August 15th, 2010
On this disc of the first season of The Muppet Show, the best episode overall was easily the one featuring Peter Ustinov (112). He took an obvious delight in working with Muppets, and seemed to fit in rather well amongst them.

The single best sketch, however, was in the Lena Horne episode (111), and wasn’t even included in the U.S. broadcast. It was a UK Spot with Zoot and Rowlf performing the “Theme from Love Story (Where Do I Begin)” and it is simply beautiful. The saxophonist was Frank Reedy and the pianist was Derek Scott. Exquisite.

Tags: Muppet Show
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August 15th, 2010
The tiger lily (Lilium lancifolium, I believe):

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Tags: flowers
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August 13th, 2010
The kwanzo is a tetraploid daylily. I have limited myself to displaying three images here (photographed on Bastille Day):

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Tags: flowers
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August 12th, 2010
Here is the latest photo of my tomatoes:

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I also noticed a new pair of tomatoes on a neighboring vine:

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Tags: gardening, tomato
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August 11th, 2010
Tags: flowers
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August 4th, 2010
I failed to photograph any of my own daylilies this year, so here is one of my parents’ daylilies of the same color:

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Tags: flowers
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August 1st, 2010
I observed this wee visitor on my door today:
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July 30th, 2010
The Three Musketeers, that quintessential swashbuckling tale, has been adapted for the silver screen many times, and for many the most famous one of all is still the one brought to life by that consummate swashbuckler, Douglas Fairbanks, Sr., who starred as the hero, D’Artagnan. A production of his own film company, the 1921 film had impressive sets, excellent outdoor cinematography, and a wealth of period costuming. If I rated a film in terms of production values, I would assess it as Great bordering on Superb.
The quality of the acting is more of a mixed bag, ranging from the weak melodrama of Mary MacLaren’s Queen Anne to the convincingly regal bearing of Adolphe Menjou’s Louis XIII. Nigel De Brulier successfully captures the innocuous posturing of Cardinal Richelieu, but doesn’t quite convey the magnitude of his formidable power. Fairbanks, as might be expected, is a nearly nonstop burst of energy, as befits the character of the impetuous D’Artagnan, pausing from chases, duels, and general mêlées to express his grief at a given misfortune with a brief obligatory swooning (symbolized by the pressing of the back of the hand to the forehead), which would be forgivable if it were not repeated over and over again. But Fairbanks was not a great actor. He was a great swashbuckler; he was only an adequate actor. Nevertheless, he embodies the restless, roguish, courageous, idealistic spirit of his character very well, and the sum of all the film’s parts constitute a very good film indeed.
- Writing: Good
- Directing: Good
- Acting: Fair/Good
- Cinematography: Good
- Stunts: Great
- Swordplay: Good
- Panache: Great
Overall Rating: Good
Swashbuckling Rank: Great
Tags: silent movies, swashbuckling
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July 27th, 2010
Yesterday, I shot this picture of my tomatoes (and realized I ought to have included a ruler for scale in both this and the first picture):

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You will notice the second tomato was missing in the earlier picture. This is a photograph of it from seven days ago, which I meant to post… seven days ago:

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Tags: gardening, tomato
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July 22nd, 2010
Upon special request, I offer another photograph of a tea rose. Chronologically, it precedes the others (q.v.) by a day.

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Tags: flowers
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