Phantasmic Links 8.21.05

My friend Bill the trumpet player has had a great sense of direction for as long as I've known him, and when I first started playing with bands in Brooklyn and Queens, it was he who would provide the best directions to the jobs. He's pushing 80 now, and his eyesight is failing, so my dad and I have been giving him rides. Today we drove in to Brooklyn and grabbed a subway in to Little Italy, since parking is nonexistent where we were going. Coming up from the subway platform, I was certain we had to walk TOWARD the Manhattan Bridge and underneath it to reach the job. Bill “recognized” an apartment complex across the street and led us away from the bridge. I often defer to the wisdom of my elders(a practice I'm slowly starting to question as those elders get older), and so we followed him, for six blocks more than we should have. He stopped and asked directions and, as I suspected, we were walking the wrong way. There was still time before we had to meet up with the rest of the band, but my dad pushed himself and told us to go on because he was having chest pains, and got mad when I waited for him. “Your health is more important than the job!” I told him.

His pain subsided, and we met up with the band, waiting an hour in front of the church for everyone in the procession to get set up. The regular band leader had to attend a funeral, so his son was in charge. A drummer with no concept that wind musicians need to REST between songs, he obliged every request of the crowd. At one point the sun got to Bill and he had to sit down and rest while the drummer's fiancée got him some water. As the day wore on, another older trumpet player dropped out because of the sun, and I felt woozy more than once myself. The crowd meanwhile often turned vicious between songs, crying out “Come ON!! Musica! MUSICA!!!” Non-musicians have no idea sometimes that we're human beings, not a jukebox. At least one of the guys who hired us was sympathetic, and said we were definitely earning our pay today. There were no casualties, and we're finally home. Right now I really appreciate the fact that I took tomorrow off. I should sleep good tonight, after I unwind and gather this week's PHANTASMIC LINKS:

It's very exciting to me when Science Fiction becomes Science FACT, and lends quite a bit of credibility to writers' imaginative creations. Technovelgy is a site one of my writers directed me to this past week, and it showcases some of the real inventions that have been inspired by works of fiction.

I heard a story on the radio yesterday, about a girl who had been picked on all year in school. Her parents sued, not for damages, but for new legislation to be passed to protect children against bullies. As someone whose parents were told repeatedly by teachers and principals, “If he'd just HIT them back once they'd leave him alone”, and “We can't fight his battles for him”, I'm glad to hear schools are finally taking this issue seriously. From some of the horror stories I've heard on the news, from bombs to guns to real abuse, what I went through as a kid was nothing. I applaud stories like these:
I believe this was the story I heard on the radio yesterday.
Here's one from Maine.
And yet another from Arizona.

If you're a technogeek, enjoy this detailed explanation of a laser camera that can capture fast-flying insects. If you're just interested in cool pictures, skip ahead. The detail is insane.

You know what America really needs? More Elephants.

This. Poor. Cat.(i didn't want to hotlink; click the link to the movie file in the linked article to see what I'm talking about)

Check out this simple yet addictive puzzle game. Hat tip to Dosetaker.

If this video is real, why is the thief recording it? I'm thinking it's an educational video to show office workers like myself the folly of our ways. Warning: Video contains a soupçon of bad language...

Be The Batman. The second section of the second level is impossible. There's no way to get out of that place in 90 seconds. Prove me wrong.

This is how I waste my math skills.

Tonight's post can't end on anything other than...Hats of MEAT?!