Big Plans

I've talked for a couple of weeks now about venturing out to a late night movie, but I haven't been yet. I think I mentioned a couple of days ago that I was thinking of seeing a concert. A little band called Phantogram are playing at Club Downunder tonight. Club Downunder is an 18+ venue inside the Oglesby Union at FSU. That probably means I'll be on the upper end of the age curve at this show, but it's not the first time. Tickets for non-students are only $8.00, which is a steal.

If the show wraps up early enough, or I decide to bail, there's a 0015 show of Let Me In, the American remake of the Swedish vampire film I reviewed last spring. The trailers imply that this film will be faithful to the original, for all that the story's been relocated to the American Southwest. However it is, I'll be sure to let you know.

King of Pain

So I'm at work, and The Police's King of Pain comes on over the lobby music machine. Synchronicity is one of my all-time favorite albums, one of those rare discs I mentioned in the previous post where I love the whole thing. I first owned it on cassette, and I'm onto my second CD version. Anyway, I've been singing King of Pain since 1983, and I know it by heart. As I go into the elevator, I'm singing along softly, "There's a little black spot on the sun today..."

I continued singing as I got off on the third floor and bought a Coke Zero out of the machine there. I kept on as I went down the stairs to Two, where I stopped and got a little bag of Baked Lays out of the snack machine. Then I continued down the stairs to the lobby, and came out singing, "There's a blind man looking for a shadow of doubt" in perfect time with the music coming out of the ceiling.

Yeah, I'm a nerd. :)

Another Nothing Post

I'm hoping to go to the movies later tonight, and I'm even planning to see a concert Thursday night, but in the meantime I'm going to drop this in as filler. A couple of the message boards I hang out on have threads wherein posters are asked to list the contents of their MP3 players. I only just started to really download music this summer, and in yet another sign of how behind I am, I still don't have an actual media player device. That said, I've got a ton of stuff on my hard drive. I'm going to give y'all a peek inside.

This is just going to be a listing of artists/band names. If I listed album and song titles, the list would seem to go on forever.

I like to think of my music tastes as eclectic. You all might just think I'm weird.

Acrassicauda
Aerosmith
Alana Davis
Alanis Morissette
Alicia Keys
Amy Winehouse
Andy Caldwell
Anthony Hamilton
Arcade Fire
Arkestra One
Artie Traum
Astrud Gilberto
Bebel Gilberto
Belleruche
The Black Crowes
The Black Keys
Black Sheep
Blind Faith
The Bloodhound Gang
Blue Six
Bob Seger & the Silver Bullet Band
Boozoo Bajou
Broken Bells
Brother Cane
Butthole Surfers
Cake
Cathy Dennis
Chaser (remix of a Blue Six track)
The Chemical Brothers
Chris Cornell
Cirrus
Clannad
CocoRosie
Collective Soul
Corinne Bailey Rae
Coverdale/Page
Cowboy Mouth
The Cranberries
Dave Matthews
Def Leppard
Deftones
Deodato
Depeche Mode
Dishwalla
DJ Shadow
Dropkick Murphys
Duran Duran
EA Games Soundtrack (assorted songs from Mass Effect 2)
Eddie Vedder
Elbow
Electric Light Orchestra
Emiliana Torrini
Enya
Erin McCarley
Evanescence
Fatboy Slim
Federico Aubele
Fila Brazillia
Fiona Apple
Florence + the Machine
Frou Frou
Fuel
Fujiya & Miyagi
Galactic
Gary Jules
Goldfrapp
Goo Goo Dolls
Halestorm
House of Pain
Howard Jones
Ilaria Graziano
Imogen Heap
Iron & Wine
Jane Child
Jane's Addiction
Janet Jackson
Jeff Beck
John Williams (music from Star Wars)
Kate Havnevik
Kim Richey
Kinky
Koop
Korn
Lacuna Coil
Lady Gaga
Lauryn Hill
Led Zeppelin
Lenka
Lindsey Ray
Lindstrom & Christabelle
Lizz Wright
Loreta
Lusine
Maaya Sakamoto
Madonna
Mark Ronson
Maroon 5
Massive Attack
Maya Azucena
Men At Work
MeTalkPretty
Methods of Mayhem
Michael Bruce (remix of a song by Blitzen Trapper)
Ministry
Mo' Horizons
Moby
Mocean Worker
Mstislav Rostropovich
Muse
My Chemical Romance
Nickodemus
Nicola Conte
Nina Simone
Nine Inch Nails
Ocote Soul Sounds/Adrian Quesada
Origa with Heartsdales
Paul Hardcastle
A Perfect Circle
Phantogram
Portishead
The Prime Movers
Pumali Panthers
Radiohead
Rage Against the Machine
The Raveonettes
Rick Springfield
Rob Zombie
Robert Plant/Alison Krauss
Rodrigo y Gabriela
Sarah McLachlan
Scissor Sisters
The Seatbelts
Sencit
Sia
Siouxsie and the Banshees
Sixx A.M.
Skindred
Soundgarden
Stabbing Westward
Staind
Sublime
Switchfoot
Thomas Dolby
Three Mile Pilot
Tonic
Tori Amos
Train
Two Steps from Hell
U2
United Future Organization
Ursula 1000
Van Canto
Vanessa-Mae
Various (mostly Amazon sampler albums)
Various Artists (soundtracks and compilations)
Xzibit
Yeasayer
Yello
Zero 7

Now, I didn't download all of that. I've been ripping individual tracks off of various albums, trying to render my massive CD collection down into something more manageable. That process accounts for close to forty of the albums in my digital collection. I have some albums that I love in their entirety, but I also have quite a few that I bought in pre-download days just to get one song, hoping that I'd like the whole disc. That love didn't always manifest.

