The whole hee-haw family went to Harry's Farmers Market to lunch on their samples today. We ate some really good stuff - fruits, fancy breads & cheeses, chips & salsa, nut butters (cashew & peanut) (my favorite), several spreads and several desserts. All that was missing was adequate beverages! Next time we'll be sure to bring along some waters or check out the market for bubbler opportunities.
Best lunch at the price we've ever had. Highly recommended. As the lunch progresses, you develop a real eye for open packages set up for sampling. It also made for great people watching. My favorite was the grim-faced soccer mom pounding freshly-gound peanut butter into the little container, determined that no air bubbles spoil her family's supply of organic peanut butter. I adapted a quote from "Young Frankenstein:" "This lady means business." Sadly, I missed the Emmentaler, which Tasha told me about as we were driving off. I nearly turned back.
In order to prevent the kids from spilling the beans too violently, we pretended we were spies, and our mission was to have lunch in secret.
Nevertheless, we met a couple who was also there solely to lunch on samples. I do not know what rival superpower they were agents of, or how many other agents were present. I can report that elbows were flying at one spreads & salsa table, however.
Amusing visit with the Democrat candidates by the Atlanta Journal-Constitution's Mike Luckovich. He's at his best in situations like that, riffing on personalities and situations.
Well, I just renewed the domain name bovious.com for another two years. If the site disappears sometime in the next couple days, it'll be because I screwed something up probably.
The renewal was ...not streamlined. Some company called accountsupport.com now handles renewals; I had no idea how I registered the domain name (that was years ago!) but that name didn't ring a bell, so when I started getting e-mails from them about my domain expiring, I figured they were spammers. Then my hosting company referred me to them when I tried to renew.
None of the e-mails from accountsupport.com gave a URL for renewing. None of them explained that you had to have an account with some outfit called bizsupport.com in order to manage your account through accountsupport.
Earning the right to pay some people money is like pulling teeth.
Note to Atlanta drivers: you need not treat a normally red/yellow/green signal that is flashing yellow as a four-way stop. That's only required when the signal is out altogether. Especially if you've been stuck in a 1-mile backup because of the others who have treated it as a four-way stop. Thank you.
Note to the guy who stepped out from around the bread truck this morning and caught himself just before he walked into the path of my moving car: Man, I'm glad *you* had some good reflexes. I say I'm nervous as hell from this thing 'cause I nearly killed that guy for sure...I mean he came out of nowhere like that, I couldn't believe it! Look I'm still shaking. It's weird. Go out on the streets like this...you can't...dangerous place, it's a dangerous place.
Tim Blair recommends an easy way to decide whether you're debating with a rational opponent:
Lately, I’ve taken to employing the Patrick Cook gambit:He merely asks: "Do you believe we are at war?" An affirmative answer indicates that conversation may proceed at an adult level. A negative reply requires Cook to excise large words, and to explain any difficult concepts using puppetry and mime.
You know ... it actually works. Try it.
So please take our little poll over there on the left. I'd be interested in the relative sanity level of our Boviosity readers.
UPDATE: Those of you visiting from other websites need to click on "MAIN" above to see the poll. Thanks for dropping by!
Dean Esmay was responsible for moving Boviosity off of the dreaded blogspot and has been a good blogmentor, providing links and traffic.
Now Dean and his wife Rosemary need help. Won't you consider hitting their tip jar? I did.
My prediction that Roger Ebert would approach "The Passion Of The Christ" as just another movie was about as wrong as it could be:
Is the film "good" or "great?" I imagine each person's reaction (visceral, theological, artistic) will differ. I was moved by the depth of feeling, by the skill of the actors and technicians, by their desire to see this project through no matter what. To discuss individual performances, such as James Caviezel's heroic depiction of the ordeal, is almost beside the point. This isn't a movie about performances, although it has powerful ones, or about technique, although it is awesome, or about cinematography (although Caleb Deschanel paints with an artist's eye), or music (although John Debney supports the content without distracting from it).It is a film about an idea. An idea that it is necessary to fully comprehend the Passion if Christianity is to make any sense. Gibson has communicated his idea with a singleminded urgency. Many will disagree. Some will agree, but be horrified by the graphic treatment. I myself am no longer religious in the sense that a long-ago altar boy thought he should be, but I can respond to the power of belief whether I agree or not, and when I find it in a film, I must respect it.
