Wednesday, April 29, 2009
Tuesday, April 28, 2009
Halt. Who goes there?
Due to pollen levels and tree seed pods, tassels, etc., the cover is still on the pool. Some mornings we can plainly see who has been visiting in the night.
A pair of tiny toads
A frog and a wandering bug
A pair of tiny toads
A frog and a wandering bug
A raccoon crossing the frog's trail
And, of course, a cat
Yesterday I happened upon this little garter snake in the rosemary bush digesting her lunch. She's only about 7 or 8 inches long. If you look closely, you can see the aforementioned lunch.
Monday, April 27, 2009
Tuesday, April 21, 2009
Wednesday, April 15, 2009
Tuesday, April 14, 2009
Tuesday, April 7, 2009
A disturbance in the fiction
I found this meme a couple of months ago on a blog that has since disappeared. You can look at a few others (or not) and do your own (let me know!). Here's mine:
First, select ten fictional characters (from any medium) by whichever method you like best.
1. Jayne Cobb
2. Yosaffbridge
3. Chewey
4. Maximus Decimus Meridius
5. Captain Jack Sparrow
6. Mona Lisa Vito
7. River Tam
8. Sawyer
9. Worf
10. Data
Divide the list up by even and odd.
Team One: Yosaffbridge, Maximus, Miz Vito, Sawyer, Data
Team Two: Jayne, Chewey, Jack, River, Worf
Which group of five would make a better Five Man Band (like a Power Rangers team)?
Team One
Who would you slot in each position: Leader, Lancer (second-in-command), Big Guy, Smart Guy, The Chick?
Team One
Leader = Maximus
Lancer = Sawyer
Big Guy = Data
Smart Guy = Miz Vito
Chick = Yosaffbridge
Team Two (yow)
Leader = Chewey
Lancer = Worf
Big Guy = Jayne
Smart Guy = River
Chick = Jack
If you think the team would be improved by swapping one character between the even and odd groups, which ones would you switch?
Data and Jayne, switching teams, but keeping position. But I'm leaving them on their original teams.
Gender-swap 2, 8 and 10. Which character would have the most change in their story arc? Which the least? Would any of these characters have to have a complete personality change to be believable as the opposite sex?
Most change in story = Sawyer. Ana Lucia's death deprived the Island of Sawyer's female equal. (IMHO); a character with cocky independence layered over sensitivity. As a storyline, wouldn't a lesbian Sawyer competing with Jack for Kate's affections be great?
Least change = Data. I'm not sure any change in his programming would be necessary. And I'm not sure I'd leave it up to him to reprogram if he thought it was!
Most personality change = Yosaffbridge. A male with the sexual cunning of Yolanda, Saffron, or Bridget?? Not a chance. Men just can't think that way.
Compare the matchups of 1 and 8 and 5 and 9. (Ignore canon sexual preferences for the moment.) Which couple would be more compatible?
If Captain Picard were watching, Worf would lock Captain Sparrow into some strange game on the holodeck. Forever. In the absence of Picard, Worf might have Sparrow for lunch.
Jayne and Sawyer aren't going to be a happy couple when they aren't pillaging and plundering. There would be some heated arguments about Vera. If they had sex (would they?), I wouldn't want to be in the room (would they?).
Which couple would be more plausible to people from either principal's home culture? Jayne could easily step into Island life and Sawyer would be right at home on Serenity. At World's End, Worf wouldn't cause that much of a stir. But Capt. Sparrow on the Enterprise? No. On the Klingon home world? Lunch again.
Your team is 3, 4 and 9. The mission consists of a social challenge, a mental challenge and a physical challenge. Which team member do you assign to each challenge?
Social = Maximus has thrown a few good parties, I'm sure.
Mental = Worf can draw on his Academy training, and Klingons can always get right to the point.
Physical = Chewey. Don't piss him off.
7 becomes 1's boss for a week in some plausible fashion. How's their working relationship?
Strained. Jayne knows River can kill him with her brain. But Jayne has great respect for violence, which River owns.
Nothing in the 'Verse can stop her.
2 finds him/her/itself inserted into 6's continuity. As far as anyone other than 2 or 6 is concerned, they've always been there. What role would 2 be presumed to have had in 6's story, and could they fit in without going wonky?
Fit in? Logically, yes. Yosaffbridge would love New York City, but Alabama? No. (Who does, after all?) Nevertheless, she accompanies her sister, Miz Vito, and her sister's fiance, Vinny, to Alabama just for a lark. Vinny is not fond of Yo. She is not fond of Vinny. Upon discovering there are no larks (or new husbands) to be had, she retires to the gorram motel to await the return drive to NYC. Boring, but what's a girl to do?
3 and 5 get three wishes. The catch is that they have to agree on all three wishes before they get the benefits of any of them. What three wishes would they make?
At first, I thought that they couldn't even communicate, but I quickly realized that they are perfectly aligned in that regard. Their wishes were something else... Wookiees shun material goods, are intelligent and intensely loyal, and are gentle until they lose their short tempers. Capt. Sparrow is cunning and, uh, tidal. But they are both explorers and adventurers and their first thought is "go."
