fate keeps on happening

Tiny little dog at the Doctor's Office

This gal in my Doctor's waiting room had the sweetest little pup. Adorable and so friendly!

Minky & Douglas

Minky constantly whinges about Douglas. "Everybody loves Dougy. He's so fluffy and orange. Whatever." But, truthfully, he doesn't really mind him. Evidence below.

 

Dig the teeth on that beast.

Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas

Years ago, when I was in college, I remember waking up my roommate while I was reading Hunter S Thompson's Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas: : A Savage Journey to the Heart of the American Dream. I was laughing so damn hard and I just couldn't stop.

I was re-watching the film with Johnny Depp and Benecio del Toro. They're both excellent. I'd forgotten that Terry Gilliam directed it. All I can say is... it figures. You can see it on hulu. It's fabulous!

How long can we maintain? I wondered. How long before one of us starts raving and jabbering at this boy? What will he think then?

This same lonely desert was the last known home of the Manson family. Will he make that grim connection when my attorney starts screaming about bats and huge manta rays coming down on the car?

If so -- well, we'll just have to cut his head off and bury him somewhere. Because it goes without saying that we can't turn him loose. He'll report us at once to some kind of outback Nazi law-enforcement agency, and they'll run us down like dogs.

Jesus! Did I say that? Or just think it? Was I talking? Did they hear me?

Maybe I'd better have a chat with this boy, I thought. Perhaps if I explain things, he'll rest easy. . .

House of Cards

Love the BBC series, House of Cards, starring Ian Richardson. What a series! And Richardson is... incredible. Wow. You can see the whole series on Netflix Watch Instantly.

Francis Urquhart: What a frightful little man. Where do they find them these days?
Tim Stamper: God knows. If I had a dog like that, I’d shoot it.
Urquhart: Well, yes. Quite.

One of Urquhart’s favorite lines…
Francis Urquhart: You might well think that. I couldn’t possibly comment.

Another fabulous Urquhart quote:
Francis Urquhart: Prime Minister’s question time. Very frightening. Like being mugged by a guinea pig.

Language Log: Permission to reincarnate, sir?

In August this year, the officially atheist Chinese regime passed legislation effectively banning Buddhist monks in Tibet from reincarnating without government permission.

The larger story:

... Chinese authorities are trying hard, if often clumsily, to undermine the Dalai Lama's authority.  In 1995, Chinese authorities kidnapped the boy--called Gendrun Choekyi Nyima--whom the Dalai Lama had identified as the eleventh Panchen Lama, and installed their own child candidate in this important position in Tibetan Buddhism.  (The whereabouts of the kidnapped boy remain unknown.)  In an attempt to forestall the Chinese regime from usurping his position, the Dalai Lama announced that he will be reincarnated outside Tibet, guaranteeing that his successor will be born in the Tibetan community in exile.  In August this year, the officially atheist Chinese regime passed legislation effectively banning Buddhist monks in Tibet from reincarnating without government permission.  According to a statement issued by the State Administration for Religious Affairs, the law, which stipulates the procedures for rebirth, is "an important move to institutionalize management of reincarnation."

via itre.cis.upenn.edu

In. Credible. Banned from reincarnating? That's crazy-talk. It's like banning my cat, Minky, from having a personality disorder.

Bloodiest, goriest, messiest Halloween ever!

Got a group together to attend Brain-Dead Alive, a play staged by the Primitive Screwheads. It was performed as a parody of a 40s radio play and it was really fun. They're a talented troupe, as well as funny and quite nice! As I stated in my invitation:

"... or maybe you feel the need to participate in a gruesome, messy zombie play, screaming like crazy, covered in a plastic tarp, with an extra set of clothes stashed under your seat in a ziploc? Yeah, those plastic baggies won't cut it. Trust me, you need a ziploc. One of those heavy duty ones. I've got some you can borrow."

