Today I was skimming through a short article telling how common planets seem to be around the universe. The article mentioned "alien worlds." That got me thinking.
Visualizations followed. "Who you callin' an alien?" an angry E.T. shouts at a mob of earthlings? Or a yoda like being sittign cross-legged comments "Me an alien? Why, am I not a resident of the same universe that you are?"
It's our tendency to think and verbalize in those terms: US versus THEM. Whoever THEM are.
So our close neighbors to the south are ALIENS! Or ILLEGAL ALIENS! "Look ma, there's an ALIEN walking in the street!" Somebody get the roach spray. Or an assault rifle. Or call the Border Patrol.
It's easy to forget we are of the same species and are nearby residents of the same hemisphere on a little planet we call earth. Divided when it comes down to that by mostly imaginary and somewhat meaningless lines called "borders."
Not too different really from the way we used to make maps, with our city, or nation, or continent at the center of the world map. WE, whoever WE are, call ourselves ":the People," while all other humans are "Barbarians" or "Others, or "Them," or "Hey You!" Or ALIENS.
We didn't stop there. We believed the sun circled the earth; how could it be otherwise when WE are so important? So crushing to the ego to learn that our earth circles an incredibly large sun, and is only one of nine or so planets, and not the biggest one either!
Neither is our sun located at the center of the universe, but out on one arm of an ordinary galaxy that is one of millions of galaxies. Sort of like living in a cardboard shack in Podunk, Appalachia, with an outhouse in back.
I guess if there is a point to this, it is to observe that truth has a way of defeating inflated self importance. That humility is a law that nature teaches, while self-grandiosity is a law of human nature. Science advances, but himan nature is still with us.
Thursday, January 12, 2012
Monday, December 5, 2011
Hottest Actresses
Of course the list changes. But currently it is Holly Hunter, Frances McDormond, Sandra Bullock, and Helen Mirren. Hunter's southern accent is most fetching.
Second tier and currently out of favor are Julia Ormond, Judy Davis, Kate Beckinsale, and Linda Hamilton.
Past faves were Whitney Blake, Carol Lynley, and Kim Novak.
Fav from an early era is Jean Arthur.
Second tier and currently out of favor are Julia Ormond, Judy Davis, Kate Beckinsale, and Linda Hamilton.
Past faves were Whitney Blake, Carol Lynley, and Kim Novak.
Fav from an early era is Jean Arthur.
Thursday, November 17, 2011
Crystal Persuasion
In the future, politics and religion will be pharmaceutically alterable.
Which will have all kinds of amusing consequences. For example, if you don't like your spouse's ideology, you just obtain a pill on the black market and slip it into his/her OJ. Imagine if you will, an unhappy couple each dosing the other at the same time with a drug that changes one's religious/political ideology. They wake up with positions reversed and still incompatible!
Instead of political advertising, campaign managers will have spray planes flying overhead on election day, misting atomized drugs down on the populace. Complications arising when the same voters are engulfed by pharmaceuticals from competing candidates.
Same for evangelism. Evangelical churches will be using atomized mist on the streets, and trying to sneak their own chemical brew into the water supply.
Better living through chemistry!
Which will have all kinds of amusing consequences. For example, if you don't like your spouse's ideology, you just obtain a pill on the black market and slip it into his/her OJ. Imagine if you will, an unhappy couple each dosing the other at the same time with a drug that changes one's religious/political ideology. They wake up with positions reversed and still incompatible!
Instead of political advertising, campaign managers will have spray planes flying overhead on election day, misting atomized drugs down on the populace. Complications arising when the same voters are engulfed by pharmaceuticals from competing candidates.
Same for evangelism. Evangelical churches will be using atomized mist on the streets, and trying to sneak their own chemical brew into the water supply.
Better living through chemistry!
Thursday, September 15, 2011
Random Reflections. To be updated.
There is nothing more dangerous to your morals than hanging around like-minded people.
