Not a very good Christmas for me. I like Christmas, and I always get really excited about it, but every since Wednesday, I've been feeling bad. On Christmas Eve, I got very little sleep and I went to the store for some last minute things with my uncle, then I came home and took a nap, and got up to talk to the few people who came over. Today, I slept all day long, only getting up to unwrap my presents and move them out of the living room, because people would soon be coming over. I slept the rest of the day or tried my best to sleep. I did not get up for Christmas dinner, nor did I eat at all today.
posted by Beth at 5:06:00 AM
Friday, December 24, 2004
Check this, I'm going to be like Nathan and LPS and fill out this end-of-year survey.
1. What did you do in 2004 that you'd never done before? Taken a business class and loved it.
2. Did you keep your new years' resolutions, and will you make more for next year? I don't even make resolutions.
3. Did anyone close to you give birth? Yes! After a baby-drought in my family, this year Marji had a baby in June and my Aunt Tina had a baby in August.
4. Did anyone close to you die? Sadly, yes. My Uncle Bud and also Gypsy and Molly. :(
5. What countries did you visit? Oy, I haven't been out of the country since I went to Canada in 2000.
6. What would you like to have in 2005 that you lacked in 2004? A million opportunities? Or an ipod and a new kitten and puppy?
7. What dates from 2004 will remain etched upon your memory, and why? Election Day, because it was horribly bad. But also the weekend of the Monster Mania Con, because it was amazingly good.
8. What was your biggest achievement of the year? Let's see, I learned to knit, and I got my ass back into school.
9. What was your biggest failure? Well, I never got a rad job, but I kind of stopped looking, once I had my mind set on school. I hardly touched my clarinet, and I made no real effort to work on the piano or accordion.
10. Did you suffer illness or injury? Only minor things, as far as I can remember.
11. What was the best thing you bought? There's gotta be something, but I can't think of what it would be. I'm inclined to say my Nintendo DS, but I've hardly touched it.
12. Whose behaviour merited celebration? I'm going to echo LPS and say, "Everyone who voted for Kerry." Also Nathan's, for putting up with me.
13. Whose behaviour made you appalled and depressed? Blah blah, political stuff.
14. Where did most of your money go? Hmm, I guess all my money goes to food and various toys and books and things that amuse me.
15. What did you get really, really, really excited about? Probably the MonsterMania Con, because seeing Robert Englund was the best and I loved all the panel discussions and hearing all of Gunnar Hansen's stories about making The Texas Chainsaw Massacre were greater than I would have ever expected them to be.
16. What song will always remind you of 2004? "Now Is Strange" That's kind of a lie, but what're you gonna do about it?
17. Compared to this time last year, are you:
a) happier or sadder? I think I'd say happier, because I'm glad to be back in school
b) thinner or fatter? The usual fatness
c) richer or poorer? Poorer, since I had to take out student loans.
18. What do you wish you'd done more of? I should have done more volunteerwork, and I should have practiced the clarinet/piano/accordion more.
19. What do you wish you'd done less of? Hmm, I'm pretty okay with the extent to which I do things.
20. How will you be spending Christmas? At home as usual. Normally, family come over to exchange gifts on the Eve and to have dinner on the Day. I hope this year is no different.
21. How will you be spending New Years? I'll probbaly sit around at home, unless I get the notion to go to Atlantic City in the middle of the night.
22. Did you fall in love in 2004? The usual.
23. How many one-night stands? Nine?
24. What was your favorite TV program? My favorite NEW program was definitely Wonderfalls. My favorite new program that hasn't been squashed yet would probably be Arrested Development. Quintuplets is surprisingly cute.
25. Do you hate anyone now that you didn't hate this time last year? I think I hate some political figures more, but otherwise, I think my hatred levels are much the same.
26. What was the best book you read? Maybe Lies and the Lying Liars Who Tell Them or Rush Limbaugh Is a Big Fat Idiot both by Al Franken. I liked Abarat a lot, too. Did I read that this year? I can't remember.
27. What was your greatest musical discovery? I can't remember whom I discovered this year. I liked Nora O'Connor a lot. I like Corn Mo a great deal, too.
28. What did you want and get? I wanted to learn to knit, and I did.
29. What did you want and not get? A new President?
30. What was your favorite film of this year? Spider-Man 2 followed by Harry Potter
31. What did you do on your birthday, and how old were you? I spent a very long day at school, and then I came home and ate, and it was really boring. I turned 25.
32.What one thing would have made your year immeasurably more satisfying? A different outcome on Election Day. Maybe having gotten scholarships for school, winning the lottery. Oh wait, I did do that.
33. How would you describe your personal fashion concept in 2004? Much of the same old sneakers, jeans, and t-shirts, but I did start wearing skirts.
34. What kept you sane? Knitting helps. So does Nick@Nite
35. Which celebrity/public figure did you fancy the most? That one professor um, no one new this year, so I'll just recycle my 2003 answer and say the Queer Eye guys.
36. What political issue stirred you the most? All of them.
37. Who did you miss? Most of all, I think I miss Colleen and sarah.
38. Who was the best new person you met? Well, the only new people I met this year were John and Amy, but it was a lot of fun for me.
39. Tell us a valuable life lesson you learned in 2004: Each method of valuing inventory has its advantages and flaws.
40. Quote a song lyric that sums up your year: "Some crazy bastard wants to hit me"
posted by Beth at 2:31:00 AM
Wednesday, December 22, 2004
I have other things that I want to mention, but it would somehow seem jerky to me to tack the previous entry onto a long list of less important stuff, so I start over with a fresh one.
My first semester back at school is now over. I think I got all A's, but I want to see for sure, and the grades aren't posted yet. Five semesters to go. I'm thinking way too far ahead here, but I'm already thinking about grad school. I've been thinking an awful lot about it lately, but it'll be a moot point for a couple more years. At least by then Alyssa will be out of grad school and I can ask her a million questions about it.
We took David to the vet last week for his check-up, and they said he looks fine. I had the option of having some $80 bloodwork done just to make sure. I decided to forego it, because she said he seemed alright. When he gets a little older, I may well spring for it.
Since I didn't have my economics exam on Monday, I went to the Christmas social thing at one of Nathan's workplaces. For me, it was kind of awkward. The place was so crowded. I think I would have liked it pretty well, if there were a third as many people, but it was difficult to get to and from our seats. What little of the food I had was good. And thank goodness there was booze. {g} I had eggnog and two glasses of wine. The eggnog was pretty great. I wish I had some more right now, actually. Since it was kind of a formal event, we had to get dressed up. I wore a black velvet dress that had been in the closet for years, and I don't know where it came from, and I wore some cute maryjanes that I got a few weeks ago. Cute shoes will be the death of me. I'm really terrible in heels. Not so much because of the height, but because they're hard as hell, and I must have abnormally dainty feet or something. I was at this thing for less than two hours and I was sitting down more than half the time, yet I come home to find blisters and that one of my feet is bleeding. Yeah, gross I know. TMI, I know. But ew, I've never had that happen before. We were going to stop at the King of Prussia Mall afterward, but Nathan is senile so he missed the exit. I guess it's for the better, because I didn't need to spend anymore money on Sanrio objects, and even once I put my sneakers back on, it still hurt like hell to walk.
So that Arrested Development show is really starting to grow on me. Between the Afternoon Delight karaoke, and "I could put it in her brownie," and Buster using the crane, I laughed my face off.
I've been all done with my shopping for about a week now, but I'm still waiting for two things to come in the mail. Last weekend FedEx decided to freak me out big time. I kept checking the status of the thing I bought for my uncle. On Thursday, the tracking info said it'd probably arrive by Friday, so I believed it. It never came on Friday, so I checked again on Saturday, where it said that it had been dropped off at the front door on Friday, which it had not. I called up the customer service and the lady said she'd look into it and call the terminal and see what the deal was. I was totally upset, because really what's to stop someone else from taking my box (they didn't even have to sign for it) or for the driver to insist that he did bring it here? On Sunday morning, Harry brought the box in to me. Overnight, as if by magic, the box appeared on the picnic table in the front yard. I am relieved. I'm still waiting on the junk for my mom and Harry, and the former should already be here. {grumble} Shopping was relatively easy this year, since I'm buying for hardly anybody and I already knew what I wanted to get for them.
I bought the Elf DVD almost a month ago, and I still haven't watched it yet. I should go do that while I finish knitting that which I am knitting.
posted by Beth at 1:18:00 AM
Last week my great uncle Bud died. He was the older brother of my grandfather who died twenty years ago, and he was also Craig's grandfather and my neighbor. He was 88. The funeral was Saturday morning. It was sad and weird as funerals always are. I find it especially sad that he died a week before Christmas.
posted by Beth at 1:07:00 AM
Tuesday, December 14, 2004
I am totally out of knitting projects. The next project in my book involves learning to knit in the round, and while I have no fear, I also haven't the right size needles nor some yarn I like enough to want to make a backpack out of. I was looking at this page again, and I'd really like to make one of those Hogwarts scarves. I like that the maker of the pattern really tried hard to pay attention and get the scarves as true as she could. I also like that she mentions all of the houses, and not just Gryffindor. If I were to start this, I'm not even sure which house scarf I should make. Gryffindor is the one people would recognize, but I think the (book) Ravenclaw one is prettiest, but Hufflepuff is the house I know I'd be in, if I attended Hogwarts. I don't know what to do, so I do nothing, as usual.
posted by Beth at 11:55:00 PM
Only one more class to go. That's the accounting exam on Friday. We're allowed to bring a 4x6 index card full of notes, but I don't even have an index card that size, so I might just go without. Yesterday I handed in my paper for that business ethics class (which isn't even called "business ethics," but that's what it is), returned the book I used to the library, picked up a workstudy check ("I thought you weren't coming in today!" Don't sound so happy to see me, and never mind that I told you last week I was stopping by for my check. I do not sit here and feel useless for eight hours a week because I like it. Grr), filled out an application to become a tutor (I bet I don't get it, even though I am sure I deserve it and would be good at it), and attended my last regular class of accounting and economics. In the economics class she was supposed to give us a take-home final to be brought in next week, but she said the secretary messed it up, so we don't have to take it at all. That means I get the average of my three grades and am finished for good with it. Hoo-ray. Today I had my last Computing Environments class, and I finished my web stuff up at the last minute and somewhat after the last minute, but it's okay. I like that class, and the teacher is one of the nicest people I have ever met in my life. So one exam Friday and that wraps up my first semester back at school. Five more to go. {grumble}
I can't sleep as long as I like tomorrow, because David goes to the vet for his annual checkup and shots.
