Sunday, December 21, 2008
Yay for Science
"The truth is that promoting science isn't just about providing resources," he said. "It's about protecting free and open inquiry. It's about ensuring that facts and evidence are never twisted or obscured by politics or ideology. It's about listening to what our scientists have to say. Even when it's inconvenient."
And here is the article on npr that it came from should you wish to read the whole thing: http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=98564233
I'm just happy that it looks like we are actually going to turn back towards science and rationality with the next administration. Maybe we can turn all the bad around, at least to some extent instead of watching ourselves continue to spiral downward.
Friday, December 19, 2008
TDTESS
A second similarity is the ineptitude of the American government in each movie. Both the 1951 and 2008 government react with force and it just makes things worse. Instead both movies hold up the world's scientists as the light of hope and reason amongst the thugs who run the government. One possible problem with this classification of people is that the scientists were the ones who actually created the nuclear and rocket power of concern in the first version...and science and tech is responsible for a lot of the emissions/pollution etc. threatening our world. So, perhaps scientists are not as pure as the world of this movie suggests.
Differences of interest - The role of women in the two movies. In the first, the main woman is a secretary to a scientist. In the 2008 our main women are a top scientist and the secretary of state or defense...I don't remember which. Obviously women are more liberated in the roles that they are allowed to have in modern society. We don't have to be secretaries or teachers or nurses. Also of interest is the makeup of the two families who figure in the storylines. In the 1950s we have a white mother with biological son. In the new version we have a white mother with a black step son. Family structure has become non-traditional (almost to an extreme in that the author has decided on both a step and interracial family) in the modern movie, reflecting the modern world. Then there is, of course, the tech. The modern robot is a lot more versatile (although I didn't really like the initial design when it appears on the screen). Instead of having a beam of light that turns things to slag, it dissolves into microbugs that devour through man and man-made objects.
In the end, I'll give them points for reinventing the classic, however, I do wish that there was more new stuff instead of vaguely recycled content available.
Saturday, November 15, 2008
Friday, November 14, 2008
Plan 9.2
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Plan_9_from_Outer_Space
My favorite oops which I noticed but didn't really grasp is that the resurrected old man is actually played by someone other than Bela Lugosi for most of the film and that's why he walks around with a Dracula cape raised over his arm and covering his face half the time!
Thursday, November 13, 2008
Plan 9
I'm sitting here trying to think of the worst or most random scene in the movie and I'm not coming up with anything too vividly. I did spend most of the movie wondering why the supposed corpse of the old man's bride is so young compared to him...also, why were they buried in vampire clothes? And why do the corpses, who are not vampires, move around like vampires. (The answer to this one is probably because two of the corpses are played by Bela Lugosi and Vampira who usually did play vampires - but still, they aren't vampires in this one and shouldn't have moved like them.) So, yes, it really is bad, nothing works quite right. Ed Wood really was not meant to write or direct or produce.
Thursday, November 6, 2008
SFX
One of my favorite movies of this old scifi/fantasy/mythic genre is Clash of the Titans. The stop-motion claymation monsters that special effects wiz Ray Harryhausen was able to conjure up for this and many other movies of the period are simly amazing. Sure they aren't smooth and perfect, but the fact that its clay and someone spent that much time painstakingly making it work is amazing. One of the things that I strongly believe made LOTR work as well as it did is that so many of the effects are either not done with CGI or are based on the work of real actors who are then translated into CGI characters. Gollum works because he was based on a real actor who acted out the scenes while his motions were captured for the computer. Pans over scenery like the tower of orthanc work because its actually a big model with intricate detail not computer generated scenery.
I do appreciate a lot of what modern technology can give to the realm of movies, but am certainly attracted to the way that things used to be done. It's so much more fun to be amazed by the sophistication of effects that were created without the aid of computers and try to figure out exactly how they were accomplished. And yes, sometimes the effects are quite terrible and that makes the experience of watching these kinds of movies even more fun. You can shake your head at the sheer campiness of the monsters and the acting. So whether the stories are great and the acting good, or the stories mediocre with laugh-out-loud "scary" monsters, I declare my love for pre-computer scifi movies!
