kerplink, kerplank, kerplunk

Residence Drama!

We just had a fire drill! I was thisclose to hopping in the shower when The Alarm That Could Wake The Dead went off. I threw on my jacket and some houseshoes and everyone trundled downstairs and out of the building.

It was all very exciting - two big firetrucks came roaring around the corner and parked facing the wrong way on our street, and everyone milled around looking sleepy, and then I headed over to the starbucks across the street for some caffeine & a scone.

The thing is, this building is highly unlikely to burn. It's all concrete, and not particularly flammable. Which is good, because it makes up (in small part) for how hideously ugly it is. Architects of the world: "Modern" does not have to mean "so ugly, it makes me want to poke sharp sticks in my eyes." Keep it in mind. And buy a fucking Mies van der Rohe book, while you're at it.
Sunday, October 15, 2000 12:22 p.m.

Buffy May Switch Networks
Well, it's all very iffy right now, but it looks like the WB and 20th Century Fox (when are they going to update that name?) could hit a snag in their negotiations, and if they do, ABC might take on the Slayer.
Friday, October 13, 2000 12:25 p.m.

Emma's Birthday
This is one of my favourite Carl Larsson paintings. It features a really fun-looking celebratory parade up the stairs of someone's country house into the birthday girl's bedroom. When I see paintings like this, I am filled with a desire to move to early 1900s Sweden. Not likely, but I'll keep it in mind just in case the mad scientists work out that whole time travel thing.
Thursday, October 12, 2000 11:12 p.m.

Mean Kitties!
I like kitties a great deal. Even mean ones, as evidenced by my continuing devotion to an infamously mean (but by no means charmless) cat named the Boog. The Boog is the kitty of my pals E and A, and he's been known to bite and scratch without provocation, and eat too much lettuce, and run away from plastic bags. He's kind of ferocious, but with a streak of pure wussiness. He also has a very dapper look, owing to his tuxedo-like colouring.

Anyway, until last weekend, he was their only kitty. E & A decided to get another kitty, in the hopes that kitty #2 would be the kittypal of the Boog, and not just a midday snack for him. The new kitty, whose name is Zoe, is by all accounts incredibly adorable, but she frightens the Boog, and this makes me a little sad on his account. So Mean Kitty is for him. Buck up, little Boog! And I promise I won't pay more attention to Zoe than to you when I visit in December!
Thursday, October 12, 2000 11:03 p.m.

General Cinemas Files for Bankruptcy
This was a division of Harcourt General, the parent company of my former company (got that?). That's the only reason it's of interest to me. I left the company, and little over a month later, bankruptcy papers are being filed. I'm not saying correlation is causation, here, but you know, things happen.
Thursday, October 12, 2000 11:02 p.m.

Loser's Lounge Tribute to the Kinks
So, we know about the Kinks, but what the hell is the Loser's Lounge? So glad you asked. According to the official Losers' Lounge website, the Lounge was formed in 1993 by Nick Danger and Joe McGinty as a tribute thing; "an evening sing-along series at NYC's Pink Pony. They invited between-gig divas and drop-of-a-hat metro rockers to croon Bacharach, belt Elvis, and harmonize the Partridge Family, in arrangements far different than the originals."

Past performers have included Cyndi Lauper, Debbie Harry, Martha Wainwright, Bob Mould, Vitamin C (?!), and They Might Be Giants. (Check the lovely archive for set lists of past shows, kids!) Most recently, (as in last week) the Loser's Lounge tipped their hats to the Kinks, in what sounds like a fantastic bunch of evenings of booze & singing.

The Lounge is now such a popular event that they've had to move to a larger venue, and they've released what looks like a brilliant best-of album, which is also available as an 8-track. And yes, this one's for Kathleen.
Wednesday, October 11, 2000 10:22 p.m.

The Supreme Coolness of My Dad

You read it here first, folks. My Dad is way, way cool. You want proof, you say? But of course.

Bit of Proof #1: The other day, I was telling him all about this Julie London album cover, and after I finished describing how she's swimming in furs and cash and diamonds, he says, "Well, now we know Li'l Kim's look didn't come from nowhere." My Dad's musical taste is broad, but mostly in a singer-songwriter-y kind of way. Give him the latest Lucinda Williams, or a reissue of an old Gram Parsons album, and he's a happy guy. And yet he comes up with this gem of hip-hop knowledge! It makes me wonder - does he secretly listen to the local Bangin' Hip-Hop and R&B station when he's alone in the car? Maybe he does. In any case, he's wicked cool. More proof, you say? Fine, twist my rubber arm.

Bit of Proof #2: Yesterday, Dad sends me an email suggesting that I check out this Julius Schulman exhibit of architectural photography. He writes, "I thought you could see Julie London ensconced in one of these airy villas." He is so correct. Rock on, Dad! Surely, you don't require more proof than that. Res ipsa loquitur, baby: my Dad rules.

Naturally, acquisitive creature that I am, I want to buy every single one of the photos in the Schulman exhibit, but I'll subject you to just a few of my favourites, and then say, out with you - go check it out for yourself!

I want to throw a party at this house. Wearing this turquoise dress. Serving drinks with tiny, multicoloured umbrellas.

