In Florida:
"Serial Killer Undone by Asking McDonald’s Co-Worker to Mind His Gun, Police Say"
Actually, he asked her to mind a bag. She peeked in the bag, found the gun, and took the bag to a cop who was sitting in the burger shop.
He had killed 4 people, apparently "randomly".
He deserves no break today.
Cage him, toss the key away.
Thursday, November 30, 2017
Wednesday, November 29, 2017
Tuesday, November 28, 2017
Rooting Around
Seems to be from a reputable source:
"Wow, this is a bad one. On Macs running the latest version of High Sierra — 10.13.1 (17B48) — it appears that anyone can log in just by putting “root” in the user name field. This is a huge, huge problem. Apple will fix it probably within hours, but holy moly. Do not leave your Mac unattended until this is resolved."
Can this be true?
Boy, that's a flaw.
I stand in awe.
It's probably still against the law
To do
Unless the computer belongs to you.
"Wow, this is a bad one. On Macs running the latest version of High Sierra — 10.13.1 (17B48) — it appears that anyone can log in just by putting “root” in the user name field. This is a huge, huge problem. Apple will fix it probably within hours, but holy moly. Do not leave your Mac unattended until this is resolved."
Can this be true?
Boy, that's a flaw.
I stand in awe.
It's probably still against the law
To do
Unless the computer belongs to you.
Monday, November 27, 2017
It's a Dog's Life
Noisy doings in the Green Mountain State:
"SOUTH BURLINGTON, Vt. (WCAX) Keep your pooch out of the park. The South Burlington City Council has ordered the dog park at Jaycee Park be closed permanently. A notice went out saying it's due to excessive noise in the residential neighborhood."
Dog park not peaceful enough?
Maybe their voices are “Ruff!”
"SOUTH BURLINGTON, Vt. (WCAX) Keep your pooch out of the park. The South Burlington City Council has ordered the dog park at Jaycee Park be closed permanently. A notice went out saying it's due to excessive noise in the residential neighborhood."
Dog park not peaceful enough?
Maybe their voices are “Ruff!”
Saturday, November 25, 2017
Show Me A Solution
Bureaucracy at work, probably combined with some ancient computer work-around:
"For decades, an idiosyncrasy in the mail delivery system has forced some rural northern Missouri residents to have Iowa mailing addresses, which has created roadblocks and red tape for residents when they vote or pay taxes — even when they die."
A U.S. Senator is now sticking her nose into it, saying it's one the dumbest thing she's heard. Will she succeed in unraveling this USPS mess? Time will tell. But I have my doubts.
If the post office will not budge
It might be simpler just to fudge
By drawing a new border
To comply with postal order.
"For decades, an idiosyncrasy in the mail delivery system has forced some rural northern Missouri residents to have Iowa mailing addresses, which has created roadblocks and red tape for residents when they vote or pay taxes — even when they die."
A U.S. Senator is now sticking her nose into it, saying it's one the dumbest thing she's heard. Will she succeed in unraveling this USPS mess? Time will tell. But I have my doubts.
If the post office will not budge
It might be simpler just to fudge
By drawing a new border
To comply with postal order.
Friday, November 24, 2017
Wednesday, November 22, 2017
Irony Alert
An odd case of righteousness in Florida:
"Authorities say a man who was fed up about people driving dangerously through a busy intersection decided to take matters into his own hands ... by driving dangerously through the intersection and causing a head-on collision."
He made the decision
To cause a collision
To show those darn cops
How folks blow through stops.
"Authorities say a man who was fed up about people driving dangerously through a busy intersection decided to take matters into his own hands ... by driving dangerously through the intersection and causing a head-on collision."
He made the decision
To cause a collision
To show those darn cops
How folks blow through stops.
Monday, November 20, 2017
Positrons Aplenty
I studied dialectical materialism in school, but I got low Marx.
Actually, today I was reading an article headlined: "Earth Is Getting Hit by Too Much Anti-Matter, And Nobody Knows Why"
That's what got me thinking about Mr. Marx's theory.
What does dialectical materialism
Say about anti-matter?
It’s a breach of catechism
That could make a theory shatter.
