@LZ, yep, lead guitar in a metal band = solos. No two ways around it! ;) Playing for fun and as reason just to play is probably the most honest reason to play music! People that do it for the money, are typically pretty sad, and play in cover bands the majority of the time. Live jukeboxes if you will. I've played in dozens of bands, none of them went anywhere really. Played lots of shows, played big venues and small, but playing because we wanted to was always our motivation. Plus its really cool to see people enjoying what you're putting down!
Micah "Zem the Mattress" Philson 2017-08-01T14:52:58-04:00
Ooh boy, that seafood dinner sounds great! Man, I had more lobster on that roadtrip than I have in my entire life! And probably scallops, they're my mom's favorite, and when she heard one of the towns we were in was one of the biggest scalloping areas on earth, we immediately went to a restaurant and had enough for the rest of our lives. Or more realistically, that afternoon.
Micah "Zem the Mattress" Philson 2017-08-01T15:02:18-04:00
Uuuh, guys, if you haven't gone and looked at the Litter Box for awhile (yes, yes, I know you haven't, apparently I haven't really checked it since late June), go check it now. Seriously. Refer to what I said above in this comment now, but I think we have some spammers. They both joined the day they made those posts. Neither really makes sense and are totally spam.
One is some sort of poorly copy-pasted Krishna advertisement and the other is some links in Russian that have to do with a Volvo that I'm very afraid to click even by accident.
And I've never really looked at the number of views on the posts, but have there always been literally THOUSANDS of views on each one? WHAT THE F*** IS GOING ON?! Did someone sell out our forum and now scammers are researching it?!
Rod "BaKhan" Mitchell 2017-08-01T15:28:07-04:00
@Zem, it was as good as seafood gets in the prairies anyways! ;) nothing compares to fresh though, so you definitely had it better! As per the litter box, well it was nice and spam free for a long time, too bad about the sketchy spams though. :(
Lord Zombitten 2017-08-01T15:51:18-04:00
Hmm, looks like it's time for me to pull my guac recipe from it and bid it a fond farewell
Geist de la Muerte Gatito 2017-08-01T16:03:14-04:00
@BaKhan: I'll send a message to Mike to see if he can delete all of the spam.
Geist de la Muerte Gatito 2017-08-01T16:09:29-04:00
@LZ: Let me see if I can contact Mike first. There has to be someway for either him or me to block those two and delete the trash cluttering up the site.
Rod "BaKhan" Mitchell 2017-08-01T16:18:18-04:00
@Geist, good luck with that! Ever since CB freaked out on me about the fidget cube ks, I'm kind of apprehensive about him. TBH.
Lord Zombitten 2017-08-01T16:31:28-04:00
By pull, I actually meant copy. I've been meaning to copy it for a while now; at some future point, our new COO is going to judge a guac-off between me and one the reps who frequently visits us
Geist de la Muerte Gatito 2017-08-01T16:35:09-04:00
@BaKhan: Granted, he can be kinda moody and I have no idea why he abandoned his KS campaign but I'll reach out to him. Worse comes to worse, I'll rebuild the website from scratch if I have to since I own the domain name. The Kitten Corps fan club will not be defeated!
Rod "BaKhan" Mitchell 2017-08-01T16:42:37-04:00
@LZ, that sounds awesome! You can't go wrong with a competition like that! ;) I have no doubt as to whom the victor shall be! Go get 'em!
Rod "BaKhan" Mitchell 2017-08-01T16:47:16-04:00
@Geist, don't get me wrong I always liked CB and respected his computer expertise (still do), etc. I was just put off when I became his whipping boy (or felt like it anyways).
In regards to the Litter Box...I honestly haven't logged in(because I can't remember the info) since it was first started.
Micah "Zem the Mattress" Philson 2017-08-01T17:49:54-04:00
GM, I never logged out. Maybe once, but otherwise I've kept it open in a tab on my computer since then, and somehow even after shutting off my computer for up to a month it's never logged me out!
`
What happened with CB on Fidget? Never mind, probably not worth opening something like that up, probably best if I don't know and keep it off of here.
But still, I agree, we should contact him and see what can be done. I feel violated with all those post views that I'm certain weren't there before, but I mean those two accounts were legit. It's not like we could close the door on any more accounts being opened, and they both sold their firstborn children and sacrificed a goat to get a password, so honestly, I feel sorry for them! ;)
But yeah, deleting that crap sounds good. No clue what happened there, but it just seems like someone somewhere found our forum and thought they would tell everyone to go look at it and a couple spammers followed. Essentially, we just got our first spam e-mails! Which makes me think how'd they get our email address in the first place?
(I mean our forum, not real email, I know you know that, but I thought I'd clear it up here anyways just in case someone didn't catch the analogy with emails and would have asked anyways)
Geist de la Muerte Gatito 2017-08-02T07:47:37-04:00
Morning kittens!
@BaKhan: I completely understand what you are saying. I ignore someone because they went off on something I posted as a joke. To be honest, I've gotten along much better since.
Geist de la Muerte Gatito 2017-08-02T07:49:07-04:00
I also forgot to mention: when I bring the mumbo sauce samples, it's best to taste them with from fried chicken around so on the day you want to sample them, have a few pieces of fried chicken about.
Rod "BaKhan" Mitchell 2017-08-02T10:00:04-04:00
Morning kittens!
@Geist, confession time. I've never made fried chicken before, I get the concept, just never done it. Could you help me make some fried chicken? Its probably best if its fresh, and there aren't a lot of good options (or any really) up here. I refuse to eat KFC, yuck! The fried chicken I get when I'm down in the states is so damn good, I wish we had more places here that made it. If you're game, then I am. Wouldn't want the mumbo sauce to be wasted on crappy chicken! ;)
Geist de la Muerte Gatito 2017-08-02T12:05:53-04:00
*blink*
That actually shocked me. I'm so use to fried chicken being EVERYWHERE here in the states. Especially down in the southern part. (D.C. is considered a southern state) There are dozens of places to eat it here in D.C. and there isn't a person that I know that doesn't make it.
I'd be more than happy to whip up a batch. I'll even bring a cast iron skillet since that is the best pan to make fried chicken in.
Lord Zombitten 2017-08-02T12:17:50-04:00
Cast iron is the best for cooking almost anything in. Good morning, everyone!
Micah "Zem the Mattress" Philson 2017-08-02T12:40:07-04:00
Is that person you ignore me, Geist? I've noticed recently you haven't actually directly responded to my comments in many months now, even when I've talked directly to you, though it may just be some weird fluke. It's believable, surprisingly, just very strange.
`
Come to think of it, I don't think I've really made fried chicken. Maybe... but not that I can think of.
Lord Zombitten 2017-08-02T13:20:07-04:00
I used to work with a guy who complained about people assuming he likes fried chicken because he's black and the lack of fried chicken places in the Greater Salt Lake area in the same breath. I thought it was kind of funny.
Also, I think the stereotype that black people like fried chicken is a weird stereotype. I mean, there are certainly worse stereotypes out there. Fried chicken is freaking delicious!