The whole review is worth reading. Now to see if my fellow-parishioners "disappoint" me in similar fashion. Here's hoping. Maybe Rev. Sensing is right: I've got issues.
Wow.
I've now seen Bush-haters making fun of his dog dying.
Illuminating.
Wow! Vented in the morning, #1 on topfive.com this afternoon! Maybe I need to buy a lottery ticket on the way home.
The Top 5 Rhymes in the Al-Qaeda Rap Song1. Join one of our cells and be all invisible.
Slipping fives to strippers, just like an infizzidel.
Or maybe I need to buy duct tape and plastic sheeting. Hmm...
How far have video games come?
I've been playing a few free games here. Mostly I'm bemused at the fact that I was willing to spend many quarters to play these.
Except for this one. Defender holds up amazingly well. I never got into Stargate, Defender's "improved" sequel, although at least one Boviosity reader was a whiz at it. No, give me Defender every time. At the time, I remember thinking that it was the ultimate 2D game. I still think that, after a fashion. And it's still addictive, I'm finding. If you have shockwave installed, you need to try this site. It's an amazing recreation of the entire Defender experience, especially those great sounds.
This one is mine:
Thank you, environmentalist Mike Moody. You've convinced me to buy the Georgia wildlife tag. And I'll laugh every time I see one.
That says it all. Here's what it's referring to:
Environmentalist Mike Moody wants to contribute to Georgia's wildlife protection fund, but he's not sure he wants to do it by buying and displaying a license plate adorned with a bald eagle and an American flag. Moody has nothing against eagles, yet he dislikes what he sees as a red-white-and-blue symbol of political views he doesn't share.
Doesn't that just conjure up a mental image of the guy?
I'm not outraged, just amused. And those tags are kinda cool.
I was thinking about saying it, but Jim Treacher went ahead and said it for me.
Very well done, Joss. I'm gonna miss you, you atheistic liberal Dixie Chick felcher, you.
ONE of the surest ways to get the phones ringing on any Massachusetts talk-radio show is to ask people to call in and tell their John Kerry stories. The phone lines are soon filled, and most of the stories have a common theme: our junior senator pulling rank on one of his constituents, breaking in line, demanding to pay less (or nothing) or ducking out before the bill arrives.The tales often have one other common thread. Most end with Sen. Kerry inquiring of the lesser mortal: "Do you know who I am?"
This is going to be a big minus for Kerry in the campaign, if it's played right. Unfortunately, the Republicans just are too hamfisted to use it to its best effect. I think it's hilarious, personally. Not for nothing has the baseless "was Bush AWOL?" smear had such a long shelf life. You can bet that, questions of media bias aside, the Republicans would have never been able to keep it alive for so long.
But back to Sen. Kerry. Now even Dave Barry gets into the act:
[...]Sen. Kerry used one of his lackeys to flagrantly barge in line ahead of us and everybody else, as if he had some urgent senatorial need for a snowboard, like there was about to be an emergency meeting, out on the slopes[...]
Boviosity is here to help. There is a proper and an improper way to deal with line bargers. Handled improperly, it can be a dangerous and violent confrontation - after all, those who barge into lines have already demonstrated astonishing rudeness. Why should you expect them to back down when that's pointed out to them?
Now, some of you may have no problem with that. I'm a big guy, myself, and so I'm usually not afraid of being attacked in a public place. So, "Hey, buddy, there's a line here" accompanied by a significant glare can usually do the trick.
However, the wife is usually there to remind me, "He might have a gun!" and that takes all the fun out of it. So I use a little trick I learned from Dear Abby.
When you're in a line and somebody barges in front of you, simply turn around and look at the people behind you and catch as many of their eyes as possible in a friendly manner. Then, in a loud, friendly voice, say to the line-breaker, "Excuse me. I, personally don't mind you breaking in line...[here you need to make a broad sweeping gesture to the other people in line and slow down for emphasis]...as long as it's ok with all these people back here."
The people whose eyes you've caught will usually take up the call for the person to move. Problem solved. I've never had a problem with this method.
Of course, that doesn't stop my wife from screaming, "He may have a gun!" That aside, I'll just say that it's worked like a charm on several occasions. So if you ever see John Kerry or one of his aides, try it!
It's been awhile since I posted. I've missed it. I hope you have. I've been extremely busy at my real job!
It's not just a good idea - it's the law.
Lileks disses Yes! Coming one day after a screed (linked below) in which he disses an actor, Patrick Stewart, for inadequately hewing in real life to the character he played on TV and movies, I guess I'll just let it slide.
