I just saw that Patrick Macnee died today.
In his incarnation of John Steed, he was always a hero of mine - he and Cathy Gale (Honor Blackman) and Emma Peel (Diana Rigg) and to a lesser extent Tara King (Linda Thorson).
In our memories, he will live forever.
Thursday, June 25, 2015
Thursday, March 12, 2015
Terry Pratchett has walked into the Country of the Dawn
Very sad news today....Terry Pratchett has died at aged only 66.
He had suffered from early onset alzheimers for 8 years... in other words he wasn't even 60 years old when he got Alzheimers... in the same way Pat Summitt, Lady Volunteers basketball coach, also was diagnosed with this awful, awful disease when she was in her late 50s...not even 60 years old.
His obituaries say he died of natural causes, rather than taking his life... I find that difficult to believe as a healthy person (except in mind) could live for 90-years with this awful disease.
I wonder if the media didn't want people to know that Mr. Pratchett took his fate into his own hands and welcomed Death on his own terms, as he'd said he would - and I admire him for it.
If your quality of life is absolutely zero - if you can't read, can't remember how to put on your clothes, etc., why go on living?
He had a fantastic life - touched millions of people.
His work has long been very important to me...
I am sad that he is gone, but glad that he left on his own terms and did not suffer unnecessarily from the indignities of Alzheimer's.
I hope people will continue to contribute to the fight against Alzheimer's so we can find a cure for this awful disease.
He had suffered from early onset alzheimers for 8 years... in other words he wasn't even 60 years old when he got Alzheimers... in the same way Pat Summitt, Lady Volunteers basketball coach, also was diagnosed with this awful, awful disease when she was in her late 50s...not even 60 years old.
His obituaries say he died of natural causes, rather than taking his life... I find that difficult to believe as a healthy person (except in mind) could live for 90-years with this awful disease.
I wonder if the media didn't want people to know that Mr. Pratchett took his fate into his own hands and welcomed Death on his own terms, as he'd said he would - and I admire him for it.
If your quality of life is absolutely zero - if you can't read, can't remember how to put on your clothes, etc., why go on living?
He had a fantastic life - touched millions of people.
His work has long been very important to me...
I am sad that he is gone, but glad that he left on his own terms and did not suffer unnecessarily from the indignities of Alzheimer's.
I hope people will continue to contribute to the fight against Alzheimer's so we can find a cure for this awful disease.
Friday, February 27, 2015
Leonard Nimoy has died
Leonard Nimoy, who will always be Mr. Spock to millions of fans, has died at the age of 83, from the effects of COPD, caused by years of smoking (though he had quit 30 years ago, in his fifties)..
I am saddened by this, as the original Star Trek was a big part of my life, guiding my life for over 40 years.
There are many excellent writeups about him in the newspapers.
Here is just one:
http://abcnews.go.com/Entertainment/star-trek-star-leonard-nimoy-dies-83/story?id=29274628
Some of the writeups are snarky about his singing, but I rather enjoyed it. His Bilbo Baggins song remains with me to this day, as does his Desiderata.
In fact, I think I first heard Desiderata on that album, as Spock's Thoughts:
Max Ehrmann, "Desiderata".
I am saddened by this, as the original Star Trek was a big part of my life, guiding my life for over 40 years.
There are many excellent writeups about him in the newspapers.
Here is just one:
http://abcnews.go.com/Entertainment/star-trek-star-leonard-nimoy-dies-83/story?id=29274628
Some of the writeups are snarky about his singing, but I rather enjoyed it. His Bilbo Baggins song remains with me to this day, as does his Desiderata.
In fact, I think I first heard Desiderata on that album, as Spock's Thoughts:
Go placidly amid the noise and the haste, and remember what peace
there may be in silence. As far as possible, without surrender, be on
good terms with all persons.
Speak your truth quietly and clearly; and listen to others, even to the dull and the ignorant; they too have their story.
Avoid loud and aggressive persons; they are vexatious to the spirit.
If you compare yourself with others, you may become vain or bitter, for always there will be greater and lesser persons than yourself.
Enjoy your achievements as well as your plans. Keep interested in your own career, however humble; it is a real possession in the changing fortunes of time.
Exercise caution in your business affairs, for the world is full of trickery. But let this not blind you to what virtue there is; many persons strive for high ideals, and everywhere life is full of heroism.
