Saturday, July 16, 2005
Boston & Portugal - Together Again For The First Official Time...!!!
... e é sò a primeira de muitas vezes, rapaz!
Now that I know, without a shadow of a doubt (*lol*) that denizens of the erstwhile kingdom of Lusitania, aka Portugal, do visit the luminous blog... Lusitania being the faraway land of my ancestors and all... I feel obligated to address them! "É o meu dever e a minha obrigação!" as one of my forefathers would say...! I always found it fascinating that a bit of parallelism existed between the two "-on" cities; Boston and Lisbon! Of course, it really is Lisboa, I know that - but for my the sake of my "cosmic twin cities" theory's sake... go along with this, will you please! *lol*
The city of Boston certainly has more in common with Lisbon than the English town it was named after, that is for sure... Lisboa is magnificent - so is Boston, in a scaled-down way certainly... The legendary soccer club (it is futebol, I know - Americans stole the name football when they had no right to!) BENFICA knew years of glory (in the sixties most notably, when they were nearly unbeatable) while the Boston Celtics dominated the NBA too (being nearly undefeatable as well during the same years!). The trademark bad luck that the Boston BRUINS or Red Sox would display in the odd "big game" would find resonance in the odd loss on a worldly stage for Benfica - I remember a loss to Russia that should have never been. Likewise, the Bruins would always find themselves on the losing end of a match-up with the Moscow team Dynamo Kiev - those were merely exhibition games and the Dynamo was only the number two Russian team, at best!
Those are only sports statistics - and we are saturday, not statistics sunday! However, Boston was honored in Portugal recently with the "Spirit of Sport" award, honoring its Red Sox' dramatic comeback championship after an eighty-six year drought - this seems to crown years of, as I theorize, parallelism in the world of sports!
Beyond that, of course, Boston is as important historically speaking to North America as Lisboa is to Europe. I give the edge to Lisboa overall - of course - but, each in their own place, on their own continent, are equal indeed!
North America would not have been what it is without Boston.
The World would not have been the same without Lisboa... and men such as Dom Infante Henriques and Vasco Da Gama.
Então - por isso todo - benvinda especial para os portugueses que visitam o luminoso blog! ;)
Friday, July 15, 2005
freaky friday stuff: striking out at the arcade - no, nowadays it's on the x-box...!
Performers on strike... video game voice-over performers that is... wow.
This is really all the proof we needed that the world is seriously going down the tubes... of insanity! *LOL*
What in blue blazes could these performers be complaining about now - their profiles were not properly shot? They are lending their voices to animated characters, for crying out loud!!! Kids and any fun-loving individual will do that just for fun - spontaneously and FOR FREE! *LOL*
This is even worse than this OTHER labor dispute - which was finally settled - or so they tentatively say - now, after 301 (three hundred and one) days of a lock-out that made, as many agree to say, NO WINNERS AT ALL.
Yep... I am comparing the NHL with video game hijinks... why not? As recently noted, right here - on the luminous blog...! - the game has already been announced and given a (tentative?) release date - NHL 2K6... Wow - they really were optimistic that the real NHL "superstars" would be playing (and not scab players - as I was personally hoping for!). NHL players held out for a better deal - and DID NOT GET IT. They, at least lend their likenesses and voices to video games - without making the fuss that the likes of Samuel L. Jackson are making... this when the bulk of his money comes from acting poorly when he actually is IN FRONT OF THE CAMERA... not hiding his basically expressionless mug behind a microphone! Oh well... he must absolutely need the extra income (maintenance workers cost so much these days! *LOL*).
Gimme a freak-ing break...! :\
I think we ALL need an ENYA PAUSE...! ;)
This is really all the proof we needed that the world is seriously going down the tubes... of insanity! *LOL*
What in blue blazes could these performers be complaining about now - their profiles were not properly shot? They are lending their voices to animated characters, for crying out loud!!! Kids and any fun-loving individual will do that just for fun - spontaneously and FOR FREE! *LOL*
This is even worse than this OTHER labor dispute - which was finally settled - or so they tentatively say - now, after 301 (three hundred and one) days of a lock-out that made, as many agree to say, NO WINNERS AT ALL.
