i had forgotten that they were going to do this. this is attempt #2 a few days after wind & rain foiled the scheduled attempt. there don't seem to be many pictures from the event, but i'm sure they are out there (i've found 1)
news report here
that first scream is one of my favorites. so i have it as my default email alert. it makes me smile every time i hear it.
on december 27th, a classmate from high school passed away. i can't say that either of us got along very well, but there was a begrudging respect that we had for each other. pretty much that "we'll keep out of each other's way" thing, but we did share the common bond that 21 of us had - we were there for all four years (originals). my memories of him can't be summed up in a single word: meathead.
anyways, AH (pleasant person) who sends out the periodic email about school happenings sent the message to all of us who had given the school our email addys. one of my classmates had been working with him, and wrote a (surprisingly, based on my memories of him) touching follow up, which has brought seveal of my classmates out of the woodwork. all of whom i don't think i've thought of since graduation. so in the last few days, i've been thinking a bit more about my classmates and how it's interesting to see how people have changed.
i'm now seriously considering going back for my 15th this year, which in itself is pretty fucked up as i've pretty much lost track of how long it has been. i have to remind myself that i really have been here for 10 years once august rolls around. but we'll see i guess. i still have memories of the 5th year reunion that bother me, but i guess we'll see what promises hold true, and which ones don't.
anyways, this has reached a point of going nowhere. read between the lines. ask me questions. take it for what you will.
i'm molius, and i approve this blog entry.
well, not really, but i figured if everyone else is, why can't i? i just checked and it looks as though i didn't do this last year so i guess i'm overdue, but i'm not going to bother with 2006. read the past entries if you want some sort of sense of 2006.
but that's now 2 years ago. so, 2007. what can i say about it other than 'eh'. sure there were some high points, no real major low points so i guess all in all, it was an ok year. so a few quick highlights and we'll see where this goes.
molius musical find of the 2007: Porcupine Tree PT is one of those bands that somehow i managed to completely miss and boy did i miss them. they fall into that 'prog' category, but i'd consider it more an evolving prog than anything. if you listen to the early stuff, it bears little resemblance to what their sound is currently. very few bands are able to continually evolve these days and PT is one of the few. live they put on one hell of a show and i'm frustrated that i fell into them late, or i would have tried to see them this year. thank goodness to the tapers who have shared their recordings of the current tours. to each of them, i tip my hat and give a very hearty thanks. (past winners: 2006 - Tom Waits, 2005 - The Residents)
runner up: Battles
molius album of 2007: Porcupine Tree - Fear of a Blank Planet. pure and simple, this album is the one that when i needed something to listen to, i would listen to. didn't matter what my mood was or if i didn't know what i wanted to listen to, this one fell into my CD player and if you don't have it, i'd strongly suggest picking up a copy.
runner up: Robert Plant/Alison Krauss - Raising Sand
molius reunion of 2007: Led Zeppelin. there were a few this year, but none of them made a splash like the return of Led Zeppelin on December 10, 2007 at the O2 Arena in London. 2 hours and 12 minutes of what for myself (and Zep fans around the world) had been waiting for since Bonzo died. the setlist that they played was solid (including the first full performances of Good Times, Bad Times & Ramble On and first ever of For Your Life) and covered many of the 'hits'. for me In My Time of Dying was blues brutality at its best (pure dirty sleezy blues). Kashmir was crushing with its new strings. it certainly wasn't the best ever performance by Led Zeppelin, (Montreux 8/7/71, Seattle 6/19/72, San Francisco 4/26/69 are all very high on my list) but emotionally, it was one of the most powerful shows by the band ever. Jason did his father very proud. and it may be possible that they get this honor two years in a row - it's looking as though they may tour.
runner up: uh...no one qualifies.
molius movie of 2007: No Country for Old Men. i actually managed to see more movies in the theater in 2007 than i have in a long time, but while some were good, none of them ultimately entertained (and amused) me the way No Country did. it's a movie that moves at its own pace (rather than hurry hurry hurry hurry) and is just so twisted that i couldn't help but really enjoy it. it's just one of those movies that you just have to see (prolly more than once) and then you'll start to understand why i like it so much. when a movie makes me smile just thinking about it, you have to know i liked it. and this one makes me smile. so to the Coen Brothers - thanks for making the movie. it's a wonderful (and bloody) headtrip that just makes me smile every time i think about it.
