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Jun. 24th, 2012 @ 10:08 pm A quick glance at the rules.
Current Mood: contemplative
Tags:
1. I allow anonymous comments because Phil ([info]saratogaphil)always forgets his logon.
If you don't put a sig of some kind (a shared memory, if you need to remain anonymous for any reason, or maybe a nickname I've used in the past), I will delete your comment. Maybe I'll reply. Maybe I won't.
Either way, I won't squeeze out Phil (have you tried her birthday, man?) for anybody.

2. Don't slag each other. Or me, really, unless there's a solid reason. You can, hard as it may be to believe, try to change my mind.
Sometimes, it may even work.

3. WHEN I SAY "I HATE WHITE PEOPLE", I'm KIDDING. What I mean is "I HATE PEOPLE WHO THINK I ACTUALLY HATE WHITE PEOPLE." Sorry, I guess I should have made that clear from Entry #1.

4. In fact, a great DEAL of the time, I am KIDDING. If you can't laugh at my admittedly obsidian sense of humor, then this really isn't a good place for you. The Internet has other sites, however shabby in comparison; there's got to be somewhere better.

5. REPO MAN is the greatest movie ever made. You just needed to know that. You're welcome.
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guthlactus speaks!
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Nov. 21st, 2009 @ 06:20 am My latest mix.
Tags:
This was MY '80s.

The Cars, Dangerous Type
Talking Heads, Life During Wartime
Thompson Twins, You Take Me Up
Pete Townsend, Rough Boys
Tears For Fears, Everybody Wants To Rule The World
The Bears, Fear Is Never Boring
Cheap Trick, Dream Police
Frankie Goes To Hollywood, Born To Run
The Four Tops, Are You Man Enough?
Ned's Atomic Dustbin, Grey Cell Green
New Order, The Perfect Kiss
The Rolling Stones, Miss You
R.E.M., Superman
The Smithereens, Behind The Wall Of Sleep
Queen, I Want It All
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batstarry
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Nov. 9th, 2009 @ 06:40 pm Little ifs.
Current Mood: busy
If you've ever wanted any of the following:
-Bandai Dunbine/Billbine figures
-an unassembled Wing Gundam Zero kit
-a HeroClix phasing Green Lantern
-a HeroClix Wizard Exclusive Hulk in tattered shirt
-a Raghib Ismail autograph card
-a metal/plastic 1979 Kenner Star Destroyer with Blockade Runner
-a vinyl Gundam Epyon action figure
-a set of signed Witchblade trade paperbacks
-a set of Sandman cards
...be in touch.
As mentioned previously, I also have a ton of comics. No, I don't want much.
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batstarry
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Nov. 8th, 2009 @ 08:04 pm Partial inventoryism.
Current Mood: busy
Tags: ,
Daredevil 157, 162, 165-168, 173-182, 185-300, 319, 326-365, 380
Flash (v2) 101-169
JLA (v3 or whatever Morrison's was) 28-49, 115-119
Black Condor 1-12
Blue Beetle 1-24
Booster Gold 1-25
Grimjack 1-80
Captain Atom (DC) 1-57, Annuals 1, 2
Babylon 5 1-11, In Valen's Name mini 1-3
Hitman 1-7, 9-17, 19-46, 50-52
Amazing Spider-Man (v2) 30(2), 32
Authority 1, 2, 4-12, 17-20
Marvel Team-Up (v1) 100, Annuals 3, 4
Blair Witch Project 1
Marvels 0
Planetary 1-14
Stormwatch (v1) 37-50 (2 of #38, all 3 covers for 44)
Stormwatch (v2) 1-11
WildCATs vs Aliens
Legion (v2) 0, 62-74, 76-85, 87-92
Legionnaires 19-31, 33-48
Action Comics 584-642
Superman (v2) 1-23
Adventures of Superman 444
Rising Stars 9-13
Goddess 1-8
Dark Horse Presents 88-91 (Hellboy: The Wolves Of St. August)
Hellboy: The Corpse and The Iron Shoes
Legends of the Dark Knight 0, 21-58, 64-68, 71-77, 79-89, 91-93, Annuals 1,2
Shadow Of The Bat 0, 1-18, 36-47, 50-52, 55-61
Robin (v1) 0, 1-5, 15, 16, 18-22, 25, 26, 29-31, 34, 36, 37
Catwoman (v1) 0, 26, 33-35, 37-40
Nightwing (mini) 1-4
Batman Chronicles 2,3, 5-7
Azrael 13, 14
Detective Annual 1, Green Arrow Annual 1, Question Annual 1 (crossover)
Batman Special (1984) 1
Vengeance of Bane 1 (2nd print), 2
Detective Annual 2
Batman Annual 11, 13, 14
Detective 0
Batman 0
Birds Of Prey 1
Moon Knight (v1) 1-38
Sabretooth mini 1-4
Deadpool (both minis) 1-4
X-Men Unlimited 1
Generation X Underground Special
Gambit 1-4
Askani'son 1-4
X-Men (v2) 1 (all 4 covers), 2, 21-24, 27-35, 38, 39, 42-53
Animal Man (v1) 87-89
Jay & Silent Bob 1-4
Oni Double Feature 12
Swamp Thing 37
Entire (Marvel) crossovers:
Onslaught
Age Of Apocalypse
Phalanx Covenant
Fatal Attractions (X-Factor 92 signed by Quesada)
Legion Quest
Entire (DC) crossovers:
Final Night
Zero Hour
Tales Of The Dead Earth (annuals)
Year One (annuals)
Underworld Unleashed
Elseworlds (annuals)

