This is the place for whatever has your attention. Any topic you are studying, art or writing projects for us amatures, charitable or social projects, or whatever else you deem worthy of your free time. This is not the place to talk about your favorite sit-com, but if you want to discuss a documentry here or there feel free.

Far be it from me to tell you how to post, but please give us a fairly detailed overview, that way everyone can understand what you're up to. The idea is to give us updates, things you have learned, thought, and accomplished. Please feel free to throw in random thoughts whenever you feel like it. I don't know about you, but most of my friends are not interested in most things I find facinating, I hope some of you may be. I for one would love to hear what you, my fellow Bradbury fans, spend your precious time on.

Got it? Cool, enough said.

This message has been edited. Last edited by: Jayne,

My, my.

WHAT'S IN DANDELION'S BOOKMARKS?

Now that I've edited my first video project incorporating computer-produced material, I've been able to get off spending much of my time on forums crying, "Help! It did this and it won't do that! What do I do?" and turn to other pursuits.

One of my big hobbies, occasioned by listing every book I ever read (I've managed to identify all but ONE--now I have to live until that's solved!--) brought me to several fascinating discussion forums:
http://forums.abebooks.com/abesleuthcom
http://groups.google.com/group/rec.arts.books.childrens
Plus one where users can post stumpers and solutions:
http://www.logan.com/loganberry/stump.html
Admittedly, I don't have time to read books, just read summaries of them and list ones I'd like to read based on other peoples' comments.

Then I can always keep up on my favorite actor http://robertfuller.info/official/welcome.htm and the several Yahoo! groups devoted to discussing him as well as other favorites of mine.

Quite possibly the greatest group of fans outside Ray's own can be found here, http://twilightzonewor.9.forumer.com/index.php?act=idx where Ray is hailed as a "TZ alum."

I spend a lot of time exploring mysteries that books sort of touch on, then leave the reader inconclusively hanging. Sometimes I like to go in depth into certain subjects in ways most books don't.

I'm absolutely convinced ghosts exist. UFOs, too. Don't even try to argue with me. I don't need your stinkin' proof of their nonexistence! http://www.paranormalsoup.com/forums/index.php?&&CODE=autologin&fromreg=1 I'm also pretty sure John Edward is genuine and James van Praagh is faking it.

These killjoys http://www.historyhouse.com/in_history/childrens_crusade/ haven't got me convinced the Children's Crusade didn't really happen, but I believe some accounts of numbers involved may be greatly exaggerated, and even if 20,000 or 30,000 really participated they did not all march at the same time. Some joined, walked awhile, and turned back or something else happened to them, while others were picked up along the way.

Besides that, I'm 85%-95% convinced Lee Harvey Oswald killed John F. Kennedy and quite possibly could have acted alone. It would be very hard to convince me that Robert Kennedy's death was anything other than the result of a conspiracy. I'm 99.9999999% convinced that Bruno Richard Hauptmann kidnapped Charles Lindbergh, Jr., was responsible for his death even if accidentally, and that the body found in the woods was indeed that of Charles Jr. http://members.aol.com/lindytruth/

I'm well more than half convinced that although the man killed in the barn identified as Abraham Lincoln's assassin John Wilkes Booth was undoubtedly not him, Booth was caught up with shortly afterwards, and the body returned to his family four years later and buried in their family plot was indeed his. The family themselves were certainly convinced of this. Unfortunately, the government had to stick to the original story about Booth dying in the barn, leading to years of speculation that he may have survived under another identity. You can read about Booth's supposed mummy and Ray Bradbury's own most famous mummies here: http://www.mummytombs.com/mummylocator/group/guanajuato.htm

I am interested in obtaining certain films based on Lincoln's life: http://groups.google.com/group/rec.arts.movies.past-fil...008/31a039022c0e2457

Of one thing I am ABSOLUTELY convinced: there is no one set story of history, as many theories are out there and will continue to abound as there are crackpots, the difference is that now with the internet more of us can argue about it and at least receive different points of view than would be presented by just one author in one book.

Princess Diana died in a car crash I'm pretty sure was an accident, but a bit open as to how much of one.

O. J. SIMPSON IS GUILTY AS HELL! Fast, yes, had help, probably, but he got away with murder and is walking around free. JonBenét Ramsey, 89% family member did it, 11% intruder did it. The only reason it's so high towards being an inside job almost all relates to the ransom note. Otherwise it might be no more than 50-50. No justice in America.

Well, geez, what's next? How about the youngest daughter of Tzar Nicholas II, none other than the Grand Duchess Anastasia? You can discuss any aspect of anything related to her family here http://forum.alexanderpalace.org/YaBB.cgi and, doggone these people, they have me more than about half convinced that famous claimant Anna Anderson/Anastasia Manahan was not her, though I've yet to be fully convinced of how someone could pull off such an elaborate and credible-appearing hoax for so long--not to mention THE DANG BODY IS MISSING! There's at least one more book in this. I'm not the one to write it, but someone should.

