Back in a bit...

I'm not shutting the place down just yet, but I'm going to take a little break.

Maybe I'll be back in a bit.

Would you like to make a soldier out of your son Ted?

• Music video shot entirely in the reflection of an eye - creepy and gorgeous
• Vampire Weekend's Big Step - kinda excited for the new album this week...
• In Mother Russia, excavator drives you - I like my commute better. 
• Two months of breaking ice - great narration, too 

• 10 reasons to hate the terrible Iron Man 3 - It's a little harsh, but it's in the ballpark.
• New JL8 print - so pretty...thanks, Yale
• Coolest cheat codes in sports video games - Two from NBA Jam...good call...
• World's roundest object - why does the kilogram matter? Watch this...

Thank you, Bruce Railsback

I love the periodic table.

I've mentioned my love before, but this time I'm mentioning it in conjunction with a nice little coincidence.

The Girl is a couple of weeks away from heading to Saint Louis for the graduation of her (ok, our) niece from high school. From there, the niece is heading to the Missouri University of Science and Technology (in Rolla, MO). There she is planning to major in geological engineering with a focus on explosives.

How geeky is that?

I'm all down with supporting somebody - especially a girl, especially in my family - heading into the sciences, and if she's got explosives in the specialty, that's even better.

So I'm looking to order an Earth Scientist's Periodic Table of the Elements - created by UGA prof, Bruce Railsback - for her graduation present. One of my former co-workers, a petroleum engineer by training before becoming a teacher, commented that he would have loved to have had this periodic table when he was in college, that there were a bunch of relationships that made more sense presented visually (as they are on the table) than they had ever made before.

So maybe it'll be helpful.

The poster's available from the Geological Society of America's online bookstore, but I have a few questions before I order it there (is it in color? is it a single, big poster? can I get it rolled rather than folded?). If ordering it online is the choice, I'll probably add in a geologic time scale poster...and maybe some wallet cards, too.

She'll be the favorite geek in her freshman classes.

Songs for a beauitful drive

Life is a Highway from PHSChemGuy on 8tracks Radio.

Today's playlist is all about taking a drive...

People don't die on a television show

Posted on Sunday on Futility Closet:

During an appearance on The Dick Cavett Show in 1971, publisher and organic gardening advocate J.I. Rodale boasted, “I’m in such good health that I fell down a long flight of stairs yesterday and I laughed all the way.” When Cavett’s next guest, New York Post columnist Pete Hamill, joined them on the couch, Rodale made a snoring sound. Hamill told Cavett, “This looks bad.”

“The audience laughed at that. I didn’t, because I knew Rodale was dead,” Cavett wrote later in the New York Times. “To this day, I don’t know how I knew. I thought, ‘Good God, I’m in charge here. What do I do?’ Next thing I knew I was holding his wrist, thinking, I don’t know anything about what a wrist is supposed to feel like.”

Rodale had died of a heart attack. The episode was never aired.

I'll admit that I was skeptical. Futility Closet is usually very reliable, though, so I went hunting to remove any doubt in my head.

Turns out it's entirely true - at least according to Dick Cavett who should certainly know. He's told the story on radio shows...



...written an op-ed in the New York Times about it...

...and Wikipedia has most of the details...

...but Cavett's never released the footage...not online, not on air, never.

He did, however, successfully avoided telling a joke when looking to get Mr Rodale some medical attention. Dick Cavett, ever professional.

LonnieBurger Baskets: Bobby's Burger Palace

I don't think I promised that I was ever fully retiring the LonnieBurger Basket tag, just putting it on a bit of a hiatus until something interesting showed up. We'd tried pretty much every well-regarded burger in the Cincy area, and nothing seemed to be challenging the top burgers in my rating.

Would the arrival of celebrity chef Bobby Flay in town do anything to rattle the rankings?

Flay's Bobby's Burger Palace in the new Horseshoe Casino drew The Girl and me down into Cincinnati on Reds opening day - not to the ballpark, though.

