Weekly Firesign Chat Log

A Firesign Chat
08/14/2003

Archive

||||||||| Catherwood re-enters the Waiting Room and explains "This is the main discussion room which is logged each night."
||||||||| Catherwood announces, "The time is 4:33 AM - I now declare Thursday's chat log for August 14, 2003 officially open!"... and then, he retires back to the vestibule...
||||||||| Catherwood strides in with a trumpet, plays a fanfare, and proclaims "Nine PM on Thursday, August 14, 2003 - I now declare alt.comedy.firesgn-thtre's chat officially open!" -- then he looks around at the empty room, looks at his watch, and mumbles "...am I early?"
||||||||| 9:06 PM: Bubba's Brain jumps out of the hall closet saying "I've been listening to all of you talking about me for the past hour!"
||||||||| Catherwood steals into the room, and intones "Announcing 'Merlyn', also known as 'Nancy' -- the time is 9:06 PM" -- then he slowly retires back into the vestibule...
Merlyn: hey BB
Bubba's Brain: Hey M
Bubba's Brain: Where you located... coutry wise
Bubba's Brain: country
Bubba's Brain: i.e. what part of it
Merlyn: I just made a tweak to the Mindless Fellowship Pavilion
Merlyn: I'm in Minnesota, where we still use steam power
Bubba's Brain: Psssssssteeeeam heat.
Bubba's Brain: I'm in Indiana, we use manure
Merlyn: That's where the fst.com host machine is...they were close to the blackout
Bubba's Brain: I doubt we'll see too many here tonight, given the east coast contingent
Merlyn: For history, tonight is the Great Blackout of 2003
Bubba's Brain: GBO'3
Bubba's Brain: Just as long as they don't pre-empt Queer Eye
Merlyn: isn't that what hemlock stones had?
Merlyn: queer private eye for the missing straight guy
Bubba's Brain: Hmmm. private queer eye..... the first gay detective series.... you have something there
||||||||| Outside, the 9:13 PM downtown bus from Funfun Town pulls away, leaving UriTestakov coughing in a cloud of diesel fumes.
Merlyn: hey uri, new here?
UriTestakov: Where were you when the lights went out?
UriTestakov: EricTavis
Bubba's Brain: The night the lights went out ign Georgia?
UriTestakov: Travis
Merlyn: McTravis
UriTestakov: Mixed Tucker with a helicopter engine
Bubba's Brain: ET, hone foam...
UriTestakov: Love the one you're with...
Bubba's Brain: So, Uri, what general part of the world do you have lights in?
UriTestakov: Anteaterica
UriTestakov: TX
Bubba's Brain: Ahhhhhh... it seems most of the group is east coasting along.... may be a slowwwwww night.
UriTestakov: Austin for Governor!
Merlyn: father guido didn't have his paperwork in order
Bubba's Brain: what? 1 2 3 5 4 6 7 ....?
UriTestakov: Domini domini domini, you're all catholics now...
UriTestakov: What???
Bubba's Brain: order.... and not being in.
UriTestakov: May this court come 2 order.
Merlyn: move those 10 commandments, bailiff
UriTestakov: There are time when you reeeealy like policemen and marines. Am I Wright?
Bubba's Brain: I'm gonna slip out for a while... got some work to do.
||||||||| Bubba's Brain rushes off, saying "9:22 PM? Mark Time is almost on! Where's a radio?"
UriTestakov: Just having fun with fellow Firesign fans...
UriTestakov: No, the Horizon's coming up!
UriTestakov: Toronto to NYC, blackout. Oh, Mr. Gatessss........
Merlyn: why don't they call them 'electricity droughts'? Much more 19th century
Merlyn: Sounds less serious that way…
UriTestakov: We own the horizontal...
UriTestakov: We oen the vertical...
UriTestakov: Own...
Merlyn: we own the diagonal
UriTestakov: Don't know much about them there computers, but I do think there might be a problem...
Merlyn: but we have to rent the orthogonal
UriTestakov: You can shout down the electric grid from Tonto to New Orc?
UriTestakov: Love your neighbor (jim) like your brother (typewriter)
UriTestakov: Serious business, somebody can mess with the computer code which controls that region.
Merlyn: This might be it for tonight, unless the west coast shows up
UriTestakov: Buy How Time Flys
Merlyn: got an autographed copy
Merlyn: wait, I don't think I got an autograph...
||||||||| 9:32 PM: Dave jumps out of the hall closet saying "I've been listening to all of you talking about me for the past hour!"
Dave: hold it right there!
Merlyn: hey dave, power blackout really slows things down around here
Dave: oh yeah, forgot about that,
Dave: probably not a lot of people gonna be on tonight then, must've been one hell of a grid shut down
Merlyn: yep, you're just the 4th person to show up tonight so far
UriTestakov: Well, wat the heck...
UriTestakov: This ain't sabotage. Yeah, right...
UriTestakov: Yes Album - Wurm
Dave: major cities got hit, that's gotta be a bitch
UriTestakov: Detroit, Toronto, NYC... no big deal
Dave: nope, no biggy
UriTestakov: I've work with some pretty good mainframe people. That S*^%$ don't happem.
UriTestakov: Who's behind is The Electrician?
UriTestakov: Ken Lay?
Merlyn: the east coast needs a new Zeppo tube!
||||||||| Catherwood escorts Dr. Headphones in through the front door at 9:41 PM, picks up his cues (only slightly scorched), and heads for the billiard room.
Dr. Headphones: hi dave, merl, uri
||||||||| 9:41 PM: doctec jumps out of the hall closet saying "I've been listening to all of you talking about me for the past hour!"
Dr. Headphones: did someone call a doctor?