The internet is a cold and lonely place. If you are looking for a friend, adopt a dog.
All places are cold and lonely. If you are looking for a friend, adopt a dog.
The internet is a cold and lonely place. If you are looking for a friend, adopt a dog.
All places are cold and lonely. If you are looking for a friend, adopt a dog.
Monday, September 5, 2011
Not Quite Matinee Idol Looks
What do directors and casting agents look for in an actor? Obviously, resume and experience. Suitability to the role. But what is also marketable is distinctiveness. Memorableness in appearance or voice.
It's not always the handsome actors who stay employed. Often it's the reverse. Actors unusually marked or homely may find roles not available to others. For example:
Ron Perlman. One of my favorite actors, beginning with his role on the TV series "Beauty and the Beast." Liked him in "City of Lost Children" too. Haven't seen the "Hellboy" series.
Richard Lynch, burn victim, who found himself more in demand after his accident than before. Arch villain of the B movies.
Tommy Flanagan, the recipient of a "glasgow smile" as gangsters slashed his mouth; you will remember from "Gladiator." "300," and "Braveheart," among others. I don't know if plastic surgery could hide his scars but if so, he'd probably have more trouble finding work.
Billy Drago, who is almost handsome in an eerie psychotic bent way. Like Lynch, he has made a comfortable living playing psychotic, homicidal bad guys. Remember him as the hitman in "The Untouchables"?
Dyrk Ashton, who has a hell of a resume in the theater and movie business and sometimes, thanks partly to his unique appearance, acts. Check out his myspace page at http://www.myspace.com/dyrkkhan
We might also mention Danny DeVito, John Malkovich, Richard Kiel, and Christopher Walken. Many others. I'll try to add them as I think of them.
ADDED--
Point being that what keeps you employed as an actor is not so much a pretty face which are a dollar a dozen with inflation, but a distinctive memorable face that fits in with the characters being played.
It's not always the handsome actors who stay employed. Often it's the reverse. Actors unusually marked or homely may find roles not available to others. For example:
Ron Perlman. One of my favorite actors, beginning with his role on the TV series "Beauty and the Beast." Liked him in "City of Lost Children" too. Haven't seen the "Hellboy" series.
Richard Lynch, burn victim, who found himself more in demand after his accident than before. Arch villain of the B movies.
Tommy Flanagan, the recipient of a "glasgow smile" as gangsters slashed his mouth; you will remember from "Gladiator." "300," and "Braveheart," among others. I don't know if plastic surgery could hide his scars but if so, he'd probably have more trouble finding work.
Billy Drago, who is almost handsome in an eerie psychotic bent way. Like Lynch, he has made a comfortable living playing psychotic, homicidal bad guys. Remember him as the hitman in "The Untouchables"?
Dyrk Ashton, who has a hell of a resume in the theater and movie business and sometimes, thanks partly to his unique appearance, acts. Check out his myspace page at http://www.myspace.com/dyrkkhan
We might also mention Danny DeVito, John Malkovich, Richard Kiel, and Christopher Walken. Many others. I'll try to add them as I think of them.
ADDED--
Point being that what keeps you employed as an actor is not so much a pretty face which are a dollar a dozen with inflation, but a distinctive memorable face that fits in with the characters being played.
Thursday, September 1, 2011
Eyeglasses Rant
Who's a good optometrist? Where is a good place to buy glasses?
As for optomotrists, I've been to a half dozen starting with Craig Wallace years ago and have no complaints with any. Eyeglasses are a whole other story.
Many complaints are about the frames. Overpriced, mis-labeled junk.
Perhaps the best looking frames I ever bought were some preppie-looking Geoffrey Beene tortoiseshell plastic frames. Had them a month and stooped over to pick something up, brushed the frames against the handle of a lawnmower, and the glasses fell off my face in two pieces. Problem was, the plastic consisted of differently colored resins (tortoiseshell, duh), and the frames tended to break on the lines where the resins were inadequately bonded. I explained this at the place where I bought them; they didn't buy my reasoning that the frames were defective; had to buy new ones, which lasted six months with care before breaking in exactly the same place.