It's already the 14th, and I've hardly done anything Christmas-y. Last year, when I had all the free time, I dragged out my holiday CDs right after my birthday, and I haven't done that at all so far this year. I actually enjoy Christmas music very much, aside from the list below. The fake pencil tree, which looks more like a Christmas evergreen obelisk to me, went up Sunday, and it remains undecorated. Nathan and I finally watched part of one holiday tape last night. We saw Rudolph and Charlie Brown and a Christmas Everybody Loves Raymond, Just Shoot Me and New Year's 3rd Rock. We stopped the tape right before a holiday Jessie (remember Jessie?! I do!). Tonight I taped all of and watched the last 15 minutes of I Want a Dog For Christmas Charlie Brown. I have to say that I was really dissatisfied with the ending. Who wrote that? I was going to continue my tradition of taping weird holiday sitcoms that many people will never remember by taping the episode of According to Jim that came on after the Peanuts special, but something stopped me. I kind of regret it somehow, even though I never watched that show in my life. Oh well, it surely could not stand up to that episode of Madman of the People that I have. TV is the greatest thing ever. I am thankful for TV. I love TV.
posted by Beth at 11:08:00 PM
Saturday, December 11, 2004
Whoahey. Tonight I went shopping with my mom and uncle, and then I met Dorothea and Alyssa for snacks (snax?), which is something that always puts me in a good mood. I still haven't started my paper. That is uninteresting.
I will give you a holiday present! The following is a picture I made for Nathan, when he was making mix CDs. He didn't know what to put on the cover, so I whipped this up. He rejected it, though. AOL is a jerk, so if that doesn't work, then click here or here.
Feel free to print it out and paste it into your Hanukkah/Christmas/Solstice/Kwanzaa/Ramadan/Voodoo Day cards.
Tonight I thought of another Christmas song that I hate that I could add to my list, but of course now that I'm in a position where I can mention it, I've plum forgotten it. Somebody name some bad Christmas songs to help me try to remember.
posted by Beth at 1:20:00 AM
Thursday, December 09, 2004
Oh ho. I'm glad it's the weekend and nearly the end of the semester. For Monday I have to write a crummy paper, and I do *not* feel like doing that. I am a bad person for not having started earlier. That class is otherwise finished; the exam was yesterday. My statistics class is finished for me and two other people, because we got A's and are exempt from the final. Woo. This weekend I also have to do a take-home test on Access, but I'm kind of looking forward to that somehow. I've warmed up to Access, oddly enough. And I need to keep reminding myself that I need to do a web portfolio for that class. Grug, this has to be painfully boring for anyone else to read. Someone please write about the great Al Dunlap for me, okay?
I started this out thinking I actually had something significant to say, but now I can't remember it.
At some point, I'm going to have to write a great big entry about the tiny turtle. Later, though.
I will leave you with a list of my least favorite Christmas songs.
1. That song about the kid who needs to buy shoes for his dying mom (because heaven has a dresscode)
2. Mary Did You Know? (Bleck!)
3. Dominic the Donkey (WTF?)
4. That stupid song that goes, "woop dee doo and dickory dock, and don't forget to hang up your sock"
5. The version of Jingle Bells by Barbra Streisand (this should not count, because it's the version, not the song, that I have a problem with. Maybe I should bump it to first place, though)
posted by Beth at 10:45:00 PM
Sunday, December 05, 2004
I guess I should update. I never mentioned Thanksgiving. It was pretty nice. Surprisingly, as many people showed up as possible. All my aunts, uncles, and cousins, that is. Well, aside from the ones who are neighbors. About 33 people in all, but not everyone ate. Some people ate at home beforehand, and two others were tiny babies. The rest of the evening was uneventful, as far as I can remember.
I probably had a lot of stuff to say in between then and now, but I can’t remember any of it. I bet a lot of it was along the lines of, “I sure am tired lately” and “I have work to do.”
The other noteworthy thing is that last night, Nathan and I went to a Pixies concert. I admit that I know very little about the Pixies. I liked what little I know, though. I have two albums, and I never listened to one of them. I’m a jerk. Anyway, the show was good, particularly during the songs I knew. Also, I heard Frank Black say, “buttcrack,” and that was pretty great, too. I was super surprised to see Matt there. You know Matt. Matt, Matt. Matt of Jordan and erin. The Tweeter Center is pretty big, so it was really unlikely that we’d see each other, but it turned out that he was in our row. Craziness. I’d like to have talked more, but there wasn’t much time, really. I probably also came off badly. I suck eggs.
I should work on my Access project, but first, I will take a shower.
posted by Beth at 9:10:00 PM
Tuesday, November 23, 2004
I'm so very bored. I'm just going to write a load of crap to kill time. Feel free to disregard.
Nathan picked up my Nintendo DS for me last Sunday, and so I got it late that night. It's very nice and beautiful and wonderful, but it isn't perfect. I have two major problems with it. First, and I knew this problem ahead of time, it has no jacks for connecting with other GameBoy Advances or with the GameCube. Any GBA game you play on there will have to be played single-player. (It has wireless connection capabilities for playing and chatting with other DS's.) And the other problem that I did not know about in advance was that it won't play GameBoy or GameBoy Color games at all. :( I guess I just assumed that since the GameBoy Advance SP can play both GameBoy and GameBoy Advance games, that the DS could, too. Not so.
I find that second fact especially saddening, because I seem to get a lot more mileage and enjoyment out of GameBoy and GameBoy Color games. This past Friday, I beat Metroid II. It was great, but I felt like a cheatyface for having consulted a map. But look at the map. That's a whole lot of area! Anyway, since it was my first attempt, my ending time was something like 8:45, and so I got the smelly ending. I'd need between three and five hours to get the medium ending, and the best ending requires you to beat the game in less than three hours. I've read that a lot of people hate that game, but I really enjoyed it. It's certainly easier (for me) than the original Metroid, where I've gotten up to Mother Brain but couldn't beat her. Metroid II is far less frustrating, because it's much faster to build up your lost energy and missiles than in the original. Anyway, I realize I could just go ahead and play it again on my GameBoy Color or GameBoy Pocket, but that means I couldn't play it in the dark. Boo hoo.
I heard that the reason that the DS doesn't play old GameBoy games is because it would take up too much room. I also heard that the reason is because the DS isn't supposed to replace the GameBoy, but rather become a third pillar at Nintendo. I am more inclined to believe the latter.
I felt honored today, because my teacher asked if she could keep my Knoppix assignment and use it as an example. Apparently, there's something difficult about the directions, "Part one: Compare Open Office with Microsoft Office. Part two: Explain the following 14 shell commands. Part three: Pick a third topic and write about it."
Also, in my statistics class today, I found out that I got a 50/50 on the last quiz (mean: 30, standard deviation: 13). This means that I still have a good chance of not having to take the final at all. In order for that to happen, we need to get a 650/700 or better. At present, I have a 603/650, and there are two quizzes left, and he drops the lowest score. Today he told us that we can get extra credit, if we present to him a picture proving that we thought about statistics on Thanksgiving, so I guess I'll be taking a picture at the dinner table and running out to get it developed over the weekend.
I wish Tuesday were a better TV night.
posted by Beth at 9:16:00 PM
Sunday, November 21, 2004
I have little to say.
Last night, I watched Boy, Police Brutality Is Scary the remake of The Texas Chainsaw Massacre. It still sucks. The whole baby subplot still feels totally tacked on, the kids are still completely unlikable, and the family is still too damn big. I really, really hope that I get the DVD of the original for Christmas, so I can hear Gunnar Hansen's commentary. It all makes me miss the Monster Mania Con so much. I went in not really caring that the guy who played Leatherface was going to be there (well, I liked the movie a lot, but I thought that the actor himself was immaterial), and then I left thinking that he was super smart, and I couldn't get enough of his stories about making the movie, what it was like, how bad the conditions were, how he hates the remake, etc. How long do you suppose a person could hang from a hook before dying? I hate the way the music swells, when stupid Jessica Biel has to kill her friend.
posted by Beth at 1:08:00 AM
I hope it is pleasant, even though you'll be at work all day, and the rest of your gift is in the mail, and I bet it arrives at my house two seconds after you've left, and then you have to wait til next week to get it.
Everyone should celebrate by telling me how I can't agree with myself and by insisting that only my school district took the Iowa Test (which is untrue!!!1).
So Kmart and Sears have merged. The people in the office where I do work study kept making jokey jokes like, “now instead of two bad stores, there’s just one.” Well, I hate when people hate Kmart. I like Kmart a lot actually, and I’m very verbal about it. I admit I don’t buy much from there, but that’s largely because I don’t buy very many things at all, and the things I do buy are games and books and CDs that they wouldn’t carry. It’s the Wal-Martization of our country that’s a problem. I always find Kmart to be a much more pleasant store. Wal-Mart is always more crowded, the lighting is more harsh, there are always piles and piles of boxes right out in the middle of the path-walk-thing. And okay, people act like Kmart is some kind of trashypeopleland, but I find the yokel-element at Wal-Mart to be far worse. Kmart is trying hard to improve its image (and I really have to wonder why Wal-Mart doesn’t seem to have the same image problem). They’re redoing the website, and it’ll reopen tomorrow, I think. And I am a big fan of sale papers, and I’ve noticed that the Kmart paper looks a lot classier these days. You might even mistake it for a Target paper, if you didn’t look at the front. {g} The merge is supposed to be good for both Sears and Wal-Mart, and I hope it works out for them both. I raise a glass to Kmart.
