tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9033716Fri, 08 Nov 2024 15:34:13 +0000MoviesAntonio BanderasBloggerBangkokCSSFacebookFrustrationHTMLJohnny DeppPerpetually PeregrinePortugueseQuentin TarantinoRantRobert RodriguezSalma HayekTemplateThailandASPAbatementAnglo SaxonAnti-SocialArs GratiaBelgiumBill MurrayBloggingBrad PittBucket ListBuddhismCarol KaneChanging CareersChina MiévilleChristian BaleColloquiare ColloquiallyCommentaryDan LauriaDaniel CraigDavid AndersDenmarkDhammapadaEm-DashEn-DashEric McCormackFrenchGadget(s)Garrulus' TravelsGoals 2010GoogleGuamHealthHyphenJack KornfieldJapanJavaScriptJenni BairdJoel EdgertonKandyse McClureKatie CassidyKristine Kathryn RuschLanguageLiam NeesonLiev SchreiberMaggie GraceMichael DormonMisinformationMorgan FreemanMultilingualityNews-SpeakNicolas CageOkinawaOld EnglishOpinionPHPPaul BettanyPeter JacksonPhilippinesPolandPortuguese NamesProfessional WritersR. W. GoodwinRSS GraffitiReadersRecent PostsRobert PatrickRose ByrneRussell CroweSam WorthingtonScotlandSigourney WeaverStephen KingStop PIPAStop SOPASwedenSwitzerlandTCP/IPTelecommunicationsTownshendeTranslationTurkeyVietnamWake IslandWall Street JournalWritingXHTMLXMLZoe Saldana<i>The Grumblings of My Perpetually Peregrine Existence</i>http://garrulus-grommeler.blogspot.com/noreply@blogger.com (g d townshende)Blogger42125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9033716.post-4998998891018473540Wed, 17 Nov 2021 20:13:00 +00002021-11-17T16:39:36.179-05:00 So, because I have done this for a long time now, I want to do it again now that I am reinstating my personal blog. Do what, you ask? Draw up a new list of goals. This used to be an annual “rite” for me, but it wasn’t a religious thing. It was a goal thing I did in place of what most like to call New Year’s Resolutions. I don’t do resolutions. I do goals. And while this post is http://garrulus-grommeler.blogspot.com/2021/11/20212022-goals.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (g d townshende)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9033716.post-7297487456285465139Wed, 17 Nov 2021 16:11:00 +00002021-11-17T11:16:44.553-05:00Anti-Social Yesterday, I decided to start making use of my Anti-Social software. I hadn’t used it in so long that I forgot that I not only had to log out of any sites I was logged into that I wanted to block, but I also had to restart my browser before Anti-Social would block those sites. There are four sites I want blocked, because I know they distract me the most. They arehttp://garrulus-grommeler.blogspot.com/2021/11/yesterday-i-decided-to-start-making-use.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (g d townshende)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9033716.post-912117845164334731Tue, 16 Nov 2021 21:47:00 +00002021-11-17T01:36:36.963-05:00I haven’t blogged in forever, and here I am thinking of doing so again, starting with this mundane post.Why?I want — no I need — more time away from the insanity called FaceBorg.So, this is it. A new post.http://garrulus-grommeler.blogspot.com/2021/11/havent-blogged-in-forever-and-here-i-am.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (g d townshende)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9033716.post-1349018800157086245Wed, 18 Jan 2012 16:51:00 +00002012-01-18T12:02:47.830-05:00Stop PIPAStop SOPA503: SERVICE UNAVAILABLEGarrulus Grommeler is offline today, because the U.S. Senate is considering legislation called the PROTECT IP Act (PIPA), and would put us in legal jeopardy if we linked to a site anywhere online that had any links to copyright infringement.This would unmake the Web, just as proposed in the Stop Online Piracy Act (SOPA). I don't want that world. If you don't want it eitherhttp://garrulus-grommeler.blogspot.com/2012/01/503-service-unavailable-garrulus.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (g d townshende)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9033716.post-5678007733770279244Sat, 17 Sep 2011 21:07:00 +00002011-09-17T20:41:40.860-04:00PortuguesePortuguese NamesWritingWell, I'm writing again. Started with a scene that popped into mind and am just making things up as I go along. No idea whatsoever what this tale is about, or where it's going, or if I'll even bother to finish it, or if it'll even capture my imagination in such a way as to hurl me along in its current. So far, however, I'm interested. In any event, I wanted to write something, to lube and prime http://garrulus-grommeler.blogspot.com/2011/09/writing-beating-off-rust.