Phrenotherapy on the go

via techeblog.com

Apparently they've chosen to go with the "happiness hat" instead of "electroyamulke" or "phrenobeanie".

Is this a joke? I'm not sure, but I don't think so.

Posted via web from Dreaded Purple Master

Which TV stars are coming to DragonCon?

AJC: Which TV stars are coming to DragonCon? Leonard Nimoy, John Schneider, Malcolm McDowell, Lou Ferrigno, Patrick Stewart.

Well. okay. But which radio stars are coming? Eh? Eh?

That's why you should see the Atlanta Radio Theatre Company, whose big shows will be on Saturday (in the Marriott) and Sunday (in the Hyatt). We'll also do a relatively low-key reading on Friday (in the Marriott). Frankly, I suggest you bring your DVR, plug it into your room TV, and record the convention video channel (which will have a much better view of the Masquerade, Dawn Look-Alike contest, and key panels than you could possibly have in person), then come see ARTC (who apparently don't rate coverage on the convention video channel).

Bitter? Me? Naah.

A final reminder

I have a small but crucial role, so come see. Er, hear. Oh, just be there, OK?

Don't forget...!

As easy as talking!

Cool Myspace Generators

DPM Weekend Update

Atlanta Hyatt Regency Lobby
Originally uploaded by disneymike.

This is the Atlanta Hyatt Regency, one of the host hotels for DragonCon, which is where I will be this coming weekend. If you're in the vicinity, you might drop by Friday night and watch the Atlanta Radio Theatre Company perform.

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In other news...

How to deal with vagrants at conventions: As long as you're going to be in downtown Atlanta... On the other hand, anyone who should be traveling unsupervised should already know.

The lunar eclipse is tonight! Well, tomorrow morning in this time zone.

But the sign says $3.09: In Nebraska, gas stations sometimes advertise a lower price than they actually charge. "Under state law, the signs — which show in smaller print that the lower-priced gas is available only at certain pumps — are not illegal as long as gas is available at the lower price at even one pump."

Buffalo buffalo Buffalo buffalo buffalo buffalo Buffalo buffalo.

But who owns them? "Mermaids have been performing at Weeki Wachee Springs for 60 years. The water district owns the land that Weeki Wachee Springs sits upon. As for who owns the mermaids, well, that is an interesting setup. There's a private company. But a few years ago its owner simply gave the company to the city of Weeki Wachee. (He got a tax break.) As for the "city," its population usually fluctuates somewhere between five and nine people, consisting of attraction employees." Isn't it enough that they're there?

Newscaster Emily Maitlis offends BBC viewers with flash of leg: No, really. I don't want to hear one more word about sophisticated Europeans smirking at America's puritanical attitudes about sex, you get me? Not one word.

And that's all we need to hear from Michael Vick, too: "Are you entering the plea of guilty to a conspiracy charge because you are in fact guilty?" Vick answered yes.

Why I haven't been around lately

The better part of ten days of my life were consumed preparing for, en route to and from, or attending the Robert A. Heinlein Centennial celebration in Kansas City. (No, smart@$$, he wasn't there.) This process was made more awkward by being under doctor's orders not to lift anything heavier than ten pounds, due to having recently undergone the implantation of an Internal Cardiac Defibrillator.

Oh, fine, thanks. I plan to talk more about this on my LiveJournal page; I just thought you should know.

Newsweak

Midtown Skyline (Remix)
Originally uploaded by Lance McCord.

But first, some blatant self-promotion: I play the Army Air Force veteran in this week's ARTC Podcast, "Unaccustomed to Fear".

"Thousands of LiveJournal customers are rebelling against the company's recent decision to censor hundreds of sex-themed discussion groups, a broad swath that has led to the removal of literary critiques and fan-written fiction about Harry Potter." Do remember, though, that it's only a First Amendment issue if the government is suppressing it. Any private company has the right to limit how its resources are used. If this bothers you, buy your own domain and server: They're cheap enough. (Why, yes, I do own purplemaster.com.)

The good news is, hybrid automobiles are beginning to sell. The bad news is, they're selling for the "wrong reasons". They aren't replacing those mean old SUVs, they're fashion statements, the third car in "two-car" households.

