Friday Ephemera

Dr Lecter’s twilight years. || The underwater hotel suite you’ve always wanted. (h/t, Dicentra) || Witchcraft. (h/t, Tim) || Cinema takes its toll. (h/t, Ben) || Motion-sensor flower lamps. || Frankenstein Meets the Spacemonster, 1965. || Joys of parenthood, part 604. || Parasite fighters. (h/t, sk60) || Contemporary tape use. || What coronavirus does. || 100 minutes of nest-building. || Icy door of note. || Pudding of note. || Tempting fate. || Important question, answered. || How to remove a wisdom tooth. || The thrill of grooming. || The worm dance. || Do you see bush? || The chairs of Blake’s 7, an illustrated guide. || Related, the assorted seating of Doctor Who. || And finally, today’s word is suboptimal.

Comments

[Steve E]

The underwater hotel suite you’ve always wanted.

Interesting, curtains in the sitting area but not the bedroom.

[Steve E]

The underwater hotel suite you’ve always wanted.

Scroll down to "Not Just Classical" on the same thread link.

[Steve E]

Scroll down to "Not Just Classical" on the same thread link.

Sorry that's for the Motion sensor flower lamps link.

[Daniel Ream]

The worm dance.

Now I have Tom Jones tunes in my head.

[Ed Snack]

“Now I have Tom Jones tunes in my head” - that’s not unusual...

[Hal]

Now I have Tom Jones tunes in my head.

What'd you say your name was?

[Liz]

The chairs of Blake’s 7, an illustrated guide.

A labour of love. :-)

[JuliaM]

"The chairs of Blake’s 7, an illustrated guide."

"Alexa, define the meaning of the word 'niche'..."

[David]

Morning, all.

A labour of love. :-)

And surprisingly informative, I thought.

There will, of course, be a test later.

[David]

Repeat after me, Antifa are just like normal people.

[David]

And for those who missed it yesterday, she teaches Gender Studies and Critical Feminisms.

[David]

Husbands of the world, take heed:

Via Ace.

[George]

Hmmm... according to that Blake's 7 chair site, the Elda chair was named after Columbo's wife but we know that can't be true, as her name was Kate. Presumably Elda was the wife of Joe Colombo (with three 'o's), the guy who designed the chair. But, funnily enough, Columbo's wife ended up captaining her own starship. Circles within circles and all that...

[David]

Hmmm...

The pull of the rabbit hole is strong, I see.

[Mags]

today’s word is suboptimal.

LOL Poor guy.

[David]

LOL Poor guy.

It would take a man of uncommon confidence to carry off that particular hairstyling solution.

[Ray]

Just shave it all off. By the time the lockdown is over it'll be fine.

[Jen]

Cinema takes its toll.

Wow. Mike used to be handsome. Looks like watching really crap films really ages you.

[TimT]

I was growing concerned that those piglets were hexing their mother by running widdershins round her, but then they reversed the flow so.... I suppose that’s all right.

[jones]

Weren't the Maldives supposed to be entirely under water by now?

[sk60]

The chairs of Blake’s 7, an illustrated guide.

Some serious work went into that.

[WTP]

The "parasite" concept of aircraft mission design used to fascinate me as a child. When the news was full of stories about US airman getting shot down during the Vietnam War I naively thought about maybe attaching an escape airplane to the mission one? Then the UFO series came out and that concept was used in one if their designs as well. As an adult, I am fascinated by the amount of time and energy that has been wasted over the last century on what certainly seem like childish ideas. The WWI concept of zeppelins and such made significant sense to pursue back then, and yes the one-way release idea certainly works. But some of these other ones, especially that Soviet contraption...that grown adults with some understanding of engineering were willing to waste time and money...SMDH. Of course it seems like the worst of these involved consuming other people's time and money.

[David]

Looks like watching really crap films really ages you.

You can imagine what 13 years of blogging does.

[ Applies industrial-strength age-retarding moisturiser. ]

[Farnsworth M Muldoon]

For you Star Wars fans, get your tickets early.

[David]

For you Star Wars fans, get your tickets early.

And as a famous Star Wars character once said, “That… is why you fail.”

[MC]

For you Star Wars fans, get your tickets early.

Will they be filming this new series in English, or in whatever language is being spoken in the clip?

[Tom]

Will they be filming this new series in English, or in whatever language is being spoken in the clip?

Hey! Cut her some slack, she's a... writer? She's not also supposed to be an articulate speaker of the language she's paid, no doubt handsomely, to write in.

Also, I seem to have lost several digits off of my IQ since listening to that clip. Save yourselves and just watch it with the sound muted!

[David]

she’s a... writer?

Our woke Meat Loaf lookalike is obnoxiously dogmatic, bizarrely inarticulate… and seemingly more interested in narrow identity politics, expressed crassly, than, you know, storytelling.

