October 8, 2003
Is anyone other than me just stunned by Arnold’s win in California? Nothing against the guy, but it just seems bizarre. What experience or qualifications does he have? It just seems like a surreal Philip K. Dick novel. Of course, what qualifications would any politician need, you might ask.
I guess the governor-elect will build his staff from brain trust guys and savvy politicians. What a wild world we live in.
October 7, 2003
October 6, 2003
I realized that I forgot to mention the theremin in the Rocketman recording. It’s an amazing musical instrument, unfortunately often limited in public perception to old ’50s scifi movie sounds. It’s currently enjoying a rebirth in popularity and interest on the Internet, although only a few theremins remain in existence. Howard Mossman, the father of my friend Jan Mossman from high school, is a well-respected figure in the theremin community (here’s a pic of Mr. M with one of his theremins, about 9 pics down on the page).
In the Rocketman recording you can hear the theremin if you listen, especially twenty seconds before the end where the musician lets out a ’50s scifi movie riff with the instrument.
October 6, 2003
In answer to queries, no–Certified Sabbath Mode is not a joke. I assume that Orthodox Jews would follow the Kosher law, and perhaps Conservatives–I’m not sure about Reformed Jews (yep, I paid attention during world religions class).
October 5, 2003
This American Life on PRI had a fascinating show on today (October 5, 2003), a show completely comprised of stories drawn from the classified ads in the Chicago Sun-Times. One highlight was a studio session that recorded a cover of Elton John’s Rocketman using musicians drawn separately and completely from the classified ads. People’s stories are fascinating; I think that’s really what it’s all about on this Earth, isn’t it? When you take away the rest, people are what truly matter on this mortal coil.
October 3, 2003
We bought a range today, since the old one blew out parts last week that couldn’t be replaced (it’s pretty old). The new one comes with a feature called “Certified Sabbath Mode.”
Wow.
Apparently this mode means that we can turn it on Friday night and leave it on all Saturday to keep food warm so that we don’t violate the Sabbath by working. Huh. Shame we’re not Jewish.
Speaking of the Sabbath, how did we ever shift it from Saturday to Sunday? Was it really a pagan thing that was absorbed by the Catholic church 1,500 years ago?
These are the things that keep me up at night. If anything kept me up, that is.
October 2, 2003
When I was four years old I watched a movie on TV called The Screaming Skull. At least I think it was called “the screaming skull.” It scared the heck of me, whatever it was called.
Now I deal with the screaming speedometer cable. It’s actually just a squeaking cable, but it gets really annoying. This is in my old Subaru, not the new van. I kept the old Sooby Doo around to have an emergency car, but it’s also good for a high-mpg vehicle since the van gets under 15mpg at times. I drove it this week, though, and the car instantly and vocally brought the squeak up to me.
The squeaking gets loud in cold weather (of which there was much this week), and it reminded me of one reason we were glad to get the van. It’s not crippling, though, and if you turn the stereo up enough…
Of course, at “Dave” volume on the stereo, it’s hard to hear anything else. (grin)
October 1, 2003
There are some things you just can’t predict in your career as a parent, things you never envision yourself saying. To wit: “YOU HAVE TWO MINUTES TO PUT THE BEARD ON THE FROG AND THEN I WANT YOU UPSTAIRS IN THE BATHROOM NUDIE-BUTT AND READY FOR YOUR BATH! NO MORE STALLING!!”
It would at least have made more sense if Denise was saying it to the kids instead of me…(yes, I’m just kidding–you doubted?).
