What on Earth is happening to me? Two weekends in a row and I've actually been busy? Poor Mango. Despite my best efforts to play with him a little bit each day, I feel that he's becoming a widow to something that under normal circumstances might actually resemble a social life.
This was my four day weekend and I actually spent a lot of it out of the house.
On Wednesday, I went to go get my tickets for Cowboy Mouth. I got 4 comped tickets out of it. Apparently the girl at the ticket booth wanted me out of the way so the hot guy in front of me could continue to hit on her. For the rest of the day and the next until just before the show I was trying to get rid of the extras, to no avail. By 5:00 Thursday evening, I was pretty much convinced that I wasn't going. I honestly was feeling like the kid who needed his parents to tie a slab of meat around his neck to get the pets to play with him. Then, I saw that a friend of mine, Stacy, got comped tickets as well, and she too was completely fruitless in getting rid of her tickets as well. So much for the "wanting to get me out of the way" theory.
In any event, it was a Cowboy Mouth show. Of course it was freaking stellar. I lost my voice after the first two songs and was pretty much just croaking after that. For those of you who don't know, Cowboy Mouth is a rock band from New Orleans that is pretty much constantly on tour, like 200 days out of the year. Their drummer, Fred LeBlanc, is also their lead singer, and his kit is right up front and center. Fred does not allow any emotion from the crowd other than raw unadulterated exuberance. The man knows how to work a room and Thursday night was no exception. I've been to shows where it's obvious that the band really doesn't want to be there. Every time I've seen Cowboy Mouth, it's exactly the opposite. It's so obvious that they're all having a blast that you can't help but enjoy yourself. They're a 4 piece Tenacious D that rocks 8 times as hard.
Thursday night I was wearing shorts. Friday I was in flannel pajama pants. I needed the day to recoup, and with the weather being what it was, I decided to make chili instead of the cottage pie I was considering. I don't know why, but I always fail to put enough meat in my chili and always go overboard on the vegetables. It's still good though. I went to bed early (for me) so that I could be on a day shift for the Werewolf game Saturday.
Game was okay, and I got home around 5:00 wondering what I was going to do. Every time we had game in the afternoon before, it was because of my schedule, namely because I had to be at work that evening. I was completely unused to getting home from an afternoon game and I didn't know what to do with myself. Lo and behold, I get a text from someone I've not seen or heard from in well over a year asking me if I wanted to hang out at Trinity Hall. Being that it's Trinity Hall, and how even a fake Irish pub is still pretty cool, I took her up on the offer.
It was good catching up, and the cider was flowing, but who should I run into there but Sloane Gunman of Assassination City. Small world, eh? Apparently there were a few of skaters over at the Lakewood Bar and Grill and I was invited to come. I'm not going to lie, I really wanted to go. I don't think it has anything to do with my dropping one set of friends for another, newer set of friends; I just think it's an age thing. I'm more comfortable and get along better with people who are closer to my own age or older than me. But, I didn't go as I see Ass City ladies on a fairly regular basis. Instead, Sam and I cut out of there and went to see Zombieland.
Woody Harrellson was great, and there were parts that were absolutely riotous, but ultimately, I felt it fell flat. Maybe it was becuase I was subconsciously comparing hi, to Shaun of the Dead, but I just really really did not like the lead character. Throughout most of the movie, I was hoping he'd get eaten and it'd just be Woody Harrellson kicking zombie ass for 90 minutes.
A couple more things.
Wednesday, December 9th at the Granada Theater, Less Than Jake. Be there. Go go Florida ska.
Off topic: I can now discern Mango's, "I'm not feeling so good and am about to throw up" meows. While being able to discern those meows is a good thing, his throwing up is not. Fortunately, I've been able to wrangle him onto some area with linoleum instead of having him urp on the carpet.
Showing posts with label derby. Show all posts
Showing posts with label derby. Show all posts
Sunday, October 11, 2009
Saturday, October 3, 2009
Introducing Cochese?
I just got back from the premiere of Whip It at the Magnolia with Assassination City Roller Derby (I keep spelling that out because it's easier for those people who do "Who's talking about AC Derby recently?" searches) and I'm too wound up to go to sleep. Don't worry, I'll get to the review soon enough.
I headed there straight after training at White Rock Lake because I'd have been pushing it had I gone all the way home then all the way back uptown during rush hour. I got there and hung out with the skaters before the movie. It was pretty dead at first, but it started picking up closer to the show time. After the movie and in the lobby was really where I had the best time. I even stayed at the derby table through the second showing and afterwards with Tenille, Trigger and Ripper. I really wasn't planning on that, but it was totally worth it. I just like hanging out with people closer to my own age who have similar interests. I'd say the average age is somewhere in the late 20s or early 30s. It's awesome being a part of a group where you're not older than everyone else by like a decade.
Good news, everyone! I was dubbed with an Official Derby Name. I am now Cochese. It came about when one of the moviegoers was talking to Trigger Mortis and she was introducing herself, and as she turned to me, she wasn't quite able to accurately describe who I was and what I was doing there. I suggested "AC Derby fan numéro uno" which I'll admit is a bit presumptuous of me. That apparently wasn't good enough for Trigger because she insisted I pick out a Derby Name and use that to introduce myself. I was a bit taken aback at the honor, I'll admit, and Cochese was the first thing I came up with. Had I more time, I may have come up with something more clever, but what can you do? You don't say, "I'll get back to you on that" when you're offered a Derby name, you give yourself a freaking name. Mind you, Cochese isn't bad at all, and considering I'm facebook.com/cochese, it's not unwanted. There is, however, a Coach Ise for the Rubber City Roller Girls, so some modifications may have to be made. Of course, he's named after the Apache warrior Cochise, whereas I'm named after the fake character from the fake '70s cop show Sabotage, so there may not be a problem.
I do feel that now that I'm Named, I should be doing more to support the league other than typical fan stuff. Things like recording stats, timing penalties, keeping track of fouls, typical NSO (non-skating official) stuff. Hell, if I get good at that, I could go full-on zebra.
Oh, and apparently my blog post about my first AC Derby bout made it to Smack the Ripper, which would ordinarily be pretty awesome, but I kind of said some things about her mom...
