Below are the 20 most recent journal entries recorded in Kassi's LiveJournal:

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Saturday, July 11th, 2009
11:56 pm	Things That Are Awesome for July 11th, 2009 Play!: I heard about the video game symphony concert series back when they were developing it, years ago. Then derekjh and I made a special trip to Atlanta to see the all-Final-Fantasy 'Dear Friends' concert (two unlisted encores of 'One-Winged Angel,' woo!). Then I didn't think much of it until earlier this week I learned 'Play!' was coming to Cary and tickets were still available. I was on the fence about it until yesterday, when I finally caved and nabbed a lawn ticket. I'm so glad I did. It was made of awesome! 1) All three of my favorite video games were represented. It helps that they're wildly popular: Chrono Trigger, Final Fantasy VII, and The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time. 2) The Castlevania Medley? Totally kicked ass. I was so blown away I bought the CD just so I could get that arrangement. 3) The other cool thing about the CD is that the arrangement of the opening theme of Chrono Cross is so much better than the one we heard, although the medley on the disc didn't include the Chrono Trigger main theme, 'Frog's Theme' or 'To Far Away Times' like the version at the show. 4) I had no idea Jeremy Soule, who composed the music to Secret of Evermore with Julian Soule has done so much since then. He did Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion and Guild Wars, both of which sound fantastic! 5) It rained breifly, but this cleared out the lawn so this kid who was maybe eight years old could have his peak experience when the Sonic medley started, and he tore across the field blue-hedgehog-style aiming straight at the screen showing scenes of Sonic running like a motherfrelling maniac. That kid was Sonic, just for a few moments! I was tickled to get to see him have that spark of insane glee. Also they showed clips of ths Sonic cartoon! 6) Of course they're going to do a surprise encore of 'One-Winged Angel.' That choir back there is not merely decorative. They've hit all the other epic series except Final Fantasy, so you know the show isn't just ending there. See, look? They did it! 7) Driving home I listened to the Castlevania medley over and over. Toward the end of the drive I was heading through the darkened woods under a blood-orange gibbous moon. Why thank you, empathetic milieu! (Not in the category of awesome, but kind of strange, was that the young man sitting next to me seemed to have rabies. He actually snarled and howled and convulsed like he either had no control or didn't care to try during the intermission. I thought he was either turning into a werewolf, epileptic, or had Tourette's. But he did not turn into a werewolf, his mother made no attempt to put something under his tongue or get medical assistance, and unlike the sweet guy I know with Tourette's this kid was not trying to suppress his movements. So: rabies. If he'd been a dog I would have called animal control. Only during the intermission, though, and briefly during one of the songs. The rest of the time he sat quietly, if sunken in on himself a bit, and listened.) Kassihartman.com: I can has website! Thank you, egbert826! You are awesome! Current Mood: astounded Current Music: Castlevania Medley (in my head) (6 Comments |Comment on this)
Wednesday, July 8th, 2009
10:36 pm	Things That Are Awesome for July 8th, 2009 My friends: are helping me so much after a really traumatic date and some realizations I came to about myself. I could not survive without you guys. Thank you for loving and accepting me, just as I am, velvet and all. Jump, Little Children: The first really positive dream I've had in a long time -- Jay Clifford sitting on a wooden high school gymnasium floor with a guitar and singing 'Cathedrals' for a small Indian-sitting audience crowded around. When I lay down on the floor I could feel the music vibrating through the woodwork and filling my body. He only sang the first verse and chorus before stopping, and I woke myself up singing 'Close Your Eyes' and teary with joy at how it felt to be held by the music. Asexuality Visibility and Education Network: In addition to straight-up asexuality where an individual experiences no sexual attraction, there are a lot of shades of grey. Like demisexuality, where sexual attraction is rare and only occurs paired with a deep emotional connection. Also cool because asexuals can be referred to as 'ace.' Like the Doctor Who companion or the playing card. Interesting note: I have three Doctor Who playing card decks, and in one Ace is on the Ace of Hearts, looking super-awesome. It's sitting on my nightstand and smiling at me. Ask Farscape!: TVShowsonDVD.com has partnered with A&E in promoting the Farscape MegaSet slated for November, and what they're doing is actually super-cool. They're collecting questions here to ask Rockne S. O'Bannon, Brian Henson, Ben Browder and/or Claudia Black at a special panel at Comic Con. Woo! Goats: Ryan North is awesome, especially since he mails little nuggets of awesomeness he's discovered out in the world via his super-awesome Dinosaur Comics newsfeed. Yesterday he linked to a webcomic called 'Goats,' which I'm now injecting directly into my eyeballs. First thing I saw was this hilarious adaptation of 'Jonathan Livingston Seagull' by Richard Bach. Then I decided to start on the 'Infinite Typewriters' storyline since this is the one that's been turned into a book Mr. North was talking about. Apparently: 1. God is dead. Turned himself into porkchop and was delicious. 2. A goldfish and a chicken build a teleportation robot for general destructive purposes. 3. Also there is a goat with magical panties of potency, two omnisexual grey aliens, two slacker hackers, another chicken, another personality within the goldfish, an infinite number of monkeys with typewriters, and eventually a whole host of crazies. 