vilakins | Miscellany

My life isn't exactly a thrill a day, but I'm enjoying taking it easy in mostly sunny if cool weather.

Yesterday I had my hair cut and some very nice, subtle caramel streaks put through it. Shiny! Oh and my 3-pack of bamboo t-shirts arrived: very nice and smooth against the skin. I always buy men's t-shirts because women's have such silly little sleeves.

Today I was driven from the house by yet another power cut (the second in three weeks) to get some ordered library books, lunch, cat food, and some teeny light bulbs that make my glowy planet made of Himalayan crystal salt glow like Jupiter about to achieve fusion. According to my neighbour, it was a line fault, but the hardware store checkout guy said it was a moron in a Bentley hitting a power pole in Remuera. [rolls eyes] This happens all too often with far too many lunatics, drunk or otherwise, on the roads. And this after I rang up Vector a few weeks ago and asked why they weren't undergrounding power lines while Metrowater was digging up our road, which they're supposed to under their 'dig once' policy.

When I got back however I was pleased to find the power back on and the SG1 DVD The Ark of Truth, the conclusion to the Ori story, in the letterbox. It has a lot of special features too, including: a commentary with Robert C Cooper, Christopher Judge, and Peter Woeste; Stargate at Comic-Con; and a couple of 'featurettes' which might be compressed sequels compiled from the series. Yay, some weekend viewing.

Speaking of SG1, the SG1 friendathon master list is up. I've only read a couple so far but they were excellent.

I also saw Indiana Jones in the weekend and it was the adventurous and entertaining escapism I was expecting and wanted, full of the cunning ancient traps, vehicle chases, and SFX that I've enjoyed in the others. I could do without protracted fist-fight though; so boring and unlikely at the same time. I liked Indiana being older but still his cool, dry, and very competent self, and the sense of place and time. The Russians did indeed once do a lot of psychic research, and the US did build those horrible houses with dummies in them to see how they'd be affected, but not, I think, to that detail and extent. Ha! I yelled "Get in the fridge!" before he did. :-) I also liked seeing Marion again--she was a good character in the first film--and I think the boy might be being set up to be a successor, though "Mutt Jones" doesn't have the same ring, or any ring at all really. I hope not though. this really should be the last one.

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

Nice events, thanks!(not the power cut, of course:-))

Or the dead rat Vic left in the laundry overnight which I didn't mention. Ewwww.

Good hunter?

A very occasional one. At least it wasn't half-eaten. As it was I was gagging over the sink; lucky I hadn't eaten yet.

I have to do all the gross stuff these days. :-(

Vic was just being the man of the house in Greg's absence and making sure you had food in the house %). The reasoning behind their 'kindness' doesn't really help with the disposal of it, having majored in the life sciences way back when dissection was a must I've handled worse but you do have my sympathy.

It's not a male thing; the girls used to do it a lot when they were younger and could be bothered. They just think we'll like it and praise them.

It's a mystery why cats like to present humans with dead animals. Killing and eating the catch, I understand. Bringing home a live catch to go on playing with it, I can understand.

Bringing home something dead and leaving it where the human is likely to tread on it in the morning ? Less obvious. Are they expecting to get praised for it when you get up hours later ? Is it a booby trap, and the cat wants to see you squirm when you tread on a dead bird in your bare feet ? Cats don't generally give their kills to other adult cats - just to kittens. Are they think of us as kittens ?

I admire cats that are successful hunters - it's what they're meant to be, after all. But I don't miss finding a beak and feet outside the bedroom door, and tiny feathers scattered about the landing. Much more of a nuisance to clear up than a little pile of mouse entrails.

Cats don't generally give their kills to other adult cats - just to kittens. Are they think of us as kittens ?

I think they do, or at least hopelessly bad hunters. OTOH they abandon adult cat behaviour around us and behave like kittens.

Glad you liked Indy. I thought it was entertaining, but a lot about it bugged me. Indy surviving in a fridge, the ridiculous ethnic stereotypes living in the walls, the graveyard over the nazca lines (the point is there AREN'T any hills around them!), and well. I guess I can swallow the aliens thing, I just thought it was a bit silly. But I was entertained and that was good enough. I agree Mutt Jones doesn't have any ring to it. I here a fifth is already being talked about though. So I suppose we'll see.

Sucks about the power cut. I absolutely HATE when that happens around here. But at least you had nice stuff to come home to.

It was a lead-lined fridge, but I don't think may would survive the impact. It also didn't make sense that the lawn dummies got melted but stayed in place but the fridge was thrown right out of the zone. But you see I totally suspend my disbelief for films like this because they're almost cartoon-like: people don't get hurt in the vehicle chases, stupid fist-fights, or going down huge waterfalls.

I think they should stop with this one. They've had Indy with his father and his son now; where do they go from here?

My dad (who I went and saw it with), leaned over to me in the fridge scene and said, "Why would they advertise that it's lead-lined?" It was amusing. I definitely did suspend my disbelief for it, because it's INDIANA JONES. But some of it does still bug me.

I agree that they should stop with this one, but when have they ever done that? It's as cash cow and they are milking it.

For all I know, a lead-lined fridge was a cool thing to have in the 50s. I didn't see the point of it (or the TV) being on and having food in it either, but I can just barely imagine they wanted to see if food would survive the radiation.

I hadn't heard they were doing another one. I really think this is a good place to stop, with Marion back and all.

You have a glowy planet!! What else do you need for true happiness? :^)

A glowy (really, really not-to-scale) solar system suspended from the ceiling, that's what I want. I once saw one in a film and it rotated while it was on. Chinese lampshades might do the job, but you'd see their wires.

Orrery! You want an orrery!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HJc1snJaPh4

http://www.orrerymaker.com/
http://www.orrerymaker.com/catalogue/catalogue.htm
http://web.mac.com/aklego/LEGO_etc./LEGO_Orrery_Photos.html
http://www.1worldglobes.com/Teachingaids/orrery.htm

I do, but I associate orreries with the second link: mechanical and simulating the correct orbits and relative speeds of rotation. I'd just like a gently glowing solar system which doesn't have to spin but if it does, it would be slowly and all at the same rate: very simple. The second link is a thing of joy and the sort of thing I had in mind for the one in my Narnia crossover. Sometime I might have a go with paper and the little 12-watt bulbs in my planet.

It would be cool even if it was just a mobile with the planets glowing and wobbling at random.

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