Bodes well.

[Fay]

Will they be filming this new series in English, or in whatever language is being spoken in the clip?

Speaking of speaking English

[Hal]

Repeat after me

'K: after me after me after me after me after me after me after me after me . . . . .

[BrassG]

I really hope my wife doesn't see those flower lamps. I'm getting too old for ladders.

[Sam Duncan]

“Important question, answered.“

Well, that's my contribution for this week up the spout. Um... [searches through browser history]... how about 40 minutes on the mighty TDK D cassette?

(I'm dealing with the lockdown perfectly well, thanks for asking. No, really...)

“The chairs of Blake’s 7, an illustrated guide.”

The Terazza sofa is the most Blake's 7 thing ever. I think I want one.

“Related, the assorted seating of Doctor Who.”

Ooh, and Pebble Mill at One! Nothing said “day off school” like Pebble Mill.

[Burnsie]

Interesting, curtains in the sitting area but not the bedroom.

That's one way to boost snorkel gear rentals.

[Hal]

Husbands of the world, take heed:

Optional gloves for non-food handling . . . .

A local bus system now has the front part of the bus blocked off with signs that read something to the effect of No one past this point except passengers with mobility devices and operators. . . . It's not explained where the person with the mobility device is supposed to acquire an operator for such occasions, or if said person is also supposed to have the "operator" be a bus driver, or instead some other meaning for the euphemism . . . .

[David]

how about 40 minutes on the mighty TDK D cassette?

That’s… that’s a lot of minutes.

[Farnsworth M Muldoon]

That’s… that’s a lot of minutes.

TBF, about the same amount of time before you have to find a pencil because it jammed and got eaten...

[David]

how about 40 minutes on the mighty TDK D cassette?

I’m now fondly remembering my Hitachi boom box, on which I recorded the original radio version of The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy and with which I would aggravate parents and neighbours with the first two albums of The Human League. As I recall – and I don’t mean to brag or anything – it had both “loudness” and a “stereo wide” setting.

I think it was one of these.

[Nikw211]

This might be one for your "Speaking as were the other day ..." file:

The group were taking part in Tribal Gathering, a festival in Panama billed as “an amazing indigenous musical journey through time and space” [ ... ] Then the weather changed.

[David]

This might be one for your “Speaking as we were the other day...” file

I suppose even an “indigenous musical journey through time and space,” cosmic as it is, must eventually lose its charm. Say, shortly after the E wears off.

[Daniel Ream]

For you Star Wars fans, get your tickets early.

I find myself wondering, given the phenomenal success of The Mandalorian, whether somebody at Disney isn't surreptitiously setting up some A/B testing. If you've got two Star Wars shows running simultaneously and one flops and the other one gets raves and drives subscriptions, nobody can claim that audiences have lost interest in Star Wars or there's some other movie series pulling away dollars, etc. It's the ultimate you failed BECAUSE you're woke proof. I may be hoping too hard for a Hard Travellin' Heroes conclusion to this experiment, but I sincerely hope somebody at Disney makes the right decision when they see the metrics.

on which I recorded the original radio version of The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy

Many years ago, while working in the phone technical support salt mines, we had an...unusual day where every single caller demanded to put back in the phone queue as soon as we picked up the call. Went on for hours. Our metrics were in the toilet and nobody could understand why. Eventually someone toddled down to the IT department and discovered that the sysadmins had secretly replaced the Mozart CDs in the hold music sound system with the CDs of the HGTTG radio production. Our entire customer base had been happily sitting in their offices on hold on speakerphone listening all afternoon.

[David]

The Mandalorian,

Which I’ve been enjoying, despite not being a Star Wars enthusiast. It sort of works as a spaghetti western about, er, parenting, as much as anything else.

Our entire customer base had been happily sitting in their offices on hold on speakerphone listening all afternoon.

Heh. The radio version is still, I think, the best. It was funny precisely because you couldn’t see what was happening. As a wee seedling, I stumbled across it by accident and found myself rummaging frantically for a cassette to record the thing.

[Farnsworth M Muldoon]

The group were taking part in Tribal Gathering, a festival in Panama...

From a related link:

“I’ve been camping on a beach for 80 days!” says Doug Francisco, a circus performer and artist from Bristol. Francisco, who designed and led the Extinction Rebellion red brigades at last year’s protests in London...I did my one-man show the other night to the kitchen crew. We had a drag queen party with cocktails on the beach.”

I don't know, but from the original link, I think the Foreign Office and embassy just might be doing the right thing.

[Karl]

From Down Under. An obviously heartfelt Thanks Celebrities!

[Hal]

I’m now fondly remembering my Hitachi boom box . . .

Ah, yes, I'll see you and raise you The Queen Mary, aka, Darth Vader's wet dream.

