Marley's London...

Haven't I Been Here Before?


I swore that I was going to write something glib and compelling (or boorish and infuriating--depending on your political leanings) this evening, but I can't get my mind off my new theater set project.

I've had the privilege of designing and building the set for Brunswick's Ritz Theater's annual Christmas production of Charles Dickens' "A Christmas Carol" for three years running now.

Working with Heather and Rob and the rest of theater staff is a pleasure, and they always do an excellent job with the casting and end up putting on a wonderful series of shows seen by about three thousand people over the short production run each year.

Two seasons ago I was challenged with building a set that was entirely contained within a giant trunk or "treasure chest" that could be opened up to reveal it's contents during the play.

Here's the set in the closed position with the members of the Cast presenting the Giant Key in preparation of opening it up:





and here it is opened up:








Last season's show was a more traditional production only requiring storefront scenes and Scrooge's bedroom, so here's what Heather and I came up with (we went tall and wide as you can see):




(that's my buddy Brunswick Mayor Brian Thompson there center stage left playing Scrooge)


Now this year's show presents yet another entirely new challenge, with a minimalistic set designed again for Mayor Thompson's portrayal of Scrooge, with the balance of the cast being pre-teen aged actors.

The coolest part of this set will be the design of a giant eerie "Ghost of Christmas Future" puppet with illuminated eyes, a throbbing red heart, and glowing ribs and hands.

Needless to say it's right up my alley, and my mind is racing over the possibilities. I'll be at Radio Shack as soon as it opens tomorrow morning to start looking at electronic doo-dads to include in my design.

Wish me luck, if you will...

Shusssssshhh...

I'm Actually Working Today


Sorry folks, but I've got new copper to solder in my "Mad Scientist" Waterhammer research project, and as of this afternoon I have a new Theater Set to design for yet another version of Charles Dickens "A Christmas Carol" (my fourth consecutive Christmas Play production of an adaptation of Dickens' work,) so needless to say I'm a bit distracted.

I feel a little rant coming on later...I just have to decide what to complain about.

Success

It Was Chilly Out...


Well, the International Space Station made it's appearance this morning right on time in a brilliantly clear sky and flew a complete arc overhead ending on the eastern horizion in the morning twilight.

Here's a look as it cruises past Orion's belt (Orion's standing on his head upside down):




Click on the picture to enlarge.


(Yeah, I know...astronomy pictures are boring...you had to be there I guess...)

Time now for a nap with Missy the Turbo Pup.

Camera Set Up

Tripod In Hand...


I just walked outside and found the sky to be brilliant and clear this evening. I also did a couple of manual test shots to test my Cannon G3's aperture and slow shutter settings while mounted on the tripod and aimed at Mars.

Everything seems to be working fine, although I can only get a 15 second maximum exposure--I should be able to get some nice "streaked" images of the space station flyover later this morning.

Stay tuned to this channel...

More Nerdy Neat Stuff

I'm Here To Let You Know...


I think that I've mentioned here in the past that I'm currently "Telescopeless."

You know...living without Telescope.



I'm really embarrased to admit it, but I only currently have a couple of pairs of Binoculars...but no telescope, because two of them burned up when my house burned down; and some slack jawed moron broke into my Suburban about that same time and stole my sweet little portable Telescope.

I guess that it was stolen because it was stored in a vinyl case that looked like it had CD's or something inside that an imbecile could appreciate. (They probably threw it in a ditch when they found out that the Pawn Shop would only give them ten dollars for it because people that go to Pawn shops are only looking for gold colored "Bling" or used power tools and TV's--telescopes aren't generally high on the hit parade at pawn shops.)

Any way, I've been reduced the past few years to running around with a camera and binoculars looking to enhance things that can easily be seen by the naked eye, and one of the coolest but yet under observed things out there these days in my opinion is the International Space Station (ISS).

Did you know that in spite of the fits and starts and recent problems with things like computers and solar panels, the the ISS is the THIRD BRIGHTEST OBJECT IN THE SKY?

It's number three behind the Sun and the Moon.



