(Cross-posted to LiveJournal)
The cover of the Spring 2009 BU Arts & Sciences reads:
"BU (extreme) South - Geomorphologist David Marchant and his team of students discover Antarctica's secret past"
But, of course, because I'm still stuck at the mountains of madness, "secret past" makes me think of starfish-headed tentacle aliens in a labyrinthine city ...
And then Professor Marchant's Earth Science class, but that was pathetically secondary in my thought process. Yeah, I had a 9 AM class with him in Freshman year, and it was about as stirring as Lovecraft's "Mountains" (unfortunate for a morning class and a morning read, respectively).
Marchant is like my very own Dyer, and because of this little morsel of information regarding his travels, I will now be imagining him in place of my original mental sketch of Professor Dyer (in spite of the fact that Marchant is actually much younger than Dyer is meant to be). Yay!
I've listened to about a half-dozen of these in the past two days. "About," because I downloaded the first six but fell asleep listening to one last night.
My original notion of Russell Brand came from that Andrew Sachs prank phone call business. I listened to the audio of the radio programme long after the fact, and it wasn't so much scandalous to me as it was blown way out of proportion. I heard about the VMA nonsense a bit later, but I didn't really care ... because, well, I don't care about MTV.
But after watching Brand's special from New York City on ComedyCentral, my opinion of him has improved. Sure, he's an eccentric little giraffe (and a manwhore, to boot), and a lot of his routine is specifically grounded in moments of personal embarrassment, but he also has this marvelous ability to slip into beautifully poetic rambles. Very entertaining overall, so I went in search of more--and, indeed, found more.
Then, today I was watching movies on the Instant Queue and picked Penelope, because I remembered that a coworker had suggested it. And who should make a very brief cameo in that film but Russell Brand? I wasn't even paying attention at that point, to be honest (because I tend to web browse all the time); but then I heard that voice, to which I've become quite attuned with the aforementioned radio broadcast .mp3s and falling asleep to it and so on, and my brain went: Russell?! And there he was talking to James McAvoy's character! Very, very brief cameo, but it makes me feel as though my subconsciousness is dragging him around with me.
14 March 2009
degree of extreme
10 March 2009
"building a henge, are we?"
Local park getting own version of Stonehenge
WUT?
"Its monolithic stones will tower 7 feet above the ground with an additional 5 feet anchored into concrete rings below ground. The circle will be 20 feet across with a stone tablet in the middle."
... Tower? These stones are going to tower at 7 feet?
LOL with me now.
08 March 2009
"Hypnotized"
(Cross-posted to LiveJournal)
New from TheJokerBlogs:
"There's only one thing we do--and it helps both of us."
HO. LY. CRAP.
ETA: Actually, the guy playing Dr. Strange makes me LOL at the end every time I watch this.
"You son of a BEEECH!" XD
07 March 2009
my fandom isn't naturally huggable
(Cross-posted to LiveJournal)
So I'm working on making it unnaturally huggable.
I haven't worked out his face or hair or clothing yet (and, in saying that, I realise I've actually not done much at all--urgh), but this is my progress on my Joker plush.
Note: head not actually sewn into place yet; it's just balancing there for the picture.
... Well, I had to something with myself today.
02 March 2009
but ... I'm already AWAKE
(Cross-posted to LiveJournal)
Snow day ... This never happens.
Not that I'm complaining, obviously; it's just weird. How much did we get, anyway?
So ...
I guess this means I go back to bed. Maybe.
Yes?
26 February 2009
25 February 2009
phthistical
(Cross-posted to LiveJournal)
An exotic variation of the more usual "phthisical"--from "phthisic":
n.
1. Variant of phthisis.
2. Archaic Any illness of the lungs or throat, such as asthma or a cough.
And now I know [that it's not that important for me to know].
'I am grown phthistical,' he began, 'from this cursed river air.'
23 February 2009
after this, I'm going back to bed
(Cross-posted to LiveJournal)
Stayed awake exactly long enough to know ... Heath won!
And, yes, I am happy.
Exhausted, but happy.
19 February 2009
16 February 2009
Stephen's been making predictions
(Cross-posted to LiveJournal)
 | |
Warning: If Christian Bale accepts for him, nobody walk through his eye-line.
15 February 2009
"My Funny Valentine"
(Cross-posted to LiveJournal)
I was hoping for something like this, but I didn't check until this very moment ...
