I was asked by a friend what I thought of the video on this page: Heavenly Fire – The John 10:10 Project. On the whole, I like what it says, despite the American evangelical bent of what’s expressed there. The explanation of the sun’s and Earth’s magnetic fields and how they interact is accurate, as … Made for Each Other
“Aragorn: tall, dark, ruggedly handsome, dangerous, brooding, of a royal bloodline, good with horses, a natural leader, slightly superhuman. He’s just like Jay!*” I missed the The Lord of the Rings trilogy the first time around in the theaters, in the early aughts. I was too single-mindedly involved with music and making websites at the … Aragorn: Book Versus Film
I’ve heard it a few times before, in the context of musical talent: “he’s good at what he does.” It’s applicable to other performative arts as well. It’s said when you want to admit someone is talented, but the subject in question isn’t talented in the manner in which you’d like them to be. I … “He’s good at what he does”
I took Daughter of Jay to the Sonic Temple Fest in Columbus, OH as a graduation present. The fest ran for four days, from Thursday and through the weekend. Her target was Evanescence, who only played Thursday, and passes for even one day were pretty pricey…so Thursday it is. I don’t think I could endure … Videos: P.O.D., Evanescence, The Ghost Inside
The thought occurred to me recently that a lot of the characters in Blade Runner 2049 act strongly against their profession while simultaneously maintaining that profession. Or, they act or are in circumstances that contradict their character in the previous movie. I don’t know how much merit there is in these observations. I suppose in … Acting Against Type in Blade Runner 2049
That’s it. That’s the whole street, in one photo. This is facing west on Sandusky Street, after getting off the Andy Warhol Bridge, and on the opposite end is Vulcan Way. The gray wall on the left belongs to the Burns White building. Burns White is a law firm that moved out of that building … Photo: Silver Street, Pittsburgh
Behold! The Plumber’s Hammer. I wanted to say this was the best weapon out of all possible weapons, including even the ranged ones, but let’s not go that far yet. Note the goal stated in this post’s title. It’s assumed that your main objective is to survive the zombie apocalypse, as opposed to going out … I Made the Best Melee Weapon to Survive a Zombie Apocalypse
I watched most of the first episode, not quite on purpose. I knew the writers were playing with atomic bombs like plastic toys when the detonation in the beginning failed to get the attention of the partygoers simply because they weren’t looking directly at it. The light from a bomb going off would be filling … Mauler on the Fallout Series
Ingredients 3 tbsp chia seeds 1/2 cup heavy whipping cream or 2% milk 1 capful of vanilla extract 1 capful of lemon extract 1/2 tsp powdered Stevia (around 12 drops of the liquid version) A few berries Directions 1. Combine everything into a container and mix 2. Let sit for at least 15 minutes 3. … Recipe: Bubblegum Chia Seed Pudding
Go get it.
Someone should do this. We’ve all seen forensic facial reconstruction artistry—it’s not really referred to as an art but one could easily peg it as such—for human remains, especially for prehistoric or non-modern-man/hominid species types. Why not transfer that skill to decorative skulls, like ones made for Halloween costumes or year-round decorations (people do that) … Youtube Channel Idea: Decorative Forensic Facial Reconstruction
I’ve seen things you people wouldn’t believe. Attack ships on fire off the shoulder of Orion. I watched C-beams glitter in the dark near the Tannhäuser Gate. All those moments will be lost in time, like tears in rain. Time to die. I always liked it. It wasn’t overwrought or overacted, and it was a … That Blade Runner Monologue
This was written, as was the entire Xenosaga III soundtrack, by Yuki Kajiura, who appears to be as prolific as Yoko Kanno in terms of soundtrack work. It’s a rather pretty song, and at first listen the pulsing electronic percussion starting up at 2:48 feels out of place for something so “natural” sounding. After hearing … Wednesday Humpday Midday Music: “Hepatica (KOS-MOS)” from Xenosaga III
A little over three years ago, we walked the same trail. Last Saturday afternoon was breezy and clear, in the mid-50s, and the trail was a little muddy from the storms the past week or so. My AllTrails app wasn’t cooperating for some reason, so I grabbed the rather low-resolution map from the park website. … Photos: Spicebush Trail Hike, Part 2
The Hobbit (1977) A hobbit is recruited by a wizard and thirteen dwarves to steal back the dwarves’ stolen treasure from the dragon Smaug. Any cinematic treatment of what’s probably the greatest children’s book ever written isn’t going to live up to the source material, but I will say this dated, all-animated version is much … Sci-fi and Fantasy Movies and Series Reviews, Part 46
