Mountain Views of Madness

WoW

Tue, 08 Dec 2009 16:30:32 GMT

I have recently gone back to using crack... um, well, actually, it is worse... I've rejoined World of Warcraft.
My first re-impressions:
a) I'm on Kirin Tor, the old RP server that I had my old characters on, and as far as I can see, the quality of role play on it has continued to decline, to the point where I don't see anyone even TRYING to role play.
b) The discourse on general channels is worse than ever.
c) The server appears to be overloaded with characters who have topped out at 80, and who spend their time lounging around the cities looking cool. I suspect they are waiting for their 65th run through an instance known only as "UBK" (or some other acronym), where they are trying again to get "Ugluk-Mugluk's Mittens of Supreme Might", which would complete their set of Ugluk-Mugluk armor, which they don't wear anyways but it would be nice to complete it.
d) It all looks cool in higher rez.
e) It still feels good to kill those Fleshrippers, because they are really annoying.

Three stories, reviewed

Wed, 19 Aug 2009 02:29:41 GMT

"Strange Horizons" August 3-17

"Origin" by Ari Goelman starts off as a light bit of cliche: a superheroine discovers that she is pregnant by her superhero lover, and he seems to have no interest in having a child. Argument ensues. Enter (as ob/gyn) the standard-issue mad scientist doctor; battle ensues, somewhat later. Luckily, the author manages a touching (if a little overdone) ending, and some actual character development, just as the story ends. Grade: B+/A-

"Finisterre" by Maria Deira is a brief story which is only fantasy in that a child in it fantasizes (or does she?) about hunting werewolves. If this was expanded, it might go somewhere... but, as is, it doesn't. C+

"Salt's Father" by Eric Gregory is another story that feels like a fragment or germ of a larger work, but this time we have enough to appreciate. Salt's father lives far away from his famous son, who bedevils the establishment in the capital city; but when Salt comes to visit, his father gets caught up in his son's battle. The ending is a little weak, but I thought the main character and the setting were well done. A-

Marley & Me

Sat, 30 May 2009 21:15:45 GMT

(First in what may be a series of reviews of airline movies, where I don't actually plug in the headphones or really watch the movie, but nevertheless watch random bits of the movie anyways.)

This movie appears to have two diverse agendas that don't fit together very well; on one hand, it is about a young couple that gets married, has children, and lives through various crises of life, apparently somewhere in the American South. On the other hand, they have this annoying dog, which is continually ruining their life in various ways. Then, the last part of the movie is about the dog dying, and apparently they realize that they loved the dog all along and get some sort of bland all-American life revelation from its life. (I could tell this from the amount of time they spent staring into the camera or off into sunsets.)

How much money would I pay to see this in the theater? -$50. I think about $50 would be sufficient to induce me to watch this. It would be painful, but I could do it.

Dinosaur poop!

Thu, 21 May 2009 16:26:35 GMT

In Ipswitch for the week; Alia is at BT Adastril Park for meetings. We are staying at the Salthouse Harbour hotel, and not far away is Coprolite Street. According to Wikipedia, coprolites used to be mined on a small basis in eastern England, for the phosphate content, and there was once a warehouse in Ipswitch that stored them, thus the name. I took a picture of the Coprolite Street Bus Stop sign.

The enemy is in sight

Sun, 19 Apr 2009 13:06:35 GMT

Yesterday I finally got around to crawling around in our eaves and looked for where the animals, possibly squirrels, have been getting into our eaves and attic. I finally found a sophit that was obviously implicated - although it looked like the wire had been pushed out, not in. I covered it with some tacked-down metal window screening.

As you could have predicted, this morning there was some scratching, and I peeked into the eaves and saw a big old fat squirrel with his head stuck under the screening - trying to get out.

I just hope he isn't really stuck in the sophit, since I think that involves me eventually going in after him with heavy gloves and a big towel or something. Once William wakes up, we could leave the door to the eaves open and the squirrel could go out the bedroom window.

worth it

Tue, 24 Feb 2009 01:57:07 GMT

Last week, on one of our few child-free evenings, I dragged sichling to see Slumdog Millionaire. Well worth the effort! And, of course, it is very efficient when you see about 1 movie/year to see the Academy Award winner for best picture, as it turned out to be.

Maps

Sat, 27 Dec 2008 13:36:03 GMT

I wonder if anyone has ever done the combo of The Map from ''Dora the Explorer'' and Google Maps. Just imagine typing in, say, "43 Main St., Saybrook, CT" and getting The Map:
"I'm The Map, I'm The Map, I'm The Map... and IIIyyyyy know how to get to 43 Maaain Street in Saaaybrook, Connecticut! You go Down Route 95, Take Exit 24, and Bear Slightly Right to Stay on Main Street! Now you tell your driver: Route 95, Exit 24, Main Street! Say it with me! Route 95, Exit 24, Main Street! Route 95, Exit 24, MAAAIN STREEEEET!"

