I’m sometimes amused by our replacement of one symbolic tradition with another, smaller symbolic tradition when the old one becomes too much of a bother in our speed-based society. A case in point: I don’t know anybody who roasts a lamb anymore for Easter (if I ever did), but we have the next-best thing: butter on the dinner table that is shaped like a lamb. Yup, that’s the same….
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This image is of a prototype spacecraft developed by private interests. I hope they succeed; I’m pretty much a slavish supporter of anything designed to get us into space.
UPDATE: Upon further review, it turns out that the big vehicle towering above the pilots is the launch vehicle, and the lower craft, dangling beneath it and not visible very well, is the actual spacecraft. I should have listened to those nagging doubts of mine that said, “What would a spaceship need with what appear to be jet engines?” Anyhoo, here’s a better view of the actual ship.
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I’m not the most astute person when it comes to matters of Christian doctrine, but I’m pretty sure that Easter is a holiday/festival that’s pretty Jesus-centric. You know, the whole crucifiction/burial/resurrection thing. So why is it that each year at Easter-time, ABC televises The Ten Commandments, which is about Moses and the Exodus and has nothing at all to do with Jesus? I know that the Biblical epics that specifically deal with Jesus — The Greatest Story Ever Told, King of Kings — aren’t particularly well-known these days, outside of film music geek circles. But there is a classic costume epic that, while not specifically about Jesus, at least is set in and around the events of his life. That would be Ben-Hur, which is helpfully subtitled “A Tale of the Christ”, stars Charlton Heston, and is frankly a much better movie than the lugubrious overacted monument to pomposity that is The Ten Commandments.
So come on, ABC. Next year, ditch Moses and let’s have Judah Ben-Hur.
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Kevin Drum’s latest attempt to avoid my cyber-stalking has reached new heights: he actually got himself a new domain name. Problem is, he picked a pretty obvious one, and I’m on to him. Heh.
(No, I don’t stalk him, but his site is one that I visit several times a day. I doubt he knows me from Adam….but the newest version of CalPundit can be found at calpundit.com. He’s left Blogger in favor of Movable Type, and he now has comments, as well.)
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(The scene is the balcony of the Emperor’s Palace on Rigel VII. The Emperor, HSUB EROG, is watching a parade on the street below. Occasionally he waves to a float or something, but mostly he looks colossally bored. His Counselor, WEHTTAM SENOJ, approaches from behind with some kind of questionable-looking snack consisting of burned meat on a stick.)
EROG: Ah, finally! (He digs into the snack with gusto, and Senoj winces.)
SENOJ: As you requested, sire. It’s been dead for less than ten minutes.
EROG: You can taste the blood!
SENOJ: Umm…yes…. (He turns even greener than usual.)
EROG: You know, you haven’t told me about any more American Presidents lately. Why is that?
SENOJ: It didn’t seem appropriate, sire. You had to move to a new palace and all – and there was your decision to declare war on the Phranss System.
EROG: Those heretics. They play that game where you can’t touch the ball with your hands, their bread is too long for the entire loaf to fit in my mouth, and they’re just plain rude! They are a blight on the Universe, an evil in the Nine Eyes of God!
SENOJ: You’re just mad because you failed in your school classes in their language.
EROG: Is it my fault that I have two tongues, and proper Phrannish can only be spoken with one? Enough! Tell me about another President. This parade is boring me.
SENOJ: Yes, Sire. I believe I was about to tell you about President Josiah Bartlet. He had been the Governor of the New Hampshire enclave before being convinced by his best friend to run for high office. Somehow he miraculously defeated a better looking, more telegenic, richer, better funded, and more conservative and well-known Senator from the Texas enclave for his party’s nomination.
EROG: Texas — we’ve heard that name a lot.
SENOJ: Yes, Sire. Texas seems to be a root of a lot of problems — but never mind. I doubt that I can summarize President Bartlet’s accomplishments, really; we have a great deal of information about him by way of a documentary series the Earthers broadcast on their televisions once each week. I suppose a summary listing might be in order….
EROG: I’ve seen this! Is this the documentary where the camera follows the President’s workers through busy hallways as they carry on long conversations about state matters for anyone to hear?
SENOJ: Yes.
EROG: And they don’t know they’re on camera, for anyone to watch? Or don’t they care? They constantly divulge state secrets on that documentary!
SENOJ: Yes, they do. Very strange; I have no explanation for that. Most Presidents would sooner have the documentarians shot before letting them into their private residence while they are meeting with a mental physician, but this Bartlet seems to be of a different cloth. I also have trouble explaining the fact that the layout of the President’s Palace in the documentaries exhibits a layout that differs from that which was established in other Presidential sources.
EROG: I’m sorry, I don’t follow.
SENOJ: The rooms look different, and they keep the hallways rather dark on the weekly documentary. Quite strange. Oh, and according to the documentary, the United States has recently had diplomatic problems with Earth nations named Qumar and Khundu.
EROG: So? What’s the problem?
SENOJ: These nations appear on no map of Earth we have collated from our information, Sire.
EROG: (waves a hand dismissively) That is of no concern. Our information has been wrong before.
