Garrulus Grommeler

STOP PIPA! STOP SOPA!

2012-01-18T11:51:00.005-05:00

503: SERVICE UNAVAILABLEGarrulus Grommeler is offline today, because the U.S. Senate is considering legislation called the PROTECT IP Act (PIPA), and would put us in legal jeopardy if we linked to a site anywhere online that had any links to copyright infringement.This would unmake the Web, just as proposed in the Stop Online Piracy Act (SOPA). I don't want that world. If you don't want it either

Writing: Beating Off the Rust

2011-09-17T17:07:00.006-04:00

Well, I'm writing again. Started with a scene that popped into mind and am just making things up as I go along. No idea whatsoever what this tale is about, or where it's going, or if I'll even bother to finish it, or if it'll even capture my imagination in such a way as to hurl me along in its current. So far, however, I'm interested. In any event, I wanted to write something, to lube and prime

RSS Graffiti

2011-09-16T21:31:00.002-04:00

Just giving RSS Graffiti a test, to see what happens. By the time you've read this on Facebook 15 minutes have passed. How do you like that? You're reading old news. :P Don't you feel special?

Blogging Again

2011-09-16T19:22:00.010-04:00

I spend far too much time at Facebook these days. Time I started blogging again. (Hmm. Now, if I can figure out how to set things up so that I can transmit my blog posts to Facebook, that would be a good thing.)Well, I've figured out — kinda — how to add the widget that will let me send a blog post to Facebook, now if I can just get my highly customised blogskin to recognise and show it.< pause >

Writing Rant

2010-04-06T01:37:00.004-04:00

I like to write. I've always made this patently clear. I also like writers who write well, but what does "writing well" mean, actually?I recently left a comment at a writer's blog in which, among other things, I mentioned why I don't care for John Grisham's writing. My comment was summarily deleted. Why? The context of my comment was this: one professional writer (not the owner of the blog to

Misinformation

2010-03-13T10:54:00.003-05:00

Well, this has been a most interesting experience, and as with the old Chinese curse my use of "interesting" doesn't mean "interesting good." Since I'd shared briefly in my writing blog about some medical concerns, I thought that now the whole ordeal is over, I'd share what happened.I'd been experiencing some pain in the area where the bladder is located, as well as feeling the frequent need to

People Are Stupid, No. 2

2010-03-05T01:21:00.006-05:00

So, I'm reading a news article about the ship in the Mediterranean that was struck by those waves and then I turn my attention to the comments that follow. The first comment I see reads:And that folks is why this girl will never go on a cruise....I guess it's impossible for any car, bus, train, or airplane which this woman graces with her presence to have an accident, even a freak

People Are Stupid

2010-03-02T22:58:00.011-05:00

I'm wanting to buy myself an air purifier. Some, obviously, come with ionizers installed. Some of the reviews I've been reading are nothing less than pure idiocy, saying things like "This model has an ozone producing ionizer."If ionization produces ozone, then someone had bloody well better turn off all the fucking lightning storms around the planet! Good, strong lightning storms leave the air

Master and Commander

2010-02-01T22:48:00.002-05:00

Master and Commander, starring Russell Crowe and Paul Bettany, I saw months and months ago, so that when I chose to put it on my list of movies to see at Netflix, I completely forgot about it. No matter. It's still a damned good movie and I enjoyed seeing it again.

Dhammapada

2010-01-23T22:19:00.000-05:00

I've had fun translating this particular passage into both French and Portuguese:DhammapadaWe are what we think.All that we are arises with our thoughts.With our thoughts we make the world.Speak or act with an impure mindAnd trouble will follow youAs the wheel follows the ox that draws the cart.We are what we think.All that we are arises with our thoughts.With our thoughts we make the worldSpeak

The Bare Vault of Talent

2010-01-19T13:25:00.001-05:00

I've an opinion I've been holding in for some days now, but I think it would be best to give it some air. The past few years I've had the pleasure of meeting — if 'meeting' someone online can be called 'meeting' them — several professional writers, folk who make their living at a keyboard. They've all been great people, without exception. When talking about the business, they're honest, which is

Making Miéville Blue

2010-01-16T14:15:00.004-05:00

Over at the Wall Street Journal's Speakeasy blog, author China Miéville offers up an intriguing essay titled, "Why the Na’vi Are Making Me Blue," on the current fad of CGI in movies. He speaks in particular to James Cameron's hugely successful Avatar, as well as makes reference to Peter Jackson's work on the Lord of the Rings trilogy of movies.

