All my Garmonbozia..

Saw 2012 today, if you can't laugh at movies like this you should not go but if you can it was pretty good though longer than it had to be.

girlygothic

Beefcake Thursday

 
Yes, what a complete and utter shocker. Here it is, middle of the night (morning), and I've caught up on my weekly Thursday night glut of shows, including Supernatural. So of course that means it's time for pics of Jensen & Jared!

Tags: beefcake, humor

swashbuckler332

Glass Onion

I received my both the stereo and mono Beatles box sets and have begun to make new rips as part of my new music library. I had to explain what the situation was with the mono box set to a co-worker today, who was shocked to learn that the Beatles had little if anything to do with the stereo mixes on most of their albums. I remember reading the instruction manual for a friend's four-track tape deck that was discussing panning. It made mention of how the Beatles got interesting effects by hard-panning elements of their mixes such as drums and vocals to the right or left, but the truth is that the three stereo mixes that the Beatles actually participated in, Magical Mystery Tour, the white album and Abbey Road, don't feature much of that sort of thing.

It is nice to have the Beatles not only sounding this good, but being portable as well. I always lamented that while I could easily just put on a Beatles album on vinyl at home, but if I was traveling I have had to make do with rips of those old CDs (with the exception, of course, of the excellent-sounding Yellow Submarine "songtrack" version, which has not been replicated in the box set). As I mentioned before, the new remasters correct the issues with the old discs by re-equalizing them. The differences are admittedly subtle, but the differences are where they count, mostly on the vocals, which sound much more clear and full.

Of course, with all of this going on I have been going through something of a rediscovery of the Beatles. This has been quite pleasurable for myself and most of my friends like the Beatles. My co-workers were first amused and then annoyed by my incessant humming/singing/whistling of songs from Magical Mystery Tour, I used some lines from "Your Mother Should Know" as a Facebook status and used "The Walrus Was Paul" as the handle on my BlackBerry Instant Messenger.

The Mad Men season finale was amazing. I am totally jazzed for the next season right now (and I'm glad they finally managed to come up with some purpose for the Connie character). I was expecting something a lot darker for the conclusion of this season, and so when I saw the kind of momentum that the show was building and where it was headed, I was quite surprised in a good way. It was also nice to see the relationship between Roger and Don going back somewhat to the way that it was.

Tyrone brought in Caveman today, and now I have that Lalo Schifrin theme stuck in my head! Now it can be stuck in yours: behold as man invents music!!!

WORK SAFE

Tags: audio, beatles, film music, lalo schifrin, mad men, movie funnies, movie moments, rock

Current Location:	Work Hole
One of my turns:	hungry
Those noises that hurt my brain:	Lalo Schifrin: Caveman

girlygothic

Apartment for Rent in North Attleboro, MA

 
One of the units in my building is open, and I told my landlord I'd pass word.

1 bedroom
living room
kitchen
bathroom with tub
off-street parking
$625/month

If you'd like more details, let me know. And feel free to forward this to anyone you think might be interested.

Tags: misc.

girlygothic

I Can Haz Internets!

 
And cable, and phone too!

Arriving home from the laundromat this afternoon, I didn't think much of the Comcast van parked on the street in front of my house. You see them all over, all the time. Arriving upstairs, I immediately concerned myself with putting away the laundry. After that was accomplished, then I went to check my email. Email? Email? Hellooooo? What's wrong with my connection? Hmmm... the lights on the modem don't look right. Do I have a dial tone? No I don't. Do I have cable? No I don't.

That's when I remembered seeing the Comcast van. That's also when I remembered that my downstairs neighbor moved out last week. That's when I realized that in disconnecting her service, they managed to also disconnect mine. Grrrrr.

So I call Comcast, and find my way through the phone tree. When I finally get through to a real person I point out to them that their phone tree needs tweaking. At one point they ask you to press "1 for cable television, 2 for high speed internet, or 3 for digital voice." Yeah, they really need "4 for all three." So I tell the guy what's wrong, and about how the Comcast van was here not 10 minutes ago disconnecting my downstairs neighbor. Oh no, that can't be related. It must be something wrong with my modem. Uh huh. Right. But I oblige him by rebooting my modem. And while he seems genuinely baffled, I am completely unsurprised when nothing changes. He's convinced there's a problem with my modem. When I point out that wouldn't affect my TV, he says that sometimes it can. Riiiiight. Because equipment failure after a line branch will totally cause failure on the other branch. But at this point I've done the hard reboot, and he's sent his signal thing through to the modem several times, and that's just not doing the trick. So he's completely out of ideas.

