Four Word Movie Review

Four word movie review. 'Batman, Joker, Dent - crazy.'

Happy Birthday

Thirty-eight years ago, at around 7:30 in the morning, GDad yelled for the first time.

This One's a Gimme

We were watching season 9 of Stargate SG-1 last night on DVD.

Another villain from the gate,
Never shown through season eight,
That's an Ori!

It's pronounced oar-eye.

Homework - Eighth Grade Edition

Son is working on his science homework right now. He has to do a term/definition match exercise with science terms. He was trying to figure out the metric unit for measuring mass. I wanted to help him by grabbing a food item from the counter that was measured in grams. Without looking at what I was taking, I grabbed this. Coincidence?

I Don't Know, Alaska

McCain picked Sarah Palin from sunny Alaska. Sort of genius move to pick up disaffected Clinton voters. Hmmmm...

Foto Phriday

This is a tip jar at the hippie/emo/beatnik coffee shop in downtown Small Town.

The Revenant

It's baaaa-aack!

Poking Larry in the eye,
Hitting Curly with a pie,
That's the Moe way!

I Hope This Is the Last One

To those of you who find these to be abominable, I humbly beg your forgiveness. For the rest of you, enjoy!

Mr. "Georgia on my Mind,"
It's Dr. Mead's place t' unwind.
That's Samoa, Ray.

National Hand Stamp When Leaving the Empire

Son's school starts today. The school had an open house last night. I thought it was kind of weird that they would do that before school started, but my mom explained it to me. Her 35+ years of teaching gave her the insight that an open house before school starts makes this situation go away....

[Scene: School open house during second week of school.]

Parent: So, Ms. Teacher, how is my little Johnny doing?

Teacher: Johnny... He's the one with the red hair and glasses, right?

This year, we found out that instead of being on "teams" where groups of teachers share the kids so that the kids in group A only have teachers from group A, etc., the new terminology is that the kids are in "houses."

I will recommend that Son try to get into Ravenclaw.

More Google Ads

Say it ain't so...



Answers that astrology can't tell me?

Captain Ruffles and the Sky Phantom

While walking through an airport several years ago...

GDad: This airport is kind of retro.

Captain Ruffles: I think you mean vintage.

Teevee Fright

Watching the history of the KKK on teevee. Getting creeped out.

Fun With Documentation

I added some things to a sheet of paper I found in a laptop back many years ago.

Click to embiggen.

Regionalism or Misspelling

This was at the state fair. Most of the web seems to call this dish Crab Rangoon, but there are a couple of references to Crab Ragoon (which the spel cheker in Firefox doesn't seem to like). So, dear readers, what have you heard it called?



p.s. Notice the Deep Fried Ravioli. Mmmmm.... fried things.

Squick

Correction: the Nashville airport is kind of gross overall.

Paging Larry Craig

Observation: the men's rooms in the Nashville airport are disgusting.

Foto Phriday

This was a picture from one of the "rides" at the state fair. I think this was where you walked into an unfolded semi trailer and watched music videos blasting at you at painful decibel levels. I love the piercing.

Night of the Red Volvo

10-20-86
I had a few weird dreams the last few nights. In one, we traded our tan Omni for a red Volvo station wagon. I was alone driving the station wagon, and I ran over and killed Isaac Asimov, who jumped out into the middle of the road.

Menu Item

I am now at a restaurant with a menu item called the Jumbo Stuffed Porktato. The sales people did not ditch me.

Woe Is Me

So I think the sales people ditched me for dinner. 'Meet in the lobby at 5:45,' they said.

UPDATE: They were in the sports bar in the hotel.

Premonitions, Predictions, Prognostications

6-13-87
It's strange how somethings just "bother" a person. There is no reason for it, but these things just bother people. Those things are labeled "unnatural."

Nashville Hilton Sports Bar

Having lunch in hotel restaurant. Teevees are tuned to either sports or Christian Broadcasting Network news.

Binary Cab

In a cab right now. Driver has binary foot. Either accelerator or brake is mashed down at all times.

Sicko, Part -N

6-26-87
I went to D____ Lake Park today. I am so red that I could be in the Queen's guard while not wearing a shirt. D____ Lake Park is fun.

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6-27-87
I have second degree burns from the sun. They hurt.

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6-28-87
I spent a large part of last night and today throwing up. I must have caught something from the water.

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6-29-87
Pain is not fun. My blisters are receding, and I am no longer expelling the contents of my stomach through my mouth. I am still not feeling good, though.

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6-30-87
Now, I am feeling good. It's amazing how gullible people can be. Ex: "certain friend" read a book on AIDS which contains "the real facts." That's a crock of bull excrement. The book said that AIDS could be transmitted through pores or from a person to a toilet seat to another person. HORSE HOCKEY! (Using the words of Col. Sherman Potter, M*A*S*H 4077). This "certain friend" believed every word of that book. I tend to doubt his intelligence.

