SCADS MORE STUFF

...has been thrown up for auction over at eBay. stuff you might actually care about, in fact. there's several late '90s issues of Nakayoshi, an issue each of Ribon and Ribon Original, and a handful of Weekly Jump. please take a look and don't be afraid to bid if you're interested. ^^

(have i mentioned that i dislike being sick? because it sucks. just thought i'd say it again. *scratches thoughtfully, then smacks self for doing so* dammit, don't need more stupid scars. *.*;;;

as if i didn't already have plenty of reasons to feel about 7 yrs old as it is...--;;; )

LOVE FOR SALE

...well, not really. but i've got a few other things up for sale on eBay.

please check them out and bid if interested. more will be added soon, including a handful of cels...

...SHINJIRAREHEN!

this is unfuckingbelievable.

i should happily be on my way to practice right now.

but i'm not. instead, i am blogging.

would you like to know why?

...because i have CHICKENPOX.

i fucking had this already. i had it in eighth grade. and although it is possible to get it again, it's not very common for people to do so. unless it's the related form much later in life, as shingles.

wouldn't you know that i'd be the one to get it twice?!??!?! --;;;;;

aieeee. i want to eat oatmeal, not bathe in it. ;.;

on a completely unrelated but still amusing note, i give you Beatles lyrics...in Kansai-ben! XD

am going to go pass out now. 'scuse me.

GANGLIA OF FOUR

i saw a girl with the coolest boots ever yesterday. they were knee-high, black, platformed about as high as these boots of mine, and had tiny glittery silver five-pointed stars all over them.

if i had a picture, i'd show you. but i don't.

instead, i'll settle for announcing that i think it's time i went on a diet.

that will be all.

YOU BE THE JUDGE

coincidence or conspiracy? XD

haven't had much to say, so i haven't said much.

will say more if i have more to say. funny how that works. ^.-

IN CASE ANYONE'S WONDERING WHY I DON'T WANT KIDS...

: "good girl down." morcheeba.

...and i swear i'm not making this up.

because you couldn't, really.

they, uh, learn 'em good where i live. o.o;;;

perhaps i ought to consider moving...? XD

A CAFFEINE DRIPFEED WOULD BE OH SO NICE

all of the sudden, i feel soooooo unbelievably sleepy. it's rather sad. i don't know why. perhaps because i was actually awake this morning? dunno.

anyway, here's an amusing concept. shall have to give them a listen later on, since i can't right now. hope they live up to their Amusement Potential level, which is quite high, really. XXXD

saw Spirited Away on Sunday. would've seen it Saturday, had i not been an idiot who apparently can't read train schedules correctly. --;;; i almost cried when it started up onscreen, just cos it hit me that i was watching this film, in Japanese, subtitled...in an American theatre! O.O;;;; and that people going to see the movie had a choice in which version they went to see! it was really an amazing thing.

as for the movie itself, it was nothing short of gorgeous. and as always, i like the fact that Miyazaki doesn't shy away from making things as scary as necessary...but neither are the scary bits the least bit sensationalist...they just are. they fit appropriately, as do most other elements. everything comes together to form a glorious whole...'cept maybe the little cutesy hopping lantern at Zeniba's, but i suppose that can be forgiven, as it's given v. little screen time.

i was surprised to note that i understood most of what was going on, even without the subtitles. apparently, my language comprehension skills haven't gone quite as far down the toilet as i'd thought. which is good, although that fact still doesn't make up for the fact that i wish i were still in school. le sigh. ;.; subs seemed mostly okay. although i question how they handled "obaa-chan," but then i wonder...how would you handle it, anyway? how would you appropriately convey that in English? i guess they did an all right job in that regard.

oddly, no translated credits were given for any of the staff or voice actors; the only mention was of Studio Ghibli's involvement and Miyazaki's involvement. no mention of Hisaishi, either. strange.

in the bathroom afterward, a Japanese mother and child came in and were in a stall a few doors down from the one i was in. if they'd come out while i was washing their hands, i might've asked if they'd seen it yet...a fairly safe assumption that that's what they were there to see, as the only other film playing at this theatre was Signs, and this was a very young child...and they were, after all, speaking Japanese in the stall. but alas, did not get that chance. i actually wasn't having problems composing proper sentences in my head in Japanese directly after seeing the movie, either. 'twas shocking. XD

will probably see the dub sometime in the not-too-distant future; if it comes out to play near my house, will probably take my mom to see it. wouldn't mind seeing it just to see how it is...nor would i mind seeing the movie itself again, of course...and in a theatre! eeee.

in other news, i seem to have gotten sucked into Zoids. although i rarely see a full episode of it when it's on at 5am weekday mornings. i usually see just the beginning, and then have to pry myself away to go shower and get dressed and ready to go to work. and the opening and ending themes are awfully catchy, says the 13-year-old-boy in me. XD it's amusing enough to watch while i'm getting ready, at least. and the voices don't suck. which is more than i can say for many things, including the dubbed Inu Yasha which is airing on CN right now. *shudders*

oh, and...

