DVD Relief

Thank goodness for Wal-Mart's $5 Halloween Movie Sale. The title is not official, but you now know exactly what I'm talking about. It was just what I needed after school today.

Among the many iterations of Friday the 13th and other "horror" perennials were these absolute gems. The Day the Earth Stood Still is THE sci-fi film of the 1950s. Notice that I used the word film and not movie. Sci-fi movies of the 1950s featured giant ants and lizards. This Golden Globe (TM) winning film is something else. This is science fiction at its absolute best. It has inspired generations of filmmakers. It is only broadly definable as horror, but thanks to the questionable labeling it's now mine for a fin.

Next up, Shock Treatment. Although the "sequel" to The Rocky Horror Picture Show, it absolutely does NOT belong to the horror category. (As if RHPS did.) The most frightening thing about the film is the poster. Having watched it again tonight, I am surprised at its relevance today. Released in 1982, it deals with normal, moral, people thrust in front of television cameras. It tracks the decline of said morals and the corruption of society at large. Reality TV, anyone? Now, this IS a sequel to RHPS so the above message is discernible only through the lens of campy costumes and wacky show tunes. That said, give a try sometime. Once you do, complain here in the comments section.

. . . Almost . . . October . . . .

September has been a long and tiring month for me. I feel drained all of the time. It's a chore to do just about anything. That's my lame excuse for why this blog has been so static lately. (On the bright side, September may yet end up having my highest monthly post-count so far.)

I'm glad this week is a short one for school. (Homecoming festivities are eating up all but a half-hour of Friday's regular schedule.) When we go back on Monday, it'll be a new month. For some reason, that makes me feel good.

Postscript: Spellcheck tells me I have no misspellings! That's another one for the plus-column. (I'm taking what I can get.)

Super-Geek!

Not only do I teach math and play board games; I actually try to link the two. GEEK!

I try to tell Monkey-Girl about Platonic Solids and which ones are duals of which. When I'm really into it, it takes me nearly three minutes to notice the glazed over look in her eyes. GEEK!

I bought and use a book on modular origami so that I can build geometric solids. GEEK!

I've even written a Excel spreadsheets to simulate different die rolls. (I have bar charts displaying the central tendencies or various die combinations.) GEEK!

Food of the God

I'm no polytheist and this is no ambrosia. Although, Ambrosia is the name of a chocolate company.

This is Monkey-Girl's favorite food. That's no shocker. Chocolate is many many people's favorite food. I'm just delighted by the cliche she falls into when in the sight of the stuff. We joke that I should keep a bar on hand in case of emergencies.

I, on the other hand, I fall into a different cliche. I'll just quote Benjamin Franklin: "Beer is proof that God loves us and wants us to be happy."

Scary Lady

Um . . . .

So, Monkey-Girl likes to play Starcraft.

I guess this . . . woman (?) is in it.

I don't know.

Maybe I shouldn't have gotten it for her for Valentine's Day.