We're Here

That's about it.  No power.  This coming from a laptop with dial-up.  Devastation all around.  Blogging will resume one of these days.  

Starcrash

Early Evening Final

We're getting some strong wind gusts now, so I think I'll shut down the computer for the night. Ike looks worse every time I glance at the TV coverage, so I'm going into ostrich mode for the rest of the evening. I'll get a book and read for a while. That should take my mind off things. It would be great if I could post something tomorrow morning, but I think the odds of that are too small to calculate. Well, the automated post of the movie trailer will be there, but that might be it. I'll be back as soon as I can, though.

Mystery in Space

SkyandTelescope.com - News Blog - Hubble Finds a Mystery Object: "Don't get the idea that we've found every kind of astronomical object there is in the universe. In a paper to appear in the Astrophysical Journal, astronomers working on the Supernova Cosmology Project report finding a new kind of something that they cannot make any sense of."

It's Getting Dark Outside, . . .

. . . and the wind's started to blow a lot harder.  So it's beginning.  We have a long 24 hours ahead of us, I'm afraid.  I don't know when the power will go off, but if it's still on a bit later, I'll put up another little post.  I don't expect it to last much longer, though.

We bought double-paned storm windows a few years ago, so we're protected (to a degree) against the high winds.  I'm pretty sure the windows won't stop a tree limb, though.  Also, we have a "green room" out back, and the windows there are just basic contractor quality.  They're in danger.  

Since Alvin is 20-25 miles from the coast and sitting at an elevation of 43 feet, I don't think we're in any danger from the storm surge, which appears set to become one of history-making proportions.  Flooding might be a problem if we get a ton of rain, but supposedly that won't happen.  Ten to fifteen inches, maybe, which is a lot, but not a severe danger.  I hope.

Thanks again for all the kind thoughts and good wishes.  It's been an interesting month so far.  The big wedding last weekend, and the big hurricane this weekend.  I can do without all the excitement, especially the hurricane part.

Two of the cats wanted to go out and have a look at things, so we let them into the garage, where they're sitting atop one of the cars.  Sam, on the other hand, is asleep on the treadmill in the green room.  He loves to sleep there.  I've been sorely tempted more than once to turn it on and see what happens, but so far I've resisted.

More Bad News about Ike

Firedoglake � Hurricane Ike May Dwarf Katrina In Wreaking Havoc: "Hurricane Ike is closing in on Texas, and stands poised to become one of the most damaging hurricanes of all time. Despite Ike's rated Category 2 strength, the hurricane is much larger and more powerful than Category 5 Katrina or Category 5 Rita. The storm surge from Ike could rival Katrina's, inundating a 200-mile stretch of coast from Galveston to Cameron, Louisiana with waters over 15 feet high."

Yike! Update

Ike threatens to devastate Texas coastal towns: "GALVESTON, Texas (AP) - A massive Hurricane Ike sent white waves crashing over a seawall and tossed a disabled 584-foot freighter in rough water as it steamed toward Texas Friday, threatening to devastate coastal towns and batter America's fourth-largest city.

Ike's eye was forecast to strike somewhere near Galveston late Friday or early Saturday then head inland for Houston, but the sprawling weather system nearly as big as Texas was already buffeting the Gulf Coast and causing flooding in areas still recovering from Labor Day's Hurricane Gustav.

Because of its ominous size, storm surge and flooding were the greatest threats. In unusually strong language, forecasters even warned of 'certain death' for stalwarts who insisted on staying in Galveston; . . ."

The Calm before the Storm

Thanks for all the good wishes in the comments to previous posts. So far it's quiet here. The tropical storm force winds haven't arrived, nor has the rain. If you've seen anything on TV about the storm, however, you know that Galveston's already getting hammered, and the worst is yet to come. I'm still hunkered, still nervous, still dithering.

Henry and Mary Ann Melton went to Galveston for the storm. Mary Ann is posting photos on her blog. Henry has some, too.

Croc Update

Dino vs. Croc. Who wins? Click here.

