Parting Shots

2011-10-24T15:30:00.001-07:00

When you hit Sixty you start to think about those things you have wanted to do but have never gotten around to. At least in my case that's true. I've seen hang-gliders and para-sailers for years and always wondered what that might be like. Donna has pictures of her up several hundred feet, from years ago and I'd always envied her being brave enough to do it. Finally, when we were on our latest cruise I decided that this was my chance.

The Carnival Splendor (yeah, the one that caught fire last year!) was in Cabo San Lucas for two days, so I signed up for a two hour shore excursion that would take you out to para-sail. We were picked up at the dock and the ten of us donned our life-jackets for the trip out to the 'launch area'. There were three couples, and a married couple with their son, besides myself. I let the the other four pairs go up before me (the father took photos while the mother & son took flight) and then my turn finally came. Even though I had watched the others go up and down with no problems I was still a bit nervous. At least the others had someone to calm them down if they freaked, in my case I was literally on my own.

You don't realise how slim that line is or how small the knot that attaches you to the boat hundreds of feet below you. At the highest point you are close to six hundred feet above the blue waters and tiny boats. Ten minutes never seemed to last so long or seem so amazing at the same time.

The photos can only begin to show you how it was. It really is something I recommend that you try if you haven't already. As Donna always says, life is too short.

I also have to recommend, for anyone who goes to Cabo, that you check out Cabo Wabo Cantina, Sammy Hager's bar & restaurant in town. Go for the tequila shots, especially the 'doubles' and do it the right way. Woof!

2011-09-27T17:10:00.000-07:00

I don't often wish that I was back East, since I really do love it here in California. However, from all I have seen, heard and read I do think that I would like taking part in the "Occupy Wall Street" movement. This is what those folks deceived into buying the Tea Party agenda should be doing. They are being led by the very, folks who are doing their best to bring about the destruction of democracy in the United States.

I find it interesting that I am moving back into the Leftist positions I held when I was in my twenties. The funniest part is that I'm living in one of the most conservative areas in all of California. It's anti-union, racist and homophobic.

So, what have you been up to lately?

2011-08-02T18:39:00.000-07:00

Been going through and deleting some spam comments that slipped through. Most were to blog posts from years ago, but I will try to keep more current. I'll also try to do the same over on Shot's Shack when I get a chance later.

Probably a good time, while I have a few minutes to check some of the links I have up, as I have discovered a few that don't work any longer. I some cases the links still work but the sites & blogs haven't been updated since they were originally set up. Not that I am the best at updating my own blogs, of course. :-)

A few personal things, while I have your attention.

Donna and I just renewed our passports. Man, it is hard to believe that it has been ten years since I first applied for one. It was actually issued just about a week before 9/11. In fact, our applications were still in the mail during the weeks leading up to and we received them about a week or so after the incident.

Quickly, political: Is it time to change my registration from Democrat to Independent? The past few weeks have me wondering if I can still identify with that Party, but changing now will limit what I can do next year during the primaries. Might take the opportunity to vote against any incumbent and then change before the November election. I've swallowed about all I can at this point and know that no matter who the Teabaggers nominate I'm not voting for Obama. Third Party is the way to go in 2012. I know that I'm going to hear from Joe on this, and I don't blame him.

2011-08-01T18:54:00.000-07:00

I highly recommend that you check out this website, "The War You Won't See" by film-maker/journalist John Pilger. An amazing film that via leaked video (some of which you may have previously seen) and interviews you'll learn about actual events taking place in "our name" in Iraq and Afghanistan.

Disturbing but important.

2011-06-29T15:16:00.000-07:00

It's difficult to believe that I began blogging at the beginning of 2003. When I go through the archive it is about as close to a diary as I have come in years. Elayne was the big one for diaries, but I never had the attention span. Probably why I do so well with Twitter and Facebook where I'm limited and my mind doesn't wander in the middle of a tweet. Why not unless the TV or radio is on and I hear something else I want to rant about.

If you aren't Following or Friending me I thought I would take a few minutes to fill you in a bit on what has been happening at Chez Chaput and at work.

My attempt to set up a couple of bird feeders for all the finches, sparrows and smaller birds in the neighborhood backfired. It started with the pair of ducks (Ozzie & Harriet, as Donna dubbed them) and quickly expanded to close to a dozen geese visiting our patio everyday for the feed dropped from the feeders. If that was the extent of it I wouldn't have minded and initially we loved watching the parents and goslings coming by each morning. Unfortunately, we discovered that goose poop does tend to accumulate pretty rapidly and I was out cleaning the driveway, patio and sidewalk at least twice a week, if not more often. Now the feeders sit in our shed in hopes that when the flock flies off in a few weeks (according to our neighbors who have lived here for years) I can put them back up, at least until late in the year when the bigger birds return.

On the work front, the City is in negotiations with the bargaining units for all City departments. We might not know what a new contract will contain until August at this rate, so we are all working minus a contract. If you have followed the news you probably know that California finances aren't in the best of shape, thanks in no small part to the ex-Governator and the Republicans in the legislature. Not that the Dems, who have a majority in both houses are blameless, nor current Governor Brown. A lot of this goes all the way back to Prop 13 and the refusal of any in the GOP to allow any hikes in taxes for the wealthiest. Pretty much the same crap we are seeing on a Federal level. Better to cut funding for education, fire, police, parks & recreation than get another few thousand from some banker making millions in bonuses this year.

That's my rant on that for the moment, but you can expect more I'm sure as we get closer to the 2012 election and that whole circus.

I expect to post something tonight, if possible over on Shot's Shack, about my recent reading (comics & prose novels, plus things on movies). That does it for me here, but expect me to be changing some of my links, adding and deleting stuff I no longer find useful or entertaining.

Hope you are all doing well and gearing up for the Independence Day weekend. Hard to believe that almost half of 2011 has passed and The Rapture didn't hit yet, huh?

The Book of Mormon - Hasa Diga Eebowai

2011-05-12T08:24:00.000-07:00

"When God fucks you in the butt (Hasa Diga Eebowai), fuck God right back in his cunt. (Hasa Diga Eebowai)."

I really would love to see this play!

2011-05-07T15:29:00.000-07:00

From George Washington's Farewell Address (1796):

"All obstructions to the execution of the Laws, all combinations and associations, under whatever plausible character, with the real design to direct, control, counteract, or awe the regular deliberation and action of the constituted authorities, are destructive of this fundamental principle, and of fatal tendency. They [political parties] serve to organize faction, to give it an artificial and extraordinary force; to put, in the place of the delegated will of the nation, the will of a party, often a small but artful and enterprising minority of the community; and, according to the alternate triumphs of different parties, to make the public administration the mirror of the ill-concerted and incongruous projects of faction, rather than the organ of consistent and wholesome plans digested by common counsels, and modified by mutual interests.

"However combinations or associations of the above description may now and then answer popular ends, they are likely, in the course of time and things, to become potent engines, by which cunning, ambitious, and unprincipled men will be enabled to subvert the power of the people, and to usurp for themselves the reins of government; destroying afterwards the very engines, which have lifted them to unjust dominion."

Obviously, this George W. would not have been welcome in the GOP.

It was bad enough when the Republican Party was simply a tool (as are a number of Democratic politicians, let's be honest here) of the Corporations and the wealthy in this country. Now however it is obvious, from the actions of a number of Republican governors and their wholly-owned congressional houses that the idea of democracy (small "d") does not fit into their plans for the American future they envision. The idea of a permanent Republican majority, put forth by Carl Rove, is still their ideal despite the momentary bump in the road caused by the 2008 elections.

Following two years of 'birthers', Teabaggers, and ranting about the "Socialist/Muslim" President the 2010 elections put the Republicans in position to undermine the Constitution they claim to hold sacred. Momentarily blinded by what many of us thought was a change for the better, progressives now find themselves treading water with the riptide pulling us further into dangerous waters.

Sorry, to be so heavy but things are not looking good.

2011-03-26T14:51:00.001-07:00

Is anybody still reading this? To be honest, I forget I have the damn thing unless I post a video via YouTube. As I mentioned earlier on SHOT'S SHACK, I am spending all my time over on Facebook & Twitter so my ranting is down to under a 140 characters most of the time. To be honest, I'm reTweeting more than anything, since many of the folks I Follow are much more clever than I could ever hope to be. Hell, when you can read stuff from Steve Martin, Wil Wheaton, Neil Gaiman and Keith Olbermann, among others, why bother trying to come up with something clever on my own. Steal theirs!

Frankly, I don't even know what to make of what has been happening the past few weeks. I listen to the news and all I can do is shake my head. There is nothing I can say about the tragedy in Japan and the on-going aftermath that others aren't already filling bandwidth and the airwaves saying. I'm certainly not smart enough to add to the conversation on what is happening in the Mid-East. Yeah, Qadaffi (or however you want to spell it) has to go, but are we doing the right thing? Did we take too long or go in too soon. If best-selling author and multiple adulterer Newt Gingrich is puzzled then I am out of my league.

