I’m sorry that I haven’t posted in a bit, so here’s a bunch of linky-doodles really quick:
Here’s a cutie, courtesy of the Heads Up! newsletter from GoCreate.com – it’s not in English, but I call it The Pyramid of Persistent Bears. (flash)
It’s a Small World After All
Speaking of cute, I was watching an old Animaniacs tape last weekend, and there was a segment with Minerva Mink, and I got to thinking that you could do a Minerva vs. Ariel thing that would be like Ginger vs. Mary Ann.
Anyway, it turns out that Sherri Stoner, who does the voice was the writer for that episode of Minerva (and several other of the Animaniacs, primarily Slappy the Squirrel), is also prolific in movies and animated features as a writer, producer, actress, and voice talent, and was the live-action body model for Little Mermaid and Beauty and the Beast.
I thought the free clip of the Paris Hilton video I ran across was OK, but when I tried to watch The Simple Life, I lost all respect for her. See, I’d really hoped that she and Ms. Richie would take it seriously and really try to show that they could do something, but the segment I saw where they ‘worked’ at a Dairy Farm was obviously a farce set up to act as a backdrop for them to stand in front of as eye-candy with a bad attitude.
Of course, it just so happened the dairy farmer had a hot tub in the back yard, and they had their bikinis with them. Yeah, right, whatever.
I hope they didn’t really sell anyone the milk they watered down with hose water from a 5-gallon slop bucket!
The big surprise TV-wise this week was a special ‘Home Edition’ of Extreme Makeover, where they sent a family to the Bahamas for a week and completely gutted and remodeled their house. It was a great show!
See, it’s stuff like this where a woman get’s trampled in a Wal-Mart over a $29 DVD player (do we live in the future or what?) that makes me think there may just be something to this: Adbusters: Buy Nothing Day.
I went through the ‘self-service’ line at Albertson’s tonight for the second time, and I think this is really where we’re headed. I’m usually buying beer, so it’s a little bit of a hassle that someone has to verify that I’m an old guy, but other than that, this is the way to go. I’ll be really surprised if there isn’t a huge backlash from the unions. More info: NCR FastLane™ : Self-Serve Cash Register.
I spent some time today finishing up our Christmas lights, which I started yesterday. When I was going through the line at True Value Hardware to buy a power strip and an extension cord, the woman in front of me had an axe with the handle broken right below the head, and that sent me into a reverie.
You see, one of my earliest jobs was as a singing busboy at Black Bart’s Steakhouse & Dinner Theater in Flagstaff, AZ, back when I was a young pup goin’ to Northern Arizona University.
I’d get there right after school, and I’d vacuum the whole place, then I had to go out back and split firewood for the big double-sided fireplace that opened onto the bar and the restaurant.
As I told the checkout clerk at True Value, the management was pretty upset when I broke the axe handle the second time.
My other main memories of the ‘Singing Busboy’ period are having to buy several white shirts and a used iron, and the fact that Black Bart’s served deep fried ice cream.
It’s been a big week for fiction this week at Asparagus Pee – after racing through Life of Pi so The Lady 
Janet (fka Mrs. Asparagus Pee) could return it to the library on time, I’ve just finished The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time, and I recommend them both highly.
Truth be told, there’s a little nonfiction hiding in them as well. In The Curious Incident, for instance, he has a detailed description of what is known as “The Monty Hall Problem.”
The set-up is, you are offered a choice of three doors. One door contains a prize, and the other two
doors contain livestock. After you’ve chosen, Monty Hall opens one of the two doors that you didn’t pick to show that it contains a goat, and offers you a chance to pick the other door. The question is, are you better off to switch to the other door or keep your original choice, and the answer is very counterintuitive: you double your chance of getting the prize by switching every time. The intuitive answer, of course, is that it doesn’t matter because having one wrong door revealed makes it a 50/50 chance.
I’ve spent way too much time thinking about this, and I still have a hard time convincing myself, but I do believe you have a 1/3 chance if you stick, and 2/3 if you switch, which is the answer. There’s lots of good sites, some with simulation applets: Monty Hall Listings on Google.
Here’s a philosphical joke site: Profession Jokes – Philosophers, and here’s a sample:
“Descartes is sitting in a bar, having a drink. The bartender asks him if he would like another. ‘I think not,’ he says and vanishes in a puff of logic.”
I was heartbroken last night when the tribe turned on Rupert. I really, really wanted it to come down to Rupert and Jonny Fairplay – the vote would have been a no-brainer and the best man would have won. But it’s a game – so be it.
I’ve since learned that the ‘All Star’ Survivor is in the works and there’s a good chance that Rupert will be a contestant, so I feel better now. Here’s more info: Survivor Fever – Survivor 8.
Let’s start today off with a quote from the introduction to Life of Pi:
“If we, citizens, do not support our artists, then we sacrifice our imagination on the altar of crude reality and we end up believing in nothing and having worthless dreams.”
I’m only on page XII, but I’m thinking, hey, maybe this guy can write.
So my new favorite song, or earworm, or whatever, is this song Suga Suga (Windows Media) by Baby Bash. You never know, you know?
I continue to be intrigued by the subject lines of many of my spam messages – here’s a couple I got today:
-and-
5squawroot annette bicep toothpick 8 qcymsvt
Al Franken’s acting belligerent again: Al Wants to Fight (via s*T*a*R*e).
It seems that Ian Anderson of Jethro Tull made some disparaging comments recently about American flag-waving that he’s since come to regret. There’s an interesting article on his website. Stars, Stripes, and Union Jacks – The Official Jethro Tull Website:
“Patriotism is the good guy: fraternal, supportive, the paying of respects particularly in the face of adversity. Space shuttle disasters. 9/11. Commemorative anniversaries. Flags are great.
Nationalism is the bad guy: protectionist, isolationist, triumphalist, buccaneering. Flags seen in this context are, I maintain, likely to be resented. “
Well, this caught my eye in Sunday’s Target ad – The Beatles are releasing a new version of Let It Be without the overproduced schlock that Phil Specter added. Interesting.
I heard Don’t Let Me Down on the radio this morning on the way in to work, and it sounded great.
There’s lots more good stuff to play with at www.beatles.com, including brief samples of all the songs.
Ah, it just keeps getting better. I’ve been a big fan of Guinness Extra Stout Ale for a long time, and now it’s official – Guinness really is good for you!
I followed a link today to something called The Best Album Covers that Never Were, or something like that, and it was mildly interesting, but I got excited to see that my favorite fiction author, Kurt Vonnegut, had submitted an entry for Phish. He also has limited edition prints of some of his other art for sale on his website.