Combining parties...

Hey, while we're combining all the parties we missed last year into one for Decemberween, can we add in my birthday? Everyone always books December full before I get a chance to have a party...

Happier News (by request)

Alkaline Trio and Reggie and the Full Effect and From Autumn to Ashes and No Motiv are playing at the Croatian Cultural Centre on Monday. And I'm going!

If any of you want to see it, it's a costly show (more than I expected) at about $24 after EVERY BLOODY SERVICE CHARGE Ticketbastard can muster. Seriously, what is with $12 of service fees? All they do is print them and have two people on staff for that night. Am I paying their training wage? Am I the only one to use Ticketbastard? I think no.

Grae and I have tickets and if you aren't up to doing anything, come on down to the show. If it doesn't end TOO late (unlikely) then we'll head back to the Clubhouse for socializing or something.

Dropping like flies...

Speaking of suicide... Running total this year: 3 Suicides - 2 Attempted, 1 Successful.

2 Attempted - Both medication overdoses.
1 Successful - Jumped off of the Patullo Bridge.

I don't think I've ever seriously contemplated suicide in all my years on this earth. What is the clincher that puses someone from, "Wow. My life really sucks," to, "Well, better go kill myself." Is it wrong to be pissed off at these people for trying? Maybe I just don't identify with their line of thinking or something. At any rate, if anyone else I know dies this year... Well, I don't know what will happen, but it won't be good. So, anyone have any good news?

From the File of Celebrity Suicides...

Continuing a trend started last month with the untimely demise of Elliot Smith, Jonathan Brandis: star of such teeny-bopper classics as LADYBUGS and SIDEKICKS (hey, I have a younger sister) was found hanging in his L.A. appartment on Nov. 11. There was no note and his tox-screen was clean. Go figure.

July 4th Toilet!!!

If you've never had the pleasure/trauma of experiencing the spectacular psychedelic grotesquerie that is July 4th Toilet, you won't want to miss this show. They are truly a unique and precious gem of the Vancouver music scene.

July Fourth Toilet
with guests Rockin'
Friday, November 28th. Early show: 9 PM
Pat's Pub, 403 East Hastings

This will be July Fourth Toilet's only show of 2003 and they have something special planned! But for July Fourth Toilet they have always tried to make every show in their close to ten year existence special. This is a rare opportunity to catch them, as members of the group are often too busy with their other projects (Canned Hamm, Young and Sexy, Jackie O. Motherfucker, etc.) to play much anymore. This show brings a return to July Fourth Toilet's roots! But with the added element of experience gained! A mostly improvised set, a mystical journey with an aim of EMOTIONAL COSMIC MESARTHOTISM. Improvised? Well, just in case they start to stink there will be TWO VERY SPECIAL GUEST PINCH-HITTER PLAYERS OF THE HIGHEST QUALITY on hand to step up and in when the need arises. Who? Can't tell you yet but they're very special.

All July Fourth Toilet members plan on hearing each other think. And, of course, July Fourth Toilet will be delivering their unique brand of visual/auditory entainment in an intense manner. Intense? Very! Be prepared!

Co-frontman Robert Dayton will be unveiling a new character very loosely based on a garishly sexy woman he once saw singing in a Mexican band, then kaleidoscoped and thrown into trembling psychosis. And that's just one rawther arcane element!

Anybody else interested in checking this out?

Movie Star

I got pulled away from being a pedestrian to act in a Dogme movie.

My lines were about listening to music and some balding guy.

A Trip To Seattle

or: What I Did On My Winter Vacation

Hey guys, like all great migratory birds, I'm going south for the winter. Alright, I'm going south for a weekend and the break of winter.

I've conviced Grae to secure a vehicle for December 19, 20, and 21. The 19th is Hanukkah dinner here, so we won't be going down until the morning of the 20th. Christian gets off work mid-afternoon, and we'll probaby get there midday to look around Capitol Hill or downtown (I like the market, but I think the East End shops are much cooler).

The afternoon/evening we'll chill with Christian, probably go out for dinner, sing Hanukkah carols and drink around his place. Probaby an idea to bring a sleeping bag and a pillow for this event.

We can take on anywhere from 2 to 4 more people depending on the vehicle we get. There is a priority order, as I know a bunch of you will want to head south. If you're friends with Christian, which a many of you are quickly becoming, you will get priority seating. This is a venture to visit Seattle and get to spend time with Christian in his habitat. It is probably best that we only take the one vehicle for this trip down, as I am sure Christian's place is nothing like Heather and Gordon's palace.

I've got other ideas brewing about that weekend, and there will be more updates and stuff, but exclusively here.

RSVPs a must, as we'll be picking you up at your place in the AM of the 20th.

Booze enough for everyone!

This is just an idea, and your input would be appreciated.


For Decemberween, It would be really cool if we had a kind of potluck with a twist (of lime). I was thinking that everyone should bring some kind of alcohol, so that we can have a kind of open bar thing going on. It wouldn't be something that would be demanded of people (I know, some of us are poor, and christmas sucks for money spending) but something that I think would be fun if some people did it. I would definately contribute (Despite the fact that at most of our parties Corinne and I contribute lots of alcohol). The only thing we would need to watch out for is how many bottles of Kahlua we end up getting. With that in mind if you guys think this is a good idea, please comment what you think you may decide to bring so people can buy something different and we can pick up some of the potential mixers)

Ideas: Vodka (maybe two), Rum ( you could bring different types, How Christmasy), Gin (Christian I'm are looking at you), Rye, Whiskey, Brandy, Amaretto, Irish Cream, Tequila, Schnapps, Coffee Liquer, Creme de , Grand Marnier, Jagermeister, Southern Comfort, Triple Sec, Kahlua, etc...