Friday, October 31, 2008
Business Witch
Book Catch Up:
1. Blindness - I actually took this one to Europe with me this summer and spent a good bit of bus time reading it. Not my most favorite book, but an interesting exploration of humanity and what might potentially happen to it in the face of a debilitating epidemic. I'm not sure that if the world were struck by sudden blindness people would really react the way that they do in the book, I guess I hope that most people have more goodness in them and more bravery. It seems to take an awful lot for some of the characters to react to some of the terrible things happening to them, but I have never been and hope to never be in situations they find themselves in, so I cannot really say what the normal reaction would be. A note on the structure of the book - there are no quotation marks or paragraph brakes to show when people are speaking so its a little hard to follow at points, you just really need to be paying attention. Oh, and despite its very crappy reviews, I actually thought the movie did a pretty good job at capturing the book. I am not sure that it would be appreciated as much by non-readers of the book though.
2. A Heartbreaking Work of Staggering Genius - Okay, so I'd heard from a few people that this book was fabulous so I decided to give it a try. Honestly, I was so put off by the pretentiousness of the title that I wasn't really into reading. If someone is going to call their work this, it better damn well be good. And....it was alright. I had trouble with the narrator - I wanted to feel sympathy for him because of the loss of his parents and his being left to raise his younger brother, and sometimes I did, but sometimes I just really disliked him. Again perhaps its a problem of never having been in similar situations, but I suspect my reactions to it all would have been significantly different. So maybe it was a difficult read because the narrator and I are at different places on the personality spectrum. Definitely some interesting writing techniques where he weaves fiction into the nonfiction (in ways that you can tell its fiction so it works just fine).
3. The Twilight Series - I really enjoyed this series and would recommend to fans of young adult fiction and/or vampires. I felt a connection to a number of the characters throughout the books and was pleased that the series ended with more than what could have been the obvious conclusion - the main character becoming a vampire - there is a lot more there which is nice. I'm not saying that the book doesn't have its obvious moments - you definitely can see a number of things coming before the characters identify them themselves. Fun and fast, of all three here, my favorite.
I can't remember if there was anything else in there so I guess we are all up to date!
Thursday, October 23, 2008
Design Work
Voila -
Just a few more changes to make. Oh and the pics in the document are by Rachel Philipson, J. Casciano, and others. Wheee!
Monday, October 6, 2008
Giving in
In other news....um...got a whole lotta nothin. Maybe later!
Saturday, October 4, 2008
Saturday
After returning from the lake, I decided that it was project time - I've been itching to dye my hair or rearrange furniture or redecorate. Dyeing the hair is out for now because it really is a nice color right now and I really should stop going random colors because of a seeming need for change. Number two was out because, well, there really isn't any other possible way to arrange the furniture in my apartment because of the placement of doors and windows. So number three it was. This is what I accomplished -
1. All my knitting/crochet in a nice new green bin. Also moved a huge pile of books off the table I'm sitting at to my bookshelf which I opened up a shelf of by putting a bunch of old college stuff into another bin.
2. Scrumptious dinner - Chili Chicken Tacos with a few modifications i.e. keeping most of the spicy out of the recipe. The chicken was cooked in my dutch oven for two hours and it shredded apart superbly! Yum. The Heineken is for another recipe that I'll probably make tomorrow but it only calls for one bottle, so I guess I'll just have to drink the other five - oh darn!
3. Stripped a wall in the main room to ready it for new wall decorations - looks kinda lonely right now... This was accomplished while listening/watching to Fellowship. Wizards and Hobbits and Dwarves, oh my!
4. Also put together this little beauty - collage o' my Europe trip. Yay!
Wednesday, October 1, 2008
Table for One
Yesterday I actually went to the gym and then came home and cooked for myself. It hasn't been easy to cook for myself lately, its just not as fun to cook and eat alone as it is to do so with other people, so I'm likely to just pop something frozen into the microwave, but I'm trying to do better and last night was a success. I had salmon, potatoes and onion, and green beans. I even had a glass of red wine and dessert - no fat chocolate pudding with peaches. And I stayed within my weight watchers points limit for the day! Pat on the back for myself.
I think I was going to write more, but I got sidetracked (nicely) with an hour long chat with my college bud, M, so I think that is it for tonight - more later!
Tuesday, September 23, 2008
Gala the third
This will be my third gala with the Museum and, as my office wife can attest, things are more organized than ever. I can't help it, I just want everything to be organized, where it needs to be, easy, and perfect. The gala is never perfect, but I do my best to try and make it so. This year marks a number of interesting firsts for the gala - we are having an open instead of cash bar, having a magician and caricature artist, starting earlier in the evening....and we still have plenty of tickets left for sale. Ouch. Anyway, for those that are there, it should be a great time and although we may not quite reach our goal short of miracles, we have made a profit for the annual fund, so that is good!
