(17:34:45) Rob: punkorama
(17:34:45) Nephew: y
(17:34:48) Rob: y!
(17:34:49) Nephew: y
(17:34:50) Rob: Ha ha
(17:34:52) Nephew: stop
(17:34:53) Rob: caught your input
(17:34:54) Nephew: y
(17:34:56) Rob: stop
(17:35:01) Nephew: i hate u
(17:35:04) Rob: I love you!
Monday, February 27, 2006
Celebrity Sightings Galore!
Something surreal happened on Saturday:
Saturday night we went to Genghis Cohen with our friend Nancy and her good friend Dan, in advance of an evening of improv at Bang. Sitting right next to us was William Shatner. Wow! Talk about iconic! He was having dinner with a woman whom I did not want to disturb. So, OK, wow. Based upon the way both tables were placed and everyone was seated, when William Shatner spoke to his dinner date, his voice headed straight for me. Wow, what a voice! Deep and boomy! Boom! Boom! Boom! This, by the way, is not the surreal part.
THIS is the surreal part. The TV in the bar was just barely in my sight, and some entertainment program was on. The program was showing a then-and-now retrospective of 70's TV stars, including ... yeah, you guessed it, William Shatner. Literally, I looked at the TV, then I looked at William Shatner, then back at the TV then back at William Shatner, until the program no longer showed pictures of William Shatner; they showed pictures of Ron Howard.
Here's a good time to better explain how everyone was sitting, through the magic of Microsoft Paint:
I really wanted to say hello. I wanted it so bad that I was willing to go beyond the fear that stopped me from talking to girls all through college. I asked my wife for advice; should I just turn to say hello? I whispered in her ear. "I want to say Hello, and I want to do it now; is it a good idea?" She whispered in Nancy's ear, but it took much longer. Nancy whispered in Dan's ear. I said to Beth, "You sad something else!" "Yes," Beth said, "I said 'Rob says he wants to say hello but isn't sure, and is behaving like a five-year-old about it.'"
Dan whispered back to Nancy, who whispered to Beth, who told me that I should wait until he was ready to leave the restaurant, so he could finish his dinner in peace. This made the most sense. Thank god he got up to leave, like, ten minutes later.
As William Shatner went for the door, I went after William Shatner and said, "Hi, I didn't want to disturb you at dinner, but I just wanted to say hi." William Shatner was nice, and said, "Thank you, thank you," still moving for the door. Then trying to be brief, I said, "I saw all your movies on opening night. The Star Trek ones." William Shatner said, "Oh my goodness." Actually that wasn't correct: I was actually trying to be brief. I meant to say, "I saw all of them, except the first two, cause I was too young, and the ones without you I didn't see on opening night" but in retrospect, that correction makes just as much a dweeb, or more of one, depending on your opinion.
To add to the bizzare nature of the evening, I saw one of my co-workers in the restaurant as I was paying, which is bizarre because she works in Mountain View.
On to Sunday morning.
Sunday morning I got an email offering me Lakers tickets. I spoke with Beth and jumped on them. Here was my second set of celebrity sightings, and I don't mean the Lakers. A brief list of the people who we saw at the game:
George Wyner, well, you know him. He's a character actor that's been on lots of stuff. The woman next to me was positive that it was Larry David, but Beth and I agree she was not correct. Neither of us could place him, but we knew he was "that guy". Finally, I remembered he was in the movie Spaceballs, and finally found him through a site called hey it's that guy.
There were a couple of other actor spots, but none that we could identify.
By the way, we all agreed that William Shatner looked much better in person than he did on television.
Saturday night we went to Genghis Cohen with our friend Nancy and her good friend Dan, in advance of an evening of improv at Bang. Sitting right next to us was William Shatner. Wow! Talk about iconic! He was having dinner with a woman whom I did not want to disturb. So, OK, wow. Based upon the way both tables were placed and everyone was seated, when William Shatner spoke to his dinner date, his voice headed straight for me. Wow, what a voice! Deep and boomy! Boom! Boom! Boom! This, by the way, is not the surreal part.
