::smoooooch::

:)

With (opening for) Joe Raciti and the Pure Premium at the Lily Pad in Inman Sq.
http://bigego.com/index.php?page=calendar&display=1177&artist=368

The band that's actually playing sounds cheesy as hell, so I don't know if I'm going to go.

Apparently Freezepop will be playing at the Atrbeat at night thing in Davis tomorrow evening.

http://www.somervilleartscouncil.org/programs/artbeat/2008/index.html

Government center farmers market is very nice today.

Also in the news:

more on Marzilli:
http://www.boston.com/news/local/massachusetts/articles/2008/07/16/marzilli_victimized_us_2_more_allege/

BNL's Stephen Page arrested for pot, cocaine:
http://ap.google.com/article/ALeqM5h0JdciAhWayMpb0qxT-jgxMJ4qrQD91USK000

And they still don't know what's causing the Salmonella Saintpaul outbreak:
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/07/15/AR2008071501656.html

http://www.televisiontunes.com/

I had to share this, it is a duty

These are from shutterbug

( look in here for the five questions )

Anyway, there it goes again. Want in, just ask!

Spent some time cleaning, some time reading today. Went to the farmers market and got lettuces, tomatoes, onions, potatoes (!) and some purple carrots. Went to the liquor store (as promised) and spent $115 on booze, including Pyrat rum. Making sure to keep that stimulus check moving :)

Downtown Wine and Spirits in Davis Sq. has upgraded their look a bit, with a new airlock on the back door and a new location for the checkout. Where the checkout used to be is a tasting table, where they were letting customers sample Cognac and Armagnac. They have tastings four or more days a week. Over the last couple of months, the hard liquor sections there have been beefed up quite a bit (they even have CompassBox scotch -- the ones I tasted a few months back) which is exciting. They still don't carry much in the way of Oregon or Washington wines, though.

(the website is kind of cool: http://www.downtownwineandspirits.com/)

We got some shrimp from the fish store up the street on the way home.

I finished Volume 1 of Chronicles of the Lensmen (E. E. "doc" Smith), which is the first three books in that series, published between 1948 and 1950 (Triplanetary, First Lensman, Galactic Patrol). They're terribly dated, but weather it much better than other books of that age that I've reencountered. I read them first when I was maybe 11 or 13 or so -- I found the first volume of a reprint in a used book store, and spent ages trying to find the rest. The story is a big conflict between the forces of evil and chaos and the forces of Civilization. The technology, sociology and pretty much everything else is ludicrous and a bit purple, but moderately consistent. The only time I find it annoying is the rare occasion a woman is mentioned. The lack of them is one thing, but the characterization of the few women present in the first three books (one of the main points is the development of two lines of nearly perfect humans, one is the Kinnisons, and the other shows up as women with startling red hair and "strong wills") is either uselessly simpering or sexual mantraps. The black and white nature of the conflict can get a little wearying, too. But overall, I've enjoyed reading these (rereading, for what little I remember); there's a lot of inventiveness in species, modes of perception, weaponry.

I recall not liking the second half of the series as much, but NESFA has the second Volume so I may check it out. I was also amused by the reactions to the book I got carrying it around a party last weekend.

We also saw Wall-E last night, and I liked it, but didn't love it. I'd read too many spoilers of certain aspects, so I missed out on what was surprising and had certain biases about parts of the plot. And I don't know why I have no problem accepting talking fish or cooking rats or whatever, but put robots in it and I start picking it apart for sense... Anyway, beautiful movie. Wish I liked it better

I hope it is excellent!

I had no idea these little animals would spark such a conversation:






Also, the Fanuel Hall celebration cake thing:





the cake was chocolate and it was quite tasty

Was an excellent weekend. Saw lots of people. Saw Don't Mess with the Zohan. Ate a lot of food.

Various LJ-ers indicate that Thomas Disch died by his own hand on July 4th. I am shocked and yet not surprised, as wouldn't be anyone who read his tomsdisch journal. It's sad, though.