...
...
...It's just that her mom's very religious and I was feeling sorta awkward when she started in on how the Masons are a cult and about when I wouldn't confirm with her my love of Jesus. Hey, Ripper was cool with it, and I can completely understand. My parents do, say, and think some things that I personally find to be kinda nutty. They're just real far away so I don't have to deal with it most of the time.
Okay, so for the review of the movie. I'm not going to lie to you, I enjoyed the hell out of Whip It, but I realize that I'm totally biased. I really liked Ellen Page and Daniel Stern and the father-daughter relationship their characters had in the movie. Oh, and Zoë-freaking Bell was in it as Bloody Holly! Chances are you have no idea who I'm talking about, but I bet you've seen her work. She's an amazing stuntwoman who was Lucy Lawless' double in Xena, Uma Thurman's double in the Kill Bill movies, and she played herself in Death Proof. I was also particularly fond of the ending. As for the skating? Hooray for hip checks, though I wish I'd seen more booty blocks.
As far as gripes? They're really no more than the same sorts of realism gripes I have when watching a submarine movie (a freaking DOG on a sub, really?) For example, there were more elbows flying than at a Macho Man Randy Savage match. That'd never happen. Oh, and when Ellen Page's character finds out that one of her team mates is a mother, she acts all shocked. I'm willing to give the benefit of the doubt and say it's the reaction of a naïve character, but really? Moms that are derby girls aren't in any conceivable way considered a rarity; it's actually pretty common.
Overall, I'd recommend this movie pretty highly. True, it's pretty easy to play Spot the Trope, but it's fun and it's funny, and it's got a lot of strong women kicking ass.
I headed there straight after training at White Rock Lake because I'd have been pushing it had I gone all the way home then all the way back uptown during rush hour. I got there and hung out with the skaters before the movie. It was pretty dead at first, but it started picking up closer to the show time. After the movie and in the lobby was really where I had the best time. I even stayed at the derby table through the second showing and afterwards with Tenille, Trigger and Ripper. I really wasn't planning on that, but it was totally worth it. I just like hanging out with people closer to my own age who have similar interests. I'd say the average age is somewhere in the late 20s or early 30s. It's awesome being a part of a group where you're not older than everyone else by like a decade.
Good news, everyone! I was dubbed with an Official Derby Name. I am now Cochese. It came about when one of the moviegoers was talking to Trigger Mortis and she was introducing herself, and as she turned to me, she wasn't quite able to accurately describe who I was and what I was doing there. I suggested "AC Derby fan numéro uno" which I'll admit is a bit presumptuous of me. That apparently wasn't good enough for Trigger because she insisted I pick out a Derby Name and use that to introduce myself. I was a bit taken aback at the honor, I'll admit, and Cochese was the first thing I came up with. Had I more time, I may have come up with something more clever, but what can you do? You don't say, "I'll get back to you on that" when you're offered a Derby name, you give yourself a freaking name. Mind you, Cochese isn't bad at all, and considering I'm facebook.com/cochese, it's not unwanted. There is, however, a Coach Ise for the Rubber City Roller Girls, so some modifications may have to be made. Of course, he's named after the Apache warrior Cochise, whereas I'm named after the fake character from the fake '70s cop show Sabotage, so there may not be a problem.
I do feel that now that I'm Named, I should be doing more to support the league other than typical fan stuff. Things like recording stats, timing penalties, keeping track of fouls, typical NSO (non-skating official) stuff. Hell, if I get good at that, I could go full-on zebra.
Oh, and apparently my blog post about my first AC Derby bout made it to Smack the Ripper, which would ordinarily be pretty awesome, but I kind of said some things about her mom...
...
...
...It's just that her mom's very religious and I was feeling sorta awkward when she started in on how the Masons are a cult and about when I wouldn't confirm with her my love of Jesus. Hey, Ripper was cool with it, and I can completely understand. My parents do, say, and think some things that I personally find to be kinda nutty. They're just real far away so I don't have to deal with it most of the time.
Okay, so for the review of the movie. I'm not going to lie to you, I enjoyed the hell out of Whip It, but I realize that I'm totally biased. I really liked Ellen Page and Daniel Stern and the father-daughter relationship their characters had in the movie. Oh, and Zoë-freaking Bell was in it as Bloody Holly! Chances are you have no idea who I'm talking about, but I bet you've seen her work. She's an amazing stuntwoman who was Lucy Lawless' double in Xena, Uma Thurman's double in the Kill Bill movies, and she played herself in Death Proof. I was also particularly fond of the ending. As for the skating? Hooray for hip checks, though I wish I'd seen more booty blocks.
As far as gripes? They're really no more than the same sorts of realism gripes I have when watching a submarine movie (a freaking DOG on a sub, really?) For example, there were more elbows flying than at a Macho Man Randy Savage match. That'd never happen. Oh, and when Ellen Page's character finds out that one of her team mates is a mother, she acts all shocked. I'm willing to give the benefit of the doubt and say it's the reaction of a naïve character, but really? Moms that are derby girls aren't in any conceivable way considered a rarity; it's actually pretty common.
Overall, I'd recommend this movie pretty highly. True, it's pretty easy to play Spot the Trope, but it's fun and it's funny, and it's got a lot of strong women kicking ass.
Monday, September 21, 2009
It's like a god-damned family reunion
Okay, I've been very very bad in catching up on my RSS feeds, so if I normally comment and haven't lately, that's probably why. It's just kind of weird getting a comment to something you posted 3 weeks ago, so I tend to avoid it as much as possible. By the way, Glynis, that apple frangipane tart looks amazing.
I've finished four seasons of Doctor Who via Netflix and have now started in on Torchwood. I've only seen the first 2 episodes (Season 1 Disc 1), but I'm getting a distinctly Doctor Who After Dark vibe to it. Not that that's a bad thing. It's aimed at a more mature audience in that it drops more profanity and I don't think we'd ever see a Doctor Who Monster of the Week that's a sentient gas that gets off on people getting off. Well, not officially anyway. I'm sure something like that would have eventually come up in a Doctor Who fanfic if Torchwood didn't come up with it. All I'm saying is that it seems decidedly different from the show that spawned it, but that's not necessarily bad.
