By Michael Seese
First, let me state that I absolutely recognize what we in Chagrin Falls experienced was nothing compared to what the folks along the East Coast went through. In fact, we didn't even lose power, which is amazing; our power grid is so old and temperamental that if three kids fly kites in the park, it creates enough breeze to down some electrical wires.
Anyway, here is what the Falls normally look like:
Here are some photos I took today.
This is the water running over the dam just upstream from the Falls, which the "cone-lickers" often mistake for the Falls.
How was your Sandy experience? Do you have any stories to share?
By Michael Seese
From a security e-newsletter I get:
FCC OKs encrypted TV signals to prevent cable theft
"The Federal Communications Commission has voted to permit cable companies to encrypt television signals to prevent theft by consumers. Encrypting basic cable signals, a practice banned before the FCC ruling last Friday, may require consumers without cable boxes to acquire them. The FCC said the change would “adversely affect a small number of cable subscribers” with TV sets that are directly hooked up to cable connections, as opposed to being controlled remotely through boxes. According to the agency, cable operators and consumers will benefit, on the whole, as the decision will greatly reduce the need for cable providers to dispatch employees to households to disconnect illegal cable service."
I know I will sleep better at night, knowing that I will benefit from Time Warner Cable being able to "greatly reduce the need for cable providers to dispatch employees to households to disconnect illegal cable service."
Because the benefits to me are so obvious. Like ... um ... and ... um ...
Does anyone else have a good cable story to share?
By Michael Seese
A few months ago, I posted a funny photo based on our family's recent visit to the Chapin Forest Reservation of the Lake Metroparks. We visited again last weekend to look at the leaves.
I took this picture from the ridge high above the valley, with Lake Erie barely visible in the background.
Here's another.
In the interest of full disclosure, I took the photo through my brown-tinted sunglasses, which really make the colors stand out. This is the same basic view, without color enhancement.
Even unenhanced, it still looks pretty good.
Winters in Cleveland can be tough. But I feel sorry for the folks who don't get this kind of autumn as a lead-in.
What about you? Do you have any fall foliage photos to share, via a link in the comments perhaps?
By Michael Seese
I believe it was Richard Starkey who said, "I get by [and other things] with a little help from my friends." Today, I can say the same.
Working for a bank, as I do, I had the day off on Columbus Day. I had planned to go to the Cleveland Museum of Art. I have a novel-in-progress which will be set there during the renovation project. As of right now, in order to reach the galleries you need to go down the main stairs, across the basement, and then come up on (what I believe are) new escalators. But the construction is slated to end in a week, give or take.
So I wanted to walk through, take pictures, count steps, and make copious notes, in case those areas later are off-limits. As an aside, on Martin Luther King Day this past January I took my seven-year-old to the museum. But not my camera. Grrr.
As I went to bed on Sunday, I had a thought: Isn't the museum closed on Mondays? The next morning I checked online, and sure enough, it is.
Did I mention GRRRR!
So instead of a trip to University Circle, I plopped down at my PC for a writing session. Before I did, I checked the usual agent and author blogs. One that I follow is Chuck Sambuchino, an editor and published book author who runs the Guide to Literary Agents Blog. In that day's post, I read about a contest he was offering up.
Enjoy a little rock & roll music from time to time? Who doesn’t? Well I’m trying something fun and different today as a Monday pick-me-up to try and get your week going. It’s my own crazy variation of NAME THAT TUNE and I’m calling it WD’S TUNESDAY (possibly Volume 1, if people dig it). The rules and the gist are simple. Watch the video. I play 15 riffs on my guitar. You try to name as many of them as you can, and e-mail me your answers.
I got about half by myself, then enlisted the help of my good friend Michael. He dragged in a few co-workers. And in short order we had:
#1 Owner Of A Lonely Heart
#2 Talk Dirty to Me
#3 Cat Scratch Fever
#4 Machine Head
#5 Jessie's Girl
#6 The Bleeding
#7 Poker Face
#8 Hey Jealousy
#9 I Love Rock And Roll
#10 Thunder Kiss '65
#11 Fell On Black Days
#12 Leave Me Out
#13 Paranoid
#14 Hammer To Fall
#15 Connection
And we were right!
