The new blog is here: http://homepage.mac.com/origsyn/iblog2/index.html

Fri - July 13, 2007

Scores Posted


And, wow!

5 euro
5 calc
4 phys

I am so very proud of you! And so honored to be your friend!

Posted at 11:03 AM     Read More  


Sun - July 8, 2007

Movie Review: Transformers


More entertaining... and shorter... than King Kong.

Yep. More entertaining and shorter than the giant gorilla. And, suffered form the same lack of scale. Sometimes, the robots were appropriately scaled. Other times, they were just far too big.

But, I enjoyed it. Two and a half hours went by, and the holes in the plot weren't spectacularly horrible. I mean, OK, boy meets girl. Boy buys car. Boy gives girl a ride home. Car takes over, winds up at Lovers' Point. Car pretends to be broken. Girl gets out to walk home. Car starts up again. Car turns into robot to protect boy. It's an old story... probably left over from some Romanian legend about bloodsucking half-demons.

Newton's laws of physics don;t apply to computer animated objects. And that is a good thing. Conservation of mass and energy? Who needs it? Way too much metal on the robots than the mass and density of the vehicles they pretend to be can have.

And, except for Bumble Bee, none of the good guys look like good guys.

But, it's worth the ticket price. I'll give it 7 gallons of Premium in a 10 gallon tank.

Posted at 10:46 PM     Read More  

Movie Review: Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer


Oh my dear god...

Don't even bother renting this one. I actually saw this film, paid money to do so, one night during vacation on the island.

Spoilers!

Galactus is a big cloud of dust. Doom was not killed at the end of the first movie, just frozen.

Geez. No. I can't say anything good about it.

On th eBig Kahuna scale, this one ranks a lousy no breakers. Don't even rent it. Go watch it at somebody else's house when they are stupid enough to rent it.

Posted at 10:40 PM     Read More  


Sat - July 7, 2007

More Than My Share of Pride


Scoring higher and higher!

Last year, I got a call on my phones, yes, plural, proclaiming, "Five! Five! Five! And I got a four in Stat!"

At this point, we are not certain of the scores, but we do know the credit given by UGA, and, after a total of seven AP classes, including the four from last year, Tracy has 38 credit hours as an incoming first year student! Plus, two more college-level classes with credit hours coming from Macon State! A psychology class and a political science class.

She is so much way smarter than I am!

Posted at 02:36 PM     Read More  

Living in Song


Might not be the best kind of life, but...

Music is everywhere here, in my head, around every corner, in every nook and cranny, music is everywhere. The music coexists with everyone else in there, not crowding out, but complimenting, letting them dance and smile and laugh.

And the music keeps me alive! it may be utterly naive, but that's OK. Music holds the Truth in it, just as much as written or spoken words, just as much as anyone's scripture or prophecy.

So, here are some words for you. These are by Jim Steinman, written for a man named Michael Aday to sing. Michael is better known as Meat Loaf.

I Would Do Anything for Love (But I Won't Do That)
by Jim Steinman, as sung by Meat Loaf
from the 1993 release, Bat Out of Hell II: Back into Hell

And I would do anything for love
I'd run right into hell and back
I would do anything for love
I'd never lie to you and that's a fact
But I'll never forget the way you feel right now,
Oh no, no way
And I would do anything for love, but I won't do that
No, I won't do that

Anything for love
Oh, I would do anything for love
I would do anything for love, but I won't do that
No, I won't do that

Some days it don't come easy
Some days it don't come hard
Some days it don't come at all, and these are the days that never end
Some nights you're breathing fire
Some nights you're carved in ice
Some nights you're like nothing I've ever seen before or will again

Maybe I'm crazy, but it's crazy and it's true
I know you can save me, no-one else can save me now but you

As long as the planets are turning
As long as the stars are burning
As long dreams are coming true
You'd better believe it, that I would do

Anything for love
And I'll be there until the final act
I would do anything for love, and I'll take a vow and seal a pact
But I'll never forgive myself if we don't go all the way tonight
I would do anything for love
Oh, I would do anything for love
Oh, I would do anything for love, but I won't do that
No, I won't do that

I would do anything for love
Anything you've been dreaming of, but I just won't do that

Some days I pray for silence
Some days I pray for soul
Some days I just pray to the god of sex and drums and rock 'n' roll
Some nights I lose the feeling
Some nights I lose control
Some nights I just lose it all when I watch you dance and the thunder rolls

Maybe I'm lonely, that's all I'm qualified to be
That's just one and only, the one and only promise I can keep

As long as the wheels are turning
As long as the fires are burning
As long as your prayers are coming true
You'd better believe it, that I would do

Anything for love
And you know it's true and that's a fact
I would do anything for love, and there'll never be no turning back
But I'll never do it better than I do it with you. So long, so long
I would do anything for love
Oh, I would do anything for love
Oh, I would do anything for love, but I won't do that
No, I won't do that
No, no, no, I won't do...