4. Hell is exit 9C off the New Jersey Turnpike. 5. The dialogue is awesome. It starts out slow but eventually it hits peak awesome. Examples: "If you want to have your way with the universe, you're going to have to do more than poke it with your flaccid stick of science." "They're not here for dessert. They're here for murder." "Bravo, sir. I am but a rotting pile of meat, casting a meat-shaped shadow in the light of your brilliance." "I'm just going to pretend all of this is a highly disturbing hallucination." "You'd be surprised how many civilizations have been founded on that very principle." 6. Bizarro Hitler. Within this comic's twisted universe there are 'Good Hitler' films, which are like James Bond films but with Good Hitler. There's 'Good Hitler vs. Space Hitler' and my favorite so far, 'Quantum of Hitlers.' "Maybe it's time for the Lenin Party to throw a Lemon Party. In hell." "I don't like sharing hotel rooms with other men. I don't want to catch the gay." So wrong, wrongity McWrongerstein, but then why do I keep aspirating milk? I'm not even drinking milk! Current Mood: anxious Current Music: B-13-Jump Little Children-Magazine (12 Comments |Comment on this)
Monday, June 29th, 2009
10:59 pm	Things That Are Awesome for June 29th, 2009 They Might Be Giants: They're going to be doing two shows at the NC Museum of Art on September 19th, a children's show at 4pm and an adult show at 8pm. Anyone want to go with? If anyone wants to come in from out of town and stay at my place and go to the shows (*coughcoughpoutinstereocoughautumnrainacoughcough*) please please do! I have two spare bedrooms plus a super-comfy air mattress that can convert the library into another bedroom, plus a fold-out couch. The more the merrier! Any takers? I can't believe someone at the Clockwork Ball had to tell me about the shows. I really haven't kept up with show dates lately... too much real life and other pursuits. Paperhand Puppet Theatre: will be doing shows at the museum the previous weekend, September 11th & 12th. happier_end took me to see 'Hungry Ghost,' which was awesome! It was a saucy puppet show! I'd always wanted to see one. Anyway their puppetmastery is breathtaking and if anyone wants to go with me to those let me know. Mansion 462: The Clockwork Ball was super! Everyone there was so gorgeous. Not just the clothes, either. It was actually a little uncomfortable being surrounded by really attractive people and feeling like a slab of shortening. The club itself was gorgeous, decked out Victorian-style -- like Jekyll & Hyde in Greenwich Village but without the gothy 'Haunted Mansion' b-movie feel. They played the cantina jam from 'Star Wars,' an industrial mix of 'Puttin' on the Ritz' that packed the floor, and 'Istanbul (Not Contantinople).' Whereupon I lost my cool and did a frantic Charleston from start to finish. Also it's just a few doors down from Hookah Bliss, a social oasis where all my anxiety evaporated after the ball. I don't know why it is that I will contribute to and strike up conversations with total strangers in there. It isn't like me. Other people seem more laid-back and friendly in there too. Like when we come in we all get the chance to be our best selves. Except for the few clueless drunks, who are easy to spot and usually talk only to themselves and each other, like they're out of phase with us. The Myth Makers: The Raleigh Doctor Who Meetup Group has taken to occasionally getting together and doing a script read-through for an old, lost episode. On Saturday we did 'The Myth Makers,' a First Doctor story from 1965 about the Trojan War. The writing is always a little goofy, hammy and chauvanistic, but when you get a bunch of lifetime Whovians reading them aloud, we get creative and the episodes become quite campy. All it took was for someone to substitute the word 'ass' for 'horse,' and... well... you can see we got terminal cases of the giggles. The best bit was trying to read out how the Trojans worship the Great Horse of Asia Minor. And how many times the words 'forty-foot horse' came up in the script. Also the Doctor and his young male companion Steve were packing their readings with dirty, dirty innuendo. Lots of winking and nudging. Maybe you had to be there, but it was the funniest Trojan War since 'Troy in 15 Minutes.' Although during the opening scene with Achilles and Patroclus all I could think was, "Cousin. He's my cousin. Cousin. Totally my cousin. In conclusion: cousin." Oh, cleolinda. How could I have ever recovered from that train wreck of a movie without you? Free Run: I have worked my way up to the 30-minute run on WiiFit. I feel pretty good about that, considering that before last Monday I ran only when chased. (Please, someone, get that reference! I'll give you popcorn!) Current Mood: tired Current Music: Shoehorn With Teeth-DaVinci's Notebook (10 Comments |Comment on this)
Wednesday, June 24th, 2009
4:38 pm	Things That Are Awesome for June 24th, 2009 I can't believe I'm doing one of these today... Displacement activity: I don't know how efficacious it is as a coping mechanism, but I've cleaned most of the house, done two loads of laundry and put them away, made stir fry, done the dishes, jogged five miles, took a half-hour walk, went to Target and World Market, washed my hair and cleaned out the fridge. Predictions: this post, washing the dog (sorry Sara!), taking out the trash and cleaning the stovetop again. I should have planned better and cleaned the kitchen after I cooked, although I wasn't planning on cooking until after it was clean. The Spork of the Gods: A metal spork, at long last! Please note, with joy, the Willy Wonka reference in the description. Alice in Wonderland: IMAX + 3D + Tim Burton's Alice in Wonderland = I will not leave the theatre. Ever. Otherland MMORPG: The only thing that will lure me away from the theatre and fully take over my life in 2010 is the Otherland MMORPG. Latest screens here, ohgodsogorgeous. So I'm giving you all fair warning I will drop off the face of the planet, WoW- and Evercrack-style, in 2010. This commercial: is what I wake up to every morning. Clockwork Ball: At least I hope so, late this Friday (after a housewarming party, for me). Dial-a-Llama: For when you need to finish your credits at the last minute and at great expense. Ace Pear Cider: Tasty! Current Mood: frantic Current Music: All My Loving-The Beatles (in my head) (10 Comments |Comment on this)
