Friday, January 30, 2004

My Heros
They looked a little more like "talking heads" than I would have liked, but according to Reuters, reported in the Chicago Tribune today, all went well. "LOS ANGELES -- Former "Saturday Night Live" regular Dennis Miller returned to the NBC fold in style this week, drawing a big ratings gain for sibling cable channel CNBC with the debut of his prime-time talk show Monday night, viewership figures showed." Click more.. below.
posted by @ 08:04 PM CST [more..]

Thursday, January 29, 2004

Apple Pancake
Some pancake houses have Apple Pancakes and some don't. They usually come to the table in an iron skillet, and you can slice and serve as you would lasagne. I had one tonight with some pork sausage, after clearing the snow off the driveway. The apples really "pop" with any kind of pork chop or roast, and the brunch possibilities go without saying. Why fight the sunday brunch crowd if you can make your own apple pancake? Click more.. below.
posted by @ 11:55 PM CST [more..]

Wednesday, January 28, 2004

Justice
Today, as huge numbers of complaining "I'm just in it for the virgins" unfortunates are ground under the heel of post 9/11 justice, I'm reminded of the Nixon years. The FBI's Ten Most Wanted at that time were all "born in the USA" college students. They were all kids who grew up with Elvis, who was too stoned to buck the British invasion, and then, alas, they ran directly into Tricky Dick Nixon, who was busy saving America from Americans.

I guess justice is something that has to be viewed from a distance. Anyway, to the "I'm just in it for the virgins" crowd, and everyone else too, I offer big picture justice in "This Week's Fantasy." Link opens in a new window.
posted @ 06:00 PM CST [link]

Monday, January 26, 2004

Antichrist
I have always seen Bill Clinton as the Antichrist (a little overcooked, maybe), and the tenure of George W. speaks for itself, so now I'm wondering, gee, what's next? Will Americans wake up and smell the coffee? The two-party system no longer serves our interests when our choice of leaders always seems to be: a - bad, or b - worse. Why not give somebody else a chance. How about a political party, just for fun, with a platform that's fiscally responsible without that partys having ties to the religious right. What, you can't...? Click more.. below.
posted by @ 05:14 PM CST [more..]

Sunday, January 25, 2004

Eye Candy
Repeat visitors to this site will, no doubt, have noticed the new color scheme and graphics. Thanks to CSS, changes to "Eye Candy" are quick and easy. One thing gave me some problems, and I'd like to share the fix because I think it would be useful for a lot of bloggers. The problem comes up when you decide you want to decorate your scrollbars (IE only), and you're using xhtml so you can syndicate your blog. Click more.. below.
posted by @ 08:51 PM CST [more..]

Saturday, January 24, 2004

Captain Kangaroo
Bob Keeshan, who entertained generations of children as television's Captain Kangaroo, died yesterday at 76.

Keeshan's "Captain Kangaroo" premiered on CBS in 1955 and ran for 30 years before moving to public television for another six. The show won six Emmy Awards, three Gabriels and three Peabody Awards.

Do you remember the song lyric, "smoking cigarettes and watching Captain Kangaroo...?" You don't hear that sort of reference to Mister Rogers' Neighborhood. Do you?

By the way, It's Saturday. Don't miss the new "This Week's Skin."
posted @ 06:48 PM CST [link]

Wednesday, January 21, 2004

Alien Art
Alien, as you probably know, was rereleased as a director's cut (Ridley Scot) last Halloween. The Alien series has been major bread and butter for Sigourney Weaver, who has starred in all four of the films. I got the boxed set of the entire series (two are director's cuts) for Christmas and have become something of an expert. Check out Alien Art in "This Week's Fantasy," and you'll see what I mean. Link opens in a new window.
posted @ 11:55 PM CST [link]

Tuesday, January 20, 2004

Pop Tarts
No, not the kind you toast, but the kind you love to hate or at least tease a little. What with phony weddings, phony lesbian tongue kissing onstage, and media hype that will continue to rise to a crescendo with the approach of the Grammys, Britney and Madonna have some payback coming. This is your chance to do to them what they do to you. Click here to "Torture Pop Tarts." Sorry, this works in Internet Explorer only.
posted @ 05:31 PM CST [link]

Saturday, January 17, 2004

Homicide
Homicide, Life on the Streets, was simply the best cop show ever. I'm well into the third season on DVD and I'm loving every minute. This show was written by people who can really write. If you can get it, don't hesitate.

