25 September 2004

Attack of the Spacebar Lady

Heading out to Picton today to help out film a secret show for the History Channel/Television.

Should be fun.

I should really get my crap together, back tomorrow night.

P.S. Kevin Rose is a darn hip fellow.

Moment of Zen: Who would of thought there would be so many De Zutters in Belgium?

23 September 2004

With my big black boots and my old suitcase

GLEE!

I just need $200 by November 21st.

Moment of Zen: Pens, pens, everywhere, and not a drop of ink.

Hooray! I'm useful! I'm having a wonderful time!

Our roommate, Jay-Bird, is on thin fucking ice with us this day. Normally it's just a matter of overlooking his small faults: bathing in cologne, leaving little bits of toilet paper on the counter that he uses when he cuts himself shaving, and leaving salmon tins out on the kitchen table. Believe me when I say that it's taken quite a while to get used to these seemingly unchangable habits. None of that bothers me too much, because it causes no harm to me or our property.

Lettuce in the toilet is where I draw the line.

Last night we came home from the bar and our friend Lauren decided she wanted a salad, a request we had no problem filling. Jay-Bird happily provided the lettuce and dressing and all was good for a time. Time passed, Lauren's cab came and took her home, and I went to bed. Waking up this morning I see what I assumed was unflushed paper in the toilet, so I just looked away and flushed. Well wouldn't you know it, it doesn't flush, and the water - as if revolting against the norm - beings to rise! On any other day I would have been convinced that this was a fantastic spectacle of water rebellion, but a grim realization set in as it was clear that there appeared a clog formed by ill-set produce. The water never rose beyond the rim, and returned to the original level, the lettuce still floating there like wilted lilypads in a serene porcelain pond. This was such a lovely sight that Eric and I felt compelled to flush yet again. This time the water, in a wonderous turn of events, went down. We were pleased with this progress, but that feeling was short-lived as the lettuce plugged the hole and proceeded to flap around, as if to wave and taunt us. Possibly it was trying to communicate to us that old produce, once reaching a certain age, must follow the Logan's Run formula and be taken to the compost bin, not a vessel for human waste. Now, I don't know if Jay-bird believes the toilet to be a repository for produce, or a vegetable sacrifical altar, or possibly a vortex in which there is no return for excrement, lettuce, or any other seemingly flushable object.

One way or another, Jay-Bird is going to get a fucking earful.

I've been re-watching my Futurama DVD set (first season), and I have fallen into healthy platonic love with Doctor Zoidberg. I think I like him so much is because while people give him shit, and he's always screwing up, he's either too stupid or too smart to care. I'd like to say I can very much relate to that, but I'm not sure if I'm comfortable with likening myself to a cartoon cephalopod/crustacean doctor. Although, he does definitely speak with Jewish mannerisms, and really, who doesn't like Jews?. On second thought, I don't think I want the answer to that.

I've got some updates to do to the layout and sidebar here. There's a new music image under the Music thing, but damned if I know how long that will last.

Moment of Zen: I tell you to walk left and you go right. You're fucking stupid.

19 September 2004

Live from Thorold, it's Sunday afternoon

It's been a right honking long while since I last posted drivel of any sort of real length. I suppose I should have at it, since I'm in the mood for writing at this very moment - no doubt a phenomenon that's soon to change.

I still don't have a job, but who honestly didn't see that coming? I almost got a job, though, at a telemarketing place. In theory it would've been the greatest place to work: anonymous heckling of people I may or may not know or care about. The application process had three hurdles for me to jump, the first and second being a test and interview, both of which I passed easily. The third was a little more difficult. My boss-to-be was to call me so we could stage a mock sale, a roleplay of sorts. I already had the following information:

You are calling a businesswoman in her late twenties, she is single and has 2 other credit cards. When you call her she expresses interest in the card (she likes the idea of travel benefits, as she frequently travels for work), but has hesitations. She already has 2 credit cards and is unsure that she wants to take another, she feels her budget is tight enough and does not want to stretch it anymore.

Which was fine. I figured I could sell this lady another card. And then came the actual call:

"Ok, there're a few changes to the profile of our lady. She's not a business woman, she's working two jobs to support her two kids, her husband left her and is nowhere to be found, and is heavily in debt."

Right. I'm supposed to sell a poor lady something that I know will drive her further into the ground?

