Apparently they started looking for contestants already. I sent an email, but the run-thru dates are already half over.
Via Poz (and others): excellent musical satire regarding the UK national ID card. Forthwith, we present The Very Model of a Modern Labor Minister.
The world today is filled with villains stealing one's identity
And terrorists intent on acts of violent extremity
Our citizens are prisoners, our criminals at liberty
Our nation at the mercy of felonious proclivity
Our very own Home Secretary will rebuild our society
A model of sagaciousness and picture of propriety
It's patent that protection of the future of humanity
Relies on Mr Clarke to put an end to this insanity![…]
I love my ice cream. Judging from the plethora of Globe stories recently, so do they.
Ken Jennings is worried about TiVo addiction; watches Iron Chef, Daily Show, The Office, Simpsons.
I can't wait for his new game show on Comedy Central— where do I sign up to be a contestant?
Quickie restaurant review: enjoyed a very nice dinner at Solea in Waltham, MA. Drank a Caipirinha and tried a bunch of yummy goodies off of the Tapas Calientes section of the menu:
I'm looking forward to the next visit, so that I can try some items from the cold section of the menu: Tostadas de Alcachofas (Artichoke Hearts, Mushroom & Goat Cheese Crostini), Aceitunas Aliñadas (an Assortment of Marinated Olives), Ceviche, and Tostones (Plantain Chips & Salmon topped with Creme Fraiche & Mango Chutney). And maybe a Pisco Sour. (I love this recipe's mangled English: "If it is necessary add some ice water and rectify carefully the quality of a good PISCO SOUR.") For a less surreal version, check out this this recipe from the Food Network.
Thumbs-up to air-conditioned theaters and Land of the Dead:
''What's a good summer 100-degree weekend without a zombie movie?" said Williams. ''It's about surviving the heat, baby."
(The New York Times has a more in-depth review, calling Land of the Dead an "excellent freakout of a movie." Registration required, or use rv333/rv333.)
Yesterday, it hit 91° (a record high). I didn't go hiking. I didn't go to the beach. I didn't bask in the air-conditioned glory of the local cineplex. I spent yesterday at an ex-army base, on hot tarmac, driving around (and over) a sea of orange cones.
Yep, the S2000 and I finally tried autocross. The New England Sports Car Club offered its Solo II School yesterday, so I got up at 6 a.m., loaded up the car, and drove out to Devens. My co-worker Jane had already set up a tarp, so I parked next to her Audi TT and got my car ready to be checked by the tech guys. I pulled everything out of the trunk and set it up. I removed the car mats. I went to check the tire pressure, and found that Chang had already inflated the tires to 45 p.s.i.(!)
There were some very nice cars there. Besides Jane's TT, there were the requisite Miatas and WRXs, a few BMWs, lots of Hondas. And a red Ferrari 308 GTS (the same car that Magnum PI drove). And not one, but two gorgeous, brand-new, British Racing Green Lotus Elises.
The morning started out with the aforementioned tech check. Then there was an hour of classroom time (held in the shady patch next to a motor home), where we sat on folding chairs and Chang went over the basics of autocross. At this point, we broke up into groups— two intermediate groups, and three groups of n00bs. I was in Group B, which consisted of the Ferrari 308 GTS, the Audi TT, one of the Elises, an older convertible BMW, and something else that I can't remember. And our first lesson was the Slalom.
There were 2 sets of cones set up, so you'd drive down one slalom set, and then drive back to the start on the other slalom set. And then you'd get back in line and do it again. There were 3 instructors in our group, and they would switch off between riding in your car and instructing you, and driving your car to show you how it's done. When Instructor Kevin drove my car, I felt like I was on the Cyclone. The first set of slalom cones were spaced closer together, so you couldn't go as fast. The second set were farther apart, so you could get up to 35-40 mph. I spent the whole day in 2nd gear. Somewhere during slalom practice, I really started to feel like autocross was not the sport for me. I felt queasy, and I was really having difficulty understanding why someone would want to do this to his car. But I kept getting back in line and trying to pay attention to all the different things that you're supposed to pay attention to (look ahead! smooth turn! back side of the cone! steady speed! look ahead! have an aneurysm! don't hurl!) and driving it over and over and over again. And then it was time for the Kidney Bean.