I dislike store snobbery a great deal. If you have a favorite store, then that’s okay. That’s not what I’m getting at here. The “bad store” talk made me think back to when I took Intro to Advertising, and some girl said she’d never shop at JC Penney, “because it’s for mommies.” I just really hate that in a person. Does that mean that if she saw something she really liked there that she’d never buy it? Or does it mean that she’d never even allow herself to like the stuff at that store? I think it’s a foolish consumer who would behave either way. If you see something like you, buy it. Why does it really matter where it came from? And another thing: we live in rural South Jersey, and you aren’t going to find very many upscale stores around here. If you live in the city, that’s one thing, but when I first went to the King of Prussia Mall, I realized how our South Jersey malls don’t have nearly as many of the ritzy stores that the King of Prussia Mall has. Mine is really neither the area nor the school for the hipster cosmopolitan. Enh. {growl}
I sound like a crazy person.
On an unrelated note, I forgot to mention that I made (mixed up) some butterbeer, and it’s pretty good. Not as great as I’d imagined it to be, but it’s alright.
posted by Beth at 10:49:00 PM
Monday, November 15, 2004
Snap! Today is a really empty and somewhat irritating day at school, which is where I am now. I did my work study thing where they never ask me to do any work, and now that’s over. I knew I wasn’t going to have my business perspectives class, because we’re supposed to use that time to do research on our paper (and no one does, I don’t think); And then it turns out that my accounting class has been canceled for some reason. My horrible economics class doesn’t start til 4:45, so 11:30 until up to that point is just me sitting around and doing different things at school. I’m really not as mad about it as I might sound, but I’m really glad that I bring my GameBoy and my knitting everywhere I go. The worst part is that the only class I DO have today is my most hated class of all.
This was a long weekend for me, as I didn't have to go to school on Veteran's Day. I'm glad I got an extra day for sleep. Before I leave for school Monday, I'm going to have to do a take-home test in economics, and I haven't even started it yet. That has to be my worst subject in the whole world. It's depressing and boring and ick. I prefer micro to macro, but it's still hellish. I should be thankful that this is a take-home test, in that I didn't have to study and force the knowledge into my brain. I should also be happy that it's multiple choice, and I can just flip through the book and look things up. I am unhappy that it's 99 questions. Wah. Don't want to do it!
Either my brain is having technical difficulties or else my monitor is. I'll look away and look back at the screen, and it seems like everything is dimmer than it should be. I particularly notice this, when I look at a white field. I look away again, and it's okay. This is a new occurence. But then I notice that it only happens, when the ceiling light is on (and it usually isn't, but I needed the light, so I could reference a book for the accounting project I just finished). The monitor is six years old, but that shouldn't matter right? Maybe it's me. Isn't Maybe It's Me a Treble Charger album? I love that album. Now I'm lamenting my ass off in that I own but one of their albums, but I heard clips from a newish CD of theirs called Detox and it was really terrible. It was wretched pop-punk crap that the youngsters are so crazy about these days. Blek. How did they go from "Ever She Flows" to that? I could probably totally clean up on TC CDs on half.com, I bet. I am digressing my ass off.
Right, so tonight as an early birthday dinner, my uncle took me to the Olive Garden, and it was tasty. They have pumpkin cheesecake this time of year, and it's pretty good, but having non-chocolatey dessert always leaves me feeling like I'm missing something. For my birthday this year, my mom is making me a pecan pie. That's the first time ever for that. Last year (or was it longer than that?) she bought me a cheesecake. That was weird and kind of a drag, but pecan pie is the answer. Sheesh, before I got started on this entry I thought I had actual things to say. I guess I don't.
posted by Beth at 6:09:00 AM
I can't believe I'm racist for thinking white people are dorks. Someone should stand up for all of the oppressed crackers out there.
posted by Beth at 1:32:00 AM
Saturday, November 06, 2004
Also, you should take a look at the comments from a livejournal post I made. Actually the post itself is on this page, but the comments are unsetlling, I find.
posted by Beth at 3:38:00 AM
Earlier, I was thinking about how it smells that I don't have many TMBG mp3s on my computer. Well, I have a lot of the free ones and that sort of thing, but I mean in terms of actual albums. And yet I have every Neko Case and Tori Amos album ripped to my computer. So out of nowhere I just set about the task of going through them all and ripping them. Working in order, I am now up to Mink Car, and rather than being tedious (since I need to go through the files and number them, because listening to them in alphabetical order is crazyland), it's passed the time incredibly quickly. Now I will listen to more TMBG than I have been, and that shall improve my quality of life in this horrible, horrible time. I'm ripping all of my EPs, to. Except for the S-E-X-X-Y EP and that Malcolm in the Middle EP. For some reason, both my drives hate them. My D drive spits it right back out, and my E drive pretends it's still empty. So aside from that, I'm ripping a ton of stuff, even the crappy songs. That comment could potentially get me in trouble, as I seem to love some of the TMBG songs that others hate. {g}
This whole pro-cess has got me overflowing with love for TMBG all over again. My house has TMBG love coming out the doors and windows and everything. I think it's increasing our property value. I wish "AKA Driver" were a dress, so I could where it and walk about the town.
Sometime this weekend, I must write a brief paper comparing Knoppix to Windows. Everyone in my class was given a CD with the operating system on it, which will cause things to load a little slowly, but I like what I've seen of it. I'd be cool with it if Linux ever took over the world, I think. But I don't see that coming.
It seems that Neko Case loves me so much that she is releasing an album the Tuesday before my birthday (actually that day is my cousin Craig's birthday, but he doesn't talk to me, because he's a cakesniffer). Anyway, I think she is the tops, and I greatly appreciate her gesture.
I have a question. Is looking at a map cheating? I'm working through Metroid II here, and I've managed to find 19 out of 39 Metroids. I told myself that I would not consult a walkthrough, but I did just check a map on gamefaqs. Does that make me an evil dragon? I've been using the word "dragon" a lot lately and calling things dragons that aren't dragons.
I'm so full of pointless garbage right now that I'll mention something humorous. Harry said that this week, he rented and watched that Garfield movie with my cousin Christopher (who is 11 years old and tonight he was telling me how he will spend money on absolutely anything, even if he doesn't want it and how he likes to burn things in his driveway. I don't know which of those things irritated me more, actually...). So anyway, Harry said, "It was really predictable. I knew how it was going to end." Whaaat? That made me laugh a whole lot, because he was talking about the GARFIELD MOVIE. That movie isn't something I'd expect to keep you guessing. {g}
Gee, the word "Linux" isn't in the AOL spellcheck. And I was surprised. I'd probably be blown away by the end of Garfield. o_o
posted by Beth at 3:08:00 AM
Wednesday, November 03, 2004
I am reminded of the last time I saw TMBG. John Flansburgh said something like, "No one knows what's going to happen with the election, but I know one thing: it's gonna suck." Well, yeah, except that I did know what was going to happen and that it would suck. Meh.
posted by Beth at 6:33:00 PM
Monday, November 01, 2004
Right now I'm having one of those, "wouldn't if be cool if I died horribly right this minute and then maybe some people would feel really bad?" moments. Oh, you know exactly what I'm talking about.
So I went to the show I was talking about in my last post. Doors were at 11, and I got in line (which surprised me by running the entire length of the block) at 11:10. They did not let us inside until midnight. Why does your website lie, Trocadero? There were some hardcore Marilyn Manson groupies behind me, and I heard a lot of interesting things about Marilyn Manson and his fanbase. I was going to mention them all here, but now I do not feel like it. The opener wasn't very interesting for me, except that there was a percussionist who played a bucket, a hammer, and a chain pretty well. They never even introduced themselves. When they were leaving the stage someone asked their name, and everyone thought the guy said "The Skeleton Kings," but I think they turned out to be called the Skeleton Keys. Rasputina was really awesome. I enjoyed the show a whole lot, and I'd see them again in a second. Mellora is the cutest person in the world. And I never understood why people would say that Rasputina's music was scary or whatever, because it always cheers me up to hear it. After the show, I got into the merchandise line and it was so slow that I had to leave it in order to cross the street and catch by bus on time. I didn't get to buy anything or see if Mellora came out to meet people. {frowny face} While I was pointlessly waiting in the line, though, I stood next to a girl who made me think of erika. She was short with short hair and glasses and she was talking about how she loves Halloween stores and how she'd be coming back to the same venue the next day to see Le Tigre (whoever that is).
On Friday, Dorothea came with us on a hayride and that was funland. Then she came back to my house and we watched Candyman and Freddy vs. Jason. I was all excited about showing her the original Texas Chainsaw Massacre, but when I checked the On Demand listings, it turned out to be the inferior remake of 2003. {frowny face}
On Saturday I went out and bought some fancy yarn at A. C. Moore. It happened to be on sale and everything, which was a good surprise. I've started work on a nice ribbed scarf for Nathan. That night, Nathan and I watched Halloween 8, which I had already seen. In the past week, I saw three Halloween movies, which is kind of a lot for me. Actually, four if I can count fastforwarding through the Halloween 2 that I'd taped off MonsterVision a few years ago. We just watched Joe Bob's commentary.