May the waters spill as they glorify You. May the stones crack and crumble as they praise You. May the skies rend like threadbare garments as they honor You. May the galaxies spin and spend their flames as they bow down to You. May the cosmos return to the impenetrable chaos of the dark depths … Poem: Whither Creation
Taken at various stages. We had a lot of cloud coverage that broke up a bit in the afternoon, but I think the shots where clouds were involved added a nice effect. These aren’t very good, but I am glad to have at least something. My daughter used a pair of the eclipse glasses we … Photos: April 2024 Solar Eclipse
True to my plan early in 2023, I’m now listed as a UX Master on Nielsen Norman Groups’ certification page. Earlier this week I finished my last course and passed the last exam, and I think I owe it to myself to take a break from formal learning for a while. It can wreak havoc … UX Master Certification
A few things came to my attention after I posted the review of Dune Part 2 here. I mentioned that a nomadic desert culture like the Fremen should take from inspiration from real-world. This analysis of the costuming of Dune Part 2 suggest that this was the case, and Bedouins specifically were mentioned. Another video … Dune Part 2 Follow Up
Dune: Part Two With the House Atreides defeated on Arrakis, Paul Atreides and Lady Jessica work to win the favor of the native Fremen to push back against the Harkonnens. I liked this even more than Part One, if that were possible, because I think the runtime here is a little more justified. Part One … Sci-fi and Fantasy Movies and Series Reviews, Part 45
Walking around after dinner with some colleagues from work, heading southeast towards Liberty Avenue. Fun way to light up an otherwise dimly-lit alleyway. That building looming rather ominously in the background is the Centre City Tower. The exterior is rather bland, but its interior is nice. Your browser does not support the video tag. Otherwise, … Video: Overhead Lights at Garrison Place, Pittsburgh
Despite there being a ton of vendors at the World of Oddities Expo, I didn’t get as many pictures as I’ve done with other conventions. It was far less costume-based, so I was left with more or less taking photos of things that were for sale. Not necessarily bad, but it can be limiting and … Photos: World of Oddities Expo 2024, Pittsburgh
The best subversions in stories aren’t overbearing, or rely on jerking the viewer/reader around with cheap plot twists. Effective subversion—usually called one of the forms of irony—are more subtle and respectful of the audience’s intelligence. In this clip from The Ballad of Buster Scruggs anthology, the subversion is simple and easy to spot: The surface … How to Subvert Expectations in a Story
Every new idea or workaround is called a “hack” nowadays, even if it’s a technique that doesn’t involve technology. Some of the hacks listed in this “100 Home Hacks That Will Improve Your Life” could be considered engineering 101 hacks, but really they are just weird ideas that solve a problem or make something easier. … An Actual Hack
Item 1: I have new links to donwload Pale Blue Scratch and Bored in the Breakroom on the About + Books + Subscribe page for free. A few more online retailers. Item 2: My friend Graham, under the name Silent Music, put out a new album, called Taciturn Headphonetics. I have no idea how to … New Book Links and an Album
Even though HTML 4.0 specs were released after these sites were published, they still could be called HTML 4.0-era sites simply because it was the longest-running version of HTML before HTML 5 came around. The coding conventions, as well as the general aesthetic and subject matter, are often associated referred to using the 4.0 descriptor, … Long-Running HTML 4.0 Websites
Years ago, I had found garudoh’s YouTube channel, where he published videos of game soundtrack medleys. From that channel I found Supradarky‘s original account before he got nuked, where he had posted this song. I put a lot of Supradarky’s tracks on my iPod to listen to at work, and as I named the files … Wednesday Humpday Midday Song: “Yewbell (Balmy Breeze)” from Arc the Lad IV: Twilight of the Spirits
Ingredients 1/2 cup 2% milk 1/2 heavy whipping cream 2 tablespoons Optimum Nutrition Double Rich Chocolate protein powder (or whatever flavor) 1 tsp butter 1 tbsp cream cheese 1 tbsp peanut butter (sugar free) 1 tbsp chia seeds 1/8 tsp cinnamon 1/8 tsp cloves 1/8 tsp nutmeg Stevia/sweetener to taste Directions 1. Put all of … Recipe: Spicy Keto Porridge
I’m calling on Jill to get in here because this song has an accordion front and center. Some interesting time signature play here. The beginning is in 7/8, then a few bars of 4/4 before the verse (instrumentals can have verses and choruses, you know), and continuing into the verse. There’s a weird kind of … Wednesday Humpday Midday Song: “Clap and Walk” from Ragnarok Online 2
Over here.
