Washington Capitals coach Bruce Boudreau on his rookie goalie, Simeon Varlamov:
"He's played in the finals of the Russian elite league, which to him is probably like our Stanley Cup," Boudreau said. "He's played in the world championship, and the fact that he doesn't understand a word we're saying probably really helps him."
It starts with an Estes kit flying on A or B motors, and before you know it, you're pushing the envelope.
Check out this video of "The Cow" taking off. That's 450lbs of rocket being lifted by a P10,000 motor.
Sweet!
Oh, and while we're lusting after admiring awesome rocket projects, this Saturday, April 25, is the scheduled launch of the 1/10 scale Saturn V in Price, Maryland.
See Dick's Rocket Dungeon for more information on both of these rockets.
A family moved in two doors down this weekend. So far, they've endeared themselves to no one.
One little boy, maybe 6, sat in their car for about an hour with the windows down and the stereo blasting rap music.
Another little boy, maybe 4, abandons his kiddie trike at random intervals and it stays wherever he drops it. Like directly in front of our next door neighbor's front gate.
Their little girl is one of those annoying kids who's response to everything is an ear-piercing screech.
All three run into and ride in the street without thinking to look for traffic. Mom and Dad are nowhere to be seen. Ever.
We have reserved parking slots for a reason, and "I'm only gonna be a minute" is not an acceptable excuse for taking mine. Move the fucking car now, moron.
Tomorrow all cars are supposed to be moved from our end of the street for paving. Towing at owners expense begins at 7am. It's entirely possible that these clowns have so pissed off everyone that nobody has told them about it.
I hope.
I'm plum tuckered out from this weekend. Yesterday's baseball game was fun and the fireworks were, as usual, spectacular. This may be minor league baseball, but their Saturday shows put to shame most town's July 4th celebrations.
By working steadily all day yesterday, I finished up my weekend honey-do list and was able to relax today. Relaxing consisted of sitting out on the back patio with a cold beer, a good book, and the smoker going to town. I did a roast beef and pork loin, then did some BBQ chicken wings on the grill. My fridge looks like an Atkin's Diet wet dream.
I've also started sketching again, and there's a real possibility that I'll pick up the ol' paintbrush soon. That isn't much of a stretch, because I've ordered some watercolors and waterbrushes which should arrive this week. It's been a long time since I've painted, so the initial attempts should be painful.
Over on the right is a block showing that I've got eight followers. If you haven't already, do sign up. I have no idea what good it does you, but I imagine they send you free viagra or that one simple weight loss rule or something.
A little bit o' ice hockey history while the playoffs are on.
Alex Delvecchio is a name that not many hockey fans recognize, yet he's the greatest star that the NHL has ever ignored. He played for 24 years in the shadow of Gordie Howe on the Detroit Red Wings, and in 1,529 games he scored 456 goals, 825 points, and won three Lady Byng Trophies for gentlemanly play. Also in that span of time, he was selected for the All-Star game *once*. As an alternate.
Last weekend, Liz and I went to Staunton, Virginia to see the Mary Baldwin College production of Medea. This show was Rachael's second senior project, the first being last year's evening of one-act plays that she directed.* For Medea, Rachael designed and created all the costumes and was in charge of the hairstyling and makeup.
First, a little bit about the play. Medea is the re-telling of a common folk story by the Greek playwright Euripides. The title character is the granddaughter of the sun god Helios, and she's been wronged by her ex-husband Jason (of "the Argonauts" fame). The play is pure tragedy, and there's not much in the way of relief from the unrelenting rage, doom and despair. Interestingly, when Euripides first wrote Medea, it was universally hated. In every previous version, Medea's children die, but Euripides was the first to add the twist that Medea murders her own children as part of her revenge.
The play is powerful, intense, and relentless. You might not enjoy it, but you will be moved.
Rachael worked for several months on the costumes for this play. All total, there were (I believe) three male characters, the two kids, two servants, eight chorus members (remember, this is Greek theater), and of course, Medea. After coming up with the proposed concepts, she had to render them as figures and select fabric samples for each. Every step of the way, the director has to approve. One of the interesting things Rachael said was that the key thing was that even if her concepts were poor, as long as the final costumes looked like her original designs then it was a good thing. Her original designs were not poor, and the final results were stunning.
