With Tuesday's results, it's clear that the race for the Presidential nomination may well turn on voters in Massachusetts. Why? The Democratic and Republican nominees are likely to be decided on "Super Tuesday," February 5, when 24 states (including Massachusetts) go to the polls.
But in order to participate in this big decision, you have to be registered to vote, and the deadline is coming up fast. In Massachusetts, your registration must be postmarked by Wednesday, January 16th.You may think you're registered, but it's worth making sure—and we've made it easy.
Working with the folks at Catalist1, we've built VotePoke, a new website that for the first time lets you quickly and easily check to see whether you are registered to vote, and then invite your friends to do the same. Click here to get started:
If you aren't registered, you can use VotePoke to register online in just minutes. VotePoke also lets you invite friends—and if your friends aren't registered, you can gently "poke" them until they do, using our handy online tool.
Because, it would be incomplete to not live blogcast the taking down of Christmas decorations. This promises to be much less detailed, and even less interesting (if possible) than the decorating for Christmas blogcast - but one of my New Year's resolutions is to follow through on things more, ok that's not really it. But, here goes.
9:38pm - the tree and all the ornaments are still up by the door, Christmas cards decorate the living room mirror, other crap is around. Oh, and three suitcases clutter the entry way, still untouched since my return on Sunday. Time to change this.
9:39pm - An appropriate soundtrack has been selected for this endeavor. 9:53pm - All the ornaments have been taken off the tree and put in their box. Every year it seems that one ornament stays on the tree and is thrown off the porch with it, but this year I think I've gotten them all. Also, this year the tree won't be thrown off the porch - so any missed ornaments will be stored in the box with the tree. Not sure which is safer...
10:09pm - My grandmothers old ceramic tree has been safely boxed up. Every year I just reuse the same newspaper that was in the box when I got it. It's from 1984. Also in there are the old stockings from my dad and his sister and my grandmother and grandfather. They also stay in the box, because, well - what else am I going to do with them?
10:20pm - The tree is down, it was easier than I thought to disassemble. While at first I thought that I would have to individual fold up each branch (that had been lovingly flattened out) it appears that just smushing the entire thing into the box has been enough. Now I'm looking for tape to close up the box.
10:26pm - Only now, when taping up the box with the tree do I see the words "OPEN AT OTHER END" printed clearly on the exact end I opened.
10:41pm - The tree box has been put back in my closet, which can now be organized better. I need a solution to the shoe-storage problem! In other news, it appears that McCain and Clinton have won in NH.
It was ok ok ok ok ok ok ok I guess guess guess guess guess guess guess.
1. AY, AS, CP, CM 2. JB 3. KN (DJ & EG sighting) 4. JB 5. M&A (1/4 -- power outage in Kendall Sq) 6. M&A (3/4) 7. Xmas day with the family 8. Jet Blue red eye flight with bud light.
Here's the thing. When you tell an academic institution that you've considered your options and that at this time they're not the most attractive one, they say "we're sorry you've chosen XYZ instead of us, but keep us in mind for the future b/c we'd love to have you around."
Which brings us to the question: Why can't boyfriends be that way too?
She's definitely not in this resort anywhere. Only octogenarians as far as the eye can see (and mine, contrary to theirs, can see rather far).
You might wonder how can I afford to drink the $11 poolside cocktails. It's easy... sign 'room 2626.' I admit, it's not the same as having my parent's credit card at my disposal, but it's a start.
Mechanical bull riding tip #1: Don't wave your arms like crazy unless you want to fall on your ass. The hand tying solution sounds a bit extreme though.
2:24 - I can do this, I can live-blog this. 2:24 - No, really, I can do this. I should do this. I must do this. 2:25 - What is that? Red poinsettias on tables. Nobody around. 2:30 - Free wine! 2:45 - Nearly everyone has brought a child. Consider rent-a-baby for next year's holiday party. 3:00 - It's 53 degrees in here. WTF. Reindeer sweaters are not enough. 4:30 - The food was okay, I guess. 4:45 - I, earplug clad, along with the director of something-or-other, approach the band to ask them to turn the amps down from 11 to, say, a more reasonable 7 or 8. They say yes. 5:28 - Resident blues band (comprised of 25% Martinoz employees) launches into third rendition of Mustang Sally at 140 decibels. Very festive. Kids are into it, dancing and flailing around the band. When they collapse, their parents pick them up. It's Woodstock for toddlers. 5:29 - Chatting at the table. Drunken colleagues complain about the acoustics. Remarkably, no one is talking about anything remotely work related. A milestone has been achieved! 5:30 - *hic*
10:17pm | A typical day chez Snoopy. Step 1: Pledge to code some tractography. Step 2: Do some laundry instead. 10:20pm | Not much apartment left to clean. 10:22pm | Last load of laundry actually interrupted by "unbalance", in typical laundry-imitating-life style. 10:35pm | Balance restored, if only in laundry for now. Life imitating laundry will follow for sure. 10:38pm | Start Christmas decoration of apartment. 10:40pm | Ornament #1 hung from floor lamp. 10:41pm | Ornament #2 hung from floor lamp. 10:42pm | Two of last year's Christmas cards reinstated on bookshelf. 10:43pm | End Christmas decoration of apartment. Mission fucking accomplished. 10:44pm | Playing is #8. How appropriate.
Because today - something must be live-blogged. There was a Charlie Brown special on, but that was not live blogged. Earlier today when my first attempt at processing DTI data with FSL went awry I began to live-blog (via email), but it ended. So now, after a day where I gave not one, not two, but THREE presentations, and generated 8 FA maps...
