9TimeZones.com
is: Anikó J. Bartos
and: Alan C. Baird
Scripts: Vlad\
BackslasherBlog\
Fall In Budapest\
Merlinsky\Feelix\
Eleven Thousand
Virgins\Azért is..!now \ then:
'12:jfmamjjasond
'11:jfmamjjasond
'10:jfmamjjasond
'09:jfmamjjasond
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'06:jfmamjjasond
'05:jfmamjjasond
'04: fmamjjasond
1996apr 2001sep
»» moblog:
is: Anikó J. Bartos
and: Alan C. Baird
Scripts: Vlad\
BackslasherBlog\
Fall In Budapest\
Merlinsky\Feelix\
Eleven Thousand
Virgins\Azért is..!now \ then:
'12:jfmamjjasond
'11:jfmamjjasond
'10:jfmamjjasond
'09:jfmamjjasond
'08:jfmamjjasond
'07:jfmamjjasond
'06:jfmamjjasond
'05:jfmamjjasond
'04: fmamjjasond
1996apr
»» moblog:
Ring Of Fire.
Sunday, May 20, 2012: a "ring of fire" annular solar eclipse is coming to OR, CA, NV, UT, AZ, CO, NM, TX. It's the first one in the USA in almost 18 years.
Video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7YX2blo1eRk
More details: http://science.nasa.gov/science-news/science-at-nasa/2012/27jan_annulareclipse/
PDF map: http://eclipse.gsfc.nasa.gov/OH/OHfigures/OH2012-Fig02.pdf
Thank you! More, please?
ANNIE (Malin Akerman): About a year ago, I was in this cab, and the cab driver - this Indian guy - started telling me... he started telling me all sorts of stuff. He was just looking at me in the rear-view mirror and he said, "Bliss. Bliss is your birthright." And I was like, "Uh... 45th and Madison?" And he said, "You have great potential in this lifetime. The key to your life is gratitude. You do not give enough thanks." And I said, "Well, how do I do that?" And he said, "Simple! Say 'thank you.'" And I said, "Well, when?" And he said, "All the time! Like now." And he said that after I say "thank you," I should say, "more please."
--happythankyoumoreplease, by writer/director/star Josh Radnor ("Ted Mosby" on How I Met Your Mother)
Starz - Netflix - Amazon - IMDb - Facebook
Blake sayeth.
Blake would say, "The naked woman's body is a portion of eternity too great for the eye of man." (Iron John: A Book About Men, by Robert Bly, 1990)
Blake actually said:
"The roaring of lions, the howling of wolves, the raging of the stormy sea, and the destructive sword, are portions of eternity too great for the eye of man." (The Marriage of Heaven and Hell, by William Blake, 1793)
Funniest videos about Facebook.
Facebook Manners And You:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iROYzrm5SBM
The Social Network Teaser 3 (Spoof):
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T5o4UzfZsZI
10 Reasons Why We Hate Facebook:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=flRg9Q1d3kY
Robert Frost Checks His Facebook Account:
http://www.funnyordie.com/videos/7b33dbb0bf
R U F*cking Kidding Me? (Facebook Song) [lyrics]:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S7MuwPlOiNQ
NEWS FLASH:
Archaeologists have discovered the Mayan Calendar, Part Deux.
It starts in 2012, and even includes the last three months of 2011.
Bizarro
Who's On First?
--Abbott & Costello [text] [mp3] [Wikipedia]
ABBOTT: Well, Costello, I'm going to New York with you. Bucky Harris, the Yankees' manager, gave me a job as coach for as long as you're on the team.
COSTELLO: Look Abbott, if you're the coach, you must know all the players.
ABBOTT: I certainly do.
COSTELLO: Well you know, I've never met the guys. So you'll have to tell me their names, and then I'll know who's playing on the team.
ABBOTT: Oh, I'll tell you their names, but you know it seems to me they give these ballplayers nowadays very peculiar names.
COSTELLO: You mean funny names?
ABBOTT: Strange names, pet names... like Dizzy Dean...
COSTELLO: ...his brother Daffy...
ABBOTT: ...Daffy Dean...
COSTELLO: ...and their French cousin.
ABBOTT: French?
COSTELLO: Goofay.
ABBOTT: Goofay Dean. Well, let's see, we have on the bags, Who's on first, What's on second, I Don't Know is on third...
COSTELLO: That's what I want to find out.
ABBOTT: I say Who's on first, What's on second, I Don't Know's on third.
COSTELLO: Are you the manager?
ABBOTT: Yes.
COSTELLO: You gonna be the coach too?
ABBOTT: Yes.
COSTELLO: And you don't know the fellows' names.
ABBOTT: Well I should.
COSTELLO: Well then who's on first?
ABBOTT: Yes.
COSTELLO: I mean the fellow's name?
ABBOTT: Who.
COSTELLO: The guy on first.
ABBOTT: Who.
COSTELLO: The first baseman.
ABBOTT: Who.
COSTELLO: The guy playing...
ABBOTT: Who is on first!
COSTELLO: I'm asking you who's on first?
ABBOTT: That's the man's name.