Scary Monsters

The photo to the left is one I ganked off of yesterday's Go Fug Yourself. The three people in it are, left to right: Madonna's daughter Lourdes, Taylor Momsen (who is apparently an actress or something) and Madonna.

The first thing that grabbed me was Momsen's eye makeup. Holy hell! That girl's wearing more eyeliner than I have in my whole life. Then I got a look at Lourdes's outfit.

Let's see, she's wearing a leather jacket (with the sleeves pulled up) over an unbuttoned flannel shirt, over a tunic, with ripped(!) tights and either heavy socks or leg warmers(?!) tucked into ugly boots.

Madonna, on the other hand, looks almost normal. The platforms on her shoes almost look like hooves.

There's enough Nightmare Fuel in this photo to last for weeks.

Taylor Momsen's boots are pretty cool, though.

I really need to get some shopping in.

Putting the Band Back Together

Check out the link in the title! There's a new song/video from Soundgarden. They have a double album coming out later this week. I used to marvel at the way the "old folks" acted when they heard the Beatles (or some other act) were reuniting. Now I understand. I heard the song on the radio last night riding into work, and it's like the band never broke up. I do not "Squee!", but if I did, this is something that would evoke it.

Now if only Robert Plant would come down off the horse and get back with the lads from Led Zeppelin...

Witchcraft

There's a Tea Party rep running for Congress in Delaware. Her name is Christine O'Donnell. Since her nomination last week, she's been dodging appearances on various television programs. This isn't really a new thing; all of the Tea Party candidates have done this. If they don't appear on shows hosted by people who don't share their views, then they don't have to answer hard questions about their positions, some of which are admittedly odd.

One of the hosts whose show she's declined to appear on is Bill Maher, the host of HBO's Real Time. I didn't know this, but Ms. O'Donnell was a frequent guest on Bill's old program, Politically Incorrect. Bill had promised to show clips from her old appearances every week until she consents to appear on his program. Last Friday, he showed a clip where she claimed to have "dabbled into witchcraft".

I know a little something about dabbling IN witchcraft. I dabbled IN Wicca. I stood in circles on the Sabbat. I stood for the God in certain rites. In March of 1993, I went to Virginia Beach with some friends. We cast a circle on the shore under the full moon when it was in perigee (that's when it's as close to the Earth as it ever gets). That was an awesome experience, with the beach awash in all sorts of energies. In the end, it wasn't for me, anymore than any faith is.

Dabbling INTO witchcraft sounds like she peed in it or something. I also dislike the association she made between witchcraft and Satanism. Wicca is a legitimate religion, recognized by the government and everything. In 2007, the organization in charge of marking soldiers' graves allowed the Pentacle to be placed on the headstones of the fallen, along with the symbols of other soldiers' faiths. Satanism, on the other hand, is just a bunch of silly anti-God claptrap. I can do anti-God without any silly rituals or pretense at evil deeds. I used to know some Satanists, and they were just people who liked to drink and drug and screw around and pretend they needed some higher (or lower) power's blessing to do it. I think the Wiccans have it right: "An' it harm none, do as thou wilt."

All that said, Christine O'Donnell is NOT one of my people. She's human, and American, but that's all we have in common.

Oh, in case anyone was wondering, I haven't made it to the movies yet. Thursday night I felt like crap, and stayed home in bed. Ditto for Sunday. I will get out sometime this week, if it kills me.

EDIT: Rereading this post, I realized I misused a word. I wrote "perihelion" when I meant "perigee". Perigee is when an orbiting body gets as close to the object it orbits. "Perihelion" is when an object gets as close to the sun as it ever gets. No one is paying attention. LLLLL would have caught that one in a heartbeat.

Going to the Movies

Thursday has become one of my regular nights off. Coincidentally, the local AMC theater has started offering midnight shows on Thursday of whatever films are set to premiere on Friday. This week there are four films to choose from:

Alpha and Omega - In spite of the title, not a religious film. Instead, this is an animated production about wolves. Why are they having a midnight show of a kiddie movie on a school night? Needless to say, I won't be checking this one out.

Devil - This is supposedly a comic book-style movie. A handful of people are trapped in an elevator, and one of them is... the Devil. This picture was written and produced by M. Night Shyamalan, but he let someone else direct it, a John Erick Dowdle, whose previous credits include Quarantine, which was a remake of the Spanish film REC. I might go for this one, but the Night association is more than a little off-putting.

