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KW MetalFest begins tomorrow! [May. 16th, 2008|12:38 am] [ Tags | music, performance ] [ mood | busy ] [ music | A Perfect Circle - Pet ] I've been kept very busy, lately. Very busy indeed. This is one of the biggest reasons. Yes, KW MetalFest 2008 is almost here, and here are a couple more notes to keep you in the loop. 1. Tickets are available in advance for the special rate of $30 for both days. Remember, if you buy ‘em at the door, they’ll cost you more. To get the advance discount rate, you must purchase your tickets at The Catacombs on 90 Queen St. South in Kitchener. 2. KW MetalFest doors open at 3:30 pm each day. 3. Hellmass will now be playing on Saturday at the Howard Johnson Hotel at 1333 Weber Street East. 4. Remember, Sunday’s performances have changed venues. They will be held at The Gig Theatre on 137 Ontario St. in Kitchener. For more information, go visit KW MetalFest. See you in the pit.... link 1 comment|post comment

Breathe. Breathe You Fucker! [May. 8th, 2008|12:06 am] [ Tags | asthma, gaming, links, music, performance ] [ mood | sick ] Can anyone explain to me why Paris Hilton is on the cover of the newest National Geographic magazine? I find myself strangely irked, despite already being aware of the magazine's less than stellar reputation for anthropology and other ologies. Why is the F key on my new keyboard so sticky? It feels like there's syrup on it, and I can't imagine why. The Ministry show was a blast. And even though I was wearing spectacles and was still frightfully sick with my third cold of the season (grr...), I ended up in the mosh pit for "So What". I wore my leather jacket, despite the formidable heat. I considered it training for this summer's LARP season where I'll be running around in armour. I drenched myself in my own sweat, but the jacket prevented the sweat of the unwashed others from tainting my dainty flesh. When my eye glasses floated off my head and I just managed to snatch them back from certain doom, I decided to vacate the pit and watched the rest of the show from stage right. I had an excellent view of the show from the rear, and without anyone jostling me at all. I even got to lean on a security rail. Did you know that twenty guitars were used during the show? I learned it from my vantage point, where the guitars were stabled much like horses in little guitar stalls. I suspect Ministry is soon to be no more because Al is looking remarkably like Ozzie, now. Eep. Meshuggah did a kick-ass show, too, and I stayed just on the outside edge of the roiling mosh pit for their set. This Sunday, I'm off to yet another metal show: Kill Switch Engage and Poison the Well. I blush to say I'm not terribly familiar with either band (although I enjoy KSE's cover of "Holy Diver"). And the next week is the KW Metalfest, where I'll be working the show as security and gofer. You should come to the festival. Really. ........ The other night, Rooster came to visit me from Toronto. We went to schwartzung's place and I refereed a few battles between the two of 'em. No injuries were sustained because of the boffer brawls, but somehow, mysteriously, both Rooster and snowy_kathryn sustained tendon pulls. It is a mystery. Rooster and Schwartzung also endeavoured to teach Kathryn, Amelia, and I more hand signals for the future success of our military LARPing careers. I still need a lot of work. ......... My cold still plagues me in the form of that goddamned, pesky, persistent asthma constriction of doom. I'm waiting for my lungs to stop bearing down like a woman in labour. Grr. ........ Links? Ok. Ape Genius reveals depth of animal intelligence: "Anthropologist Jill Pruetz believes she has made a landmark discovery - a species other than humans learning - and passing on - the skills to make a lethal weapon." The monkey wars are nigh. German group patents 'smell-phone': Prank calls will hit a new low with the ability to transmit farts.... Haptic Heart Beats You To Sleep: Is this a new feature on RealDolls yet? Yeah. Gotta sleep. Lungs want to kill me. link 9 comments|post comment

