An island of logic in a sea of crazy

Had friends over and we caught up on the latest True Blood episode and watched Episodes 1 & 2 of Torchwood: Children of Earth. Now that was good television. So much of my F-list is buzzing about/grieving over the last three eps! I don't think I can wait to watch them, but I have to slog through tons of housework first or it won't get done at all. *sigh* Well, no time like the present!

ETA: And OMG! The last ep of True Blood - I'm already a Jessica/Hoyt shipper!

thanks to tnmisery for pointing out this place for me:

http://www.sighco.com/Womens-Shirts-orderby0-p-1-c-8.html

I bought me and the hubby some Miskatonik/Cthulhu-wear, and the Evil Lager T-shirts and I got him an Anubus T-shirt too. If they fit well I'm probably going back for some of the other ones. I really like all the cthulhu ones, and the Rosetta Stone one.

kellyhk has posted her thoughts on Dr. Tillman's senseless murder. She says it better then I ever could.
http://kellyhk.livejournal.com/192920.html?view=2167192#t2167192

Photos of the fireworks my hubby set off last night. Too bad the photos of my friends didn't turn out, all I got was pics of the fireworks:

( don't try without adult supervision )

There's a marathon of the original "Land of the Lost" on sci-fi channel right now. I remembered that it was cheesy and the special effects were horrible, but I guess I blanked out just HOW cheesy & horrible. Seriously, the cartoon network should show these at 1am for the amusement of the stoners who can't sleep. 'Cause DAMN. This makes shows like H.R. Puffinstuff and The Bugaloos look like Shakespeare. I could do better in my own backyard with a Super 8 camera and some toy dinosaurs.

I got home from work on Friday to discover reaffirmation that I'd married a great big kid at heart. He'd bought almost $100 worth of fireworks! Tried to tell me that they're not just for the 4th of July, that there's a long & glorious tradition of shooting off fireworks in the backyard on Memorial Day, too. First I've ever heard of it - yeah, going to Fort Snelling Cemetary & watching the honor guard give a 21-gun salute as a WW2 vet from the local VFW lays a flag & wreath in front of the Veterans memorial, but no actual fireworks... But I'm not arguing. His enthusiasm is contageous - and kinda cute. And I enjoy giving him a bit of shit about it. *grin* We're shooting off a few tonight, and tommorrow I'm having a BBQ/bonfire/fireworks shootoff with some of our friends. I'm really looking forward to it!

Went to the Guthrie Theater with imonlylurking last night. We saw the play "The Intelligent Homosexual's Guide to Capitalism & Socialism with a Guide to the Scriptures." It was... interesting. And actually pretty cool, although not something I'd rave about the wonderfulness of, but still entertaining. The only thing I didn't like was the scene that started out with one conversation going on in the living room & one on the front steps of the house simultaneously, that wound up with a big family shouting match with all the characters fighting with one other so everybody was talking at the same time and you couldn't make out half of what everyone was saying (which I'm sure was the author's intention, but it was still annoying.)

On another note: at my home board (CDS) we'd recently been having a discussion about what each of us would do if we'd won a huge lottery; and I'd said I'd want to get a big house & turn it into a non-profit that gave homeless strays a place to live out their lives even if they were untamable & therefore unadoptable. But I realized that there was something else I'd want to do as well.

It seems like over the last several years, TV has catered to the lowest common denominator even more then usual. But when I was younger, public broadcasting and even network TV used to do filmed plays quite often. There was Great Performances, and Playhouse 90, and American Film Theater and lots of stuff like that. There's still stuff like that on PBS once in a while, but not nearly as much as they used to. I'd want to start a production company to do that again, and hire a lot of talent from the Guthrie. Kino Video just released all the American Film Theater videos, and I remember seeing "The Iceman Cometh" with Lee Marvin, and "The Maids" with Glenda Jackson. I was a kid so I didn't understand everything that was going on, but it still fascinated me. And some of my favorite films, like "The Lion in Winter" and "Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?" are the original plays almost word-for-word. I'd LOVE to do, say, Wendy Wasserstein's last play "Third" as a filmed play for PBS. Or "A Body of Water," or David Mamet's "Boston Marriage" - which was one of the funniest things I've ever seen. Hell, I'd like to see every single play the Guthrie does filmed for posterity, even if just as a historical record to be shown in classrooms to acting students. If that was my one contribution to society before I die, I could still die happy. I blame my mother for letting me watch "I Claudius" with her when I was about ten years old.

