does that leave room for:
The top Bush administration official in charge of deciding whether to bring Guantanamo Bay detainees to trial has concluded that the U.S. military tortured a Saudi national who allegedly planned to participate in the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks, interrogating him with techniques that included sustained isolation, sleep deprivation, nudity and prolonged exposure to cold, leaving him in a "life-threatening condition."
"We tortured [Mohammed al-]Qahtani," said Susan J. Crawford, in her first interview since being named convening authority of military commissions by Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates in February 2007. "His treatment met the legal definition of torture. And that's why I did not refer the case" for prosecution.
Mr. President? You need to know this: Torture is always, eternally evil.
And if there can be no compromise between good and evil, as a man who ordered torture, it's clear which side you are on.
First and foremost, on behalf of Cindy and myself, many, many thanks for all the concern and support. It was really appreciated.
Cindy was released yesterday, and is home and doing well.
A bit of clarification about the gallstones: Cindy has, in the past, had three attacks, and those were incrdibly painful, but she was not in any ongoing pain from her gallbladder. The thing is that drastic weightloss will often trigger gallbladder attacks, and indeed, the release and passage of gallstones, so the removal of the gallbladder was scheduled as part of the bariatric surgery. The surgery is performed through very small incisions -- five of them, none larger than three-quarters of an inch -- and in order to remove the gallbladder through one of these tiny incisions... Well, imagine a cloth drawstring bag. Imagine pulling it through a hole three-quarters of an inch across. Now imagine pulling it through the same hole if it's got 55 marbles in it. Can't be done. You have to reach through the hole, open the bag, remove the marbles, pull them out through the hole, one by one, and then you can get the bag itself. That's what happened here (Although I doubt very much any of the stones were as big as a marble) and thus why we have a count on gallstones.
So here we sit at home, Cindy walking up and down the hallway of our trailer every now and again -- it's too cold and icy to do it outside -- and settle back into our old, but now re-shaping, lives.
Thanks again, everybody, for your care and support.
Cindy was released yesterday, and is home and doing well.
A bit of clarification about the gallstones: Cindy has, in the past, had three attacks, and those were incrdibly painful, but she was not in any ongoing pain from her gallbladder. The thing is that drastic weightloss will often trigger gallbladder attacks, and indeed, the release and passage of gallstones, so the removal of the gallbladder was scheduled as part of the bariatric surgery. The surgery is performed through very small incisions -- five of them, none larger than three-quarters of an inch -- and in order to remove the gallbladder through one of these tiny incisions... Well, imagine a cloth drawstring bag. Imagine pulling it through a hole three-quarters of an inch across. Now imagine pulling it through the same hole if it's got 55 marbles in it. Can't be done. You have to reach through the hole, open the bag, remove the marbles, pull them out through the hole, one by one, and then you can get the bag itself. That's what happened here (Although I doubt very much any of the stones were as big as a marble) and thus why we have a count on gallstones.
So here we sit at home, Cindy walking up and down the hallway of our trailer every now and again -- it's too cold and icy to do it outside -- and settle back into our old, but now re-shaping, lives.
Thanks again, everybody, for your care and support.
Just heard from the surgeon: Operation is completed successfully, and Cindy will be in recovery for about 90 minutes, then moved to a room where I can see her.
The Bypass went flawlessly, and while they were in there, they removed her gallbladder, with which she had had previous problems, and found FIFTY-FIVE gallstones in it!
All is well.
The Bypass went flawlessly, and while they were in there, they removed her gallbladder, with which she had had previous problems, and found FIFTY-FIVE gallstones in it!
All is well.
As I type this, my wife is undergoing Bariatric (weight loss) Surgery: Gastric Bypass, not Gastric Banding. She's been in since about 7:30 AM, and should be out of surgery at about 9:30 AM -- about a half-hour from now. Thereafter, she should be ready to see me in another two hours or so.
Whee!
Whee!
Click and Listen!
Best part: the pause after "Protected by..." Just long enough to make you think it's something cool ("...a squadron of killer shrews with bat-wings!") before its disappointing confession of ordinariness.
On December 23rd of 1968, aboard a tiny craft, three human beings left the Earth. For the first time ever, human beings looked out the window of a spacecraft and watched their homeworld recede behind them.
This was a time before the Moon was a "Place." I've spoken and written of this often, but I'm not sure those of you too young to remember it can really understand the impact. I say "Moon," and you think of a place, of rolling grey hills that show no jagged edges, of people bundled up in comical padded suits, hopping across the landscape like bunnies. Oh, sure, you also think of the light in the sky. The bit of nighttime scenery, the playful crescent, the spooky Hallowe'en orb. But you also see those gently rolling hills.