UriTestakov: Alimentry, dear watson...a
Merlyn: doc, how'd you manage to get here?
doctec: power is trouble and trouble ain't funny!
UriTestakov: Oh, my White Brother...
Dr. Headphones: more power, er, sugar!
UriTestakov: Sure, you must be the indiots!
Merlyn thinks my plan to take over firesigntheatrelegacy.com thwarted!
Dr. Headphones: doc, just be glad you weren't in an elevator or subway when it happened
doctec: power went out at work this afternoon (fairfield county) but around bridgeport, half the city only experienced a flicker
Merlyn: I should have just thought that
doctec: dude, i've been watching the reports - i can't believe how lucky i am
Dr. Headphones: brian, dave just privated me, he's got computer problems, kill him off
Merlyn: ok
||||||||| Merlyn aka 'The Reaper' has killed off Dave at 9:44 PM
UriTestakov: I wouldn't fire the people who made the code that made this liitle problem happen. I'd make them Mayor of Billville.
doctec: plans? what plans?
Dr. Headphones: wow, that was *easy* ! i just ask for you to murder someone and you do it
doctec: the latest reports are that a lightning strike at the niagra mohawk power plant triggered the outage
UriTestakov: Billevile, Billeville
Dr. Headphones: i thought they ironed out this "bring down the whole grid" back in the 60s when it happened before
UriTestakov: Thank Grid...
Merlyn: kind of hard to test that, though...
doctec: well dr.h, here's what i expect will be the likely scenario
||||||||| Catherwood enters with Dave close behind, mutters something about disrupting his 9:46 PM tree-stunting plans, and runs off to the Aviary.
UriTestakov: Anybody got a flashlight? It dark in here.
doctec: it's a hot august summer weekday and everything is running full blast everywhere
doctec: most of the stations are already at capacity
Dave: BACK FROM THE DEAD!
doctec: the lightning strike shuts down niagra mohawk
UriTestakov: Roller Maidens skating towards NYC
doctec: other stations nearby attempt to pick up the load, but they are already taxed to capacity
doctec: causing them to shut down
doctec: hich causes their neighboring stations to pick up the slack...
Dr. Headphones: the domino effect in action, but not communists
doctec: you do the math
UriTestakov: Taxed? Der me sir. I say der me!
Dr. Headphones: math? what was 5 is 2. what was 2 is one. what was 1 is nothing.
UriTestakov: Wooof.
UriTestakov: Texas State National Guard - guided by GW Bush.
doctec: and the thing is, once a power station goes down there's a time consuming 'boot sequence' that has to be done in order to bring it back up
UriTestakov: IPL, MF
doctec: so basically all people are waiting on is for that boot sequence to be done at each plant
Dr. Headphones: uri: did you see the gwb-tang action figure on ebay?
UriTestakov: It's just the plain ole' song, with a different beat..
doctec: and then they slowly bring each area the station serves back online (don't want to overload the power station again, since everyone wants power as soon as it is available, right?)
Dr. Headphones: i'm going to try to find it quickly, brb
UriTestakov: Tang? There's an American flag on the Moon. Go get it.
doctec: astronauts of champions or something like it
doctec: a day without tang is like a day without astronauts
doctec: i used to know all those advertising slogans
UriTestakov: One big step into Arabian horse shit.
Dr. Headphones: http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=3141998098
doctec: that's funny dr. h. ... reminds me of the new 'clerks inaction figures' (http://www.viewaskew.com)
Dr. Headphones: a day without tang is like a fish without a bicycle?
UriTestakov: Speaking of no smoking...
Dr. Headphones: i've been a sales clerk before, i understand inaction completely
UriTestakov: There's no smoking here...
Dr. Headphones: i'm smokin' and it ain't funny
UriTestakov: You know you go into the room?
doctec: lili would be joining us tonight but she took off for san francisco tuesday - her brother has tix to go see the play 'urinetown' tonight
UriTestakov: There's no smoking here...
UriTestakov: Aramco
doctec: this chinchilla is entirely synthetic
UriTestakov: arab american oil company
doctec: megaconglomerate
Dr. Headphones: "aramco--we own the idea of oil"
doctec: megaconglomerate must be that 'secret ingredient' they are always talking about
UriTestakov: God bless Jerry Garcia and his mates. This is verrry kileeen.
UriTestakov: We own Texas. SRV
doctec: "dead heads: jerry's kids?" - next on file
doctec: indonesia for the indonesians!
UriTestakov: Crossfire!
doctec: i have to, er, 'step away' ... be right black - er back
UriTestakov: Ah, I wouldn't fight for my family and friends...
||||||||| Catherwood steals into the room, and intones "Announcing 'klokwkdog', also known as 'Nancy' -- the time is 10:00 PM" -- then he slowly retires back into the vestibule...
Dr. Headphones: put your hands on your head and step away from the computer
Dr. Headphones: howdy, dawg
Merlyn: this night isn't as slow as I thought it'd be
UriTestakov: I'm a pacifist. I like slaves in other countries.
klokwkdog: evening - I see you are still empowered, DT, too
||||||||| Catherwood enters the room, strikes a gong, and bellows "THE TIME IN NEW YORK IS 10 O'CLOCK", then silently exits.
Dr. Headphones: uri: i'm with you on half of that (first half)
Dave: with the way things are going Ken, I wouldn't be too surprised if that "put your hands on your head" phrase will be the wave of the future, the Thought Police will come eventually
Dr. Headphones: yes, klok, no untoward effects here except lost cable tv for several hours
UriTestakov: Nobody habda be a slave all the time no moor. We gwan take turns. Guess?
Dr. Headphones: eventually, dave? they are here now. you just haven't gotten the news release yet
UriTestakov: Hey Dave. How's Kurzweil doing?
klokwkdog: how can Catherwood know what time it is in New York???
klokwkdog: I take it Elayne and Ash won't be joining us tonight...
