"Forever Autumn"

Below is a fan slideshow video someone has made to the song "Forever Autumn" from the rock opera "Jeff Wayne's War of the Worlds"

I think Jeff Wayne's War of the Worlds is the best adaptation of H.G. Wells' century landmark science-fiction novel of alien invasion. Better than the Tom Cruise movie, and better than the George Pal version with its flying vacuum cleaners. This double-album first came out in 1978, and had gorgeous cover artwork and an illustrated lyric book. Despite the flights of fancy that are necessarily involved with essentially turning Wells' novel into a musical, it is much more true to the book than any of the other adaptations I can think of.

Jeff Wayne is working on making a movie of it. But for the time being, it is just a music album, currently available on CD. There are also many Youtube videos of it, including this one of another great song from the album, "Thunder Child". But I am still not sure if the chorus of Martians who sing "Ooo-la!" works.

CDs and DVDs of "War of the Worlds" are available from Amazon.com, below:

Maybe you care nothing for rock albums about Martians. In that case, at least you can enjoy the great Justin Hayward song at the top of the post. And it is, after all, autumn. But not forever, I hope.

Roman Polanski

I just saw the news about Roman Polanski. They finally caught him. You can run, but you can't hide.

He raped a 13 year old girl. If that was not enough, he purposefully drugged her to the point of incapacitation. That's two serious violent crimes. Aside from that, I would be there are some laws concerning controlled substances and providing them to minor that he also violated. The fugitive status is yet another legal problem.

I've always been dismayed at him getting standing ovations and awards (the Oscars) and documentaries telling what a great guy he is. If he's so great, why doesn't he own up to what he did?

France is fighting the extradition. I guess he is some sort of hero there. They send us the Statue of Liberty, and in exchange they get a lowlife who thinks nothing of assaulting a child. I think it was better back when the French had a great admiration for Jerry Lewis instead. I never could understand that, but I have nothing against Jerry Lewis at all.

This past summer, I saw "The Fearless Vampire Killers" again. I had not seen it since the early 1970s. Polanksi directed and starred in it. Sharon Tate also starred in it. This 1967 movie is one of the earliest movies I ever remember seeing. I saw it on TV and not at the theatre, but I was probably too young for it. I am sure I had nightmares about it. This movie probably introduced me to vampires. While light and comedic in their way, these were old-school vampires that hated garlic and didn't attend high school by day. They had some rather boss ugly fangs too. I think think it is a pretty good movie, but it is so overshadowed by Roman Polanski's crimes and Sharon Tate having been murdered by Charles Manson shortly after it was made.

So, what do you think. Are Roman Polanski's crimes too long ago, and he has been such a great guy since, that we should just forget about it? Or should he come back and face justice?

Lose In Our New Stadium

Today is Sunday. To some, Sunday is the day you go to church. To others, Sunday (for part of the year anyway) is the day chock full of pro football games. To those who don't go to church or care about football, I am not sure what Sunday is. The day the newspaper is thicker than usual? That is, if your city still publishes one?

Of the above subjects, this is a post about football. I'm in a fantasy football league with a bunch of other guys this season. I did this a couple of times before. There are a couple of ways to go about fantasy football: You can watch every single game any of your players is in, and obsess about their stats. Or you can sit back and make sure you check to see that your players aren't injured and are playing that weekend. I'm more in the latter category.

In the fantasy football draft for my league, I had a low number in the draft order. So by the time I got my turn, all the really good quarterbacks were gone. The best of the ones left was Tony Romo of the Dallas Cowboys. So I got him. Everyone around here hates the Dallas Cowboys.

Tony did good for the first game, the season opener. I won that fantasy football match-up. Next game, last Sunday, was the first in the new Dallas Cowboys stadium. That place cost a lot, and was kind of a hassle to build. And the Cowboys lost. The phrase "Lose In Our New Stadium (L.I.O.N.S.) was coined for the Detroit Lions, who have a relatively new stadium, and have lost 19 games in a row. But hey, they have a swell new stadium.

According to a commenter here, the new Cowboys stadium " is a complete waste of money. It is mostly financed by the taxpayer", and the cost was $1 billion. Another commentator commends the place for its $90 pizza. Well, I never see any reason to spend one dime of government money on sports stadiums. The government (any government) is strapped enough for cash as it is.

We'll see how the game goes today.

The eBay Transaction from Hell

Here's yet another difficult eBay transaction.

A few months ago, I wanted an expensive piece of electronic equipment. I looked for a while on ebay, and finally found one. The price was not bad either, but it was still expensive.

So I ordered it. I won the auction and paid for it, and the seller said they got the payment. It was to be mailed priority. A week or so goes by. No item, and it should have taken two days. So I email Dear Seller, and Dear Seller says I should get it soon. I did. Two days later. The seller only decided to ship after I sent the reminder.

