View allAll Photos Tagged I've gotta do the right thing now
Well, a joke with possibly a good cause in mind..below is the actual text of the listing.
"A delightful & well aired example of some furniture that has definitely seen better days, in fact it's fair to say that it's minging. Included in this sale are the large patches of mildew, some rainwater & an assortment of field rodents that will have by now no doubt have moved in, all at no extra cost to the purchasor.
An early viewing is highly recommended & the suite can presently be seen to the eastern side of Down Road on the way to West Kington just off the A420 Nr Marshfield, Wilts. Buyer collects 'cos there's no way I'm ruining my car & due to it's unsecure location I am unable to guarantee it will still be there before the end of sale. Any proceeds will go to charity or behind the bar".
Questions and answers.
Q: Damn, gotta get me some of that leather action. Goes well with my bitches when we're getting down listening to the man Isaac Hayes & his Shaft soundtrack....
A: How refreshing & sartorially put! I wish you luck in your quest for 'bitches & leather' while you listen to the very talented Mr. Hayes, of which I possess several copies of his work, the pinnacle of which I believe is 'Chocolate Salty Balls' which he recorded under the pseudonym 'Chef' from the comic strip South Park. Happy Bidding & please look at my new listing! Best
Q: hi i dont think that carpet goes with the sofa ! i think this sofa could be made from cow hide !
A: Regrettably the carpet isn’t included in the auction although if you make a fair, balanced offer I’m sure we could accommodate, how much of it did you want? By the look of the picture we could run to a fair few acres. The cow hiding can be seen as a feint dot just above the left shoulder of the sofa (as we view it) Happy bidding & please look at my other items! Best
Q: Hello again, I see I've been outbid on this item! I have changed my mind about the pallet & brick/sofa combination and now would like to purchase and keep it where it is either as a Britart statement entitled "MY EBAY" akin to Tracey Emin's "MY BED" or alternatively as a Conservation Area for the rare noturnal creature "Neandertalis Maximus Ignoramus" more commonly known as the "Lesser Spotted Flytipper". Please could you tell me that "If I build it they will come", and also if you have seen any other creatures of interest that might persuade me to increase my bid. Thanks Ang x
A: Dear Grandly716, Yes it does indeed seem that you've been beaten in the bids, by some campanologist I see! With regards to the art installation I also noticed the similarity in the pieces random arrangement, although I noticed more of an 'Hommage' to Colombian sculptor Doris Salcedo, who you will recall in 2003 presented her installation '1600 chairs' at the 8th International Istanbul Biennial where she randomly & somewhat precariously stacked, er, 1600 wooden chairs between 2 buildings on an unremarkable downtown street. Why only the gods know. Happy Bidding! Best
Q: I'm glad you haven't employed a feng shui consultant to advise on marketing as i'm sure that would have placed bidding well beyond my means. I've bid £2.23 as i'm not sure how much a pint of beer is nowadays.
A: I'm pleased that you've noticed the venerable art at work here. My Feng Shui Masters (Far Kyou & Yure An Arze) are in discussions as to whether the 'Al Fresco' situation maximises the positive energy within the chakra's & Lei lines. Pint of beer at least £3.50. Well for a reasonable strength one. Happy Bidding! Best
Q: I am so laughing. You brought a smile to my face and a giggle to my belly, but i cant believe someone has actually bid on them.....thankyou for cheering me up.
A: Be here to witness the sale end & the successful bidder collecting, especially if it’s becksybarnes in his Great Aunts pickup. Now that will be funny…. Happy Bidding! Best
Q: Hi, Love the sofa it would definitely give the shabby chi(t)c look my half renovated house deserves. Why finish a job when there are so many more that can be started and left! The only thing missing is a coffee table to put the Tennents Super/Special Brew/Meths on. Could you check if there is an old pallet and a few bricks to complete the ensemble. Thanks for your time, x
A: I’ll have a rummage in the hedgerow for nature’s bounty knows no ends. If I can’t find a pallet, bricks & a 4 pack of Special Brew would you settle for a bottle of Thunderbird & Ray Mears? Happy Bidding! Best
Q: I dont suppose you know if there are any matching or colour co-ordinating scatter cushions near by, have you looked in the ditch opposite or maybe in the next layby.Have you contacted the palace as wills and kate are probably looking for furniture for their new home, they are probably strapped for cash after coughing up for the wedding.
A: I don’t recall any extra soft furnishings or cushions although Lawrence Llewellyn Bowen & Gok Wan were in an adjacent haystack getting very heated over the benefits of floral fabric patterns in scatter throws, or so they said. With regards to the royal wedding I’m sure the dress code states 3 piece suit but I’ll double check my invite. Happy Bidding! Best
Q: Could you tell me whether the armchairs fart when you sit down in them similar to those favoured by Reggie Perrin's Boss CJ in the original TV series & if they do, how long is the delay between buttocks firmly seated within the cushion & the raspberry?
A: You are all determined to get me to actually sit down on the festering objects, aren't you? I would suspect that looking at it from my safe distance of about 10 feet away & given their general age & amount of rainwater they've absorbed you more likely to get a soggy splutter rather than the proud, loud retort I recollect CJ's gave. I'll update my will, hurry that safety suit along & report back asap. Happy Bidding! Best
Q: Hi, I'm collecting old sofas for bar at Glastonbury festival which is how I came across your listing, however I think I will pass on these and even for my intended use they are a little too rough!! Simon.
A: No offence taken Simon. However having been to what was then known as The Glastonbury Fayre (Saw Steve Hillage & Peter Gabriel, Yeah Right-on Man) during the closing quarter of the 20th century these magnificent thrones would have been an unheard of luxury & something we would have eaten meat for. Still I wish you well in your quest, but you have 6 days left if you change your mind! Best wishes
Q: Hi , would some body be able to check if there is any small change packed away down the sides of the cushions to make my visit from Yorkshire fruitful.
A: Keep this up everyone, You're all determined for me to approach it aren't you? I'm on the phone to the MOD as they are nearer than Japan for a possible radiation suit. I would urge you to hurry the bidding tho' as I saw someone else last night who had come on a home viewing. Although to be fair they were shaking their heads & puffing loudly much like a tyre kicker muttering "Bloody Pikeys" although this may have been a ruse to lower the price. As for the small change I'll let you know. Happy Bidding! Best
Q: Hello, I am very interested in this magnificent suite. Could you let me know if these sofas are real leather or faux leather. Could you also give me an idea of dimensions as I will be borrowing my great aunts pick up and I need to know if there will be enough space. Thanks alot. Giles
A: As with previous enquiry I haven't gone too close. If enough people wanted detailed stuff I'll borrow an old unwanted fallout suit from Fukushima. Until then assume that it is leather. Unless it's not. Regards to your Great Aunts pickup it depends entirely if she will be driving,, you could then hold on to the suite in the back on top of it all, much like the characters at the start of "The Beverly Hillbillys" Happy Bidding! Best
Q: Hi, I'm very interested in this suite. Can you tell me if it has the British Standards safety label attached? It looks like it might be pre 'Furniture and Furnishings (Fire) (Safety) Regulations 1988'. I like to know I can fall asleep in front of the t.v with a fag on the go. Thanks, Jimmy.
A: to be honest I haven't wanted to actually be too close to the item. If I can find a passing yokel or immigrant type the PM has been talking about recently I'll send them in & update you. Good luck & as they say here "Happy Bidding" Best
Q: Hi, Love the sofa and it would be ideal to put on the touch line of my local football club (blackburn Rovers) They seem to spend most of their time sitting on their arses. Certainly cant be playing, looking at their performance this season. Anyway, next time your passing, could you throw a gallon of petrol on it and set it alight ? Would hate my beloved team to get bitten my any nasty creatures living in it. I have started the bidding, but hope it wont go for much more, as i have had to get a mortgage to pay for the gallon of petrol for you.
A: What a gent you are to start the bidding. I do hope for your sake that others join the fun or you may win - as for the de-infestation idea I'll give it a go but we had a heavy rainfall the other eve so fire may not catch. My deepest commiserations for your choice of football team. best wishes .
Olympus Mju-II | Ilford Delta 100 | Singapore
Man I love this shot. I vaguely remember shooting it, I was mostly bus and train hopping in Singapore and I guess one of those times I just looked up and snapped this.
I'm trying to make a change, I think it's my current lifestyle that's got me like this, my bedroom is a mess, I used to be able to get work done in there but now I usually just go there to sleep, I even moved my scanner downstairs cause I couldn't stand scanning in there.
I really wanna get active here again too, but I can't find make the time to do it right, i'm just posting for the sake of posting, my contacts don't even know me anymore.. Maybe i'll have to do a huge clean up and just follow a small amount of close contacts... Would that help? Maybe get active in group discussions for once.. I'm looking at my list and holy crap I have more than 500 contacts... I tend to just add people who have a style or camera I like.. Lol I think thats a pretty bad practice. Its like... Trying to confirm my feelings that having this camera will let me do what they're doing which is completely not the case..
Hell, I gotta get my act together.. I'm tired of the one dimensional posts too... I used to get critiqued really well by some people, and they really did help during my first year or two.. What am I saying i'm only 17 and I started maybe 3 years ago.. What the hell is wrong with me, haha I should be glad i'm shooting film among a sea of ignorant digital teenagers... I'm trying to get an old enlarger my uncle had going, i've shot a tonne of images i'm really really proud of..
I think i'll spend some time.. Doing some self reflection, printing and framing some of my old and most favourite work and just lay it all out there, see everything i've done, and ask myself what and where I wanna go from there. What do I want out of all of this..? Have I found my purpose? I've no syle... at least that I know of.. I think i'm subconciously copying my 500 contacts, every image has some trace of western and asian styles which I love so much...
The print thing sounds like a good idea... Anyone can send me a Flickrmail anytime to chat.. I'd love to discuss photography any time of day =)
Yeah sounds good. Sorry, I don't like talking to people I know about things like this, somehow just typing all this out makes me feel better. I think I'm ready to set things straight.
You gotta love Wyoming skies. Always changing.
Taken on a trip to the Miracle Mile in Wyoming on the last weekend in March of 08 with a few of my pals. The fishing was no good because of the weather but it created ideal conditions for me.
So this place is somewhere my family has been taking me forever. My grandparents have a little Airstream trailer that sits up at the river year round. Propane heat, oven and stove. Roughing it, with a little comfort mixed in.
Conditions can be pretty rough, both in summer and winter.....and in March! It's a long way out on dirt roads that see VERY little activity. If you break down it could be a day before you see anyone. On this trip we were reminded of just how vulnerable we as humans are to nature.
On Sunday, the day we planned to leave, we awoke to a little snow on the ground and pretty cold temperatures. It really wasn't sticking to the ground though. The boys weren't afraid and they tried their luck at the fishing again that morning. After a few hours they called it quits and we started to pack up and clean the trailer. My buddy really wanted to try and land a fish in the tough conditions so he went down to the river to try one last time before we headed home.
I joined him, to try and take a few photos of him fishing in the snow. As soon as we got to the river the snow picked up a little. Then a lot. He had barely gotten himself into the freezing cold water before he turned around and looked at me like, "Holy $%@#, we should probably get out of here!"
And we did. We locked up the trailer and hit the road.
Now my buddies were in a 4 wheel drive Jeep and I was in a front wheel drive Altima. No chains. We drove in on dry roads and we were leaving in blizzard conditions. There are a few different roads leading out of the Mile and I had to choose which one to take. One road takes you up and over a pass but once you get over the pass the roads are paved and it's the shortest route. The other way is pretty flat but it's out on the plains and many times the road drifts over and it's hard to see where the road is. Sometimes the drifts are 10 feet tall and then you're screwed, for lack of a better term. So I thought we'd try our luck at the pass. Yeah, not so much. The first major hill and my car started spinning about three quarters of the way up. Luckily we hadn't gone down that road long before we realized it was not an option.
We turned around, or rather my car did a donut and turned me around and we headed the other way. I've driven in white out conditions before but nothing prepared me for the journey I, and my trusty friends, would take. Just like I suspected the road was full of drifts and with the blizzard conditions visibility was next to nothing. For two and a half hours I followed a few little bushes sticking out of the road hoping that I was on the right path. Honestly it was hard to see if I was on the road or out in the prairie. White as white could be.
We made it off of the dirt roads and to a little town called Hanna. Now if you've ever been to Wyoming you know that outside of a few of the "major" cities, EVERYTHING closes down at 6pm on a Sunday. We rolled into town about 5:55. Just enough time for me to get a pack of smokes at the grocery store and trust me I needed them. The folks at the store told us EVERY road out of Hanna was closed. Hanna has NO motels. None. I was pretty sure I was sleeping in my car that night cuddled up to my furry dog.
At this point we needed gas too. I always fill my tank before I head out on the dirt roads because I know what can happen. No real gas stations in Hanna but they do have a few pumps that take a credit card. That works, if only the pumps worked. No luck.
So we decided to drive a few more miles to Interstate 80 because we figured that was our best option. Luckily the highway ramp wasn't closed and we decided to press our luck and try and get to Laramie which was about 70 miles away. Laramie was the only gas or lodging available. I had less than a quarter tank.
Actually I-80 was the best driving conditions we saw but that really isn't saying much. Visibility was a little better though. We made it to Laramie, and gas, and we were again told that all roads out of Laramie were closed. Hundred of semis, cars and trucks sat at on-ramps around Laramie. We decided to call Wyoming Dep't of Transportation to see if Highway 287 was open. They said yes but probably not for long. We made it out of Laramie and got past the gates before they closed them. I'm not sure if that was a good thing or not, looking back.
By now it was dark, very cold, and the wind was blowing like crazy. My buddy took the lead because he had the 4 wheel drive and better headlights. The snow was whipping around and making it really hard to see. We had to drive a little ways, find a road marker, drive a little more till we spotted the next. Most cars in the other lane were stopped with their hazard lights on. We kept on trucking. Up and over the pass we went. We drove through piles of drifted snow. The wind howled like I've never seen it before. At one point it literally moved my car about 4 feet. Slid it right along the frozen ground. All of a sudden I was in the oncoming lane, or what I thing was the oncoming lane. Scary stuff.
So we finally made it back to Fort Collins. The wicked conditions didn't let up until we reached the city limits. A trip that usually takes three and half hours took almost seven!
Seven hours of hunching over the steering wheel to see out of the windshield. Seven hours of gripping that steering wheel like it was a piece of rope and I was dangling over the edge. :)
I'm glad I had a few friends that didn't panic and knew what they were doing. I've never been so glad to be home from a trip.
Thanks for reading my story.
Let the uncontrollable laughter commence!
Amara would walk over, getting very close to Tobias' face and quickly lick his cheek if he didn't react fast enough. It was meant to be playful of course. Hit or miss, she'd stick her tongue out afterwards.
Lily Lowtide: \o/ ))
Tobias Reyes frowns slightly in Lily's direction before speaking. "Like the nearly one-hundred year old classic goes, 'you can't always get what you want." He'd say, chuckling softly to himself. If it weren't for his own obsession with music, he probably wouldn't know what he was talking about but he loved referencing pre-war music when he could.
Tobias Reyes pauses when he feels something wet touch his cheek. He'd stand there, motified for a moment before flailing his arms about in the air. "You licked me!"
Lily Lowtide looks to Toby with a blank expression before forming the most stupid face possible and nods. "Naahh, yathink?" she says as she pokes out her tongue.
Kimani Silvercloud looks down at the sleeping char again, wondering if he was still upset, then looks up at lilly her cheecks blushing a bit. gently standing then placing chars head down walking over to lily
Amara pouted. "How rude! It's not like I'm laced with poison or something!" She was tempted to bring up events from cleaning day again, but decided against it. She'd only fold her arms in a mock grumble.
Tobias Reyes continues to flail his arms in the air as he begins to shout at the top of his lungs. "Ugh! I've been kissed by a girl! I have girl germs! Get hot water! Get some disinfectant! Get some iodine!"
Lily Lowtide looks to Kimani and steps a little closer so they were standing side by side. She brings her hand up, intending on patting Kim on the head, but then tilts her head to the side, her hand just hovering above Kimani's head. "Did you grow? Or am I just shrinking... or just crazy?" She looks back to Toby then and playfully rolls her eyes. "Oh come on. Amara licks are the best." she says with a sage nod.
Kimani Silvercloud glances at tobias "he's worse then nine year olds" then walks over to him "Mister, you look ridiculous, like one of wacky wally's inflatible arm tube man"
Lily Lowtide: Lmao! XD ))
Tobias Reyes looks down at the ankle bitter, his eyes wide as he continues to speak; his voice slightly lower than before. "I've been kissed by a girl ... germs, infection, disease, cooties!" Okay, so now he was just hamming it up for the lil sheila. "And I -do not- look like a wacky-arm-inflatable-tube-man-thingy." He says as he slowly stops flailing his arms about and places them back at his side.
Amara took some cleaner( just water) and a clean rag from the supplies bin. If Tobias was still screaming like a baby, she'd spritz him with the water and wipe his face. Whether he dodged it or not, she'd try to spray him with a mist.
:: Amara Parmelee OOC :: i have a use for this finally!
Lily Lowtide: Lmao. ))
(OOC)Tobias Reyes dies, he just dies lmao.
Lily Lowtide: Lmfao om Amara. ))
Kimani Silvercloud giggles "well you did, you would have fit in at the lot where he sells them" she pauses "and it isnt girls that have cooties, its boys that have cooties" she turns to look at lily "I think I had a growth spurt, but i dunno"
Lily Lowtide: I'm laughing so hard. ))
:: Amara Parmelee OOC :: i can't breathe
Kimani Silvercloud quick do interweb cpr!!))
Lily Lowtide looks at Amara and busts out luaghing, trying her best to nod at Kimani, but she was laughing too hard. "Oh, that's great." she'd say inbetween laughs as she watched the scene. "Pheeww."
Lily Lowtide: EVERY MOVEMENT I LAUGH EVERN HARDER! ))
(OOC)Tobias Reyes: My cat just jumped on my shoulders...
(OOC)Tobias Reyes: Epic kitty piggy-back ride.
Lily Lowtide: XD ))
:: Amara Parmelee OOC :: did it scare you?...wait does every neko hete have a cat in RL?
Kimani Silvercloud: i have a dog, no cats here
Kimani Silvercloud: ))
Lily Lowtide: I has 4 cats and 3 dogs. >_> ))
Tobias Reyes stares at the boy blankly for a moment before turning his head toward the staircase, calling down to Amara as she walks off to put the sandwiches back in the fridge. "Hey, Amara! The ankle bitter wants me to lick you! You in!?" He'd shout down to her, a hint of exhaustion in his voice as he speaks.
Jayde Rasmuson: ((gotta go set up my new place, i'll be back pretties))
Lily Lowtide: Bai! _> ))
Tobias Reyes stares at the ankle bitter as a stream of water hits the side of his face. Slowly,, he'd turn his head toward Amara as a second stream hits him directly in the eyes. He'd close them shut, tightly, before speaking. "Amara..." He says, trying to keep his voice controlled as the streams of water hit him in the face. "I... am going... to kill you..." He mutters under his breath before shouting and flailing his arms once more. "I'm clean now okay!?"
(OOC)Tobias Reyes: I have 2 cats and 1 dog. The one that actually associates closest with me though is a bengal so I expect it out of her.
Lily Lowtide: Me cat looks like he's in deep thought right now. He just like.. staring blankly into space. XD ))
(OOC)Tobias Reyes: Lucky ! Mine's biting at my fingers as I move them across the keyboard !
Lily Lowtide: XD ))
Kimani Silvercloud: ((my dog, I only have one, is chilling on the couch, he's 1 1/2, so totally adorable))
Amara wiped just a bit more, rubbing the rag fiercly against his check. "There you are. Girl cooty-free, love." She'd laugh loudly, failing to hold in the giggles any longer. "You're very good at the flailing by the way."
Kimani Silvercloud snickers "did they bring you from there, maybe you were hiding there, like in disguise which is why your so good at arm flailing" she pauses then looks at lily moving back over to her muttering "miss amara, try to get all the cooties he has off of him"
Amara continued laughing. "I think I did Kimani."
Lily Lowtide starts to fidget as she stands there and looks around. A small whine could even be hear from her as she looks to the main waterfall. "Anyone know how long this storm thing is supposed to last?"
Tobias Reyes looks between the ankle bitter and Amara. "I just have a lot of practice... oka--wait. I mean,
I'm no good at arm flailing! Yeah! ...that's it." He'd stand there silently for a momentfore pushing off the wall. "And on that note. I'm going to bed." He mutters, "if anyone needs me, I'll be sleeping in the medical bay where it's -cootie free-." He says as sarcastically as possible.
Kimani Silvercloud nodding "that's good, we dont want boy cooties spread everywhere, " she looks at lily "not too much longer I hope, its odd not running around freely" she looks at tobias then back at the two women "what a crazy ole coot" she says her smile getting larger
Amara plopped on the bed. "Great idea. I need to sleep myself." She was not in the modd to question what god-awful cooties lurked in the mattress. "Night all."
:: Amara Parmelee OOC :: nini
(OOC)Tobias Reyes: G'night.
Lily Lowtide: Night. ))
Kimani Silvercloud: Nighty night!))
:: Amara Parmelee OOC :: *spritzes Tobi one last tiime* Okay, i'm done.
Kimani Silvercloud: lol))
(OOC)Tobias Reyes: lol
Lily Lowtide makes a pouty face cause everyone is going to sleep. She waves to nods to Amara, then looks to Toby and smirks. "Sleep well, muffin." she says in an equally as sarcastic tone.
Tobias Reyes begins to make his way toward the stairwell when he hears the lil sheila words. He'd turn his head toward her, his eyes glaring, before he shouts; as loud as he possibly could. "I'm not old!" And with that he'd stomp down the stairs ignoring Lily's comment as he made his way toward the medic's bay.
Kimani Silvercloud says to lily "then there were two" before looking around giggling "he takes stuff to seriously"
Angel Gravois would be seen, more or less just hoofing it along the side of the road, beads of sweat on her brow from having to lug her ruck sack all over the place. She was getting the layout down for the city. The incline of the road was slowing her down, not to mention she had marched all the way from the docks. She stopped to pull out a canteen and suck down some water. After one good swig, she turned it up to dump the very last little splash onto her face. Toxic weather made it hot as balls out, and she was feeling beat.
Grizmo was barking up a storm as he would run around the gas tank. After one of the stray cats in Midian was running by the gas station. "Grizmo!" Ly commanded, as the rottie would whine and turned to face the girl giving her a look like: But...But...it's running! Ly would roll her eyes and finished putting the rest of the credits in the tire wheel. It wasn't actually real, instead it was something that Ly created and had a hidden compartment that allowed her to hide things on the inside. Since it was in the middle of the tires it was extremely hard to tell that it was fake or not. Ly would dust off her hands, and moved to walk back around the building. As she noticed the girl, she didn't say much and instead whistle for Grizmo to follow her.
Angel Gravois noticed the stranger at the gas station, then stared at her empty canteen. Back and forth for, she looked, trying to decide if she should risk it. The big fucking dog didn't phase her for some reason. Apparently she was accustomed to far worse beasts, "Scuse me...hate to be a bother, but you got a restroom I could use? ... and some water?"
Lyandria Bernard stops as she heard the words from Angel and shook her head. "Got a restroom, but no water." She stated towards the girl, "Still trying to figure out what's wrong with this shops water system." She didn't realize that it was all of Midian that had bad water right now. Grizmo would move to stand in between the girl and Ly as if he was the protector. "Don't mind him, he's actually a big cuddle bug." She smirked towards the stranger, stepping around Grizmo and giving him a pat upon the head. "Can give you a soda if you want?" She didn't hold on her hand, or anything of that sort. "Names Ly Bernard."
Angel Gravois looked at the dog and smiled warmly, "I could deal with anything cold to drink actually. Thanks," she said. There was a hint of recognition at the name offered, "Bernard huh? I'm Angel...Gravois." She was leery of using the name. Too many people knew that one. She offered her hand to shake though, "Pleasure to meet you."
Lyandria Bernard nodded her head, "John Bernard is my father, and Kat Morales is my mother." Why not get it out there now, hell of a lot easier to deal with than when people found out and started yelling at her 'cause of things her parents did. She held up her hand to show the grease and dirt upon them. "Don't think you wanna shake my hand right now." She smirked before looking over towards the pig hybrid, she's noticed that hybrid a few times around town but wouldn't say anything as she moved to walk into the garage.
17 "Sev"snorts and grunts as he trots along, stopping as he see's people, two girls. He eyes them curiously, then as one of them looks his way, he lifts a hand to wave to her, nodding his head. "Uh... hallooh?" He grunts, rubbing at his snout.
Angel Gravois looked to see where Ly was looking, and waved to be polite, "Hello there," she said before following the brunette into the garage, "I think I've heard of them," she said in reply to the woman saying who her parents were. She didn't offer the same information though, "Mind if I sit this down here?" she said, pointing at her ruck sack with a thumb, "I've really gotta ... use the latrine." That was less crude than saying she had to piss like a racehorse, wasn't it?
Lyandria Bernard would jerk her thumb in the direction of the bathroom, and looked over towards the pig as she would fold her arms and leaned against the door. "Evening sir." Ly made no comments about the ruck sack, or that she heard about her parents, instead Ly would lean against the door frame. "Can I help you with anything?" She asked the hybrid.
Angel Gravois did the 'pee pee' dance as she shuffled off the ruck sack and set it down in a corner of the shop, well out of the way. The young lady wasn't gone long. The bathroom proved to make her cringe for a moment, but she managed to handle her business all the same. More than a little relieved, she stretched like a cat about to lounge in sunlight before hefting the heavy as hell ruck sack back onto her shoulders. Issuing a grunt, she picked out a soda, put down some currency, and walked back outside, "Is it always so dark around here?" she asked casually.
17 "Sev" grunts as he trots closer, looking around, though not before smiling and nodding to the other girl that was there "Uh... I eyein'... workshop? An' tools an things... you be fixin' stuff 'ere?" He asks, gesturing to each thing as he mentions it, then spots the dog, and furrows his brow, staring at it nervously.
Lyandria Bernard raised a slender brow towards the hybrid. "Aye, I fix things." She stated casually as she glanced down to Grizmo who was still sniffing around as if he was looking for that stray feline earlier. "He don't bite, unless you do something stupid." She tried to teach the dog not to bite stupid, but it failed so she gave up. "We fix mostly bikes, and cars at this location, but I am skilled in fixing other items." She was the one that build the roadhouse kitchen, and also a few other things here and there. "Whatcha need?" As she heard Angel come back, and heard her question. She would nod her head, "I suppose so, I'm still learning about this area myself, folks sent me here wanting me to grow up or something..."
Angel Gravois seemed to get along fine with the canine for some reason. It would probably eat her in one gulp, though, if she were to mess with Ly. Lucky for Angel, she had no ill intent. "Yer a *big* puppy aren't you?" she said sweetly enough. Angel looked at the porcine hybrid and blinked slowly. She was trying not to stare, but she had never seen a pig hybrid before, "Aren't you afraid of getting something nasty of your feet? A stray sliver of metal could cause a really bad infection, you know...plus...these streets look...uh...not clean." She was used to dirty, but the kind of dirt one found in nature, not the toxic kind found in a city. She had brought a first aid kit worthy of a first class hospital with her just to that end. "Grow up," she nodded, "Yeah...I'm ... kinda here on the same mission." She had a strange way of talking, "My mama figured I needed to find out how things worked out here in the rest of the world on my own, like my brother Argus did."
17 "Sev" shrugs "Uh... well I got some skill in fixin' stuff... makin' stuff too. Thought maybe could uh..." He trails off, scratching his head, thinking for a moment, before looking to Angel, raising a brow "Mine hoofs be tougher den 'mun feet... aint much of chance gettin' hurt." He nods, and lifts one leg, grabbing hold of it to keep it up as he showed them the underside of his hoof, balancing on one leg "See? Is made've tough stuff... an' skin der is tuff like leathah..." He nods, letting his leg drop back down with a clop. The pig man turns his attention back to Ly "I be sev... who be you?"
Lyandria Bernard heard Grizmo bark as if in an agreement with the stranger and than sat down upon the ground and put his paws in the air as if asking for a treat. As Ly noticed that, she would stare at the dog. "That's why you've been putting on weight..." She muttered realizing what the dog was doing and shook her head. Yes, the dog was -suppose- to be on a diet, except Ly didn't have a backbone with that rottie so it usually ended up getting its way. As she heard the hybrid start to talk, she would fold her arms. "Names Ly, and are you asking for a job?" She smirked towards him as she would glance back towards the man.
BOY:
I remember every little thing
As if it happened only yesterday
Parking by the lake
And there was not another car in sight
And I never had a girl
Looking any better than you did
And all the kids at school
They were wishing they were me that night
And now our bodies are oh so close and tight
It never felt so good, it never felt so right
And we're glowing like the metal on the edge of a knife
Glowing like the metal on the edge of a knife
C'mon! Hold on tight!
C'mon! Hold on tight!
GIRL:
Though it's cold and lonely in the deep dark night
BOY:
I can see paradise by the dashboard light
GIRL:
Ain't no doubt about it
We were doubly blessed
'Cause we were barely seventeen
And we were barely dressed
TOGETHER:
Ain't no doubt about it
Baby got to go and shout it
Ain't no doubt about it
We were doubly blessed
BOY:
'Cause we were barely seventeen
And we were barely dressed
Baby doncha hear my heart
You got it drowning out the radio
I've been waiting so long
For you to come along and have some fun
And I gotta let you know
No you're never gonna regret it
So open up your eyes I got a big surprise
It'll feel all right
Well I wanna make your motor run
And now our bodies are oh so close and tight
It never felt so good, it never felt so right
And we're glowing like the metal on the edge of a knife
Glowing like the metal on the edge of a knife
C'mon! Hold on tight!
C'mon! Hold on tight!
TOGETHER:
Though it's cold and lonely in the deep dark night
I can see paradise by the dashboard light
Though it's cold and lonely in the deep dark night
Paradise by the dashboard light
You got to do what you can
And let Mother Nature do the rest
Ain't no doubt about it
We were doubly blessed
'Cause we were barely seventeen
And we were barely-
We're gonna go all the way tonight
We're gonna go all the way
tonight's tonight...
We're gonna go all the way tonight
We're gonna go all the way
tonight's tonight...
RADIO BROADCAST
OK, here we go, we got a real pressure cooker going here,
Two down, nobody on, no score, bottom of the ninth,
There's the windup, and there it is, a line shot up the middle,
Look at him go. This boy can really fly! He's rounding first and really
turning it on now, he's not letting up at all, he's gonna try for
second; the ball is bobbled out in center, and here comes the
throw, and what a throw! He's gonna slide in head first, here he
comes, he's out! No, wait, safe-safe at second base, this kid
really makes things happen out there. Batter steps up to the
plate, here's the pitch-he's going, and what a jump he's got,
he's trying for third, here's the throw, it's in the dirt-safe at
third! Holy cow, stolen base! He's taking a pretty big lead out
there, almost daring him to try and pick him off. The pitcher
glances over, winds up, and it's bunted, bunted down the third
base line, the suicide squeeze is on! Here he comes. squeeze play, it's gonna be close! Heres the throw. heres the play at the plate. Holy cow, I think he's gonna make it!
GIRL:
Stop right there!
I gotta know right now!
Before we go any further!
Do you love me?
Will you love me forever?
Do you need me?
Will you never leave me?
Will you make me so happy for the rest of my life?
Will you take me away, will you make me your wife?
Do you love me!?
Will you love me forever!?
Do you need me!?
Will you never leave me!?
Will you make me happy for the rest of my life!?
Will you take me away , will you make me your wife!?
I gotta know right now
Before we go any further
Do you love me!?
Will you love me forever!?
BOY:
Let me sleep on it
Baby, baby let me sleep on it
Let me sleep on it
And I'll give you an answer in the morning
Let me sleep on it
Baby, baby let me sleep on it
Let me sleep on it
I'll give you an answer in the morning
Let me sleep on it
Baby, baby let me sleep on it
Let me sleep on it
I'll give you an answer in the morning
GIRL:
I gotta know right now
Do you love me?
Will you love me forever?
Do you need me?
Will you never leave me?
Will you make me so happy for the rest of my life?
Will you take me away , will you make me your wife?
I gotta know right now!
Before we go any further
Do you love me?
Will you love me forever?
Whats it gonna be boy? Come on...I can wait all night... Whats it gonna be boy... yes or no?? Whats it gonna be boy? YES OR NO???
BOY:
Let me sleep on it
Baby, baby let me sleep on it
Let me sleep on it
And I'll give you an answer in the morning
Let me sleep on it
TOGETHER:
Boy: let me sleep on it......
Girl: I gotta know right now.......Do you love me will you love me forever do you need me will you never leave me will you make so happy for the rest of my life will take me away will make me your wife i gotta know right before we go any further do you love me will you love me forever.
BOY:
Let me sleep on it..
GIRL:
Will you love me forever?
BOY:
Let me sleep on it..
GIRL:
Will you love me forever?!?!?!
BOY:
I couldn't take it any longer
Lord I was crazed
And when the feeling came upon me
Like a tidal wave
I started swearing to my god and on my mother's grave
That I would love you to the end of time
I swore that I would love you to the end of time!
TOGETHER:
So now I'm praying for the end of time
To hurry up and arrive
'Cause if I gotta spend another minute with you
I don't think that I can really survive
I'll never break my promise or forget my vow
BOY:But God only knows what I can do right now
I'm praying for the end of time
It's all that I can do
Praying for the end of time,
So I can end my time with you!!
TOGETHER:
BOY:
It was long ago and it was far away
And it was so much better than it is today
GIRL:
It never felt so good
It never felt so right
And we were glowing like
A metal on the edge of a knife
Second to the bikini on Koloist's Chaotic Universe post was the mentioning of post card which got me into this connection thing again. Now I don't consciously collect them but somehow I have them around me (and I don't mean bikini) and keep bumping into relating events and shops.
In 2007 I went to the Lomo World Congress event in London (1st Day, 2nd Day, Photos). On the last day of my visit, 30 mins. away from leaving the Royal National Hotel I saw a poster of the Bloomsbury Postcard Fair happening right there in a conference hall! The event happens EVERY SINGLE MONTH! But I got less than 30 mins., without waiting I paid 1.5 pounds and met really interesting folks!
I didn't know where to start, it was crazy, the clock was ticking. So I went to more organized exhibitors, the classification and the way they store them alone worth the entire trip to UK, it is like a primitive Google for searching postcards. You name it, they have a way. By countries, 30's 40's 50's, wars, transportations, children, eras, .... My mind flew away imagining that if there is such a physical search engine sorting resorting these postcards on the fly according to your search terms, wouldn't it be a sight?
And I met Ken Lister, a regular visitor to the show. He gave me some hints on how to find things there and he mentioned that there is such a fair happening in Hong Kong which I didn't know! Ken was an extensive traveler, been to many places in South East Asia, I wish there was more time to chat with him. Tick tock tick tock.
Postcards are not the only thing you find in this fair. Torn pages from old books/bibles, letters/deeds written by people long gone, surveyor's map, etc etc...... One thing in common though, you may not be aware of it but when you think about it, they are all PAPERS!! This amazed me really.
