Wut up, Peeps?
Okay I went to Tomb Raider Chronicles and discovered that I'm on Level 4 of 8, which is COOL! The last time I mentioned my progress, I was actually most of the way through Level 2! (I was getting occasional help from a walkthrough that wasn't very accurately laid-out. Tomb Raider Chrobicles is very professionally laid-out AND they provide walkthroughs and faqs for each game!)
Still, point is I'm halfway through the game! Which is badass! I don't think I'm even halfway through Angel of Darkness. (The controls are kinda wonky for that one.)
Also, I've seen some movies: THIS FILM IS NOT YET RATED (a badass documentary about the very secrative MPAA), SLITHER, Mike Judge's very brilliant futuristic comedy IDIOCRACY, SNAKES ON A PLANE, a section of SCHOOL OF ROCK and about half of THE INVINCIBLE IRON MAN (I keep falling asleep watching that one).
IDOCRACY rules!!! I can't believe that movie came and went without me knowing about it. I heard a little bit about it before it came out because my friend Marvin worked on it, and then my friend Lothar was telling me he just bought it from Walmart! I don't remember any comercials for it or hearing ANYTHING about it coming out!
Which is a shame, because it's really, really smart and funny! (In that Mike-Judge way... It lets you know how smart it is by acting dumb, like his toons BEAVIS & BUTT-HEAD and KING OF THE HILL.) And Luke Wilson is brilliant in it, too. When I think of him I usually think Drama, and I think of his brother when I think of Comedy, but Luke is every bit as hysterical as Owen is! (I got to meet him and shake his hand once, btw! At a special screening of MY DOG SKIP. Very cool!)
SNAKES and SLITHER are fun! I wouldn't call either of them Horror or straight-up Comedy. They're both sort of Action Thrillers with GREAT actors keeping you tense and laughing.
Oh, and I just finished episode 8 of HEROES. As soon as my iPod finishes recharging I'll probably dive back in. My baby's kinda not talking to me at the mo, so I've had me a little HEROES marathon. Very cool!
I TOTALLY see why everyone seems to be addicted to it! I love how it just keeps pushing foreward! SMALLVILLE, for instance, will tell you it's going somewhere for almost an entire season, then they'll knock your socks off for 4 episodes, then next season the writers find some way to all but set the clock back to episode 1 of season 1. (I'm exaggerating, of course.) But all that Clark's been through over the last 6 seasons he should be living in Metropolis and wearing the tights 2 years ago! But from the episodes I've seen this season, it looks like they're just gonna pretend Superman doesn't exist and keep Clark in Smallville until he's 40, lol. But HEROES keeps pushing foreward, like the writers have a story to tell you and they can't wait to tell it!!! They'll reveal a plot point and your instincts tell you "They'll probably milk this until the Season Finale" and then 2 episodes later they deal with that one plot point and have given you 2 more things to get excited about! Very nice writing!
The dialogue could be better. It's all on-the-nose exposition dialogue, but that's really easy to forgive since the story keeps charging foreward at break-neck pace, hee-hee. And they've got great actors!
Okay, my iPod should be charged by now. I'm gonna pour me a strong cup of Chai and watch some more HEROES! :D I may be caught up by the time I go back to work tomorrow, hehe.
PEACE, LOVE & HAPPINESS!!! :D
Tuesday, January 30, 2007
Friday, January 26, 2007
We're ALIVE Until We're Dead
I just finished watching this week's episode of STUDIO 60 ON THE SUNSET STRIP -- titled "Monday"; it's the first new episode after the holiday break -- and I was SO disappointed when it ended! Because I'm used to watching TV shows on dvd, and when an episodes ends with unfinished business I just continue on to the next episodes, and the next, and the next until I HAVE TO go to sleep, or to work, or whatever.
Anyway...
***SPOILER ALERT***
IF YOU FOLLOW STUDIO 60 AND YOU HAVEN'T YET SEEN THE EPISODE "MONDAY" PLEASE DO NOT READ THE FOLLOWING...
Anyway, one character -- whom I LOVE -- is romatically pursuing another character -- whom I LOVE -- and she inform him that he has embarrassed her with his attempts to woo her. She outlines why they shouldn't be together, then -- very earnestly -- asks him to stop. He nods his head, understanding what she is communicating to him -- and I'm yelling at the screen "NO! NO!" -- and his lips part and he says "No" and he walks away.
AND I APPLAUD!
Disappointed as I am that I have to wait another week to see how this situation progresses, I applaud as the credits role because I'm thinking "If you have to slice your heart open and spill the contents on the table from time to time, that' all right. That's OKAY. Because we're alive until we're dead. We're ALIVE UNTIL we're dead."
This is coming from a cat who spent 6 years pursuing a woman he honestly believed to be The One. And then spent 10 years of involuntary absinence because he wasn't willing to bend over and capitulate.
The thing is this: "Compromise" is a word you hear a lot in regaurads to relationships, but it usually means (practically speaking) that one partner gives up something that the other partner doesn't like. But REAL compromise in REAL relationships means that both partners accept and LOVE each other's idiocincraies -- those little details that make each person WHO THEY ARE -- and that both partners find a way to enjoy each other AND get what they want/need out of the relationship!
And sometimes -- I have found, from my years of experiences -- this means opening a vein and pouring out one's life's blood (or, more literally, to express one's deepest, most hidden emotions) to reveal what one most deeply needs/wants from the other partner.
It's messy.
It's embarrassing.
But the truth has a way (I have found) of cutting through bullshit cleanly and neatly, and allowing REAL healing to begin.
And thus my new motto -- inspired by a TV show written by Aaron Sorkin, and not a real life event, lol -- is "We are alive until we die!"
Hee-hee
Is it time for me to go to bed? O LOOK! It IS! lol
:D
Love to ALL!!!
Anyway...
***SPOILER ALERT***
IF YOU FOLLOW STUDIO 60 AND YOU HAVEN'T YET SEEN THE EPISODE "MONDAY" PLEASE DO NOT READ THE FOLLOWING...
Anyway, one character -- whom I LOVE -- is romatically pursuing another character -- whom I LOVE -- and she inform him that he has embarrassed her with his attempts to woo her. She outlines why they shouldn't be together, then -- very earnestly -- asks him to stop. He nods his head, understanding what she is communicating to him -- and I'm yelling at the screen "NO! NO!" -- and his lips part and he says "No" and he walks away.
AND I APPLAUD!
Disappointed as I am that I have to wait another week to see how this situation progresses, I applaud as the credits role because I'm thinking "If you have to slice your heart open and spill the contents on the table from time to time, that' all right. That's OKAY. Because we're alive until we're dead. We're ALIVE UNTIL we're dead."
This is coming from a cat who spent 6 years pursuing a woman he honestly believed to be The One. And then spent 10 years of involuntary absinence because he wasn't willing to bend over and capitulate.
The thing is this: "Compromise" is a word you hear a lot in regaurads to relationships, but it usually means (practically speaking) that one partner gives up something that the other partner doesn't like. But REAL compromise in REAL relationships means that both partners accept and LOVE each other's idiocincraies -- those little details that make each person WHO THEY ARE -- and that both partners find a way to enjoy each other AND get what they want/need out of the relationship!
And sometimes -- I have found, from my years of experiences -- this means opening a vein and pouring out one's life's blood (or, more literally, to express one's deepest, most hidden emotions) to reveal what one most deeply needs/wants from the other partner.
It's messy.
It's embarrassing.
But the truth has a way (I have found) of cutting through bullshit cleanly and neatly, and allowing REAL healing to begin.
And thus my new motto -- inspired by a TV show written by Aaron Sorkin, and not a real life event, lol -- is "We are alive until we die!"
Hee-hee
Is it time for me to go to bed? O LOOK! It IS! lol
:D
Love to ALL!!!
Monday, January 22, 2007
Stuck in Hogwart's & Unwilling to Leave
OMG I am SO OBSESSIVE, lol!
Okay, so after a week of re-listening to the unabridged version of HARRY POTTER AND THE ORDER OF THE PHOENIX, I just finished loading my iPod with HARRY POTTER AND THE HALF-BLOOD PRINCE! Because when the novel ended, I simply HAD TO experience the sixth book again, lol!
I think there may be something wrong with me.
