If you're familiar with Ouija Boards, then you know that when conditions are just right the pointer used with the board moves from letter to letter to spell out a message.
When I fired up my computer this evening, the arrow pointer of the mouse moved across the screen and led me directly to... a link about a new opera.
Now ordinarily I would not have interest in an opera - but I must confess I was intrigued to read that the show, opening in the Netherlands, is sung entirely in the Klingon language - by folks dressed like Klingon's.
Honest injun - Klingon! (I'm picturing Lt. Worf belting out a string of bass notes.)
If you're a Star Trek fan and you just dropped your jaw at this bit of news and are now preparing to visit Priceline for a cheap airline ticket - well maybe you want to google transporter instead. The opera only has a three day run.
The website didn't reference a name for the performance. I can only guess it would be titled A Good Day to Die.
Friday, September 10, 2010
Thursday, September 9, 2010
Tuning In
Having spent twenty-some years together, Motivated Mom and I are generally well tuned in to one another.
Tuned in as in being able to anticipate how the other of us will respond to a given situation, event, conversation, etc.
But the tuning dials seem to have drifted a bit of late. Perhaps it's due to my being at the opposite end of the state a couple nights a week. If so, that's going to have to be remedied PDQ.
I hadn't really noticed the drift until this evening. Thursday evening being one of those that I spend at home during the work week, Motivated Mom had an agenda on her mind. I knew what the first part of the evening schedule would be long before arriving home - and without any preliminary discussion.
Like I said - tuned in.
So I was not at all surprised when Motivated Mom grabbed her car keys and said Let's go even before I had finished my dinner.
After reaching what I thought was our sole primary destination, Motivated Mom jigged left instead of jogging right. Suddenly we were headed even further from home.
Whoa! Who filed this part of the flight plan? I wondered.
Suddenly, unexpectedly, there were conflicting agenda for the balance of the evening.
Got to get those wavelengths tuned back in.
Tuned in as in being able to anticipate how the other of us will respond to a given situation, event, conversation, etc.
But the tuning dials seem to have drifted a bit of late. Perhaps it's due to my being at the opposite end of the state a couple nights a week. If so, that's going to have to be remedied PDQ.
I hadn't really noticed the drift until this evening. Thursday evening being one of those that I spend at home during the work week, Motivated Mom had an agenda on her mind. I knew what the first part of the evening schedule would be long before arriving home - and without any preliminary discussion.
Like I said - tuned in.
So I was not at all surprised when Motivated Mom grabbed her car keys and said Let's go even before I had finished my dinner.
After reaching what I thought was our sole primary destination, Motivated Mom jigged left instead of jogging right. Suddenly we were headed even further from home.
Whoa! Who filed this part of the flight plan? I wondered.
Suddenly, unexpectedly, there were conflicting agenda for the balance of the evening.
Got to get those wavelengths tuned back in.
Wednesday, September 8, 2010
Reading Terry Brooks
College Dude and I have been sharing novels recently.
Well, okay, mostly he's loaning and I'm reading and returning - but it's still sharing.
The most recent book on loan is a novel by Terry Brooks. And I'm as happy as a pig in.....
Because there are some authors - and for me Terry Brooks is at the top of the list- who just make me want to sink deep into an easy chair with their book and never move until I've read the last word on the last page.
Mowing the lawn? It can wait.
Fixing meals? Guzzling a gallon of water will keep me full.
Bathroom break? Well, okay I guess I have to leave the chair occasionally.
Actually, I'm forcing myself to periodically set this particular book aside. Because an author can write only so fast. I've already read every last one of Terry's other dozens of books. So when I'm finished this one I have to wait... seemingly forever... for the next great read.
Got to go... it's been thirty five minutes and twenty seconds since I last turned a page.
Well, okay, mostly he's loaning and I'm reading and returning - but it's still sharing.
The most recent book on loan is a novel by Terry Brooks. And I'm as happy as a pig in.....
Because there are some authors - and for me Terry Brooks is at the top of the list- who just make me want to sink deep into an easy chair with their book and never move until I've read the last word on the last page.
Mowing the lawn? It can wait.
Fixing meals? Guzzling a gallon of water will keep me full.
Bathroom break? Well, okay I guess I have to leave the chair occasionally.
Actually, I'm forcing myself to periodically set this particular book aside. Because an author can write only so fast. I've already read every last one of Terry's other dozens of books. So when I'm finished this one I have to wait... seemingly forever... for the next great read.
Got to go... it's been thirty five minutes and twenty seconds since I last turned a page.
Tuesday, September 7, 2010
Houses and Homes
I'm not sure at what point a house becomes a home.
Some houses never make that transition - somehow the people and the structure just never make the necessary connection.
But when the fit is right, at some point the building changes from a house to a home. Homes are comfortable, warm and inviting - a place that protects you from the chaos of the outside world.