Dr. Headphones: klok: he's in new jersey, has high-powered telescope, reads the clock in times square
klokwkdog: hope they are well
Dave: Uri, I don't use kurtswile
Dr. Headphones: radio news says millions are still without power
Dave: check out www.gwmicro.com for my screen reader's demo, but know that the control key silences the reader, otherwise you'll go crazy
Merlyn: ever since Bush was elected
Dr. Headphones: lol, merl
klokwkdog: i was just reading up on the Russian Igla ("needle") shoulder-fired SAM, got distracted. it's not a toy
Dr. Headphones: my quasi-interview regarding employment went quite well over dinner tonight. now i have to get a haircut and get my suit cleaned
klokwkdog: GREAT, Ken!!
Dr. Headphones: klok: no missile is a toy, even those marketed as such
klokwkdog: oh, I think the plastic 2 L soda bottles are toys, Ken
||||||||| At 10:08 PM, the lights go out! Rocky Rococo's voice pierces the inky darkness: "I've got you now, Dave!" Shattering glass is heard, and then the lights come back on...
doctec: am i here?
Merlyn: how can Firesign get sued by Fox News? Al Franken's book is #1 on amazon, and it isn't even out yet
Dr. Headphones: are you where?
doctec: weird, the last two msgs didn't get sent
klokwkdog: Dave: CTRL key won't help me; it's too late already...
Dr. Headphones: doc: you got routed into a black hole
doctec: ah
klokwkdog: you are here ->
doctec: not the first time that's happened
Dr. Headphones: firesign is being sued? i must read the newsgroup more often than once a week, i guess
Merlyn: no, how can they get sued?
klokwkdog: no, they should TRY is what I think he's saying
doctec: anyway 1st missed msg: local nyc tv reports that city is still without power so no, i don't expect we'll see elayne or ash here this evening
Dr. Headphones: all it takes is one lawyer with a typewriter
doctec: and 2nd missed msg to dr. h.: just what is a quasi interview, anyway?
klokwkdog: turn on ABC: it's all blackout all the time here
doctec: did y'all see the primate software site?
Merlyn: if you had a blackout during a blackout, how could you tell?
klokwkdog: Amsmack barrels thru here on Acela runs only 1 mi. away, so it's been a nice, quiet evening ;-)
Dr. Headphones: doc: guy who works there is my friend, wants me to get the job, he's in middle mgt but not the department where i would work and no hiring authority
doctec: (one of you sent me the link i think ... so did lili)
Dr. Headphones: didn't see primate software
||||||||| Dave sneaks in around 10:12 PM, trying to avoid Catherwood because of last week's "unpleasant incident."
klokwkdog: i sent it to you, DT; I think it was LOTD at the User Friendly cartoon site
doctec: dr.h.: ah, i see. well, let's hope he can pull some strings behind the scenes anyway - best of luck with that!!!
UriTestakov: Me Tarzan. Me Jane's.
Dr. Headphones: neat. my linux computer is on random screensaver, there's a lava lamp now
klokwkdog: i can find it fairly quickly
doctec: klok: right - thanks for that one, it's a beaut
Dave: hey Brian, great little exit for me, I like that one
UriTestakov: I come here with only one shoe!
Merlyn: I added a few new exit messages last week
doctec: infitinite # of monkeys + infinite # of computers = perl interpreter?
Dr. Headphones: doc: he's going to talk to the big boss next week, about the time i waltz in there with a spiffy suit and my wingtips, brandishing a loaded résumé
Dave: sorry had screen reader problems, oh this day just keeps getting better
doctec: yeah merl, love the whole chat app - so much better than irk - er, irc
Dr. Headphones: dave, eventually you will go to sleep and it will all be a bad memory tomorrow
klokwkdog: look at those stack flares and tell me that's normal "not a fire". Heck, I thought it was one of the refineries at Bayonne, not a power plant!
UriTestakov: I am in disagreement with what our armed forces are used for. Not their existence.
doctec: well dr.h. i know that employment would be a welcome addition to your busy schedule...
Merlyn: my memory is bad all the time
Dr. Headphones: uri: you and me both on that one. defense doesn't mean barrelling into other countries to topple dictators
doctec: ...so i really wish you the best of luck
UriTestakov: You mean, Guatemala?
UriTestakov: The Evil Men Do
klokwkdog: Uri: why? They are defending the Saudi royal family and ARAMCO's oil supply...what better use could they be put to? Invading Iran? That's for later.
doctec: bwaaaaaa ha ha ha ha haaaaa!
Dr. Headphones: well, that's only one of many. if we don't do it out in the open like afghanistan and iraq, we send covert operatives into destabilize. there's a list a mile long somewhere on my hard drive
UriTestakov: My car gets 2 miles to the litre
doctec: i once walked a camel for a mile
UriTestakov: Don't blow up buldings in NY. TX & CA will have something to say.
Dr. Headphones: quick: what's the conversion factor for kpl to mpg?
klokwkdog: iran (1953), afganistan (1980) and Iraq (1982) were covert operations
UriTestakov: Twice the speed of jaylo!
||||||||| 10:18 PM: russ jumps out of the hall closet saying "I've been listening to all of you talking about me for the past hour!"
Dr. Headphones: well, klok, once again you're right. (damn, how it pains me to say that!)
Dr. Headphones: hi russ, welcome aboard. or, if you're a transvestite, welcome a broad
||||||||| Catherwood escorts Cat from Terrace in through the front door at 10:19 PM, picks up his cues (only slightly scorched), and heads for the billiard room.
russ: hey
Cat from Terrace: i made it
Dr. Headphones: hey cat
doctec: hey cat
Merlyn: hey cat
russ: power to the people
klokwkdog is reading Karl Meyer's book, The Dust of Empire - The Race For Mastery In the Asian Heartland at the moment, and is thus full of it
doctec: howdy russ
UriTestakov: New Connery: The Hunt for Jaylo's red parts.