@LZ: Properly done fried chicken is amazing. If people are lazy/use shoddy ingredients, then it is definitely not the greatest.
Lord Zombitten 2017-08-02T13:58:50-04:00
That's true. We finally got a Popeye's out here. I've only eaten there once because their fried chicken is soggy and overpriced. Also, the fact that they use the same oil for their fried fish and their fried chicken doesn't help. When you make it yourself, though, it is a glorious thing to put in your face hole.
Micah "Zem the Mattress" Philson 2017-08-02T14:33:28-04:00
Honestly, if I were black, I'd love that stereotype! But who doesn't love fried chicken? You don't have to be black to be obsessed with it at all.
And what are you talking about? Maybe it's just that Popeyes or that day, but Popeye's is my favorite fried chicken chain! I don't think it's ever been really soggy when I got it there, and I guess it's not so overpriced when you get like a 20 piece meal for a large family. But still, it's way better than KFC and a few others. Canes puts up a strong fight, but it's not really the same kind of thing.
Lord Zombitten 2017-08-02T14:48:20-04:00
That is a big problem with chains. The owner of the franchise may do things slightly different from another franchise owner, resulting in a different experience. Being that KFC was founded about three miles from my house, there are a bunch around here, and the original location is the best of them all. I'd rather eat there than the one Popeye's I know of. But, I'd rather eat at that Popeye's than the KFC that's closest to it.
Geist de la Muerte Gatito 2017-08-02T15:03:18-04:00
@LZ: as a black person, I can tell you, we stereotype each other. They assume that I ONLY listen to hip hop, R&B and jazz. They are surprised when I tell them I also listen to Patsy Cline, Pantera, The Goo Goo Dolls and so much more. It doesn't even phase me anymore. I just smile sweetly and let them know that as long as I still live on this earth, I'm going to try to enjoy as much of it as I possibly can.
Lord Zombitten 2017-08-02T15:15:28-04:00
That's a good attitude to have. People frequently say I'm weird because of my multicultural tastes in food, music, art, etc.
I figure, there's a lot of good stuff from all over the globe. I want to try as much of it as I can while I'm still around.
Micah "Zem the Mattress" Philson 2017-08-02T15:19:18-04:00
LZ, that's true about franchises. They're usually almost identical, but little differences or maybe if one manager is a bit lazier can change it quite a bit.
I'd totally love to go to the original KFC, that'd be so cool! But yeah.
Though the only thing I've ever really loved from KFC enough to go back for a few times was that double-down sandwich where the buns were just chicken. We were in one of the trial areas for that, actually.
Micah "Zem the Mattress" Philson 2017-08-02T15:22:48-04:00
I'm kind of the same way, and being an overweight white midwesterner, particularly a Nebraskan, I have a bunch of stereotypes that go with it I've found from people.
I just think stereotypes in general are interesting, though. Almost all are at least somewhat based in truth, they can be positive or very negative, and can either be sweepingly true, sometimes true, or virtually never actually correct.
Lord Zombitten 2017-08-02T15:23:22-04:00
The Double Down was delish. It's a shame it got such a bad rep and didn't stick around very long either time it was released.
Geist de la Muerte Gatito 2017-08-02T15:36:54-04:00
People frequently say I'm weird because of my multicultural tastes in food, music, art, etc.
This is me in a nut shell. As much as I love my people, they frustrate me when they don't want to go outside of their comfort zone and try new things. I'm not saying that ALL of us do that but we seem to have a belief that if we enjoy other stuff, we are not being true to ourselves.
Which is just bull.
Micah "Zem the Mattress" Philson 2017-08-02T15:43:35-04:00
It got a bad rap? Why? I loved the double-down, and it was such a great idea!
`
Geist, "we seem to believe if we enjoy other stuff, we're not being true to ourselves."
How so? Though I do see your point, many people do love to just do what they already know they love, but how do they think if they do something else they find out they enjoy, they might betray themselves? At least to myself, true to myself includes loving to try new things, like music or food. Particularly food.
Lord Zombitten 2017-08-02T16:39:02-04:00
People were put off by the concept. I also heard a lot of complaints about the greasiness of the chicken "bread", resulting in super-greasey fingers.
Rod "BaKhan" Mitchell 2017-08-02T20:26:27-04:00
Wow! Looks like I missed some great conversations today! Figures I had a pop up meeting I had to go to. :(
Rod "BaKhan" Mitchell 2017-08-02T20:31:10-04:00
@Zem, you've got the right of it! There is a world of awesomeness out there and staying in a little bubble does nothing to help experience it. I haven't been all around the world by any means but from what I have seen, people are people. Colour, race, religion, credo, it all boils down to the same things. We all want essentially the same things. Life, liberty, and respect. I not only respect people's right to be different, I love it! Also, the double down was damn good! I just don't care for their fried chicken. ;)
Rod "BaKhan" Mitchell 2017-08-02T20:33:16-04:00
@Geist, I would forever be in your debt if you taught me how to make legit southern fried chicken! Oh, and I've got a couple of cast iron skillets. ;) will I need any ingredients you don't think I'll have? Spice wise?
Geist de la Muerte Gatito 2017-08-03T07:46:15-04:00
Morning kittens! I decided to treat myself and went to see a free advance screening. All I can say about the movie "Annabelle: Creation" is that when I can predict what is going to happen in the next scene with 90% accuracy, then either I've seen way too many horror films or there is nothing new to show in this field.
Geist de la Muerte Gatito 2017-08-03T07:53:21-04:00
@BaKhan: I would be happy to collaborate with you in frying up some chicken. I remember my great gran and great aunt letting me help them in the kitchen when I was a wee girl. There are a thousand different variations on how to make the best fried chicken but the most basic is flour mixed with salt and pepper, raw scrambled eggs and hot canola oil. Way back in the day, my gran used Crisco but I seriously doubt Calgary has that product in the grocery stores.
Lord Zombitten 2017-08-03T08:02:56-04:00
Ugh! How do people get up this early on a regular basis?
Lord Zombitten 2017-08-03T08:06:43-04:00
Of course, I'm only talking about people in my time zone; I realize it's already about 8 where you are, Geist.
Lord Zombitten 2017-08-03T08:13:34-04:00
I'm prettu sure the horror genre has run out of ideas. I don't even remember when the last time a movie scared me was. I do get a kick out of seeing people react to my comments about the fascinating underlying social commentary of the Saw movies, though.
Rod "BaKhan" Mitchell 2017-08-03T10:07:13-04:00
Morning kittens!
Rod "BaKhan" Mitchell 2017-08-03T10:10:20-04:00
@Geist, I've actually got some crisco shortening in the fridge right now. I use it in cakes and pastry mostly instead of butter, lighter fluffier cakes, and tastier flakier pie crusts etc. Just when you think you know what bad stuff is hanging out in someone else's fridge hey? I'm so excited about the fried chicken!!!