...because, Beeru-darling...quite simply, it's a well known fact that ALL OF US would be heavenly people today...if it wasn't for your big penis, that is.

duh.

XD

(more later.)

IT WOULD BE A NORMAL MONDAY, EXCEPT...

: "'i love you' dake..." hi-posi.

keeki! keeki! oh god, more keeki! :

so, whose birthday is today? what's our reason for celebration?

today's the one and only Keito-chan's birthday! ^-^

i hope today's absolutely wonderful for you, Keito-chan...and that box hopefully ought to be on its way to you sometime this week. >D

PUBLIC SERVICE ANNOUNCEMENT SERVING NO ONE

: "sugar ray." the jesus + mary chain.

was at Borders last night and of course found several books i'd like to buy. but wisely (since i'm trying not to spend money), i left everything at home, so there was no question: i simply wouldn't be able to buy anything, no matter how much i wanted to.

at least, i'd thought it was a wise idea. later on, i found out otherwise.

we ended up at two different Borders, as Spaz was looking for stuff the first one didn't have. on the way out of the first one, i noticed that it's apparently Educators' Appreciation Weekend, wherein all current and retired educators showing proper ID get 20-25% off of everything (excluding DVDs, electronics, and periodicals). i commented that i thought that was really cool, and we went on to the next store.

sat happily and browsed through a small stack of music books (at the first store, it was Japanese language books, of course...XD) and was happy (except for my blasted back being Angry) for quite some time. as we went to go check out (Spaz bought two books), i read the small print explaining the Educators' Appreciation Weekend in greater detail.

and found out that if i'd brought my ID with, i'd be included. because i work in a university library. *.*;;;

this deal apparently includes EVERYONE...not just proper teachers, but support staff, bus drivers...as long as you've got proper ID (and failing that, they accept pay stubs and W2s as proof as well). *.*;;;

so i thought i'd hop on briefly and let a couple friends who i know who also work in university libraries know about this sale. but upon checking their site (type in keyword "educator"), this sale is only occurring in the Midwest. so no such luck for Hawaii and New York. ;.;

if anyone reads this and can take advantage of it in the Midwest, however, perhaps this announcement will have done some good?

as for me, i now have a nice long list of things to look up and (hopefully) acquire via Interlibrary Loan.

[additional notes: the second Borders had The Smiths and Beyond. flipped through it. i must reiterate here that Kevin Cummins rocks. 'tis a fun, fun book. XD

secondly, Spirited Away. i WILL be going to see it later this weekend...probably today, in fact. know why?

i'd heard it was being released in theatres in BOTH subbed and dubbed versions. and McClurg Court has both versions.

so, must head off to see the sub. i wouldn't mind seeing the dub, but if i've got a choice, which do you think i'm going to choose? XD)

THIS DOES NOT, HOWEVER, MEAN I AM JAMES DUVALL!

oh GOD, this is too hilarious! XXXXD

via Keito-chan:

Which Crazy Bunny Are You?

This fluffy quiz was made by Xenianth!

(Kimmie should LOVE this result! XD XD XD)

oh, and for those of you who haven't seen Donnie Darko, go to your nearest rental shop and pick it up. i can't promise you won't regret it. but i liked it. ^^

¶

: "capital letters." moonshake.

second sweet potato pie wasn't as easy as the first. i think this is down to a few tweaks i made. i haven't tasted the finished results yet; the pie is intended for a party, so that would be more than slightly rude if i started nibbling on it randomly to assure quality. i can assure everyone that it's not poisoned, at least, so that ought to count for something. XD

i added a little more brown sugar to both the crust and the filling, as well as extra cinnamon in the filling. the crust, understandably, browned a bit more than on the first pie. and it wasn't as easy to roll out, despite preparing it exactly in the same way as i had the preceding crust. *shrugs* it worked out okay, though. probably wasn't as cooperative since i felt a bit rushed.

the true test, of course, will be in how it's received by those who taste it. i know of at least two people who are v. excited about it, as they profess to having a great and undying love for sweet potato pie. which is understandable...sweet potato pie is wunderbar. ^^

Spirited Away opens today. it's playing in three theatres in the Chicagoland area. unfortunately, have a lot to do this weekend and as such, suspect i will not be going to see it this weekend. but it's intriguing to note that i've actually seen trailers for it during prime time hours on Fox recently (well, it was during their news broadcast, but still). no huge billboards or anything yet, but Mononoke only played in ONE theatre when it was here. so this is encouraging. i hope it comes out to theatres closer to where i actually live; one in particular, as it's REALLY much nicer than any theatre in the city that i've been to, and i'd like to take my mother to see it out there.

what else...oh yes, there's the slight matter of this reality show. to which i can only say, "um?"

and also, er, uh...they're swinging for England (En-ger-LAND!). O.O;;;;; UM.

