I WANT IT NOW!!!!

I had to re-order GBI&II BD set b/c the price went down and Amazon's "pre-order price guarantee" didn't kick in...or had not yet kicked in, depending on who you wanna believe...ooooh...

Love sittin' back at my desktop.  I feel like a king...

twice..

My bro-in-law gave me n' Mum a computer...so now I can Blog!  Like it's 2008!

Yeah. 

So...I guess that's worth its' own blog entry.



...

Neither mine or Mom's keyboard would connect to it; we needed something w/ a USB connector.  At first we tried an adapter, didn't work for some reason, then I asked my sister to fwd me a gift card so I could buy one on Amazon, so that way I could submit the order confirmation to FreeShipping.com, but my uncle John had just bought a computer, and had a spare keyboard that fit our needs just fine.  And I was able to cancel the Amazon order, but was left w/ a $15 Amazon gift card...so I gotta pay it back asap...

Oh, and I was rambling about should/shouldn't/should I? cancel the Amazon order and keep from (not) getting kicked off for TOS violation, but I went ahead and cancelled it anyway.  I went ahead and ordered GBI&II BD and one of the CDs from the other aforementioned order, and yay! TAXI DRIVER went down significantly in price since yesterday, so I went ahead and got that (and now I can watch it on my blu ray player ala Amazon Instant Video, yee-haw!).

I rented a movie from Hastings yesterday even though I'm behind returning a movie from Family Video; it was due on Friday?, and I intended to return it then but I went to bed like 5+ hours before they close, and I woke up 2+ hours after they closed.  Brr...now it's due on Wed?  It's a 5 day rental, I can't remember when exactly it was due at first, but whatever day it was, 5 days plus then.  So...[sigh]...yeah...

I found out yesterday(?) Dennis Cooper's borefest CLOSER is back in print.  I'm an idiot!  I still keep thinking about that book.  I like the title.  The idea of being close...closer...becoming so close you end up as one...speaking of which, I skipped Church today.  Just didn't feel like it.  I wanted to listen to some music.  And I did.  So;...
  There's all these books that look/sound interesting...they're soooo not the kind of books my local library carries.  They carry standard 300-500 page mainstream fare.  Weird...there's like A TON of them.  Some of them I skip over, more or less, even though if I paid mind to all of them, what would I lose?  So much to read, so much money to spend that I don't have.....

GHOSTBUSTERS & GHOSTBUSTERS II [Blu ray] -- Coming Sept 16

The front cover, as was the case with the 2005 DVD "gift set", states "GHOSTBUSTERS 1 & 2", as if "Ghostbusters 1" is the title of any movie...sigh...the cover is cool though.  It sorta reminds me of the glow that swarmed around the lettering of GHOSTBUSTERS II on the front cover of the original VHS from 1990.  Except in this case it's a blue glow, not a green one.  And the background is also reminiscent of the "tunnel light" (?) in the background of the same front cover art of the GBII VHS. 

I went ahead and ordered it today, b/c I needed something to keep my autorips from resulting in a declined debit card transaction...I forwent renewing my Sony Music Unlimited subscription this month, so I'm DYING to hear so many great musical pieces (songs/albums/...).
Explain, please?  OK:  ...Um...I'll try anyway:
  My entire shipment is scheduled to ship on Sept 16.  Presently, I have $0 in my bank account.  Amazon doesn't bill you until they ship.  The autorips get added to my "Amazon Music Library" as soon as the order is placed.  So: I get the music now, and pay later.  I can cancel my order, but at this point I feel that would be like theft, b/c A) I'd heard the CDs before I bought them, on various on demand streaming music services, and B) I've now heard them again courtesy of Amazon's autorip program.  As long as I don't download the songs, I am not obligated to pay anything...seems like Amazon would be pressured into changing this, but...well, I'm sure if I got carried away with this, they may consider sending me a friendly reminder that my membership can be terminated, regardless of what if any Terms Of Service I have violated, and there may even be something about such behavior written in their TOS...

