Monday, August 31, 2009

This n' that

Most of my observations about this past weekend are going to get their own separate post.
I tweeted for the first time in ages. I've also got some cool, suprising new followers @ Twitter. I don't think I'm worthy of the attention, but I definitely appreciate it. :D

I was swamped at work today, but that seems like every Monday. :D

On the down side, I was bummed I couldn't make it to the movie theater before Thirst left. Now, I guess I'll have to catch it on DVD. :( But this is a great excuse to buy some other J-horror movies on DVD, that have been recommended to me by a friend that I've been wanting to catch for the longest time. }:)

I've got most of my Halloween costume together, just in case I do wind up going to a party. Hopefully y'all will get as much of a kick out of it, as I think I'm going to.


Later,

Friday, August 28, 2009

They really do have all types of hobby and crafts magazines out there!

I was looking at last month's issue of Library Journal and I noticed a blurb about a magazine geared towards wood carvers (The artwork on the cover was excellent!). I've seen magazines geared toward people who paint and assemble model kits (I used to.). People who knit, do needlepoint, etc. I've seen magazines geared toward people who draw and/or paint. But woodcarving, wow! Who knew?

My poor lil' Cosbaby

I won one of those mini Cosbabies off eBay a few weeks back. (The one with the letter jacket like the one Michael Jackson has on at the beginning of Thriller.) So anyway, I have him on my desk at work. I picked him up to see what his range of movement was, and little bits of the sleeve of his jacket came off. :(

So I go to CVS and I get some crazy glue. I managed to fix him, and then I realized that I put right hand on facing the wrong way. :( So, I broke the wrist trying to reset it. (I didn't buy it to resell it, so I'm not to worried about the collectability aspect of it.) I actually think they're a bit overpriced for how small they are, so I wasn't even entertaining the thought of getting another one. Besides, I grew up on The Velveteen Rabbit, The Mouse and His Child, and Dean Koontz's Oddkins (Yeah, I know, sad isn't it?). If for the most part the doll is still fine, I'm not getting rid of it.

Thursday, August 27, 2009

Acuvue Oasis

I'm back in contacts again. Hopefully, these will be the keepers. The real test will be tomorrow morning.

4:04pm Fri (I began this entry yesterday)- The contacts are working like a charm so far. And to think the problem was just that I had dry eyes. 1 doctor's visit and 2 different brand switches later. lol Better late than never. :)

Cover story on the September 2009 issue of GQ

Judging by what I've seen on the internet (articles, various celeb and nonceleb blogs, etc.), I'm not the only one ticked about this. I'm not just complaining about the title either. (You mean out of all the photos of Michael being Michael this guy couldn't find one where he doesn't look tired and slightly annoyed?) I don't get it...

Wednesday, August 26, 2009

TMZ polls, the homicide ruling, etc.

I think the TMZ polls are a bit contradictory or two entirely different sets of people visit that site.



I was glad to see that most people think that Dr. should be held at least partially responsible. What pissed me off however, was that people think Michael Jackson is responsible for his own addiction. That makes absolutely no sense to me.



From what I understand these problems with painkillers happened as a result of the burns he got filming one of the Pepsi commercials. Now true no one forced him to do the Pepsi commercial, but did he burn himself?



I'm not sure when he started having trouble sleeping, that I would have to research. I do have insomnia, so I know how difficult it can be. Maybe because people don't see it as a "serious" problem, they think it's an easy thing to take care of. It isn't. I've tried chamomile tea. Warm milk won't make me do anything but :P, so scratch that. For a period of time alcoholic beverages worked, but it got to the point where cocktails wouldn't do anything. I don't like the taste of really strong liquour and I hate feeling hungover. So using alcohol got old pretty quick. I also don't want or need to become an alcoholic, as I have quite enough on my plate. Then I started trying OTC sleeping aids, but after a while, 1 wouldn't work. It got to the point where I was quadrupling pills. I never went past that, because I wanted to wake up in the morning (There's just too much I haven't done yet that I want to do.). Now, I take a prescription sleeping aid, but it's getting to that point where one pill isn't doing it for me anymore.