I do think I'm in trouble. I didn't even make it through a single episode without resorting to creating a macro of the show.
My parents are in town visiting. I took them to derby last night, and they really enjoyed themselves, particularly during the second bout (The Treasure Chests vs. the Booty Queens). I do hope they start going to bouts in either Tallahassee or Panama City as a result. Other than derby, I've gotten decidedly less sleep since they've been here simply because of the conflicting schedules. It's also weird and crowded having three people and four pets in my apartment for a week when I'm so used to it being just me and Mango. Speaking of which:
It seems that my parents have got it in their head that they're going to buy me a couch while they're here. On the one hand, free stuff is good, but on the other, I'm really bugged out by their motivation for it. I graduated in 2004 and, I must add, through nothing I have said or done, are still feeling guilty for my paying my own way through college via scholarships, loans, grants, & GI Bill. I think had my brother actually graduated after they'd paid his way, they wouldn't feel so bad. I'm just kind of uncomfortable taking their charity because there are people who have far greater need of their generosity than me.
I've finished four seasons of Doctor Who via Netflix and have now started in on Torchwood. I've only seen the first 2 episodes (Season 1 Disc 1), but I'm getting a distinctly Doctor Who After Dark vibe to it. Not that that's a bad thing. It's aimed at a more mature audience in that it drops more profanity and I don't think we'd ever see a Doctor Who Monster of the Week that's a sentient gas that gets off on people getting off. Well, not officially anyway. I'm sure something like that would have eventually come up in a Doctor Who fanfic if Torchwood didn't come up with it. All I'm saying is that it seems decidedly different from the show that spawned it, but that's not necessarily bad.
I do think I'm in trouble. I didn't even make it through a single episode without resorting to creating a macro of the show.
My parents are in town visiting. I took them to derby last night, and they really enjoyed themselves, particularly during the second bout (The Treasure Chests vs. the Booty Queens). I do hope they start going to bouts in either Tallahassee or Panama City as a result. Other than derby, I've gotten decidedly less sleep since they've been here simply because of the conflicting schedules. It's also weird and crowded having three people and four pets in my apartment for a week when I'm so used to it being just me and Mango. Speaking of which:
It seems that my parents have got it in their head that they're going to buy me a couch while they're here. On the one hand, free stuff is good, but on the other, I'm really bugged out by their motivation for it. I graduated in 2004 and, I must add, through nothing I have said or done, are still feeling guilty for my paying my own way through college via scholarships, loans, grants, & GI Bill. I think had my brother actually graduated after they'd paid his way, they wouldn't feel so bad. I'm just kind of uncomfortable taking their charity because there are people who have far greater need of their generosity than me.
Sunday, September 13, 2009
Dem der netterwebs
So, I've been out of the loop and off-line for some time.
Catching up on my RSS feeds is promising to be a daunting task, but this post-PAX post by Mssrs Paul & Storm makes up for it. It really makes me wish I had gone to PAX. Seriously. That post is filled with videos that are so filled with geek joy and pure unadulterated WIN that it's hard to not get caught up in it, and that's just secondhand from crummy YouTube videos.
I've been gaming quite a bit as well. Yes, World of Warcraft. I'll get tired of it in a few months because the characters I've got on my main server are pretty much on their own because everyone I know that plays is on a different server and playing end game content. I'm on Korgath, but apparently some people I know play on Icecrown, Korialstrasz, and Gnomeregan as I have some lowbie characters on there but I don't know why. And there's the RP server Cenarion Circle. At least I know who's on that server. But it's really hard to just up and switch servers. I have so many characters on one server and they all mail stuff back and forth to each other because they all have different secondary skills. All the lowbie herbalism mats that my 59 Rogue got in doing the Exploration Achievements went to my Inscription toon, Voudoun, and any and all loot drops that I can't use get sent to Jägermonster for disenchanting. I wish I could ship all my toons on one server to another server for a single price instead of having to pay $15 for a single character. I mean, I could start a Death Knight on another server at level 55, but they're about as fun as Warriors and Paladins, and I'd have to start from level 1 playing anything fun, like Warlocks, Rogues, and Shamans.
Other gaming? I picked up The Beatles Rock Band. I said it on Twitter, but I've got to give my congratulations to Paul, Ringo, and Yoko for allowing Harmonix to make the game, and for making sure it was even better than Rock Band 2. Hell, I was playing the Ed Sullivan stage and it gave me freaking goosebumps. Sure, it's not like being there, but it's a hell of a lot closer to being there than the old fuzzy black & White video everyone has seen. My parents are coming to visit from Florida next week and I think they'll get a bigger kick out of it even more than the original Rock Band.
Ahh, and because I couldn't just pass up on it, I went to the Pirate Punk Pre-Bout party at the Barley House last night. I enjoyed the everloving crap out of it, finally met someone from the Livejournal face-to-face (who's far cooler than she lets on), and was thanked again and again for helping out and helping take down stuff. I'm helping, Bizarro! Feeling useful rocks. It's going to be even better next weekend for the pirate themed bout, given that not only will I be there, but my parents as well (and hopefully my co-worker that goes to Scarborough Faire as part of a pirate troupe). From what I've discovered is that it's hard as hell to actually get people to come out to see a derby bout, but relatively easy to make a fan out of someone once they're there. I'd love to see my parents become derby fans, even if their home teams would be Tallahassee and Panama City. Even if they aren't local fans, the more fans there are nationwide, the better it is for everyone.
Catching up on my RSS feeds is promising to be a daunting task, but this post-PAX post by Mssrs Paul & Storm makes up for it. It really makes me wish I had gone to PAX. Seriously. That post is filled with videos that are so filled with geek joy and pure unadulterated WIN that it's hard to not get caught up in it, and that's just secondhand from crummy YouTube videos.