TheJokerBlogs has an update!
HQ version is here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W5ukcNzjgC4&feature=channel_page&fmt=18
12 February 2009
Arkham and the joys of wikiality
(Cross-posted to LiveJournal)
While reading "Pickman's Model" on the train, I felt inspired to do some wiki-checking on certain endnotes I'd been reading. For one thing, I wanted hear more about Lovecraft's apparent inspiration for Arkham. Well, I live here, and that gives me a geeky jazz I can't quite describe without bouncing a little bit... But this is Arkham: the town. Arkham Asylum is another matter, the model for which is in another town that I frequent on a regular basis.
Danvers State Hospital 1893
And, yes. That screams Arkham Asylum to me. All it needs is a gigantic menacing gate to go around its gigantic menacing exterior.
As I read the beginning of the wiki entry, I thought, I need to go see this in person! But then I kept reading ...
Due to budget cuts within the mental health system the hospital was closed in June 1992.
And then--
In December 2005, the property was sold to Avalon Bay Development. A lawsuit was filed to stave off the demolition of the hospital, including the Kirkbride building, which was listed on the National Register of Historic Places. However, this ultimately did not stop the process, and to some public outcry, demolition of most of the buildings began in January 2006, with the intent to build 497 apartments on the 77-acre (310,000 m2) site.
Danvers State Hospital 2006 demolition
Say it with me: "Argh!"
Oh! And THEN:
... On April 7, 2007, four of the new apartment complex buildings and four of Avalon bay's construction trailers burned down in a large fire visible from Boston, some seventeen miles (27 km) away. The mysterious conflagration was confined mostly to the buildings under construction on the eastern end, with damage to the remaining Kirkbride spires from catching fire due to excessive heat. An investigation is underway concerning the cause of the fire. Avalon Bay provided a live webcam of the construction at the old site of the hospital at their website; however, the pictures cut out at approximately 2:03 AM the night of the fire, and the webcam was disabled, possibly due to the fire.
So that was a little weird. But, anyway, now it's an apartment complex:
Avalon Danvers October 2007
I hope it's haunted.
30 January 2009
had to happen eventually
(Cross-posted to LiveJournal)
Of course, one doesn't fall down on what is obviously ice. One falls down on what would appear to be dry ground--but is, in fact, icy ground--because one lets down her guard and takes confident steps where she should've been sliding along as usual.
Oh, well. I still managed it fairly gracefully, since I felt it happening almost immediately. I'm pretty sure I muttered something along the lines of: "Balls..." as I went down. The lady walking half a dozen yards ahead of me turned around to ask if I was all right, and also to share that it had looked like a perfectly dry patch of ground to her as well.
Nothing bruised or broken. Just somewhat annoyed.
It needs to get warm enough and dry enough to get rid of this nonsense soon. I'm sick of taking fifteen minutes to navigate the pitfalls between home and the depot, when it should really only take about seven to make the trip. I'd also like not to fall down again.
25 January 2009
the word is Hyde
(Cross-posted to LiveJournal)
Whoa. I've been watching the Jekyll series all day on the Netflix Instant Queue, and just finished the sixth (and last) episode now. I'm a fan of the old story, so I was curious about this. ... You can certainly tell Steven Moffat was involved. Some of it distinctly smacks of Doctor Who.
Split personalities, cloning, reincarnation. It's one more head trip after another.
24 January 2009
"A Dream Come True"
(Cross-posted to LiveJournal)
Been waiting for an update on these since before Christmas. I can't help being absurdly excited about it ...
22 January 2009
shoulda, woulda, coulda
(Cross-posted to LiveJournal)
When I got home I was very close to just staying upstairs, eating the pear that I'd forgotten at lunch, and lounging around watching more Politically Incorrect on YouTube while waiting for The Daily Show and The Colbert Report to come on.
But I wanted to do the nutritious thing and make a salad wrap for dinner ...
As I removed the container of spinach from the refrigerator, I heard a strange noise from above--and looked up just in time for the bottle of Frangelico to clock me on the side of the head, bounce off, and shatter on the floor. YAY.
And then the alarm in the blue room went off--signaling the possible presence of explosive gases in the apartment. SWELL. Really. Just AWESOME.