Actually, today I was reading an article headlined: "Earth Is Getting Hit by Too Much Anti-Matter, And Nobody Knows Why"
That's what got me thinking about Mr. Marx's theory.
What does dialectical materialism
Say about anti-matter?
It’s a breach of catechism
That could make a theory shatter.
Sunday, November 19, 2017
DIY
Somebody got in trouble for this:
Police commented:
There should be a program online
To print a convincing design.
Police commented:
Point number two points to a marketing opportunity:
There should be a program online
To print a convincing design.
Friday, November 17, 2017
The Jelly Wants
I've been mentioning Emily Dickinson, and the other night I heart an indirect Dickinson joke on the sci-fi comedy-drama TV show, The Orville.
There's a green translucent blob character on the show, sort of a big slithering mint jelly with a mouth. And he's in love with the human doctor on the spaceship. She has been refusing his advances.
So, the other night he declares to her, "The jelly wants what the jelly wants." Someone already made a meme of it:
Now, the direct reference is to a Selena Gomez song, "The Heart Wants What The Heart Wants," with lyrics that include these lines:
“There’s a million reasons why I should give you up
But the heart wants what it wants.”
And that's what gets us to Dickinson, to a letter, actually, not a poem:
"The Heart wants what it wants - or else it does not care -"
I'm not sure when this became a famous Dickinson quote. I took a college course once on Dickinson, and I don't recall discussing it. Of course, that was at the dawn of time.
Way back before the dawn of time,
I struggled to decode
A message wrapped in gentle rhyme,
But ready to explode.
There's a green translucent blob character on the show, sort of a big slithering mint jelly with a mouth. And he's in love with the human doctor on the spaceship. She has been refusing his advances.
So, the other night he declares to her, "The jelly wants what the jelly wants." Someone already made a meme of it:
Now, the direct reference is to a Selena Gomez song, "The Heart Wants What The Heart Wants," with lyrics that include these lines:
“There’s a million reasons why I should give you up
But the heart wants what it wants.”
And that's what gets us to Dickinson, to a letter, actually, not a poem:
"The Heart wants what it wants - or else it does not care -"
I'm not sure when this became a famous Dickinson quote. I took a college course once on Dickinson, and I don't recall discussing it. Of course, that was at the dawn of time.
Way back before the dawn of time,
I struggled to decode
A message wrapped in gentle rhyme,
But ready to explode.
Feline Mystery
Why do witches favor cats?
Is it to fight off vampire bats?
Is there in fact a running feud
Between them and that Dracula dude?
Is it to fight off vampire bats?
Is there in fact a running feud
Between them and that Dracula dude?
Wednesday, November 15, 2017
Belle of Amherst and a Local Review
Well, here's a Chicago Tribune theater review as summarized in one sub-headline:
"Kate Fry is a perfect Emily Dickinson in creaking 'Belle of Amherst'"
He heaps praise upon the actress. I saw her performance, and thought she was excellent.
But then he goes after the play itself, which is interesting. He thinks it's out of date in various ways.
"The piece lacks the deconstructionist complexity (and the recent academic contextualization) that audiences tend to seek out today."
But... how much do audiences really seek out academic contextualization? I imagine there's an audience for that, but that it's not really a big audience.
The play does put forth a certain interpretation of Dickinson. You can say the interpretation's out of date, but I'm not sure. She's one of those poets about whom we really don't know all that much. She remains veiled in mystery. A lot of academic interpretation is itself trendy, and is not really something new that we know.
I say, if you want academic contextualization of Emily Dickinson, go read some academic studies on the topic. But if you just want an enjoyable introduction, this play remains solid. It does a particularly good job of working her poetry right into the script.
I mean, really, she is a difficult poet for most people to get into. The fact that you can sit there and be comfortably introduced - while enjoying yourself - is remarkable.
Both the Trib reviewer, and another local reviewer, suggested that the theater company should have found a newer play about Dickinson.
But as for me,
I was glad to see
An old play well-performed,
That left my heart fully warmed.
"Kate Fry is a perfect Emily Dickinson in creaking 'Belle of Amherst'"
He heaps praise upon the actress. I saw her performance, and thought she was excellent.
