Who but Muse would run an article about old visions of the future that never came to pass? It ran in the January 2001 issue along with articles about neutrino hunting and maps and historic Muse stories and covers from A.D. 1, 410, 499, 1122, 1368, 1419, 1475, 1492, 1681, 1784, 1902, and 1903. In its honor, we dedicate this random thread to the memory of wistful will-bes that weren’t. (We still wish we could live in a domed city and commute by flying belt.)
Ideas for future random threads are still welcome.
So I was trying to figure out when did it stop being June I thought it wa still June before realizing I’m by losing my mind. It is still June in my time zone. Phew. I’m not crazy.
Slept in until 3pm this morning, watched trek 2009 with my mom, sis, and brother in law (mom and sis hadn’t seen it). And taking my sis to see Into Darkness tomorrow (which mom is….less than thrilled by. Probably because she found out it will be the fourth time I’ve seen it, an since the only money I have is why my parents give me….yeah. Oops)
Gonna watch TOS with her this summer. Plannin to watch them all myself and start back watching from the beginning with her, so I can watch them the first time alone like I want, but also watch them with her because she wants to and I want to watch them with her also. So that way I can do both. XD
Wish I could borrow my brother in law’s giant tv to watch on…..
So I went through another spate of researching solar eclipses. I don’t know if I posted about it the last time I looked it up (I probably did), but there’s going to be one on August 21, 2017 that covers most of the contiguous US. And the path of totality runs almost exactly through where I live. Even though I probably won’t be living there in 2017, the eclipse will be a great occasion on which to visit my parents!
I was reading the wikipedia article about it, and it said that the last total eclipse to run through the contiguous US was in 1979, and that one was only visible in the Northwest. And then I was hit by a blast from the past–we read Teaching a Stone to Talk, a collection of narratives by Annie Dillard. “Total Eclipse” is about that 1979 eclipse! Awesome.
Possible first post?
Hi Museblog! I’ve returned, and I’ll stay around now that the semester’s over. *melts*
I did reply to your lovely comments on the rants and plaints thread three and a half weeks ago, but I think the switch from home to school’s internet connection ate it. People scare me the closer I get to anyone, unless I’m feeling really brave from a different successful interaction or so awful I just want someone to listen to me. But I do care, so I can’t just walk away.
So I’ve recently finished my second-last semester of high school. I’m the top student in my year academically. I have that reputation as the socially awkward genius or something, which is as satisfying as I can get when I don’t know or don’t care about most of them. My friend group has fractured– turns out I’m not the only one who ended up drifting mostly away from others. I still have good school friends though, at least on some level.
I’m going to finally work out which university to go to next year, which can’t be that awful since I have by basic criteria and am restricting myself to Australia and New Zealand. (The basic applications process is easy. For most degrees we basically just log in to a website, select our preferences, and wait for our ATAR’s to be calculated.) But I’m still recovering from that semester, and rushing it isn’t going to work.
I’ve been having far too many bouts of jealousy, resentment, loneliness, bitter comparison, anger at all that, and all those fun emotions. My idealism (the optimistic Star Trek / rationalist!Harry’s patronus (I’m rereading HPMOR and it’s awesome) / Hari Seldon type) drained months ago and took a good chunk of dedicated curiosity with it, so the future seems dull though I think I’ll work something out. At least it has structure, the thought of having even less of an idea what I want scares me.
I guess this is the bit where I mention my mum has a terminal illness. Which is obviously awful for her. And my (non-)reaction to it is weird. Well, similarly to my reaction to the other stuff. But this post is long enough as it is.
I have read many of your comments on the June threads, so next time I’ll talk about something other than myself. Um, I hope you’re all well.
Welcome back! I’m really sorry about your mum *huggles*
*hugs back*
I’ve missed you, ML! Good luck with university decisions, and I am very sorry to hear about your mum’s illness.
Thank you, CO!
So on Saturday night i went to the East Coast Roller Derby Extravaganza with my bestie and stayed up till Sunday!!! But that might not count because i was at home when it turned Sunday. Anyway i had a good time, ate lots of junk food, watched a really good bout between boston/houston, and fell asleep on the long ride home.
Piggy (from the last thread) – What really fascinates me is that you take a lot more time to describe things than I might. Your posts make me slow way down and think about something in depth, like stopping by the side of the road to study an otherwise-undistinguished tree and thereby gaining a greater appreciation for it. It comes across as pleasantly meandering rather than haphazard or rambling. The subjects themselves are also just interesting, and you make good observations.
Happy July! Yesterday, my brother P. showed me how to shoot his bow and arrows– his glove was a but big for me, but despite my general lack of upper-body strength, I was able to pull the string back far enough to shoot. I did okay for my first time– the target was a foam block about half a meter square and I hit it about 70% of the time, so I’m not another Robin Hood, but my aim isn’t unbelievably terrible, either.
Happy Canada Day!
I’m wondering if there are any Canadian bloggers out there? Hello?
Kagcomix still stops by every once in a while.
Continuing death talk from June Random Thread:
Here’s a HypQuest about death that the Chatterbox did not admit.
1. What would you do if your best friend floated up to you in the form of a ghost and said, “Hi, it’s me, (friend’s name), and I died in a car crash. Only you and a few other people can see me as a ghost. Can I stay with you until I figure out how to manage my new afterlife?”?
I’d say, “Sure! It’s too bad you’re dead, but it’s cool that you became a ghost. Come on in!”
I’ll create a new thread for this topic, as long as you promise to use it carefully.
No prob, Rob! I’ll try to be as careful as possible.
so I posted a long thing on the random thread last night but it was already closed by the time I finished and is now lost to the woven beyond
whoops
anyway
I watched 46 episodes of Young Justice over the weekend
I am not proud
but I do have a lot of feelings about superheroes
Robert, last thread – it’s good to be 17, I think! I’m still getting used to it but I always need a while to adjust to a new age. Today we’re making our way to Florence for the second half of the tour (two more concerts this week including one in San Gimignano). I’m also excited to see Siena. Italy is just the loveliest country. I’m having a wonderful time.
Early this morning I saw a millipede running across the floor while I was using the bathroom. I freaked out a little mentally, then grabbed a wad of toilet paper and squished it, then flushed it away. I left behind its detached leg and then I looked on the floor… and the leg was STILL MOVING.
The window was open, so it might have just been the wind, but I wasn’t sure and I really didn’t want to find out by seeing a little millipede’s leg crawling all over our house. I got another piece of toilet paper, collected the freaky leg, and flushed it away. I’d planned on taking a shower, but I just went back to my room and sat around on my bed in my underwear for a little while overcoming the freakiness. I felt as if the millipede was crawling up my back, but when I felt for it, I didn’t find anything. Then at about 8 am, probably forty-five minutes or so later, I went and took a shower. Just typing about the encounter now makes me feel as if the millipede is crawling on me again.
Soooo creepy….
Usually when a bug (Or any animal for that matter) dies, there are still active nerve points in the body. The nerve points come alive hen the heart stops beating, and the animal moves around for about ten or fifteen seconds before going limp.
(I don’t know if someone has already answered this in a post that hasn’t been approved yet. If it was, sorry to repeat anything)
You said “there are still active nerve points in the body. The nerve points come alive hen the heart stops beating” When I saw your typo, I thought you were talking about chickens, because they run around for awhile after their heads get chopped off (or so I’ve heard).
Anyway, interesting.
Odyssey had an article about how a dead snake head can still bite you. It was one of the scariest things I ever read in that magazine, and considering they had an issue devoted to “cosmic endings” such as the death of the sun and the heat death of the Universe, that’s saying a lot.
Intestinal peristalsis continues for a short while after death, at least in some animals.
What exactly is peristalsis? *should probably know this already*
The muscular contractions of the intestines that advance digesta (partially digested food) along them
Kirk: “You’d make a splendid computer, Mr. Spock.”
Spock: “That is very kind of you, Captain.”
^^
Also, Vulcanian?!?! What?!
Also, it wasn’t until seeing ST 2009 twice, and then watching Into Darkness for the 4th time in theatres that I realized the texture/pattern on the uniform shirts (and hospital gown) was that of the little starfleet symbol printed over and over and over and over. Just goes to show even on a 4th viewing you still pick up new things. And that little cut on the right side of Kirk’s face in Into Darkness that he has most of the movie? Totally looks like a starfleet emblem as well
In the “Currently Popular” sidebar, last month’s random thread is still more popular than this month’s!
This early in the month, that’s not really surprising. Give it a couple days to catch up.
Who likes roller derby? ( who here has even heard of it?)
I know of it vaguely, I remember reading an article about it in the New York Times Magazine a few years ago.
Do you want to know the rules of the game?
There’s a roller derby league around here! I see articles in the paper about it fairly often. Seems interesting, though I’ve never seen it more closely than that.
I watched Whip It (the one with the girl from Juno – Ellen Page?) with my then-girlfriend a few years ago. It was possibly the most lesbian thing I’ve ever done.
MInor spoilers for Star Trek 2009 and TOS episode “Where No Man Has Gone Before”
So apparently if you’re a half Vulcan by the name of Spock, Delta Vega is the place to go to maroon people. As mentioned in an above post, I’m watching Star Trek TOS with mom (Season 1 eps I’ve already seen, in production order this time instead of order aired), and so the first ep was “Where No Man Has Gone Before.”
When I first saw this episode, I knew nothing about the 2009 Star Trek movie. I’ve now seen it twice, and read plenty of stuff referencing the events: that is, that Spock maroons Kirk on a planet called Delta Vega, which in the movie is very near Vulcan.
Watching “Where No Man Has Gone Before” tonight (second time I’ve seen it), Spock is urging Kirk to maroon Gary Mitchell as he is becoming dangerous to the crew of the Enterprise, and he mentions a planet nearby with an unmanned starbase, Delta Vega. Wasn’t sure I heard right at first, but then it got repeated several times–it was, indeed, Delta Vega.
So apparently Spock’s planet of choice for marooning people is Delta Vega, albeit two decidedly different Delta Vegas (in two different alternate universes, but still).
It was still like, wait wait wait wait, did you just say Delta Vega, you want to maroon him on Delta Vega? Abrams if you did that on purpose you’re a sneaky little *bleep*.
When I learn about what science is learning right now about the universe, it really makes me realize what an amazing time we live in.
You know you spend way to much time reading calculus textbooks when you misread “Game of Thrones” as “Game of Theorems”*.
*Bonus points if you get really excited about it and want to look it up and buy it and …oh.
Woke up feeling sick this morning. Went back to sleep for several hours. Still feel sick
Probably going to have a full blown sore throat tomorrow which will make plans to go on a hike with dad ill-advised.
I think the person next to me on the plane was sick
Don’t die!
I was just on Pixar’s website, cause I was curious about how I might get a job there when I’m older. It was mildly interesting, but I’m sure the application requirements there are not any different from the application requirements for any job. They ask for a cover letter, resume, demo reel, demo reel breakdown, and for all that to be in an online application unless that’s not possible. There are specifics on how long the reel should be, and how they’ll view it, and all those other rules for applications.
My mom once told me she used to be one of the people who read all the applications (at a newspaper, I think) and looked them over, and she told me she would throw out the majority of those, no matter what they said, and for one simple reason: they weren’t tidy. Then once she moved toward the polished ones, she’d actually start reading them.
I’m sure that’s not surprising, right? The guidance page for applying at Pixar was like, “If we like the first minute of your work, we’ll watch the next two minutes. If we don’t, we move on to the next hopeful.”
Just thoughts. I want to get a job somewhere in the film department, hopefully as a director. I really hope I succeed. Thank goodness I’m homeschooled and have more time to examine the requirements for such a job.
FREEDOM!!
I’m currently examining the possibility of going to Japan during spring break next year, and after poring through several online travel guides and cross-checking at least a dozen airfare sites, I’m slowly coming to the realization that this possibility is not only feasible but also in my budget without any parental financial assistance. That sound you hear is my brain exploding with anticipation.
Oh, I can’t remember whether I’ve mentioned this yet, but I’ll be graduating in three years, which means that this will be my last year of college. So that’s cool. The benefits of AP and dual-enrollment classes should not be underestimated.
You could try using the website Hipmunk instead of cross-checking all the airfare sites.
Have fun!
I’ve been cross-checking sites like Hipmunk, actually, as well as individual airline websites. Hipmunk doesn’t actually return any results for that time period.
Thanks! I hope it all works out; this is something I’ve wanted to do for many years now.
Cool.
Happy Fourth of July!
Seven mike hike in the mountains when you’ve spent the last 10 months sitting in lecture all day and only doing the amount of walking it takes to get to and from your car, was probably not the most brilliant idea. But….did so anyway with dad. Legs muscles in my inner thigh officially hated me before we were even done hiking up the 3 1/2 miles to the lake we went to. After several hours at home I can’t even lift my leg high enough to get into bed without he muscles screaming in pain…..all of which I actually wouldn’t mind if it weren’t for the splitting headache an col symptoms that are simultaneously plaguing me. Headaches make very thing unbearable, in my opinion.
Happy late fourth to y’all
Ouch. Glutes hurt today too. But the headaches gone so I don’t care so much.
Apparently it was closer to 8 or 9 miles…..
Mild spoilers for “Into Darkness”: As if I had any doubt that this character was going to end up being Kahn, the “72 life support containers” left functioning clenches it. Because there were 72 cryotubes in Into Darkness. And instead of being irked at everything that was repeated in Into Darkness that came direct from TOS and subsequent movies, I’ve decided I will embrace it and love the heck out of it. Because I saw the movie first (four times, lol) and loved it.
Just realized i never hit submit. Oh well. SAves me double posting.
MAJOR SPOILERS FOR SPACESEED Star Trek TOS:
Kirk is an idiot. I mean, it’s official that he’s a total idiot. He gives Kahn everything he needs to take over the Enterprise (after telling Spock that he has suspicions that Kahn’s ship could have been a ship of prisoners), then after Kahn nearly kills him and was going to kill Spock next followed by the rest of the bridge crew, you let him go and give him his own planet to rule so he can come back later and kill Spock?!?!?!?!?!? I….Kirk you’re an idiot. An absolute total bloody idiot. Who should be court martialed. And have his ship taken away. I mean how stupid can you possibly be to let some super powerful tyrant from your history’s third world war have hsi own planet? Especially after he’s read all about your spaceship and can probably figure out how to build his own eventually from that info? That would be like if someone in the future foudn Hitler in a cryo tube and gave him his own bleeding planet for him to do with what he wanted. If Hitler had space travel capabilities. I mean how stupid can Kirk possibly be???????? He had better be super super repentant when this comes back and bites him in the butt when it gets Spock “killed”.
Khan, please. He’s Sikh, not Jewish. Not that Benedict Cumberbatch looks it.
My bad. I’m use to hearing it, not reading it. Although now that I think about it it does look a bit off the way I have it written.
I could hug MuseBlog so hard right now. Happy July! How are things going?
*glomps*
Spock’s character is really kind of sad. I think that’s part of what makes him such an attractive character, because you’ve got that whole broken-person-who-can-be-fixed-with-love thing going on. Some of the things he says totally break my heart. Like when he refers to when he was under the influence of the “love spores” as “the first time in my life I was happy.”
