HBO Logo … in Spaaaace!!!

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I’ve been wondering all day about that HBO logo. It’s a classic cable ID that we’ve all seen for years: the one where the p.o.v. flies over houses and streets into space, and a giant computer-generated HBO logo comes out of the stars, with a melodramatic sci-fi theme blaring over the whole scene. But since when did it become such a cult classic that people start dancing to it at a public movie screening?

A quick Google search turned up this brief but funny profile, which in turn turned up the composer, Ferdinand J. Smith. That search result leads you to pages where you can actually download his triumphant “HBO In Space” anthem. (Which I’ve been humming to myself all day. Curse you, HBO!)

Roco resigns from Dept of Education

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Promising presidentiable Raul Roco quits his post as Education Secretary, after the president who put him there suddenly endorses a graft investigation against him.

Bad, bad move on the president’s part, especially so soon after finding that Roco is ahead of her in the 2004 presidentiable surveys. More commentary from Soliven and Teddy Benigno. This move would have lost GMA any respect I had left for her, if only there had been any left.

Benigno’s column also follows the latest missteps in the uncharmed love life of Kris Aquino. What’s going on with that girl, anyway? Since when did she fall into the mudpit with Joey Marquez? Wait, is she coming here to the US? AAAHH!!!

(Update: Lia filled me in on the details of the latest Kris tsismis. I’m underwhelmed and unsympathetic.)

Viva Las Vegas

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Screen on the Green last night was fun; we joined thousands of people on the grass by the Washington Monument to watch Elvis in Viva Las Vegas. Silly, shallow, classic movie fun. What really cracked me up was how some people actually danced for the “HBO in Space” logo.

On the down side, I overdosed on Krispy Kremes and kiamoy. Bleh.

Kiamoy

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When Nic Ruffy came over to DC two months ago, he showed his appreciation for my being a tour guide by presenting me with a bag of kiamoy from Aji Ichiban. Since then, I’ve had great fun introducing my friends to the startling wonders of this Chinese snack. The bag is still half-full to this day, and I’m taking it to Screen on the Green tonight. (Yes, two months later, the kiamoy is still edible. What with all the preservatives, this stuff lasts practically forever.)

(Kiamoy: Dried preserved plums coated in salt, sugar, and licorice powder. Intensely salty and sweet and sour all at once. NIBBLE ONLY. DO NOT POP IN MOUTH WHOLE. The seeds are still in the plum, and the flavor is VERY intense. Great prank food. ;)

Christian Bloggers’ Manifesto?!

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I had originally chalked up The Dane’s rant on “Christian blogs” to mild intellectual snobbery, but I’m now rethinking that after seeing later developments in the world of faith-based blogging. “Manifesto? Code of conduct?” Sorry, but I think that such a tact can only add to the veneer of mediocrity which faith-oriented forms of media have come to be associated with. Far better to form a community of mutual links than to artlessly throw manifestos at a crowd which will only dismiss you as ingenuous at best.

I certainly don’t want to antagonize our misguided but well-meaning brothers and sisters in Christ at Jesus Journal, but what do you all think of this; what causes this “visceral” response, as Bene Diction calls it? Is it because of the grasp of a potentially legalistic religious fist, or is it just indignance at the presumptuousness of this outsider and newcomer to the faith-based blogosphere? Josh Claybourn has links to more feedback. (Update: So does Bene Diction, eh?)

In any case, thanks, but no thanks, Jesus Journal. Please stop spamming me, and don’t try to arbitrate how I blog my faith.

Canadian Navy

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That has got to be the meanest depiction of a foreign Navy that I’ve ever seen.

Photo of a guy in a dinghy

The Giant Squid

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Giant Squid at the Smithsonian Museum of Natural History, two of them, on display in giant formalin pickle-jar tanks. (It was a bit too dim for my Pencam, but nothing a little tweaking couldn’t fix.)

Photos taken with an Aiptek Mini Pencam 1.3MP.

After taking those photos, I dropped by the National Art Gallery to look at some Rembrandts, Rubens, and early Italian sculpture. Got some nice photos of Voltaire busts. Then, I did some skating: at the Washington Monument as usual, then down to the Tidal Basin (where I saw a dead crow, possibly downed by West Nile) around to Jefferson Memorial, and down to the Reflecting Pool and Lincoln Memorial.

I really, really like living here in DC.

(Oh, and speaking of giant squid, I tried Cajun Seafood Gumbo with Okra for the first time at lunch today. In a bread bowl. Delicious.)

Last Day at First Baptist

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Today was my last day of worship as a watchcare member at First Baptist DC, and at the end of the service, Pastor Jim had me and Meredith, another leaving watchcare member, stand at the foot of the chancel, where he wished us Godspeed, and publicly presented us each with a piece of bread. What a cute, poignant symbol of fellowship! I really loved worshipping and serving at this church, and I’m looking forward to getting a car so I can drive back here on Sundays from Baltimore.

Speaking of which, yes, I’m moving to Baltimore this coming Saturday. More on that later. Right now I’m skating down to the Museum of Natural History to get photos of the Giant Squid.

Meanwhile, check out these freaky yet well-executed works of surreal art, link courtesy of Matt Rea.