Grab your board and go sidewalk surfin' with me

Calista has discovered the Beach Boys, and become a huge fan. Her favorite three songs are "California Girls," "Good Vibrations" and "Sloop John B." Can't say I have an arguement with any of her choices, as they are pretty iconic representations of the band's evolution over time. She also is pretty keen on their mid-80s rendition of "California Dreamin'."

So, being the clever Dad that I am, I decided to widen her musical horizons and brought home some Jan & Dean for her to listen to. She didn't take to the jokey duo quite as much as she did the Beach Boys, but she perked up quick when she made the connection between "Sidewalk Surfin'" and "Catch a Wave." And I managed to impress her by pointing out that Dean sang on the Beach Boys' recording of "Barbara Ann." Other faves are "She's My Summer Girl" and "Surf City" -- pretty much what you'd expect. I'll probably use her interest as an excuse to bring home some Ventures and Trashmen CDs in the weeks to come.

Calista's interest has sparked a bit of nostalgia on my part, as well. When I was her age, I spent all summer having fun with my best friend, Bill Holt. We'd go back and forth between our houses, since he lived just across the street. His family was much cooler than mine--whereas my dad's record collection consisted almost entirely of Bob Wills & the Texas Playboys, Bill's folks had Jan & Dean and the Beach Boys' "Endless Summer" as well as Herb Alpert & the Tijuana Brass. We'd sit there all afternoon, and while the mercury hovered in the upper 90s outside, we'd be cool as could be playing record after record. This was back when you had to put the needle in the groove on the vinyl disk, for all you youngsters out there. We'd listen to all the records over and over again while debating whether or not Evel Knievel would succeed in his attempt to jump Snake River or not in his skycycle, and is maybe, just maybe, Speed Racer could do it in the Mach 5.

The Jan & Dean songs were always a centerpiece of these debates. While discussing stunt jumps and such, invariably "Deadman's Curve" would come on, and we'd listen in hushed tones. Then Bill would gravely inform me that Jan suffered his near-fatal car wreck after they'd recorded the song, and we'd both agree that it was some sort of spooky reverse cause-and-effect. Then we'd listen to "Sidewalk Surfin'" while keeping an eye out for any adults, because they kept singing "bust your buns" over and over again. And you know, that was downright scandalous. Man, we really thought we were cutting edge rebels back then. How times change.

Now Playing: Jan & Dean All the Hits: Surf City to Drag City

Not the Momma!

My review of the seasons 1 & 2 DVD set of the Jim Henson Company's Dinosaurs is now live over at RevolutionSF:

Fast-forward to 2006, and "Not the Momma" instantly became a major catchphrase in the Blaschke household -- apropos with a two-month-old baby in the house. My two young daughters initially expressed disinterest in the program, until the DVD had been playing for about 30 seconds, at which point they began expressing outrage that such brilliance had been denied them so long, and further outrage that such a wonderful show wasn't still in production. So as far as the target audience is concerned, Dinosaurs is still gold.

And you know what? It's a fun series and holds up as well today as either the Flintstones or the Honeymooners. And that's saying something.

Now Playing: Sailor Moon & The Scouts Lunarock

Top 75 SF Heroines!

Man, this has been in the works for ages. The Top 75 Heroines of Sci-Fi, Fantasy and Horror started sometime last summer and came out in installments published in fits and starts. The penultimate chapter came out back around Halloween, seems like, and there were doubts that the final chapter would ever see the light of day.

But it has! The final 10 heroines are now online, and I provide the writeups for such mighty femmes as Emma Peel and Wonder Woman. Too cool. Enjoy it while it lasts!

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Maroon-colored news

Back in February I wrote about Texas A&M suing the Seattle Seahawks over the use of the phrase "12th Man." Well, it now appears that my predicted resolution has come to pass:

The Seattle Seahawks will pay Texas A&M University a one-time licensing fee of $100,000 as part of the settlement agreement between the two entities, an A&M official said Tuesday.

Steve Moore, the university's vice president of communications, said the settlement also includes an annual licensing fee of about $5,000.

Both A&M and the Seahawks, who lost to the Pittsburgh Steelers in the 2006 Super Bowl, announced the settlement agreement Monday, less than four months after A&M filed suit against the then-Super Bowl-bound team.

In other, not-so-amusing news, the legendary Jarrin' John Kimborough has passed away. Kimborough led A&M to its first and only national championship back in 1939, and charmingly insisted he didn't mind losing in Heisman voting that year because he didn't know what the Heisman was.

Jarrin' John Kimbrough drew his last, difficult breath Tuesday, at 87, in his hometown of Haskell in West Texas. He died of pneumonia, after spending the last year or so in a wheelchair, his memory failing.

But no one will remember the godlike figure of the 1939 national champion Texas A&M Aggies in that way, not even those who never knew him or saw him play. He might not have saved football at Aggieland, but it won't abuse the truth to say he kept the banks from repossessing the stadium.

