Birthday! And Random!

A Very Happy Birthday to rusty_halo!!

The drilling seems to have stopped. There's just holes in our road now, all steel-covered and hotpatched... but no activity. Mysterious!

Turned up while during work-related research: this extensive page on Admiral Perry's mission to open Japan in the 1850s. Fascinating read, and a good overview of a complicated situation. Check the links for some of the paintings of Perry and his crew done in Japan at the time.

Today's Incredible Hulk marathon on the Sci-Fi Channel prodded loose a lot of memories of watching that show as a child; man, there really was a run in the late '70s of these incredibly humanist shows about superheroes. In the Hulk's case, even his rage was benevolent, in way, or at least, instinctually justice-driven. What theories one could spin about the separation of "David" Banner's id.

And those opening credits! There was just something about that narrative style in opening credits that really, really works for me. The Six-Million Dollar Man them too, the little mini-story in the credits that made you feel like you were already on board before the show even started. (Neat little piece of trivia, cadged from IMDB: the Narrator's voice in the opening credits for IH was Ted Cassidy, the voice of Lurch in the original Addams Family TV show, and Balok in "The Corbomite Manuever" and yes, even the voice of the Gorn in original Star Trek. Damn, I thought he sounded familiar. "The creature is driven by rage....")

Now that I think about it, Xena had that type of credits too. I miss that show.

Another TV Update

I almost forgot - Blade. The series! First non-spoilery reactions: ( Read more... )