1,035 thoughts on “Jack Mangans Deadpan #210: The Peculiar Tee and Pip

  1. Nice compositions and development there, Ralph.

    Everyone should go check LostRalph’s work to close out last week’s comments.

  2. RE: Renley Borathian

    The changes made to him in the show and the way the actor plays him make him come across as a spoiled and whiny wuss. In the book, he is affable and charismatic and it isn’t so difficult to buy into the Borathian banner men getting behind his claim. I think it’s going to be a tougher sell with the TV version of him.

    They are really going to have to make Stannis some kind of monster to make Renley appear a better choice by comparison. If they do that with Stannis, though, I think that creates other problems for continuity and plausibility.

  3. Ed, I didn’t see him as a wuss. Just the gayness was surprising.

    Ralph, I wish I worked out 30 to 60 minutes a day. And so does my ass.

    Morning, everyone!

  4. Well today’s film at the cinema is The French comedy ‘Potiche’ (Trophy Wife).

    Audience consists of 3 women pensioners, two pensioner couples, and a woman in her late 50’s (at a guess). I’m the youngest in the audience..woot!

  5. Morning Pan,
    As I embark on my journey to get back to “normal” I found a few short phrases that either helped me realize things needed to change or helped me realize the choice is the right one:
    Are you happy?
    Are you ok?
    You know that is crazy, Right?
    Why would you do that?
    and my personal favorite the jaw dropped “What? really?” as I describe something I don’t find strange

    Sokath – his eyes uncovered
    Reaper – his eyes uncovered

  6. Good episode Jack, it’s always fun to hear Pip and Tee in an interview.

    And for anyone who hasn’t read the book yet i highly recommend it. It’s a very entertaining read, with the right mix of fun and serious. I think fans of Doctor Who will be comfortable with it’s darker aspects, and be equally entertained by the novel.

    And Geist is good too.

  7. Yes, you did send show notes for last week, Bunny. Apologies for disrespecting them.

    The Show Notes for this week should be easy, anyway:

    Deadpan #210:
    Tee talks.

    ๐Ÿ˜‰

  8. I haven’t listened yet, but I bet I could drink a few cups of tea while listening to Tee and there’d still be more Tee ๐Ÿ™‚
    Good thing I’m a fan of both tea and Tee. I am looking forward to the episode ๐Ÿ™‚

  9. Moved into the living room currently curled up in my snuggie, drinking lemon- honey tea and reading

    CR: high Fidelity – nick hornby

  10. I’m not sure if anyone else besides me has watched Scott Kurtz and Kris Straub’s animated shorts “Blamimations!” but there are some funny ones. (Caution: Potty Mouth)
    http://www.penny-arcade.com/patv/blamimations/

    Often in the beginning sequence they pitch bad ideas for new television shows, with the plot/descriptions being humorous and the title as the punch line. Preorders of the season 1 DvD spurred them to encourage fans to right their own versions. If you go to Twitter and look for #myblams you will find some examples. I posted mine on Twitter, but what the hell I’ll post them here too.

  11. A scientist discovers a shady food manufacturer has put out a cereal that isn’t just low in nutrition, it’s a hologram. Coming this fall, “The Trix.”

  12. Just finished watching From Within http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1063056/

    Was too wiped to do a play by play but will give my thoughts. This movie was pretty mediocre and the ending was predictable. However, given the genre, mediocre is actually not bad. I’ve seen much, much worse but, on the other hand I’ve seen better. It’s an ok movie if you’re drugged out of your gourd on neo-citron.

  13. Terrorists try to get Keenu Reeves fired from his job by putting a bomb in his car that blows up if he exceeds 15 MPH. “Commute.”

  14. I heard a quote today that I identified with. I’m not sure if it’ll make you guys scared of me or not, but here goes:

    “I drink my coffee without cream and sugar because life is fucking hard.”

  15. Another full weekend of house prep commences. Met with the “staging consultant” yesterday. My list of activities to do got a fair bit longer.

    It definitely won’t be my house by the time I’m finished, even if I still am the one paying for it.

  16. RE: Renley – Yes, it was surprising. However, I think that was done exactly for shock effect. But, a lot of the “cock and tits” through the season seems to be inserted simply for shock and titilation value and those tended to distract from, rather than enhance the presentation. I think it also tended to lessen the effectiveness where it was appropriate, such as the end of the season scene with Danerys. I think that HBO and such premium productions suffer somewhat from a mentality of feeling they need to be “edgy” and prurient to justify themselves.