I think Spock’s character arc is a really fascinating thing, because he actually does change quite a bit over his lifespan — he gets a lot less emotionally guarded and more human, and happier, through the course of the original movies, and then of course somewhere between Genesis and when he becomes Spock Prime in the reboot that all comes crashing down again. And you have to not think about Spock Prime in general for too long or you may end up drowning yourself in feelings.
(*asks in a small voice whether the title The Ship’s Closet means anything to you, because she tries very hard to not recommend superficially shippy things to people. but at this point has a very hard time having lengthy conversations about either Spock or Kirk without referencing things elucidated by TSC at one point*)
*did I say Genesis I meant Generations I need to go to bed
No, “The Ship’s Closet” means nothing to me, but I infer from your comment about shipping that it has at least something to so with the Kirk/Spock pairing (which you’d have to be deaf and blind to deny the blatant existence of)
Spock prime seemed pretty human and feely to me, but I’m still on season 1 of TOS, so have yet to see the evolution of Spock to see how Spock prime back steps in that regard
But yeah. Spock prime in general is all sorts if sad. Because he is all alone and/or surrounded by people he knows but who aren’t the people he knows. And of course without his t’hy’la.
Yeah, it’s a YouTube webizode series which basically explains in depth and relatively objectively why K/S is more canon than you were probably even technically allowed to get with gay relationships in the sixties/eighties. There’s a lot of really interesting stuff about both of their character arcs in there, though — for example, their motivations in the first movie literally make no sense if you disregard the ship. I would recommend it to everyone, albeit quietly in case they think I’m insane, because after watching the first episode I suspect they will think differently.
Oh yeah, Spock Prime doesn’t get less feely, he just gets more sadly feely.
I’m not sure he goes through that much character development in TOS, actually — I’m working my way through TOS and the original movies more or less in parallel (mostly, I admit, because I watched Wrath of Khan in preparation for Into Darkness and then could not handle sitting through two more seasons of TOS without finding out what happened), and there is a heck of a lot of character development that happens to all the characters in the movies. I still don’t know how it all pans out, though, because I’m only on the fourth one and it’s all one massive plot arc. I will report back when I find out.
And he hasn’t even got a planet to go back to anymore. Man.
Also, “fascinating”. *snicker*
I’m hoping to get through all of TOS and also the animated series this summer, and then watch the 6 movies with Spock in them on the plane/soon after returning to school. But I”m already behind schedule on my TOS watching for the summer, and starting Monday I’m shadowing full time and will be down to one ep a day, max.
Can’t believe I never got into Star Trek sooner (although I suppose given my only real exposure to it was a few TNG eps when I was at an age where I still watched Reading Rainbow and other PBS shows, it’s not that surprising).
I find myself saying ‘fascinating’ a lot now. Often in a Scottish accent.
Fascinating and illogical are my favorite words at the moment. Due to my Spock crush, lol
OK, I never thought I’d say this, but you obsess worse than I do.
Yeah….I’ve come to terms with it.
Perhaps more accurately, I’ve decided to embrace that aspect of my personality.
I think embracing it is the best thing. Only I’m a little dissapointed that my own natural obsessiveness isn’t as strong as I thought.
I must try harder! *disappears into a vortex of Classic Who*
Same.
Noooo! It is still my goal to watch every Star Trek episode ever! I have finially finished Enterprise! For some reason watching tv and movies doesn’t come as easily to me as, say, playing games while listening to the HPMOR podcast.
Maths Lover – That is a dilemma I understand all too well.
I’ve got the camp for Much Ado starting on Monday and I’m a bit worried about it, because I’ve been a bit of a mess for most of this week. My family has just been dragging me around out of the house to socialize a lot more than I can physiologically handle, and I’m not sure I have any real time to recover between now and Monday. My sleep cycle and metabolism are both screwed up, too, and I’ve been trying to fix them without much success, and now I have vague relationship issues going on that are really not what I need right now. Yay for me.
I’m really excited anyway, though. I finished memorizing my lines today, and we have a great cast and I think it’s going to be generally good. And apparently the director gave my character some theme music? Which is odd because it’s not very villainous theme music, but okay. It’s going to be a very musical production, I can see that from the updated script — there are a ton of Shakespearean-sounding songs in there that she must have pulled from somewhere. So that’s good, because music in plays is always nice.
I suspect, also, that she’s trying to set Don John and Conrade up together a bit. Now this is going to be awkward, because my Conrade is eleven years old and vaguely annoying and I’ve known his family for six or seven years. I won’t pretend I’m thrilled, but I’m hoping we can either fake it or do something else.
Also, I’ve gone to bed before midnight maybe twice in the past two weeks. I should probably get to work on that, I suppose.
Hey, everybody! Rare GAPA conjunction reported: Rebecca and her father came to my Fourth of July party! We grilled and watched fireworks. Here are Lady B. and I displaying our patriotism:
So much excellence in one photo is sort of overwhelming!
Alas, this makes it a year since our Independence Day Kokonvention.
The one at Midnight Fiddler’s house? I remember it well:
I remember seeing pictures! I’ve been on the blog for a year already…wow.
Has it only been a year? I thought I remembered you on before that.
Slightly longer, but that’s all. As far as I can tell, q first appeared in March 2012 as Qwertyuiopasdfghjklzxthecat, took a break during April and May, and then reappeared in June as prussia=awesome.
Now that I actually know what you look like, that should help me concoct a much more excellent death story for you than my 0-out-of-5 stars one.
Trying really hard to convince the parents to buy me tickets to the 50th anniversary doctor who celebration in London. Don’t think I’m succeeding unfortunately.
Back from Italy and I’m off to Geneva tomorrow – still have nearly a month of travelling before I go back to Hong Kong! It’s sad that the music tour is over but I’ll always have such great memories from that trip.
In other interesting news, I went out to a nightclub for the first time in my life, in Florence. It was after our last concert on our last night. There were eight of us and I was the only one sober. The club was crazy with 4th of July celebrations – and I really can’t see the appeal in drunk, crowded, sweaty dancing to loud and obnoxious music. I also like to have full control of my mental faculties, thanks. We had a curfew of 1:30 am but only got back to the hotel close to 3… The fact that we made it back at all is thanks entirely to me returning the teachers’ calls without sounding wasted, insisting we leave and navigating the way back. The ten minute walk took about an hour; it was like herding cats, trying to make sure my friends were all on the same street and heading in the right direction. I got about three hours sleep that night and the next night only woke up at 3 pm as a result (a first).
But, all in all, Italy was amazing and I’m gutted it’s over, but also very excited for the next three weeks in Switzerland and France.
Hmmm, there’s an interesting development on the ghost-story trope of subtle time travel– that thing where a living person is interacting with a ghost and their surroundings changing to match how they were in the ghost’s time– knocking around in my head right now…
The Horta likes his ears. She bloody likes his flipping ears. I’m dying. These little back and forths between Kirk and Spock are going to kill me.
And earlier this evening I almost choked on a large mouthful of chocolate milk while watching “Conscience of the King” with my parents, and nearly spit it up all over myself, Dad, and my cat who was sleeping in my lap when mom made some comment about something Kirk said, and I lost it. It wasn’t even that funny, but I totally lost it
And because it’s almost one in the morning and that means I’m rambly and stuff and prone to multi-posting as thoughts occur to me:
The control console on the Romulan ship in “Balance of Terror” looks very similar to the TARDIS control console of that era, to me.
“The Devil in the Dark” had me flashing back to the Fourth Doctor episode with the green creature in the tunnels, I can’t remember what it’s called…..wanders off to google…..”The Creature From the Pit”, with Romana II. When Spock and Kirk were conversing with the blob, I had the thought that now all that has to be done is Spock reach out and touch it to try and communicate and it’ll be like the Fourth Doctor touching and caressing and trying to communicate with the green blob alien all over again. And then Spock bloody mind melded it and was all over it and touching it and OMG I lost it. I am way too easily entertained. But that’s okay. That’s totally okay.
Okay, seriously:
1: seatbelts, so y’all aren’t thrown halfway across the bridge everytime you come under attack
2: Surely it’s a really stupid idea to always sent both the Captain AND the First Officer (who is the second in command and takes over if the Captain dies) on all these dangerous missions/trips to planets? That’s like sending off both the president and vice president into a super dangerous situation. Um, yeah, bad idea. (Not that I”m really complaining, because the more screen time with both Kirk and Spock together, the better, and if that can’t happen, the more Spock screen tiem the better, but it does seem ill advised. That’s all)
If I were you, I wouldn’t think too much about the rationality of shows like these. Example: Why does Sulu have to lay in a course? Why does Uhura have to open a communications channel? Why does the weapons officer have to press a button to fire the phasers? Why can’t the computer do all these things about 100,000 times faster than any human or pseudo-human, and with far less possibility of error? Why is there a bridge at all?
Wait. Are you saying that “Star Trek” is … fiction?
I think Luna needs to watch “Galaxy Quest” again. Except that she’d probably fall in love with Dr. Lazarus and want to become a Mak’Tar.
I intend to at some point after finishing TOS…..and I probably would, given I have a soft spot for Alan Rickman……I mean, he was the reason I first watches the movie a few years ago, afterall.
Also, look its 5 in the morning and I haven’t gone to bed yet. I keep staying up progressively later each night, which would be fine if starting Monday I didn’t have to be at work at 9am to shadow…..and if I didn’t have to get up at a halfway reasonable time tomorrow (I’d been planning 10, thinking about 11 now) because I think we’re going out to a late lunch/early dinner. I’d pretend that one day I’d learn, but…..lets face it. Ain’t gonna happen.
Goodnight bloggy peoples. You are all awesome. As are you GAPAlings. Y’all never fail to make me laugh with your jokes and teasing and witty comments. XD
My problem with Star Trek is that it tries to project a veneer of plausibility, and thereby invites ridicule. Not that that stops me watching it and deriving great enjoyment from alternately cackling and wincing at the more excruciating parts. I have no such qualms about Dr Who, which never pretends to be anything other than fantasy.
But yes – Galaxy Quest is a delight.
Cackling and wincing sounds about right. The cheesy ridiculousness of it just adds to the charm, I think
Exactly like the old Batman series.
The thing about the old Batman series is that they actually invoked cheesiness on purpose. I can’t think of any other theoretically nonparodic TV shows that do/did that. Which is exactly why 60s!Batman is so awesome.
This is interesting stuff to ponder. Humans are so specialized for a planetary existence that it might be cheaper and more efficient to leave interstellar travel to the machines. But that doesn’t make for a very exciting story, unless you can make a superhuman AI a compelling character. (The late Iain M. Banks was the only author I’ve read who came close to doing that, IMHO.)
I think, provided the huge technical problems can be overcome, humans will find themsleves on interstellar ships. It is undoubtedly far easier and more efficient to send machines, but it’s even easier and cheaper not to bother at all. We don’t NEED to travel to other stars. We WANT to. I think it’s likely that humans will remain in charge, taking executive decisions about where to go, what to do, what information to gather, etc. But administrative and functional jobs will be done by machines.
If you want interesting plot ideas –
How about the exploring the sheer frustration of NOT being able to travel faster than light? What are the social implications of receiving a signal from another civilisation, and realising that it will take 2000 years to get a signal back, let alone go visiting?
Explore the development of advanced prosthetics and modifications to the human body that alleviate some of the fragility of the human form, making interstellar travel much easier – what will star-hopping humans look like? Will they be recognisable as human?
Suppose an alien visitor arrived. I bet you he/she/it won’t look like a Klingon, or a Ferengi. Those are just distorted humans. I’d be more inclined to believe in something that looks like Jabba the Hutt, wearing a life support suit because it can’t breathe our air, and complaining incessantly about the gravity. On the other hand, if they’re really advanced, they may have created bodies that are perfectly adapted for living on Earth. They may look just like us. Now there’s a thought.
That first idea is one I haven’t seen addressed at all, probably because it doesn’t allow the writer to put any physical alien presence in the story. But I think exploring the social impact could be fascinating.
How would religious beliefs around the world be affected by positive proof that we are not alone in Creation? Who would accept the evidence and who would denounce the Signal as a deception? Would somebody — the Vatican or a Saudi prince — fund a project to beam the Bible or the Koran across space, a sort of Letter to the Glieseites?
There’d probably be thousands of people claiming to have received a follow-up Signal; thousands more claiming that (insert organization here) released a false one or is concealing part of it. Lots of linguists, infotheorists, astrobiologists trying to understand what the folks on the other end were even saying, and if they’re friendly. A lot of the specifics would depend on the content of the signal.
I think, after the initial impact, it would be surprising how quickly “we are not alone, but they’re very far away” became the new normal. A lot of textbooks would go catastrophically out of date.
(SFTDP) And of course there is the fact of the massive distance in time and space: by the time we receive the signal, the civilization that sent it might have changed beyond recognition.
According to Leo Szilard, aliens are already here and they’re Hungarian.
Arrived in Geneva! I’m staying in what’s usually university accommodation, sharing a kitchen and bathroom, and I love the freedom of being alone in a city like this. This evening I went for a long run along the lakefront (and I usually am not a fan of running) and then did some shopping for food and supplies at a supermarket. No restraints, no reasons not to. I really love being here. The first day of the summer course I’m doing starts tomorrow, so, we’ll see how that goes!
So I learned in the past week that not being able to so the Vulcan hand thing is actually a thing? Totally threw me, because I’d seen offhand comments or whatever about trying to arrange fingers into the configuration but kinda wrote it off cuz I didn’t get it because I can easily make both my hands I to that shape without en trying even when I only vaguely knew what it was
But apparently my brother in law physically cannot separate his fingers that way on his own. Cannot comprehend.
Zachary Quinto can’t, either
I notice in the scene toward the end it kept switching from his hand being right to not right depending on which side of the glass the camera was on, but didn’t realize he a really can’t do it? That’s funny. I like his Spock though although I’m partial to Nimoy’s more
Also I love that the grocery store has wifi. I’m walki g around not looking where I’m going trying not to run into dad
I can do it, but I can’t snap my fingers, whistle, or blow gum bubbles. You win some, you lose some.
I can snap,and sometimes blow bubbles. Whistling….I. An whistle one note which oy sorta counts
Seconded. All of it.
I can’t whistle, but I can do the other things. My left hand is defter at the Vulcan salute; it opens right up, whereas doing it right-handed requires concentration.
I can do it equally easy with both hands, no concentration. I find it fascinating that some people can’t. It just seems so natural, lol
I can barely whistle, can’t blow bubbles, find the Vulcan salute challenging, yet I can salute with my toes and do the tongue clover..
I can whistle and hum Frere Jacques with myself – whistling one part, hum the other. It’s kind of weird. Also basically all of the joints in my hands, wrists, arms, shoulders crack all the time whether or not I want them to >_>
I AM SO IMPRESSED WITH THE HUM/WHISTLE THING I am probably going to make you demonstrate this to me like 800 times at some point I’m sorry in advance
I am also impressed. You absolutely must show us this skill at our next meeting.
