Sigh, I had that helmet since I was in third grade. That is, a dog ran off with my helmet and chewed it up. Granted the material world is an illusion and all things are impermanent, but there is something to be said for keeping things nice and making them last a long time. I remember the day I got the thing, the falls it protected me from, the cost of a new one... but supposedly there is a new one on the way for me. Apparently I am allowed to kill the dog if I wish, we'll see.
the indubitable Daniel Kalder has begun a new period of employment with the Austin Crime Examiner, where he will be writing blurbs on crime until the editors fire him. Give it a visit or maybe even subscribe, as he has suggested. Give it a look see, why don't you?
A Peruvian gang was found murdering people and selling their fat for cosmetics. Eww... and sad. I guess you'll want to look at that as well.
I'm going to go plant Jerusalem Artichokes now as a money saving scheme.
Friday, November 20, 2009
Monday, November 16, 2009
Lions
I, can no longer say that I have not seen a live lion. That is, I seen a real live African lion at a zoo. Three to be exact. Ramses, Nyala,and Kayla, a white lion and his two lionesses. A white lion to boot! How many of those are there? Right across the way there were two endangered Red Crowned Cranes and in the pen right next to them there were two sloth bears. I have now seen Moon, Polar, and Sloth bears in person. Oddly enough, I have yet to see a black bear, which is odd because they are the only kind of wild bear we have where I am. I came close in Vermont once, but it got around the corner before I got so see it. I was so ticked. I can now no longer say that I have not seen a meerkat either. I walked past the ocelot and there was a whole cage of them. They were smaller than I expected and seemed thrilled to see us. All of the animals were, which I have never seen in a zoo(but once did in an aquarium). At the very least they paid attention to us. I even had a goat let me scratch it. It must have liked it, because it got a dreamy look on it's face and began to chew it's cud. They had a few animals I had never heard of, like the pygmy slow loris, and a bunch of species of rare lemur. Here's the neat thing, two of the lemurs were on islands in a pond. Ingenious! The Otters were, as always, putting on a water ballet for anyone who cared to watch, and there were flying foxes in one of the buildings. I also got to see a golden lion tamarin, Japanese Macaque's, llamas, red kangaroos, a tree dwelling carnivore who's name I can't spell, snow leopards, southern screamers, a bunch of other exotic, endangered animals that I cannot remember the name of,and five million squirrels. Plus my mother got to find out what the zoo was like in November.
I think that the place was better than Roger Williams. It was sort of kiddie oriented, but not so much that adults couldn't enjoy themselves too, even if they came with other adults. I saw animals that I had only read about in books! Less expensive too! Did I mention that they had a fennec fox? And snow leopards? And amusing signs? (ex. please do no throw your cigarette buts on the ground.The fish crawl out at night and try to smoke them and we are trying to get them to quit.)
I should mention that the zoo I was at was the Capron Park Zoo in Attleboro Ma.
I think that the place was better than Roger Williams. It was sort of kiddie oriented, but not so much that adults couldn't enjoy themselves too, even if they came with other adults. I saw animals that I had only read about in books! Less expensive too! Did I mention that they had a fennec fox? And snow leopards? And amusing signs? (ex. please do no throw your cigarette buts on the ground.The fish crawl out at night and try to smoke them and we are trying to get them to quit.)
I should mention that the zoo I was at was the Capron Park Zoo in Attleboro Ma.
Wednesday, November 11, 2009
Yes, I am still alive. I'm busy, that's all. I'm taking chemistry, does that tell you anything? I have had little time for reading and even less for writing my little blurbs about what I have been reading. Much of my entertainment has come from things that I happen to drive past, such as a Buck White Tailed Deer chasing a doe through a cornfield, or a bunch of crows making short work of a dead squirrel. Heady stuff, this nature. I also had to plant a large amount of garlic as a money saving scheme, hopefully it will actually grow. Also, it may keep the aforementioned white tailed deer out of there.