Chuck announced the winner Monday. (BTW, I'm an "awesome dude.")
For our efforts, I get (sorry friends, but I really can't split this) a critique from Chuck, an interview on the WD system of blogs (forthcoming), and a one-year subscription to WritersMarket.com. All of which I can use.
So I wanted to publicly thank Michael B. and the geeks at Sherwin Williams Global Supply Chain for helping me out.
And say that I -- make that we -- rock!
By Michael Seese
This was my least favorite episode of the young season. I can appreciate that the writers want to shake things up by putting the leads into new locales. But as I've said at least once before, I really consider New York City to be one of the characters. So if you take the show out of the city, it loses something. That's why "Murder He Wrote" left me lukewarm. 
Still, there were many good elements worth mentioning.
Four standout scenes come to mind. The first was the gang's inquisition of Beckett as they sought her boyfriend's identity; you just knew Castle couldn't resist lobbing a beach ball like, "A boyfriend, Beckett? Really?" Also noteworthy was Castle's and Beckett's back-and-forth as they realized that Franklin was the meth king of the Hamptons. Another was Ryan's interrogation of Aaron Lerner, especially the way he ratcheted up the intensity as he drew closer to cracking, not the case, but the Castle-Beckett romance. (Nit-pick: why wasn't Esposito on the other side of the one-way glass providing a second set of eyes and ears? They ALWAYS do that.) Finally, there was the speakerphone conversation between Castle (with Beckett listening in) and Ryan, where the two of them came to the dreadful realization that Ryan knew.
I also love how Castle's Ferrari has become the currency for favors from the boys, as in "Headhunters" last season.
The ending, likewise, was a nice surprise. As was the case with the episodes "Til Death Do Us Part" and "A Deadly Game," the killer was someone who was not even on the radar, but popped up at the last minute.
My two favorite lines were:
Castle: "Call 911."
Beckett: "Really?"
and
"Suspects tend to hold back on stuff like that," said by Castle to Chief Brady, in reference to the affair between Franklin and Natalia Roosevelt.
There were very few "looks." The best was Esposito's quizzical eyebrow arch as Castle and Beckett went their separate ways after the "boyfriend" discussion.
What did you think? Feel free to share your thoughts.
By Michael Seese
In a previous post, I made light of two targeted ad I received in an email, offering me a convenient channel to date or meet "women 50+." Each of the ads showed three women. On Friday, I received this ad in the same email.
So my surfing habits have caused them to question either my gender or my...shall we say...proclivities.
Hmmm.
By Michael Seese
I hate being more than a week behind in my Castle-watching. If I had known that kids would get in the way ...
I could write this show! Midway through -- when Castle and Beckett went back to Anjelica's to confront her about the insurance fraud -- I said out loud, "The butler did it." And I was right! Castle was even gracious enough to use my exact words. Then, when they went to commercial I said, "Why commit the fraud? Just sell the $4 million bracelet for $4 million, and pay off your debts." And when they returned, what did Beckett ask Anjelica?
Overall, though, this was a mixed episode. There were a lot of good points. The homage to "Da Vinci Code" was a great way to start.
In my writing, I enjoy throwing in pop culture references. (Did I mention I could have written this one?)
I thought it was hilarious when Captain Gates turned into a giddy child when she saw the "Gemini" doll, and then became a fawning fan of Castle, the author. And I love the quirky characters they throw in. Last week, it was the makeup artists; this week, it was the you-store-it owner who looked at the victim's picture and said, really drolly, "She was a lot less bloody when I saw her."
My primary complaint was the plethora of plot implausibilities, some bordering on deux ex machina. Castle and Beckett wanted the contents of storage unit 317. A lot. Obviously, so did Felix. A lot. They didn't think to question him right then? Really? Wendell was able to take a photo of an artificial eye fragment and actually find the owner? Really? And then poor Wendell just happened to use the subway station which happened to have out-of-order cameras, allowing Kirby the butler to shove him in front of the train? Oh, and no one standing on the platform saw it? Really?
Oh well.
As always, much of the dialog had me in stitches.