THIS is the surreal part. The TV in the bar was just barely in my sight, and some entertainment program was on. The program was showing a then-and-now retrospective of 70's TV stars, including ... yeah, you guessed it, William Shatner. Literally, I looked at the TV, then I looked at William Shatner, then back at the TV then back at William Shatner, until the program no longer showed pictures of William Shatner; they showed pictures of Ron Howard.
Here's a good time to better explain how everyone was sitting, through the magic of Microsoft Paint:
I really wanted to say hello. I wanted it so bad that I was willing to go beyond the fear that stopped me from talking to girls all through college. I asked my wife for advice; should I just turn to say hello? I whispered in her ear. "I want to say Hello, and I want to do it now; is it a good idea?" She whispered in Nancy's ear, but it took much longer. Nancy whispered in Dan's ear. I said to Beth, "You sad something else!" "Yes," Beth said, "I said 'Rob says he wants to say hello but isn't sure, and is behaving like a five-year-old about it.'"
Dan whispered back to Nancy, who whispered to Beth, who told me that I should wait until he was ready to leave the restaurant, so he could finish his dinner in peace. This made the most sense. Thank god he got up to leave, like, ten minutes later.
As William Shatner went for the door, I went after William Shatner and said, "Hi, I didn't want to disturb you at dinner, but I just wanted to say hi." William Shatner was nice, and said, "Thank you, thank you," still moving for the door. Then trying to be brief, I said, "I saw all your movies on opening night. The Star Trek ones." William Shatner said, "Oh my goodness." Actually that wasn't correct: I was actually trying to be brief. I meant to say, "I saw all of them, except the first two, cause I was too young, and the ones without you I didn't see on opening night" but in retrospect, that correction makes just as much a dweeb, or more of one, depending on your opinion.
To add to the bizzare nature of the evening, I saw one of my co-workers in the restaurant as I was paying, which is bizarre because she works in Mountain View.
On to Sunday morning.
Sunday morning I got an email offering me Lakers tickets. I spoke with Beth and jumped on them. Here was my second set of celebrity sightings, and I don't mean the Lakers. A brief list of the people who we saw at the game:
- Jack Nicholson
- Mark Walhberg
- Penny Marshall
- Regis Philbin
- Kareem Abdul-Jabbar
- Xander Berkeley
- George Wyner
George Wyner, well, you know him. He's a character actor that's been on lots of stuff. The woman next to me was positive that it was Larry David, but Beth and I agree she was not correct. Neither of us could place him, but we knew he was "that guy". Finally, I remembered he was in the movie Spaceballs, and finally found him through a site called hey it's that guy.
There were a couple of other actor spots, but none that we could identify.
By the way, we all agreed that William Shatner looked much better in person than he did on television.
Wednesday, February 22, 2006
Update
- I've been working. Alot. Much. Late. Many nights. Mostly fighting with XML, XPath, DOM and Namespaces. I'm just learning all of this, and while I realize I'm coming late to the party, I've learned a few things, and have written a few things, some of which my coworkers have called 'cool'. That's kinda nice.
- Beth and I are watching TV shows on DVD now; we've burned through Lost and now we're on to 24. Not bad. Lost is kind of a teaser, 24 is pretty great.
- I've started a Design Patterns discussion group within the office. This one is going pretty well, and I'm pleased with my own learning. Had I not stepped up to do this, if I were merely a participant, I wouldn't have nearly the mastery of the content. Plus, some of the less experienced engineers are coming to the class, and their questions, while easy for me to answer, have reinforced my own knowledge of the subject material. Nice, nice nice.
- I got promoted. Yay!
Sunday, January 29, 2006
Poor Steve
I just read a review of a trailer for the new Pink Panther movie. I don't expect it to be any good, and I agree that Steve Martin has struggled to remain relevant in the last several years (Cheaper By The Dozen?) But I believe this slight was undeserved:
He still writes great essays. That is, Steve does. I don't even know if Leslie can write.
