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http://rusty-halo.com/wordpress/?p=2834

Suddenly I’m seeing Bowie references everywhere. Magazine covers, movie titles, on and on. It’s like when you learn a new word and suddenly you start noticing it at every turn.

The commentary on The Man Who Fell to Earth is awesome. I think this is the only time in my life I’ve wanted to listen to a DVD commentary again. It’s all really thoughtful–art as an attempt to connect with other human beings, the imperfect nature of it, the final product as a result of the interaction of the creative piece with the person interpreting it and bringing all of their opinions and experiences. Plus Bowie manages to predict Twitter… in 1992. It’s really quite nifty!

I’ve been thinking about how the music I’ve been listening to over the past few years has led to my ability to appreciate Bowie’s work, which I doubt I’d have gotten into at any earlier point in my life*. As my initial WTF reaction to Station to Station reveals, my musical horizons still have a lot of expanding to do, but at the same time I can directly trace my ability to appreciate various Bowie elements to the bands I’ve been into most recently.

* It’s also because Bowie is dark and complex but less outright angry than most of what I’ve been into in the past. I find I have increasingly less patience with white/masculine/teenage rage as time goes by. Oh, god, I’m getting old.

Common Rotation and Bowie's early folk music )

sidetrack: Saviour Machine )

PIG and generic experimentation )

the usual weird personal babble )

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rusty-halo.com

http://rusty-halo.com/wordpress/?p=2800

Doctor/Master made it to the final Writercon face-off–yay! The winning ship will be featured in the Dirty Drabbles reading at Writercon ‘09. Go vote for our guys!

***

I think I’m just going to have to accept that I’ll never be one of those people with wide-ranging, eclectic artistic tastes. I’ve always fallen into the pattern of becoming completely and utterly obsessed with one thing and of wringing every last nuance of meaning out of it for years on end–and of not being able to get into anything else until I’m finished with it. Forcing myself to watch/listen to/read things that I’m not passionately interested in has just adamantly not worked. I’m twenty-six, and this tendency is showing no signs of change, so I guess I just have to go with it.

On the plus side, the stuff consuming my brain these days is better, and a lot more wide-ranging and eclectic within its own boundaries. I’ve been thinking up this whole post about how David Bowie is similar to Raymond Watts (in terms of incorporating diverse musical genres and experimenting) and how both are much more interesting than what I listened to in high school. I’m not going to write it, because I’m lazy and I don’t think anyone would read it, but it’s percolating in my brain in interesting ways.

(One is that it’s reflected in the ways Bowie has influenced the artists I grew up listening to. Marilyn Manson stole a lot from Bowie, in very obvious and uninteresting ways. I’m noticing places where Raymond Watts was inspired by Bowie too, but always in far more interesting ways than Manson. [But then everything Watts does is more interesting than Manson.] I also kind of want to do a picspam of “blatant things that Manson ripped off from Bowie,” because I’m mildly annoyed that I grew up admiring a lot of things in Manson that he stole without really even putting his own unique mark on them. I have the weirdest relationship with Manson’s work–a lot of fond nostalgia for his concerts and genuine musical respect for Antichrist Superstar and Mechanical Animals, but a lot of disgust and irritation for his limitations as a musician and as a human being.)

***

I watched the movie Human Traffic this weekend, because I wanted to return it to Netflix so that I can get Labyrinth. (I want to see Labyrinth again because I’m wondering if I’ll finally like it. My dislike goes back to being five and hating muppets, so perhaps things have changed. Plus everyone says Bowie is ultra-hot in this movie and yet I have never seen the hotness. So we’ll see.)

vague Human Traffic spoilers )

***

Methos' first Highlander episode )

***

In pursuit of non-embarrassing David Bowie icons (not sure if I'm there, or if such a thing is even possible--I feel that there's kind of an inherently embarrassing teenage girl thing about LJ icons), I've come across lots of images from the film The Man Who Fell To Earth. Which I'm not sure I want to see--it sounds like something that's better in screencaps than it would be if I actually had to sit down and watch it--but then again, the icons are so pretty I'm kind of feeling like maybe it's necessary. I'll put it after Labyrinth in my Netflix queue, though based on my history it'll probably sit unwatched next to my DVD player for six months. Good thing I switched to the cheapest Netflix plan.