A Mundane Recap of No Possible Interest to Any, Including Me! [Apr. 30th, 2008|01:58 pm] [ Tags | dance, kung fu, links, music, yoga ] [ mood | tired ] [ music | traffic ] I felt utterly run down for the past two days. I think yesterday's therapeutic massage session and last night's excess of sleep has ameliorated the problem, somewhat. Yet somehow, despite the exhaustion, brutal neck pain, and f00dave's constant questioning (f00: "Are you depressed? You look depressed!" Me: "No. Just really tired and hurting." f00: "You sure?" Me: "YES!!!"), I managed to teach a dance class, take a yoga class, go for a run, go for a bike ride, and take my first advanced pole class. Today I go for another run, teach another dance class, take another pole class, and go to the Ren to see Stephen Thrasher. You should go, too. Free show, interesting people, and cheap beer. What more can you want on a Wednesday night? This weekend is busy again. I'm planning on scouting out the new LARP location. It's a sizable property, and I want to know where the hazards are. I'm also playing with sticks, knives, and fists with Sifu Chuck, lindalicious, gha5t, and company, and then I'm off to Toronto with schwartzung and Sara to see Meshuggah and motherfucking MINISTRY. Oh hells, yes! Then I'm bringing my new buddy Rooster back home with me for a couple of days so he can vacation in beautiful, scenic Kitchener. I finally ordered business cards. It's about freaking time. Next up, I want promotional postcards to have on-hand for my various performance and teaching venues. I'm hoping there's a place locally which sells 'em for cheap. And then, I need to get my costuming book back in print. Oh yes.... Want links? I've got your links right here. Help Mother Nature Fight Back: Bizarre promotional campaign meant to increase awareness of the plight of endangered species. Or maybe it's an attempt to up the arms race. I'm not sure which. Lizards Rapidly Evolve After Introduction to Island: Lizardmen are only a couple of decades away.... Orangutan attempts to hunt fish with spear: Maybe that awareness campaign isn't so far off, after all. And now for a video that boggled my mind (thanks, gha5t). These guys are total nutjobs, and I love them for it. link 2 comments|post comment

Not Just Another Song and Dance Act [Apr. 15th, 2008|01:42 pm] [ Tags | dance, links, music, performance ] [ mood | busy ] [ music | Left Spine Down - Hang Up ] In case I haven't mentioned, I've been extremely busy, ( even for me. ) link post comment

It Won't Go Down [Feb. 27th, 2008|08:27 pm] [ Tags | dance, floorwork, music ] [ mood | amused ] [ music | Puscifer - Cuntry Boner ] I have reached a high point in my dance career. I am currently teaching a floorwork class in my underwear. While drinking rum. To "Cuntry Boner" by Puscifer. link 4 comments|post comment

Damn Your Eyes [Feb. 19th, 2008|07:11 pm] [ Tags | 8 digital, dance, music, performance, poi ] [ mood | sore ] Friday night was spent with 8 Digital and friends for a jam session/rehearsal. Ostensibly, I was to be interviewing band members, but the environment really wasn't the best for that. I'm sure I'll get more usable information from them in a one-on-one setting. I can't let the world know how offensive they really are! No. I must cushion the impact. I managed to whirl my poi during the run-through. I'd figured the music would be too slow, but found out the rhythm is conducive to spinning. So depending on the venue, I might be doing some poi. We have shows coming up later this spring. Maybe there will be something sooner, too. I'll let you know as soon as tour dates are settled. Sunday was spent at the brand new club Z in Toronto. It was schwartzung's inaugural night DJing for This is Heresy: Sadistikal Sundays, and Blue Hour's first time performing. I took some pictures while I was there. You can see them here. When I first got to the club, I found myself in a brightly lit stairwell. I walked down to the very dark basement, and blinked a few times, trying to get my dark adaption. I could see the silhouette of a man rushing my way. His hand shot out toward me and he pawed at my throat. I was just thinking that maybe I'd have to attempt to lay a beatdown on whoever this was when he said, "Don't I get a hug?" It was Ward (of H-427). So I hugged him instead of decking him one. Heh.... Sara and I danced most of the night away. We were pretty much the only dancers. We were the only two dancing to Blue Hour, and that's a blooming shame. Folks, if you like a band, show your appreciation! Toronto folks, you need to loosen up. Standing there looking blasé may make you feel goth as fuck, but it does sweet fuck all for the entertainers who are working their arses off for you. And a polite golf clap at the end of a song just won't cut it. Dance, damn your eyes, DANCE! link 6 comments|post comment

