Weird websearch of the day

transgender wig vanity saw put didn't lists this blog as third.

Don't do that to me, Badgers!

My Wisconsin Badgers almost gave me heart failure with the way they started their first round game in the NCAA men's basketball national championship tournament. They let Texas A&M-Corpus Christi score the first 10 points, and were behind 18 at one point. Late in the first half they finally woke up, though. The final score was 76-63.

Next up, UNLV on Sunday. I hope Wisconsin has gotten whatever it was that was bothering them at the start of the game out of their system for the rest of the tournament. I don't need to tempt heart failure.

My picture

I've always hesitated a bit (OK, more than a bit) to put my picture here, for all the world to see. I'm kind of a private person. And shy. But since I already put it on my MySpace page, I figured it wouldn't hurt.

So there I am, in one of the very few pictures of me that I really like. I was seated, and the photographer was standing. I think he may have been holding the camera above his head, also. So the picture is at a lovely angle that completely hides my double chin, and de-emphasizes my shoulders--and it even shows my cleavage a little (being able to do good cleavage is the big advantage of being a fat crossdresser). Also, I wasn't posing. I never seem to get a good smile when I pose. It always looks unnatural--which it is, of course.

That is not my latest hair-do, though. A few weeks ago I got a new wig. It's a little longer, and a little fuller, with a bit more range of color. If I ever get a nice picture of me in it I'll use that. But don't hold your breath.

I'm also wearing one of my favorite pair of earrings in the picture--but I lost one of them recently. I really do miss being able to wear them.

The Pentagon finally begins to get it

Pentagon: Iraq in Some Ways in Civil War

Now, if they had just read my blog, they could have known this as early as last May.

Now this is news

Rep. Stark Applauded for Atheist Outlook
Wow, a self-identified atheist in Congress! It really says something about the power of religion in America when you have members of Congress coming out as gay or lesbian before you have one coming out as an atheist.

Actually, that's not quite accurate. It's not the power of religion, it's their fear of that power, that has kept atheist politicians in the closet. Politicians try not to alienate any potential voter, so there is a big incentive for them not to disclose their (non)beliefs.

So, bravo, Rep. Stark. God bless you.

Oops.

Strike that.

Why is this news?

Pope Reaffirms Traditional Views
This is like saying "Sun Rises in the East." If it rose some place else, it would be news. Doing the expected is not news--especially to people who who have little interest in what the subject of the headline does in the first place.

On, Wisconsin! (hic)

I'm drunk. 5 Gin and Tonics are the culprits, though I have no idea how much of the last one I actually consumed.

The occasion was the Wisconsin-Michigan State basketball game, which was a quarterfinal of the Big Ten Tournament. A bar, relatively close to where I live, has been hosting telecasts of University of Wisconsin (my alma mater both undergrad and law school) football and basketball games for the last 2 or 3 years. I never went before--I could watch most of the games at home, and they were mostly on the weekends, which are reserved for couple's activities, per the compromise with my wife. But she was doing something else last night, and the telecast was only available on a pay channel--I'd have to pay I think $90 for a half-season package to watch it at home. So I went to the bar to watch it.

I wasn't quite OITP (Oldest In The Place, a frequent occurence)--I did find a guy who had graduated 6 years before I did. But most of the others were young enough to be my children. I was talking to a couple guys from the Class of 2002--which means I had finished law school, come to NY, worked as a lawyer for 5 years, and switched careers to computer programming before they were born.

The game was pretty much of a yawn. Wisconsin scored the first 10 points, and were never less than 5 points ahead. The final score was 70-53. I walked home afterwards--not taking advantage of the bar's deal where everything is half price if Wisconsin wins.

It's 7 hours later, and I'm still pretty drunk.

Television alert!

In the last couple months the soap opera "All My Children" (AMC) has featured a transgender character, Zarf/Zoe. Zarf realizes he's really a woman when the woman he's in love with turns out to be lesbian.

I said it was a soap opera.

Ridiculous plotline notwithstanding, AMC has tried to get its TG character right. They have consulted with TG and LGBT groups, and the actor playing Zarf/Zoe, Jeffrey Carlson, has done a lot of research on his own. (I last saw him on Broadway in Tartuffe.) Also, it happens that one of the AMC writers is the friend of a trans friend of mine, and there's been some good communication there in keeping things as real as can be, within the strictures of a "daytime drama."

The show decided to show Zoe going to a TG support group meeting. But instead of trying to script one, they brought in a half-dozen real trans people, and shot an improvised session. My friend Betty Crow (the subject of the recently published She's Not the Man I Married by Helen Boyd) was one of them. The group leader was played by Jennifer Finney Boylan, author of She's Not There--whom I know a little from the myHusbandBetty discussion boards, where I'm a moderator.