Saturday, June 13th, 2009
3:37 pm	Things That Are Awesome for June 13th, 2009 Joe. He makes me feel better when it doesn't seem possible. Oh, so much better. Dr. Matt Schmid: He's the sweetest guy and has been my family's chiropractor for years. He fixed the tennis elbow I've been suffering from for three months in less than a week. Go Matt go! Miata in the summertime: Riding with the top down in the sun. That, to me, is what convertibles are for. I worship Apollo and it reminds me of driving around New England two summers ago with the windows down, following TMBG on tour and living in NYC. Great times. Royal India: Great food, and I love their Masala tea -- Darjeeling, cardamom, cinnamon, cloves, milk & sugar. This is the stuff that got be hooked on tea in the first place. Neil Gaiman & Amanda Palmer: This entry on her blog sums it up. My heart grew to the size of a basketball just reading her comment above the photo of just him, looking at her. That comment and the look on his face completely won. Since I follow his blog more than hers I'm more familiar with the way he's talked about her, not ever hinting at more than his profound respect and sheer joy at being her friend. I mean, I know it's ridiculously strange and borderline-tabloid-insane to get this much joy out of seeing two famous people I don't know at all dating, but the feelings they confess for each other just totally make me cry. I hope this just means that my broken heart still functions as a heart, and not that I'm going to become a celebrity-gossip-whore. Those supermarket rags make me really uncomfortable in the checkout line, like I'm seeing bad pictures of naked people taken without their permission. This song: I like the reprise better than the original. Both sound awesome cranked up. Current Mood: energetic Current Music: Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band (Reprise)-The Beatles-Sgt. Pepper's Lonely (4 Comments |Comment on this)
Thursday, June 11th, 2009
12:40 pm	Things That Are Awesome for June 11th, 2009 Nebulous: This BBC radio serial starring Mark Gatiss parodies classic sci-fi dramas like 'Doctor Who' and 'The Quatermass Experiment' is produced by some of the same brains behind the Big Finish 'Doctor Who' audio adventures I love so much. I love that their post-apocalptic setting is completely off the rails, to the point where all days are now twenty-five hours long except for Thursday, which has not occurred in over a decade. The 'Withering,' which killed off most of the livestock in a 'cattle-clasm,' also resulted in the near-extinction of vegetarians, pigeons, and 'the gays.' Jupiter is deep fried and the nightlight industry is trying to push an initiative to destroy the moon. The serial follows the adventures of Professor Nebulous and his eco-troubleshooting taskforce, so under-funded they had to open a laundrette. I've only heard the first two episodes, the second one a direct parody of the classic DW episode 'The Claws of Axos,' and I'm loving it. Apparently in series three they start poking fun at 'Torchwood' and 'Primeval' as well, and David Tennant plays a villain. Other classic DW actors who guest on the serial include Peter Davison and Kate O'Mara. I can't wait to hear more! Last Exit to Nowhere: This t-shirt shop features logos for fictional companies and places, such as Devil's Tower from 'Close Encounters of the Third Kind,' Hill Valley High School from the 'Back to the Future' trilogy, Paper Street Soap Company from 'Fight Club,' Hudsucker Industries from 'The Hudsucker Proxy,' Weyland-Yutani Corp from 'Alien,' and the Sanford Neighbourhood Watch Alliance from 'Hot Fuzz.' Stephen Fry vs. Big Ben: Stephen Fry was beside Big Ben today for the noon strike and was so thrilled he recorded it (WARNING: LOUD!). I loved his applause at the end and then his tweet afterward: "OMFG the treat of a lifetime. Up the clocktower and standing right next to Big Ben for the noonday strike. Utter blissikins. Wonderful." That's how I felt when I visited that spiffy clock in London, and I was on the frelling ground. I love that gorgeous timekeepy-thing. Love that sound. Love it. Voyage Dans La Lune: Alloy Orchestra, famous for re-scoring silent films, tends to do so with dry-sounding synthetic orchestra sounds and the occasional accordion, but they hit the jackpot with a techno score for this classic sci-fi short film: ( Part 2 ) Current Mood: still tired (7 Comments |Comment on this)
Thursday, June 4th, 2009
2:23 pm	Things That Are Awesome for June 3rd, 2009 Ashes to Ashes: The most recent episode (2x07) made me bawl like a baby. Believe it or not, it was the best possible thing. Sometimes I need to cry, to release, but I can't quite start. I don't remember any 'Life on Mars' or 'Ashes to Ashes' ever doing to me what this last episode did. It was intense. A Southern Season: For the entirety of June everything's on sale, 15%-75% off. Yes, even the wine. It had been a long time since I went to the U-Mall and Southern Season. I didn't remember how great they are about letting you taste so much stuff. They had a French rosé available for tasting, hooray! Also they had a bottle of Coteaux from my favorite rosé region, Provence. Om nom. Sometime when I think I'll be coming right back home I'm going to pick up some of the back bacon they have in the deli freezer and see if it's anything like as good as British back bacon. Cameron's: I'm glad it was still there. I remember how much strange and weird and wonderful stuff