Let's see how the Flayer did...

Burger

• Bobby does make a tasty enough burger. They're 1/2lb burgers - a little big for my preference - but certainly generous at the price. The burgers had a little spice to them and were nicely juicy. They did lack, however, the dark, crusty bits that are the mark of a great burger to me. Burger - 7 

Toppings

• I went with the bacon cheeseburger, lettuce, onion, and tomato. The Girl went for the Santa Fe Burger - queso sauce, pickled jalapenos, and blue corn chips. The bacon was crisp and flavorful; the onion, lettuce, and tomato were solid for being way out of summer time. The queso was slimy and tasty. The pickled jalapenos were sharp but not painful. Topping a very solid offering. Th five custom sauces on the table, though, weren't very good.  Toppings - 7

Fries

• The Girl and I split an order of fries. They were slightly salty and nicely crisp. They were, however, short and kinda stubby, no big, long fries in the tin. They were also served with a weirdo, flavored mayonnaise. It's supposed to be chipotle, but it's mostly just blah-flavored. Fries - 7 

 Ambiance

• The color scheme - gold, browns, rich warm tones - works nicely. The communal, serpentine tables don't work for me. The sharp lighting also not so good. And the music fights with the casino's sounds, which is a little weird. Ambiance - 6 

Cost

• $7.75 for my burger...$3 for fries (we split, so I'll take half the cost)...$2 for Diet Coke...That's $11.25 for burger, fries, and a drink...Cost - 4

Other Stuff

• It's in a frickin' casino. -2 
• You have to pay for parking  at the casino.  -1 
• On our way into the parking garage - where rates were posted as being $10 per car because it was Reds Opening Day when we visited the casino - we asked the parking lot attendant if there was any on-street parking nearby because we're cheapskates. Immediately the manager leaned over and told us that we could park for free because we were welcome. Seriously, outstanding customer service is an easy way to earn points in this competition. +2
• Seriously, we had to go to a casino and walk through the gambling floor to get to the restaurant. I'm not a big fan of casinos. -1 
• The restaurant has a full bar. +1
• Weirdly, alcohol from the restaurant bar cannot be taken out of the restaurant and into the casino. Apparently the casino's liquor outranks the restaurant's liquor. That's weird. -1
• I do generally like Bobby Flay when I catch him on television. Since this is a celebrity-branded restaurant, and I like the celebrity, I'm giving him a point. +1

Other reviews

• The Enquirer 
• Yelp.com
• UrbanSpoon.com
• CincinnatiBites.com
• EastSideVibe.com

 Overall point values...

• Terry's Turf Club - 45
• Cafe de Wheels - 44
• Senate - 43 
• City View Tavern - 40 (scaled from 32/40)
• Stuffed on Vine - 38
• Five Guys Burgers and Fries - 36 
• Roxy's - 36 
• FlipDaddy's - 35.5
• Sonny's Three Meat Burgers - 35 
• VanZandt - 34
• Gabby's - 34 
• Oakley Pub & Grill - 34 
• Gordo's (Norwood) - 33
• Quatman's - 32 / 34.5
• Troy's - 32 
• By Golly's - 32
• Wildflower Cafe - 31.25 (scaled from 26/40) 
• Sidetracks - 31 
• Zola's - 30
• Bobby's Burger Palace - 30
• Trinity Pub - 29.5
• SmashBurger (BWF) - 29
• Virgil's Cafe - 28 
• Tank's Bar & Grill - 28
• The Pub at Rookwood Mews - 28
• Smashburger (Cox Rd) - 28
• Habits Cafe - 28
• Graffiti Burger - 27
• Arthur's - 26
• Sammy's - 25 
• Skinny Legs - 25
• Zip's Cafe - 24
• Gordo's (Fairfield) - 20

He can start an offense. He can get them in a flow.

