The Balcony...
... is open.
Just finished watching "Real Steel."
Had high hopes for this film after watching
the trailers. I do like Hugh Jackman.
Anyone who can jump from playing an action
hero (Wolverine) to playing a gay entertainer
(Peter Allen), and do so, convincingly, must have
some acting chops. Evangeline Lily was a wasted
talent... cast in a throw-away roll. Her part could
have been played by anyone with a pulse.
(Could've, easily, been a male role.)
The kid, Dakota Goyo, was pretty good...
but a bit too precocious for my taste.
Don't know that any 10-year-old could,
toe-to-toe, trash-talk a hard core
underground fight promoter.
The one great thing about the film was
the CGI robots.
They seemed to be "real" in each and
every scene.
Hats off!
But one has to wonder...
how many times are they going to re-make
"Rocky?"
-Fini
Saturday, January 28, 2012
Thursday, January 26, 2012
26 JAN 12
Television commercials and such...
I'm starting with the premise
that ALL commercials are lies.
Some commercials are funny.
Some are serious in nature.
Most are just plain stupid.
But, they all tell lies that we're expected to believe.
I'd like to do away with that GEICO pig on the zip line.
(Pulled pork sandwiches would be nice.)
Does anybody understand what it is the pig says?
H&R Block is now offering "free" basic tax returns.
For-profit businesses can't make money by giving away services.
There has to be some catch in the agreement that we're not being
told about. (They lie!
Some commercials are works of art...
they condense an entire tale and squeeze it
into a 30 second film.
Witness this piece for T. J. Maxx:
T. J. Maxx Commercial
(The first time I saw this ad I thought it to be great theater.)
_______________________________
The GEICO antidote!
-Fini
PS:
For those who don't know... GEICO is an acronym.
It stands for, "Government Employees Insurance COmpany.
I used their services once... I was leaving Japan in 1971.
Their insurance was inexpensive and available to government employees only.
Being in the military qualified me as a "government employee."
GEICO was sold in a small broker's office in the local town of Saitozaki.
(I have memory of an unpaved street, unpainted wooden structure, 2 steps up from the street to a small dim office, a square GEICO decal in the window.)
I purchased 3 months of coverage on the 1968 Pontiac I'd just bought... enough to cover the car until I reached home. The car would be aboard ship for the first 4 weeks of the policy.
https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=10150362551408521&set=a.10150362249083521.354308.542333520&type=3&theater
I'm starting with the premise
that ALL commercials are lies.
Some commercials are funny.
Some are serious in nature.
Most are just plain stupid.
But, they all tell lies that we're expected to believe.
I'd like to do away with that GEICO pig on the zip line.
(Pulled pork sandwiches would be nice.)
Does anybody understand what it is the pig says?
H&R Block is now offering "free" basic tax returns.
For-profit businesses can't make money by giving away services.
There has to be some catch in the agreement that we're not being
told about. (They lie!
Some commercials are works of art...
they condense an entire tale and squeeze it
into a 30 second film.
Witness this piece for T. J. Maxx:
T. J. Maxx Commercial
(The first time I saw this ad I thought it to be great theater.)
_______________________________
The GEICO antidote!
-Fini
PS:
For those who don't know... GEICO is an acronym.
It stands for, "Government Employees Insurance COmpany.
I used their services once... I was leaving Japan in 1971.
Their insurance was inexpensive and available to government employees only.
Being in the military qualified me as a "government employee."
GEICO was sold in a small broker's office in the local town of Saitozaki.
(I have memory of an unpaved street, unpainted wooden structure, 2 steps up from the street to a small dim office, a square GEICO decal in the window.)
I purchased 3 months of coverage on the 1968 Pontiac I'd just bought... enough to cover the car until I reached home. The car would be aboard ship for the first 4 weeks of the policy.
https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=10150362551408521&set=a.10150362249083521.354308.542333520&type=3&theater
Tuesday, January 24, 2012
Poem: Prayer
Ironic... this was written by a professed agnostic... me!
(Don't think one can ever shake being taught by Dominican nuns in a Catholic school.)
_____________________________
PRAYER
A drear day in November,
The sky mottled gray.
Autumn's leaves have all fallen,
It's a raw winter's day.
The landscape is barren,
Stripped now and bare.
On such days I do wonder...
Does God truly care?
If His eye's on the sparrow,
Can His gaze include me?
In the dark of November,
What can God really see?
If I kneel, begin praying:
"Beg Your pardon, my Lord..."
Will He hear what I'm saying?
Will my prayer be ignored?
Were I sure He would listen,
Consider my plight;
I could turn away easy,
Not dread coming night.