To give the things I have seen their due, I have seen some interesting things that I do not usually see. For example, the buck represented only the second time I had seen, for sure, a buck with antlers. And what antlers, at least 4 points, which is considered a large amount, apparently, the type of deer that a hunter dreams of shooting. I pulled down the window and told the doe that she didn't have to do what he wanted. It seemed like a good idea at the time. It took the buck 3 minutes to figure out that I was there and make a big show out of running away, while the doe saw me from the get go and left only because he was. The juncos are back and eating off the ground while the chickadees eat in the feeder, and Trigger has come up with his hang up of the year, a tradition of his where he bucks, bolts, and otherwise gives me excessive amounts of trouble whenever I ride him from early November to mid January. The Yankees fans have been very, very, laid back, at least where I am. It's obvious why, the higher population of Red Sox fans would murder them. Putnam, a town near where I did, reelected it's mayor, which is a shame because he is a slime ball who supposedly used taxpayer money to fund his victory party. Anyone with proof of this is advised by Meg to step forward, because I am not sure that I can take much more of seeing the town where my maternal grandparents are buried being turned into an endless wasteland of bread and circuses.
I leave you with this link to a work by the indubitable Daniel Kalder.
To give the things I have seen their due, I have seen some interesting things that I do not usually see. For example, the buck represented only the second time I had seen, for sure, a buck with antlers. And what antlers, at least 4 points, which is considered a large amount, apparently, the type of deer that a hunter dreams of shooting. I pulled down the window and told the doe that she didn't have to do what he wanted. It seemed like a good idea at the time. It took the buck 3 minutes to figure out that I was there and make a big show out of running away, while the doe saw me from the get go and left only because he was. The juncos are back and eating off the ground while the chickadees eat in the feeder, and Trigger has come up with his hang up of the year, a tradition of his where he bucks, bolts, and otherwise gives me excessive amounts of trouble whenever I ride him from early November to mid January. The Yankees fans have been very, very, laid back, at least where I am. It's obvious why, the higher population of Red Sox fans would murder them. Putnam, a town near where I did, reelected it's mayor, which is a shame because he is a slime ball who supposedly used taxpayer money to fund his victory party. Anyone with proof of this is advised by Meg to step forward, because I am not sure that I can take much more of seeing the town where my maternal grandparents are buried being turned into an endless wasteland of bread and circuses.
I leave you with this link to a work by the indubitable Daniel Kalder.
Thursday, November 5, 2009
Friday, October 30, 2009
What I Think is my 300th Post Spectacular
Moscow's Underground Planet, Ukranian Hell, The End of the World in Siberia, and a Wooden Skyscraper. That's the tag line on the cover of Strange Telescopes: Following the Apocalypse from Moscow to Siberia by noted anti tourist and lunatic Daniel Kalder. situated in luxurious locations in post Soviet Russia, the book is sure to provide hours of wholesome entertainment for all. I'm kidding about the second half of the second part, keep reading, you'll see why.
A number of those of whom I visit regularly are of the faithful type, and have a love for books on faith. If you are looking for your next book of keeping faithful, you are in luck, as Stange Telescopes is one book that is written on the theme of faith. For you see it takes faith to go form a society in a sewer, or tell everyone that you are the second coming of Christ, or build a skyscraper out of wood. In fact, the only portion of the book that I did not list in the last sentence was a Ukrainian priest who preformed exorcisms. Never mind the fact that it takes even greater faith to do such things in a place like Russia, where you are at a much higher risk for starving than if you were to do so here. And so our Kalder takes us on his journey to look for people with the courage to form their own realities as opposed to subsisting on the one that they are already in. He first take us to meet Moscow's "Underground Planet" as it is called on the cover, a group of ... well, I'm not quite sure, can I call them intellectuals? I'm going to call them intellectuals, who either live in a sewer or in a requisitioned apartment building, I really don't know, I had to sort of rush through that part of the book because it was due back at the library and I wanted to savor the third part. Anyway, they grew sick of the world and blah blah blah, I have no desire to ruin it for you. Then we go to the Ukraine with Kalder's weird, train ticket losing friend,who introduces him to a Ukrainian Orthodox priest who preforms exorcisms and allows him to watch. We then go to along to Siberia in the heartwarming "The Strange Dream of Sergei Torop" a former traffic cop who has been married at least twice who now calls himself Vissarion Christ and lives on a mountaintop over his villages of followers. Finally, during the last three weeks of Kalder's visa, right before he leaves Russia for good (he lived there for ten years), he makes a mad dash for the city of Archangelnsk (Archangel), just below the Arctic Circle, where we visit Suyatgin and the worlds only wooden skyscraper. As a special treat, I have here a link to a youtube video of the structures eventual destruction by the city of Archangel http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pa_Ahn29Myw
It was sent to me by Mr. Kalder himself*. Also, here is Kalder's eulogy to the one of a kind structure http://danielkalder.com/sutyaginelegy.html I strongly recommended you visit his entire website, especially the picture galleries. They are worth at least an evening.
