Thursday, April 27, 2006

Down the old black hole
Once for you, once for me
Once for the nighttime

I don't have anything to post. I just feel I should write something.

Something something something.

I'm tired. I'm tired of working. And I'm tired of feeling guilty for not working when I'm not working. And I'm tired of worrying about the 5 exams and a paper on social psychology that are due next week. Because woah holy crap 5 exams and a paper, you know?

TinyBehemoth sent a link to an article about Megan McCafferty's books being plagiarized. So this might be a good time to plug Charmed Thirds, which I haven't read, but maybe I will after all this stuff goes down with exams and houses and loans and work and exhaustion.

I got my boss a card today. I am pleased with the lettering job I did on the inside.

I did finally have a dream. It was pretty substantial, but it evaporated like dew in the morning. I posted the residue. Ha. Residew.
  • The Old Black Hole, The Fruit Bats

Sunday, April 23, 2006

in defense of my spelling

I had no trouble at all spelling anything in the following sentance:
Endocervical canal curettage—endocervical glandular mucosa with squamous
metaplasia and reactive squamous epithelial changes; no diagnostic dysplasia
or malignancy identified.
Heck yeah! I think this covers my obscure word quota for a few updates to come.

Monday, April 17, 2006

LA Stories


Here are some important facts about my trip to California.








The town where my brother will probably go to college is kind of spooky. It's cool, too, but it's perfectly constructed. It's like a Hollywood set of a small town. There are quaint record shops and used book shops, and a quaint movie theater:
Quaint and surreal
But all of the inhabitants are either exactly what you'd expect (like hired extras of old ladies walking their tiny dogs) or kids who look like they're in costume as Goth. This shop on Main Street would also imply there is a sizable pirate population. This shop was nothing but pirate costumes and treasure chests. It was decorated with posters from pirate movies and had a projection of pirate movies from the 50's on the wall. There were two parakeets (the most piratic of birds).

arrrr!








This conversation:
Mark: You guys are both wearing boots!
Me and Sara: We did that on purpose.
Mark: That's how I know I'm a guy. I've never thought "Hey, Danny's wearing boots. *I* want to wear boots, too!"
Danny: Yeah.
Mark: I guess I've thought "Hey! Danny has a beer! *I* want a beer, too! Then we would both have beers!"








We went to a great Thai restaurant. All the greater because of the Thai and Lebanese Elvis impersonators.








We had Persian ice cream. I had rosewater flavor. We had just driven on Sunset Strip to get there, so we had this conversation:

Eric: Sunset Strip is where all the cool clubs are.
Me: Oh, so that's where all the celebrity feuds go down?
Eric: Yeah. And people keep track of who goes where. Like if Paris Hilton goes in a club one weekend, it'll be packed the next weekend.
Me: Why? People WANT to go where Paris Hilton might be? Or is it because they know she won't be there two weekends in a row?
Eric: Because her being there confirms how cool the club is.
Me: Yeah. It sure does.




We went to the Museum of Jurassic Technology again. I don't want to upload all the pictures I took from that, so you'll just have to see the "MJT" pictures from the camera phone link at right. They are Artistic.

We watched a film about how the Russian space program was founded by crazies. It was a good video, but I fell asleep during Chapter three. We also looked at all the portraits of the Russian space dogs, including Laika.

I also was about 20 minutes into a film about Microminiatures when a kid came into the room, and didn't see me. But when he turned his head from the video, he jumped out of his skin and just said "OH!" and left. Then another kid came in, and stood right in front of the screen, and just when I was about to ask him to move, he just said "Ohh, cool, hey! Mickey Mouse!" and then reset the whole video. Which was kind of obnoxious, but I guess he just didn't see me. That was the day Willie and I were invisible to all.

In the tea room, several groups went up at the same time. A boy and a girl (David and Molly) came in and David said "Hey are you here for the party?" Eric went right with it, and said yes, and we began talking about the museum. A group of girls (Andrea, Carol and someone else) came in, and we all talked. Then we all dispersed as though nothing had ever happened. How many things in LA can I liken to a David Lynch scene? The tearoom was like a bright white box in the center of the dark, bizarre museum. Maybe it was more like that place with the little girl and the panther in Angel.

