WAG - Brief Restatement of My Lack of Time

Working Conservation Campsite Maintinence Duty is one of the roughest jobs I've ever had.

It's good, honest, hard labor out in the extreme weather (both sun and rain) which is taxing on the body and the mind.

I've compossed several posts out in the field that were later trashed when holes were spotted in the logic, or a tired mind prevented me from recalling important details to the topic. It's the old, having nothing worth saying and not being able to remember what would be worth repeating.

My girlfriend often points out how tired I sound (though I save up most of my fancy, multi-syllable words for our conversations so I don't resemble a caveman too much). It can be difficult to come up with something worth posting with a collected, rested mind.

Working with a scratched and dented, reduced price model makes the equation even more cagey than usual. As I watch the odds get dicey, I realize how I like adjectives that end with the sound -icy (and it's meandering thoughts like that, which slip off target easier than if there was a whole roll of pennies on the tracks, that make the whole thing so difficult).

I'm a state employee, which means I get the Forth of July off, so I'm looking forward to this shortened work week. I return to my moth hunting responsibilities next week, so hopefully posts will become less sporadic, more episodic, and less nomadic (less prone to wanderin').

I will probably continue to make up words though - but thats shouldn't be surpisingic to anyone.

IC! IC! IC!

I'm definately going to sleep now.

The Spel/Gramar Chekcer is mad enough at me anyhow.

Good night.

'IC'

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WAG - Jukebox Definitions of “Love”

Note: Written on Saturday, but not posted till Monday due to internet difficulties, short attention span, and sleep deprivation (in that order). Sorry for the delay.

Today I passed up an opportunity to go to a wedding.

(Further Note: That doesn’t have anything to do with the plot or title of this post, I’m just setting the scene)

Two people from our church are getting married (two elderly widowers that have hooked up). Shortly before my parents left, I was asked if I wanted to go. With such little warning, with no chance to shower, shave, or do the other activities to raise my appearance to something higher than the level of “scraggly street urchin,” I opted not to go.

Instead I watched Muppet Treasure Island on TV.

(I’m heading somewhere with this. Be patient with me for about another 3 paragraphs or so).

It’s one of the better Muppet movies and even though I had missed the first 20 minutes the film easily ensnared my attention for several hours.

I’ve downloaded most of the songs from the soundtrack. After the movie finished, I went to my computer to replay my favorite tunes.

With over 3,000 songs downloaded on my computer, I sometimes have to use the File Keyword Search to track down the songs I’m interested in. I typed in “Love” to find the reggae Ziggy Marley “Love Power” song (that plays over the credits).

(Okay, now we’re on topic. For those of you asking yourselves, “Where is this going?” the answer is “Here.” Enjoy)

The search brought up over 170 files with “love” in the title. Now, not all were songs. There were some “cLOVEr” and “baseball gLOVE” clipart pictures, but the majority of files had to do with various “love songs” (or Patty Loveless, but you know how it goes).

I was a bit surprised by the length of the list. I know love, in all its strange and varied forms, would be a popular subject, but I was still amazed by the fact that so many songs had it in the title, let alone the theme (one would wager the songwriter who had “Love” in the title of all his love songs would be pegged as having a limited creative mind, or was one in great need of a thesaurus).

Anyway, I spent quite some time working through musical renditions of love. And now, a sampling of my… samplings.

First off, of course, Ziggy Marley’s aforementioned “Love Power.” This catchy, snappy island number refers more to brotherly, friendly love. The lyrics, “Love power, stronger than the hurricane, softer than the submarine,” are more about the everyday love friends and family share that helps everyone keep going. It’s short, sweet, and features steel drums. What more can you ask for?

That was soon followed with Phil Collin’s “You Can’t Hurry Love,” a remake of the Supremes classic (also taking up hard drive one my computer, but I prefer this cover because I find it easier to match Phil’s pitches than Diana’s). I actually have the music video of the song that stars Phil Collins in 3 roles (as the lead singer and two grooving Collins in the background singing backup. It’s a funny, cheap special effect video that cracks me up – especially the Phil backup singer in shades). It tells the tale of a person between loves and waiting till that day when the next one comes. The optimistic message of I-know-its-coming-and-I-can’t-force-it-but-I-still-hope-it-will-be-soon helped me get through some rougher patches in the past (and playing now helps me appreciate what I do have).

