2008

This was lovingly swiped from Celebhith's blog.

Corporate Lackey Gets Shat Upon

This is a clip of William Shatner letting some sound booth goob have it with both barrels. It's brilliant. It comes from the Howard Stern show, but he's not really on it other than the intro.

http://someaudioguy.podomatic.com/player/web/2007-03-21T21_12_51-07_00

Big Bad Hair

My Starbase 66 co-host, Kennedy, has created his own podcast about 80s music called Big Bad Hair, and I had the extreme pleasure and honor to be the guest on his debut show. We discuss the Blue Oyster Cult album Imaginos. I'd love to know what you all think about it.

To Boldly Go...

Cyberspace, the final frontier. These are the voyages of the podcast Starbase 66. And it's finally happened! The address is http://starbase66a.podbean.com/ or just click here. Let me know what you think either here, or at starbase66@gmail.com. Hope you like it. :-)

Marius

And So This Is Christmas

I was afraid that today would suck ass like no day ever had, but it's actually been rather nice. Mrs. Marius had to work, but she was home by 10:30am, and we opened our pressies and have been pretty much slugs since. I went out for a bike ride a while ago, and found that Albertson's was open, so I got some mushrooms and fresh asparagus to go with our steaks for dinner tonight. Talked to my dad a little while ago. He sounds like he's coping as well as he can. Oh, that Charlie Brown-esque display above is our Christmas tree. My mother-in-law got it while I was away, and I'm grateful since I really couldn't have cared less about Christmas this year. The Mrs. and I didn't go crazy with gifts this year, but we both loved what we got so that's the important thing. I got her some books, and a fairy figurine and a ceramic gekko, and she got me some dragons, and a tee shirt that has a bunch of Imperial Stormtroopers that says 'Support Our Troops'. My in-laws gave me a beautiful dragon, and a Best Buy gift card that will go a long way toward bringing C's old computer back to life. Now we're just chilling. She's playing on the desktop, and I'm here on the laptop.

I do want to share a lovely thing that happened last night. I have gone on at length about the SimplySyndicated.com forums and podcasts. Well they have a weekly podcast that goes out live, and we can call in, called Richard and Allison's Super Happy Fun Time, or SHaFT for short. They had debated doing a Christmas Eve show, but worried that no one would tune in. Well, the most people ever to tune in to a Simply Syndicated live show showed up last night, including yours truly. Over 100 people were listening live at one point, which is at least double the previous record. Something I haven't mentioned here is all the support I got from the folks on the forums during my mom's illness and after, and I finally got a chance to thank everyone on the air last night. Allison, the den mother to us miscreants and n'ere-do-wells recently lost her mum, and we had a very poignant and emotional moment that I think was really good for both of us. These are really, really good people and even though we have never, and may never meet face to face, they prove that all the bullshit about the internet being an impersonal and cold place is just that...bullshit. In fact, if it weren't for my wife, my brother, and all of you out there whose support I so desperately needed, I don't know if I would be as OK as I am today. And that was the greatest Christmas present of all.

Thank you all for your love, support, and friendship. God bless us, everyone.

Marius

Merry Christmas!

The Elephant in the Room Has a Scythe

This entry is why I haven't been blogging much lately. I know that I have to do this, but I've been dreading it. Don't ask me why it is an imperative, and it will come from a dark place, so if you are filled with the Christmas spirit, and don't want to read a downer post, I won't be offended if you move along.

Since my mother died I've been on an emotional roller coaster that has me not knowing from one minute to the next how I'm going to feel. I suppose that is to be expected, but it seems to be totally disconnected from any sort of mental stimulus. It's not like I see something that reminds me of her and I get depressed. I just get waves of grief, or ennui, or apathy, or anger, or worst of all an overbearing feeling of futility, and nothing seems to cause the changes. It's a very good thing that my daughter is away at her dad's right now, because my fuse is very, very short. I don't understand this. I usually can at least tell the cause of my emotions. I have been hitting the Xanax pretty hard lately, and I'm feeling the effect. I drift easily, and I keep losing words. I'm going to try to stay away from it for a while.