The Kidney Bean, not too surprisingly, is a course laid out in the shape of a kidney bean. There are increasing radius turns and decreasing radius turns, and a small slalom in the middle. You can't see any of this at first glance, though. Mostly it looks like an explosion at the traffic cone factory. But the instructors walked through the course with us, and explained what would be happening and where we should be looking. And then we got in our cars and drove the course slowly a few times (again, talking about what should be happening at a given point). Repeat, only faster. Repeat. Repeat. Repeat. At some point in here, I stood out on the course and re-set any cones that got knocked over during someone's run. Thankfully, most people didn't knock over very many. Did I mention that it was frickin' hot? OK, now start driving it in the clockwise direction, if you can figure out the course. Repeat. Repeat. Repeat. (Look ahead! Accelerate! Back side of the cone! Brake! Accelerate! Outside edge! Look ahead! Brake! Accelerate! Look ahead!) This started to get fun again, and was not nearly as queasy-making as the slalom. Next: Offsets.
The final lesson of the day was Offsets. There were cones set up in a zig-zag at the extreme edges of the runway, and the goal is to drive big smooth arcs (half circle in one direction, half circle in the other. The steering wheel is never pointed straight, because you're immediately transitioning into the next turn (look ahead! look ahead! look ahead!). This part was definitely fun, although my brain was starting to melt as we hit the hottest part of the day.
After all of the lessons, there was a mini-autocross course. As before, we walked the course with an instructor, then drove it with him. Then the instructor drove it while I sat in the passenger seat. Repeat, repeat, repeat. I got to wave the green start flag while the other set of drivers went through their runs. Then 4 more runs for me, followed by another stint of flag-waving.
Instructor Kevin exhorted me to really push my car, saying "You haven't even spun it today, have you?" So, during my penultimate run, I really pushed it, and was "rewarded" with a 270° spin-out during the final offsets. It was fun, but that blew my time. I tried pushing it during my final run too, but my overall time was slow. I did better when I pushed it less but paid more attention to the course and timing, and I don't yet have enough brain cells to do both things at the same time.
By the end of the day (~5 p.m.), I was wiped. Went back to my "camp", loaded up the car, let down the tire pressure, and put the roof up. Cranked the A/C, and waited for my brain to re-solidify. As the car cooled down, I realized that I was ravenously hungry.
Nothing prepared me for the sound of an autocross. There is a constant background of engine and tire shriek, not just from your course, but from all of the other areas at the event. Driving home, I could still hear all of those sounds in my head, like when you play Quake for too long. I also can't believe how tired I am (although I think part of that is due to the heat) and sore. That said, it was a lot of fun and I'll do it again (preferably on a cooler day).
Via bOING bOING: TSA in(s)anity on parade. Dallas-Fort Worth screeners tell Minneapolis lawyer that his $300 Audi ignition key is a switchblade, confiscate it. Unbelievable.
I realize that his name makes this all too easy, but the headline still slays me: Cardinal Sin: your tributes. I'm thinking that there will be some very special tributes to Cardinal Sin, tonight on the Spice channel.
This headline is a close second: Arroyo: Sin a great liberator. I've always thought so.
I've been meaning to mention that I set up a Flickr page for all of our City of Heroes screenshots. So far, I think that Devo and I are the only contributors, but I could be wrong. Please feel free to add to it (email me for the login and password if you have pix that you want to upload). If you just want to view the pix, here is the URL: http://www.flickr.com/photos/popplers/.
