Drydock as a physical metaphor for life

All my bags are (over)packed, I'm (not) ready to go...

I am sitting in an empty gate are of the Atlanta airport, awaiting a flight to Freeport.. in the Bahamas. I am trying to be as excited about where I'm going and its' eventual travel around the world as people act like I should be when I tell them about it. I'm working on it.

So since I landed at this airport, I heard that Robert Altman passed away. Now there's a guy whose work I really liked, without notable exception. I just remembered... I actually got to work with him a tiny bit back in (geez) ... well, I was still in school, it was in 1995. It was in Kansas City. I was supposed to play a very "white" young jazz singer in a club that Harry Belafonte's character owned. He discussed it with me, we shot it, and he was very nice and encouraging. Then the scene was cut. Or recast with some name cameo person, if I remember, shot later, then cut. I wound up being a kid helping his grandmother in the train station. I did, though, have the experience of "working with" Robert Altman, for all of 20 minutes. If you don't know the guy's filmography, check it out. He directed so many GREAT movies, including one of my great guilty pleasures, Popeye with Robin Williams.

Well, it's almost time for them to call my flight. Then I will schlep all my stuff to the big ol' ship and sit in the Bahamas in drydock for 9 days before starting any cruising.

Now listening to: Brian Posehn's Nerd Rage. I highly recommend it. Very pfunny.

Irritate the Powerful with Alan Moore

http://www.givemeliberty.org/RTP2/UPDATES/Update2006-11-18.htm

Check out that link. It intrigues me. At first I thought it was inspiring. Then ridiculous. Then inspired. Then laughable. Then I thought... if this keeps growing... if it becomes a "movement" (heh... "movement" - Peter Griffin) ... it might actually be really powerful. It would be, at least in an artistic sense.

Thoughts?

I hereby copyright the word "Christmanukkwanza"

-This is one of the most absurd things I have ever seen. Here's one for your Christmanukkwanza(TM) lists, kids.

-In 2007, barring unforseen circumstances, I will spend time on five or six of the seven continen... wait, I'm reading some news... sorry. Make that five or six of the eight continents.

It will take me far away from my biggest current vice, Triple-shot eggnog lattes, yet within arm's reach of stronger vices like incredibly cheap or outright free drinks on the ship.

I will also be removed from the world where "You, Me, and DuPree" is considered a commodity worth pouring millions into.

What? That's just crazy! They just got married, DuPree can't move in with them, he's a disaster! Look out, America! Better hold onto your plates, there's a big helping of comedy coming your way!

(gunshot)

If you have nothing to say...

BATMAN, 1989, a little film that you might have seen? The last heading is a Jack Palance line from that movie, later repeated by Jack Nicholson creepily impersonating Mr. P.

I will not say who or how many quizzically referred to that heading. I understand normal people not getting the reference, but I could probably say horrid, offensive things in this blog and get less feedback from you people than I did about that one random header. Strange.

Then again, according to my tracker info, there are those of you I find consistently lurking about that I've yet to hear from... but that's okay. I understand. Hell, I don't care - I'm amazed anybody reads this.

Random notes...

-Feeling better. Gradually.

-My iPod officially died last weekend. It's been in a coma for some time; the decision was made and its' family was near when the (usb) plug was pulled. I was very sad (angry) when it died (crapped out) but I now am glad it did. See, I replaced my iPod yesterday with a brand new, just released Microsoft Zune. Buy one. I don't get a cut, but I'm sure when Microsoft and China combine their forces to rule the world, I can point to entries like this to aid in my selection for a higher position in the new Sino-Gatesian society.

-I've just made a deal that will keep the Empire out of here forever. I also got a new coat. It's very spiffy and looks a lot like this. Actually, it is that coat, one exactly like it, made to my measurements. I'm happy to have a coat finally long enough to fit me properly. Why should you care? Well, for every purchase of one of those coats... a person... in a factory... is paid a salary to... I got nothing. There is no reason for you to care. Come on, I've been recovering from an injury for a month, doing very little, I have nothing of substance to blog about! All my writing energy has been focused on my book... ... well, cat's out of the bag there.

I WILL have much to blog on very, very soon. Or at least one thing. Not the book.

I would like to make one proposal. no, declaration. See, 2006 was pretty much a bad year for me. I had a lot of great times, sure, met some great friends I will hope to hold onto for years to come. On paper, though, the minuses have outweighed the pluses by an unprecedented margin. That's not melancholy, I'm basically fine, it's just analysis. A lot went down in '06. Anyway, I've spoken with the board of directors, and we are ending 2006 as of November 21. 2007 will not end on that date next year, it will end as scheduled, it will just begin early and be longer. It will HAVE to be a great year. It will have two Thanksgivings, two Christmases, two holiday seasons! Please adjust your clocks and calendars accordingly. 2007 is going to be great.

And long, apparently.

"Jack... You're my number one guy!"

"One of the most important reasons for living is to do something - live outside of yourself and put together an idea, an idea that you want to explore and then complete... Awaken your creative sensitivities."

The Man. 1919-2006.

"Donald, for lack of a better word, is good."

Sometimes you just need to hear something like that. Click on the heading to go the the random insert-your-name-into-a-movie-quote generator that told me that.

Or click here.

Why I am worried about LOST

This is an entry about a TV show. Yes, it's come to this.

Okay, I just saw the last episodes of LOST I will see before... probably May, based on a number of factors. One major factor is that they're holding off on airing new episodes again until February.