Are you like me? Have you finally decided that any faith you had in Obama was ill-placed? If not, than I admire your conviction since mine was lost a while ago. Every so often he will say something or do something that makes me remember why I voted for him in the first place. Not in the primaries, but in the general election. I've decided that I'm going to remain registered in the Democratic Party until the primaries next year, just to see if anyone will be running against the President. Then I'm changing to Independent. My dad was right that Parties really don't mean anything, then again, my dad voted for Nixon three times.

Not even going to say that I'll try to post more often, since I'd be lying to myself as well as you. Seek me out at Facebook or Twitter, where you can generally find me at least 4-5 days a week.

George Takei Calls Out Anti-Gay Arkansas School Board Member

2011-03-16T18:20:00.000-07:00

There is nothing I can add to this other than: "You go, George!"

2011-02-15T18:02:00.000-08:00

Wow! Has it really been twelve years since Donna and I went out on our first date? We were introduced by my co-worker Barbra D., who knew Donna from the softball team for which both their daughters played. We had actually met several weeks before, when Donna came in to use the Library and I helped her find some information. Neither of us knew at the time that it was part of Barbra's plan to hook us up.

Sometimes it seems that it hasn't been that long and other times it seems that it has been much longer. It certainly has been a pretty hectic time for both of us, with a great many high points and also some low. We have moved four times since we were married, five if you count moving down the hall from a one-bedroom apartment in Ladera Ranch to a two-bedroom. We're both hoping that the move to Lake Forest and buying our own place will be the final move. Until she puts me in a nursing home in a few years. :-)

Star Trek KFC

2011-01-20T15:38:00.000-08:00

Thanks to Mark Evanier for letting us know about this! I'll take the extra crispy.

2010-12-21T16:25:00.000-08:00

Once again it's a post to apologize for not posting for about a month. Pretty much except for linking to videos here and on Shot's Shack I hardly ever think about my blogs. I feel guilty, but most of my friends (the REAL ones) are now over on Facebook and/or Twitter. I find it much easier to go to those sites to toss off a quick comment than to take the extra minutes necessary to blog. Call it digital laziness, I guess. The funny thing is that I will occasionally get an e-mail or message asking me if I still blog.

I think I promised at the beginning of 2010 that I would try to be a more regular poster, but things turned out differently. I am totally addicted to Facebook, especially the various games. Started out with the usual Happy Aquarium stuff and went from there. Now I am mostly into Mafia Wars, Frontierville and several others. I am also 'Friending' just about anybody, but it's still a kick to actually have somebody I personally know add me. There are actually two people with whom I went to high school, but barely spoke to in four years. We're now "friends". C'mon! That is too classic.

One interesting thing is that about a half-dozen of Donna's immediate family are currently on Facebook, so we can keep up with them. Yet, I haven't found a single member of my family on Facebook, but am being followed by two of them on Twitter. Not sure what that says about them or us.

I did ramble a bit, but wanted to let you know that I am still alive and kicking. We are trying to get through this rainy spell, with only the one leak we have discovered so far. A minor leak around one window in the addition, but still annoying. I really feel bad for the birds I normally feed on the patio, since I haven't had a chance to refill one of the feeders. If it holds off for a while I hope to get back there tonight or in the morning.

Oh, before I forget. Donna and I are now on Skype. If you are also and would like to 'chat' please drop me an e-mail. We did our first call to Donna's cousin Charles & his partner John. It was pretty cool, despite some problems with our camera. Donna went out and we have traded up for a better model. Keep an eye out for us, or for me do be doing some more Four-Color Fiend videos for YouTube.

Have a very, Merry Christmas and a safe & sane New Year's.

Christmas Food Court Flash Mob, Hallelujah Chorus - Must See!

2010-12-03T15:26:00.000-08:00

Hey, even a cynical old unbeliever like me can appreciate this. Happy Holidays!

2010-11-10T14:21:00.001-08:00

Not a whole heck of a lot to report, but I did promise myself I would try and post a bit more frequently.

The house is probably about 80% finished at this point. The last major thing was moving the bedrooms around and switching the beds. Donna decided to keep our older bed and move the newer one into the guestroom or as we call it, The Stoffo Suite. (An inside joke, so don't dwell on it if it makes no sense.)

We have a few minor things to do over the next week or so, as we have family & friends coming over for Thanksgiving dinner. It will be the first gathering we have in our new place and we'd like everything complete by then.

We're getting used to hearing the trains coming by, since most stop by 11:00pm with the exception of a freight train that runs through around 2:00am. After living in Brooklyn and in Connecticut on fairly busy streets it really isn't a big issue with either of us. The thing that bothers us most are the new creaky noises when we turn the heat on. Something else to get used to over time. Pretty minor annoyances when compared to having our own place and so much extra room.

Show of hands. How many of you thought of Donna and me when you heard about the Carnival ship floating without power? LOL! We both thought it was pretty funny, but did sympathize with the passengers going through it.

That's it for now. Hope you all have your change of address notices by now.

LOLCAT BIBLE: GENESIS 1

2010-10-26T15:19:00.000-07:00

And dis is very true stuff 2 no!!

2010-10-22T13:27:00.000-07:00

We're finally moving in to our new place tomorrow. Nobody will be happier than Donna, since she has really done most of the work involved. While I've been at work, most days she had off she was either dealing with movers, flooring folks, buying paint, or working on packing up Chez Chaput for its move. I would show up at night to do what I could or to help Donna, Kristina and Michael with the painting.

The place looks good, although empty. We have a few items the previous owners left (an entertainment unit, bureaus and nightstand) which are good enough for now, since our furniture will certainly not fill up the additional two rooms we'll be getting. Eventually we will have to get some furniture for the living room, since our current stuff will be going into the 'family room'. I think folks coming out to stay will be happy to have a 'guestroom' that doesn't double as office/comics den. :-)

After just watching it for about an hour, I must admit that shows look different on the 40" flatscreen HDTV. Even with only the basic cable hooked up it is strange seeing both old and new shows. They look...not sure how to describe it, but different from the way they appear on our older sets. Can't wait to start watching some films and using our new Blu-ray player. Something we had discussed, but not really planned on getting. However, it was included as a package deal with the TV so why not take advantage. I'm sure my MST-3K and RiffTrax DVDs will look even better and who doesn't want watch NotLD on a big screen with Mike & Co. having fun. Sorry now I didn't take advantage of the Blockbuster 'going out of business' sale a few months ago.

Enjoy your weekend and I'll try to let you in on how things went next Monday.

2010-10-18T15:29:00.000-07:00

Well, it started out as a trip to Living Spaces to choose a new bed for the new place. We're moving the old king-sized one to the guestroom and using the sofa sleeper in the family room. We decided, while we were there to look at some lamps,since we wanted something new for the master bedroom. Somehow we took a wrong turn and ended up next door at Phil's Television.

Seriously, we have been having trouble with our livingroom TV and had originally planned on waiting. The store had a good deal on a 40" flatscreen where they would throw in a Blu-Ray player, so we decided to go for it. Can't wait to view RIVER MONSTERS & MONSTERS INSIDE ME on a bigger screen and in HD. :-)

Bottom line is that I don't think we'll be cruising anytime soon and I'm not sure if my 60th b-day present will be quite as cool as I had hoped. Oh well, we all make sacrifices.

By the way, we'll be finally moving this coming Saturday, so I hope many of you already got the change of address.

Everyone: Turk Out The Vote.com!

2010-10-13T14:32:00.000-07:00

Makes sense to me! Let us do what we can.

Companies Buying Stocks, Not Employees

2010-10-11T15:34:00.000-07:00

Why do I love The Young Turks? This is one of the reasons.

2010-10-08T16:00:00.000-07:00

We'll be painting the new place this weekend. Hope to get most of it anyway, since we are having some workers coming in next week to do plumbing, electrical and finally the new carpets and flooring. Those credit cards are wearing thin!

Strange times at work, with schedule changes and people retiring. Not sure what it will look like when the dust settles, but we do what we have to do.

Should Gerry Brown have called Meg Whitman a whore? No, of course not. I would have settled for bitch, but that's just me. :-)

Hope to start getting those change of address/phone number cards in the mail soon, if I haven't already given that info out to you personally. Things are hectic, so please don't take offense if I haven't been in touch lately.

Alan Grayson 'Taliban Dan' Ad

2010-09-28T11:32:00.000-07:00

Can we just back my hero, Alan Grayson? He is a 'real' Democrat and the kind of person we need in Congress.

VoteVets Ad - Brother

2010-09-22T08:59:00.000-07:00

Just something to think about!

2010-09-21T11:15:00.000-07:00

We signed the papers for the rental of the mobile home park lot yesterday. Puts us one step closer to being homeowners, which still seems strange to me. The guy who will install our carpeting, and other flooring came by for a walk-through and measured what needed to be. Pretty much everything but the pantry/laundry room and the two bathrooms will be getting new flooring. Donna has yet to decide on the paint colors, but we'll probably be making that decision in the next few days. I trust her totally on this, along with input from Kristina. I can live with anything they decide on, which also goes for the carpeting.