But then he goes after the play itself, which is interesting. He thinks it's out of date in various ways.
"The piece lacks the deconstructionist complexity (and the recent academic contextualization) that audiences tend to seek out today."
But... how much do audiences really seek out academic contextualization? I imagine there's an audience for that, but that it's not really a big audience.
The play does put forth a certain interpretation of Dickinson. You can say the interpretation's out of date, but I'm not sure. She's one of those poets about whom we really don't know all that much. She remains veiled in mystery. A lot of academic interpretation is itself trendy, and is not really something new that we know.
I say, if you want academic contextualization of Emily Dickinson, go read some academic studies on the topic. But if you just want an enjoyable introduction, this play remains solid. It does a particularly good job of working her poetry right into the script.
I mean, really, she is a difficult poet for most people to get into. The fact that you can sit there and be comfortably introduced - while enjoying yourself - is remarkable.
Both the Trib reviewer, and another local reviewer, suggested that the theater company should have found a newer play about Dickinson.
But as for me,
I was glad to see
An old play well-performed,
That left my heart fully warmed.
Monday, November 13, 2017
No Baby Steps?
I just read a thoughtful piece about why it's hard to revitalize a lot of neighborhoods until they totally hit bottom.
The author pins the blame on all the rules and regulations that are often involved in fixing a place up:
'There’s no in-between. You either get permanent stagnation or massive redevelopment. Baby steps are essentially illegal. “Hold, wait, and do nothing” works for the little guy.'
I really appreciated this comment, pertaining to people who acquire a building and then abandon their initial project, once they find out how expensive it will be to do all the mandated extras:
'I’ve heard many officials and professionals get very derisive in their assessment of such efforts. “Oh, they were idiots. They didn’t do their homework before they started their project. What? They thought they could just do whatever they want with the place? There are rules you know.” These are precisely the same individuals who butter their bread each day with impact fees and billable hours. They have no skin in the game.'
When a neighborhood erodes
Examine the building codes.
The author pins the blame on all the rules and regulations that are often involved in fixing a place up:
'There’s no in-between. You either get permanent stagnation or massive redevelopment. Baby steps are essentially illegal. “Hold, wait, and do nothing” works for the little guy.'
I really appreciated this comment, pertaining to people who acquire a building and then abandon their initial project, once they find out how expensive it will be to do all the mandated extras:
'I’ve heard many officials and professionals get very derisive in their assessment of such efforts. “Oh, they were idiots. They didn’t do their homework before they started their project. What? They thought they could just do whatever they want with the place? There are rules you know.” These are precisely the same individuals who butter their bread each day with impact fees and billable hours. They have no skin in the game.'
When a neighborhood erodes
Examine the building codes.
Saturday, November 11, 2017
Space Cat Graduation Chicago
Today's festival performance had a good sized audience laughing uproariously, which made me a happy camper indeed.
With drama, you want to the hushed silence of the audience hanging on every word.
With comedy, you want to hear some yukking.
The silly saga of kitties in space
Marches willy-nilly apace!
With drama, you want to the hushed silence of the audience hanging on every word.
With comedy, you want to hear some yukking.
The silly saga of kitties in space
Marches willy-nilly apace!
Spartan
I rewatched Spartan last night. It's an old thriller, starring Val Kilmer, written and directed by David Mamet. The story involves what we used to call white slavery - the abduction and selling of young women for sexual purposes. In this case, it involved kidnapping a young woman in Boston for the purpose of selling her in Dubai.
I've always wondered about the popularity of these story lines, because my impression is that there's a lot less of this sort of thing in real life than there is in the movies. In one way, that's not unusual. Movie crime rates do not reflect real life crime rates. Movies are full of criminal geniuses. Real life is full of criminal idiots. Criminal geniuses make for more interesting stories - partly because the idea of a criminal genius scares us. If there were a lot of criminal geniuses, would we every catch them? What if there ARE a lot of criminal geniuses, but in real life they just DON'T GET CAUGHT?
