WARNING: PARENTAL BOAST COMING!

Today’s Wall Street Journal (July 29) has an article on Penguins in Hollywood movies, and it quotes our firstborn, Elena Tropp, about her film, Disney’s Mr. Popper’s Penguins. Evidently there are many penguin movies coming out, and the trend may resurrect Popper, which has been languishing in development. In fact, her quote about the film was enlarged in the article as the tag line: "Elena Tropp, one of the writers, describes it as 'a Ben Affleck romantic comedy, except with penguins.'" --- Page W6, if you’re interested in getting your very own copy.

BACK TO THE HOSPITAL

Yesterday, I went back to Brigham and Womens for a PET scan, to see how well the chemotherapy worked. The day was not without incident. I had gotten injected with radioactive glucose, and was sitting quietly in my little cubicle. (You have to sit with little movement for an hour after the injection). Suddenly, I heard bangs, LOUD bangs, next door. It was so loud I thought it was construction. It turned out to be an old man who got tired of waiting and was banging on the walls of the room, HARD. Everyone rushed in and tried to quiet the guy, who was out of control. Finally they dealt with him and got to me, and scanned my body from brain to bottom. The whole thing took 3 hours, but it was restful, most of the time. Results next Monday. I'll keep you all posted.

I HAVE MET THE ENEMY AND HE IS US

Here's the lead from a story in Saturday's Washington Post.

The Bush administration in recent days has been lobbying to block legislation supported by Republican senators that would bar the U.S. military from engaging in "cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment" of detainees, from hiding prisoners from the Red Cross, and from using interrogation methods not authorized by a new Army field manual.

Even some Republicans are waking up. And someday we'll all regret what's being done in our name. Of course, it's Cheney who defends all this as essential to "fighting terrorism."

FABULOUS FREE PROGRAM

If you have a Windows PC and broadband, try this GREAT free program from Google, that lets you zoom in from the full earth to any address using satellite photos. It's great fun: http://kh.google.com/download/earth/index.html

THE TIP OF THE ICEBERG

Here's a great piece, full of new information, about how the Rove story is only the beginning of an unraveling scandal that could dwarf Watergate. There's lots of good stuff--- the secret eight pages the special prosecutor has, the fact that Attorney General Gonzales told Andrew Card that the next morning he'd be issuing an order to the White House not to destroy documents. And that Andrew Card was the head of a group inventing the excuse to invade Iraq! Remember, you heard it first here!: http://www.oldamericancentury.org/crisis_033.htm

HEART ATTACK IN A BOX

What's the worst packaged food you can buy? After an extensive search, the answer is found in this website. Scroll down and look at the nutrition label. It's a heart attack in a box! And there's an illustrated review of what cooking and eating it is like. It's hard to believe, but true: http://www.x-entertainment.com/articles/0744/

COOL PICTURE

Here's a very cool picture of a big big chunk of ice in a Martian crater. http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap050720.html

I'M A CRANK

I had a letter in the Boston Globe today, about their new tabloid section, Sidekick. Here it is, if you want to keep track of my growing crankiness:
All the tabloid stuff fit to print
July 19, 2005
REGARDING THE Globe's new section, Sidekick, and the law of unintended consequences:
Now that everything that will interest a kid is in one cheesy tabloid section, parents will just hand Sidekick to their kids, and they'll never look at the rest of the newspaper.
In the past, looking for the comics led kids past lots of news and other features, and I'll bet sometimes they read some of those stories.
You'll see the results in the future when the rest of the Globe starts to look more like Sidekick. Your new readership will want only TV listings, celebrity news, astrology, and the comics. In 20 years, a cheesy tabloid may be all that they want in a newspaper!
MARTY TROPP
Professor Arts and humanities division
Babson College
Wellesley

COOL TRICKS

This is a great little collection of short, neat flash videos showing variations on a new Olympic sport---pen twirling. Some of the variations are great: http://www.pentrix.com/videos/videolist.php

NOT FOR SALE YET

Plus: This is only a design idea for a keyboard, but it's pretty clever:
http://www.w2knews.com/rd/rd.cfm?id=050718FA-Optimus

FOR THE NOSTALGIC CELL PHONE USER

This is an actual product, and it made me laugh:
http://www.thinkgeek.com/gadgets/electronic/7830

A LITTLE MISCALCULATION

Lesson: When asked to release a dove, don't hold it too tight:
http://www.ebaumsworld.com/videos/deaddove.html

