Oingo Bongo. The Gong Show. 'Nuff Said.

The fellow with the trombone is Danny Elfman, who will go on to score most of Tim Burton's films and write The Simpsons theme music.
BTW, all the judges are dead now. The time do fly, don't it?

Continuing the Star Wars Celebration....

Was life ever worth living before YouTube?

Wanna Feel Old?

30 years ago today... in a galaxy far, far away... Star Wars premiered...


From the BBC comes this very funny article:

"BBC News entertainment reporter Kevin Young's sole exposure to science-fiction to date consists of lusting after Gillian Anderson in The X-Files for a while in the 1990s. Despite fearing it was two hours of his life he'd "never get back", he offered to lose his Star Wars virginity."

Heron

Here's a pic of a heron that I took while kayaking a few weeks ago.

It Gets Worse

According to this CBC story, NASA scientists are finding that the Antarctic ice shields are melting much faster than previously thought.

The 2005 melt was extensive enough to create a layer of ice when the water refroze, but was not long enough for the water to flow to the sea ... if enough water from melted snow is created, it could slip through the cracks of the continent's ice sheets and potentially affect their movement.

What this means is that areas like the Ross ice shelf is in more danger of breaking free and sliding into the ocean, and when that happens, the Pacific basin will face a tsunami that will make the 2005 Boxing Day Tsunami look like a splash in a kiddie pool.
But it gets worse.
It seems that the Antarctic Ocean carbon sink, thought to account for 15% of the world's carbon sinks, has already reached its upper limit in its ability to absorb carbon dioxide.

"Ever since observations started in 1981, we see that the sinks have not increased [in their absorption of CO2]," Corinne LeQuere told the BBC's Science in Action programme.
"They have remained the same as they were 24 years ago even though the emissions have risen by 40%."

We may have vastly underestimated the speed at which our environment is falling apart. We're in trouble, and we're not catching any breaks.

Crisis on Infinite Earths

Crisis on Infinite Earths
by Marv Wolfman

review by John W. Herbert

Novelizations generally come out at the same time as the movie/tv show/event that they are tied in to. There seems little point for a novel plugging a 20 year-old comic series to come out now (unless its publication was coinciding with the publication of the sequel to the original comic series. Maybe there is a method to this marketing madness after all).
To begin, originally there were the original DC heroes of the 1930s and 1940s Golden Age: Superman, Batman, Wonder Woman, The Flash, Green Lantern et al. But after the war, many comics were cancelled and some heroes disappeared for a while. Batman and Superman continued, but The Flash, Green Lantern and others dropped by the wayside.
But in the 1950s and 1960s, DC began introducing updated versions of these forgotten heroes. The “old” Green Lantern, Alan Scott, was a railroad engineer who came upon a lantern forged from a mysterious metal that gave him super-powers, while the “new” Green Lantern, Hal Jordan, was chosen to join an intergalactic police force and given a ring that allowed him to give form to whatever he willed. The original Flash, Jay Garrick, was a college student who inhaled “hard water vapours” and gained super-speed, while the modern Flash was Barry Allen, a police scientist who suffered an accident with chemicals and was imbued with super-speed.
As the new so-called Silver Age heroes grew in popularity, the natural idea occurred – what if the new Flash met the old Flash? To accomplish this, the writers at DC used the old parallel worlds idea: the current Flash, and his contemporaries, lived on Earth-1, while the previous Flash and his contemporaries lived on Earth-2.
The Flash crossover proved so popular that soon the Green Lanterns crossed over, followed by whole leagues of heroes in annual crossover events. DC began adding more parallel worlds to their canon. There was Earth-3 where the heroes were the bad guys and the super-villains were the heroes. There was Earth-S where Captain Marvel and the Marvel Family lived. There was even Earth-Prime where the DC Comics writers lived and wrote the stories that played out across what was now referred to as the DC Multiverse.
By the mid-1980s, the powers-that-be decided that the DC Multiverse had grown so huge and unwieldy that new readers would be lost learning the previous continuity, and decided to do what is now called a re-boot of the DC Multiverse and collapse it into a single universe that would be easy for writers, editors and new readers to keep track of.
Enter Marv Wolfman and George Pérez who respectively wrote and drew Crisis on Infinite Earths, an award-winning 12-issue mini-series that tore the DC Multiverse asunder and rearranged it into a single, cohesive universe. Sort of. And in 2006, as DC prepared another massive crossover event, Infinite Crisis, to repair the continuity ruptures of the previous 20 years, iBooks published Wolfman’s novelization of the original series.
Wolfman wastes no time getting into the story, told through the eyes of The Flash, Barry Allen. It’s an interesting choice to use Allen as the narrator – the Silver Age Flash was considered by many readers to be a dull and boring character, and it’s for this reason that he was [Spoiler Alert] killed off at the end of the original Crisis mini-series. [He continues to be unappealing to modern fans as the beautiful Alex Ross-painted cover of the novel shows Supergirl’s death, not The Flash’s. And don’t ask me about Supergirl’s screwed up continuity. Oy vey. End of Spoiler Alert.]
Barry has become “unstuck” in time and his incorporeal form bears witness to multiple plot threads, presented in a non-linear manner. As a plot device, it’s a smart way for Wolfman to juggle his numerous stories as the various universes are destroyed by a being known as the Anti-Monitor, who, like most super-villains, can only come up with schemes that require the destruction of All Existence in order to succeed. (Whatever happened to knocking off the corner liquor store? But I digress.) It does make for confusing reading at first, as Barry is just as lost as the reader is, but soon Barry is up to speed with the story and so are we.
There’s no point trying to explain the particulars of the story, and it flies by so fast that who really cares anyway? And the legion of super-heroes (pun intended) that are briefly mentioned must be in the hundreds. Most rate merely a line or two. That said, Wolfman does manage to capture the essence of many of these one-line characters, and he finely draws the personalities of the main players of Batman, Superman and Wonder Woman. He does an especially fine job with Barry, our narrator, and captures the heroism and the tragedy in this doomed character.
If you really want to read this story, find the original comic. It’s readily available in graphic novel form. But if you’re looking for a few hours to kill with some light reading about the end of everything, this will do the trick, too.