Back to work tomorrow I suppose.

bestests to both of you!

Started this day in 2004.

Weird.

As usual, I proclaim a period of f-list amnesty: want off? want on? go for it!

Bryan Texas's water quality report is a masterpiece of bad puns, fun photography and actual water education for like the 5th year in a row:

http://www.bryantx.gov/departments/?name=water

Best.CCR.ever

I hope it's an excellent day!

A couple of telling screencaps from Who Killed the Electric Car:

See how shiny these cars are. GM refused, even when begged, to renew the leases for them, and after storing them in a lot for months, carted them away in newlike condition:



Then they crushed them all:


What a waste!

The plug-in electric car is coming back, tho, sneakily, in the form of adjustments to current hybrids. You can buy a conversion for a Prius and someday they'll sell them that way. And GM and the other pigmobile makers are getting what they deserved in the form of nobody wanting those ridiculous crap SUVs now that gas is >$4 a gallon.

I finished the Haldeman Worlds Trilogy (Worlds, Worlds Apart and Worlds Enough and Time which is one of the best SF titles ever) yesterday and was moved, although the end gets quite a bit non sequitur which is typical of some kinds of SF, but still a bit frustrating. Would have been nice if *something * about the end was foreshadowed or at least seemed plausible. I liked the fact that the main character was a woman, and not a superhero, although I could have done without her maundering about her weight and sexual desirability (despite this being a common phenomena in real life, it's still not very interesting to a) read and b) tell everyone that this is how all women feel). He makes good stories out of the mundania of life in unusual circumstances, but seems to have to break the timeline in order to show dramatic changes, I suppose it's hard to show how one gets from here to there, but I suspect it could be interesting.

I also finished Brian Stableford's Inherit the Earth which is a post-apocalypic nanotech world with some interesting ideas, but not quite enough of them, a fairly mundane thriller plot and very little in the way of character but some interesting philosophical discussion about the rights and responsibilities of those who can create powerful changes in the world. It made me annoyed and even angry that the only actual female character is an annoying, useless psycho ex. I hoped and suspected she had some actual part in the overall plot, a secret life, but nope, just a whiny basket case that occasionally helps move the plot along. Interesting but flawed book.

Last night, instead of going out to see Richard Thompson like we should have, we watched a couple Eps of 30 Days, the Morgan Spurlock TV documentary series. The first Ep is Morgan and his fiancee trying to live on minimum wage, and the second was about a guy trying an anti-aging regimen. Both were good but manipulative.

I am in need of a life :(

I hated Iron Man. Some of the tech and battle sequences were ok but nothing about the plot made any sense, it took itself waaay too seriously to make that little sense. and I'm long tired of the wear-heels-and-squeak school of female actresses in movies. dumb. boring. pedantic.

Apparently every single person I know loved it.

*sigh*

In less rant-filled news, I hit the Union Sq. farmer's market for collard greens and mizuna and tiny cherry tomatoes among other things. Taza is selling limited edition single-source varietal chocolate, numbered, but I didn't buy any.

I've also finally got around to trying pandora. Dunno if I'll continue, as my computer already has 24 days of music on it. Tips and tricks?

Later, I'll write some book reviews. Or something.

Ask me seven questions. Not just any seven questions though. No, to keep it interesting, use the seven questions as per below - just copy and paste the following, replace the blanks with something you want to know/ask, anything you want, personal, silly, surreal or deep, comment away and I'll answer honestly as I can, or at least as I feel like at the time! Then post this in your own LJ and see what kind of things people want to ask you!

1. What do you think of _____________?

2. When did you last ____________?

3. __________ or ___________ and why?

4. What did you ______________?

5. What's your favourite ______________?

6. How would you ______________?

7. Who would you most like to ________?

Have a great day!

Trying to wait it out at Davis Square:


Having to go the long way around home:


I might have been able to go around on the sidewalk, but I wasn't sure....

Best part was the cell phone chatterer who didn't realize why everyone else was not going that direction until she was almost committed.

Urban hydrology!!11!!111

pics to follow