What's Up, Doc?

After the popularity of my simple mention of that other Looney Tunes quote, I thought I would be remiss not to capture some of the greats. Bugs is, of course, most famous for his quote "What's up, Doc?"

You can get the wav file at the dailywav.com.
Of course, there is always the classic What's Opera, Doc?
And if you like that, you might like The Rabbit of Seville.

A little Looney Tunes is always good for the soul. Now don't you feel better?

Showing My Irish

Thanks to Pam I ran across The Booze Test. The amusing part is that I don't drink. I just have a lot of alcohol related trivia in my head. It's been there since I was very young so I think it's genetic memory.

79%LUSH

Why Was There No Science Fiction/Fantasy Category?

What Be Your Nerd Type? Your Result: Literature Nerd Does sitting by a nice cozy fire, with a cup of hot tea/chocolate, and a book you can read for hours even when your eyes grow red and dry and you look sort of scary sitting there with your insomniac appearance? Then you fit this category perfectly! You love the power of the written word and it's eloquence; and you may like to read/write poetry or novels. You contribute to the smart people of today's society, however you can probably be overly-critical of works. It's okay. I understand.
Drama Nerd
Artistic Nerd
Social Nerd
Science/Math Nerd
Gamer/Computer Nerd
Musician
Anime Nerd
What Be Your Nerd Type? Quizzes for MySpace

Oh My

Ultimate 2008 Presidential Candidate Matcher Your Result: Hillary Clinton Hillary Clinton is liberal on social issues, including support for civil unions for gays and abortion rights. She is centrist on other issues, for example on foreign policy and immigration. Clinton wants to reform healthcare, protect the social security program, and fund stem cell research.
John Edwards
Barack Obama
Dennis Kucinich
Rudy Guiliani
John McCain
Ron Paul
Mitt Romney
Ultimate 2008 Presidential Candidate Matcher Take More Quizzes

New Design on The Pith Stop

In case you don't get The Pith Stop Newsletter, there is a new product available in the Holiday Style section. What would you do if Santa left you in charge?

We think that this is a great t-shirt for Christmas morning (it even comes in red with white lettering). Or you could buy the greeting cards. Or, if you really want to get into the spirit, grab the tote bag and start gathering those toys!

Shout Out to the Wild and Crazy Guy

I just searched TTGSiMH for references to Steve Martin and see that I have been woefully sparse in my nods to one of my favorite comedians. How favorite? There was a time when I could quote about 90% of his albums verbatim (if you exclude The Steve Martin Brothers, we didn't have that one). I got the Martin bug from my brother (they were originally his albums) and passed it along to my sister (for awhile we could quote an entire album IN UNISON - that's some scary stuff right there).

Steve has always helped me out. I remember I had to do a monologue in drama class but instead of preparing I just jumped on stage and started with some of the cleaner stuff and kept going until they called time. I even used that little wrist twitch/cuff straightening thing in my performance (plus miming drinking from a glass then swirling the liquid and compulsively setting it down and picking it up while I talked) but I doubt that anyone got it.

I don't listen to my Martin like I used to - the albums were in VINYL, people! But I did get "A Wild and Crazy Guy" on CD a couple of years ago and have spun it a few times. (I actually like "Comedy is Not Pretty" quite a bit - I love Cruel Shoes - and should get that one on CD, too.) I added his website to my sidebar awhile back when I ran across it. I read "Shopgirl" a couple of years ago. I've seen most of his movies, even "Bringing Down the House."

Basically I am quietly, consistently, and insistently a fan. But I was always a fan especially of his stand up. I still use some of his lines on a semi-regular basis (Fred's Bank, I break with thee, I remember now - I'm radioactive!) so I'm delighted that he has released the autobiography "Born Standing Up" which chronicles the years up to when he quit stand-up in 1981. In the foreword he pens, "In a sense this book is not an autobiography but a biography, because I am writing about someone I used to know.”

Tell us more, Steve, tell us more.

11/29/07 Update: I got a hit as related content from The Washington Post. I've made the big time, baby!