We went to a great Thai restaurant in Winchester over the weekend: It Rains Fishes. The food was delicious— panang curry, soft-shelled crab, summer rolls, and the old standby (pad thai). They also served a refreshing limeade (sparkling or still) and a rich ice cream/ chocolate/ truffle thing for dessert. I can't wait to go back!
Well, we went to see Batman Begins yesterday. The only 2 complaints that I have are this:
1) Earsplitting volume levels (for no reason!). Not just at the exciting parts, but through the entire movie. My brain hurt.
2) The idjit family who sat next to us. They brought 2 young kids (7 or 8, tops, by my guess) to this scary, dark, violent, loud, PG-13 movie. The daughter bailed with Mom partway through, but the son sat on Dad's lap, fidgeting and asking questions through the entire frickin' movie. "Are those the bad guys?" I wanted to smack the father. Hard.
All right, enough with the complaints, and on to the good stuff.
The movie itself did not disappoint. It dragged in a few parts, but I really enjoyed it. I've seen Tim Burton's Batman (1989) and Batman Returns (1992). I saw Val Kilmer and Val Kilmer's pouty lips in Batman Forever (1995), but I don't remember much about it. I purposely avoided Batman & Robin (1997) and the egregious Catwoman (2004).
I liked Batman Begins better than any of the previous offerings. It's much more angsty (think Dark Knight Returns), and much less brightly-colored and campy. As you watch the once-shining, moderne Gotham City deteriorate into a cess pit of corruption and predatory self-interest, you know why the Batman is so damned angry all the time.
The bat-suit does not have nipples. The Batmobile looks like it could shoot through schools. I particularly liked the Arkham Asylum scenes and the introduction of the Scarecrow. (I'd devoured Grant Morrison and Dave McKean's Arkham Asylum when it first came out in 1997, and I'm now eager to re-read it.) In short, it was worth seeing, even for $9.25 (choke, cough), in a non-stadium-seating theatre, while sitting in a busted seat. But next time I'm bringing dueling gloves to smack the idjit.
Cool New York Times article on Hayao Miyazaki. (Registration required, or use rv333/rv333.) I can't wait to see Howl's Moving Castle this weekend.
It looks like DC Comics wants to give City of Heroes a run for their money. Let's hope that DC's mouth isn't writing checks that its ass can't cash:
Smedley said he was unaware of the Marvel MMO status but wasn't concerned. "I will put Super-Man against the X-Men any day," he said. "And 'City of Heroes' was massively successful, but now we're bringing the world's No. 1 comic into the MMO space."Hall was similarly unfazed by any potential competition. "DC is really where the classic archetype of the superhero lives, and there is nothing else like it," he said. "We're partnered with arguably the leader in this space for the longest period of time, and we're pairing them up with one of our largest properties. It's a great setup for success and for the experience DC fans want to have."
So, does this mean that they won't have annoying 13-year-olds running around with character names like B4tm4n and S00perm4|\|?
I've heard of (and eaten, once) shark's fin soup, but freeze-dried penguins?
(I keep picturing John Cleese, from the Albatross sketch, saying "It's bloody seabird-flavoured!")
While searching for new info on the washed-out Northway (seems like they're still hoping that the repairs will be completed within a week), I came across this nominee for the Darwin Awards.
More details (with pix) of the flood aftermath in the ADKs. (Original story from Monday has map, but no photos.)
Ohmigod, I can't believe that we're missing the Lake George Elvis Festival!
Hmm… Getting to Twin Trees may be problematic: mudslide forces closure of I-87 between exits 23 and 25.
Surstroemming (last mentioned in these pages on April 10) finally gets its own museum. Somehow, I think even penguins would turn up their noses (beaks?) at this.
Krispy Kreme gives away free doughnuts on June 3rd (one per customer). The first taste is free, kid!
On a related note, their featured doughnut this month is Strawberry Shortcake: an unglazed doughnut filled with "strawberry kreme," topped with white icing and shortcake crunch— blargh.
