Adam Green- Morning After Midnight
I don’t know what happened with Oscar’s team last night. In spite of some great films worth honoring, the whole evening seemed to have a matte finish from the get go and the music routines all fell flat.
How John Stewart maintained his cheery disposition under such languid conditions is beyond me. I can’t help but think he looked out in the audience and pictured every face looking like Henry Kissinger or some cartoon action figure just to keep himself amused. Perhaps the writers’ strike fog has yet to lift in LA.
I thought the Juno Soundtrack, which has several lively original recordings by The Moldy Peaches, would have provided a much more festive performance during last night’s show. Maybe in preparation for next year, the Oscar production team could consult with Adam Green and crew who have been producing some entertaining videos these days.
What’s on your mind tonight?
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Aed
Bed
Ced
Dead
Ed
Fed
GED
Hed
IED
Jed
Ked
LED
Med
Ned
Oed
Ped
Qued
Red
Sed
Ted
Ued
Ved
Wed
Xed
Yed
ZED!
There! That about covers it!
nice one starbuck
hey ES
John McCain supports torture by the United States of America.
How’d ya manage to type all that…?
I was sitting here with my finger over the key! Waiting!
I’m really fast!
ctr c ctr v
Alpha Zed.
Good evening Eureka Springs.
hi pups
Digg this post. there’s an r somewhere who does not want you to.
Did anyone notice that all of the dresses had the same “shape”? That was bizzare.
A cool tune, ES! I shall bow out early tonite… I bid ya’ll a fond adieu! Aloha Oe!!!
good evening dear friends.
anyone want a midnight snack?
I must be a glutton for punishment. I went on over to see what some other blogs were saying about the race. Need brain shampoo…wow talk about some toxic places. i won’t do that again until November.
He really does have a great video team.
mmmmmm looks good
Has Hollywood made a good movie since 1950? Other than Star Wars, of course. :)
Turner Classic Movies excites me more than the Oscars.
Actually, PROBABLY NOT A GOOD IDEA TO POST THAT PAGE!!
MODS!!
HELP!
i have no idea what that is
any computer geek types know what that is?
removed busted
GOP test slogan:
John McCain, he’s old, homely and belliegerent but he’s white.
Vote GOP in 08.
-G
busted, the mod squad is looking to see what it is
Busteds alternate brain, exposed. *g*
that’s too cute to eat tex
Is That what it is?
can everyone please refresh their page please for techinical reasons
OH HO Ho Ho Ho.
Thats not good.
hiya ES!
Wow, Starbuck, I am impressed.
I LIKED THE OSCARS (well, except for the snoring musical interludes). Next year, I hope they get someone with a little energy to program and sing the musical numbers. A bit too much of the pre-recorded interviews (prepared in case the writers had not settled, no doubt), but hey…not a biggie.
I thought John Stuart was one of the best presenters in a while. Funny, cheerful, and kind to the presenters and recipients (he invited the second of a pair of singers who was cut off by the musicians to return to give her thank-you after a commercial). There were some very nice political zingers (”the Oscars are 80, so they should be on the short-list for the Republican nomination), with equal time zings at Hillary and Barak; and they cleverly invited U.S. soldiers in Iraq to announce the (anti-war) winner of the documentary category.
OK so the bloody Coen brothers won best picture for their gory “Old Men” film. But a few anti-war films won and they all got touted, including Michael Moore (yeah, I noticed that he didn’t get any camera time). The writer of Juno won, got to give a nice speech, and the star of that film got lots of air-play, and an interview by BaBa WaWa, where she was very nice and down-to-earth.
The dresses were great (lots of red, and only a few very odd dresses (like the ‘best supporting’ actress’ and the woman who won for costumes).
We had a great time watching.
–An Oscar Fan
ES, I had the opposite reaction. I thought the production numbers were really good. John Stewart was flat. I generally don’t watch the Oscars, but last night I did.
All those yummy red dresses.
If a woman wants to be seductive, she will wear red.
If a man wants to be seductive, he will wear purple.
It works!
It was nice blogging along with you all while watching the Oscars, but I have to admit it was a bit of a snoozer.
i had no power and even if i did, the oscars were aired on abc and i have not watched them since they aired that fake leadup to 911 movie – which was around the time they went after spocko’s brain
I thought the audience was acting like they expected John (with a) McCain to show up… they were detached and uninspired. I don’t know..it just seemed like an old folks show this year in particular.
