Monday, November 09, 2009
Tuesday, November 03, 2009
Saturday, October 31, 2009
Friday, October 30, 2009
I don't think that word means what you think it means
On most levels, this cartoon works splendidly.
I can't know if this is the case nationwide, but here in Atlanta, our NPR affiliate is one of the few stations in town that doesn't overcompress its sound. That is, it presents a well-engineered dynamic range in which the loud passages are undistorted and the soft passages are actually pianissimo soft. It is actually possible to hear the odd moment of silence on NPR.
Every other station in town, I feel like I've been beaten with a blunt instrument after listening for a half hour. And that's the music stations: The talk stations are worse. Even when I agree with what's being said, I can't stand to listen to it for very long.
But "truth"? I find it hard to believe that even you, NPR, would describe your content that way.
Thursday, October 29, 2009
Noises Off II
Last December, the above-referenced production of That Christmas Play went before the boards, although according to Mark Evanier it might have been better to have the boards go first and let the play follow as best it could.
Ya wanta know the topper? The same producer is trying to put it together again this year as a road show (as if the technical and mechanical problems will be easier to fix in a different venue every two or three performances), but two of the six planned cities have not booked yet, and a third just cancelled.
Thursday, October 22, 2009
Don't worry, be happy
A gorgeous fall here on the upper Mississippi, but among the old grumblers I drink cheap coffee with, the mood these days is dark, due to low interest rates and the advance of the glaciers, which is why I, sunny optimist that I am, seek out the company of the young and ebullient and drink $4 coffee, but sometimes you get stuck next to some old guy in a plaid shirt who gives you an earful about Wall Street bonuses and how the game is rigged in favor of the custom-tailored suits, and you must be polite and listen.
"Look at this. A person saves his money like he was brought up to do and he salts it away in a safe CD or Treasury note or municipal bond and it pays him a measly 2 percent interest. Why? Because the Fed has decreed we gotta have low interest to save the high-fliers and speculators who almost brought the roof crashing down a year ago, and they pour money into Goldman Sachs and these killer sharks walk away with a hundred billion in bonuses, and meanwhile guys are losing their shirts in the dairy business. What's the deal there?"
"There is a lot of human nature involved in economics, so if you are an idealist, you should take up astronomy," I tell him.
"I'm serious," he says. "You drive out west of here and you see headlights in the fields at midnight, guys putting in 16-hour days combining beans, and back east you've got people in offices with a phone in each hand, moving money around, not creating a damn thing, just playing a game, and the government can't do enough for them. Where's the fairness in that?"
"I saw your beautiful wife the other day and she looks 10 years younger," I say. "She said that you two can't keep your hands off each other. Good for you. And how about those Vikings and Brett Favre? Six and oh. Life is good. And how about those maple trees? Have you ever seen such colors?"
"This country is skidding toward disaster and the guy you elected president has his foot on the gas."
"You need to get out and walk more, Earl," I tell him, "and not sit and brood about interest rates. Life is too short to be unhappy."
Ah, I see. When Keillor talks about the "old grumblers I drink cheap coffee with", he means republicans. Just settle down, you old coots. We've got the ball now.
I hate holding a grudge, but it's hard to resist when I'm being condescended to. Are these the same people who were telling us recently that the highest form of patriotism is expressing dissent? Or was that Bush Derangement Syndrome at work?
Wednesday, October 21, 2009
One day at the convenience store
You haven't been drunk until you've been this drunk.
Saturday, October 17, 2009
ARTC on PBA Atlanta
Atlanta Radio Theatre Company
The popularity of radio theatre waned with the advent of television, but a group of actors, writers, and sound technicians in Atlanta is maintaining this largely forgotten art form.
The Atlanta Radio Theatre Company (or ARTC, pronounced “Art-see”) has entertained, amused, thrilled, and terrified audio drama enthusiasts since 1984. Although specializing in horror and science fiction, ARTC shows its mastery of the art and craft of audio drama in any number of genres. Bill Ritch, the group’s president, says the appeal of radio theatre lies in the storytelling tradition. ARTC is just spinning a spooky tale around the campfire, so to speak, but with sound effects!