Playing Clouseau this time is Steve Martin, who I enjoy in the Naked Gun films, but damn, this Pink Panther looks like it would be lampooned in a film from the Naked Gun series. I mean, he looks like W.C. Fields in a trenchcoat in this film!If you're not in on the gaffe, it's this: Steve Martin was not in any of the Naked Gun films; that's Leslie Nielsen. The author may be referring to this other actor from the Naked Gun series. Poor Steve!
He still writes great essays. That is, Steve does. I don't even know if Leslie can write.
Saturday, January 28, 2006
Books
Just finished: Dawn, by Elie Wiesel. Sad and thoughtful, what is it like to kill someone in the name of justice?
Finished recently: Freakonomics. Not a bad book as a springboard for discussion, but I can't fully recommend it until they provide a little more data, and a little less self-promotion.
Currently reading: The Hidden Language of Baseball. The history of signs and sign-stealing in baseball. I don't actually watch baseball anymore, but the notion of communicating simultaneously in public and in secret interests me. I wish the book spent more time on mechanics than history, but I'm still finding it fun.
Currently reading: Night by Elie Wiesel. My wife doesn't want me to subject myself to such sadness. It's my second reading, and it has become a sadder book with age.
About to read: Head First Design Patterns. This is a technical design book which I am reviewing with the intent of reviving our office's Design Patterns discussion group. I've heard great things about this book, I'll know more soon.
Finished recently: Freakonomics. Not a bad book as a springboard for discussion, but I can't fully recommend it until they provide a little more data, and a little less self-promotion.
Currently reading: The Hidden Language of Baseball. The history of signs and sign-stealing in baseball. I don't actually watch baseball anymore, but the notion of communicating simultaneously in public and in secret interests me. I wish the book spent more time on mechanics than history, but I'm still finding it fun.
Currently reading: Night by Elie Wiesel. My wife doesn't want me to subject myself to such sadness. It's my second reading, and it has become a sadder book with age.
About to read: Head First Design Patterns. This is a technical design book which I am reviewing with the intent of reviving our office's Design Patterns discussion group. I've heard great things about this book, I'll know more soon.
The Getty Villa
Today was special. My wife's friend Paula has been working on the Getty Villa restoration project for the last several years. Tomorrow is the first day that the Villa will be opened to the public. Today, however, Paula brought about 15 of her friends on a private tour. I was lucky enough to be one of them.
A little background: The Getty Villa was the original Getty Museum before it was relocated to its home high above the Sepulveda Pass. In 1996 the Getty Villa was closed to begin this long restoration project.
Corbin Smith, head of the Getty Villa Project Team, led our tour, and was full of knowledge about the history of the museum, the negative reviews by critics of the original Villa, and how the selected architects chose to embrace the existing architecture rather than abandon it altogether.
I should say something about the architectural style, at least, as much as I can with my limited vocabulary. The experience of entering the museum is designed to look like the museum itself is an uncovered excavation. The colors and layers change as you descend to the lower levels to mach that impression. The cafe upstairs is designed to invoke the notion of a makeshift overhang where excavators would relax. Corbin called all of this conceit, and by that he probably meant it as "an elaborate poetic image or a far-fetched comparison of very dissimilar things."
The work they have done is astounding. Items of note: the outdoor theater, the indoor theater. The staircase made from bronze, the wonderful tiled floors and ornate ceilings. The gardens are awesome, and by that I mean they filled me with awe. The roman (greek?) blown-glass exhibit was one of the most beautiful things I've ever seen. Our tour concluded with a visit to the room dedicated to showing the original drawings of the various architectural teams competing for the restoration project, and detailed scale models of the final project. Corbin was knowledgeable, interesting, and clearly enjoyed himself throughout this project.
A little sadness darkens this wonderful reopening: some of the artifacts which Italy is insisting it wants back are part of the collection in the new Getty Villa.
I cannot wait to go back, although it can't possibly match the calm, quiet and clean atmosphere of the empty grounds. Tickets are free, but must be obtained in advance. The exhibit is currently sold out of all scheduled showings through July.
Thanks, Paula!
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