Cuppacafe

UPDATE: More Pics here. Scroll down for better detailed pics.
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Found this and thought I’d post it. I enhanced it just a tad, trying to contrast the “scoop” in the center. The black line at the boundary of the two tiles affected looks to be the felt underlayment.

I’m sure we’ll hear more today about the potential fixes and whether NASA will attempt to make repairs to this or just cross their fingers. The issue is, some of the fixes could actually generate more heat than a non repaired tile section.

Me, I think they’ll have to fix it.

America will be having the first serious hurricane alert later on this week. It’s a few days away from Puerto Rico, and whether it hits North America or not is still debatable.

To me, the computer models I put faith in suggest the thing recurves up the East Coast, possibly making landfall around the Carolinas in nine days. Other models say the Gulf of Mexico, and yet more models suggest the thing dies.

It will be called Hurricane Dean.

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One thing Paris Hilton never wants to be again — Flat Busted.

She went out and got a boob job.

Her IQ went up 25 points.

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Mr. “Serious Atheist” Christopher Hitchens reviews Harry Potter as the series wraps up. [NYTimes Book Review]

On one hand the atheist Hitchens trashes the juvenile nature of the way Harry’s world ignores Christianity, and in the other grudgingly accepts the popularity of the series.

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I’m not watching anything of Big Brother except bits and pieces, but I am following the recaps.

There’s a tattoo’d fellow in there who’s a real asshole. His name is “Evil Dick” (could be spelled “Evel”). My personal nickname I give myself around Alison’s kids is “EvilDad”. Some Army Drill Sergeants called… they say Dick is too mean.

Evil Dick is being extra mean in the house, because his daughter is also up for being kicked out, and he would rather flame out in a blaze of assholyness than to try to make nice and stick around.

If this was the real world, someone would be in the hospital by now, or arrested, or both.

In Big Brother Germany, they have kissing lesbians.
In Big Brother America, they have trailer park rejects with an attitude.

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The Brava Novella Contest opened up at the beginning of August. If you ever wanted your work put at the top of an important publishing executive’s slush pile, this is how to do it.

All you need is 750 words of banter that you might find in a Brava novella.

Those words may not ever make it into the novella you might be contracted to write.

And speaking of contracts, nothing tangible is actually offered to the winners of the contest. Just a looksee by the editor that could buy your proposed novella. The last couple of these contests DID end up with entrants who are now published authors.

I have several thoughts on this, being as close as I am to this contest. (I am running the backend, so I have to see all the entries. I also ran the last Brava Novella Contest a few years back)

Essentially, entrants should stick to the banter between the hero and heroine to show the sexual tension, because that’s usually where the sexy romances published by Brava really shine. The actual sex scene is rarely as good as the verbal give and take that precedes it. Since an entrant puts up their best work to this contest, putting up a sex scene indicates (to me, at any rate) a lack of confidence in what is more likely the more essential part of the romance — the part that helps bond the reader to the characters.

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Voltron and Thor are getting their own movies.

Voltron’s script has been reviewed and highly praised by Latino Review.

Thor… uh, why?

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The ABC show PUSHING DAISIES co-star’s a man I’ve talked about here before, Chi McBride. Chi gets to play a comic role in this, and while the show relies on the Quirk Factor to sell it’s humor (if you liked the first season of DESPERATE HOUSEWIVES, you’ll like this), I don’t see this show going anywhere. Chi needs a steady job. I like him no matter where he goes.

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President Bush’s popularity over time. [pic]

This is why you want a guy who made better than a “C” average in college sitting in the Oval Office.

UPDATE: ROVE RESIGNS

The Washington Post says: “After your child has already gone off to college seems an odd time to decide that you need to spend more time with your family.”

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The Space Shuttle Endeavour is in trouble. Something about giant space cooties eating through the skin of the spacecraft. They can’t afford to send guys out to fix the thing.

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Finally, images of armed rabbits [Triggerbunny]

Now It Can Be Told: Last week, I had a repeat of sorts of an accident I had about two years ago, where my dog tried to kill me. Believe me, I certainly helped generously both times… much like it would be where walking into a lion’s den wearing steak is helping out the lions who would then do what they are normally wont to do…

(More …)

No babies were harmed in the making of this video.

Don’t look away, because nothing bad happens.

Even though I knew this, I felt very uneasy watching a baby by himself in the water.

Amazing Swimming Babies

For more information, contact your local YMCA.

Just a quick note hello to all the four or five loyal Cuppacafe readers out there. I’ve been busy of late, and one thing that suffers when that happens is the frequency of this blog. But, if you’re smart you have an RSS feed. It’s a shame that my header doesn’t have an RSS feed of it’s own, so starting soon, I’ll post a quickie post concerning the header.

NOTE to the casual surfer:
What follows is pretty boring concerning my computer upgrade

(More …)

Finally! Bush begins to address the most important threat to America!

ZOMBIES!

Ya know folks, this is why we elected him in the first place. Apparently, August is going to be a bloody month. The throwaway gag at the end isn’t worth watching the whole vid for, but it’s a nice parting shot.

Sound req’d.