Also, OMG, icon makers, a link is not a fake cut! It's just a link! (And a drabble is exactly 100 words! And you damn kids get off my lawn!)

Originally published at rusty-halo.com. Please click here to comment.
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rusty_halo: (tcr: exclaiming)
The Swining discography is up! I've spent months working on the design and structure for this (all the content is stored in a database and entered through a content management system). I am also awed at the amount of data Filth (who does the actual content management) has put in. And more is coming soon. :)

My professor was on The Colbert Report last night! That was quite weird. Judith Stacey; I had her for something like "The Sociology of Gender." To be honest, it was kind of a lame class compared to some of the other gender courses I took, but she was nice enough.

I somehow forgot to mention that [livejournal.com profile] jaydk and I went to see The Cruxshadows last Thursday night. I can't believe I've been seeing them for seven years. I've kind of grown out of them; they're a little too sincere and well-meaning, but I have a lot of nostalgic affection for them anyway.

For some reason they played the Pyramid Club, which actually made me miss Albion. Pyramid is even smaller and more tightly packed, and I think they must let in a younger crowd, because the front section was full of those little kids who whine that people are pushing them. I don't know how many times I have to say this: if you don't want to get pushed, don't stand in the front of a mosh pit. Honestly. If I'm pushing into you, it's because someone is pushing me, and someone is pushing them, going all the way to the back of the club, and you whining isn't going to do anything but make the whole experience worse, since we're still going to be stuck standing next to each other regardless. The only good thing is that these annoying kids tend to get fed up and leave halfway through, so [livejournal.com profile] jaydk and I ended up right at the front.

I'm so proud of myself for corrupting [livejournal.com profile] jaydk. Now she's a bigger Cruxshadows fan than I ever was. She even knows their names, and knew the new songs better than I do. She was definitely not the type of person to go to a Goth club before she met me. ::evil grin::

I was a little disappointed with their set; too much emphasis on new songs. I would've swapped a couple of the newer ones for classics; I was really surprised that they didn't play "Citadel" or "Resist/R," at least. Not that the new ones were bad; the balance just seemed off.

It does kind of break my heart that this is the last time I'll ever see Rachel, though. She is just so freaking cool, and is probably my favorite thing about the band. How often do you see kids in a Goth club freaking out because the violin solo is so awesome? And she just does her thing, looking so serious, and doesn't show off, which makes her extra-cool. :( Glad I at least got to see her one last time.

And I'm really glad [livejournal.com profile] jaydk was there to share the experience. :)

WOW

Jun. 21st, 2006 05:48 pm
rusty_halo: westley from princess bride (pb: drop your sword)
I know this already making the rounds within fandom, but for anyone who's managed to miss it, you really must read this: apparently a huge amount of the wank that's gone on in Harry Potter fandom for the past few years was all caused by one batshit insane fan and her zillion sockpuppets. I was over here (barely) participating in Spike fandom, yet even I remember a bunch of this stuff happening. Crazy to see that it all ties together like this.

It's quite a fascinating study in human social interaction--almost a guide on how to manipulate people and play on their biases in order to gain social power. Very much worth reading, even just to recognize the signs and avoid such people in the future.

[livejournal.com profile] 10zlaine, you'll find it quite interesting.

personal/tmi )


In other news, now that I've had a good night's sleep and washed off the ickiness of the Hartford train station, I've decided that going to Hartford wasn't a mistake after all. I mean, you know, it was PIG. And ... yeah.

