The Wer Anarchist

Happy 2012, from Michigan!   ^____^

(I'd have posted sooner, but we had to kiss the kitties.)

This entry cross-posted from http://seeing-red.dreamwidth.org/138907.html.

So this morning, before the microwave turkey moment, Larsa and Basch watched their first Macy's parade (with a lot of folks crowded up in both systems for the event). There was much squeeing over the Mickey Mouse balloon (Sora & Co.), and Hello Kitty (BWAAAAHHH!!!1!!), and Larsa cracked up over this Macy's commercial with Justin Beiber and the cabbie, stockers, and doorman acting like screaming fangirls.

After the parade, they ran the yearly dog show, which we tend to watch in lieu of football. They started with the hound group, and Larsa fell in love with the afghan and the Scottish and Irish wolfhounds. He's been wanting to get his brother Vayne a dog (inworld) for a while now, and when he saw the borzoi he knew he had a winner. So he's talking with Basch about dogs (Basch himself fell for the Bernese Mountain Dog and the whippet), and Larsa, still unfamiliar with the names of the breeds, says that he wants one of those royal dogs (wolfhound or afghan) for himself, and Vayne gets the "bourgeois."

Cue hilarity.  ^___^

This entry cross-posted from http://seeing-red.dreamwidth.org/137983.html.

Yuj unwrapped our holiday turkey and set to work on it, carefully perusing the cooking directions.

"Grill...check the manufacturer's instructions. Nice... Conventional oven, about 3 1/2 hours, we're good with that.
...MICROWAVE? They recommend conventional oven, but if you want to use a microwave, consult the manufacturer's instructions."

Microwaved turkey?!?? WTF???

We're going with the 3 1/2 hours, thanks. (Though I have to say, the thought of a bacon-wrapped deep-fried turkey speaks to something primitive in my heart.)

Gobble well, but stay hungry, my friends!

This entry cross-posted from http://seeing-red.dreamwidth.org/137485.html.

Anyone else reading/already read the Lorien Legacies? I tripped over "I Am Number Four" at the local B&N a couple of months ago, and used the last of our (last Christmas's) gift card from work on it. Now I'm halfway through "The Power of Six" via the library (there's a branch at the mall where I work, yay!). Just wondering if anyone else on my flist was hooked, too?
This entry cross-posted from http://seeing-red.dreamwidth.org/137059.html.

What is this, three days straight now? Four? Eh, I lost count, but at least I'm helping.

In other news, Tiann just made nachos and didn't burn the place down. I call that a major win - though I don't think he made extra to share...

This entry cross-posted from http://seeing-red.dreamwidth.org/136845.html.

Just watched the results show for the semi-finals on Dancing With The Stars. I know some folks might think that's not my kind of thing, but hell, I like it just fine. The paso doble to "Bad Romance" was amazing - I only wish I could move like that, LOL!

I'm glad the finalists came out the way they did. Next week should be a good one.

Maybe by then I'll have a proper icon here... Got it.

(ETA: For those curious to see the video, it was the Macy's Stars of Dance Design-a-Dance, and it's awesome!  ~ Schuldig)



This entry cross-posted from http://seeing-red.dreamwidth.org/136454.html.

...Morgan Freeman.

Last night I had one of those serial dreams - the kind where, whenever you wake up and go back to sleep, you're still in it. There were these creatures of darkness, not demons but extremely nasty, and there were only a select few humans who could see them for what they were.

And the mentor for these few was Morgan Freeman. He would reach out to them, and teach them what they needed for the battle - including how to remove their internal organs and store them someplace safe, so that the enemy could not...something. Not sure if that was to keep them from eating or possessing, but either way, eew.

From what I get from system memory, it was kind of a mashup of "They Live," "Evil Dead," "Terminator" (the lead was a Sarah Connor type), and "I Am Number Four" - with Morgan Freeman.

Naturally my viewpoint person in this dream was not Morgan Freeman. I have been told that I am not cool enough to be him, even in a dream. This is truth. No one is cool enough to be Morgan Freeman except the man himself. Even Chuck Norris is not that cool.

Though a "save the world" kind of dream with Morgan Freeman AND Chuck Norris would probably be the mental equivalent of dividing by zero.