It will be shown this Thursday and Friday, Mar 8-9. It's on ABC at 1:00pm ET (and PT, I guess). It may only be 5 minutes or so each day, and most probably will focus on Zarf/Zoe. How much of the real people's stories will be shown is unknown.

I was invited to the wrap party after they shot it, and got to meet everyone. Some of the people's stories are very moving. I hope they get aired. I've got my video recorder all set up.

Weird websearch of the day

Google had this blog first for DIET JELLO GLOB. Runner-up: disposable choir robe, which had me 16th--down from first, a year-and-a-half ago.

R-VFC: The Singer/Quand j’étais chanteur

My second film at the Rendez-Vous with French Cinema 2007 was The Singer/Quand j’étais chanteur. The synopsis was somewhat interesting, and Gérard Depardieu is a superb actor, so I went. In this film he plays a small town dance hall singer. He did all his own singing--which is just about the only thing to recommend this mess of a movie. That, and looking at his co-star Cécile De France, one of those few women who can cut their hair very short and still look absolutely gorgeous.

Plat du jour

On a superstretch limo.

Blog list addition

I've added Annie's Gardens in Bloom - An untraditional love story, written by the spouse of a transitioning transsexual. Annie is one of the newer members of the myHusbandBetty boards, and her posts there and on her new blog are informative and well-written. They show that a divorce should not be assumed to be part of the transition of a married person from one gender to another.

Quick review: La Vie en Rose / La Môme

The opening night feature of the Rendez-Vous with French Cinema 2007 was a biopic of French singer Edith Piaf, La Vie en Rose. That's actually the American title. In France it's simply called La Môme, which was Piaf's nickname. La Vie en Rose was her signature song.

Unless one knows a fair amount about Piaf's life, a viewer will probably find this film confusing. I don't, so I did. Flash-backs and flash-aheads abound, frequently with a title on the screen, but too often without. Characters appear without identification. Maybe it's common knowledge in France who her boxer-lover was, but I had no idea. I did figure out who Marlene Dietrich was--but only after she introduced herself to Piaf as "Marlene." A husband suddenly appears at the end. There were lots of loose ends. At best one (at least a previously uninformed one like me) will walk out wanting to know more.

But that's often the way it is with French films. They frequently don't have everything wrapped up and tied with a neat bow. La Vie en Rose does give one the sense of Piaf's life, I think. The details are secondary.

The performances are excellent, particularly Marion Cotillard (who was present at the screening, along with the director) as Piaf. She did not do the singing, however. Her lipsyncing was great, though (and I've seen a lot of lipsyncing)--they used Piaf's recordings for the later songs, and another singer for her earlier work.

The film was released in France only two weeks ago, and apparently is doing well. It will be released in the U.S. in June. So if you're interested, you have time to do a little research before seeing it. You may enjoy it more than I did.

I have 67 friends on MySpace!

I have a MySpace page: http://www.myspace.com/capricebellefleur I'm sure I'm not the oldest person with one, but I'd place a small wager I'm in the upper 5% age-wise. Having a MySpage page makes me hip and with it, I guess--though "hip" and "with it" are probably so out-dated that it proves I'm not hip and with it.

Anyhow, I actually set this up almost a year ago. A few people on the myHusbandBetty boards said they had MySpace pages, so I got one, and added them as friends. Then I did nothing with it until this month. I wanted to check if there was any news about Lisa Jackson and Girl Friday--Lisa had broken away from the band. (The group's page has since been reinitialized.) There wasn't any, but I saw someone I knew on their top friends list, so I went to their page, and clicked on "Add to Friends." Then I saw someone on their top friends list, and went there, and an hour or two later I had asked several dozen people to add me. I shouldn't say people. Some are bands, some are organizations.

Many are drag performers or musicians I know at least slightly. The great thing about having them as MySpace friends is that they send out bulletins about their upcoming performances. I did get Harvey Fierstein and Margaret Cho also.

Otherwise, I haven't done much with my page. My single blog entry there just directs people here.

So if you have a MySpace page, go to mine, and click on "Add to Friends." If your profile is not too weird, I'll add you (I have rejected a few). Everyone can always use more friends.

Correction--slight

Last August I noted that I had gotten a websearch for "mary carillo lesbian," after having gotten one for "transgender mary carillo." I explained that she's not lesbian, she's married to a man.

Today someone found my blog searching for mary carillo marriages. I happened to notice in one of the other posts Google found was that Mary is divorced, for a number of years, actually. So my August statement about her being married was in error.

But I've seen nothing to indicate she's lesbian. Or transgender.

Observation of the day

The easiest way to clean the globe from a chandelier is to put it in the dishwasher.