And that began with Frank Borman, Jim Lovell, and William Anders, 70 miles above the Lunar surface, seeing an actual landscape.
And on Christmas eve, from a place closer to that barren, alien world, than I am to any of my LJ friends (Save possibly![[info]](http://l-stat.livejournal.com/img/userinfo.gif)
modestyrabnott) the voices of three human beings spoke to the entire human race. They read the first ten verses of "Genesis" from the King James Bible -- a specifically Christian and generally religious choice I am not entirely comfortable with -- and wished the best to the people of the world that they had, for that moment, left behind.
And they showed us something that changed everything. They showed us that our world, the entire length and breadth of all human experience -- save theirs -- was all entirely contained within what the moon had been until that moment: a tiny, fragile, lonely light in the sky.
Politicians like to tell us that there is more that unites us than divides us. It's truer than their callow platitudes can imagine. Democrat and Republican, Liberal and Conservative, American and Briton and Australian and German and Iraqi and Afghanistani and Russian and Chinese, Christian and Jew and Muslim and Buddhist and Hindu... All of us live side by side on this big blue marble, on this light in the sky that a man on the moon could hide behind his thumbnail.
And humankind saw that, as we watched, for the very first time, the small, fragile earth rising from behind the horizon of another world.
So I wish to you all, all my sisters and brothers and neighbors on this fragile planet, the same good wishes that Messrs Borman, Lovell, and Anders offered to theirs, from that unique viewpoint:
"Good night, good luck, a Merry Christmas, and God bless all of you, all of you on the good Earth."
This was a time before the Moon was a "Place." I've spoken and written of this often, but I'm not sure those of you too young to remember it can really understand the impact. I say "Moon," and you think of a place, of rolling grey hills that show no jagged edges, of people bundled up in comical padded suits, hopping across the landscape like bunnies. Oh, sure, you also think of the light in the sky. The bit of nighttime scenery, the playful crescent, the spooky Hallowe'en orb. But you also see those gently rolling hills.
And that began with Frank Borman, Jim Lovell, and William Anders, 70 miles above the Lunar surface, seeing an actual landscape.
And on Christmas eve, from a place closer to that barren, alien world, than I am to any of my LJ friends (Save possibly
modestyrabnott) the voices of three human beings spoke to the entire human race. They read the first ten verses of "Genesis" from the King James Bible -- a specifically Christian and generally religious choice I am not entirely comfortable with -- and wished the best to the people of the world that they had, for that moment, left behind.And they showed us something that changed everything. They showed us that our world, the entire length and breadth of all human experience -- save theirs -- was all entirely contained within what the moon had been until that moment: a tiny, fragile, lonely light in the sky.
Politicians like to tell us that there is more that unites us than divides us. It's truer than their callow platitudes can imagine. Democrat and Republican, Liberal and Conservative, American and Briton and Australian and German and Iraqi and Afghanistani and Russian and Chinese, Christian and Jew and Muslim and Buddhist and Hindu... All of us live side by side on this big blue marble, on this light in the sky that a man on the moon could hide behind his thumbnail.
And humankind saw that, as we watched, for the very first time, the small, fragile earth rising from behind the horizon of another world.
So I wish to you all, all my sisters and brothers and neighbors on this fragile planet, the same good wishes that Messrs Borman, Lovell, and Anders offered to theirs, from that unique viewpoint:
"Good night, good luck, a Merry Christmas, and God bless all of you, all of you on the good Earth."
We had an Ice Storm overnight, and while we've had a number of times of hearing things falling on the roof of our trailer and rattling and sliding off, we've had no problems. Across the street, however...
( See the damage my neighbors woke up to )
( See the damage my neighbors woke up to )
Two songs by j_on_lj, both about 12 years old. I provided a teeny bit of help with the lyrics, but they're really Geoff's and they're fucking brilliant!
"Country Song"
( Lyrics )
j_on_lj, both about 12 years old. I provided a teeny bit of help with the lyrics, but they're really Geoff's and they're fucking brilliant!So Click the big, bold titles, and enjoy...
I don't think there's a songwriter in our generation who could write a better line than, "Wishin' that I didn't want to say, your place or my car?"
In 1990, Stephen Bochco, fresh from his triumph with Hill Street Blues, offered something never before seen on series television:
A dark, gritty, cynical, dangerous cop show... That was a musical.
Critics laughed, and audiences shunned the series.
They were idiots. The fact of the matter is, this series was an amazing piece of writing, and the songs, more often than not, carried the weight and force of Shakespearian Soliloquies.