I've been gaming quite a bit as well. Yes, World of Warcraft. I'll get tired of it in a few months because the characters I've got on my main server are pretty much on their own because everyone I know that plays is on a different server and playing end game content. I'm on Korgath, but apparently some people I know play on Icecrown, Korialstrasz, and Gnomeregan as I have some lowbie characters on there but I don't know why. And there's the RP server Cenarion Circle. At least I know who's on that server. But it's really hard to just up and switch servers. I have so many characters on one server and they all mail stuff back and forth to each other because they all have different secondary skills. All the lowbie herbalism mats that my 59 Rogue got in doing the Exploration Achievements went to my Inscription toon, Voudoun, and any and all loot drops that I can't use get sent to Jägermonster for disenchanting. I wish I could ship all my toons on one server to another server for a single price instead of having to pay $15 for a single character. I mean, I could start a Death Knight on another server at level 55, but they're about as fun as Warriors and Paladins, and I'd have to start from level 1 playing anything fun, like Warlocks, Rogues, and Shamans.
Other gaming? I picked up The Beatles Rock Band. I said it on Twitter, but I've got to give my congratulations to Paul, Ringo, and Yoko for allowing Harmonix to make the game, and for making sure it was even better than Rock Band 2. Hell, I was playing the Ed Sullivan stage and it gave me freaking goosebumps. Sure, it's not like being there, but it's a hell of a lot closer to being there than the old fuzzy black & White video everyone has seen. My parents are coming to visit from Florida next week and I think they'll get a bigger kick out of it even more than the original Rock Band.
Ahh, and because I couldn't just pass up on it, I went to the Pirate Punk Pre-Bout party at the Barley House last night. I enjoyed the everloving crap out of it, finally met someone from the Livejournal face-to-face (who's far cooler than she lets on), and was thanked again and again for helping out and helping take down stuff. I'm helping, Bizarro! Feeling useful rocks. It's going to be even better next weekend for the pirate themed bout, given that not only will I be there, but my parents as well (and hopefully my co-worker that goes to Scarborough Faire as part of a pirate troupe). From what I've discovered is that it's hard as hell to actually get people to come out to see a derby bout, but relatively easy to make a fan out of someone once they're there. I'd love to see my parents become derby fans, even if their home teams would be Tallahassee and Panama City. Even if they aren't local fans, the more fans there are nationwide, the better it is for everyone.
Thursday, August 13, 2009
Something creepy this way comes
Yesterday was productive.
I got my inspection done on my car, picked up my comics, and got my tickets for Mastodon and Dethklok (Holy crap nearly $40—That's like $10 more than it was to see them last year).
Snags? I wasn' t able to pick up tickets to Brooke Waggoner. It turns out she's only opening for someone, and I didn't know for whom at the time. Apparently she's opening for Owl City, a one man synthpop/electronica band. Does anyone know anything about him? All I know is that the cover of his most recent CD has a pic of the Burj al Arab hotel in Dubai, something halfway around the world that I've actually seen with my own two eyes (It was built but not yet open when I was there in late 1998). Synthpop piques my interest as I love me some Freezepop.
Second snag? After all this, I treated myself to Café Brazil. The food was fine, but I got the distinct impression that I was not wanted there. Upon entering, I was immediately asked if I was getting something to go by the girl who would be my server. It was only after I asked for a menu that I was allowed to sit down. This alone I could have shrugged off, but not when combined with what followed. As I was waiting for my bill, one of the male servers nonchalantly leans on the bar near me. Again, by itself, not so bad. After I paid my bill and went to leave, nonchalant guy picks that exact moment to go up to the front of the restaurant, making me seem as if he's following me out to make sure I don't try something with my server or the college-age girl she was talking to (who I had to pass to get to the door). WTF? Eating alone and minding one's own fucking business doesn't make a person some kind of sexual predator. Seriously, am I so creepy that going someplace to eat a salad in peace triggers some kind of Pervert Alert in people? I think I'll go back there sometime next week (preferably in the morning as I know those servers a bit better) to say how unwelcome I was made to feel and also to ask up front if I'm really that creepy. It doesn't help that this article has made me hyper paranoid about these sorts of things.
Brighter side? Derby is this weekend, and it's the ACRD Championships. There's the barbecue/tailgate party beforehand and then the afterparty, well, after. I don't own a grill, but I do wish to contribute to the merriment and whatnot. Which would be better to bring, plenty of hot dogs, bratwurst, and traditional grilling noms in exchange for allowing me to use someone's fire to cook OR make some Carolina style pulled pork and share with everybody? I also have strawberries and rhubarb in the refrigerator, so a homemade pie is also looking pretty likely as well. Why yes, this certainly does look like I'm trying to bribe people into being social with me using food. Don't you judge me, I'm a damn good cook and I need the social encouragement after that crap I talked about above.
Regardless of which route I go, if you've got nothing going on, I highly recommend you come out to see it. Tailgate is at 5:00, doors open at 7:00. $15 for tickets at the door, kids under 10 years old get in free, BYOB (no glass), 3022 Moon Dr, Mesquite, just off of I-30 and Gus Thomasson Rd. You don't want me to keep talking about this, do you? I'm gonna drag at least one of you Dallas-area people to a bout one of these days if it kills me.
I got my inspection done on my car, picked up my comics, and got my tickets for Mastodon and Dethklok (Holy crap nearly $40—That's like $10 more than it was to see them last year).
Snags? I wasn' t able to pick up tickets to Brooke Waggoner. It turns out she's only opening for someone, and I didn't know for whom at the time. Apparently she's opening for Owl City, a one man synthpop/electronica band. Does anyone know anything about him? All I know is that the cover of his most recent CD has a pic of the Burj al Arab hotel in Dubai, something halfway around the world that I've actually seen with my own two eyes (It was built but not yet open when I was there in late 1998). Synthpop piques my interest as I love me some Freezepop.
Second snag? After all this, I treated myself to Café Brazil. The food was fine, but I got the distinct impression that I was not wanted there. Upon entering, I was immediately asked if I was getting something to go by the girl who would be my server. It was only after I asked for a menu that I was allowed to sit down. This alone I could have shrugged off, but not when combined with what followed. As I was waiting for my bill, one of the male servers nonchalantly leans on the bar near me. Again, by itself, not so bad. After I paid my bill and went to leave, nonchalant guy picks that exact moment to go up to the front of the restaurant, making me seem as if he's following me out to make sure I don't try something with my server or the college-age girl she was talking to (who I had to pass to get to the door). WTF? Eating alone and minding one's own fucking business doesn't make a person some kind of sexual predator. Seriously, am I so creepy that going someplace to eat a salad in peace triggers some kind of Pervert Alert in people? I think I'll go back there sometime next week (preferably in the morning as I know those servers a bit better) to say how unwelcome I was made to feel and also to ask up front if I'm really that creepy. It doesn't help that this article has made me hyper paranoid about these sorts of things.