Zombie Jock Itch [Jan. 19th, 2008|04:53 pm] [ Tags | music, performance, review ] [ mood | sick ] [ music | 8 Digital - Phace Book ] I would have enjoyed last night's Rob Zombie show more if I hadn't been sick and if the place hadn't been populated by asshole jocks. At one point, I had to stop myself from giving in to the almost overwhelming urge to bite a huge gash out of the arsehole in front of me. I don't know where those violent cannibalistic tendencies came from. It must have been the whole zombie motif of the show, I guess. One yahoo was playing high-speed, high-impact bumper cars with the unimpressed people around him. After he smashed into me at full force and sent me reeling to the side, I spun around to see what the fuck he was doing. That was about when schwartzung grabbed and shook him like a terrier would. Heh.... The stage show itself was good. The band has excellent stage presence, and really knows how to fill their space and get the crowd going. But by the end, I found myself wondering when I'd be able to go home and eat the scrumptious chicken stew I'd made earlier that day. I can console myself in the belief that my next show won't have anything near the same asshole contingent. I'm going to see Henry Rollins again. Yes. After the show, I ended up staying up until 10:30 the next morning shooting the shit with schwartzung and f00dave (who miraculously kept his pants on for the whole affair). If you get a chance, and you're on FaceBook, why don't you join the 8 Digital community? 8 Digital is the band I dance with on an official basis. You can also find us on MySpace, although the page needs some work. link 6 comments|post comment

No Papparazzi for the Thrashers, Please [Jan. 10th, 2008|01:53 am] [ Tags | music, review ] [ mood | tired ] [ music | The Inlaws playing in the background ] Today senseic and I went to an installation piece by Steven Shearer at the Power Plant Gallery. The subject matter was heavy metal, with a particular and somewhat creepy focus on Leif Garret. Remember him? I barely do. I remember seeing him on the cover of plenty of Tiger Beat magazines, and all its pink, sugary pederast-pleasing brethren. When we walked in, our ears were assuaged and torn by loud metal music, but shortly after walking in, the music died. The gallery is an antiseptic white--a strange counterpoint to the raucous colours, corpse paint, and leopard prints of the metalheads all over the walls. It clashed rather badly, as did the chic gallery attendants in their business attire. Only senseic and I seemed to be dressed for the occasion. We were both in full-fledged thrasher gear. My hair was brushed out huge in 80s style, and hers was long, lank and greasy in Norwegian death metal style. She was also sporting some Alice Cooper eye makeup. Shortly after arriving, and while drinking on the sly from a water bottle filled with something not water-like, we started taking pictures. The show is primarily comprised of found art, with collages formed from hundreds of album covers and photos of metalheads and musicians culled from the internet. So imagine our surprise when we were asked not to take pictures of subject matter obviously not owned by either the gallery or the artist. Even still, we did get a few. The artwork is gratifying and validating, since the fancy schmancy gallery types have approved it. Metal has become high culture. Or at least the idea of metal has become high culture. Why else would you find a photo of Ozzy Osbourne blow-drying his armpits in a posh gallery? The one odd note would be the little shed set up in the middle of one of the galleries. It had a bright light shining from a crack in the door. But when I tried to open the shed doors, I found they'd been wired shut. I couldn't see anything through the crack. Would they be so brazen as to start a grow-op in the middle of a posh gallery? Why not? After we'd worn out the exhibit in our own minds (more easily done considering how sweltering hot it was in there), we wandered back downtown, watched some skaters, and fruitlessly tried to find a happening club on a Wednesday night. We also went to a second hand music shop to find a CD by the Plasmatics, but were thwarted by both the clerk's assertion that we were looking for klezmer, and also by the fact that the store contained absolutely no Plasmatics. So we took the subway home, ogled some cute boys who were ogling us in return, then went home to listen to WASP and watch a Hungarian horror movie. And how was your Wednesday? link 9 comments|post comment

Music To Beat the Bishop By [Dec. 24th, 2007|03:09 pm] [ Tags | music ] [ mood | sleepy ] [ music | Pig - Death Rattle 'n' Roll ] Thanks to your help, I have a much larger collection of masturbatory theme songs. Here you go, in no particular order: Divinyls - I Touch Myself Cyndi Lauper - She Bop The Vapours - Turning Japanese Mojo Nixon and Skid Roper - She's Vibrator Dependant George Thorogood & The Destroyers - Bad to the Bone Chuck Berry - My Ding A Ling The Decemberists - Billy Liar Atlanta Rhythm Section - Imaginary Lover Devo - Whip It Michael Jackson - Beat It Faith No More - Epic Ivor Biggun - I'm a Wanker Buzzcocks - Orgasm Addict Tori Amos - Icicle Stephen Lynch - Talk to Me Motorhead - Vibrator Christine Lavin - Artificial Means Billy Squire - Stroke Green Day - Long View Clarence Carter - Strokin' Violent Femmes - Blister in the Sun Rev. Horton Heat - Wiggle Stick Prince - Darling Nikki Jackson Browne - Rosalie The Beat - Mirror in the Bathroom Devo - Penetration in the Centrefold Billy Idol - Dancing With Myself Tweet - Oops Oh My Pink - Fingers Any more? link 10 comments|post comment