Yep... I am comparing the NHL with video game hijinks... why not? As recently noted, right here - on the luminous blog...! - the game has already been announced and given a (tentative?) release date - NHL 2K6... Wow - they really were optimistic that the real NHL "superstars" would be playing (and not scab players - as I was personally hoping for!). NHL players held out for a better deal - and DID NOT GET IT. They, at least lend their likenesses and voices to video games - without making the fuss that the likes of Samuel L. Jackson are making... this when the bulk of his money comes from acting poorly when he actually is IN FRONT OF THE CAMERA... not hiding his basically expressionless mug behind a microphone! Oh well... he must absolutely need the extra income (maintenance workers cost so much these days! *LOL*).
Gimme a freak-ing break...! :\
I think we ALL need an ENYA PAUSE...! ;)
Labels: Enya
Thursday, July 14, 2005
there is SOME justice in this world... just a little bit of it...
As evidenced, once in a blue moon, when one is really closely paying attention... There is justice in the world - because, after all, God *is* in control - never doubt that! However, this mudball remains the playground of the fallen angels - until Kingdom Come... and His Will Be Done! Don't forget about THAT either, folks!
Consolation prizes - like a momentary moment of bliss in this realm we call "reality" and are reluctant to leave for that very reason - can make up for a lot - if never all of life's hardships. Take last month's induction into the Hockey Hall of Fame of one most meritorious individuals - former Boston Bruin Cam Neely. Cam "The Man" Neely I should say... or rather, to be honest, type! Do such honors make up for what happened to him *during* his career? No... However, the fact that he is in the Hall of Fame, and goons like Ulf never will be, is indeed quite satisfactory... (For those of you not in the know, discover the despicable character "Ulf" and the hero, Cam Neely - in the comments / cornucopia section! As I call it, yes...!). Alas, I cannot forget the fact that Ulf went on NOT to pay for his actions immediately - and rather was part of a Stanley Cup winning team that should have never won... Oh well... details, right?
Today I also learned that one of my dear friends had passed away on Monday...
Departing this world is nothing to be afraid of - it is liberty and communion with GOD - in the purest and truest sense of the expression.
And my dear friend Sisi is now truly... free :)
I hope she is allowed to place a few good words in for those of us left behind...
Incidentally, Cam Neely knows all about that - he lost his mother and father, back to back, a year apart - to cancer. He was still playing at the time. Ulf had not acted disgraciously yet...
Consolation prizes - like a momentary moment of bliss in this realm we call "reality" and are reluctant to leave for that very reason - can make up for a lot - if never all of life's hardships. Take last month's induction into the Hockey Hall of Fame of one most meritorious individuals - former Boston Bruin Cam Neely. Cam "The Man" Neely I should say... or rather, to be honest, type! Do such honors make up for what happened to him *during* his career? No... However, the fact that he is in the Hall of Fame, and goons like Ulf never will be, is indeed quite satisfactory... (For those of you not in the know, discover the despicable character "Ulf" and the hero, Cam Neely - in the comments / cornucopia section! As I call it, yes...!). Alas, I cannot forget the fact that Ulf went on NOT to pay for his actions immediately - and rather was part of a Stanley Cup winning team that should have never won... Oh well... details, right?
Today I also learned that one of my dear friends had passed away on Monday...
Departing this world is nothing to be afraid of - it is liberty and communion with GOD - in the purest and truest sense of the expression.
And my dear friend Sisi is now truly... free :)
I hope she is allowed to place a few good words in for those of us left behind...
Incidentally, Cam Neely knows all about that - he lost his mother and father, back to back, a year apart - to cancer. He was still playing at the time. Ulf had not acted disgraciously yet...
Wednesday, July 13, 2005
wednesday weirdness version 9.0
Another... well... weird (what else) edition of wednesday weirdness this week...! And to think that I was torn between doing it this way - or another way...! I had newer material that came up - but I chose to go with I had in the archives, filed in as a draft indeed... Oldies but goodies thus - as always when it is unearthed by... thy luminous blog!
You have heard of the X-Men... how about the Hmong Men now? In fantasy reality, you might get lucky enough to sue the X-Men (whenever they get out of hand and injure you and three dozen more innocent bystanders while fighting their own kind - other mutants basically!). But in the real world, Hmong men will sue YOU - and a court of so-called justice (better go with the appellation of "court of law" indeed - as in human flawed law, of course...!) will force you to pay thousands of dollars in damages - to be applied to the Hmong men's very necessary and very own "traditional healing ceremonies" - which will be required to fully heal the embittered Hmong men who fear that they have sustained many injuries because of you... including losing a soul or two! Not just anyone is as tough and apt to battle as Wolverine is...
A Dutch town has banned blasphemy... about time someone did, I say! Although, of course, my sarcastic tone about the beliefs of Hmong men just now might be perceived - by them and likely only them - as blasphemy... Still, my luminous definition of blasphemy is whatever insults the Creator and the Sacred - not merely belief systems that, some, will slash throats for... Thus - banning blasphemy, as I define it, is something we can and should ALL agree on! I know a certain North American area that needs such legislation... URGENTLY! But then, some feeble-minded liberalists would call upon freedom of speech or such illusionary thing that does nothing but open the doors to anarchy really...
In other weirdness items: a... well... weird (again) theory about what causes bad driving... finally, sportsmen who act with definite unsportsman-like conduct will be getting theirs... shortly... hopefully (but I don't hold my breath really - for it is, again, nothing but flawed earthly legislation again!)... and, in California, where it is as common as weed, solicitation will make you famous... yep... as in your mug shot goes there, on that billboard, for all to see - especially your friends and family! That kind of famous, yes! Gives new meaning to 'wall of shame'... and it couldn't happen in a nicer town - or to nicer citizens! ;)
You have heard of the X-Men... how about the Hmong Men now? In fantasy reality, you might get lucky enough to sue the X-Men (whenever they get out of hand and injure you and three dozen more innocent bystanders while fighting their own kind - other mutants basically!). But in the real world, Hmong men will sue YOU - and a court of so-called justice (better go with the appellation of "court of law" indeed - as in human flawed law, of course...!) will force you to pay thousands of dollars in damages - to be applied to the Hmong men's very necessary and very own "traditional healing ceremonies" - which will be required to fully heal the embittered Hmong men who fear that they have sustained many injuries because of you... including losing a soul or two! Not just anyone is as tough and apt to battle as Wolverine is...
A Dutch town has banned blasphemy... about time someone did, I say! Although, of course, my sarcastic tone about the beliefs of Hmong men just now might be perceived - by them and likely only them - as blasphemy... Still, my luminous definition of blasphemy is whatever insults the Creator and the Sacred - not merely belief systems that, some, will slash throats for... Thus - banning blasphemy, as I define it, is something we can and should ALL agree on! I know a certain North American area that needs such legislation... URGENTLY! But then, some feeble-minded liberalists would call upon freedom of speech or such illusionary thing that does nothing but open the doors to anarchy really...