• A seriously serious indie film trailer - very well put together
• The problem with one-night stands in locked-down Boston - brilliant
• How to chart good - Venn diagrams, always funny
• Footee - I like it. 

• List of unusual measurements - Gimme the banana equivalent dose here
• You'll be safe here - So happy with this art 
• Australian Star Wars -  May the Fourth be with you today, folks

• Wikipedia's Shame -  Wikipedia tends to get things right eventually, but it still needs to be watched.
• Hotmail officially shuts down - A tip of the hat to the first non-school email address I ever had, mthchemguy@hotmail.com.
• "Ya Hey" by Vampire Weekend - I'm kinda digging it, but it's a very different feeling from the first two albums.

• The World's Top 40 Airports in 2012 - I never see the best airport in America because it's too expensive to fly from CVG. 
• Flood damage closes Turkey Run suspension bridge - much sadness but expected after the spring flood photos
• Slice of Prime - Good to see that Bret Boone's getting work 

• Bob's Burgers became TV's most enjoyable show by channeling early Simpsons - I agree.
• Here is Today - Click through...well worth it
• Two chips - I did not see that coming.
• Trailer for female assassin pic Violet & Daisy - intriguing...

• Which Muppet would have the best chance to successfully assassinate Hitler? - really?
• April's most depressing Funky Winkerbean and Crankshaft strips - The pathos rolls on.
• If cats could talk - Of course...
• The Hangover: a uncensored oral history - It is uncensored, but it's funny.
• Not something you want to see if you're flying any time soon - Calen, avert your eyes. (sorry for the autoplay - I'll put it after the jump)

Googling the Grand Canyon

Google just Street-Viewed (is that a word?) the Grand Canyon, and you can take their tour through Google Maps.

That's awesome.

On their blog, they also shared video about how they did this, with a team of hikers carrying down forty-pound, backpack-mounted cameras. (More photos of the hikers here) They went down Bright Angel Trail and South Kaibab Trail, out to Plateau Point, and eventually all the way to Phantom Ranch.

They have been to the North Rim but only on the roads, no hiking down from there. Maybe that's for next summer.

Larry and Bill...heaven...

Holy crap did I enjoy watching this.

I could listen to Bird talk basketball forever, and bringing in Bill Simmons to lead Larry...wow...

Simmons is enough of a fanboy to play to Bird's ego, but he's also knowledgeable enough to push Bird to some interesting places.

Watch this today.

The Dogs are Alright

This story is a year and a half old at this point, but I haven't heard a better update on the dogs that Michael Vick had faught.

Watch The Dogs Are Alright on PBS. See more from Need To Know.

As a proud and loving owner of a wonderful pit bull, myself, I am thrilled to know that nearly all of the dogs turned out okay.

Catch up links post...

• Super Rope Solution -  Let's hope that QVC doesn't lead to this.
• First Listen: Natalie Maines, Mother - I like her voice. I'll give it a try.
• Beastie Boys memoir will arrive in 2015 - Seems a little early to announce that, but I'm already in line, so whatever.
• Covering the coverage - How did the media cover the Boston bombings? Like this...
• Quick - I can't pick an answer.
• How to retire at 30 without winning the lottery - I'm apparently too late already.
• Review: Lego Collectible Minifigures Series 10 - Only a few more days...
• Backup Your Data - Done.
• One of the most well-read cities in America - We're #8.
• The Next Great Baseball Movie - ...but what about Max Patkin?
• How to make DNA from Jelly Bellies and licorice - Calen, also for you
• 15 Incredibly Fun Examples of Celebrity Paradoxes on Television - #8, all time favorite
• Moon over Manhattan - pretty picture
• You can't get there from here - but somebody sure did
• First Thor: The Dark World trailer thunders online - Calen, check it...

...couldn't drag me away...

How gorgeous is that photo (source)?

It's a silhouette of the Wild Horses Monument in Eastern Washington State, and I'm thinking that we've got a new destination for vacation some day.

