Posted 8:06 PM by Angie Schultz

Foto Friday: Waimea Canyon

This view is why God made wide angle lenses. Unfortunately, my angle wasn't wide enough, so I'm only able to give you a part of the canyon. I was going to mosaic it into a panorama, but never got around to it. I may still one day. But it would be a lot easier to just go back to Kauai with a wider lens.

Waimea Canyon, Kauai, Sep. 1995

I have recently developed a bad case of lens lust. I just ordered a Canon 28mm lens to take the place of my off-brand 28mm (which took this picture). And now I find I have a great desire for more and better lenses. Like, say, a 20 or even 17mm, for scenes like the one above. Fortunately, I am limited by the age of my camera; there's only so much money you can drop on twenty-year-old lenses. (Unfortunately for me, I don't even have that much money. But I can dream!)

Labels: Foto Friday, Hawaii

Posted 8:33 AM by Angie Schultz

Down Memory Lane

Didja hear the latest about tomorrow's Opus comic strip? It's allegedly been spiked, by some newspapers, for offensiveness. This mild effort is supposedly the forbidden strip.

But has it been spiked for being mean to Muslims? Not entirely -- there's also the spicy sex joke. Read the comic linked again. Spicy!

It'll be interesting to see who defends the spiking. I remember, long ago, when Opus was Bloom County and was actually funny. There was a series in which Steve Dallas appears in a music video. The pyrotechnics used ignite his chest hair (he used flmmable mascara, for a fluffier look), leading to a lengthy hospital stay.

In one strip, Opus is trying to get the doctor to tell him what Steve can and can't do while he's convalescing. The doctor forbids more and more improbable things, with Opus elaborately winking at him all the time. Finally the doctor pauses and says, "No fooling around." Opus turns and shouts into Steve's room, "The big one is out!"

This strip drew an outRAGEd! letter to the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, decrying the MORAL SEWER we have lowered ourselves into, where even the comic strips wallow in FILTHY UNCHRISTIAN SEX. Won't someone THINK OF THE CHILDREN??

Strangely enough, just a few days later, I noticed that a character in Steve Nomad (or Mike Canyon, I forget) washed up in Las Vegas and speculated about "findin' a showgirl t' give me a tumble".[1] And yet there were no outraged letters about that. Perhaps because anthropomorphic penguins are considered, by the simple-minded, to be solely the province of children.

Anyway, will the sort of right-thinking types who sneered at puckered religious moralists before, do so again? Stay tuned!

[1]What's with abbreviations like "t'" and "th'" in comic strips, anyway? I vividly remember the "t'" in this particular panel. I used to try to read Snuffy Smith (I know, a mistake at any age) by pronouncing its t's and th's literally, and it sounded ridiculous. No one ever talked like that.

I think it's supposed to be a symbol of educational level in a character, but the only people who never pronounce "the" "thuh" or "to" "tuh" are annoying prissy-pants milquetoast characters in old movies. And they're meant to be made fun of.

Posted 9:03 PM by Angie Schultz

Foto Friday: Maui Iaoie

YES, it's an extremely lame title, and YES, you've seen the Iao Needle before, and we had a Maui just last week -- tough. Busy day, no time to scan or fool around (or, I see, crop the image; phooey). Have some forbidding cliffs:

Iao Needle, Maui, Sep. 2003

The Needle itself is on the left, and looks considerably less needly when you realize it's right next to this other big slab o' rock. Here is my previous photo, in all its badly-exposed glory. The Needle is somewhat underwhelming in this picture.

Sorry, that's all I got.

Labels: Foto Friday, Hawaii

Posted 9:21 PM by Angie Schultz

Foto Friday: Uluru -- the Red Centre

The Red Centre[1] is what Australians call the red desert heart of their country.

Um, there. I've told you pretty much all I know about it. Did I mention that it's red?

Uluru at Sunset, Australia, Aug. 2000

I now wish I hadn't tried to fill the frame with the rock, and had allowed some distance between it and the edge. Maybe there was a tour bus parked there, I don't know. The creepy black arms writhing over the right side are bottlebrushes. I'll post a picture of those in daylight some other time.

I showed another sunset picture here. I have dozens more! Isn't that exciting??

[1] Note ye olde quaynte Brittish spellynge[2]
[2] Which I just now unwittingly tried to use in positioning this thing. Note: "text-align:centre" does not work. American imperialism!

Labels: Australia, Foto Friday

Posted 10:07 PM by Angie Schultz

Because Surely No One Else Has Thought of It

"We're going to hit Florida, and march through Georgia, and then we're going to sideswipe the Carolinas and ravish Virginia, swerve through Maryland, and then on to the White House! YEEEAARRRGH!!"

OK, that was a lot funnier when Niles I came up with it.

UPDATE 8/15/07:



(GOES East image from NOAA.)

UPDATE2: Back off, Taranto! And get some damn permalinks.