ARTC shows have been featured on a number of radio stations in Atlanta, but currently the best way to experience them is via CD or podcast. Or, for the full-on ARTC experience, you can attend one of their live shows at Stage Door Players in Dunwoody. There, you can see just how they craft their sound effects and manipulate microphone placement to achieve their atmospheric audioscapes and create adventures in sound.
Hey, Mom, I'm on TV!
Actually, these days, our live shows are at the Academy Theatre in Avondale Estates. In fact, there's one coming up this Saturday and Sunday, and you should drop everything and head over there. Right now. Hey, you want a good seat, right?
Friday, October 16, 2009
Thursday, October 15, 2009
Sunday, October 11, 2009
Welcome to the loyal opposition: Glad to have you
All I can say is: the president gave a speech he could have given at any point in the last three years. No one in that room could disagree with any of the things he said. I sure don't (with the exception of the hate crimes hooey). And he said it well and movingly. Like we didn't know he could do that.
But the point of electing a president who pledged to actually do things is to hold him to account, and to see if he is willing to take any risk of any kind to actually do something. I had a few prior tests of his seriousness or signs that he gets it, a few ways to judge if this speech had anything new or specific or clear. He failed every test.
It does not please me to see the President's support base question his ability to deliver on his promises, or his will to do so. I feel no victory, no compulsion to shout "I told you so".
God knows Obama has plenty on his plate. Around about the time the banks started failing, he must have looked at his campaign advisors and said, "Somebody remind me why I wanted this job." I would think that Gay Rights would be rather low on his priorities just now. But Andrew Sullivan is surely right to be disappointed that even Joe Solmonese (chair of the Human Rights Campaign) does not intend to hold the President's feet to the fire on the subject.
Tuesday, September 29, 2009
Chock full of awesome
Okay, here are the raw facts:
UQAM: University of Quebec at Montreal.
Soundtrack: Black Eyed Peas, "I Gotta Feeling."
Cast: 172 communications majors.
Takes: ONE.
PLUS: Six more one-take wonders, including That Honda Commercial.
Monday, September 28, 2009
Friday, September 25, 2009
A letter to someone
Tuesday, September 22, 2009
The lost city of Atlantis-- er, Atlanta
I've been trying to place this intersection more precisely than "downtown connector", without success. Can anyone tell me where this is?
Sunday, September 20, 2009
Saturday, September 19, 2009
Tuesday, September 15, 2009
Sunday, September 13, 2009
ARTC at DragonCon 2009, continued
This is ARTC's Sunday night show at DragonCon 2009. This is "Rory Rammer: Enemies Within" and "Omnilingual", in the Hyatt Regency's Regency Ballroom. (No, I don't stutter.) Again, we did not FILL the ballroom, but the house wasn't much smaller than Saturday's show. We appreciate that even more, since due to a communications snafu many of our attendees were expecting "Call of Cthulhu".
ARTC at DragonCon 2009
This is a slightly color- and exposure-corrected shot of ARTC's Saturday night show at DragonCon 2009. This is "Call of Cthulhu", in the Marriott Marquis' Atrium Ballroom. We did not FILL the ballroom, but I'd estimate at least 500 in attendance, and we appreciate every one of them.
Thursday, September 03, 2009
Weddings are supposed to be joyful
This is what nerves do to otherwise calm and confident people.
Monday, August 31, 2009
Atlanta schools soft on cheats?
Keylina Clark was puzzled when her son told her shortly after taking state standardized tests last year that he knew he’d passed.
Dequayvious struggled mightily in school. His Blalock Elementary report cards said he was below grade level in reading and math. Then the second-grader explained his confidence: A test proctor gave him answers, he said. Clark believed him.
Atlanta Public Schools, however, apparently did not. Though two other students supported the boy’s claim, the district marked the complaint unsubstantiated.
Considering the hundreds of thousands of test-takers each year, formal complaints about test cheats are relatively rare.
The Atlanta district, however, has received more such claims given its size than any of the five other large metro districts, an AJC investigation shows. The newspaper also found the district’s handling of 20 cheating complaints in three school years raises questions about how it polices its educators.
