Pak chooie unf

Japan to develop space shuttle. Unfortunately will not transform in walking, talking robot.

What’s the Afghan idea of a good game? Sort of like a cross between polo and a street fight, with a headless goat instead of a ball. Do you suppose the Salt Lake City Olympic committee would . . . naaaah.

One more test before book and bedtime.

Are you a lemming?  I am. I am a lemming.

I like to do what the general populous does. I am common. I will jump off the cliff along with everyone else.


Take the ‘Am I A Lemming?’ Test.

You know what?

Looking back on 2001, I think it was my best year, so far to date.

Everything there went as well for me as can be reasonably hoped for. Powerful love, good health, kept comfortable and warm…I managed to move into a better apartment, find some decent side-jobs to help with the cash flow, and my back has treated me as well as I’ve treated it. Not to say some rough things didn’t happen, but I think my act really came together this go-round. I can honestly say that I owe the gross majority of my happiness to my sweetheart and Newt, both of whom I cherish beyond words, and am thankful daily for having them in my life. I’m also glad that my brother is actively in my life, and that I forgave my mom this past year. No point in carrying that sort of baggage around.

What’s 2002 going to bring? More of the same, and better, I hope. Even if it just breaks even with last year, I’ll be well on my way to “Happily ever after”.

Seriously, for me, the 90s were the pits, especially the early years. I can only pray that the 00s are as good as the 90s were bad. so far, I think they’re living up to it. So, to whom it may concern, Thanks. Keep up the great work!

what’s up in Scotto’s head right now?

  • Full of food.
  • Full of love
  • A little bit weary
  • A little bit warm
  • thinking of her, and smiling
  • her voice, her eyes, her soul
  • thinking of Newt, and smiling there, too.
  • slight sunkist orange soda aftertaste
  • thinking of textures… food, hair, skin, sharp edges, soft corners, lizard skin, cool and bumpy
  • a backrub would be nice
  • a monkey in a flowered vest, pushing a wheelbarrow full of pudding
  • a pyramid with an eye in it, rosicrucians fighting a war with masons and thelema-folk for no good reason
  • an abba song – waterloo
  • the loch ness monster
  • cross-pod pollination
  • soft orange tones, cycling from red to brown and back
  • bring home brother’s sound card
  • Is she feeling better? I hope so. If not now, soon.
  • Is Newt getting better? I think so.
  • When did it get dark?
  • how many fans are in here? 17, counting computers, printers and the plug in. all whir at a different frequency.
  • Shut off 15 of the fans, just leave one machine and one printer in standby
  • now I hear the flourescent lights
  • when was the last time I heard pure silence? no fans, no traffic, no breathing, no purring?
  • I prefer breathing and purring to pure silence.

*loooong stretch*

Hrum… hoom.

Ugh.. am I still at work?

I’ve decided to take the last week of January off. That’s a nice week of the several I have accrued, and maybe I’ll take the first week of February as well, if things are slow enough to allow it.

I think pee should be the same color as what you drank. It would be so much fun, like a game. You could be at a urinal and say “Hey, I don’t remember drinking that!”.

Pink, orange, blue, whatever color cola is, purple, everyday is a new adventure. If you drink water, it should be automatically attached to whatever you drank prior, giving it a shiny finish, like the gloss on a Skittle.

Beer and apple juice would be pretty boring, tomato juice may be a bit scary, but it would be worth it for the milk pee.

It would be a great metabolism barometer too.

I guess we can’t have everything though. Asking to have multicolor urine is just too much, and I respect boundries. But wouldn’t it be just great? Don’t get me started on poop.

Ok, if not urine, how about toenail colors?

I slept pretty well last night, but read deep into the night before drifting off. I dreamt I was helping stage a prison escape for someone that I knew was innocent, but was going to be shot at dawn for some crime. Lots of walls crumbling down, and gunfire. We didn’t have weapons, but were dressed in Swat-team body armor….I presume to deal with the whizzing bullets of the guards. We got into a rinky-dinky little blue car, and tooled off at a good clip down the road, hiding underneath a pile of shipping blankets, and eventually took up a camp inside of an art museum, eating stuff from the snack concessions, and huddling together, wearing ancient egyptian garb for warmth. I don’t know why we didn’t burn the picture frames.

This morning, I woke pretty early, and took a gentle stroll… none too taxing. Maybe 2 miles, if that. The road construction is totally out of control, and quite a rough set of terrain for me to avoid. Tomorrow, I explore the area by the starlite lounge, and the new laundry. I didn’t see many landmarks today, but it was refreshing and enlightening to meander about. Walkies always makes me feel better and hones the mind, I feel. When I returned, Ol’ newtie took his meds well… I’m glad that he’s as tolerant as he is. Lately, I’ve been wondering why he hasn’t messed with the light switch, but I guess it’s just as well. Plastic milk rings are toy enough. I’m glad he still digs playing fetch.

Based on the US census, the random name generator. I may never have to rack my brains to create a story character’s name again. Yay!