Avatar

2010-01-13T14:34:00.007-05:00

Avatar, starring Sam Worthington, Zoe Saldana, and Sigourney Weaver, is fabulous!It amazes me the criticisms that some can concoct about any movie. I don't go to a movie to look for what's wrong with it. I don't expect any movie to be perfect — nothing is. I don't go to a movie to be preached at. I don't go to a movie to hear propaganda. Movies, novels, short stories, stage plays, television

KNOW1NG

2010-01-10T23:29:00.004-05:00

Knowing is, I think, a creepy, but excellent science fiction thriller that has the all-too-rare attributes of portraying events that are — except for the more speculative aspects — very possible. Definitely one to see if you haven't already.The blurb for this movie reads:Nicolas Cage stars in this edge of your seat sci-fi thriller as John Koestler, a professor who deciphers a coded message with

Bucket List (Recap)

2010-01-05T01:02:00.003-05:00

Back in January 2008, I posted a list of 25 items that I called a "Bucket List." In my original post, I referenced this article at the New York Times. The title "Bucket List" comes from the movie of the same title starring Jack Nicholson and Morgan Freeman and is a reference to the idiom "kick the bucket." In other words, the items on a "Bucket List" are those things you wish to do before you

Goals 2010

2010-01-04T00:26:00.002-05:00

I've been wondering if I should do a goal post for this blog or not. One thing I hadn't considered when I decided to use this template was my goals, and where I'd stuff 'em. With my previous template, I had a sidebar in which to stuff 'em. I suppose I could stuff 'em in one of the three columns down below, but that'll likely mean rearranging things.And then there's the goals themselves. I

Defiance

2010-01-02T00:38:00.006-05:00

Based on a true story, Defiance is a powerful movie about the Bielski brothers — Tuvia, Zus, and Asael — Jews from Belorussia who started their own community, a refugee camp of freedom fighters in the forests of Belorussia, during World War II.The blurb for this movie reads:Daniel Craig (James Bond: Quantum of Solace) stars as Tuvia Bielski, an ordinary citizen turned hero, in this action-packed

Children of the Corn

2009-12-30T00:16:00.005-05:00

It's 1975 and Burt, a Vietnam vet (played by David Anders), and Vicki, his wife (Kandyse McClure), are driving across country. Right from the start, it's understood that their marriage is as rough as a road filled with potholes. (It's also understood that McClure, can't act worth a damn, but I'm getting ahead of myself.)They're driving through flat and boring Nebraska. Corn field upon corn field

Public Enemies

2009-12-28T23:21:00.003-05:00

My, oh my, how the world has changed.John Dillinger, America's first "Public Enemy Number One," is the man whose pursuit pretty much led to the founding, or should I say "funding," of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, which, at the time, was known as the Division of Investigation.The Wikipedia article on Melvin Pervis notes that J. Edgar Hoover became jealous of the fame Pervis gained

Once Upon a Time in México

2009-12-17T22:46:00.002-05:00

The final movie in Robert Rodriguez's pulp Western, Once Upon a Time in México is not only chock full of stars, it's also chock full of gun-totin' action. Starring in this movie are Antonio Banderas, Salma Hayek, Johnny Depp, Mickey Rourke, Eva Mendes, Danny Trejo, Enrique Iglesias, Marco Leonardi, Cheech Marin, Ruben Blades, and Willem Dafoe. With names like that on the roster, I think it's fair

Béon or Ne Béon (To Be or Not To Be)

2009-12-17T16:59:00.053-05:00

I've found a fascinating web site that offers translation of Old English (a.k.a. Anglo Saxon) into Modern English and vice versa. It's called Old English Translator. Below is the conjugation of béon, the verb "to be."— BÉON (To Be) IRREGULAR VERBPresent & Preterite Indicative• Ic béo (I am) — Ic wæs (I was)• þu bist (you are) — þu wære (you were)• he/hit/heo biþ (he/it/she is) — he/hit/heo wæs (

Desperado

2009-12-16T23:32:00.006-05:00

I had wanted to watch El Mariachi, the first movie in this trilogy. I'd rented it, in fact, but . . . for whatever reason, the DVD would only play the director's track. Nothing personal, but I wanted to watch the movie, not listen to Robert Rodriguez. So, I had to skip El Mariachi, and moved right on to Desperado, starring Antonio Banderas, Salma Hayek, and featuring a guest appearance by none

Inglourious Basterds

2009-12-16T01:37:00.008-05:00

How can you not like a Quentin Tarantino film? (I find it difficult, and that he and I share birthdays has very little to do with it, I assure you.)Starring Brad Pitt, Inglourious Basterds is what the DVD case for this film calls a "revenge fantasy." I'd drink to that, but I'd prefer to call it "alternative history" given that it knowingly deviates from history.Science fiction/fantasy/mystery/

Taken

2009-12-03T22:01:00.007-05:00

"I don't know who you are. I don't know what you want. If you are looking for ransom, I can tell you I don't have money. But what I do have are a very particular set of skills. Skills I have acquired over a very long career, skills that make me a nightmare for people like you. If you let my daughter go now, that'll be the end of it. I will not look for you, I will not pursue you. But if you don't

Alien Trespass

2009-12-02T22:25:00.008-05:00

"It came from another galaxy. A creeping, crawling nightmare of terror!" (Complete with music reminsicent of the original Star Trek series.) It is, in fact, as the tagline for this movie says, "Terror — the whole family can enjoy.""It's 1957," says the blurb, "a spaceship has just landed in a quiet small town, and Earth is suddenly threatened by an unknown evil. But fear not, hope has also