Nice Nice Nice

Wed, 03 Dec 2008 07:05:11 GMT

The web is a great way to waste time when you should be asleep. This song - http://louiesimon.com/files/Nice_ProofofUtah.mp3 - made me laugh.

It is by the two guys who were the core of Proof of Utah, a silly and obscure band from Bowling Green, Ohio that broke up a long time ago. They had one fabulous album titled "It Doesn't Matter Much" that I love.

flying saucers/daughter

Tue, 24 Jun 2008 21:19:34 GMT

I happened across the page for the Universo-O-System (http://www.chester.zdrowemiasto.pl/universe/). One really can't make up such crackpots, they have to be naturals. Even more interesting, though, was the suggestion in a news report that this guy's test flights in Chicago in the 40s and 50s may have helped start the flying saucer craze - see http://www.leechvideo.com/video/view719365.html.

And, for those who don't read sichling's journal - we had a daughter on the 11th. Her name is Razielle Phoebe Y., and she is doing just fine.

co-sleeping: the negative side

Tue, 15 Apr 2008 18:33:38 GMT

A vomiting toddler just does not make a good bed companion. Admittedly, after the second time he threw up, we put down towels. But by the fourth or fifth batch, changing the towels was getting old too. Poor lad.

latest

Thu, 27 Mar 2008 02:54:22 GMT

Pluses:
- My mother is doing somewhat better, gaining confidence in being able to live by herself on one hand, while also facing the realities of living with a ruptured disc in her back. We might not have to go back to CT for a bit.
- I'm feeling reasonably healthy myself, as opposed to the bad cold I had a few weeks ago (while trying to take care of my mother) or the intestinal bug I had over the weekend.
- I'm doing some reading again, and I think that is helping my general mood. Even if it is only Judge Dee and Miss Seeton, that is better than playing lots of Civilization. And William has been showing interest in books again, since he sees me reading them.

Minuses:
- Well, the house is still a bit of a wreck.
- akatlas is in London, til Friday.
- We still need some names for the coming addition to the family...
- Anthology project needs either attention or abandonment.

On the whole, could be worse.

That was creatively stupid...

Wed, 30 Jan 2008 19:21:57 GMT

...putting a 9-volt battery in the same pocket as my keys. Suddenly there was this funny smell, and I reached into the pocket and burned myself on the arcing battery, while it was busy burning a hole in my pocket. Gack!

Coincidence?

Thu, 24 Jan 2008 06:15:56 GMT

Barbarians are large guys with heavy metal weapons who demand large bags of gold and leave your city in ruins. Contractors are large guys with heavy power tools who demand large sums of money and leave your home in ruins. Historians claim that barbarian invasions actually meant useful cultural exchange and renewal. We hope that our contractors will improve our home.

ah, the business hotel!

Tue, 06 Nov 2007 15:06:41 GMT

We are staying in Madrid at a brand-new business hotel (the "High Tech Nueva Castellana") in a brand-new office park, with possibly the ugliest hotel lobby I've ever seen. It is pretty small; the center is occupied by two 5-foot ceramic vases, one black and one white (except they are actually plastic, of course.) Over the vases is a complex and vaguely neat wooden chandelier-like thing. To the right is a large dog silhouette, and 3 life-sized plastic dog statues, which stick out from the wall 90 degrees. Near the elevators in the back are two tall white fabric-sculptures-cum-lamps (which never seem to be lit, so they are really just thingies.) It is almost indescribable.

the Stewarts of Transylvania?

Wed, 10 Oct 2007 07:03:19 GMT

There is a special holiday issue of some Martha Stewart publication on the magazine racks at the moment, with a photo of Martha Stewart on the cover dressed as a vampire. It's just so wrong... and yet it's just so right!

breakfast can be exciting

Tue, 14 Aug 2007 12:55:46 GMT

A few days ago I was particularly groggy around breakfast time, so I decided to have some tea. I got a tea bag and a mug and put them in the microwave. A minute or so later, things started smelling funny, and I realized the crucial element that was missing: water. Tea bags burn very nicely, but they leave kind of a funny smell behind.

The Mackerel Pudding Plan

Tue, 14 Aug 2007 12:52:03 GMT

The funniest book I have picked up in a while: "The Amazing Mackerel Pudding Plan: Classic Diet Recipe Cards from the 1970s". Each card has a picture of the menu item; they usually look completely unappetizing, and the author contributed some snide comments on the side. But you don't even need much snide to go with something like "Crown Roast of Frankfurters" (and why was that considered appropriate for a diet?)
I got it for $4 on the bargain table at Borders.

