monstermustdie

broddhisatva @ 12:06 am: ( You are about to view content that may not be appropriate for minors. )

pyynk @ 05:42 pm: Among the Oak & Ash
Woah. I *really* dig this track, a really cool acoustic cover of The Smiths "Bigmouth Strikes Again".



Tags: music, video

kisa_bastet @ 09:32 pm: Christmas Kitchen Fun...
Christmas Day... I turned the spice rack into a potions rack! Found these stickers/ bottle labels in my Halloween stash!



And the Hubby made NUUMMYYY stuffed mushrooms.....

moonbird @ 09:52 am: Kinda glad all that's over.

It hasn't been much of a holiday season, honestly. I've had most of the "Holiday Season" markers pulled out from under me this year, so it's kinda been one continuing buzz.

Still nursing the broken tooth from Thanxgiving... prospective new local dentist not open 'till after the turn of the year. I'll stay away from ice cream.

Still missing the Bitchypuss, still struggling to find a rescue-adoptable Maine Coon who fits the bill, isn't a twelve-hour drive away and isn't under the jurisdiction of the $()*^%&#$_)(^ "Maine Coon Rescue" people (Really guys. 330,000-some-odd Maine Coons waiting for adoption and you turn me down? Something's wrong with your system.). Actually tempted to drive twelve hours each way just to adopt one guy who's in a kill shelter. When did I become such an animal-lover-bleeding-heart? Oh, that's right.... Moving on.

Didn't do much over the holiday: some cleaning, lots of bad old movies on VHS, lots of reading and sleeping. Rotzo and I went out for Thai, then "Sherlock Holmes" late Xmas Day (after sleeping late and missing time at Travis & Sue's). Swung by the Winchester after the movie and ran into Calico and his Faecat, hung out for a while. Saturday morning we hit Kroger for a few things, then went over to Merrydeath's to check on all her kitties (Rotzo, who hates kitties, suffered horribly). We did a bunch of laundry yesterday (and Rotzo did not die), then a fast dinner at Fox Bros., most of which we packed up, took home and ate in our pyjamas while watching leftover recorded "Family Guy" and "American Dad" Xmas episodes.

Club nights Friday, Saturday night... we managed to sleep through both.

Things just seem generally grey. Could do with some snow; snow always does good things for me. Have been here and there borrowing the big, plush bathrobe I gave Rotzo... it's lovely, will have to get one for myself.

One day of unspoken-for PTO remaining... I've already put in for the 30th and 31st (Wed & Th) off, and the company is closed on Friday for New Year's Day, so it'd be either today or tomorrow left for picking. I might have the "sniffles" tomorrow, shall see. Nothing much is coming in at work this week (actually, I'm quite surprised), so I guess I won't have to feel too guilty about taking an extra day... but an extra day to do what, exactly?

--J

weremonkey @ 11:02 am: RIP Vic Chesnut
Vic Chesnutt is dead.
He talked about the Healthcare Debate on NPR recently with Terry Gross.


GROSS: I read that you're in debt like $50,000 because of health insurance issues.

Mr. CHESNUTT: That's right.

GROSS: So - and this is because you had a series of surgeries and although you pay a lot for your health insurance, it didn't cover all of it. Is that - do I have that right?

Mr. CHESNUTT: That's exactly true, yeah.

GROSS: Uh-huh. So, what are your thoughts now as you watch the health care legislation controversy play out?

Mr. CHESNUTT: Well, I have been amazed and confused by the health care debate. We need health care reform. There is no doubt about it, we really need health care reform in this country. Because it's absurd that somebody like me has to pay so much, it's just too expensive in this country. It's just ridiculously expensive. That they can take my house away for kidney stone operation is -that's absurd.

GROSS: Is that what you're facing the possibility of now?

Mr. CHESNUTT: Yeah. I mean, it could - I'm not sure exactly. I mean, I don't have cash money to pay these people. I tried to pay them. I tried to make payments and then they finally ended up saying, no, you have to pay us in full now. And so, you know, I'm not sure what exactly my options are. I just - I really - you know, my feeling is that I think they've been paid, they've already been paid $100,000 from my insurance company. That seems like plenty. I mean, this would pay for like five or six of these operations in any other country in the world. You know, it affects - I mean, right now I need another surgery and I've putting it off for a year because I can't afford it. And that's absurd, I think.

I mean, I could actually lose a kidney. And, I mean, I could die only because I cannot afford to go in there again. I don't want to die, especially just because of I don't have enough money to go in the hospital. But that's the reality of it. You know, I have a preexisting condition, my quadriplegia, and I can't get health insurance.

GROSS: Is it true you can't get good health insurance?