Oh, this dark of November,
It does take it's own toll;
As I search and I flounder,
Seeking peace for my soul.
-- Joseph Welsh (1996)
(Don't think one can ever shake being taught by Dominican nuns in a Catholic school.)
_____________________________
PRAYER
A drear day in November,
The sky mottled gray.
Autumn's leaves have all fallen,
It's a raw winter's day.
The landscape is barren,
Stripped now and bare.
On such days I do wonder...
Does God truly care?
If His eye's on the sparrow,
Can His gaze include me?
In the dark of November,
What can God really see?
If I kneel, begin praying:
"Beg Your pardon, my Lord..."
Will He hear what I'm saying?
Will my prayer be ignored?
Were I sure He would listen,
Consider my plight;
I could turn away easy,
Not dread coming night.
Oh, this dark of November,
It does take it's own toll;
As I search and I flounder,
Seeking peace for my soul.
-- Joseph Welsh (1996)
24 JAN 12
Everything is relative...
Its the "water in the glass" question again...
is the glass half full or half empty?
Depends.
Were you filling it...
or were you drinking from it?
It's January.
The outside temperature, today, is 51 degrees...
a warm spell... a thaw.
Now, were it July and 51 degrees...
that would be a cold spell.
Perception depends on how one measures...
just where one is standing.
-Fini
Its the "water in the glass" question again...
is the glass half full or half empty?
Depends.
Were you filling it...
or were you drinking from it?
It's January.
The outside temperature, today, is 51 degrees...
a warm spell... a thaw.
Now, were it July and 51 degrees...
that would be a cold spell.
Perception depends on how one measures...
just where one is standing.
-Fini
Monday, January 23, 2012
23 JAN 12 (Part 2)
Once upon a day most dreary...
A drab day was today.
A day of drizzle, melting snow, fog.
I spent the day doing nothing... except some thinking.
It occurred to me that the world of social media can be pretty amazing.
How large is that world?
How many people does it encompass?
How may they all be interconnected?
I'd joined facebook.
Then I joined a group of veterans who'd served at Field Station Berlin. From that group, I was friended by one Jeannie Callaghan. Through her, I met Diana M. Rodriguez and Terre Spencer.
Diana led me to Don Carr, who happened to be a friend of Kathleen Welker, a friend I once worked with in Berlin, while with the Adjutant General's Office. Diana also led me to Anne Touraine, a recent immigrant from France, who happens to be a friend of Susan Zumwalt Boden, who attended high school in Juneau, Alaska and graduated with Dixie Belcher. Dixie attended college with my former wife and had vacationed with us, in Europe, several times. I managed to connect with Tony Nino, who'd worked with my ex wife in Berlin and who I hadn't seen since 1974 (?). I also found, and connected to, some people that I'd served with in the ASA. Among these: Ken Bargerhuff and Lenny Nezuch, Leland Thorpe. Pretty amazing... when you consider that I managed all this and never left my living room.
-Fini
A drab day was today.
A day of drizzle, melting snow, fog.
I spent the day doing nothing... except some thinking.
It occurred to me that the world of social media can be pretty amazing.
How large is that world?
How many people does it encompass?
How may they all be interconnected?
I'd joined facebook.
Then I joined a group of veterans who'd served at Field Station Berlin. From that group, I was friended by one Jeannie Callaghan. Through her, I met Diana M. Rodriguez and Terre Spencer.
Diana led me to Don Carr, who happened to be a friend of Kathleen Welker, a friend I once worked with in Berlin, while with the Adjutant General's Office. Diana also led me to Anne Touraine, a recent immigrant from France, who happens to be a friend of Susan Zumwalt Boden, who attended high school in Juneau, Alaska and graduated with Dixie Belcher. Dixie attended college with my former wife and had vacationed with us, in Europe, several times. I managed to connect with Tony Nino, who'd worked with my ex wife in Berlin and who I hadn't seen since 1974 (?). I also found, and connected to, some people that I'd served with in the ASA. Among these: Ken Bargerhuff and Lenny Nezuch, Leland Thorpe. Pretty amazing... when you consider that I managed all this and never left my living room.
-Fini
23 JAN 12
On the morning after...
The Super Bowl isn't to be played until Feb. 5th.
That means we've to endure fourteen days of, mostly meaningless, hype.
On the day... the game may, indeed, be exciting. It'll be a re-match.
The New York Giants vs. The New England Patriots
(Oh, and the Pro Bowl will be sandwiched in during that two week wait.)
___________________________________
From the Army Security Agency facebook page:
The true skinny...
THE CHAOS
IN THE BEGINNING, DA CREATED THE INFANTRY
AND DA SAID, "IT IS NOT GOOD THAT THE INFANTRY BE ALONE."