“Owner of a Lonely Heart.” Hmm: it’s by Yes, a group about which I always thought, well, no. Too much noodling. The singer made the guy from Rush sound like James Earl Jones. The entire point of the band seemed to be “okay, you get stoned, and we’ll play in 7/8 time and mix the bass like a lead instrument.” This tune does not stink, thanks to Trevor Horn’s production. This was their Genesis moment – years of toiling in the prog-rock ghetto paid off with an uncharacteristic hit, but they dropped the ball and didn’t follow up. For which the world is grateful. First use of the “orchestral hit” or “orchestral strike” patch in a top 40 hit, if you care.
Dude. Guess what. Johnny Depp isn't really a pirate either.
OK, *now* I'll let it slide.
Have a gun ready to shoot your monitor before clicking here. You'll be glad you did.
Update: Here, too. What kind of sick world do we live in?
I'm listening to Atlanta's Z93 lately in case I luck into some Yes tickets (they're coming to the Philips Arena in April; I saw them there in 1979 or so - when it was The Omni. "Yes In The Round" was one of the best shows I've ever seen.) So anyway, they're also giving away Daytona 500 tickets and they had a phone game going where the caller had to answer questions with the word "fast" in the answer.
Attention, Z93 morning zoo crew: James Dean did not appear in a movie called "Live Fast, Die Young." I wonder if the poor hapless redneck who missed those tickets even knows they screwed him over?
Net-buddy Mitch Berg is celebrating the second anniversary of his blog today. I read it daily, although I skip most of the MN-specific stuff, unless he's talking about snow. I miss snow.
Scroll down for news of a Billion-American march!
Update: Corrected the link. Somehow I linked Lilek's screed from today (which is right and true and will be airily dismissed so I decided not to link it.)
I'm really not looking forward to the furor over Mel Gibson's "The Passion." I simply refuse to believe that a work of art, however well-intentioned, can or should be expected to move people to Christ. It feels manipulative and kind of empty to me...as if I'm supposed to expect someone who's been ignoring or despising God all his life to walk into a movie theatre and come out determined to learn more about this Christ fellow, whom Jim Caviezel has invested with such yearning and spiritual passion.
Give me a break. The same thing happened to me with "Jesus Christ Superstar" and "Godspell" (recordings only, not the movies please) during the '70's. I went to church looking for some more of that great emotional catharsis I got from those LP's, and when that proved lacking, I stayed away.
Yes, there will be a large number of emotionally devastated Christians walking out of that theatre, determined to tell people about it and about Christ. I hope that I don't get too angry and upset at the inevitable backlash and the cultural warfare that erupts. People are already tired beyond outrage of being told how to think and how to act by Christians. I know, I used to be one of those people. Now, I'm leery of any culturally-delivered message, from the Super Bowl Half-Time Show (non-"Up With People" division) to, yes, Mel Gibson's "The Passion Of The Christ." Just as I am suspicious of any emotional movement I experience at church, especially the type that arrives on the wings of a low D-flat pedal on the organ, I refuse to be changed by a mere movie. What good is a faith that weeps over the beauty of the church choir's rendition of "How Lovely Are The Messengers" and then finds itself unmoved by the homeless man outside one's office building? I'll settle for both, but maybe I only have enough for one. So the homeless guy gets a smile and maybe a buck or two and the choir gets a "nice job" after the service.
How effectively can or should I refuse to go along with this movie, though? I know I'll be going to see it. Devotional art has moved more people through the centuries than any amount of sermons or sacrifice. Can a nation of people who cry over "Footprints" posters stand a chance against a 2-hour movie depiction of the death of Christ, especially one as dreamy as Jim Caviezel, that nice boy from the Count of Monte Cristo?
Roger Ebert will doubtless review it Just Like Any Other Movie and I will doubtless be pissed at that. Some Jews have already passed judgment on it as a dangerous wedge between faiths. I want it both ways. I want the philistine Ebert to approach the movie with reverence, and I want the people I go to church with to approach it with suspicion. Why is that? I don't know.