I want to pump… WOOF!… you up!

People mistake her for a pitbull with a pinhead, but Wendy the whippet is one rare breed.

So rare that the Central Saanich dog recently graced the New York Times. She also had several of her photos shown on The Today Show, all because of a rare genetic mutation that has led to her being the Incredible Hulk of dogs.

Wendy is a 27-kilogram rippling mass of muscle. Forget the so-called six-pack stomach: Wendy has a 24-pack. And the muscles around her neck are so thick, they look like a lion’s ruff.

Canada.com

Oh, it’s been a while, and while I while away the dog days of summer, a few notes and at least one cheap thrill –

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Geekasm: What happens when you have a stripper dressed as a storm trooper gives a geek a lapdance. See this video from Gizmodo

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The baseballs in the header represent all the ones that Barry Bonds has hit while on steroids that are currently illegal to use as a professional baseball player,

AND

the baseballs that Barry Bonds hit using a mechanical device that will most likely be banned by Major League Baseball

1) The apparatus is hinged at the elbow. It is a literal “hitting machine” that allows Bonds to release his front arm on the same plane during every swing. It largely accounts for the seemingly magical consistency of every Bonds stroke.

Six other reasons in the article

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My ex stepson made it back from Iraq. He did his best impression of a member of the Navy in the middle of the desert. Welcome back, Jeff! Give your four sons a hug from me.

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UPDATE: I hate it when I somehow delete the bottome 1/2 of an entire blog post. More when I get around to it.

To purposefully do this in front of a large crowd of people makes some of the Jackass-like stunts look positively tame in comparison.

You may have already seen this video. The last bit in slow motion is a different angle I hadn’t seen, and it’s impressive.

When the whole concept of “garbage sports” was invented for the original “Battle of the Network Stars”, nobody ever thought the concept would be taken to this extreme, requiring such a huge amount of athletic skill mixed with complete insanity.

Someone needs to invent airbags for people.

Nearly half the missions to Mars fail. Here’s to the latest venture:
(sound only for inspirational music)

It’s headed to go play with some Martian ice and perhaps be buried by Martian ice.

NBC’s Bionic Woman.

You are going to want to see this show.

I got ahold of the review copy of the first episode of the BIONIC WOMAN, and I can tell you that after watching you won’t be making comparisons to the old TV show. This is not an average show. This is a VERY good show.

That said, I’ll qualify it by saying the acting is only okay. The special effects aren’t stellar. Everything ELSE in the show is just okay. Nothing worth going crazy over.

So, why do I think you’ll want to watch this show?

Because the story is there, and it’s very tightly wound. Because it shortcuts everything to the core, much like it would be if you were reading a comic book. A short comic book. I wouldn’t be surprised if this was taken shot for shot from a comic book. It’s as if someone learned their lesson when the show HEROES was such a hit last year. It’s essentially, “Make something happen in every scene”.

The opening scene is not for children. It involves stepping over bloody bodies in a hallway. Grim and gritty stuff. You have been warned.

Katie Sackoff (the hot blonde Cylon from BATTLESTAR GALACTICA) plays an interesting character here, and I won’t give anything away, but the news that her role may be a recurring one gives me hope for the series.

Again, the premise of a “superhero”, and a reluctant one at that, isn’t really new. But the fact that there wasn’t twenty seconds of wasted time means I was glued to the screen.

The problem with a show that shortcuts to the plot/action means that most of the emotional range of the characters has been cut to the bone as well, meaning every character is so quickly defined, there’s not much depth allowed, so in that respect the show is lacking.

True, you will see common elements from other shows, freely lifted and applied often. There’s nothing here that you haven’t seen somewhere before. But this is put together rather tightly, so by the time you think you’ve seen a scene before, you’re already well into the next segment. Like I mentioned, this first episode doesn’t waste a moment of time getting to where it needs to be.

You may not end up liking this show for a variety of reasons, but a lame remake this is not.

You will want to watch this show.

NBC’s Bionic Woman website

She’d been strangled with a rosary-not a run-of-the-mill rosary like you might get at a Catholic bookstore where Hail Marys are two for a quarter and indulgences are included on the back flap of the May issue of “Nuns and Roses” magazine, but a fancy heirloom rosary with pearls, rubies, and a solid gold cross, a rosary with attitude, the kind of rosary that said, “Get your Jehovah’s Witness butt off my front porch.”

From the Detective category of the 2007 Bulwer-Lytton Fiction Contest winners page

It’s not the winner. But it was the first one that made me laugh.

Christina Dodd’s Castles In The Air with cover art by Robert Maguire.

As you can see, it features a very well endowed young maiden.

The reprints of this book have a different cover, so the originals such as my copy this scan came from are considered collectible and can occasionally be found on Ebay.

I could be wrong, but there’s nothing here I want to see. It has that same vibe I got when Hulk was sucking so badly. Zero chemistry with the audience. Well, no, the audience at SDComicon was hot and bothered, but as far as I’m concerned… meh.

See what you think and tell me there’s something here that couldn’t have been done for a TV show.

UPDATE::: Annnnnnnndd It’s Gone!