I haven’t posted one of these in a while, so I thought I start again with one of my favorites from the Halo franchise. This plays right at the beginning of the game, with Master Chief’s AI doing the great voiceover, which if I recall correctly, was a new element for the Halo narratives. At … Wednesday Humpday Midday Song: “Luck” from Halo 3
I was able to plow through the first six Metal Slug installments, in between sleeping, writing, reading, eating, and doing other staycation-type activities, so the re-experiencing the action is fresh on my mind. I only played the first two games, long ago, when they were both in the arcades in the late nineties. It’s very … Three Cheers for Metal Slug
The Boy and the Heron In World War II Japan, a boy is guided by an annoying heron into a mysterious alternate reality, to find his father’s new wife and aunt. The heron wasn’t really annoying, except in the first few scenes, where he’s lightly terrorizing and gangstalking Mahito and taking dumps on his windowsill. … Sci-fi and Fantasy Movies and Series Reviews, Part 44
Here’s a nice still shot of nineties Gen X/Millennial culture. I was home from college on Christmas break when my brother took this photo. The date in the lower right corner is correct. Some things to notice: 1. The crazy-patterned bed comforter. 2. The Jim Lee X-Men poster, view it in its entirety here. At … Photo: Jay, 1995
Spotify’s cancelation confirmation screen has some creative content design: “Found art”: Life is waiting:
Ingredients 1 lb broccoli 2 lb chicken breast olive oil For the sauce: 1 c cream 1/2 cup shredded cheddar cheese 1/2 tsp salt 1 tsp garlic powder 1 tsp onion powder 1 tsp pepper 1 tbsp chives Directions 1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees. 2. Slather the chicken with olive oil before placing it … Recipe: Chicken and Broccoli
After Earth After an injured Ranger Corps officer and his son survive a crash landing on a depopulated Earth, they must contend with the hostile environment and feral Ursa creatures to survive. There was something incomplete going on here, like M. Night Shyamalan just gave up halfway through directing the thing. I want to invoke … Sci-fi and Fantasy Movies and Series Reviews, Part 43
Interesting explanation of the similarities of worldwide accounts (stories, myths, cave drawings) of global disasters and observable cosmic phenomenon. I don’t know if it’s astrophysically possible without a detailed model of how electromagnetism would have 1) overcome the effects of gravitational forces between celestial bodies, and 2) place Saturn, Mars, and Venus into their current … Video: Remembering the End of the World
For her 18th birthday, I took DoJ (Daughter of Jay) to Boston to watch symphonic interpretations of Genshin Impact songs, played by the Boston Symphony Orchestra. I played the game for about 20 minutes once. It’s something I would like if I had the time and inclination to get into it, because there seems to … Photos and Video: Symphonic Genshin Impact in Boston
I checked on Pressure 4-5 the other day after coming across one of their videos on Youtube. I got into them during my Sam Goody days when we received the promo for their album and were able to spin it when we wanted to, instore. They were a bit set apart from the normal glut … What Happened to Pressure 4-5?