There are a bunch more photos at this site...

...and video here...

Vaccines are not harmful

Vaccines help us.

They do not cause autism.

They do not cause intestinal distress.

The only study that ever showed that they caused those problems was a lie.

Jenny McCarthy is killing people.

Read it - with pictures - here.

Get with the herd, folks.

The current favorites...in one playable list...

April's musical favorites from PHSChemGuy on 8tracks Radio.

This week's music is stuff that's new to me. Enjoy it.

Tack listing after the jump.

• Ryan Adams - "Rainy Days"
• Nina Simone - "Don't Let Me Be Misunderstood"
• Bob Dylan - "Tell Me That It Isn't True"
• The Rolling Stones - "Mona (I need you, baby)"
• Neil Young - "Inca Queen"
• Beck's Record Club - "New Sensation"
• Forest for the Trees - "Dream"
• Kingston Trio - "To Morrow"
• The Cars - "I'm in Touch With Your World"
• Richard Thompson - "Straight Narrow"
• The Barden Bellas - "Pool Mashup"
• Willy DeVille Acoustic Trio - "Storybook Love (live)"
• Project Trio - "Sweet Pea"
• BW Stevensson - "My Maria"
• Macklemore & Ryan Lewis - "BomBom"
• Blind Melon - "No Rain"
• Thao & the Get Down Stay Down - "We The Common (for Valerie Bolden)"

Movie thermometer

Summer movie time!


I'm looking forward to it. Specifically, I'm looking forward to...

(oh, and the scale goes from 0 (I wouldn't watch it for anything) to 5 (I'd watch it, but I wouldn't go out of my way) to 10 (I'll be there on opening day). They're in the order presented by Entertainment Weekly, a subscription which I absolutely hope lapses soon, and RazorFine. )

• Man of Steel - 8.5 - The second and third trailers were a lot more intriguing than the first.
• The Great Gatsby - 6
• Star Trek: Into Darkness - 8 - The first was a blast. Hopefully this'll be, too.
• Iron Man 3 - 9.5 - I won't be missing a Marvel movie any time soon.
• Epic - 5.5
• Now You See Me - 7
• The Hangover III - 6
• Frances Ha - 4
• Love Is All You Need - 3.5
• Greetings From Tim Buckley - 5
• Black Rock - 3
• Peeples - 5.5
• Before Midnight - 7.5
• Fast and Furious 6 - 2 - I haven't seen any of the ones before now.
• The East - 4.5
• The Heat - 4 
• White House Down - 4
• After Earth - 6 - Looks intriguing. I hadn't heard of it at all until the preview in EW.
• The Is the End - 6 - It looks like the actors had a blast filming this one. The last of those was Oceans 12. Not a good parallel.
• World War Z - 6
• Much Ado About Nothing - 5
• I'm So Excited - 5
• Twenty Feet From Stardom - 5
• The Bling Ring - 7 - Emma Watson playing against type at least gets attention. Sophia Copola does, as well.
• Monsters University - 6.5 - Probably a lot of fun but nothing I'm desperate to see.
• The Internship - 5.5 - Owen Wilson - good. Vince Vaughn - annoying as crap.
• The Lone Ranger - 6
• Pacific Rim - 6 - Guillermo del Toro gets at least a look here.
• Fruitvale - 4
• Girl Most Likely - 3
• Grown Ups 2 - 2.5 - Kevin James & Adam Sandler?!?! Count me out.
• The Wolverine - 7.5 
• Turbo - 5 - Probably cute as all get out, though.
• The Smurfs 2 - 3
• Despicable Me 2 - 7.5 
• The Way, Way Back - 6.5
• The Conjuring - 5
• Only God Forgives - 8
• Red 2 - 5.5
• R.I.P.D. - 5
• Blue Jasmine - 4
• Elysium - 6
• We're the Millers - 4
• Don Jon - 7.5 - Joseph Gordon-Levitt and Scarlett Johansson both get me looking.
• Grandmaster - 5.5
• The World's End - 6 - How stupid many of these end-of-the-world movies are there this summer?
• Getaway - 5
• Planes - 4.5 - Pixar's sort of Cars2 sequel...meh...haven't seen either Cars yet
• The To Do List - 5.5 - I do dig Aubrey Plaza.
• The Mortal Instruments: City of Bones - 4
• The Spectacular Now - 4
• Lovelace - 6
• Prince Avalanche - 5
• Ain't Them Bodies Saints - 6
• Kick-Ass 2 - 3/7 - I didn't enjoy the first film after somewhat enjoying the first comic. I was thoroughly repulsed by the second comic, but the film looks intriguing...split vote here.
• Percy Jackson: Sea of Monster - 4
• 300: Rise of an Empire - 7
• 2 Guns - 4
• You're Next - 5