20 years!

20 years ago today I first met my wife. I won't say it was love at first sight, but it was certainly like at first sight--I asked her for a date the next evening.

Plat du jour

On a Saab, of course.

13,000 visitors

Despite the fact I've curtailed my postings until I can get caught up with things, people seem to keep coming to see my glob. I've been getting a number of visitors looking for the artwork in the exhibitions I've seen--as well as the usual background noise of searches for kicking testicles, Clayelle Dalferes, and Caprice Bourret. Plus all kinds of combinations of crossdressing and things.

Since I'm not posting every day, some people have stopped checking, I notice. To them (who probably aren't reading this, but some might be), I suggest using the Feedblitz subscription service in the box in the column to the right. They'll send you an e-mail the day after I post something new. It's free.

And to those of you who are still visiting, thanks!

So much for being number one

Oh, well. One day after reaching the top spot in the AP poll, Wisconsin lost to Michigan State, 64-55. Sunday's game still looms large--in fact, I suspect Wisconsin may have had their minds more on Ohio State than Michigan State.

We're number one! We're number one!

The University of Wisconsin men's basketball team was ranked the best team in country in this week's Associated Press poll. Go Badgers! I can't wait for the big game against number two Ohio State on Sunday.

Actually, I can wait. Besides, they have to play Michigan State first.

I'm Batman!

Which Action Hero Would You Be? v. 2.0
created with QuizFarm.com

I'm Batman! They had to give me a tie-breaker question, because Batman tied with Maximus.

Actually, I'd prefer to be Lara Croft.

You scored as Batman, the Dark Knight. As the Dark Knight of Gotham, Batman is a vigilante who deals out his own brand of justice to the criminals and corrupt of the city. He follows his own code and is often misunderstood. He has few friends or allies, but finds comfort in his cause.

Maximus 63% Batman, the Dark Knight 63% Lara Croft 54% The Amazing Spider-Man 54% James Bond, Agent 007 46% Neo, the "One" 46% The Terminator 42% El Zorro 33% William Wallace 33% Captain Jack Sparrow 17% Indiana Jones 13%

Plat du jour

I didn't know that Luke had moved to Pennsylvania.

Plat du jour

It says SNOW PUP. I know it's a little hard to read, but it was snowing.

Living with moose II

First there was this one. Now we have 'Bullwinkle Is Going to Stomp Somebody'.

Plat du jour

Happy Darwin Day!

Celebrate the birthday of the discoverer of evolution, Charles Darwin. (He was born the exact same day as Abraham Lincoln!)

No, you don't have to take a monkey to lunch.

Weird websearch of the day

hermann goering crossword puzzle lists my blog as third.

Template adjustments

I have modified my template, taking advantage of the new automatic customization features of the new Blogger. The main difference is the list of labels at the right. A few minor changes in the layout of the sidebar were necessary, because the trade-off of the ease of automatic customization is a decrease of flexibility.

I've also fixed up my blog list a bit, eliminating one dead link, and updating another. The order is slightly different, I think--I had to enter each entry separately (thank goodness for cut and paste).

Labels

I have gone back and added labels to many of my posts. I think I have at least one for the 300 most recent posts, and for some of the older ones as well. So now, if you want to see just the posts of a certain type, such as films, or the plats du jour, you can do it with one click.

It wasn't the most thorough job--most of them were done just by looking at the post title. But it's a start.

Plat du jour--guest submission

One of my friends from the MyHusbandBetty boards found this one. Thanks!

Warning! A very addictive game (and it's free)

Don't say I didn't warn you, Chuzzle is a huge time-waster. It's one of the reasons I haven't posted anything since Friday. I just got finished with my best game yet: 445,855 points (level 14).

That's a basketball he's holding!

There's a new minor league basketball player from China who's 7'9" tall--the tallest in the history of professional basketball. I can't get over the size of his hands.

New Blogger

I have converted this blog to the new Blogger system. So far, so good. The only problem I've seen so far is that the top of "caprice's glob" is cut off. (EDIT: I figured out a way to get around that problem.)

The only big new feature, as far as I can see, is that I can now classify my posts. This one is going under "my glob."

Pla d jou

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Talking back at the headlines

From the AP "Top News" on excite.com.

• Boston Publicity Ploy Leads to 2 Arrests
Stupid people.

• Senate Foes of Troop Buildup Join Forces
That's nice, but Bush will still ignore them.

• Chavez Gains Free Rein in Venezuela
Uh oh. Poor Venezuela. He sounds like Castro only with money.

• House Approves Huge Spending Bill
Don't they do this every year?

• Comedian Al Franken to Run for Senate
Yay!!! Where do I send my donation?