Atlanta’s investigations differed from those of its metro peers in key ways, the AJC found. Investigators sometimes left allegations unresolved, turning up fresh questions about suspected irregularities but never scrutinizing them. The district was more likely to mark complaints unsubstantiated. Fewer teachers stepped forward to help investigators and more complaints were anonymous, making eye-witnesses harder to find.
And in three years, records show, just two teachers left after the district found cheating. Departures were more frequent in Cobb, Fulton and DeKalb.
APS cheating questions fall on Superintendent Beverly Hall
AJC investigative reporter Heather Vogell’s story in the weekend AJC raises troubling questions about the response of Atlanta Public Schools to CRCT cheating complaints. Vogell compares Atlanta’s responses and protocols to those of other districts.
APS does not fare well in the comparison.
For instance, Atlanta logged 20 internal complaints of testing misconduct over the past three school years.
Compared to other metro systems, Atlanta sometimes left allegations unresolved, turning up fresh questions about suspected irregularities but never scrutinizing them, according to Vogell’s report.
The district was more likely to mark complaints unsubstantiated. Fewer teachers stepped forward to help investigators and more complaints were anonymous, making eyewitnesses harder to find.
Over three years, Vogell found that the district began termination proceedings against just two teachers after cheating was found. Departures were more common in Cobb, Fulton and DeKalb.
In Cobb County, educators appeared quick to report potential problems with testing protocol. When the district determined a serious breach was committed, the outcome was often severe: Five teachers resigned over the three years.
DeKalb and Fulton reported fewer complaints, but also stiff consequences for serious misconduct. Seven educators left as a result of 17 investigations in the two counties. Gwinnett had one resignation. Clayton reported few complaints and no departures.
In Atlanta, one of the teachers who left after after an investigation had been disciplined for an earlier testing rule offense.
CRCT cheating is in the news because of a state probe suggesting cheating occurred in schools in four districts, including one APS school. APS Superintendent Beverly Hall has challenged the state Board of Education’s decision to discard results from last summer’s fifth-grade CRCT math retests at Atlanta’s Deerwood Academy.
The state school board ruled against Deerwood and three other Georgia schools after an audit by the Governor’s Office of Student Achievement found evidence of an abnormal number of erasures on the tests. The state investigation followed an analysis by The Atlanta Journal-Constitution in December about improbably steep gains at some schools on tests taken first in spring and then in summer.
Hall defended Deerwood and hired her own investigator who concluded that “irregularities” in the school’s testing process stemmed from negligent record keeping, laziness and not following the rules rather than deliberate cheating.
Hall’s reaction raised questions about whether APS is willing to honestly confront CRCT cheating complaints. Vogell’s story is likely to prompt more questions.
Four strings good, six strings bad
BBC NEWS | Entertainment | My Prom debut... on the ukulele: "Musician Jim Simmons signed up to join a chorus of 1,000 ukulele players at the Royal Albert Hall for the BBC Proms. But how did it sound?""It probably wasn't the most beautiful noise ever to have come out of the proms but it was a joyful experience."
Sunday, August 30, 2009
Thursday, August 27, 2009
Worst Line Reading Ever
Ryan O'Neal in "Tough Guys Don't Dance". Do we blame the writer, the actor, or the director?
Wednesday, August 26, 2009
Remember the NCIS cameo?
If you're a-hankerin' for something to keep the dust down, Woot!'s deal today is a Roomba for $129.
Tuesday, August 25, 2009
Saturday, August 22, 2009
Thursday, August 20, 2009
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.Tuesday, August 18, 2009
Why I "friended" Sarah Palin
Monday, August 17, 2009
Everything Old is New
AJC: School uniforms: The look of change in ’09:When the new school year started last week, students at Gwinnett County’s Simonton Elementary had a new look - a uniform look.
Hannah Montana T-shirts, blue jeans and sandals were out, replaced by collared shirts in black, yellow and white with coordinating shorts, skirts and slacks and closed-toe shoes.
Miles away in Clayton County, the trend toward uniform dress, which was already in the elementary and middle schools, became the countywide standard as it moved into the high schools.
Friday, August 14, 2009
Wednesday, August 12, 2009
Actually, it was Virus X
No, man, Kryptonian appendixes (appendices?) don't get appendicitis. They have powers and abilities far beyond those of mortal appendices.