Further, right now, with the Space Shuttle attached it's even brighter, and coming up on Monday morning here on the east coast the duo of spaceships is going to make a spectacular early morning pass over the southeastern US.

I can hardly wait--I've been planning this adventure for a week now.

Weather permitting, I'm going to toss on some sweat pants and a jacket and peddle over to the marsh causeway about 5:49 AM EST and watch the four minute transit across the sky.

You can go here to the space station tracking website to check future sighting events for your own area of the country or world.

Being the nice guy that I am, as a customer service I've taken the liberty to point out where my friends and known readers can go look if they're inclined to rise early and go outside to take a gander:

For my old friend and college roommate Rusty up in western South Carolina, things start about 5:50 AM and last for five minutes as it sweeps overhead to a maximum elevation of 54 degrees.

For my Buddy Roy over on the Northwest Florida Gulf Coast, you can go here and find out that it will fly out of the southwest sky at 4:49 EST and spend 4 minutes making an arc up to 60 degrees overhead before it disappears on the Northeast horizon.


For my Mom over in Alabama, the info's here and just like for Roy it's E-A-R-L-Y.

Finally, I'm happy to tell Pat's family that they can wait until Tuesday morning and sleep until about 6:14 AM up in Western Pennsylvania and still run outside on their deck to take a gander at the goings on. As a bonus, in addition to getting to sleep later than we can down here on our little island, they also have the longest transit time--up to an angle of 66 degrees and a five minute transit period.


Now aren't you happy that I'm paying attention to stuff like this so you don't have to?



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Good Eats

Here...Try This...


I think that I mentioned previously that we've been doing a good deal of cooking and entertaining--mainly menu re-runs--here over the past few months since we moved into the new house down on our little island.

For instance, last weekend I cooked not one but TWO 16" pizzas for guests that came out pretty well, and last month I did my low country boil for the same group (the dish is a no brainer but still I've seen people screw it up.)

In addition to those events, I'm brining and smoking a half dozen racks of baby back ribs for guests next weekend and I'm handling most of the cooking for a fairly elaborate Thanksgiving lunch for six or eight folks here on the 25th.

Since the weather has cooled off a little, some soup/stews have also been on the dinner menu--things like Seafood/Chicken Gumbo and a Caribbean Jerk Stew I tried out the other night which was served on top of boiled potato and onion pierogies.

Pat and I have also eaten our way through most of a prime twenty pound Angus Beef Tenderloin and of course loads of things like my Chicken Picatta and various pork dishes because, as I said before, I HAVE A FREEZER.

Last night, after meeting friends for drinks on the deck of a local restaurant (yes it was over 70 degrees here at 5 PM,) I put together a made up dish I been working on for the third or forth time that I think is worth mentioning if you're interested and you like fish. It works best with Tilapia, but I think that you could use any mild fish like Flounder or Orange Roughy, etc.

Here's what I did to make dinner for two:

2 Tilapia fillets

3/4 cup all purpose flour
1 tbsp white pepper
1 tbsp sweet paprika
pinch of baking powder

a splash of milk in a bowl

1 slice of a large sweet onion, separated into rings (more if you want more onion rings

1 small can sliced green olives (drained)
1 small can sliced ripe olives (drained)
2 medium ripe tomatoes, diced
1/2 cup of chicken stock
pinch of salt
1/4 tsp Cayenne pepper flakes
1/2 tbsp lemon or lime juice
1/2 cup white wine

3/4 cup of long grain rice

Peanut oil


Here goes...Dice up your tomatoes, then toss them into a large skillet over medium heat while you dump in your green and black olives, the salt, Cayenne pepper flakes, and the chicken stock. Get everything up to a good simmer adjusting your heat as required, and let it cook for a good fifteen minutes. Add your wine and lemon juice and keep simmering.

Meanwhile start cooking your rice according to the package directions and mix up your flour spice mixture in a shallow dish and splash the milk into another shallow bowl. (Don't forget to slice your onion rings.)

