| Do you remember the time? |
[Jul. 15th, 2009|05:16 am] |
| [ | mood |
| |  nostalgic | ] |
Just in time for Otakon, I posted on YouTube some little videos I'd made back in 2005 at Katsucon. A couple videos were from the epic room party I had that year in my room, and the other videos are from the Saturday night dance, including Greg Ayres going crazy at the end of the night with "Somebody to Love".
Good, epic times were had by all.... and here's hoping that even with the lack of JAM Project, Otakon will be good and epic.
Otakon is in 2 days. Are you ready? |
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| Random TV thought |
[Jul. 14th, 2009|01:29 am] |
| [ | mood |
| |  weird | ] |
Why is it that NBC's morning show opens like this:
"From NBC News, this is TODAY~!!!!!! With Matt Lauer and Meredith Vieira, LIVE from Studio 1A in Rockefeller Plaza."
I mean seriously, there's just like 10 times the emphasis on the word "TODAY" than all the other words in the open..... |
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| Travis + Mike = OTP? |
[Jul. 14th, 2009|01:00 am] |
| [ | mood |
| |  cheerful | ] |
Hey ![[info]](http://l-stat.livejournal.com/img/userinfo.gif) raja815!! You going to Otakon? Travis Willingham AND Mike McFarland will be there!
I would just DIE if they acted out the TINY MINISKIRTS scene in live action. I mean, who doesn't want to see Mike McFarland clutch Travis Willingham's left leg?! :) |
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| It's funny I ask.... |
[Jul. 13th, 2009|10:23 pm] |
| [ | mood |
| |  rushed | ] |
.. because as of now I have half of the money for the hotel room collected, but other stuff still needs to be done. I need to go over my sources a few last times before this weekend's Iron Editor. And the weather looks like we're not going to get three-times-lucky as it's supposed to be hot and humid in Baltimore all three days of the convention.
Otakon is in 4 days. Are you ready? |
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| Week 3, Day 1: That sounds about right |
[Jul. 13th, 2009|09:16 pm] |
Way back when, there was an awful, terrible, very bad, no good placeholder of a scene in They Fly. It was always meant to be replaced by a big musical number, but that number was the last thing I wrote for the show, and its absence made cast and director nervous--then its arrival provided relief and joy.
There's a song in True New Yorker now that makes me feel that way. Like it's my show now. Not that it wasn't before, but this one's got some spark that the rest of the score doesn't.
I'd play it for you (or record it and stick it up here) but I've got to put some new stuff together for tomorrow. This week is a hairball of writing-to-be. |
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| I wonder if the construction will be finished by then . . . |
[Jul. 13th, 2009|03:36 pm] |
We'll be spending Thanksgiving with Dione's family: her mom is buying us tickets to YVR. We'll be gone for several days, but I don't imagine it will be that hard to get time off from my job in November. (Hers, though . . .) The only question is: will we drive down to Sacramento before hand so we all fly up together, or will we go RNO-YVR and Mom goes SMF-YVR? Time will tell.
More details to come. |
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|
| NPL convention - Thursday 7/9 |
[Jul. 13th, 2009|04:48 pm] |
Every year as I head off to the NPL convention, non-puzzle friends and family wish me luck and I have to correct them: "It's not a competition, just a fun weekend of puzzles and games." Actually, there is an element of competition (the official puzzles and games have prizes), but since I almost never win anything, I ignore that part.
I booked the Bolt Bus early enough to get a round-trip fare of $2.50 (this is not a typo), cheaper than going by subway to Times Square and back (and almost cheaper than going one-way to Times Square). I took the subway to the pick-up point near Penn Station and was running dangerously late for the 12:15pm departure, but arrived at the corner to see people waiting. L was on the same bus, and got there a minute later; she reserved more recently, so her fare was around $13, still much cheaper than the train. There were only 13 people on the bus, so we could spread out in our own rows. I had my laptop and the wi-fi was working, so I surfed the net the whole way. We arrived much later than expected.
We took a cab to the hotel. There was a confusing notice at the registration desk about using debit cards, but that's all I brought (it's also a credit card, but I'm not sure how payees make that distinction). Entering my 26th-floor room, I was astounded at its size. This was not just a room but a full-size apartment: living room, dining area, kitchen, bedroom, bathroom. I wondered if it was a mistake and I'd be charged a high amount. The place wasn't perfect: there was no clock other than on the microwave, and the bathroom sink drained very slowly. More important, my laptop wouldn't connect to the Ethernet, and I couldn't glom onto a wifi network. We did get it to work with the hospitality room modem, so the problem was the room hookup, not the laptop settings.