(he looks like he has a flipping HEDGEHOG on his head! how can that possibly be ATTRACTIVE?!?!?)

in conclusion, i continue to profess that i apparently have not a lick of understanding of humanity in general.

maybe more later; if not, have good weekends. ^^

HIGH SEA HIJINKS

i've just gone and found out my pirate name. it is:

additionally, don't you think it's time we moved to Sweden? XD

EASY BAKE COVEN

: "light rail coyote." sleater-kinney.

this is SO much better than the Pirelli calendar. XD

in other news, i saw an absolutely HUGE grasshopper last night.

unfortunately, he'd eaten a whole lot of my sweet basil plant before i saw him.

so i did end up killing him. it's not that i'd mind sharing, but it was quite obvious he was in no mood to share, and was instead of quite a mind to eat a whole lot of that poor plant. it's been a long time since i caught grasshoppers, and this one was bigger than i remember any of the ones i used to catch as a child being. Spaz helped me catch him, since i didn't have my glasses on and couldn't see him when he went and hid behind the tomato plant.

afterward, i thoroughly doused the basil with this organic pest-repellant stuff we've got. i hadn't been spraying the basil, because up until now, there hadn't been a need to do so...but now there is. ;.;

on the plus side, a spider seems to have been busy building a web amongst the poles i've tied the sugar snap peas to. which is A Very Good Thing, because mosquitoes like to hang out amongst those peas and swarm out whenever i go to water the garden. which is unfun in general, and even more unfun when you're allergic because then you swell and are even more uncomfortable than you would be otherwise.

(West Nile also wouldn't be fun; though i do suppose it's one arena in which my humble state can loudly proclaim "WE'RE NUMBER ONE!" now, isn't it? --;;;)

made soft pretzels again last night. they turned out much better than when last i made them...which was also coincidentally the very first time i'd attempted to make them. that was back at the old house. the recipe, again, lies, though. it claims to make 20, when in reality it only makes 12 or 13. if you want them to stay soft through the flash-baking, boiling, and baking phases, that is. but now that i know the truth, all is well. ^^

will be making that 2nd sweet potato pie sooner than i thought, too. someone at work is having a going-away party, as he's leaving for another job. didn't really find out about this till yesterday, so the extra filling in the freezer is awfully convenient. just have to defrost it, whip up a crust when i get home (and belatedly, i must thank Kristina for giving me a Pastry Pep Talk when i needed it most last time...XD), and bake.

and another pie shall find its way into being this weekend, too. only banana cream, this time. because bananas were on sale. and all i need that i don't have to make this pie is a teensy bit of cream. and really, do you need a reason for banana cream pie?

nothing else even moderately useful or amusing to talk about, so i shan't.

!!!!!!!!!!

...and just how did i miss out on finding out about Voltaire's new album? O.O;;;

(well, new comparatively, anyway. ^^;;;;)

*squeaks*

he covers Björk and Tori. eeeee. O.O;;;;

in conclusion, i think that i must <3 anyone who names a song "BRAINS!" of course, whether or not i actually end up <3-ing the song itself remains to be seen. but.

yet another thing to add to my ever-growing list of things that i hope to one day have and listen to. ^^

ER...?

forgot to mention this when it happened, but i saw a TV advert awhile ago for something...either jeans or Chrysler vehicles; i can't remember which. or maybe it was a beer ad? eee. i probably can't remember properly because i was too distracted by the music being used.

it was Lush's "Undertow."

...whaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa?!?!?

weirdos. though that is a killer bassline. ^^

i still need The Joy of Sing-Sing. amongst other things.

eeee. XD

BIS AT SOUTHPAW; GRAMMAR APOLOGIES

in addition to their 10th October date at Warsaw to play the Electroclash Festival, Bis have also announced they'll be playing a place called Southpaw in Park Slope, Brooklyn on Friday, 11th October.

those of you nearby now have two opportunities; please don't miss them! ^^

(oh, and apologies for the grammar in Fi's birthday post. a run-on queen is me. XD)

[addendum: on a completely unrelated note (which i obviously felt blog-worthy, but not so much that it deserved its own entry...XD), i just had one of my characteristic fits of "MUST CLEAN THIS NOW!" as regards my desk. after all, one can only let a pile of dust and other assorted disgusting filth pile up on top of the pile of work waiting to be done before one can't take it any longer. morale begins to dip, y'know?

so now, morale has increased a fair bit. although when i first thought it, i thought to myself, "hrrm, my morals have significantly increased!" no, i'm not kidding. it's my brain, and therefore my responsibility to own up to it. XD

*snerk*]

ANOTHER SPECIAL DAY

: "music fighter." judy & mary.

yep, it's that time again! :

today's the birthday of the one, the only...Fifichu-chan! ^^

for any who do not know her, she's the dream daughter spiritual descendent of fashion nobility Jarvis Cocker and Audrey Hepburn. an off-kilter office girl by trade, Fi makes the most of her time by secretly analysing any and all bits of pop culture (past and present and perhaps future) whilst seemingly innocently going about her business at her place of employ.