Flashback to last Tuesday. Jesus Christ! It's only been a week! Ok, so my mom went into the hospital the Monday after Thanksgiving. By the end of that week she was in a Hospice room. (my fingers are trying to refuse to write this) I had to go into work last Monday to get final grades posted and some loose ends tied up. Our vacation didn't start til that Thursday, but my boss didn't object to my leaving early. Tuesday morning at 7:30, as soon as my daughter was on the school bus, I left for West Palm Beach. Never has 70mph seemed too fast, or red lights too short, as I hurtled toward a destination I desperately didn't want to reach, yet was terrified I wouldn't get to in time. My brother called me a few times during the drive to relay the warnings from the Hospice nurses that time was short. I got there a little after noon. My brother and dad were there in the room. She was unconscious, and every breath was an obvious effort for her. I spoke to her, said what I had to say, and I have no idea if she heard. Then we waited, but it didn't take long. By 12:50 her labors ended. The nurse simply said, "She has passed." Unexpectedly, and without warning the tears tore out of me, and I hid behind the curtains. I can't be all Zen and say that it was beautiful. It wasn't. It was horrific, and those last minutes of her life haunt me in the night. But the fucked up part of it is I'm glad I was there for it. Even if she didn't know I was there, my dad did, and he needed that. It's hard to say what my bother was feeling as we both tend to play our emotional cards close to the vest, but we both dove into the details of preparing the service. He took care of the nuts and bolts, and money part, and I focused on the memorial. There was friction at a few points, mostly due to miscommunication, but nothing lasting or worth chronicling. That week was excruciating. But eventually Monday night came.



My dad was worried that no one would be there, and that the place would be devoid of flowers, but the house was full, and thanks to some very generous folks, some of whom frequent this tiny corner, it was beautifully flowered. At one point I broke down, again completely out of the blue. Then, suddenly, it was over. Folks left, the hall was cleared, and the next day the family and I came home.

Closure is a word I had always taken as an annoying psycho-babble buzz word, but something changed inside once the chapel was dark and empty. I can't describe it, but it was noticeable. Yet now I'm roller coaster man. My wife jokingly said now I know what women go through once a month, and if so you have my sympathies. I would never have described my relationship with my mother as particularly close, but she was always there for me, despite a lot of really messed up shit I put her through over the years. I truly loved her, and even liked her, which I have found is a rare and wonderful thing. She was a SCRABBLE whiz, and I will never forget how she taught me the word 'quixotic'.(if you know your SCRABBLE, imagine that spanning a triple word score.) We were political opposites, and there were certain subjects we simply didn't discuss, and she was a consummate button pusher. No one could piss me off quicker than she could, but it also passed as quickly. I could complain that she smoked herself into an early grave, she was only 64, but she was one of those people who are so addicted that it is literally impossible for them to quit. She tried several times; each time using the latest medical aids, all for naught. The last time she tried was just a few months ago.

Anyway, it's over. I'm mostly ok, but at night, when it's too quiet, and I'm not sleeping, the horror and futility wash over me. Only then does it become real. And reality is a cold, lonely place.

Good by, mom. I love you, and I miss you.

Rick

Sweet

Hey, folks. I'll be back to regular blogging soon, I should think. I'm still wrestling with some demons, most of whom attack me in the night, while also trying to build up any kind of Christmas give a shit. On the up side, we recorded our second attempt at the first episode of Starbase 66 last night, and the editing on this one should be much easier. So with a little luck I'll have it posted and linked here very soon. The CoA is away, so the Mrs. and I are going to the movies this afternoon. Not sure what's out there just yet, but fingers crossed Quantum of Solace is still playing.

So now, without further ado, a parrot petting a cat.

kitty petting parrot

Groovy Dancing Chick

Can you dig it?

Majel Barrett Roddenberry Dies.

Can this year suck any more?



NEW YORK – Majel Barrett Roddenberry, the widow of "Star Trek" creator Gene Roddenberry, has died. She was 76. Roddenberry, an actress who appeared in numerous "Star Trek" TV shows and movies, died Thursday of leukemia at her home in Bel-Air, Calif., her representative said.

At Roddenberry's side were family friends and her only son, Eugene Roddenberry Jr. Gene Roddenberry died in 1991.

Her romance with Roddenberry earned her the title "The First Lady of Star Trek." A fixture in the "Star Trek" franchise, her roles included Nurse Christine Chapel in the original "Star Trek," Lwaxana Troi in "Star Trek: The Next Generation" and the voice of the USS Enterprise computer in almost every spin-off of the 1966 cult series. She recently reprised the voice role in the upcoming "Star Trek" film directed by J.J. Abrams.

How We Look From Over There

One of the best things about being involved in the Simply Syndicated forum is that most of them are not American, so I have been getting a better idea of how we look from the other side of the oceans. For example:



Brilliant!

Real posts coming soon.

Marius the Nearly Returned

For Flurrious

Thanks.

Cat-Tard

Gather round, kiddies, and Uncle Marius will tell you a tale of a feline idiot. His name is Starbuck, and he is 15 pounds of dumbass. Starbuck's hobbies are eating, sleeping, and eating things he shouldn't. Such things include string, thread, tinsel, shoe laces, and anything else that looks vaguely stringlike. As one might imagine, such things don't always agree with his digestive system, and he has been known to indulge in a little regurgitory self expression from time to time. Well, last week he was puking a lot more than usual, and when he did so twice in a few hours we decided to take him to the vet. An appointment was made, and the yowling beastie was crammed into his carrier to go have things stuck into, and taken out of him. Ninety minutes, and $160 later the vet said all seemed normal, but that we should give him anti-hairball meds. He did take a blood sample just to make sure there wasn't anything unseen, and we all went home.