Super glue didn't work for me. I stuck the glasses back together by heating a length of paperclip red hot and mashing the glasses halves back together on that. Not pretty, but functional.
My current frames are metal. One pair was labeled "Titanium." Guess I was taken in by that label, because they sure weren't titanium in color. Nor in durability. They are corroding on my face. I have to take sandpaper and sand off the corrosion to keep the temples from wearing grooves in my skin. Another pair bought at the same time was labeled "Marine." I imagined this was an allusion to their durability under salt-water conditions. Nah! The temple piece corroded in two, and I had to splint it by slipping on part of the ink tube from a ball point pen. Then the hinge broke.
Been shopping for frames online. After my experiences, I want either of two materials, nylon or stainless steel. I looked up "stainless steel" at Frames Direct and found a line called "Casino Stainless Steel." In the description, the frame material is stated to be ... plastic. Stainless steel plastic.
No listing found for nylon. But nylon frames have been used by those in the military and by athletes. If you are jumping out of an airplane or kicking doors on a SWAT mission, or competing in the decathlon, you don't wear ordinary crummy glasses frames.
Lenses. My last glasses were bought at Eyeglass World, where I was guaranteed fast service, 24 hours, something like that. Turned out, they had to send the Rx to Austin or Houston or someplace and it took weeks. When the glasses got in, I checked the lines of the trifocals and found they were not in a straight line, in fact, one lens was turned about 35 degrees in the frame and the other about 20 degrees the other way. I sent them back. Waited another couple of weeks. Checked the new lenses, same thing, had to return them. After six weeks to two months, I got two pairs of glasses I could live with, not perfect, but acceptable. Until the frames started to decompose.
I wonder though: about those bifocals and trifocals without lines-- is that a way of hiding errors in the way the lenses are ground? How many eyeglass wearers are going around unaware that the reason they don't like their glasses is because the inset lenses are at the wrong angle? You can test this by moving your head horizontally while looking at a small object.
And there can be errors within a lens. Years ago, I discovered that by looking at an object and moving my head the object would "jump," because of a blip in the lens where the grind was not uniform. The lady at the optical company was not happy, but did replace the lens. Since then, I've checked each pair for "blips."
The other day I broke a lens that fell out of the frame. Glass lenses, breaking them is not news, like a dog biting a man. But this lens was plastic. Didn't know plastic lenses would break straight across like that.
Then there is the service. Years ago, I would be fitted by a lady who was not afraid to get close to my face and microadjust everything without being told. We're talking face to face, breath to breath, eye to eye; it was like being on a date. Now, the young ladies just hand me the glasses and ask me how they fit and stay well away from my face and my person (Is it bad breath? That I hadn't bathed in a week? Because I forgot to shave that day? Am out of deoderant? Or just old and unattractive? Bet Pierce Brosnan gets his glasses fitted right). If I can communicate a problem, they grudgingly bend and twist and hand the glasses back to me as though ridding themselves of something distasetful. And wanting to be rid of something even more distasteful.
When a pair of new Wal-Mart purchased glasses broke on me, I went back to the place where I bought them and was ignored by three employees who were busy discussing something among themselves. Disgusted I went to a different Wal-Mart and encountered a quite different employee, who took care of my problem with concern and speed.
As for optomotrists, I've been to a half dozen starting with Craig Wallace years ago and have no complaints with any. Eyeglasses are a whole other story.
Many complaints are about the frames. Overpriced, mis-labeled junk.
Perhaps the best looking frames I ever bought were some preppie-looking Geoffrey Beene tortoiseshell plastic frames. Had them a month and stooped over to pick something up, brushed the frames against the handle of a lawnmower, and the glasses fell off my face in two pieces. Problem was, the plastic consisted of differently colored resins (tortoiseshell, duh), and the frames tended to break on the lines where the resins were inadequately bonded. I explained this at the place where I bought them; they didn't buy my reasoning that the frames were defective; had to buy new ones, which lasted six months with care before breaking in exactly the same place.
