for the benefit of those playing at home

This year’s sequence is not following any previously established patterns. So far the selection order is…

  1. giraffe
  2. cat
  3. sheep
  4. dog
  5. camel
  6. giraffe
  7. dove
  8. cow

I cannot properly analyze the significance of this pattern until all of the results are in, but it has already given me a lot to think about.

Tags: animals calendars camels cats christmas codes cows dogs doves giraffes habits hidden tunnels invisible ink patterns secret messages sheep advent | |
about nineteen days until the flood We have a Noah’s ark advent calendar.  I am not sure what the theological implications of this combination are, but I do know that I have to look up Noah’s wife’s name every December. She has a hard name to remember, and she is not very popular which results in her getting picked last nearly every year.

about nineteen days until the flood

We have a Noah’s ark advent calendar.  I am not sure what the theological implications of this combination are, but I do know that I have to look up Noah’s wife’s name every December. She has a hard name to remember, and she is not very popular which results in her getting picked last nearly every year.

Tags: animals arks calendars camels cats christmas countdowns cows december dogs doves elephants giraffes habits horses launch date naamah nasa noah pairs patterns sheep t minus tigers traditions winter solstice finn | |
did you know that if you mix equal parts of gasoline and frozen orange juice concentrate you can make napalm? (photo of Gopher Guts via mumblelard 90210)

did you know that if you mix equal parts of gasoline and frozen orange juice concentrate you can make napalm?

(photo of Gopher Guts via mumblelard 90210)

Tags: as far as i know she isnt making soap yet bart simpson bart the general buenos aires cats couch fake fur fight club gopher guts quotes science screeching weasel season one she got all of those scars on her nose from fighting with herself some jerkwad poet probably said something similar 400 years ago when he was trying to seduce an earls chambermaid or whatever the balanced life of a humble and devoted penitent the simpsons tyler durden you made me bleed my own blood there are no good wars with the following exceptions the american revolution world war ii and the original star wars trilogy | |
manuscripts don’t burn Despite a backlog of previously acquired and still undocumented thrift store used book scores, this copy of The Master and Margarita by Mikhail Bulgakov demanded immediate attention. Attempts to check this out from the local library have revealed that all cataloged copies have been misplaced in a variety of appropriately hellish bureaucratic ways. I haven’t read The Master and Margerita in more than ten years. This is the first English translation, and I know that it has its critics, but this is the translation that I read previously, and I am excited to read it again. (gorgeous cover illustration by Robert Goldstrom)

manuscripts don’t burn

Despite a backlog of previously acquired and still undocumented thrift store used book scores, this copy of The Master and Margarita by Mikhail Bulgakov demanded immediate attention. Attempts to check this out from the local library have revealed that all cataloged copies have been misplaced in a variety of appropriately hellish bureaucratic ways. I haven’t read The Master and Margerita in more than ten years. This is the first English translation, and I know that it has its critics, but this is the translation that I read previously, and I am excited to read it again.

(gorgeous cover illustration by Robert Goldstrom)

Tags: Krystyna Skalski and and and cats censorship crooked evil forked tongues good keepers kept mikhail bulgakov mirra ginsburg prisoners russian scanner the dead sea is dying the devil the devil and all the devil and all his works the master and margarita thrift stores used books wardens robert goldstrom | |
fallie’s looking around found on the ground score of the week cat paper doll with gorilla costume