    Granted, the books are pretty graphic and I do think Martin himself also strayed into excess and sensationalism at times.

    • “a lot of the โ€œcock and titsโ€ through the season seems to be inserted simply for shock and titillation”

      Really? We’re just going to let that one go?
      Is this place becoming all manor-fied and adulty?
      *shudder*
      oh, the humanities.

  17. I got an e-mail from BioWare saying they have been hacked and I should go into my account and change my password. I believe it was real because they didn’t say “go here (link) to change password. so I changed it *shrug*

  18. Oh wait, I could mention that I enjoyed this episode and it’s interview.
    I am confused though.
    I guess T&P were talking about a book they have out … but do they also have a podcast?

  19. Was reproofer my coat earlier, that product is nasty, got some on my hands (which have felt greasy since exposure) and my eyes have been stinging all night.

  20. At a hotel for a conference. Posting using the wi-fi from the mall across the street. It’s been a very long day. I’m really looking forward to tomorrow.

    Good night, tumbleweeds.

  21. Cars 2 – My mom took the kids to see it yesterday. They all enjoyed it and my kids said it was better than the first one. Of course, we actually enjoyed the first one, so take it for what it’s worth.

  22. That’s it? I sincerely hope they’re not intending to charge people for Pottermore.

    And – โ€œMen always ask me about quidditch,โ€ Ms. Rowling says. โ€œThey just think itโ€™s illogical โ€” and itโ€™s not illogical.โ€ –

    Yes it is! Why does anyone bother with the goal-scoring aspect, when all that really matters is the Golden Snitch?

    • In fairness since the game doesn’t end until the snitch is caught means that the other points could matter. I want to say there was also a game where they held off catching the snitch b/c the team would have lost even with the points from catching the snitch.

      As for me I’m really not that interested in another book in the Potterverse, I would like to see what else Rowling is capable of writing.

      • supposedly it is all free. I did actually really enjoy the animation of the book coming alive. It was quite beautiful.

        Yes! Quidditch is completely illogical! What would Spock say if you told him the rules of the game?

        He would say: that is illogical

  23. Well, about an hour into Dungeon Siege 3 and, since I was asked earlier, these are my thoughts so far. This is NOT a user friendly game. First of all, I cannot change the controls at all and, since the default controls are really stupid, the is a big point. It took me 10 minutes to figure out how to get to my inventory screen (pressing T) and then, I cannot equip items from my inventory screen, I have to go to my “equip” screen to equip items. Why they are not one and the same is beyond me. The manual is unhelpful and as good as useless. Apparently I have special abilities but I have yet to figure out how to use them. The camera tracking is almost non-existent and having to stop moving every few minutes to change the camera view is annoying. For zoom, you have two really, really close as to be useless, or only really close. Either way, you can’t see very far in front of you so don’t have any idea what you’re coming upon.

    Even at its highest setting (1920 x 1080), the graphics are so-so. Game play is clumsy and not intuitive at all. I will continue playing it because I the type of personality that must finish what I start but I don’t think I can in good conscience recommend this game to others.

    Now… I must find missing legionnaires.

  24. Finally getting a chance to watch Season 5 of Doctor Who. First thought about the new doctor “He broke the tardis, that bastard!”

  25. I pretty much had a day of “I’m not young and invincible anymore” down time after putting in a lot of time this week working on the old house.

    Took the opportunity to introduce my kids to “The Last Starfighter”. While I know the graphics were cutting edge back in the early 80’s and could easily be freshened up, there’s nothing to be done for that 80’s hair.

  26. Damnit, FTB!

    Well, you’ll just have to cut and past that busted link above if you’re interested. Right now, I’m interested in going to sleep.

  27. Ugh, I’m breaking out into a sweat just trying to imagine that sort of heat.

    New Season of Trueblood has started, what did you think of the first episode Essbee?

    • I’m going to watch it later, but to quote ComicbookGirl:

      Pissed off faeries, MMA, necromancers and lesbian make-out sessions all in one episode? Season 4 of True Blood is off to a great start!
      web โ€ข 27/06/2011 04:43

  28. CW: Trueblood S4E1

    Yeah couldn’t wait. Tara as kick ass MMA cage fighter and in a lesbian relationship.