I found out about people not being able to do the vulcan hand salute thing from Muse, actually. I think it might have been the issue on race, actually. I’d check, but I seem to have misplaced that particular issue. :/
It’s another reason to use that issue for a random thread, if we haven’t already.
You know what I can’t do? Roll my tongue. At least, not without a lot of prep time.
I can’t curl my tongue or frown, but I can do everything you listed.
Wait, you can’t… frown? At all?
I didn’t know that was possible.
I can’t curl my tongue, either, though.
I mean, you have your neutral face, right? That’s kind of a frown, I guess, since the ends of the lips turn down slightly. In my experience, though, people don’t frown unless they’re trying to pull a face. I don’t know.
Anyway, yeah, when I try to frown, I just end up with my bottom lip out.
I also have an extremely difficult time making the McKayla Maroney face, much to my embarrassment one evening when I was goaded into trying.
My neutral face is sorta angry…
Whenever I am in a group of people, and I don’t know what they’re talking about/what’s going on, I have this smile on my face that looks SO DUMB.
I can curl my tongue into a straw shape (as in, the lateral sides of the tongue almost touching in the middle), but can’t curl the front of my tongue backwards.
Thirded! I can’t snap my fingers, whistle, or blow bubbles!
I can easily Vulcan salute with either hand, roll my tongue, place my palms flat in front of my toes without bending my knees, and splay my toes startlingly. Er, all at the same time, actually.
I can do all of those except whistle. (My bubble-blowing skills aren’t excellent, but they are existent.) Not being able to whistle is frustrating, though, because whistling is a very useful skill.
How about independent eyebrow-raising? I can raise my right eyebrow quite deftly, but not my right.
*but not my left
I can’t raise either.
It also took me ages to be able to wink. I can do it pretty easily with my left eye now, but I still can’t do it with my right.
I tend to not be good at these sorts of things.
I can’t do the single eyebrow thing. It’s both eyebrows or neither. I wish I could do the one eyebrow thing (*coughSpocklovecough*)
I can’t raise a single eyebrow or make a tongue do the tube/taco thing.
I can only raise my left as well! And I only learned after being such a Tennant fangirl that I wanted to be exactly like him. So I learned to raise my left eyebrow and even started subconsciously raising it in various reactionary situations.
…I hope I never get back into that mindset. Actually, nah, I’m still in it, but its focus has shifted to Homestuck and ASOIAF.
Also, pretty sure I have told MB about this before… deja vu?
I can raise my left eyebrow so high! without moving my right!
I can do all of those!
Interesting how whistling seems to be the rarest skill of the bunch, according to this comment thread.
Out shooting arrows and catching fireflies with my brother and an eight-year-old family friend.
I should start writing in a diary or journal thing more often. I was looking through some past entries of mine, over a period of about three years (which doesn’t take up a lot of space. I am a very infrequent writer.) And it’s just interesting. A snapshot of time and space. A lot of the topics I complain about are the same. And since i don’t have a blog or anything that serves a similar purpose, and probably wouldn’t be comfortable sharing my innermost thoughts over the Internet if I did, which is probably why I don’t have one, well….
It’s better than rambling at you guys in my head in posts that I will never, ever fully type out, let alone hit “Comment” for.
I highly recommend it! I started journals all my life, and while most were soon-abandoned, I finally got the habit to stick a few years ago. I’ve slacked off again in the last few months, but whenever I remember, I try to at least write a few lines about what’s going on in my life. Being able to look back is very cool, and it’s especially interesting to note gradual changes in my feelings and other trends that I notice in retrospect.
It works really well for me, both to organise thoughts and as an interesting record, except when I stop writing and all sorts of inane details want to be included. I do put in some random details, but then I want to be able to say done and stop worrying.
It can feel quite similar to just telling someone, or telling someone feels similar to journalling. For the sake of having an accurate record my scrupulousness about lying only by major omissions carries over to talking to people (not that I’d be faking everything if it didn’t!).
Must…..stop…..watching….Zach Quinto and Chris Pine interviews on YouTube and go to bed. Have to be at work at 9am. But the two of them in interviews together, it’s great. Especially when they start their whole one-upping each other with the vocab words and Quinto’s reaction everytime Pine says a big word. I love these two. They make me happy. I wish I could just spend the entire summer literally doing nothing but watching Star Trek, rewatching the reboot movies, and watching random interviews on YouTube.
Okay. Bed. Now. Going. Goodnight bloggy peeps.
Swalot’s gonna be hungry for the next 30 days or so due to Ramadan and fasting and all. o,3,o
Anyways, summers been going pretty fine. I’ve been hanging out with my friends quite often though college essays are somewhat annoying.
At the end of July I go to Pakistan for a month which seems pretty exciting since a majority of my relatives live there.
Only sad news is that Eevee (Cskia) and I can’t email each other after around eleven-ish due to internet restrictions. How I wish I could email her sometimes.
Oh yeah and Swalots going to be hungry over the next month.
Swalot no like being hungry, he likes food a lot. o,3,o
How have you guys been?
Ahlan, ya Areohawk! Ramadan kareem! (Or however they say it in Urdu.)
Selamat berpuasa, as they say here! *stage whisper* I don’t suppose you have a layover in Singapore?
Ramadan Mubarak!
I’ll be fasting too, so you won’t be the only one on Museblog. Have fun visiting your family in Pakistan.
So I was reminded of a funny exchange the Doctor told me about:
*The Doctor and a younger kid are climbing a tree; D gets scratched by the tree*
D: Ow!
Kid: I know, these things are scratchy!
D: Yeah…
Kid: And they probably taste terrible, too!
You know the Doctor? Are you a companion?
I know quite a few doctors, Robert, as I suspect many people from educated families do.
I think she was talking about Doctor Seaweed Stink, as he’s her brother.
Wow, a Time Lord in the family! What an honor! Useful, too. I wonder how his TARDIS wound up in a tree.
(Yes, I’m being silly. That happens on the blog sometimes.)
Perhaps its Chameleon Circuit disguised it as a bird’s nest?
Also, that means there are now two Time Lords on the blog! Fantastic!
Who’s the other?
Only two?
Bibliophile – Paul Baker, of course.
Robert Coontz – Good point…
That’s who I thought, but I wanted to be sure.
What’s a Time Lord?
Neophytes. Aren’t they adorable?
(Sorry, don’t mean to be condescending. I’d reccomend you look up Doctor Who, but I’m pretty sure the only way to really learn what it’s about is to watch it, so go do that.)
I wouldn’t worry. If en hangs around the blog long enough, en won’t even need to research it!
Eggy – Time Lords are an alien species featured in Doctor Who, The Doctor being one himself.
That moment, when you’re trying to think of something intelligent to say and you come up blank…
My sympathies, Catwings.
I have really gone and done it. I have actually managed to bruise my eyeball on a pillow. While asleep. What the caking cake of cakeness??
Wow.
Hi, everyone! I’m in Singapore, as of a few hours ago! My trip here was a bit unnerving: the plane that crashed at SFO on Saturday is still sitting there on the tarmac (completely wrecked; pieces of the plane are everywhere and its top is largely burned away) and it’s very hard not to stare at it on your way out. Also, we had a layover in Tokyo, where all the airport televisions are showing nonstop coverage of the crash. Anyway. I’m very happy to not be in a plane right now.
Ah, and I got to see my cousins in Michigan for a few days, which is always wonderful. We were there for an extended relative’s engagement party. I keep forgetting how big my extended family is, and then there’s a function at which all of my 150-odd relatives in Michigan turn up and pinch my cheeks. (On this note, I’ve never been to a puja so blessedly short.)
Well. It’s 4:51 AM here, so I suppose there’s really no point in trying to sleep. I think lying here watching Mamma Mia until dawn is a good plan.
So today was my first day volunteering at an animal rescue center. Despite it being an animal rescue center, my job is to take care of the plants, because I’m only volunteering for the summer and it takes time for animals to get used to you.
And let me tell you, do those plants ever need to be taken of. The center is shortstaffed, and animals get first priority. This leads to a lot of dead or sick plants. I was supposed to water the indoor plants today, but I noticed a lot more needs to be done. Most of the plants that aren’t dead are sick-brown leaves, mold, aphids, whatever. After watering, I started to get rid of the dead plants, and next time I’ll finish that and try to repot some of the living plants. Also take pictures so I can go back home and diagnose them properly, and then see if I can fix it. Some of them might need pesticide, or more light, or less water….I don’t know. I need to see.
It looks to be a lot of work, but it needs to be done and I feel very accomplished because it’s so easy to see how much I’ve done already in one day.
My afternoon began with a recipe for spaghetti sauce, and it ended with a race to the emergency room and some blood-soaked paper towels, as well as two new stitches in my mom’s collection of injuries. Be careful chopping onions, folks!
Um. I meant to squid that.
Wait… Was it your injury or your mother’s? Or both?
Imagine you are at a mall that sells anything and everything you might imagine, no matter how costly, outrageous, nonexistent, or illegal. Plus you have a magical moneybag that is bigger on the inside than it looks on the outside, and contains an infinite supply of cash. What do you buy?
A Wii U, the upcoming video game Disney INFINITY for the Wii U, accessories for the Wii U, a pet elephant and a guide for caring for it, a time-travel device, a movie studio and plenty of staff for it, and a pet platypus that I will name Perry the Platypus and give him a fedora to wear. Plus one of those magic tarts from Brave that turn people into bears, a potion that gives immortality and you die if you stop drinking it as often as you need to in order to stay immortal. Also some closet technology that can help my closet door open into Monsters, Inc. or anywhere else in Pixar’s monster world I might want to go. And some changes of clothes, because with the time-travel, closet technology, and magic bear transformation tarts, I’ll be liable to have lots of time-consuming adventures and I’ll need clothes. Plus a box containing an infinite supply of food, and a gun that isn’t loaded, just to scare the daylights out of unhelpful, antagonistic, or bothersome people.
I think a squirt gun would suffice for people who are merely unhelpful.
Maybe just for unhelpful people, but I’m not sure. A squirt gun can’t possibly do much harm. But a real and unloaded (though they wouldn’t know it’s not loaded) gun would probably be needed for people who are really threatening me and stuff or are trying to sabotage what I am trying to do.
You could aim your platypus at them.
Maybe a squirt gun that looks like a real gun?
I would buy magic beans that would give me omnipotence if I ate them. That way, I wouldn’t have to worry about anything else, because I could just make it. Which is important, because otherwise, I would never leave that store.
That sounds… cool, but I think I’d probably just buy a teleporter and keep returning to the store over and over again, cause it would be more fun, cause malls are fun! Seriously, me, by myself in a whole huge mall, with infinite cash and infinite things to buy, without my parents (or anyone else) placing any jurisdiction over where I could go, what I could buy, or what I could do with what I bought… ahhhhhh, sounds like heaven…
Also, I would keep my elephant in the gigantic 6000-acre plot that I would buy, with robots that could never possibly break down to maintain it. What would you make using your omnipotence from the beans.
That is… What would you make using your omnipotence from the beans?
Not… What would you make using your omnipotence from the beans.
Oh, I didn’t realize you could keep the money and return to the store. In that case, you could just use your infinite money bag to get the plot of land. I still think I’d just buy omnipotence, though; I’d rather not be tied to one place.
Anyway, first, I’d give myself omniscience and total freedom from biases and logical fallacies. I’d also want to have my calculating and processing ability improve, but not all at once because I don’t want to become a totally different person instantly. I’d want to look at what would happen at different rates of improvement before selecting one. Anyway, I’d then build an AI to solve world problems (and other worlds’ problems, too–as many as it could without creating larger ones), get rid of my sound sensitivity, and spend the rest of eternity* exploring space (and other dimensions if there were any, but I would not create other dimensions; that would be too dangerous). Also, every once in a while, I’d stop time and create perfect mental simulations of events in the past so it’d feel like time travel but without the risk of accidentally destroying the universe or something else horrible, or sometimes I could simulate fictional universes so that it’d be just like I was there. That would be awesome. I could even erase things from my memory and then discover them again, because I wouldn’t want a little thing like already knowing everything to stop me from getting to learn.
*Presumably, my AI would get rid of death and aging, at least for humans and I’m sure some other organisms in the universe as well**, though getting rid of it for all life is something I’m not sure could ever work.
**I’m referring to those who want immortality of course.
So when you created other worlds/dimensions (that is what you’re saying, right?) using your omnipotence, would you, like, govern the places yourself, or assign one of the native inhabitants to the job? And would you like, require the people of the other worlds you created to worship you as their God or something, or what?
I wouldn’t actually create them. I wouldn’t have to. Since I’d be omnipotent, I’d be able to know exactly what would happen if I did create them, so I could just give myself perfect visualization (and… the equivalent term for imagining smells, taste, etc.) and watch it play out. If that makes sense. Sorry if I’m not explaining it properly.
Incidentally, while platypuses are awesome, I would have second thoughts about keeping a real one as a pet, especially a male. The males has spurs on their hind feet that shoot venom. It doesn’t kill you, but I’ve heard it hurts a lot.
I also notice you didn’t buy a place to keep your elephant. I suppose this means you already have a 400-plus-acre private park or something? Because those things are expensive, although I guess money really wouldn’t be an issue for you as you could just keep selling food whenever you needed it. You could sell it at ridiculously low prices and out-compete everybody! You’d pretty much ruin your local economy, though. There are reasons I decided to make sure that I could still get whatever I wanted even if I didn’t think of it right away.
You should also take the platypus’s preferences into account. It probably doesn’t want to wear a fedora.
Have any either of you seen Phineas and Ferb?
I saw the first 2 or 3 episodes. They were funny, but I wasn’t interested enough to watch more. Part of it might be that I have ridiculously high standards for accuracy even in cartoons and was thus annoyed when platypuses were referred to as the only egg-laying mammals, as if echidnas were not even a thing (although my spell-check seems to agree, as it is suggesting that I change the word to ‘enchiladas.’ Anyway, I did get the reference.
Did you ever watch the old “Krat’s Creatures” episode about egg-laying mammals? I think it was X-Files themed, of course, I was too young to realize that at the time I watched it.
No, I didn’t. I don’t think I ever watched that show.
Kratts Creatures and Zaboomafoo were awesome shows! I learned so much about animals from them!
I definitely agree. They were great!
Have you seen the GAPA’s comment that you just commented on?
There were these older girls at ballet who were talking about how Phineas and Ferb is such a dumb show, and it’s so babyish, and all Dr. Seaweed Stink heard was “Phineas and Ferb”, so he was like,”Phineas and Ferb? I love that show!”
*The males have spurs.
Will spy music start playing every time Agent P puts on his fedora?
Also, if you like making posts like these, might I recommend this thread?
Yes.
1: A teleporter that takes me back to the mall with the moneybag anytime I wanted.
2: A Kindle. First I would go to the stand that helped me decide what kind of Kindle to get.
3: An old- fashioned typewriter.
4: Clothes Shopping!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Sitting in a basement waiting for the tornado warning to go away. I just want to go homeeeeee.
whorp keep forgetting to post and stuff
lab still going pretty well. We had a 4th of july party at my boss’ house with two other professors last week and it was fun. I made cupcakes and chocolate-almond truffles and everyone liked them, which was nice. I have discovered how easy it really is to make truffles. This is a very dangerous discovery.