Rod "BaKhan" Mitchell 2017-08-03T10:12:29-04:00
@LZ, lol, because we're crazy, thats why! I normally get up around 5:30 am. Its quiet, and I can get a lot done without distractions. Normally by the time I'm taking my first break, people are just waking up! ;) I used to get up so early to spend time with my dog before work, now its just a habit. Although, I have to admit, this working from home thing is pushing that back. Didn't get up until 7am today... ;)
Geist de la Muerte Gatito 2017-08-03T10:14:05-04:00
@LZ: The first Conjuring movie was pretty creepy. I really got spooked by that movie. But most others, I seldom get scared. Ringu was the last movie that scared me badly enough that I kept the lights on at night for 3 days. I prefer to get my horror from novels.
Geist de la Muerte Gatito 2017-08-03T10:18:11-04:00
@BaKhan: So you get to have Pumpkin as your alarm clock now that you work from home. Lucky you. ;-)
Rod "BaKhan" Mitchell 2017-08-03T10:21:02-04:00
As per horror movies. I don't think they've even scratched the surface yet, they are just too afraid to try something new. Its like when people say every song has already been written. Maybe technically, note wise, but when you write a song, regardless of the notes, the structure will be uniquely yours and therefore, new, original, and special. Any creative endevour really. It just comes down to the fact that people only want to invest in what they know. I think true creativity in hollywood started dying in the 70's and by the end of the 80's was pretty much dead. The problem with something completely new, and outside of the box, is no one knows what to expect as far as success. I call them all chicken! I think its time for a new renascence! Bring on the new, the unexpected, and exciting! Bring back the spirit of trying something, just to say that you did! I believe that there is endless creativity locked away in our minds, just waiting for the right environment of acceptance to be released. There is endless potential, and we just need to realize it and be welcoming of it. The horror genre isn't dead, its just asleep, and needs to wake up in truly horrifying ways, and start scaring the crap out of people again. Dump the stupid slasher flicks, or repetitive psychological mumbo jumbo, and get on with terrifying people. We were genetically per-programmed to be scared of the dark, thats a gimme, time to make people afraid of the light too! Muahahahaha! ;)
On the topic of scary movies, I'm not that big of a fan of them. I do enjoy the odd one here and there, but for the most part I don't watch them. I'm more of an action/adventure/sci-fi movie watcher.
Rod "BaKhan" Mitchell 2017-08-03T10:24:28-04:00
@Geist, yeah, my good ole 3am wake up alarm, Pumpkin! I love that cat, but damn sometimes I could just wring her neck I swear! ;) I'm actually starting to worry about her, she's getting so skinny, and she was in stage 3 renal failure as of last year, so thats not ever going to get any better. She was so used to getting treats and fancy types of food, now she can only eat one type of canned food, and one type of kibble, as they are specially designed with low protein. Poor girl, I can empathize more with her whining now for sure. As much as it can drive me nuts, I know I'll miss it terribly when shes gone. :(
Lord Zombitten 2017-08-03T10:24:48-04:00
BaKhan, I like where your mind is.
Rod "BaKhan" Mitchell 2017-08-03T10:25:57-04:00
@GM, I think horror is at its best when they combine those genres. Movies like, Aliens, the Abyss, etc. those were always some of my favourites. ;)
Lord Zombitten 2017-08-03T10:26:05-04:00
By the way, this is normally when I'm starting to wake up. It's strange that I've already been up for three hours.
@BaKhan: Those types are the only ones I actually enjoy watching.
@LZ: For the past few weeks, with no rhyme or reason, I've been waking up super early(I even went to bed at 9pm last night - which is unheard of for me! - and was awake by 1am and haven't been back to sleep) every day for the past few weeks. It's going to catch up to me soon and I'm just going to crash, hard.
Rod "BaKhan" Mitchell 2017-08-03T10:32:52-04:00
@LZ, are you covering for an employee's shift or something? I hope that you get to go home the same amount of time early that you started! ;) Thats why I always like to start early.
Lord Zombitten 2017-08-03T10:37:23-04:00
No, I'm leaving at noon-thirty to go to Lagoon with my family. Lagoon is an amusement park that's about a 30 minute drive from my house. My wife's employer is having a Lagoon day today for their summer party. She gets in for free, and the rest of us get a discount. She told me just to use PTO for half the day. I didn't want to do that.
Rod "BaKhan" Mitchell 2017-08-03T10:40:09-04:00
@LZ, that sounds like fun! I hope you guys have a blast!
Lord Zombitten 2017-08-03T10:58:04-04:00
Indeed. I'm sure we will.
In other news, I have my guitar fingers back. It's amazing how fast they go hard and numb after not playing for a while. I remember it taking a lot longer when I first started.
Lord Zombitten 2017-08-03T10:59:09-04:00
Now, it's like my fingers are saying, "Oh, we're doing this again? Alright, we know just what to do!"
Geist de la Muerte Gatito 2017-08-03T11:00:00-04:00
For some odd reason, my inner alarm clock hasn't been waking me up at 3 am like it usually does. I've been coming into work at 7 or 8 am which is late for me.
Rod "BaKhan" Mitchell 2017-08-03T11:26:16-04:00
@LZ, thats awesome! I learned a gigging trick from my bass teacher the other day. When she's playing a lot of shows back to back, and gets the inevitable blisters, she'll pop them before the show, and fill them with crazy glue. It creates a tough barrier and protects the exposed skin. I thought it was genius! I always just suffered and bled through it, now I won't ever have to again! I've used crazy glue to close up wounds before, but never thought of it for that.
Lord Zombitten 2017-08-03T11:34:22-04:00
That's brilliant. I don't know if I'd ever have to resort to that, though. At my most active, I was practicing between 1.5 and 3.5 hours per day. I had some impressive calluses at that point. My acoustic would shred them up from time to time, but I never had any blisters. The worst I'd have is I'd do a long slide on a new high e string, and it would slice through the callus and draw blood.
Rod "BaKhan" Mitchell 2017-08-03T11:40:31-04:00
@LZ, yeah, the upright bass can take the piss out of your calluses! I don't know what the difference is in the strings, but I've been playing electric bass for over 13 years, practicing with the band at least twice a week for a couple of hours at a time, and practicing on my own at least 30 mins a day, and this upright can still put a hurting on the fingers! ;) Its a good pain though... ;) Its mostly just a quick fix for gigging, I can't imagine doing it any other time as it will actually slow down the healing process, but if it gets you through the show, I'm good with it, after all, the show MUST go on! ;)
Lord Zombitten 2017-08-03T11:46:04-04:00
I would imagine that the difference is that you'd have to press harder on the string on an upright, as it doesn't have frets. The stiffness might also be a factor. The strings on my acoustic guitar are much stiffer than on the electric. I remember my former bass player's electric bass strings being pretty slinky.
Geist de la Muerte Gatito 2017-08-03T11:46:48-04:00
@BaKhan: Crazy glue?! Isn't that kinda dangerous? I mean, once you fill the wound, you can't remove the glue later.