COSTELLO: That's who's name?
ABBOTT: Yes.
COSTELLO: Well go ahead and tell me.
ABBOTT: That's it.
COSTELLO: That's who?
ABBOTT: Yes.
COSTELLO (pause): Look, you got a first baseman?
ABBOTT: Certainly.
COSTELLO: Who's playing first?
ABBOTT: That's right.
COSTELLO: When you pay off the first baseman every month, who gets the money?
ABBOTT: Every dollar of it.
COSTELLO: All I'm trying to find out is the fellow's name on first base.
ABBOTT: Who.
COSTELLO: The guy that gets...
ABBOTT: That's it.
COSTELLO: ...who gets the money...
ABBOTT: He does, every dollar of it. Sometimes his wife comes down and collects it.
COSTELLO: Who's wife?
ABBOTT: Yes. (pause) What's wrong with that?
COSTELLO: I wanna know is when you sign up the first baseman, how does he sign his name?
ABBOTT: Who.
COSTELLO: The guy...
ABBOTT: Who.
COSTELLO: How does he sign...
ABBOTT: That's how he signs it.
COSTELLO: Who?
ABBOTT: Yes.
COSTELLO (pause): All I'm trying to find out is what's the guy's name on first base.
ABBOTT: No. What is on second base.
COSTELLO: I'm not asking you who's on second.
ABBOTT: Who's on first.
COSTELLO: One base at a time!
ABBOTT: Well, don't change the players around.
COSTELLO: I'm not changing nobody!
ABBOTT: Take it easy, buddy.
COSTELLO: I'm only asking you, who's the guy on first base?
ABBOTT: That's right.
COSTELLO: Okay.
ABBOTT: Alright.
COSTELLO (pause): What's the guy's name on first base?
ABBOTT: No. What is on second.
COSTELLO: I'm not asking you who's on second.
ABBOTT: Who's on first.
COSTELLO: I don't know.
ABBOTT: He's on third. We're not talking about him.
COSTELLO: Now how did I get on third base?
ABBOTT: Why you mentioned his name.
COSTELLO: If I mentioned the third baseman's name, who did I say is playing third?
ABBOTT: No. Who's playing first.
COSTELLO: What's on base?
ABBOTT: What's on second.
COSTELLO: I don't know.
ABBOTT: He's on third.
COSTELLO: There I go, back on third again! (pause) Would you just stay on third base and don't go off it.
ABBOTT: Alright, what do you want to know?
COSTELLO: Now who's playing third base?
ABBOTT: Why do you insist on putting Who on third base?
COSTELLO: What am I putting on third?
ABBOTT: No. What is on second.
COSTELLO: You don't want who on second?
ABBOTT: Who is on first.
COSTELLO: I don't know.
ABBOTT/COSTELLO (together): Third base!
COSTELLO (pause): Look, you got an outfield?
ABBOTT: Sure.
COSTELLO: The left fielder's name?
ABBOTT: Why.
COSTELLO: I just thought I'd ask you.
ABBOTT: Well, I just thought I'd tell ya.
COSTELLO: Then tell me who's playing left field.
ABBOTT: Who's playing first.
COSTELLO: I'm not... stay out of the infield!! I want to know what's the guy's name in left field?
ABBOTT: No, What is on second.
COSTELLO: I'm not asking you who's on second.
ABBOTT: Who's on first!
COSTELLO: I don't know.
ABBOTT/COSTELLO (together): Third base!
COSTELLO (pause): The left fielder's name?
ABBOTT: Why.
COSTELLO: Because!
ABBOTT: Oh, he's center field.
COSTELLO (pause): Look, You got a pitcher on this team?
ABBOTT: Sure.
COSTELLO: The pitcher's name?
ABBOTT: Tomorrow.
COSTELLO: You don't want to tell me today?
ABBOTT: I'm telling you now.
COSTELLO: Then go ahead.
ABBOTT: Tomorrow!
COSTELLO: What time?
ABBOTT: What time what?
COSTELLO: What time tomorrow are you gonna tell me who's pitching?
ABBOTT: Now listen. Who is not pitching.
COSTELLO: I'll break your arm if you say who's on first!! I want to know what's the pitcher's name?
ABBOTT: What's on second.
COSTELLO: I don't know.
ABBOTT/COSTELLO (together): Third base!
COSTELLO (pause): Got a catcher?
ABBOTT: Certainly.
COSTELLO: The catcher's name?
ABBOTT: Today.
COSTELLO: Today, and tomorrow's pitching.
ABBOTT: Now you've got it.
COSTELLO: All we got is a couple of days on the team. (pause) You know, I'm a catcher too.
ABBOTT: So they tell me.
COSTELLO: I get behind the plate to do some fancy catching. Tomorrow's pitching on my team and a heavy hitter gets up. Now the heavy hitter bunts the ball. When he bunts the ball, me, being a good catcher, I'm gonna throw the guy out at first. So I pick up the ball and throw it to who?
ABBOTT: Now that's the first thing you've said right.
COSTELLO: I don't even know what I'm talking about!
ABBOTT (pause): That's all you have to do.