Anybody at all excited about the mid-term elections coming up in a couple months? Anybody else seriously considering third-party candidates, just so they aren't voting for an incumbent of either party? Anybody really think that a dozen wack-jobs from the Tea Party/GOP faction getting into office will make a difference? Didn't think so! Although I'm reading and listening to just as much political stuff as always, I find that I feel at a distance from it all. Intellectually I know that the outcome will effect me, but I just can't work up any emotional feelings (other than disdain) for any of the candidates running for office. I'm sure that when I get into the voting booth I'll punch the button for a few of the Democrats, although my heart really isn't in it anymore.

This is gearing up to be an interesting year for me personally (between the new home and turning sixty), so maybe that is why I feel distracted from other things going on around me. I promise to keep you updated as events occur.

2010-08-31T16:22:00.001-07:00

Well, for those of you NOT keeping up with us on Facebook or Twitter, I have a bit of news.

Donna and I are preparing to move again. We're staying in Orange County, but moving a bit north to Lake Forest. It will actually allow me a shorter commute, but increase the time that Donna spends on the road. Still all things considered it should be better for us financially, plus the new place is close to twice the size of our current apartment. In case I haven't mentioned it before, we are buying a mobile home in a gated 'senior' community. When I have a chance I'll try to post some photos of the place.

This is all new to me, since I've never been a 'home-owner' before. Donna has gone through all the documents, credit checks, etc. before so I'm gladly following her lead on this. I'll keep you all updated and contact some of you with our new address and phone number once we have all that set up. Wish us luck!

2010-08-19T10:54:00.001-07:00

With our lease coming up for renewal again, Donna and I are seriously considering moving. It's a combination of finances and just wanting a change. It would be nice to have a bigger place and possibly, with a decent mortgage, a cheaper one. Not only could we do what we wanted with the interior, since most places have very, strict guidelines on what you can do with the exterior, but there wouldn't be somebody above or below us. It sometimes seems the guy upstairs is bowling or lifting weights right above our bedroom. The former tenets below us would be visited by their daughter, who was a heavy smoker and we'd get blow back through the vents and from open windows. I'll keep everyone updated on if or when we do make the move, so you can send those house-warming gifts. :-)

Had to bring my car in for some maintenance this past week. The 'change oil' light kept coming on and initially I thought I was just overdue for the 3,000-mile check. Unfortunately, there was a problem with the pistons. I had to leave the car overnight and got a rental (paid for), but it turned out to be worse than originally thought and it became a two-day affair. Strange driving around in a new car, but Enterprise was pretty good about it and even waved having to pay for used gas, which was really nice of them. Will definitely use them again, as we have in the past. The repair even came in under-estimate so except for having to get up earlier than usual for three straight days (in order to get to work on time), it wasn't as bad as it could have been.

Man, where has the year gone? It will be Labor Day in a few weeks, Fran is coming out for another cruise and the birthday I could happily ignore is too rapidly approaching. Hope things are going smoother in your lives!

How Do I Print?

2010-08-16T14:27:00.000-07:00

Welcome to my life! Joe, does this seem familiar to you? LOL!!

2010-08-13T14:03:00.000-07:00

As I mentioned over on my Facebook page (You have friended me, right?) I seem to have become the statistics guy here at the library. When being hired, I happened to mention that I was comfortable with Excel and now find myself not only doing the stats for Adult Services, but for the entire Main library. They have now handed me responsibility for the annual report to the State Library, as the guy who formerly did it is retiring. Job security, I guess.

Just spent part of the morning trying to make an appointment to have my car serviced. I knew I was overdue, but when the oil light started to blink yesterday I figured I should put it off any longer. Unfortunately, the phone numbers I have for the service center have either been disconnected or they are not picking up. I don't trust their website, where supposedly you can make an appointment, as I don't know when or if they ever look at it.

Donna, Fran (my alternate wife) and I are off on another short cruise in a couple of weeks. We always have fun and sharing the cabin is always an adventure. Have to get a promise that no photos of me climbing into the upper-bunk will be allowed this time. Wasn't funny then...not funny now!

Fingers crossed that Prop.8 will be overturned out here. Sad seeing some good folks denied what they want for no good reason. Hey, I'm a big fan of marriage! I've done it three times already. :-)

Have a good weekend!

2010-07-30T14:04:00.000-07:00

I'm going to give you a pretty quick overview of my San Diego Comic-con trip this year. Hope the pictures come out and they shouldn't need a lot of explanation. I'm going to save my raving about two things I did (both movies) for SHOT'S SHACK, so if you're interested those should be posted in the next few days.

This year I took Thursday off, so I could be there for most of the event. It was already too late to get the 4-day reservation that included Preview Night, but I wouldn't have been able to attend that at any rate. I also took the train down this year, hoping to spare myself the additional fee that all SD hotels charge for parking. This, over and above your room rate (plus several state & city taxes), is just ridiculous and little more than gouging, IMHO. To start off I'm not going to recommend the Holiday Inn San Diego Downtown (which, of course, really isn't) at over $280 per night. The place looks in need of a serious renovation, the coffee shop overcharges for everything and three times Dan (a friend from Brooklyn and con-mate the past three years) or I had to go down to the lobby since our room cards did not work. Apparently we kept them either too close to our ATM/credit cards or cellphones. Seriously??? I think next year we will accept Michael's invitation to stay at his place, as we did two years ago.

The train ride from Mission Viejo to San Diego only took about 90 minutes. It would have been more enjoyable if one of the world's most annoying fan boys had not been in the same car. Holy crap! The entire train car had to hear his opinions on not only comics, but movies and politics. Naturally, as it is with this type, he knows everything about anything. He mentioned several times that he was getting into the con as a 'professional' but I'd hate to think he was somebody I actually read. I probably could have moved, as several people did, but turning up the volume on my MP3 player drowned him out enough so I could read.

By the time I got to SD, dropped my luggage off at the hotel (since it was too early to check-in) and went to the convention center it was after noon and there was almost no line for registration. Something to keep in mind for next year and another reminder of how well organized the con is when things are running as they should. I was leafing through the 'freebie' table and down on the Exhibition floor in short order. There were only a couple of items that I had planned on picking up, so I just wandered around for a couple hours. Then went out, grabbed a bite to eat and checked into my room. My only plan for Thursday was to meet up with Dan and get back to the con in time for the showing of Night of the Living Dead: Reanimated that night.

It seems that Dan and I had actually been at the con at the same time, but since we didn't text each other (bad planning on both our parts) we didn't know the other had even arrived. Fortunately, when he came back to the hotel, around 5:00pm, I was in the room and they gave him the room key at the desk. We caught up for a bit then walked back to the con, which was about a mile & a half straight down First Ave. Since the closest shuttle stop was at the Doubletree several blocks away, it was generally quicker to walk down to the hall and then take the shuttle back up the hill when we had a haul.

I decided, when we went back, that the smart thing to do was to catch an earlier program that was going to be in the room where NotLD was going to be shown. I've learned from past experience that the staff generally won't clear a room after a program and it sure beats standing or sitting in the hallway for a couple of hours. This may not hold true for some of the big 'star-studded' presentations, but it is something you might consider even at other conventions.

Oh, speaking of "stars" I didn't see any of the Biggies that were there. Most were secreted in via back ways and I wasn't about to stand in the lines snaking around the hall just to catch a trailer. There were enough previews for some of these in the exhibit hall and now most are on YouTube, so why waste my time. I did see Malcolm McDowell (who looks great), Gil Gerard (who looks old) and Noah Wyle (who looks cool in a beard). McDowell & Gerard were there signing autographs, while Wyle was promoting a new Stephen Spielberg television project, FALLING SKIES. I'll have a few comments on that over on SHOT'S SHACK, as well.

I did grab a couple of autographs over the three days I attended. Stan Saki's in a Dark Horse signing book; Max Brooks signed The Zombie Survival Guide: Recorded Attacks book and told me about his writing G.I Joe at IGN; Randy Reynaldo (who I enjoy chatting with every year) signed a color reprint of one of his B&W ROB HANES books. If you aren't reading Randy's books, do yourself a favor and check them out at his website.

Each year I try to attend the QUICK DRAW! panel, hosted by Mark Evanier, along with artists Sergio Aragones & Scott Shaw! The third artist this year was William Stout, known for his amazing dinosaur covers for books, album covers, etc. It is always fun and often truly laugh out loud funny. Peter David, as usual, along with Len Wein, were good sports trying to guess a word from the drawings by the three artists. Mark's Voice Actor panels are also a treat, with the Saturday event generally right after the QUICK DRAW. Veteran voice actor Chuck McCann was there again this year, along with a half-dozen other performers and it was wonderful as always.