...and that's not HALF of it.
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batstarry
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Nov. 1st, 2009 @ 08:41 am Hrm.
Current Location: United States, Connecticut, New Haven
Current Mood: cranky
I've been busy. I haven't actually accomplished much of anything, but I HAVE been busy.
Here:
-The sight of a grade-school child in a Rorschach costume makes me want to find Alan Moore and see if he has stopped laughing yet. If he is not laughing, then he should be. Irony with head split open.
-I still randomly sample comic books at Stop & Shop, and all I can say is that this year's DCs and Marvels make Acts Of Vengeance and Invasion look like goddamned GENIUS.
-Need to add a slave drive to my PC. I think I need another cable and a minor miracle.
-My brain is getting smaller.
-Still at the beach, although I've been home on family medical leave for two weeks.
More later or something.
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batstarry
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Sep. 26th, 2009 @ 06:07 am No big announcement.
Current Mood: contemplative
Tags: , ,
Still alive. Very busy, very broke (what are these "bill" things and why do they never CEASE?), still hellbent on smiling.

-I discovered that my 1992 Fender American Standard Jazz Bass has two more frets than any made since. That and my acoustic are the only basses I feel compelled to keep; everything else is getting listed on Craigslist or something. Eventually, I will unretire...and when I do, I will not need a ton of equipment (given the weight of my speaker cab, that is more literal than you might think.)

-I discovered that I get angrier when other people are getting shafted than I do when I'm the guy on the cheap seat. There is a co-worker who is damned lucky he was pulling such nonsense in another station. He's the type to use the words "do you know who I am?", I think...and we all know I hate that. He and I may have words. There will be no fisticuffs, as I refuse to sink to the imbecilic level of discourse that my new hometown is famous for (and my old hometown is infamous for), but given the fact that we have to work together very closely, the air must be cleared and he must know that he is a whore for management who shames our species by his very presence.

-I really haven't done anything noteworthy, but back when I did, there WERE arrests. A fellow Notre Dame alumnus is representing the two perpetrators, even. Also, I framed the letter of commendation. Has my life peaked? Maybe...but what if it HASN'T? What if I have even more awesome adventures yet to come?
That's the only way I can think if I don't want to end up depressed and anxious.