Cat from Terrace: took me half an hour to get online on this dial up thing but here i be
klokwkdog: evining mr seems real
doctec: seems real, don't he?
Cat from Terrace: no, power to the east coast. are you not blacked out yet?
Merlyn: if he could only get knighted, he'd be sir real
Dr. Headphones: russ: you aren't one of those leftover 60s hippies are you? if so, i'm anudder one ;)
Cat from Terrace: i wouldnt mind that
Dr. Headphones: well, early 70s for me
Cat from Terrace: no austin thus far?
UriTestakov: Let's see... 200,000 people trying to get out of NYC with no power. Hey, no sweat...
klokwkdog: cat - you have to hold your finger in the hole all the way around until you hit the stop. i find the best technique is to then remove the finger rather than dragging the dial back (although that looks cool in movies)
russ: yeah, early 70's kind of thing
Dr. Headphones: no, if he were knighted and someone broke him, that person could be a sir cat breaker
Cat from Terrace: i had to hit refresh about a hundred times to get here
Merlyn: I thought they should just start the NY marathon while they're at it
UriTestakov: Close to the Edge
Cat from Terrace: talk about tired fingers
doctec: cat: office got knocked out, but 10 miles east (past the worst of the carnage) and my place was just over the demarcation line - the power was out for just a few seconds (so i'm told, i arrived home two hrs after the blackout wave hit the northeastern corridor)
russ: still have original firesign vinyl
Merlyn: heh 'phones
Dr. Headphones: uri: in a roundabout way
Cat from Terrace: still busy, doc?
klokwkdog: i was looking at ABC's apocolyptic coverage early this afternoon, at about 5PM and looking at the gizillions of people and cars
UriTestakov: Moraz rocks
Dr. Headphones: russ: i've got about 12 original lps myself
doctec: merl: yeah, and watch all the desk-bound office workers drop from heat prostration in the first 500 yards
klokwkdog: ...and I thought, "Hey, that looks like NYC every night about this time!"
Cat from Terrace: Terrace gets its Red Shift premiere tonight. when my friends kids go to sleep (if ever)
Merlyn: do radio & tv in NYC have their own power?
doctec: cat: well, it seems that i am over the worst of the heavy office workload
Cat from Terrace: good to hear doc
doctec: the events shopping cart project has been all consuming since the end of may
UriTestakov: NYCs in the black tonight. So much for too many rats in a box...
doctec: and many untold hours of midnight oil were burned (along with a few brain cells along the way)
Cat from Terrace: nowonder it can;'t get a cab, uri
UriTestakov: Or so Bin Laden thinks...
klokwkdog: i thought they now required the warders on each floor to carry keys to those desk chains, DT. so the wage slaves can escape in case of fire, election, etc.
Dr. Headphones: does midnight oil burn any differently than noon oil?
Cat from Terrace: your job is safe?
Cat from Terrace: only in australia, ken
UriTestakov: We goyan take turns...
klokwkdog: only if you burn it at both ends, Ken
doctec: but this week we just wrapped up the last of that development work, so now there's just some cleanup to do, and documentation - yes, thank grid, the new events shopping cart seems to be just what everyone wanted and more
Dr. Headphones: lol, cat!
UriTestakov: Guess who's tuyn it is now!
Dr. Headphones: doc: do the wheels wobble on it? if not, it ain't done yet ;)
Cat from Terrace: i may be on a mountain in the middle of nowhere, but i havent lost my delicate sense of humour, kend
doctec: klok: well we're a 'new media' company, so all the desk shackles are on timers
doctec: dr.h.: wobble? heavens no, it either flies through the air with the greatest of ease or comes crashing to a dead halt
klokwkdog: i sent Ken to i.com this week, DT, to ratchet up your banner ad counters; I was on the practicallynetworked.com site a lot, too
UriTestakov: No true Mississippi cowhard would leave his wine cellar unprotected...
Cat from Terrace: though these multiplying mosquito bits tends to diminish my ability to laugh, type, whatever
doctec: thanks klok. btw, did you know jupitermedia acquired the devx and arttoday sites?
Dr. Headphones: no wine in 'sipi, they drinks BEER there!
UriTestakov: Try us.
doctec: devx may be of some interest - maybe - possibly
Dr. Headphones: ah, cat's on the west nile terrace
Cat from Terrace: i already tried the US. here's much better
russ: or what 'passes' for Beer
UriTestakov: How do you know for sure?
Cat from Terrace: dont joke, kend. i'm in sask next week, the home of the disease
Dr. Headphones: yeah, i had some beer at dinner and it's wanting to be passed. brb
klokwkdog: news last week that obscure australian virus may fill the cowpox role in a west nile vaccine
doctec: west nile is in saskatchewan? can you say geographic cognitive dissonance?
klokwkdog: cat - it's in everybody's eggs now...
russ: Or as I say "Microbrew in, Bud out"
doctec: eggs ackley!
UriTestakov: I vill run your estate. Vote for ME!
doctec: and that's spelled emmmmm eeeeeeeeee.......
Cat from Terrace: and other r. crumb characters
UriTestakov: KEY, mouse
klokwkdog: DT: can you say mosquitoes with 14 ft wingspan? They can't even test Predator RPVs near there lest they get eaten
klokwkdog: R.C. and his Cheap Suit Serenaders!
doctec: 14 foot wing spans!?!??! wow, the wright brother must be turning in their graves
UriTestakov: Arrrrnold. I vill terminate the defecit!