From the suggestion box

Starting in December going through to January 14, anyone who posts a "Top # of 2003" for anything will receive a semi-permanent link (until next September or so).

Ideas presented included:
Top # Events of 2003
Top # Albums of 2003
Top # Movies of 2003
Top # Songs of 2003
Top # Drunken Moments of 2003
Top # Moments in Television of 2003
Top # Judicial Decisions of 2003
Top # Restaurants of 2003

So, go to town. I will also rank them in the permanent links based on popularity by responses and the top 3 winners of this "contest" of sorts will receive a Last Time prize. I have the idea in my head around these awards, I just need to work out the details.

Reminder, LOTR and a response to Rachel's Post.

Hey BJ with a few items. First it's a cyst not a growth that's good news and this Tuesday it's the RETURN OF CANADIAN HORROR NIGHT (hopefully we'll be able to whip up some maple syrup popcorn again mmmmm teeth rotty goodness).

7pm - Ginger Snaps - Apparently much better than Teen Wolf 1 and 2. Ginger, sixteen, has her fist period on the night of a full moon and then she gets bitten by a werewolf proceeded by many strange changes in her body. But not like Teen Wolf.

9pm - The Changeling - Grief stricken George C. Scott moves into a creepy house with a creepy dead kid. It'll probaly still be better than Teen Wolf.

Now onto Lord of the Rings. Mariko and I have decided that the marathon on the 16th is too expensive at $50 (plus tax). Thankfully New Line is releasing the First two Extended Editions on the Big Screen (Fellowship on Dec. 5 and Two Towers Dec. 12). So our Lord of the Rings schedule, which we would love to share with you al, is as follows;

Sun Dec 7 (7pmish) Fellowship of the Ring: Extended (I miss Gandalf the Grey)

Sun Dec 14 (7pmish) Two Towers: Extended (I mean Gandalf the White is all cool and everything but he's all aloof and all knowing)

Then Weds Dec17 it's lineup in the December cold for Return Of The King (Yay!)

We'll get more organized as the dates draw nearer.

And now a response to Rachel's post (anything that can be read as persnickety is not intended). Whatever about RSVPing. If you're coming please RSVP as we have limited seating and want to be prepared. As for "Yeuch" films that's fine. In Dec. we're trying to broaden our scope beyond cult exploitation however we're still dedicated to showing films that are ignored by the mainstream. No matter how much we love Two Towers or X-men 2 or whatever other mainstream geek film we all gush over. Tues are meant as a celebration of little seen films (at least by us) or forgotten classics (with the occasional turd thrown in for a laugh).

ps: be forewarned Jan. it's back to boobs and blood (with some religion thrown in)

December Movie Schedule: International Auteur Month

In an effort to change things up a bit a and get away from the exploitation/genre kick we have been on, we decided that December was a perfect time to "up our culture". So each week will focus on a specific country and a specific director from that country. (As Owen has pointed out that we have a snowball's chance in hell of getting marathon tickets even if we had money, I have gone ahead and scheduled Dec 16.)

Tuesday December 2nd: Spanish Heat -- The Films of Almodovar
7pm: Dark Habits [1983] - Described on IMDB as "Confusing, incoherent & extremely bizzare". Almodovar exorcises every last remaining demon from his days in a Catholic boarding school. I don't think the Pope liked it.
9pm: All About My Mother [1999] - The master of mayhem tones it down and wins an oscar. I think one review called it "a love-letter to all women".

Tuesday December 9: Nouveau Vague -- Early Godard
7pm: A Bout de Souffle (Breathless) [1960] - The beautiful (and tragic) Jean Seberg & Jean-Paul Belmondo are young lovers on the run. Later remade (for no decernable reason) with Richard Gere.
9pm: Band A Part [1964] - Again sticking close to his Film Noir inspirations. Said to contain the scene that inspired the "twist contest" in Pulp Fiction.

Note changes!!

Tuesday December 16: Beyond Lola - The Other Films of Tom Tykwer
7pm: Wintersleepers [1997] - Deals with similar material as Run Lola Run, (his "breakthrough" film), fate, chance, & serendipity; but this time with a less frenetic, more poetic approach.
9pm: Heaven [2002] - From a script by Krzysztof Kieslowski (The Three Colours trilogy), Tom Tykwer gets the chance to prove what a good actor I always knew Giovanni Ribisi was.

Tuesday December 23: Zen and the Art of Camera Manipulation - Shohei Imamura
7pm: Vengence is Mine [1979] - Considered one of the great serial killer movies, Imamura's approach might be a little hard to follow at first, but the emotional payoff is worth it.
9pm: Warm Water Under a Red Bridge [2001] - Strange romance involving a woman with "interesting" sexual powers. Contemplative imagery and a sense of humour that is a little left of center dominate.

Tuesday December 30: The Dutch Madman - Paul Verhoeven
7pm: The Fourth Man [1983] - Sexual thirller/comedy made as an "artful" response to critical complaints about the exploitive nature of Speters. Makes Basic Instinct look like a walk in the park.
9pm: Speters [1980] - Kind of like a Dutch Wild Ones, but with a lot more nudity and a gay rape scene that has to be seen to be believed.

I apologize in advance for the abnormally high sex content of most of these films (I just sort of noticed it), but I guess this is what happens in countries that weren't founded by Puritans. An open mind is highly recomended.

