Fred Williams and I were the best of friends in high school and college (even though we attended different universities). The friendship continued when we both attended grad school in Austin. Later on, we corresponded regularly, and with the advent of e-mail we exchanged messages every day. After his retirement Fred moved to Colorado, so we haven't seen each other for years, but I'll be seeing him this afternoon at the celebration of the life of his daughter, Jennifer.
On September 27 Fred went to Austin because doctors had discovered that Jennifer had cancer. He's been there ever since. The cancer was of a rare and virulent kind, and there was nothing the doctors could do, though of course they tried. Jennifer died earlier this week. Things like this really shouldn't happen, but they do. If you have a CD with Willie Nelson's "Turn Out the Lights" on it, play the song this afternoon at 3:00 p.m. CST and think about a young woman who should have lived for many, many more years.
Saturday, December 16, 2006
10 Greatest Martial Arts Movies of All Time (and more)
experiencemartialarts.com: We’ve scoured the internet. Reviews. Forums. Amazon. Postings. Bulletins. And this list is what we’ve come up with as the greatest Kung-Fu movies of all time and why you should watch each one. Pay attention to movies involving Yuen Wo-Ping as either director or action director, there’s a reason why half this list is movies where he was involved!
You Want Lists?
Well, here's a website with lists. Tons of of 'em. Including such things as "90 Weirdest Phobias" and "50 Funniest Homer Simpson Quotes." Check it out.
Friday, December 15, 2006
The Spider, Master of Men!
Superman Returns
Superman as a chick flick? That's about the size of it.Kate Bosworth as Lois Lane? She was fine as Sandra Dee in Beyond the Sea, but she looks way too young to be Lois.
Brandon Routh as Supe? Bland, mostly monosyllabic.
Kevin Spacey as Lex Luthor? Okay, but he doesn't really breaks loose the way Gene Hackman did. He comes close a couple of times, but the attempt at comedy in his last scene falls flat. The scene where Lois discovers the wigs seems stolen directly from one of my favorite episodes of The Dick Van Dyke Show. It made me long for Carl Reiner as Alan Brady. He'd have made this into a great scene.
The plot? Doesn't make a whole lot of sense.
A couple of nice action set-pieces. That's about it. I was disappointed in this one.
Paging Dean Wormer! Paging Dean Wormer!
Frat Member Arrested After Homeless Man Shot - News: "CORVALLIS, Ore. -- Police said some members of the Alpha Gamma Rho agricultural fraternity at Oregon State University don't like transients -- so they fire shots at them.
That's what police said they discovered after a man was shot in an alley behind the fraternity house in October as he was searching the trash for returnable bottles and cans.
Police found more than two-dozen weapons in the Alpha Gamma Rho house, including the 22-caliber rifle that was used to shoot and injure Dennis Sanderson.
In interviews with fraternity members, police said they learned the young men deeply resent the transients who rummage through the alley and have fired shots at them over the past year.
Police arrested 19-year-old Joshua Grimes and charged him in Sanderson's shooting. He faces charges of assault and unlawful use of a firearm.
Oregon State said it will conduct roundtables next year to help fraternity members better understand the issues of homelessness and hunger."
I'm certain that these roundtables will take care of everything.
That's what police said they discovered after a man was shot in an alley behind the fraternity house in October as he was searching the trash for returnable bottles and cans.
Police found more than two-dozen weapons in the Alpha Gamma Rho house, including the 22-caliber rifle that was used to shoot and injure Dennis Sanderson.
In interviews with fraternity members, police said they learned the young men deeply resent the transients who rummage through the alley and have fired shots at them over the past year.
Police arrested 19-year-old Joshua Grimes and charged him in Sanderson's shooting. He faces charges of assault and unlawful use of a firearm.
Oregon State said it will conduct roundtables next year to help fraternity members better understand the issues of homelessness and hunger."
I'm certain that these roundtables will take care of everything.
Once Again, Texas Leads the Way
Thanks to New Yorker Jeff Meyerson for the link.