Must Love Sehlats

If you love Classic Star Trek like I love Classic Star Trek then you must go check out this list of Star Trek's 10 Cheesiest Classic Creatures. The writing from Lore that goes along with it is delightful. My favorite line was about the Neural Parasite, "kind of like Borg without the fashion sense." I also appreciated the phrasing of the Tribble power "making Klingons edgy."

People, you wouldn't like me when I'm edgy!!!

No, Sehlats aren't on the list, but the title popped into my head as soon I started this post. I'm considering making that my new blog slogan.

Virtual Tranquility on the Road to Nerdvana

Once you've achieved virtual job satisfaction, virtual love and virtual wealth, what if you still feel an emptiness in your soul? You could go on a quest to find inner peace, but you'd probably miss Heroes. Instead, let us seek inner peace for you! We will post a series of increasingly insightful questions to philosophical and religious discussion groups in your name, then move on to a number of posts on your blog about the futility of seeking wealth and achievement when the true elements of serenity are within. Finally, for a nominal additional fee, your virtual self will achieve true tranquility and leave the web forever, never to post again. ~ Lore@Wired

Take This Pink Ribbon Off My Eyes*

You Are 16% Girly

Um... you're a guy, right? If not, you're the most boyish girl in the world. And for you, that's probably the ultimate compliment.

How Girly Are You?

Ok, so I was a tomboy and a geek. I can throw a football like a boy. But I was ALSO a baton twirler in an honest-to-goodness small-southern-town parade. If that doesn't give you girl points I don't know what does.

*Props to anyone who recognized the post title as the first line in No Doubt's "I'm Just a Girl."

You Are 56% Lady

You're part lady, part modern woman. Etiquette is important to you, but you brush aside rules that are outdated or silly.

Are You A Lady?

Mirrors in Mirrors

I was just over at Technorati looking at the top search terms for the day. How can "Google" be on it? Are people... googling Google? I mean, it's been a VERB for at least five years*. How can there be people out there still looking for it? Am I missing something?

*Jennifer Lopez used it as a verb in Maid in Manhatten in 2002. Can you get any more mainstream than that?

I Love Movies

Searching on ye olde TTGSiMH I'm surprised by how *few* times I mention IMDB. I give them twelve bucks each month to have access to IMDBpro and my husband says that I'm the only person he knows that could need it. I research movies, tv shows, actors, screenwriters, and directors. Why? Well, because I like it. I might be prompted by a movie on tv, a question from a friend, or an ad for something that is coming out. I think that this obsession is left over from an interest in Hollywood, and especially screenwriting, in my youth.

Of course, at this point I'm not sure how much the "pro" version is getting me. Are these really things I want to know more about? Looking at the list of "in production" movies I found the following:

High School Musical 3
Status: Pre-Production
That information polluted my brain. Now I've given it to you.

Star Trek
Status: Filming
I love Star Trek. I even like Winona Ryder well enough. But anything with Winona Ryder playing Amanda Grayson can't be good. Can't. Be. Good.

Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull
Status: Post-Production
Harrison Ford is 65. To give you some perspective on that, Sean Connery was 59 when they did The Last Crusade. (Connery is only 12 years older than Ford, by the way.) It's just... Harrison Ford is 65. Shia LaBeouf is sufficiently geeky to get props from the TTGSiMH, but nothing in Transformers told me that he's an action hero. And he's certainly no Indiana Jones. And... Harrison Ford is 65.

The Dark Knight
Status: Post-Production
They sufficiently impressed us with Batman Begins that I'm sure we'll be catching this one in the theaters. But... Heath Ledger as the Joker? Really? If you pull this off, Heath, you will have proven to be a better actor than I thought you were.

Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince
Status: Filming
My interest in the movies petered out just like my interest in the books did. At this point I just look forward to seeing Hans F'ing Gruber in all of them. (Props to Kevin Smith from the Dogma extras.)

(Betcha never thought you'd see a connection between Harry Potter and Kevin Smith, huh?)

