welcome, new friends, heidilynne…and who? who was the other person?
Went to twinstar’s cam tonight…did I mention how cute that girl is? I’m so fortunate to have so many cuties linking to me. Zoe, Cider.. the rest know who you are. 🙂 Why can’t I get babeage like this to chat me up in ‘real life’ ?
Small
A boy walked along the beach in search of a pebble. Ten years old, he was as small as five, sneakers barely leaving an imprint in the hard dark sand, cold wind whisking up wet strands of what was left of his blond hair.
The boy loved the sea. Clean and huge, it seemed to him the soul of emptiness and adventure. A bad thing was far away; he felt it seeking him. He pried a pebble from the sand, small and smooth and dark, indistinguishable from the many others, and it seemed as he looked up again that he himself was a pebble to that great wide water. Anything could happen in a place like that. It was there that he was most small.
When his father came to find him, he returned with his pebble clenched tight in the fist deep in his pants pocket. As they drove away, his mother told him that he shouldnÂ’t be so sad, that they would come back next year. He was not sad. She lied a little lie, but he liked small things.
They came to a special apartment near the doctors’ place, where he was given special food. When they went to see the doctors he always took his pebble and concentrated on being small.
"You must be very brave so you will grow to be a big man," one of the doctors told him. The boy knew doctors. He didn’t like them. He wanted to be small.
He knew:
Small things are very precious. You must look close to see small things. Small boys get hugs. You cannot be a small boy and be far away. Small boys can slip away and no one will notice. Doughnuts are bigger for small boys.
The doctors were always doing things. He was scared of them, but he didn’t say so. They said he was brave, but he wasn’t being brave–he was being small. When they put the needle in his back, he held tight to his pebble and whispered: Small, small, small, small. You are smaller if you are quiet. You are smaller if you don’t scream.
Listen:
There was a big boy at school who would tease him about his hair, because he was so small. But the small boy could slip away and lie in the tall grass and hide underneath the steps where no one else could go and the big boy could not find him.
When he was feeling very sick and doctors did not see him anymore, people with smiles came and asked him, "What do you want? You can have anything you want." He didn’t feel very good; he was having trouble being small. Big things make it easier.
He wanted the sea.
His mother and father wanted to be with him when he went to the beach, but it is easier to be small if you are alone. He wore dark jeans and a dark coat; you are smaller if you are dark.
He stood on the beach in the rain. He felt very sick. The bad thing was out there, very close, looking for him. He held his pebble tightly. I am small. I am a pebble in this sea.
And though the bad thing looked and looked and looked, it could not find him.
His parents came later, and could not find him either. They seemed sad, and he wanted to wave to them, to say goodbye, to tell them that it was all right—the bad thing couldn’t get him because he was so small and you are smaller if no one sees you.
He plays there still, and though the bad thing searches angrily for him like some strange big boy, it cannot find him. He is as small as a pebble among the thousands in the sea grass, out on the wide empty edge of the sea.
I didn’t know you, but you will be missed by many. Strong Journey.
Not to make light of someone’s death, but if this doesn’t sound like the beginning of a Doc Savage story… Note what the poor guy was wearing, and of course, what floor he fell from…
Friday October 6 12:54 AM ET
Man Falls Off Empire State Building
NEW YORK (AP) – A man fell off the Empire State Building Thursday night, plunging 65 stories to his death.
It was not immediately clear whether the man was attempting suicide or if his fall was accidental, said police Sgt. James Foley. The man, whose identity was not released, was in his 20s and was dressed in a pirate costume, Foley said.
The man managed to get over the tall barriers on the observation deck on the 86th floor before falling 65 stories to an outcropping on the
21st floor, Foley said.
There have been more than 30 suicides at the 1,472-foot skyscraper, the world’s tallest when it opened in 1931. The 1,483-foot Petronas
Twin Towers in Malaysia are now the world’s tallest skyscrapers.
I’m still here. Here, being work, and I, being me.
got the data, and it took longer to fold, spindle and mutilate to my liking, so I’m really just getting started now.
