Friends

My sister finally called me back after me calling and texting for 3 days," What the hell is wrong with you? Are you drunk? The parents are out of town, that's why no one is answering the phone and what is steampunk."
Poor mom, she has a lot of voicemails when she gets back.
It's okay, she does the same to me. Ahhh the joys of a costuming family.

A Steampunk Ball? How 2004!

I was off, I guess steampunk hasn't been that big for that long. So little brian picked a steampunk ball for NYE, the price is fine, but as we all chat on the phone we realize that we have nothing steampunk. All of us are seasoned burner-party kids with closets FULL of costumes and nothing steampunk. randomdreams shouted, "I want to go! I have a whole hut full of brass bits! I can make...."
I interrupted, "Oh, good, we have a driver now. I can get hammered."

So I found some perfect Oakley sunglasses that I bought specifically for a steampunk outfit that I never put together, found some brown leather elbow gloves, and some rusty compasses, and that's it.

props, as the kids(tm) say, to wayne massey for this one. i finally got to check it out, and it's easily the best website of many. and there are many many websites out there.

http://www.yourscenesucks.com/

this awesome part was before i even delved into the site, one of the first ones they showed was "crabcore", which i first learned about on monitor mix (in the same entry on genres where i learned of my new favorite genre "shitgaze"). goddam, it's so fucking stupid. the video they showed started with some insane riffing, which led me to think "this might be alright, aside from the dumb-ass crab stance/dance", but then instantly turns into horrible horrible horrible hot-topic-"punk". yeesh!

anyway, check out the site, cuz it's the tops.

Japan has a lot to answer for, and may not be the paradise on earth the young late 80s early to mid 90s me believed it to be. whale hunting, racism, misogyny, and rampant governmental corruption are huge problems. and as we in the west have bullshit holocaust deniers, Japan has Nanjing massacre deniers. what the fuck?

still and all, you gotta love stuff like this:


and what the heck?, here's another. this one is for Legend of Zelda, and yes, Link is played by a girl. there's actually a name for this in japan (theatrical performances where all the parts are played by women) but it escapes me:

everyone has these end of the year lists; albums of the year, books, films, of the year, etc. a lot of the same things are being picked over and over again. i love Dirty Projectors as much as the next guy (admittedly, i don't have their latest), but it's seriously on every list. oh well.

so here's my list:
Books i got within the last year that i have yet to read/finish.
(i'll narrow it down to the 5 i'm most dissapointed in myself for not having yet read)

The Rest is Noise by Alex Ross
this is thee book on 20th century "classical" music (i like to call it "art music", since it's not actually classical, but i'm a snob that way). it got huge press, won awards, and my go-to guy for stuff like this (my ole pal Viv) could not say enough good about this book. so i bought it, and i am really really excited about having it. as yet, haven't even cracked it.

The Death and Resurrection of the Beloved Son: The Transformation of Child Sacrifice in Judaism and Christianity by Jon D. Levenson
again on reccomendation from Viv, a seemingly dense title, yet according to Viv, who doesn't have a Religious Studies background dubbed it one of the best books he's read in a long time. the subject matter and that glowing review led me to track it down on amazon.com, order it, and have it in my possesion. how is it? couldn't tell you, as i haven't even read the chapter list.

Lamb: The Gospel According to Biff, Christ's Childhood Pal by Christopher Moore.
i know a shit-ton of people who obsessed with Moore's books. i have only ever heard good about them. and, again, judging by the subject matter and the recommendations of co-workers and friend, i grabbed this. i think i've read 1/4 of it, and it's really very quite good, don't get me wrong. but i have undiagnosed adult ADD, and in between reading this, i read something like 3 of those 33 1/3 books (they're short) and some other book, and put this down. have yet to pick it back up.

The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao by Junot Diaz
this is actually nicole's, and i got something like 3/4 into it. it's pretty amazing, and i really did enjoy what i read, but i just got distracted (see above). it's right up my alley, as it focuses heavily on comics and other pop-culture / nerdy subjects like that, and the prose is quite excellent. i just got doing other things, and really never got back to it. oh well, it's not going anywhere.

well, there's a list for you. if anyone has read any of these books, hey, let me know what you think, but please, no spoilers. i do plan to read/finish them someday.

*honorable mention* Book I didn't finish, am not ashamed i didn't finish, and will probably never go back to:
Kavalier and Clay by Michael Chabon.
i think i got halfway through and was just like "this is a long-ass introduction... oh wait, it's the actual story, he just hasn't gone anywhere with it yet!" a slimmer volume on the same subject might've been better. i plan to read some Chabon's short stories, as i feel he is someone i should read. but _K&C_ is just arduous. anyway, i think i was trying to read that in '08, so it doesn't count.
bye.

he died on christmas day, apparently of an OD. bummer.
and lest any one out there decides to be a sanctimonious prick, the way he died doesn't matter. life is tricky at best, and we all have ways of dealing with it. dead is dead. and ultimately, that's where we'll all be. anyway, enough soapboxing. here's a clip of an oddly mainstream performance.