BARBARA BOXER FOR PRESIDENT

Here's Senator Boxer on Iraq. She's smart, sensible, and fearless. Step aside, Hilary!
You've just returned from Iraq. Did you see anything that made a deep impression on you?Senator Boxer: It's a nightmare. We don't understand the insurgency. It's very deep, it's very broad. We have no plan for success. And we need one. Bush said we're there as long as necessary, and that is a message to the insurgents that we're permanent occupiers. That just fuels the insurgency. So it's a terrible circle. It just keeps going round and round.
Do you think the U.S. should leave Iraq, or is it too difficult now? Senator Boxer: I think the U.S. should set a goal to be out of there within a year or two. If we don't, I think it's bad news all around. In all ways. First of all, the insurgency is fueled. Second of all, the Iraqi government is going to rely on us and not pay attention to the security that they are really responsible for. It's very tough. But I'm telling you now, the status quo is as dangerous as it can be. My daughter's friend Marla Ruzicka was killed there, an innocent victim, as she was helping innocent victims. And it just keeps going on and on. It's such a tragedy. It just is God-awful. So I think we should amass a strategy for success, and set out the milestones. We need to help them get their democracy up and running, we've got to help them train their military and police and security people, and we've got to start moving out.
(Thanks to editor Matt Rothschild for permission to reprint the above excerpts)

THE LATEST NEWS

After a fabulous evening of hot fudge and fun at Cabot's Ice Cream, I trundled off to the doctor yesterday afternoon for another round of chemo. This time, because my little veins are so scarred from the needles, it took three tries, a heating pad on my arm, and two nurses to get the needle in--at one point I thought they'd break out the jackhammer. But it was finally flowing, and I was on a bed. Lulled by the drip drip of chemicals, I actually fell asleep for a while.
I awoke to find out my immediate fate. I get another PET scan on July 27, and on August 1 I'm told what's next-- surgery, radiation, or more chemo, or all of the above. While I was out of the room, Sandy asked the nurse practitioner "He will get better, won't he?" She said "Yes".
Buoyed by that answer, and the beeyootiful evening, Sandy and I went out to the Boston Harbor Hotel to listen to the swing sounds of WHITE HEAT on the Blues Barge under the stars. We even danced a bit. I recommend you go there any Wednesday this summer--- if you get there by 6 there's a table by the water, great food, and dancing to a wonderful swing band, complete with chanteuse. (By the way parking is $7 at the Fan Pier lot across the Northern Ave bridge).

ANOTHER CHEMO IN THE BAG

I'm back from the third chemo session, this time with the zippily named drug Genzyme. I have to go back every week for a new infustion of that stuff, but it supposedly has fewer side effects. My blood looks good in every way but one. I'm a bit anemic, but beside that, the cancer "markers" have all gone down to normal---all but one, which has doubled. The doctor has no idea why that happened, and it could mean nothing. I won't know for sure what's happening until the next PET scan, in a few weeks. Until then, I keep smiling and take my pills.
By the way, one advantage of chemo is that all the old man hair in my ears and nose has vanished. I feel ten years younger!

OFF TO THE DOCTOR...AGAIN

I'm off this morning for another round of chemo---new stuff this time, so I don't have another allergic reaction. I'll report on what happened later, but I have to tell you all about my terrific weekend up at Lake Winnipesaukee. Lots of fun, like watching the fireworks from a boat, swimming, sunset boatrides---and beautiful weather to boot. But best of all were the friends I spent it with. I'm not a religious guy, but I do feel blessed. The friends there, and those of you reading this blog, are the greatest people around, and it lifts my spirits incredibly to know you all. On Sunday I turn 60 (eek!) so I'm both old and sick--but I still feel pretty happy. This little video, though a bit corny, explains why. And the music is nice: http://www.scottstratten.com/movie.html
Talk to you all after today's two bags of chemicals are dripped into my balding bod.

FROM THE SUBLIME TO THE RIDICULOUS

Here's the short genuine NASA video taken by the "impactor" that hit the comet. You can see it delivered pictures right up to the impact, which was between two craters. Take a gander:
http://www.nasa.gov/mov/121530main_its_approach_x4.mov

And if you want to read a very funny piece from the Onion, try this link:
http://www.theonion.com/news/index.php?issue=4127&n=1

ONCE IN A MILLION

Watch this short video. What happens really happened, and wouldn't happen again if you replayed it a thousand times: http://www.ebaumsworld.com/videos/tireroll.html

ANOTHER SEINFELD VIDEO

Jerry Seinfeld makes short videos for the web once in a while. This one isn't an ad, and is pretty funny, if a bit crude. Children be warned--- Seinfeld in OZ: http://www.milkandcookies.com/links/32290/