Yay! My Amazon shipment just arrived, including my paperback copy of "Pride and Prejudice and Zombies!!" And my DVD copies of the original 1960's Peter Cook/Dudley Moore version of "Bedazzled" (SO MUCH BETTER then the remake!) and "Baby Face" (1933) with Barbara Stanwick as a tough-as-nails chick who sleeps her way to the top - they literally show her going floor by floor all way to the executive boardroom on the top floor. God, I love that movie!!!

Last night we had our usual Friday night get-together, and I showed my friends episode one of "Dead Set." As usual when I watch something involving a zombie apocalypse, I was struck with a weird question: is zombification exclusively a human thing? What happens when the zombies fan out from the city to the woods, and the dairy farms, and the factory farms where thousands of hens sit in tiny battery cages? Do you eventually get zombie cows, and zombie chickens, flesh-eating zombie ducklings and baby bunnies, and rabid zombie squirrels trying to eat your face off?

*sigh* Sometimes I think too much.

I change favorites monthly, sometimes weekly, but WOW! I never liked brass bands, because in the U.S. they almost always play nothing but old tired John Phillips Sousa marches. Who knew there was a Central European tradition of brass bands with a clarinet, playing bouncy Yiddish dance tunes??? How did I not know this???



*bounces around the room dancing wildly until I'm completely out of breath*

Author's Note: OK, so I've had writer's block for over a year now. So I decided to write crackfic, because surely that'll tempt the muse out, right? But I've now spent several months on the first chapter with all the exposition that creates the universe in which I plan to put all this pronny crackfic. I write it, I set it aside for a week or three, I re-read it and think it's crap so I delete it and start all over again from a completely different angle. But it's only supposed to be the setup for the crackfic, the means to an end so to speak; I'm supposed to get it out of the way quick so I can get to the good stuff! Therefore I'm posting this now, untweaked and unbetad (raw and still bleeding all over the carpet as it were) so I don't delete it because I think it's total crap in a week and start all over YET AGAIN.

( this way to the setup for the Spander Pron )

I've been incredibly lazy. The browser on my computer and my laptop is STILL Netscape!! My friends were shocked that anybody was still using Netscape, but I have been dreading the hours it will take to transfer my tons of bookmarks. But it sounds like I really should bite the bullet and just do it. I had downloaded Safari onto my laptop (though I've never used it), but I'd really love some advice/opinions from my F-list on which one is better...

Hey! I've never tried this poll thingy before either - no time like the present!


Poll #1394198 Firefox or Safari??
Open to: All, detailed results viewable to: All

Which do you recommend, Firefox or Safari?

For your Sunday morning viewing pleasure:
"Buddha with a Thousand Hands" from the China Disabled Peoples Performance Art Troupe:



Got together with my friends on Friday night, and we were trolling YouTube for cool stuff to watch on my big screen. We found this and were absolutely awed! Really amazing stuff! I just wish the cameraman would have stopped moving around so much and just let us watch the performance, because the dance truly stands on it's own - no flashy camera moves required. I cannot imagine the amount of rehearsal that must have been required to get those moves down so perfectly.

We also spent quite a while looking up more 80's music videos; which was a lot of fun, but once we got to the point that we started looking up Boy George videos & Madonna videos, I think I reached my limit and almost ran from the room! Gotta say though, I never realized before just how good a voice Boy George has. I think back in the day I never got past the flamboyant image enough to actually listen to him, but we found a clip of him singing "The Crying Game" and to my great surprise, I was impressed!

Did some cleaning & shopping yesterday (been waiting forever for a really good sale on the primo expensive sheet sets, and finally snagged 2 more sets at a steal of a deal) barbequed for dinner, and then went over to crossbow1's and imonlylurking's house to watch them make a bonfire out of all their yard waste. Twas lots of fun (I have a bit of pyromaniac in me - I just love poking a fire and making sure everything gets evenly burned!) but the wind kept changing direction & sending clouds of thick smoke into our faces. Now I have a scratchy throat, and I'm sure it's from all the smoke I inhaled. But I still want to go out and burn MY yard waste later today, because I just love a good fire...

Gakked from Patsy on CDS and Sueworld2003 on LJ. For those who haven't already seen them, clips from James's sci-fi western TV movie "High Plains Invaders" are now up on youtube!

http://www.youtube.com/user/WorldPremiereVOD

He's all stubbly with curly poodle-hair! *happy sigh* And he shoots his guns and tosses lit sticks of dynamite at the big metal alien bugs! I love it already - It ain't no Shakespeare, but it's going to be damn entertaining!! (And it already looks far more fun then the Keanu Reeves' remake of The Day The Earth Stood Still.) Now I just need to figure out how to photoshop some icons with James and Ian McShane (Swearengen) from Deadwood together...

