Para-Thoughts...

It's Friday night/Saturday morning and I'm back at work, babysitting the TV station, and I finally have a chance to gather my thoughts about last weekend. :)

It's been hectic.

After the event, I pretty much spent Sunday and Monday sleeping, lol. I seriously don't remember much except for checking my email a couple of times.

Then Tuesday and Wednesday were dedicated to reviewing some video footage from a client investigation. (I wasn't able to be there, but I got to help out with the evidence review. Very cool! I need verification from the investigators who were there, but I believe I caught a motion sensor going off by itself when every member of the team could be accounted for, and none of them were in the same room as the motion sensor!)

Thursday, naturally, was spent getting back into my work groove.

But even as busy as the last few days have been, I keep thinking back to last weekend!

Okay, lets set aside the fact that we got to ghost hunt with a Ghost Hunter (and a Ghost Hunter International). That was overwhelmingly cool, no doubt!!! :D But even if Mr. Harnois weren't with us, this still would have been a really cool investigation!

I mentioned breakfast, and teammate Megan giving me a lift to Yorktown. But just arriving at the asylum was, in itself, an amazing thing!

You drive through this quaint little town, and when you're just about to exit the other end of town, the asylum pops out from behind some trees and goes "Boo!"

This was really fun for me, because Megan hadn't been to the asylum before, so I got to enjoy her seeing it for the first time.

Then we all pile out of our vehicles, and you simply have to run up those steps and say "Hi" to the place! You can't help it! It has such a welcoming presence!

Well... sort of, lol.

I mean, it's creepy, but not really menacing. You know? Like a cool old at a family reunion uncle whose sort of a curmudgeon: You know he's gonna give you a hard time, you expect it, but you also know he doesn't mean any harm.

So when everyone arrives and has a chance to greet the building and stretch their legs, we get to work.



I started out helping Jeromy and Terri (pictured above, with Brian Harnois just behind them) runs cable throughout the asylum for the cameras.

Right off the bat, Brian Harnois had an experience in the kitchen, so Terri and I ran the cable through the ceiling, so that investigators wouldn't be tripping over it all night long.

When I say "we" ran the cable, I should probably fess up that Terri climbed a ladder, threw the cable across ceiling tiles (through a maze of support struts which did their damnedest to block her throw), then moved the ladder to the next position.

I pulled the cable taught between throws.

Terribly helpful, aren't I? ;P

The fact, though, is that Terri and Jeromy make a formidable tech team, and staying out of their way is actually a valuable contribution, lol. These cats know how to set up and tear down the equipment!

And they should... Jeromy built a considerable portion of it!

An excellent example:

The way I catch EVPs -- the way most everyone captures EVPs -- is to take an audio recorder into a possibly haunted location, turn it on, and let it roll.

It's the way Hans Holzer did it in the 1960s and it's the way Jason & Grant do it today.

And there's no bad there.

But Jeromy wasn't satisfied with this.

His big problem with the traditional method was that, since it's all aural, you can't see everyone one in the room, to prove that the source of the EVP is paranormal.

So he created this cool hand-held device that he calls the Tri-Filed Audio-Visual Recorder. It has 2 cameras on either side of the front of the device, each with a mic and wide-angle lens. So if you're holding this device, you can see everyone in the room.

If you watch Ghost Hunters you've seen them catch EVPs with their video cameras. But something that bugged Jeromy about this setup was that you couldn't see the camera man. If a skeptic really wanted to be stubborn, all he/she has to say is "how do we know the camera operator didn't say that?"

And it's a valid point.

So Jeromy's Tri-Field Audio-Video Recorder has a camera and mic that covers the camera person, too! :D

Everyone in the room is covered. If you're reviewing the footage and you hear a voice or a cough or something, you can check all three cameras (4, if you choose to attach a thermal imager to this setup, an option Jeromy has allowed for) and verify for yourself that no one in the room made the sound!