Oh, also, I bought an iTunes Season Pass for the show HEOROES that everyone seems to be going on about, so after my Harry Potter binge I'll catch up on that one. I really haven't heard a single thing bad about it. I saw the pilot through iTune's exclusive deal. (I don't know if you remember, but this summer if you went to certain cinemas you got a free holographic HEROES card with the purchase of your ticket, and it had a code at the bottom that allowed you download the pilot for the show free.)
The worst I've heard is that the writing isn't as deep or profound as, say, Aaron Sorkin, but that it's a comic book on TV and really addictive to watch.
So that should be fun. :)
OOH! Plus VERONICA MARS and STUDIO 60 ON THE SUNSET STRIP start back up this week!!! So that'll be great! A new episode from 2 of my current favorite shows!
I think I'm really gonna enjoy following TV shows on my iPod! I mean, I have so far, to be sure!!! You've got the convenience of TiVo, only you can carry it with you! I've really enjoyed listening to audiobooks from the moment I say "good-bye" to Brian, all the way down the stairs, while I'm getting into my car, as I drive, while I'm getting out of my car and all the way into work. I know it's nit-pick-y, but I wring a whole 5 or 10 extra minutes out of the book!
Also, it's cool, once I start watching an episode of STUDIO 60 or something, to be able to get up from the room I'm in, continue watching/listening to the show as I walk through the apartment, and continue watching it in another room. Can't do that with a TV set.
I've even watched STUDIO 60 snuggled up in bed, the covers nestled warmly around me!
The night of the blackout, I could have watched a movie or listened to an audiobook for my entire 2-hour trek, but that experience was really about enjoying the hike, rather than being distracted from it. (I remember when everything went dark and silent being profoundly aware of how MUCH we tend to foist upon our poor, overloaded senses.)
And here I am, immersing myself in the most recent 2 Harry Potter novels, lol.
What can I say? Last weekend was about nature, this wekend is about wizards and witches for me.
Between what Rowling does with her novels and my recent immersion in all things Classic TREK, though, I'm really soaking up storytelling technique and principal.
Will it result in a breakthrough from my Writer's Halt (I don't have Writer's Block, but I am definitely still halted in my writing for the moment)? We'll see.
Meantime, though, I am having a blast!
Oh, and it's EXTREMELY inappropriate for me to note that my Gnomey Goddess has been VERY naughty with me just before I went to sleep this morning AND just after woke up tonight!!! So I shan't note it! (hee-hee) I'll merely observe that this woman IS A GODDESS!!!
Okay, so after a week of re-listening to the unabridged version of HARRY POTTER AND THE ORDER OF THE PHOENIX, I just finished loading my iPod with HARRY POTTER AND THE HALF-BLOOD PRINCE! Because when the novel ended, I simply HAD TO experience the sixth book again, lol!
I think there may be something wrong with me.
Oh, also, I bought an iTunes Season Pass for the show HEOROES that everyone seems to be going on about, so after my Harry Potter binge I'll catch up on that one. I really haven't heard a single thing bad about it. I saw the pilot through iTune's exclusive deal. (I don't know if you remember, but this summer if you went to certain cinemas you got a free holographic HEROES card with the purchase of your ticket, and it had a code at the bottom that allowed you download the pilot for the show free.)
The worst I've heard is that the writing isn't as deep or profound as, say, Aaron Sorkin, but that it's a comic book on TV and really addictive to watch.
So that should be fun. :)
OOH! Plus VERONICA MARS and STUDIO 60 ON THE SUNSET STRIP start back up this week!!! So that'll be great! A new episode from 2 of my current favorite shows!
I think I'm really gonna enjoy following TV shows on my iPod! I mean, I have so far, to be sure!!! You've got the convenience of TiVo, only you can carry it with you! I've really enjoyed listening to audiobooks from the moment I say "good-bye" to Brian, all the way down the stairs, while I'm getting into my car, as I drive, while I'm getting out of my car and all the way into work. I know it's nit-pick-y, but I wring a whole 5 or 10 extra minutes out of the book!
Also, it's cool, once I start watching an episode of STUDIO 60 or something, to be able to get up from the room I'm in, continue watching/listening to the show as I walk through the apartment, and continue watching it in another room. Can't do that with a TV set.
I've even watched STUDIO 60 snuggled up in bed, the covers nestled warmly around me!
The night of the blackout, I could have watched a movie or listened to an audiobook for my entire 2-hour trek, but that experience was really about enjoying the hike, rather than being distracted from it. (I remember when everything went dark and silent being profoundly aware of how MUCH we tend to foist upon our poor, overloaded senses.)
And here I am, immersing myself in the most recent 2 Harry Potter novels, lol.
What can I say? Last weekend was about nature, this wekend is about wizards and witches for me.
Between what Rowling does with her novels and my recent immersion in all things Classic TREK, though, I'm really soaking up storytelling technique and principal.
Will it result in a breakthrough from my Writer's Halt (I don't have Writer's Block, but I am definitely still halted in my writing for the moment)? We'll see.
Meantime, though, I am having a blast!
Oh, and it's EXTREMELY inappropriate for me to note that my Gnomey Goddess has been VERY naughty with me just before I went to sleep this morning AND just after woke up tonight!!! So I shan't note it! (hee-hee) I'll merely observe that this woman IS A GODDESS!!!
Sunday, January 21, 2007
The Weekend's Here!
My baby's been busy this weekend (that's Normal Weekend -- Sat-Sun -- versus My Weekend -- Sun - Tues) and I get to talk to her tonight when I wake up. So I'm excited.
But I got to talk to her last night, so it's not like I'm hurting, per se. It's just that our last couple of conversations have been surprisingly cozy! She has always been WONDERFUL and very, very loving, but somehow I feel EVEN CLOSER to her lately!!! I wouldn't have thought it possible, except for actual physical proximity. But somehow she has managed to make me feel even more loved than before. Like our last conversations were shared while snuggling together beneath a blanket on a couch while some groovy movie played in the background, completely ignored by we two lovers, hehe. :D
Sorry. Not trying to be all mushy. (Just can't help myself, hehe.)
Actually, I probably have no right to be as excited about the weekend as I am; this past work week has been a dream! I have been paid to listen to more hours of HARRY POTTER AND THE ORDER OF THE PHOENIX than I would imagine legal! The last 2 days have been really smoothe and easy -- particularly after the challenge December was.
But I've gotten to, like, Level 6 on TOMB RAIDER LEGEND and I'm eager to continue. Plus I'm aching to rewatch HARRY POTTER AND THE GOBLET OF FIRE for my (can you believe it?) 2ND TIME! ( I am SO obsessed with Harry Potter at the moment, lol.)
I'm also itching to do some writing!
I didn't really do much writing during the holidays, figuring that I would naturally slip back into the groove when the holidays were over.
But I'm a bit hung up with my current story. It's this really great concept that i came up with back in 1997 or 1998 that never got finished because the story was too boring for the concept. I have this world in my head that has STAR WARS-like potential, but I couldn't find the story that really exploited the world sufficiently. And now I've sort of got the beginnings of a story that is more or less equal to the concept... but...
I feel like there's this very thin, very fragile invisible wall between me and a career in writing, and the closer I get the thinner the wall becomes, but it never seems to disappear, that wall. It's always present. If I had a chair to throw through it, I'd be making money as a writer, but I can't seem to find one!
All I need is a good novel or a great screenplay to break that wall. I have all the tools a writer needs to have. I just don't have the manuscript that PROVES that I have the tools. (The horror movie I wrote at the end of 2006 is rubbish, I've decided.) And, once again, I'm looking at all the years I've put into studying (this will be the 15th) writing and feeling like I SHOULD have SOMETHING by now. I can't say I'm no closer to creating a story out of nothing, but I can say that I still feel far removed from the group of people who churn out story after story as a daily habbit.
Blah.
Anyway...
I'm hoping something will break this weekend and maybe I'll get some pages written.
We'll see.
In the meantime, I bought a Season Pass for this season of HEROES from iTunes. So that's a 3rd TV show I'll be able to keep up with on my iPod! Between STUDIO 60 ON THE SUNSET STRIP, VERONICA MARS and HEROES -- as well as ALL the incarnations of Classic TREK that Brian and I now possess on dvd... and my current Harry Potter obsession -- I hope to find SOMETHING in there that motivates me to tell my own wonderous stories!!!
We'll see.
I just got a text message from Gnomey!!! OMG she's SUCH A SWEETY!!! And she's the reason I want so BADLY to break through that thin, fragile wall and become a professional writer!!!