Iron Man
Status: Post-Production
My comic book fan friends are all atwitter about this one. I'm still back at 'Robert Downey, Jr. as a comic book hero? Seriously?' The one preview that we've seen actually increased my interest ('Oh, ok, maybe I can see it') and decreased my friends' interest.

Twilight
Status: Pre-production
Good news? Vampire movie! Bad news? Vampire movie. Back in our twenties we went on a quest to see ALL of the vampire movies. It was a noble quest. But like all quests it resulted in some wounds for the heroes... like seeing Wings Hauser as a vampire. That's all I can say. I CAN'T TALK ABOUT IT!

How about you? Do you love movies?

Geek Interior Design

"Right now my office looks like a bookstore exploded in it, and then an electronics store was dropped on it to smother the flames." ~ John Scalzi

Our house? Yeah, it's something like that.

Welcome to Wikiality - The Illustrated Version

The WikiWorld project entertains me to no end. I stumbled across the project by way of the Thagomizer (in and of itself a very entertaining story, passed along by Chip from Science Fiction Brewed Daily). I'm delighted that this image features Spock, that they've captured the sport of Extreme Ironing, and commemorated the Five Second Rule.

If you were going to illustrate a piece of Wikiality, which one would you choose?

I think that I would have to go for a blend of philosophers and comedians. And the people who combine the two into philosotainment. For all I know Scott Adams coined the term, but I don't think that he is the first practitioner. For instance, Will Rogers and Steve Martin jump to mind.

Soogle Strikes Again - Recent Searches Solved

People come here looking for information and I feel bad when they don't get what they're looking for. To satisfy my need to make sure they can get that information in the future I will put some of those answers in this post, just in case someone else needs that information in the future.

Joe Sumner's birthday: November 23, 1976 (Wikipedia)

Scooby Doo Leather Bomber Jacket: I don't know why they clicked here when the first hit was this great jacket at The Character Store. I need one of these!

ISTP Women: You're looking for some, or you are one? I'm not sure. Since I have some female ISTP friends I assume that you, like them, are looking for advice on how to handle the unique challenge of being one. According to murraystate.edu:

There are dramatic gender differences between male and female ISTPs. So much of the ISTP's drive and gratification is related to activities traditionally associated with the male. Contact sports, heavy equipment, auto racing, carpentry, and other adrenaline-driving occupations are exciting and rewarding for the ISTP. Obviously, ISTP women who have the same tactile skills and satisfactions will be seen as tomboyish if they act on them.

The ISTP female who seeks more traditional channels for her preferences, such as homemaking, business, and accounting, may adhere to a more conventional female model while satisfying her need for immediate, tangible rewards. Life presents many demands for hands-on professional skills, which are sexually neutral as far as society is concerned. The ISTP female has many opportunities to fulfill her aspirations in the workplace and feels no less than 100 percent female in doing so. Problems are far more likely to arise in the social sphere. Cool, aloof, and socially cautious behavior combined with an interest in manual skills and activities may make people ill at ease with the ISTP girl or woman. Moreover, if she excels in any such activities, she can be downright threatening to her friends, partners, or colleagues.

My advice? "Be who you are and say what you feel, because those who mind don't matter and those who matter don't mind." ~Dr. Seuss

Ways to Get Free Neocash: Why click here when you can click on FreeNeoCash.com? They have advice on how to use Gaming Lagoon.

The oddest recent search was for "liberalism in groundhog day movie." I'm not even sure what they were looking for... All I can say is "Don't drive angry!" :)

There were also a lot of hits for the Hooloovoo and that Looney Tunes quote, so thank goodness I had those answers already available!

When Life Hands You Lemons...

This item fascinates me:

...the Reticular Activating System (RAS) ...responds to stimuli like food, or social contact. For example, it controls the amount of saliva you produce in response to food. A good food stimulus is lemon juice. Squeezing lemon juice on to your tongue makes your mouth water, and it does this because your RAS is responding to the lemon juice.

