Corey's Thanksgiving, Nina saying that Yazmine's huffy, email being LATE, morbid facts

Corey says he'll be in Texas again for a week starting on Saturday. Ah yes, Thanksgiving with a bunch of relatives and such! Guess I'll have to find new people to talk to or something, haha. (or go hardcore on my latest project...)

I called my old friend Nina earlier: she's doing fine, and says that her son Dylan will go to his father's for overnight stays soon. He appears to be happy to see him, so that's a good thing. Her ex was nasty towards her, though! She told me that the power went out at her workplace yesterday afternoon, so they just chilled for an hour or so. Today, it was better. She asked if I still talked to Yazmine: of course not, since she ended our friendship over 50 cents! Seems Yazmine was very curt with her on the phone recently when she just called to see how she was, since her tone of voice was "DON'T BOTHER ME!" Not sure when Nina and I will get together, but maybe by the end of the month... next weekend's not good since it's my brother Jon's birthday. We'll work something out...

Email is being weird today: my Morbid Facts newsletter went into my spam folder (!), and I got an email notice of a testimonial written in JULY! Crazy stuff... the double notifications of confirming subscriptions to things like the Bonehead Awards / This Is True / Stella Awards / Heroic Stories did NOT help. At least the ArcaMax / Wordsmith things weren't like that!


Today's Curious Yet Truly Morbid Fact!

India's first execution in 13 years has claimed an additional toll of at least two children dead in mishaps as they re-enacted the highly publicized hanging of a man convicted of raping and murdering a schoolgirl.

In August 2004, 41-year-old Dhananjoy Chatterjee was hanged in the eastern city of Calcutta after 13 years on death row. Two weeks after the execution, 14-year-old Prem Gaekwad died when he tied one end of a rope around his neck and swung the other end on a ceiling fan in his Bombay home, in an apparent re-enactment. "The boy's father told us Prem was a very bright but curious kid, and kept asking questions about how Dhananjoy would be hanged," said assistant police inspector Dilip Suryawanshi. "Dhananjoy was the top news on all TV channels for so many days, and Prem would watch very closely."

The previous week, a 12-year-old girl died in the eastern state of West Bengal, when she tried to demonstrate for her younger brother how Chatterjee was executed. And a 10-year-old boy in the same state almost died when he and his friends acted out the execution... taking the roles of Chatterjee, the hangman, a doctor, and the prison warden. "Children have a natural curiosity about anything out of the ordinary," psychiatrist Anjali Chhabria told Reuters. "Also, several newspapers and TV channels had given detailed sketches of execution by hanging, making it easier for kids to imitate."

Culled from: Reuters
Generously submitted by: Ladyfreud

**********************************************************************

Okay, this is just a guess, but I'm betting they don't show much in the way of violent imagery on television in India, so these kids didn't have a lot to choose from to satiate their primitive desire for imitation. This is why it's so important to bombard children with a multitude of violent images every day. They will make wiser choices - and imitate a shooting or a stabbing instead of a hanging. It's far safer bet!

*******

Wretched Recommendations!

Becky has a film recommendation (this was actually submitted last year, and the film is now out on DVD):

"I am a big Kevin Gage fan, and recently read on an unofficial fan site that the movie CHAOS is finally being released to a limited number of theaters in August. Here is a synopsis of the film from Kevin Gage:

'Kevin Gage plays the title role in this graphically violent exploitation film. "It's based on true events about two girls who try to score the drug ecstasy at a rave party from some people they don't know," explains director David DeFalco, "which basically puts them in a world of hell. They are exposed to the most evil, sadistic, brutal people on the planet, and they are basically obliterated by this one monster of a human being, nicknamed 'Chaos.' The end of the movie has the parents confronting the killers." '

"DeFalco makes some effort to justify the film as a warning to young people. The official Chaos web site states that each year, 100 youths are abducted and murdered by strangers. In an interview on the site, he claims that 'We had a female DA at the Cineramadome screening of CHAOS who, after seeing the movie, said it should be shown in all schools.'

"More from DeFalco: 'The most common question I get asked regarding CHAOS from people is "What's the purpose of making a movie like this?" My answer to that question is because it is a very real and unfortunate part of life that is as fascinating as it is disturbing.'

"The working title for Chaos was The House in the Middle of Nowhere.

"If you wish to delve deeper into the movie, check out its official website. The TESTIMONIALS section is especially interesting."

Chaos (2005)

*******

Morbid Lyric Du Jour!

Keith shares some morbid lyrics: "My kids like this song by the Arrogant Worms. They have good taste. The album should be available on Amazon.com"

Rippy the Gator
by the Arrogant Worms

Hi kids! Welcome to the Uncle BoBo show! Are you ready to sing? Come on, let's go!
Billy and his family
Went on a holiday
They went down to Florida
To laugh and dance and play
Bill went in for a swim
He didn't see the harm
But when he came back out again,
He was short an arm!

'cause Rippy the Gator went chomp, chomp, chomp!
Rippy the Gator went chomp, chomp, chomp!
Passing the time by ending children's lives
Down in the bottom of the swamp, swamp, swamp

Billy and his father
Went out to play some catch
But Billy missed the pass
Because his arm was unattached
The ball flew past his shoulder
And it rolled into the swamp
When he went wading after it,
His leg became a stump!

'cause Rippy the Gator went chomp, chomp, chomp!
Rippy the Gator went chomp, chomp, chomp!
Passing the time by ending children's lives
Down in the bottom of the swamp, swamp, swamp

Billy and his father
Joined a three-legged race
They were tearing up the field
No one could keep the pace
But Billy tripped and did a flip
And landed in the muck
He was running out of limbs
And also out of luck!

'cause Rippy the Gator went chomp, chomp, chomp!
Rippy the gator went chomp, chomp, chomp!
Passing the time by ending children's lives
Down in the bottom of the swamp, swamp, swamp

Billy was all dirty
He really had to wash
But he couldn't use a towel
'cause his limbs had been gnawed off
He went into the water
To get all clean and bright
But when he was finished
He was only half his height

'cause Rippy the Gator went chomp, chomp, chomp!
Rippy the gator went chomp, chomp, chomp!
Passing the time by ending children's lives
Down in the bottom of the swamp, swamp, swamp

Billy's father rolled his wheelchair
Up upon a hill
He wanted to take Bill
Where he would not get killed
But he left him on a slope
And into a swamp he rolled
They dragged out his head
But there was nothing down below!

'cause Rippy the Gator went chomp, chomp, chomp!
Rippy the Gator went chomp, chomp, chomp!
Passing the time by ending children's lives
Down in the bottom of the swamp, swamp, swamp
Passing the time by ending children's lives
Down in the bottom of the swamp
(down in the swamp)


This song is available on The Best Of The Arrogant Worms.

October Bubble Tea Tally, jeans, and my dating style

I got a lot of work done involving people who switched journals or unfriended me, testimonials, and bubble tea. Now, back to the current project of tagging and such elsewhere... that is, after I restart this temperamental beast!


For the past two years, I haven't had any bubble tea in October. May that dubious streak never be broken again! (haha)

MONTHLY BUBBLE TEA TALLY, OCTOBER 2006 (3)

homemade pearl milk tea @ church (Friday, Oct. 6)
cherry @ Dragon Ball (Friday, Oct. 20)
blueberry-lychee with pearls and coconut jelly @ Dragon Ball (Friday, Oct. 27)

You Date Like a Woman

According to studies on dating, you date like a woman. You tend to take romance seriously, and you're not really out for a fling. A mental and emotional connection always comes first for you. And rushing the physical stuff is likely to turn you off. You're highly selective when it comes to dating, and some may say you're too picky. You know what you want, and when you find it, you're ready to commit.

Do You Date Like a Man or a Woman?

Your Ideal Jeans Are 7 for All Mankind

Body-hugging, yet super flattering - for a confident, shapely girl.

What Brand of Jeans Should You Wear?