What else should I add to the list that I'm missing, and what're you excited to see?

I remember the days when I was stronger than a wall.

• Simple golf tip - makes me think of the turbo encabulator
• Bat Man Ray - So simple, so well thought out.
• The Kings of Summer - I love summer movie season.

• Zombie snake attack - oh, my god...terror...
• Breathtaking stars light up the night sky - I hate the Weather Channel's gallery posting method, but these are pretty pics.
• Now You See Me - Seriously love summer movie season...and kinda Isla Fisher

• How dog owners see the world - except for when the new girl eats her own poop
• 11 most amazing elevators in the world - I would be terrified.
• A warning to young people: don't become a teacher - This might be a little harsh, but I'll admit that being at the whims of the legislature is getting old.

• Wringing Out Water from a Washcloth in Space - very cool to see the IMFs on the ISS
• Wind is warm in Smallville - gorgeous art in celebration of Supes's 75th
• Politicians Making Awkward Rap References - Yup, that's what they're doing.

• Meanwhile, in my house - Snaps from a Watertown house as the military enter
• Two promising places to live - The fact that we can observe planets by the dimming of their stars more than 1000 light years away is stunning to me.
• "We The Common" by Thao and the Get Down Stay Down - current musical obsession

• The Devil is in the Details in This New Poster for Only God Forgives - I'm in.
• Deserted Boston Streets - Creepy
• The Gauntlet of Infinity poster - Check out what lead to this
• Anna Kendrick gets dirty and doughy in "Cups" video - I liked the simplicity of the movie performance better.

Don't join the tribe but maybe take a look

I'll admit that some tumblrs tend to annoy me.

I get that you (the tumblr's author) likes that picture. But if you're going to make some vague comment about the picture and assume everybody in the world gets exactly what you're saying, all you're doing is shrinking your audience.

Every picture of a dog sniffing a flower followed with 'am I right?' or still of a television show with 'best ever' when I have no clue what show it's from, pushes me just a little further away.

That being said, there have been a bunch of tumblrs that I have followed for a few weeks before being pushed away. They can have interesting stretches here and there.

Today's newest intrigue is Tribe of the Strange with its Spanish graffiti, historical tracking of Roger Ebert's Blade Runner reviews, colorized photos of great scientists, death of Galactus, stories of Willy Wonka, and its Planetary panels.

Check it out, maybe?

Upstream Color coming to Cincy

I'm a geek for Pimer. I'll readily admit that.

I've seen it a half dozen times, and I get something new from every viewing.

Because of that, I'm willing to go into Upstream Color with almost blind faith. Shane Carruth has my total faith.

That's why I'll be seeing the flick either next Tuesday or Wednesday evening at The Art Academy of Cincinnati thanks to Cincinnati Film Society. It's not listed as coming to the Esquire in Cincy or the Neon in Dayton, so this may be my only chance to see it on the big screen.

Anybody wanna join me?

Update: A gag that never gets old

I'm telling you, they're on a farm.

