Robert Liguori
[Recent Entries][Archive][Friends][User Info]
Below are the 20 most recent journal entries recorded in the "Robert Liguori" journal:[<< Previous 20 entries]
|
05:07 pm
[Link] |
*sigh* I am special.
Being me means that when I hear the Skittles 'Taste the Rainbow' slogan repeated, I immediately make a joke about synesthesia.
Being me also means needing to have it explained to me why this got a round of blank looks all around.
Being me, in this case, also ended up meaning giving a two-minute presentation on synesthesia and its more common forms, including visual aid, to explain an offhand joke.
I need less obscure factoids, or at least more knowledge of obscure the factoids I reference actually are.
|
|
06:42 pm
[Link] |
Culinary Kitchen Mishap #6241
So, I recently purchased a six-pack of Blue Moon Pumpkin Ale, as it was cheap and I generally like the taste of pumpkin ale. This, as it turn out, proved to be a mistake, because this particular batch of ale was far too bitter and underspiced for my preferences.
So, never being one to balk at edible experimentation, and not wanting five-sixths of the bottles to go to waste, I decided to experiment on one. I added a bit of cinnamon and nutmeg and a hint of cocoa-chile powder that gave it a lovely kick, but it was still too bitter. So I added a packet of artifical sweetener.
What happens, you ask, when you add superfine powder (which is to say, oodles and oodles of nucleation sites) to a highly-carbonated beverage? Bad things. Specifically, the beer immediately overflowed the bottle and started pouring down my hand.
Now, had I kept my head, this would have been an easily-recoverable situation; I could have walked the overflowing beer bottle to the sink, let it finish erupting, wipe down the counter and floor, and chalked it up to not mixing physics and alcohol.
As you can probably guess, I did not in fact do this. Instead, I panicked, attempted to plug the neck of the beer bottle with my thumb, and almost succeeded. The almost is the crucial part here. Instead of impeding the erupting beer, I put what amounted to a high-velocity spray nozzle onto it.
The good news is that beer cleans off of ceilings quite well if you get at it right away.
Also, the 15% or so of the beer that was left in the bottle was actually quite tasty.
|
|
10:29 am
[Link] |
The Mall of Cthulhu: A short review, and a lot of Death of the Author.
This is an amusing book. It is interesting for me primarily from a sociological point of view. This isn't to say it's not an interesting and gripping book; it's just that I'm strange like that.
( Read more... )
|
06:56 am
[Link] |
Books I Read: The Mall of Cthulhu
I am reading The Mall of Cthulhu, by Seamus Cooper. It is another entry in the Modern Mythos genre, and is, so far, interesting to read. The author nails the jargon and patter of nerdy 20-something recent college grads perfectly, and while there is not terribly much so far in the book that has not already been thematically explored in great depth in other works, the whole is very entertaining to step through.
More review to come when I finish the book.
|
|
08:24 am
[Link] |
I saw Gamer. Don't make my mistake.
So, as the title of this post indicates, I saw the movie Gamer this weekend. It was hardcore, unending, full-intensity fail, from opening to closing credits. There were literally no segments in this movie that were even remotely worthwhile. At its best, it manages to tiredly walk through a few very old, very tired cliches, and only get them mostly wrong. At its worst...
I'm at a lack for words here. What I want to write is "At it's worst, it was like Gamer." This movie has redefined badwrongfailure for me.
So, in what ways did this movie fail specifically?
( Read more... )
|
|
12:13 pm
[Link] |
Facebook?
I have just signed up for Facebook.
I currently have no idea what it is supposed to be used for.
I shall investigate.
|
|
01:01 pm
[Link] |
My first experience with the SCA.
I attended my first ever SCA event yet yesterday, called Flight of the Falcon. It is, as far as I can tell, a quasi-Invisifest of SCA events. (For those people who weren't in VTSFFC, this is to say it was a one day event with multiple small tracks, meant to give people a wide overview of the many things that happen in the organization).
Several of the things presented at the SCA definitely piqued my interest. Heavy-weapon fighting does not look like it would be my thing, but light-weapon fighting seems like it might be. There were also several crafty people producing many different period items, most of which were of surpassing quality.
I also managed to participate directly in a few things. The few contra dances Crimson took me to enabled me to dance in good stead, or at least stumble into fewer people than I would have otherwise.
My nascent attempt to learn a few period tunes paid off extremely well; in the music track, there was a lot of recorder action, which goes perfectly well with the D pennywhistle I brought. Eventually, the guy running the track pulled out some sheet music and I got to sight-read along with him. I also played along to a two-person drum circle to an improvised performance by a pair of belly dancers, which was also very cool, if slightly distracting. Obviously I need to learn more minor-key period music, so if the opportunity comes up again, I'm not distracting myself.
So, in summary: the local SCA seems to be cool and interesting. I will definitely be going back.
|
|
07:35 am
[Link] | OK. So, they put Jon Stewart on Crossfire, and he called Carlson on his shit, gloriously and epically. And it was awesome. And even more awesome, enough people watched, and laughed, and then thought "Hmm. Jon has a point there.", that Crossfire got canned.
That, however, was the warm-up. You know Betsy McCaughey? She is one of the people who has been responsible for a great deal of the current arguments against the proposed health care reform stuffs. Specifically, she's responsible for the Death Panel nonsense, as well as more than a few of some of the other really WTH? claims.
So, Betsy McCaughey decided to appear as a guest on the Daily Show, to talk about what the proposed bill was saying to her. This was her fatal mistake. Because it turns out that what the bill was saying to her wasn't what it was saying to anyone else vaguely conversant in the English language, or at least anyone so conversant who did, say, turn out to be a director of a corporation that has a financial stake in a lack of healthcare reform. And it turns out that if you want to get up in front of someone, read from a bill, and claim the bill says something it doesn't, you really shouldn't have that person be Jon Stewart.
Anyway, Betsy needs a new job now, having resigned from her directorship immediately following her disastrous interview.
Artists? I have artists in my readership? I really want to commission a picture of Stewart in full plate mail, bearing a sword inscribed with the words "Lux Veritas", surrounded by artistically-dismembered monsters.
|
|
08:44 pm
[Link] |
Personal metrics.
I am, as is immediately obvious to anyone reading this journal, atypical in many ways. It thereby follows that the standards to which I judge myself are likewise atypical. I am happy, because I have just achieved a personal metric that I've been striving for; specifically, I have reached the point where, when floating on my back in a pool, I need to maintain motion in order to remain afloat. I've been trying to make an effort to more regularly exercise and have started engaging in annoyingly tight portion control; it appears to be having an effect.
I have also contacted a local SCA meetup group. My previous attempt to find fandom in Charlotte with which I shared common interests and in whose company I was interested failed; sadly, the stereotypes about RPGers are depressingly rooted in fact at times. Hopefully, this will turn out with less random racism.
|
|
09:49 pm
[Link] | As mentioned earlier, I recently finished Gardens of the Moon, by Steven Erikson. Here are some ways it failed to impress me.
( Read more... )
|
|
08:07 pm
[Link] |
Bills.
It is the first of the month, and a round of payments to my various service providers were just made, both in check and electronically. I note, with some amusement, that while certain portions of my job are tedious, it is handy to need to have memorized that the routing number for Suntrust is 053100465, for instance.
It is also interesting to note the change in my psychology and my personal attitude towards bills since becoming a homeowner. I'm no longer making a monthly payment to keep living in the place I'm in, I'm buying equity in my house. I'm not just paying an electric bill, I'm paying for the electricity I choose to use, and I can modify that bill by changing light bulbs, installing new windows or insulating drapes, or whatever else I want to do. I'm not just paying dues to the Homeowner's Association, I'm...damn. Actually, I am just paying dues to the Homeowner's Association. Joy-killing bastards, all of them, with their silly and unnecessary bylaws about ten-foot fluorescent pink totem poles on my front lawn. Bah. One day...
I am liking my new house. I did not fall head-over-heels in love with it when I first walked in, but I did like the look and feel of it, and still do. There are a few flaws and improvement areas (there is a half-centimeter gap between the range and the counter-top into which things can spill, hanging up drapes is needlessly complicated due to very tough studs, and not quite enough closet space), but all of these are solvable problems, and I intend to solve them.
I hope everyone who is attending Anthrocon is enjoying the pre-con festivities, and I hope that everyone who is staffing Anthrocon is suffering in the manner and to the extent that they chose. (This might sound callous to some; specifically, those who haven't staffed conventions. Staffing a convention, especially one the size of Anthrocon, necessitates suffering; wishing people not to suffer would both be impossible and, for many, defeat part of the purpose of staffing.)
On the recommendation of miscellaneous people, I have read the first book of the Malazan Books of the Fallen. It was...unimpressive. My specific gripes (and grudging pointing-out of the bits I did like) to come later.
|
|
07:27 pm
[Link] |
Robert fails at drapes.
So, my attempt to install drywall anchors went not so well. My leftmost anchor is in slightly crooked, and I discovered that when installing inch-and-a-half deep anchors, it's important to check for studs for the full depth of the anchor. The end result is that I have an inch-deep hole in the drywall butting up against wood.
The two options I see at this point are try to install a metal drywall anchor and hope that both catches in the drywall properly and penetrates the wood, or to remove the left, crooked anchor, fill and repair the holes, and try again, shifting the position of the anchors up or over an inch.
If anyone is very familiar with installing curtains and/or drywall anchors, please feel free to chime in with advice.
|
04:36 pm
[Link] |
Home improvment, vol. 1 (Drapes)
So, now that I am a homeowner and no longer renting, I am now personally responsible for the upkeep, maintenance, and improvement of my domicile. The first thing that I am setting out to do is to put up drapes, because while I personally don't much care if I neighbors espy me wandering from shower to closet, I'm guessing the neighbors themselves might.
For the master bedroom, I've decided on purple drapes, to go with the purple mat I have down.
Need to go buy a power drill to let me put drywall anchors in.
Home ownership and improvement are expensive.
|
|
07:50 pm
[Link] |
House (again).
I can has have Internet successfully hooked up at the new place. It feels homey already.
Also, addendum and correction to my previous entry: Thanks very much to my helper[b]s[/b], JP, Michael, and my parents.
|
|
05:44 pm
[Link] |
I have a house.
I closed on my townhome today. (Mostly. Sort of. Friggin' incompetent lending agency. Need to go in tomorrow to sign amended paperwork.) But I paid my down payment and closing costs, have the keys, and am mostly moved in. Am now moving my computer. If all goes according to plan, will have internet access hooked up tomorrow evening.
Whoo. Thanks to my helper. Very tired now. Will be more entertaining later.
|
|
07:43 am
[Link] |
"Oh, yeah, it's Memorial Day." *removes pants*
One of the not-enjoyed-enough little pleasures in life is the moment of sudden realization that you're not obligated to do something that you thought you were obligated to do. Just had one of those as I was dressing for work this morning.
Pants probably will be involved at some point today, but not my work pants.
|
|
05:02 pm
[Link] |
House. (Well, townhome.)
So I'm buying a townhome.
I'd been looking on and off (mostly off) at property near where I am for the past several months, and had been roundly unimpressed. Everything near me was either expensive, not a place I wanted to live, or both.
A few weeks ago, I did finally manage to find a place that was both not expensive and nice, and in a location that would suit my needs, put down an earnest payment and an offer, and had it accepted shortly after.
Am now getting my mortgage straightened out; it now looks like I will be closing on the townhome on the 8th.
I'm actually fairly excited; I've been meaning to transition from renter to property-owner (or loan-backed equivalent thereof) for some time, but am glad that I did wait until I found a place (and a cost) with which I was happy. Am also quite happy with my realtor and lender so far.
For my readers who have never done such before: There is paperwork. Ye mighty gods and celestial bureaucrats, there is a lot of paperwork. And money. But the end product will be worth it.
|
|
04:04 pm
[Link] |
I've written D&D fiction. I've written Superhero fiction. Now...
( Read more... )
|
|
07:01 pm
[Link] | Finished John Dies At The End. It continued entertaining, although it slowed down considerably after the first act.
It has also cemented an idea in my head about fantastic and Lovecraftian horror. Namely; that the entire concept of formless, nameless terrors lurking in the dark corners of the world, utterly beyond our understanding, is flawed. By the mere virtue of the fact that we can tell stories about them, we can give them names and forms; by telling those stories, we can subject them to analysis and comparison.
And that's where Lovecraftian horror starts to give way; at some point, some character should start pointing out that
A:) At certain times, horrible things appear.
B:) These horrible things have appearances that are composed of semi-recognizable parts blended into a melange deliberately shaped into unrecognizably.
C:) Said things will engage in behavior precisely calculated to be abhorrent to the cultural standards of the onlookers, and never menacingly flub snarfs from orbit, for instance.
D:) Fuck it, burn everything.
When horrible disjoint abominations that break biology and physics appear, this is a paradigm-shifting event. When they keep appearing, when you can catalog and compare star-spawn and deep-ones and nightwings and Yithians and Shan and Mi-go, then you really shouldn't be operating under the assumption that biology and physics work as described in the textbooks, and probably start off in D mode as described above.
|
02:02 pm
[Link] |
Currently reading:
I am currently reading John Dies At The End, by David Wong. I am amused.
John Dies At The End is, in a single word, neo-Lovecraftian, pulling several of the existing and deeply-worn tropes into new and interesting shapes. The traditional flavors of horror are all there, but with a well-stirred-in streak of new and nontraditional horror, and a healthy awareness of how modern are likely to behave when confronted with things beyond imaginging.
Specifically, John Dies At The End features a band of protagonists who decide, about a tenth of the way through the book, "Fuck it. Set everything on fire."
I am enjoying</> this.
|
[<< Previous 20 entries] |