I estimate another two or three hours until completion.
tomorrow and this weekend I will beachwalk and forget my troubles and cares for a while.
Also, will see the new ben stiller movie, and get carter.
well, at least one of ’em.
very much enjoying the perpetual thread thing with ldy. can’t find the pointer, but look in her journal, and pick the thing that doubtless has over 100 posts in it. 🙂
Kat’s like #15 in all of honking Yahoo (approx 100000 players) for playing gin, and she’s still going up the ladder! hoodyhoo!
Some friends of mine down in Miami, Alex and Kris got a flooded house thanks to the last few days of rain. nuts… it has all sorts of cool stuff in it too. I hope that the majority of all the good books and toys, etc were salvageable. I love the rain, but this is too much.
whoops! looks like 2 more pals left me for greener pastures.
bye guys! Thanks for visiting for a while.
A site that shows autistics how to make mashed potatoes!
I bet someone out there thinks I’m fibbing. but it’s true.
…online of course. In news of the odd I find-
(Reuters) Officials at Cape Canaveral finally learned the origin of the plastic bags of urine found recently in a launch-pad complex; a worker was too lazy to use the rest room, which was an elevator ride away. Police called to an apartment where a man had been dead for a week were held at bay for two hours by the man’s 18 cats, aggressively guarding the body.
Um. I don’t have much to add on this one.
Boy… the icon is only a *little* blurry! 😛
Happy Birthday Newt! (and he wishes a Happy b’day to his sis, Mandy, and his other long lost sib)
and I’m still at work.
When I get home, he’s going to get a major hugging. 🙂
looks like I get to stay late to ensure I have Friday off. and even that’s not etched in stone yet. hm. Well, I gues I can show Kev how things are to be done, if worst comes to worst.
woo. looking at the speed here… I’ll probably be here until midnight. fine by me, friday will just be a comp day then, instead of a vacation day. 🙂 A taco bell night. Joel’s out and picking it up, so that’s cool. (I’m pretty broke until payday, TB or nothing these days)
Hooking up with Ray on Saturday, hitting the movies or comic book store… the first time I’ve seen him in a little while. I wonder if he and my younger brother would get along…
anyhoo, back to work. human is needed.
ded compares an old quote… see the link –
must be a dull day! you guys are posting like gangbusters… hard to stay on top. Entertaining none the less. though.
Coming movies look pretty neat, here’s what’s up.
Here’s the lowdown on the fall movie season!
HARRY POTTER
and the Sorcerer’s Stone
Opening October 20th
IN A NUTSHELL: David Fincher (Seven, Fight Club) directs one of J.K. Rowling’s gut-wrenching Harry Potter novels to the big screen.
WHAT’S GOOD ABOUT IT: Rowling’s Hellish thriller is perfect material for Fincher, who hopefully will infuse some lightheartedness into Rowling’s blood-soaked horror. Young Harry Potter will be played by Brad Pitt.
WHAT’S NOT SO GOOD: Fincher had to cut footage to avoid an NC-17 rating; reports say up to 14 minutes were sliced from Harry’s climactic battle against the dark Helldemon and his flesh-eating underlings. Can it really be that bad? “We’ve had people walk out of screenings before,” says MPAA representative Mary Herschwieler, “but this is the first time screeners have actually ran from the theater. And they kept running, some never to be seen again, the thin fabric of their sanity rended, befowled, and flushed down J.K. Rowling’s toilet.”
Look for: Danny DeVito in heavy makeup as The Soul Eater.
SAVING PRIVATE RYAN 2
Opening October 20th
IN A NUTSHELL: The Nazis are back in this modern-day sequel, and Private Ryan is called out of retirement to take ’em down. Tom Hanks and Matt Damon reprise their roles from the first film.
WHAT’S GOOD ABOUT IT: The script was penned by comedian Jerry “Fuzz” McBully (Deuce Bigalow, Caddy Shack 3) so the film should have a lighter feel than the depressing original (Hitler’s new sidekick is a hilarious midget.) Action master Michael Bay (Armageddon, Bad Boys) directs, and everyone is talking about World War II with the wild success of Hogan’s Heroes.
