![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
And here I am, off on a long overdue rant about Smallville, which many of you, who I know are enjoying this season of Smallville, should absolutely not read.
( Hence this protective cut tag. )
( Hence this protective cut tag. )
Anime, Anime, and uh... labels.
Mar. 10th, 2004 09:07 pmYay, for two great things that will be *fantastic* together. I've known for over a year now that the next Miyazaki movie (Spirited Away, Totoro, etc.) was going be be based on a book by one of my favorite authors, Diana Wynne Jones (Howl's Moving Castle), but I keep forgetting, and remembering, and being thrilled all over again each time I remember. This week, I spotted a picture of the castle, and the fact that a very short trailer is online.
( Links, and small spoilers )
Also on the anime front, Witch Hunter Robin (Cartoon Network, Adult Swim) is turning out to have been a good choice for the TiVo season pass. It was plodding along, practically enough, blah blah blah, a case an episode, introducing the characters -- and about 2-3 episodes ago, they'd decided they'd had *enough* of that, and got down to business. What a grim little universe! I have no idea what the hell is going on anymore. Much more enjoyable!
And on the... I can't figure out why I can't FIGURE THIS OUT, front... why the hell can't I find decent labelling software for my cds and dvds? I mean, it's reached the level of the absurd, and I'm really pretty good with computers, and I now have approximately 18,000 unlabelled round silvery objects and several dead sharpies. The CD Stomper label applier came with a version of Sure Thing which has a nice setup template all ready to go for the labels that came with it. But when I attempt to drag in an image, it screams about insufficient memory, and turning off placeholders. And I can see nothing. I bought some Avery labels, and that came with software... but not software which has a template for my stack of cd stomper labels, and the Avery labels were overly expensive shiny things, for a special occasion. I tried another version of Sure Thing. Didn't go so well. I tried multiple other programs. They either don't have the template, or won't drag in my images.
Can anyone recommend some damn software, already? I've got six different programs on my system at this point, and still, this huge, overflowing pile of unlabelled disks. It should not be this hard!
( Links, and small spoilers )
Also on the anime front, Witch Hunter Robin (Cartoon Network, Adult Swim) is turning out to have been a good choice for the TiVo season pass. It was plodding along, practically enough, blah blah blah, a case an episode, introducing the characters -- and about 2-3 episodes ago, they'd decided they'd had *enough* of that, and got down to business. What a grim little universe! I have no idea what the hell is going on anymore. Much more enjoyable!
And on the... I can't figure out why I can't FIGURE THIS OUT, front... why the hell can't I find decent labelling software for my cds and dvds? I mean, it's reached the level of the absurd, and I'm really pretty good with computers, and I now have approximately 18,000 unlabelled round silvery objects and several dead sharpies. The CD Stomper label applier came with a version of Sure Thing which has a nice setup template all ready to go for the labels that came with it. But when I attempt to drag in an image, it screams about insufficient memory, and turning off placeholders. And I can see nothing. I bought some Avery labels, and that came with software... but not software which has a template for my stack of cd stomper labels, and the Avery labels were overly expensive shiny things, for a special occasion. I tried another version of Sure Thing. Didn't go so well. I tried multiple other programs. They either don't have the template, or won't drag in my images.
Can anyone recommend some damn software, already? I've got six different programs on my system at this point, and still, this huge, overflowing pile of unlabelled disks. It should not be this hard!
So, what did *I* do this weekend, besides not go to Escapade with the rest of the world?
Well, I came home late Thursday evening, and discovered a great big fat letter from my insurance company waiting for me. The letter began like this:
( A very long complicated story about actual fraud )
Well, I came home late Thursday evening, and discovered a great big fat letter from my insurance company waiting for me. The letter began like this:
( A very long complicated story about actual fraud )
PSA #1: The Less Than Legendary Journeys has moved! It can now be found at http://www.ltljverse.com
Go! Read!
PSA #2: Vividcon Registration has opened! Yay! I so need a Con! Who will be there? I should be allowed to require everyone I know, and want to meet, to be there. In a just world.
Of course, this also means we now have less than 8 months to get our act together and make a vid. Don't laugh. It's not enough time.
Go! Read!
PSA #2: Vividcon Registration has opened! Yay! I so need a Con! Who will be there? I should be allowed to require everyone I know, and want to meet, to be there. In a just world.
Of course, this also means we now have less than 8 months to get our act together and make a vid. Don't laugh. It's not enough time.
All Husnok. Everywhere.
