Leper Messiah |
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Giving the world a hand since February 3rd, 2002. "If you're gonna dine with them cannibals, sooner or later, darling, you're gonna get eaten." I pity the fool that doesn't e-mail me! People I Like NowThis Medley Wil Wheaton Freakgirl Flit Cockeyed Hockeybird Hockey Rodent NotMyDesk rc3 Jes Golbez CjB Online Kit Up Off-Wing Opinion Divinest Sense Defensetech Strategypage Juan Cole The Poor Man Gamespot ValueJudgement The Hockey Pundits PuckUpdate Margaret Cho GU Comics Wargamer PvP Propstore Isohunt Newsy-type People Talking Points Memo Americablog This Modern World Daily Kos Blueshirt Bulletin Blacksheepnews ESPN Hockey Atrios TSN Hockey Good Stuff ScrappleFace The Digital Bits TV Picks TV Tattle Top5.com The Daily Probe FARK Authors David Brin Stephen R. Donaldson Harlan Ellison David Gerrold William Gibson Diane Duane John Scalzi Archives  
Comments by YACCS 
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Saturday, May 18, 2002
From SatireWire: AL-QAEDA LIBERALS DEMAND "LIFE IN PRISON TO THE WEST""Flagrantly zonist". Heh. Speaking of "nice guys", I got this Rumination (from Top5.com) in my e-mail the other day: Oh, if only more women would take the time to find out how true that really is.... Is there a statute of limitations for wishing someone a happy birthday? I'm contemplating sending a happy birthday e-mail to someone that has refused to talk to me since....well, September. I'm not sure if it's a good idea or not, which means I'll probably go ahead & do it anyway. Maybe it's because I'm just such a "nice guy" (god, I hate that phrase!). Maybe I'm trying to take the moral high ground. Whatever. I really don't expect an answer, and to tell the truth, I wouldn't know what to do if I actually received one. I just a firm believer in acknowledging someone's existence on their birthday. At least I know I can count on all of you dear readers out there in cyberspace......right? Um...right? Hello? Is this thing on? Tom Waits lyric o' the day: When the weather gets rough and it's whiskey in the shade"Chocolate Jesus" from the album "Mule Variations" Friday, May 17, 2002
From the Daily Probe: Rolling Stones Announce 2002 "Hey, You, Get Off My Lawn" World TourHeh. Thursday, May 16, 2002
So.......my 31st birthday is in one week. Seven days. 1/52nd of a year. Ugh. Aside from the fact that almost every single one of my birthdays has been a social disaster, why am I not happier about it? At what point in Life do we change from eagerly anticipating birthdays to sullenly dreading them? When I was much younger, I loved my birthday (except for the fact that Dad was always gone fishing to Canada during my b-day--always.). It was a magical day, much like Christmas, except we didn't get out of school. It was a day where everyone was forced to pay attention to me. At the very least, I got presents. As I became a teenager, I began spending my birthdays with my friends more than my family, but the focus was still on me. Not as many gifts, but instead surrounded by my friends who enjoyed my company. At that time, birthdays were an accomplishment, a way of thumbing your nose at Life, as if to say "Ha-HAAAA! I survived another year, Life, you punk! Is that your best shot, eh, you wuss?!?" ......but somewhere between 21 and 31 the lustre of birthdays wore off, leaving a dreary shell, a rusting, battered hulk of the joy of years past. What happened in that time? Am I a less-happy person? Less idealistic? Or simply more cynical? I'm starting to hate my birthday. I don't want to do that. I want the magic back..... Tom Waits lyric o' the day: The face forgives the mirror"All the World is Green" from the album "Blood Money" Monday, May 13, 2002
Speaking of Tom Waits, I picked up both of his new albums ("Blood Money" & "Alice") on my way out of town. I listened to them exclusively all weekend. They are both fantastic albums, each with a different tone,and I think they're both better than his last ("Mule Variations", for which he won a Grammy). Both are from the operas he & his wife scored. "Alice" is "...loosely based on the obsessive Victorian-era relationship between the Rev. Charles Dodgson and young Alice Liddell -- a relationship that Dodgson, under his pen name of Lewis Carroll, transformed into the beloved 'Alice's Adventures in Wonderland.' " (quoted from the Washington Post) It's a melancholy, whistful, haunting collection of songs, not nearly as dark as... "Blood Money" is a "...variation on "Woyzeck," Georg Buchner's 1837 play about a German soldier driven to lunacy and jealousy-fueled murder by medical experiments..." (also via the Washington Post) It's very dark, brooding, and heavier than the other album, but has some of the more fantastic