Acolytes

2009-12-01T21:54:00.012-05:00

Acolytes is an Aussie film. It won Best Horror Film at the Austin FantasticFest in 2008 and it won the Midnight Madness award at the Toronto International Film Festival in the same year. The blurb on the DVD case reads (no spoilers in the blurb, by the way):Following the disappearance of a young female classmate, shy high-schooler Mark stumbles upon a fresh grave in the woods of his peaceful

Scrooged

2009-11-30T22:53:00.003-05:00

Scrooged. An old movie (1988). A fun movie. Love the scenes with Carol Kane as the Ghost of Christmas Present. It's all slapstick. Bill Murray getting kicked in the nuts, punched, pulled about by his lower lip, and smacked in the face . . . with a toaster! Ah, man. Loved the toaster bit. Too funny! :D

The Code (a.k.a. Thick as Thieves)

2009-11-29T23:05:00.003-05:00

This evening, I watched The Code, a heist movie that involves the theft of two "mystery" Fabergé Imperial Eggs made in 1917. Ripley (Morgan Freeman) is a known art thief in New York City who runs into Gabriel (Antonio Banderas) on a New York subway train while casing the same job to steal some diamonds. Ripley then ropes Gabriel into joining him on the heist. Things turn nasty when Alexandra (

Bangkok Dangerous

2009-11-29T10:41:00.011-05:00

It's been a long time since I've blogged about a movie in this fashion. Hopefully, this new version of my blog won't degenerate into nothing more than a movie-reaction-fest. That's not what it's meant to be.In any case, I watched this last night. It's one of six movies I recently rented (so, yeah, you are going to see a short spate of movie-related posts over the next few days). Bangkok Dangerous

w3schools.com

2009-10-25T19:57:00.009-04:00

While looking for information on HTML coding, and also XML coding, — my interest has been renewed due to the CSS and XML coding in the new blog templates I'm using — I happened across w3schools.com. I've some knowledge of HTML and CSS coding, but my knowledge of CSS extremely limited. However, w3schools.com has tons of tutorials, covering (in addition to the previously mentioned items) XHTML, TCP

Abatement

2009-10-25T04:34:00.004-04:00

It would appear that my blog template frustration has been abated. I have found a template that is . . .obedient to my every command,appears to have no problems (miracle of miracles), andis a template with which I can live (although there is one minor item I'd like to fix; I've got to figure out where the problem lies first, however).Amazing, isn't it?[EDIT: That one minor item? It's been fixed.

Blog Template Frustration

2009-10-25T00:45:00.012-04:00

I've found several templates that I like for my Townshende blog, and yet every single damned one of them has problems. Some of them have highly technical problems.One, in fact, — a template that I like a lot . . . this one, called Black Splat — had several problems. The code was designed to work around several problems with Microsoft's Internet Explorer browser (very typical of Microsoft,

Perpetually Peregrine

2009-10-19T17:30:00.015-04:00

Added links to more destinations in my ever-growing list of links deep down below at the bottom of this blog page. Added links to . . .Belgium (not been there . . . yet)Denmark (not been there . . . yet)England (lived there for about 3½ years, when I was a teenager; lived in the village of Shenington, and later in Bloxham; this was during my high school years)Guam (been there; was a stop-over

Another Silly Test Post

2009-10-19T06:42:00.009-04:00

A test of the various headers, h1, h2, h3, h4, h5, and h6. Here you go (isn't this as boring as hell? :P) —H1 — Header 1Lorem ipsum la la-la la-la.H2 — Header 2Lorem ipsum toodle doodle doo.H3 — Header 3Lorem ipsum tweedle deedle dee.H4 — Header 4Lorem ipsum twiddle iddle poo.H5 — Header 5Lorem ipsum cock-a-poodle who?H6 — Header 6Lorem ipsum any silly man will do. :PWell, well, well. Isn't that

Dashboard

2009-10-19T03:56:00.031-04:00

In the code for this template, the three columns of links at the bottom part of this blog are called the "dashboard." The left column is "dashboard1," the middle column is "dashboard2," and the right column is "dashboard3."One problem I've had with this template from the start is that the title for each set of links butted up against the last link in the set above it. So, I've been pouring over

Lists

2009-10-18T17:56:00.021-04:00

I've renamed most of the various lists of links found at the bottom of this blog page.Garrulus' Travels — A half-assed attempt at a play on Jonathan Swift's Gulliver's Travels.For those who know of my penchant for grammatical correctness (or at least my attempts to be grammatically correct), I use Garrulus' instead of Garrulus's because: 1) Garrulus is Latin, and 2) it's ancient. In fact, it is

Test — Yes, Another Test

2009-10-18T01:06:00.003-04:00

Why? Why not? Actually, it's to see how this page will look with a second post added. So, let's take a peek, shall we?

New Template

2009-10-17T21:49:00.015-04:00

Well, this is a start, isn't it? Not a whole lot going on quite yet, but I've got a new template uploaded. I created a new blog and then exported the old blog to the new address, so everything is still intact. It was a bit of a mess at first, getting it all to do what I wanted it to do: creating a new blog, exporting the old to the new, updating the old to the new format, then importing the