WHAT’S NOT SO GOOD: Some WW2 vets are offended by the idea of Matt Damon and Tom Hanks taking on the Axis army by themselves. The slogan for the ad campaign (This time we’re gonna do it right) also irks some veterans groups. Hanks, who was killed in the first film, is reborn as a killer cyborg for the sequel. Do we need to see Hanks playing yet another killer cyborg?
Look for: Dolph Lundgren as Adolph Hitler.
PAY IT FORWARD
Opening October 27th
IN A NUTSHELL: Based on the heart-warming novel by David Lee Roth. Twelve year-old Trevor McKinney (Haley Joel Osment) changes the world with a simple idea: Do something good for three people, and in exchange, they must each “pay it forward” (do a favor) for three others.
WHAT’S GOOD ABOUT IT: The ad campaign promises a refreshingly optimistic film, about one idea that brings about peace and happiness on Earth. However…
WHAT’S NOT SO GOOD: …the real story, as those of us who have read the novel know (WARNING! SPOILER AHEAD!) is that the boy’s idea meets an abrupt end. Trevor begins the movement by giving a homeless man food and shelter. Instead of “Paying it Forward” the homeless man pulls a large-caliber pistol and shoots the boy eleven times. The book was only six pages long.
Look for: A now-mature Osment, who is sporting a thick beard for the role.
UNBREAKABLE
Opening November 22nd
IN A NUTSHELL: Bruce Willis and Samuel L. Jackson square off in a world championship arm wrestling tournament. Dave “unbreakable” McGwire (Willis) takes on the current champion and bitter rival, Donavan “FroMaster” Jefferson (Jackson). The winner gets a brand new semi.
WHAT’S GOOD ABOUT IT: Possibly the most authentic arm wrestling movie since Stallone’s Over the Top. Willis and Jackson each took a year off acting to study the intricacies of the sport, and trained for six months under arm wrestling great Mike “Cooter” Bulsom. Also, it’s got the season’s hottest catch phrase: “I’m ’bout to wrestle some arm!”
WHAT’S NOT SO GOOD: Willis’ last four arm wrestling movies haven’t performed up to the level of his first five. Is arm wrestling mania waning? The film could also have benefited from an earlier release, to feed off the Olympics and America’s gold medal-winning arm wrestling team.
Look for: A cameo by Bill Paxton as Jacques, the Prime Minister of France.
RED PLANET
Opening November 9th
IN A NUTSHELL: Val Kilmer and Tom Sizemore star in this sequel to Red Dawn, the 1985 Russian invasion film. This pet project of Val Kilmer’s (a devoted anti-communist) is set in the year 2015, when a souless Al Gore shackles the U.S. under Marxist rule.
WHAT’S GOOD ABOUT IT: Action, and lots of it, as Kilmer leads a rebel band of NRA members against the reds.
WHAT’S NOT SO GOOD: The film is filled to the brim with anti-communist propaganda. At one point a forlorn Val Kilmer weeps over a dead patriot child, saying “none of this would have happened if only I had reported the unamerican activities of my neighbors!” (he turns to look into the camera) “Will you?”
Look for: Russian comedian Yakov Smirnoff as the evil Russian general Kusputin.
CAST AWAY
Opening Dec. 25
IN A NUTSHELL: Tom Hanks stars in the true story of Henry Scarpetta, a man who survived a three-month stay on a remote island off the coast of Japan. The real-life Scarpetta used bamboo sticks and palm leaves to build an 11,000-mile bridge back to New York.
WHAT’S GOOD ABOUT IT: Realism. Hanks grew a scraggly beard and lost 50 pounds for the role. The ocean-spanding bridge used in the film was built by the actor himself.
WHAT’S NOT SO GOOD: The studio tried to boost business with a Survivor tie-in. However, producers of the hit TV show refused, so instead the studio cast members of the 80’s band Survivor in several key roles. How will that help? Also the studio has made changes to the otherwise true story to suit Hanks (he’ll be playing a killer cyborg).
Look for: A cameo by Bill Paxton, as himself.
welcome, idigital, and lump!
… — … to you know who, too.