Mr. CHESNUTT: I can't get - I'm uninsurable. The only reason I have any insurance now is because I was on Capitol Records for a while. And I had excellent health insurance there. And then when I got dropped from Capitol, I Cobra's(ph) my insurance for as long as it was legally possible. And then - and which was insanely expensive to cobra this very nice insurance. And then, when that ran out, the insurance company said they could offer me one last thing and that is hospitalization. It only covers hospital bills. That's all it covers. And it's still $500 a month. So, it doesn't pay for my drugs, my doctors or anything like that. All it pays for is hospitalization. And yet, I still owe all this money on top of that.

GROSS: Wow. Well, I wish you the best with your health and your music. And I really want to thank you

Mr. CHESNUTT: Thank you.

GROSS: a lot for talking with us.

Mr. CHESNUTT: Oh, I'm honored, honored beyond belief.

Tags: healthcare, insurance companies, kidney stones, vic chesnutt

weremonkey @ 10:49 am: Holidays
The Winter Solstice Party went much better than anticipated this year. We managed a lightning fast clean up and cover up of most of the house and just hid the rest.

Christmas evening was spent with my family. I greatly regret my gift budget was not what I wanted it to be but I promise to do better for everyone next year. Dinner was roast duck, pork roast, green beans, thrice baked potatoes, sweet carrots, horrible wine, good olives, and home made nut cake, cookies and caramel flan for desert.

Yesterday was spent in Alabama, treasure hunting in antique malls and eventually taking MonsterMustDie's mother to eat at Cracker Barrel (her favorite) and shopping at Wallmart.
We finished the day by making it back to Atlanta in time for Silver Scream Spook Show, where we saw "Destroy All Monsters".

Tonight we were planning to see The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus. but it apparently did not make its December 25 release date for the US. We can't theatre listings anywhere for it, so it looks like we're going to the new Sherlock Holmes instead.

My housemate is now off work until January. With pay.

and from Fussy:
"The greatest sin is judgment without knowledge." Kelsey Grammar
"Comedy is the most important thing in the world except for justice." Sigourney Weaver

Tags: holidays, movies

broddhisatva @ 12:05 am: ( You are about to view content that may not be appropriate for minors. )

aesthetic @ 02:34 pm: "Are you happy?"

aesthetic @ 01:03 pm: VIDEO Games for Sale! (UPDATED - MORE ADDED!!!)
Money is ridiculously tight right now, and I need to get rid of a lot of my stuff. Anyone interested in any used games? All in like-new to damn-good condition. Make me a (realistic) offer!

--- Nintendo Wii ---
Metroid Prime 3: Corruption
The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess
Call of Duty 3
Resident Evil 4: Wii Edition (JUST ADDED!!!)

--- X-Box 360 ---
Command & Conquer 3
Tom Clancy's Rainbow Six: Vegas
Chromehounds
Condemned 2: Bloodshot (JUST ADDED!!!)
Resident Evil 5 (JUST ADDED!!!)
The Darkness (JUST ADDED!!!)
Bioshock (JUST ADDED!!!)

--- Playstation 3 ---
Resistance: Fall of Man
Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots
Tony Hawk's Proving Ground
Soul Calibur IV
Transformers: The Game

--- X-Box (Original) ---
Ninja Gaiden
BLACK
Fable
Scrapland (American McGee Presents)
Destroy All Humans (JUST ADDED!!!)
Lego Star Wars: The Video Game (JUST ADDED!!!)

--- PC (All with original boxes / cases) ---
Condemned: Criminal Origins
ObsCure
Resident Evil 4
Quake 4 (Special DVD Edition)
Pirates!
Splinter Cell
Apocalyptica
F.E.A.R.
F.E.A.R. Extraction Point
Oblivion: The Elder Scrolls IV
S.T.A.L.K.E.R. Shadow of Chernobyl

aesthetic @ 10:01 am: TONIGHT!!!
Lace your boots and get ready for some electro --

HELLFIRE AT SPRING4TH, TONIGHT!!!!
10PM
DJ AESTHETIC + NECRO + SIN

18+ entry
$10 or $8 if your goggles have green or red lenses in them.

Le Petit Mort is giving away gift cards at the event. Come out and win some grinder gear!!!!
Aries Chain Mail is also giving away a gift card for Chain Mail.

Brent of Atlanta's best fetish party Phobia is sponsoring the movie room, he'll bring some fun industrial weirdness.

Always new art, movies, performances. Next month, spoken panels on Astrology and Ghost Hunting, and Secret Societies.

freakchylde @ 06:50 pm: Scorpio (October 23-November 21):

Comedian Chris Rock has a joke that plays on the stereotypes about your sign: "Most Scorpios die while they're making love!" (Only he uses the f-word instead of "making love.") I understand the source of his satire. There are more than a few grains of truth in the notion that Scorpios revel in the enigmas of eros and death. On the other hand, I wouldn't reduce your mystique to such a simple formula. I'd prefer to say something like this: You're sexy when you're letting go of your staunch self-control. Or: You're an expert at transcending humdrum modes of awareness by stimulating intense pleasure. Or: If fully harnessed, your orgasmic power could kill off any destructive compulsions you might be harboring. And by the way, 2010 will be one of the best years ever for you to cash in on these capacities.

