Yes We Did

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It’s difficult not to have a tremendously bitter aftertaste here in California, but I suspect a flurry of lawsuits might just ground everything to a halt. If anything, the world now knows who Howard Ahmanson is and where to shine the flashlight the next time he scuttles in. Orange County again has a lot to answer for.

Two incidents of surreality last night…

1. The CNN hologram

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2. A barking mad Gore Vidal versus a baffled David Dimbleby on the BBC

Giant Battle Monster!

Kaleidosaurus

is a Giant Mecha-Squid that has a Single Giant Eye, Freezes Solid when Cold, looks like a Man in a Rubber Suit, controls Human Thought, and moves at Great Speed.

Strength: 6 Agility: 6 Intelligence: 7


To see if your Giant Battle Monster can
defeat Kaleidosaurus, enter your name and choose an attack:

fights Kaleidosaurus using

Birthdays

I’m not surprised at all to discover that Godzilla and Steve Ditko share the same birthday today. The only way this could be even more appropriate was if it was election day. Oh wait…

Speaking of birthdays, mine was last week. Anyone reading this blog knows that I don’t really comprehend any of the clichéd “middle-aged male life crisis” crap that’s peddled to guys my age so if I had to choose some kind of measurement unit standard here, I’ll go with pop-culture based ones. Therefore, I am no longer:

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I am now:

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This year’s birthday wasn’t quite last years’ where Kristin and I went to Portland for an extravaganza of cheap beer, video games, and tax-free shopping, but a Secret Machines show and the Divey Steak Bar That Time Forgot were worthy substitutes – especially with yummy Gumbo Pot beignets substituting for birthday cake.

I do have to throw in one “yay me!” here. A couple times during my twenty-fifth high school reunion last month I was asked the dreaded “so what are you doing” question. After my usual stream of “blahcomputersblahblahmusicblah” several people replied with “wow, that’s exactly what I thought you would be doing.” Ummm… yay me!

A Bite of Stars, A Slug of Time, and Thou

newworlds_1958-04.jpgFreaky Trigger is podcasting ResonanceFM’s A Bite of Stars, A Slug of Time, and Thou, an astoundingly great show on pulp and avant-garde science fiction short stories from 1935 to 1975. Recommended for anyone who’s annoyed at how SF is equated these days with only television and movies.

The second season is already in progress and ends in November, but the entire run of shows is available and worth grabbing.

If you need one show to sample, start with episode #10 on J. G. Ballard’s “Track 12.” An early 1958 short story of his from New Worlds that’s one part Poe and one part sonic weaponry. The followup discussion touches on electroacoustic music, Iannis Xenakis, microsonics, and Ballard of course.

ResonanceFM desperately needs to archive/podcast more of its shows.