And that was not the end of it. It was more like the beginning. This fragile electronic item has just been tossed loose in a box for mailing. No foam, bubble wrap, or anything else. So it rattled loose. And the power cord was missing, so it was worthless. I emailed Dear Seller about both concerns, including that I was going to have to spend $30 to replace the missing power cord. No response.

So... I left negative feedback. Then all hell broke loose. First thing you know, I get positive feedback on eBay. eBay only allows "positive" feedback to be checked for buyers. But Dear Seller left a nasty comment to go with the "positive" feedback saying I was a non-paying bidder. I got eBay to remove the feedback entirely. I confronted Dear Seller on this, and they said that because the payment was through PayPal, it didn't count as a payment. Yeah right... .and they took the money.

Next thing, Dear Seller leaves a comment on the negative feedback in their own profile. This scatalogical bit of text was such that I was quickly able to get eBay to remove that too.

So, now Dear Seller had a negative feedback, and their two attempts to get revenge had failed. They sent me a couple of emails trying to blackmail me to ask eBay to remove the negative feedback I had left, but I ignored these. Not a chance!

That was months ago...

Now this morning. The piece of electronic equipment had served me well. these past few months It worked after all, despite the careless negligent packing. But this morning it died.

So I called the company that made it, to see if I can get it repaired. They asked for the serial number, and I give it to them. The company that made the device then said it had been reported stolen from a certain place.

I went online and checked Dear Seller's name, and it turns out that the seller has an online resume showing that they happened to have worked at the place the device had been stolen from.

Well, this resulted in a call to that place. They sound very interested to find out about this employee who stole something from there and sold it on eBay. They are looking into it, and I expect a call back later today.

I hope I get my money back somehow.

Amok Time

Jay Leno the other night did his thing where he reads funny headlines and ads and other things from newspapers people send him.

One of them was a description of a "Star Trek" episode:

"Mr. Spock gets a strong urge to mate, and it puts Captain Kirk in danger"

Ouch....

Spam spam spam! (Postcard Friendship Friday)

This item is kind of unusual. It is a sort of brochure (a little larger than 8.5 x 11") that is made of 3 attached postcards. The brochure advertises the SPAM museum in Austin, Minnesota. It is from the modern era, and is probably about 15 years old. For years, these have been (were?) in tourist brochure racks in and around Minnesota. Happy Postcard Friendship Friday!

To the right is the front (picture area) of one of these postcards. This is the front of the brochure when it is folded correctly. Below is a scan of the postcard side, with the card panels still attached.

Earlier in the week, I was thinking of linking to a video of a project someone was doing to try to win money by saving money on food. Instead of that. I've switched gears a little bit. A lot of people save money by buying SPAM. It is cheaper than regular (real?) meat sometimes.

Below are a couple of great SPAM related videos. First, we have the Monty Python skit, which led to junk email being called SPAM. And who doesn't love Monty Python?

And here is Weird Al's song "SPAM". It is a satire of REM's "STAND". It is one of those cases where the Weird Al version is rather better than the original REM song (which is pretty good anyway).

45 Days Until Halloween

I guess it is not too late to get ready for Hallowe'en. It is 45 days away, after all. Today I passed by this front yard that was completely decked out. Or ghouled out, as the case may be. There is a lot in this yard: click the photo to enlargeLooks like bone soup is on the menu tonight!

Looks like the death penalty is back in Michigan. This executioner has already been busy with his guillotine.

Never mind Texas. Don't mess with the United States Postal Service.

Dr. Doctor, give me the news.....

I just heard yesterday about a doctor in Grand Rapids whose last name is Doctor. Yes, Doctor Doctor. As in a nurse asking, "Dr. Doctor. Is the patient patient?". One of the good Doctor's patients told me about the name.

It made me think of some funny doctor names I have seen over the years. All of these are ones I have met in person, seen their business signs, or one of their patients told me about them. I've gleaned none from Internet lists.

• Dr. Bump (gynecologist)
• Dr. Lung (Cardiopulmonary.... yes that includes lungs)
• Dr. Hurt (dentist)
• Dr. Butt (not a proctologist. Shame)
• Dr. Paine (another dentist)
• Dr. Mandeville (a dentist. Think mandible)
• Dr. Foote (not podiatry)
• Dr. Gum (not a dentist)
• Dr. Bruce Lee (a dentist)
• Dr. Clinton Gore (another dentist. And a Republican, to boot.)

Surely others have encountered doctors with funny names. Any to add to this?

Twenty09 Challenge.

There's a video challenge for the year 2009 called the "Twenty09 Challenge". In this challenge, you are supposed to make a video showing what you can do with $20.09. That is, twenty dollars and nine cents.

