To be filed in the ever-expanding “WTF?” folder – PETA protests the chicken dance.

Earthrise.

Taking a vacation from the internet for a couple weeks, so there may or may not be anything new while I unplug and unwind. I’m sure you’ll manage without me.

Greatest Garden Gnomes Ever!

I’ve been catching up on Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles via DVR and it saddens me that the Terminator franchise has been reduced to a series devolved to a soap opera revolving around teen angst. **Edit** After getting all the way caught up, I should point out that all the teen angst disappeared with the Riley sub-plot, thank gawd. Moreover, with the developments of the last 2 episodes, hopefully the writers realized that they really got themselves distracted by running 4 subplots in addition to the main throughline. The series works much better when it stays focused on John and Sarah as opposed to introducing tangential elements that take 8-9 episodes to reach any kind of payoff. The result is the anti-climactic effect the closing of those tangents has when they are finally resolved, a la the horribly resolved  Derek Reese conflict, which was a major disappointment.

Video of the Week: Bruce Lee vs. Iron Man

I have a LinkedIn profile, but I ignore it. I have a MySpace profile, but I ignore it. I have a Plaxo profile, and, guess what… I ignore it, too. I have a Facebook page, and, while I don’t quite ignore it, thanks to the latest horrific design I don’t pay all that much attention to it any longer. But it makes no matter. They all point to this site, and they all have some form of my contact info on them. If people want to get in touch with me, they can. The simple fact is that I find social networking increasingly annoying and actually anti-social. At the very least, they instill, to some degree, anti-social behavior, much the same way that the veritably infamous AOL chatrooms of the 90′s did.

One of these days I’ll figure out how to properly work the “publish in the future” option /grumble.

Happy Easter! (should you believe in that sort of thing… otherwise… Happy Sunday!)

Brandon Sanderson to split the final installment of Robert Jordan’s Wheel of Time series into multiple books. Personally, I both love and loathe the WoT series. People have been hollering at the moon about this decision, accusing Sanderson of milking RJ’s estate and other bits of nonesense. I don’t much care. All I want is a good book that brings the series to a close. It’s gone on long enough! What I have linked to is Sanderson’s outstanding explanation of why the decision was made to split it up. It’s a great look at a process not often talked about when it comes to writing and publishing.

Ripley! Ripley

Why is it the more “free time” I have, the less time I actually have to get done what needs to get done?

Last week I said:

I’ve been pondering evolution quite a bit lately, and if there is one species that has climbed higher up the ladder than we have, I think it’s the birds. Anything that wakes up before the sun with an unflagging desire to sing knows something we don’t.

Well, after waking up Monday to a car covered in bird crap, I am compelled to re-evaluate that thought.

There’s a church down the street from where I live. I am not a religious man, but I have worked this church into my daily schedule. At 6pm each and every day, they sound their bells. And while it simply has to be digitized – it’s roughly 4 minutes long – I make it a point to step outside, sit on the stoop for the duration of the song. I have no idea what song it is, but, if there really and truly is a heaven, I am sure that’s what it sounds like.

Cosmos. All 13 Episodes. And that’s all I have to say about that.

Yes, I know, two days late. Punishment will be doled out accordingly.

Sunday Segments?

Nothing is quite so boring as moderation.

I’ve been pondering evolution quite a bit lately, and if there is one species that has climbed higher up the ladder than we have, I think it’s the birds. Anything that wakes up before the sun with an unflagging desire to sing knows something we don’t.

After careful consideration, I have decided that it is best to leave the house only when wearing pants. Should you require further explanation or justification, please leave a comment with your address so I may alter my commute accordingly.

It’s weird… I taught HS English for just one year. And yet, when I see my former students out and about, or read about them in the paper, I still think of them as “my students.” And I wish I could have made it to Glens Falls to watch my kids play in the final four of the state tourney. Go Kings! (Sunday’s edit: Bishop Kearney – STATE CHAMPS! Congrats to all!)

Friday Fragments are just that – a few random, unrelated thoughts that popped into my head at some point during the week. Some will go no further than my journal, some will eventually work themselves into posts of their own. Some may even provide a spark for a story or essay if I let it rattle around upstairs long enough.

1. To paraphrase Vonnegut: There is no free will, there is only Amber. I am not altogether certain what he meant by that, but it sure sounds cool and I am having a ball playing with the implications.

2. The ellipses is highly underrated.

3. C;mon, already… More snow?

4. T.O. – He’s already making waves by taking the 81 jersey away from Hardy. I hope he has the impact Buffalo management thinks he’s going to as opposed to the impact we have seen him have time and time again. Personally, I think bringing him into the locker room is a tremendous mistake. If he couldn’t deal with QB’s like Young, McNabb and Romo, there’s no way he’ll be satisfied with Edwards.

5. Really? Seriously? More snow?

6. Few things waste time as efficiently as World of Warcraft and Facebook.

7. Todd Pelino – For some reason, I’ve thought about you repeatedly over the last several months, and just yesterday, on a totally unrelated Google-search, I stumbled across a 9/11 memorial for you on Legacy.com. To say I miss you doesn’t say enough… and yet, somehow, it says too much.