COSTELLO: Is to throw the ball to first base?
ABBOTT: Yes!
COSTELLO: Now who's got it?
ABBOTT: Naturally.
COSTELLO (pause): Look, if I throw the ball to first base, somebody's gotta get it. Now who has it?
ABBOTT: Naturally.
COSTELLO: Who?
ABBOTT: Naturally.
COSTELLO: Naturally?
ABBOTT: Naturally.
COSTELLO: So I pick up the ball and I throw it to Naturally.
ABBOTT: No you don't. You throw the ball to Who.
COSTELLO: Naturally.
ABBOTT: That's different.
COSTELLO: That's what I said.
ABBOTT: You're not saying it...
COSTELLO: I throw the ball to Naturally.
ABBOTT: You throw it to Who.
COSTELLO: Naturally.
ABBOTT: That's it.
COSTELLO: That's what I said!
ABBOTT: You ask me.
COSTELLO: I throw the ball to who?
ABBOTT: Naturally.
COSTELLO: Now you ask me.
ABBOTT: You throw the ball to Who?
COSTELLO: Naturally.
ABBOTT: That's it.
COSTELLO: Same as you! Same as YOU!! I throw the ball to who. Whoever it is drops the ball and the guy runs to second. Who picks up the ball and throws it to What. What throws it to I Don't Know. I Don't Know throws it back to Tomorrow. Triple play. Another guy gets up and hits a long fly ball to Because. Why? I don't know! He's on third and I don't give a darn!
ABBOTT: What?
COSTELLO: I said I don't give a darn!
ABBOTT: Oh, that's our shortstop.
COSTELLO: (screams)
Come to the edge.
by Christopher Logue (23 Nov 1926 - 2 Dec 2011)
[written in 1968 for a festival marking the 50th anniversary of French poet Guillaume Apollinaire's death]
Come to the edge.
We might fall.
Come to the edge.
It's too high!
COME TO THE EDGE!
And they came,
and we pushed,
And they... flew.
The Road Not Taken (1915), by Robert Frost (1874-1963).
Two roads diverged in a yellow wood,
And sorry I could not travel both
And be one traveler, long I stood
And looked down one as far as I could
To where it bent in the undergrowth.
Then took the other, as just as fair,
And having perhaps the better claim,
Because it was grassy and wanted wear;
Though as for that the passing there
Had worn them really about the same.
And both that morning equally lay
In leaves no step had trodden black.
Oh, I kept the first for another day!
Yet knowing how way leads on to way,
I doubted if I should ever come back.
I shall be telling this with a sigh
Somewhere ages and ages hence:
Two roads diverged in a wood, and I--
I took the one less traveled by,
And that has made all the difference.
Inexcusable liberties with the milkmaids.
![The Twelve Days of Christmas [Correspondence]: John Julius Norwich, 1996](http://images.amazon.com/images/P/031220163X.01.LZZZZZZZ.jpg)
25th DecemberMy dearest darling - That partridge, in that lovely little pear tree! What an enchanting, romantic, poetic present! Bless you and thank you.
Your deeply loving Emily
26th December
My dearest darling Edward - The two turtle doves arrived this morning and are cooing away in the pear tree as I write. I'm so touched and grateful.
With undying love, as always, Emily
27th December
My darling Edward - You do think of the most original presents; whoever thought of sending anybody three French hens? Do they really come all the way from France? It's a pity we have no chicken coops, but I expect we'll find some. Thank you anyway, they're heaven.
Your loving Emily
28th December
Dearest Edward - What a surprise - four calling birds arrived this morning. They are very sweet, even if they do call rather loudly - they make telephoning impossible. But I expect they'll calm down when they get used to their new home. Anyway, I'm very grateful - of course I am.
Love from Emily
29th December
Dearest Edward - The postman has just delivered five most beautiful gold rings, one for each finger, and all fitting perfectly. A really lovely present - lovelier in a way than the birds, which do take rather a lot of looking after. The four that arrived yesterday are still making a terrible row, and I'm afraid none of us got much sleep last night. Mummy says she wants to use the rings to 'wring' their necks - she's only joking, I think; though I know what she means. But I love the rings. Bless you.
Love Emily
30th December
Dear Edward - Whatever I expected to find when I opened the front door this morning, it certainly wasn't six socking great geese laying eggs all over the doorstep. Frankly, I had rather hoped you had stopped sending me birds - we have no room for them and they have already ruined the croquet lawn. I know you meant well, but - let's call a halt, shall we?
Love Emily
31st December
Edward - I thought I said no more birds; but this morning I woke to find no less than seven swans all trying to get into our tiny goldfish pond. I'd rather not think what happened to the goldfish. The whole house seems to be full of birds - to say nothing of what they leave behind them. Please, please STOP.
Your Emily
1st JanuaryFrankly, I think I prefer birds. What am I to do with eight milkmaids - AND their cows? Is this some kind of a joke? If so, I'm afraid I don't find it very amusing.
