Alice In Wonderland This blog has moved to http://quagmire.darsys.net

We saw Alice in Wonderland Burtonland today. After hearing all the negative comments on the 3D aspect, we decided to go for 2D. Alice was originally shot in 2D and the 3D was added afterwards. When this isn't done properly your eyes and your brain don't communicate and you can get headaches and/or nausea -- which is what a number of people were complaining about. I get headaches at most 3D movies anyway so this decision didn't bother me.

The film is directed by Tim Burton so if you're expecting normal, you've gone to the wrong cinema. This film is odd, unusual, strange, bizarre, weird, atypical, freaky, nutty, yet still pretty damn visually fantastic. And, indeed, that's what it is. The movie starts off in Victorian England as Alice is being betrothed unwillingly to a suitor. She espies the white rabbit and the film is afoot.

Many odd things happen once Alice drinks that first potion and you will be captivated by all of it. Whether you like it, I'm not sure. I mostly enjoyed the film but I had some quibbles with some of the odd story tangents. Loved the Hatter, Cheshire, and the Red Queen and we could have used more of them and less of the White Queen for sure. The bandersnatch was an awesome creature indeed besides giving me the excuse to say bandersnatch. The jabberwocky wasn't nearly as impressive.

The one brief dance scene near the end was terribly contrived and I'm not sure why it was even part of the film. Probably just an excuse to use the word "futter" in the movie.

There were two kids in our group (5 and 7) and they were fine with it, so I give this a green light to most audiences. I was secretly hoping my favourite Jefferson Airplane song would make a cameo, but it didn't. It would have been most appropriate.

Sorry this review is shorter than what I originally wrote but Blogger farted and ate it all.

As much as it pains be to thank David Streeter in public, this video link he sent me demands it. It was an amazing bit of nostalgia. The clothing, the vehicles, the traffic chaos, the atmosphere. The film is from a cable car travelling East down Market Street in San Francisco, just a few days before the infamous Great Earthquake of 1906. You can clearly see the clock tower at the end of the street at the Embarcadero Wharf on the Ferry Building that is still there today. Authentic, live-action hundred year-old film is a rarity so treat yourself to this seven minutes of history.

Lastly is this great article on cover songs. Many songs you know and love are actually covers. Aretha Franklin's legendary Respect, Tina Turner's Proud Mary, and even Elvis Presley's Hound Dog to name a few. Most covers of legendary songs are big blunders. Sometimes a cover becomes the canonical version. Next time you're trashing Marilyn Manson for ruining a song (as he richly deserves) don't forget that not all covers suck.

Special thanks to Jose as we continue to work to figure out the final details to move this blog to its new home. I will remind me readers to look out for the notification that we've moved. The new URL will be http://www.darsys.org/ if you want to bookmark it now. That URL will always point to this blog no matter where it moves. For those of you reading via RSS you will need to update your feed when the announcement is made and not before.

The Norwegian Russian Death Spiral From Hialeah This blog has moved to http://quagmire.darsys.net

I'll start of with this article that Erin sent me, and a special thanks to her for thinking of me. I especially liked it because not only does it bemoan the fall of the printed newspaper, it mentions Herb Caen and San Francisco quite a bit. As someone who still reads the paper every single day as a subscriber, I think newspapers are an important part of the community and keeping people informed. Most people just don't follow on-line articles from top to bottom -- this one is long -- and they miss many others as they scan. A paper causes people to scan differently and read different things. Newspapers can survive, but the modern American just isn't equipped. We have cities with zero or one paper that used to have two. London has the Times, Guardian, Telegraph, Evening Standard, Observer, Financial Times, Globe, and Independent as regular papers and then the tabloids (Mail, Express, Star, Sun, Metro). They can support thirteen daily papers -- 12 if you drop the FT out -- so that really points at us as, well, idiots. I read a lot of them when I'm there and they've all got their slant and focus. What's wrong with us?I have observed a disproportionate number of people who don't read papers are the same people who haven't travelled outside the North American continent and have a narrow view of the world.