runner up: i really don't know. outside of No Country, for what i saw in the theaters, there really isn't a single movie that would qualify. sure i enjoyed most of what i saw in the theaters, but nothing really jumps out at me. Simpsons, Bourne are the better movies i thought. Spidey 3 was disapointing. Beowulf was visually interesting, but the story was lacking. I Am Legend suffered from my (and M) reading the original story so the entire time we were both thinking 'that wasn't in the original story' or 'that's a change' which i felt detracted from the movie.
molius (over)hype of the year: Apple iphone what an over-rated pretentious piece of hardware.
molius disapointment of the year: christmas holiday season: i'm not really one to care about the holidays, but that thing in the back of my mind that does like it found that this year was the most non-festive holiday season ever. while i really don't care for the holiday season and feel that it's a waste of time and money, i do appreciate (how ever much it makes me sick) the decorations and music that goes along with it. but for political correctness reasons, this year's holiday season was AWFUL. minimal decoration and whenever i went shopping, there was this lack of holiday spirit in the air which was frustrating. this overly political correctness shit that we are now being sucked into blows.
runner up: writers strike. this is directly affecting my television and movie viewing and i don't like it. i understand to some degree what the problem is, but all the strike is doing is allowing the bulk of reality tv to take over. the one upside that i can see (and saw in some article) is that the whole notion of the fall season will go away and shows will move to the more cable minded 'when new seasons are ready, air them' rather than wait for the traditional september/may seasons. i think that the networks would be able to get more of my attention if they did that rather than have everything airing at the same time. i like both Bones and NCIS, but at 8pm on Tuesday, it sucks and i have to pick which i watch and which i tivo. but if i have the choice of a new Bones or a repeat NCIS at 8pm on Tuesday, which do you think i'll watch?
i guess those are my big things for this years list. i didn't read as many books as i would have liked, plus the bulk of what i like to read has been out for some time so i can't offer my book of the year. no real song of the year. didn't goto any concerts so can't add that (tho i spose bootlegs could count)
a pair of enjoyable vacations (Vegas in April, Brussels/Brugge/Cologne in September) certainly qualify as highlights. tons of pictures from each and plenty of memories. need to plan where the next one will be. Hong Kong sounds nice...
well, i'm pretty much out of thoughts at this point. i hate my car. i hate snow. i need more time to listen to music and read. but what else is new? other than 2008. i wonder what will happen in 2008. other than a fucking abysmal presidential election.
to my small circle of friends: thank you. thank you for your friendship. thank you for your support. and you need only to ask.
happy 2008.
WA woman arrested after argument over dog in bathroom
01:41 PM MST on Saturday, December 29, 2007
Associated Press
BREMERTON, Wash. - A 25-year-old woman was arrested for investigation of second-degree assault for getting into an argument with her boyfriend over whether his dog should be in the bathroom while the couple were taking a shower together.
A police report said the 26-year-old man wanted his dog to join them in the bathroom, but the woman objected on Thursday night.
She told him if the dog wouldn't stay out, she didn't want to be his girlfriend anymore. He replied that maybe his next girlfriend would appreciate the dog more, and called her a name.
The police report said the woman punched him in the face several times and the man dislocated his shoulder when the naked couple grappled. He told police his girlfriend threw a picture frame, which broke and cut him.
The woman was taken to the Kitsap County Jail in Port Orchard. Bail has been set at $50,000.
See you auntie! (xref G12)
i'm barely 17 minutes into this and i'm in pain. holy shit this is sooooooooooooooooooooooooooo bad. i've known it's bad by reputation and from those who have suffered thru it. but WOW....
jebus xmas. 2 1/2 hrs to get home. fucking snow storm came in early and everyone bolted early and the snow plows had no chance to clear the roads.
at least i'm home now.
found on Fark: The foreskin of Jesus has gone missing. Penis
Writer searches for a peculiar relic
The "Holy Prepuce," the supposed foreskin of Christ, has disappeared.
By FRANCIS X. ROCCA, Religion News Service
Last update: December 7, 2007 - 6:09 PM
VATICAN CITY - When freelance writer David Farley first visited Calcata, Italy, five years ago, he figured it would make for a colorful article for a travel magazine.
The picturesque hill town 30 miles north of Rome featured a medieval castle and narrow cobblestone streets, as well as an international population of artists and ex-hippies who had saved the abandoned village from demolition.