With only the last few pounds I had, I got 2 advertising postcards from fountain pen makers and 2 postcards of the "Peak Tramway and Barracks, Hong Kong", of which one of them was written by a Frenchman probably to his girlfriend in France. Imagine where this postcard had travelled and how it is connected to so many people. Again, if there is such a physical search engine to travel through time returning all properties relating to one particular object, ... oh perhaps too far fetched technically, we might as well just go to the Akashic Records to do the trick.
Here's a few more links of my postcard adventure:
Postkarten shop in Cologne Germany I stumbled upon recently.
Polaroid Postcard, a flickr group where people exchanging postcards in Polaroid format. You gotta try, beautiful.
Altered Postcard Art, use any postcard, alter it to suit your own artistic vision.
Finally, I've always had great times doing these personal postcards using "spare time" during business trips and I'm not stopping as long as there is postal service available. See Hairspray and Bird Shit, Birthday Postcard to Okuyama san. God give me more time on earth!
More on Scription blog: moleskine.vox.com/library/post/postcard-fanatics-monthly-...
3/18/2011
Today's theme for Song/Lyric Collaboration is :
"Song that you associate with one of your parents or grandparents"
My dad thinks that A Boy Named Sue is the funniest songs ever, or at least that's the feeling I get when he talks about the song. Even before I really liked Johnny Cash songs I had known about this song because of dad. So I think of him when I think of this song. Not because the song has anything to do with dad, but just because dad was the first person that introduced me to the song.
My daddy left home when I was three
And he didn't leave much to ma and me
Just this old guitar and an empty bottle of booze.
Now, I don't blame him cause he run and hid
But the meanest thing that he ever did
Was before he left, he went and named me "Sue."
Well, he must o' thought that is quite a joke
And it got a lot of laughs from a' lots of folk,
It seems I had to fight my whole life through.
Some gal would giggle and I'd get red
And some guy'd laugh and I'd bust his head,
I tell ya, life ain't easy for a boy named "Sue."
Well, I grew up quick and I grew up mean,
My fist got hard and my wits got keen,
I'd roam from town to town to hide my shame.
But I made a vow to the moon and stars
That I'd search the honky-tonks and bars
And kill that man who gave me that awful name.
Well, it was Gatlinburg in mid-July
And I just hit town and my throat was dry,
I thought I'd stop and have myself a brew.
At an old saloon on a street of mud,
There at a table, dealing stud,
Sat the dirty, mangy dog that named me "Sue."
Well, I knew that snake was my own sweet dad
From a worn-out picture that my mother'd had,
And I knew that scar on his cheek and his evil eye.
He was big and bent and gray and old,
And I looked at him and my blood ran cold
And I said: "My name is 'Sue!' How do you do!
Now your gonna die!!"
Well, I hit him hard right between the eyes
And he went down, but to my surprise,
He come up with a knife and cut off a piece of my ear.
But I busted a chair right across his teeth
And we crashed through the wall and into the street
Kicking and a' gouging in the mud and the blood and the beer.
I tell ya, I've fought tougher men
But I really can't remember when,
He kicked like a mule and he bit like a crocodile.
I heard him laugh and then I heard him cuss,
He went for his gun and I pulled mine first,
He stood there lookin' at me and I saw him smile.
And he said: "Son, this world is rough
And if a man's gonna make it, he's gotta be tough
And I knew I wouldn't be there to help ya along.
So I give ya that name and I said goodbye
I knew you'd have to get tough or die
And it's the name that helped to make you strong."
He said: "Now you just fought one hell of a fight
And I know you hate me, and you got the right
To kill me now, and I wouldn't blame you if you do.
But ya ought to thank me, before I die,
For the gravel in ya guts and the spit in ya eye
Cause I'm the son-of-a-bitch that named you "Sue.'"
I got all choked up and I threw down my gun
And I called him my pa, and he called me his son,
And I came away with a different point of view.
And I think about him, now and then,
Every time I try and every time I win,
And if I ever have a son, I think I'm gonna name him
Bill or George! Anything but Sue! I still hate that name!
DBC ("Dirty but Clean") Pierre
Vernon God Little
First published in: 2003
This edition: Faber and Faber, 2003
ISBN: 0-571-21517-3
Genre: contemporary fiction, satire
Number of pages: 277
Cover illustration by Scott Garrett
Let me please begin by saying:
what you see in the photo isn't real.
I'm not that gross :P
book087-vernongod-1000px
Sorry if you're disgusted though.
A couple of things about Vernon God Little. He's fifteen. He's from Martirio, Texas. His mother… well, she's a real piece of work; she's more worried about a fridge then she is about her kid. Vernon furthermore suffers from a syndrome I dub chronic gutter mouth of the kind that will give the entire cast and crew of Scarface a run for their money. Oh. And his best friend just went and shot up their high school.
Vernon didn't have anything to do with it. But his father's gun did. Vernon needs to find his dad's gun, and fast – because it will implicate him as an accessory to his friend's horrible crime.
Vernon is fifteen and cynical as they come. His narrative style takes some getting used to. (If you're not cool with swearing, this book is best left alone.)
The first opinion I formed while reading this one was that he does remind me of The Catcher in the Rye's Holden Caulfield, but more even of George Lass ("Dead Like Me" – brilliantly played by Ellen Muth). There's a similar kind of disillusionment, a cynicism. But I never wanted to slap Caulfield or George in the face. Vernon, him I wanted to slap so hard, you'd see my handprint slowly develop, like a polaroid, to its rightfully pink shape.
Vernon's getting a high school shooting pinned on him simply for being the friend of the guy (named Jesus – like Vernon God, so 'aptly chosen', so unimpressive) that was actually, solely responsible. There's no need for proof: as far as Martirio is concerned, Vernon is guilty. Hmm. Okay.
Thing is, he lets them all think it. I wasn't impressed with Pierre's attempts to make Vernon seem like an unreliable narrator: I never once thought Vernon did it. Throughout the book, then, I wondered: why isn't this kid defending himself?! The kid infuriated me.
This is where the slapping in the face comes in. It's all quite unbelievable. [Edited to clarify] Because he's got proof that he wasn't there at the time of the killings. He took a dump in a field. He can prove he didn't do it. But he's too embarrassed. He'd rather let everyone think he's a killer than let people know he had to go potty. He does everything else he can not to go to jail. Except spill about the one thing that will set him free. A little turd, so frustratingly silly.
I would have understood Vernon one heck of a lot better had his alibi been something deeper, not a pile of poop. This? This didn't work for me. [/edit]
And even so, all sorts of stuff happens to Vernon, and he seems to be idly watching it all go down, running away but never standing up for himself. Any idiot who's innocent and can prove it will say [revised] "I didn't do it! I swear! I can prove it!" It's excrement, it's silly, but it's going to get you off the freakin' hook. So speak up! [/revise]
Are we supposed to accept Vernon's idleness simply because he's a teen who drops the f-bomb once every four sentences, who'd rather be convicted for mass murder than to have to say "Well, thing is, I had to do a number 2, and when you gotta go you gotta go"? No pun intended, but that's crappy plotting.
There's no real spunk to Vernon, no depth, and that's what disappointed me most. I wanted to like him but he's just as two-dimensional as everyone else in the book. Pierre is just using them as objects for satire.
Which is the general gist of the book, of course. Satire. This book is meant to give some sort of surreal look into the USA and its culture. Yes, DBC Pierre has got it right in some ways. The media in particular; reporting for sensationalism instead of truth… I mean, the recent Balloon Boy debacle, sans parody already absurd enough in itself, is an example of that. But is it new? Is it fresh? No, not really.
He was way off concerning the rest. I simply couldn't even take it with a grain of salt, knowing full well this book is meant to be satirical. Americans were portrayed as fat, ignorant and shallow. Even in the context of satire, I just really hate it when writers blatantly stereotype people and in this case, the whole state of Texas. It's more like, "hey look at me I'm being offensive but trying to wrap it up in a funny package, hoping I sound witty instead of just plain ignorant myself". (Pierre, a former con man, is an Australian living in Ireland.)
Stereotyping is lame. It's not new, it's not cool, it's not clever. It's a lazy attempt at humor, and it falls flat for me.
Speaking of lazy: the ending was wrapped up in a jiffy, and it's all so convenient. Cynicism got booted from the story and let the door hit its ass on the way out. I'd rather have the story end dramatically, to be honest. Would have made an impact of some kind that way. Now I was just thinking, "Ooooooof course".
To be fair, I did finish the book and I liked certain aspects of it. The narrative and dialogue at times was so bizarrely and imaginatively phrased, I actually had quite a few laughs there. At other times, it was a bit much: a fifteen year-old who loves dumb jokes, but regularly spouts out poetically formed sentences used to describe random observations…?
Vernon's penchant for cussing and his knack for beautiful wording are both a bit much, then; despite that, DBC Pierre did really make me feel like I was reading about a fifteen year-old kid. It's eerie almost.
Finally, Pierre didn't sensationalize the shooting, which I think was a (or the only) classy decision. Leave that subject to authors who knows how to handle it.
Taken as just another book, Vernon God Little is doable.
The satire, however, turned into overkill: a circus I've already visited many times before. Same acts, same show. It's not a worthy 'next Catcher in the Rye' after all. I can take over the top from authors such as Christopher Moore, because the guy's anything but pretentious. But from a Booker Prize winning book, a book this ambitious, I simply expect something more – I expected it to have an impact. Yet apart from wanting to kick Vernon's behind, VGL didn't really make me feel anything. I finished the book, and even as I'm typing the end to this review find myself not even really caring.
Vernon God Little: despite that big award, it's got little.
Q: help me sleep tonight. What IS actually in the photo?
A: gingerbread cake & soysauce. Makes for excellent, gross faux-turds.
© 2010
-->> ..
..don't respond.. don't f7ckin' respond..they don't anyway .. unless it's to plop some base of a rip on me.. like the f7ckin' white boys runnin' the red ..i guess stop signs and lights sometimes are just so hard to see at 3 o'clock in the afternoon. Such a hard-knock life one has when your trying to run down total strangers in your auto and then scream at them for "..fucking being in the road.. "
..that's where these things go all the time.. the typical, the tired, the arrogant ..the blind notions of everything surrounding only the self and the refusal to notice that which is around you. Wasn't the first time.. won't ever be the last. Famous last words.. and Colorado Springs' last words to me are a big ::'Fuck you' ..((this was once my home ,folks..))
..and these people want to , choose to 'fuck with me'. Maybe i allowed them (!?).
The potential is always there ..a loose cannon.. and if these morons have enough courage to scream and holler at me like a bunch of wild turkey off to slaughter ..for sure i'd think they'd like to pull over to the side of the street and get out, face me.. and we'd handle it the old fashioned way. Sure..maybe i'd go down bloody .. but there seemes to be a lack of care i have anymore for my own safety. Bloody and beatin' i'm sure.. i've failed at my own long attempts to learn and employ martial arts or just general scrapping. I'm sure i'd loose teeth and get my head bashed in like they always did. They always aimed for the fuckin' noggin'. But i'd manage to bite a few bloddy chunks outta these doosh-bags before the authorities come roun'.
But cowards act this way .. raise hell for their own insecurities..and flee ..
fine.. human nature.. and on a day like yesterday .. and the gas guzzling humans..
.. and the rednecks and their war machines, onward Christian soldiers, W. Bush-ites....
..thanks.. you can have your fucking humanity. I prefer to remain the monster .. i look forward to going to hell.
"Asymmetrical mayhem" ..spots.. spouts..
..after such an amazing week.. how can things just the continual and trivial and the entropic ??
..Thru' the strings of coincidences and being availed the special gift of meeting an incredible artist last weekend ..and one who has impacted me a bit different than i've seen him impact others. i am still a bit stunned. A shot in the arm i needed but i am not sure i may have deserved ..still i am all to greatful. I still cannot put it in words so easy or even how to describe it. I mean John Cameron Mitchell
..what the ..- ..why me ?? But perhaps that may need to be the case.. not to explain,describe, or even attempt to find more words than the ones i've already just barely unearthed. As surreal as this existence is maybe taking one of those 'good' surreal experiences for what it is may be where i should focus this.
..if anything i made a new friend.. summin' i cannot say everyday.
I had been deep in thought tho' since the events of last weekend.. and the blur has seemed extra stinging and vengeful..
..my mother's news has been steady.. she is somewhat clear on the lump' the found the other week..but won't know for certain til' she sees the regular doctor (?!).. so the unease is still there.. but maybe i am gettin' a bit used to it. As her schizo little fagg..i keep it short tho' with her.. ask her how she is and what i have to do as far chores go. It's difficult when you make money and your boss is your mother. Her chaotic lifestyle at times.. is self-destructive anyway ((something i sadly have emulated in my own way)).. but i'm just to fried to focus on those things right now.
However whatever the news..
.. i still cannot guarantee me not destroying this existence ..
this shell i reside in .. you humans show me that such things are so pointless in so many ways nowadays.
Such fragile beauties that a creature like me could assume humans would love,protect,and cherish seem pointless, taken for granted.. and just downright trampled upon. Why should it matter ?? Such complacency on this warming sphere is so destructive.. i speak from a belly of one such beast this 'complacency'.. so destructive it is. Be weary for it will destroy you all if you all if you allow it. Complacency is slowly growing.. ever stronger it is .. it is a very VERY powerful beast. Just look around you .. it's very easy to spot those who fight it.. and those that ignore it.. and those that embrace it.
Again i get lost.. in the gray..tho' .. as amazing as things had been last week.. i am only able to share it so far. I just told some i met with a director..and made a friend. I don't have the energy for people to pick apart such a good thing..
..thoughts of guns.. and the need for great change ..the working to get to that change and the pain..the vocals and visions.. all these tings race in tandem. I really need to die..
but if anything comes to pass to get me beyond that .. i've yet to see it.. but have not closed off my battered brain to it.
One is the LOWLIEST ..number.. ..
2 ..
..and i fully understand.. no matter how much it haunts,bumps and rumbles in my my heart .. Miguel will not ever love me again ..'cept as the brother,friend and mother he's developed into ..i am forever greatful 1000 X forever to him. Something he's heard countless times to the point of boredom i'm sure.. from me.
As Z represents the bitter-sweet and impossible for me to care for.. i realize now that a beast like me will remain unloved just short of any more dumb luck. Horrific evils i represent to many are just not meant to loved but in very special circumstances. And perhaps thought of my slaughter will subside long enough for that void to filled once again. But it's too hard to see it now. But yeh if the mind closes off to much.. it will swell .. and i shall die unloved.
We'll see.. focus is hard.. San Diego will need to be mu focus.. my work, my resume ,doing the best i can i suppose. Rubbing my ass on the rug..
..sheh- ..whatever it takes..
i loose feeling again. And if and when i am offered the chance to leave this sinister place.. i'll carry the good here with em in some sort in my heart forever. The rest i shall spit upon with scorn and anger.
A spit city..and confusing and painful sense of community. Some of them yap and spout.. all they have to do is keep sipping their Starbucks, listen to NPR ..and suddenly they are better and more enlightened than anyone else.. yeh; KRCC.. go f8ck yourself..i just don't care anymore. you think your better than anyone ?! Awesome .. you don't speak for all the voices in this moronic city .. L33t L33t LL33t .. more power to you. Shut up , anyway.
.. and the enlightened basking in the light of the 'LORD' will continue their evil.. and try to blur the evil Christians with the good ones.. and that's not right.
Even i face the challenge of warding and fighting complacency.. it is devouring many here.. i cross my fingers i'll be able to maintain before it strikes me down forever. But the day it strikes ..i've keep my aces up my sleeves, the day it strikes ..i'll unleash my aces.
Things aren't good.. things aren't ok.. it doesn't feel good. And life is imperfect at best.. and the seedy old fat white men that drool over their engines smother themselves in such a false sense of morality. I just don't get these things.
.. yeh just keep rubbing ,tOkKa ..
.. maybe summin' better is round the bend. Been saying that a real long time now.
But i didn't stop working ever .. now did i ??
No ..
..loosing feeling again.. can't think ..
gotta go work soon for nil $$ ..better than nothin' ..
rub.. rub..
>v<
..
he's sleeping on the couch and from the smell of it, he's been smoking in here again even though he knows i hate it. it's nearly six in the afternoon. turn on the afternoon local news but mute it and wash the dirty dishes in the sink, maybe straighten up a little in the kitchen. should i make him something to eat? he doesn't snore, god bless him, but when i look over at him, his legs move like a puppy's when he's dreaming. time for a shower.
afterward, i put on the same pair of pants i was wearing and when i come out of the bathroom, he has some pasta on the stove and a sauce pan of alfredo sauce. i walk over and give him a hug from behind and kiss his neck. he asks me how my day was and i tell him and he listens. he always listens to me and i wonder how uninteresting my day (or night, i guess) working at the warehouse must be to hear. he asks me about luis and i tell him. i think he's the only one of my co-workers he likes. he says maybe he really ought to get a job. he says it's not fair to me. of course, i tell him, no, he has to focus on his classes. he turns and kisses me.
we eat at the couch, watching some old seinfeld reruns. it's probably the only television show i like and can still watch every episode all the way through, even after all these years. he gets up and gets me a beer and asks if i want some more. i say he just needs to come back and sit next to me, i'll clean up later. he does. he asks me if i want to go to san diego my next weekend off. it's time for street scene and he really wants to go. i could do without all of that, the crowds and the sun and the terrible music and the bad art and even worse commercialism. he knows all of this, but he asks anyway and of course i say yes. his face lights up the way that makes me think he's just the most adorable man on earth. we have sex on the couch.
i get a phone call and my entire shift's been cut for today and the day after next. i ask my foreman if there's no way that i can make up the days and he says there isn't. i really can't afford to miss any days. but here i am, my night off and he's out with his friends. no car, no extra cash. i walk to the bar at the corner.
she says she's still having problems with her ex. i've met him and he's not that bad a guy, but i suppose when you're younger things taste different. over in the corner an older couple have set up camp, and from the looks of it they've been here for quite sometime: both look like they're not really paying attention to what the other is saying. she tells me she thinks they're married but not to each other, each keep getting calls on their cell phones but neither are answering. we look for a while but they're certainly carrying on like teenagers. i drink my first three beers within the hour. by the time the fifth comes, i know it's time to get home. she says i should come back later, hang out. i'm just drunk enough that i make sure to ask, just hang out or more than hang out. she smiles. i tell her we've had the conversation before, and it comes out a little more forceful than i mean, but she says, yeah, that's fine. tell her i'll see her later.
at home, he's back and he's tearing through the bedroom. i ask him what's going on and he says he can't find his phone. he's sure he left it here. i give him mine to call it but there's no ring anywhere in here. i'm a little hazy and i say maybe he left it somewhere else. he seems really worried and i tell him my shift got cut. he doesn't say anything about that or about me being half-drunk. he curses a lot but i can't be bothered right now. he says he's gotta go pick up his friends back at the bar they're at. i ask him who he's out with and he says some of the girls from class. i plop on the bed and fall asleep.
it's barely around midnight and he's still not home. i don't still feel drunk but do feel like my head's going to explode. definitely, i'm not a young guy anymore. i strip to my boxers and make myself some coffee. wonder what's going on at work. it's been so long when my boss hasn't needed me. i hope nothing more serious is happening. i hate this is the type of thing i have to think about. i should've finished those tech classes i was taking way back when. i should've gone to work with my cousins downtown when they offered. i need something more steady, more certain. i can't go on living paycheck to paycheck. i have someone else counting on me. that was the deal. sometimes i think i got all of this figured out and something like this happens. isn't that always the case?
at least he'll be home soon. he never stays out too late. and when he comes, and we go to bed, i'll get to wake up next to him and that hasn't happened in a long while. i like waking up next to him. if i told him he's probably think i was a little too cheezy. but that's okay isn't it, whenever you have someone next to you? all the work traumas and all the other minutia of your daily life, all of it goes away when you can say good morning to someone like him.
i pour myself another cup and that's when i see it, just above the stove, his cell phone. he must've been using it when he was making dinner, set it down and completely forgot all about it. maybe i shouldn't but i check his calls and his texts. because...i don't know why.
oh. and that's when everything ends...
My everything. ^3^ I shall talk about their growth and what hairstyle I liked the most aha. For dubu onew oppa leader chicken maniac, he didn't really change alot. Still have that small but attracting pair of eyes and the brightest smile ever. His voice is so beautiful and he can be really cute at times. But what I loved most about him is onew condition and his love for chickens! His nicest hairstyle was around the romeo period. I don't really like his rdd hairstyle, abit fail though. For sexychick blingbling Jonghyun oppa, his sexinesssssss always make me drool. K like srsly he's sucha hottie man! :D But to be honest, I don't like ahjjong the most just by looking at the appearance at the replay time. It was until when I heard his angellic and perfect voice!!! I will not be able to sleep at night if I didn't listen to him singing in the day. Until the rdd period, I got really shocked by his cool blonde hair. It's so unique that you won't find any hairstyle that looked like that while walking on the street. Even if you've found any, you would prolly think that person is crazy or sth. But that hairstyle just fit our jonghyunie oppa so well! :B His new hairstyle is great too (not in the pix), but I just find it abit strange not to see him in blonde hair. Yep my fav hairstyle of him is definitely the blonde hair! For cool cat almighty key kimkibum oppa, his hairstyle is the coolest during the rdd period too. And if you do not know, key oppa was my first bias during the replay time idk why. o_o I love key oppa's personality too. That is why the blonde hair seem to fit him very well, making him looked more friendly and cute. But like what I've mentioned in my older posts, I like him in black hair the most, with a few strands of pink highlights and cornrows. His hairstyle is very special too, and whenever I saw someone with hairstyle similar to him, I'll say wahseh this person copied our key ley lol. -stares- And our key oppa can dance very well too. I really enjoy seeing him dancing girl group dances~ For flaming charisma frog prince minho oppa, his change is quite big from the replay time to rdd. His hairstyle omg!!!!!! Okiez thank god the hairstylist changed his mushroom hairstyle. I don't like it. :( And yeah, the curly long hair fits him better. I go crazy over oppa's adam apple and his longgggggg legs omg lol. He's also very sporty and tall, that's why alot of people said he would make a very good and perfect boyfriend. Well he also looked good in pretty much everything! :3 Especially his school uniform and suit! He's a rapper in shinee and his rap is fucking sexy and hawt. Yepppp, he's called flaming charisma because of that. ;) Lastly, the maknae of shinee, my bb boy taemin. He looked like a small little cute boy so that's why the noonas like him. Wtf he's mine kkkk. Why everytime noonaaaaaaaa. -.- And he's fucking cute and innocent no matter what he does. He got those pair of big and charming eyes that will make you faint if you were to look at him. And his killer smile zomgwtf brb dying. How can anyone not like this cute boy? If you think he only got the appearance then you're wrong, bb's not only cute but he's talented. He knows how to play piano and did you see him dance before? His dance skill is srsly !@#$%^&*)(*&^%$#@#$%^&*&^%$# *screamsssss* You gotta admit his smile is the most adorable thing in the world. Aha, yes that's why I love him alot. He's only 15 when he debut wow same age as me now. Didn't really change alot but become cuterrrrrrrrrr. I love his maggie mee and the hairstyle in THJ the most. He looked really young and cute in them *o*!!!!!! His cuteness always kill me. Yeppppppp, I died alot of times because of him. (L)
ahhhhh yes this is my bb taemin. Bb's always so cute, no matter wut he does. Srsly I can't get taeminnie bb out of my mind, thinking of him all the time and worrying about him. Indeed, my life has changed so much after being a shinee fangirl. Quarrelled with parents umpteen times because of fangirling, grades deproving and etcs. Oh and being a fangirl is srsly expensive omg. I shall not count the amount of money spent on fangirling because I think I'll be like this O_O because I could have bought like maybe hundreds over piece of clothings for myself if I didn't spent those money on fangirling lol. But I don't regret it at allllllllllll. Maybe for nao, yes. :') Shinee hwaiting!
Almighty key kimkibum. ;) And yes, if any of you don't understand the meaning of 'almighty', watch this video and you'll understand. Aw our dear key oppa is so awsmz. Cool cat meow meow. ^^v This dude may looked very cool and he's sucha thoughtful and sweeeeeeet boy ~ He's the only child and that's why he treats my bb very well and cook for him all that. I guess he wanted a brother to takecare of, maybe? But anw thx oppa you rox.
Seeing onew oppa's pix of brothers were brave made me happy. He seemed to enjoy himself alot! And another reason is because his musical is getting lots of love. Yes we're all OnJubong's fans my dear oppa! The fans are soo lucky to see him in suit anw. I want! Hahalol, good luck onew oppa and all the best! :D
This is supposed to be a happy post but I cried again after watching this. The shinee appas saying goodbye to Yoogeun son. T-T Yoogeun seemed like he doesn't know the shinee appas will be leaving. Dear yoogeun do you know this is not a normal goodbye? Do you know the next morning you will not see the shinee appas sleeping next to you and showering you with lots of love? Evil people! You are so cruel to seperate yoogeun son and the shinee appas. :( Yoogeun do you know how much the shinee appas loved you? It breaks my heart so much to see bb sad and key oppa tearing. Jjong oppa was holding back his tears to prevent himself from crying. Ugh sadddd. :'(((( Onew oppa once asked, "Will Yoogeun rmb us in 20years' time?" I hope he does! I hope he rmb what the shinee appas did for him, esp minho appa. I find it very unfair, why snsd had 22 episode while shinee only has 12?! Hallo, Our yoogeun is so much cuter compared to Kyungsan! Hais ... but it's gonna end sooner or later right? No matter how unwilling I am, hi bb's gonna end in episode 12. This will prolly be the last time we'll see yoogeun son. But he did leave many beautiful memories, for the shinee appas, moogeuns and shawols. I hope they will eventually reunite again one day. And I'll definitely miss them together alot. The name we loved - Jung Yoogeun.
Jongkey moments. C:
Key oppa I can understand how you feel.
No one would want it to end right?
Don't be sad and cheer up okie dearest key oppa.
Bb I'm so glad that you didn't cry.
Your tears are so precious to me
So pls don't let your tears fall okie?
Iloveyou. :*
Yep. These memories will stay in my heart forever. :)
If I seem a little grouchy, well...
At least three of these vertebrae aren't what they're supposed to be. And the soft tissue around them isn't happy either.
I've got to tell you about Indianapolis Health Imaging--
After my fall in Novmber 2006, i was in a turtle shell for about four months... and still today, ten months later, i'm nowhere near as able as i had been. "friends" keep telling me that i "should be all healed" and that the "discomfort should go away by now" as if this was a bruise or a cut. I am able to use the riding mower, but it's not much "comfort" at all, certainly not in this yard! if i lay on my right side for long i can just barely get back to a sitting position, and if i lay on my back i need lots and lots of padding. As of early September i finally recovered well enough to be able to lift my niece -- if she does most of the work, and as long as she "lands" on my knees...
So i go to see Dr. Steve Rupert, DO (an osteopath), who looks at the x-rays and says "gotta have an MRI, these don't show enough. We won't know what's what, or what the options are, until we have an MRI. You should have an MRI. Why don't you get an MRI. Got MRI? Get MRI."
Great, i'm thinking, those cost a bazillion, and they're probably booked up through easter. Here in evansville, they charge $2,000 for an MRI...
As i get home and close the front door behind me, i get a call from Indianapolis Health Imaging, saying my Osteopath wanted them to set me up. i ask "How much?" "Well, what kind of MRI are we after, here?" i respond "Spinal/thoracic". They say "Okay, $395."
Um, under four hundred? yep.
Okay, to be sure i'm really dreaming, i ask "when can you fit me in?" They reply "Well, it doesn't look like we could squeeze you in until tomorrow..."
Wow! Nobody around here can get you in for months -- in fact, after my accident on 11-Nov-06, the earliest i could get in to see a doctor (for a crushed vertebrae, no less) was 16-Nov-06, but they originally wanted to schedule me for some time in December!
So i scheduled an MRI appointment for the following tuesday -- giving me time to alert interested parties that i would be out of town, make plans, prep a vehicle for the 3.5-hour trip. Their place is on the south side of Indy.
Then i catch a little "bug" over the weekend which becomes a full-blown sore throat, high temperature, sweats-and-chills, headache-mania monster on Monday evening. No way i'm taking a long trip up to Indy, and another one back down to E-ville, sick! We call and leave a message to that effect, and on Tuesday when i called to confirm that they got the message and had unscheduled me, they said "Must be providence, because our MRI machine just broke down..."
Serendipity!
I rescheduled for the following Friday. So, on Thursday afternoon, after a bit of recovering and mostly getting past my cold/virus/flu/plague, i called to confirm that their machine was back in operation: "Well, not yet. You're worried about the long drive, right? Our guys insist that they'll have it working tonight, but we'll call you early in the morning to give you an update before you leave." I say "Sounds spiffy."
Friday morning (7am my time, 8am their time) and their MRI machine is still kaput! No problem, they shunt me to their downtown facility -- this one being in the heart of Indy, just blocks from the Childrens' Museum...
I arrived early, they answered all my incessant questions (harmonic frequencies of water, right? is that how this works? is it a torus shape because...), thwumped me into the tube, instructed me that i could do anything i wanted as long as it didn't involve moving, the thing buzzed like crazy even with the earplugs, boy it was awful "tight" in there, and i thought i'd get the hiccups partway through just to make the don't-move-thing impossible... When they finally slid me back out, they handed me a CD with the (animated!) images of the scans, plus films to show the osteopath, before i was out the door.
They're inexpensive, they keep you informed, they try to help. If we could all have this kind of economically candid helpfulness from other places, similar to what i got from Indianapolis Health Imaging, the world would be a much better place!
here's how my wednesday started once i got to the office:
"mike, you're the photographer, right? you wanna go walk about half a mile east on the north side of hollywood blvd. and find a bus stop with a picture of karen misraje on it?"
"who?"
"i dunno, some chick. apparently jimmy or one of the writers saw it on the way to work and she had a mustache drawn on her or something. i think she's the hot chick from entourage. sloan."
"dude, emanuelle (shreeky)? we had her on like, last week."
"ok, i don't know who it is."
"alright, we don't know cross streets?"
"nope."
so i walked out into the cesspool, stopping and grabbing my camera out of the car because now that's what i do: i bring my camera everywhere i go. note: i break a sweat in my fucking car just reaching under the glove to retrieve said camera; 90-95 out, easy. before i can even cross the boulevard, i'm overcome with remorse upon realizing that i've all but jumped into shark-infested waters in bacon swim trunks by traipsing aimlessly along hollywood fucking boulevard in cargo shorts and wayfarers, camera in tow. as far as practicality, fashion and general logic are concerned, this is by far the dumbest thing i could've possibly done.
by las palmas (3 blocks?), i'm sweating profusely in an adobe-colored t-shirt and the tops of my sunglasses are fogging up from my eyebrows, which really aren't terribly pronounced in the first place. i've also had to fight off half a dozen tour guides who want to drive me around and show me where lindsay lohan got her last DUI. and let me tell you, these guys are persistent as FUCK--i see them on a daily basis on the street, i make eye contact ideally implying "i have a fucking job dude, how would you like it if i came and shot a late night talk show at your job?" and i walk unfazed past the brochures they fan in my direction, never to see each other until i walk next door again in another hour or two to make premature judgments about our lunch from craft services. (on the contrary, if i could do runs for work on a big red double decker bus with families from kansas city and florida and the ukraine, i'd probably spoil myself for the occasional afternoon and listen to audio recordings of dubious tinseltown lore (like that time back in the day when sinatra pulled a hooker by the nose into the ladies' room at the roosevelt hotel...and taught her to properly apply eyeliner) in a different language every time. (should my situation ever become this desperate, my maiden voyage would likely feature french or italian.)
anyway, i pass some bums, some interesting posted bills (is that their preferred nomenclature?) and a shitload of bus stops. no misraje.
i call, i say i can't find it, i talk to our producer, who's talking quietly because he's plum in the middle of the writers' meeting, i tell him i'm at hollywood and the 101 (a mile and a half east of the studio) and i haven't found the elusive mustachioed woman of unknown ethnicity, so he suggests i try searching half a mile or so west of the studio. greeaaaat.
i walk the mile and a half back. i walk a mile west. where the fuck is this bitch?! i catch myself talking...to myself. i should've brought my headphones, at least then i could boogie along in this MISERABLE FUCKING HEAT. i look like i've just played back-to-back full court games...getting back on D...at least in the first game.
i've gone a little more than a mile west of the office now, about to hit fairfax, and i say fuck it. i'm headed back to the office, email our producer [re: my futility] and idly ask for his "thoughts." within a minute of hitting send, I glance across the street (i've crossed over to the south, assuming a writer could just as easily confuse "north" and "south" if "east" and "west" present such a challenge.) turns out a fat guy (i have absolutely zero grounds for this arbitrary characterization, but it would seem likely) had probably probably been playing 'little big spoon' with ms. misraje's face, so naturally, i missed it. not like the text section of what turns out to be a legal ad was incredibly enticing.
so i jaywalk across, stopping with my toes against the curb (coincidentally, this area is a functional lane of reasonably consistent light traffic) and i stop. for a moment, i honestly don't give a shit that i've walked at least 4 miles in 90-degree heat...WITHOUT a headband. i don't give a shit that i've gotta walk another mile back to the office...still without a headband. i don't give a shit that this is all in order to take a photo of a woman who's been defaced with ridiculous facial hair.
so why am i here?
because this shit really is FUCKING HILARIOUS.
* * *
(and that's the story of how i learned by early afternoon that i'd make it through hump day in one piece. obviously, it didn't get used on the show in any context whatsoever; someone thought it was funny (or funny enough worth mentioning), i wanted to believe them, so i took on a mythical-by-PA-standards journey into the unknown (i wish) to confirm this, and they were totally right.
long story short, if you grew up in santa monica or spent your middle school years at john adams (where i very well may have sold you one of several JAM'N buttons), never ask michael gross to see his 6th grade yearbook. no one--myself included--has been spared.
* * *
i also have what seems to be a textbook farmer tan.
I’ve been tagged by Ian Sane
www.flickr.com/photos/31246066@N04/!
thanks ever so much! this was a pain in the butt but fun. That's one of my rubber ducks from my desk at work keeping company with my favorite running companion, my nano...have a great evening...
1. Put your iTunes/ ipod on shuffle.
2. For each question, press the next button to get your answer.
3. YOU MUST WRITE THAT SONG NAME DOWN NO MATTER HOW SILLY IT SOUNDS!
4. Tag 10 or more friends who might enjoy doing this.
So here are my shuffle of songs (this is in the exact order they were played).