Brighter side? Derby is this weekend, and it's the ACRD Championships. There's the barbecue/tailgate party beforehand and then the afterparty, well, after. I don't own a grill, but I do wish to contribute to the merriment and whatnot. Which would be better to bring, plenty of hot dogs, bratwurst, and traditional grilling noms in exchange for allowing me to use someone's fire to cook OR make some Carolina style pulled pork and share with everybody? I also have strawberries and rhubarb in the refrigerator, so a homemade pie is also looking pretty likely as well. Why yes, this certainly does look like I'm trying to bribe people into being social with me using food. Don't you judge me, I'm a damn good cook and I need the social encouragement after that crap I talked about above.
Regardless of which route I go, if you've got nothing going on, I highly recommend you come out to see it. Tailgate is at 5:00, doors open at 7:00. $15 for tickets at the door, kids under 10 years old get in free, BYOB (no glass), 3022 Moon Dr, Mesquite, just off of I-30 and Gus Thomasson Rd. You don't want me to keep talking about this, do you? I'm gonna drag at least one of you Dallas-area people to a bout one of these days if it kills me.
Friday, July 31, 2009
When I turn the hat around, it's like a switch
Where shall I begin?
I've laid off the DDR for the past week as I do believe I've injured myself. Not seriously, but I think all the jumping around has given me shin splints so that it really hurts to continue more than a few minutes. This is what I get for not taking it easy and not bothering to see the clock to see that hours had passed by playing it the night before I discovered my shins killing me the next morning. Maybe I need to hit up the Thighmaster.
Speaking of Torgo, I recently picked up Sims 3. There are a lot of things I'm not too fond of, like the nickel and diming micro-transactions for cool furniture that should have been included in the game in the first place, but the game as a whole is pretty spiffy. I ordered pizza with one of my characters and a Torgo Pendragon was the person who delivered it to me. How cool is that?
I've also taken to using Sims 3 to create my co-workers with all their issues. For example, with only a few character traits, I can actually re-create the co-worker who digs through everyone's trash, has been caught sunbathing nude at work on the weekends (not while I was here, thankfully), leaves rotting food setting out on the desk so he can add them to his compost heap at home, and maintains a stack of newspaper clippings that make John Nash (A Beautiful Mind) look sane. These people are ripe for parody, as am I. Sadly, there are no fezzes available for wearing. Yet.
As for the rest of the weekend, I've got Derby tomorrow in North Richland Hills. I'll see how it compares to Assassination City. I'm trying to maintain a non-bias, but I'm finding it difficult considering how I like the laid back attitude of Assassination City. Actually, it's not laid back, it's just the lack of OMG SRS BSNS that takes over some of the other leagues I've seen. You know how some people can take something they love and turn it into work to the point that it's not fun anymore? AC Derby still knows how to have fun while they're busting their and other people's asses.
Tonight, though? I've got a couple DVDs from Netflix that I need to watch. First, I've got the first giant robot anime that I've enjoyed since Evangelion, Code Geass. I got to admit, I'm not typically a fan of CLAMP, but this is really well done so far and sooooo not cutesy. Of course it goes without saying that the character designs are beautiful. The second movie? DEATH BED: THE BED THAT EATS (Thank you Patton Oswalt).
And if I want to save those until work on Sunday, I did stop by Movie Trading Company and picked up Road House and Over the Top for the glory that is Mike Nelson's Rifftrax of those two movies.
OH, and holy crap these past few weeks have been awesome for weather. It's been unseasonably cool. Like not even reaching 90°F for a number of days. It's amazing. Although one of the thunderstorms killed my VOIP router, so my Vonage should probably be cancelled. Maybe I should switch to a Skype account with a WiFi phone considering that I now have Google Voice and can have people just call that from now on.
I've laid off the DDR for the past week as I do believe I've injured myself. Not seriously, but I think all the jumping around has given me shin splints so that it really hurts to continue more than a few minutes. This is what I get for not taking it easy and not bothering to see the clock to see that hours had passed by playing it the night before I discovered my shins killing me the next morning. Maybe I need to hit up the Thighmaster.
Speaking of Torgo, I recently picked up Sims 3. There are a lot of things I'm not too fond of, like the nickel and diming micro-transactions for cool furniture that should have been included in the game in the first place, but the game as a whole is pretty spiffy. I ordered pizza with one of my characters and a Torgo Pendragon was the person who delivered it to me. How cool is that?
I've also taken to using Sims 3 to create my co-workers with all their issues. For example, with only a few character traits, I can actually re-create the co-worker who digs through everyone's trash, has been caught sunbathing nude at work on the weekends (not while I was here, thankfully), leaves rotting food setting out on the desk so he can add them to his compost heap at home, and maintains a stack of newspaper clippings that make John Nash (A Beautiful Mind) look sane. These people are ripe for parody, as am I. Sadly, there are no fezzes available for wearing. Yet.
Tonight, though? I've got a couple DVDs from Netflix that I need to watch. First, I've got the first giant robot anime that I've enjoyed since Evangelion, Code Geass. I got to admit, I'm not typically a fan of CLAMP, but this is really well done so far and sooooo not cutesy. Of course it goes without saying that the character designs are beautiful. The second movie? DEATH BED: THE BED THAT EATS (Thank you Patton Oswalt).
And if I want to save those until work on Sunday, I did stop by Movie Trading Company and picked up Road House and Over the Top for the glory that is Mike Nelson's Rifftrax of those two movies.
OH, and holy crap these past few weeks have been awesome for weather. It's been unseasonably cool. Like not even reaching 90°F for a number of days. It's amazing. Although one of the thunderstorms killed my VOIP router, so my Vonage should probably be cancelled. Maybe I should switch to a Skype account with a WiFi phone considering that I now have Google Voice and can have people just call that from now on.