... ha ha ha. Like I'm confident... and we all know what "shapely" is a euphemism for! :P

Diamonds / Let's entertain the blind people while dodging questions about my non-existent love life!

Gee, the autosave thing works whenever I type in something complaining about it. I wonder if I've got a sentient LJ update field on my hands... o_O

Ah, the Awana break is good even though I sorta miss the kids... it's no three-week break like the one we get at Christmas / New Year's, but it's cool. I wonder whether I'll survive getting up at 6 AM two days in a row next weekend... where was my head / brain when I agreed to take that bus tour with my mom?! Ah well, I tell myself it's only temporary and the trip will (hopefully) be worth it if I don't feel like committing matricide at the end! (only half-kidding, heh) Being awakened from my happy slumber isn't something I necessarily deal well with, either...

I've had two white diamonds in two separate Bookworm games today! I got White Diamond #1 on Level 8 when I used three yellow / gold tiles to make the word ROUT. (the only normal one was the U, I believe) o_O Unfortunately, I couldn't make any words out of the white W before the whole tile field had to be scrambled, so I quit that game. (hey, I have my standards before Level 12, and even afterwards! :P) Then I got White Diamond #2 when I used two blue diamonds in the making of the word HUG. (the only normal tile was the H) I managed to use that white diamond for the R in the word RIM before I had to scramble the tiles, but I quit that game too because it wasn't going well.

Here's a link to my brother's Flickr photos... they don't seem to be updated, as the latest ones are from when the guys did the Grouse Grind three times in one day for Darfur back in August.

I decided to do some blog catch-up... must do so on Friday next week! Vivian's been sick, and mentioned some highlights of the week: small group outing at Earl's, Starbucks, mocha, and more. Dawn had a bunch of pictures and thanks to people... I guess she wanted those items for her birthday, and the girls came through, heh. Speaking of birthdays, Vivian will have her birthday wish list up soon... I'd have done the same, but those things never seem to work out for me. Besides, who reads this stuff anyhow?! *crickets* Yeah, thought so. Heh. Jen's excited about her sister Caroline's wedding, since she's going to get two weeks off work AND it'll be a non-traditional wedding. Things between her and someone else are going okay, so that's good... that just means Jon gets to tease her more, or so he thinks! (he was asking her last night about spending time with Dave in Toronto: she thinks she will, heh)

Steph had a progress report on the state of her rebuilding epithelium after those cells were scraped off... yummy! I wonder how long it took her to write that post, since I imagine being at the computer isn't the best thing for her right now. (even if her eyesight IS better than it was before when she wasn't wearing glasses!) Try not rubbing your eyes for three weeks... that would tend to make you aware of your eyeballs, for sure! She loved the testimonials at the Coal Harbour eye place, the increased tests they did, the free consultation, and the caring atmosphere. Then again, the laser apparently sounds like you're being abducted by aliens, and the burning really makes you think about your poor cornea! (I also decided to call earlier to entertain her since she's blind... note to self: NEVER tell her about a certain person asking questions in a courtship / dating talk, or else she and Mom will get the WRONG IDEA! She says that Ray, Vivian S., and Dallas are coming tomorrow to Thanksgiving dinner: sweet!)

Spoz had stuff to say about the Crown and Anchor hotel, plus the normal weekender commentary / photos. Public transport could be a tangent entry, for sure... but he's there to document the music scene, haha. Seems he had an interesting time, what with lots of drinks and vinyl albums.

Dave says that on the TTC, there's a shirtless man with a Santa Claus hat who does pushups and saying "Yes yes yes yes yes!!!!" This dude's been banned from all TTC vehicles, Yonge / Dundas Square, Nathan Philips Square, and the area from College to King and Yonge to Spadina. He also got to see a live taping of the Royal Canadian Air Farce recently; he went to his first one -- a taping of Jeopardy in Culver City, CA -- three years ago, but missed the legendary Ken Jennings by mere weeks. Then again, he still wonders what could have happened had he actually witnessed Jeopardy history being made in person. But he witnessed another historical television moment of sorts: he saw the first ever taping of a Canadian sketch show in high-definition. Yay for milestones, haha. (and I don't necessarily mean the restaurant!)

Now I might go tag various RANDOM_MUSINGS posts... I'm the mod, and I have THE POWER!!! :D

Testimonials about me from various people / Indie and alcohol quizzes

LJ Testimonials: 16
GJ Testimonials: 24
Total Testimonials: 40

Here are testimonials that various LJ and GJ people have written about me:

LJ people (16)

1. Chris Hewitt (pianodude34): "In the love of meeting LiveJournal, I also became acquainted with a glowing_dragon. Her personification of the name "Tatiana" with "Wanderings" is sheer love. Her persistency of replying to comments is addicting, and altogether glowing_dragon is worthwhile." (April 5, 2005... Tuesday)

2. Andre (unsuspended): "Happy Birthday i??????? (Happy Birthday, Internet!)" (April 5, 2005... Tuesday)

3. Caitlin (harlicat): "glowing_dragon changed my life! Before I knew glowing_dragon, I was sad and alone. Now I am happy. Buy one today!" (April 5, 2005... Tuesday)

4. Ronnie R. (hopefulworeason): "glowing_dragon is as much fun as you can have with two bricks and a bag of sand!" (June 23, 2006... Tuesday)

5. Alex (indefinitetheca): "Because without the underscore, glowing_dragon would be pretty lame!" (June 23, 2006... Tuesday)

6. Alicia (dopshoppe): "glowing_dragon is so funky, her journal should come with a Speed Stick!" (June 23, 2006... Tuesday)

7. Jenna (atomic_goo): "When our grammar and spelling is off, glowing_dragon is always there to save the day." (June 23, 2006... Tuesday)

8. Jared Watts (smokedglass7429): "glowing_dragon has crabs... and clarified butter." (June 23, 2006... Tuesday)

9. Desiree (sunshine2607): "glowing_dragon rocks my bubble tea!" (June 23, 2006... Tuesday)

10. Janina Schmalfeldt (pinkfloyd63): "glowing_dragon always has the last word!!" (June 24, 2006... Saturday)

11. Chris Hoskins (dingo727): "glowing_dragon is the hottest LJer I've never seen a picture of." (June 24, 2006... Saturday)

12. Jasmine C. (surrey_sucks): "glowing_dragon is one of the most OCDL people I know!" (June 24, 2006... Saturday)

13. Jon (weatherguy80): "She is the queen of commenting." (June 24, 2006... Saturday)

14. Sara (axbesm_starr): "glowing_dragon is more fun than a barrel of monkeys *and* the best thing since sliced bread, all in one exciting package." (July 13, 2006... Thursday)

15. Billy Schmalfeldt (fdolarhyde13): "glowing_dragon cured me of my crabs!" (July 13, 2006... Thursday)

16. Matt To. (yaymatt): "You rock, and are definitely the queen of leaving comments. If you ever leave the beautiful confines of Vancouver (not that I know why you would) and are on this side of the Atlantic Ocean, let me know and we will go eat spätzli. (recipe in French) *spinhugs* xoxo" (November 28, 2006... Tuesday)


GJ people (24)

1. Emma (draugr): "Whee! This girl has the coolest icons I've ever seen. I mean, just look at her default icon. And plus, she is very sweet, and funny, and just all-around awesome. <33" (September 6, 2004... Monday)

2. Bob (urbad2): "A relatively new friend, but a doll! Talented, intelligent, loving, caring, humorous, just full of life. She has been a joy to know, and has become a wonderful friend." (September 28, 2004... Tuesday)

3. Ruben Fothergill-Brown (_manifesto): "Man. You're REALLY cool. And. I like you. And. Stuff." (October 17, 2004... Sunday)

4. Candy B. (xsimplyperfectx): "This girl rocks my socks... get to know her - you know you want to!" (December 19, 2004... Sunday)

5. Mary O'Malley (x0secrets0x): "You rock, I swear you make me feel good a lot. Thank you for being a good friend, honey." (December 24, 2004... Friday)

