Essential Features of a Disaster Movie

I spent part of last Saturday watching a disaster movie maraton on the Syfy channel. I hasten to add that I don’t normally do this, but there was nothing else to watch and I needed the sleep. After a few of these, I started noticing that there was a basic formula to disaster yarns, and certain characters almost always populate them.

Five recent disaster movies

1. A main character (usually female) has a brilliant father whose theory was rejected by the scientific community. The line is: “Something my father was working on.”

2. A young couple whose relationship is strained by her desire to have him escape with her to safety, against his need to respond to the call of duty. She is usually pregnant and may not have told him yet.

3. A hotshot pilot who either drinks or has a reputation for disobeying orders, but can fly anything.

4. Two brilliant scientists or doctors who used to work together, were married, now divorced, but must work together again (to save the world.)

5. A stubborn general or high official who refuses to believe that the disaster is going to happen.

6. A character who once made a bad mistake that cost the life of someone close to a main character. He begs for a chance to redeem himself. He may sacrifice his life saving others.

7. The President of the United States, usually a heroically brave, caring character, who does not run to safety until forced to.

8. A kid who gets lost/separated from his family, found at the end.

9. Sometimes one or two teenaged computer geeks who can do what the professionals can’t, or who are the first to discover what is about to happen.

10. Often there is a Russian Commander who is either a beautiful, but coldly dedicated woman, or a man who is ex-KGB, and suspicious of US motives.

11. Last, but not least, the evil CEO who hides the truth about his billion-dollar project that has set off the disaster because he will lose all that money and power. He is either killed by the results of his experimentation, or incarcerated for the rest of his life.

Did I leave out anybody??

 

A Renaissance Weekend

The Wizard's Arrival

On Friday of Halloween weekend ‘09, five of us piled into a van and drove for about 8 hours (counting frequent rest stops) from the southern  border area of Texas to the town of Tom Ball, where we had motel rooms reserved. It would be another 30-minute drive to Plantersville, outside the Houston metro area, where the Texas Renaissance Festival has been located for the past 35 years. The idea was to get there early the next morning for Opening Ceremonies–and to get a parking place within a half-mile of the entrance!

My daughter and our friends had decided to treat me, as a late birthday present, to the King’s Feast, a 2-hour 6-course meal with live entertainment upon the stage in the castle. I had brought my costume–a wizard’s robe and pointed hat over  what passed for a peasant dress and short black boots. Everyone else chickened out and did not bring their Renaissance garb, but they thought I looked good in mine, and I was happy to finally have a chance to wear it.

I had brought along my walking buddy, a 4-wheel walker with a seat. I had been training for several weeks for this weekend by walking with the 4WW for a mile in my neighborhood every day that I could. And on Halloween Saturday, my training paid off. Although I must have looked a bit odd pushing this modern device, I was able to walk for 2 or 3 miles without getting a backache or becoming short of breath, as I would have done without it.

Walking Buddy

It is not possible to see everything on the 42-acre Texas Renaissance Festival grounds in one day, and I did not try. I took a few pictures of the building fronts and the people, both of festival performers and vendors, and of  the strolling attendees, most of whom were in costume–some of which were both intricate and elaborate in their authenticity. I did enjoy the King’s Feast, served by very pleasant wenches, with plenty of good food and an abundance of ale. We banged our forks on the edges of the pewter plates to show our appreciation for the gypsy and belly dancers, and the one young ballet master whose leaps and pirouettes could not be tamed to the minuet style.

The Crone in a Circlet

Later at a leather shoppe, I bought a circlet to wear around my head, and I put away the pointed hat for the rest of the day.

The day ended with a fireworks show, and we were already making plans to come again next year. Stiff and bone-tired, I made it to the van, which actually was at least a half-mile from the entrance, I swear!

Lords and LadiesRenFest Strollers

Market Strollers

Looking forward to attending again in 2010!

 

There is Something New Under the Sun

The Deep South Texas sun has been brutal this year. While other parts of the state have had their share of thunderstorms this summer, we here on the Mexican border have not seen rain for 3 months or more–so long ago that I can’t rightly remember when the Blessed Wetness last kissed our parched earth.

We are used to a yearly drought, but not such a long one. Fortunately we got enough rain last year from the hurricanes that the river still supplies us with sufficient water for normal household use and irrigation for the crops. We don’t wash our cars often and we water the lawn and plants at night.

However, my friend and I, who are both on the Board of Trustees (BOT) of our small church, got the idea that our dusty building and grounds had looked pathetic and uncared-for long enough. We brought our proposals before the BOT, who ‘blessed’ it. We obtained bids from local contractors, and made our decisions. So, though there was a recession going on, what had started out as replacing a contrary fluorescent light fixture in the Women’s Restroom with a standard fixture that would take a “curly” fluorescent bulb, soon blossomed into a full-blown project which included exterior repainting of our buildings, removing trash-gathering hedges from around the church, landscaping the grounds with drought-resistant shrubs and flowers at the base of the sanctuary, and placing desert plants in two concrete-curbed islands on the front lawn.

