|
|
|
June 11th, 2009
05:59 am - Heavy Things
Uly and I could use help moving a heavy file cabinet, which we aren't confident we can handle with the two of us.
Uly is going up to Bellingham on Sat to help Sarah and James move... I'm not sure I will. I'd like to, but it's been a long spring and I'm really ready for a break. I'll see on Saturday morning.
-cjo
|
May 30th, 2009
09:42 pm - Moving
Uly and I are moving. Our landlady gave us notice that she planned to sell the house, so we started apartment hunting. Then, after we found one and put an application in, she told us she worked things out so she would be able to keep it, and asked if we wanted to stay. She's not jerking us around - just the opposite, actually. She's a realtor who has had financial trouble due to the market slump. She wanted to keep the house but wasn't sure she could swing it... but I guess she managed to do so. But by the time she changed her plans, Uly and I had already gotten excited about moving to the new place. It's quite close to where we live now, but it has two bedrooms and is even closer to Greenlake Park.
We moved a bunch of boxes today... are planning to rent a U-Haul in a week or two. We got off to a good start, but I crashed hard in late afternoon, probably because I'm just getting over being sick. We've slimmed down a lot compared to when we had our house, but we still have a fair bit of Stuff.
|
March 6th, 2009
10:17 pm - Watchmen
Uly and Jen Hopkins and I are going to see The Watchmen at the Cinerama at 8:10 Saturday. If anyone cares to join us, the more the merrier. I recommend buying tickets in advance.
|
January 9th, 2009
10:02 pm - Milk (the movie)
Uly, Jen and I just went to see Milk, a movie about Harvey Milk, first openly gay US politician elected to a major office. It was amazing - compelling and poignant.
Frost/Nixon on the other hand was... eh, not bad exactly, but pretty dull. Nixon was the only character of interest, really.
|
December 18th, 2008
09:59 pm - Shopping
I know it's coming up on Christmas, so I should be Christmas shopping... instead I bought myself a fancy coat.
A while back I retired my beloved green coat. It showed its wear in various ways; one of which was that the slight fuzz had worn away into dark shiny patches that made the coat look dirty even when it had just been cleaned.
Some time after that, I picked up a $10 jacket from Uly's favorite discount store, Steve & Barry's. Or maybe that's Steven Barry's, I forget. Technically it isn't a discount store, but it's priced like one. Now this jacket was a real bargain for $10, but it was, well, $10. It had various weak points, but the #1 flaw was that it did not have a warm fuzzy hood. It had some weird plastic thing that mostly wouldn't stay on, and didn't do much except flop down over my eyes when it did. I wanted something warmer.
Now left to my own devices, I'd probably have picked up something at the mall. But Uly lobbied for REI. He felt that anything available at the mall would be only a minor upgrade in warmth. Upon reflection this made a lot of sense. I hate being cold, and nice jackets tend to be pricey regardless of where you get them. Also, they last for years, especially if you are someone who hates shopping but becomes emotionally attached to jackets. So instead of paying $lots_of_money for a warmer jacket, why not pay 2*$lots_of_money for a MUCH warmer jacket? So we went shopping, and after 15 years of living in Seattle, I made my first ever really expensive purchase from REI.
And it's heavenly. I immediately put it to the test today, when I waited outside for a bus which never came. It is an enormous upgrade over my other jacket, and I am so glad I have it. Also, it's white. Black is lovely for certain things such as velvet dresses, but I hated wearing a black jacket. I felt so drab and invisible while I crossed streets in the dark.
Now I just need boots...
|
July 15th, 2008
08:22 pm - WallE
Some movies are fun but forgettable. Some linger on the mind. WallE proved to be one of the latter, and the more time passes, the more I realize just how much I liked it.
I hear that there's been a certain reaction to the movie by people who think it's derogatory toward fat people. I don't think the movie was derogatory. I do think it may unintentionally reinforce certain sterotypes, and that's unfortunate. But the movie had so many good qualities that I am easily willing to forgive this flaw.
"WallE" is in part a romance between two robots. But more than that, "WallE" is about the search for love and meaning. The movie tells us that we have forgotten how to love, how to connect, how to value life, but that we can remember.
( long rambling review )
|
July 1st, 2008
07:45 pm - Comics Favorites
![[info]](http://l-stat.livejournal.com/img/userinfo.gif) paulcarp asked about favorite comics, & I decided to make a separate post of it.
My all time favorites would be stuff everyone's already heard of - Sandman, other Gaiman/McKean collaborations such as Signal to Noise, Mr. Punch, McKean's solo work Cages. All stand out as being beautiful artistically and rich in content.