FreeWill Astrology

Interesting. I'll ponder it more while driving tomorrow.

Tags: horoscopes

freakchylde @ 05:02 pm: My review of Avatar:

Nit-picky stuff - Fuck you assholes in the upper balcony for not moving and opening up two seats. Front row with CGI is migraine inducing, I was tempted to walk up there to puke. I also wasn't thrilled with the fact that I missed at least 30 minutes of the movie, visually, because I had to rest my eyes to keep from puking.

The rest of it - I will not jump on the FernGully meets Dances with Wolves crowd. Neither of those movies comes even close to the various interpretations you can walk away with, from this movie. FernGully was all about saving the rainforests and the eco-systems. That was truly a hippy movie about the evils of Western civilization, with the humour of Robin Williams to indoctrinate the kids. Dances with Wolves...well, it was Kevin Costner, that's about all I can say to it, outside of the concept that the White Man does not have all the answers, and trying to force something down the throats of people who have a system that works perfectly well, is not the brightest idea (this would be why Brazil has various laws protecting the indigenous tribes of the Amazon, they get it).

Instead, I'm going to say that James Cameron finally figured out how to refine his story and get it right. It's about stepping outside of one's perspectives, to view things with a new set of eyes - or "an empty cup". It's about understanding that one tradition works in a certain place and a certain time, and forcing yours upon someone else, without their consent is not a real means to an end. That said, you bring in the warrior aspect and the concept of fighting and hunting as needed - this includes in order to get what you want, when all other means of seeking that end have been exhausted. Call it a thesis on Teddy Roosevelt's concept of conservation, as it touches mostly upon taking what's needed, as its needed and not extending yourself into the realm of a useless surplus - a lesson I've found us 'Westerners' could seriously use.

From the perspective of the Na'vi, it's the encroachment upon their way of life, which developed and evolved from their natural habitat. Finding a means to live within their surroundings with minimal issue and "drama" by working within the environment and not working against it, as a means to control it vs being controlled by. A little give/take/sacrifice in order to get what is needed, and this is not a hippy/pagan concept - an idea that Grace's character was trying to elaborate, at one point. It's a concept that exists in all theological teachings, except maybe the gluttonous "me" theology, where it's take what you want, when you want it at all costs.

To go deeper, consider it the internal individual's struggle between materialistic desires, and spiritual needs, and how to balance the two of them.

So consider those my half-baked thoughts right now, as there are too many layers to really write about all of them (could easily make the fodder given into a thesis paper). Emotive thoughts, I cried. Not because of the overwhelming migraine that's going to hit tonight because of the aforementioned assholes, but because of the full story-line. It touched upon everything that I believe in, including the "man plans, the gods laugh" concept. The concept of the warrior/mercenary and the various definitions of both. Definitely going to see it again, so I can see what I missed. Will probably snag it on DVD, as well as the soundtrack. For those who have ever been curious as to my personal spiritual beliefs, they're now on screen for ya.

monstermustdie @ 09:36 am: MERRY CHRISTMAS!
Hope you got what you wished for from SANDY CLAWS (see userpic).

MMD

pyynk @ 07:51 pm: The Night Before Christmas...

Continuing a fine tradition begun back on my days back with Diaryland and with the usual apologies to Clement Moore...'Twas the night before Christmas, and all through our house
was blasting the "St. Vitus Dance" by Bauhaus;
Torn fishnets were draped on my forearms with care,
And two cans of Aquanet applied to my hair;
My thoughts were of graveyards, and horror and dread,
Black visions of pain and despair in my head;
And Bianca, whose face was as pale as the moon,
Had thrown up her arm for this evening's swoon,
When out by the gravestones there came such a clatter,
I sprang from the coffin to find out the matter.


Away to the window I flew like a ghost,
Expecting to find a dark devilish host.
The moon on the breast of the uncaring snow
Threw ominous shadows on objects below,
When, before my tormented eyes did traverse,
But a gorgeous black Crane & Breed carved-panel hearse,
With a gaunt, shrouded driver, who filled me with fear,
And eight skeletal creatures that might have been deer.
More rapid than vultures his coursers they came,
And his deep Andrew Eldritch voice called them by name;


Now, Murphy! Now, Morgoth! Now, Torment and Woe!
On, Dreadful! On, Lovecraft! Mephisto and Poe!
To the top of the gravestones where fog wisps its breath!
With a weight on my soul I consign you to death!


