Do you like green eggs and ham?

Celebrating 50 years of "Green eggs and ham" by Dr Seuss.

Invasion of the Giant Cat!

Flashback: My cat, Meggsie, and his "Number 96" box, made to celebrate the airing of the last episode of the TV soap opera (1977).

Or, the missing "invasion" episode? The one where Les Whittaker's wacky inventions finally got the best of him?

Where the mild things are

Disaster averted! My now sheepish gargoyle.

Today I realised, after a few weeks of niggling doubt, that one of my garden gargoyles was missing. Had he been consumed by rampant pigface, which has been overgrowing like crazy in recent rain and humdity? Trying to explain to fellow investigators exactly what he looked like, and failing miserably, I had to bring up online evidence (see archived Flickr photo below) - good ol' Internet! - but miracle of miracles, he was not MIA after all!

The hide 'n' seek gargoyle is back!



As he appeared in 2007, last seen surrounded by self-propagating portulaca.

My three teddies

Front row, left - Wendy Boston teddy given to me by my paternal grandmother in 1958. The faded sewn-on tag on one foot used to read "Wendy Boston, England - Wash in Persil". In about 1978, he got damp, via an open bedroom window, and then was flattened by some encyclopedias, so I performed an operation in the early 80s, removed all the old, matted filling, and restuffed him.

Front row, right - Teddy bear bought from Grace Bros, Broadway in Sydney, 1980. He has no identifying tags, but it there was a long white tag stitched to his leg I may have cut it off. Family friends had asked their young daughter what to buy me as a 21st birthday gift (the previous December) and she said quite confidently, "A teddy bear - because he loves them!"

Back row - Blue Bear, with an Ethos manufacturing tag on it, arrived by mail, in a huge box full of colourful party streamers, for my 40th birthday in 1998. Also associated with Morning Glory toys, as sold in Chinese gift stores, I often admired the cuteness of Blue Bear in this floppy pose when my Brisbane friends were temporarily living in Sydney. They remembered - and found one in Brisbane.

Three in a row catchup

This peace lily (spathiphyllum) really loves the alternating
humidity, rain and heat of the last few weeks. 9 March 2010.



This climbing week (lantana?) has claimed a disused smoke stake/flagpole
(and its guy wires) in a long-vacant Penrith commercial site. 10 March 2010.


Stilt walkers on Pitt Street, Sydney CBD. 11 March 2010.

Home Sweet Broom Cupboard

Home Sweet Broom Cupboard: my temporary library office for the next seven months.
The books and other resources are all in storage.


Last week's final, lingering look at the old empty library...

Bring on the BER!

The early-evening bird catches the worm

I watched this magpie patrolling this front yard in Penrith. I'm guessing he was waiting for his daily meaty handout from the human owners, but he found a worm while waiting.

Preserving the Aenar

I've been looking around, hoping to find something that would serve as a base onto which to mount the the "Star Trek: Enterprise" Aenar Andorian antennae I recently bought, and that would raise the height a bit and also fit snugly into the glass dome, but perhaps not an airtight or non-removable seal. Originally, this glass dome (bought from a second hand shop) would have stood on a wooden base, or maybe be fitted with a cork wedge. Everything came together yesterday!

Okay, I've been looking around, hoping to find something that would serve as a base to onto which to mount

Had they been regular blue Andorian antennae, I would have possibly pinned the antennae to some white fur fabric but, being the very pale Aenar antennae, that wouldn't have provided enough contrast.

A few days ago, I was walking home and found a blue plastic lid from a spray can of enamel paint, perhaps abandoned by a local graffiti artist, in the street. I realised that it would provide a firm base, good height, contrasting colour and probably an almost-snug fit. Then I bought some self-adhesive foam lettering and spelled out "AENAR" around the base. I affixed the antennae to the flat surface of the lid with just a small amount of Liquid Nails, and slowly slid the dome over the top, ensuring the antennae touched neither each other nor the inside of the glass dome. There is a small amount of air flow between the raised lettering. Nothing can fall out if a visitor picks up the dome - and I can look out for any signs of premature crumbling. The latex masks from ST:TMP, sold by "It's a Wrap!", were in surprisingly good shape for having been made in 1978 and stored for several decades at Paramount. If my 2005-vintage antennae last me 40 years, I'll be 91 and perhaps ready to sell them on eBay.



I hope I've done it all correctly. I wasn't too keen on attempting to apply special protective resin coatings, or similar, I've heard about, since it may have spoiled the "screen-used" appearance of the antennae.

The pics I took outdoors today have turned out with a yellowish tinge, but the antennae are more of a pale powder blue.


(As advertised.)

Night of the Living Trekkies

Coming soon...


"Night of the Living Trekkies"
by Kevin David Anderson & Sam Stall

Via Sea of Stories:
It’s a zombie apocalypse and only one thing matters: What would Captain Kirk do? Just as "Pride and Prejudice and Zombies" blended monster mayhem with the world of regency romance, "Night of the Living Trekkies" mixes a zombie apocalypse with the enduring mythology of Star Trek. Our story follows a rag-tag group of “Trekkies” en route to an annual Star Trek convention. Arriving with homemade uniforms, glued-on prosthetics, and plastic phasers, these fanboys know more than any rational adult should know about Kirk, Spock, Next Generation, particle physics, and black holes. But when aliens release a zombie plague upon the Earth, all of this “Starfleet training” suddenly becomes a lot more relevant. Our fanboys find themselves trapped in the Botany Bay Hotel and Convention Center — and desperate to escape. And one reluctant fan will discover his inner Trekkie, rise up, and take command of the crew. Fast, funny, and loaded with countless references to Star Trek, geek culture, and science fiction conventions, "Night of the Living Trekkies" will appeal to anyone who enjoys science fiction, horror, and the comic scene.