Jan. 8th, 2004 03:52 pmThere is an episode of Star Trek, Next Gen, where an alien, driven insane with grief by the loss of his wife, destroys an attacking invasion force. His power is such that he doesn't stop there:
"You don't understand the scope of my crime. I didn't kill just one Husnok, or a hundred or a thousand. I killed them all. All Husnok... everywhere."
If I were to kill, say, all stupid customers, everywhere, would I feel such guilt and remorse? I do not think so. Oh, sure, maybe later, a couple thousand years or so in the future, as I was sitting around having a drink with friends, I might suddenly feel a pang. But really. Probably not.
( Why Customers Should Not Be Allowed Too Much Power )
"You don't understand the scope of my crime. I didn't kill just one Husnok, or a hundred or a thousand. I killed them all. All Husnok... everywhere."
If I were to kill, say, all stupid customers, everywhere, would I feel such guilt and remorse? I do not think so. Oh, sure, maybe later, a couple thousand years or so in the future, as I was sitting around having a drink with friends, I might suddenly feel a pang. But really. Probably not.
( Why Customers Should Not Be Allowed Too Much Power )
A new story has finally been begun over at the Less than Legendary Journeys!
The Ninth Plague, by Martha Wilson, is the sequel to Dark Hunt, which is part of an overall larger universe of stories that begins back with Home is Where the Heart Is. If you haven't read these yet, why not? It's an excellent, well plotted set of stories.
Of course, the better question would be, why have the ltlj folk not yet quit their jobs and devoted their lives to writing fanfiction for me full time? The world is unjust.
The Ninth Plague, by Martha Wilson, is the sequel to Dark Hunt, which is part of an overall larger universe of stories that begins back with Home is Where the Heart Is. If you haven't read these yet, why not? It's an excellent, well plotted set of stories.
Of course, the better question would be, why have the ltlj folk not yet quit their jobs and devoted their lives to writing fanfiction for me full time? The world is unjust.
Escapade 2003 DVD, Part 1
Jan. 6th, 2004 09:50 amThe Escapade dvd has arrived! Okay, it arrived a month or two ago, but I've been working on this for a while, and I'm just plain slow.
I did not get to go to Escapade last year, so I’d been waiting for this for some time, and a good number of the vids on the dvd were completely new to me. I’d already seen a few in various shows at VividCon, but since they weren’t premieres, they weren’t included on the VividCon dvd, and I haven’t had a chance to re-watch most of them until now.
So, that said, here is my attempt at a review of the Escapade 2003 dvd. I’m a little hesitant to do this, for a number of reasons. The first? I feel like I often suck at putting into words my thoughts about a vid. “Hey, that was amazing! Because it was… amazing! And did you see that, uh, amazing part?” And, because it often takes me repeated viewings of a vid to understand it completely (while all around me people are going “Holy crap, did you get the metaphor in lyrics seven through twelve?” I’m going “pretty pictures! Color! Huh?”). And finally, of course, because there’s always the fear that if you are honestly critical, even those who say they want honest criticism are going to be hurt. And some of those people are amazing vidders who I respect more than you would believe, or are beginning vidders, who I would not want to deter from continuing on, and learning, and getting better, or even just saying, “She totally missed the point. She’s got a screw lose. Screw her." So, please take all of that into account when reading these.
Please also do not pay![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
merryish to come after me with a lead pipe. She’s just been looking for an excuse.
This is, in case you hadn’t guessed, full of spoilers. Don’t read it if you don’t want to know.
( Onwards to The Escapade DVD! )
God almighty, talk about your frigging incoherent ravings. Please excuse Seah's lack of vocabulary in the previous vid reviews. She was trying to say: "weren't those vids amazing?"
The next half of this review will occur... at some point in time. Yeah.
I did not get to go to Escapade last year, so I’d been waiting for this for some time, and a good number of the vids on the dvd were completely new to me. I’d already seen a few in various shows at VividCon, but since they weren’t premieres, they weren’t included on the VividCon dvd, and I haven’t had a chance to re-watch most of them until now.
So, that said, here is my attempt at a review of the Escapade 2003 dvd. I’m a little hesitant to do this, for a number of reasons. The first? I feel like I often suck at putting into words my thoughts about a vid. “Hey, that was amazing! Because it was… amazing! And did you see that, uh, amazing part?” And, because it often takes me repeated viewings of a vid to understand it completely (while all around me people are going “Holy crap, did you get the metaphor in lyrics seven through twelve?” I’m going “pretty pictures! Color! Huh?”). And finally, of course, because there’s always the fear that if you are honestly critical, even those who say they want honest criticism are going to be hurt. And some of those people are amazing vidders who I respect more than you would believe, or are beginning vidders, who I would not want to deter from continuing on, and learning, and getting better, or even just saying, “She totally missed the point. She’s got a screw lose. Screw her." So, please take all of that into account when reading these.