On Halloween Nathan, Dewey, and I dressed up as pirates and went around my Aunt Marjory's neighborhood. Yes I do feel old and lame for doing that, but I liked taking Dewey around, and he's only two years old after all. I missed seeing Baby Nathan in his first ever Halloween costume which was kind of disappointing. But I did see Baby Samantha in her quasi-Halloween outfit and Jasper in his first Halloween costume. Nathan and I also had dinner at Bennigan's and the waitress, who was sweet and very talky told us our costumes were cute. We came home and watched the Halloween episode of Newsradio and a history of Halloween show I taped off the History Channel a few years ago. Halloween was pretty okay, but it sucks having to get up early the next day. I'd like to have stayed up all night watching movies and things.
And today I had to get to school earlier than usual to go to a meeting for the Accounting Society. It was pretty interesting. There was a guest speaker who worked for the IRS and he talked about that. I would gladly accept a job with the IRS someday. My Business Perspectives class didn't meet today, but I showed up because my next class was in that room and the professor showed up in case anyone needed help with anything (so of course no one else showed up). I got into something of an argument with him about the election, and he said some nonsensical things, and I had poor comebacks, because I wasn't expecting to need to have any. I'm sick of the word "flip flop (flipflop? flip-flop?)" though, I'll tell you that. I am also sick of the kid in my economics class who insists on mentioning that all poor people are lazy and that is why they are poor.
I'm glad to be home and I'm glad to be out of that class until next week. Eugh. I am also practically nervous to the point of being sick over the election tomorrow. {frowny face}
posted by Beth at 9:01:00 PM
Thursday, October 28, 2004
Bleh. Normally, the last week of October is really fun for me, but this hasn’t been a great week at all. During the first part of the week, I’d been preoccupied with a project I had to do. Last night, I went to a Halloween parade with my mom and her boyfriend. I should have stayed home and worked, but I wanted to be nice. Those things are really boring. It’s all fire trucks and the like. When I came home, I found out that one of my Aunt Marjory’s dogs, my favorite one, Molly, had died. On Sunday, she broke out in hives, and no one knew why. They took her to the vet on Monday and gave her steroids and antibiotics and sent her home. The antibiotics made her throw up and she didn’t want to eat or drink. She was supposed to go back on Wednesday, but instead, the vet just decided to switch her medicine. She died that night, before the vet even called them back like he was supposed to. No one is sure what caused her to die or what made her become sick in the first place. The medicine might have been what killed her. And then the vet said something about how she might have had lupus. Or maybe she was somehow poisoned or got into something in the yard. But we aren’t going to find out, and I suppose it doesn’t really matter. It was so fast, and she was only five years old and very energetic and friendly. I miss her, and I had been looking forward to seeing her on Sunday; I always go to their house on Halloween. Then that got me thinking of Gypsy, who was only four when she died this past May. Her fifth birthday would have been this Monday, and I think about her all the time. Since last night, I’ve been having a hard time concentrating on things, not surprisingly.
Tonight, I’m supposed to go to Philadelphia to see Rasputina. Doors aren’t til 11, and I have no clue if there will be an opener or what time the show starts and ends. Since my uncle is driving me to the bus station, I’ll be getting to the city at about 9:30, and then I’ll have to find ways to spend the time until I can go to the venue. I’m thinking of going to Chili’s and maybe having a bowl of soup, maybe a salad, and a dessert. Fortunately, everything is nearby, so I can very easily walk everywhere. Right now, I feel sort of drained and tired but not sleepy, if that makes sense. I am looking forward to the show, though. This is my first time seeing Rasputina as the headliner, and only my second time ever seeing them; last year I saw them open for Belle and Sebastian. I’m also looking forward to seeing a concert by myself. I forget when the last time I did that was. Probably some TMBG show several years ago.
posted by Beth at 7:06:00 PM
Sunday, October 24, 2004
Shhhew. I've been a bad egg in that I did no homework at all Friday and Saturday nights. I was too tired, and I went to sleep at about 2:30am both nights, and that's really unusual for me on weekends. On Friday, Nathan and I went to Great Adventure for Fright Fest. It was pretty cool. We rode some rides and felt frozen and stuff. On Saturday, we went to Clementon Park for Hallo-Screams and rode some rides and felt frozen and stuff. Unlike with Great Adventure, we checked out some Halloween-specific attractions at Clementon Park, namely the train ride and the mansion thing. They were both pretty cool. The first time we got in line for the mansion, we waited for maybe 20 minutes, and then I almost passed out, so I had to go sit down and eat a hard candy, then we rode some rides and came back to the haunted mansion line later on, when it was shorter. My reason for feeling so sick was because I was listening to the girl in line ahead of me going into way too much detail about getting needles and IVs and the size of the needles and how one shot is as compared to another kind and giving blood and blah blah. I have a terrible problem with needles, so listening to all of this actually made me feel the way I do, when I'm getting the needle, which is to say that I felt like I was going to fall down. So I needed to leave and sit down and eat a piece of candy, and I felt better in a few minutes. I've never ever had a reaction like that in my entire life just from listening to someone talk about needles before. Normally, I just feel sick and I cringe and that's just about it, but I guess I'm getting worse? Right, so aside from that we rode the new rollercoaster, the Tsunami for the first, second, and third times ever. This is an excellent wooden rollercoaster. It's very fast and very steep and very wild. I get the impression that it might age badly, though. Rolling Thunder, a double wooden coaster at Great Adventure, has gotten considerably rougher in the past ten years, but that ride is older than me. I give the Tsunami the highest rating I can give it, plus extra snaps for being at Clementon Park.
As part of my Halloween excitement fest, last night, we watched Halloween 4. I think I'd only seen it once before, when I was in high school, and I watched Halloween 5 a few days before that, which messed things up in my head. The Halloween movies were something I had to catch up on in high school, as opposed to the Nightmare on Elm Streets which I was with since the very beginning (as opposed to the Friday the 13ths, which I've still only seen a couple of). So anyway, the ending of Halloween 4 kind of really stunk big time. Those "pass the torch" endings usually do not fare well. I think that Danielle Harris was very good, though. Ever since hearing her speak at Monster Mania, I was looking forward to seeing the movie again and paying special attention to her. She beat out Melissa Joan Hart for the part of Jamie, y'know.
Blast, I should go and do some homework.
posted by Beth at 7:34:00 PM
Sunday, October 17, 2004
Things:
- I am displeased with Friday night's rain, since it caused me to miss out on going to Clementon Park and on a hayride. Time is running out for me to do Halloweeny things, and Nathan is a workaholic, so that gives me even less time.
- Last night, I dreamt that a couple people in my family and a couple of the speakers from the Monster Mania convention had lunch together at the Showboat casino.
- I think that Nick at Nite commercial with the talking Furby and the over-caffeinated guy running around on the ceiling is hilarious. Much more so than the ice cream one.
- Last night I practiced the stockinette stitch, reverse stockinette stitch, ribbing, and seed stitch. Good for me.
- I don't know why it bears mentioning, but I felt like I should include how I bought GameBoy games last week. I promised myself I'd buy a game with my first work study check, so I went to Bandit, and I bought Mario Kart Super Circuit. While looking around, I saw a used copy of Metroid II, and I've been meaning to get that, so I picked that up as well. Super Circuit is fun. It has new tracks, which I wasn't expecting. For some reason, I thought it was exactly the same as the SNES Mario Kart. I only played Metroid II maybe twice up to this point. It's exactly what you'd (I'd) expect from a Metroid game: the world is incredibly vast and you can easily get lost and lose track of what you were intending to do. Metroid intimidates me so.
- I was just looking at an AOL article about rockstars and politics. I'd link to it, but I think you need AOL to view it. Instead, I will just copy and paste this chart of musicians and whom they're supporting.
Bush - Clint Black
- Pat Boone
- Brooks and Dunn
- The Gatlin Brothers
- Reba McIntyre
- Wayne Newton
- Kid Rock
- Britney Spears
- Lee Ann Womack
Kerry - Bruce Springsteen
- Dave Matthews Band
- The Dixie Chicks
- Good Charlotte
- John Mellencamp
- Pearl Jam
- Bonnie Raitt
- R.E.M.
- James Taylor
Oh Reba, you disappoint me so.
- Boston Market is always out of coleslaw. That fills me with anger and sadness, when I would rather be filled with coleslaw.
- And Colleen may have saved me from a terrible fate. I shall know for sure tonight, hehe.
posted by Beth at 8:09:00 PM
Thursday, October 14, 2004
Phew. I've been meaning to write a catch-up post for the past two weeks; I do not count my last anger-filled ranting. But I was busy with schooly things. I've had a test in every one of my classes since then and some quizzes as well.
I guess the biggest thing was that exactly two weeks ago, Nathan and I saw They Might Be Giants at the TLA in Philadelphia. It was a really fun show, and I liked the setlist pretty well. The venue song about the TLA was 80s-themed and went something like, "TLA TLA/How do you spell TLA" and "Look in the mirror, no one's there/where you sit, an empty chair." And I remember Flans saying something I found funny about how the word "venue" was eventually going to become part of everyone's vocabulary, like the words "segue" and "font" did in the last century. Or something like that. {g} And before playing Meet James Ensor, Flans set it up as a song about being in a dark room full of people and feeling alone. And then called it a "song about art history class." I am overwhelmed by the truth in that statement. I liked that "Alphabet of Nations" song a lot, so I'm looking forward to that project. So, yeah, it was a really neat show, and it was nearby, and I will miss TMBG until they come back again someday, much like Frosty the Snowman.
Also, Corn Mo was the opener, and it was my third time seeing him. He sang a song about how you should take Hershey's Miniatures everywhere you go, and how TDK told him to play it. He mentioned him and everything. {g} Corn Mo's songs have really started to grow on me, so I decided to buy his album. Really, I paid for only half of it, because that "Vote John and John" shirt ran me $25. {growl} The girl selling his CDs seemed to really hate me and she gave Nathan a pin but not me. Hmph. Corn Mo signed the CD for us, and I would have chatted with him for a minute, but he was busy or something or maybe that lady made me feel nervous, I don't remember, but we left.