Then my parents were on the phone--me trying to clean up the spill and shards of glass with one hand--and they're nagging me about the roof situation.
Hi. I haven't eaten anything. The "explosive gas" alarm is going off. I have the deck door open to the 10 degree chill beyond in order to get the Frangelico fumes out of my home. I'm trying to clean my kitchen floor before it goes tacky with residue AND not step on broken glass. Nagging me is not a good idea right now.
I was ready to crush my mobile with my grip alone. I might do one day.
THEN when I finally had my food and was sitting in the red room, I managed to tip over my water and spill it on the floor.
I'm doing so well.
Lesson learned. If the first instinct is to stay upstairs, I should just stay the hell upstairs.
20 January 2009
16 January 2009
LOL
(Cross-posted to LiveJournal)
Shawn Spencer: "Former lovers?! REALLY?!?"
I crowed and clapped.
It might be coincidence, but I do believe the Psych writers have been reading the Shassie (Shawn/Lassiter) fanfiction--or it's come to their attention, anyway--and they don't approve of this pairing either. (C'mon! Slash is great, but ... It's LASSITER! Tim Omundson is very talented, but--NO.) So clearly I don't ship them. I don't have a Psych ship, probably because there are no regular nasties on board.
I'm especially amused by this inclusion since my txt question to the show earlier this week was: "Do you know there is fanfiction about you? Have you read any of it?" Oh, they must know.
That was a relatively serious episode, though, all things considered. I mean Shawn was really slammed around ... And it looks like next week's is similarly danger-filled.
I did not successfully spot the pineapple (there's at least one in every episode). I'm so ashamed. And tired.
Good night.
14 January 2009
"[assuming] for the time whatever opinion amuses me"
(Cross-posted to LiveJournal)
I shall never be very merry or very sad, for I am more prone to analyse than to feel ... What merriment I have is always derived from the satirical principle, and what sadness I have, is not so much personal, as a vast and terrible melancholy at the pain and futility of all existence in a blind and purposeless cosmos.
Oh, I know I shouldn't read Lovecraft when I'm in a mood; but when I'm in a mood is when I feel most like reading him.
This makes me laugh inappropriately:
If we knew what we are, we should do as Sir Arthur Jermyn did; and Arthur Jermyn soaked himself in oil and set fire to his clothing one night.
I wish I had book of his correspondence, as I really do love the letters I've found.
We love kitties, gawd bless their little whiskers, and we don't give a damn whether they or we are superior or inferior! They're confounded pretty, and that's all we know and all we need to know!
That's just unexpectedly adorable.
10 January 2009
re: spoiling the illusion
(Comments from LiveJournal)
Ian: While there is much to be said for the "just add water" nature of the religious social experience, you are almost certainly right that it wouldn't be worth it to pretend. Maybe next time you get invited you should go and not pretend? Though I'd suggest sticking this in your bag, just in case.
Nicole: There are plenty of people I know who are religious without being RELIGIOUS, but (perhaps I am waaay overgeneralizing) it seems to me that the people who socialize based around a religion are... kind of cuckoo. They just (mostly) seem to be more extremist than the non-social folks.
Michelle: Like you, I occasionally toy with going to services once in a while, especially Mass, but for slightly different reasons. For me it's less about the social outlet and more about feeling the sense of drama and ritual that a good religious service can evoke. Also like you, I don't believe any of it, and the truth would come out sooner or later, and probably somewhat destructively.
As far as socially acceptable goes, I think that the Northeast is probably one of the best places to live if you aren't "conventionally religious". It doesn't seem nearly as central to everything as it does in say, the South or the Midwest. So far as I can tell, being a member of a mainline church isn't mandatory for, say, public office, and it's unlikely you would see coworkers and socialize at church on the weekends, and no one really bats an eye at a courthouse/city hall wedding. It doesn't seem to be a mandatory piece of being a part of society up here. Sure, it can help with some connections, but I've found that even conventionally religious up here get a lot less bothered if you aren't drinking the same kool-aid as them.
Also, infiltrating an uber-religious organization quite possibly would be fun in an evil sort of way, but it's not really going to teach anyone anything.
In terms of social output, again, being in the Boston area, there's a lot of that that isn't dependent on religion either. Boston Ski & Sports Club, dances or dance lessons, stitch'n'bitches (Boston has a mailing list), Drinking Liberally... etc. and so on.
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