You, powerless, Suzanne? No!
Jon Stewart
was wondering last night if you were without power suzanne
forking power went out as if i lived in alabama.. just as the 60 minutes clock started ticking. i was forking pissed off and forks were flying!
How did that happen? Someone hit a pole?
wet soil and big trees falling on power lines, caused a transformer to catch fire and the dominoes fell from that point on.
In case you still haven’t seen it yet, Suz…
BradBlog
i got a very nice email from a friend with the link to the CBS site (i was on the cellphone while it was charging in my forking car last nite asking about the show) guess i was bugging folks enough i got sent a couple links to it (laughing)
hope token the pup didn’t get hit by all those forks flying in the dark
Hiya, pups!
Howie Klein posted my Don Young update a few hours ago. Right before I found out a bunch of new, cool – but not from Don’s point of view – stuff on the Dom. Hard to keep up with these GOP crooks, isn’t it?
OT: Sometimes, I’m embarrassed for my state (PA):
http://www.kyw1060.com/pages/1…..Id=1619166
It’s interesting, reading about this story for so long and then seeing it on 60 minutes and still getting totally forking steamed over it. Although, imo, the best part was Christy’s posts today.
he was safely in his bed on his chair next to my chair, under his blankie, peering out every now and then to see if i was still ranting.
heading over to read it now et
I am so glad you have connected with Howie and I just went over and dugg your post. Have you had a chance to talk Dianne Benson with Howie lately?
*standing on chair clapping*
et, that is one hell of a good post.
great job ET
I was watching with a couple of friends who are in the video-production business, and they speculated that the production may have been less elaborate because the writers’ strike cut short the lead time, and some of the people who normally work on it may have been committed to other projects by the time they knew it was going to go on and could start hiring people.
I’ve been volunteering for Diane Benson since the summer of 2006. My blog and my articles at dwt or kos or mydd can be partisan, but all three of our party’s candidates are far better than Don Young. I believe Diane is by far the most progressive and would be emblematic of Alaska. She’ll be the first Native American woman elected to congress.
I’ve put no pressure on Howie or Blue America to endorse one of the three Alaskan Democrats running in our primary over another. I was about o jump in on Diane’s behalf, when I was elected to the job as secretary for the Democratic Party in an area half as big as New England. And I’m on important organizing assignments for our area’s responsibility for putting on the Alaska Democratic Party Convention over Memorial Day weekend. I don’t feel I can be too pushy about a person I regard to be one of the most outstanding Alaskans I’ve worked with.
to clarify my #54 – I’m holding back on being more assertive about Diane Bensonat thjis time because I feel my Party responsibilities demand that.
The Blues Brothers was made in 1980 some of the best tunes and people in a movie ever. It’s my favourite movie.
Well that certainly makes sense.
et, i’ve never thought of you as being pushy. pushy is coming in and calling everyone who does not support your candidate stupid.
you are passionate about your support of diane – a completely different thing
It was mentioned in the wrap up that it normally takes 7 months to properly stage the Oscars. That the production numbers came off so well is a tribute to their dedication.
I have some new posts up as well, and Cassie has the bed of her dreams posted.
The Blues Brothers is in my top 10 desert island dvd list. Along with Ferris and the Princess Bride.
Whatever. Diane’s opponents’ advocates up here have certainly seen this from a less charitable point of view than yours, my dear.
{{{{{Suzanne}}}}}
sorry, et, what i was trying to say was that you are not pushy about her. you are passionate about her and her progressive policies and that type of passion can be contagious.
forking cleaning fumes. off to do some more cleaning for the forking showing in the morning. i’ll be back and forth for a bit but The Lurking Mod is here if anyone needs anything.
They had a very similar shape–$20,000 or more and a stylist that was making twice that.
But I think I know what you mean–in layman’s terms–I don’t know women’s fashion except that it’d great for my retina–that they all had a slinky fish shaped taper with a “train” that it seemed to me could trip you, get dirty, and be stepped on a lot.
Somewhere in magazines like Vogue or wherever, WWD, each dress on a star with even a minor name is being meticulously analyzed–People, US, and OK too.
Alaska politics…do Polar Bears vote?
Just kidding!
My two trips there, one for 6 weeks and the other a month, were way too short!
Sure. Many. Doctor Zhivago (1965) for one.
That was my favorite movie for many years.