_________________________
1. What would best describe your personality?
Don't Stop Believing - Journey
2. What do you like in a guy/girl?
Heartless - Kanye West
3. What is your life's purpose?
Right Round - Flo Rida
4. What is your motto?
Send Her My Love - Journey
5. What do your friends think of you?
Thinking of You - Katy Perry
6. What do you think about often?
Crack A Bottle - eninem
7. What is 2+2?
halo - Beyonce
8. What do you think of your best friend?
Lovin' touchin' Squeezin - Journey
9. What do you think of the person you like?
Just Another Day - John Secada
10. What is your life story?
A New Day has Come - Celine Dion
11. What do you want to be when you grow up?
Close to Me - The Cure
12. What do you think when you see the person you like?
American Boy! - Estelle
13. What do your parents think of you?
Boston _ Augustana
14. What will you dance at your wedding?
Makes Me Wonder - Maroon 5
15. What will they play at your funeral?
Harder to Breathe - Maroon 5
16. What is your hobby/interest?
Poker Face - Lady Gaga
17. What Do You Think Of Your Friends?
Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts CLub Band - the beatles
18. What's the worst thing that could happen?
Ask the LOnely - Journey
19. How will you die?
You found me - The fray
20. What is the one thing you regret?
Pictures of You - The Cure
21. What makes you laugh?
More than this - The Cure
22. What makes you cry?
Love Lockdown - Kanye West
23. Will You Ever Get Married?
Dead and Gone - Justin Timberlake
24. What scares you the most?
Inbetween Days - the cure
25. Does anyone like you?
That's not my Name - The Ting Tings
26. If you could go back in time, what would you change?
Be Good to Yourself - Journey
27. What hurts right now?
Gotta Be Somebody - NickleBack
Look in your inboxes my flickr friends, you may be next...
Charlie was strong. Stronger than I figure. Every hit I landed on him he was able to just shrug off. And when he landed hits on me, well...I think the bruises speak for themselves. Ow... At one point I was too slow, and he was able to get behind me and wrap his arm around my neck. Trying to pull his arm away was next to useless. That strength of his was too much. And through this fight of ours he showed that he knows how to use it. He wasn't like a million other goons I've taken on before. He was more than that. He actually knew what he was doing. That only made me ask more questions.
"You're not bad, Charlie. Why waste this on someone like Sammy?"
"I don't care about what she wants. I just wanted a chance.
"Chance at what?"
"A chance to kill power abusing scum like my dad. I got my wish, and I want more. I'll just have to settle with you."
"You're in for some disappointment, Charlie."
It takes pretty much all my strength, but I'm able to get my arm out and slam my elbow in his side as hard as I can. I do this at least six times before his grip around my neck loosens. I grab his arm and manage to throw him over me into the pile of rusty bikes. He hits the pile hard, knocked out. I loosen my neck out from that hold he put me in, and start searching for the idiot controlling the drone. I kick open one door and find a room lit only by some holes in the roof. The room has the same scrapes of an old, ugly paint scheme all over the dilapidated walls. I see 4 PC towers on the floor like the ones Me, Tim and Jackie found at the old hideout. Next to these towers was a folding table with a PC monitor and a laptop on it, among other things. But the biggest attention grabber was the nerdy looking kid pointing a six-shooter at me. He was nervous, trembling and barely holding onto the gun. That was when It hit me. This kid. I've only seen glimpses of him back at Brentwood, but I knew too well who it was. Cody Isaner, the runaway tech geek who apparently had a bad relationship with his dear old dad. He's gotta be the one running the drone. After all, I saw the screen of the laptop, looked like something from the Matrix. I sure as hell won't know what I'm doing running that laptop, so that makes Cody the only one who can stop the drone. Pounding his face in with my staff until he does stop it won't help much, either. I gotta talk this kid down. Shouldn't be too difficult, since we have some common traits. I put my staff on the ground next to me, promising him I'm not here to hurt him.
"Wh---why should I believe you!?"
"Trust me, If I wanted to hurt you, I would've done it already."
"Stay back! I'll---I'll shoot!"
"No, you won't."
"H--how do you know?"
"Because one; your grip on that gun is so bad you're more likely to pop yourself with it, and two; you're no killer. You were that one kid at the museum heist just shooting the ceiling. You couldn't hurt anyone."
"I can-- I can always start, y'know!"
"Really? Cody, what happened? Why are you running around with someone like Sammy? You're smarter than this!"
"I wanted to clean this city! S-stop power abusing jerks like my dad."
"Sammy fed you that didn't she? You're just here because you're mad at your dad, aren't you?"
"Don't talk to me like you know me! "
"But Cody, I kinda do. Your dad was lawyer, right? Embezzled alot of cash from clients according to the reports. Not a good role model. Neither was mine. He's the whole reason I'm doing this right now. This whole superhero thing."
"There's NO way he was worse then mine!"
"He was up there. But the point is Cody, I didn't start running around with a bad crowd because of how my dad was. I was stronger than that, and you can be too. Sammy wants you to think you're helping this city, but you're just helping her hurt innocent people. This isn't you, Cody. I can tell you're a good kid."
"But...Mayor Dini--"
"Is not the man Sammy wants to to think he is. And murdering him with a flying bomb won't do anything for you, Cody. It's just gonna make you no better than your dad. Do you really want that? To be your own worst enemy? C'mon, Cody. You're the only one who can stop this."
"Spinneret though. She gave me a home--"
"This? Cody, this room is the worst one in this building! She doesn't care about you, Cody. Just her own psychotic agenda. Please Cody, just stop helping her. You know you're better than this..."
Second to the bikini on Koloist's Chaotic Universe post was the mentioning of post card which got me into this connection thing again. Now I don't consciously collect them but somehow I have them around me (and I don't mean bikini) and keep bumping into relating events and shops.
In 2007 I went to the Lomo World Congress event in London (1st Day, 2nd Day, Photos). On the last day of my visit, 30 mins. away from leaving the Royal National Hotel I saw a poster of the Bloomsbury Postcard Fair happening right there in a conference hall! The event happens EVERY SINGLE MONTH! But I got less than 30 mins., without waiting I paid 1.5 pounds and met really interesting folks!
I didn't know where to start, it was crazy, the clock was ticking. So I went to more organized exhibitors, the classification and the way they store them alone worth the entire trip to UK, it is like a primitive Google for searching postcards. You name it, they have a way. By countries, 30's 40's 50's, wars, transportations, children, eras, .... My mind flew away imagining that if there is such a physical search engine sorting resorting these postcards on the fly according to your search terms, wouldn't it be a sight?
And I met Ken Lister, a regular visitor to the show. He gave me some hints on how to find things there and he mentioned that there is such a fair happening in Hong Kong which I didn't know! Ken was an extensive traveler, been to many places in South East Asia, I wish there was more time to chat with him. Tick tock tick tock.
Postcards are not the only thing you find in this fair. Torn pages from old books/bibles, letters/deeds written by people long gone, surveyor's map, etc etc...... One thing in common though, you may not be aware of it but when you think about it, they are all PAPERS!! This amazed me really.
With only the last few pounds I had, I got 2 advertising postcards from fountain pen makers and 2 postcards of the "Peak Tramway and Barracks, Hong Kong", of which one of them was written by a Frenchman probably to his girlfriend in France. Imagine where this postcard had travelled and how it is connected to so many people. Again, if there is such a physical search engine to travel through time returning all properties relating to one particular object, ... oh perhaps too far fetched technically, we might as well just go to the Akashic Records to do the trick.
Here's a few more links of my postcard adventure:
Postkarten shop in Cologne Germany I stumbled upon recently.
Polaroid Postcard, a flickr group where people exchanging postcards in Polaroid format. You gotta try, beautiful.
Altered Postcard Art, use any postcard, alter it to suit your own artistic vision.
Finally, I've always had great times doing these personal postcards using "spare time" during business trips and I'm not stopping as long as there is postal service available. See Hairspray and Bird Shit, Birthday Postcard to Okuyama san. God give me more time on earth!
More on Scription blog: moleskine.vox.com/library/post/postcard-fanatics-monthly-...
http://www.flickr.com/photos/74727595@N05/9467365142/
"Before you go ,Marcus, I upgraded your cloaking device. You can now stay cloaked as long as you want... as long as you only want to stay cloaked for about five minutes."
"There's a catch to it, isn't there?"
"Making the capabilities of the cloaking last longer it does have a pretty big recharging time."
"How long?"
"Depends, if you stay cloaked the whole time limit, then it is about three minutes to recharge. And I guess you could figure out the rest for yourself."
"Thanks for the upgrade though. Clancy it's time to hit the road."
"Alrighty then."
We got to the top of a building across the street from the bank.
"Race ya down."
"Go."
I jumped off the building a split-second before Marcus did and that met that I got down first.
"Cloaking up."
"Watch yourself, remember what Arny said."
Marcus turned his cloaking device off.
"Looks like we're doing this the old fashioned way."
Marcus opened the door to the bank and dove behind a pillar. Real good that's gunna do, we walked in the front door. We can't get more obvious then that.
He gives me the sign and I jump up and charge the front desk where the criminal is.
Is that... That's Ember. Dang it we put him in jail right before he left and he's out the moment we get back. Good thing he has his back turned.
"Knock knock."
Come on Marcus whatever happened to the element of surprise?
"Huh? Oh no, not you too again."
"Where here to stop you... again."
"Good luck, I have mastered my powers. I have full control of flame and you don't want to get to close or you might get burnt."
Marcus looked at me and nodded. What the heck is he doing now.
He reaches for his wrist and turns his cloaking device on. Ember shoots flame at where he was. I start shooting at Ember and the bullets just deflect like they where rubber. Ember suddenly falls to the ground and the glass of his helmet broke. He dizzily finds his way back up to his feet.
"COWARD! You have to fight me when I can't see you."
"Okay then."
Marcus turns off his cloaking device midair and kicks Ember in the head.
"See me now? Of course you don't you have stars ciclin' around your head like a cartoon."
Ember didn't move, I guess that hit knocked him out cold.
"Seems like you've been watching to many comedy shows."
"Maybe. You too can get up now, this idiot won't mess with you anymore."
"Thank you guys so much."
"Ya, ya thanks."
"You know what? It seems like I've seen you guys before."
"Huh weird, I think we would remember seeing you guys."
"Anyways, see you guys, we gotta get out of here."
"Arny you could have told us that this was one of Ember's jobs."
"I didn't know or I would have told you."
"Anything else you got for us?"
"Nope, not now."
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Can you guys spot the cameos?
Me and my warm hat. Gotta keep the head and feet warm. :)
Taken on a trip to the Miracle Mile in Wyoming on the last weekend in March of 08 with a few of my pals. The fishing was no good because of the weather but it created ideal conditions for me.
So this place is somewhere my family has been taking me forever. My grandparents have a little Airstream trailer that sits up at the river year round. Propane heat, oven and stove. Roughing it, with a little comfort mixed in.
Conditions can be pretty rough, both in summer and winter.....and in March! It's a long way out on dirt roads that see VERY little activity. If you break down it could be a day before you see anyone. On this trip we were reminded of just how vulnerable we as humans are to nature.
On Sunday, the day we planned to leave, we awoke to a little snow on the ground and pretty cold temperatures. It really wasn't sticking to the ground though. The boys weren't afraid and they tried their luck at the fishing again that morning. After a few hours they called it quits and we started to pack up and clean the trailer. My buddy really wanted to try and land a fish in the tough conditions so he went down to the river to try one last time before we headed home.
I joined him, to try and take a few photos of him fishing in the snow. As soon as we got to the river the snow picked up a little. Then a lot. He had barely gotten himself into the freezing cold water before he turned around and looked at me like, "Holy $%@#, we should probably get out of here!"
And we did. We locked up the trailer and hit the road.
Now my buddies were in a 4 wheel drive Jeep and I was in a front wheel drive Altima. No chains. We drove in on dry roads and we were leaving in blizzard conditions. There are a few different roads leading out of the Mile and I had to choose which one to take. One road takes you up and over a pass but once you get over the pass the roads are paved and it's the shortest route. The other way is pretty flat but it's out on the plains and many times the road drifts over and it's hard to see where the road is. Sometimes the drifts are 10 feet tall and then you're screwed, for lack of a better term. So I thought we'd try our luck at the pass. Yeah, not so much. The first major hill and my car started spinning about three quarters of the way up. Luckily we hadn't gone down that road long before we realized it was not an option.
We turned around, or rather my car did a donut and turned me around and we headed the other way. I've driven in white out conditions before but nothing prepared me for the journey I, and my trusty friends, would take. Just like I suspected the road was full of drifts and with the blizzard conditions visibility was next to nothing. For two and a half hours I followed a few little bushes sticking out of the road hoping that I was on the right path. Honestly it was hard to see if I was on the road or out in the prairie. White as white could be.
We made it off of the dirt roads and to a little town called Hanna. Now if you've ever been to Wyoming you know that outside of a few of the "major" cities, EVERYTHING closes down at 6pm on a Sunday. We rolled into town about 5:55. Just enough time for me to get a pack of smokes at the grocery store and trust me I needed them. The folks at the store told us EVERY road out of Hanna was closed. Hanna has NO motels. None. I was pretty sure I was sleeping in my car that night cuddled up to my furry dog.
At this point we needed gas too. I always fill my tank before I head out on the dirt roads because I know what can happen. No real gas stations in Hanna but they do have a few pumps that take a credit card. That works, if only the pumps worked. No luck.
So we decided to drive a few more miles to Interstate 80 because we figured that was our best option. Luckily the highway ramp wasn't closed and we decided to press our luck and try and get to Laramie which was about 70 miles away. Laramie was the only gas or lodging available. I had less than a quarter tank.
Actually I-80 was the best driving conditions we saw but that really isn't saying much. Visibility was a little better though. We made it to Laramie, and gas, and we were again told that all roads out of Laramie were closed. Hundred of semis, cars and trucks sat at on ramps around Laramie. We decided to call Wyoming Dep't of Transportation to see if Highway 287 was open. They said yes but probably not for long. We made it out of Laramie and got past the gates before they closed them. I'm not sure if that was a good thing or not, looking back.
By now it was dark, very cold, and the wind was blowing like crazy. My buddy took the lead because he had the 4 wheel drive and better headlights. The snow was whipping around and making it really hard to see. We had to drive a little ways, find a road marker, drive a little more till we spotted the next. Most cars in the other lane were stopped with their hazard lights on. We kept on trucking. Up and over the pass we went. We drove through piles of drifted snow. The wind howled like I've never seen it before. At one point it literally moved my car about 4 feet. Slid it right along the frozen ground. All of a sudden I was in the oncoming lane, or what I think was the oncoming lane. Scary stuff.
So we finally made it back to Fort Collins. The wicked conditions didn't let up until we reached the city limits. A trip that usually takes three and half hours took almost seven!
Seven hours of hunching over the steering wheel to see out of the windshield. Seven hours of gripping that steering wheel like it was a piece of rope and I was dangling over the edge. :)
I'm glad I had a few friends that didn't panic and knew what they were doing. I've never been so glad to be home from a trip.
Thanks for reading my story.
Well, I guess I may have spoke too soon when I posted "longest day ever" on the 13th: we departed for day two of pictures at 9:00am (on the 19th) and I just got home (again, see date/time stamp). Site #1 was a classic '54 Chevy pickup truck that a very kind fellow let us use for an hour or so on his front yard. His whole family (and their little Border Collie puppy) came out to watch us work which I'm sure will make a great story to tell the other kids at school on Monday. Now, from the moment I got Carnett at the airport, he had been talking about this shot he wanted with Poobah in a claw-foot tub out in the middle of a field - he's known for his charismatic out-there setups - and a guy named Pat Riley who had been helping us out claimed to have one at his house. So, we made a long trek all the way up the side of a mountain to his house, only to find that Poobah wouldn't actually fit in a claw foot tub, and so we moved on. Site #2 saw a return to Poobah's yard for yet another shot I can't quite describe with words, and we wrapped up photos at site #3 which was a pair of absolutely classic country stores. Of course since the country stores were in a town with people, a crowd gathered to see what was going on, and Poobah had a ball signing autographs. Once Carnett felt satisfied that he had enough material (probably over 300 shots) we broke down the gear and headed back to the lake house. It has truly been a pleasure and an honor to spend all this time with Carnett (whether we're out shooting or just driving from location to location) and while I certainly had a great time and learned a lot, this is where the story really gets interesting. Two days ago we (the members of Circulus) had dinner with Rogie Ray and his fiancé and Poobah's lawyer and her mother (don't ask). During dinner, he was talking about a show he was set to play Saturday night at this blues house called Pokey's in Chattanooga, TN, and mentioned his bass player was double booked and couldn’t make it. Well of course everyone turned around a looked at me and said "Simon plays bass." Rogie, who is actually a very big fan of my work on Poobah's album, said "Oh yeah of course! Great, be there at 9pm!" And that's how you get booked. Of course I spent the two days leading up to the show worried about the tiny little insignificant detail that I've never heard any of the songs they were set to play before, and two days leaves plenty of time to come to the conclusion that while bass is arguably the most simplistic of rhythm section instruments, it's also the most important because it's the instrument that leads the rest of the band through a song and provides the cues to all the chord changes, which still leaves time to come up with every disastrous situation that could occur when the bassist doesn’t know the songs and cant lead the band. Now you have to understand, these aren’t just some guys who like to play at local bars on the weekends - these are top-tier musicians who have played with some of the greatest names in the business (I guarantee everyone reading this has heard their work at some point). I mean these guys have played with BB King, Stevie Ray Vaughn, The Kinks, The Wailers, Goose Creek Symphony, countless sessions, etc etc etc and separately, the list is too long to ever post. I could see it in my head - these amazing musicians giving me the evil eye (and/or murdering me) for missing a hit or a chord change in a song and it going down hill from there. It was a long two days. However, I've always said that if I ever play live, I want every single musician out there to be better than me - that's the only way to get better. So I guess this was my chance. It took two hours to make it to Chattanooga (all the way back into the eastern time zone) and I think I was visibly uncomfortable the whole way: Carnett was joking that if anyone gave me a hard time, I would have at least 3 guys over 6'2" to deal with it so I didn't really have to worry, but, if I wanted to set up a chicken-wire protective cage, he would help put it together. When we got there, we went to a little Italian restaurant for dinner first but since I needed to get to Pokeys, I had to leave before we even ordered - Poobah was kind enough to take me over there. Pokey's. Pokey's Pokey's Pokey's. (Just try it) Mr. Pokey is your average Tennessee-an with a "Tennessee Rose" [beautiful wife] who decided one fine day that she wanted to sing - so Mr. Pokey built a performance venue/bar and assembled a house band for his precious flower and, two decades later, it's turned into quite a popular little spot for music fanatics and sinners from the local Catholic colleges alike. Anyway, I was lead directly to the performer's lounge (a surprisingly up-scale RV parked right outside the stage door) and met the band. First and foremost, I was completely shocked when they all stood up to shake my hand and tell me "So you're this prodigy we've heard so much about! It's a real honor to meet you and we look forward to sharing the stage with such a talent! We love what you've been doing with Poobah - it doesn’t sound like anything else we've ever heard!" No, I'm not making that up or even embellishing. [start tangent] You see, I'm so used to not being taken very seriously by certain people in my life and while I try to keep a thick skin about it, it has certainly ingrained a sense of, well, not inferiority, but perhaps insignificance. I pay very close attention to my sense of self, keeping as much confidence as possible but never pushing the balance anywhere near arrogance, and those who may withhold a compliment for "safety reasons" might be surprised to learn that receiving such a monumental compliment doesn't blow up my head in the slightest - it reminds me that not only do I matter as a person, but I'm doing the right thing and I'm on the right track. I know damn well what I'm capable of, but the following series of events may prove to be one of the most re-affirming experiences of my life. [end tangent] So these guys turned out to be not just amazing musicians, but genuinely nice people - and they weren't the only ones. Everywhere I walked, people I'd never seen before in my whole life were stopping me just to tell me they had heard my work and were amazed with both what I was capable of ("at such a young age"), and that when push comes to shove, they were wearing out the CDs of rough mixes Poobah was giving out because they loved and played it so much. I even had a man who was in his 80's come up to me and say "Son, I can pick up any instrument and learn to play it in 10 minutes but I've never heard one person be able to play all of them so well and make it sound like a real band - and I've been in the business for 60 years." A woman came up to me and, after telling me that I had really nice teeth and to watch out for the evil women, said "you know it's not just your talent that's amazing, but the fact that you're not an asshole about it. Most people around here would be cocky little fuckers if they knew they was that good, but you must be one of the most well behaved gentlemen I've ever met." I could continue, but I don't want to give the appearance of being full of myself. [alternate tangent ending] So, I had a great meet and greet before we were scheduled to play (10pm) - I asked Rogie if we were doing a sound check to tune-up and with a huge grin he just said "nah, I don't do that bullshit - that's what the first song is for." So 10pm hit (10:15 musician's time) and we were off: 16 bar shuffle in G - and I gotta tell you, we may have been a bunch of white guys but it didn't sound like it. The band completely locked in and the whole night we were right on - the guys were great about telling me through the music what was coming in the songs and giving me cues, and you know what happens when everyone in the band is fluent in the language of music? The band rocks. We played mostly blues and a little country, the audience loved it, and I got yet another whirlwind of compliments - this time on my playing (with some even comparing me to bass legends you've never heard of). It's was a great pleasure to have Poobah come up and join us on stage for a couple tunes - he puts on one hell of a show - and everyone loved it. All in all, I had a great time, enjoyed the free bar tab, and all the musicians independently invited me to sit in with them whenever they were playing, wherever they were playing, and on whatever I wanted to play. Keep in mind that when I walked in for sound check at about 9:30, that was already the 12th hour of my day and I'm not big on coffee - so when we finished the last song (around 2:30am) I was fairly tired. Mr. Pokey told me to get some food at the bar (on them), so I did, and while I was sitting there, a man and his wife who had been there the whole night came up to me and, above all the compliments I got, said something I don't think I'll ever forget. Of course they introduced themselves first and we talked a bit (they were already grandparents and their youngest was older than me but they must've been no more than mid-40's). He said, "sir, we just wanted to tell you it is truly an honor to meet someone like you. You know, around here we just live our lives day to day and take what comes, but it's really a pleasure to meet someone like you who is talented, driven, and is really going to make a difference in this world." And then I moved to Tennessee permanently. But seriously, something I've noticed that's had a huge impression on me is that down here people aren't constantly judging you and living in a permanently stressed state. Down here the number one concern is not how much money you make, who you know, or what you do - it's your quality of life - it's making sure that no matter who you are and what you do, you're enjoying your time here on this earth. And I think there's something to be said for that. Now it's 5:00 in the morning, the birds are up and singing, the sun is beginning to rise over the lake, my callused fingers are tired, so I'm out.
LOST IN THE ECHO
You were that / foundation
Never gonna be another one no
I followed / so taken
So conditioned I could never let go
Then sorrow / then sickness
Then the shock when you flip it on me
So hollow / so vicious
So afraid I couldn’t let myself see
That I could never be held
Back or up no / I hold myself
Check the rep / yep you know mine well
Forget the rest / let them know my hell
There and back / yet my soul ain’t sell
Kept respect up / the best they fell
Let the rest be the tale they tell
That I was there saying . . .
In these promises broken / deep below
Each word gets lost in the echo
So one last lie / I can see through
This time I finally let you
Go
Test my will / test my heart
Let me tell you how the odds gonna stack up
Ya’ll go hard / I go smart
How’s that working out for y’all in the back, huh?
I’ve seen that frustration
Been crossed and lost and told no
And I’ve come back / unshaken
Let down and lived and let go
So you can let it be known
I don’t hold back I hold my own
I can’t be mapped / I can’t be cloned
I can’t C-flat / it ain’t my tone
I can’t fall back I came too far
Hold myself up and love my scars
Let the bells ring wherever they are
’Cause I was there saying. . .
NO / YOU CAN TELL ’EM ALL NOW
I DON’T BACK UP / I DON’T BACK DOWN
I DON’T FOLD UP AND I DON’T BOW
I DON’T ROLL OVER / DON’T KNOW HOW
I DON’T CARE WHERE THE ENEMIES ARE
CAN’T BE STOPPED / ALL I KNOW / GO HARD
WON’T FORGET HOW I GOT THIS FAR
FOR EVERY TIME SAYING
In these promises broken / deep below
Each word gets lost in the echo
So one last lie / I can see through
This time I finally let you
Go
IN MY REMAINS
Separate
Sifting through the wreckage I can’t concentrate
Searching for a message in the fear and pain
Broken down and waiting for a chance to feel alive
Now in my remains
Are promises that never came
Set this silence free
To wash away the worst of me
Come apart
Falling in the cracks of every broken heart
Digging through the wreckage of your disregard
Sinking down and waiting for a chance to feel alive
Now in my remains
Are promises that never came
Set this silence free
To wash away the worst of me
Like an army
Falling
One by one by one
BURN IT DOWN
The cycle repeated
as explosions broke in the sky
all that I needed
was the one thing I couldn’t find
And you were there at the turn
Waiting to let me know
We’re building it up
To break it back down
We’re building it up
To burn it down
We can’t wait
To burn it to the ground
The colors conflicted
as the flames climbed into the clouds
I wanted to fix this / but
couldn’t stop from tearing it down
And you were caught at the turn
caught in the burning glow
And I was there at the turn
Waiting to let you know
You told me yes / You held me high
And I believed when you told that lie
I played that soldier / You played king
And struck me down when I kissed that ring
You lost that right / to hold that crown
I built you up but you let me down
so when you fall / I’ll take my turn
and fan the flames as your blazes burn
LIES GREED MISERY
Imma be that nail in your coffin
Saying that I softened
I was ducking down to reload
So you can save your petty explanations
I don’t have the patience
Before you even say it I know
You let your pride or your ego
Talk slick to me, no
That is not the way I get down
And look at how you lose your composure
Now let me show ya
Exactly how the breaking point sounds
I WANT TO SEE YOU CHOKE ON YOUR LIES
SWALLOW UP YOUR GREED
SUFFER ALL ALONE IN YOUR MISERY
What is it you want me to tell ya
I’m not the failure
I would rather live and let be
But you came with the right kind of threat to
Push me to let you
Know you can’t intimidate me
You disrespect me so clearly
Now you better hear me
That is not the way it goes down
You did it to yourself and it’s over
Now let me show ya
Exactly how the breaking point sounds
I WANT TO SEE YOU CHOKE ON YOUR LIES
SWALLOW UP YOUR GREED
SUFFER ALL ALONE IN YOUR MISERY
YOU DID IT TO YOURSELF
I’LL BE GONE
Like shining oil this night is dripping down
Stars are slipping down
Glistening
And I’m trying not to think what I’m leaving now
No deceiving now
It’s time you let me know
Let me know
When the lights go out and we open our eyes
Out there in the silence I’ll be gone
I’ll be gone
Let the sun fade out and another one rise
Climbing through tomorrow I’ll be gone
I’ll be gone
This air between us is getting thinner now
Into winter now
Bittersweet
And ’cross that horizon this sun is setting down
You’re forgetting now
It’s time you let me go
Let me go
And tell them I couldn’t help myself
And tell them I was alone
Oh tell me I am the only one
And there’s nothing that can stop me
When the lights go out and we open our eyes
Out there in the silence I’ll be gone
I’ll be gone
Let the sun fade out and another one rise
Climbing through tomorrow I’ll be gone
I’ll be gone
I’ll be gone
CASTLE OF GLASS
Take me down to the river bend
Take me down to the fighting end
Wash the poison from off my skin
Show me how to be whole again
Fly me up on a silver wing
Past the black where the sirens sing
Warm me up in a nova’s glow
And drop me down to the dream below
’Cause I’m only a crack
In this castle of glass
Hardly anything there for you to see
For you to see
Bring me home in a blinding dream
Through the secrets that I have seen
Wash the sorrow from off my skin
And show me how to be whole again
’Cause I’m only a crack
In this castle of glass
Hardly anything there for you to see
For you to see
’Cause I’m only a crack
In this castle of glass
Hardly anything else I need to be
’Cause I’m only a crack
In this castle of glass
Hardly anything there for you to see
For you to see
For you to see
VICTIMIZED
No regret for the confidence betrayed
No more hiding in shadow
’Cause I won’t wait for the debt to be repaid
Time has come for you
Victimized
Victimized
Never again
Victimized
They’re acting like they want a riot / it’s a riot I’ll give ’em
As the siren climbs higher on this violent rhythm
For you snakes in the grass / supplying the venom
I ain’t scared of your teeth / I admire what’s in ’em
You been waiting in the shadows there, thinking you’re hidden
But the truth is you don’t have the stomach to get ’em
Go on already, hit ‘em / yeah you gotta be kidding
Wanna talk about a victim / Imma put you there with ’em
VICTIMIZED
VICTIMIZED
NEVER AGAIN
VICTIMIZED
NO
ROADS UNTRAVELED
Weep not for roads untraveled
Weep not for paths left alone
’Cause beyond every bend
Is a long blinding end
It’s the worst kind of pain I’ve known
Give up your heart left broken
And let that mistake pass on
’Cause the love that you lost
Wasn’t worth what it cost
And in time you’ll be glad it’s gone
Weep not for roads untraveled
Weep not for sights unseen
May your love never end
And if you need a friend
There’s a seat here alongside me
SKIN TO BONE
Skin to bone / steel to rust
Ash to ashes / dust to dust
Let tomorrow have its way
With the promises we made
Skin to bone / steel to rust
Ash to ashes / dust to dust
Your deception / my disgust
When your name is finally drawn
I’ll be happy that you’re gone
Ash to ashes / dust to dust
ASH TO ASHES / DUST TO DUST
SKIN TO BONE AND STEEL TO RUST
Right to left / left to right
Night to day and day to night
As the starlight fades to grey
I’ll be marching far away
Right to left and left to right
ASH TO ASHES / DUST TO DUST
SKIN TO BONE AND STEEL TO RUST
Let tomorrow have its way
With the promises betrayed
Skin to bone and steel to rust
Skin to bone and steel to rust
Skin to bone and steel to rust
UNTIL IT BREAKS
It goes 1 2 3
I was born with the hunger of a lion / the strength of a sun
I don’t need to sweat it when a competition come
Original style like an 808 drum
So I don’t run the track, no / I make the track run
My mama taught me words / my daddy built rockets
I put ’em both together now tell me what I got
It’s a pretty smart weapon / I can shoot it, I can drop it
But learn to respect it ’cause you clearly can’t stop it
Like that
It ain’t over ’cause the
Shark’s on the left side / the snake’s on the right
And anything you do they wanna get a little bite
It really doesn’t matter if you’re wrong or if you’re right
’Cause once they get their teeth in / nothing really fights
And as for me, I do it like I got nothing to lose
And you can run your mouth like you can try to fill my shoes, but
Steady little soldier, I ain’t standing next to you
I’d be laying on the ground before you’re even in my view
Like that
Give me the strength of the rising sun
Give me the truth of the words unsung
And when the last bells ring
The poor men sing
Bring me to kingdom come
It’s something for ya people on the block to
Black out and rock to
Give you what you need like poppa, who shot ya
“Separate the weak from the obsolete”
You’re meek / I creep hard on impostors
And switch styles on a dime / quick-witted [add hyphen]
Ya’ll, quit trippin’ I don’t have time for your crying
I grind tough / sucker, make your mind up
Are you in the firing squad or are you in the lineup?
Bang bang little monkey man
Playing with the big guns only get you slain, I ain’t playing
I’m just saying / you ain’t got a sliver of a chance
I get iller, I deliver while you quiver in your pants
So shake shake down / money, here’s the breakdown
You can play the bank Imma play the bank takedown
And no mistakes now / coming to get ya
I’m just a Banksy / you’re a Brainwash
Get the picture
Like that
We swim against the rising waves
And crash against the shore
The body bends until it breaks
The early morning sings no more
So rest your head it’s time to sleep
And dream of what’s in store
The body bends until it breaks
And sings again no more
’Cause time has torn the flesh away
The early morning sings no more
POWERLESS
You hid your skeletons when I had shown you mine
You woke the devil that I thought you’d left behind
I saw the evidence, the crimson soaking through
Ten thousand promises
Ten thousand ways to lose
And you held it all
But you were careless to let it fall
You held it all
And I was by your side
Powerless
I watched you fall apart and chased you to the end
I’m left with emptiness that words can not defend
You’ll never know what I became because of you
Ten thousand promises
Ten thousand ways to lose
And you held it all
But you were careless to let it fall
You held it all
And I was by your side
Powerless
TINFOIL
'the painting sings'
madness gets drunk on sanity. one glass of sober please. I see society feeding the pigeons from afar. the birds then fly and come hang on our trees. I can hear the music of the world playing in the background and everyone dances on it. where’s death? I gotta show him a magic trick. I always enjoy seeing him overthink things. the ground shifts and blurs out. you never know where you are. in Paris or Bucharest. In England or Gothenburg.
'the christmas lights purr'
you grab me by my neck and eyes, twist my arm and hold my tights and as you choke me I dream of a blue field with lonely flowers where the wind is just about right and the humans don’t bother coming. no, it’s not erotic asphyxiation, baby. it’s a ride to the hospital with the ambulance and a lot of awkward questions that I need to answer, and on top of that, I also have to pay the fucking ride as well, because all you do is watch porn all day and “study”. I don’t even know why I said that. I’m sorry, baby. I know you can’t say anything because you sowed your mouth last week, thing which, by the way, I still cannot get used to. do you know how scary it is to sleep with you? or fuck you? last time we did it in missionary position I felt that if I wouldn’t make you cum you’d cut my throat or something. how can you stand eating through a straw every day, anyway? so many questions I’ve been wanting to ask ever since I agreed with this. and I agreed with It only because I love you, but I’m not so sure about it now. NO, NO! ok. …, ….
Phoebe Scribe shook her head when she limped in. "Too big. Killed park man an' hurt me... not worth fightin alone." She disappeared through the door, hoping Conor would follow. She didn't want Runya to feel alone with the nun.
Runya Vita looks at the familiar grafitti and her face falls, shaking her head. "No, that's was Spike I think... he did it to scare people away. Her eyes move to the ladder, still there, only you didn't need to go through the sewers to get here anymore. She looks back at the nun. "There were drawings we had stuck on the walls? With nails and gum and stuff." She moves to make room as the others troop in, not really having any idea about what they were speaking about and too fixating on finding out what had happened.
Jaina Lefevre stays with Conor and eyerolls. "Don't you start. I gotta hear enough from the assbags already. He was nice - was helpin' me with target practice and then...he wasn't nice." She shrugs. "I learned. And they hurted some of us and we learned. Kimi? She didn't learn. I think maybe she got dropped on her head a few times when she was a baby. Moms said that can make you kinda stupid. Doesn't mean we don't still loves her, just that she's a dumbass."
Darkness Odigaunt assumed cookie monster wasn't what she meant, "Father might still have them. I wasn't here the day they went through... actually, I wasn't in here at all before they put in the door." she looks down as they're joined by others, maybe that would help Runya?
Phoebe Scribe called back to both kids. "Dumbasses deserve to be culled from the herd. Daddeh said so." She paused to lean against the back of a chair, hoisting her foot up to rest it. "Want to see the cage. Why's there a cage at school, Sister D?"
Conor Nitely shrugged though his head shook a little forcefully. "I dunno a Kimani or a Kimmy but if you love someone not supposed to say bad thing about them." Eyes darted to the bookshelf off to the side of them, lingering on it as if searching for some clue. "Or tattle," added in a whisper. Face looked stricken for a moment before it seemed to relax, hands shoved back in his pockets. "How come you're talking like that now?" asked with forced casualness. "Cuss words and stuff?"
Runya Vita looks to the ladder again, looking torn. She'd been fomenting a good mad for over a week and wasn't ready quite to let it go. She nods at the suggestion, reluctantly, looking aggressive again. "But who TOLD?" And on the heels of Frank's remark. "An' they put a CAGE up there! We didn' need it then an' how're you supposed to get out if things get bad?"