Easy A - This is a teen flick starring Emma Stone and Amanda Bynes (22 and 24, respectively, an egregious case of Dawson Casting). The tagline for this film is "Let's not and say we did." I think I won't.

The Town - A crime thriller written, directed by and starring Ben Affleck. Affleck plays the ringleader of a crew of bank robbers, who wants to go straight after pulling one more big heist. This was adapted from Chuck Hogan's novel Prince of Thieves. I can't imagine why they wouldn't want to use that title... Oh, wait, there was a Robin Hood movie made with that title twenty years ago, starring... Kevin Costner. Never mind, disassociating one's work from that reference is all the explanation this troper needs.

Out of last weekend's crop, there's an IMAX showing of the latest Resident Evil flick at 2345. I like Milla Jovovich, but how many times can I watch her kill zombie monsters?

The animated film is a no-go. Easy A is a stereotypical "chick" movie, but I have low tolerance for contemporary teen comedies. That leaves Devil and The Town. I could set aside my feelings for Mr. Shyamalan and go for the scare, but I like Ben Affleck, both as an actor (Reindeer Games, for one) and director (Gone, Baby Gone), and I enjoyed the book. I'll probably go see The Town, but I'm open to suggestions.

I may have forgotten to mention that I'm going out en femme. I won't be dressed wild or anything, just a top with jeans and heels. I've watched how other women dress to go to the movies all summer, so I won't be too out of place, I think.

Was It Something I Said?

Sometime during the last week I lost a follower. I don't know who it was. Most of my admittedly small coterie never comment on anything I write here, so I don't know most of them. I guess I haven't done enough to get to know my audience.

My last few posts have, admittedly, had little or nothing to do with being trans. I apologize if my writing doesn't interest anyone, but there's a lot going on, and my transition isn't, so please, bear with me.

On a more positive note, I broke down and treated myself to a little shopping. During a break at work last night, I popped online and bought this:

http://www.alittletouchofmagick.com/product_info.php?products_id=3413

I've been looking at their posts on Facebook the last couple of months, and I like their stuff. This item appeared on Friday, and I got myself through the weekend by thinking about how I could snap it up after I was paid again. Maybe I'll get to wear it out sometime.

9/12

Yesterday was September 11, the ninth anniversary of the terrorist attacks on New York and Washington, DC*. I don't have anything meaningful to say about that event that hasn't been said by others, and probably with more eloquence and forethought, but I did like this blogger's take on the event:

http://laughinginpurgatory.blogspot.com/2010/09/atheism-and-911.html


* Yes, I know a fourth plane came down in Shanksville, PA. That was United 93, and it wasn't intended to come down in the middle of Pennsylvania farm country. The people who stopped that plane from reaching its target are some of the bravest that have ever lived, in my estimation. Damn it, I went and said something anyway.

Wealth

I don't think of myself as being poor, at least not in the usual sense. I've settled into being on the lower edge of the so-called middle class, and that's okay. I sometimes wonder though, what it might be like to spend money with impugnity, to throw it around without having to worry if I'm spending part of the rent, or risking having a utility turned off or something important like that.

A guest in the hotel last night ran up a $280 tab in the restaurant, dinner and drinks for fourteen people, and charged it to his room. The bartender had me check is credit card to make sure he was good for it. He was. Two weeks ago I splurged on pizza for the family (all thirteen of us) for my niece's birthday. That was a mere $40, and it hurt. It was a pleasant hurt, because I was doing for people I love, but still. I can imagine spending money like my guests, but only because I've got a pretty wild imagination.

Someday, maybe.

Another Blog

One of the bloggers I read intersperses her real-life blogs with entries concerning an ongoing campaign of her favorite video game, written as though she were the character she plays, visiting those places, interacting with those people, and sometimes killing them.

I used to fancy myself a fiction writer, but I stopped exercising that particular talent, and it withered on the vine. I started this blog and the others before it to brush up on my writing skills, to get back into the practice of word-slinging. Now I'm feeling the urge to try out something creative, but I'm taking baby steps by playing in somebody else's sandbox.

In a couple of days I'm going to kick off a new Mass Effect 2 campaign, and I'm going to start writing log entries as though I were that version of Commander Shepard. I'm also going to illustrate this thing, with a combination of promotional images authorized for such use by EA and Bioware and some screenshots I'll take from the game in-progress.

This is not without a certain amount of relative danger. The Mass Effect universe and everything in it are still very much the property of EA and Bioware. I don't think this vanity project of mine will do anyone any harm, but corporations can be a mite persnickety with regard to fair use of their intellectual property. They could slap me with a Cease and Desist order, and that would be the end of that. We'll just have to see.

I'm not ending this blog by any stretch of the imagination, but I hate to clutter this place up with wildly off-topic material. I don't want someone who's been away from here for a while to come back and read about my adventures in the Terminus Systems and come away thinking I'm spacier than ever.

I'll put up a link when this thing is ready to kick off. I'm still trying to find an appropriate blog title, using a phrase from the game. Oddly enough, a lot of them are already taken. That's what I get for jumping on the bandwagon seven months late.