• Molly Ivins Dies of Cancer at 62
This is sad, very sad. She was the one who first called Bush II "Shrub." We lost a good one.

• Oils May Cause Breast Growth in Boys
Does it work on 58-year-olds?

• Google 4Q Earnings Nearly Triple
Another stock I didn't buy.

Weird websearch of the day (yesterday, that is)

why basement heat cold and only hits 62 degrees daytimes, explain ?? lists my blog at number 20.

Plat du jour

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Still a yawn

A year ago I pronounced the headline "Oklahoman Crowned Miss America in Vegas" my Yawn of the Day. Today's yawn news story: Oklahoman Wins Miss America Crown.

Plat du jour

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Ring out the old, ring in the new

...phone, that is.

Our answering machine died. It must have been at least 10 years old, maybe even 15. It used a pair of microcassettes. I remember when I bought it digital machines were very new, and I didn't trust them. I felt safer with tapes that I could actually see.

But that was then, and this is now. I knew the replacement one would be digital. But a quick check of a couple electronics store websites told me that a direct replacement might be impossible. Neither store carried any standalone answering machines--not even one-line units, let alone a two-line one that I needed. All answering machines now seem to be built into telephones. So I had to buy a telephone.

That got me thinking. Our telephone "system" consisted of a pair of two-line speakerphone caller ID wired units (pictured on the left), one in my office, one in my wife's, which is where the answering machine was stationed. We also had a smaller phone with a separate caller ID display, both for 2 lines, in the TV room. (This phone requires no electricity. Everyone should keep such a phone around, whether they use it normally or not, because phones that require AC power will not work in a blackout, while these still will.)

In addition to all that, there were two old wireless phones, fed by a transmitter unit--both 2-line Caller ID units. They had intercom capability. We kept them in the kitchen and the bedroom normally. The only problem was, they didn't work very well--apparently the signal was not very good at penetrating the walls. I tried moving the base unit around, but it didn't help. Basically, we just used them for their caller ID screens--if we saw that it was someone we wanted to talk to, we'd run to a phone that actually worked.

For a long time my wife has really wanted an intercom, from the kitchen to my office, and one between our offices. I tried a RadioShack wireless set, with three units. It would work from the kitchen to my office, but not in my wife's office. Apparently the signal actually travels through the AC power lines. The problem is, we combined apartments, but we did not integrate the electrical system (I get a separate bill for each old apartment every month). The kitchen and my office are in one of the old apartments, and my wife's office is in the other, and apparently they're on different transformers, so the intercom won't work.

Thus, I figured I could kill three birds with one stone by buying a wireless 2-line intercom-capable answering-machine equipped system with three caller ID speakerphone handsets. Which is what I did. (A handset in its charger base is pictured on the right.) I put the base unit with the answering machine in my wife's office--though messages can be retrieved from any of the handsets. The base unit has a built-in charger for my wife's handset. Then I put one of the handsets in my office, and one in the kitchen. I took out both of the old wireless phones (I've got to remember to disconnect the base unit--it's back among the rats' nest of wires, modem and router under the table next to my desk, blocked by my file cabinet, which sits under the table.) I put the phone that used to be in my wife's office into the bedroom--fortunately, there's enough room on my night table. The phone in the TV room remains as it was.

As I suspected, the new phones work through the walls just fine.

So now we have full phone capability in the kitchen and the bedroom, as well as in the offices and the TV room, and a 3-way intercom (four if you count the base unit, but I can't imagine a situation where my wife would be in her office, but her handset wasn't). And we have an answering machine that works.

Plus, I gained a large bit of free space on my desk.

Double election week

A short note on why I'm posting even less than the last few weeks. Monday was my first meeting as a member of the board or LeGaL, the LGBT Law Assn. of Greater New York. There I was elected treasurer of the group (I've been treasurer of LeGaL's charitable foundation for the last few months). I was also reappointed to the foundation board. After that meeting most of us went over to the Diversity Reception of the New York State Bar Assn. Conference.

Tonight is the annual business meeting and biannual elections of Crossdressers International (CDI). I am running for my fourth term as treasurer, and for the first time I actually have someone running against me.

In between all this I've been going to the New York Jewish Film Festival--two films last evening alone. Nothing great, perhaps I'll have time to post short reviews in a couple days.

Plats du jour

Those Mets get their fans from all over the globe.

Plat du jour

A lawyer who practices on court and in court?

Living with bears XXIX

Oregon: Please, bear with him, Bye-bye bear: He's gone
Wisconsin: Bear cub finds its way into Saxon tree

Surprising factoid of the day

Americans are the most frequent moviegoers in the world, going to a flick an average of 5.04 times a year. Rounding out the top 5 are: Australia (4.32), Spain (2.95) France (2.91) and the U.K. (2.82 times).

from the Quad Cinema E-news

I would have thought the French would be higher.