However, art does not have to be as rich and gorgeous as McKean's to satisfy me. There is a class of art which I think of as "standard comics art," and it can be done poorly or done well. mcjulie once did a fantastic deconstruction and reconstruction of a a comics babe which illustrated this beautifully. I couldn't find it on the http://gothhouse.org site though. By "standard comics" I guess I mean detailed panels, solid outlines, full color, mainly realistic presentation even when the subject is fantastic... I'm not sure how else to put it. As long as it is done well, I find it satisfying.
Other work I've really liked:
The Rabbi's Cat, Johann Safran?: a wryly funny story about a cat which learns to speak, and which (of course) promptly begins to tell lies, much to the Rabbi's dismay. Well, what do you expect from a cat? I put this one first because it's relatively recent, so you might stumble across it (or the sequel, which I don't have). I found it in Barnes and Noble, too. It was neat to see an artsy comic in B&N.
The Watchmen, Alan Moore and Dave Gibbons: I reread this recently. It stood the test of time remarkably well. It captures the teetering-on-the-edge-of-armageddon mood of the 80's, with the threat of nuclear war driving the story. The art is rich in detail, all of it story-relevant and not mere clutter.
Finder, Carla Speed McNeil. SF setting with a heavy emphasis on cultural conflicts. Her art sometimes gets criticized because it varies in the level of realism used. Personally I didn't consider that a flaw. Over time I think she drifted toward a more steady style, though. These stories are just plain fun, and they also are very "female", in that the male protagonist is designed to appeal to women (as compared to many male protagonists which are designed to appeal to other guys).
The Tale of One Bad Rat, Bryan Talbot. Simple but beautiful art, and a compelling story about a girl trying to overcome a difficult past.
Transmetropolitan, Warren Ellis: sf series with an insane journalist modeled after Hunter
S. Thompson. Believe it or not, I actually learned a little about political journalism from this. Not a lot, but a little. Again, detailed creative art.
Jamie Delano's Hellblazer stories: some fantastic work. Dave McKean did the covers, and also the interior of the final issue of his run. I forget who all worked on the others, but there's a set of three issues bouncing around in time which I loved for the combination of art and story. Unfortunately, I haven't much liked anything else I've read by Delano.
Mail Order Bride, I forget who. It's a bit more cynical than most of my favorites, but the lovely art and bizarre, compelling story kept me turning the pages.
There's more, of course... but not as much more as I wish there were. The comics industry seems dominated by two types of stories: superhero stories with gorgeous covers and solid interior art, and depressing slice-of-life stories with deliberately ugly art. I don't mind superhero stories, but they aren't a big passion. I don't care for depressing slice-of-life stories, nor for ugly art.
Oh, make that three types of story, the third being best summed up as "violent." I don't care for Sin City, for example, despite the lovely art. I think the art for Sin City is fantastic, especially in the earlier books. The story content, on the other hand, is just a bit much for me. Ditto for Stray Bullets.
|
June 29th, 2008
01:45 pm - The Three Stages of Comics
Stage one: finding them. When I'm in a comic store looking for something neat, my choice is heavily influenced by how beautiful or engaging the artwork is. If I already have a recommendation, it's different, but if I'm picking blind it will be based heavily on art.
Stage two: reading them. At this point, suddenly the beauty of any given panel of art matters much less, and the quality of the art as illustration matters much more. I'm in the grip of the story, and the purpose of comics art is to tell a story. Art which is gorgeous as art can be thin and dull in story content, whereas art which isn't so much to my taste can be compelling.
Stage three: rereading them. At this point, the allure of beauty and the quality of illustration matter about equally. Either will motivate me to pick up the work again.
The comics I love best are the ones which are both beautiful and which tell a complex, well-illustrated story. Comics at their best are rich in nuance and detail, so that even though the word count is low, the content is rich.
|
12:21 pm - Entertainment
In Bruges (movie): ummm.... it was good, and funny, and well acted... and eeew. Not a feel-good movie. Not ultra-depressing, but it reminds me of why I shouldn't go see gangster comedies.
See, there's this hit man, and he's done something bad, and he feels really guilty about it. And he goes around all angst-ridden and puppy-dog eyed, and gets into trouble in Bruges where he's supposed to be lying low, but you feel sorry for him, because his puppy-dog eyes are so big... and his buddy is just genuinely a nice guy. Well, except that his buddy is a hit man too. But if you overlook that, he's really nice. So you feel sorry for them both. And then one thing leads to another, and both their lives are at risk... and it's just one big comedic tragedy. Except of course that they're hit guys and brought it all on themselves.
Well worth seeing if you are prepared to indulge a morbid sense of humor.
WallE (movie): lovely, poignant, and sad. It has lots of funny moments, but it's definitely not a comedy.