At this point he then says he has an appointment opening tomorrow for a tech to come by. Uh, no. That's not an option. Among other things, I actually have work tomorrow. So I ask if there isn't an opening today. Oh no, I'm assured there are no openings today. So then, very politely, I ask to speak to a supervisor. I'm on hold. He comes back to say he's getting his supervisor. I'm on hold. He comes back to say his supervisor is almost available. I'm on hold. He comes back to say that he and the supervisor are working on the problem. I'm on hold. He comes back to say they're really working on it. I'm on hold. He comes back to say that the supervisor has found an appointment for me for today. Wow! That supervisor really must be a miracle worker. I mean, they apparently pulled that previously non-existent appointment out of their ass. But good on them. I now have an "all day" appointment for today, meaning that the tech could show up at any point between 2:30 (current time, at that point) and 8:00pm.

So I go and read for several hours. Then I remember that I need to run the dishwasher, so I do that. Damn! Should have done that at 2:30. Because no sooner do I start the incredibly loud dishwasher than the Comcast tech shows up. So he comes upstairs, and I bring him up to speed about how all 3 services are out, coincidentally right after the previous Comcast van had been here. Oh yeah! He admits what the phone guy couldn't because of calls being recorded. The tech in the other van cut my service.

So this tech disconnects the cable from my system and attaches some device to it that sends some signal. He then goes outside, and by finding the signal out there is able to determine which is my line. Back inside to reconnect the cable to my system. Back outside to hook the line back up. Lo and behold, suddenly my TV is showing me pretty moving pictures with sound, and not the "Please stand by. This channel will be available shortly" text message that's been showing the past several hours. I check and I have dial tone. I check and I have internet. The phone rings and I confirm to the tech that yes, everything's fine now. Thanks. All told, not even 10 minutes work, and most of that was probably going up and down the two flights of stairs.

Yay, I has internets again, and can watch my shows tonight.

Tags: vent/rant, video

girlygothic

Note to Self

 
Don't feed the trolls. Really... don't. Yeah, I know. They scurry around, yelping and mewling. They so obviously need to be fed. But you know you'll regret it. You know that as soon as you feed them they just barf it back up all over you. Don't. Feed. The. Trolls.

Tags: misc.

girlygothic

Well that didn't help

 
Arriving home tonight I was feeling all jumpy and jittery, teetering on the edge of a panic attack. (Long day, too many stressors, blah, blah.) So to decompress I had a nummy dinner, played some sudoku to decompress, and was bad and drowned my sorrows in way too many Trader Joe's chocolate covered orange sticks.

After a while I started to feel better. But then after another while I started to feel worse again. What the hell? Then it hit me like a ton of bricks. Before I had felt jumpy and jittery for emotional reasons. Now I'm feeling jumpy and jittery for physical reasons. Doh! Sometimes I forget I react badly to too much chocolate.

Tags: food, humor

neko038

So I jumped the gun on the throw. It was in the garage as it was being used for a film shoot and I forgot it was being used. So crisis averted. Please resume to your regular stuff.
Crys

girlygothic

Still at 179

 
Not too much accomplished this week. But thankfully not as little as last week.

* Housework - With all my new post-Halloween clearance acquisitions, I ran out of space in one of my storage totes. So I picked up a few more totes, to allow for the new stuff and future acquisitions. I also caught up this week on some general cleaning, which I had let stack up lately.
* Etsy Projects - I relisted some winter/Christmas items I had offered last year, but had let lapse over the summer. In the process of relisting them, I also updated the photos to include some better ones. I've also finally begun the process of slowly updating photos for most of my listings. (I took most of the better photos a while ago, and have just been procrastinating about processing them.) I also did some preliminary design work and picked up supplies for some new seasonal items I want to offer this year.
* Virtual Yard Sale and FreeCycle - I finally got around to taking some photos of the Apple Think Different posters I have, and was all set to list them on eBay when I decided to hold off on that. Instead I emailed a vendor that I know buys the posters to see if they might be interested in mine. (I know normally they only buy unopened sets. But I do happen to have one they're currently out of stock on, so I figured it would be worth a try.)