originally published in Neo-Opsis magazine, 2007.

Why Men Die Early

Falwell Meets His Maker

I note that Jerry Falwell met his maker yesterday. Of course, Falwell's maker was the guy with the red complexion, the horns, pitchfork, pointed ears and the fire fetish.
It is ironic that Falwell, who blamed the 9/11 terrorist attacks on "pagans, and the abortionists, and the feminists, and the gays and the lesbians," should pass away yesterday, the National Day Against Homophobia.
The Lord works in mysterious ways.

The Long Recovery Week 25

A couple of weeks ago, my physio-therapist washed his hands of me and my course of prescribed therapy ended. This doesn't mean I'm done - I'll be stretching and working shoulder for the rest of my life.
But I'm glad to see my therapy end. As much help and encouragement that Jim was, I'm glad that I don't have to see him anymore. I'm sure he understands. :)
Today was another giant step in my recovery -- I rode to work for the first time since the accident. I didn't push it. I stayed in the middle gears and had a nice slow ride.
It went great. My arm and shoulder survived and were fine. No pain, no soreness.
I can't explain how wonderful it felt to be on my wheels again.
The only disappointment was during my ride home. All day long I thought about what I would do when I encountered the small piece of trail between Burnside Road and Tillicum Road where I came off all those weeks ago. Would I ride it? Or would I just avoid it and alter my route?
I didn't decide until I was riding home. I decided that I was feeling okay and I would ride that bit of trail. I would go slow, I might even stop for a moment of contemplation. I would ride that trail.
But as I approached, the trail was roped off. The municipality was in the middle of beautifying the area, and the trail was closed for the duration of the work. As I got closer, I realized that they had changed the path completely. The little trail that I fell on isn't even there anymore.

The piece of ground where I left my mark is gone now, but the marks it left on me will stay with me. The scar on my shoulder and the metal in my arm will be a constant reminder to me of how close I came.
And how lucky I am.

Bruce Campbell is A God (Like We Didn't Know That Already)

Surprise! The White House Backs Wolfowitz

According to CNN, "the White House came to the defense of the embattled World Bank president Tuesday, saying his behavior did not amount to 'a firing offense.'"
This shouldn't come as a surprise. Look at the source -- nothing that goes on in the White House amounts to a firing offense!

