I was not an early adopter of Star Trek. My grandfather was a fan at least since the heavy syndication days of the 1970s. He frequently extolled the virtues of the show, its intelligent combination of philosophy and humanism. Plus, he was an amateur astronomer, so I guess the space part appealed to him as well ( Read more... )

Many people think that Sesame Street is a kid's show which is overly cute and maybe a little cloyingly sentimental. Elmo and Zoe certainly don't do anything to counter this impression ( Read more... )

I didn't find this one on the web. In fact, I can't really find it on the web. I found it while I was walking around a neighborhood before going to vegan cooking tasting at the local teahouse. Not an everyday activity, mind you ( Read more... )

Vapor lock is supposed to be a problem which afflicted older cars on hot summer days, like my old 1981 Honda Accord. It is not expected to show up in any decent car built after 2000.


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I have finally taken the first steps towards becoming a homeowner. I signed a contract on Sunday, and am in the process of the loan application approval, inspection, etc. It's pretty exciting. I have always been a renter, and I think ownership certainly has a lot going for it ( Read more... )

Terry Gilliam is certainly a visionary filmmaker, and has made movies which took us to places that we didn't know existed.

He is also the only artist I know of who could mix cyberpunk and steampunk together in a believable manner. Don't believe me? Look at Brazil again and see what you think.


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I can hear and even somewhat see the fireworks exploding over the riverfront. I know a lot of other cities are cutting back, but I can't remember Cincinnati ever setting off fireworks on July 4th before. They usually wait until Riverfest on the Labor Day weekend ( Read more... )

I've been meaning to talk about this film for some time, since I saw it a couple of weeks ago. It was much better than I thought, and I became aware of the fact about halfway through the movie ( Read more... )

The week was punctuated by a number of deaths and a personal delinquency.

• Farrah Fawcett: The woman who more than anyone else popularized "jiggle" TV and is remembered largely for her hair. She was also one of those unfortunate stars who became closely associated with a single decade, in this case the 1970s. After marrying and subsequently ( Read more... )

Summer solstice always seems to be overlooked. We imbue winter solstice with deep meaning and some acknowledgement of our far distant pass, but we never really pay tribute to the summer version other than determine whether or not we still look good in our swimsuit. (Well, my Dad celebrates, since his birthday always falls on June 20. Happy ( Read more... )