Baron Dave Romm
Eureka Season 3
By Baron Dave Romm
Shockwave Radio Theater podcasts
A bad time for Dark Green
Baron Dave's former
Tilley hat, with Minneapolis in the background,
7/11/09
My Tilley hat died yesterday. Ten years of service deserves honor.
I've worn this hat through thick and thin, from Minnesota to Antarctica, in wind and rain. An entire crop of kids and a bunch of new friends have almost never seen me without it. Sure, it was just a hat, but a constant companion.
And my color, too. A few months after acquiring the jungle-colored hat, I bought my first and only car, a new 1999 Protégé. I wanted blue, but they only had the green in stock, so I took the Emerald Mica. Yes, I bought a car to match my hat. Well, sort of.
A few weeks ago, this car was declared salvage. To make a very long story short, someone backed into the parked car while I wasn't in it, and their insurance claimed that repairs cost more than the car's current value. After a long negotiation, I got a large settlement check and kept the car. Sure, it looks ten years old now, but all damage is cosmetic, and mileage seems to have improved a bit. I'll drive it for several more years, or get a hefty trade-in if I get a new car again. Further, it's a negotiation, they can't just tell you what you get; the final numbers we used were high enough that Progressive really screwed themselves: They should have just fixed the damage and be done with it.
The third thing in my Dark Green wardrobe is a backpack, bought long before either the hat or the car. Indeed, the car replaced the backpack in the schlepping niche. I use it now and again, mostly when I take the bus downtown, and it's hardly new, but is in fine shape. Should I worry?
Eureka Season 3
Eureka just started it's third season on the newly respelled Psy-Phi Channel. As is often the case, the plot was stupid and best not to dwell on the details. The reason to watch is for the characters and situations. In this case, one of the best characters was a robot named "Sheriff Andy" who replaced Jack Carter after his firing at the end of last season. A lot of people have their fun little turns and the technobabble slips easily from the tongue.
You can watch old episodes online (I'm not going to link to the videos, but they're not hard to find) and find plot summaries in several places. A lightweight bit o' skiffy that I enjoy watching, partially because new episodes come on when others are in reruns. Thanks to Marty for listing the show.
Brief Takes: Criminal Intent, MJ Funeral, Sarah Palin
Rumors of Jeff Goldblum's death were exaggerated, said Jeff Goldblum on The Colbert Report. Still, the caption "Jeff Goldblum, 1952-2009" appeared every time the camera caught him in the audience. I have no idea how any of these rumors started or why anyone spreads them, but he's having loads of fun and so should you. So let me sling some kudos at his role in Law and Order: Criminal Intent. He plays a slightly loony but brilliant detective, back on the farce after seven years of being away, with his own demons. Sound familiar? Of course. Monk, Psych, The Mentalist, and Castle arevariants on the theme, among others. Gone are the days of Dragnet and Streets of San Francisco where the cops were the normal ones, dealing with criminals as if committing crime were a psychological flaw. Now, it takes one to catch one. Shows like these succeed or fail on skill of the actors and the quality of writing, and Criminal Intent is a prime example of both, plus good production values and an established backstory. Monk is the most fun to watch and The Mentalist is the most cleverly written; Criminal Intent is top-notch crime drama with a twist.
I'm still playing "Michael Jackson Roulette" with CNN: The conservative news network is usually watchable, but if a mention is made about Michael Jackson, either by a talking head or on a crawl, the channel gets changed, usually to Boomerang (older cartoons). Of my intermittent and infrequent watching since his death, CNN has gone exactly one commercial-to-commercial break without triggering the poison pill.
To be fair, Jackson's music burrowed into many lives which his death has brought to the surface. I hear music blasting from people's cars all the time (see above picture, with hat). Usually a mix of latino, rap and current hits, I now hear a lot of Michael Jackson. I'm a little surprised, and more than a little touched. That's the honor he deserves.
Sarah Palin makes it too easy. She's a quitter and a loser and her sleazy, corrupt career as Alaska governor is ending with an embarrassingly incoherent rant, though indictments threaten. Despite one of the worst years any politician has gone out of their way to wallow in, her approval ratings went up among GOP. The sphincter conservatives are out in force. The GOP has declared themselves irrelevant, and their arrogance won't let them change direction. I predict they'll get louder and more abusive as they not-so-slowly get pushed from the debate.