Me in a Kayak

I don't have many pictures of me in a kayak (for obvious reasons). But thanks to Alison, here's me in a Current Design Titan LV...


...and a Delta 18.



These pics are from Paddlefest this past weekend.

2007 Vancouver Canucks Playoff Team Portrait

Evolution in Action 5

Majority of Iraqi Lawmakers Now Reject Occupation

According to Alternet.org...

...[o]n Tuesday, without note in the U.S. media, more than half of the members of Iraq's parliament rejected the continuing occupation of their country. 144 lawmakers signed onto a legislative petition calling on the United States to set a timetable for withdrawal, according to Nassar Al-Rubaie, a spokesman for the Al Sadr movement, the nationalist Shia group that sponsored the petition.
It's a hugely significant development. Lawmakers demanding an end to the occupation now have the upper hand in the Iraqi legislature for the first time; previous attempts at a similar resolution fell just short of the 138 votes needed to pass (there are 275 members of the Iraqi parliament, but many have fled the country's civil conflict, and at times it's been difficult to arrive at a quorum).
Reached by phone in Baghdad on Tuesday, Al-Rubaie said that he would present the petition, which is nonbinding, to the speaker of the Iraqi parliament and demand that a binding measure be put to a vote. Under Iraqi law, the speaker must present a resolution that's called for by a majority of lawmakers, but there are significant loopholes and what will happen next is unclear.

Will the US ever leave Iraq?
Scarecrow doesn't think so.

"All this reminds us there is something seriously wrong with the Bush/Cheney logic and their strategic assessment. All that rhetoric about “them” “following us home” — what Richard Clarke calls the White House’s “puppy dog theory” — sounds pretty ludicrous, because it’s exactly backwards. Instead of worrying about al-Qaeda in Mesopotamia following us home, American policy should stop breeding wannabe terrorists here by what we’re doing there. We should worry that this Administration has an incoherent, and dangerously delusional understanding of the threat to America that bears no relationship to reality. And that’s the real danger to the country."

According to Think Progress, Condi thinks the US is staying.

In an interview last night on the Charlie Rose Show, Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice pointedly said, “[O]ur friends in the [Middle East] need to know and the Iraqis need to know that we are not looking to leave Iraq.” “Ever?” Rose asked. Rice responded, “We are not going to leave an Iraq that is not capable of defending itself and with a foundation for future reconciliation.”
Rose then asked Rice if she believed she’ll have the support of the American people to continue the war. Rice claimed the American people are looking for “progress.” Rose replied, “But nobody can answer the question: If it doesn’t happen, what?” Avoiding discussion of a Plan B, Rice answered, “Charlie, because as the President said to you, we’re focused on having it happen.”
In the interview, Rose also noted that Rice once worked for President George H.W. Bush, who was “famous for insisting there be an exit strategy. [But] no one seems to know what’s the exit strategy [now],” he said. Rice responded that Iraq is “a long-term proposition.”

Richard Clarke is not optimistic, either.

"For as long as I'm alive, there will be Iraqis who hate us," Clarke told about 300 people gathered in the Gaiser Hall Student Center.
In the "battle of ideas" crucial to U.S. success in the Middle East, "We're not only losing, we've never really started," he said.
In fact, al-Qaida terror cells have multiplied much faster since the 9/11 terror attacks and subsequent American offensive in Afghanistan, Clarke said. The United States let al-Qaida "off the ropes" to invade Iraq, he said.
That was one of many failures Clarke listed as he recounted steps before and after the Iraq invasion that have left many Americans numbed and millions of Muslims seething, he said.
"The question is, how quickly can we undo that mistake?" he asked.

The Best Headline Ever

Associated Press wins the award for a story about high-wire artists crossing a river in South Korea. The headline:
Skywalkers in Korea cross Han solo.

Trust Me, This is Funny

I really can't explain this.... you have to experience it for yourself.
Trek. Cats. Mangled English. Nothing more needs to be said.
Just click here.

Canadian Baseball Player

This Eagle Has Landed

We spotted this eagle while out kayaking yesterday.

Happy Star Wars Day

May the 4th Be With You.

Found: The Loch Ness Monster

Finally, a creature has been found at the bottom of Loch Ness.
It turns out that the Loch Ness monster is a toad??!??