Scientists now think introverts have increased activity in their RAS and therefore increased production of saliva. The theory is that the RAS in introverts has a high level of activity, even when it isn’t being stimulated. So it only needs a small stimulus to produce a large response. This means that introverts are likely to produce a large amount of saliva in response to lemon juice. But because the RAS also reacts to social contact, introverts react more strongly to meeting people too.

In extraverts, on the other hand, there is a low level of activity in the RAS when it isn’t stimulated, so they require a much larger stimulus to generate a response. So they usually produce less saliva in response to lemon juice than introverts, but are more comfortable with social contact. ~ BBC, Lemon juice experiment

The fact that there is a physiological difference in response between introverts and extroverts! So, no, we can't just "get over" our aversion to too much social stimulation.

12/4/07: I thought that these articles on Differential Psychology (with studies related to extroversion, intelligence, and neural efficiency) were a good follow-up.

What Is Success?

suc·cess (sək-sěs')
n.

1. The achievement of something desired, planned, or attempted: attributed their success in business to hard work.
2. 1. The gaining of fame or prosperity: an artist spoiled by success.
   2. The extent of such gain.
3. One that is successful: The plan was a success.

Do you feel successful? How do you measure it? Is it short-term or long-term success? Are you fulfilling your potential? Do you have a sense of purpose?

These are the sorts of questions that bother me constantly. My library of books on the subject is rather extensive. A sampling of some of my favorites includes: Finding Your Own North Star, The Success Principles, The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People, Unlimited Power, and Live the Life You Love.

One of the better exercises that I've found lately was Steve Pavlina's How to discover your life purpose in about 20 minutes. It didn't take me 20 minutes, and it wasn't much of a surprise. The only surprise might be to people who know me but don't really know me.

But with my rather extensive knowledge of success literature, do I feel successful? No, not really. I feel rather proficient at short-term results but have not achieved long-term goals. I have what achieved what Martha Beck would say is success on my social self's terms, not my essential self.

What have you achieved that you valued most in this life? What have you put energy into that seems wasted?

If you want an example of why it's important to seek your dreams, and not waste your time, watch this "last lecture" from Randy Pausch.

Mississippi Swamp Frog Done Good

My childhood was deeply tied to the genius of the Muppets. Sesame Street, The Muppets, the movies, the records. I loved it all. I totally *got* the Snuffleupagus, adored Oscar, loved the Cookie Monster, and believed that the Sesame Street neighborhood and their friendships were the way things were supposed to be. I loved the Count and Bert and Ernie... Ok, like I said, I loved it all. And The Muppets! Brilliant. My favorite bit was probably "Pigs in Space!!!!" and I was definitely a Miss Piggy fan. I loved Fozzy and Gonzo. And through it ALL we had Kermie.


On the good news front of life, then, is that the first season of Sesame Street has been released on DVD. I've been looking forward to seeing it because I knew that the ever-progressive Mississippi had banned the show when it first came out. What I hadn't known was that Kermit the Frog was from there! Yes! He is a Mississippi swamp frog! Now, of course, he is considered a favored son. There's nothing like international fame to make your home town love you. (Jim Henson is from there, too, by the way. I wonder if that's how he and Kermit met... Yes, I'm joking, I'm JOKING!)

I miss the swamps of Mississippi when I'm in a dry climate like Phoenix. (That was the city that made me coin the short-hand response on how I liked dry weather: "Sorry, I'm a swamp baby!" My answer to "But it's a dry heat" is "Yeah, that's the problem!") Maybe some time Kermie and I can hang out down yonder and enjoy the humid weather together.

You Be the Judge

I'm Stuffed!

You Are The Stuffing

You're complicated and complex, yet all your pieces fit together. People miss you if you're gone - but they're not sure why.

What Part of Thanksgiving Are You?

Actually I'm usually not sure why.

What Holiday Are You?

Heh-heh. How appropriate. I'm sure I missed something dorky and sweet like Christmas or Valentines by only a little bit, though. My cookie baking repertoire, party hosting tendency, and holiday newsletter background indicates that there is a bit more to me than black cats and pumpkins. However much I may love black cats and pumpkins...

