Putting on My Pajamas to Swing on Trees!
Rest of the day is spent taking Jeannie to Mecca for ancient custom to avoid having her disappear into genie limbo. After successfully saving Jeannie at last minute, she asks where she should blink Captain Nelson to. “To Dr. Bellows' office.”
Scene: Dr. Bellows office, Roger on couch, clearly late at night. Dr. Bellows sitting in chair taking notes. “So, you say you have this repeating dream where you are a camel?”
Roger: “Yeah, sometimes a one hump, sometimes a two hump.”
“And then what?”
“And then I wake up thirsty.”
[Boing] Captain Nelson appears in behind Dr. Bellows.
“Well, Captain Nelson, I didn't see you come in. I'm afraid I'm not going to have time to talk to you tonight.”
Roger: “Well, I guess I'll be going.”
Roger picks up his cap and heads for the door.
Dr. Bellows: “Yes, but I'll see you every night this week.”
“What for?”
“Captain Healey, when a man tells me he has an unstoppable urge to jump out of his window and swing around in trees in his pajamas and has a reoccurring dream of being a thirsty camel, they need psychoanalysis!”
Tony: “Roger! I had no idea!”
Roger: “So, how long?”
Dr. Bellows: “Oh, well, probably three years.”
“Three years, huh?”
“Three years.”
“What I told you I made it all up?”
“Five years.”
“Ah.”
Roger pats Tony on the arm.
Roger mumbles to Tony: “Do a friend a favor, huh?”
Tony: “Where are you going?”
“I'm going to put on my pajamas and swing on some trees!”
From “Get Me to Mecca on Time!,” I Dream of Jeannie, Episode #16.
OK, maybe you had to see it to get the gist of it.
Stuff I've written.
Well, I've been busy writing, just not here. So, I thought, perhaps I should just post some links to what I've written elsewhere. Below are links and some thoughts on my interview with Richard M. Stallman and a little set of thoughts I had on the transition from summer to fall and its relation to the Gospel (got you intrigued?).
GNU Questions: RMS on SCO, Distributions, DRM — Want to understand the philosophical movement that got the ball rolling for GNU/Linux? It's not socialism, its Free Software. The Free Software movement was founded by Richard M. Stallman (RMS) in 1983 and has, in large part, succeeded because of the foundation RMS laid in its early years. In fact, much of the software that makes “Linux” work today was created by RMS's GNU Project, thus why I always call Linux “GNU/Linux.”
In the Open for Business article I linked to, RMS discusses with me a variety of topics including ethical questions within the context of Free Software philosophy and also questions on Digital Rights Management (DRM), the SCO Group lawsuit, and much more. There is also a link to my older interview with RMS which can be seen sort of as a primer. In fact, you might want to read that first to understand Free Software philosophy.
In essence, Free Software Philosophy argues that within the computer world there are ethical imperatives — the right to use, modify, share, and redistribute (even for a cost) the software you use. This flies in the face of the proprietary software licenses companies like Microsoft use. While many supporters of the parallel “Open Source” movement support these things for pragmatic reasons, RMS and his supporters believe it is the morally right thing to do. I respect that in this day and age of relativistic morals. Read both interviews, they are thought provoking even if you don't plan to use GNU/Linux.
While Free Software philosophy is secular in nature (RMS is an atheist), it does have some interesting connections with New Testament theology. RMS notes that the ideology behind his movement is very compatible with the concept of “Love your neighbor as yourself,” because you aren't signing contracts that prevent you from helping your neighbor get his computer doing whatever it is that he needs it to do. It's very interesting, I think.
Note: As I alluded to above, Free Software philosophy is often thought to really be socialism by those who have only a cursory knowledge of it (or who listen too much to Microsoft). It is not. Free Software supporters, unlike some supporters of the more “liberal” Open Source movement, insists on the capitalistic ability to turn a profit on Free Software. Red Hat, Inc. is living proof you can make money with Free Software.