Debunk that! ;P

The first time I met Jeromy -- which was the March investigation of Yorktown -- he was carrying around a larger version of this. It had the 2 forward IR cameras, a forward-pointing thermal camera, and the cameraman cam. (That's when he explained to me about wanting to be able to account for absolutely everyone in the room, to more thoroughly validate evidence.) At that time you needed both hands to hold it, even though it was surprisingly light.

But now he's got the thing so streamlined you only need one hand. The way he waved it around, it can't weigh more than a toy gun!

So when you're investigating with Jeromy, you're investigating with the coolest equipment! If it doesn't already exist, he'll just create it, lol!

A lot of investigators wish they could investigate with a thermal camera, but we get to investigate with cool equipment that doesn't exist anywhere else, hee-hee. :P

But besides being a mad inventor, he's also a fun guy.

Actually, all of Texas Spirits are fun folks!!!

There is this peach tree (or, you know... peach suspiciously-tall-scraggly-brush) whose roots are reported to be uncomfortably close to a sewage line. Through out the setup, you'd hear the odd threat that if you didn't get so-and-so done in time you would be forced to eat one of the Peaches of Questionable Root-Source.

Well... The threat didn't last very long...



Sheryl is either a very brave soul or a very silly soul... But she reported the Peaches of Questionable Root-Source are actually quite tasty.

We took her word for it.

Most of us... I think there was one or two other crazy-people who took a bite out of it, but I can't recall who just at the moment.

Before the investigation, we all had dinner, and we set up a tent to house the table that had all the food on it. I so wish I taken some pics of Jon, Jesse, Brian Harnois and me setting this thing up!

Okay, I open the box, and it's filled with a white tarp and roughly one billion almost identical white metal poles.

I'm usually not one to bother reading instructions, but with this I decided to root around the box for some...

What I found was colorful confetti, which I believe was, at one time, the instructions.

So you've got four creative male minds with this over-sized Erector Set, each with a different idea of how it probably goes together.

Now, if you were one of the guests, hopefully, you didn't notice anything untoward when you got there. But the way it finally came out, the support structure was too short for the tarp to fit one way, and too long for it to fit the other way, lol!

Like I said, I think we pulled it off. It served its purpose perfectly! But it was interesting putting it together, lol.

This weekend, what I'm most excited about is reviewing the digital audio recorders I brought! (The video footage was priority, because that was a client case. So, naturally, that took priority.)

The way the investigation ran was the guests formed 3 investigative groups who took a floor (basement, 1st floor and 2nd floor) and the Texas Spirit team was divided up as team leaders for each floor, with Brian Harnois floating between teams.

Jesse and I were helping the team on the first floor for the first leg of the investigation, and right off the bat one of the guest investigators gets this really strong, distinct impression from the Operating Room.

So I turn on one of my digital recorders and Jesse leads us in an EVP session.

I took a lot of pics -- something I'm trying to train myself to do; I'm aurally fixated, so it's easy for me to forget that pictures might capture even more compelling evidence.



It was really cool watching Jesse work. He's got this sort of authority when he's leading an EVP session that makes you feel certain that if there's anything unseen in the room, they will surely speak up, lol.

I can't wait to get to that audio!

Ooh!

Some of the photos I got provide evidence of one type of infestation that, I think, speak for themselves...





...whatever spirit entities may or may not reside in the Yorktown Memorial Hospital & Asylum, I think it's clear that at least one of those aliens from Alien lives there for certain!

I call these pics "WTF! It's Eating Through The Frickin' Pipes!!!" Parts 1 and 2. What do you think? I'm currently waiting to hear back from the Modern Art Museum of Fort Worth regarding their interest in hosting an exhibit of my work. ;P

For real, though, there was one moment, right after the guests broke up for a break, when we got some confirmation we might not be alone there that night!

I had done a shift watching the monitors for the IR cameras, and everyone was sort of passing by or hanging around our base of operations (which is the nurse's station on the first floor). Out of nowhere Stephanie reports an odd spike on her K-2 meter!



