7 Nov 2012

How an Election Is Like a Colonoscopy

posted in: personal news, public affairs | 0

I’m being only partly facetious. I participated in the one, earlier today, and I started the prep for the other this evening. (I’ve just finished drinking my third bottle of generic Drano.* And when did this turn into a three-day ordeal, instead of two-day?) Now I’m waiting to learn how it all turns out, on both counts.
*By which, of course, I mean magnesium citrate.

Most people over the age of 50 in the U.S. know what fun it is to clear out your system in preparation for—as the alien in the movie Paul put it—”probin’ time.” About as much fun as the twelve months of campaign noise, idiotic commentary, vicious back-and-forth attacks, and robocalls in preparation for a major election.

Probin’ time!

So now I’m sitting here feeling queasy from the noxious liquids I just drank, and queasy from watching the election returns, especially as I watch the numbers go up for the candidates I don’t like. My daughter, who just voted in her first presidential election, came to me a little while ago, and asked, “How do you get through it? How can you stand waiting to find out?” (There are some candidates she really wants to see win. I’m with her.)

Colonoscopy-wise, I still have to get through tomorrow, on a liquid-only diet, so I can have the completely painless procedure done on Friday. (I’ve done it before. The probin’ itself is nothing, once you’ve gotten through the prep.) By then, I hope, the waiting for the election results will all be over. Unless, of course, it’s in the courts.

Just to be serious for a moment, don’t anyone think I’m running down the right to vote. I’m not. It’s sacred, and I’ve voted in every election I could vote in, since I turned 21 (I think that was still the voting age, back when the rocks were cooling). I sincerely hope all of you voted today, if you were eligible to. (Also, I hope you get your colonoscopy when your doc tells you to. You know why.)

Just for the record, I’m pulling for Obama to win. And Warren for the Senate in Massachusetts.

Addendum: What do you know! Almost everyone I voted for won. This may be a first! Thanks for voting, everyone!

1 Nov 2012

One Term More: a Musical Parody

posted in: public affairs, videos | 0

With apologies to my Republican readers (if I have any left). It is a parody.

 

In remarking on the political divisiveness and social unrest of an historically polarizing election and in commenting culturally and metaphorically on Victor Hugo’s fictional historic struggle at the barricades of freedom, “One Term More”, with deep affection and utmost respect, parodies the inimitable “One Day More!” © Published by Alain Boublil Music Ltd. / ℗ 1985 EXALLSHOW LTD. Music by Claude-Michel Schönberg / Lyrics by Herbert Kretzmer from the beloved, internationally acclaimed Cameron Mackintosh Presentation of “Les Misérables” By Alain Boublil and Claude-Michel Schönberg. Based on the novel by Victor Hugo.

1 Nov 2012

Halloween Scare: Disney Buys Star Wars!

posted in: public affairs, publishing, theater and movies | 0

Actually, all of Lucasfilm, including Industrial Light and Magic. They’re planning to have a new Star Wars movie for us by 2015. And if that doesn’t scare you, I don’t know what will. (Well, okay, maybe a hurricane.) In the last few years, Disney has acquired Pixar, Marvel, and now Lucasfilm. That’s a lot of heavy lifting, money-wise (over $4 billion  for Lucasfilm alone), and gives you some idea of how much gold the Mouse is carrying around.

But is it a bad thing, or a good one? Well, the Disney ownerships doesn’t seem to have hurt Pixar too much. And Marvel seems to be doing okay, judging by The Avengers. But Star Wars? Will we be glad to have another episode, and then another? Certainly the empire has been faltering creatively for decades, so it may be that new blood in the driver’s seat will be just what we need. But here’s some perspective offered by Boston Globe film critic Ty Burr:

The new “Star Wars” will come in 3D, IMAX, and someday — who knows? — holo-vision and jack-in brain cinema. But Disney CEO Iger’s announcement of the Lucasfilm acquisition is telling. “This transaction combines a world-class portfolio of content including ‘Star Wars,’ one of the greatest family entertainment franchises of all time, with Disney’s unique and unparalleled creativity across multiple platforms, businesses and markets to generate sustained growth and drive significant long-term value.”

There are certain things missing from that sentence, words like movie and story and characters.

Yeah, there is that. 

Meanwhile, in book publishing, Random House and Penguin are merging, and I can’t  think of too many examples of giant publishers merging that have been good for either writers or readers. Will this merger better enable them to meet the challenges of ebooks, and promotion through social networking? Well… Richard Bowker has some thoughts on the question. They pretty much mirror my own, so I’ll give him the floor. 

29 Oct 2012

Hunkered Down for Hurricane Sandy

posted in: nature, personal news, public affairs | 0

Like millions of others in the eastern U.S., we’re battened down, waiting out Hurricane Sandy. We’ve got bread and batteries up the wazoo, extra water in the basement and garage (I knew those big plastic cat-litter containers I’ve been saving would be good for something, someday), gas in the cars, and I even got a couple of the window air conditioners pulled for the winter before it started blowing. Where we are, outside Boston, the main concern is downed trees and wires (and I’ve already called in one of each from my earlier outings).

Here’s what Sandy looks like from space:

Interesting sequence of photos:
http://www.space.com/18236-frankenstorm-hurricane-sandy-satellite-photos.html

Edit: We came through it just fine. I wish the same were true of our neighbors down the coast!

17 Oct 2012

Earth-sized Planet Found Circling Alpha Centauri!

posted in: astronomy, science fiction, space | 0

Woot! It’s finally happened! Researchers have announced the discovery of an Earth-sized planet in the star system nearest to ours. Called Alpha Centauri Bb for now (it orbits the star in the Alpha Centauri group called Alpha Centauri B), this planet is roughly 3.6 million miles from its sun, compared to our 93 million miles from our sun.  So it’s pretty hot, certainly not in the range for most Earthlike life forms. But this discovery suggests the likelihood of other planets in the star system. Most systems have multiple planets, and the ones closest to their suns are the easiest to detect.

This is so insanely, massively cool. We’ve dreamed of it for years. And now we’ve learned that our nearest neighboring star system has a planet the size of ours, and may have other planets in the habitable zone.

The news takes me back to memories of one of the first paperback SF novels I ever read as a kid: Robert Silverberg’s Revolt on Alpha C. 

Who’s ready to join me in starting construction of a starship?

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