Lord Zombitten 2017-08-03T11:50:26-04:00
When I was building up my calluses the first time, a friend suggested that I cover my fingertips with super glue when they hurt too much. I only did it a time or two because the strings would tear the glue apart. I imagine the bass would do the same thing by the end of the gig.
Rod "BaKhan" Mitchell 2017-08-03T12:01:20-04:00
@Geist, the glue will eventually fall off when the layer of skin underneath it dies off. I had a really bad wound on my hand and when the stitches came out, it just popped open. So I pinched it together and sealed it with crazy glue. It totally worked. I recommend it, if you can't go and get stitches right away. Having actually tried it, I'm much less afraid of it now.
Rod "BaKhan" Mitchell 2017-08-03T12:05:10-04:00
@LZ, yeah, honestly they feel the same to me as I use pretty heavy gauged strings on my electric; better sustain (I can hold a single note for 16 bars if I have too!). But its the friction I think. I'm not sure to be honest. As per the glue, she would put it, inside the blister, rather than tear off the skin over the blister. That way the skin on the outside still has the grip, and it doesn't tear away the glue.
Geist de la Muerte Gatito 2017-08-03T12:07:25-04:00
@BaKhan: Pumpkin is not allowed to go to kitty heaven until after I see her in October! I miss that little morning chatter box.
Rod "BaKhan" Mitchell 2017-08-03T12:11:07-04:00
@Geist, oh she's a whiny trooper! I'm sure you'll get to see her one more time! Only the good die young... ;P She's skinny, but still plenty full of her personality and I don't think she's planning on going anywhere soon. No guarantees, but she seems to be hanging in just fine. Fingers crossed! ;)
Lord Zombitten 2017-08-03T12:21:40-04:00
BaKhan, that's awesome! My guy played his bass as if it were a guitar a lot of the time, doing chords and everything. It was an interesting style. We'd let him do it because he was the main somgwriter in the group, and because it gave our music a unique sound.
Micah "Zem the Mattress" Philson 2017-08-03T12:24:49-04:00
Man, it's hoppin' in here! I only read 2/3 of the comments and then had to come back up here for a breath and to expound my thoughts!
`
On sleep, I'm with you, LZ. In fact, I've woken up at after 11 these last 2 days, but that's somehow only because I've been sleeping 11 or 13 hours!!! Dude, yesterday may have been one of the longest I've ever slept. 13 hours to me is insane, but welcome! Just after detasseling, getting at best 8 hours and waking up at like 2 am, suddenly that! Haha, I'm sure rested now!
`
On horror movies, I'm with GM. That's about the only genre I almost never watch. I mean, I've seen some, especially funny ones like Sean of the Dead, and I've been wanting to see some of the classics like The Shining, but otherwise, not often.
I'm all about Comedy, and if there's any action, adventure, sci-fi, or even a good bit of thriller in there, I'm set!
Rod "BaKhan" Mitchell 2017-08-03T12:28:15-04:00
@LZ, you can get away with being a much busier player in metal, hard rock, etc. But when you're going for dynamics and creating space, sustaining a single note for a long time, while the keyboard or guitar is doing a simple progression, sounds awesome! Also, depending on what style you are playing, sometimes lighter gauge strings just sound better, Korn for example. Where you get that slap sound incorporated, really hard to do with heavy gauged strings, without fatiguing. Sounds like your bass player was a big fan of Cliff Burton... ;)
Lord Zombitten 2017-08-03T12:29:12-04:00
Thrillers are good. I always suggest Shutter Island to anyone who wants a good thriller, if they haven't already seen that one.
Lord Zombitten 2017-08-03T12:31:13-04:00
Yes, he liked Cliff. He was also a fan of Jason Newstead and Les Claypool. All three of them like(d) to treat their basses as guitars.
Geist de la Muerte Gatito 2017-08-03T12:56:40-04:00
@LZ: I purchased Shutter Island on DVD a few weeks ago. The ending of that movie was better than the book IMO.
Lord Zombitten 2017-08-03T12:59:21-04:00
There's a book? Do I need to go find the book now?
Micah "Zem the Mattress" Philson 2017-08-03T13:08:21-04:00
Really? You think a movie was better than its book? I haven't heard that since Princess Bride!
I think it's awesome when a movie can outdo its book, but it's just so uncommon and hard to do because of how much information and nuance you can put into a book, like what every person is thinking, and how much control you have over all the suspense.
Lord Zombitten 2017-08-03T13:09:25-04:00
Nah, dude, even with the Princess Bride, the book was so much better!
Rod "BaKhan" Mitchell 2017-08-03T13:29:59-04:00
I've never read the book but Princess Bride will always hold a special place in my heart!
Lord Zombitten 2017-08-03T13:40:27-04:00
I'd highly recommend it, BaKhan. One of the great things about it is that there is no such person as S. Morgenstern.
Geist de la Muerte Gatito 2017-08-03T13:50:51-04:00
Visit a used book store first. They will have it and at a cheaper price.
Micah "Zem the Mattress" Philson 2017-08-03T13:55:51-04:00
LZ, really? Every other person I've known who read the book said the movie Princess Bride was way better. Then again, I mean, the movie is a total classic for anyone who watches it, so I guess if you watched that first and loved it, the book might feel like the cheap knockoff if you're not careful.
Lord Zombitten 2017-08-03T14:07:39-04:00
Thanks, Geist.
Zem, are you sure they understood what the book was doing? For years, my brother was convinced that William Goldman had done an actual abridgement of a book my S. Morgenstern, and was annoyed by all his notes talking about what je had removed, etc. That's why I didn't read it for the longest time. Then I discovered that there is no such person as S. Morgenstern, and that William Goldman had written the book exactly as he had planned to as a satirical look at the excessive detail that went into classic literature. With that in mind, the book becomes a thing of hilarious beauty.
Rod "BaKhan" Mitchell 2017-08-03T14:18:57-04:00
@LZ, well fine, if you're going to be that way, now I have to read it! ;) It sounds too good to pass up! Like I needed any more books to read... damn you! ;)
Lord Zombitten 2017-08-03T14:27:40-04:00
Glad I could help, BaKhan.
And with that, I'm out. Going to go spend some time with the family at Lagoon. Have fun, everybody!
Rod "BaKhan" Mitchell 2017-08-03T14:29:23-04:00
@LZ, cheers! Say hey to fam for us!
Micah "Zem the Mattress" Philson 2017-08-03T15:15:08-04:00
Wait, is it not well known that that author is fictitious? I guess it's a more common literary device than most people think, but I knew that. Then again, I've never read the Bride book, maybe I should, you make a convincing argument. Though I can kind of see what you're getting at just from that comment and the movie. Dammit, now I need to see the movie again! AND read the book!
I agree with BaKhan, LZ, damn you! ;)
Hope you have a great time at the Lagoon, it sounds like a great way to spend the day! And when you get back... you may as well watch The Princess Bride! I know I will. Ah, but I'll have to wait for my mom to be back or else she'll kill me for watching it without her. Or just make me watch it again with her, which wouldn't be so bad.
