LONELYPOND PRESENTS

Howdy…

Can you guess the character?

Haiti: such a terrible week. Fortunately, most of the world is acting in a compassionate fashion. We donated through Episcopal Relief and Development, which has a strong ground presence through the Diocese of Haiti, and will continue to do so after the immediate crisis is over. I hope you will consider donating if you haven’t yet.

But with a title like that, we’ll pull a switch and start off with James Altucher, who has a WSJ.com blog post telling us what to expect in 2010. Mr. Altucher posted the link on Facebook, which is the only place I keep track of him anymore.

Switching to Twitter as a launching point, rebooted Tweetdeck after a reading a review that mentioned it incorporating the Twitter list feature. I’d been spending more time on the Twitter proper site because checking my conversationalist list was more effective than sorting back through twhirl. Plus, I love the translating feature and the lovely green I’ve turned the backdrop. Anyway, I had it search for the term robot; I’ve since had it stop searching for the term robot since the dominant account was @Fart_Robot or how to learn a lot about the bodily functions of strangers, their animals, their friends and the people standing near them in a short yet too long period of time. @NoteRobot was more fun; collecting “note to self” tweets.

Peter Aspden had a column prompted by Guy Ritchie’s Sherlock Holmes take. I think I’ll skip it but at least Aspden’s column made me almost put it on my movie list.

My movies to see out list currently includes Me and Orson Welles, Nine (neither of which is in the area — BOO), Invictus and, of course, Alvin and the Chipmunks, the Sqeakquel. I think the next movie Netflix is sending our way is Pineapple Express, after the Christmas in Connecticut double feature. First one much better and did you know Arnold Schwarzenegger directed the second. Re: second version — the quiet Kristofferson/Cannon moments work + the live broadcast is funny but I probably won’t be watching it next year. In the original, love story not much, but you’re SO happy when the priggy architect doesn’t marry her and Felix (S.Z. Sakall) is a HOOT. Plus, nice, not too threatening Sydney Greenstreet turn. Just discovered Jennifer Garner is apparently doing a third version.

Good article from Gizmodo about Orson Welles and his appetite for new technology.

And the Christmas song I was reminded of today: Christmas Wrapping by The Waitresses. It’s also a hoot (word of the day apparently).

And my post Solstice t-shirt: “O Holey Night.” And a Christmas Robot poster.

And if none of that gets you in the mood, have some stale eggnog and enjoy your “bah humbugs”

And, if you have yet to acquire my Christmas present, voting Blink Kitty Love for Best Experimental Web Series in the Streamys will do nicely. Vote here, put in this url: http://www.blinkkittylove.blip.tv and then come to the party — there will be one. Tammy’s also planning to throw one for New Year’s; that should be interesting ; )

Thanks for stopping by; enjoy your Christmas.

Some fun sites + serious thoughts I’ve run across in my internet ramblings recently.

Benjamin Franklin’s 13 Virtues in a wordle. I like to limit my political controversy + ranting exposure to election periods, but it looks like we’re in for a full four years. So perhaps it’s time to pay attention to some of what the Founding Fathers have left us. I suggest a strong dose of tranquility for everyone. And throw in some tolerance, darn it, even though it’s not listed.

Jimmy Carter is a courageous man and a former president setting a great example for everyone. His suggestion that racism may be part of the irrational healthcare debate is a point to consider. I am very tired of people thinking politics and government is a place to pick sides and behave like ill mannered sports fans.

Fun stuff, as promised: Warehouse 13 — watch, darn it. Here’s a spoiler free review of the last two episodes from the folks at io9. SyFy’s having an all day marathon next Tuesday, September 22nd, starting w/ the pilot at 9 a.m. At least watch Duped at 5 p.m. Incredible directing, solid writing, excellent performances, real suspense and just a touch of disco fun. Claudia is becoming one of my favorite TV characters ever so I’m really hoping she isn’t the quisling. Warehouse 13 has already been picked up for a second season + it would be GREAT if they don’t fall into the Eureka trap and have a complete tonal change for the second go round. I can take some more suspense, but PLEASE leave in the quirk and the fun. And if Claudia actually is developing a minor Myka crush, bonus points.