I will liveblog the simultaneous making of dinner and decorating my apartment for christmas!
7:58pm, must find recipe and ingredients. Today's dinner, Turkey a la King - using all left over turkey for good!!
8:07pm, peppers and broccoli cut and in fry pan with butter, mmm. glass of wine has been poured.
8:13pm, added flour, salt and pepper. Started a pot of water for the egg noodles. 8:21pm, Added the cream and broth, but constantly stirring is not conducive to live-blogging. But, I did unpack and set up the first decoration. My grandmothers old ceramic lighted christmas tree. 'Tis the season!
8:25pm, egg noodles are cooking, turkey in the cream and veggies, simmering.
8:29pm, Gary the green-nosed reindeer is playing, it makes me smile!
8:32pm, about to open the new tree. Yes, I said open! I'm the queen of having alivechristmastree (there was one in 2004 too, but I can't seem to find the pictures!)
8:35pm, This year we have a brand new fake 4-foot pre-lit (with white lights) Indiana Spruce.
8:36pm, brief pause for my favorite song on this album, and to investigate the burning smell in the kitchen.
8:42pm, Burning smell was just a spill - nothing ruined. The bottom half of the tree is out and up. I'm thinking 4 feet is small. Maybe I should have spent 5 more dollars for a 6 foot tree? who knows. I'm stuck with this now. Trying to keep dinner warm, as I'd like to eat once the tree is lit!
8:46pm, ok 4-feet is too small. It looks ridiculous. I'm going to eat dinner and contemplate finances. I'm sure I can find $5 for an extra 2 feet...right? I mean, in the same place I found the money for all the christmas decorations. And...they're open all night. Dinner time!
9:13pm, the tree is boxed up and I'm taking it back now!! Dinner was yummmmy.
10:06pm, And we're back! I've got a new tree, 6.5 foot Colorado Pine, pre-lit with clear lights. I've just realized that I'm still wearing "Presentation Outfit" and I'd like to not be doing that anymore. I'll be back after I change into sweatpants and a t-shirt. (and there's the nudity!)
10:17pm, already this is looking better!
10:21pm, I find myself distracted with conversations about my relationship with seychelles. Back to this monsterous tree!
10:28pm, maybe this one is too big for this spot??
10:33pm, it's looking much better. Each branch needs to be loving spread out, so that it's less clumpy. But, it's looking festive.
10:41pm, the top 3rd is going up now. Pretty! And while my affinity to Christmas music is being called into question, I'd like to take the moment to admit that I don't feel it's Christmas time until I've heard Mariah Carey's "All I want for Christmas is You", sadly I don't know if I have a copy - I've been relying on Stace's for years.
10:50pm, I forgot that this song was on this album - how appropriate.
10:51pm, I am not a fan of the new blog layout. Whose input is used to make these decisions? Not mine!
10:59pm, Better! It needs ornaments, which I've got plenty of. And I need to make the front door decoration, but I'd say all-in-all, tonight can be classified as a success - in the procrastination sense of the word.
11:31pm, The door decoration is made and hung. Mia has started to eat the fake Christmas tree...lovely!
8:05pm. Mediterranean rosemary martini #1. Two parts Stoli, two parts this stuff. Tastes nothing like rosemary but it's sweet and tasty and I like the idea of a mediterranean rosemary martini, so I'm enjoying it anyway. 8:20pm. This is set in a mid-size college town in Wisconsin, the night before Thanksgiving. It's 8:20pm, 48 degrees. Janise dashes out of her house carrying a meat loaf and a six-pack of Stella and dressed for a party. She's wearing a plunging white J-top, 50's style flower-print skirt, pink cardigan, orange high-heeled shoes. Puts down six-pack, closes door, props meat loaf on left arm, uses right hand to take keys that she was holding between her teeth, locks door, picks up six-pack, runs down stairs from her porch to her car. 8:25pm. Mediterranean rosemary martini #2. Almost out of vodka. 8:35pm. Janise runs to her car. Opens door, puts meatloaf and six-pack on passenger seat, starts the car. She's clearly anxious, breathing intensely. Tires screetch as she takes off. Sir Mix-a-lot is on the radio. [Opening credits, not sure about title yet.] She looks worriedly at radio. Music makes her more anxious, but also puts her in the mood for clubbing. Starts rocking left and right with the rhythm, while holding wheel. Takes deep breath, sits back. Looks at six pack, it makes her happy. She's been obsessed with green-colored beer bottles lately. She feels better, smiles. 8:45pm. Second batch of rosemary martinis, substituting bilberry vodka for plain vodka. If this tastes like crap, I have to go out on emergency Stoli run. 8:50pm. This tastes even better! We have a new recipe! 8:52pm. Janise parks in unidentified driveway, behind unidentified car. Gets out of car, fixes hair and skirt, picks up meatloaf and six-pack of Stella, locks car, takes deep breath. Starts walking towards house. Stops. Another deep breath. Walks to door, knocks. A male and several female voices are heard inside, the male voice gets closer. 