in her free time, her amazing dance skills and ability to work crowds have gained her a steady following in her current town of residence, NYC. (in fact, so renowned are her abilities that her loads of devoted followers, expecting her to dance down their streets at any moment, have a tendency to leave offerings for the mighty Fi in the form of clothing, CDs, records, and various and sundry other items that they feel she might need conveniently on the street for her to scoop up and take on her way. a bit like video game powerups, those. ^^)

her greatest dream is to be a tea boy when she grows up. please join me in wishing her well as she's come one year closer to her goal! ^.^

(p.s. don't be alarmed if a large, ungainly package comes your way with air holes poked in so El Jarvo can breathe , Fi. >D)

(this post updated at 11:46am to make sure everyone knows Fi and El Jarvo are NOT related, even for the purposes of my post. thank you. XD)

YOU THOUGHT I WAS JOKING?

check it. DJ Krush on how music saved his life.

^^

if i have anything further, i'll post it later.

GIVE ME ACTION AND DRAMA

which one of these is not like the other? which one of these doesn't belong? ^^

(click photo above to see a larger version)

additionally, this photo may terrify some younger viewers. it's something that should never happen to a small child, but which did, unfortunately, happen to me once upon a time.

if the words "spiral perm" mean nothing to you, consider yourself lucky. i consider this to be a bit of a blackmail photo, honestly. if ever there was one of me, this might well be it. however, it's also the most Tomoyo-like outfit i've ever worn, i think. if only i'd worn this dress (made by hand by my grandmother, i might add) back before the evil poodle had decided to perch atop my head, it would be even more disturbing. i was either in 5th or 6th grade when this was taken, so around 11 or 12 years of age. oh, and the dress was a very pale lavender, although it nearly looks white here. there were copious amounts of dotted swiss involved in its construction, too. was interesting to sit down in, given all the rufflage on the back. XD

amused yet? ^^

this post brought to you by: the evil one known as Beeru-chan. who apparently wishes to kill me and take my CD collection. which leaves me all my vinyl to take with me to my grave. >D

(oi, what monsters have i created? O.O;;;)

WHEN THE MOON HITS YOUR EYE LIKE A SWEET POTATO PIE

indeed, the pie was made earlier on this evening.

it turned out quite well. was my first time making a pastry crust by hand, too. and i must admit, i'd been a little bit trepidatious about it...i'd watched my mother do it all the time when i was little, and she always seemed to have such trouble with it.

she'd do half butter, half shortening, and completely the old-fashioned way, with the pastry cutter and elbow grease as her primary tools. but the problem was always that she'd get weird cracks in it when she'd go to put the rolled-out pastry sheets into the pie pans. and of course, much swearing and gnashing of teeth would occur.

my crust was an all-butter one, but it turned out perfectly. i seriously don't think one could ask for a more perfect crust. i was completely floored at how unbelievably EASY it was to do, too! O.O;;; why didn't i try this sooner? --;;;;

as for the filling, i did use the recipe below, with one slight change: instead of 1.5 c. of sugar, i used .75 c. of brown sugar and .75 c. of regular sugar. which was good, but next time i think i'll go with 1.5 c. brown sugar. and more cinnamon. and next time, we need Cool Whip or one of its various whipped topping store-brand equivalents. ^.-

oh, and for anyone else who wishes to try that recipe? granted, the recipe suggests a 9" or 10" pie pan, but i still don't buy that that recipe only makes enough for one pie. be prepared to either freeze the rest and make another pie later, or make two pies straight off the bat.

(p.s. Elva-chan, your package of evil got here today. webmail's being cranky or i'd have e-mailed you about it. but thank you, thank you, thank you, THANK YOU. *does Hamutarou dance around computer room and sings "200% no Jumon"*)

and mmm. bubble tea. strawberry. in the comfort of my own home. num. XD

(p.p.s. Sabina, i don't know why the links weren't working for you earlier; i just tested them and they seemed to be working fine as far as d/ling stuff from me. i just switched them over to the alternate [and more reliable] URL just in case, however...if they don't work now, i don't know what to tell you. XD and y'know, i'm honestly not one for RPS in general. what happened there was that a certain evil friend of mine traumatised me with a bit of particularly painful RPS, so i of course had to go and purposely seek something awful out to return the favour...and that's how all that came about. really. i swear. XD

and you're welcome for any help i was able to provide. that Missy Elliott thing is just too much. XD i unfortunately don't have the Cure cover, or else it'd have been up here already. XD though it is entertaining, and should i happen across it, i'll post it very shortly thereafter, i assure you. and i haven't seen Velvet Goldmine yet. am i missing out on true RPS Enlightenment? ^^)

EVERY NIGHT WE'RE GONE AND SING KARAOKE SONGS

: the house humming around me.

