Tonight’s the night we join forces with The Mighty Geek. We still don’t have a plan, but will that stop us? Pshaw (as the kiddies say).
I’m sure it will be entertaining no matter where we wind up. Just as I’m sure we’ll make it sound more exciting than it actually was.
Our sick little girl, Pepperkat, won’t be able to come with us. But we expect to be joined by the lovely (yet bitter) Kat. That is if she ever fricking tells me where to pick her up!!
Yeah, I know it’s against tradition.
Yeah, I know they’ve made a habit out of pissing me off over the last 10 years.
Yeah, I know it’s the fricking Yankees.
But I’m watching a real, live baseball game from Tokyo. Opening Day is here!
Go Devil Rays!
A Russian motorcycle rider named Elena says she routinely takes her bike into Chernobyl. She’s posted some incredible pictures of the GHOST TOWN.
Like many Americans, I suspect, to me Chernobyl was just another far off disaster. It didn’t help that it was hidden behind the iron curtain of the Soviets. I never really “got it” that 210,000 people were removed from their city and its surrounding villages. They left it all behind after the worst nuclear disaster in world history, and it’s still there…
People had to leave everything, from photos of their grandparents to cars. Their clothes, cash and passports has been changed by state authorities. This is incredible, people lived, had homes, country houses, garages, motorcyles, cars, money, friends and relatives, people had their life, each in own niche and then in a matter of hours this world fall in pieces and everything goes to dogs and after few hours trip with some army vehicle one stands under some shower, washing away radiation and then step in a new life, naked with no home, no friends, no money, no past and with very doubtful future.
[ via Slashdot ]
UPDATE: The motorcycle trips were a fantasy story she made up. The pictures are real. Though, you reportedly can take the same Chernobyl tour for $193.
We just got back from the first great movie I’ve seen this year. The Coen Brothers’ version of The Ladykillers (based on the 1955 version that starred Alec Guinness and Peter Sellers) is another clever, irony-filled comedy in the style of O Brother, Where Art Thou?
This time, instead of mountain music, it’s southern gospel that dominates the soundtrack, with the Soul Stirrers giving us the bulk of the beat. Instead of Homer’s Odyssey, the works of Edgar Allan Poe provide the literary allusions. And on top of the wry smiles and chuckles of “Brother,” this movie tosses in some good, old fashioned belly laughs.
Tom Hanks is over-the-top, yet wildly appropriate to the comic role of the Professor–leader of a gang that wants to use a little old lady’s house to steal a fortune from a local casino. Irma P. Hall as the little old lady steals the show as she rules every scene she’s in like a typical, tough-as-nails, Baptist grandma. The contrast between the effusively erudite Professor and the down-home lady is the main thrust of the film and one of the main sources of its humor. Hanks and Hall pull this off with perfection.
The rest of the cast is great, too. Marlon Wayans, J.K. Simmons, Tzi Ma and Ryan Hurst are Hanks’ gang, and they all give excellent performances. And it’s always fun to see George Wallace (the sheriff) and Stephen Root (the casino manager).
There are a bunch of little touches (there’s a nifty nod to Forrest Gump at the end, as well as a couple of Elmer Fudd references “No more buwwets?”) Watch for lots of symbolism from the beginning, and especially pay attention to the preacher’s sermon!
It’s been over a year since our last planet-shaking meeting, but try as they might, the forces for goodness and decency cannot prevent such cataclysmic episodes from taking place. It’s like a pressure cooker of geekness that needs to be released, lest the built-up energy explode like a 12-die fireball from a wizard named Daryl, leaving globs of bloody NPC residue all over the walls of your mother’s basement.
Yes, friends, The Mighty Geek is returning to the Land of the Mouse, and we will be there to greet him.
This time we’re bringing reinforcements.
Our sarcastateens were busy last time. So, the Mrs and I took on the Mighty Geek with just the two of us. We barely held our own. This time, he’ll have to contend with four tea-crazed wombats who don’t get out much. We expect to see him cry before the night is out.
So, if you’re out-and-about in Orlando Tuesday night (and can think of someplace cool to eat, ‘cuz I got nothin’), join us, won’t you? What’s the worst that could happen?
(I owe Blogcritics a crapload of articles, so this is my concert review.)
Flogging Molly was at the House of Blues last night, and I’m still blown away. I’ve listened to their Drunken Lullabies album a bazillion times since being introduced to it by my son, but it’s nothing like seeing them live. Flogging Molly is the perfect band to go see and to salute with a raised mug of stout. But since I wasn’t there strictly for my own enjoyment (I took the kids), I was happy to see that they’re a fine group of live musicians, as well.
Take the elements of an Irish folk band (fiddle, tin whistle, accordion, mandolin, banjo), throw it into a blender with some heart-pounding buzzsaw guitars (and a little Guinness), and you’ve got Flogging Molly. One minute they’ll have you arm-in-arm with the stranger beside you, wailing out a chorus or two of “Death Valley Queen” or “The Sun Never Shines (on Closed Doors)”. The next, you’ll be slam-dancing to a hyperspeed version of “Drunken Lullabies.” The whole show was a rollercoaster ride of Irish drinking songs and scream-till-your-throat-hurts punk rock.
The opening act, Throw Rag, was a pleasant surprise, too. They’re a wild group of California punks that feature a half-naked fat guy on a washboard and spoons! Yeah, baby! I wasn’t familiar with their music, and I’m not really sure I’d enjoy it without the visuals, but they really put on an awesome show. They were rockin’ and funny–a Ramones-like combination that I love.
If you have a chance to see either of these bands live, you would be insane to pass it up.
Just got back from the show. It was fricking awesome!
Must sleep now.
If I ever leave this world alive
I’ll thank you for all the things you did in my life
If I ever leave this world alive
I’ll come back down and sit beside your feet tonight
Wherever I am you’ll always be
More than just a memory
If I ever leave this world alive
If I ever leave this world alive
I’ll take on all the sadness that I left behind
If I ever leave this world alive
The madness that you feel will soon subside
So in a word don’t shed a tear
I’ll be here when it all gets weird
If I ever leave this world alive
So when in doubt just call my name
Just before you go insane
If I ever leave this world
Hey I may never leave this world
But if I ever leave this world alive
Yes, I am alive. I would have blogged about that this morning, but my SQL database (and thus MT) was unavailable.
On tonight’s agenda: Flogging Molly!
From the main office in Orlando, Florida, this programming note. The content of Solonor’s Ink Well will remain uncompromisingly static until Friday due to the absence of its creator.
Mr. Rasreth will be on a goodwill tour of North Carolina, starting today and returning Thursday, March 25. Until that time, please, enjoy the vast library of re-runs archived footage and OTHER NOISE available.
This footnote: I have heard from lots of people (oh, ok, 2) on dial-up connections that would like to listen to the aforementioned tunes, but dial-up is not conducive to such things. And several of them (oh, ok, 2) want me to put them on a CD. This I have agreed to do. However, since I was raised by a frugal New England mother, it feels like “wasting” a CD to only put 4 songs on it. So, I’m going to record a full CD’s worth.
If you would like a CD (or if you have a song request), leave a message at the beep.
Well, I finally saw Mel Gibson’s little movie, yesterday. Since everyone who’s been dying to see it surely has by now, I won’t bother with hiding my opinions behind the “spoiler” banner.
Bottom line: I must be the most jaded Christian in history, but I’m glad I saw it.