In other weirdness items: a... well... weird (again) theory about what causes bad driving... finally, sportsmen who act with definite unsportsman-like conduct will be getting theirs... shortly... hopefully (but I don't hold my breath really - for it is, again, nothing but flawed earthly legislation again!)... and, in California, where it is as common as weed, solicitation will make you famous... yep... as in your mug shot goes there, on that billboard, for all to see - especially your friends and family! That kind of famous, yes! Gives new meaning to 'wall of shame'... and it couldn't happen in a nicer town - or to nicer citizens! ;)
Tuesday, July 12, 2005
two for tuesdays; charity & generosity
What were the odds of seeing that - within hours it seems to me, the G8 announced last month that they would erase the debt of several Third World countries (which equals many billions I do believe) and, across the ocean, the Federal Canadian government also decided, simultaneously, to forget about taxes owed to the amount of another two billions! WOW - and me, I can't get a break... THANK YOU VERY MUCH!
Things like this makes one believe in the phenomenon known as SYNCHRONICITY - or meaningful coincidence. And it does not have to be of this type either to count as such... In case some of you missed it all - the month-old facts and the DAILY OM "special" about synchronicity are all to be found... in the comments / cornucopia section!
Things like this makes one believe in the phenomenon known as SYNCHRONICITY - or meaningful coincidence. And it does not have to be of this type either to count as such... In case some of you missed it all - the month-old facts and the DAILY OM "special" about synchronicity are all to be found... in the comments / cornucopia section!
Monday, July 11, 2005
Verse of the Day
“ Blessed is the nation whose God is the LORD, the people he chose for his inheritance. ”- Psalm 33:12
Today's passage is from the New International Version.
Today's passage is from the New International Version.
Sunday, July 10, 2005
special edition of statistics sunday: very very very extremely trivial hollywood facts
Casting agencies have a special sense of humor...
Did you notice that they cast DARKMAN / Qui-Gon Jinn / Liam Neeson as the trainer of Bruce Wayne, in Batman Begins? No wonder he turns into a megalomaniacal control freak who dubs himself as a "darkknight detective" after his training is complete - not only the obvious Darkman influence, but do you people know what an actual JINN is...?!? George Lucas knows... and it ain't a Jedi! ALSO they cast Bram Stoker's Dracula, Gary Oldman, as commissioner Gordon... the only miscast part is indeed Katie Holmes... they were on a good streak there... they should have cast ELVIRA too... It wouldn't be worse than getting Justin Timberlake as Two-Face... why, pray tell? Because he is two-timing Cameron Diaz? I shudder at the thought of who they will think of next to take over as Joker and Penguin... Dubya could be used as the Ventriloquist's dummy mind you...
Fantastic Four went with logical choices in their casting of the queer (not in THAT sense) quatuor - the tv actor who was The Commish but also Curly of the Three Stooges was chosen to become The Thing... Horatio Hornblower himself was cast as Mr. Fantastic; the character was supposed to represent the fluidity of the one element not really represented among the four - water! The same actor was also seen in... Titanic! And a virtual unknown "hot shot wannabee" actor was called into duty as the Human Torch. As for the Invisible Girl... pardon, Woman... they got popular Jessica Alba, fresh off the cancellation of her Dark Angel series, and dyed her hair blond - for the few shots in which she is visible? Dark Angel was a brainchild of James Cameron - director of... Titanic! And Terminator too, of course... maybe an inspiration for Doctor Doom? Naaaah...
Still on a super-hero note - Hollywood has no clue who's who in DC Comics and what's what in Marvel stuff - they routinely placed Wonder Woman amongst the Avengers - when it really was Wonder MAN. And now, some nitwit press release did not bother to do an elementary back-up check on his facts and subbed Spidey, the ever-popular wall-crawler, for SUPERMAN as the foremost member of the Justice League...
Incredible (no, not bringing Hulk into the mix now, no...!) - any child would know this but they don't have a clue... These characters are perceived as only properties to license and nothing else in Tinseltown - and that goes, of course, for all affiliated entertainment subsidiaries...! The long listings of characters of each company - each "universe" - are looked at as a sort of catalog in which to pick a name to use and misuse and abuse even... They may do that with impunity with lame-o "properties" such as Howard The Duck, the Sub-Mariner, Doctor Strange and the campy treatment Batman got in the past - all well-deserved in my luminous estimation! :)
Mistreating characters with a better mythos behind them - such as Swamp Thing and mother Earth... Aquaman and Atlantis (and the sea overall)... and any characters that should deal with heaven and hell in a serious manner - now THAT is a travesty!