Outside the building we met John and Amy in person. I spotted them before Nathan did, because I rool. {g} They're really, really nice and friendly people. We stood outside for quite awhile just talking about different things. We really should meet up with them again sometime not too far away and do something. Amy reminds me a lot of Colleen, and that is a compliment. While we were talking, Corn Mo left and said, "bye Beth and Nathan!" and I was really impressed that he remembered our names. I like his CD a lot. It turned out to have lots more piano and less accordion in it, which I found pretty neat. I especially like "Picture Days."
What else have I been up to? Monday night, Nathan rented three movies. I told him to get Candyman 2, Hellraiser and a movie of his choosing, so then he picked some crappy movie called Motel Hell, because he was trying to prove some kind of point. Okay, we haven't watched that one yet, but I don't think I'm going to need to go back to this post and write in, "EDIT: Motel Hell is the best movie! I can't believe it!" So Monday night, we go to watch Candyman 2, and my VCR has had a history of being a jerk, so it decided to put a twist in the tape as soon as I stuck the tape in. I knew it was going to be bad, because my VCR growled as soon as it took the video. As I recall, this was the first time this particular VCR put a twist in a tape, but another one of my VCRs once put a twist in a rental tape before. My mom was able to fix it for me, though. I have such trouble with VCRs. It's ridiculous. So I took the tape and we were able to watch it in the living room and we did, and I like that movie and it's a very worthy sequel and blah blah blah. I could very easily have just rewound the tape and brought it to my mom and asked her to fix it, but I'm too impatient for that kind of level-headed approach. Instead, I tried to fix it myself, and I shouldn't be authorized to do any such thing. I was trying to get the tape out, so I could untwist it and wind it back in, but it got stuck. The twist made it too fat to fit through the slot-thing, so I pulled a little harder and BROKE IT. But then my mom fixed it, because she has magical powers. All is well. The first three out of five previews are kinda messed up but the last two are okay and there's no damage at all to the movie. I'll be returning it like nothing happened. Does that make me a huge jerk?
On Tuesday, I unhooked my jerky VCR and hooked up my other one. It had just been sitting there waiting. I used to use it for dubbing, but I don't even know when the last time I've done that was. That night Dorothea went out with us for dessert and then she came back and watched Hellraiser with us. Neither of them had ever seen it, and I hadn't seen it in years. I like it better than I liked it before, but I don't at all love it. Apparently there are now 8 Hellraiser films; the latter half have been straight to video, I think. This version of Hellraiser was on a two-tape set. The other tape included a few interviews with Clive Barker and the actors and some trailers and TV spots for the movie. One of the old movie slogans was, "Satan's done waitin'," which is totally idiotic because there's no Satan/devil character in those movies in the first place. That's the dumbest thing I've ever heard...
Until I watched the debate Wednesday night. Bush is such an ass. I, too, am sick of his stupid "go to community college" nonsense. My uncle is very much right in that Bush does not care at all for laborers (and that's what everyone I live with happens to be). Oh wait, he wants to outsource all of those jobs. :p Didn't he also say something about every other country being jealous of our healthcare? Doubleyou tee eff question mark Oh oh and another thing, why are people saying that Kerry's comment on/mention of Cheney's daughter was crossing some kind of line? How is that? I've hated Bush even more with each debate.
So today, huh? Well, after beginning to learn to knit in July, tonight was my first experience with purling. That sounds crazy, but you mustn't blame me for it. You see, the book I've been learning from teaches the knit stitch and then it has all of these projects (beanbag, hat, scarf, patchwork blanket, doll, two different puppets) that require only the knit stitch. I wanted to work in order and make each thing, and so I have. I didn't have any trouble attempting the purl stitch, but I admit that I'm somewhat clumsy and slow with it. That should get better with time.
I'm very much ready for the next Lemony Snicket book, but not so much for the movie.
I feel so whiny about the work I have to do. It isn't a large amount of stuff, but I just don't *feel* like working on any of it. Over the weekend, I have to do what's called a busy slide project on PowerPoint. That's a project that's all on one slide, and it has to contain at least 25 objects and 25 actions and is timed, so that it can run on its own. I can't even think of a theme. I also need to do some things using Peachtree, which I think I will get to after doing my statistics.
posted by Beth at 11:02:00 PM
Friday, October 08, 2004
Gak. I was in the check-out line at the grocery store with my mom tonight, and the cashier was telling the next cashier over how she was going back to school, because she was accepted at a community college. The other girl asked her what she was going to go into, and she said communication. So then my mom had to point at me and tell her how I majored in communication.
"What did you study?"
"Radio/TV/Film," I muttered.
"You sound sad about it."
"Well, I couldn't find a job in it, so now I'm back at school for accounting."
"I'm studying this, because I'm interested in it."
And then I started to say something about how I was very interested in it as well, but then I didn't want to continue it, as there is no point to it. Anyway, I don't think there's a person in the world who would major in communication, if they weren't interested in it. I can see where someone might do that with business or computer science, but not communication. The whole thing got me irritated. I wish my mom hadn't dragged me into it, and I didn't feel like trying to explain myself to the cashier; I also didn't want to say anything that might sound discouraging to her. But the whole thing got me very bitter and irritated. It reminded me of a whole bunch of situations I've been in where people act like the reason that a graduate doesn't have a job is because of a personal failing on the graduate's part. Last year, I applied at Walgreen's, and a woman talked to me briefly on the phone. She asked me what my degree was in, and I told her. She could not believe that I couldn't get a job. Really, I tried to explain it to her, and she wouldn't accept it. And I admit that I was somewhat picky in the sense that I won't go where the work is. If there's an opening in Montana, I will not be willing to move to Montana. That's not what I want. And in coming back to school, when an advisor or professor asks me why I'm back after one year and studying a different thing, and I mention the job thing, they always kind of stop and make a face at me. While I was in the midst of earning my communication degree, I pretty much thought I wanted to be a board operator at a radio station. I had an internship one summer at a radio station, and I spent half of my days working with the guy who operated the boards during Dr. Laura's and Rush Limbaugh's shows (the assiness of those shows is not related to this particular post). Since those shows were syndicated, he didn't even have to say, "more after this!" or anything. All he did was play commercials at the appropriate times and check them off on the log. The guy told me that he worked 24 hours a week and after working there for over a year, he made about $8 an hour. As this is very obviously not a living wage, he spent his weekends and evenings DJing. Last year, I applied for a board operator position (and I only ever saw one such opening). Of course I didn't get the job. But this job was one day a week, $9 an hour, and for me to get there, I would need to take a bus into Philadelphia, get off, take another bus out of Philadelphia and into Bala Cynwyd, and then walk half a mile up a narrow road that did not always have sidewalks. It wasn't til I was almost totally through earning that degree that I realized I was insanely nervous about being responsible for what goes on the air anyway. Up to that point, I'd never worked at the school radio station, but in my final year, I attempted to. I passed the written and hands-on exams that you need to pass, and then I spent a week sitting with a girl during her shift to watch her do the job (By the way, her job differed from the other guy's in that she had to talk and introduce songs and read traffic and weather and stuff). After that, I never signed up for my own shift, because I found the whole thing too nerve-wracking. The truth is that I know that if I had gone on with it, I probably would have done a shaky job at the beginning and then gotten better over time. I've listened to that station. A lot of those kids are really terrible on the air, muttering, mispronouncing names and places and such. I'm sure I could have done an equally shitty job, but my nerves prevented me from trying. I liked my classes and I found them all very interesting, but my personality was always better suited to the theoretical stuff more than the hands-on stuff. And any sort of job that functions in real-time is going to cause me to get an ulcer in the first month, because I require something that always me to check my work. While I got A's in all my classes, I probably wasn't the best communication student. In that sense, my lack of a go-getter attitude and my lack of self-confidence might have caused it to be my own fault for not getting a job in that field. That could be true, except that there were hardly any jobs in the area that I would have been qualified for anyway; I can't think of a single other job relevant to what I was taught in school, aside from that one I already mentioned. But has anyone ever really said that the need for those jobs are all on the rise? That certainly isn't true in South Jersey, which is where I want to stay. People make jokes about communication degrees for a reason, you know? Feh. A large part of my reason for trying again with accounting in particular is because there are far more businesses in South Jersey that require accountants than there are radio and TV stations that require communication graduates (many of those positions are through unions, and I get the impression that few of the people who work those jobs even have or need degrees). I'm just saying that I take great offense, when people act like it's through my own personal failings that I do not have a job in my originally intended field. I won't even mention that the communication curriculum doesn't even suggest classes where you can learn popular computer programs, so then I never learned them, so I couldn't even apply for secretarial work, I won't go into that or how it left me ill-prepared for any kind of backup plan. Does anybody else know how that is?
And since I'm writing all of this bitchy crap, I might as well mention the other two things I really really hate.
1. I hate when I mention to someone that I was unable to get a job in communication, and then they act like I'm crazy, because they know this one person who got a really kick-ass job in it. That happened to me this past week. I told someone about my past, because she asked about it, and then she looked at me and told me how she knew someone who studied communication and now she works on the staff of some ABC show.
2. I hate it when I say I'm trying to get a job in accounting and people tell me that there are no jobs in accounting. Oh, and usually the people who tell me that aren't even in accounting. I mean, I couldn't get a job in communication, but I never tell anyone that there are no jobs there. I'm very careful about that, because I don't want to discourage other people. I say, "*I* could not get a job in that field." My school occasionally has job fairs. The majority of the companies that come to talk to students are looking for business students. I always check these things out, and I have never seen any kind of open house or job fair for the communication students. I think that says a lot about the difference in the two fields.