Now I'm trying to decide--should I go to San Francisco and LA, or should I try for the three Texas dates, Austin, Dallas, and Houston? I want to go to the ones that'll have better crowds. I'm leaning toward SF and LA, but those guys I hung with in Florida might be going to the Texas ones, in which case it would be fun to have traveling partners. And then, should I go to the final show in Nashville, too? I'm tempted, but it's on a Thursday, meaning I'd have to take two vacation days. Argh. I'm going to wait and see.
Due to a fire safety issue at Bottoms Up, the PIG show tonight has been relocated to Albion/Downtime at 11:30. PIG is still offering the NIN discount: bring your NIN ticket stub to the show and get in for $10!

http://www.albionnyc.com/

251 West 30th Street between 7th and 8th Ave.

See you there!
Depeche Mode last night was AMAZING. TINY venue--I got there less than an hour early and was standing only five rows back. I could see their faces. It was SO cool. The sound was great, Dave Gahan was better, and everyone was singing along. It completely made up for the crappiness of the Jones Beach show (freezing weather, dissipating.outdoor sound, and Dave Gahan's voice all fucked up). I can't believe I was lucky enough to see Depeche Mode THAT close. Definitely one of the most perfect concert experiences I've had.

It's so neat when you can see their faces--Dave Gahan and Martin Gore both have these amazing smiles--so genuine and sweet, that when you see them smile, you can't help but become happier, and then they see the audience is happy, so their smiles get brighter, and everyone's just, y'know, happy. And seeing Martin Gore sing, up close--so amazing. He really has the voice of an angel.

Other exciting news--I'VE GOT MY TICKETS. I'm flying to Fort Lauderdale on the morning of June 5, seeing PIG that night, taking Amtrak to Tampa the next morning, seeing PIG that night, then flying back to NYC first thing in the morning so that I can get to work on Wednesday. CRAZY schedule, but for PIG--I'm sure it'll be worth it. (Assuming none of these shows get cancelled--GRR.)

I'm SO excited--the time is actually approaching when I will be SEEING PIG LIVE(!!!).

Oh yeah, and tomorrow I'm flying to Boston to see Alice in Chains.

My life is insane.

Go check out the official PIG site, built by me. (SQUEE!!!)
rusty_halo: (sp: i can't handle the pressure)
Dude... insane hoyay in old comics.

And also, I just caught up reading [livejournal.com profile] chase820's latest post of "The Man Who Sold the World," which is so dark and angsty and awesome. I've pretty much forgotten what happened on the actual Queer as Folk; Chase's story is so infinitely better that who even needs the TV version?

Go check out the New York City restaurant guide at SuperVegan. I built this whole nifty little mechanism for users to rate restaurants and post reviews, so if you've ever visisted a veg-friendly restaurant in NYC, please go there and share your thoughts. :) (And if you find anything that doesn't work or seems weird, let me know so I can fix it!)

I saw Depeche Mode at Jones Beach last Saturday with [livejournal.com profile] jaydk and [livejournal.com profile] drujan. It was freezing, but the band was good. I'm seeing them again this Saturday in Atlantic City at the Borgata (have I mentioned how much I SO don't want to go to Atlantic City again? Maybe I can get my mom to go with me...)

On Monday I'm flying to Boston to see Alice in Chains, because I couldn't get tickets to the show in New York. This does feel kind of insane, but whatever... you only have one "all time favorite band EVER," right? Even though it's not really the band I loved *sigh*.

Got a new roommate. So far, so good. I get the feeling she doesn't really like the place, though. I'm just waiting for bad news...

Real life has been so crazy and busy and stressful... ugh.

Oh yeah, I did see the Veronica Mars finale. I thought it was good, not great. VM finale spoilers )

I'm looking forward to a couple of media things: the new X-Men movie (please for the love of god let it live up to the Bryan Singer version) and the new season of Rescue Me (wasn't Denis Leary awesome on the Daily Show the other night?).

Oh, and [livejournal.com profile] 10zlaine is visiting soon and we're going to see Spamalot and Common Rotation. (Haha, look at the comment they left on my MySpace profile: "don't be afraid to list us as a band you like. we promise to growl more.")

AND early June (PIG TOUR!!!!) is coming up faster than I could imagine. I've got a one way ticket to Fort Lauderdale; now I have to decide whether to go to the Tampa show, too.

Damn, I need to get my hair cut. And dyed. Not enough time in the day!!!

Oh, and I'm working on THREE huge website projects, in addition to work (I now run the entire web department by myself.)

I really just want to go take a nap for about three months.

Randomness

May. 3rd, 2006 12:06 pm
rusty_halo: (sp: cartman died for our sins)
This is so sad: David Brooks on how we never escape our high school selves (in relation to politics, but still).

