4 out of 3 people have trouble with fractions

Jesus Christ!: The Game

Posted in Oddities, Religion on November 30th, 2005 by Atlas Cerise

Someone at work today mentioned a game called “Biblical Guess Who”. Everyone should remember the original “Guess Who from their childhood.

We thought of questions you could (and some maybe you shouldn’t) ask your opponent whilst playing:

“Is your person a man?”
“Does he have a beard?”
“Is he wearing a robe?”
“Is he wearing sandals?”
“Was he proclaimed the son of God and crucified?”

I guess that last one all but gives it away, doesn’t it? S’pose that’s why Hasbro hasn’t marketed it yet.

This Is How It Goes

Posted in Australia, Misc. on November 29th, 2005 by Atlas Cerise


I firmly believe there is a higher being that oversees everything that goes on in our lives. God (if you will), like Santa, is always watching. I have to believe it because someone needs to take responsibility for the ironic waywardness that is my life.

I will never in a million years claim South Carolina as home. To say I dislike the state is an understatement. Between the lethal driving behavior of its citizens, the shit pump behind Burger King, and the paper mill, I can barely keep what little sanity I have left.

I miss Ohio, because there was always something new to see and do. It’s got everything I need: A Best Buy, a 24 hour Wal-Mart, 2 baseball teams, good shopping, camping and hiking… The list goes on. Tonight I especially miss Ohio because Missy Higgins is playing in Cincinnati and Cleveland over the next two days. And her tickets are cheap because no one here in the USA has the slightest inclination of who the hell she is. I’m so happy that the Navy has stationed me here in Goose Creek!

In other news, I’m in the middle of Bill Bryson’s book, In a Sunburned Country. It’s got its humorous points and interesting tidbits here and there. I’m enjoying it. The chapter on Australian politics and the governmental system is particularly interesting because I have been looking for a simple explanation on the subject (which there isn’t and Bryson agrees).

Any Aussie readers out there have any comments on Bill Bryson or recommendations on other Australian books?

A Holiday Beverage That’s Out of This World

Posted in Observations, Oddities on November 28th, 2005 by Atlas Cerise

Webster defines “celestial” as:

1 : of, relating to, or suggesting heaven or divinity
2 : of or relating to the sky or visible heavens (the sun, moon, and stars are celestial bodies)
3 a : ETHEREAL, OTHERWORLDLY b : OLYMPIAN, SUPREME
4 capitalized [Celestial Empire, old name for China] : of or relating to China or the Chinese

I happened upon this delightful beverage by chance at Wal-Mart the other night. I didn’t have my digital camera on me, but I did have my camera phone. I felt it was worthy of a snapshot and a mention on OFaL (I like this new acronym because that’s exactly how it would taste).

How can I be sure this tea is not made of Chinese people? I have family members who are Chinese and I’d hate to think I could be drinking someone related to them, even if they were simply ground up to a fine dust and placed within a teabag.

I’m left to assume, then, that the tea is from another planet. Wal-Mart is now importing beverages and consumable items from the heavens above. The import tax must be hellacious.

Is this the same spice that Han Solo was transporting for Jabba the Hutt but had to jettison from the Millennium Falcon, causing a most unfortunate bounty upon his skull? Because that would be worth drinking.

I distinctly remember an interesting article discussing stars and interstellar gas. Well, call me old fashioned, but I prefer tea only give me gas indirectly, no matter how stellar the flatulence may be. Perhaps I can russle up a couple dollars and visit my local shop for local people and give it a try.

A more elegant weapon for a more civilized age…

Posted in Art, Misc., Movies, Oddities on November 27th, 2005 by Atlas Cerise

After cleaning my house this weekend (and unpacking a few more boxes) I rediscovered some of the lost treasures from a past life (i.e. pre-Navy). One such item is my Luke Skywalker lightsaber. But it’s not one of them fancy expensive ones, it’s one that I built from scratch.I worked in a movie theater when I was in high school. It happened to be the same summer that the horrible Episode I: The Phantom Menace was released. My self-proclaimed job title at the time was “Theater Beautification Specialist” (that’s “usher” for the creatively disabled) and I spent most of my time tearing tickets. 

For opening night I needed a lightsaber to wear with my awesome theater-issued maroon blazer. I mean, come on. This was the first Star Wars in 20 years and I had to look cool.

I found a book called From Star Wars to Indiana Jones: The Best of the Lucasfilm Archives, which had great photos of all the lightsabers used in the original Star Wars movies. I made my own blueprints by measuring the scaled photos in the book and drawing them out on paper. Once this was done, I scanned the drawing into Photoshop so I could label the appropriate measurements to have the lightsaber machined.

The next step was to buy a piece of aluminum. I took the day off school (hey, it was my senior year anyway) and traveled downtown. Moments later I had a solid aluminum bar in my hands and I was out $20. This was the only money I really spent making the lightsaber.

My high school has a machinery class of somekind, hidden away in the very back of the building. I never took the class myself but I heard about it and asked them to machine out the lightsaber for me. I dropped off the aluminum bar and the blueprints. A few days later, I picked up the machined-out lightsaber.

The final step was painting it to match that from Return of the Jedi. I already had model paint that was the correct color so this wasn’t a hassle. After the paint job was done, I only needed to finish one more thing.

