» On 10/31/2004 09:00:00 AM Mountain Standard Time, Anikó wrote:
Yesterday, we discovered some aluminum masks in the "Friends and Others" series by Peter Zorich at the Idyllwild Gallery, right across from the town's totem pole.

 
» On 10/30/2004 08:00:00 AM Mountain Standard Time, Anikó wrote:
More than you ever wanted to know about Jim Ruland.

 
» On 10/29/2004 08:00:00 AM Mountain Standard Time, Alan wrote:
Noted lately: Dear Limey assholes, Bush website blocked outside US and Mrs. Dick Cheney's literary masterpiece, "Sisters"...

 
» On 10/28/2004 08:00:00 AM Mountain Standard Time, Alan wrote:
Florida screws the pooch again. It looks like Jeb's crew is up to their old tricks, trying to rig a second election for brother Porgie. Methinks it's time for another good old-fashioned regime change.

 
» On 10/27/2004 08:00:00 AM Mountain Standard Time, Anikó wrote:
Daylight Saving Time ends on Sunday, October 31. In Brazil, the craziness starts on November 2, but it's nearly over for us Northern Hemisphere types. Except Cuba, of course. And Israel, where DST has become a religious issue.

 
» On 10/26/2004 10:00:00 AM Mountain Standard Time, Alan wrote:
Anikó just received the appointment notice for her Naturalization Test... which means she might be a U.S. citizen by Thanksgiving! Could you pass? Test yourself.

 
» On 10/23/2004 10:00:00 PM Mountain Standard Time, Alan wrote:
The voting for a president in Afghanistan took place on October 9. Two weeks later, they're still counting. Let's hope their elections don't get as bad as ours.

 
» On 10/20/2004 02:00:00 PM Mountain Standard Time, Alan wrote:
Librarians Are Sexy. Anikó just received a telephone call - her essay was chosen as one of the two Grand Prize winners (from over 500 entries) for its "originality, clarity of ideas and grace of expression" in the Woman's Day contest! This essay (entitled "Soul Nourishment") will be published in the magazine, along with an article on Anikó and the other winner.

 
» On 10/17/2004 08:00:00 AM Mountain Standard Time, Alan wrote:
@%#&*! Memento DVD Navigation: After buying Memento LE, I soon discovered (by looking at the menus for Disc 1 and Disc 2) that it's damn near impossible to find anything except the "Play" function (WATCH). Luckily, there's a Navigation Guide on the web, and here's my summary:

DISC 1
A) Play = WATCH (column 3).
B) Commentary = COMMENTS (5), option D for director Christopher Nolan's commentary, which randomly branches at 1:33:52 into four different endings. One version slows down and runs backwards, unintelligibly. The other three versions have only subtle differences.
C) Chapters = CHAPTER (4).
D) Audio = LISTEN (2), option Y for Dolby Digital, DTS or Dolby Surround.
E) Subtitles = READ (1), option A in question 3 or 4.

DISC 2
A) Chronological Re-Edit: CLOCK, C x 5, Quiz: 3, 4, 1, 2. No fast-forward or skip, but SEARCH MODE button can access chapters or time codes.
B) Anatomy Of A Scene (Sundance Channel featurette): SKULL, C x 3.
C) Director's Script: BOOK, C x 2. ANGLE button switches from film to script.
D) Jonathan Nolan's original short story: CLOCK, C x 5. Quiz: 2, 1, 4, 3.
E) Trailers: BINOCULARS, C x 5.
F) Production Stills and Sketches: COMPASS, C x 4.
G) Props Gallery: BINOCULARS, C, D.
H) International Art Campaigns: GLOBE, C x 4.
I) Concept Art Gallery: BINOCULARS, C x 4, B, A.
J) Bootleg Cover Art Gallery: SKULL, C x 2, E, D.
K) Leonard's Journal: COMPASS, C x 3, B, C x 2.
L) Special Features: CLOCK, C x 2, E.
M) DVD Credits: CLOCK, C x 4, D.

Other links: otnemem (official Memento site), Memento Mori (Jonathan's short story) and Salon's review.