See ya soon,

~meeko

Things I "Saw" Today

Creatures from the Deep (Cove): Twinkies with plastic masks formed out of what is commonly referred to as "make up".
My Hand: I think the word "barbituate" is amazing.
Poetry: And lots of it. I have no verbal skills after two all-nights, but my mind's typewriter is whacking away at a sonnet a minute.
I Jumped: When my keyboard slipped and lost its precarious balance on the edge of what I presume to be a text book.
A Bubblehead: And I'll have her and some other articles "on display" at Decemberween.
A Test: One that I feel I did remarkably well on. Until I looked over at All-Star Kaylie's paper and my answers made me question if there were two exams handed out.
Lots of Everything All at Once: My eye has had a spastic temperament today.
"The Internet is Not There": My dependency on the i-net to print my final assignment for criminology proved to be FATAL as my school is cutting back on bandwidth by not offering this service on days I need it. And people say budgetary restraints don't affect them.


I'm going to sleep for a couple days. Good night!

Mike, Mariko and BJ

Find me THIS.

I stayed up all night (again)! Go me!

Edited at 6:56am

Addition to Decemberween: Part II. The Gaming Den.

Decided that Decemberween is going to be all the parties I wanted to have but didn't have time to in 2003.

Decemberween will be the standard party, still. A hybrid of Liver Destruction and some other party of some sort that the Clubhouse hosted at some point. Of note: Kat's birthday is the next day and we will be celebrating with cake, as well.

Slumberween will still occur, but I am thinking of altering the 1am and afterwards section. All that jammie and make-up stuff will still be there, but I want to offer an alternative to those (like myself) with whom make-up and stuff doesn't blend well with (even with the offer to be pampered by hoards of giggling jammied girls).

To stick with the theme, there will also be a Gamerween (okay, it's hit the point of absurdity). I'd like to set up both TVs and a bunch of games (like multiplayers, antiques, classics, and *possibly* new releases and of course: Nuts & Milk-- it's okay Mariko, there are no ingestition of milk OR nuts) after 1am. This will restrict the location of girly stuff as well as create a logistical issue with the Christian Slater movie in that it must be a DVD... Or not at all.

There are four things I miss the most since going back to school:
1. My friends. I knew this would take a dive if only because I wouldn't see Rae every day.
2. Social events en mass with alcohol. Oh, sure, there have been a few this year, but there is definitely a drop in these and an increased need/demand.
3. Gaming. Sweet, sweet video games, how I miss you and my consumerist ways.
4. My mind. All my thoughts are devoted to what school wants me to think about (like John Berger). It'd be nice to think again.

Hopefully I can flood this out of my system come December 13 (which I should clarify that all three 'weens are occuring on that night).

A Change of Tides

or: Becoming the Caregiver of a Parent
In a cruel twist of humanity, there comes a time when the one you've relied on for care, guidance and boo-boo fixin's turns to you for the same.

A few years back, my father had surgery for something or other. This was not his first major debilitating surgery, but it was the first one since I became an adult. My dad is incredibly strong and relies very little on others physically. In the months after his surgery, he shrunk in stature and had Grae and Owen move boxes of National Geographics between houses. A first glimpse of what will become my role as a real adult.

A couple weekends back, I went out to my parents' place to get a haircut and play the regular catch-up game. My mother confided in me that her medication had been taken off the market (liver problems and a history of patient addictions) and she had two weeks to be free of it (10 days at 2/3 of the dosage, 10 days at 1/3 the dosage). Years ago we had gotten into a huge argument about this prescription, as the way she described her experiences on it it was a clear case of physical addiction. I called her on it and she was infuriated that I was calling her an addict. I think I even hung up on her because she was getting so excited over something that she told me (in not so many words).

Two days ago, I called her to ask her a few questions about her experiences and opinions on euthanasia and disabilities (the education system sure makes you think dumb questions). We spend about an hour talking about how she was becoming increasingly unable to cope without her prescription. She described an anxiety attack in which she was certain that death was sitting at the end of her bed. She talked about her inabilities to cope with the slightest of things and was off of work indefinitely (a new job, and thankfully an understanding boss).

Today, she called me. She has been to three doctors in the past three days to be placed on three different medications. One is an anti-psychotic. One is a sister pill to valium, and the third is some replacement for the original prescription only without the addiction hook.

She has been unable to cope with people to the point where speech with others is impossible. Her medication lowered her down so that she needed to talk with another human being right then and there. My mother is deteriorating mentally. I'd be tempted to say that aside from her understanding to follow her instincts to talk when she needs to and hide when she absolutely must, she is officially crazy. She did not even remember talking to me earlier in the week. She didn't seem to remember me being out there a couple weekends ago.

There was a sort of "missing my only daughter" tone, and a tragic sort of "I'd miss you the most out of all my kids" thing going on. I think this is because I am the only one who actually let go and moved away. If I lived at home, I probably would have stabbed her this week to put us both out of her misery.

And, like my mother I am reaching out to you guys (in a very abstract kind of way as to not infringe on anyone if they don't want to talk about anything) because I'm lost in my own way.

I always imagined getting the call from my dad while in my Upper Manhattan apartment that my mother was losing it and that I should fly home. I wanted to be in my 60s. And if I was unlucky in my 50s. And, yes, I imagined my mother would, in fact, go nuts. It's genetic.

I was 5 and he was 6 / We rode horses made of sticks

This song is playing in the Shinjuku Virgin Cafe as I type on this funky Japanese keyboard. (It's very relevant, as will become clear.)

