As a general note, I always thought, growing up, that Mystery Date looked like the coolest game going. Don’t ask me why — maybe the “This Game Is For Girls,…
As a general note, I always thought, growing up, that Mystery Date looked like the coolest game going. Don’t ask me why — maybe the “This Game Is For Girls, Not You” mystique of it. But I had that song (or a later, truncated version of it) memorized.
The basic concept of it is, in these more enlightened times, appalling (or, PC-wise, oughta be). But there’s still a sort of cultural-history fascination to it.
(via BoingBoing)
Miller said the episode has strained her relationship with her son’s teacher and instructional assistant. She said her son has received an excellent education at the school and hopes it…
Miller said the episode has strained her relationship with her son’s teacher and instructional assistant. She said her son has received an excellent education at the school and hopes it continues.
“There?s still a lot of animosity,” Miller said. “I don’t want any more hurt feelings.”
Perhaps Ms. Miller should have thought of that before she sued her son’s special ed school after an employee there gave her son a (bad) haircut.
Now, I’d be angry if someone at Katherine’s school were to cut her hair without our permission. I’d complain to the person who did it, to the administration, to the school board, whatever.
And that’s it. Because, frankly, life’s too short to worry about someone else’s poor — but essentially benign — judgment. And suing the school district (which settled for $10K rather than incur higher legal costs) is so far beyond the pale, it’s the same as if she burned down the gym in protest. Especially since, if it had been a good haircut, she says she wouldn’t have minded.
But a bad haircut? Call in the lawyers!
And now that she’s been awarded the money that could have gone to fund a paraprofessional, or educational materials, or repainting the walls, she’s concerned that it’s caused “hurt feelings” in the relationship between her and the school.
Feh.
(via DOF)
SF god(dess) Andre Norton has died. Science fiction and fantasy author Andre Norton, who wrote the popular “Witch World” series, has died. She was 93. […] Norton requested before her…
SF god(dess) Andre Norton has died.
Science fiction and fantasy author Andre Norton, who wrote the popular “Witch World” series, has died. She was 93.
[…] Norton requested before her death that she not have a funeral service, but instead asked to be cremated along with a copy of her first and last novels.
Born Alice Mary Norton on February 17, 1912, in Cleveland, she wrote more than 130 books in many genres during her career of nearly 70 years. She used a pen name — which she made her legal name in 1934 — because she expected to be writing mostly for young boys and thought a male name would help sales.
[…] She was the first woman to receive the Grand Master of Fantasy Award from the SFWA in 1977, and she won the Nebula Grand Master Award in 1984.
I have at least a couple of dozen of her books on my bookshelf, and I still regularly reread a number of them. She wrote fabulous space opera and fantasy (and sometimes both), often with common settings, history and technology. The Witch World series was one of her most famous series, but her SF books — the Patrol, the Free Traders, blasters, stunners, veeps, Forerunners, Zacathans, Salariki, the whole lot — were my faves. I’ve probably read The Zero Stone and its sequel a score of times, and I always enjoyed her body-hopping Moon of Three Rings and its sequels. What SF conventions she didn’t originate she at least established in my head as to how an SF universe would work.
If not as flashy as a Heinlein or as erudite as an Asimov, she was still a solid, engaging writer, always balancing the fantastic with the personal.
It’s sad to know she’s gone, though she’s been in ill health for some time. It’s a joy to know that her work will live on.
(via Scott)
Our IBM rep has been hard at work. Lots of interesting developments, per my phone discussion with him this afternoon … First off, they do not have a plug-n-playable replacement…
Our IBM rep has been hard at work. Lots of interesting developments, per my phone discussion with him this afternoon …
First off, they do not have a plug-n-playable replacement system. The A-series Thinkpad is no longer in manufacture, and they have none in stock. Rats. Data transfer and program reinstall is inevitable.