Probably my narrowest area of interest is in my toy collecting hobby: http://p197.ezboard.com/bliddlekiddlesdiscussion These dolls were produced only for a very limited (TOO-limited) amount of time, and guys aren't interested in them at any age, but here I can pursue every aspect regarding them.

Then of course, it's nice to have the input of fellow sufferers while working on my own book(s): http://www.hatrack.com/forums/writers/cgi/Ultimate.cgi?...ro&BypassCookie=true

Wow! Dandelion. What a dissertation! Perhaps I can add a thought or two.

I am extremely interested in aviation. Have had a student pilot's license (not active) for many years, and would still like to pursue the thought of obtaining a recreational pilot's license or the new category of sport airplane license.

Having met Richard Bach (with him a neighbor in Ottumwa, Iowa) I was able to fly with him quite a bit, got mentioned in his book Nothing Bt Chance, and was able to meet Ray Bradbury and a number of other pilots while in the Army in California and attend several fly-ins and was able to ride in a variety of open-cockpit biplanes.

I attended the Sun 'n Fun fly-in in Lakeland, Florida a couple of weeks ago (drove over from Sunrise) and next week end will be the Air and Sea Show in Ft. Lauderdale.

Since before high school I have been an avid reader having devoured many, many books (and not having had the patience to have listed all of the books I've read like dandelion) and still read every day. whether it be a book, magazine article, or label of a condiment jar at the table.

In the past I have collected stamps and chess sets and currently have a collection of toy airplanes and owl figurines.

It appears that our daughter (who was displaced due to Hurricane Wilma and has been residing in our guest bedroom with all of her belongings occupying our dining room since October 27th, 2005) may soon be leaving our humble apartment after finding one of her own.

My wife and I now plan to continue our remodeling plans, i.e., painting, replacing the furniture that we have found next to the dumpster and have otherwise procured, remodeling the two bathrooms and kitchen remain a goal down the line.

Let's hear from some of the other faithful posters as to what makes them tick.

Dandelion, I wrote what I thought was a thoughtful, informed reply to your post, and then erased it, ugh. You gave us so much to look through and explore, today I would like to respond to the topic we have most strongly in common, UFO's.

I have done my homework in regards to this subject, and have concluded that any honest, inteligent, and openminded person would have to conclude that the possibility that a number of the many eyewitness accounts are, in fact, what they seem to be. Object or craft, not of human manufacture. After admiting such a possibility, we are stuck looking at what, it seems to me, is the most improtant event, or series of events, in the 20th century, and argueably the history of our species. I point to J. Allen Hynek as a good place to see why we should take this subject seriously.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/J._Allen_Hynek
I would also mention people like Col. Phillip Corso, and even Jesse Marcel. Anyway I tend to go on, I wanted to leave you a link to some recently supposed leaked information about a human/alien exchange program. I have serious doubts, but either way it is a hell of a story.
http://www.serpo.org/

Don't think you have gotten off the hook as to the rest of your post, this is just a short interlude.

In addition to all the above, I am cataloguing family pictures and genealogical information and doing house and garden remodeling, too.

Wow, I could spend days exploring Dandelions post alone, how to compare, not even going to try! My hat is off to you!!!

Okay, I was born in a ramshackle log cabin on the banks of the Mississippi, oops wrong life, starting over.

Self employed painter(walls and houses, not art which I'd love, but hey we all gotta eat)and drywall repairman. I am married(15yrs)with three extraordinary kids. When we are not "on the move", I love to create art. IO will try anything, and if I like it, will keep it up. I've tried my hand at clay, glass-blowing, woodwork, metal, and paint. I make walking sticks, tie-dye, chimes, wind thingies, mobiles and more usually with the kids. I am totally into astronomy (not astrology, although it seems interesting, I kinda beleive in signs)since being a scout, but actively since '96. I am in two astronomy clubs, and I have three telescopes, one is a 12.5", and one is an 8" computerized meade, the other is a little refractor that I've owned a long time. I have a deep love of books of all kinds and actively collect what I find to be interesting and cheaply purchased. My main two favorite science fiction authors in this order are Ray Bradbury and Robert Heinlein, I have everything they wrote. Recently between this site and one other,I have been gleaning information on other books and authors never before heard of by me. I have in two months ordered hundreds of books, some as low as one penny and the highest was fifteen dollars. I'm a pretty fast reader but, what I have amassed, I don't think I can read in my lifetime, although I am working o9n reading faster. The initial thought on these were that I would use books as a cure all to quit smoking cigs. Like whenever I'm at work or whatever and feel like having a smoke, I would instead sit down and read a few pages. Ordering books though itself soon became an obsession altogether seperate from quitting smoking, and I still haven't done that. Can you tell I have an addictive obsessive personality personality? I forgot to mention that I've been five years clean and sober! Enough said about that except that I was spiralling out of control. Lucky to be alive actually, God the tailspins!! Okay, I have stopped ordering books and I don't regret it in any way because I simply love books. Most that I ordered are of the sci-fi type, but not all. My other major love in life is music, of all kinds. My favorite band is The Grateful Dead, definitely the soundtrack of my life. Others I love are Pink Floyd, CSN, Neil Young, Zeppelin, alot of Punk too surprisingly. I like alot of other types of music including blues, jazz, classical, and new age. Love Tangerine Dream, got to see live in '86 in L.A. When free downloading music wasn't illegal, I forsaw limitations and downloaded tons of cds. I have a deep love also of nature and the great outdoors. We camp whenever possible mainly spring and fall. Our favorite spots are Red River gorge and Land Between the Lakes. We all love to take trips to Fla. and we go on mini trips throughout the year. I better let this be it, I'm starting to scare myself, and my hat is starting to slip. I must say that this is my favorite site and I consider you all my friends, and I love to hear your stories on here. Please keep it up. Clear skies to you all.