But then, maybe other people are right about me, and it is all my fault and shit. If you want to work in radio, television, or film, then southern New Jersey is like the Mecca of jobs, I'm sure.
EDIT: Grr, and don't get me started on the people who only get jobs, because they know someone or have a family member in that field. Everyday, I subscribe more and more to the "it's not what you know, it's who you know" philosophy.
posted by Beth at 10:37:00 PM
It started with a simple affection for counting and the terror it induced in others, didn't it? But now it's turned into a full-blown life-consuming chaotic nightmare of order, repetition, zealousness, and perfectionism. You used to be so grand, but now you find yourself obsessively worrying over the littlest things--like, maybe if you don't check the light switch at least once every two minutes, the electricity will go out (and damnit, you're a vampire--that shouldn't be a problem!), or maybe if you don't wash your hands until your seams are coming out, you'll get some fatal disease. Get yourself some treatment.
TV Land's Brady Brady Brady Weekend really threw a monkey wrech into the gears of my productivity machine. I'd seen all of those episodes before, but they're always good. And Pop Up Brady was especially excellent. I got less done than any other weekend since school started. I do not complain, though.
Today, I was doing my work study thing, and while I was sitting there almost falling asleep and not being asked to do any work for them, I heard someone in another room listening to music, probably mp3s. I was surprised to hear one of the songs, and when a secretary came in to get something, I asked her who was playing the music, and she looked at me blankly and said, "what music?" What's up with that? It was pretty loud, and I know this woman isn't hard of hearing. And the music came from the same room that she did. It kind of made me mad, somehow. For the spring, I really hope to do work study in a different office.
I keep forgetting and then remembering that TMBG is this Thursday. I should be doing homework.
posted by Beth at 7:33:00 PM
Wednesday, September 22, 2004
I was just looking at movie listings for the 15 closest theatres to me on moviefone.com, and none of them is carrying A Dirty Shame. What the hell is that about? Fifteen theatres! Most of them are Regals, United Artists, and AMCs, but why are none of them carrying this movie? At least one of them has shown NC-17 movies before. I know this, because I had relatives who'd gone to see them. It was a long time ago, I realize. I mean, I was probably 17 years old or younger, but if they did it then, then why not now? Rarrr, I can't see myself going to Philadelphia to see this movie, but that's the closest that it's playing. And there are three places, at least that are in Philadelphia and closer to me than the one place that actually is showing it. Even the Ritz isn't showing it. Well, the fourth closest Ritz is, I think, but that's farther than the far away Philadelphia theatres. This is wrongness.
Another thing that aggravates me: I've had two quizzes so far. On each one of them, I have gotten everything right except for one small mistake. I did it last week, and I did it today. It's driving me crazy. Maybe I just need to become used to taking quizzes and tests again. I have another stat quiz tomorrow, and I promise to prevail.
Really, I'm not all that angry, aside from these two things. Today wasn't a bad day at all. I mostly felt like posting, because I don't want my last period of non-posting to be construed as computer troubles. I guess the problem was the power supply all along, as my computer has been working well for me as of late. {knock knock and stuff}
But seriously, John Waters is too trashy and yet WILMBLEDON is playing everywhere! Has anyone seen previews for that? I saw the trailer each time I saw Spider-Man 2. Now that makes me nauseous. And then there's BABY GENIUSES 2! Oh the humanity!
posted by Beth at 6:01:00 PM
Thursday, September 16, 2004
My computer is still working, but I remain suspicious. :
For the sake of completion, I'll mention my other classes, as I did with the first two.
Statistics I is a good class. I was kind of down about it at first, because I thought calculus was more fun, and because he encourages us to teach ourselves the math. But then I remembered that I always work best at teaching myself math, and I like that his lectures are short and the rest of the class includes working independently on some problems. We had a quiz, and I knew the material very well, but I was nervous, and I failed to read all of a particular question, so I got points off for it. I ended up with a 45 out of 50, which upsets me greatly. I was so ready to make a histogram that I totally didn't realize that I also had to explain the histogram.
I was very nervous about Computing Environments at first. At the first class, I got the impression that I didn't know as much as I should about computers, but having been to more classes, I can see that it's okay. I think I'm much better off than a lot of the people in class. I also like the teacher.
I had my first Microeconomics class this past Monday. I really, really hate that subject. The teacher is very nice, but the material is so incredibly boring that I can't stand it. I hope I can stick with it long enough to learn for tests.
And I don't want to sound like an ass, but my god, there are so many stupid people in my classes that can't seem to grasp the most basic things. That's especially true in accounting and statistics. I shudder to think that most of these kids are going to become teachers themselves someday. Yes, I'm an ass. I already said that.
I'm listening to a Kelly Hogan CD that I bought last week. I ripped all of the files onto my computer, so that I wouldn't have to go hunt down the CD. For some reason, a particular song title came out really wrong. The song is called "No, Bobby Don't" and it's about dating or being married to a drunk loser guy who fights too much and embarrasses her and treats her badly. Anyway, the title on the file is "No, Daddy Don't." Ew.
posted by Beth at 7:49:00 PM
Wednesday, September 15, 2004
Right, so my computer has been out of the shop three times. The fan is new and was replaced Friday night, and things still shut down without warning. We took it back Monday and I got it back today with a replaced power supply thing. It works *this very minute* but the whole affair has gotten me super scared that at any second it'll shut itself down.
Nathan was trying to be nice, so he let me borrow his computer, except that his computer refuses to work with my dial-up connection for reasons unknown. I also hate his computer, because it's from the time of the Flintstones and has little pterodactyls in it that flap their wings to cool it, in lieu of a fan. And I'd been using Windows XP for so long that I forgot that the blue screen of death even existed. I complain, but it was an important gesture. Last night, I used it to finish my Computing Environments project, because all I needed for that was Word.
I am so scared that my computer will break down any minute. I hate living in fear. Ack. {weep}
posted by Beth at 7:12:00 PM
Saturday, September 11, 2004
Maaaaaaan! So remember when I was talking about my computer shutting down, and it was likely to be a problem with the fan and overheating? It happened two more times after I wrote about it, even after I cleaned out the inside really well with a can of air. I've had this computer for maybe three years or so, and that was never a problem before. So I took it to the shop and told them about it on Thursday. Today they called me up and said that it was fixed, and they didn't need to change the hardware, they just changed the settings or some such. So I took it home, hooked it up, turned it on, and less than two minutes later, it shut itself down again. GRR! So we took it right back, and I sat in the car and knitted, and made Nathan go in and talk to them, and he said that they changed the fan and possibly did something else, I forget. Now it's here, and it works for now, but I'm extremely nervous that it'll break down on me again. I have a lot of work to do on the computer coming up, and I just can't work well in the school labs. Eck. After I took it home for the second time today, I still got messages saying things about the fan rotation being too low and about the CPU temperature being too high, which was my problem before. Why, after getting a new fan is this still happening? I ended up turning off all of the alarms, because I don't know what I can do about them. Nor do I know what hysteresis is and how it relates to my computer. I wonder why this is a concern now. I know it's hot in my house, but it's been less hot than it has in previous summers, and it hasn't been overly hot this past week. And there's a new fan, and yet this continues. I don't know what to make of it, and I also can't afford to go without my computer for more than a day.
Aside from that, Nathan and I took Dewey and Wally to the vet today, and they're both healthy. They love Dewey. He's like a small C celebrity over there. And Wally was a good boy, even though he hated being squashed into the cat carrier. He's since forgiven me, though.
Tonight, Nathan and I went to the Tin Angel to see Kelly Hogan and Nora O'Connor, except that we hadn't heard of Nora. She wasn't an opener. Rather, she sang back-up for some of Kelly's songs and they took turns singing their own songs. I felt really bad, because the turnout was so small. I guess I thought Kelly Hogan had a bigger following in the area. Neko Case shows at the Tin Angel were always pretty crowded, so I been expected something similar. I haven't felt this bad about a small crowd turnout since I last saw Sloan. Anyway, the show was nice and quiet and pleasant. I spent way too much money. Before the show, I bought a piece of chocolate cake and a soda for myself and a drink for Nathan ($17, including tip). And I'd been planning on buying one of Kelly's CDs, since I have only one, but I also ended up buying Nora's CD, and a CD full of children's songs from Bloodshot artists ($34). Okay, so here's something that made me cranky. This week, I got an email from my school saying that anyone with a college ID can ride the NJ Transit buses or trains for free for this week. This is a good deal. It would save me about $8, and the timing is great, because I actually needed to go to Philadelphia this week. I was nervous that they wouldn't honor the promotion. On the ride to the city, the guy knew about it, but on the way back, the guy didn't. And he was a total moron. I said, "NJ Transit is supposed to be letting students with college IDs ride for free this week," and I showed him my ID. He gave me a blank look and said, "I don't know what to do with this." I tried to explain that it was a special offer for this week only, and he said, "This bus doesn't go to any school, and school isn't in session at two in the morning." Like *I'm* the stupid one. Grr. I will write a cranky letter to NJ Transit. I know it's only $4, but I know I'm not wrong.
Everyone tell your local prayer group to force God/Zeus/whoever to keep my computer healthy. I'm scared to leave it on for very long. Normally, I'd keep it on overnight, but I might be too afraid to do that. But there's so much work to do! {fret, fret}
posted by Beth at 4:18:00 AM
Monday, September 06, 2004
Wee! It’s a week later, and I’m finally going to start my rundown of Monster Mania Con 2. This is really more for me to remember the convention, but I’ll use parentheses to explain who a lot of the people are to benefit y’all. Hell, I didn’t know who most of them were before I got there.
This thing is excruciatingly long, so be warned.