Landslide Al Franken, in the senate at last
The 2008 Minnesota Senate race between incumbent Norm Coleman and challenger Al Franken was close, and the recount was necessary. Suspiciously, every recount and every court decision increased the number of votes the Democratic candidate was alloted. This has been a pattern for a long time, going back to the 2000 election at least, and doesn't even count voter suppression. But no one wants to investigate Republican voter fraud or right-wing election bias.
At some point, the Republicans were simply throwing lawyers at a losing cause, just for nefarious political purposes, thwarting the will of the people. Gov. Tim Pawlenty suffered for his part in the GOP embarrassment. The one-time short-lister for the VP nomination won by Sarah Palin isn't going to run for a third term and his national aspirations are pretty much shot. Minnesotans might elect Pawlenty, Coleman and Bachmann, but not all of us and at some point even the right-wingers realize that they've been played for suckers.
Two things were further demonstrated by Pawlenty's shallow excuses to delay signing the election certificate for Franken: 1) Republicans don't believe in Democracy, and 2) Conservatives don't believe in America.
I'm in favor of the two-party system. However, it's less clear that the Republican Party should be one of the two. The GOP is now the Dixipubs, having been taken over by the racist, sexist, anti-semitic, homophobic, religiously insane, cowardly bunch of the type who voted for Strom Thurmond's Dixiecrat Party in 1948 under the slogan "Segregation Forever!" The same Southerners who were behind McCain/Palin and their "America First!" slogan are threatening to hold their breath and secede unless daddy increases their allowance. (I'll get back to that essay in a bit.)
There is no third party poised to fill in the slot of small-l-liberal on social issues while small-c-conservative on business issues, which was a large swath of the Republican party from Teddy Roosevelt through George HW Bush. I suspect that the Democrats are the new Real Republicans, leaving room for an actual Liberal party to emerge. I'm not going to hold my breath.
Is Bastille Day France's Cinco de Mayo?
I wonder if Bastille Day, which celebrates the French peasantry kicking out the French aristocracy , basically the same holiday as Cinco de Mayo, which celebrates the Mexican peasantry kicking out the French aristocracy. The French Revolution was 70+ years earlier earlier and led to Napoleon and further French kings and other bad stuff. The Mexicans did it more-or-less right the first time, though their governments since then are hardly the models of stability.
Oh, the French aristocracy. They should have paid attention to Nostradamus when they had the chance.
Baron Dave Romm is a conceptual artist and a noble of Ladonia who produces Shockwave Radio Theater, writes in a Live Journal demi-blog maintains a Facebook Page, plays with a very weird CD collection and an ever growing list of political links. Dave Romm reviews things at random for obscure web sites. You can read all his music recommendations from Bartcop-E. Podcasts of Shockwave Radio Theater. Permanent archive. More radio programs, interviews and science fiction humor plays can be accessed on the Shockwave Radio audio page.
Thanks to everyone who has sent me music to play on the air.
Recommended Reading
from Bruce
Froma Harrop: Are Latinos Ethnics or a Racial Minority? (creators.com)
Some years ago, I shared cocktails along San Antonio's River Walk with Richard Estrada, the legendary columnist for The Dallas Morning News. Estrada would trace the nuances of the Mexican-American experience while framing it in the long sweep of American history.
Susan Estrich: Michelle's Purse (creators.com)
Was that a $5,000 VBH alligator clutch that Michelle Obama was carrying in Italy? So the company bragged, absolutely certain it was theirs, until the White House responded that it was not the alligator but the patent, an $875 VBH clutch and not the more expensive model.
Harriet Lane: My year of living simply (guardian.co.uk)
Family life is made up of modest duties we've learned to despise. Harriet Lane was forced to give up work, and took great pleasure in doing them properly.
Still on the 45 (guardian.co.uk)
Art-pop, glam rock and a shared love of 19th-century socialism: it's good to have Cornershop's Tjinder and Ben back. But where on earth have they been for the last seven years, asks Sylvia Patterson.