Now, I'm an everyday person, but add on to that the pressures of celebrity (constantly wanting and needing to top yourself, etc.), illness, second (and third?) degree burns that left you permanently scarred and in pain, I'm not sure about the money problems or the accusations...Add on to that people ridiculing you, that's a lot of stress even for an every day person. And he's responsible for his own addiction? No, I'm sorry, I just don't think that's a fair judgment at all.

David Nordahl and his Michael Jackson art

I guess the first David Nordahl Michael Jackson piece that caught my eye was the Tryptich that was featured on the cover of last week's USA Today Life weekend section. I would love to be able to see some of that artwork in person. I'm one of those people that could wander a museum for hours. I mainly enjoy art/pop culture type museums, but I will visit museums that focus on natural history too. I've heard that there will be an exhibition of Michael Jackson art at some point, but I don't know where or what will be featured.

"Field of Dreams"-I'm going to have to look at that one again, because I missed Janet. Is she adult Janet or child Janet? (That might be how I missed her, because I was looking for another adult.)

The portrait where the cherubs are putting flowers in Michael's hair...-I'm not sure I'm getting what that paintings saying...It's kind of jarring to see a clearly male body and then the face is very androgynous. More so than some of Nordahl's other works.

I like Nordahl's attention to detail. He's got Michael's profile spot on in the detail on the throne.

I enjoyed getting further insight into the kind of person Michael was. (I never knew about the Chevy Blazer. I'd heard about him being a practical joker though. I didn't know about the chicken wings either. That tickles me for some odd reason.)

And to think all this came from Michael wanting this guy to give him art lessons...I think that's wild. I've seen some of Michael's drawings too, he could draw in a couple of different styles. You could see he could have done something with his artwork too...

This I think is another one of those things about Michael Jackson that I guess is always going to fascinate me.

I'm afraid to post pictures with this blog entry, because I'm so not looking to get sued.

Tuesday, August 25, 2009

Michael Jackson's death ruled a homicide...

I just found this out today. I'm angry and sad at the same time about so much right now, I don't think one more thing would tip the scales.

Friday, August 21, 2009

Bryton James

I used to watch Y&R with my mom, and I had no idea Bryton James was Little Richie on Family Matters. All I knew was that he looked familiar. Picking up the August 25, 2009 issue of Soap Opera Digest (which I used to buy for my mom), now I realize why.

Tuesday, August 18, 2009

This seasons cast of Dancing With the Stars

I was a bit disappointed that they didn't pick Lou Ferrigno. I'd have watched this season to see him. I'm not a Donny Osmond fan. I notice there seem to be a lot of women this season. Is it always this imbalanced or are they trying to go after a new demographic or something? Then they've also got to many people from similiar areas to me. They have Mya and Macy Gray, Melissa Joan Hart and Debi Mazar (I actually like some of Debi Mazar's work. I might watch for her, Maya, and Macy Gray, but I'm still not as motivated as I would've been had they picked Lou Ferrigno) . Aaron Carter and Donny Osmond (they're from different eras yeah, but you get my point). I remember who Kathy Ireland is. Most of the others, I hadn't really heard of before. Reality shows don't really hold my interest for very long, because to me, they're too repetitive/redundant.

Lovely Bones is going to be a movie...

I don't think I can watch this, considering I barely got through the first chapter of the book. I don't know whether it's got to do with surviving an attempting sexual assault (this guy was supposed to be my friend. That somehow made it worse to me than having a stranger pull that.), or the drama with stalker dude, or a combination of both, but right now, I just really can't handle it.

This messes with my head big time...

I was checking my e-mail accounts at Yahoo! when I came across this:


http://www.thedailynewsegypt.com/article.aspx?ArticleID=23694


I don't have any immediate plans to visit Chicago, but I would love to check this display/exhibit (Depending on how long it's in Chicago for, I just may...) out in person. I want to know if this resemblance is photoshopped or it's really this ...uncanny. (Is it mass hypnosis/hallucination or do some of us out there just really, really, miss him this badly? I think part of the answer to my question is answered by how quickly that Hamilton Collection figurine sold out and album chart sales/records.) It's unsettling...I wish the statue wasn't of a princess though (There's too much negativity about Michael Jackson's sexuality as it is)...I wish the statue had been of someone kind of like Akhenaton, but an "undiscovered" pharoh(My imagination...and the things that come from it...). Maybe that's just me being narrow-minded though...Maybe it's possible to have been another sex in your past life (if there are such things) and it may or may not have anything to do with one's sexuality...I've always been curious about that kind of thing, but never really had a set belief in reincarnation one way or the other. I think it's stupid and arrogant to rule stuff out, just because it's hard to conceive of it though. There's too much out there in nature to marvel at, for me not to think that way...