We stare at her meter for a moment before the rest of us grab a piece of equipment and add it to the mix. In the picture, you can see Jeromy's hand holding the Tri-Field Audio-Video Recorder. After taking the pic I set one of my audio recorders down.

That's another audio file I can't wait to review!

And what's really exciting for me is that these are just a handful of memories off the top of my head! When I did into the audio this weekend (my relative "weekend", not the real weekend, which it already is as I write this, lol) I know that I'll get to relive a hundred more fun memories!

I'm telling ya, being a part of this team is a no-lose proposition: Even if we never got any evidence of the paranormal ever again, investigating with them will ALWAYS be a blast! :D

Okay, my shift's nearly over. Thanks for helping me pass the time and re-live an AMAZING experience! :D

HAPPY TOWEL DAY!!!

As you know, today is Towel Day, celebrated around the world by we fans of the late and very great Douglas Noel Adams.

Brian & I are about to celebrate by watching the flick and some behind-the-scenes stuff from the DVD edition of the BBC TV series based on Adams' classic Sci-Fi Comedy novels, The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy.



Not to detract from Memorial Day (my pops was an air traffic controller in the Air Force, so I very much respect the celebration and memory of those who have served our country so nobly), but I hope you find a moment today for a laugh in memory of an author who gave us a brilliantly cock-eyed view of Life, the Universe and everything!

And remember...

DON'T PANIC!

:D

Texas Spirits Ghost Hunter Get-Away

HOLY SCHNIKIES!!!

WHAT a WEEKEND!!!

:D



Okay, first off, apologies if I ramble and stuff. I'm suffering from,,, um... some form of "lag". It's not "jet lag" because I haven't flown anywhere, and I wouldn't call it "travel lag" because this variety of "lag" comes from a combination of activities, the least of which is travel.

But the "lag" is not important, anyway. (It's just my excuse for not being overly-concerned about how well this is written, lol.)

DUDE!!! I GOT TO INVESTIGATE YORKTOWN MEMORIAL HOSPITAL & ASYLUM WITH BRIAN HARNOIS!!!

This weekend, Texas Spirits presented a Ghost Hunter Get-Away weekend featuring Brian Harnois, famous for his long membership with TAPS, and for being one of the original ("cast") members of the shows Ghost Hunters and Ghost Hunters International.

(I'm not fond of calling the investigators featured in those shows "cast members" because that implies they're actors. And if you know the shows, you know that they're not actors; they're paranormal investigators, personally invested in the further of the study science that "mainstream science" isn't willing to bother with for the time being. If I weren't convinced before -- though I already was convinced -- I am thoroughly convinced now, after listening to and working with Brian, that these folks are simply not making this stuff up.)

Brian was kind enough to lend himself to our event, and dude... this cat is GOOD PEOPLE! :)

Looking back at my blog, I see that I haven't posted since the 7th, and if anyone reads this (besides my nearest and dearest, that is, lol), I apologize for the delay.

A large part of the reason for this is because TSPI has been gearing up for this event. (Don't let me fool you, I haven't been all that much help, lol. I do what I can, but mostly I'm listening and watching and learning how I can be useful to these amazing people in this amazing team!)

The first night, Friday, was a Meet & Greet with the Man, Brian Harnois.

Usually on Fridays I wake up around 6:00pm so I can be at work at 8:00pm, but I woke up early to be at Austin's A.G.E. Building to set up for Brian Harnois' appearance.

(Side note, since my li'l bro/roommate is Brian, I'll call Mr. Hanrois by his full name to prevent confusion, since Brian -- my brother -- was part of the Get-Away, too. Which is super-cool for me because I got to sort of experience the event from behind the scenes and -- through Brian -- as a participant!!!)

Set-up was smooth. The babes running the show know how to hold things together, and every time I'm with these folks it's like being with the most fun members of your family! But what was weird for me was the fact that Mr. Harnois was there from the start, constantly offering to help in any way he can! :) I mean, from our perspective, he's the celebrity, lol! But, of course, he's not, really. I mean, yeah, he's famous, but he's an investigator. He's worked with many, many groups on hundreds of investigations, so in his heart of hearts, he's a guy who does things, not someone who is catered too, lol.