*shakes head in bemusement*

wow, what luck. Eric's only had his new car (a '94 Civic SI) for a little under one week and already something's happened to it. o.o;;;

long story short, it seems part of his exhaust has been ripped right out of the muffler in his friend's driveway. aieee. he and Sarah are on their way over even as i type this. whee. ^^

at any rate, partially cos i don't know why i didn't do this sooner, and partially cos A Whole Lot Of Talk Has Been Going On Around Here About Joy Division And I Actually Wasn't The One Starting It...well, i have gifts for you. should you choose to accept them. ^^

both are taken from a live recording done at Les Bains Douches, Paris, on 18 December 1979. it was released commercially in April of 2001, though of course bootlegs abound (and i'm amused to note that apparently some of the live material found on this and the other recent "Factory Vaults" release was only found due to hunting up various bootlegs to try to find ones with decent enough sound quality for them to work with...XD) and as you may or may not be aware, i tend to prefer recordings of them doing their stuff live (which inevitably makes me wish i were a bit older so that i could have seen them, perhaps...i was 1 year, 3 months, and approximately 9 days of age when this show happened, f'rinstance...XD) vastly over the studio recordings. which isn't to say that the studio recordings don't have a certain charm of their own. but the power of live recordings such as these is undeniable.

so if you've got a moment, listen. you get my very favourite track on this disc, Disorder...which shines so brilliantly it's almost painful, and which never fails to make me want to bounce around wherever i am endlessly. and you also get the inescapable (if overplayed and overcovered and overreferenced) Love Will Tear Us Apart. it's not the stately, lovely pop song you've long been familiar with. it's sped up, churning, furious...and worth your time to hear. ^.-

if you've got a moment, that is. enjoy. go buy this. ^^

LOVE WILL FREAK US TOGETHER

this is especially for Sabina, but for anyone else interested:

go here to find the boot mentioned below. as well as many others.

that will be all for now. now i must go home. XD

IT WAS SUMMER...NOW IT'S AUTUMN

: "pudding." lush.

before i forget, Sabina, have you happened to hear the mash-up/bootleg (the choice of referent term, i leave completely at your discretion) featuring the vocal tracks from Missy Elliott's "Get Ur Freak On" superimposed and timed PERFECTLY over the music from the original Joy Division rendering of "Love Will Tear Us Apart"...? called "Love Will Freak Us"...?

if not, i'll provide a link later. (though i've referenced it here before, i don't believe i ever did post a link here...^.-)

at any rate, i am now reasonably sure that autumn really is here. it's something i know not because of weather changes, or because of calendars, or indeed because of anything external.

no, no...i know this because i feel the urge to do Yummy Things With Pumpkins. mmm, pumpkin soup! which i have at least three good recipes for (after having not been able to find any when last i was looking...eee, i went a little cookbook crazy, let's just say...XD). back when i was a wee intern working on a local rockabilly fanzine (also when i was interning at Scratchie), the proprietress of (un)said fanzine made...pumpkin soup! apparently, it was a great family tradition of hers, and her dad had passed the recipe on to her, and she HAD to make some every year come autumn. and so, she'd made some...and had a HUGE pot of it on the stove, and much more sitting in the freezer. she offered me a bowl, and i was instantly hooked. creamy, sweet, spicy, pumpkiny...beautiful. *^^* soup heaven. granted, i do as a general rule love soup in general, but this was AMAZING.

and that was the first time i'd had it, and as i stopped interning there not too long afterward, i never did get the chance to ask her for the recipe. i wonder if she would've shared it anyway, it being such a Hallowed Family Tradition and all. but i'll never know now.

and so, the great search began some years later when i had a kitchen of my own to experiment in, and was directly responsible for purchasing the stuff that went in it. and i did manage to achieve something similar just by memory of how it tasted and throwing Various Things into the pot...but i suspect i used far more cream than she had. XD it was good, but not the same. and not quite right.

so, i will try again with the recipes i've got now. they do look quite promising. and pumpkin bread! i MUST make pumpkin bread! pumpkin bread is some of the best bread ever. unless, of course, you're allergic to and/or just plain don't like pumpkins. in which case, i have only pity for you, as you're missing out. ^.- (see why i wish i'd grown pumpkins? what's wrong with me? --;;; there's always next year...)

also, i'm going to try my hand at sweet potato pie. while i've made pie before, i've never made this kind. but it's SO GOOD. so i think i'll try this weekend. this recipe looks promising; i tried searching through all my books that i've got at home for a recipe for this, but it was all for naught. (although i do apparently have a recipe for steak-and-kidney pie, but that's not the same thing at all. XD) the recipe above looked the most promising of all i've managed to dig up online...or the most potato-y, at least. the others all called for far less potato-ness, and we just can't have that now, can we? XD i'll have to use a pastry crust recipe from elsewhere, though...and i know i've got a few of those around. so no worries. ^^

must get a pastry cutter, though...it's one tool i actually haven't got in my kitchen, shockingly enough. probably cos i don't do much in the way of pastry-making. but especially since i don't have a mixer and therefore will be doing this by hand (as i tend to do most things anyway), i definitely need one. ^^