Unlike last year I didn't attend a single panel presentation by either DC or Marvel. There was one on self-publishing that was interesting, even though I have no intention of doing such a thing. It was just fascinating to hear how five people went about getting their creations out there without a major publisher behind them.

The other good things involved the three programs I'll talk about in the other blog. I'll not bore you (if you haven't been already) with other things I did to waste my time on the floor. No getting strapped into an electric chair or photographed for a Village ID this time around. I did sport a pretty cool skull & raven tattoo, promoting THE EXPENDABLES for a week, but who hasn't?

Apologies to Bob Ingersoll, Jeff Gelb, Mark Verheiden and several other folks for not joining them for a breakfast or dinner this time. Completely my fault for not doing the whole e-mail thing before hand. If things go as planned maybe we can try again next time!

Glenn Beck's Crazy Jesus & Jews Comments

2010-07-20T15:38:00.000-07:00

Hey, he couldn't say if it wasn't true!

2010-07-19T14:07:00.000-07:00

While some folks aren't even doing text on their cellphones, I seem to be way too techie. Love being able to Tweet from my cell and read on my nook. I've now finally accepted the fact, as Donna and others have noted, that I have no sense of direction. This past weekend I was given a belated Father's Day gift of a GPS device. My sister-in-law, Marilyn (who also uses one) showed me how to use it and actually put in several addresses I frequently use. I've since loaded the location of Nuclear Comics and the nearest Barnes & Noble, all by myself. Once I actually figure out how to install the darn thing in my car, I'm sure it will be very, useful.

As I think I've mentioned I'll be heading down to San Diego for Comic-Con International later this week. Each time I tell myself I'm not going to go the following year, since the place exhausts me. Then around November I hear they are beginning to sell tickets and I get a text message from my friend Dan, asking me if I'm going. *sigh* You can pretty much guess my reply at this point. I'll be at the Holiday Inn Downtown this year, which is a lot further than the Manchester, but also much cheaper. We can pick up the Con shuttle, but the hotel is actually within walking distance of the convention center. Doubt I'll see as many con attendees in the lobby as last year, but we'll see.

I may try to post a few things on Twitter or even Facebook if I have a chance, but I promise to try and give a full report here when I get back. Take care, until then!

NMA 2010.06.30 動新聞神學士恐怖「猴」子受訓狙殺美軍

2010-07-14T17:56:00.000-07:00

We are in pretty deep now! Will this mean that PETA will now side with the Taliban?

Blood of the Earth - The BP Gulf Oil Spill part 8

2010-06-15T17:49:00.000-07:00

You've got to love all this!

Cenk Rocks The America's Future Now Panel

2010-06-08T19:52:00.000-07:00

Blood of the Earth - The Gulf Oil Spill part 4

2010-05-27T16:59:00.000-07:00

This goes beyond disgusting!

Rep Alan Grayson Introduces the War Is Making You Poor Act

2010-05-25T12:46:00.000-07:00

This is the kind of person we need in Congress. Alan Grayson speaks for many in this country and the Powers That Be are not happy about it. Go to TheWarIsMakingYourPoorAct.com and sign the petition.

Blood of the Earth - The Gulf Oil Spill part 1

2010-05-24T09:29:00.000-07:00

2010-05-18T16:26:00.001-07:00

We're still waiting to find out what the City Council here will vote on next week. The employees seem to have approved the offered contract overwhelmingly, so it looks like furloughs are just around the corner. At least it appears that we won't be losing hours, which was a concern. A number of other systems around the state are closing and cutting back, so it's not just Orange.

If you glanced at SHOT'S SHACK you'll see that I took in IRON MAN 2 and recommend it, if not highly, than certainly for fans of super-hero movies. Also, think that horror fans might want to check out PARANORMAL ACTIVITY if they haven't already. I'm one of the last among my friends to finally watch.

Unless something changes in the next week or so, Donna and I will be doing the four-night Carnival Cruise to Ensenada, Mexico & Catalina Island again. Just going to take an inside cabin and skip the formal nights. Be nice to relax for a few days.

Hope all is well with all of you. Keep an eye on Facebook, where I tend to drop in more often than I do here.

Countdown To Zero - Official Trailer [HD]

2010-05-13T09:18:00.000-07:00

Draw Muhammad Day (First Annual!)

2010-05-10T13:13:00.000-07:00

Guns For Terror Suspects?

2010-05-06T14:43:00.000-07:00

2010-05-01T13:28:00.000-07:00

Once again I've remembered my blogs, so let's have a quick update.

I'm just getting over an upper respiratory infection that had me out for most of last week. Had to stay home from work for three days, but felt good enough to go in on Thursday, since I knew I'd have Friday off to recover. Feel better today, and good enough to join Donna at Bingo tonight. Probably going to take it easy tomorrow, although I might try to head to Nuclear Comics to see what they have left over from Free Comic Book Day. Can you believe that I've had to work on FCBD for the past three years?? What are the odds? Any given year you would have a 50/50 chance of working the first Saturday in May, but three years running?

Have I mentioned that I absolutely love my Nook? Even without the new web browser and games I was certainly enjoying it. I'm picking up e-book versions of some of my favorites, plus downloading free copies of material from Google books. Found a history of my hometown of Norwich, CT written in the late 1800s. how cool is that? Each week Barnes & Noble makes a free download of some new book available. There have been items by James Patterson, Debbie Macomber and others. Last week it was one of L. Ron Hubbard's pulp SF stories.

One of the other things I enjoy is the ability to download a 'sample' of just about any book. Nice to be able to 'browse' something without going into the store. Then if you like the book you can simply download it and have most within a few minutes. Sorry to sound like a commercial, but I really do recommend it if you're thinking about getting a Kindle. Just another option.

2010-03-20T14:09:00.001-07:00

Every so often I remember that I have a blog. It's not even laziness, so much as not really having anything of note to post. Those things that to seem vital I tend to put up on Facebook, since that's where both my friends (as opposed to Friends) and family keep up with me. If I put something there I know that Donna, Kristina or her family back in NY will see it in a short time. If I get abducted by aliens or a drug cartel, I'll try to let you know on Facebook. Let the authorities know, okay?

Speaking of Facebook, if you are annoyed by the stuff on my profile, regarding Snowball fights, mystery eggs, hearts, etc. I apologize. I'm going to try cutting back on some of that. Of course, you are welcome to join my mob in Mafia Wars. :-)

Financial worries continue here in Orange, so nobody really knows (or is willing to tell the staff) how that will effect the libraries. I hear that things in NYC are bad, with both my former employers Brooklyn & Queens Public Library talking lay-offs and shortened hours. I remember surviving the ones back in the early '90s, and sympathize with my fellow librarians back there. Hope Joe, Mady, Barb and the rest of you can get through this!

I have my fingers crossed that a couple of reviews I did for CBG will show up in the next issue. Not a big deal, but I love seeing my name in print. I also got my name mentioned in a YouTube video in connection with a comicbook review. That was a nice surprise!

I"m sure I already mentioned, here or maybe in Shot's Shack that I'm going to be going to San Diego again this year. Already have my room (which I'm sharing with Dan again) and plan on being there for Thursday as well. Maybe I'll actually be able to walk around the con floor without getting hit by a stray lightsaber. More on the con as the time grows near.

Good night and write if you get work! :-)

Where in the World is Carmen Sandiego - Rockapella

2010-03-20T10:55:00.001-07:00

Just a bit of fun from Rockapella. Got to see them in concert back in NYC. The best they are at what they do!

2010-02-26T13:32:00.000-08:00

Haven't been posting on either of my blogs for a while, but Facebook will spoil you for that sort of thing. It's easier, even with Facebook blocked on my work PC, to post there or put up a video than to take a few minutes to log on to Blogger.

I apologize for that, but do recommend you check out Facebook and Friend me over there. I have almost 200 "friends" at this point and most I have no clue how they found me. most seem to have clicked on the link provided in the 'mutual friends' thing on the side, which is fine by me. That way I can annoy or bore over a hundred folks at a time, rather than the dozen people who read either of my blogs. No offense!! :-)

On another topic...

Wow! There is a reason why at least once a week I thank Donna (and Kristina) for getting us to move out here. The view of the mountains, palm trees, beaches and In & Out Burger, to name a few. Of course, when I get up in the morning and turn on the television to see what my friends & family are getting in the way of weather!! Yeah, buddy!! um..I mean..awww...what a shame!

Finally: Did anyone really expect the Republicans to come out of the meeting yesterday and go.."Holy shit! We've been wrong all this time. We apologize to the American people for being assholes and will help the Democrats pass actually health care that will work." Nobody reading this is that stupid. Sadly, there are people who are. They are listening to Rush, Glenn or Bill-O at the moment, I'm sure.

Howard Zinn RIP (w/ December Interview)

2010-01-29T09:19:00.001-08:00

The man was brilliant and I had the chance to hear him speak back in New York. Just as witty and inspiring as you would imagine. He will be missed and his work will live on.