Darkness Odigaunt shook her head, "I didn't know there was a cage at school, Frank." She looked at Jaina and Conor, but seems to have missed a good part f their talk, "We have a way to get out, a secret that Father told me about." She took a step closer to the center of the room.
Jaina Lefevre looks at Conor. "Just sayin' it like it is. And I'm not some dumb baby that has to talk in stupid words. I can use whatever words I want." She crosses her arms and looks at him. "And I love Kimani like a sister, but I'm pretty mad at her for being stupid enough to get caught - again- and for making Rai hurt and all of us worry. And I don't want my Moms getting hurted rescuin' someone who ain't smart enough to NOT get caught in the first place."
Runya Vita looks at Frank, then at a the nun, distracted. "A secret?"
Phoebe Scribe tilted her head, then looked at Runya. Was the girl right about them wanting to keep school kids in? "Why is it a secret?" She furrowed her brow and eyed the ladder, then set off in a slow limp towards it. "It's up high?"
Runya Vita follows Frank and says, "This used to lead up to the bottom of the Nest." It comes out easier this time, like she's getting used to the past tense. "An' it goes up really high? All the way to the roof. Cater an' me, we went along ladders and got above the church and it was real windy? And we had to go through the cat's places, the roofs and this one tried to shoot us only we ran..." she's obviously attached to the story before she trails off, sneaking a look at the nun.
Conor Nitely's lips stayed pressed into a thin line as he listened. "Not supposed to say cuss words 'cause Miss Winny said that's not how gentlemen talk." He was kind of insistent on this point for some reason. "And Imma be a gentleman." Gaze flicked appraisingly over the girl, she seemed -different- somehow. "Not smart to get caught," he nodded sagely. "And...bad when people get hurt."
Darkness Odigaunt nodded, "A secret. I can always tell you later, whn it's safe to tell secrets." They should know, the ones in the older class... "I've been up the roof too... Leor's got a garden up there."
Jaina Lefevre glances into the room as she hears about the ladders, then turns back to Conor. "Sometimes, there are some things so bad out there, that the only words that fit are sorta cuss words. The real words just aren't bad enough to cover it all. Like that Ass-brink guy. There isn't a word that covers just how mean he is. He made us watch him cut up a girl and he screamed when Rai and I cut him. And then he got some other soljur guy killed by my Mom and ran away. He's really evil bad."
Runya Vita makes a snarky face at that then looks at Frank. "Lemme show you the cage..." and heads out of the classroom and to the door that leads to the orphanage.
Conor Nitely paled at Jaina's words, skinny legs suddenly backing away from her. He hit the wall with a thud, the skin around his mouth turning a faint shade of green. Hands went flat against the bricks as his ears flattened to his skull, as if he were trying to block out the words. Eyes squinted tight into slits, looking vaguely back around the room. Anywhere but at the girl. He didn't speak, didn't make a noise. Just looked like he was trying to ward off some ghost.
Phoebe Scribe nodded her head at Runya, then Sister D to tilt her head. "S'okay if we go up?" It sounded like a question at first, though she pushed back her shoulders. "Cmon Conor. Let's go upstairs an' see the cage... this way..."
Darkness Odigaunt moves as if to follow them.
Jaina Lefevre frowns at Conor. "Con...Deputy? You okay? Hey..." she steps closer. "Remember holding my hand when I was scared? Does ya want me to hold yours?"
Runya Vita yadayada, climbs up the ladder, going behind Frank to make sure she can make it.
Phoebe Scribe made her way up with a quick look back towards Conor, her lips pressing into a flat line. She mumbled under her breath the whole way up the ladder... only to see another ladder waiting for her. "MORE? HIGHER?"
Darkness Odigaunt takes another look out the door, "Conor?" she murrmers. ((GARG! BRB))
Conor Nitely's face hardened then. It was another mask, but this one he had a little more practice with lately. "No," said flatly back to Jaina, his hand already fumbling in his pocket for his phone. A vague nod at Frank as he moved to follow, head dropped low and hair covering his face. "Cage like my nook. Home isn't a building," chanted as he marched towards the ladder.
Runya Vita nods, a grin bursting free. "Don' worry, we'll go slow, okay?"
Phoebe Scribe mumbles. "Stupid soldiers an' their guns." She followed up that next ladder, hoping there would be another waiting at the next level.
Jaina Lefevre flinched as if struck at the sudden change in Conor. She takes a step back and then looks to the other kids and just turns away. Maybe leaving the apartment was a mistake.
Second to the bikini on Koloist's Chaotic Universe post was the mentioning of post card which got me into this connection thing again. Now I don't consciously collect them but somehow I have them around me (and I don't mean bikini) and keep bumping into relating events and shops.
In 2007 I went to the Lomo World Congress event in London (1st Day, 2nd Day, Photos). On the last day of my visit, 30 mins. away from leaving the Royal National Hotel I saw a poster of the Bloomsbury Postcard Fair happening right there in a conference hall! The event happens EVERY SINGLE MONTH! But I got less than 30 mins., without waiting I paid 1.5 pounds and met really interesting folks!
I didn't know where to start, it was crazy, the clock was ticking. So I went to more organized exhibitors, the classification and the way they store them alone worth the entire trip to UK, it is like a primitive Google for searching postcards. You name it, they have a way. By countries, 30's 40's 50's, wars, transportations, children, eras, .... My mind flew away imagining that if there is such a physical search engine sorting resorting these postcards on the fly according to your search terms, wouldn't it be a sight?
And I met Ken Lister, a regular visitor to the show. He gave me some hints on how to find things there and he mentioned that there is such a fair happening in Hong Kong which I didn't know! Ken was an extensive traveler, been to many places in South East Asia, I wish there was more time to chat with him. Tick tock tick tock.
Postcards are not the only thing you find in this fair. Torn pages from old books/bibles, letters/deeds written by people long gone, surveyor's map, etc etc...... One thing in common though, you may not be aware of it but when you think about it, they are all PAPERS!! This amazed me really.
With only the last few pounds I had, I got 2 advertising postcards from fountain pen makers and 2 postcards of the "Peak Tramway and Barracks, Hong Kong", of which one of them was written by a Frenchman probably to his girlfriend in France. Imagine where this postcard had travelled and how it is connected to so many people. Again, if there is such a physical search engine to travel through time returning all properties relating to one particular object, ... oh perhaps too far fetched technically, we might as well just go to the Akashic Records to do the trick.
Here's a few more links of my postcard adventure:
Postkarten shop in Cologne Germany I stumbled upon recently.
Polaroid Postcard, a flickr group where people exchanging postcards in Polaroid format. You gotta try, beautiful.
Altered Postcard Art, use any postcard, alter it to suit your own artistic vision.
Finally, I've always had great times doing these personal postcards using "spare time" during business trips and I'm not stopping as long as there is postal service available. See Hairspray and Bird Shit, Birthday Postcard to Okuyama san. God give me more time on earth!
More on Scription blog: moleskine.vox.com/library/post/postcard-fanatics-monthly-...
Pogonophobia - a fear of beards, from the greek 'pogono', (beard), and 'phobia', (fear).
Where did this apparent current dislike of beards come from? Why would there ever be a dislike for beards?
To me it makes no sense and I always thought it was just a fashionable trend. Look at any Victorian photograph of some noble man or eminent scientist and he'd often be sporting a very fine beard indeed, the Edwardian period saw some smart looking beards and the finest moustaches known to man. From the mass of hair and beards of the Hippies, the old mullet and moustache of later years and all my favourite band members, (ZZ Top - now they had some beards!), I've always known, witnessed and marvelled at the facial hair growth of a man.
Indeed as a young man, (boy!), I constantly checked the mirror to see if I had started sporting facial hair heralding my introduction to the world of being a 'man'. Once I had those few whispy hairs poking out from my chin and what I believed to be a moustache, (it showed if you got the light just right - honestly), someone was ready to jump in and start you on the path of shaving the damn stuff off! All that tentative waiting for the hair to appear and then you 'have' to start cutting it off? I didn't, not at first, I wanted to sport my few whispy hairs in public for a while just to prove to the world that I had indeed finally become a 'man'...........sad but true.
I finally did start my path to shaving, wet shaving at that and I absolutely deplored it! I stood in that bathroom the first time looking like something from a horror film, blood all over the place and bits of tissue stuck to my face in some desperate attempt at stemming all that blood loss. Then came the aftershave, probably that dusty bottle of 'Brut' or 'Old Spice', maybe even 'Hai Karate' that an aunt bought you last Christmas, big hand full of the stuff, 'splash it all over' just like the adverts said you had to and AAAAARRRRRGGGGGGGHHHHHH! You were left clinging from the rafters in absolute stinging agony as well as terrible shock from the whole incident.
Why did I have to go through this agonising ritual? What purpose did it serve? The only reason I started shaving was after a b*ll*cking from my Apprenticeship manager, (remember Apprenticeships? Old Fart I am!), who suggested that I appear at work the next day clean-shaven. Indeed this request or rather demand has been made by several employers over the years. Apparantly shaving makes you 'smart and tidy'....Huh, more like leaving yourself in agony every morning and spending what little money you earn on all this shaving nonsense!
Nothing 'smart' about that at all let alone looking pretty untidy with nicks and cuts all over your face.
So over the years I've sported several beards in different styles, goatees, moustaches, full on spade-beards, you name it but unfortunately I've also appeared bereft of facial hair much to my misery. (Usually because of another employers demands or that of a relationship partner who despite meeting you with a beard now demands it be shaved off!?!)
My current status for more than a decade now has been that of a short goatee or circle beard. My partner Teresa met me with a beard and made no demands to shave it off, in fact the latter, (after seeing my boyish face when I was clean shaven in old photographs she stated that she didn't like it, much to my pleasure).
Recently however the urge for a full on beard came back to me and I didn't expect the response I got after I started growing it back. I had expected a few raised eyebrows as past experience had shown this to be true but some of the remarks were pretty terrible - looking like a tramp or bum, being untidy, even comments about a 'flavour saver' where I could re-enjoy my last meal several hours later as it would apparently still be attached to my beard(?!) Well I haven't dribbled whilst eating for many a year now, (although rapidly progressing to an aged state where I probably will do it again), so didn't see any of that as a likely thing to happen.
Yet the thing is all I've done is extend the amount of hair grown and where it grows, nothing else.
Perhaps the corporate greedy b*st*rds of the world finally made a social change with all their advertising swaying us to give our money to them whilst creating an enviromental travesty. (We do it with pretty much everything else let alone the simple things like shaving!) Not helped by the 'scientific' evidence given in 'factual', (ah-ha, ahem, cough, cough), reports stating that women prefer men without facial hair. Really? Well if they're not attracted to me that's good as I am in a stable relationship thanks and if I'm meeting them in any other capacity where they find my facial hair in any way 'disturbing' then perhaps they're simply 'pogonophobic'?
.
.
For all you beard loving people out there, (and maybe just the beard curious), here's some links I came across. Might sound weird having a beard 'club' but each to their own in this tolerant freedom loving society we've all evolved to ;-)
Gotta love the internet :-)
Apologies to my usual contacts, (hiya guys and girls!), for my absence once again. Not long after sorting out this PC with the new OS I experienced some errors that turned out to be a faulty RAM and I've waited a few days for some replacements. Back up and running again, (hurray!), so an attempt was made to utilise this all in a proper fashion.
Out with the camera, several lightstands, a couple of my DIY flash units and that free model I can always rely on :-)
My first start to finish procesing with GIMP also and I've got to say I thoroughly enjoyed it and sufficiently pleased with the results. Actually GIMP is damn impressive once you get used to using it!
All my best to you :-)
16 JULY 12
I feel like talking about the movies today. I am such a cinephile. I love movies. I think the passion really started with my brother's love of the movies. Way back when he was one of the first people to get a foreign DVD player which played all region dvds. I remember going into this room and seeing his collection which was massive. He was the manager of a major book store which also sold movies and as manager he got a lot of perks, many of them free, and as the sister of said manager, I got a ridiculous amount of free and promotional stuff as well. Half of the posters I put up in my high school and college days came from him.
Anyway, this all region dvd introduced me to the idea that there were actual movies made outside of the border of the United States. You know there are a few foreign movies, usually the Oscar winning ones, that you get to see, but you don't see "real movies," made by real people. I loved it. I especially loved how a lot of other countries were actually more free with how they presented things and weren't afraid to push the envelope due to censorship. It was a great time we had watching hours of stuff.
I've never been a popcorn and soda gal at the movies...just isn't my thing being covered in butter and salt, but I've always been a gummy gal. I like gummy bears because they last a long time especially if you're slowly gnawing at them and they have different flavors so in the dark its a bit of a surprise what you're going to get. Ever since I became a member of Netflix, I really stopped stopped going to theaters, but I do still enjoy gummies, but more specifically, Peach O's. They smell and taste really good. I love that when they are gone, a week later you can still smell the peach scent in the bag. Good times.
Last Movie you rented?
The Experiment
Last movie you saw in theaters?
Breaking Dawn. I literally see maybe one movie a year in theaters. I'm such a Netflixer now.
Best Action movie?
The Matrix I or II
Best Comedy movie?
Bad Santa
Best Drama movie?
A Few Good Men
Best Romance movie?
Stealing Beauty
Favorite Actor?
Cillian Murphy
Favorite Actress?
Meryl Streep
Worst movie?
Teeth-it's kind of so bad its good
Best movie?
The Fall
Who was the last person you went to a movie with?
S.R. I think...
Your favorite movie theater?
AMC
Favorite place to rent movies?
Netflix
Do you have Netflix?
See above
Favorite movie character?
Cillian Murphy in Over the Edge
Best line in a movie?
"I haven't tears enough for what you've done to me"
Last movie you fell asleep in?
None...if I paid for it, I make sure I'm getting my monies worth.
Best kiss scene?
The Velocity of Gary
Best sex scene?
Lucia y el Sexo, that's how I want to wake up and be woken up
Best death scene?
Samuel L Jackson in Deep Blue Sea. In EVERY movie he's ever been in he always has to give the hero speech or the get to work speech or the we can beat this speech and right in the middle of it in Deep Blue Sea, the giant freakin' shark just eats him...I laughed so hard...priceless.
Best soundtrack?
Little Shop of Horrors and Sunshine State
Best director?
don't know
Worst director?
Don't know
Old movies or Newer movies?
Newer
Best actor/actress of all time?
Actress: Meryl Streep-has literally left me speechless before and Actor: Michael Fassbender-if you can cry in an X-men movie and have people feel that emotion...that's skill, plus so good in Jane Eyre
Do you watch the Academy Awards?
It is an event in my yearly calendar
Indie movies or mainstream?
Indies...I own a lot of off the grid stuff because I feel that a lot of times, these are the artists, directors, and actors, who are passionate and fight for their films and scripts and just want to tell their story and not just fill Hollywood's paychecks.
Do you watch foreign films?
Yes
Favorite decade of movies?
80's
Last movie bought?
Jane Eyre
Movie watched the most?
Tie between the Lion King, Interview with a Vampire, and Little Women
Famous actors/actresses met?
None
Movie you wish you could've been in?
My first instinct was to say the Matrix, but then I'd probably be the first one absorbed by the machines, so Stealing Beauty. That movie made me fall in love with Italy.
If you had your own movie, what would the title be?
The Box
Used movies or new movies?
Used, saving the environment
Best cinematography?
The Fall
Best horror film?
The Ring (Japanese version)
Best casting?
Patrick Stewart as Dr. Xavier and Hugh Jackman as Wolverine...spot on
worst casting?
Everyone else in X-men!!!!
Last movie you watched in school?
Ugh...
Last movie watched with family?
Ugh....
Last movie watched with g/f or b/f?
Red Dragon
First DVD ever purchased?
The Lion King...well, it was on VHS back then
Favorite snack during movie?
Gummy candies..like the Peach O's in the picture
Movie you want to see?
New batman movie
Movie you were forced to watch
everything in high school
Best movie poster?
No clue
Last movie borrowed from friend?
No clue
How many DVDs do you own?
Over 75, stopped counting
Frank Castle's War Journal
Entry 53
25th of October, 1971
War is not pretty. It's filthy and disgusting. And yet unavoidable. Every generation goes through one. My grandfather fought in the first world war, my father in the second. My mother called it the 'Castiglione curse', and in a way, I suppose she's right. My grandfather fought because he had moved to America just two years prior and he thought it was his duty to defend the country that had taken him in and accepted him. My father because...Well, because his father pushed him into it, I suppose. I am now on my third tour here in Vietnam, so the real question is why I am fighting this war? My father didn't push me into it, I haven't spoken to him in years. Maybe I felt some kind of duty? To continue what my grandfather started. Perhaps that was the reason why I enlisted, try to make my grandfather 'proud.'
In the end, it doesn't really matter why I'm here, fact is I am. And if there's one thing I've learned on my three tours it's that you can't focus on the past. If your mind isn't in the present, you will die.
On my first tour, I was assigned to a squadron with two other men I trained with. Joshua and Dirk. The day prior to deployment, Joshua's kid was born. On the flight, he had a photo of the baby and his wife. It was all he could look at. I could relate to him, as just a few weeks before, me and Maria got married. I understood that he missed her and I felt sorry for him. Two days after arriving in Vietnam we were sent on our first mission, help to stop the enemy from taking a strategic outpost near the Cambodian border. It was one of the toughest missions I've ever been one. We lost over half of the troops. And the first one to go? Joshua. That's how I learned if you don't keep your mind trained on the present, you won't last longer than two minutes. I've seen a lot of my brothers in arms die, many because of that reason, others because they underestimated the enemy. But I won't ever forget Joshua. If it weren't for him, who knows how long I would have lasted. If you want to survive, keep your mind trained on the present. And this takes us to today.
Twenty minutes ago, two Huey's dropped twenty of us four miles from the base. We've received reports of enemy troops advancing on the base. We're the last US outpost watching the Cambodian border, sooner or later Charlie would try to make a play. But luckily we have our trusty camp commander, Colonel Ennis along with us. Ennis insisted the Helis drop us off four miles from the base. Why? Because he was too tired to walk the distance. He's the perfect example of an incompetent leader. There's a running joke in camp that the only reason he was assigned here was that he married some General's daughter. Frankly, I don't care if that's the case or not. He spends most of the time in his hut, high on marijuana which means I'm the one that ends up making sure Charlie doesn't overrun us. But a lot of Saigon's eyes are on us for this mission, so he didn't have much of a choice but to join us.
I notice four men coming out of the woodwork up ahead. I tighten the grip on my rifle but recognise that they're friendlies. The four scouts we had sent ahead an hour earlier. Sergeant Cooper signals us to halt while he talks with the scouts. A few minutes pass before he signals me and Ennis to come over.
"Sir scouts reporting enemy camp over in Valley Lotus. That's about a mile East from here."
"What kind of numbers are we talking about here?"
"They're not sure, reckon most of them are still asleep. Maybe twenty to thirty men. They got four on look-out, taking those out shouldn't be much of a problem since we have the element of surprise on our side."
Sounds too good to be true to my ears, but Ennis seems to think we've finally caught a break. "Sounds like shooting fish in a barrel. How do we get there?"
"If we continue on South we'll reach a clearing, that's maybe a twenty-minute walk from here. Then continue on East and we'll reach the site, that's maybe another eight or ten-minute walk. Or we can head south-west, move around the valley. Ambush them from the West. However, this could take at least 45 extra minutes, as this route will force us to head through the more overgrown part of the jungle." The Colonel doesn't even take a few minutes to consider both options, instead opting for the former. "Sir, if I may? I think we should take the latter, the first route sounds too easy, they might have a trap set up in the clearing. And they won't expect us coming from behind."
"You're giving Charlie too much credit here, Castle, they wouldn't have the brains to think up a proper trap. Besides, we've covered enough jungle for one day, I don't fancy another fifty minutes fighting our way through thorns. And besides, they're probably all asleep, they won't see an ambush, wherever it's coming from." He turns to Cooper. "Tell the men to get ready, we're moving out in two minutes."
Despite my protests, we continue on South. After a twenty minute walk, we reach the clearing Cooper told us about. Ennis slings the rifle over his back and takes out his canteen. "Alright, let's take a short break. Give the men a minute to catch their breath, get something to drink--" A gunshot echoes through the clearing, and Ennis falls to the ground. As I suspected, a trap. Suddenly from all sides gunfire bursts through the green. I can see the men are trying to catch their bearings, but we were all caught off guard. Two more bodies fall to the ground. Everyone's panicking, trying to see where the gunshots are coming from. We've gotta stick together, or they'll pick us off one by one. "FORM A CIRCLE!" I scream "FORM A CIRCLE! STAY TOGETHER!" My voice barely travels over the sound of gunfire but luckily Cooper hears me and passes it on. We manage to fight our way back to where we entered the clearing and build up somewhat of a defence.
"THERE ARE TOO MANY OF THEM!" Cooper screams. He's right, we don't stand a chance. Charlies got the advantage here, they were obviously lying in wait, knowing we would come this way. I look at Copper. "Go. Get the men out of here, call in the Hueys and head back to the LZ!" He looks confused for a moment. "If we run now they'll slaughter us like dogs! And what about the Colonel?" I look back to Ennis' body. He's moving, meaning he's still alive.
"I'll be staying back, give you cover. Hopefully, I can buy you a minute or two." I half expect him to fight back but he doesn't, instead he gives me a thankful nod before signalling the men to fall back while I proceed to fire my assault rifle into the bushes, in hopes it will give them as much cover as possible.
There were at least twenty men in the ambush, but ten of them split up, undoubtedly trying to cut off Cooper and what's left of the group. This means I'm facing around eight or seven. I might be able to survive this.
Something small and dark falls from the sky, landing a few inches from me feet. Recognising what it is, I quickly grab it and lob it back into the bushes. An explosion erupts and three trees surrounding the area where I threw the grenade catch on fire. I see four men stumble out of the green, desperately trying to douse their flaming clothes. I pick up my assault rifle and fire off four quick shots at each of them before I hear the hollow clicking of an empty mag. However, before I get a chance to reload, someone jumps down from a tree a few feet away from me. He falls on top of me, causing me to tumble to the ground. I barely have time to catch my breath, because next thing I know there's a knife a few inches away from my face. I grab his arm and with as much force as I can muster up, push him away. We struggle for a little until I finally manage to twist his arm with one hand while grabbing his throat with the other. There's a crack as his arm breaks. He tries to yell out, but his scream is lost somewhere in his throat. There's one final struggle until finally, his lifeless body falls on me. I push him off, but only to be greeted by the end of a rifle not six centimetres from my face. Without hesitating, I quick grab it and pull it away. The gun goes off but luckily manages to miss me.
My ears are ringing from the gunshot, but I try not to pay any attention to it, instead I proceed to punch my assailant. He doubles down and tries to push me to the ground. Quickly I pull out my combat knife and slice his throat in one flawless motion. All of a sudden, his body jerks forward and blood explodes over my chest. I'm not sure whether it's his or my own. Standing behind him is the last man that was part of the ambush. Upon seeing he didn't hit me but rather the dead body of his former brother in arms, he decides to give it another go. It seems though I have more than luck on my side today, as miraculously his gun jams. AK-47s never were very reliable, and right now I'm thankful for that. But instead of fumbling for another mag like most would do, he pulls out a bayonet and attaches it to the end of his rifle. His mouth motions a scream and next thing I know he charges at me with the bayonet. I stand my ground until the last second when I dive to the left. He runs straight past me and drives the bayonet into a thick tree trunk. I quickly get back on my feet while he desperately tries to remove it. Upon seeing me run at him with a knife, he leaves the AK and instead goes for a handgun tucked in his pants. However before he manages to pull it out, I'm already there, combat knife in hand. He tries to scream for help, but I quickly cover his mouth with my hand and slice his throat open with my knife. An explosion of blood errupts over my face and he gives one last struggle before his lifeless body falls to the ground. I wipe the knife clean on his clothes before putting it back in its sheath.
My hearing seems to be coming back, as a groan diverts my attention back to Captain Ennis, who is still lying in the same spot where he was shot just minutes earlier.
"C-Castle..." He coughs up blood and is obviously having a lot of problems breathing. "Y-You...lucky fuck...c'mon...help me up and..let's get out of here." I stare at him for a little while. His shirt is soaked in blood, I'm sure he's got a few bullet holes in his chest and stomach. Maybe if he gets medical attention within the next half hour he might have a fighting chance of survival. Maybe.
"I warned you."
"Y-You...what?"
"I warned you not to go into the clearing. Told you it was sure to be a trap." I walk over to one of the dead bodies and pick up a bayonet. "But you just wouldn't listen. And now..." I crouch beside him. "...Four good, honest...Brave men are dead." I glance at Kody, Dean, James and Christopher's dead bodies. "All because you wouldn't listen to reason." I position the bayonet over his heart.
"What are you-- ARGH!" Will all the force I have left in my arms, I thrust the bayonet into his chest.
"I'm sorry, I didn't want to do this. But you're a liability." I twist the blade, silencing Captain Ennis once and for all. I stand over his body for a few minutes contemplating what it was that made me do this. Did he deserve to die? Perhaps, but not like this. He was out of his depth, he never should have signed up in the first place and he definitely never should have been assigned Colonel. Maybe he thought he'd spend most of his time in Saigon as some kind of reserve.
I asked myself earlier why it is that I'm fighting this war. I didn't realise until now that I always knew the answer, I just never wanted to accept it. This is where I belong.
This is my Home
~~~
Here's something to get y'all in a festive spirit, MURDER! :P
I'd like to apologise for this rather poor build, jungle builds are not my forté, mainly due to me having very little plants. And 80% of the few I do have are currently packed away in boxes. So I hope the story makes up for that, I rewrote it 5 or 6 times. :P
Anyway, this is a role I've been meaning to write for a good few months now. I noticed very few Punisher stories here on Flickr focus on his time in 'Nam and since that is a subject I've been very fascinated by I figured why not combine the two. Anywho, I hope you guys enjoyed it and Merry Christmas/Happy Hanukkah/Merry Atheist Day, whatever you celebrate I hope you're having a great time!
[23:25] Colette Loon was wondering down Main Street aimlessly, not busy at all. She stopped by the corner, near Auntie. She remembered the time she stabbed her and scratched the back of her neck, letting the idea of doing it again float around in her head. She decided agasint it. There were too many people around her and the woman wasn't a big piece of her agenda at the moment. She looked up, trying to see if she would be able to get a glance at the sun today. No luck, but she did happen to see Nocens. She hadn't seen him in a while. Nope. "Uh.. *you*. Get down here." she yelled up to him.
[23:30] Nocens Scarmon rolls his fingers into fists and howls back, "Call me a bleeder again and I'll fucking stuff you up a meatsack's ass, stuff ya, baste and roast you like a Madden Thanksgiving, shiv?", he punctuates the remark by stomping on the walks, shaking them with his weight. "You a 'brid, then term....get any closer to the den and pluck ya...", his voice trails off as he hears a familiar voice from eons ago and whips his head towards the street. "Oi chombatta!", he calls as he lunges down to the street, miscalculating the distance and prepares to land far to early. He cannonballs into the pavement and rolls into the MPD building with a resounding CRASH!
[23:34] Colette Loon edged a bit closer to where he landed, scratching the back of her neck again. He didn't look much different, but she was bad with faces anyway. She really was. She eyed the cracked pavement around his feet andh er eyes trailed up to his face. "So.. *well*." She didn't know what to say and paused, then spoke again. "I guess... *where* the hell have you been, rookie? I mean, did you die again?"
[23:38] Nocens Scarmon resituates himself and promptly kicks the MPD building, apparently irriated it had gotten in his way. He turns to Colette and states in a voice devoid of empathy, "New mask, can see eyes. Prefer it." He coughs loudly and turns his head to spit out a mouthful of blood and bile. "Nah...", he says, wiping his chin of the dangling tendrils of spew with the back of his hand, "...configged to infil the yew-achs as a grip and got lost in a construct for awhile. Failed at it, got fragged a bit...back now, shiv?"
[23:46] Colette Loon nodded her head slowly and crossed her arms. She cleared her throat before speaking, her throat hurting still from her past injury. She soke in her usually soft, mildly hoarse voice "Yeah, my other face got fucked up. Cracked, I mean. I finally got around to fixing it, but I'm worried to wear it again. Fuckers in this city don't give a damn about your stuff. I'm pretty damn poor, you know that. Shit's harder to get. Really makes me mad. But I grew up with two sisters and a... brother. Uh.. they used to always touch my stuff. Pissed me off, y'know? Probably not." She really could ramble sometimes.
[23:50] Nocens Scarmon grinds his teeth in response, nodding his head. "Yeah...", he gnashes, "...hate it here. Config everyone's out to get chaol. The Yew-Achs, the Empty D, the OI thatches. Fucking bleeders....better off without the lot of 'em, shiv? Still....few I've been able to be term with, hard to but I can. Like you, we billy term, shiv? Rare, don't have many meatsacks I trust enough to even be around longer then a blink. Way it goes. Trust broken, bones broken, shiv?"
[23:59] Colette Loon smiled a bit under her mask. It made her a bit happy for him to even stand her. She nodded her head again. "Yeah. You're alright too. I don't have many friend y'know. Only a few people here I can... can.. uh.. *click* with, I guess. I think it will always be like that for me though, even if I leave this god forsaken place. Still can't leave."
[0:03] Nocens Scarmon states matter-of-factly, "Hate it here, why can never leave." He rolls his neck and emits a soft metallic POP!, "What you been lining, chombatta? Like said, configged it's been some x's since last time saw you. You term? You need me to brain anyone?"
[0:10] Colette Loon laughed a bit, a very quiet laugh, at her friend's offer. She uncrossed one arm and put it up by her chin like she was thinking. It was for show. She felt playful. "Hmmm... well... uh... no, not *now* at least. I've taken care of what I can. I mean, those people that won't stop fucking with me. I'm better at picking my battles now, y'know? Got a lot less... booboos."
[0:14] Nocens Scarmon nods in agreement, "Meat easy to tear, bones easy to break. Config you gotta watch your back, when the hammer cocks truth of matter is only person that watches your back is you, shiv?" He thrusts a thumb in the direction behind him, "Figure I'll pluck an apple from the fight tree with the Yew-Achs in the bunker in Apoc. Got me a barrel of 'apalm and itching to flare 'em something fierce, shiv? Owe 'em a few for what they did to my cats." He curls his lip, "Changed mind, prefer other mask. This one...seem more...real....not used to it."
[0:21] Colette Loon listened to him and figured it be best not to tell him that she was considering joining the Marines. Hopefuly he wouldn't think any different of her once she was in. "Cats..." she muttered quietly and shrugged. "More real, huh? Enlighten me, why don't you?"
[0:25] Nocens Scarmon mutters solemnly, "Stale face....only knew your soul before....", he shakes his head and growls, "Should go...have rooftops, make sure bloc is term. Good seeing ya, choomba. Don't be a stranger...."
[0:28] Colette Loon bites her lip beneath her mask and uncrosses her arms. She glances down at the broken concrete, then back up to his face. "Stale, right? I guess... You've seen my face though. The whole thing. Nothing new here." she paused, clearing her throat again. "I won't. Nope, not at all. I never was. You just... left. Don't leave again, you fucker. Okay?"
[0:29] Nocens Scarmon nods assuredly, "Promise. I don't break promises, I break bleeders, shiv? This not last, this a first. See you again."
[0:31] Colette Loon nodded her head in understanding, a little smile still on her face. "Tata, rookie." she said quietly, then began to hum a Hawaiian lullaby.
Second to the bikini on Koloist's Chaotic Universe post was the mentioning of post card which got me into this connection thing again. Now I don't consciously collect them but somehow I have them around me (and I don't mean bikini) and keep bumping into relating events and shops.
In 2007 I went to the Lomo World Congress event in London (1st Day, 2nd Day, Photos). On the last day of my visit, 30 mins. away from leaving the Royal National Hotel I saw a poster of the Bloomsbury Postcard Fair happening right there in a conference hall! The event happens EVERY SINGLE MONTH! But I got less than 30 mins., without waiting I paid 1.5 pounds and met really interesting folks!
I didn't know where to start, it was crazy, the clock was ticking. So I went to more organized exhibitors, the classification and the way they store them alone worth the entire trip to UK, it is like a primitive Google for searching postcards. You name it, they have a way. By countries, 30's 40's 50's, wars, transportations, children, eras, .... My mind flew away imagining that if there is such a physical search engine sorting resorting these postcards on the fly according to your search terms, wouldn't it be a sight?
And I met Ken Lister, a regular visitor to the show. He gave me some hints on how to find things there and he mentioned that there is such a fair happening in Hong Kong which I didn't know! Ken was an extensive traveler, been to many places in South East Asia, I wish there was more time to chat with him. Tick tock tick tock.
Postcards are not the only thing you find in this fair. Torn pages from old books/bibles, letters/deeds written by people long gone, surveyor's map, etc etc...... One thing in common though, you may not be aware of it but when you think about it, they are all PAPERS!! This amazed me really.
With only the last few pounds I had, I got 2 advertising postcards from fountain pen makers and 2 postcards of the "Peak Tramway and Barracks, Hong Kong", of which one of them was written by a Frenchman probably to his girlfriend in France. Imagine where this postcard had travelled and how it is connected to so many people. Again, if there is such a physical search engine to travel through time returning all properties relating to one particular object, ... oh perhaps too far fetched technically, we might as well just go to the Akashic Records to do the trick.
Here's a few more links of my postcard adventure:
Postkarten shop in Cologne Germany I stumbled upon recently.
Polaroid Postcard, a flickr group where people exchanging postcards in Polaroid format. You gotta try, beautiful.
Altered Postcard Art, use any postcard, alter it to suit your own artistic vision.
Finally, I've always had great times doing these personal postcards using "spare time" during business trips and I'm not stopping as long as there is postal service available. See Hairspray and Bird Shit, Birthday Postcard to Okuyama san. God give me more time on earth!
More on Scription blog: moleskine.vox.com/library/post/postcard-fanatics-monthly-...
31 DEC 2012
Do you know how practically orgasmic it is to finish one of these things? Yes, I just said that. And you just read that and you're still reading, so keep going, hmm-k!
(Cue Queen's "We are the Champions") Can I get a high five? I saiiiiddddd, CAN I GET A HIGH FIVE! Not only has this PYT finished her not one, not two, but third project 365. Because this is a leap year, I had to shoot an additional day. I mean come on people, that’s gotta be good for a standing ovation and some throwing of some roses in my direction!
Yes dear friends, I have done it once again. I have taken a photo every day of my life for the past year. I have shared my days, my memories, my thoughts, and my life with you fine people and I’d like to first and foremost thank you for coming along with me on this journey that is life. There really isn’t a way I think to sum up these things without typing up every single cliché in the book or talking about how these things help you understand what it means to be alive, because it’s all true. This very day I had to finally break down and buy an external hard drive because my PC broke down, and thankfully the techy in a labcoat and superior attitude was able to recover them. In the process of doing so I began sifting through the last 3 years worth of photos, and every image gave me the distinct pleasure of having the ability just by looking at it, to be there in that moment, to relive those days, to experience my life as if I’d time traveled into my own past. People ask me all the time, how can you carry that camera around, how can you take photos everyday, how can you keep going, and its because at the end of my year, 4 and half months ago, in the middle of the week, or five seconds ago, I get to look at my book and understand where I’ve been, how I’m living, and maybe where I’m going. How do I know what happened August 25, 2009? I have a picture, I have my own written words, I have proof of my existence.
