"O'Bannon, whose credits include co-writing "Blue Thunder" and "Total Recall," died Thursday at St. John's Health Center in Santa Monica after losing his 30-year battle with Crohn's disease, said his wife, Diane. His career began with the low-budget 1974 sci-fi film "Dark Star," a dark comedy directed by John Carpenter that began as a USC student project and was co-written by O'Bannon and Carpenter from their original story. (O'Bannon played what has been described as a "reluctant, flunky astronaut.")"
- edythe
from Bookmarklet
Irritating: Rochelle and I swap evenings of who is on point with Audrey so the other gets some downtime, some time to do some projects, watch a movie, or just relax. The past two or three times when I've been off point, I haven't been motivated to do anything. No mixing, no writing, no gaming, nothing. It kind of sucks.
It doesn't help that today's been a fiercely poor one overall.
- Akiva Moskovitz
Oh, it's not the baby. It's the fact that when I get some free time I have no motivation to capitalize on it. So I end up just sitting around, doing nothing. I just wish I had the energy and initiative to do something constructive or at least more fun than browsing in circles.
- Akiva Moskovitz
In brighter news, it's Shabbat (Gut Shabbos, all!) and it's the last night of Chanukah which means two things near and dear to my heart: latkes and salmon. Helllllllllllllllllll yes, Rochelle makes some mighty fine latkes and she can coax flavor out of fish with the least amount of effort.
- Akiva Moskovitz
Understand. But it's helped by the fact the baby is so fun. Hard to want to do anything else!
- Louis Gray
Having kids sucks the life out of you...in a good way...and I have found it profoundly difficult to be motivated to do anything but vegetate for the past 13 years of kid-dom. In other words, it only gets harder, so, good luck. :)
- Josh Haley
Akiva, maybe we can go find some people to harass together on friendfeed when you're not on point. ;)
- Cristo
Re "I just wish I had the energy and initiative to do something constructive or at least more fun than browsing in circles," gee does that ring home.
- SuezanneC Baskerville
"Daphne Stickles came to me from the Hedgehog Welfare Society, I am now a member. She was found by police officers in a closet in a hat. The man who owned her had been sent to jail and the police were there to look for evidence and found her on accident. She was in Vermont and hedgies are still illegal there, so the police contacted the HWS and asked them to get her out of Vermont asap. They called me. I had bronchitis but left for Vermont the next morning to get this hedgie that the initial rescuer named Daphne. I added Stickles later because she is bit of a grumpy girl and tended to ball up alot. I dont mind at all and I believe Stickles came to enjoy it here, she certainly didnt mind having her picture taken, with several of her flickr pics having well over 500 views, and a succesful merchandise line on cafepress. Stickles with diagnosed with a malignant jaw tumor in Oct 2009. We knew it was fast growing and she wouldnt be around much longer but she held on much longer than I...
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- edythe
from Bookmarklet
"But this article mentioned that Louisiana was number one in the nation! I was excited, given the explosion in suicides following Katrina, to see that we’re evidently all right; but then this: “The scientists caution, however, that the top spot, Louisiana, might not reflect current levels of well-being since the data were collected before the disruption caused by Hurricane Katrina. They are confident that data for the other states does accurately reflect happiness levels.”"
- edythe
from Bookmarklet
"When I left New Orleans and went to Bard, one immediate thing I noticed was that happiness wasn't considered as cool in New York."
- edythe
"The Max Motion 4 get an out of the blue call from the Village Vanguard jazz club - they need a replacement act in one hour. The hard bop quartet struggles to get there in time, incorporating their journeys into the music. Illustrated in vivid acrylic paintings that are meant to evoke the classic Blue Note album covers of the 50s and 60s, "Making the Gig" is a treat for the eyes. As a read, the sentences are very aware of sounds and rhythms. The feel is of a well-constructed jazz solo. And the story is relentless: a rush to make a potentially career-making gig. Targeted to 4 to 9 year-olds, my 2 year old enjoys the pictures and the SOUND of the words passing by."
- edythe
from Bookmarklet
"If there's one thing that points to shoddy police work, it's the inability to catch a monkey. Florida police have nicely sidestepped this problem by deciding to let the woods be overtaken by a delinquent primate who was too wily for their half-hearted monkey-catching techniques. Authorities are worried that the monkey, probably a macaque, could be dangerous, but this shouldn't be a problem as long as nobody tries to steal its tiny accordion or insults its mother. P"
- edythe
from Bookmarklet
I'm going after that tiny accordion. Who's with me????
- Noah Belson
"Madonna prefers buying shoes to having sex. Renowned designer Jimmy Choo says the 'Celebration' hitmaker - who was previously married to director Guy Ritchie and actor Sean Penn - admitted she loves his creations far more than getting intimate with the men in her life. He said: "Madonna told me that buying a pair of my shoes is more satisfying than having sex with a man. "At least you know they are going to last for ever!""
- edythe
from Bookmarklet
"The response to ”Old Mike, New Christine” was tremendous, providing Penner with a quick emotional lift. Within a day, the article in the Times had received half a million hits online, making it one of the paper’s most popular reads of the year. Some 538 emails arrived in Penner’s old inbox, and all but two of them were supportive. “He was elated,” says one Times colleague who spoke with Penner in the days following the piece’s publication. “He was really buoyant. Here was this person who was having a renaissance or a metamorphosis and seemed really joyous. It was very positive and moving.”"
- edythe
from Bookmarklet
"What Daniels didn’t know then—what she couldn’t possibly have known, this early in her transition—was just how grueling the hormones can be or what effect being the most prominent American transsexual since tennis player Renée Richards would have on her life."
- edythe
this is so sad. i had completely missed that he had committed suicide a few weeks ago.