Castle: "I learned so much," in reference to the time he and Alexis had "the talk."
Castle: "Mother used her Jedi mind tricks on me." (See pop culture reference comment above.)
Lanie: "Oh, you are in trouble." (After Beckett busted him rummaging through her desk.)
Castle: "I'm not in trouble." (Hangs up.)
Castle: "I'm a best-selling author. Why wouldn't I have two grand in my pocket?"
Castle: "I think my hand's getting sweaty."
Beckett: "I know. It's kind of gross."
And the capper, which was 50% a "look."
Beckett: "Take your hand off your tool."
Ryan & Esposito: (snicker)
Beckett: "Shut up."
My other favorite look was Castle's raised eyebrow when Beckett did not disavow her "kinky past."
Hopefully we will get to "Murder He Wrote"(I think that's next) sooner than next Tuesday night.
PS: You'll notice I added some photos...thumbs up or thumbs down?
By Michael Seese
This one is not so much ha-ha funny as it is amusing to me.
One of the daily e-newsletters that I receive comes from the ABA which, in this case, is the American Bankers' Association.
Wednesday, as I paged down, I saw this:
I thought, Hey, that looks like Chagrin Falls, which is where I live. Only it's not quite right.
You see, if you were walking from our house and through town, the buildings on Main Street are on your left, while those on South Franklin are on the right. And, the last building on South Franklin doesn't look like the last building shown above. But that building does look like the Key Bank, which is on the opposite...
Hey!
I clicked on the link, and saw the full image.
If you look at the way the cars are parked and driving, either this is England, or a flopped picture.
It is flopped. And it is Chagrin Falls.
By Michael Seese
At the risk of looking a gift horse in the mouth, or biting the hand that feeds me, or counting my chickens before they hatch...well, scratch that last one...
In a previous post, I proudly proclaimed that my poem "Love Is Not..." had been selected by Forward Poetry (UK) for their "Aspects Of Love" compilation. At the time I submitted "Love," I also sent in poems for two other open calls, "Fear Itself" and "Virtue Or Vice."
One Saturday, I received in the mail a big envelope from the UK announcing my poem had been selected! I was thrilled! Then, exactly one week later, I received another letter which said "Little Nightmares" had been chosen for "Fear Itself." I was skeptical; either I was a much better poet than I thought or...
When yet another congratulatory message arrived the following week, I was convinced. Convinced, that Forward Poetry pretty much publishes any submission, and earns their profits by selling a copy of the book to the contributors.
In order to both save money and maintain that the illusion that the selection of "Love Is Not..." was something special, I decided to not return the copyright / permission forms for the second and third poems. Had they sent me a follow-up email asking whether I planned to authorize the inclusion of my contribution(s), I would have politely explained that I was "humbled" by the honor of having one work in print, and wished to "respectfully decline" any others so that a different aspiring poet could be similarly honored by being featured in the compilation.
So if nothing else, I can now say I am a published poet, as well as author. And, I recently received an email that Medusa's Laugh Press was nearing completion of the Overplay/Underdone anthology, which will include my piece "The Daily Caffeine Stream."
FYI, "Aspects Of Love" is available on Amazon, the UK instance of it, at least. If you've got £16.99 that ain't doing nothing, buy it, and enjoy the subtle emotional wordplay that I (and 300 or so other poets) have so eloquently laid out.
Just don't mention the "300 or so" part. Or the bit about "pretty much publishes any submission." Let's keep that between us, shall we?
By Michael Seese
Funny funny funny episode.
Funny scenes, funny lines, and funny looks.
I thought one of the best scenes took place in the medical examiner's room when Lanie bluntly said to Beckett, "You're having sex," and asked who it was. Castle, of course, demanded to know as well. And on the set of the news show, I loved Castle's attempt to play weatherman, which morphed into him channeling Superman and flying over the city. (I also appreciated the way this bit started, with Beckett in the foreground and an out-of-focus Castle in the background.) Finally, the two makeup artists were great; I would love it if they could find some way to have them in a future episode.
Oh, and I loved the upside-down camera shot when Beckett walked in on Castle and Kristina.
Lines...
Beckett: "You just want me to take off my shirt again, don't you?"