This is from Razzie who sends this SWF which may be the coolest clock with way too much stuff that you've ever seen. Click on the left side tabs (population, etc) and watch all the things. Some of it's funny, some interesting, some downright scary. Have a look.

You FaceBook people who play FarmVille, MafiaWars, and other Zynga games might want to read this article and then watch the video near the bottom. Bet you'll be a lot less inclined to play after you see how much they care about your privacy and what they think of you. 

Many of you have heard of the Norway Spiral from a few days ago. If you haven't you can go here and see the video. Now, there is no dispute that everyone saw this. It's real. There is 100% agreement from all quarters that there was something in the sky. Millions of people saw it so it can't be blown off as a mass hallucination especially since there are already hundreds of videos all over the 'net of this. The real question is what is it? Some scientists have explained it as a rocket, others a missile. Only the Russians have vehemently denied any missile or rocket launch during that time frame and no other countries have done that either. So people went crazy, only now the Russians have finally admitted that one of their rockets did launch, proving you can never trust the Russian military. (That article from The Sun, mentioned previously.)

Guys if you like your holiday gifts a bit, more, pornographic, this is for you. Boobies for you. It's funny that the guys think it's one way glass.

Today, I donated to Seti@Home which is part of the University of California at Berkeley (GO BEARS!) and I would encourage you to do the same by clicking above. Here's an edited letter from the Seti@Home campaign (our team URL is here).

Dear SETI@home volunteer,

I'm Dan Werthimer, the Chief Scientist of the SETI@home project.

You've been identified as one of our most active volunteers, and I'd like to take this opportunity to thank you for your efforts this past year. I also want to preview our plans for 2010, and ask for your financial support.

SETI@home is a unique global collaborative project that uses spare cycles on personal computers to help search for signals of extraterrestrial origin. Our vision to embark on this grand search is over ten years old, and continues to engage volunteers such as you from all over the world.

In order to improve SETI@home in 2010 and accomplish our scientific goals, we are reaching out to our loyal volunteers for financial support, as this venture is largely funded by individual donations. With your financial support we can accomplish all these goals in 2010. We would greatly appreciate any donation amount you can afford, and your gift is tax-deductible.

Thanks again for your time and dedication to SETI@home. Your effort and donations are what make this venture possible.

Sincerely,
Dan Werthimer
SETI@home Chief Scientist
Space Science Laboratory
University of California, Berkeley

I've given to the University many times (Seti@Home, Pac-8 Cal Bears Ice Hockey Team, Alumni Association, and the General Fund). I loved Cal because I learned there. And that is what school is supposed to be about.

This video is "Sweet Home Hialeah" and if you've lived in South Florida at any point in your life, you will die laughing. If not, you probably won't get why this is so funny. Absolutely priceless. Recorded in Spanglish, the official local language.

And today's excitement was being asked to help someone's kid do their homework on England. Yeah.  if you're not following Fake Michael Yormark, today's post amused me more than usual. If you're a Florida Panthers fan, you need to follow him. If you're a hockey fan you might like him too.

A Brutally Long Post With Serious Stuff At The End This blog has moved to http://quagmire.darsys.net

I am not a Carl Hiaasen fan. Sorry, Carl. I'm just wildly indifferent about his writing, but Dave sent me a link to the latest Hiaasen column and it's priceless. This is what I call a WIN. Well done, sir. Well done. Bravo! A nicer piece of mockery I would be hard pressed to find. Speaking of mockery, Fake Michael Yormark continues to write scathing bits in his/her blog, though I am not nearly as entertained by his/her Twittering; it appears just to be there to send traffic to the blog. All my Panther buddies would do well to keep FMY in their RSS feeds. I do.