More on Buchwald's death

To follow up on my post of yesterday, Art Buchwald's last column has now been released. But it was actually written last February when he went into the hospice. More recently, he did a video interview with the New York Times, for its new "The Last Word" feature, where people get to sort of record their own obituary. In pure Buchwaldian style he opens with, "Hi. I'm Art Buchwald and I just died."

Thanks to David Marc Fischer, for his post, who in turn cites this.

Plat du jour

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The man who wouldn't die finally does

Art Buchwald has finally died. Last March I wrote how he had left the hospice where he had gone to die, after refusing dialysis when his kidneys failed. He lived almost a year in that condition--apparently his kidneys still had a little function.

My original post last March contains Buchwald's place in my life, so there's no need to repeat it. American journalism has lost one of its best, and he will be missed by a great many.

12,000 visitors

Yesterday this blog recorded its 12,000th visit. Despite my decrease in posting, people still seem to want to read it. It's not just people doing searches for Clayelle Dalferes or "kicking testicles," both of which do get a stream of people here. What's a bit surprising is that the number of people searching for supermodel Caprice Bourret has greatly decreased of late.

Anyhow, thanks for visiting.

NYJFF: The Rape of Europa

The second film I saw in the New York Jewish Film Festival was
The Rape of Europa. This is a documentary on what happened to the art treasures in Europe during World War II. Based on Lynn H. Nicholas' book of the same name, the film covers a great many facets of what the Nazis, Soviets, French, Italians and Americans did before, during and after the hostilities. It also covers looted Judaica, and even touches upon the ordinary houshold goods the Nazis confiscated from the Jews of Paris.

Some of this was familiar to me, at least in general. I knew that the Nazis, Hermann Goering in particular, grabbed whatever they could get their hands on. I didn't know that the Nazi officials were just emulating Hitler in amassing their art collections. I knew they suppressed the work of Jewish artists, though I did not realize they were also opposed to all non-representational art. I knew Hitler was a failed artist, though I had never heard the story of how he was rejected by an art school in Vienna, by a board with a number of Jews on it. And I had never seen examples of his work, which are shown in the film. I did not know of the museum he planned to build to hold his art collection in Linz, his birthplace and intended final resting place.

But the main thing new to me was the existence of the American and other nationality "Monuments Men"--a small group of art historians assigned to protect any monuments and artwork that were recaptured. Their stories were the most compelling part of the film, along with an interview of a French Jew who was assigned to a slave-labor camp, whose task was to process the property confiscated from deported Jewish homes. Eventually, he had to work on his own family's goods!

The Rape of Europa also spent a good bit of time on the restitution of stolen artworks to their rightful owners, or at least to their families. This is a continuing process. The film opens with a depiction of the attempts to regain Gustav Klimt's "The Gold Portrait" of Adele Bloch-Bauer I by Bloch-Bauer's niece, who is interviewed. The Austrian government claimed it and several other Klimt works had been left to them in Bloch-Bauer's 1923 will, and it was exhibited in the Austrian Galerie Belvedere in Vienna. The film ends with the niece's success--after a seven year legal battle it was ruled that the will was negated by the theft by the Nazis and their Austrian allies. The portrait was then purchased by Ronald Lauder (the son of Estee Lauder) for a reported $135 million. He bought it for his Neue Galerie--which is a block from where I'm sitting now!

The film tried to cover a huge amount of ground--too much, in my opinion. Some things were covered in great detail--others were just touched upon, such as why the Nazis never tried to grab any of the Louvre's holdings, which the French evacuated to the south. There was no mention of the fate of the French spy in the Nazis' Paris art looting operation--she managed to record the rightful owners and destinations of all of the art treasures looted from the Jews of France.

The screening, which I saw at the Jewish Museum, was followed by a Q&A with a couple of the film's directors, and Lynn H. Nicholas. They did tie up a few of the loose ends. But the film itself is over-ambitious, and because of that fails to give the full story of several of its topics.

Plat du jour

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NYJFF: Gorgeous! / Comme t'y es belle!

Last night was our first movie at this year's New York Jewish Film Festival, presented by the Film Society of Lincoln Center, Gorgeous! / Comme t'y es belle! It was billed as the "Sephardic Sex in (sic) the City," But I saw very little that made this film Jewish, let alone Sephardic. Yes, the four main characters were Sephardic Jewish women, and they were seen celebrating Jewish holidays, but that was just about it. Otherwise they were simply upper-middle class Frenchwomen, looking for love, as far as I could tell.