I ordered three CDs totaling just under $35 ($35 is the minimum for free shipping).  They may decide to ship the CDs soonisher, but I'll be getting some moolah on Friday, so it shouldn't be a huge problem given the somewhat ridiculous time it takes Amazon to get items out the door when shipping isn't paid for (even the "standard" shipping rate usually results in semi-slow out-the-door timing).

Also, GHOSTBUSTERS II Soundtrack is being re-issued on vinyl.  Seriously?  Maybe a CD release will see the light of day soon?  It's been out of print for eons!

I sure hope Dan Aykroyd doesn't die before GHOSTBUSTERS III begins filming, supposedly this coming spring (almost a freakin' year from now!!!).  We already have Harold Ramis dead, Bill Murray refusing to participate, and Dan Aykroyd is a heart attack waiting to happen.  Although I think the ripe age for a heart attack has passed for him...he's like 60 something isn't he?  Heart attacks usually happen between age 30 and 50, I think...given my lack of "I was there" knowledge, I can't say for certain how Ramis' death will effect the effectiveness of this film...neither Reitman or Ramis have contributed much if anything worthwhile to movie goers over the past 10+ years...I'm glad Sony isn't relying on Aykroyd and Ramis exclusively to get the film done...but I am glad they are letting them contribute their input, because when all is said and done it is their film, and it can't be easy for someone else to pick up where GHOSTBUSTERS II left off without coming off as an imposter.  It's still not going to feel like a seamless transition, I'd be surprised if it is -- the length of time since the 1st sequel came out if nothing else will indeed impact the feel of the movie --, but at least it'll feel somewhat more genuine; Aykroyd and/or Ramis can at the very least tell whoever is responsible for the bulk of the current draft what they did wrong, and go back and re-submit it...
I'm getting pumped up and misty eyed at the same time...wooooahh...waxing philosophical here...

Supposedly there's a bounty of GHOSTBUSTERS paraphernalia to be avail. for purchasing in recognition of the 30th Anniversary of the original film, but all the good stuff has yet to be released.  Marshmallow Fun Co. is supposed to be coming out with this projectile guns w/ GB branding AND they supposedly have plans to put out Stay Puft "brand" marshmallows...hopefully they'll put an image of THE Stay Puft Marshmallow Man on the package, not the turtle-fied Stay Puft that NECA sculpted for their bobble head of it back in 2001.  A lip balm that came out 2 or 3 years ago as well as a different co's attempt at manufacturing Stay Puft marshmallows used a likeness of that NECA sculpt in their packaging.  Only time will tell. 
  OH, and some GB pens are to be coming out...unless the co. responsible for this announcement changed their plans...they look ugly, but who doesn't need a pen?  And they'll have the GB logo on the packaging (I HOPE!!!)....it may not be very big though; if they put it in the wording and leave out the big logo, I will be sorely fissed.  They do the opposite quite often, but sometimes they neglect to highlight the logo instead opting for the text w/ the logo inside.  Kenner always used the big logo and the little logo in the wording, and packaged their toys with bright purple backgrounds on the front.  Their toys were always imaginative, too...Fearsome Flush was a delightful slice of cartoonish macabre and I also very much liked their sculpt of the Universal Monsters, especially The Wolf-Man.  As with the hero figures, the original wave of ghosts were the best - H2 Ghost especially, and the Gooper Ghosts,...man, they were on high!!!  And so was I...hehehe...um...yeah, I mean, I'm not high...really...I will always have this tinge of disappointment when I see a UPS truck though.  Someone mailed me Sludge Bucket (one of the Gooper Ghosts) via UPS.  My mom threw away the EctoPlazm that came with it, so the toy was pretty much useless.  I also remember someone mailed me the original Peter Venkman hero figure (w/ brown suit and proton pack) and we had to return it b/c my mother had already given me one for Easter (no need to have two of the same figure right?  Yeah, try telling that to certain sellers on eBay...it does seem like I suggested maybe I keep it and not open it, since I simply did like the way the toys looked in the package...it was a primitive instinct to open the toys; I didn't "play" with them in the traditional sense, or at least that's what my mom told me a couple times...the highlight of buying a Ghostbusters toy was going to the store and seeing them in their bright colorful packaging...buying one and opening it in the car is kinda like a collective unconscious tradition...or something like that...idk...)


