Stacy Horn

There was a great piece in the Times a while back, something about “how to get the most out of your technology.” One of the things it suggested doing was fine tuning and calibrating your HDTV. They said:

“Order Spears & Munsil High-Definition Benchmark Blu-ray Disc Edition [Blu-ray], a DVD, for $25. Its regimen of tests and patterns will help you adjust your TV’s settings to more natural levels. After you use it, you may want to fine-tune the TV some more, but you can do so knowing you are getting the most out of your display.”

I wonder if I should do it. Has anyone ever done something like this with their tv?

When I get my camera back I’m going to spend the day taking pictures. Maybe I should plan a nice NYC tour, and visit a bunch of spots I’ve never been to. I took this uptown a month or so ago.

The picture below was taken on the stage at SOB’s, one of the proudest moments of my life. For people who haven’t read Waiting For My Cats to Die, I learned how to drum in response to my mid-life crisis. I was so terrified the first time I tried to hide in the back, but there wasn’t really much of a “back” to hide in. But soon after I always wanted to be in front. I liked being closer to the audience and watching them dance.

Before I forget about it completely, this is a recording of someone reading a letter from a former slave [the recording I linked to was removed] to his former master. I learned about it from a tweet, and there’s been some discussion about whether or not the letter was really written by the former slave. The last I read the consensus seemed to be forming that it was.

I just read on Echo that the end of the world has been predicted, again, this time it’s scheduled for May 21. Mark your calendars!

It reminded me of a pre-9/11 Daily Show piece about a guy who had predicted the destruction of New York for a particular day. The day came and went and the Daily Show “reporter” calls the guy from New York and says something like, “What happened?? We’re all still here.” And the guy answers in a very testy voice, “Relax! I’ve been waiting a long time for this, and you’ll just have to wait too!”

I’m not quite getting the wording right, but it was clear the guy wasn’t just predicting the total destruction of New York, he was longing for it.

Someone on Echo also made the point that this is what’s behind a lot of these predictions, a lot of people long for total annihilation.

No more pictures of me for weeks, I promise. But I had to take a billion shots just to get two that were remotely acceptable. God I’ve gotten so old and jowly. Notice the strategic hand (and hair) placement.  I should include one of the rejects just so you see what I really look like, but I can’t. I’m only human.  I’ll stick with the illusion.

I went all out for my author photo for my book Waiting For My Cats to Die, and hired a make-up artist and one of the best photographers money can buy. Marion Ettlinger can make anyone look like a rock star. But then for the next couple of years I had to deal with the inevitable look of disappointment when people met me and I wasn’t that glamorous in person. For my next author photo I kept my glasses on and didn’t wear any makeup except what I use in real life (almost nothing, lipstick and a little concealer under my eyes).

But here are the three shots I considered for Waiting. They were taken in 2000, I believe it was, and I went with the last one below.

This was was a little too va-va-va-voom.  Plus my bangs look funny.

Something was off about my face.  Those shoes are cute, though!  Do I still own those??

The winner!  Reminder:  I didn’t look like this then and I certainly don’t look like this now!