As dead leaves that before hellish hurricanes fly,
When they flutter like giant bats' wings to the sky,
So up to the crypt-top the coursers they leapt,
While dearest Bianca, like death, still but slept.
And then, to my horror, I heard on the roof
The clicking and scratching of each bone-white hoof.
As I drew in my arm, and was whirling around,
Down the ebony chimney he came without sound.


He was clad all in black, and he looked oh-so-goth,
A billowy ensemble of crushed velvet cloth;
His boots were knee-high, quite buckled and zipped,
And the Spandex and fishnets 'round his legs were ripped.
His eyes glowed with bluish fire, deathly and cold,
A black eye-liner'd face neither youthful nor old.
A broad lipless mouth drawn with torment and hurt,
And his sorrowful face was as white as my shirt.


A smoldering cigarette tight in his grasp,
Its smoke curling eerily 'round his cloak clasp;
His gaunt frame was topped with long ebon hair,
And a sharp scent of brimstone and cloves choked the air.
His arms were outspread in the shape of a cross,
And I quailed when I saw him, feeling sorrow and loss;
He narrowed his eyes with a twist of his head,
And I felt the full weight of his angst and dread.


He spoke not a word, but went straight to his task,
Left some Dead Can Dance CD's; before I could ask,
A single tear fell across his aquiline nose,
And then, like an angel, up the chimney he rose;
He sprang to his hearse, to his team he then hissed,
And away they all drifted like early dawn's mist.
But I heard him intone, ere he vanished from sight,
"Gothic Christmas to all, and to all a good fright!"

Tags: the funny

johnbutler @ 05:39 pm: Merry Christmas!
Merry Christmas from all the robots in Belgium.

kisa_bastet @ 07:20 pm: I'm feeling way too far from home... and way too Martha Stewart...

Got my corn bread dressing made for tomorrow...
Got my turkey marinating in the fridge...
Got a parmesan pasta and shimp and mushrooms cookin in the kitchen...
Hubby's made stuffed mushrooms from scratch...

Yeeeahhh... way too little partying this Christmas... and way too much domestication...

*pout*

johnbutler @ 03:28 pm: CORRECTED: VJ Anthony events: tomorrow night & Saturday
80s vs 90s dance videos tonight at the Shelter!
CORRECTION: tonight the Shelter is closed while the proprietors do something mysterious and possibly Christmas-related.

Night Vision Christmas tomorrow night at The Spot!
502 Amsterdam Ave 30306

Alternative dance videos Saturday night at the Shelter!
2121 Tula St 30309

Go to all your relatives and office parties and eat all the chocolate bacon-encrusted deep fried Double Stuf Egg Nogreos you want, with a tall glass of half & half, then come out and 00ntz the calories away. VJ Anthony is the video solution to America's holiday obesity problem.

pyynk @ 01:57 am: Alternative Wednesday!
Between getting up ass early, riding to the hinterlands, and getting ready for Christmas, I'm running behind on this week's nugget of alternative rock goodness. And it definitely didn't help that this week's hunt was a bit harder than usual. The 1980s featured a LOT of bands who did Christmas songs or covers. The Pretenders, Cocteau Twins, and the Pogues all had tracks that are now considered modern Christmas classics. For whatever reason, there aren't that many 90's bands that did the same thing. The one exception to that rule is Harvey Danger.

Harvey Danger started life as a Nirvana tribute band, but quickly became more than that. 1997 saw the release of "Where Have All the Merrymakers Gone" and their big hit, "Flagpole Sitta". "Flagpole Sitta" was a great single, "Where Have All the Merrymakers Gone" was a good, solid album. However, "Merrymakers" had bloody little in common with the single that was released to promote it. Which isn't to say it was a bad album or a bad song, it just took a couple of listens to hit your ears just right and that may have been part of the problem for the band. They had a couple of other albums, but "Flagpole Sitta" was their only big hit before they finally broke up in 2007.

Before they left us, Harvey Danger did make one other, not inconsiderable contribution to alternative rock culture. They released a really good alt rock Christmas song, "Sometimes You Have to Work On Christmas" which, while if not the best song they ever released (that would be "Terminal Annex" in my opinion), but the song is solid and it's heartfelt and that's more than a lot of music can say.

Edit: Corrected some links that didn't show up, some that posted incorrectly, and corrected some grammar issues. Dude, even the interwebs in Alabama sucks.



Tags: alternative wednesday, music, video

moonbird @ 08:47 pm: Eating a piece of leftover cherry pie with chopsticks because I can't find a clean fork or spoon.

That's fine; I'm more comfortable with chopsticks anyway, and the dozen stainless steel chopsticks were a really good investment for me.

Also... can't help noticing that cherry pie filling has the exact same colour and consistency as red ultraslime. Tasty. Rotzo will love that.

--J

johnbutler @ 07:53 pm: Toilet
Neither having seen nor having any intention to see the Twilight movies, this handy summary saved me some time.