Kyra Kyles: "Fang-demonium: Fans are bloodthirsty for vamps" (Chicago Tribune)
That tousled, yet touchable hair. Those dreamy, fathomless eyes. That bad-boy brooding.
Rosanna Greenstreet: Q&A (guardian.co.uk)
Actor Simon Pegg, 39, deplores his own negativity and was deeply disappointed by The 'Phantom Menace.'
Rupert Grint and the prison of Potter (timesonline.co.uk)
The artist soon to be formerly known as Ron Weasley talks to Kevin Maher about his ten years in a luxurious straitjacket.
Carrie Rickey: A maverick female director explores men who dare death (The Philadelphia Inquirer)
Slim as lightning, Kathryn Bigelow makes movies charged with adrenaline and electricity, action thrillers like "Blue Steel" and "Point Break." The 6-footer with the radiant presence of a Redgrave and the steel nerves of a high-wire artist is drawn to stories about daredevils addicted to the rush.
Will Harris: A Chat with Saul Rubinek, Co-star of "Warehouse 13" (bullz-eye.com)
"I adore 'Warehouse 13'. I've had so many times in my life where I've had to sell a show, you know, and do my due diligence as an actor and try desperately to look for something positive to say. Here I am in a kind of heaven."
Roger Ebert: Bruno (3 1/2 stars)
"Bruno" is a no-holds-barred comedy permitting several holds I had not dreamed of. The needle on my internal Laugh Meter went haywire, bouncing among hilarity, appreciation, shock, admiration, disgust, disbelief and appalled incredulity. Here is a film that is 82 minutes long and doesn't contain 30 boring seconds. There should be a brief segment at the next Spirit Awards with John Waters conferring the Knighthood of Bad Taste to Sacha Baron Cohen. If he decides to tap Cohen on each shoulder with his sword, I want to have my eyes closed.
MARYANN JOHANSON: In 'Bruno,' Sacha Baron Cohen hunts for narrow-minded bigots
Baron Cohen's daring and fearlessness as a cultural critic is in grand form here--much as it was in 'Borat,' his last adventure in courting physical assault and civil lawsuits in the name of lampooning dearly held American virtues such as ignorance and superficiality. Like 'Borat,' this exercise in shining the light on bigotry is directed by Larry Charles, a 'Seinfeld' vet.
Tipper Gore Photography
KYBALION TV
Svarmoder
Hi Marty,
I launched a web series (Svarmoder) that has made 150,000 visits in all of its contents. Please check them out.
:::: SVARMODER :::: KYBALION TV ::: is the original site.
And here's the same stuff, with English subtitles.
Paco
Thanks, Paco!
Hubert's Poetry Corner
Lusting for Pinkie's
What dark, forbidden secret do I share with former Attorney-General Alberto Gonzales, Peggy Hill and countless others?
The Weekly Poll
Current Question
Hi there, Poll-fans...
I apologize for the delay. It's been due to a family crisis. I have seven replies so far, so let's carry it over with results and a new question on Tuesday. Thanks fer yer understanding...
BadToTheBoneBob
The 'Taking it Personally' Edition
Has the unexpected death of a celebrity ever affected you in a profound manner?
Send your response to
noted:
Reader Suggestion
Link from RJ
Hi there
Only one possible link for you this weekend - maybe I am becoming a little slow! :-)
Reader Suggestion
Link
Hello,
Here's a link that hours can be wasted at. This fellow finds old cameras with film in them and develops the photos to see what is there. Kinda cool, kinda spooky.
From The Creator of 'Avery Ant'
Purple Gene Reviews
'Unmistaken Child'
Purple Gene's review of the documentary movie
Suggested Links
Michelle in AZ
Selected Readings
from that Mad Cat, JD
In The Chaos Household
Last Night
Hot enough to be unpleasant.
Yahoo Sets Death Date
GeoCities
Yahoo has put a date on when the service will close, after stating in April that it was no longer accepting new accounts.
"GeoCities is closing on October 26, 2009," the site said. "On October 26, 2009, your GeoCities site will no longer appear on the Web, and you will no longer be able to access your GeoCities account and files.