Born to Be Bad [Dec. 22nd, 2007|02:54 pm] [ Tags | links, music ] [ mood | sleepy ] [ music | Duke Ellington - Down a Carolina Lane ] I'm exhausted but smiley. I think I'll have a happy nap. Maybe when I wake up there will be foods and game! A Toilet Built For Two: Like the two-seater outhouses of my youth, but with modern plumbing (thanks, fourcorners). Top Ten Classic Spanking Scenes in Westerns: I remember most of these, and even as a kid, they struck me as somewhat odd. Cowboys are kinky bastards (thanks, f00dave). Apropos of a conversation held on Wednesday, can you think of songs about masturbation? Here's what came to mind: Divinyls - I Touch Myself Cyndi Lauper - She Bop The Vapours - Turning Japanese Mojo Nixon and Skid Roper - She's Vibrator Dependant George Thorogood & The Destroyers - Bad to the Bone Chuck Berry - My Ding A Ling Surely there are more! Help me find 'em. link 19 comments|post comment

Last Night I Had Laryngitis... [Dec. 15th, 2007|09:20 am] [ Tags | music, performance, video ] [ mood | sick ] [ music | What What? ] ...so it was determined that I must cover Samwell's "What What (In the Butt)." (Featuring the beatboxing of Ian, the cinematography of f00dave, and the giggling of snowy_kathryn.) Hold your ears. This is going to be a bumpy ride. link 7 comments|post comment

GWARriors and Cherry Pits [Dec. 5th, 2007|04:18 pm] [ Tags | music, performance, review ] [ mood | amused ] [ music | Natacha Atlas - Just Like a Dream ] real_bethy invited me over for a Hanukkah supper last night, and so I trooped off for latkes, doughnuts, tortellini, Jack Daniels whiskey and other fun treats. We were joined by f00dave, snowy_kathryn, and schwartzung, the latter two of which would be accompanying me to the GWAR show later that night. I'm sure the average Hanukkah doesn't involve Hitler ejaculating blue spooge all over Kathryn, but this wasn't just Hanukkah. It was GWARnukkah. I witnessed many strange and wonderful things last night, including the decapitation of George W. (who wears our country like a hat (and whose arterial blood soaked the ravening crowd)), a mad terrorist with a towel on its head, an enormously fat man-thing which sprayed gouts of blue fecal matter across the audience before being flayed down to the bones, and lord knows what else. The mosh pit was a sea of upraised hands and faces being drenched under gallons of questionable body fluids. I stood back in one of the bar areas watching, all bemused. Kathryn's reaction was not so subdued. Her mouth was stretched agape in brutal amazement, and it wasn't long before schwartzung dragged her into the pit to bust her mosh cherry. Some time later, she came back to the bar looking worse for wear. She was limping, disheveled, covered with Hitler jizz, and her glasses were badly bent. She was also wearing a beatific smile. schwartzung showed up shortly afterwards, looked at me, and said, "You're next." I passed my glasses (and eyesight) to Kathryn, grabbed on to schwartzung's shirt, and away we went into the pit. I lost him at one point, when we were going down the stairs. I had no idea how many steps or how wide they were. Neither could I detect any obstacles, of which there were many. But I somehow made it down there, and schwartzung returned to pull me into the fray. I was pressed in on all sides, pinned in moving place by a tide of sweat-soaked heaving bodies. Keeping on my feet was a struggle, and it took all my strength and dexterity to squirm my way up closer and closer to the stage. The music was irrelevant. The stage show was irrelevant. I was immersed in a cacophonous din. My mouth was filled with someone's hair. An elbow jammed into my throat. My feet and lower legs were crushed beneath boots. Jettisons of fluid rained down upon me, into my eyes, ears, and mouth. I felt a heavy weight pressing down on my head, and forced my arms up to clear it. A spread-eagled body passed by overhead. A man was jammed up tight behind me, his mouth brushing my ear. "I apologize if I touch you inappropriately," he said. "It's entirely unintentional." schwartzung was just ahead of me. He turned to scream in my ear, "Are you ok?" "Fuck, yeah!" I screamed. And I continued to ride the crowd in a blind haze until schwartzung turned to me one more time and said, "Time to leave. Give me a knee." And then I was dragged up over top of the wave of human cilia, grabbed and groped all the way to the stage, where I was hauled back down to earth by raincoat-clad security, and shoved into a trough where I ran the gauntlet out of the pit. A shirtless man tried to stop me, grabbing at me every which way, but slick with the sweat of many, I slip-squeezed by him and felt my way back to the bar. Kathryn, the now uncloseted metalhead, found me and gave me my glasses, and the word came back into sharp focus. I was covered in blue. A few moments later, schwartzung emerged again, grabbed another gulp of beer, and took Erin, yet another pit virgin, into the fray. I sang along to "Maggots" while sipping a nasty strawberry daquiri, and then the show ended abruptly, brought to a sudden close by way of irritating city bylaws. Erin and schwartzung came back to the bar, and he sloshed beer all over her. "Eww!" she said. "My bra is full of beer." She turned to me. "Want to suck some out?" It tasted like beer at first, but the aftertaste was very not beer. I hope my mouth doesn't get pregnant with Hitler's love child. And how was your Hannukah? link 6 comments|post comment