Basically, it was a fun light comedy, definitely in the vein of Sex and the City--unrealistic people doing unlikely things. The main difference was that three of the four women were mothers. The funniest part of the plot was one of the characters' entering into a same-sex civil union with her Arabic au pair, so the latter wouldn't be deported (it also brought in one of the most serious parts of the whole movie, the reaction of the au pair's brother).

The film has sold over a million tickets in France. It probably shattered a lot of people's stereotypes about Sephardic Jewish women there. But I don't think the film said anything about real Sephardic Jewish women in France at all.

Plat du jour

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Back in New York

In case anyone was wondering why I haven't posted anything in the last few days, I was off in Cleveland, meeting with the lawyer and accountant for my mom's estate, and helping my siblings dispose of her stuff. Aside from getting her clothes together for donation, we divided up her costume jewelry (I got a few nice things I'll be able to use). We also shipped a carton of books back home, mostly things that caught my wife's eye.

We cleaned out a dozen huge drawers that sort of served as the house's attic. There was all kinds of old stuff, such my father's course materials from the training he got when he became an IRS agent when he returned from WWII, bank statements from the 50's, and thousands of photos. These were from both sides of my family, going way back to when my father was a young man in the late 30's, and when my mother was a baby in the 20's. And some, from my mother's family, were certainly older than that. My sister was lamenting at the pictures of our grandmother, whom she resembles greatly. She wasn't really happy at how she might look in a few years.

But outside of the pictures of my grandparents and their descendents, we were only guessing at who we were looking at. There's no one left to identify the people pictured. It's a shame, but we threw almost all of those out. We did keep the souvenir documents and photos my grandfather brought back from WWI.

There were also tons of pictures of me as a baby and a small child--I was my parents' first. There were some of my sister, 2½ years younger, and only a few of my brother. I brought back an assortment.

So now I'm home, getting caught up with e-mail, snail mail, paying bills, etc. The transmitter for my wife's internet connection seems to have died. Later I'll go out and get a wi-fi one, since her new notebook computer is equipped for that.

Plat du jour

This is not a good thing for a driver to be.

Smoking and common sense

The City of Bangor, ME passed a law making it illegal to smoke in a car that contains someone under the age of 18. This is the first such law I have ever heard of, but apparently they already have them statewide in Arkansas and Louisiana.

Anything that discourages people from smoking is fine by me.

The thing in the article that really caught my eye, though, was the comment of one of the opponents of the law, who said that most smokers have enough common sense not to smoke around children. Ha! If they had common sense they wouldn't be smoking at all.

Plat du jour

A Little Rascals fan?

Springtime in January

Last January I noted a day when the temperature here in NYC hit 62°. Well this year we hit 72°--and we're not even done with the first week of the month.

It was entirely appropriate that we went and heard Igor Stravisnky's Rite of Spring, one of my favorite pieces, at the New York Philharmonic last night.

When in Florida, wear a bra

Bra Slows Bullet Fired Into Air in Fla.
Last May I advised everyone to wear a bra when in Tampa. In light of this story coming out of St. Petersburg, I am now extending this advice to the entire state of Florida.

High definition video disc format war becoming irrelevent?

It's time for the huge, annual Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas, and there have been a couple of announcements coming out of it indicating that the format war between HD-DVD and Blu-ray may turn out to be a non-event, at least as far as we consumers are concerned. LG has announced a player that can handle both formats, and Warner Brothers has announced it will produce discs containing both formats.

The LG machine is coming out a lot sooner than I anticipated (assuming this really does come out--it wouldn't be the first time an electronics manufacturer has announced "vaporware," something that is never actually produced). I would certainly go for a dual format player--though LG (formerly Goldstar) is not exactly a high-end manufacturer. I'd wait a few more months to get a player made by a higher quality company.

But I suspect it might be a while, if ever, before I can find a single machine that plays HD-DVDs, Blu-rays, my DVD-Audios and my SACDs--not that I have all that many discs in the latter two formats. But I do have some, so I may have to keep my current machine, a Samsung 941, in my system. I got it as an interim player, waiting for the high definition formats to come out and perhaps stabilize.

Spam onslaught over?

I'm probably tempting fate by saying this, but the spam deluge that started last month seems to be over. It's been under 50 every day for the last week.

EDIT: Even more interestingly, the spams that have been going out with forged sending addresses in the CDI domain have ended--not a single one got returned to the "sender" today.

Plat du jour

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Weird websearch of the day

video camcorder kick the bucket ,broke
This blog is fourth on the list.

Plat du jour

At least we Scorpios know how to spell.

Living with bears XXVIII

California: Bear eats winning gingerbread house in Tahoe City
Canada: YEAR IN REVIEW: Bear encounters dropped as people got Bear Aware

So which is it?

