Tubin' the Comal

I just got back some pics from a trip I took a couple of weeks ago down to New Braunfels to celebrate my friend Jason's birthday. I have to admit, "tubing" isn't my usual speed - I tend to like things that move faster, or has buttons, or both. :) But I needed this trip like you wouldn't believe - and after a few beers, I fit right in. The weather forecasters had prophesied rain and storms the whole weekend, but the God of Leisure smiled upon us and we had some really nice, sunny mid-80s goodness.

We rented a couple of condos right on the river; Jason's parents were the perfect hosts - the housing was fantastic, and the food was amazing.

Bionic Father Update!

My Dad is now a Borg! Well, not really. His right knee was replaced today in a relatively quick procedure. My mother and I took turns at his bedside; to be honest, the watch was easy - with the anesthetic AND a femoral block AND a morphine "pain pump", Dad was very seldom on our plane of existence. Tomorrow will likely be tougher; they're going to have him start physical therapy on the one knee even before they've replaced the other. I plan on telecommuting and visiting him tomorrow during lunch to see how he's doing. Not to end with too much trite sentiment, but even though it was nowhere near as serious as my mother's quadruple bypass operation last year, looking down at Dad in the hospital bed did evoke a lot of feeling - how fragile he looked, how he had looked after me when I was ill and now the tables had reversed.

The Mad Genius of Brian Atene

Among my loves in life currently are satellite radio (regardless of the merger crap, having a good electronica station when you're passing through Itasca, Texas is a godsend) and YouTube. Imagine my delight when those collided on one of my favorite satrad talk shows, "Ron and Fez". With their characteristic sadistic glee, they ran a bit on a YouTube video that has been making its way round the user community there - that of a 1983 audition tape for Stanley Kubrick's "Full Metal Jacket". The man in question, Brian Atene, goes through an audition that I can only describe as wonderfully horrible. I seriously don't think I could possibly look at "The Outsiders" again with a straight face. His original video is here; after the video gained more publicity (and people started making parodies of it), he got onto YouTube as julliardropout (nice!) and posted a reply. A good sport.

The Bionic Father!

Well, admittedly "bionic" is a little sensationalist. I'm working from my parent's house this week, as my father will be undergoing double knee replacement surgery. My reaction is "about time"; watching his reduced mobility due to knee damage has been hard to see (although I'm sure it was much worse to actually live with). He'll undergo two procedures, one tomorrow and one on the 31st. Thanks to the miracle of telecommuting, I'll be able to be here without taking off work.

Has the world GONE MAD?!

http://www.nytimes.com/2007/05/26/arts/television/26rosi.html

Radio Surfing: Joe Frank

One of the things I love about satellite radio is the occasional "deep dive" I take into the program content...finding things beyond my normal range of programs. I'm listening to some of the weirdest, most interesting stuff I've heard in a while...a kind of spoken word/psych exploration set to catchy music - the Joe Frank Show, on XM Sonic Theater. The official website is here; here's a description from it:

"Long-time favorites with public radio audiences, Joe Frank's programs are sometimes dark, sometimes absurdist, sometimes solo recitations, sometimes ensemble pieces performed and/or improvised by actors, sometimes voices of real people heard in real situations - whether man-in-the-street interviews or phone conversations with lovers or strangers.

All or just one of these within the span of a single hour can comprise a Joe Frank show, always presented as multi-layered soundscapes intermixed with hypnotic, rhythmic music. Tackling philosophical or spiritual questions, the programs are real and surreal timeless explorations of life, death, alienation, faith and love."

From what I've heard so far, very creepy and compelling. The host's voice is modulated through a filter that makes him sound just a touch otherworldly. Very cool.

Heroes Finale...YATTA!

Let me just say, first, that I completely sympathize with all those who wanted Peter/Sylar Ultimate Fighting. I wanted to see what was going on beyond that door in "Five Years Gone" so badly that I could barely stand it. We saw our two archetypal opposites in 2012, evolved into what we knew they could be. Sylar had become the ultimate chameleon and chimera, fulfilling his wildest dreams of power and standing at the threshold of eliminating his "competition". Peter had mastered his abilities and his combat skills, at the cost of his innocence. Those two people would have given us the Matrixesque bout that many of us were craving.

Unfortunately - or fortunately, depending on your viewpoint - the finale took place in 2007. Sylar, while certainly formidable, was drunk on power and on prescience; thinking he understood everything, he forgot that in the Heroes universe destiny isn't immutable. Peter had the courage and heart that he always possessed, but didn't understand the mechanics behind his abilities enough yet - and nearly destroyed a city. These two people could only play things out the way we saw them.

I think the reason why - for me, at least - it was okay that we didn't have a CGIgasm at the end was that this series has really never been about The Powers®. It's been about all these otherwise ordinary people dealing with things that are incredible and horrible and beyond what anyone should have to deal with. These abilities unlocked ways for them do things beyond what other humans could do; however, in the end, they are people - and people miss (i.e. Matt eating his own bullets) as often as they hit (Niki using a parking meter in ways God never intended).

I was crying as Nathan redeemed himself before my eyes. Throughout the series, we saw his suave manner, his coolness under fire, and his charm in action; toward the end, I was watching those traits serve him on his way to the dark side. Seeing him project his serenity and cool at Peter while he calmly accepted death in order to preserve life was the essence of a hero. It was Frodo, Sheridan, Kirk, and Luke rolled up into one package.

The truly interesting factor in this is the role of Hiro in the course of events. Sylar remarks that he will be the hero, while Peter is the villain; in a very real sense, he's right - we know Peter goes boom in the unaltered timeline. SoulPatchHiro katana'ed Sylar originally, who then regenerated and somehow prevented Nathan from saving the day. PresentHiro stabs Sylar and is able to remove his interference, allowing Nathan to be the hero. And when one thinks about it, it might just have been Claire's influence that caused Nathan to change his mind - an influence that would have been absent, as Sylar would have long past added Claire to his "collection". In retrospect, Hiro's string theory was a lot more complex than even he may have realized.