But the moment of truth came when the doors were opened to the public...

See, Texas Spirits has some logistical wizards capable of planning out a war, if it were needed, lol. (In fact, when Z-Day comes and armies of the walking dead take over the planet, I'll be very, very thankful that I'm a member of TSPI!!!) But when you're presenting an event... well... things don't always go off as planned.

Nothing major this weekend, thankfully. :) We were all on our game and the planning itself was meticulous. But sometimes you find yourself in need of a roll of tape or a paperclip or something. (Or a "Restrooms This Way" sign, for instance, lol.) But the nature of investigating the paranormal is that -- being paranormal -- you prepare for the unexpected. So we were able to make do nicely.

It really reminded me a lot of my teen years in community theatre. You rehearse for a month or more, build set, make costumes, figure out your makeup (I was mostly in Children's Theatre, so the makeup was usually broader and more complex that, say, a David Mamet play, lol) and you spend a lot of time and energy trying to make sure you can put on the best performance the audience can experience. Then, on Opening Day, you open the doors and see how it goes.

So we opened the doors, people met Brian Harnois, and we found ourselves listening to his hours of stories and experiences, absolutely as rapt as any paying guest! The dude is funny and fun, and if you get a chance to hear him talk, you will be glad you went to see him! :) (In fact, he's writing a book at the moment, which I can't wait to be published! If his talk Friday was any indication, it should be a lot of fun!)

In fact, the only thing I could complain about, if I wanted to complain, would be the friggin' heat, lol. Our uniform shirt are Dickies. They're really sturdy and look really nice, but their durability doesn't breath a great deal, lol. ;P And this looks like it's going to be a typical Austin summer (if you've only experienced Austin in the summer in the past 3 years, you do not know what an "Austin summer" feels like, lol; it's hot) so even walking around inside and outside a building can be stifling.

But, dude... it was so worth it!!!

Brian got there a little later, so he ended up standing to listen to Brian Harnois, but he stood there the entire 3 hours, riveted. And when I checked in with him from time to time, he seemed just as pleased as he could be! (Have I mentioned that he and I are avid fans, and that the only paranormal shows we watch are Ghost Hunters and GHI? One of our dreams when we began investigating the paranormal for real was one day investigating with members of TAPS, because those cats do it right, in our opinions.)

So, judging from Brian's feedback, I feel confident saying that Friday night was a success! :D

As Mr. Harnois went off to investigate the A.G.E. Building with an intimate group of raffle winners, the rest of us set to tearing down the signs and equipment. We got home late, but not as late as Brian Harnois and the director of North Texas Spirits, who has all the coolest toys -- most of which he designed and built himself!!! -- and who provided the sound/video equipment that allowed us present Mr. Harnois to Austin.

I woke up, for me, super-early Saturday. I actually woke up at 7:00am! At this time, on a Saturday, I've usually been home from work for almost half an hour and am winding down before bed, lol. But the previous day's work let me go right to bed after the first part of the Get-Away event.

Brian had to work, so I had to bum a ride down to Yorktown.

We met up at the IHOP at Slaughter Lane and IH-35 for an astounding breakfast!!! (I like me some breakfast-y foods, so when I get to eat at IHOP I'm a pretty happy guy, lol.)

Thankfully -- for me anyway, lol -- we didn't all arrive at once. I'm grateful for this for 2 reasons: I got to geek-out about comic book movies with Brian Harnois, and I got to watch him save the IHOP!!! :D

First, let me say that I never imagined the day when being a comic book geek/comic book movie geek would actually be a personal asset!!! But Brian Harnois will tell you himself that he's a fan-boy, and I really enjoyed listening to his take on the recent batch of comic book movies!!! (He's convinced me to go see X-Men Origins: Wolverine, which I was ready to take a pass on, and told me some exciting stuff about many of the up-coming comic book movies that are gearing up for release!) It was a really cool conversation, and kind of surreal, as I'm chatting with someone whom I perceive to be... how do I say it?... cooler than me, lol. :D This cat has seen the world, had experiences with the paranormal that I still aspire to, is a peer to some of the smartest folks in this field, and is an international star, for goodness sake!!! lol :) AND I'M CHATTING WITH HIM ABOUT MOVIES!!! :D

I don't know if he even realizes how he made a fan-boy's year, lol!