We have yet to acquire internet (we're going with ADSL, which apparently takes some time to arrive, and we need a phoneline first, which is a bit of a chore), and Kate's memory stick ain't working, so the Canuckistani backlog will have to wait a while.

In the meantime, here's my favorite highlight:

I'm in my first Voice class (where you basically get paid to have a conversation) with M., a friendly Japanese woman who said she'd been to France, learned a bunch of French, and had ended up working as the personal assitant for this French actress who'd been working in Japan. This French woman had done a bunch of CMs and such, but had wanted to move into movies or something. Eventually a year or two ago, she'd succeeded, and got a gig over in LA.

Now, I'd done my research on the cast of a certain movie, and now I'm thinking, "could it be? nah..."

Then M says: Do you know Quentin Tarantino?

And I have to keep myself from screaming: Sophie Fatale!!!!!

Yep, she had been the personal assistant for Julie Dreyfus, aka Sophie Fatale. Man, that just made my day. I was bouncing off of the walls. I told her how I loved that movie, how I'd dressed up as one of the Crazy 88, how my fiancee* had dressed up as the woman herself.

That was so rad. I'm 2 degrees of separation from Sophie Fatale!

*M. remarked on how I was too young to get married. Apparently the average age for Japanese people to get married is like 30 or something, for the reason that marriage for women basically means the end of their careers, apart from that of housewife.

In response to Mariko

Re RVSPing when I don't respond it means I am not coming. Also apparantly if I respond and ask a lot of questions I am not coming. Japanese, Italian, Zombie, horror, school girl, porn, yeuch is just not my thing. This is not in anyway a devaluing of the above yeuch films just a different perspective on them. I graciously tolerate your bizarre and disturbing film choices I just have a hard time watching them (Pomposity is intentional in this sentence) However Bob and I have a suggestion for a showing of the extended version of the two towers as it has just been released and the film buffs (everyone but me) probably already have it. As a side note I thought about buying it as a Christmas present for one or other of you but I then realized how silly me buying a film for any of you would be as I would probably get the wrong version or format or film for that matter.

Reminder!!!!!

Hi All,

Just a quick reminder that tomorrow night (Tuesday Nov 18/03) is A TALE OF TWO BRIDES at the Den of Sin.

7pm: The Bride With White Hair -- Because neither of us has seen it yet.

9pm: Bride of Chucky -- Not because BJ has a thing for Jennifer Tily, but because he truly deeply loves this movie and will defend it to his grave.

As usual, RSVP upon penalty of death or at the very least, cruel shunning. Pop fund in effect (this time we might have enough glasses for everyone since we just bought a whole crate of them at IKEA).

See ya there.

~meeko

Team Post-Apocalypse

Grae and I were discussing the end of times and who we'd enlist into our army. It came about with a discussion about Suarez's fear of zombies led him to enroll at a firing range. We then thought that he would be great to run to. Further additions to our team included international online compatriots who we could secure forces world wide.

Our headquarters would be SFU on the hill with outposts at BC Hothouse in Langley and Cap College in North Vancouver for the food supplies and proximately to other amenities such as food supplies, command posts and natural resources. Not to mention the generators and emergency supply stock pile.

We'll have raided A&B Sound for media for entertainment, and SFU and Cap (and likely Hothouse would have a boardroom) will be already equiped for entertainment purposes.

The counsel would be centred at SFU, with elected officials from the two subposts. The counsel would make all the decisions except in times of crisis in which a heiarchy would be established at all posts with a commander-in-charge down the line to "last man standing makes his or her own rules". There would be a followed doctrine to use in times of crisis, and should be adhered to as closely as possible to avoid a degeneration into dictatorship.

Those opposed to anything could bring it to the counsel's attention. If the individual defies any orders they are offered the chance to leave, lodge a formal complaint or conform. If they take the first option they are to be freed with the condition that they not become an adversary. Any sign of antangony will result in their death. Otherwise, we'll all be friends! Bring your friends along!

Team members would include all the girls we knew and the men with skills. Tech, construction and diplomacy were all pre-reqs.

Owen got in for his stock pile of supplies and crafting skills.
BJ and Mariko got in for their post-apocalypse knowledge.
Gareth because he's Gareth. We'd be crazy not to take Gareth (and possibly Nate... he's got some potentially useful post-apocalypse skills).
Many, many, many girls for their domestics (this grew to include Mike). Most of these chickyboos will have been a part of the SCA (so, Korinne, Karin, Eva, etc.).
Trevor and Emily to run the baby vats.
All geeks and nerds will be more than welcome.
I was thinking if we got Aidan's Dad to train and operate the radios between the posts, it would provide very handy (although we could probably make due without).
Korinne's boyfriend Chris was slated as our P-A smith.
Carpentry would probably fall to Angela (Trading Spaces Queen), Rachael and myself. And with the SFU and Cap libraries we'll have access to a whole pile of information regading plumbing, construction, dam building, architecture, fly fishing, etc.
Everyone else would have fallen under the hunter/gatherer or runner/guard. Many would end up in agriculture or manpower departments.
Toby and Kate would take Japan; Matt and Kim would rule Oxnard. We'd have back up places to go to if we lost a post or three.


Anyway: Who is in your post-apocalypse army?

There has GOT to be a bug in this program:

You represent... naivete.
So innocent and trusting... you can be very shy at
times, but it's only because you're not sure
how to act. You give off that "I need to
be protected vibe." Remember that not all
people are good. Being too trusting will get
you easily hurt.