Emily
2nd January
Look here, Edward, this has gone far enough. You say you're sending me nine ladies dancing; all I can say is that judging from the way they dance, they're certainly not ladies. The village just isn't accustomed to seeing a regiment of shameless hussies, with nothing on but their lipstick, cavorting round the green - and it's Mummy and I who get blamed. If you value our friendship - which I do less and less - kindly stop this ridiculous behaviour at once.
Emily
3rd January
As I write this letter, ten disgusting old men are prancing about, all over what used to be the garden - before the geese and the swans and the cows got at it; and several of them, I notice, are taking inexcusable liberties with the milkmaids. Meanwhile the neighbours are trying to have us evicted. I shall never speak to you again.
Emily
4th January
This is the last straw. You know I detest bagpipes. The place has now become something between a menagerie and a madhouse, and a man from the Council has just declared it unfit for habitation. At least Mummy has been spared this last outrage; they took her away this afternoon in an ambulance. I hope you're satisfied.
5th January
Sir, Our client, Miss Emily Wilbraham, instructs me to inform you that with the arrival on her premises, at half-past seven this morning, of the entire percussion section of the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra and several of their friends, she has no course left open to her but to seek an injunction to prevent your importuning her further.
I am, sir, Yours faithfully
G. Creep, Solicitor-at-Law
Bush Highway (Arizona).
We used the Bush Highway yesterday, on our way up to Payson. This scenic road starts a bit over a mile from our house, and I've always wondered how it got its name. So I finally did the research when we returned home, and created this page for Wikipedia:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bush_Highway_(Arizona)
The Bush Highway begins at the northern end of Power Road in Mesa, Arizona and extends northeasterly through the Tonto National Forest, over the Arizona Canal, past the Granite Reef Dam, along the Salt River near its confluence with the Verde River, past Red Mountain, the Stewart Mountain Dam and Saguaro Lake, to connect with SR 87 (Beeline Highway) in Tonto, Arizona. It was named after the Mesa lumberman, Harvey Granville Bush. Construction on what was then called "The Harvey Bush Highway" began on March 21, 1933. The road opened to the public in 1934.
External links
The Story of Payson, Arizona
A little highway history
Google map
Bardot, Budapest, Alabama, Khrushchev.
We Didn't Start The Fire [annotations] [video]Written by Billy Joel
Harry Truman, Doris Day, Red China, Johnny Ray
South Pacific, Walter Winchell, Joe DiMaggio
Joe McCarthy, Richard Nixon, Studebaker, Television
North Korea, South Korea, Marilyn Monroe
Rosenbergs, H-Bomb, Sugar Ray, Panmunjom
Brando, The King and I, and The Catcher in the Rye
Eisenhower, Vaccine, England's got a new queen
Maciano, Liberace, Santayana goodbye
REFRAIN: We didn't start the fire
It was always burning
Since the world's been turning
We didn't start the fire
No we didn't light it
But we tried to fight it
Joseph Stalin, Malenkov, Nasser, and Prokofiev
Rockefeller, Campanella, Communist bloc
Roy Cohn, Juan Perón, Toscanini, Dacron
Dien Bien Phu falls, Rock Around the Clock
Einstein, James Dean, Brooklyn's got a winning team
Davy Crockett, Peter Pan, Elvis Presley, Disneyland
Bardot, Budapest, Alabama, Khrushchev
Princess Grace, Peyton Place, Trouble in the Suez [REFRAIN]
Little Rock, Pasternak, Mickey Mantle, Kerouac
Sputnik, Chou En-Lai, Bridge on the River Kwai
Lebanon, Charles de Gaulle, California baseball
Starkweather homicide, Children of Thalidomide
Buddy Holly, Ben Hur, Space monkey, Mafia
Hula hoops, Castro, Edsel is a no-go
U2, Syngman Rhee, Payola, and Kennedy
Chubby Checker, Psycho, Belgians in the Congo [REFRAIN]
Hemingway, Eichmann, Stranger in a Strange Land
Dylan, Berlin, Bay of Pigs invasion
Lawrence of Arabia, British Beatlemania
Ole Miss, John Glenn, Liston beats Patterson
Pope Paul, Malcolm X, British politician sex
J.F.K. blown away, what else do I have to say? [REFRAIN]
Birth control, Ho Chi Minh, Richard Nixon back again
Moonshot, Woodstock, Watergate, Punk rock
Begin, Reagan, Palestine, Terror on the airline
Ayatollah's in Iran, Russians in Afghanistan
Wheel of Fortune, Sally Ride, Heavy metal suicide
Foreign debts, Homeless vets, AIDS, Crack, Bernie Goetz
Hypodermics on the shore, China's under martial law
Rock-and-roller cola wars, I can't take it anymore! [REFRAIN]
***
FB group: Baby Boomers, Flower Children, Counterculture Hippies & Sixties Protesters
Eleven Thousand Virgins screenplay @ Amazon Studios.
Read/review/collaborate @ Amazon Studios:http://studios.amazon.com/scripts/11952
[107-page feature screenplay: Writers Network semifinalist]
Log line: "Field of Dreams" with medieval chant music in place of baseball.