Friday: Before the convention, I found out that it costs $25 to get Robert Englund’s autograph. I’m new to convention etiquette, so that was a surprise for me. I decided that even though I have the love for him, I wouldn’t cough up the money, as I am poor. I also don’t know the rules well enough to know if I would have been allowed to, say, meet him and get a picture and not buy an autograph and have that cost no money, so I decided to give the whole thing up.
5pm - Nathan and I arrived at the convention and went straight to the screening for Halloween 2. Dick Warlock (Michael Myers, Halloween 2 and stuntman from a billion other movies) gave a fun intro and took questions before the movie. There weren’t many other people at the screening. I assume this is because the convention was only starting and a lot of people were either at the dealer tables or getting in the Robert Englund autograph line as early as they could. I liked Dick Warlock right away. He seems like he could be a friend of my Uncle Tommy’s or something. He talked about how he burned up his arms, during the scene where they lit him on fire and how he got to keep all of the Michael Myers clothing and props. He also talked about Donald Pleasance, who, to me, is as big a part of the Halloween franchise as Michael Myers. I’ve seen this movie before, and I own it, but after having heard the intro from Dick Warlock, my fondness for it has increased a bit.
About 7pm We then went and looked around at the dealer tables. Nothing caught my eye, but Nathan bought some weirdo Oz lunchbox. I thought about the autograph line and Robert Englund and decided that he is so awesome that I would definitely pay $25 to have him sign a picture for me. We got into that line sometime before eight o’clock. The line was very slow and long, and it was becoming apparent that I had no chance of getting in that day. Some people had time passes, so when it was eight o’clock, they could all move to the front of the line. I heard that they’d be giving out more time passes at about 10am the next day. I then realized that I wasn't going to get in anytime that weekend. We then left the line and sat down and waited until...
10pm - This was the screening for Freddy vs. Jason. Ken Kirzinger (Jason, Freddy vs. Jason) came in and did a very quick intro. All he basically said was that he auditioned for the part of stunt coordinator but was magically given the part of Jason Voorhees and that he was glad that this movie was so well loved. He said he first saw it at a screening with a thousand other people, and it got a great reception. And then he was gone. This was only my second time seeing this movie, and it’s still awesome, and hooray.
Midnight - I was really considering going home, but Nathan said we should stay and see the Rocky Horror Picture Show screening. I sort of disagreed, but in this case, I guess he knew what was best for me. {g} I’ve been a longtime fan of this movie, but I’d never seen it at a theater. So when we were all asked if there was anyone new to seeing it at a theater, I lied my ass off. {g} Before the movie started, they did a little preshow thing called Little Shop of Rocky Horror, where they lip-synched to a medley from Little Shop of Horrors. That was neat. I had a really good time at this one. I’d never really looked into the audience participation stuff before, so I found a lot of the lines hilarious (“I’ll get the Sarandon wrap!”). The whole thing was fun and Frank, Rocky, and Janet all ran down our row, which was fun for me for some reason.
The show didn’t finish until about 2:20am, and we got home almost an hour later.
Saturday: I got very little sleep, because today was an early day. I wouldn’t have gotten any sleep at all, if we’d shown up at 10am for an autograph voucher, so I knew I wasn’t going to be meeting Robert Englund. It was incredibly crowded, when we got there, and the parking lot was more than full. People were inventing their own parking spaces and everything, so I jumped out of the car, while Nathan went in search of a parking space. He eventually found one several blocks down and on the opposite side of the road.
Noon - It was really important for me to get a seat for the noon screening of Candyman, because Tony Todd (the Candyman, Candyman) was doing the intro, which I’m sorry Nathan had to miss. Tony Todd was really fun and enthusiastic. First, he talked about how he finally moved back to NYC (because he can finally afford it again). He told us all to vote, and he said he’s supposed to be doing a fourth Candyman movie sometime this year (yay!) along with some other projects. He can also turn the Candyman voice on and off, which is totally neat. Then we watched the first Candyman, which is a fantastic movie. Nathan came in sometime around the opening credits, so I could stop worrying that he was dead and enjoy the movie. And I always love that movie.
2pm - We stayed in that room for the Women of Modern Horror panel discussion with Betsy Palmer (Mrs. Voorhees, Friday the 13th), Lisa Wilcox (Alice, Nightmare on Elm Street 4 and 5), and Danielle Harris (Jamie, Halloween 4 and 5). This turned out to be really interesting. Betsy Palmer talked enough that she could have done the whole thing on her own. She told us the backstory that she made up to explain Mrs. Voorhees, and that was really cool. She’s actually Miss or at least Ms. Voorhees, according to that story. Let’s see, what else was really cool from that discussion? Lisa Wilcox saying, “you are one major league hunk” and Danielle Harris talking about Donald Pleasance.
At about 3:20 we went to another room to get to the Nightmare on Elm Street screening super early, because Robert Englund was to be doing the intro. We ended up sitting through a Monsters of Rock panel discussion that had some dude from Blue Oyster Cult and some people from the Alice Cooper Band in it. I sort of fell asleep through part of it. I couldn’t help it.
4pm - A guy came in and told us that Robert Englund was too busy with autographs to set up the movie. Everyone booed, and I guess the guy was so afraid that he’d get ripped in half that he talked Robert Englund into changing his mind. So I was in the same room with Robert Englund and it was supermagicalawesome. He is probably the coolest person in the entire universe. He told us the coolest story I have ever heard in my life about how a scene was cut from the movie. During the part where Tina was being killed, they had gotten a crewmember’s wife to, I guess, be a stuntdouble. They put a camera between her legs and smeared fake blood all over her legs and had Freddy sort of crawl after her. This is around the part of the movie where she’s being dragged up the wall and onto the ceiling. So anyway, Freddy is crawling after Tina, and he goes to sort of blow her a kiss of death before he kills her, and there’s fake blood in between the blades of his glove. The thickening of the fake blood had made sort of a web. So when he goes to blow her a kiss, a blood bubble floated down. But for some dumbass reason, the censors wouldn’t allow them to keep that. I love that story. He also said that a few different cuts of the movie with alternate endings were floating around, and that while watching the movie, we should be thinking about precognition and premonition. After telling us this, it was really disappointing that we only watched the original version of the movie, but I should have known that we wouldn’t be seeing an alternate cut. I can’t even guess how many times I’ve seen this movie since being about six years old, but I love it so. It might rank as number one in my list of comfort movies.
Our next event wasn’t until 7 o’clock, so I think we mostly wasted time after Nightmare on Elm Street ended.
7pm - This was a Vincent Price tribute. We sat in the front row, but sort of off to the side for this one, which was really important, because two major important events were taking place in the same room after this one, and getting a good spot was important to me. Let’s see, who was at this thing? {checks program} Cortland Hull (was he the museum guy?), Caroline Munro, Hazel Court, and Roger Corman (I think). These people had all worked with Vincent Price in some way. I enjoyed this, because, although I’ve seen few of his movies, I’m a fan of Vincent Price. I mostly appreciate him from the old Hollywood Squares and other things here and there. They told a lot of nice stories about him and what a talented and charming dude he was.
8pm - We stayed in our seats for The Men Behind the Mask and Makeup panel discussion which featured Dick Warlock, Tony Todd, Gunnar Hansen (Leatherface, The Texas Chainsaw Massacre), C.J. Graham (Jason, Friday the 13th 6) and Sid Haig (Captain Spalding, House of 1000 Corpses). This turned out to be really great. Sid Haig totally stole the show, though. He seems like a total maniac. I think he wasn’t even playing a part in House of 1000 Corpses. More funny and cool things were said in this discussion than I could keep track of. I’ll just pick out one thing per person. C.J. Graham didn’t say a lot, but I found out that he’s a manager of a casino in Vegas. Crazy. Dick Warlock talked about doing stunts for Jaws and almost getting his leg ripped off by the hydraulic shark. Tony Todd is still pissed about the 2000 election (who isn’t, though?). And Gunnar Hansen really made an impression on me. He told us that he thought the new Chainsaw was shit and why, and how they didn’t want him to say so on TV. He talked about how it was wrong to unmask and explain away Leatherface. I came into the convention not even knowing who he was and leaving thinking that he’s incredibly smart. Sid Haig was just a crazy guy and he said he could kick all of our asses and everything. He made a lot of jokes, and he is neat.
9pm - Then we stayed for The Mask and the Glove, a panel discussion with Robert Englund and Ken Kirzinger. Since we were in the front row, they escorted all of the speakers in, and they walked right past us. So Robert Englund walked right past me, and it was exciting, and I feel like I have been bless’d. I could listen to him tell stories for hours. He is the coolest person ever, I can’t stand it! {g} They talked for the whole hour and took questions from people. I learned that Kelly Rowland was extremely afraid of Jason. During the scene in Freddy vs Jason where she’s about to give him mouth-to-mouth, they never told her that he was going to spit out a mouthful of water, and it scared her so badly the first time that they couldn’t use the take. Ken Kirzinger is 6’ 5.5” in his bare feet; isn’t that interesting? Robert Englund talked about his upcoming TV show. He said it was a reality show, and I cringed, because I was afraid it would be like Fear Factor, but it actually sounds like it has a lot of potential. He visits people in their town who have nightmares, and they talk about it, and then they get the chance to go back to Hollywood and make a short film of that nightmare. It starts in January on CBS. I’m looking forward to it. Also, Freddy vs Jason 2 has gotten the greenlight, and he mentioned that some people are trying to make a tie-in movie for Halloween and Hellraiser (which strikes me as a weirdass combination) called Helloween. He said so many wonderful things. I wish I could remember them all. Then he and Ken walked past me (and the entire row, but screw them ;) on the way out, and I almost died from an overload of the warm fuzzies. {g}
about 10:10pm - Nathan and I walked the long walk down the road and across the street to the car. We had dinner at a Friendly’s, which was great, because we hadn’t eaten since before leaving the house that day. We moved the car back to the Hilton, where the parking situation was slightly better, and made it just in time for
Midnight - We went to a screening of The (original) Texas Chainsaw Massacre. Gunnar wasn’t originally scheduled to introduce the film, but he volunteered, because he probably felt left out. He said all of this great stuff about how difficult the shoots were. How hot the summer Texas weather was, and how that made it hard to work. The dinner scene took 26 straight hours to film, and the bloodbag on the knife kept getting clogged, so he got pissed, and actually cut the actress’s hand to get the scene over with. He also talked about how they went about filming the last scene where he hits his leg with the chainsaw. He’s so interesting. And the movie was great, but I already knew that. Oh man, I just remembered that he said his favorite kill was Franklin. That is so terrible. {g}
We got home an hour earlier Saturday night than we did the night before, so I got an extra hour or two of sleep.