9:05pm. Byron opens the door. He's attractive and has dark hair. Dressed like he's ready for a game of golf. Looks enthusiastic. Byron: Hi! Good to see you! Come in, please! Janise: Thank you, good to see you too! [Walks in. They stand opposite each other, look at each other for minute.] Byron: Hi! Can I take your coat? Oh. Janise: I... don't have coat. Byron: Oh. Yeah. Of course not. Um, you brought a meatloaf! That's great! Thank you. Thank you. May I take that? Janise: Yeah, yeah, please, you're welcome. [Hands over meatloaf.] And... this. [Hands over six-pack of Stella, keeps staring at bottles as he takes them.] 9:10pm. This is my new favorite martini. I shall call it... Bill&Mary Martini. (Bilberry and rosemary, get it?) 9:20pm. At some point I went from martini #3 to martini #4 but forgot to blogument it. Who's counting anyway. 9:22pm. Byron: Come in, please. [They walk towards living room/kitchen.] Janise, this is my aunt, Elvira. Elvira: [She's wearing a multi-shade purple and orange kaftan, golden hoop earings and multiple bracelets. She's holding a cigarette holder with a cigarette.] Nice to meet you, Janise! I've heard a lot about you. Janise: Nice to meet you too, likewise. [They shake hands cordially.] Elvira: It's so nice of you to invite us over to your place for Thanksgiving tomorrow! I hope it's not too much trouble. Janise: Oh, no, no, no trouble at all. It's great that you're coming! I, um, hope you like cranberries. Elvira: Look at you! You're.. you're cute slash sweet! Aw. What's you sign, dear? Janise: [Pleased, blushes.] Oh, um, Virgo in western, Pig in chinese. Elvira: Virgo, how about that! Byron's a Libra. [Whispers.] Very compatible. [Winks, laughs. Pinches Byron's cheek, looks at him proudly.] He's just perfect, isn't he? Byron: Um, ok, um, let me introduce you to everyone else. [Three women are standing next to them.] Janise, this is Moira, Lana, and Anna. Janise: Nice to meet you. Moira, Lana, Anna: [Polite yet ambiguous.] Hi. Janise: I apologize for being late. It was the meatloaf, see, it turned hard but I know this trick, using red wine, flour, and a special massaging move... [Clears throat.] Anyway, I hope I saved it. [Tugs on skirt nervously.] Elvira: Oh, it looks lovely, dear. Big and hard - a woman's dream! Haha. Janise: [Nervously.] Haha. [Seriously.] But I don't think it's hard any more, see, it's this trick that I know, that I used... Byron: I think we're ready for dinner, right? Take a seat, everyone! Janise: Red wine and flour. [Clears throat.] Yes. [They all walk to the table.] May I use your bathroom please? Byron: Of course. Second door to the right.
STATUS: upgraded from cholera-ridden filth receptacle to respectably staph-laden typing instrument MEDIA USED: Isopropyl Rubbing Alcohol 70% U.S.P. and five serviettes from Eat Street Cafe SUCCESS: moderate
The best doodad I saw today was a desk-top cell phone holder in the shape of a donut. This incredibly realistic cell phone holder is cast in a very dense resin and then meticulously hand painted. The result is a remarkably lifelike, yet heavy, resin sculpture that is able to hold any standard cell phone. When charging, the cord can easily pass through the donut hole and reach the base of the phone. This donut cannot be bitten through by human teeth, but it can be licked. At $13.20, this is an expensive donut, but you have to factor in that you can't really eat it, so it should last longer than a real donut. Also available in: croissant, onion bagel, cruller. A tempting little desk-top cell phone holder in the shape of a donut, and an all-around donutty doodad.
This is a tasty soup. It is, however, low on protein and thus not for you if you're looking for something in the Hungry Man category. Light and fruity, this soup could also double as a warm smoothie.
"In initial preference tests, when the items were freely available, one of the monkeys, Chicko, spent most of its time pulling on a hinged flap, then opening a door, and pushing on a plunger."1 Thus, Chicko showed his underlying preference for pulling on the hinged flap over pushing a plunger. Learning behaviorists can use this inherent preference to increase plunger pushing by making hinged flap pulling contingent on it. If Chicko can only pull on the hinged flap after he has pushed the plunger a few times, his pushing of the plunger will increase. In this scenario, hinged flap pulling is reinforcing plunger pushing.
If Chicko's preferences are too foreign to you, "let's consider sex and coffee-drinking. It is quite possible that during the course of a 24-hour day you spend more time drinking coffee than having sex. (This is at least true of many professors I know!)"1 Following this logic, it would appear that your inherent preference is for coffee-drinking, rather than sex. "In truth, an expert investigator would say the more sensible prediction (sex over coffee) follows from the right kind of test".1 If you give someone coffee for 30 min and a boyfriend or girlfriend for 30 min. they will probably spend more time in "amorous activities"1 than drinking coffee. Following this, if you got to have sex everytime you drank coffee you'd likely drink more coffee than usual. That's the Premack Principle, baby!
Do you know people who spend more time drinking coffee than engaging in amorous activities? have no fear, if they were allowed to drink coffee everytime they had sex, they'd have more sex. It's still the Premack Principle! Of course, do not try these methods at home. The principle relies on deprivation at some level. It will only work if sex is the only way to the coffee drinking. If there is a starbucks on your corner, all bets are off!
The Premack-daddy will make you, JUMP JUMP!
1Bouton, Mark E. Learning and Behavior. Massachusetts: Sinauer Associates, 2007.