fallie’s looking around found on the ground score of the week

Tags: fallie collecting paper dolls cats gorilla costumes indeed the first time i took finn to a thrift store there was a clown in full costume with a rabbit shopping there so she has slighlty elevated expectations for thrift store visits now | |
jonesy We had a very busy weekend with several late nights and we didn’t get a chance to watch a movie, so last night was movie night with the girls. We watched Ridley Scott’s 1979(!?) scifi horror classic, Alien. This movie is constantly referenced in subsequent science fiction movies and popular culture in general and it has a strong, capable female lead, so I was interested to see what the girls would think of it. They definitely enjoyed it.  It is a beautiful movie, and most of the special effects have held up really well. It was the most intense movie we have watched and probably the most intense movie we will watch for a while.  They were half  covering their eyes a couple of times and there were several tight hugs during tense scenes, but they never actually looked away.  There were several great observations, demonstrations of an emerging understanding of genre conventions, and even more questions about this movie than usual. Why do they have a cat? Does the cat get hurt? Does the Alien hurt cats? (They were very concerned about the cat.  I am very grateful that nothing happened to jonesy.) What does that screen say? What does that beeping mean? (There were a lot of these. I tried to explain the dramatic intent of some of these typical space ship effects, but some were essentially set decoration.) Does anyone actually control\drive the ship?  (Ships computers and autopilot are big areas of interest.  This came up during Predator too.) When do the Aliens come? (00:10:30, 00:13:45, 00:23:20, and many times in between until the dead alien pilot is revealed at the thirty minute mark.  Ridley Scott’s long buildup of tension produces impatience in alien interested young girls.) Why can we hear Ripley’s voice outside the ship? (Good question Finn! They are illustrating the fact that she is broadcasting a message through space, trying to determine where there ship is.) Can they breathe on that planet? Why does the dead alien pilot have that bone across his face? (And several other questions about his anatomy.) Does the Alien ever come off his face? When the Alien burst out of Kane’s chest and skittered across the table, Fallie shouted “Hey they had a scene like that in Spaceballs!” (I am so proud.) Why does the company want them to bring back the Alien? Why do they shoot his body into space? (kane’s space burial) Fallie is revealing herself to be quite the backseat general when it comes to tactical decisions regarding attack against and defense from aliens.  She had several recommendations for the crew and she was adamant that Ripley thoroughly inspect the shuttle at the end of the movie.  When Ripley didn’t and the Alien was revealed to be onboard, Fallie did not even try to contain her little snort of disgust. How will she blow up the ship? (Finn fielded this question from Fallie by saying that it is common for space ships to have a self-destruct button that will blow them up. She made me very proud.) What does “T-Minus” during the self destruct countdown mean? (Great question Finn, we will have to look up the etymology of that expression.  I think it means “current time minus” or something like that. Does anyone else die (after Dallas is killed)? Does anyone else die (after Brett (Harry Dean Stanton, hell yes) is killed)?…Does Ripley live? (with 15 minutes left in the movie) Update: I forgot one really good comment.  At one point right before he is killed, Brett discovers the molted shell of the baby alien, and Fallie said “Uh oh, it must be GROWING!” It was a great observation and application of her knowledge of biology to this speculative xenobiological moment. Very awesome. It was a very fun night.

jonesy

We had a very busy weekend with several late nights and we didn’t get a chance to watch a movie, so last night was movie night with the girls. We watched Ridley Scott’s 1979(!?) scifi horror classic, Alien. This movie is constantly referenced in subsequent science fiction movies and popular culture in general and it has a strong, capable female lead, so I was interested to see what the girls would think of it.

They definitely enjoyed it.  It is a beautiful movie, and most of the special effects have held up really well. It was the most intense movie we have watched and probably the most intense movie we will watch for a while.  They were half  covering their eyes a couple of times and there were several tight hugs during tense scenes, but they never actually looked away.  There were several great observations, demonstrations of an emerging understanding of genre conventions, and even more questions about this movie than usual.

  • Why do they have a cat? Does the cat get hurt? Does the Alien hurt cats? (They were very concerned about the cat.  I am very grateful that nothing happened to jonesy.)
  • What does that screen say? What does that beeping mean? (There were a lot of these. I tried to explain the dramatic intent of some of these typical space ship effects, but some were essentially set decoration.)
  • Does anyone actually control\drive the ship?  (Ships computers and autopilot are big areas of interest.  This came up during Predator too.)
  • When do the Aliens come? (00:10:30, 00:13:45, 00:23:20, and many times in between until the dead alien pilot is revealed at the thirty minute mark.  Ridley Scott’s long buildup of tension produces impatience in alien interested young girls.)
  • Why can we hear Ripley’s voice outside the ship? (Good question Finn! They are illustrating the fact that she is broadcasting a message through space, trying to determine where there ship is.)
  • Can they breathe on that planet?
  • Why does the dead alien pilot have that bone across his face? (And several other questions about his anatomy.)
  • Does the Alien ever come off his face?
  • When the Alien burst out of Kane’s chest and skittered across the table, Fallie shouted “Hey they had a scene like that in Spaceballs!” (I am so proud.)
  • Why does the company want them to bring back the Alien?
  • Why do they shoot his body into space? (kane’s space burial)
  • Fallie is revealing herself to be quite the backseat general when it comes to tactical decisions regarding attack against and defense from aliens.  She had several recommendations for the crew and she was adamant that Ripley thoroughly inspect the shuttle at the end of the movie.  When Ripley didn’t and the Alien was revealed to be onboard, Fallie did not even try to contain her little snort of disgust.
  • How will she blow up the ship? (Finn fielded this question from Fallie by saying that it is common for space ships to have a self-destruct button that will blow them up. She made me very proud.)
  • What does “T-Minus” during the self destruct countdown mean? (Great question Finn, we will have to look up the etymology of that expression.  I think it means “current time minus” or something like that.
  • Does anyone else die (after Dallas is killed)? Does anyone else die (after Brett (Harry Dean Stanton, hell yes) is killed)?…Does Ripley live? (with 15 minutes left in the movie)
  • Update: I forgot one really good comment.  At one point right before he is killed, Brett discovers the molted shell of the baby alien, and Fallie said “Uh oh, it must be GROWING!” It was a great observation and application of her knowledge of biology to this speculative xenobiological moment. Very awesome.

It was a very fun night.

Tags: alien cats movie night screenshot jonesy | |