6. Cassie Needham (august_nbethany): "Testimonial #6! Wooo!! You rock, way to go!" (December 30, 2004... Thursday)

7. Billie E. (mrgrim): "This girl rocks. Plain and simple. If I didn't add her, I wouldn't be laughing as much about some things as I would be now that I have! ♥ <3333333 mrgrim" (January 7, 2005... Friday)

8. Nicole Mackowiak (yakusoku_shouri): "You have such a good heart and are always willing to help everyone out... Plus, you take so many quizzes, no one else has to look for them.. Thanks!!!~" (February 15, 2005... Tuesday)

9. Emma (sarcasm_): "I love you like a fat kid loves cake! ;*" (February 15, 2005... Tuesday)

10. Mareah (lies_that_lie): "Aw. I love her! She's sweet, smart, and funny. She listens and has such a big heart. Everyone should add her as their friend. :) ♥ Mareah" (March 13, 2005... Sunday)

11. Chris W. (garould): "Hilarious! A wonderful personality and I agree with another user, her icons definitely made me smile and laugh. I also applaud her for being able to cope with her CP. I love you!" (March 20, 2005... Sunday)

12. Jeremy S. (jremymb): "I love reading her entries. She is very entertaining and has a great personality. Reading her entries always keeps me up to date in current events and also quizzes. <33" (March 23, 2005... Wednesday)

13. Mareah (cuddles___): "She's cute and fun and knows how and when to listen. I love her so much! ♥ Mare" (April 10, 2005... Sunday)

14. Courtney R. (bjornskjold): "I love reading Leslie's (I hope I spelled that right!) journal. She has a great sense of humor and always has fun quizzes and stuff in her entries. Plus, she's a Virgo, which automatically makes her awesome." (April 30, 2005... Saturday)

15. Kyle Napier (oncewas): "Leslie is DEFINITELY cool as Hell and even though her entries are long as f*ck - they're definitely entertaining and mind-provoking, something definitely lost in society! Way to go! Everybody add her!" (June 15, 2005... Wednesday)

16. Tobi (candiies): "Leslie is really funny and awesome! Even though her entries are a little long, they are definitely worth reading! She's the best! ♥" (August 14, 2005... Sunday)

17. Carmen (female_anatomy): "You're a funny person with great entries. I'm glad I got to know you and am looking forward to knowing you more! ♥" (October 20, 2005... Thursday) (and then she took me off her friends list on May 1, 2006 [Monday] for no reason that I know of... go figure!)

18. Faye R. (im_just_a_girl): "Such a lovely, sweet person and great co-moderator with a really good, frequently updated journal too. I'm really glad to be her friend. xx" (February 12, 2006... Sunday)

19. Jade (itmakesmesick): "Your entries may be long, and there's lots of 'em! But they're all great and I enjoy reading them. And you find all the best surveys! I'm glad we are GJ friends. =]." (June 20, 2006... Tuesday)

20. Cat (falsemirrors): "I don't know you very well, but I already know that you rock. I love reading your journal, and you always have lots of quizzes to steal. I hope that I can get to know you better. ♥" (July 9, 2006... Sunday)

21. Kathy L. (kat15lee): "Her name says it all... she's a flamer, but a very entertaining one. Thank you for always replying to my comments. And I love reading your journals, they're a hoot!" (September 22, 2006... Friday)

22. Kaitlin O. (norsk): "The flammiest flam ever. [P.S. So sorry I like never comment on your entries at all. :x]" (October 31. 2006... Tuesday)

23. Billie E. (murse): "Leslie, dearest!!! I am so glad to have met you both in this website and outside it... we have some fun times and should go out more!! You're like the older sister I've never had, and you get me. Here's to more adventures! ♥ Billie" (November 18, 2006... Saturday)

24. Candy B. (candyxpants): "A wonderful Canadian gal! Lovely recipes, too! :)" (March 20, 2007... Tuesday)

---

RQ Testimonials: 49
Random_Musings Testimonials: 6
Total Testimonials: 55

Here are testimonials that various GJ people have written about my communities:

RQ 2

1. Marylynn R. (yinyangscurse): "A complete space hog in the friends page, and sometimes a bit drama queen-esque... but often entertaining, and sometimes even thought-provoking!" (July 23, 2004... Friday)

2. Angela (girlwiththehat): "I like questions. :)" (July 30, 2004... Friday)

3. Mia (miaroo324): "I love it... it's always updated and it's interesting. :)" (July 31, 2004... Saturday)

4. Kathy (zipzu): "Really nice to see what people will say." (August 1, 2004... Sunday)

5. Vicki (tigers_eye13): "This place is awesome! It's so great! I love it so damn much!" (August 4, 2004... Wednesday)

6. Kelly (blink_x_182): "A great community to ask stupid questions & get stupid answers. =) But it's an awesome community, nonetheless!" (August 4, 2004... Wednesday)

7. Whitney (whitnaaaaay): "Wow, I love this place... it's so fun just to answer random questions and get yours answered. :)" (August 5, 2004... Thursday)

8. Anasia (forever_unsaid): "This is one of the most interesting communities that's ever found me... you guys rock!" (August 11, 2004... Wednesday)

9. tinmanthegreat: "Prepare to have your questions answered!" (August 12, 2004... Thursday)

10. Mike D. (mrd488): "Awesome community. Very interesting, frequently updated!" (September 1, 2004... Wednesday)

11. Meg (magesticfaith): "I love Randomness, and I seem to get a lot of mental stimulation from all the random questions I get to think about and answer. This community is great!" (September 8, 2004... Wednesday)

12. Samantha (gettin_it_out): "This community is so much fun! You can ask the most random questions, and they always get answered! =] I love you guys!!" (September 11, 2004... Saturday)

13. Chicherina (chicherina): "Cool community... you should really join it. You get to ask all kinds of questions. Haha." (November 7, 2004... Sunday)

14. Mareah (lies_that_lie): "Very cool community. Any questions can be asked, and any questions can be added. Awesome job, guys! Mare" (November 21, 2004... Sunday)

15. Amy (dollyface): "Great time-waster, and mind-bender of a community. If you ever need to know something strange and bizarre, this place is a godsend." (December 5, 2004... Sunday)

16. Beverly (_tequilasunrise): "rq_version2 rocks my entire sock drawer." (December 7, 2004... Tuesday)

17. dead_letters: "Still not figured out how to post in it yet, but it seems great! x" (December 13, 2004... Monday)

18. Dana (candies2009): "I can't live a day without RQ2. It's awesome. Who needs friends when you have RQ? Dana" (December 31, 2004... Friday)

19. Shauna (morbid_otaku): "rq_version2 rox my sox! kick arse! \m/" (January 1, 2005... Saturday)

20. Amber (___amber): "<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<333333333 x 235583234" (January 9, 2005... Sunday)

21. Chastity (romanticidal): "Do random questions annoy you? *walks away* " (January 18, 2005... Tuesday)

22. Analiz (countrymusicrox): "this is a good community, keep asking questions" (February 25, 2005... Friday)

23. Tiffany (tifferz): "Great place to ask and answer any sort of questions. I ♥ this community." (April 5, 2005... Tuesday)

24. Liz (lizxo35): "OMG, I LOVE THIS COMMUNITY! YOU SHOULD SO JOIN!!! It's awesome how you can ask the most random questions, and get like a ton of answers! Some people are quite interesting, too. JOIN, PEOPLE!! <333" (April 11, 2005... Monday)

25. Mary W. (doyouloveme): "Basically, this community is like OMG the best!" (April 12, 2005... Tuesday)

26. Brittany (x_breakdown): "Much love to the mods! Love the random questions - they make me laugh. So keep asking, all you wonderful members... as will I! haha" (April 12, 2005... Tuesday)

27. akerlicious: "awesome community! ♥ ak" (April 30, 2005... Saturday)