Red Hot Chili Peppers’s “Love Roller Coaster” is a remake of some square white guy’s original that pales in comparison. Granted the guy probably didn’t have access to an electric guitar and was less likely to play with the lyrics, but when you look at the differences… sigh… no contest. I have to go with the version that actually resembles a musical roller coaster (speeding up, slowing down, playing with the lyrics). This song mirrors the ups, downs, and exhilarating ride love can be when things are going great.

Percy Sledge’s “When a Man Loves a Woman” has long been a sentimental favorite (in the same manner that “1999”, “Live and Let Die,” and “Memory” from Cats – they were all standards from marching band). The story of a man trying to hold on to a woman’s heartless love is touching because the lyrics are true and tell it like it is (“if she’s playing him for a fool, he’s the last one to know, - loving eyes can never see”).

Weird Al Yankcovich’s “You Don’t Love Me Anymore” is another slow ballad looking at the flip side of love when the flames die down. His straight rendition of a man lamenting that his special one “shaved off" his eyebrows while he was asleep cracks me up because it is the perfect mockery of the “lover’s lament” songs. You know the ones where the singer methodically lists everything that is different, but still remains clueless of what is fundamentally wrong (unlike Percy, I might add). Their love is obviously unrequited but they still continue to questions. “Why did you disconnect the brakes on my car?” he asks. “That kind of thing is hard to ignore.” This song makes me wonder both how clueless can one guy be, and what must a person have done to deserve such behavior.

Moving into the category of love songs I don’t get there’s Billy Idol’s “Rock the Cradle of Love.” I don’t know what that means, other than it’s not easy, but points to Billy for being persistent about it. There’s Hadaway’s “What is Love?” which asks the question repeatedly without getting an answer.

I went through love songs intended for sweethearts (Alan Jackson’s “Three Minute, Positive, Not Too Country Love Song” and Three Dog Night’s “Just an Old Fashioned Love Song”), jealous love (Garth Brook’s “Papa Loved Mama (Mama Loved Men)”), Celebrations of love (“It’s So Easy to Fall in Love” by Buddy Holly or Linda Ronstadt – your choice, Dwight Yoakam’s cover of Queen’s “Crazy Little Thing Called Love” and Moxy Fruvous’s “My Baby Loves a Bunch of Authors”), expressions of Christian love (Chris Rice’s “Sometimes Love (Has to Drive a Nail into His Own Hand)”, Jaci Velasquez’s “Fall into the Arms of Love”), and love for everyone (Annie Lennox and Al Green’s remake of “Put a Little Love in Your Heart” or Burt Bacharach’s “What the World Needs Now is Love, Sweet Love)”

I’ve been taught that one should always have love; though it will manifest itself in different degrees in different situations.

You don’t need music to achieve that attitude, but it doesn’t hurt either. It’s a bit reassuring to know I have a wide musical selection at my fingertips (and I don’t have to keep plunking coins into a machine).

I hope a referenced song or two put a happy tune in your head (though I hope it won’t outstay its welcome). I wish you all a good day, and want to remind you once more, it’s like Ziggy sings:

“Love power! (What kind of power?) A little love power. (It can lift you up!) Lift you up when you get blue, make your life bright as the rainbow.”

'No_quarters_necessary_for_that_lesson'

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WAG - Things look different

I'm gone for one week and Blogger totally changes their update system.

Granted you, the audience, can't see the changes, but it's annoying me a bit and it is costing me precious seconds as I try to do in 15 seconds what I used to be able to do in 5.

Hey, it that length of pause would seem like an eternity on TV or fillm,; and with my attention span, it's worth mentioning in my book.

Of course my book is filled with ramblings, made up words, and stupid thoughts that are worthless to anybody but me.

But I'm sharing.

You may not feel my pain (though if you do you may want to consult with your medical care provider AS SOON as possible, because that MAY not be healthy), but you can at least glance at the world through my eyes.

You may not agree, but I want you to be able to see something differently.

Now was that so hard?

Alright... alright... I know it hurts when some of you expand your spectrum.

I'll give you a breather and I'll work to be funnier next time.

'Not_that_I_would_want_to_break_tradition'

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WAG - A Return from Self-Exile

Hello. Long time no see.

I return to the keyboard after a prolonged hiatus brought about not by vacationing or a busy nightlife, but by poison ivy.