Did you see Julie Christie last night at Academy Awards? Wow. Looks great.
I am just glad Haynes resigned.
I thought Old Men was vastly over-rated. I could come up with a list of 20-40 flicks that were a lot like it and just as good if not better. I haven’t had the chance to see There Will Be Blood but I will this week.
Starbuck – If Polar bears could vote, they might vote for my dog. He’d be an improvement over the Corrupt GOP Bastards we’re saddled with.
Good night, folks.
She sure does. I loved that movie. I have seen it so many times. The first time I saw it I thought it was profoundly sad, and while not in Russia, at war, or in the freezing Siberian snow, I had sort of a similar situation once.
Nice dog, and I like the feeling of the forest in the background.
dayam, starbuck – that’s impressive!
Hi, doc!
Do you know that Yuri Zhivago (Omar Shariff) was a world class bridge champion, and at one time he had near gambled his whole fortune away several years ago and won it back? I’d have to google around to brush up on the details but that’s a true story.
Zhivago won 5 oscars; 15 other awards and 10 nominations.
Awards for Zhivago
‘night, neuro.
Nice post at DWT, ET.
Hey, ES, emptywheel has some commentary on the Haynes resignation.
Oh, and is the band really called the Moldy Peaches? That’s so funny. Wonder if they’re spoofing that silly alt-rock song about ‘movin’ to the country, gonna eat alot of peaches…’
I really enjoyed “Juno” and the songs on the soundtrack were really entertaining.
FunnyD
You know, when I first started posting, just before the change in the look of the place, I complained (bitched, bitched, ok?)about ZED! and WHATEVER!. But now, here I is!
the three songs from Enchanted were painfully bad, Hollywood schmaltz at its worst.
And the Egyptians are still very proud of their native son and his success. Don’t know how I missed the bridge angle. Probably because my Egyptian friend is much more fond of FIFA football…
FunnyD
gotta get some sleep. night all.
Heya everyone,
I got word that i passed this weekend. I check my mail today, i’ve got the Certificate now. I’m offically a Certified Pharmacy Technician! XD
*happy dance*
Way to go alias!
Congratulations! :-)
Some people tell me I am definitely certifiable!
*happy dance*
woohoo
felicitations, alias
scurrying away to forking wax the forking floors
The Moldy Peaches may just be a duo.
yay alias!
celebration cake!
Congratulations, alias!
Hey, alias!
Congratulations! Good for you. Hope this is the beginning of a long, lucrative and satisfying career for you.
FunnyD
G’nite, Betsy, hope you sleep well.
ES, I will defer to your superior knowledge of the popular (um, non-classical) music scene. I still think “Moldy Peaches” is a great name, and the songs on that soundtrack really, really worked. They just fit and were, refreshingly, not over-produced.
FunnyD
If Rush Limbaugh walks into your pharmacy, what will you do next, alias?
{{{{Congrats!!}}}}
I’m loose associating a bit, in Kirk’s vernacular, but another one of my very favorite movies is Bridge over the River Kwai (1957.
Double check his script and do some footwork to make sure the old moron isn’t trying the script fraud and abuse like he did before. Especially since if he’d be in michigan he’d be WAY out of his natural territory.
The difference between Rush and thousands of people in prison is that Rush is 270 million dollar enterprise among other things who could afford Roy Black.
Ah, I’m nodding off.
Hope you have a long and satisfying career, alias.
G’nite all.
Congrats.
I believe that Omar Shariff is still acting. In fact, he is a new epic called 10,000 B.C….that from the trailers looks pretty great in terms of Special Effects.
Not knowing jack about pharmacists: are you certified in all 50 states, or limited to the state where you’re licensed?
BTW One mystery is now settled. Barack Obama is not the “Public Official A” that is cited in the Rezko indictment being tried by US Atty. Patrick Fitzgerald.
The judge revealed today that it was Governor Blagojevich
I barely remember BOtRK from TV back in the late ’70s, early ’80s. All that really comes to mind is the Colnel Bogey March, which is pretty silly considering the story isn’t very happy. Probably worth renting as a grown-up. IIRC it’s considered a good portrayal of that time.
I used to know a gentlemen who was very busy during that war. Jumping out of planes, mostly. Parachuted into Normandy, was one of the “Battered Bastards of Bastognne” and I think even ended up surviving the Bataan death march. Remarkable guy, and a very happy and outgoing sort when I knew him.