I think one of the major problems that we face in this town is the sheer number of non-profit organizations out there looking for a piece of the donor pie...and right around this time of year is when the largest all tend to hold their big fancy galas. I imagine that if I was in the position to be a donor I wouldn't particularly desire to go to a fundraiser every weekend. So, we'll be looking for new ideas about the event and possibly investigate a change of season as we debrief after this year's event.
It's so strange that we haven't even had the event and I'm already beginning to move on from it. At work, I seem to be doing more related to the November board meeting and other upcoming projects than I am for the gala. Time never stops in anticipation of a big event, there is always something else to get started on.
Sunday, September 21, 2008
Quest...
Saturday, September 13, 2008
European Wonder - Part 5
Day 11 - Clouds arrive
It's an early morning on the bus. We are headed to Austria and there are a lot of people hoping to sky dive, so we hope to arrive early enough to let them. Unfortunately, as we travel north we encounter the first poor weather of the trip. It begins to cloud over, get windy, and then the rain starts. By the time we get to Austria, skydiving has been canceled and paragliding is in jeopardy. It turns out that the only extreme sport to go forward, the cheapest option, is Canyoning...and I am signed up. We take two van taxis out to the shop where they dress us in wet suits and climbing gear. Then we head up to a gorge...and rappel down into it next to a waterfall. We jump into plunge pools, slide through chutes, and rappel some more. Cold, scary, and too short, but overall fun. I, of course, had been getting a cold on the way to Austria and now it begins to take over. After a few whiskey cokes in the basement bar, I turn in somewhat early.
I found my pirate in the Austrian Gasthof
Day 12 - The Rhine
It is again a bus day, this time we are off to the Rhine Valley in Germany. When we arrive, we check into a medieval castle that has been transformed into a modern hostel. It is actually a bit strange, the outside and inside do not match whatsoever. The view from the castle hill is quite lovely. We are surrounded by vineyards that cling to the steep slopes. In the evening, we get back on our bus which drives us down the river a ways to a beer stein shop and a cuckoo clock shop. On the way we see a number of other castles, some in use, some in ruins. I would have loved to have time to explore them. But, alas, the rhine is just a way-stop to our real destination, Amsterdam. We spend some time in the stein shop where Steph spends an absolute fortune. I just get a large one for me and a smaller one for my dad. After shopping, the bus takes us on to a campsite where the proprietor, Hermy, is going to have us do a wine tasting of local wines. We sip out of large shot glasses. H. turns out to be a riot. After that we head back up the river to the narrow streets of the town we are staying in and are off to bed.
Day 13 - Cheese & Windmills
Off to Amsterdam in the Netherlands. The weather clears up for a bit as we arrive at our cheese & clog making demonstration just outside of the city. I revel in the cool crisp breeze as we step off the bus. The temperature has plummeted as we have moved northwards through Europe. The farmer who gives the demonstration is quite a character. As with all the men in Europe who have given us demonstration, he invites all the ladies to the front and wants us to get up nice and close. He also speaks a dozen or more languages, making us feel rather uneducated. The cheese is quite tasty but I opt out of purchasing anything at the shop and instead go back outside to wait for everyone else to finish up.
We head onward to our hostel where we check in and then have some free time to explore and get dinner before heading on to our evening entertainment. We soon learn that walking in Amsterdam can be hazardous to your health. The roads are shared with bicycles, cars, and trams. The bikers are particularly crazy. We head down to a touristy district and have dinner at an irish pub. Amsterdam feels a lot more like a city in America to us than some of the other places we have been, still it is quite different from home.
For our evening, we are taking a quick tour with Candace through Amsterdam with our final destination a sex show in the red light district. Two drinks are included with admission which is probably a good idea because I end up right in the front row next to the stage where the ladies proceed to do their acts including a candle show, writing on an audience member holding the marker down below, pulling a ribbon out of it, live sex with one of the ugliest men I have seen, and a banana show. More than anything else, it was funny. Then we wended our way through skinny alley to see the ladies in windows and that was about it for the night.
Day 14 - Iffy weather
In the morning we take a bike tour of the city. I think I am going to be run over several times, especially when I get stuck behind some of the people from our group who really cannot ride bikes. It starts to rain about halfway through and I am the only one whose bike is not equipped with a rain jacket. Thanks. So, I get wet along with having a head cold. Not my favorite excursion. The guide tells us that it rains almost every day in Amsterdam. Would have been nice to know before going out.