Tags: to do

neko038

Ok I am confused. We had a party last night for cast and alumni, and this morning I am missing a throw. It is taupe with a brown tartan pattern on it and fringing on the edge. It was in the living room, on a wicker basket. The blanket that was on top of it is still there and I hunted around the house for it and nothing.. So yeah, if anyone accidentally took it home please return it.
Why do things disappear when you have people over :(
Crys

girlygothic

Cake Wrecks!

 
So today I headed out to the Cake Wrecks book signing in Framingham. It was such fun!

Click on any thumbnail to take you to the set.

On the way home I drove right past a Trader Joe's. So now for dinner tonight I get to have nummy stuff I never get to have. Woot.

Tags: baking, food, humor

girlygothic

Sesame Street Cakes!

 
Calling all Sesame Street fans! And cake fans! You simply must check out This week's "Sunday Sweets" entry over at Cake Wrecks.

OMG, the adorableness!

Tags: baking, video

girlygothic

Why is the Toilet Paper Angry?

 
Tomorrow I'm headed off to the Cake Wrecks book signing in Framingham. Just a little while ago I finished my entry for the Wreckplica contest. The inspiration cake is the second photo down in this entry.

Tags: baking, flickr, humor, photography

neko038

I think I can, I think I can.

I did it. I drove the standard car all by myself to BJ's, stopping on 2 hills, going onto the Highway and off and through Somerville to Cambridge. And I only stalled 4 times and 2 of them were because I forgot to put the clutch down when parking and the other 2 were in Cambridge because people decided to walk behind the car when I was backing up. So yeah, I can drive a stick.
Crys

phoenixshadow

To the Rocky Peoples

Kyle Koslowski's doppleganger? You decide (cross referenced on Facebook)

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/33733718/ns/entertainment-celebrities/

swashbuckler332

"In the world of advertising, there's no such thing as a lie. There's only expedient exaggeration."

The problem with any new video format is that while there are indeed releases to get excited about, the releases of catalog titles can sometimes be a slow trickle. While Blu-ray weighed in early with a good showing for the works of such filmmakers as Stanley Kubrick and Martin Scorsese, we are only now getting the first titles from such luminaries as Robert Altman and Alfred Hitchcock.

The Master of Suspense has made the leap to high def with the Warner Classics release of North by Northwest, and it is actually the perfect inaugural title for his body of work. Psycho may be more iconic and influential, Rear Window and Vertigo may be deeper, but North by Northwest was Hitch and author Ernest Lehmann's attempt to make pure entertainment and the result has been called the "blueprint for the James Bond series" and has been the template for a wide array of movies, including the recent Bourne series. And like those films, they are more enjoyable the better they look and sound.

And holy crackers, North by Northwest is stunning on Blu-ray! The negative was shot in VistaVision, which would feed standard 35 millimeter film horizontally through the camera (like a still photo), and the larger surface area meant a superfine grain structure. On Blu-ray, this means that apart from a few embarrassing rear-projection shots (the Achilles' heel of any Hitch movie), the image is pristine, as finely detailed as 1080p can get with less grain than many recent Hollywood blockbusters, and all without the need for intrusive Digital Noise Reduction. The cool color palette of the film may bear the characteristics of emulsions of 1959 color film stock, but is accurately conveyed, matching in every respect (save, obviously, scope) the theatrical print I saw at the Paris Theatre a few years ago.

Sonically, the 2000 5.1 mix has been presented in Dolby TrueHD; ordinarily I would gripe about the lack of an original monaural track, but the Perspecta-sound stereo elements have apparently been lost and the previous "stereo" mix for the MGM UA laserdisc was a complete disaster, and so this is as legitimate a means of listening to the film as any currently available. The mixing engineers thankfully didn't really go overboard trying to make everything noisier and artificially immersive. As a result, while there are a few flashy moments, including the film's signature crop-duster sequence, for the most part the film's soundtrack is restrained aside from Bernard Herrmann's by-turns intense and explosive score, which has better sound than the Rhino CD of the original soundtrack recording; the isolated score track from the DVD has been retained, still in Dolby Digital 5.1, but here at a higher bitrate.