On the plus side, Stephen Colbert rocks SO much. Colbert at the White House press thingy: part 1, part 2, part 3. And because YouTube is awesome for finding random stuff: Colbert in a cheesy 80s new wave video and "I have a Dreamsicle." Oh, and check out the recent 60 Minutes profile--very interesting.

I admit it, Stephen Colbert really is nearly as awesome as Jon Stewart, in his own particular way. It was so cool to see him utterly shred the Orwellian bullshit that passes for discourse these days, right there in front of the president whose entire administration is built on said bullshit. And did I mention that I have Colbert Report tickets for this June? >:)

I missed Veronica Mars last night because they were showing BASKETBALL. &^%#*!!!!!

I tried to get Alice in Chains tickets during the NYC presale today, but of course the server was overloaded and by the time the page actually loaded they were sold out. Ugh. At least I have the Boston ticket to fall back on.

Pig announced more tour dates. Hmmm... should I fly to Fort Lauderdale? I hate that they're taking so long on this; airplace tickets are getting more expensive every day. :(

My life these days is incessant roommate hunting. *sigh* And work worries, and lots and lots of work...

Right now, I'm working on the ability for users to leave restaurant reviews at SuperVegan. It's going to rock--if you're looking for veg*n food in NYC, this will be the site. Don't forget to watch the LJ feed: [livejournal.com profile] superveganblog.

Back to work.... I'm not going to read my FL today lest I inadvertently get spoiled for VM.
rusty_halo: (sp: i can't handle the pressure)
Insanity at work right now. I don't want to talk about it. Just... UGH.

Anyone want to go see Bella Morte with me at CBGB tonight? I'll probably be getting there around 10:30.

Also, new Pig photo: Raymond inspects the merchandise. MySpace banned this photo. Nice.

At least South Park was good this week. Cartman eating the treasure: priceless. Though their ripping on Al Gore was lame; you have to ignore their weird conservative ideology and just enjoy the show.

I downloaded Veronica Mars, but haven't had a chance to watch it yet.

[livejournal.com profile] jaydk was over last weekend, showing me more Jonathan from Guiding Light. We watched like 8 1/2 hours and barely got through one storyline; it's amazing how much screentime soap operas manage to fill. I enjoyed it, though, violence and sex and nihilism and all the other fun stuff I enjoy in my fictional characters.

Back to work.
rusty_halo: (tds: jon kung fu)
I went to see the Daily Show yesterday. We had VIP tickets since we didn't get in the first time. It was really cool--we were right up front (front row, actually), on the left side of the room. Although unfortunately, Jon did the headlines facing away from us.

He was cool--came out and answered some questions beforehand, and was very friendly. It was clearly a matter of watching someone at work, though, going about his daily routine. Between segments he had a guy telling him sports scores, which was cute. At the end they kept us extra long in order to film the intro to the international version. Oh, and it was awesome to see Jon and Stephen chatting via the satellite link thingy.

It should be re-running today--look for my red hair for a fraction of a second during the opening. ;)

Also...

First round of Pig tour dates )

Queens? Are you fucking kidding me? I don't even want to go all the way out to middle of nowhere Queens. The place is going to be empty.

Meh. Whatever. Not my problem. :P
I'm leaving tomorrow for New Orleans and Convergence. Eep! I really need to plan these things more in advance; I haven't even printed out a list of vegan-friendly restaurants yet, never mind choosing clothes and packing!

I'm going to the con with [livejournal.com profile] drujan, so at least I'll have someone to hang out with. Assuming we don't kill each other. ;)

Strangely enough, there's no one there I really want to see. Rasputina should be interesting, but I don't love them, and I'm still annoyed at Bella Morte for not touring with PIG. Strangely enough the one I'm most looking forward to is Voltaire; at least he's funny.

Speaking of funny, did you guys see South Park last night? Totally awesome. More than made up for that lame-ass San Francisco episode. It had Bart Simpson! And Cartman's line about feeding the kid his dead parents! And "at least Family Guy's not all preachy and up it's own ass with messages" (paraphrased). Hee!!! And a really chilling message about censorship, too, for that matter. *loves*

Have you guys been reading Kevin Smith's blog? "Me and My Shadow" is brilliant. Thanks, [livejournal.com profile] 10zlaine, for pointing this out to me. Kevin Smith rocks.