Hmm...now I wonder how far someone would need to go to find these exact same sentiments written in another blog post in this blog...and how many times....HOW MANY TIMES!!!

eeh...Um...toodles.

The Fall Of Napoleon The Great - May 2nd 2014

My cat is dead.  The greatest cat in the world, Napoleon, is dead.  He died not long after his 15th birthday.  He'd been losing weight since November or thereabouts, and the vet determined that the culprit could be one of four things, and that none of the possibilities would be treatable with the money I have.  And diagnosing him would also be a kick in the boot.


My PC was infected with a virus that wouldn't let me get past the boot-up.  This occurred around February.  My tablet has no actual keyboard, just a touch-screen, and it has since fallen by the wayside as well - acquired it in mid-March...which is why I did not write a 4-5 part series of eulogies on and after May 2nd.


Life goes on.  I find time to laugh and listen to music.  The day after he was put down was hard.  I woke up and there was no Napoleon to feed, to pet...my other cat Harrison is a fraidy cat and hasn't stopped missing him.  I've been trying to feed him upstairs, which is inciting added bravery to Harrison...he'd been getting slightly braver over the past year or so anyway, after living in my house for 4+ years, he still hisses at my mom, isn't as panicked about her dogs, but still very weary of them.  He hasn't attacked my sis' cat, Bear, in a while...not since Napoleon died, I don't think.  My mom's cat, Jersey, he's had a little rougher relationship with; Jersey is a typical cat, whereas Bear is a total mama's boy, so Harrison and Jersey have almost had to duke it out a couple times, but I broke it up before it got anywhere.
 
On the good news front, between April 15th and June 15th, I'd lost 5 lbs.  I weighed 215 lbs, still got some room to improve. 
Oh, and I bought a Blu ray player from Target in April.  The Great Sony Electronics Corp's newest DVD player model is a total clunker - makes too much noise, does a half-arrs'd job at reading music CDs...and nobody is offering a supposedly superior DVD player purchase.  Panasonic supposedly was offering a better DVD player, but it seemed as if it had gone out of production with no successor.  So Blu ray player it is.  It's cool; I can listen to on-demand "unlimited" streaming music via Sony Music Unlimited, and Pandora Radio, and of course Netflix is on there too...haven't watched a single movie from begin to end since I bought it.  I got about halfway through PRISONERS (2013).


My sister's fiancé is working on making a PC computer via parts he plans to order and the parts from my mom and I's broken PCs.  Hopefully they'll be assembled by July 11th, so they can get married on July 12th, and me and mom can haul it w/ us on the way back on July 13th.  I don't know if I I made any mention of them getting married in prior posts, but - well, there you have it. 


I keep deleting my Pandora stations.  I did find an interesting mix of wacky rock-pop by making a station out of Oingo Boingo's "Just Another Day" (from their DEAD MAN'S PARTY album of 1985).


Been considering plugging my VCR into my TV.  I have all the greatest movies of my youngsterhood - well, not all, but.......
JURASSIC PARK, GHOSTBUSTERS, TERMINATOR 2, E.T.....I even have HOME ALONE...and I bought STAKEOUT (1985), which I haven't seen, on DVD or VHS, or any other format for that matter.  I want to see it, supposedly it's good...haven't though.  If I had my VCR plugged in, I might still haven't have seen it,....I rented RASHOMON and BABETTE'S FEAST from the library yesterday.  This is the third time I've checked out BABETTE'S FEAST.  WTH!!!
I actually owe the library an additional $3 b/c I wasn't able (or willing?  I don't really remember) to return them on time.


Yawn.  I'm running out of stuff to talk about.  I best be goin'.  I'm using a public computer from the Cape Girardeau Public Library, in Cape Girardeau, Missouri (my home town for the past 17 of my 30 years on this Earth).

No sound

I'm returning the sound bar previously written about on my post "So This is Christmas"
I might buy it later.  Sound quality from the TV isn't perfect, but it's definitely serviceable.

