Bela Lugosi’s Dead. I don’t think I’ve ever seen this, and that’s saying something as I was a confirmed Bauhaus nut back in the day. Here’s to Youtube, repository of the world’s forgotten videos.
Update: you know, to some, the Eighties were a time of candy colors, chrome, and Reagan, but to me they were the era of leather pants and men in black lipstick. Boo. Yah.
Oh great, this week is apparently “let’s shit on the bed week” in my younger cat’s mind. She’s crapped on my futon four times this week so far, and the most recent time she did a stealth-shitting when I had my back turned — I was either at the computer or in the bathroom, and the next thing I know I turn around and there’s a little pile of stinky bon-bons right in the center of the bed spread. Which is now stuffed into the washing machine. I’ve already had to turn over the futon (after spraying it with pet-stain-smell-remover) once today, now I’m going to have to do it again. I can’t afford to buy a new mattress or even one of those plastic mattress covers.
I don’t know what her problem is — I guess she doesn’t like the kitty litter I bought, which is the Publix version of that pine-smelling paper pellet version that is good for the environment and even better can be flushed down the commode. It smells no different from the brand version, and it looks the same too. Maybe it feels different on her paws, or maybe she’s having some prolonged fight with the other cat (they’ve been playing growl-hiss-I-hate-you, but they always do that), or maybe she’s just got one of her goddamned bees in her bonnet. If she does it again I’m going to shove each lump of poo back where it came from. Anyone want a neurotic cat? She’s declawed, but she bites. And poops.
Okay, I’ve got to ask — what is it with the British and bringing people in the hospital (we say “in the hospital” here in the US, not “in hospital”) green grapes? There was that episode of Torchwood where Jack brings Owen grapes while the latter is recuperating from a monster-clawing, and then there is Rose saying to the Doctor (in “New Earth“) “let’s go get some grapes” as they head towards the hospital-of-mystery in that episode, and now there is this old Coil video with Marc Almond doing a cameo as the evil Angel of Death stealing the poor AIDS victim’s grapes and eating them as said victim dies! (Showing for one thing that this is not a new fashion in hospital stuff-bringing.) I just don’t get it. I mean, I can understand flowers — hospital rooms are generally dull if not ugly places, and flowers are a quick way to bring a bit of color and beauty to such a place, but grapes? What if you hate grapes, or aren’t allowed to eat solid food? Then they’ll just sit there. Maybe they’re for your visitors to snack on? Or for the doctors and nurses? Someone please explain.
Update: speaking of foreign… man, I’d love me some Korean food right now. There are a few good Korean restaurants not far from me… Well, I really shouldn’t, I’m broke and anyway feeling kind of squicky (nasty sinuses, oogy stomach). By the way, if I ever go back to wearing make-up I’ll follow the facegunk-removal advice of the scary-looking model whose site this is. Except for one thing: I don’t use soap on my face, I use Noxzema, at least for now. It’s creamy and cooool….
:Wumpscut — “Thorns.”
And an added bonus: Rammstein’s version of Depeche Mode’s “Stripped.” Awesome. Ja wohl!
And just for shits ‘n’ giggles… gaze! gaze upon the wonder that is the web page for my high school, Coral Gables Senior High! Where the teacher I took five years (starting in 8th grade at Ponce De Leon Junior High) of German with, is still there. I swear, you get a job with any public school in the country, you are SFL — if you can stand the thought of teaching the average American public school student for twenty-plus years. (In my case it’s been almost thirty. Ulp. He was a young guy. He must be shriveled by now…)
Urgh. I forgot about the time change, but my computer remembered. I want my hour back! Wah!
Today’s weather report in Central Florida is as follows:
Partly cloudy and windy. High 64F. Winds W at 25 to 35 mph. Winds could occasionally gust over 40 mph.
That’s from weather.com for my zip code. Right now (12:36 PM) it’s 64 degrees. Yup, it’s the high! It’s sunny and windy, a gorgeous day. It’s going to drop to about 40F tonight. Yep, Florida’s going to be inundated by rising seas any minute now. Was that a flying penguin I just saw or a flying pig?
You know, I don’t think John C. Wright liked the movie Jumper very much.
The book sounds like a bit of entertaining juvenile fiction, though. The movie’s “creators” (for want of a better word) seem to have done to the book what was recently done, movie-wise, to one of the favorite books of my adolescense, The Dark Is Rising. In case you didn’t know, and don’t want to click on that link, the people who got hold of Susan Cooper’s fantasy novel basically gutted it, for one thing turning the very British main character into an American kid for no good reason — did they think American kids wouldn’t be able to “identify with” (there’s a phrase the use of which should be made a capital crime) a British character? Probably — which only proves the theory that Hollywood (or Hollowwood, as my fingers keep wanting to type) is not so much out of touch with their American audience as they are with the population of Planet Earth, and perhaps all of reality all together.
I finally got a job through one of the placement agencies. I was just waiting to hear when they’d want me to start — I start tomorrow. It’s just a temporary position, but I am hoping it will lead to something more permanent.
Finally, we’re getting some proper rain — by that I mean “the trees on the far side of the courtyard are blurry” rain. I just heard the “sizzling” noise and opened the blinds to watch. Oops, it’s already slackening. No! Come back, rain!
Okay, unless Orange County, Florida has really weird requirements on what sort of a background their temps can have, I should be starting my new (temporary, alas, though I am holding out hopes that this will lead to something permanent) job possibly by Thursday. Maybe even tomorrow, but I haven’t gotten a call yet telling me. I don’t particularly want to work for the county (government jobs, urgh), but a job is a job. It’s some sort of accounting clerk thing, probably just filing and data entry as the pay isn’t that great. On the other hand, it’s more than the unemployment was — and after this week, it will be all I will have.
I also went and looked at some small studio apartments in an older part of Orlando. The building was old but sturdy (it would have to be sturdy to last in Florida, the climate here is hell on anything that isn’t made of concrete), and the studios small but laid out well, with lots of closet space. More than I plan to need, actually — I’m going to be getting rid of a lot of stuff. I just can’t stand it anymore. I wear maybe one third of the clothes I own, and I have those three crates of LPs I never play, and the stereo is old and broken anyway. I also have boxes of books, but I am just going to store most of those. Also I’ll be getting rid of most of my furniture. It’s all second hand stuff anyway except for the bed, which I am going to either sell or store. I can sleep on the futon on the floor.
Oh well, it’s nice to make plans. Considering my lousy credit and my employment situation it’s a crapshoot on whether or not I’ll be even able to get into another apartment. It would be embarrassing if I had to hang on here month by month, not to mention too expensive.