 
» On 10/16/2004 08:00:00 AM Mountain Standard Time, Alan wrote:
Morbid Obsession. There I am, reading a story in the local newspaper about an air show that's gonna be held on November 6 at the local airport, which used to be called Thermal or Desert Resorts, but is now being renamed Jacqueline Cochran Regional, so I do some research on Jackie and find out about her stamp, which spurs me to do more and more and even more research. Then I find out (from the same newspaper) that some of her stuff is in the local museum. During the course of my research, I've learned that she's buried in one of the local cemeteries, so I go looking for her grave online... and discover that some idiot has screwed up the details of her burial. This, of course, leads to loading up the ol' digicam and trying to rectify the situation.

 
» On 10/14/2004 08:00:00 AM Mountain Standard Time, Alan wrote:
There Are So Many Experiences I Want to Write About Having Had (by The Onion's Jason Erikson): As a writer, I have powers of observation far greater than those of the average person. Nothing gets by me. Sometimes, as I sit typing in my dank, dusty, windowless room, I stop and marvel at the tapestry of life. When I think about all the escapades that could inform my writing, my mind reels! The world is my keyboard's oyster—I just need to get out there and experience all the things that are waiting to be written about. [...]

 
» On 10/11/2004 06:00:00 AM Mountain Standard Time, Alan wrote:
Christopher Reeve Dead at 52: Damn. Superman's gone. After the accident he became the real Man of Steel, with a positive outlook and determination that are seldom seen. Goodbye, Chris. Your onscreen and offscreen heroism were an inspiration to us all. Reeve-related FAQ. CR Paralysis Foundation.

 
» On 10/10/2004 08:00:00 AM Mountain Standard Time, Alan wrote:
I don't want a pickle
Just want to ride on my motorsickle
And I don't want a tickle
'Cause I'd rather ride on my motorsickle
And I don't want to die
Just want to ride on my motorcy...
...cle.

Yes, a whole lotta bikes are in town this weekend.

 
» On 10/09/2004 08:00:00 AM Mountain Standard Time, Anikó wrote:
Sky News for October: We might see a Draconid meteor shower tonight, and the Orionids (leftovers from Halley's Comet) will definitely show up on October 21-22. Then, next week's partial solar eclipse will start on October 14, but will end on the previous day. And don't miss the total lunar eclipse on October 27-28.

 
» On 10/07/2004 08:00:00 AM Mountain Standard Time, Anikó wrote:
Powers of Ten Day (10/10/04): In 1977, Charles and Ray Eames made a nine-minute film called Powers of Ten [....] Starting with a sleeping man at a picnic, the film takes the viewer on a journey out to the edge of space and then back into a carbon atom in the hand of the man [at the] picnic, all in a single shot.

Mind-blowing. By the same visionaries who designed the Eames House and Eames Chairs.

 
» On 10/03/2004 08:00:00 AM Mountain Standard Time, Alan wrote:
Trans-Danubia Notebook III: Concept Dining In Budapest. My (adult) stepkids are going through that phase where they think a fine dining experience must include some sort of unusual "atmosphere." Don't laugh; I'm sure we all remember when the Hard Rock Cafe seemed pretty cool...

Our munchy little group began with the Híd Western Pub, which is just around the corner from our 9th-district flat. The food was pretty decent, and the walls contained old photographs and maps of the American West. A promising start.

A few days later, we ventured into Dzsungel Étterem, a basement grotto complete with hanging vines, papier-mâchè jungle animals, and periodic lights-out to showcase the flashes of "lightning." I don't know about you, but I like to see the food before it goes into my mouth.

Our last culinary quest took place at Sir Lancelot, where the general idea is to consume vast quantities of chow with your hands. The amount of wasted food is staggering, mainly because the "doggie bag" idea has not yet caught on in Hungary.

However, Budapest's wackiest concept restaurant has to be the Alcatraz Club, where the waiters dress in prison garb. These folks try, really REALLY hard, to recreate the ambiance of a jailhouse.

But why?