in which I update and indicate that I am still alive

Greetings and salutations.  It's been a while - 6 years, in fact, almost 7 - and yet I still breathe.  Amazing!  

Still living in the same place, not working in the same place, and beagle-less.  Lily crossed the Rainbow Bridge in 2021, and I got Mia a month after I lost Lily.  Mia was a younger beag, but she developed an ear infection and myeloma, and she left me very suddenly in January 2022.  It's been a long pandemic, and I'm still furbaby-less.

I also want to apologize for a previous post.  My VLD tastes changed sometime around the start of Season 5, in March of 2018, and I turned into a Sheith fan.  Apparently I was imagining that this series should be like the former series, and Oof.  I was wrong. Freely admit.  

We've had a terrible election rollercoaster in the US since someone came down a golden escalator, and I for one will be glad when TFG is no longer in the public eye.  I have MAGA fatigue something fierce.  I can say without remorse that the last 3 years under Biden have been so much better than with TFG - I don't wake up each day wondering if we've gone to war with someone because of an implied diss.  I still can't believe that such an unbalanced fake 'celeb' was actually in control of this nation.

Nothing more, really just coasting along, working full time as a pre-press tech, making my projects, listening to sportsball games. Hope we have a woman in charge of the US soon!! Vote!!

Cheers.

get your kicks on (old) route 66

NBC Nightly News airs segment about Route 66 http://t.co/8jQHT3IAbp
— Ron Warnick (@route66news) July 2, 2014

I ran across this post on Twitter a few weeks ago, finally got around to watching it (it was originally aired just before Memorial Day) and felt I needed to share it. Unfortunately, the embedding won't work, but I'd urge you to go to "Modern-Day Kicks on Route 66", on the NBC site.

I grew up relatively close to old 66, in southern St. Louis County.  I even lived a block away from the decommissioned route for a few years, in Marlborough - old 66 is now MO-366, Watson Road.  I thought it was really cool that you could drive down Watson and see all these old, tiny motels, right on the shoulder of the widened road, with their rusty neon signs and odd names.  Coral Courts was still standing (sadly, demolished in 1994) and Ted Drewes was only a few miles away.  I always thought it was so interesting that a big part of national history was only a half a block away.  It makes me sad that you cannot see the old gates to Coral Court anymore behind a fence and overgrown trees along Watson.

The Pixar movie Cars really sparked renewed interest in old Route 66, and I think more people drive the historic route because of that movie than ever.  I'd love to do the whole thing, and I've already travelled a couple of the Chicago to St. Louis alignments, as well as from St Louis to around Waynesville, through Hooker's Cut and Devil's Elbow.  It's not easy sometimes to find the old route, but there are books and maps to help.  One of my favorite is Route 66: Traveler's Guide and Roadside Companion by Tom Snyder - I think I have the 2nd or 3rd edition, and this is up to the 4th (2011).  Lots of good directions, and alternate alignments listed, plus trivia and 'what to see'.

I have some interesting shots of some of the things along the Mother Road that I've seen along my very short travels, and someday I'll post them up here.  There are quite a few routes through St Louis - it can be confusing - but as time goes on, the St Louis County Streets and Highways Department is posting signs along the Alt Routes and the Bi-Ways through and around the city.

I also find it amusing that I moved to north St Louis County, and I'm once again a block and a half away from the old Route - the northern Bi-way around the city that crossed the Mississippi at the old Chain of Rocks bridge is Dunn Road, which is the outer road for I-270 around the city.  I think the Bi-way takes a left at Lindbergh Blvd/US 67 and goes south to either Manchester Road/MO-100 or all the way to Watson/MO-366.

Maybe it's time to take another short cruise on the Mother Road.

Cheers!

welcome to july

Hi all, just a quickie post!

Someone on one of the message boards I frequent had a topic about what books or fanfic everyone's been reading, and I realized that I hadn't really sat down and read anything longish from beginning to end in a long time, and hadn't marked it on my "Read" list in a *very* long time.