This entry cross-posted from http://seeing-red.dreamwidth.org/135529.html.

Our work schedule is pretty sweet: Monday - Friday, 8-5, and very flexible. Sometimes we trade day/evening with our co-desk-person (who jokingly refers to herself as "The Help", but gods help you if you call her that without being in on the joke!), and other times we trade Friday and Saturday shifts (same hours, both casual jeans days). This is one of those Friday/Saturday weeks, which means...ROAD TRIP!  ^_^

We just got back from driving down to Novi (about an hour south of us), to have lunch at a Japanese restaurant and do some shopping (Better Health Natural Grocery, and a Japanese grocery in the same shopping center). Kiyoshi was out on our sweeties' side. (For those keeping track of all the Schuldigs and Yohjis, he's the one living with Van, parenting Bren and Kit, and technically from my timeline. Yeah...we should just upload a map...)

Anyway. At the restaurant, we dithered over the menu. He really wanted some Japanese curry like they'd had while there last semester, and I debated trying something new. Kiyoshi highly recommended it, so...I tried the eel.

It. Was. AMAZING.  ^___^  They served it grilled, on top of a bowl of sushi rice with seasoning, and for a side dish I had a bowl of kitsune udon - fox noodles. Make that a HUGE bowl of noodles - I couldn't finish it all.

Shopping went nicely, as usual. Kiyoshi picked up the makings for fox noodles so they can cook 'em at home (yay!), and I got the ever-present red bean jam filled rice cakes. All in all, I have had a wonderful day out!

This entry cross-posted from http://seeing-red.dreamwidth.org/133774.html.

I'm glad that's done.

The work itself went really smoothly. We finally figured out how to deal with the shots - get nitrous first! Had no idea canine teeth had nearly 2-centimeter-long roots... No wonder I'm sore.

The antibiotics damn near did us in, though. Turns out the one prescribed (Clindamycin) is a derivative or some such of Lincomycin, which has been our arch-mycin-enemy since childhood. So, yeah. Called the dentist (not the endo) and talked about this, and he said just to not take it anymore and see what happens. He's not worried about infection, and truth be told, if we get symptoms I have no problem taking the devil's medicine then, so I think we'll go with that.

This entry cross-posted from http://seeing-red.dreamwidth.org/133306.html.

Looks like I'm finally getting back into the "Kunsel's Special Movie" thing, and oh, what a film to kick off the week with!

Found "Werewolf" as done by the MST3K crew, and there's an hour and a half we're never getting back, folks. Cheesy effects? Check. Inconsistent, vaguely European accents - in Flagstaff, Arizona? Check. Gratuitous Native American references? Check. An unnecessary Sheen and/or Estevez? Check.

Oh, and a werewolf? Well, it was alternately called by a Navajo term which I can't quite recall (said with a dubious, inconsistent Euro accent, to boot), a werewolf, or a "wurwilf", depending on the actor (and I use that term loosely). Yes, there were werewolves. Wilfs. Whatever. And the main one seemed to take his attack lessons from a muppet: "grrr, I bite you - then I go OVER HERE, where I'm FAR NOW! Now I'm NEAR again!"

Seriously, Tidus and I shared many a WTF moment throughout, buoyed by the ever-manic crew of the Satellite of Love. We made it all the way through to the end credits - whereupon Mike and bots broke into a series of random songs just because they fit the pseudo-Indian music. Tusk!

If you have Netflix, this gem is available on instant watch. Get it. Watch it. Stay for the end credits. Really - even if you can't make it through the film, get to the end credits. They make everything so much better, if for nothing more than they signal that the ordeal is finally over.

This entry cross-posted from http://seeing-red.dreamwidth.org/132729.html.

We've got one of those jobs where they encourage you to bring a good book, because you're basically waiting for the phone to ring. It's a calm kind of gig, much appreciated after so many years of stressful jobs, but it does leave one a little bored. We've gotten permission to wander teh intrawebz here, and I personally have spent WAY too much time on TV Tropes than is healthy, but what really sustains us here is books.