You Are Halloween

You are a dramatic, wild, and even weird person. The dark side of life fascinates you, and you enjoy being a little terrified. You enjoy the hidden sides of life. You are interested in what lurks deep in people's hearts. You are playful and creative. You enjoy pretending you're someone else. What makes you celebrate: Anything bizarre, unusual, or freaky. At holiday get togethers, you do best as: The entertainer. You really like to get into the mood of the holidays. On a holiday, you're the one most likely to: Insist on a theme party of some sort.

What Holiday Are You?

They are definitely spot on with the "theme" and "entertainment" things. And bizarre, unusual and freaky? Just because I want to do a medieval Christmas?

Obsess much?

I get quite a few hits from Google on people who are really looking for advice on obsessive thoughts. And this morning I realized: I named my blog "Thoughts That Get Stuck in My Head" and my brothers used to have a band called "Obsessive Behavior." Perhaps it will not strike you as odd that the first time I read the play "You Can't Take It With You" I thought that the Sycamores were my kind of people.

Thinking about "Obsessive Behavior" reminded me of the t-shirt I designed for them back in the 80s. It had a Lichtenstein type blonde saying, "Doctor! I seem to be exhibiting Obsessive Behavior!" Because, see, if you wear the t-shirt then... you're exhibiting... oh, never mind. I liked it.

Yep, Deanna Troi Again...

Your Personality Type: Counselor

Your interactive orientation, emotional strength, and acceptance of others make you the Counselor. You are the kind of person that friends and strangers alike turn to in times of need - you are never judgmental, and you always know the right thing to say. You reflect thoughtfully on the issues at hand, and don't give up until you reach some kind of insight or creative solution. Your interactions with others are characterized by warmth and caring, and your empathy and altruism do not go unnoticed. Your emotional stability and ability to give to others are gifts. The AMPM Test

Need Bigger Words

I was all happy with my High School Reading Level (below) but now I've found a blog with the reading level Genius.

Travel!

A month filled with travel was not the best pick for NaBloMoPo for me.

Part of My Perfect Life

The Territory Ahead. Seriously, a couple of sweaters from this place? Perfect.

Under the Sea

How can you not click on an article link called Finding Nemo's Cousin?

Music from the Police

As You Travel, So You Are

I'm heading back East today, which means a lot of time in
airports...and a lot of opportunities to people watch. I've done a
good bit of travel over the past ten years and I have concluded that
if you want to see who people really are - instead of, as Chris Rock
said, "their representative" - I suggest you meet them in the airport.
Due to the stress and time involved, most people get down to the bare
essentials. The entertaining part is their intepretation of that. I'm
in scummy jeans and wearing the same long-sleeved plain green t-shirt
and gray fleece that I flew out in. I've got on hiking boots and keep
putting my hair in a scrunchy ponytail and taking it out again. I have
many bretheren around me. Across from me is an attractive middle aged
lady in black pumps and pearls. She has on hose which I actively avoid
on a flight. (They melt onto your skin in a fire, you see. You can
never be too prepared for an emergency.) I have worn business clothes
on a flight before, but it was because I was going to go almost
directly into a meeting from the plane. It was under duress, believe
me. But here you can quickly distinguish between the business people
who wouldn't dream of "dressing down" and those who couldn't wait for
an excuse to put on something a little more comfortable. There are the
casually rich who have perfected the art of looking shabby chic, and
the aspiring lower to middle class who look vaguely uncomfortable in
the expensive clothes they bought and want to wear on their trip.

What do you travel in? What do you think it says about you? My clothes
scream that I'm wicked casual and I don't care about anyone's opinion
on it. Yeah, that's about right.

I Guess We Need to Publish Cliff Notes...

Tip o' the hat to Pam at Beancounters.