    I can hear Lo Pan stand to attention from here.

    Cough

  29. Van, I enjoyed the episode — love the new Tara/Toni twist. Sly B said that Treme is 1,000 times better than True Blood, but I really enjoyed it! We dig the British actress who plays the freaky new witch character.

    It’ll be near 100 here today.

    CW: Celebrity Rehab

  30. Locus Award list: I read Kraken, I have Blackout/All Clear in my que but haven’t read it yet. Hubby has and said it was pretty slow moving

    110!!!! Jack, Jack, Jack, you guys better get your act together and cool off in the next 10 days. Do you want me to melt? It’s only suppose to get to 23C here today (a little over 70F) but will reach 26C (pushing 80F) closer to the middle of the week.

    We’ve only just started season 3 of True Blood. Won’t catch season 4 until it come to DVD

  31. CW: Fallen Skies S1E3

    I’m hoping the scrap metal collection by the aliens is either a red herring or an attempt to deny humans attempting to recover technology…if it’s because the aliens need metal..I’m done with the series.

  32. “Puritans thought children were ‘innately sinful and that parents’ primary task was to suppress their children’s natural depravity.”

    Does this mean my children and no longer naturally depraved? Has anyone met my girls?

  33. Truthfully, I’m glad this law failed. Blind shopping tests have shown it’s easier for a minor to get into (or purchase) an R rated movie than get an M rated game (ratings are similar but for different media for those not into game ratings).

  34. Hey, the McRib is back. According to the commercial, I’m suppose to celebrate. Where’s Kool and the Gang when you need them

  35. I just want you to know the Canadian dollar is getting a little to close to par vs. The US. I’m not sue if America needs to do worse or Canada needs to do better but either way, they have 10 days to make my dollar worth more

  36. I think Bunny and I should watch a movie together and PBP together while she’s here… but I’m not watching anything scary, unless I can get a copy of Student Bodies.. that would be super fun… well, for me? lol

  37. I’m going to try and get to some long overdue recording this week, now that I have some more time & energy. I’m also debating on what to do next for “Ditto Recommends”.

  38. The DVR write-up: In this terrifying thriller, James Duke uncovers a dark family secret when he decides to visit his estranged grandparents filling the death of his mother. The deeper James digs, the more he realizes he’s made a big mistake.

    Bwa, ha, ha, ha, ha!

  39. You know, when I’m in someone else’s home, looking at the picture on the walls, I don’t usually pull them a pat to see if there are other pictures hiding behind the one showing

  40. I just don’t know what to make of this movie. It was neither terrifying or a thriller. Nor do I think it was trying to be. Although, I’m really not sure what it was trying to be.

    It was slow moving. Had a huh ending. And screamed made in Canada. But you know, I think I kind of liked it

  41. Just finished watching Troll 2 with my daughter. This is widely considered to be the worst movie of all time (although I don’t think it holds a candle to Plan 9 from Outer Space). Fun to watch and it got my 14 year old daughter to realize why I like to watch bad movies. She had a blast. Now that I have her understanding the concept of a good-bad movie, the next step will be to get her hooked on MST3K.

  42. Van – I read 100k Kingdoms by Jemesin. There were a number of things I liked about it, but it didn’t nearly fit into the major fantasy subgenres. It was a little bit epic, a little bit Gaiman, and had a touch of the urban fantasy feel.

  43. Thanks everybody! As I told Jack the other day, I’m pleased to have survived myself to the age of 40. Miracle!

    CW: Resident Evil: Afterlife; then work.

  44. So apparently Good Morning America wants the next big pop star to fail since they got the guy who helped make the “Friday” video.

    And are acting like that is a good thing.

  45. Um ‘Bad Teacher’..was so so.

    I maybe desperate enough to check out Transformers 3 this week..Aarrgghh I can feel my intestine going after my brain..

  46. I wish I could find a web site that discussed how much car insurance to carry … that wasn’t sponsored by an insurance company or insurance industry group.

    It’s like going to the national pie council and asking how much pie you should eat every week.

    • From what I have been told it depends on the laws in the state and the value of your assets.
      If you have nothing get the state minimum. the Lawyers won’t bother trying to get more than they easily can from you.
      if you have many assets you might want to go more middle of the road ($100k+) then add a Law suit umbrella policy to your home owners insurance that will kick in after the car insurance policy is exhausted. but read the fine print some times they try to exclude car accidents from an umbrella policy… bastards.