Two news stories on my Excite homepage:
AP Poll: Americans Optimistic for 2007
Poll: Americans See Gloom, Doom in 2007

And it was the same poll!

Weird websearch of the day

CHRISTOPHER MELONI looks like bert from sesami street
It's still very early in the day, but I think this one will hold up. And this blog was first on Google's list.

Plat du jour

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Three things I learned

...in going to Christmas dinner at my wife's cousins' in Connecticut:

• It is very expensive to rent a car for Christmas...and almost all the rental locations in Manhattan are closed on Christmas day.
• They charge $4.95 extra to buy a $25 American Express gift card in the supermarket.
• It is possible to gain five pounds in a single day.

Plat du jour

Found on a plumbing company truck.

Five things

Helen Boyd tagged me for the "Five Things You Don’t Know About Me" meme. Of course, the answers really depend on who "you" is, as she pointed out. But very few people know these things about me.

1. I was skinny until I was seven years old. Then I discovered food was good.
2. I earned eleven merit badges when I was Boy Scout.
3. I have never had a stitch in my body.
4. The middle toe on my left foot is shorter than it should be.
5. I hate peanut butter.

Pretty boring, huh?

Plat du jour

A bridge player? Or maybe backgammon?

Not even if you have your lights and siren on

LA Firetruck Collides With Train
Lesson to firefighters: you don't have the right of way over a train.

Another '60s rocker dies

Denis Payton, of the Dave Clark Five, has died. The DC5 was one of the earliest groups in the "British Invasion," arriving in the U.S. shortly after the Beatles in 1964. It was one of my favorites back then--though their music never progressed the way the Beatles' or the Rolling Stones' did. Just recently the band was chosen to be inducted into the Rock 'n' Roll Hall of Fame.

Payton's death makes me sad, even beyond the loss of someone who helped me learn to like rock 'n' roll. He died of cancer at 63--just the same as my father. And it won't be that long before I'm 63. It's a bit scary, actually.

Plat du jour

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Bravo American Express!

A while back I posted an article about how I was getting an American Express Blue Cash card to replace my Discover. I was hoping that I'd no longer be getting so many calls from the fraud prevention department when I just used my card in my normal manner. My hopes have been realized. In fact, I haven't gotten a single call from American Express about my usage. It's wonderful!

But I have had one concern about my new card. My credit limit was lower--only 71% of my Discover limit. This could be a problem: I have about 7.5 weeks' charges outstanding when I usually pay my bill (electronically, always in full), two business days before it's due. I knew I had been using it a lot lately, so I went online to check my balance. Sure enough, I had used up well over half my limit, and there were still two weeks to go before I had to pay my bill. It was probably OK, but I didn't want to take a chance on going over--so I figured I'd make a partial payment now.

Then I noticed a link on the screen: "Request a credit increase." I went there, and they asked only two things: What limit did I want, and what is my household income. I asked for a 50% increase (making it a bit higher than I had with Discover), and put in the income figure (actually, I had to go and check my tax return, and adjusted it to only include the money we'll be getting in the future--there were some large non-recurring items last year). Then I hit enter, and got a confirmation page. The figures were what I wanted, so I clicked the submit button.

I expected to get a message saying they'd consider it and let me know. Instead, they said my request was approved, and my new limit would be available for use within 15 minutes! Now that's good service.

Plat du jour

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Living with bears XXVII

New York: A visit from a bear we named Baldy Butt
India: Bear Mothers Boy, Killed by Villagers
Wisconsin: The Bear Facts: sparked by the unusual sighting of a lone bear cub in the city limits
North Carolina: Bear worries Stanly County residents

Weird websearch of the day

mohaa "no mouse" wine--I have no idea what this is about.

Plat du jour

Three great skates? Why three? Is the extra one a right or a left? Probably a left--two left feet.

A still icky websearch

Last May someone reached my blog searching for "thick tushy blog." I was way down the list, fortunately. Now someone in Germany found me with tushy blog. Now I'm up to fourth on the list. Oy.

But I guess it's my own fault for blogging about it.

Yet more spam

Wednesday I got 139 spam messages. But things are slowing down. They may not even break 100 for yesterday.

Plat du jour

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More spam

The spammers did not rest on their laurels. Yesterday the count was 119. Only one was not caught by my spam filter.

Plat du jour

With whom?

At last some sanity about Christmas trees

They're putting the Christmas trees back up in the Seattle airport. The airport took them down after a rabbi requested they also put up a Chanukah menorah. The airport officials decided that they would have to put up symbols for all religions, which their staff didn't have time for. Instead, they took down the trees.