Cat from Terrace: no cognitive dissonance in saskatchewan. we cant spell it
doctec: er, brothers
klokwkdog: yes, clockwise, DT
Cat from Terrace: but cases have turned up there in past few days. not what i want to hear when i get off the plane in regina next tuesday
doctec: uri: that's spelled A-H-N-U-L-D
doctec: quick henry, the flit!
Cat from Terrace: i'm not sure arnold can spell "spell"
UriTestakov: NESTELE
klokwkdog: Uri, did you see Tom the Dancing Bug cartoon re Terminator in Salon today?
doctec: klok: ooh, i missed t.d.b. today thanx for the remainder
doctec: er, remander
UriTestakov: Ya, I can pump the defecit...
doctec: whatever...
klokwkdog: also a good (in both senses) long interview with Tom Tomorrow to boot!
UriTestakov: Californians get what they deserve.
doctec: klok: i *did* see the tom tomorrow interview - a great read
UriTestakov: Arrrrnold.
doctec: he's brilliant
Cat from Terrace: that includes the firesign theatre, uri
doctec: Kali-fornia
UriTestakov: Vote papoon.
klokwkdog: Still don't get it. Titanic sinking. 15 minutes to go; passengers decide to replace the captain and hundreds vie for the title!
Dr. Headphones: i wish papoon would run again
UriTestakov: The guaranteed annual year!
doctec: i'd sure like ta get me one'o'them guaranteed annual years...
doctec: hell. i'd be glad to hear papoon was walking again...
Merlyn: department of rearranging deck chairs
klokwkdog: not any more: your pension has just been downsized and moved to China
Cat from Terrace: hey, i'd be happy with a guarnteed day
UriTestakov: The concession speach is excellent.
doctec: depat. of shufflebored
Cat from Terrace: is ossman back on his feet again?
UriTestakov: Little Feat?
doctec: as far as i know, cat
Dr. Headphones: read something today about celebrity political candidates. jello biafra was the best one
doctec: he was certainly alive and on the line at CONvergence
Merlyn: when was he off his feet?
UriTestakov: Scatman, crothers...
Cat from Terrace: so you said, doc. i'm just glad that trip didnt take too much out of him
doctec: dr.h.: jello is definitely someone i would vote for in an election
doctec: cat: yeah, he seemed hale and hearty - and in good spirits too - very good to see
UriTestakov: Voyage of the Mimi Mimi
Cat from Terrace: merl, doc: he told me the regular (monthly?) commute to la for the radio show took A LOT out of him
Cat from Terrace: nathan hale? pappoon has but one life to give to his surreal country
doctec: cat: i can imagine that, especially since that was around the time he was experiencing pulmonary distress
UriTestakov: Ahrrr, matey. We be listenin' to ELP Pirates
Merlyn: he seemed fine at the studios, though...
UriTestakov: The years in your ears...
Dr. Headphones: emerson lake and palmer?
doctec: are those my years?
UriTestakov: & Powell
Dr. Headphones: let me get the wax out of my year
Dr. Headphones: lots of dna in earwax according to c.s.i.
Cat from Terrace: is that lake in minnesota, kend?
doctec: it's the wane i really worry about
UriTestakov: Earwigs all 'round
doctec: wane wane go away
doctec: huhuhuhuhuhuhuhuhuhhhhh
Cat from Terrace: oh, what a lucky man, he was
doctec: put that pebble back, eugene
UriTestakov: He keeps talking about my one green
doctec: and careful with that axe
UriTestakov: Aye, matey
Dr. Headphones: uh oh, cat, you've hit a nerve with klok. i once told him i liked that song, you could see the steam coming from his ears as he got angry
UriTestakov: Gris, gris. Dr. John
Cat from Terrace: ok folks, i'm returning the computer to its owners. see youse al next week. MAYBE
Cat from Terrace: keep em frying
Merlyn: see ya, cat
UriTestakov: Yo, dude. Catherwood....
Dr. Headphones: ok, cat, enjoy your trip
doctec: dr.h.:pretty much the same reaction as when i have to listen to 'scenes from an italian wedding' one more f*cking time
klokwkdog: you stole a computer? wow. nite, Cat!
doctec: bye cat - check ya on the flip side
UriTestakov: Scenes from Sears, yes....
UriTestakov: Brenda & Eddie
Dr. Headphones: roe, roe, roe your buck
doctec: scenes from italian rubout
klokwkdog: worst 'Hit" ELP ever had...
UriTestakov: That's all I know about Brenda & Eddie...
Dr. Headphones: i'm not familiar with that one, doc. an opera?
UriTestakov: One of the best rock keyboard players US. NY
doctec: ok i have to take off temporarily too - i promised lili i'd take care of her cats while she is gone, will log into chat from her pc when i get there - unless she is without power (which i doubt, word is that milford was totally untouched by the blackout)
Merlyn: whoever heard of an opera in italian?
doctec: what's opera, doc?
Dr. Headphones: ok, doc, say "meow" to them for me :)
Dr. Headphones: opera is the plural of opus
doctec: so i'll see whoever's still logged on again in about 30-45 mins
doctec: ttfn....
||||||||| doctec is defenestrated just as the clock strikes 10:42 PM.
Dave: I need to make a musical appeal, has anyone here ever heard of a guy named Mark Eitzel? he just put out an album and I'm wanting to find reviews of it from people
Merlyn: don't know him
klokwkdog: Dave - http://www.allmusic.com/cg/amg.dll?p=amg&uid=MISS70305241753&sql=B0px1z82ajyvn
klokwkdog: complete bio, etc. if the link is not usable, go to www.allmusic.com and type his name into the entry field
Dr. Headphones: name doesn't ring any bells with me, dave
klokwkdog: As both a solo artist and the frontman for enduring cult favorites American Music Club, Mark Eitzel established himself among the truly powerful forces in contemporary music; a hauntingly evocative singer, he earned even greater notoriety for his brilliance as a composer, combining the energy of punk, the pastoral beauty of folk, and the melodrama of lounge music to build one of the most impressive and darkly poetic bodies of songs in the modern pop canon
||||||||| Catherwood steals into the room, and intones "Announcing 'Bunnyboy', also known as 'Nancy' -- the time is 10:48 PM" -- then he slowly retires back into the vestibule...