Just got up out of bed. Had a VERY weird dream. The hubby and I were vacationing in Britain, and all these rich titled guys were flirting & hitting on me. Even though I wasn't interested in any of them I was stringing them all along and chuckling about how foolish they were acting with my husband. (Very unlike both of us in real life.) At one point it was like an old British farce, with one guy hiding in the bathroom, one behind the curtains, one hiding under the bed as guy #4 knocked at the door and I wondered where I would put him when guy #5 would show up... but then I was suddenly offered a 2-week internship as Stephen Fry's assistant on some special project he was doing for BBC2 and I jumped at the chance. The hubby flew back home and I spent a bit of time in my dream learning about television production from Stephen Fry like a devoted student at the feet of Socrates or something...

And was rudely woken up by the sound of a cat retching right next to my head. *headdesk*

Babaloo has hairballs sometimes (I REALLY need to make time to brush him once in a while) And both him and Beauxdelaire has tried (and sometimes succeeded) to throw up in the bed this week. Not much we can do when they are napping in the bed while we are out, but when we are actually sleeping and they start retching we grab them and gently but quickly pitch them off hubby's side to the floor, because my side is only about 8 inches from the wall and extra blankets & stuff tend to get kicked off to the floor there, whereas hubby's side is a large area of hardwood floor and much easier to clean. We've been pretty successful up to now, but this time as I grabbed Babaloo & tried to toss him to the floor on hubby's side he started throwing up in mid-air & hit hubby's pillow AND BACK. I was mortified, but hubby is strangely not angry at me - knows my move was instinctual and straight out of a sound sleep (and I was really enjoying that dream too, damnit!) so I really owe him bigtime. So: one goal for today is to clean the litterpan again (in case we forgot & it is the cats way of saying they'd rather throw up then use it) give all the cats a good brushing, make sure I didn't leave the door open to the room with the plants in it (because they chew off leaves & barf sometimes) and above all keep our bedroom door closed. Our bed is their favorite napping place, but the bedroom is now OFF LIMITS until further notice.

In other news I went to get a haircut yesterday, and failed. I walked in & asked if they had any openings soon (meaning in the next hour or so) and was told they still had one opening for Tuesday night... I'm planning to try again today at another place across the street from the Aveda store I tried yesterday. Then I picked up C. and we went shopping at The Dress Barn (hate that name, but the office clothes are great.) I pretty much never got past the "clearance - 70% off" rack. I made out like a bandit and now I only need to pick up another couple of pairs of tights and I'm set with office clothes that fit for at least the next six months or more! I even found a really nice, warm spring coat (all my coats are frayed or have construction glue all over a sleeve, etc.) for 15 bucks!! FIFTEEN BUCKS!!

So, a good friend is having her first date in a long time today - and they're going for lunch right around the corner from my house. Need to call her, as I am planning to call her at a pre-arranged time so she can either ignore my call or say it's an emergency and possibly ditch him if he turns out to be a horrendously bad date. Our friend C. is going to come over & watch videos this afternoon, so I'm hoping the date's a success & she'll come over afterwards & tell us all about it. (I'm looking at you A.! Good luck!)

OK, I've been up for four hours now. I emptied the dishwasher, handwashed most of the pots & pans, done four loads of laundry, vaccumed the living room and gave the parrot a good long shower. Hopefully I can keep up the pace so my house looks less like a cyclone hit it.

But I'm here posting about it because I'll do just about anything to delay a bit longer. I REALLY don't want to delve through the stack of healthcare coverage options paperwork my new job gave me to fill out. *sigh* At least I usually only have to do this once or twice a decade.

If I can slog through and get everything filled out, I may treat myself with either a quick run to the mall to shop for more new office clothes or a good professional haircut. (I desperately need one!) Hmmm, bobcut or shag?? I may just let the hairdresser decide.

Gakked from the amazingly fabulous tubbyk:

http://www.slate.com/id/2216522/

The recent launch of the Warner Archive Collection could well portend a revolution; it's DVD on demand, a way for Warner (and, one hopes, for every other studio) to make movies available without spending the $75,000 to $100,000 it costs to release an old title into an ominously contracting marketplace. Here's how it works: Go to the archive and browse the titles. Click on the ones you want, and for $19.95 apiece, they'll burn a DVD-R and ship you the movie in a standard plastic case with cover art. There are no extras except the trailer, if it's available; there isn't even scene-by-scene chaptering. But you will get the film, shown in the correct aspect ratio and with a picture and soundtrack of mostly high quality. Virtually none of the movies in this collection has been available on DVD before. Many never even made it to VHS.

So far, there are only 150 titles, but Warner plans to expand the archive by at least 20 selections a month, drawing from the 5,600-odd unreleased titles (including a huge number of vintage RKO and MGM movies) in its 6,800-film library.