FunnyD
That’s good news–later when I have some time I’m going to run down that story where he gambled almost his life savings away and won it back. He’s one of these guys who excels at a high level at more than one thing.
I think he got in a fight recently also when he was drunk but I might be wrong.
Gabe Kaplan from Kotter also won the World Poker Championship once very close to the time they were doing that old show–maybe before your time.
No common denominator except they were both top entertainers and world class at cards.
Sure, go ahead and talk about movies and the Oscars. I just discovered I share a birthday with Joe Lieberman.
Be happy, if you can.
Oh! Oh! Oh!
I remember Mr Kotter! Maybe in syndication the 2nd time around, though.
The notes from “Epstien’s Mother’s Doctor” still crack me up.
“I prounounce the “H” Mr. Orshach. Horshach is a very old and respected name. It means ‘the cattle are dying’”.
FunnyD
And I thought sharing the same Sun sign as Bush Jr. was bad.
On the bright side, Joe and I are birthday buddies with Abe Vigoda.
Funny D – Thanks for pointing me in emptywheels direction. I love it when Mary gets riled up on Mora and or Haynes case.
“Michael, can you help me out?”
I’m so sorry, Patrick. Hope you’re not the same year or Chinese Zodiac sign. Bet he’s a snake! Well, we knew that. I mean, bet he’s a year of the snake guy. If he’s year of the Monkey I’ll have to join you in chagrinned unhappiness.
FunnyD
who missed W A Mozart’s birthday by one day. Someday I MIGHT forgive my mother *g*
Speaking of Kotter , cards, and now Fish..)
If I found out somewthing that devastating, I’d be tempted to go bird hunting with Dick Cheney.
I’m nationally certified through the Pharmacy Technician Certification Board now. But there are a few states that require their own State Certifications on top of that. Otherwise as long as i’m aware of the drug laws that differ in whatever state i work in, i can work in it for the most part. Michigan isn’t one of the states that requires a State Cert, so for the moment i’m good, unless i chose to pick up and move to another state.
Pharmacists have to be certified with the State AND the National Boards where ever they chose to work.
No can do.
My contempt for my birthday knows no bounds…
Oh ew! I don’t share the same Zodiac year as Short Ride Joe, but i’m still a zodiac snake. Just a generation or two younger than he is. gragh!
You’re welcome.
Marcy’s amazing. I’m glad she’s part of the FDL blogtropolis. Many of her commenters are very knowledgable, too. I love hanging around smart people who know really know their stuff.
FunnyD
I have a pretty good collection of books–including coffee table books on WWII–not that I can piece together all the battles. Some of my friends who are into the history of war can though even though it was quite before their time, and my dad could.
I collected a few of the better Roosevelt books and Churchill-Roosevelt relationship books, although there are new ones all the time.
Conrad Black who wrote one of them that I don’t have about 1500 pages long was recently convicted in Amy St. Eve’s courtroom by Fitz’s team.
Loose associating a bit, and I was proud of myself for resisting the temptation to bring it up earlier for the Rezko fan clumb–the same judge and the same prosecutor will start Tony Rezko’s trial on March 5, which some people believe will be the day of Clinton’s Waterloo although she won’t realize it.
Nightline did a bit on Rezko last night, and I don’t want to be mean, but I feel that show is a pale shadow of itself from the days when Ted Koppel was at his peak, and the piece they did was so superficial I believe a 3rd grader could have written a better one with a little coaching.l
I also got very very interested on the evolution of the atomic bomb–the scientists, the refugees, the Manhatten project secretly under the University of Chicago football stadium.
I have some great books on the Manhatten project and the development of the hydrogen bomb–twoby a guy named Reeves. I’m not into bombs, but the idea that this was conceived in secret back in the day, and what nuclear power now means sort of fascinated me.
One night many years ago I ran into a guy that had a major job at University of Chicago while it was going on and they swore him to secrecy. It was fun to talk to him.
I’m an ox (or water buffalo, depending on who’s version of the Chinese zodiac). Joe was born in the Year of the Sanctimonious Prig.
What in the world about Leiberman captures the fascination of so many firepuppies. I have always thought he was mediocre at best, and possibly one of the worst people in the Senate.
He’s soooooo over. But he really gets people here goin’.