Here’s a fun commuter trains of thought graphic my friend Denise linked to on Facebook.

And a lovely piece of music for a slightly overcast day that bestows mellow happiness and memories of Fred Astaire.

And because, it’s fun + wacky…introducing a potential new celebrity: The Spork, who may or not get his/her/its own shirt this weekend.

Oh, and I have a bunch of FT links in my head + scattered across my desk that need to be cleared out, but for right now, props to Sarah Hemming for an excellent review of Judgement Day and an interesting interview with Rupert Goold.

Hope to catch up some more on the weekend (+ watch Adventureland, which is sitting in its red NetFlix envelope on top of the TV). The Informant looks funny — Matt Damon earned a spot on my favorite funny movie cameo list with Eurotrip , but I’m saving up for SPX next weekend.

Well, none really. I have a stack of movies — we started the Netflix account + some borrowed — that I’d like to make a dent in. The list? Soapdish (Netflix) — ever watch a soap opera, ever laugh at Sally Field and/or Kevin Kline (yes, A Fish Called Wanda is a must see) — then Soapdish is a can’t miss. What else? Blythe — one of my theatre peeps — loaned me Tristam Shandy(movie/book skipping back + forth with the excellent Steve Coogan) + Bubba Ho Tep (Bruce Campbell and Ossie Davis kick some mummy ass) at the end of #tamingshakespeare so I’d like to watch them so I can then arrange a meeting to get my first three Scott Pilgrim graphic novels BACK (yes, I am suffering from a lack of a nearly complete Scott Pilgrim graphic novel stack by my bedside.) Oh, and long ago my former editor + anime/animation connection Mel loaned me Steamboy and although I am reluctant to pop it in, I do want to give it a try. Most of the anime movies I’ve seen are too warcentric for me.

Speaking of movies, my buddies at The Web Files (@The WebFiles) continue to do excellent work and thanks to them I have met my new friends at Movies You May Have Missed (@MYMHM) — we’ve been having snappy conversations the past couple of weeks about remakes + Netflix + streaming movies. Both shows did fun, crossover episodes with each other this week and left me with a craving for MORE movies — The Web Files ep + MYMHM ep. It’s pretty amazing what’s out there on the intrawebs. Check it out…

And, self plug, follow @blinkkittylove’s feed on Twitter, check out the episodes on their blip.tv station, or have some musical fun with lyrics at the Blink Kitty Love site.

Have a great weekend. This is my new favorite song.

I am planning* on curling up with the how to manual for ToonBoom’s Studio 5 program so I can figure out how to have some more Blink Kitty Love fun. Crush you later ; )

*Unless I decide to get distracted by Jane Austen or Harry Potter or my three weeks behind stack of FT’s. Or one of the cats decides the 500 page manual is her (or his) new favorite nap spot. Come back Tuesday to see what won.

Ok, I’m taking on faith you have those movie stubs to something original — Bandslam, (500) Days of Summer…I’ll let you off the hook if it’s Julie and Julia or District 9, but G.I. Joe, well G.I. Joe is part of the problem — Hollywood’s ADDICTION to remakes.

Tonight I was having a fairly long + involved Twitter conversation w/ @IDOL_HANDS about remakes starting with the news that Todd McFarlane (Mr. I created Spawn and own the world’s most expensive baseball) is planning a remake of The Wizard of Oz with some Ripley/Alien DNA mixed in. And then for a couple of days, the universe has been buzzing (mostly anti — there’s a Twitition against it) about Robert Zemeckis + Disney’s plan to remake The Yellow Submarine. TYS is not my favorite Beatles movie but it is so one of a kind you have to respect it…my favorite Beatles movie is Hard Day’s Night (must buy), one of the best, cleanest + simplest band movies (I’ve mentioned this before).

