I saw this on the NY Times website. I really hope he needs this money badly... and that he doesn't get it. Is it just me or does it seem a little pathetic to panhandle for your campaign for President?

- posted by Scotti @ 7/27/2004 07:38:27 PM

Firefly news... and my love of "B" movies..
I was browsing Fireflyfans.net today and there was a message about Alan Tudyk (Wash) giving an interview at About.com. This will of course only interest you if you're a fan of the show... If you're not, relax; it's not the sole reason for this post. While I was reading the interview, I noticed a link called "Buried Gems". This was really interesting to me because of the six movies the "guide" considers to be "gems", four of them I would list in my favorite movies of all-time (First Blood and Lost World would NOT be in my list... but I can agree that they are good movies that don't get the credit they deserve). Speaking of movies, I watched Fahrenheit 9/11 the other day. I posted my opinion of it over on my other 'blog, but I can easily recap here: crap. Now I'm not a big political person, nor am I a big fan of either President Bush, OR Michael Moore for that matter... but this is just nothing more than propaganda and misdirection. I thought maybe it was just me, but then I started reading other, more informed views (like Christoper Hitchen at The Slate or Draginol at Joeuser.com) and it appears that I'm not the only one with this opinion... much to my relief. If I thought that a large percentage of people actually bought into Moore's hype, I would be even more concerned for the future of this country... So, that's what's on my mind lately. I'll leave you with some thoughts from Steven Wright. (yet another thing Faris sent me)

If you're not familiar with the work of Steven Wright, he's the famous erudite scientist who once said: "I woke up one morning and all of my stuff had been stolen...and replaced by exact duplicates." His mind sees things differently than we do, to our amazement and amusement. Here are some more of his gems: 1. I'd kill for a Nobel Peace Prize. 2. Borrow money from pessimists -- they don't expect it back. 3. Half the people you know are below average. 4. 99% of lawyers give the rest a bad name. 5. 42.7% of all statistics are made up on the spot. 6. A conscience is what hurts when all your other parts feel so good. 7. A clear conscience is usually the sign of a bad memory. 8. If you want the rainbow, you gotta put up with the rain. 9. All those who believe in psycho-kinesis, raise my hand. 10. The early bird may get the worm, but the second mouse gets the cheese. 11. I almost had a psychic girlfriend but she left me before we met. 12. OK, so what's the speed of dark? 13. How do you tell when you're out of invisible ink? 14. If everything seems to be going well, you have obviously overlooked something. 15. Depression is merely anger without enthusiasm. 16. When everything is coming your way, you're in the wrong lane. 17. Ambition is a poor excuse for not having enough sense to be lazy. 18. Hard work pays off in the future, laziness pays off now. 19. I intend to live forever -- so far, so good. 20. If Barbie is so popular, why do you have to buy her friends? 21. Eagles may soar, but weasels don't get sucked into jet engines. 22. What happens if you get scared half to death twice? 23. My mechanic told me, "I couldn't repair your brakes, so I made your horn louder." 24. Why do psychics have to ask you for your name? 25. If at first you don't succeed, destroy all evidence that you tried. 26. A conclusion is the place where you got tired of thinking. 27. Experience is something you don't get until just after you need it. 28. The hardness of the butter is proportional to the softness of the bread. 29. To steal ideas from one person is plagiarism; to steal from many is research. 30. The problem with the gene pool is that there is no lifeguard. 31. The sooner you fall behind, the more time you'll have to catch up. 32. The colder the x-ray table, the more of your body is required to be on it. 33. Everyone has a photographic memory, some just don't have film.

- posted by Scotti @ 7/21/2004 11:10:50 PM

Iraq Militant Group Takes 6 New Hostages
Iraq Militant Group Takes 6 New Hostages Of COURSE they did!!! Since it worked so well on the Filipinos, why wouldn't they continue to do it? How is it that these companies CONTINUE to jeopardize their people and their livelihoods by NOT affording these people some protection?
- posted by Scotti @ 7/21/2004 10:28:53 AM

Ponderings
I know it means I'm incredibly lazy, but this was also another email from the same person that sent me the "98% - color/tool" test. I'm not sure if he's mocking me here or not... Scott, These had your name written all over them!

1. Can you cry under water? 2. When I was young we used to go "skinny dipping," now I just "chunky dunk." 3. How important does a person have to be before they are considered assassinated instead of just murdered? 4. If money doesn't grow on trees then why do banks have branches? 5. Why do you have to "put your two cents in"... but it's only a penny for your thoughts"? Where's that extra penny going to? 6. Once you're in heaven, do you get stuck wearing the clothes you were buried in for eternity? 7. Why does a round pizza come in a square box? 8. How is it that we put man on the moon before we figured out it would be a good idea to put wheels on luggage? 9. Why is it that people say they "slept like a baby" when babies wakeup like every two hours? 10. If a deaf person has to go to court, is it still called a hearing? 11. Why are you IN a movie, but you are ON T.V.? 12. Why do people pay to go up tall buildings and then put money in binoculars to look at things on the ground? 13. How come we choose from just two people for President and fifty for Miss America? 14. If a 911 operator has a heart attack, whom does he/she call? 15. I signed up for an exercise class and was told to wear loose-fitting clothing. If I HAD any loose-fitting clothing, I wouldn't have signed up in the first place! 16. Wouldn't it be nice if whenever we messed up our life we could simply press 'Ctrl Alt Delete' and start all over? 17. Stress is when you wake up screaming and then you realize you haven't fallen asleep yet. 18. Just remember...if the world didn't suck, we'd all fall off. 19 Why is it that our children can't read a Bible in school, but they can in prison? 20. If raising children was going to be easy, it never would have started with something called labor! 21. Brain cells come and brain cells go, but fat cells live forever.