Sunday: I woke up feeling the beginnings of a cold. My throat really hurt, and I just felt sort of bleah, in general. Probably from so much running around and so little sleep and from being around hundreds of people. At least we got to park the car at the hotel this time. I’d been nervous about that. On Sunday, they were planning on having the Women of Modern Horror and the Men Behind the Mask and the Makeup discussion over again. My plans weren’t to come to them, because I’d already seen them, but I enjoyed the latter so much I wanted to go to it again. We came in at about 12:30, halfway through the Women of Modern Horror one. We actually walked in during Betsy Palmer’s retelling of Mrs. Voorhees’s story. This time Lisa Wilcox talked about how bizarre it was to be backstage with Robert Englund in full Freddy makeup and listen to him talk about retiling his bathroom. {g}
1pm - This version of the Men Behind the Mask and the Makeup was really cool, but not as fun as the first one. It seemed like everyone was more subdued, especially Sid Haig, probably because it was early. C.J. Graham talked more this time. He talked about how a maggot wrangler worked on the movie and how it was his job to put maggots over C.J.’s eyes and push them around with a q-tip until they were where they needed to be. Tony Todd also talked about how he had to work with a bee wrangler. Sid Haig said that they’d finished a sort of sequel to House of 1000 Corpses, which is about how the brother of the policeman in the first movie is chasing after the Firefly family and so they’re on the run across country. It sounds really interesting and should be out by February, hopefully.
2pm - Ack, I hate this. I wanted to go to the screening of Nightmare on Elm Street 4 with an intro from Lisa Wilcox. We got there at 2:02, and the movie’d already started, so we totally missed the intro. That was so disappointing. I wish they’d waited an extra five minutes. I’m not the only one who’d come from the discussion to hear Lisa Wilcox. Number four is my favorite Nightmare, so I stayed to watch it anyway. Toward the end, two of the dumbest people in the universe came in and sat right behind me and talked and said really dumb things. “I bet it’s Freddy... I knew it!” Okay, who the F Bomb else would it be in NIGHTMARE ON ELM STREET 4? Good job. Jeez. Oh, and my favorite other thing was simply, “I don’t understand what’s going on.” I first saw this movie, when I was like eight years old. I had no idea it was that tricky.
4pm - The final event was Freddy’s Dead: The Final Nightmare. Or we could have gone to the other room to watch The Raven, but you know me. And Nathan had never seen Freddy’s Dead. The kid who was running the projector asked if anyone knew him from last year. We didn’t, because we hardly did anything at the convention last year. He explained that he was in charge of showing Hellrasier, and he messed it up and showed the first scene in German. He really set himself up for trouble this year. We were supposed to be watching the version of Freddy’s Dead with the 3-D sequence at the end, which I had never seen in 3-D. So this year, the guy messed up again and didn’t show it in 3-D at all. The funny part was that I put my 3-D glasses on, and I didn’t realize I wasn’t watching the 3-D, and I kept thinking, “this 3-D sucks more than most 3-D!” {g} He eventually realized his error, and started the DVD over at the beginning of the scene with the 3-D sequence, and it was, well, slightly better. {g} It’s too bad that no one was there to give the film a proper intro.
And then the convention was over.
At the first Monster Mania Con, Nathan and I stayed for only about two hours, and all we did was shop. This time I stayed the entire time, went to a whole bunch of programs and barely shopped at all. This time was much better, and not just for me. The convention people got an enormous turnout, and I don’t think they were prepared for it. I lament that I didn’t get to meet Robert Englund, but I made a promise to myself that, if he comes next year, (and there will be two conventions next year), I will certainly buy a voucher in advance, so I can meet him with no waiting. I think the most important thing I got out of the convention was a respect for stuntpeople and a respect for the person who’s wearing a monster mask or makeup. I never would have cared about who was playing Jason or Michael Myers or Leatherface, but now I do see that it matters, and now it’s of interest to me. And I totally need to get the Chainsaw DVD and listen to Gunnar’s commentary as soon as I can. Yay Monster Mania. I had a really awesome time. Next May, they're having a Leatherface reunion. I can't wait!
Yikes, I typed this out in Word, and it’s five full pages. Eeshk.
Today was my first day of school. I am a student again, and although I haven't done any work yet, I think the transition is very easy for me. Before my classes, I went to see about getting work study, and they gave me a form to fill out. I can't wait until I can actually start doing the work study (Tuesday?) and the forms are all out of the way. Then I can buy and sell yo' ass. I think I get $7 an hour, maybe. And I want to work eight hours a week, if they agree to let me have that much time.
My first class was Business Perspectives. This class will be high in groupwork, and we're already in our groups for the rest of the semester. It's me and five or six other girls, who seem studious and with it. I do not worry. I can always tell a bad group right away, and this is a good group.
My next class, Principles of Accounting I, was in the same room, so I didn't have to move. That class seems like it'll be fine, too. It's a good thing I'm genuinely enthusiastic about accounting, because I'm hoping that'll keep it interesting for me. I think what Alyssa told me about accounting is exactly right--it's more about classifying. I already get that impression. Since I had about 20 minutes between classes, I took out my knitting. A few minutes later, a girl asked me what I was making, and I told her (I'm making a square to put together as a patchwork blanket for my Chocolates), and she said she could knit, too. I thought that was cool.
Tomorrow I need to bring my work study form to the financial aid office and then I have Statistics I and Computing Environments. I won't have my fifth class, Microeconomics, until the third week of school.
posted by Beth at 6:09:00 PM
Tuesday, August 31, 2004
So apparently Nathan was using the computer this morning, and all of a sudden, out of nowhere, the computer just turned off. But just the tower. I came in to look at it, and it was really weird. The monitor and everything else was on, but the tower wasn't. I kept pushing the button and it was as if it was unplugged, except it wasn't. I sat there for a minute, and then tried again, and that time the power did come on. I wish I knew what was wrong with it and what would cause that. Also, it wouldn't even try dialing up after that, but I got it to on the second try. This frightens me, because every summer, something bad happens to my computer and I end up paying a lot of money to get it fixed. It's working just fine now, but tomorrow is the first day of school, and I don't need to lose everything and go computerless, when I have to work on a project. Ugh, I wish I knew what caused this to happen. Does this sound familiar to anyone?
Also, Colleen should visit. Last night, a little snake got into our basement and crawled through a crack. Harry was just about to go to sleep, and then he saw it crawl out from under the door and into the closet. Oh, and we found its skin, which it left behind on the steps. He ended up sleeping upstairs, after Nathan and I waited with him to try to catch it or hit it with the shovel, but it's a strong and fast little thing. Right now, he and Christopher are ripping up the steps to try to find it. I don't like having a snake in the house, but this is way less scary than, say, a big spider running around.
Also, I am pissed at Guiliani.
Barbershop is a really good movie. After wanting to see it forevers, I watched it On Demand, because I let Harry sleep in my bed, so he could get three hours' sleep for work, and I was stuck in the living room.
I have loads to say about Monster Mania, and I'll try to work on that later. My main point with this entry was to be scared about my computer.
posted by Beth at 6:08:00 PM
Wednesday, August 25, 2004
Yesterday was a busy day for me. Here's a fun list of what I did.
-- Got up early, went to Philadelphia and volunteered.
-- Bought ticket for upcoming Rasputina concert
-- Had Nathan take me to school where I got money put on my debit card
-- Picked up transfer student packet, just because I could
-- Bought textbooks and didn't get my receipt (so I have to go pick it up tomorrow)
-- Went to comic book store and got tickets for upcoming Monster Mania convention. It sounds like it'll be really great this year, so we're going for all three days.
-- Had lunch/dinner at Friendly's
Today I caught up on sleep, and this evening, I went to the Olive Garden with Alyssa, Dorothea, and Eileen. 'Twas pleasant.
On Monday, Nathan and I went to Clementon Park. It was the same as it ever is, but I love it there. It's practically sick how much I love that little train ride.
I guess I should mention that Nathan and I saw the new Exorcist this past Sunday. Enh, at the time I wasn't crazy over it, but I like it a little more now. But I've also forgotten at least half of it, so maybe that's why. I am a huge fan of the original Exorcist film and book. I love it all, so it was no surprise that this movie would fall short. Some things that bothered me were that the makeup on the demon and the demon's voice seemed like they were trying to go for the exact same thing as in the original movie, but didn't do either one nearly well. And the music. There was too much of it and I didn't like what there was. One of the things I love about the original is that it uses silence really effectively. There were things in the movie that a bunch of the people in the theatre found really funny. I'm torn on that issue. On one hand, I think they're foolish, and probably didn't watch the original at all, so they missed the significance of a bunch of small things. On the other hand, yeah, a lot of stuff did come across as corny. I heard that a different director put this movie together first, and the studio didn't like it. Then the guy who directed Nightmare on Elm Street 4 put this version together, and this is what was released. Supposedly when this version comes out on DVD, they're also going to release the other cut, and I'd really like to compare.
posted by Beth at 10:05:00 PM
