Author: Karel Kerezman

  • First Non-Anniversary

    Wendi beat me to it, but that wasn’t difficult considering it took me until almost bedtime to write about this.

    While the real breakup is a few years gone, now, today marks the first time that the date of our wedding anniversary has come after our divorce was legally finalized. I quipped to her this morning that it’s our first “non-anniversary.” (Yes, we still chat. Whatever else happened, we ended the marriage as friends. That’s gotta count for something.) I have, as you can imagine, mixed feelings about this. Mostly I’ve been trying not to spend too much time looking back on how badly I screwed things up in the early days. I also don’t want to get too caught up in missing the really good times, because that’s not particularly healthy either. Where we are now, individually, is far healthier than anyone could have expected. It hasn’t been easy, but nothing worthwhile ever is, right?

    And I’m going to repeatedly tell myself that until I pull myself out of this funk I’m in… hopefully in time for someone‘s visit this weekend.

  • The Simpsomaker

    This is all Sarah’s fault.

    There aren’t really very many options to choose from, so this is the best I could do. You’re welcome to make your own, of course. And how amusing is it that the site is called DevilDucky, eh?

    Bear in mind that there’s no option (that I could find, anyway) to save the image other than printing it, so be prepared to use whatever screen capture method works best for you. (When in doubt, for Windows users: Alt+PrintScrn, then open whatever image editor you have on hand and Ctrl+V to paste. Crop as needed, then save.)

  • Weekend At Kiddies

    We bring you this report, live from Southeast Portland. We’re here to confirm that Old Man Winter’s last hurrah is still going strong, with bitingly cold temperatures and a nasty wind that only recently has begun dying down a smidgen.

    So, what have the kids and I been up to? We’ve killed time playing games and watching movies, eating various concoctions (most of which involve cheese, ’cause we’re cheesy that way), and generally behaving ourselves. Oh, and trying to keep warm. This place can get awfully drafty. Brr. I did run the kids through their required gamut of chores, but that didn’t take very long. My daughter’s week-long grounding from All Things Electronic ended today, and she’s taken full advantage of that.

    Since my favorite electronic addiction is playable here (though 256k DSL is no competition for the cable hookup at home), I managed to ding a few characters up to key levels, such as getting my Ninja Mastermind up to level 14, the benchmark for all “lowbie” heroes and villains as that’s when the travel power becomes available. She can fly now. Yay! What’s more, I may have rekindled the spark of enjoyment in my kids for the game. One can hope, considering how much a year I spend so they can share an account. Not that I mind, but if they decide not to play the game anymore I can certainly use that money elsewhere, you know?

    Anyway, I go home tomorrow, to my own bed, one that isn’t right overhead of annoying neighbors with delusions of musical talent who like to “practice” until 3:00am. (I wish I was joking, here. Argh.) And since I don’t have to work Monday, I get to sleep all kinds of in, tomorrow night. Hot dog.

    I hope your weekend is at least as enjoyable as mine, friends.

  • So long, G’Kar. Goodbye, One-Armed Man.

    It figures that I’d find myself posting this the day after I post that Sci-Fi quiz meme thing…

    I have to admit something moderately geeky to you all, here. One of the reasons I so enjoy the movie version of The Fugitive starring Harrison Ford and Tommy Lee Jones is because of the One-Armed Man. Why? Because he’s G’Kar, of course!

    Andreas Katsulas wasn’t the most recognizable name in film or television, but he had a distinctive voice. Buried under latex, he spent five years (and an additional appearance or two afterward) portraying one of the most important and memorable characters in the Babylon 5 series. J. Michael Straczynski, the man behind Babylon 5, had this to say:

    He lived an amazing life…full of travel and wonder and good work…was part of the world renowned Peter Brook company…he saw the planet, loved and was loved, ate at great restaurants, smoked too many cigarettes…he lived a life some people would die for.

    And, sadly, due to the last part of that equation…he did.

    […]

    Andreas is gone…and G’Kar with him, because no one else can ever play that role, or ever will.

    Now, if you’ll excuse me, I think I’m going to pore over some of my old quotes collections. For instance…

    “Doesn’t make sense.”
    “You’re right, that’s the bit that worries me.”
    “If you are going to be worried every time the universe doesn’t make sense, you are going to be worried every moment of every day for the rest of your natural life.”

    — G’Kar and Marcus in Babylon 5:”Whatever Happened to Mr. Garibaldi?”

    Nah, let’s leave this with one of the fall-down-funny bits, instead. The best elevator scene, ever. (Edit: I left out the “most appealing” bit when I originally posted this. Bad fanboy, no spoo for you!)

    “You want to live as much as I, hmm?”
    “Oh, yes, but I would much rather see you dead!”
    “Oh, I see. Well, here I am. Come on. Kill me! Come kill me!”
    “You forget the terms of our surrender! The penalty for the killing of any Centauri by any Narn will be the death of 500 Narns including the perpetrator’s own family! But I don’t have to kill you… I don’t have to do anything! And I still get to watch you die! I find this most appealing!”
    “This is insane! We must work together!”
    “No. As the humans say: Up yours, guy!”

    […]

    “There, you see! I’m going to live.”
    “So it would seem. Well, it’s an imperfect universe.”
    “Bastard.”
    “Monster.”
    “Fanatic.”
    “Murderer.”
    “You are insane!
    “And that is why we’ll win.”
    “Go be the ambassador to Babylon 5 they say. Will be an easy assignment. Ah, I hate my life.”
    “So do I.”
    Shut up!

    — Londo and G’Kar in Babylon 5:”Convictions”

    (Yes, I know that the words aren’t his, but it’s the performance as much as the content that stays with you…)

  • I’d fit in with THOSE misfits? I daresay not!

    Kyla did it, Mari did it, now I’ve done it. I didn’t get the answer I wanted, though. Argh. (I apologize for the formatting… whoever wrote this quiz has a sickening fascination with using nested tables for pure evil.)


    You scored as Serenity (Firefly). You like to live your own way and don’t enjoy when anyone but a friend tries to tell you should do different. Now if only the Reavers would quit trying to skin you.

    Serenity (Firefly)

    88%

    Galactica (Battlestar: Galactica)

    81%

    Nebuchadnezzar (The Matrix)

    69%

    Babylon 5 (Babylon 5)

    69%

    Moya (Farscape)

    63%

    SG-1 (Stargate)

    56%

    FBI's X-Files Division (The X-Files)

    50%

    Deep Space Nine (Star Trek)

    50%

    Andromeda Ascendant (Andromeda)

    44%

    Millennium Falcon (Star Wars)

    44%

    Bebop (Cowboy Bebop)

    44%

    Enterprise D (Star Trek)

    38%

    Your Ultimate Sci-Fi Profile II: which sci-fi crew would you best fit in? (pics)
    created with QuizFarm.com

    I’d like to know how I managed not to end up stationed on our last, best hope for peace. Dammit.

  • Johari. Not safari, not Jumanji.

    There’s a meme masquerading as an individualized perceptual study making the rounds, and while I’ve tried to avoid getting involved up to this point, now I think I have no choice.

    Kyla and Mari and Lil’ did theirs, so now you can do mine. Yes, here’s my Johari Window. Knock yourselves out. Please leave a nickname of some sort when you fill it out, though. Humor me. Thanks.