I've updated the "Books/Fics Read" list over on the sidebar now. I'll add stuff to it as they're read. I read a lot of fanfiction!

Got to see Ruth, Denise, Lindsey, Steve and Dean a couple of weeks ago!  Want proof?



We had a great time - there were a TON of people there (I warned Steve!) and I think we walked about 6-7 miles just on Saturday.  Thankfully it wasn't overly hot. Dean was a charmer as usual *sigh* - and left for home the next day at 4:30 AM to get home for Father's Day.  That's 2:30 AM Cali time.  Poor guy.  The rest of us had dinner on Saturday & brunch on Sunday before going our different ways.

Ruth, Linz, Denise and I went to the Superman Museum on Sunday - OMG, they had some of Clark's ties and Lois's dress from "I've Got A Crush On You".  Yes, I was literally jumping up and down! :D  It was so cool!

I'm going to be working full-time soon.  No details allowed yet - we're still working out the kinks.

I'm working on the "Checkerboard Textures Throw" from Red Heart - one and a half more rounds to go and then the cleanup.  The border rounds are 750+ sts around...taking forever! I want to finish this so I can go back to my knitting needles!

Okay, that's all for now.

Cheers!

still kickin'

Yep. Still out here.  Not much going on besides a couple of conventions (loved New Orleans!!) and some other things.  Job hunting.

I realized that I've added a few states to my 'places' map - I couldn't find the original one, so here a new one.  Added Mississippi and Louisiana!

Again, not much going on.  Working on a couple of afghans, finished a present for Mom but need to block it, and am growing some container tomatoes.  Note to self:  Don't buy any more veggie plants if you need to go back to hardware store.  Every time I go, I come back with another plant!!

I'm going to see Ruth, Lindsey, and Denise (oh, and Dean and Steve!) in Metropolis in a couple of weeks for the annual Superman Celebration.  Should be fun!  This is Dean's first time at this event, so he's probably going to be very very busy. I'm hoping we have dry weather - last year Sunday was basically washed out due to all the severe weather they had.  Hear me, Mother Nature?  No t-storms, please.

Well, I just wanted to check in.  Yankees are playing the Cards right now - go Cards!  I can't stand the Yankees.

Cheers!

i called him santa cain ;)

I got to see Dean Cain again in Nashville along with my friends Denise, Beth, Ruth and Lindsey, and we teased him about all the holiday movies he's made.  I told him we were going to call him Santa Cain, but that he didn't need to grow the beard (he was scruffy Friday and Saturday, and clean-shaven on Sunday!) to be the Big Guy.

This was on Inside Edition this week.  He's doing a media blitz for Defending Santa which airs on Sunday, and so here it is:



Cheers!

still kickin' - and this is pretty amazing

Do I think dolphins are smarter than we are? Yep.




Cheers!

man of steel worldwire release in 2 days and counting

Well, it's almost here.

We've been peppered with TV spots and trailers (11 at last count!) as well as Henry Cavill and Russell Crowe doing a little bit of the talk show circuit.

Can I have a Cavill? A Henry clone? He's got 4 brothers... Yummmm.

I was looking up something for someone about the LA premiere (couldn't find anything!) and the Red Carpet Premiere was in NYC yesterday.  I guess they're not doing a red carpet in California? Huh.

The HUB is having a Superman: TAS marathon on Friday to mark the opening of the movie, and they did something kinda cool.  I can't embed the video, but here's the link:

Animated 'Superman' promo shot-for-shot nod to 'Man of Steel' trailer: EXCLUSIVE VIDEO

Apparently HUB did the same thing last year when The Dark Knight Rises premiered last summer.

They (DC et al)'re already estimating that MoS will have a $100 mil+ opening weekend, AND they're already talking SEQUEL. As well as a Justice League movie. I can hear my Cali teacher buddy squeezing from here!

