Well That Explains It!

I knew there had to be an explanation for the problems of my generation and I've finally found it! My mother let me watch Sesame Street and... gasp... The Electric Company! Although the truly diabolical nature of the latter hasn't been exposed yet, it was announced yesterday that the early episodes of Sesame Street are to be released on DVD... but here's the kicker... They're labeled with a warning "that they are intended for grown-ups and may not suit the needs of today's preschoolers."

"The vintage Sesame Street characters couldn't make it on T.V. today," Virginia Heffernan of the New York Times argues. "Just look at Oscar the Grouch, a fellow who lives in a garbage can, gets no help with his obvious emotional problems and shows no ambition to better his station in life."

I always liked Oscar the Grouch myself and I'm not a bum living in a sleezy alley. However, I guess I can blame my burgeoning waist line on Cookie Monster. Read more at NPR.com.

Word of the Day

williwaw
Pronunciation: \WILL-ih-waw\
Function: noun

1 a : a sudden violent gust of cold land air common along mountainous coasts of high latitudes b : a sudden violent wind
2 : a violent commotion

Example Sentence:
The sailors had all heard stories of ships capsized by the williwaws that plagued the strait.

Did you know?
In 1900, Captain Joshua Slocum described williwaws as "compressed gales of wind . . . that Boreas handed down over the hills in chunks." To unsuspecting sailors or pilots, such winds might seem to come out of nowhere -- just like word "williwaw" did some 150 years ago. All anyone knows about the origin of the word is that it was first used by writers in the mid-1800s to name fierce winds in the Strait of Magellan at the southern tip of South America. The writers were British, and indications are that they may have learned the word from British sailors and seal hunters. Where they got the word, we cannot say.

Bushism of the Day

"I don't particularly like it when people put words in my mouth, either, by the way, unless I say it."—Crawford, Texas, Nov. 10, 2007

Follow the president's accidental wit and wisdom on Slate.com.

Word of the Day

ameliorate
ame·lio·rate
Pronunciation: \ə-ˈmēl-yə-ˌrāt, -ˈmē-lē-ə-\
Function: verb
Inflected Form(s): ame·lio·rat·ed; ame·lio·rat·ing
Etymology: alteration of meliorate
Date: 1767
transitive verb: to make better or more tolerable
intransitive verb: to grow better

Life Lesson #1

I first learned of the Autumn Leaf Special train excursion more than a decade ago. A co-worker at Telos, one Gordon "Buddy" Ward (quite the character by the way), took his better half on the trip each year. My wife and I had discussed going several times but finally made the trip on November 4 in celebration of our nineteenth wedding anniversary. The all day excursion travels 51 miles from Grand Junction Depot in Chattanooga, TN to Summerville, GA where the steam engine is spun around on a turntable for the trip back. We had about an hour layover in Summerville to enjoy the small town scenery and my wife picked up a few antiques from a small shop.

While some of the scenery is less than desireable... I think I saw every junkyard in the area.... the ride is extremely relaxing as the train meanders through the mostly pastoral countryside and historical sites. The train itself is an incredible glimpse into history! The steam locomotive is a consolidation-type #610, built in 1952 by Baldwin-Lima-Hamilton for the US Army. It is hand-fired with soft coal and was one of the last steamers built in the US. We rode in Pullman Cart 97 "Clover Colony" (1920) which was built for "pool service". It has five private compartments and eight semi-private sections and was used in the filming of "Some Like It Hot" starring Marilyn Monroe. The car has been carefully restored to its original 1930's era appearance.

Ah! I almost forgot Life Lesson #1! When I mentioned the beautiful scenic view from the train, my wife commented that it looked very much like our daily commute to our rural southern Tennessee home and she's right. We live in an incredibly beautiful area surrounded by nature and wildlife. We see it everyday and sometimes even curse living so far away from our jobs and shopping and we really shouldn't. It's very easy to take the beautiful things in your life for granted and we've all done it at some point. Just remember to slow down and enjoy the scenery.