Anagramtastic

I was reading about Joe Sumner's band Fiction Plane on Wiki and they mentioned "Fiction Plane is an anagram of 'Infant Police', although Joe Sumner maintains that this is a coincidence." And I was like, "Oh, right, like he'd sit there working through all the... Wait a second. This is the age of the internet. How long could it take to find an Anagram Creator? Google yielded BlackDog in a split second. I put in "Infant Police" to see how many options I would get. It didn't auto count but it's... a lot. Most of them are utter nonsense, but let me share some of the options that sounded like other fun band names. I mean Sting's got five kids, Stewart has four and I think Andy has two. Someone else might need one of these.

First hit? Infantile cop. Funny.
Fiction Penal
Finance Pilot
Tinfoil Pecan
Action Elf Pin
Catnip Felon I (you know, in case the cat decides to launch a rap career)
Infant Pile Co.
Polite Fan Inc.
Ain't Elfin Cop
.... I give up. Out of hundreds it does look like Fiction Plane was the best choice.

I also tried "The Police" for the purists. And got better results, I thought.
Chile Poet (especially if another member is a somehow related to the Red Hot Chile Peppers)
Epoch Lite
Ethic Pole
Hotel Epic (could also serve as an Eagles reference)
Optic Heel (teaming up with a relative of Little Feet? this is your best best bet)
Celt Pie Ho (now that's just funny....)

They Said Go West...

The plane was dim and an in-flight movie flickered on the overhead screens. Up ahead in first class a silhouetted figure caught my attention. Reaching into the overhead bin, he was only a darker shadow in the gray. Except for the tiny red light blinking at his ear. Blue tooth? Earphones? I didn't know. But I felt with a certainty that the future had come. There was a cyborg on my flight.

The Police - Update

I found a review on ThePolice.com for the show last night. Although they have some points, some things require comment.

"When The Police last toured in 1984, the Internet was a foreign concept, gas cost $1.21 a gallon, yet Sting looked the same as he does today." Uh, no he doesn't. We just all aged at the same rate. As I said to my sister at his 2000 concert, "You know what shows our age? The fact that we still think he looks good." Yes, he's still a good looking guy. But an older good looking guy. He's bordering on distinguished, but he still has enough of a puckish glint in his eye - especially when he's NOT on stage - to let you know that in some ways he will stay a young rock star forever.

"...theirs is a show of cool professionalism - expertly delivered, filled with phenomenal musicianship but not much warmth." Really? I agree on the professionalism, but I was warmed down to my little toes. It could be because I'm such a huge fan. Or because I was back there soaking up Stewart's vibe.

"Copeland, a native Virginian, appeared to enjoy himself the most. Looking like a long-distance bicyclist in his sweatband and white gloves, Copeland showed off an athleticism behind his drum kit that is rarely seen - even holding his drumsticks the proper way (left wrist upward)." Native? Yes, born here. In Alexandria, just like me. But he grew up overseas from a very young age and went to college in California, so I'm not sure how "native" he would really be. I only grew up in in the Deep South and I feel like it affected my Virginianity. As Reese Witherspoon said in "Sweet Home Alabama," you should need a passport to go down there. I loved it, but it's different. I imagine the Middle East would be differenter. And as for the rest of it - that was typical, vintage Stewart. When I heard they were touring I wondered if his enthusiastic, athletic playing would have slowed down with age. Somehow, someway the answer is NO. And, yes, he's always been noted for holding his drumsticks "properly." Part of that serious musical background, I should think.

The Police

How was it? Well before the concert got started I had Sting under me... Heh-heh. No, really. We were seated at exit stage left, over a lower entrance to the 'backstage' of the arena, and he walked right underneath us while the warm-up band FictionPlane was playing. He paused to wave up at us. My sister had just stood up to step outside and almost got pushed off the balcony by the enthusiastic groupie behind us. "That could have worked," she said later. "I could have landed on top of him and have it not be my fault!" Alas, her natural dexterity worked against her and she kept her feet.

The best part of the show last night for me was that it was obviously for real Police fans. They skipped some radio favorites like "Spirits in the Material World" and played deeper cuts like "Invisible Sun," "One World is Enough," and my personal favoritest favorite "Driven to Tears." The only one that they skipped that I wish they had played was "Bring on the Night." I wasn't sure if they did that because Sting had pretty much commandeered it for his solo work in the late 80s.