Arctic Ice is Melting Three Times Faster Than Thought

According to this CNN story, Arctic ice is melting three times faster than previously believed.
We're screwed.

There Is No Exit Plan...

...because the Bushies don't plan to ever leave.

"The United States maintains 737 military bases in 130 countries across the globe. They exist for the purpose of defending the economic interests of the United States, what is euphemistically called "national security." In order to secure favorable access to Iraq's vast reserves of light crude, the United States is spending billions on the construction of at least five large permanent military bases throughout that country.
A new Iraq oil law, largely written by the Coalition Provisional Authority, is planned for ratification by June. This law cedes control of Iraq's oil to western powers for 30 years. There is major opposition to the proposed law within Iraq, especially among the country's five trade union federations that represent hundreds of thousands of oil workers. The United States is working hard to surmount this opposition by appealing directly to the al-Maliki government in Iraq."

Colbert is The Man

The Spam Chronicles 9

FROM DESK OF MR ADAMA BELLO.
AUDITING AND ACCOUNTING UNIT.
BANK OF AFRICA(BOA)
OUAGADOUGOU BURKINA-FASO.

I AM ADAMA BELLO THE DIRECTOR IN CHARGE OF AUDITING AND ACCOUNTING SECTION OF BANK OF AFRICA, (BOA) OUAGADOUGOU BURKINA-FASO COULD YOU PLEASE CONSIDER TO HELP ME TO RELOCATE THIS SUM OF TEN MILLION,FIVE HUNDRED THOUSAND DOLLARS(US$10.5m)

THIER WHERE 10.5 MILLION DOLLARS WAS DEPOSITED IN OUR BANK BY Mr Joan Smith AN AMERICA CITIZEN WHO DIED IN A PLANE CRASH IN 2000.
WE HAVE TRIED TO CONTACT HER IMMEDIATE FAMILY TO COME FORWARD FOR CLAIMS BUT COULD NOT SUCCEED.WE DISCORVERED THAT THE LATE AMERICAN DIED ALONG SIDE WITH HES WIFE AND CHILDREN WHO ARE SUPPOSED TO BE HER NEXT OF KIN.

ON SMOOTH CONCLUSION OF THIS TRANSACTION, YOU WILL BE ENTITLED TO 40% OF THE TOTAL SUM AS GRATIFICATION, WHILE 5% WILL BE SET ASIDE TO TAKE CARE OF EXPENSES THAT MAY ARISE DURING THE TIME OF TRANSFER AND ALSO TELEPHONE BILLS, WHILE 55% WILL BE FOR ME. PLEASE, YOU HAVE BEEN ADVICED TO KEEP "TOP SECRET.

CLICKHERE(http://www.cnn.com/2000/US/02/01/alaska.airlines.list/).
I WILL GIVE YOU ALL VITAL INFORMATION CONCERNING THE AMERICAN AND THE
10.5MILLION DOLLARS IN OUR CUSTODY SO THAT YOU WILL CONTACT OUR BANK
FOR THEM TO RELEASE THE MONEY TO YOU.
YOU CAN COME HERE IN PERSON OR YOU CAN REQUEST THE BANK TO SHIP THE
FUNDS TO YOU IN YOUR COUNTRY DIPLOMATICALY.

I AM THE DIRECTOR IN CHARGE OF AUDITING AND ACCOUNTING SECTION,I WILL PLAY A ROLE TO MAKE SURE THAT THE 10.5 MILLION DOLLARS IS RELEASED TO YOU. AS SOON AS I RECIEVE YOUR REPLY,I WILL GIVE YOU A DRAFT APPLICATION WHICH YOU WILL FORWARD TO OUR BANK.

REPLY AND LET ME KNOW YOUR FULL NAME,AGE,ADDRESS,OCCUPATION,YOUR AND FAX NUMBERS IF AVALIABLE.

I AWAIT YOUR URGENT REPLY.

MR.Adama Bello

Good God, Adama, I have no time for this. From what your associate Starbuck, or whatever the hell his name was, was saying, les federales are on to you and I can't be involved.
You're on your own.
You never saw me. I was never here.

John

Deer Sighting

You don't expect to see deer very often when kayaking, but we saw some on the weekend.

Okay, not exactly seals, but we won't complain too much.

The Long Recovery Week 23

Okay, here we go - the first bike ride in 160 days!

I survived!