Bunnyboy: lo dere
klokwkdog: can you say, "Mark Eitzel wrote this biography"? ;-)
Dr. Headphones: wow, sounds like they are describing jesus christ there
klokwkdog: hi BB
Dr. Headphones: hey bun
Merlyn: hey bb
Bunnyboy: oof! I just missed Doc!
klokwkdog: that's a different listing, Ken, but I think Eitzel worked with him at one point
Merlyn: I didn't know jesus wrote music
Bunnyboy: cat: The layered look? Tres' chic!
Dr. Headphones: jesus christ superstar is playing in kalamazoo with some washed up rock star as jesus
||||||||| It's 10:50 PM, and that means it's time to play BEAT THE REAPER! And here's how our contestants did:
||||||||| Cat from Terrace - dead from dengue fever
||||||||| russ - dead from the common cold
||||||||| Better luck next time! And now, back to our chatroom, which is already in progress...
Merlyn: in fact, didn't he say "go, and sing no more!" ...?
klokwkdog: how very appropriate, Ken...
Dr. Headphones: merl: also something about pearl jam before swine
Bunnyboy: Merlyn: Saw your post about Flaherty. Eugene Levy sez SCTV DVD product will street in January.
Dr. Headphones: klok: ad on tv showed him, he should have tatooed "heroin addict" on his forehead
Bunnyboy: Head: Is it Sebastian Bach?
Bunnyboy: Head: Naw, it's on the back of the neck. Or the shin. Or the wrist. Or...
Bunnyboy: Any port in a storm.
Bunnyboy: SFX: Crickets
Dr. Headphones: i like the ruby port myself
klokwkdog: wow, ABC is really doing the CNN thing over the air. "Blackout of 2003" indeed. You gotta be suspicious when one network is all-blackout and the other 4 are showing normal fare, like they're Clear Channel outlets running on remote control or something
Bunnyboy: Picked up ROCKY AND BULLWINKLE AND FRIENDS - SEASON 1. It's rilly neat.
Dr. Headphones: bun: heard about that on radio. wouldn't mind having it myself
Bunnyboy: Y'all hear the Fox News v. Al Franken news?
Merlyn: yeah, he's #1 on amazon. firesign needs to get sued by someone
klokwkdog: big topic of discussion so far, BB
Bunnyboy: Merl: How about NPR? Hee!
klokwkdog: I think they should sue Saddam for defamation, Merlyn. Chance of a big payoff, plus they could do road shows in Iraq (second prize is...)
Bunnyboy: I tell ya, Firesign product has just vaporized outta the local bins.
Bunnyboy: A set of steak knives.
Merlyn: weapons of mass defamation
Bunnyboy: 3rd prize is...YOU'RE FIRED!
Dr. Headphones: klok: behind door number 2 is a goat. number 3, a brigade of the 1st infantry
klokwkdog: they could concoct a bad forgery of a promise by Saddam (in accented English in print) to pay them $1 million to give a show is Sadr City...
Bunnyboy: Population of Frostbite Falls? Anybody?
Dr. Headphones: bonnie sadr? my old girlfriend!
Merlyn: 312
klokwkdog: yeah, my favorite headline this week is: "Jittery US troops kill 6 Iraqis trying to get home before curfew"
klokwkdog: obviously Sector R or N
Bunnyboy: Answer: 23. OooEEEoooooooooooo....
Bunnyboy: Eye in the Pyramid!
Dr. Headphones: klok: that was a travesty. the soldiers yell at them in english then wonder why they don't obey orders
Bunnyboy: It's the Ellis Island Memorial Drill.
Merlyn: "well, I was close"
klokwkdog: standard method of all Americans. If a foreigner does not appear to understand your English, shout. That makes it more intelligible.
klokwkdog: and it's one, two, three, four, what're we fighting for?
Dr. Headphones: if you yelled at me in arabic, i'd either smile and wave or give you the bird, depending on my mood at the time. but i would have no idea at all what you said
Bunnyboy: 'Can you Di-RECT me to the Ho-TEL?!?
klokwkdog: i must find a urinal urgently!
Bunnyboy: Don't ask me, I don't give a damn! Where's that ratbag Saddam?
Dr. Headphones: klok: don't all foreigners just use the street?
||||||||| Catherwood enters the room, strikes a gong, and bellows "THE TIME IN NEW YORK IS 11 O'CLOCK", then silently exits.
Bunnyboy: The clocks are running in NY?
Dr. Headphones: catherwood needs to turn on the time synch function
Merlyn: he's using a sundial
Dr. Headphones: well, dear friends, it's 11pm here also. i've been keeping strange sleep hours and i think tonight's the night i get back on a normal schedule. toodle ooh all
klokwkdog: we already asked, BB
Merlyn: nite fonez
Bunnyboy: Nite DH
||||||||| Around 11:03 PM, Dr. Headphones walks off into the sunset...
klokwkdog: "Speak up, as if you were talking with a loud noise outside the room. Speak slowly, one word per second, separating your words clearly."
klokwkdog: nite Ken
klokwkdog: "When you want to ask a switchboard operator for a person, say only the name, as best you can, slowly, followed by please..."
Merlyn: "towel"....."bath"...."border"...