For many GeoCities was where our first website lived. It could also be considered one of the web's first communities. Originally divided into neighborhoods (which seemed reminiscent of the worst of California tract housing), it was a place where you could attempt to communicate with the world on a static page you got for free. Later the neighborhoods gave way to a more modern, easier and meaningful means of identifying them:
GeoCities
Allies Need No Debate
Gays-In-Military
When it comes to dealing with gay personnel in the ranks, the contrasts are stark among some of the world's proudest, toughest militaries - and these differing approaches are invoked by both sides as Americans renew debate over the Pentagon's "don't ask, don't tell" policy.
In the United States, more than 12,000 service members - including dozens of highly trained Arabic linguists - have been dismissed since 1994 because it became known they were gay. Current targets for discharge include a West Point graduate and Iraq war veteran, Army National Guard Lt. Dan Choi, and a veteran of combat missions over Iraq and Afghanistan, Air Force Lt. Col. Victor Fehrenbach.
In Britain, on the other hand, gay and lesbian service members marched in crisp uniforms in the annual Pride London parade July 4. Gay Australian soldiers and sailors had their own float in Sydney's Gay Mardi Gras parade. In Israel, the army magazine earlier this year featured two male soldiers on the cover, hugging one another.
Those seeking to preserve the U.S. ban question whether the allies' experiences have been as smooth as advertised and depict America's military as so unique that lessons from overseas should be ignored anyway.
Gays-In-Military
Wedding News
Dewan - Tatum
Channing Tatum and his former "Step Up" co-star, Jenna Dewan, tied the knot on Saturday in Malibu, according to Us Weekly.
The couple wed in front of more than 200 guests during a 15-minute ceremony at the Church Estates Vineyards - the same location where Fergie and Josh Duhamel tied the knot last January.
"Entourage" star Emmanuelle Chriqui reportedly served as Dewan's maid of honor. Among the bridesmaids was Tatum's sister, Paige, as well as actress Haylie Duff.
Tatum, 29, and Dewan, 28, got engaged in September 2008 after meeting on the set of "Step Up" in 2006.
Dewan - Tatum
Illness Delays "Parenthood"
Maura Tierney
NBC's new fall drama series "Parenthood" has been pushed to midseason because of an unspecified illness that has befallen Maura Tierney, one of its stars.
The series, a contemporary reimagining of the 1989 feature, had been scheduled to begin filming July 27.
The production start has been postponed for eight weeks to late September "due to medical evaluation that (Tierney) is undergoing," NBC said. "We are unable to release further details and ask that you respect her privacy at this time."
With "Parenthood" pushed, the new drama "Mercy," which was to take over the 8 p.m. Wednesday slot in midseason, will launch in the fall. The cast and crew of the medical drama have been summoned to start work on the series early to have it ready for a September debut.
Maura Tierney
West Bank Advertising
Cellcom
A television advert for an Israeli cellphone firm showing soldiers playing football over the West Bank barrier has sparked cries of bad taste and prompted Arab lawmakers on Sunday to demand it be taken off air.
The jaunty commercial for Israel's biggest mobile phone company Cellcom makes light of Palestinian suffering and shows how far Israelis fail to understand their neighbours, critics said. The company stood by the ad, however.
It shows a ball falling on an Israeli army jeep from the far side of a towering wall. A game ensues, back and forth with the unseen Palestinians after a soldier dials up "reinforcements," including two smiling women in uniform, to come and play.
The advertisement made by McCann Erickson, part of U.S. Interpublic Group, ends with the upbeat voiceover: "After all, what are we all after? Just a little fun."
Cellcom
Protecting Wealthy Tax Evaders
UBS
The U.S. and Swiss governments and banking giant UBS AG indicated Sunday they were seeking a settlement and asked a federal judge to delay high-stakes hearings on the Internal Revenue Service's effort to identify thousands of suspected American tax evaders.
The one-page motion, filed in Miami less than 24 hours before the hearings were to begin Monday, said postponement is needed "to allow the two governments to continue their discussions seeking a resolution of this matter."
Unless a deal is reached beforehand, the filing asks that the hearing be rescheduled for Aug. 3.
The case seeking the identities of some 52,000 wealthy American clients suspected of hiding $15 billion at UBS has already sent shock waves through the international banking system.