Lord Zombitten 2017-08-03T15:28:11-04:00
Well, S. Morgenstern isn't really the pen name. The book credits William Goldman (the actual author) as the guy who abridged the book written by Morgenstern.
Lord Zombitten 2017-08-03T15:45:16-04:00
Here's a throwback to the early 90's: there's a kid here with a mullet and steps
Geist de la Muerte Gatito 2017-08-03T16:01:44-04:00
Wait what? I thought S. Morgenstern really existed. I read the book last year and in it he mentioned that Stephen King was allowed to look at the original Morgenstern manuscript.
Lord Zombitten 2017-08-03T16:15:28-04:00
That's all part of the satire, because another feature that was common in classic literature is for the author to go on about how their fictitious story is true and that they found documents in some attic or other.
Micah "Zem the Mattress" Philson 2017-08-03T17:32:23-04:00
That's what I meant. The book he found is by a made up author. Also, isn't that more of romantic literature, when they would come up with some very strange story or poem (like Cthulhu or Ozymandias) and say they had some reliable second-hand source for this story, though they never saw/heard it themselves, and go on to write the story, sometimes their version/edit/abridgment?
Lord Zombitten 2017-08-03T17:46:48-04:00
Well, the Outlaw of Torn and the Three Musketeers both included that kind of background info, and Dracula was supposedly a collection of newspaper clippings and diary entries.
As Goldman explains, though, he didn't find the book. When he was sick, his grandfather would read it to him. He fell in love with it and was excited to purchase a copy for his son (except Goldman didn't have a son). After his son read it, Goldman asked him how he liked it; and the boy didn't care much for it. Goldman decided to read it again and found it was full of a bunch of boring, useless details, so he decided to abridge it.
Micah "Zem the Mattress" Philson 2017-08-03T21:30:21-04:00
That is a good backstory. But cool your jets, you already convinced me that as soon as I can find the book somewhere, I should buy it and read it! ;)
Lord Zombitten 2017-08-04T00:08:53-04:00
Lagoon was fun. Littlest LZ said it was the best birthday ever (he turned 6 today). He enjoyed all the rides we went on, except the last one, which was Dracula's Castle. It was too creepy for him. The second-to-last ride is relatively new. The Mrs and I hadn't even been on it before. The 8 year old hated it, but the six year old loved it. It's called Cannibal. They load you into a car that has 3 rows of 4 seats. Then, you go into a black shaft and are lifted over 200 feet up. When the door at the top opens, the car stops at the precipice so you can admire the view. There's a lip you go over, it's like a 100 degree drop for the first ten feet or so, then the next 200-ish feet are 90 degrees down. Much twists, turns, loops, etc. You spend a fair amount of time upside down. Big fun!
Micah "Zem the Mattress" Philson 2017-08-04T01:29:00-04:00
That ride sounds freaking amazing! Dude, now I want to go there! And yeah, that sounds like a great way to spend a birthday!
Geist de la Muerte Gatito 2017-08-04T07:48:25-04:00
Morning kittens. So glad it's the end of the week. I really want to get the heck out of here and enjoy the weekend. It's exactly one month before my birthday and I have a lot of planning to do.
@LZ: happy belated birthday to you wee one.
Rod "BaKhan" Mitchell 2017-08-04T11:09:58-04:00
Morning kittens!
David Guidry "Doc" 2017-08-04T11:30:06-04:00
hello everyone, it's been a while how is life treating everyone?
@LZ, yep, lead guitar in a metal band = solos. No two ways around it! ;) Playing for fun and as reason just to play is probably the most honest reason to play music! People that do it for the money, are typically pretty sad, and play in cover bands the majority of the time. Live jukeboxes if you will. I've played in dozens of bands, none of them went anywhere really. Played lots of shows, played big venues and small, but playing because we wanted to was always our motivation. Plus its really cool to see people enjoying what you're putting down!
Ooh boy, that seafood dinner sounds great! Man, I had more lobster on that roadtrip than I have in my entire life! And probably scallops, they're my mom's favorite, and when she heard one of the towns we were in was one of the biggest scalloping areas on earth, we immediately went to a restaurant and had enough for the rest of our lives. Or more realistically, that afternoon.
What... the... actual... f*******... f***.........
Uuuh, guys, if you haven't gone and looked at the Litter Box for awhile (yes, yes, I know you haven't, apparently I haven't really checked it since late June), go check it now. Seriously. Refer to what I said above in this comment now, but I think we have some spammers. They both joined the day they made those posts. Neither really makes sense and are totally spam.
One is some sort of poorly copy-pasted Krishna advertisement and the other is some links in Russian that have to do with a Volvo that I'm very afraid to click even by accident.
And I've never really looked at the number of views on the posts, but have there always been literally THOUSANDS of views on each one? WHAT THE F*** IS GOING ON?! Did someone sell out our forum and now scammers are researching it?!
@Zem, it was as good as seafood gets in the prairies anyways! ;) nothing compares to fresh though, so you definitely had it better! As per the litter box, well it was nice and spam free for a long time, too bad about the sketchy spams though. :(
Hmm, looks like it's time for me to pull my guac recipe from it and bid it a fond farewell
@BaKhan: I'll send a message to Mike to see if he can delete all of the spam.
@LZ: Let me see if I can contact Mike first. There has to be someway for either him or me to block those two and delete the trash cluttering up the site.
@Geist, good luck with that! Ever since CB freaked out on me about the fidget cube ks, I'm kind of apprehensive about him. TBH.
By pull, I actually meant copy. I've been meaning to copy it for a while now; at some future point, our new COO is going to judge a guac-off between me and one the reps who frequently visits us
@BaKhan: Granted, he can be kinda moody and I have no idea why he abandoned his KS campaign but I'll reach out to him. Worse comes to worse, I'll rebuild the website from scratch if I have to since I own the domain name. The Kitten Corps fan club will not be defeated!
@LZ, that sounds awesome! You can't go wrong with a competition like that! ;) I have no doubt as to whom the victor shall be! Go get 'em!
@Geist, don't get me wrong I always liked CB and respected his computer expertise (still do), etc. I was just put off when I became his whipping boy (or felt like it anyways).
In regards to the Litter Box...I honestly haven't logged in(because I can't remember the info) since it was first started.
GM, I never logged out. Maybe once, but otherwise I've kept it open in a tab on my computer since then, and somehow even after shutting off my computer for up to a month it's never logged me out!
`
What happened with CB on Fidget? Never mind, probably not worth opening something like that up, probably best if I don't know and keep it off of here.
But still, I agree, we should contact him and see what can be done. I feel violated with all those post views that I'm certain weren't there before, but I mean those two accounts were legit. It's not like we could close the door on any more accounts being opened, and they both sold their firstborn children and sacrificed a goat to get a password, so honestly, I feel sorry for them! ;)
But yeah, deleting that crap sounds good. No clue what happened there, but it just seems like someone somewhere found our forum and thought they would tell everyone to go look at it and a couple spammers followed. Essentially, we just got our first spam e-mails! Which makes me think how'd they get our email address in the first place?