Okay, nostalgia reel time.
Career: this year I began to focus exclusively on photography having ended my last stressful job at the end of 2011. I have had time to really invest in what has made me happy beyond belief. Times are tough for everyone and its been tough for me as well, but even in the toughest times, there is always something or someone how has reminded me that I am one of the luckiest people on earth that I have gotten to do what I love, have some great experiences, and live my dream and not have to wish 20 years down the road, that I had this opportunity. The time is and always should be now for what you are passionate about and I'm so glad I took a leap of faith.
Health: This year started off very rocky and I had to undergo a lot, but thankfully I have gotten to a place where things are at least under control. I have had the love and support of my family and my friends to help me through everything, and for that I can only be grateful.
Love: I've basically succeed in embarrassing myself in this department. Haven't made any true connections. My besty and I were talking about this over dinner a couple of weeks ago, and the problem lies in the fact that we have a practically incestual group of friends. We're like "Friends!" Everyone has dated everyone, everyone has dated everyones friends, everyone is still friends with everyone and their friends. We can't leave the circle. Eighteen years we've all been together and its tough to make new friends, new relationships without being in the circle. We really and truly do love each other and we often look to the approval of the circle when we find new relationships with people that aren't in it. Oh gawd, I think we're a cult.
Friendship: We're a cult. I know this now.
Travel: Haven't really gone a lot of places this year. I flew to visit my parents in NC, I took a road trip to Austin, and yeah, that's about it. 2013 however, I'm going to be in my brother's wedding in MT, and I have got to go to New York for the first time. Have to, have to!! The time, as I've said, is now.
Best moment of 2012: The summer Olympics! USA! USA! Every four years we get to just shut up, stop fighting for 3 seconds, and enjoy some good old fashioned global fun. This year saw a lot of female athletes esp. from countries that traditionally did not allow them to compete, and a lot of stories, like Golden Gabby, Moe Farrah, the Ugandan winning the gold in long distance, and a bunch of other awesomeness including the closing ceremony which was fantastic.
Worst moment of 2012: Sandyhook without a doubt. I worked exclusively with kids most of my career and to just know that there were parents out there with presents wrapped up, that would never be opened, an empty bedroom, a sibling without a brother or a sister...it cut me deep on a personal level even though I didn't know anyone in the tragedy personally. There are some times in life where you just stop what you're doing as a moment overtakes your spirit, and this for me, was a big one. I thought about this every day during the holiday season as I rushed around with my family and it made spending Christmas with my family that much more important an special.
My 2012 resolution: My resolution was to experience more that my town has to offer. You live in a place long enough, its strange that you don't know what all is going on right under your nose. This year I vowed to see and do more and to support my city. I started strong going to 3 events in January, but by late February, I'd stopped making that effort, and I didn't pick back up on it until late summer. I did go to a lot of events that I have never been to or haven't gone to in a while, and I think I will still make this my 2013 resolution because just like the taking photos everyday forces me to get out there and do more, so does actually getting out there and doing more!!!
Photography: This was quite an epic year. I really pushed and pushed myself to take on the challenge of photography. If I didn't have a skill, I made valiant efforts to learn it or about it. I learned new PS tricks, and took on the epic challenge of shooting in not so great weather and lighting conditions, and I am extremely proud of myself. There were probably this year, I'd say only about 15% of my days where I just took a snap shot or a whatever shot without much thought. I will continue to push because I continue to love photography and the feel of the camera in my now more experienced hands. Its a beautiful thing.
365 number 4?: Yes!!! Its not even a question really at this point. I am going to start AGAIN tomorrow, January 1, 2013. I celebrate this last day of 2012 indoors because for the first time in ever that I can remember, there is an actual thunderstorm happening right now which is why my friends and I cancelled our plans to see the annual downtown lighting and fireworks show. I celebrate this last day and I reflect on all that this year has brought me and the promise of, well, a promising future. I would once again like to personally thank all the flickrati, some of you who have followed me from 365 number one, until now for your continual support, comments, favorites, and email messages. I read everyone and I do take them to heart. Flickr is a nice place to come at the end of the day and know that everyone is here because they love photography, and taking pictures, and talking about taking pictures. We're our own society of weirdos and I love that.
So as I go gently onwards into the midnight hour and the switching of the dial from a 12 to a 13, I wish everyone a HAPPY, HEALTHY, AND WONDERFUL NEW YEARS!!! Won't you please do me the honor of following me once again in 2013?
A while later…
Sybil: “Okay, I’ve waited long enough. (reaches for her phone) You’d better pick up, mister. Actually, you’d better be on your way here already. Like half an hour ago.” (dials her phone and waits)
Elliot (answers his phone in a frustrated voice after a few rings): “Sybil…”
Sybil (annoyed): “Where the hell are you? I had to send the others for an extra lunch to give you more time!”
Elliot: “I’m still at home. It’s Mama. She came suddenly for a visit. She seems upset about something. You mind if I come in about two hours? You can start without me, right? Ben will be happy to cover and get closer to Anissa. He’s got a thing for her.”
Sybil (prepares to pull her hair out): “You promised to do this! Anissa is expecting you to do this! If you don’t come, you won’t let only her down, but me, too. She won’t give me another photo shoot to do if she can’t get you in the deal.”
Elliot (laughingly): “What are you talking about? Anissa trusts you one hundred percent. She didn’t even have to look at your photos in Hawaii to know how good they were. I was there and I remember. She’s gonna offer all her photo shoots for you to do from now on, trust me.”
Sybil (starts walking around nervously): “While I appreciate the encouragement, I’m not sure if she’ll like everything this time around. She just criticized my portraits in front of the models! Nobody talks to me like that! (sniffles) How embarrassing. I wanted to b*tch-slap that b*tch, but that would have been the end of our collaboration. Who does she think she is? Does she think she’s more famous than me?”
Elliot (amused): “I love it when you talk nasty. Insecurity doesn’t look good on ya, remember? I ain’t gonna let you down, Syb. Two hours tops. I’ll be there.”
Sybil (frustrated): “You’d better, or else I’ll come there and… and…” (stops walking and stomps her foot)
Elliot (softly): “Love you.”
Sybil (calms down): “I was going to say ‘kill Violet’ or something along the line. What does she want anyway? You know, they’re crocodile tears. Don’t believe a word she says. She never believed a word you said, anyway.”
Elliot: “Oh, I ain’t so sure. I just had to find my phone in the bedroom… Gosh, it’s messy here! Don’t you ever rearrange your stuff? I almost stepped on your… knitting needles? I didn’t know you knit. (amused) You pussycat… Ha-ha! Anyway, Mama’s waiting in the kitchen. I’m heading there to find out what she’s gotta say. Bye now, sweet thing. (laughingly) Show that b*tch your nails! Rrrroar!”
Sybil (amused, flushing a little): “Alright – just get here. Bye…” (hangs up and smiles at her phone)
A familiar voice appears out of thin air: “Missing me?”
A new guy in town walks into a bar and notices a large jar filled to the brim with $10 bills. The man approaches the bartender and asks, "What's up with the jar?"
"Well, you pay $10, and if you pass three tests, then you get all the money."
"What are the three tests?" asks the man
"Gotta pay first."
So the guy gives him the $10 bucks, and the bartender adds it to the jar.
"OK, here's what you have to do. First, you have to drink that whole bottle of pepper tequila -- the WHOLE thing at once -- and you can't make a face while doing it. Second, there's a pit bull chained up out back with a sore tooth. You have to remove the tooth with your bare hands. Third, there is a 90-year-old woman upstairs who's never had an orgasm in her life. You gotta make things right for her."
"Well, I know I've paid my $10 bucks," says the man, "but I'm not an idiot. No wonder you've collected so much money -- that's impossible!"
The new guy proceeds to drink several whiskeys, and eventually, he gets up his nerve.
"Wherez zat teeqeelah?" he slurs.
He grabs the bottle of pepper tequila with both hands and downs it, gulp by gulp. Tears are streaming down his cheeks, but he doesn't make a face. Next, he staggers out back. Everyone in the bar hears a huge scuffle outside -- barking, yelping and growling, then silence.
Just when they think the man must be dead, he staggers back into the bar with his shirt ripped and gashes across his body.
"NOW," he says, "wherez at ol' lady with the sore tooth?"
Challenged to photograph the contents of... something, I decided to pick bookshelves. Of course, I didn't photograph all of the contents of all of my bookshelves, because that would've taken all day, and I wanted to do some other stuff, like, uh, I don't know. I'm sure there's something. Anyway, pictured here (from left):
Top row:
Lysistrata and Other Plays - Aristophanes
Classical Comedy - Greek and Roman
Antigone, Oedipus, Electra - Sophocles
Orestes - Aeschylus
Canterbury Tales - Chaucer
A Midsummer Night's Dream - Shakespeare
Henry IV, Part I - Shakespeare
Beowulf
Women Writers of Renaissance England
(kind of visible) Me Talk Pretty One Day - David Sedaris
Macbeth - Shakespeare
Half and Half - essays on being biracial
The Viking Portable Library Beat Reader - I've had this since I was 17 and it is currently falling apart, but I can't get rid of it or even buy a new copy because I'm like that.
Pocket Spanish/English dictionary
Associated Press Stylebook & Libel Manual -- ah, the days of reporterhood. I miss them not at all.
Strong's Exhaustive Concordance of the Bible -- have I ever told you that my mom is all about theology?
Mere Christianity - C.S. Lewis
The Viking Portable Library Dorothy Parker
The Heart is a Lonely Hunter -- Carson McCullers
Eats, Shoots & Leaves -- Lynne Truss (a book dear to my grammar police heart)
Fausett's Bible Dictionary
A History of the Jewish People -- I don't think that's mine
The Hours -- Michael Cunningham
Sappho's Immortal Daughters -- yay, literary criticism. Or something.
Bottom row:
Summer of the Mets -- Levi Asher (really a good book, and i'm not just saying that because I've hung out on his fire escape before)
Anansi Boys -- Neil Gaiman (yay, free review copies!)
The Second Coming -- Andrew Masterson (This book was a birthday gift from my friend Jason, the Australian wonderboy, who is the only person in the world who is allowed to call me "pumpkin". It's about Jesus, who, instead of ascending into Heaven after the crucifixion/resurrection deal, has been wandering the earth for 2000 years and is presently a heroin dealer in Perth. Hilarious and irreverent and totally my kind of book.)
Light in August -- William Faulkner (gotta love Billy F.)
The Iliad -- Homer
Dress Your Family in Corduroy and Denim -- David Sedaris
A Happy Death -- Albert Camus
What We Talk About When We Talk About Love -- Raymond Carver
A Walk on the Wild Side -- Nelson Algren
Renaissance Woman: Constructions of Femininity in England -- yeah, it's good time reading. Actually not too bad, but you have to really have an interest in things like conduct literature to enjoy it. It's my kind of thing, though, because hey, I'm actually reading The Book of Margery Kempe right now, and nobody's making me do it. Yeah, really. I'm like that.
+ I wear Louis, Gucci, Fendi, Prada.
+ Pop dem tags, pop dem tags. i had a skin tag (brownish black) on the left side of my neck. i dipped scissors in alcohol and slowly cut it myself, in front of the bathroom mirror. i made sure to clean it real good after and had plenty of gauze and bandages. [NOTE: Don’t try this at home. Talk to a Doctor for Medical concerns.]
+ I wear Bally’s shoes.
+ you didn’t give me this coat, I bought it 10 years ago, long before I met you. Just because I have on something nice and you like it, doesn’t mean I took it from you.
+ wait, she took what from your house? That’s messed up! Call the police!
+ when are we going shopping?
+ when are we going to the famers market?
+ when are we going to the thrift store?
+ how many Louis purses do you own?
+ how many hits did you make?
+ how many followers do you have?
+ my parents have been married for 50 years. [they’re miserable as hell]
+ my parents have been married for 65 years. [they are High School sweethearts and are soulmates.]
+ i don’t remember how long my parents were married for, a long time, till my Dad passed away. They always fought and never slept in the same room. They did a great job pretending everything was A-OK at home. Whenever we’d go out to spend time with family or friends, they’d get all chummy with one another. At home, they couldn’t stand eachother and lived like roommates.
+ I ate a 8 course meal at Eleven Madison Park.
+ I’m married!
+ I’m single!
+ My husband is the same race and religion as I.
+ My wife is the same race and religion as I.
+ I have blond hair and blue eyes.
+ [Online Sex] Hi, I’m a man. (Really a woman)
+ [Online Sex] Hi, I’m a woman. (Really a man)
+ [Online Sex] Hi, I’m 19 years old. (Really 100 years old)
+ I’m a brunette with big tits.
+ i don’t like your hair.
+ I have a nice ass.
+ My husbands got a huge dick. and BROKE!
+ My husbands got a small dick. and RICH!
+ my husband doesn’t have a lot of money but he’s rich in SPIRIT!
+ My husbands got a huge dick. and RICH!
+ My husbands got a small dick. and BROKE!
+ so, i thought my husband was going to have a dick. but on the night of our marriage, i found out he had a vagina. NOW, it’s too late. I’m stuck with this vagina. no givesies backsies.
+ so, i thought my wife was going to have a vagina. but on the night of our marriage, i found out she had a DICK. NOW, i’m leaving her ass for a real woman! someone younger, faster, thinner, stronger, wearing a hijab, older who reminds me of my mom, and broke (so i can feel more like a MAN).
+ why don’t you go to work and make some money? get a REAL JOB.
+ why do you work so much? all you do is work. you never have any time for me. i miss spending time with you.
+ why don’t you cook something? (never mind, i don’t like how it tastes.)
+ i want to go out to eat! (i wonder why i’m always short on cash?)
+ i need to join a GYM! (still STUPID as hell)
+ I’m part of GOLDS GYM. I’ve been going to this gym for 6 years. (still FAT as hell)
+ hi, I’m BRENDA JOHNSON and I wear a Hijab. I’m very special (but not in the retarded kind of way). I’m a VERY IMPORTANT person you GAY FAT CHINESE BITCH! STOP BEING A FAGGOT! Join PLANET FITNESS you stupid fat bitch. [you can find BRENDA reading lots of books at her home.]
+ My husband cheats on me.
+ My wife is a liar.
+ My neighbors are ungrateful, jealous, and think I owe them.
+ My neighbors listen to Reggaton outside their house (on full blast), late at night.
+ I have a larger house than you.
+ I own a couple of small houses.
+ I own a couple of large houses.
+ I own land.
+ I own a Yacht.
+ I own a dog.
+ I own a cat.
+ I have a more expensive car than you.
+ I have over 15 expensive cars.
+ I have 100 expensive cars.
+ I’m divorced.
+ This is my 7th marriage.
+ I’m a Dentist.
+ I’m a Garbage Collector.
+ I’m a Stripper.
+ I’m a Phlebotomist.
+ I’m a Pharmacist.
+ I’m a Nurse.
+ i’m a rapper.
+ I’m a black rapper. The five greatest rappers alive, Dave, Dave, Dave, Dave, Dave. I spit hot fire. I rip and I rhyme I rhyme and I rip. Bahba crunk bahba crunk. Breasssst miiiilkkk, it makes my daaaayyyy. You too close. you too close man.
+ I’m a white rapper.
+ I’m an asian rapper.
+ I’m an asian FEMALE rapper.
+ I’m making jewelry now! I got my life on track!
+ I get paid over three figures.
+ I get paid less than three figures. I make about $1 a day.
+ I’m a happy person, i smile a lot.
+ I’m an angry person, i roll my eyes a lot and make grunting sounds.
+ people make fun of me and call me skinny.
+ people make fun of me and call me fat.
+ people be saying i’m stupid.
+ people say i’m too smart for my own good. a bit of a know it all.
+ i’m shy.
+ i’m scared.
+ I’m sad and angry.
+ i’m bold and confident.
+ i’m pretending to be confident, i’m really nervous and anxious.
+ I shop at ALDI and LIDL!
+ i shop at walmart and target.
+ I SHOP AT WHOLE FOODS!!!! SHUT THE FUCK UP YOU CHINK BITCH.
+ I voted!
+ I didn’t vote. Too lazy.
+ I didn’t vote. Forgot.
+ I didn’t vote. COVID.
+ I didn’t vote. My neighbors are sleeping with my 6’2,” black ENTP husband.
+ I don’t like who you voted for. BYE! YUP!
+ I’m a VEGETARIAN YOU STUPID CHINESE WHORE!!!!
+ um, hi. I’m a dental student and a vegetarian. Eating a vegetarian diet makes my body feel better. You can do what you’d like. It is what it is.
+ TAKE ME OUT TO EAT RIGHT NOW. I DESERVE IT! YOUR EXISTENCE SCREAMS, “YOU OWE ME!”
+ I date black guys, be like me.
+ I date white guys, be like me.
+ I date girls, be like me.
+ I date boys, be like me.
+ I date boys and girls, be like me.
+ I’m into latino men.
+ Ok, we’ll make an exception for the one Indian guy. He’s hot!
+ and I said…BIIIIIIIIITTTTTCCCCHHHH…
+ I still don't have a podcast.
+ I died with a billion dollars to my name.
+ what are you going to do with all that money?
+ what is it to you, what I do with my money?
+ i gambled all my money.
+ i ate leftovers again.
+ i want to eat at a fancier restaurant. i hate the food you make at home. you always cooking at home, it’s disgusting.
+ i don’t like your red coat, it makes you look like a ketchup bottle.
+ i don’t like your face, it looks like a car ran over it.
+ you talk too much. shut up.
+ when will you learn how to speak up for yourself? talk more!
+ why do you always have to be the center of attention?
+ can you leave me alone? i don’t like all this attention.
+ i have 12 kids!
+ i have 3 kids, 1 committed suicide. it was a boy.
+ i have 3 kids, 1 committed suicide. it was a girl.
+ i’m pregnant! it’s a GIRL!
+ I’m pregnant. it’s a stupid girl.
+ i’m pregnant! its a BOY!
+ i’m pregnant, it’s a boy. i can’t wait to make him a GIRL!
+ i’m pregnant, it’s a girl. i can’t wait to make her a BOY!
+ i’m pregnant, i’m having twins. a GIRL and a BOY! i’m very special. very special. nobody else going through this. nobody. you have no idea how difficult my life is. only i go through pain. you don’t understand pain. when you taking me to lunch or dinner? stop being angry, stupid.
+ your baby ugly as hell, it look like an alien.
+ i had one too many miscarriages, i lost count.
+ i had 11 abortions.
+ i murdered someone.
+ I gossip, it’s a pass time (hobby).
+ i watch porn.
+ what genre of porn? like dog porn? it’s called Bestiality.
+ i don’t watch porn, i steal shit from Walmart. small things, like CANDLES!
+ my son has down syndrome.
+ my daughter has down syndrome.
+ wait, your kids retarded?
+ in my family, we don’t have any of these retarded kids (wait, are you flirting with me?)
+ i’m still waiting on my maple bacon donut, bitch!
+ where’s your mom? (x10) Dead.
+ where’s your dad? (x10) Dead.
+ you have a sister right? (x10). Mmhhhmmm.
+ i could care less if your brother is a baseball player. what’s the name of his team?
+ my mom and I are Bestest friends. I have codependency issues.
+ i love my dad so much, i fantasize sleeping with him.
+ i miss my dad so much, i fantasize sleeping with him.
+ i never had a dad in my life, so now i sleep with a bunch of random dudes (who ain’t shit) to fill the void in my heart. maybe i’ll feel more complete after this new dick? [spoiler alert: you won’t; you’ll feel emptier, angrier, lonelier, dirtier, still have low self esteem, and still be broke. you may even have a baby that you have no idea how to raise or feed.]
+ i sleep with men for money. [well, you gotta make that money. just make sure you saving, for rainy days. also, watch out for STDS and other diseases. you know that shit be spreading like crazy.]
+ i sleep with women for money. [well, you gotta make that money. just make sure you saving, for rainy days. also, watch out for STDS and other diseases. you know that shit be spreading like crazy.]
+ i’m actually a man. [oh, well you look like a female. you’re hotter than I am, and I was born with a vagina. you still gotta dick?]
+ i’m actually a woman. [oh, well you look like a man. you’re hotter than I am, and I was born with a vagina. you still gotta vagina?]
+ my dad is a garbage collector.
+ i’m a midget and have my own reality show! [it’s LITTLE PEOPLE YOU BITCH!!]
+ i’m a fat white girl and i have my own reality show. white trash 4 lyfe! we eat buttered noodles for lunch and dinner.
+ there’s this really cool show on Disney+ called Life Below Zero: First Alaskans. I’m addicted!
+ I was at Walmart and spoke to this really tall and fit white guy, dressed as a woman (makeup and all). I’d let him fuck the shit out of my pussy. He used to be a Soccer Player!
+ i literally have zero followers and i could give a shit.
+ my mom is a school nurse.
+ that white bitch Cardinal Ridge Elementary School Nurse (ESFP) is rude as fuck! She always be talking about name brand clothing and how she be shopping at Whole Foods. She never saves her money. She broke as hell. Gossips a bunch and doesn’t know how to keep her mouth shut. She think everything about her and has no regard for others. Nobody owes you anything, bitch!
+ we have the nicest School Nurse at Cardinal Ridge Elementary School. She’s an elderly Caucasian female (INFP). She’s respectful, responsible, kind, gentle, and stern when necessary. The kids love her!
+ my name is KIYAH FUCKING JOHNSON and i only eat at PANERA and MEZZEH!
+ my name is BRENDA JOHNSON and I love eating Bronson O. Johnson’s dick for dessert. I love me some CHOCOLATE.
+ my name is MELISSA CALLES and Bronson O. Johnson looks like someone i stalk online. He’s so damn sexy and I know he’s paid. That’s definitely my type!
+ my name is WANDA and I work for THE GODDARD SCHOOL. Why you even here bitch? You never pick the kids up, why you showing up now? Her husband don’t even like her, he be checking my fat ass and tits out. He rich as hell, look at how many kids he put through The Goddard School. I’m so glad Michael O. and crew hired me. Now I can try to be Kim’s fake as hell friend, eat her food, take her money, and sleep with her soon to be ex husband Bronson O. Johnson. I’ll fantasize that he’s that man who used to be President or something. [SoulfulT and I will just be here. On the Couch.]
+ I’m a INTJ Caucasian Physiatrist, shopping at ALDI in Sterling, VA. I only like white men. Does getting fucked by a black man when I was in College count as still liking only white men? I may have also slept with a black man in Graduate School. I promise I still like white men only!
+ she looks so stupid, she must be stupid.
+ she doesn’t have any degrees to her name, she must be stupid. I’m smarter!
+ she doesn’t have any degrees to her name, and she’s dumb as fuck.
+ she has a ton of degrees to her name, and is still stupid. but i’m STUPIDER!
+ she has a ton of degrees to her name, and is one of the smartest people I know. I’m proud of her! [who the fuck cares if you said you’re proud of me, it don’t mean shit coming from you. STUPID CHINK BITCH.]
+ YES, I’M FUCKING A WHITE MAN! WHAT YOU GONNA DO ABOUT IT BITCH? COME TO VIRGINIA AND DO SOMETHING ABOUT IT.
+ i really hate GOSSIP and ASSUMPTIONS (makes an ASS of you and me).
+ She gay as FUCK. Nah, she’s just a Kentucky news reporter.
+ how come you don’t talk? you should say something nice. compliment people!
+ “I’m proud of you!” [why the hell did you say that? that don’t mean anything coming from you, Kim.]
+ i don’t like facebook. i still have an account. maybe i’ll go on it one day.
+ what the hell is a FLICKR?
+ i don’t like my picture on there, I look stupid and my face look funny. How do we delete Kim’s FLICKR page? [it’s not the picture, you’re just STUPID and UGLY.]
+ we should get rid of YouTube. [some random idiot from 100 years ago. i wonder if they’ll be any more black dudes on there?]
+ your Yelp page is stupid. i don’t like looking at it, makes me hungry.
+ where’d you get that dress from?
+ we have 3 weddings to attend this Summer. We need different dresses for each wedding! Let’s go SHOPPING!! The more bling on it, the better I’ll look [soul is ugly as hell].
+ ewe, did you see the dress she was wearing? it looks horrible.
+ [Wedding Reception] all you CHINESE people; put all your jewelry, Rolex’s, cash in this bag RIGHT NOW! We’re taking this big box filled with cash too. Everyone SHUT THE FUCK UP or we’ll SHOOT. [oh my god, we’re going to die! at least i have a fancy dress on and i got my eyes tattooed with fake eyeliner.]
+ why are you so racist? I swear Chinese people be racist as fuck.
+ of course I’m innocent; i’m light skinned, have blond hair, and blue eyes. I’m practically a choir boy. (why judge? because i can BITCH.)
+ where did you get your hair done? my stylist is better than yours.
+ are those Nike shoes or not?
+ i don’t want to look at your stupid shoes INFP BRENDA JOHNSON. Suck a WHITE DICK next time, stupid ho.
+ i got an A!
+ I FAILED!
+ I PASSED!
+ I got an E. (What’s an E?)
+ I suck at Math.
+ My English no good. Learning. You help me?
+ I’m a Teacher.
+ I’m a Student.
+ I’m a Teacher and Student. I’ll be a student till the day i die.
+ when I was a kid, i was on a small cruise ship with my family. The sweetest elderly gentlemen asked if I wanted to dance with him. I had such a good time on the dance floor. My whole family was there, but kinda in their own world. This man was very present, aware, attentive, and it was a different experience spending time with him. He was an INFJ Caucasian man. His wife was right beside us, I think she was an INTJ Caucasian female.
+ hi, my name is Kim and this is my INFJ Caucasian boyfriend. [He’s STRAIGHT]
+ hi, my name is Kim and this is my INFJ Caucasian boyfriend. [He’s GAY]
+ hi, my name is Kim and this is my Indian American boyfriend. [He’s unsure if he’s Gay or Straight. At this point, does it really matter? He’s got $4, what are you going to do about it?]
+ Kim is my stupid whore, slut, good for nothing, dirty, fat, slave, will never be anything, broke, dumb, lying, cheating, stealing, porn watching, glutton, lazy, irresponsible, gullible, gossipy, bitchy, nagging, piss taking, cum swallowing, blind, deaf, DEAD WIFE.
+ what’s a piece of burger? wait, how many cats till i’m single for life? it’s just a white picket fence, i don’t even need that fence. who needs a white fence anyways?
+ my brother passed away, and I feel guilty for not being more present with him. i was too busy trying to make a living and wanted to be liked by everyone. [people are funny, in that they’ll like you for a season and then you’ll become irrelevant. good thing, we’re operating as ONE spirit. you’re true friends and family, could never forget you, even if they tried. it’s like a continuous stream of consciousness.]
+ you’re GAY!
+ you’re FAT!
+ you’re STUPID!
+ you’re UGLY!
+ you BLACK AS HELL. All I can see are your eyes and teeth.
+ where are your eyes Kim? can you see with such small eyes?
+ i love your chinky eyes, especially when you look down at your lab notes. you look studious.
+ i don’t like what you’re wearing. why are your clothes 3 times bigger than your body? are you a basketball player or something?
aren’t you fucking a bunch of bitches at this University?
+ you’ll never be anything worthy of attention.
+ you’ll never be worthy of love and affection.
+ you’ll never get MARRIED. NOBODY WANTS YOU!
+ I DON’T WANT TO GET MARRIED! I’m content being SINGLE. Look at yourself, you’re married and miserable. You just pretend to have it all together, your life is a MESS.
+ I’m single and completely at peace with myself and the universe. yea, i touch myself from time to time.
+ I’m married and was completely at peace with myself and the universe around me. Until my lying, cheating, stealing, N***** of a husband decided to fuck things up. Now i’m divorcing his ass.
+ i have children and i love them dearly. they are my whole world. I am so grateful God gave me the opportunity to be a parent.
+ i have children and i hate them. i have no idea how to raise them. why did i even have them? i wish they were never born.
+ my kids hate me and are ignoring me.
+ i don’t have any kids and i’m happy as can be.
+ i have 4 grand babies!
+ i don’t want to get married.
+ i’m married and probably shouldn’t have gotten married.
+ i’m a 40 year old VIRGIN!
+ I’m a 10 year old virgin.
+ chest hair is gross.
+ i think chest hair is sexy.
+ maybe you should put a gold chain on, unbutton your shirt half way to show off your chest hair.
+ Oh my fucking God, you broke the plate!
+ Opa! [Breaking of plates]
+ am i late to the orgy?
+ ok, watching a bunch of naked people at the beach grosses me out. why would i want to be a part of an orgy?
+ wait are the Backstreet Boys going to be there? is Josh Groban there? Celine Dion? Kim Kardashian?
+ i’ve literally only ever had one sexual partner, and you idiots are talking about an orgy? how stupid can you people be?
+ this shit is nasty. y’all nasty.
+ I’m scared of the dark.
+ I’m scared of death. (maybe die to your EGO right now, so that you may LIVE! none of us truly know at what hour we will die our physical death. it’s best to enjoy and be fully present in each moment, living and breathing GRATITUDE.)
+ even what i just wrote above, will be misunderstood. HAHAHAHAHAHAHAAHA!
+ you stink!
+ I wear Louis, Gucci, Fendi, Prada.
+ Pop dem tags, pop dem tags. i had a skin tag (brownish black) on the left side of my neck. i dipped scissors in alcohol and slowly cut it myself, in front of the bathroom mirror. i made sure to clean it real good after and had plenty of gauze and bandages. [NOTE: Don’t try this at home. Talk to a Doctor for Medical concerns.]
+ I wear Bally’s shoes.
+ you didn’t give me this coat, I bought it 10 years ago, long before I met you. Just because I have on something nice and you like it, doesn’t mean I took it from you.
+ wait, she took what from your house? That’s messed up! Call the police!
+ when are we going shopping?
+ when are we going to the famers market?
+ when are we going to the thrift store?
+ how many Louis purses do you own?
+ how many hits did you make?
+ how many followers do you have?
+ my parents have been married for 50 years. [they’re miserable as hell]
+ my parents have been married for 65 years. [they are High School sweethearts and are soulmates.]
+ i don’t remember how long my parents were married for, a long time, till my Dad passed away. They always fought and never slept in the same room. They did a great job pretending everything was A-OK at home. Whenever we’d go out to spend time with family or friends, they’d get all chummy with one another. At home, they couldn’t stand eachother and lived like roommates.
+ I ate a 8 course meal at Eleven Madison Park.
+ I’m married!
+ I’m single!
+ My husband is the same race and religion as I.
+ My wife is the same race and religion as I.
+ I have blond hair and blue eyes.
+ [Online Sex] Hi, I’m a man. (Really a woman)
+ [Online Sex] Hi, I’m a woman. (Really a man)
+ [Online Sex] Hi, I’m 19 years old. (Really 100 years old)
+ I’m a brunette with big tits.
+ i don’t like your hair.
+ I have a nice ass.
+ My husbands got a huge dick. and BROKE!
+ My husbands got a small dick. and RICH!
+ my husband doesn’t have a lot of money but he’s rich in SPIRIT!
+ My husbands got a huge dick. and RICH!
+ My husbands got a small dick. and BROKE!
+ so, i thought my husband was going to have a dick. but on the night of our marriage, i found out he had a vagina. NOW, it’s too late. I’m stuck with this vagina. no givesies backsies.
+ so, i thought my wife was going to have a vagina. but on the night of our marriage, i found out she had a DICK. NOW, i’m leaving her ass for a real woman! someone younger, faster, thinner, stronger, wearing a hijab, older who reminds me of my mom, and broke (so i can feel more like a MAN).
+ why don’t you go to work and make some money? get a REAL JOB.
+ why do you work so much? all you do is work. you never have any time for me. i miss spending time with you.
+ why don’t you cook something? (never mind, i don’t like how it tastes.)
+ i want to go out to eat! (i wonder why i’m always short on cash?)
+ i need to join a GYM! (still STUPID as hell)
+ I’m part of GOLDS GYM. I’ve been going to this gym for 6 years. (still FAT as hell)
+ hi, I’m BRENDA JOHNSON and I wear a Hijab. I’m very special (but not in the retarded kind of way). I’m a VERY IMPORTANT person you GAY FAT CHINESE BITCH! STOP BEING A FAGGOT! Join PLANET FITNESS you stupid fat bitch. [you can find BRENDA reading lots of books at her home.]
+ My husband cheats on me.
+ My wife is a liar.
+ My neighbors are ungrateful, jealous, and think I owe them.
+ My neighbors listen to Reggaton outside their house (on full blast), late at night.
+ I have a larger house than you.
+ I own a couple of small houses.
+ I own a couple of large houses.
+ I own land.
+ I own a Yacht.
+ I own a dog.
+ I own a cat.
+ I have a more expensive car than you.
+ I have over 15 expensive cars.
+ I have 100 expensive cars.
+ I’m divorced.
+ This is my 7th marriage.
+ I’m a Dentist.
+ I’m a Garbage Collector.
+ I’m a Stripper.
+ I’m a Phlebotomist.
+ I’m a Pharmacist.
+ I’m a Nurse.
+ i’m a rapper.
+ I’m a black rapper. The five greatest rappers alive, Dave, Dave, Dave, Dave, Dave. I spit hot fire. I rip and I rhyme I rhyme and I rip. Bahba crunk bahba crunk. Breasssst miiiilkkk, it makes my daaaayyyy. You too close. you too close man.
+ I’m a white rapper.
+ I’m an asian rapper.
+ I’m an asian FEMALE rapper.
+ I’m making jewelry now! I got my life on track!
+ I get paid over three figures.
+ I get paid less than three figures. I make about $1 a day.
+ I’m a happy person, i smile a lot.
+ I’m an angry person, i roll my eyes a lot and make grunting sounds.
+ people make fun of me and call me skinny.
+ people make fun of me and call me fat.
+ people be saying i’m stupid.
+ people say i’m too smart for my own good. a bit of a know it all.
+ i’m shy.
+ i’m scared.
+ I’m sad and angry.
+ i’m bold and confident.
+ i’m pretending to be confident, i’m really nervous and anxious.
+ I shop at ALDI and LIDL!
+ i shop at walmart and target.
+ I SHOP AT WHOLE FOODS!!!! SHUT THE FUCK UP YOU CHINK BITCH.
+ I voted!
+ I didn’t vote. Too lazy.
+ I didn’t vote. Forgot.
+ I didn’t vote. COVID.
+ I didn’t vote. My neighbors are sleeping with my 6’2,” black ENTP husband.
+ I don’t like who you voted for. BYE! YUP!
+ I’m a VEGETARIAN YOU STUPID CHINESE WHORE!!!!
+ um, hi. I’m a dental student and a vegetarian. Eating a vegetarian diet makes my body feel better. You can do what you’d like. It is what it is.
+ TAKE ME OUT TO EAT RIGHT NOW. I DESERVE IT! YOUR EXISTENCE SCREAMS, “YOU OWE ME!”
+ I date black guys, be like me.
+ I date white guys, be like me.
+ I date girls, be like me.