2010-01-23T13:03:00.001-08:00

The rains have finally stopped and things might have a chance to dry out. Well, at least until Monday night through next Wednesday when more storms are predicted. Except for being messy and lousy to drive in the rain hasn't really had much effect here in Ladera Ranch. Unfortunately, the same can't be said for folks living in the burn regions North & South of us.

The horror stories from Haiti continue to push everything to the background, except for the Late Show Wars Part Deux. How can people being saved from the wreckage of their homes compare with what is happening at NBC after 10:00pm? *sigh*

2010-01-19T14:00:00.000-08:00

Well, things are nasty out here this week, at least weather-wise. We have had rain on & off since Sunday night. The worst hit areas were those that suffered fires late last year. Currently (2:05pm PST) there is a tornado warning in effect for the area of Laguna Beach, which isn't all that far from where we live. Donna called to tell me not to worry if I can't reach her later, but that doesn't ease my mind, of course.

Christina, one of our house guests over the weekend, left last night with only a short delay of her flight. Her mother, Fran, is scheduled to fly out tonight and her flight is still scheduled to depart on time. We'll see what happens and if she extends her visit.

Folks reading my Facebook posts already know that I attended the Jets/Chargers play-off game on Sunday. Pretty exciting for my very, first NFL game. Almost got in a fight, and I hadn't even had my first beer yet! Who knew that wearing a Brooklyn Cyclones ball cap would set off a drunken Chargers fan? Probably a good thing I didn't have on my Red Sox or Mets cap! I might not have made it out of the men's room in one piece. :-(

MSF/Doctors without Borders (mirror)

2010-01-13T15:05:00.001-08:00

These people are doing good work in the most difficult of circumstances. They need and deserve your support.

2010-01-04T14:05:00.001-08:00

Happy New Year! Figured I should get that out of the way pretty quick. :-)

Sorry I haven't posted recently, but to be honest, since I can get to my blogs from work I tend to post on my breaks. On the other hand, I don't have access to Facebook, Twitter or MySpace on my work PC so I tend to spend my online time at home playing around there. I was off since Christmas Eve so I haven't been around. Did I miss anything?

Donna and I played pretty low-key for the holidays. Spent Christmas Day with Kristina and some friends. Donna talked me into going to Bingo with her four times last week, including a pot-luck/New Year's Eve session at a local high school. As usual Donna did pretty well, although I actually did win one game for $125, which was nice.

I got some nice comics related stuff for Christmas, including a $100 gift certificate for Nuclear Comics, a cool HELLBOY figure (from HELLBOY 2), and a huge book called MARVEL UNIVERSE (a coffee table book that chronicles the history of that company and many of its characters in all media). Most of the gift certificate funds were spent this past weekend.

Finally, in the next day or so, I'm going to be posting over on SHOT'S SHACK my reviews of AVATAR (Must see film of the season!) and the last three David Tennant DOCTOR WHO episodes.

Fail Video Game Bin Laden VS USA Hand Held Toy Review by Mike Mozart of JeepersMedia

2009-12-22T12:33:00.001-08:00

Something totally distasteful for the Holidays. You really can not underestimate bad taste and the desire to make a buck.

I'll try to post something a bit more cheerful in the next couple of days, but I had to share this.

2009-12-14T09:01:00.000-08:00

Guess what I got for my birthday present? Kristina surprised me with this yesterday, when Donna and I went over to help with Christmas decorating. First stop was for bagels, of course, and then later to pick up ornaments, lights and finally a six foot tree from Lowe's. The rest of the afternoon consisted of getting rid of the old plastic tree and decorating the new 'live' one. Finally, we all went out for sushi. A fine evening, but I should know better than to let The Child talk me into drinking two Saki Bombs. Glad Donna was as the designated driver. :-)

Oh, if you have to ask what the gift is, you really don't know me or my favorite movie very well.

2009-12-12T13:23:00.001-08:00

Still trying to get things settled after our cruise. Some laundry remains to be done and the suitcases put back into storage. Possibly some Christmas decorations will be put up and the holiday cards just about ready to be sent out. If you haven't gotten yours yet, that's the reason. Unless, of course, we have decided NOT to send one to you since you haven't responded to our last several. You know who you are!!

Hey, is if just me (and it very well might) or is Blogger getting more and more spam replies to posts. There have been some in the past, but this past week (as I have been clearing out older e-mails) I have seen a large number of them posted to both my blogs. Some are for newer posts, but others for ones I put up months ago. The weirdest part is that most are in Chinese (or Japanese, since I can't decipher the type either way). Those in English (if you can call it that) tend to be made up mostly of links, so I expect the ones in foreign languages to be much the same. Annoying, but I can live with it. Trust me, at least they aren't downright nasty or threatening like the replies I get to my comments on YouTube. Those are some scary folks!!

Most of my regular readers tend to be on the East Coast, so I'm sure you have little sympathy for the lousy weather we are having, considering what you deal with. Still it sucks to have spend two weeks in beautiful, if sometimes very, humid, climate to get back and be faced by days of rain and cold. Okay..not cold compared to you guys, but we got rid of our heavy stuff a while ago. Actually, tempted to get out the stuff I bought in Alaska last year! Brrrr...

2009-12-07T14:55:00.000-08:00

Baby did seem to survive her ordeal, but the rug and our comforter may never be the same!

Seriously, once Donna and I have a chance to fully unpack and get some domestic stuff done, I plan to download some of the photos I took during the cruise. Some of them look okay, viewed in the tiny view screen of the camera but I'm hoping the look pretty cool seen larger. I especially hope those I took of the crocodiles and the cliff divers come out okay. I really need to make the close-up of that Big Daddy croc my wallpaper at work! :-)

So tell me, did anything of note happen while we were away? Watching CNN International (about the only news you can get via the ship's TV) it appears that there were only four major stories. FIFA World Cup 2010 is being played in South Africa; Amanda Cox was found guilty (became the top story late in the cruise); Venice and much of England seem to be underwater and Tiger Woods appears to have had an accident. That pretty much it?

More about the cruise and other things when I have a chance! Glad to be back, even though we didn't expect the cold and rain. Brrr!! Two weeks of 80-90 degree weather can spoil a guy!

2009-11-20T10:13:00.000-08:00

We're off tomorrow for Miami where we will stay overnight at the Embassy Suites. Then on Sunday we will board the Celebrity Constellation. Our home-away-from-home for the next fourteen days. This will be our longest cruise, so far. The previous one, also on Celebrity, was a mere 10-day Caribbean cruise.

Unfortunately, the shore excursion we had booked for Costa Rica was cancelled, so now we're looking for something similar. I was pretty psyched to be taking a boat down a river known for its large population of crocodiles. I mean, who wouldn't be?

We've decided to take along out laptop this time, since we aren't going to be able to use our cellphone most of the time. We hope to be checking our e-mail and I may be posting a bit on my Facebook account just to let folks know we're still safe.

This will be, more than likely, the last posting I do here until I return (Dec.6th), so I want to wish you all a very, Happy Thanksgiving! Take care!

2009-11-06T15:59:00.000-08:00

There really isn't anything I can say about the shootings yesterday at Fort Hood and the one that took place in Orlando,Florida earlier today. One may turn out to be a political/religious action and the other the work of a former employee. I'll leave these to greater minds than mine. I will say however, that I would not be surprised if the attack yesterday did not in some way or other influence what happened today. The shooter in Florida was laid-off two years ago, his anger continued to build and it's possible that when he heard about the shooting on the Army base it gave him that 'final push' into an action he may have been contemplating already. I probably should not attempt to psychoanalyze the guy, but it is a possibility.

Sorry, to get all heavy but I can't help thinking about these two very, tragic situationns.

Hug your loved ones or get in touch, if they are far away. You never know what life is going to present to you. Peace!

2009-11-02T17:09:00.000-08:00

The Chaput Duo did okay Bingo-wise this past weekend. Donna and I both hit for some nice jackpots. Sometimes the addiction pays off and other times not so much. :-)

To be honest not much else to report on at Chez Chaput. We continue to get things ironed, packed and readied for the cruise in a few weeks. Everything else is pretty much status quo, which is probably a good thing in today's world. The filters are back up at work, so while I can blog the Twitter & Facebook accounts are out of reach. The thing that is really ticking me off though is that I seem to be having trouble with Shelfari, where I actually get to discuss books and such.

Later, folks!

2009-10-23T12:35:00.000-07:00

Time flies when you're having fun!
Just posted some comic book reviews over at Shot's Shack and noticed that in about a month I will have been doing SS for five years. In fact, I've been doing this blog since January of 2003, so we are coming up on the seven year mark just after the New Year. Man, where has the time gone?

Back then I had a couple of friends who had started blogging so decided to give it a try myself. To be honest I didn't know at the time if I would be sticking to it, and certainly would not have known that it would eventually morph into two distinct blogs. Not that I post there very often any more but I also contribute on occasion to a third blog, Poplitiko , that always has some nice stuff from much better writers.

