Thursday, June 30. 2005Sgt. Muffin
Regardless of what the Ancient of Days thinks, people can't be giving themselves nicknames. It just isn't done. We only let TML use his own self-created "Ancient of Days" because I never thought "Mother" was a very good fit, "Sneakers" aside. And I think more people know him as TML than Joey.
So these two muffins are baking in the oven. One says to the other, "Wow, we're expanding." The second muffin replies, "Eek! A talking muffin!" After hearing that joke, I prematurely bestowed the name "Muffin" on our lovely kender. Please, people, we need something better. Ok, person who still lacks a usable pen name/nickname. You now have an account on the Homestarmy. Your username is rose, you'll have to call me for your password. Thursday, June 30. 2005Only 70 More Days...
Okay so the title was inspired by Mad Giggler's recent post. Truth is, I've been wanting to type something for a couple days but couldn't think of what it was. Looking at the site, I notice there's a fair amount about T.V., Movies. Lots of Poetry, and now a post about Books. There's obviously not enough stuff about Whedon, Buffy, Angel, Firefly or Serenity. But there's absolutely nothing about Sports. More Importantly nothing about Football.
So I'm ending that. Although It won't be too much of a comment as My Annual League Preview will be up in about a month. Now that the atrocity that was the NBA Finals is over, the NHL still is ceasing to exist, and MLB is pointless before the last month or so (I mean come one 162 games, is it really necessary for that long of a season?), we're stuck in a dead zone of sports. There's no real scoreboard watching to be done anymore, and about the only newsworthy articles over the next couple weeks will be the NBA Free Agency, but that won't last long. 70 Days until the Defending SuperBowl Champion New England Patriots(Man I hate typing that), start the season by facing the Oakland Raiders, and head case Randy Moss. That still seems like a long time, Heck that's only 22 less days, than the countdown to Serenity's release. Fortunately in less than a month teams will begin reporting to Training Camp, which means we'll start to get football related news. And not just reports about that cry baby T.O. griping that he needs to have his 7 year contract, that he signed only last year, reworked so he can better provide for his family. We'll get real news. News that will help inspire the hope of fans of all 32 teams. You see the beautiful thing about the NFL is all teams start the season thinking they can actually go all the way this year. Heck even the 49ers, who went 2-14 last year, are talking playoffs, though they are mainly just fooling themselves. It's not like the MLB where the teams with the money can buy their way into competition. It's not like the NBA, where fans of Atlanta, and Clippers went into last year without hope. It's not like the NHL, because they NFL actually plays games. In the NFL parity reigns supreme. Afterall last year's New England Patriots was only the 2nd time 6 years that the SuperBowl Champion had even made the playoffs the previous year. Even the Cincinatti Bengals, who used to be the laughing stock of the league, has put together two non losing seasons in a row. In the NFL hope springs eternal. At least during the spring, because come fall the Rams will crush all . (See even I can rhyme) Thursday, June 30. 2005ONLY 16 FREAKING DAYS
The Half-Blood Prince is Neville.
Oops. Did I just say that? Eh, it's just a rumour I heard. So. . .I feel that the time has arrived to put on my wizard's cap and get ready for some Potter-mania. I've been putting off thinking about Harry Potter for a long time. It seems like this sixth book was announced ages and ages ago. I guess that's what happens when Amazon starts taking pre-orders a week after the last one has been released. And by the way, CURSE YOU, RADAR! $*%&(*!!! I can't say anything else without blowing his cover. I read The Order of the Phoenix in about 36 hours. I haven't re-read any of the books since then, and I'm trying to decide if I have time to do that before the Big Day. I'm leaning towards "no," since I'm a grand total of one chapter into the Art of War (which I'm supposed to have finished by Monday). I told Daboo last night that Dumbledore is going to tell Harry, "I am your uncle." Today I decided that maybe it needed some embellishment. So, here's the thing: Dumbledore and You-Know-Who are dueling on the parapets of Hogwarts with Harry looking on. YKW is losing and ends up hanging over the side of the castle. He then reveals that. . .nevermind, this scenario is worse than the joke that inspired it. So. . .D&D on Monday. . .*clears throat* Thursday, June 30. 2005
Last poem from me for a while, I promise Posted by Ancient of Days
in Poetry at
06:25
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This is another poem that "Confessions of a Mask" called to mind. I didn't refer to it initally because it's a very tenuous link, but I finally decided to go ahead. I really enjoyed this one when I came across it in High School.