(I mean our forum, not real email, I know you know that, but I thought I'd clear it up here anyways just in case someone didn't catch the analogy with emails and would have asked anyways)
Morning kittens!
@BaKhan: I completely understand what you are saying. I ignore someone because they went off on something I posted as a joke. To be honest, I've gotten along much better since.
I also forgot to mention: when I bring the mumbo sauce samples, it's best to taste them with from fried chicken around so on the day you want to sample them, have a few pieces of fried chicken about.
Morning kittens!
@Geist, confession time. I've never made fried chicken before, I get the concept, just never done it. Could you help me make some fried chicken? Its probably best if its fresh, and there aren't a lot of good options (or any really) up here. I refuse to eat KFC, yuck! The fried chicken I get when I'm down in the states is so damn good, I wish we had more places here that made it. If you're game, then I am. Wouldn't want the mumbo sauce to be wasted on crappy chicken! ;)
Morning kittens.
*blink*
That actually shocked me. I'm so use to fried chicken being EVERYWHERE here in the states. Especially down in the southern part. (D.C. is considered a southern state) There are dozens of places to eat it here in D.C. and there isn't a person that I know that doesn't make it.
I'd be more than happy to whip up a batch. I'll even bring a cast iron skillet since that is the best pan to make fried chicken in.
Cast iron is the best for cooking almost anything in. Good morning, everyone!
Is that person you ignore me, Geist? I've noticed recently you haven't actually directly responded to my comments in many months now, even when I've talked directly to you, though it may just be some weird fluke. It's believable, surprisingly, just very strange.
`
Come to think of it, I don't think I've really made fried chicken. Maybe... but not that I can think of.
I used to work with a guy who complained about people assuming he likes fried chicken because he's black and the lack of fried chicken places in the Greater Salt Lake area in the same breath. I thought it was kind of funny.
Also, I think the stereotype that black people like fried chicken is a weird stereotype. I mean, there are certainly worse stereotypes out there. Fried chicken is freaking delicious!
@LZ: Properly done fried chicken is amazing. If people are lazy/use shoddy ingredients, then it is definitely not the greatest.
That's true. We finally got a Popeye's out here. I've only eaten there once because their fried chicken is soggy and overpriced. Also, the fact that they use the same oil for their fried fish and their fried chicken doesn't help. When you make it yourself, though, it is a glorious thing to put in your face hole.
Honestly, if I were black, I'd love that stereotype! But who doesn't love fried chicken? You don't have to be black to be obsessed with it at all.
And what are you talking about? Maybe it's just that Popeyes or that day, but Popeye's is my favorite fried chicken chain! I don't think it's ever been really soggy when I got it there, and I guess it's not so overpriced when you get like a 20 piece meal for a large family. But still, it's way better than KFC and a few others. Canes puts up a strong fight, but it's not really the same kind of thing.
That is a big problem with chains. The owner of the franchise may do things slightly different from another franchise owner, resulting in a different experience. Being that KFC was founded about three miles from my house, there are a bunch around here, and the original location is the best of them all. I'd rather eat there than the one Popeye's I know of. But, I'd rather eat at that Popeye's than the KFC that's closest to it.
@LZ: as a black person, I can tell you, we stereotype each other. They assume that I ONLY listen to hip hop, R&B and jazz. They are surprised when I tell them I also listen to Patsy Cline, Pantera, The Goo Goo Dolls and so much more. It doesn't even phase me anymore. I just smile sweetly and let them know that as long as I still live on this earth, I'm going to try to enjoy as much of it as I possibly can.
That's a good attitude to have. People frequently say I'm weird because of my multicultural tastes in food, music, art, etc.
I figure, there's a lot of good stuff from all over the globe. I want to try as much of it as I can while I'm still around.
LZ, that's true about franchises. They're usually almost identical, but little differences or maybe if one manager is a bit lazier can change it quite a bit.
I'd totally love to go to the original KFC, that'd be so cool! But yeah.
Though the only thing I've ever really loved from KFC enough to go back for a few times was that double-down sandwich where the buns were just chicken. We were in one of the trial areas for that, actually.
I'm kind of the same way, and being an overweight white midwesterner, particularly a Nebraskan, I have a bunch of stereotypes that go with it I've found from people.
I just think stereotypes in general are interesting, though. Almost all are at least somewhat based in truth, they can be positive or very negative, and can either be sweepingly true, sometimes true, or virtually never actually correct.
The Double Down was delish. It's a shame it got such a bad rep and didn't stick around very long either time it was released.
People frequently say I'm weird because of my multicultural tastes in food, music, art, etc.
This is me in a nut shell. As much as I love my people, they frustrate me when they don't want to go outside of their comfort zone and try new things. I'm not saying that ALL of us do that but we seem to have a belief that if we enjoy other stuff, we are not being true to ourselves.
Which is just bull.
It got a bad rap? Why? I loved the double-down, and it was such a great idea!
`
Geist, "we seem to believe if we enjoy other stuff, we're not being true to ourselves."
How so? Though I do see your point, many people do love to just do what they already know they love, but how do they think if they do something else they find out they enjoy, they might betray themselves? At least to myself, true to myself includes loving to try new things, like music or food. Particularly food.
People were put off by the concept. I also heard a lot of complaints about the greasiness of the chicken "bread", resulting in super-greasey fingers.
Wow! Looks like I missed some great conversations today! Figures I had a pop up meeting I had to go to. :(
@Zem, you've got the right of it! There is a world of awesomeness out there and staying in a little bubble does nothing to help experience it. I haven't been all around the world by any means but from what I have seen, people are people. Colour, race, religion, credo, it all boils down to the same things. We all want essentially the same things. Life, liberty, and respect. I not only respect people's right to be different, I love it! Also, the double down was damn good! I just don't care for their fried chicken. ;)
@Geist, I would forever be in your debt if you taught me how to make legit southern fried chicken! Oh, and I've got a couple of cast iron skillets. ;) will I need any ingredients you don't think I'll have? Spice wise?
Morning kittens! I decided to treat myself and went to see a free advance screening. All I can say about the movie "Annabelle: Creation" is that when I can predict what is going to happen in the next scene with 90% accuracy, then either I've seen way too many horror films or there is nothing new to show in this field.
@BaKhan: I would be happy to collaborate with you in frying up some chicken. I remember my great gran and great aunt letting me help them in the kitchen when I was a wee girl. There are a thousand different variations on how to make the best fried chicken but the most basic is flour mixed with salt and pepper, raw scrambled eggs and hot canola oil. Way back in the day, my gran used Crisco but I seriously doubt Calgary has that product in the grocery stores.
Ugh! How do people get up this early on a regular basis?
Of course, I'm only talking about people in my time zone; I realize it's already about 8 where you are, Geist.
I'm prettu sure the horror genre has run out of ideas. I don't even remember when the last time a movie scared me was. I do get a kick out of seeing people react to my comments about the fascinating underlying social commentary of the Saw movies, though.