-Erica is having surgery on October 20th, the day after my birthday. I joke about her not forgetting to be timely with my gift, just in case she doesn't make it, but I'm completely goddamned terrified. I always am when she goes to the hospital. Or a concert. Or the mall. Or to her mom's. I know for a fact that she could have probably done much better than me, but if she's dumb enough to stay, I'm smart enough to keep her. I love my wife very much and while living with each other is not always easy, I'd rather that than any alternative.
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batstarry
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Sep. 6th, 2009 @ 12:30 pm Delano stoppin' us now...
Current Mood: busy
Tags:
Anybody want to buy or trade for a whole LOT o' Hellblazer?
I have multiples of certain issues, too.
What do I want?
Terry Pratchett books, Michael Connelly books, screwdrivers (you can't HAVE too many), or something.
I have a ton of X-books and other books, too, so if you've a wantlist, please share.
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Sep. 2nd, 2009 @ 06:56 am Soo...
Jacob has pneumonia. He's six years old. When I had pneumonia, ten years ago this month, I was twenty-eight.
See y'all later.
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batstarry
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Aug. 31st, 2009 @ 06:13 am The Times, now with less editing!
Current Mood: amused
Tags: , ,
"Earning Diva Cred With Storm and Stress
By THE NEW YORK TIMES

Whitney Houston re-emerges with full diva qualifications on “I Look to You.” Plus, new releases from Datarock and Richard Hell & the Voidoids.

A Mother’s Memoir, a Son’s Anguish
By PATRICIA COHEN

The writer Julie Myerson is braced for another round of recriminations about her memoir “The Lost Child: A Mother’s Story,” about her teenage son’s descent into drug addiction.

Books of The Times
A Daughter’s Memoir, a Mother’s Anguish
'Lies My Mother Never Told Me'
By KAYLIE JONES
Reviewed by JANET MASLIN

Kaylie Jones’s memoir is a chance to settle old scores with her mother while further establishing her own literary bona fides."

I don't know whether to giggle because they used the "x Memoir, y Anguish" thing twice in quick succession or because they ran Whitney's header next to the continuing dissemination on "The Lost Child."

Oh, and I am on SemiCation, which is like medication, but with a paycheck. Hit me up if we're doing cheesy fries or something.
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Aug. 27th, 2009 @ 05:18 am So...
Current Mood: busy
...what'd I miss?
SemiCation in t minus ONE DAY. I'll be working lots of half days (mornings only), and staying firmly local (with the exception of meeting one of my work accomplices for lunch or something.)
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batstarry
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Aug. 14th, 2009 @ 06:24 am I live.
Current Mood: busy
Tags: , ,
Beautiful Wife only needs PT, according to her doctor-type creature.

I sat through DADDY DAY CARE, and wondered if this was Miike's revenge on an unaccepting public.

I've been in the pool three times in thirty days. It is too short to swim in, lest I slam into the (allegedly) far wall after three strokes.

I can almost see my desk. Really.

The books are almost unpacked. It is now that I realize exactly how many I lost to that wretched hole in Hamden. And no, I'm not forgetting that little batch of intensely painful lessons. Not ever. I may frame the letter from the foreclosing bank and shadow-box it in with the letter about the failed bankruptcy attempt. It's only been three years. Feels like millions, no?

My father-in-law and I are building shelves for my basses.

I have discovered last.fm, and am abusing it almost daily.

It is recognized that, of all the people my Beautiful Wife and I know, I make one of the best cups of coffee.

I saw GI JOE, and remain unmoved. The toys look great, if you're into that sort of thing, but there will be no Oscars for, say, Channing Tatum (he's not even wooden; he's like some sort of laminated pressboard) or Sienna Miller (I can't even figure out what she thought the character was supposed to be doing.) Ray Park was, however, awesome. I liked him as Toad, too.