I hope the Yankees lose. Go Phillies.
A horse fell on me, I am very sore so I will end this for tonight.
*Note, I do not have a personal relationship with Kalder, nor have I contacted him in anyway other than joining his email list under the name of "Screw Lieberman". Speaking of which, did you hear about the ninja that wanted to injure Lieberman? http://www.courant.com/community/vernon/hc-vernon-ninja-1011,0,6287103.story
A number of those of whom I visit regularly are of the faithful type, and have a love for books on faith. If you are looking for your next book of keeping faithful, you are in luck, as Stange Telescopes is one book that is written on the theme of faith. For you see it takes faith to go form a society in a sewer, or tell everyone that you are the second coming of Christ, or build a skyscraper out of wood. In fact, the only portion of the book that I did not list in the last sentence was a Ukrainian priest who preformed exorcisms. Never mind the fact that it takes even greater faith to do such things in a place like Russia, where you are at a much higher risk for starving than if you were to do so here. And so our Kalder takes us on his journey to look for people with the courage to form their own realities as opposed to subsisting on the one that they are already in. He first take us to meet Moscow's "Underground Planet" as it is called on the cover, a group of ... well, I'm not quite sure, can I call them intellectuals? I'm going to call them intellectuals, who either live in a sewer or in a requisitioned apartment building, I really don't know, I had to sort of rush through that part of the book because it was due back at the library and I wanted to savor the third part. Anyway, they grew sick of the world and blah blah blah, I have no desire to ruin it for you. Then we go to the Ukraine with Kalder's weird, train ticket losing friend,who introduces him to a Ukrainian Orthodox priest who preforms exorcisms and allows him to watch. We then go to along to Siberia in the heartwarming "The Strange Dream of Sergei Torop" a former traffic cop who has been married at least twice who now calls himself Vissarion Christ and lives on a mountaintop over his villages of followers. Finally, during the last three weeks of Kalder's visa, right before he leaves Russia for good (he lived there for ten years), he makes a mad dash for the city of Archangelnsk (Archangel), just below the Arctic Circle, where we visit Suyatgin and the worlds only wooden skyscraper. As a special treat, I have here a link to a youtube video of the structures eventual destruction by the city of Archangel http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pa_Ahn29Myw
It was sent to me by Mr. Kalder himself*. Also, here is Kalder's eulogy to the one of a kind structure http://danielkalder.com/sutyaginelegy.html I strongly recommended you visit his entire website, especially the picture galleries. They are worth at least an evening.
I hope the Yankees lose. Go Phillies.
A horse fell on me, I am very sore so I will end this for tonight.
*Note, I do not have a personal relationship with Kalder, nor have I contacted him in anyway other than joining his email list under the name of "Screw Lieberman". Speaking of which, did you hear about the ninja that wanted to injure Lieberman? http://www.courant.com/community/vernon/hc-vernon-ninja-1011,0,6287103.story
Thursday, October 22, 2009
This is to tide you all over til I finish Daniel Kalder's Strange Telescopes sometime within the next few Chemistry Classes. Chem has me bogged down right now. Also having fun in lit. No, I am not getting straight A's but be assured that I am passing with a healthy margin. Anyway, a large number of my blog buddies are, in fact, much older than, although now that I am (just barely) into my twenties age has come to matter less and less when it comes to my social life. About half of my real world acquaintances are nine or more years older than I am... and this book was written for those of that age bracket.
