I started blogging about my new MacBook, and it somehow devolved into an admission of how geeky Alex and I are, and how this is revealed by our computer naming scheme.
Sigh.
Showing posts with label starwars. Show all posts
Showing posts with label starwars. Show all posts
10.16.2008
6.22.2008
Solo Weekend
So, Alex is now in St. Petersburg; he informs me that as he is nine hours ahead of us, he'll shortly look up the winning lotto numbers and give them to me. Heh.
In any case, I'm off to ALA in Anaheim early Thursday am, and he's back in Texas the day afterward... I'll be back late the following Monday. We do get around these days.
Yesterday, my department enjoyed a lovely party at Clarice's house. Four of us ladies actually stayed in the pool until 10pm. 'Twas quite nice; I haven't been night-swimming in quite a while, and I've sorely missed Clarice since her retirement a few weeks ago. I stayed to chat with the last stragglers until 11pm, and was back in McKinney at midnight, then groggily woken up at 6:30 by Alex's call to say he was at his layover in London. Then it was off to church with pals Amy and Jaime, who also treated me to a scrumptious lunch of breakfast tacos, and rushed home for my first IM-session with Alex, once he finally got to his St. Petersburg hotel. We talked about Russian traffic and vessel sinks, primarily. (Ah, the joys of house-building.)
I believe the only things on my weekend list that actually got accomplished were purchasing a vanity for the new house's downstairs guest bath, and looking at a lot of vessel sinks and faucets. Here it is nearly 10pm and I haven't ripped a single CD, or cleaned my desk, or packed for California, or written any in my novel. Ah, well.
I have discovered this, however: Vader and stormtroopers dancing to Thriller. Which pretty much glows with Pure Awesome, considering it combines two of my greatest delights. Actually, make that three--I was going to say Star Wars and Thriller, but also the concept of a Dance-Off itself. Yep, Pretty Stinkin' Awesome.
In any case, I'm off to ALA in Anaheim early Thursday am, and he's back in Texas the day afterward... I'll be back late the following Monday. We do get around these days.
Yesterday, my department enjoyed a lovely party at Clarice's house. Four of us ladies actually stayed in the pool until 10pm. 'Twas quite nice; I haven't been night-swimming in quite a while, and I've sorely missed Clarice since her retirement a few weeks ago. I stayed to chat with the last stragglers until 11pm, and was back in McKinney at midnight, then groggily woken up at 6:30 by Alex's call to say he was at his layover in London. Then it was off to church with pals Amy and Jaime, who also treated me to a scrumptious lunch of breakfast tacos, and rushed home for my first IM-session with Alex, once he finally got to his St. Petersburg hotel. We talked about Russian traffic and vessel sinks, primarily. (Ah, the joys of house-building.)
I believe the only things on my weekend list that actually got accomplished were purchasing a vanity for the new house's downstairs guest bath, and looking at a lot of vessel sinks and faucets. Here it is nearly 10pm and I haven't ripped a single CD, or cleaned my desk, or packed for California, or written any in my novel. Ah, well.
I have discovered this, however: Vader and stormtroopers dancing to Thriller. Which pretty much glows with Pure Awesome, considering it combines two of my greatest delights. Actually, make that three--I was going to say Star Wars and Thriller, but also the concept of a Dance-Off itself. Yep, Pretty Stinkin' Awesome.
8.31.2007
Weekend O' Fun
It's hard to describe how awesome it was, but I'll try. (I should have allllll the photos up on Flickr at some point this coming weekend.)
Jared drove in from Abilene Friday night, and for once we all went immediately to bed. This is how you can tell how important Star Wars is to us--we all went to bed shortly after midnight on a Friday, voluntarily!
We got up early-ish Saturday and picked up Claire, another friend who just happens to be my GovDocs student assistant, at her home. We all sang along--loudly, if not well--to oldies, thanks to the glories of the Siruis Satellite radio in my Awesome New Ride. (Which, btw, I've named Dreamsicle. It doesn't fit in with my previous car-naming scheme, but sometimes things find their own names, y'know?)
We arrived in Ft. Worth at the Museum of Science and History for their Star Wars exhibit... only to find that the adjacent Will Rodgers Auditorium was hosting a gun show the same day. No parking. Less than no parking. We ended up parking on the grass, crossing our fingers that we wouldn't get a ticket.
Inside, we found... a huge, long line. Because, really, that's what Star Wars geekery is all about. Fans may tell you it's about the imagination or the effects or the really hilariously bad dialog--but when you come down to it, Star Wars is about two things: merchandising, and lines.
Luckily, though, the line moved quickly, and soon we were near the front, where we discovered that the "Special Effects" move at the IMAX was already sold out--primarily because "Harry Potter" had been contracted for four time slots that day, and there weren't enough seats to go around. We groused about it, quickly recovered, got our tickets, and made our way to the exhibit--but we had fifteen minutes before they opened it to our time-slot.