Oh yeah, and now for some totally obvious self-promotion: Want to stay up to date with the latest in vegan news? Add [livejournal.com profile] superveganblog to your list by clicking here. (I blog there! It's cool!)
rusty_halo: (sp: i can't handle the pressure)
It's been a week and a half, and I'm still sick. Stupid cold. Stupid San Francisco germs.

Rob Zombie was awesome. I knew about 3/4 of the songs, despite the fact that I could only remember two when I arrived. But between Beavis & Butthead, MTV in the '90s, Q104.3 back when it rocked, and my friend Chris, I apparently picked up a hell of a lot of White/Rob Zombie. Dude, that guy used to be really popular. (And sidenote: I really miss Chris. How can I not have seen him in like four years?)

Zombie was a good performer, moving around a lot onstage, standing on the speakers, coming really close to the crowd. I was on the right about three rows back. The pit was enthusiastic, but not too dangerous, just the way I like it. I like that Rob Zombie has a sense of humor; the show was quite fun, aside from a couple of lame rock-show cliches (the huge frat boys moshing, the girls showing their tits, whatever).

Oh yeah, and John 5 is the biggest attention whore ever. Dude, seriously, you're not that big a star. And also, you kind of look like my grandmother now. *shudders* But I'll always have a fondness for him, since he was kind enough to give me a hug and photo many years ago in the freezing cold.

I missed most of Lacuna Coil, but I liked what I saw. I'll have to pick up one of their CDs. (Any recommendations?)

I've been so insanely busy lately; I feel like my brain is going to explode, and I haven't had much time for LJ. But at least I'm busy with good and interesting stuff (SuperVegan, WriterCon, and something so cool I'm afraid to name it yet, lest I jinx it).

And speaking of good stuff, more PIG dates were announced. Monday June 5 in Tampa, Tuesday June 6 in Orlando. I think I'm going to fly Jet Blue to Tampa, take Amtrak from Tampa to Orlando, and fly back to NYC from Orlando. I might even manage to get to work Wednesday morning.

And Saturday June 17 in NYC. *sigh* Pig in my town ... too cool to fathom .... plus there's Philly, DC, Boston, all yet to come....
Jun 17 2006 PIG at Albion/Batcave New York, NY

*hyperventilates*

NOTE TO EVERYONE I'VE EVER MET WHO LIVES IN THE NYC AREA: COME TO THIS SHOW AND I'LL BE YOUR BEST FRIEND FOREVER. :)
Tonight: Rob Zombie and Lacuna Coil at the Nokia Theater Times Square.

I think [livejournal.com profile] dizenchanted and [livejournal.com profile] aea are going to be there, right? I'll look for you guys.

*blech, Tuesday night ... must motivate self to go*


In other news, I'm not buying NIN tickets for June 17 at Jones Beach, because Pig is likely to be on the East Coast around that time. (And also, I've already seen NIN five times in the past 12 months.) I wish they'd announce the damn Pig dates already so I could get my schedule together.
Diables Carnaval - June 6th, 2006 - Orlando, FL
Featuring Pig (with Raymond Watts, En Esch, Günter Schulz, and Charles Levi)


Really?


ETA: Alas, not really. (Misinformation.)
rusty_halo: (tds: jon happy)
[promotional announcement]

For the past few months, my coworkers and I have been earnestly laboring to create the most awesome, amazing, fantastic, ginormous vegan website that ever crept upon the face of the world wide web. We call it SuperVegan!

SuperVegan blogs the most up-to-date info on news, events, and products of interest to vegans or vegan wannabes (available through LJ if you friend [livejournal.com profile] superveganblog). SuperVegan's detailed and curated web directory will help you find whatever vegan jollies you're seeking in no time, whether it's vegan booze, a vegan-minded podcast to listen to on your commute to work, or a vegan date.

SuperVegan is also home to the The Amazing Instant New York City Restaurant Finder, the city's best Internet restaurant search engine made by vegans for vegans (and people who just wanna eat like vegans). You can find restaurants to suit almost any need, based on location, price range, cuisine, availability of alcohol, and more.