The “control box” on the lightsaber (with the arrows) has a reflective plastic piece from an old calculator on it. Obviously, the calculator is no longer made but I found a guy on the Internet who was selling “replicas” of that piece for a $1. I sent him a dollar in the mail and a week or so later he sent me the plastic calculator piece and a sheet of red and green plastic for the arrows. Lastly, the two rubber buttons came from an old television remote I had in my possession. (The TV had gone long ago out but I figured the remote would come in handy someday.)

A little cutting, painting, and supergluing and walla! A lightsaber!

About the time I finished it, the school’s art department hosted an art show. Much to the dismay of one of the art teachers, I entered the lightsaber as a “sculpture”. She wasn’t happy about it and talked to the higher-ups, citing that the lightsaber was a “weapon”. Apparently, no one had told her that the lightsabers used in the films weren’t real either.

Old Fish and Lemonade

Posted in Uncategorized on November 27th, 2005 by jedimacfan

Finally, a blog design I like. Thanks for the idea and permission, Peter.

Behold, the birth of the Fish!

Snow Balls

Posted in Art, Misc., Oddities on November 26th, 2005 by Atlas Cerise


Thanks to the large amount of snow that Ohio received in the past week, my youngest brother and his friends were able to construct the most offensive snow creation the small town of Rittman has ever seen. While I have not witnessed this phenomenon first hand, I have it on good authority that each testicle is over 5 feet in diameter and the erectile centerpiece is over 10 feet high.

Also of note, this fine firm frozen feat was established in the front yard of the house, where it’s featured for all to witness. Also, it’s conveniently lit at night for those traveling by automobile to oggle and awe.

Admission is free and the exhibition is expected to remain on display until, like the real thing, it just shrivels to the point where it no longer impresses anyone.

Within the Belly of the Steel Beast

Posted in Navy on November 21st, 2005 by Atlas Cerise


A rather exciting day for me today. It’s been over a year and I’ve finally gotten to step aboard a “real” Navy boat. I say “real” because it’s a moored training ship and will never go anywhere ever again, BUT it’s still got a functional nuclear reactor inside!

I was given my first tour of the boat this afternoon and it was one of the most interesting experiences I’ve ever had. I mean, come on, how many people can say they’ve been inside a nuclear submarine and seen a real nuclear reactor up close? Plus, think of all the babes you could impress and pick up by mentioning this random little fact to them. What woman wouldn’t love to hear about nuclear power (ZZZZZZZZZZZzzzzzzzz…..)

The boat is formerly known as the U.S.S. Daniel Webster SSBN-626 . (Not to be confused with Experiment 626). For obvious reasons I can’t mention specifics about the 626’s insides, nor take any photographs for myself, but it was impressive.

I myself am going surface ships (A.K.A. carriers) so I hope this is my first, last, and only submarine. Call me crazy, but I like the idea (or illusion) of outside air and email once in a while.

I’d also like to take this opportunity to discuss the safety of nuclear power. It’s not as bad as you think, so don’t worry about. In fact, there are hardly any side effects to humans at all.

NEW! Now Includes Flavorlicious Cream-Filled Titles!

Posted in Uncategorized on November 18th, 2005 by jedimacfan

Hey, get your mind out of the gutter. I said titles. Thanks to the help of a fellow blogger, I’ve also got a Super Wham-O-Dyne description generator! So you can spend at least 5 minutes of your day with the “refresh” button on your browser! Collect them all! New action taglines will appear over time.

Everyone knows why the iPod with video was invented. It’s not to watch television or movies on. Hell no. It’s the best way to store and view 60 gigabytes of portable pornography in the palm of your hand! At least, that’s what I expect this web site to develop into.

Behold, the future is upon us. There’s slim pickings at the moment but I’m sure more and more people will jump on board. I think I’ll make one that’s very sweet, kind and loving. And then about 15 or 20 seconds into my movie I’ll cut to some erotic animal footage from the Discovery channel and end it with a clip of the flying monkeys from the Wizard of Oz.

Love will prevail!

Thursday!

Posted in Uncategorized on November 17th, 2005 by jedimacfan

Almost finished with the week and not a moment too soon. I think the worst part about the nuclear field is that everything is classified so I can’t bitch about how boring it really is to anyone. Everyone has bad days at work once in a while, but when I have bad days I can’t talk about why because nuclear information could fall into the hands of the Zimbabwean’s (and then where would we be?). They’re dangerous, I tell you…

I’ll need to fight my through the legions of children this weekend as well, since Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire comes out Friday. I’ll do my best not to get arrested for any fighting, but I will say that when the Prisoner of Azkaban came out there was a lot of cussing, spitting, and drinking involved due to all the excitement. And that was just the first graders…

Thank God it’s almost Friday!

From a Different Point of View

Posted in Uncategorized on November 16th, 2005 by jedimacfan

Got the ol’ seat changed around today. Moved down next to another friend of mine to get away from L. Once again I am able to keep my food down.

On my way home tonight I decided to stop for a nicely toasted turkey and cheese sub with lettuce and jalepenos when out from nowhere a suicidal cat attempted to end its life.

Since I am allergic to cats, I only wanted to help it so I sped up as fast as I could and tried my damndest to hit the little furry bastard. The sonovabitch changed his mind, though, once the Xenon headlights flashed him directly in his little beady eyes.

Cat: 1, Herbie: 0