Campfyre Stories

When I told people I was  having a geektastic weekend, they replied with a disappointed, pitying "Aww…"

When I told them what it entailed, their eyes lit up and they leaned in to hear me.

It started on Friday with Iron Man, which was so good that I really wanted to go, get in line and buy two more tickets for Spawn and me.  I want to see it again.  I wanted to see it again immediately after it was over.  I’m a Batman girl.  I’m a DC girl.  And I still say that this was the best superhero movie yet.  Dark Knight, you have a lot to live up to.

Spawn and I were up late, talking about the movie, talking about upcoming Marvel movies, talking about the last scene (the one after the credits) and generally not being able to sleep.

Saturday was Free Comic Book Day, and Princess, Mike the Viking and I went to two local shops.  In addition to the free comics, I also bought an Iron Man graphic novel and a neat looking card game with stick-figure violence.

I had a break for a family dinner, then headed off to a Wii party.

If all that weren’t geektastic enough, I spent Sunday avoiding my chores (although in true Virgo fashion, I did make a list of everything that needs to be done before Thursday night and wrote a schedule for it all) by way of God of War.

So pity me not, my friends, I embrace the "geek" label on many different fronts and as long as it keeps me moving and is great fun, I see no reason to change it

… I really like football.  However (and I feel the same way about every sport), I don’t care at all about specific teams or players, so I have absolutely no investment in the outcome of the games.  But I like to watch, and I can appreciate a really good play.

If I had to rank them, it would probably go hockey > football > basketball.  The Olympics are something else entirely and I put them in a different category than the sports that are more repetitively cyclical.

So, I got invited to a Superbowl party.  Which is really cool, because I’ve never actually been invited to a Superbowl party before!  (I have also never been invited to an Oscars party, but I don’t think that will happen this year.)  Usually it’s just me and the kid, sometimes one or both of my brothers come over, but I tend to watch the football and the boy tends to watch the commercials.  Either way, we both enjoy ourselves and get some entertainment value from it.

I get to bring the vegetarian food, so I have two simple and yummy finger foods that I can make and bring.  One will appeal to the vegetarians, the other may even appeal to the whole group, which would be a very cool thing.  I like when people let me bring food to their parties, so much more than dealing with the food for my own parties.  Even Spawn is interested in the newly-found, never attempted, wide-appeal recipe and that really says something, since he’s incredibly picky.

So you won’t see anything from me rooting for or against either team because, really, except for the preferences of my friends (who are pretty equally divided between the Pats and the Giants), I don’t care who wins.  I’m just looking to watch a GOOD game.

And maybe reap some appreciation for my l33t kitchen skillz.

…a free one month trial subscription to Netflix?  3 at-a-time, unlimited discs, after the first month (if you don’t cancel) it’s $16.99 + tax.

If you’re interested, let me know, I have 4 trials available. 

So, I’m a member of a website called Streetwise, which creates crews to promote movies, games, music and various other products.

I am not being enticed to make this post by them. 

We are assigned tasked based on the street crew that we’re on, which can include posting a banner (like the one at the bottom of my blog) or taking pictures of people with the swag (stickers, posters, buttons, and other weird things) that they send us.

It’s pretty cool because they do give you free stuff related to the thing that you’re promoting.

So, my point…  Right now I have joined the crew for the new movie that’s coming out, The Invasion, which is a remake of the movie Invasion of the Body Snatchers (which is a remake of the movie Invasion of the Body Snatchers - heh).  If you’re interested in this, let me know and I can send you an invite directly to the team, which will automatically make you a member of Streetwise.  That said, I don’t want to just spam my friends and family about this if they’re not interested, so from my perspective, you can opt-in.

Or, if you’re not interested in this movie, but you’re interested in the concept, you can still join Streetwise and wait for something that interests you.

Again, I do not get any rewards for this.  I am offering you the chance to get in on the ground floor with things you probably already enjoy and to get free stuff related to movies, video games, music, etc.  I have often gotten advance information about upcoming things that interest me and I like being one of the first to know.

For the past couple of years I’ve been wondering how long it will be before cultural fads lead us to something that most people never think of…

Multi-colored hair, colors that do not exist in nature has become mostly acceptable.  Sure, there are some people who aren’t comfortable with it, but overall people don’t seem to mind.  Visible tattoos are becoming more and more accepted and acceptable, even among more mainstream folks.  Fake tans, while often mocked behind the backs of those sporting them, have been acceptable on and off - it depends on the quality and extremity of the tan.

So I want to know how long it will be before people start dying their skin colors that do not exist in nature.  First off, this seems like a very 21st-century kind of thing, since all the best B-grade science fiction movies show people of ALL different colors in nightclubs.  I honestly believe that we’re not too far away from it ourselves.