I am also bad at being a responsible adult. There are a few things I need to do that I just… don’t want to do… and I have been avoiding them. Mostly it’s because, even if there’s no real reason, I will start crying in unfamiliar and stressful situations (like arguing with the hospital over bills they sent me which never arrived so I didn’t know about… and the mail room which was supposed to forward all my mail… and the student employment office which doesn’t have some forms of mine they should…). And I hate showing weakness/being uncontrolably emotional in front of people which makes everything feel 800 times worse than it otherwise would have. Bluh.
But. I did oen of the things today and I will… maybe do another tomorrow. Or maybe I will bother the boyfriend into driving me to the crafts store in the town over so I can buy things. I need a project and it may be another (fancier) mermaid tail… there is a lot I can do (painting wise) for that without a sewing machine, whcih I don’t have right now. As soon as I DO have one, I’ll be working on my halloween costume/costume for the premiere of the next Hobbit movie–a dragon hoodie to resemble Smaug. With small wings, a removable tail, back/head/arm? spikes, painted scales, and possibly gems/etc sewn into the front (except, of course, for a gash across the left side of my chest). I’ve made a hoodie based off Toothless from How to Train Your Dragon before, so this would be a very similar procedure and should work great
I’m so excited to be able to dress up as one of my favorite characters for the movie, especially since probably very few to no other people will be similarly costumed. I just went as an elf for the last one and got a lot of compliments so this should be even better.
I am in awe of your sewing skills.
Voltaire’s music is the cure to everything. No, seriously. I was feeling mildly sick for no particular reason, so I started listening to my Voltaire playlist. “Graveyard Picnic” got rid of most of it, “Let it Go” had me feeling totally better and a little sleepy, then “Caught a Lite Sneeze” brought my energy level back up.
Seriously, this stuff is magic or something.
I hadn’t heard BOO HOO yet, so I looked those songs up to know what you were talking about. Three conclusions about “Graveyard Picnic:” First, it’s awesome. Second, (and this is completely irrelevant to pretty much everything), the instrumental reminds me of the chorus to “Madame Guillotine” from The Scarlet Pimpernel (the musical). Third (and most important) I need to do this.
I wish to respond to your three conclusions in order:
First, yes it is!
Second: I’ve never heard of that musical. I need to see it now.
Third: yes you do. You also need to listen to the rest of Boo Hoo, and all of his other albums.
There’s actually a graveyard a few blocks from my house, and whenever I feel like taking a decent-length walk I go up there. This past winter I took pictures and made a still-image pseudo music video for the first verse and first iteration of the chorus.
Have you read the book The Scarlet Pimpernel? It’s really good, too, although very different.
I haven’t actually seen the musical, but I’ve listened to both the original cast recording and the Encore album (which is exactly the same but in a different order and with some songs missing–because they were cut and with reason–and one song added and one rerecorded because of changes–anyway, I think it’s better) and read the libretto (which I don’t think is for sale but I managed to find online).
I have listened to The Devil’s Bris and Almost Human, and I’ve been meaning to get around to listening to the others.
That’s neat! I’d love to see the video, except, well, I can’t.
No. I had, uh, never even heard of it until your post.
Those two are my favorites! But I don’t use them for their healing properties. I favor The Devil’s Bris/Barmitzvah (Voltaire re-released it under that name on the thirteenth anniversary of its original release) for when I’m feeling relatively violent or want to (it really helps with the book I’m writing), and I prefer Almost Human for emotional catharsis. Of course, I’ll listen to any of his music just for the sake of listening to good music.
Yeah, sorry I can’t show it to you. But it’s not actually a video. I called it a pseudo-video because it’s really just a bunch of pictures I’ve matched to lyrics from the song.
SFTDP. Oh, and “Expendable” from his most recent album Bitrektual is basically an instant good mood. And I don’t even like Star Trek OR Star Wars, so that just goes to show how awesome a song it is.
*pokes head in* I like a few of Voltaire’s songs, but it’s Bitrektual that I actually listened to all of. I liked the originial version of USS Make [Cake] Up and then how could I not?
Haha, yeah. I have to admit, I liked the Banned on Vulcan version better.
I’m watching TOS, and I’ve gotten into the habit of pausing it and playing that song whenever someone dies (except when I’m watching it with my dad).
I’ve been listening to it a lot.
*whenever a Red Shirt dies, that is. Not that there’s a huge difference.
Ha, I’m listening to BOO HOO now, and by an odd coincidence, it has a song called “Where’s the Girl?” Which happens to be the name of a song in The Scarlet Pimpernel–one of my favorites in it, although that’s at least partly because Terrence Mann sings it so well. *is going off on tangents again*
*looks up Expendable* …Yeah, that’s awesome.
What, you mean the reason you like Voltaire’s “Where’s the Girl” isn’t because you’re a sucker for sad songs? *joking*
I actually hadn’t heard the song yet when I wrote the post; I just noticed it on the track list.
This is totally unrelated, but have you heard of the musical Assassins? I feel like it would probably be right up your alley.
The italics were supposed to end after Assassins. Could an HTML gnome maybe fix that, please?
[Gnome service to the rescue. *tips hat*]
The title certainly looks like it would be right up my alley! I’ll have to check that out. (After I’ve actually seen Sweeny Todd. I know the general story, which is awesome, but I’ve never actually seen it. :oops:)
The Gnomes are so very helpful, aren’t they!
You’ll love Sweeney Todd, I’m sure. It’s amazing.
I’d especially recommend the 1982 telecast of the national tour. The 2007 movie is good, but like most movie adaptations of musicals, it had to cut some really good parts for reasons of length (especially as I consider every part of the musical really good). Also, I like the 1982 cast more; it’s mostly the same as the original Broadway cast, except with George Hearn in the title role instead of Len Cariou.
Incidentally, Stephen Sondheim (who wrote the score to Sweeney Todd) also did the score to Assassins. So that’s another thing.
I don’t know of any filmed version of Assassins, unfortunately, so when you get to that, you’ll probably have to just listen to a cast recording and read a plot synopsis (or the actual libretto if you want to pay for it/find it online/your library has it). The 2004 cast recording is more complete, but the original cast recording is quite good, too.
The Gnomes are very helpful yes! Although I thought I had a question mark and a space between the words “Assassins” and “I,” but it’s quite possible that I never did and didn’t notice it when I asked for their help.
[There’s a Gnome for that.]
Well, that sounds amazing. And what a pleasant coincidence that the scores were done by the same person! Thanks for telling me all this; it’s very helpful!
I think it’s not so much a coincidence as the fact that Stephen Sondheim is an amazing composer and lyricist (hands-down the best I’ve ever heard in musical theater), and everything he’s involved with is awesome. Those are the two musicals he’s done the score for that I’d most recommend to you personally because of the subjects, but he’s done others that were just as good, probably some that were better (although I’d be extremely hard-pressed to decide which; when you get to that level of quality, it’s pretty futile).
…So to paraphrase, all his other stuff is also definitely worth looking up later.
Sitting by my host family’s lake drinking a smoothie. This is the life.
(also it finally stopped raining and is gorgeous and perfect. And dragonflies (no damselflies so far) and turtles).
I wish i could do that too! The woods surrounding us are so pretty this time of year.
If it just wasn’t for those fricki’n mosquitoes… (⊙_⊙)
What thread would be the best place to discuss Alternate Reality Games?
Well, we’ve had threads for Computer and Video Games, and threads on which we invent games to play on the blog, but I don’t know of any threads devoted to the games you describe. Would you like me to start a thread for games in general?
On the topic of threads, did we ever make one for Tom Swifties?
Seemingly not.
“Say, this radio gets pretty good reception,” said Tom effeminately.
Brilliant.
“I can’t wait to go look at those antique Chinese vases!” said Tom, seemingly excited.
((I have too much fun with these.))
I… have to confess that I don’t get either one of Piggy’s Tom Swifties. I’m sure they’re very good, but I’ve thought about them, and nothing is coming to me.
Excellent, let me explain!
The first one first. The topic? Radio. The pun? “Effeminately.” Eff-em-inately. FM-inately. I should’ve figured out a way to make Tom’s quote actually sound effeminate, but I couldn’t come up with anything so I just kept it neutral-sounding.
Now for the second. I wanted to figure out how to make Robert’s “seemingly” into a pun. So I broke it down: “see-ming-ly”. See Ming, which is to say, see Ming vases (vases from the Ming dynasty, 1368-1644), which are some of the finest ceramic creations in history. Tom is excited to see Ming pottery. See-Ming-ly excited.
Pretty sure the first one is “FM-inately” as in FM radio, and the second is “See Ming” as in the dynasty.
I guess Computer and Video Games would be the best place, the game I’m thinking of is mostly played online, making it a “computer” game.
I finished my HPMOR ‘re-read’ (listened to podcast) and caught up to the latest chapters. Well, that’s the strongest emotional response I’ve had in a while. Guess it’s on to the meta-fanfic.
I’ve been going through my movies-to-watch list, after finishing up some seasons of various TV programs, because I’m making myself relax while my MP bar replenishes. Hopefully there will be plenty of opportunities to break my brain in physics next semester.
I’m really getting to like occasionally driving to a particular mall with my dad as superivising driver and seeing some movie with my RL friends.
Can we talk about the last few chapters somewhere because I read them too and ALL THE FEELS WHYWHYWHY
Yeah, I know. I was going (VERY VAGUE SPOILERS FOR HUGE THINGS) “NO YOU CANNOT DO THAT YOU CANNOT,” and then “Oh, wait, duh, wizardry, okay, I’m sure it’ll work out fine in the end,” and then “NOOOOO QUIRREL HOW DARE YOU HOW CAN YOU EVEN.” And then part 5.
Wait. This is really weird. I was just wishing that there was an audio version of HPMOR this morning, and now I find out there is. Strange.
(I really don’t like reading large chunks of text on screens, which is why I rarely read fanfiction, so this is great!)
There’s at least three active MBers who read it? *actually-platonic-Spock-finds-Kirk-isn’t-dead-arm-grab* *fangirl scream* Not that I’m surprised at any of you three reading it once you know about it, and just because it hadn’t come up or I missed it or forgot about it…
Ew. No, [that’s not going to happen], there’s too much buildup (later: wait, that is about the amount of detail he uses)…. I am going to have a hard time getting that image out of my head. Aaargh [two other characters] are awesome– oh. NOOOOOOOO. Wow, Quirrel is evil…. Congrats Harry, these conversations are making my life more surreal. And sad, and…. NEED UPDATES.
Well shoot. That was a horribly depressing episode. I mean, it was really good and I was loving Spock and Kirk in civvies (Spock in his cute little stocking cap and Kirk looking really hot in a plaid shirt) but then it had to go and become all super depressing.
And it looks like the next episode will be as well, based on the fact that they’re visiting Deneva, which unless I have gotten various spoilers mixed up in my mind, means a certain very not happy event takes place this episode. Gah. Sad episodes should have happy episodes in between. Not back to back sad episodes.
If only Real Life did that too…
So who wants to hear a long post about my first week at Much Ado production camp? Anyone?
The pies have it. Proceed.
SO
there is a podcast that I want to bring to everyone’s attention if you don’t already know it
It’s called “Welcome to Night Vale” and is a weird blend of amusing surrealist horror.
It is fabulous. I’m not a podcast person and even if you think you’re not a podcast person you should give it a try. The episodes are only like 15 minutes long. Episode 1 is fun, but is the least “polished” and the series really picks up as it goes. I’d say give it 2-3 episodes before deciding you don’t like it.
ANYWAY YEAH IT IS GREAT
/end public service announcement
I love “Welcome to Night Vale”! I heard about it from ZNZ and looked it up about a month ago, and it is hilarious and weird and just all around flammy.
I love Welcome to Night Vale. I was listening to the anniversary episode n the subway today and couldn’t stop myself from giggling madly (which got me a lot of strange looks).
T’Pring is a [female dog].
Also I like new Chekov better, from the Abrams movies. Having difficulties adjusting to original Chekov. Although it’s only been one episode, so….But yeah. Definitely like new Chekov.
Oh, I don’t know. As the years went by, she came to know that she did not want to be the consort of a legend. Can you really blame her for that? It wasn’t her fault that Vulcan had such silly divorce laws.
Silly divorce laws or not making Kirk unwittingly battle Spock in a fight to the death and then her little speech about Stonn especially the one option where she could have spocks name and title…..and still have Stonn. I’ve no problem with her not being interested in being Spock’s consort
Oh man, that episode.
I don’t know, I personally really admired her. Not as a particularly good person, but for her ability to use the Vulcan customs she was kinda trapped in to her advantage. Manipulative and horrible, yes. But still a bit awesome.
I spent the day in Washington, D.C. today and, at the corners of my scheduled commitments, had the chance to wander to places that I have previously explored with some great Musers. Kai, remember the Transit of Venus? And Fiddler, Spring Grotto? And the famous Barnes & Noble where I first met so many.
I’m exhausted and will soon sink into bed, but I would like to return sometime soon and catch up more with all of you wonderful people.
Oh yes, those were some fun times.
FLEAS!
FLEAS EVERYWHEEERE!
IN MY BED, ON MY CHAIR, AND ALL OVER ME!
I can’t lie down in my bed because that’s where they are the worst.
WHERE DO THEY COME FROOOOM!?
They’re just getting so annoying, i just wanna go outside, put up a tent to sleep in, get about 50 smoke bombs, go outside, light all the smoke bombs, toss them in, and sleep in the tent for a month straight, to let the bombs do their job. I am THAT desperate for those desgusting little black bugs to just GO AWAY.
…. Me and Capslock have never been better friends until this point, i think.
Do winged cats have winged fleas?
Hope not!
Birds and bees fly, but I’ve always wondered if educated fleas can, too.
A fly can’t bird but a bird can fly
Ask me a riddle and I reply
Coddleston coddleston coddleston pie
It’s good to know the classics live on.
…Take that any way you’d like…….
By the way, last night i actually dreamed that i found some fleas in my bed with huge wings
Nightmares… Blech.
Do you have any pets? Odds are they’re the source.
Yes, i have two
Winglesscats. But since we are keeping ducklings in the house now, we let them stay on the porch for now. They havn’t been inside in about seven weeks. We also have hamsters, do hamsters get fleas? i don’t know, they’ve been scratching a lot lately. But it seems that under my bed mattress is their main breeding ground. I lifted up the mattress earlier and saw like, nine of them under there.Dad conjured up this lemon ‘Poison’. He says fleas are suppoused to hate lemon scents. We put some watered down lemon juice in a spraying bottle and sprayed around the house. I don’t know if he was right or not. But you know, i’m only like, 11. And it’s natural for me to look up to my dad and admire him for wisdom. Even if he might be wrong. The fleas are back though, even after the lemon-bomb.
Im just sick of those things. *Crushes flea with fingernail for climbing up leg*
I’m not honestly sure if hamsters get fleas. But I wouldn’t be surprised if they do. My knowledge if fleas is pretty limited given that fleas are virtually nonexistent in alaska. I don’t recall how long fleas can live without access to their native host. If I get a chance I’ll see if I can look some info up later
Hey! I’m in the midst of getting rid of head lice right now.
