BLATHER REVIEW

BLITZ!

The problem with trying to blog during the week is that I get home so late in the evening. If I get home at 8:30pm or 9:45pm, between making dinner and tending to other things (and trying to read a few blogs) I don't have a lot of time to construct a decent post or even, often, to find something that inspires a post.

Today I am heading up to a friend's all-day fiesta. The party started about 1 o'clock, but my ride didn't get off work until 2. He should be by in about half an hour, and I wont be home until sometime tomorrow afternoon.

But, just so's I don't have yet another day without a post, I'm a-gonna blog about -- yep -- the weather!

Wednesday was quite a hot, hazy and humid day. The temperature was about 92F. Walking around outside was like walking through hot butter. And by that I don't mean easy, I mean icky. For most of the day -- and for the previous few days -- there was precious little breeze. And the town of Milford is usually a pretty unusually windy place.

I left work at about 6:15pm and walked toward the bus stop. The winds were really picking up. Holy moly, was that a 50 mile an hour gust?! As I stood at the bus stop the winds were getting more and more cantankerous. It smelled like it would rain, but the clouds were so thin, white and high. An airplane flew overhead wa-a-a-a-y up the sky yet was still far below the clouds. Weird.

The bus arrived and I boarded. Just as I was taking my seat, the rain started. First as a drop here and there, then as a drizzle. A lightning bolt, over near the harbor! Another one, further inland! 10 seconds later, another one!

By the time we reached Milford center (about three or four minutes later) the rain was a deluge. I mean, if you were standing outside it would've been like standing in the shower. In less than a minute after the deluge started the gutters were frickin' river rapids.

And the lightning show? For a period of about three consecutive minutes the lightning flashes were averaging about one every 5 or 6 seconds! And, very strangely, only one of 'em was accompanied by thunder. Weird.

All in all, the storm lasted about fifteen to twenty minutes. It built up quickly, slammed us with all it had, then petered out heading east.

This tree was split by one of the lightning bolts as it passed through the town of Fairfield about half an hour earlier. A Milford man was struck by one of the bolts. He survived, of course. Looking at that tree, it's a wonder that people survive being struck by lightning.

By the time I got off the bus in downtown Bridgeport the winds had died, the sky was hazy, but the sun was out. All that remained of the storm was the debri in the streets, including a very large part of tree that lined one of the main streets. The street had been roped off pending the arrival of a crew to cut up and remove it.

Thursday was the most pleasant, dry, breezy, crisp, sunny 74-degree summer day imaginable. Yesterday and today are gorgeous, as well (though we could use a little less cloud cover).

And the dog doesn't wanna go outside. He's gonna lie on the living room floor and sleep all day! Well, I'm heading out to the shindig in a few minutes and housemate Chris is in a wedding today so he wont be home 'til late. Chris will likely come home to a house of hungry kitties and a pile of dog poop in the hallway.

(Yes, I tried to drag Tuco outside earlier. He showed me his teeth. Fine, lie on the floor all day, but don't come wimpering to me when you gotta go and no one's home to open the back door for ya. Dum dog.

Me So Funny, You Laughy Laughy Long Time...

Tip o'the tam to Ted for this one.

the Wit (52% dark, 26% spontaneous, 11% vulgar)

your humor style: CLEAN | COMPLEX | DARK You like things edgy, subtle, and smart. I guess that means you're probably an intellectual, but don't take that to mean you're pretentious. You realize 'dumb' can be witty--after all isn't that the Simpsons' philosophy?--but rudeness for its own sake, 'gross-out' humor and most other things found in a fraternity leave you totally flat. I guess you just have a more cerebral approach than most. You have the perfect mindset for a joke writer or staff writer. Your sense of humor takes the most effort to appreciate, but it's also the best, in my opinion. Also, you probably loved the Office. If you don't know what I'm talking about, check it out here: http://www.bbc.co.uk/comedy/theoffice/. PEOPLE LIKE YOU: Jon Stewart - Woody Allen - Ricky Gervais

My test tracked 3 variables How you compared to other people your age and gender: You scored higher than 99% on dark You scored higher than 99% on spontaneous You scored higher than 99% on vulgar

Link: The 3 Variable Funny Test written by jason_bateman on OkCupid Free Online Dating

"On we sweep with threshing oars...!!"