I wonder if the set designer & cinematographer for The Limey used Shulman's photos as a reference or inspiration. That film captures the feel of some of these photographs so beautifully, and then injects them with a faded-glory kind of seediness. It's such a powerful combination.

This is a parking garage in San Diego. Who knew a parking structure could be so sensuous?

Holy Cow! It's McConnell Hall at Pitzer College! I ate many craptacular meals here a few summers ago. And let me tell you, that building never looked so good in real life.
Wednesday, October 11, 2000 05:28 p.m.

hi, she's rug
My latest diaryland love is rug. I like how she's honest about the stuff of her life, and I like that she does it in isolation from the World of Online Journalling. I love the WoOJ, of course, but rug is totally self-centred, in the very best way. Read about her disastrous affair with a graphic designer, her sometimes good, sometimes crummy relationship with live-in paramour Henry, and her ongoing self-image issues! Plus, her "curl up and read me for a while" design is cozy and welcoming, with little images of pretty & un-cheezy hooked rugs all over the place. Geddit? Rugs, for rug? The fact that the visual joke works and isn't at all annoying is proof positive of the wonder & glory of squibnocket's Diaryland Beautification Project. Check it out for more lovely design goodness.
Wednesday, October 11, 2000 05:26 p.m.

My Latest Blog-Crush
lapels & lollypops, how do I love thee? Let me count the ways: you are witty without affectation. Your blog title strikes the right balance of sauciness and self-awareness. In short, you're my new bookmark. Via Blue Lines - now featuring 100% compatibility!
Wednesday, October 11, 2000 05:26 p.m.

The Unofficial History of Dr. Who's Scarf
A little trip down kerplink's memory lane: I used to watch this show every week. I wanted a Tardis of my own. And I used to be able to do a mean Dalek impression. There was a boy in my elementary school who dressed up like this Dr. Who for Halloween one year. He always got picked on terribly, for nose-picking and actual glue-eating, and to be honest, was quite annoying, but I always thought that was a cool Halloween costume. There's a knitting pattern posted here, as well, so I could make a Dr. Who scarf of my own, but the colours that looked good on Tom Baker would make me look like death warmed over. So, maybe not. Via bird on a wire.
Wednesday, October 11, 2000 08:37 a.m.

Helga's Revenge
And how sweet it is. I found this excellently macabre tale of Helga's vengeance on the odious, Stepford Wife-like Debbies via my new favourite site about books, Stomp Of Approval. I so clearly need to start an Amazon wish list, if only to have a master list of all the stuff I want.
Tuesday, October 10, 2000 08:18 a.m.

Awwww. And, Huh?
Travis-loving girls, grab your hankies. Fran Healy's getting hitched. But what's this? Apparently, he proposed to the lovely Nora at the Hoover Dam. Yes, you read that right. Hoover Dam. Now, the dam is a great triumph of engineering, to be sure, but it doesn't really make my thoughts turn to matrimony. Then again, maybe Fran & Nora have a thing for hydroelectric power and concrete. Who am I to judge? And when has that ever stopped me before?
Tuesday, October 10, 2000 08:17 a.m.

wah wah wah
Feeling cranky? Get on down to kvetch.com - it'll cure what ails ya. Or at least, you'll have fun playing with the randomizer knob.
Tuesday, October 10, 2000 08:16 a.m.

Ed Recap
I didn't get to watch Ed last night, because my damn cable hookup won't be ready til next Wednesday. Not that I'm bitter. Good thing Brad F'n Pitt is recapping this show, huh? He's the speediest recapper in MBTV history, I think - the series premiere was Sunday night, and the recap went live on Monday afternoon. That's got to be some kind of record.
Monday, October 9, 2000 09:13 p.m.

Behold, Comedic Gold!
So, last week Uber.nu published two short essays all about rejection, by one Josh Gronsbell. This Gronsbell fellow has something to do with Nibblebox, a purveyor of fine internet entertainment goods. Among these goods is Sorority Crime Fighters, which is nearly too funny to be believed.

So far, there are three episodes featuring these non-traditional vigilantes of social life, and I think they're only going to get better. The film-making mentor of SCF, whose new episodes go live every Tuesday evening, is none other than Peyton Reed, who directed the Best Movie Ever, Bring It On. If that's not a humor pedigree goldmine, I don't know what is. Well, maybe Amy Heckerling would be better. But after the lameness that was Loser, I'm not so sure. Sorry, sorry, off track for a minute. Go watch the SCF! They rule!
Monday, October 9, 2000 10:02 a.m.

Clock Strikes Thirteen...
...is a band from Philly. They play an enthralling type of dreamy pop that sucks you in with its lovely goodness. I'm glad to see that Splendid Ezine takes a similar view of CST in their At-A-Glance review of the band's debut album. Aww. I'm chock full of hometown pride.

The actual band site is quite lovely, too. In addition to his musical talents, Benjamin Xavier Kim has some good design skills. I wish he'd re-launch his personal site so I could link to that, too. Hint, hint, Ben.

Sadly, the mad indexer of John Peel's Radio 1 show hasn't updated since March, but he does make reference to the times when Mr. Peel played CST, as well as everything else he played that month, which can be found here. At this time, I will withhold all snarky comments on the sad anorak boy-ness of the anonymous mad indexer(s?).
Monday, October 9, 2000 09:51 a.m.