Nothing to add or promote, as you can tell but was just sort of surprised by how long I'd been doing this kind of thing. In fact, to make this thing even scarier, i believe that next year will mark the 30th anniversary of my very first zine and my entrance into serious fandom. Somewhere, I think, I still have a copy of PART SHOT (or Cursed Earth, I can't remember which came first) lying around. I should dig it up and see if I was better back then. :-)

WWII Vet talks about Gay Marriage

2009-10-21T11:45:00.001-07:00

I know I can be pretty cynical, but this moved me. I hope that you will watch it, think about it and share it.

Have a good day and hug the person you love.

Letter to America

2009-10-19T09:58:00.001-07:00

Just some things to think about. I may be posting the second part after watching it myself.

Contact your members of Congress! We need a public option and we need it now!

2009-10-13T19:59:00.000-07:00

I figured with the 'Preview Night' session already sold-out for next year's San Diego Comic-con I better not wait any longer to register. At this rate the four-day passes will be sold out easily by the end of the year, if not sooner. It's amazing how quickly this thing gets booked and it continues to attract more folks each year. It really is become almost too big the price of admission has increased to $100 for the four-days. Not including what you have to shell out for hotel rooms it may be becoming too much to attend every year, unless you are a pro.

Not saying that I didn't have a good time, since I did and it was great seeing folks I have not seen in a year or in some cases over a decade. Fingers crossed that a few other people I have not seen in a while can actually attend. I'm hoping that a former pro may be making an appearance and we'll have a chance to chat. There were also a couple of people that I wanted to see, but missed for one reason or another.

You know that I'll be talking more about SDCC, especially next year as it gets closer. Just wanted to give a head's up to the couple of folks I know who do read this and also attend. Of course, this year I'm on both Facebook & Twitter so will try to be keeping up with what is going on while it is still news.

On another topic: I do hate driving in the rain, especially during that first rainfall where the roads are slick.

2009-10-12T10:34:00.000-07:00

Just want to thank all my "friends" who have called, e-mailed and posted on my Facebook account the last few days. I would never have known the score of any of those games if it hadn't been for you all letting me know. *sigh* When does Spring Training start?

Not sure if I'll be watching any of the WS games or not. Possibly if the Angels are playing, since I have a lot of friends out here who are fans. Of course, if the Yankees are playing it would be necessary to watch, just to root against them. :-)

We bought another large, suitcase yesterday for our cruise. No way could we get fourteen days worth of stuff in just two, even with a garment bag for my suits and Donna's gowns. We were going to borrow a bag from Kristina, but then she let us know that she'd be heading off to New Zealand for one of the weeks we'll be away. Quite a world traveler, that gal!

2009-10-09T10:13:00.000-07:00

I think most of us were surprised to wake up this morning and find that President Obama had been awarded the Nobel Peace Prize. Good for him! I admit that it may be a bit premature for the committee to have done so, but anything that will piss off the GOP, the Right and Mainstream Media can't be all bad. :-)

Matt Lauer, on the Today Show, asked the unbiased David Gregory if "he didn't get the award simply because he was not George Bush". Possible, but what one might consider leading. Gregory, who seems to have faded since Todd the Toad has taken up sitting under the rock at the White House, made it clear that we had to keep in mind that the Nobel Committee was a "Left-leaning, Euro-centric organization." Well put, sir! Noted Europeans such as Martti Ahtisaari, Wangari Maathai and that gang of Leftists Yasser Arafat, Shimon Peres, and Yitzhak Rabin all prove Mr. Gregory's brilliant analysis once again.

So okay, I did wake up in a pissy mood this morning. What of it? Did you see that game last night? WHAT GAME!!!?!?!?! You know damn well what game, now just leave me alone!!

Oh..have a nice weekend...grumble, grumble...grubs again...

Republicans Oppose Al Franken's Law on Protecting Victims of Gang Rape

2009-10-08T11:27:00.001-07:00

This is so disgusting it doesn't need any additional comment from me.

Happy Blasphemy Day!

2009-09-30T14:19:00.001-07:00

2009-09-28T16:04:00.001-07:00

As much as I enjoy playing Bingo a lot of the fun depends on the hall and the callers. Donna and I are regulars at the Irvine Saturday night event, but decided to give the new one in Hawaiian Gardens a try.

Called The Bingo Club, the new building is an improvement over the previous hall, near the casino, according to everybody who used to go there. It's clean with a separate closed-in section for smokers, so you don't have to breath in second-hand as you do in some halls. They also have a decent food & beverage stand, with free coffee, tea, water & ice. Unlike most halls, the play is continuous for ten hours or more. Rather than having the typical buy-in you buy each game for a dollar, by leaving a bill on the side for the next as you play the current game.

Anybody familiar with what is sometimes called 'speed bingo' will have a general idea of how the callers operate and how quickly each game progresses. Donna and I, along with our friend Jean, were there for around two and a half hours, during which over fifty games (plus some special pull-tab games) were called. I gave up after #40 and the ladies played another ten. After that we were all wiped out and it was time to head home. I think we'll be sticking to a more normally paced games for a while.

Mirror: The Truth Behind Public Option

2009-09-21T10:10:00.001-07:00

People have to know the truth! We can still hope and work for this. Contact your representatives. E-mail and call them. Tell them that should they fail to support a 'public option' plan you will not support THEM in the next election.

Progressives and people who desire a true alternative to the big insurance companies have to do something or we get shafted again.

Something Is Really Wrong w/ Our Educational System

2009-09-19T15:50:00.001-07:00

The sad thing is that I am confronted almost daily by not only students, but adults who do not have a general understanding of basic things. I know that I have been accused of being an educational snob, but COME ON!!!

One of the amusing things, if you think about it, is that if Leno did a segment of his "Jay Walking" bit in his studio audience I don't know how many would still be laughing.

2009-09-17T16:01:00.000-07:00

Been a productive week and it's not over yet!

We renewed our lease, so we'll be staying in Ladera Ranch for the foreseeable future. Donna also made the final payment on the cruise, so all we have to do now is start getting our clothes and sundries together over the next couple of months. Also, decide what we'll be doing with Babie while we're gone.

The forecasters are predicting another hot spell, or a continuation of Summer. Not a bad thing, but we continue to need rain and that isn't coming our way. As much as I hate driving in bad weather, I'd be willing to put up with it for a few days if it would ease the chances of more fires.

I know I promised not to discuss politics and the like, but the way things are going I think you can expect me to start ranting over the next couple of weeks. Not that I know what I'm talking about (When has that stopped me before?), but I do love bitching and moaning. :-)

2009-09-15T14:10:00.001-07:00

The good news is that my eyes have not gotten worse and I still do not have to have surgery for my cataracts. The bad news, not a big deal except to me, is that I have to start using eye drops at night as my eyes are not producing enough moisture. If you know you know that I hate eye drops or even eye wash. The big reason I would never consider contacts is the mere thought of sticking something into my eye makes me squeamish. No way!

The 'walk-in' clinic was out of the flu shot, so I'm going to have to try later this week when a limited number will be available at City Hall for city workers. According to the workers at the clinic they company supplying the vaccine had to stop production for some reason. I probably don't even want to know!

Anybody else happen to watch the first Jay Leno Show last night? Nothing special, to be honest. Jay being Jay and pretty much doing the Tonight Show under another name. It does look odd to have Jay sitting in a chair minus a desk, at least for interviews. Nice seeing Jay and Jerry having a good time, but other than that I don't think the show is something I'd tune in to see every night.

2009-09-11T10:43:00.000-07:00

It seems impossible that is has been eight years since 9-11 took place. They said at the time that everything had changed, but perhaps not as we had thought at the time. I'm sure everybody else will have comments about where they were when they heard the news and what they did for the next several days. I've already spoken about much of that here so there is no need to repeat myself.

I turned on the television this morning to see several events taking place around the country and heard of others on the radio during my commute. As I arrived at work the school directly across the street from the Library was holding a memorial ceremony with the students standing beneath and around the flagpole. I'm sure tonight there will be more televised coverage.

Me, I'm just going to take a few moments to remember. Wondering again, if some of the people I worked with at the WTC were among those killed or injured. Unlikely since I had worked there in '86, but not impossible. Family members did lose friends and co-workers that day, so we grieve for them as well.

Despite all the talk going on about who is American and who is not; who is a 'patriot' and who is not; let us remember that for one day we really were united. On 9/12 it did change and we can't go back.

Pixel Shrooms

2009-09-08T10:13:00.001-07:00

It's all true!

2009-09-06T17:44:00.000-07:00

So Van Jones has to resign because of past affiliations and his signature on petitions. Schools around the country are preventing their students from hearing the President of the United States speak on education. The health care reform debate has become one about 'death panels' and the government killing 'granny'. Wackos are carrying loaded weapons to city hall meetings and there are apparently millions of people who believe that Barack Obama is not an American citizen. I have had enough of this. I can no longer watch the news or read a newspaper without getting upset. The campaign last year should have been enough notice to me that should the Democrats win the right-wing in this country was going to go on a rampage.