Bill would allow legally blind Texans to hunt | Chron.com - Houston Chronicle: "AUSTIN — A state lawmaker wants to make sure no Texan is left out when it comes to hunting, even if the hunter is legally blind.
Rep. Edmund Kuempel, a Seguin Republican, has filed a bill for the 2007 legislative session that would allow legally blind hunters to use a laser sight, or lighted pointing instrument. The devices are forbidden for sighted hunters.
Blind hunters would also have to have a sighted hunter along with them, but they could hunt any game that sighted people can hunt in the same seasons and using the same weapons.
'This opens up the fun of hunting to additional people, and I think that's great,' Kuempel said.
Visually impaired people are able to shoot with the aid of a sighted person, he said."
Bill would allow legally blind Texans to hunt | Chron.com - Houston Chronicle: "AUSTIN — A state lawmaker wants to make sure no Texan is left out when it comes to hunting, even if the hunter is legally blind.
Rep. Edmund Kuempel, a Seguin Republican, has filed a bill for the 2007 legislative session that would allow legally blind hunters to use a laser sight, or lighted pointing instrument. The devices are forbidden for sighted hunters.
Blind hunters would also have to have a sighted hunter along with them, but they could hunt any game that sighted people can hunt in the same seasons and using the same weapons.
'This opens up the fun of hunting to additional people, and I think that's great,' Kuempel said.
Visually impaired people are able to shoot with the aid of a sighted person, he said."
Stephen King's Top Ten Book Picks for 2006
Stephen King's Top Ten Book Picks for 2006
Entertainment Weekly's EW.com | Feature: Stephen King's top book picks for 2006: "The Pop of King on his favorite reads for the past year by Stephen King:**************
Here are the best ones I read in 2006...and as always, please keep in mind that doesn't mean they were published in 2006. This is just my list of the ones that best furnished my interior room this past year."
Anna Nicole Smith Update
Anna Nicole Smith in San Francisco Court - Forbes.com: "Anna Nicole Smith arrived Friday at a federal courthouse in San Francisco to continue her legal battle over her late husband's fortunes.
At issue is the will of oil tycoon J. Howard Marshall III, which did not include Smith. She has argued he intended to provide for her through a special trust.
David Madden, a spokesman for the court, said Smith was at the building, which houses the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, for a mediation hearing. Calls to lawyers weren't immediately returned."
At issue is the will of oil tycoon J. Howard Marshall III, which did not include Smith. She has argued he intended to provide for her through a special trust.
David Madden, a spokesman for the court, said Smith was at the building, which houses the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, for a mediation hearing. Calls to lawyers weren't immediately returned."
From Fox News. So You Know It's Fair & Balanced
FOXNews.com - Conservative Female Professionals by Day, Down and Dirty Jell-O Wrestlers by Night - Celebrity Gossip | Entertainment News | Arts And Entertainment: "Conservative female professionals by day, down and dirty Jell-O wrestlers by night. These are the lives of a group of women on New York City's Lower East Side who have taken to the sport of 'amateur female Jell-O wrestling' to release their pent-up aggressions.
The women, who go by pseudonyms such as Sandra Claws, Tinsel the Bohemian Christmas Fairy, Chocolate Thunder and Backhand Betty, gather at a bar to do battle in a blow-up kiddie pool full of clear, unflavored gelatin, Reuters reported.
The 11 female participants swear that the sport is empowering and is not about naked women rolling around for drooling male spectators.
'We work hard to promote it as a feminist thing and the night is really like a community night in that it is really what the women make of it,' said Annie Rock, 26, one of the organizers.
The show, which happens once a month, is completely put together by women, and they agree that the sport is 'fun, friendly competition.'"
The women, who go by pseudonyms such as Sandra Claws, Tinsel the Bohemian Christmas Fairy, Chocolate Thunder and Backhand Betty, gather at a bar to do battle in a blow-up kiddie pool full of clear, unflavored gelatin, Reuters reported.
The 11 female participants swear that the sport is empowering and is not about naked women rolling around for drooling male spectators.