We wandered through an exhibit of the last hundred years or so of the museum's artifacts. Some were neat, some were silly, and some were just plain disturbing. Like the huge display of odd-things-preserved-in-jars. Or the bureau that had a drawer full of neatly-lined-up rodents (aka, my mother-in-law's worst nightmare, neatly encased in the same kind of place that she keeps her socks). We all made appropriately-grossed-out noises and took photos to prove just how inhumane, disgusting, and creepy it all was. I was nostalgically thrilled to see they had a case of phosphorescent rocks with a lightswitch, so you can view them in the dark (well, under blacklight) or the light. When I was five years old, a similar phosphorescent rock exhibit was my favorite thing in the entire San Diego Museum of Natural History. I mean, even more than dino bones, and that says something. (It says something about how extremely nerdy I was as a kid.)
Then, it was the magical time to enter the Star Wars exhibit. It was, all told, a really nice exhibit. It was so gorgeously lit that I hardly used my flash, which made for a few blurry photos, but the atmosphere was worth it. The exhibit blended current/upcoming technologies with the Star Wars equivalents that "inspired" them. They were very hands-on (and therefore fun): build your own levitating Lego car, build/program your own R2-like droid, and this fantastic RTS-like (real-time-strategy game, for those of you who don't Speak Geek--think of Age of Empires) interface. The RTS-like thing had an optical sensor that recognized patterns on cards that you laid out in a table, which represented portions of a city (sanitation unit, water plant, housing, eatery, etc.), which you then laid out to make the citizens "happier" in areas like social, health, etc.
The Star Wars paraphenalia was incredible. There were lots of original costumes, props, and--most fantastic of all--the original models of the vehicles. For all intents and purposes, the "real" Star Destroyer, X-Wing, Millennium Falcon. All four of us had this mouths-open, eyes-wide kind of moment when we saw them. They are simply huge, and so detailed, and... just wow. If you're a Star Wars geek, then you went to this exhibit and therefore you understand. If you're not a Star Wars geek, you wouldn't understand anyway, so I won't bother describing it.
Hours later, we finally pulled ourselves out of the exhibit--and then another hour later, pulled ourselves out of the gift shop. (Remember that second facet of Star Wars culture I mentioned--merchandising?) Alex and I managed to come out only one t-shirt, one bib, and one onesie poorer, which is a tad bit of a miracle (I was sorely tempted by the entire "Infinities" trilogy of comics, though--that is sooo on my wishlist).
We drove back and grabbed some Taco Bell, being starved after all that geeking about. We stopped in downtown McKinney, where we'd planned to attend the Killis Melton Ice Cream Crank-Off... but sadly, they'd already ran out of ice cream and were shutting down. No jalapeno ice cream for us.
Claire and I headed off to Walmart to procure some more traditional ice cream, and other snacky foods to sustain us through the planned Firefly marathon. We all made it through half of the season, but by the end of "Jaynestown" sometime after midnight we had to crash. Claire, the Firefly newbie, was just as enthralled as I'd hoped she would be--the first thing she said after the pilot episode was "Next!" --always a good sign. Then on Monday at work, she informed me she'd already ordered the DVD and soundtrack on Amazon--another browncoat recruited!
And thus was our grand weekend. Rather less ice cream was consumed than was planned, but all in all it was a tremendously geeky good time.
Jared drove in from Abilene Friday night, and for once we all went immediately to bed. This is how you can tell how important Star Wars is to us--we all went to bed shortly after midnight on a Friday, voluntarily!
We got up early-ish Saturday and picked up Claire, another friend who just happens to be my GovDocs student assistant, at her home. We all sang along--loudly, if not well--to oldies, thanks to the glories of the Siruis Satellite radio in my Awesome New Ride. (Which, btw, I've named Dreamsicle. It doesn't fit in with my previous car-naming scheme, but sometimes things find their own names, y'know?)
We arrived in Ft. Worth at the Museum of Science and History for their Star Wars exhibit... only to find that the adjacent Will Rodgers Auditorium was hosting a gun show the same day. No parking. Less than no parking. We ended up parking on the grass, crossing our fingers that we wouldn't get a ticket.
Inside, we found... a huge, long line. Because, really, that's what Star Wars geekery is all about. Fans may tell you it's about the imagination or the effects or the really hilariously bad dialog--but when you come down to it, Star Wars is about two things: merchandising, and lines.
Luckily, though, the line moved quickly, and soon we were near the front, where we discovered that the "Special Effects" move at the IMAX was already sold out--primarily because "Harry Potter" had been contracted for four time slots that day, and there weren't enough seats to go around. We groused about it, quickly recovered, got our tickets, and made our way to the exhibit--but we had fifteen minutes before they opened it to our time-slot.