Circus Contraption (genuine big-top circus!): morbidly fantastic. Truly delightful.
|
June 14th, 2008
08:54 am - HULK SMASH! or Why Bruce Banner is a Proper Angsty Hero
Uly and I saw The Hulk last night, and I enjoyed it quite a lot.
The fight scenes, to be honest, were a bit dull. I liked the first one the most, in which military personnel chase Bruce Banner though Rio de Janeiro as he attempts not to transform. Most of them, however, did not show much creativity or variety. Instead they settled into a rut: military guys shoot stuff at the hulk. Stuff bounces off harmlessly. Rinse and repeat.
What made the movie delightful was two thins. First, it was a sweet little romance. Second, Ed Norton was a delight as Bruce Banner.
I'm a sucker for angsty heroes who suffer nobly, but there's a fine line to walk. If the hero merely wallows in his own misery like a pathetic loser, what you have is not a hero but a whiner with superpowers. On the other hand, if there's no emotional component to his suffering, what you have is merely an action scene with no angst.
What you need for a proper angsty hero is someone who actively strives his best, who throws his heart into trying to succeed, but who can't because the deck is stacked against him. And who, knowing that, nonetheless never quits trying. In short, you need a story which makes the viewer feel sorry for the hero, not one in which the hero feels sorry for himself.
( Spoilers behind the cut. )
|
June 10th, 2008
06:37 pm - Kucinich Pursues Impeachment of Bush
Last night congressman Kucinich spent around 4 hours proposing 35 articles of impeachment against George Bush. There has been little media coverage, and nothing much seems likely to come of it, but it's interesting nonetheless. What he had to say:
http://chun.afterdowningstreet.org/amomentoftruth.pdf
|
May 11th, 2008
01:42 pm
From last Saturday evening up until this morning, Uly and I have had friends visiting from out of town. One made it for a whole week, the other could only come for part of the weekend. It's been a blast. The only fly in the ointment is that Uly was sick during the early part of the week, and I am sick now.
Mostly the fun came from seeing two very cool people. Both were guys we met through Nexus (the online gaming server that Uly and I play on). One we had met before and one we had not. Both are great company.
In addition to just hanging around, chatting, and wandering the city, on Thursday we went on a gray whale watching cruise. I'd rather have gone to see the orcas, but we were just a few days early for the orca watching season. It was an amazing sight.
One of them is, among other things, a musician. You can hear some of his music at:
http://gearheadmusic.com/audio.html
We missed seeing much of MikeK, who was down for the weekend but was busy with family obligations.
|
February 17th, 2008
07:46 am - Jonathan Strange and Mr. Norrell
Sharkins loaned me "Jonathan Strange & Mr. Norrell" by Susanna Clarke. I just finished it. It's a delightful, comfortable, engaging, endearing, just plain fun book. It's a quick read despite its length. I'm not sure what makes it quite so delightful, but it is.
|
February 13th, 2008
08:29 pm - Tai Chi
I've signed up for a tai chi class. I was inspired by the tai chi session that Steven Barnes held at Orycon. He does that routinely at local cons - holds a tai chi class at 9:00 AM which is usually the first bit of programming. I always think about going and never do. At Orycon I finally went.
We got a bit of tai chi, but we also got a wonderful inspirational lecture. That term (inspirational lecture) is riddled with connotations of cheesy slogans and high school pep talks, but that isn't what I mean. He spoke in a highly compelling and charismatic fashion about how strength begins in the mind, about developing a relationship with one's body, about generosity and honesty of spirit, and more things than I can sum up in this post.
All that wasn't exactly about tai chi, except that to him, it was. It related to how he learned these things, and the lessons implicit in the study of any physical art. I was sufficiently inspired that I sought out a tai chi class, though it took me some time to get around to it.
I'm not sure what I think yet, but I am glad I signed up.
|
November 22nd, 2007
09:37 am - Happy Thanksgiving!
See subject :)
|
September 5th, 2007
09:37 pm - Car Mechanic
Can anyone recommend a car mechanic? Our old mechanic closed up shop, and we really need to bring in our car for some long overdue preventive maintenance.
|
August 5th, 2007
09:14 pm - Bees
Cithra has been kind enough to pass on her issues of Science magazine for me to enjoy, and the latest (well, the latest to me, anyway) issue has two nifty articles about honeybees.
The first relates to the payoff of polyandry in the harsh and pragmatic realm of establishing new colonies. When bees swarm, a mere 20% of the swarms succeed in founding a new colony. The rest die of starvation during their first winter. This article presents evidence that polyandry gives bees a strong edge in this critical task.
Honeybees, like many social insects, are polyandrous. The queen bee mates with multiple drones, and some offspring result from each drone she mates with.