First wish: Transport. Chewbacca has no knowledge of the sea and Sparrow knows nada about space travel. A wet Wookiee has to smell bad, so they opt for space travel. Chewey calls in some favors and the Millenium Falcon is theirs for a spell. Many stories are exchanged and they become wary friends. Neither has revealed his underlying wish, of course. Chewey wants to get away and Jack wants rum.
Second wish: Yo Ho Yo Ho. Chewbacca, knowing Jack's acquisitory nature and that the rum is gone, convinces Sparrow that he should experience Mos Eisley. And after all, Mos Eisley exists for smugglers and pirates and the cantina, well, it's a pirate bar. Sparrow agrees to the wish. Deals are made, kegs of rum and a smashing hangover are acquired.
Third wish: Home. Sparrow has had enough of (very) dry land and wishes to return to the Black Pearl. Chewbacca is jubilant. On the return trip, they land briefly on an island and bury most of the rum. Jack gives Chewwy the Timekeeper as a gift for Yoda and a small jar of dirt. Chewwy gifts Sparrow with a bowcaster (knowing that he hasn't the strength to use it). As the Falcon hovers over the deck of the Pearl, Chewbacca deposits Sparrow and his loot.
Lightspeed.
1 and 2 are brainwashed by a one-time artifact that works even on people immune to mind control to attack and kill 4. They keep their normal personalities, skills, and competence levels, except any Code vs. Killing has been turned off. Can 4 survive?
Maximus is full of fresh grief over his wife and son and wouldn't be the usual easy target for Yosaffbridge (would he ever be?), especially if she were keeping company with Jayne. Jayne would want to kill Maximus straight on, but Yosaffbridge loves cooking up a wily plan and could easily bend Jayne to her will. She'll be the death of them. Maximus would know instantly that something was up, wait for the opportunity to disarm Jayne, and dispatch them both to Elysium. Strength and honor.
6, 7, 9 & 10 must help an orphanage full of small and depressed children have a merry Christmas. Who does what, knowing that at the very least the kids will be expecting a visit from Santa?
River, especially sensitive to the absence of family, and Mona Lisa, with her biological clock still ticking, go full-tilt. Trees and halls are decked. Presents are wrapped, stockings are stuffed. Food abounds. Shiny.
Upon learning the stories and activities surrounding Christmas, Worf declares it child abuse and refuses to participate. He is not a merry man.
Data knows everything about the Christmas legends. By default, he'll be Santa so he warily activates his emotion chip, dons the puffy suit and whiskers, and grants every wish. He and Miz Vito make a deal and return to the Enterprise with 17 adopted kids. And Worf.
20 to beam up, sir.
3 and 8 are challenged to circumnavigate the Earth in eighty days or less, using only forms of transportation invented before 1900. Can they do it, or will they be fatally distracted by sidequests or their own personality conflicts?
First, select ten fictional characters (from any medium) by whichever method you like best.
1. Jayne Cobb
2. Yosaffbridge
3. Chewey
4. Maximus Decimus Meridius
5. Captain Jack Sparrow
6. Mona Lisa Vito
7. River Tam
8. Sawyer
9. Worf
10. Data
Divide the list up by even and odd.
Team One: Yosaffbridge, Maximus, Miz Vito, Sawyer, Data
Team Two: Jayne, Chewey, Jack, River, Worf
Which group of five would make a better Five Man Band (like a Power Rangers team)?
Team One
Who would you slot in each position: Leader, Lancer (second-in-command), Big Guy, Smart Guy, The Chick?
Team One
Leader = Maximus
Lancer = Sawyer
Big Guy = Data
Smart Guy = Miz Vito
Chick = Yosaffbridge
Team Two (yow)
Leader = Chewey
Lancer = Worf
Big Guy = Jayne
Smart Guy = River
Chick = Jack
If you think the team would be improved by swapping one character between the even and odd groups, which ones would you switch?
Data and Jayne, switching teams, but keeping position. But I'm leaving them on their original teams.
Gender-swap 2, 8 and 10. Which character would have the most change in their story arc? Which the least? Would any of these characters have to have a complete personality change to be believable as the opposite sex?
Most change in story = Sawyer. Ana Lucia's death deprived the Island of Sawyer's female equal. (IMHO); a character with cocky independence layered over sensitivity. As a storyline, wouldn't a lesbian Sawyer competing with Jack for Kate's affections be great?
Least change = Data. I'm not sure any change in his programming would be necessary. And I'm not sure I'd leave it up to him to reprogram if he thought it was!
Most personality change = Yosaffbridge. A male with the sexual cunning of Yolanda, Saffron, or Bridget?? Not a chance. Men just can't think that way.
Compare the matchups of 1 and 8 and 5 and 9. (Ignore canon sexual preferences for the moment.) Which couple would be more compatible?
If Captain Picard were watching, Worf would lock Captain Sparrow into some strange game on the holodeck. Forever. In the absence of Picard, Worf might have Sparrow for lunch.