Over at my Flickr page, I posted some photos of a few of my authentic game-worn collectibles. I thought it might be interesting to for people to see this stuff. We've got two Brett McLean items, a pair of Trevor Kidd items, and a Mario Lemieux item. I've got tons of pucks and jerseys none of which are pictured -- though a number are listed on my for sale page. Prices for friends negotiable. To see the Flickr pictures, just click the Flickr button on the left sidebar. I got the McLean stuff from Matt Redmond formerly of the Miami Matadors (where I was briefly 'employed' as the volunteer webmaster). He's got some great authenticated game worn stuff. If you're interested, contact me and I'll put you in touch.

The Tube has changed the route of the Circle Line. It used to be a circle, and formed (more or less) the boundary for "zone one." It was called the Circle Line because it went in a great big (one hour) circle. I am all for progress usually, but I kind of think that maybe the should rename it since it no longer makes a circle. Here's the re-route, and the most distinguishing thing is it has a start and end whereas originally it was a circle with trains running clockwise and anti-clockwise. I'm just objecting to keeping the name.

To my Facebook friends, there is a way to add a Dislike button now. You need Firefox to do it and anyone else needs Firefox to view it. Here's the add-on. I've installed it and it works great. This is Facebook's most requested feature, and it's the least likely to arrive. Here's your answer. You have to tick the "add experimental add-on" button but don't be afraid. Quit your browser and restart and you're golden.

A few of you aren't going to like this one, but I am greatly amused -- and keep in mind that I am opposed to Obama's proposed Health Care Disaster Reform. To sum it up, an ultra-conservative magazine published an article about the alleged "death panels" and used as its example in their editorial: “People such as scientist Stephen Hawking wouldn’t have a chance in the U.K., where the National Health Service would say the life of this brilliant man, because of his physical handicaps, is essentially worthless.” Um, yeah, hello? Stephen Hawking who they claim wouldn’t have a chance in the United Kingdom was in fact born in the United Kingdom, has lived his entire life in the United Kingdom and lives there still today. Hawking himself responded, “I wouldn’t be here today if it were not for the NHS. I have received a large amount of high-quality treatment without which I would not have survived.” Like I said, a favour a plan. I just don't favour the current plan. Go read my previous commentary from my 31 October post.

You all know one of the largest peeves I have is the inability of people to use apo'stro'phe's properly. From it's/its to atrocities like their's and banana's, I get apoplectic over it. Someone else clearly does and has posted this awesome graphic. I wish all my readers would read it.

In college I watched and liked the original mini-series "V" -- though I will be the first to admit it hasn't aged well and going back and seeing those episodes on DVD (I own the whole series) is painful.  I recorded the pilot of the new "V" on my DVR (aka TiFaux). I watched with some trepidation because I didn't think there was much chance it would be any good. I knew everything that was going to happen, right? Is it great television? No. Will it be a hit? Yes. I liked it. It was entertaining. They made some major changes to the plot to keep it a little more interesting and a lot more plausible -- and that same thing opened up a gaping credibility hole. I won't spoil it for you by spilling. The bottom line is I'm going to watch next week's episode too.

I'm sure you're all sick of hearing about Hippo Burger, aka Hippopotamus Restaurant. I don't care. I've got a little more to share with you. First here's the actual menu is here thanks to the same guy who scanned the cover. He can be my friend because he made me really, really happy. And more importantly he's an old photo of the actual restaurant he mentioned to me.

Lastly, a very serious topic. This is where you need to pay attention. I'm going to talk about Google and Privacy (with a capital P). You all use Google. I'm betting I don't have one reader who has never used it. We all knew Google stored a lot of information about what we did on-line and what it shared and with whom. If you use GoogleChat (which is part of GMail) every chat you've ever had is saved forever by default. Forever is a long time. Most people have never turned it off. Everything you've ever searched for on Google while logged in is saved. Everything. Forever. That search you did seven years ago for 'hookers with big tits' is still there. You betcha. Even if you use private browsing, if you are logged into any Google service, it's all recorded. They know more about you than your spouse and parents. At first I thought I was exaggerating to make my point, but after looking through it I'm not sure.