      2 cents added!

    • from my only cursory knowledge of programming what’s wrong about having a computer call the atomic clock server January 2nd, instead of worrying about adjusting to the very second at midnight December 31.

  47. What am I supposed to be singing again? It’s a Boston song, I know that. I’m thinking it was Don’t Look Back, is that it?

      • Excellent. I should have extra time on my hands tomorrow as I will be waiting for a cable guy and 2 roofing contractors that all may or may not show up. Plenty of time to get this responsibility off my plate.

  48. With a Twin Peaks rewatch I’m going through, I remembered giving Jack a bit of Cooper wisdom back when days were darker…

    Do you remember which advice, Jack?

  49. You know, there’s a good reason that tau will never catch on…

    …you just can’t make any kind of geeky eatery name with tau. Only pi are square!

  50. Tea and pie would go nicely with your tau and pi.

    Amy, get better! Hugh out with the one and only JR Murdock tonight, along with the one and only Doug Kress (Trivia Doug from the old Slice of SciFi days).

    I didn’t even have to use my AK. It was a good day.

  51. Well, I’m coming to the end of Fall of Hyperion. Looks like Dance with Dragons hits on July 12.

    Any suggestions on something fairly short to read (listen to) to bridge the gap?

  52. Dammit, why are there no good parodies of Don’t Look Back. Plenty of parodies of More Than a Feeling. Can’t even find a good mashup with Don’t Look Back. This is going to take some additional thought.

  53. Hmmm. Looks like the title “Don’t Look Back” has been done by Boston, The Temptations, Telepopmusik, Lucie Sylvas, Thalia… and that’s just the first page of search results. Maybe I’ll do my own mashup.

  54. Ed, it is YA fiction, but I just finished The Hunger Games trilogy and was VERY impressed. Dystopian near-future stuff. Really quick reads.

    I’m in the middle of Book 1 of the Malazan novels by Erikson. Really enjoying that, but know I need to finish by July 12!

  55. And I just canceled my pre-order for Dances with Dragons and ordered it on Sly B’s amazon acct. She has prime through her University gig and we’ll get it on the day of release for free!

    Thanks for all the birthday wishes everyone. It was a great day. Sly B took me here: http://www.colterra.com/ She also gave me some great gifts: 4 lbs of Grounds for Change coffee; the last two Marla Mason novels; a SHINY bumper sticker; a Best-Of Amy Poehler dvd; and some hard-to-find hair gunk that I prefer. I also got a very mean “I am 40” gift bag from my auntie with prunes and tums and all kinds of old-people things and some nice coffee mugs and some other loot. Good day!

    Amy, hope you’re feeling better! Hope everyone out there with shit happening is better today.

  56. I got an awesome compliment last night. A co-volunteer–I don’t know what else to call her–thought that both TCat & I were in our early 30s! ๐Ÿ™‚

    • We really enjoyed that one when we went to Legoland a couple of years ago. Take a couple of industrial assembly robots, paint them black and gold, attach a seat and you shake it all about.

  57. All the gay marriage stuff is hard to comment on. Little steps . . . Second class citizenry . . . bleh . . .

    It’s bloody hot.

    I have the same birthday as Felicia Day.

  58. Stolen sentences:

    Fulfill your Wild West fetish where leather-clad lesbian cowgirls carry guns, snakes slither over naked breasts and sudden showers drench the sand. Maria Beatty directs this brooding Bleu Production with a haunting soundtrack by Lydia Lunch. 2009.

    • I’m not looking forward to work next week, Summer tends towards hell where my job is concerned (air conditioning is rare and even when available is usually faulty).

  59. Morning, Pan.

    Yesterday was one of those “no energy for anything except lying around, watching movies” days. Today, I at least have enough energy to take a shower, get dressed, and eat oatmeal sitting at the dining table. Still not well enough to go back to work, but I’m getting there.

    • funny how a website called topless robot rips on a movie that is basically robot action porn for being just robot action porn
      *snicker*
      Maybe Bay will do Voltron next
      oh the humanity… maybe not the best choice of words

      • To be fair, it’s also being ripped on for being too much robot action porn. I guess the first half is brutally boring, then the last hour is one giant action piece – which to me would be very boring as well.