The worst part is we can’t even figure out where I got it, so I can’t even have the satisfaction of blaming it on someone.
My mother’s in full-blown Paranoia Mode and I can only sit on wooden chairs and have to change my clothes every two hours and I have to basically clean everything in my room every day.
I FEEL YOUR PAIN.
Our youngest cat had fleas when we got him, and it’s taken until now to eradicate most of them. There’s only been the occasional one bothering us humans, I guess they’re regular cat fleas.
58.2.1- Crush them with your mighty wingcat powers!
Update on my life:
-My new project at work is “learn about how this aspect of our new cloud technology works, and then explain it to me, because I’m very busy. All the other people involved are very busy too, so you’re pretty much on your own.” I’m not even totally sure what aspect of it I’m supposed to document/explain yet, I have a high-level overview and I keep forgetting the right acronyms to describe things. I’m learning a lot about the cloud, though, I read someone’s doctoral dissertation about a commonly used style of writing computer-facing web application interfaces the other day.
-I bought a sewing machine on Craigslist and it is the most beautiful thing on earth but I haven’t had a chance to use it yet because of work
-I’m currently in the process of searching for organizations about computing/women/both so I can try to get funding to attend the annual Grace Hopper conference for women in computing. So far, SWE (Society of Women Engineers) doesn’t give money to people in non-accredited programs (which makes sense, except that the form of accreditation for computer science makes no sense and so my school doesn’t have it), the ACM (Association for Computing Machinery) offers scholarships to every conference except this one (because the Anita Borg Institute, who runs the conference, offers its own scholarships, the application deadline for which was mid-May….for an October conference…. missed that deadline, oops.), and WITI (Women in Technology Institute) holds their own conference and only offers scholarships to it, but my father the board member of the local IEEE chapter (Institute for Electrical and Electronics Engineers) suggests that if I join I might convince the local chapter to partially sponsor me. If that falls through, I asked a contact of mine in Google recruiting, and she said they’re offering a scholarship application to women who already attended Google programs, but it won’t come out until September (i.e. too late for me to get alternate funding, and I will be applying amongst some fantastically talented women, and I didn’t get the scholarship from them last year so my hopes aren’t too high). I’m also planning on asking my mentor at IBM when she returns from vacation.
It may seem like I am trying really hard to do something that isn’t really worth much (what even is attending a conference? missing a week of school during midterms?), but the speakers for this conference are so great, I mean, just reading their biographies inspires me, and imagine actually getting to hear them.
I’m still alive, despite having basically fallen off the face of the earth. Hi!
Robert, Rebecca, Pan, Kai, etc.: yay kokonventions! ♥
Updates in my life include:
-finished field school and am now working as a staff member at the archaeological site for the summer. This week I was assisting a visiting geoarchaeologist from another college as she took soil samples and drew a profile of a ditch we cut through a really important feature. That was really interesting and fun, except that it’s been raining a lot and the ditch has gotten flooded a few times and damaged. Fortunately it’s a huge feature so this isn’t completely disastrous, but it’s still really horrible to see. Day before yesterday when she was drawing the profile of it I got to stand in the squelchy mud in the bottom of the hole (which is about 7′ deep) taking measurements of soil color changes. It’s a glamorous life.
-I’m living at the field house and working a lot, which I think slightly resembles Real Life, which is terrifying. I’ve mostly spent the time I’m not working in sleeping, playing cards or watching movies with co-workers/friends, and reading. I’m trying to get back into reading like I used to do, because I miss it terribly. I’m very much not back there, but I feel a bit better about it.
-(This is the rant-y part) Part of all of this that resembles Real Life a lot more is that all my stuff is falling apart and I’m trying to figure out how triage what needs attention right now and how to afford to fix things. My phone’s rapidly deteriorating and won’t actually do anything but send text messages and die unexpectedly, and my computer’s battery needs to be serviced for mystery reasons, I have exactly one pair of pants that doesn’t have holes in it, and my car is playing the “I’m going to never start again” game, despite the fact that my dad put a new starter in it only last week when I was home. I’ve managed to not get really stranded anywhere (which is good, since I couldn’t call anyone with my broken phone anyway), but it’s kind of worrisome to not have reliable transportation. And then last night one of my three good bras got chewed up by a dog. So that’s another thing I need to deal with.
-I went home to Maryland last week, and then went to Old Fort Niagara in upstate NY for a living history event, which was a lot of fun. I got to see one of my former shipmates who’s a really good friend who I’d not seen in two years, which was really exciting and fun. The event was pretty great too, on the night before we left (after the event was officially over) we packed up our camp and then got to spend the night in the French Castle in the fort itself, which was bult in the early 1700s.
Whenever my mom and I go to the farmer’s market downtown of a Saturday morning, we head home via one of the older parts of town, and we always pass a little bakery that has the best doughnuts in the city. I’ve never been there, but I know it’s true.
When my mom was little, the neighborhood around there was pretty bustling, but it’s getting tired and run down now. About nine blocks north is the old Burlington train depot, a beautiful old stone building, though now it’s abandoned and covered in graffiti. Four blocks north of the bakery you’ll find the Sons of Italy hall, where every Thursday they serve the same spaghetti and meatballs they’ve served since 1973. It comes on a styrofoam plate with a styrofoam cup of coffee, but the forks are metal so you have to be careful you don’t throw them away. Across the street from the Sons of Italy is All Saints Catholic School, where my dad went for about a year and a half. Attendance there has been falling lately, so it’ll probably be shut down in the next couple of years. One of the city’s older steakhouses, which is celebrating its 65th anniversary this year, is about a block north of the bakery. A newsletter they put out in honor of the occasion says, “Customers have an amazing loyalty. Consistency of the food draws about 250 people a day for lunch. …A large group of diners are regular customers for lunch. In fact, dozens return every weekday. ‘The waitresses know their orders before they open their mouths…'” I haven’t been there yet, and I probably never will.
The bakery is an old brick building, next to an abandoned bar, between two run-down houses. They have a disheveled strand of Christmas lights draped across the front of the building year-round, and a plastic yellow sign from the ’60s juts out from the wall above the door: “Olsen’s Bake Shop”. If that sign weren’t there, I wouldn’t have known what the place was called, or that it was a bakery. I’ve never heard anyone talk about it. There’s a few bakeries around town that get decent attention for being “diamonds in the rough”, places that “have been there forever”, holes-in-the-wall that make genuinely good food. This isn’t one of them. It’s the part of town that you drive through to get somewhere else, and that’s only if the better routes are closed for construction. If you go through there, you keep your windows rolled up.
Every time I’ve driven past this bakery, there’s been someone going into or coming out of it. Sometimes there’s a bicycle chained to the “No Parking” sign out front. The blinds on the two small windows are always closed, so I don’t know what it looks like inside. I imagine it’s pretty small and pretty dim in there. The counter’s probably dirty and the yellow linoleum on the floor is probably peeling in the corners. The old man that works the counter doesn’t say much, not even a “thank you” as you give him the dollar sixty-five for the two crullers. His wife’s in the back swearing at the oven that gave up on holding a steady temperature a long time ago. But it still coughs out doughnuts. And I’m certain, I’m dead certain, that those are the best doughnuts in the city.
Well! So last night I drove with some strangers into Cleveland in the middle of the night!
At like 11pm there was a knock on my door, which was weird since the only person who really knows where I live was in the room with me. It turned out to be two guys who had found out I played Magic: the Gathering and wanted to know if I wanted to go to the midnight prerelease with them right now. I had like 30 seconds to decide which meant I had about 28 seconds to hurriedly grab my purse and stuff my things into it.
Anyway, the prerelease! I didn’t win as much as I would have liked, but the reasons I lost were mostly not drawing the right cards as opposed to making mistakes, and I had some pretty good games against folks. Also I got a Chandra so yesss. The dudes I met were both nice and I actually suspect one of them was my neighbor for the first semester of last year who I only ever saw once or twice. Although I heard him through the walls more often than I would have liked if this is indeed the case.
I got back around 6am. Got to see sunrise from the car on the way back which was nice, although I can’t remember the last time I saw it from the morning side rather than the very late night side. Oops. Aaaand then I went to bed and did not get up till almost 3 on accident >.< I was GOING to get up around 1… whoops.
Went to a friend’s wedding today. It was a weird feeling. First because this is a girl I’ve known for years and years, and she’s not very much older than me and I don’t feel that old.
That’s nothing new though, I’ve had months to adjust to that. No, the weirdest feeling today was when I realized that I was a friend of the bride, not just some random kid who comes along with my family. I felt like I belonged, and that was really very cool. And a bit strange, since it’s so very different.
…That last part sounded more depressing than it was intended. I mostly meant in contrast to all the other weddings I’ve attended, not in contrast to my life in general.
You know what’s annoying? When you hear a song from a musical you aren’t familiar with that is beautiful, so naturally, you look the musical up… and the rest of it really isn’t exceptionally good.
I have been listening to this wonderful podcast called Welcome to Night Vale. I urge you all to check it out. It is small-town radio in a very weird town. I’m only a few episodes in, but it is hilarious and surreal and slightly creepy as well.
So yeah! Check it out, and then come back and talk to me about it. I’m sure many of you will like it.
I bet they will, especially jadestone in post 55
I didn’t even see that! In too much of hurry to make my own post, I guess. :blush:
Three! I am similarly in love with this show and think y’all should watch it. The humor and weirdness is very Muserly, I think.
I’m only halfway through Episode 2 and I can already say FOUR!
I THINK YOU WILL LOVE THIS LOTS I AM GLAD YOU ARE LISTENING
By watch, you mean listen to, right?
(Also, Choklit and I also prsised it above, so really, that makes six. Or seven, because I know ZNZ off-blog, and I know she really enjoys it, although she’s not here to say so now. So basically, that is a lot of MuseBloggers, and anyone who hasn’t listened to it yet really should check it out).
Whoops! Yes, I do. (I am awake and functional yes what are you talking about)
I’ve now listened to seven episodes, making me number eight.
Hey, no worries! If anything, having two MuseBloggers who independently felt so strongly that we’d like it makes me more interested in listening!
So I’m back from camp.
Feels weird to be on a computer again.
Hi! How was camp?
It was fantastic! This was my third year, and the community there reminds me a lot of Museblog, actually.
Strike this if you feel the need to, GAPAs, but the camp is called Centauri Summer Arts Camp, and it’s in Ontario, CA.
Welcome back, blogsister! How was camp?
So today I learned that The Jetsons is set in 2062, 100 years after it first aired. So when people say they’re mad that our world isn’t like their world… their world isn’t here yet!
“Captain….that thing’s…..a giant hand.”
A news anchor, at his desk, in his suit, singing “Friday”– that alone was worth waiting a year for the new season of The Newsroom to see.
learning how to make chocolate truffles was perhaps the most dangerous (and delicious) thing for my health I have ever done
all I have to add to this is I ate over 12 today and I am now out of truffles which is probably the only reason why I stopped wherp
I WILL EAT YOUR TRUFFLES.
Ahem.
NO, I WILL EAT–oh, sorry, I thought you meant mushrooms.
And now I keep watching old Whose Line is it Anyways episodes and laughing breathlessly. Tomorrow the show is supposed to start airing again. Between this and Night Vale, I am very well entertained.
I’m at a meeting. That is, I should be. I’m with a Documentary Project, and we all agreed on a time (11:00 AM) to meet for shooting. But so far, I’m the only one who has bothered to show up. I’m going to go ask the person at the front if they know why it is. If answers cannot be found, I’ll have to leave very irked. I ditched my film class at the community college (a whole different thing) two hours before it lets out to show up here. This is getting annoying.
Does anyone have any suggestions for an “Underwater Exploration” playlist? So far, I have:
1) Touching Eternity (It’s a song from an old SeaWorld show)
2) Where the Future Lives (Another SeaWorld song)
3) La Mer (The original French song that “Beyond the Sea” was based on.)
4) Calypso (John Denver)
5) Underwater Exploration theme from Super Mario Sunshine
6) The Carnival of the Animals—The Aquarium (Camille Saint-Saëns)
7) Ocean Man (Ween)
8) Hymn to the Sea (James Horner, Titanic soundtrack)
9) The Titanic Uncovered (John Barry, Raise the Titanic soundtrack)
10) Whale of a Tale (From the Disney version of 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea)
11) 20,000 Leagues Under The Sea Medley (Likewise)
I’m trying to have an equal number of worded and wordless pieces, so suggesting either sort is fine.
Off the top of my head:
There’s a lot of Debussy stuff besides La Mer that’s water based – a lot of the short piano pieces, the sirens movement of Nocturnes… possibly some Ravel also. Basically everything Impressionistic ever written.
Several of the pieces from Modest Mouse we were dead before the ship even sank – probably Dashboard. Some of the stuff from Pirates of the Caribbean. Beatles Octopus’s Garden or Yellow Submarine. Possibly Beethoven Tempest sonata. Wagner Flying Dutchman, if you’re into that sort of stuff.
yes Ween yes
Underwater secrets from the fourth Harry potter movie soundtrack? (Goblet of fire). Not sure if that qualifies, but it’s what pops into my head
Handel’s Water Music, perhaps.
The entire Le Grand Bleu soundtrack. Well, probably not the entire soundtrack, but since the movie is about diving…
Maybe Fathoms Below, from the Little Mermaid soundtrack. The rest of the soundtrack, too, but to a sharply lesser extent.
Until now, I never realized how many songs I have relating to the surface of the water, to sailing and islands and rivers and seashores, and how few I have relating to underwater.
I have the mostly-just-knowing-songs-about-the-surface-of-water problem, too. I almost mentioned “Fathoms Below,” but I didn’t, because I’m so much more familiar with the stage version, which has parts from Prince Eric and Grimsby that explicitly refer to sailing, and I’d forgotten that they were absent from the movie.
(Totally irrelevant, but the musical is awesome, and everyone who liked the movie should really listen to the original Broadway cast recording, because the new songs are every bit as good as the old ones, and the cast is even better [Sherie Rene Scott and Sierra Boggess!]).
It’s not a problem if it mentions sailing as long as some of it is about underwater.
so I have been thinking about this
and I realized, one thing I have learned this summer is, it’s not what you know, but how quickly you can find someone/something that can answer the question you have.
keeping this in mind, I went to the They Might Be Giants fan wiki, and looked in the song themes “Water” and “Sea”.
Cowtown is a good option, it seems (“I’m going down to Cowtown, the cows the friends of me/who lives beneath the ocean, and that’s where I will be/beneath the waves, the waves, and that’s where I will be/I’m gonna see the cow beneath the sea”). All I could think of before was Down to the Bottom of the Sea, which is like 30 seconds long and basically repeats the title over and over.
I leave you armed with this dangerous knowledge.
I never realised how dancing and singing, really tired out a person…
Whew!
Holy caking *#*%&(@#*%#*$(. Mirror Chekov. OMG Holy
And Mirror Kirk’s uniform. Gotta love. Gotta love it so much. And the ending of the episode, Spock’s comments to the captain and Kirk’s comments about a different character….giggling at one in the morning when your parents are asleep is probably ill advised. But oh my gosh. Been anticpating this episode for awhile based on some spoilers, and it did not disappoint.
