random bits

[cellio]

Why, oh why, is tulip season so short? It feels like they just showed up not long ago, and now they're fading. Oh well... on to something else, I guess! (I think the lilac bush is next to bloom, but I'm not sure.)

This weekend Dani and I joined some friends for a last-minute gaming get-together. We played La Cita (my third time, I think), which split interestingly: the winner had 35 points (would have been 40 if he hadn't starved his people in the last round), another player and I had 32 and 33, and the other two were in the high teens. It didn't look like that in play. (I thought I was doing worse and those last two better.) Then we played Rum and Pirates and all clumped within a few points of each other (something like 62-70). I like both of these games and will happily play more.

A few weeks ago I ordered a used DVD set via Amazon Marketplace. (I decided to see what all the Heroes fuss is about.) I chose a seller who had only a handful of ratings, all positive, figuring that someone like that is motivated to give good service. (Also, I noticed that the DVD would ship from PA.) A few weeks passed with no DVDs, so I sent email a couple days ago. This morning the seller wrote back with profuse apologies; he (she?) had accidentally sent my order to someone else who'd ordered on the same day, but now had the set back in hand -- "so I'll drive it over this afternoon". It turns out the seller is in the greater-Pittsburgh area. As promised, the DVDs were waiting for me when I got home from work, so everything worked out just fine. (I never order anything from third-party sellers that I actually need in a hurry.)

Speaking of TV, the BBC might bring back Blake's 7 (link from caryabend). Woo hoo! I trust that this will eventually find its way to DVD and, thence, my TV. Since it's been more than a quarter-century, I do wonder what they'll do for casting. Of course, they could well do a "25 years later..." story, even though the final season left things on a cliffhanger.

(Anonymous) quote of the day, after interviewing a job candidate: "He has a lot of learning to do, and I don't want to pay the tuition".

This sign in a shop made me laugh.

Reusable printer paper looks like an interesting idea; I wonder if it can be developed economically. I'm surprised by the claims about what it costs to (1) manufacture and (2) recycle a piece of paper.

Quote of the day #2 brings some much-needed context to the flap over Obama's ex-minister. Excerpt (compiled by dglenn): "No one likes to hear someone, especially a preacher, criticize our good country. But Donna Potis [...] and so many others who decry presidential candidate Barack Obama for having attended the Rev. Jeremiah Wright's church while he preached prophetically have very selective memories." The whole thing is worth a read; it's not long.

Somewhat relatedly, osewalrus pointed me to this post pointing out that all the candidates and the voters have a bigger religious-leader problem than this. Excerpt: "[I]f I wake up and find that I'm in an America where certain pastors and certain churches are openly denounced from the White House's presidential podium, I will suddenly get even more nervous about freedom of religion in America than I already am." Yes.

I found this speculative, alternate timeline of the last ten years by rjlippincott interesting.

Question for my Jewish (and Jewish-aware) readers: Thursday is Yom HaShoah (Holocaust rememberance day), so instead of my usual "daf bit" in the morning service, I'd like to do something on-theme. It has to be a teaching, something that would qualify as torah study, which rules out most of the readings that tend to show up in special services for the day. Any suggestions? I could probably find something in Lamentations, if that's not cliche, but I'm not really sure. And naturally, I do not wish to offend with a bad choice people who are old enough to remember.

Comments

Blake's 7 *****(spoiler)*****

[hlinspjalda.livejournal.com]

I thought I remembered everybody dying in the last ep....

Re: Blake's 7 *****(spoiler)*****

[cellio]

The show ended with some of the gang surrounded, and the sound of gunfire as the screen cut to black. I can imagine ways for that not to be the end of the story. (Consider the track record for accuracy on the part of the baddies...)

But yes, we know that not everyone survives the episode.

[http://users.livejournal.com/merle_/]

Indeed: the ending was purposefully vague. Avon and Servalon were quite the matched set; something could be done with that.

the BBC might bring back Blake's 7

I would be happy enough with the originals. The first few eps were slow, but once they got Orac everything picked up in a slick 70s style. The last four eps or so were pure gold. But when they put them out it was two shows to a disc, making it insanely expensive.

[cellio]

Getting Orac helped to bring out Avon's inner sociopath. I found Avon the most interesting character of the lot because he wasn't pure evil (nor, of course, pure good); he was a complex character with his own motivations, at a time when that was uncommon on TV.

I would be happy enough with the originals.

It exists on DVD, one boxed set per season. I ordered them from Amazon. However, they are region-2 DVDs, so you'll need the appropriate hardware.

[http://users.livejournal.com/merle_/]

Nifty! The last time I looked (admittedly long ago) it was only being offered as single DVDs with two episodes each.. from BBC.. for about $40 a disc. I love the show, but not quite that much.

Avon certainly was the most interesting character. To borrow from the rusty and bizarre AD&D alignment system, he was chaotic-neutral: everything he did, including following Blake, was done for the sake of Avon and his internal set of rules. The sheer ruthlessness made him stand out, and I would say it was not only uncommon then, but still is. There are shows with conflicted characters (the "vampire wants to be good person" genre is rife with them), but Avon rarely seemed conflicted.