SO DA TOOK SOME OF THE INFANTRY AND PUT THEM ON HORSES
AND CALLED THEM CAVALRY.
AND DA BEHELD WHAT HE HAD CREATED AND CHUCKLED TO HIMSELF.
DA THEN GAVE SLINGS AND ARROWS AND CLUBS TO SOME OF THE INFANTRY AND DID CALL THEM ARTILLERY. AND ALL WAS CHAOS.
THE INFANTRY AND THE CALVARY AND THE ARTILLERY CRIED OUT IN THE DARKNESS SAYING, "HELP US, FOR WE KNOW NOT WHAT OUR ENEMY IS DOING AND WE ARE LOST!"
SO DA DECIDED TO BRING LIGHT INTO THE DARKNESS AND SAID,
"LET THERE BE ASA!"
AND ASA BEGAT 05H, AND 05H BEGAT 98C, AND 98C BEGAT 05D, AND 05D BEGAT 05G AND 05G BEGAT 05K, AND ALL THESE BEGAT TECHNICAL EXPERTS CALLED WARRANT OFFICERS.
AND ASA WARRANT OFFICERS AND SENIOR NCOS BEGAN TO RUN THEIR OWN SHOW AND RESULTS WERE GOOD.
LO, NOT MANY YEARS HENCE, DA BEHELD ASA AND WAS DISPLEASED
FOR ASA HAD TURNED DOWN THE WAYS OF DA AND HAD FOLLOWED THE WAYS OF IT'S OWN, SO DA DECIDED TO PUNISH ASA FOR IT'S INIQUITY AND SAID,
"ASA YOU ARE HEREBY BANISHED TO THE OUTER DARKNESS WHERE THERE IS GREAT WAILING AND GNASHING OF TEETH AND PT TESTS AND ARTEPS AND TAC UNITS AND IG'S;
AND, FROM HENCEFORTH YOU SHALL NO LONGER BE CALLED "ASA", BUT SHALL BE KNOWN AS "INSCOM" (SIC!).
SO IT WAS DONE AND ASA WAS BROUGHT UNDER THE DIRECT CONTROL OF DA FOR ETERNITY AND GONE WERE PLUSH BORDER SITES, PLUSH SMALL DETACHMENTS, EASY TRAVEL, GREAT PER DIEM, LIBERAL PROMOTION POLICIES, AND CONTROL OF ASSIGNMENTS.
THUS INSCOM BECAME AS THE INFANTRY AND CALVARY AND ARTILLERY.
CHAOS REIGNED ONCE AGAIN!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
AND STILL REIGNETH!!!!!
AAARRRGGGHH
Glossary of terms:
DA - Department of the Army
ASA - Army Security Agency
05H, 98C, 05D, etc. - Military Occupation Specialty (MOS) designators; What your job is in the army.
Warrant Officers - Officer ranking for specialists in a specific field. A WO rank falls between the
commissioned officer and the non-commissioned officer.
PT Test - Physical Training test; Push-ups, Sit-ups, 2 mile run, etc.
ARTEP - Army Training and Evaluation Program
TAC Units - Tactical Units (Out in the field a lot.)
IG - Inspector General
INSCOM - Acronym for "Intelligence Command" (What the ASA was folded into in 1976.)
-Fini
The Super Bowl isn't to be played until Feb. 5th.
That means we've to endure fourteen days of, mostly meaningless, hype.
On the day... the game may, indeed, be exciting. It'll be a re-match.
The New York Giants vs. The New England Patriots
(Oh, and the Pro Bowl will be sandwiched in during that two week wait.)
___________________________________
From the Army Security Agency facebook page:
The true skinny...
THE CHAOS
IN THE BEGINNING, DA CREATED THE INFANTRY
AND DA SAID, "IT IS NOT GOOD THAT THE INFANTRY BE ALONE."
SO DA TOOK SOME OF THE INFANTRY AND PUT THEM ON HORSES
AND CALLED THEM CAVALRY.
AND DA BEHELD WHAT HE HAD CREATED AND CHUCKLED TO HIMSELF.
DA THEN GAVE SLINGS AND ARROWS AND CLUBS TO SOME OF THE INFANTRY AND DID CALL THEM ARTILLERY. AND ALL WAS CHAOS.
THE INFANTRY AND THE CALVARY AND THE ARTILLERY CRIED OUT IN THE DARKNESS SAYING, "HELP US, FOR WE KNOW NOT WHAT OUR ENEMY IS DOING AND WE ARE LOST!"
SO DA DECIDED TO BRING LIGHT INTO THE DARKNESS AND SAID,
"LET THERE BE ASA!"