Google has always let you manage your search history, but almost nobody knew how. Me, I never really cared -- a little convenience goes a long way to making me happy in exchange for a little bit of privacy. But what I saw upset me more than a little. I have a Picasa account. I didn't even make one. When I registered for Blogger and created a profile picture, Google made one for me and put my picture there. No shit. Blogger, YouTube, Google, Alerts, Google Calendar, Google Contacts, Google Docs, Friend Connect, Gmail, iGoogle, Orkut, Picasa, your master Google Profile, Google Reader, Google Talk, Google Voice / Grand Central. Those are all applications you can now control what information is stored, who it's shared with. You can also delete stored information. Those, BTW, are all applications which I have supposedly used and/or set up accounts with. Some of them I know I've never used -- like Picasa -- that i assumed are set up by other Google products. At the bottom of my screen it says "and 12 more applications" and those are ones which it's not possible for me to control. That list is equally disturbing. And to those of you have something to hide, it's even worse. I don't much care -- and I went through all of it, and you know what? I deleted barely a half-dozen things: mostly my medical searches. I don't feel that's public or should be.

You need to here  http://www.google.com/dashboard and you'll probably have to log in. There should be a link under your accounts tab if you prefer. You need to go look at what's there and change what you don't like. Allow an hour or more. And prepare to be shocked, appalled, or possibly embarrassed.

I am not picking on Google at all. They've made no pretence of hiding what they're doing or why. And they've given us (way too late) the means to control what's collected. Yahoo, MSN, and everyone else does the same thing.Google has gone boldly first in giving something back that shouldn't have been taken away to begin with.

Hippo Burger and Other Random Stuff This blog has moved to http://quagmire.darsys.net

I finally got the cool hoodie I've mentioned to a number of you. There's a photo of it on my Flickr page. Well worth the look if I do say so myself.

When I was a kid in the early 1970s and living in the Bay Area, there was a place called Hippo Burger. It was way before the internet and I've long given up on anyone knowing what I was talking about it. From time to time, I've searched for it and gotten no proper matches. (There's are matches on the term, but they're not related.) Lo and Behold, for this has appeared on Flickr not even a month ago. Yeah, it's the cover from Hippo Burger menu.

Hippo Burger was pretty awesome. They even had an ice-cream burger -- as a kid that sounded good. In practice. it was an epic, messy, fail. Better was the chocolate burger with bacon.

It was on Van Ness Avenue -- closer to the Golden Gate end than the Market Street end in San Francisco. Their signs famously claimed "Burgers Made 100 Ways." Their claim to fame, what made them known, was the The Hearst Kidnapping Burger -- it was a bun with no Patty. Many of my readers may not be old enough to get the reference.

There are a few websites that have passing references to Hippo Burger (here, here, here, and here). The last one references a cookbook called The Hippo Cookbook which is on Amazon. It's nice to know I'm not the only one with fond memories of Hippo Burger. I've called it "Hippo Burger" because all these other articles do, but I remember that big red sign and was sure it was one word "HippoBurger" -- but in absence of evidence, I'll have to accept it.

For those of you who have been to London and tried to navigate your way through Oxford Circus, you know it's almost as bad as the traffic in Paris near L'Arc de Triomphe. They have, as of today, fixed it. Here's the BBC article and it includes a video so you can see what they've done and what's still to come. I am mightily pleased.

Jay Leno said today he'd be willing to return to the Tonight Show. Dear Lord, let's hope not. I never watched it when he was host because I've never been a fan of him or his comedy. His replacement, Conan O'Brien is much better and I can even watch it sometimes -- when I'm up and if I'm not watching Letterman. His new show is bombing, and I feel bad for him, but it's him. The show's being panned and he's going to be out of a job, and I think he knows it. I'm not sure what NBC was thinking. Then again, NBC hasn't been thinking for a few years.