The best doodad I saw today was a deluxe miniature paper shredder in the shape of a panda. This hard plastic device is equipped with a formidable internal shredding mechanism. For example, shredding a small, 1" x 3" paper document (using standard weight Staples photocopy paper) can be accomplished quickly by a scant few rotations of the crank. This unassuming, ultra-efficient personal office machine safeguards privacy and will even shred highly classified post-it notes and worthless US dollars. The interior of this affable panda is essentially a compartment for the shredded paper -- a temporary, "pre-incineration holding area", if you will. This lethally clever gadget is deceptively cute, allowing one to discreetly shred damning paper evidence of any sort while maintaining an air of frivolity critical to the modern workplace. A crafty little deluxe miniature paper shredder in the shape of a panda, and an all-around paranoid doodad.
Watch it man, here comes a cop Comin’ to get ya on the spot What did you do, what did you say To make that man look grim that way
You say all you did was to give away Your buddy’s password to a temp one day And then that temp just tried for fun To see what mischief could be done
So he hacked into the central server And was detected by a keen observer Who called the folks at network ops Who called the man at the tippy top
Who said, "won’t do no second guessin’ It’s time to teach these guys a lesson" So the temp was nabbed, shipped to Mars And you’re about to lose your job
To the rest of you, to avoid this spot Come this Friday, hear words of Scott Who’ll share with us, what to do, or not So you don’t end up with a Gordian Knot
Subject 1 made 44 unique observations, as rated by a single rater, and subject 2 made 48 unique observations. Of these, 20 of them were shared between the two subjects. p > .05
So I did live blogcast this last year after all. What's up with the temporary long-term memory loss? An important finding of the longitudinal study.
As far as the cross-subject reliability study goes, we observe a significant variability in attitudes towards Lucy.
Also, Linus sexual orientation questioned with a probability of 0.5.
Anything else? Aside from overall awesomeness, of course.
PS: OMFG, it's Barry Manilow on Dancing with the stars: The results. Why is noone blogcasting this? As for me, I'm mentally exhausted from 1 hr. of blogcasting. My shift is over.
7:58pm Got my chips and salsa, ready to watch the big game. 8:00pm The show starts. There's a big pumpkin involved. 8:01pm Lucy gets proactive with a knife on big pumpkin's ass. You go, sister! Her brother cries like a little girl, as they say. 8:03pm Snoopy's here! 8:04pm Lucy about to pull the old football on CB. "You can trust me." Ha! "It was never notorized." Lucy 's an awesome role model for young women. 8:05pm Linus writes to Great Pumpkin, consoling it for Santa Claus' greater popularity. Lucy won't have any of it. 8:06pm Blondie what's-her-name is impressed by Great Pumpkin cult of one. She's a terrible role model for blondes. 8:07pm CB gets on to-invite list for party by mistake. Lucy sets him straight. 8:08pm Commercial break. Finally! Time to eat chips. 8:10pm I just realized, I didn't really live blogcast this last year. Make it N=1 for longitudinal study. 8:11pm Blondie learns the intricacies of trick or treating, concerned about its legality. No comment. 8:12pm Pigpen filthy as usual. Snoopy appears in full-on flying ace uniform for magnificent one-beagle parade in living room. 8:13 Ha! Blondie expresses feminist sensibilities! Good for her, but why is the most naive female character chosen to do that? I blame the patriarchy! 8:14pm Blondie and Linus in bushes, ready for great pumpkin action. 8:15pm Commercial break #2. Simulive blogcasting rules! I could get used to this. Ebert and Roepert style! 8:17pm Trick or treating productive. Kids end up with all kinds of chemically flavored products. CB ends up with the only all-natural treat - a rock. 8:18pm Snoopy as flying ace blasts through the skies in style. 8:19pm Until he's shot down by the terrorists. Hm, did I actually do this live blogcast last year? 8:20pm Snoopy bravely makes his way across French countryside, presumably in search of fine cheese and croissants. 8:21pm Blondie has finally had enough of Linus great pumpkin delusion. Recently read in article on Peanuts that great pumpkin stands for religion. 8:22pm Flying ace maneuvering through French countryside, ninja-style! 8:23pm Finally in the land of the free, enjoying some good period songs on the piano. 8:24pm Piano making flying ace misty-eyed. Aw. 8:25pm Girl, give this no-good pumpkin-worshipper the middle finger, already! 8:26pm Blondie's had it. I can see a long future of winner-dating for her. Sigh. 8:27pm Linus unfazed by the creation of emotional baggage in others, but upset by the absence of the great pumpkin. 8:28pm Commercial break #3. Chips! 8:31pm Lucy takes control of situation, situation being her no good brother. 8:32pm CB pondering stupid things he's done in his life. I hear ya, bro. 8:33pm Great pumpkin a masterpiece, You're not elected, Charlie Brown follows! 8:34pm Snoopy skillfully making breakfast for kids in full-on chef attire. Something he picked up during his time on the French countryside, no doubt. 8:35pm Lucy forces CB to face the sad truth: He'll never be elected. Just a motivational trick, of course. 8:36pm Snoopy as Joe Cool, ready for Advanced Arithmetic, ends up kicked out of class. What medieval educational practices! 8:37pm Commercial break #4. Chips! Guess what: 11 o'clock news will be about Red Sox nation. Muffins. Dunkin doughnuts. What's up with the long commercial break? 8:40pm Lucy promotes Linus candidacy. Promotional tools include logical reasoning and threats on voters' lives. 8:41pm Linus is nominated because Beethoven is dead and thus could not run. Linus accepts nomination. 8:42pm Snoopy is hired as campaign vice-manager something or other. Has own staff. 8:43pm Linus is a little demagogue. His platform is based on more sick leaves and longer recesses. 8:44pm Snoopy handles tech apsects of campaign, skillfully once again. 8:45pm Lucy's taking calls from listeners. Listeners are clueless and frustrating. 8:46pm Commercial break #5. Out of chips, damn it. Hey, I want one or more of those Chocolate Ghosts! 8:48pm Candidate debate is on! Linus opponent tanking. He has yellow lettuce-shaped hair. He needs an extreme makeover. 8:49pm Linus pandering to special beagle interest groups. 8:50pm Linus too honest to be politician. He admits school board mtgs are past his bedtime, thus off his agenda. 8:51pm Linus wants to pose with dog to augment his campaign. Wise choice but doesn't pan out. 8:52pm Linus blows a great campaign by blabbering on about great pumpkin. Oh, brother! 8:53pm Lucy has to pick up the pieces, decides the only person good enough to campaign for is herself. Lucy empowerment threat level: elevated. 8:54pm Commercial break #6. I'm cold. OMG. Dancing with the stars: The results is on next. Should I keep live blogcasting? 8:57pm Votes are being counted. No noticeable election fraud. Linus is the winner. Great, the class really needs a born-again pumpkin-worshipper president. 8:58pm Ha! Linus as president kisses ass of status quo. No surprise there. Blondie speaks out on behalf of frustrated citizenry. 8:59pm Once again, a great show. I'm pretty sure I live blogcasted this before. Age-related memory shakiness detected.