No. Even I'm not that heartless. I finished the sale (and didn't get her to buy the card, for the record), and told her that I wasn't interested.

Maybe I'll try the pet store.

I've been eating so much barbecue recently, it's fucking silly. We bought a box of 40 No-Name burgers for $7.99, and you can imagine their size at that price. You remember the whole "Where's the Beef?" thing from the 80s? Well, it's like that, but instead of mocking McDonalds, we mock ourselves and our welfare.

Our barbecue reminds me a lot of the furnace from Home Alone. Large, black metal, and it can kill you. It has a nice habit of shooting flames out of the bottom of the unit. I'm not a barbecue designer by any means, but were I to develop one, you can be sure that I wouldn't let fire touch the source of fuel outside of the unit itself (read: the propane tank).

At least it has a bun warming rack.

I've been feeling decidedly Gen-X recently, which prompted me to buy some albums that I never had/used to have in the 90s.

Pearl Jam's Live on Two Legs has always been one of my favourite discs that I didn't own, a claim Kevin could probably support since I always put his copy on in the car. Every track is great, the band's musically tight. Daughter has a few lines from Neil Young's Rockin' in the Free World, Given to Fly is in its best recorded form (and I still maintain that Vedder's voice follows Robert Plant's stylings in Zeppelin's Going to California), and Do The Evolution is probably the most angry you'll hear Eddie get. God, it's a great record.

I never really got into the Foo Fighters, but since the album was cheap I picked up The Colour and the Shape. Pretty darn good record, never realized the amount of singles that sprang from it. I don't care what people say about Dave Grohl, he's a fucking hoot.

Lastly, the barrage of Our Lady Peace on the radio had made me yearn for a new copy of my once-favourite album, Clumsy. Yeah, I was quite a misled kid, but in my defence it isn't such a bad album. 4am still makes me feel like a sissygirl, even though the lyrics are as genuinely sad as watching Nokia's N-Gage fail miserably (which is sad on the surface, but inside you feel warm and fuzzy.) Oh, and Automatic Flowers makes me grin, if only to piss off one person.

I'm trying to get some classes going in January - less than a month into school and I already feel like I'm missing out. Once I get a job I imagine that'll change, but for right now I'll have to pacify myself with sitting in the caf with all of my drawing gear out and picking up the nerd girls. It will work, I'm sure of it. Mmmm...nerd girls.

Time to hit the shower, and to get ready, because I'm going to a - get this - barbecue tonight.

Peace outside.

Moment of Zen: Too much protein, not enough bran.

14 September 2004

Attention Deficit...KITTY!

So yeah, new hair.

Not much else to say. I have a
clean room too.

I need to lay down, I think.

Lyrics firstly:

I got a car, I got some gas
oh let's get out of here
get out of here fast

ooh everyone's confused
so I stay in my room
if I go, I don't want
to go alone

I hope you get this message
oh you're not home.
I could be there in ten minutes or so
ooh I got my things
we'll make it up as we go along
oh with you I could
never be alone
never be alone


Moment of Zen: And sometimes you'd see a strange spot in the sky, a human being that was given to fly

10 September 2004

Not to be used internally

ZOMG!



That'll be all.

Moment of Zen: The Man likes giving bling, but the Man demands haircuts in return. Damn the man.

07 September 2004

A monster to be piloted by the unwitting Shinji!

Sweet Jesus, moving is a hassle. Three other fucking people in my house and the day that my landlord needs one person to be there no one is. It's such a fucking farce. I'm at home right now gathering my router so we can all enjoy the internet in Thorold, and the other guys took last night to get shitfaced and this morning to get hungover and go other places. For fuck's sake, now I have to drive 150km in a mad fucking dash to get back to the house because the landlord has only my cell number, so if no one lets anyone in, then I get in shit. I should enter Child and Youth Studies because I'm running a fucking day care here.

In other news, Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas comes out next month. I am filled with boundless glee and numerous other intangible substances. I read on IGN that Rockstar is tied with Interscope Records, and after skimming their list of a few names they've got, the soundtrack looks to potentially kick ass. I threw together a list of bands that might show simply based on my hopes and blatant guesses:

2pac, Bryan Adams, Beck, Chris Cornell, Counting Crows, Dr. Dre, Peter Gabriel, Garbage, Guns n' Roses, Jurassic 5, Marilyn Manson, nine inch nails, nirvana, no doubt, sonic youth, gwen stefani, sting, u2, wallflowers, weezer.