This is assuming, of course, your band has a domain* and website to begin with, and not just social media accounts. If you search for “[artist or album] lyrics,” most of the results you get won’t be on web properties belonging to the artist or even their record label. They will be lyrics-harvesting websites like … Bands: Publish Your Lyrics on Your Website
I took a trip to meet my brother and see YYNot, a Rush cover/tribute band, at the Arcada Theater in St. Charles, IL, just west of Chicago. That’s “Arcada”…not “Arcadia” or “Arcade,” like I constantly want to type or say. Here’s a photo of the Fox River from bridge on Main Street, facing north-northwest. The … Photos and Videos: YYNot at Arcada Theater
Ingredients 3 lbs grass-fed ground beef 1 large onion, chopped 8 cloves garlic (or 8 tsp minced) 2 x 15 oz cans diced tomatoes 2 1/2 cups chopped broccoli 6 oz can tomato paste 4 oz can green chili peppers 2 tbsps Worcestershire sauce 1/4 cup chili powder 2 tbsp cumin 1 tbsp dried oregano … Recipe: Paleo-Keto Chili
A few recent shots. The first is not at night, but early morning, walking through Point State Park off the eastern side of Route 279, facing east-northeast. The Wyndham Hotel is in the (sort of) center, the Batman-cowl looking building on on its right is PPG Place. The gray-striped building I believe are the Gateway … Photos: Wyndham Grand Hotel, PNC Park
The story below is a work of fiction. A competitor called in all their remote workers, ones that were hired during you know what. So we did it too. Mandated by next calendar year. People are already pregaming before the big day. Today there was a guy in my normal seat at the cafe. I … Story: Quarantine IX
It’s been a while.
We took a trip to Massachusetts. Here are some photos. The ducks and geese at Hager Pond in Marlborough. They have been here for as long as I can remember: Webster Lake in Webster, MA. The real name is Lake Chargoggagoggmanchauggagoggchaubunagungamaugg. The “shortened” name is Lake Chaubunagungamaug, which manageable but ridiculous for normal English-speaking mortals: … Photos: Massachusetts
A mostly easy 3-ish mile hike. Since there were some rains the night before, the tree-heavy trail was very buggy. Not a bug big deal. The trail starts on a servicing road, on the White trail, the single line you see in the northeast on the map. Getting into the loop proper, you have to … Photos: Deer Lakes Park White and Purple Loop Hike
Ingredients 2 tbsp sugar-free peanut butter 1 scoop protein powder 1/2 cup heavy whipping cream Directions 1. Combine all ingredients in small stovetop pan 2. Stir over low heat until well combined Useless Information and Photos I originally did this in the microwave but it turns out so much better on the stovetop. The macronutritional … Recipe: Paleo-Keto Protein Pudding
Kind of mind-blowing that one guy can conceive, draw, and animate something like this, and have it come across the way it does. The poor girl just wanted to play an arcade game! Obviously the music is from someone else, and speedoru had help with the brief 3D animation, but the rest is all him. … Video: Wave Racer EP Medley
Note: This will probably be the last review post I’ll publish for a while. In the early days when I was recovering from shoulder surgery, I tried to read as much as I could but there’s a limit to that when you’re in pain and/or on painkillers. It was much easier to watch TV to … Sci-fi and Fantasy Movies and Series Reviews, Part 42
When I got the notification on my Fitbit app a few weeks ago that I got the Kevin badge for doing 22,222 steps in a day, I had to get the third and final badge, for the heterochromic Bob. Being a completionist kind of guy doesn’t help, either. In my defense, I was in the … Gamification Works
Interesting. “Decades-long bet on consciousness ends — and it’s philosopher 1, neuroscientist 0“: The findings from one of the experiments — which involved several researchers, including Koch and Chalmers — were revealed on Friday at the ASSC meeting. It tested two of the leading hypotheses: integrated information theory (IIT) and global network workspace theory (GNWT). … Betting on Consciousness
Ingredients 2 lbs beef bones 2 chicken or pigs feet 2 onions 2 carrots 2 celery stalks 2 tbsp apple cider vinegar 1 cup of salt 2 tbsp ground pepper 2 cloves of garlic Directions 1. Roast bones and feet for 30 minutes at 350 degrees. 2. Place the bones and feet in a large … Recipe: Beef Bone Stock
An inside joke. Putting this here for safekeeping.
I built a house in Minecraft. On all the gate entrances I put up my banner. It’s a cross, because Jesus, with a red skull over it, because death (lots of plants and animals need killing in Minecraft). I am very dark and poetic, you see. I wish you could see the banners from far … Video: My Minecraft House
Noah (2014) The only righteous man on Earth hears from the Creator that He’ll be sending some destruction his way, but there’s something he can do about it. This movie didn’t do well for two reasons. One, because folks wanted The Passion of the Christ, but for Noah, but there was extra-Biblical stuff in there … Sci-fi and Fantasy Movies and Series Reviews, Part 41
Looks pretty much tied, but “Jagoff” is playing a little dirty. Taken at the City-Council Building on Grant Street.