I mean, in my world, it's almost like chatting with Hans Holzer about the new Transformer sequel, lol!

So anyway, we're waiting outside (because IHOP doesn't seat partial parties) and someone comments that they smell burning paper. I sniff, and I think I smell cooking barbecue. (It's too early in the morning for any barbecue places to be open, but that's what it smells like to me.) Then another couple of people comment on it, and it's starting to smell exactly like burning paper to me, now, too.

I walk around part of the building, trying to find where the smell might be coming from... and one of us spots the trashcan. (I want to say it was Jeromy, the director of North Texas Spirits, who creates all the cool equipment that puts some of the stuff you see on Ghost Hunters to shame, but my memory really isn't that reliable.)

We take a look, and inside the can are a few wads of paper.

One of the wads of paper is on fire.

Jeromy dashes inside to retrieve some water, to douse the small flame.

Since that was the only thing I could come up with (like, a second or two behind him coming up with the idea, lol), I can't do anything but watch the paper burn inside the trashcan to make sure it doesn't get out of hand before he gets back. (Useful? No. But it's the only thing I can think of, so I do it, lol.)

Brian Harnois, however, gets another idea...

He reaches into the can, grabs the burning receipt (or whatever it was), drops it on the concrete and stamps it out.

What you may not know about Brian Harnois is that he's also a certified fireman (paranormal investigators have to have day jobs, since investigating doesn't pay anything), so he's well familiar with fire and what it can do and can bypass any sort of primal fear about the fact that it's fire.

So Mr. Harnois saved the IHOP at Slaughter Lane and 183! :D

And the funny thing about the whole episode is that if anyone besides us knew about it, it would probably have been in the news! (He probably needs better PR folks, lol.) ;P

So after, as I said, a really great meal -- and some more fascinating stories of Brian Harnois' adventures -- we set off to Yorktown. (The cat's really generous with his time and his experiences!)





Just being at the Yorktown Memorial Hospital & Asylum again is exciting for me!!! :D It is the site of Brian's and my first investigation, and it's a really cool location!

It was really fun to arrive and see out battered flyer for the event up on the front door! :) (I like to imagine it was some dark entity that tried to claw the flyer off, and that's why it looked like that, lol.)

Setup for the investigation was hours and hours long, but it was really cool to have Brian Harnois right there with us, helping us set up. I don't know why it makes a difference to have someone you've watched on TV for years helping you do the heavy lifting, but it does, lol.

Don't get me wrong, I enjoy doing just about anything with any member of TSPI! Every single one of them is wicked-cool and way fun to hang with in just about any circumstance I can imagine!!! I don't care if your running around the Drag passing out flyers, any time with these folks is a great time! :D

Even in the heat, lol.

I can't desribe how much fun and how gratifying this weekend was!

The hot labor eventually gave way to arriving guest investigators, and that brought its own energy!

My li'l bro arrived, and I was set for an amazing night! :)

And to be truthful, the investigation started off with promise...

First off, since we had been there in March, the personal experiences being gathered we becoming even more interesting. We were told that we were the first paranormal investigative team to explore the Yorktown Hospital, and the reports were fairly standard back then: Shadow figures seen out of the corner of one's eye, odd sounds and spoken words, really creepy feelings in certain parts of the building, etc. The more recent reports have gotten more personal, more aggressive, if you will. There's one room on the second floor wherein people report a nasty-ass smell and even the sensation of someone/something trying to choke them!