We wandered through an exhibit of the last hundred years or so of the museum's artifacts. Some were neat, some were silly, and some were just plain disturbing. Like the huge display of odd-things-preserved-in-jars. Or the bureau that had a drawer full of neatly-lined-up rodents (aka, my mother-in-law's worst nightmare, neatly encased in the same kind of place that she keeps her socks). We all made appropriately-grossed-out noises and took photos to prove just how inhumane, disgusting, and creepy it all was. I was nostalgically thrilled to see they had a case of phosphorescent rocks with a lightswitch, so you can view them in the dark (well, under blacklight) or the light. When I was five years old, a similar phosphorescent rock exhibit was my favorite thing in the entire San Diego Museum of Natural History. I mean, even more than dino bones, and that says something. (It says something about how extremely nerdy I was as a kid.)
Then, it was the magical time to enter the Star Wars exhibit. It was, all told, a really nice exhibit. It was so gorgeously lit that I hardly used my flash, which made for a few blurry photos, but the atmosphere was worth it. The exhibit blended current/upcoming technologies with the Star Wars equivalents that "inspired" them. They were very hands-on (and therefore fun): build your own levitating Lego car, build/program your own R2-like droid, and this fantastic RTS-like (real-time-strategy game, for those of you who don't Speak Geek--think of Age of Empires) interface. The RTS-like thing had an optical sensor that recognized patterns on cards that you laid out in a table, which represented portions of a city (sanitation unit, water plant, housing, eatery, etc.), which you then laid out to make the citizens "happier" in areas like social, health, etc.
The Star Wars paraphenalia was incredible. There were lots of original costumes, props, and--most fantastic of all--the original models of the vehicles. For all intents and purposes, the "real" Star Destroyer, X-Wing, Millennium Falcon. All four of us had this mouths-open, eyes-wide kind of moment when we saw them. They are simply huge, and so detailed, and... just wow. If you're a Star Wars geek, then you went to this exhibit and therefore you understand. If you're not a Star Wars geek, you wouldn't understand anyway, so I won't bother describing it.
Hours later, we finally pulled ourselves out of the exhibit--and then another hour later, pulled ourselves out of the gift shop. (Remember that second facet of Star Wars culture I mentioned--merchandising?) Alex and I managed to come out only one t-shirt, one bib, and one onesie poorer, which is a tad bit of a miracle (I was sorely tempted by the entire "Infinities" trilogy of comics, though--that is sooo on my wishlist).
We drove back and grabbed some Taco Bell, being starved after all that geeking about. We stopped in downtown McKinney, where we'd planned to attend the Killis Melton Ice Cream Crank-Off... but sadly, they'd already ran out of ice cream and were shutting down. No jalapeno ice cream for us.
Claire and I headed off to Walmart to procure some more traditional ice cream, and other snacky foods to sustain us through the planned Firefly marathon. We all made it through half of the season, but by the end of "Jaynestown" sometime after midnight we had to crash. Claire, the Firefly newbie, was just as enthralled as I'd hoped she would be--the first thing she said after the pilot episode was "Next!" --always a good sign. Then on Monday at work, she informed me she'd already ordered the DVD and soundtrack on Amazon--another browncoat recruited!
And thus was our grand weekend. Rather less ice cream was consumed than was planned, but all in all it was a tremendously geeky good time.
6.29.2007
Yes, I'm On YouTube Now
And I've even got four videos posted. Three of them are from the 2005 Star Wars Line-Up, and one is from the ALA Book Cart Drill Team competition last Sunday. (I've discovered that my point-and-shoot Kodak is perhaps better at taking short videos than it is taking stills.)
Also, we've got a nice little video camera, so we're going to attempt to record the awesomeness of our fireworks show... this is, of course presuming that it doesn't rain more/still. I heard this morning that Lake Lewisville is at 90% capacity, and the Corps of Engineers plans to drain it soon into the Trinity River (which, being at 39 feet deep and apparently not reaching a problem point for flooding until 62 feet, has plenty of room for the extra H20).
5.29.2007
Vacation Trumps Blogging!
...So I'll be checking in only infrequently, if at all, while Alex and I are in sunny California. At least, I hope it's sunny there--it's certainly not been so sunny in North Texas lately. Hmph.
In the meantime, lest you be bored to tears by the meaninglessness of your life without Starrlett's Stuff, enjoy these great screenshots of Episode III captions that were translated back into English directly from the Chinese captions (thanks, Bryce!). Warning: there is some profanity in a few of these captions, although I must say it's laughably out of context.
