Mystery Music Theater 2600

Sometimes I really like the way fortune occasionally smiles. I decided to hit up Café Brazil, as I wasn't feeling like cooking up anything. Fortunately for me, I'd forgotten my iPhone so I was relegated to getting a copy of the Dallas Observer to occupy my time while I waited for my food. Lo and behold, guess what I found out? Available starting today are tickets for


MASTODON AND DETHKLOK

at the House of Blues on Wednesday, November 11th. Say what you want about the House of Blues being corporate trash, but it's no more corporate than the Palladium Ballroom considering the House of Blues actually allows you to buy tickets at the box office with no 30% "convenience" fee. Sure, it's no Granada, but there haven't been any concerts I've wanted to see since Jonathan Coulton and Paul & Storm.

I've not seen Mastodon in concert, so I can't speak for them, but I have seen Dethklok in concert, and they put on one hell of a show. Just like Metalocalypse, their live show perfectly blends comedy with melodic death metal insofar as the audience is pretty much put into the plot of a Metalocalypse fic that unfolds during the concert. Anyone who wants to go, give me a heads up because I'm sure as shit going to be there.

Shifting gears sort of abruptly, I put down my pre-order for Rock Band Beatles today. Holy crap. I was going to get the full set so I could get some new wireless equipment. Unfortunately, it isn't $180 as I thought it would be, but rather $250. Forget that noise. With that $70 markup, I'll get the game alone, thank you very much. Oh, speaking of the game, it was $65 instead of the $50 or $55 I was expecting. That must have been one hell of a price Harmonix paid to get the first digital versions of Beatles songs. No, seriously. Apple doesn't have their stuff on iTunes and Amazon doesn't have their original stuff in their MP3 store either. Eh. Until the game comes out next month, I'll be busy with new downloadable stuff that I'd not seen. Another Weezer pack (with My Name is Jonas and Pork & Beans), a Rancid pack (2 songs off of ...And Out Come the Wolves and one off of their new album), and a decent Spinal Tap pack that has classics such as Stonehenge, Big Bottom, and Tonight I'm Gonna Rock You Tonight.

Finally, for those of you who are fans of MST3K, on Thursday, August 20, the three guys from Rifftrax will be broadcasting a riffing of Plan 9 From Outer Space. It's kind of similar to how This American Life occasionally broadcasts a live show to theaters throughout the country. Only, you know, MST-ified.

Holy moley! An entire post where I didn't mention roller derby.


...crap.

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.

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.

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?

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Weak in Review

Let us see. Early in the week I made pho from scratch by following this recipe. It was good, but I highly doubt I'll make it anytime in the near future. To say it doesn't re-heat well is an understatement. Actually, it's not the re-heating that gets me; the fact that is becomes gelatinous in the refrigerator is what grosses me out. I think I'll stick to making curries, thank you very much.

Thursday had me slinging dice for the first time in years, this time playing old school Werewolf: the Apocalypse. It was great, but it's going to take some time getting adjusted to pen & paper rules. The last time I played Apocalypse (or any White Wolf, for that matter), it was live action. This is much better. Far less drama.

Today I was supposed to go out with someone down in Austin who's down here visiting from Indiana, but it seems apparent at this point that I've been stood up. I don't know what's more sad; the fact that I'm continually fooled by people who agree to something and then fail to follow through or at the very least call to apologize, or the fact that I pretty much expected this outcome from the very beginning.

But hey, as I expected this, I wasn't too upset when the plans fell through. I was able to have alternate plans and celebrate this 4th of July in my own way. I woke up early, watched Team America: World Police (can you think of anything more fitting?) and baked a Quiche Slygly. Holy crap was it delicious. The gruyère really makes it. Don't skimp and get something like Swiss or something worse. Sure, it seems expensive as hell, but I only used about a third of the 8 oz block I bought and even that was a little bit too much.

Oh! Fun fact for today. Apparently someone in one social networking sites I inhabit took issue with the fact that I watched Team America on today of all days (though my friends on Facebook seemed to be as amused as I was by it). If that pissed him off, I wonder what he'd think of my (slightly) hyperbolic analogy of "patriotism : nationality :: racism : race." I'm not quite willing to give up on the idea of patriotism as a whole, but that's because I discern between patriotism and whatever the hell it is that rednecks, Dominionists, and neo-conservatives practice.. I'd label that senseless kind of flag-waving demand for lock-step agreement in anything America does (unless, you know, dem der libruls are running things) as jingoism.

Sorry for that aside. Hey, my weekend' s not even over. I have tomorrow off as well. I'm going down to Austin to see the Texas Rollergirls. For real this time. Hopefully I'll see the Hell Marys beat the crap out of the Honky Tonk Heartbreakers. Hey, I was raised Catholic, I gotta root for the team in the Catholic schoolgirl outfits, especially the one whose number is a reference to the Whore of Babylon. :D

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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.

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.