SENOJ: They haven’t tended to forget entire nations, Sire. And I find it hard to believe that these events, which seem rather serious on the documentaries, don’t warrant a single mention by our senior advance scout. You’d think of the thousands of words he writes daily, he’d mention these events once in a while.
EROG: Who can tell? Nobody reads everything he writes.
SENOJ: Yes, well – recently President Bartlet authorized a political assassination of a major terrorist on Earth, from this “Qumar” nation. I would think that a political assassination of such a character would be welcomed by some of the more belligerent factions on Earth.
EROG: Humans are so unpredictable…oooooh, a butterfly!
EROG runs off after the butterfly, and then returns, looking sheepish.
EROG: Sorry.
SENOJ: Quite. In any event, President Bartlet apparently suffers from a disease that he attempted to keep secret from the American people. A non-fatal nervous condition.
EROG: Like mine? twitches twice and belches loudly
SENOJ: Ummm….no. He revealed his condition to the public, after concealing it from them in his first election.
EROG: Ooooh, there’s no way those Americans would stand for that.
SENOJ: Actually, they re-elected him in a landslide.
EROG: WHAT?!
SENOJ: It surprised me, as well. Apparently faced with a stuffy, erudite “liberal Democrat” on one hand, and a “conservative Republican” on the other who is not particularly well-spoken, these Americans flock to vote for the “liberal Democrat”.
EROG: That makes no sense.
SENOJ: They’re humans, Sire. They’re not supposed to make sense.
EROG: Ah. They’re like women, then.
SENOJ: Sire, you know you’re not supposed to espouse that male propaganda. It only leads to trouble.
EROG: I forget sometimes. So what happened to Bartlet?
SENOJ: Well, we’re not sure. The documentaries are still running, once per week except for weeks when the broadcasters decide that they’d rather show one we’ve already seen.
EROG: Contemptible habit.
SENOJ: Quite. In any event, we know that President Bartlet only served a maximum of eight years in office. Let me think…other interesting details about Bartlet’s Presidency…he apparently made the decision to run for re-election after conferring with the ghost of his dead secretary; his decision to run for President was influenced by a friend who was also a drug addict; he tends to launch into long speeches on irrelevant topics; he bears a striking resemblance to President Shepherd’s Chief of Staff; and a man who some have speculated is secretly his son is a movie star.
EROG: That’s all very interesting, certainly. Well, that’s probably enough. I have something to do.
SENOJ: Like what? You had me clear your schedule….
EROG: I’ve got my country’s five hundredth anniversary to plan, my wedding to arrange, MY wife to murder, and Guilder to frame for it. I’m swamped.
SENOJ: You’ve been watching that Earth movie again, haven’t you.
EROG: (grins)How can you tell!
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Last night we indulged in something of a Buffalo delicacy/tradition: a Friday night fish fry. This is exactly what it sounds like. Fish fry is a very popular thing in Western NY, owing to the large Catholic population. It can be had in many restaurants year-round, but during Lent it obviously spikes in popularity, with restaurants that don’t normally offer it sticking it on the menu just for that season. It’s almost always the same, no matter where you go: an immense filet of haddock, beer-battered and deep fried, served on top of a pile of fries with a side of cole slaw and tartar sauce. The fish is always the same, no matter where you go, so the variations occur in the fries — some places do the “thin” fries, others serve thicker “steak fries” — and in the slaw, which can taste different depending on where you go. Some places will also throw in potato salad, as well.
Of course, the implications on health are a bit, shall we say, troubling in a city where the big culinary staples are deep-fried fish, deep-fried chicken wings, beef-on-weck sandwiches (roast beef piled onto a salted roll), and beer.
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I’ve written before about Buffalo’s need to develop its waterfront, which for decades has been mile upon mile of underused land. Some of this land used to be occupied by loading docks that are vacant and even vanishing following the city’s decline as a port year’s ago; some of it used to be steel mills and such; et cetera. If you want to see what I’m talking about, check this picture. Pretty much as soon as you leave the downtown area, driving southeast on Route 5 along the Lake Erie shoreline, that’s what you see. The picture depicts the spot where the new domed amusement park is proposed to be built.
That’s what Buffalo’s waterfront looks like, for about ten miles south of the city.
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Greg of Planet Swank has listed his current favorite things. Ever prepared to follow the leader, I’ll do the same now. My list is a lot longer than his, because I’m a much more reflective fellow than he is. (OK, the real reason is that I’m passing time waiting for a load of laundry to finish up. Yeesh….)
Movie, all-time: Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope.
Movie, Disney: Peter Pan.
Movie, Anime: Princess Mononoke.
Movie, Musical: My Fair Lady.
Movie, James Bond: On Her Majesty’s Secret Service.
Movie, Star Trek: The Undiscovered Country (Number 6).
Movie, Bogart: Casablanca.
Movie, Harrison Ford: Witness.
Movie, Errol Flynn: The Sea Hawk.
Movie, Ah-nuld: T2: Judgment Day.
Movie, Gene Kelly: Singin’ In The Rain.
Movie, Monty Python: MP and the Holy Grail.
TV Show, Drama: The West Wing.
