You may (or may not) have noticed a new link over on the right to a site called Dave's Long Box.
What is this site, you ask? It's a comics-related blog run by a guy named Dave Campbell who boldly states, "I'm going to review my comic book collection and you're going to like it."
And I do like it. Reading his reviews is a great way for any comics fan to pass the time. Be prepared to laugh your geeky ass off.
I've noticed a few people coming here on Teenage/Bikini Cavegirl searches who are specifically looking to find the next time it will air on HBO or Cinemax.
That brings me to Jon's Tip Of The Day: go to freakin' IMDb! Listings for movies and TV shows now include when/where it will be airing.
(For the record, the next US airing is Monday, March 5, 2007, at 12:40 AM on Cinemax. Happy? Wouldn't you feel better if you'd found that out for yourself? Well, I don't care if you would or not: next time find it your damn self.)
One other thing about IMDb? Sometimes - but only sometimes, and mostly only in the case of Playboy/Penthouse models and pornstars - the biographies for actresses include their bra sizes (or at least what someone, who may or may not actually know, says their bra sizes are).
For those wondering, for the picture I posted the other day I used a screen capture of actress Monique Parent/Scarlett Johansing /Scarlet Johansing /Scarlet Johanssing /Marnay Miranda, most known for being credited by many names and for appearing in late-night Cinemax soft-core porn fare.
When it comes to soft-core porn she's what you'd call "prolific." Not sure why she settled on the various versions of Scarlet Johanwhatever, as she first started using the name well before Scarlett Johansson became a big name.
Anyway, that covers the information I wanted to pass along.
Saturday, February 24, 2007
Friday, February 23, 2007
Because A Few People Were Looking For It Here...
...for whatever reason (Why not just go straight to YouTube and search for it?), I figured I'd post this clip of Isaac Mizrahi boldly going where so many men would like to and groping Scarlett Johansson at the 2006 Golden Globes.
FYI, I would totally pretend to be gay if it meant that I could fondle Scarlett's breasts with impunity.
(Oh, and any "golden globes" puns are completely played out, which is why I didn't go there.)
FYI, I would totally pretend to be gay if it meant that I could fondle Scarlett's breasts with impunity.
(Oh, and any "golden globes" puns are completely played out, which is why I didn't go there.)
Cool! New! Stuff!
Thanks to Scott for taking the time to find a widget and add it to my template to give me a Label Cloud (look over to the right), and also for making it so that I don't have to hand code links to open in a new window.
(That last one is strictly for my benefit, but it's still cool and new)
(That last one is strictly for my benefit, but it's still cool and new)
Wednesday, February 21, 2007
Well, Here's Something Anyway
For those of the five or so of you who come here regularly who like to see pictures I've done, I feel kind of bad about not having done any lately.
So here's one I did a while back as something of an experiment that was never really intended to see the light of day. It's nothing special, but at least it's something and is kind of sexy.
So here's one I did a while back as something of an experiment that was never really intended to see the light of day. It's nothing special, but at least it's something and is kind of sexy.
Funny, I Don't FEEL Like I've Been Renewed
Because it’s taken so long to get my emissions inspection done, I’m within a week of having my registration expire, so I went online to pay to renew it and to print out a temporary registration (the results of the inspection are transmitted to the DMV electronically, so I don’t actually have to send that in, even though I had to get it done in order to renew).
While I was at it I went ahead and renewed my driver’s license, as that’s expiring in April.
That’s one thing I miss about Arizona: after 25, your license doesn’t expire until you’re 65.
After work on Saturday night I stopped at a grocery store to pick up milk. While I was at it, I bought some vanilla extract so that I could make oatmeal raisin cookies, but somehow I never got around to it.
I’m still not sure why I didn’t have any vanilla extract in the first place.
I suppose I could make them today, as it seems unlikely that I’m going to do much else.
Given that they’re among the only interesting things here, I feel like I should be posting a new picture, but I just haven’t felt up to working on anything new.
So for those of you who look forward to the new pictures, my apologies.
Spreading The Disease Department:
One Friday evening in the fall of 1989 I was sitting at home reading (Jon was sitting at home on a Friday night? What are the odds?) when my friend Joel called me up to tell me about this amazing album he’d just bought.
By Joel standards (think Lurch of The Addams Family TV show), he was positively gushing.
In those days, Joel, Kevin, and I were always on the lookout for anything new and exciting in the world of metal.
This meant reading magazines like Circus and Hit Parader in order to find out about new bands, or old bands that had influenced bands that we liked, and of course watching Headbanger’s Ball, and periodically one of us would bite the bullet and go out and buy some album based on this research (other times we would just take a chance and buy something based on the album cover).
In this manner we had gotten into bands like Suicidal Tendencies, D.R.I., and The Misfits.