Oh, Spock, you couldn;t be clumsy if you tried. You deliberately took a hit intended for your Captain and you darn well know it. And for one who is normally so formal calling Kirk “captain”, you almost always refer to him as Jim when his life is in peril. I’m on to you, Spock.
I think my cat thinks I”m dying. he’s giving this half confused, half annoyed look while I’m laughing maniacally and falling out of my chair.
Spock, avoiding giving The Talk to Chekov’s yeoman “girlfriend”, and McCoy insinuating that receiving instruction from a machine on the matters would be something he’d like to see, while giving Spock The Look that says Spock is a machine and him giving The Talk is something that he’d like to see, and Kirk’s face, and OMG THIS SHOW IS GOING TO BE THE DEATH OF ME.
My cat is glaring again.
Also, watche Devil in the Dark with my parents last night, and lost it again at the end with Spock’s comments about the Horta’s impression of his ears, and mom made some comment about me falling head over heels for someone who is my gramma’s age and i think something about that being sad or something, but yeah. Life is great. Can summer never end? Can TOS never end? Why must there be so limitied a number of episodes? I want to watch them all this summer, and yet I want them to never end, this is horrible.
But oh my god the bleeding lolz.
“well, Mister Spock, you’re the Science Officer, why don’t you explain it to the young lady?”
Watching this scene again and dying again, and my cat won’t stop giving me this lookt hat says humans are illogical and why the heck does he tolerate us
I don’t think they’re gonna need a machine to explain it to the natives. Looks like Chekov and his girlfriend are gonna give a visual demonstration….
Yup, they definitely won’t need the machine to tell them how to go about making a replacement. Oh god season 2 is proving even more or equally hilarious to season 1.
I’m afraid to open my soda and drink it….
“That’s what we call love. You’ll like that, too, a lot.” *snicker*
“What are children?”
*kirk tries to explain and gives up*
“Just go on the way you’re going, you’ll find out.”
OMG this show is killing me
Death by Star Trek from laughing too much? Yup, sign me up. Sign me up right now
I think I should apologize for spamming the ‘blog…..
I was about to mention–maybe you could keep the comment form open for a while and put all your reactions in one post before submitting, or something like that.
I should probably do that. ((That is to say, I shall do that, starting now))
Alternatively, there’s the Geeky TV shows thread, though I don’t particularly care if they’re here or there.
I like the play by play, and it’s not exactly like there’s a limited number of posts that can be made on here..
Speaking of which, that comment was number 476,778.
Surely, an auspicious number!
When it reaches one million, I get to go to the Grey Havens and catch a ship for Valinor.
can’t decide whether to post more so you get to go to the Grey Havens or post less so you’re around here longer
I do not like Matt Decker.
And now I’m back home. My grandmother (whose house we’ve been staying at for the past few days) has a computer with a very strange keyboard layout, so bear with any typos I make.
Did I miss anything life-changing?
I don’t think so, LBK. Life goes on.
I feel like Star Trek TOS is something that would be ridiculously hilarious to watch while drunk. However never having been drunk and never planning to be so, I guess I’ll never know…..Also, having Ballad of Bilbo Baggins as my ringtone for my mom means I don’t want to answer my phone when my mom calls….This is probably not good, lol.
So anyway, thoughts from this afternoon:
“Spock, comment.”
“Very bad poetry, Captain.”
“A more useful comment, Mr. Spock.”
This episode is already starting out majorly whackily awesome. I think there’s only been one episode of season 2 so far that didnt’ rate pretty high on my list of good episodes (Who Mourns for Adonais while not a bad episode, was not as enjoyable as the others of this season so far).
*time lapse*
Wait….a haunted house? This just got better. This so totally just got better.
*time lapse*
Okay, Chekov’s hair. seriously. It looks like a very bad wig (which maybe it is). It’s too darn poofy. I can’t take anything he says seriously with that ridiculous hair (of coruse the ridiculous accent doesn’t help). I’m still dreadfully partial to new Chekov fromt he Abrams movies…..
*time lapse*
OMG Kirk, really? Is there anything you *won’t* flirt and snog if it has a female form? I mean seriously, hello, evil psycho cat (I do not like that cat) and you’re flirting with her and snogging her? Really? Can’t any of your plans proceed without making out with women? And the number of women he snogs seems to me rapidly increasing in the second season, he actually didn’t do that much in season 1. Seriously, Kirk. Seriously. Just cuz it’s female doesn’t mean you need to seduce it.
I mean, really. It is possible to complete missions, etc, without using seduction. You’re just looking for an excuse.
*time lapse*
Okay, male android peeps, please put some pants on. Extremely tight white tights is….just not okay. Please, for the love of decency, some pants.
*time lapse*
OMG wow. I don’t know how they ever managed to film a large chunk of “I, Mudd” without losing it and laughing, constantly. Because holy cake, just wow. I can’t fathom how they ever got a take that didn’t have at least one person lose it.
Season 2 is amazing.
I think TOS works better as a drinking game than as something to do while drunk.
I think you’d need a superhuman liver for that.
NautilusLive NautilusLive NautilusLive… They are mapping a shipwreck today and it’s 4000 feet down below the surface and they know it’s early 19th century but nothing else but there are cannons and muskets so it might be a privateer’s ship and they found the medicine chest with all the bottles and some of them aren’t even broken and nearby there was this thing that might be part of a sextant/octant… SQUEEEEEE!
So I’ve noticed that drunk/tipsy people whom I know and who are talking to me seem to always say nice/complimentary things about me. Two beers and two tequila shots (or rather two 10 dram medicine bottles worth, whatever that is equivalent to in shots) and one of the vets I work for an am shadowing this summer not only was highly talkative compared to his normal, but also said that having observe me working there (I’ve worked there on and off for 7 years) that I’m extremely bright and shouldn’t discount a career in research (as the job market is apparently terrible for new vets) and could do amazing things in research [because I’m “extremely bright”]
It’s actually kind of awkward. I don’t know how to react to compliments even under normal circumstances. And drunk people who when sober don’t usually talk a lot to you saying nice things is just especially awkward. I mean its nice to know people like me or think in smart or whatever it’s just compliments make me uncomfortable. I’m weird like that I guess.
People in general, or men in particular?
Of the three I’m thinking of (I don’t hang out with drunk people much) two were men, one was female. My ex’s dad grabbing my hand and very earnestly telling me how good I was for Alan (this was about three days into the summer I spent at their house, when I barely knew Alan’s dad at all.). One was a drunk now former friend telling Alan and I how much she loved us, and how much more awesome or whatever we were than some of our other mutual friends.
I dunno
By the way, Luna, I certainly don’t question the vet’s assessment of your ability to do research. As I’m sure you know by now, I have complete confidence in your ability to dominate any part of the world that strikes your fancy.
Happy Moon Landing Day!
I remember the first one well.
Likewise. Not that well, of course. I was only a youngster.
Do any of you have an Erdös, Bacon, and/or Sabbath number?
I wish! But I suppose you could say my Erdös number is infinity…
I think I have a Sabbath number of 3 – I’ve worked with people who have worked with Rachel Barton Pine, who has jammed with Black Sabbath.
Actually, thinking about it more, my grandparents were friends with Benoit Mandelbrot, who has an Erdos number of 3… does that count?
But not published, so that probably doesn’t count. Possible Bacon number through the Brentano quartet who worked with Christopher Walken who has Bacon number of two?
I’m not really clear on the rules of that game- wouldn’t we have to have acted in a film, co-authored a mathematical paper, or played in a popular band?
I haven’t got an Erdös, Bacon, or Sabbath number, but I would like to claim a Shahrukh Khan number of two, because I was once accidentally in the background in a scene shot on a street in Hyderabad, and one of the actors in that film has definitely been in things with SRK.
Depending on your collaborators, occasionally academic papers in other disciplines give you an Erdös number.
Aha! I am pretty certain my dad has an Erdös number, and I was in photographs he used in a paper about face-identifying software. So, uh. Can I have 0.1 of an Erdös number?
I’ve edited people with low Erdös numbers, but that doesn’t count — unless it puts me on a different axis. In that case, I might be said to have a low-modulus imaginary Erdös number.
I’ve never been in a movie or played with session musicians, but in the 1920s my great-grandfather Robert E. Coontz had a small role in a silent film. I’ll look up the cast and try to calculate his Bacon number.
Hmm. Guess I can’t quite claim a proper Bacon number but I did have slight acquaintance with Larry King when we both worked for Mutual Broadcasting, and King interviewed Bacon on his show.
It looks as if Great-grandfather Coontz’s Bacon number is 3. He was in “Black Oxen” (1923) with Clara Bow and Alan Hale, each of whom has a Bacon number of 2. (Hale and Patty McCormack were in “All Mine to Give”; McCormack and Bacon were in “Frost/Nixon.”)
Not bad for someone who died 23 years before Kevin Bacon was born.
I think my Bacon number is 3-my drama teacher was an extra in a movie along with actors who have worked with Kevin Bacon.
You would have to be in a movie with your drama teacher to have a Bacon number yourself.
My friend HAS an Erdös number. A pretty high one I think (she’s a comp sci person, graduated a year ago), but she still has one, which is more than most people!
Not yet, but I hope to have the first two someday.
My mom went to camp and middle school with Lisa Randall. I imagine she probably has an Erdös number, so I guess that means I do too?
Tess, does your mother know Polly Shulman? She went to school and camp with Lisa Randall, too.
I don’t think so, but it’s possible! I will ask her.
Going to camp with someone with an Erdös number does not count unless you publish a peer-reviewed paper there with that person. And you would have had to publish a paper with your mom.
So I’ve got to admit my total ignorance of all of this. Had to google what you were talking about (which then reminded me of the fact that the other day a couple of my coworkers were completely shocked by the fact that I didn’t know who Kevin Bacon was when somebody mentioned they liked some TV show I hadn’t heard of called “the Following” and tried to hep me out by supplying that Kevin bacon was in it, and I was like “who?” But I just looked up his acting history, and I’ve seen maybe 3 movies maximum that he was in, so I”m not quite sure why it’s so shocking that I don’t know who he is. I dont’ know the names of half the actors in movies/shows I watch, even when I’ve seen far more of them than I have him, but apparently it’s weird for me not to know who he is).
Anyway,still not completely clear on how these numbers work? For instance, to have a Bacon number, do you ahve to have acted in a movie? Or if you know someone who acted in a movie (either with BAcon or with someone who has acted in amovie with him), does this give you a bacon number? Because one of my classmates knows a girl who is cousins with Jennifer Lawrence who acted in a movie with Kevin Bacon. I don’t know if that gives me a Bacon number or not, because I’m unclear if you have to have acted in something yourself…..
And I was once in the same room as Arnold schwarzenegger who apparently has a Bacon number of 2 (again, don’t know if that counts for anything). And also in the same room as Frankie Muniz (same event as where I was in a room with Schwarzenegger) who has a number of 1. I could have actually met him and got an autograph, but I was a little kid and thought he was stupid, so when he came to the room where me and the other kids in the choir I was part of were set up for the event to sign autographs (which in retrospect was pretty cool of him to choose to come hang out in a room full of teen/preteen/younger kids and sign autographs when he had his own dressing room he could ahve been chilling in) I could have gotten an autograph, but didn’t. Because I thought he was stupid, lol. And Melissa Joan Hart (bacon number 2) was at the same event. One of the boys in choir kisssed her dressing room door, and another kid made an attempt to run down the bleachers and get her autograph, but our choir manager stopped him and yelled at us all. And wouldn’t let anyone even make an attempt to get Schwarzenegger’s autograph when we were in the same room as him when we were lined up to go on stage for our performance, although a few kids were close enough to shake his hand. I wanted to get an autograph for my mom.
^^^the event was the Special Olympics Opening Ceremony when they were held in Alaska. Which according to Google was in March of 2001, so I would have been just shy of 11 at the time.
I”m kind of babbling now which is kind of a sign that I should probably quit typing…..
I hope Apollo 13 is one of the 3 Kevin Bacon movies you’ve seen.
Oh, yes. Wonderful movie.
Yeah. It’s one that I’m fairly certain I’ve seen.
OH also my other friend/roommate was an extra in the Hunger Games and has a Bacon number now, though I don’t recall what it is.
I’ve been wondering something since this past spring. I was visiting with my mother and sister, and my sister and I ended up watching Cats together. Naturally, we were singing along (which we always do unless it’s a live performance). When it got halfway through “Skimbleshanks: The Railway Cat” I suddenly realized that my sister was singing the women’s part of the song (as she had been taught for her part in a youth theater production of the musical) and I was singing the men’s part. I had made no conscious decision of what part to sing, and had just sung what came most naturally to me. This merely confirmed a long-held suspicion of mine that I naturally prefer to sing men’s parts in songs like that.
What I was wondering is how many other MBers natural, unconscious inclination is to sing parts of ensemble music intended for the opposite gender.
I have a fairly low voice for a girl so I tend to end up singing the low part of duets and other ensemble music just because it fits my voice better.
I usually don’t; but then I’ve got a very high singing voice so it would be a pain.
Seconded.
Well… i don’t really have a low pitched/high pitched problem with my voice. But this is something similar, as long as we’re talking about voices.
My voice is naturally very quiet, so i deal with problems like, having to repeat myself when talking, people telling me to speak louder, etc, etc.
And my favorite song that my hometown band does, is “The Story” (If you want to look it up) I know every single word to it, and i like singing it. But you know how you really have to scream when you sing it? It is really tough for me because my voice is just so freaking quiet. And sometimes i get up to sing with the band, i told you before, and i sometimes sing that song… outloud…
And nobody can hear me, even if i turn my mic up.
Anyone else have to deal with a really quiet voice?
I once had a friend ask me if I’d ever thought about how my life would be different if I didn’t have to say everything twice. I think the trick is to figure out how to and practice talking loudly until you can do it at will. It doesn’t have to be all the time but it’s a nice tool to have.
Maybe you could try a different breathing technique? I have a friend with a very quiet voice who manages to sing very loudly when she wants to- she claims that’s the key.
I sing the women’s part. I have a lower speaking voice but I’m a second soprano (well at least in every choir I’ve ever been in). People don’t really expect me to be able to sing very high.
STFP: my lowest note (it has been since middle school) is an E, the second space from the top on the bass clef. So even most tenor parts go too low for me.
I’m not really sure what my highest note is (or ever was); when I auditioned for choirs in middle school I was told I had a three octave range, although I’m sure it’s gone down with lack of practice.
I am most comfortable squarely in treble clef, though.
It’s all about vocal range, I think. I a bass, so the majority of tenor parts are out of my range, but I can often sing soprano parts pretty well if I drop them two octaves. Or I could falsetto myself into an alto, I guess.
I have a pretty low voice – D below middle C to E an octave above middle C is about my range, although functionally it’s smaller – maybe F to A around middle C. I tend to sing soprano parts, though, or descants – I think it’s because of violin, where those are the types of parts I play.
A family friend and I have been making videos!
Cool! Too bad i cant see them
…Well. That was an interesting conversation.