Death of Summer — This time of year is always somewhat depressing for me. I'm not entirely sure why. However, lately I've had a different perspective on it. I blog about that at the Sakamuyo Network. Let me know what you think.
A Visitor's Guide to Driving in St. Louis, Missouri
The morning rush hour is from 6:00 to 10:00 am. The evening rush hour is from 3:00 to 7:00 PM. Friday's rush hour starts Thursday morning.
Gravois Road can only be pronounced by a native.
Construction on highway 40, 70, 270, 44, 55 and I-170 is a way of life, and a permanent form of entertainment.
A St. Louisan from South County has never been to North County and visa versa. West County has everything delivered.
If someone actually has their turn signal on, it is probably a factory defect, or has been on for the last 17 miles.
There are 2 exits on Highway 40 for Clayton Road and 2 for Big Bend.
All old ladies with blue hair in Cadillacs (driving on Olive west of 270) have the right of way.
Laclede Station Road mysteriously changes names as you cross intersections. As do McCausland, Lindbergh, Watson, Fee Fee, Airport Road and Midland.
Drivers are starting to cut their OWN plates rather than go through the Mo. Vehicle Dept. to get new tags. You can purchase tags from dealers behind QuiK Shops in the city. They are cheaper, the clerks are nicer, and the service is faster.
You can go all four directions on Highway 270: North and South in West County, East and West in South County, and East and West in North County. Confused?
So are the St. Louis drivers.
No native St. Louisan knows that Lindbergh runs from South County to North County. And, if you tell them, they will not believe you. Lindbergh belongs to every neighborhood except Kirkwood, who had the nerve to creatively change the name to “Kirkwood Road”.
Never stare at the driver of the car with the bumper sticker that says,”Keep honking, I'm reloading”- he is.
Any car parked longer than 4 hours in the city, is considered a parts store.
Highway 270 is our daily version of the NASCAR circuit.
YIELD signs are for decoration only. No native St. Louisan will ever grasp the concept.
If it snows or rains? Stay home.
I Can Only Imagine
Surrounded by Your glory, what will my heart feel
Will I dance for you Jesus or in awe of you be still
Will I stand in your presence or to my knees will I fall
Will I sing hallelujah, will I be able to speak at all
I can only imagine
I can only imagine / When that day comes / And I find myself / Standing in the Son
I can only imagine / When all I will do / Is forever / Forever worship You
I can only imagine
Surrounded by Your glory, what will my heart feel
Will I dance for you Jesus or in awe of you be still
Will I stand in your presence or to my knees will I fall
Will I sing hallelujah, will I be able to speak at all
I can only imagine
— MercyMe, I Can Only Imagine
That's a powerful song — one of my favorites. I noticed the entirety of it is now online at www.mercymelive.com, an official part of MercyMe's web site. Rather than using RealMedia or Windows Media, MercyMe was nice enough to use Streaming MP3, so even GNU/Linux users can enjoy it without any issues. Streaming MP3's are also downloadable, here's the address: www.inorecords.com/columbia/icanonlyimagine.mp3.
While you are at it, if you like the song, take a moment to request it on your favorite radio station per the instruction on the site I linked to. Apparently this song has somehow managed to start playing on secular stations — I think it is worth letting those stations know we appreciate it!
Too much to do...
Well, it seems like every-time I start working on this one project I've been meaning to do for eons, I end up with something more urgent to do. It seems to have happened again — I finally started on the project and suddenly several clients need me and the church librarian has told me she needs a new inventory printer ASAP. Hmrf.
On a side note, I'm currently looking for a clock, in good condition, that has 15 hours on its face. If you have one and would like to sell it, please let me know!
Read My Lips: No Taxes?