Locals called it the "paese di fricchettoni" ("village of freaks"), and on an ordinary Sunday afternoon, one could find residents dressed in Indian saris strolling across the historic main square.
But Calcata's most remarkable attraction -- and the subject of a book that Farley is now writing -- turned out to be something no longer there: the supposed foreskin of Jesus Christ.
For more than four centuries, the "Holy Prepuce" had been the city's treasure, kept behind bronze doors over the altar in the Church of the Most Holy Name of Jesus. It was displayed every year on Jan. 1, the Feast of the Holy Circumcision. At one time, pilgrims who came to venerate it were rewarded with an indulgence that cut 10 years from their time in purgatory.
To believers in Jesus' Resurrection, Farley notes, the foreskin is "one of the only conceivable parts of his body that he could have left on Earth."
Legend holds that the Emperor Charlemagne received the object from an angel, then gave it to Pope Leo III in the year 800. It supposedly remained in the papal collection until the early 16th century, when a looting German soldier brought it to Calcata.
At one point in the Middle Ages, Farley says, there were as many as 18 putative Holy Foreskins in various monasteries and towns in Europe, most of them in France. By the 20th century, all but one had disappeared.
The specimen in Calcata finally vanished in 1983, an event the church's pastor blamed on "sacrilegious thieves."
Farley set out to tell the story of the relic's history and, he hoped, solve the mystery of its disappearance. From the start, one of his biggest challenges was getting taken seriously.
When the New York-based writer spoke to an employee at the Holy See's mission to the United Nations, the reaction was not encouraging.
"He said, 'What? The Holy Foreskin? You want me to hook you up with someone at the Vatican to talk about the Holy Foreskin? No way! That's ridiculous.'"
The priest in Calcata on whose watch the foreskin went missing was also unwilling to discuss it with Farley.
Silence is in fact the church's official policy on the subject, Farley says. He speaks of Vatican decrees from 1900 and 1954 that he says threaten excommunication of anyone who writes or speaks the relic's name, in order to discourage "irreverent curiosity."
Yet that threat has not inhibited many residents of Calcata, who gladly told Farley their various theories of the foreskin's fate.
Some say the priest sold it to a relic dealer in Turin. Others claim it was stolen by a local group of Satanists for use in their occult rites. Still others blame Neo-Nazis. The most popular explanations, though, point to the Vatican.
Farley is not saying which, if any, of these scenarios he finds most credible, but promises he will offer an explanation of his own when his book comes out in the spring of 2009.
In the meantime, he shares his thoughts on the foreskin's significance, as "not only a holy relic but a relic of a past time," which survived as long as it did only thanks to Calcata's remote location.
"I just find it really fascinating that this thing stuck around for so long, because it represents a way of thinking that we lost, that we evolved away from," he said.
Even the Catholic Church, Farley notes, has in recent years deemphasized the ancient tradition of venerating physical remains of holy persons and the relics associated with them.
But even if the Holy Prepuce is not gone for good, Farley thinks it's unlikely to be held up again as an object of veneration.
"I think most people would agree that it won't do the church any good to get publicity" of that kind, he said. "Most people still snicker about it."
i can't wait to hear this.
1st source dloading as i type. will be in my ears tomorrow morning. w00t! (//mol - 12/11/07)
outside of a few odd goofs, it was one hell of a fucking show. and i can't wait for some other recordings to surface. i've heard snips of 2 different sources that should be very nice. but many thanks to slowburn for being the first to post the show in its entirety. and now the search continues. but it's one hell of a show. In My Time of Dying is fucking brutal, just oozing blues. Kashmir may be the song that Robert considers to be what Led Zeppelin is all about (and i do agree), but In My Time of Dying is a fucking work of art. and to anyone who had doubts about Jason - he did his father very proud. like the millions of other fans, i hope they tour, but if they don't, like Pink Floyd, they went out on top. there is absolutely NO question in my mind. Led Zeppelin = greatest band ever. //mol - 12/12/07
Good Times, Bad Times
Ramble On
Black Dog
In My Time of Dying
For Your Life
Trampled Underfoot
Nobody's Fault But Mine
No Quarter
Since I've Been Loving You
Dazed & Confused
Stairway To Heaven
The Song Remains The Same
Misty Mountain Hop
Kashmir
{encore}
Whole Lotta Love
Rock and Roll
Most unusual data disaster horror stories for 2007
A man in Thailand took the cover of his hard drive off and sprayed the interior with insect repellent
Sandra Rossi
December 06, 2007 (Computerworld Australia) -- An ant-infested hard drive and a failing parachute top a list of data disaster horror stories for 2007.
