Bill's LiveJournal Doodad

Why, what's wrong with what I've got on?

Last Thursday was Paula's Birthday (yey!) so I got her something she'd been wanting - the complete series of "Moonlight" on DVD. (If you've never heard of it, it was yet another "Vampire Detective in LA Making Atonement" show that was being rerun on ScyFcy, but that's not important right now.) I had to special order it from FYE, and it got here Friday, so I went to pick it up.

I shopped around a bit before finally going to the counter to get it. The guy there was fooling around trying to get it to ring up when I became aware of something very - odd about his ear.

Namely, I could see the rest of the mall through it.

To wit, he had a hollowed-out hoop, the size of a FRACKING QUARTER, in each of his earlobes!!!

Is this the new fashion? Because this is something I've not encountered before and it seems not just odd, but aggressively so.

Happy Independence Day, y'all! (For all the non-Americans reading out there, happy July 4!) And to celebrate the 233rd anniversary of our great country, what better was is there, I ask you, than...


MUPPETS!



Everyone enjoy and be safe!

I've thought some this week about Dudley Moore.

What with all the rigamarole surrounding Michael Jackson's death far surpassing the memorials for Farrah Fawcett, I pointed out on Facebook that when 2 celebrities happed to die on the same day, one invariably seems to eclipse the other. The most famous example of this, of course, is when Elvis & Groucho died on the same day, and Groucho was pushed to the back of the paper as everyone focused on the passing of Elvis Presley. But the same thing, to a lesser degree, happened a few years ago when Dudley Moore and Milton Berle passed the same day. Uncle Miltie got the lion's share of the coverage, and Dudley was usually mentioned only in passing.

That's kind of sad, actually. Dudley was a very funny man, and a whiz on the piano. His work with "Beyond the Fringe" was nothing short of hilarious. My first fiance had a bit of a crush on the man (so much so that she occasionally lapsed into a British accent). He was hilarious in "Arthur" and "10" and several other films.

But here's the sad part. If you go to IMDb and look up "Dudley Moore", the first entry returned isn't even for Dudley Moore - it's for Woody Allen!

Anyway, just because I feel like it, here's two Dudley Moore clips. The first is him & Peter Cook performing the routine about the one-lggged man auditioning for the role of Tarzan. The second is a rare recording of the Dudley Moore Trio on the BBC that showcases his musical ability.

jungle_goddess! * Happy Birthday, Connie!

* - Yes, it literally belongs to her. Anyone else whose birthday is supposedly June 22 needs to clear out - now!

A couple of weeks ago here in my main journal, I posted my annual challenge to you (yes, you) to make me write you a story based on a list of possible fandoms and situations. Well, four people decided they wanted me to dance to their tune (note: no actual dancing was involved), and as a result, I have nine shiny new stories to share with you all. So strap in, because here they are. Oh, and if you want to request another one, feel free. I'm a sucker for challenges.

Follow the Fake Cut to my Creative Journal for FanFicFest 2009!

Today was out Lucky 13 wedding anniversary. Our present to each other? A $340 fan motor for the A/C unit.

Happy Anniversary Paula. You won't read this, but I love you anyway! *smoo*

In what I hope to be an annual event, I'm doing this (otherwise known as "Force Me to be Creative for You!") again. I started it way back in 2006, when I lifted an innocuous meme from gypsyjr, and I'm going to keep doing it once a year until I get it right, or until you people storm the castle and force me to stop.

Under the cut, you'll find two listings: one of different types of scenes, the other of a number of fictitious universes in which I feel I am competent (insert snarky comments here) to write a story.

Your assignment, should you choose to accept it, is to choose one from each list and I'll write a story based on your choice. Choosing a particular character (only one per) is nice, but not required (you can choose, for example, Willow, or just pick the entire "Buffy" series and I'll find someone to work the mojo on). You can also, if you like, choose the length of your story - Drabble (100 words exactly, not counting title, codes, etc), Double Drabble (same as before, only 200 words) or longer-form (Anything goes! Ask around!).

If you want, request multiple stories. Go on, make me suffer.

My commitment is to have your scene done and posted within a couple of days, but if volume goes up (unlikely but possible), it may require more time. When they're all complete, I'll post each (separately or together, depending on the number) to my fic journal, bill_brains_inc.

If you want to see what I managed to do before, here are the results from each of the three previous years.

As always, results may vary. Consult physician if story lasts more than four hours.

( Remember, this is an exhibition, not a competition: please please please, no wagering! )

OK, I went to see the new "Star Trek" Film already - twice (this is no small thing - the last time I saw a movie twice in the theater, I'm pretty sure Bush Sr was President). And you don't need me to tell you how OMG AWESOME YEY! it was, because everyone and their dog has already told you that!

But I have one question.