Wednesday, June 29. 2005You are on The Global Frequency
If you haven't heard me gibbering about "Global Frequency" yet, I've failed you. If you're a Matrix fan, I suggest you check it out. If you enjoyed Firefly, I would guess you might also enjoy this. I can't tell you where to find it. But find it. Something about this story calls to me. I hate these people for having this idea. It's so beautiful, so perfect. . .I wish it were mine. Also, "Autonomy: Freedom of Thought". It was still pretty raw the last draft I read, but it shows a lot of promise. Wednesday, June 29. 2005And while I'm at it...
I'll also post my favorite by ee cummings.
The Cambridge ladies who live in furnished souls are unbeautiful and have comfortable minds (also, with the church's protestant blessings daughters, unscented shapeless spirited) they believe in Christ and Longfellow, both dead, are invariably interested in so many things-- at the present writing one still finds delighted fingers knitting for the is it Poles? perhaps. While permanent faces coyly bandy scandal of Mrs. N and Professor D .... the Cambridge ladies do not care, above Cambridge if sometimes in its box of sky lavender and cornerless, the moon rattles like a fragment of angry candy Wednesday, June 29. 2005The Hollow Men
Your "Emperor of Ice Cream" reminded me really strongly of TS Eliot and ee cummings, which is kind of an interesting combination. I thought I'd post one of my favorite poems of Eliot's, just for fun. Of course, you'll recognize that lots of authors and artists have borrowed from it, including Steven King in "The Stand." Eliot is fascinating to me because he saw the "quiet desperation" of polite society and raved against it in his own odd way. "The Wasteland" is one that still haunts me sometimes...lines will come to mind and I will understand what sort of absolutely meaningless activities Eliot was involved in when he composed them.
The Hollow Men T.S. Eliot I We are the hollow men We are the stuffed men Leaning together Headpiece filled with straw. Alas! Our dried voices, when We whisper together Are quiet and meaningless As wind in dry grass Or rats' feet over broken glass In our dry cellar Shape without form, shade without colour, Paralysed force, gesture without motion; Those who have crossed With direct eyes, to death's other Kingdom Remember us -- if at all -- not as lost Violent souls, but only As the hollow men The stuffed men. II Eyes I dare not meet in dreams In death's dream kingdom These do not appear: There, the eyes are Sunlight on a broken column There, is a tree swinging And voices are In the wind's singing More distant and more solemn Than a fading star. Let me be no nearer In death's dream kingdom Let me also wear Such deliberate disguises Rat's coat, crowskin, crossed staves In a field Behaving as the wind behaves No nearer -- Not that final meeting In the twilight kingdom III This is the dead land This is cactus land Here the stone images Are raised, here they receive The supplication of a dead man's hand Under the twinkle of a fading star. Is it like this In death's other kingdom Waking alone At the hour when we are Trembling with tenderness Lips that would kiss Form prayers to broken stone. IV The eyes are not here There are no eyes here In this valley of dying stars In this hollow valley This broken jaw of our lost kingdoms In this last of meeting places We grope together And avoid speech Gathered on this beach of the tumid river Sightless, unless The eyes reappear As the perpetual star Multifoliate rose Of death's twilight kingdom The hope only Of empty men. V Here we go round the prickly pear Prickly pear prickly pear Here we go round the prickly pear At five o'clock in the morning. Between the idea And the reality Between the motion And the act Falls the Shadow For Thine is the Kingdom Between the conception And the creation Between the emotion And the response Falls the Shadow Life is very long Between the desire And the spasm Between the potency And the existence Between the essence And the descent Falls the Shadow For Thine is the Kingdom For Thine is Life is For Thine is the This is the way the world ends This is the way the world ends This is the way the world ends Not with a bang but a whimper. Wednesday, June 29. 2005It seems Batman has begun(10:30:59) TML: Went to see Batman last night I had to stop and think about that for a minute. What *did* I think about this newest entry into the foray against "You can't make a good comic book into a good movie"? As I said to Curtis, I think part of the reason I didn't enjoy as much as some of you may have done is because the theatre we went to chose to show a trailer for Serenity before the movie started. This was a horrible, horrible mistake on their part, as I spent the first 15-20 minutes, and the last 45, of 'Batman Begins' thinking "I wish this were Serenity."