'We work hard to promote it as a feminist thing and the night is really like a community night in that it is really what the women make of it,' said Annie Rock, 26, one of the organizers.
The show, which happens once a month, is completely put together by women, and they agree that the sport is 'fun, friendly competition.'"
Ray Harryhausen
Okay, Now I Know What I Want for Christmas
Finally: An affordable personal blimp | Crave : The gadget blog: "It could be the 21st-century version of the Sunday drive: Blow up the hot-air blimp, take it for a spin, then fold it up and put it away.
Of course, that's assuming you've got $200,000 liquefying your Tiffany money clip.
The Personal Blimp from Skyacht Aircraft made its maiden voyage in late October, and although the company calls it a blimp, it's essentially a steerable hot-air balloon. It utilizes hot air in place of helium and is propelled by electric motors."
Of course, that's assuming you've got $200,000 liquefying your Tiffany money clip.
The Personal Blimp from Skyacht Aircraft made its maiden voyage in late October, and although the company calls it a blimp, it's essentially a steerable hot-air balloon. It utilizes hot air in place of helium and is propelled by electric motors."
Irony, Thy Name is Border Fence
NPR : Border Fence Firm Snared for Hiring Illegal Workers: "All Things Considered, December 14, 2006 ? A fence-building company in Southern California agrees to pay nearly $5 million in fines for hiring illegal immigrants. Two executives from the company may also serve jail time. The Golden State Fence Company's work includes some of the border fence between San Diego and Mexico.
After an immigration check in 1999 found undocumented workers on its payroll, Golden State promised to clean house. But when followup checks were made in 2004 and 2005, some of those same illegal workers were still on the job. In fact, U-S Attorney Carol Lam says as many as a third of the company's 750 workers may have been in the country illegally."
After an immigration check in 1999 found undocumented workers on its payroll, Golden State promised to clean house. But when followup checks were made in 2004 and 2005, some of those same illegal workers were still on the job. In fact, U-S Attorney Carol Lam says as many as a third of the company's 750 workers may have been in the country illegally."
Thursday, December 14, 2006
Casino Royale
When I saw Layer Cake, I knew Daniel Craig would be just fine as James Bond. And he is. He doesn't look like the Bond of the books, but that doesn't matter. He pulls off the role, and is utterance of the famous introduction ("My name is Bond, etc.") is a high point of the movie.Which is far too long. I like the idea of the free-running stunts in the long chase near the beginning, but it all goes on too long, as do several scenes.
The B&W sequence before the main titles is nice, and the titles themselves are great. I don't know who cooked them up, but they really set a tone. The song, on the other hand, pretty much bit the moose.
I liked the harder edge for Bond, and I liked the way the script shows how he's hard but still vulnerable, at least until the final betrayal and its result.
Having read the book more than 45 years ago, I still remember it well. I also recall my favorite line, spoken by Le Chifre in the torture scene: "Kiss it goodbye, Mr. Bond." The line's not in the movie, more's the pity. For that matter, maybe it's not even in the book. After 45 years, I can't be sure. Maybe I just made it up.
When it comes down to it, I'm still a Sean Connery kind of guy, and my favorites Bond movies are still the first three. This one was okay, but not in their league. Check it out, though. It's still worth a look if you're a fan of the series.
Ahmet Ertegun, R. I. P.
Atlantic Records founder Ahmet Ertegun dies - MUSIC - MSNBC.com: "NEW YORK - Ahmet Ertegun, who helped define American music as the founder of Atlantic Records, a label that popularized the gritty R&B of Ray Charles, the classic soul of Aretha Franklin and the British rock of the Rolling Stones, died Thursday at 83, his spokesman said.
Ertegun remained connected to the music scene until his last days — it was at an Oct. 29 concert by the Rolling Stones at the Beacon Theatre in New York where Ertegun fell, suffered a head injury and was hospitalized. He later slipped into a coma."