Your Viking Name is...

Rauðúlfr Oakenhorse

Your Viking Personality: You're a fearsome Viking, but you aren't completely uncivilized. The other Vikings make fun of you for that. You have a thirst for battle, and tend to strike first and think later. You might be able to hold your own on the battlefield, but you're no "berserker".
You might grumble a bit at the lack of amenities on board a Viking longboat, but you can handle it. Other Vikings consider you "one of the guys".
People who've known you for a while don't always trust your word. You sometimes come off as a bit of a snob. Vikings are not snobbish people -- they either like you, or they kill you. Try to be more like a Viking.

(Okay, okay, my photo isn't as sublime as Susie's, I know...)

Leave the Politics at the Stump, Ya Hearse-Chasin' Retard

So anyway, this afternoon I went out in search of some source material for, like, an actual post.

I found something!!! But then I found out that everybody else already knows about it. Mudville Gazette is where Evil Glenn found it. Turns out Michelle Malkin is onto it and has some other links,m as well.

Anywho, it's this story.

The family of a Marine who was killed in Iraq is furious with Lt. Gov. Catherine Baker Knoll for showing up uninvited at his funeral this week, handing out her business card and then saying "our government" is against the war.

Lt. Gov. Catherine Baker Knoll

"Knoll felt this was an appropriate time to campaign and impose her will on us," Goodrich said. "I am amazed and disgusted Knoll finds a Marine funeral a prime place to campaign."

I was gonna rant on for a while and give Lt. Gov. Knoll a proper virtual tounge-lashing. But, instead, I think I'll just put up this poster for her (and everyone else's) benefit:

:)

Scotty's Obituary

I've read quite a few tributes since James Doohan passed away few days ago, but THIS ONE -- an obituary of Captain Mongomery Scott -- takes the cake scotch, neat.

the Eminent Domain of the People

Thanks to Stephen Macklin, the Open Source Amendment Project has now entered it's next phase. The revising is complete and it's time to drum up support and gather signatures.

You can read the history of the petition's language via the link at the bottom of this post, if you're curious.

You can sign the petition HERE!

Sign it and then spread the word, pilgrims. You have nothing to lose but your chains!

James Doohan Beams Out

Link to article that has obviously been ready and in waiting for quite some time.

Sample paragraph:

The Canadians crossed a minefield laid for tanks; the soldiers weren't heavy enough to detonate the bombs. At 11:30 that night, he was machine-gunned, taking six hits: one that took off his middle right finger (he managed to hide the missing finger on screen), four in his leg and one in the chest. The chest bullet was stopped by his silver cigarette case.

I had no idea that jimmy was at Juno Beach on the morning of June 6^th, 1944.

Read the whole thing. It's pretty good... for CNN...

What am I, NUTS?!!!

Temperature-wise, it's reaklly not that hot. It was 80 degrees at about 7:00. But, this humidity...!!!

Just walking down the street will make you sweat bullets. Standing still doesn't really draw sweat, it just made you all clammy. Ick!

So, here I am, in my room with the windows open, no breeze, no fan, no A/C, and what did I just make for dinner? Two pork chops and a baked potato. Crikey, I'm sweating just for having them set in front of me! I'm gonna EAT these piping hot things?!!!

Just waiting them to cool....

videos videos videos

Here's what looks to be cool site called File Cabinet. It's a bunch of videos that people have uploaded and a lot of 'em look like they're pretty darn interesting.

Unfortunately, most 'em are .wmv files. There a few .mov, .asi and .swf files, too. My 'puter can't play any of 'em! :(

Does anyone know how I can get my 'puter to play these? Or how to download them and turn them into .mpegs?

the sci-fi quiz

I am:

Marcus Cole An honest and chivalrous adventurer that pursues just causes, you would sacrifice much to help others.

I am a Ranger. We walk in the dark places no others will enter. We stand on the bridge and no-one may pass. We live for the One, we die for the One.