Word of the Day

bifurcate
bi·fur·cate
Pronunciation : \ˈbī-(ˌ)fər-ˌkāt, bī-ˈfər-\
Function: verb
Inflected Form(s): bi·fur·cat·ed; bi·fur·cat·ing
Etymology: Medieval Latin bifurcatus, past participle of bifurcare, from Latin bifurcus two-pronged, from bi- + furca fork
Date: 1615

transitive verb : to cause to divide into two branches or parts intransitive verb : to divide into two branches or parts
— bi·fur·cate \(ˌ)bī-ˈfər-kət, -ˌkāt; ˈbī-(ˌ)fər-ˌkāt\ adjective

Iron Man 05.02.08

Yes, I admit it.... I'm a geek. I played Dungeons & Dragons, read a lot of fantasy/science fiction, and collected comics when I was younger. Incredible advances in computer technology have made comic book (and fantasy novel) adaptations on the big screen truly believable and they put a huge grin on the face of this 38-year old kid. Watching the characters that I read about come to life in such a realistic manner gives me a rush that I haven't experienced since seeing Superman at the theater in 1978.

While some of these movies have been less than thrilling, others like Spider-Man, Batman Returns, and Ghost Rider have remained faithful to the comics with amazing results. I've got to admit that I feel a certain amount of dread when one goes into production. Memories of The Punisher, Fantastic Four, and The Hulk always raise the cynicism quotient but I'm hoping that Iron Man will be a success.

Directed by Jon Favreau, the Paramount and Marvel Studios comic book adaptation features a star studded cast including Robert Downey Jr. (Tony Stark), Terrence Howard, Gwyneth Paltrow, and Jeff Bridges. Definitely no lack of acting talent and the trailers thus far look amazing and seem to faithfully follow the progression of the armor.

Check out the official site at http://www.ironmanmovie.com/ and don't miss the new international teaser trailer at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RYZ3954lqag. Iron Man hits the theater May 02, 2008.

Word of the Day

While absorbing my daily dosage of news, I happened upon this particular word and wasn't familiar with it so I consulted the dictionary. Go figure... It's never too late to broaden your vocabulary!

querulous
quer·u·lous
Pronunciation : \ˈkwer-yə-ləs, -ə-ləs also ˈkwir-\
Function: adjective
Etymology: Middle English querelose, from Latin querulus,
from queri to complain
Date: 15th century
1 : habitually complaining
2 : fretful, whining
— quer·u·lous·ly adverb
— quer·u·lous·ness noun

The Annual Jack O' Lantern Contest

Most families have some sort of holiday tradition. Of course, some are more "normal" than others. Most families simply get together for dinner on Thanksgiving or Christmas but, no, that's too non-competitive for the Ray household. We hold the annual Jack O' Lantern carving contest to crown the Pumpkin King or Queen (Goddess according to my wife)!

Unfortunately for me, it's usual the latter. According to my better half, my attempt at a cannibalistic Jack O' Lantern this year looked more maternal than lethal. I should have given him some teeth. Oh well. I tried. She had a rougher time than usual choosing a different variety of pumpkin with a really tough exterior and very strange looking contents. With the stem portion actually being used as the "nose", the resulting carving looks almost feral. Personally, I would have still given her the win but I was awarded the championship by her co-workers so I'll proudly wear my crown until next October.

Now, I've got to get down to the pumpkin patch to wait for the Great Pumpkin!

Dennis Kucinich has seen a UFO

Asked about the statement by actress Shirley MacLaine that Kucinich had seen a UFO at her house, Kucinich said that he had. He quickly sought to clarify -- an "unidentified flying object" he said holding up his hand.

Obama did not take the bait when asked whether he thought there is life on other planets. "I believe there is life here on Earth," he said, turning his answer into a domestic policy statement.

My politics have changed a lot over the years so I just usually try to keep my mouth shut on most subjects otherwise I might be lynched or perhaps simply ostracized from deep southern society but I'm positive that most of the politicians in DC have seen a UFO... the inside of it... They have to be from some alien world to come up with that much nonsense.

Bushism of the Day

My hearts are with the Jeffcoats right now, that's what I'm thinking."—After meeting with California wildfire victims Kendra and Jay Jeffcoat, San Diego, Calif., Oct. 25, 2007

Follow the president's accidental wit and wisdom on Slate.com.

Get the Cake Fool!

My wife is a huge fan of classic movies so I've never seen so much B&W television since I was a kid watching 13 inches of CRT while still living with my parents. Of course, I had no idea that Star Trek was even filmed in color until much later but that's a different story. With my wife's affinity for fine films, AMC and TCM are two of her favorite channels.