TV Show, Comedy: Friends.
TV Show, Reality: American Idol. (The only current one I like.)
TV Show, News magazine: CBS Sunday Morning.
TV Show, Kid’s: Liberty’s Kids.
Episode, Star Trek TOS: “The City on the Edge of Forever”.
Episode, Star Trek TNG: “Yesterday’s Enterprise“.
Episode, The West Wing: “Celestial Navigation”.
Episode, Friends: The one where Chandler proposes.
Episode, The X-Files: Three parter, “Anasazi”/”The Blessing Way”/”Paperclip”
Episode, ER: The one where Dr. Ross saves that kid from the drainage culvert.
Episode, The Simpsons: The X-Files parody episode.
Comedy Sketch, Monty Python: “Self-Defense against Fresh Fruit”.
Comedy Sketch, SNL: 1988 Presidential Debate (Dana Carvey as George Bush, Jon Lovitz as Michael Dukakis, Tom Hanks as Peter Jennings)
Comedy Sketch, David Letterman: The Donut-o-pult. (This was a nightly series of gadgets designed to fling donuts into the audience. You had to be there, I guess.)
Character, The West Wing: Toby Ziegler.
Character, ER: Dr. Romano.
Character, Friends: Rachel.
Character, CSI: Katherine Willow.
Book, Fantasy, GGK: The Lions of Al-Rassan, Guy Gavriel Kay.
Book, Fantasy, non-GGK: The Lord of the Rings, JRRT.
Book, Fantasy, neither of these guys: Mythago Wood, Robert Holdstock.
Book, Arthurian: The Once and Future King, T. H. White.
Book, SF: Red Mars, Kim Stanley Robinson
Book, Horror: The Stand, Steven King.
Book, Humor: Island of the Sequined Love Nun, Christopher Moore.
Book, History: Dungeon, Fire and Sword, John J. Robinson.
Book, Science: Cosmos, Carl Sagan.
Graphic Novel: Six From Sirius, Doug Moench and Paul Gulacy.
Manga: Lone Wolf and Cub, Kazuo Koike.
Graphic “Non-fiction”: Pedro and Me, Judd Winick.
Classical Composer: Hector Berlioz.
Work by Hector Berlioz: Romeo et Juliet. (His third symphony.)
Film Composer, living: John Williams.
John Williams Filmscore: Star Wars Episode V: The Empire Strikes Back.
Film Composer, dead: Erich Wolfgang Korngold.
Korngold Filmscore: The Sea Hawk.
Classical Conductor: Sir Georg Solti.
Classical Recording, all-time: Wagner’s Ring Cycle, VPO/Solti (Decca).
Rock Band: Pink Floyd.
Pink Floyd Album: The Wall.
Van Halen Album: 5150.
Led Zeppelin Album: IV.
Chieftains Album: Fire in the Kitchen.
Rock Album, all-time: Brothers In Arms, Dire Straits.
Song, Pink Floyd: Mother.
Song, Van Halen: Right Now.
Song, John Denver: Looking For Space.
Beatle: The one with the mop-top.
“Golden Oldie”: “Twistin’ the Night Away”, Sam Cooke.
Food, healthy: The biggest apples you can find. I mean, so big they could be mistaken for melons.
Food, non-heathy, savory: Buffalo-style chicken wings.
Food, non-healthy, sweet: Krispy Kreme originals, served hot. (They’re still great even three days stale.)
Pizza Topping: Italian Sausage.
Salad Dressing: Poppyseed.
Ice Cream: Coffee Haagen-Dasz.
Candy, Bar: Skor; Almond Joy. (TIE)
Candy, Munching: Reese’s Pieces.
Beverage, NA, Cold: Diet Pepsi.
Beverage, NA, Hot: Coffee, no milk, lots of sweetener. (I use either Splenda or sugar.)
Beverage, Alcohol: Cockburn’s Ruby Port.
Beverage, Alcohol, non-wine: Sam Adams Cherry Wheat.
Color: Purple.
Animal, wild: Orca.
Animal, domesticated: Cat.
Cat, breed: Persian.
Color, Persian cat: Tortoiseshell.
Light source: Candle.
Bookstore, chain: Borders.
Bookstore, indy: Talking Leaves. (Buffalo, of course.)
City other than Buffalo: Minneapolis.
US President, all-time: FDR.
English Monarch, all-time: Henry V.
Spaceship, Fictional, Good Guys: The Millennium Falcon.
Spaceship, Fictional, Bad Guys: Borg Cube.
Spaceship, Real: Friendship 7. (John Glenn’s Mercury capsule)
Shipwreck, Domestic: Edmund Fitzgerald.
Shipwreck, World: Titanic.
Natural Disaster, all-time: Mt. St. Helens, 1980. (At the time I lived 100 miles away, and thus I got to see the eruptions.)
Football Team: Buffalo Bills.
Buffalo Bill, active: Eric Moulds (wide receiver).
Buffalo Bill, all-time Jim Kelly (quarterback).
Baseball Team: Pittsburgh Pirates.
And, that’s probably enough for now. Not exhaustive, but definitely exhausting.