Please also do not pay
merryish to come after me with a lead pipe. She’s just been looking for an excuse.This is, in case you hadn’t guessed, full of spoilers. Don’t read it if you don’t want to know.
( Onwards to The Escapade DVD! )
God almighty, talk about your frigging incoherent ravings. Please excuse Seah's lack of vocabulary in the previous vid reviews. She was trying to say: "weren't those vids amazing?"
The next half of this review will occur... at some point in time. Yeah.
Backups, guys! (Trickster folk!)
Dec. 19th, 2003 12:40 pmWell, Trickster websites are back up, but things are sort of patched together with scotch tape. One of the partitions on the secondary drive did indeed fry, and is not repairable. Expect downtimes over the next week, as I need to replace the drive, or decide to remove it and relocate info, and try to recover as much data from it as possible before I do so.
BACKUPS! Do not forget to make full backups of your websites, if you have not already done so, in case of catastrophe! Another power failure at this point could cause permanent losses.
BACKUPS! Do not forget to make full backups of your websites, if you have not already done so, in case of catastrophe! Another power failure at this point could cause permanent losses.
Well Fuck You TOO, Mass Electric
Dec. 19th, 2003 11:16 amMass Electric continues its unbroken history of just pulling the plug on our power supply for maintenance whenever the hell it feels like it, without prior warning. Despite the fact that we're a business. Despite the fact that we're a an ISP. Despite the fact that they've got ten thousand screaming messages from us to NEVER DO THIS.
There's just nothing like showing up for work and finding fully half the servers dead. One of which, of course, is Trickster. I've got it back to the point where mail is working again, and user directories are not history, but it looks like the secondary drive may have actually fried, and I cannot get websites back up and running at this point.
Fuck Me, too.
There's just nothing like showing up for work and finding fully half the servers dead. One of which, of course, is Trickster. I've got it back to the point where mail is working again, and user directories are not history, but it looks like the secondary drive may have actually fried, and I cannot get websites back up and running at this point.
Fuck Me, too.
Stupid User Wars
Dec. 10th, 2003 12:20 pmSome days, I wonder. Self, I wonder, if you were to go head-to-head in a stupid user war with Katrimae, who would win? Many days, it's clearly Katrimae, whose library patrons should all be shipped off to their own, scary little country. Other days, it seems just as clear that if I had been keeping a log of this shit for the last few years, I could have written a book and I would be WEALTHY by now. WEALTHY, do you hear me?
This week, I feel the need to give out awards.
( Award to the Customer Who is the Most Persistently Ignorant )
( The Award to the Company Most determined to Stay in the 20th Century. Or Possibly, the 19th. )
( Of course, the Absolute, All Time Winner, still goes to that guy who years ago, called up and shouted at us thusly: )
Wealthy. I'm telling you.
This week, I feel the need to give out awards.
( Award to the Customer Who is the Most Persistently Ignorant )
( The Award to the Company Most determined to Stay in the 20th Century. Or Possibly, the 19th. )
( Of course, the Absolute, All Time Winner, still goes to that guy who years ago, called up and shouted at us thusly: )
Wealthy. I'm telling you.
Thing 2 needs Glomitts
Dec. 2nd, 2003 03:39 pmI have lost a glove. I have lost one of my *best*, my favorite, my black suede gloves. And while this may seem like a a small, minute, possibly trivial sort of thing, in the grander scheme of what-the-hell ever -- in the scheme of today, the first snowy day we've had this year, and in light of the fact that this pair of gloves may, in fact, have been the last intact pair of gloves I have, and I am now *gloveless*, well, except for my left hand, I am now extremely cranky and grumpy. More so than usual, is what I'm saying.
And I do not understand how it happened, at all. I put my gloves on, I went directly to the stationary store, I took my gloves off, I browsed, I went to make some purchases, and tried to put my gloves back on... and only one glove. I'm thinking, "don't panic, it has to be in the store." I scour the store. Three times! I ask at every desk if they have seen my gloves. One clerk is just stupid. The second refuses to look up from whatever he is reading. The third, unhelpfully, does not listen to my "I've only been in the store 20 minutes, it would have just shown up," and retreats to the back to return with a box of lost and found which is mostly full of socks. The fact that people are losing their socks in a stationary store disturbs me.