they have there. Including Holly Yashi jewelry, meaning that as I spun the rack I squealed because I came face to face with the exact earrings I was wearing yesterday. One of my favorite things about Cameron's is the shrine upstairs. It's really easy to forget you're in a mall one one slips through the colorful beaded curtain. Hookah Bliss: It's always a neat place to socialize and one of the very few hookah bars that allows no other type of smoking inside. This is important because any type of burnt-tobacco secondhand smoke can ruin the flavor, smell and experience of a hookah. Adam Bliss is an awesome guy. He owns the place. Yes, that's his real name. If you still do the 'print media' thing you may have seen him in the paper lately. Some legislation recently passed in NC to go into effect next January to disallow smoking in restaurants and bars. Whereas that's good news for me, meaning I'll never have to turn down an invitation to go somewhere because of my overenthusiastic allergic reaction, it's bad news for Hookah Bliss because while they've made an exception for cigars in cigar bars, they overlooked an exception for hookah in hookah bars. Fortunately Adam and other hookah bar owners are creating a lot of stink that's getting coverage in the press, though he laments that he couldn't get this kind of support and media when the legislation was being debated -- only once it was passed, to try to get an amendment put on another smoking bill. Maybe there was a disbelief that North Carolina, 'Tobacco is a Vegetable' North Carolina, could ever manage to pass such legislation. I certainly didn't think it would ever happen. Even some Pennsylvania residents complain that they can't pass such a thing. Some of the people in Hookah Bliss last night were talking about it and one young man said it should be up to restaurant owners whether it's smoking or non-smoking, so they can decide if they want to lose revenue from smokers who won't come out if they can't smoke. I can see his point, but shouldn't there also be note made of the revenue lost by allowing smoking, so those who have a bad reaction to the smoke don't come? I know my reaction is unusual. I'm the only person I've ever heard of who has to carry an albuterol inhaler everywhere just in case I get hit in the face with some smoke and my airway slams shut. I can't judge what it's like for people who have a milder reaction or just don't like the smell. In my experience if you leave it up to restaurant and bar owners you wind up with a very small number of places that disallow smoking entirely. Having a smoking section in a restaurant is like having a peeing section in a pool, so even in a place with a theoretical 'non-smoking section' I might get smoked out. I was smoked out of my very first TMBG concert with Derek in downtown Raleigh, and I wonder if I might have been able to share more shows with him and discover my love for their shows much earlier had that not happened. I think sometimes each side lacks the perspective of what it's like to be the other side. I get the impression some smokers so staunch about defending their right to smoke anywhere they choose can't even imagine that people sensitive to smoke are not just whiny and spoiled, that it causes them great physical discomfort to be around smoke. Nor do I think I know what it's like to be in nicotine withdrawal, even though growing up I saw my father go through it so many times that I'd be happy if I never had to experience it secondhand in such close quarters again. I can't imagine the physical and mental discomfort of such an experience. On the other hand, I'm not going to whine about things I wanted to do that I couldn't because of smoke. I've got the freedom to pick where I want to go and when and with whom. I am healthy enough and have enough money to actually go out places with friends. The fact that I grew up in North Carolina and managed to not die or develop asthma despite the intensity of my allergic reaction is pretty spiffy. I found people and places where hanging out was safe. How important can it really be to go to a specific place? In the grand scheme of things, not being able to go to a particular restaurant, bar, or concert because of health reasons or a nicotine addiction is not that important. I would miss Hookah Bliss if it went away. I don't have an allergic reaction to hookah smoke, not even from smoking one myself. It may have to do with the total lack of additives in the tobacco. It may be because the tobacco is baked, not burned. The tobacco itself is never lit. I think what would sadden me most is Adam losing his place of business, and that the wonderful people who work there would have no job. It would not make sense to me that there could be cigar bars but not hookah bars. Fair is fair. Maybe I'm especially lucky, because I do smoke hookah occasionally and I have friends and family who are addicted to nicotine, while I also have such a severe reaction to cigarette, cigar and pipe smoke. I have a much better chance for sympathy on both sides of the problem and am less likely to dehumanize one or the other camp. Yet seeing both sides makes me soul-weary because I don't see a lot of others taking the time to consider the issue from both sides. People in general are more likely to start throwing tantrums because they're not getting their way and I want to hurl them into time out until they can learn to get some perspective on life and be respectful. However long that takes. Current Mood: still tired Current Music: Ideas As Opiates-Tears For Fears-The Hurting (8 Comments |Comment on this)
Tuesday, June 2nd, 2009
