Cloverfield January 26, 2008
Posted by gaussling in Angst, Arts & Entertainment, Movies.add a comment
Just back from seeing the movie Cloverfield. Holy cow! Fast and intense flick. Not for dates. Ninety five minutes of home video. NYC trashed by another dyspeptic monster. Creature feature. Angry shrimp-grass hopper hybrids the size of golden retreivers. Rather well done in my estimation. Best seen on a theater screen. Not for little kids- it’ll scare the doo-doo out of them.
Professor Irwin Corey January 6, 2008
Posted by gaussling in Arts & Entertainment, Bohemian, Whimsy.1 comment so far
Sunday morning and the poker is in the fire. Gotta love these 6 day per week jobs.
Enroute to other things (ETOT) I blundered into the website of Professor Irwin Corey. This guy dates from way back on the timeline.
Professor Corey is credited with numerous quips, among them-
“If we don’t change direction soon, we’ll end up where we’re going.”
“Wherever you go, there you are.”
“You can get further with a kind word and a gun than you can with just a kind word.”
Corey’s schtick is parody of the egghead elite. He portrays a kind of daffy, absent-minded professor who is forever stuck in lecture mode. He stitches together impressive sounding language into a maze of dead ends leading to a hilarious rhapsody of non sequiturs.
There is probably no relation to the other professor Corey at Harvard.
La Vie En Rose (in English) December 27, 2007
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There exists what must surely be a rare copy of Edith Piaf singing La Vie En Rose in English. The audio synch is off a bit, but it is worth hearing once to get a translation for we lazy mono-lingual types. Th’ Gaussling has been a fan of Edith Piaf for a few years now.
The facile France-Bashing of a few years ago is tapering off. I’m convinced that most American men would be thrown into an existential crisis if they were to simply visit Paris and sit in a public space and do some girl-watching.
Okay bucko. Now tell me you don’t like France …
Keeping it fresh December 17, 2007
Posted by gaussling in Angst, Arts & Entertainment, Chemistry, Whimsy.2 comments
On occasion I have the chance to do what I really dig- running some new chemistry with the stereo cranked up high. It can be Joe Green (Verde), Stevie Ray Vaughn, Eric Clapton, or Prairie Home Companion- I don’t care. Th’ Gaussling does love the blues. Opera, surprisingly, is a recent taste.
One circumstance when I can’t listen to tunes is when I’m reading patents- I need all of the focus I can get. I do have an unhealthy interest in patents and patent law. If you are so afflicted, I would recommend visiting the websites of a few law schools like George Mason University Law School. I would also highly recommend the website Patently-O. The size of the patent law business is amazing. And make no mistake, it is a business.
Anyway, back to the lab. I spent today doing what turned out to be a fairly tight fractional distillation. Of course, this gave me an excuse to do GCMS. I love to work out fragmentation patterns in a pathetic effort to understand the side products. A long time ago I invested in McLafferty’s book on mass spec and it was a good investment. A large number of folks place heavy reliance on the mass spec library on the computer. If you’re bringing new materials to market, this resource may be of little value.
After a day of watching product drip, drip, drip, I am decompressing with a glass of Old Chubb. Pretty good stuff.
Step Right Up November 29, 2007
Posted by gaussling in Arts & Entertainment, Bohemian, Music Videos.add a comment
Here is a great performance of “Step Right Up” by Tom Waits. Admittedly, Waits is an acquired taste but this is one of his best pieces.
News Poisoning- Hystrionicatoxin November 15, 2007
Posted by gaussling in Angst, Arts & Entertainment, Bohemian, Politics.5 comments
I have noticed that my general level of anxiety seems to follow the extent to which I am tuned into the news. The more news I listen to, the greater the stress. Even my beloved NPR is showing chronic toxic effects.
The pace and magnitude of the news cycle seems to be tied to the level of outrageous events. All of the detail and repetition add up to a heightened angst that eventually wears one down.
Someone once defined news as “semi-analytical show business”. It’s a 24/7 circus in High Definition. The whole political system has redesigned itself to synchronize its actions to interfere constructively or destructively (whichever confers benefit) with the news cycle.
I need to get off this merry-go-round.
Seeing is not believing September 8, 2007
Posted by gaussling in Angst, Arts & Entertainment.2 comments
Karl Rove has a new job. The hours are long, but costumes are provided.
Astronauts caught in the act. It’s not widely known that the Pope visited the ISS a few years ago. Of course, they need fresh produce in space to maintain regularity- Yes! We have no bananas! This kind of sloppiness is so unprofessional.
The Army is having to dig deeper to find recruits.
Burning Man June 16, 2007
Posted by gaussling in Angst, Arts & Entertainment, Bohemian.2 comments
If you are what might be called a Bohemian and have never heard of the Burning Man project, you have a treat coming. I won’t spoil it- just click in the link and navigate around to see for your self.
A friend attended last summer but only recently did I see his pictures from the desert. It is a total immersion experience. To really understand the event, it is worth reviewing the 10 principles. It is a very civic minded event, though in a bacchanalian way. The pyrophoric theme brings an element of ceremoniousness and awe that seems to appeal to brain stem centers long dormant in our suburban lives. To be in attendance means that you camp for days on a desert dry lake with nary a sprig of green to be seen anywhere. It takes endurance .
Th’ Gaussling hopes to attend in 2008. Perhaps recent attendees can comment and set me straight in my anticipation?
Farewell, Cutty Sark! May 21, 2007
Posted by gaussling in Arts & Entertainment, History, Travel.add a comment
Th’ Gaussling is still reeling from the news from London that the magnificent tea clipper, the Cutty Sark, has burned. This great wooden vessel was dry-docked in or in the vicinity of Greenwich, England.
Officials connected with the ship stated that “This is a significant blow and a major set back for the ship.” Well, yeah.
Perhaps the ship can be reconstructed and the duplicate put in place. Who knows? What a bummer.