I can often come up with things for challenges and contests, but for some reason my imagination is not being fired up by this one. I have blogger's block or contest block or something like that.

But this does not mean that others aren't inspired by this. Others are participating in the contest enthusiastically.

This is a video a friend of mine made for the contest:


Don't forget to visit the youtube page for this video [click here], and leave some positive votes and comments.

"Vampire Diaries" TV show

With the popularity of vampire novels in recent years, and the success of the "True Blood" TV series, it is not surprising that a major network would bring another vampire-related TV show to prime time. And with the network being CW (is that even a major network?), it is not surprising that it ends up being like a "Smallville" with fangs, or a "Transylvania: 90210".

What I did not expect is that it would be so much like Twilight. High school girl (who comes across more like Kristen Kreuk's Lana Lang than Bella Swan) falls for a "vegetarian" vampire she meets at her high school. The vampires can run around in daylight (like Twilight vampires, but without the embrassing skin-twinkle). The plot was even like Twilight, until the last 15 minutes. The vampire lead, Stefan, does not look like Edward Cullen, but the lead non-vampire girl's brother does.

I will give it a try. Maybe it will get more interesting in the second episode. Maybe not. It is a "zit opera" like "One Tree Hill" or "Dawson's Creek", and I usually don't watch those. A zit opera is like a soap opera, but instead of advertisments for detergent, there are advertisements for zit cream. That is because they are aimed at self-conscious adolescents instead of at homemakers. I think it would be a great place for them to advertise the "True Blood" drink, but it looks like that is not happening.

The music wasn't bad, especially the cover of Kate Bush's "Running Up That Hill" by Placebo. I'd not known there was a cover of the song before.

Here is a youtube video of the original song by Kate Bush:

Click here for a link to the Placebo version. This is another song off of Bush's incredible album "Hounds of Love " from 1985. "The Ninth Wave" (featured in a recent blog post of mine) is also on this album.

Has anyone else seen this show?

World Trade Center (Postcard Friendship Friday)

Today (Friday) is the anniversary of the 9/11 attack. The postcard below is from the 1970s and shows the World Trade Center (WTC). I saw the buildings a couple of times, with a fairly close view at night once. I was on a freeway, and could not stop to take pictures.

I am posting this a day early, to tie in with "Postcard Friendship Friday".


The image below is not a postcard, and never was. It is from the cover of the comic book "Justice League International", issue #56, published November 1991. Some of you may know the Martian Manhunter from the TV show "Smallville", where in his introduction in the series, he was portrayed as a bit of alien slob, leaving half-eaten Oreo cookies everywhere he went. I came across a copy of this comic earlier in the summer, and figured that it was an appropriate and contemplative somber tribute. Especially coming from a comic-book series which was known for its humorous tone. The Martian Manhunter contemplates the World Trade Center twin towers a decade before their destruction, and the lives lost here and elsewhere, and the world changed.

Name that weed.

I've seen this vine growing. The leaves on the vines are generally from 2 inches across to 9 or so inches. Do any of you gardeners, botanists, or weed connoisseurs know what it might be?

Mackinac Bridge at Night

Someone recently commented that the Mackinac Bridge looks best at night, so here is a postcard of it. The card is postmarked July 19, 1983, and on the back it reads:

"Dear Mert,

Twelve of us biked around the island yesterday. Met Betty Phillips, sister & family. Sure is hot. but fun. Today we'll visit the town. swim, and take it easy. Then to the cottage tomorrow.
-Joan.

The island referred to is Mackinac Island. The bridge passes near it, but does not connect to it at all.

Mackinac Bridge Walk

Well, we did go on the Mackinac bridge walk yesterday. What a long day. It took us 3 hours to get there, and when we got there, we had to wait an hour in a huge long line to get on a bus.

The photo below shows the bus line at the lakeshore park area in Mackinaw City. There is a line of people in the foreground, as you can see, but there is a line way in the background (part of the same line) stretching off the edge of the photo to the left.We finally did get a bus, to take us from Mackinaw City across the Straits of Mackinac over the bridge to St. Ignace, so we could walk back south to Mackinaw City over the bridge. The bus moved at what seemed to be a walking pace in the left northbound lane, while walkers flowed by the thousands by us walking the wrong way on the southbound lane The buses were of a vast fleet of school buses apparently drawn from school districts in a 100 mile radius.