Milling around the hospitality room, I found a group heading out to dinner and we walked past the Inner Harbor, to the Oceanaire over a mile away. I had the prix fixe dinner with chowder, stuffed fish and tangerine sorbet, and we also shared calamari and spinach side dishes. It was getting late so we took a cab back, arriving in time for the official program.
To start off, we introduced ourselves and said what languages we spoke (I talked about how my mother was scared my 2 years of high school Russian would put me on a subversive list... and maybe it did). Some people listed expected answers on a bingo card - so clever! The acoustics weren't good and I missed many of the jokes. The first mixer game had everyone given a word which then had to be combined with other people's to make a puzzle question. I roamed around with AWKWARD which could be an anagram indicator, but it didn't fit anywhere and the exercise just seemed too hard.
I needed to go to the ladies' room, and was at first annoyed I'd have to either go up or down a flight from the meeting room. But it turns out the downstairs Ladies Lounge is famous (by the end of the weekend, most of the guys peeked into this amazing space). The con venue was a former Masonic lodge and marble and other ornate trappings remained (or were restored) throughout the building.
After drying my hands on the cloth towels, I returned to the meeting room to play a game where you had to make ever-longer words including specific letters. Last was an astounding visual game by TMcAy. I jokingly asked him if he'd also prepared an after-hours game, and he said yes. I thought he was kidding, but he really did have another game, which I never got to play.
After hours, I did both Noam's Jeopardy games. I think that was it. I probably should make notes since everything blurs together. |
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| The official Siamese Twins bragging rights thread |
[Jul. 13th, 2009|02:19 pm] |
If you manage to completely solve The World's Most Difficult Siamese Twins handout from the 2009 NPL convention, feel free to comment here. I only know of one solo solver (Trazom) and one group (Manx/IRBS/Jo the Loiterer) during the convention, plus two successful test-solvers (Coach, and Mosayc using a slightly harder version).
Please don't give away the theme or any specific answers; I imagine there are people who are still going to want to solve the puzzle now that they have more time to do so. |
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| [FMA] Frying Pomatoes on a hot skillet |
[Jul. 12th, 2009|02:08 am] |
| [ | mood |
| |  giggly | ] |
THIS IS YOUR ANIME SERIES: FMA.
THIS IS YOUR ANIME SERIES ON CRACK: FMA EPISODE 37.
Tonight's FMA rerun is "Flame Alchemist / The Bachelor Lieutenant / The Mystery of Warehouse 13". Otherwise known as "FMA on Crack".
Any questions? |
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|
| Hmm . . . |
[Jul. 11th, 2009|12:04 pm] |
| [ | Current Location |
| | 89523 | ] |
| [ | mood |
| | accomplished | ] |
Every year, the cost of registration for my car (2000 Saturn SL2) seems to go down. Here's a look at my records:
2005-2006: (initial registration): $183.25*
2006-2007: $153*
2007-2008: $133*
2008-2009: $113*
2009-2010: $93* (check to go in the mail this week)
*Includes $20 for the state library fund and $20 personalized plate fee.
AT this rate, in five more years, THEY'LL owe ME to re-register, assuming I still have the Saturn (unlikely).
* * *
But, that's not the case for Dione's car (1996 Chevy Lumina), as you can see:
2006-2007 (initial registration): $134.25*
2007-2008: $74*
2008-2009: $74*
2009-2010: $74*
*Includes $20 to state rodeo fund and $20 personalized plate fee.
Is hers not going down because it's a salvage title, and they get "frozen" at whatever the registration cost was at the time of the oops?
Anyway, I don't mind paying less, don't misunderstand. I'm just curious about the reason for the difference between our two cars. There must be some law somewhere that regulates how they calculate it. |
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| SHOCK!! |
[Jul. 11th, 2009|09:52 am] |
| [ | Current Location |
| | 89523 | ] |
| [ | mood |
| |  amused | ] |
I am a federal felon. This is one of those things I meant to post about the other day, but never did.
I was cleaning out the car when we were in Elko on the last night of our vacation, and what did I discover in the ice chest?
A Mike's Hard Lemonade which I had opened the previous night at the campground and put back in the cooler, intending to finish it later.
Except, I never did. In the cooler it stayed, open.
Then, we packed up, open container and all, and set sail across state lines. Then, back across state lines.