Speaking of Benny Herrmann, I was listening to the FSM disc of On Dangerous Ground on the way to work today. This disc was released in 2003 as a limited edition of 3,000 copies and it still hasn't sold out, most likely because it was sourced from acetate discs from the University of California at Santa Barbara's Bernard Herrmann collection, which were the only surviving elements. The sound quality ranges from just limited to having very intrusive surface noise, and I can understand why that would be off-putting to listeners. It certainly makes the audiophile in me cringe and hope for a clean new stereo recording of the full score someday.

But even if this dream were to become a reality, I wouldn't want to give up FSM's CD. In addition to showcasing Herrmann 's skill at getting an exacting performance out of an orchestra, it also preserves Virginia Majewski's performances on the viola d'amore for Ida Lupino's character, which are quite beautiful. Herrmann recordings abounded in the 90s, but unfortunately this gem wasn't one that was prominent enough to mount such an expensive project on; hopefully one day Varèse Sarabande or Tribute or Tadlow will tackle this one…

Some Fark explorations:
- This article by Ophelia Benson is an interesting look at how dogma can make non-believers behave suspiciously like believers. A belief system can change, but the behavior surrounding it may be the same.
  
  Part of the problem is in the question posed by the originating post wherein the author starts out lumping all atheists into an amorphous group before correcting himself, then takes for granted that all atheists are interested in spreading their views. Before you think I'm getting defensive about atheism, I point that Ms. Benson's more incisive commentary mentions that there is, indeed, a movement amongst atheists which does include "getting the word out there." Absence of faith doesn't mean that people aren't as prone to the passions and prejudices of our species, and like all tribal primates, people of like mind do tend to create communities. If the atheists that band together and (anti) proselytize constitute the analog of a sect in religion, then so do the people that don't want to have anything to do with it, they're just not really an organized one (yet).
  
  With the fires of my youth somewhat muted, I am left uncomfortable with the aggressive attacks that Richard Dawkins visits upon religions, not so much because I think he's wrong (I agree with him on most counts) but because I feel that his approach clouds the central issue, and it ends up being a negative — that is to say, reactionary — rather than a non-presence — the product of a skeptical reasoning — which is where I feel it firmly lands as a credo. Of course, part of the problem is that many atheists have deep-routed feelings of betrayal surrounding religion, and as a result are very hostile to it for reasons that have nothing to do with scientific method, and in many ways Dawkins' notoriety allows him to be "entry level atheism," giving you the "facts" to back up the belief system, that is to say, they work as affirmation. Which means, from an atheist perspective, that his books essentially serve the same purpose as a prayerbook, don't they…?
  
  I must be skeptical about skepticism, or I'm just paying lip service to it.
  
  Lest anybody be confused: I am in no way softening my stance on religion or its place in the United States today. I am a firm believer of the separation of church and state and was long before I ever would have called myself an atheist. Religion has no place in our law or public school system. I am only amused at how extremes have a tendency to resemble one another, even if they are on opposite ends of some spectrum.
- Evil Dead 2: Dead by Dawn is coming back to theaters. No, not a remake, the original film is being re-released next year. Groovy!
- John Ratzenberger will running for a Minnesota Senate seat. Interesting. Looks like you've got some kind of alternate universe in there or something.
- I agree with Neil Gaiman and Stephen Marche about vampire oversaturation. Yes, I know I did enjoy Let the Right One In, but I'm haven't been this sick of fangs since I was bit by that dog bringing misdelivered mail to its rightful owner.
- This one was good just for the description:
  "Kate Hudson says she's not pregnant, she just gained weight after she stopped smoking. Besides, it's not like A-Rod could ever hit a moving target like that."