In any case, there was a band we’d heard of and read about, but hadn’t really checked out yet, and so it was Joel who took the leap and bought an album.
The band? Queensrÿche. The album? Operation: Mindcrime.
Joel went on to explain that in addition to sounding amazing, the actual content was amazing. It was a concept album that told a story through song and snippets of dialogue. The band, it seemed to me, based on his description, had created some synthesis of operatic and cinematic elements and applied them to the production of a heavy metal album.
He went on to explain the story: a young drug addict is recruited into an underground conspiracy bent on overthrowing the government. This organization, named Operation: Mindcrime, keeps him happy and in line by providing him with free, hiqh-quality drugs, and through the ministrations of a prostitute turned nun turned agent for the revolution whom he comes to fall in love with.
Then one day he gets the call.
His mission is to engage in a bloody campaign of murder of local religious and political leaders, a mission that takes its toll on him, and it only gets worse when he gets his final assignment: murder the woman he loves.
He goes out to fulfill his assignment, they make love, and he decides that they will both break free of the revolution. He leaves to confront the leader, stumbles off into the night struggling through withdrawals, and returns to the only person who means anything to him only to discover that there are no happy endings.
That’s it in a nutshell, though it is actually much more complex than that.
In any case, I was intrigued, and when I finally got the chance to hear it, I was hooked.
For the next 6 months Mindcrime dominated my life.
I listened to it at least once a day every day, and a good portion of the time Joel and I spent together at school was devoted to examining every aspect of the album, making new discoveries all the time.
Sometime towards the end of 89 they released Video: Mindcrime, a home video featuring select tracks from the album and promising to provide some answers and raise new questions.
Eventually I acquired all of Queensrÿche’s other works (they’d had three previous albums), and became a full-on fan of what was known in many circles as “the thinking man’s metal group.”
But as much as I enjoyed The Warning and Rage for Order, it was their third album (I don’t count the self-titled EP, which isn’t very good), that stood out as the essential work.
In the summer of 1991 we learned that Queensrÿche would be doing some shows in Madison, Wisconsin, which was as close as they were getting to us.
The circle of friends I hung out with made plans to go to one of the shows, but it never panned out.
Some time later they released a box set featuring a concert video and CD entitled Livecrime, which featured performances from two of the shows in Madison(!).
So not only did I miss the chance to see them perform it live – with, it was reported, an interesting stage show that adds much to the understanding of the story – I missed an opportunity to be part of the home video and CD.
By 1995 Queensrÿche was on tour in support of their album Promised Land (their last good album, in my opinion; Queensrÿche has the problem of having peaked too soon), and their tour was bringing them a little bit closer to home. Green Bay, to be precise.
This show we did manage to get to (Type O Negative opened; shittily enough, while in mid-song, Queensrÿche’s road crew basically said, “Time’s up,” and began hauling Type O’s stuff of the stage while they were still performing. In response, lead singer Peter Steele said, “They said 45 minutes, and they meant it.” Apparently that happened a lot on that tour. It really was a shitty thing to do, but hey, it was Queensrÿche’s show. I might have been bothered by it more if Queensrÿche had then gone on to put on a lousy show. They didn’t, as you’ll see.)
Queensrÿche came on stage and launched into songs off the new album, which was cool. In addition to sounding good, they had a lot of good visuals, making use of big screens and various theatric elements to supplement the performances. During set changes they played these little short films made by lead singer Geoff Tate.
At some point in the show, after playing a mix of new and old songs, there was a pause, and Geoff said, “It’s a long way to the Promised Land. I hope you don’t mind if we take a little detour through…Operation: Mindcrime.”
And that was when I experienced one of the top ten greatest things that’s ever happened in my life (Of course, to put things in context I should mention that the time that I got two Twix bars for the price of one from a vending machine is like Number 4).
They. Did. The. Whole. Thing.
Plus they did some more non-Mindcrime stuff afterwards (about a two and a half hour show total).
My love for Mindcrime has never really waned over the years (even if my love for the band that created it has), but I don’t listen to it nearly as often as I did.
Still, I did listen to it last week and in doing so decided, “You know, Scott really needs to hear this,” so I burned him a copy.
He doesn’t quite share the enthusiasm for it that a 17 year old Jon felt, but he did get hooked.
In looking up some information on it, he discovered that in 2006 they released a “deluxe edition” that included the original CD, a concert CD from a performance in London in 1990, and a DVD of Video: Mindcrime.
That’s what I bought at Best Buy yesterday.
I was saddened to learn that a while back they actually released a sequel. That’s just sad. Something like Mindcrime can’t really be recreated in any fashion, and is perfect and complete in and of itself. A sequel just cheapens it.
Besides, with Chris DeGarmo gone, it, like the band itself, just wouldn’t sound right.