What feeling do you represent?
brought to you by Quizilla

"The Man"

In Criminology 101 we are being taught how evil corporations are and how the businesses are making the poor suffer through various means including penalizing them for being poor (i.e. Ontario Safe Streets Act made panhandling illegal). This is the entire course. It is all about how every marginalized group suffers at the hands of the white, male, capitolist, majority. That's the entire course.

And then I brought up my academic goal of becoming an international (globalization=bad) business (capitolism=bad) lawyer (bad). And a couple girls suggested that I would be a good lawyer and donate my services to make sure that the poor were not victimized any further. And I replied that I would have nothing to do with that side of the law at all. I am going to become "The Man".

I'm a horrible, horrible person. That's going to be my final paper for the term: "My Dream to Become 'The Man' is Bad".

so, this is a bit off topic...

sorry folks, but I gotta get this out of my system, and can't do it on my page...

wifey felt obliged to tell me that she has officially moved on. it wasn't an unexpected move by any stretch of the imagination. the problem is, she's decided to do her moving (and bumping and grinding and who knows what else) with a guy...

erm, wasn't she gay and that's why I'm getting a divorce? that was my whole angle for picking up chicks... "hey, I'm ross from friends. wanna get naked?" ruined.

sigh.

Oh for crying out loud...

How much sense does this make?

The company I work for can make me work for up to 12 days straight...Tuesday one week through to Saturday the next, but I am not allowed to choose to work Monday to Sunday in one week, because they don't want me "overworking" myself by working for a whole week.

Argh!

I was given a 15 minute long "talk" yesterday about how after working for the company for over a year, I should know I wasn't allowed to work 7 days straight...I countered with "I have been scheduled regularly to work up to 10 days straight, what do you mean 7 is to much?" Which is when the explanation that I have to have one day off in the period of a week came in. It can be 12 days between days off, but I better darn well get them.

And I won't even get into the horror caused by my one hour of overtime...

INDYTHON Update

INDYTHON still a go for Sunday, but to accomodate a few people I was going to try to start Raiders a little earlier and ask that RSVP'ers try to hit the boiler room around 12noon-12:30ish.

¿Bueno?

Results Are In

Ok Not really but Corinne is bugging me too much so by taking hold of the power invested in the House Mothers I will decide arbitrarily who gets in a who is out.

Top of the list an amazing show of feminine prowess this years Head Girl: Ethan

Scott is in just for putting up with the other pledges and being such a great sport

Karen's work friend who pledged (we have been told her name was Tasha) because Karen said so.

Cat is in due to her amazing speed in collecting signature and completing tasks

Mariko is in for successfully fending off love lorn students

BJ is in for being such a good kisser Christian and Ethan have yet to recover their senses

Christian is in because he will put up with any indignity we would ever want to impose on him

Paul hmmm in or out in or out he was a good sport. He did bite BJ's nipple which was funny but he did puke in my bed and he is sitting. So alright he's in but on academic probation.

Christine for being a great at twister is in but to improve her make over enthusiasm she is now the Bathroom monitor.

Owen is so out. So uncool and to have his head dunked down the toilet next time you see him (Christine this is you next duty, remember to add blush and mascara after you dunk him).

Corinne due to her insane competitiveness had pretty much completed everything we had asked of her in 30 seconds and because she is jumping up and down like a silly school girl and probably pretty anal about keeping everyone else in line is in and our new prefect.

The Phrase is "Quivering With Delight"

The Leaky Cauldron has decided that it wants to use up as much bandwidth as humanly possible.

Scroll down to near the bottom and click on the trailer links for Harry Potter: The Prisoner of Azkaban.

I found what my FIRST birthday plan is (as I have on average three).

Christmas just got a little more melancholic and Expermental

I found this on Mefi, and Corinne thought it would be cool to post. Turn out that Radiohead has been given control of BBC Digital Channel 6 for the week of Christmas. This means access to the archives, choice of playlist, some website stuff, etc... Pretty cool all in all.

Who's Your Mommy?

The Onion wrote a great article about "getting caught" writing on the web.

And it made me think how unphased I'd be if my mother found this website, but there are a whole slew of people online that I would not want to stumble across this and become avid readers.

On one forum, I keep my personal life very quiet from the lot, or at least am very selective as to what I am willing to put out there. At least I know that I can safely block IP Addresses if I develop a rabid reader from the forum.

The other is my last employer (or at least half of my last employer). I don't have the luxury of IP banning, as it would block former co-workers from reading at work (and that's not something I want to discourage).

Anyway, I am genuinely curious as to who you would not want to know about your day-to-day.

INDIANA JONES in Dolby 5.1

The Boiler Room is hosting:

THE INDIANA JONES TRILOGY IN THX/DOLBY 5.1 DIGITAL

Indiana Jones and The Raiders Of The Lost Ark
Indiana Jones and The Temple Of Doom
Indiana Jones and The Last Crusade

Sunday, NOVEMBER 16th, 2003. 2:00pm-ish we meet at the boiler room.

Please RSVP, I have to make sure there's sufficient seating and it may affect the geometries of the room and equipment orientation which will involve re-certifying the living room to THX standards...no, I'm bullshitting but do RSVP...I put forth considerable effort...