Here, as an example, is Rod McClarty performing a song that completely defines his character, and remakes how we'll view and understand him for the rest of the series:
A dark, gritty, cynical, dangerous cop show... That was a musical.
Critics laughed, and audiences shunned the series.
They were idiots. The fact of the matter is, this series was an amazing piece of writing, and the songs, more often than not, carried the weight and force of Shakespearian Soliloquies.
Here, as an example, is Rod McClarty performing a song that completely defines his character, and remakes how we'll view and understand him for the rest of the series:
One of the things I do on the Internet, and have done for years, is manage the Larry Niven Mailing List, "larryniven-l @larryniven-l.org." We don't restrict our discussions to the works of Niven. We're Sci-Fi geeks, and we talk about all sorts of subjects, including, of course, Star Trek. And every time Trek is discussed, some of the economically-conservative folks on the list spout off about how Star Trek's "United Federation of Planets" is communist. It isn't. It's been explicitly stated that it isn't. In fact, the economics of the Federation is a science-fictional projection, just like "Warp Drive" and "Phasers" and "Vulcans." Gene Roddenberry said in numerous interviews that a new economic model has evolved by Star Trek's time, making it unnecessary for people to slave away at a job, making it possible for everyone to have what they need to live and live well, and freeing people to devote themselves to improving their own lives and society instead of just keeping a roof over their head and food on their table. You can't define Star Trek's economics as Communist, Capitalist, or an Anarcho-Syndicalist Commune. It's something new that we can't imagine now, and any attempt to judge it by the standards of some known economic model are doomed to failure.
I've been thinking about this a lot watching news coverage of Barack Obama's transition. The Punditocracy has again and again criticized various moments in the transition as bungles, stumbles, or amatuerish errors. They started with Conservative Republican Butthead Joe Scarbrough (*Special note to tariana: he's not a butthead because he's a Conservative Republican. He's a butt-head because he's a butthead, and I have no doubt he'd agree with the characterization.</span>) who called Rahm Emanuel's on-camera discussion of the pros and cons of accepting the post of White House Chief of Staff a gigantic and amateurish bungle two days after the election, and continues with expressions of bafflement over the public discussion of the negotiations with Senator and President Clinton over vetting and conflicts of interest as they work out how to make her Secretary of State.
The Press apparently covered an entire campaign based on the premise that this is not your father's politics, without ever realizing that this is not your father's politics. It is, rather, a vastly more open, honest, transparent kind of politics, where as much as possible does happen in the public view.
I lived from 1981 to 1986 in Germany, and more than once, during the beginnings of the Iran Contra scandal, I was asked by puzzled Europeans, "What is this American insistance on doing your dirty laundry in public?" I would always answer, "We do our dirty laundry in public because, afterwards, everyone can see that it's clean."
There's not going to be much room for anybody to say that some sneaky back-room crap went into these appointments, because we're seeing all of it.
It's not a bungle. It's a new kind of politics, and the old kind of analysis just won't cover it.
I've been thinking about this a lot watching news coverage of Barack Obama's transition. The Punditocracy has again and again criticized various moments in the transition as bungles, stumbles, or amatuerish errors. They started with Conservative Republican Butthead Joe Scarbrough (*Special note to
tariana: he's not a butthead because he's a Conservative Republican. He's a butt-head because he's a butthead, and I have no doubt he'd agree with the characterization.</span>) who called Rahm Emanuel's on-camera discussion of the pros and cons of accepting the post of White House Chief of Staff a gigantic and amateurish bungle two days after the election, and continues with expressions of bafflement over the public discussion of the negotiations with Senator and President Clinton over vetting and conflicts of interest as they work out how to make her Secretary of State.The Press apparently covered an entire campaign based on the premise that this is not your father's politics, without ever realizing that this is not your father's politics. It is, rather, a vastly more open, honest, transparent kind of politics, where as much as possible does happen in the public view.
I lived from 1981 to 1986 in Germany, and more than once, during the beginnings of the Iran Contra scandal, I was asked by puzzled Europeans, "What is this American insistance on doing your dirty laundry in public?" I would always answer, "We do our dirty laundry in public because, afterwards, everyone can see that it's clean."
There's not going to be much room for anybody to say that some sneaky back-room crap went into these appointments, because we're seeing all of it.
It's not a bungle. It's a new kind of politics, and the old kind of analysis just won't cover it.
The great thing about an Action Figure that comes with a Spare Head...
Posted on 2008.11.20 at 20:54
Is that if you have a spare body around, it's two for the price of one!
The likeness is pretty good, too...
The likeness is pretty good, too...