I would do anything for love
Anything you've been dreaming of, but I just won't do that

But I'll never stop dreaming of you ev'ry night of my life, no way
I would do anything for love
Oh, I would do anything for love
I would do anything for love, but I won't do that
No, I won't do that

[Girl:]
Will you raise me up? will you help me down?
Will you get me right out of this godforsaken town?
Will you make it all a little less cold?

[Me:]
I can do that
I can do that

[Girl:]
Will you hold me sacred? Will you hold me tight?
Can you colourise my life, I'm so sick of black and white?
Can you make it all a little less old?

[Me:]
I can do that
Oh no, I can do that

[Girl:]
Will you make me some magic with your own two hands?
Will you build and emerald city with these grains of sand?
Can you give me something I can take home?

[Me:]
I can do that
I can do that

[Girl:]
Will you cater to every fantasy I got?
Will you hose me down with holy water, if I get too hot?
Will you take me places I've never known?

[Me:]
I can do that
Oh no, I can do that

[Girl:]
After a while you'll forget everything
It was a brief interlude and a midsummer night's fling
And you'll see that it's time to move on

[Me:]
I won't do that
I won't do that

[Girl:]
I know the territory, I've been around
It'll all turn to dust and we'll all fall down
Sooner or later you'll be screwing around

[Me:]
I won't do that
No, I won't do that

Anything for love
Oh, I would do anything for love
I would do anything for love, but I won't do that
No, I won't do that

So end the words of Jim Steinman. Well, at least for that one song. There is a meaning to everything. Every time we write, each time we call, any chance we get to see, to wave, to touch another life. There is meaning in all of that.

I hope I've helped you smile!

Posted at 01:34 PM     Read More  


Tue - July 3, 2007

The Trip Home, Pt. One


The stop in Baltimore.

In the hotel room, they internet access is ethernet, not wireless. On the office dsk inthe room, there is a sheet of paper: 9 steps for connecting my Windows PC to the ethernet in the room. It includes changes to a couple of the Control Panels, with a reminder at the bottom to reset my settings before I return home or to work.

No instructions for the Mac. You know why?

One step. Plug the ethernet in and use. True plug and play. Because it's a Mac.

The flight off the island was really bumpy due to morning turbulence. Happens all the time in the summer. Cold air in the morning starts to heat up over the island, but the waters around the island are still chilly. This causes some rather nasty up and down drafts.

The flight from BOS to BWI was smooth, very easy. I slept while listening to my iPod. Got a free shuttle from the airport to my hotel, which is right here at the airport. Easy.

Flight tomorrow from BWI to ATL will be... amazing!


I'll blog again once I get home. Sometime after Cindy's Fourth Party. Might be Thursday before I get to it. Hmm.

Be safe!

Posted at 03:36 PM     Read More  


Mon - June 25, 2007

ParentQuest Oh Seven


Man! This is so easy!

Like a trip to Wal-Mart! Mom flew into Boston, caught the 3:00 flight to the Vineyard, was on the ground by 3:45.

Easy.

No storm cloud monsters, nothing bad on the radar. Easy.

And that is a good thing.

Posted at 10:44 PM     Read More  


Fri - June 22, 2007

At the Vineyard...


.. and what book do I buy?

Master the GRE iBT. Yep. GRE preparation. Going to start in a Masters' Program. Granted, I have to get accepted first, but that should be simple, since I am not applying for any paid assistantships... I'm already teaching, thank you. One day a week for two years, something like that. And only one class is not taught in the evening block. I'm fairly certain I can get one day off a week for 15 weeks... either that, or I pull the gender card and demand maternity leave. I know, I'm not a woman, I am not pregnant, nor am I going to be so. But, I have 72 days of sick leave built up, more than most female teachers who take maternity leave. If they don't let me take my one day a week, then I'll take all 72... and start building up days again.

But, I think we can come to an understanding beneficial to all parties.

So, the drive up was two days- 14 and 15 June. I stopped in Joppa, MD, the first day, then hopped to Woods Hole and the ferry by 3:30 the next, was on the ferry at 5, on the island by 6:00. Was a short trip.

And, I apparently brought the good weather with me once again. Before I got here, it was stormy and wet and damp and chilly. I get here, and it is sunny and warm and perfect beach weather.