Honey, You've Got Another Think Coming [Nov. 30th, 2007|11:14 am] [ Tags | migraine, music, review ] [ mood | good ] [ music | The The - Armageddon Days (Are Here Again) ] Beyond making for a good yarn, I really don't care about your past. I care about who you are now. .... I'd been craving martinis for almost two weeks, and on Wednesday, I decided to do something about that. So I got all dressed up and went to the Ren and ordered myself a chocolatini. Cheryl, the barkeep and my good twin, made me one, but not the normal variety. Instead, it was a milky white, and tasted delicious in a sweet and somewhat salty sort of way. I call it Easter Bunny Cum. I told her this, and she laughed. She also gave me an articulated finger claw thingermabob. What are those things called? I don't really know. But it is over the top, shiny, and pokey. I wandered back to the DJ booth to stash my jacket and saw a man standing there expectantly. "Are you the DJ?" he asked. "No," I said. I pointed to schwartzung. "He is." "I want to make a request," he said. "But I gotta say, you look very nice." He extended his hand to shake mine and introduced himself. I thanked him for the compliment and went on my merry way. The thing is, three or four more times that evening, the guy re-introduced himself to me, and each time the compliments became more fulsome. Finally, when I was sitting by myself on a couch, I saw him making a beeline towards me. "Oh dear," I thought to myself, because it was all getting a bit uncomfortable. "Hi!" he said, proffering his hand. Once again, I shook his hand, and once again, he introduced himself. "Say, um, do you have a girlfriend or boyfriend?" "No!" I said, rather disingenuously. A beat passed. "I have a husband." And the poor guy said, "Oh," turned, and left the club. Oh dear. I hate playing the trump card. It always feels so cheap. The night took a bizarre turn a bit later when a woman sat across from me and made rude sniping comments to me, which I ignored. Later on, I found she was trying to stir up some drama by telling on of my friends that I was trying to steal that friend's boyfriend away. Give me a fucking break. Why on earth would a thirty-something woman try to pull off such high school antics? That's just sad. It is also the first time someone has tried to create drama about me in a decade or so. My friend didn't believe it for a second, of course, and called her on it. Sheesh. Stephen Thrasher did a great job. Their music is eminently danceable, and Reanie's stage presence and Stephen's singing have greatly improved since the last time I saw them. Great job, guys! You rocked the casbah.... I was gifted with two more martinis that night, so my cravings have been sated. Martinis, however, leave me in bizarre territory. Although I don't have a flirtatious bone in my body, when I drink a martini, something miraculous happens, and I am transformed into some sort of a flirt monster. Not wanting to do something outrageous, I turned to my buddy Carrie and said, "You're safe!" and hugged the shit out of her. I find it interesting how different drinks have completely different effects on me. Good thing I didn't have absinthe, or I might have started a bar fight. When Cheryl kicked us out, the party gravitated to my place. schwartzung and Ian (from Hamilton) returned with me and subjected me to cruel abuse (and a tasty omelette), playing video after horrid video of what have to be some of the worst singers in the history of the world. It hurt so much I was in tears, rolling on the floor, banging my head on things. And yes, you should expect a post linking to some of these videos, because such aural assault should not be suffered by me alone. You'll listen to it, and you will suck it up, thank me, and ask for more. My night finally ended around 10:30 in the morning, by which point my migraine hallucinations had expanded to new proportions. At night, when I'm in the darkness and am somewhat tired, I see halos around items, particularly around vertical straight edges. It is something of an echo effect, so if I'm looking at a pole, for instance, I will see multiple images of that pole, moving off into the distance and gradually fading. By 10:30 in the morning, I was seeing these in the daylight for the first time. I was also confusing my chinchillas with cats, so it was a good thing I got some sleep. I had to get up three hours later for an appointment with a lung specialist. When he checked my lung capacity, he gave me some excellent news. On my current medication dose, my lungs register as those of a normal, healthy person. He also confirmed my suspicion that my feelings of strength, stamina, and general invincibility earlier this month were indeed what I ought to feel like when my lungs are at 100% efficiency. Huzzah! After hearing this good news, I went back home and crashed. I'm feeling well-rested today. Are you? link 13 comments|post comment