Email Duke at:

ilich_m (at) lycos (dot) com

A MIGHTY WIND

November 10th, 2003 @ Queen Elizabeth Theater

Ang and I caught Christopher Guest's Vancouver date on the Mighty Wind tour, featuring the three mock bands from the recent movie. I expected a production similar to the Steinbloom family tribute portrayed in the movie and was treated to just that, complete with introductions by Jonathan Steinbloom (who warned us to watch our step on the wet pavement and avoid dangerous electrical equipment while nervously observing the stage crew). I was a little disappointed in the lack of a set, none of the cool faux-3D buildings or the banjo from the movie, they kept stage setup to a mere collection of microphones and monitors...

First up were the new main street singers, playing such hits as Main street rag, Never did no wanderin', just that kinda day, fare away, the good book song and potato's in the paddy wagon. A lot of references made to inside jokes from the movie (but of course, everyone in the audience was all too familiar) centered around Terry and Laurie Bohner (and the type of films she used to make before joining the group) as well as Sissy, Parker Posey's character. Terry, in keeping with the movie, basically told everyone when to stop...I believe it was actually Jordan (front row center!) who yelled "I love you Sissy", which got her attention followed by Terry's "Sit down! Don't talk to her!". He introduced everyone but Tony who actually never touched a string on his guitar the whole night...A lot of new material that played up on jokes from the movie including troubles at the border, the Lohner's color cult and the hazing of the new member.

Without more than a few words from Jonathan between sets, the Folksmen took the stage opening with "Never did no wanderin'", despite them skipping it in the movie as TNMSS had previously covered it...so we heard it twice, but it's my favorite song for technical non-humor value. Christopher Guest, Michael McKean and Harry Shearer then treated us to Old Joe's place, Loco Man (introduced as a failed folk-calypso crossover, folklypso), the barnyard song, Blood on the Coal (introduced "sometimes a really great catchy song comes from a horrible, horrible tragedy) plus a HILARIOUS cover of "Start Me Up" (you make a dead man coooooome....). Harry Shearer was of course dressed as a woman because...well, it continues where the movie left off. No need for delays as Mitch did not go a-wanderin'.

With another word from Jonathan Steinbloom, Mitch and Mickey took the stage (Eugene Levy and Catherine O'Hara) with when you're next to me, one more time, the Shur-Flow theme (introduced as her husband's product theme, which the rest of the band agreed to perform...Mitch plus a bass and backing guitar), as well as the Ballad of Bobby and June and their signature piece, A kiss at the end of the rainbow. In the movie, of course, they kiss at the end of the song which was played up a bit on stage, requiring seconds, maybe thirds...I kinda doubt they were fulfilling the request that came from the balcony, "Play your catheter song!"...as they were a bit short on material and filled in with Shur-flow for a laugh.

With a final word from Jonathan ("I was kicked by a llama in a petting zoo as a child"), all three bands returned for the "A Mighty Wind" song, performed verbatim as in the movie. Unexpectedly, they all came back for one encore, which consisted of a new song that I can only presume was entitled "Thank you".

Overall, a very funny concert, running 1h55m solid with no intermission. I was unfamiliar with the soundtrack, which introduced a few nice surprises including the stones cover. I'm told that the "folksmen" originally opened for Spinal Tap, when they toured in support of the 1983 movie, but were despised by audiences everywhere, unrecognized as the same members in different costumes. Yesterday, they were hailed as folk legends...it's amusing how the audience reacted as was expected for each group...with most of the applause being reserved for Mitch and Mickey, the sweethearts of folk. It seems everybody was roleplaying to a certain extent that night...

Merchandise:
Poster $15
T-shirt $30
DVD $25
Vinyl Album $20
Songbook $20

Final thoughts...SEE THE MOVIE.

p.s. I share Jonathan's affliction...damn llamas...ask me about it when I'm a little tipsy...

MORE TO COME

Scuba diving lesson with pictures (of me hovering I believe)

More serious than we usually get here, sorry.

Hey all.

I just found out that one of my dearest friends has one, maybe two months left to live. I'm coping and dealing with it, but it is still very upsetting, so bear with me if I'm snappy for a little bit.

For those of you who have been to the occasional SCA event, or just had to listen to stories until you're sick of it, the friend in question is Baron Gerhard Kendal, the man who, with his wife Amanda, ran the Vancouver branch of the SCA for over 25 years. I've known him since I was 16 years old, and he and his wife have always been examples to me of how I want to be when I "grow up".

I took the day off work today to deal with it...after I snapped at my boss for trying to guilt me into coming into work he seemed to decide he didn't want to see how I'd treat customers...(sigh)

Just needed to get that off my chest. Thanks for listening.

Decemberween/Slumber Party

The best of both worlds.

I've meditated in my chamber trying to figure out how I can incorporate a way of gettting a lot of girls together while attracting the guys, still. I've stated that I would have a slumber party with make up for boys (it seemed to be a hit at the sorority party), but I think this time, perhaps, attempting to do proper make-up might help the situation.

The after party after Decemberween (1pm?) will be the slumber party with such classic events as:
The Pillow Fight
The Jammy Contest (voted on by both boys and girls)
The Teddy Bear Judging (again both sexes will be polled for this event)
Popcorn and movies (oddest movie will get the screening)
The Make Overs. Guys get touched and pampered by hoards of women, women get to practice their manicure or otherwise skills on both genders.

Tuesday Night Movie Reminder

For those of you who read your email, you can ignore this. If not:

Just a quick reminder that this Tuesday's movie night is:

7pm: Giants and Toys -- Strange Japanese wacky-mod comedy about rival candy companies and their new superstar spokesmodel -- the girl with the worst teeth in all of Japan!