Pre-show conditions: Current Time Zone - Central Standard Time Current Location - 30°16′N 97°45′W Current Temperature - 74° F Current Beverage - Diet Coke
6:52pm - Pre-simulive blog cast bathroom break and re-heating of left-over chunky vegetable lasagna. Nearly ready!! 7:00pm - OMG, it's starting. Lucy is already impossible to please, greedy bitch! But, damn if she can't handle a knife. 7:03pm - the first "Oh, Brother" of the night. 7:04pm - CB learns that the legality of signed documents means jack shit when dealing with knife-welding bitches. 7:05pm - Did Linus just imply that Santa doesn't exist? 7:05pm - Linus is so simple, but so wise. Except for when it comes to women. (This Lasagna is better than Sunday AND Monday. It gets better and better.) 7:07pm - and so resourceful....I'm in love. CB was put on the wrong list, apparently there are two. One list of people to invite, and one list not to invite. CB was invited, but it's all a big mistake. (soml) 7:10pm - ...and we're back. Lucy is preaching about something or other. They all bash Linus, and his faith in a big pumpkin. Except Sally. 7:11pm - CB f'd up his costume - hopeless. In comes Snoopy, the flying Ace. Definition of "sense of entitlement" 7:12pm - Everyone heads of to the party, by way of pumpkin patch for some last minute Linus-bashing. 7:13pm - Sally welcomes Linus to the 20th century. Although she tries to show him that little girls don't just believe everything that is told to them, she still runs right back to sit in the patch with Linus. Sally, mixed-messages are confusing and unfair, you're giving women a bad rep. 7:15pm - Commerical for "Shrek the Halls" the best new christmas special EVER! 7:16pm - Local news promo, the weather man is going to tell us "hour by hour" exactly how cold it will be on halloween night. Perhaps a simuliveblogcast is the perfect venue for him too. 7:17pm - ...and, back! Candy, money, gum, popcorn, fudge, and rocks are doled out as "treats". CB seems to be the only one with rocks. Poor guy, I guess he was on the wrong list. 7:18pm - Snoops is flying his dog-house, it starts off a little iffy, but he gets it under control. Weird color changes...purples, blues, reds - very post-modern. The dog-house is hit! 7:20pm - the flying ace is imagining he's down and in France. Random Schulz! 7:21pm - "Stand by your man!" 7:22pm - Halloween party time! After torturing poor Linus and Sally, the kids go on to force Charlie Brown to model for the pumpkin. They say he's a perfect model - although the jack-o-latern face looks nothing like CB. bitches. 7:23pm - PTSD flashback to France. 7:23pm - Lucy has a big mouth, perfect for bobbing for apples...(among other things). 7:24pm - musical interlude brought to you by Schroder and Snoopy. Snoopy breaks down, another PTSD flashback, part way through. He continues to cycles between extremes. PTSD bi-polar? 7:25pm - You said it Sally! "If anyone would have told me that I'd be waiting in a pumpkin patch on halloween night, I'd have told them they were crazy!" 7:26pm - Linus passed out at the prospect of the Great Pumpkin, and missed the whole thing. But, Sally fills him in. Quite loudly, and angrily. Get used to it sister, such is life. 7:27pm - Linus declares "the fury of a woman who has been cheated out of tricks and treats" is no match for the fury of a woman scorned. Then he verbally questions the Great Pumpkin's existence, and is destined for a life of disappointment. 7:31pm - Lucy drags Linus in from the patch, I didn't think she had it in her. 7:31pm - CB knew the Great Pumpkin wasn't coming, he thinks its stupid. 7:32pm - As Linus flutters his arms during the credits, I am suddenly questioning his sexual preference. I thought maybe Sally had a chance - but he's way more passionate about this pumpkin and his little dance. Sally, poor Sally.....