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7-1-87
I'm losing my skin. It's peeling off very quickly.

In Nashville

I'm in Capital City municipal airport getting ready to go to Nashville. If any readers would like to meet up this week, I'll be around until Friday evening. Leave a comment.

Sophomoric

7-16-87
Adjustment of the facts. People will interpret or manipulate any facts in order to convince others that they are right.

Heard on the Radio

John McCain: Seriously, my friends... Georgia.

Beyond His Years

Last night, as I was talking to Son before he went to sleep, he asked me to set his alarm for school wake-up time so he could get used to it before school starts next week. I didn't even have to suggest it. Smart kid.

Half a Life Ago

For a while in high school, I kept a journal. NOT A DIARY!

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8-3-87
The future creeps upon us like the hour hand. If we watch it, it doesn't seem to move, but if we look away for a while, then back, it has advanced.

Movie Review

We saw the new Star Wars: Clone Wars movie yesterday. It was... action packed.

We also did indoor, glow-in-the-dark mini golf with Son's Older Brother and Baldo McNerdy.

Saturday Super Fun Excitement Party Blaster

Son's Older Brother is here today. I think we're planning to go mini-golfing and to see a movie.

Foto Phriday

Baldo McNerdy sent me this picture that he saw at a local festival. Rose Tyler is STILL manipulating the time-space continuum.

Back Alleys

I recall the chat conversation that led to me finding this. I'll leave it as an exercise for the reader to figure out how it happened.

In case that site disappears, here's a screen grab. Click to embiggen.

It is foggy and skunky today. Sent from phone.

It's a Pity Party, and You're Invited!

So I've had a mild headache for a couple of days. No, I haven't taken anything for it.

Last night, at 1:58am, some jack@$$ kid called our house. GPop answered. I heard this half of the conversation. "Hello? Who is this? It's 2:00! [click]."

A moment later, the phone rang again. GPop reported that the kid was yelling, "Don't hang up on me, bi+¢#! #$*&(*&#@@#*&(!" GPop hung up, then got up to go to the bathroom. He took the phone with him.

It rang again, and GPop answered and just started mashing the number pad with his hand. The kid didn't call back.

After we got up at the regular time, I did the key combination to do a call back for the last number that called our phone. "Doo doo DOO! The number you are trying to call back is PRIVATE."

I looked a bit further back in the phone book, and I found that there was another key combination that would trace the call and keep the trace on file for law enforcement to look into. I did that. The phone told me that there would be a charge for this service, which I intend to recoup from the caller.

At times like these, my faith in the goodness of humanity takes a little dip.

GDad and the No Good Rotten Day, DVD Extras

On the day of my grandmother's operation (She's all better now. Thanks for the kind words when it happened.), a few things happened that are worthy of mention. I had a long post planned, but the highlights are...

• When the blood taking guy came in, I asked my aunt, who is a former nurse, if the right term for that practice was phlebotomy. When she confirmed it, I said, "Thank goodness that it's not the discredited 'science' of phlebology." Much laughter.
• Out in the hallway, I saw the list of Doctors of the Month. One of the recent award winners was the unfortunately named Dr. Kwak.
• About an hour before Grandma went in for the operation, Brother 3 called. He told me that he thought he had broken his ankle and that he might have tetanus. Since the whole family was already at the hospital, I went to bring him to the ER. He had a sprained ankle and no tetanus.
• At least a dozen people came in to gather information from, extract fluids from, or give things to Grandma. Based on my ER experience with Son when we thought he had appendicitis, this is standard procedure.

State Fair Pic #8B27F

This is a man wearing the world's most masculine backpack. To be fair, in addition to the young lad to his left, this "World's Best Dad" had two little girls tagging along behind his wife.

And Put it in Your Pocket

I heard that the Perseids would be especially visible last night/this morning, so I told Son that if I got up early enough, I'd get him up to go view them. He sounded very interested. When I got up at 5:20 (sunrise = 6:41) this morning, I tried to get Son out of bed, but he wasn't having any of that.

I went outside to see what I could see, but I got a big load of nothing. There was a little haze to the west, but the east was clear. Orion was in the sky. For some reason, Orion makes me smile. Maybe it's his canine sidekick.

Numbers

According to Roger Ebert's journal entry here, the opening ceremonies for the 2008 Beijing Olympics cost about $300,000,000.

According to the CIA on The World Factbook site, there are 16 countries with annual (estimated) gross domestic products less than that.

Interesting Observation

Our state's department of corrections and rehabilitation has an offender search online. If I'm missing my COPS fix, I'll sometimes go there to search for people who have similar names to people I know. Several years ago, I would search the site for potential boyfriends for a woman who bemoaned her single status. We'd joke that the burglars would make good providers and such.

