Bad Reputation

Want.

OMG, if I had a yard, I would totally have this:

Because nothing is more fun than your very own trebuchet.

In the same way that Jayne looks better in red...

From now on, I buy the pet food online.

Because, I swear, I only went in to PetCo for cat food. But, ummm...this happened:

So, now Zenobia Hopwood lives with us. And let me tell you, I should have done this 6 months ago. Full kitten integration took less than 3 days, and she & Gussie are bordering on inseparable. To the point where she will dry-nurse on him when we settle down for the night and all he does is lick her head. (!)

If you find me dead, it's from a cuteness aneurysm.

No title needed. Srsly.

How you can tell it was an awesome evening

"How did my bra end up on your entryway table?"

Now boarding Bruce Airlines, Flight 666

Those Iron Maiden boys (or grandpas, whichever) continue to put on one hell of a show.

Bruce Dickinson, like Iggy Pop, will remain completely fuckable until the day he dies.

Putting Eddie’s face on the Sphinx and having an Egyptian-themed set was awesome. Sarcophogi with glowing red eyes are totally wicked. I want some for my living room. Even better was the 20-foot animatronic Eddie mummy they unleashed. I couldn’t do the set justice if I really tried to describe it, so I won’t bother.

THEY ACTUALLY DID “RIME OF THE ANCIENT MARINER”!!!! LIVE!!!! Bruce used the word allegory and explained to gist of the poem. He had me at allegory.

I met a five-year old who’s first words to me were “Did you come to rock out to Iron Maiden?” which gives me hope for future generations.

I remained sober for this show, which makes it way different from the last show, for which my memories are very hazy, except that I know I was wearing only body paint on my upper torso and kissing a lot of random boys and actually said to the hot little 20-year-old who was my favorite, “Oh, sweetie, I’m sorry! I was going to fuck you in the bathroom, but the band’s coming back on and I won’t miss Maiden for anyone.” Which, if you are going to be turned down, seems a reasonable reason.

And on the way home, I was thinking about the marvelous path my life has taken, that 20 years ago I met an amazing woman named Jenna, who has become one of the solid anchors in my life, best friend, confidante, and all that smushy stuff. And I rejoice, because this is the person who introduced me to metal, without whom there would probably be no Iron Maiden in my life, and then my abyss would be that much darker and deeper.

Aneurysm

You want a dark, Goth version of Tweety Bird? Have at it,” said Lisa Gregorian, executive vice president for worldwide marketing at Warner Brothers Television.

And then my brain exploded because it tried to picture that.

Recap

Surprise! This week did not entirely suck. I take these small moments of joy as I find them.

1. One of my three best friends, the one I have known longer than anyone except people who are related to me (TWENTY-SIX YEARS, people!) is engaged!!!!! And even I, who am extremely cynical and feel that marriage is setting yourself up to fail, think this is one of the most wonderful things ever. I cried when she told me. For 2 whole days, I've been going "Eeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee!" when I think about it. My heart is so full of love and joy for the two of them that it's making me a wee bit sick. Someone asked me where they were getting married and my exact response was: "I have no idea and it doesn't matter. It could be a mountaintop in Tibet and I. WILL. BE. THERE. If I have to sell a kidney and ride a yak to get there." That is how much I love them, love full of kidneys and yaks. [Which, as she agreed, is always good currency, although rather hard to exchange.] And also, her ring is kick-ass.

2. I discovered this fascinating new podcast, Useless Information, which completely made my week with this story about penguin prostitutes.

3.  The New York Times had two amazing op-ed pieces this week. One by a doctor who practiced in the days before Roe v. Wade and graphically, viscerally recounts the horror that it was. This is why we have to fight with every fiber to make sure the fascists do not take away our rights to our bodies. [end of preachy soapboxy entry]

4. Brian Greene, an amazing physicist with the ability to write excellently for the layman, contributed a piece called "Put a Little Science in Your Life." The whole thing is well worth reading, but here is the excerpt that really captures it. This is the beautiful and wondrous way that science can transform and enrich one's life, even if one is not a brilliant cosmologist or physicist. It is the essential core that people who feel the need to believe in superstitious woo and imaginary beings are completely missing.

Science is a way of life. Science is a perspective. Science is the process that takes us from confusion to understanding in a manner that's precise, predictive and reliable -- a transformation, for those lucky enough to experience it, that is empowering and emotional. To be able to think through and grasp explanations -- for everything from why the sky is blue to how life formed on earth -- not because they are declared dogma but rather because they reveal patterns confirmed by experiment and observation, is one of the most precious of human experiences.

5. Friday night was spent with another of my best friends, watching Firefly, drinking gin & tonics and eating yumminess like fresh mozzarella & tomatoes, prosciutto, organic fresh-baked Italian bread and chocolate chip cookie dough. See? Perfect. Because I know how to spend a Friday night.

It's why I'm special

Just gave myself a full manicure while listening to a BBC podcast on The Black Death.

Because that is how I roll.

Is there a British word for "shindig"?

A few weeks ago, Wilma & his lovely wife hosted a righteous bash at their British basement. It was almost like being in the Underground, but without the urine stench. At least at the beginning of the night. Seriously, it was awesome fun -- I met wicked cool new people and got to hang with some of my favorite people. There was much drinking, darts -- to all my friends and family, NO I DID NOT TRY TO THROW POINTY OBJECTS -- and ridiculous amounts of karaoke. Autumn & I dueted on "Goodbye Earl" and I was drunk enough to let her teach me the Britney backup dance for whatever that song was. If I had gotten outside of one more drink, I would have subjected people to either Melanie's "Brand New Key" or "I Don't Know How to Love Him" from Jesus Christ Superstar.

As Typepad is being a pain in my ass and not letting me add pictures to a post, go here to flickr for pix.