I wonder if Michael Jackson ever saw this statue...I don't think he was trying to look like it/her...If he did...I wonder how much our subconcious mind affects the decisions we make conciously...

I don't think I'll be able to look at the Remember the Time video in exactly quite the same way now...It's not really a good or a bad thing...just kind of odd. I didn't even plan to keep writing about Michael Jackson this long or quite this often, but he just keeps popping up in the places I least expect...I know I definitely didn't expect to be greeted this morning by the image The Field Museum in Chicago released.

You know what's funny? I came thisclose to putting on my silver winged Isis pendant (I have boxes of Ancient Egyptian themed items. My jewelry is only part of the collection. For the longest time, I've been fascinated by that time and place [At least until the Greek and Roman influence starts to take over...Can't remember the time period...].... this morning, but decided against it at the last minute...bizarre...What a long, strange, trip life is...

Friday, August 14, 2009

Wolverine 2?

I hear this one takes place in Japan...if it's done right it should be very interesting...I hope it's better than the last one...Speaking of Wolverine, the version Hot Toys put out is...he takes my breath away...if I was a billionaire or if I hit the lottery for billions...I would so be getting him...(Unfortunately, for me, I'm not a billionaire, which means, that with the economy and HT's prices, I can only really afford to go gaga over and buy one of their figures per year, if I'm lucky. This year...my pick is HT's Thriller Michael Jackson...However, I will make an exception if they do letter jacket werelynx-cat beastie Thriller Michael too.)

Maxi dresses are from Hell

Ok, remember how I was saying that I wasn't really into this maxi dress trend?

I finally found one I could live with at Fashion Bug. I tried it on, the colors flattered my skin tone, and I didn't look hideous, so I bought it. I wore it exactly one day and going up stairs, I kept tripping over my hem, so I had to lift my skirt every time, I was climbing stairs, not an easy task if your hands aren't free, which some of the time mine weren't. Going up the stairs to my apartment, I stepped on my hem, and fell onto one of my knees. I now have a purple bruise and a scrape on my left knee. (Cute when you're six, not so much when you're 36.) : /

Charlaine Harris's Dead and Gone

For the most part, the book moved pretty quickly. I liked it, but at this point, I'm just as confused as Sookie about Bill and Eric...I'd like to hear Eric's reason for why he didn't come to her aid instead of Bill, before I make up my mind, and then, depending on the reason, I might not be able to do it even then...lol Just when I thought I had it all figured out...

Bubba...I was glad to see him. I was over on Vampire Wire, and someone in the comments thread for the True Blood TV series said that they missed the fact that his character isn't on the show. I sort of do too..., but he'd be kind of a distraction...I'd give an example, but I don't like where my thoughts are headed...It's a sad, creepy, scary place filled with longing and regret and I'll leave it at that.

Can't say I was sorry to see Crystal go, although I was sorry for how it happened.

Faeries...I knew about iron, but I'd never heard about lemon juice before...interesting.

To have Dermot resemble Jason...I thought that was an odd choice, but it worked. Kind of hoky, but I grew up on 60's, 70's and 80's sitcoms, so it's nothing I haven't seen before.

I thought it was very cool the different reactions to the weres and shifters "coming out". I thought it was done very realistically as well. Just about any group considered a minority could probably plug themselves in the plot there and it would still fit. I don't mean that to be flippant either. The "Other" in literature, TV, and other media is almost always a reflection of some type of phobia society exhibits towards [insert group of choice here.]. I think that's part of the reason of why I never completely left my love of paranormal literature behind in my teens. I can still identify with the outcast, and I don't think I'll ever stop...

Bumpit(s)...

