Tales from the Alexandria Necropolis: The Halloween Bear

Since it’s almost Halloween, it’s time that I finish some business from Halloween of last year.  

In the southeastern corner of Alexandria, there is a large complex of cemeteries that covers 35 acres or more.  Most maps label the entire thing as Alexandria National Cemetery (the precursor to Arlington National Cemetery), but Alexandria National Cemetery only makes up a small part of the complex.  The rest is composed of lots belonging to various Alexandria churches.  

The cemeteries are filled with the sort of ornate grave markers that were popular a hundred years ago or more.   

On Halloween of last year (2015), I happened to be in the area of this cemetery complex, and decided to take a walk there, because it seemed like a Halloweeny thing to do, and I hoped that something Halloweeny would happen.  

Nothing Halloweeny happened.

But I did come across this bear, which has to be the most un-Halloweeny thing imaginable.

October Sky

October Sky is the name of a 1999 movie based on the life of former NASA engineer Homer Hickam.  The original title, Rocket Boys, taken from Hickam’s autobiography, was changed when marketing research revealed that women over thirty would not see a movie called Rocket Boys.  (The two titles are anagrams.)

In 1999 I saw Hickam on David Letterman’s CBS show promoting the film.  Letterman recalled an occasion on which the producers of Letterman’s earlier NBC show attempted to enlist Hickam to teach Letterman to scuba dive for a special underwater episode.  The idea turned out to be unworkable, however, as at that time of year the local sea water was so cold that Letterman would have frozen to death over the course of the hour-long show.  That would have been a great loss to television, especially during Letterman’s earlier, funnier days.  

I have never seen October Sky, nor does it, or Homer Hickam, or David Letterman, have anything to do with these pictures.   

They are simply some pictures of the October sky.  

(As always, click to enlarge.)

Star Wars and Otherwise Name Confusion

Before I saw the newest Star Wars movie, I blogged my worries about it.  

Ever since I saw it, I have been wanting to blog my reaction.  I don’t know if I’ll ever get that post finished. 

I do feel that I have gotten a little closer now that I have resolved my confusion regarding Riley Keough, Rilo Kiley, and Kylo Ren.  

Eveningscapes

I have a huge backlog of things that I want to write for the blog, going back years.  But I rarely finish writing any of it, because life it too tiring, and it’s easier to just put up some pictures.  

Here are some eveningscapes from May. 

As always, click to enlarge. 

455 Page Views

After posting my last post, I took a look at the statistics for the blog.  

I found that, on August 25, the blog had received 455 page views. 

For some blogs, that might not be out of the ordinary.  But this blog is only read by my family and friends, and then only when I specifically instruct them to.  On most days this blog gets at most one or two page views.  

I must assume that this one outstanding day was the result of the actions of a bot.  I don’t know that the purpose of the bot was, but perhaps it was to make obscure bloggers feel good about themselves.  

Eastern Tiger Swallowtail

(I felt that I should have one more post for August.)

As always, click to enlarge

The Olympics Triplecast

The summer Olympics are almost here, and my only thought on the subject is wondering whether NBC will bring back the Olympics Triplecast.  

And if they bring back the Olympics Triplecast, will they have Bill Cosby do another commercial for it?

Okay, maybe not . . . 

If I were a sports fan, I would probably have a head full of Olympic memories about Michael Phelps, and Mary Lou Retton, and Bruce Jenner from before . . . well, it’s probably best not to get into all that. 

But I’m not a sports fan, so all that I remember about the Olympics from my youth is the Triplecast, which I never actually saw (nor did many other people), and which was a financial disaster for its network. 

I wish that I had had an opportunity to discuss the issue with the president of NBC.

Me: Will NBC be bringing back the Olympics Triplecast for the 2016 Olympics?

President of NBC: There are no plans to do that.

Me: Will there be any plans in the future, like for the winter Olympics, or the next summer Olympics?

President of NBC: No. 

Me: How about applying the Triplecast retroactively to the 2012 Olympics?

(On a final note, I’ve spent the last few decades thinking that the program was called the “Olympic Triplecast”, but upon researching this post I found that the correct name was “Olympics Triplecast”.)