In the meantime, lest you be bored to tears by the meaninglessness of your life without Starrlett's Stuff, enjoy these great screenshots of Episode III captions that were translated back into English directly from the Chinese captions (thanks, Bryce!). Warning: there is some profanity in a few of these captions, although I must say it's laughably out of context.
5.08.2007
3.28.2007
[Insert Title Here.... Again]
It weirds me out a little that our church is changing its name--rather drastically--from "Fellowship Bible Church North" to "Chase Oaks Church." It will now have an appended title, "A Fellowship Bible Church," which other associated churches are already using... but it's a bit surreal. They've got good reason, though--our location is moving near the Legacy Theater (where we lived in The Line for Star Wars) at Legacy & Chase Oaks, and they'll also be across the street from a (non-affiliated) Fellowship Church that has been causing some name confusion.
Still. It's like as if my Dad suddenly decided he'd like to be called Hubert.
Speaking of parents, a big congrats to my mom, who just sold her first painting! She sold an acrylic impression of a hydrangea (on canvas) for $75. She's already earned more at her artistic endeavors in 2007 than I have.
Speaking of those R2D2 mailboxes, Alex's cousin David (well, his Dad's cousin, but who's... er... counting) saw one in Houston, so it's been confirmed by a reputable source! Grand Admiral Jared went out looking for the aforementioned Abilene one yesterday, but couldn't locate it, as Barrow doesn't actually cross North 1st. Hopefully, we'll run into it anyway. (Hasn't anyone located one in Dallas yet? C'mon!)
And John Pendolino's radio story must have gone out on Monday without a hitch (I was at breakfast with our interviewee at the time), because our bank guy just called on personal business, and also mentioned that he had heard the story and would like the URL for the CyberCemetery, as he's really interested in old government information.
I'm sitting on news items here that I have to wait out--several that I've been waiting on for awhile. One has been dragged on for awhile, and two should be decided--and therefore able to be discussed--soon, but in the meantime I've just been frustratedly keeping my mouth shut. I'm good with other people's secrets... just not my own!
Still. It's like as if my Dad suddenly decided he'd like to be called Hubert.
Speaking of parents, a big congrats to my mom, who just sold her first painting! She sold an acrylic impression of a hydrangea (on canvas) for $75. She's already earned more at her artistic endeavors in 2007 than I have.
Speaking of those R2D2 mailboxes, Alex's cousin David (well, his Dad's cousin, but who's... er... counting) saw one in Houston, so it's been confirmed by a reputable source! Grand Admiral Jared went out looking for the aforementioned Abilene one yesterday, but couldn't locate it, as Barrow doesn't actually cross North 1st. Hopefully, we'll run into it anyway. (Hasn't anyone located one in Dallas yet? C'mon!)
And John Pendolino's radio story must have gone out on Monday without a hitch (I was at breakfast with our interviewee at the time), because our bank guy just called on personal business, and also mentioned that he had heard the story and would like the URL for the CyberCemetery, as he's really interested in old government information.
I'm sitting on news items here that I have to wait out--several that I've been waiting on for awhile. One has been dragged on for awhile, and two should be decided--and therefore able to be discussed--soon, but in the meantime I've just been frustratedly keeping my mouth shut. I'm good with other people's secrets... just not my own!
3.27.2007
"...What Postcard? The One You're Carrying in Your Rusty Innards!"
I love that I live in a country where they wrap USPS mailboxes like R2D2.
Which brings me to another reason to love mashups: locations of R2D2 mailboxes across the nation. There's one in Fort Worth--and in Abilene! I'll have to make a special trip to see it while we're there this weekend.
3.10.2007
Random, It Is
Okay, so here's a great result in one of those ever-so-fun timewasters, a random movie quote generator. I gave it the word "librarian," and as luck would have it, the generator pulled up one that's ridiculously fitting for me:
2.20.2007
I've Been Flickr-ed
It's weird to search Flickr and find myself in someone else's photo set. Both in and out of costume, I might add! (Yes, still more from the Timothy Zahn signing a few weeks ago.) I'm also pretty sure I found my pal Bryce's pal Ara on Flickr at a similar signing (far left, kneeling).
2.14.2007
As Promised, Geekery
And here's the link to the photos I took at Timothy Zahn's Borders book-signing on 02.07.2007.
So, I never actually wrote about the experience, being as I was busy with a sick Alex, and then busy being sick myself. So here goes.
I walk into Borders a little after 6pm, and immediately upon entering, spot him. Yes, that's Timothy Zahn himself, working at his laptop in the Borders cafe, nobody around to bother him yet. I pause for about thirty seconds, during which he briefly glances up, and no doubt absorbs the goofy "I see a Celebrity of Ultimate Geek" expression on my face. He looks down and wisely pretends not to have seen me. I pull myself together firmly, remind myself that I have been in the same room with this man before, and by golly, I'm not here to make his life a more frustrating experience, and walk off to find a manager or fellow DFWfanforce member.