So, back to sex slaves, it occurred to me while watching that maybe Hollywood is attracted to this story line because there's so much "sexual exploitation" in real life in Hollywood. I put it in quotes because it's one of those phrases that can mean almost anything, but the daily accusations rolling out of Tinsel Town lately are anything but pretty. Maybe it's a way of dramatizing a situation the script writers know all too well - beautiful young people being lured into a world of dashed dreams.
By the way, the movie is mostly not about that. Retrieving the kidnapped girl is the "McGuffin", but it's more of a movie about tough guy maleness in the face of political betrayal.
The name of the movie seems to arise from this exchange between our hero and the young woman:
Scott: "One riot, one Ranger." You ever heard that?
Laura: Leonidas, King of Sparta... when a neighboring state would plead for military aid, would send one man.
Scott: Well, there you go.
Laura: You ever hear that?
Scott: No. I think we went to different schools.
The hero's kind of a working class snob
Who's very good at his job.
I've always wondered about the popularity of these story lines, because my impression is that there's a lot less of this sort of thing in real life than there is in the movies. In one way, that's not unusual. Movie crime rates do not reflect real life crime rates. Movies are full of criminal geniuses. Real life is full of criminal idiots. Criminal geniuses make for more interesting stories - partly because the idea of a criminal genius scares us. If there were a lot of criminal geniuses, would we every catch them? What if there ARE a lot of criminal geniuses, but in real life they just DON'T GET CAUGHT?
So, back to sex slaves, it occurred to me while watching that maybe Hollywood is attracted to this story line because there's so much "sexual exploitation" in real life in Hollywood. I put it in quotes because it's one of those phrases that can mean almost anything, but the daily accusations rolling out of Tinsel Town lately are anything but pretty. Maybe it's a way of dramatizing a situation the script writers know all too well - beautiful young people being lured into a world of dashed dreams.
By the way, the movie is mostly not about that. Retrieving the kidnapped girl is the "McGuffin", but it's more of a movie about tough guy maleness in the face of political betrayal.
The name of the movie seems to arise from this exchange between our hero and the young woman:
Scott: "One riot, one Ranger." You ever heard that?
Laura: Leonidas, King of Sparta... when a neighboring state would plead for military aid, would send one man.
Scott: Well, there you go.
Laura: You ever hear that?
Scott: No. I think we went to different schools.
The hero's kind of a working class snob
Who's very good at his job.
Friday, November 10, 2017
Unlikely
I cannot remember the words, but I was reading an old paperback detective novel set in Chicago, and the Obamas came up as witnesses of some kind. I found it hard to believe and tried to reread the sentence.
I was dreaming. A non-lucid dream, as usual. The closest thing to lucidity was when I found it hard to believe. I do find that the "jarring thing I found hard to understand" is what I often remember about a dream. Maybe it's just that my dreams are chock full of such jarring things.
Maybe, in my dreams,
I'm constantly wondering how surprising
Everything seems
While rarely recognizing
That I am deep
Asleep.
I was dreaming. A non-lucid dream, as usual. The closest thing to lucidity was when I found it hard to believe. I do find that the "jarring thing I found hard to understand" is what I often remember about a dream. Maybe it's just that my dreams are chock full of such jarring things.
Maybe, in my dreams,
I'm constantly wondering how surprising
Everything seems
While rarely recognizing
That I am deep
Asleep.
Tuesday, November 07, 2017
Monday, November 06, 2017
Sunday, November 05, 2017
Fall Back
I'm hearing a lot of complaining,
But today we are regaining
The hour stolen by DST.
This calls for triumphant glee!
But today we are regaining
The hour stolen by DST.
This calls for triumphant glee!
Saturday, November 04, 2017
Play News
1) My Puppies In Space is cancelled for now. It was supposed to be in a festival next weekend, but something went wrong in terms of organizing a cast.
2) My Space Cat Graduation, Chicago Edition, is still on. That's Saturday at 12:25 in the afternoon, in a block of short plays presented as part of the Paragon Science Fiction play festival.
