Something's Going On

All morning long and now into the afternoon, I haven't been able to see our blog... well, nothing but the header quote. Yet, I can write and publish a post like this one that no one will be able to read until the blog comes back up, which, of course, we hope happens in our lifetimes because if not, no one will ever get to read what I'm writing now.

Heeeeeeeeeey now. That gives me an idea. Just for the fun of it! I can say whatever I want, and no one can read it, heh heh heh.

KenisagoonKenisagoonKenisagoonKenisagoonKenisagoon.

Oops. What's that old saying about character is what you are when no one's watching?

Then, I guess, er, Ken is a nice goon?

Secret Passageways

I still have fond memories of a trip to the Biltmore mansion as a kid. There are a lot of cool things about it. Worth a trip if you're near Ashville, NC and have some time (i.e. not trying to get to Williamsburg, VA as quick as you can).

But my favorite thing about it was discovering a secret passageway. During the guided tour, which is very interesting and informative by the way, I happened to notice three small circles in the doorframe of one of bedrooms. They were nearly invisible, but the light caught the wood grain just right from where I was standing. Unfortunately, they were too far inside the velvet rope for me to do any further investigation. So, at the end of the tour guide's spiel, she asked if there were any questions, and I spoke up and asked about the circles.

The tour guide was unaware of what I was talking about, but walked over to examine the spot, and ran her fingers over the wood. Remarking that they seemed to be some kind of buttons, she fiddled with them until we all heard a click and a crack in the wall appeared. A gasp from the crowd was followed by one man's opinion that it was a door. After his comment, it suddenly appeared to all that he was correct and with some effort, the guide managed to prove him right by pulling that section of wall back to reveal a dark, musty passageway behind it.

The tour guide swore that this was the first time that she had ever been aware of this particular feature of the house, but speculated that its purpose was to permit house valets and servants access to the various rooms without having to be seen by the VIPs of the house in the general hallways. Now the cynic in me, figures that it is most likely that this passage was not entirely unknown to the estate curators, but that doesn't detract at all from the buzz that was created within our tour group for the rest of the day or from the feeling of adventure it gave to a young boy.

Now, as part of an adventure novel that Rich and I are writing, I've been doing some research on secret rooms and passageways. And I've run across some interesting Internet sites that are linked below for your amusement. Maybe it's not too late for me to build a secret room in my own humble mansion for a young boy or girl to find when they tour a famous author's home one day.

Do-it-yourshelf

Abbey Darned

The Under Warehouse aka We don't need no stinking badges

From the "You Can Make a Secret Room, But You Can't Burn a DVD?" Department

For only 10 Gr Installed, You Too Can Head Down to Granpa's Lab Under the Stairs

"R" vs. "K"

In this corner is Rich.

In that corner was Ken.

Ken is now dead. That has to be the reason he's not posting. As I told Dugalug before (and he dared to mock - at his own peril):

Fear the Rich

Sorry if you were cheering for the other guy. If so, you lost.

(By the way, is that a mansierre on Ken in the picture over there on the right? Is that a skirt and high heels on Ken? Now, I almost feel bad for doing him in... naaaaaaaaaah.)

"X" vs. "S"

Now that the promos for the first of the biggies are out, it's time to make the official call on which Summer of 2006 superhero movie we're looking forward to more.

In the left corner, we have the third installment of Marvel's most successful superhero team. The first two movies of the series, albeit under director Bryan Singer (now the director of the competition), were major successes, and along with the Spider-Man movies helped revolutionize the superhero movie genre. In this, the third episode, we have a mutant antibody -- a "cure" for the gene that evolves humans into mutants, a human-mutant war waged by Magneto, not to mention the Dark Phoenix saga to which the former movie alluded. That's right ladies and gentleman, we have the defending champion of the superhero-team movies: X-Men III: The Last Stand!

Facing off against the Juggernaut (pun intended -- cue laughter) is the return of a series of successful and unsuccessful films from the 70s and 80s featuring the most notable superhero of all-time. The granddaddy of all superheroes. With an all new cast, but many of our same favorite characters, one of the best supervillians ever created (played by an Academy Award winner), and a mystery actor (we know his name but can he act?) playing the lead much like the man cast in the first of the series oh so long ago, we have the Number # 1-ranked challenger pitting the Man of Steel once more against his longtime nemesis Lex Luthor, the one the only: Superman Returns!

Locked in a cage here in The Realm of Possibility, only one can come out the survivor. Which of these two Colossuses (again, pun intended -- recue laughter) will reign supreme in The Realm?

You can only choose one. Which one are you going to see?