Anyway... I'm not a huge TV watcher. Based on the fact that when I'm at home (in the USA) I tend to work during "primetime" and that I am a huge hater of reality television, I tend to catch a lot of things only when I am introduced to them via DVD, when friends record, or somehow other go out of my way to get them. Such is the case with one of two shows that not quite one year ago breathed life back into my faith in contemporary television... LOST.

Yes, I was late jumping on the LOST bandwagon, but I watched season one on DVD ...all the episodes... one after the other in short order. I caught up on season two, and I was engrossed. The other show? You're going to laugh, but if you haven't seen it don't you dare - Sci Fi Channel's Battlestar Galactica. Again on DVD, I caught up with it. Now they're both into their third seasons, and BSG continues to be strong while LOST is... well, losing me.

The strength of both shows has always been a strong ensemble of very human characters placed in difficult, unimaginable circumstances but dealing with everything in very human ways. Both shows have very large, strong casts. LOST tends to paint its characters with broader strokes, while BSG doesn't rely as much on archetypes as letting the actors do their work. This is not to besmirch the work of the actors on LOST or the writing - it's just a bit more over the top, in that way. There are many similarities, but strangely, now that I think about it, BSG in its more fantastic setting is somehow less of a melodrama than LOST.

Back to the point - LOST, this season. I don't know what's changed. I don't know if the writing staff has changed or if there is pressure from the network to focus on certain things. Since the strength of LOST has always been your concern for the characters and the fact that there are so many plotlines to follow. This season has been, pretty much, dull. They set up so much in the season two ending cliffhanger, and they've touched on almost none of it. They've ignored huge plot elements they introduced only to focus week after week on "They are still in cages! They could get out, but they don't! There's sexual tension!" I'm trying to say all I can without giving anything away to those who aren't caught up. Or don't care. Anyway, I hope that when the show returns, it returns to form. The big "mid-season ending" cliffhanger left me caring very little what happens next.

One strength of LOST's first season, even its second to a lesser degree? You have no idea who will survive from one week to the next. They were absolutely unafraid to knock off a character you knew and loved, unexpectedly, and without leaking it beforehand to Access Hollywood or some other outlet. It was truly unpredictable. One sign that LOST has grown its cajones back? Let the guy kill Sawyer. Don't let us see it coming. Of course, that might be too predictable.

I fear that the show may have lost its way, but I still think it's very well-written and a step in the right direction for television. Problem is, well, I've been hurt before. I watched THE X-FILES. I was so done with it by the end of the series that I had long ago stopped making the effort to record or watch it in years. I have the DVDs, somewhere, up to season 8. and my fear now is that, ike the showrunners of X-Files, the creators of LOST did not have a full overall story arc... just a great premise. One thing X-Files continued to do well, though, even after you knew its "mythology" was going nowhere, was to keep producing good episodes that were unrelated to that. Up to a point, only 5 or 6 episodes a year would deal with the "conspiracy" in any major way, the rest were just damned good spooky and/or supernatural detective stories.*

I have to admit, having to sit around for nearly a month in a place with a DVR has helped me catch some good stuff. If you are like me and usually have limited ability to catch TV, I have to recommend two shows... one of which has the potential to be an all-tie favorite at this point. HEROES, on NBC. Seriously, get it on itunes or find it online somewhere and catch it from the beginning. It is on track to be REALLY good.

And.. JERICHO, on CBS (I think) I have no idea what shows are successful and what aren't, but I'm afraid this interesting little show might not last. Look into both of them -

Okay, my disgustingly stereotypical blog posting which includes my long-winded opinions on television shows is over. You can safely read my blog again, this will not be a habit. For your patience, here is a picture of a monkey smoking a cigarette.

Tell Me What I Am

A friend just turned me on to this site, which offers a very thought-provoking, in-depth, hyphenation-inducing quiz that offers to help you figure out which "faith" best suits your actual personal belief system. This is not one of those "which _____ character would you be" kind of quizzes that have five questions that all obviously point to one outcome or another... this impressed me. I've always been of the mind that a person's spirituality is a very personal thing, but a very important thing. My specific beliefs draw from many religious influences, and while I have a distaste for organized religion in general I do believe it can be a beautiful thing. That's about as much as you'll get out of me on that subject here. The site is beliefnet.com, and you'll find the quiz by clicking here. Take it - you might be surprised where you fall in. Those that fall in the lower half of the list, or below the 50th percentile, they say, you wouldn't do too well with at all. Apparently I'd be 100% at home with one of these... My results were:

1. Unitarian Universalism (100%)
2. Reform Judaism (93%)
3. Liberal Quakers (92%)
4. Neo-Pagan (87%)
5. Mainline to Liberal Christian Protestants (83%)
6. New Age (81%)
7. New Thought (81%)
8. Bah?'? Faith (76%)
9. Scientology (71%)
10. Orthodox Judaism (69%)
11. Sikhism (67%)
12. Mahayana Buddhism (66%)
13. Islam (61%)
14. Jainism (59%)
15. Secular Humanism (58%)
16. Hinduism (56%)
17. Christian Science (Church of Christ, Scientist) (56%)
18. Theravada Buddhism (56%)
19. Orthodox Quaker (50%)
20. Taoism (47%)
21. Nontheist (41%)
22. Mainline to Conservative Christian/Protestant (39%)
23. Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints (Mormons) (38%)
24. Eastern Orthodox (34%)
25. Roman Catholic (34%)
26. Seventh Day Adventist (28%)
27. Jehovah's Witness (19%)

My name is Inigo Montoya, you killed my father, prepare to buy.

Sitting here on a Friday night with some ibuprofen and Braum's coursing through me, I ran across this seriously expensive but seriously cool item. Click here.