Suddenly Less Interesting Around Here

Bane has passed away.

He wasn't always easy to like, but he was never boring. We disagreed on a lot politically, but I could never make myself stop reading his blog. It was always compelling and artfully written.

I'll miss him.

*The Dread Pirate Jameson Leaves No Survivors

The Dread Pirate Roberts Jameson has won the Johnny Depp Quotasm Challenge 2008, which was really just a Captain Jack Sparrow Quotasm Challenge 2008. I'll do a proper Johnny Depp Quotasm Challenge in the future.

Maybe.

Depends on you, really.

Lyrical Pursuit shall continue until the end of September. After that, it will either continue or be replaced by Quotasm Challenges, depending on popular sentiment.

An additional alternative would be guest Lyrical Pursuitists each month. I'm open to suggestions.

That's what the comment section is for...let your voice be heard.

*Johnny Depp Be a Mangy Cur

Aye, the Dread Pirate Jameson be earning the name pirate, of that I be certain. Four pieces of eight to him!

1 for name, 1 for title, 1 for context, 1 for speaking me language.

Quickly! On to the next:

"I have every faith in your reconciliatory navigational skills, Mr. Gibbs, now where is that monkey? I want to shoot something!"

To the depths with anyone wishin' to show 'imself a yellow-bellied cheater!

*Johnny Depp Be Naught But a Humble Pirate

Arrrr! We has another stowaway! Jay be the winner, with 3 pieces of eight. Shank gets but 2.

Shank: 1 fer character name and 1 fer talkin' like a pirate.

Jay: 1 fer title, 1 fer context, and 1 fer talkin' like a pirate, savvy?

I don't be awardin' more'n one piece of eight fer the character name. It only holds fair that just one of you bloody cockroaches get the treasure for that.

Now another. Curse you for breathing should you try to steal me plunder by cheating!

"Shoot him and cut out his tongue, then shoot his tongue! And trim that scraggly beard!"

Keep to the Code, me hearties.

*Johnny Depp Be a Black-Gutted Bilge Rat

Jameson (a stowaway!) kept me from playing all by me onesies. He proved his mettle and shall be rewarded with 4 pieces of eight.

1 for name, 1 for title, 1 for context, and 1 for talkin' like a pirate, arr!

You bloody scallywags best be trying a bit harder, or 'twill be Davey Jones' Locker for the lot of ye, savvy?

Here be another quote:

"But what a ship is, what the Black Pearl really is, is freedom."

At least one of ye cursed scum ought be able to name the character.

And remember, 'tis frightful bad luck to cheat a pirate. Dead men tell no tales.

*Johnny Depp be a Scabrous Dog

Ahoy, me hearties. 'Tis Talk Like a Pirate Day, and we be celebratin' with movie quotes from that bloody scallywag, Johnny Depp. There be more than one quote upon the horizon, and the rules be much the same as before.

One bit o' shine for the character name.

One bit o' shine for the movie title (ye'll need be specific on this, you cursed sea dogs).

One bit o' shine for the context.

Two bits o' shine for trivia, making me laugh, and the like.

It'll be down to the depths with any filthy, slimy, mangy cur what be a cheater.

Here be the first quote:

You seem familiar. Have I threatened you before?

You best start. Ye have one hour, maybe two. Prove your mettle and ye shall be rewarded with swag, savvy?

Just Do It

Arr, mateys, ye've not been paying Susie the appropriate tribute. Ye'll walk the plank if ye fail to do so, savvy?

And yes, me be practicin' fer Talk Like a Pirate Day.

Ye sons of bilge rats'll be returnin' to play Johnny Depp Quotasm Challenge 2008, mark me words!

*Flat Tire in "Rush Hour"=I Spoke Too Soon

Well, that's a lie. It wasn't a flat tire; it was a shredded tire. Turns out I have a major alignment problem. What looks like a perfectly fine tire on the out-side is horrifying junk on the in-side. Yay, vehicle costs. In the same month I have to pay for my new drivers license, my registration, and renew my insurance. Good times, good times.