After all my bragging about the various inventions modern man has used to gird himself against the threat of the vile vine, it makes sense that I would catch a major case of what is the true wacky weed (name another plant that can make you feel as crazy after being exposed to it).

From neck to wrist to ankles. Yowser.

I am stretched out on the couch for the first time in about a week, for previous fear I would pass along my suffering to family members. I only afforded myself the luxury of lounging in wooden furniture (fortunately an abundance of rocking chairs have sprung up in our household as my parents transferred funds previously used to pay for my messes (medical and/or repair bills) into antique furniture.

I’ve also spent a lot of time stretched out on the floor, but not on the couch until tonight (and even now, I have my thickest comforter cushioning me from direct skin-to-couch contact.

I’ve been kept from posting and emailing (I nixed the idea of writing it and giving it to my sister out of the dual fear that ONE) I’d transfer oils to her through the paper and TWO) She’d find my writing so ridiculous she’d laugh so hard she couldn’t finish any update I’d assign her.

I took some days off from work to heal (since as my boss told me, it’s harder to get better when you keep re-exposing yourself every day). I bought (and watched) season one of C.S.I., read Harry Potter in a single day (in two 5 and a half hour sittings [I wanted to do in one, but after picking up the book shortly after midnight, and reading several hours, my concentration began to lag for being up over 24 hours – and one wishes to have all their wits about them when reading Harry Potter and the Agitated Male Adolescent.”]), and read over a half dozen other books and magazines.

I got back to work today. Slaving away at the Department of Conservation – Forestry Division is my act of penance for helping to murder all those trees back at The Missourian.

Though after a week of doing campsite maintenance, I think I’ve cut down nearly enough trees to have equaled many a Special Edition printings, but I only have a week more to go before returning to my beloved moth trapping duties.

I miss my ever-present radio, air conditioning, and ability to go weeks without getting sawdust in my hair. This is the time of year when I get to most appreciate my regular conservation duties.

[Pardon me as I break to apply more calamine lotion. The ivy has nearly all cleared up (as proven by a doctor’s visit I took today to placate my parents, but one I thought was no longer necessary), but there’s still some spots lingering around the edges. That and after using so many gallons of the stuff, my skin is so dried out it’s hard to tell what is an itch caused back plant or merely lack of moisture].

There’s so much more I’d like to write tonight. Lord knows I’ve been composing countless rants over the last several days with no outlet to let them pour out from (Like the annoying waits in doctors’ offices or the songs that you haven’t heard in years that come unbeckoned to you [or am I the only one who has had the old Nickelodeon “Clarissa Explains it All” theme playing in their head? Alright…]).

I’d write more tonight except for two things. One, I still have another day of killing trees (to help the environment) tomorrow. Second, I have a dollar bet with my girlfriend that I won’t stay up till 1:00 a.m. to get all of this done.

I’m a poor college student… No, actually I’m an in-between semesters college student; which means I have a little money (which, if I recall the rudimentary math skills that haven’t forsaken me, is more money than the zero I typically carry around with me), but I know to pick up extra cash when I can.

So I ask forgiveness for those who have checked up on the site over the past few weeks to be disappointed by nothing new happening. For those of you who never noticed any gap in updates…you were lucky this time, but try to work on that, will ya?

Have a good day, all.

I’ve got to go make plans on how I’m going to spend that new dollar.

'He_has_returned'

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WAG - Internet Links Redux

Here I am again, spending another evening doing an internet crunch (trying to cram the news from the past day [from Fidel Castro getting punk’d to Missouri’s late entrance into the legal 21st century]).

Anyway, I decided to update the web links for the betterment of the readership (and also save me precious double clicking the browser rather than having to drag the mouse all the way across the screen to access the bookmarks).

After reading the following link overviews, I suggest you check them out yourself – but be careful; you might learn something.

In the News category, since I’m no longer slaving away at the Missourian (at least not for another semester), I bumped the site up to straight news rather than downplaying it’s relevance (though any publication that will put my stuff on the front page has its issues).

I added Aint It Cool News. It’s long been the default opening site on the laptop (thanks to my sister), and I’ve found it to be a good place to check up on movie buzz or previews. Want to look like you’re a pop culture genius? This site will help you pick up on the cues and eventually build you up to that level.

Next up, I go to Google News for a good general review of news at large. It compiles articles by topic, rather than by paper or magazine, so one can look at opinions from all ends of the spectrum (and in politics, there are definitely more than two).