28. nuclei: "This place's got all the answers, man. Really." (May 18, 2005... Wednesday)

29. Jessica (jessica218): "you guys are fricken sweet!!" (June 13, 2005... Monday)

30. Serena (phoenixxcore): "The most random community with the nicest random people around. :) random questions = love!" (June 25, 2005... Saturday)

31. anotherfable: "I have to say I am a very stubborn, odd person. But, at least here I can feel that someone agrees with me." (June 27, 2005... Monday)

32. Lindsay (cali_dreamin): "Gotta love it here. You should join now! :)" (July 19, 2005... Tuesday)

33. hits_ofsunshine: "This community is so much fun. I'm glad I found it! :)" (July 28, 2005... Thursday)

34. Desiree (arethekidssafe): " OMFG, this community has answered so many questions I have. I LOVE IT!!" (August 1, 2005... Monday)

35. Marie (_sweetmorphine): "RQ2 is like WHOA. There's always an interesting question. Never a dull moment. No holds barred. Some of the nicest, smartest, most fascinating people around. Nothing but love, randomness, and too much free time. LOVING IT! <3" (August 2, 2005... Tuesday)

36. Alex (_askingforit): "Takes up all my friends page. :P But it's a great community. There's always a question to answer, and any questions you have will be answered!" (August 11, 2005... Thursday)

37. Candace (limegreenangel1): "OMG, I LOVE THIS COMMUNITY SO MUCH! I CAN ASK WHATEVER, AND THERE'S ALWAYS SOMEONE TO ANSWER!" (September 5, 2005... Monday)

38. Jeni (killmelater): "Best mods and members on GJ." (September 7, 2005... Wednesday)

39. Lauren (loopylolly): "A friendly and close community. xx" (September 29, 2005... Thursday)

40. girrrlpleasedie: "Awesome community! So much fun! ♥" (October 15, 2005... Saturday)

41. Rinny (soylentgreen): "Best question community ever. The only reason I come to GJ." (November 4, 2005... Friday)

42. Mystique (trippin_breezy): "Constantly being updated, and always interesting. I love it!! :D" (November 12, 2005... Saturday)

43. migranes: "great advice, when i need it most. ♥" (November 21, 2005... Monday)

44. Abi (emo_snail): "00 random questions just got better" (December 2, 2005... Friday)

45. Sarah (danceswithwind): "Very useful, and totally awesome community ^_^ So join it =P " (January 3, 2006... Tuesday)

46. Margaret B. (biitchinbabi17): "This has to be the best community on GJ. It's very useful when you're confused about something. All you have to do is ask a question, and within at least an hour, you have your answer. You guys rock!" (April 17, 2006... Monday)

47. Jolene (fucksauce): "Best community ever! ♥ ♥" (July 31, 2006... Thursday)

48. Brittany M. (yourchemicals): "This place answers virtually EVERY question I ask, within the hour! :D It's amazing." (September 1, 2006... Friday)

49. Hayley R. (thesurgeon): "I've been a member of this community for longer than I care to remember (under many usernames ;D) There *is* a reason why I keep coming back, y'know?" (November 16, 2006... Thursday)


Random_Musings

1. Mandy (manda48): "Very cool community to just go and rant or rave about something random. What a great idea!! Being the random person that I am, I love it! Keep up the good work!! ~A <3" (September 23, 2004... Thursday)

2. Hope B. (wannabe_agent): "Random Musings!! w00t! It 0wnz you!!!" (October 19, 2004... Tuesday)

3. Brianna (thellort): "Wow, I think this community might be the best idea ever... Randomness is what I do best, it's great to meet other random people!" (June 24, 2005... Friday)

4. Aimee (harvest_falling): "Great site right here." (August 31, 2005... Wednesday)

5. Kaitlin O. (triptastic): "the place to put stuff people wouldn't normally think of, I suppose." (September 1, 2005... Thursday)

6. girrrlpleasedie: "great community ♥" (April 1, 2006... Saturday)

---

You Are 51% Indie

You're pretty indie, but you don't make a fuss letting everyone know. You just do what you like. You enjoy many types of things - from trendy to bizarre.

How Indie Are You?

You Are Beer!

You don't need to get totally wasted when you hit the bars. More of a social drinker, you just like to have fun with your friends. And as long as the beer keeps flowing, you're a happy camper. But don't mix things up: "Beer Before Liquor, Never Been Sicker!"

What Alcoholic Drink Are You?

Showers / Games finally downloaded! / Thoughts and advice / Pants

Eric got on MSN to joke about my taking the bus or walking to #4 / Alderbridge.. I don't THINK so, buddy! I told him that I was going to take a shower, so I didn't have time to bus anywhere that took an hour to get to. He told me that I was only supposed to take showers in the morning... I know plenty of people who prefer taking them in the afternoon or at night, y'see? 7:15 it is! (he says 7:05, but I dunno... that's like almost NEVER accurate!) He also called me a couple of weird nicknames, but that's par for the course around here. I might be contemplative in the car because of my last entry, and not hyper... we'll see.

Time to have a shower and then eat before I leave! :D
(I also did some LJ testimonial meme, haha...)


I've finally downloaded a 5.13 GB torrent of 22 old adventure games... plus the Scumm VM program needed to run it for Windows XP.

Beneath A Steel Sky
Broken Sword 1: Circle of Blood / Shadow of the Templars
Broken Sword 2: The Smoking Mirror
Dig
Flight of the Amazon Queen
Full Throttle
Goblins 1
Indiana Jones 3: The Last Crusade
Indiana Jones 4: The Fate of Atlantis
Inherit the Earth: Quest for the Orb
Legend of Kyrandia 1
Loom
Maniac Mansion 1
Maniac Mansion 2 (Day of the Tentacle)
Monkey Island 1: The Secret of Monkey Island
Monkey Island 2: LeChuck's Revenge
Monkey Island 3: The Curse of Monkey Island
Passport to Adventure
Sam and Max
Simon the Sorcerer 1
Simon the Sorcerer 2
Zak McKracken and the Alien Mindbenders


Corey's thoughts over the past day:

[19:33:02] mrptptpt: are your ScummVM games downloaded yet? I highly recommend Sam & Max or Day of the Tentacle :P Full Throttle and Indiana Jones & The Fate of Atlantis are pretty freaking awesome too.. you can play the Indy game something like three different ways... there's a puzzle toward the start and depending on what method you choose to solve it, the game is more action oriented, puzzle oriented.. or... some other thing.. I forget what the third is :P Sam & Max is hilarious, Day of the Tentacle is great too and involves controlling three main characters at the same time for the majority of the game. Full Throttle is probably the shiniest best looking of all those, but it's about bikers, so it'd probably interest you the least... very cool game though, defnitely don't need to be a biker person to like it.. still has puzzles and things :P

[00:05:47] mrptptpt: there isn't too much to it :P in the program, you just point the program to the directory a game is in, and it'll set it up for you... you may want to get into the options and change the graphics mode to full screen, and turn off the graphics filters so it shows the original graphics instead of trying to make them look nicer (I usually prefer the original graphics, but that's just personal preference.... ) I think there's something about stretching to fit the screen, which you'll want too.