( Cut for spoilerness in case you haven't seen it, and if you haven't you should because OMG AWESOME YEY! )

Oh, and by the way, hi.

It would depend entirely on how close I was to a highway or phone. I'm a bit like Mr. Monk on the subject - "Oh God! It's Nature - get it off me!"

Due to the convergenc of several lines of the space-time continuum, this turned out to be a kind of fixer-upper weekend around the Livingston household. We had three main issues that needed to be resolved:

( The Adventures of Unhandy Man! )

...for the_sheryl! Happy Birthday!

Coming soon to "Bill TV":

My LiveJournal Sitcom
The billfl Show (CBS, 1:00): billfl (Molly Ringwald) borrows money from randyg (Mickey Rourke)'s uncle. Soon afterwards, trdsf (Leonard Nimoy) teaches drharper (Kate Beckinsale) about continental drift. Then, caribouken (Rupert Everett) and scarfman (Stephen Baldwin) raise snakes. Also, eviljen (James Van Der Beek) buys ratmmjess (Russell Crowe)'s old radio. Later that day, kentamundo (Henry Fonda) oversleeps and misses lunch with julias (Keri Russell). Zany antics follow.
What's Your LiveJournal Sitcom? (by rfreebern)

One of the frequent things that's noted in comicdom's DC vs Marvel debates (1) is that Spidey, the FF, the Avengers, etc all took place in the "real" world of New York City, whereas Superman and pals were usually stuck in places like Metropolis and Gotham City that you wouldn't find on any map.

Well, who's laughing now?!?




Of course, if I read the proportions on the map right, that bridge is about 50 miles or so long. But hey,even Superman's gota have a hobby.

(1) I have a preference (DC), but arguing about it is unprofitable since this is one of these debates that's pointless and unwinnable (i.e. Kirk vs Picard, Mike vs Joel, Star Trek vs Star Wars, Marbury vs Madison, etc).

Neil Gaiman + Gahan Wilson = Awesome Sauce



(Courtesy The New Yorker)

Once again, I've just finished playing the role of the Apostle James in our church's "Living Last Supper" pageant.

If you want to get an idea of this (plus how I look with a beard), check it out here.

TOP TEN OTHER NAMES I WOULD HAVE IF I WERE TO GO AND TAKE AND GET AND HAVE MYSELF ANOTHER NAME

10. B. Thurston Howell VII
9. Ferd Farkle
8. Blast Hardcheese
7. Roland Luxury-Yacht
6. Dirk Pitt
5. Clark Jerome Kent
4. Fabio
3. Mandy Manfred
2. Christopher Jason Tyler Bryan Hunter Allan Prescott
1. Shaft (Damn Right!)

I held out as long as I could, but as more and more folks headed there, I figured I'd better jump on the bandwagon or risk getting left behind in a cloud of electrons and Old Spice.

This was my rationale in coming to LiveJournal, it was my rationale for starting to Twitter with all the Tweets and Twerps, and now it's my rationale for setting up shop in Facebook.

I had visions of a chaotic swampland of miasmatic anarchy. Then I realized that I was thinking of MySpace. In actuality, it's been rather pleasant, with the folks I'm finding a healthy mixture of displaced RATMMers, old classmates, Church folk, and folks from work, with a smattering of other odds and ends thrown in for good measure.

I'm also glad I never saw the old Facebook design so I don't have to carp about how crappt the new one is.

But I'm still here on LJ. I think. Let me check. *checks* Yeah, I am. Whew.

So after watching the finale to "Battlestar Galactcia", I earlier agreed with mgrasso in Twittervania and gave it a B to B+. Now, after stewing it over for a bit, I'm standing by it.

Here's why.

( Frakking Spoiler Protection )

Took the day off today to be with Paula during Spring Break (or AEA week, as it's called round these here parts) and we were working on the honeydew list. To fulfill part of this, it became necessary to access our garage for a couple of things. Our garage contains 2 things: 1) My dad's 1955 Buick Super, and 2) Stuff. I was there for 2).

Now the last time I was there, I noticed that one of the door rollers had popped out, so I picked it up and set it aside, meaning to look into it later. Like most "later" stuff, it never came to pass.

So I was in there, I'd gotten what I'd come ("2)", as noted above) and was pulling the door closed. Suddenly, there was this noise - I can't really describe it - and then the door was crashing down! It collapsed to the bottom, not hitting me or the car or anything much, but scaring the $#!& out of me!

I was upset and jittery most of the afternoon, but in retrospect, I'm glad it happened this way. I wasn't hurt; Paula wasn't hurt; there wasn't any damage to dad's car or anything important; and it can be fixed (I think final estimate is going to be ~$200 - I'll know more tomorrow). And if it had happened late at night or early one morning, we'd have really been in the stew.

So how was your day?