The Manual (on how to get a #1 hit the easy way) by The KLF
I expect a three page book report on this in two week's time. And none of that funny business with double-spacing and font sizes. I know those games.
The Manual (on how to get a #1 hit the easy way) by The KLF
Putting the Punk into punctuation... (well, not really).
Complete Translation Services - A History Of Punctuation: "question"
- Diminishing:: returns (ugh. i'm worried when corporate speak is the first thing that comes to mind)
- Fed up:: What the fabled merged corporations of FedEx and UPS would be called.
- 3:00 AM:: Eternal. (didn't this one appear already? anyhow, i need some good KLF right about now).
- Interfere::Interference. Pretty fantastical Doctor Who Novel. I freely admit that it's geeky; but the novel (written in 2 volumes) was pretty not what i'd expect from a cheesy SciFi pulp line.
- Often:: pronunciation (some say Offen, some say Off-ten - i can never remember what I say, or what really should be said)
- Hay:: fever. Trash Can Sinatras. Ahh there was music of an era. So 1993.
- Prediction:: Predilection (no explanation really... just like the sound of the word).
- Homophobia:: Overcompensation
- Booty call:: A great phrase to overly Enunciate; as though you were waspy old white people. "Let me tell you, Agnes, those support hose look so good on you, I might just make a boo-tee call over to your room at the Shady Pines Retirement Home tonight. Boo-yaa."
- Enunciate:: See Booty call.
Sky Cap'n and the world of get me the hell out of here.
Ungh.
I just saw Sky Captain & the World of Tomorrow. I was lured in by the lush graphics, and the promise of fun film noir scifi hijinks. I wasn't expecting the most painful dialog in a movie since Jerry Maguire.
Kerry Conran, please don't write dialog for movies again.*
I must say that the premise was intriguing, the art direction was bold, and the effects were top notch. I just couldn't bear to listen to Gwyneth Paltrow prattle on about only being able to take two pictures. Really anything sweet Polly Purebread had to say was crap. There were lots of
meaningful glances at Sky Cap'n; lots of unnecessary cloak and dagger with the damned vials, and enough already with taking the pictures. Gah.
So, it's really pretty rare that I'm in a movie and have the urge to leave. I don't think it would have been half as bad if it was a silent film, or just in another language... But the cliched dialog just made me want to go out and play pinball. I did have an interest how it would end, but barely. If only one of those giant robots could've fallen on Polly Purebread.
It was only on the ride home that I realized; this was a DeLaurentis film. I think by nature, they're designed to be watched with the volume turned down. I give you
Barbarella and
Flash Gordon. Any questions?
*Or at least have the decency to have a licensed Dramaturg look your script over.
When we last left our hero...
I was mentally toast. I still
am mentally toast. When I last blogged, I think I had just worked for the better part of the weekend (probably making it the worse part of the weekend?), tried uploading a picture, and pretty much went to autopilot. A week later, i still can't freakin' load the picture, and the autopilot is getting a little edgy looking for
Julie Hagerty.
So the brief rundown is this:
- The whole world has been turned upside down, because I'm moving at the end of the month.
- Friday night: Happy hour (with the HA Peeps) = very fun indeed.
- Friday night: Marche (with James (nee Morrissey photo) and his peeps for a birthday/going away shindig) = very fun peeps; wacky atmosphere; food just wasn't quite there for me. I did eat rabbit however (I'm not entirely sure what Elmer Fudd was after all those years).
- Saturday: Went to Jim's family reunion. Wacky. I think if I were to go to one of my mom's family reuinions, it would probably feel the same; i wouldn't know anyone.
- Saturday evening: purging, culling, and trashing. I'm trying to get rid of the stuff i've had since i moved in (like 5+ years) and haven't touched. So far, 5 garbage bags of clothes, two shopping bags of shoes. Dang. I never knew.
- Sunday Morning: purging culling and trashing part 2. Also waiting for potential sublet to show, but so far no luck.
- Sunday Afternoon: Dairyland Greyhound track in Kenosha. It's been there like 20 years, and I'm finally going.
- Sunday Evening: Picking up boxes from my mom's house. Also going to see mystery furniture that she told me that i wanted/needed site unseen. Aparently it's gorgeous. We'll see.
So in a nutshell, that's my weekend. Belive me when I say I have a few real bits lined up for the next whenever. I just need to coax them out of my head, and into blogger.
Haven't fallen off the face of the earth... yet.
I've snapped a couple pics. They'll be up soon; with stories even... Just bear with me... It's been a marathon weekend of work.
The days of Brandy and Roses
I love how serendipity works. Yesterday I was at Jim's house in the morning after a delicious breakfast at the Little Corner Restaurant (at Broadway & Thorndale; Yummy, inexpensive food, superlative people working there)... He'd gone off to explore county fairs in far off lands, and I was about to leave, when I walked out of his apartment closed the door behind me and realized that my keys weren't in my pocket. gah!!! Luckilly, I had my cellphone with me and called Jim's neighbor and creative goddess
Brandy. She has a key for just these instances, and happened to be home.