Bunnyboy: Whole passel of fun DVD product out next week: CHICAGO, ALL THAT JAZZ, BOWLING FOR COLUMBINE, THE KID STAYS IN THE PICTURE...
Bunnyboy: "Pot Pie...Spinach..."
klokwkdog: "Do not race through a long explanation: 'Hi! How are you! This is Mary Beth calling from Geyser Oil in Broken Arrow, Oklahoma, trying to reach my boss, Arthru Steinberg, who's visiting with Emilio Breghenti, who I think is head honcho of your exploration out there?"
Bunnyboy: Pox Vomica, I'm hungry. Microwave, ho! Say hi to Doc fer me.
klokwkdog: ok
Merlyn: hockay, beebee
||||||||| Bunnyboy departs at 11:09 PM, singing "Toad away, toad away; toad away, toad away! Where do you go when you're toad away?"
||||||||| It's 11:10 PM, and that means it's time to play BEAT THE REAPER! And here's how our contestants did:
||||||||| UriTestakov - dead from the yaws
||||||||| Better luck next time! And now, back to our chatroom, which is already in progress...
Merlyn: we're losing 'em
klokwkdog: well, I'm gonna hang on 'till Nightline to be here when Doc chex bak in
klokwkdog: u worked with wireless any?
Merlyn: me too, but I'm gonna make something to eat...
Merlyn: not really, no
klokwkdog: oh
klokwkdog: well, it's on sale for $30 per station at CompUSA this week
Merlyn: back in a few minutes...
klokwkdog: OK
Dave: I'm still here
klokwkdog: OK
klokwkdog: did you find Mark Eitzel
klokwkdog: ?
Dave: I haven't looked, been doing other shit, hence my quietness on here tonight
klokwkdog: he seems to have had a few personal demons
Merlyn: back in a minute..
klokwkdog: okay
Merlyn: back
klokwkdog: my turn to tend to the cooking apparati; i'll stick around another quarter-hour
Merlyn: you on the west coast?
Dave: I don't know how to cook, but I got over my fear of the oven at the living skills camp I went to last year, now to conquer the stove
Dave: ok so it sounds stupid but you try cooking when you can't see what's in front of you
Merlyn: true enough
Merlyn: microwaves work OK, I'd guess
Dave: yes they do, they're my staple at home here, I brailled mine and everything
Merlyn: doesn't have all the hot surfaces
||||||||| llanwydd waltzes in at 11:32 PM carrying an obsidian door knocker.
||||||||| Catherwood ushers doctec into the room, accepts a grimy quarter as a gratuity, mumbles something about 11:32 PM, then departs.
Merlyn: hey, a twofer
llanwydd: I take it everybody's just leaving?
doctec: who's mark eitzel?
doctec: i just goit back in, lili's cats are exceptionally happy to see my smiling face
klokwkdog: dave wanted to know; musician
doctec: got
doctec: oh
klokwkdog: sent him to allmusic.com
llanwydd: did everyone here suffer the blackout or just me?
doctec: the more we rely on tech for all our needs, the more we feel it when it's not available (like today's blackout)
Merlyn: hey doc, I changed the mindless fellowship pavilion
klokwkdog: Ilanwydd - I'm leaving in a few minutes to watch ABC's continuing coverage of the massive blackout disaster. It's transfixing.
doctec: yes? what changes?
Merlyn: now, followups to a posting are added to the end of the list, not the front
doctec: you mean for the remote host issue?
doctec: ah - that's a good change
klokwkdog: a David Bowie background tune
doctec: it was bassackwards before
Merlyn: yeah, that seems to be because new messages are added to the front
Merlyn: new messages are still added to the top, but followups to the end (of the right place).
llanwydd: I was doing the final dress rehearsal for a play that opens tomorrow and we had no lights
llanwydd: did i tell you I'm an actor/
Merlyn: you're our next governor
klokwkdog: great!
doctec: i'm not an actor, but i play one on tv
llanwydd: cool!
klokwkdog: i'm not an actor, and i'm definitely not working for scale
doctec: what's the play?
llanwydd: All'
llanwydd: Alls Well that Ends Well
llanwydd: I play the King of France
klokwkdog: sounds like a Welles production
klokwkdog: something on the order of "Moby Dick, Rehearsed"?
doctec: moby dick unplugged
llanwydd: Moby Dick would be great onstage!
Merlyn: cap'n billy pate's catch and release whalin'
klokwkdog: Welles has no props - it's a traveling troupe doing King Lear that gets, um, distracted...
doctec: right
doctec: lol
llanwydd: I'm still trying to see the one with John Barrymore
klokwkdog: this is Welles: http://us.imdb.com/Title?0349829
llanwydd: never heard of moby dick, rehearsed. Did Welles play the whale?
doctec: spike tv is rerunning ren & stimpy - geez these are classics
klokwkdog: well, you know who Welles was. so you know what part he played!
doctec: klok: riiiiight
doctec: of course for the millennium version, they'd have to hire moby to do the music for the play - he's related to the author after all
doctec: moby dick rehearsed - the dance club mix
doctec: guys on the poop deck with boom boxes on their shoulders or wearing walkman headphones
klokwkdog: look at the cast! Mr. Hudson was Ishmael! The Prisoner was Starbuck! Chris Lee was a character. Joan Plowright was Pip!
doctec: joan plowright as pip - lol!!!!
klokwkdog: the entire cast hated welles! It's a classic Welles production!
klokwkdog: OK, folks, I'm going to call it a knicht...
klokwkdog: cu next week and all htat jazz. hope ash & elayne are surviving this disaster
Merlyn: ok kwd
doctec: yes hope so too
doctec: nite klok
Merlyn: sounds like things haven't been too bad
||||||||| 11:49 PM -- klokwkdog left for parts unknown. (Entry from Nick Danger's "Idiots I Have Been Paid To Follow").