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (g d townshende)2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9033716.post-546318926699622078Sat, 17 Sep 2011 01:31:00 +00002011-09-16T21:33:26.202-04:00FacebookRSS GraffitiJust giving RSS Graffiti a test, to see what happens. By the time you've read this on Facebook 15 minutes have passed. How do you like that? You're reading old news. :P Don't you feel special?http://garrulus-grommeler.blogspot.com/2011/09/rss-graffiti.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (g d townshende)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9033716.post-2190316639869919495Fri, 16 Sep 2011 23:22:00 +00002011-09-16T20:34:44.747-04:00BloggingFacebookI spend far too much time at Facebook these days. Time I started blogging again. (Hmm. Now, if I can figure out how to set things up so that I can transmit my blog posts to Facebook, that would be a good thing.)Well, I've figured out — kinda — how to add the widget that will let me send a blog post to Facebook, now if I can just get my highly customised blogskin to recognise and show it.&lt; http://garrulus-grommeler.blogspot.com/2011/09/blogging-again.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (g d townshende)2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9033716.post-4356156360226165757Tue, 06 Apr 2010 05:37:00 +00002021-11-17T06:56:24.164-05:00RantI like to write. I’ve always made this patently clear. I also like writers who write well, but what does “writing well” mean, actually? I recently left a comment at a writer’s blog in which, among other things, I mentioned why I don’t care for John Grisham’s writing. My comment was summarily deleted. Why? The context of my comment was this: one professional writer (not the owner of the blog to http://garrulus-grommeler.blogspot.com/2010/04/writing-rant.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (g d townshende)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9033716.post-4287530334833131503Sat, 13 Mar 2010 15:54:00 +00002010-03-13T22:35:38.490-05:00HealthMisinformationWell, this has been a most interesting experience, and as with the old Chinese curse my use of "interesting" doesn't mean "interesting good." Since I'd shared briefly in my writing blog about some medical concerns, I thought that now the whole ordeal is over, I'd share what happened.I'd been experiencing some pain in the area where the bladder is located, as well as feeling the frequent need to http://garrulus-grommeler.blogspot.com/2010/03/misinformation.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (g d townshende)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9033716.post-4483166826026599086Fri, 05 Mar 2010 06:21:00 +00002010-03-05T01:32:07.272-05:00So, I'm reading a news article about the ship in the Mediterranean that was struck by those waves and then I turn my attention to the comments that follow. The first comment I see reads:And that folks is why this girl will never go on a cruise....I guess it's impossible for any car, bus, train, or airplane which this woman graces with her presence to have an accident, even a freak http://garrulus-grommeler.blogspot.com/2010/03/people-are-stupid-no-2.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (g d townshende)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9033716.post-6069598917041811728Wed, 03 Mar 2010 03:58:00 +00002010-03-03T01:27:38.125-05:00RantI'm wanting to buy myself an air purifier. Some, obviously, come with ionizers installed. Some of the reviews I've been reading are nothing less than pure idiocy, saying things like "This model has an ozone producing ionizer."If ionization produces ozone, then someone had bloody well better turn off all the fucking lightning storms around the planet! Good, strong lightning storms leave the air http://garrulus-grommeler.blogspot.com/2010/03/people-are-stupid.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (g d townshende)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9033716.post-5043780272712011619Tue, 02 Feb 2010 03:48:00 +00002010-02-01T22:49:40.809-05:00MoviesPaul BettanyRussell CroweMaster and Commander, starring Russell Crowe and Paul Bettany, I saw months and months ago, so that when I chose to put it on my list of movies to see at Netflix, I completely forgot about it. No matter. It's still a damned good movie and I enjoyed seeing it again.http://garrulus-grommeler.blogspot.com/2010/02/master-and-commander.