Tunku Varadarajan confesses:
My small team and I edit the editorial features--or op-ed--page of this newspaper, and our job includes commissioning illustrations to accompany the pieces we run. I'd seen a drawing by this free-lance chappie in another section of the Journal and had liked it a lot, so I tracked him down. Hi, would you like to draw for us? I asked him, in my most solicitous voice. (My intention, you will understand, was not merely to be friendly but actually to give this fellow money for his time.)Imagine my surprise when he responded, first, by saying "Oh! You're one of the flame-throwers!"--the editorial page tilts in a conservative direction--and then by declaring, in a voice that oozed a certain sort of metropolitan smugness, that he'd have "important conditions to lay down." He'd have to first read the op-ed piece he was going to illustrate--to see if he was in accord with it politically--before he could agree to go ahead.
"Hang on a minute!" I said, "I can't let myself be mugged at deadline by an illustrator who says, Sorry, but I don't like that author's views on the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge, so I won't draw."
There followed an Arctic sort of silence, after which he asked me (with the same amour-propre of a moment earlier): "Is the concept of an artist having political views alien to you, sir?" Convinced, now, that the man had no future on our page, I was prepared to burn my bridges. "Is the concept of a daily newspaper," I replied, "alien to you, sir?"
We then wished each other good day, and hung up grumpily, one set all.
Soul-searching, at least on Varadarajan's part, follows. I'm quite sure the unnamed illustrator felt no such need.
You’re probably doing something that bugs the next guy twice as much. Clam up and get on with your life.
Read it all.
Link via a road-tripping Kevin Cole.
Jonah Goldberg circles around my take on the Janet Jackson Boob Drop:
This episode demonstrates how much the professional counterculture is played out. For more than a century now, the art world has increasingly thrived on its ability to "shock" the middle class. Some of this art was good, some of it was bad, but sticking it to the bourgeois was, for many, a higher value than aesthetics itself.Think of the more outrageous art controversies of the recent past. Karen Finley covers herself in faux feces to say something "shocking" about capitalism or something. Robert Mapplethorpe did "new" and "exciting" (translation: proctological) things with inanimate objects. In other words, truth and beauty long ago took a backseat to shock and titillation.
Predictably, this idea eventually trickled down from high culture to popular culture. And, for a while, some of it was legitimately both shocking and creative. But at the end of the day, shock is neither a high artistic value nor is it easy to maintain.
Jackson's sickening non-apology apology ("I am really sorry if I offended anyone. That was truly not my intention.") is the kicker for me: this whole thing was obviously intentional. That said, I watched the entire half-time show with my 10-year-old. I kibbitzed the whole time, mocking the crotch-grabbing and the ugliness of the whole scene and the music, trying to subvert the message that was being sent. But that final second was an arrow straight into my heart: no parent who let his child watch that half-time show has any business complaining about Janet Jackson's breast. And I include myself in that number.
PS I wonder if that metal thing on her nipple left a mark when it hit the floor? (Meow!)
If you want a portrait of yourself with Stevie Nicks, here is where you probably need to go.
Link via Onstad. (You *are* checking the alt text on Onstad's strips, aren't you?)
Note to spammers:
Changing "ladies of the night" to get around my company's spam filters: smart.
Changing it to "laddies of the night": not so smart.
Holy, crap, the memories this brings back. Jeremy Hall is a soldier in basic training at Ft. Benning. I haven't read the whole thing, but the top post brought back enough memories to last me all day. Read it, you scabs!
(Actually, I was pretty lucky in that Sergeant Pulliam, my DI (Drill Instructor,) was extremely laid-back. This was because it was his final rotation as a DI and his attitude was, "don't fuck with me and I won't fuck with you." He actually managed to stick with that pretty well.)
I'm just getting ready to head home and decided to check out how things are at the Barn Theatre in Kalamazoo, MI, where I first learned to love theatre. Here is what I saw:
In Richland, where he and his wife, Betty, started their theater legacy, more than 100 people gathered Friday morning to celebrate the life of Jack Ragotzy with stories, tears and some laughter.Ragotzy -- whose name is synonymous with the Barn Theatre in Augusta -- began his decades of professional work as an actor, director and producer in 1946. That year, he and his wife started the Village Players of Richland. The troupe later bought an old barn in Augusta, converted it into a theater and grew the business into an Equity summer stock company. The Barn was placed on the Michigan Register of Historic Sites in 1983.
Ragotzy died of a heart attack in his home on the grounds of the theater on Monday, a day before his 82nd birthday.
Ragotzy used to work the arriving crowd and also made cute and charming curtain speeches. He's part of my theatrical heritage. I'll miss him. Click here for a charming image of him with his granddaughter, born just a few weeks before his death.
RIP, Jack. I guess I'll go home now.