Super glue didn't work for me. I stuck the glasses back together by heating a length of paperclip red hot and mashing the glasses halves back together on that. Not pretty, but functional.
My current frames are metal. One pair was labeled "Titanium." Guess I was taken in by that label, because they sure weren't titanium in color. Nor in durability. They are corroding on my face. I have to take sandpaper and sand off the corrosion to keep the temples from wearing grooves in my skin. Another pair bought at the same time was labeled "Marine." I imagined this was an allusion to their durability under salt-water conditions. Nah! The temple piece corroded in two, and I had to splint it by slipping on part of the ink tube from a ball point pen. Then the hinge broke.
Been shopping for frames online. After my experiences, I want either of two materials, nylon or stainless steel. I looked up "stainless steel" at Frames Direct and found a line called "Casino Stainless Steel." In the description, the frame material is stated to be ... plastic. Stainless steel plastic.
No listing found for nylon. But nylon frames have been used by those in the military and by athletes. If you are jumping out of an airplane or kicking doors on a SWAT mission, or competing in the decathlon, you don't wear ordinary crummy glasses frames.
Lenses. My last glasses were bought at Eyeglass World, where I was guaranteed fast service, 24 hours, something like that. Turned out, they had to send the Rx to Austin or Houston or someplace and it took weeks. When the glasses got in, I checked the lines of the trifocals and found they were not in a straight line, in fact, one lens was turned about 35 degrees in the frame and the other about 20 degrees the other way. I sent them back. Waited another couple of weeks. Checked the new lenses, same thing, had to return them. After six weeks to two months, I got two pairs of glasses I could live with, not perfect, but acceptable. Until the frames started to decompose.
I wonder though: about those bifocals and trifocals without lines-- is that a way of hiding errors in the way the lenses are ground? How many eyeglass wearers are going around unaware that the reason they don't like their glasses is because the inset lenses are at the wrong angle? You can test this by moving your head horizontally while looking at a small object.
And there can be errors within a lens. Years ago, I discovered that by looking at an object and moving my head the object would "jump," because of a blip in the lens where the grind was not uniform. The lady at the optical company was not happy, but did replace the lens. Since then, I've checked each pair for "blips."
The other day I broke a lens that fell out of the frame. Glass lenses, breaking them is not news, like a dog biting a man. But this lens was plastic. Didn't know plastic lenses would break straight across like that.
Then there is the service. Years ago, I would be fitted by a lady who was not afraid to get close to my face and microadjust everything without being told. We're talking face to face, breath to breath, eye to eye; it was like being on a date. Now, the young ladies just hand me the glasses and ask me how they fit and stay well away from my face and my person (Is it bad breath? That I hadn't bathed in a week? Because I forgot to shave that day? Am out of deoderant? Or just old and unattractive? Bet Pierce Brosnan gets his glasses fitted right). If I can communicate a problem, they grudgingly bend and twist and hand the glasses back to me as though ridding themselves of something distasetful. And wanting to be rid of something even more distasteful.
When a pair of new Wal-Mart purchased glasses broke on me, I went back to the place where I bought them and was ignored by three employees who were busy discussing something among themselves. Disgusted I went to a different Wal-Mart and encountered a quite different employee, who took care of my problem with concern and speed.
Wednesday, July 20, 2011
Outdoor Goals, a Continually Updated List
The Ultimate:
Kayak the Napali Coast, Kauai, Hawaii. Nice to do this in two days, camping in Napali one night. Or longer. Afraid someone would steal the beached kayak though, during exploration of Na'Pali.
Hike into Na'Pali from Hanalei. camp one nite in Na'Pali.
Camno de Santiago de la Compostela Pilgrimmage. a/k/a The Way of St. James. Preferably starting in France, possibly at Paris, crossing the Pyrenees, on foot, though by bicycle would be acceptable to me, if not traditionalists. Months. This is the real ultimate.