I find Denise, who's organizing the event, and she shows me where to put my things in the back room--upon which I geek-out again, abeit slightly less so than over Zahn. It's a back room... in a bookstore. Oh, heaven! Then I run out to the bathroom to change into my Pink 7 gear, and come back to find the 501st changing into their armor. Along the way, I run into Helen, one of my fanforce pals from The Line (aka the Bellydancer). Denise gets us to slap stickers on people's books that they brought from home (like my copy of Heir to the Empire). We feel geeky and important.
Jeff, Brandon, and Jonathan from DFWfanforce show up a bit later, and we briefly catch up before I run off to the back room again. Zahn's lining up all the costumed of us to escort him in--I'm placed behind the stormtroopers and in front of Anakin and Vader, who flank Zahn. We all march out to the podium and table that's been set up for him, and all we costumed geeklings form in a V-pattern behind him, like a very, very confused flock of migratory birds.
Zahn talks awhile about what it's been like to write Star Wars EU, then gives a long Q/A session. The length is pretty awesome to listen to, as a fan--but as a gal in a hot costume in a really well-heated Borders, I nearly pass out. Literally--vision starts going and everything. I have to back out of line and sit with my head down while Helen gets me some water--darn that heavy, hot helmet!
I had to leave not to long after that, when the real signing began, and left my books under Helen's protection. I ran by Walmart to get some supplies for the flu-beleagured Alex, and then spent the rest of the evening watching movies with him.
So, I never actually wrote about the experience, being as I was busy with a sick Alex, and then busy being sick myself. So here goes.
I walk into Borders a little after 6pm, and immediately upon entering, spot him. Yes, that's Timothy Zahn himself, working at his laptop in the Borders cafe, nobody around to bother him yet. I pause for about thirty seconds, during which he briefly glances up, and no doubt absorbs the goofy "I see a Celebrity of Ultimate Geek" expression on my face. He looks down and wisely pretends not to have seen me. I pull myself together firmly, remind myself that I have been in the same room with this man before, and by golly, I'm not here to make his life a more frustrating experience, and walk off to find a manager or fellow DFWfanforce member.
I find Denise, who's organizing the event, and she shows me where to put my things in the back room--upon which I geek-out again, abeit slightly less so than over Zahn. It's a back room... in a bookstore. Oh, heaven! Then I run out to the bathroom to change into my Pink 7 gear, and come back to find the 501st changing into their armor. Along the way, I run into Helen, one of my fanforce pals from The Line (aka the Bellydancer). Denise gets us to slap stickers on people's books that they brought from home (like my copy of Heir to the Empire). We feel geeky and important.
Jeff, Brandon, and Jonathan from DFWfanforce show up a bit later, and we briefly catch up before I run off to the back room again. Zahn's lining up all the costumed of us to escort him in--I'm placed behind the stormtroopers and in front of Anakin and Vader, who flank Zahn. We all march out to the podium and table that's been set up for him, and all we costumed geeklings form in a V-pattern behind him, like a very, very confused flock of migratory birds.
Zahn talks awhile about what it's been like to write Star Wars EU, then gives a long Q/A session. The length is pretty awesome to listen to, as a fan--but as a gal in a hot costume in a really well-heated Borders, I nearly pass out. Literally--vision starts going and everything. I have to back out of line and sit with my head down while Helen gets me some water--darn that heavy, hot helmet!
I had to leave not to long after that, when the real signing began, and left my books under Helen's protection. I ran by Walmart to get some supplies for the flu-beleagured Alex, and then spent the rest of the evening watching movies with him.
2.10.2007
"How's the Sicky?"
- Alex is sick with the Flu+, a combination of the flu that's going around, plus the respiratory funk that's going around. Poor guy's miserable.
- Timothy Zahn's book signing (and my costumed appearance as Pink Seven) was fantastic--particularly because I got to hang with my "The Line" pals Helen, Kodiak, Brandon, and Jeff. I missed you guys!! (photos coming soon...)
- Because Alex's been sick since Tuesday evening, we've consumed a lot of media while sitting on the couch: Lost, Smallville, and Heroes, of course, but also Wild Things, Tristram Shandy, Idiocracy, Grilled... I forget the rest. Oh, and a really hilariously pseudo-academic show on how ancient Egypt was populated by aliens who flew heliocopters. I mean, Stargate is more convincing. Honestly.
- This is Working Saturday #2 of 3 for me. Sigh.
1.25.2007
Nerd Alert!
Timothy Zahn will be at the Plano Borders location on February 7th, 7pm.
And Borders is requesting costumed geeks in attendance, so... you know who you are.