Before my time?!!!! I mentioned Omar’s new film because I REMEMBER “10,000 B.C.” ;-)
Actually didn’t know about Gabe Kaplan being a poker player, didn’t follow that game very much…although I did recall the guy who did the cameo in “The Sting” was a multiple champion. I’m more of a Scrabble/Chess player meself.
He’s an enabler under the guise of a man of principle. And he’s Very Serious.
OOPS!!!
Sorry, alias. Didn’t mean to hate on all the Year of Snake people. Just being snarky about Short-Ride.
Do you have a job lined up already? If not, I hope you find something good soon. And let me just say, I really, really appreciate all that my local pharm techs do to make sure I get all my refills when I need them. I’m sure you’re going to do great work!
FunnyD
Marcy is not simply amazing–she’s over the top off the wall amazing. She could have been, and still could be one fantastic lawyer. There are Ph.D’s in poly sci, but few of them I know are like Marcy. Her ability to dig and put things together is true talent.
Christy does a lot of fine legal digging and piecing together as well.
They have great work ethics and get great results from them.
LOL. That would’ve been my second guess. Too bad the Chinese didn’t think to have a two-faced critter in the lineup!
FunnyD
Year of the Monkey.
I personally find Short Ride Joe’s viewpoint offensive that a rape victim should get off her emergency room gurney and go to another hospital if the one she finds herself at will not provide emergency contraception for her.
That and he is a Republican in Democratic clothing and is as trustworthy as his bff, king george 43.
my floor is waxed and i’m off to ice my back. g’nite all
I don’t follow poker at all, but it sure is interesting now that it’s come into vogue, partly because of the ability of off shore companies to platform illegal poker games on the net. But back in the day when Gabe Kaplan won it came out of the blue and I have never been into sit coms on TV in any decade, but you expect the guys and girls who win the bigtime poker matches in Vegas to be huge geeks and a TV sit com star is not your picture of one.
I know another story. There was a guy I knew who was a successful stockbroker for years. Don’t ask me why but at the peak of his career, he quit his firm. He decided that he wanted to become a world class poker player–it may have been some card stud or Texas Hold ‘em. He started and he practiced with games on the web–where people got together and played digitally. He did this for a little over a year. He got so good that he entered the Poker Championships in Vegas. While he didn’t win the top prize, he did well enough to win 100 grand. A couple of his best friends helped him practice, and the second he won, he split the prize with them.
That and we firedogs in the Summer/Fall of ‘06 worked hard to kick his butt out of the party and almost kicked him out of the Senate.
I’m still with my current company as a Pharm Technician as it is. I’m on the market for a better paying job, but at the moment no one’s hiring. And when they do? The job is up and gone quickly if it’s full time. So i’m keeping an eye out, and have a few stop gap measures to work with in the meantime.
The National Certification gives me the ability to move around where before i was only certified with the Corporation i work for. That Certification is actually worthless outside the company. So…i got this so i could shop my skills to hospitals in addition to other retail community pharmacies. More likely to hire me if i’ve got the credentials nowadays. If it wasn’t for the fact that the economy is crap, i’d be fine and likely find something quickly.
Sounds like history’s one of your hobbies, there, Pete. My dad’s, too, except he gets almost all his books from the public library.
So, what’s bad for Clinton on March 5? Is that another forking day ‘o primaries?
I’m glad the judge identified “official A”. That should curtail some of the ugly speculation about senator Obama. I’m also glad that Fitz is on the case, with a judge that clearly doesn’t let the defense get away with any funny business. I put it that way because the jury decided Black was guilty.
FunnyD
I don’t doubt any of that Patrick, but Leiberman has always bored me and there are so many people in this government for me to dislike way ahead of him in line.
Yeah. that. too.
I didn’t realize Marcy isn’t a lawyer. And, I agree, I understate the case when I say amazing. So many great minds doing great work here at the Lake. A big reason I keep coming back. Along with the great minds being snarky, funny and punny.
FunnyD
I appreciate very much that you did that. Had I been here then, I would probably have a much better grasp of Leiberman but I didn’t run into FDL until last June.
I for whatever reason have always disliked Leiberman from the day I first saw him. My first impression, and I try never to cling to them, was that he was pompous and never seemed to get anything impressive done although I know that people in Ct. say he was great at filling potholes metaphorically for them for many years.
If one reads the original novel (loosely based on real events) there were no Americans at all involved. And no whistling.