I'm CERTAIN there's an angle I haven't explored yet! Some way of looking at the problem that I haven't before seen, that will allow me to start writing story after story after story.
Blah.
Three days to try to discover it.
Hope your weekends have all been WONDERFUL!!! (And productive, lol.)
:D
But I got to talk to her last night, so it's not like I'm hurting, per se. It's just that our last couple of conversations have been surprisingly cozy! She has always been WONDERFUL and very, very loving, but somehow I feel EVEN CLOSER to her lately!!! I wouldn't have thought it possible, except for actual physical proximity. But somehow she has managed to make me feel even more loved than before. Like our last conversations were shared while snuggling together beneath a blanket on a couch while some groovy movie played in the background, completely ignored by we two lovers, hehe. :D
Sorry. Not trying to be all mushy. (Just can't help myself, hehe.)
Actually, I probably have no right to be as excited about the weekend as I am; this past work week has been a dream! I have been paid to listen to more hours of HARRY POTTER AND THE ORDER OF THE PHOENIX than I would imagine legal! The last 2 days have been really smoothe and easy -- particularly after the challenge December was.
But I've gotten to, like, Level 6 on TOMB RAIDER LEGEND and I'm eager to continue. Plus I'm aching to rewatch HARRY POTTER AND THE GOBLET OF FIRE for my (can you believe it?) 2ND TIME! ( I am SO obsessed with Harry Potter at the moment, lol.)
I'm also itching to do some writing!
I didn't really do much writing during the holidays, figuring that I would naturally slip back into the groove when the holidays were over.
But I'm a bit hung up with my current story. It's this really great concept that i came up with back in 1997 or 1998 that never got finished because the story was too boring for the concept. I have this world in my head that has STAR WARS-like potential, but I couldn't find the story that really exploited the world sufficiently. And now I've sort of got the beginnings of a story that is more or less equal to the concept... but...
I feel like there's this very thin, very fragile invisible wall between me and a career in writing, and the closer I get the thinner the wall becomes, but it never seems to disappear, that wall. It's always present. If I had a chair to throw through it, I'd be making money as a writer, but I can't seem to find one!
All I need is a good novel or a great screenplay to break that wall. I have all the tools a writer needs to have. I just don't have the manuscript that PROVES that I have the tools. (The horror movie I wrote at the end of 2006 is rubbish, I've decided.) And, once again, I'm looking at all the years I've put into studying (this will be the 15th) writing and feeling like I SHOULD have SOMETHING by now. I can't say I'm no closer to creating a story out of nothing, but I can say that I still feel far removed from the group of people who churn out story after story as a daily habbit.
Blah.
Anyway...
I'm hoping something will break this weekend and maybe I'll get some pages written.
We'll see.
In the meantime, I bought a Season Pass for this season of HEROES from iTunes. So that's a 3rd TV show I'll be able to keep up with on my iPod! Between STUDIO 60 ON THE SUNSET STRIP, VERONICA MARS and HEROES -- as well as ALL the incarnations of Classic TREK that Brian and I now possess on dvd... and my current Harry Potter obsession -- I hope to find SOMETHING in there that motivates me to tell my own wonderous stories!!!
We'll see.
I just got a text message from Gnomey!!! OMG she's SUCH A SWEETY!!! And she's the reason I want so BADLY to break through that thin, fragile wall and become a professional writer!!!
I'm CERTAIN there's an angle I haven't explored yet! Some way of looking at the problem that I haven't before seen, that will allow me to start writing story after story after story.
Blah.
Three days to try to discover it.
Hope your weekends have all been WONDERFUL!!! (And productive, lol.)
:D
Thursday, January 18, 2007
Coffee Talk
I just had to share this...
When my friend Dominic works I make coffee because he enjoys a cup or two. When he doesn't work I make Chai Tea. (I'm a caffiene-whore; not all that picky how I get it.)
Tonight I made a pot and improvised one of the funniest lines I've come up with in a while...
ME: "Mmm, this coffee smells bold, rich, and even vaguley profane."
I was proud of my line, amused by the mental images it evoked.
Then Dom topped me...
DOM: "You should have been here last night. I made a pot that would have pulled your pants down and raped you from behind."
I went with a slightly more cerebreal approach, but then Dom (not dissimilar to the coffee I had made) just laid it down and WENT FOR IT, lol! Right between the eyes, no holds barred!
Genius! Had to share, hee-hee.
:D
When my friend Dominic works I make coffee because he enjoys a cup or two. When he doesn't work I make Chai Tea. (I'm a caffiene-whore; not all that picky how I get it.)
Tonight I made a pot and improvised one of the funniest lines I've come up with in a while...
ME: "Mmm, this coffee smells bold, rich, and even vaguley profane."
I was proud of my line, amused by the mental images it evoked.
Then Dom topped me...
DOM: "You should have been here last night. I made a pot that would have pulled your pants down and raped you from behind."
I went with a slightly more cerebreal approach, but then Dom (not dissimilar to the coffee I had made) just laid it down and WENT FOR IT, lol! Right between the eyes, no holds barred!
Genius! Had to share, hee-hee.
:D
Wednesday, January 17, 2007
Had Me A Little Mini-Adventure...
After Wendy went to sleep I picked up Tomb Raider Legend, and with Brian's occasional advice and constant support I got pretty far! :D
I don't remember exactly what time I started playing (probably around 6:00 pm or 7:00 pm) but I know I stopped playing right around 11:58 pm.
I know this because that's about the time our power went out.
Brian had laid down to get some sleep for maybe an hour when everything went dark and silent. Not just in our appartment, or in our appartment complex, or even on our block! The whole grid must have gone down!
It was probably weather related, because of the recent freeze and subsequent snow. I don't think it's freezing anymore because I went out into it.
And the first thing I did when the power went out was start taking notes, lol. (It's in my blood to observe and document things. Can't help myself.)
So here's my little micro-adventure based on those notes:
11:58 pm, 1/16/07
Complete blackout. For at least a block.
Very cool. :)
No mechanical sounds at all. In fact, my ears are ringing, almost as though I just came out of a Rock concert. And I was being quiet because Brian is sleeping! It's amazing how much inorganic sound buzzes through our ears at every given moment of our lives. Even at night!
When the power went out I was playing Tomb Raider Legend... Which is cool because it gives the black out a sort of adventurous feel. I'm grateful I wasn't watching 24 (as Brian spent the largest part of his day doing today, lol) because my first thought would probably have been that we were under attack by terrorists. (That show makes you paranoid when you watch it in large swaths! I'm not kidding. Try it, if you don't believe me. Watch 6 hours or more, then pay attention to how your mind processes unexpected things -- the TINIEST unexpected things, lol.) But since I was playing Tomb Raider the blackout was more of a playful thing to me, hee-hee.
I even got off on the fact that I was writing these notes with pen and paper by candle light! :D
The little tiny TV Kelly gave me years ago came in handy when I decided to try to get an idea how pervasive this blackout was. After 15 minutes or so I could easily imagine all of Austin blacked-out, so I decided to seek information. (Even without 24 my imagination can be grandeose, lol. It's the little kid in me.) The blackout was local, because I was getting all the local TV signals. But the local NBC and The CW affiliates were running severe weather crawls like crazy. But those crawls didn't meantion my neck of the woods, so this had to be a very localized thing.
12:07 am, 1/17/07
I realized that if the power wasn't back on in a couple of hours I could amuse myself by watching 2 back-to-back syndicated episodes of SCRUBS on the NBC affiliate! That was a fun thought: Watching SCRUBS because there really isn't anything else to do! It reminded me of the Olden Days -- you know, the Days of Yore -- before cable when you flipped through, like, 3 channels and you just watched the best thing that was on at the time. (When I was a kid I had a black & white TV with an antena in my room, and if I didn't want to watch what Mom and Dad were watching I had to do with what my set could get. It was kind of fun... like roughing it, hehe.)
Of course, there was tons of stuff I could have watched or listened to on my iPod, and the battery on my portable dvd player was fully charged, so I had at least 2 hours there. But in this time of darkness and silence it felt appropriate to maintain some link to the rest of the city until the power came back.
I also mused that we really need to replenish our candle supply.