Morning kittens!
@Geist, I've actually got some crisco shortening in the fridge right now. I use it in cakes and pastry mostly instead of butter, lighter fluffier cakes, and tastier flakier pie crusts etc. Just when you think you know what bad stuff is hanging out in someone else's fridge hey? I'm so excited about the fried chicken!!!
@LZ, lol, because we're crazy, thats why! I normally get up around 5:30 am. Its quiet, and I can get a lot done without distractions. Normally by the time I'm taking my first break, people are just waking up! ;) I used to get up so early to spend time with my dog before work, now its just a habit. Although, I have to admit, this working from home thing is pushing that back. Didn't get up until 7am today... ;)
@LZ: The first Conjuring movie was pretty creepy. I really got spooked by that movie. But most others, I seldom get scared. Ringu was the last movie that scared me badly enough that I kept the lights on at night for 3 days. I prefer to get my horror from novels.
@BaKhan: So you get to have Pumpkin as your alarm clock now that you work from home. Lucky you. ;-)
As per horror movies. I don't think they've even scratched the surface yet, they are just too afraid to try something new. Its like when people say every song has already been written. Maybe technically, note wise, but when you write a song, regardless of the notes, the structure will be uniquely yours and therefore, new, original, and special. Any creative endevour really. It just comes down to the fact that people only want to invest in what they know. I think true creativity in hollywood started dying in the 70's and by the end of the 80's was pretty much dead. The problem with something completely new, and outside of the box, is no one knows what to expect as far as success. I call them all chicken! I think its time for a new renascence! Bring on the new, the unexpected, and exciting! Bring back the spirit of trying something, just to say that you did! I believe that there is endless creativity locked away in our minds, just waiting for the right environment of acceptance to be released. There is endless potential, and we just need to realize it and be welcoming of it. The horror genre isn't dead, its just asleep, and needs to wake up in truly horrifying ways, and start scaring the crap out of people again. Dump the stupid slasher flicks, or repetitive psychological mumbo jumbo, and get on with terrifying people. We were genetically per-programmed to be scared of the dark, thats a gimme, time to make people afraid of the light too! Muahahahaha! ;)
Morning kittens.
On the topic of scary movies, I'm not that big of a fan of them. I do enjoy the odd one here and there, but for the most part I don't watch them. I'm more of an action/adventure/sci-fi movie watcher.
@Geist, yeah, my good ole 3am wake up alarm, Pumpkin! I love that cat, but damn sometimes I could just wring her neck I swear! ;) I'm actually starting to worry about her, she's getting so skinny, and she was in stage 3 renal failure as of last year, so thats not ever going to get any better. She was so used to getting treats and fancy types of food, now she can only eat one type of canned food, and one type of kibble, as they are specially designed with low protein. Poor girl, I can empathize more with her whining now for sure. As much as it can drive me nuts, I know I'll miss it terribly when shes gone. :(
BaKhan, I like where your mind is.
@GM, I think horror is at its best when they combine those genres. Movies like, Aliens, the Abyss, etc. those were always some of my favourites. ;)
By the way, this is normally when I'm starting to wake up. It's strange that I've already been up for three hours.
@BaKhan: Those types are the only ones I actually enjoy watching.
@LZ: For the past few weeks, with no rhyme or reason, I've been waking up super early(I even went to bed at 9pm last night - which is unheard of for me! - and was awake by 1am and haven't been back to sleep) every day for the past few weeks. It's going to catch up to me soon and I'm just going to crash, hard.
@LZ, are you covering for an employee's shift or something? I hope that you get to go home the same amount of time early that you started! ;) Thats why I always like to start early.
No, I'm leaving at noon-thirty to go to Lagoon with my family. Lagoon is an amusement park that's about a 30 minute drive from my house. My wife's employer is having a Lagoon day today for their summer party. She gets in for free, and the rest of us get a discount. She told me just to use PTO for half the day. I didn't want to do that.
@LZ, that sounds like fun! I hope you guys have a blast!
Indeed. I'm sure we will.
In other news, I have my guitar fingers back. It's amazing how fast they go hard and numb after not playing for a while. I remember it taking a lot longer when I first started.
Now, it's like my fingers are saying, "Oh, we're doing this again? Alright, we know just what to do!"
For some odd reason, my inner alarm clock hasn't been waking me up at 3 am like it usually does. I've been coming into work at 7 or 8 am which is late for me.
@LZ, thats awesome! I learned a gigging trick from my bass teacher the other day. When she's playing a lot of shows back to back, and gets the inevitable blisters, she'll pop them before the show, and fill them with crazy glue. It creates a tough barrier and protects the exposed skin. I thought it was genius! I always just suffered and bled through it, now I won't ever have to again! I've used crazy glue to close up wounds before, but never thought of it for that.
That's brilliant. I don't know if I'd ever have to resort to that, though. At my most active, I was practicing between 1.5 and 3.5 hours per day. I had some impressive calluses at that point. My acoustic would shred them up from time to time, but I never had any blisters. The worst I'd have is I'd do a long slide on a new high e string, and it would slice through the callus and draw blood.
@LZ, yeah, the upright bass can take the piss out of your calluses! I don't know what the difference is in the strings, but I've been playing electric bass for over 13 years, practicing with the band at least twice a week for a couple of hours at a time, and practicing on my own at least 30 mins a day, and this upright can still put a hurting on the fingers! ;) Its a good pain though... ;) Its mostly just a quick fix for gigging, I can't imagine doing it any other time as it will actually slow down the healing process, but if it gets you through the show, I'm good with it, after all, the show MUST go on! ;)
I would imagine that the difference is that you'd have to press harder on the string on an upright, as it doesn't have frets. The stiffness might also be a factor. The strings on my acoustic guitar are much stiffer than on the electric. I remember my former bass player's electric bass strings being pretty slinky.
@BaKhan: Crazy glue?! Isn't that kinda dangerous? I mean, once you fill the wound, you can't remove the glue later.
When I was building up my calluses the first time, a friend suggested that I cover my fingertips with super glue when they hurt too much. I only did it a time or two because the strings would tear the glue apart. I imagine the bass would do the same thing by the end of the gig.
@Geist, the glue will eventually fall off when the layer of skin underneath it dies off. I had a really bad wound on my hand and when the stitches came out, it just popped open. So I pinched it together and sealed it with crazy glue. It totally worked. I recommend it, if you can't go and get stitches right away. Having actually tried it, I'm much less afraid of it now.
@LZ, yeah, honestly they feel the same to me as I use pretty heavy gauged strings on my electric; better sustain (I can hold a single note for 16 bars if I have too!). But its the friction I think. I'm not sure to be honest. As per the glue, she would put it, inside the blister, rather than tear off the skin over the blister. That way the skin on the outside still has the grip, and it doesn't tear away the glue.
@BaKhan: Pumpkin is not allowed to go to kitty heaven until after I see her in October! I miss that little morning chatter box.