- edythe
"The Daily Beast's Jacob Bernstein is the first writer who wasn't a friend to put together a somewhat lengthy examination of the months leading up to Mike Penner's suicide. In Requiem for a Transexual Sportswriter, he describes Penner becoming more and more reclusive, even after he dropped his identity as Christine Daniels. Christine Kahrl, the transexual writer for Baseball Prospectus, also discusses her advice against that Daniels not write the highly-read Los Angeles Times piece that announce her transformation."
- edythe
from Bookmarklet
hee, yes. i like the meese, too. but he is tricky as a cookie. this particular cookie, anyway. there's always a piece of him breaking off. he's a broken moose.
- edythe
"Your tax-deductible donation funds critical legal battles to defend free speech, stand up for privacy, fight for government transparency, support consumer rights, and protect your right to innovation in the digital world. PLUS! For a limited time, pick up a special edition xkcd t-shirt or hooded sweatshirt as a special thanks for your donation! You can even get Randall Munroe's new book xkcd: volume 0 at the Defender level. Note that all xkcd apparel will be shipped in January 2010. Celebrate nearly 20 years of fighting for freedom with EFF!"
- edythe
from Bookmarklet
"20th Anniversary xkcd Shirt Bring out your inner superhero and defend digital freedom with EFF! Special edition EFF 20th anniversary xkcd t-shirts were created specially by Randall Munroe with the comic on the front and an xkcd-ized EFF logo on the back."
- edythe
Thank you guys! I'm stoked :D The credit goes to my mum and her friend though ... they spent a long time in planning and decorating my two windows :)
- Penny
"There are six LA County shelters (Downey, Gardena, Baldwin Park, Castaic, Lancaster, and Agoura Hills), and all will open at 9 a.m. on Saturday for a "Save-A- Stray for the Holidays" aimed to encourage those seeking to bring pets home for the holidays to get one from a shelter and not buy one from a store or breeder. Said Michelle Roache, deputy director of outreach and special enforcement for the LA County Department of Animal Care & Control, of the more than 90,000 animals they take in each year: "Supporting adoption rather than irresponsible breeding is one way to significantly help to reduce this pet overpopulation problem.""
- edythe
from Bookmarklet
"NBC has turned to House M.D Seasons 1-5 DVD Boxset creator David Shore to develop a remake of the 1970s drama The Rockford Files. The original series — which starred James Garner as Jim Rockford, an ex-convict private eye who worked cases out of his trailer in Malibu — ran for six years and put writer-producer Stephen J. Cannell on the map. Garner's performance also earned him an Emmy. Shore, a fan of the original, understands the resistance to remakes. "I had no interest in adapting any old stuff, but this was the one exception," he told Variety. "It's one of the shows that made me want to become a writer." The idea for the remake came from Carousel Television, Steve Carell's production company, which inquired about the rights to the Universal TV property. Since House M.D Seasons 1-5 DVD Boxset is also produced by Universal, executives felt Shore was the man for the job. Shore said he's not sure how they will modernize the series, but the basic premise and character will be the...
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- edythe
from Bookmarklet
All I ask is that they not make Rockford a 23 year old guy and not cast a former underwear model to play him. Rockford should be mid to late 40's or nothing at all.
- Noah Belson
This is one of those shows that makes me think, "Wow. What a difference cell phones make." Noah, I agree about the age thing.
- Kendra <3 Three Lions
Yeah I'm actually going to miss seeing Rockford pull off somewhere to drop a dime into a payphone, I always enjoy that. For that matter, I hope they don't make him too computer savvy and have him knowing how to hack into DMV files to get info, etc. On the other hand i REALLY hope they don't give him a 21 year old sidekick who automatically knows how to do all those things. Do I sound old and complainy enough?
- Noah Belson
Oh wow. WOW. Yes, that would be perfect. I was going to say Nathan Fillion in a couple of years but wow, Bruce would be really great.
- Noah Belson
I can't really think of anyone better for the role right now than Bruce Campbell. In fact, Rockford might fail without him.
- Internet's Tad
from fftogo
Why is House consistently called "House M.D Seasons 1-5 DVD Boxset" ?
- Andrew C
i am looking up Bruce Campbell... (Andrew C, good question.)
- edythe
5 years ago I'd never have said that Hugh Laurie could ever be cast as the lead on an hour long show, but the House program would have proved me wrong. Clearly the guy behind that show would rather put the right person in the role, rather than the most bankable. Which is nice, actually. Anyone else would cast Ashton Kutcher as Rockford and then wait for the checks to roll in.
- Noah Belson
"This probably doesn't stand out to anybody who's not a nut about 1970s and 1980s television. I looked into trying to get this plate for my car, only to find out it was already taken here in Nebraska. Looks like it could be a standard Nebraska plate, except that Lancaster and Douglas counties use a style of 3 letters followed by 3 numbers. 853 OKG is Jim Rockford's license #. It was on his golden Firebird on all 7 seasons of The Rockford Files. It is SO cool that somebody has this one! I'm TV geeking out! [Seen parked to my own vehicle when I got off of work this past Thursday night in downtown Lincoln, NE.]" http://cannellfan.livejournal.com/60054...
- edythe
from Bookmarklet
Oh man now I want this plate. Also a Firebird.
- Noah Belson
OMG!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Sorry, I wrote a song about Rockfish called "853 OKG (come save me)".
- Kendra <3 Three Lions
Heh. It's wonderful that anyone (outside of Issac Hayes) even knows the term "Rockfish." I enjoy that so very deeply.
- Noah Belson
"$18.00 Perfect for cold beverages and dinner party cocktails, these polished stainless steel straws add a little zing to any drink. Set of six"
- edythe
from Bookmarklet
Silly and cool all at once. I'd hate to be the one to clean them though. "Oh, Adrian...."
- Admiral Anika