Dancebitch [Nov. 20th, 2007|09:54 pm] [ Tags | dance, music ] [ mood | tired ] [ music | Amon Tobin - Chronic Tronic ] f00dave has taken to calling me Rockbitch. Something tells me he doesn't have the seminal lesbian/pagan/polyamorous rock group in mind, but then again, maybe he does harbour some strange beliefs about me. Or maybe he's just calling me that because I bike around town in a leather biker jacket and bandanna while listening to Otep. I don't have a hip flask. Yet. In completely unrelated news, I'm still looking into doing an Asian dance extravaganza in Toronto come January. I want to take a weekend workshop in Cambodian dance followed by a week-long workshop in Butoh. I may never move the same way again. Somewhere in there, I also want to do a gothic belly dance workshop with Ariellah, although I may have to skip that one. Around these parts, belly dance workshops are a LOT more expensive than workshops in other dance styles. I'm really not sure why this is. Good thing her DVD isn't overly expensive. I think I'll have to suffice with that and with secondhand knowledge from fellow dancers who get to study with her. Santa? I still want these for my personal study: Contemporary Bellydance and Yoga Conditioning with Ariellah Rachel Brice: Bellydance Arms and Posture Tribal Fusion Bellydance with Sharon Kihara Tribal Fusions: Exotic Art of Tribal Bellydance Bellydance - Tribal Fusion NYC Gothic Bellydance - Revelations Pop, Lock & Shimmy: Drum Solo Technique & Choreography See how economically they're priced? link 2 comments|post comment

Decided [Nov. 12th, 2007|04:14 pm] [ Tags | dance, music ] [ mood | out of breath ] [ music | Otep - Battle Ready ] I will dance to "Crooked Spoons" by Otep. It is a perfect mix of melody and chaos. I will destroy myself dancing to it. Oh yes.... BTW: Anyone feel up to videotaping the dance? I don't have any clips of myself doing this sort of thing. link 2 comments|post comment

Yup [Nov. 9th, 2007|09:44 pm] [ Tags | music ] [ mood | horny ] [ music | Puscifer - Rev. 22:20 (Dry Martini Mix) ] The Dry Martini mix of Rev. 22:20 by Puscifer is the sexiest song in the history of the world. That is all. link 2 comments|post comment