Hiking in Northern India and Nepal. Better than paying $50k to a company for a chance of summiting Everest, imo.
Kayak along Baja in the Gulf of California. For example Puerto Penasco to Cabo. Or a shorter route.
Closer:
Cross Grand Canyon from South to North Rim and back.
Barranca del Cobre, Chih., Mexico. Hiking in the canyons. Train ride. (How's the gang activity there?)
Zion NP.
Gila NF. Snow Lake again, and somewhere else. See some elk.
Climb Picacho Peak, Az.
Hike length of Arivaipa Canyon, Az. Easy 2 day walk. Plan was to have someone bound for Phoenix to see a football game drop me off at one entrance, then pick me up at the other on the way back. Have to coordinate with Az authorities though, for permit.
In Phoenix: Squaw Peak, Camelback, South Mountains Park. Never made it up Camelback; walking shoes started slipping off on steep rock so I quit.
Not Far and Doable:
Quitaque Rails to Trails ride, about 64 miles one way.
Hikes in Caprock Canyons SP.
High point Guadalupe Peak, GMNP.
Hike in Bowl, GMNP.
Visit a small cave with restricted access, Carlsbad Caverns NP.
South Rim in one day, BBNP.
Drive the jeep trails near the river, BBNP.
Various short hikes I haven't done, BBNP.
See Sitting Bull Falls and Hidden Valley, off 137, N of GMNP.
Highpoint Wheeler Peak, NM.
Summit Sierra Blanca, near Ruidoso, NM.
Wichita Mtns Wildlife Reserve, Oklahoma. Hike some trails, see some animals.
Go up Quartz Mtn., N of Altus OK.
Kayak the Napali Coast, Kauai, Hawaii. Nice to do this in two days, camping in Napali one night. Or longer. Afraid someone would steal the beached kayak though, during exploration of Na'Pali.
Hike into Na'Pali from Hanalei. camp one nite in Na'Pali.
Camno de Santiago de la Compostela Pilgrimmage. a/k/a The Way of St. James. Preferably starting in France, possibly at Paris, crossing the Pyrenees, on foot, though by bicycle would be acceptable to me, if not traditionalists. Months. This is the real ultimate.
Hiking in Northern India and Nepal. Better than paying $50k to a company for a chance of summiting Everest, imo.
Kayak along Baja in the Gulf of California. For example Puerto Penasco to Cabo. Or a shorter route.
Closer:
Cross Grand Canyon from South to North Rim and back.
Barranca del Cobre, Chih., Mexico. Hiking in the canyons. Train ride. (How's the gang activity there?)
Zion NP.
Gila NF. Snow Lake again, and somewhere else. See some elk.
Climb Picacho Peak, Az.
Hike length of Arivaipa Canyon, Az. Easy 2 day walk. Plan was to have someone bound for Phoenix to see a football game drop me off at one entrance, then pick me up at the other on the way back. Have to coordinate with Az authorities though, for permit.
In Phoenix: Squaw Peak, Camelback, South Mountains Park. Never made it up Camelback; walking shoes started slipping off on steep rock so I quit.
Not Far and Doable:
Quitaque Rails to Trails ride, about 64 miles one way.
Hikes in Caprock Canyons SP.
High point Guadalupe Peak, GMNP.
Hike in Bowl, GMNP.
Visit a small cave with restricted access, Carlsbad Caverns NP.
South Rim in one day, BBNP.
Drive the jeep trails near the river, BBNP.
Various short hikes I haven't done, BBNP.
See Sitting Bull Falls and Hidden Valley, off 137, N of GMNP.
Highpoint Wheeler Peak, NM.
Summit Sierra Blanca, near Ruidoso, NM.
Wichita Mtns Wildlife Reserve, Oklahoma. Hike some trails, see some animals.
Go up Quartz Mtn., N of Altus OK.
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