In the years since they broke up the band Sting has certainly been the biggest pop sensation and easiest to follow, and I am admittedly a huge Sting fan. But I have also kept tabs on Andy and Stewart as well. It intrigued me that I was more glad to see Andy and Stewart in concert, I am assuming at least partially because I hadn't had the privilege before. I didn't "get into" The Police until the Synchronicity album and was about 13 when they broke up. (I didn't go to a concert at all until I was 30, a birthday gift from my husband for the 2000 Sting tour.) Once I was "into" them, though, I was very, very seriously into them. All of the albums, tons of bios and articles and picture books. I read Jung and Koestler. I considered buying the Klark Kent album... In the fun kitsch department I have a Synchronicity beach towel and black satin jacket.

At first I wasn't sure that our seats were going to be satisfying (the prices were outrageous for a "good" seat). But first we had the up close Sting sighting. Then it became obvious that our seats gave us an intimate sort of "back stage" (or at least side stage) view of the band. From a proximity perspective this was the closest I've ever been to the stage and we could actually see what Stewart was doing (including the two times he bonked the cameraman).

Further entertainment happened today when the alarm went off and the morning DJs were talking about the concert. One of them, who is also something of a local musician, was marveling at their vintage guitars and the fact that they could actually, like, PLAY. That Andy Summers can wail, baby, yeah. I'm sure that I had the typical Police fan smirk when I said to the radio, "If you didn't know that, you weren't paying attention all these years." The sound that they constructed for The Police - spare, precise, unique in rhythm (who had heard of reggae punk before that?) - was built on theory and a desire to do something different. Their musical roots ran mostly from jazz as well as various aspects of rock, and each is a virtuoso musician in their own right. And, as Sting said in the tour program, "The songs have to evolve. Twenty-odd years later we have to be better musicians than we were. So we've slowed it all down, looked at where we are, and how the songs are now happening by listening to ourselves play them."

In short, I just love these guys. I could go on for hours about the history of the band and what they've all been doing individually in the intervening years between breakup and reunion. If you haven't been paying attention, now would be a great time to start. Before the tour is over.
Stewart Copeland Official Website
Andy Summers Official Website
Sting Official Website
The Police Official Website

The Police Tour 2007

I just got back from seeing The Police in concert and wanted to share
that I thought it was great. This is an "emailed" post to meet my
NaBloPoMo requirements for the day. More details later.

But Stewart, if you heard someone on your left scream "the theme song
for Dead Like Me was awesome!" that was probably me...

The Disney Trifecta Quiz

Now you know why Nevsky designated me Chief Executive in Charge of Disney Stuff. And to think, Lion King is the movie that I'm "weak" in.

I SCORED A 95%

The Future Ain't What It Used to Be

I was a big fan of Harry Harrison's Stainless Steel Rat series when I was a kid. He was one of the many science fiction writers who contributed to me being the futuristic geek that I am today. Fortune magazine grabbed a bunch of futurists to ask them the following questions:

What's one thing you were sure would happen, but didn't?

What's something that totally surprised you?

This is what Harry had to say.

I.AM.STEPHEN.COLBERT!!!

At least according to this test.

Your Score: Stephen Colbert

"Every time the President comes up with a new secret tactic to take down al Qaeda, the media blows its cover. Torture, monitoring our phone calls, monitoring our emails, secret prisons, all perfectly reasonable temporary concessions of freedom that will only be in effect as long as our never-ending war on terror."

You are Steven Colbert! Respected... Trustworthy... Smooth. You are steering the great ship of News through the channels of Truth. He's a journalist with gravitas, with dignity, with balls.
Like Colbert you help people see the absurdities of those in public office with humor. A stand up guy running for office. Definitely one to rattle the cage.

Link: The which comic are you akin to Test written by marymolotov696 on OkCupid, home of the The Dating Persona Test

Note: I corrected the spelling of my name. They had spelled it "Steven."