4:28 pm	Things That Are Awesome for June 2nd, 2009 An End to a Means, by me: Now on Amazon.com. Yes I think it's awesome. I write things I would like to read. That is, in fact, the simplest explanation of why I write. So you'll excuse me if I do a little happy dance because it's on Amazon... Valerian drops: They're a natural anti-anxiety thing my dad recommended that act on the same receptors as Valium, Ativan, and Xanax-type drugs. Slightly less addictive -- but not wholly so -- much cheaper and not requiring a prescription. They do to trick for anxiety attacks. Wii Fit: I'm trying in earnest to get in better shape. I'm really hoping I get soon to that point where exercise gives me more energy rather than makes me more achy and tired. Edited to add -- Lenore's Special Rice Krispie Treats: Okay, I realize this will not help me get in better shape and now I will need to burn off a lot more calories to compensate for that little bar of sugar, starch and butter. I've got a flute player (flautist?) friend staying with me for a couple of nights to get some respite from her fundie family and she brought over supplies to make these. (She must have insane metabolism, for she is so thin and yet loves food even more than I do.) She added in vanilla extract and half a bag of coconut shavings. Apollo's wheels, coconut shavings in Rice Krispie Treats taste amazing! Current Mood: tired Current Music: Those Who Fight Further-Takeharu Ishimoto-DISSIDIA FINAL FANTASY ORIGINAL SOUNDT (8 Comments |Comment on this)
Monday, June 1st, 2009
6:18 pm	Things That Are Awesome for June 1st, 2009 Growing Up Cullen: I finally found something that made me laugh. I needed to laugh very badly. But I can't just give you the link without explaining two things. (1) Pretty much everyone depicted in 'Growing Up Cullen' is a postmodern vampire. If you enjoy parodies of the Angsty Emo Goth Teen Romantic Epic Brooding Vampire stereotype that has infested sci-fi and fantasy lately like a yersinia pestis of the brain, then just know this is about a vampire family, and Edward Cullen's depicted hobbies include scrapbooking, throwing pots, and obsessive Consumer Reports recall page reading. Go ahead and enjoy. (2) If you haven't been living with your head stuck in the ground for years you probably know this is related to that infamous 'Twilight' phenomenon. Here's the deal: I haven't read the books or seen the movie. I don't have plans to. I appreciate that some people love them and some people loathe them. I am endlessly amused by how the series sits on the collective consciousness like a quantum singularity and alters everything approaching it. Everything I need to know about it, I learned from reading recaps of the books and the movie written by Cleolinda Jones of 'Movies in Fifteen Minutes' fame. She has also recapped the hype surrounding the movie: 'Great Moments in Sparkle Motion.' Basically she is the queen of hilarious Cliff's Notes. If you've been wondering what the fuss is about but are weary of postmodern vampire stereotypes, you may satisfy your curiosity by reading these hilarious summaries. Ms. Jones put up a link to 'Growing Up Cullen,' by oxymoronassoc and saint_renegade. This series of IM conversations speculates on the life of a 107-year-old virginal male sparklepire frozen in physical age at 17, his prudishness, and his inward-spiraling obsessive-compulsive disorder as well as his ineractions with his frat-boy 'black on the inside' GTA-playing vampire sibling. And here is why I lost it and snorted tea into my nose: let's talk about Edward during most of new moon when he was away from bella/his family [...] he's like chilling, sparkling, under a mango tree in the amazon hoping to get eaten by a snake or whatever I AM A BOTTOMLESS PIT OF SADNESS I DESERVE NO LESS THAN TO BE STRANGLED BY THIS ANACONDA JUST LIKE LYING THERE SOBBING FOR DAYS AT A TIME the locals think the forest is haunted or that there is a cow slowly dying in some quicksand I HAVE SCARED AWAY THE LOCALS THEY COULD NOT BEAR THE SOUND OF MY ANGUISH NOW I MUST BEAR THAT BURDEN TOO: I AM A SOCIAL PARIAH good, i am a monster, i need to be kept away from people I AM A HARBINGER OF DOOM AND DESPAIR i am happy imagining edward wallowing in despair in the rain forest taunted by monkeys VERMIN LEAVE ME LET ME WALLOW IN PEACE CAN YOU NOT SEE THE DEPTHS OF MY DESPAIR??? He just screams bella's name for hours OH BELLLLLLA MY LOVE MY ONLY LOOOOOVE MY ONLY LOVE even the monkeys leave after that Oh the pain! The paaaain! My other favorite bit, in which Edward discovers pr0n and is loudly horrified: ( THIS FILM HAS FAILED TO MAKE ME BELIEVE THEIR RELATIONSHIP AT ALL ) Current Mood: tired (8 Comments |Comment on this)
Saturday, May 30th, 2009
2:29 pm	Things That Are Awesome for May 30th, 2009 demonicsymphony. She is awesome to be around, awesomely strong-willed, awesome at loving Star Trek, awesome at infecting me with other fandoms, awesomely friendly and awesome to love. I'm really privileged to know her. There are too many reasons to adequately go into. Her awesomeness humbles me. Rosé Garden: Apparently Wine Authorities love rosé wines almost as much as I do! This video shows them constructing a rosé garden. Thanks to egbert826 for this one! Kassi's Weekend Butty: I will discuss the ingredients and my suggestions to replicate this delicious British-inspired buttered sandwich. I made this last weekend out of what my parents had around their house and refined it a bit today. 1. A hard-boiled egg. Egg in pot, bring water to boiling, lower heat, 10-13 minutes more, remove from heat and rinse in cold water. I usually do thirteen minutes because I like them well-boiled and thirteen is my lucky number. Tip: do not start boiling eggs, forget and then take a nap. Eggs explode after the water boils off. 2. Two to three slices of bacon, cooked to taste. I highly recommend, if you can get some, British bacon. It is cut from the back or shoulder rather than the belly of the pig, has up to 70% less fat, is less extensively salted and smoked in the curing process, and tastes LIKE HAM FROM HEAVEN. This is what it looks like in a traditional British breakfast. Is that not sexy bacon? You can order it from there but there's an $80 minimum order. There is also some here but there is a 6lb. minimum order. I'm sure there are other places to get some but I haven't researched much. Did you know that bacon sandwiches help ease hangovers? 