Comics, comics, and more comics

Lots of reading of late...mostly in postponing the finishing of the last two Vonnegut novels and the grading of pretty much anything at all. Sheesh, the summer can't come soon enough for me.

Dollhouse: Epitaphs - Joss Whedon's Dollhouse series made it like a season and a half, and I never saw a single episode. This clearly means I'm not the target market for this comic. In fact, I spent most of the volume absolutely lost as to what's happening. There're quite a few characters introduced here with lines like "wait, you're here? After what you did to me?" This isn't for the noobs.

It wasn't for me.

The Amazing Spider-Man: Identity Crisis - Meh...Spider-Man is framed by Norman Osborne for attacking Norman Osborne and for killing some bad guy with webbing in the mouth and throat. The police are on the hunt, and there's a million-dollar bounty on Peter's head.

So Petey thinks it's a good idea to come up with three new heroic identities (and one bad guy) to fight crime as instead of going out as your friendly, neighborhood webslinger.

It's not a good idea, and it's a boring comic.

A vx X: Avengers Academy - I didn't get into the Avengers vs X-Men thing. I read ComicsAlliance's various recaps, and then decided I didn't have much interest in reading the full miasma.

But I picked this one up from PLCH because it was there. Man, I've read a lot of comics because of that simple reason: because it was there. I'm pretty much a capes and tights slut. Gimme a DC or Marvel comic, and I'm at least good for a flip through any time.

There is a lot of teen angst here with the young X-kids locked up at Avenger's school/training camp/whatever the heck to keep them away from the conflict that they've been trained for. So they have to fight each other - but playfully because they're kids.

Skip it...

Astonishing X-Men: Northstar - Gay guys get married. I've got not problem with that other than the fact that it's written boringly and in the middle of a fight that only gets a false resolution in this volume. The marriage is stupidly written because the two guys agree that they shouldn't get married because it's too soon, because their lives are too different, because they're in too much danger. And then they get married in the next issue.

And then the collection is fleshed out with two issues that have nothing to do with the story other than they have Northstar in them..and the second one is drawn by Rod Liefeld.

Stear clear.

Captain America & Bucky: the life story of Bucky Barnes - This one's at least a good read.

There's a lot of stuff that's already been written about Bucky, but this one focuses more on what we didn't necessarily know: Bucky's background before he became Cap's sidekick and then some o the insecure times as Cap's sidekick. Then we get a little bit of him and Natasha.

I'm expecting this to be pushed a bit more when the next Captain America movie, Winter Soldier, comes out in a year or so. Give it a read but don't rush out to buy it or anything.

DMZ - After just last week I slandered PLCH for not buying the last three volumes of Brian Wood's DMZ, they got the last three volumes of DMZ.

Thank you, PLCH, for all that you do and for letting me read the wrap-up of this outstanding series.

To catch you up, Matty Roth has been dropped into a Manhattan that is no longer a part of the United States of America. Nor is it part of The Free States of America, the group that initiated the new American Civil War. Manhattan is a battleground with ebbing and flowing levels of fighting. Matty walks the tightrope of moral high ground staying neutral between the two sides and choosing instead to tell the story of the people of Manhattan. Then Matty threw himself into the fray backing Parco Delgado in the election for leader of New York City.

And that all went to hell, leaving us where we are when volume ten, Collective Punishment, opens back up. The first few issues don't have Matty anywhere near the story. He is still in hiding for how 'to hell' things went when Parco's reign fell. It's a tribute to Wood that he leaves his main character on the sidelines for four issues and the series doesn't suffer at all in his absence.

Wood's Manhattan isn't Matty. It's every Manhattanite and their stories of how they're trying to survive - and barely thrive - in the DMZ. These three volumes are a wonderful, spectacular close to a series that has seen nothing in black and white terms, instead shading the world in gorgeous grays. Matty's tale ends as his tale should end, and it feels right. The last issue is the most wonderful love letter to New York City that I've read.

Thank you, Brian Wood. You made me cry there at the end.