I quit! I'm dropping all the political sites from this blog and plan to write only about personal things that affect me, Donna and Kristina. I'll talk about the weather, fires, earthquakes and our vacations, but no more about politics. I'm sick and tired of it.

Let somebody else care from this point on!.

Auto-Tune the News #8 WITH T-PAIN!

2009-09-03T14:39:00.001-07:00

Just because!

2009-09-02T16:42:00.000-07:00

With Hurricane Jimena moving up Baja it's probably a good thing we didn't make plans for another weekend cruise. It was pretty tempting with a four-day weekend, but with the 14-day Panama Canal trip coming up I think that will fulfill our cruise quota for the year.

The day-by-day changes in the filtering system have not only blocked Facebook & Twitter, but KINGDOM OF LOATHING (for 'violence', no less). LOL! Yeah, keep folks away from stick figures with swords fighting mutant goldfish, but I can get into REQUIEM where realistic & semi-naked Sims-like elves and wizards kill each other. Brilliant!! (Btw, I don't play REQUIEM, but was curious to see if I could go there when I found KOL blocked.)

We are talking about moving again, but it hasn't gone much further than a discussion. Our lease is up at the end of October, so we do have a month or so to decide. For those keeping track or planning a visit I'll let you know if we pack up and change locations.

2009-08-31T16:16:00.000-07:00

I know I've mentioned this before, but once the wildfires start blazing out here I'm reminded of the book, Ecology of Fear: Los Angeles and the imagination of disaster by Mike Davis. My fellow librarian, Joe Grosso, recommended the book back when we were first considering the move here. Even though the book is eleven years old at this point, it is still relevant.

The fires are still way north of us, but you can see the plumes of smoke as you drive around much of The OC. The big fear is that it will overrun the transmission towers near the Mount Wilson Observatory and cause havoc with the television & radio stations. I've heard from The Child that a number of Cox Communication customers are having problems with their phones, but the company hesitates to send work crews into the areas already being evacuated.

Speaking of Cox, we discovered yesterday that what we thought was one of our televisions going, was in fact caused by the cable box hooked up to the bedroom TV. Donna is going to be calling for a serviceman to come out. Have to be able to watch Nancy Grace and the local 11:00pm news every night! Plus, falling asleep after Letterman's Top Ten has become a Chez Chaput tradition.

2009-08-28T09:59:00.000-07:00

Since getting Facebook & Twitter accounts I can't figure out what to update first. I've all but forgotten the MySpace page, since almost everybody I was 'Friends' with there are also on the other social networks. I'm trying to figure out if what I post in one account is relevant or makes sense in the other. There isn't a total overlap yet. Twitter seems to have many of my comics related friends or folks I have met via YouTube, etc. Facebook is where my family and Donna's are keeping tabs on us, so immediate stuff seems to fit there. It's nice to still have my blogs, and I'll be trying to post a bit more, since it allows me to rant on for a longer time. :-)

FYI, the fires raging out here are much further north, so you shouldn't worry about us. We're following the reports, of course, since the dry,windy weather continues and it's not unlikely that a fire could start somewhere in the region. We have already had a couple in the area, but they were quickly brought under control. The 'emergency' kits we have prepared, are not just in case of earthquakes.

2009-08-26T10:44:00.000-07:00

I was sad, but not surprised to hear of the passing of Ted Kennedy last evening. The morning news shows are filled with stories about his life & legacy. Unfortunately, you can't escape the tragedy of Chappaquiddick or the mark it left on Kennedy's career. Little doubt he would have been President, had the accident never happened. It will be interesting to see if the folks at Fox can talk about anything but that, or to glory that a "rich, socialist" is no longer in the Senate. I'm sure that Rushbo, Bill-o and Beckenstein will have a field day bashing the man, his brothers and family. In their minds, and I'm sure among a certain element in the GOP, this could not have happened at a better time for them.

Just got some bad news about a cut in a service we provide here at the Library. One of the sponsors is dropping their support and we are unable to come up with that money ourselves. It is unfortunate that something we have to assist job seekers, in these times, is being removed because a corporation is trying to save a few bucks.

Ambassadors of Harmony-2009 International Barbershop Chorus Champions

2009-08-22T15:48:00.001-07:00

A big thank you to Mark Evanier for posting this. Watch it through, even if you are not a big 'barbershop' sound fan. Can't imagine the work that went into the final bit.

Ecomomics of Healthcare

2009-08-20T16:39:00.001-07:00

We're #1 !!! It really doesn't make sense that people are fighting this change...unless (you don't think?) they are working for the insurance companies!! Nah! can't be.

2009-08-18T13:23:00.000-07:00

So are we all screwed on this? I mean at least those among us who would like a "public option" as part of the Health Care plan being put together in Congress. Can we actually trust (well, certainly not the Republicans!)those working on this? I mean, we still have American troops fighting two wars, Dick Cheney, Donald Rumsfield and that other guy from Texas (what's his name?) who was in the Oval Office not being prosecuted for 'war crimes' or even serving time for other illegal activities. What the hell did I vote for last year, if not some action on all those fronts? It is beginning to appear that those folks who said I was wasting my vote on Democrats, might have been right after all. I'm not seeing a hell of a lot of difference, to be honest.

On a more personal side, you can check me out on Twitter, if you like. You can also find both Donna & me (with seperate accounts) on Facebook, where we are currently keeping track of friends and family back east. I have heard that there may be other folks I haven't been in touch with lurking about on one or the other, so please feel free to "follow" or become my Friend on either of those networks. No grudges held on my part!

Has Obama Been Bought By Big Pharma?

2009-08-14T09:28:00.001-07:00

Might be time for a change again! The NYT has been wrong before and so has the Huffington Post. Maybe we do need a "REAL" third/alternative party if we can't trust the Democrats. (I've never trusted the Republicans!)

2009-08-08T13:51:00.000-07:00

I find it interesting how the networks continue to give airtime to certain right-wing columnists and fringe wackjobs. Once you start comparing Obama to Hitler and screaming about 'death panels' it's time for the folks in charge to turn off the cameras and show those folks the door. From past experience in fandom (online & in print) it was at the point that one side of an argument or the other started saying "Hitler" that it was time for the moderators to close things down.

It's also apparent that the Right can say and do just about anything and the mainstream media finds it worth covering. On the other hand, the protests against the Patriot Act, the war in Iraq and other things that happened the previous eight years, really didn't amount to anything newsworthy.

I'm trying not to get all worked up about this, but I fear that there will be some real violence at one of these 'town hall' meetings. Not that Rush, Beck or Bill-o have instigated anything, mind you. These are just "average Americans" with no agenda speaking their minds.

Enjoy our new socialist state, fellow-travelers! :-)

2009-08-04T18:57:00.001-07:00

I really hope I'm not starting to come down with something. Several of my co-workers called in sick today. Going from the heat outside into & out of air-conditioning doesn't help things. I suppose if I didn't catch anything in the petri dish that is the San Diego Comic-con I might yet escape a virus.

For those curious, we didn't feel anything from the two quakes in the Gulf of California yesterday. We had a couple of folks phone to ask, but all's well. The most recent small fires were also south & west of Ladera Ranch, so those weren't a problem either. On the other hand, the annual infestation of ants has begun, this time limited to the bathroom so far. We'll let the folks in the office know and keep an eye on Babie's water & food dishes. She seems happy to just sit and watch as they travel the tiles. Mighty huntress, that she is!

2009 has certainly been speeding by and we are already trying to see what we'll be doing for New Year's Eve. Of course, that's assuming I'm not dragged down by crocodiles during the boat trip I have planned on our Panama Canal cruise. The Tarcoles River in Costa Rica is noted for a large colony of crocs. Donna says I can have the riverside seat. "Lean over for a close-up, dear!" :-)

Not much else to add for now. I'll try to start posting again a bit more frequently, but tend to hit Facebook & Twitter more often when I can.

2009-07-31T11:13:00.000-07:00

So okay, the Beer Summit is over, Obama's poll ratings are down and health care seems to be doomed from Day One. Yeah, we really did change things last November, didn't we?

Between the Birthers and the Blue Dog Democrats, there really hasn't been much of a chance for this administration to get decent coverage. We expected this type of thing from the mainstream GOP, but the wackos and back-stabbing BDs came as a surprise to me.

I'm taking a short break from reading much about the political situation and hiding my head in SD for a few days seemed to help. Like going to an alternate world where these things don't matter and the only thing you have to worry about is getting from the Exhibit floor up to Ballroom 6 in time, with a stop off at Starbucks or Mrs. Fields along the way. I have more to say about the convention and some photos of other fanboys over at Shot's Shack, if you are interested.

That's it for now!

The Bad Guys Launch Coordinated Attack on Healthcare

2009-07-22T21:05:00.001-07:00

The folks at The Young Turks nail this! I don't agree with everything Cenk has to say, but it doesn't accept the B.S.

Check it out!