Also, I had this odd instinct to partol the appartment every 10 minutes or so. Which is just a silly idea because our appartment is so small that without fans and AC/heating and the fridge and whatever else running, I could not only hear everything going on in our appartment, but what was going on outside and some of what was going on in adjoining neighbor appartments, lol! Most likely the only thing I would have done is disturbed Brian's sleep by wandering through the living room every so often (he sleeps on the couch... by choice... it's a Brian-thing) breaking the perfect darkness with a flashlight beam.
Though it was freezing outside, it was oddly warm in my room, without my fan running. Wierd.
12:22 am, 1/17/07
Time for a mini-adventure!
I wanted to get a better idea of how far the blackout extended, and pick up some candles in case it went on for a few hours. Nowadays, almost half an hour is a VERY long time for a blackout to last.
So I set out (leaving my notebook abd pen at home, wisely as it turns out) and gingerly decended my 3 flights of stairs, whish were frozen solid and slippery as... something that's not obscene and has nothing to do with sex or personal lubrication.
It was amazingly bright, with the clouds scattering the moonlight.
Before I was even half a block outside the appartment complex I could see that all the residential houses south of us were out, streetlights included, but half a mile east of us the power was still on.
This same thing happened a few New Years back.
It was COLD out there! I have remained cozily inside the appartment since Sunday night, just before the freeze. But I had bundled-up, so I stood a decent chance of avoiding frost bite.
Actually (as I stated above) it wasn't really freezing any more. I noticed that the ice had melted at the inside edges of the sidewalk, and there was a lot of running water. So the ice was probably thawing. But more than that, it wasn't that bone-chilling cold. It was merely flesh-piercing, this cold.
It was a groovy -- if SLOW -- little walk. It was cool to see so few people on the street besides me. I passed a fire engine (no sirens) and 2 cop cars, so I felt like we were all being watched after.
Since it was after midnight I knew H.E.B. would be closed, so I headed straight for Walmart.
As I walked I remembered Marc Zicree's MAGIC TIME novels. They're really cool! Something mysterious happens and complex machinery stops working, and some people turn into mythological creatures, and some gain "magical" powers! A very groovy world to hang in! (For the reader, at least.) I mean, the effect wasn't complete, naturally, since I could see lights up ahead, and everything was calm and quiet. But still...
I don't wanna drag this out too much more than already have, so after very carefully making my way over icy sidewalks, not-so-icy streets and VERY icy parking lots, then venturing through some frozen grass (more traction, but you never knew when you were gonna break through into a puddle) I arrived at Walmart to discover that it was closed due to the weather!
But further down the vast parking lot was a conveince store/gas station, and they had 2 boxes of emergency candles left. I bought them and headed back.
On the way back it started gently raining -- a little more than sprinkling, but you don't feel honest calling it "rain". A few blocks from my appartment I looked down and noticed that the patches of rain on my jacket appear to have frozen. Maybe the freeze isn't over just yet. (Which would make you right, Gnomey Goddess. Hee-hee :D )
2:25 am, 1/17/07
At home I peel off my ice-dusted outter clothes. I noticed that the power was back on long before I got home. There were huge wodges (Is that a word? I think I got it from Douglas Adams, but that doesn't mean it's a word, necessarily.) of neighborhood that I could see now that had been a black hole in the horizon on my way to the store.
From the clock in my bedroom and the VCR in the living room I can estimate that the power must have come on 2:31 am, because clocks always restart at midnight after a power outtage.
We have plenty of emergency candles now, tho'. Should this ever happen again.
Which, of course, means it probably won't.
I'm exhausted now. I didn't realize I had been walking for 2 hours until I looked at my cell phone, jotted down the time for my notes, then looked up at the time of my last entry.
I wonder if I'm now physically fit... I should go weigh myself, lol.
I don't remember exactly what time I started playing (probably around 6:00 pm or 7:00 pm) but I know I stopped playing right around 11:58 pm.
I know this because that's about the time our power went out.
Brian had laid down to get some sleep for maybe an hour when everything went dark and silent. Not just in our appartment, or in our appartment complex, or even on our block! The whole grid must have gone down!
It was probably weather related, because of the recent freeze and subsequent snow. I don't think it's freezing anymore because I went out into it.
And the first thing I did when the power went out was start taking notes, lol. (It's in my blood to observe and document things. Can't help myself.)
So here's my little micro-adventure based on those notes:
11:58 pm, 1/16/07
Complete blackout. For at least a block.
Very cool. :)
No mechanical sounds at all. In fact, my ears are ringing, almost as though I just came out of a Rock concert. And I was being quiet because Brian is sleeping! It's amazing how much inorganic sound buzzes through our ears at every given moment of our lives. Even at night!
When the power went out I was playing Tomb Raider Legend... Which is cool because it gives the black out a sort of adventurous feel. I'm grateful I wasn't watching 24 (as Brian spent the largest part of his day doing today, lol) because my first thought would probably have been that we were under attack by terrorists. (That show makes you paranoid when you watch it in large swaths! I'm not kidding. Try it, if you don't believe me. Watch 6 hours or more, then pay attention to how your mind processes unexpected things -- the TINIEST unexpected things, lol.) But since I was playing Tomb Raider the blackout was more of a playful thing to me, hee-hee.
I even got off on the fact that I was writing these notes with pen and paper by candle light! :D
The little tiny TV Kelly gave me years ago came in handy when I decided to try to get an idea how pervasive this blackout was. After 15 minutes or so I could easily imagine all of Austin blacked-out, so I decided to seek information. (Even without 24 my imagination can be grandeose, lol. It's the little kid in me.) The blackout was local, because I was getting all the local TV signals. But the local NBC and The CW affiliates were running severe weather crawls like crazy. But those crawls didn't meantion my neck of the woods, so this had to be a very localized thing.
12:07 am, 1/17/07
I realized that if the power wasn't back on in a couple of hours I could amuse myself by watching 2 back-to-back syndicated episodes of SCRUBS on the NBC affiliate! That was a fun thought: Watching SCRUBS because there really isn't anything else to do! It reminded me of the Olden Days -- you know, the Days of Yore -- before cable when you flipped through, like, 3 channels and you just watched the best thing that was on at the time. (When I was a kid I had a black & white TV with an antena in my room, and if I didn't want to watch what Mom and Dad were watching I had to do with what my set could get. It was kind of fun... like roughing it, hehe.)
Of course, there was tons of stuff I could have watched or listened to on my iPod, and the battery on my portable dvd player was fully charged, so I had at least 2 hours there. But in this time of darkness and silence it felt appropriate to maintain some link to the rest of the city until the power came back.
I also mused that we really need to replenish our candle supply.
Also, I had this odd instinct to partol the appartment every 10 minutes or so. Which is just a silly idea because our appartment is so small that without fans and AC/heating and the fridge and whatever else running, I could not only hear everything going on in our appartment, but what was going on outside and some of what was going on in adjoining neighbor appartments, lol! Most likely the only thing I would have done is disturbed Brian's sleep by wandering through the living room every so often (he sleeps on the couch... by choice... it's a Brian-thing) breaking the perfect darkness with a flashlight beam.
Though it was freezing outside, it was oddly warm in my room, without my fan running. Wierd.
12:22 am, 1/17/07
Time for a mini-adventure!
I wanted to get a better idea of how far the blackout extended, and pick up some candles in case it went on for a few hours. Nowadays, almost half an hour is a VERY long time for a blackout to last.
So I set out (leaving my notebook abd pen at home, wisely as it turns out) and gingerly decended my 3 flights of stairs, whish were frozen solid and slippery as... something that's not obscene and has nothing to do with sex or personal lubrication.
It was amazingly bright, with the clouds scattering the moonlight.
Before I was even half a block outside the appartment complex I could see that all the residential houses south of us were out, streetlights included, but half a mile east of us the power was still on.
This same thing happened a few New Years back.
It was COLD out there! I have remained cozily inside the appartment since Sunday night, just before the freeze. But I had bundled-up, so I stood a decent chance of avoiding frost bite.
Actually (as I stated above) it wasn't really freezing any more. I noticed that the ice had melted at the inside edges of the sidewalk, and there was a lot of running water. So the ice was probably thawing. But more than that, it wasn't that bone-chilling cold. It was merely flesh-piercing, this cold.
It was a groovy -- if SLOW -- little walk. It was cool to see so few people on the street besides me. I passed a fire engine (no sirens) and 2 cop cars, so I felt like we were all being watched after.
Since it was after midnight I knew H.E.B. would be closed, so I headed straight for Walmart.