Be yourself. Especially, do not feign affection. Neither be cynical about love; for in the face of all aridity and disenchantment, it is as perennial as the grass.
Take kindly the counsel of the years, gracefully surrendering the things of youth.
Nurture strength of spirit to shield you in sudden misfortune. But do not distress yourself with dark imaginings. Many fears are born of fatigue and loneliness.
Beyond a wholesome discipline, be gentle with yourself. You are a child of the universe no less than the trees and the stars; you have a right to be here.
And whether or not it is clear to you, no doubt the universe is unfolding as it should. Therefore be at peace with God, whatever you conceive Him to be.
And whatever your labors and aspirations, in the noisy confusion of life, keep peace in your soul.
With all its sham, drudgery and broken dreams, it is still a beautiful world.
Be cheerful.
Strive to be happy.
Speak your truth quietly and clearly; and listen to others, even to the dull and the ignorant; they too have their story.
Avoid loud and aggressive persons; they are vexatious to the spirit.
If you compare yourself with others, you may become vain or bitter, for always there will be greater and lesser persons than yourself.
Enjoy your achievements as well as your plans. Keep interested in your own career, however humble; it is a real possession in the changing fortunes of time.
Exercise caution in your business affairs, for the world is full of trickery. But let this not blind you to what virtue there is; many persons strive for high ideals, and everywhere life is full of heroism.
Be yourself. Especially, do not feign affection. Neither be cynical about love; for in the face of all aridity and disenchantment, it is as perennial as the grass.
Take kindly the counsel of the years, gracefully surrendering the things of youth.
Nurture strength of spirit to shield you in sudden misfortune. But do not distress yourself with dark imaginings. Many fears are born of fatigue and loneliness.
Beyond a wholesome discipline, be gentle with yourself. You are a child of the universe no less than the trees and the stars; you have a right to be here.
And whether or not it is clear to you, no doubt the universe is unfolding as it should. Therefore be at peace with God, whatever you conceive Him to be.
And whatever your labors and aspirations, in the noisy confusion of life, keep peace in your soul.
With all its sham, drudgery and broken dreams, it is still a beautiful world.
Be cheerful.
Strive to be happy.
“
”
Netflix producing four Marvel comics TV series
Daredevil stars Charlie Cox as Matt Murdock. Although he's blind (in the comic books he was hit by a radioactive cylinder in the face, which gave him his powers - super senses. The "incredible gymnastics and martial arts abilities" were things he earned on his own.) which he uses to protect Hell’s Kitchen, one of the roughest and most crime-ridden neighborhoods of New York.
The cast includes Vincent D’Onofrio as Wilson Fisk (The Kingpin (and if this is from the comic books, Wilson Fisk, what a prosaic name!), Deborah Ann Woll as Karen Page, Elden Henson as Foggy Nelson, Rosario Dawson as Claire Temple, Bob Gunton as Leland Owlsely (The Owl), Vondie Curtis Hall as Ben Urich, Toby Leonard Moore as Wesley (Kingpin's minion) and Ayelet Zurer as Vanessa Fisk (Kingpin's wife - and that's wrong, in the comic books her name was Vanessa).
Daredevil is the first of four new Marvel/Netflix shows.
Also coming are:
‘AKA Jessica Jones’
Luke Cage’
‘Iron Fist’.
All four will tie together and the heroes will join forces in a follow-up miniseries The Defenders.
Thursday, February 26, 2015
Nothing new under the sun
A couple of days ago, AMC showed a movie called It Happened Tomorrow, filmed in 1944 with Dick Powell.
It's the exact same plot of the TV series from a few years ago, Early Edition (1996 - 2000) that starred Kyle Chandler as Gary Hobson, a newspaper guy who always receives a newspaper first thing in the morning, with news of a tragedy in it that he needs to change...
I only watched a few episodes of Early Edition when it was in reruns, and I liked it, but it's funny to realize it was based on a 60 year old movie...I just thought it was a revamp of Quantum Leap with a newspaper replacing Al...and of course sticking to one time period rather than "leaping" all around...
It's the exact same plot of the TV series from a few years ago, Early Edition (1996 - 2000) that starred Kyle Chandler as Gary Hobson, a newspaper guy who always receives a newspaper first thing in the morning, with news of a tragedy in it that he needs to change...