Ingredients 2 tbsp almond flour 2 tbsp butter 1 cup heavy whipping cream 4 eggs 1 1/5 cups shredded, semi-firm cheese 1/8 tsp cream of tartar or baking powder coconut oil, parmesan/romano cheese, salt, pepper Directions 1. Grease your ramekin or whatever dish with the coconut oil 2. In a pan, melt the butter and … Recipe: Keto-Paleo Cheese Soufflé
I want to say Vision of Escaflowne’s soundtrack was too good for it, but I like the series too much to commit to that criticism. I suppose I could just say the animation’s quality doesn’t quite match soundtrack’s; the animation values are only a few steps above Saturday morning cartoon. Composer and general musician Yoko … Wednesday Humpday Midday Music: “Wings” from Vision of Escaflowne
Ingredients Crust 1 3/4 cups almond flour 3 tablespoons Optimum Nutrition Double Rich Chocolate protein powder 7 tablespoons melted butter Filling 8 ounces cream cheese 1 cup sugar-free peanut butter 1/2 cup powdered sweetener 1 1/2 cups heavy whipping cream 1 teaspoon vanilla Miscellaneous coconut oil, some kind of topping Directions Crust 1. Grease a … Recipe: Keto-Paleo No-Bake Peanut Butter Chocolate Pie
I scrolled through my Facebook archive (I downloaded everything before I killed my account) casually the other day, and saw that I had posted this video. I don’t know if it’s from some overseas copyright thing, because the uploader isn’t the band or the their label, and it’s video quality of all the uploads I’ve … Video: school food punishment – “future nova”
The Super Mario Bros. Movie (2023) Two brothers, fledgling plumbers from Brooklyn, are transported to a world where a giant fire-breathing turtle aims to take over the neighboring kingdoms. This could’ve been really bad—worse than the universally-hated 1993 abomination—but thankfully all those involved with writing this did what was expected of them. Some awkward dialog … Sci-fi and Fantasy Movies and Series Reviews, Part 40
In all my decades of church going, I’ve never heard a pastor or priest preach on this parable. There are reasons for this: it doesn’t provide the Hallmark feels that parables like the Prodigal Son do; pastors can be lazy, and organizing a sermon with this material requires some work to brush away some assumptions; … The Parable of the Shrewd Manager
I know very little about the post process in video, so these things are fascinating to me. There’s probably a lot more work going into making real-life looking graphics as opposed to the work involved with creating things like futuristic tech. You can fudge things a bit with things that don’t really exist, but if … Video: “Stalingrad” Post-Production Reel
Here’s a comment I left on one of Ed’s posts, “Surveillance and Censorship” This post reminds me of the Twitter “algorithm” post I saw a few days back. Someone found in the source code Musk made available the parts where political tweets and accounts could be boosted or stifled. There were very obvious a variable … Fishy Twitter
The first hike of the year and season! At Deer Lakes in Frazer and West Deer Townships in Westmoreland County, PA. A storm blew by the day before: very windy but not a ton of rain. There was enough rain, though, to make a lot of spots muddy. Except for one spot that took us … Photos: Deer Lakes’ Orange and White Trail Loop
It’s always good to see galaxy-level drumming talent like this, when it’s more up-close than in a performance setting. I might not like it as much if I wasn’t familiar with the album this song is on, Planetary Duality. A lot of this progressive death metal stuff just sounds like a flurry of random beats … Video: Alex Rudinger – Xenochrist Drum Playthrough
The original NPCs. Photo by rolexpv People might not like plastic water bottles, because environment, or they simply dislike the concept of strangers hydrating themselves. I hate these bottles because if you buy an entire case of them for a party or general issue get-together, it’s easy to mix up your water bottles with someone … Someone Steal This Idea: Customized Plastic Water Bottles
Enjoy.