Speaking of perfect beach weather, yesterday was the summer solstice, and I did what every good olde believer should do on such a day. I went to The Beach. Was comfortable. Was there for about three hours, with the whole trip being close to five... it takes 35 minutes to travel one way, and another 20 to walk both ways from the parking lot. But, I was on The Beach for about three hours. Water was perfect! Surf was coming in most of the time I was there, but it never encroached on my towel. The only downside to that location is that there is zero cellular service there. If you consider that a bad thing.

Other things I've done: solved telephone bill issues, installed new telephone system (the phone upstairs was dead), gardened, cleaned, resolved gas heater issues, purchased the space heater (unnecessary right now), signed in at the office, opened the PO box, and spent far too much time missing, despite all the time I've spent thinking of. As Lindsay says, "It's good to have someone to miss."

Yes, it is.

Off to dinner! probably Park Corner Bistro tonight... I'll stop by Jimmy Sea's to see who's tending bar, but I think I need something lighter than pan-seared pasta tonight.

SURSA! WIN!

Posted at 05:41 PM     Read More  


Sat - June 2, 2007

Another Bed-time Story


Not a sequel....

There was an old man, retired, living alone in his home. One day, he got up out of his chair and went to the stone patio he had made in his youth. Thousands of flat stones laid out meticulously, like a giant, unpictured jigsaw puzzle. He walked to the center of the patio, leant over, and carefully lifted one stone. He was old, and not the young man who had first laid these stones, but he persevered, and lifted the rock, and carried it through his back dorr, through the kitchen, into the living room, out the front door, and into his front yard. He placed the stone carefully in front of his doorstep. And that was all he did that day. He went back into his house and sat, reserving the rest of his strength.

The next day, he placed another stone from the back patio to the front. And the next, and the next. With each successive stone, it took less effort to carry the flat stone, even though each day he walked one step further. His neighbors didn;t knwo what to think, but what they saw amazed them. Each day, teh old man seemed younger, stronger, happier than he had ever been living in his home.

As the days pased, his stepping stones crossed yards, counties, states. Still each day, he took a stone from his patio and walked to the end of his path, placing it carefully at the end, then walked back to his home to rest.

Until the day that he walked into his back yard and found tha the had only one stone left. He was not sad; he had found a new place to go. He l ifted the stone and followed the path to its end. There, he placed the stone and looked up, only to be dumbfounded to find the step to the front porch of a small cottage. But, out of habit, he walked back to his house and rested till the next day.

He began walking in the morning as the sun rose. His path had been al lhe had looked at while he placed it, but now there was nothing to stop him from looking around. He passed by the world. He looked at it and found that, though it was interesting, he did not belong in it. He belonged on this path. And he found himself on the last stone. He looked up to the porch. the door there was open. He walked in and found the house empty. He walked out the back door and, to his amazement, found a sinfle file of flat stones leading into the woods behind the house. He stepped onto the first stone and began to walk.

After a few hours of walking, he saw a young lady walking toward him, careful to step on the stones, and not off the path. She looked down at the rocks, not seeing him. He coughed before she ran into him. She looked up, but did not seem startled.

"I am sorry if I have trespassed on your path, but I have been building my own for some time, and found that it led to your door."

She took him by his hand, looking up at him and smiling at him.

"And I have spent this time building a path for us to walk at our leisure. Together, let us build a path for others to follow."

Posted at 11:21 PM     Read More  

"Haven't you ever...?"


I love Tracy to death!

And this was marvelous!

So, we're at home, and she asks if I have any mints. I remind her that she has mints. She smiles, thanks me for reminding her, then goes rummaging through her purse, but does not find them.

"They're in my other purse. Do you have any mints? Do you have any Altoids?"

So I thought about it. It took me a few moments to realize that, yes, indeed, I had Altoids by the kitchen door,. I went and got them, brought them back.

"Yes! I had some over there!"

"I knew that!"

"I didn't... if you knew, why did you ask?"

And then Tracy turned to me, totally serious, and asked, "Haven't you ever asked a question you already knew the answer to?"

And I stopped dead in my tracks, looked at her and asked, as simply as I could, "Tracy? what do I do for a living?"

"Shut up."

I love Tracy to death! She's fun!

Posted at 11:07 PM     Read More  


Sat - May 26, 2007

Movie Review: Spider-Man 3


Three times the villains! Three times the romance! Three times the mediocrity!

So, the night Pirates 3 came out, I went to see Spider-Man 3, because I knew there would be no crowds. I was right. Four other people shared the theatre with me.

So, what can I say? Kirsten Dunst has grown up... and gives us less of a performance than she did last time. I can imagine the director telling her, "This movie is all about Mary Jane Watson, and this Peter Parker guy just doesn't get it. Cry over it."