2009-07-20T14:09:00.000-07:00

Well, we had a nice fairly quiet weekend. It has been hot out here and poor Kristina's A/C isn't working, so she stayed with us a couple of nights. That didn't keep Donna and me from hitting Bingo on Saturday, where I won $250. Putting part of that towards my ComicCon funds. :-)

Speaking of San Diego, Dan is flying in on Wednesday and we almost had some problems, due to miscommunication. Despite the wonders of e-mail, and social networking sites you can't beat actually talking to somebody on the phone! Fortunately, the hotel was able to give us an extra night so we have our convention headquarters ready to go.

Hard to believe it's been forty years since the moon landing. While millions of people around the world were riveted to their television sets that day, this guy had no clue what was going on. When you are on board a Navy ship in the mid-Atlantic (at least when I was serving) you are pretty much out of touch with the 'real world'. I didn't know history had been made until the next day. It was probably a month or so later, back in the U.S., when I actually saw the footage for the first time. I'm sure things are much different nowadays.

Sarah Palin Quits! Auto-Tune the News #6

2009-07-11T11:58:00.001-07:00

Just because! LOL~!

2009-07-05T10:19:00.000-07:00

Donna and I are enjoying the cruise. She's up at the casino (winning, I hope) and I decided to take a few minutes to check in.

It's kind of cool, since Donna is now a "Concierge Class" passenger. We get extra perks and even some freebies in the cabin at night. Mmmm..chocolates!

Hope your 4th has been fun and you haven't blown anything up! Catch you tomorrow, back at the Library.

RIP: Harve Presnell (They Call the Wind Maria)

2009-07-01T17:11:00.001-07:00

Even though the man appeared in dozens of films and television shows, this was what immediately came to mind.

My condolences to his family and friends. Also to those of Karl Malden. It's been a bad couple of weeks.

Darwin's Theory Of Evolution - A Brief History

2009-07-01T14:58:00.001-07:00

Still alive!!

2009-06-30T19:14:00.000-07:00

About time that the Senate race between Al Franken and Norm Coleman comes to an end. I really did expect Coleman to keep this going until 2010 at least! I don't believe that having Franken in the Senate is going to make an immediate change for the better, but I hope it keeps the GOP off balance for a while. Sadly, there are a few too many 'conservative/moderate' Dems for my taste still active and preventing real change.

We got confirmation yesterday that Carnival cruiseline is moving us off the 'waitlist' and booking us for a three-night cruise this coming weekend. This is exactly the same one we took last year at the same time. We know the ship is going to be filled with kids, but it is still nice to get away for a few days. Also, this brings us into VIP status with Carnival so we get preferred boarding, debarkation and other nice stuff. Can you believe that we have taken ten cruises since our first together in 1999? Averages to one cruise per year and we have another booked for our anniversary on Thanksgiving!

It will be a week tomorrow that Michael Jackson has passed away and they have just gotten around to planning his funeral. Considering how long poor Anna Nicole and James Brown had to wait, I guess it's not all that bad.

2009-06-29T09:44:00.000-07:00

Ok, so Ol' Bernie is going to do 150yrs hardtime. Damn! I feel safer knowing this bastard is off the streets.

Seriously, I have no sympathy for this creep, but this is not going to do anything for the many people deceived by this man and his family. Why aren't his wife and children doing time or being brought up on charges? Is it possible they knew nothing about what was done? I highly doubt it! Plus, I'm not at all buying those photos of the Mrs. riding the subway. You know that the family has millions stashed in dozens of off-shore accounts where they can get their hands on it after the spotlight fades.

Hmmm...there have been American forces killed and injured the past weekend in Iraq & Afghanistan. There has been a coup in Honduras. Michael Jackson remains the top story in both national and local news. Anybody surprised?

2009-06-27T14:01:00.000-07:00

Not a good deal I can add to everything that has already been said about Michael Jackson. For all the jokes about his appearance, his dangling babies and the court case, I believe that eventually it will be his music that will be his legacy.

I think that in twenty years kids will view Jackson much as today's youth view Elvis. He is the guy their parents always talk about, they will hear his music and perhaps see his videos on whatever passes for 'golden oldie' stations (on radio, television and the Interwebs). Maybe they will even see one of those MJ impersonators you'll find in Vegas (with a choice of the Jackson Five Micheal, the 'Billie Jean' Michael and the weird one with the glove and military uniforms).

I initially found myself at a loss when I saw how emotional his fans were, but I can remember similar crowds for Elvis and John Lennon. For me, of course, it was Lennon's death that effected me. I sympathize with his fans and my condolences go out to his family and his children.

Bill Maher: Democrats Are the New Republicans

2009-06-23T13:31:00.001-07:00

There is not much I can add to this. I do think Maher can be a smug SOB at times, but he f**king nails it!

TYT!!

2009-06-18T12:06:00.000-07:00

We're not completely happy with either the Democratic congress or the Obama administration. I don't think I'll get any arguement from those regular readers out there. I still don't regret my November votes, but do wonder how I'll feel this time next year.

Why do we still have "Don't ask, don't tell"? Why is the White House blocking the release of the abuse photos? Where is the progressive/liberal agenda this administration and this congress was supposedly going to bring? I'm not seeing it!

It's hard to believe that Donna and I have been together for about 10 years now. We'll be celebrating our 10th wedding anniversary in November, taking a cruise naturally. So much has happened to us in that time, it seems like we have known each other for far longer. Not sure how she feels, but for me she is the best thing that ever happened in my life.

2009-06-13T15:16:00.001-07:00

As much as I love living in California, the whole "June Gloom" phenomenon we go through each year can be a real drag. Grey clouds and chilly days are not what I signed up for when I moved here. I'm more the sunshine and sitting in the swimming pool kind of guy. Plus the mild humidity is making an old wound in my left-hand hurt like hell. One of the problems of getting old, I guess. :-)

Donna and I finally decided to check out another of the local casinos yesterday. We took a bus (provided free by the casino) down towards San Diego to the Valley View Casino. Not up to what you see in Vegas or Atlantic City, but still nice enough. It actually reminds me of the Mohegan Sun Casino, back in Connecticut, before that place grew so big. VV is actually expanding, adding a hotel and some other venues around the property. Guess not everybody is hurting in the current economy, huh?

Unlike some of the other casinos, there aren't a lot of table games at VV. There is a separate room for Poker and the usual other games, but only one or two tables each and you can actually miss them among all the slot machines.

Speaking of which, I can't remember every seeing so many Penny slots! Generally, you will have a couple dozen and you'll find folks standing around hoping to find a spot, but VV has hundreds. They also have a nice non-smoking casino, separate from the main floor. The free lattes and self-serve soft drink areas also make the place very friendly. Since it was our first trip and we got Player's Cards, we had a free buffet and I highly recommend it, even if you have to pay. Everything was tasty and they have a really good dessert section!

Considering how much we 'donated' I do think that we'll be sticking to Bingo for a while. Since I got chosen as "Bingo Player of the Month" for June, I also don't have to pay for my buy-in, so that makes the usual Saturday night games even more fun.

Hope that you are all enjoying things as much as we are! Take care!!

2009-06-08T10:43:00.001-07:00

Donna and I spent the weekend playing Bingo, almost literally doing little else. We played at our usual site in Irvine on Saturday night, then hit the 'marathon' at the Elks Lodge in Mission Viejo for 8+ hours. Neither one of us one, but that's not the point, is it? :-)

My sister, Pam, finds the fact that I'm "one of those guys" pretty funny. This coming from a gal who deals craps & high-stake poker at a casino for a living! That's the thing that I'll never get over.

Not much else going on here, except that the fire season seems to be getting off to a start, thanks to several lightning strikes last week. One was about ten miles from our place, but nothing closer or very large yet. This is the third year of drought and things could easily become very nasty, very quick. Fingers crossed as they are each year!

Oh, and a heads up to all of you. As my 59th birthday approaches (12/13) I have found myself thinking of my own mortality quite a bit. Be ready for fits of depression and lots of nostaligic journeys this year.

Have a good week!

Vote "Prop C" - to make things Clear

2009-06-05T14:26:00.001-07:00

I think we should all get behind this!

Bunny Skates

2009-06-05T14:18:00.001-07:00

If you have to ask you don't know me very well!

2009-06-02T13:03:00.000-07:00

I don't know how long this is going to last, but the block seems to be off Blogger at work. Hopefully, I can drop by on breaks or lunch and try to post a bit more often.

I have nothing of note to add to my earlier comments, but did want to take advantage of this while I could.

Oh! What the Hell are Donna and I supposed to do with our Saturns now? They have closed three dealerships in the area and it is going to be a bitch to bring them in for scheduled maintenance. *sigh*

Quick recommendation of John Dean's CONSERVATIVES WITHOUT CONSCIENCE. I'm listening to it on audio and find the history of the Conservative philosophy fascinating. Also, Dean had some great insight into how the current crop of Republicans differ from 'real' Conservatives of an earlier generation. If the subject interests you you should check it out, even though it is dated by a few years.