Jayne and Sawyer aren't going to be a happy couple when they aren't pillaging and plundering. There would be some heated arguments about Vera. If they had sex (would they?), I wouldn't want to be in the room (would they?).
Which couple would be more plausible to people from either principal's home culture? Jayne could easily step into Island life and Sawyer would be right at home on Serenity. At World's End, Worf wouldn't cause that much of a stir. But Capt. Sparrow on the Enterprise? No. On the Klingon home world? Lunch again.
Your team is 3, 4 and 9. The mission consists of a social challenge, a mental challenge and a physical challenge. Which team member do you assign to each challenge?
Social = Maximus has thrown a few good parties, I'm sure.
Mental = Worf can draw on his Academy training, and Klingons can always get right to the point.
Physical = Chewey. Don't piss him off.
7 becomes 1's boss for a week in some plausible fashion. How's their working relationship?
Strained. Jayne knows River can kill him with her brain. But Jayne has great respect for violence, which River owns.
Nothing in the 'Verse can stop her.
2 finds him/her/itself inserted into 6's continuity. As far as anyone other than 2 or 6 is concerned, they've always been there. What role would 2 be presumed to have had in 6's story, and could they fit in without going wonky?
Fit in? Logically, yes. Yosaffbridge would love New York City, but Alabama? No. (Who does, after all?) Nevertheless, she accompanies her sister, Miz Vito, and her sister's fiance, Vinny, to Alabama just for a lark. Vinny is not fond of Yo. She is not fond of Vinny. Upon discovering there are no larks (or new husbands) to be had, she retires to the gorram motel to await the return drive to NYC. Boring, but what's a girl to do?
3 and 5 get three wishes. The catch is that they have to agree on all three wishes before they get the benefits of any of them. What three wishes would they make?
At first, I thought that they couldn't even communicate, but I quickly realized that they are perfectly aligned in that regard. Their wishes were something else... Wookiees shun material goods, are intelligent and intensely loyal, and are gentle until they lose their short tempers. Capt. Sparrow is cunning and, uh, tidal. But they are both explorers and adventurers and their first thought is "go."
First wish: Transport. Chewbacca has no knowledge of the sea and Sparrow knows nada about space travel. A wet Wookiee has to smell bad, so they opt for space travel. Chewey calls in some favors and the Millenium Falcon is theirs for a spell. Many stories are exchanged and they become wary friends. Neither has revealed his underlying wish, of course. Chewey wants to get away and Jack wants rum.
Second wish: Yo Ho Yo Ho. Chewbacca, knowing Jack's acquisitory nature and that the rum is gone, convinces Sparrow that he should experience Mos Eisley. And after all, Mos Eisley exists for smugglers and pirates and the cantina, well, it's a pirate bar. Sparrow agrees to the wish. Deals are made, kegs of rum and a smashing hangover are acquired.
Third wish: Home. Sparrow has had enough of (very) dry land and wishes to return to the Black Pearl. Chewbacca is jubilant. On the return trip, they land briefly on an island and bury most of the rum. Jack gives Chewwy the Timekeeper as a gift for Yoda and a small jar of dirt. Chewwy gifts Sparrow with a bowcaster (knowing that he hasn't the strength to use it). As the Falcon hovers over the deck of the Pearl, Chewbacca deposits Sparrow and his loot.
Lightspeed.
1 and 2 are brainwashed by a one-time artifact that works even on people immune to mind control to attack and kill 4. They keep their normal personalities, skills, and competence levels, except any Code vs. Killing has been turned off. Can 4 survive?
Maximus is full of fresh grief over his wife and son and wouldn't be the usual easy target for Yosaffbridge (would he ever be?), especially if she were keeping company with Jayne. Jayne would want to kill Maximus straight on, but Yosaffbridge loves cooking up a wily plan and could easily bend Jayne to her will. She'll be the death of them. Maximus would know instantly that something was up, wait for the opportunity to disarm Jayne, and dispatch them both to Elysium. Strength and honor.
6, 7, 9 & 10 must help an orphanage full of small and depressed children have a merry Christmas. Who does what, knowing that at the very least the kids will be expecting a visit from Santa?
River, especially sensitive to the absence of family, and Mona Lisa, with her biological clock still ticking, go full-tilt. Trees and halls are decked. Presents are wrapped, stockings are stuffed. Food abounds. Shiny.
Upon learning the stories and activities surrounding Christmas, Worf declares it child abuse and refuses to participate. He is not a merry man.
Data knows everything about the Christmas legends. By default, he'll be Santa so he warily activates his emotion chip, dons the puffy suit and whiskers, and grants every wish. He and Miz Vito make a deal and return to the Enterprise with 17 adopted kids. And Worf.
20 to beam up, sir.
3 and 8 are challenged to circumnavigate the Earth in eighty days or less, using only forms of transportation invented before 1900. Can they do it, or will they be fatally distracted by sidequests or their own personality conflicts?
Fatally distracted by sidequests for sure. Sawyer won't leave the island and though Chewey likes the trees and all, he owes a life debt to Han.
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