- posted by Scotti @ 7/14/2004 07:18:27 PM

Two AMAZING movies
I got to see 2 incredible movies today, and I was only expecting to see one...

I went to see Spiderman 2 at a local theatre today. I have to say I was really expecting the whole experience to be a bit less pleasant than it was. I saw Matrix:Revolutions in Turkey and the theatre was very uncomfortable, and the quality of the film was scratchy and washed out. I was kind of expecting the same conditions here, and was glad to be wrong. When you buy a ticket, the guy shows you a layout on a screen and shows you the available seats to pick from. You can also buy tickets online (and pick your seat too)... Come to think of it, it's fairly impressive that in a country where it seems technology has been kind of haphazardly strewn about, the system works very well.

Anyway, the movie was VERY good, effects and story-wise. The only minor complaint I have is the editing. There were 3 obvious parts where they snipped out risque boy/girl action (ie. standing too close, smoochy stuff). What I thought was ironic was that they cut those "lusty" parts, yet kept in a scene with Kirstin Dunst is the damsel-in-distress (chained to a wall, torn clothes, soaking wet) and they didn't see fit to clip her and her wet shirt (and nipples). Oh well, I'm not going to try understand it. Ok, so the BEST movie I saw was when I got to work. My Father's Day box had arrived, and it included the first episode of The Amazing RYAN Show!! Shelley did a great job with this, with a DVD case (with appropriate credits), a label on the disc, and a menu on the DVD. It's a little choppy, but I'm sure that's because of the crappy computer I left her. Considering the under-powered little box she's got there (and how problematic it's been lately), I'd say she did a great job. When I get home I'll beef it up and we'll start mass-producing these things... get your orders in now folks, they're gonna go fast! In other news, I'm really getting ready to get home, especially after seeing the video. I even bought my traditional "travelling shoes"... See, I have this urge to buy new tennis shoes when I travel. It's one of my few vices (computer gaming is another...) Hey, I don't drink or smoke or gamble (excessively), I have to maintain a few bad habits. Speaking of bad habits, my DVD collection continues to swell. My latest thing has been Buffy the Vampire Slayer. I've got my hands on five season, and am currently halfway thru the fourth one. I've always liked the show, but never really understood the whole storyline. For those of you that don't know, Joss Whedon is the creator of BtVS, and Firefly also. In the final season, Nathan Fillion (Capt. Malcom Reynolds from Firefly) plays Caleb, the big bad guy, and I wanted to know the storyline leading up to his part. Hardcore Whedonites have said that Caleb was the scariest bad guy in the entire series, which I think must be considered pretty impressive considering he acts the part of a southern baptist preacher. Anyway, that's the news from the desert. Love to all!
- posted by Scotti @ 7/13/2004 08:47:09 PM

Are you among the 98%?
This was sent to me via email, and I'll give you my answer in the comments

Amazing test....just follow the instructions as quickly as possible. Do not go to the next calculation before you have finished the previous one. You do not need to write or remember the answers, just do it using your mind. You'll be surprised. Start: How much is : 15+6 3+56 89+2 12+53 75+26 25+52 63+32 I know! Calculations are hard work but it's nearly over. Come on, one more. 123+5 QUICK! THINK ABOUT A TOOL AND A COLOR! Scroll further to the bottom... A bit more... You have just thought about a red hammer, haven't you? If this is not your answer, you are among 2% of people who have a different if not abnormal mind. 98% of people will answer a red hammer while doing this exercise.

- posted by Scotti @ 7/12/2004 06:15:08 PM

Happy Independence Day (a little early)
Since I sincerely doubt I'll be seeing any fireworks, I thought I make some of my own here... Just click in the black box above the C&H cartoon at the top of the screen... see that big black box? just click there... ... go ahead... I'll wait... Ok, that's all I've managed to get done in the past few days. Not that I've been working on THAT this whole time... that took me all of 15 minutes to setup. Don't be overly impressed, I just snagged it saw it somewhere and snagged it... I'm not a Java coder... It just seems that we've been hitting stumbling blocks for the past couple of days. Two steps forward, two-and-a-half back... such is life. So enjoy your 4th of July BBQ's, have a beer for me... thanks for everything! Love to all! Update 12 July:: Obviously the fireworks are not at the top of the page. If you REALLY want to see them, click here.
- posted by Scotti @ 7/02/2004 04:08:51 AM