Scotto's Wall Scrawls

Cathy and Dave came over for a "farewell dinner" - they're moving to Colorado next week. They shuffled out of the house pretty early last night - we had some delicious baked ziti, zucchini parm and ice cream and pie for dessert... over a game of apples to apples. I dominated the first round, but the second was much ore neck-in-neck with BHK. Surprisingly, there were no tears or sad goodbyes - I guess because they're still going to be around for a week or so.

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via PAD -

Disney has announced that they intend to shutter the Adventurers Club in downtown Pleasure Island come the end of September. I want to try and convince them otherwise.

It's not as if the AC has been singled out; they're closing down all the clubs in the area with the stated intent of making the area more "family friendly."

Although the various over-18 venues on the island might fall under the label of not being conducive to family enjoyment, this most definitely does not describe the Adventurers Club. Yes, it has an active bar, but so what? If the presence of a bar made something adult-oriented, TGI Fridays would not be a family establishment. The fact is that every time we have attended the Adventurers Club, there have been kids of all ages in attendance, entranced by the club and its wildly talented cast.

For those unfamiliar with it, the Adventurers Club purports to be a 1930s private club for globe-spanning adventurers, having a pledge drive for new members. Guests mingle freely with colorful characters, interact with animatronic statues and puppets, and watch demented improv comedy and shows by the Club's "daredevil" officers. If you have been there, then you know a night at the Club is always great entertainment. If you have not had the opportunity, then we're about to fight to save it so that you may yet have the chance.

There is an on-line petition going on that already has thousands of signatures, and I wish them well (and have indeed signed it myself). But on-line petitions only go so far. What corporate types respect is actual letters, because it means that the writers took the time to write it, put it in an envelope and slap a stamp on it.

If you want to help preserve one of the single greatest entertainment experiences in Disney, then I urge you to write to:

Robert Iger
Chief Executive Officer
Walt Disney Corporation
500 South Buena Vista Street
Burbank, CA 91521-4873

I cannot stress enough: Keep letters civil. Polite. Family-friendly, if you will. If you have attended the AC, talk about your experiences and how much the place means to you. If you haven't been, underscore the good things you've heard about it and your intention to attend in the future.

And never forget the Adventurers Club credo:

We climb the highest mountains,
just to get a better view.
We plumb the deepest oceans,
because we're daring through and through.
We cross the scorching desert,
martinis in our hand.
We ski the polar ice caps,
in tuxedos looking grand.
We are reckless, brave, and loyal,
and valiant to the end.
If you come in here a stranger,
you will exit as a friend.
KUNGALOOSH!

Feel free to cross post this wherever you think it will do any good.

I've only ever been to the Adventurers Club once, but it was great fun... I'd really like the opportunity to take BHK with me to see it again with fresh perspective. A place at Disney styled after the pulps, with Tom Leher music and the occasional cocktail (with or without alcohol) ? Yeah, I'd say that's worth keeping.

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Amazing Promotion Film for More4’s Stanley Kubrick Season … a 65 second one-take tracking shot following Kubrick’s point-of-view as he walks through the set of The Shining … ‘Your Script, Mr Kubrick.’

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Sunglasses that Hide your Face from Cameras - Article and video:

They work by mounting two small infrared lights on the front. The wearer is completely inconspicuous to the human eye, but cameras only see a big white blur where your face should be. Building them is a snap: just take a pair of sunglasses, attach two small but powerful IR LEDS to two pairs of wires, one wire per LED. Then attach the LEDs to the glasses; the video suggests making a hole in the rim of the glasses to embed the LEDs. Glue or otherwise affix the wires to the temples of the glasses. At the end of the temples, attach lithium batteries. They should make contact with the black wire, but the red wires should be left suspended near the batteries without making contact. When you put them on the red wire makes contact, turning the lights on. It's functional, but we're thinking that installing an on/off switch would be more elegant and it would allow you to wear them without depleting the batteries.

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1 year ago - mysql code, hot outside, cacls, ram's head plans (did neither), ad&d stats, backpack question, commute pictures on the way home,

2 years ago - phone post from keys... riding the bus is about all I did that day.