I’m waiting for the day when people color their skin, just for a night, but I can easily see people doing it on a longer-term basis at some point in time.  What better way to differentiate yourself from the masses, than to be a completely different color, or better yet pattern of colors.  This makes more and more sense as an impending fad the more I think about how skimpy the clubbing outfits often are.

I figure it’ll start with a trend of body paint and move on to dyes. 

Then again, maybe I’m just a little too immersed in science fiction…

…so part of me was really looking forward to today.

However, as it progressed, I became more and more disheartened in the day itself.  My interview was cancelled and, despite sending out more resumes than I remembered to count, all I got in return was an out of office reply :-/  Meh.  Blah.

But, then I started a new blog, which needs a better template for sure, and maybe some more links (suggestions are appreciated) and, since it’s a pop culture blog, I decided that I needed to go see a movie to review.  My brother, RC2 couldn’t join me, so I ventured out on my own, which I generally don’t like, but, for the review blog, I can do it.

And everything changed. 

I have a bit of a crush on the Greek (heritage) boy who works at the local cafe, but I don’t see him there very often.  Being as shy as I am with new people (shut up, I really AM shy with new people), I never actually got up the guts to introduce myself, but in my natural flirtatious state, he and I got to talking.  He’s a musician, too…  not only that, but an acoustic guitar, folky singer/songwriter who lives right around the corner from me.  Well,  a couple of days ago, I got re-motivated to pick up the guitar again, and, upon sitting down, wrote a new song.  I’m still pretty burnt out on playing by myself at the same place and, frankly, I had been feeling stagnant for a while, I also need to find some new bases of support as the old ones aren’t really there much anymore.

So I gave him my number…  and my name…  and got his name.  *blush*  He’s really very cute and I totally crush him, but I want this to be about the music…  even if he’s pretty…  maybe he can inspire me (and I mean that without ANY undertones - I need a new source of inspiration).  I hope he calls.  And, no, I know what you’re thinking, and while I may be thinking it too, I’m not putting that particular cliche into words…  yet.

Anyway, saw an excellent movie and wrote what I feel to be a good review to launch the Firing Range (even if it does need more work). 

My day got much better, and I’m feeling a little more lucky right about now.

Have you seen the M. Night Shyamalan AmEx commercial?  I do that all the time.  I don’t know that words could ever convey it as well as that commercial does, but that’s exactly what happens to me when I let my mind wander.

It was the black van with no windows.  It was the four pregnant women - all on the same bus - none of whom wore maternity clothes.  It was the exceptionally large woman and the child-sized clone who followed her around.  It was the movement of the cars as they went over the bumps.

Everything turned into a mystery, a part of a story that will never have an ending.  Every moment, every person, every sound and movement and minutiae was a part of a bigger daydream that was haunting and eerie and grounding all at the same time.

I’m not a really big fan of Shyamalan’s work - I enjoy it, but it’s never the type of thing I can see more than once, but that commercial…  I really know that.  I understand it better than I could ever put into words.  Thank goodness someone put it into another form that others can maybe understand, too.

I am a member of a thing called Streetwise.  Basically, it’s a company that recruits regular people to help to market movies, music, games, products, etc.  I joined because they were looking for team members for the City of Villains team, while I was beta testing the game.

It’s a pretty sweet gig, and I often get some pretty cool swag from it.  Right now I’m on the teams for Monster House and for the DMB Summer Tour.  You can get to ticket purchasing using the link on this page or play a pretty lame basketball (HORSE) Monster House-themed game.

Not that I need anyone to click on the links, but a couple of people have asked me why those things are at the bottom of the page, and more than anything, I wanted to give y’all a chance to join Streetwise and have input into what sorts of promotional materials are put out for various pop culture things.  I don’t get any rewards or incentives for getting others to sign up for Streetwise, so it’s not something I need you to do, it’s just a cool thing that I decided to share.

No, that’s not true, they didn’t really, but on the very off-chance that Andy does stumble across this, I want him to know that I am not one for empty threats or empty promises

I didn’t know I wasn’t allowed out back until much later, not that it would have stopped me.  Even had I known earlier I still would have found a way, it was a whim, not something integral to my plans.