Right off the bat, while we were setting up IR cameras, Brian Harnois suggested we should put a camera in the kitchen area. (This interested me greatly, since Brian & I had had some experiences in the kitchen last time, and Brian had had a really interesting personal experience there!) It turned out that something attacked Mr. Harnois's leg in there! he reported a bite (or something) that felt like a bee-sting, but with a lingering tingling sensation that persisted all night long. There are no bees in there, and whatever attacked his leg wasn't visible to the naked eye.

That was while we were setting up!

Throughout the night I had some fascinating experiences: The first was with the first group. The guest investigators were divided up into 3 groups (there were a lot of us there that night) who each took a floor, with a couple of TSPI members sort of leading the investigation on that floor, and Brian Harnois floating around between teams, offering tips and experience to all of us -- TSPI members and guest investigators alike -- throughout the whole evening.

On the first pass, I was helping out on the first floor (it goes basement, First Floor and Second Floor) and Brian Harnois came into the kitchen to confront whatever went after him before the evening began.

This is called "provoking" in paranormal circles, and you sort of get to see it on some episodes of Ghost Hunters and Ghost Hunters International. The idea is to address the entity (or whatever it is; any decent paranormal investigator will admit that we really don't know exactly what we're dealing with, we're simply poking around in the dark an developing theories based on the data we amass) directly and see if we can provoke a response -- preferably some activity that can be recorded and analyzed.

The first time I was at the Yorktown I got the impression that whatever might be there is sort of shy and passive. We haven't yet anlayzed the audio or pics taken during that session, so I can't yet tell you if we got anything. But the Mother Lode -- a shodow figure walking across the kitchen or levitating pots and pans and stuff -- didn't present itself. (I'm hoping for a clear EVP, so, fingers crossed!)

But it was really cool and informative to see someone with as much actual experience with the paranormal as Brian Harnois doing his thing! :D

The second was one of the guest investigators. In the surgical wing of the hospital/asylum, one of the guests sensed the "spirit" -- or possibly the "emotional energy" -- of someone who may have been killed by an accidental overdose of anesthesia. The TSPI lead investigator and I did some EVP work, hoping to get some evidence that might inform us as to what she was feeling -- evidence still under review, sorry -- but I was struck by how deeply this person was moved by what she "sensed". I haven't experienced that before! The first time I was there, it was all people who were dedicated to the field, ready for whatever might happen. This was, presumably, someone who didn't spend all their free time studying the paranormal and putting themselves in situations where they might experience the unexplained.

It seemed to be a little traumatic for them, and it was a little disturbing for me.

Not to sound cold or detatched about someone feeling deep, unpleasant emotions (for any reason), but it was an extremely informative experience.

The third biggy for me of the night was MY FIRST PERSONAL EXPERIENCE! :D

I should probably explain, first, that the paranormal -- in my mind -- divides into experiences, personal experiences, and data. Experiences are something that happens, and may or may not be paranormal, depending upon the eperience-er. Parsonal experiences are something that happens that is definitely paranormal to the experience-er, but that skeptics may argue about. Then data is anything recorder that a skeptic can watch, look at or listen to that makes him/her go "Damn... that's wierd."

Since one of the ultimate goals of the paranormal investigator is to present evidence that proves to skeptics that there is something worth studying in what we call "the paranormal" data is what we all strive for.

But as individual investigators, personal experiences are excellent, because they sort of assure us that we're on the right track. :)

My first time at the Yorktown, I guess I had one personal experience. And there were witnesses to corroberate it, too, come to think of it!!! I was standing on the first floor, at the interection of the main hall and the two wings, and my flashlight dimmed, went out, then came back on! No probalem with the batteries -- I continued to use the flashlight with those same bateries for months afterward -- but the flashlight dimmed and went out anyway.

I had forgotten about that before now, so I guess this would be my second personal experience...

So this time, I'm in the basement. It's almost pitch black. I walk into a room with just my red-tinted flashlight, and I see a small, dark shadow-something scurry across the floor. My first impression -- which we train ourselves to trust because of the mind's amazing ability to rationalize events after the fact -- was that I just saw something "not natural" escaping observation as humans -- unfamiliar to this room because of its state of decay -- entered it.