Still, I HIGHLY recommend the original. Not everyone will like it, I know, but this is a case in which if you don’t like it, there’s something wrong with you. It’s not a matter of different strokes for different folks, or any namby pamby crap like that. There’s just straight up something wrong with you.
Now, I’m not saying that what’s wrong with you is grounds for rounding you and others like you up and putting you in camps to await the final solution, or that there’s a sleeper army of assassins out there just waiting to get the call to take out the non-believers, but I am saying that Mindcrime is really, really good and worth checking out.
So just think about it.
Yet another three day work week that will feel like twelve days looms ahead of me. Hopefully it will go a little bit faster than that.
It’s been rather an odd week for me, but I’m sure things will fall back into the normal rut next week.
In any case, if I don’t manage to post anything in the meantime, have a good weekend.
While I was at it I went ahead and renewed my driver’s license, as that’s expiring in April.
That’s one thing I miss about Arizona: after 25, your license doesn’t expire until you’re 65.
After work on Saturday night I stopped at a grocery store to pick up milk. While I was at it, I bought some vanilla extract so that I could make oatmeal raisin cookies, but somehow I never got around to it.
I’m still not sure why I didn’t have any vanilla extract in the first place.
I suppose I could make them today, as it seems unlikely that I’m going to do much else.
Given that they’re among the only interesting things here, I feel like I should be posting a new picture, but I just haven’t felt up to working on anything new.
So for those of you who look forward to the new pictures, my apologies.
Spreading The Disease Department:
One Friday evening in the fall of 1989 I was sitting at home reading (Jon was sitting at home on a Friday night? What are the odds?) when my friend Joel called me up to tell me about this amazing album he’d just bought.
By Joel standards (think Lurch of The Addams Family TV show), he was positively gushing.
In those days, Joel, Kevin, and I were always on the lookout for anything new and exciting in the world of metal.
This meant reading magazines like Circus and Hit Parader in order to find out about new bands, or old bands that had influenced bands that we liked, and of course watching Headbanger’s Ball, and periodically one of us would bite the bullet and go out and buy some album based on this research (other times we would just take a chance and buy something based on the album cover).
In this manner we had gotten into bands like Suicidal Tendencies, D.R.I., and The Misfits.
In any case, there was a band we’d heard of and read about, but hadn’t really checked out yet, and so it was Joel who took the leap and bought an album.
The band? Queensrÿche. The album? Operation: Mindcrime.
Joel went on to explain that in addition to sounding amazing, the actual content was amazing. It was a concept album that told a story through song and snippets of dialogue. The band, it seemed to me, based on his description, had created some synthesis of operatic and cinematic elements and applied them to the production of a heavy metal album.
He went on to explain the story: a young drug addict is recruited into an underground conspiracy bent on overthrowing the government. This organization, named Operation: Mindcrime, keeps him happy and in line by providing him with free, hiqh-quality drugs, and through the ministrations of a prostitute turned nun turned agent for the revolution whom he comes to fall in love with.
Then one day he gets the call.
His mission is to engage in a bloody campaign of murder of local religious and political leaders, a mission that takes its toll on him, and it only gets worse when he gets his final assignment: murder the woman he loves.
He goes out to fulfill his assignment, they make love, and he decides that they will both break free of the revolution. He leaves to confront the leader, stumbles off into the night struggling through withdrawals, and returns to the only person who means anything to him only to discover that there are no happy endings.
That’s it in a nutshell, though it is actually much more complex than that.
In any case, I was intrigued, and when I finally got the chance to hear it, I was hooked.
For the next 6 months Mindcrime dominated my life.
I listened to it at least once a day every day, and a good portion of the time Joel and I spent together at school was devoted to examining every aspect of the album, making new discoveries all the time.
Sometime towards the end of 89 they released Video: Mindcrime, a home video featuring select tracks from the album and promising to provide some answers and raise new questions.
Eventually I acquired all of Queensrÿche’s other works (they’d had three previous albums), and became a full-on fan of what was known in many circles as “the thinking man’s metal group.”
But as much as I enjoyed The Warning and Rage for Order, it was their third album (I don’t count the self-titled EP, which isn’t very good), that stood out as the essential work.
In the summer of 1991 we learned that Queensrÿche would be doing some shows in Madison, Wisconsin, which was as close as they were getting to us.
The circle of friends I hung out with made plans to go to one of the shows, but it never panned out.
Some time later they released a box set featuring a concert video and CD entitled Livecrime, which featured performances from two of the shows in Madison(!).
So not only did I miss the chance to see them perform it live – with, it was reported, an interesting stage show that adds much to the understanding of the story – I missed an opportunity to be part of the home video and CD.
