Thanksgiving 2013

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We drove up to New Jersey to celebrate Thanksgiving with Amy’s family, leaving early Thanksgiving morning to be on the road behind the previous evening’s rush. The drive was mostly up I-95, arriving in time for the dog show and Thanksgiving dinner.


Snap Doge
Thanksgiving Turkey 1 Thanksgiving Dinner

Ever since our Thanksgiving Tenement Museum weekend the following Friday has become a yearly German dinner night, complete with trip to Pork Store.

Union Pork Store

The next day we went in to New York City along with Amy’s brother’s fiancé, hopping galleries in Chelsea, checking out the High Line, and walking past the Rockefeller Center Tree (no lights yet) and up 5th Avenue, with a stopover at Sapporo for ramen.

High Line Times Square
Rockefeller Center Christmas Tree Ramen at Sapporo

It was also my first time to see the NYC skyline with the completed Freedom Tower, as well as the Lalanne Sheep at Getty Station. And Randy the Hot Dog Guy.

NYC skyline from bus Randy the Hot Dog Guy
Lalanne sheep at Getty Station

Always a fun Thanksgiving weekend with Amy’s folks. Full photoset here.

Washington Monument in Scaffolding

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The Washington Monument has been wrapped in scaffolding for repairs over the last couple years following the August 2011 Virginia earthquake. With the scaffolding due to come down, I dropped by the National Mall last weekend to get some photos, as the scaffolding itself does have its own visual charm.

Washington Monument in Scaffolding

As I walked east from Lincoln Memorial down the Reflecting Pool, the clouds and sun were both behind me, occasionally casting moody shadows on the Monument.

Washington Monument in Scaffolding

Down by the Monument itself, the Sylvan Theatre was right outside the fenced-off restricted zone, and I snuck through backstage to get a panorama from the stage.

Washington Monument in Scaffolding (Sylvan Theatre Stage view)

Before the clouds got too thick I was also able to get a closeup shot of the scaffolded Monument with the daylight-visible moon, somewhat reminiscent of this photo I’d gotten in 2007.

Washington Monument in Scaffolding

At the time of this writing NPS is closing out repairs and has started to dismantle the scaffolding. It’s been an interesting visual treat but it’ll be nice to have the Monument back in its full naked glory. Some time I need to actually go up in there; I’ve lived in the area over a decade now and still haven’t been to the top.

Washington Monument in Scaffolding IMG_0904.JPG

Full photoset on Flickr: Washington Monument in Scaffolding.

ORS-3 Launch

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Orbital Sciences launched a Minotaur 1 rocket from Wallops last night, carrying ORS-3: an Air Force satellite, two experimental payloads, and several small cubesats, including TJ3Sat, a small satellite developed by students at a local high school. We went up to the roof to watch the launch from Fairfax.

Orbital Sciences Minotaur 1 ORS3 Launch (cropped, enhanced)

I made the mistake of using ISO 400 for a 165 second exposure in moonlit conditions with city glare reflecting off scattered clouds, causing overexposure. Some post-processing brought the rocket’s arc back into view, darker but higher and more rounded than the Minotaur V LADEE launch in September. This was a smaller, less powerful rocket, but still awe-inspiring to see, even from over a hundred miles away.

NASA TV video of the Minotaur 1 launch up close, and more photos of the launch from up and down the East Coast via Capital Weather.

Caturday!

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Here’s what Amelia looked like in bed when I woke up this morning:

Amelia cat sprawled on bed

While Martha was curled into a ball:

Curled up Martha cat

And here’s Amelia again, daintily crossing her paws as she looks out from a bookcase:

Amelia Cat

And both cats taking turns in a grocery store paper bag:

Martha cat in paper bag Amelia cat in paper bag

Recent Reading

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Cinema-related reading (and related media) that has crossed my path in recent months:

Peter Jackson’s Violent Betrayal of Tolkien. Bad enough that they split the story into a triple-segment money-grab, but even worse was altering the Warg/forest chase scene into a trite action movie climax against an archnemesis who was barely even in the book.

Steven Soderbergh on why On Her Majesty’s Secret Service is the best Bond film. I’ve also thought OHMSS and George Lazenby’s James Bond were greatly underappreciated, but the film is constantly at war with itself, vacillating between showing a sensitive Bond in a more realistic setting versus the classic 1960s alpha male Bond battling an outlandish supervillain plot. Lazenby quit the role after one film due to contract disputes and directorial conflict.

Jabootu’s Bad Movie Dimension chronicles the descent of the Jaws franchise, from historic cultural touchstone to mediocre sequel to campy SeaWorld 3-D novelty to just plain bad movie.

“It’s a miracle that Terry Gilliam’s Time Bandits even got made.” Featuring a cast of little people alongside various Monty Python alumni, a child star, and Sean Connery, this film bothered me as a child just because of how it ended.

“Something Terrible Has Happened Here”: The Crazy Story Of How Clue Went From Forgotten Flop To Cult Triumph. Flames. On the side of my face.

What Superman III teaches us about computer programming. Apparently the specific command to salami slice a payroll is "CHANNEL HALF CENTS INTO ACCOUNT."

10 remarkable things about Superman IV: The Quest for Peace. The effects on this film were Super Sentai bad, but even worse was Superman suddenly and inexplicably gaining the power of “Instant Great Wall Repair Vision.”

8 Surprising Details About The Hellish Production Of The Super Mario Bros. Movie / Mario’s Film Folly: The True Story Behind Hollywood’s Biggest Gaming Blunder. I haven’t seen the Super Mario Bros. movie yet but some time I’m going to have to try, just to see how bad it was. (Not to be confused with the >Super Mario Brothers Super Show starring “Captain” Lou Albano.) Also see the coloring book.

Superman at 75, Klingon Rickroll, and Low Gravity Chivalry

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To celebrate 75 years since Superman first appeared in Action Comics #1, DC Comics has released an animated short of Superman through the decades. I still mourn the loss of the red underpants.

You all know about Rickrolling, but now theatre group Commedia Beauregard (also known for A Klingon Christmas Carol) takes it into the 23rd Century with Rick Astley’s “Never Gonna Give You Up” translated into Klingon (jIyIntaHvIS not qajegh):

Also here is a game of Chivalry: Medieval Warfare played on a multiplayer server with the gravity set to low. Everyone is screaming all the time.