Another fellow Missouri blog, Sophoristically Speaking, has an interesting entry. According to this entry, a Tennessee court has decided that there may not be a requirement to pay federal taxes. Interesting…
Thy Kingdom is the Fairest, Dear King
Your distinct personality, The Dreamer-Minstrel might be found in most of the thriving kingdoms of the time. You can always see the “Silver Lining” to every dark and dreary cloud. Look at the bright side is your motto and understanding why everything happens for the best is your goal. You are the positive optimist of the world who provides the hope for all humankind. There is nothing so terrible that you can not find some good within it. On the positive side, you are spontaneous, charismatic, idealistic and empathic. On the negative side, you may be a sentimental dreamer who is emotionally impractical. Interestingly, your preference is just as applicable in today's corporate kingdoms.Who are you? Thanks go to Tony for the link.
Also: ever think you've run into food that doesn't agree with you? Well, don't complain unless it is this bad.
The World as a Blog
Well, that's neat! I found World as a Blog, and when I signed on under my URL (to show I was online), I noticed Sisters' Weblog: It Boggles the Mind is also on… (hi Susan or Katie!). I thought that was kind of interesting that two b4G'ers were among the few people currently on that site. Even more interesting, for some reason it never dawned on me that the weblogging sisters aren't all that far away on the map (I should read their blogchalk entries better).
Blogging certainly does make the world seem smaller… I mean, who'd think that I'd end up running into a number of bloggers that are just a hop-skip-and-a-jump from here (Christopher, Pressed, and Le Renard)? For that matter, Jake isn't all that far from here either. Midwestern bloggers are clearly a force to be reckoned with! Perhaps we need to start a Midwestern Bloggers Association (MwBA).
I Dream of Jeannie Restarts Today
Since the pilot episode is being skipped over on primetime (they appear to be airing even numbered episodes this time around, they aired odd numbered ones since Jeannie arrived on TV Land in June), let me give you the executive summary if you are a new (or soon to be) fan. This is a spoiler for the pilot episode, but since it won't be airing again for some time, you may want to read this so that you know how things got started.
Captain Anthony “Tony” Nelson (Larry Hagman) is in the Air Force, serving as an astronaut at NASA in Coco Beach, Florida. During an problematic rocket launch during the pilot, the orbiter that Nelson is in fails to get into space and crashes next to an island. On the (not so proverbial) desert island, he finds an interesting bottle and uncorks it. To his surprise smoke pours out of the bottle and a 2,000 year old genie named Jeannie (Barbara Eden) appears. Jeannie had promised herself that should would forever serve the person who rescues her and immediately seeks to grant whatever wishes Captain Nelson had.
After wishing Jeannie to learn English (she only knows Arabic), Tony is rescued by a search plane looking for him that Jeannie blinks onto the right path (Jeannie folds her arms and “blinks” to make things happen). Before the plane gets to him he wishes that Jeannie is free to do whatever she wants and leaves her on the island (or so he thinks). Jeannie has other intentions and rolls her bottle into Nelson's bag.
After arriving back at Coco Beach, Nelson's first indication that Jeannie came along is after Nelson and his fiancee walk into his house for dinner. Jeannie comes into the room, which needless to say leads toward the eventual demise of Nelson's engagement, much to his chagrin (he finds he can't get rid Jeannie — how do you get rid of magical being that doesn't want to leave?). While Jeannie will generally grant her “master's” every wish, she will not grant his wish for her to leave (since his one wish was that she be free to do whatever she wants, she doesn't have to do what he wishes even though she normally does) — she wants to marry him instead.
This and a few other events lead NASA's psychologist, Dr. Alfred Bellows (Hayden Rourke) to suspect that the crash landing has somehow caused Captain Nelson to be psychologically disturbed. In one of the few times Nelson in anyway acknowledges his having a genie to Bellows, he chases the garbage truck after throwing away Jeannie's bottle with Jeannie in it (even though he wants to get rid of her, he isn't a cruel guy and so he doesn't want her to be crushed and left in a garbage dump). The good captain doesn't rerelease Jeannie from the corked bottle until after Dr. Bellows leaves, so this appears to be some kind of hallucination on the part of Nelson in the eyes of the doctor. As Nelson dug furiously through the garbage truck before finding the bottle, Bellows assures him that he doesn't need to dig in the truck since NASA can get him all the trash he could possibly want.