More compelling: I had a witness. One of the guests entered the room right after me, and she saw it, too! I asked her what she saw, and she described the same thing I did! Before I told her what I saw! :D

This thing looked like a shadow, but it was long, like a snake, but it seemed to "scurry" like a critter with legs. And it was fast. Faster than any natural creature moves.

Oh, and I was witness to another phenomenon: In that same hallway juncture where my flashlight dimmed and went out last time, the K-2 meter started behaving unnaturally. The guests were taking a break, so it was only a bunch of investigators that witnessed this. We explored every elctronomagnetic possibility we could think of, and we couldn't come up with a reason for this to occur!

I don't include this as a "personal experience" because it wasn't me it happebed to, and I have yet to review my audio recording, so I don't know if I got any data as a result of this experience.

But it was cool! :D

At the moment, without having reviewed yet the pics and audio I captured for last night, that's what stands out in my memory.

It was hot, it was an extremely long day for me, and it was amazing!!! :D

This is a pic of my around 2:30am or 3:00am. I'm pretty thrashed at this point, but a happy, contented sort of thrashed! :)



If the data turns up anything interesting, I'm sure I'll let you know.

PEACE!!!

:D

STAR TREK!!!

I'M GONNA SEE STAR TREK!!!

IT STARTS TOMORROW AND I'M GONNA SEE IT TOMORROW!!! I'M TAKING THE DAY OFF SO I CAN SEE IT OPENING NIGHT!!!

STAR TREK!!!

:D

Peace and long life, Everyone!

STAR TREK!!! :D

Misty for Mistie ;P

So I'm currently obsessed with Mystery Science Theater 3000 again, lol.

I mean, I've been a fan of the show since someone told me about it, back in the early 1990s. (I'm temped to say that my first episode, or one of my first, might be Manos: The Hands of Fate, which first aired in 1993, but I don't know if that's right, and I don't know if I saw it when it originally aired.) I even owned a few of the VHS releases of the shows, way back before DVD was widespread (or even extant).

And I know I was pretty deep because when Mystery Science Theater 3000: The Movie came out I talked the Morning News crew into all getting together and going to see it! It was playing at the Dobie Theater here, and I didn't know it at the time, but the movie's widest theatrical release was only 26 theaters nationwide! The Dobie Theater here in Austin was one of twenty-six theaters nationwide that screen the flick!!! :D

That was back in 1996, maybe a year after I started working at the TV station, and I remember being excited that MST3K was releasing a theatrical movie, so I must have learned about the TV show before 1996.

Anyway, where I'm going with this is that I've always loved the show, but this is probably the first time I've been onsessed with it.

I don't know why, either.

I mean, there's so much to love about the show, to be sure: There Joel, or Mike, and the Bots, stuck in outter space with nothing better to do with their time than riff on horrible movies and perform little skits. It's a simple life, and with that crew, one would imagine it would be a constant party! MST3K turns some of the worst movies ever made into a party! For most of the episodes, it doesn't matter how many times you've seen them, they're always funny and fun!

But I honestly don't even know why I got the urge to start watching the show again! Much less become have to watch several episodes on my days off and read as much information about it as the Net has to offer, lol.

Still, I'm not one to look a gift horse in the mouth (usually) so I'm just enjoying this latest personal craze. It's free, it's fun, so YEE-HAW!!! :D

Plus, I can convert the episodes I have for my iPod, which means I have a sort of video security blanket I can take with me everywhere, lol. ;P (I can only fit 2 or 3 episodes on my iPod, though, because it's loaded with tons of music and audibooks, plus I wacth the latest episode of Dollhouse on it, too. So I have to keep switching out episodes, but that's okay.)

Not sure why I'm sharing this with you, lol. But other than reading about the paranormal, emailing my Gnomey-Goddess, playing those cursed Zynga games on facebook or working, that's pretty much what I'm up to.

:)

If I didn't need pockets to hold all my stuff, I would probably never wear pants.

Is that wrong?