My sister's boss...

...gave her $50 to give to me and Mumsy - Each!.

I spent $15 of it on a really dumb music buying choice.  This band, which I previously posted a big gigantic rant regarding, now has TWO CDs, both seemingly heavy hitters on the semi-indie scene (pop-punk/emo/et al).  I bought their 2nd one.  I keep coming back to their first CD thinking maybe I missed something.  Nope.  The opening song "Breaking & Entering" has this heavy dramatic melody, but extremely weak production and arrangement.  Songs like this are meant to get your blood rushing and fist pumping, but this CD just sounds like a 7 year old ordering his parents to stand in the corner.  SCOFF!!!

I can't remember what I spent the rest of it on.  You'd think I could; with $50 I could have bought a bunch of really cool stuff previously thought unattainable...but what would that be anyway?  A two-party meal @ Red Lobster?  Ugh...

So this is christmas...

My New Discretionary spending fund is $181.  This total includes food that my food stamps don't pay for and toiletries that me and my mother don't share.

So:

I bought a TV on 12/31, got my SSI check early b/c New Year's Day is considered a Federal Holiday.

it's 22", generic (Seiki) brand, 

$75!!!!!

oh, yeah, and some change, who cares?  I knew TVs were going down in price, but freapin' mohasis!!!

Of course, I Guess it was a holiday season doorbuster or whatever it's called...the price went up to $150 the day after (1/1)

It's coming monday, UPS (I'll be staying awake frantically 'til 7 or 8pm, probably; UPS takes dang near all 24 hours from the time it's "out for delivery" to the time it's actually delivered...)

I also ordered a soundbar.  It's only 5 watts (2.5 watts per channel); I hope i don't blow it out, I have some oldold-old CDs that on my current arcaic TV I have turn the volume up to almost double that of a new-ish-er CD.

So I've got a few dollars left; I need to buy food, but it's supposed to be freakishly cold tomorrow and snowing.  No telling when the roads will be serviceable...

I have some Freester checks expected sometime soon-ish-y; one has been mailed as of 1/2, the other is still processing...my mom wants to get a pizza hut pizza during their 1/2 off promotion; hopefully I'll be able to chip in like I should - my sis is the one who masterminded the budget, and came to the conclusion that me and my mother's money should stay as far apart as possible; she said if either one of us runs out of money and needs something to call her and ask her for help.

February will be less strenuous, but Windows XP - my operating system running 7 years! - will be excommunicated by Microsoft come April and so I need to get a tablet or something to listen to music that I don't own on CD with -- i.e.: Rdio or MOG etc...I'm hoping this Samsung Galaxy Tab 3 will be aquireable by then...if I put part of Feb, Mar and Apr's $ toward it, I shouldn't have any problems...that's $60 a month I think, although Amazon has it for $140 as of now, if you're willing to order it and wait for it come in stock...

$48/mo would be awesome!  I think I'll send that to my sis next month if she'll agree to put it toward the tablet when enough $ accumulates...

all of a sudden i miss everyone...

I swear, I feel so sad today.  Every good thing is either an attempt to fit in or ground breakingly sad.

Things I'm genuninely interested in buying if/when I have $

THE NEXT VOICE YOU HEAR: THE BEST OF JACKSON BROWNE
SPITALFIELD - REMEMBER RIGHT NOW
SPITALFIELD - BETTER THAN KNOWING WHERE YOU ARE (*CORRECTION: I actually listened to 4 or 5 songs from this CD and it pretty much sucks, so just pretend I didn't include this on the list)
NEW ORDER - LOW-LIFE
DASHBOARD CONFESSIONAL - THE PLACES YOU HAVE COME TO FEAR THE MOST

I don't know, I have a hard time finding anyone to get what I say when I say there's a certain kind of melancholly that's exhilerating.  Listening to Spitalfield is like a celebratory experience, I guess like when normal/happy people go to parades and bask in the traditions of their community(?)
Jackson Browne's "The Next Voice You Hear" is a run-of-the-mill folk rock record that quickly escalates into a deeply personal catalog of sadness, and then "The Barricades Of Heaven" breaks through and it's like the end of some cheesy movie when someone jumps through a waterfall and turns into a bird...idk...hard to explain...weird...(?)