Tags: alfred hitchcock, audio, bernard herrmann, high def, martin scorsese, philosophy, robert altman, stanley kubrick

Current Location:	Work Hole
One of my turns:	bouncy
Those noises that hurt my brain:	Bernard Herrmann: On Dangerous Ground

revolos55

Chirp chirp

23:54 *sigh* Fuckin' Yankees... #

01:00 Listening a Mozart's Requiem, wondering if I recognize a part cuz I've heard it so often. Nope, it was sampled in "Lacrymosa" by Evanescence #

02:39 Junk for both mind and body: Gonna make some Cheese & Pepperoni Bagel Bites and watch The Vampire Diaries... #

08:39 RT @mollyrazor: Remember, remember the 5th of November // The Gunpowder Treason and Plot... #

11:18 Mmkay, I think it's just about time to hit the hay. And once I've pulverized the hay into submission, I'ma go to bed. Catch y'all in 8 hours #

23:02 Seriously, between Grey's and FlashForward there's this huge spoiler minefield that makes me need to avoid Twitter on Thursdays. #

Automatically shipped by LoudTwitter

Tags: food, greys anatomy, music, sleep, sports, tv shows, twitter, vampires

girlygothic

New-ish Items in My Etsy Shop

 
With Halloween behind us and winter/Christmas fast approaching, I've renewed some seasonal offerings from last year in my Etsy Shop. I also have some really cool ideas for new items for this year that will be posted as soon as I can get them made.

Click on any photo to see more about the item.

As always, if you feel like forwarding these links to anyone you think might be interested, I'd be thrilled.

Tags: christmas, etsy, winter

neko038

So tired all the time and I have a headache. Here is super hoping I don't have the flu. Though no sore throat so that could help.
Crys

All · my · Garmonbozia..

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11:57 pm 11/14/09 6 comments Leave a comment	girlygothic Meep Tags: humor, youtube


06:23 pm 11/14/09 2 comments Leave a comment	neko038 (no subject) Saw 2012 today, if you can't laugh at movies like this you should not go but if you can it was pretty good though longer than it had to be.


03:24 am 11/13/09 3 comments Leave a comment	girlygothic Beefcake Thursday   Yes, what a complete and utter shocker. Here it is, middle of the night (morning), and I've caught up on my weekly Thursday night glut of shows, including Supernatural. So of course that means it's time for pics of Jensen & Jared! Tags: beefcake, humor


01:53 pm 11/11/09 1 comment Leave a comment	girlygothic Apartment for Rent in North Attleboro, MA   One of the units in my building is open, and I told my landlord I'd pass word. 1 bedroom living room kitchen bathroom with tub off-street parking $625/month If you'd like more details, let me know. And feel free to forward this to anyone you think might be interested. Tags: misc.


10:04 am 11/10/09 3 comments Leave a comment	girlygothic Note to Self   Don't feed the trolls. Really... don't. Yeah, I know. They scurry around, yelping and mewling. They so obviously need to be fed. But you know you'll regret it. You know that as soon as you feed them they just barf it back up all over you. Don't. Feed. The. Trolls. Tags: misc.


03:54 pm 11/9/09 Leave a comment	neko038 Ok So I jumped the gun on the throw. It was in the garage as it was being used for a film shoot and I forgot it was being used. So crisis averted. Please resume to your regular stuff. Crys


10:59 am 11/8/09 2 comments Leave a comment	girlygothic Sesame Street Cakes!   Calling all Sesame Street fans! And cake fans! You simply must check out This week's "Sunday Sweets" entry over at Cake Wrecks. OMG, the adorableness! Tags: baking, video


03:41 pm 11/7/09 2 comments Leave a comment	girlygothic Why is the Toilet Paper Angry?   Tomorrow I'm headed off to the Cake Wrecks book signing in Framingham. Just a little while ago I finished my entry for the Wreckplica contest. The inspiration cake is the second photo down in this entry. Tags: baking, flickr, humor, photography


01:45 pm 11/7/09 Leave a comment	phoenixshadow To the Rocky Peoples Kyle Koslowski's doppleganger? You decide (cross referenced on Facebook) http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/33733718/ns/entertainment-celebrities/


03:25 pm 11/4/09 Leave a comment	neko038 :( So tired all the time and I have a headache. Here is super hoping I don't have the flu. Though no sore throat so that could help. Crys