This weekend I was reminded that there are two classifications of homes.
The first classification being a quiet retreat that glows from the accumulation of offered and accepted love. A place where the past is fondly remembered, the present is embraced, and the future is welcome to arrive in its own good time.
Classification number two is a gathering place that pulses with perpetual motion. Where loving interaction is fast paced and energizing and where plans are made with a sense that the moment to grasp life by the tail is now.
One classification is not better than the other. Each environment nurtures lifelong relationships. Having a home that can do double duty is a blessing.
Some houses never make that transition - somehow the people and the structure just never make the necessary connection.
But when the fit is right, at some point the building changes from a house to a home. Homes are comfortable, warm and inviting - a place that protects you from the chaos of the outside world.
This weekend I was reminded that there are two classifications of homes.
The first classification being a quiet retreat that glows from the accumulation of offered and accepted love. A place where the past is fondly remembered, the present is embraced, and the future is welcome to arrive in its own good time.
Classification number two is a gathering place that pulses with perpetual motion. Where loving interaction is fast paced and energizing and where plans are made with a sense that the moment to grasp life by the tail is now.
One classification is not better than the other. Each environment nurtures lifelong relationships. Having a home that can do double duty is a blessing.
Friday, September 3, 2010
Remembering Laborers
As we roll into Labor Day weekend, many of us will kick up our heels for a well deserved break.
Many others will continue to work so that vacationers will still have access to gas for their cars, food for there stomachs, and beds for their tired heads. Many members of the armed forces will continue to man their posts.
For those fortunate enough to have an extended break - be sure to take the time to thank those who maintain the infrastructure that provides safety and convenience during your holiday.
Here's hoping those unable to find jobs from which to rest will know brighter days ahead.
I'll be away from the blog-o-sphere for a few days. Look for a new post Wednesday, September 8.
Many others will continue to work so that vacationers will still have access to gas for their cars, food for there stomachs, and beds for their tired heads. Many members of the armed forces will continue to man their posts.
For those fortunate enough to have an extended break - be sure to take the time to thank those who maintain the infrastructure that provides safety and convenience during your holiday.
Here's hoping those unable to find jobs from which to rest will know brighter days ahead.
I'll be away from the blog-o-sphere for a few days. Look for a new post Wednesday, September 8.
Thursday, September 2, 2010
Alternative Rating System
A new independent ratings system for television has been established.
The first rating under this new system occurred yesterday. A man walked into Discovery Channel headquarters brandishing a gun and demanded that programming be changed.
I'm betting a one gun rating will get the programming director's attention more than a one star rating.
Now I'm sure the full details of the new rating system have yet to be worked out, but I'm expecting the one to four star rating system replaced by:
mildly inferior program - one armed gunman with traditional revolver
substantially inferior program - two armed gunmen with traditional revolvers
grossly inferior program- three armed gunmen with rapid fire handguns
should never have made
it on the air - four armed gunmen with semi-automatic rifles
I'm anticipating a lot of empty slots in the television lineup. Perhaps broadcasters will need to go back to displaying the test signal during down time.
Wednesday, September 1, 2010
When Different Isn't
I don't remember exactly when the changed appearance of the silo ceased to catch my attention.
No, I'm not talking about a silo housing a nuclear missile. Nor is the silo even a steel cylinder.
The brick tower used for storing corn silage is just that - a tower. It would not look the least bit out of place if it stood at the corner of an English castle. That is, it used to look that way...
...Until the night traffic was brought to a halt as firemen fought the inferno blazing within the brick column. Having consumed the wooden roof, red and orange flames licked hungrily for the sky despite the hundreds of gallons of water flowing through fire hoses.
The following day the silo was a blackened, burned out corpse. For weeks every time I passed the silo my eyes were drawn to its forever changed appearance.
At some point the transformation ceased to be an attention grabber. At some point I no longer gave a second thought to the tower's state of decay.
Only now, five years past the night I watched dozens of fireman battle flames, am I wondering exactly when an open topped, smoke stained structure came to be what I expected to see.
No, I'm not talking about a silo housing a nuclear missile. Nor is the silo even a steel cylinder.
The brick tower used for storing corn silage is just that - a tower. It would not look the least bit out of place if it stood at the corner of an English castle. That is, it used to look that way...
...Until the night traffic was brought to a halt as firemen fought the inferno blazing within the brick column. Having consumed the wooden roof, red and orange flames licked hungrily for the sky despite the hundreds of gallons of water flowing through fire hoses.
The following day the silo was a blackened, burned out corpse. For weeks every time I passed the silo my eyes were drawn to its forever changed appearance.
At some point the transformation ceased to be an attention grabber. At some point I no longer gave a second thought to the tower's state of decay.
Only now, five years past the night I watched dozens of fireman battle flames, am I wondering exactly when an open topped, smoke stained structure came to be what I expected to see.
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