Leatherclad Warrior [Oct. 18th, 2007|02:46 pm] [ Tags | costuming, links, music ] [ mood | busy ] [ music | 8 Digital - Poplife ] Too busy making armour to chat much, but last night I ended up DJing the retro night at the Renn for about an hour. It was a bit tricky with it being an unfamiliar music collection and with me having my contacts in (meaning I couldn't really read the names of the tracks too well), but I didn't do too bad, all things considered. I played Divinyls, U2, Gino Vanelli, the Ramones, Madonna, Cyndi Lauper, etc. Certainly not my typical sort of set list, now, is it? Before I get back to leather work, here are the links which've been clogging my internet tubes. Don Justo's Self Built Cathedral: "Justo Gallego Martínez is building his very own Cathedral in Mejorada del Campo near Madrid, Spain." Motorway fowl-up: Why 3000 chickens crossed the road: "Thousands of runaway chickens brought traffic to a standstill after a transporter lorry crashed on a busy road near Glasgow." Has the best picture of a cop chasing a chicken I have ever seen (thanks, f00dave). Doctors Find Grass Growing in Babies Lung: So that's how the Chinese do their grow-ops. Clever. Misc. Pics of the Day: Some good stuff, here. SteamPunk Gearrings: Very cute. Now, why didn't I think of that? Searching for God in the Brain: "Researchers are unearthing the roots of religious feeling in the neural commotion that accompanies the spiritual epiphanies of nuns, Buddhists and other people of faith." Geeks in the Woods: I'll be doing something much like this in a couple of weeks. I hope I don't run into a beholder (thanks, schwartzung)! 7 (More!) Underground Wonders of the World: Lost Caverns and Buried Cities: Makes me want to take up urban spelunking. Mail Harmless Bacteria, Go to Jail: The War on Terror takes on the scientists (thanks, tdj). Diet Water: Just no (thanks, gha5t). link 4 comments|post comment

Why Does My Mind Hate Me So? [Aug. 24th, 2007|11:00 am] [ Tags | books, movies, music ] [ mood | crazy ] [ music | ... ] I woke up with "Girlfriend" by Avril Lavigne in my head. Now my inner radio is spewing "Toxic" by Britney Spears. Why? Why? WHY??? Frog-g-g is the 100th movie I've seen this year. The Canterbury Tales is the 46th book I've started. I have listened to countless songs spanning dozens of genres. Why is it the top 40 pabulum that sticks? link 6 comments|post comment

[Aug. 15th, 2007|12:51 am] [ Tags | dance, kung fu, links, music ] [ mood | wistful ] [ music | Gary Numan - Haunted ] At kung fu, my deltoids got so tired that when I paused an exercise to reach up to scratch my nose, I found it took every bit of strength I had to get my hand to my nose. Phew! So of course, a few hours later I worked it even harder by taking an advanced pole dance class. Despite my tiredness, I managed to do a lift/spin I've never been able to figure out before. Go team me.... On the weekend, I did a martial arts seminar where we covered some Wing Chun principles, then did knife fighting and kali stick exercises. We didn't have real knives, but used Crayola scented markers. I tried not to die, but took two killing wounds (one to the diaphragm, another right in the ear). My shirt was marked up all to hell, but not nearly as bad as some. I'm afraid I slaughtered the hell out of lindalicious. gha5t was trickier, but I did slash his jugular. Go team me redux. I'm particularly fond of kali sticks, and really hope I can find someone to practice with. Wanna? .... I got the best drive-by compliment yesterday while walking to work. A guy on a bicycle zoomed by me, and when he stopped at the traffic light, looked over and said, "I hope you don't mind it when I say 'WOW!" It put a grin on my face. So much classier than the guys who say things like, "Now that's what I call some grade-A pussy" (actually said to snowy_kathryn a while back). .... schwartzung introduced me to the music of Otep the other night, and all of a sudden, I find myself diving headfirst into metal. She's good. I can't believe the noises she makes. .... Link time. Little Joseph Candle Holder: Creepy. I want some. Abortion pill could become daily contraceptive: RU-486 may become part of your daily ritual (thanks, warren_ellis). Dust Comes Alive in Space: "Scientists have discovered that inorganic material can take on the characteristics of living organisms in space, a development that could transform views of alien life." Do Not Click This Link: I'm warning you. Very NSFW (thanks, balthcat). link 4 comments|post comment

Words Worth [Jul. 21st, 2007|12:27 pm] [ Tags | music ] [ mood | stenchy ] [ music | Assemblage 23 - Crush ] Does anyone have the lyrics for the unlisted bonus track on Android Lust's Devour, Rise, and Take Flight album? I can't find them anywhere. The refrain goes "We covered a lot of ground, spent so many years, all that effort just to bring us here. We faltered on our words, resisted all the signs. Do we just leave it all behind?" And then there are parts I just can't make out at all.... Oh yes, a belated thank you goes to those who offered up the Eartha Kitt "I Want to Be Evil" mp3. elanya got the jump on y'all, and now I've got my evil on. snowy_kathryn is a mermaid today for a Harry Potter event, so I'm going to go check out her costume and take a few pictures this afternoon. And then, if all goes well, I'll be gaming again tonight. For unknown reasons, I have hobo BO today. I must hasten to the shower before my nose hairs singe off. link post comment

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