Turn off the TV and broadband for a week and family life goes completely to hell. (Spoilers: They cheat on days 2 and 6, and mostly sit around glaring at each other the rest of the week.) Perhaps the most amusing part of the article is the closing, Mother's Tips To Cut Screen Addiction, among them: "Take your children on holiday to countries where broadband has yet to make substantial inroads."

From VH1's Best Week Ever: This Video Contains All Of The Reasons Why Our Society Is Doomed. I've nothing to add to it. Try not to read the spoilerrific text in the entry and just click on the two-minute video.

I suppose that with Google Maps now offering street-level photographs, it's inevitable that someone would be creeped out by what they can see. Heck, I was creeped out the first time I saw my own front porch at a9.com. (Gosh, I wish my house were prettier.) One woman was creeped out when she discovered she'd left her curtains open the day the Google van drove by, and the world can see her living room -- and her cat. But within a day or two this phenomenon was topped by 90 West Santa Clara St in San Jose, where you can see dead people. I'm sure you'd rather check out co-eds sunbathing at Stanford.

Speaking of which (sort of), signs of Spencer Tunick were spotted this weekend in Amsterdam.

Egypt: Fatwa allows breast-feeding among adults. This is a couple of weeks old. I've been holding on to it until I could wrap my head around it (so to speak), but the logic still makes me dizzy.

"We have to remember that while more women are showing more cleavage, you really have to use your breast power responsibly." With great hooters come great responsibility, as I'm sure Stan Lee would have said had Peter Parker been bitten by a radioactive Scarlett Johansson. (I think I just stumbled upon the plot for Spider-Man 4.)

The mysterious fifth sense

I was beginning to think no one would ever hear my adaptation of H. G. Wells' "The Country of the Blind". But, much to my surprise, there it is in ARTC's Podcast, part one last week and part two this.

I can't judge the performance of the actor playing the lead character, Nunez, but the rest of the cast is delightful, and it was a pleasant surprise to hear my friend Thomas Fuller as the Elder of the little village.

This has always been one of my favorite stories, and I hope we've done it justice.

Coming Soon

Ten days after Valentine's Day the Atlanta Radio Theatre Company will bring you a show about seduction; that fine art, that ability so many aspire to but so few achieve. And what's more seductive than a good vampire story? It's guaranteed to get your blood pumping.
Special musical guests: The Radio Ramblers!

Stage Door Players
5539 Chamblee Dunwoody Road
Dunwoody, GA 30338
Box office phone number: 770-396-1726
Tickets are just $10!

Saturday, February 24, 2007 at 8:00pm
Sunday, February 25, 2007 at 2:30pm

(Create custom images at ImageChef.com)

Solution Unsatisfactory

Robert A. Heinlein wrote “Solution Unsatisfactory” in early 1941. Europe was at war: The United States was not yet involved directly, and our people were sharply divided. Some said America could not afford to become embroiled in someone else’s war: Some said we dared not ignore it.

A few months later, the Japanese attacked a remote American naval base in Hawaii – and the world changed.

A few years later, the United States became the first, and so far only, country to use an atomic weapon in war. And the conversations that Heinlein began in this story continue to this day.

ARTC adapted “Solution Unsatisfactory” for audio in spring, 2001. We first performed it before an audience on Friday, August 31. We scheduled studio time for September 12 to record voice tracks.

The day before our scheduled studio session, three hijacked commercial airliners slammed into three heavily populated buildings in New York and Washington – and the world changed again.

We considered canceling our voice session, which suddenly seemed so unimportant – but we would never have a better chance to capture the confusion, shock, grief, and grim determination of the day. Events had outrun us, but the story remained as fresh as tomorrow’s headlines. It seemed to demand that we tell it, again.

So we stood in the studio, our characters debating the practicality of suspending all commercial air travel – while, above us, the late summer sky was empty.

Where did we ever get the idea that science fiction is escapist literature?

This production is dedicated to the memory of the passengers of United Airlines Flight 93, the fourth hijacked airliner, who voted that whatever the personal cost, that flight would not become an instrument of terror. Instead, it has become a symbol of the indomitable American spirit.

You don’t get to choose how to die. You can only choose how to live. Those passengers chose life for additional hundreds, possibly thousands, of people they would never know. There can be no greater gift.

I think – I know! – Mr Heinlein would agree.

I wish you well, and I hope your loved ones are all accounted for.