Dennis Lehane's SHUTTER ISLAND messed with my head, just a little bit. Let's see what the impending movie does.
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batstarry
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Aug. 6th, 2009 @ 05:41 am It's like I eat the damned things...
Current Mood: busy
Tags:
-There is hubbub, bub, in Geekland over the graphic adaptation of FAHRENHEIT 451...I consider this appropriate, since it's Ray Bradbury AND Tim Hamilton, the artist who brought us THE TROUBLE WITH GIRLS. If you don't know, now you know.
"Bungalow!"

-James Patterson's THE LAKE HOUSE was so awful, I wouldn't even donate it to the library in a town I didn't like.

-John Elder Robison's LOOK ME IN THE EYE is outstanding, amazing, and shockingly relevant to most of my childhood.

-Elmore Leonard's THE HOT KID is an Elmore Leonard book. Seriously.

-This quarter's Fretboard Journal has a bunch of great articles, including one on a guy who buys beat-up guitars at flea markets and restores them to functionality, not collectability. That's my kind of madness, I tell you.

-I'm rereading the last Harry Potter book.
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batstarry
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Jul. 30th, 2009 @ 09:19 pm Shudder and explode.
Current Mood: busy
Tags: , , , ,
-My Beautiful Wife is seeing a spinal specialist tomorrow. Nobody I know does that for recreational purposes. She still HAS a spine, she assures me, and is convinced that if the malady is stress-related, it is all my fault.

-I haven't worked anything less than a nine-and-a-half-hour day since...I am not quite sure when. Maybe the week before last? The check will be great, but the endurance is running thin.

-After a long day like today, I like to unwind by eating at the in-laws'. It's directly across the street, and they always have good food. Not elaborate or exotic food, but always very tasty and very filling. As much as I love Kraft-Mac, this is better.

-If you write a Craigslist ad, and I read it, and you screw up spelling, grammar, or the value of an object (or, really, any little damned thing), expect to hear from me. It's bad enough watching all my Facebook friends pretend to be mobsters, vampires, farmers, or wizards (or some combination thereof)...I cannot and WILL NOT sit back and let imbeciles take away my voyeuristic jollies amongst the "musical instruments for sale" and "musicians" postings.
You were warned, crackers.

-I love the sound of my cheap Ibanez bass' piezo pickups with the tone set for Stun. My boy Al gave it a thorough going-over, and may be shimming the neck soon (the upper register is a little stiff, action-wise.)

-If you live in East Haven or Fair Haven, and you get mail this month, there's about a 1 in 5 chance that I was your mailman. If you don't live in those places, or you don't get mail, forget I said anything.
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batstarry
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Jul. 22nd, 2009 @ 10:37 pm Carrying the mail.
Current Mood: contemplative
Tags:
Work is not quite boring.
It seems that the Wallingford plant, having recently sent some two dozen clerks to STAMFORD because they're alleged to be superfluous, is looking to cut another 107 positions.
Now, if this is what these so-called superiors will do to a very, very important processing operation, I can't wait to see what the new route adjustments look like on a station-by-station basis.
The gall of it for me, as I am a nitpicker, is that they still call my immediate supervisors "customer service supervisors."
They want to close the Westville station, the Trolley Square station in East Haven, and ten more offices across the state.
They want to implement five-day delivery by October 2010.
I can't even call them villainous, as it connotes that they're even thinking, much less concerning themselves with right and wrong.
There's a lot wrong with the postal culture in general, but the impulsive and arbitrary actions of those who would claim the mantle of leadership bullies its way to the top every time.
And bullying is something these people do quite well...not to me, heavens no; I tower over them, and that intimidates most of their hierarchy no end. They go after anyone who'll cower or bellow, goad them into submission or insubordination.
The craft employees, the clerks, handlers, and carriers NEED unions, and need better ones than they're getting. Of course, if you ask the existing stewards, it's all management's fault, down to yesterday's torrential downpour.
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Jul. 16th, 2009 @ 05:36 am Up, date!
Current Mood: busy
Tags: , ,
-Not master cylinder. Front right wheel was just coming off. We don't DO rebellion, wheel. NOW BACK ON THAT AXLE AND PRETEND YOU LIKE IT.
-Lots of OT at work, so maybe buying scalped Counting Crows tickets AND Living Colour tickets is not out of question.
-My mom's hair looks better after a concussion. I am not kidding. She's doing well, sees a doctor today for followup. She hit her head on the grassy part of the back yard, so it didn't break skin (her side is where I get my nigh-invulnerability anyway), and they aren't blue-juicing THIS dog.
-My 91-year-old Beach Girlfriend, Camille, is feeling much better and has stopped talking about dying, so work is much less stressful. Of course, this means they'll fire me today or something...>8)X
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batstarry
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Jul. 14th, 2009 @ 07:13 pm Do you smell smoke?
Current Mood: stressed
Tags: , , ,
My truck may need a new master cylinder (which is expensive, if you don't know car stuff.)