[00:25:04] mrptptpt: okay, just open the program then :P there's a Find Game button, or something along those lines... all you do is point it to wherever a game is :P the ones you're downloading are .rar archive (like a zip file) files, so you may have to unrar them first, but I wouldn't be surprised if the program can handle them rared

[14:40:56] Flami: I right-clicked on the Sam and Max (VGA-CD).rar thing, and it gives me a series of options
[14:42:44] Corey: and I told you which one to use :P Extract Files
[15:13:05] Corey: so you have it unrared... go run the dang thing and point it at the folder you just unrared to :P then you can play
[15:13:50] Corey: this is not a long complicated process :P you're just taking something out of its box (the rar file) and then using it..
[15:14:47] Flami: uh... it says it can't find a game *major roadblock*
[15:16:40] Corey: .........
[15:17:53] Corey: works for me
[15:18:01] Corey: and I downloaded the same exact thing remember :P
[15:18:42] Corey: you must not be going to the right directory or something
[15:24:22] Flami: yeah, I know you did
[15:26:05] Flami: okay.. I see a green screen with some options on it, so I choose "Add Game"... that tells me to select a directory with game data.. I select "C" and then it tells me that it can't find a game in the specified directory
[15:26:31] Corey: probably because you didn't unrar it to "C"
[15:26:47] Corey: you said you made a folder in your ScummVM folder for Sam & Max
[15:26:58] Corey: so it's probably something like C:\ScummVM\Sam & Max
[15:27:17] Corey: or maybe even C:\program files\ScummVM\S&M
[15:30:33] Flami: yeah, I did that... but what am I supposed to do?!
[15:31:03] Corey: go to that directory in scummvm...
[15:31:47] Corey: it can't magically sense games if you just tell it C:\... there's a lot of other stuff in there, unless you literally just put the files in the root C:\ drive, but I kinda doubt that
[16:23:57] Flami: but how to get the path into the scummvm thinger?
[16:24:44] Corey: go click on folder names in there.........
[16:25:12] Corey: click C:, click ScummVM (or whatever the next folder is you need to go to) etc.... it's no different than anything else...
[16:56:26] Corey: .... click C first
[16:56:33] Corey: THEN you'll see the folders within that......
[16:56:48] Corey: JUST LIKE ANY OTHER THING LIKE THIS :P that's how it is in My Computer or anything else too :P
[16:59:33] Flami: clicking gives me the same problem... DOUBLE-clicking, however, seems to solve it :P
[17:08:00] Flami: okay, after sitting through a 3-minute intro (is there any way to SKIP the thing?), I think I've finally gotten to the point where I could play it if I had the time
[17:31:34] Corey: why would you want to skip the intro? that's part of the storyline! :P
[17:54:38] Corey: I think all you do is hit escape or something.... and read the instructions to learn how to save and anything else :P you have a .pdf of the original game instructions and instructions for ScummVM features as well :P I think it's F5 to get to the save / load menu
[17:55:11] Corey: you should probably change it to run full screen too... it'll be hard to see little details in a small window, and you'll need that ability :P

Your Cropped Pants Are

People's Liberation

What Cropped Pants Should You Wear?

Blender's 50 Worst Things To Happen In Music

False fire alarms... again! At least this was in the afternoon when everyone's up, including me. :P (now, where are my keys?!)

Well, I said I'd do this when I had the time, and that time is now. Next up: 50 Awesomely Dead Rock Stars.

Blender's 50 Worst Things To Happen In Music


50. Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band: Has any record's influence upon music proved so malignant? Concept albums, progressive rock, Brian Wilson's nervous breakdown, baby boomers yammering away about the Summer of Love, musicians taking themselves more seriously than cancer surgeons -- all the Beatles' fault. And is there anyone alive who hasn't suffered a collapse of the will to live during When I'm Sixty-Four?




49. The Dude That Yells "Freebird!" At Every Concert

48. Hip-Hop Skits: Smart rap fans know the drill: As soon as you burn a new album, instantly delete any track that's under a minute long. It's the best way to avoid the stupid banter, fake sound effects and unfunny phone calls that bog down 95 percent of all hip-hop albums. Except Snoop's Deeez Nuuuts bit -- that's classic.

47. Slash Quits Guns N'Roses: Paradise City officially became uninhabitable in 1996 when Slash walked out on Axl Rose, shattering one of the best, most rewardingly volatile relationships in rock history. Not only did the split force us to endure Slash's Snakepit, but Guns n' Roses became forever an ego-tripping punch line, with Axl -- stubborn ex that he is -- running through multiple replacements (including Howard Stern look-a-like Buckethead) in a vain attempt to prove he doesn't need his old partner.




46. Decency: In 1967, the Rolling Stones were forced to change the lyrics of a not particularly salacious song to protect the tender sensibilities of the American television-viewing public. Thirty-nine years and one stray Super Bowl breast later, the Rolling Stones are forced to change the lyrics of a not particularly salacious song to protect the tender sensibilities of the American television-viewing public. Viva progress!


What You Didn't See On TV

1957: The Ed Sullivan Show censors solve the problem of Elvis Presley's pesky pelvis by filming rock's new king from his waist up.
1967: Jim Morrison ignores instructions and sings "girl, we couldn't get much higher" live. The Doors are never invited back to Ed Sullivan's "big show."
1989: Pepsi pulls its Madonna commercial after religious groups object to her bleeding-palms Like a Prayer video.
2005: Nine Inch Nails pull out of the MTV Movie Awards after the network objects to the use of a giant photo of President Bush as a backdrop for their performance of The Hand That Feeds.
2006: Oscar nominees Three 6 Mafia are forced to change the word "bitches" to "witches" in their performance at the 2006 Academy Awards. They win!


45. Rootkits: In its desperation to make its new releases piracy-proof, Sony Music also managed to make them privacy-proof. The label was busted last year for releasing CDs with copy-protection software built in that, when played in PCs, could send data from your computer to the record company.

44. Rock Poets: Memo to aspiring rock stars: Lyrics do not constitute poetry. Neither do pedestrian observations your life coach thinks are profound. And despite what Jim Morrison seemed to believe, disturbed Freudian ramblings you howl while waving your d**k around onstage are also, alas, not poetry. Please "cc" Jewel, Billy Corgan, and Jeff Tweedy on this memo.

Five Poetic Injustices

The way you treat me / Takes me to another place / I want to wrap my arms around you / And gently kiss your face -- Ashanti, Foolish / Unfoolish: Reflections on Love

We Say: She wrote this in high school?

How my belly hollows and aches / Craving seed -- Jewel, A Night Without Armor

We Say: Ewwww!

And sometimes ... I cry / And no one cares why -- Tupac Shakur, The Rose That Grew From Concrete

We Say: Did he know Ashanti?

The gift of spit in his face / The omega, starting, to rust -- Jim Morrison, An American Prayer and The Lords and the New 27 Creatures

We Say: HUH???

At the bottom of my hole lies a soul so cold / Collecting aqua blue marigold -- Billy Corgan, Blinking With Fists

We Say: Stop whining and get the Pumpkins back together.


43. Fake Non-Lesbians: Don't get us wrong -- we love lesbians. Just so long as they're not playing music. From Melissa Etheridge to the Indigo Girls, real-life Sapphic rock stars are to blame for some truly awful trends: earnest coffeehouse confessionalism, the Lilith Fair, flannel. Now t.A.T.u., on the other hand...




42. Scott Stapp: Although he's rehabilitated his image in recent years by becoming an incorrigible drunk and trying to beat up 311, there's no getting around the music. The fourth-generation grunge he's peddled solo and with Creed might be harmless if it weren't swathed in quasi-religious pomposity and delivered with an arrogance that -- in light of his musical, er, gifts -- feels downright delusional.

Scott Stapp's Top Meltdowns (aka his best "Dammit, I'm not a Christian rocker!" moments)

February 2001: Threatens to beat the "ass" of a man outside a Florida tattoo parlor.
April 2001: Punches a Florida nightclubber who told him he "should have stuck with Pearl Jam."
July 2002: Runs his SUV off the road and is charged with reckless driving -- Creed cancels tour, and Stapp gets no Volvo endorsement deals.
December 2002: Wasted onstage at a Chicago Creed concert, he is unable to sing or even stand. Fans file a $2 million class-action lawsuit.
November 2005: Sucker-punches 311's Chad Sexton in a Baltimore bar on Thanksgiving.
February 2006: Deemed too drunk to board a plane, he's arrested at LAX for public intoxication en route to his Hawaiian honeymoon.
February 2006: Claims there's a conspiracy to destroy his solo career after his sex tape leaks.