Fast forward to yesterday. Mrs. Marius calls to say that our little genius had just yakked up a rubber band and what looked like wood or hay. I suggested investigating the CoA's room for anything unusual, but that search proved fruitless. I then postulated that, since he has been spending more time hiding in the closet and under our bed lately than a thirteen-year-old boy with his first Playboy perhaps there might be something in one of those places. Sure enough, there was a forgotten kid-sized broom under our bed that had been mostly eaten away. The broom disposed of, as befits such a tragic comedy, the vet called to say that the blood work was normal. As my wife put it so eloquently we spent $160 to find out he had a tummy ache.

The furry oaf is lucky he's so adorable, or he'd make a great hat.

Marius out.

Service

The service for my mom will be at the Del Lago chapel in Lake Worth, on Monday evening at 6-8pm. Anyone reading this is welcome.

Services

The service for my mom will be held on Monday evening between 6-8pm, with the actual service beginning at 7. If you wish to attend let me know and I'll give you the details.

It is done.

My mother, Sharon Jinks, passed away at 12:50pm today. Thank you to all of you most wonderful people for your words of love and support. She passed peacefully, and with her husband, and two children by her side.

The anguish of last night has become a moot point. I was informed today that my mother has taken a turn for the worse, and isn't expected to make it another two weeks. I'll be heading down to West Palm on Tuesday morning. My Mother-In-Law has offered to come up and help out in my absence, which is a huge load off my mind, but please understand to anyone down there that I won't be doing my usual rounds of visits and socializing. I'll post updates as events warrant. Right now we are trying to figure out where to hold a service. For some reason my mom canceled her life insurance last year some time, so we can't afford a funeral home. Nor do we know any clergy in the area. Any suggestions would be welcome.

Please bear with me, my friends. I am not programmed to respond in this area.

Rick

Feeling Fecal

My mom's back in the hospital with pneumonia, and my brother was hoping I could go down there this weekend to check up on her. The problem is that my wife needs more notice than this to ask for a day off, so I'd have to go down Saturday morning, but be back by 5:30 Sunday morning to take her to work. On top of that we don't own a washer or dryer, and I have to do the laundry at some point this weekend. And asking my car to make an 8 hour drive in one day is just asking for trouble. So I feel shitty for not going. He is not unjustified in asking, I just can't do it. I'm making arrangements to go down for four days next week, but now I just feel like a huge turd.

Prop 8: The Musical

See more Jack Black videos at Funny or Die

Space Battle Compilation

I had forgotten how well Deep Space Nine mastered the art of the space battle. Enjoy.


Star trek Deep space nine - More Free Animes

Why I Shouldn't Be Left Alone

Yesterday sucked. Let's just get that out of the way right off the bat. I was to meet my Mother-In-Law at Yeehaw Junction to pick up the CoA at 3pm. It's just under two hours to drive there, and I left a tad bit early to leave time to get gas and lunch. When I was about half way there I get a call from the MIL saying they were delayed and were just leaving. Hmph! Oh well, thought I, I'll just go wander about a Wal-Mart for a while. Which I did. Then I got back on the road, and due to torrential storms arrived at Yeehaw at just about the same time as they. Well, not quite at. About two miles from the main intersection that is Yeehaw Junction was where traffic came to a standstill. As I sat there, inching forward, I noticed my temperature gauge kept creeping up. Not good. Finally I realized that nasty things would happen long ere I reached my destination, so I pulled over onto the other side of the road, and called to have them meet me there. The handoff was made, and the CoA and I began the return home.

20 mile later we reached more tail lights. About a quarter of a mile ahead were numerous emergency vehicles, and traffic was not moving. I, and many others, turned off the car and got out to see what was going on. Before too long a chopper landed near the crash, so I knew it was going to be a long wait. After nearly an hour the chopper took off, and the word came down the line: at least two hours before the road would be clear. For those of you unfamiliar with Florida, there are excellent interstate highways running along both coasts, but few straight shots across the width of the state. So I decided that rather than wait there with an increasingly full bladder, and an increasingly restless kid, I'd head back to Yeehaw and go north to I-4. This I did, without incident, but what should have been a 4-5 hour long jaunt became a 10 hour ordeal.

Which leads me to today. I took the car to the shop 10 minutes before they opened, and was the first customer through the door. I figured the cooling fan motor was dead, and that they could fix it quickly and I'd be on my way. Alas, no. The coolant temperature sensor needs replacement, and they won't get the part until this afternoon. Oh darn...day off. But, after a while I got bored. I played a bit of City of Heroes, and then I got silly.


And now, lunch.

TTFN