Not that there's been a flood of blogging around here this week, but my family and I will be traveling to New Orleans this week for the Thanksgiving holiday (now you see why I've been scrambling and buying the girls new toys). Blogging will be nonexistent through Wednesday while we're on the road, and I don't expect to be online Thanksgiving, but I hope to check in Friday. I'll also be checking email. Everyone have a happy Turkey Day, and we'll return next week at the latest!
Be sure to check out The Rittenhouse Review's lengthy essay drawing parallels between the media and a recent study of girls' high-school cliques. It's honest, intelligent, and a much more apt description of what's happening in a media dominated by "the nastiest, most vicious, and most self-absorbed coterie of scoundrels the American media has ever seen" than bogus and agenda-driven about "that straw man to end all straw men, the 'liberal media.'”
Many of you know that I try to pass on my love of Japanese pop culture to my daughters. They seem to like the Sailor Moon and Pokemon tapes I've bought, they really enjoy Miyazaki anime, and my three-year-old just loves Godzilla movies. I was looking at toys while shopping last night, and was delighted to discover that Playskool makes a line of Transformers toys specifically for pre-schoolers! I bought my three-year-old a bright red Transformer that I hope will keep her entertained; I think she'll enjoy converting it from a robot to a car and back again. (I bought a sturdy toddler-sized Tonka dump truck for Omi.)
Speaking of visiting, I haven't left a comment on Dodd's blog in far too long, but I felt compelled to respond to this post, in which Dodd blames the lack of progress in space exploration on the government's "near-stranglehold," which prevents free enterprise from tasking "the lead in the exploration and exploitation of space."
I dispute Dodd's contention in the comments. Go and read; I have a lot to say, and in my opinion, anyway, my arguments prevail.
Update, sorta, via WarLiberal: A massive (6 meters tall, 5.25 metric tons) European communications satellite has been stranded in a useless orbit by the malfunction of the Russian Proton-K rocket carrying it aloft. Read the story and look at the names of the private firms involved: the launching agency, International Launch Services (part owned by two Russian companies, Khrunichev State Research and Production Space Center and RSC Energia, and the US company Lockheed Martin), and the satellite builder, Alcatel Space. And the article notes a similar situation was rectified in 1992 by...yes!...a NASA astronaut spacewalking from the good ol' Space shuttle. (As Mac said, "You want your satellite launched, go to the best.")
I have a lot of stuff on my to-do list today. Blogging is definitely among them, but I have to knock out a few other things first. I haven't even been down my blogroll yet today.
I'll probably fire off a massive blobburst later this afternoon. In the meantime, please stop by the fine sites listed at left...
It came from the star of an soybean. He is the messenger of justice. Food will become very delicious if soy sauce is poured instantly. Fly in dining out! It is mortal work Kikko-panch! "fried egg ... soy sauce is best." Show me Show you Kikkoman...
It came from the star of an soybean. Funky that guy is Kikkoman. Soy sauce is good for the body. There is also a sterilization action. It does not become a comparison in sauce and catsup. It is mortal work Kikko beam! "Therefore, it must also have been told to egg baking that soy sauce was the best!" Show me Show you Kikkoman...
Speaking of Pixar, I was saddened to note that Glenn McQueen, one of their key animators, died recently at 41. Condolences go out to his wife, 4-year-old daughter and family.
This nifty gadget suggests blogs that you might enjoy based on the link list of your own blog or Web site. If the results are already part of your regular reading list, you can remove them and get fresh suggestions. I've found it extremely good at listing blogs that are in my bookmarks but not yet on my blogroll--a condition I hope to rectify soon--and this morning led me to this excellent Lileks comment on the superb Monsters, Inc. c00L!
Sometime early this morning, my hit counter passed 9,000, and less than a week after exceeding 8,000. I wish I could say that all the hits were the result of readers flocking to see what groovy hip stuff or political ranting I've been posting, but a flood of misguided searches for a certain pr0n video company boosted the number. That trend seems to have slacked off, however; the prominence of misguided R_bekah R_vels searches is on the rise. This humble blog is also a prominent hit for searches for "swank;" I'm certainly gratified about that. I noticed that someone even visited here via a link from my now-inactive home page!
Someone arrived here searching for a WAV file of the Japanese phone greeting "moshi moshi." Although it's a little late, here are male and female versions, courtesty of this site.