Sunday, July 19, 2009
Her Majesty's a pretty nice girl, but she doesn't have a lot to say
This certainly was one of the better weekends I've had in some time.
Wednesday was pretty dull, but I did get the house cleaned. I probably should have gone to the grocery store as well, but I didn't.
Thursday involved seeing Rancid with my friend Billy from College Station. Rancid's set, although short, kicked all sorts of ass and I got sucked into the pit and was bouncing around for the entire time. It was awesome. Oh, in the crazy random happenstance department, at the show I ended up running into the waiter who served us at Café Brazil earlier that afternoon.
Friday involved celebrating Stacy's birthday all the way in the middle of nowhere, i.e. Azle TX. I was worried I'd be late, considering it's on the other side of Ft. Worth, but I got there at a reasonable hour. I know I had a great time, and I was able to evangelize about the awesome that is Strongbow with two six packs that were very well received.
Saturday was derby night, and that was even more fun than the bout last month. Although I wish I got there earlier than I did so I could snag a seat closer to the action, it was still a blast. For one, I actually put in a bit of effort into the costume. As I said earlier, I was going to go to Goodwill and get a white button up shirt and spraypaint an S on it, then wear a black tie. Turns out that because it's Texas in summer, the only shirts they happened to be selling were t-shirts and polo shirts. WTF? So, I had to drop the $20 on a brand new shirt and spraypaint that.
I didn't particularly care about dropping that kind of money on a new shirt that I was going to immediately ruin. After derby, I especially didn't care because I got plenty of compliments and questions about the shirt and my favorite fez from a number of the skaters and some other reactions from other people. One person at Lee Harvey's needed to get my picture because he too was a fan of the Dead Kennedys and knew exactly what I was trying to do. Also, someone at the skating rink asked me if I was taking bets on the bouts because of the dollar sign that my shirt and tie made. That was kind of weird.
I'd previously mentioned that I'd been led to believe that over the 4th of July weekend, I'd be meeting up with someone from my hometown who was down here in Texas but had been stood up. While it is true that we didn't have a chance to meet up, being stood up turns out to be far too strong of a phrase. Apparently her hotel didn't have the Internet access that they say they did, and since my number was only available to her online, she couldn't call. I was informed of this when she got back to Indiana and she sent me an apology and explanation, though I asked for no such explanation. We've actually kept in consistent contact since then, so I find this overall to be a series of fortunate events, particularly compared to some of the memories I have of her from 7th grade math class.
Finally, I've been drooling over some of the designs over at shirt.woot.com. As far as shirts that have come and are on the bubble, I'm really digging on this Back to the Future/Doctor Who shirt and The Filthy Hippies fake band shirt. As for this current derby (theme: tattoo), I have to confess, I really like this one. You know, with the short shorts, the striped socks, and the old school Vans, it reminds me very much of a roller derby logo, especially with their love of Betti Page era pinups and punk.
Wednesday was pretty dull, but I did get the house cleaned. I probably should have gone to the grocery store as well, but I didn't.
Thursday involved seeing Rancid with my friend Billy from College Station. Rancid's set, although short, kicked all sorts of ass and I got sucked into the pit and was bouncing around for the entire time. It was awesome. Oh, in the crazy random happenstance department, at the show I ended up running into the waiter who served us at Café Brazil earlier that afternoon.
Friday involved celebrating Stacy's birthday all the way in the middle of nowhere, i.e. Azle TX. I was worried I'd be late, considering it's on the other side of Ft. Worth, but I got there at a reasonable hour. I know I had a great time, and I was able to evangelize about the awesome that is Strongbow with two six packs that were very well received.
Saturday was derby night, and that was even more fun than the bout last month. Although I wish I got there earlier than I did so I could snag a seat closer to the action, it was still a blast. For one, I actually put in a bit of effort into the costume. As I said earlier, I was going to go to Goodwill and get a white button up shirt and spraypaint an S on it, then wear a black tie. Turns out that because it's Texas in summer, the only shirts they happened to be selling were t-shirts and polo shirts. WTF? So, I had to drop the $20 on a brand new shirt and spraypaint that.
I didn't particularly care about dropping that kind of money on a new shirt that I was going to immediately ruin. After derby, I especially didn't care because I got plenty of compliments and questions about the shirt and my favorite fez from a number of the skaters and some other reactions from other people. One person at Lee Harvey's needed to get my picture because he too was a fan of the Dead Kennedys and knew exactly what I was trying to do. Also, someone at the skating rink asked me if I was taking bets on the bouts because of the dollar sign that my shirt and tie made. That was kind of weird.
I'd previously mentioned that I'd been led to believe that over the 4th of July weekend, I'd be meeting up with someone from my hometown who was down here in Texas but had been stood up. While it is true that we didn't have a chance to meet up, being stood up turns out to be far too strong of a phrase. Apparently her hotel didn't have the Internet access that they say they did, and since my number was only available to her online, she couldn't call. I was informed of this when she got back to Indiana and she sent me an apology and explanation, though I asked for no such explanation. We've actually kept in consistent contact since then, so I find this overall to be a series of fortunate events, particularly compared to some of the memories I have of her from 7th grade math class.
Finally, I've been drooling over some of the designs over at shirt.woot.com. As far as shirts that have come and are on the bubble, I'm really digging on this Back to the Future/Doctor Who shirt and The Filthy Hippies fake band shirt. As for this current derby (theme: tattoo), I have to confess, I really like this one. You know, with the short shorts, the striped socks, and the old school Vans, it reminds me very much of a roller derby logo, especially with their love of Betti Page era pinups and punk.
Thursday, July 16, 2009
If the kids are united...
This weekend is going to be eventful, it seems. Tonight, I've got someone coming up from College Station and we're going to see Rancid and Rise Against at the Palladium (but honestly, mostly Rancid). I've seen Ben Folds and the Blackest of the Black tour at the Palladium, and I got to admit, I'm not a fan of the venue. Mostly because if I want to be sure I get tickets, I have to get gouged by Ticketbastard because the Palladium refuses to sell tickets at the box office until the day of the show. The House of Blues doesn't do that. Neither does the Granada or the Lakewood.