So I popped up, and she was entertaining yet another neighbor, Rose. We got to talking and digressing and following umpteen tangents. Brandy's pad truly is a cabinet of wonder, with all kinds of fancy art and craft projects past and present that spawn so many more conversations. What started out as a quick visit to pick up keys, turned into a coffee klatsch (minus the coffee) and after what was probably a half hour (could've been longer; i really have no concept of time, but you already knew that) Rose begged for a cracker, since she was really hungry and starting to space. I felt that hunger pokin' at me-pokin' at me, and suggested we just move the coffee klatsch and get lunch. While ruminating on what kind of grub to get, Rose mentioned that she'd never been to the Little Corner restaurant, and Brandy and I insisted she should try it. I have no problem at all going to the same restaurant for Breakfast and Lunch in the same day. I had the best BLT club ever; Fantastic tomato barley soup; and fries that were just the right combination of squishy on the inside, and crispy on the outside. Mmmmmmmm... Diner nirvana.
So what started as a mild inconvenience turned into an enjoyable afternoon with fun peeps.
Anyhow, I get to see Brandy and Rose again today for Brandy's End O' the Summer Pot O' Luck Pic A' Nic. I'm bringing a variation of my Barely Famous Twinkiemisu for consumption. Also some kick-ass tomatillo salsa I made last week. Now there's a taste sensation: Twinkiemisu and Tomatillo Salsa.
Of Carpetbaggers and Men
So Illinois politics these days are like a fat man in a tank top at a carnival; You can't help but notice it, but you don't want it right next to you in line for the tilt-a-whirl.
Alan Keyes. This man is a columnist's dream. He says one outrageous thing after another, which may or may not contradict fiery edicts he's made before; then accuses his interviewer of working for the Democrats. Leaving his piss-and-vinegar rhetoric aside, I have to wonder,
why would anyone in their right mind vote for this right-wingnut? Illinois' current outgoing Republican Senator, Peter Fitzgerald, alienated the rank and file Repubs by folowing his own brand of progressivism failing to follow the party line, like a good sheep-- er- Elephant. He couldn't do any of the deal making that's needed to play the politics game.
So would the people of Illinois really want to elect another nut-job and four time elections failure, that can't even get along with his own party, to represent them in the Senate? Alan Keyes has never held an elected office; but he does know how to make a spectacle. Has the Illinois Republican party just decided to turn campagning for Senate into some bizarre reality show?
Obligatory Sister Blog / Food issues 2
So, my sister was briefly in town; but currentlyshe's off to Indianapolis to spend Labor Day with my mom and some friends o' the family. In that time we met in Waukegan at the
Quonset for Mona's favorite Pizza Ever. It ranks right up there for me as well; probably my favorite thin crust pizza around. Anyhow, Jim & I drove up to Wauktown, and a large cast of Mona's friends (and their children or significant others) showed up, and lots of hillarity ensued. Lots of wildly innacurate stories were told. Lots of delectible pizza was embibed. A riot was had by all.
I'm expecting Mona and mom to stop thru Chicago when they're coming back from Indy, and maybe we can make Mona eat some exotic food; like Thai, Indian, Ethiopian, or Mexican (this is a constant battle every time we try to go out to eat).
I should let it be known that I'm a picky eater
(see earlier post about non-corporeal meats); perhaps
random might be more appropriate; but there are some things that just I don't eat. The whole universe of seafood* for instance; does absolutely nothing for me. And don't even talk to me about shrimp or lobster; giant sea insects are what they are.
My sister is one step crazier. Quite often my mom will tell her about the restaurants we go to in Chicago that are of whatever non-aryan national origin, and Mona's response invariably is "I'm glad I didn't go."
Like most Americans, I think the mentions of curries and cous couses just put her off. I suppose it's understandable... I think at first I was slow to adopt to some of the cuisines that now I don't think I could live with out. I think it took me a while to find the tastes that appealed to me. Thai food for instance; I think I'd had Pad Thai a few times, and it did nothing for me. But the first time I had Panang Curried Chicken, I was in love. From there all the other foods just sorta fell into place.
Often times, my mom and Mona's friend Carolyn would come to town, and we'd try whatever restaurant strikes our fancy (most recently was the fantabulous
Ethiopian Diamond) and at some point of the conversation there's the "She probably wouldn't try anything here," statement. And I just think, if we could find that
one dish that will rock her world and make her change her mind about Ethiopian/Indian/Swedish/Peruvian/Flemmish or whatever food forever.
I think the next time I have to mule some frozen cheese and sausage pizzas down to Texas for her (apparently, cheese and sausage pizzas are unheard of there), I'll do it on the condition that she'll have to go a the restaurant of my choice when she's next in Chicago and try something
different.
* Strangely enough, Mona does eat fish; so maybe i can't make too much fun of her? Nahh.