Sure, this is only a British bureaucrat, but there’s no reason to think there are other rulers who have the same “tendencies“: It’s not so much that everyone in government is a psychopath, it’s that governments tend to attract psychopaths. It seems like governments are stuffed full of them. No quite off topic is The … Psychopaths In Power
I played Overwatch a few times back when my daughter was really into it, but I don’t know anything about the backstory of any of the characters. Regardless, I thought this was a really well-done short movie. I have a soft spot for “silent” stories—anyone in the world can watch it and understand it, regardless … Video: The Last Bastion
A superchat was left recently for one of Ben’s Suspicious0bservers livestreams. I forget which livestream it was, since he does a lot of them, but I do remember it was from a band’s YouTube account: Something to consider folks: you can’t avoid the truth of this becoming a myth, don’t try to hand down the … The Truth Might Be Mythical
Most everything I’ve read from Vice is either unremarkable or ridiculous nonsense, but that doesn’t mean their writers can have moments of clarity. From “I Had An AI Chatbot Write My Eulogy. It Was Very Weird” (emphasis mine): Machine learning tools like Stable Diffusion and OpenAI’s ChatGPT have been breathlessly covered by the press in … AI Isn’t
This is ordered by ascending order of favorites. Kill Team Kill A platoon in Afghanistan fights a cybernetically-enhanced bear created by the CIA. It had its humorous moments, but far too gory and cartoonish, in the figurative sense, for me to get attached to this. Mason’s Rats An old farmer invests in some high-tech weaponry … Love Death + Robots, Volume 3 Review
Tim at History for Atheists has a video on the supposed catpocalypse (or, if you prefer, the “holocats”) caused by the Catholic church during the Middle Ages. It’s a minor myth, I think because deep down people know it sounds too ridiculous to be true and don’t want to push an idea that might cause. … There Was No Catpocalypse
The Adam Project A pilot on the run in 2050 steals a time-traveling plane and jumps to the past to meet himself at 12 years old. You’d be forgiven in thinking it’s really annoying that Ryan Reynolds plays Deadpool in every movie, because we value versatility in acting. But no one else would be able … Sci-fi and Fantasy Movies and Series Reviews, Part 39
This might be one of my favorite game ending songs in my memory banks. This plays on the post-credits scene, in a truncated form, after you finish the game with the “true” ending, which I assume is the ending canon to the universe. I haven’t played the game but I watched a playthrough some time … Wednesday Humpday Midday Song: Fly To Universe from Phantasy Star Portable 2
Given the plethora of weird items stuffed into stores like Wegmans or Whole Foods, there has to be a Glorbox somewhere in there. I’d be your best friend if you gave me one at any time of year.
Ingredients 1 1/2 lbs of cubed chicken breast 2 tsp olive oil 1 small yellow onion (1 cup diced) 1 tbsp ginger paste 1 1/2 tbsp minced garlic 1 cup chicken stock 3/4 cup diced or stewed tomatoes, drained 3/4 cup heavy whipping cream Spice mix 1/4 tsp cayenne pepper 1 tsp salt 1 1/2 … Recipe: Curry Chicken
JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure: Stone Ocean, Part 2 Jolyne and Co. fight more of the inmates at Green Dolphin Street Prison to gain possession of Dio’s backbone. Not much to say here—it’s part of an entire season, so there’s scant development in terms of moving the overall plot forward. I figured out, after so many episodes … Sci-fi and Fantasy Movies and Series Reviews, Part 38
One of my old usernames I used a lot was jaynumber13. You may now call me jaynumber1067797, because that’s the certification ID for UX Design, granted to me by the Nielsen Norman Group. It can be verified at NN/g’s cert verification page. They do good work, and I plan on taking more courses and work … I Am Now Certified in User Experience Design
Check it here.