garden continues to do well. tomato is out of control. it's quite lovely. we had our first pepper from the flamingo pepper plants yesterday! it would've been better had it not fallen off and baked on the stones surrounding the tree next to the garden all day, but it was otherwise good. weird, thinking that i'd grown it from a seed. ^^ will be better fresh off the plant, though. and/or chilled, though there's something inherently magical about eating veggies and fruits fresh off the plant/tree from which they came. ^^ the basil is doing TREMENDOUSLY...both the sweet and purple are in flower now and it's really a sight to see. the popcorn is threatening world domination; it's very exciting. the sugar snap peas need poles; must get some this weekend. should probably get some for the cucumbers as well. one lonely little lettuce is growing; must plant more and some more spinach this weekend, since none of that has come up so far. (it was probably angry about our sudden spate of hot weather earlier this week. >.<;;;) strawberry is wonderful; potatos are wonderful; asparagus is wonderful. oh, and the aloe seems almost fully recovered and quite perky now, thank you very much. ^-^

perhaps more later. busy. coworker's last day is tomorrow and she just came around and gave us all a piece of bourbon fudge. num. ^^

[addendum: keep forgetting to mention, but as Fi already mentioned some time ago, Bis will be playing in the US again soon. thing is, they've announced that apart from that date during the Electroclash Festival at Warsaw (which apparently isn't even confirmed yet), and a few surrounding gigs in NJ and possibly Northampton, they won't be hitting anywhere else in the US at this time. ;.;

so those of you in the area who care, GO SEE THEM. they put on a GREAT live show. and if you get the chance to meet and talk to them, DO IT. they're really nice. really. ^^]

Puu-san, It Was Really Nothing...

: "out of control." chemical brothers.

earlier conversation via e-mail with Puu:
____________________________________________
me: the revenge of the foppish has already begun.

Puu: Your fop-fu is no match for my flying crane ghei kick!
____________________________________________

why do i hear Mortal Kombat music in my head now? n.n;;;

we need a fop-fu fighting game. XXXXXXXXXXXD

I KNOW THERE'S NOTHING BETTER; THERE'S NONE MORE SUPER-TOUGH

: "am i loud enough?" bis.

birthday celebration was good. Spaz took me out to dinner, where we got a double milkshake bonus by accident! ^-^ he'd ordered a double chocolate shake and i'd ordered a mocha, and they made ours twice by accident, so they offered to pack them up into to-go cups so we could take the doubles home. no extra charge. ^_______^ half my dinner's in the fridge as well...too much food, but v. v. good. ^^

when we got home, Spaz had decorated the kitchen with Powerpuff birthday stuff...a big birthday banner was hanging up and a big helium balloon attached to one of my presents. ^-^ awww, far too cute. XD i got Neil Gaiman's Live at the Aladdin video, from the Last Angel tour he did in 2000 for the Comic Book Legal Defense Fund (please go and support them if you've got a moment...? ^^). haven't watched it yet, but am v. Excited...i'd wanted to go to this when he was in Chicago that year (was at the Vic, IIRC), but i think it was on a Thursday or something and so i couldn't go. ;.; so, 'twill be exciting. ^^ also got a few of those little booklets that Urb handed out at the NYC premiere of 24 Hour Party People. ^^ which are amusing...and hrrm, now i have even less reason to buy the soundtrack (which i wasn't going to anyway, but.): the liner notes are reprinted in their entirety in this book! XD and they're quite hilarious. i'll have to share some later. of course all written by one Anthony H. Wilson. oi.

my mom called at work yesterday to say happy birthday and let me know she'd mailed her present yesterday afternoon. i think i know what it is, but i could well be surprised. some books i'd ordered arrived yesterday too, so that was a nice present as well.

i have such good friends. no, not just because people have given me Stuff. but in general. you all are far too nice to me. sankyuu. XD

perhaps more later.

SEE THESE MARKS ON OUR NECKS THAT WE'RE TRYING TO HIDE

: "secret vampires. (live)" bis.

so for my birthday, my boss (who also really likes to bake) made these really nummy gingerbread cupcakes topped with lemon frosting. VERY good. ^^ and of course, she made more than enough to share, so she put them out on the little table where we all put things when we want to share them with the rest of the department-at-large.

thing is, there is a joke about how i'm really 84 today. hence, a sign above the cupcakes asking people to have one in honour of my birthday, with a little side note about how i'm 84. so i'm getting lots of entertaining birthday greetings. XD

(at any rate, there is an explanation that i offered Rob and will now extend to you as well...[warning: mp3. not too big. but just so you know.])