UBS
Church As State
Salt Lake City
A gay couple say they were detained by security guards on a plaza owned by the Mormon church and later cited by police, claiming it stemmed from a kiss on the cheek.
The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints said that the men became argumentative and refused to leave after being asked to stop their "inappropriate behavior." The men say they were targeted because they are gay.
Matt Aune said he and his partner, Derek Jones, were walking home from a concert nearby on Thursday night, cutting through the plaza near the Salt Lake City Mormon temple.
Aune, 28, said he gave Jones, 25, a hug and kiss and that the two were then approached by a security guard, who asked them to leave, telling them they were being inappropriate and that public displays of affection aren't allowed on the property. He said other guards arrived and the men were handcuffed.
Salt Lake City
Berlin Exhibition
Amora Sex Academy
Wannabe Latin lovers can improve their technique by playing with the erogenous zones of naked mannequins at a new interactive exhibition that has now opened in Berlin.
The "Amora sex academy" that opened in Berlin on Thursday welcomes visitors with the wry slogan, "Finally -- an exhibition for those who always have to touch everything."
More than 50 interactive displays guide visitors through the intimate areas of the male and female bodies, offering helpful tips on everything from striptease to oral sex and how to achieve a perfect orgasm.
The show features several life-sized plastic models, naked and in various positions. One female mannequin light ups when touched in the right spot. A voice shrieks "That's it!" when the visitor manages to put his finger on the elusive G-spot.
Amora Sex Academy
Anger Management
Michael Buck
A suburban Philadelphia man has agreed to take anger management classes for blaring a pornographic soundtrack to chase away kids playing outside his home. Michael Buck was arrested May 31 at his upscale Phoenixville cul-de-sac after irate neighbors told police they could hear the sexually explicit audio a block-and-a-half away.
The 27-year-old man will also perform 20 hours of community service under terms of a 90-day agreement reached in court Thursday.
If Buck complies with the terms, he'll return to court in October and plead guilty to a noise violation charge. He had faced more serious charges of corruption of minors and disorderly conduct.
Michael Buck
Makes Pain More Tolerable
Swearing
That muttered curse word that reflexively comes out when you stub your toe could actually make it easier to bear the throbbing pain, a new study suggests.
Swearing is a common response to pain, but no previous research has connected the uttering of an expletive to the actual physical experience of pain.
"Swearing has been around for centuries and is an almost universal human linguistic phenomenon," said Richard Stephens of Keele University in England and one of the authors of the new study. "It taps into emotional brain centers and appears to arise in the right brain, whereas most language production occurs in the left cerebral hemisphere of the brain."
Stephens and his fellow Keele researchers John Atkins and Andrew Kingston sought to test how swearing would affect an individual's tolerance to pain. Because swearing often has an exaggerating effect that can overstate the severity of pain, the team thought that swearing would lessen a person's tolerance.
As it turned out, the opposite seems to be true.
Swearing
Weekend Box Office
'Bruno'
Sacha Baron Cohen's "Bruno" started big on opening day Friday but had a huge drop the rest of the weekend, with the Universal Pictures mock documentary finishing with $30.4 million, according to studio estimates Sunday.
The movie took in nearly half of its weekend total - $14.4 million - on Friday, then tumbled with just $8.8 million Saturday and an estimated $7.2 million Sunday.
"Bruno," which features Baron Cohen as a wannabe going to extremes to achieve celebrity, finished ahead of 20th Century Fox's "Ice Age: Dawn of the Dinosaurs," which took second with $28.5 million. The "Ice Age" sequel raised its domestic total to $120.6 million.
Estimated ticket sales for Friday through Sunday at U.S. and Canadian theaters, according to Hollywood.com. Final figures will be released Monday.
1. "Bruno," $30.4 million.
2. "Ice Age: Dawn of the Dinosaurs," $28.5 million.
3. "Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen," $24.2 million.
4. "Public Enemies," $14.1 million.
5. "The Proposal," $10.5 million.
6. "The Hangover," $9.9 million.
7. "I Love You, Beth Cooper," $5 million.
8. "Up," $4.7 million.
9. "My Sister's Keeper," $4.2 million.
10. "The Taking of Pelham 1 2 3," $1.6 million.
'Bruno'
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