My mother has a concussion (which is why you should never buy a dog less than three feet high at the nape.)

I was reading today's paper, only to see that my favorite music professor (from my brief college experience) died on the 12th.

The pool pump's wiring eludes our finest minds, and the electrician is slow in coming.

I can't afford a garage door technician yet.

I am suffering a psychological block that will not let me unpack anything (or hang pictures, etc.) because I don't know if somebody will need to get in somewhere to wire something or if I should just sell off everything or something like that.

Yay me.
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ansel adams' moon
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Jul. 3rd, 2009 @ 03:18 am It was, it is.
Current Mood: awake
Tags: , ,
Yesterday was Jon's 14th birthday.
What a difference a year makes.
We were both too busy for me to commemmemmemmorate it here, because he spent the day with his brothers and cousins. I worked. A lot. When we met up at the end of the day, it was because everybody came to our house for pizza and cake.
He is getting so big, although he's nowhere near my size at his age.
And yes, I am up at 0320. Today is going to be a long day.
Tomorrow? Explosions and Jell-O.
I would say Happy Birthday to [info]theferrett, but he's probably busy right now.
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batstarry
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Jun. 29th, 2009 @ 08:05 am Stickler.
Current Mood: contemplative
Tags: , ,
From the latest version of HR22, a bill which has a drastic and immediate impact on my job, complete with my comments in boldface:
( Read more... )

I hate reading through all this stuff, FYI. It just reminds me that I used to want to go to law school, which pisses me off because I know I would have probably flunked out anyway, but I love the idea of getting paid to be, well, the gigantic jerk that I know I am.
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batstarry
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Jun. 26th, 2009 @ 06:12 am Remind me?
NEVER post a comment on the local weather anchor's FaceBook. It is not a web page; it is an ignorance magnet.
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batstarry
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Jun. 26th, 2009 @ 05:57 am Some days...
Current Mood: amused
Tags: , , ,
...I am waiting for someone, ANYone, amongst my postal colleagues to just stand up and say "Screw this, I'm going back to clown school." Mailmen are a strange, and strange-looking, lot. It's like most of us were put together using God's leftover parts from a home improvement project, all doorlatch noses and porch-railing legs.

...the more I try to explain Teh Intarwebs to my co-workers, the more I wonder about the notion of virtual reality, of virtual identity, of virtual property.
And then I realize that if I articulate a single word of that navel-gazing, they will assume I am gay or something. You should see the looks I get when I say I don't actually like baseball.

...there are millions of mosquitoes in this world, and I swear to Jesus that most of them know what I taste like. The worst of it is at the inarguably Most Expensive Condos In Town, too, because the five-dollar maintenance staff just swabs out the lobby like old Tupperware and LETS IT AIR DRY. In a salt marsh. In summer. Seriously.

...yesterday, management visited me twice on the street. The first set of knobs came to see if I still had mail in the truck (I did, and quite a bit of it), and the second set came to see if I would go help another carrier. I find this amusing because one set was out to persecute and investigate, the other was using me as an excuse for a beach run to ogle marginally-legal girls in bikinis.
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Excelsior!
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