AND ASA BEGAT 05H, AND 05H BEGAT 98C, AND 98C BEGAT 05D, AND 05D BEGAT 05G AND 05G BEGAT 05K, AND ALL THESE BEGAT TECHNICAL EXPERTS CALLED WARRANT OFFICERS.
AND ASA WARRANT OFFICERS AND SENIOR NCOS BEGAN TO RUN THEIR OWN SHOW AND RESULTS WERE GOOD.
LO, NOT MANY YEARS HENCE, DA BEHELD ASA AND WAS DISPLEASED
FOR ASA HAD TURNED DOWN THE WAYS OF DA AND HAD FOLLOWED THE WAYS OF IT'S OWN, SO DA DECIDED TO PUNISH ASA FOR IT'S INIQUITY AND SAID,
"ASA YOU ARE HEREBY BANISHED TO THE OUTER DARKNESS WHERE THERE IS GREAT WAILING AND GNASHING OF TEETH AND PT TESTS AND ARTEPS AND TAC UNITS AND IG'S;
AND, FROM HENCEFORTH YOU SHALL NO LONGER BE CALLED "ASA", BUT SHALL BE KNOWN AS "INSCOM" (SIC!).
SO IT WAS DONE AND ASA WAS BROUGHT UNDER THE DIRECT CONTROL OF DA FOR ETERNITY AND GONE WERE PLUSH BORDER SITES, PLUSH SMALL DETACHMENTS, EASY TRAVEL, GREAT PER DIEM, LIBERAL PROMOTION POLICIES, AND CONTROL OF ASSIGNMENTS.
THUS INSCOM BECAME AS THE INFANTRY AND CALVARY AND ARTILLERY.
CHAOS REIGNED ONCE AGAIN!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
AND STILL REIGNETH!!!!!
AAARRRGGGHH
Glossary of terms:
DA - Department of the Army
ASA - Army Security Agency
05H, 98C, 05D, etc. - Military Occupation Specialty (MOS) designators; What your job is in the army.
Warrant Officers - Officer ranking for specialists in a specific field. A WO rank falls between the
commissioned officer and the non-commissioned officer.
PT Test - Physical Training test; Push-ups, Sit-ups, 2 mile run, etc.
ARTEP - Army Training and Evaluation Program
TAC Units - Tactical Units (Out in the field a lot.)
IG - Inspector General
INSCOM - Acronym for "Intelligence Command" (What the ASA was folded into in 1976.)
-Fini
Sunday, January 22, 2012
22 JAN 12
The once and future gig...
Today's gig at Museum Village has been cancelled.
We've been done in by snow and cold.
(No one showed up to plow the parking lot or shovel the walks.)
Our next scheduled appearance there is March 4th.
There may be other venues looking for some jazz music
on a Sunday afternoon.
The organizer promises to inquire.
__________________________
On another note...
Today is the last NFL play-off day.
The Giants are in San Francisco to play the 49ers...
the winner goes to the Super Bowl.
It should be a good game.
(Though that's not always the case.)
___________________________
I'm movin' slow and keepin' low today.
Had a bad reflux attack last night...
forced me to spend the night sitting up in my recliner.
I'm never worth a damn the day after that happens to me.
(Am kinda, sorta glad that the gig was cancelled.)
Kickin' back and watching "The Glen Miller Story"
on TV. Hard to believe, today, that at the beginning of
his career, Glen Miller's music was considered to be radical.
"Moonlight Serenade" and "String Of Pearls"... radical??
__________________________
The Giants are going to the Super Bowl!
They beat the 49ers, in overtime, 20 - 17.
Bring on the Patriots.
-Fini
Today's gig at Museum Village has been cancelled.
We've been done in by snow and cold.
(No one showed up to plow the parking lot or shovel the walks.)
Our next scheduled appearance there is March 4th.
There may be other venues looking for some jazz music
on a Sunday afternoon.
The organizer promises to inquire.
__________________________
On another note...
Today is the last NFL play-off day.
The Giants are in San Francisco to play the 49ers...
the winner goes to the Super Bowl.
It should be a good game.
(Though that's not always the case.)
___________________________
I'm movin' slow and keepin' low today.
Had a bad reflux attack last night...
forced me to spend the night sitting up in my recliner.
I'm never worth a damn the day after that happens to me.
(Am kinda, sorta glad that the gig was cancelled.)
Kickin' back and watching "The Glen Miller Story"
on TV. Hard to believe, today, that at the beginning of
his career, Glen Miller's music was considered to be radical.
"Moonlight Serenade" and "String Of Pearls"... radical??
__________________________
The Giants are going to the Super Bowl!
They beat the 49ers, in overtime, 20 - 17.
Bring on the Patriots.
-Fini
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