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??

Perfect showcase album

My pre-ordered Susan Boyle CD arrived in the mail yesterday! I could not wait to listen to it. I played it through the TV stereo speakers, and simply sat still as these beautiful arrangements showcased Susan’s love for singing as only she can. Syco/Sony Music has done right by her and produced a first album that  lets Susan shine. Her voice, mature and mellow, still has a youthful sweetness in some renderings, yet disciplined control and power throughout her considerable range.

The biggest surprise for me was her earthy, heartfelt styling of a Spiritual ballad, “Up To The Mountain” (track 7). “Can this really be Susan?”, I wondered. Oh, yes, she is more versatile than we imagined. She is ready to free that powerful talent and “be somebody,” as she promised her Mum.

Go out and get this album, or order it online! I loved it, and you will, too!

VIDEO–Click on link

If Star Trek ran on Windows.

This is especially hilarious if you remember the scenes that are used. Whew! If you have ever yelled a stream of profanity at a blue screen or error message, just imagine your reaction if you were on the bridge of the Enterprise and this sort of glitch was an everyday occurrence!

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

While politicians rant about the need for tort reform in our efforts to fix the current American healthcare system, the states of Texas and Mississippi have already enacted legislation, with the results that doctors are being attracted by the thousands to practice there.

An editorial appeared today in Investor’s Business Daily, revealing the little-known facts of how the situation has been improving in these two states. Read the article “Tort Reformed” here:

http://www.investors.com/NewsAndAnalysis/Article.aspx?id=506980

Investor’s Business Daily editorials can now be found as part of “Investors.com”. The site also publishes excellent daily political cartoons by  prize-winning cartoonist Michael Ramirez.

Although IBD is predominantly a conservative publication, it includes every day at least one editorial by a writer identified as being “On the Left,” to present an alternative view.

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

Happiness is a warm computer

This morning I finally took on the task of installing a matched pair of new memory cards in my 6-year-old desktop. The CPU has been trying to function on its original RAM all this time, and beginning to freeze continually these past few months, as I demanded more from it. So, armed with all the information I could find, and a grounding wristband that attached to the metal case of the CPU, I disconnected everything and opened her up. (This was not as easy as it looked, since I had never opened it before.)

Lying on its side, and full of bundled wires, the working space inside the tower was cramped, but not impossible to manage. It did take some effort to settle the new cards into place, but finally the clips came up to secure them, and I knew I had succeeded.  Next, I removed the dustballs that had collected on the fan filter and  everywhere else that I could reach with a big, soft cosmetics brush. And finally, I got the  panel back on correctly and reconnected everything.

Then the test came. I turned on my newly-upgraded computer. The message on the black screen told me that changes to the hardware had been detected. I was directed to press F1 to continue, or F2 for setup. I chose F1, and much to my relief and delight, the machine booted normally–and quickly! I find that my programs now load faster and perform their functions with more speed and energy. Windows Media Player does not stop and start [much], but I still have to wait for Youtube videos to buffer every few seconds. (I don’t know WHAT I have to do to fix that!!)

But I am happy and proud that I was able to do this job by myself, at my age.  And I say, if I can do it, almost anyone can! HOORAY!

How MUCH less could you care? A little? A lot? If you could care less, but you don’t, then it’s likely that you really do care an unspecified amount…which is not at all what you meant to convey! However, if you find it possible to care so little, and the object of your [not] caring so unimportant and unworthy that you are able to hold it in no regard whatever–in fact, ignore it totally– except, of course,  to mention your total disregard of it–then you may actually be unable to care less! And this is what you really meant to convey.

 But because the vast majority of people in the USA, either from ignorance, laziness, or the wish to follow current trends, are heard to say (with a flippant air), “I could care less,”  you parrot what everyone says, not realizing  that it expresses the opposite of what you mean. “So what?”, you say. “Everybody knows what it means, which is that I really don’t care. Nobody cares, man”…except for the few of us who still have respect for the English language and take pride in expressing ourselves correctly.

Oh……the correct way to say it is: “I couldn’t care less!”

Hello? Anybody care?

 

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!

I can’t say why today should be any different from the three other days this year that I mounted my exercise bike with determination to begin again.  (It’s Memorial Day Monday in the USA, by the way.) Maybe it was because I awoke on my back and it required an abdominal “crunch” to arise from that position. However, I noticed that I still had sufficient strength in these muscles to elicit a contraction, so I tried nine more crunches. “Whoopee! All is not lost yet!” I think to myself. ”Perhaps I can save what’s left of my aging body and manage to hold off the wheelchair and the Zimmer frame a while longer.”
So before breakfast, I pedaled 15 minutes this morning. That’s 15:05 minutes, 2.02 miles, and 182.6 calories, to be exact! At the very least, I expect my knees to feel better for the rest of the day.
We’ll see how long I can stick with it. I’m not making any vows or declarations…

Hello, old friend!