I roamed the store some more, but the glove was not there. I still don't see how this is possible. If Thing 1 were around, she'd have something entirely snarky to say on the subject of my ability to lose things, but she is NOT. She has gone on a hermit retreat. She took a stack of books, my entire first season CSI on dvd, said "Whatever you do, don't call me this week," and left. With Thing 1 out of the picture, there is no one to stop me from posting long, rambling, incoherent posts on the subject of gloves.
So what I need, are replacement gloves. What I'd *like*, are replacement glomitts. But very specific glomitts. Glomitts, as I found them named, after searching the web for information, are fingerless gloves that have a mitten attachment which you can pull up and over your fingers, to keep them warm when need be, but allow you more dexterity when you need to do things like deal with keys, etc. I have searched the web, high and low, yea, and found only really ugly glomitts, or uncomfortable glomitts, or glomitts which succeed in being both. Most are scratchy wool, or hideous colors. Why are there no soft, black, comfortable glomitts? Do they assume the kind of person who would seek the practicality of a glomitt would lack the fashion gene, or, say, the gene that stops you from scratching your skin off when in contact with wool? Are they named something else? My search for oddly named gloves brought me to the Smittens. Smittens scare me.
Has anyone seen, in their travels through the net, (or even the real world!), *comfortable*, nice looking glomitts, named thusly or otherwise? Fleece ones? ones made of colors other than oatmeal or camo or greeny grey?
Glomitts would be nice. My suede glove magically reappearing would be even nicer.
And I do not understand how it happened, at all. I put my gloves on, I went directly to the stationary store, I took my gloves off, I browsed, I went to make some purchases, and tried to put my gloves back on... and only one glove. I'm thinking, "don't panic, it has to be in the store." I scour the store. Three times! I ask at every desk if they have seen my gloves. One clerk is just stupid. The second refuses to look up from whatever he is reading. The third, unhelpfully, does not listen to my "I've only been in the store 20 minutes, it would have just shown up," and retreats to the back to return with a box of lost and found which is mostly full of socks. The fact that people are losing their socks in a stationary store disturbs me.
I roamed the store some more, but the glove was not there. I still don't see how this is possible. If Thing 1 were around, she'd have something entirely snarky to say on the subject of my ability to lose things, but she is NOT. She has gone on a hermit retreat. She took a stack of books, my entire first season CSI on dvd, said "Whatever you do, don't call me this week," and left. With Thing 1 out of the picture, there is no one to stop me from posting long, rambling, incoherent posts on the subject of gloves.
So what I need, are replacement gloves. What I'd *like*, are replacement glomitts. But very specific glomitts. Glomitts, as I found them named, after searching the web for information, are fingerless gloves that have a mitten attachment which you can pull up and over your fingers, to keep them warm when need be, but allow you more dexterity when you need to do things like deal with keys, etc. I have searched the web, high and low, yea, and found only really ugly glomitts, or uncomfortable glomitts, or glomitts which succeed in being both. Most are scratchy wool, or hideous colors. Why are there no soft, black, comfortable glomitts? Do they assume the kind of person who would seek the practicality of a glomitt would lack the fashion gene, or, say, the gene that stops you from scratching your skin off when in contact with wool? Are they named something else? My search for oddly named gloves brought me to the Smittens. Smittens scare me.
Has anyone seen, in their travels through the net, (or even the real world!), *comfortable*, nice looking glomitts, named thusly or otherwise? Fleece ones? ones made of colors other than oatmeal or camo or greeny grey?
Glomitts would be nice. My suede glove magically reappearing would be even nicer.
The Cat in the Hat is not ANY of That
Nov. 25th, 2003 03:35 pmThing 1 and Thing 2 would just like to say
While we revel in mayhem, it's all done in play
But the studio suits have got nary a clue
And now our fun fishbowl is gloomy and blue
Go back to the book, go back to the 'toon
But don't see the movie, unless you're a loon.
They're stealing your money, they've ruined our fun
Someone hand us a sword -- there should be only one!
And, clearly, at this point, it's time for us to stop before we do as much
insult to Dr. Seuss's memory as this movie. Which we were not consulted
about, and just look at the result.
Still, while the movie's a travesty, and the way Seuss's heirs have sold
him out is shameful beyond description (especially after how incredibly
careful he was during his lifetime in granting adaptation rights, resulting
in some of the best cartoons of our childhood), who can help but enjoy the
Seussian reviews this disaster has inspired? Certainly not us Things!