3. Cheese. I like thick slices off cheese bricks. Not too sharp, or it will overwhelm the enjoyment of the other ingredients. English cheddar is excellent, as is a natural white cheddar. Today I'm in love with Dubliner cheese. 4. Butter. It is easier to find English or Irish butter than their wonderful bacon over here. It's usually found in the specialty cheese section of a grocery store. If you can't find it at a grocery store try a gourmet food store. It is worth it to get English or Irish butter even if you can't get any British bacon or cheese. 5. Tomato. To find whether a tomato is ripe or not, smell it. The more it smells like a tomato, the more it's likely to taste like a tomato. Like any fruit or vegetable ripeness test, it's subjective to the individual's tastes and something you learn with practice. If you and tomatoes are not friends, I'd suggest some lightly fried mushrooms. 6. Bread. I really like bread with grain for this particular sandwich, so something like 15-grain bread is what I'll reach for, but bread is a very personal thing so I'd go with your favorite. Now to make it! Boil the egg, fry the bacon, slice cheese and tomato (and the egg, when it's done) while you're cooking to save time. Have the butter ready so as soon as the bread slices come out of the toaster you can melt the butter on the bread. Put the cheese on one slice and melt it in the microwave -- not too much or it'll make the bread soggy, just enough so that it's mostly squishy. Once it's melted, top with bacon, egg, tomato and the buttered other slice of bread, carve in half and eat immediately, standing up if you have to. For maximum Britishness, serve with tea or European wine and pop in 'Murder on the Orient Express' or 'Silver Streak' to replicate the experience of getting a snack in a British railway station or on a train bound for Cardiff Central, Preston, Gare du Nord or St. Pancras. To complete the railway station experience from the awesomeness of your own home, read a novel while the movie's on. Please note that even I regard this as extreme silliness, meaning I engage in it whenever possible. I still don't have British crack back bacon on hand but I'm thinking of having a bacon-themed party to justify ordering a whole bunch, so I can introduce my friends to British crack back bacon. Yes. A Bacon Party. Awesomeness: Sometimes it's not easy to feel the awesomeness of things in general, let alone post about them, but I figure the harder it is to do it, the more likely it is to be therapeutic. Current Mood: mmmm... (11 Comments |Comment on this)
Wednesday, May 6th, 2009
1:10 am	Things That Are Awesome for May 5th, 2009 Memoirs of an Edwardian Adventuress: I get to go to Singapore later this year! It's so equatorial they don't bother with 'seasons' there, other than 'tourist' and 'rainy.' It's always wonderfully hot and humid, just like I adore, full of orchids and buildings that sparkle at night, shopping districts, botanical gardens, a night zoo and fantstic cultural districts. Also they drive on the left. I'll be just shy of 79 years too late to keep the appointment of one of my favorite 'Doctor Who' companions, Charley Pollard, with her friend Alex -- but the Raffles Hotel where they were to meet still exists with scads of its old-world splendour and the bar wherein the historic 'Singapore Sling' was invented. (Currently $16.85 in US currency, tax included.) This may be the very silliest entry in my 'Doctor Who' pilgrimage, but I figure, if I'm going to be there anyway thanks to the largesse of friends, I might as well visit the one place I've heard of that's still there! Friends are awesome! All you guys out there -- you've made my life amazing in so many ways. You've shared my adventures with me and made many of them possible through encouragement and the occasional bed for crashing purposes. Without you cheering me on I'd never have made it this far. Thanks, guys. Dr. Charles Matthews: I'm starting to have some health again. I'm not all better, but I'm getting there. What was the problem? Progesterone deficiency. It's a lot more serious than you'd think -- here's a list of possible symptoms, most of which I accrued over the last five months. Hormonal imbalances can be freakishly bad and hard to diagnose (although easy to treat -- with progesterone pills). The doc who did it, an old friend of the family and migraine headache specialist, feels pretty good about himself right now, as well he should. Thanks, Chip! The Music Man: Yes, sir! And when the man dances, what else? the piper pays him! Yes, sir... yes, sir... yes, sir... The Ultimate Gold Chocobo: I'm bonkers for Final Fantasy VII. It's in the Top Three Kassi Games of All Time, right after Chrono Trigger and before The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time. It has the prerequisite lengthy chocobo sidequest that is a hallmark of post-cartridge Final Fantasy games, but rather than being tedious and frustrating to me, I love doing every single part of it. Powering up the Chocobo Lure, seeking out great chocobos, W-Item duplicating Syklis Greens, stealing Carob and Zeio nuts, resetting over and over to get the right color and gender, racing them against that bastard jockey Joe and his black Teioh to get to S class. Though the inbreeding aspect is seriously strange. I'm compounding this by spending a little time on this replay breeding (for the second time) a faster-than-fast 'ultimate' gold chocobo, which requires, as BTB's FAQ states, "...a family tree that not only does not fork in any place, but also at times requires curved lines (something that no family tree should possess)". All this just so I can experience the joy of completely smoking Joe & Teioh in every S class race and getting enough GP to dive in and out of Scrooge McDuck-style. The Caligulean depth of my video game depravity has, I hope, earned me a place in hell. I hear it's always hot there, just like I like. Practically equatorial. Current Mood: excited Current Music: Tunnel Of Love Intro-Dire Straits-Alchemy (Disc 2) (3 Comments |Comment on this)