3 years ago - power outage, cool magicians, my eyes are blue, klaxons, past life/ice cream/coffee, stem cell steaks

4 years ago - pizza with dan, adp screws up, paid users get lj-priority, making fiends, Fiona apple mp3, Miami Travel Piccies, condo

5 years ago - trolls, naughty hulk, wonder woman movie

6 years ago - Wave of Husband killings, apple nipple monkey, star trek chairs auctioned, Ashcroft afraid of kitties

7 years ago - brackish , some broken links, dancing poll, tried mcD's yogurt & fruit, Le Petomane, band name poll, bid farewell to some junk

8 years ago - angry beavers, scary movie, don't look behind you

We rested the bulk of Saturday, but went out yesterday evening to hit good ol' Aardvark Comics - picked up the Showcase Jonah Hex, the 50th Anniversary edition of Diplomacy, and a few other nibs and nabs - BHK subscribed to her first book (Avengers Fairy Tales - 4 part series), and I got the latest All Star Superman. Good stuff, that Superman. Post Aardvark, we hit a local Japanese food place... benihana sort fo place with sushi. The stuff was better than most, not as awesome as Joss. Oh! I almost forgot! We stopped at Rita's for "fro-yo". I got the fat free stuff, and I think the chemistry hit my gastric centers a little too heavily. I'll be calling them diarRhita's for the foreseeable future. The problem resolved itself quickly, however.

Today, Lounged most of the morning, - Was going to hit the car show with Larry and BHK, but it was rained out. Left the house abuot noon, got a haircut, and then zipped off with BHK to have lunch with Cathi & Dave at Mexico. Mexico was a little off of their game, but it was still yummy. Post feeding, we paused at the Dunkirk Starbucks for a couple of hours of Apples to Apples over water, coffee and a little late dessert. (I won all games played... I feel a little bad about that, because I'm not really there to win, just to socialise and be silly. Psych-ops tactics work especially well with that crew.) Ended the day with a quick buzz of the local wal-mart, and then home to chill out and prep for Monday.

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1 year ago - walkabout pictures (DC area), SMIB

2 years ago - loki, fundraiser, 33 questions, morning pictures, palm post bro, tree dream

3 years ago - appointment, bro homeless, electron thoughts, videos, broken umbrellas, space 1999:waka waka, 300 island resort, typo on bus, walkies pictures, beaten barricade

4 years ago - smelly books, surreal compliments, passover joke, vampire game

5 years ago - sleeveless smock, downloadable toons, bunky kabalarians, colossal squid, CoC props.

6 years ago - landlord visit, green monkey pizza, pop pardoned the knights templar,nazi-looking stamp, Japanese business card etiquette, movies, tubers

7 years ago - Killer noise, looking for a job as a flaneur, Dave & Cathi Preggers

Humpday! Midweek, and it feels it. I was happy to rediscover that we get President's day off next month... Three-day weekends are a wonderful thing. Added bonus is that my b-day falls on a weekend this year, so that Saturday is mine, all mine!

BHK and Cathy got together today to do more straightening and space management at the house. One recent change is the move of the love seat from the office to the living room... newtcam archives show that Pye doesn't seem to mind the change of pace. 



Maybe we'll have room for some bookcases under the North-face windows, with the tops clear for kitty-climbing and general sunning.

Poor Pye must be a little chilly in that picture - he's all fluffed out. Cold, or resting off a horsing around match with Newt.

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"After eight years and some $65 million, the state of Maryland is taking its first steps to return to an accountable, paper-ballot based voting system. Governor Martin O'Malley has announced an initial outlay of $6.5 million towards the $20 million cost of an optical system which will scan and tally the votes while the paper ballots are retained as a backup. The new (or old) system is expected to be in place by 2010 — or four years before the state finishes paying off the bill for the touch-screen system."

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Had a bit of a nightmare about using the walker last night. Forgive my recycling of old doodles. Dreamt of being poked and prodded, cut open and stapled shut.

I've already had two surgeries.. one in 1994, and another in 2003.

Makes me twitchy, just thinking about it. After being cut up, I had to go shopping for tennis balls to put under the walker's feet.



Now I've got the phrase / title Walker, Texas Ranger stuck in my head.

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Random Self-portrait of the moment taken in the loo at work - Beard has bypassed the goatee stage for winter.

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I still remember the sting of asphalt embedded into my palms after the trip and fall 5 years back.

The voice of my first grade teacher is a strong memory, too.

Also those commercials for free catalogs....

Free Catalog
Pueblo, Colorado, 81009.

Is the only reason I know a zip code in Pueblo.

Hey...they have a website now.

I wonder if I'd have the guts to punch a Tyrannosaurus in the face.

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Milton Blahyi, a former feared rebel commander in Liberia's brutal civil war, has admitted to taking part in human sacrifices as part of traditional ceremonies intended to ensure victory in battle.

He said the sacrifices "included the killing of an innocent child and plucking out the heart, which was divided into pieces for us to eat."

There had been numerous rumours of human sacrifices during the 1979-93 conflict but this is the first time anyone has admitted publicly to the practice.

Mr Blahyi, 37, is better known in Liberia as "General Butt Naked" because he went into combat with no clothes on, to scare the enemy.

He is now an Evangelist preacher, who prefers to use the name Joshua.