I've seen this product, I do want a change from just wearing my hair "flat", but I can't say running around looking like a chocolate version of the Progressive girl or Elvira is going to be a step up for me. If you want to check out what I'm talking about, if you haven't already seen the ads on TV, go here:


https://www.bumpits.com/

They're remaking Poltergeist????!!!!

WTF????!!!! What was wrong with the first one?

That is one of the few horror movies involving a TV that has scared the s*#! out of me. The Ring, of course is the other.

What is with the unnecessary Hollywood movie remakes?

I've just seen the previews for Rob Zombie's Halloween II. I hope he has a completely different idea from the original Halloween III, because that ish sucked!

Thursday, August 13, 2009

Shoutout

Shoutout to the Cashier at CVS at the intersection of L Street and ? around the corner from Au Bon Pain. I don't remember if she had a nametag on. I was in a hurry and it didn't occur to me that I should have read it, if she had one, until I'd left. They didn't have large bags and I'd bought the huge 12 pack of Scott's that was on sale. She made me a bag with sturdy handles out of smaller bags. How often do you get service like that in retail? She had a very pleasant attitude too. : D Again, I don't know who this woman is, but she rocks! Thank you!

The Jacksons Variety Show

It's funny the things you remember...I think my earliest memories start around the age of three...I can remember the first and the last time that I ever saw my great grandparents. Recently, I won a DVD of the Jacksons variety show off eBay. I received it a few days ago in the mail. The quality wasn't crappy at all, it was wonderful, it was so wonderful in fact, that it jogged my memory. I can remember that opening sequence to the show. I remember the track/jogging/running suits. I thought those glass bulbs were balloons, but I did remember them...

Gooey Decimal System...

There's a group on Facebook that's trying to get Ben and Jerry's to come out with a library-themed ice cream (which considering all the flavors they do/did have, I'm kind of suprised that they don't have a library themed flavor.). I did join it. I think I'm in favor of the Gooey Decimal System-I like the name and the idea of dark fudge alphabet letters, with caramel swirls, in hazelnut ice cream definitely sounds appetizing. This is another one of those developments that I think will be interesting to see play out.

Les Paul is gone...

Just saw this on msn.com. I doubt I would know who this guy was if it hadn't been for Slash. (When I'm into a musician, an entertainer, an actor or whoever, and they cite influences, etc. I'm inquisitive enough that I do research...9 times out of ten, it opens up whole new worlds for me.) So many trailblazers...gone, but definitely not forgotten.

Wednesday, August 12, 2009

The international trailer for the Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus

I am so excited to see this movie! I talked about Heath Ledger's footage, but I hadn't seen Johnny Depp's until now...Wow!

The joys of Twitter...

I wanted to tweet about baking chicken without burning the house down or poisoning anyone and I guess it was around 9@ night on Monday? I couldn't even get on, because so many other people got it in their heads to "tweet" at the same time. Is that like the peak time or something? I don't remember that ever happening to me on facebook...Maybe it's because I'm not on it enough...

Tuesday, August 11, 2009

Eunice Kennedy Shriver

Even though this was not unexpected...I'm still sorry to hear this. My sister used to work for her. My thoughts and prayers go out to the family.

Friday, August 7, 2009

Danny Trejo in The Machete

I saw something about this at the bottom of the screen when Attack of the Show was on...Wasn't this one of those trailers that was shown during Grindhouse? I think it came on before DeathProof, but I'm not sure...I'd love to see it regardless...I've seen that dude in so many things...From Dusk 'Til Dawn...I like how eclectic the cast to this movie is...yeah, I definitely want to check this out when it's released.

John Hughes is gone...

Just heard this last night...Didn't feel like rushing to the computer, especially when almost everyone is saying the same thing. :(



Another big part of my life in the 80's gone... :( I know death is a part of life, but that doesn't make it easy...