As I walked I remembered Marc Zicree's MAGIC TIME novels. They're really cool! Something mysterious happens and complex machinery stops working, and some people turn into mythological creatures, and some gain "magical" powers! A very groovy world to hang in! (For the reader, at least.) I mean, the effect wasn't complete, naturally, since I could see lights up ahead, and everything was calm and quiet. But still...
I don't wanna drag this out too much more than already have, so after very carefully making my way over icy sidewalks, not-so-icy streets and VERY icy parking lots, then venturing through some frozen grass (more traction, but you never knew when you were gonna break through into a puddle) I arrived at Walmart to discover that it was closed due to the weather!
But further down the vast parking lot was a conveince store/gas station, and they had 2 boxes of emergency candles left. I bought them and headed back.
On the way back it started gently raining -- a little more than sprinkling, but you don't feel honest calling it "rain". A few blocks from my appartment I looked down and noticed that the patches of rain on my jacket appear to have frozen. Maybe the freeze isn't over just yet. (Which would make you right, Gnomey Goddess. Hee-hee :D )
2:25 am, 1/17/07
At home I peel off my ice-dusted outter clothes. I noticed that the power was back on long before I got home. There were huge wodges (Is that a word? I think I got it from Douglas Adams, but that doesn't mean it's a word, necessarily.) of neighborhood that I could see now that had been a black hole in the horizon on my way to the store.
From the clock in my bedroom and the VCR in the living room I can estimate that the power must have come on 2:31 am, because clocks always restart at midnight after a power outtage.
We have plenty of emergency candles now, tho'. Should this ever happen again.
Which, of course, means it probably won't.
I'm exhausted now. I didn't realize I had been walking for 2 hours until I looked at my cell phone, jotted down the time for my notes, then looked up at the time of my last entry.
I wonder if I'm now physically fit... I should go weigh myself, lol.
Tuesday, January 16, 2007
OMG!!! SNOW!!! In Austin?!!
I woke up and padded over to the computer to see if my Gnomey Goddess was online yet, and she wasn't so I check my email, and Brian tells me "It's snowing."
You don't understand... It's been YEARS since it's snowed here.
We're in the middle of what local news stations have dubbed "Ice Storm 2007", and the roads are frozen over... But SNOW?!!
And naturally, little-kid-at-heart that I am I HAVE TO immediately go out in it. Jammies and house robe and all, lol. I mean, I'm old, so I didn't go far outside... Just to my balcony, lol. But still...
I really do sort of feel like a kid again. Brian was dressed and on his way out the door at 4:00 am this morning when he decided to check his voice messages and discovered that he didn't have to go in! BRIAN GOT A SNOW DAY, hee-hee!!!
So he helped me make my way through Laura Croft's mansion in Tomb Raider Legend. Today, since long before I woke up, he's been watching 24, Season 4. (I'm so far behind on the series, lol.)
OH! And Kelly's been telling me I need to listen to a band called Explosions in the Sky for a few years now, and every time he'd bring it up I never had the money. And when I did have the money and remembered to look for them in Best Buy or wherever, the store never had a single cd.
But this morning I logged into iTunes to see if maybe they had the newest STUDIO 60 ON THE SUNSET STRIP episode, and they didn't, but then I remembered EitS and I checked, and iTunes carries 3 of their albums!!! So I downloaded them, and just enjoyed the first 2!
FANTASTIC MUSIC!!!
The best way I can describe the sound is if U2 and Blue Man Group made sweet, sweet love and had a baby band, Explosions in the Sky is what they'd sound like!
:D
Okay, my Wendy-Lady has been patiently waiting while I finished this entry, so I'm outty, ya'll!
Stay warm!!!
:)
You don't understand... It's been YEARS since it's snowed here.
We're in the middle of what local news stations have dubbed "Ice Storm 2007", and the roads are frozen over... But SNOW?!!
And naturally, little-kid-at-heart that I am I HAVE TO immediately go out in it. Jammies and house robe and all, lol. I mean, I'm old, so I didn't go far outside... Just to my balcony, lol. But still...
I really do sort of feel like a kid again. Brian was dressed and on his way out the door at 4:00 am this morning when he decided to check his voice messages and discovered that he didn't have to go in! BRIAN GOT A SNOW DAY, hee-hee!!!
So he helped me make my way through Laura Croft's mansion in Tomb Raider Legend. Today, since long before I woke up, he's been watching 24, Season 4. (I'm so far behind on the series, lol.)
OH! And Kelly's been telling me I need to listen to a band called Explosions in the Sky for a few years now, and every time he'd bring it up I never had the money. And when I did have the money and remembered to look for them in Best Buy or wherever, the store never had a single cd.
But this morning I logged into iTunes to see if maybe they had the newest STUDIO 60 ON THE SUNSET STRIP episode, and they didn't, but then I remembered EitS and I checked, and iTunes carries 3 of their albums!!! So I downloaded them, and just enjoyed the first 2!
FANTASTIC MUSIC!!!
The best way I can describe the sound is if U2 and Blue Man Group made sweet, sweet love and had a baby band, Explosions in the Sky is what they'd sound like!
:D
Okay, my Wendy-Lady has been patiently waiting while I finished this entry, so I'm outty, ya'll!
Stay warm!!!
:)
Wednesday, January 10, 2007
2007 Will Be An Exciting Year for the ISS
When I was a kid and saw MOONRAKER on HBO, I wanted to live on a space station. But my pops explained to me that space stations didn't exist... They only existed in Science Fiction.
Flash Foreward: Some 22 years later, Brian and I go see his first IMAX 3-D movie called SPACE STATION 3-D. It's all about the creation of the International Space Station (ISS), and the IMAX 3-D experience allows you to experience a shuttle launch from the cockpit, as well as watch a Soviet Soyuz blast off from WAY TOO CLOSE up.
AND... You get to experience what daily life is like Up There!!! Somehow the larger-than-life IMAX screen and the 3-D effect makes what you're looking at on screen appear as though YOU'RE ACTUALLY THERE ON THE SPACE STATION!!! Your mind is almost completely convinced that you're looking at everything life-sized.
It's really profound.
And it gives one a sense of what astronauts mean when they try to describe just how indescribable space is.
The flick reawakened in me a child-like sense of awe reguarding outter space. And I actually had to ask Brian "Do we really have a space station? I mean, it's up there?!" In the late 80s or early 90s it seems I saw plenty of speculative pieces about "One day we might be able to do something like this..." but they were merely speculation and hopeful thinking.
So to find out we ACTUALLY HAVE A SPACE STATION UP THERE ABOVE US!!! Right now! As you read these words! In fact, for the last few weeks we've been able to see it (apparently, I've only seen pictures) with the naked eye from Earth! (It looks like a particularly large star.)
Anyway, I discovered that 2007 is kind of a crucial year for the ISS, and it got me all excited and nervous, so I had to share this with you...
My brother got a subscription to Popular Science a year or so ago, and I keep telling myself I'll sit down and read it sometime so I can keep up with what's around the corner. I've loved gadgets since I was a child watching STAR WARS and STAR TREK and all that. I just dig on Sci-Fi, and I get excited when we start catching up to Sci-Fi predictions! (For insatance: I still marvel over the fact that I communicate with my Gnomey, effectively, via a Video-Phone!!! in 2000 I wouldn't have believed you if you said I would be doing what I do almost every day! HOW COOL IS THAT?!!)
I never have the time to sit down and pour through Brian's back issues, tho'. I have back issues of screenwriting magazines that I haven't dipped into yet.
However... Brian has been leaving issues in the bathroom lately! He usually leaves them open to whatever article he was reading the last time he was in there, presumably. And recently I decided that, well, I'm here anyway...
So a couple of days ago I got a quick crash course in the possible health hazzards of nanotechnology (that we ARE CURRENTLY USING) and a very basic overview of the research that is curently being conducted.
Well, today I read an article about explaining why this will be a critical year for the growth of the ISS.
I'll paraphrase the information for ya, but you can read the online article here.
So here's the gist:
The ISS was only 49% completed in 2003 when the Columbia shuttle tragedy shut down the shuttle program. I mean, the ISS isn't incomplete, but the plan has always been to add to and expand.
Now, apparently, the space shuttle program is going to be shut down in 2010. And we're a couple of years behind on our shuttle missions to the space station. NASA has 14 more assembly missions to go to complete the International Space station, and 5 of those are scheduled to happen THIS YEAR.