From the standpoint of genetic altruism, polyandry should be selected against, because it decreases the degree to which the hive members are related, and therefore the extent to which cooperative caring for offspring is rewarded.
From a genetic perspective, if an individual cares for a close relative who shares that individual's genes, and thus helps ensure that this relative successfully breeds and that the offspring survive, said individual helps propagate some of their own genes. In contrast, if an adult bee risks her life to protect young bees who are unrelated to her, she gains no genetic reward. This aspect of genetics should select against polyandry.
Yet since bees are in fact polyandrous, genetic diversity must benefit the hive in some fashion. To test how polyandry affected the ability of new swarms to establish successful hives, researchers artificially inseminated queen bees. Twelve bees received sperm from fifteen drones
from a mix of colonies, while nine bees received sperm from just one drone. After putting the queens and a retinue of worker bees through a process designed to simulate the natural swarming conditions and behavior, researchers then studied the behavior of the new hives.
The results? Genetically diverse bees built roughly 30% more comb (or hive). Within the first two weeks, genetically diverse bees had stockpiled 37% more food. When a brief period of abundant foraging opportunities came along late in July, genetically diverse bees resumed
building comb, while the more genetically uniform bees did not. Genetically diverse bees reared higher numbers of young, until by the end of August, the diverse hives had 26,700 bees per colony, while the more uniform hives had a paltry 5,300.
Half of the genetically uniform hives perished in a cold period in late August. All of the diverse hives survived. By mid-December, all the remaining genetically uniform hives exhausted their food supplies and starved. At this point, the more diverse hives too began to struggle, but three of them made it through the winter and survived until the study's end in May.
The next question on the table - why are the benefits so dramatic?
Part of the answer may lie in bee individuality.
Bees don't just get slotted into a role from birth. Rather, they move from one profession to another over the course of their lives. Young bees tend the queen, older ones construct and defend the hive, and finally, most bees end their lives as foragers. However, not every bee
follows the same precise career path. And the odds that any given bee will take on any given task in the hive have been linked to their genotype, or the specific genetic inheritance that bee receives. Given that, the authors found it natural to speculate that some bees just aren't much good at some tasks.
The second article related to learning. Yep, bees can learn. They're actually quite bright, in fact. Young bees, however, can't learn to sting. Mama drugs it out of them.
Queen bees emit a pheromone known as queen mandibular pheromone, or QMP. It has a whole slew of effects, and young bees get the privilege of not only feeding the queen, but licking her and distributing the pheromone to other colony members. Evidently, high concentrations of QMP are unpleasant. Left unsuppressed, the researchers speculate, the unpleasant stimulus could prompt a sting response from the bees who tend her.
Fortunately, one of the side effects of the pheromone in young bees is to suppress aversive learning; i.e., the type of learning which, in bees, leads to stinging. Meanwhile, learning related to food takes place through different brain pathways, and goes on just fine.
Fascinating creatures... though I still get a bit twitchy when they hover! (Not that I'd mind... with all of the talk about colony dieoff, I just wish I saw more bees around locally.)
|
August 4th, 2007
09:35 am - Shakespeare in the Park
Uly and I are going to go see The Two Gentlemen of Verona at Lincoln Park at 7:00 PM tonight. A couple weeks ago we went to see Richard III and had a great time - and it's free! If anyone would like to join us, give us a call.
|
February 23rd, 2007
04:42 pm - Free Bookcases
Hi,
Ulyh and I are getting rid of some bookcases in preparation for
moving into a smaller space. They're about 7 feet high, 5 shelves,
white pressboard, lightweight but quite durable and in good condition.
Our transportation options are limited - it would really help if anyone
who wants them could find a way to pick them up. That said, if anyone
wants them and can't get them, we will try to arrange something.
|
September 17th, 2006
09:27 pm - Matari
Late Saturday afternoon, Matari developed a blood clot which caused paralysis of her hind legs. We brought her to our local vet, who told us the prognosis for recovery was very poor, but who treated her with aspirin (a blood thinner) and painkillers. We had planned to bring her back in on Monday for evaluation.
Sadly, Matari did not make it until Monday. She underwent increasing distress, and finally Ulysses and I took her to an emergency 24 hour clinic. The vet there stressed once again her poor chance of recovery, and also stressed the fact that this condition is extremely painful. He was well versed in this condition for two reasons - one, many cases come in to emergency treatment due to it's quick onset and drastic nature, and two, he made a particular study of it in school. He strongly recommended humane euthanasia due to the severe pain the condition causes. So, with great sorrow but with the conviction that we were doing the right thing, we had Matari put to sleep.
We will miss her greatly.
|
|
|