        If he even touches Voltron I’m breaking off his…anything

        • and the robots are not actually showing any naughty bit in the movie
          all the talk about porn and touching Voltron is making my mind go to bad places

  60. The Waiting Place…

    …for people just waiting.
    Waiting for a train to go
    or a bus to come, or a plane to go
    or the mail to come, or the rain to go
    or the phone to ring, or the snow to snow
    or waiting around for a Yes or a No
    or waiting for their hair to grow.
    Everyone is just waiting.

    Waiting for the fish to bite
    or waiting for wind to fly a kite
    or waiting around for Friday night
    or waiting, perhaps, for their Uncle Jake
    or a pot to boil, or a Better Break
    or a string of pearls, or a pair of pants
    or a wig with curls, or Another Chance.
    Everyone is just waiting.

    NO!
    That’s not for you!

  61. So been invited to a folk festival by an FB friend who I’ve met once.

    She has said I could stay at her house (with her partner and daughter) or camp out in the garden.

    Ummm, Mr Paranoid is kicking in..

  62. The order in which Michael Bay will tackle his next movies:
    Voltron
    Battle of the Planets
    Thundercats
    Gobots
    She-Ra Princess of Power
    Dinosaucers
    Captain Planet
    Plastic Man (Baby plas shows up in Plastic Man II)
    Jayce and the Wheeled Warriors
    Micromachines
    Galaxy Rangers
    Count Duckula
    Gummy Bears
    Kwiky Kowala
    The California Raisins

  63. Since Jack has decided to mess with my stats by not having a show *wiggles nose at Jack*, I’m calling the last week of June at 636 comments. Anything after that will go on July’s stats. Now give me a minute and I’ll have monthly numbers…

    • Yah!

      I hang my head in shame, after chickening out of the folk festival visit (and probably losing a friend in the process), I done what I said I would and bought a ticket for T3.

      An eternity of derision from Lo Pan awaits me.

      Cluck! Cluck!

  64. Transformers 3: Your Moon Has No Darkside, has a higher rating on Rotten Tomatoes than does Cars 2.

    Goddammit Pixar. That’s what happens when you give Larry the Cable guy the leading roll. Did you not see Witless Protection?????? Ok no one saw that… but COME ON!

  65. Annnnnnd we’re back…….. again………….. Oh, Lo Pan already said that.

    Um, at this point, I don’t think we’ll bother with the week’s Unshow. As you may have gleaned, my kids and I spent 3 days this week in SoCal, enjoying Legoland, and the beach. We also go to hang out with JR Murdock and (Trivia) Doug Kress. I guess we can just keep the conversation going on this one, right?

  66. …and this dark side of the moon crap, shouldn’t someone force fed a junior astronomy book to Michael Bay? just saying..

  67. Anyway, Legoland was declared “The Greatest Theme Park in the World” by those who matter.

    That Knight’s Challenge ride to which I posted a Youtube link was srsly good whiplash fun, but overall it’s still mostly a kid’s place. Legoloand is highly recommended if you have kids 13 and under. If it’s a grown-ups only SoCal theme park trip, then go to Disney.

  68. I’m not getting any comments through RSS. Dis someone lurking in the background change a setting? I’m looking at you Summer.

  69. With work being pretty slow today (until now), I was inspired to try my own hand at some steamboat fiction. I was going to bring it a little farther, but alas, I got some real work dropped on my lap. Anyway…

  70. Jack Brisco’s mind screamed in silent panic as he felt his weight leave him. His craft soaring so near his destination, his shock made all the more potent by his fleeting elation of nearing his target. Now falling ever faster back to the earth. “Dammit! I’ve killed myself.”