Tuesday, August 11, 2009
Solar traffic control, fender-bender at Saturn
Monday, August 10, 2009
Sunday, August 02, 2009
Crisis on Infinite Blogs
Saturday, August 01, 2009
Bobby McFerrin and the Pentatonic Scale
World Science Festival 2009: Bobby McFerrin Demonstrates the Power of the Pentatonic Scale from World Science Festival on Vimeo.
Wednesday, July 15, 2009
Wednesday, June 10, 2009
Monday, June 08, 2009
Saturday, June 06, 2009
D-Day was 65 years ago today
The order from General Dwight D. Eisenhower:Soldiers, sailors, and airmen of the Allied expeditionary force: You are about to embark upon a great crusade toward which we have striven these many months. The eyes of the world are upon you. The hopes and prayers of liberty-loving peoples everywhere march with you.Your children and neighbors thank you for this priceless service.
You will bring about the destruction of the German war machine, the elimination of Nazi tyranny over the oppressed peoples of Europe, and security for ourselves in a free world.
Tuesday, May 19, 2009
Sunday, May 17, 2009
Il Pianeta Proibito
Isn't Leslie Nielsen just so... Leslie Nielsen?
Doesn't the Italian title sound so... provocative?
(More posters at Jon's Random Acts of Geekery.)
Tuesday, May 05, 2009
Monday, April 20, 2009
Monday, April 06, 2009
Fantasies are healthy, right?
ADDENDUM: Well, actually, in Superman v2 #130, there was this Halloween party...
Thursday, April 02, 2009
Tuesday, March 31, 2009
Wednesday, March 25, 2009
Sunday, March 22, 2009
International Talk Like William Shatner Day
Extra credit: Practice along with "Rocket Man".
Tuesday, March 17, 2009
Oh, no, not another conspiracy
For the past two years, several hundred left-leaning bloggers, political reporters, magazine writers, policy wonks and academics have talked stories and compared notes in an off-the-record online meeting space called JournoList.As I say, I saw that report. I've seen an ever-increasing number of bloggers spreading the word.
I've even read Ezra Klein's description of what JournoList is. He's the founder and organizer, if that's not too strong a word to use for a listserv mailing list. (In my own experience moderating mailing lists, I "organize" them only in the sense that the person who cleans out a litter box "organizes" it.)
Having read and digested this...Well, actually, I'm thinking I shouldn't use the word "digested" so soon after talking about a litter box. But I believe I've arrived at a reasoned, reasonable reaction: So what?
Klein said:
The idea, then as now, was to foster a safe space where policy experts, academics, and journalists could freely talk through issues, bringing up the questions they considered urgent and the information they thought important, with the result being a more informed commentariat. It's been of immense value to me, and through that, of value to my readers.This all sounds eminently reasonable. It's the 21st century equivalent of going out to the corner bar after work, granted more importance than it deserves because it's On The Internet.
As for sinister implications, is it "secret?" No. Is it off-the-record? Yes. The point is to create a space where experts feel comfortable offering informal analysis and testing out ideas.
(Oh: The photo has nothing to do with this story. I just thought it was purty.)
Tuesday, March 10, 2009
Our newspapers is still failing
| RealClearPolitics | Time | |
| 1 | Seattle Post-Intelligencer | Philadelphia Daily News |
| 2 | Rocky Mountain News | Minneapolis Star Tribune |
| 3 | Philadelphia Daily News | Miami Herald |
| 4 | Miami Herald | Detroit News |
| 5 | San Francisco Chronicle | Boston Globe |
| 6 | Detroit News | San Francisco Chronicle |
| 7 | Chicago Sun-Times | Chicago Sun-Times |
| 8 | St. Paul Pioneer Press | New York Daily News |
| 9 | Los Angeles Times | Fort Worth Star-Telegram |
| 10 | New York Daily News | Cleveland Plain Dealer |
Friday, March 06, 2009
Friday, February 27, 2009
My wife...I think I'll keep her
Thursday, February 26, 2009
Tuesday, February 24, 2009
Overwhelming support
Daily Kos ! President Obama addresses the nationDear Daily Kos:
As we (eagerly!) await President Obama's first address to the nation, take a look at how the clown pundits (mostly conservatives, but even a few from the MSM) tried to spin the speech. Fortunately, nobody seems to agree with them -- the American public overwhelmingly supports the Obama Administration's economic recovery efforts.
