(I don't mind at all laughing at my own mental illness. Especially if I can use it to laugh at the stuff that really deserves it.)
Thursday, October 18, 2012
It's funny because it's true
(I don't mind at all laughing at my own mental illness. Especially if I can use it to laugh at the stuff that really deserves it.)
Reida Drum, classy lady extraordinaire, has passed away
How does one begin to describe Reida Drum?
Nothing I could possibly write would ever come close to encapsulating her feisty nature, her high-minded priciples... and her personality resplendent with color and charm.
(Reida once told me that she liked how I described her as "resplendent" in a blog post. She said that was one of her favorite words.)
Reida was many things: an educator, an actress, an investigator, an administrator, and always ever a woman of raucous style and a spirit to match.
Reida was a woman of many hats... literally! To say nothing of the plethora of feather boas that she was often seen wearing. Many times over the years she would don hat and boa and come to the libraries of elementary schools throughout Rockingham County and read to the children, who knew her as "the Feather Lady".
She taught English at the old Bethany High School. How did she wind up with that job? The superintendent at the time, Allan "Doc" Lewis, knew her from professional acting. And he told her that he needed someone who "could scare the hell out of those students!" That's a true story: Doc told me and Reida confirmed it some years later. Maybe she did scare them at that. But I also know that it was only because she sincerely cared a lot about young people and encouraging them to apply their minds.
I first came to know Reida around 1997, across some e-mail correspondence regarding a very peculiar episode in local history (two of her students began a project for English class and it wound up nearly getting their community to secede from the United States: that's a true story too!). We finally met in person in 2002, at a meeting of the Rockingham County Board of Education. And then four years later both of us wound up as candidates for the five new at-large seats. Reida won handily, and once again served the county as a member of the Board of Education. In all, she was on the board for eight years.
Most of all though, I remember Reida as the very dear friend who I came to have in recent years. Someone who provided not only kind and wise advice, but was also a listening ear and practically a shoulder to cry on during an especially dark period of my life. For that, I will always be thankful.
It is with a sad heart that I must report that Reida Drum passed away yesterday, at the age of 75. She leaves behind many family and friends, along with a vibrant impression that will forever be etched into grateful memory.
I'll miss you Reida. But I've also no doubt that you're parading down the streets of gold this morning, wearing your finest hat and feather boa.
Wednesday, October 17, 2012
io9 features sci-fi inspired political ads. Take a wild guess which one made the list...
Behold the 8 Weirdest Real-Life Science Fiction Political Ads as assembled by popular geeky/techy website io9.
But John Waite of Spokane, Washington blows away everybody with what he did when he ran for city council. The comic book store owner campaigned while wearing a full set of space marine armor from the StarCraft computer game series! Nevermind Spokane City Council: we should send Waite to Washington D.C.: that whole town is overrun with worse than the Zerg ever were.
And yes, that school board commercial of mine from 2006 is on the list.
But check out this ad - also inspired by Star Wars - that West Virginia Governor Joe Manchin aired when he successfully ran for re-election two years ago...
Hey, Manchin shot a TIE Fighter out of the sky with a rifle! That's a hella lot better shootin' than the Imperial Stormtroopers ever did.
Blast on over to io9 for more. And tip o' the hat to good friend Todd Williard for finding this!
New technology: 2TB optical storage, cardboard bicycles!
Two researchers at Case Western Reserve University have developed an optical storage system that can hold 1 to 2 terabytes of data on a disc the same size as a standard Blu-ray or DVD! That's equal to 50 Blu-ray discs. Whereas Blu-ray and DVD discs have always had up to two layers holding the data and the laser refocusing to transition from one to another (the reason why your DVD often pauses for a split second before resuming play) the researchers piled dozens of much teenier layers on top of each other. Same basic technology, but a significant refinement of the materials being used. Potential investors are already looking into bringing the technology to market.
Meanwhile over in Israel, Izhar Gafni - an accomplished engineer and cycling enthusiast - has invented a bicycle made almost entirely out of cardboard. The cycle is very cheap to produce, can be manufactured in large quantities and is already about to hit the retail racks. Gafni expects, in fact designed his bike, to be especially useful in major congested urban areas such as are often found in India and southeast Asia, as well as remote villages in Africa.
And no, the bike will not come apart when it starts raining :-) To find out more, hit the link above!
Tuesday, October 16, 2012
Look at Keana Texeira's new music video "Another Little Piece of You" featuring jewelry made by a good friend of mine for a great cause!
Melissa Lew, a very dear friend and unbelievably talented artisan in the craft of custom jewelry, just sent along word that Keana Texeira's new video for her song "Another Little Piece of You" has just gone live! Not only that but Keana is wearing some of the work that Melissa created as part of jem.lew: the love project!
Here's the music video...
So what is jem.lew: the love project, you ask? Here's the statement from Melissa and Jennifer's website:
The love project is a collaborative, charitable line from DC designers Jennifer Elizabeth Miller (The JEM Collection) and Melissa Lew; it will be officially launched at the exclusive Secret Room’s MTV Movie Award’s Gifting Suite at the end of May 2012. A percentage of each piece sold will be donated to various charities, such as Becky’s Fund, DC Central Kitchen, and Miriam’s Kitchen.Great work, ladies! And congrats on your work getting some high-profile notice :-)The love project is a line of eco-friendly, socially conscious jewelry made from bamboo (sustainable plant) and stainless steel (100% recyclable) and features the project’s 4 heart logo, each hand painted with a splash of color. Each eye-catching necklace comes with a 24″ stainless steel ball chain that can easily be resized by cutting excess chain with pliers/cutter. An informational card is also included with each piece and is printed on FSC-Certified paper stock with soy ink.
Monday, October 15, 2012
Still got the right stuff...
How perfectly fitting, that on the same day that Felix Baumgartner took his 24-mile high skydive, becoming the first person to break the sound barrier in freefall with only a high-tech suit for protection...
...retired Air Force Brigadier General Charles "Chuck" Yeager celebrated the 65th anniversary of the very first supersonic flight - which Yeager accomplished in the X-1 - by flying faster than sound again at the age of 89.
There ain't enough accomplishments of daring these days, it sadly seems. Reading stuff like this, gives me great hope.
Just saw THE WALKING DEAD Season 3 premiere
It aired last night on AMC and due to some crazy circumstance Kristen and I are only now reeling from the shock of it.
And if "Seed", the season premiere episode of The Walking Dead is any indication, we are in for a hella scary ride rife with high-tension drama, and thankfully bereft of last season's lingering too much around Hershel's farm. The production values also seem much higher 'cuz this episode cost an arm and a leg.
(Did you see what I just did?! Did you see that?? Haaah that's all I got...)Okay, so how long has it been since the events of Season 2? Because Lori's little bun in the oven is looking like a full-baked poundcake. I'm guessing that the producers are allowing much bigger spans of time to elapse so as to accommodate the imminent growth spurt of Chandler Riggs (the young actor playing Carl). Speaking of which, looks like Carl is gonna be turned loose a bunch more to break bad on the walkers this season. Hopefully that'll save Rick from screaming "CAAAAAAARL!" all the time (yah I'm looking at you Damon Lindelof and Carlton Cuse).
Loved the prison: this is gonna be a crazy good setting for the coming season. And Michonne was just onscreen enough to satisfy our wanting to get our first good look at her without unloading the full bore of her katana-wielding finesse.
A very, very strong opening for a new season of The Walking Dead. One that might well draw in a horde of new viewers. Looking forward to next week's episode... and the eventual introduction of the Governor into this already insane mix.