I've never seen Babylon 5, so I know nada about this character. I'm a little surprised by the description, but, thinking back on the questions and how I answered them, I guess I can see why it was scored this way.

Maybe I'll go through the questions one-by-one and 'splain my answers.

Nah.

Tip o'the tam to Stephen Macklin who scored as Jean-Luc Picard. I'm jealous. Then again, I'm the one eating one of the greatest meatloafs every made. Too bad I didn't write down what I did.

Had a good post. Took a long time to write. It's gone and I'm not sure why.

Maybe I'll try again tommorrow.

Doubtful...

Steve and Ted;
Thanks for the memories.

:)

I could go on (again) but I think I'm clean out of energy right now. Dang.

I went on and on about the difference between writing and speaking. I hate computers. /

Dilbert goes dating

Just in case y'all missed Dilbert last week, here are four of the five that I got a good chuckle out of. (Wednesday's strip was unrelated to the date.)

Been there. Done that.

It's the 2nd annual New England Munuvian blogger bash!

...which means that Ted (visiting on vacation from ol' Virginy [happy 24th Anniversary, btw!], Stephen (thanks for taking the lead in making the arrangements, btw!) and I will be coagulating for a Mexican lunch this afternoon. (No trivia this time, just good eats and relaxed conversation.)

Aren't you jealous?! :P

I got nothin'

I can't believe how much nothin' I got. No news items are inspiring an essay or a rant or even a head's up and a link. I got no interesting slice of life anecdotes or cool recipes. I mean, I got nothin'.

I did have an idea for a post but I can't seem to find what I need online. Does anybody know of those off-shore sites where you can actually download an mp3 for free? Google can't seem to find them. Man, I got nothin'.

Oh England, My Lionheart

Oh England, my Lionheart,
I'm in your garden, fading fast in your arms.
The soldiers soften, the war is over.
The air raid shelters are blooming clover.
Flapping umbrellas fill the lanes--
My London Bridge in rain again.

Oh England, my Lionheart!
Peter Pan steals the kids in Kensington Park.
You read me Shakespeare on the rolling Thames--
That old river poet that never, ever ends.
Our thumping hearts hold the ravens in,
And keep the tower from tumbling.

Oh England, my Lionheart,
Oh England, my Lionheart,
Oh England, my Lionheart,
I don't want to go.

Oh England, my Lionheart!
Dropped from my black Spitfire to my funeral barge.
Give me one kiss in apple-blossom.
Give me one wish, and I'd be wassailing
In the orchard, my English rose,
Or with my shepherd, who'll bring me home.

Oh England, my Lionheart,
Oh England, my Lionheart,
Oh England, my Lionheart,
I don't want to go.
Oh England, my Lionheart,
Oh England, my Lionheart,
Oh England, my Lionheart,
I don't want to go.

--Kate Bush, 1978

Happy Independence Day!

Hope y'all are having a blast. My nephew, sisters, brother and law and I will be shooting off fireworks in a few hours. Right now we're firing up the grill for some chicken and hot dogs. That watermelon looks mighty tasty!

Just to let yas know, I can't get online from home as my mouse has gone belly-up. Hopefully I'll have a new one tomorrow.

After two months and change I finally don't have to bandage my left middle finger anymore. Woo Hoo! The fingernail/fingertip have grown back perfectly.

My left ear is actually trying to open up. I spent Saturday evening at a baseball game down by the harbor and, for the first time in about six months, I wasn't deaf in my left ear. It's been hit and miss all day today. Right now it's closed. Aah, I just got it open! Oh, there it goes again. Dang sinus pressure.

What else... Oh, yeah, my right arm hasn't made the quick revory that my left arm made last spring. It's been over two weeks and I'm still essentially left-handed. Shaving is fun.

Well, that's all for now. I don't know why I'm sitting here at my sisters computer when there's grapes and watermelon on the kitchen counter. And some beer in the fridge.

Have fun! Be safe! Happy 4th!

Blessing the rains down in Africa?