1/30 Update: Btw, for those of you who hadn't already heard about Stacey's cameo in the book, Mr. Trey was kind enough to include a funfun link discussing it.
And Borders is requesting costumed geeks in attendance, so... you know who you are.
1/30 Update: Btw, for those of you who hadn't already heard about Stacey's cameo in the book, Mr. Trey was kind enough to include a funfun link discussing it.
1.17.2007
Snow Day!
I also got all four volumes of the Star Wars: A New Hope manga in the mail from BookMooch (which I think brings my total books mooched up to 19!), and Alex and I had a mini-date night consisting of dinner at Chili’s (love that quesadilla explosion salad!) and watching The Illusionist at home (is Paul Giamatti the best or what?). With a break of an hour between those activities during which we picked up Alex’s dad (he had two flat tires) and picked up Alex’s sister from work (she’d taken DART-rail to avoid the ice).
It’s nice to have two days off in one week, but it’s nicer when they’re consecutive days. And for some reason, it makes the next two days at work seem longer than usual. Ah, well!
11.16.2006
Not Creative Enough To Title This Post
Heard on NPR's Morning Edition:
While I was leaving the post office, I ran into my friend Beau, whom I worked with at UNT's Technical Writing Computer Lab sevenages years ago! We had lunch together and caught up; it was so great to see someone who I'd been wondering about off and on. And now he's back in the Art History dept. at UNT--Hooray for reconnections!
Smallville--it's okay and all, the angst is getting lesser... but huzzah for the Green Arrow! Not only does he have a pretty spiffy costume, but he's a fun character with great lines and--gasp--some character depth that is not all about teen angst. Ah, Lex, how you have fallen. (This dys-Lex-ia quiz sounds too funny, btw.)
Unrelated Banter:
- The Book on Bond... but no gadgets in the books?!
- Murtha was interviewed about running for majority leader of the House--and Pelosi says she's all about reforming politics. Way to support a scandal-involved politician, that's all I have to say. Oh, and also: Murtha's one of the most frustrating people I've heard on NPR in the past year. (Okay, that's really all.) Update: Ha ha, Hoyer won!!!
- "Popcorn" (the song) with Latin flavor.
- Teaching kids the science of calories--with pyrotechnics!!
- The Fanboys trailer is finally, finally out! Um... and so far, the funniest scenes are the two involving Star Trek. What's up with that, huh?
- There's a second "Librarian" adventure/B-movie coming up in December. Yes, I'm a sucker for cheap Indiana Jones imitations--it's as good as I'm getting unless Lucas and Spielberg ever actually start Indy 4. (I'm not holding my breath, or I'd have turned blue about six years ago.)
- It didn't win, but American Born Chinese was the first graphic novel nominated for a National Book Award! Woohoo! Of course, one step forward, one step back... there have been several recent challenges to graphic novels in libraries.
- Added to wishlist: "Ology" books, The Stolen Child
While I was leaving the post office, I ran into my friend Beau, whom I worked with at UNT's Technical Writing Computer Lab seven
Smallville--it's okay and all, the angst is getting lesser... but huzzah for the Green Arrow! Not only does he have a pretty spiffy costume, but he's a fun character with great lines and--gasp--some character depth that is not all about teen angst. Ah, Lex, how you have fallen. (This dys-Lex-ia quiz sounds too funny, btw.)
Unrelated Banter:
- Temporary Tattoos--for librarians! Put a little sass on your shushin' arm.
- Homestar Runner has a wiki. That is all.
11.15.2006
His First Time
So I'm not sure how Brandon's Star Wars virgin experiment worked out (he was showing them to his virgin friend not in original or in chronological order, but an interesting one of his own devising)... But Entertainment Weekly got a SWv to watch all six in one night (!) and then write an article about his thoughts. That definitely takes me back to long conversations in The Line.
(They've also got an interesting feature on the 10 Worst Bond Girls, which I'm sure Jared will enjoy as much as I did. And let me cross my fingers one more time to hope that Casino Royale is at least half as spectacular as its trailer, and prove my grumblings about non-dyed hair to be petty.*)
*I was going to link to the post where I whined and moaned about Daniel Craig and the non-dying of his hair, but I can't find it. Hmph.
(They've also got an interesting feature on the 10 Worst Bond Girls, which I'm sure Jared will enjoy as much as I did. And let me cross my fingers one more time to hope that Casino Royale is at least half as spectacular as its trailer, and prove my grumblings about non-dyed hair to be petty.*)
*I was going to link to the post where I whined and moaned about Daniel Craig and the non-dying of his hair, but I can't find it. Hmph.
11.07.2006
It's Election Day...
Did you vote?
I did, and I have the sticker on my cheek to say so. I'll not delve into the wild world of politics here, but let me say: I proudly voted for some R's and some D's, and I fervently hope that Texans never again have to choose between the lesser of six evils.