Sometimes People Change

I retook the OkCupid RPG test and got a different result this time than I did back in 2005. Apparently I got smarter and less violent. But I'm still all about God and cheese. I guess I can't complain about that...

Your Score: Mystic Theurge

44% Combativeness, 20% Sneakiness, 73% Intellect, 69% Spirituality

Brilliant and spiritual! You are a Mystic Theurge!

Score! You have a prestige class. A prestige class can only be taken after you've fulfilled certain requirements. This may mean that you're an exceptionally talented person, but it probably doesn't.

The Mystic Theurge is a combination of a cleric and a mage. They can cast both arcane and divine spells, and are good at both, making them pretty terrifying on the battlefield. They have more raw spellpower than just about any other class.

You're both intelligent and faithful, but not violent or deceitful. I guess that makes you a pretty good person.

Link: The RPG Class Test written by MFlowers on OkCupid Free Online Dating, home of the The Dating Persona Test

Dude, You So Get Me....

To be filed under "cool... I think" comes the new online tool from Psychster, YouJustGetMe. Friendster for psychos? No, no, no. Really. Sort of. Although it does seem like it could be used for some advanced stalking. What is Psychster, you ask? Well, you fill out a 40-question personality test and then your online "friends" answer the same 40 questions about you.

"It tells them if their online profile is communicating their personality faithfully to others," said David Evans,

Yeah. Or helps them to adjust their personalities until they are communicating something totally unlike themselves.

Just sayin'.

Would you use the Psychster tool on your website? And, if so, how would you use the data?

Being me I, of course, took the test. I don't entirely agree with the results. Although I am, by nature, pretty "Casual" I also work 24/7 so I don't like that they extrapolated a laid-back personality with shiftlessness. (That always happens to the Irish!) And by "Extroverted" they must really take into account muppets because I would definitely talk to them. But otherwise I'm pretty shy.

Oh, and I'm doing this too...

NaBloPoMo. What an unfortunate name...

Game Plan

I'm an admittedly eager fan of Disney stuff, kids movies, and action actors - so keep that in mind. I may, in fact, loose all cred in a few sentences. But I can see why the movie "The Game Plan" has made quite a bit of money. It's fun. It's a perfect Dad/Daughter movie which manages to combine football, sports cars, and buddies with ballerinas, rhinestones, and dolls.

Madison Pettis manages to give the tween versions of Hayden Panettiere (Remember the Titans, Raising Helen) and Dakota Fanning (Uptown Girls, Dreamer) a run for their money in the smart/sassy/cute department.

Dwayne Johnson (the artist formerly known as The Rock) is well within his comfort zone for this movie, so if you liked him in Rundown or Scorpion King you will probably like him in this. For me, Rundown (stupid monkey!) is still my favorite movie that he's done.

Ghost Hunters

I'm staying up way later than I should to watch the Ghost Hunters live coverage. They just asked one of their potential ghost hunters about his background and research in the paranormal and it seems like his primary resource has been the TAPS Ghost Hunter show.

When I was a kid I had an insatiable appetite for ghost stories. One of my earliest memories was hanging out with a friend and telling each other ghost stories. By the time I was nine I had blazed my way through every ghost story related book in our school library. Our kooky, cool librarian asked me what my birthday was and when I said it was in November pulled a book from under her counter and handed it to me. "You might like this," she said. It was an astrology book. Yep, that worked for me. But it didn't distract me too much from my original quest.

Once I moved on to bigger and better libraries in my teens (by then I lived on a University campus) I continued reading, reading, reading. Fiction, alleged non-fiction, books, magazines... You name it and I wanted to read it. My curiosity is rather profound and metaphysics is an area of particular interest. To me, testing the limits of agreed-upon reality is part of determining the nature of reality. (By twelve I was also wondering how much of reality was subjective, so I was a strange child.)

Have I seen a ghost? No, I have not. I know people who believe they have. Would I like to see a ghost? I wouldn't mind.