Okay, Now I'm Getting Nervous

The TV anchors are in full apocalypse mode, and the scary part is that they may even be right. The storm is headed right for Galveston, and after that, Alvin. This is really the pits. For the first time, I wish we'd left. If we'd done that, though, I'd be worrying about the books and the cats. At least if we're here, we can try to mitigate any damage.

Great Film Disasters

The film disasters that changed cinema for ever |
Film |
The Guardian: "Some films were disasters of such magnitude, they changed cinema for ever. David Thomson reflects on a higher class of failure."

The Outlook Isn't Brilliant

At the moment, it appears that good old Ike (or Yike) will hit Galveston as a Category 3 storm.  If the storm doesn't veer off at the last minute, it will be a direct hit.  That means that Alvin's right in the path.  Tropical storm force winds should get here late this afternoon, with hurricane force winds coming on around midnight or shortly afterward.  I'm not looking forward to this one bit.

Happy Birthday, H. L. Mencken!

"It's the birthday of the journalist and editor H. L. (Henry Louis) Mencken, (books by this author) born in Baltimore, Maryland (1880)."

I wish Mencken were here now to write about the current election campaign.  He'd be having a wonderful time.

Forgotten Books: A GAME FOR HEROES -- James Graham

Back in 1974, I was lying in a hospital bed when I started to read A Game for Heroes by James Graham. I hadn't read more than a couple of pages before I said to myself, "James Graham has got to be Jack Higgins." As it turned out, I was right. I didn't know at the time that Higgins was really Harry Patterson, who also used the pseudonym Hugh Marlowe (and others), but I was already a big fan of Higgins' work. After reading A Game for Heroes, I was a big fan of the books under the Graham name, too.

This one's a WWII adventure set in the Channel Islands where Graham/Higgins/etc. lives. One of the islands is occupied by the Germans, and it's up to Owen Morgan and his ragtag commandos to take it back. There's a admirable enemy, a beautiful but disloyal woman, a traitor or two, bad weather, lots of action, and Graham's vigorous first-person narration. What more could you ask for?

While Jack Higgins' current work is on the bestseller lists all the time, I've never thought it was up to the books he wrote in the '60s and '70s. I've read most of the books Fawcett published in the '70s a couple of times, and they've never let me down. I recommend them all, and A Game for Heroes is as good a place as any to begin.

Bad News, ABBA Fans

iWon News - Opening of ABBA museum delayed: "STOCKHOLM, Sweden (AP) - The opening of a museum dedicated to Swedish pop group ABBA has been delayed.

The initial target for the opening was June 2009, but project co-founder Ulf Westman said Thursday the renovation of the building will take longer than expected because it is 'more complicated than what was predicted earlier.'"

Hat tip to Jeff Meyerson.

The Top Songs of the Billboard Hot 100 Era

iWon News - `The Twist' is top song of Billboard Hot 100 era: "NEW YORK (AP) - How's this for a twist: Of all the No. 1 songs in the 50 years of the Billboard Hot 100 chart, Chubby Checker's 'The Twist' ranks as the most popular single.

Elvis and the Beatles didn't even make the top five."

Hat tip to Jeff Meyerson.

About this Hunkering Down

Thanks to my ability to schedule things in advance on the blog, the movie trailers will continue even if I don't have power here.  Thy're already scheduled into October.  I have no idea if there will be any other blog content over the weekend, but if all goes extremely well, maybe we won't lose our power.  Fingers crossed.

Yet Another List I'm Not On

Top 10: Top-10 Web Celebrities 2008-2009

Talk Like a Pirate Day

It's coming September 19.

Line Forms on the Right

Soderbergh tunes up Liberace film - Entertainment News, Film News, Media - Variety: "Steven Soderbergh is in the early stages of developing a biopic about Liberace for Warner Bros., which he will direct.
The filmmaker said he has drafted his 'Traffic' star Michael Douglas to play the flamboyant pianist.

Richard LaGravanese is writing the script, and Jerry Weintraub will produce.

Soderbergh is in discussions with Matt Damon to play Scott Thorson, who sued Liberace in 1982 for $113 million in palimony, claiming he was the entertainer’s companion for five years. Even though Liberace never wavered from career-long denials that he was gay, Thorson reportedly settled for $95,000 in 1986."