Some of the Newsfolk Covering the Tylenol Man Story

See this story, it has more detail that most. I was quoted by the Globe once, then again.

Finally I Have Triumphed!

Whenever I think of some snappy phrase or word--alpha bitch, snivelization, catmosphere--I go to Google to see if anybody else has thought of it. And, up to now, every idea I have has been thought of by 20,000 other people first.
But now, at long last, I believe I have beaten the crowd. How about this: a duel is a slay date. Get it? Yuk, yuk. So I record it here for the whole world to see and marvel at.

A New Scone Recipe. Yum!

I didn't realize that scones were so easy to make. These are delicious. Recipe here. Note: I used a Jumbo-size egg.

Agent Phillip Broyles, Master of the Poker Face

If you watch the TV show Fringe (set in Boston), you've seen this amazing character. He always looks deadly serious, even when he's saying ridiculous things like, "A computer virus that liquefies your brain." This guy must have iron self control--or he uses botox.

My Spring Vacation is Set

April 12-18 I will visit my Dad. My old college buddies Barbara and Brenda will be joining me. Brenda has only been in NM briefly and Barb not at all. Shall we visit the Boneyard? I don't even know if it still exists. (This place sold animal bones and skulls for decorative purposes.)
Update: My sources tell me that it was call "A Big Pile of Bones and Other Stuff," and that it has since vanished. I guess I'll have to find something else for us to do.

We Lose Focus on Inauguration Day

What's With Twitter?

Heather invited me to join Twitter, but I still haven't decided what to do with it. I read this article, which helped somewhat.

Happy 200th Birthday

A. E. Poe was born January 19, 1809. This M. L. King day he is 200 years old. Poor Poe; he is terribly old.

My Place

My New Haircut

Note: Bangs wouldn't work because my hair curled too much. Thanks for everybody's input.

Arty Portrait of Blackie

It Done Snowed Again

But we stayed cozy inside.

Added Features For my Photoshop Elements: Frames

From Christmas Past

It's Christmastime in the City

My Snow-O-Meter tells the Story

I'm Sick of my Hair! Help me Choose a New 'Do

Bangs

Very Short

More Hair

Buddy, Can You Spare $8Billion?

Harvard Hit by Loss As Crisis Spreads To Colleges

By John Hechinger and
Craig Karmin

912 words

4 December 2008

The Wall Street Journal

A1

English

(Copyright (c) 2008, Dow Jones & Company, Inc.)

Harvard University's endowment suffered investment losses of at least 22% in the first four months of the school's fiscal year, the latest evidence of the financial woes facing higher education.

The Harvard endowment, the biggest of any university, stood at $36.9 billion as of June 30, meaning the loss amounts to about $8 billion. That's more than the entire endowments of all but six colleges, according to the latest official tally.

Harvard said the actual loss could be even higher, once it factors in declines in hard-to-value assets such as real estate and private equity -- investments that have become increasingly popular among colleges. The university is planning for a 30% decline for the fiscal year ending in June 2009.

Who are these Aliens Anyway

In my last post, I pointed out the unusual power aliens have over the indwelling spirits of Earthling machinery. Now I wonder if the aliens actually are those spirits. It makes sense. These techno-sprites would have planted the seeds of technical inspiration in human heads. They would be the real ghosts in the machine. So in films like The Day the Earth Stood Still, the techno-sprites are reminding us that they, not we, are the true inventors; if we thing think we are in control of our gadgets, well, think again!

Gort! Klaatu barada nikto!

These famous words are from The Day the Earth Stood Still. Noticing that a remake is coming out, I was reminded of the demonstration of alien strength in that flick. Klaatu has come to warn us Earthlings to mend our nuclear ways, or our planet is toast. To demonstrate the aliens's awesome power, he arranges to have all machinery on Earth (excluding that in hospitals and suchlike places) stop functioning for half an hour. The aliens don't have to go to the power plants; they have power over all machines: cars, telephones, watches, electric lights. The indwelling spirits of machinery* are in the power of the aliens. Bad-guy aliens, such as those in It Conquered the World, also have this power. Like Klaatu, the ICTW aliens could make exceptions to the general disablement of world machinery; they allowed the cars and jeeps of their Earthling allies to work.

Perhaps my readers can supply other examples of this power.

Please enjoy the picture of my new MacBook Pro.
* Such as Coily the Spring Sprite.

My New Blurb Book

I finished a new Blurb book filled with old photos I scanned then prettied up in Photoshop. You can preview it at the left.

Old Photos

Primarily From my E...

By Colleen Bryant

Book Preview

My Yogalicious Weekend at Kripalu

Last Friday, my friend Laureen and I took the bus from Boston to Lenox, changing buses at Springfield. Above see a charming little garden in the Peter L. Picknelly Bus Terminal.



Here I am in the woods near the lake near the Kripalu complex. Laureen and I did yoga, meditation, yoga, whirlpool, yoga, meditation, and I did another whirlpool.


The Kripalu building was originally a Jesuit Monastery, and its cheapest quarters are rather austere. I was in the top bunk of this bed in a 9-person room for my first night, after which, it was revealed to me that I snore. So I got moved to a 2-person room with another snorer and a pair of earplugs. I didn't bother to wear my earplugs and slept just fine. My roomie wore hers, and , thus, did not hear the alarm clock and would have overslept if I hadn't awakened her.

See more esciting pictures in my Picasa web album!

Down-Memory-Lane Monday: Young Love

Around the time I took this picture, Karen, Louise, and I were fans of Paul Revere and the Raiders. We watched them on TV; it must have been the show Where the Action is. Though they appeared in a later show called It's Happening. In either case, we did watch them regularly and were particularly enamored of Paul Revere. We decided to send him a gift of chewing gum. I can't remember whether it was bubble or grown-up style. Some time later, we received a thank you note: a form thanking Kare, Louise, and Colleen for our "groovy gift." I don't know who kept the letter. Perhaps Karen will remember.

Election Night Party at Sue's

Down-Memory-Lane Monday: My Room

This was taken in the 111 Beryl St. house, in what used to be Conrad's room. After I left for college, he asked if we could switch rooms. As you can see, the wallpaper features ships, railroads, and other such stuff. My room's wallpaper had a golden, curvey pattern.
It had not occured to me that I had got the better room. Conrad had never complained to me. But my room had all the advantages: it was on a corner, giving it views in two directions, and was right next to the bathroom, and was farther away from our parents' room.
Now I wonder if he was resenting my superior quarters all those years. Perhaps that's why, when I was away at college, he buried my fossil collection in the compost heap.