52 to 48 is not "overwhelming support". It is a majority barely larger than the margin of error. Please try to keep that in mind. God knows you didn't have any trouble remembering it in 2000 and 2004.
Hugs and kisses,
Folks who can still add
Monday, February 23, 2009
Monday, February 16, 2009
Counterfeit trash bags
Those are words I never thought anyone would have an opportunity to use together. What a country!Yahoo News - Mass. city misspells 'offcial' to catch bag cheatsI'm pretty sure I shouldn't look this up and find out why Gloucester, Mass requires its subjects to use $2 trash bags. Or why they're even worried about counterfeit trash bags. But I did. And now I know. That's how they pay their trash collection fees.
GLOUCESTER, Mass. – No, managers with Gloucester's Public Works Department aren't idiots. They're just trying to catch cheats. When the Massachusetts city unveiled its new $2 purple trash bags that all residents must use when disposing of household waste, the word 'official' was deliberately spelled 'offcial.'
Recycling coordinator Kathy Middleton tells The Gloucester Daily Times the intentional misspelling is supposed to make it easier to catch people who try to counterfeit bags. Middleton says counterfeiting has been a problem in the past.
Wednesday, February 11, 2009
Is Our Newspapers Failing?
Washington Post | Are Too Many Newspaper Comic Polls a Sham?The writer, Michael Cavana, goes on to quote Stephan Pastis, creator of "Pearls Before Swine", which I hear is a comic strip of some kind:
It's the ugly little secret that, within the newspaper comics industry and among avid comics followers, is nobody's secret at all:
Namely, that the frequently used Newspaper Comics Reader Poll might be long-standing, but it is hardly upstanding. It has walked on the wrong side of the statistical tracks far too often, stirring so much scorn, skepticism and controversy that it might as well wear a scarlet "A" -- for "adulterated accuracy."
And that cheating appears to have pervaded not only the voting, but in the comments newspapers solicit about comic strips on their site. This would all be 'fun and games' but for the fact that many editors actually rely on these polls, and therefore, it determines our living.As if to highlight the importance of this, Cavana later talks to Frank Rizzo, the comics editor at the local fishwrapper, the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. As readers know, the AJC "recently polled readers online because it was trying to eliminate a half-page of comics." And they did. Now they publish an economical single page of comics at postage-stamp size.
It has always puzzled me that newspapers, while moaning about bad business and low readership, are so eager to stop doing things that no other medium does.
Tuesday, February 10, 2009
I dreamed I was an Obama girl
From Friday's New York Times, by Judith Warner:As we all know, in journalism, two anecdotes are just one short of a national trend. I figured that my friend and I couldn’t possibly be the only ones dreaming, brooding or otherwise obsessing about the Obamas. Were other people, I wondered, being possessed by our new first family?Ms Warner: Have you not read any newspapers in the last year and a half?
Sunday, February 01, 2009
"the only way to take Rush Limbaugh down"
And the Republican party having apparently forgotten what it's about, the most influential conservatives in the country may well be Rush Limbaugh and Sean Hannity. I get that too.
So, the Daily Kos' FreeSociety now suggests:
It is clear that Limbaugh is going to give Obama the "Clinton treatment" for the next 8* years, and worse, the GOP will in lockstep follow this same agenda and play the role of obstructionist to the core. It is clear that Obama counter-attacking Limbaugh, while helpful for his "base", will have no meaningful effect on this. It is clear that Democratic Party members counter-attacking Limbaugh, while evidence of "a pulse", will have no meaningful effect on this.A significant percentage of voters were unable to tell the difference between Tina Fey's caricature and the actual Sarah Palin. (Quotes attributed to Palin were actually uttered by Tina Fey, among them the infamous "I can see Russia from my house.") I'm not sure if that's due to "brilliant satire", wishful thinking, or just dumb luck, but OK. Let that go.
