Friday, September 30, 2005

I'm a leaf on the wind...

Just saw Serenity. I am now serene, sort of. Kick butt movie. Nathan Fillion is the new Harrison Ford. He's the man. If I weren't married I think I'd move to LA and stalk him (just kidding)...except he lives in Edmonton, oops.

Adam Baldwin is the man, too. Can there be two? As usual I want both Inara's and Zoe's wardrobe.

Wowie zowie. Firefly fans: be sure to sit through ALL the credits for your karaoke oppportunity. Thought they left out the theme song? Ha!

Serenity NOW!

Happy Serenity day! Yes, I will be seeing it today; a matinee 'cuz I'm a bit cash poor at the moment, but still very exciting. I'm an unabashed Browncoat.

Tuesday, September 27, 2005

Terror at Sea Level!

Spent the first part of Sunday battling smoke and flames on a sinking ferry...sort of. I was a "victim" in a massive terrorism response excercise in Elliot Bay. I've always wanted to do a real-time scenario like that! Lots of cops, firefighters, swat guys, bomb squad dudes, and a really good lunch: what more could you ask?

Tuesday, September 20, 2005

Serenity Interview Transcripts!

Jeff Overstreet of Looking Closer is back from his press junket to LA to interview the director (Joss Whedon) and cast (above) of the soon to open film Serenity (you know, the subject of the shameless banner at the top of the screen, here). It's good reading, I promise! I'm excited, anyway. Links to transcripts here...

Saturday, September 17, 2005

Hurricane Zone: spam?

My Mom forwards a lot of email to me that often turns out to be urban legends or other kinds of spam. She's learning, but it's a slow process. Today another one appeared in my inbox but I can't seem to find anything about it on Snopes. If anybody knows whether this is the real deal, an amalgam of true stuff "chunked and formed" into a simulacrum of reality (that's my guess), or just plain ole' spam, feel free to chime in. Here it is:

> Subject: Fw: Hurricane Zone > >
>
> This note is from a girl named Robin. She's in Louisiana and amid all the turmoil there. I'm sending this to all of you to spread the word, PRAY. There are local churches where she lives is housing the homeless.
>
> Here's her note:
>
> ** We have had a battery operated TV so we've been getting local channels focusing on the situation there and here. I'm just getting the "national perspective" and its *(&*&(*ing me off!
>
> First, this is not a racial thing. I'm sorry if all the reporters are seeing are black faces but if they would take their cameras to places like Slidell, Mandeville, Metairie and CHALMETTE! they would see a several thousand white faces being affected by this. Most of the tip of the boot that is Louisiana south and east of Baton Rouge is under water. Those people are stuck too waiting for help, dying, but all the news people can focus on is the Superdome.
>
> Another misconception. The violence going on there is not the reaction of desperate people. Its typical New Orleans on any given Tuesday!!! Its a dangerous, dirty, drug infested place where the city police and city government is corrupt and useless. Volunteers are getting shot at and their cars vandalized. Helicopters are being shot at. Just another day in the city.
>
> Another misconception. These poor people couldn't get outbecause theydon't have cars. If the cameras show the city once the waters recede, you'll notice all the flooded out cars littering the streets. They couldn't all have been broken down before the storm hit . Yes, there are always people who do not have transportation. Part of making the call for a MANDATORY evacuation is that the city has to provide for transportation and/or shelter in the city. People stayed for the same reasons they always stay. They think the storm will turn and go in another direction. They think they can "ride it out." Or, they're just too (*&( lazy to pack up and leave.
>
> Another misconception. The federal government was slow to respond. The president issued a state of emergency BEFORE the storm ever hit, unprecedented. This means that the full access of the federal government, be it military or civil, were at our governor's disposal. The levee broke early Monday afternoon. She did not call evacuation until Tuesday morning. You cannot call up National Guard units in 20 minutes. It takes time. The governor and mayor are in high CYA mode at the moment.
>
> The situation is bad here. Crime is becoming a problem in Gonzales andBaton Rouge where the evacuees are being housed. We live between the two cities and there is pistol on my desk shelf as I type (yes, I know how to use it). Helicopters flying overhead all day, gas is running out, stores shelves becoming empty. Its like a war zone. Our kids are both here and are staying here until the crime situation gets in control and I fear it will get worse before it gets better. Pray for us. **
>
>SO, that's all I'm asking. SEND this to your friends and right now say a prayer for the people going through this whole catastrophe. Thanks.

No matter what the origins and accuracy of this email are, the people down there do need our prayers, that much I DO know.

Saturday, September 10, 2005

Gimme Some Skin!

I was going to title this entry "No sex, please, we're gardeners!", but the thing is there's really no sex, per se, going on here. Seems that the Kitsap County extension of the Washington State University Master Gardeners decided to do a little fundraiser a la the protagonists of the recent film Calendar Girls. In other words, a tasteful calendar populated with nudes cleverly disguised by creative prop placement. Even though this concept was run by the head honcho out at WSU, the finished product was apparently just too wacky for the staid home office and the calendar is now "Banned in Pullman"! The horror! This is just soooo Victorian. Here's the story from our local newspaper. As one commenter says there, "You see more skin at the mall!" Seems as though the calendar is selling like hotcakes. Was it all a clever plot to stir up interest? The conspiracy theorist in me wonders...

Personally, I really like the above photo. It reminds me of the hand-tinted images done at the turn of the (last) century, right down to the "negative scratch" rain. Bring 'em on, I say!

CostumeRating.com

Some of you out there in geeky cyberspace may remember the short-lived site "Am I Period or Not?", the costumer's version of the ghastly "Am I Hot or Not?" web site (no, never been there...sounds icky). Folks would post pics of their best costuming efforts and then wait for people to rate them, supposedly based on quality, execution, and hopefully "periodnessness". It got weird and sometimes ugly, with snarky comments and morons running around voting "1" (on a scale of 1-10) at random, and it was finally put out of its misery.

Well, the ship has been relaunched with a new look, format, and controls to moderate the infantile behaviour that marred the old site. If you are into wearing historical or theatrical costuming, get yer hinder over there and post a pic...or at least check it out!

Sunday, September 04, 2005

Freecycle

Have you heard of Freecycle? If not, you're going to hear about it now. I discovered it through blogger Sarah over at Going Jesus. Have something you need to get rid of but somebody could use? This is the place for you! It's organized through Yahoo Groups on a regional basis. For instance, I'm on the group for the county where I live. I imagine if you're in a huge metropolitan area it might be organized by parts of town, but I don't know. So far we've gotten rid of a huge pile of moving boxes (somebody's always looking for boxes) and picked up a nice full-sized sofa bed (score!) and a stack of oak-veneer panelling & mahogany window sills!

If you're penny pinching and willing to read the digest every day it's definitely worth your time.