+ I date boys, be like me.
+ I date boys and girls, be like me.
+ I’m into latino men.
+ Ok, we’ll make an exception for the one Indian guy. He’s hot!
+ and I said…BIIIIIIIIITTTTTCCCCHHHH…
+ I still don't have a podcast.
+ I died with a billion dollars to my name.
+ what are you going to do with all that money?
+ what is it to you, what I do with my money?
+ i gambled all my money.
+ i ate leftovers again.
+ i want to eat at a fancier restaurant. i hate the food you make at home. you always cooking at home, it’s disgusting.
+ i don’t like your red coat, it makes you look like a ketchup bottle.
+ i don’t like your face, it looks like a car ran over it.
+ you talk too much. shut up.
+ when will you learn how to speak up for yourself? talk more!
+ why do you always have to be the center of attention?
+ can you leave me alone? i don’t like all this attention.
+ i have 12 kids!
+ i have 3 kids, 1 committed suicide. it was a boy.
+ i have 3 kids, 1 committed suicide. it was a girl.
+ i’m pregnant! it’s a GIRL!
+ I’m pregnant. it’s a stupid girl.
+ i’m pregnant! its a BOY!
+ i’m pregnant, it’s a boy. i can’t wait to make him a GIRL!
+ i’m pregnant, it’s a girl. i can’t wait to make her a BOY!
+ i’m pregnant, i’m having twins. a GIRL and a BOY! i’m very special. very special. nobody else going through this. nobody. you have no idea how difficult my life is. only i go through pain. you don’t understand pain. when you taking me to lunch or dinner? stop being angry, stupid.
+ your baby ugly as hell, it look like an alien.
+ i had one too many miscarriages, i lost count.
+ i had 11 abortions.
+ i murdered someone.
+ I gossip, it’s a pass time (hobby).
+ i watch porn.
+ what genre of porn? like dog porn? it’s called Bestiality.
+ i don’t watch porn, i steal shit from Walmart. small things, like CANDLES!
+ my son has down syndrome.
+ my daughter has down syndrome.
+ wait, your kids retarded?
+ in my family, we don’t have any of these retarded kids (wait, are you flirting with me?)
+ i’m still waiting on my maple bacon donut, bitch!
+ where’s your mom? (x10) Dead.
+ where’s your dad? (x10) Dead.
+ you have a sister right? (x10). Mmhhhmmm.
+ i could care less if your brother is a baseball player. what’s the name of his team?
+ my mom and I are Bestest friends. I have codependency issues.
+ i love my dad so much, i fantasize sleeping with him.
+ i miss my dad so much, i fantasize sleeping with him.
+ i never had a dad in my life, so now i sleep with a bunch of random dudes (who ain’t shit) to fill the void in my heart. maybe i’ll feel more complete after this new dick? [spoiler alert: you won’t; you’ll feel emptier, angrier, lonelier, dirtier, still have low self esteem, and still be broke. you may even have a baby that you have no idea how to raise or feed.]
+ i sleep with men for money. [well, you gotta make that money. just make sure you saving, for rainy days. also, watch out for STDS and other diseases. you know that shit be spreading like crazy.]
+ i sleep with women for money. [well, you gotta make that money. just make sure you saving, for rainy days. also, watch out for STDS and other diseases. you know that shit be spreading like crazy.]
+ i’m actually a man. [oh, well you look like a female. you’re hotter than I am, and I was born with a vagina. you still gotta dick?]
+ i’m actually a woman. [oh, well you look like a man. you’re hotter than I am, and I was born with a vagina. you still gotta vagina?]
+ my dad is a garbage collector.
+ i’m a midget and have my own reality show! [it’s LITTLE PEOPLE YOU BITCH!!]
+ i’m a fat white girl and i have my own reality show. white trash 4 lyfe! we eat buttered noodles for lunch and dinner.
+ there’s this really cool show on Disney+ called Life Below Zero: First Alaskans. I’m addicted!
+ I was at Walmart and spoke to this really tall and fit white guy, dressed as a woman (makeup and all). I’d let him fuck the shit out of my pussy. He used to be a Soccer Player!
+ i literally have zero followers and i could give a shit.
+ my mom is a school nurse.
+ that white bitch Cardinal Ridge Elementary School Nurse (ESFP) is rude as fuck! She always be talking about name brand clothing and how she be shopping at Whole Foods. She never saves her money. She broke as hell. Gossips a bunch and doesn’t know how to keep her mouth shut. She think everything about her and has no regard for others. Nobody owes you anything, bitch!
+ we have the nicest School Nurse at Cardinal Ridge Elementary School. She’s an elderly Caucasian female (INFP). She’s respectful, responsible, kind, gentle, and stern when necessary. The kids love her!
+ my name is KIYAH FUCKING JOHNSON and i only eat at PANERA and MEZZEH!
+ my name is BRENDA JOHNSON and I love eating Bronson O. Johnson’s dick for dessert. I love me some CHOCOLATE.
+ my name is MELISSA CALLES and Bronson O. Johnson looks like someone i stalk online. He’s so damn sexy and I know he’s paid. That’s definitely my type!
+ my name is WANDA and I work for THE GODDARD SCHOOL. Why you even here bitch? You never pick the kids up, why you showing up now? Her husband don’t even like her, he be checking my fat ass and tits out. He rich as hell, look at how many kids he put through The Goddard School. I’m so glad Michael O. and crew hired me. Now I can try to be Kim’s fake as hell friend, eat her food, take her money, and sleep with her soon to be ex husband Bronson O. Johnson. I’ll fantasize that he’s that man who used to be President or something. [SoulfulT and I will just be here. On the Couch.]
+ I’m a INTJ Caucasian Physiatrist, shopping at ALDI in Sterling, VA. I only like white men. Does getting fucked by a black man when I was in College count as still liking only white men? I may have also slept with a black man in Graduate School. I promise I still like white men only!
+ she looks so stupid, she must be stupid.
+ she doesn’t have any degrees to her name, she must be stupid. I’m smarter!
+ she doesn’t have any degrees to her name, and she’s dumb as fuck.
+ she has a ton of degrees to her name, and is still stupid. but i’m STUPIDER!
+ she has a ton of degrees to her name, and is one of the smartest people I know. I’m proud of her! [who the fuck cares if you said you’re proud of me, it don’t mean shit coming from you. STUPID CHINK BITCH.]
+ YES, I’M FUCKING A WHITE MAN! WHAT YOU GONNA DO ABOUT IT BITCH? COME TO VIRGINIA AND DO SOMETHING ABOUT IT.
+ i really hate GOSSIP and ASSUMPTIONS (makes an ASS of you and me).
+ She gay as FUCK. Nah, she’s just a Kentucky news reporter.
+ how come you don’t talk? you should say something nice. compliment people!
+ “I’m proud of you!” [why the hell did you say that? that don’t mean anything coming from you, Kim.]
+ i don’t like facebook. i still have an account. maybe i’ll go on it one day.
+ what the hell is a FLICKR?
+ i don’t like my picture on there, I look stupid and my face look funny. How do we delete Kim’s FLICKR page? [it’s not the picture, you’re just STUPID and UGLY.]
+ we should get rid of YouTube. [some random idiot from 100 years ago. i wonder if they’ll be any more black dudes on there?]
+ your Yelp page is stupid. i don’t like looking at it, makes me hungry.
+ where’d you get that dress from?
+ we have 3 weddings to attend this Summer. We need different dresses for each wedding! Let’s go SHOPPING!! The more bling on it, the better I’ll look [soul is ugly as hell].
+ ewe, did you see the dress she was wearing? it looks horrible.
+ [Wedding Reception] all you CHINESE people; put all your jewelry, Rolex’s, cash in this bag RIGHT NOW! We’re taking this big box filled with cash too. Everyone SHUT THE FUCK UP or we’ll SHOOT. [oh my god, we’re going to die! at least i have a fancy dress on and i got my eyes tattooed with fake eyeliner.]
+ why are you so racist? I swear Chinese people be racist as fuck.
+ of course I’m innocent; i’m light skinned, have blond hair, and blue eyes. I’m practically a choir boy. (why judge? because i can BITCH.)
+ where did you get your hair done? my stylist is better than yours.
+ are those Nike shoes or not?
+ i don’t want to look at your stupid shoes INFP BRENDA JOHNSON. Suck a WHITE DICK next time, stupid ho.
+ i got an A!
+ I FAILED!
+ I PASSED!
+ I got an E. (What’s an E?)
+ I suck at Math.
+ My English no good. Learning. You help me?
+ I’m a Teacher.
+ I’m a Student.
+ I’m a Teacher and Student. I’ll be a student till the day i die.
+ when I was a kid, i was on a small cruise ship with my family. The sweetest elderly gentlemen asked if I wanted to dance with him. I had such a good time on the dance floor. My whole family was there, but kinda in their own world. This man was very present, aware, attentive, and it was a different experience spending time with him. He was an INFJ Caucasian man. His wife was right beside us, I think she was an INTJ Caucasian female.
+ hi, my name is Kim and this is my INFJ Caucasian boyfriend. [He’s STRAIGHT]
+ hi, my name is Kim and this is my INFJ Caucasian boyfriend. [He’s GAY]
+ hi, my name is Kim and this is my Indian American boyfriend. [He’s unsure if he’s Gay or Straight. At this point, does it really matter? He’s got $4, what are you going to do about it?]
+ Kim is my stupid whore, slut, good for nothing, dirty, fat, slave, will never be anything, broke, dumb, lying, cheating, stealing, porn watching, glutton, lazy, irresponsible, gullible, gossipy, bitchy, nagging, piss taking, cum swallowing, blind, deaf, DEAD WIFE.
+ what’s a piece of burger? wait, how many cats till i’m single for life? it’s just a white picket fence, i don’t even need that fence. who needs a white fence anyways?
+ my brother passed away, and I feel guilty for not being more present with him. i was too busy trying to make a living and wanted to be liked by everyone. [people are funny, in that they’ll like you for a season and then you’ll become irrelevant. good thing, we’re operating as ONE spirit. you’re true friends and family, could never forget you, even if they tried. it’s like a continuous stream of consciousness.]
+ you’re GAY!
+ you’re FAT!
+ you’re STUPID!
+ you’re UGLY!
+ you BLACK AS HELL. All I can see are your eyes and teeth.
+ where are your eyes Kim? can you see with such small eyes?
+ i love your chinky eyes, especially when you look down at your lab notes. you look studious.
+ i don’t like what you’re wearing. why are your clothes 3 times bigger than your body? are you a basketball player or something?
aren’t you fucking a bunch of bitches at this University?
+ you’ll never be anything worthy of attention.
+ you’ll never be worthy of love and affection.
+ you’ll never get MARRIED. NOBODY WANTS YOU!
+ I DON’T WANT TO GET MARRIED! I’m content being SINGLE. Look at yourself, you’re married and miserable. You just pretend to have it all together, your life is a MESS.
+ I’m single and completely at peace with myself and the universe. yea, i touch myself from time to time.
+ I’m married and was completely at peace with myself and the universe around me. Until my lying, cheating, stealing, N***** of a husband decided to fuck things up. Now i’m divorcing his ass.
+ i have children and i love them dearly. they are my whole world. I am so grateful God gave me the opportunity to be a parent.
+ i have children and i hate them. i have no idea how to raise them. why did i even have them? i wish they were never born.
+ my kids hate me and are ignoring me.
+ i don’t have any kids and i’m happy as can be.
+ i have 4 grand babies!
+ i don’t want to get married.
+ i’m married and probably shouldn’t have gotten married.
+ i’m a 40 year old VIRGIN!
+ I’m a 10 year old virgin.
+ chest hair is gross.
+ i think chest hair is sexy.
+ maybe you should put a gold chain on, unbutton your shirt half way to show off your chest hair.
+ Oh my fucking God, you broke the plate!
+ Opa! [Breaking of plates]
+ am i late to the orgy?
+ ok, watching a bunch of naked people at the beach grosses me out. why would i want to be a part of an orgy?
+ wait are the Backstreet Boys going to be there? is Josh Groban there? Celine Dion? Kim Kardashian?
+ i’ve literally only ever had one sexual partner, and you idiots are talking about an orgy? how stupid can you people be?
+ this shit is nasty. y’all nasty.
+ I’m scared of the dark.
+ I’m scared of death. (maybe die to your EGO right now, so that you may LIVE! none of us truly know at what hour we will die our physical death. it’s best to enjoy and be fully present in each moment, living and breathing GRATITUDE.)
+ even what i just wrote above, will be misunderstood. HAHAHAHAHAHAHAAHA!
+ you stink!
Chloe: "Dunno. That was right when you opened a can of whoop-ass on Fin."
Suki: *sighs* "Damn my bloodthirsty nature."
Chloe: *snickers* "Feel better?"
Suki: "Yep. Normally, I don't mind makin' the first move, but since Jon's so old fashioned, I was leavin' it up to him. Mistake number one. Never change your ways for a dude."
Chloe: *nods* "Totally. So, ready for your date now?"
Suki: "Almost. I think I've figured out why I can't find anything to wear in Yuri's closest. As awesome as her stuff is, none of it's me."
Chloe: "I agree, even though, I still think the dress you have on looks pretty righteous."
Suki: "Nah, I just thought of the perfect thing for tonight."
Chloe: "Well, get it on, then. We gotta book if we're gonna have time to do your hair."
Suki: "Uh, well, there's just one tiny problem..." *smiles winningly at Chloe, assumes begging position*
Chloe: "Uh-oh, I'm not gonna like this am I?"
Fashion Credits
**Any doll enhancements (i.e. freckles, piercings, eye color changes) were done by me unless otherwise stated.**
Suki
Dress: Mattel - Barbie Basics
Doll is London by Night Ayumi transplanted to a Misaki body.
Chloe
Dress: Mattel - Hillary Duff Fashion Fever Closet
Tank: MGA - America's Next Top Model
Socks: No idea...sock fairy?
Boots: Volks - WTG - Natural Love
Bracelets: Goody Hair Rubber Bands
Doll is a Costume Drama Giselle re-rooted by valmaxi and transplanted to a Poppy body.
There is rule in medivac flying that states that the pilot is not to know who the patient is (or their condition) prior to making the decision as to whether the weather is suitable for flying. On this day, we were yellow for weather due to turbulence, high surface winds, and high winds aloft. None of it was forecasted to be over our limits, but was going to be near limits the entire last half of my shift. Well, thanks to my flight medic, that rule went out the window this day.
Lewis is the Assistant Chief of a local Volunteer Fire Department and routinely had his fire radio turned on in his room to keep up to speed on what was going on in the local area. We were all aware of the fact that there was a large grass fire burning in Archer County and were spring loaded to respond to a call in case something happened. As I was relaxing in the pilot's room, Lewis came in and with all the excitement that he could muster, said, "We gotta go, there's been an accident and a firefighter is injured!!!!!" (Yes, he did speak with five exclamation points). What he should have done was come in and ask for a weather check for Archer County so that I would have been able to check the current conditions. If things had happened as they should have, I would have turned to flight down as not only was the surface winds right at my limits, the winds at 500' above the surface was in excess of 40 knots with moderate turbulence. Instead, I quickly donned my shining armor and we all ran to the helicopter to defy gravity and save his life!
Almost immediately upon getting airborne, Jim (a highly experienced flight nurse) said, "Doug, if this is too much we can go back and land." Looking back, I think that was his way of saying that this may be too much for his comfort level. While we were getting our backsides bounced around pretty good and I don't think that neither Jim nor Lewis would have been disappointed if I had gone back to the pad, I said that things were manageable and that, "We are going to go and get this guy."
I've been a pilot for more than thirty years and have thousands of hours of flight time in both airplanes and helicopters...can I tell you that I've never had a rougher ride than I did that day. While we were in no danger of an accident happening, I had my hands full from the moment we took off until the second that we landed. I had to keep our airspeed down to reduce the effects of the turbulence, but we got there quickly due to a high tailwind. Unfortunately, that meant slow going back to the hospital as that tailwind became a headwind on the way back.
I started thinking about the approach and landing while on the flight back and knew that we were looking at a potential problem. The pad is a ground pad on the north side of the six story hospital and the winds on the surface was a good 30 knots straight out of the north. This would require a very steep approach from the south right over the hospital. Because of the airflow over and around the building, the turbulence created by this alone may make the required approach path unusable. I had Lewis call and have an ambulance on stand by at Kickapoo Airport in case we needed to divert.
I shot what had to have been my slowest approach that I have ever done and stayed right on my approach path all the way to the pad. As soon as the skids touched the ground, I rolled the throttle to idle and stated, "I need a beer!" As Jim and Lewis got the patient to the ER, I briefed the oncoming pilot (it was now the end of my shift) about the weather conditions and advised that he wait before going to the airport to refuel (he readily took my advice).
While I was taking care of things from the flight, Jim returned from the ER and handed me a five dollar bill. I asked him what it was for and he said, "First beer's on me tonight." I thanked him for the thought and after finishing my paperwork went to the ER to see how our patient was doing. Everyone that I saw there said that they were shocked that we were flying in the wind that day. I told them all that while it was an E-Ticket ride, it was one that I never really would want to do again.
I found out later that for all his years as a flight medic, Lewis said that was the only time that he was ever afraid in a helicopter. I told him that is what he gets for not following protocol and asking for a weather check!
In this shot you can see the smoke from the fire and the ambulance where is patient and medcrew is located as they prep the patient for the flight back to United Regional Healthcare in Wichita Falls, Texas. I had to twist around in my seat and reach my arm back with the camera in my hand and shoot through the open litter door of our trusty Bell 206 LongRanger IIIE.
The New Archer Fire burned in excess of 7,400 acres in both Archer and Young Counties.
This image is © Douglas Bawden Photography, please do not use without prior permission.
Enjoy my photos and please feel free to comment. The only thing that I ask is no large, flashy graphics in the comments.
Second to the bikini on Koloist's Chaotic Universe post was the mentioning of post card which got me into this connection thing again. Now I don't consciously collect them but somehow I have them around me (and I don't mean bikini) and keep bumping into relating events and shops.
In 2007 I went to the Lomo World Congress event in London (1st Day, 2nd Day, Photos). On the last day of my visit, 30 mins. away from leaving the Royal National Hotel I saw a poster of the Bloomsbury Postcard Fair happening right there in a conference hall! The event happens EVERY SINGLE MONTH! But I got less than 30 mins., without waiting I paid 1.5 pounds and met really interesting folks!
I didn't know where to start, it was crazy, the clock was ticking. So I went to more organized exhibitors, the classification and the way they store them alone worth the entire trip to UK, it is like a primitive Google for searching postcards. You name it, they have a way. By countries, 30's 40's 50's, wars, transportations, children, eras, .... My mind flew away imagining that if there is such a physical search engine sorting resorting these postcards on the fly according to your search terms, wouldn't it be a sight?
And I met Ken Lister, a regular visitor to the show. He gave me some hints on how to find things there and he mentioned that there is such a fair happening in Hong Kong which I didn't know! Ken was an extensive traveler, been to many places in South East Asia, I wish there was more time to chat with him. Tick tock tick tock.
Postcards are not the only thing you find in this fair. Torn pages from old books/bibles, letters/deeds written by people long gone, surveyor's map, etc etc...... One thing in common though, you may not be aware of it but when you think about it, they are all PAPERS!! This amazed me really.
With only the last few pounds I had, I got 2 advertising postcards from fountain pen makers and 2 postcards of the "Peak Tramway and Barracks, Hong Kong", of which one of them was written by a Frenchman probably to his girlfriend in France. Imagine where this postcard had travelled and how it is connected to so many people. Again, if there is such a physical search engine to travel through time returning all properties relating to one particular object, ... oh perhaps too far fetched technically, we might as well just go to the Akashic Records to do the trick.
Here's a few more links of my postcard adventure:
Postkarten shop in Cologne Germany I stumbled upon recently.
Polaroid Postcard, a flickr group where people exchanging postcards in Polaroid format. You gotta try, beautiful.
Altered Postcard Art, use any postcard, alter it to suit your own artistic vision.
Finally, I've always had great times doing these personal postcards using "spare time" during business trips and I'm not stopping as long as there is postal service available. See Hairspray and Bird Shit, Birthday Postcard to Okuyama san. God give me more time on earth!
More on Scription blog: moleskine.vox.com/library/post/postcard-fanatics-monthly-...
Jaina Lefevre looks over at Abel, her eyes shadowed and dark. She watches him for a few moments in silence, then nods, murmuring. "Tengu."
Kimani Silvercloud "tengu hawk" she says in a slight reply to wha Jai said
Jaina Lefevre: "Pigeon first?" she looks at Rai. Poor Sister D....
Nellie Meads: "Um, the one inch wide ones? You have some ?"
Rai Pawpad listens and nods carefully. "If Nellie likes him, he's okay. She's smart."
Darkness Odigaunt didn't even want to go there... She focuses on the little one and nods, "Sure do. Who needs them?"
Abel Underby taps the other half of the crust against his knuckles. "Are nuns always prepared like scouts?" he muses aloud.
Jaina Lefevre nods and mumbles. "No one is like Sister D. She's got a bag'o holdin' that everythin' comes out of." Leaning back against the wall, she closes her eyes.
Nellie Meads: "Nobody yet, but somebody always does. Look, I got half a bottle of Bactine."
Nellie Meads: *pulls the sample size Bactine bottle out of her pocket to impress sister D with*
Darkness Odigaunt shakes her head, "No, just been in Midian to know what I'll need everyday." She inspects the bottle with a nod, "I can make you guys up a first aid kit... Gotta teach someone how to use it though."
Rai Pawpad wrinkles his nose. "Is that the stuff that tuns your skin red?"
Abel Underby holds up a hand. "I'll learn!"
Nellie Meads: "No, Rai, the red stuff is mercurachromosexual."
Kimani Silvercloud looks at Abel then to Rai "I can do the Oath to initiate him"
Darkness Odigaunt smiles to Abel, "Okay, see me after class Tuesday, that gives me time enough to get a box together... How old are you?"
Jaina Lefevre mumbles. "Not near 'dults..."
Kimani Silvercloud nods and mutters "right"
Nellie Meads: "Yes, but..yes, but...between now and then, can I have *three* bandaids?"
Abel Underby glances back at Kimani and smiles a bit. Then he looks at the sister. "I'm fourteen."
Rai Pawpad looks at Jaina, and crouches down to rub her head. "Not in front of the dults. Don't worry."
Jaina Lefevre yawns and grins at Rai's head-rub and closes her eyes.
Darkness Odigaunt digs out her kit, then looks up to Abel, "Oh, you won't be in my class then, you're in the upper class with Mrs. Bails." Her eyes flicker to Rai, having missed the mutters.
Kimani Silvercloud "you'll be with me!" she says
Nellie Meads narrows her eyes a bit at Kimani.
Abel Underby 's nose wrinkles at the c-word. "Oh.. yeah," he says, trying not to look unenthusiastic. He nudges Nellie gently. "Make sure to remind me on Tuesday."
Rai Pawpad looks up, and his eyeroll at the mention of school could easily be missed.
Nellie Meads: "Tuesday."
Jaina Lefevre makes a soft snuffly noise as her head tips forward and she draws up her knees, sound asleep.
Nellie Meads puts out her right hand expectantly, and makes a 'gimme gimme' with her fingertips.
Abel Underby looks at Jaina, hearing the sound, and chuckles softly. "Guess she's tired."
Darkness Odigaunt turns away to hide a yawn of her own, "Well, it's time for the adult to go deliver a card." She places a handfull of bandages in the girl's hand, "See most of you Tuesday, I've got a lot of baking to do before then."
Kimani Silvercloud glances at Jai poor thing,,,
Nellie Meads's face lights up and she exclaims "Wow! Thank you!"
Abel Underby nods at the sister and smiles. "See you then."
Kimani Silvercloud "good night Sister!" she says grinning
Jaina Lefevre blinks blearily at Nellie's 'Wow' and looks up at the group. "I gotta go to bed. You showed him and stuff, Kimi?"
Kimani Silvercloud nods "don't worry it'll get done"
Darkness Odigaunt pauses, "Is there somewhere I should take her?" She smiles as the girl gets up, "Nevermind. Good night everyone." With that, she heads off.
Jaina Lefevre waves. "Night Sister..." and scuffs her feet.
Rai Pawpad leans over Jaina, patting her head. "You should get home."
Kimani Silvercloud smiles at abel "lets do this before I fall asleep, you have to take the oath of the group"
Nellie Meads stuffs the bandaids into her pocket with the Bactine. She looks at Jaina. "They'll be looking for you, with guns on their legs."
Abel Underby rubs his nose and nods. "Okay."
Jaina Lefevre nods and reaches out her hands to him to get a tug to stand up. "I'm sleepies lots. Didn't sleep so much last night." She grins at Nellie. "Naw...they loves me." She sticks her hand out and waits for the oath thing. "Do this firsts."
Rai Pawpad nods. "Don't speak to no one with guns on their legs."
Kimani Silvercloud "you pretty much agree to watch out for all members and to not fight any of them, even if they are stinkers" she extends her hand so Abel will put his on top of it
Abel Underby nods, putting his hand down on top of Kimani's. "No problem. I swear."
Kimani Silvercloud "repeat after me"
Kimani Silvercloud "I swear not to fight each others 'cause we has meaner, bigger things t'fight. We stick together 'cause we is kids and the 'dults don't understand."
Rai Pawpad puts his hand out. "Even if they're River. Or Conor."
Jaina Lefevre looks at Rai. "My mommies has guns on their legs." She looks at Abel. "We gots ta stick together 'cause there's bigger things." She watches Kimi and grins.
Abel Underby blinks. "I swear not to fight each others 'cause we has meaner, bigger things t'fight. We stick together 'cause we is kids and the 'dults don't understand." He even mimics her tone a bit. She did say repeat.
Nellie Meads grins, puts one foot on top of the other, and looks up at the sky. She looks like she is trying to conceal how happy she is that Abel passed inspection.
Kimani Silvercloud "since we still have to get to know you, you will be a pigeon." she smiles at his repeating skills "and later we'll show you the hide out, but for now this is good, cause i need to go to sleep"
Abel Underby nods. "Cool."
Nellie Meads: I'm too Tengu for my town, too Tengu for my town, I'm toooo TenGU
Kimani Silvercloud yawns and nods "okays, I'll show you the hide out tomorrow, if i can"
Jaina Lefevre stumbles a little. "Gotta sleeps too. Hideout is safe to sleep and has got foods and stuff." She giggles at Nellie's dance and reaches out to touch Rai's arm. "G'night.." she whispers.
Abel Underby chuckles at Nellie. "Is that the theme song?" He nods at Jaina, then looks at Kimani. "Okay."
Nellie Meads: "No, I just made it up."
Rai Pawpad laughs. "You're so Tengu it hurts, Nellie." He grabs Jaina's arm and picks her up. "I'll take you to your moms."
Jaina Lefevre giggles as Rai picks her up. "I can walks.."
Rai Pawpad throws her over his shoulder. "No, you can't. Cause I got you."
i'm a bundle of emotions, today. this time of year brings forth so many issues to deal with. for myself and too i am sure for nearly every human. this isn't really about me, suffice it to say i am human and i feel. the hardest thing is to hear what is happening in this human world and stand helpless to wonder what is wrong with people. not just the bad people, the good people also. we go along locked in our personal need to be better than the person standing next to us. complacency, rudeness and desire to belittle seems to overtake kindness, courtesy; the ideal to help others. i don't get it. probably never will. my weapon is to withdraw myself from the crap of the world. but obviously one can only do that so much. some things just outright demand that somebody stand up and yell, "STOP!!!!!" tragedys happen and will continue to happen forever on. it's human nature. sad to think that this time of year that is about celebration and peace is met with the complete opposite, time and again. i really am having a tough time of feeling the spirit this year. for many reasons. i search for something to believe in. some days come up empty. but in all of my soul searching i do realise that i can contribute something. be a cheerleader of cheer. the bell ringer that calls people out. and up. some are so low, the lowest, right now. they need to know that there will still be happy times tomorrow and the days to follow. they need something to believe in. something. it astounds me how a person who is at their personal highest that upon seeing somebody suffering, can't turn bend down and lend a helping hand. yeah, there are a lot that help but there is also a lot that do not.
by now i've typically saturated myself with Christmas tunage. gotta say this year has been quite different. this song has grabbed me somewhere deep inside and i beleive the message is so needed right now. i casually mentioned to my daughter of my new interest in this band and the song in particular. well like a little santa's helper she delivered. in my mailbox was this cd. i am playing the heck out it. love the blue eyed soul energy of these guys. please, have a listen to this song and let's all be the bell ringers for those who can't (or won't) do it themselves. 346/365
Parachute: youtu.be/zyVZ4uVHYRw
The second of maybe 4 pieces of swag from that Anime North week. This time, we go back to my usual flavour of hitting them where they ain't, purchasing figures that out of favour with the hip kids.
I've never played Persona 3 outside of the tidbits introduced to me in the Persona Q game on 3DS (still gotta crack open Persona Q 2), but the game did introduce me to the characters, including the clockwork knight of the series, Aegis.
Doing a bit more research, I learned not only there were several flavours of Figma Aegis, which admitted confused the hell out of me, but also there were two other Persona related robobabes - Metis, and of course Labrys.
From what I can cobble together, Labrys is a character that was apparently introduced in the Persona 3 manga, but for the purposes of video games, was formally introduced in the Persona 4 Arena fighting game. Like Aegis, Labrys is an Anti-Shadow weapon, and served as the basis for future generations of machines such as Aegis. Through the magic of narrative and plot devices, she's killed at some point in the past and resurrected in the present time to join the cast of Persona 4A.
I'm probably glossing over an encyclopedias worth of data, so I'll stop here.
Back to the point, older Persona stuff isn't as in demand these days (save for the Protagonist and Aegis, which were reissued I think in 2018 or so?), so I was able to negotiate the sale of this figure at Nominoichi for $20.
Labrys comes with quite a few bits and bobs. The figure comes with three expressions (smiles, attacking, and the usual "possessed by shadow" look), two front hair parts (unvisored/visored)her battle axe/jet pack, a shaped plastic chain and actual metal chain, both used for achieving her rocket punch attack, with a booster effect for the arm in question. The shaped plastic one is used when you want an aerial flight path, I guess, for lack of better terms whereas the metal one is just a limp metal chain.
Also included are the usual assortment of hands, and in this case, TWO dynamic stands (one for the figure, one for the axe or arm), all packed into your standard sized Figma box.
Keep that stand handy because Labrys isn't standing on her peg legs unaided.
Placed side by side with Aegis, you can see how the Labrys design influenced Aegis (though, in reality it was probably the other way around), particularly with mine seeing how my Aegis is in the special edition Labrys colours.
I dig the overall aesthetic of Labrys. She's got the high school uniform motif going, along with long hair, combined with enough robot bits to remind you that you probably shouldn't think about smashing her. Giant oversized weapons are always adorable, and the rocket punch powers are just the icing on the top.
Built on the last iteration of the Figma 1.0 body (not that there was that much change between 001 and 199), the articulation isn't as good as that of Figma 2.0, but based on my play experience she's really only lacking upper chest movement independent of her abdomen area and of course, chest compress. Range of movement is generally very good, though one will need to remember to move the skirt out of the way in order to get the most out of her hips. All in all, all but the most extreme poses should be achievable, though with less subtly than compared to her 2.0 cousins.
Labrys also has some decent articulation in the hair alone, with her mane having a dedicated joint for movement, and that metal thing on her hair being on a hinge and can pivot. There's also some articulation built into the axe head.. I suspect it has something to do with the head being used as wings while on her back. The blue tube are of a soft rubber material and will move with the blade.
The various bits of armour/mechanical parts add some much needed bulk to the 1.0 body, so Labrys doesn't appear as spindly as some others in the 1.0 range - on a related note it also seems like with the later 1.0s, Max Factory got the size of the heads right. Speaking of robotic stuff, the wiring that runs along the side of her head is a nice touch, though the glue on mine has dried off resulting in a need to reassemble often.
Paint work is, as expected, solid across the board. True, there are a few soft spots always, and these are of course in the areas with finer details such as the stripes on her sleeves. The softer paint apps also appear on the soft rubber outfit. Other than that, nothing really much to complain about - no overspray, no missing paint applications. Decal work is very good, though there aren't too many of those on this figure. Build quality on the whole is top notch.
The end result is a figure that photographs quite well, especially now that I'm getting the hang of using a less harsh light supply. The actual posing, on the other hand... I'll keep practicing on that.
I think there's two more versions of Aegis I technically COULD get, but unless the price is really good, the only reason I'd get the Heavy Arms version is for the admittedly neat finger guns, and the original one to have one in scale with Metis, the Shaq of the Persona universe.
Till my next rambling....
Kataluna shrugs her shoulders as she looks around a moment and then back towards Bernard. "Well...from what I learned so far, which probably isn't much but back home we didn't have really cops but we had people who tried to enforce the laws." she wrinkled her nose a moment as she remembers one of the run ins with one of them. "But they were stupid, and always tried to go after the big bad guys...which got them hurt." She explained slowly still having to think of some of the words. She gave him another smile, "I still like you ether way..."
Johnathon Bernard chuckles slightly, taking a bite out of the pizza, Kats smile was a thing of beauty. And yet for some reason he wanted to take and just swat her upside the head. That probably troubles him the most. He could even feel the heft and weight of her skull as if he were beating it int othe table. He was craving something as well. There had been cigars in his locker...was that it?Oh well he'd worry about that later. Right now he'd smile, actually smile putting it all form his mind, "Really? I kinda grew up in a UAC controlled town. Spent alot of my time trainign to become a soldier. NEver met many cops to be honest." Oh but he did as an adult. that was for sure.
Kataluna nods her head, "Ours weren't called cops but hunters, rumor has it my family use to be ones but then something happened and we got disowned by the church or something." She shrugs her shoulders, "I never paid to much attention to the family history." Then again the tiger never paid attention to any history, "But my grandfather says as the third generation of the Morales, I can fix that or break that....Never understood what that meant." She stated slowly, no it wasn't until a year later she learned what her grandfather met. She took a look around, "If you like fixing htings, why are you in umm..." She was stuck between saying UAC or Bad, still confused on the words. "They seem unliked...haven't met any except for you though.." Oh, if only the tiger remembered her future and how the UAC group was one of her favorite playtoys.
Johnathon Bernard chuckles and shrugs, another slice of pizza being slowly devoured. "'Eh why am I joinign the MArines when I turn eighteen? my ma used to be a pilot, my brother is a Soldier, my fathers a Major and well it's kinda family tradition I guess. We all join the military eventually - might as well make sure I've got the stuff they need. Tough, smart, resourceful." He'd thumb his tags, "Foudn these around my neck when I woke up. They weren't there before so 'eh, guess I got what it takes."
Kataluna smiles. "Sounds like you have a close family." She would suddenly change the subject as she realized she didn't like speaking of her family much, mostly when she though of her mother, a pain formed within her stomach area almost like a warning to her. Her lavender orbs glanced over his facial features and studied that of his scar. As if that image brought a memory back and closed her eyes remembering the words that was spoke in the cell and began to fade once more. After a moment, she would finally speak the question that was bothering her. "Do you..." She paused lightly thinking of how to explain this without sending off warnings or clues. "When you look at me, do you remember anything or see things?" Due to her started to get nervous. Her fingers began to turn upon that of her skirt.