What can you say? Atlantic Records. Big Joe Turner. Ruth Brown. Clyde McPhatter and the Drifters. The Clovers. Stick McGhee. Professor Longhair. Ray Charles. Leiber and Stoller. Atco. The Coasters. Chuck Willis. LaVern Baker. I could go on. Ertegun was a giant in the music world that I cared about when I was young.
Ertegun remained connected to the music scene until his last days — it was at an Oct. 29 concert by the Rolling Stones at the Beacon Theatre in New York where Ertegun fell, suffered a head injury and was hospitalized. He later slipped into a coma."
What can you say? Atlantic Records. Big Joe Turner. Ruth Brown. Clyde McPhatter and the Drifters. The Clovers. Stick McGhee. Professor Longhair. Ray Charles. Leiber and Stoller. Atco. The Coasters. Chuck Willis. LaVern Baker. I could go on. Ertegun was a giant in the music world that I cared about when I was young.
Important Flashman on the March Update
I've discovered that I neglected to mention an important fact in my comments on Flashman on the March, namely that an important character in the book is Field Marshal Robert Napier, or, as Flashman calls him, Bughunter Bob. I might have said that this was a tuckerization of Cap'n Bob Napier, a frequent commenter here, except that Bughunter Bob outranks the Cap'n and is an actual historical character besides. Perhaps the Cap'n is a distant relation.
10 Notorious Serial Killers
YesButNoButYes: 10 Notorious Serial Killers: "So take a trip, if you dare, into the minds of those whose moral code lies unwanted and wasted. Discover the men who consider the lives of fellow humans to be nothing more than playthings for their amusement. Come witness the crimes of those who kill for pleasure, and murder for fun"
Will the Persecution Never End?
Splash News Online: WHATS UP PARIS' NOSE?: "What's up Paris Hilton's nose? The wild partying hotel heiress was spotted leaving a top restaurant with what appears to be white stuff up her left nostril. Hilton and Brandon Davis splashed out a whopping $2600 for a slap-up lunch and then left with the strange looking nasal passage clearly visible through the car window. Paris and Davis each had Caesar Salads followed by two $1050 dishes of Kobe Steaks with white truffles. They gulped down cokes and mineral waters. The bill came to $2350-- and a $250 tip. 'Paris played the real star keeping her sunglasses on throughout the meal,' said a diner at Nellos restaurant on glitzy Madison Avenue, New York."
Paging Geraldo Rivera! Paging Geraldo Rivera!
St. Paul sarcophagus may be opened - Science - MSNBC.com: "VATICAN CITY - The Vatican said on Monday it was studying the possibility of opening a thick marble sarcophagus believed to contain the remains of the Apostle Paul to study its contents.
The prospect was raised at a news conference at which Vatican officials unveiled the results of an archaeological dig which has made part of the sarcophagus in Rome’s Basilica of St Paul’s Outside the Walls visible to pilgrims."
The prospect was raised at a news conference at which Vatican officials unveiled the results of an archaeological dig which has made part of the sarcophagus in Rome’s Basilica of St Paul’s Outside the Walls visible to pilgrims."
Ripper Update
Trademark may trap killer - Britain - Times Online: "Killer leaves crucial clues
# Naked victims left wearing their jewellery
# No other recent murders match pattern
All five victims of one of Britain’s most prolific serial killers were suffocated or strangled and left naked but for their jewellery, senior detectives have told The Times.
Police sources said that as a result of the “striking similarities” uncovered they had been able to rule out any link between previous unsolved murders or attacks by strangers across the country in recent years. Last night items of women’s clothing were found in the River Orwell, which runs close to Nacton and Levington where three of the bodies were found."
# Naked victims left wearing their jewellery
# No other recent murders match pattern
All five victims of one of Britain’s most prolific serial killers were suffocated or strangled and left naked but for their jewellery, senior detectives have told The Times.
Police sources said that as a result of the “striking similarities” uncovered they had been able to rule out any link between previous unsolved murders or attacks by strangers across the country in recent years. Last night items of women’s clothing were found in the River Orwell, which runs close to Nacton and Levington where three of the bodies were found."
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