9pm: War of the Robots -- Cheepie Italian Star Wars rip-off. I've included the IMDB user comment for reference:


Date: 30 June 2003
Summary: An embarrassing waste of film

WAR OF THE ROBOTS is a total waste of film, not to mention the viewers time. Made in 1978, this Italian space "epic" looks like it might have been produced 30 years earlier. Everything about this film is terrible, including an incoherent script, bad acting, horribly done special effects (the Flash Gordon serials from the 1930's were better, at least they were in focus most of the time), extremely bad sound effects and dialogue dubbing. If one took all the worst blunders found in the bad Italian and Japanese sci-fi flicks of the 1950's and 1960's and condensed them into one film, WAR OF THE ROBOTS would be the result. Utter trash, avoid at all costs.

Booze, and/or an extreme sense of "treat appreciation" reccomended.

Also, if you like myself are not in fact working on Tuesday, I'm planning on hosting a marathon of all the horror films in BJ's collection I should have seen by now, but haven't (Sam's been joking that I should change my email address to hasntreallyseenthatmanyfilmsgurl79@hotmail.com). Actual titles witheld to prevent embarrasing myself.

Again, as always, please please let me know if you can make it or not. Call or email for directions if you are new to this. The more the merrier, but we need to know how many people to expect (or not to expect). If you want onto the mailing list but aren't, contact me! Pop fund still in effect. Non-caffeinated beverages are your own damn problem (just kidding).

Hope to see you there.

~meeko 604-871-1089

Sorority Initiations

I don't know if I am getting the boot (provided I don't even know if I got in) from the 'ity for posting about the zaniness that ensued last night.

The big statistic of the night was "2". I ended up in the make-out closet twice (although, in hindsight I should have gone for at least a few more rounds with other people so that number would look more impressive). I got both word triggered signatures before anyone got one ("white supremacy" and "Morisot"). I ended up in second place for the Sister Twister Tournament. I was the second shortest person marked on the wall (but I think Coreena /Corinna /Korinna /Koreena /Korrina /Corrina /"I don't know how to spell it, and it's my mother's fault" was as short, if not shorter, than both Kat and I). Other events included the All-Boys-Spin-the-Bottle (what would one expect of initiating one into a Sorority and being male? It seems that a guy should go through more tribulations, although I wish there were more activities), the Drag Festival which included three people in drag including Christian, Scott and Keiko/Ethan, Men's Underwear Fashion Show (limited to XXL briefs), Grape Pants (goaded by Ty's idea, I started the Grape Pants War of 2003), The Doughnut Debate (Krispy Kreme won), and a lot of drinking done by a lot of people. Anyone's personal (both meanings) experiences shall remain theirs to state...

Eighties Quiz Time!

Hello kiddies! Here's a fun little one for you. Long, but interesting.



Enjoy!

10 nine 8 seven 6 five 4 three

Have you seen YOUNG-HAE CHANG HEAVY INDUSTRIES? This completely blew my mind. (found via metafilter)

What I love about this is that Y-H Chang strips away all pretense of interactivity, which, on the web, means clicking on stuff with your mouse (lame). This is just text set to music. No graphics and no 'interacting' or sweeping for hot spots. Most importantly, it caters to my incredibly short attention span.

Here are some highlights, with bonus chat-log commentary!


scortt: http://www.yhchang.com/PERFECT_ARTISTIC_WEB_SITE.html
montyc: WOW
montyc: he's right:
montyc: web art is dumb
montyc: and also lame.
montyc: but this is good
scortt: I liked the ending
scortt: MMM.
scortt: http://www.yhchang.com/SAMSUNG_MEANS_TO_COME.html
montyc: HOT
scortt: http://www.yhchang.com/THE_STRUGGLE_CONTINUES.html
scortt: i'm getting the impression that marxism turns her on
montyc: i agree
montyc: samsung is clearly a representation of the empty promises of the bourgeois capitalist system
scortt: clearly.
montyc: by which pleasure and desire are commodified
montyc: and divorced from daily life
montyc: e.g., she couldn't do the dishes while having multiple orgasms.
scortt: unfair :(
montyc: in North Korea,
montyc: sexual equality is sexy.
scortt: also: starvation

* * *

scortt: http://www.yhchang.com/ALL_FALL_DOWN.html
hokie: wtf is going on here?
hokie: my eyes are exploding :(
scortt: sit back from the monitor
hokie: am i being programmed?

* * *

scortt: http://www.yhchang.com/CUNNILINGUS_IN_NORTH_KOREA.html
unclefreddy: i think i just crapped by pants
scortt: Me too!

hey get scott to come

can someone get scott the heads up on Sat.'s party at my house?
philosophy scott
the dead guy lost soul vampire
he's cool
get him to come k?

ok see you all very soon
love and hugs
K

Cutting my gas budget in half...

The Province tells me that none other than a Krispy Kreme Doughnut Factory will be coming to Delta early next year. No more crossing the border for doughnuts and getting wierd looks from the border guards! No more pants that fit!

Writer Pick-Up: Take 6

I realize that there are a lot of readers here (over 40 a day). I want to capture a few of you that may be interested in posting whatever links, stories, events that you would like a good positive crowd around. Heck, maybe you just want access to the inner workings here, and that's cool, too.

No one ever responds to the call-outs, but I thought I'd give you guys an opportunity to volunteer or nominate a writer. Either email me or leave a comment in the comment box below.

For Our Literate Readers

BookCrossing: A site dedicated to book dropping. I think you guys might find the premise interesting.