I only watched a few episodes of Early Edition when it was in reruns, and I liked it, but it's funny to realize it was based on a 60 year old movie...I just thought it was a revamp of Quantum Leap with a newspaper replacing Al...and of course sticking to one time period rather than "leaping" all around...
Monday, February 23, 2015
An example of a Doctor Who drabble
I blogged about this a couple of days ago.
The URL is: https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/118270389/1-drabble-for-1-dollar
The project is already fully funded. (I only asked for $25 and someone bought 25 Avengers drabbles right out of the gate...) So if you would like to order a drabble or drabbles, you'll receive them immediately!
Here's an example of a Doctor Who drabble:
Engage: Educational resources for photographers, videographers, and other creative arts
Engage is a web-based business that has seminars for art, business, cinematography, crafts, design, music, photography and videography.
If you're based in the UK I think you'll find this Kickstarter campaign of interest
The url for their Kickstarter is: https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/engagelive/engage-free-live-education-for-creative-entreprene
Their campaign ends on March 20, 2015 and they've already had over 8,000 pounds pledged of their 15,000 pound goal. (Check out the Engage website at www.engagelive.co)
Donal Doherty is the founder of Engage.
From their press release: “We will offer thousands of people around the world a chance to learn from leading educators for free and to interact and shape the learning experience live. People can also apply to be in the in-person studio audience and we’ll have both delegates and trainers flying in from around the world for the courses. To an extent this all rests on the success of our Kickstarter campaign which we hope will fund 16 courses in 2015, with the plan to offer a course each week in 2016. Not only will this help us to create employment in the local economy, but we’re hoping to be part of the sea change of native digital companies accessing global markets.”
If you're interested in the arts, I think these guys are a great resource for you.
Thursday, February 19, 2015
One drabble for one dollar
I've decided to launch my first Kickstarter campaign - "one drabble for one dollar."
https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/118270389/1-drabble-for-1-dollar
Since I only need $25 before the project is fully funded, people who want their drabbles are going to get them!
A drabble is a fan-fiction story that is EXACTLY 100 words in length, not including the title.
For fans of science fiction, or any TV show or movie, a drabble is a fun way to expand on a scene, or evoke an emotion.
I specialize in drabbles for The Avengers, Star Trek: TOS and The Octonauts, but I can and will write a drabble for anyone. However, I've also got some other features I offer.
For example, I offer Scrabble drabbles. For anyone who is attempting to enlarge their knowledge of words (it's hard to say, enlarge your "vocabulary" when, IMHO, about a fifth of the Scrabble dictionary features words that no one will ever, ever use - sort of like all the words that little kids are expected to learn for a spelling bee!)
Nevertheless, my unique idea is to put all these words into drabbles as told by a central character (public domain character Sherlock Holmes, to be precise) and tell a connected story over the course of a year, sending two drabbles a day to my subscribers.
Please check it all out at my kickstarter campaign.
https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/118270389/1-drabble-for-1-dollar
Tuesday, January 06, 2015
Crowdfunding: Smart Back Brace
Occasionally I'll share crowdfunding projects that I think are interesting.
The Smart Back Brace could be a pretty good tool - I know I have pretty poor posture and I think this could help me should it be manufactured.
https://www.indiegogo.com/projects/smart-back-brace-ssb-posture-correcting-device/x/9376492
is the URL for the Smart Back Brace. There are 20 more days left to make pledges.
The campaign video is below:
I won't share the text from the campaign page here - why should I when you can just visit the page and learn all about it? ; )
Then, make a pledge if you'd like to.
Thursday, January 01, 2015
1 January 2015: Doctor Who Sticky Notes
I picked up a set of Doctor Who sticky notes at Barnes and Noble a few omonths ago - they're in a hard-backed cover and have the 11th Doctor (Matt Smith) on the cover, pointing his sonic screwdriver out into the viewer.
The sticky notes consist of 4 colors of Daleks (I can see no use for them since they are filled with the dark color, no place to write. They be useful as bookmarks if only the stick-em for all 4 sets were on the base, but 2 are on the head(the sets are arranged with two upside down between two right side up, to fit in the space.
My favorite sticky note is of the Tarfis, then there's a set with "To Do":, Time" and "Dimension", again with the 11th Doctor looking out at you with his sonic screw driver.
I have to admit I haven't watched Doctor Who regularly since Colin Baker was the Doctor... one of my New Year's Resolutions is to watch the entire series - all extant episodes.
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