UPDATE 8/16/07: White House, beware! Hurricane Dean

In other news, Tropical Storm Erin brushed past us this morning, turning the sky cow-interior black and dumping buckets of rain, accompanied by frequent and scary lightning. She's already declined into a Tropical Depression, and will no doubt spend the rest of the day eating chocolate and crying on the phone to her friends.

Posted 5:09 PM by Angie Schultz

Houston, Houston, Can You Spell?

Yes, I know this is fantastically petty. Yes, indeed, I too have to stop and think how to spell this word. Yes, sometimes I make typos even in words I know how to spell.

Tough.

The "Outlook" (opinion) section of today's paper:


I have helpfully highlighted the offending word. They've -- or, rather, the author has -- spelled it correctly in the second paragraph. I thought about reading through the tiresome article to see if it was some sort of pun, but the online version spared me that chore: "consensus" is spelled correctly there.

I should really have been in my pajamas to post this, but I was dressed by the time I read the paper.

Yes, I know: petty. Ha ha ha!

The giant SHAME refers to this article, but I left it in anyway.

Niles asks: why this spelling? Surely "consensus" has to do with taking a census of opinion. No. This dictionary explains that it is from the Latin word consentire, to agree, and hence is related to "consent".

You wouldn't believe how many typos I've made writing this.

Labels: Layers of fact-checking

Posted 8:14 PM by Angie Schultz

Foto Friday: Da-Da-Da-Da Da-Da-Da-Da Bat Flower!

A while back I mentioned the Tropical Gardens of Maui (still for sale! act now!), where I was able to photograph the possibly rare (and maybe even deadly for all I know) Bat Flower. (Check this out. I'm pretty sure that attacked Spock on Gamma Trianguli VI. Yes! Look!)

Bat Flower
Maui, Sep. 2003

It was dark in there under the trees, and I was surprised this picture turned out as well as it did. I didn't have my tripod with me; I held my breath and hoped for the best.

This would make a splendid addition to the Creepy Garden. When I lived in California I would admire my neighbors' gardens, and dream of what kind of garden I would have if I were ever fortunate enough to win some sort of product liability lawsuit, and thus be able to afford a house in California. I wouldn't have one of your ordinary gardens filled with cutsie flowers. For one thing it's very dry in California, and the cutsie flowers die. And for another thing I'm very lazy, and would forget to water them.

No, I would have bushes pruned and twisted into hideous shapes that would scare little children in the twilight. And some disturbing sculpture. And trees with leaves the color of dried blood. And a circular bed of white roses, with a single red rosebush off center. Why? Just to make you wonder why.

And, of course, the Bat Flower.

Which I would forget to water.

Labels: Foto Friday, Hawaii

Posted 10:02 PM by Angie Schultz

Was You Ever Bit by a Dead Snake?

A couple weeks ago TCM showed the Bogart & Bacall movie To Have and Have Not. In that movie Walter Brennan's character is always asking people, "Was you ever bit by a dead bee?"

Apparently the answer to the question is some sort of test of character, but I didn't get it.[1] I tried googling around to see if it was explained anywhere, but didn't find anything. I did find this page, which contains an item (second one) on being bit by dead snakes.

According to that little snippet, the strike reflex remains active for an hour after death. In a study by two Phoenix doctors, they found that about 15% of their patients (they did not have an enormous sample, mind) were bitten by dead snakes. Two of those snakes had even been decapitated when they struck.

That was a couple weeks ago, as I said. Today, I find this:

A man said he was bitten by the decapitated head of a rattlesnake on his property near Prosser, Wash. Danny Anderson and his son saw the 5-foot rattler Monday evening while feeding horses. They pinned it with a pipe and cut off its head with a shovel. When Anderson reached down to pick it up, he said, the snake head twisted around and bit his index finger.

So beware of dead snakes. I'd keep an eye on them even long after death. Just because a snake's been turned into a belt, or a pair of boots, is no reason to let your guard down. That probably makes 'em extra mean.

That first article went on to say that bees can sting a short while after death, but no one ever makes a belt out of bees.

[1]For the record, I was bit (well, stung) by a dead wasp when I was about four. My sister was once bit by a dead sweat bee, but to be fair, she bit the bee first (which is how it died).

Posted 4:38 PM by Angie Schultz

Foto Friday: Waffles, We Love Youuuu!

In a bad mood, so today you get teh silly:

Waffle!
Holiday Inn, Issaquah, WA, Sep. 2005

Holiday Inn puts their logo on their waffles. Isn't that cute? Apparently most people don't see it, since the waffles come with strawberries and whip cream, and other such impedimenta. I believe, however, that waffles are primarily a vehicle for butter and syrup, and so ordered mine naked. The waffle was naked, I mean. I was fully clothed, I assure you.

I believe that was taken in available light, without a flash, and turned out remarkably well. Enjoy Niles's thumb.

Inexplicably, the great MST3K "Waffle Song" is not on YouTube (instead they have the "No Waffles" sketch from the same episode), but you can hear it here, and sing along with the lyrics here.

Waffles!

Labels: Foto Friday