Then on Saturday, there's derby in Mesquite. BOOYAH. I don't know why, but despite Ass City not being as well established as, say, the Texas Rollergirls in Austin, I have a better time up here in Dallas. They most certainly have good choices for themes. Last month was a Ramones theme, this month it's the Beatles. Before last month it was the Clash and David Bowie. I still need to pick up a white dress shirt at Goodwill before then in support of the Deadly Kennedys. Why Goodwill? Well, I don't want to spraypaint a black S on a brand new shirt, do I? (Looking at that pic, holy crap, when was Zachary Quinto in the Dead Kennedys?)
Other news. In order to make exercise something other than complete and utter drudgery, I've invested in *gasp* a metal DDR dance pad. I was hesitant at first, getting one from Red Octane, because the last pad I got from them was complete shite and lasted all of a week before breaking (the zipper connecting the top half to the bottom which kept the foam padding inside sucked). I also picked up some new DDR games. Apparently I picked the right game initially. I already owned DDRMAX on the PS2. It's now selling on Amazon for $95. I did my research on the games I didn't have and got a number of them used for cheap. (Side note: one bad thing about getting used things that contain porous materials. You can always tell when it was previously owned by someone who smoked in their house. Ugh.) Amazing how the time flies playing a game and getting one's workout at the same time, eh?
Blogged with the Flock Browser
Sunday, June 21, 2009
So this is what getting out feels like
This weekend I didn't do a whole heck of a lot other than cook (chili 5 way on Wednesday, shrimp & pineapple fried rice on Thursday, chicken curry masala on Thursday), but I totally made up for it on Saturday. Saturday I spent a good 5 hours at roller derby watching the River Valley Roller Girls from Ft. Smith, AR play the Lone Star Assassins from Dallas' own Assassination City Roller Derby (ASS City for short) and the other teams from Assassination City, the Deadly Kennedys play the Bombshell Brigade. I gotta confess, just based on the white shirts and black ties, I'm partial to the Deadly Kennedys. The Jello Biafra reference in their name only plays into my preference of them a little bit. It's kinda like how when I can finally see Austin's league, the #4 ranked Texas Rollergirls, I'm pretty much already going to be partial to the Hell Maries because of their Catholic schoolgirl plaid skirts that are part of their uniform. Hey, at least I'm admitting to it.
Overall, it was a great time. I was sitting next to the mom of the captain of the Lone Star Assassins. That was fine until the awkward moment when (almost) out of the blue she started talking to me about how the Freemasons were a cult that didn't believe that Jesus Christ was our Lord and Savior and began insisting pretty hard that I praise Jay-sus. Fortunately, being raised Catholic and having a degree in religious studies allowed me to sort of deflect it by quoting Scripture at her (namely Matthew 6:5-6 where Jesus lambastes the hypocrites who make their religion a public spectacle and praises those who are faithful but don't brag about it).
Anyway, after derby let out, I actually tamped down the social awkwardness (I know, shock of shocks) and went to the afterparty at Lee Harvey's. My co-worker Frank was right. The place IS a real dive. That said, it was still fun nonetheless. Despite the partially hipster crowd (the place is known for its PBR, after all, and that shit's like pheromones for hipsters), the place was really laid back. Just like as I said with derby, Lee Harvey's is a place where rednecks, punks, bikers and hipsters can get along despite starting from totally different places. Personally, I think it's the tattoos that bring them together, as all those groups are pretty well known for having them.
After downing a few reasonably priced Shiners, I made the quick jaunt to the 24hr Café Brazil to kill the buzz before driving home. However, looking at the reviews on Yelp, I probably should have had some of the food there. Like I said, busy night for me.
But wait! There's more! Next week I'm getting started in a Werewolf: the Apocalypse game. I'm getting into the game through my friend Ange, and while I've not met the storyteller, he is anti-power gamer, which is good. I don't know his gaming style yet, but he seems very SRS BSNS. That's not so good. That said, he's flexible regarding my schedule, which is a first for normal people that have normal jobs. I'll just have to see how things are once we actually play.
Overall, it was a great time. I was sitting next to the mom of the captain of the Lone Star Assassins. That was fine until the awkward moment when (almost) out of the blue she started talking to me about how the Freemasons were a cult that didn't believe that Jesus Christ was our Lord and Savior and began insisting pretty hard that I praise Jay-sus. Fortunately, being raised Catholic and having a degree in religious studies allowed me to sort of deflect it by quoting Scripture at her (namely Matthew 6:5-6 where Jesus lambastes the hypocrites who make their religion a public spectacle and praises those who are faithful but don't brag about it).
Anyway, after derby let out, I actually tamped down the social awkwardness (I know, shock of shocks) and went to the afterparty at Lee Harvey's. My co-worker Frank was right. The place IS a real dive. That said, it was still fun nonetheless. Despite the partially hipster crowd (the place is known for its PBR, after all, and that shit's like pheromones for hipsters), the place was really laid back. Just like as I said with derby, Lee Harvey's is a place where rednecks, punks, bikers and hipsters can get along despite starting from totally different places. Personally, I think it's the tattoos that bring them together, as all those groups are pretty well known for having them.
After downing a few reasonably priced Shiners, I made the quick jaunt to the 24hr Café Brazil to kill the buzz before driving home. However, looking at the reviews on Yelp, I probably should have had some of the food there. Like I said, busy night for me.
But wait! There's more! Next week I'm getting started in a Werewolf: the Apocalypse game. I'm getting into the game through my friend Ange, and while I've not met the storyteller, he is anti-power gamer, which is good. I don't know his gaming style yet, but he seems very SRS BSNS. That's not so good. That said, he's flexible regarding my schedule, which is a first for normal people that have normal jobs. I'll just have to see how things are once we actually play.
Tuesday, June 9, 2009
Down and Out in the Emerald City
So, since the last time I made an entry, I've gone to Seattle and come back, had the community I helped administer returned to its original owners, and been interviewed by the police.
First things first. Seattle. Holy crap for crap I had a splendid time. I got to hang out with friends, I got to see a macabre circus show, I got to see roller derby up close and personal, I got to try a $5 milkshake (licorice flavor!), and I had sushi for the first time in well over a year (hooray conveyor belt sushi!)