You suck at life, Charlie Brown
7:33pm - Snoopy brings in pancakes. CB's voice is different. 7:35pm - Linus thinks CB should run for President. Lucy offers to help him...I smell trouble. 7:36pm - Trouble indeed. But...Joe Cool to the rescue, we hope. 7:37pm - Joe Cool is dancing, and I'm wondering if this can count as one of my qualifying exams?! 7:38pm - dessert time. I'm eating a Chocolate Ghost sent to me by a non-Martinoz friend for Halloween. They come from L.A. Burdick in Cambridge. "hand-piped, with a hazelnut and dark chocolate ganache, hand-dipped and wrapped in white chocolate" -YUM! Pictures to follow. 7:39pm - Sally - GET OVER HIM! There are things about you that he just isn't into, things you can't change. I mean, not easily. 7:40pm - Lucy is a bully. What kind of message does "The Peanuts" really hope to portray? 7:42pm - Lucy's the boss, the bitchy bully boss! CB recruits Snoopy's help. 7:43pm - Linus is an excellent politician in the making, completely unaware of the issues, completely unaware of what his staff is doing. 7:45pm - Linus shows a complete lack of technical ability. 7:45pm - "I want to talk to Harold!" 7:46pm - a commercial, thank god. I'm losing steam...this absolutely parallels the way I do homework. 7:48pm - Linus is ahead. CB introduces the opposition, Russell Anderson, to limited applause. 7:49pm - Lucy has a point, someone should tell Russell... "The best you can" is rarely good enough. 7:50pm - Linus needs a step stool in order to be able to see above the podium. Also, he goes to bed before the important meetings he'd need to attend. Labor linus vincit 7:52pm - Linus has a surprise. Instead of his campaign speech he wants to talk about the Great Pumpkin. And, with that, his promising career is over. But, in all honesty? Are we ready for a homosexual president? 7:54pm - The tomato sauce I dropped on my khaki pants distracted me from accurately blogcasting Lucy's tirade. Although, I found it ironic. Hopefully the other blogcasts captures it! 7:57pm - The vote is close, nearly too close to call. Russell casts the deciding vote - for Linus. UNBELIEVABLE! 7:58pm - Linus is sweaty and nervous upon leaving the Principal's Office. I wonder what happened in there.... 7:59pm - Sally, I mean it....get used to it! You've got a long life ahead of you. 8:02pm - really?! That was the end? I thought that this was a commercial, but it's apparently "Dancing with the stars".
Tomorrow, Tuesday October 30th at 8pm (ET)/7pm (CT) on ABC:
It's the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown
The show will be accompanied by two simulive blogcasts, complete with post-blogcast analysis, stats, longitudinal study, and cross-subject, cross-site reliability study.
Abstract: This work investigates variability in the responses of individuals to an identical peanut-based stimulus. The stimulus is a telecast of It's the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown that the subjects watch live on ABC. Subjects are asked to respond to the stimulus with a spontaneous live blogcast. For our longitudinal study, we present a healthy volunteer with the stimulus at N=2 different visits with an inter-visit interval of Δt=1yr. For our cross-subject, cross-site reliability study, we present N=2 subjects with the same stimulus simultaneously at different sites. The subjects are healthy volunteers, approximately matched for age, race, IQ, and socioeconomic status. The sites are separated by 1 time zone and 30°F.
The best doodad I saw today was a pink rubber porcine critter. It stands about 3" tall and is about 4 1/2" long. When its soft spines are compressed, this friendly little piglet becomes considerably more compact and can be stuffed into small nooks in and around one's desk space. This winsome rubber pig has a pleasant countenance; even though the existence of a smiling mouth is questionable, there is no mistaking those laughing eyes and that upbeat pig snout. One ear is located on each side of the head. This attractive little piglet comes in the deep pink hue of a fresh rose, and smells just as good, though masked somewhat by the scent of latex. An appealing little pink rubber porcine critter, and an all-around spiny doodad.
cy·lin·dro·kre·o·pho·bi·a: From the Greek kylindros (cylinder) + kreas (meat) + phobos (fear); the fear of tubular meats. A debilitating condition that afflicts 0.001% of the population. If untreated, it can lead to:
My local Market Basket had a children's Halloween coloring contest on display. There must have been about fifty kids' pictures on that wall. Only one of them colored their jack-o-lantern something other than orange. His name is Jack and he's 6 years old. He colored his jack-o-lantern blue.
Is there something wrong with Jack or is there something right with him?
I'm in the market for a mechanical donkey. So far my search has been disappointing. The pickings are slim and only appropriate for rodeo if you are a comatose smurf:
Donkey polo. Go to 22:30 in the audio for the story.
"Riding a donkey is a lot like driving a car. That is, if the car turns right when you turn left and suddenly accelerates when you want to stop. Now imagine leaning over and hitting the beach ball without falling off your ass."
The poll results are in. The blogcast is gonna go down.
I have to briefly address the ethical disclosure issue. Culturally, we're now of three types relative to this blogcast. Those who are current, beyond the sociocultural phenomenon discussed here, those who are in past and sadly intend to remain so, and the rest of you who might someday pass this way. If you're in the third group, PLEASE DON'T READ. Since you're ignoring me anyway I'll anonymize when possible.
Also, just FYI, you're behind, even if you're ahead. I can't catch you up. It's too much, too raw. Just do your best.
Chapter 20: Five Years Gone
8:22 Starting with a flashfoward past the end of the world.
8:25 H1 and H1.5 meet face to face without exploding into a million Douglas Adams dolls. This is where Ch. 19 left off. Michael J. Fox rolls in his grave.
8:29 H1.5 says H1 has to kill Cyclops. Pacey and Taye Diggs bust in, apparently now the bad guys. Ah! Homeland Security. Ando and H1.5 off to find Peter Parker.
8:31 Obligatory stripper scene. JesNik looks better with short hair.