Pointless ramble – I have a cable channel that’s generally very entertaining, but keeps changing owners. ABC Family, formerly FOX Family, formerly the Family Channel, formerly the religious right channel run by the 700 Club. I wonder what causes them to keep switching hands? (I was never partial to the 700 club, mind you, but the others tended to have some quality shows when I’d surf around.) It’s sort of like that Italian restaurant on the corner that keeps going out of business, and starting up again a month later with a new name… So far It’s sold Moroccan Food, then been four different Italian places. (three of which came and went so fast, I hadn’t an opportunity to sample the wares, to compare.) When it was Due Amici, I delighted in the eggplant parm and pizzas they provided. Perhaps on vacation, I’ll go there, and have a sit-down lunch there to ask the folks what’s up with that.

Well, I’ve been away from work for four days… it’s time to put three good ones in today, and decide which week this month I want to take off and goof with.

Let’s see where the road leads today… Wish me luck on today’s journey.

Had a fun evening tonight, good speaks, deep belly laughter, and a snug or two. 🙂

A cup of chai, a soft orange kitty, thoughts of besos, and RAW’s Quantum Psychology.

Night night!

Oh! Before I go thanks to queso I was very glad to learn this week that American Express plans to return to Lower Manhattan early in 2002. Their world headquarters building is Three World Financial Center, located immediately next door to the north tower of the former World Trade Center, and was damaged extensively in the collapse; estimates are that the building will be ready for occupation beginning in March or April.

In looking for information about the building, I was also surprised to note two things — that the World Financial Center’s home page has a post-attack image, and that MapQuest has updated their aerial photo of the World Trade Center site, which now also is a post-attack image.

I’ve been surfing the memberships of the communities I run, and saw something… “make a donation” buttons where there’s no real charity involved.

a quote from the page in question –

I’ve been thinking a lot about energy exchange, and how this journal is working in my life in terms of energy exchange. More and more, I feel as though I am pouring these pieces of myself out into the world and receiving no energy in return.

Make no mistake, money is a form of energy. So, I’ve installed this donation system to allow those of you who want to give a little back in exchange to do so. There’s no suggested amount, and no requirement to give. It’s just a way to say “thanks” if you so desire.

Is it me, or does that seem sort of screwed up? Maybe it’s just a fundamental difference in the approach to the journal idea than my own. I write in my journal for a number of reasons, as a notepad, a way to share myself in the form my views and findings with other people. I get enjoyment in the sharing aspect, and don’t view it as “emptying out my energy” at all. Knowing that people read and enjoy what I write is quite a pleasant feedback…and when folks post a reply with something to add, that kind of feedback adds a great feeling in it’s own right.

I can sorta-kinda understand the idea of a gift exchange, via a wish list or the like… I think it’s the way it was put forth that strikes me as tacky or cheap, somehow, and maybe a bit seedy. It is on a volunteer basis, like a wish list. but doesn’t it seem odd to say “I like your Journal, thanks for writing in it, here’s $1”? It stops being a sharing, and turns into something else… not sure what.
The digital version of being a street performer, passing the hat?

The funny thing is, I have no problem with a writer being paid for their work. I’ve never viewed writing in a journal as work, though. It’s more an act of release, and comfortable record keeping. I suppose it’s all in the wording, and the reward… If you don’t like writing, don’t write. Somehow “Well, I’d enjoy it if I got paid for it” strikes me as the line you draw between a prostitute and a lover of the craft.

Ah well, to close on assorted cliches; your mileage may vary. To each their own, and all that. I hope everyone gets the energy that they want and deserve.

One of the new traditions that I appreciate is the TV show marathons some channels have on holidays. New Year’s Eve and Day on the Sci Fi Channel is a non-stop Twilight Zone marathon, playing in the background.

It’s odd watching shows you think you know by heart after seeing reruns ever since grade school. It’s easy to dismiss them when you know all the “surprise” endings, and Sturgeon’s Law applies of course. The majority were not all that great, but some had a power that made them cultural icons. It wasn’t the repetition that made them part of our memories, it was the strength of those few that got all of them repeated again and again and again.

Case in point: the one that is on as I’m typing this. “Third From the Sun.” Everyone knows the ending; its become a part of the mass culture like Grimm fairy tales. You don’t even remember when you first saw it, its like you’ve always already seen it. Like nursery rhymes and fairy tales, you can’t remember when you first heard them or even if you really did, you just pick
them up through osmosis. “Time enough at last.” Oh yeah — Burgess Meredith, nuclear war, broken glasses. Bummer. Third from the Sun. Imagine a time when that title didn’t give the ending away, when most people didn’t incorporate the Solar system in their world view.

Watching it today is an education in film making. The lighting is moody, utilizing faces lit from underneath and the deep shadows you only get from B&W. If you look carefully you will notice that every frame is skewed, the camera is never level or aligned normally. Wide shots are often from floor level, ceilings appear lower than normal. Even in close-ups you can see the background is tilted. Sometimes the effect is enhanced by the camera being aligned with the actor with the background tilted.