On the plus plus plus side, a totally nice lady on a purple Harley stopped to help me as I was reading the directions for how to do the whole change-a-flat thing. Obviously, she is my new hero.

*Alan Rickman: Why You Love Him

I feel as though I should give you some reasons why you love Alan Rickman...beyond the awesome Snapeness and Sheriffyness and Gruberness and so forth.

He has been with the same woman since he was like 19 years old. And she is/was an economics professor or something. I can dig that.

He once told Kate Winslet while they were standing in line waiting to meet the Queen that if she curtsied, he'd kill her. He's not into the whole servility thing when it comes to royalty, and as an American, I can dig that.

He likes America. Seems to like it better than England in some ways. And as an American, I can dig that.

Now, since Shank says he likes the movie quotes game, I'll probably continue it. I think Johnny Depp is the logical choice for the next actor. He was mentioned in the previous Rickman post, and this Friday is Talk Like a Pirate Day. It'll be a challenge not to do Captain Jack Sparrow quotes on the daily, but I'll try.

*A Better Start

Well, I can happily say that my birthday yesterday was much, much better than my birthday a year ago.

Yesterday, I did not fall down any flights of stairs; I didn't have any funerals to attend; and I got birthday cake and ice cream.

Going out of state for the funeral last year kept me from having birthday cake. Sure, there was funeral cake, but I declined having any. That would be bad juju...substituting funeral cake for birthday cake.

No funerals recently or in the pipeline (knock wood)...always good.

My more recent fall (over the summer) keeps me from walking down stairs like a normal person...therefore, much care is taken when I do go down stairs, thus lessening the chances of a repeat tumble.

All in all, things are looking up.

Show the love

Happy Birthday Jen!!

*Alan Rickman and Johnny Depp: What Very Nice Dreams Are Made Of

Okay, Alex (who?) finally got the answer to Round Five of the Rickman Quotasm Challenge 2008...Sweeney Todd, Judge Turpin.

Points for the round:
Alex, 2 points for movie title and character name

Jim, Shank, and McGehee, 1 point each for assorted Rickman commentary.

The final tally of points comes out thusly:

Jim, 5 points.
Stephen, McGehee, and Shank with 4 points each.
Alex, 2 points.
Rev. Mike, 1 point.

Jim is the big winner! Congratulations, Jim, you have won...something. Something probably Hawkeye-related.
_____

Now. Sunday is my birthday. Let's hope next year is better than this last one, which sucked beyond all reason.

Show the love, peeps.

*Alan Rickman Alan Rickman Alan Rickman

Hmm. Stupid red shoes. Defective!

So, we're apparently not feeling the funny today.

Points for Round Whatever:

Shank, 2 points for title and context.

Rev. Mike, 1 point for character name.

On to Round Five:

"You gandered at my ward, Johanna. You gandered at her. YES, sir, you gandered!"

Remember, points can be awarded for complete arbitrariness. Did I make that word up? I may have.

Go.

*If You Don't Love Alan Rickman, the Terrorists Have Won

Is that title in bad taste today, even though it would be fine any other day?

I won't post about the day, other than to ask everyone to reflect on those we've lost: on that day and since. Also, to note one thing on a more personal level...last night, my nephew was asking about war because a war movie was on in the other room while he and I played Go Fish. It occurred to me that my nephew, who will be 7 years old in a few months, has lived his whole life with his country at war. Looking at him, 7 years somehow seems longer than it would otherwise.

[Insert awkward transition here.]

So. Points must be awarded for Round Three:

Stephen, 2 points...character name and movie title.

Jim, 2 points...context and referring to Umbridge as the rolly-polly.

If my math and memory are correct, point totals thus far are: Stephen 4, Jim 4, McGehee 3, and Shank 1.

Now for Round Four:

"I'm pissed off is what I am! Do you go around drenching everyone who comes into your room with flame-retardant chemicals? No wonder you're single."

Go.

*Alan Rickman is Like Sean Connery...

...he's 300 years old, but he's still a stud. There's a movie quote for you. Goldie Hawn's character in First Wives Club. I bust that one out, complete with drunken slur, on the regular.