I hope it doesn't make me a bad documents librarian (or a bad person) that today as I was cataloging CRS Reports, I came across "food as a weapon" -- and my first thought was cafeteria food fights.
Awesome news: I'm going to be writing reviews for FantasyBookSpot! And "They" said that blogging and reading boingboing would get me nowhere... whoever "They" is... Anyway, there are two advance copy (say it with me: ADVAAAANCE COPY) graphic novels and a fantasy novel winging their way to me right now, courtesy of the USPS and FantasyBookSpot. (Thanks, Damon! And yes, Tihleigh, you hate me more than monkeys, I know.)
NPR reported last week that UK citizens are caught on closed-circuit camera on average 300 times a day--and the plan is to extend the cameras to be all-pervasive. I had no idea it was getting that way in England--reeeeeally makes V for Vendetta look timely (again), doesn't it?
I really need to download Firefox 2, and so should you. Speaking of which... Firefox for scholars in the humanities: Zotero.
We leave for Los Angeles in two days!!! Eeek!
Linky-Loos For Your Reading Pleasure:
I did, and I have the sticker on my cheek to say so. I'll not delve into the wild world of politics here, but let me say: I proudly voted for some R's and some D's, and I fervently hope that Texans never again have to choose between the lesser of six evils.
I hope it doesn't make me a bad documents librarian (or a bad person) that today as I was cataloging CRS Reports, I came across "food as a weapon" -- and my first thought was cafeteria food fights.
Awesome news: I'm going to be writing reviews for FantasyBookSpot! And "They" said that blogging and reading boingboing would get me nowhere... whoever "They" is... Anyway, there are two advance copy (say it with me: ADVAAAANCE COPY) graphic novels and a fantasy novel winging their way to me right now, courtesy of the USPS and FantasyBookSpot. (Thanks, Damon! And yes, Tihleigh, you hate me more than monkeys, I know.)
NPR reported last week that UK citizens are caught on closed-circuit camera on average 300 times a day--and the plan is to extend the cameras to be all-pervasive. I had no idea it was getting that way in England--reeeeeally makes V for Vendetta look timely (again), doesn't it?
I really need to download Firefox 2, and so should you. Speaking of which... Firefox for scholars in the humanities: Zotero.
We leave for Los Angeles in two days!!! Eeek!
Linky-Loos For Your Reading Pleasure:
- In case I haven't mentioned it before, Dooce is a comic genius. That, and a big fan of Star Wars costumes.
- PacMan pie chart. Genius.
- Painting of kid riding an AT-AT.
- Motion-capture sketches used to instantly create furniture in liquid plastic. I quote Gareth, "It's something like this which reminds me I'm actually living in the 21st century."
- BSG-themed Halloween comic. Oh, gosh.
- These are the cutest--er, SCARIEST--cupcakes. Ever. (Tihleigh, I want a report back that you already made these.)
- Great costume: going as the Patriot Act.
- Blockbuster's online rental system is now fully integrated with in-store rentals. That way, if you want a new movie that night, just return a movie (either rented online or in-store) to the store, and immediately exchange it for another in-store movie!
- I [heart] the DCAU.
10.10.2006
A Shower of Links
Rain: much-appreciated for my cracked yard.
Same Rain: much-un-appreciated when it completely soaked my pants this morning at work (got a hair dryer?).
Still the Same Rain: much-re-appreciated for its beauty on the window panes, once inside and (relatively) dry with a warm bagel and coffee.
I finally read Ender's Game, after many years of noble intentions. (Thanks, Kali, for reminding me!) I found it very, very interesting--and liked it--although it wasn't exactly what I expected. I'm glad I didn't read it in high school, though; I think the violence would have been a bit much for my sheltered self.
Same Rain: much-un-appreciated when it completely soaked my pants this morning at work (got a hair dryer?).
Still the Same Rain: much-re-appreciated for its beauty on the window panes, once inside and (relatively) dry with a warm bagel and coffee.
I finally read Ender's Game, after many years of noble intentions. (Thanks, Kali, for reminding me!) I found it very, very interesting--and liked it--although it wasn't exactly what I expected. I'm glad I didn't read it in high school, though; I think the violence would have been a bit much for my sheltered self.
- On making up words (a librarian's prerogative, apparently).
- AL Championship Series begins TONIGHT! ARG, why will I be in class??? I think for once, I can't root for the underdog. I'm sorry, I'll normally root for anyone against the Yankees Empire, but it just goes against the nature of the universe for the Tigers to beat the Yankees. It's just... wrong.
- Very interesting take on the season 2 (yes, 2, as in on DVD) opener of "Lost." Those of you who've watched the season 3 opener (Auntie K, I'm looking at you!), read the post and see if the correlation between to two strikes you, as well.