The list, provided by Kroll Inc.'s Ontrack Data Recovery unit, illustrates some of the strangest and wackiest things that people put electronic storage devices through on a regular basis.
Putting drives in the washing machine. Using oil to stop them from squeaking. These are just two examples of the user bloopers the company's engineers nominated for inclusion on the list. Remarkably, Kroll data recovery specialists were able to recover the data in both instances.
This year, Kroll's engineers said the company has seen more damaged portable devices than ever before.
One woman called to complain that she had "washed all her data away." Her USB stick had been through a cycle in her washing machine and -- surprise! -- she couldn't retrieve any data from it.
A British scientist was fed up with the way his hard drive was squeaking, so he drilled a hole through the casing and poured oil into the mechanics. The squeaking stopped, and so did the hard drive.
A wedding photographer faced the potential wrath of a new bride when he discovered he had overwritten her photos with ones from another event, the photos were recovered before the couple learned of the mistake.
In an effort to test a parachute, a camera (acting as the chute's cargo) was dropped from a plane. Unfortunately, the parachute failed its test and its fragile cargo shattered into several pieces. Ontrack's engineers had to reassemble the camera's memory stick and the video of the parachute's demise was recovered.
But the best recovery of all has to be the ant invasion.
Discovering ants had taken up residence in his external hard drive, a photographer in Thailand took the cover off his computer and sprayed the interior with insect repellent.
The ants didn't make it, and neither did the drive.
Adrian Briscoe, general manager of Kroll's Ontrack Data Recovery Australia unit, said the company's staffers are always fascinated by the extraordinary things people do to data that is often irreplaceable.
"We can often perform a successful recovery from what may seem to be a hopeless case -- proving that you should never give up," he said.
i'm stuck here in braintree at the new office not so much my choice, as i am because a stupid drive decided it wasn't happy with its working environment and now the stupid RAID card WON'T STOP BEEPING AND IT IS DRIVING ME INSANE AS I STAND HERE AND TYPE TO YOU PEOPLES.
i got paged about this yesterday morning, but figured it was a UPS issue, and not the server, so Q tried to silence it, but it turns out she didn't need to silence anything as it wasn't the one of the myriad of UPS' we have.
so i drove down here figuring it would only take a few minutes to address the issue and boy was i wrong. i've attempted to remove the faulty drive from the RAID config and it doesn't like it because the array is 'degraded' (NO SHIT) and when i physically remove the drive, it doesn't like it because the faulty drive isn't there to be disabled. it's a no-win situation, so i said fuck it and now i wait for the drive to be rebuilt within the array. if that doesn't fix it, i'm not sure what i want to do.
but it beeps every 2 seconds and normally, i like background noise, but this high pitched beeping that i can't silence is driving me insane.
and it's cold in the server room, more so because i'm keeping the door mostly closed to keep the insanity provoking beeping from driving other people insane. it's a good thing i grabbed my sweatshirt to help keep me warm, as well as the hood is providing protection for my neck. the rebuild is now at 92% and i started around 10am give or take so it's taking a long fucking time to rebuild the array and that in itself is frustrating enough, but to have the beep beep beep beep beep beep beep beep beep beep beep of the alarm is just maddening.
happy thought happy thought happy thought happy thought....No Country for Old Men was pretty good. i meant to see it a while ago, but kept forgetting about it so i finally remembered yesterday. i still want to see The Mist but as that's been out shorter than No Country, i figured i should see that first. maybe i'll see it tonight with my free movie ticket.
anyways, i enjoyed No Country - wonderfully twisted and fucked up. i found it quite entertaining and humorous. and even better was i didn't get paged.
our first 'major' snow has come. all of 2" or so of heavy stuff, but it is enuff to make things a mess. KO did the driveway and i cleared my car off so i didn't have to do that when i left for work. the ride in wasn't bad...
no beep....time to reboot and get the fuck out of here.
three rights make a left. hadn't thought about that one in a long time, but had to laugh. thanks ant.
.jpg){kind=avatar}