October 13, 2003
I’m not sure what to make of this page when I click on the “Shake it Up” button. How did they do that?
However, in truth James Bond liked his martinis stirred, not shaken–read the original books by Ian Fleming to see. The movies got it backward–I’m not sure why.
October 13, 2003
I have Lord of the Rings Trilogy triple showing tickets for December 16! All three movies at once! 2:00 pm to 1:30am! Over ten hours of movie time! I have the tickets that sold out within hours! I have the tickets that others are begging for! BWAHAHAHAHAAAAAA!!!!
Man, I hope I can watch ten hours of movies. I think I may have gone off the deep end this time.
But it’s a fun ride…
October 13, 2003
Me: So Alyssa, what did you do at day care today?
Alyssa: Let’s not talk about it at all right now, OK Dad?
This is typical language and vocabulary from my five year old. My main task in the years ahead will be to rein her in until her true maturity catches up a bit with her perceived mental maturity. It’s not an easy task–at times Denise and I both forget a bit that Alyssa’s not much, much older. Parenting is a complex business using a simple compass to point the way.
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 8, 2003
October 7, 2003
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 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 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.