All the drama will be played out in the comments section. We have Oscar winners on both sides. The Big 2 in comic-bookdom, Marvel vs. DC. Awesome villians. The old X-Men director now directing the challenger, and the new X-Men director striving to show he can play with the big boys. Compelling heroes. Special effects buffs' delight. War and peace. Right and wrong. Truth, justice, and the American way. We have it all folks, right here in The Realm. Cast your votes and make your call the winner. Who's it going to be?

The X-Men or Superman?

Reality blogging at it's best!

Musical-Inclined

I love Broadway musicals. I'm just gonna post a lyric line or two from my favorite one. Maybe later, I'll post a few more from some of my other favoites. Anyone who wishes to join in, feel free. Else, there'll just end up being a handful of "rich" comments, and what fun is that?

Here's my starter:

Will you give all you can give
So that our banner may advance?
Some will fall and some will live
Will you stand up and take your chance?
The blood of the martyrs
Will water the meadows of France!

-- Do You Hear the People Sing, from Les Miserables

I've mentioned it before here, but I just love Les Miserables. The barricade scenes are my favorite in the musical. When I was a kid, I loved the story of the Alamo. The handful against the unbeatable enemy -- the knowing that you'll be a martyr but fighting for a cause -- just really strikes a chord with me. Helm's Deep, in LOTR, gives me much the same feeling, although in that, our heroes miraculously triumphed. Still, it's the knowing you're going to die and still fighting for a cause greater than yourself that stokes my fires. The barricade scenes in Les Miserables give that same feeling. (Of course, they're written very well in Victor Hugo's masterpiece as well.)

Be that as it may, what are some lines from songs in your favorite musicals? And other Les Miserables songs are welcome.

Close But No Cigar

You know, not everything goes together as well as peanut butter and jelly. And sometimes bad combinations can be made from things that sound similar. A few came to mind:

Driving Range and Driving Rain
Running Bear and Running Water
A Hot Date and a Hot Dog
Breaking Bread and Breaking Wind
Ken and Rich

Can you think of any others?

Now as the Train Pulls Away - SQOTW

here on the platform, a well laid plan
pain in your pocket, ticket in your hand
rain on your lips, honey i wish you would stay
now as the train pulls away

no signs to read, no voices to warn
people don't stay, in love anymore
what about forever, 'til the end of our days
now as the train pulls away

rehearsed all my lines, but i forgot what to say
some things are just, too little too late

eyes they're all empty, mouths they're all dry
words they just stumble, and fail you every time
aching's all that's left, at the end of the day
now as the train pulls away

-- Now as the Train Pulls Away, Vigilantes of Love from the great, great Audible Sigh CD

This is it. If I had to pick one favorite over all the Bill Mallonee songs, this is the one. It's a simple lament over what's happened to love these days. It's beautiful in its sadness, and the rhythmic train-like start and finish fits just so well with the train image the song echoes.

My brother and I have talked a lot about musical perfection (specifically in rock music or its spawnings) before. I'm not sure there is such a reality of that ideal, although some songs rub up against it. For me, this tune is about as close as it gets for sustaining it for about three minutes.

The heartbreaking lyrics of broken love and broken marriage... mm... it hurts to think about, especially when you can identify or empathize with them. "What about forever to the end of our days?" We make and take these oaths when we're young (or sometimes not so young) with all best intentions, and then life happens. And time happens. A lot of taking without much giving. What started with forgiving and forgetting becomes remembering and remonstrating. Battlelines are drawn and defense mechanisms are aimed for counter-strikes to the bombs you know are coming until over time, all love gets bled out of a heart that becomes stone.

Aching's all that's left...

We live this life... we get one chance... and we end up with this mess on our hands and wonder how it came to this.

And we watch as the person we once loved just walks away.

Today

Wanted to give an update to my post entitled Yesterday.

After the first round of chemotherapy and after the latest bone marrow tests, the doctors found no cancer (leukemia) cells -- that's right: NO CANCER -- in my friend's husband. He still has to go through a couple more rounds of chemo, and it's not something you can ever just stop worrying about -- but this news was nothing other than fantastic!!! When he heard the news, he cried tears of joy, asking, "Can this be true?" He's a worrier, and he had spent a lot of time dwelling on what happens if it turns out bad. Well, so far, it hasn't. And here's hoping it never does.

Anyone who has or is still praying for this man and his family, you have all my gratitude. A lot of people, a lot of churches have, and all praise to our awesome God!!! Of course, with two more rounds of chemo, it doesn't stop here for him, so please keep praying if you can. But also, thanks for rejoicing with me over this. They're a beautiful family, and this has been a difficult time for them.

Thanks again!

