Category: Uncategorized

First, list writer Robert Heinlein’s examples of the accomplishments that distinguish a [generalist] human from a [specialist] insect. Then identify the ones he has actually done.

A human being should be able to change a diaper, plan an invasion, butcher a hog, conn a ship, design a building, write a sonnet, balance accounts, build a wall, set a bone, comfort the dying, take orders, give orders, cooperate, act alone, solve equations, analyze a new problem, pitch manure, program a computer, cook a tasty meal, fight efficiently, die gallantly. Specialization is for insects.
I have taken the list and written explanatory notes.

Change a diaper (Actually a few times B.L. – before Lydia – but a lot more now.)
Plan an invasion (Actually it was a counterinvasion of a house I rented against the mice that tried to take over. I took over a dozen casualties and the rodents retreated.)
Butcher a hog (Well, no.)
Conn a ship (I’ve rowed a canoe, badly.)
Design a building (Only with LEGOs.)
Write a sonnet (Yes. It was terrible.)
Balance accounts (Yes, for student government in college, and for the Schenectady Arts Council.)
Build a wall (LEGOs don’t count, do they?)
Set a bone (I was directed to do a splint, once.)
Comfort the dying (I hope so – my friends Steber and Nancy, and my father.)
Take orders (In the corporate hierarchy.)
Give orders (Committee chair.)
Cooperate (I do play well with others, don’t I?)
Act alone (Does blogging count?)
Solve equations (I was GREAT in algebra and trig, but got lost when I got to calculus.).
Analyze a new problem (Being a reference librarian, happens almost daily. Every time I moved, finding where everything will go.)
Pitch manure (I’ve cleaned cat litter boxes.)
Program a computer (Well, I’ve installed software.)
Cook a tasty meal (Actually, yes – I’ve cooked lasagna, and chicken a number of times, with vegetables or salad. Some other stuff, too.)
Fight efficiently (Yes, once. But generally, I flail around.)
Die gallantly (Sounds like Man of La Mancha- I’ll get back to you on that.)

Paul McCartney has a new album, which got 3 stars out of 4 at USA Today, and an A from the guy at Knight Ridder. A good sign is that Sir Paul had creative tension from Radiohead producer Nigel Godrich; I think he does better working with people like Steve Miller, Elvis Costello, Denny Laine or that Lennon fellow. The review I’m most looking forward to is the one from Beatleologist with a Maccasian flair Fred Hembeck. And he promises it by the end of the week. (Pressure is on, buddy!)
***
And speaking of my old friend, Fred did a piece on Joey Dee and the Starliters (of “Peppermint Twist” fame) and David Brigati (brother of Young Rascals singer Eddie) back on September 8. It reminded me, and I verified this with my trusty Joel Whitburn Billboard book, that Eddie and his fellow Rascals Felix Cavaliere and Gene Cornish were once part of the Starliters. David Brigati, who was in an earlier incrnation of thr Starliters, actually got to sing at least one lead on a Rascals album, the title track to the album “Once Upon a Dream”, the album after “Groovin'”.
***
I’m going to watch a lot of PBS next week, September 26-29. (Broadcast times may differ where you live.) Monday and Tuesday, 9-11 p.m., American Masters is presenting “No Direction Home: Bob Dylan”, directed by Martin Scorsese. Wednesday 8-9 p.m., “Best of the Beatles”, tales from Pete Best about Liverpool and Hamburg. Wednesday 9-11 p.m., “Get Up, Stand Up” The Story of Pop and Protest”, “from Joe Hill to Bob Geldof.” Finally, Thursday, 9-11 p.m., “The Sixties: The Years That Shaped a Generation,” if only for the music of Dylan, Arlo Guthrie, CSN, Jefferson Airplane, Jimi Hendrix, the Beatles, the Chambers Brothers, the Doors, the Rolling Stones…and Elvis Costello?
***
You may have heard that some Marvel characters will be made into movies. But some of the articles have been, to borrow a word, snarky. For instance, “Avengers-a super-sized version of the Fantastic Four”; I wonder if the writer had even HEARD of the FF before the movie?
***
I took the Batman test on Gordon’s site, and this is my results, the same as 148 of the other 338 people taking the test.
You’re Classic Batman. You’re the old school,
iconic Batman that everyone knows. Your
sidekick is Dick Grayson, the original Robin,
and you also team up with Batgirl alot. You’re
the World’s Greatest Detective, and also one of
the best fighters on the planet. You’re against
guns and lethal force. Right now, you’re pretty
much in the prime of your career, before you
become haunted by Dead Sidekicks and loved
ones.

What kind of Batman are you?
brought to you by Quizilla
***
And speaking of Batman, there was a category on JEOPARDY last week called “Also a Batman villian”:
$400 An extra playing card in as deck often used as a wild card
$800 Neurotoxic crawler who’s hard on her mates
$1200 Antarctic krill-eater
$1600 Itchy cashew relative
$2000 His mask is in the Egyptian Museum in Cairo
Answers at the end.
***
The Napoleon Dynamite talking doll is now available. I’ve never seen the film (should I?), but I’m aware of its “cult classic” status. You can get the doll in lots of places, but I picked this place because it also has other N.D. stuff, PLUS the George Bush farting doll.
***
Advertising geeks should check out Ad Rag. There are lots of free articles; it’ll cost 2 Euros per month to view the ads.
***
Johnny Bacardi wrote on Thursday:
There’s a quiz/meme going around over in the LJ community that goes something like this:
1. Pick 16 of your favorite movies and choose one still from each movie
2. Post those stills in your journal
3. Have your friends guess which movie goes along with each screen still.
Well, I actually contemplated this exercise, but got stuck 1) narrowing the choice of picking 16 films and 2) finding stills obscure enough to make it interesting. But check out the links, and you may be entertained, as I was.
***
“Apprentice: Martha” will open with the tune of Sweet Dreams (Are Made of This) by the Eurythmics. Ad Age notes that Annie Lennox stalking around portraying a dominatrix (as she does on the album cover) may seem somehow highly appropriate or inappropriate, depending on your view of Ms. Stewart. Talk about snarky! (A word I actually never used before today.)
***
I thought the Where Is Andy’s Mojo American Express Campaign was dopey in concept, but it became more so when he lost the first round of the U.S. Open tennis tournament to the 68th seeded player. Does anyone know how much Ogilvy & Mather got for that dud? Don’t know, but AmEx spent $7 million to $10 million on the campaign
***
Ad Age is pondering, and it got me to wonder, which of these sports stars, if any, will become the next Michael Jordan in terms of commercial appeal from among:
Danica Patrick, 23, car racing
Michelle Wie, 15, golf
Tony Stewart, 34, car racing
Natalie Gulbis, 22, golf
Sidney Crosby, 18, ice hockey
Freddy Adu, 16, soccer
Albert Pujols, 23, baseball
Eli Manning, 24, football
Shaun White, 18, skateboarding
Chris Moneymaker, 28, poker

Any thoughts, oh opinionated ones?