3) I saw a preview performance of The Belle Of Amherst at Court Theatre. It's a classic one-woman play about Emily Dickinson, based on her letters, and including a lot of her poems. It's considered wrong to write a critical review of a preview performance, but I don't have anything critical to say. The actress, Kate Fry, who played Emily, was marvelous. I thought the whole thing was very effective. My wife liked it too, and she's not quite the Dickinson fan that I am.
Her life was like a cryptic note,
That hints but does not say.
Confused by all that stuff she wrote?
Just come and see this play.
2) My Space Cat Graduation, Chicago Edition, is still on. That's Saturday at 12:25 in the afternoon, in a block of short plays presented as part of the Paragon Science Fiction play festival.
3) I saw a preview performance of The Belle Of Amherst at Court Theatre. It's a classic one-woman play about Emily Dickinson, based on her letters, and including a lot of her poems. It's considered wrong to write a critical review of a preview performance, but I don't have anything critical to say. The actress, Kate Fry, who played Emily, was marvelous. I thought the whole thing was very effective. My wife liked it too, and she's not quite the Dickinson fan that I am.
Her life was like a cryptic note,
That hints but does not say.
Confused by all that stuff she wrote?
Just come and see this play.
Friday, November 03, 2017
That Was Close
I may have mentioned that in last Saturday's 50k run, I was pretty sure I had finished just under 7 hours. Well, "just under" turned out to be right. My time was 6:59:50. That made me the last person to have an official finishing time. People who finished after me just get listed as having finished:
It was very close, but...
I made the cut.
It was very close, but...
I made the cut.
Thursday, November 02, 2017
The El Train
The el train and the traffic lights transport me
To when I was in high school. I flash back.
Vague memories of yesteryear escort me
As I walk briskly underneath the track,
And contemplate the metalwork that seems
So antiquated, yet still bears the weight
Of bright young riders full of rising dreams.
I do not know, I cannot simply state
The reason why some quality of light
At dusk, downtown, with people all about,
Reminds me so how everything that’s right
Requires stepping forward into doubt.
The world is full of promise. See it glisten.
A song is in the air if you will listen.
To when I was in high school. I flash back.
Vague memories of yesteryear escort me
As I walk briskly underneath the track,
And contemplate the metalwork that seems
So antiquated, yet still bears the weight
Of bright young riders full of rising dreams.
I do not know, I cannot simply state
The reason why some quality of light
At dusk, downtown, with people all about,
Reminds me so how everything that’s right
Requires stepping forward into doubt.
The world is full of promise. See it glisten.
A song is in the air if you will listen.
Wednesday, November 01, 2017
Space Cat Appearances on Veterans Day Weekend
I have a ten-minute play being performed soon, about a couple of sentient but catnip-addicted felines. Here are the details.
SPACE CAT GRADUATION. Saturday, November 11, at 12:25 in the afternoon.
The Public House Theatre 3914 N Clark St, Chicago, IL 60613
This is a single performance of a play that ran for 4 weeks in Normal, IL in June 2017. Audiences laughed a lot. I was interviewed about the play here.
The ticket to my show includes a viewing of 3 other short shows, running in their entirety from 12:25 to 1:45 pm.
This show is part of the Otherworld Paragon Festival, which runs 40 science fiction plays in 2 days.
Ticket info is here.
So if you happen to live nearby
Please feel free to just say hi.
UPDATE: Sad to say, another 10-minute show I had scheduled, Puppies In Space, has been cancelled for now. It was in another festival. I'm told the director they chose was unable to get a cast together in time.
SPACE CAT GRADUATION. Saturday, November 11, at 12:25 in the afternoon.
The Public House Theatre 3914 N Clark St, Chicago, IL 60613
This is a single performance of a play that ran for 4 weeks in Normal, IL in June 2017. Audiences laughed a lot. I was interviewed about the play here.
The ticket to my show includes a viewing of 3 other short shows, running in their entirety from 12:25 to 1:45 pm.
This show is part of the Otherworld Paragon Festival, which runs 40 science fiction plays in 2 days.
Ticket info is here.
So if you happen to live nearby
Please feel free to just say hi.
UPDATE: Sad to say, another 10-minute show I had scheduled, Puppies In Space, has been cancelled for now. It was in another festival. I'm told the director they chose was unable to get a cast together in time.