Synopsis: Alex Barnett has a comfortable life in Los Angeles and San Francisco; it's probably too comfortable, although he can't quite admit to himself that an extended separation from his wife Nicole eats at his soul. An unusual set of seemingly unrelated circumstances impels him to seek out a centuries-abandoned monastery in southwest Germany, where he confronts the animate image of Hildegard von Bingen, the legendary twelfth-century mystic, prophet, and composer of ravishing liturgical chants. Although his friend Lars believes it's a bona-fide vision, much like the visions that fueled Hildegard's own creativity, Alex cynically distrusts his deepest instincts and drives himself to search for a more acceptable answer. His quest guides him on the path toward self-awareness, through experiences both sacred and profane. One man's inner and outer pilgrimages take him to the depths of uncertainty, and, almost inexorably, to the peak of actualization.
Background: Hildegard of Bingen (1098-1179 AD) composed many chants in honor of Saint Ursula (?-383 AD). According to legend, Ursula was a Romano-British princess who, at the request of her father, King Donaut of Dumnonia (SW England), set sail with 11,000 virginal handmaidens to join her future husband, the pagan Governor Conan Meriadoc of Armorica (Brittany). Before the princess could arrive, all the virgins were beheaded in a massacre, and Ursula was shot dead. Modern research suggests the phrase "XI. M. V." was misinterpreted as "eleven thousand (in Roman numerals) virgins" rather than "eleven martyred virgins."
Genre: Spiritual drama.
[Download script @ Amazon Studios, 205K PDF file]
[Hildegard von Bingen (1098-1179) - Discography]
[Eleven Thousand Virgins CD, by Anonymous 4]
[Facebook] [Ð1] [Ð2] [MAP]
Screenwright(R) screenplay formatting template.
After designing an award-winning screenplay formatter in 2008, I went ahead and added nine others (sitcom, radio, theater and AV, plus A4 versions) in 2009.They were all available on OpenOffice.org's Extensions and Templates websites, but those URLs have been very unreliable during the last six months. I kept hoping the sites would be fixed, but alas...
Plus, it seem needlessly wasteful to have the formatters scattered all over the place.
So I finally got off my lazy butt and consolidated everything here: http://9TimeZones.com/scr2.htm
Enjoy!
Rudolph's Revenge.
Rudolph's Revenge by Leigh Rubin:
http://www.rubescartoons.com/prints.html
See also: White Christmas: Berlin/McPhatter/Held.
Walmart. Save money. Live better. Get injured.
Wal-Mart's unhappy holiday tradition: Black Friday violence (LA Times)
Shovels and rakes and implements of destruction.
So there I am, cruisin' down the Superstition Freeway (US60), slaloming around the other cars like they're pylons.That's when I notice my path is blocked by a gardener's truck, towing a mesh-cage trailer that contains shovels and rakes and implements of destruction.
Crap. The slowdown is bummin' me out.
But then I spot the gardener's sense of humor, and it makes me laugh out loud.
His trailer has an oddly-familiar, brown & furry doll, nailed to the back of the mesh cage.
It's the dancing gopher from Caddyshack.
Daylight Saving Time is ending.
Turn back your clocks Saturday night and be thankful you don't live in Tuba City, Arizona.
You see, most Arizonans take exception to the Daylight Saving Time observed by the rest of America. Arizona tried DST for a year (1967), but decided the extra hour of daylight was not necessarily a good thing. The desert summers were already too f*cking hot.
But then there's the Navajo Rejection of the Arizona Exception: the northeast corner of Arizona is part of the Navajo Nation (which extends across three states) and in an effort to keep the same time on the entire reservation, they observe DST.
However, the Hopi Tribe doesn't agree with the Navajo DST decision. Yes, the Hopi Reservation, which is completely enclosed by the Navajo Nation, has declined DST... resulting in the Hopi Repudiation of the Navajo Rejection of the Arizona Exception.
Finally, there's Tuba City, located in the western reaches of the Navajo Nation, just east of Arizona's palefaces, just west of the main Hopi Reservation and just north of the Hopi Reservation's exclave (not enclave) containing Moenkopi. Here's a time zone map (with DST in yellow), so you can see that Tuba City is caught between the Hopi and a hard place. Navajo tribal offices and schools in Tuba City observe DST, but most businesses don't ("so as not to confuse the tourists"). In Tuba City, it's possible to walk next door and enter a whole different time zone.
I suspect the residents of Tuba City will breathe a big sigh of relief, come Sunday.
PS: The community of Jeddito, Arizona, southeast of Tuba City, lies within an exclave of the Navajo Nation, which is surrounded by the Hopi Reservation, which is surrounded by the Navajo Nation. If you decided to drive the 88 miles from Jeddito to Tuba City on Route 264, you would start in DST (Jeddito, Navajo exclave), switch to standard time (Hopi Reservation), switch back to DST (Navajo Nation), switch back to standard time (Moenkopi, Hopi exclave) and switch back to DST (Tuba City, Navajo Nation). And if you began your drive 20 miles east of Jeddito, in Steamboat Canyon, you could add two more time zone changes, to visit a grand total of seven time zones during your 108-mile trip on Route 264 (actually, this map shows you need to drive only 96 miles to get the full effect).