Bernard chuckled slightly, "..nah..were not all that close... only me and my brother really... haven't heard from him since the start of the third world war really.." To bernard..they were still in the beginnign days of the war. He'd push the food aroudn a bit, then study her carefully, she was lookign at his scarred eye. IT didn't bother him, he actually kinda liked it once he'd adjusted to it. Made him look mature. "Sometimes... like I've known ya fer a very long time or something..."
Kataluna would move closer to him, moving the chair over towards him as she noticed the table and studied the pepper shaker that was there. She would then look back to him studying him just as well, "Yea...." She smiled faintly, "It's like...I don't know, like we know each other..." And as she looked back at him, she got two strange urges but pushed them aside, as it made hershake her head. "It's like, I like you but...." She looked at the pepper shaker which she didn't even realize she grabbed and placed it back on the table. "I keep doing things like that..." She would hmm lightly. Although then slowly something Illiana said made her Oh lightly. "You're a soon to be soldier...and I think I might be linked to the pirates." She began to speak to herself. "Do you think we're enemies?"
Bernard watched Kat pick up the pepper shaker then put it down. He was listenign to her, the closer she got the more he wanted to jsut.. do somethign, lots of not very nice things, yet at the same tiem he loved having her so close. "I don't know.. Mebbe we both love eachother and somehow are tryign to hide it soem eachother because you might be a pirate, and I might be a soldier but we gotta be mean to one naother in public?" IT was obviosue he was taking a guess, or a shot in the dark with it, shrugging his shoulders a bit, "We might be enemies.... but.." he'd hold up the ring on his left hand, "We're probably getting married anyways?"
Kataluna nodded. "Soldiers and pirates aren't suppose to like one another..." She would move her hand out to touch the ring upon Bernard's hand as she studied it. She lifted her eyes up to his own and remembered what she saw last night. The tiger granted she rarely, except for Atakin ever let anyone touch her...which usually involved pain and dragging her by her ears...she'd take a deep breath and count backwards from 10. Once she got to one, she'd lean over and give Bernard a quick, not even a half a second kiss on the lips to see what the reaction would be. She however had a strange feeling in her stomach telling her that in a few weeks she was going to be in a world of pain for some reason or another.
Bernard's face turned bright red, slightly flushed as Kat touched him, intiamte contact was soemthign he'd never had. as far as he knew. He was listening and nodding, but then again youth knew no such thing of the dangerouse games adults played. He'd blink watchign Kat the Kiss made his cheeks burn and he could swear his ears were boiling. He didn't even Hesitate - she'd started it, and returned the kiss, but not pullign back just as fast..it..felt fluid and natural. Kats feeligns were mirrored in his own stomach.
Kataluna blush began to form as she felt his lip go back on hers. SHe didn't expect that and slowly leaned into the kiss, akwardly at first as she tried to get use to how to move her lips. Of course, in a way her lips were working better then her mind expected...which made the tiger begin to wonder on if they've done this before. she'd pull back, cheeks matching that of a cherry and she'd start to giggle and laugh aloud. Then that threat to set him on fire almost wanted to be released, and it caused her to giggle even more for some reason. "I think...I think I want you to be set on fire..." She finally stated honestly. "But...I like you..." She scratched her head. "And we're getting married...I think we're...strange."
Bernard was red faced as well, hand reahign out to snag a cup of soda and drink it to coll down. "set me on ..fire? ..why?" He'd blink a few times and nod slowly, "WE could be but..uh.. well.. We prolly mean alot to one another?" Yeah, they ment alot to one another, thats why she was threatening to set him on fire? He'd lick his lips, "..you have soft lips."
Kataluna felt something nearly screaming in her head ::Don't answer that, Just smile and nod...anything more don't say a word:: Did the tiger listen? No, of course not. "I don't know, just an urge I got well we kissed...like that's whats suppose to happen. I don't think we're nice to each other, we're not suppose to be." That was the feeling she was getting. "But...thats why I think we're married because we're good for one another until someone else comes around." When she heard his comments on her lips, she started blushing even more matching, and beating his. "Really? You'res are nice too..." But even the kiss, something was missing...strange it seemed the tiger grew use to kissing him well he had a cigar.
Lour and Sara outside of the Ala Moana Hotel after the 20th Reunion Get together at Rumours Night Club for the Dynamic Class of 1988 Waipahu High School
www.flickr.com/photos/29761054@N03/
profile.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=user.viewprofile...
88 88 88 88 88 88 88 88 88 88
Artist : Ashanti f/ Nelly & Akon
Title : Body On Me
Chorus
The way that you walkin, the way that you talkin
you're the one i want to spend this night with
tryna get in them draws and bang it out til the morning
i can already tell you want it
cause you shakin it all for me, givin it all to me
rubbin dat body on me
keep on shakin it all for me, givin it all to me
rubbin dat body on me
Verse 1(Ashanti)
Hey boy
I think i just might wanna come see you tonight
and you can have your way boy
i know its been a while since you made my body right
now i've been waiting patiently, anticipating you and me
and it aint no question cuz boy i love you when you put that body on me
Chorus
The way that you walkin, the way that you talkin
you're the one i want to spend this night with
tryna get in them draws and bang it out til the morning
i can already tell you want it
cause you shakin it all for me, givin it all to me
rubbin dat body on me
keep on shakin it all for me, givin it all to me
rubbin dat body on me
Verse 2(Nelly)
Hey how you doin mama
I need to know ur name
You givin me the eye eye
Im givin you the same
It just hit me right now
What we should do today
Go tell you friends bye bye
And lets go hop a plane
Its no mistaken the attractions ironic
I wanna make you someone more then just a a bon in my closet
I wanna win that type of relationship
Where you wanna come hang when your man is trippin
You say your short this month and your late on your rent
He took your car watchin me hold this
Hey hey you see oohhh
You see lil mama outta control
Chorus
The way that you walkin, the way that you talkin
you're the one i want to spend this night with
tryna get in them draws and bang it out til the morning
i can already tell you want it
cause you shakin it all for me, givin it all to me
rubbin dat body on me
keep on shakin it all for me, givin it all to me
rubbin dat body on me
Verse 3(Nelly)
Shorty movin closer and closer
And slower and lower yeah
I think she know she makin me hard
Got every man in the club like oh my God
She slicker then lody dody
She work her body body
When you done her at the party
Meet me down there in the lobby
And ill be waitin on yah
And no debatin on yah
I got a seat for yah
We can let the top back and ohhhhhhh
We don?t have to stop girl nooooooo
I got a lil something I wanna shoooooowww
Believe me your strong
Lil mama please don?t make me wait too long
Chorus(x2)
The way that you walkin, the way that you talkin
you're the one i want to spend this night with
tryna get in them draws and bang it out til the morning
i can already tell you want it
cause you shakin it all for me, givin it all to me
rubbin dat body on me
keep on shakin it all for me, givin it all to me
rubbin dat body on me
88 88 88 88 88 88 88 88 88 88
B2K: Bump, Bump, Bump
(feat. p. diddy)
[p diddy:]
We sendindg this out to all the ladies all over the world
All the ladies all over the world
All my sexy mamas come on
Come on a come on now
As we proceed to give you what you need
You kno I like it when your body goes
[b2k:]
Bump bump bump
[p diddy:]
Bad boy, b2k, yo o, talk to em player
[omari:]
I like your lil sexy style
I love it when you getting wil (uh, I see you)
Girl in the club wit me
(come over her let me talk to you for a minute, yeah
I wanna tell you something)
Girl you need to be in magazines
Wit a crown on your head cause yous a ghetto queen
Like bling bling bling (uh come, let me find out)
The way you shakin that sexy (oh)
Body
Shaped like an hour glass (ow)
? ?
(yeah, lets do it yall)
I wanna get you to myself
I mean me and nobodyelse
Yo do the things we do
Baby there is something that I need from you
(uh, come on, check it out)
[chrous]
Baby turn around,
And let me see that sexy body go
Bump bump bump (yeah)
That is all I want to see,
Baby show me (come on)
Baby turn around,
And let me see that sexy body go (yeah)
Bump bump bump
The way you throwin that thing at me (uh yeah)
I can take it
[2nd verse, come on]
Girl why you teasin me
You gonna have to stop pleasin me (stop teasin me, I want you)
While were on this floor
You dippin it roun and roun
I love the way you put it down
You makin me scream for more (oh, gimme more, let s go, dont stop come on)
Put your 2way next to mine
Baby hit me anytime
Baby you and me behind close doors (oohh)
Do you want to be my main squeeze
Cop whip, cop shiny things
Girl just come wit me
And go over to the dance floor
[chorus]
Baby turn around,
And let me see that sexy body go
Bump bump bump
That is all I want to see,
Baby show me
Baby turn around,
And let me see that sexy body go
Bump bump bump
The way you throwin that thing at me
I can take it
[p diddy:]
(yeah, its bad boy baby, check this out
They call me diddy)
Uh dance for nothin mami
Plans for take a
Get on the floor
Set it up more
Shake it mami
Lets ride
Im your clyde
You can be my bonnie
See you type for me
Mami so right for me
Man she can move it
Love when she dance to the music
Make me wanna stand like a fool stiff
? ?
Just a simple touch make me loose it
Girl, thats enough
Stop moving
Bump that
I pump that
Girl bring it to me
Bump that
I want that
Girl sing it wit me like
Du du du du duda du du du
Du du du du duda du du du
So lets do it again mami
You and a friend mami
Money aint a thing mami
What I gotta spend mami
Put up you hands for me
Thats how you dance for me
Shake it like you can hunni
Take it from your man mami
Baby turn around,
And let me see that sexy body go (oooo)
Bump bump bump
That is all I want to see,
Baby show me (let me ya)
Baby turn around, (b2k)
And let me see that sexy body go (bad boy)
(they call me diddy) bump bump bump
The way you throwin that thing at me
I can take it
I see you chris
You kno I like it when your body go
Bump bump bump
Dont stop
Lets go, lets go
Baby turn around and let me see that body go
Bump bump bump
Cmon
Lets go
Cmon
Lets go
And another one
Its pandamonium baby
Second to the bikini on Koloist's Chaotic Universe post was the mentioning of post card which got me into this connection thing again. Now I don't consciously collect them but somehow I have them around me (and I don't mean bikini) and keep bumping into relating events and shops.
In 2007 I went to the Lomo World Congress event in London (1st Day, 2nd Day, Photos). On the last day of my visit, 30 mins. away from leaving the Royal National Hotel I saw a poster of the Bloomsbury Postcard Fair happening right there in a conference hall! The event happens EVERY SINGLE MONTH! But I got less than 30 mins., without waiting I paid 1.5 pounds and met really interesting folks!
I didn't know where to start, it was crazy, the clock was ticking. So I went to more organized exhibitors, the classification and the way they store them alone worth the entire trip to UK, it is like a primitive Google for searching postcards. You name it, they have a way. By countries, 30's 40's 50's, wars, transportations, children, eras, .... My mind flew away imagining that if there is such a physical search engine sorting resorting these postcards on the fly according to your search terms, wouldn't it be a sight?
And I met Ken Lister, a regular visitor to the show. He gave me some hints on how to find things there and he mentioned that there is such a fair happening in Hong Kong which I didn't know! Ken was an extensive traveler, been to many places in South East Asia, I wish there was more time to chat with him. Tick tock tick tock.
Postcards are not the only thing you find in this fair. Torn pages from old books/bibles, letters/deeds written by people long gone, surveyor's map, etc etc...... One thing in common though, you may not be aware of it but when you think about it, they are all PAPERS!! This amazed me really.
With only the last few pounds I had, I got 2 advertising postcards from fountain pen makers and 2 postcards of the "Peak Tramway and Barracks, Hong Kong", of which one of them was written by a Frenchman probably to his girlfriend in France. Imagine where this postcard had travelled and how it is connected to so many people. Again, if there is such a physical search engine to travel through time returning all properties relating to one particular object, ... oh perhaps too far fetched technically, we might as well just go to the Akashic Records to do the trick.
Here's a few more links of my postcard adventure:
Postkarten shop in Cologne Germany I stumbled upon recently.
Polaroid Postcard, a flickr group where people exchanging postcards in Polaroid format. You gotta try, beautiful.
Altered Postcard Art, use any postcard, alter it to suit your own artistic vision.
Finally, I've always had great times doing these personal postcards using "spare time" during business trips and I'm not stopping as long as there is postal service available. See Hairspray and Bird Shit, Birthday Postcard to Okuyama san. God give me more time on earth!
More on Scription blog: moleskine.vox.com/library/post/postcard-fanatics-monthly-...
Hot and sunny Wednesday greetings, my collector friends! I am grateful to Sara for filling in for me as of late, but I must confess that I am especially jealous that she got to write about our own Ms. Mount and her delightful Ideal Bookshelf. As I said to Jane yesterday: it's like she read my mind! I love every single one of those books, and it seems I'm not alone. Their utter ideal-ness seemed to roust many of you from your lazy summer slumber... the $20 prints were gone in a flash!
Today's photography editions from the talented and sweet-as-pie Taj Forer are also quite fetching. After a lovely chat with the photographer himself about To live with you alone, Red Boiling Springs, Tennessee and Boots and raincoats, San Diego, California, I am that much more enchanted.
We had quite a lot to talk about, it turns out! We started with Taj's Threefold Sun series, inspired by Waldorf school founder and biodynamic farmer, Rudolf Steiner and went on (and on!) from there. I'm only including a snippet below, so if you just can't get enough, look for the full transcript on the 20x200 blog.
Jen: Hi there. Love your editions so! I am excited!
Taj: Oh, shucks. Thanks for doing this. I'm very psyched myself.
Jen: Sure thing, I am sorry that we didn't connect sooner. But what's funny is that this weekend I was at the Hawthorne Valley Farm store. So I've had Steiner on my mind.
Taj: No way! That place is amazing.
Jen: And I also got to drink raw milk. For the first time ever. And it is delicioso. Buttery.
Taj: So tasty. Amazing! Amazing that that's the ONLY way milk used to be consumed and now it's the rare exception...
...
Jen: It's super regulated although I can't tell if it's because of real danger or powerful Dairy Industry lobbyists. So, can you tell me how you connected with Steiner?
Taj: oh, I would imagine it's all lobbyist pressure.
But, to answer your question re: how I connected with Steiner—I attended a Waldorf school when I was a child, K-8 grade... It was a school located in an old farmhouse and surrounded by fields, forests and streams. Just gorgeous. As I got older and began the process of exploring my own life (rather than the lives of others) through photography, I turned my attention to the landscape of the Waldorf school that I attended as a child.
...
It's interesting, Steiner's biodynamic agricultural method came out of many of his followers begging him to address the negative effects that farmers in Europe were beginning to notice as a direct result of the beginning of industrialized farming. Something affecting everyone... Steiner was a devout Christian and often times I felt that his religious beliefs got in the way of more tangible forms of communicating his ideas. Having said this, he was a very open-minded person who borrowed from all of the major faith traditions when formulating various aspects of his philosophy.
...
Jen: I said connectedness and community is what I get from [your images], and you know, I've been looking at the work since the book came out.
Taj: I like that that's what you get from the pictures. ...
Jen: I love Boots and raincoats so much because on a surface level it's just delicious eye-candy.
Taj: It's an old public school that the city of San Diego no longer wanted to use so it rents to the Waldorf school for a good price.
Jen: but also it has such a wonderful cozy warmth about it, and a nostalgia.
Taj: I find that so lovely and metaphorical...
Jen: I mean it has a soundtrack in my mind, when I look at it.
Taj: Thanks. That image seems to resonate with many.
Jen: That is actually super interesting/great to know. And then of course the chalkboard poem—which is ever more charming b/c of its small errors.
Taj: Yes, the flaws MAKE that image for me. Tell me about the soundtrack!
Jen: Well, the soundtrack is that distinctive din of kids in a school yard, and oddly the ocean, for some reason, in the background.
Taj: So representative of the whole movement: beautiful, well-intentioned but, like anything worth a damn, also flawed. Like people!
...
Jen: It's comfortable and nostalgic, even though it's not something I ever experienced. I mean I think my teacher was kind like that, in pre-school, but I grew up in Queens NYC! heh. OK. This is super fun, I actually love talking to the artist about an image and finding out that the little stories I make up make sense. Sometimes they make no sense at all, which is fine too. But I can't lie, I enjoy being right. ;)
Taj: Nice. I always enjoy talking about the work as it often leads to new discoveries/ways of thinking about my own images and process.
Jen: Well, we can always talk more, right now I am going to write an intro... Yea we're a little late, so I gotta hustle like mad.
//Into the Belly of the Beast
// ENTER //
: : Sgt. Raven's Log : :
I'm writing this with one hand. You'll uh . . . you'll see why in my next mission report. But basically, I don't have the energy to write a full-fledged mission log right now. I'll let a few brief words and the picture's do all the talking.
A LAAT/i dropped us in the hangar of the Lucrehulk after the fighters knocked out the shields. We landed in, taking out several battalions of droids on our way in. My team jumped out, defended the LAAT. Once it got it's bearings, we booked it to the generator. We were surrounded on all sides by droids, but that didn't stop us. Me and Ears took cover behind some fallen crates, Rook jumped around with his shotgun (I swear one day that thing will be more trouble than its worth and probably end up killing him by how cocky it makes him) while 51 strapped the charges to the generator. Rook performed some crazy maneuvers with his jetpack.
. . . I'm starting to think maybe it was a mistake nicknaming him Rook. He really isn't taking anything head-on anymore. It's all angles with him.
Anyways, we blew up a Lucrehulk. Big deal. Now excuse me, I've gotta catch some Z's.
: : Sgt. Raven's Log : :
// END //
someone IMed me the night before i took off to china,
and i find it to be amusing, so i thought i might share
the experience with ya all.
For the record:
me:yo
him:hey
me: may i have your permission to use your
IM sn for my up coming blog? regarding
to the conversation we had for the past
few days?
him:no, why?
me:ok just thought i might ask
It started with something like this… *pay attention to these*
AIM IM with r*******12/18/07 8:54 PM
him:hi?
me:rt?
him:yeah?
him:saw ur aim on facebook
me:oh, whats up?
him:thought i’d say hi
me:where are u now ?
me:richmond ?
him:yeah for a short time
me:back to nyc ?
him:i hope
him:i’m trying to remmy ur name … just first
name pls?
me:O_o
him:sorry man i just had to go back to
facebook now
me:hui here
him:OOOH!
me:doh~
him:in fact i am ON ur page
me:u sure are
me:disappointed ?
him:befor eu told me who u are
him:then u spelled ur name
me:oh well
him:how’s ur life?
me:pretty good
me:actually packing tonight leaving tmw
me:for my asia trip
him:why?
me:vacation
him:that’s cool — china?
me:need to get out of here for my sake
me:shanghai and tokyo
him:u read my blog i’m sure
him:back to ur hometown, eh
me:yeah say hi to my hometown peeps
him:anyway heard tokyo is fun place to ck …
shanghai is booming
him:constructions everywhere
him:i had been checking a little on
skyscrapers.com
him:hey u read my blog?
him:boo?
me:sorry
me:was on phone
me:not lately
me:been too busy at work
me:new job 4 months so far
him:at?
me:ceb
me:http://www.r********.com/
me:is this ur blog site?
me:it’s down man
him:right … long story
me:oy
me:forgot to pay ur bills ?
him:no actually
him:the original plan is to take 7 day break
going offline so i can move to a new
server and launch a new design, okay?
me:rite
him:my cat was mauled to death and i had to
foot the cost of cremation … whcih left
me $34 short of paying this designer in
full him:for a new design. She refused to
turn it over and I just got a new job wont
get pay until next week on 28th. me do do?
him:i’m stuck. my inbox went from 400s to
more than 8K already
him:only *one* contributed. That is $10.
him:Need only 24 to get it so i can launch
me:oh boy
me:u should switch to google apps email
me:but that’s not the main issue for u right now
him:what’s that? i have gmail acct
me:gmail with ur domain account
me:say r****@r********.com is hosted by gmail
me:like my email
me:hui at orangezippo.com
him:oh
me:so i have my email whereever i go
him:it’s not my concern right now
him:i’m just stuck
me:right right
me:sorry abt that
me:who was the designer ?
him:but do u read my blog occasinoally?
him:jj
him:in fact, i’m supposed to pay her last week
me:oyyyyyy
him:hence do u read my blog occasionally or never?
me:yeah i read it once in a while when
someone tells me to look
him:then i’m doomed
him:u wont then
him:huh?
him:is it possible fo ru to make a small
contribution via paypal so i can get it
and fix it up before i launch it?
me:how much do u need ?
him:24 for that design … but 50 or 40 would
be cool so i can have something, u know?
so
him:up to u
me:alright
him:r********@gmail.com is my paypal addy.
if u dont have it, u can go to my old blog
at r****.blogspot.com and see “donate”
there
him:who are u going with to asia?
*blah blah about my gf*
him:so what’s up with the contribution?
me:she is on my fb
him:let me get on to that when i get home
me:im on my iphone
him:oh crap. when is that?
him:fyi i am enjoying ur pics
him:always loved ur pics
me:gotta get my errands done before store
closes
him:thx
him:u have paypal acct? would it be easier if
i send it to u and u login in via ur email
and ping! iphone is faster, too
him:loved this pic
him:http://photos-61……
me:hold on
me:brb actually
him:found it
him:hello?
him:hello?
him:Hui?
him:what kind of job do u do at CEB?
him:it’s more than 40 min already, man. what’s
wrong?
him:hello?
him:Hui!
11:12 PM
him:Hui?
11:46 PM
him:HUI
him:ZHANG
11:49 PM
him:sigh
12:00 AM
him:Hello?
12:03 AM
him:HUI!
12:05 AM
him:i give up
12:28 AM
me:hey man
me:just got back
me:oh!
him:me puzzled
me:i was wondering
me:dont u have any close friends that can help
u out with the money ?
him:oh … they’re not online
me:or ur siblings ?
him:H just had a baby
him:L is broke
him:G is in fla
me:i mean if u just send out a email to them
me:i mean ur good friends who’s close to u
him:i can do that
him:but u sai du can
him:?
me:and u picked me out of blue out of everyone?
him:no no
him:was just chatting and thought of it
him:was going thru hard moments
me:i didnt say i can.. jsut that it strikes me
odd how u appeared out of no where
him:then thought why not ask
him:sorry
him::man
him:i m glad i found u
him:i had been wondering where the fuck u
had been these days
me:?
him:J did not mention much about u
me:ok
me:try your close friends see if they help
me:then let me know
me:gtg
so i got offline, and went to china
2 weeks later, this guy is becoming like my bbf (maybe not bbf… perhaps bbwb), IM-ing me everyday
him:how s china?
him:tsk tsk
him:hui?
him:bad news
him:u know drew gutches?
me:kinda why ?
him:he runs deafbuy.com, deafpagers.com
owns boundless communication
him:has usher’ssyndrome works in an office
next to gally campus on wa ave and fla ave?
me:right
him:hes dead
me:of what ?
him:heart attack after sustaining massive
stroke and coma two saturdays ago
him:on dec 29th
me:that’s sad to know
him:how’s asian trip?
me:it was good
him:did u get to see J? when was the last
time u saw him?
him:hello?
him:hui?
10:45 PM
me:yeah
him:i asked u — how was asian trip?
him:no rsponse!
me:oh sorry must missed that one
me:it was good actually
him:shanghai still dirtyas usual?
me:lol
me:it’s china
me:but pretty clean like US in high class area
him:i wanted to visit this particular place —
let me make sure i got the name right
him:three gorges dam
10:52 PM
me:oh dont bother
me:nothing to see there but then dam
me:better off to see great wall if u are going
that far
him:i’d loe to see that — wish i go there
during olympics but it’d be brutal and too
crowd for me
him:they prolly will scam me out
me:perhaps
me:for one, u wont have place to stay
him:heard they razed poor ones out
me:bums and homeless
me:i see nothing wrong with that
him:yeah true
him:ey got one question
me:yes?
him:what do u think of chinese’s government?
11:03 PM
me:not good not bad.. making a big country
twice the size of US running stable is
impressive by my standard
11:09 PM
him:oh
11:13 PM
him:i forgot
him:the name of the currency in china?
me:RMB
him:?
him:never heard of it
him:hey hui
him:know what?
me:http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Renminbi
him:thanks
him:hey
me:ja?
him:what happened?
me:what do u mean ?
him:u told me u d contribute but u vanish and
rabbit to china — *slap*
me:lol
11:44 PM
me:well i was waiting for u to contact
your REAL friends
me:what happened?
him:many said xmas/nye stuff
him:impossible
him:i understand i cant pressure
him:same with u
him:the guy who works on my site is dead.
me:i thought jj works on ursite ?
him:she designs
him:drew fix
him:get it?
so this is the end of the sega… i think ? and ever since
i was temped to post this on my blog. so i went ahead
and ask him if i can use his SN in the blog…
AIM IM with r********1/9/08 9:46 PM
me:yo
9:50 PM
him:hey
9:53 PM
me:may i have your permission to use your IM sn
for my up coming blog? regarding to the
conversation we had for the past few days?
him:no, why?
me:ok just thought i might ask
him:is it abt contribution?
you are so damn right! oh well.. too bad i can’t use the sn…
but you get the idea
here’s an interesting update so he saw the post and emailed
me.
email 1
him
was that necessary? no u did not have my permission.
take it off, please. i’m hurt that you did this.
r
email 2
him
again, u did not have my permission to print. and use
my name. and use my copyrighted website. take it off.
or i’ll take legal action on you.
r
i guess this will get more interesting. legal advise anyone??
i just got another email from him, and it gets even more hilarious.
it implied one thing about u — u were out to
harm me. what kind of friend/person is that? i wonder.
On Jan 10, 2008 1:47 PM, hui zhang wrote:
well i’ve commented out those that has anything to do with ur site
On Jan 10, 2008 1:39 PM, R wrote:
> on ur site.
>
>
>
> On Jan 10, 2008 12:54 PM, hui zhang wrote:
> > where do u see that?
and man i dont know about him… being delusional or something?
me? his friend? i thought i was just someone on his facebook’s
victim of donation list?? we will see how this will turn out to be.
==The Arkham Auditorium==
Bleeding and broken, Delbert Billings scoured the ground for his fallen hip flask, in the futile hope that he might numb the pain of his latest affliction. As he tried to advance, it quickly became apparent that any movement might sever the remaining stands of sinew connecting his thigh and crus. That, Billings decided, was worth the risk. Just as he had located his flask, however, Leonard Fiasco picked it up off the ground, and walked slowly towards him, keeping the flask out of his reach. He held it aloft, and a steady trickle of dark rum dripped onto Billings’ open wound, filling the hollow that once housed his kneecap. Billings yowled, rolling back and forth, unloading every insult in his repertoire.
“Eraser, that’s enough,” Needham warned.
“Fine,” Fiasco obliged, carelessly tossing the flask over the balcony, its remaining contents staining the carpeted floor. Billings let out a high-pitched yelp as his longtime crutch soaked through the floorboards. Needham shot a red web over Billings' redder, capless knee to halt the blood loss, then took an exaggerated step over his screeching, profanity-spewing form, making his way downstairs to join the other Misfits, all gathered in anticipation around Drury. As Drury turned around, the light from the projector illuminated his face, highlighting the collection of purple bruises and deep cuts that were absent in the illusion. His face was glistening from dried blood and fresh tears and one eye was swollen shut.
“Drury,” Joey gasped.
“Christ, who stole your lunch money? You look almost as bad as-”
Fiasco caught Gar’s eye, and finished by mouthing ‘him,’ gesturing in Gar’s direction.
“Subtle,” Gar noted.
“It’s nothing,” Drury lied, wincing as Ten ran cold fingers across his swollen skin. “I hit a wall.”
“I mean, yeah, we’re all in a bit of a slump, but that’s no way-”
“An actual wall, Joe.”
“How’d that happen?” Fiasco frowned. “You chase a roadrunner through a painted tunnel?”
“Not a roadrunner,” Drury answered, swatting Ten’s hands away as the man sought to dress his worst wounds. “Not exactly.” Understanding not to press the subject further, the Misfits stood by as Drury opened Gar’s duffel bag and sorted through its contents.
“How many Outcasts are left?” Drury asked, not looking up as he riffled through the bag, retrieving several metal cannisters from within and affixing the first onto his cocoon gun.
“I- I don’t know,” Chuck realised. “I only ever saw Zoom and last I saw, The Flash was fending him off.”
“Which Flash?” Needham inquired.
“The kid,” Chuck explained.
“Impulse?” Gar asked.
“No, the kid Flash.”
“Impulse.”
“I liked the one in the tin hat and the bird wings,” Gaige grunted.
“Mercury,” Ten helped.
“No, it was tin.”
“Well, I don’t trust the second one. You can smell pig on him,” Fiasco stated.
“He smells like bacon?” Joey asked.
“No. Lynns smells like bacon. Flash smells like cop.”
Ten cleared his throat. Drury hadn’t said anything in a minute; not a joke, not a shutdown, not a grumble of disapproval. He was single-minded, and that clarity made him dangerous. “Drury, Norbert has been working tirelessly. He’s got good lawyers. Great lawyers. When this is all over, and it will be over, you can go home.”
“Home?” Drury blinked twice, finally facing him. “Ten, I can’t go home.”
“I thought… I thought that turning myself in would break the cycle; that I could do my time and you’d all be safe. So, I complied, I cooperated, I did everything I was ‘supposed’ to do, to protect my family. To protect you. And did it make a difference?”
Ten didn’t respond. So, Drury answered for him.
“No. It never makes a difference. Because no matter what I do, it doesn’t ever stop. They never stop. I can try and keep my head down, serve my time, pay my dues, but for every Carson, there’s a Joker, a Zoom, a Thawne standing behind him, waiting to take their shot. And there’s no boundary, no law, no unspoken line they won’t cross. Hurt my friends, to get to me. Harm my family, to get to me. And I’m- I’m just so tired. Of them. Of this. Of dragging you down with me.”
“That’s what you think?” Gar exhaled.
“It’s what it is,” Drury snapped.
“What, that we’re all hapless innocents in all this? That I am?” Gar laughed, a little unexpectedly. “Drury, you handed yourself over to the cops, and the first- the first thing I did was burn Sionis’ warehouse down, with Franco in it.”
“Franco was a pillock,” Drury deflected.
“No argument there,” Gar agreed. “But my point is, the point has always been, that whenever one of us has fucked up; whether they’ve banged Volcana, joined the Society, set themself on fire; the rest of us have been there to pick up the pieces. Because that’s what you taught us to do. We lived our entire lives as misfits, but you gave us a place of belonging, a supportive shoulder and an attentive ear; a seat at your table regardless of our shitty shortcomings and short fuses. So, maybe the reason you can’t break the cycle, is that you’ve been trying to alone.”
Now it was Drury who met Gar with silence.
“Gaige’s sub is waiting outside, Dru,” Joey placed his hand on his shoulder. “Your kids are too.”
Chuck eyed the ground, then interjected. “About that...”
Joey gasped. Drury’s mouth wobbled. Gar shot Chuck a dirty look.
“Right, shouldn’t have paused, my bad. They’re fine. I mean, Axel’s a little lighter and they’re all a little damp, but aside from that-”
“Aside from that?” Gaige pushed.
“We might need a different exit route,” Chuck mumbled quietly, scratching the back of his head.
“The fuck you mean, sunshine? Where’s my sub?”
Again, Chuck paused. “Blew up.”
Before Gaige could stick a spear in Chuck’s stomach and fly him like his namesake, Needham stepped forward, calmly redirecting them back on track. “Enough. You wanna know about the Outcasts?” he asked, looking upwards at the balcony. “Why don’t we ask them?”
~-~
“Fu-uck,” Billings moaned, stretching the word to an extra syllable, as a conglomerate of unfriendly faces encircled him. He had rather hoped that The Misfits had forgotten about him.
“Chin up, son,” Gaige smirked, rattling the hip flask in Billings face, like one might jangle a set of keys in front of an infant. “I reckon there’s just enough left for a nightcap.”
Still immobilised, Billings limply stretched his arm out, just for Gaige to retract it from his reach. “Uh uh, Christoper No Legs, first tell us what we want to know. Where are your buddies? Given the lack of retaliation, I assume you’re stretched thin, yes?”
“Fucking- skip the prologue, would you?” Billings snapped. “I’ll talk. I’ll talk! It’s not like I’m going anywhere,” he added bitterly.
Accepting his logic, Drury nodded to the group. With some reluctance, Joey put the flask to Billings lips as though he was hand-rearing a calf. “Cobb went dark. Crane fell out his chair. The Cat King took a sword through the sternum. Sims... fled and Hayden’s brains are splattered over Arkham West.”
“And Joker?” Chuck pressed. “What about him?”
“Holed up in the Arkham Mansion. We don’t have much facetime; He only contacts me when he needs someone to laugh at his jokes. Which I do, under duress, threat of death, an anvil on a frayed rope...”
“The mansion’s not far,” Gar said. “Security’ll be pretty low, especially with their heavy hitters down; any one of our fliers can get onto the roof and extract him.”
“Not our problem,” Needham argued. “We got Walker. Bats’ll send in the rest of his people, and they’ll take in Joker.”
“Same shit, different day, huh?” Fiasco asked.
“S’the way it’s gotta be, Fiasco,” Needham stated. “The hard part’s done. Now we go home.”
“Sorry. So sorry to interrupt,” Gaige tapped Needham’s shoulder, singing sweetly into his ear. “But WASN’T WALKER ADBUCTED ON THAT BAT-FACED BASTARD’S WATCH?”
“’Walker,’” Ten interrupted “is still in the room. Shouldn’t we ask him what he wants? Drury?”
He pointed his prosthetic back, then frowned.
“Drury?” Ten repeated, waving his hand at the shadows.
His cry went unanswered. It had taken years, but The Anti-Batman had finally learned his idol's greatest trick.
==Arkham North: Courtyard==
Simon’s chest pounded like a drum; before him stood Eobard Thawne, and in his grip was the man Simon was certain would stop him; the only man he was certain that could. The Flash; his face was as red as his crimson costume, torn in a dozen places, scarcely concealing anything. Thawne’s hand released, and Wally dropped from his grasp, rolling down the stone steps.
The Rogues stared on; they were putting on brave faces for the Walker siblings, but from the way their hands shakily held their weapons, it was clear this latest development had snuck up on them. Lord Manga hadn’t looked up; he was wiping dirt off a pile of fallen merchandise, passing them over to L-Ron to iron, then fold. Multi-Man woozily summoned a spork; his eye red and swollen from his last attempt.
Simon felt something brush against his left forearm, then felt Kitten’s hand against his, pressing tightly; Axel responded by clutching his brother’s right with his remaining hand, bracing for the worst. Their uncle stepped forward, shielding them behind his body. They all knew it wouldn’t be enough. Not against Thawne. It had been a Christmas just like this when Simon had last seen him. They had been on the same side then, though only out of necessity. And Simon knew from experience that opposing him was a death sentence. This was it, he understood. Death had come knocking a second time; only now, Simon was dressed in a partially damp t-shirt.