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (g d townshende)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9033716.post-1145515844848297195Sun, 24 Jan 2010 03:19:00 +00002010-01-23T22:19:48.433-05:00BuddhismDhammapadaFrenchJack KornfieldPortugueseTranslationI've had fun translating this particular passage into both French and Portuguese:DhammapadaWe are what we think.All that we are arises with our thoughts.With our thoughts we make the world.Speak or act with an impure mindAnd trouble will follow youAs the wheel follows the ox that draws the cart.We are what we think.All that we are arises with our thoughts.With our thoughts we make the worldSpeak http://garrulus-grommeler.blogspot.com/2010/01/dhammapada.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (g d townshende)2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9033716.post-8959172508669255258Tue, 19 Jan 2010 18:25:00 +00002010-01-19T13:25:45.217-05:00OpinionProfessional WritersReadersI've an opinion I've been holding in for some days now, but I think it would be best to give it some air. The past few years I've had the pleasure of meeting — if 'meeting' someone online can be called 'meeting' them — several professional writers, folk who make their living at a keyboard. They've all been great people, without exception. When talking about the business, they're honest, which is http://garrulus-grommeler.blogspot.com/2010/01/bare-vault-of-talent.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (g d townshende)2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9033716.post-3748807310689836473Sat, 16 Jan 2010 19:15:00 +00002010-01-16T14:28:35.292-05:00China MiévilleCommentaryPeter JacksonWall Street JournalOver at the Wall Street Journal's Speakeasy blog, author China Miéville offers up an intriguing essay titled, "Why the Na’vi Are Making Me Blue," on the current fad of CGI in movies. He speaks in particular to James Cameron's hugely successful Avatar, as well as makes reference to Peter Jackson's work on the Lord of the Rings trilogy of movies.http://garrulus-grommeler.blogspot.com/2010/01/making-mieville-blue.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (g d townshende)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9033716.post-8601657105034003286Wed, 13 Jan 2010 19:34:00 +00002010-01-16T14:15:37.739-05:00MoviesSam WorthingtonSigourney WeaverZoe SaldanaAvatar, starring Sam Worthington, Zoe Saldana, and Sigourney Weaver, is fabulous!It amazes me the criticisms that some can concoct about any movie. I don't go to a movie to look for what's wrong with it. I don't expect any movie to be perfect — nothing is. I don't go to a movie to be preached at. I don't go to a movie to hear propaganda. Movies, novels, short stories, stage plays, television http://garrulus-grommeler.blogspot.com/2010/01/avatar.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (g d townshende)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9033716.post-2952754546967452004Mon, 11 Jan 2010 04:29:00 +00002010-01-11T02:17:53.009-05:00MoviesNicolas CageRose ByrneKnowing is, I think, a creepy, but excellent science fiction thriller that has the all-too-rare attributes of portraying events that are — except for the more speculative aspects — very possible. Definitely one to see if you haven't already.The blurb for this movie reads:Nicolas Cage stars in this edge of your seat sci-fi thriller as John Koestler, a professor who deciphers a coded message with http://garrulus-grommeler.blogspot.com/2010/01/know-1-ng.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (g d townshende)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9033716.post-2364755072703779423Tue, 05 Jan 2010 06:02:00 +00002010-01-05T01:32:18.816-05:00Bucket ListBack in January 2008, I posted a list of 25 items that I called a "Bucket List." In my original post, I referenced this article at the New York Times. The title "Bucket List" comes from the movie of the same title starring Jack Nicholson and Morgan Freeman and is a reference to the idiom "kick the bucket." In other words, the items on a "Bucket List" are those things you wish to do before you http://garrulus-grommeler.blogspot.com/2010/01/bucket-list-recap.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (g d townshende)2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9033716.post-8400266260060222655Mon, 04 Jan 2010 05:26:00 +00002010-01-04T00:39:42.252-05:00Goals 2010I've been wondering if I should do a goal post for this blog or not. One thing I hadn't considered when I decided to use this template was my goals, and where I'd stuff 'em. With my previous template, I had a sidebar in which to stuff 'em. I suppose I could stuff 'em in one of the three columns down below, but that'll likely mean rearranging things.And then there's the goals themselves. I http://garrulus-grommeler.blogspot.com/2010/01/goals-2010.