After I told Curtis what I thought, he pointed out:
Well, that's true, but it's a subject for another time. Suffice to say, I *am* picky. And I find myself less than fond of this film. Allow me to tell you what I enjoyed and didn't enjoy, without going into too much detail so that I don't spoil it for those of you who haven't seen it yet. First of all, I can't think of a single role in the film that wasn't excellently portrayed. I was more than pleased with the performances of Mssr.'s Caine, Bale, and Murphy. Once again, Gary Oldman floored me with his versatility. . .nearly the equal of Sir Ian McKellen, that one is. Even Katie Holmes left me pleasantly surprised: for once, I wasn't immediately thinking "Oh, look. It's that girl from that 'Darvin's Creek' show." The Director had a top notch crew working for him, and it's obvious that he has some long term plans for this proptery. However, unless David Goyer (the writer) gets his head on straight, I'm afraid I'm going to have to personally stop him before he destroys The Flash and Ghost Rider. Because it is my personal opinion that he is almost solely to blame for the failures in this movie. There's a scene, right around the middle of the movie, where we see Batman looking down on Gotham from a perch high above the city. It comes just as the character of Batman has really become solid in the minds of the town, as well as in the mind of Bruce Wayne himself. Right at that point in the movie, I found myself getting excited. "Wow! They've done it! They've pulled it off!" Unfortunately, I came to realize there was more symbolism in this scene than I had initally thought, because it is my opinion that this is the high point of the film. It's all downhill from this point. I can't say anything more specific about what I didn't like without giving away plot points. However, I can say that I felt like a REALLY GOOD writer wrote the first half of this film, and then he got busy doing something else, because the rest of the plot feels very rushed, half-hearted, and even disjointed in places. Acting: 7 of 10 (some of the ancillary "bad guys" were more one dimensional than the part seemed to call for, but the stars were truly "stars" here) Directing: 8 of 10 (I'm excited to see what Nolan does next) Tech: 5 of 10 (some of the science was too "psuedo-" for my taste. . .if you can't make it work with real science, stop trying to "explain" it and rely on people's "willing suspension of disbelief" to carry the point) Writing/Story: 3 of 10 Overall: From a purely mathematical standpoint, this would be a 5.75. However, we're talking about a movie about one of the most consistently brilliant and compelling comic books of all time. There was *so much* good material to pull from! A poor story is absolutely inexcusable. The writer destroyed what could have been a brilliant film. I'm giving it a 4. Tuesday, June 28. 2005Some more poetry for you
I found this on Slate, and enjoyed it, so I thought I'd put together a quick analysis. Original here. NB: I wouldn't bother listening to him read. I didn't find him to be an especially talented poetry reader.
I'm interjecting my comments on lines that begin with two dashes (--).
I'm sure I missed some. Perhaps those of you with a bit more formal education can point them out. Tuesday, June 28. 2005Hi, I'm a real limerick!
There once was a Giggler named Curtis
Whose poetry basked in absurdness Though his meter is odd We must give him a nod As with rhyming he's sure to out-nerd us. Monday, June 27. 2005
Radar is Going to the Mall Posted by The Mad Giggler
in Personal Entry at
23:28
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Radar is going to go to the mall.
There he will have a dinner not small. Of his chicken nuggets, he will eat all. For that is how he became so tall. Yet that is not why his pate is hairless. No, that story is quite another mess. He once fed a man to the monster in Loch Ness For revealing the secrets behind his baldness. I am not a man so brave. Peace and security are things I crave. Rhythm and meters are things I save For those more deserving, not this knave. But rhyming is something in which I delight. It tickles my fancy and makes my thoughts take flight. Not getting silly, however, try as I might, Is something for which I must always fight. Monday, June 27. 2005Superman vs. Batman
It's a debate that has been going on for many years. Who would win in a fight between the two. Ask a large enough sample of comic book/superhero fans, and you'll get a large enough group on either side.
