If you watch fandom_lounge over on JournalFen, you may've already heard about this. But it's so cool I had to share:

Lost footage of "Metropolis" surfaces in Argentina

It looks like the reels they found had all but five minutes of the missing footage. The film is badly scratched, though, so it'll take quite a while to restore. Still, how awesome is that? :D

There was this great article about theatrical mishaps in our local paper today, which reminded me of some of my own... like the time I nearly fell into the orchestra pit in Oliver!, or when the heel of my character shoe broke off during a dance routine in Kiss Me, Kate and shot across the stage like a bullet.

But I'd say the most memorable one was when I had a shoulder subluxation (a.k.a. a temporary, partial dislocation) during a performance of A Midsummer Night's Dream. I had to grab someone and hurl her across the stage, and though I'd never had a problem with this before, on that night my shoulder just went *pop*. I was practically greying out from the pain, but I managed to stay onstage for the rest of the scene without breaking character -- luckily this happened at the END of the only long speech I had to give, so I didn't have any more lines in that scene. Then I walked off stage, collapsed, and my shoulder popped back into place. :Db It was also the night the performance was being recorded, and on the tape you could see me rocking in place a little after it happened. Hahaha.

None of mine were as extreme as the ones in the article, though. One guy was accidentally stabbed in the hand during a fight scene, but he kept on going anyway, bleeding all over the place. D: Theatre people are hardcore.

I actually did this yesterday, but forgot to hit the post button. Ahaha. The idea is to post a screencap of your desktop and then blab about it and your desktop-making habits.

( derp derp )

This week I got dragged along on a fruitless clothes-shopping quest. My own tastes almost never line up with fashion trends, but the stuff that's out there right now is just plain depressing. Apparently sleeves hacked off at the armpit, awkward ties and ruffles, and busy 1970s-looking patterns in hideous colors are in at the moment. And everything's made of polyester! Yech.

I did get a laugh out of a Lucky Brand hoodie with random mangled Japanese phrases on it (some highlights were "sweetest candy" and "that's hotter than hell"). It was almost as funny as that one time I got yelled at by a big tough guy who was wearing a baseball cap emblazoned with the kanji for "cat." Beware of clothes with writing in languages you don't understand, kids.

Anyone remember this? We had a redux last night. There were tornado warnings all over the place, but we didn't actually have a tornado touch down around here as far as I know... still, it sure felt like one! Before I fled downstairs I saw this horrific roaring wall of wind and water. You couldn't see anything through it, aside from the occasional blurred tree limb or bit of debris hurtling by. Pretty frightening.

Thankfully, there was no serious damage. And at least this time our power was only off for about 6-7 hours instead of 3 days! There was still a big mess to clean up, because even more of that same tree came down, as well as a bunch of other large branches and roof shingles all over the place. We didn't even have the worst damage this time: one of our neighbors had two big trees down. One was snapped in half and the other was completely uprooted. D: It's amazing that they didn't fall on the power lines or their house, because they easily could've if the wind had blown just right.

Every time something like this happens, though, I'm reminded of the kindness of our neighbors. Last year a couple guys from across the street came over and chopped up the fallen tree for us. This year the people from the church next door told us to move the limbs into their yard and they'd dispose of them, since most of the mess was from a tree on their property. (I guess this entire church was praying for me while I was in the hospital, too?! Our next-door neighbor asked them on my behalf. I had no idea.)

Sorry I haven't been around much lately. I still feel kind of weak and blah and tire easily, but other than that, I'm slowly getting back to normal. Nothing really exciting to report, other than the fact that I slept on my side last night for the first time! Well, it was exciting to ME. I hate sleeping on my back.

( Boring health junk. )

( Also, the Life Soundtrack meme. Did this a bit ago but forgot to post it. )

I am home (unexpectedly! I thought I was gonna be in there another day at least). The surgery went well and I seem to be healing up fine, in spite of having the most horrifying experience of my life while hospitalized. More later when I feel like sitting upright for more than a few minutes. :D I missed you guys!

1860 'Phonautograph' Is Earliest Known Recording

The recording itself is very short, but spooky and awesome. (Link found at random_lounge.)