During Operation Iraqi Freedom, it was especially entertaining to read Pentagon and Pakistani reports and seeing how identical events were deciphered and recounted in different ways.

In Comics there is the lone addition of Scary Go Round. I was introduced to this site when the artist subbed for Sluggy Freelance one week.

It laced with British sarcastic wit and though it only runs Tuesdays through Fridays (though it’s “off” by one day from an American perspective due to it being on the opposite side of “the pond” as they say in American sitcoms mockingly presenting the Brits [though I’m sure they did their homework – because they wouldn’t want to propagate unfounded stereotypes – and it’s an accurate representation]).

My suggestion to you is to start at the beginning, though jumping back to the start of the current story line will work too.

Last, in Misc is the Internet Movie Database. It’s my go to site for released movie info – for cast lists, old trailers, or memorable quotes.

There you go. Hit these sites, along with others already posted, and you can make yourself into a trendy, informed person.

Or you may just find something which makes you laugh – and that’ll work too.

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WAG - Posting Issues

Yesterday I started doing campsite clean up. It's what I typically do over the summer waiting for the traps to attract moths that probably aren't there.

I was dog-tired yesterday evening and didn't have enough dedication to deal with the constant crashing of the computer.

I'll have an update on my weekend later in the week, but probably not tonight.

I'm going to the Muny (the municipal open air theatre in St. Louis) to see Fiddler on the Roof. I'll be taking off work a little and probably won't get back till midnight.

I'll be totally screwed tomorrow, but it's worth it to get to see the best musical about Russian Jews at the end of an age (and we all know what a cramped category that is).

Actually, that's the musical I know best out of the half dozen shows that are coming out this Summer. I first picked up the lyrics in Middle School when I took a summer school drama class - and that should tell you how much of a musical nerd I am.

Make you jokes. I don't care. I'll be spending most of my energy this evening not singing aloud TOO loudly to the songs.

I expect several elbows will be coming my way tonight.

But that's Tradition, tradition.

(yes, it's a disease, but apparently an incurable one...)

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WAG - Heading out!

For those of you who check-up on a site on a regular basis, and Lord bless you for it, I’m going to be out for the weekend.

The weather forecast is supposed to be wet, so of course it’s time for a big, 3-day Royal Ranger campout. It’s the yearly campout for the Southern Missouri area. I’ve attended every year since 1992.

I’ll be taking off of work early and heading down to the Lake of the Ozarks. The campground doesn’t border any water, but it’s a short commute away for people who wish to brave the tourist traps, but I mention the setting simply to give one a better idea of the location.

I’m looking forward to it, despite the project precipitation. I always get the chance to catch up with old friends (as well as accomplices, co-conspirators, and sometimes co-dictators).

They’ll be stories to swap, plots to hatch, games to run, and fire to be played with (depending on how wet everything is as well as the quality of the gasoline).

I’ll be packing my frontier clothes, because I’ll be pitching in with the reenactment camp. Of course I’m also throwing in my usual camping outfit of t-shirts, shorts, and rubber boots.

[I’m really a fashion plate. It’s just the culture hasn’t caught up with me yet. Sure… right…]

It should be fun, the tent will probably be soaked, but I’m sure there will be stories to tell.

And maybe I’ll share some of them with you when I get back on Sunday.

The rest I’ll just take to my grave, but that’s standard practice.

Have a good weekend everyone.

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WAG - Phase One Complete, Now...

Today, I finished putting up all my moth traps.

[Cue Mini-victory dance!]

After the initial rush of happiness had abated, I now find myself in the limbo between great accomplishment and taking the next step.

You know what I mean. Think back to times of great human ingenuity like the time Bell first called his lackey Watson into the lab or Edison clicked on a lightbulb.

After displaying the landmark before their staff, and all the congratulating and celebrating ended (I don’t think giving high-fives would have been en vogue back then, let alone acceptable laboratory behavior, but I still like to imagine it anyway), I’m sure someone always prompted a prolonged awkward silence by asking a single important question.

“So… now what?”

Hmm…

“Darn it Watson, why do you have to go and ruin my good vibe? Why ask such trivialities about the fact we only have two of these things and it’s still easier for me to raise my voice to get you to come into the room than broadcast around the house?”