By 1995 Queensrÿche was on tour in support of their album Promised Land (their last good album, in my opinion; Queensrÿche has the problem of having peaked too soon), and their tour was bringing them a little bit closer to home. Green Bay, to be precise.
This show we did manage to get to (Type O Negative opened; shittily enough, while in mid-song, Queensrÿche’s road crew basically said, “Time’s up,” and began hauling Type O’s stuff of the stage while they were still performing. In response, lead singer Peter Steele said, “They said 45 minutes, and they meant it.” Apparently that happened a lot on that tour. It really was a shitty thing to do, but hey, it was Queensrÿche’s show. I might have been bothered by it more if Queensrÿche had then gone on to put on a lousy show. They didn’t, as you’ll see.)
Queensrÿche came on stage and launched into songs off the new album, which was cool. In addition to sounding good, they had a lot of good visuals, making use of big screens and various theatric elements to supplement the performances. During set changes they played these little short films made by lead singer Geoff Tate.
At some point in the show, after playing a mix of new and old songs, there was a pause, and Geoff said, “It’s a long way to the Promised Land. I hope you don’t mind if we take a little detour through…Operation: Mindcrime.”
And that was when I experienced one of the top ten greatest things that’s ever happened in my life (Of course, to put things in context I should mention that the time that I got two Twix bars for the price of one from a vending machine is like Number 4).
They. Did. The. Whole. Thing.
Plus they did some more non-Mindcrime stuff afterwards (about a two and a half hour show total).
My love for Mindcrime has never really waned over the years (even if my love for the band that created it has), but I don’t listen to it nearly as often as I did.
Still, I did listen to it last week and in doing so decided, “You know, Scott really needs to hear this,” so I burned him a copy.
He doesn’t quite share the enthusiasm for it that a 17 year old Jon felt, but he did get hooked.
In looking up some information on it, he discovered that in 2006 they released a “deluxe edition” that included the original CD, a concert CD from a performance in London in 1990, and a DVD of Video: Mindcrime.
That’s what I bought at Best Buy yesterday.
I was saddened to learn that a while back they actually released a sequel. That’s just sad. Something like Mindcrime can’t really be recreated in any fashion, and is perfect and complete in and of itself. A sequel just cheapens it.
Besides, with Chris DeGarmo gone, it, like the band itself, just wouldn’t sound right.
Still, I HIGHLY recommend the original. Not everyone will like it, I know, but this is a case in which if you don’t like it, there’s something wrong with you. It’s not a matter of different strokes for different folks, or any namby pamby crap like that. There’s just straight up something wrong with you.
Now, I’m not saying that what’s wrong with you is grounds for rounding you and others like you up and putting you in camps to await the final solution, or that there’s a sleeper army of assassins out there just waiting to get the call to take out the non-believers, but I am saying that Mindcrime is really, really good and worth checking out.
So just think about it.
Yet another three day work week that will feel like twelve days looms ahead of me. Hopefully it will go a little bit faster than that.
It’s been rather an odd week for me, but I’m sure things will fall back into the normal rut next week.
In any case, if I don’t manage to post anything in the meantime, have a good weekend.
Tuesday, February 20, 2007
Busy Day
This morning I got up and was taking advantage of the fact that even though I had a dentist appointment I actually had some time to sit around because it wasn’t until 11:20 by sitting around. About 45 minutes into my sitting around the phone rang. It was my dentist office asking if I could come in earlier. I still hadn’t showered, so I told them I’d be about 45 minutes, which would make it about 50 minutes earlier than my original appointment.
I did a little bit more sitting around, then showered and was on my way.
When I got there Tabitha, whose boobs looked especially good today, though overall she was a bit of mess (kind of puffy looing with some breakouts), was on the phone, but she waved to me as I came in.
I just remain baffled by the 180 she’s made in the last two years or so in terms of how she responds to me. She used to be fairly dismissive and just slightly contemptuous of me, but somewhere along the line she got really friendly (in relative terms).
I don’t think that it’s because she’s into me or anything because, well, duh, I’m Jon, so that’s not a possibility.
Besides, I just noticed that’s she’s got a sizeable rock on her finger.
I think that’s new from when I last did a ring check.
Still, I remain puzzled by her change in behavior. Maybe it’s not just me. Maybe there were some complaints and she started being nicer to all of the patients.
In any case, my actual appointment took about 45 minutes, and then there was about 5 minutes of confusion over the bill. First I was charged, then that was voided because I shouldn’t have been charged, apparently.
I go back on the 6th (too early in the morning to get any sitting around time) to get my permanent crown put in.
From there I headed off to Wal-Mart.
I picked up a couple of DVDs (The Prestige and Hellboy: Sword of Storms) and some shampoo.
All of the lines were really long and most of the self-checkout lanes were closed, so I got in the “express” lane.