8:37 PP's got a totally badass scar tonight, dating J/N. He deserves better. Back in NYC, Pacey1.5 is Michael Chertoff, BrotherBear1.5 is Rudy Giuliani/Josef Stalin-type. Mo is bad too! Brother Bear wants genocide, Mo still moralizing blah-blah. Pacey1.5 is kicking the crap out of H1; apparently no longer a pansy.
8:45 H1.5 and J2 and Phil Hartman are faking drug tests for young XMen. Mo and Pacey1.5 just now are figuring out that H1/H1.5 can time travel? Come on stupies.
8:50 CareBear is the new waitress? Save the CareBear, save the Purple Pieman. She's in Deep Cover. All the XMen are being round up for the gas chamber. HOLY CRAP PP rescues H1.5 and J2 from Pacey's evil thuggeivery!
8:54 I hate Care Bear's new boy toy, and wish for his forthcoming death. Fortunately Pacey's arresting her.
8:57 PP hypotheses a hobbit-like love between J2 and H1.2. This seems imminently plausible.
9:01 BrotherBear and CareBear are ... WAIT! BrotherBear is Cyclops! SURPRISE! Good because he was acting like a major douche. The real BrotherBear is just a medium douche.
9:04 The Matrix breaks out.
9:08 Mo gonna kill H1. Commercial. Hell yeah!! Taye Diggs bites it! Friggin Pacey!! BigBrother/Cyclops flying/wall/deadH1.5=/a;sdgjagkjgajs too much.
9:14 Flashback to Flashnormal. H1 and J2 are back, continuity restored.
Chapter 21: The Hard Part
9:17 Ok. Everyone RELAX. FRIGGIN RELAX ALREADY.
9:19 CareBear and Jackie-O Motherfucker are packing for French Disneyland. PP looks way worse with his face not f'ed up.
9:21 Pacey, Hartman and VolcanoTed are stealing cars for their lame-ass anti-corporate mission. VolcanoTed looks like a goat, like Jim Breuer.
9:25 Cyclops has some doubts about annihilating the city. Mo's ham-handed moralism squenches that moment.
9:27 Little Yannick Noah and the fake J/N plan some heist.
9:30 NUCLEOTIDES ARE DECOMPOSING! VIRUSES TO BLAME! We can tell all this from a microscope projecting on a TV.
9:33 On blog-topic question: Is Cyclops eating their brains to gain their power? His mouth never looks bloody. Also, brains are mostly fat, and he's a skinny dude.
9:44 DL and J/N are breaking into CheeseMan's vault, but completely unrelated to the storyline I've just realized that Hartman's boss is played by Eric Roberts, of Julia and Doggie Bag fame. All this time I thought the actor was the dude from Logan's Run.
9:46 This kid Molly is supercute. Her skill is a totally ripoff of Jean Luc's from XMen. I've decided to keep count: consider this documented ripoff #1.
9:48 Cyclop's mom! Lousy actress. Snowglobes. False emotion. Considering a fast forward. She collects the snowglobes. Wake me when it's over. And this is the leading hit for the image search for Gabrielle.
9:50 Logan is pro-nuclear annihilation. Whatever dude.
9:56 Noah and fake J/N are hanging out. She's the second hottest on this show behind the lesbian lady cop. Her name is Missy. Now, Stick It, that's an actively bad movie. She plays pretty much the same role here.
9:58 Cyclops mommy issues continue to bore. Oh, she got scissored in some sort of Oedipal Weirdness, similar to this.
10:06 Mo's brilliant clinical skillz now includes direct blood transfusions to cute Molly. Good job there Dr. Creepout. I won't count this ripoff of Jack & Boone from Lost since Lost failed to mention the miraculous power of Antibodies.
10:10 Jackie-O Neocon is creepy too. Bombs = Destiny!! She drops another Matrix line, with BrotherBear as Neo. I ignored the Matrix before at 9:04 but have to count this as documented ripoff #2.
10:12 My DVD player has a 3D button! Turning it on does not induce any immediate 3D-goodness. Disappointment.
10:14 Lame ending with Hartman/CareBear/PP/VolcanoTed/Pacey. Coolest part is they're by some orange spiral staircase sculpture thing, which apparently is ungoogleable.
Chapter 22: Landslide
10:17 Fuzzy-Monkey is thirsty during the recap. She's looking at me like, "didn't we used to do stuff other than watch Heroes?" No fuzz, this is how is was, and is, and ever will be.
10:23 H1 has crisis of confidence. Buck up little hero! The sword is broken and must be reforged! (LOTR documented ripoff #3)
10:26 Road trip to Nebraska for PP/VolcanoTed/CareBear/Cyclops!! This show is not very greenhouse gas friendly.
10:29 BigCheese redeems himself by de-Christopher Reeve'ing BrotherBear's wife! Good deeds, done dirt cheap!
10:32 H1 flips out on BrotherBear in the street, slurring him as a "virrian, virrian". Oh, J/N is here. I bet Noah's going to fix the election for BrotherBear. More political commentary on Diebold forthcoming?
10:37 Silver Surfer from Missy!! Go girl! Noah's geri curl situation is getting out of control. But, yeah, he's going to rig the election.
10:41 On topic blogpoint #2: Father in japanese is Tosa. I wonder how Tosa is.
10:45 Sulu and H1 in Kill Bill ripoff (#4). A ripoff of Tarantino's ripoffs makes this the meta-est ripoff in several episodes. Sulu is either the main boss bad dude or the main boss good dude, not sure yet.