I think my friends @TheWebFiles sum it up best: “Telegraph of London says “Twitter killing Hollywood movies?” http://bit.ly/5uF1L Solution? Stop making crappy movies.”

I promised FT links…well, Peter Aspden had a column about Twitter but unlike Vanessa Friedman who paid enough attention to know it didn’t suit her, Aspden tweeted 3 times, follows 3 people + thinks that’s education enough to toss off a column about it…oh, and FT editor folks, if someone’s talking about Twitter in an article (this is happening more frequently + I first noticed it w/ The Pet Shop Boys profile), could you include a link to their @ tag. Thank you. @ me at @lonelypond

And another few links — in a non rant fashion — the aforementioned Ms. Friedman on Mad Men and their trousers.

And the aforementioned Mr. Aspden on Brigitte Bardot (he is considerably more informed + interested about Ms. Bardot than Twitter)…this bit made me perk up: ““Bardot is as important an export as Renault automobiles,” observed Simone de Beauvoir in her perceptive 1959 essay “Brigitte Bardot and the Lolita Syndrome”, a welcome reminder of a time when intellectuals were genuinely fascinated by popular culture.”

Simon Schama’s review of Nicholson Baker’s The Anthologist, which indulges/experiments in verse. I will have to get the library to track me down a copy of the book.

And Harry Eyres finally gets Man on Wire.

Have been transferring CDs to iTunes with plans to make a travel playlist for adventure so I must be getting to doing that. Disappointed to not find the Buffy CD where I expected but the pile included Red, Hot and Blue, Aly and AJ’s Into The Rush, all Depeche Mode The Singles Cds, Pet Shop Boys Very, Carmen McRae, Adam Ant’s Antics in The Forbidden Zone + E.C. Scott’s Come Get Your Love. Mix songs from that with what’s already in my library + it should be interesting. I’ll hit you with a mixtape when I’m done.

Good night!

Note: Warehouse 13 fun; good Eureka so far; no, don’t take the Wizards of Waverly place characters’ powers away in the movie (Gayle claims it’s a tease — Dad will keep his + they’ll continue as wizards in training); enjoying The Middleman DVDs + looking forward to a new season of The Big Bang Theory. Now, read a book and go see Bandslam, darn it.

I did mention rant ; )

Go see Bandslam and then take a date to (500) Days of Summer…Bandslam (marketing controversy) is not selling a lot of tickets and that’s too bad because it really is very well done, excellently acted and has great soundtrack. Some problems but worth the price of admission. Go. Now.

(500) Days of Summer was just really excellent and more like a great conversation/third date than a movie. Go. Now (now plus the 120 odd minutes you need to see Bandslam — which you can also take a date to).

And then come back after the weekend + check out the latest FT links, a long rambling post about movies, commitment, writing, walking, rocking + a few other things that meander by.

But I want to see your ticket stubs first.

Yes, with no show + nothing scheduled, I zinged through my FT Weekend yesterday. Here’s some fun links for you.

Vanessa Friedman on Twitter as a communication accessory — I like the analogy, Twitter goes with everything I own.

From the House and Home section, an article on 12th century design and redecorating the medieval stone keep at Dover Castle.

Sarah Hemming (yes, at it again) profiles Brian Friel…oddly enough, I recently had a Friel conversation with a friend looking for a play to direct. I would love to see a good production of Translations; I’ve always been fascinated by how the language issues would play out on stage.

Harry Eyres ponders Galileo, his telescopes and the reach of science.

And today, an update on robots assisting with care of the elderly in Japan.

