On January 16, 1926, the brand-new Shea's theater opened to great fanfare with a screening of "The King on Main Street." The baroque-decorated movie theater, seating 4,000 and incorporating imported Czech crystal chandeliers, was erected at a cost of $3 million [approximately $30 million today].
Five months later, the German silent film 'Nosferatu, eine Symphonie des Grauens [a Symphony of Horror]' made its American debut. Nosferatu paved new ground, being one of the first German Expressionist films and the first [albeit unauthorized] screen adaptation of Dracula. It's still pretty fucking creepy.
On Tue 30 Oct at 7:30p, Shea's will once again screen Nosferatu, with a musical accompaniment by the Devil Music Ensemble [admission $15.50]. I am going and so should you. That goes double for the non-(e:peeps) who read this, and triple for the Buffalo n00bz who have never been to Shea's.
Let me know who's in [non-peeps can email me], I'll run down to the box office & pick up tix.
- Z
Zobar's Journal
My Podcast Link
10/12/2007 10:57 #41609
nosferatuCategory: movies
10/10/2007 13:51 #41574
little bobby tablesCategory: a series of tubes
There's no way I'm the only person here who thinks this 
is super funny.
[(e:dragonlady7)'s previous place of employment made a database system for nursing homes. They released an update and started getting complaints from their clients that they couldn't enter Irish patients. It took them a little while to figure out that the backend was tripping over O'Malley.]
- Z
is super funny.[(e:dragonlady7)'s previous place of employment made a database system for nursing homes. They released an update and started getting complaints from their clients that they couldn't enter Irish patients. It took them a little while to figure out that the backend was tripping over O'Malley.]
- Z
uncutsaniflush - 10/11/07 02:26
The State of North Carolina's computer system could not handle a person with no middle name. Years ago, when I got my driver's license, I was told that I couldn't leave the middle initial field blank and that because I had no middle initial I had to write "NMI" on the application. I blame sloppy coding.
The State of North Carolina's computer system could not handle a person with no middle name. Years ago, when I got my driver's license, I was told that I couldn't leave the middle initial field blank and that because I had no middle initial I had to write "NMI" on the application. I blame sloppy coding.
paul - 10/10/07 17:27
I found that quite hilarious. Ironically, I am teaching a little mini lesson on avoiding that problem with prepared statement tomorrow.
You guys aren't going to the dinner?
I found that quite hilarious. Ironically, I am teaching a little mini lesson on avoiding that problem with prepared statement tomorrow.
You guys aren't going to the dinner?
carolinian - 10/10/07 14:06
The database I inherited at work raises an error everytime someone searches for a record with an apostrophe. I can't change it right now because there's so much ugly SQL written by the previous guys that would break so totally if it were touched (and I have priorities even higher than fixing this issue, believe it or not).
The database I inherited at work raises an error everytime someone searches for a record with an apostrophe. I can't change it right now because there's so much ugly SQL written by the previous guys that would break so totally if it were touched (and I have priorities even higher than fixing this issue, believe it or not).
10/06/2007 21:41 #41523
?Category: a series of tubes
- Z
james - 10/07/07 10:50
I was going to remark how awesome the Kate Pierson muppet was. But the wiki fun is freakin' great.
I was going to remark how awesome the Kate Pierson muppet was. But the wiki fun is freakin' great.
zobar - 10/07/07 08:55
The truth is even more awesome: according to Wikipedia, the voice actress for the Kate Pierson muppet is better known for her roles as Kate Monster and Lucy the Slut in Avenue Q.
Man, Michael Stipe is a freakish homunculus.
- Z
The truth is even more awesome: according to Wikipedia, the voice actress for the Kate Pierson muppet is better known for her roles as Kate Monster and Lucy the Slut in Avenue Q.
Man, Michael Stipe is a freakish homunculus.
- Z
drew - 10/06/07 23:11
So that was really Natalie Merchant and not the best impersonator ever, right?
So that was really Natalie Merchant and not the best impersonator ever, right?
tinypliny - 10/06/07 22:32
I <3 that song even more now, hehe :D
I <3 that song even more now, hehe :D
10/04/2007 12:18 #41491
future perfect & quantum mechanicsCategory: mental health
The future perfect tense (WIKIPEDIA - Future perfect tense) is used when, at a certain time in the future, you will be able to look back in the past and say that the event happened. It's a somewhat esoteric construction, but it does come up occasionally: by this time next year, i will have made a million dollars.
The Copenhagen interpretation of quantum mechanics (WIKIPEDIA - Schrodinger's cat) states that all of the possible outcomes of an experiment - even if contradictory - are true until the outcome is observed. This is a purely theoretical thought experiment, since it can only be validated by observation and it's not possible to observe an experiment before it has been observed. Thank you, Bohr and Heisenberg, for being such jackoffs.
Which brings me to the point I was trying to make: health insurance. We signed up for Healthy NY and our coverage took effect 1 August. We were shuffling around finances at the time, and missed our first bill. We received a notice postmarked 10 September saying that they'd cancelled our coverage effective 1 Sept, and if we wanted to continue coverage we'd have to pay for coverage received and prepay one month's worth. I sent the payment off, but upon further inspection I thought, damn this is a lot of money. Instead of the two months' payment I had expected [August, the payment we missed, and October, the prepayment], it was for three months. So I called.