    Three hundred years earlier…

    The wind began to wane, but the clouds still hung to the base of the mountain. Juan Montejo shook his head sending a few rain drops off the silver brim of his helmet. His feet stood on ground that would one day be called “South America.” Juan didn’t have a name for this place other than God Forsaken. “Stupid natives and their superstitions,” Juan muttered. A cold drop of water fell off his chin and rolled under his breast plate. The wooden crucifix Juan wore around his neck began to itch. “I hope Father Alverez falls ill and dies” Juan quickly purged the thought from his mind. No sense in condemning himself to hellfire because he was having a bad day. Juan didn’t particularly dislike the priest, it just seemed as if he kept getting singled out as his errand boy. When they first made landfall, Juan was tasked with moving the priest’s belongings ashore, all seven trunks worth and that was just the start. While the captain busied himself pilfering gold from the locals, Father Alverez made fast friends with Umbitu, the tribe healer. While the priest’s true calling was to convert any heathens they encountered, he was a true affectionato of history and lore, particularily of the undocumented kind. Father Alverez kept notes of everyplace they visited mostly consisting of church business but sometimes notes about local medicinal cures and stories. In exchange for some wine, Umbito told the priest about a cure for stomach cramps made from honey and the leave of the Jibneb plant. The plant with a purple flower was said to grow amoungst some large dirt mounds along the river, deep in the jungle. Of course Juan was the one tasked to fetch them. After three hours fighting against the vines and the mosquitoes Juan finally found the plants. He also discovered the mounds housed the largest ants he ever saw. Careful as he was to pick the Jibneb, he still got bitten by one of the devils and he bled from the wound. Juan shivered, still damp from the rain. According to the description given to him from Alverez he had to be getting close. The path along the mountain was nearly nonexistent except for a few faded symbols and the occasional large sharp stone. Juan stopped for a moment and looked back, his eyes widened.

  71. Very cool, Rhettro!

    Evil, Inc. let us go early today. i’ve been out pulling weeds for the past hour and a half. Jesus, Mary, and Joseph it’s too hot for that.

    Sly B and I will listen to Jack’s newest fiction on our drive this weekend – been saving it and looking forward to it!

    • Thanks Jack, I will. I know where this story is headed so I at least need to take it to there. But for now, back to work. ๐Ÿ˜‰

  72. Rhettro: I like your story!

    Today is the first day of the first session of Camp NaNoWriMo, which is NaNoWriMo for people who want to write a NaNo novel at a different time of year/more than once a year. If you’re going to continue that story, you should sign up!

  73. Hail, Pan.

    Many fumes inhaled, but much achieved. Including coming to grips with my being a limited being not of infinite power.

    But, my friend, Mr. Bacardi, will help me deal with it much better.

  74. And, once more unto the breach. To sling the arrows of outrageous fortune in the mind’s eye. Out, out, Damned spot!

  75. So….. Firefox broke its last straw for me last night. It’s a bittersweet decision, but I have to move on. We’re not done forever, I’ve just decided to see other browsers. I’m going to see how things go with Chrome, might even hook up occasionally with my main browser from years ago, IE.

    Sadly, I don’t love any of them.

  76. We’re Safari, Jack. Let us know how Chrome goes for you – I wasn’t a fan.

    We’re in Canon City roasting our asses off.

  77. Well Larry Crowne was a pile of sentimental mash, but still a lot more fun than T3.

    Some weird continuity problems with Tom Hanks tan though..

  78. I’m a fan of Chrome/Chromium. It keeps me synced between multiple machines with no effort.

    When the rift opens and the elves come striding out, the mega corp I want to run decks for is Google.

  79. Just finished watching “The Jackal” – the Bruce Willis version. I remembered most of it, but my wife had no recollection of it at all. Pretty good flick.

  80. And, while I’ve still got firefox installed, I’ve mostly been using Chrome when I go dog paddling on the internet.

    • Alas little danger of that around my parts. Most counties in Texas have a fireworks ban this year due to the extreme drought we’re having.

  81. When hubby gets home I guess I’ll have to get him to do something about the spider crawling on the wall.

    He went out to get paperclips. He said mine were too “festive”. Just because they’re all colourful with stripes and patterns on them doesn’t make them festive ๐Ÿ˜Ž

    • Actually, unless your looking for some sort of “humane” solution to your arachnid problem … may I recommend getting out your vacuum cleaner and using the longest extension attachment tool it has.

      Your spider problem will be sucked away whilst keeping it outside of your “personal space”.

  82. This will be the day long remembered as the day I finished painting the old house. Not quite independence, but a major milestone.

    Now off to relax and finish watching “Moon” again.

  83. CP: Welcome to Lunar Industries – Moon soundtrack

    fyi – By God, I love Amazon.

    FFyi – I’m also a bit buzzed

    That is all…for now.

  84. That is an excellent film, Ed. We watched Cars 2 at the drive-in theater and also had near-front-row seats for Tempe and Phoenix’s fireworks displays.
    Good thing too, because the movie was beyond awful.