Note: I always wondered if the first telephone call was actually legit when Alex asked his assistant to come into the room, or whether Watson, who could hear his employer through the wall, was simply humoring his overworked and severely taxed boss. Would you want to be the one to inform your boss his crazy contraption STILL didn’t work, or would you be tempted to “let him dream for a while,” work out the kinks latter, and not spill the beans when the story was recounted later.

Further Note: I just paused to investigate a large clattering sound in the basement. Usually I’m the cause of that sound in the basement. Just last week, while cleaning out my room, I dropped a large Tupperware container down the stairs and immediately pounded after it (about two steps behind it), failing to grab it before it hit bottom.

After retrieving it and heading back upstairs, I was greeted by my dad saying, “We thought you were dead.” And this is only the most recent version of an often-repeated tale in our household.

Anyway, with my mom is in Texas, my sister is at work, and my dad in bed, I was curious to see what happened. I was quickly able to find the source of the commotion by finding a toppled box and a freaked cat both gathered at the bottom of the stairs.

As I repacked the box and then took time to comfort the cat, I wondered if Edison ever had a pet getting into things and messing up experiments.

Ol’ Tom is famous for taking over 1,000 attempts before getting the first lightbulb to shine. He is lauded as a man of great patience, but his batting average still makes me question if he really was that great. If he was so smart, shouldn’t it have only taken around 100, maybe 200, or did some curious animal hold up the process.

From the Work Diary of Thomas “For the love of Pete, don’t remind me that my middle name is Alva” Edison: Experiment #732 -

Everything looked good in good in pre-experiment check-up. Paused to lecture a brash young assistant (he was violating lab policy by giving high-fives to a friend who had gotten engaged after a long courtship). I returned to the contraption and turned on electricity.

Nothing happened. I increased the amount – even past levels that I had projected it should work. I paused again and looked at the infernal machine. Suddenly I spotted the telltale sign of chewed wires and cat saliva, again.

I was almost instantly struck with another realization as the overtaxed machine started to smoke. I darted around the machine to kill the power, but the thing burst into flames before I could pick myself up after tripping over one of those dingily-bell cat toys.

Another prototype ruined.

Another 3,000 work hours down the drain.

Note to self: next time, be content with a turtle rather go seeking feline affection.

Anyway, after I finish up my paperwork (I still have to make data sheet entry for the 500-odd locations) I’ll move on to campsite clean-up duty before going back to cruising the roads.

It’ll be rough, but I’m following a trail pioneered by great people who went on before me. After accomplishment comes a period of post-surge blahs before moving on to (hopefully) greater things.

At least, that’s the plan.

What could possibly go wrong?

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WAG - All right, it's confession time.

I’ve been both under the weather and lazy (and probably not in that order).

Allergy season has hit me hard. St. Louis has been named the third worst city for allergies (no, I don’t know how others ranked but why should it concern me if I’m not living there? That’s what I thought). It explains why I’m having one of the roughest summers-health wise.

I’ve never had my eyes threatening to pop out of their sockets before due to allergy pressure and… I’ll stop before continuing to list other information that is more telling but also more disgusting and just close this sentence by saying it’s been harsh.

Of course, that doesn’t excuse my multiple missed days which was a combination of losing access to the internet (when family visited) and outright apathy (caused by working hard and/or getting distracted by the Tony Awards, shiny objects, etc).

[The fact the computer has crashed 5 times since I first started trying to post this thing doesn’t discourage me either.]

I have many excuses for not updating recently, but few are worth the words it takes to explain them. I don’t blame other friends for being sporadic with their updates, but nevertheless I still feel bad for losing my continuity at my site.

As always, the lament is that there’s so much to write about and so little time to do so. My tendency is to write longer posts, since it is usually the only chance I get to write, but I don’t always feel like taking the time to do it right.

I don’t want to be posting just for the sake of posting. I DO work to produce things that are worth the time people take to read them. I know I don’t always keep my standards high enough (hence multiple posts that simply state “I’m tired, but aren’t you happy I still posted?”), but I will work on that more.

Anyway, I suppose this is simply a restatement of the intent of the site: to let you know what I’m up to and my view of the world, but keep it interesting as well.

Here’s hoping I might achieve that, someday…

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WAG - A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to Richwood

NOTE: I've already written this, but want to pick it over a little bit. Check this later Friday.

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WAG - Play by Play, Character by Character

Tonight, we feature our semi-annual running commentary post.