Weiss and I are the primary workers lately, and we're both pretty heavy readers. He's read the Nightrunner series by Lynn Flewelling, and is working on the Tamir Trilogy after Yazuu reads it. He also reads Carol Berg (I forget the name of the series, the one Nero recced to him). I've been reading the Princess books by Jim Hines, and we both tend to read anything that Yazuu recs.

Trouble is, these are all series, and eventually the reader catches up to the author and is left waiting for the next tidbit.

What we need is recs of stand-alone books. Things we might find in the local library (there's one in the same mall as our job), which fit in with our preferred authors/genres but will not demand a long-term relationship. Right now, we're getting a lot of gay-friendly high fantasy, swords and sorcery, and retellings of fairy tales. System-wise, we've gotten pretty much over-saturated on Stephen King, but we like that style of writing, too. Suggestions?

(ETA - just found out this was flocked. I've been posting via email from work, so...sorry 'bout that!)

This entry cross-posted from http://seeing-red.dreamwidth.org/132417.html.

Tonight being such a cold and brutal night, and me waiting to hear whether or not our place of work would be closed tomorrow, I desperately needed some coffee. But not just any coffee - I wanted something GOOD.

Now, Xemnas is a man who really likes his coffee. Shortly after arriving in-system, he figured out that using a simple steel mesh tea filter makes for much tastier coffee than a paper filter ever could; we're long-time Melitta fans here, so imagine our surprise at this new and radical idea. Still, it seemed like the perfect thing to have while awaiting the Michigan Snowmageddon.

So I made a cup. Regular medium-roast coffee (Full Circle brand, rich with a hint of caramel), with molasses and half-and-half. The perfect warm beverage for a howling-cold night. (Seriously - the sky at dusk was still and slate-gray, what I used to call a "killing sky" - not a good sign for the coming storm.) Coffee was delicious! Some of the best I've ever had, even.

Spent the evening playing Lego Harry Potter with Kadaj and waiting for the storm to hit, or for news from work about tomorrow. The wind started to howl, and then the snow started flying horizontally at the front window (north-facing, naturally). I decided it was time for some cocoa, to brace ourselves against the full fury of nature.

Oh, but I forgot - I had some coffee left. I could see it in the mug, a shallow glint of perfection.

I chugged it.

Then I realized that the gritty sensation in my mouth was the specks of coffee grounds that are the inevitable byproduct of this method of coffee making.

I ran to the kitchen, mug in hand, and spewed a mouthful of mud into the sink.

Kadaj, of course, laughed at me.

While I was frantically rinsing and thinking "Oh god, I swallowed some!", I got a text on my cell: no work tomorrow! If the coffee incident was necessary to receiving that news, it was totally worth it. But next time I'll know better...

...right. That's what they all say.  ~_^

This entry cross-posted from http://seeing-red.dreamwidth.org/132005.html.

In about an hour and a half, Romys' parents will be picking me up to head to the airport in Detroit. The guys are due in at about noon.

We are beyond excited. It's been a long 108-ish days. (Coincidence? I'm not so sure, lol! Depends on how you account for that date-change thing.)

This entry cross-posted from http://seeing-red.dreamwidth.org/130892.html.

Today's Astronomy Picture of the Day features a discussion on multiverse theory.

You know, I'm mildly superstitious, and when a subject comes up in disparate settings several times over the course of a few days, I can't help but wonder if Reality is trying to tell me something. :3

(But then, when it comes to multiverses, we plurals knew all along, didn't we? No physics degree required.)

This entry cross-posted from http://seeing-red.dreamwidth.org/129205.html.

We were feeling sorry for ourselves, for missing out on the con today, but all is not lost. I volunteered to come out, saying they know I've got books to read (in the middle of "Boneshaker" by Cherie Priest, and just got "Behemoth" by Scott Westerfeld) - then did a surprise turn.