As Thawne approached, a body dropped at his feet; drenched in blood, wrapped in iron. Its head missing. He looked up, mildly bemused, then smiled. “A professor outranks a doctor, you know,” he spoke up at the interloper. Doctor Polaris floated above him, cape flapping in the wind, his metal faceplate stained with dried blood.
Hayden’s blood.
“The dead outrank no one, professor,” Polaris replied sternly. “Save your sermons for the grave.”
Thawne reached for the belt’s phone-like dial, but Polaris was quick on the draw, quicker than even Thawne had anticipated. The crimson wingtips adorning Thawne’s mask twisted inward like pointed knives. Thawne tore his mask off; a long lock of strawberry blonde hair danced across his forehead, caught in the winter wind. Lying still at the base of the stone steps, his blood dyeing the snow beneath him, Wally’s emerald eyes opened. He caught sight of Thawne, and his glare sharpened.
As Doctor and Professor dueled, a brass bell was wrenched from the clock tower and propelled towards Thawne, only to be intercepted by a golden portal. A second vortex opened and a 20-foot-tall bronze statue of The Flash tore through it. Polaris caught it, straining, then sent it crashing against the Intensive Treatment Building. Debris rained onto the battlefield; Wally shoved would-be victims out of the path of the falling bricks, with little regard for his own well-being; grit and glass scratched his face, but he endured. After all, he had the luxury of speed healing the others did not.
A third portal opened directly above Polaris; an endless stream of hot sand direct from the Hindu Kush Valley cascaded down the portal like the contents of an hourglass filled to fill eternity. The more weight added to Polaris, the less he could bear, and slowly he lowered to the ground as the sand enveloped him completely; his knees buckled, his muscles strained, but there was little he could do.
Little, not nothing. For the deserts of Nanda Parbat held many secrets, hidden in the sand. Violet eyes narrowed, as the faintest signal of metal called to him through the avalanche of dirt. A single dagger; a long-lost knife of a dead assassin. But enough. The knife tore through the curtain of sand and found its mark in Thawne’s forearm; the portal shut, and a weary Polaris took his leave.
Polaris had proven Thawne could be wounded, could bleed, and that was the call to action The Rogues needed. Mardon lifted the sand with his wand, carrying it with a howling gale; the sand transformed into a sandstorm under his skillful hand, and he quickly turned to entrapping Thawne within the enormous wall of silt. Rory emptied his Heat Gun into the funnel, heating the sand until it was a vast glass prison. “Nice job, Wiz. We’ll bake the bastard!”
“Who, me?” a voice asked.
Rory’s head whipped around just in time for Thawne to punch him unconscious. The Professor smiled, stroking the dial on his belt, then stepped over him, taking care to knock the Heat Gun out of reach. Thawne’s respite was brief; a ribbon slashed the air beside him, cleaving the nearest tree in twain. He turned back, chuckling to himself. “What’re you so smug about?” Lisa hissed, her dual ribbons dragging along the ground like whips.
“Oh, nothing much,” Thawne said, rolling his fist. “I’m about to make history.”
The ribbons shot at Thawne, graceful, golden razors; Thawne threw a punch, but Lisa turned intangible. Ice skates extended from the soles of her boots, catching her, as she glided along the frigid grounds. Mardon covered her with a pale mist, returning Thawne’s attention back to him.
“Check on Mick, Lis. Thawne’s mine.”
The winds howled, the force of a hundred hurricanes blasted from his wand, but Thawne dug in his heels. A portal opened between him and the wind, and its sister portal redirected the gale back at the Weather Wizard. Mardon fell backwards, but caught himself just in time, remaining airborne.
Acid rain pelted down, unleashed from rumbling storm clouds; Mardon’s wrist danced like a conductor’s to their orchestra, as his black clouds traced The Professor’s movements, refusing to let up. Thawne attempted to evade but, despite his speed, the corrosive downpour began to eat through his costume. Finally, he ran up the side of the building, launching himself at Mardon, dragging him to the ground. With a single snap, the wand broke in two. With a boot on Mardon’s chest, Thawne tossed the splintered halves onto the ground, and advanced.
==Arkham East: Botanical Gardens==
The survivors of the Cat King’s reign had spent much of the time since his forceful abdication in silence. That calm was broken with the appearance of The Batman’s first son. Nightwing had entered through the cracks in the enormous glass dome and was now sidling up to Thomas Blake. “We have got to stop meeting like this,” Dick said, offering his hand to the squatting Catman. Blake’s eye squinted, then he stood up, sidestepping Nightwing’s outstretched arm.
“You have got to put a disclaimer on that thing,” he muttered resentfully, as he moved past him.
Dick bit his lip, realising his attempted tension breaker was ill-timed and in poor taste. “I’m sorry,” he apologised. “About Cavalier. I’m-”
“Yeah, course you are,” Blake frowned, his gaze averted, his finger pressing on the tip of his knife until blood began to draw. “He was braver ‘n you, you know? He didn’t wait until the dust’d settled.”
“Blake, I-”
“Nightwing,” Selina cut him off, for his own sake. “Any update?”
Dick nodded, relieved to have been given an out. “Oracle’s sent Batgirl on ahead; she’s searching Max Security; retrieval only; we’ve got a couple of strays unaccounted for. With Jim recovering, Captain Sawyer’s acting Commish. She’s good; Batman’s told her to standby for now. The main fighting’s in the grounds, looked to me like another Reverse-Flash, but he’s got some kinda upgrade, some sort of ‘porter tech. I’m heading there once I’ve got you all patched up.”
“You go,” Selina offered. “I’ll be along in a minute.”
“Yeah?” Dick asked, his voice getting quieter. “Sure you’re ok?”
“Me? Sure,” Selina shrugged dismissively. “Blake and Chancer got it worse than I did.”
“Hey, you sure you’re ok?” Dick repeated the question, with greater emphasis.
Selina looked at Dick, back at Blake and Sharpe, and at the cape shrouding Drake’s body, then nodded appreciatively. “I will be.”
Dick departed, grappling up through the hole he’d entered. Selina recoiled her whip, then clipped it to her belt. Blake, flicked the blood off his knives, then sheathed them. Sharpe, muttered petulantly. “And how come he gets two sticks anyway?” he complained. “I told you they think they’re better than us.” Selina scoffed, resting her boot on the edge of one of the garden’s wooden benches, as she adjusted the side straps.
“Hey,” Blake approached her. He was moving a little shakily, not yet adapted to his missing eye. “What the King said, before, y’know…”
He ran his finger across his throat.
“I don’t think it’s particularly conducive repeating it,” Selina replied. The straps tightened.
Blake scratched under his eyelid. “I know, and I won’t, but you… got a kid in there? How far along?”
Selina sighed. Tommy Blake and Montgomery Sharpe were about the last people she thought she’d be talking about this with. Certainly, the last people she’d want planning a baby shower. “Six weeks. Any further, and I’d need a bigger catsuit.”
“Har har. You don’t think you should, I don’t know, sit this one out?”
Selina stared through him.
“O-kay. You, uh, picked out names yet?” Blake shuffled closer. Selina rolled her eyes at first then, detecting the sincerity in his tone, replied earnestly.
“Picked out names? I haven’t even told the-”
“How’s about Tabitha? Tabby for short,” Sharpe suggested.
“What about Cullen? Or Bella?”
“There’s Kat, there’s Kitty... Kitten’s a non-starter, obvs.”
“It’s not even really a name,” Blake admitted.
“Bro! I know!” Sharpe agreed
“Maria.”
Blake and Sharpe turned to look at Selina, staring blankly.
“Maria, if it’s a girl,” she smiled softly. “And Thomas if it’s a boy.”
Immediately, Sharpe cheered. “Bro, congrats,” he beamed, his fist tapping Blake’s arm supportively.
“I’m honoured,” Blake blushed.
Mortified, Selina looked over at Blake, smiling broadly and tickled pink with pride, and she tried her damn hardest not to laugh in his face. “Oh, no. No no no no no.”
==Arkham North: Penitentiary==
As he and Karlo walked together through the underbelly of Arkham’s penitentiary, Otis Flannegan turned, as a brown rat emerged from a crack in the wall then scratched at his muck-covered wellies. Without hesitation, Flannegan scooped it with both hands, and brought it to his ear. “Uhuh. Mm. No kidding? Don’t you worry, Bran; yer pal Otis is on the case.” And then, he did something that gave even Karlo pause; he lowered his gasmask, and nuzzled the small creature’s furry face, then tenderly set it back down. Karlo, let out a derisive mumble at this saccharine display. The gasmask clicked back into place, then Flannegan turned back to Karlo, a resolute expression just visible behind his visor. “Duty calls,” he said, performing a two-fingered salute in an admittedly last-minute attempt at reverence to the mud man. Karlo rolled his yellow eyes, then broke away from Flannegan, trudging onwards. Then, Flannegan stopped him.
“Hey, Karlo?”
Exasperated, Karlo twisted his head back, waiting for The Ratcatcher to finally give him his leave.
They locked eyes then, surprisingly, Flannegan gave him an encouraging nod. “Happy hunting.”
Karlo, nodded back. “Likewise.”
==Arkham West: Forests==
The Injustice Trio trudged through the snow together, in an unheard-of demonstration of solidarity. Bright lights lit up the sky behind them. A beggar in a torn coat shuffled past them, hands deeply entrenched in his pockets. Booker paused, for a moment, catching sight of the man’s grey hair and a familiar smoky aroma. “Hey,” Booker called after him. “Don’t I know you from someplace?”
The man paused, small clouds of hot air billowing from his nostrils. “No one knows me,” he said cryptically. ‘Four bullets,’ he reminded himself. ‘Just four bullets.’ He nudged past Booker, and disappeared into the forest. Booker scoffed, cussing performatively under his breath, and for a time their walk went uninterrupted.
For a time.
The rumblings had gotten louder, the lights brighter, now impossible to ignore. Bruce turned back, watching closely as Major Disaster stood transfixed by the fireworks-like display. And then, as if hypnotized, he dragged his feet in the direction of the blasts.
“Maj?”
“Yeah?”
“Tradition dictates we run away from the deadly sky-beams of unknown origin.”
“Yeah,” Booker exhaled, pinching his nose. “But this time, I ain’t leaving with a participation trophy. I’m going for gold.”
~-~
Bridget Pike made her way up through the Asylum, Jeremiah Arkham’s emaciated arm draped across her back. He had been a quiet companion, his spellbound delirium not yet dissipated. One of Flannegan’s rats scurried on ahead, leading them through corridors marked with dust and blood, squeaking warnings Bridget couldn’t possibly decipher. Finally, they reached the entrance hall; Bridget guided Arkham’s hand onto the scanner, and the doorway whirred into life. Moonlight crept through the widening gap and panicked voices on the other side grew louder, the smell of burning timber stronger.
Then Bridget’s heart stopped.
“Hello, Bridget. My, haven’t you been busy?” Thawne sneered, casting his eye to the last Arkham, muttering quietly to himself.
Bridget didn’t get a chance to answer. The ground quaked as, tearing through the trees, came Major Disaster atop an enormous podium of rock warped around him like a throne. Big Sir and The Mighty Bruce ran beside him, the latter clearly lacking the stamina of his peer but making up for it in firepower. Booker leapt off his perch, releasing a primal cry that those who knew him best thought him incapable of. Thawne set him off course with a portal; dropping him at the other end of the grounds. Bruce covered Booker, emptying his assault rifle; Thawne zipped across the battlefield to evade. However, Bruce was careless, unfocused, and untrained. His marksmanship was abysmal; if not for Wally’s intervention, his hailstorm of bullets would have claimed several unintended victims. As Bruce went to reload, Thawne took the clip, and before he could comprehend what was happening, The Professor cracked it across his head. Ratchett outstretched his arms to catch Thawne, but he was gone again in seconds.
Setting Arkham down, Bridget cocked her wrist shooters, then shot into the air, an orange vapour trail tracing her flight path. She unloaded her gauntlets; orange flames licked Thawne’s heels, but she still couldn’t keep up. Booker, could. He raised his arm and the ground beneath Thawne warped upwards like a ramp, knocking him back into Booker’s path. The Major cracked his knuckles and stone wrapped around his fists like jagged boxing gloves. He threw a couple of punches; one even connected, stunning Thawne long enough for Booker to strike a second time. By the third throw, Thawne had wised up. He sent his fist into Booker’s stomach, and he bowled over. Bridget reloaded, sending an inferno Thawne’s way. Thawne spun his arms like cyclones, extinguishing the flames, and knocking her back.
Otis Flannegan stuck his head from out of the maintenance hatch and snorted, taking a second to process the present pandemonium. Searching for a familiar face (preferably, one not currently fighting for their life), he trotted towards Big Sir, then tapped his elbow. “Ello, big guy, don’t suppose you can fill me in?”
Ratchett‘s large brow furrowed, casting a shadow over his eyes as he rehearsed his words in his head. “The Yellow man hurt Kite-Man and Multi-Man then Metal Man got sad and ran away and Mr Major and Mighty Bruce and Big Sir went to find the Metal Man but we couldn’t find the Metal Man but we met a very nice pirate but Mr Major said he was a bad man then Mighty Bruce pew-pewed him and the pirate got frightened and-”
“Holy run-on sentence, Fatman,” Flannegan cut him off, later than he probably should have. “Y’know what? Just throw me,” he instructed Ratchett. “And you better not Hippopota-miss.”
Ratchett cupped Flannegan’s bony backside, held him over his head, then flung him at Thawne. Thawne stood in place, but phased; Flannegan passed right through him, and rolled into a heap behind him. Before Thawne could decide what to do with him, a voice yelled out to him. Well, he assumed it was aimed at him.
“Hey, Ayo Edebiri!”
Perplexed, Thawne frowned, looking up at the ridge where a trio of fresh challengers stood assembled. At the front, Thomas Blake was gesturing wildly at him, as though Thawne was an exotic zoo exhibit.
“Eobard Thawne,” Selina corrected him, tapping his shoulder supportively.
“That’s the one!” Blake yelled with the same gusto.
“It’s cool, he has brain damage,” Sharpe added apologetically.
Blake threw his knife at Thawne. Thawne stayed still, calmly watching as the blade landed several metres from its target. His lack of depth perception did not dull Blake’s enthusiasm; he slid down the hill, emptying his utility belt. Thawne dodged Catarangs and smoke bombs; though he didn’t have to move very fast nor far to avoid them. By the time Blake himself reached Thawne, he was incapacitated with a chokeslam. Next, a white baton bounced off the trees like a pinball, ricocheting towards Thawne. His eyes tracked its movements, then, he caught it. He glanced across at Sharpe with an expression that clearly read ‘Was that it?’
“And that’s why I need two,” Sharpe crossed his arms.
“How would that help? He’s got two hands, dummy.”
“Fuck.”
Rubbing the back of his grazed head, Flannegan whistled, and the bushes around Arkham rustled with activity. Thawne backstepped; hundreds of brown rats emerged from the undergrowth, squeaking and snarling, and on a direct course towards him; too numerous to avoid entirely. He kicked at the rodents, and in the pandemonium, The Killer Wasp found an in. Norbert’s fist connected, and Thawne’s jaw swung out of place. It was a brief break from the Professor’s taunts, but one welcomed by all. Norbert wrapped his forearm around Thawne’s throat; Flannegan grabbed his right arm and Booker his left, the trio working together to keep him restrained. Thawne vibrated his body, generating a shockwave, scattering the battlefield. He took a hold of his jaw, then clicked it back into place.
Flannegan’s mask hung loose; he sprinted forwards, then sank his front teeth into Thawne’s forearm. “Vermin!” Thawne hissed, smacking him aside. His teeth stayed embedded in Thawne’s arm. Flannegan grabbed his lantern off the ground, and tripped Thawne up. He jumped onto him, holding the wooden bar against his throat. Thawne clutched the rod, pushing Flannegan off. He snapped the rod in two, and when Flannegan went back in for another bout, the rod pierced his stomach. Thawne grinned, then pushed the splintered staff through his back. Flannegan retched blood, then Thawne pulled the wood loose. A hand on his stomach, Flannegan keeled over, his rats retreating to his side. Blake roared, ramming his knife through Thawne’s boot. Thawne pried his foot loose, then reintroduced Blake’s head to the ground.
“THAWNE!” Wally bellowed, running back into the fray, kicking up a dust trail as he sprinted forwards. He threw a punch, striking Thawne. Thawne fell back then put a shaking hand to his split lip, examining the damage.
“Right on cue,” Thawne lapped the fresh blood off his lip. “Protector of the innocent. Oh, oops. How far you’ve fallen,” he taunted him. Wally threw another punch, but this time, Thawne was prepared, catching his fist.
“Oh, but where are my manners?” he spoke. “I believe congratulations are in order. I do hope your wife’s pregnancy goes smoother than last time.”
“You son of a bitch-” Wally hissed, cut off by an elbow to the jaw.
“Temper, temper. Such misplaced vulgarity! You’re lucky your mentor isn’t around to hear that… You know mothers are a sore subject with him.”
Thawne tutted, dodging Wally’s next flurry of punches with ease. “I kid, Flash. You know, I always had a soft spot for your Aunt Iris,” he smiled, running his finger across his forehead in a circular motion. “Right here. Perhaps I’ll pay her a visit.” Wally flung his leg forward; Thawne grabbed his boot, then hurtled him to the ground. “Once I’ve snapped your scrawny neck, of course.”
“Hey, bozo!” Axel exclaimed, raising his middle finger. “You mean you’re gonna waste this poser, and the real Flash isn’t gonna see it? Where’s the fun in that?”
Thawne paused. He knew full well that Axel was just buying Wally time; the Trickster was many things but subtle wasn’t one of one, yet in the back of his mind, he realised he was right. What use was killing the apprentice here? Alone? Without Allen around to bear witness?
“A point well made,” he conceded, driving Wally’s face deeper into the snow. “I’ll be right back,” he promised the bloodied West.
Springs extending from the soles of his trainers, Axel bounced overhead, spitting out a chunk of chewing gum. The gum hit the floor, then erupted into a fireball. Thawne dodged the explosion, simultaneously parrying an attack from Simon. “You look healthy, Simon,” he sneered. “That, can be remedied.” A backhand shattered Simon’s visor, and he cast his mask aside to see.
Axel wasn’t the only Walker to adopt their father’s affinity for gadgetry. The lit ‘stalks’ of Kitten’s Cherry Bombs burned downwards, the innocent-looking projectiles exploding into pink, sickly sweet clouds. The large red heart she launched onto the ground with a similar enthusiasm sprang up, ensnaring Thawne’s boot like a bear trap. The fighting paused temporarily, Simon and Axel exchanged concerned looks about their sister’s unexpected aptitude for violence. Thawne winced, phasing his leg free of the trap. ‘Don’t underestimate the pink princess,’ he noted, as he proceeded to grab a fistful of blonde hair and plant her face into the ground. A crackling beam of high voltage energy shot from Simon’s blaster; Thawne dodged, of course, and again turned his attention towards his long-suffering victim.
“Oh, Simon,” he sang back. “I know I said I’d wait for daddy but the anticipation is killing me and, besides, your corpse will keep.”
Norbert flew forwards, wrapping his claws around Thawne’s forearms and stinging his flesh. Thawne winced, then phased out of the lock. He reappeared behind the eldest Walker, and taking a hold of his shimmering wings, tore them from his back. Norbert screamed, batting him away, as brown, sap-like blood dripped down his back. Covering his uncle, Simon fired his blaster at Thawne; he zig-zagged past the bolts, then knocked Simon down. Axel jumped into action, but Thawne caught his ankle and dragged him back to earth, reuniting him with his sister in the dirt. Simon shuffled back, firing his blaster; Thawne walked calmly towards him, boredly deflecting his blasts with portals, then vibrated his hand.
Across the battlefield, The Flash and his Reverse locked eyes, and Wally knew what he had to do. Channeling the Speedforce in his veins, Wally fired a blast of lightning, everything he had, at the pair. Thawne grinned, pulled Simon close, and using him as a human shield, flung him in the path of the gold bolt. The lightning hit Simon like a wave; Manga’s novelty t-shirt disintegrated immediately, a damning indictment to its quality. The lightning clung to his body, then seeped through his suit, sinking into his skin.
“Missed,” Thawne sneered, dropping Simon’s singed body. He hit the cold grass, slow, shallow breaths just barely escaping his lungs.
Bridget came to a stop. “Oh, no,” she gasped, dropping her helmet to the ground.
“SIMON!” Kitten wept. She rushed towards him but was intercepted by Norbert, who swept her up in his arms. “Let me go! Let me go!” she shrieked, pounding her fists against her uncle’s forearms, begging him to release her. Norbert’s face darkened, but he remained strong.
“What did you DO?” Axel shrieked at Wally; The Flash staggered back, weakened, as he took a knee. “That’s my brother! That’s my-! You’ve only gone, and fucking killed him!”
Thawne’s hand vibrated, his fingers flexed with sadistic anticipation and, immobile, Simon braced, accepting the inevitability of his demise. Few could say they had died twice, even fewer could say they perished the same way both times. His wedding ring cold against his skin, he closed his eyes with one thought. Emi. Thawne’s gloved hand dived forwards, and he plunged it deep into Simon’s chest.
Nothing happened.
Simon opened a single, brown eye. There were certain expectations about the afterlife, myths reinforced by the revived and the resurrected. Death was supposed to be solitary, cold; as one of those fortunate few to return, Simon himself could attest to that, but he wasn’t cold. And he wasn’t alone. He was warm; a comforting kind of cozy; like he’d been swaddled in a golden blanket, embraced in a golden hug. The lightning hadn’t stung; it’d tingled. Tickled. And that hand planted in his chest? He couldn’t feel a thing. His heart raced, nay, sprinted, beating even faster than before; faster than humanly possible. Badum. Badum. Badum. The beats merged together into one, flat lining, but not as the herald of death, but a cry of rebirth.
Thawne retracted his hand, and his confusion quickly turned to rage. Simon’s own body was vibrating, counter to Thawne’s frequency, Wally’s lightning still crackling around him, a flash of yellow dancing across his brown irises.
“You,” he stared down Wally, murder in his eyes. “You gave up your speed for a boy you barely know? You pawned it off like a pair of old boots? Your speed! Your legacy!”
“The one move you couldn't anticipate,” Wally panted, laughing through the fractured ribs and bruised skin. “The sacrifice play. Because you're vain, Thawne. You're cruel. You're selfish. And where it counts, you're so damn slow.”
Simon’s eyes dashed back and forth; it was as though everything had stopped moving although, of course, they hadn’t. They were just very, very slow. He watched the snow drift downwards, one crystal at a time. He raised his hand out, and caught a pristine, unsullied snowflake on the tip of his finger. “It’s beautiful…”
Thawne scoffed. “It’s snow.”
“You mean, this is what you see? This- This is how you see the world?” Simon asked.
Thawne’s gaze returned to him; his eyebrow raised as though unable to discern the meaning behind the question. “Yes,” he answered at last, with detached honesty.
“And you still choose to maim, and kill, and torture?”
“That’s right.”
Simon cast his eyes down. “You’re an even bigger monster than I thought,” he said in quiet condemnation.
Thawne's smile returned, darker than before. “You flatter me. But I’m still faster than you, Baby Bug.”
==Arkham Penitentiary: Patient Property==
A verifiable Rogues Gallery worth of mannequins lined the walls, like a museum to The Batman’s storied career. Surrounded by soulless statues, Harry Sims rifled through wooden crates, searching for something, anything; Butchinsky’s gloves, one of the Bug’s blasters... He had spent what had felt like a lifetime standing by Karlo’s side and, in that time, he had kept a note of all his weaknesses. Which hadn’t done him a lick of good… The lens. The lens should have killed him, why didn’t it kill him? Sims continued his frantic search; Lynns and Walker had near-emptied the place when they were last here, but some of the weaponry remained. It had to. He reached in deeper, and his spirit lifted, marginally. Freeze’s ray. Not enough power left in it to kill, but aimed precisely, it would incapacitate Karlo long enough for Sims to make his getaway. Alas, Sims’ aim was never particularly precise. He’d preferred to leave the violence to his partners. He preferred to watch. He pocketed his revolver, removed his white gloves, and gripped the barrel of the silver ray gun.
Rising to his feet, Sims’ back hit something; solid, humanoid, but lifeless. He turned around, then jumped. Staring back at him, with empty glass eyes, was a mannequin, dressed just like he used to. A velvety, purple suit. A wide-brimmed fedora to match. And completing the look, a grotesque, wax-like mask. Sims chuckled at the mannequin, a mix of nervous relief, and sinister nostalgia. Playfully, he aimed the freeze ray at its head, and mimed firing it. “Hah,” he sneered beneath his helm. “Almost had me scare-”
A clay-like arm shot out from the mannequin, pinning him against the furthest wall. The mannequin squelched and shifted, warping into its natural form; an eight-foot tall, grotesque, sagging terror. Sims panicked, firing the ray in blind frenzy. The beam froze The Terror’s arm; brittle lumps of clay crumbled to the ground, dropping Sims in the process. His mask slid off, intact, but dented. He attempted to crawl away, but The Terror unleashed a kraken-like flurry of tendrils, wrapping around its prey’s legs and dragging him backwards. Sims shrieked; his fingers stuck into the ground, as he tried desperately to escape. Concrete was wrenched loose by his exposed fingernails, which chipped and broke and bled as they were scraped along the floor. The mud-like appendages lifted Sims up, so he was directly at eye-level with the monster’s sunken gaze.
“Y-you were supposed to be-”
“Dead? Like The Shape? Like Vorhees? Like Krueger and the rest? And I thought you a cinephile,” Karlo laughed coldly; an unpleasant, joyless gurgle, like he had a throat full of mucus. “You know as well as I that the dead remain so long as there is business left unfinished. And ours is a business whose conclusion is long, long overdue.”
Restored, Karlo’s other hand reached into Sims’ mouth, muffling his words. The mud travelled down his throat, smothering his lungs. Harry Sims choked. He spluttered. He cried tears of clumpy mud and sneezed brown snot. Then Karlo lifted his camera-like mask off the floor and took his final photo. He retracted his arm and Sims dropped to the ground with an inhuman ‘clunk,’ heavier than before. The clay within him had hardened. Solidified. Empty glass eyes, frozen in terror, stared up at the ceiling, their tear ducts blocked with dried mud.
It was only until all light had left Sims’ glass-like eyes that Karlo realised he wasn’t alone. A young woman in a black batsuit watched on, in horror and shock.
“Basil-” the girl in black gasped.
Karlo’s yellow eyes softened; he stepped back, then morphed into a friendlier shape; that of the purple-suited visage of his mannequin. He tipped his hat to her, to his Cassie, then shifted himself down the floor grate, disappearing into the sewers below.
~-~
Simon ran faster than he had ever thought possible, skidding across layers of snow and ice. His siblings, the Misfits, the Rogues, and all the others seemed like statues as he passed them by. Channeling their shared connection to the Speedforce, Simon blasted lightning from his fingertips, releasing years of frustration, of anger, at his one-time killer. Thawne had quietened. No longer so eager to tease and taunt, his focus had shifted to the swift immobilisation of the Lightning Bug, a name that had never held as much meaning as today. As Simon and Thawne’s speeds levelled, their fight shifted to hand-to-hand combat. The better fighter, Simon’s punches were harder, informed by an early life of petty crime and a few weeks of League training. Thawne’s were faster, more precise; over a decade’s worth of combat against more seasoned speedsters ensured that he knew exactly where to hit.
With the two combatants locked in combat, Lord Manga Khan had the perfect opportunity to offload his less-popular products. “Merchandise! Paraphernalia! Accessories of all types and sizes! Bartering encouraged!” his tinny voice roared. “Any takers? How about you, young human? A foam catcher’s mitt for the low-low price of 15.99!”
Sharpe gingerly approached; his eyes drawn towards the creased cardboard box laden with foam mittens. “That in dollars?” he asked, stroking his chin thoughtfully.
“Credits! The accepted currency of 70% of the planets in space sector 2814!”
“Sweet,” Sharpe nodded, as he reached into his pocket. “I have a nickel. That do?”
“It will indeed!” Manga yelled excitedly as he accepted the payment and handed Sharpe his prize. “Look, L-Ron, my first sale!” he announced gleefully to his robotic assistant. “I believe this is what the rods and mockers of today are calling Nickelback!”
“That’s a button, m’lord,” L-Ron spoke.
“Aha! How many credits is that worth?”
As L-Ron attempted to explain the minuscule value of Sharpe’s tribute, Doctor Polaris drifted above the pair, his head cocked. “How much for the hand?” he asked, in the tone of someone unwilling to pay.
“Ah, the catcher’s mitt? Keen eye, my friend! It's our best sell-"
Polaris, raised his palm. “No.”
Red and yellow lightning engulfed the dueling speedsters, stray bolts trailing off their bodies. Simon pushed harder; though he was quick, impossibly so, his speed was still dwarfed by that of the Reverse-Flash. Despite his best efforts, his blows stopped connecting as Thawne adapted to his strategies. Desperate, he pawed at Thawne’s waist then, at last, the Professor sent him crashing downwards with an overhand punch.
“Uhnff-!”
Thawne straddled Simon’s torso; Simon threw a few feeble punches with his left hand; Thawne cast his arm aside, then unleashed his fists upon the broken bug. He threw punch after punch, reducing Simon’s face to shades of reds and purples. Simon took the blows in stride; no yells, no screams, just silent endurance. Thawne was almost disappointed. “Now, where were we?” he asked, raising his vibrating, bloodied hand.
“H-hey,” Simon spoke through puffy lips.
“Tricked ya.”
Thawne’s eyes flicked downwards. Held tightly in Simon’s grasp was the red belt that he had wrapped across his waist moments ago. Then he turned back. Already, the beginnings of a coloured portal had started forming.
“No.”
Thawne lunged for the belt, but Bridget forced him back with her wrist shooters. Flanking her, Rory aimed his heat gun and Sharpe his dragon staff, and the three sent him to heel with their inferno. Thawne ran the length of the island to avoid the flames, but Lisa’s ribbons caught his ankle and tripped him over. “You shouldn't know those coordinates...”
A single silhouette, black at first, then blindingly white, appeared amidst the screeching of an unsettled, untamed wilderness framed by the fizzing portal. They were stood atop a single round disk, a platform keeping them airborne. And surrounding them like stars were hundreds of spheres, each a different colour, each a different, deadly design. The group gazed on, in wonder, in relief, some in confusion. And as man and disk exited, surrounded by a constellation of spheres, the portal snapped shut. The white-suited man grinned, and raising his pair of goggles above his head, addressed his welcome party.
“Alright, lads, wipe off the precum. S’only me.”
What happened next lasted less than thirty seconds; Simon threw the belt into the air; Thawne moved to intercept, but Selina’s whip caught his arm, binding him just long enough for Bridget to catch the belt, and hurl it upwards out of Thawne’s reach. Phasing out of the whip, The Professor turned to Krill; The Polka Dot Man achieved elevation by jumping onto a series of steps made by his dots; Thawne sped after him, but the podiums became deadly landmines under his soles; the explosions sent him backwards, and his path clear, Krill clutched the belt from the air.
Thawne wasn’t finished; rushing forward, he made a beeline for Krill, his hand vibrating. Raising his fist, the golden glove of Manga Khan clamped over his own, then jerked his arm backwards. Thawne attempted to fight against Polaris' magnetism, but in the end, the doctor prevailed; the hand moved, the forearm faltered, and the bone within snapped. Another man might have screamed; Not Thawne; he phased the fractured bone back through his skin and held it until his speed-healing rejoined the broken bone.
“I am not going back to that hell,” Thawne snarled, clutching his forearm.
“One of us is, mate. And I’ve got the keys to the bloody kingdom. What have you got? 'Side from a receding hairline and the same parasocial psychopathy that killed John Lennon.”
“That's right. Fuck all.”
And with a click of the circular belt buckle, Abner Krill was once again the most powerful man on the planet.
Second to the bikini on Koloist's Chaotic Universe post was the mentioning of post card which got me into this connection thing again. Now I don't consciously collect them but somehow I have them around me (and I don't mean bikini) and keep bumping into relating events and shops.
In 2007 I went to the Lomo World Congress event in London (1st Day, 2nd Day, Photos). On the last day of my visit, 30 mins. away from leaving the Royal National Hotel I saw a poster of the Bloomsbury Postcard Fair happening right there in a conference hall! The event happens EVERY SINGLE MONTH! But I got less than 30 mins., without waiting I paid 1.5 pounds and met really interesting folks!
I didn't know where to start, it was crazy, the clock was ticking. So I went to more organized exhibitors, the classification and the way they store them alone worth the entire trip to UK, it is like a primitive Google for searching postcards. You name it, they have a way. By countries, 30's 40's 50's, wars, transportations, children, eras, .... My mind flew away imagining that if there is such a physical search engine sorting resorting these postcards on the fly according to your search terms, wouldn't it be a sight?
And I met Ken Lister, a regular visitor to the show. He gave me some hints on how to find things there and he mentioned that there is such a fair happening in Hong Kong which I didn't know! Ken was an extensive traveler, been to many places in South East Asia, I wish there was more time to chat with him. Tick tock tick tock.
Postcards are not the only thing you find in this fair. Torn pages from old books/bibles, letters/deeds written by people long gone, surveyor's map, etc etc...... One thing in common though, you may not be aware of it but when you think about it, they are all PAPERS!! This amazed me really.
With only the last few pounds I had, I got 2 advertising postcards from fountain pen makers and 2 postcards of the "Peak Tramway and Barracks, Hong Kong", of which one of them was written by a Frenchman probably to his girlfriend in France. Imagine where this postcard had travelled and how it is connected to so many people. Again, if there is such a physical search engine to travel through time returning all properties relating to one particular object, ... oh perhaps too far fetched technically, we might as well just go to the Akashic Records to do the trick.
Here's a few more links of my postcard adventure:
Postkarten shop in Cologne Germany I stumbled upon recently.
Polaroid Postcard, a flickr group where people exchanging postcards in Polaroid format. You gotta try, beautiful.
Altered Postcard Art, use any postcard, alter it to suit your own artistic vision.
Finally, I've always had great times doing these personal postcards using "spare time" during business trips and I'm not stopping as long as there is postal service available. See Hairspray and Bird Shit, Birthday Postcard to Okuyama san. God give me more time on earth!
More on Scription blog: moleskine.vox.com/library/post/postcard-fanatics-monthly-...
It's like that, y'all, check it out now
(Yeah yeah, now check the method) (Repeat 4x)
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Even though nowadays you got all these motherfucking new niggas
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(Yeah yeah, now check the method) (Repeat 2x)
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(Yeah yeah, now check the method) (Repeat 4x)
It's like that y'all, and I keep figures
It's the hardcore ruffneck funky type of street nigga
Lord Finesse got the swift rap and
You don't need Dionne Warwick and them psychic friends to predict that
In years to come I'm bound to shine
Give me a mic and a minute, I'll show niggas I get down for mine
Word life, you know the haps
Fucking with me is like bungee jumping with no rope attached
Man listen, I got plenty rhymes
When it comes to props, motherfucks just oughta gimme mine
Word, cause I slay ya fast
Whether you're the best MC with a mic, or you're straight up trash
My lyrics excel, hops
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I gotta give a shout (To who?) To my brother Show when I'm out
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(Yeah yeah, now check the method) (Repeat 4x)