If all 5 assembly missions go well, the ISS will be 30% bigger, have 3 times the power is currently has, and will be home to TWO additional labs!!!
Why is this cool? Humanity seems to have forgotten since the 1960s that we can study things in space that we simply CAN NOT study on Earth. It's a COMEPLETELY DIFFERENT ENVIRONMENT. Also, the sun isn't gonna last forever. It'll be well into the future -- LONG after our great-great-great grandkids have passed away -- but eventually out planet will get baked when our sun goes nova (or "supernova"? I'm SO not a scientist, just a sci-fi nerd) and if Humanity is still on it, then we die out. If the species is going to survive, we need to figure out how to travel great distances through space and live -- long-term -- off-planet.
And the first step for this is, inevitably, getting to Mars.
In the 1990s politicians lost interest in NASA and space travel when liberals realized that Federal social programs would make a good "slush fund" for their personal wealth building and conservatives realized that starting wars and then giving their corprorate buddies the contracts for weapons or supplies is a good way to keep the campaign contributions coming. And with this realization came the realization that pure scientific research uses up A LOT of money that could be going into their pockets, so polititians made sure to play-up the expense of NASA and completely fail to mention all the discoveries and technologies that fell into our laps as a result of our moon shots.
However, if we can get the ISS fully assembled before 2010, we may have a shot at learning new stuff DESPITE the fact that our government decides what we do with our tax dollars! Humanity might stumble onto some cool science-changing discoveries in spite of our leaders.
So I'm STOKED!
I really want all 5 of these assembly missions to go well, and I want to see the International Space Station grow and develop, and eventually discover something that makes all of us down here go "Cool! Let's do MORE space research!" Maybe even start demanding our governmental overlords (I'm not bitter) start using our tax dollars fund un-politicized, PURE scientific research! (A guy can dream...)
So heres' what we're looking at:
March 16, 2007 - The Atlantis is supposed to carry up a "starboard truss segment with Photovoltaic Radiator" and a set of solar arrays and batteries.
June 28, 2007 - The Endeavour is scheduled to take up a SPACEHAB single cargo module, another starboard truss segment and an external stowage platform.
September 7, 2007 - The Atlantis heads back up with a "Node 2" and a "Sidewall - Power and Data Grapple Fixture". (No idea what these items are, but they sound sci-fi-y so I'm game!)
October 2007 - (NASA hasn't specified the day yet) The Discovery takes up the COLUMBUS EUROPEAN LABORATORY MODULE (that's one of the labs I meantioned above), and a "Mutil-Purpose Experiment Support Structure - Non-Deployable".
December 2007 - The Endeavour transports the Kibo Japanese Experimental Logistics Module - Pressurized Section (THE OTHER LAB!) and the Spacelab Pallet - Deployable 1 "with Canadian Special Purpose Dexterous Manipulator" (which sounds pretty cool... They call it "Dextre" apparently)
I got this information from here.
So anyway...
That's one of the things I'm geeking out about recently.
Hee-hee! :D
P. S. If you want to actually see the International Space Station, check here.
Flash Foreward: Some 22 years later, Brian and I go see his first IMAX 3-D movie called SPACE STATION 3-D. It's all about the creation of the International Space Station (ISS), and the IMAX 3-D experience allows you to experience a shuttle launch from the cockpit, as well as watch a Soviet Soyuz blast off from WAY TOO CLOSE up.
AND... You get to experience what daily life is like Up There!!! Somehow the larger-than-life IMAX screen and the 3-D effect makes what you're looking at on screen appear as though YOU'RE ACTUALLY THERE ON THE SPACE STATION!!! Your mind is almost completely convinced that you're looking at everything life-sized.
It's really profound.
And it gives one a sense of what astronauts mean when they try to describe just how indescribable space is.
The flick reawakened in me a child-like sense of awe reguarding outter space. And I actually had to ask Brian "Do we really have a space station? I mean, it's up there?!" In the late 80s or early 90s it seems I saw plenty of speculative pieces about "One day we might be able to do something like this..." but they were merely speculation and hopeful thinking.
So to find out we ACTUALLY HAVE A SPACE STATION UP THERE ABOVE US!!! Right now! As you read these words! In fact, for the last few weeks we've been able to see it (apparently, I've only seen pictures) with the naked eye from Earth! (It looks like a particularly large star.)
Anyway, I discovered that 2007 is kind of a crucial year for the ISS, and it got me all excited and nervous, so I had to share this with you...
My brother got a subscription to Popular Science a year or so ago, and I keep telling myself I'll sit down and read it sometime so I can keep up with what's around the corner. I've loved gadgets since I was a child watching STAR WARS and STAR TREK and all that. I just dig on Sci-Fi, and I get excited when we start catching up to Sci-Fi predictions! (For insatance: I still marvel over the fact that I communicate with my Gnomey, effectively, via a Video-Phone!!! in 2000 I wouldn't have believed you if you said I would be doing what I do almost every day! HOW COOL IS THAT?!!)
I never have the time to sit down and pour through Brian's back issues, tho'. I have back issues of screenwriting magazines that I haven't dipped into yet.
However... Brian has been leaving issues in the bathroom lately! He usually leaves them open to whatever article he was reading the last time he was in there, presumably. And recently I decided that, well, I'm here anyway...
So a couple of days ago I got a quick crash course in the possible health hazzards of nanotechnology (that we ARE CURRENTLY USING) and a very basic overview of the research that is curently being conducted.
Well, today I read an article about explaining why this will be a critical year for the growth of the ISS.
I'll paraphrase the information for ya, but you can read the online article here.
So here's the gist:
The ISS was only 49% completed in 2003 when the Columbia shuttle tragedy shut down the shuttle program. I mean, the ISS isn't incomplete, but the plan has always been to add to and expand.
Now, apparently, the space shuttle program is going to be shut down in 2010. And we're a couple of years behind on our shuttle missions to the space station. NASA has 14 more assembly missions to go to complete the International Space station, and 5 of those are scheduled to happen THIS YEAR.
If all 5 assembly missions go well, the ISS will be 30% bigger, have 3 times the power is currently has, and will be home to TWO additional labs!!!
Why is this cool? Humanity seems to have forgotten since the 1960s that we can study things in space that we simply CAN NOT study on Earth. It's a COMEPLETELY DIFFERENT ENVIRONMENT. Also, the sun isn't gonna last forever. It'll be well into the future -- LONG after our great-great-great grandkids have passed away -- but eventually out planet will get baked when our sun goes nova (or "supernova"? I'm SO not a scientist, just a sci-fi nerd) and if Humanity is still on it, then we die out. If the species is going to survive, we need to figure out how to travel great distances through space and live -- long-term -- off-planet.
And the first step for this is, inevitably, getting to Mars.
In the 1990s politicians lost interest in NASA and space travel when liberals realized that Federal social programs would make a good "slush fund" for their personal wealth building and conservatives realized that starting wars and then giving their corprorate buddies the contracts for weapons or supplies is a good way to keep the campaign contributions coming. And with this realization came the realization that pure scientific research uses up A LOT of money that could be going into their pockets, so polititians made sure to play-up the expense of NASA and completely fail to mention all the discoveries and technologies that fell into our laps as a result of our moon shots.
However, if we can get the ISS fully assembled before 2010, we may have a shot at learning new stuff DESPITE the fact that our government decides what we do with our tax dollars! Humanity might stumble onto some cool science-changing discoveries in spite of our leaders.
So I'm STOKED!
I really want all 5 of these assembly missions to go well, and I want to see the International Space Station grow and develop, and eventually discover something that makes all of us down here go "Cool! Let's do MORE space research!" Maybe even start demanding our governmental overlords (I'm not bitter) start using our tax dollars fund un-politicized, PURE scientific research! (A guy can dream...)
So heres' what we're looking at:
March 16, 2007 - The Atlantis is supposed to carry up a "starboard truss segment with Photovoltaic Radiator" and a set of solar arrays and batteries.
June 28, 2007 - The Endeavour is scheduled to take up a SPACEHAB single cargo module, another starboard truss segment and an external stowage platform.
September 7, 2007 - The Atlantis heads back up with a "Node 2" and a "Sidewall - Power and Data Grapple Fixture". (No idea what these items are, but they sound sci-fi-y so I'm game!)