Once I'm comfortably settled out here, got food, got windows open...I say, "So, anyone else want to watch a buttload of scary movies?" We've got Netflix streaming on the Wii, and a copy of "The Ring" through the mail, and since Netflix loaded up their instant watch selections with stuff for Halloween, we're totally set!  ^___^

Just watched "Paranormal Activity." Gotta say, holy CRAP! Very intense, very real-feeling. Only thing is, Micah needed to be slapped around at the start of the movie for blowing off his girlfriend's fears. Seriously, why do the girlfriends never just say "F- you, I'm calling an exorcist RIGHT NOW!!" instead of waiting until Things Get Worse? Beanie cuddled with me during the movie, which was great - it helped having a warm body next to me, very reassuring. Though when That Creepy Sound started up, I'd stop petting her and warn her that I might jump.  O_O;;;

Not sure what we'll watch next. I did find either a Japanese or Korean version of "The Ring" for instant watch, we'll definitely compare the two! (And yes, I know there's a world - heh - of difference between Japan and Korea, but I found so many scary movies from each country I've totally forgotten which came from where! I may even have a French and/or Dutch import on the queue now.)

So instead of an anime con today, we're having a Halloween Scare Fest! I wonder if we have any popcorn...

This entry cross-posted from http://seeing-red.dreamwidth.org/127439.html.

Well, we did it - full team participation! Except, of course, for those who weren't there...they must have been hanging out with Ben Linus on the Other side of the island.  ~_^
( Read more... )
This entry cross-posted from http://seeing-red.dreamwidth.org/126830.html.

Today was kind of rough. It's the first anniversary of a particularly painful loss, and we're facing it alone; it's already tomorrow in Japan, so the day is done there, but here it dragged. Had a glitch at work wherein someone didn't know we were still on the assignment, and shut off our computer access. This on a day I forgot to bring my book, of course, and on top of that a day I really really wanted distraction.

As soon as I could manage, I walked through the mall to the library (yes, our mall has a branch of the library! woot!) and browsed a bit. Naturally the moment I stepped through the door I forgot all the titles I was looking for, so I cast about for inspiration. I noticed a movie, and thought, aha! I'll find books by the guy behind that movie, as it was quite good. I did this, and by happenstance found the book the movie was based on. (I also found some Batman graphic novels, but those are strictly for reading at home, not at work.)

So I took my books back to the office and had some lunch, then settled in with a book to wait for word on my computer issue. And it wasn't until I got a few pages in that I saw a picture that brought me up short. It made me smile in a way that speaks of warmth and love and hope and all things good.

You see, I'd seen "Coraline," but today in my close-minded sorrow I'd totally forgotten about the cat.

They got my computer access back, and that's all fixed, and now I can't stop smiling. Happy Mocker's Escape Day, everyone. Don't be so busy surviving that you forget to live.

This entry cross-posted from http://seeing-red.dreamwidth.org/126052.html.

Fan Art That Looks Drawn By A Five-Year-Old, that's what! XD

This entry cross-posted from http://seeing-red.dreamwidth.org/125768.html.

Had a great day today! Romy's mom picked me up around 10 this morning, and we headed out northward. Drove through some lovely country, with the trees getting taller as we went, and lots of farms with horses. One place had little shaggy ponies and a goat, all roughly the same size!

Finally, we reached destination one: a Mennonite grocery, with local produce and bulk items that had us drooling. Had. To. Shop. Had to. Got four flavors of coffee beans, some Mexican-style rice, some random things *coughBAGOFLUCKYCHARMSMARSHMALLOWScough* and some jam. Angeal saw the apple butter and insisted I get some, and they had boysenberry, so had to get that too. They have a ton of gluten-free things, and a variety of flours, sugars, spice, etc. - we are SO taking the guys there when they get back from Japan!

Then we hit the road again, and ended up...in Cass City, at the Petroglyphs Historic Site. We didn't get to see any of the carvings, as the area they're currently working on was fenced off and we didn't have a good map, so we wandered the trails and just enjoyed nature for a while. It was chilly, and occasionally spitting rain, but it was wonderful just getting outdoors for a while.

We ended up at a rest stop for a picnic, with ham and cheese and pistachios - and hot chocolate from a Harley thermos, served in little metal Harley cups! Totally cool, and very welcome on a chilly day.

On getting home, I realized that I had more energy now than any of us have had for days. I feel revitalized. And I'm totally looking forward to doing this again sometime!

Thanks, mom! ^______^

This entry cross-posted from http://seeing-red.dreamwidth.org/125138.html.

...at Hot Topic? :3

This entry cross-posted from http://seeing-red.dreamwidth.org/124848.html.