Horticulturally, this year is running about three weeks slower than last year. Plants that were in full bloom a year ago are just coming into bud now. Nevertheless, I did find some color yesterday on my first visit to Botanica this year.
The iron laws of software documentation
1. Those who understand software don’t know how to write.
2. The usefulness of a manual is inversely proportional to its length.
Corollary: a manual is only as good as its index.
3. Most computer users are neither software engineers nor dummies. Publishers of computer literature have yet to realize that.
High culture, low comedy
Even if I had a television, I wouldn’t be able to watch Al ‘n’ Me. It’s broadcast only on “Metromedia,” which is not available in most markets at this time. Until that classical-era sitcom receives the wider distribution it deserves, you’ll have to make do with Acropolis Now, featuring such low-lifes as Heraclitus and Aristophanes and their mother the Oracle, and Socrates and Plato. A degree in Classics is not necessary to appreciate the show.
If you prefer modern, interactive entertainment, here’s the do-it-yourself Bayeux Tapestry.
(Via Maureen.)
The Kabuki mullet and root-level physics
More than you ever wanted to know about the Japanese music industry.
(Via Anime Instrumentality Blog.)
Speaking of mullets …
*****
In case there is anyone on the planet who still hasn’t seen the grandest of all Pythagorean devices:
Here’s a story and some videos about it.
(Via Steven Riddle.)
Update: here’s another noteworthy contraption currently under construction:
(Via the Borderline Sociopath.)
Memo to designers
You may think that putting dancers in black costumes on a black stage with minimal lighting is very dramatic, but for photographers it is a nightmare.
A product of its time …
… i.e., the early 21st century. It includes the “Deceleration of Independence.” The Amazon.com listing is here.
The benefits of elocution lessons
John Reed, the very model of a G&S patter song singer, died earlier this month. Here are a few examples of his craft:
“Wisdom isn’t cheap, and we pay for it with pain”
Jonah Lehrer takes a positive look at something very near and not the least bit dear to me.
Musical toys
Future redshirt
Pipes
Status report
I bought myself some belated Christmas presents. I’ll eventually get to the anime, but for now the item in the foreground takes priority. Incidentally, although I have a computer full of soft synths, this is the first hardware synthesizer I’ve ever owned. ((Unless you want to count my old, very plastic Yamaha keyboard, but that’s essentially a large toy, unsuitable for gigs.))
Instead of following any current series, I have indeed been rewatching Shingu. I probably will check out a couple of upcoming shows, though. Yojo-han Shinwa Taikei is yet another blasted high school college story, but Masaaki Yuasa (Mind Game, Kaiba) is directing. Haiyoru! Nyaru-Ani features Nyarlathotep in the form of a cute little girl. It sounds like she might be a candidate to replace Pyun and Potaru if I redesign my site.
Enlightened pessimism
William Tenn, who wrote some of my favorite stories, died a week ago. I wanted to link to “Bernie the Faust,” which SciFi.com used to host, but when they changed their name from the offensive “SciFi” to the stupid “SyFy,” they dropped the story. However, I did find an interview with Tenn in which he reads “On Venus Have We Got a Rabbi.” The story starts shortly after the forty-minute mark, but the entire interview is worth hearing.
Walking to work …
Thank you …
… everyone, for your kind words and prayers.
The Birds, Part Two
I’ve downloaded a number of first episodes from the fall and winter seasons, but I have yet to make it more than half-way through any of them. Some might actually be worth watching, e.g., Durarara, but I’m just not in the mood right now. I sent off an order for some older titles yesterday — the Ghost in the Shell: Stand-Alone Complex, Moonphase and Black Heaven boxed sets (and a set of El Hazard playing cards) — but those are likely to remain in their shrink wrap for a while. I have things other than anime on my mind, and if I do pop a DVD into the drive, it more likely will be an old favorite like Shingu than anything new.
*****
A couple of silly links:
Another example of silhouette animation, this one recounting the avian terror in Clerkenwell.
If you play Dungeons and Dragons, stay out of prison in Wisconsin.
After 32 years …
… Gryphon reunited for a concert last summer.
The quality of the sound suggests that a CD or DVD is in the works, though it may just be that the hall’s acoustics were exceptionally good.
Advisory
My sister passed away this morning after a long battle with cancer. There probably won’t be much activity here for a while.
Maureen Fogle, 1959-2010
My sister Maureen passed away this morning after a long battle with ovarian cancer.
Maureen was the owner, director and principal teacher of the Portland Studio of Ballet and Highland Dance in Portland, Tennessee. A life-long ballet dancer, she performed with ballet companies in Kansas, Virginia and Tennessee. Later in her life she became interested in highland dance, and she won a closetful of trophies competing with girls half her age at highland games. She was particularly good at the sword dance.