Having realized that in my heart beats the rhythm of Disco Banditry, I’m going to furlough Flagamuffin to focus on the Wild and Wooly Adventures of larf — currently wearing an eXtreme scarf + fighting an upgraded ram on the slopes of The Icy Peak) in Kingdom of Loathing. KOL is a blast to play, full of fun, sharpness, references that make me both laugh + think and not nearly as boring as trying to be a proper holy paladin in World of Warcraft (thanks ever so for the pep talks, Beau ; / ) Apparently, the KOL PTBs are trying to convince “some folks” they rock so they asked for shout outs on their Twitfeed–and they caught me on my shout out night (you could too; @ me)

All I demand as tribute is the right to buy something with a weretaco printed on it.

Robot avatars on swirling blue backgrounds rock; check out @poetryc

DC Wednesday Comics is a must, according to sources.

World of Warcraft gets a Twitter app (unofficially): Tweetcraft. But there are concerns that it violates Terms of Use + could lead to banning.

@lilipip found this beautiful blue haiku based animation.

And why aren’t you following me on Twitter?

Oh, and this is something I found on Facebook, just for a change of pace…new Economist advertising campaign: clever, intricate and gorgeously done exploration of thinking spaces. You can submit yours.

And, oh yes, I have broken down and gotten Flash a last.fm subscription so I don’t get the darn bear during WoW sessions with the little brother. As an enchanting tailoring blood elf ret paladin, I find myself sewing and disenchanting pants for strange dust, which harkens back to my quest for pants beginnings in a strange and dusty kind of way.

And to leave you laughing, @cooljerk takes on vampires and musicals. Or as he says it.

Since we started with robots, we’ll end with @shellsuitzombie recommendation of The Princess and The Robot. Very cool art; nice version of the traditional tale.

And I almost forgot the lovely @Bardcore who started off my Twitterday with their crazy rocking music video version of Hamlet, Act III, scene i.

Three holidays on one day — that’s a lot. Memorial Day, Towel Day, and my birthday. And yes, feel free to leave birthday wishes in the comment feed.

Happy Memorial Day…that was all over Twitter this morning, along with plans for parades and barbecues and Gomez stranded in Cleveland with nothing to do and everything closed (if you believe their Twitter feed, they resorted to cannabilism)…but happy? Proud, maybe; perhaps solemn, but happy? I almost joined the military on two separate occasions — before college and after — but there was the possibility of dating Gayle vs. language school in Monterry and you’ll have to lie just doesn’t work for me. I knew people who led double lives to be in the military and it was a terrible and stupid strain. Before college, when I was being recruited for and actively considering a NROTC scholarship, I decided that since I didn’t know what I wanted to do for four years in college, committing myself for five years after was a mistake. And watching friends get up at 5 a.m. and earlier to do PT did nothing to convince me I’d made a mistake.

Gayle has some cousins and other relatives in the military and all have served in active war zones and it is a whole and constant family worry event. So a toast to all those who have and continue to serve.

Towel Day was a new one — it’s a celebration of Douglas Adams and The Hitchhiker’s Guide to The Galaxy. Someone picked a day two weeks after his death and everyone’s supposed to carry a towel. So now you know.

My birthday…well, I have a friend with the same birthday so we borrowed his cookout and had a blast playing Mah Johg. Fun. And it started off with my favorite Buffy* episode over breakfast. Oh, and cool old school Superman t-shirt and the rest of the Scott Pilgrim graphic novels for presents, so score several for the birthday hippo.

Tomorrow, #tamingshakespeare aka SHREW! auditions; tonight, RadioFlashCat and trying to finish a new Blink Kitty Love. Flash has had a rough weekend — two seizures Saturday. She hates summer weather and is really missing Pongo. But she likes Aberdeen.

And no, we didn’t make it to Night At The Museum. We rented Made of Honor — which was better than I expected, although as always romantic comedy plots hard to find. Great to see Sydney Pollack though — really must have a Tootsie night sometime.

*Twitter + internet rumor has it there may be another Buffy big screen feature sans Whedon and all the Buffy folks we know. And my favorite Buffy episode, well, that’s a conversation that’ll take an entire post. But there is a clue in this one.