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (g d townshende)3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9033716.post-8867474893868039788Sat, 02 Jan 2010 05:38:00 +00002010-01-02T01:12:27.670-05:00Daniel CraigLiev SchreiberMoviesBased on a true story, Defiance is a powerful movie about the Bielski brothers — Tuvia, Zus, and Asael — Jews from Belorussia who started their own community, a refugee camp of freedom fighters in the forests of Belorussia, during World War II.The blurb for this movie reads:Daniel Craig (James Bond: Quantum of Solace) stars as Tuvia Bielski, an ordinary citizen turned hero, in this action-packed http://garrulus-grommeler.blogspot.com/2010/01/defiance.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (g d townshende)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9033716.post-9012981368170215723Wed, 30 Dec 2009 05:16:00 +00002009-12-30T00:42:33.810-05:00David AndersKandyse McClureMoviesStephen KingIt's 1975 and Burt, a Vietnam vet (played by David Anders), and Vicki, his wife (Kandyse McClure), are driving across country. Right from the start, it's understood that their marriage is as rough as a road filled with potholes. (It's also understood that McClure, can't act worth a damn, but I'm getting ahead of myself.)They're driving through flat and boring Nebraska. Corn field upon corn field http://garrulus-grommeler.blogspot.com/2009/12/children-of-corn.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (g d townshende)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9033716.post-2655548241283244228Tue, 29 Dec 2009 04:21:00 +00002009-12-28T23:50:24.202-05:00Christian BaleJohnny DeppMoviesMy, oh my, how the world has changed.John Dillinger, America's first "Public Enemy Number One," is the man whose pursuit pretty much led to the founding, or should I say "funding," of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, which, at the time, was known as the Division of Investigation.The Wikipedia article on Melvin Pervis notes that J. Edgar Hoover became jealous of the fame Pervis gained http://garrulus-grommeler.blogspot.com/2009/12/public-enemies.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (g d townshende)2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9033716.post-7282794392141316882Fri, 18 Dec 2009 03:46:00 +00002009-12-17T22:57:08.593-05:00Antonio BanderasJohnny DeppMoviesRobert RodriguezSalma HayekThe final movie in Robert Rodriguez's pulp Western, Once Upon a Time in México is not only chock full of stars, it's also chock full of gun-totin' action. Starring in this movie are Antonio Banderas, Salma Hayek, Johnny Depp, Mickey Rourke, Eva Mendes, Danny Trejo, Enrique Iglesias, Marco Leonardi, Cheech Marin, Ruben Blades, and Willem Dafoe. With names like that on the roster, I think it's fairhttp://garrulus-grommeler.blogspot.com/2009/12/once-upon-time-in-mexico.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (g d townshende)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9033716.post-8353181876965216052Thu, 17 Dec 2009 21:59:00 +00002009-12-18T02:24:40.172-05:00Anglo SaxonLanguageOld EnglishI've found a fascinating web site that offers translation of Old English (a.k.a. Anglo Saxon) into Modern English and vice versa. It's called Old English Translator. Below is the conjugation of béon, the verb "to be."— BÉON (To Be) IRREGULAR VERBPresent &amp; Preterite Indicative• Ic béo (I am) — Ic wæs (I was)• þu bist (you are) — þu wære (you were)• he/hit/heo biþ (he/it/she is) — he/hit/heo http://garrulus-grommeler.blogspot.com/2009/12/beon-or-ne-beon-to-be-or-not-to-be.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (g d townshende)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9033716.post-7973447551393925528Thu, 17 Dec 2009 04:32:00 +00002009-12-16T23:54:11.921-05:00Antonio BanderasMoviesQuentin TarantinoRobert RodriguezSalma HayekI had wanted to watch El Mariachi, the first movie in this trilogy. I'd rented it, in fact, but . . . for whatever reason, the DVD would only play the director's track. Nothing personal, but I wanted to watch the movie, not listen to Robert Rodriguez. So, I had to skip El Mariachi, and moved right on to Desperado, starring Antonio Banderas, Salma Hayek, and featuring a guest appearance by none http://garrulus-grommeler.blogspot.com/2009/12/desperado.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (g d townshende)0