I'm not going to the midnight showing. I'm going to the 11PM showing on Friday night! woot!  I also picked up the soundtrack today - Hans Zimmer's work, and apparently they had 12 drummers with full sets on the tracks.  Haven't listened yet (baseball comes first, just like the Cards, who are IN first!) but it's almost 2 hours of music.  Wow!!!

Okay, off to read.  Cheers!!

white men can't dance, and neither can al roker

Dean "Mr. PR" Cain was on the 4th hour of the Today show this morning, talking about the new VH1 series called "Hit The Floor":

Visit NBCNews.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy

I still think it should have stayed "Bounce", as that was a fitting description! It's about the cheer team, after all.

Anyway, enjoy and drool.  He just shaved the beard - he was still furry last week in Michigan (see "Holiday Miracle Harlem Shake" on YouTube *diez laughing*), so that new.  Hope I can see him in Nashville in October!  woot!

Cheers!

spock vs spock

Yes, this is an Audi ad, but ROFL!!!



LLAP, y'all.

Cheers!

game one of the playoffs goes to...

The Blues!!!

Yes, this just happened.



Hoo-leee Jumpin!

Kelly gets the quote of the night, tho. "Good bye. Good night.  Game over!!"

Cheers!

double post night...on a happier note!

Happy 75th birthday to Superman!

Man of Steel opens on June 14th.  Think I'm going to see if there's a midnight showing anywhere close.

I haven't posted here for a while...and I've been a little busy.  Have video and some pictures to share from Wizard World Comic Con 2013, and some baby news about a good friend of mine :)

Warner Bros released the third trailer for MoS yesterday - I'm guessing, due to the length (3 minutes) this is the official theatrical trailer. What do you think?  I'm looking forward to it!!



If you can watch it full screen, I'd recommend it.  I plugged the 42" TV into the computer and watched it, more than once.  WOW.  It's changed a couple people's thoughts about upcoming movie, too - it looks that good.

Oh, and I have to plug one more thing  ;)  Dean Cain's brother Roger's band is going to be on AXS TV on Monday (4/22/2013) at 9 CDT.  You can find out if you get the channel by visiting their website.  Roger's band is DSB, which is a Journey tribute band - here's the blurb:

The World's Greatest Tribute Bands: DSB - America's Tribute to Journey
The next band on The World's Greatest Tribute Bands will have you "Believing" they're the real thing! Don't miss DSB - America's Tribute to Journey, LIVE from The Roxy Theatre April 22nd only on AXS TV.

Let me know what you think of the Man of Steel trailer.

Cheers!

moonrise, 26 january 2013

Amazing video.

I grabbed this from the Astronomy Picture of the Day (APOD) and here's their blurb:

Explanation: Have you ever watched the Moon rise? The slow rise of a nearly full moon over a clear horizon can be an impressive sight. One impressive moonrise was imaged two nights ago over Mount Victoria Lookout in Wellington, New Zealand. With detailed planning, an industrious astrophotographer placed a camera about two kilometers away and pointed it across the lookout to where the Moon would surely soon be making its nightly debut. The above single shot sequence is unedited and shown in real time -- it is not a time lapse. People on Mount Victoria Lookout can be seen in silhouette themselves admiring the dawn of Earth's largest satellite. Seeing a moonrise yourself is not difficult: it happens every day, although only half the time at night. Each day the Moon rises about fifty minutes later than the previous day, with a full moon always rising at sunset.
 

Cheers!

ode to joy

This was way cool...hope it works!!



Cheers!

neil armstrong - 1930-2012

I didn't sit down and turn on the computer or the TV or the radio until about 4 this afternoon (yes, I was even missing the game!) and 30 seconds later found out that Neil Armstrong had passed.

I really don't know what to think.  I'm kind of numb.