||||||||| It's 11:50 PM, and that means it's time to play BEAT THE REAPER! And here's how our contestants did:
||||||||| Dave - dead from pneumonia
||||||||| Better luck next time! And now, back to our chatroom, which is already in progress...
doctec: ...and i'm going to call it a drink - er, that is, i'm going to make myself a drink - back in a minute
llanwydd: tyt
llanwydd: I'm having basmati with chicken and tuna
Merlyn: I had freedom toast
llanwydd: I play the king of Freedom in All's Well That Ends Welles
llanwydd: did we have a big crwowd in spite of the blackout?
doctec: back
doctec: llanwydd (can i call you lan): no, the crows was somewhat, er, abbreviated
doctec: crowd
Merlyn: still a fair number tonight
llanwydd: you may feel free to abbreviate my name for your convininsss
doctec: they didn't hang around as long tho
||||||||| Catherwood walks in wearing his pyjamas, yawns, and mumbles "It's midnight here in New York city"...then he falls over and starts snoring loudly..
doctec: lan: when did you catch the acting bug?
Merlyn: not as such
llanwydd: caught it in high school and again in 1996
doctec: cool
doctec: i was in a few bands from the early '80s to the mid-'90s
doctec: dropped out of the scene in '95
doctec: got back into music making with my pc 5 yrs later
doctec: i'm loving it - the music tech is so much better than it was back in the days of 'MIDI hell' - and i don't have to deal with humping a lot of gear around
llanwydd: what where their names
doctec: all local fairfield county connecticut bands you've never heard of because they never got past the local bar & club scene
doctec: the actuals - silicon safari - one fell swoop - sister sun
doctec: never played any covers
doctec: there was a failed band project between one fell swoop and sister sun that never made it out of the rehearsal realm but we did four self-produced demos that were pretty cool
llanwydd: got to reheat my coffee. brb
doctec: anyway, the lead singer is still doing music in nyc - last year i renewed the association, resulting in me and my percussionist pal mark vollvenweider contributing a music bed to his latest project
doctec: his name is robert urban and the name of the song is 'waiting for rome to fall'
doctec: you can check out the mp3 on the 'rock widow' page of his web site (http://www.roberturban.com)
Merlyn: ok doc
Merlyn: sounds pretty good
llanwydd: I cannot stay awake. Wish me, please to break my leg?
Merlyn: ok, break a leg
Merlyn: break a lung
llanwydd: I'll let you know about the play next week. Nytol.
doctec: nite lan
Merlyn: nite
doctec: local nyc (cbs) news is reporting that the power outage was indeed caused by a lightning strike at the niagra power plant on the u.s. side
doctec: seems like a wake up call of sorts, doesn't it?
doctec: all this concern about terrorists and we don't really have any kind of plans or procedures to deal with a 'natural disaster' like this
Merlyn: seems kind of wrong for adding electricity to make the power fail
doctec: kinda like a giant circuit breaker kicking in when an overload surge occurs
Merlyn: it's that damn dr. frankenstein again, cloning things
Merlyn: flying those kites in thunderstorms
doctec: 75% of the nyc 5-borough area is still without power
Merlyn: wall street has all the power
doctec: i really feel for those people stuck in elevators and on trains when the outage happened
doctec: gad
Merlyn: they seemed to get everyone out, though
doctec: 'state of emergency declared in ny and nj'
doctec: still - having been on ny subways, can't imagine what a drag it must have been to be stuck in a subway car between stations with no power and temps a good 10-15 degrees above the outside high of 90
doctec: for 2-3 hours - or more -
Merlyn: yeah. will you be going into work tomorrow?
doctec: probably - they're saying the power will be back for most of the affected areas by the early a.m. hours
doctec: although it will probably be a quiet say as well - our nyc office will likely be closed for the day
doctec: quiet day
Merlyn: well, I'm taking off, it's nearly 11:30 here, later for you
doctec: yeah - i need to get some sleep (been pretty sleep deprived lately)
Merlyn: nite
doctec: have a good one, catch ya on the flip side
doctec: nite
||||||||| At 12:27 AM, the lights go out! Rocky Rococo's voice pierces the inky darkness: "I've got you now, Merlyn!" Shattering glass is heard, and then the lights come back on...
||||||||| doctec leaves to catch the 12:27 AM train to Hellmouth.
||||||||| It's 12:30 AM, and that means it's time to play BEAT THE REAPER! And here's how our contestants did:
||||||||| llanwydd - dead from dengue fever
||||||||| Better luck next time! And now, back to our chatroom, which is already in progress...
||||||||| Catherwood enters, and announces to all and sundry "It's 4:32 AM, time to change the log file and clean out unused rooms; please exit the chat room for a minute or two. Thank you for your patience."

The Evening's Participants:
Bubba's Brain
Bunnyboy
Cat from Terrace
Dave
doctec
Dr. Headphones
klokwkdog
llanwydd
Merlyn
russ
UriTestakov

URL References:
http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=3141998098
http://us.imdb.com/Title?0349829
http://www.allmusic.com/cg/amg.dll?p=amg&uid=MISS70305241753&sql=B0px1z82ajyvn
www.allmusic.com
www.gwmicro.com
http://www.roberturban.com
http://www.viewaskew.com

Rogue's Gallery:

PP and Cat(cease)	Bunnyboy	klokwkdog	kend^/Dr. Headphones
FreqMan	Merlyn LeRoy	DocTech	LiliLamont
Rotonoto	LeatherG & SO	Nin0	Tonk
		Dexter Fong	Elayne
And, "The Home Team"	Peggy Blisswhips	Audrey Farber	Tiny Dr. Tim Rest In Peace, Dear Friend