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You know that something’s amiss when someone from NASA was searching Google for “Is There Anyone Out There?” and clicked through to this website. Eerie.

I’m helping Darren out with lighting for a high school show, starting earlier tonight and ending Saturday. My new class (economics) began today. It’s the busy time of the month at work and my coworkers are gone. I have a new exciting web project and I got no sleep last night. Bring it on!

I forgot to mention that I have another reason I’ve been busy lately. Remember I was offered a post on the board of directors for an organization? We had our first meeting last week, and it went well. This should be pretty exciting.

Alright, I know I don’t write much in this blog anymore. I’m writing more over at Consumerism Commentary. What I write over there is in some ways a lot less personal (and in some ways a whole lot more personal) but I get five to ten times more readers. Anyway, except for approximately one setback in the last week or so (not getting a new job), there has been confluence in the different streams that guide my life, which have been flowing in a generally positive direction.

Maybe it’s just the winter finally ending, or maybe it’s the surprisingly fantastic Doctor Who series on the BBC that I can’t get enough of. On the official website, there’s a neat feature where each episode is “reviewed” by four children, ages 4 to 12. Their reactions to the scary bits are logged and the journal presents a good “fear factor” guide for families watching the show together.

Speaking of fun British stuff, I caught the new movie, The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy, having been a fan of the books when I was younger. (Did you know that Douglas Adams, the author of The Hitchhiker’s Guide, wrote several episodes of the original Doctor Who? You probably did. Another interesting fact about Doug: before his death, he posted regularly on his Usenet fan newsgroup. That was not a normal thing to do. Douglas Adams was also friends with David Gilmour, guitarist with Pink Floyd. He supposedly gave their final album its name, Division Bell. So here we have Douglas Adams connecting Pink Floyd and Doctor Who, two of my adolescent Favorite Things. These two were already interconnected through the Doctor Who theme being quoted in some Pink Floyd songs.)

Oh yes, the movie. It may not have been totally faithful to the original story, but it had many funny moments. The good news is it will likely be a “trilogy,” like the written series.

In other, non-British news, now that I’m back on the east coast, it’s time to start planning more time away. I think a road trip might be next up.

The only word to describe this is surreal. The word is “surreal.” Clicking there (or here) goes to Rosie O’Donnell’s flickr page. That’s where you can see all the photos she takes with her camera cellphone, including self portraits. Random fact: she eats at Applebee’s. Yech.

She also has a blog but that’s soooo 2001. Every celebrity had a blog by then.

If you have a great idea for a blockbuster film but don’t know how to come up with the $87 million it will cost to produce it, here is your solution. It’s strange how a “low budget” film like Sideways costs the studio more than Tomb Raider.

All in all, I had a good vacation. It was great to get away from here and spend time on the other side of the country. Feel free to check out the photos of the resort and Joshua Tree National Park.

Unfortunately, some of the fun was interrupted by a hospital visit for my mom’s significant other. I won’t go into detail but things were a little scary. I just heard from my mother and it turns out that he should be able to leave the hospital in a few days. The room where he is staying has a wonderful view of the Pacific Ocean, so the environment will probably help with the recovery.

Ah, California.

Flight: CO16
Departing: Los Angeles, CA (LAX) 10:45 a.m. Sat., Apr. 23, 2005
Arriving: New York/Newark, NJ (EWR) 7:05 p.m. Sat., Apr. 23, 2005
Class: Economy
Meal: Lunch
Equipment: Boeing 737-800
Stops: 0
Flight Time:5 hr 20 mn
Travel Time:5 hr 20 mn

(Unretouched, uncropped.)

My brother discovers his twin in Joshua Tree National Park, one half hour before sunset.

It’s not well known that Britney Spears’ Oops I Did It Again! was a cover. Louis Armstrong apparently recorded the song in April, 1932. It was never a big hit for Decca, so it escaped many people’s radars. The 1932 session tape is now available on the internets.