Ted Feguson, Bud Light Daredevil

Just a quick note to say that Ted Ferguson, Bud Light Daredevil, is too damn ugly to have a girlfriend that fine.

I'm just sayin' . . .

The Challenger Anniversary

Today is the twentieth anniversary of the Space Shuttle Challenger accident. You can follow this link for a timeline of the accident, which includes audio (with transcript), and multiple videos from that day.

I remember riding in my Dad's car when they said one of the initial launch dates had been scrapped, and hearing that Christa McAuliffe had gone bike riding to relax.

That was the extent of the attention I paid to the flight.

So it wasn't a surprise that I didn't watch the launch live, but when word of the explosion spread my sixth grade teacher wheeled a television into our classroom. We spent the rest of the day watching  network coverage.

I remember being a little put off that Christa McAuliffe received so much attention. Six others died that day, but how many people knew their names at the time - or now? It didn't seem fair.

I strongly believe in the value of manned space flight, and look with regret at the two-plus decades wasted on the costly and limited shuttle program. I'm glad to hear that, with a little luck, American's will walk on Mars in my lifetime.

In the words of Commander Dick Scobee's widow "Without risk, there's no discovery, there's no new knowledge, there's no bold adventure," 

"The greatest risk is to take no risk."

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Thanks Joe

Much obliged to Journals Editor Joe for his quick and correct solution to the problem of the day - namely, the fact that my hit counter reset to zero.

A question . .

A year ago I asked for some info on a movie I saw twenty years ago.

Nothing so obscure with this request, but it is rather lame.

In grade school I had a science teacher who made us memorize what various parts of a word mean. That's a lame definition, but you'll see what I mean below.

 Most have slipped my mind over the years, but a few have stuck with me.

auto = self  

graph = write

ology = study of

morph = change

bio = life

tele = far, distant

astro = star

The theory being this: if you didn't know what 'autobiography" meant, you could decipher its meaning just by consulting the list.

If anyone knows where I can find a comprehensive list, drop me a line.

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Two more books

I finished two more books recently, Anansi Boys by Neil Gaiman and The Pale Horseman by Bernard Cornwell.

Anansi Boys is the story of Fat Charlie, a simple, boring Englishman who just happens to be the son of a god. After his father's funeral he discovers a long lost brother who  inherited all the supernatural gifts in the family.

Embezzlement, murder, and general chaos ensue.

Gaiman is a natural, one of those guys you despise because God gave him more than his fair share of writing talent. A bit too much Douglas Adams in him though, and I feel he could lay off the dry British humor a tad.

Pale Horseman is the continuing tale of Uhtred, a Saxon with Danish leanings, who plays a pivotal (and fictional) role in Alfred the Great's defense of Wessex from invasion.

Sure, it sounds lame, but Cornwell is a master of historical fiction who's adept at elaborate and stunning battle scenes. He is, after all, the author of the famed Sharpe series (popularized by Sean Bean's TV portrayal).

A great second work in what looks to be a trilogy.

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Another Lost post

An overtly religious episode, one that certainly doesn't refute my purgatory theory.

Not a whole lot to discuss, frankly. I think Claire turned on Charlie awfully quick in the last few weeks, given that he's been her go-to guy from the time of the crash.

Charlies actions in this episode seem to validate Claire's mistrust - if that is, the viewers didn't know that the dreams and sleep walking were real.

Locke continues to be an obnoxious a**, and I'm probably reading too much into his role as the guy preventing the baptism.  In the teaser for next week, Locke is again on his high horse and in opposition to Jack; the guy makes me ill.

Kate and Sawyer: He can have her. I fail to comprehend where her newfound attaction to him comes from.

Hurley and Libby: she gave me the creeps. She quickly deflected his "Do I know you?" question, and I'm eager to learn her crooked past.

She is cute though.

Was there any significance to the burning bush, especially in light of the whole Aaron/Moses theme running through the episode?

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My spooktacular school

I came across a link to this on myufo.com. According to a list of WI locales, my old grade school features some bonafide ghosts and ghouls. 

The school building used to be the church. Rumor has it that a boy fell to his death from the balcony. The balcony has since been walled over and converted to a room. Former teachers and students at the school attest to a strange feeling in the former balcony area. There is also a rocking chair in the attic that keeps rocking with no one around and no breeze. A strange man has been seen by staff and children in the church basement. Neighbors report that a former building on the site had a light that never went out even when the electricity was cut. Teachers also report feeling uneasy in the basement bathroom and hearing a strange ?wooooooing? sound.

My opinion? The school was spooky, sure, but mainly due to my classmates. .

In all seriousness, I remember the balcony, which overlooks the current (?) gym. It was kind of creepy, but only in a 'never used/dark and dusty' kind of a way.

Although, come to think of it, reading the paragraph brought back a dim memory of a teacher cracking a joke about a/the? ghost when I went with her to get some paint jars off the balcony.  

I never heard of any rocking chair, though, and in nine years there (K-8) I never  saw a 'strange man' in the basement. If anyone had I'm sure the police would have been called - the '80's were hardly a time of naive, blind trust.

As far as the other building, when I started there in the late seventies an old school building still stood on part of the lot. It was torn down when I was in Kindergarten or 1st grade. Like any abandoned building it sometimes gave you goosebumps, but I never saw the perpetual lightbulb they refer to in the paragraph.

Maybe I'll stop by again, just to check it out.

Warning: Lost Spoilers

I came across this article on last week's episode of Lost. I hope the link still works 1000 years from now when the only remnant of civilization is a copy of Slapinions, because it's far too much text for me to reproduce. Read it or this won't make much sense.