Things I thought about buying for their "cool"-factor:

FORREST GUMP (a really good movie, but I don't remember the last time I watched it...I saw it repeatedly the first couple of years after I got old enough to enjoy serious art of this sort, but how many times can someone with active brain cells watch the same freakin' movie???)
TERMINATOR 2: JUDGMENT DAY (Interesting and exciting, but all artfullness has been excavated over the course of 100 viewings)
FIGHT CLUB (a goth chick I wanted to be a part of said it was the best movie, so I think of her and I think of it)
(500) DAYS OF SUMMER reminds me of the aforementioned goth chick
THURSDAY - FULL COLLAPSE - The emo record that started the uptick in signed emo bands circa 2002-2005
THE GET UP KIDS - SOMETHING TO WRITE HOME ABOUT - the emo album that got audiences talking about emo

the pre-eminent self absorbed wacko

Semi-recent FILMS I ENJOYED that you can't chalk up to nostalgia or "you had to be there"-ness
(2003-2012)

500 days of summer
mysterious skin
all the real girls
the departed
i'm a cyborg but that's ok
the beaver
the dark knight trilogy
i heart huckabees

Semi-recent FILMS I HATE that you can chalk up to "you just don't like movies, do you?"

man of steel
inception
the conjuring
hot tub time machine
american reunion
avatar
shame
blue valentine

More can prolly be added to both lists...can't think of everything at once...

I don't know about you, but I can see something of a thread in the films I enjoyed...
500 days and all the real girls deal with desperate hearts/the departed and the dk trilogy deal with right vs. wrong/i heart huckabees, i'm a cyborg but that's ok and the beaver both deal with just plain crazy ppl/mysterious skin is also about crazy people - a pedophile, a hyper-sexual rebel, and a troubled soul with buried memories of his victimhood.  The Departed depicts crazy-savory violence.

the movies I hate list consists of movies i was REALLY looking forward to.  IT might be unfair to include MAN OF STEEL since I never was much of a superman fan.  The guy's an alien for pity's sake.  And he's a freakin' goody-goody.  Bruce Wayne was a goody-goody, but you can see he has to struggle to maintain his righteousness.  as for HTTM, it should have been more fun, same w/ AMERICAN REUNION; INCEPTION was too dry; the whole thing was about getting inside ppl's dreams, but the whole thing felt like a giant wad of plastic.  THE CONJURING just wasn't scary.  It's a good film to watch with your 9 year old son(s) (if applicable), but a grown man who has trouble getting to sleep after seeing that film needs therapy or something...I guess if you've been possessed by a demon, you might relate to it; or if you've lived in a super-haunted house...AVATAR was just stupid.  SHAME was boring and it didn't have to be...ditto w/ BLUE VALENTINE.

semi-recent films I don't care about either way

oldboy
the motorcycle diaries (got 4 or 5 mins through it, boring, IMO)
v for vendetta (watched the whole thing, don't have any strong feelings for or against it)
fracture (ditto)
on the road (too much voice-over narration)
the evil dead (enjoyed the first 5 mins, got interrupted or something, thought abour renting it again, haven't)

(shaking) "They left me, they left me!" (Another Speilberg quote-parody)

My mom and sis are off to see the wiz.  They left me behind in the sun to die!
I feel a strong communication going on here...am i wrong? I think I'm wrong...no, seriously, I have THREE Swagstakes I'm vying for.  I GOTTA WIN AT LEAST ONE OF 'EM FOR CYRING OUT LOUD!  All together I've invested at least real close to 1,000 Swagbucks on these stupid Swagstakes.  And for what?  Nuthin'!  SPHITZ!  You hear that?  SPHITZ!  that's a pellet gun spat-spat-spat, kirk yer in the err.
grrraaaa...
godde, I gotta take my pills.  My teeth are trying to escape.  WEEEOOOOYAHAHA!  O gosh, and my voice...

bwahahaha!