The Kwai River trip up to the rebuilt bridge is now a big tourist draw…both for Brits and Japanese (oddly). In Sumatra (where I do research every Summer) there is a similar former railway line built in WW2. Tens of thousands died on that line as well…local “conscripted” slave laborers, mixed-race “Indos” (Eurasians) an thousands of Dutch, British and Australians who were caught fleeing Singapore. It runs from some coal mines through some amazing white-water river gorges and jungles to the Straits of Malacca. Previously coal had been shipped out to the West Coast of the island but Allied sub attacks put an end to that. So they built the railroad.
During construction one of the subs took out what it thought was a Japanese troop ship. Turned out it was carrying POW’s and romusha slave laborers to the railway. Almost 6000 people drowned packed like Vienna-sausages on that one sweltering ship. About 50 of those prisoners survived (all Europeans who knew how to swim) and then were toted off to work blasting the “Devils Line” through the canyons. Amazingly many of the Europeans did survive on this project- local people smuggled them rice. At one place the villagers rebelled…I’m still trying to find out what happened as such acts were very uncommon against the Japanese.
Nobody even knows about this event…everyone thinks Kwai was the only atrocity like this. But one can still see rusting locomotives and flatcars, and occasional tie or rail, along the narrow pathway now used for motorcycles and farmers carrying rice to market. Only a few very old people even know why its there.
‘night, Suzanne. Hope the back doesn’t give you too much trouble. And that St. Whatsisface starts pulling his weight as a real estate magnate/magnet.
‘cuz I want you to move up here so we can have our Day o’ Spa and Snark!
FunnyD
Marcy has such a terrific knowledge of some of the intracacies of agencies and the legal implications of all kinds of national issues and a terrific analytical way of approaching problems legally it is almost impossible not to think she is one helluva lawyer operating in a high powered setup in DC, but unless I’m wrong her background is that she got a Ph.D. at U Mich Ann Arbor in Poly Sci.
Wow–sonfoagun. You go to Sumatra to do research every summer? What do you research?
That’s quite a story. I’m going to have to look up some information on Kwai historically now.
Heh. My friend’s brother made his spending money as an MIT student counting cards. Still makes (and gambles) significant amounts of money that way. My brain just isn’t wired that way. And chess is right out. And I only play Scrabble for the word fun. Anyone with decent cut-throat strategy could kick my butt. However, I could give you a run for your money at Big Boggle with Challenge Cube.
FunnyD
A lot of very foolish people think success in poker is chance. But it really is becoming habituated (and fast)at the probabilities of each type of game and not giving body readers any “tells”. The better one is at that the better one gets. Some people think that those who rely on “tells” actually are mediocre players…especially since the top players either can deceive or conceal theirs so well.
Oh no. Not the final scene? That same kind of situation?
I’m fuzzy on this but weren’t there two guys from MIT who made over a million going to Vegas and counting cards and they were banned from the casinos recently?
Reminds me of the fictional story of the guy named Larry on the TV show Numbers. As a student (in the show) he had gotten into serious card counting and gambling as a math/physics genius.
What Pete said!
What kind of research?
And thanks for the detailed info. I don’t know a whole lot about that time or that area, but I’m pretty sure I’ve been assuming that for every atrocity of that sort that’s merited a novel or screenplay there are dozens of others that have been forgotten. It’s hard to imagine a few “bad apples” running a project of that size, or that an army willing to use slave labor in one place would be at all reluctant to use it in lots of other places.
So much history, so little time!
I love the Lake.
FunnyD
There are several caves there that contain fossil orangutans (and other remains of tropical animals..tigers, Sun Bears, rhinos, gibbons, monkeys, elephants…but mainly pigs, deer and porcupines). There are also human artifact remains, but the original discoverer (a Dutchman named Eugene Dubois…who later discovered “Java Man”) didn’t recognize these…so went to Java on his hunt for the “missing link”. He never precisely specified where these caves were located (other than West Sumatra and near some pretty big towns) so I have been spending years relocating them using old 19th century Dutch topo maps, local lore, and days of hiking through some pretty up and down limestone landscapes. Beautiful, but hot and exhausting. Lets me trim off the pounds I put on from sitting on my butt when I get back to the US, though!
This guy graduated from MIT long, long ago.
And who could forget Dustin Hoffman in “Rain Man”?
Heh, Cinnamonape. I’d agree that folks who equate “chance” with “random” are pretty silly. You’re right, it’s about the probabilities, and keeping track of what cards you’ve seen and not telegraphing how you feel about your hand. But I only know that from watching Daniel Craig in “Casino Royale.”