The American Film Institute, or AFI for you acronym lovers out there, had the “100 Years… 100 Heroes and Villains. Actually, they split it half-and-half: they give a hero and then a villain, each starting with #50.

It must be fun working at the AFI institute. The main thing they do is induct movies into their Hall of Fame and restore and preserve prints of the films (to me, it sounds like they just knock out an extra copy of the movie on VHS, but I’m sure they’ll tell you it’s much more complicated than that).

Once the movie “copying” is done, it seems all they do is come up with “100 Years… 100 _Fill_in_Blank---_ list,” because they have one of these specials about once a year.

Anyway, we’re looking at a juicy list (I can get more into this than the “100 Passions” from last year). Arnold Schwarzenegger is the host, so his accent should be a hoot at the least. I’ll try to control myself and not comment on every single one.

That shouldn’t be too hard, should it?

Off the bat, the list made me pause. The Gladiator, Russell Crowe, is only the 50th. First he loses the Oscar and now this. It’s hard being famous.

Number 45 and 46: Batman and the Joker back to back. Nice. One caused the genesis of the other (in the movies, at least) and they are forever linked. It’s nice to know the powers that be (whoever they are) recognized that.

Freddy and Cruella De Vil: two cartoony masterminds. These two nightmare-provokers are known for their unnerving laughs and fascination with skinning.

Another ironic following is Lassie following Cruella. It’s obvious they’re having fun with us now; not that we mind.

The little Tramp is a natural addition to the list. Though later knighted by royalty, Charles Chaplin was the hero of the common man, for triumphing in every day life.

They recap the previously highlight characters before going to commercial break. It was an unexpected pleasure listening to the announcer read off “Freddy Krueger, from Nightmare on Elm Street” in her sophisticated, professional voice.

Same with “Count Dracula, from Dracula.”

Number 34: one of our more literate heroes Mr. Me-Tarzan You-Jane. He is the representation of two eternal struggles. First, he is the epitome of the struggle between Man vs. Nature. Second, he answers the question, “How man do you have to be to wear a loincloth?”

A surrealistic comment was Erin Brockovich talking about cheering her own character on the screen. I would think it’s a compliment to get enthralled by someone else’s telling of your story (especially when you know the ending).

“Cook Hand” Luke. When life bowls you over, you stand back up. You don’t stay down, even when it’s the easier thing to do. Now there’s a man who knew how to “Com’n’cate.”

Juror #8, from 12 Angry Men. A man who would demand proper justice for a kid no one believed in. 1 against 11 would have been impossible odds for anyone else. That and he had his own “unique” switchblade. One doesn’t trump that.

Number 27: The Martians. Be it War of the Worlds, Mars Attacks, or Mars Needs Women, we just can’t get along with our nearest planetary neighbors. It doesn’t matter who shoots first (and Earthlings are guilty of being the rowdy-rabble-starters about as often as the Martians), with the home field advantage we usually win, but it’s always a good show.

As a wanna-be-writer, Woodward and Bernstein being on the list is a treat almost as much as the most famous journalist, Clark Kent. Sure, one duo helped expose a corrupt President, but can Carl fly? Can Bob melt bullets with his eyes? That’s what I thought.

I know Thelma and Louise are heroes for being empowering women, but what is smart about driving off a cliff? I’ve yet to hear a good answer to that question and I’ve been asking it for years.

Terminator shows up twice, on both sides. The host must be proud.

Let’s not forget Spartacus – the original Gladiator. I guess I know the rationale behind Russ’s placement.

Note: I broke to call my girlfriend. If I don’t mention your favorite hero or villain, just imagine he/she/they were included in this section.

And then there’s Han Solo. Sure, Luke was the hotshot with the light saber, but I always thought the deadeye pilot with his blaster and cunning trumped the Force punk. When it comes time to save they day, Han was always the one to drop out of nowhere – and get the girl.

Granted, I don’t recall a computer screwing up any Jupiter mission in 1999, but Hal still is a frightening character. Cold, calculating, and unemotional even until the end. Never was the song, “Bicycle Built for Two,” so scary.

James Stewart playing Jefferson Smith, already has a leg up with a name like that. When Mr. Smith goes to Washington, you know he’s out to make a difference. One wishes there were more like him in real life.

Wes Craven psycho-analyzing the Queen from Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs is quite a trip. And to think, Angela Lansbury tops that up with “No! Don’t eat the Apple!”