The guy ahead of me was wearing a jean jacket and these faded jeans that made me think, “Hey, is it 1988? Because if it is 1988, what am I doing in Virginia? My parents and girlfriend must be worried sick about me.” Then I concluded that even if it were 1988, the guy would still have been too old to be dressed like that.
Shortly after that he turned around and noticed that I only had three items and, admitting that he actually had one more item than the sign allows for, offered to let me go ahead of him.
It made me think, “Gee, maybe I should take back the mean things I was thinking about him.”
I decided that I shouldn’t because they were funny.
From there it was over to Best Buy where I saw and nearly purchased this, because it would be cool and would make for an easy, non-invasive way for me to add a second TV tuner and HD capability to Hugin, but decided against it.
(I did buy something else while I was there, but I’ll write about that on another day, as there’s quite a bit I want to say about it.)
Next stop was Uno’s for lunch, and then I made my way home.
While home I decided that I should head back out again to try to get the emissions inspection done, this time opting for a different location.
The result was the same: the car didn’t have the necessary data.
The guy working there suggested that, since this was the third time it had failed I should go to The Tire Shop to get it checked out.
So I did. They hooked up a monitor and drove the car around for an hour in an attempt to reset the car’s systems and capture the data.
The good news is that it worked and I finally got the test done. The bad news is that it cost me an extra $85.
Between Wal-Mart and Best Buy I had stopped at the bank to deposit a check. While I was filling out the deposit slip some old guy came up next to me and started talking to me like I’m his neighbor or something, complaining about the weather.
I’m always baffled when people come up and talk to me, as it’s been my understanding that I exude a “don’t talk to me” vibe that most people find off-putting. Some would even say that there’s a palpable air of hostility about me.
It’s not necessarily conscious or even intentional, it’s just the way things are. I mean, it’s not like I’m going to flip out if people talk to me, it’s just that for the most part I’d rather they didn’t, and somehow it shows.
(Often even when I really don’t want it to; some people have told me that it’s part of what keeps women away.)
Anyway, the point is that I’m usually sort of surprised when random people try to strike up conversations with me, and I wonder why it is that they don’t seem to pick up on whatever it is that keeps most people away. What sort of social retardation is it that makes them oblivious to the subtle cues that more sensible people pick up on?
Generally, as was the case today, it’s old people who slip through my antisocial force field, so maybe there’s some critical faculty that tells you that people don’t want to talk to you as you get older.
(On a related note, my mother is able to pick up on it when people don’t want to talk to her, but when she does, she will do everything she can to prolong a conversation just to make the other person squirm. Why? Because she’s like that, and it’s fun.)
Anyway, the guy said, “I don’t know where they got 50 from.”
(These are the exact words that he initiated the conversation with. I wasn’t even looking in his direction; he just started talking.)
He continued, “It’s more like 35. It’s so cold it could knock you down.”
I wanted to say, “It’s much warmer than 35 out there, and even if it were only 35, that you would find that cold enough to ‘knock you down’ means you’re an incredible pussy.”
Instead, I simply made some sort of noncommittal sounds and said, in disagreement with his statement that it was just as cold as yesterday, “It’s quite a bit warmer today,” though what I really wanted to say was, “Don’t speak to me” and then turn towards him menacingly and add, “Don’t speak to me ever again.”
Sadly, I can’t deliver that line in quite the pant shitting-inducing fashion that Clancy Brown does as The Kurgan in Highlander, so I never bother with it, though I really, really wish I could pull it off.
In any case, that was my exciting and unexpectedly expensive day.
At least the damned emissions thing is finally taken care of, though I wish it could have been a little cheaper.
Oh, and the guy who rung me up at the Tire Shop was creepy. Like Rutger Hauer in The Hitcher creepy. I was just sitting there reading an e-book while I waited and I heard him really quietly say my name like he was just testing out how it sounded and he was sort of stretching it out slowly. Like, “Joooooooonnnnnnn.” When I looked up he was just staring at me with this really weird smile, and every time he said anything it was in that low, drawn-out fashion.
I really don’t know what was up with that.
Oh well, at least I don’t have to venture out into the world tomorrow, so I won’t be running into any talkative old people or creepy cashiers.
I did a little bit more sitting around, then showered and was on my way.
When I got there Tabitha, whose boobs looked especially good today, though overall she was a bit of mess (kind of puffy looing with some breakouts), was on the phone, but she waved to me as I came in.
I just remain baffled by the 180 she’s made in the last two years or so in terms of how she responds to me. She used to be fairly dismissive and just slightly contemptuous of me, but somewhere along the line she got really friendly (in relative terms).
I don’t think that it’s because she’s into me or anything because, well, duh, I’m Jon, so that’s not a possibility.
Besides, I just noticed that’s she’s got a sizeable rock on her finger.