William does a review

Fri, 13 Jul 2007 15:57:35 GMT

Limp Bizkit: Chocolate Starfish and the Hot Dog Flavored Water
This CD amused me for a good 10 minutes. First, there were two interesting sides - red and black, and shiny. Second, the shape was interesting - round, with that hole in the middle I could poke a finger through. Thirdly, when I threw it down, it made interesting clinking noises, depending on where I dropped it, and (a big bonus) sometimes it rolled! Fascinating! On the not-so-good side, it isn't very interesting to chew on, and it doesn't flex as nicely as a good laminated card (my personal favorite). On the whole, William says, "Check it out!" - Will, age 10 months

update

Wed, 20 Jun 2007 17:12:57 GMT

We are slowly getting things organized here in Massachusetts. There are fewer boxes and more household goods piled around the place. Our cars are in Massachusetts, and with luck I might pick one up this afternoon. Tomorrow our new mattress will arrive (since the old one didn't make it up the steps ("You Won't Get it up the Steps!") The helpful relatives have departed (although they will be replaced with less helpful ones next week. Moving... don't do it unless you have to.

Are we sheep?

Tue, 17 Apr 2007 21:36:30 GMT

The catastrophe at Virginia Tech is awful. One of my thoughts afterwards, perhaps not a very charitable one: why didn't people stop this guy? I mean, throw a chair at him, rush him, tackle him... According to one account I heard, he basically just walked into this classroom, shot the teacher, and then went around shooting people for upwards of a minute. And Virginia Tech has a military cadet corps! Are Americans all sheep? If this guy is walking around the classroom killing people, and you are lying on the floor, and he's getting close, I don't see much downside to yelling, "Let's get 'em!"

Not another one...

Tue, 27 Mar 2007 20:49:56 GMT

Yes, I know - it's hard keeping track of all the Bush administration scandals. Abramoff, Tillman, Abu Ghraib, Guantanamo, Patriot Act misuse, the district attorney firings... Well, here's another one, which only the San Francisco Chronicle seems to have picked up so far. Imagine a bunch of high-level government employees in a videoconference in which a White House political operative talks about the upcoming election and they are asked by their boss, the head of the GSA, to think about how they can best help elect Republicans. If you are having trouble imagining that, read http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/c/a/2007/03/26/MNGIVORLOF1.DTL the SFGate article.
Edit: Actually, it looks like the story started in the Washington Post. Their most recent coverage is: http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/03/25/AR2007032501048.html And the GSA chief, Doan, is scheduled to testify tomorrow...

a meme for a change

Mon, 05 Feb 2007 22:47:49 GMT

1. Grab the nearest book. (Don't you dare dig for that "cool" or "intellectual" book in your closet! I know you were thinking about it! Just pick up whatever is closest.)
2. Open the book to page 123.
3. Find the fifth sentence.
4. Post the text of the next 3 sentences on your blog along with these instructions.

"She had finished wiping the blade (far more thoroughly than it required, and on the hem of her own peplos) and had knelt to blow on the embers, pretending to pay very little attention to what I was saying. 'I asked her. I told her I couldn't shoot a bow, but I can ride as good as anybody, and you'd need everybody to protect you if you were going to steal King Kotys. ...' "

This is from p. 123 of Gene Wolfe's "Soldier of Arete"; it isn't a great favorite of mine, but I reread it recently because I am working on a review of Wolfe's recent addition to the series, "Soldier of Sidon" (which I liked rather better).

This meme is courtesy of chaiya.

translation

Sun, 04 Feb 2007 08:20:46 GMT

Being a parent, I now understand how the whole Lassie thing worked. The baby is crying. "You're tired? Hmm.... No, you're wet. Hmm... no... hungry? Oh, I get it! The smugglers have Lassie and are holding her hostage in the old mine in the hills!" (Well, I don't have it quite down yet, but I'm working on it.)

hometown art project

Sat, 28 Oct 2006 18:06:02 GMT

You know those municipal art projects where artists decorate statues of cows or elephants or something, and they put them all over town? Well, my home town of Granby, CT, population around 11,000, did one using horses. Here is a link to some pictures of the horses taken by a friend of my mother's - they are kind of cool - http://picasaweb.google.com/bgrass2/GiddyUpGranby02.

fatherhood

Mon, 11 Sep 2006 03:32:48 GMT

Sorry to leave folks hanging for a few days - we didn't have much in the way of internet access at the hospital. Anyways... William Irving Youmans (8 lbs 1 oz) was born by c-section (darn it!) Friday Sept. 8th at 7:03 PM. Alia and Will are doing well; we will all be home from the hospital tomorrow, barring any unforeseen developments.
So far, fatherhood consists of changing the baby, holding the baby, and fetching water for the thirsty breastfeeding mother; not so bad, really.
Pictures will be posted in a day or two, probably to somewhere on www.suddenlypress.com.