p.s. now I'm misty eyed and happily rusting!

Anna Anderson: 55% not Anastasia, 45% Anastasia: http://www.peterkurth.com/ANNA-ANASTASIA%20NOTES%20ON%2...A%20SCHANZKOWSKA.htm

Favorite comedy sit-com is Seinfeld. Also love Threes Company, MTM(especially the song..."your gonna make it after all..."), Curb your Enthusiasm, Get Smart, Green Acres, many others as my mother used the "boob tube" as our sitter/parent.

sorry Jayne, its in my anti-authoritative nature, seriously, this is an awesome thread.
and thanks for the space links.

I have to drive almost an hour for pure darkness and altitude. Its called Merengo Ind. Its where we luckily chose to view the great Leonid meteor shower about four years ago. What a once in a lifetime event that was, all of Louisville was socked in with heavy fog and we were way above it enjoying well over 400 meteors and fireballs an hour. I'll never forget it.

quote:

Originally posted by Robot Lincoln:
Favorite comedy sit-com is Seinfeld. Also love Threes Company, MTM(especially the song..."your gonna make it after all..."), Curb your Enthusiasm, Get Smart, Green Acres, many others as my mother used the "boob tube" as our sitter/parent.

sorry Jayne, its in my anti-authoritative nature, seriously, this is an awesome thread.
and thanks for the space links.

You misunderstand, I have no authority, I am not a moderator. Mr. Bradbury in panel discussions, and talks I have seen, spoke often of "following your loves" if there is somthing you are passionate about, do it! So many great things have come of Bradbury following his loves, I know there are many, very smart people here who have loves of thier own. That was for me, the point of this thread. It is to share what you love, I only laid out one exeption, that was obviously a mistake.

I interpret following your loves as always reaching for something greater, a dream or a vision. Striving for beauty, or purity, even just to understand the viscera that can be the human experiance from time to time.

The reason I wanted to avoid TV was manifold.
First, TV is not somthing you do, unless you make it or your on it. Second 99% of TV is banal, sub-par, unintelligent mediocrity, written for the lowest common denominator. I don't mind if people watch television, I just thought we could avoid it in this thread.
Since there are many places and many people with whom to discuss TV I can only assume the reason you brought it up was, to be quite blunt, to give me the finger. Again I don't really mind, I write this so each of us knows where we stand.

Once more I will state that I have no authority here, If you choose to write an episode synopsis everyday I don't have the power to stop you, and this is the last you will hear of it from me.

I know I'm new here, obviously I still have to learn how things work at this forum. I'll go back to lurking untill I figure it out.

Speaking of TV, which I did when I mentioned my favorite actor and some shows, I expect you all to go to these two sites and vote for the show featuring my favorite actor's best role to be released on DVD!

Laramie:
http://www.orderdvdtvshows.com/odts_watch_lists/l_laramine.shtml

Here's another place to vote for "Laramie"!

http://www.tvshowsondvd.com/showinfo.cfm?showID=2660

I think the reason TV and movies come up so often is that some who are attracted to Ray’s writing are escapists. I know I am. I’m also a realist but enjoy a sense of wonder and a good story now and then. So I seek out whatever might offer a good yarn.

Just ignore that post. Seriously, I am just heartbroken about Ray not being able to speak today, and flipped out. I have an 18 hour drive ahead of me, I honestly had been looking forward to today for a year and am just very dissapointed. I did not mean to be such a jerk, I was just upset. Sorry.

As far as I'm concerned, no one's upset with you, just sorry you're upset. You're very right to be concerned about Ray. He would never disappoint his fans unless there were a genuinely serious reason.

Jayne,

I thought you might appreciate this link:

http://news.enquirer.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/200.../604290349/1021/EDIT

Lake

Jayne, I too, also understand your disappointment. When I last visited my son, who lives south of L.A., I had called Ray and he said to stop by at 4:00 PM on Saturday. But my daughter-in-law was still nursing our new granddaughter, and the round trip would be too long. I called Ray to see if Sunday would work, but alas, he had people coming in from New York, and so it wouldn't work out.

Of course, the primary reason for our trip was to see my son and his family. The bonus was to see Ray, but I have been to his four times before, but now my son is thinking about moving to Minnesota (where my eldest daughter lives) so I will have to go to California just to see Ray, if I were to go in the future, although I do have a cousin out there as well.