(no wonder my memory's going; now i don't feel so bad! XD)

oh, and unrelatedly, today is also Rob & Nancy's anniversary. so i wish them both a most bloody and cowbell-filled happy one indeed. ^-^

I AM A B-SIDE

: "24." sakamoto maaya.

see? i am. XD

much wub to all who have wished me birthday greetings. and who will wish me birthday greetings. 'tis muchly appreciated, especially since i have a terrible memory and lately have to keep asking people when their birthdays actually are, even though i really ought to know by now...^^;;;

weekend was alright. Friday night was fun; met up with Jon and went out to dinner, then went over to Eric and Sarah's new place and hung out. Jon had been there before, but we hadn't, so we got the grand tour. it's a REALLY nice place, and they got a really great deal on it. and the floors (hardwood) just got redone, so they're REALLY nice. it's a very cozy place, and all of Sarah's candles (mmm, apple cider!) everywhere make it even moreso. very nice. watched bad movies, played NES and SNES games, and had loads of fun. till around 5am, in fact. we ought to do stuff like this more often. ^^

went home, immediately fell unconscious, woke up around 3 or so. i decided it was time for french toast, so french toast was made. XD mmm, 4pm breakfasts! ^^ did lots of other stuff, watched bad TV, poked at my keyboard for awhile while Spaz did, er, something to the car. (top-secret stuff, you understand. cannae compromise the security, even though prolly no one who would care reads this blog. but. XD)

Sunday was rather uneventful as well; went and saw Signs, which was rather disappointing, but i hadn't been expecting the world of it, so i don't think i was as disappointed as some people i know were. but i do think the only reason this has got the sort of critical and public lauding that it has is because of how poor its competition has been. relatively speaking, for what's been in mass-market release this summer, it is a pretty decent movie. generally speaking, however, it's rather eh. and the ending is rather lame. the most entertaining part of the movie was Bo.

anyway, after that, went home and did other stuff for awhile. garden's doing decently; have at least 10 sugar snap peas and 4 or 5 cucumbers coming up. one little lonely lettuce, and the spinach hasn't sprouted at all so i do believe i'll have to replant. peppers continue to do well, as does the tomato, the strawberry, the potatoes, the asparagus, and the popcorn. oh, and the basil! both sweet and purple are flowering right now and it's SO cool! ^-^ we also went and got an aloe plant on Friday, so that's now recuperating from its stay in Ikea (it was pretty badly off when we got it, but it was one of the only two they had left when we were there Friday; we'd been there two weeks ago and saw a whole display of them then, but didn't have a pot big enough to put it into and it was obvious that it needed repotting in a bad way, so we waited. ;.;). i think it'll be fine, given proper care. ^^

Kristina, i've got How To Eat, as well as the unfortunately titled (stop laughing at me; it IS a silly title, but goddammit if you were familiar with Nigella at all, you'd understand...XD) How to be a Domestic Goddess: Baking and the Art of Comfort Cooking. they're both quite useful, although i don't care at all for her scone recipe (which i think is in the book i've got that you don't, anyway) and i fundamentally disagree with her stance on salads and how they should only have green things in them. but i really enjoy her writing and for the most part enjoy both books quite a lot. i didn't used to have a lot of cookbooks, but i kept wondering how this was made, and how that was made, and my mom hadn't done much cooking when i was younger and didn't really teach me much, so i wanted to do stuff for myself. i like making stuff. a lot. eating it is fun too, if it turns out well, but i really just like creating things. it's loads of fun...it's only the cleanup that sucks. XD so i have a lot more cookbooks than i did when i started. including one big thick one solely on soup! mmm, soup. (which reminds me: i wish i'd grown pumpkins. cos then it'd be really easy to make pumpkin soup. although it isn't exactly hard to run out to the store and buy a pumpkin and make soup, or even canned pumpkin...but there's a certain amusement in having really done it all myself. XD)

(i'm not making my own birthday cake, though. i make plenty for other people, and i do enjoy it, but it seems really silly to make one for myself. must draw the [chocolate buttercream icing] line somewhere. XD)

YOU'LL BE A GREAT AUDIENCE

: that happy hardcore "let's play some tetris, motherfucker!" thing again. THANKS. XD

...but will we be a great band? that remains to be seen. XD

anyrate, consider this an Official Announcement. in the event that you live near or are planning to be in the vicinity of Cincinnati (or more specifically, the Holiday Inn Cincinnati Airport in Erlanger, KY) during the weekend of October 18-20, SWEK are going to be guests at Sugoicon. we'll be playing at least one show, although i don't have full details yet on when and where. more details will be posted as soon as i've got them.

so come see us, if you can!

...please? ;.;

and now, i must go. for i have much to Prepare.

bwahahhahaah. XD

THAT WHICH CANNOT BE NAMED

so, er, i need your help.

if you're willing to offer it, that is. ^.-

there's a song that's been plaguing me. it's on the CD i mentioned in the entry below this one. the problem is, like a bit of a moron, i failed to label this CD when i made it. since it was for me and me alone, i didn't really care. and most of the time, i'm quite familiar with whatever it is i've put on a disc...to the point where if i'm only doing it for myself, labelling it is rather pointless.

not so with this song. plugging lyrics into Google isn't any good, either.

so please, take a listen. it reminds me a bit of the Brilliant Green. who knows, maybe it is a Brilliant Green song? i don't know, and that's why i'm asking. if you can help out, i'd be extremely grateful. it's a really lovely and sad song...i can't promise you'll enjoy it, but i'm reasonably sure most of you reading this will. and hopefully one of you can help me in the process...^^

...STRESS wa tamenaide...