…I think we sorted everything out, but I’m surprised it was all so complicated to begin with. I did not want to bring all that into this.
…Um, dare I ask what happened?
Good day today. Parents and I went into town to go shopping (I hate shopping. Shopping sucks.) for nice clothes while I’m on clinicals and for new shoes. And mom and I also ha plans to hit up a comic book geek type store where my sister had gotten my life size cardboard dalek for my birthday. Shoes and nice clothes isn’t happen (despite visiting at least half a dozen stores looking), except a couple pair of dress pants and some more jeans.
But at the comic store place, I got a TARDIS blue “keep calm I’m the doctor” poster, a set of four 16 ounce Star Trek glasses (one of Spock that’s “seems logical” and something else, one with bones saying “I’m a doctor not a [?]”–I forget what it said he wasn’t. And one with Kirk and one with Scotty but I forget what those say), and a tin with two decks if Star Trek playing cards. One deck with Kirk, one with Spock. All TOS versions.
And at the checkout I saw a little pink box that said “pon Farr” on it with the silhouette of a Vulcan female. And then I noticed a little sign above it that said something about checking out their selection of cologne an perfumes. they make pon Farr perfume. Omg I almost started laughing hysterically while mom was buying the stuff and surreptitiously took a picture. Should have asked if I could smell it but felt too self conscious, because that would be weird asking some dude if I can smell a perfume that is named after vulcans in heat…..
And then we also hit up Hot Topic where mom got me a tshirt with the 4th doctor, a t shirt with ten and the TARDIS that says Allons-y, a set of 4 or 5 docor who ankle socks, and a necklace that says “whovian”
So very long day with far too much clothes shopping, but Overall a huge success in my book
But omg pon Farr perfume. What the bleeding cake
Thinkgeek sells starfleet sporks. sporks. Star Trek sporks. You know what I’m thinking. Must have
I have one of their [non-branded] sporks. It’s very nice.
So most of you do not actually have Bacon numbers (or one of the other numbers). You can only receive a Bacon number if you’ve been in a movie (or in some cases, involved with a movie) with someone who has been in a movie with Kevin Bacon.
So, say you’re actor C. You are in a movie with Actor B, who has been in a movie with Actor A, who has been in a movie with Kevin Bacon. Actor A would have a Bacon number of 1, B of 2, you of 3.
Same with Erdös numbers and writing papers. You wrote a paper with Author B, who wrote one with Author A, who wrote one with Erdös. So Author A has an Erdös number of 1, B of 2, and you of 3.
Same thing with Black Sabbath and recording an album/playing a gig with someone who eventually leads back to Black Sabbath.
this just makes me wish there was something named after me
can there be a Dodecahedron number
you have a number of 1 if you’ve been on the same internet forum thread as an argument I was part of
etc etc
You’ve given me advice before. Does that mean I have a Dodecahedron number of 1?
You know what I am going to say yes
I disagree with that!Hey guys, the archaeology site I’m working on this summer is featured in the New York Times today, in the science section on page D3 in print, and online here: http:// www. nytimes. com/2013/07/23/science/first-new-world-fort-was-spains.html?ref=science&_r=2& (de-inkified, of course).
Awesome, Fiddler!
Fort San Juan, lost for almost 450 years but rediscovered at last! Nice work, Fiddler.
Coming soon: Atlantis, the Ark of the Covenant, and the Golden Apples of the Hesperides.
What about digging up the rest of Akrotiri? If it turns out to have been the inspiration for Atlantis (as seems most likely to me), it’d be two birds with one stone.
I think Plato simply invented Atlantis out of whole cloth. He’s the sole source of the Atlantis “legend,” and we know he was a smart, imaginative man. Why shouldn’t he have indulged in a little fictional world-building when devising the setting for a symbolic fable?
Didn’t he say he knew about it from someone who knew someone who knew someone who’d been there? Even if he genuinely believed that, it sounds like something that would be groundless.
I’m sure you both know way more about it than me, though.
Just as Tolkien said he had translated The Lord of the Rings from the Red Book of Westmarch. All part of the fiction.
I wonder if thousands of years from now people will debate the historical basis for Middle-Earth and Oz… Information technology has made our written records a lot more robust and comprehensive than those in Plato’s day, of course. But who knows?
My father once mentioned a science-fiction story set in a distant future in which people told half-remembered stories of a land called Tisathy — as in “My country, Tisathy / Sweet land of liberty.” I suppose that it would be easy to find that story with Google nowadays.
Found it! The story was “Magic City” by Nelson Bond, published in Astounding in 1941, and the mythical country was called Tizathy.
My father must have read it when he was 15 years old — younger than most MBers. Strange to think about…
One archaeology book I read had the Oz question in it, and also asked what future archaeologists might think Disneyland was if they excavated there. Another book, talking about people seeking evidence of King Arthur, contemplated people digging at the site of the Berlin Wall to find evidence that James Bond was real.
Regarding Disneyland, the Mortal Engines quartet has a protagonist passing “statues of Mickey and Pluto, animal-headed gods of lost America.”
Have you read “Motel of the Mysteries”? It’s kind of about this (not these specific cases, but the idea of future archaeologists trying to reconstruct modern society and getting it amusingly wrong.) It’s also really funny, especially if you know about archaeology.
Is that the one where America is buried under a pile of mail, and the archaeologists see a person who was in bed when en died and thought en had been buried with honor because en was still wearing undergarments?
Yes, it’s the one where America (or “Usa”, as they call it) is buried under junk mail, in a parody of Pompeii. The main focus of the story is the excavation of a motel room in a parody of Tutankhamen’s tomb.
I remember reading part of that in sixth grade Social Studies class a study of how even archaeologists look at the past through the filters of modern beliefs and assumptions. And how, frankly, sometimes they have to make educated guesses. I thought the book was hilarious, even while I did appreciate the lesson.
I don’t know how robust our records are nowadays, actually – a lot of them are digital, which is vulnerable to changing technology making it inaccessible.
Okay, so they updated the article because the first had some incorrect information. And they put up a new picture too! I’m the small blurry person in the back right in front of the port-a-potty. (Awesome, a picture of me makes it into the New York Times and that’s the one they used. But whatever.)
EEEEEEEE!
Oh, and that’s me at 1:30
Flea-bombing the house. Gonna be outside for at least two hours.
Boy, the fleas gonna party!
I read that as “firebombing”, and was very confused.
I was watching “Who Mourns for Adonais?” last night, and they were talking about Apollo, and someone said in passing, “Scotty doesn’t believe in gods,” and my immediate reaction was, “Whoa. It was just outright stated that a recurring character (who wasn’t Spock) was an atheist, and nobody cared at all; it was a completely incidental fact about Scotty. And this was made in 1967! That’s awesome!” but then later in the episode, Kirk said that humans no longer had any need for gods–they were fine with just the one. It was something like that, anyway. The point is, it made it sound like when gods plural were being talked about, that god (presumably the Christian one) was automatically excluded… so now, I’m wondering whether the writers actually meant that Scotty was an atheist or if it just looks that way to me 45 years later.
I asked my mom what she’d have thought at the time if she’d been discussing Greek mythology in 1967 and someone said they didn’t believe in gods and she wasn’t necessarily the age she was at the time, and she said she probably would have interpreted that as atheism, but that it would depend. GAPAs, if you think you have some idea of what a statement like that in that context would have meant then, I’d be interested, although obviously, it’s not a question that affects anything; I just don’t like not knowing what something means.
In the fifth Star Trek movie, they go in search of God (one god, referred to as a “he” by both the crew and the Vulcan who starts the mission)- though whether or not they find God is kind of up for debate. As I recall, whale bones were involved.
I don’t know what they were for going for, but I did have a surge of irritation when Kirk said they didn’t have need for gods (cool, we’re no pushing religion)….we only need one (oh hey let’s push religion and push a single religion. You should be more open minded by the time we’re that far in the future). And I know that statements not really pushing religion, and the show was written in the 60s, but it still rubbed me a bit wrong.
Oh, I agree; I just thought my post was long enough as it was. Actually, I think it’s worse than that. There was all that build-up, and it was pretty clear that there would be a message… and then you get it… and it’s “polytheism is outdated; we only need one god.” There wasn’t really anything in the episode that would convert an actual polytheist (en would probably just hate that episode the way I hate “The Galileo Seven”), and besides, I’m sure the writers realized there can’t have been very many watching Star Trek, so it clearly wasn’t aimed at them. As a) I haven’t looked at statistics but feel quite confident in saying that the majority of Star Trek watchers were almost certainly Christians (at the very least monotheists), b) positions other than that (or monotheism in general if you’re being really generous, but come on) and polytheism were not really addressed at all regardless of how you interpret what was in my previous post, it seems only logical to assume that that it was aimed at Christians… which would mean that what they were going for with that episode was telling the target audience their beliefs were better than polytheists’.
For obvious reasons, I don’t think that’s the sort of thing TV needs to be doing. Also (less importantly, of course), it’s a total anticlimax–it was clear there was going to be a moral, but it wasn’t clear what it was, and they ended up just telling their target demographic that they were right. That wouldn’t have been an anticlimax if there’d been stuff earlier that put that into doubt, but there wasn’t, so it was just sort of, “okay, and…?”.
(Really, all it could possibly do is make people feel superior because of their religious beliefs).
(I have separate strong reactions to different things in one Star Trek episode fairly often).
I can tell you how it appeared to viewers watching it for the first time. “Star Trek” wasn’t just a vision of the future, but a vision of a progressive future — if not utopian, then at least much better than the present, with many problems solved (the Cold War a distant memory, racial equality achieved, etc.). The show strongly implied, if only by omission, that religion would not be part of that future. Viewed in that larger context, Kirk’s line “Mankind has no need of gods” was considered a daringly secular statement (“he’s actually saying it!”). The next line — “we find our one quite sufficient” — was widely dismissed as either a concession to popular sentiment (or studio censorship) or a last-minute loss of nerve by the writers.
I don’t remember what Gene Roddenberry said about the Adonais episode in his book, but it might be worth a look.
Oh, okay. It looks like I was taking things too much at face value again. It’s a problem I have. Thanks! Just… disregard my previous comment, I guess.
I haven’t read Gene Roddenberry’s book yet, but I would like to. I’ll want to finish watching TOS first, though.
It’s no discredit to you. It’s hard to experience things the way people did when they were new. In this case, you have to understand the sort of censorship and self-censorship that everybody took for granted in the 1960s. There were things TV writers couldn’t say, so they had to be said in code. There were invisible boundaries that they sometimes pushed against in a way that you could appreciate only by knowing where those boundaries were. Nowadays the taboos and boundaries are so different that it must be hard to figure out where they used to be unless you grew up with them, as I did. And 40 years from now, today’s taboos and boundaries will seem equally confusing to people looking back.
Oh man, I found an SCP Mad Lib generator, and, yes, I was trying to be random like with all Mad Libs, but it’s still hilarious… a silver Komodo Dragon that has an uncanny resemblance to Ernest Shackleton, turns into a whale whenever it comes into contact with submarines, and, “like most members of its species”, is able to fly airplanes and regularly eats twice its own weight in hummus, (exactly what kind of Komodo Dragons are you familiar with, buddy?)
It was recovered by the MythBusters, who stopped the New England Patriots from using it to mind-control the US Congress.
It is kept in a hummus-lined containment chamber under the Pentagon, guarded by at least three astronauts armed with marbles. If its nose ever starts running, Professor Ellison is supposed to eat it (that’s a random name I made up, but if he can eat a live Komodo Dragon, he must be pretty awesome.)
It was tested by being introduced to a dinosaur, whereupon which it apparently took out German dude’s eye.
I just did a “Part of Your World” mad lib. Whoever created it wasn’t specific enough (It didn’t specify whether it needed transitive or intransitive verbs, proper or common nouns, etc.), so it wasn’t as internally consistent as yours, but there were funny bits like, “I’ve got geographic strata and YouTube videos a-plenty.
I’ve got who’s-its and what’s-its galore.
You eat thingamabobs?
I’ve got fourteen nonillion and one!
But who cares? No vampiric deal! I massacre more!” and the line “Up where loriciferans sit in my chair and ruin my sleep and make me aware of being alive” (I deliberately put all that as one verb, and it worked).
How did you find out about that? It’s classified information! Especially the marbles.
I love Mad Libs stuff, but this has to be the best one I’ve ever read.
This is my last post on the blog. My mom said I’m not allowed to go on here anymore. So bye.
I’m sorry to hear that, Eggy. If your mother wants to talk to an Administrator, we’ll be more than happy to answer her questions.
My parents are attempting to crack down on me, too. I’m not sure they entirely understand what’s happening here, but I do understand their reasoning.
How bewildering. Has the world suddenly turned against life, the universe, pies, hot-pink bunnies, world domination, and everything?
Perhaps they want us to go *shudder* outside.
Good god, not that! Anything but that!
“Outside”? Where’s that? Is it near the Woven Beyond?
Re: post 54 — Wow, that was apparently a lot of interest that I piqued before disappearing completely for a week and a half. I apologize profusely, MB.
All right, if anyone still cares, have a summary-style thing of all two weeks of production camp. I did warn you it would be a very long post:
Week 1:
Monday-Wednesday: Give Eleven a ride to camp in the mornings. Block scenes. Despair at how incredibly untalented the cast seems to be this year. Despair at the rain and the twelve-year-olds which make blocking so slow. Wonder why you even auditioned for the caking camp in the first place. Sit next to Bear at lunch a lot.
Thursday: Give Eleven and Ginger rides to camp. Finally get to blocking the masquerade scene. The director wants both Beatrice and Benedick to be in drag for the dance; someone finds Eleven a dress in the costume barn and he wears it for most of the day and looks maddeningly attractive in it. A lady comes by to teach various parts of the cast various songs. You and the rest of the soldiers and Eleven-in-a-dress march around the field singing military songs at the top of your lungs and almost confusing a lot of joggers. Do not regret auditioning at all.
Friday: Continue carpooling with Eleven and Ginger. Bond with the cast, a lot. Appreciate your Borachio a lot. Wish your Conrade had not auditioned at all. Sit with Bear and Eleven at lunch et cetera, swap Tumblrs with Azure. Begin to think maybe the production won’t be so terrible after all.
Weekend: Invite Electros over and watch My Drunk Kitchen together, a lot. Subsequently try very hard to forget about all that follows.
Week 2:
Monday: Semiliterally die in the heat. Realize Bear was not flirting with you at all the first week. Feel sort of stupid.
Tuesday: Block almost all the way to the end of the play. Continue to die in the heat. Hide under beach umbrellas in the sun in front of the stage. Feel like nobody at the camp actually likes the camp. Feel terrible about the concept that the camp is going to eventually end.
Wednesday: Try to do a runthrough of the play. Fail miserably due to the heat, which is the worst it’s been all week, and also due to the fact that half the cast still has no idea what they are doing. Balthazara faints at the end of the day after spending forty-five minutes in the sun in front of the stage blocking the eavesdropping-Benedick scene with Eleven. Interact with no one, since everyone you like is in all the scenes you are not in. Feel like an enormous third wheel with Bear and Eleven, who are gaying it up all over the place, and like a fourth wheel once Sunflower gets into the mix. Interact with people very little. Have a ten-minute conversation with Eleven on the car ride home which is the high point of your day.