41. Melisma: It's a fact: Words like "girl" and "baby" do not have 25 syllables. But thanks to that R&B-spawned, Idol-promulgated school of vocal histrionics -- wherein one overdoes gospel ululations like Whitney Houston with a noseful -- neither the shortest word nor sweetest melody can go unmolested by a uvula-spazzing "showstopper."




40. Parrotheads: For millions, Jimmy Buffett isn't just a guy who writes songs about putzing around the Caribbean -- he's a shining symbol of the "good life." That so few of them will get any closer to this life than hanging out in a dank bar called the Banana Boat, wearing a Hawaiian shirt, sipping a frozen daiquiri and waiting for their turn to karaoke Margaritaville is monumentally depressing.

39. AIDS: Although it was responsible for many deaths (Freddie Mercury and Eazy-E among them) and inspired one of the most insipid hits of the past three decades (That's What Friends Are For), the most significant musical damage done by the AIDS virus came with the subsequent demonization of sex and drugs, two ingredients without which rock & roll becomes practically pointless -- if not impossible.




38. Sting

37. Gilbert O'Sullivan: In suing Biz Markie for sampling Alone Again (Naturally) in his 1991 song Alone Again, this '70s British novelty twerp had a chilling effect on hip-hop's most basic musical technique, establishing a legal precedent for litigious, hip-hop-ignorant tight-asses. The Biz's follow-up album: All Samples Cleared!

36. Sean Combs is... Puff Daddy... is P. Diddy...


35. Van Halen Fires David Lee Roth

34. Van Halen Hires Sammy Hagar

33. Van Halen Fires Sammy Hagar

32. Van Halen Hires Gary Cherone?

31. Jazz Fusion: It's a rule of thumb that any music that uses "jazz" as a prefix will make you want to saw your head off from boredom (see also: jazz funk, jazz rap, jazz house). But none is as wearying as the genre that thought what rock really needed was monthlong bass solos and time signatures even Stephen Hawking wouldn't understand.

30. Braided Goatees: It seems so natural. Just grow those chin whiskers out a foot, part in the middle, and weave pube-like braids! Tragically, resultant blood loss to the brain knocks 80 points off your IQ, resulting in guttural vocals and misspelled band names.




29. Popera Soaring key changes! 53-year-old groupies! Incessant use of the word amore!




28. Disappearance of Indie Record Shops: Sure, the big-chain megamarts save you a few dollars. But do their employees know you by name? Will they hook you up with unexpected new imports? Will they ridicule you when you mispronounce Sufjan Stevens' name? For music geeks, losing the mom-and-pop stores is like losing a musty, nerd-filled home away from home.

27. Jukebox Musicals: Why is crowbarring classic rock songs into a play with a "plot" apparently written on the back of a matchbook so detestable? Not just because the results are creaky and insulting -- the Queen-themed We Will Rock You -- but also because they reveal that the rock stars involved don't care about art, only money. And, despite recent high-profile flops -- Lennon, Good Vibrations -- there's no end in sight. Coming soon: My Humps: The Musical!

26. Adam Duritz's Dreadlocks

25. Tribute Albums: Don't die. If you do, a dozen artists who ripped off all your ideas while you were alive (and one of whom will almost certainly be Sheryl Crow) will record overly reverent, roundly uninspired versions of your songs for a tribute album. This album will be ignored and / or quickly forgotten, or will spur a revival in your music that you won't be around to enjoy and profit from.


Sheryl Crow showed up on all these tribute albums:

Encomium: Tribute to Led Zeppelin
If I Were a Carpenter (The Carpenters)
One Amazing Night (Burt Bacharach)
Return of the Grievous Angel (Tribute to Gram Parsons)
Substitute(Songs From The Who)
Hank Williams: Timeless
Good Rockin' Tonight (The Legacy of Sun Records)
The Unbroken Circle (The Musical Heritage of the Carter Family)
I Am Sam -- Music From and Inspired by the Motion Picture (The Beatles)


24. Mark David Chapman

23. Woodstock '99: The lineup was bad enough -- a lame attempt at multi-culti harmony mixing patchouli-soaked pied pipers (RUSTED ROOT) with brain-dead alpha males (INSANE CLOWN POSSE). When the event got going, the second sequel to the Summer of Love quickly degenerated into an ugly free-for-all of sexual assault, arson, ODs... and $6 pizza slices. No wonder those ATMs were looted.

22. Lists That Reduce Rock To A Series of Lists: (Sorry.)

21. Nearly Every Hip-Hop Video: We get it. Your ride is pimped, your crib is a castle and at the drop of an ice-encrusted hat, you can have tons of scantily clad hos pouring bottles of Cristal down your gullet while you kick it in the hot tub. Congratulations to a generation of hip-hop video directors for making decadence seem so... boring.

Main Offenders

Chingy, Balla Baby
Won-G, Caught Up in the Rapture
Fat Joe, Get It Poppin'
Lloyd Banks, I'm So Fly
Jim Jones, Baby Girl


20. Syn Drums

19. Electric Violins

18. Soprano Sax

17. Fred Durst

16. Replacement Lead Singers: AC/DC's impressive recovery from singer-vomit-asphyxiation is the exception that proves the rule. If the phrase "Van Hagar" fails to convince, consider Rock Star: INXS (winner J.D. Fortune pictured) and the macabre spectacle of Queen fronted by a leather-faced Paul Rodgers.

15. CDs: First, record companies made everyone rebuy their entire collections on newfangled "compact discs," promising sonic superiority and virtual indestructibility. Despite obvious drawbacks -- ever try to separate seeds and stems on a jewel case? -- everyone ponied up anyway. Then, once this digital format became the very means by which music could be ripped and distributed for free, these same companies cried poor. Boo. Hoo.

14. Florida: Let us be perfectly clear: We are not besmirching Florida, the strong African-American matriarch of TV's Good Times. We are besmirching Florida, the Sunshine State, unholy font of the BACKSTREET BOYS, 'NSYNC, O-TOWN, LIMP BIZKIT, 2 LIVE CREW, dangling chads and an army of drum-pummeling, grizzly-bear-mimicking death-metal bands with names too "evil" (i.e., moronic) to mention. A curse upon the balmy southern realm!

13. Light Aircraft: The first day the music died, it took BUDDY HOLLY, RITCHIE VALENS and The BIG BOPPER with it. The next day it took country star PATSY CLINE. And then JIM CROCE, half of LYNYRD SKYNYRD, STEVIE RAY VAUGHAN, JOHN DENVER and AALIYAH. There is, it seems, a good reason the tour bus is such a popular transportation option.

12. Kevin Federline: Golfing and wifebeaters? Whatever. Multiple baby mamas? Hey, do your thing. Even the rapping isn't that bad. But snatching away our favorite pop star -- that cannot be forgiven. Two years ago, BRITNEY SPEARS was America's sexy sweetheart, then the ex-backup-dancer pounced, and it was bye-bye Toxic, hello diapers and Cheetos.




11. "You Really Have To See Them Live": First heard muttered by a proselytizing GRATEFUL DEAD fan sometime around minute 13 of the studio version of Terrapin Station, Pt. 1, this reflexive, defensive cry has long been used as an excuse for the existence of reams of irretrievably dull PHISH, WIDESPREAD PANIC, and MOE. records. If your studio albums feel limp compared with your live show, don't put them out.

10. "Colonel" Tom Parker: Meet the Slobodan Milosevic of artist management: Before SUGE KNIGHT, LOU PEARLMAN or even ALLEN KLEIN came the "Colonel" -- inventor of ruinously exploitative rock management. Getting his hooks into ELVIS in 1955, the Dutch con man artfully steered the King away from making music (which he had something of a knack for) and towards the likes of Clambake, Kissin' Cousins, Kid Galahad, and the 30-odd other Hollywood forgettables he made instead of recording or touring for most of the next decade. Elvis' Greatest Movie Misses (and some hits)

9. Whitey: There are people who believe that this creature -- call him "honky," "ofay," or the "blue-eyed devil" -- was created 6,000 years ago by an evil scientist named Yakub via genetic experimentation on an island called Patmos in a ... lab or something. These people are music critics. In the first half of the century, Whitey took the kaleidoscopic music of Louis Armstrong and Duke Ellington and begat LAWRENCE WELK and the couldn't-be-more-appropriately-named PAUL WHITEMAN. In the latter, he took Little Richard's gender-bendy, crypto-porn shout Tutti Frutti and begat its wan, Wonder Breaded anathema, PAT BOONE.