October 2007 - (NASA hasn't specified the day yet) The Discovery takes up the COLUMBUS EUROPEAN LABORATORY MODULE (that's one of the labs I meantioned above), and a "Mutil-Purpose Experiment Support Structure - Non-Deployable".
December 2007 - The Endeavour transports the Kibo Japanese Experimental Logistics Module - Pressurized Section (THE OTHER LAB!) and the Spacelab Pallet - Deployable 1 "with Canadian Special Purpose Dexterous Manipulator" (which sounds pretty cool... They call it "Dextre" apparently)
I got this information from here.
So anyway...
That's one of the things I'm geeking out about recently.
Hee-hee! :D
P. S. If you want to actually see the International Space Station, check here.
Monday, January 01, 2007
Gene Simmons Family Jewels
OMG!!! I just watched the first episode of Gene Simmons' reality TV show GENE SIMMONS FAMILY JEWELS and laughed my ass OFF!!!
I'm caught up with STUDIO 60 ON THE SUNSET STRIP (and have watched the current episodes AT LEAST twice each) and caught myself up on this season of VERONICA MARS and thought I'd poke around iTunes for more shows.
I was hoping to find LITTLE BRITAIN, as Gnomey LOVES it. I have it in my Netflix queue, but I was hoping maybe iTunes had it. I didn't find the show, but I found the complete collection of RADIO SHOWS!!! Apparently it began as a BBC RADIO series back in 2001!!! HOW FRIGGIN' COOL IS THAT?!! (Audio-whore that I am...) So, natch, I bought that and look foreward to experiencing the aural version of the sketches!
But then I was looking around and remembered that I had seen Gene Simmons' reality show on iTunes, and looked to see how much it cost. I discovered that the complete series (this season, anyway) was 8 episodes, total! And I've already forgotten how much it cost, but I was excited that I could totally catch up with the show in 8 episodes! So I bought it and watched the first episode "Happily Unmarried".
AND I LAUGHED SOOOOO HARD!!!
Being a long-time KISS fan, I had no idea Gene Simmons had a vulnerable side! I've seen, heard and read many, many MANY interviews with him, read both his books, know his music by heart, seen KISS in concert 6 times... I feel like I kinda know the cat.
But to see him with his AMAZING family, and to see how much they mess with him... My head almost exploded, lol!
When he's "at work" (i.e. being a member of KISS or being Gene Simmons: Rock God) he comes off as this smart, but wildly over-bearing hardass. (And I'm sure there is plenty of truth to that persona or else he wouldn't, I suspect, have been as successful in business as he has.)
And yet you totally get the sense that when he's "Geney" -- non-husband/father -- he takes so much (well-intentioned and playful) crap from his loved ones, lol! His son actually refers to Gene as being the most "whipped" guy he knows, lol! (Gene Simmons, the World Class womanizer and sex addict!)
The juxtaposition of The Demon and Geney is hysterical and shocking, but here's what's REALLY mind-blowing (to me, anyway) about that: He's letting us see that! What I mean is, if he were really a push-over with a huge ego that wants us all to be scared of him, he WOULD NEVER allow us to see his vulnerable side. As a pushover with a huge ego, I know that we only allow people to see the aspects of our personality that we're comfortable with them seeing. So for him to invite a camera crew into his home and allow (because I'm not under the illusion that Gene Simmons doesn't CAREFULLY and thoughtfully CONTROL everything that gets out that has to do with Gene Simmons) them to show him as the butt of loving familial pranks, reveals that he's comfortable with this persona, as well!
And why shouldn't he be?
He's got a GORGEOUS and smart and funny non-wife (if you don't know about Gene, he's idealistically opposed to the idea of marriage, which is what the first episode focuses on), and goergeous and intelligent teenage kids, and he could not have these things -- or rather, he couldn't KEEP these things -- if he weren't, himself, just ONE HELL of a man! You don't raise smart kids if you're not smart. You don't raise funny kids if you're not funny. It simply doesn't happen.
And you DO NOT allow yourself to be seen taking crap from people if you don't know deep down that it's all an expression of love. We (particularly Americans) are VERY self-conscious. We have a tendancy to lie to OURSELVES as much -- if not more -- than we lie to those around us about who we are. We can't be made to look the fool; we can't be made to look "weak"; we can't be made to look "bad". Heaven FORBID someone sees our vulnerability!
So here's this guy who's spent a career being a badass and being VERY savvy with his public image (remember that no one knew what KISS looked like without makeup until they decided to take it off!) and he's comfortable showing us a vulnerable side.
Which says to me that the man beneath both personae must be pretty bullet-proof.
Blah.
Just my little observations and opinions and hero-worship.
Anyway, the show itself was HYSTERICAL!!! I was laughing SO HARD, but in that THE OFFICE kind of way a lot of times -- not the current American version but the original British version, where you're so uncomfortable that you're almost covering your eyes because you can't bear to watch, and yet you HAVE TO see what happens next! I mean, they guy's letting us see this, so it can't be the WORST thing that's ever happened to him, and yet... YIKES, he looks uncomfortable!
And I'm not even into Watch-Em-Squirm "entertainment"! I friggin' HATE Reality TV on principal. But THIS SHOW is FUN! You feel almost like you're getting to hang back-stage with Gene Simmons... WAY back-stage... Like, AT HOME with him, lol!
I don't think you even need to be a KISS fan or a Gene Simmons fan to really, really enjoy this show! You just need to have heard SOMETHING about Gene Simmons... ANYTHING... Good or bad.... Just anything, lol! (I feel very confident about this, because my Mom loved THE OSBORNES and she really only knew who Ozzy is in a general sense of his public persona: he made "satanic" rock music and was banned from performing at the Ector County Colisium in the early-80s by the Odessans for Decency. And that was enough knowlege to allow her to enjoy the day-to-day life of this rock legend just being a human being.)
Okay, I think I'm gonna watch the next episode now: "Next Generation Rock Star".
I'm caught up with STUDIO 60 ON THE SUNSET STRIP (and have watched the current episodes AT LEAST twice each) and caught myself up on this season of VERONICA MARS and thought I'd poke around iTunes for more shows.
I was hoping to find LITTLE BRITAIN, as Gnomey LOVES it. I have it in my Netflix queue, but I was hoping maybe iTunes had it. I didn't find the show, but I found the complete collection of RADIO SHOWS!!! Apparently it began as a BBC RADIO series back in 2001!!! HOW FRIGGIN' COOL IS THAT?!! (Audio-whore that I am...) So, natch, I bought that and look foreward to experiencing the aural version of the sketches!
But then I was looking around and remembered that I had seen Gene Simmons' reality show on iTunes, and looked to see how much it cost. I discovered that the complete series (this season, anyway) was 8 episodes, total! And I've already forgotten how much it cost, but I was excited that I could totally catch up with the show in 8 episodes! So I bought it and watched the first episode "Happily Unmarried".
AND I LAUGHED SOOOOO HARD!!!
Being a long-time KISS fan, I had no idea Gene Simmons had a vulnerable side! I've seen, heard and read many, many MANY interviews with him, read both his books, know his music by heart, seen KISS in concert 6 times... I feel like I kinda know the cat.
But to see him with his AMAZING family, and to see how much they mess with him... My head almost exploded, lol!
When he's "at work" (i.e. being a member of KISS or being Gene Simmons: Rock God) he comes off as this smart, but wildly over-bearing hardass. (And I'm sure there is plenty of truth to that persona or else he wouldn't, I suspect, have been as successful in business as he has.)
And yet you totally get the sense that when he's "Geney" -- non-husband/father -- he takes so much (well-intentioned and playful) crap from his loved ones, lol! His son actually refers to Gene as being the most "whipped" guy he knows, lol! (Gene Simmons, the World Class womanizer and sex addict!)
The juxtaposition of The Demon and Geney is hysterical and shocking, but here's what's REALLY mind-blowing (to me, anyway) about that: He's letting us see that! What I mean is, if he were really a push-over with a huge ego that wants us all to be scared of him, he WOULD NEVER allow us to see his vulnerable side. As a pushover with a huge ego, I know that we only allow people to see the aspects of our personality that we're comfortable with them seeing. So for him to invite a camera crew into his home and allow (because I'm not under the illusion that Gene Simmons doesn't CAREFULLY and thoughtfully CONTROL everything that gets out that has to do with Gene Simmons) them to show him as the butt of loving familial pranks, reveals that he's comfortable with this persona, as well!