Vic was partially paralyzed in a car wreck, but continued performing music despite this. he also appeared in Slingblade. i think at one point dwight yoakum pushes him, wheelchair and all, into a wall or out a door or something. i recall watching the film and thinking "hey, that's vic Chestnutt", and no one else really knowing who that was, not to blame them. he was sort of a niche figure, musically, but still quite awesome.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vic_chesnutt
(for more info)

but there will be some here. mostly rain, tho.
Xmas was pretty decent for me, as i spent it with my sister, brother-in-law, and wee nephew. they got to see the new place, and have some bloomfield chinese delights. it was interesting, as i'd never actually had chinese food on Xmas like you seen in the movies (especially _A Christmas Story).

present-wise, i got some of the best gifts i've ever gotten, and that's no joke. my parents didn't really step up, but that's no big deal, as they live far away. i'd be fine with a check, which was their style in years past, but for some reason of late they've been giving actual gifts. most of these are quite ridiculous, but this year they kept it simple. a t-shirt with a graphic from issue 2 of the original Wolverine miniseries c.1986 (i think?) and a snazzy 70s looking back scratcher. i'd been bemoaning my lack of backscratching technology all year. i don't know if they heard it through the grapevine or what. either way, it is what it is. i have to send their gifts today. better late than never.

as for gifts from others, i'll start with the best. Nicole got me the #1 gift of the year, and that sort of set the standard, not that i judge people by what they do (or do not) get me. i mean this in terms of sheer enjoyment and coolness. no value judgement on the giver. anyway, she got me a Stylophone, which is an amazing gadget / instrument / noise making device. here's what one looks like:

one plays it by tapping the stylus on the metal contact points.
here's what it sounds like:

amazing. truly the highlight of the season.

secondly, Nicole also got me the huge Gary Panter retrospective, which has two huge books in a slipcase, the first a shit-ton of his paintings, drawings, and comics along with interviews, essays, etc. the second book is stuff from something like 30 years of his sketchbooks. this is what book reviewers often refer to as a "tome". if yr unfamiliar with Panter's work, he is primarily known for the alternative comic "Jimbo", and has done stuff for Raw and other indy comic publications, as well as record covers, flyers for punk shows, magazine covers, and more. started out in the early 70s and continues to this day. oh, also, he designed everything for both the original Pee Wee Herman show, as well as the sets for Pee Wee's Playhouse. tubular.


and my sister and brother-in-law got me the third most excellent gift, which is a Stay Puft Marshallow man bank! initially upon buying it, they just thought it was a cool figure, but it actually functions as a bank. too much! it's also huge, i'm gonna say at least 12" tall. i'd seen it at a comic shop before, and passed it up (it wasn't particularly expensive, i'd just bought a bunch of stuff and was in the process of moving), and they off-handedly remarked they might get it for Xmas. completely forgot about it, but clearly they didn't. et voila.


well, i hope everyone else had a good Xmas etc, whatever you celebrate, if anything, or nothing. who cares? rock on.

Kate needs a new hard drive. So my posts and comments will look stupid anddrunky untilI get a computer with a functional space bar, or she comes back. Dude, when it that last time you had a 12 year old OS still mostly working, and only the space bar and few letters are busted.

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We saw "Up" tonight and cried big alligator tears through the whole movie.

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We are going to Hawaii in March. It is my graduation present to myself and paidfor by the bajillion flier miles I earned on tuition.

gads. I sure hope, randomdreams brother can fix Kate, since the spacebar on my old laptop is broken.

John named my VAIO lappy Kate. Okay....
Kate is ill. schmaby she will feel better soon.


Vic Chesnutt was successful.


The new The Black Heart Procession album, "Six," is really dark, really depressing, even more than before. I know, you think that band was almost as cheery as a funeral for a loved one before! But now they are as perky as finding out all your loved ones died! I love this album for the same reason I love all their stuff. It's depressing as all hell, and the saws and violins. There is less singing, more of that singing-talking thing that makes me wonder if my favorite singers just can't hit those high notes anymore (re: Placebo), and I loved their high notes, so agonizing. But it's there a little. So I hope they come to Denver eventually, they are a worthy live act, lots of facial hair and saws, they look like undertakers for a montana milita with one tranny. Next time, more nautically themed songs please.

Anybody up for Lipgloss dancing tonight? It's free.
I've got an elf outfit...

There has been a lot of "donate to this charity" going around recently. I know campaigns get stepped up this time of year.

But which charities do you like and why?
I donate to the food bank to offset my dad stealing from them, and because we really did need the food bank as kids. It's something I can see doing actual good. I donate trees through Arbor Day because I am a paper artist. And I donate to The Other Side Arts because I see all the good they do.

My mom almost has taste in presents. Like everything is almost something you would want but is a little off. So everything is already re-wrapped to be re-gifted to people who would actually like this stuff. Because I know people who would totally love a sky blue fish plate, and a "haunted places of the world" calendar. Although I cannot think of who would like this Southwestern painted 5lb ceramic lizard. I already pawned the stack of "B" monogrammed hand towels off on my brother because you know his name starts with a "B." And he also took the gift card to Red Robin, because they serve booze.

Anyway. I got Dad the R. Crumb Genesis book, "It's exactly what I wanted!"
Mom yells, "But you never tell anyone what you want!" Mom looked at me and said, "How did YOU know what he wanted?"
"It's R. Crumb, and the Bible, of course he wants it."

I got a bike from randomdreams and sweater to match my bike from gows. And an art book. So I am totally happy.

Oh... no...
http://www.latimes.com/features/food/la-fo-chick-a-roni-coup-s,0,4645305.story

I made thumbprint cookies the other day with howlands pistachio cinnamon marmalade and it's too bitter for cookies. So it went on the buffalo ribs now in the oven.
I did a modified version of this salad:
http://www.latimes.com/features/food/la-fo-encore110907,1,6528278.story
More spicy in the dressing, fewer persimmons (I forgot I ate the other two), more pom, and toasted almonds.
Maybe I'll do brie mashed potatoes. And plain broccoli on the side.

Uncle Mark is house sitting for someone but will come for dinner. He wants to bring dogs, we'll see how Lillian does.