Speaking of David Lynch, Sara's house is right by the cafe where they shot Mulholland Drive. Also, Pulp Fiction. We walked past it, and it took forever "just to get rid of this god-awful feeling."





We passed that diner on the way to LACMA, where we saw Indian artifacts, and Gustav Klimt paintings for free. Sara's friend worked there. I had never seen Gustav Klimt's "Beech Woods," but I think it was my favorite.











The last night in LA, we went to a Rock Paper Scissor throwdown under the first street bridge. Willie dressed in drag. (awesome). Sara and I dressed in wigs and various eccentricity. I didn't get very good pictures of us with my camera phone, but hopefully Sara will send me hers. People kept taking pictures of us, too. Here's my brother. He kind of looked like Hyde from That 70's Show with those glasses. So, he was wearing a dress and a cute pink leather jacket, and a pair of purple wings, but I guess I shouldn't say he was in drag, since he's got that beard. He was just dressed up as fairy. I mean, mystically, not derogatorily.



The best part of the night was at the end, when 2-time undefeated Rock-Paper-Scissors champion Caine was being interviewed about his streak, and Sara heard him say "The key to RPS is to have a sense of when your opponent is going to throw Rock."

We got a picture of my brother with Caine's RPS trainer. I hope Sara sends that one.







Saturday morning, they were shooting a sketch in the back yard. It was a 3 minute sketch, and they must have shot for 4 hours starting at 6am. So we had it memorized by the end. Willie and I were asleep, and I said from the floor, not sure if he was awake, "Here comes the loud part again..." and he answered "Yeah. Are they yelling the Rime of the Ancient Mariner?" I said I didn't know (it turned out they were), because the only line I could make out clearly was "I CAN'T HAVE SEX IN FRONT OF VEGETABLES!!!"





Oh, right, so I met James Woods at a wrap party for a new pilot the first night. It's a legal drama, currently called Shark, sort of like House, but for lawyers. He was a wee man. Sara talked to him for a while. Then I talked to a guy who was really nice and funny, and he and Sara kept talking about Spike. All I could think was either James Marsters, or my dad. Then later I remembered the pilot was directed by Spike Lee, and it turned out the guy I was talking to was his assistant. He was really nice. Then he said I looked like Mallory from Family Ties!!! Remember a few updates ago when that happened? Let me look up a picture of her. Oh, good, I like the way she looks.

Sara, incidentally, has met Mallory from Family Ties because Sara worked on Arrested Development and was on the last episode along with everyone else from her production company.

Sunday, April 16, 2006

better update

okay, so the last update, from my phone, got cut off. i was on my way to a rock paper scissors throwdown under the 1st street bridge. we had on wigs. there are pictures from my camera phone (see links, right).

i'll update more about my and willie's exciting visit to los angeles. and the 80% of the time we spent in the car, lost.

Am in los angeles. Met james woods, talked w spike lee.s assistant, saw adam sandler. More later... Am on way to rock paper scissors tourn

Friday, April 07, 2006

hmm.


So, this was just a tiny bit odd, so I thought I'd update it.

A few weeks ago, when I went climbing, we had to learn some knots with which we tied ourselves to the rock.

The main one was the figure-8 knot, to the left. The way I knew when it was done correctly was, I told myself, when it looked like The Auryn from Neverending Story (Below)


The coincidence happened when MimiSmartypants used the word ouroboros, which had been bugging me since the climbing day because I couldn't think of it. Now I'm all jealous that she got to use it. But more grateful that she answered my question. How often does that word come up, though? If not for that update, I could have been waiting years.

Also weird is that all day, I've been pining after PJ Harvey (this happens every once in a while), and MS's sign-off phrase was from a PJ Harvey song, from the same album as the one that's been stuck in my head.

Tuesday, April 04, 2006

at least it wasn't 'free willie'

If you're in the New Orleans area, and you see any shirts that say:


FREE
DIRTY D


That's for my brother. It's his reward for being an idiot.

Heh.

Here is a good example sentence (that I made up, as an example of an example sentence):

Michael Brown was prepared for his job as a sinecure, not his job as a cynosure.