So, that's a pretty accurate description. Can't recall how many gallons of blood and other bodily fluids were dumped/sprayed on us, but it was... a lot! My favorite was towards the end, when our valiant hero uses a heavy duty lawn mower to chop up the herd of zombies. As the narrator describes his gory progress, wave after wave of blood washes over us. It was great! Christine grabbed some "before and after" shots with her iphone:

Good times. Good times... Beforehand, we ate at Cafe Puccini. It was near the theater and had gotten great reviews on Yelp. And, yes, the food was really good! And the service was terrific. And did I mention we managed to park close to the theater for free? In San Francisco. Weird.

Waiting for God: Young People

Terrific quotes from season 2, episode 9:

Jane: (Calling out) Diana!
Diana: What?
Jane: Are you in?
Diana: No, I've gone down to the shops.
Jane: Oh, alright... I'll come back later.
Diana: (To herself) I must... I must get out of here!
Diana: What do you want, Jane?
Jane: No, it's alright. I'll wait until you get back.
Diana: (To herself) It is like living in Salvador Dali's dustbin.
Diana: Jane, I am here! Come through.
Jane: Oh, you're back. That was quick!
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Diana: I was just having an interesting conversation with an attra... with a young man. I'm old enough to be his grandmother.
Tom: Exactly. Yes.  But, some young men like older women. Like that fellow in Psycho.
Diana: That was his mother. And she was dead.
Tom: Well... you're in with a chance then.

White Collar

White Collar is a new TV series I viewed on hulu.

Caffrey reveals he knows more than he should about the security strip in the newly created, classified Canadian $100 dollar bill.

Peter Burke: How did you know?
Neal Caffrey: C'mon, Peter... it's what I do. How upset were the Canadians?
Peter: Oh, very!! Well...... as upset as Canadians can get.

Truman Capote

I love the 1966 version of A Christmas Memory by Truman Capote, starring Geraldine Page. It's narrated by Truman, himself. I know what you're thinking... "Yikes... that voice!" But, it really works. Truman's writing + Geraldine's acting = Amazing. You can actually see the whole thing on youtube. Geez, now I'm wondering why I've never read the book! Gotta do that one day. There's a 1997 version with Patty Duke. I've never seen it, so I can't vouch for it.

Here's a brilliant excerpt:

'My, how foolish I am!' she cries, suddenly alert, like a woman remembering too late she has biscuits in the oven. 'You know what I've always thought?' she asks in a tone of discovery, and not smiling at me but a point beyond. 'I've always thought a body would have to be sick and dying before they saw the Lord. And I imagined that when He came it would be like looking at the Baptist window: pretty as colored glass with the sun shining through, such a shine you don't know it's getting dark. And it's been a comfort: to think of that shine takes away all the spooky feeling.'

'But I'll wager it never happens like that. I'll wager at the very end a body realizes the Lord has already shown Himself. That things as they are,'--her hand circles in a gesture that gathers clouds and kites and grass and Queenie, our dog, pawing earth over her bone-- 'just what they've always seen, was seeing Him. As for me, I could leave the world with just today in my eyes.' "

Scrubs

Believe it or not, I don't get any TV reception, so I watch things people lend me or I watch online via netflix and hulu. Some great series will come out and I won't get in on it until several years later. That's kinda what happened with Scrubs. When I finally did watch some episodes, I thought it was pretty dang funny. Here are some great quotes and excerpts:

Ted: Ted, you idiot! You just said the out-loud thing in your head and the in-your-head thing out loud!

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Jordan: Whoa, what the hell was that?
Elliot: I finally told Keith I loved him.
Jordan: Now that you've said what he wants to hear, he doesn't have to work for it. It's like when guys are really trying to sleep with you... when  you finally give it up, there are no more flowers. Next thing you know, it's twenty years later and you're standing over him while he sleeps, your third martini in one hand and a steak knife in the other. And sure, he's taken a sleeping pill so you can slice his arm open a little bit without waking him up. But, it's not satisfying. And you know why? Because you've lost the power.

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Dr Bob Kelso: Listen up, bozos. That gentleman over there is basically a cash pinata waiting to be whacked open. So, how about someone diagnoses it, so I can get my candy?"

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Dr Bob Kelso: I can feel your hatred like a cool spring breeze.