It makes sense to learn Ripley (from Alien, Aliens, Aliens3, and Alien Resurrection: Even more aliens) was originally written as a man. Before she arrived, the part of “the girl” was often one to be picked off early, or saved only through the actions of a man. She was the anti-stereotypical warrior women (sorry Zena) who bested the aliens time after time (thus far, the score is Ripley: 3, Aliens: 0, and 1 Tie). We have her to thank for such movies as Tomb Raider and Charlie’s Angels. Good job… I think…

Rick Blaine, as in the owner of the bar in Casablanca, is one of the best romantic lead because he does NOT get the girl. It’s a timeless tale, as time goes by.

Anakin/Darth Vader: a good choice. Commentary on the character lacking comments from James Earl Jones poor choice.

A man who uses 3 words to introduce himself, “Bond. James Bond” of course would come in #3. In the words of Roger Moore, he was a hero would didn’t like killing, but took pride in doing it well. That and saving the world. Good for him.

Alfred Hitchcock + Norman Bates = a slightly filthy population afraid of taking a shower for fear of encountering a mother-loving Psycho.

Indiana Jones, rings in at second as a man who always wears a felt fedora and leather jacket – even when in the steaming hot jungle. He’d be my pick for #1, but that’s just me.

The number one, or arguably worst, villain is Hannibal Lecter. I’ll leave the fava bean and “Hello Clarise” jokes for people who can do the voice. I’ll leave the analysis for people who have actually read the books. Let me simply say anyone who can keep a straight face with the cautioning comment, “Now this is going to hut A LOT,” belongs at the top of the list.

The number here is Atticus Finch, defends the innocent, doomed man in To Kill a Mockingbird. A single parent, pro bono lawyer, and a man determined to seek justice for a man condemned by his “wrong” color.
What more could we ask for in our heroes? What more could we ask for ourselves.

Final Note: After thanking viewers on behalf of both sides of the coin, if Arnold is going to end the special with “Hasta la vista,” he should have had enough guts to complete the line with, “Baby.”

'I_feel_like_renting_so_many_movies'

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WAG - Ah...

I was dreaming when I wrote this, forgive me if it goes astray

Things have been busy lately.

I’m still trying to find a schedule that lets me get everything done I want to do – reasonably. I would like to have time to sleep late in the mornings and watch several movies in the evening, but I don’t believe that will be an option.

No, I’ still having extra trouble fitting my night-owl inclinations to an early morning job. My work has gotten trickier thanks to a waking up routine that requires more time.

I’m staying up late, which makes me hit the snooze alarm my, which makes me rushed, which makes me tired, which makes me take an after-work nap, which makes me stay up late, which…

This is the first summer I’ve kept a Blog going, so I didn’t know I would have more trouble keeping it updated than the other seasons. Most of the other people I know who have online journals have also gone to sporadic updating (and some have taken sabbaticals).

One of the goals I laid out for myself was writing a bit each day – most having to do with the website.

I’m still doing that… mostly, but I still need to tweak my hours some. Maybe when I’m done rearranging my room or finished putting up traps (so I don’t have to punch out, label, bait, and staple 50 cardboard pyramids for the next day) things will get more manageable.

Heh heh heh…

Right.

And maybe I’ll get enough rest so that my next post isn’t another guttural sound of exhaustion.

We’ll see…

'So_sue_me_if_I_go_too_fast'

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WAG - Ugg...

It's been a busy weekend.

I appologize for the gap and posts, and upfront, appologize for the short post (though will save you time).

The Sullivan High School class of 2003 graduated this weekend and I was given an ulimatum on my cleaning my room.

Well, not as much clean as totally rearranging it nicely organize all the items I brought back in my room from college.

(AND HINT, I DIDN'T HAVE MUCH ROOM TO BEGIN WITH [EVEN THE DRAWERS AND CLOSET SPACE IN COLLEGE IS MORE THAN WHAT I HAVE HERE]).

Nevertheless, you can not only see the floor now (it had gone missing for a while), but you can actually walk to the closet and the window and the old toy box at the back of the room - where my faithful computer now sits).

I was able to check my MU grades (my GPA went up by .03 points) and update my website from the comfort of my bed.

Life is good.

And once I work though the multiple tubs of books I still have to unload and find some extra hanger space SOMEWHERE, things will be even better.

Here's hoping.

'Double_ugg_tripple_ugg_uggity_ugg_ugg_ugg'

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