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1 year ago - zombie astronaut, gun runner dream, paper moon pix,

2 years ago - missing cj, superhero dream, youtube b&B, fat bat cat, herm patient, pug in lucha mask, endless forest, birthday counter.

3 years ago - Chilly, doodle, facial morphs (monkey scotto is still my fave), food, height comparisons, a/b meme, warning labels, toybox mooch, scythes

4 years ago - happy Newt, nipples off, palm post - bus stop, tummy ache. penguin poop, giant nostril

5 years ago - Tests, truth, rumor, links and history, lj spam, Kev in court

6 years ago - I got my camera, Alvin gets fired from work for stealing overtime, unsolved mysteries, snap club, mcd's employees, nifty moon site.

7 years ago - Reflections on the old regime, The Litter Box Song *snerk*, Cow Saliva, "parsley, sage, rosemary and thyme", rehiring some of the fire-ees

Cathy and Dave over tonight for Lasagna, conversation (they're moving to Colorado once the house is sold) and a couple of games of apples to apples. BHK swept the night by winning both games, despite Cathy's extending the winning conditions from 8 to 10, and then 12 cards on the 2nd game.

Oddball winner of the night - "Cuddly" - Al Pacino, Quicksand, and Warts. Pacino won over Quicksand by a smidgen.

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True or False - unasked for help is interference.

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via lore - Hey, I didn’t know that there was a blog devoted to redesigns of superhero costumes. That’s neat. Some are serious (in a fun sort of way), while others are a little more invested in subverting the superhero paradigm (also in a fun way).

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Current meme thingie -

Comment on this post. If you're interested, I will choose seven interests from your profile and you will explain what they mean and why you are interested in them. Post this along with your answers in your own journal so that others can play along.

Christin picked - animal rights, exotic cuisine, horror, libraries, pyewacket, roadside attractions, vikings

• animal rights - Critters have been a pet project for me for as long as I can remember. Something just feels fundamentally wrong when folks don't hurting something - why not, if it's only a "stupid animal". I've been around a number of creatures that are more than just food or clothing, and would prefer that they be neither in a perfect world. I understand that it isn't a perfect world... but I try to treat critters well.

• exotic cuisine - I like new foods and flavors... it seems like every place has a different idea about what is tasty and what flavors work well together. I've developed a special fondness for some of the more commonly available ethnic foods... Thai, Mexican, Japanese, Chinese, Mongolian, Ethiopian, German, Italian all bring something spiffy to the table both in traditional and Americanized forms. Nothing that walks on more than one foot, or less than six to eat, though... thanks.

• horror - I enjoy the genre. More in literature than in film lately, though I can get into a scary movie here and there. Some of the best books I know shine a light at odd angles on stuff that lurks in my imagination, making the shadows large and frightening.

• libraries - worked in one the better part of high school and college. great places, lots to see and do - plus there are books out the wazoo. I have many fond memories from the library. It's where I first gamed, back in 6th grade.

• Pyewacket - he got his name from bell, book and candle (which in turn got it from this Pyewacket) - He's the baby of our family, 4ish to Newton's 7ish years old. He's very laid back, and when you pick him up, you can cradle him like an infant. He's been a wonderful addition to my family, and I love him dearly.

• roadside attractions - BHK and I stopped at a number of Ripley's Believe it or Not locations on the side of the road during our honeymoon, and there's something equally fascinating to me about oddball bits of Americana... Urban Ruin plus Muffler Men = wonder to my mind. Weird water towers, tourist traps and whatnot. The chintz factor bleeds over a little bit into horror for me, too. Best place for a zombie uprising is an old mini golf course. See also recent entries on the ATW man, or http://www.lostamerica.com/roadside.html
  

• vikings - Some people favor pirates... I lean to the more Norse cousins... the romanticized version, of course... sailing to new worlds in ships with serpent heads, burying an axe in your oath-breaking cousin, casting runes and thinking about times when the world was a still cooling body of a giant. What's not to like? The Norse Eddas are some of my favorite old stories.

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1 year ago - kissy pic - with ponytail and without, rockin little guy,

2 years ago - newton kitten war stats, nice compliment, newt nudges newtcam, pulp book d/l, quizzes, ND thanks

3 years ago - newt smokes, pelt fade, botmail, fake gyno

4 years ago - mobile phones destroy ghosts, lego casemod, LotR sand sculpt, Newbie/RI don't take call, bro care, Escher ,camel sim

5 years ago - work drama, october, finn/big boss, talking head thingie, wedding traditions

6 years ago - enterprise prem, simarena, headache, poll, birthdays, zugzwang &approbation, candy corn pops, macro for work, gator warning, rainthoughts, windows services

7 years ago - peace river, bro bails, exorcist, Song of Solomon 6: 8, bible porn, meanies, latin, sodaplay, road to wellville