Sunday, May 3rd, 2009
2:26 pm	Things That Are Awesome for May 2nd, 2009 The Boss. End of line. I'm glad I was well enough to go, although I am paying for it today. My body was unprepared for seven hours standing. On a related note, Greensboro Coliseum sort of sucks. The acoustics, the logistics, the concessions staff, the location, and the dehumanizing of people who spend extra money for floor tickets. Nevertheless: the Boss. At more than twice my age he is in much, much better shape. I didn't know anyone in possession of a human spine could do that with a microphone stand. Wow. What an intense show! It was like a revival! If they allowed beer at revivals, that is. Current Mood: run over (1 Comment |Comment on this)
Thursday, April 30th, 2009
6:39 pm	Things That Are Awesome for April 30th, 2009 Perversion for Profit: In a fifties-tastic way (despite being made in 1965), this short film tells us in exhaustive, explicit, some would say swollen detail about the evils of pornography and how it leads YOUR CHILDREN to a life of murder, rape, and 'homasekshality.' It does this by showing and reading us lots of fifties-tastic porn in a not-safe-for-work way that I'm guessing is meant to shock and disgust the viewer, this FILTH that is stated ad nauseum to be READILY AVAILABLE at your CORNER NEWSSTAND! I would have posted this earlier, but I was down at my corner newsstand. If that wasn't enough to inflame you to you rush down to the corner newsstand to look for pictures of young men draped in excitingly-sagging sheets and ladies in LACED LEATHER GARMENTS (oh my stars and garters!), then perhaps you would be interested to see what an enterprising young interweb-savvy person did with some fancy computer editing, turning the above into an exhortation to sell pr0n door to door: I hope I have tarnished your soul a little bit. Be sure to share this with your kids to keep them away from the nasty pornmongers.* This post brought to you by your corner newsstand. * sarcasm Current Mood: homasekshal Current Music: Fire On High-Electric Light Orchestra-Face the Music (7 Comments |Comment on this)
Monday, February 23rd, 2009
6:20 pm	Things That Are Awesome for February 23rd, 2009 The Ransom of Red Chief: You've probably already read the famous short story by O. Henry, but if you haven't and you've got a few, enjoy. My dad loves this story and introduced me to it, along with a lot of my early childhood reading and favorites. Current Mood: blah (4 Comments |Comment on this)
Saturday, February 21st, 2009
9:45 pm	Thank you Thanks everyone for your support after my last entry. I think I was having some sort of mental breakdown. I've got my keys and things back and carpet repair and cleaning are in the works, plus of course the de-cat-urine-ing. With you guys I feel so much better able to handle this stuff. Thank you so much for being there when I screamed for help. The screaming itself helped too. It's nice to have an empty house to vent my sound and fury in -- and Sara doesn't so much as lift a fuzzy eyebrow anymore. She knows I'm just venting. Current Mood: relieved (3 Comments |Comment on this)
Thursday, February 19th, 2009
1:17 am	Anyone experienced with carpet repair? A cat tore the fibers out of a patch of carpet in a doorway, about 4" by 3". I don't see damage to the carpet padding and I have a roll of carpet from original installation. I have no idea what's fair but the first place I called wanted to charge $150 just to COME OUT here plus $65 an hour. I recognize that more than that little square may need to be replaced but I'm not going to be an idiot and due to my inexperience just accept the first price I'm given. I don't even know where to begin to look on the internet to find out what fair pricing is, and all carpet places are so cagey about repair prices they don't even give a range online. I have to call and wheedle to ply out any kind of number, by which time they're demanding I make an appointment. I'm so angry that there's no simple way to look up what price ranges are for regular home repair serices. I'm angry that I have to be doing this at all and livid at the idea that I'm paying for what someone else's cat has done, that after four months of sharing my home I got paid $100, I had to clean up after her and her cat, and it looks like I'm going to have to pay far more than she's given me just to get this place anywhere near where it was when she moved in with repairs and cleaning. I don't want to get ripped off or I might, at this level of rage, bite someone. So has anyone ever had carpet repaired, or know someone who works with carpet and can tell me what is a range of 'fair'? I really need help. I'm coming seriously unglued over this. I'm having anxiety attacks and nervous breakdowns, my support system is made of people having the same problems, and I'm lost. Shit like this really makes me miss Derek more. He was my partner. We bore each other up no matter what. What the hell am I even doing here without him? I've been fighting so long and so hard and what do I get but piles of more shit. Please, please, I so rarely ask for help but I'm begging. I can't do this alone. I need support. I need people here holding my hand and helping me put my house back together and getting back things from Jeri Ellen that she 'borrowed' when she left as well as my key and garage door opener. I need someone to keep me from snapping and just screaming at people. I need people who when I break down will help me find a private place to cry it out with some tissues. I really need loving support from my friends. Current Mood: furious (30 Comments |Comment on this)
Saturday, February 14th, 2009