The Tightwad Gazzette: Promoting Thrift as a Viable Alternative Lifestyle, By Amy Dacyczyn aka the Frugal Zealot (ISBN 0-679-74388-x), is full of all sorts of thrifty advice for today's busy individual. Actually the book is from the early 90s but it still has most of its kick. Dacyzyn is a stay at home Mom from Maine who began a newsletter of frugal household tips which eventually blossomed into this book. In it the author gives advice on how to do things like save hundreds on ones utility bills, make budget meals that taste good, painless ways to save a hundred dollars this year, and other useful things. I read though the book while waiting for my computer to boot up, and I was impressed. I tried her tricks for reducing sugar and egg usage and found that they worked. The author is a mother of six, so much of the advice is meant for parents, a group that I have yet to join, if I ever will. But still, good stuff. Bulk purchasing, how to do a yard sale, all of it is here. I give the book a ten.
The Tightwad Gazzette: Promoting Thrift as a Viable Alternative Lifestyle, By Amy Dacyczyn aka the Frugal Zealot (ISBN 0-679-74388-x), is full of all sorts of thrifty advice for today's busy individual. Actually the book is from the early 90s but it still has most of its kick. Dacyzyn is a stay at home Mom from Maine who began a newsletter of frugal household tips which eventually blossomed into this book. In it the author gives advice on how to do things like save hundreds on ones utility bills, make budget meals that taste good, painless ways to save a hundred dollars this year, and other useful things. I read though the book while waiting for my computer to boot up, and I was impressed. I tried her tricks for reducing sugar and egg usage and found that they worked. The author is a mother of six, so much of the advice is meant for parents, a group that I have yet to join, if I ever will. But still, good stuff. Bulk purchasing, how to do a yard sale, all of it is here. I give the book a ten.
Thursday, October 15, 2009
Coats and Ballplayers
It figures.The Red Sox have an abrupt end to their season and we get an abrupt bout of cold weather that may bring snow. Hopefully it won't damage the remaining outside squash. The deer already have their winter coats on. The fawns have lost their spots and now both fawns and does have a grayish brown coat as opposed to a reddish brown one. I broke the zipper on my winter coat, so now I need to try and find a new one because the old one is wearing out. Hmm, the deer and I are both getting new coats. Interesting. They get theirs from God, I will attempt to find one at the Salvation Army Store. Sometimes cloths from there have money in the pockets. I also saw a whole flock of wild turkeys. I also went to a bison farm and had bison chili. I might have to do a post on that.
anyway, I saw an article suggesting that Jonathan Papelbon should be traded. I could not disagree more. Yes, he blew a save, but he got all those other ones. Would they be saying this if that save had been blown in the middle of the season? And besides, where would he go? Do we really want to see him in, I don't know, I think the only real option is Detroit. Do we really want to see him there? No. Thank God Buchholz had a mostly successful major league season once he got there. What they really need is bats that are awake during the games and a good starting pitcher rotation. I have a good feeling about Beckett and Lester, as well as Buchholz. Matsuzaka I am sort of iffy on. I see a big gaping hole where the fifth member of the roation should be. Who should go there? I have no idea? Wakefield? Mmm, I don't know. And i think that they need to keep Bay, and he wants to stay... why can't they come to an agreement?
Muse is my favorite band. Just listed to Fury... loved it.
anyway, I saw an article suggesting that Jonathan Papelbon should be traded. I could not disagree more. Yes, he blew a save, but he got all those other ones. Would they be saying this if that save had been blown in the middle of the season? And besides, where would he go? Do we really want to see him in, I don't know, I think the only real option is Detroit. Do we really want to see him there? No. Thank God Buchholz had a mostly successful major league season once he got there. What they really need is bats that are awake during the games and a good starting pitcher rotation. I have a good feeling about Beckett and Lester, as well as Buchholz. Matsuzaka I am sort of iffy on. I see a big gaping hole where the fifth member of the roation should be. Who should go there? I have no idea? Wakefield? Mmm, I don't know. And i think that they need to keep Bay, and he wants to stay... why can't they come to an agreement?
Muse is my favorite band. Just listed to Fury... loved it.
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