Now put enough of the peanut oil into a large heavy skillet to make a 1/2" deep puddle of oil. Kick the heat up to medium high under the skillet and shoot for 375 degrees F. (It really helps if you have a thermometer that clips on the side of the skillet to tell you the oil temp continuously--I do.)

The key here is to get everything done at the same time, so you need to keep cooking down your tomato/olive mix while at the same time prepping your onion rings and the fish fillets.

Dip your fillets and onion rings in the milk, then dredge them through the flour to get a nice thin coating on all sides. Reserve them on the side on a plate or foil.

Once your tomato/olive mix is cooked down nicely and your oil is up to at 375, drop your onion rings into the oil and fry them for a couple of minutes on each side, then drain them on paper towels.

Let the grease come back up to temperature, then toss in your floured fillets and cook them for two or three minutes per side, until they're flaky. Place them on paper towels on the side to drain. (Your rice should be done by now and you might preheat a couple of big pasta bowls in the oven if you want to.)

Plating it all up (it's real hard):

Dump some rice into your bowls, place a fillet on top of each rice pile, dump half the tomato/olive mix on top of each serving, then lay two or three onion rings on top, Grab yourself a fork, and EAT.

I've got to go finish making Pizza now...Y'all have a nice evening.

Forty Acres And A Mule?

How About A Freezer And A Three Dollar Turkey???


Dang I LOVE having a chest type Deep Freezer. I've already got frozen meat running out of my ears, but regardless I just got home from a Harris Teeter "three day" pre-Thanksgiving Day sale and get this...

I bought a 11-1/2 Pound Turkey for $3.34 plus tax ($0.29 per pound).

My bird is now residing comfortably in my garage freezer along with a big plastic bag full of giant Alaskan King Crab clusters that were also on sale for less than half price. If I didn't have the volume of cold real estate in which to store my prizes purchased on sale, I would be forced to pay full price over the next few weeks for my holiday meals.

I think that instead of just handing out food stamps to people that the government should drive a truck around poor minority neighborhoods public housing developments up to the front door of the recipients of the public largess and dump a deep freezer off and chain it to the back porch of every address.

Then once a month (every time the local grocer has a sale) the truck would back into the driveway and deliver whatever was on sale that day.

Forget letting our benefactors buy cigarettes and ground beef to feed their dogs, I say that if they want to participate in "assistance programs" that they do like this mean old angry white arrogant "rich guy" and get themselves a freezer and a three dollar turkey rather than waiting until Thanksgiving or Christmas eve and spending $16 of taxpayer money on the exact same meat.

Just call me pragmatic insensitive, I guess...

Sauce For The Goose

How Do They Keep A Straight Face?


I was cruising around this morning looking at what was happening in the world when I came across this story on the "Editor & Publisher" website about the announcement of yet ANOTHER circulation decline over the past six months for the major print newspapers.

...The push to herald total audience is coming not a moment too soon since paid circulation continues on a downward slide. According to industry sources speaking to E&P, daily circulation for reporting papers in the six-month FAS-FAX period ending September is down about 2.5% while Sunday is expected to fall 3.5%. Those types of declines -- in the 2% and 3% range -- have been occurring as far back as the March 2005 period.

E&P has learned that several major papers have suffered declines in daily circ of over 7%, including the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, the South Florida Sun-Sentinel, The San Diego Union-Tribune, The Miami Herald and The Dallas Morning News.

Asked for comment, publishers of these papers blamed the decreases partly on the cut back in other-paid circulation -- which includes Newspaper in Education, hotel, and third-party copies. And papers have been chopping distribution areas--it's too expensive to serve outlying communities, at least in print.

...

The Atlanta Journal-Constitution's circulation fell about 9% for both daily and Sunday. "Those loses are in-line with our expectations," Robert Eickhoff, senior vice president of operations, told E&P. "We are focusing on individually paid and marching down a very strategic path." [emphisis mine-VRR]

...

Daily circulation at The San Diego Union-Tribune declined about 8.5% while Sunday was down about 7.9%. The paper has almost completely eliminated third-party copies and reigned in some of their bonus days as well as discounted copies. Bill Nagel, the vice president of circulation, noted the paper's total audience reaches more than 60% of the market.