- FaerieChat Session (guess the Shakespearian spoof!).
- Work underway on Clone Wars... Can't say I'm thrilled about the move from 2-D animation to CG, but I'm willing to suspend judgement.
- I [heart] Unshelved.
- What's hard: coming up with meals that are: healthy, convenient, tasty, and cheap. Any pointers?
- I just re-found a poem that I based a painting title on. It makes me feel more than a little silly that, although I remember the painting, I'd forgotten that I got the title from somewhere else. At least I still remember where I got the title for "Tree and Leaf" from.
9.22.2006
A Lazy, Linky Friday
I'm missing two of the five senses--but, oh well.
- An audio treat: orchestral versions of Commodore64 themes.
- A visual wonder: an umbrella that uses wifi to display flickr images (and has a camera in the handle!).
- A tactile feast: an entirely knitted garden. (I know Auntie K is loving this!)
- A mental delight: how physics killed Superman's girlfriend.
- Can't visualize sizes? Check out this neat visualization tool.
- Just for fun: mighty optical illusions.
- The comments are great on this photo of George Lucas, Wicket, and Chewie at the Pasadena Tournament of Roses.
9.18.2006
What You Can Do With Half a Weekend
1. Spring Cleaning in Fall
Alex’s computer room now has twice as much floor-space, and he has several additional items on eBay and a nice stack of items still to be listed.And this in a weekend when I worked Saturday! I took two of those 33-gallon trashbags out yesterday, I have several power supplies to somehow recycle, and a growing pile of things to take to good ol’ Goodwill.
2. To Best Buy... And Back Again
Yes, we bought the much-longed-for Star Wars original trilogy set on DVD. And we're going to return it.
No, it's not defective. It's Lucas, in my opinion, who's defective. We decided to read a DVD-Talk review before we burst the shrinkwrap, since they've been reliable sources in the past. Mentions of few new special features, the lackluster look of the un-restored originals next to last years' beauties, the 4.3 format with black bars instead of true widescreen formatting (!!!), and the fact that we already have the sparklingly-gorgeous-but-wrong special editions on DVD all gave us reason to shake our heads with frustration and be slightly happy that we'll be getting over $60 back from Best Buy.
Oh, did you notice that next year is SW's 30th anniversary? And we all know how Lucasfilm loves to profit off of anniversaries. Here's some speculation/rumor/fact about what will be in the confirmed 2008 "saga" release of all 6 movies in one pack. Perhaps this set will include the deleted scenes that were rumored to be included in the special edition DVDs we all bought. But personally, I can't hold my breath that long.
Here's a fun track record of changes made to the Star Wars Saga.
Unrelated Banter:
Alex’s computer room now has twice as much floor-space, and he has several additional items on eBay and a nice stack of items still to be listed.And this in a weekend when I worked Saturday! I took two of those 33-gallon trashbags out yesterday, I have several power supplies to somehow recycle, and a growing pile of things to take to good ol’ Goodwill.
2. To Best Buy... And Back Again
Yes, we bought the much-longed-for Star Wars original trilogy set on DVD. And we're going to return it.
No, it's not defective. It's Lucas, in my opinion, who's defective. We decided to read a DVD-Talk review before we burst the shrinkwrap, since they've been reliable sources in the past. Mentions of few new special features, the lackluster look of the un-restored originals next to last years' beauties, the 4.3 format with black bars instead of true widescreen formatting (!!!), and the fact that we already have the sparklingly-gorgeous-but-wrong special editions on DVD all gave us reason to shake our heads with frustration and be slightly happy that we'll be getting over $60 back from Best Buy.
Oh, did you notice that next year is SW's 30th anniversary? And we all know how Lucasfilm loves to profit off of anniversaries. Here's some speculation/rumor/fact about what will be in the confirmed 2008 "saga" release of all 6 movies in one pack. Perhaps this set will include the deleted scenes that were rumored to be included in the special edition DVDs we all bought. But personally, I can't hold my breath that long.
Here's a fun track record of changes made to the Star Wars Saga.
Unrelated Banter:
- PS3 Downtime Donations: like SETI@Home or Folding@Home, there are rumors that the PS3 will enable charitably-hearted gamers to donate processor time in their downtime. Neat feature, even though I'd rather spend less and have more fun with a Wii.
- Brown: no longer my enemy. In fact, when speaking of my closet color-dominance, you might say that brown is the new black. (Well, okay, not quite; at least half of my closet will always be black. Brown is more like the new plum.)
- How do we know that Weird Al is a genius? Because his new single, "White and Nerdy," is a delicious parody including two insanely hilarious lines:
- "I'm fluent in javascript as well as Klingon"
- "Only question I ever thought was hard, was do I like Kirk, or do I like Picard"
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