I did all the database design and programming, so check it out and let me know what you think. :)

We love SuperVegan and we hope you will too. Join the SuperVegan mailing list if you'd like to be kept in the loop about site developments.

[/promotional announcement]

(Now back to your regularly scheduled me-squeeing-over-the-upcoming-PIG-tour).
I've spent way too much time on YouTube recently.

Look at all the Pig stuff!

Not to mention all the Jon Stewart stuff. I hadn't seen that 9/11 thing before, but I really wish I had been watching at the time. And, of course, the Crossfire bit is eminently watchable.

Oh yeah, did I mention PIG TOUR?!!!!!!!!!!!!

ugh

Mar. 9th, 2006 12:45 pm
Because atheists deserve to be raped? Because the life of a virgin is more important than that of a non-virgin?

Bill Napoli.

Fuckwit.


Planned Parenthood is awesome. Take action and/or donate.


God, I hate thinking about politics. I'm going to go back to squeeing about the Pig tour now.
Um ... um... um...

I think I just died and went to heaven.

Someone pinch me. Am I dreaming?

I think my scream must've woken all the neighbors.


Reposted from MySpace:

You wanted it, you got it. Hamstrung on the highway...

THE ALL HAMERICAN PIG SHOW 2006


That's right, squealers. Stock up on liquor and lube, the LORD of LARD cometh. If you see your city here or near, join the PIG SQUAD immediately and await further instructions. (Send an email with your full name and city to pigsquad@theswining.com to get the invitation.)

The PIG line up will be announced as soon as we've got confirmation from the various correctional facilities and parole officers involved. This ain't ya mama's PIG show, ya filthy swine.

We're taking BELLA MORTE along for their believable faces and stylish gear. More surprises in store, keep ya eyes peeled and watch the show listings right on this page for confirmed dates.

lovely long list of cities )


...you gonna be alright there, kid?



::splutters::

::dies::
Today is a wonderful day...

It's Lucifer's birthday!!!!

Eight years ago today, in the laundry room of my parents' house in New Jersey, Lucifer's mother Shadow (a beautiful, sweet black stray cat who I'd made friends with) gave birth to Lucifer and his three siblings. Lucifer was the second born (I have it on videotape) and his head got stuck coming out. We all thought he was going to die, but Shadow eventually pushed him out and started licking him, and finally he started making teeny little squeaking baby kitty noises that meant he was breathing.

And ever since then, he's been the greatest cat ever. Sweet, fun, adventurous, but most of all--cool. Being in Lucie's presence could calm anyone; he's just totally accepting and trusting and relaxed.

I gave him a pile of treats for breakfast. I'll have to find something fun at Petco to bring home to him tonight.

I took some photos of him the other day in the bathtub (trying to drink out of the faucet). I'll post those here later so you can all see how adorable he is. >:)

Movie Meme )

Last night I was working until 8pm and talking to my former coworker Sarah about "relationships." Interesting conversation. Sarah's awesome.

Forgot to mention this: I watched two movies over the weekend, Velvet Goldmine and American Psycho.

weird rant about Velvet Goldmine, American Psycho, Fight Club, and the emptiness of consumer culture )

PS: Excellent thread over at the Hydrogen Board imagining a Chemlab/Pig tour. *sigh* If only.

And I must say, I love it when the bands write their own slash fiction:

petegala (here): If you go into the men's room between sets, you might just find Raymond and Jared making out in a stall.


jared: and, in reference to Pete from the Cracknation board, Raymond and i would only be having sex in the bathroom if we could sandwich you. we've discussed it, and i call the south side of your street, honey.

And it goes from there.... ("The Brokeback Techrat tour anyone?" "BROKE-DICK METRONOME" "Rivetback Mountain" "Tesseract Fountain"....)

PPS: Did you guys watch the Daily Show last night? The Cheney thing actually didn't strike me as that funny when I first heard it, but when Jon got ahold of it, I thought I was going to die laughing.

PPPS: Celebrate International Quirkyalone Day. (Great link; check it out.)

rusty-halo.com

I blog about fannish things. Busy with work so don't update often. Mirrored at rusty-halo.com.

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