I think that’s new from when I last did a ring check.
Still, I remain puzzled by her change in behavior. Maybe it’s not just me. Maybe there were some complaints and she started being nicer to all of the patients.
In any case, my actual appointment took about 45 minutes, and then there was about 5 minutes of confusion over the bill. First I was charged, then that was voided because I shouldn’t have been charged, apparently.
I go back on the 6th (too early in the morning to get any sitting around time) to get my permanent crown put in.
From there I headed off to Wal-Mart.
I picked up a couple of DVDs (The Prestige and Hellboy: Sword of Storms) and some shampoo.
All of the lines were really long and most of the self-checkout lanes were closed, so I got in the “express” lane.
The guy ahead of me was wearing a jean jacket and these faded jeans that made me think, “Hey, is it 1988? Because if it is 1988, what am I doing in Virginia? My parents and girlfriend must be worried sick about me.” Then I concluded that even if it were 1988, the guy would still have been too old to be dressed like that.
Shortly after that he turned around and noticed that I only had three items and, admitting that he actually had one more item than the sign allows for, offered to let me go ahead of him.
It made me think, “Gee, maybe I should take back the mean things I was thinking about him.”
I decided that I shouldn’t because they were funny.
From there it was over to Best Buy where I saw and nearly purchased this, because it would be cool and would make for an easy, non-invasive way for me to add a second TV tuner and HD capability to Hugin, but decided against it.
(I did buy something else while I was there, but I’ll write about that on another day, as there’s quite a bit I want to say about it.)
Next stop was Uno’s for lunch, and then I made my way home.
While home I decided that I should head back out again to try to get the emissions inspection done, this time opting for a different location.
The result was the same: the car didn’t have the necessary data.
The guy working there suggested that, since this was the third time it had failed I should go to The Tire Shop to get it checked out.
So I did. They hooked up a monitor and drove the car around for an hour in an attempt to reset the car’s systems and capture the data.
The good news is that it worked and I finally got the test done. The bad news is that it cost me an extra $85.
Between Wal-Mart and Best Buy I had stopped at the bank to deposit a check. While I was filling out the deposit slip some old guy came up next to me and started talking to me like I’m his neighbor or something, complaining about the weather.
I’m always baffled when people come up and talk to me, as it’s been my understanding that I exude a “don’t talk to me” vibe that most people find off-putting. Some would even say that there’s a palpable air of hostility about me.
It’s not necessarily conscious or even intentional, it’s just the way things are. I mean, it’s not like I’m going to flip out if people talk to me, it’s just that for the most part I’d rather they didn’t, and somehow it shows.
(Often even when I really don’t want it to; some people have told me that it’s part of what keeps women away.)
Anyway, the point is that I’m usually sort of surprised when random people try to strike up conversations with me, and I wonder why it is that they don’t seem to pick up on whatever it is that keeps most people away. What sort of social retardation is it that makes them oblivious to the subtle cues that more sensible people pick up on?
Generally, as was the case today, it’s old people who slip through my antisocial force field, so maybe there’s some critical faculty that tells you that people don’t want to talk to you as you get older.
(On a related note, my mother is able to pick up on it when people don’t want to talk to her, but when she does, she will do everything she can to prolong a conversation just to make the other person squirm. Why? Because she’s like that, and it’s fun.)
Anyway, the guy said, “I don’t know where they got 50 from.”
(These are the exact words that he initiated the conversation with. I wasn’t even looking in his direction; he just started talking.)
He continued, “It’s more like 35. It’s so cold it could knock you down.”
I wanted to say, “It’s much warmer than 35 out there, and even if it were only 35, that you would find that cold enough to ‘knock you down’ means you’re an incredible pussy.”
Instead, I simply made some sort of noncommittal sounds and said, in disagreement with his statement that it was just as cold as yesterday, “It’s quite a bit warmer today,” though what I really wanted to say was, “Don’t speak to me” and then turn towards him menacingly and add, “Don’t speak to me ever again.”
Sadly, I can’t deliver that line in quite the pant shitting-inducing fashion that Clancy Brown does as The Kurgan in Highlander, so I never bother with it, though I really, really wish I could pull it off.
In any case, that was my exciting and unexpectedly expensive day.
At least the damned emissions thing is finally taken care of, though I wish it could have been a little cheaper.
Oh, and the guy who rung me up at the Tire Shop was creepy. Like Rutger Hauer in The Hitcher creepy. I was just sitting there reading an e-book while I waited and I heard him really quietly say my name like he was just testing out how it sounded and he was sort of stretching it out slowly. Like, “Joooooooonnnnnnn.” When I looked up he was just staring at me with this really weird smile, and every time he said anything it was in that low, drawn-out fashion.
I really don’t know what was up with that.