I get to Elko, open the cooler, and discover: there it is. I had been driving with an open alcoholic beverage in the car for the last 250 miles, in both Nevada and Utah, thereby making it a federal offense.
Of course, it was so watered down from that point from having tipped over in the cooler and filling with water, I just emptied the bottle and threw it away, but that's beside the point.
Perhaps I should go turn myself in now.
* * *
Of course, I hadn't imbibed at all before driving (I enjoy the occasional drink, but I'm not stupid), and it's unlikely that a cop would have looked in our cooler if we had been stopped for some reason, but, still . . . Plus, it would be really hard to prove intent in a case like that, especially considering both the the driver and passenger have clean records and no signs of impairment. |
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| Birds can read |
[Jul. 10th, 2009|10:54 am] |
| [ | mood |
| | amused | ] |
This morning, coming home from running an errand, I turned onto a road called "Quail Run Road," a typical 1990's-era suburban street.
What did I see?
Quails running.
For some reason, that amused me. |
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|
| There goes The Onion, beating up on us again |
[Jul. 9th, 2009|01:25 pm] |
| [ | Current Location |
| | 89523 | ] |
| [ | mood |
| | amused | ] |
Biden Requests To Be Named Special Envoy To Reno
July 7, 2009 | Issue 45•28
WASHINGTON—Saying there are national security matters that "need sorting out down there," Vice President Joe Biden requested Friday an appointment as special envoy to the city of Reno, NV. Saying he had already done some of the preliminary work necessary to establish relations with the city, Biden assured President Obama that he had even made significant headway with a local dignitary named Candi. "Though the United States has not, historically, found it necessary to establish diplomatic relations within our own boundaries, the vice president did make a very convincing argument," White House chief of staff Rahm Emanuel said. "Although I'm not sure why he was so insistent about getting diplomatic immunity for the weekend." While Obama was noncommittal about the appointment, he did grant Biden the special 26E2BVP license plate the vice president had been asking about for months.
(Original is here) |
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| Time to start making plans..... |
[Jul. 9th, 2009|01:39 am] |
| [ | mood |
| |  anxious | ] |
Preliminary schedule is now up.
Highlights:
Friday
9am Otaku No Video (both parts) - Video 4
5pm AMV Contest Friday Showing - Video 1
8pm MELL concert - 1st Mariner Arena
11pm Dubs After Dark - Panel Room 3
Saturday
10am FUNimation panel - Panel Room 5 (in Hilton!)
3pm AMV Contest Saturday Showing - Video 1
7pm Iron Editor - Panel Room 3
(Watch me and brycicle in the Battle Shounen Showdown!)
9:30 Dubs That Time Forgot - Panel Room 1
(Sorry, animejump, I'm gonna have to miss the panel this year)
Otakon is in 8 days. Are you ready? |
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|
| Work and Play |
[Jul. 7th, 2009|11:38 pm] |
I've been thinking of myself as semi-retired but I have more work than usual, which put a bit of a damper on the holiday weekend. I made deals with myself about accommodating both work and entertainment.
After staying out late after the fireworks on Saturday, I decided that if I woke up in time on Sunday, I'd go to the 2pm showing of "The Best Years of Our Lives" at MoMA. The first year of membership, I saw 33 movies, but so far this second year I've been to the museum just once (to see the art with a visitor). I woke up at 12:30 just in time to go. The fireworks hosts, also members, were there, too, but we didn't see each other until afterward.
The movie was very good, as one would expect of a Best Picture. The story of returning WWII vets was emotionally involving and avoided corniness. It would be a cliche to say they don't make movies like they used to, but all too often, they don't. The weather was nice (no rain, imagine that!) and I walked quite a while but my shoes weren't comfortable and I had to give up at 72nd and take the subway the rest of the way home.
Monday's plan was to see "Sideways" at MoMA but neighbor J invited me to the SAG/WGA showing of "Public Enemies" and I couldn't do both. This movie was packed with rat-a-tat violence, which is hard for me to take. Johnny Depp looked too sweet and clean-cut to be a hardened criminal. The puzzles were ready, and I walked to the NYT afterward (wearing more comfortable shoes) and got that job done by 2am.
Today I needed to make significant progress on a job, but got sidetracked by the Michael Jackson memorial. Such great music: Stevie, Jennifer Hudson, that little boy... Wonderful speech from Brooke Shields. Michael looked just fine in a clip of a rehearsal last week. Many tearful moments; I lost it when young Paris talked about her Daddy at the end.
The work is still there. Time to do more. |
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