The sprinkler system is still undergoing repair, but the plants are in the ground, which is covered with black fabric and small brown-and-tan river rocks. As a final touch, we had a professional janitorial service come in and strip the old wax off the tile floors, scrub, seal, and re-wax them; then they cleaned the carpets and stained-glass window panels.

We have a new concrete access ramp at the main entrance, and a newly restored utility ramp for the Fellowship Hall. Our new butter-tan and dark green buildings with their red and yellow ixoras in front, and the dwarf oleanders at the side and back, invite people to come in and worship in the cool, quiet, and clean atmosphere.

Another thing we are happy about is that we were able to provide work for several crews of men who had been having a slow year. And the money to do it was provided when we needed it. This gave us a chance to put our belief to the test, and we have seen the reward.

Front corner with new plants

 

Susan Boyle Sings “Memory” from “Cats”

I don’t receive the BBC channel at home on my TV, but I was aware that Susan Boyle was singing on “Britain’s Got Talent” again this past Saturday. So I looked for a post with a YouTube video in it, and I didn’t have to search long. There is one featured today on WordPress.

Although the audio is not sync’ed with the video in the one I watched, the entire performance is captured, from the initial “butterflies” (a slight bobble) when Susan’s hand moves momentarily to her abdomen, to the triumphant final chorus, where in a higher range, the true power of her voice brings tears…

Oh, yes! I think it’s time the “Scottish Spinster”, as she is sometimes dubbed, got her chance. Nothing to hold her back now!

See my sidebar for a link to Susan’s first and best fansite!

 

MODERN DENTISTRY

holey molars

My parents, if they were alive today,  would be amazed and proud to know that I still have more than half of my natural teeth. I am rather amazed, myself, since  by the time I had reached my mid-thirties, most of my teeth had fillings, and several had been thought beyond repair, and so had been extracted. Consequently, before I was 40 years old, I was fitted with my first partial plate. It cost $250. I could not afford to get a lower partial, and so it was several years before I had a complete set.
Now, those same partial plates costs $1400 each. But after 25 years, I am having my old ones replaced tomorrow.
My parents were 26 and 28 years old when I was born. Both of them already had complete dentures! That was 1938; they had very little money, and that may have been the least expensive way to address the problem of teeth that needed continual work and probably caused them a lot of pain. 
Those dentures lasted them the rest of their lives. Every night they soaked the plates, and every morning they patiently applied the paste liner that kept them fitting well enough that they could eat, talk, and sing without any problems that I knew of. I do recall that they occasionally filed off pressure points that began to bother them, though. I have no idea what they paid for them, but they were excellent dentures. My mother kept my father’s when he passed away in 1982; she was buried  wearing hers.

I fully expected to be wearing dentures  when I reached retirement age. Instead, I have 4 teeth that have never needed restoring,  8 teeth with fillings, 8 crowns, and one root canal. I can’t say I have ever enjoyed sitting in a dentist’s chair or paying thousands of dollars to keep as many natural teeth as I could. It is always a time of high tension when I have any work done–even routine cleaning. But with modern anesthesia and high-speed water-cooled drills, my dentist provides care that is as painless as possible.
Perhaps there will come a time when, as I saw in a popular science fiction series, people can have their teeth sealed against decay for decades, and when they do need to have a cavity repaired, all it takes is a brief touch with a chemical. Our methods will probably seem barbaric then.

 

Hey, I didn’t fall off the planet…

Just to let folks know, I’m still here. I just haven’t had any brilliant insights for a while. As for my stationary bike-riding, it’s pretty much hit or miss right now, since life has gotten rather “busy” lately. I promise that I will be back, as soon as something strikes me as being important–or at least interesting.

 

VIDEO: “The Amazing Lyrebird”

Honestly, my jaw dropped the first time I watched this video!

The amazing Lyrebird

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OH, NO! SHE SAID ‘NU-KYU-LER!’

GOV. PALIN, I JUST ADORE YOU, BUT I CAN’T BELIEVE YOU SAID “NU-KYU-LER”, NOT JUST ONCE, BUT AT LEAST 8 TIMES!!!

I thought that once we got George Bush out of office, we wouldn’t have to hear that anymore. That an educated, well-spoken person with teachers in her family could not know how to pronounce “nuclear” is just beyond me! But no one is talking about it. It’s as if nobody noticed. Did you notice?

The worst part of it is, I am a Republican, and I plan to vote for McCain-Palin! Aauuugh! Please, Sarah, take some lessons, listen to a CD while you sleep, whatever it takes, but learn to say, “NU-KLEE-ER.”  You must be a good example to your family and the people on Main Street!

This is one of my Pet Peeves, and I invite you to read–or read again–my post on the mangling of this word by probably 50% of the American population:

http://b4i4get.wordpress.com/2007/04/11/it%e2%80%99s-noo-klee-er/

 

Video: Painting without eyes

Man born without eyes is able to use light, color, and perspective to create paintings, using only touch. MRI taken as he paints, shows that visual areas of his brain “light up” as he creates his pictures. (9 min. 50 sec.)

Painting without eyes

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Video: “Texas Roads”

I’ve actually been to most of these places, too!

Very well-done video…http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=scjb_f95diA