But one thing will: Humor/satire
Recall that the one time when Limbaugh faced a little dip in his popularity, and the Democrats unexpectedly averted losing more seats in 1996, and 1998, came after Al Franken's book "Rush Limbaugh Is A Big Fat Idiot" had gained significant public attention.
Recall, also that Obama had indeed fallen behind John McCain in the polls, once Sarah Palin was picked, and that she was initially very popular. The Corporate Media could have easily overlooked and ignored her poor performance in a couple of interviews (as they had also happily done on behalf of Bush Jr., Cheney, and McCain himself), had it not been for the totally unexpected phenomena of Tina Fey's brilliant satire that then became the story, like a runaway train and impossible to stop.
I have to say, though, that this explains a lot of what I heard on Air America. Six hours of airtime were devoted to two comedians (Janeane Garofalo and Al Franken) who weren't trying to be funny.
* Optimist.
Friday, January 30, 2009
Plagio
Plagio ("Plagiarism")
I see "lobotomized monkeys" is on its way to becoming a recurring motif...
Tuesday, January 20, 2009
Couldn't let it go, could you?
Inaugural Attendees Chant 'Hey, Hey, Goodbye' to Bush Chopper [NewsBusters]See also:
[Article links to video from MSNBC. Below is a reader comment from the same page.]
Libs who keep whining about why conservies aren't accepting Obama, they need to stop and think about this.
After eight years of full-blown hate toward the president, saying he killed black people in New Orleans, accusing Republicans of stealing an election, accusing our military of genocide, making movies that fantacize the president being killed, wishing Dick Cheney had died in Iraq, showing up in Denver screaming "kill Michelle Malkin," hanging Sarah Palin in effigy, throwing projectiles at Ann Coulter, banning the military from public soil, and invading the House to approach Condi Rice with blood on your hands....
All the sudden that's all in the past and we're supposed to be friends.
Excuse us for being a bit skittish, but we have reason to fear the left and have no desire to lump ourselves together.
Sorry, Everybody (2004)
Apologies Accepted (2004)
Hello, Everybody (2008)
From 52 to 48 with Love (2008)
What's my point? In every aspect of politics -- which is to say, throughout human society -- there will exist people who cannot see that they have become what they profess to hate.
I am encouraged by my inability to find any video of this disgraceful behavior from any source other than MSNBC. I strongly suspect it was a relatively small percentage of attendees who couldn't stop themselves from breaking out in song (and booing the outgoing President when he appeared). But, I mean, good for Chris Mathews and Keith Olbermann for expressing disapproval -- but you still aired it, dudes.
Congratulations and good luck, President Obama.
Thank you, President Bush.
Monday, January 19, 2009
Is it just me...?
Is it excessively disrespectful to the office to depict the sitting President in this manner?(Perhaps, given the room in which we might find this if it were functional, "sitting President" might not be my best choice of words.)
I depend on my friends to tell me when I'm mistaken, and I honestly want to know: Have those who disagree politically with the President and the party to which he belongs crossed a line here?
Sunday, January 18, 2009
I was just asking myself...
...whatever happened to Olivia Newton-John?And presto, hither cometh the Daily Mail to tell me.
Go ahead, click on the picture. The original image is pretty big. There are a few faint laugh lines around her eyes, but all things considered she looks pretty good for being 60 years old.
Saturday, January 17, 2009
Obamicon yourself
...like I did.LATER: I think it may take a much more handsome person than me to look good this way.
Thursday, December 18, 2008
Tuesday, December 16, 2008
Extremely belated disclaimer
- I really did only just now read it, so any similarities of my account to his are wholly coincidental, save that there are only so many things one can say about "HE'S GOING TO STICK A TUBE 17,000 FEET UP YOUR BUTT!"
- Okay, the tube is actually about two meters long. I started to say "only two meters", but there is no such thing as "only two meters" when it's going... where it's going.
- Nobody told me you could spike the nuclear laxative with vodka. I don't drink, but I might have been tempted to start had I known.
- I think my favorite sentence must be this: "And then, when you figure you must be totally empty, you have to drink another liter of MoviPrep, at which point, as far as I can tell, your bowels travel into the future and start eliminating food that you have not even eaten yet."