We see the Beast's essence everywhere.
There he is, a beefy blond youth in a Von Dutch cap, spilling keg beer as he shifts weight from one Teva to another to a Bob Marley song -- something he calls "dancing"; there he is, performing as MICHAEL BOLTON and VANILLA ICE or singing through the narrow, goateed visage of A.J. MCLEAN. The dreaded character George Clinton christened Sir Nose D'Void of Funk has had an anti-Midas touch on music for decades now, whether it's rockers copping the sexiness but not the subtlety of the blues in the '50s or lemon-faced mooks hijacking hip-hop's vigor to express the torments of suburban males who can't get laid in the '90s.

White folks: They ruin everything.


8. The Age of 27: For most of us, the Bermuda Triangle of morbidity lies between the ages of 50 and 53, after which, if you dodge cancer, heart disease and other bullets, you'll probably live for decades. For rock stars, the year to fear is 27 -- the checkout date for JANIS JOPLIN, JIMI HENDRIX, JIM MORRISON, KURT COBAIN, BRIAN JONES, and blues legend ROBERT JOHNSON among others. Honorable mentions to NICK DRAKE (at a wizened 26) and TIM BUCKLEY (at a boyish 28) -- who were, after all, eccentric.

7. Finding God: Once the Big Guy gets under an artist's skin, the work tends to suffer. AL GREEN went from making the sexiest music known to man to making gospel albums known to nobody. MASE quit hip-hop for the ministry, and when he returned, his skills didn't come with him. The less said about BOB DYLAN's born-again albums the better, but the idea of Jehovah's Witness PRINCE proselytizing door-to-door in purple pumps still brings a smile. Esther, née MADONNA, caused quite the mishegas by hopping aboard Kabbalah's Judaism-meets-New-Age-hooey bandwagon. And CAT STEVENS loved Islam so much, he named himself after it when he converted and then quit the music biz in 1979.

Silly rock stars -- you're supposed to be the ones being slavishly worshipped!


God Spells: The Biggest Religious Music Disasters

Beach Boy Finds New Love
After filling the airwaves with hits about California girls in the '60s, Beach Boys singer Mike Love dove deep into transcendental meditation and wrote Everyone's in Love With You in 1975. The ballad paid tribute to another long-haired, dress-wearing creature: The Maharishi.
Mike Love from the Beach Boys -- Everyone's in Love With You

Al Green Feels Heat, Sees Light
Some folks need to be struck by lightning to see Jesus. For Al Green, it merely took a suicidal girlfriend dousing him with a pot of hot grits and a tumble from a Cincinnati stage in 1979. The incidents inspired the legendary soul -- and ladies -- man to become a Christian minister and change his tune. Next album: The Lord Will Find a Way.
Al Green - The Spirit Might Come On and On

Bob Dylan Plugs In and Out of Christ
As illustrated when he plugged in and rocked out at the Newport Folk Festival in 1965, Dylan has never shied away from pissing off his fans. He threw his disciples a curve by converting to Christianity and preaching the Gospel According to Bob on his 1979 tour. The former Mr. Zimmerman re-embraced Judaism for his 1983 album. Its title: Infidels.
Bob Dylan - When You Gonna Wake Up

Cat Stevens Sings for Allah
Two decades after he turned his back on his music career, converted Muslim Cat Stevens returned to the studio in 2000. Unfortunately, the album he crafted, A Is for Allah, is devoid of his trademark acoustic-guitar strumming -- or any instruments -- because the Koran frowns upon such indulgences.
Cat Stevens / Yusef Islam - Seal of the Prophets

R. Kelly Cries for Mercy
Nothing quite says "I'm done having sex with teenage girls" like an album of R&B spirituals ... and nobody sings 'em like R. Kelly. On his impassioned 2003 testimonial U Saved Me, the embattled crooner belts, "After I've been so bad, O Lord, how did you manage to forgive me?" God was unavailable for comment.
R. Kelly - U Saved Me


6. Madonna's British Accent: Enough said.

5. Ecstasy: As if convincing countless innocents to spend nights crushed into dilapidated warehouses, waving glowsticks and bouncing along to the same monotonous groove wasn't bad enough, ecstasy also taught a generation of dance-music auteurs that songwriting was as easy as looping a beat, then taking a nap.

E's not just for ravers anymore. These hip-hop lyrics give you that lovin' feeling:

"Some say the x / Make the sex / Spec-tacular" -- Notorious B.I.G., F-in' You Tonight

"Drunk off Crist', mami on E / Can't keep her little model hands off me" -- Jay-Z, I Just Wanna Love U

"F*** so fabulous on X / All night nothin' but sweat and rough sex" -- Ja Rule, Extasy

"I'm on E feelin ready and hot; I give 'em twenty a pop / You wanna roll, leave the panties atop" -- Fat Joe, We Thuggin'

"You can find me in the club, bottle full of bub' / Look mami I got the X if you into takin' drugs" -- 50 Cent, In Da Club


4. Neverland Ranch: It's not as though everything was hunky-dory for MJ before he moved here. But somehow, the star's retreat into a llama-stocked, Ferris-wheel-equipped, 2,600-acre Southern California funny farm in 1988 didn't help his psyche. WACKO JACKO may since have emerged from his rustic Xanadu -- dangling a baby off a balcony here, facing child-molestation charges there -- and moved to Bahrain, but the great pop star he used to be has been lost forever in this multimillion-dollar shrine to childhood.

3. The Star-Spangled Banner: Here's an idea: Let's have the theme song for the world's biggest and most diverse democracy be: 1) boring; 2) violently militaristic; and 3) next to impossible to sing. Not enough? OK, now let's bring in ROSEANNE BARR to perform. She's too busy? Get me WILLIAM HUNG!

2. Suge Knight: Here's some advice: If SUGE KNIGHT offers to bail you out of jail, wait for a better offer. After doing this for TUPAC SHAKUR, the bullying head of Death Row records molded a talented 24-year-old rapper into a doomed gangsta cartoon, fanned a preposterous coastal rap feud (f--k the Bering Strait, too, while we're at it!), and steered his young star on a confrontational course that ended in a bullet-riddled BMW 750. Whether or not Biggie Smalls' subsequent murder was related, Knight drafted a tragedy hip-hop never got over.




5 Reasons Why Hip-Hop's Bluto Should Be on Permanent House Arrest...

1. For fanning the East-West rivalry flames at the '95 Source Awards with the classic words "If you don't want the owner of your label (translation: Puffy) all up in your videos, come to Death Row..."

2. For stealing the shine from legitimate artists by getting shot at Kanye's VMAs after-party in Miami.

3. For allegedly hanging Vanilla Ice upside down from a hotel window, causing the rapper to lose control of his bodily functions (See Big Red from 'The Five Heartbeats.')

4. For signing vulnerable rappers to Death Row for publicity and then never releasing their albums, e.g. Petey Pablo, the late Lisa "Left Eye" Lopes, MC Hammer, etc.

5. For causing the embarrassing melee at 2004's VIBE Awards that tarnished hip-hop's already damaged rep. Rumor has it that Suge paid a man $5,000 to punch Dr. Dre as the producer was accepting his lifetime achievement award. In turn, G-Unit's Young Buck allegedly stabbed the man with, of all things, a fork.


