Thursday stuff

Hey, Enterprise was cancelled! Sci-fi TV in general, and the Trek universe in particular, just took a giant step forward.

Yeah, sorry if I don't mourn. But much as I like Scott Bakula (I mean, I own the OCR of Romance/Romance, even) the show just stinks, stank, and stunk. Five years is more than Popular, Firefly, Wonderfalls, Special Unit 2, Keen Eddie, and Karen Sisco got combined, so yeah, no mourning here.

We caught the season finale of The Venture Brothers last night, finally. Loved it.

I also caught the Discovery Channel special Pompeii: The Last Day. The latter managed to be simultaneously fascinating and cheesy, as it combined some interesting history and science (as well nice effects in their recreation of the eruption) with actors portraying citizens of Pompeii (and Pliny the Elder, who died when he left Naples to investigate the eruption). It was weird, but it worked. The final third, in which a geologist talks about the real possibilities of another eruption, and the people who won't move to avoid it, was equally engrossing. I'm pretty sure it was a BBC documentary first, so I suspect that a bunch of you had already seen it.

In other news, my KoL character is up to level 8, and once I finally got me the Hide of the Walrus skill, I was able to finish up the Goblin King, the Cyrtp, and the Baron Rof L'm Fao quests.

In sports, looks like the last vestiges of hope for an NHL "season" (which, I'd assume, would have lasted five games before the playoffs began) have been dashed. And in baseball, Carlos Delgado, already someone I respect more than most pro players (he's one of the few who's taken an active stance against the war), has also signed one of the smarter contracts I've seen.

Finally, your dumb marketing moment of the day: There was a commercial on the other night for Son of the Mask. Instead of highlighting, or even mentioning, Jamie Kennedy or Alan Cumming (both of whom, y'know, have associations with extremely successful franchises), all we got was "From the director of Cats and Dogs." Um, yeah. Because you want to brag that you've got Uwe Boll's long-lost twin? Lawrence Guterman directed what may be the worst movie of the last ten years, and you fucking boast about it? The movie that's the career lowpoint for not only Jeff Goldblum, but also for fucking Jon Lovitz? Sheesh.

Woohoo!

Just took care of shadesong's Capone/Moran day presents. One thing accomplished today, at least!

One man's trash, etc

I've mentioned the lovely free book table here before. It's been a while since something truly wonderful has turned up there (that I've seen). But today, there was a beautiful copy of The Hereford Map sitting there. Complete with the huge color map insert!

The titular Hereford Map, btw, is an absolutely gorgeous map of the known world, circa 1300 CE. The book not only contains a 40% scale reproduction of the map itself and color plate closeups, but also translates all the Latin inscriptions. Just lovely. And all mine. :-)

Behind the scenes at the White House

You know this happens:

Shrubya, when his massive load of insecurities nag him awake at 3 in the morning, sneaks down to the most remote bathroom in the White House, the one with the best soundproofing, and stares long and hard into the mirror, trying to get himself looking serious.

After fifteen minutes or so of prepping his fragile ego, he takes a deep breath, glares at his reflection, and shouts,

I'm George Bush, Bitch!

It gets him so hot, he usually blows his wad before he can get back to the bedroom and Laura.

Do I need a Jacket?

Want your computer to take the place of your nagging mom? The incredibly nifty dixie points out the incredibly nifty site Do I Need a Jacket, which answers that question.

Clicking on the link for Atlanta gets you a nice big Yes, followed by a note saying Why? Because: it's cold. No silly crap like "real feel" and "temperature." :-)