I wasn't old enough to watch the Apollo 11 lunar landing - even a geeks have a babyhood, and since I was 16 months old at the time, I claim exemption - but I grew up with this guy as one of my heroes.  Oh, I know I talk about the fictitional ones here on my blog, but for the most part they are just that - fictional.  This guy did what only 12 others - *twelve* - have even done, and he was the first.

It's not like I actually got to meet him.  He was a very private person, and understandably avoided public events.  I don't blame him.  He was more famous than the Pope.

I heard someone say, while I was flipping channels, that this was the end of the Age of Armstrong.  When we go back to the Moon and beyond - and I seriously think that we should, and soon - and continue to explore our infinitesimally small corner of the universe, we should always carry his spirit of curiosity and courage.  He was a man.  A human.  One of us.

But in the eyes of millions, he was a real superhero.

Rest in peace, Neil, and Godspeed.



NASA / AP

 Fin.


@realdeancain on ktla - it's everywhere

You get a +1 if you get the "KTLA...it's everywhere!" reference  ;)

Anyway, Dean "I'm on the SES Promo Tour" Cain was on KTLA this morning:

EDIT:  Click here for the video. I hate content that autoplays!

Dude doesn't age. *drools*

My Cards beat the evil Reds tonight. YAY! We're rolling!

Cheers!

call me maybe - star trek style

Someone sent this to me, and I had to share.



*goes and laughs self silly again*

Cheers!!

some addictions are not bad things

So, I've been ODing on an old favorite of mine that just started airing again on HUB.  I was a big fan of Lois & Clark: The New Adventures of Superman back in the 90's, and  managed to catch it again starting a couple of weeks ago.  I think I had most of the first 2 seasons memorized!  A former roommate even gave me a framed pic of Dean Cain in 'the suit' as a Christmas present.  lol!

It's a little dated now (pagers? fax? what is this new thing called email? pay phones?) but it's still a lot of fun to watch.  Makes me miss Lane Smith, too.

Anyway, I was wandering around the web looking for...to tell the truth, I don't remember what I was looking for, but came across this:

and had to share.  Hee!!  "Flying blind," indeed. Yum.  Thanks to Melicious for posting the pic first!

The Ravelympics Ravellenic Games start in just under three days!! I think I have the projects printed, the needles ready, and the yarn purchased.  Just need to wind the yarn for my Vittorio! Wish me luck - hope I can get it finished in 16 days, since I'm not a fast knitter.

Everyone tired of the negative political ads yet? I am. I think TV broadcasters should sound a tone to let people know to hit the mute button to block out the political ads. Ugh.

Off to drool at watch another ep of LnC. I'm up to S03E11, "Home Is Where the Hurt Is". I still can't believe that the show is almost 20 years old.  There's something wrong with that.

Keep cool!  It was 107F here today. Can we petition for double-digit heat instead of triple-digit?

Cheers!

call me maybe - late night style (clean)

Everyone is talking about this song, and this was the first time I'd heard it!



Very cute.  Love the toy instruments!

Cheers (and stay cool)!

sooo needed this laugh

Okay.  Calmer than yesterday, but still irked at the USOC.  *grumbles loudly under breath*

Anyway.

I just ran across this video and discovered that it is THE Bob of Ravelry fame!



*diez*

Poor Bob. Cookie? No cookie. Cookie? COOKIE! LOL

Cheers!

so mad I could just spit

Well.  We have less than 50 days to go to the Olympic Games (gee, can I talk about it?  I'm not PAYing anyone, so is it an infringement?) and the USOC has decided to piss off 2 million people at once.

How?

Knitters Outraged After U.S. Olympic Committee Squashes Knitting Olympics—and Disses Knitters

Really?

This has to be the most ridiculous thing I've ever seen.  How many other items, events, and ideas have the suffix"-lympic" as common use?

I'm am totally disgusted by the actions of a money-grubbing group that claims to have the athletes 'rights and dedication' at heart.

Maybe more later.  I'm just sickened by the idiocy of the USOC.