1. Kids Today!: Back in our day, we didn't have any of yer fancy iPods and ringtones and downloads. We didn't have the luxury and convenience of your scrotum-rings and your World Wide Web logs. When we wanted to steal the new URIAH HEEP album, we couldn't just troll the Internet for it, we had to do it the old-fashioned way -- by hiking to the store (uphill, both ways) and shoving 12" of vinyl under our sweaters (which we had to knit ourselves). That's why you sniveling whipper-snappers don't appreciate the real value of music. Or Uriah Heep. Now get the hell off our lawn!

Spicy Writing?! / Questions 4101-4150 of 5000 / Afterlife Quiz

Jasmine's friend Teunis (the same guy who she emailed me about a few days ago) just said that my writing was "spicy, intelligent, and fun." Eeepers, hahaha. o_O

Hmm... Karen Choo just emailed me three times. I wonder what's up... oh, two are Fellowship-related. The other one is personal, saying that she's not forgotten that she has something to make up to me. (see this post for more details) I know she hasn't, but the reminder of such is a good thing. Yeah, I can be patient when the mood strikes... and impatient at other times. But I'm being patient about this like I normally would be, haha. :D

I got $10 each in lucky money from Auntie Kwai and Auntie Cynthia: they're so very kind, even if the first woman IS my distant cousin Wilson's mom! (haha)


Exchange of the day:

Justin: "Hey guys, do you think we'd get money if we went up to every married person at this luncheon and said GUUNG HEY FAT CHOY?!"
Me and Clement: *look at him in wonder* "Hmm... I don't think it would work! Although it IS crowded down here with married folk... hehehe."


Got these questions from this QuestionClub LJ post by Arthurbulla. I'm going to post the survey in 50-question batches, like the original. No worries there! Five thousand questions and answers wouldn't fit as an entry, anyhow. :P

The only complete copy... you'll have to go around erasing answers.


4101. What is the most difficult thing you have ever overcome? Certain realizations about certain people that I used to know. Enough said.

4102. What is more important: how much someone has achieved, or how far they have come to achieve it? How far they have come.

4103. Have you ever had anything published? Not really... I don't count church testimonials in anniversary booklets as something being "published."

4104. Of the following, what kind of person would you be more attracted to (1 is highest, 3 lowest):

less good-looking than you? 3
about as good-looking as you? 1
more good-looking than you? 2

How good-looking are you? I'm kinda average-ish.

4105. less intelligent than you? 2
about as intelligent as you? 1
more intelligent than you? 3

How intelligent are you? I'm kinda smart, heh.

4106. has less money than you? 3
has about as much money as you? 1
has more money than you? 2

How wealthy are you? I'm lower middle class.

4107. less wild and crazy than you? 3
about as wild and crazy as you? 1
more wild and crazy than you? 2

How wild and crazy are you? Pretty crazy, if you catch me in the right mood.

4108. Is your bathroom shelf stacked with numerous bottles of lotions and creams? No, not really...

4109. How do you maintain your body? Original answer: "What do you mean by maintain?" *thunk* My answer: "Try to eat right, get some exercise (though I'm failing miserably in that regard), etc."

4110. Did you ever imagine that objects have a life of their own? Hahaha, oh yes.

4111. What is it like to be an object, do ya think? I don't know... aren't they just kinda inert and sitting there? Sounds sucky to me.

4112. Do stones, rocks, trees, lamps, water, couches, etc. all have some sort of life energy running through them? Most times, sure... only I'm not so sure about the couches and such!

4113. Would you ever consider getting romantically involved with:

your teacher? Maybe, if we weren't in a teacher-student relationship at the time.
your doctor? No.

4114. If ____ asked me for sex, I could NOT refuse. Fill in the blank as if you were speaking. ..... I'm not answering this. Not that I'm a prude, but I do consider my readership, haha. Then again.... someone with a hot accent and the right combination of care and such would win out, heh.

4115. What is "nothing"? A state devoid of all matter.

4116. Would you rather read about how to get better abs or about how thousands of people across the globe are marching for peace? The global peace marches.

4117. Should America make love, not war? Yes.

4118. If you could nominate anyone for sainthood, who would you and why? Original answer: "Huh?" Eeepers. My answer: "Billy Graham since he's done so much for the world of Christianity!"

4119. Can you name one person who is purely good? .... no.

4120. How about one person who is completely evil? .... no.

4121. Is there a book inside of you? Yeah, and it's a long one.

If yes, what about? Life, friends, made-up stories, randomosity, etc.

4122. Do you call people more often, or get calls more often? It's about even, depending on whether I decide to leave the phone on or not... mwahahaha.

4123. What do you wake up to? Usually it's the light / noises around my building. Next week, they're apparently doing power washing... aiya!

4124. If you could get a free subscription to any magazine, what would it be? Any magazine about words.

4125. When you wrote letters to Santa, did you ever ask for stuff that didn't exist? No...

4126. Make up a new slogan for McDonald's: I'm hatin' it so much... we love the sound of puking! (hahaha)

4127. What kind of people do you like to be associated with (business, writers, dark, antisocial, spiritual, happy)? Happy, Kind, Empathetic Listeners, Understanding, Funny...

4128. How are you like a toaster? ... I'm not.

4129. Do you believe we are really in the Matrix? Not really.

4130. There are 2 dolls: a G.W. Bush doll and a Saddam Hussein doll. You can only afford one. Which do you buy? Original answer: "George Bush, because he's easier on the eyes and you can still stab him with a needle if you want." Hahaha, I'm stealing this one!

4131. What is a jabberwocky? Something most frightful with jaws and claws. o_O

4132. Finish the sentences:

I'm a speed racer and I drive real fast, I drive real fast: Original answer: "like a speed racer." Uh... ORIGINALITY CHECK ON AISLE 5! My answer: "because the thrill of the raceway is my drug."

I'm a big bird and I like to steal, I like to steal and I like to: Original answer: "steal." Uh... ORIGINALITY CHECK ON AISLE 7! My answer: "sell the stolen items for profit on Ebay." (note: I do not condone such actions... this construct is just for literary license purposes, mmkay?)

I'm a Barbie doll and I've got grace, I've got grace but: Original answer: "not really." Um... this really isn't that much better than the other ones, is it? *junks answer* My answer: "I'm really just molded plastic, so you can't personify me."

4133. What do you think aliens would think of life on earth? Very incomprehensible and technologically backwards!

4134. What image do you get from the words "urban decay"? Filth, sprawl, the stuff I read about in Adbusters and other such publications...

4135. Have a ___ day. Fill in the blank with anything but "nice." "Scrumptious."

4136. Do you own anything with a:

South Park character or logo on it? No.
Grateful Dead bear or logo on it? No.

4137. What is your impression of beatniks? Original answer: "Huh?" Eeep. My answer: "They were and are cool, dude!"

4138. What was the last thing you ordered (or watched) on pay-per-view? The Canucks-Wild game on NYE at Eric's place.

4139. Nails: long or short? Short.

4140. Do you prefer touch lamps, the clapper, or the old-fashioned light switch? The old-fashioned light switch.

4141. Can you "berry talk"? No.

4142. Do you like vines on old buildings? Depends if it adds character or not.

How about graffiti on old buildings? No!

4143. When someone says "it's been one of those days," what do they mean by "those days"? Crappy, stressful, tiring...

4144. Have you ever owned those magic markers that could change colors? I think so!

4145. It's not easy bein' ____. Fill in the blank as if you were speaking. "Me."

4146. Is there a song that has been stuck in your head since you were a child? No.

4147. Do you own anything plaid? No.

4148. Do you recycle? Yes.

4149. What is your strongest point? My caring kindness for other people. Most of the time, anyhow.

4150. What is your weakest point? I can be very critical.

What are you doing to work on that weakness? Trying to see the good in people.

After you die... Parallel Universe After death, you will continue to exist as if nothing has ever happened. You will continue to be yourself, but because you are in a parallel universe, some things will be different. You may not have married the same person, and you might live in a different spot... but you will be the same person underneath it all, and you will continue your life unaware that you ever died.

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