Campfire

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Campfire

There’s one bar of signal here and we’re cooking s’mores.

Pandora’s Box

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I bought a fax machine two weeks ago, and found that the box was just the right size for my cat, Pandora. So I cut a hole in the box, set it upside down by my desk, and made a floor for it with the catnip mat. I call it — wait for it — Pandora’s Box.

Pandora's Box

Of course, being a cat, she loves cave-y places, so she’s enjoying her box immensely.

Google Maps Sightseeing

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Since Google Maps sightseeing is suddenly all the rage, here’s a satellite view of my general environs. Over to the right is Union Station, and if you go south a few blocks you’ll see the big pixelated blur hiding the US Capitol. (It’s not just the security; the anti-satellite pixelation field is a crucial aspect of the Washington Masonic Illuminati’s Super Secret Defense and Weather Control Grid. It’s terrible going into the Pixel Field when it goes up during orange alerts; not only the Capitol, but everything, including FBI-shirt-clad tourists, turn into shimmering, blockish squares of indistinct color.)

More Google satellite sightseeing:

Darth Vader Versus Jar Jar Binks

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I realize now that there is only one way to redeem the Star Wars prequel trilogy of its irreversible legacy of painfully sordid banality. And it is not just that Jar Jar Binks must die. No, that would not be nearly enough. The only way Lucas will get me to pay money to see Episode III is to have the dark, whiny central character of the series execute the prequel’s worst, most hated stereotype.

Darth Vader Killing Jar Jar BinksDarth Vader must kill Jar Jar Binks.

If Darth Vader were to slay Jar Jar Binks in cold blood, perhaps after a long, sadistic chase scene, I might be persuaded to watch the movie. And I want Vader, mind you, in black suit and helmet, and not Whiny Padawaaanakin Skywalker. Ah yes, I can picture it now…

<Vader breathing>

“ANI! Meesa likey da new outfit!”

“I find your lack of grammar disturbing.”

<Lightsaber sounds>

“NO, ANI! YOUSA KILLING JAR JAR!”

<Lightsaber sounds, wet splatters>

“You have annoyed me for the last time.”

<Vader breathing, steps fading into distance>

On a more serious note, Kottke has some interesting insights into character interaction in the original Star Wars trilogy.

Update: Darth Darth Binks. No further comment.

Rainy NJ Weekend

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The weekend was spent up in rainy New Jersey, mostly vegging out indoors with Amy and her folks. I finally got down to watching Attack of the Clones on DVD, and if you just fast-forward through Jar Jar Binks and the smarmy love scenes, it’s actually sort of tolerable. Sort of. Here are a few photos of windows:

IMG_1831

IMG_1835

Best of April Fool’s 2005

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Maybe it was just me, but somehow, April Fool’s 2005 seemed a bit weaker than last year, probably because Metafilter went without a gag. Nonetheless, it was fun to have Beg The Question linked from “the blue” (as we MeFites call it).

Update: And a link from Language Log! I’m truly honored. And yes, the “ignoramii” error, was an intentional mistake, along with any other run-on sentences, dangling participles, and extraneous prepositions that may have occurred in BTQ. In reality life, my grammare, speling, and useage is always inpeccable.