[David]

It’s the ultimate you failed BECAUSE you’re woke proof.

Some industry speculation / gossip on the subject.

[David]

“NOT TOILET PAPER.”

Via Damian.

[Ted S, Catskill Mtns, NY, USA]

with which I would aggravate parents and neighbours with the first two albums of The Human League.

Relevant

[David]

Relevant.

Heh. Seems somehow apt.

And lest we forget.

[Jonathan]

A clear and concise guide to what the rules are during Lockdown

via Steve Sailer

[Joan]

“NOT TOILET PAPER.”

They'd be a bit small. :-D

[David]

They’d be a bit small.

Given the size of the average till receipt, the, er, task at hand would require some… precision.

[Jonathan]

Shots Fired:

via Battle Beagle

[David]

Shots Fired

[ Hides breakables. ]

[Lady Cutekitten of Lolcat]

Hi David,

Have you ever fisked a “family president “ before?

https://www.salon.com/2020/04/23/how-researching-tomboys-and-gender-helped-me-prepare-for-a-pandemic/

[David]

Have you ever fisked a “family president “ before?

I kept tripping over the begged questions about “privilege,” spatial skills, and so forth. Then, as it’s a sunny day here, I decided I’d rather listen to the birds singing. One of the pleasures of living by woodland.

[David]

A gin and tonic helps, of course.

[Fred the Fourth]

Ms. Family President has led a literally inconcevably sheltered life if this is her first encounter with disruptions to her detailed life plans.

I'm roughly of the same social "class" as the writer, and in my extended family's last decade there's been two cancer deaths, a broken neck, a broken hip, a military training death, an attempted suicide, and a fatal stroke. Among other things. All of which had major effects on everyone's plans.

You get help. You keep family close. You suck it up. You keep calm and carry on. "Closure" don't enter into it.

[Farnsworth M Muldoon]

Ms. Family President...

After growing up in various northeastern and southwestern college towns, I moved to New York City when I was 21 and had no idea what to do with my degree in experimental feminist video...*

There is a shocker for you.

I looked at psychology and neuroscience and endocrinology...

I know when I want an expert analysis of neuroscience and endocrinology, the first person I go to is an experimental feminist videographer. I am sure the quality of her research is unimpeachable.

*(The HTML was ganked on preview - I had spelled "blockquote" as "bolockquote" which is actually rather apt...)

[David]

had no idea what to do with my degree in experimental feminist video...

[ Sips second gin and tonic. ]

[WTP]

[ Sips second gin and tonic. ]

We throw in a splash of Amaretto. Just a suggestion.

[David]

Heh.

Via Damian.

[Lady Cutekitten of Lolcat]

Woods are great, except when the stupid birds kick in pre-dawn in the summer.

The family president was the only thing I found lately that was potentially fisk-worthy. The jump from tomboys to Coronavirus seemed to call for a touch of Thompson.

My area’s supposed to open up 1 May. I doubt it’ll stay open long. They’re already floating a long shutdown in the fall.

[Darleen]

"I'm a relatively new cat owner. This is my life now."

[Lady Cutekitten of Lolcat]

At least cats don’t click loudly when walking across a hardwood floor.

[Chester Draws]

I'm family president at my place.

Unfortunately there's a lot of Chester Draws Derangement Syndrome around, so it's not working out too good.

[Fred the Fourth]

I chose Head of State at my house, instead of President. A ceremonial role, involving wine-cork inspection and looking intellectual and/or glamorous, as occasion calls for.
Online classes will be available soon.

[Lady Cutekitten of Lolcat]

I’m the Goddess of Cutekitten Manor, myself.

[David]

Woods are great, except when the stupid birds kick in pre-dawn in the summer.

Hereabouts in summer, with the windows open, the dawn chorus is a thing to hear. Layer upon layer of tweets and elaborate chirrups, and a great sense of distance. It’s quite remarkable, almost like a rainforest, and not a bad way to wake up. Assuming, that is, you don’t mind being awake at 4:30am. Otherwise, I recommend earplugs.

[Daniel Ream]

I’m the Goddess of Cutekitten Manor, myself.

I am President, CEO, entire Board of Directors, only shareholder and sole employee of 68814257966 Ontario Ltd d/b/a Daniel Ream's Apartment.

It worked so well for my tax dodge consulting company I figured I'd give it a try at home.

[pst314]

It’s quite remarkable, almost like a rainforest, and not a bad way to wake up. Assuming, that is, you don’t mind being awake at 4:30am. Otherwise, I recommend earplugs.

If you go to bed at 8 you'll be ready to wake up at 7. :-D

[pst314]

I am President, CEO, entire Board of Directors, only shareholder and sole employee of 68814257966 Ontario Ltd d/b/a Daniel Ream's Apartment.

Let us know how the annual Shareholders Meeting goes.