In regards to the last Hallowe'en picture:

You guys did awesome...check this out!

One last post from home

T minus 12 hours.

Just a reminder, you'll be able read all about our adventures here. Well, as soon as we get our internet connection up and running, that is (which will be maybe 10 seconds after touching down in Narita if Kate gets her way).

It's been fun, guys. Really. Thanks and thanks and more thanks. See y'all back at the Clubhouse, sometime.

For now, I've got to get back to packing.

One Last Halloween Picture

Kate/Sophie Fatale, Toby/Crazy 88, Karin/O-ren Ishii, Grae/Crazy 88, Corinne/Go-Go Yubari, Bob/Crazy 88, Mariko/Elle Driver.

My friends keep breeding...

I am so wierded out by this...I have had way to many people around me get pregnant in the last few years...most disturbing, while it used to be accidents, now it's that my friends have reached the age where they are PLANNING pregnancies...while that is, in the long run, a much better thing, it makes me feel old...

And they keep assuring me that I'll want to have one some day. No matter how often I tell them what a bad idea that would be. Please, guys, you are pretty much the last group of friends I have that haven't bred. Can we keep it that way just a little longer? Please?

This baby thing is frightening me a lot.

Carmina Burana

7:15pm
Blood Alley
Free
The Vancouver Bach Chamber Choir.

Grae, I and a few others are planning on going.

I swear it had nothing to do with me!

Larrivee catches fire.

What surprises me the most is that the entire building didn't errupt. Junior said the place was kept immaculate. That's a good change from the days when I was there. I always imagined that a suspicious fire would start at the dust bin. It's essentially the vaccuum that gathered all the dust from all the buildings's sanders or booths. It's a fire bomb of chemicals and powdered fuel. Sounds to me that the suspicious fire was not an inside job (it started on the wrong side of the back).

Thanks to Owen for the heads up about this. Trés Cool.

Fistful Of Leone

But I also forgot Sunday Dec. 21 is a triple bill at the Pacific Cinematheque of the Man With No Name trilogy with new 35MM prints for all of them! Huzzah! It's starts at 4:15pm. Since this is more than a month away we'll probaly bring it up again later but I wanted to post for my own selfish reasons of actually commiting and remembering to going to something friggin' cool at the cinematheque

EGAD! MORE MOVIES!

Ahoy it's B.J. letting you all in on the mayhem (sitting in a dark room staring at the glowing box) going on in and around the Den of Sin for November and beyond.

This week (Tues. Nov. 4) we've programmed:

7pm (sharp for once): IT! The Terror From Beyond Space [1958] -- The original inspiration for the following film.

9:45pm @ Capitol 6 ALIEN: (sigh) The Director's Cut -- The classic on the big screen. We'll be making the trip by bus or cab if it proves more economic.

The following day (My day off! Wheee!) Meeko and I will be heading back to Capitol 6 for a 4:15 matinee of Matrix: Revolutions. Hopefully the many questions raised with the last will be answered (hopefully not answering too many) and I'm sure there'll be some nice gun-fu.

Next Week (Tues. Nov. 11) Robots & Toys!

7pm: Giant & Toys [1958] -- Japanese capitalism gone mad comedy and the dvd cover looked pretty cool.

9pm: War of the Robots [1978] -- Italian space epic made very shortly after Star Wars. "An embarrassing waste of film" says one anonymous IMDB poster. Bring your TA hat or booze.

Week after that (Tues. Nov. 18) A Tale Of Two Brides! Ronny Yu Double Bill!

7pm: The Bride With White Hair [1993] -- "A Classic Chinese Tale Of Swords And Sorcery Of Honor And Of Love" Yeah.

9pm: Bride of Chucky [1998] -- Chucky's Back and slashing through post-Kevin Williamson "horror" cliches reaching hilarious results. Umm yeah. I'm never becoming a copy writer.

Also this week we'll possibly be showing The Two Towers: Extended. All depends on agreements and whether I get paid on time.

The following week (Tues. Nov. 25) The Return of Canadian Horror Night!!!

7pm: Ginger Snaps [2000] -- Lycanthropy as puberty story. Well it's better than Peter Parker waking up in his own web fluid.

9pm: The Changeling [1980] -- Still considered quite scary today. George C. Scott moves into a haunted house after losing his family, zany antics ensue.

Finally Tues December 16 is the Lord Of The Rings marathon. That's Fellowship of the Ring: Extended, The Two Towers: Extended followed by Return of the King. I've already booked the day off and we'd love to have all you guys come with us. I'll bring the pee bucket. However there might be some organization to be done like which theatre (Capitol 6 or Metropolis)? Do we get tickets at the door same day or we use someone's credit card to get advance tickets, shit like that? Who's coming and who'll be first in line? And of course the mechanics of the pee bucket. Drop us a line Mariko's: filmgurl79@hotmail.com and B.J.'s beezlebozoclown@yahoo.com or guess we'll chat it up come Tuesday. Anywho it's late and I have more writing to do. Toodles.

p.s. Thanks to everyone who've come on our little Tuesday night shows. It's a highlight of our week and really wouldn't be as fun without you guys there. Thank you.

Purple Onion pictures

Just thought I'd throw these out for you all...

I love the blur of white that is Karin and Meeko in the middle of this one.

For those of you who didn't get a good look at his costume, here's Mr. Dark , the man who isn't allowed to enter the costume contest anymore.

And here are a few pics of Owen, hamming it up for his adoring fans.

Great night everyone!

Anybody planning on hitting Sanctuary this Sunday?