OK, I'm gonna stop now. If I write any more about this, my head will explode.
Occupy Phoenix.
We are the 99%. We are being forced out of our jobs, and into bankruptcies and foreclosures. We have lost our schools and our access to health care. We will no longer tolerate the greed and corruption of the richest 1%. We fell asleep for a while, but we just woke up and we won't be silent anymore. 951 cities, 82 countries, today. Noon, here in Phoenix.
http://15october.net
http://occupytogether.org
http://facebook.com/occupyphoenix
http://cnn.com/2011/10/15/world/occupy-goes-global
http://maps.google.com/maps?daddr=201+W+Washington+Phx
Update - pix:
Rushkoff's take: Think Occupy Wall St. is a phase? You don't get it
UPDATE 1 - some differences in news coverage:
Buoyed by Wall St. Protests, Rallies Sweep the Globe (NY Times)
'Indignant' protests pick up (News24)
UPDATE 2 - national to super-local, every story has a spin:
Anti-Wall St. Movement Grows to Dozens of Cities (ABC)
Arrests made after Phoenix occupy protests (AZ Republic)
Occupy Phoenix Busted Up By Police (Modern Times)
City Officials Betray #OccupyPhoenix Movement (OccupyPhoenix.net)
UPDATE 3 - Arianna Huffington: Lessons From Spain: "Los Indignados," Occupy Wall Street, and the Failure of the Status Quo
"Twi Hard On" (R-rated).
[Log line: 17-year-old girl falls in love with a vampire who appears to be her age, but who is actually 100 - and whenever they try to get it on, he morphs into the filthy old letch that he really is. 2- to 3-minute film, raunchy and irreverent.]
FADE IN:
INT. CULLEN HOME - DAY
EDWARD, a perfectly-coiffed teenage boy with a refined British accent, is walking up a stairway with BELLA, a teenage girl with a nasal, whiny, Brooklyn accent.
EDWARD: Was that meeting with my family as weird for you as it was for me?
BELLA: Uh... I don't know. (She looks at caps on wall.) Graduation caps?
EDWARD: Uh... yeah. It's a... private joke. We matriculate a lot. (Chuckles.)
BELLA: It's kind of miserable. I mean, repeating high school over and over. A hundred-year-old vampire like you must get tired of the incessant yammering of teenage nymphomaniacs like me. (She thrusts her ample cleavage into his face, but he politely extricates himself.)
EDWARD: Bella, I am always fascinated by the sweet musical cooing of your dove-like voice. Come on. (They reach upstairs and walk into a room.) Uh... yeah, this is my room.
BELLA (looks around): No bed?
EDWARD: Uh... no. I, I don't... I don't sleep.
BELLA: What a colossal rip-off! Edward, when a cute guy takes me up to his room, I expect him to slam me down on the bed, spread my legs, crawl between my creamy white thighs, and f*ck me silly!
EDWARD (GULPING audibly): Bella, you must be aware that the author of this story is a conservative Mormon housewife.
BELLA: What story?
EDWARD: The story of you and me. And that inhibited Mormon housewife is writing this story for young virgin girls, who have no idea what physical intimacy is all about.
BELLA (outraged): What the h*ll you talkin' 'bout, Neck-Sucker?
EDWARD: That pathologically-repressed Mormon prude intends to make us suffer through a long and platonic courtship, leading to an awkward consummation scene in Book Four. But this is Book One, so we have a long way to go.
Bella drops to her knees and UNZIPS Edward's pants.
BELLA: F*ck that sh*t. I can suck the chrome off a trailer hitch, and I ain't letting my God-given talent gather dust for three more books.
In silhouette, Edward's erection appears with a SPROING, and his perfectly-coiffed head mutates, with another SPROING.
EDWARD: Uh... you should probably look at me.
Bella MUMBLES INARTICULATELY, from below his waist.
EDWARD (continuing): Bella, take that thing out of your mouth right now, and look up at my face.
BELLA (looks up and SCREAMS): Holy sh*t! Edward, you're a dirty old man!
EDWARD: How very perceptive of you, Bella. You see, when I become aroused by a nubile young girl, I transform into the hundred-year-old letch that I really am. I can never lose control with you.
Edward starts to leave.
BELLA: Hey, don't go. (Thinks for a minute.) You change back into Pretty Boy afterward, right?
EDWARD: You can see that I'm regaining my youthful appearance right now.
BELLA: Okay, uh... we might be able to work something out, so long as I don't have to look at you, while you're pounding me. How do you feel about doggie-style?
In silhouette, Bella turns around, drops trou, gets on her hands and knees, then thrusts her naked butt back at Edward, who BARKS and HOWLS loudly when his erection reappears with a SPROING, his perfectly-coiffed head mutates again with another SPROING, and they copulate like... you guessed it... doggies.