FunnyD
I’d have to brush up on the plot of that movie. I have a VCR tape I made of it somewhere before everything went DVR, but I think the final scene was where Alec Guniess meets Lara’s daughter–it’s fuzzie. I really need to brush up on the plot.
I met a girl that I cared about a lot. We had a relationship and a great time, and then I had to go away for more school. I had trouble getting together with her, and she was tied up with someone else, and I lost her number and you would have to remember this was before everyone had a computer and the web which really didn’t get going big time until Windows 95. Somehow, I was able to find her number, or I found an old piece of paper and I was able to connect some dots and trace her and I dropped everything one Friday night and drove 300 miles in a blinding rain to meet her.
But I wasn’t in the same city, and later for training I had to move further away.
10 or so years later, I actually looked her up again and got together with her. That may not have any simularity for you with Dr. Z, but it did for me. And to me she looked every bit as good as Julie Christie did in that movie.
That happens all the time. Card-counters are booted out if they use the blackjack tables. In poker you are allowed to count cards, it’s part of the game. It really should be in blackjack, but casinos know that they’d start losing their margin if they allow people in that do it…even though they regularly change the “shoes” filled with cards and use four decks in there.
The best way to prevent it from happening would be to use about a hundred decks and randomize the cards coming into the shoe, with continual replacement. But maybe I shouldn’t be giving the casinos any ideas.
Way, way cool, Dr. Anthro! Not just the jungle-whacking…the whole thing, starting from “hmmm. Wonder what M. Dubois really found and where he found it.” and connecting the dots from there.
I love the Lake.
FunnyD
Shows you how much poker and blackjack I’ve played. We played a lot as kids before we could drive, and I even got books to make me better, but obviously I didn’t learn much–and except for a few games just to get together I’ve hardly played at all since.
I’m doing good to know Samatra is an Indonesian Island. The closest I’ve probably gotten to it is a National Geographic some time.
Not to get political at the Lake, because it has been fun to talk about other stuff, but I have Tweetie on and they are kicking around Senator Clinton’s recent mood swing towards angry.
So I suppose we’re going to see (metaphorically speaking and not treading into Kirk’s area) Hillary off her Lithium tomorrow.
When she said “Meet Me in Ohio” I couldn’t help laughing. Because Obama was in Ohio that very moment, and so was she. They could have gotten together for a late night snack or somepin’.
Another big incident that was “covered up” was the Borneo Death March. I’m not sure why this was buried by the Australian Government (I think because the military decided, quite knowingly, not to attack Borneo for months, when they had the opportunity for an easy rescue)…but it occurred towards the end of the war. Over a thousnd POW’s were marched from the coast up the highest mountain in SE Asia, Mt. Kinabalu. No other reason but to make them die…the survivors were shot when they arrived, most were killed along the way for “not keeping up” with the healthier walkers. It was like a sport to the guards. I think about 5 POW’s out of that thousand survived…falling out of the column and hiding in the bushes until local people took them in. Many others that did this were caught and killed, along with the collaborators and anyone else who protested (or happened to be around).
When the survivors began talking years later, some reporters found out and made a big stink. There are now two monuments and an occasional ceremony in rememberance…and local guides have started doing a tour along the route,part hiking/part bus…spotting wildlife, enjoying scenery, visiting rural villages, etc. That keeps it in people’s memories. Amazingly that stuff all happened only in the last 10-15 years. Oh, and once again, Japanese come and visit the sites as tourists! [I guess this must be a bit like USsoldiers and tourist visiting war sites in Vietnam].
I would love to visit that part of the world, and learn about the local healing plants.
But there are plenty right here for me to learn about…
I think you’re right about the last scene of Dr. Z. I remember the huge dam and the last couple of lines about the balalaika.
I like your story, though it probably probably had some pretty painful moments. Glad there wasn’t freezing cold or people shooting at you. And probably/hopefully no loss of wife and children involved.
Well…looks like maybe it’s getting quiet around here. Goodnight everyone, see you in the threads tomorrow.
Oh, and alias, hang in there. I’ve been out of work for a couple of years, and I know how hard it is with a crappy economy. Hope you’re in an urban area with lots of HMOs and 24-hour pharmacies. And that you’re not competing with too many Pharmacy School interns….Anyway, crossing fingers for ya.