I'm still waiting for actual photographs from Rachael, but for now, here's the original rendering of Medea's costume.
Note the fabric swatches up top. The wraparound panel skirt is bordered by alternating squares of red and black, and embroidered suns were added in gold. The midriff was crocheted of metallic gold thread and was amazing to behold (done by Rachael's roomie, Shea). The back of the bodice was fastened by leather laces. In all, the costume consisted of 80 different pieces of fabric, done completely by Rachael.
Rachael had several stitchers helping with the construction of the rest of the costumes. The chorus members were in gowns of blues and greens, and the servants were in earth tones. Men and the children wore cream and royal purple. Like I mentioned, I'm waiting for Rachael to send pictures. (hint, hint)
From what I hear, there were two different Q&A sessions after performances, where she got applause for her costumes. She's also been asked to give a lecture to one professor's class about the costumes and the process she went through from concept to final result.
To quote one of her professors, Rachael went out with a bang.
* Two majors, two senior projects. She did last year's senior project as a junior and got distinction, meaning she did professional quality work.
After the US returned a few pirates to room temperature, we hear this?
Abdullahi Lami, one of the pirates holding the Greek ship anchored in the Somali town of Gaan, said: "Every country will be treated the way it treats us. In the future, America will be the one mourning and crying," he told The Associated Press. "We will retaliate (for) the killings of our men."
Jamac Habeb, a 30-year-old self-proclaimed pirate, told the AP from one of Somalia's piracy hubs, Eyl, that: "From now on, if we capture foreign ships and their respective countries try to attack us, we will kill them (the hostages)."
"Now they became our number one enemy," Habeb said of U.S. forces.
Liz and I have season tickets again to Carolina League champions Potomac Nationals (single A minor league baseball). Their first home game is Friday night, and their first promotion is replica championship rings. I just hope the diamonds are small enough to be tasteful.
We'll also be there on Saturday for their first kick-ass fireworks show of the season.
A church in Sweden has unveiled a six foot tall reproduction of the statue "Christus" made entirely of Lego.
So for Easter we got all Noah-like. Trix the dog got a haircut and bath, then he and all three rabbits got their nails trimmed.
Despite minor amounts of blood spilled (Trix, Ozzie and myself), there are no hard feelings thanks to dog biscuits and raisins.
Nothing particularly significant, except that it made me laugh.
You can't spell amusement without semen.
Not a misspelling.
Follow this link to print out your own business card sized tool that can help you estimate heights and distances.
Thanks to Ace for the pointer to My Little Cthulhu. The link also has a couple of downloadable pdf files that you can print, cut out and make your very own huggable Older God.
An actual commercial that aired in Japan, for Kikkoman soy sauce.
There's also a version with English subtitles. It doesn't make it any less surreal.
I'm toying with the idea of taking all my post titles from Grateful Dead lyrics.
From Paleo-Future, some history about the U.S. Senate Monorail.
Really and truly, I love stuff like this.
...Casey Jones you better watch your speed...
I want this Barbie.
This Barbie is for the birds! Actually, this Barbie from The Birds is for you! Celebrating Alfred Hitchcock's classic film, this incredible collector's doll features our heroine being attacked by a trio of fine feathered foes, just like in the movie. Will these plastic birds damage her delightful handbag or her carefully styled hair? We certainly hope not! Be sure to let Barbie into your home and pray that the birds don't come in with her! Stands about 11 1/2-inches tall.
Last night I watched Drainiac, a goofy little horror flick from Shock-O-Rama that Netflix delivered. Looking through the extras on the disk, I found a list of trailers of their other offerings. I'm embarrassed to admit that from their catalog I actually own Bite Me!, Chainsaw Sally, Creature from the Hillbilly Lagoon, Prison-A-Go-Go, and Shock-O-Rama.
Not that it kept me from sharing.
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