: "party night (hyper parapara mix)." sanada asami, sawashiro miyuki & hikami kyoko.

it is absolutely impossible to be upset while listening to this song.

which i know is the point. but just because it's the point doesn't always necessarily mean it's so, ne?

i know you'll agree with me on this one. but for anyone unfamiliar with it, trust me. ^^

i refound a disc of randomness i'd put together awhile ago for no good reason...or so i thought, at the time. but it's helped a lot, so i think it did have a purpose after all.

ever so tired, but somewhat calmer; will dig myself out slowly but surely. after all, who else can? XD

in the meantime, i will listen to this song and utterly fail to fight the urge to chair dance.

ciao. ^^

MASHIMARO FLUFF

you can sing along if you'd like.

I am a dreamer...
hisomu power...

mitsuketai na...
kanaetai na...
shinjiru...sore dake de
koerarenai mono wa nai...
utau youni...kiseki no youni
omoi ga subete wo kaete yuku yo
kitto...kitto...
odoroku kurai...

i might've had more to say at one point, but i've forgotten all the words...

STAND BACK; I'VE GOT PLASTICWARE AND I'M NOT AFRAID TO USE IT!

: "prisstina." sleater-kinney.

i'd rather be:

the day wouldn't possibly go by any faster if i stabbed myself in the face with a spork, would it?

didn't think so. ;.;

i have too much to do and not enough time to do it. so what do i do? i decide i ought to do more. it's my own damn fault. i think i do better under pressure. either that or i'm just a sick bastard.

this is nothing new; there is no point really in my mentioning it. but i would like to say that if i seem rushed, this is why.

why oh why oh why oh why don't i have more time? too much to do, too much to do, toomuchtodo...

*thunk*

*comes to, plugs headphones in, tunes out rest of world*

there. you see, there is a simple solution to everything.

[addendum: hrrm. here's more than you ever needed or wanted to know about sporks. f'rinstance, there are rubber ones. O.O;;; also hadn't realised they were allegedly created as a result of a clear-cut case of unfortunately-worded CHOPSTICK ENVY! come to think of it, chopsticks do make better stabbing utensils and require greater skill to master. plus, they're more handy for tabletop duelling. so who wouldn't envy them? XD ]

QUICK LIKE GREASED RABBIT

: "conspiracy a-go-go (live)." bis.

Bis does a cover of "Dig Me Out."

which isn't really surprising in the slightest, but i've got to hear it.

more later.

HOW STUPID IS NOW?

my cell phone service is through AT&T Wireless.

i currently have a $.98 bill.

obviously, writing a check and spending $.37 to mail it off to them would be, well...stupid.

so i thought i'd try their online payment option.

while it doesn't have any sort of "convenience charge" associated with it, it does require a minimum payment of $5.

i'd better damn well have a $4.02 credit on my next bill, is all i'm saying. --;;; that's just...dumb. --;;;;;;;;;;

unrelatedly, you know you're upset when listening to the Smiths cheers you up. no, it's not me. 'tis the plight of someone close to me, though. ;.;

(can't help but be amused that when "The Boy with the Thorn in his Side" came on her discman, she started laughing uproariously on the bus she was on, though. and i could explain why, but i won't. well, not now, anyway. now, i will go and commence to be Productive. XD)

...lord knows, it would be the first time...XD

*snerk*

via Fifichu-chan:

take the what amusing entity are you? quiz by kimburk

...i refuse to comment further on the grounds that i might incriminate myself. XD

WORDS THAT I COULDN'T HEAR

: "popstar kill (live)." bis.

so i talked to Shinji on the phone Sunday night. around 11:38pm or so, going by the time on my caller ID. but do i remember what we talked about? NO. for apparently, i was asleep the entire conversation.

Spaz answered the phone. i'd dozed off on the couch while we were watching something or other. (or while Spaz was playing GT2. i forget which. it's all a big blur to me now anyway. XD) apparently, he handed it to me and i talked for a couple of minutes.

i didn't find this out till the next morning, when i asked if Shinji'd ever called like he'd said he was going to. to which a bewildered Spaz replied, "yeah, around 11:30! you talked to him for a couple of minutes! O.O;;;;"

eheh. ^^;;;;

he then proceeded to inform me that the conversation on my end consisted mostly of "uh huh...uh huh....uh huh..." for a minute or so, and then "bye" and hanging up. he asked what it was about, and i sleepily mumbled something about how he said he'd tell me in more detail on Tuesday, and then i dropped off back to sleep.

i haven't the faintest idea what we were even talking about. or what i might have agreed to. or what the hell is going on today, since it's Tuesday, and i'm assuming i'm therefore going to Find Out. ^^;;;

i'm going to be awfully upset if i find out that i agreed to streak around the base of Sears Tower while singing "Mary Had A Little Lamb" into a megaphone on New Year's again... >.<;;;;

more as it develops...and, er, if i feel like sharing it. XD