This is Saturday, and skin rotation day. Check out the new "This Week's Skin." Link opens in a new window. If you like it and want to use it as a background (wallpaper), download it now. It will be gone next Saturday.
posted @ 08:41 PM CST [link]

Thursday, January 15, 2004

Just Reboot
Computer advice for dummies? No, "just reboot" is sound, timesaving, and in some cases disaster avoidance advice for anyone. In fact, when something really weird happens, it's the computer savvy users who tend to get into the most trouble and waste the most time. Sophisticated fixes like expanding the size of virtual memory, tweaking the registry, or altering some application's .ini file are seldom necessary and are always dangerous. The dummies, on the other hand, will just give up in despair. Click more.. below.
posted by @ 09:06 PM CST [more..]

Wednesday, January 14, 2004

Matrix Reloaded
I watched Matrix Reloaded the other night. Twice. And I noticed that there is something going on that is very subtle. See the Matrix Reloaded "This Week's Fantasy" for the scoop. Link opens in a new window.
posted @ 09:04 PM CST [link]

Tuesday, January 13, 2004

Grammy Nominations
The 2004 Grammy Awards show is coming up February 8 on CBS.

The Recording Academy and BMG Strategic Marketing Group will release the tenth edition of the 2004 GRAMMY Nominees CD in stores on Jan. 20.

To view the 46th Annual GRAMMY Awards Final Nominations list, for recordings released during the Eligibility Year October 1, 2002 through September 30, 2003, click more.. below
posted by @ 08:23 PM CST [more..]

Monday, January 12, 2004

Skin Update
The link on your right, "This Week's Skin," is a feature intended to be enjoyed online, or as a downloaded background (wallpaper) for your windows desktop. Click more.. below.
posted by @ 07:36 PM CST [more..]

Saturday, January 10, 2004

Saint Agatho
Saint Agatho, pope from 678 to 681, died on this day in 681 during a plague that ravaged Rome. Imagine the newspapers, "Pope latest plague victim." And we bitch about the traffic. Now, on to the good news.

January 10 is now a feast day (thanks, Agatho), and this year it's also a Saturday. Saturday, as you know, is skin rotation day. Don't miss the new "This Week's Skin." The link is on your right.
posted @ 05:18 PM CST [link]

Friday, January 9, 2004

Friday Night
Friday night is movie night, but this week, thanks to our local public library, the evening's entertainment will include alcoholic beverages, smoking, pausing for bathroom breaks and trips to the kitchen, all without the normal requisite dependence on the video store's selection of last year's movies. Click more.. below.
posted by @ 07:16 PM CST [more..]

Wednesday, January 7, 2004

The Govinator
Arnold made his first "state of the state" address yesterday. And, according to the L.A. Times, "Schwarzenegger, unfortunately, has already made two unforgivable mistakes. First, he claimed to have easy answers, which he didn't bother sharing during his campaign. Second, he got elected." Click more.. below.
posted by @ 08:52 PM CST [more..]

Monday, January 5, 2004

Full Circle
"The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King." Reviewed in The New Yorker, 2004-01-05, by Anthony Lane.

This is what happened when a fellow-critic and I emerged, on December 11th, from a screening of "The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King." It had started well before noon, and the skies were practically dark by the time we staggered out. The movie, the last of a trilogy, runs almost three and a half hours, but, if you factor in the emotional buildup, the crammed ticket line, and the decompression period that will be required afterward, you are talking about an entire day ripped from your mortal life. Click more.. below.
posted by @ 06:16 PM CST [more..]

Saturday, January 3, 2004

Spooky Spam
This is a new one on me:

"One of the world's great secrets has always been lie detectors. You hear of the police using them, but very few of us have ever seen one, and fewer still have owned one. Where would you buy such a device, and how would you learn to use it?" Click more.. below.
posted by @ 09:00 PM CST [more..]

Thursday, January 1, 2004

December's Ten
The monthly optimized time management reading list entitled, "What Did Everyone Else Read?" in December.

With your time management problems in mind, I have listed December's ten most "viewed" entries, as reported by Cliff's Notes month end logs, ranked by times viewed, annotated with my comments on each entry. Fuckin' A, Bubba! Yeah, it wasn't easy, but what the hell. Click more.. below for all this, and links too!
posted by @ 05:38 PM CST [more..]