Parker's submission to the alien symbiote reminds me of little Anakin Skywalker's submission to the dark said of the... wait... I've said this before... well, it's true. Of course, the storytellers only have 140 minutes to tell a Marvel story arc that covered more than two years.

What else don't I like? They killed off Harry Osbourne, who is supposed to become the Hobgoblin. Instead, Osbourne becomes a hero in the end, and then dies. Venom gets sonically removed from Eddie Brock, and then blown up. The Sandman is forgiven and blows away in a cloud of... sand. And, in the end, we don;t know if Peter and MJ are getting married or not.

Venom might not be dead. Sandman might come back. Bleh. It will be out on DVD.

The bottom line? Rent it, if you just have to see it. Sure, that might be December, but, I promise, you'll get more out of it being at home than you will on the big screen.

3 Spidey tokens out of 10.

Posted at 06:52 PM     Read More  


Sat - May 12, 2007

Opening Night


No jitters... just another night.

But, an amazing one!

Opening night for One Flew over the Cuckoo's Nest went very well! Even though I don't look like a Native American, I got many compliments on my performance, which is what it is all about.

Not much went wrong- a few dropped lines, a missed cue or two, the enema bag developed a leak. that's about it.

The show runs tonight (Sat 12 May) at 8:00, tomorrow at 2:30, Wed and Thu of next week at 7:30, then 8:00 Fri and Sat of next week. In addition to having a Presidential hopeful in the cast (me!), we also have an Emmy-nominated television news reporter!

Come see!

Posted at 12:46 PM     Read More  


Fri - May 4, 2007

Medical Situation, Part Two


Several days late....

Bill is fine. After spending five days in the hospital (because my dad can't get sick in the middle of the week.. only on Fridays so that no doctor is available to see him till Monday when they run the tests and release him from the hospital on Tuesday, not knowing what was wrong), the doctors sent him home, on Tuesday after the tests on Monday, not knowing what was wrong. Apparently, the two pints of blood did whatever two pints of blood do, and he was released.

<shakes head>

Stupid doctors.

Posted at 06:22 PM     Read More  


Sat - April 28, 2007

Medical Situation


Bill is in the hospital.

Something happened Friday morning. Bill's hemoglobin dropped to 7 (50% of normal). They admitted him into the hospital for a transfusion. He received two pints overnight. They are keeping him at least one more night and he will get at least two more pints of blood.

The doctor wouldn't talk to our sitter. My mom is out of town visiting the progeny. The progeny's mother just makes him upset. That leaves me, and I am in the middle of production of "One Flew over the Cuckoo's Nest." Yes, my dad DOES come first, but I have 15 other people depending on me to be there, and backing out at this point is not an option, nor is anyone asking me to.

Luckily, the hospital is downtown, same as the theatre. But, not knowing what is wrong keeps me worried. Bill feels fine. He was eating, but they've got him on a liquid diet now. And he hates it. But, that's the way it works in his condition.

I am hoping he will stay in the hospital till Mom gets back from her visit. She can calm him most of the time.

Posted at 06:06 PM     Read More  


Fri - April 20, 2007

A Bed-Time Story


The Hole

There once was a hole dug deep into the ground. It wasn't a well... it never reached water. It wasn't a trap... nothing ever fell into it. It wasn't a mine... nothing was ever found in it. It was just a hole, deep, dark, and pointless.

When it was dug, there were such plans... water, gold, gems.... But it yielded nothing, just darkness.

One night, the moon, graceful and shining silver and blue, rose directly overhead. Its light reached down to the bottom of the hole, shining on every mote of dirt on the walls, every inch of stone. And, slowly, the hole filled. Not with water, not with gems, not with furs, but with the gentle light of the moon, soft and forever.

It filled to overflowing with the light, filled until it had no other choice... it began to spill out. And the bottom of the hole, because the hole had been beaten, began to rise from the depths, the hole becoming shallower and shallower, until, at last, the silver light of the moon shown down on level ground, a perfect circle of fresh dirt, ready and fertile for life and love.

And around that circle, a golden ring formed in the dirt. It represented all that circle of dirt had been, all it was, all it would become. A never ending cycle of life and love.

Not what you expected, was it?

Posted at 11:55 PM     Read More  
Returning to the Stage
I Am So Proud of You!
What Really Hurts
Running Shorter...
A Night without Power
SHE GOT IT!
Movie Review: Ghost Rider
Poetry Post: Leonard Cohen
Midnightish...
New Song: Rock the World
3 Words
Hospitals and Houseguests
6 Nov 2006
17 Oct 2006


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