Me: Am I covered?
Univera: ...no.
Z: OK, I sent my payment 27 Sept. How long will that take to process?
U: Couple days, don't worry about it. Any other questions?
Z: Yeah, so I [explain the situation]. August and October I understand, but where does this third month come in?
U: That's for September.
Z: OK, but I got a letter saying that I wasn't covered in September.
U: Because you didn't pay.
Z: Right. So what am I paying for?
U: August, September and October.
Z: What about this letter I got?
U: When your payment goes through, you will have been covered for September.
Z: Woah, hold on. When I was told I didn't have insurance I canceled my doctors appointments. [Not true but it could be.]
U: We would have covered them.
Z: But you dropped my coverage.
U: We would have covered them once the payment went through.
Z: OK. So let's say I broke my leg today.
U: You are not covered, but once your payment goes through you will have been covered.
Z: So am I covered today or not?
U: You are not covered for today. But once your payment goes through you will have been covered for today.
Z: I don't understand. Was I covered in September or not?
U: You are not yet covered for September, but once we receive your payment you will have been covered.
Z: So this letter I got ... was I actually dropped or not?
And I basically just talked in circles for fifteen minutes with two separate customer service representatives until we reached an agreement: that I am completely incapable of understanding my own health insurance coverage.
- Z
The Copenhagen interpretation of quantum mechanics (WIKIPEDIA - Schrodinger's cat) states that all of the possible outcomes of an experiment - even if contradictory - are true until the outcome is observed. This is a purely theoretical thought experiment, since it can only be validated by observation and it's not possible to observe an experiment before it has been observed. Thank you, Bohr and Heisenberg, for being such jackoffs.
Which brings me to the point I was trying to make: health insurance. We signed up for Healthy NY and our coverage took effect 1 August. We were shuffling around finances at the time, and missed our first bill. We received a notice postmarked 10 September saying that they'd cancelled our coverage effective 1 Sept, and if we wanted to continue coverage we'd have to pay for coverage received and prepay one month's worth. I sent the payment off, but upon further inspection I thought, damn this is a lot of money. Instead of the two months' payment I had expected [August, the payment we missed, and October, the prepayment], it was for three months. So I called.
Me: Am I covered?
Univera: ...no.
Z: OK, I sent my payment 27 Sept. How long will that take to process?
U: Couple days, don't worry about it. Any other questions?
Z: Yeah, so I [explain the situation]. August and October I understand, but where does this third month come in?
U: That's for September.
Z: OK, but I got a letter saying that I wasn't covered in September.
U: Because you didn't pay.
Z: Right. So what am I paying for?
U: August, September and October.
Z: What about this letter I got?
U: When your payment goes through, you will have been covered for September.
Z: Woah, hold on. When I was told I didn't have insurance I canceled my doctors appointments. [Not true but it could be.]
U: We would have covered them.
Z: But you dropped my coverage.
U: We would have covered them once the payment went through.
Z: OK. So let's say I broke my leg today.
U: You are not covered, but once your payment goes through you will have been covered.
Z: So am I covered today or not?
U: You are not covered for today. But once your payment goes through you will have been covered for today.
Z: I don't understand. Was I covered in September or not?
U: You are not yet covered for September, but once we receive your payment you will have been covered.
Z: So this letter I got ... was I actually dropped or not?
And I basically just talked in circles for fifteen minutes with two separate customer service representatives until we reached an agreement: that I am completely incapable of understanding my own health insurance coverage.
- Z
tinypliny - 10/06/07 13:55
My Verizon representatives also seem to be from the same future perfect school of vile thought!
My Verizon representatives also seem to be from the same future perfect school of vile thought!
zobar - 10/05/07 12:01
Yeah I wish my job were like that. "Woops, the website didn't update last week, but once I push this button it will have been online last week."
- Z
Yeah I wish my job were like that. "Woops, the website didn't update last week, but once I push this button it will have been online last week."
- Z
kookcity2000 - 10/04/07 23:00
dude I ran into a similar situation at my 1st job.
As it happened HR never turned in my forms to the insurance co. It only occured to me to ask after it was like 3 months without getting an insurance card in the mail.
They wanted 'back-premium' and I flipped out. My employer offered to pay half and I said that was shit, but they ended up taking it out of my paycheck anyways.
Its good to know I guess that insurance can be so bendy.
dude I ran into a similar situation at my 1st job.
As it happened HR never turned in my forms to the insurance co. It only occured to me to ask after it was like 3 months without getting an insurance card in the mail.
They wanted 'back-premium' and I flipped out. My employer offered to pay half and I said that was shit, but they ended up taking it out of my paycheck anyways.
Its good to know I guess that insurance can be so bendy.
09/28/2007 12:28 #41378
please... bring me a toothpickCategory: a series of tubes
Thank you, Wikiquote, for providing this afternoon's waste of time!
- Z
- Z
tinypliny - 09/28/07 20:46
Oh, what's the bloody point?
Oh, what's the bloody point?
I have seen that film at least a dozen times. In Albany the Philip Glass orchestra played a score for it. Fucking awesome!
You can the three of us in (paul, matt, terry). How do you want me to pay you for the tickets?
It's very cool that they are doing that. I know the Riveria (sp?) was screening Nosferatu last year, but it would be even more fun to see it at Shea's.