I went by myself with the intention of hanging out with the band that I have come to respect and adore.  I hadn’t heard of the other two bands before, but I went with an open mind looking forward to the concert as a whole.  I wandered around for a bit before the concert started and chatted up the merch guy.  What can I say, it got me some free stickers, which is always a very cool thing.  I found a spot near enough to see and hear well for the first band, who I had never heard of, The Lashes, from Seattle.  They were good and I enjoyed hearing them, so when I saw them standing outside, I picked up and went out back to chat up the band (sans Ben, the lead singer, who was busy signing autographs).  Nice guys, all.  I figure it’s always a good idea to befriend whatever bands are playing, especially if you’re trying to get in with another.  Of course, I must have made an impression later when I finally did meet Ben, explaining that we missed each other before as he was "off whoring himself to the fans".  heh.

OK Go was up next and pardon me for repeating myself, but they give good show.  These guys are most excellent performers and they seem to really bask in being rockstars.  They really perform to the audience and play off the crowd.  I doubt anyone would have known that Damian was under the weather had he not told us at the beginning of their set.  They’re just a fun band to watch and, when the people in the crowd get over themselves enough to get into the music, it’s an excellent experience.  I didn’t immediately accost them, but I did make my way outside again to chat with Damian about the guy he recommended to me three days before.  They were spirited inside to sign autographs, so I went inside, but took my time heading over to the table where they stood.  It was then that I pitched my…  a-HEM…  inspiring idea, but Damian was sick and Dan doesn’t do that, so it was up to Tim who was unlikely, and Andy…  although I guess inspiration is not something often offered to these guys…  I surprised them.

Next up was She Wants Revenge.  Again, a band I had not heard before.  They were good, but not really my thing.  They’re a little more gothy or emo than I tend to like, but I still enjoyed the show.  Right as they started I ran into a couple of friends who I hadn’t seen in probably a year or more, so I went out back (this was my third time) to catch a signal so i could send a text message about running into these two, and that’s when I got busted.  "Miss, we need you to come inside, only the bands are allowed out here."

*sigh*  After heading outside to accost the bands twice already, I get busted for sending an unrelated text message.  However, since I am, in fact, a reasonable person, I went inside, was properly repentant and didn’t get thrown out of the club (unlike a couple of girls who were giddy and reckless and, I have a feeling were trying to get thrown out.  Before the end of the show, they were successful.)

Once the show was over, I stuck around to find out what was going on.  I was still hoping that Andy would take me up on my offer, but he wasn’t really to be found at that point.  I did have a chance to chat with Tim for a while, who is a very cool, very sweet guy and, while I find that Damian is one of the nicest, most polite people I’ve encountered (what little encounter I’ve had), the poor guy really was sick and pretty much just kept to himself. 

The lead singer from She Wants Revenge, Justin, came and introduced himself to me, which was cool.  He was a nice guy to chat with.  For all my girls who’ve shared in this conversation, you all would have been duly impressed with the sheer number of men in dress hats.  I made a point to express my approval and our various conversations on the subject with all of them.

I finally tracked down the last man, Andy, at the very end of the night.  They weren’t expecting it, so they weren’t really up for it.  *sigh* for bad timing on small things.  So I chatted him up for a while and he hugged me as a consolation prize which was a little odd, but who am I to refuse any hug from any source?  The thing is that these guys - all of them, from all three bands, are just good guys.  Really nice guys.  These are the type of people I want to hang out with.  I choose my friends carefully and the qualities that I look for are exhibited in these other folks, who happen to have some measure of fame and celebrity.  I don’t track them down or engage them in conversation to say "Neener neener I met a rock star" I do it because I believe that spending time with these people will enrich my life or my night somehow.

And, of course, it gets me that much closer to my goal of wanting to know everyone.

So there I was reading the Ok Go website, checking to see when they’re coming to the area because I want to see them live, when I discovered they are playing Tulip Fest, which means free!  First off, OK Go is probably best known for their viral video of "A Million Ways".  If you haven’t seen it yet (and, chances are, you have) check it out now so you know kind of what I’m talking about.

So I was looking at the Tulip Fest website to see what other bands are playing and O!  M!  G!  They Might Be Giants is going to be there.  I wasn’t even sure they were still together, let alone performing.  Now I’m trying to figure out if I can get them to play Shoehorn with Teeth, since I’m pretty sure their set list will already include Birdhouse in Your Soul.  Both bands are playing on Saturday.  OK Go starts at 2:30 and TMBG follow around 4.  I always make Tulip Fest a priority and make it down for one day, but this year we’re going to have to make a point for Saturday, since Spawn is also a huge fan of TMBG (and will be hoping for Whistling in the Dark).

And here I was planning to hit Northern Lights a couple of days later so I could see OK Go live… 

Oh man, anyone in the Capital District, or from the Capitial District, or familiar with the Capital District (Dawn), I *highly* recommend going to the TMBG site and clicking the "Albany" link.  That was strange and funny and I love these guys.