The macabre circus of which I speak is called Circus Contraption, and it's very difficult to describe. I'm going to go with equal parts circus, burlesque, and musical. It had its very funny moments, and the second act showed a seedy underbelly and became significantly more dark than the first act (while still maintaining its sense of humor when needed).
The next night we drove to Olympia to watch the Cosa Nostra Donnas take on the Pikes Peak Derby Dames road team. I had so much fun, I want to go watch some of Texas' local teams, namely the Dallas Derby Devils, Assassination City Roller Derby (both out of Dallas/Ft. Worth), and the Texas Rollergirls out of Austin. I was supposed to go to the Austin game last weekend, but I couldn't get my oil changed until the same Saturday their match was and it took so long getting the oil changed that I fell asleep and couldn't wake up in time. I WILL make it to the Assassination City bout on the 20th, you can count on that. Anyone in the Dallas area is more than willing to join me. $12 for a night out is cheap.
The thing I really loved about derby is that its attitude is like a combination of punk and minor league baseball. The people involved on it are completely unpaid and do it only for the love of the sport, and there's a big DIY attitude among the people involved. Oh, and the original names they come up with are clever and occasionally geeky, and sometimes cheeky (That skater's name is Fanny Fister). Also, with the way the seating is set up, it's entirely possible that you could find yourself with a lap full of roller girl if you sit up close.
This is what a $5 milkshake looks like:
Licorice milkshake. Before you shun it for its flavor, it wasn't an overpowering kind of licorice like Uozo. Rather, it goes together surprisingly well with the creaminess. You can take a gander at the burger that accompanied it here. I'd link to the Lunchbox Laboratory's website, but while it looks all kinds of pretty, someone who loves Flash ENTIRELY TOO MUCH designed it. Looking at the site, they didn't offer it the day I was there, but apparently they will also make a bacon & brown sugar milkshake. That's just downright madness.
LJ Abuse finally got around to our complaints about the community mod account getting compromised. They wielded the banhammer about and returned the community to the original creators. Since then, we've lost one of the first demi-mods (who went certifiable in the community while it was being administered by the revolutionary mods), and now the community mods include both the mods-in-exile (like me) and the revolutionary mods and things are actually surprisingly calm. Funny how things like that work out.
Oh, and as for the police. Apparently, someone at work got his panties in a twist and started sabotaging things at work, like pouring some sort of solution on one of the laboratory meters and tossing a computer monitor in the basin a few months ago. I honestly have no idea who did it, though it could have theoretically been anybody. It all happened in a building that people rarely go to and there are a lot of disgruntled people. I'm more annoyed at what the results were. Not counting the having to be questioned by the police, they've been implementing some absolutely idiotic policies as a result that do nothing to curb the behavior. All they are doing is making everyone else even more disgruntled. Oh well. this too will pass. They'll get bored with their little inquisition and then things will eventually go back to the way they were. I just have to wait them out.
First things first. Seattle. Holy crap for crap I had a splendid time. I got to hang out with friends, I got to see a macabre circus show, I got to see roller derby up close and personal, I got to try a $5 milkshake (licorice flavor!), and I had sushi for the first time in well over a year (hooray conveyor belt sushi!)
The macabre circus of which I speak is called Circus Contraption, and it's very difficult to describe. I'm going to go with equal parts circus, burlesque, and musical. It had its very funny moments, and the second act showed a seedy underbelly and became significantly more dark than the first act (while still maintaining its sense of humor when needed).
The next night we drove to Olympia to watch the Cosa Nostra Donnas take on the Pikes Peak Derby Dames road team. I had so much fun, I want to go watch some of Texas' local teams, namely the Dallas Derby Devils, Assassination City Roller Derby (both out of Dallas/Ft. Worth), and the Texas Rollergirls out of Austin. I was supposed to go to the Austin game last weekend, but I couldn't get my oil changed until the same Saturday their match was and it took so long getting the oil changed that I fell asleep and couldn't wake up in time. I WILL make it to the Assassination City bout on the 20th, you can count on that. Anyone in the Dallas area is more than willing to join me. $12 for a night out is cheap.
The thing I really loved about derby is that its attitude is like a combination of punk and minor league baseball. The people involved on it are completely unpaid and do it only for the love of the sport, and there's a big DIY attitude among the people involved. Oh, and the original names they come up with are clever and occasionally geeky, and sometimes cheeky (That skater's name is Fanny Fister). Also, with the way the seating is set up, it's entirely possible that you could find yourself with a lap full of roller girl if you sit up close.
This is what a $5 milkshake looks like:
Licorice milkshake. Before you shun it for its flavor, it wasn't an overpowering kind of licorice like Uozo. Rather, it goes together surprisingly well with the creaminess. You can take a gander at the burger that accompanied it here. I'd link to the Lunchbox Laboratory's website, but while it looks all kinds of pretty, someone who loves Flash ENTIRELY TOO MUCH designed it. Looking at the site, they didn't offer it the day I was there, but apparently they will also make a bacon & brown sugar milkshake. That's just downright madness.
LJ Abuse finally got around to our complaints about the community mod account getting compromised. They wielded the banhammer about and returned the community to the original creators. Since then, we've lost one of the first demi-mods (who went certifiable in the community while it was being administered by the revolutionary mods), and now the community mods include both the mods-in-exile (like me) and the revolutionary mods and things are actually surprisingly calm. Funny how things like that work out.
Oh, and as for the police. Apparently, someone at work got his panties in a twist and started sabotaging things at work, like pouring some sort of solution on one of the laboratory meters and tossing a computer monitor in the basin a few months ago. I honestly have no idea who did it, though it could have theoretically been anybody. It all happened in a building that people rarely go to and there are a lot of disgruntled people. I'm more annoyed at what the results were. Not counting the having to be questioned by the police, they've been implementing some absolutely idiotic policies as a result that do nothing to curb the behavior. All they are doing is making everyone else even more disgruntled. Oh well. this too will pass. They'll get bored with their little inquisition and then things will eventually go back to the way they were. I just have to wait them out.
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