Speaking of TV, I've decided I'm going try and watch the re-make of the series "V." You may or may not remember it and how cool it was then and how badly it's aged. Horrific acting, effects, and plot. Almost nothing redeeming. Yet we all watched it in my dorm room when the first V series aired back in the 1980s. It was significant because my room mate Andy Fischer had the only colour TV on the floor of our co-ed dorm. I remember this period well because, Domino's pizza -- before it sucked ass -- was having a contest to see which dorm floor out of the four dorms could eat the most pizza in a one month period to win a pizza part of course. We didn't win, but for the first ten days or so, because of the V thing, my room was winning the contest. Not the floor, but my room. Hawaiian pizzas with double cheese. I called, gave my room number, said "the usual" and there it was. No computer tracking then.

Lastly, an interesting article about Google maps. It's invented a town that doesn't exit. It's too bizarre to believe, yet here it is. And the Bay Bridge re-opened today, which I am sure is a relief to the people in the area.

I have a brutal headache. Welcome home Mom. Those two things are not related.

Post 600: Nostalgia and Herb Caen This blog has moved to http://quagmire.darsys.net

I was feeling nostalgic today. Not because this is the 600th post -- that's a coincidence, but because I was thinking about my favourite columnist of all time: Herb Caen. Mister Caen is famous because without him you'd not have the word beatnik which he coined in 1958, or the word hippie which he popularized in the 1960s. Nor would the phrase Baghdad by the Bay be in our vernacular. Many people knew of Mister Caen. But if you never lived in San Francisco you never knew Mister Caen.

He died of lung cancer and his funeral was the largest attended in the history of the city. He was beloved like no other. And to say he shaped the city is no lie. From the Embarcadero to the new Giants Stadium, they all bear his signature. He was a legend in his time and thereafter.

His eulogy was delivered by one Robin Williams. Pretty funny. Just how Herb would have wanted it. It took a week's worth of newspapers to print a fraction of his rememberances, and they are here if you want to read some. They won't mean much to many of you because you can never understand what one man can do to shape a city, a culture, just by documenting it and appreciating it. The old chestnut "I left my heart in San Francisco" rings true for those of us who have been there and actually left our hearts there. He documented the infamous earthquakes, the legendary Trader Vic's, and many other places from Sears (diner) to Coit Tower and many places only a native would know. He felt the city and the city felt him.

As a young Cal student, I wrote him a note about the idiotic Berkeley Police. He wrote me back. The framed letter is still on my wall. But I had been a loyal reader of his from long, long before that. Back when I lived there briefly as a young boy, I discovered him. I read him religiously, and that is, quite honestly, how I began my love affair with the newspaper.

A collection of his columns is here. When he knew he was dying but most people didn't the city threw him a huge party. He won a pullet surprise that year as he said (Pultizer Prize if you can't figure that one out). He typed every one of his columns on a typewriter. There are a number of books of his columns and they all bear reading by his devoted fans. I have them all. Lots of famous people talk about him: Robin Williams, Don Johnson, Willie Mays, Walter Cronkite, more. This man is legendary. In 202 they tried to recreate the party but it wasn't quite the same without the namesake.

I thought I'd go for real nostalgia in this column, and he's it. How can you not love a guy who Walter Cronkite respects? That's a real journalist.

This blog is going to hit five years old on the back half of 2009. I've covered myriad topics -- many of them of no credible interest to anyone. Others of wide interest. The posts about Led Zeppelin and Pink Floyd generate visits near a hundred of thousand, while other posts generate nearly nothing. The top topics are indeed the ones I just mentioned followed by Daniel Radcliffe and the exposure of his magic wand in the play Equus. Those are followed by Terry Goodkind and my take on his novel Phantom. Billy Elliot follows that -- a topic I've covered a number of times. Sneezing blood comes thereafter. Who knew?

Will this public blog change? Nope. I'll keep at it. I write what I want to, and you can read or not. But at over 210,000 visitors since I installed the counter (which wasn't installed when the blog went live, but in January 2006) someone is reading. I want to thank my regulars -- whomever you are.

Go read some Herb Caen. It's good for your soul. Really.

I miss you Herb. As you once said: "I'm going to do what every San Franciscan does who goes to Heaven. I'll look around and say, 'It's not bad, but it ain't San Francisco.'"

Amen!