10:51 SWORDFIGHT TRAINING MONTAGE!! This is almost as convincing and offensive as ...
10:55 Pacey playing Jedi Mind Tricks for documented ripoff #5.
10:58 Mo had cured Molly with his hot blood injection. A miracle! Eric Roberts, where have you been love? Ooops, you're dead.
11:03 You too VolcanoTed. Nice to have known ya goaty! Brainz are central to this story in every way.
11:09 You three DL!
11:10 You four BigCheese! With a patented through-the-skull brain grab!!
11:13 Pseudo-emotional BS speech from BrotherBear after the eponymous Landslide election. In a wrap up montage, two thirds of the remaining characters have guns pointed at their heads, and Cyclops is practicing wearing his VolcanoTed suit.
Chapter 23: How To Stop An Exploding Man
11:18 Stupid Universal theme song & FBI warning disc switch. This is the last episode, I'm guess it's double-length. I've heard from reputable statisticians and medical oncologists at Dana-Farber that this finale is a little disappointing. I have lowered my expectations accordingly to derive maximum benefit from their wisdom. Let us watch: IT IS MY DESTINY!
11:22 Mo gets the honor of the voiceover into to the finale. He's got the best voice. He's no Sayid, but still.
11:26 Wait, wait, is DL still alive??
11:27 H1 is is off to save J2 to earn more of Sulu's shameful discorn. Off to save J2-san!
11:31 I'd like to point out that New York has TWENTY-NINE representatives. 29! I doubt these elections are such big hairy deals in the real world.
11:38 PP knows BrotherBear's on the nuclear take! Jackie-O M&F'er puts the smack-down on CareBear! PP's hands go nuke-tastic!
11:40 Documented ripoff #6 (#2 from LOTR) as the eye of Sauron can see clean through young Molly. I'll be happy when Jackie-O bites it.
11:43 Didn't Pacey shoot Cyclops like 40 times 18 episodes ago? How has he forgotten than bullets don't work against this dude. We need nuke-hands for clobberin' time.
11:49 Documented ripoff #6, PP falls into the Pensieve. His hospice dude is in on this plot with Jackie-O, No!
11:52 J/N still hunting for Noah. Oh SNAP. It's just N, and now she's face to face with J! No es possible! Maybe this is fake-J/Missy. It must be.
11:56 I found the spiral staircase, since they keep coming back to it. It's Kirby Plaza, in LA, not NYC. HOW TO SUSPEND DISBELIEF WITH GEOGRAPHIC INACCURACIES!?
12:01 CareBear just ..>!>!.>!! Wow. Tough ass little chick.
12:02 J vs N = J vs Missy, Noah's alive! Nikki triumphs over both the fake and real Jessica.
12:05 H1 and J2 are totally coveting thy respective questmate's sexy-bad selves.
12:08 THERE CAN BE ONLY ONE! TRUE LOVE WILL SAVE! Highlander-Harry Potter combo ripoff #7/8.
12:10 There's been a running gag through the whole series where they've never actually said Hartman's first name, until now. Apparently it's Noah. So, the little Noah (DL & J/N's son) mentioned previously in this blogcast is NOT the real Noah. Great. Moving on.
12:13 Is this it? The Kaiju Big Battel between PP and Cyclops? They're at Kirby Plaza, dramatic finale, and I think I hear a mouse in my kitchen. F f f f fuuuu.
12:14 Pacey is dead.
12:15 Cyclops is dead.
12:27 A brief break to watch the end and catch my breath. Everyone is either "dead" or dead. Some of those who I've said were dead are not. Others (PP/BB) are of unclear dead-status. J/N, of all people, is definitely not dead. H1, despite all his talk and rhetoric about movies, apparently has never learned Rule #1 About Killing Bad Guys, which simply states if you run them through with a sword, best to follow-up with chopping off their heads to make sure they're dead. A SIX YEAR OLD KNOWS THIS!!!
POSTLUDE: Generations
12:33 The last scene takes us back to 17th century Japan. H1 and Takezo Kensei? Solar eclipse? I guess I should have stopped expecting this to make sense a long time ago.
TODAY, Friday, Oct 5, 11:00 am ICE CREAM: Toscanini’s Ice Cream will have a free public tasting of a new flavor — “Yum-A-Moto Vanilla Twist” — they invented to honor 2007 Ig Nobel Chemistry Prize winner Mayu Yamamoto. Toscanini’s Ice Cream, Central Square, 899 Main Street, Cambridge, MA.
The Frank Erwin Center Presents Al Gore The Inconvenient Truth Monday, October 1st, 2007 7:30pm
POST TALK REVIEW: It was alright, there was a lot of "THE WHOLE WORLD IS GOING TO DIE" and "blame the media" and tear-evoking photos of the stranded polar bears (who are going to die) and penguins (who are going to die). In the end though, he answered some questions that people submitted on their way in - likely ones he wrote himself, I know. While he was answering 11 year old Jacob's question "Can we really beat this thing?" a man began yelling. I couldn't see him - I was up to high, he was to far back - but there was a big scuffle and lots of yelling.
It was ok ok ok ok ok ok ok I guess guess guess guess guess guess guess.
8:46pm, ok 4-feet is too small. It looks ridiculous. I'm going to eat dinner and contemplate finances. I'm sure I can find $5 for an extra 2 feet...right? I mean, in the same place I found the money for all the christmas decorations. And...they're open all night. Dinner time!
Thanks to ABC for supporting this project.
The Theatre at 