@Geist, oh she's a whiny trooper! I'm sure you'll get to see her one more time! Only the good die young... ;P She's skinny, but still plenty full of her personality and I don't think she's planning on going anywhere soon. No guarantees, but she seems to be hanging in just fine. Fingers crossed! ;)
BaKhan, that's awesome! My guy played his bass as if it were a guitar a lot of the time, doing chords and everything. It was an interesting style. We'd let him do it because he was the main somgwriter in the group, and because it gave our music a unique sound.
Man, it's hoppin' in here! I only read 2/3 of the comments and then had to come back up here for a breath and to expound my thoughts!
`
On sleep, I'm with you, LZ. In fact, I've woken up at after 11 these last 2 days, but that's somehow only because I've been sleeping 11 or 13 hours!!! Dude, yesterday may have been one of the longest I've ever slept. 13 hours to me is insane, but welcome! Just after detasseling, getting at best 8 hours and waking up at like 2 am, suddenly that! Haha, I'm sure rested now!
`
On horror movies, I'm with GM. That's about the only genre I almost never watch. I mean, I've seen some, especially funny ones like Sean of the Dead, and I've been wanting to see some of the classics like The Shining, but otherwise, not often.
I'm all about Comedy, and if there's any action, adventure, sci-fi, or even a good bit of thriller in there, I'm set!
@LZ, you can get away with being a much busier player in metal, hard rock, etc. But when you're going for dynamics and creating space, sustaining a single note for a long time, while the keyboard or guitar is doing a simple progression, sounds awesome! Also, depending on what style you are playing, sometimes lighter gauge strings just sound better, Korn for example. Where you get that slap sound incorporated, really hard to do with heavy gauged strings, without fatiguing. Sounds like your bass player was a big fan of Cliff Burton... ;)
Thrillers are good. I always suggest Shutter Island to anyone who wants a good thriller, if they haven't already seen that one.
Yes, he liked Cliff. He was also a fan of Jason Newstead and Les Claypool. All three of them like(d) to treat their basses as guitars.
@LZ: I purchased Shutter Island on DVD a few weeks ago. The ending of that movie was better than the book IMO.
There's a book? Do I need to go find the book now?
Really? You think a movie was better than its book? I haven't heard that since Princess Bride!
I think it's awesome when a movie can outdo its book, but it's just so uncommon and hard to do because of how much information and nuance you can put into a book, like what every person is thinking, and how much control you have over all the suspense.
Nah, dude, even with the Princess Bride, the book was so much better!
I've never read the book but Princess Bride will always hold a special place in my heart!
I'd highly recommend it, BaKhan. One of the great things about it is that there is no such person as S. Morgenstern.
@LZ:
https://www.amazon.com/Shutter-Island-Novel-Dennis-Lehane/dp/0061898813/ref=sr_1_1…
Visit a used book store first. They will have it and at a cheaper price.
LZ, really? Every other person I've known who read the book said the movie Princess Bride was way better. Then again, I mean, the movie is a total classic for anyone who watches it, so I guess if you watched that first and loved it, the book might feel like the cheap knockoff if you're not careful.
Thanks, Geist.
Zem, are you sure they understood what the book was doing? For years, my brother was convinced that William Goldman had done an actual abridgement of a book my S. Morgenstern, and was annoyed by all his notes talking about what je had removed, etc. That's why I didn't read it for the longest time. Then I discovered that there is no such person as S. Morgenstern, and that William Goldman had written the book exactly as he had planned to as a satirical look at the excessive detail that went into classic literature. With that in mind, the book becomes a thing of hilarious beauty.
@LZ, well fine, if you're going to be that way, now I have to read it! ;) It sounds too good to pass up! Like I needed any more books to read... damn you! ;)
Glad I could help, BaKhan.
And with that, I'm out. Going to go spend some time with the family at Lagoon. Have fun, everybody!
@LZ, cheers! Say hey to fam for us!
Wait, is it not well known that that author is fictitious? I guess it's a more common literary device than most people think, but I knew that. Then again, I've never read the Bride book, maybe I should, you make a convincing argument. Though I can kind of see what you're getting at just from that comment and the movie. Dammit, now I need to see the movie again! AND read the book!
I agree with BaKhan, LZ, damn you! ;)
Hope you have a great time at the Lagoon, it sounds like a great way to spend the day! And when you get back... you may as well watch The Princess Bride! I know I will. Ah, but I'll have to wait for my mom to be back or else she'll kill me for watching it without her. Or just make me watch it again with her, which wouldn't be so bad.
Well, S. Morgenstern isn't really the pen name. The book credits William Goldman (the actual author) as the guy who abridged the book written by Morgenstern.
Here's a throwback to the early 90's: there's a kid here with a mullet and steps
Wait what? I thought S. Morgenstern really existed. I read the book last year and in it he mentioned that Stephen King was allowed to look at the original Morgenstern manuscript.
That's all part of the satire, because another feature that was common in classic literature is for the author to go on about how their fictitious story is true and that they found documents in some attic or other.
That's what I meant. The book he found is by a made up author. Also, isn't that more of romantic literature, when they would come up with some very strange story or poem (like Cthulhu or Ozymandias) and say they had some reliable second-hand source for this story, though they never saw/heard it themselves, and go on to write the story, sometimes their version/edit/abridgment?
Well, the Outlaw of Torn and the Three Musketeers both included that kind of background info, and Dracula was supposedly a collection of newspaper clippings and diary entries.
As Goldman explains, though, he didn't find the book. When he was sick, his grandfather would read it to him. He fell in love with it and was excited to purchase a copy for his son (except Goldman didn't have a son). After his son read it, Goldman asked him how he liked it; and the boy didn't care much for it. Goldman decided to read it again and found it was full of a bunch of boring, useless details, so he decided to abridge it.
That is a good backstory. But cool your jets, you already convinced me that as soon as I can find the book somewhere, I should buy it and read it! ;)
Lagoon was fun. Littlest LZ said it was the best birthday ever (he turned 6 today). He enjoyed all the rides we went on, except the last one, which was Dracula's Castle. It was too creepy for him. The second-to-last ride is relatively new. The Mrs and I hadn't even been on it before. The 8 year old hated it, but the six year old loved it. It's called Cannibal. They load you into a car that has 3 rows of 4 seats. Then, you go into a black shaft and are lifted over 200 feet up. When the door at the top opens, the car stops at the precipice so you can admire the view. There's a lip you go over, it's like a 100 degree drop for the first ten feet or so, then the next 200-ish feet are 90 degrees down. Much twists, turns, loops, etc. You spend a fair amount of time upside down. Big fun!
That ride sounds freaking amazing! Dude, now I want to go there! And yeah, that sounds like a great way to spend a birthday!
Morning kittens. So glad it's the end of the week. I really want to get the heck out of here and enjoy the weekend. It's exactly one month before my birthday and I have a lot of planning to do.
@LZ: happy belated birthday to you wee one.
Morning kittens!
hello everyone, it's been a while how is life treating everyone?