(To be fair, if I used a standard-image notebook, vanilla-configured, this wouldn’t be a huge deal. Since I highly configure my machine, not to mention install nonstandard bits like Firefox and CoH, it is a problem, albeit one I can’t squawk too loudly about.)
He’s still been looking into one of three possibilities (in this order):
I raised the issue that this appeared to be the same problem as last time, and if IBM knows what it fixed then, they could let a local repair shop know and have the part ready. Being out my machine for 36 hours would be better than 3-5 business days (minimum). He doesn’t seem as interested in this, which makes me wonder what IBM tech support is telling him about my problem.
We discussed what level of functionality I’m at (I can get by as long as I’m someplace with a monitor to plug into, which is not conducive to being away from my office desk — e.g., on jury duty on Monday).
I noted that I’d prefer alternative #3 to #2 above — not so much because it would be a new machine (though that’s nice) but because it would mean only a single transfer of data (assuming it doesn’t break, too). And I’d need to do next time I get a new machine anyway, right?
He was very sympathetic to my ongoing problems and present difficulties (in a customer service sort of way — I’m not sure if I’m being treated as a VIP, treated to make me think I’m a VIP, or that I work for a Very Important Company to him), and committed to having a solution for me …
… by COB today.
We’ll see.
Interesting article by Jim Hill on the history of how and why voice artists on a number of big-budget cartoons have been change or dropped, sometimes mid-production, sometimes at the…
Interesting article by Jim Hill on the history of how and why voice artists on a number of big-budget cartoons have been change or dropped, sometimes mid-production, sometimes at the last moment.
Should it be “e-mail” or “email.” I think the hyphen is a must, but, then, I’m an unhip fuddy-duddy (and probably guilty of eliding it myself on more than one…
Oh, yeah. Warner Bros. and Silver Pictures have found their man for “Wonder Woman,” tapping “Buffy the Vampire Slayer” creator Joss WhedonJoss Whedon to write and direct. Joel Silver and…
Warner Bros. and Silver Pictures have found their man for “Wonder Woman,” tapping “Buffy the Vampire Slayer” creator Joss WhedonJoss Whedon to write and direct.
Joel Silver and Leonard Goldberg will produce the live-action feature, based on the DC Comics character created by William Moulton Marston. No start date has been set.
I am very, very interested on seeing Joss’ take on this character.
(via the Beat)
UPDATE: Much better article here.
“Wonder Woman is the most iconic female heroine of our time, but in a way, no one has met her yet,” Whedon said. “What I love most about icons is finding out what’s behind them, exploring the price of their power. When Joel and I began discussing the character, I realized there is a woman behind the legend who is very fascinating, very uncompromising, and in her own way, almost vulnerable. She’s someone who doesn’t belong in this world, and since everyone I know feels that way about themselves, the character clicked for me.”
Sounds very Whedonesque. Cool.
And the teaser pic is a drawing by Adam Hughes (AH!), who’s done some of the best WW covers in recent history.
(via Doyce, natch)
The House of Bishops of the Episcopal Church has decided, faced with insistence from the Anglican Communion that it not appoint any new gay bishops, to not appoint any bishops…
The House of Bishops of the Episcopal Church has decided, faced with insistence from the Anglican Communion that it not appoint any new gay bishops, to not appoint any bishops for at least a year.
Interesting.
It’s sort of a passive-aggressive response — it accedes to the demand, but does it in a way that is clearly temporary, and that makes it clear that the underlying demand is not something they’re willing to go along with.
Singling out gay bishops would have “placed an unfair burden on a group of people in this church, which would be the gay and lesbian contingent,” said Bishop Chane, who holds liberal views on homosexuality. “We believed that needed to be a burden shared by all of us in the church.”
[…] Six Episcopal dioceses scheduled to elect new bishops in the next year will be affected by the moratorium on new bishops, said the Rev. Jan Nunley, a church spokeswoman. They are the Dioceses of Eastern Michigan, South Carolina, Southern Ohio, Southwest Florida, Tennessee and West Texas. Episcopal Church dioceses elect their own bishops, but the selections require approval by broader church bodies.