Right now the episode on is “The Monsters Are Due on Maple Street.” Another well-crafted piece. Think of it as a cascade experiment with mass hysteria.

You have to do some mental time travelling to appreciate Zones properly. Try to imagine a time when no one ever saw that story before. A time before Shatner was Shatner. I can vividly remember the night “Nightmare at 20,000 Feet” was first on for me. Living in Brockton. Lugene was babysitting. Had salisbury steak for dinner in front of the TV. Sure, the monster was a lame albino gorilla suit, but the atmosphere was electric. Pure magic.

Most of the best Zones were classic sci fi and fantasy stories in their first incarnation. Check out the credits sometime. Very often the original story was adapted for TV by the original writer. I credit The Twilight Zone for lowering the barricades at the sci fi ghetto. It mainstreamed themes and conventions that were segregated in the magazines in those dark days before there was a sci fi section at the chain bookstore.

The circle of writers that made some of the best Zones called themselves the Green Hand, and were later dubbed the California Sorcerors. Richard Matheson, George Clayton Johnson, Ray Bradbury (in the avuncular role), Earl Hamner Jr. and always always the brilliant, doomed Charles Beaumont farming out ideas to younger writers as his faculties closed down on him. Others in the circle include Robert Bloch and Harlan Ellison. Of course, Rod Serling churning out an avalanche of stories with the occasional gold in the dross.

Let’s see, which Zone taglines need no expansion? Which have become part of mass culture?

  • “Time enough at last.”
  • “There’s a man on the wing!”
  • “It’s *good* that you did that Anthony.”
  • “It’s a cook book!”
  • “That one. The third planet from the sun.”
  • “Room for one more, honey.”
  • “People are alike all over.”
  • “Next stop, Willoughby.”
  • “Kick the can.”
  • “He came in, fell asleep on the couch, then jumped through the window.”
  • “Fr-ank-lin (chi-ching)!”

Or the visual kickers:

  • The bandages are removed and it’s everyone else that is hideous.
  • The caricature face of Cliff Robertson as a ventriloquist dummy.
  • The hitchhiker.
  • The mad look on the face of the double at the bus depot.
  • A normal day at the office interrupted by a director calling “Cut!” and the set opening up.
  • The physicist-next-door outlining the opening into the fourth dimension on the bedroom wall in chalk.
  • Lights coming on and engines starting on Maple Street.

It’s hard for me to imagine what a shock The Twilight Zone was when it first appeared. Rod Serling was at the height of his career, a TV writer that was getting his award-winning teleplays adapted into films. Known for tackling big subjects and challenging the status quo, and apparently abandoning it all for a half-hour weirdo show.

Serling stated that part of the inspiration for “abandoning” “serious” work was the effort it took to get anything controversial on TV against the pressure of censors, standards and sponsors. He had an epiphany during a story conference for a story about racial tension in America, when it occurred to him that if he changed the setting to the future and the tension between different species he could say what he wanted to say and pass under the sponsor’s radar. It was “just” science fiction, nothing to worry aboutor keep a close eye on. The hip would get it and everyone else would only see the surface they expected. I dig that a lot.

Happy New Year!
The sound of a bamboo flute is in my mind, and I’m in a comfortable state.

May many blessings come to you and yours in 2002, and the years that follow.

2001 has been a great year for me, much better than 2000, and leaves ’90s in the dust. (the 90’s were a poor decade for me… I’m glad they came, but I’m even more happy that they’re past.) I have high hopes and a great feeling about this coming year, and the years ahead.

Here’s a 2001 recap via google… fascinating zeitgeist.

Now they’re sending spam about spam protection services:

Dear Email user,

Your email address sysop@scottobear.com was harvested by a SPAM robot. It got your address from the webpage http://www.scottobear.com

For more information about SPAM Robots and how you can protect yourself, Click Here

Sincerely,
Champ Mitchell
Anti-Spam Services
http://www.email-cloak.com

Dingalings…. The funny thing is that the spam protection they are offering (for $8.95, no less) is just a piece of JavaScript that splits email addresses so they cannot be gathered. Here’s the same thing for free:

<script language=”JavaScript”>
document.write(‘<a href=”mailto:’ + ‘name@’ + ‘youremail.com’ + ‘”>’ + ‘name@’ + ‘youremail.com’ + ‘</a>’);
</script>

Just replace “name” and “youremail.com” with your information and you’re good to go.

Frankensquirrel and Pig Eyeballs. I’m going to monitor this guy’s sales for a while, I think.

Back from my day’s mission of chores, the house is nicely clean, and the bed is made, covered in fresh sheets, warm from the dryer. Newt’s already perched on the pillowcase, in half-loaf position and purring. With that, and the patter of rain, I think I’ll join him in a little catnap. (Could you resist the call?)

Welcome to my wall scrawls.