This pretty much sets the stage for the whole show. Dr. Bellows begins monitoring Captain Nelson's erratic behavior (caused by trying to cover up Jeannie's magic), despite Nelson's attempts to suggest that his digging in the trash episode was only to “fool” Dr. Bellows into thinking he was crazy. From this point on Nelson decides it would be better not to reveal the fact that he has a genie to anyone (a few people will learn eventually, but that's another story).
Also introduced in this episode is Army* Captain Roger Healey (Bill Daily), Nelson's partner in space program projects. Healey is an all around nice guy, but he's one sandwich short of a picnic — he lacks common sense and always is one step behind what is going on. While Nelson is far more serious than Healey, they get along well most of the time, and Healey is Nelson's best friend.
So, that's it. The stage is set. These few concepts and conditions manage to put everything in motion that made I Dream of Jeannie's plot for five years and 139 episodes. Don't let all of the details overwhelm you, unlike some series — take Star Trek as an example — if you don't remember everything you won't be lost. Things will just make a bit more sense faster if you know how everything happened.
* It is often overlooked that Healey was in the Army and Nelson was in the Air Force. However this is the trivia answer as to why Nelson and Healey have different color uniforms (you'll notice this in the color episodes).
Friday Five: Travel
1. What's the last place you traveled to, outside your own home state/country? Technically speaking, that would be last month when I went over to Calhoun County, Illinois for a ride. You can make a nice trip of it — take the bridge over to Alton, Ill from St. Charles, Mo, then drive down the Great River Road. From there you can take the (free) Brussles Fairy over the Illinois River to Calhoun County, home of the world's best peaches. Calhoun County is a very pretty area and a nice place to spend an afternoon.
From there, you can take the Golden Eagle Fairy across the Mississippi River to return to St. Charles County. Two fairy rides in one day is very nice! Better yet, on my last trip I found out a new fairy opened — now you can take a fairy over to the Great River Road too. This fairy was especially nice in that it crosses over the confluence of the Mississippi and Illinois Rivers.
At any rate, if the question was asking the last time I actually stayed overnight, or longer, out-of-state, that would be Indiana last August. I went up there for my grandfather's wedding.
2. What's the most bizarre/unusual thing that's ever happened to you while traveling? Hmm… I dunno. The thing that comes to mind occurred on one of my family's semi-annual trips to the Ozarks when I was little. My grandpa (not the one mentioned above) decided to bring a metal detector to look for coins and other stuff on our trip. We didn't have room for it in the car, so it was tied up on the roof. We stopped for lunch at the very nice rest area right outside of Springfield, Mo, and then took back off. As we were pulling out of the rest area, we heard a loud “TTTHHHHHUUUUMP!” It was the metal detector flying off the roof. My mother pulled off Interstate 44 and chased the metal detector up the highway (it was in a cardboard box and drifted away from the car). Fortunately neither my mother nor the detector were hurt.
3. If you could take off to anywhere, money and time being no object, where would you go? Hmm… depends when you ask me. On Monday I would have said San Fransisco for LinuxWorld. Seriously, that's tough, but since it is probably more expensive to get there than other places I might want to go, I'd probably make Australia the destination for this trip. For some reason, Down Under fascinates me. Although, probably I'd rather go to Europe — I'd like to tour through England, France, Germany, etc. I have some friends over there I'd like to meet, so that'd be an added bonus.
4. Do you prefer traveling by plane, train or car? Car, definitely. My legs are long enough that a coach seat on a plane is very uncomfortable for more than a short while (and first class costs too much!). For that matter, I also get an ear ache when on planes, which isn't too pleasant either. Cars are good — you see more, you can go where ever you want, and your stuff can't accidentally go to the wrong destination or get damaged.
5. What's the next place on your list to visit? A new place to visit or just the next place? The next place is probably the Ozarks again — hopefully in mid-fall, otherwise, hopefully at Christmas (schedule permitting). I don't have any plans to go any place new, although who knows…