And it puts the whole subject back in front of the triennial General Convention in 2006.
The 140 bishops at the meeting, in Navasota, northwest of Houston, also pledged not to bless the union of same-sex couples for a year, or to authorize “public rites” for such ceremonies.
But the wording of their statement, which they called a “covenant” and issued late Tuesday, left open the possibility that priests who believed that blessing same-sex unions was “pastoral care” could still do so.
Depending on where you stand on the issues, you can see all this as being conciliatory, defiant, unresponsive, or passing the buck. But it’s not clear how they could have done much else without seriously torquing off one or the other side in this matter; this way, at least, they only (hopefully) mildly torque off both sides.
Rough(er) times ahead, I suspect.
Margie usually ends up making this for some church ed class dinner around this time of year (e.g., this week), and everyone loves it. Of course, its actual connection with…
Margie usually ends up making this for some church ed class dinner around this time of year (e.g., this week), and everyone loves it.
Of course, its actual connection with the Irish is a lot more limited than popularly thought:
When the Irish emigrated to America and Canada, where both salt and meat were cheaper, they treated beef the same way they would have treated a “bacon joint” at home in Ireland: they soaked it to draw off the excess salt, then braised or boiled it with cabbage, and served it in its own juices with only minimal spicing – may be a bay leaf or so, and some pepper.
This dish, which still turns up on some Irish tables at Easter, has become familiar to people of Irish descent as the traditional favorite to serve on Saint Patrick’s Day. Certainly, there will be many restaurants in Ireland that will be serving Corned Beef and Cabbage on March 17th, but most of them will be doing so just to please the tourists.
The truth is, that for many Irish people, Corned Beef is too “poor” or plain to eat on a holiday: they’d sooner make something more festive.
Of course, St Patrick’s day is a much bigger thing in the US than it is in Ireland, too.
(via J-Walk)
Um … yeah, right. Now there’s a candle that lets you experience the scent of Jesus, and they’ve been selling out by the case. “We see it as a ministry,…
Um … yeah, right.
Now there’s a candle that lets you experience the scent of Jesus, and they’ve been selling out by the case.
“We see it as a ministry, ” says Bob Tosterud, who together with his wife came up with the idea for the candle.
Light up the candle called “His Essence” and its makers say you’ll experience the fragrance of Christ.
Uh … and to quote the excellent BoingBoing headline for this, “Jesus Christ, what is that smell?”
Bob Tosterud and wife Karen say the formula is all spelled out in Psalm 45.
“It’s a Messianic Psalm referring to when Christ returns and his garments will have the scent of myrrh, aloe and cassia,” says Karen Tosterud.
Wondering what that must smell like, Karen Tosterud ordered those oils, a combination that produces sort of a flowery, cinnamon aroma.
Okay, well, I guess I can see that. Still, it seems a bit … um … kitschy. And I’m not sure, to be honest, how literally you should take Ps. 45, especially if you’re considering it to describe the Messiah. I don’t recall, for example, Jesus girding a sword to his side, or having “the queen in gold of Ophir” standing next to him much, let alone the daughter of the king of Tyre and her accompanying virgins.
Obviously I have my allegory and my literalism mixed up. Frankly, I suspect the apostles probably experienced a rather different scent of Jesus during those long days on the road in Palestine …
The scale read 198 this morning. Shifted myself around a couple of times, to make sure it was reading accurately. Yup. Hoody-hoo! First time I’ve dropped below the 200 mark…
The scale read 198 this morning.
Shifted myself around a couple of times, to make sure it was reading accurately. Yup.
Hoody-hoo!
First time I’ve dropped below the 200 mark in — well, it can probably be measured in decades. Ahem. Amazing what happens when …
… you’re busy in the evening with various hobbies that you are reluctant to leave your keyboard during. Idle hands and mobile butts make for nibbling.