I wondered why both of those words aren't in the usual "frequently confused words" lists. Then I realized, first, that they are and second, that if you know two such mildly obscure words well enough to risk using one of them, you probably have a pretty good vocabulary already, so the typical "frequently confused words" lists wouldn't apply to you. But it applies to me, because I think I pronounced sinecure more like cynosure once, but I didn't know what cynosure meant until today. It comes from the name of the main star of the big dipper, the north star. So I should have known it, but I will just be glad I know it now.

Sunday, April 02, 2006

joyful, joyful we adore thee

Here are further pleasant thoughts:

TB once told me that in an interview with Hugo Weaving, he admitted to owning both an Elrond and an Agent Smith action figure. He said he sometimes would make them fight. And "usually, Elrond wins. Because he is so wise." But what would happen if he throws V into the mix?

Things I probably would do for Natalie Portman:

  • Blow up Parliament
  • Stop taking anti-psychotics
  • Sleep next to her to dull the pain of her slain husband
  • Randomly adopt her and teach her the secrets of my trade
  • Save her. With my new Powers

Today, I enjoyed Inside Man and V for Vendetta. I was shocked that three separate people walked out on V for Vendetta, though! One even yelled a snide comment to the rest of us as he left.

Saturday, April 01, 2006

Fore word

dolores was her middle name
and now her mother's wondering
if i could see my wrinkled face
paint her lovely toenails red

Wow. I spent the whole week preparing for this weekend. And it's been great so far. No worries, no deadlines. No TV, either, because I watched it all already. Yes, I watched ALL the TV in the world. And now there's no more left for you.

Watched: Carnivale, Extras, Danger Mouse, Mysterious Cities of Gold, Tru Calling (2 episodes only), Lost (3 episodes only).

Okay. Extras? There has not been one episode where I didn't have to literally cover my eyes for a full minute. I just couldn't bring myself to move my palms away. Not a peeking-through-the-fingers gesture of empathetic embarrassment. It was so much worse than Curb Your Enthusiasm. But the day after I saw the Patrick Stewart episode, I couldn't stop laughing to myself every time I thought of it.

And, okay. Carnivale? Nick Stahl is soooo keeeyuuute!

Anyway, being on the computer kind of ruins the idea of no TV. Tomorrow is for entertainment (movies). Today is for books and swimming and meditating.

But here is a list of things I have to look forward to, in case I forget, because I often do. I keep a perfectly clear list of things I have to dread in my active thoughts, though.

  • Seeing Slither some time this week
  • My Mom coming to visit next weekend
  • Going to LA with Willie the weekend after that
  • Willie coming to Austin the weekend after that
  • Passing all of my exams with 98% (here, I cleverly turn a dread into a goal, and trick myself into looking forward to it. Also note my non-perfectionism in a reasonable, unperfect grade goal)
  • Going to New Orleans for 6 days when Willie graduates (every time I say that now, I cross my fingers; but as of now, he's still technically a high school student, so I'll keep crossing my fingers since it must be working).
  • And I really have tomorrow to look forward to. I spent today at the spa, so will hopefully reap the rewards tomorrow. I broke two of my Lenten fasts, though. I had a piece of fish, hoping it would give me some extra energy to enjoy the day, and I had a cup of coffee. But I was still feeling torpid in the afternoon (it could have just been the sun, and the not having anything urgent to do; maybe this is just how people are supposed to be sometimes, but I investigated). It turned out my special coffee was DECAF! What a fool I was !

And things not to dread, but that I should not forget about:

  • get driver's license before LA (Substeps: Get car inspected, registered in Texas, get Social Security Card, go to DMV and pray they don't make me take the driver's test again because I don't have my Louisiana license)
  • My coworker at the doctor's office will be out of town for two weeks, so the 35+ hours of transcription work will fall to me and the lady that started last weekend. (this in itself isn't dreadful, though it does mean I'll be all the more pushed for time)
  • I must not forget to write to that dude that wanted to make the reports I just did for my main job into a global process. I must not forget to write to him and tell him "No" in regards to my availability to do such a project. Telling some gazillionaire who is Blackberrying orders from his vacation in the South of France (he actually didn't say where he was vacationing) "no" will give me so much satisfaction, perhaps I should add this to the previous list.

Dolores, Freedy Johnston