So, we share the following with you all:
"You'll watch with a sneer and a throb in your head.
You'll watch and you'll sit there and wish you were dead."
-Scott Weinberg Efilmcritic.com
"There once was a book called The Cat in the Hat.
You've probably read it, and loved it at that.
But now it's a film and boy, is it rank,
Made just to put cash in the studio's bank."
--Chris Vognar, The Dallas Morning News
" Too stupid for grown-ups, too gross for the tots,
the movie was really upsetting me -- lots.
And all I could do was to sit. Sit! Sit! Sit! Sit!
I did not like this movie, not one little bit."
--Sean P. Means, The Salt Lake Tribune
"Yes, the Cat now has mojo — yeah, baby, groovy!
Except he goes “OH yeah!” instead in this movie.
What’s next? Will the Sneetches get wild and crazy?
Will the Lorax get jiggy with Daisy-Head Mayzie?"
--Steven D. Greydanus, Decent Films Guide
And, most important of all...
"So here’s what I say,
this is my hook.
You’d be better off reading
your children the book."
--Bob Bloom, Journal and Courier
While we revel in mayhem, it's all done in play
But the studio suits have got nary a clue
And now our fun fishbowl is gloomy and blue
Go back to the book, go back to the 'toon
But don't see the movie, unless you're a loon.
They're stealing your money, they've ruined our fun
Someone hand us a sword -- there should be only one!
And, clearly, at this point, it's time for us to stop before we do as much
insult to Dr. Seuss's memory as this movie. Which we were not consulted
about, and just look at the result.
Still, while the movie's a travesty, and the way Seuss's heirs have sold
him out is shameful beyond description (especially after how incredibly
careful he was during his lifetime in granting adaptation rights, resulting
in some of the best cartoons of our childhood), who can help but enjoy the
Seussian reviews this disaster has inspired? Certainly not us Things!
So, we share the following with you all:
"You'll watch with a sneer and a throb in your head.
You'll watch and you'll sit there and wish you were dead."
-Scott Weinberg Efilmcritic.com
"There once was a book called The Cat in the Hat.
You've probably read it, and loved it at that.
But now it's a film and boy, is it rank,
Made just to put cash in the studio's bank."
--Chris Vognar, The Dallas Morning News
" Too stupid for grown-ups, too gross for the tots,
the movie was really upsetting me -- lots.
And all I could do was to sit. Sit! Sit! Sit! Sit!
I did not like this movie, not one little bit."
--Sean P. Means, The Salt Lake Tribune
"Yes, the Cat now has mojo — yeah, baby, groovy!
Except he goes “OH yeah!” instead in this movie.
What’s next? Will the Sneetches get wild and crazy?
Will the Lorax get jiggy with Daisy-Head Mayzie?"
--Steven D. Greydanus, Decent Films Guide
And, most important of all...
"So here’s what I say,
this is my hook.
You’d be better off reading
your children the book."
--Bob Bloom, Journal and Courier
baseball GIP
Oct. 15th, 2003 09:32 pmAnd, at least for tonight, we can also sincerely say:
GO CUBS!!!
GO CUBS!!!
Zines Zines Zines
Oct. 12th, 2003 06:40 pmI have zines. Too many! This is a small place, and I need the space back, and these are the ones I'm now convinced I'm unlikely to read again. So, here's the list, if you want one, pay for shipping and they're yours.
Some of them are pretty weird. No mocking. Some I bought used, some new, various states of condition, gen (g), slash (s), het, etc, whaddya want from me? If no one claims them in a week, they're history, one way or another.
A strikethrough means it's been claimed.
Sentinel
Thinker, Tyler, Soldier, Spy, slash, anthology
The Sentry Post Vol. 2 - anthology,gen
The Sentry Post Vol. 4 - anthology, gen
The Sentry Post Vol. 5 - anthology, gen
Primal Instincts -- anthology, slash
Angel on My Mind - anthology, slash
Ace in the Hole, gen novel by Lynn Montgomery
Sensory Overload #4 - gen, anthology
Scared Senseless 1 - gen and slash, anthology
Senses of Humor - anthology, I'm guessing slash
Stargate
The Seventh Chevron, Issue 2, gen, anthology
Due South
Put Your Head on My Shoulder, novel, Noel Silva, slash
Multi-Fandom
Wounded Heroes -- anthology with stories about Jim Ellison, Duncan MacLeod, and Skinner.
Kung Fu:TLC
Corridors, anthology, um, gen, probably?
