Thoughts on the arts, society, politics, and various geeky topics.
This is the blog of Janice Dawley. Why is it called “Central Cortex”? Well, the Cortex was the interplanetary equivalent of the internet in Firefly, a show I was totally into back in 2003 when I first created this blog, and I’ve never changed the name since then. Strangely enough, I’ve barely written anything about Firefly here, but I’ve written a LOT about other TV shows and movies, as well as literature, politics, various cultural topics, and my own life.
I don’t have an extensive update to post, but it’s been so long since my last entry that I wanted to write something to show I’m still alive. So here I am. What’s new? Well, a couple of weekends ago I went to Meriden, NH to meet up with some high school friends I hadn’t seen in a while. For various reasons, I wasn’t as social as I wanted to be, but it was good...
Have you ever read “The Eye of Argon“? If not, you should. Not because you will enjoy it, in the normal sense of the word, but because it is so exquisitely, incredibly BAD. First printed in 1970 in a science fiction fanzine, “The Eye of Argon” is the story of a barbarian hero named Grignr, running from trouble and toward the plunder and wenches he expects to find in the...
Long, barren months after the last episode of Angel, I’m watching television again. Sunday was the second season premiere of Carniv?le. My housemate Andrew was kind enough to play host, and five of us squeezed in for the viewing. The show continued on directly from last season’s cliffhanger, and I confess I was a little deflated by the lack of surprises. Ruthie: alive. Sofie: alive...
Lee Dennis Dawley, 3 Aug 1937 – 2 Nov 2004
Gardener, beekeeper, liberal, letter writer, Cranky Yankee, reader, thinker, singer, friend, husband, dad.
We miss you.
Tomorrow is the big day. It seems like a lifetime since the Supreme Court selected the smirking chimp as our country’s Chief Executive. It’s hard to believe that in a little over 24 hours he could be handed his pink slip. (Or a bit more than 24 hours if the Onion’s “Countdown to the Recount 2004” scenario materializes. Considering the tales of dirty tricks in Ohio in...
Fox cancelled Firefly after airing only 11 episodes. Since then, so many DVD sets have been sold that Universal agreed to bankroll a feature film. That film, complete with the entire original cast of nine, is currently in production. I am pleased as punch.
Today I registered with the official web site, Browncoats. And now, I duly post this banner:
Keep flying, guys.
I left work early yesterday to pick up the car at Heritage Toyota. Orson had called and requested that their customer shuttle fetch me, and as I emerged into the sauna-like heat, I saw that the van was already waiting. When I arrived at the service desk I was told that the car had just come back from the collision center, and that the invoice wasn’t ready yet. Someone in the shop had to...
On both of my trips to Europe, I have observed that there are more reminders of history about than one is apt to find in the States. And some of this history isn’t pretty. In the streets of Frankfurt, Beverly and I came across these two seals embedded in the cobblestones. #1, located in the midst of the Römerplatz The original German reads: “Das war ein Vorspiel nur, dort wo man...
I recently returned from a week-long vacation in Germany, in the Frankfurt/Darmstadt area. This is a list of cultural observances I wrote down while I was there. Doors overlap their frames on one side, creating a very solid seal when they are closed. Light switches are often OUTSIDE the room. Trees are planted everywhere, even in private parking lots, etc. Urban spaces are pleasant and well...
This news is precious:
David Bradley, the Inventor of Ctrl+Alt+Del, Retires from IBM
‘At a 20-year celebration for the IBM PC, Bradley was on a panel with Microsoft founder Bill Gates and other tech icons. The discussion turned to the keys.
“I may have invented it, but Bill made it famous,” Bradley said.
Gates didn’t laugh.’
Well, I did.