THE (OTHER) END
© 2011 Anikó J. Bartos & Alan C. Baird
***
And now, a few stats:
Twilight 1 (2008) worldwide gross: $392,616,625
Twilight 2 (New Moon, 2009) worldwide gross: $709,827,462
Twilight 3 (Eclipse, 2010) worldwide gross: $698,491,347
Twilight 4 (Breaking Dawn, part 1) worldwide gross: $659,415,733 (18 Nov 2011 - 10 Jan 2012)
Twilight 5 (Breaking Dawn, part 2) release date: 16 Nov 2012
Chupacabra Macarena.
[click image to listen]Eh, Chupacabraaaaaa...
Some people say they have seen the Chupacabra
After some tequila, he was dancing the lambada
He doesn't know where he has come from
Making all the Mexicanas looking like a dum-dum
They say that he's a monkey
I think the whole story is just a little funky
REFRAIN: There's a buggy-eyed creature that they call the Chupacabra
Four feet tall like a mutant in Chihuahua
In Mexico City, Puerto Rico, Nicaragua
Eh, Chupacabra
Hay una creatura que se llama Chupacabra [same in Spanish]
It's only silly, but you see we really gotcha
Like hearing the lambada or the hookycucaracha
We started a sensation
About a creature that is just hallucination
We did it for the money
But we duped you and we think it's really funny [REFRAIN]
.WAV / YouTube / Background / Lyrics / Image
John A. Weiser (12 Oct 1948 - 30 Jun 2011).
I hadn't heard from John in several months, and accidentally discovered the sad reason on Facebook early this morning.I got to know John because he was a fan of my writing and photography while I was working as the Online Editor at Palm Springs Life magazine. In fact, I think he was the only fan. When he showed up at an event I organized (BlogFest.org w/Paul Krassner), my wife found out how much she had in common with John. He was the son of a Hungarian immigrants, and could carry on a conversation with Anikó in her native language. I instantly liked John, and not just because he praised my work for the magazine. He was a thoughtful, educated, well-spoken man who was full of life. John was enormously curious about the world, and had an insatiable appetite for exploring new ideas. He and I had some great discussions, over the years.
John's legs were slowly wasting away, from an ailment he refused to discuss. He used a motorized cart to get around, but he never let the legs slow him down. He drove a van that was specially modified so he could move himself in and out of the cart. I was fascinated by the ingenuity of the system he had designed, but he never let me help with the transfer process.
Anikó and I eventually met his mother, after badgering John for months. Every now and then, he would tell us a little snippet about her life, and what an amazing life it was. She and her husband were Jewish, and they were separated by the Nazis during the war. The young newlyweds were shipped off to different death camps, and I'm sure they both endured unimaginable things during those years, but we never heard any details. In a double miracle, they both survived. In a triple miracle, they found each other after the war. Not even Hell itself could kill their love. John was born in Germany a few years later, and they eventually came to America, by way of Canada. I kept telling John that he should write a book about his family history, but he kept putting it off...
***
Published in The Desert Sun on July 7, 2011:
John A. Weiser, age 62, passed away on June 30, 2011 in Indio, Calif. He is survived by his wife of 18 years, Cathie Riddle-Weiser; his mother, Cecelia Weiser; his aunt, Elizabeth Rosenfeld; cousins, Tina Artz and George Rosenfeld; as well as extended family. John was born in Germany on October 12, 1948. He spent his early years in Canada. He became an American citizen in 1996. He attended Berkeley and graduated from UCLA with a degree in Physics. He also attended the University of Vancouver as a graduate student in geophysics. He was a computer programmer who volunteered with the Palm Springs International Film Festival where he created their original computer programs. As a young man, he enjoyed hiking, cross-country skiing, and folk dancing. He was an accomplished pianist who loved opera. He spent his later years volunteering for clubs in his Sun City Shadow Hills community. A memorial will be held on Thursday, July 7, 2011, at Sun City Shadow Hills, Montecito Clubhouse, Indio.
Self-fulfilling prophecy.
The Cover of the Rolling Stone (released 1973)
Written by: Shel Silverstein
Performed by: Dr. Hook & the Medicine Show
Well we're big rock singers, we got golden fingers
And we're loved everywhere we go
We sing about beauty and we sing about truth
At ten thousand dollars a show
We take all kinda pills to give us all kinda thrills
But the thrill we've never known
Is the thrill that'll gitcha when ya get your picture
On the cover of the Rolling Stone
REFRAIN: Rolling Stone - Gonna see my picture on the cover
Stone - Gonna buy five copies for my mother
Stone - Gonna see my smilin' face
On the cover of the Rolling Stone
I got a freaky ol' lady, name o' Cocaine Katy
Who embroiders on my jeans
I got my poor ol' gray-haired daddy
Drivin' my limousine
Now it's all designed to blow our minds
But our minds won't really be blown
Like the blow that'll gitcha when ya get your picture
On the cover of the Rolling Stone
REFRAIN
We got a lotta little teenage blue-eyed groupies
Who'll do anything we say
We got a genuine Indian guru
He's teachin' us a better way
We got all the friends that money can buy
So we never have to be alone
And we keep gettin' richer but we can't get our picture
On the cover of the Rolling Stone
REFRAIN
March 29, 1973: "What's-Their-Names Make the Cover"
Setting up author pages at Amazon's international sites.
If you're an author with books listed on Amazon, chances are good that your books are also listed on Amazon's international sites. And if you join Author Central:
http://authorcentral.amazon.com
, you can collect all your books in one place, and provide readers with a bio+photo, like this:
http://www.amazon.com/-/e/B000APGB80
Then, a little down-arrow icon will appear next to your Author name, like this:
http://www.amazon.com/dp/1448620805
, and when a mouse hovers over the icon, you'll see a link entitled "Visit Amazon's Your Name Page." You'll see a similar link (and photo) further down that page, under the "More About the Author" heading. After you get everything set up at Amazon.com, you can join the Author Central areas at the international sites:
http://authorcentral.amazon.co.uk
http://authorcentral.amazon.fr
http://authorcentral.amazon.de
http://authorcentral.amazon.co.jp
[Hint: if you use a Google Chrome browser: http://www.google.com/chrome
, you can right-click on any page that contains a foreign language, and get an instant translation. You can also get translations by pasting words or URLs here:
http://translate.google.com/
Even though I don't read German or Japanese, I was able to set up pages at those sites.]
Here are some samples:
http://www.amazon.co.uk/-/e/B000APGB80
http://www.amazon.fr/-/e/B000APGB80
http://www.amazon.de/-/e/B000APGB80
http://www.amazon.co.jp/-/e/B000APGB80
Amazon.ca, Amazon.cn and Amazon.it don't have author pages yet, and Amazon.at simply re-brands pages from Amazon.de.
An Imaginary Conversation About A Thieving Soda Machine.
ME: This darn soda machine stole 12 bucks from me. They tell me you give out refunds.
HIM: TWELVE DOLLARS?! But a soda only costs 75 cents!
ME: Yeah, but this machine stole from me 16 times.
HIM: SIXTEEN TIMES?! This week?!
ME: During the last 14 months.
HIM: Why did you keep trying to buy from it?
ME: My co-workers kept showing me new tricks on how to make it operate.
HIM: Did the tricks work?
ME: For a while.
HIM: And then what happened?
ME: It would steal from me again, and I'd walk downstairs, to use the other machine.
HIM: Why did you come back?
ME: Lazy. I buy 10 cans a week. And the other machine is down a hall, down a flight of stairs, down another hall, back through that hall, up the stairs, and back through the first hall.
HIM: So this machine worked most of the time?
ME: Yeah. Then it would steal from me again, and I'd get pissed off.
HIM: And you'd walk downstairs?
ME: Yeah. Until I got lazy again. This machine is only 5 steps away from the newsroom.
HIM: Why didn't you report these incidents to me when they happened?
ME: You normally work on the day shift. I work graveyards.
HIM: But surely you could leave me a note?
ME: 75 cents is not enough to quibble about. And don't call me Shirley.
HIM: So you just thought you'd save up all your refund requests and dump them on me all at once?
ME: Exactly. I felt I was being considerate. Not wasting your time.
HIM: You should have come to me after each incident.
ME: Why?
HIM: The government doesn't let you save up your taxes until you decide to pay them, does it?
ME: I don't know about you, but I pay my taxes once a year. In April.
HIM: So now you're asking me for 12 dollars?
ME: I figured it was about time.
HIM: You did, did you?
ME: Yeah. Um... you make it sound like I'm lying.
HIM: 12 dollars is a lot of money.
ME: This thieving machine stole more than that from me.
HIM: Really?
ME: Yup. I'm actually underestimating.
HIM: You're telling me you lost that much money?
ME: Yeah. I'm stupid. And lazy. Look...
HIM: And you expect me to hand over 12 dollars? Just like that?
ME: Why don't you get the vending company to replace this machine? One phone call, no more hassles.
HIM: It works well enough for most people. Why not for you?
ME: Hey, at least 6 other people have told me this machine stole from them, too. But you're really enjoying this, aren't you?
HIM: Enjoying what?
ME: Watching this machine steal our money and then torturing us, when we come begging for quarters.
HIM: You're pulling my leg, right?
ME: Nope. Look, this refund interrogation is suckin' the life out of me. Keep your precious 12 bucks.
HIM: Don't you walk away from me. Here's the 12 dollars.
ME: I don't want your 12 dollars.
HIM: Take the 12 dollars. But the next time you lose money, come to me right away.
ME: I'm not taking your f*cking 12 dollars. And I won't beg for quarters like some organ-grinder monkey. But why not fix this machine? You know it steals.
HIM [venomously]: This soda machine doesn't STEAL. It MALFUNCTIONS.
Heat stroke.
Here are some videos for Blast-Furnace season (Phoenix dipped under 100°F/37.8°C only one day in July):
Bananarama - Cruel Summer http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3fdEKMCHvtQ
The Lovin' Spoonful - Summer In The City http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rYuVPGmw3D4
Jerry Reed - When You're Hot, You're Hot http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Bzewk-FMgS0
Buster Poindexter - Hot Hot Hot http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nrhf_zgtmAg
Kool & the Gang - Too Hot http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o88PN3TnX3c
Smash Mouth - Walkin' On The Sun http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LQj--Kjn0z8