Quantum Leap
Look Before you Leap, gen, anthology
Real Ghostbusters
--All are gen--
Slime Trails 3, anthology
We Got One! Third Times the Charm, anthology
Revenants & Roses, anthology
Buster and the Beast, novel, Sheila Paulson, gen
Shadows, novel, Sheila Paulson
Demon Blues, novel, Sheila Paulson
Lost Davy, novel, Sheila Paulson
Repo-Demon, novel, Sheila Paulson
Inheritance, novel, Sheila Paulson
Deep Space 9
Outpost 9, looks gen, Bashir oriented
Diplomatic Reception, appears gen, Bashir
Tarkalean Tea, Garak/Bashir slash, anthology
There, all done for now. And yet, you would not believe how many I still have...
Some of them are pretty weird. No mocking. Some I bought used, some new, various states of condition, gen (g), slash (s), het, etc, whaddya want from me? If no one claims them in a week, they're history, one way or another.
A strikethrough means it's been claimed.
Sentinel
Stargate
Due South
Multi-Fandom
Kung Fu:TLC
Quantum Leap
Real Ghostbusters
--All are gen--
Deep Space 9
Outpost 9, looks gen, Bashir oriented
Diplomatic Reception, appears gen, Bashir
There, all done for now. And yet, you would not believe how many I still have...
LJ Fairies and DVDS
Sep. 20th, 2003 03:23 pmHey! We've been anonymously gifted for six months of lj-dom! And we barely post enough for anyone to know we exist! Very sweet and kind and generous and perplexing! Thank you, LJ benefactor!
In other news, if you would like a copy of our vids on dvd? Now available, along with many others, by the amazingly talented lady of shalott and hafital.
Go here for details -- shalott mainly asks that you send a SASE, and let her know that an order is coming, and she'll send you the collection.
In other news, if you would like a copy of our vids on dvd? Now available, along with many others, by the amazingly talented lady of shalott and hafital.
Go here for details -- shalott mainly asks that you send a SASE, and let her know that an order is coming, and she'll send you the collection.
Thing 1 and I are slow and slower, and taking our own sweet time writing up our VividCon Con reports (Okay, I'm taking my own sweet time, Thing 1 is actually writing some kind of dissertation on the Con, complete with footnotes), but in the meantime, we've finally put up the two vids we premiered at the con this year.
Haunted -- Odyssey 5 -- Seah (Thing 2) and Margie (Thing 1)
and IBS -- Stargate -- Margie
Vids by Seah and Margie
Haunted -- Odyssey 5 -- Seah (Thing 2) and Margie (Thing 1)
and IBS -- Stargate -- Margie
Vids by Seah and Margie
The Mad Bomber What Bombs at Noonish
Jul. 21st, 2003 11:04 pmMy parents officially live in a hellhole. I get to say officially now, because, I am quite sure, there is some sort of rule that says when your neighbors are actively engaged in possible terrorist activities, or at least, really fuckin' stupid activities, that can result in death, you get to say that.
They actually live in a mass chain type apartment building in a neighborhood that's not bad, but not particularly great. They pay way too much, but they do get a lot of space. Which is good. Because they have more JUNK than the next six families combined. I live in fear of inheriting that crap. I've been very unhappy with their living arrangement for some time now, and unhappy with my inability to suddenly come by a job where I make a million a year or so, or, say to win the lottery for twenty million or so (that would work) in order to buy them an actual house. Very, very disappointed.
Today, however, the police arrived. They were there to serve a search warrant on the guy who lives below, and kitty-corner, to my parents apartment. No one is clear on what the police were there to search for, but what they found were -- explosives. Apparently, Freakish Neighbor #27, or whoever the hell he was, was building pipe bombs down there. This was not what they were prepared to find. They freaked, and evacuated the building. Mom grabbed her purse on the way out, and Dad grabbed... nothing. Yes, it is good to know your parents are retaining their survival skills in their old age. Worse, once outside, they discovered what was happening, and he was gripped with a particular powerful case of phonitis. This inherited condition (yes, that's right, I've got it, shut up) causes the sufferer to compulsively call all and sundry friends to keep them updated on even the most mundane and boring-ass aspects of one's life, sometimes for longer than the actual events themselves took to occur. Actual exciting news can only exacerbate the condition. In the grip of phonitis, Dad attempted to re-enter the building to get his cell phone, to send out live updates. The police were no so polite in their opinions about his need to return for the phone.