songs. One of the best things about Tom Waits is his unusual orchestration. What other Grammy-winning artist do you know that regularly uses such instruments as a calliope, a marimba, timpani, bongos, accordion, cello, harmonica, log drums, bass clarinet, stroh violin (what the heck is this, anyway?), toy piano, & pump organ.....in addition to the usual piano, trumpet, guitar (electric & acoustic), clarinet, & sax? And that's just on "Blood Money"! He's eccentric, cynical, intelligent, and possesses an amazingly sharp sight into the darker side of Mankind. He's also got a voice that sounds like Louis Armstrong, after a lifetime of smoking & drinking bourbon, decided one day to start gargling hot asphalt. If I had half his genius, I'd be a very rich man. I also must mention his record label Anti- (which has other artists such as Merle Haggard, The Promise Ring, Tricky, Muggs, & Buju Banton in their stable) for their streaming media event that allows people to listen to both albums in full. It's good to see a label that understands that the internet is an asset, not an enemy, and that consumers are not thieves or criminals for wanting to hear an album before purchasing it..... Well, I survived the wedding. The ceremony was pretty standard, except for the fact of the occasional pauses where the priest was translated into Mandarin. Essentially, I got to sit through the same ceremony twice. Lots of hymnal singing, too much for my tastes. I only sing in the car, and during the opening credits to the movie "Shaft". Also, the flower girl (4-5 yrs old?) became unruly & got very loud, resulting in her being escorted out. I think she was drunk. Maybe too much Children's Nyquil. The reception was a little better. The food was fantastic! 95% of the weddings I go to have the traditional cold meat platter, buns platter, cole slaw/macaroni salad bowl, & potato chip bowl. The food was thinly sliced beef, spiced & maybe smoked, the same with chicken, corn, salad, & little red potatoes that were actually good. The cake was better than most I've had as well. Everything at the reception was ok... ....until the band started up. I don't know what their name was, but they were very Midwestern, in a trailer-court, mullet-wearing kinda way. They played Elvis, Fleetwood Mac (not any good songs), a very downtempo version of Clapton's "Wonderful Tonight", and quite probably the whitest version of the Commodore's "Brick House" ever produced. Imagine someone with the whiteness of, say, Johnny Carson or Bob Hope singing "...shake it down, shake it down, shake it down now..." Now do you understand why I was laughing? In any case, I was extremely uncomfortable at the reception. I'm a pretty shy person (at least until you get to know me), and being surrounded by 200+ people I didn't know & will never see again was very trying for me. I retreated into my shell & made invisible. In fact, had not my friend Chris been there, I would've bolted after 30 min. As it was, Chris & I stayed to be the last ones there just to have a chance to talk to Bill (the groom). The next day was the BBQ/gift opening party. Naturally, it rained, which meant I was again in a house full of strangers--not a comfortable situation. The food was really good, especially the BBQ baked beans, with chunks of smoked beef mixed in. They were from a place called Smokehouse, a little BBQ place in Kansas City. The happy couple ended up with six sets of Corningware. Yes, I said six. I've been told you can never have enough, but damn!... All weekend long, Life wasn't flicking the back of my ear. In fact, I was kinda wondering where he was.... He was waiting in my car. For the drive home. When I had time to think. Three hours to Des Moines, all the time *flickflickflickflick* and <Nelson>HAAAA-haaaaaaa</Nelson> from my back seat. Yeah, just what I needed. I crashed in Des Moines at my friend Rich's house Sunday night, mainly because the hotel bed in KC was uncomfortable. In fact, I think it was simply a sheet of plywood with a sheet on it. That, plus the fact that I killed a beetle-type critter that was hiding under the alarm clock, didn't lead to a very restful hotel stay. On the upside, I got to see my goddaughter on Sunday, do some really bad magic for her, & just relax before going home. All in all, it wasn't as traumatic an experience as I had feared, but then the simple fact that Mr Bill--the ultimate bachelor--has given up the cause hasn't really sunk in yet.... Tom Waits lyric o' the day: If there's one thing you can say about Mankind"Misery is the River of the World" from the album "Blood Money" I got back two hours ago from that wedding I had been dreading. Very interesting. Lots to think about. Quick thoughts:
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