    • What did you kids think? My mom took our to see it while she was visiting, so I’ve not had a chance to actually see it myself yet. My kids enjoyed it, at least.

  85. Hope you Phoenix people are hanging tough – I cannot imagine!

    Jack, Sly B and I listened to Night’s Plutonian Shore on the drive home yesterday – nice! OSM, FTW! We really enjoyed it!

    • We were able to order the discs through Netflix before. Nearly all of the series (minus Deep Space Nine) are now available for instant watch. I like that because I can usually fit in tv episodes better through instant watch than waiting arond for a disc with 3 or 4 episodes on it, then rushing through those episodes so I can sit around and wait for more.

  86. A story, for those who may or may not be getting special gourmet chocolate from me:

    Last year, Bernard Callebeaut the company when into receivership. A different company bought them out around January or so (sorry, don’t remember the other company name). This new company is currently in litigation with Bernard Callebeaut the man as, apparently, he took some of the equipment and recipes when he left, which was a no-no. Meanwhile, Bernard Callebeaut has still be making chocolate but, since I’m not really a chocolate person, I have yet to try any so have no idea if they are still as good. You will have to let me know when I’m out there.

  87. Speaking of recalls … my damn phone won’t stop “restarting”. I tried to turn it on 3 days ago and it just went into this endless startup cycle.
    Gets to my home screen, goes black and then automatically starts the whole darn thing over again.
    grrr.

    It’s an LG VX8300 … anyone heard of a fix for this?

  88. One of the biggest lies–perhaps delusion is a better description–within the software industry is that code is self documenting.

  89. So for those of you who may, or may not, be following my trials with this dog Santa brought us. The latest attempt at keeping her at home has failed. She broke her chainlink choke collar, jumped the fence, and is now roaming freely, we know not where.

    I’m done with this dog and should she ever be found, she will be passed along to a new home.

    I’m done.

  90. I have strange friends. One e-mailed me about my upcoming trip “Have fun. Don’t drive the men too crazy. After all, down there they aren’t used to such excesses of feminie pulchritude in their midst.”

    Pulchritude? I actually had to look that one up :cheerful:

    • So am I Essbee, but it’s still rather slow and horribly derivative.

      Oh and it still gives me Half Life flashbacks when watching it..

  91. Jack: Wow, only one month between jobs? That’s amazing! You’re really lucky really good at using those connections to have found another one so fast! Congratulations!

    I managed to survive work today, despite still having this con-crud cough. I did get to take on a project that I think is pretty cool, even though it may seem tedious: “Take all these invoices and retype the key data so it’s sorted into smaller categories by the type of service or activity performed. You have until the end of the day on Thursday.” I got to set up a spreadsheet with subtotal and total formulae, so I felt like I was doing Bunny’s job. :happy:

  92. We’re still watching “Falling Skies” here in Texas. I’m interested enough to keep watching, but will see if that holds once Eureka and Wharehouse 13 fire up for the summer.

  93. RE: Captain America score – it sounds awfully….generic. Has a vague military/marching sound to it, but I can’t really find a theme.

    Hopefully the movie proves better that the music.

  94. I have been looking through my collection of cook books to get some ideas to shake things up in our recipe rotations. I am about to go through Betty Crocker’s New Dinner for Two Cook Book (1964). This was the cook book that my mother was given when she got married to ease her transition from cooking for a rather large family (11 brothers and sisters) to cooking for only two people. I have vague memories of this book having recipes for things like green beans = open can of green beans and heat on stove. Thus, I thought it would make good play by play material. So, here goes.

  95. Well there are certainly “from scratch” recipes in here. There is one for Vanilla Custard Pudding with all the right ingredients.

  96. Italian Green Beans with Mushrooms (p.14). Cook 1 pkg (10 oz) frozen italian green beans according to pkg directions–except add 1 can (3 oz) mushrooms for the last few minutes of cooking time. Drain.

    Too bad I can’t stand mushrooms.

  97. Chilled Apricots (p.21). One can (8 oz) apricots should be just right for two. Be sure they are well chilled.

    Betty, Betty, Betty… what would I do without you?

  98. Green Beans and Corn (p.32). Now it advises cooking fresh green beans and cutting the corn from 2 cobs. If they have already established the precedent of using canned or frozen vegetables, why change now?