Faced with a closet full of pipe bombs, or whatever, and superior survival instincts to my father's, the police decided simply to detonate the bomb where it was, rather than transport it and detonate it elsewhere. So they did. They managed to blow out a nice number of windows, too.
The excitement over, the bombs all bombed out, people milled around and got to go in. My mom went after a police officer to get details. He couldn't provide her with many. She said to him "Well, at least you found out about this, and he'll be gone, now." To which the police officer replied "Oh, we're not arresting him." To which she replied, "....What?!"
Pipe bombs were not, after all, what they'd been looking for. But I'm still left befuzzled beyond comprehension. What, it's legal to build pipe bombs in an apartment complex? You don't get arrested after the police have arrived and blown up your apartment? The HELL?
But apparently, the police truly have no intention of arresting him, he can move back in. So now my hope lies in landlord-tenant law, and the belief that surely, the owners of the building do not want this guy MOVING BACK IN to finish off the job, as much as I do not want him living underneath my parents.
I am not happy. No.
They actually live in a mass chain type apartment building in a neighborhood that's not bad, but not particularly great. They pay way too much, but they do get a lot of space. Which is good. Because they have more JUNK than the next six families combined. I live in fear of inheriting that crap. I've been very unhappy with their living arrangement for some time now, and unhappy with my inability to suddenly come by a job where I make a million a year or so, or, say to win the lottery for twenty million or so (that would work) in order to buy them an actual house. Very, very disappointed.
Today, however, the police arrived. They were there to serve a search warrant on the guy who lives below, and kitty-corner, to my parents apartment. No one is clear on what the police were there to search for, but what they found were -- explosives. Apparently, Freakish Neighbor #27, or whoever the hell he was, was building pipe bombs down there. This was not what they were prepared to find. They freaked, and evacuated the building. Mom grabbed her purse on the way out, and Dad grabbed... nothing. Yes, it is good to know your parents are retaining their survival skills in their old age. Worse, once outside, they discovered what was happening, and he was gripped with a particular powerful case of phonitis. This inherited condition (yes, that's right, I've got it, shut up) causes the sufferer to compulsively call all and sundry friends to keep them updated on even the most mundane and boring-ass aspects of one's life, sometimes for longer than the actual events themselves took to occur. Actual exciting news can only exacerbate the condition. In the grip of phonitis, Dad attempted to re-enter the building to get his cell phone, to send out live updates. The police were no so polite in their opinions about his need to return for the phone.
Faced with a closet full of pipe bombs, or whatever, and superior survival instincts to my father's, the police decided simply to detonate the bomb where it was, rather than transport it and detonate it elsewhere. So they did. They managed to blow out a nice number of windows, too.
The excitement over, the bombs all bombed out, people milled around and got to go in. My mom went after a police officer to get details. He couldn't provide her with many. She said to him "Well, at least you found out about this, and he'll be gone, now." To which the police officer replied "Oh, we're not arresting him." To which she replied, "....What?!"
Pipe bombs were not, after all, what they'd been looking for. But I'm still left befuzzled beyond comprehension. What, it's legal to build pipe bombs in an apartment complex? You don't get arrested after the police have arrived and blown up your apartment? The HELL?
But apparently, the police truly have no intention of arresting him, he can move back in. So now my hope lies in landlord-tenant law, and the belief that surely, the owners of the building do not want this guy MOVING BACK IN to finish off the job, as much as I do not want him living underneath my parents.
I am not happy. No.
About a week ago... okay, last Monday actually, a guy living in his car parked on the street in front of the building where I work. I had to walk past him every day to get to work, and when I realized what I was seeing I felt bad. Bad in that "I'm always bitching about my life, and you never know how good you've really got it" sort of way. Bad because of that fear one gets that somehow that's going to end up being you, and the belief that you should be doing something to help. Bad because even though I felt that way, I wasn't going to stop and talk to this guy, or give him money, in that way that society teaches us to be afraid of strange men and the homeless, sort of way.
On Tuesday, the car was still there, full of apparently every item this guy owned, and a few other things he'd scrounged, like cardboard to cover the windows, and aluminum foil to reflect the sun back and keep the heat out. I noticed it all but did that avert-your-eyes thing to not actually look at the guy sitting in his car.