I love the tale deeper in the article about Kimborough's debut against eventual national champion TCU:

He made his debut as a sophomore in '38, with the Aggies losing 34-6 to powerhouse TCU. The Aggies caught a glimpse of the future.

"When I got in there," he would say later, "it was like a Chinese fire drill. In the huddle, the linemen were saying, 'Don't run over me again because I can't block those guys.' And the backs were saying, 'Don't give it to me. I don't want to get hit anymore.' So I just said, 'Hell, I'll run it.' "

On the first play, Kimbrough plunged into the line and bulled his way for 9 yards, putting a TCU defender on the bench with a bloody face. On the next play, he ran for 14 yards and left a defensive back writhing on the ground. When the trainers helped the TCU player to the sideline, coach Dutch Meyer rushed onto the field and got in Kimbrough's face.

"You big (bleep)," he told Kimbrough, "we're trying to win a national championship here and you're putting my guys out of the game."

When Coach Meyer threatened to break Kimborough's arms and legs if he kept playing so hard, Kimborough responded with a classic: "Look, little fella, you're too small for me to punch. Get somebody bigger out here."

He will be missed.

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Fax spam

Ever since we moved into the new house, we've been getting phone calls from fax machines at all hours of the night. Not all the time, just often enough to be annoying. Once, our fax machine was actually plugged in and took one--it was a "Pump and Dump" spam fax, purporting to be a tip on a marginal stock that was about to go through the roof. Annoying to the extreme.

So we've taken to checking the caller ID, and if the calling number is "Unknown" or obviously unfamilar, we don't answer. This morning the phone rang, and Lisa picked it up without looking. Fax, naturally. She hung up, but the phone rang again. This time she looked, and was shocked to see the caller ID reporting that we were the ones calling, listing our phone number. She answered, and--you guessed it--that fax was buzzing in her ear.

I'd always thought fax spammers were a marginal, fringe group that was dying out. If they're now spoofing and forging caller ID, much like internet spammers forge email addresses and IP codes, does this mean we're on the verge of a new era of faxual harrassment?

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Baptism day

Sunday was Orion's baptism. Each Catholic church sets its own particulars regarding the logistics of the sacrament. For example, at St. Mary's in Temple, they held baptism once a week if there was need for it. At Sts. Peter & Paul, however, they hold it only once a month. Which means there were 11 children to be baptised alongside Orion, with all their families as well. It got pretty doggone croweded.



I was a little concerned about Orion, because he'd been somewhat fussy during mass. But during the baptism as I was holding him, he was calm and collected, watching everything going on. He did grumble when the water washed over his forehead, but settled down quickly enough.



The elderly priest in charge had a difficult time understanding Orion's name. His hearing aid wasn't quite conveying the syllables properly (or I just can't speak plainly) and he thought I'd said Orion's name was "Mariah." Which would've been a pretty miserable name for the little guy to be saddled with, no doubt. Fortunately, I spelled out his name for them and everyone went home happy. Including Orion, who got a snazzy little white stole (above) for his troubles.

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Nebula Award winners

The Science Fiction & Fantasy Writers of America, Inc., has announced the Nebula Award winners for 2005.

The Nebula Awards are voted on, and presented by, active members of SFWA.

The awards were announced at the Nebula Awards Banquet at the Tempe Mission Palms Hotel in Tempe, Arizona on Saturday, May 6, 2006.

2005 Nebula Award Winners

Novels
Camouflage - Joe Haldeman (Analog, March-May 2004,
also Ace book Aug. 2004)

Novellas
"Magic for Beginners" - Kelly Link (Magic for Beginners, Small Beer Press, July 2005; also in The Magazine of Fantasy & Science Fiction, Sept. 2005)

Novelettes
"The Faery Handbag" - Kelly Link (The Faery Reel: Tales From the Twilight Realm, Ellen Datlow and Terri Windling, Eds., Viking Press, Aug. 2004)

Short Stories
"I Live With You" - Carol Emshwiller (The Magazine of Fantasy & Science Fiction, March 2005)

Scripts
Serenity - Joss Whedon (Universal Pictures, Sept. 2005) Serenity: The Official Visual Companion (Paperback, including shooting script)

Andre Norton Award
Valiant: A Modern Tale of Faerie - Holly Black (Simon & Schuster, June 2005)

About SFWA
Founded in 1965 by the late Damon Knight, Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America brings together the most successful and daring writers of speculative fiction throughout the world.

Since its inception, SFWA has grown in numbers and influence until it is now widely recognized as one of the most effective non-profit writers' organizations in existence, boasting a membership of approximately 1,500 science fiction and fantasy writers as well as artists, editors and allied professionals. Each year the organization presents the prestigious Nebula Awards for the year's best literary and dramatic works of speculative fiction.

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