$14.95 (USA price) - Quirk Publishing, 4 Sept 2010.

... mash-up novel, "mixing a zombie apocalypse with the enduring mythology of Star Trek," will join such Quirk Books titles as "Pride and Prejudice and Zombies" and "Android Karenina". (And the author is Kevin David Anderson, not the more well-known Kevin J Anderson.)

Chekov: "Botany Bay. Botany Bay? Oh no! We have to get out of here."

Funny thing is, one of my regular haunts, the Novotel Hotel and Convention Centre at Brighton-le-Sands here in Sydney, is on the shores of Botany Bay:
www.novotelbrightonbeach.com.au

I wonder if the parody novel is set in Australia?

Phalliccino?

"I had a dream they were clouds in my coffee, clouds in my coffee...

"You're so vain, you probably think this cup is about you, don't you, don't you?"

Someone, please tell me I was wrong about this... er, phalliccino?

Another catch up of pics

Vacated Penrith Public School Library. 1 March 2010.


Sulphur-crested white cockatoos, Penrith. 2 March 2010.


Cookie Monster cookie jar. 3 March 2010.


View from a late night train to Penrith. 4 March 2010.


Metal and enamel wall hanging. 5 March 2010.

No longer attached

I watched Jack, my Jack Russell terrier, bury the handle of his lead in the dirt today, while he was attached to the pet hitching post at Mash Cafe, Glenbrook. The doggy theory, I guess, was that if he couldn't *see* the handle, then he was free!

When that failed to work, he simply bit through the lead and trotted over to join me at my table. Mmmmmm.


Today's pic.

Farewell Pennsylvania!

Miss Playtrek has waved goodbye to chilly Pennsylvania (and Chuck) before heading off to sunny Puerto Rico.


Here is Miss Playtrek visiting a local school house built in 1837.
Hopefully before the end of the week she will has the proper clothes
for this climate.

"1837: Quakers Richard and Mary Edge Pim construct a stone hexagonal schoolhouse to begin the early education of their 9 children. The unique 75 ton structure is located along Edge Lane until it is relocated to Municipal Drive in 1968."

Chester County was very fortunate to be blessed with many creeks and steams that the early settlers use to power grist mill, paper mills and even steel mills.


Miss Playtrek is along Dorlin Forge, which had a
paper mill as long ago as 1830.


Along the Brandywine.

Despite the hazards of fire, flood, and foreign competition Chester County's infant paper industry of 1800 has in 150 years, become an important segment of our contemporary economy. The Brandywine can still be a quite and tranquil place even during the winter months.



Before Miss Playtrek took up accommodations in her selected mode of travel, she had a last look at part of Chuck's collection. She kept asking, "Who is that person?", pointing at TOS Uhura - and Chuck really didn't know how to answer her.

Somewhere in Time - revisited

I thoroughly enjoyed listening to director Jeannot Swarc's commentary on his film, "Somewhere in Time", on DVD today.

The year I was doing casual teaching (1981), I often had Wednesdays off - and would go to the double feature at the ol' Mecca Theatre in Hurstville. Free coffee at intermission - and two amazing films. Saw some brilliant stuff that year!

Coincidentally, the theatre was right next door to the CES office where I had to hand in my unemployment forms, and that was a mere formality since I was getting too much work to qualify for any monetary benefits.

Four in one blow

Covered walkway comes down, Penrith Public School library. 24 February 2010.


Wollemi pine in Glenbrook, Blue Mountains. 25 February 2010.


Robby the Robot clock with Internet backdrop. 26 February 2010.



Jack on the "pussy cats cushion". 27 February 2010.

Up in front

The February 2010 issue of the teacher-librarians' professional journal, "Scan" (vol 29 no 1) features a photograph I took on my iPhone late last year, as we were wrapping up the Bear and Chook books rap at school. Note the presence of a ubiquitous Bear and Chook in the lower left hand corner.

"I'm late, I'm late!" - Framed and hung... at last!

Today's pic is a photo of some favourite old photos.

I finally got around to framing my 1992 Central Park, New York "Alice in Wonderland" statue pics a few years ago, and finally found a place to hang them a few weeks ago. Until then they'd been cluttering a corner, and getting moved around the floor every time I vacuumed.

At about ten to midnight, I realised I needed a subject for my 365 Photos project, and well, here it is. Click on the link above about to see the actual pics.

Extended season

Trio of gardenias.

Nostalgia - "Just for Fun"

A shadow box of memorabilia from Luna Park.
Centre: large clown sticker from the day of the 1981 auction at Milson's Point,
Sydney; metal ride token from 1935-1981, other metal tokens and rubber badge
are from 2000s; the lower right wooden face is of Luna Park, Melbourne.

Here are some b/w photographs of mine, taken during a day at Luna Park in 1973:



Tumblebug

Davy Jones' Locker Mirror Maze

Ghost Train


Brother Keith and cousin Alison on the Cha Cha

Entrance to Coney Island


A more recent photo of the Luna Park entrance.

Pfeffernüsse!

Pfeffernüsse, traditional German gingerbread cookies.