Castle: "What?"
Beckett: "Isn't that the reporter who shows up to cover stories in her bikini?"
Castle: "I didn't... Is that..."
Beckett: "You want to try that again, only make it more convincing?
Castle: "No. I'm good."
Beckett: "OK."
(When discussing the air quality monitor that Mandy took up in the chopper.)
Castle: "The direct tox monitor. Of course."
Beckett: "You have no idea what that is."
Castle: "No. Not a clue."
Castle: "You didn't tell me he [Chip, the sportscaster] called."
Beckett: "Really? You're going to play the jealousy card now?"
Castle (leaving for his date): "Call you later." (Pokes head back in.) "To check on the case."
Beckett: "Can we say we'll talk about needing other people, but we won't actually date other people?"
Castle: "Yeah, I can do that."
Beckett: "Good. Because I have a gun and you don't really have a choice."
And, naturally, the looks:
Castle's bewilderment when Esposito asked, "What? No coffee?"
Ryan's attempted explanation when Espo asked, "Are you wearing makeup?"
And THE look...
Castle's smirk when Beckett said, "I keep seeing her boobs in your face." (Yes, I watched that one twice.)
What did you think? Share your thoughts.
By Michael Seese
This one is not so much funny, as creepy. The other day, I received an email featuring an ad from the same folks who brought me beret guy and cougars, which showed this.
Take a good look at the curve of her left side, from her rib cage, to her waist, and then out to her hips. Either she was photoshopped scary, or her body is scary.
What do you think?
By Michael Seese
Some things never change. The Castle season premiere was last Monday. We watched it last night. Maybe we'll get to this week's episode before next week.
I'll admit that I had feared the season ending Castle-Beckett hookup would be a jump-the-shark moment. We'll have to wait and see. But I did enjoy "After The Storm."
I thought the opening five minutes were great television. It started with the awkward morning-after conversation. Then it moved to slapstick when Castle and Beckett literally fell off the bed. (And was that an elephant behind them? What is an elephant doing in Castle's bedroom?) Castle's discomfort was hilarious as he tried to shoo his mother out of the bedroom. Then, his dodge of the flying pillow was perfectly timed.
Down in the kitchen, I loved his hangover conversation, which rose and fell in volume as he tried to cover Beckett's escape sounds. Her panicked look for her brassiere had me in stitches. And it all ended with him nearly shouting, "Experience this in its fullness, untrammeled by relief from over-the-counter pain relievers." We watched that scene twice.
Plotwise, good and intense. The music which played as Beckett walked through the hall in her search for Bracken was perfect. And I thought the scene in the kitchen played out brilliantly. Perhaps I'm making a big assumption here, but it seems to me as though the writers wanted to put this story arc away -- rather than have Beckett always looking over her shoulder -- but leave it open enough to revisit.
One more kudo: visually, I thought the scene where Castle and Beckett were reflected in the television showing Bracken campaigning was a neat idea.
OK, one plot faux pas: why did Castle and Beckett have to search for Michael Smith? Why didn't they just take the photo to Mrs. Montgomery and ask, "Who is this?"
And finally, the "looks." The aforementioned first five minutes was one long exercise in looks, especially Beckett's glare from the closet. And the whole thing ended with Castle's happy realization as the elevator doors closed and Beckett said, "I'm pretty sure I'll think of something to do" during her suspension.
So, very good episode. But I'll keep looking for fins in the water.
What did you think of "After The Storm?" Feel free to share your thoughts.
By Michael Seese
As an information security pro, I probably pay closer attention to SPAM emails than most folks. And by "pay closer attention," I mean read and laugh out loud at.
I get so many good ones that I think I'll start sharing. For example, this one...
If you'll notice, the body of the email is empty. The entire con is in the subject. If nothing else, this is the first email I've received with a three-digit word count in the subject line.
I'm sure that was an effort on the part of the spammer to avoid filters which look for certain keywords--he must assume--in the body only. If that's true, then his ploy makes sense. But by doing so, he cannot employ one common spammer tactic: having a live link which, when clicked, takes the email recipient to a site that most likely downloads malware.
I wonder how well his phishing expedition will go?