Gonna Build a Castle

Each year for my younger boy's birthday, we've had a big party. When he was young, he had cranial stenostosis (of the sagittal variety) and the good doctors at Children's Hospital performed surgery when he was 3 months old (another post entirely, and I could go on at length about the problem) to correct the skull abnormality where his skull grew over his soft spot too early. Anyway, for the last three years, for his birthday, in lieu of presents, we accept donations to the Children's Hospital, specifically to help out the work of Dr. John Grant (the plastic surgeon who performed the surgery), in his effort to take his services to the needy -- starting with what's called the "Black Belt" of Alabama -- most of whom have no insurance, and to perform his surgeries on a volunteer/donation-funded basis on children with cranial stenostosis and craniofacial problems (cleft palates).

Well, this year, my wife's invited the doctor and also the local and Birmingham media to come to the party to generate additional support here in Huntsville for Dr. Grant's work.

For the past two years, my son's had a Captain Hook/pirate b-day and a Peter Pan Neverland party. For each of these shen-digs, I've made a major construction out of mainly cheap lumber and refrigerator boxes. The first time was a huge ship around our fort in the back yard. The thing ended up looking more like Noah's ark with Jolly roger flags than it did a pirate boat, although I had nets tied from the boat to the fort and the fort tarp colored black with a skull and crossbones. the next year I constructed a Neverland Lost Boys hideout, which didn't turn out nearly as good. Well, this year, my wife has requested a castle. And she has a threshold of satisfaction that I need to meet in my castle-building as she completes all the other stuff required for the party (i.e. invitations, cake, giveaways, etc.).

So here's the deal. I'm planning on having four circular turrets (which I've started and the process is painfully slow) made of two planks, cardboard circles duck-taped to them to hold the form, and then roofing material (the back stuff that goes under the shingles) circling the planks. I'll cover that with gray butcher paper, and then I'll use black paint to create a stone-like look. I'll use cardboard to create the circular chess-rook top of the tower. Or so I'm thinking. For the castle walls, refrigerator boxes covered by the butcher paper. For the front, I'll have a upper wooden frame connected to two turrets, and a refrigerator box will be staped to the front of the frame. I'll cut a drawbridge from the fridge box with pulleys to raise and lower the thing, and then I'll have a cardboard portcullis stuck on the back stapled halfway down.

So that's the plan. However, these turrets are problematic because they're not sturdy, and it's hard for me to make them alone without someone holding up the planks. All the work is done in the late night hours, which is fine except the no help thing. Anyway, if anyone has a better plan -- beside just renting a moonbounce castle [that won't cut it] -- especially for the turret-building, let me know. I'm REALLY, REALLY open to suggestions. Keep in your consideration that I'm not handy at all. But let me know.

My wife's sent out 67 invitations, so the pressure's on to make this thing look pretty good.

Yikes!

Enjoy the Silence

Hopefully, that's what you've all been doing. I had guessed that Kenneth would post something over the weekend, but it was based on zero evidence, so I should stop guessing on that.

My weekend was full, and lo, the NFL Draft was last weekend. Just FYI, all you need to know is the Miami Dolphins got (by round):

1) Jason Allen, Free Safety/Cornerback from the University of Tennessee
3) Derek Hagan, Wide Receiver, Arizona State University
4) Joe Toledo, Offensive Tackle, University of Washington
7) Fred Evans, Defensive Tackle, Texas State University
7) Rodrigue Wright, Defensive Tackle, Univerity of Texas
7) Devin Aromashodu, Wide Receiver, Auburn University

A big WAAAAAAAAAAAAAR EEEEEEEEEEEEAGLE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! on that last pick. The AU (my alma mater) connection to the Dolphins continues, and that's a good thing. If anyone wants to comment on their team's draft or discuss mine in the comments, feel free.

I would hazard a guess, however, other than Dugalug or Brett, there ain't a lot of folks out there in The Realm who really even care. So back to the silence. Wisdom says it's better to listen than talk most of the time anyway, so perhaps having post-free weekends might give people a chance to comment on old posts or let budding conversations develop without throwing up something new that diverts attention away.

OTOH, this is blogging, and besides me, most people can walk and chew gum at the same time. So multiple posts running most likely makes for a better blog site than those with one or none (over a two or three day or week period). That said, I can't promise anything, but I'll start trying to maybe get at least one post up over the weekend so that anyone who drops by can read something other than the random (most excellent, of course) comment or two that might get added. Although, I must say, comments and comment streams are often better than the posts themselves, but it generally is posts that gets all that started. So, I'll try. More than this, I'll try to get Ken to post something on weekends as well.

In the end, there might still just be more silence. We'll see.