Combined circulation for The Miami Herald and Nuevo Herald declined daily and Sunday about 8.4% and 12.3%, respectively. Terry Whitney, vice president of circulation, said the papers were cutting back on third-party and event copies under a two-year plan.

These people kill me. They are explaining rearranging the furniture on the deck of the Titanic like they're just doing a little planned redecorating.

They simply can't bring themselves to publicly admit that they are losing readers because their product SUCKS--either because of or in spite of all of the Columbia Journalism Grad school alumni they have hanging around their offices.

I, your lowly unpaid Internet blogger, tilt my head back and laugh to mock the dead tree legacy medias' fate as you keep your quarters in your pockets to feed the parking meter rather than paying fifty cents each day for want ads and useless false ASSociated Press stories about jobless recoveries and death and doom in Iraq.

How long will it take for them to figure out that they will either improve the quality of their product, else ultimately be forced out of business?.

It's not a question of IF, it's just a matter of when...

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Political Activism

Blogging On The Back Burner


Sorry folks, but I'm busy these days doing some real writing on a story about Political Polling, and this morning I had to take time out to write a letter to the State Republican Party headquarters on behalf of my County Commissioner Cap Fendig's campaign for President.

I know...I know...I know, Cap stands a snowball's chance in hell of actually getting elected, but the assholes in Atlanta geniuses on the Republican Executive committee jumped the gun this week and tossed their slate of candidates for the February Republican primary to the Secretary of States' office with only the nine national candidates names on it--omitting Cap entirely.

Apparently they knew that he had qualified with the Federal Election Commission, that he was already on the New Hampshire and South Carolina primary ballots, but the "powers what be" are afraid of a two term county commissioner and what he might do to the state wide pecking order for offices like Senator and Representative and Governor if they allow people to find out about him by letting him on the presidential ballot.

Well, you know me, I couldn't just silently sit beside the process as it goes on (the deadline is November 17th), so I sat down at the keyboard this morning and blasted this off to Sue Everhart, Chairman of the Georgia Republican Party:

Chairman Everhart,

I am writing to you this morning to express my dismay over the state Republican Committee's decision to limit the slate of Presidential candidates in the upcoming State Republican Primary to the nine national candidates, in the process omitting Glynn County commissioner Neil H. "Cap" Fendig, Jr.

I believe that the committee owes the Republican voters of the state of Georgia the opportunity to consider the candidacy and, as a result, to potentially vote for any legal resident living within the borders of the state of Georgia that spends the time and money required to qualify to run not only for President, but for any statewide office.

I find the words "Grassroots Leadership" plastered all over the home page of the Republican Committee's website, yet apparently the words have a different meaning for the committee that they do for myself and the other Republican and independent voters down here in Glynn County.

It seems that you and your fellow committee members believe it prudent and fair to allow 56 people on the Executive Committee, mostly from the Atlanta metro area, to decide that Georgia voters aren't sophisticated enough to read ten names on a ballot, therefor limiting our choice to nine. (One has to wonder how many other excellent but as-yet unknown candidates' efforts have been stymied in the past here in Georgia by this same heavy handed political tactic?)

Commissioner Fendig has an excellent reputation here in Glynn county, he meets all of the requirements to run for President to the letter of the law, and it's just plain dirty politics that you deny him the opportunity to win or lose his bid to be on the November 2008 ballot by letting the GEORGIA VOTERS DECIDE as the voters will be doing in at least two other states.

I doubt that the cost of the extra ink on the ballots or the pixels on the electronic voting machine display are going to break the Committee or the State's budget next winter, therefore I respectfully ask that you and the committee reconsider your decision.

Best Regards,

Virgil R. Rogers, III
St. Simons Island Georgia


Now let's see what happens...

UPDATE 1:30 PM

I just received an E-mail from Commissioner Fendig thanking me. I copied my letter to both of my US Senators, and the two southern Georgia US Representatives who are also on the committee, and I really hope that they will reconsider.