Anyway, I'm noticing that a lot of these people have facial hair. The percentage is a great deal higher than the percentage of people with facial hair in the building where I work. Even if I correct for the gender disparity, I still see more scruff on the pictures of the incarcerated.

Violators

This is a sign at a movie theater in Capital City.

Not Another One

Easter Island's big head,
Carved by people long dead.
That's a Moai!

Foto Phriday

Remember that show where Martin Short wore a fat suit and acted like an ass? This fish looks like his character. At least to me.

Two Years

Remember that last week marked one year from Son's adoption. Today marks two years from the day when Son moved into our home. He came with a suitcase full of clothes, a plastic garbage bag full of miscellanea, a 15-gallon plastic tote with toys, and a second hand bike.

Quote of the Day

In a hole in the ground, there lived a hobbit.
--Opening sentence of The Hobbit, by J.R.R. Tolkien

Angry Language Guy

I've heard this a number of times in the past couple of months from the usual suspects.

"I'll take the A on that."

Sheepish

During our visit to the state fair, we made it to the livestock area after we'd walked down the midway. When we got to the sheep barn, I recalled that some of my couple-times-removed cousins had said something at our recent family reunion about taking some sheep to the fair. I couldn't remember what their last name was (big family / big reunion), so I wandered around looking for a sign that said these sheep were from the PIP City* area. There were no PIP City signs, so I called my grandmother to ask what the cousins' last name was. After she consulted with Grandpa, she told me that it was "Corbett," and to tell them that she sent her greetings.

One more trip through the sheep barn did not yield any Corbett-related sheep, so I wandered over to the sheep concession stand. Yes, there was one. I asked the guy if there was some kind of directory so I could find my family. He replied, "You need to go to the Sheep Department Office. It's around the corner."

The Sheep Department. Really.

In the Sheep Department office, there was a woman helping a family fill out some sheepy paperwork, so I waited until they were done. I told her that I was looking for the Corbett family sheep. She opened a big folder. "Cochran... Compton... Connor... Cunningham... Dabney... Nope, no Corbett. Are you sure they're in the Junior Division?"

I replied that I wasn't sure, but that the concession guy had sent me over here.

She frowned for a second in thought, then said, "Maybe you should try the General Sheep Department Office. It's the next room over."

There were two sheep departments. Sheeps department. Sheeps departments. Whatever. Who knew?

As I entered the next room, it struck me that the General Sheep Department was a lot busier than I would have guessed. I mean, I have some wool slacks, but still...

There were about five people helping a couple of customers/presenters. I saw a map of the building with some names on it, so I looked for Corbett, but in vain. A nice friendly voice interrupted my thoughts. "Can I help you?"

I looked around. All of the other customers had gone away. "I'm looking for some cousins of mine. They told me they were bringing some sheep to the state fair."

"What breed?"

"I... uh... I work in a very tall building. I think the sheep were black."

There was a two count, and all of the workers started laughing. After a moment, one of them took pity on me and asked, "What's the last name?"

"Corbett."

Without any hesitation, the lady said, "They're in wave two. They'll be here on Wednesday."

I was amazed that she knew this off the top of her head without having to resort to the Goog, or even a little book. I quipped, "The sheep community in this state must be really tightly knit."

"Yeah, there aren't too many of us weft," she replied, with a wink**.

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*PIP = Past Its Prime - This city was a medium sized industrial center in our state until it started to decline about 25 years ago.

**OK, she really didn't say that last bit, but the rest actually happened.

Open Letter to the English Only Movement

Dear English Only People,

What do you plan to do about Puerto Rico?

Sincerely,
GDad

Dialogue of the Day

Arthur Dent: You know, it's at times like this, when I'm stuck in a Vogon airlock with a man from Betelgeuse, about to die of asphyxiation in deep space, that I really wish I'd listened to what my mother told me when I was young.

Ford Prefect: Why? What did she tell you?

Arthur Dent: I don't know! I didn't listen!

--Ford and Arthur from The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, by Douglas Adams

Reader Response Request

How much of "Bob is an ass," is mitigated by "Bob is only 6 years old?"

At what value of N does "Bob is only N years old," stop being a legitimate excuse for poor behavior?

To the Bat Copter!

We took Son and some other kids to the state fair yesterday. One of the attractions was the Bat Copter from the 1960s teevee version of Batman. For a fee, you could take a three or four minute ride around the fairgrounds.

Son had never been in a flying aircraft before, so I paid to take him up. The craft was a three-seater, so the pilot and the two of us were able to go at the same time. Son was a bit afraid of the thing at first, but he decided that it wasn't that scary once we were up in the air.

I did see Julie Newmar's autograph on the control console. Pretty fun all around.

Foto Phriday

This is my mom with me when I was just over a year old. As usual, click to embiggen.