And why shouldn't he be?
He's got a GORGEOUS and smart and funny non-wife (if you don't know about Gene, he's idealistically opposed to the idea of marriage, which is what the first episode focuses on), and goergeous and intelligent teenage kids, and he could not have these things -- or rather, he couldn't KEEP these things -- if he weren't, himself, just ONE HELL of a man! You don't raise smart kids if you're not smart. You don't raise funny kids if you're not funny. It simply doesn't happen.
And you DO NOT allow yourself to be seen taking crap from people if you don't know deep down that it's all an expression of love. We (particularly Americans) are VERY self-conscious. We have a tendancy to lie to OURSELVES as much -- if not more -- than we lie to those around us about who we are. We can't be made to look the fool; we can't be made to look "weak"; we can't be made to look "bad". Heaven FORBID someone sees our vulnerability!
So here's this guy who's spent a career being a badass and being VERY savvy with his public image (remember that no one knew what KISS looked like without makeup until they decided to take it off!) and he's comfortable showing us a vulnerable side.
Which says to me that the man beneath both personae must be pretty bullet-proof.
Blah.
Just my little observations and opinions and hero-worship.
Anyway, the show itself was HYSTERICAL!!! I was laughing SO HARD, but in that THE OFFICE kind of way a lot of times -- not the current American version but the original British version, where you're so uncomfortable that you're almost covering your eyes because you can't bear to watch, and yet you HAVE TO see what happens next! I mean, they guy's letting us see this, so it can't be the WORST thing that's ever happened to him, and yet... YIKES, he looks uncomfortable!
And I'm not even into Watch-Em-Squirm "entertainment"! I friggin' HATE Reality TV on principal. But THIS SHOW is FUN! You feel almost like you're getting to hang back-stage with Gene Simmons... WAY back-stage... Like, AT HOME with him, lol!
I don't think you even need to be a KISS fan or a Gene Simmons fan to really, really enjoy this show! You just need to have heard SOMETHING about Gene Simmons... ANYTHING... Good or bad.... Just anything, lol! (I feel very confident about this, because my Mom loved THE OSBORNES and she really only knew who Ozzy is in a general sense of his public persona: he made "satanic" rock music and was banned from performing at the Ector County Colisium in the early-80s by the Odessans for Decency. And that was enough knowlege to allow her to enjoy the day-to-day life of this rock legend just being a human being.)
Okay, I think I'm gonna watch the next episode now: "Next Generation Rock Star".
Drunkin' SCRUBS Watchin' 2006/2007
This New Year came in a little different than most...
Usually I like to celebrate like a madman... Just ANY occasion, really... And I wasn't asking a lot of this New Year's Eve: I wanted to stay up forever with Brian and watch 24, Day 3. But his work scheduled him to come in super-early today. :( In fact, he only had a few hours between when he got home from work and when he had to get to bed in order to not be late for his next shift. :(
So instead of ringing in the New Year with 24, we watched Season 2 of SCRUBS... WHICH WAS HYSTERICAL!!! SCRUBS is EASILY one of THE FUNNIEST SHOWS EVER CREATED!
I didn't get to see my baby, either. But a little after midnight, her time, I did get a "Happy New Year/luv u" text from her, so I'm happy! And I left her a "Happy New Year/luv u" voice message at my midnight so, again, sated there, hee-hee.
DUDE! I CAN NOT wait until our first New Year together!!! I mean PHYSICALLY! Because I SOOOOOOO wanna kiss her at midnight!!!
I mean, very likely I will have kissed her many, MANY times before midnight on New Years Eve... But she's the woman I was made to kiss on New Years Eve! She's the reason the tradition was started all those years ago! The Universe knew that we were gonna appear on the planet in the future, so it made sure a tradion of people kissing when the clock strikes midnight at the begiining of the New Year was created.
I'm pretty sure Wendy and I are the reason the Universe made sure shagging was created as well.
Ooh! And cuddling! And body massages!
Anyway, Brian and I entered the New Year laughing our asses off, and that was a blast! We laughed so hard that, at various times, we couldn't breathe! It was genius!
I feel a bit old though... Season 2 of SCRUBS concluded shortly after midnight, and Brian crashed about halfway through the last episode, and I crashed after a couple of short behind-the-scenes featurettes. I don't think I made it to 1:00 am.
AND... I woke up to a voicemail from Tisha saying she was appalled that this was the first year I didn't call her at midnight. Ouch. I AM getting old. :(
I'm gonna hafta ring in 2008 with a little more style. (And more Gnomey, too.)
And one possible way to do that is to write a novel and sell it. I've been developing a series of novels in this last few weeks of 2006. I need to make sure I get the first one finished soon.
I plan to publish with www.lulu.com, so I won't make a killing off the money from the book (at least at first, if ever) but with enough books scattered across Amazon.com I should eventually have a career.
Then there are the screenplays... But First Things first. My screenwriting is best when I'm collaborating, so the novel comes first, then the screenplays.
Plus, the older I get the less interested I am in living in L.A. And novelists can write from ANYWHERE, whereas screenwriters tend to write from Hollywood. So I'd like to write a couple of novels this year, see how they sell, then try to figure out how to shoot movies ONLY in Austin.
Blah.
These last few entries have just been me thinking "aloud". I'll try to have something more interesting soon. Maybe I'll do something cool in SL and take pics or something.
Anyway, eat your black-eyed peas today (and, if possible, listen to some Black-Eyed Peas, too) and have GREAT 2007!!!
HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!
Usually I like to celebrate like a madman... Just ANY occasion, really... And I wasn't asking a lot of this New Year's Eve: I wanted to stay up forever with Brian and watch 24, Day 3. But his work scheduled him to come in super-early today. :( In fact, he only had a few hours between when he got home from work and when he had to get to bed in order to not be late for his next shift. :(
So instead of ringing in the New Year with 24, we watched Season 2 of SCRUBS... WHICH WAS HYSTERICAL!!! SCRUBS is EASILY one of THE FUNNIEST SHOWS EVER CREATED!
I didn't get to see my baby, either. But a little after midnight, her time, I did get a "Happy New Year/luv u" text from her, so I'm happy! And I left her a "Happy New Year/luv u" voice message at my midnight so, again, sated there, hee-hee.
DUDE! I CAN NOT wait until our first New Year together!!! I mean PHYSICALLY! Because I SOOOOOOO wanna kiss her at midnight!!!
I mean, very likely I will have kissed her many, MANY times before midnight on New Years Eve... But she's the woman I was made to kiss on New Years Eve! She's the reason the tradition was started all those years ago! The Universe knew that we were gonna appear on the planet in the future, so it made sure a tradion of people kissing when the clock strikes midnight at the begiining of the New Year was created.
I'm pretty sure Wendy and I are the reason the Universe made sure shagging was created as well.
Ooh! And cuddling! And body massages!
Anyway, Brian and I entered the New Year laughing our asses off, and that was a blast! We laughed so hard that, at various times, we couldn't breathe! It was genius!
I feel a bit old though... Season 2 of SCRUBS concluded shortly after midnight, and Brian crashed about halfway through the last episode, and I crashed after a couple of short behind-the-scenes featurettes. I don't think I made it to 1:00 am.
AND... I woke up to a voicemail from Tisha saying she was appalled that this was the first year I didn't call her at midnight. Ouch. I AM getting old. :(
I'm gonna hafta ring in 2008 with a little more style. (And more Gnomey, too.)
And one possible way to do that is to write a novel and sell it. I've been developing a series of novels in this last few weeks of 2006. I need to make sure I get the first one finished soon.
I plan to publish with www.lulu.com, so I won't make a killing off the money from the book (at least at first, if ever) but with enough books scattered across Amazon.com I should eventually have a career.
Then there are the screenplays... But First Things first. My screenwriting is best when I'm collaborating, so the novel comes first, then the screenplays.
Plus, the older I get the less interested I am in living in L.A. And novelists can write from ANYWHERE, whereas screenwriters tend to write from Hollywood. So I'd like to write a couple of novels this year, see how they sell, then try to figure out how to shoot movies ONLY in Austin.
Blah.
These last few entries have just been me thinking "aloud". I'll try to have something more interesting soon. Maybe I'll do something cool in SL and take pics or something.
Anyway, eat your black-eyed peas today (and, if possible, listen to some Black-Eyed Peas, too) and have GREAT 2007!!!
HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!
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