Thursday: Do an actual runthrough in the blackbox as practice for chances of rain, which is called so not because it is a black box theater but because it is a literal black box of a building, possibly formerly used as a garage or something. Hang out backstage on the half-decayed couch by the costume section of the blackbox, eat Saltines. Sit next to Eleven, get sat on by Bear, who starts playing with Eleven’s hair or some such. Confess feelings of third-wheel-ness. Bear suggests a threesome. Accept his offer. You and Bear and Eleven are now a tricycle. (This is when the third wheel makes things more stable.) Enjoy yourself, a lot. Then, in the evening, have an emotional breakdown for no apparent reason. Probably PMS.
Friday: Do two more runthroughs. Get your face licked by Azure, who you have known has a girlfriend in Connecticut since the first day. Become another tricycle with Bear and Azure. Bear apparently also has a girlfriend; apparently this tricycle requires cheating. Miss golden opportunity to ask Bear to set you up with someone. Oh well.
Eat dinner — pizza and watermelon and brownies — on-location with the rest of the cast. Realize you have all become a extremely close-knit ensemble. Become very very nervous for the first show. Put on your costume and melt only slightly. Make a last-minute decision involving sunglasses as a character prop which is probably the best last-minute acting decision you have ever made in your life, improv your way through the play with them and almost make a lot of people crack up. Do excellently. Sit on a bench backstage with Bear and Sunflower and have Eleven sit over all three of you and crack up because someone apparently decided to start playing ‘Amazing Grace’ on bagpipes across the field during intermission and would not stop till halfway through the second half of the play. Feel ecstatic until you get home. Then feel miserable because Bear and Eleven and Sunflower are a thing in the play and you are not. Become very angry at hormones.
Saturday: Try and figure out what to do with a day not filled with theater camp, decide the best solution is starting Welcome to Night Vale. Listen to it all day to the exclusion of doing anything else.
Make an absolute mess of the show. There are high winds blowing your props all over everything. Break one of the legs off of an actual caking metal lawn chair in one of your scenes. Feel absolutely terrible because this messes up Eleven’s blocking minorly, and also it is your family’s chair. Be miserable on Bear for about two seconds. Start feeling better. Watch the sunset, which is absolutely incredible, with Bear and Sunflower from backstage and feel quite content. Go to the cast party at Ginger’s house after the show and have a small dance party to 80s rock and Disney songs, end up in a heap on the couch with about eight other people, don’t go home until after midnight.
Sunday: Listen to Welcome to Night Vale all day again. Realize you have begun imitating Cecil Baldwin’s speech patterns. Wonder if this is a terribly bad thing. Decide probably not.
The show is solid if less energetic than the first night, and the audience is quite large. Hug everybody goodbye afterwards, and demand that they come back next year. Make a deal with Sunflower to audition for Mainstage together next year. Stay really late with her and Dogwood and Fox trying to figure out who it was who left their backpack and water bottle behind, and how to get it back to them. (The backpack turns out to be Bear’s. Sunflower and Dogwood drop it off at his house on their way home. The water bottle is unclaimed, so you claim it.) You and Bear and Eleven group-hugged briefly by the props table right after the show and Eleven said “I’m going to miss our tricycle”; sob slightly about this all the way home. Almost hit a telephone pole, because driving and sobbing at the same time is not a good idea, especially after dark.
Week 3:
Monday: Finish listening to Welcome to Night Vale, begin listening to it again from the beginning. Await post-production letdown, which seems curiously absent.
Tuesday: ????????
Wednesday: Existential crisis.
GAPAS, I think the spam filter ate my extremely long theater camp post. You may want to go fish it out again.
Got it!
Thanks.
…Next month, I’m moving for college.
THIS IS ACTUALLY HAPPENING
Where did high school go?!
Make sure you have everything you want when you leave. This includes trash cans and pillows.
Thanks, Kai. I will. I’m a little bummed I’m not allowed to bring my incense with me. I completely understand why, of course. I’ll just have to have a relative hang on to it for the time being.
When I saw this in “Recent Comments”, at first I thought it was in reference to my flying saucer joke.
I’m serious about the pillows and trash cans, I forgot both when I went back for summer session in June (luckily, a friend gave me the box her textbooks came in at the bookstore, and I had a spare blanket I could fold up.)
And yes, they’re pretty serious about the fire hazards, but in big dorms, there’s a lot of reason to be– when 1,500 kids have to evacuate at 3 AM because an alarm went off, it is not a pretty sight.
Aka “whenever anyone tries to cook Mac and cheese in the microwave”
I’m glad your friend was able to help. But I’m actually not worried about that; having packed for sleep-away camps every summer the majority of my childhood. Bringing a trashcan will be new, but as far as I’m concerned it’s just one more thing to make sure I have packed week in advance.
I totally understand about the fire hazards; I would never light incense in a dorm! It’s just that the rule also means I can’t bring them along and not light them, because there’s no way to prove that I never intended to light them. Well, it’s really only a trifling inconvenience.
So… I am currently waiting to be whisked away by a mysterious sailor archeologist you all know!
I envy you! I hope you have fun.
I am soon to be waiting to be whisked away by a mysterious airborne device you all know!
XP
A TARDIS?
well they call it an “airplane” but I won’t see it until 6pm tonight so for all I know it could be anything
If it’s a flying saucer, try to get clear pictures, no matter how shaky your hands are.
Is there air in the time vortex?
I am waiting to find out whether there will be an archaeological device gentleman capable of whisking me away Sunday and do you want tickets for saturday
I’ve whisked away Jadestone and met up with the illustrious Grant O. and Shadowkat, and this evening we’re collecting Dodecahedron, and tomorrow yes Lizzie, we want to come to your concert!
Yay for Kokonventions! Yay for now a standing tradition that’s lasted for 3-years strong!
Take pictures!
For those interested, I’m am about to commence spamming the geeky tv shows thread with star trek posts.
So….one of my “coworkers” (not really a coworker since I’m doing an unpaid externship and my old place of work, and she is volunteering there as part of a vet tech assistant program) thinks Spock is the creepiest guy in the universe. Although I still think this is due at least in part to her association of Spock with Zachary Quinto and her association with Quinto as his role as a “brain eater” (her words for referring to him) from his super hot (my words, she thinks he’s creepy) serial killer role in Heroes.
I’m thinking she must not have any real knowledge of TOS if she finds Spock creepy, because while not everybody may find Spock as totally awesome as I admittedly do, his character in TOS is not even remotely creepy.
I’ve read that when the series first aired, some people complained that Spock’s pointed ears made him look demonic, so I guess they found his appearance creepy if not his behavior.
Well, I know Roddenberry intended him to look like satan, but….I dunno. I think the ears are super hot (I’m sure that’s *such* a big surprise, lol). I just find it weird that anybody finds the ears (or the supposed satanic appearance) actually creepy. But then, it’s me. We’d already established my type…..
For what it’s worth, I’m not attracted to him, and I find the idea of his ears being creepy surprising as well. I primarily associate pointed ears with elves and fairies and such, though, which are not automatically creepy.
I kind of assumed it was a case of people in the ’60s thinking about the devil more than people today.
Hi, everyone! Still in Singapore, currently staving off any urges to do my summer homework and/or exercise. There are geckos in places that in my experience should not contain geckos. Toasters, for example, and water glasses.
I’m not sure if I mentioned this, but due to what I feel is something of an ill-judged choice on the part of my journalism teacher, next year our school newspaper will have three editors-in-chief, instead of the customary single one. They’re currently squabbling over email, which is quite amusing to watch, but I think I’m going to lose my reputation as The Quiet One in the upcoming months, because one of them in particular just invites sassy remarks.
That’s mostly it from me! Oh- has anyone here read Battle Hymn of the Tiger Mother? It stirred up a lot of controversy in Singapore when it was first published, and now I’m supposed to write about it for next year’s English class, but I can’t decide how I feel.
Are there any shower geckos?
There’s one that appears to live right next to my shampoo. I’m trying to decide on a name for it: so far, the contenders are Wally, Miriam, and Florence.
In addition, there are cockroaches. They are the size of a small fist, and they can fly short distances. I’m not happy about this.
I’m finally getting a new car! Well, new-to-me. My sister’s buying a car from a friend of ours, so I’m getting her old car. Not a huge upgrade–I’ll be moving from a ’92 Accord to a ’95 Camry–but her car, at about 130k, has less than half the miles mine does. Ironically, though, it’s caused her more more problems than mine has me. Her car’s transmission is a lot less likely to spontaneously implode, however, which is a good thing. I’ll miss my car, though. It may be riddled with rust and lack a working AC, but it’s a decently fun car to drive. My sister’s car is spongy. Boring. Alas. For now, that’s the price to pay for reliability.
What else has been going on in my life? Not much. I’ve been getting up well before sunrise every day now. My addictions to coffee and tea are spiraling out of control. I’ve sunk an almost awe-inspiring amount of time into Animal Crossing. I’ve got some good momentum in my Japanese studies, too. I’ve even looked a bit at the text we’ll be translating this semester in Greek. Oh, and I’ve overcome my fear of cicada killer wasps–mostly overcome, anyway. They’re still a bit loud for my tastes.
I haven’t posted much about my day-to-day life these past few weeks. To roughly sum up what happened, I will provide a list.
–sickness and fainting at the table
–health (and lots of doctor-ordered gatorade and salt and vinegar chips)
–visited an art fair
–talked brother into watching Puella Magi Madoka Magica
–which he loved, because of the high death count
–reprised what a bad idea it is to touch your eyes after cutting a jalapeno.
–which sucks if you wear contacts and need to take them out.
–one month till I go to costa rica
–I am in no way ready
So…..I’ve reached the conclusion that when it comes to fictional characters/actor counterparts I’m attracted to, I’ve actually got a type
I realized this when I was trying to figure out if my one “coworker” shared any of my tastes in hot men after learning she thought quinto was really creepy looking.
Spock
Sherlock
Merlin
And after she prompted something along the lines of did I have a crush on Harry potter, too (and I had one on Radcliffe about a decade ago), that’s when it clicked.
I’m attracted to the scrawny, slightly dorky looking, but super smart and quirky brunettes, over the outright physically fit, rugged blonde men that many if these characters costar with (Kirk, Arthur, Watson)
So now I just need to find me a scrawny, slightly dorky looking yet still hot, super smart brunette. (Who also cooks and cleans, lol)
With my David Tennant crush still going strong, I’m exactly the same way.
i’m back sry 4 typos had to be quick. i dont know where this should go so i put it here. my mom said if I didnt get my room picked up in time my door would be taken off. Ive been hiding my secret stuffs in stuffies so thats where the name came from. what do i do help?
If you can read this, pick up your room!
Also maybe you can find someplace to hide your stuff so it isn’t in plain sight? I have a large pile/bookcase full of beanie babies and stuffed animals that I routinely hide stuff underneath or behind.
I keep on thinking, “What if Night Valestuck though?” Cecil Baldwin narrating a game of Sburb taking place in the town. A word from our sponsors, Betty Crocker.
OBEY SUBMIT CONSUME. It wouldn’t even have to be subliminal messaging, because this is Night Vale.…I might actually have to write this crossover down. I never write fanfiction. I just let the ideas molder away in my head until I get bored with the entire fandom. But now…the urge, it is great. But I just don’t like to write. I mean, the physical act of writing. Or typing. And organizing my ideas usually kills them.
I don’t know what to dooooo.
That happens to me sometimes. I get these crossover ideas that I want to read so badly, but there’s no one to write them but me, except that I don’t actually want to write them; I just want to to have been written. Sadly, there’s no one who’s going to write them for me, and I have to either do it myself or keep it them my head.
I don’t have any actual advice, mind you, but I know how you feel.
Are you me?
True fact: the three of us are all part of a superentity that separated eons ago and traveled throughout history, never to meet its other parts again…until now. Cosmic confluence has brought us together again, here and now. And as we look at each other’s comments, something deep within us calls out in recognition. To answer your question, yes, yes you are she. And she is me, and I am you as you are me, and we are all each other, trembling with the joy of meeting our long lost parts once again.
I read this in Cecil’s voice.
I read the last part in John Lennon’s.
Well okay then…
Like Spelluna, but with three people?
OMG Spelluna
The records show that the Spelluna appeared on the blog on January 21, 2010. Things here have never been quite the same since.
Write it!
Hellooooo!!!! Jade here! Sadly, the kokonvention is at an end
Fern is about to depart for the Great Mystery That Lies South of Ohio.
Fern reporting! Hello my loves! I’m at Jade’s apartment, having sadly resisted the temptation to kidnap her forever and bring her back to the mountains. This kokonvention was, I think, the least documented yet, but there are some pictures that will appear sometime soon.
(Jade) Yes, we didn’t really end up with time/internet to do a big monsterpost and neglected to call people this year. Alas! Well, things to add to next year’s agenda then. We parted ways from Grant and Lizzie this morning, and had to say goodbye to Shadowkat and Dodecahedron yesterday, but it was great to get to see everyone for a while
SPOILER ALERT: some of the photos we send in (that we did manage to take) may contain a fair mermaid and her jolly sailor bold.
If you’re having too much fun to post, I’d say that’s a good sign of a Grade A Kokonvention.
Yesterday Jade and I sat on the sofa and hit each other with squid tentacles.
For like, 30 minutes. Straight.
I love you both
I envy all of you terribly!
Well, at least you beat mine as far as documentation goes. I mean, Biblio probably posted about it, but I never did, nor did I send in either of the pictures from it. (For which I probably owe an apology to Biblio. That month was near the lowest point in my life, and this was just one thing that slipped.)
I should dig out that picture and send it in. It had a cute owl in it. Oh, and us.
I just found out I share a birthday with Picasso.
What is good legalese/technobabble to hide an admission that an organization has ghosts working for it?
So far, the best I have is: “(Organization) has employed Mr. (Name) in a specialist capacity making use of his unique talents and experience since 19XX.”
That formulation is hard to beat.
I think it could be funnier if it used five-dollar words that gave more away (to those who look the words up), though.
You could add that he works in the Department of Revenants and Metempsychosis.
Pollyhymnia just sent me this link. I probably should have waited until MuseBlog’s eighth birthday tomorrow, but I just had to share it with you all right away:
http :// cakecrumbs. me/2013/07/24/jupiter-structural-layer-cake/
MuseBlog is about to turn 8? Wow, that’s crazy. I remember joining around the beginning of year 2 and feeling like I was experiencing the very front edge of the blog’s history. Now that time period is in the first 25%. Time never stops rolling by…
On the subject of the thread, were there ever predictions made many years ago about what MuseBlog would look like in the future? That could be amusing. I don’t think I’ve been here in years but it still looks pretty much exactly the same as last time I checked in.
Good to see you, E2MB!
We haven’t felt the need to tinker with MuseBlog. Once we found a design that worked for us, we decided to let sleeping blogs lie.
We have added a few odds and ends from time to time, however. Was the Asteroids game here last time you checked in? If not, give it a try. It’s random craziness, like so many other things around here.