After the bike tour, we head out to the Anne Frank House where we have to wait in line for some time. But, the wait is worth it. The museum is laid out extremely well. Definitely a must see for those visiting the city. We also visit the Van Gogh Museum which is also interesting but way too crowded with people. For dinner we meet up with our group again and head to the Sea Palace, a floating chinese restaurant. Dinner is followed up by a canal cruise where I proceed to get incredibly toasted on red wine. When we alight from the cruise, we head to a bar where it happens to be karaoke night. We meet a fellow guy from CT, drink more, and I am eventually left behind when Sarah decides that she needs to take the also incredibly toasted Steph home. Luckily, some of the other tour girls are still in the bar and I make my drunken way home with Candace.
Day 15 - Ick
Bus to Brugges then to Calais and the ferry back to Dover. Incredibly hung over, I barely make it through the day alive.
Day 16 - London Part 2
We wander London for the second time and see the outside of the Tower of London, the Globe Theatre, and a few other highlights. We wander over the London Bridge, by the London Dungeon where tons of people are lined up the street in both directions to get spooked. Funds are running low, so we don't actually do much, just walk around. We end the day by walking through Trafalgar square, having dinner, and heading back to the hostel.
Day 17 - Flight
Flight from hell, well, ok, not quite that bad, but we leave an hour late because of problems packing the plane. When we reach America, there are terrible thunderstorms in New York and JFK has been closed, so we end up landing at a smaller airport where we get refueled and wait. After a few hours we take off again and are finally able to land at JFK. All in all, we spend about and extra four hours on the plane. Fun. But, we are back.
Tuesday, September 2, 2008
European Wonder - Part 4
Full pics (of which there are many from Rome) available here: http://www.flickr.com/photos/atreides22/sets/
Monday, August 25, 2008
European Wonder - Part 3
Sunday, August 24, 2008
European Wonder - Part 2
Saturday, August 23, 2008
Pics!
Enjoy!
http://www.flickr.com/photos/atreides22/sets/
I hope the link works right - lemme know if there are problems seeing things!
Wednesday, August 20, 2008
European Wonder - Part 1
We arrive at Newark airport in the later afternoon, anxious for our plane that is scheduled to leave around 9 p.m. It is my second time traveling across the Atlantic, SJ’s too, but for SB it is a first. Waiting is my least favorite of activities. I always just want to get it over with, unfortunately a plane ride is nothing but waiting – waiting to get on the plane, waiting to take off, waiting to land. The trip was not the best – I was unable to sleep and when we had a turbulent landing after a less than appetizing in-flight dinner I almost spewed.
Nevertheless, the three of us emerged into London alive and exhausted at about 9:30 a.m. local time. We were determined to get on local time despite it being the wee hours of the morn at home so we tubed up to the hostel, dropped our bags, and were off to lunch at Wetherspoon. Now, in London instead of finding a nice sign that tells you to either seat yourself or wait, like at most places at home, the restaurants we ate at in Europe left this particular piece of information a guessing game. It turned out here that you seated yourself and ordered at the bar. So, to start things off right I had a strongbow cider, burger, and “chips” aka “fries” if you live in America.
A tangent on money for a moment – what’s with all the coins England? Pounds, two pounds, 50 pence, 20 pence, the list goes on and on. I still have pounds of pounds in coinage left kicking around because no one will change them back! It was certainly different to be somewhere where coinage is still a big part of money transactions, not at all like here where the most common thing is to use plastic or throw a 20 at the cashier.
After lunch, we headed back to the tube to travel off to Westminster. We managed to make it off the tube despite all falling asleep at different moments because of the soothing motion. Our first stop was Buckingham palace which I wasn’t all that impressed by. It was no medieval castle – more businessey, modern, and stiff looking to me. But we did see some guards in funny hats. Completing our photo ops there, we moved off in the direction of Westminster Abbey, Big Ben, and Parliament. We also took a trip on the London Eye – a massive ferris wheel giving great views of Westminster and the city. It was a bit of an adventure to get on and off – the wheel doesn’t stop so you just have to leap on while its going around…don’t trip! After the eye it was back to the Globetrotter hostel for dinner and sleep because of exhaustion and a very early 5 a.m. wakeup in order to meet up with the tour group.
Day Two - Hellllo Ladies!
Up early to meet the tour group and get on the road - first stop, Paris! The three of us drag our bags down to reception, check out, and discover that our tour group is made up of 40 girls and 6 boys, two of whom proceed to seemingly not speak for the rest of the tour (they were Korean and I don't think their English was all that great). Anyway, I hadn't realized that I'd signed up for the sorority tour. So much for vacation romance :-P
The tour participants are Americans, Aussies, Kiwis, Koreans, Vietnamese, English, Canadian, and more. Our trip leader, Candace turns out to be a delight, fun and infinitely patient with the a group of sometimes rowdy 17-30 somethings.
