Geek out.

If you are a non-geek reader, please excuse the following post.

- If you are a fan of the amazing classic show Mystery Science Theater 3000 (and who isn't?), then you should run, not walk, to the website of Cinematic Titanic where Joel Hodgson, creator and beloved star of MST3K, announces that the original cast of MST3K is reuniting to create a new show! And the first episode is due out by Christmas! Yay!!

- This is way more exciting to me than it should be, given that I don't actually use wi-fi, but check out "Eye-Fi"! It's a memory card for your digital camera that not only stores the pictures you take, but can then upload them to your computer wirelessly. That's pretty awesome.

- Lastly for today, this really isn't that geeky, just amusing: the Anaheim Disneyland has to shut down "It's a Small World" for all of next year as they deepen the trench that the boats float in. Because the ride has not been updated since it was built in 1963, and people today are too fat for it to handle!


And now, here it is - your Moment of Zen:

love me/love me not

A little love comes Emma's way from Gay Chicago Magazine, calling it "the most politically relevant production of the year." (Pull down the "After Dark" menu and select "Stage".)

But no love for Second City, who went 0 for 3 at last night's Jeff Awards ceremony. Congrats anyway to Niki Lindgren, Andy St. Clair, and Marc Warzecha for being nominated!


And now, here it is - your Moment of Zen:

Dammit.

So much for that million dollar idea. Once again I've been beaten to the punch - just because I don't know anything about engineering! ; )

I had the idea years ago for the NapMaster 2000, which would monitor your brain and determine when you had actually fallen asleep, so it could wake you after the optimal 20 minutes of napping. I just couldn't ever figure out how you'd fall asleep with all those electrodes on your forehead.....

But now there's the Sleeptracker watch! You give it a range of time when you want to wake up (say you need to be up by 9am, you might set the range for 8:30-9:00), and then it monitors some sort of bodily data (they're kind of vague about that), and finds when in that range your sleep cycle has brought you closest to already being awake anyway, and it wakes you up. This way you aren't jerked out of a deep sleep, and theoretically wake up much more alert and refreshed.

Plus the "Pro" model can connect with your computer and upload info about your sleeping patterns so you can track how you sleep and... learn... something... from it. I guess. But it still sounds cool! It's on my Christmas list, believe me!

More Emma.

Here are links to some more reviews that have come out:

Chicago Reader (not so good)

New City (good)

chicagocritic.com (good)

And here's the promo image:

Phew.

I'm back. "Emma" is at last up and running (two reviews are out so far - one good and one not-so-good). I hope to relax for a while leading into the craziness of the holidays. I spent today answering e-mails and generally catching up. Here are just a few things that have bounced across my radar recently:

- Kelly got me "Moomin: The Complete Comic Strip, Volume 1" as an opening night gift. It's awesome. I love it! Volume Two is coming out next week, but she has told me not to buy it. : ) Therefore, it will not be on my Christmas list, but the Moomin novels I'm missing, and the DVD of the short lived cartoon show will be.....

- Speaking of next week, it's Halloween! I'm trying to get a group together to go see "Carpenter's Halloween" next Tuesday. Anyone interested?

- It turns out that Barack Obama and Dick Cheney are cousins! Who knew?

And now, here it is - your Moment of Zen: