Everyone comes to the Freak Show, to laugh at the Freaks and the Geeks

Just a quick note: I know I haven't been that active or responsive, lately. You know what moving is like, your world becomes boxes and schlepping for a while. Add that to being at the ranch half the time, and I feel like I'm slipping. So, just sayin'. I do read and keep up, I just haven't had as much to say that the moment.

Speaking of keeping up...still waiting on a certain phone call...

Speaking of phone calls, I talked to dravengodvamp, who says he plans on being back up here around the end of September, which kicks ass. He also tells me that he may have a job at a local tat shop...which turns out to be the place Di and I got our wedding tats, so that's cool.

Speaking of guys from Texas, I talked to caliban yesterday, as well. Funny thing, I had meant to call both of those guys, yesterday, and they both ended up calling me. Anyway, we talked for a while, caught up, and started making tentative plans for the Lovecraft Festival this year.

Speaking of Lovecraft...had very disturbing dreams last night. But not in the ways you'd think. This is ME, after all.

Speaking of me, I know I haven't been that active or responsive, lately. You know what moving is like, your world becomes boxes and schlepping for a while. Add that to being at the ranch half the time, and I feel like I'm slipping. So, just sayin'. I do read and keep up, I just haven't had as much to say that the moment.

Holy fuckin' snikies. Call me what you will, but I seriously want to try this. Yes, live octopus tentacles for dinner. As in live, wriggling-around-on-your-plate, fighting-back-as-you-eat-it, 8-minutes-ago-it-was-healthy-and-happy-in-the-tank baby octopus tentacles. You can read a more detailed account of this culinary experience here.

Hey, as I've said before, I'll try anything thrice. And it's so rare these days that I come across something I haven't already tried, that appears to be actually worth trying.

OK, only two things I'll say about this whole "war mom outside Bush's ranch, wants to talk to him thing":

1. No one else gets to see The Paranoid Cowboy without an appointment and a security screening...why does she think she's special? Upset, sure, I understand all that, and I understand why she wants this justification for the event that led to her son's death...but c'mon, it ain't happenin'. No matter how good it would be for his image, it ain't happenin'.

2. With all the things we've seen clips of him saying/flubbing. etc., with his apparent inability to think on his feet, and his tendency to screw up what he's saying under pressure...am I the only one who thinks half the reason he won't speak to her is that he doesn't have a scripted speech and a teleprompter handy? ;)

Lemme tell you something minor that I hate. I hate the term "Collector's Edition". you see it everywhere, these days, constantly. DVDs seem to be the worst about it, but it's by no means limited to them.

Why would this piss me off? Think about it. Going out of your way to mark something as a "collector's edition" implies that there are others that are NOT this special edition. If this is the case, then, fine, this one is special (for whatever reason). Usually, though, there is no other edition...so why the special designation?

And what, exactly, would you expect out of the "collector's edition" of something? With toys/action figures, there are colour or material variants, so the implication is that the casual buyer, someone that just wants a toy, probably wants the main one (normal style), but the collector would enjoy having the odd ones, as well. Makes sense. But, DVDs? You could say this would apply to "director's cuts" of films...except that it seems that, half the time, that's all that is released, or the original is no longer available (such is the case with Blade Runner, for example), making the "normal" one the true "collector's edition".

Besides that, how often have you ever heard of people "collecting rare DVDs"? This isn't like tracking down old vinyl, where they not made anymore. This is an easily-to-reproduce digital format, presently active, and the ones that ARE hard to find don't get marked with any such ridiculous label.

In the end, whattaya got? Just another marketing ploy. Any truth behind the phrase "collector's edition" has been drowned in all the overuse of it where it doesn't belong (like the term 'hero"). You see it so much, you don't even think about it...and thus it gets used more and more by an industry that seeks to control you.

As usual, say what you like, call me petty, or crazy, or whatever...but, before you do, stop and think about the underlying bullshit. I'm just trying to point out something, something YOU can notice and work against, to free yourself.

Well, tried to make an old fave pasta dish for dinner, and fucked it up. There's just something about burnt bacon that pretty much screws the taste of the dish all to Hell. Oh well, better luck next time, I guess.

Slow evening, past that. Loaded more shite in the car, ran it over to the new place, took the opportunity to, um, "christen the new home", and came back. Hey, take what ya can when ya can, right? Tell me you wouldn't do the same. Looking forward to being out of this place. Among many problems, not only is our mouse problem back with a vengeance, but last night I caught a huge rat running across my kitchen. For a moment, I thought Minion had gotten out of her cage, but she was secure. Rats now? Yeah, I'm SO out of here.

Talked to delilahbowie for a bit, which is always fun. Also discovered that the unit right behind our new one is for rent now...MAN, I'd love to get dravengodvamp and purpleflake in there, that would kick major ass.

Di's company picnic is tomorrow, so we'll have Erik and be out in the sun and heat. Some amusement park/group gathering area. Hmm, well, that could go either way. Depends on how my back wants to feel, hands too, since it looks like I may be helping fill out a tug'o'war team...hey, a big 300-pound guy on anchor can't hurt.

Better get a good night's sleep. Be good, ya'll.