11:37 pm	Things That Are Awesome for February 14th, 2008 Well, I'm having such a crappy day I decided I needed to look on the bright side. I have a backlog of awesome links but I'm not really feeling up to doing something involved, so this is off the cuff. Happy Booze and Chocolate Day!: The nice thing about Booze and Chocolate Day is it's whenever we decide it is, it can happen multiple times a year, and you can celebrate with or without a partner. TAKE THAT HALLMARK HA HAAAA. My dog: She's clean and fluffy because I gave her a bath and she knows to give me puppy kisses when I'm crying. Old tapes of Fraggle Rock: For complicated reasons I can't do anything about and won't go into here, after years of waiting the last season of Fraggle Rock is still not available to me. I'd watched the first three seasons over and over and was missing my favorites from S4 so I dug out my old tapes, almost as old as I am, and praying to the VCR gods my tapes wouldn't get eaten I'm watching them now. So far, very excellent. I love 'The River of Life.' Al Fakher Mint Flavoured Hookah Tobacco: It's like chewing mint, except you get a buzz, and fun smoke to play with that doesn't smell bad. This email: "Hi , The ticket(s) you ordered on February 06, 2009 for BRUCE SPRINGSTEEN AND THE E STREET BAND have been printed! They will be shipped to you shortly via US Mail. " YES, DAMNIT! I grew up on 'Born to Run' -- you really have no idea how much that's true -- and yet neglected so far to avail myself of an experience which has won rave fangirly remarks from both Jon Stewart and John Flansburgh. May 2nd will be about bloody time! ...it's so far away though... "So shake it away, so shake away your street life, shake away your city life, And hook up to the train, hook up to the night train, hook it up; hook up to the, hook up to the train, But I know that she won't take the train, no she won't take the train, No she won't take the train, no she won't take the train She's afraid the tracks are gonna slow her down, And when she turns this boy'll be gone So long, sometimes you just gotta walk on." --New York City Serenade, The Boss. Current Mood: sad (2 Comments |Comment on this)
Thursday, January 29th, 2009
2:37 pm	Final PSA for a while My cellphone is working again, and I've preserved all my numbers. It's exactly the same as my old cellphone except not broken and without my TMBG rings or the pictures I took in Central Park. Sigh. I may need some help moving Jeri Ellen out soon, so if anyone has any free time coming up in the next couple of weeks and would be willing to help let me know. I'm still unwell in a lot of ways. I miss him so much I often come unglued for sheer want of his arms around me and his voice in my ear. I feel like half a person. I want him back. I'm so full of memories and thoughts of him I can't stand it, but there's nothing I can do. I can't get rid of them, because they're part of me. I tried locking them away, and they pile up and burst out at inconvient times and make me come unglued. And I think, why is it even possible for two people to love each other so much when this is how it ends? I'd rather both of us died or neither, because this is hell. So anyway, as you can see I'm not fit for public consumption right now. I'm prone to bouts of crying or vomiting or talking about dismal joy-killing things. About the most I can manage is going to work, coming home, cuddling Sara by the fire and reading a book. Please don't take it personally if you don't see me for a while or if I keep turning down invites. I really appreciate them, I really do, and I keep hoping that soon I'll have the energy to be social again. I care very much for you guys and I thought you deserved some excessive honesty about why I've joined Hermits United for the time being. I call my cave 'Fraggle Rock,' incidentally. Current Mood: tired (9 Comments |Comment on this)
Tuesday, January 20th, 2009
4:01 pm	PSA My cellphone battery has run out of bat, and part of it that would allow me to ever recharge it fell out in the middle of the night on Pettigrew Street in Durham and refused to be found. I'm snowbound at my parents' place, since the have the televisions coming into their house and I wanted to watch the inauguration and cry a whole lot. Missions accomplished, and I can say that again without wincing! I'd have to go to a Verizon store to get my phone fixed and I'm skeptical of anything positive coming of that experience. It's a company phone, on a group plan which has two other phones on it, and every two years we get enough credit to get only uno phone. The agreement needs to be re-upped (which I can't do, I'm not in charge of the account) but it is not my turn for new equipment, although my phone is something like six years old. Which probably means they can't fix it either. I am not interested in paying $100 for a new phone, not with Verizon's shit service and coverage. ...But I just looked up and our new president is walking adorably hand-in-hand with Mrs. New President, smiling and waving at the gabillion people watchin' em. Also I got a super-duper email from blue_totoroses which made my whole month. I'm not well but I can have wine again, and there's champagne chilled for the evening's continuing festivities, and the Daily Show is live tonight from D.C. I can see my cute little dog from here too. I'm REALLY in the moment, and therefore REALLY happy. Current Mood: happy (5 Comments |Comment on this)
Monday, January 12th, 2009
10:02 pm	PSA I'm kitted out in softies and sparklies and my destination is that opulent den of something almost but not quite entirely unlike iniquity, The View. It's cold, I'm cash-poor and my tummy is accepting no alcohol whatsoever after a long illness (days since last technicolor yawn: almost 1). I don't care. The corset and eyeliner need airing. Also I forgot I had rhinestone stockings. Current Mood: determined Current Music: The New Zero-Rasputina (in my head -- trés goth, ne c'est pas? I might have caught the pretentiousness with my consumption.) (7 Comments |Comment on this)