However, the names of the characters prevail in the equation - if they will sell as "goods" - or not. THAT is all that matters to Hollywood producers and their affiliated leeches. The fact that said characters could be used to sensibilize audiences towards greater topics than their mere fantasy selves is secondary - if not tertiary - if not non-existent!
A shame... but not all that infuriating. I am more appalled when they get that way - or worse; outright sacrilegious - with saintly historical figures... especially when it pertains to Christ of course.
Did you notice that they cast DARKMAN / Qui-Gon Jinn / Liam Neeson as the trainer of Bruce Wayne, in Batman Begins? No wonder he turns into a megalomaniacal control freak who dubs himself as a "darkknight detective" after his training is complete - not only the obvious Darkman influence, but do you people know what an actual JINN is...?!? George Lucas knows... and it ain't a Jedi! ALSO they cast Bram Stoker's Dracula, Gary Oldman, as commissioner Gordon... the only miscast part is indeed Katie Holmes... they were on a good streak there... they should have cast ELVIRA too... It wouldn't be worse than getting Justin Timberlake as Two-Face... why, pray tell? Because he is two-timing Cameron Diaz? I shudder at the thought of who they will think of next to take over as Joker and Penguin... Dubya could be used as the Ventriloquist's dummy mind you...
Fantastic Four went with logical choices in their casting of the queer (not in THAT sense) quatuor - the tv actor who was The Commish but also Curly of the Three Stooges was chosen to become The Thing... Horatio Hornblower himself was cast as Mr. Fantastic; the character was supposed to represent the fluidity of the one element not really represented among the four - water! The same actor was also seen in... Titanic! And a virtual unknown "hot shot wannabee" actor was called into duty as the Human Torch. As for the Invisible Girl... pardon, Woman... they got popular Jessica Alba, fresh off the cancellation of her Dark Angel series, and dyed her hair blond - for the few shots in which she is visible? Dark Angel was a brainchild of James Cameron - director of... Titanic! And Terminator too, of course... maybe an inspiration for Doctor Doom? Naaaah...
Still on a super-hero note - Hollywood has no clue who's who in DC Comics and what's what in Marvel stuff - they routinely placed Wonder Woman amongst the Avengers - when it really was Wonder MAN. And now, some nitwit press release did not bother to do an elementary back-up check on his facts and subbed Spidey, the ever-popular wall-crawler, for SUPERMAN as the foremost member of the Justice League...
Incredible (no, not bringing Hulk into the mix now, no...!) - any child would know this but they don't have a clue... These characters are perceived as only properties to license and nothing else in Tinseltown - and that goes, of course, for all affiliated entertainment subsidiaries...! The long listings of characters of each company - each "universe" - are looked at as a sort of catalog in which to pick a name to use and misuse and abuse even... They may do that with impunity with lame-o "properties" such as Howard The Duck, the Sub-Mariner, Doctor Strange and the campy treatment Batman got in the past - all well-deserved in my luminous estimation! :)
Mistreating characters with a better mythos behind them - such as Swamp Thing and mother Earth... Aquaman and Atlantis (and the sea overall)... and any characters that should deal with heaven and hell in a serious manner - now THAT is a travesty!
However, the names of the characters prevail in the equation - if they will sell as "goods" - or not. THAT is all that matters to Hollywood producers and their affiliated leeches. The fact that said characters could be used to sensibilize audiences towards greater topics than their mere fantasy selves is secondary - if not tertiary - if not non-existent!
A shame... but not all that infuriating. I am more appalled when they get that way - or worse; outright sacrilegious - with saintly historical figures... especially when it pertains to Christ of course.