  99. Mashed Potatoes (p.36). Really? I think this book was deliberately aimed at the target audience my mother was in. Someone who is not used to cooking for only two people and simply needs to know how much of everything to use. Unfortunately, my mother claims she always fought the advice of the book, thinking that it simply wouldn’t be enough food, and often doubled or even tripled the recipes (resulting in massive quantities of leftovers).

  100. Here’s one for all the parents out there…
    Mock Champagne (p.42). Combine equal amounts of chilled apple juice and ginger ale.

  101. Dried Beef Rarebit (p.54). Looks like cream chipped beef with cheese added in. How did it never occur to me to add cheese. I MUST try this soon.

  102. Grapefruit and Avacado Salad (p.74). I’ve been kind of disappointed that I haven’t seen any of the stereotypical disgusting 60s cook book items, like anything and everything in aspic. I think this one works though. Just can’t picture these two items tasting good together.

  103. Just when I got my hopes up. The recipe for Corned Beef Hash (p. 104) has a big list of ingredients. I could use a recipe for that. Wait, wait, ingredient number 5 is 1 can corned beef hash. Fuckashitpiss.

  104. aaaand, here we are. Right back at square 1 all over again. Hot Consomme (p.105). Heat 1 can undiluted beef consomme or bouillon just to the boiling point. Serves two.

  105. JELLIED CHICKEN! I found it! The aspic recipe! Chicken, olives, onions, etc. all in a mold of chicken broth flavored gelatin.

  106. Tomato-Vegetable Aspic. OK. That’s about it for me. The rest of the book is cooking basics (because cutting cucumbers into slices isn’t basic enough).

  107. Return of power catch-up

    Grats on the new job Jack.

    UH what was that recipe for vegetable spears again? I don’t think I understood it.

    • In a pinch you can swap out the recipe for vegetable sticks and cucumber spears. But only in a pinch, this isn’t every day advice.

  108. Thank you all. Unfortunately, I have to be more careful about revealing such facts publicly. What with a few recent life changes, it looks likely that the weekly Deadpan release day will change from Wednesdays. Maybe Monday night into Tuesday.

    “Jellied Chicken”????? If only the band name joke hadn’t been beaten to death. . .

  109. In a fist shaking minute, I really want to get some kids off my lawn. The next door neighbour has five kids (you heard me). The younger ones have started taking sticks and digging small holes in my yard and planting the sticks. I didn’t pay gross amounts of money last year to redo the yard just to have some kids dig it up.

      • Hopefully. ๐Ÿ™‚ My folks have been in town since the weekend and are destined to return home on Saturday. So I’ll be juggling time scheduled between them and the Deadpan folks. That said, any meetup Thursday/Friday night will be tough (not imposssible) for me. Likewise, breakfest/brunch on Saturday is probably out. Saturday night and Sunday morning is more open. But don’t let my schedule stop you from planning anything that works for everyone else. ๐Ÿ™‚

  110. Hubby just took all his 1,000+ D&D minis, packed them up and put them into storage. Why? To make room for his Warhammer stuff. *sigh*

    • This is ok as long as I don’t have to comment much on the newest movie. I only saw it the once and don’t remember much about it. We can’t get it on Netflix up here. The BBC series and the books are fine for me to comment on.

      • Oh and maybe the text adventure. I played that way back when, but only remember bits and pieces. “put towel on head” “You put the towel on your own head. The Vogon seems confused and unable to see you…”

  111. I plan on providing my thoughts about Hitchhiker’s, especially the bit about the series ending in “So Long, And Thanks For All The Fish”. Nothing after that exists, imo.

  112. Quick update for those playing.

    Luna the dog has been missing for over 24 hours now. It isn’t looking promising. We’ve scoured the neighborhood multiples times. The fact that she broke her collar off, leaving her identifying tags with my phone number in the dirt in my backyard is making recovery seem less possible. She is however, implanted with a microchip so should someone decide to take her to the vet or animal control, we will be contacted. At which time, I’ve been making arrangements for a new home for her with someone who is home during the day as she clearly is unable to control her separation anxiety.

  113. Sorry about your dog CJ, it’s never easy when a pet goes missing. At least you did the right thing and had Luna chipped. If anyone takes Luna to the vet you will know.

  114. Luna the crazy 8 month old lab has been located and returned to me for a fee, of course.. so I have her at my house for the time being. A new owner is being considered as I won’t be keeping her.

    I have enough “crazy” in my life right now… I don’t need a crazy dog too.

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