Oh well, at least I don’t have to venture out into the world tomorrow, so I won’t be running into any talkative old people or creepy cashiers.
Monday, February 19, 2007
Three Strikes And I'm Out
So I got up early this morning in order to be able to make it to my car dealership by 9 so that I could be sure to have enough time to get my emissions inspection done and still make it to the theater on time to meet Scott and Stacy.
This was my third attempt at getting the inspection done.
Or rather, it was my third failing attempt.
This time it wasn’t a problem with my car; the machine they use to do the inspection was broken.
Three strikes and you’re out; I’m going to a different garage to get it done.
I left from there to do my grocery shopping.
When I got home I had an e-mail from Kathleen. That potential part-time job I’ve mentioned in the past is for doing some design and copywriting work with the company she works for, and Kathleen was letting me know about a project that her boss wants me to work on as sort of an audition (though not in the original sense of the word, as this involves visuals, not sound).
After I responded to the e-mail Kathleen called and gave me a little more info before I headed off for the movie.
Long story short on Ghost Rider: I liked it.
It combined elements of the version of Ghost Rider that I used to read with elements of the Ghost Rider of the 90s that I didn’t read, though I was at least aware of the basics of that version.
There were some pretty big plot holes, but what it was lacking in that area it made up for with a good sense of humor that was a perfect balance between being goofy and taking itself too seriously, great action sequences, and some spectacular effects.
My only real complaint was that the voice of the Ghost Rider seemed a little run-of-the-mill in its scary, demonic sound.
Still, it’s a minor quibble.
In interviews about the movie, Eva Mendes mentioned that in the comics her character was a big-breasted, blue-eyed blonde, and that because she couldn’t meet the last two characteristics, she would do what she could to fulfill the first. I have to say that she did an admirable job, putting in a boobtacular performance and dressing in such a way as to provide a particular focus.
(That was my other minor beef: I did not believe for a second that Eva Mendes and Nicholas Cage were the same age, which they were supposed to be. Cage looked way older.)
So yeah, I liked it. Not a masterpiece by any stretch of the imagination, but definitely a solid entry in the genre.
(Peter David, Writer of Stuff, has a pretty good take on how much worse it could have been on his blog.)
Once I got home I went to work on my audition piece. Not sure I’m happy with it, but I think it’s a solid design, particularly given that I didn’t get much in the way of guidance in terms of what the client is looking for, so I sent it off to Kathleen for consideration.
Yesterday, despite my claims that I didn’t do much, I designed a logo for Brian, who apparently has a Web site in the works (I’ll leave it up to him to provide the details if you’re interested).
Driving in to work Thursday morning I got rather a rude awakening once I started driving over 40, as my car began to shake like Rush Limbaugh making fun of Michael J. Fox.
Simon reported the same problem on his drive in, so we both hoped that it was related to the cold temperatures. Turns out it must have been, as the drive home was much smoother.
The snow that came last week is still hanging around due to cold temperatures and general incompetence on the part of the people responsible for moving it.
I was amazed by how much snow is still around making the lanes narrow and blocking off turning lanes as I was driving around today.
In any case, that about does it for this entry.
Tomorrow it’s off to the dentist and hopefully to some garage that can do the emissions inspection.
Beyond that, not much else going on in my life this week, though I’ve already got more than usual going on anyway.
This was my third attempt at getting the inspection done.
Or rather, it was my third failing attempt.
This time it wasn’t a problem with my car; the machine they use to do the inspection was broken.
Three strikes and you’re out; I’m going to a different garage to get it done.
I left from there to do my grocery shopping.
When I got home I had an e-mail from Kathleen. That potential part-time job I’ve mentioned in the past is for doing some design and copywriting work with the company she works for, and Kathleen was letting me know about a project that her boss wants me to work on as sort of an audition (though not in the original sense of the word, as this involves visuals, not sound).
After I responded to the e-mail Kathleen called and gave me a little more info before I headed off for the movie.
Long story short on Ghost Rider: I liked it.
It combined elements of the version of Ghost Rider that I used to read with elements of the Ghost Rider of the 90s that I didn’t read, though I was at least aware of the basics of that version.
There were some pretty big plot holes, but what it was lacking in that area it made up for with a good sense of humor that was a perfect balance between being goofy and taking itself too seriously, great action sequences, and some spectacular effects.
My only real complaint was that the voice of the Ghost Rider seemed a little run-of-the-mill in its scary, demonic sound.
Still, it’s a minor quibble.
In interviews about the movie, Eva Mendes mentioned that in the comics her character was a big-breasted, blue-eyed blonde, and that because she couldn’t meet the last two characteristics, she would do what she could to fulfill the first. I have to say that she did an admirable job, putting in a boobtacular performance and dressing in such a way as to provide a particular focus.