Of course, many people were outraged. A lot were angry at the rabbi, but he never asked for the trees to be taken down. All he wanted was that a menorah be added. Now the rabbi has agreed not to sue, and the trees will be returned. They will work on a real policy for next year.

I'm not exactly a big fan of religion, atheist that I am. But let's be sensible. Most Americans celebrate something this time of year. The courts have ruled that government has to be neutral when it comes to religion, not completely secular. It's not that difficult to put up seasonal decorations that recognize all religions, without violating the Constitution. I'm glad some people out in Seattle have decided to act reasonably.

A record day for the spammers

Yesterday I received 105 spam e-mails in my main e-mail account--the first time it went over 100 in a day. But not one of them made it past my home-made spam filter into my inbox. They've gotten extremely predictable.

Plat du jour

I like sangria, too.

I can't win

Just when I managed to free up a full day tomorrow, so I can really attack my to-do list, I have to go to a funeral.

Plat du jour

Who bought us?

Question of the day (or even longer)

Why can't I ever get to the end of my to-do list?

Plat du jour

Very patriotic!

Clayelle in the flesh

I get a lot of people reaching this blog doing searches for Clayelle Dalferes, the sultry-voiced announcer on WQXR, NYC's classical radio station. Some are searching for photos of her. But there aren't any on the internet, save for the baby picture she uses on her bio page on the WQXR site. As I said previously, she is a mystery woman, at least visually.

Well now apparently there is a way to see what Clayelle looks like. She and some of the other WQXR announcers are going to be reading Dickens' A Christmas Carol at the Strand Bookstore on December 16.

I suggest getting there early if you want to get a seat.

Living with bears XXVI

Catching up:
Florida: Bear puts schools on lockdown
Colorado: Bear burglarizes store, Bear suspected as purse snatcher
Tennessee: Bear caught in South Blount County to be relocated, Bear caught near Gatlinburg garbage collection center
Pennsylvania: Man vs. big bear: Both lose, Bear becomes more than nuisance
California: Bear Wandering In Neighborhood Tranquilized And Killed
Nevada: Biologist gives bear the bum's rush
Kashmir: Bear menace plagues villages
Arizona: Game and Fish officers kill bear, upset neighbors

Plat du jour

A New Yorker of Puerto Rican descent.

I guess they don't have any transsexuals in Kansas

5PM Patient: Hey! It's Damn Cold In This Paper Gown

Physician: What can you tell me about this X-ray?
Student: It's a male pelvis with two fractures.
Physician: It's shaped like a male pelvis, but it's not.
Student: How can you tell?
Physician: The lack of a penis outline on the X-ray helps.

Emergency Room, University of Kansas Hospital
Kansas City, Kansas

Overheard by: Stifling the Laugh

via Overheard in the Office, Dec 1, 2006

Did Continental Airlines kill my mother?

The Associated Press is running a little article, Firms Troubled by Sick People in Office, citing a survey that shows 56% of US businesses have a problem with "presenteeism:" employees who show up for work even when they are sick. The employees are unproductive, their illnesses get worse, leading to increased healthcare costs, and they transmit their diseases to other employees.

Even worse, they transmit their diseases to the firms' customers. I try to avoid flying on Continental Airlines whenever possible, because of its Perfect Attendance Program. They trumpet it in their Annual Report. Among other incentives to come into work sick, Continental employees who have no absences are entered into a drawing for a Ford Explorer. Just what I don't want: to be sealed into an airplane with sick people. It's even worse that I might be getting my drinks and snacks from sick crew-members trying to win a car.

My mother flew Continental when she visited me in October. Four days later she had pneumonia, and died shortly after that. Did Continental kill my mother?

Thanks, Google!

Google lists my glob as 12th when you search for kickass blog.

Talking back at the headlines

"Top News" headlines from the Associated Press at 3:12am:

• Bush, al-Maliki Agree Not to Divide Iraq
Some other people may have a say in this.

• Panel Reaches Deal on U.S.-Iraq Policy
A deal only among themselves. It will be politely ignored by Bush.

• Radiation Found on 2 Jets in Spy Probe
2 jets? This is getting worse and worse.

• 7M in U.S. Jails, on Probation or Parole
We're not going to solve the drug problem in this country just by locking everyone up.

• Preacher Arrested in Alleged Murder Plot
Doesn't the Ten Commandments have something to say about murder?

• Army Scammed Into Buying Golf Balls
Are people so stupid they think this kind of stuff won't be noticed eventually?

• Killer Whale Attacks Trainer at SeaWorld
So? It's a killer whale. The guy was lucky.

• Ford Says 38,000 Accepted Buyout Offers
That's an awful lot of people. I wonder where the ones who aren't retiring will find jobs, even with the education benefits.