Read part 1: How to Create Good Video Game Subtitle UX. Poking through YouTube’s game playthroughs, as well as related things coming up at work, got me riled up to write a follow-up post on subtitle UX. I was watching a short Red Dead Redemption 2 interaction, when I noticed that the subtitles illustrated the … How to Create Good Video Game Subtitle UX, Part 2
I had a much longer post about Amano’s paintings, that involved things with H.R. Giger (they aren’t connected at all, but I made them connected), but I didn’t like how it turned out. It mostly doesn’t matter, anyhow. I would like to post the famous piece Amano made that ended up on some versions of … Terra Branford and Narshe, by Yoshitaka Amano
Video is a extremely poor way of communicating large-scale, scientific subjects that require dialogue for folks to really understand. One, because it’s only a one-way conversation; and two, the more prescient reason, is that aside from a video transcript, the information is not searchable/findable, and if the video itself is disorganized, the transcript is not … The Importance of FAQs
In light of what’s been going on with Twitter and Elon Musk recently, and the endless and exhausting go-nowhere discussions about free speech…from “Free Speech: Neither Real, Nor Your Right” (via Vox Day’s “Free Speech is Anti-Christ“): Free speech is a myth. The keepers of America’s “golden legend” of free speech have been either dishonest … Free Speech Doesn’t Exist, Again
Clotted Cream Ingredients 1 quart of heavy whipping cream (pasteurized or raw, not ultra-pasteurized) Clotted Cream Directions 1. Preheat oven to 175 degrees. 2. Pour all of the cream into a dish and bake for 12 hours 4. Remove and let it completely cool 5. Cover and store in refrigerator for 2-3 hours, or overnight … Recipe: Homemade Lemon Fones and Fam (Fake Scones and Jam), Real Clotted Cream
The Secret of Kells In an isolated monastery in medieval Ireland, and orphan helps prepare for a barbarian Viking invasion, alongside a legendary script illuminator and a mysterious forest fairy. An animated film for children that isn’t from Hollywood, Disney, Netflix, or Studio Ghibli…though it was distributed by GKIDS Films. At first I thought it … Sci-fi and Fantasy Movies and Series Reviews, Part 37
Ben Pike, an old fellow writer from the Buzzgrinder days, emailed me out of the blue with a photo. Here I am at a club in Connecticut (forget the name), probably in 2001, playing for Life In Your Way. I think we had opened for Zao, but I’m not sure. I do remember it was … Photo: Me with a Bandana and Guitar
The Dark Hollow Woods Trail in Oakmont, PA, runs fairly north and south, through a tall, narrow hill with drastic drop-offs. It leads behind a lot of neighborhood houses, down to Plum Creek and Penn Hills Community Park, then back up the hill as you turn and go north again. The trail head starts on … Photos: Dark Hollow Woods Trail
Driving home from the gym and store, it rained pretty hard for about 10 minutes. I was treated to a nice double rainbow afterward, the one rainbow brighter than the one at the Coheed and Cambria show a few months ago. It looked like it was close by, because I could see where it touched … Photos: Double Rainbow
I disliked the Jerky Boys when they were big in the 90s and early aughts. I could tolerate a few minutes of Crank Yankers before getting bored, and it seemed like a lot of it was scripted. I think it’s the crassness or mean-spiritedness of the callers that repulses me with the idea of prank … Video: Dunkey’s Prank Calls
Ghost in the Shell SAC_2045, Season 2 The threat of the posthuman virus and its part in the Sustainable War scenario increases. I had a hard time following the story here, because the animation is way too distracting for me. However, I may have figured out the big reason why Production I.G. went the realistic, … Sci-fi and Fantasy Movies and Series Reviews, Part 36
Ingredients 6 eggs 6 oz cream cheese 1/2 tsp cream of tartar or baking powder Salt and pepper (optional) Directions 1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit and place parchment paper on a baking sheet 2. Separate egg yolks from the whites and put each into separate bowls 3. Add cream cheese and salt to … Recipe: Keto Cloud Bread
Pardon the grandiose post title, but it is descriptive to the subject at hand. I subscribe to the Kurzgesagt YouTube channel. I disagree completely with their humanist view of the world, but many of their video are excellent at communicating the basics of complex physical phenomena. Their human immune system and the “nuking the moon” … Kurzgesagt’s Human Era Calendar and the Proposed Solar Disaster Cycle
It’s hard to say who the best metal drummer is, but Schalk is one of the best, if not one of the most unique. Besides a lot of what Sean Reinert or Justin Foley did in Red Tide, Schalk was one of the only metal drummers than I know of who incorporated a lot of … Kenneth Schalk Drumming Live with Candiria
Ingredients 2 cans tuna (5 oz) 3/4 cup breadcrumbs 2 eggs Optional: 1 yellow onion (chopped), or 1/2 tablespoon onion powder Directions 1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. 2. Slather some olive oil on a baking pan 3. Combine all ingredients into a bowl and mash it up with your hands 4. Form into patties … Recipe: Tuna Patties
1. Expanding Earth and Pangaea Theory Here’s probably the least controversial of all three videos, but still very much out there. I posted this because, as someone not knowing much of plate tectonics, it makes as much as sense to me as the orthodox view of Pangaea. The Earth’s expansion here is explained through uniformitarianism … Videos: Expanding Earth, Flat Earth, Tartaria