(That was my other minor beef: I did not believe for a second that Eva Mendes and Nicholas Cage were the same age, which they were supposed to be. Cage looked way older.)
So yeah, I liked it. Not a masterpiece by any stretch of the imagination, but definitely a solid entry in the genre.
(Peter David, Writer of Stuff, has a pretty good take on how much worse it could have been on his blog.)
Once I got home I went to work on my audition piece. Not sure I’m happy with it, but I think it’s a solid design, particularly given that I didn’t get much in the way of guidance in terms of what the client is looking for, so I sent it off to Kathleen for consideration.
Yesterday, despite my claims that I didn’t do much, I designed a logo for Brian, who apparently has a Web site in the works (I’ll leave it up to him to provide the details if you’re interested).
Driving in to work Thursday morning I got rather a rude awakening once I started driving over 40, as my car began to shake like Rush Limbaugh making fun of Michael J. Fox.
Simon reported the same problem on his drive in, so we both hoped that it was related to the cold temperatures. Turns out it must have been, as the drive home was much smoother.
The snow that came last week is still hanging around due to cold temperatures and general incompetence on the part of the people responsible for moving it.
I was amazed by how much snow is still around making the lanes narrow and blocking off turning lanes as I was driving around today.
In any case, that about does it for this entry.
Tomorrow it’s off to the dentist and hopefully to some garage that can do the emissions inspection.
Beyond that, not much else going on in my life this week, though I’ve already got more than usual going on anyway.
Sunday, February 18, 2007
Such A Busy Schedule. Wherever Will I Find The Time?
My work weekend was basically a standard one, though I’d thought that it would be a little less annoying, as one of the biggest talkers has moved on to a different job and is therefore no longer around to wax endlessly on the topic of the Nintendo Wii, iPods, and Macs in his patented looping speech pattern that always ends every sentence on an up note as if it’s a question? You know, like this? It’s really annoying? And is normally the province of teenage girls? Not big fat guys in their late twenties or early thirties?
Okay, okay, I’ll stop it.
Just be thankful that there’s really no way for me to accurately replicate the frequent jarring “umm” sound he would make.
Seriously, how can anyone manage to talk for a solid nine hours, day after day, about the same three topics? And who was he even talking to anyway?
Oh well; the fact of the matter is that he is gone, but unfortunately the people who remained behind stepped in to fill the substantial void he left, and so for about five straight hours yesterday my ears were assaulted by extremely loud arguments about, from what I could gather as I sat there trying to tune it all out, basketball players.
When the day was finally over and I got home I opted to order a pizza and (just barely) managed to keep myself from eating the whole thing in one sitting.
I’m not sure why I was so hungry, as I’d done plenty of snacking during the day and had a huge-ass Chipotle burrito for lunch (I had to order Chipotle for lunch, as I’d actually dreamed about getting food from Chipotle in the night).
After that, I pretty much sat around for the rest of the night watching TV and doing some random Web surfing before turning in a bit after midnight.
Today I didn’t do much more.
Tomorrow I take a third crack at getting the emissions inspection done on my car, hopefully completing it in time to meet up with Scott and Stacy to see Ghost Rider at 11:30 (if I can’t, I’ll have to head down to Manassas to meet up with them for a later show).
Tuesday I go in for my rescheduled dentist appointment.
But today? Today I sit on my ass and do not much of anything.
Should be an interesting change of pace.
Okay, okay, I’ll stop it.
Just be thankful that there’s really no way for me to accurately replicate the frequent jarring “umm” sound he would make.
Seriously, how can anyone manage to talk for a solid nine hours, day after day, about the same three topics? And who was he even talking to anyway?
Oh well; the fact of the matter is that he is gone, but unfortunately the people who remained behind stepped in to fill the substantial void he left, and so for about five straight hours yesterday my ears were assaulted by extremely loud arguments about, from what I could gather as I sat there trying to tune it all out, basketball players.
When the day was finally over and I got home I opted to order a pizza and (just barely) managed to keep myself from eating the whole thing in one sitting.
I’m not sure why I was so hungry, as I’d done plenty of snacking during the day and had a huge-ass Chipotle burrito for lunch (I had to order Chipotle for lunch, as I’d actually dreamed about getting food from Chipotle in the night).
After that, I pretty much sat around for the rest of the night watching TV and doing some random Web surfing before turning in a bit after midnight.
Today I didn’t do much more.
Tomorrow I take a third crack at getting the emissions inspection done on my car, hopefully completing it in time to meet up with Scott and Stacy to see Ghost Rider at 11:30 (if I can’t, I’ll have to head down to Manassas to meet up with them for a later show).
Tuesday I go in for my rescheduled dentist appointment.
But today? Today I sit on my ass and do not much of anything.
Should be an interesting change of pace.
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