She absolutely loves Alfred Hitchcock and wouldn’t miss Vertigo, Rebecca, or Rear Window but has no love whatsoever for The Birds, the movie of choice on the week leading up to All Hallows Eve. Horror films just aren’t her bag and even Hitchcock’s revolutionary idea of a horror movie with no real ending, weird electronic bird noise soundtrack, and interesting use of imagery won’t cut it.

Watching The Birds with her was like an episode of Mystery Science Theater 3000. The best comment of the evening came early in the movie when the kids birthday party is attacked by gulls to which my wife responded loudly, “Go get the cake fool! That looks like some good cake!”

Only my wife…

Scrat the Squirrel

Since it's been a few years since my daughter was a candidate for kid's movies and my wife usually enjoyed that bonding experience anyway, I wasn't exposed to the wonderful entertainment of the first Ice Age movie until the sequel hit the theaters. Per usual, the original was common fare on the tube with the sequel hitting the big screen. Vegging out on the couch one Saturday afternoon, I was wonderfully entertained by the actions of one prehistoric sabertooth squirrel!

Obviously, I'm not the only one. Some perusing around the internet provided many reviews of Ice Age: The Meltdown as mediocre except for the performance of said squirrel. I don't remember any reference to his name in either movie but apparently the ferocious rodent is named Scrat. I'm sure that I could have easily found that information by watching the credits and would have even found out that the sqeaks were courtesy of one Chris Wedge. The squirrel is great entertainment as he chases after an acorn through both flicks. Sounds simple, doesn't it? It's wonderful stuff! Just a squirrel working hard to get a nut! Rent both movies and check out the little guy! I'm an offical Scrat fan now and I even whipped up a custom Windows wallpaper in his honor. If you've got a widescreen laptop with the screen resolution of 1280x800 then download it here! http://myweb.pclnet.net/~iluvspam/images/ice_age_03_1280_800.jpg

The Road Not Taken

I'm sure that nearly everyone was exposed to Robert Frost's poetry in high school or college but this poem reads much differently after some "life experience". The poem was first published in 1916 in his collection "Mountain Interval". It is the first poem in the volume, and the first poem Frost had printed in italics. It's one of my favorites. Enjoy.

The Road Not Taken
by Robert Frost

Two roads diverged in a yellow wood,
And sorry I could not travel both
And be one traveler, long I stood
And looked down one as far as I could
To where it bent in the undergrowth

Then took the other, as just as fair,
And having perhaps the better claim,
Because it was grassy and wanted wear;
Though as for that the passing there
Had worn them really about the same,

And both that morning equally lay
In leaves no step had trodden black.
Oh, I kept the first for another day!
Yet knowing how way leads on to way,
I doubted if I should ever come back.

I shall be telling this with a sigh
Somewhere ages and ages hence:
Two roads diverged in a wood, and I --
I took the one less traveled by,
And that has made all the difference.

Remember what John and Paul said.

Listening to my wife Sandi’s crazy quotes got me thinking about great movie quotes. We were watching “The Long Kiss Good Night” (1996) with Geena Davis and Samuel L. Jackson. This movie has some really memorable quotes but not particularly inspirational ones so here’s a few from the movie “Michael”, coincidentally also made in 1996 (good year for movies?). Remember that flick with John Travolta playing the arch angel Michael living on earth, chasing women, drinking beer, etc? Great movie! I love it and Phenomenon as well, possibly two of Travolta's best.

Michael: Remember what John and Paul said.
Frank Quinlan: The apostles?
Michael: No, the Beatles. All you need is love.

Michael: You gotta learn to laugh, it's the way to true love.

Michael: Hey, what's the opposite of white?
Frank Quinlan: Black.
Michael: No. Yolk.

Entertainment and great advice... How can you beat that?

Michael (1996)

Frank Quinlan and Huey Driscoll, two reporters from a Chicago-based tabloid, along with Dorothy Winters, an 'angel expert', are asked to travel to rural Iowa to investigate a claim from an old woman that she shares her house with a real, live archangel named Michael. Upon arrival, they see that her claims are true - but Michael is not what they expected: he smokes, drinks beer, has a very active libido and has a rather colourful vocabulary. In fact, they would never believe it were it not for the two feathery wings protruding from his back. Michael agrees to travel to Chicago with the threesome, but what they don't realise is that the journey they are about to undertake will change their lives forever.

Check out IMDB for more info on Michael and watch it if you get a chance. I think you'll enjoy it.