I agree with the gist of the statements about Jack in this episode. He seems to be nearing the breaking point, as evidenced in part by the depressing flashbacks to his past. The marriage certainly seemed doomed from the start, and life never seems to have been very enjoyable for him.

BTW, I think he had to take Locke (their tracker) along on the quest, but Sawyer ???

I don't know what his true, subconscious rational was for pursuing Michael, but I'm willing to take it on face value: Michael was on a suicidal mission, and Jack wanted to find him and bring him home so he could screw his head on straight.

I'm a little sick of Locke's holier-than-thou laizzes faire attitude. Not only is it ridiculous, it's hypocritical: he sure sticks his nose into things when he has an interest in the outcome. His obsession with the island has brought a lot of grief, and he does view the place as a 'holy land' of sorts - hence his look when scolded by Zeke for opening the hatch.

As to Kate - well, you have to doubt her worth (even if you overlook all the bank robbing and murder in her past) if she can be attracted to a loser like Sawyer . er, James. She'd have come in handy on the quest, though, and I imagine Jack left her behind because a) he's annoyed with her b) he still cares for her and that could have - and did - interfere with the search.

As for the Others: sure it was a pompous speech, and instinct is to yell "well, then help us off the da** island then!" but in real life, the survivors would mention the Others to the outside world, and someone would be compelled to return to the island and look for them (if for no other reason then to find the kidnap victims). I doubt that's what Zeke wants.

I too, think the torches were a trick, an automated sleight of hand meant to disguise their true numbers. I didn't see anyone else in the jungle, tho' in fairness I also didn't see whoever fired the shot at Sawyer.

I think they very well could have quizzed Kate on the way home; it just wasn't shown. And I too would have approached Sayid, but he's not exactly stable at the moment . .

I think this theory is fascinating:

"It's a schizophrenic delusion of Hurley's. Hurley is really still in a mental hospital, and Libby is his doctor. She's trying a new treatment to bring him out of it, hence her appearence.It's a schizophrenic delusion of Hurley's. Hurley is really still in a mental hospital, and Libby is his doctor. She's trying a new treatment to bring him out of it, hence her appearence."

But . .

I hold fast to my belief that no one survived the crash. The island is purgatory, where the sinners onboard who were unable to reach Heaven - but still capable of redemption -have gone to be tested.

No matter how the series ends, a part of me will always believe that's what the writers intended. I just fear they may be forced along a different route because of Lost's popularity (and the fact ratings will stretch the length of the series).

My evidence, in Cliff Notes fashion:

* No survivor seems to be without a messy, often violent past. Not a one seems to be able to show us a 'normal' life in flashbacks. Even when not a criminal, their lives are full of anger and pain.

* The children, presumably innocents, were the first to be taken. Their presence at all was troubling, but I believe it was to simply magnify the pain of folks like Michael and Anna. Michael's sins seem to have been in his relationship with his son. Anna still holds a secret, but latched on tight to the kids. Her flaws might lie along the same path.

* Why hasn't the baby been taken? According to the psychic in Claire's past, the baby is evil . .

*Remember that the mole among the tailies mentioned that the kidnap victims were taken in order of 'goodness', or some similar phrase . .

*And recall that Ecko was near the top of that list, but fought off his attackers. Among the islanders, his sins were the greatest - but his redemption was also the most sincere.

*Once Shannon proved her worth as a person, she was 'killed'. Boone too, seemed to have grown and matured.

*Charlie, who had made great strides, was nearly taken from the island (via death) but brought back - and his change of heart now seems to have temporary. I also attach some significance to his 'death by hanging in the garden' - some aspect of my parochial education recalls that Judas met a similar fate. Is he to betray the group at some point?

*Too many kooky coincidences. Ecko's plane is on the island? What about Jack's dad disappearing from the coffin? Slave ships, Dharma projects, polar bears, Others, and smoky monsters? What kind of 'island' is this?

Sadly, I'll miss tonights episode due to a big event at work. Damn our capitalist system! I will tape it of course, and I'm intrigued about the fate of Aaron. The teaser seemed to hint at the baby being tonights focus . .

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If you're bored, check this out . .

The following site advertised on a baseball forum I visit online, so I clicked to be generous. Turns out it's kinda interesting. Nothing all that wonderful, but it intrigued me for a minute or two.

How's that for an endorsement?

Check it out  - it's a site allegedly written by a guy searching for the artist who created a strange painting he found hidden in his house. The artist, an otherwise normal farmer, then disappeared without a trace.

Who is Benjamin Stove?

My Superbowl XL picks

Yeah, my picks were dead on.

Sure,  the SuperBowl is up for grabs, but forget that the Steelers are early 3.5 pt favorites - I firmly believe/hope/expect Mike Holmgren to walk away with the honor of being the first coach to win a ring with two different teams.

Sure, the 'Hawks had a decently easy post-season, and Pittsburgh had to walk through fire . .

But did they?

The Bengals lost their QB minutes into the game and (IMHO) were overrated anywho. Indy's defeat was a masterpiece, and I loved watching it, but let's face facts here: Tony Dungy and Peyton Manning are master choke artists. What a waste of talent.

And while you have to marvel at their domination of Denver, but did you ever really think Jake Plummer was going all the way?

I think Seattle will take it in relatively easy fashion, but give up part of their cushion as the clock runs down - just enough to make me sweat.

Seattle 27 - Pittsburgh 20