My favorite John Hughes film, I'd have to say, is The Breakfast Club. I knew or knew of people that were like each of the kids in detention...I was probably most like the Ally Sheedy character minus all the lying. Coming in at a close second is Weird Science (who hasn't fantasized about doing what these guys do? I'd like to turn it around of course, but you get the picture. ;) ). I liked Pretty in Pink (Although, I did not like that final look for Annie Potts's character, even when it wasn't seriously dated. There's a way to have a woman dress her age without making her look dull or matronly. I wish more directors/writers/costumers, etc. realized this. I guess the older I get, the more this is going to be a pet peeve of mine.). I also liked Ferris Bueller's Day Off (Had I skipped class before? Hell yes! Our day wasn't nearly as much fun as theirs was though. We hung out at the mall. Ferris cut up at a parade. Absolutely no contest. I think John Hughes also did Some Kind of Wonderful. I never saw Sixteen Candles or Planes, Trains and Automobiles (a co-worker recommended the latter...I think I'll give them both a shot.). I remember paying to see Home Alone...I don't remember why, as it's not my usual type of thing...I'm thinking it was probably one of those rare occasions when we went to the movies as a family.

Msn.com has a really nice tribute to John Hughes up to the tune of the The Who's Baba O' Reily. I don't know who put it together, but I laughed in all the right places. I'm sure if I looked around at YouTube, a lot of other cool tributes would pop up too. That's one of the things I love about the internet. So many cool people from all over sharing their ideas in the blink of an eye...

Thursday, August 6, 2009

What's happening to Metro?

Didn't Metro stations used to be air conditioned? I was at McPherson Square Metro station yesterday and it felt like I was inside a sauna, and then to have to deal with a packed train? WTF!

What's the deal with the cats, Mr. Jackson?

I was messing around on Google and eBay trying to track down various Michael Jackson items (some that I'd lost...my copy of Mark Bego's Michael Jackson biography for example) and some completely new to me (The This is It merchandise. There is a T-shirt in particular, that I love, that has the cat/lynx beastie Michael changed into at the beginning of the Thriller video). While I was doing this, I noticed something kind of odd...In the Michael's Pets stuffed toy line...there is no cat, no tiger, no lion, nothing of that type...Why? I think it's because he associated cats with adult themed things...



Think about it, whenever you see anything like a cat or catlike with/about him, it's either associated with sex or violence or both. I think the first time you get an inkling of this is not so much inside the Thriller album foldout, but in the Billie Jean video. In the Thriller video, it's right in your face (I don't know who started calling this thing a werewolf, but it looks kind of like lynx to me, but the eyes are wrong for it to be a werelynx. Whatever it was howled too. I guess cats howl, but I don't think it sounds like a wolf's howl... (Been reading too much Anita Blake I guess.). Since it's coming from someone's (or maybe a lot of brainstorming someones in plural) creative imagination(s))...I can let my nitpicking slide. The changing from a panther and back again at the end of Black or White...The way Michael Jackson is depicted on the cover of the Ghosts programme and DVD. Then, while I was looking around eBay this weekend, I saw a sepia toned picture of Michael Jackson with his hair in a ponytail, and he's looking off to the side at something the viewer can't see, with a slight smile on his face. In the picture, he's wearing a leopard print button-down shirt.


I don't know that he would have given me a straight answer, but this is definitely something that I would've loved to have asked him about, if I'd ever gotten a chance.




Justin Moyer who reviewed J. Randy Taraborrelli's updated book on Michael Jackson complained that the book had tense errors (I think that was either laziness or carelessness, or both on Taraborrelli's part ), didn't tell us anything new about Michael, or offer much insight on him as a person. He also said that the book lacked imagination...If a reliable source, that was close to Michael could shed any light on my abovementioned musings...I'd by that book in a New York second (Yeah, I know what the original saying is, and I still mean second).

A lot going on...

I've let just about a week go by without blogging...sorry about that.
I've finally selected a moving company. I'm going to look at another place hopefully this weekend and then I'll make my decision. The living situation I'm in now, I'm really desperate to get out of and I've got the money, so I figure why not...The only thing I don't want to do at this point (despite how crappily I've been treated) is I don't want to leave my roommates in a bind as far as losing my share of payment on bills...Other than that, all I want is to move forward.

Work has been busy too.


I've also been spending a lot of time on eBay. I may have some stuff that I want to sell soon, but I'm going to need a scanner first...

I also noticed I got my first comment. :) The computer I'm using right now is acting up, so I'll see if I can't respond at home (I already tried refreshing the page, no dice.).

You win some, you lose some.