Among the walkers that passed us were a few clowns, Mr. Incredible, and Wonder Woman .At last the busses deposited us by the toll plaza on the north edge of the bridge. After this, there was a long wait by huge rows of porta-johns. Because after waiting in line and being on a bus for a few hours, who wouldn't want to go? The porta-johns were provided by a company named "Stenford Sitters". I have a pretty good guess what the employees of this company call their plastic outhouses.Finally, the start of the five mile walk across the bridge. It was rather crowded, and there was a lot of jostling. For quite a ways at the start, we were walking in heavy fog.At last the northernmost of the two bridge towers appeared as the fog cleared, and we got nearer to it.Photographed from below, it is hard to tell what the tower is, isn't it? There were also guys standing on the high crossbeams of the towers. Many police and coast guard boats patrolled the water below the bridge, keeping things secure and probably watching for jumpers too.There must have been hundreds of army guys standing around too. This one almost looks like is leaning against the northbound Airstream trailer.At last we got back to Mackinaw City. The beach was crowded. And now it was time to walk a couple of miles and try to find the car.

Mackinac Bridge

Today, the 52nd Annual Mackinac Bridge Walk was held today on the suspension bridge that links the Upper Peninsula of Michigan (home of the Yoopers) with the Lower Peninsula (home of the Trolls, so called because they live below the bridge). 50,000 or so were expected to attend. The bridge is 5 miles long, with the center span 3,800 feet long and as much as 200 feet between the bridge and the water below.This postcard photo was printed in 1959, but the postcard was mailed in the early 1970s.

On the back, the sender wrote:

"Hi Mom and Dad,
Well we came across this big thing all in one piece, no-one fainted. Tho I didn't know about Cathy about had a fit. Ha. Sure is beautiful up here, we are at Tahquamenon Falls. Today, we will move on to Watersmeet. And on to Copper Harbor, and then start home, I guess. Never know from one day to next what we will be doing. Just enjoying everything. You really should see this part of the country."

I am guessing that home is Rhode Island, because that is where the card was mailed. Tahquamenon Falls is in the area that actor Terry O'Quinn (John Lock from "Lost" grew up in. He's therefore a Yooper. Watersmeet is haunted: it is the home of the famous Ghost Light. They have a cool Casper-with-a-lantern sign that they put on the signs there.

Here comes the Sun

Here is another one of my Sunday suns post. I actually snapped these photos a couple of weeks ago. Here is my previous Sunday suns post.

This sun is for sale at Leaping Lizards. I think it is made of pottery/ceramic, and is about the size of a dinner plate.
The theatre was showing the movie "500 Days of Summer". A poster inside had a sun in the graphics.

Here is the marquee. It stars Zooey Deschanel. That does not make me want to see it. I think her "Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy" movie was pretty bad, and I didn't like that made-for-TV Oz movie she was in.

Here is another post of Sunday suns.

Saturday Scavenger Hunt - WAVE

Today's "Saturday Scavenger Hunt" word is "WAVE"

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During the mid 1990s, there was a brief period when Max Headroom was very cool. There was a lot of tie-in merchandizing. Below is the "C-C-C-Catch The Wave" slogan that appeared on the side of a Coca Cola promotional cup.

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This is one of the last nice warm weeks. Below some kids play in the sand as the little waves hit the beach near the Holiday Inn.

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Below is a postcard made from a great painting of the Edmund Fitzgerald as it gets sundered by the waves during the gales of November.

Edmund Fitzgerald Postcard published by Penrod/Hiawatha, featuring the painting "Every Man Knew" (1995) by David Conklin.

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This is some favorite cover art of mine. The artwork is by Raymond Bayless, and it is of a ship sailing the wild seas of H.P. Lovecraft's Dreamlands. (Thanks to the Rick Jacobi Art Blog).

H.P. Lovecraft, At the Mountains of Madness, 1986 edition. Cover art by Raymond Bayless.

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Finally, here is some music. This is a Youtube slide show that someone set to a suite of songs called "The Ninth Wave". I love a lot of Kate Bush's music, and think these songs are some of her best. I'm not sure what they are about. Something about a space mission going wrong, and storms. It is definitely worth a listen, and you might even see some pictures of waves.

All you sailors
(get out of the waves, get out of the water)
All life-savers
(get out of the waves, get out of the water)
All you cruisers
(get out of the waves, get out of the water)

Book with a stripped cover

I saw this tonight in a legally-downloaded electronic book file.

Reminds me of the DVD rental place I saw that made sure to plaster "Be Kind Rewind" stickers all over the movie and playstation rental discs.

Triffidy plants

I was commenting on Ananda's blog about how giant sunflowers look Triffidy. As in, like a tall scary plant. I thought I had coined the word, but I guess there is nothing new under the sun. Googling "Triffidy", I find it has already been defined:

"in the nature of a triffid [adj]"

Now is the time of year for Triffidy plants, for sure. You can walk through 8 foot tall cornrows in many parts of the country. I've seen chickory weeds go to 8 feet. And of course there are the sunflowers. With their giant faces, that can turn. Always watching...

So, what's growing tall and scary in your area?