Well we now finally get to find out..... sort of. You see, last year Warner Bros., who owns the film rights to both franchises, decided that in the wake of all the recent comic book based movie adaptations scoring well at theater box offices, it was time to reboot both film adaptations. Originally the idea was to have the duo actually battle onscreen in a Superman vs. Batman movie. They then decided that they would reboot each franchise separately. Batman fired the first volley, as the Christopher Nolan directed Batman Begins hit theaters June 15th, with Christian Bale as the Dark Knight. Personally I loved the movie. Of the 4 Batman Movies made since 1989 (1997's Batman & Robin, and all it's bat-nipple glory never existed), this was the best. It does a great job of helping us understand the relationship between Bruce and his parents, and helps us understand what makes a billionaire playboy, become a man in a bat suit. We also get to see many of the important relationships in the Bat-verse be formed. I wasn't alone in my enjoyment of Batman Begins. It has been #1 at the box office during it's two weekends in theaters, and has currently racked up 121.7 million dollars. Next summer will be round two as Superman returns to the theaters with the appropriately names Superman Returns. Unknown Brandon Routh will be donning the tights as the Man of Steel. Hopefully this will not only be a two round battle. Rumors are already abounding about work starting on the Next Batman movie (All important people were signed to three year contracts), and Nolan himself has said he always envisioned a trilogy. If Superman is given the same caring treatment that Batman had, Warner Bros. will surely greenight sequels, and we can find out over the next 5-7 years once and for all, who would win in a fight between Superman and Batman. Even if it is only a fight for your movie going dollars. Friday, June 24. 2005The Movie Going Experience
I love going to the theater to see a movie. In fact I go so often that when I decide to go rent a movie from my local rental place, it's hard to find something I haven't seen. There's something special about seeing a movie on the big screen. I love that magical moment right after all the previews and advertisements, when just as the lights go out, and the logo for whichever company produced the film hits the screen. This is the moment where anticipation is at its highest peak. The movie has yet to be a success or failure, at this moment what you want the movie to be, and what the movie really are meet.
I've noticed over the last 5-10 years that I seem to be of a dwindling crowd who still treats going to a movie as an experience. More and more when I go to movies I hear people taking screaming babies. People who will answer the cell phones, or even make a call on their cell phones during the middle of movies. Or people who just sit and talk non stop during a movie. I don't mind talking to your neighbor about something related to the events on the screen, but do it in a way to be respectful of those around you. A movie is not a place for conversation, which is usually why it's not always a great first date idea. Nights like last night, however, make me remember why I love going to a movie. As was said on here before the server crash-o-doom that wiped everything out, Mad Giggler, Daboo, Andy and his wife, my wife, and myself were among the lucky few who managed to snag tickets during the five minute window they were still availabe, for last night's advanced screening of Serenity, the movie based on Joss Whedon's Firefly. We were packed in a room with a couple hundered fanboys of the show and of Joss. Most everyone there had seen the episodes of Firefly. There were a few Firefly virgins there as well, like our own Daboo, but for the most part everyone there were already fans of the show. It was great as the movie sprawled out in front of us, as jokes were made and everyone lauged. When an inside comment was made on screen, it produced the approrpriate reaction from the ranks of browncoats in the theater. Every person there was there to enjoy themselves. Every person there wanted everyone else to enjoy themselves as well. This wasn't just a movie, this was an event. As Joss Whedon told us all before it began, this was something special. He was right! This was why movies are made. Sure I plan to be there on Septemeber 30th, when the movie is released, and I know I'll enjoy myself. But I know the experience I had last night will be the better of the two. It's the magic of times like last night that keep me going to theaters to see movies. It's why I'll always go, and I'll always hope that people will learn to once again treat the movie going experience correctly. As for the movie itself, all I can say is wonderful. I may be a fanboy, but it still was the best movie I've seen all year. It has something for followers of Joss and Firefly. It's also enjoyable for people who have never seen an episode or even the trailer for the movie before. Just ask Daboo. And can you believe that River is made out of Chocolate? Warning: Link contains profanity Friday, June 24. 2005Math Jokes
A physicist, a biologist, and a mathematician were having lunch at a cafe. They watched two people enter the building across the street. A bit later, they see three people exit.
The physicist deduces, "The measurement was inaccurate." The biologist proclaims, "They reproduced." The mathematician then suggests, "Now if one more person enters the building it will be empty." Well, the Homestarmy blog is now up and running. Please reply to this article using the comments field below if you want me to set up a username/password for you. Tuesday, June 21. 2005Dreadfully sorryEveryone: I made a mistake. After an upgrade a month or two ago, I never set the pgsql database on joeysmith.com/thehomestarmy.com to backup because it wasn't being used for anything for such a long time. Over the weekend, there was a catastrophic drive failure on that box. I had a spare drive in the box, so I was able to get it back up and running, but I did lost the pgsql database. Which means I lost all the articles and the s9y configuration.
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