The bus takes us from London to Dover where we board a ferry for Calais. The cliffs are pure white, amazing. During one of the world wars the people burrowed caves into the cliffs to hide people and even a hospital. We land in Calais, France an hour and half later where we all pile onto the coach that will be our second home for the next two weeks. We choose the back of the bus for our slot. After a full day of travel, we arrive in Paris around 6 p.m. We "enjoy" a rather poor dinner - the vegetarian option turned out to be just Green beans and fries - then take a bus tour of the city. Our first stop is Monmartre where we ascend the steps to the Sacre Couer. Magnificent views. We also see the Opera House, Place de la Concorde, Champs D'elysees, Eiffel Tower, Moulin Rouge etc.
Full on pics soon to be available via flickr once I figure everything out! Stay tuned.
Friday, July 25, 2008
Europe!!!
Thursday, July 10, 2008
Book catch up
The Dark Labyrinth by Lawrence Durrell - I really enjoyed this one. The novel is very much character driven rather than plot driven. We meet and explore the histories of a diverse group of people drawn together by a vacation to the island of Crete...where disaster awaits. A book sale find I was very happy with!
The Society of S by Susan Hubbard - Readable but not great - its a twist on vampire lore. Unexceptional and I can see why it was on the sale rack at Borders. If you are into vampires, give it a go as light summer reading. If you aren't into vampires don't bother.
The Last Days of Dogtown by Anita Diamant - This was really great. Sad, but well written and I was drawn through the text. As with Labyrinth, the tale is a collection of character's personal histories all drawn together by the locale - Dogtown. For those against any type of supernatural happenings in their reading, this one would be my recommendation for you - its straight up historical fiction.
Anthem by Ayn Rand - This was a short read that I accomplished in the park this evening - I think it took about an hour and a half. Interesting but not my favorite - its in the 1984 genre. It also gets preachy at the end. I'm all for individualism and wouldn't want to live in a world with a collective "we" like in the book - but it is interesting to think about. Is giving up a self worth ending war, inequality, and strife? Do the benefits of security outweigh the monotony and seeming meaninglessness of the lifestyle described in the book? Pluses and minuses on both sides of the equation.
I've also been reading Mythology by Edith Hamilton - learning about Greek Gods etc.
That's it for now, ta!
Tuesday, July 1, 2008
Meme
1) What was I doing 10 years ago?
Lets see - 10 years ago was 1998 so I was in the summer between high school and middle school. I recall nothing specific about this summer. Ooo...wait, later in the summer would be my first experience with marching band - the show was a couple of Chuck Mangione songs - I can still hum the theme of one of them. :-)
2) What are 5 things on my to-do list for today?
Well, the day is almost over so for the rest of the evening my to do list will be
1. go home
2. make dinner
3. hang out with T
4. surf the internet
5. go to bed
3) Snacks I enjoy
Oh man, snacks are awesome - chips and salsa, ice cream, cookies, saltines, cheese, hummus
4) Things I would do if I were a billionaire:
1. not work a regular job
2. buy a house - preferably on some kind of waterfront
3. support museums
4. travel everywhere
5. Take all kinds of music/art/design/whatever seems interesting at the moment classes
5) Places I have lived:
South Windsor, CT
Ithaca, NY
I have not moved much.
6) Jobs I have had:
Sandwich Maker - Blimpies
Sales Associate - Linens and Things
Sales Associate - Sears
File Runner - Curtis 1000
Dining Hall Wench - Ithaca College
Technology & Writing Consultant - IC
Research Dept intern - National Geographic
Development intern - PRI
Development Operations Manager & Membership Coordinator - PRI
Consider yourself tagged.
Monday, June 30, 2008
the Ander-Berry Wedding
The view from our condo - just lake forever, we were right on the water. I wanted to stay for the rest of the summer, but they made us checkout on sunday! I arrived Friday afternoon, having left work early and spent some time chilling with Ben watching Lost Boys before the rest of the crew showed up. We had a lovely "welcome" party at the hotel later in the evening with the engaged couple.
Then Saturday, after a somewhat late rise, we headed out to Canadaigua center to tour some fancy gardens. It was a lovely day until just about an hour and a half before the wedding when we all watched a great big thunder storm work its way down the lake. Luckily it was short lived and the wedding was saved! Everyone looked lovely including the bride:
They were both so smiley - a great couple! I'm so glad I got to go and share the day with them. Here is a view from the wedding location - I think I might steal it when I get married!
Good food, good drinks, great dancing! Here is Alicia and my first pic with Mrs. Berry!