… you don’t have bags or boxes of stuff to nibble around, in eyeshot, or easily accessible without accountability.
… you reduce your wine and beer consumption significantly as part of some sort of Lenten thang.
Now, keeping it off may be another matter, but, so far, so good.
Onward and downward!
In honor of my sainted Irish grandmother, Ruth (Reilly) Hill, a lengthy church biography of St. Patrick….
In honor of my sainted Irish grandmother, Ruth (Reilly) Hill, a lengthy church biography of St. Patrick.
Okay, I must confess I’m really interested in opening up the “Biblical impotence pi11s” spam I just received at the office. I mean, conceptually, I’d love to see how they…
Okay, I must confess I’m really interested in opening up the “Biblical impotence pi11s” spam I just received at the office. I mean, conceptually, I’d love to see how they spin that.
(after a few moments …)
How disappointing. No references to chastising rods or anything else like that. Just interesting spelling for “Vicodin” and “Pill,” and a note that “this product is a 43 year definite product.”
Ah, well.
Our procurement liaison with IBM has been working our IBM rep to do something. I wrote a firm, civil, politely threatening e-mail to same, indicating what level of service I…
Our procurement liaison with IBM has been working our IBM rep to do something. I wrote a firm, civil, politely threatening e-mail to same, indicating what level of service I found (un)acceptable, and was pleased to play off of both our procurement lady’s reference to me as one of our “senior IT managers” and my formal title as “Director.”
None of which is the sort of game I usually play, but it seems to have worked, kinda, in this case. Dude has now committed to shipping me out a loaner if they can find one that’s plug-and-play compatible with what I have on my hard drive.
I should know more tomorrow. Here’s hoping …
The Top 11 Geek Adages, including: You can’t teach an old dog new tricks, unless you update its drivers, firmware, and reboot it at least 3 times. Heh. (via GeekPress)…
The Top 11 Geek Adages, including:
You can’t teach an old dog new tricks, unless you update its drivers, firmware, and reboot it at least 3 times.
Heh.
(via GeekPress)
Forbes lists the Top Ten “This Company Sucks” Sites. Fun. I am, however, the Number Two unique Google site for “US Bank Sucks.”…
Forbes lists the Top Ten “This Company Sucks” Sites. Fun.
I am, however, the Number Two unique Google site for “US Bank Sucks.”
So … how far can you fall without dying? Hmmm. Don’t try this at home, kids. (via GeekPress)…
Interesting overview here of the implications around Pope John Paul II’s frail health, including: While the pope is sick, who’s running the church? If the pope is unable to speak,…
Interesting overview here of the implications around Pope John Paul II’s frail health, including:
Leaking rumor has it that IE7 (due for beta this summer, production sometime next year, or so M$ says), will not only feature New, Improved Security, but will integrate M$’s…
Leaking rumor has it that IE7 (due for beta this summer, production sometime next year, or so M$ says), will not only feature New, Improved Security, but will integrate M$’s New, Improved Anti-Spyware Software and (gasp!) tabbed browsing and (wow!) a built-in news aggregator.
Hmmm. Sorta like Firefox. Big surprise. “Don’t bother installing that browser,” M$ seems to be coyly saying, “since we’ll (eventually) have something that has the same faboo feature list. Zowee! And it will have the Micro$oft name on it!”
I don’t use my snooze bar on my alarm clock. Being a lazy man, and a creature of habit, if I started using the snooze bar, I’d never get up….
I don’t use my snooze bar on my alarm clock. Being a lazy man, and a creature of habit, if I started using the snooze bar, I’d never get up.
Unless I had a Clocky, that is. Hit the snooze bar on it, and it will roll away and hide someplace in the room.
Gads. Just what I need — an alarm clock that acts like a four-year-old.
(via GeekPress)