Okay, points for Round Two:

McGehee gets 3 points...title, character name, context.

Shank gets 1 point...for making me laugh, despite his rampant assholery.

On to Round Three:

"Unless you wish to poison [him] - and I assure you, I would have the greatest sympathy if you did - I cannot help you."

A point will only be awarded for the whole title.

Go.

Bigfoot is Like the White Horse. Or Something.

There have been sightings of Bigfoot, Sasquatch, Yeti, Abominable Snowmen, and whatever else you care to call them in cultures from Vietnam to Washington State. Asia and northwestern North America...cultures that haven’t had much in common with one another since the Alaskan land bridge ceased to be.

Interesting, then, that the belief in a demonic, oversized man-ape should be found in China, Nepal, Siberia, and Canada, no? The first documented British encounter with one of these creatures occurred in Nepal when a Brit’s servants were supposedly attacked by one. The locals said this creature was a Raksha or “demon”...suggesting a religious mythology behind the belief in the creature.

In North American Indian tribes—particularly northern Plains tribes—there is the belief in a huge, hairy man who acts as a warning to men when they displease the Creator. This man is called Unk-cegi by some, meaning “Brown Earth”...the waste product of the Creation.

Some of you may be familiar with Gigantopithecus. Google him if you’re not. Anywho, Giganto was a large (up to 10 feet tall) ape that lived from about a million years ago until about 300,000 years ago. Upright, he looks pretty much like what we picture for Bigfoot. Giganto has been found in southeastern Asia...living at a time and place that coincides with other prehuman hominids.

It is interesting to think that human/prehuman memory could be so long as to incorporate the living Giganto into a world in which he has been extinct for hundreds of thousands of years. It seems more likely, however, that the belief in a Bigfoot-type creature came from the discovery of Giganto’s bones by people who did not know what exactly the bones came from. Humans have a great capacity for inventing stories to explain the unknown.

Even so, it is fascinating that the belief in the creature would exist in cultures that came from the same place thousands of years ago. Either these people independently invented such a creature or the belief has been around for a very long time.

Or Bigfoot is real. Take your pick.

References: Most of the information for this post came from my college education, which included a few courses in biological anthropology (see Russell Ciochon’s body of work for more information on Gigantopithecus). This education was supplemented with Jim Willis’s The Religion Book.

*You Love Alan Rickman, Don't Pretend You Don't

Points for the first round are awarded thusly:

Stephen, 2 points for the correct character name and film.

Jim, 2 points for knowledge of Rickman and feigned appreciation of his hotness.

Shank, 1 point for context of the quote, but minus-1 point for comparing Rickman to Madonna. 0 points for Shank.

On to Round 2...

"I wanted this to be professional, efficient, adult, cooperative. Not a lot to ask. Alas, your Mr. Takagi did not see it that way... so he won't be joining us for the rest of his life."

Go.

*Exhaustion, Plus a New Game

I don't mind the sick part so much as the tired part. I can go about my day while coughing up phlegm...but I can't go about my day while doing a spot-on impression of a narcoleptic.

Been watching television. Which I generally hate. I have a handful of shows I'll deign to watch, and if none of those are on, I'll watch movies.

I have rekindled my love affair with Alan Rickman. I want to have his babies. I'll even conceive the old-fashioned way despite the fact he's old enough to be my dad's older brother. It's the voice. That British sort of drawl of his, rawr.

So. Since Pete is kind enough to enjoy doing Lyrical Pursuit, and since I need something to blog about but have illness-fueled ADD that precludes me from writing anything meaningful...you shall guess movie quotes this week. I'll give you a hint: the actor is always going to be Alan Rickman. You must guess the character and movie.

We'll start with one I have actually been known to yell at people. Complete with bad English accent. Without further ado...

"Because it's dull, you twit; it'll hurt more!"

Five possible points for the correct answer. One point for the movie title, one point for the character name, and another point for explaining the context. Additional "style" points will be awarded in a completely subjective manner for things like making me laugh, showing due appreciation for the genius that is Alan Rickman, and the use of Alan Rickman trivia.

Maybe there'll be a prize for the week.

Go.