Yeah, some aren't really my bag, but in terms of 90s nostalgia, I'm all for a few shitty ones here and there.

Well, I'd better be off to battle in the face of ineptitude.

Here's this, it's fucking great.

Moment of Zen: One cannot live off a 2L bottle of flat Coke for a week, but one sure can try.

03 September 2004

Lost belongings

Hark! An update!

Yeah.

So since the last post I've done a fair share of things: saw Rush, hit CNAnime, packed my stuff, left for "school." I quote school because I'm not really at school, I'm just taking up space in the computer lab right now. Let's hear it for academic probation, or as I like to say, acacdemnation. I don't really like to say that, as it is rather awkwards anyhow.

Rush was great. Maybe a little too many "hits" from the 80s, but meh, who am I to complain? Lots of drunken yahoos there, and it smelled very much like Otto's jacket. I'm not eating street meat any more though, unless it's Kosher. Props to the Jews.

The anime con was a hoot. I'll get my report, one second.

Well, day one of CNAnime is complete, and I'm bloody tired. I didn't even stay long. Converse All-Stars aren't great footwear for cons, it seems.

Sarah and I got to the con at about 11. I had no idea when it started, as I didn't bother checking, so we were there early. Very early. The con didn't start until 4:00. I pondered many a thing while in line, the most perplexing being "Why, when in large numbers, do nerds smell like oatmeal?".

Anyhow, I got in pretty quickly, we were about the 20th pair to be let in. Booked it straight to the Geneon booth, scored plenty of free crap, then proceeded to mill about aimlessly for a few hours.

Time came for Yoshitoshi ABe (Haibane Renmei, Lain, etc.) and Yasuyuki Ueda (ABe's producer) to autograph crap, so I got crap autographed. I high-fived ABe and rocked out with Takayuki Karahashi (the translator). I say "rocked out" but I mean "nodded my head to the beat as he played his ukelele." He's a cool fellow though.

Day 2 began with us almost dying on the 400, but I won't get in to that. Let's just say under-the-limit hydroplaning is a surprise.

There was a panel with ABe and Ueda that we went to, sat in line for a while to get to it, but in the end it was worth it. We almost sat in the Sailor Moon voice actors' panel, but we left when we found out it sucked. I didn't end up buying anything on Saturday, Sarah got Cowboy Bebop Disc 1. The masquerade was less entertaining than last year's, but some things were alright. Vash and the "glomp me" sign for example. (pictures will follow)

The 3rd day (Sunday) was a nice day, so less chance of dying on the road. Which was good.

There was another panel with ABe and Ueda about their production processes. I gave both of them a present, 2 bottles of Canadian, 2 mini bottles of maple syrup and a mini flag. They dug it, methinks. ABe talked about the syrup in his site (I think).

(free) Crap I got:
Geneon Preview DVD
Appleseed fan thing
Sticker sheets with R.O.D. TV, Gad Guard, Gungrave, Ikkitousen, Dokkoida!, and Stellvia stickers.
Fighting Spirit moist towelettes (...)
Tehxnolyze lithograph signed by ABe and Ueda
my cover of Haibane Renmei DVD 1 signed by ABe and Ueda

Crap I bought:
Dante and Randal Clerks Inaction Figures (black, white, and cheap! WOO!)
Azumanga Daioh DVD 4
Haibane Renmei Wallscroll (the one with Rakka, and it's green)

Oh, and since I'm too lazy to retell this story from the day, here's a copy/paste from IRC:

I saw a table today, two girls drew commissions, and all they were drawing was Yaoi. They had a sign "zomg we draw Yaoi!" and I'm not spelling it wrong. I asked if they could draw me some yuri, and they said no and for me to go away. Bigots.

Here's my gallery with pictures from the con. They're backwards, so start at page five if you want to see them in any semblance of order.

Like I said, I'm posting from the fishbowl/computer lab at school, which is kind of bizarre seeing as I'm not any sort of student. Well, I will be in another 52 weeks, but for now I have jobs to find.

Peace outside.

Moment of Zen: So many ants, so many ants, so many ants...