FunnyD
Heh. My strongest tie to Sumatra is that they grow some righteous coffee beans there that taste magical when roasted nice and dark.
FunnyD
Thanks!
I’m in MI’s second largest city, which helps. But there’s a lot of retail pharmacies everywhere. I’m not out of work though. Just stuck with the current company which pays me cashier wages for a very NON cashier job. The job is secure so i’m not leaving it until i get a good offer from elsewhere anyway. I sincerely doubt they’d match pay to a competition retail pharmacy to keep my skinny butt working for them. I don’t think they even bother to honor the Pharm Tech Certification beyond miserly little .25 cent raise.
You’re probably gone and this has been enjoyable. I’ll catch up with you. I wasn’t married and in between the first time that we were together and the time I drove to be with her all night in the rain, she had gotten married, but had decided to get divorced so the next time we got together it was a tough time for her in that context, but a good time for us.
So none of this was a breakup for either of us that involved someone else or was hurtful for kids, although she had had a little boy when she got married.
And then after the ten years, of course she had had relationships, but she wasn’t married and we had a very strong bond. So not only was it great to be with her, I’d do it again without the separations by distance anytime.
I wonder how she’s doing now. I could probably find her unless, and there is a very real possibility, her name has changed. I’ll bet she still lives in the same area though. Later on I’ll see if I can find her.
We really have some well traveled people here. There are so many places I haven’t been. Indonesia let alone their Islands is sure one of them.
It’s a very interesting place…all Indonesia is, actually. Almost every island is different ethnically and in the landscapes and wildlife. One realizes after a visit that one shouldn’t put all Muslims into some sort of a box…they vary considerable in how influential Islam is one their lives. Even some of the “devout” ones have other religious beliefs that creep into their practices. And many Indonesians aren’t Muslim. In most places there’s harmony between the religious groups…but in a few hot-spots outside influences have caused problems. The last few years things have calmed down considerably, though. The Wahabbist elements have lost a lot of influence, in part because of their “terror campaigns” in the country. More tourism would help, though, particularly outside of Bali.
Obama’s family lived there at a very troubled time in Indonesia’s modern history. It was when Suharto took over from Sukarno (the left-oriented Third World Movement leader). In that process between 250,000 and a half-million people were killed in about 2-3 years. There was a witch-hunt for “communists” and many local Chinese (including businessmen who had lived in the country for more that 300 years) were executed by death-squads. Lemme tell you, if Obama’s father was a “Communist” he’d have been dead. The CIA and MI6 provided a list of about 1000 “Communists” (labor activists, writers, newspaper reporters, peasant organizers, etc.) that soon escalated to include landlords, money-changers, shop owners who sold goods on credit, and people who were just “bad neighbors”.
The novel and film “The Year of Living Dangerously” deals with the preface to this period. People still debate whether Suharto was part of an internal coup that “went bad” for Sukarno…and played a role in the counter-revolution that cemented the power of the Generals.
It must have been a very strange, and dangerous, time to live in Jakarta.
Yep! And pepper, too! Lots of those Yankee Clipper ships made their fortunes shipping out Sumatra pepper (maybe the Bush ancestors?) Certainly Elihu Yale did…his college was built on that fortune!
And the second major use of Marines abroad was on the coast of Sumatra…Marines assaulted a petty Chieftain who captured and robbed a clipper-ship. Marines came the next year and made a coastal assault on the town, freed a couypkle of enslaved crew, and destroyed the fort (assisted by another Chieftain just down the coast who felt piracy was “bad for business”.
Good night all…..ZZZZZZ (not Zed).
Oh boy! Now that they’re getting getting married, they can finally have sex for the first in their lives. They’re good Christians after all and have “saved themselves” for after the big day. Not a day before, right love birds! Jesus knows all.
http://www.abovethelaw.com/200…..s_en_1.php
SurveyUSA, the most accurate polling company so far, has Obama up 4% in TX now. This coincides with CNN’s poll today which also has Obama up 4% in TX.
Dial up the negative, scolding stuff some more Team Clinton! Might as well go down swinging and double down on your strategy. Should end this thing for sure on March 4th, and we can focus on the Repubs. The next debate should be interesting.
They’ve done so much to cut out any ‘controversial’ statements and/or situations that the result is a stilted, dull three hours of little more than people handing other people trophies.
yes, me too
Dang, you guys are good.