HOLY CRAP, BATMAN!!! I may never get outside the house again!! Once I started surfing through the listings of films available, I'm sure my squeeing could be heard in the next state. WOW!

Here's a link to the archive:
http://www.wbshop.com/Warner-Archive/ARCHIVE,default,sc.html

Made grilled cheese sandwiches and tomato soup for dinner. Dizzy, my African Gray parrot, likes grilled cheese sandwiches a lot, but he ADORES tomato soup! He just ate so much of it that I think he must have a hollow leg or something!

You know what makes me happy? Sitting down at the end of a long tiring day and enjoying a good hot cup of cocoa made with Ghirardelli hot cocoa mix. Specifically 2/3rds Double chocolate flavor & 1/3rd Chocolate Hazelnut flavor; with or without a little extra shot of Baileys Irish Creme in it too. I find that there are very few of the frustrations in life that cannot be made at least a little bit better with a good hot cup of yummy cocoa. *licks off milky cocoa mustache*

Another happy: the squeeing, delighted con reports coming in from James Marster's latest con appearance. I've never been to a sci-fi con, only vintage/silent movie cons where I get to see beautifully restored prints of rare old movies and get to hear really old actors, directors and cameraman wax lyrical about their old days in the business, and get to buy old cool movie posters and memorabilia in the dealer's rooms. But James' fans always sound so darn happy after seeing him at one of his cons, so one of these days I just might have to let my inner fangirl out and go to see him at one of those!

Technically day seven was yesterday, but better late then never.

Day #7's happy is for my sweet wonderful friends! I always get together with them on Friday nights for a potluck night of watching videos. Usually crossbow1 and I switch off hosting each friday. Last night was at my house, so I ordered pizzas and we sat upstairs and watched videos all night on the hubby's huge ceiling-mounted projector (technically not a projection TV but it is hooked up to a DVD player and our old computer - so a fabulous 6-foot screen for about half of what a projection TV would have cost.)

We watched the latest Doctor Who Easter special (fabulous and fun!) and then started going through my YouTube favorites list. After watching Susan Boyle sing and that cool clip of the sheepherders who strap on LED lights to their sheep and then film them being herded into cool patterns after dark, we started trolling through all the old 80's music videos I had bookmarked and it took off from there. I've never been a Duran Duran fan, but the Duran Duran mockage video was hilarious! Watched Adam Ant and Peter Gabriel and the Safety Dance and Video Killed the Radio Star and One Night in Bankok and OMG the hair!!!! The scary fashions! The lyrics that rock but don't really make any sense! God that was fun!

There was one really embarrassing moment though; my cats were running around, climbing into people's laps and laying across the backs of the chairs so they could snuggle the backs of everybody's heads and play with their hair. At one point, one of my cats curled around crossbow1's head and let loose with the most smelly, silent-but-deadly fart right in her face. I'm surprised she didn't pass out.

ETA: for those who haven;t seen it:

Took a late lunch, ran home & picked up the stray-cat-in-a-trap, ran him to the Animal Shelter and dropped him off. Had a little cry on the way back to work. I know it was for the best but it really saddened me to think that might have been the last time he'll ever feel the sunshine on his back. I'm pretty sure he was dumped by one of the tenants of the apartment building up the street when they moved out, so I'm holding out hope that he'll tame down quickly. But he has spent the entire winter running wild and going feral. I know that if they test him and determine him "unadoptable" he'll almost certainly be put to sleep. And aside from never letting anyone closer then ten or twelve feet away, he was such a cutie pie! Chasing the squirrels, laying in my backyard basking in the warmth of the sun, chasing his own tail. I came home tonight & hugged the stuffing out of my own three kitties. There but for the grace of God (or the ceiling cat...)

So help me, if I ever win the lottery I'm starting up my own non-profit organization and buying one of those spay-and-neuter mobile trucks. I'll get some young vets straight out of vet school and go from neighborhood to neighborhood offering free spay & neuter services for those who can't afford it. And buy a house just to turn it into an "old folks home" for ferals with nowhere else to go. And I'll hire all my out-of-work friends to help take care of the ferals, manage the books and the payroll and so on. Yup, that's what I'd do. That and raise pygmy llamas.

Anyway...

Eight Days of Happy: Day six. Got home from work and Mikey was here, wanting to veg and watch some good (mostly British) TV with us. I've helped him find all the good shows, and he's tearing through them and loving it. We watched Torchwood Season 2, episodes 11 and 12 tonight. Now he's all excited to see the season finale! So much fun to watch it with a newbie! My favorite line: "So, you're not going to help me catch the terradactyl then?" I cannot wait until he sees True Blood and Being Human!!