Pariah

8 hours ago, Asperion said:

A: Phasers are set for tickle.

Q: Does Rule 34 apply to Star Trek?

A: Rutabagas for everyone!

The conference formerly known as the PAC-12 used to have a rule that required teams playing on Thursday to have a bye the week before.

I wish the NFL would do something like that.

I had just finished listening to disc 6 of 11 of The Blue Sword by Robin McKinley, the bit where Harimad-sol is officially made one of.the King's Riders of Damar. I slipped in disc 7 ... and it was unreadable. I took it back to the library, and they don't have another copy.

So I had to get another book. Of what they had available on site, I chose The Handmaid's Tale by Margaret Atwood. I've listened to about 10 minutes of it. I'm already low-key horrified.

So young in love, they couldn't wait
Said their vows just to run away

Suddenly they felt their lives had changed

They believed their hearts were strong
Just to find they couldn't get along
They didn't care it slowly comes undone

Will she go or will she stay (will she stay)
Fool herself one more day
Don't give up
Never walk away

Love's a promise that he made
In his heart it still remains
Don't give up
Never walk away

Had to meet somewhere half way
Heart to heart, face to face
Compromise the price they had to pay

Cared enough to stand their ground
Screamed and shouted 'til the walls came down
Won the fight still a brand new day

Will she go or will she stay (will she stay)
Fool herself one more day
Don't give up
Never walk away
Love's a promise that he made
In his heart it still remains
Don't give up
Never walk away

Will she go or will she stay (will she stay)
Fool herself one more day
Don't give up
Never walk away
Love's a promise that he made
In his heart it still remains
Don't give up
Never walk away

Never walk away
Oh, oh (never walk away)
Never walk away

If you know, you know.

On 3/25/2024 at 7:37 PM, Cancer said:

Like this?

All right, as I see it, we still need titles from Cancer, Dr. MID-Nite, and Sociotard, as well as a Paragon and an Organization from Dr, MID-Nite.

I hope to put up the poll tomorrow and run it until Monday morning.

Boss: "Where do you see yourself in five years?"

Me: "I'd say my biggest weakness is listening."

Okay, about that concert:

Journey put on a spectacular show. They had great energy and engagement. Arnel Pineda (who's my age(!)) was running all over the stage, climbing onto speaker stacks,holding the mic out to the audience ... oh, and singing the vocals like they were written for him. Fantastic range and tone. Neal Schon (the only founding member remaining) was impressive on guitar, slinging out the solos front and center. Longtime guitarist / keyboardist Jonathan Cain took over hosting duties for about the second half of the set, telling some of the stories behind the songs. They played about 20 songs, with two extended guitar solos and one piano solo (during which times the rest of the band changed outfits and presumably took care of basic biological needs). Cain came out for the second half wearing a Utah Grizzlies hockey jersey, which was pretty cool. They played all their big hits and a couple of lesser-known songs. If you've heard the 2-CD The Essential Journey, that was basically their playlist. The mixing was a little off; it was too loud for the venue overall, too heavy in the bass and too light in the midrange. But the band had solid musicianship, enthusiastic performances, and memorable songs. Like I said, they put on a great show.

But Toto was better.

I mean no disrespect to Journey here, but Toto was amazing.

Toto opened the show. They did only nine songs, which kind of bummed me out. Obviously they did "Rosanna", "Hold the Line", and "Africa". They did a couple of other lesser hits, "99" and "I'll Be Over You". They did a cover or Bob Seger's version of "With A Little Help From My Friends". But they also did three non-singles: they opened with "Girl Goodbye" from their first album, played "Home of the Brave" for The Seventh One, and also played "Dying On My Feet" from 2006's Falling In Between. Fewer songs, but they played them flawlessly. The mixing was perfect; highs, lows, and midrange were all clear and the vocals were easy to understand. Guitarist Steve Lukather (Luke) acted as host, introducing and telling stories about all the songs. He also took a few minutes to introduce the band members. Like Schon, he's the only founding member left, though the band does include longtime members Joseph Williams (son of composer John Williams) and Greg Phillinganes. In introducing the band, Luke talked about how his mom and the bass player's mom were both pregnant with them at the same time living on the same street, how the drummer played on all of Taylor Swift's hits the first time around, and how the second keyboardist was actually on loan from his son's band, which also includes Nick Collins (Phil's son). He mentioned how he had met Greg while they were both doing studio work on Thriller—at which point he casually dropped the opening guitar riff from "Beat It". He also had Joseph sing the "Hakuna Matata" bit from The Lion King—Williams was the singing voice of the adult Simba in the film. Luke also mentioned how Toto and Journey were now family, since his son had married Jonathan Cain's daughter. (Cain mentioned it later as well.) Toto came across as a lot more laid back in their part of the show, but their playing was clean and tight. They were like a bunch of old friends who just happened to have got together to play music for 15,000 people one night.

All in all, a fantastic and memorable evening.

Spider: "May I ask why you're so afraid of me?"

Human: "Well, all the reasons I had before have been replaced by the fact that you can talk...."

On 3/23/2024 at 9:32 PM, Old Man said:

I could see needing a week or so to recover from that concert.

Especially when that week is the first week of a new academic quarter.   But yes, I will report ... in the fullness of time. Expect it when you see it.

6 minutes ago, Bazza said:

“Can I ask you a question?” 
“You just have.”

I use this one. All. The. Time.

11 minutes ago, Bazza said:

“Can I go to the toilet?” 
“I don’t know, can you?”

"Mr. P, can I go to the bathroom?"

"That's between you and your doctor. I don't get involved."

Too soon...?

Ohtani seems like a nice enough fellow, agreeable and polite. Which Pete Rose really was not.

I wish Ohtani no particular ill will. But I loathe the Dodgers just enough that I would find it funny if they dumped all their resources into this guy who's going to end up not playing for them for any reasonable amount of time. 🤷

A man and his wife were in a terrible car crash. Both survived, but the man's face was badly burned. He needed a skin graft, but the doctor told him they couldn't graft any of the skin from his own body because he was too skinny. His wife offered to donate some of her own skin, but the only skin the doctor felt was suitable would have to come from her buttocks.

The husband and wife agreed that they would tell no one where the skin graft came from. They requested that the doctor also never tell anyone, and the doctor agreed. The doctor performed the procedure, and it was a surprising success.

After the surgery, everyone was amazed at the man's new face. He looked more handsome than he ever had before. All of his friends and family went on and on about how young and attractive he looked.

One day he was alone with his wife, and he was overcome with emotion at what she had done for him. He said, "Sweetheart, I just want to tell you how much I appreciate your sacrifice. You've changed my life. How can I ever repay you?"

She smiled sweetly and said, "My darling, I get all the thanks I need every time I see your mother kiss you on the cheek."

A gentleman is never rude unintentionally.

All right, we have updates again! If everything is complete for your draft, you should see your name in bold on the Rosters page (post #2). 

I expect to post the poll for this Superdraft on Tuesday ca. Noon Eastern Daylight Time. If you're missing anything, you've got that long to get it to me.

We've got a lot of great casts assembled. Well played, everyone!

He had some nice things to say about his former conference rivals:

What Gonzaga coach Mark Few said about BYU’s play the in Big 12

Meanwhile, Gonzaga punched their ticket to the Sweet 16 for the 9th consecutive year, while BYU continues their dubious tradition of one-and-done in the Big Dance.

Some things never change, even in a new conference.