On Wednesday, the whole scenario started to slide off of my guilt-meter, and onto my this-is-getting-fuckin'-weird meter. The car had been there for three days now, in the same spot. It was now half covered with a sheet. Now, understand, I work in Harvard Square, close enough to Harvard Square to be able to *say* I work in Harvard Square. Space is at a premium, and parking spaces are not come by lightly. There are 1/2 hour, 1 hour, and 2 hour parking meters everywhere. Our street is covered in 2 hour parking meters, and they are strictly enforced. You stay in a spot more than 2 hours, you get a ticket. If you're still there in another two hours, another ticket. You rack up enough tickets, they boot you (an actual clamp on your wheel til the towtruck arrives). This guy had been in the same spot now for three days, and I hadn't seen a single ticket, an irate meter maid, or any police intervention. I began to question how he was getting away with this, bad though I felt about his homeless state.
On Thursday, he put out lawn furniture behind his car. Two of those nice chairs of the type you take to the beach, with plenty of room to stretch out the legs.
On Friday, when I walked past, he was lying back smoking a cigar in said lawn furniture, and a recorder (of the flute type nature) had been jammed into the front grill of the vehicle, pointing outward as though the car were feeling musically inclined.
On Sunday, my uncle called to inform me that the guy had done his laundry and hung all his clothing out to dry along the railings by Johnny's Diner. Oh, and he'd used the area in front of Johnny's -- below street level, but in front of the glass window where the diner patrons sit, as his dressing room. Johnny, rather perturbed on behalf of said patrons, had called the police, but they had not responded.
This morning, when I arrived for work, an actual shelter was under construction. And by this, I mean the sort of thing you would expect to see if you discovered a person trying to survive while stranded on an island in the Pacific. The neighborhood trees, puny as they are, had apparently given several of their lives to help fence in the lawn furniture. The roof of the shelter had not yet gone up, but the walls were looking pretty good.
I went out around three, all hopeful about seeing how it was going and... the whole shebang was gone. Sigh. It was actually sort of fun while it lasted, seeing how much he could get away with.
On Tuesday, the car was still there, full of apparently every item this guy owned, and a few other things he'd scrounged, like cardboard to cover the windows, and aluminum foil to reflect the sun back and keep the heat out. I noticed it all but did that avert-your-eyes thing to not actually look at the guy sitting in his car.
On Wednesday, the whole scenario started to slide off of my guilt-meter, and onto my this-is-getting-fuckin'-weird meter. The car had been there for three days now, in the same spot. It was now half covered with a sheet. Now, understand, I work in Harvard Square, close enough to Harvard Square to be able to *say* I work in Harvard Square. Space is at a premium, and parking spaces are not come by lightly. There are 1/2 hour, 1 hour, and 2 hour parking meters everywhere. Our street is covered in 2 hour parking meters, and they are strictly enforced. You stay in a spot more than 2 hours, you get a ticket. If you're still there in another two hours, another ticket. You rack up enough tickets, they boot you (an actual clamp on your wheel til the towtruck arrives). This guy had been in the same spot now for three days, and I hadn't seen a single ticket, an irate meter maid, or any police intervention. I began to question how he was getting away with this, bad though I felt about his homeless state.
On Thursday, he put out lawn furniture behind his car. Two of those nice chairs of the type you take to the beach, with plenty of room to stretch out the legs.
On Friday, when I walked past, he was lying back smoking a cigar in said lawn furniture, and a recorder (of the flute type nature) had been jammed into the front grill of the vehicle, pointing outward as though the car were feeling musically inclined.
On Sunday, my uncle called to inform me that the guy had done his laundry and hung all his clothing out to dry along the railings by Johnny's Diner. Oh, and he'd used the area in front of Johnny's -- below street level, but in front of the glass window where the diner patrons sit, as his dressing room. Johnny, rather perturbed on behalf of said patrons, had called the police, but they had not responded.
This morning, when I arrived for work, an actual shelter was under construction. And by this, I mean the sort of thing you would expect to see if you discovered a person trying to survive while stranded on an island in the Pacific. The neighborhood trees, puny as they are, had apparently given several of their lives to help fence in the lawn furniture. The roof of the shelter had not yet gone up, but the walls were looking pretty good.
I went out around three, all hopeful about seeing how it was going and... the whole shebang was gone. Sigh. It was actually sort of fun while it lasted, seeing how much he could get away with.
CAT PRIN - The Tailor for a Cat You Know
May. 24th, 2003 02:44 pm"It is the shirt which matches well to a handsome cat and which was pretended just for a moment. "
I laughed. Until I cried. And then I laughed some more. I am, in fact, still laughing.
I may never recover.
"I am a frog."
edited to turn the comments on. *kicks LJ*
I laughed. Until I cried. And then I laughed some more. I am, in fact, still laughing.
I may never recover.
"I am a frog."
edited to turn the comments on. *kicks LJ*
