There are two possible explanations for this recent photo of me. One is that the very talented and way-cool motion-graphics designers at my place of employment have been having some Halloween fun with Photoshop. And the other is that there was something odd about the flu shot I had a couple days ago…
Beware the Moon!
Well, enough of that heavy political stuff. Today is Halloween, so how about we have some fun? Just to start things off, here’s a meme I found over at SamuraiFrog’s place:
I feel like I’m really pushing my luck with all the political and/or inflammatory posts lately, but as election day nears, more and more items are catching my eye that seem to be worth risking a fight. I was steered to the latest such item by Andrew Sullivan; it’s a blog ostensibly written by an 82-year-old Texas woman. (I say ostensibly because some of her commenters have raised the possibility that the 82-year-old “Helen” is merely a persona adopted by someone who wants to express a particular point of view.) Regardless of Helen’s true age or identity, though, she is an eloquent and entertaining writer with a refreshingly crusty, no-nonsense, and unabashedly partisan attitude. I found today’s entry particularly good, notably this passage:
Damn, I already used my vote for this year… if only I’d seen this video a few days earlier!
You know what really scares me about this? The way it actually makes me kind of like Paris Hilton. Just goes to show what a catchy jingle can do for you, I suppose.
(Via Neatorama.)
Never mind the cognitive dissonance of watching a video trailer for a book, this is something I think I need to pick up:
Jetpack Dreams Trailer from Mac Montandon on Vimeo.
I, too, mourn for the future we never had. Sometimes it really sucks to be an aging geek stuck in the real world…
(Via Boing Boing, of course!)
Nothing irritates me faster or more thoroughly than when some finger-wagging scold takes it upon themselves to save the rest of the community from the creeping stain of immorality instead of simply minding their own damn business and letting others go about theirs. This sort of thing, unfortunately, goes on all the time here in my home state, something which I’ve been depressingly aware of since I was a fairly young boy. Not a month goes by, it seems, without a letter-to-the-editor from some ninny who thinks the windows of Victoria’s Secret ought to be painted black, or news of yet another effort to “simplify” Utah’s ridiculously arcane liquor laws. Just this week, I’ve encountered two major eye-rollers from the front lines of the never-ending culture war:
Frutiger 57Cn is the ugliest font in the world. It’s even worse than that “futuristic computer” font from the ’70s, the one you saw on doors and packing crates on Buck Rogers.
Also, my one co-worker who likes to whistle while he works is driving me batshit.
That is all.
Some time back in the dim mists of history — farther back than I really want to admit — The Girlfriend and I discovered this neat little place called The Organ Loft. I’ve written about it before, but for those of you who are just joining us, I should explain that The Loft is an unassuming little building in South Salt Lake wherein resides an unexpected treasure: one of the few surviving theater pipe organs of the type that were designed and manufactured in the early 20th century to accompany silent movies. Now, I’m the sort who would be satisfied if the organ had simply been preserved for people to look at, but the really cool thing about The Loft is that its owner puts it to use. Once or twice a month during the fall, winter, and spring, you can see silent movies there with live music (and sound effects!) played on the Mighty Wurlitzer, just like you would have experienced if you’d been around in about 1925.
It’s great fun, and for several years, Anne and I were regular fixtures around the place. We went frequently enough that we — or at least I, since I was the one who always made our reservations — got to be known by name. Every time we walked through the door, the owner and host, Larry Bray, would greet me with a jaunty, “Good evening, Mr. Bennion.” It was curiously gratifying to be recognized like that; it made us feel like we had a personal investment in the place, like we were in a friend’s entertainment room rather than an impersonal movie theater. It made us feel like, well, somebodies instead of just run-of-the-mill nobodies, like everyone else.
Just overheard at the office: “I’m no good at instant messaging. If I was forced to think at the same pace as my typing, I’d only be fit for government work.”
I see this morning that Mark Evanier has posted the Opie/Richie clip as well, along with an interesting comment:
…before any of you start muttering about Hollywood Liberals…I’ve actually talked politics with two of the three men in this video and I would have bet on Cindy McCain endorsing Barack Obama before I’d have put money on these guys…
So which two of the three do you suppose he’s talking about? I think Andy’s probably an easy bet; his age and background would naturally lead to the more conservative side of the spectrum. But between Ron and Henry (about whom I admittedly don’t know much, aside from their public personae)? Hm. That’s a stumper…