A short time ago Ted had a post about song lyrics that grate on his nerves, then asked readers for examples of lyrics that grate on our nerves. I couldn't think of any at the time, but now I've got one! I actually like this song. ( I liked it more when I didn't know what the @#$% most of the words were.) Without further ado I present the lyric to Toto's Africa:

I hear the drums echoing tonight
But she hears only whispers of some quiet conversation
She's coming in, 12:30 flight
The moonlit wings reflect the stars,
That guide me towards salvation

Okay. What are the drums that are echoing? Drums in the jungles of Africa? Drums of the band as they rehearsed or recorded or played live? He doesn't say; they're just "the drums".

But, clearly, the singer and his gal are not together at the moment so what in the H-E-double-hockey-sticks does he know what she is hearing? Maybe he just presumes that because she's on a 12:30 flight she's hearing muted conversations.

"The moonlit wings reflect the stars"? I'm pretty sure the wings would have to be full-fledged mirrors to reflect stars. And, even if they were, they'd be reflected ^UP, and our narrator is presumably on the ground _below the incoming plane.

I guess he's on his way to the airport...

I stopped an old man on the way
Hoping to find some long forgotten words or ancient melodies

Huh? Does he mean "words of wisdom"? "Advice"? Or just some long forgotten words like "betimes", "milkbox" or "that baseball player's winter job"...?
"...or ancient melodies"? What is this, a love song or an archeological dig? The old man sees that the singer is becoming distracted:

He turned to me as if to say,
"Hurry boy, it's waiting there for you"

Aah, the plane has landed and the gal is waiting for him. He snaps to and ironically insists:

It's gonna take a lot to drag me away from you
There's nothing that a hundred men or more could ever do
I bless the rains down in Africa
Gonna take some time to do the things we never had, oooh

First of all, third-person "she" suddenly becomes second-person "you". Tsk tsk, very clumbsy.
Secondly, why is he blessing the rains down in Africa? What the huh? Is she returning from Africa because of a monsoon? But, it sounds more like they're meeting up IN Africa for some quality time together to "do the things we never" did. ("...had" is just wrong. I cannot abide grammer that bad in a song lyric. **shudder**)

Onto the second verse:

The wild dogs cry out in the night
As they grow restless longing for some solitary company

While the "wild dogs" crying out make it seem more like the American plains than the African plains, this is actually a pretty good line. "Solitary company" is a euphemism for mating, and the narrator uses it as a reflection of his own state. But then we have this:

I know that I must do what's right
As sure as Kilimanjaro rises like Olympus above the Serengeti

Um, Kilimanjaro is a mountain. Olympus is a mountain. Most rediculous. Simile. Ever. But that's not the half of it. This is Olympus; elevation 7,965 ft:

And this is Kilimanjaro; elevation 19,340 ft:

Kilimanjaro is well over twice the size of Olympus. To say that "Kilimanjaro rises like Olympus" is a slight!

I seek to cure what's deep inside,
Frightened of this thing that I've become

Now, what in the world does THAT mean? What has he become? Perhaps he and his gal were estranged because of his wild oats sewin' exploits and now he has decided that he needs to change and he's meeting up with her in rainy Africa for some make-up sex.

Perhaps it's the lack of rain in Africa that's a metaphor for the narrator. His world is a desert and his love is like rain...?

Then again, maybe the "you" in the chorus is Africa, not the woman. In that case the singer is lamenting giving up his safari lifestyle for the love of his gal. And while "a hundred men or more" couldn't drag him away from Africa, love can. But, then why is she flying in on a 12:30 flight to join him in Africa? Maybe they're meeting there only to fly off to somewhere else. I dunno. I just don't get it.

[instrumental passage]

Hurry boy, she's waiting there for you.

It's gonna take a lot to drag me away from you
There's nothing that a hundred men or more could ever do
I bless the rains down in Africa,
I bless the rains down in Africa
I bless the rains down in Africa,
I bless the rains down in Africa
I bless the rains down in Africa
Gonna take some time to do the things we never had, oooh

Next up, Yes' Close To The Edge. Just kidding.

P.S. Is anybody seeing the Olympus photo?

P.P.S. Photo is working now. Duh.

Posted by Tuning Spork at 04:34 PM | Comments (1) | TrackBack