Poll #1175546
Open to: All, results viewable to: All

What's your blood type?

Embarrassing fact: I didn't know there were types other than the ones above until I read Yakitate!! Japan.

Awesome fact that has nothing to do with anything: my mom bought me a copy of Shin Megami Tensei: Nocturne as a "get well" present, since Atlus has done another run of the NA version and she knows I've been on an unholy quest to find the damn thing for ages. \o/!! With this and all the books you guys recommended for me, I should be good to go for entertainment for a while.

And since I might as well mention this now: if you're wondering why I never seem to talk about fannish nonsense, it's all on a filter. (Filter's been a little quiet lately, but will pick up again eventually.) You can sign up over here. Sorry about the dumb poll.

Well, that was an interesting way to wake up! It felt subtle enough to me at first that I thought I was shaking, then I noticed the bed was... kind of moving. First earthquake I've ever felt, though we've apparently had others around here in my lifetime.

I love this song so much. (Here's a slower version without surface noise on Youtube. Probably a later re-recording?) For some reason, I'd never explored Ellington's 1920s material very thoroughly before. I was missing out!

Oh right, and my surgery's been set for April 24th. I should be in the hospital for about four days, provided they can do the surgery laparoscopically and there aren't any complications. If I have to stay any longer than that I'll probably go insane and try to take over the world, so... here's hoping I won't have to become your new supreme overlord. :V

I've sort of talked about this before, when I mentioned that some people can't tell if I'm dark-skinned or light-skinned, but apparently I look to be of a very indeterminate ethnicity.

This particular post is in honor of the new hygienist at my dentist's office who thought I was part Japanese. I've actually gotten that a few times. It puzzles me, because I don't think I look Japanese at all... maybe it's the dark hair and last name that ends in "i" but doesn't sound Italian or Polish? I've been guessed as both of those before too, though, and lots of others, both probable and improbable. For instance, when I transferred to a new elementary school in the third grade, there were a few kids who were convinced I was a Russian exchange student. Who knows why they picked "Russian," but to be fair, I didn't speak much in class and kept to myself most of the time. That combined with my "foreign" looks and last name may've gotten ideas going.

I had another memorable mistaken ethnicity incident in one of my middle school classes. We were filling out some kind of form that asked for all sorts of personal background information. My teacher glanced at mine, then gave me a weird look and said, "You didn't check Hispanic in the 'ethnic background' section."

Me: "Well, no, 'cause I'm not."

Teacher: "Are you sure?"

Me: "Um... yeah, pretty sure!"

Teacher: [staaaaare]

Me: "Really. I'm not."

Teacher: "Okay..." [clearly not convinced]

She just seemed to have her heart set on it! Even when I went on to explain what my ethnic background was, she still looked a little dubious. It was very strange. I suppose she was only used to seeing a small range of ethnic groups, since it was kind of a podunk school.

But I don't know, I find it pretty amusing that I get something different from almost every person who tries to guess. (And I also realize I'm fortunate that it's never been a cause for serious trouble for me, especially in this day and age.) Maybe I should do what my dad used to and start giving out random ethnicities every time I'm asked. :D

Reminder to self (and anyone else who gets this channel and likes eerie movies, I guess): Picnic at Hanging Rock is on the IFC this Sunday at 9:35 am and 5:30 pm EDT. Man, I've been meaning to watch this for ages.

Have any of you seen it? What did you think?

Janet Klein teaches you the chords for "Tonight You Belong to Me" on the ukulele. (The actual song starts at about 3:00, if you'd like to skip the lesson for some reason.) I swear the woman is a time traveler!

Also, I highly recommend What Bird for all your (North American) bird-identifying needs. I used to do this by Googling "bird" and a list of its main features, but this site is much more efficient -- you can filter your results by size, color, patterns on specific areas of the body, location, diet, and all sorts of other things. Thanks to this, I was able to identify the cute little eeping creature outside my door this morning as a red-breasted nuthatch.

I really need a new mood theme. First, I must tell you that I judge almost all mood themes on the basis of which image is used for "quixotic." Well, not totally -- I have to like the theme in general first, of course, because I don't always feel like tilting at windmills. But when I do, it must be done right!

Anyway, the Quixotic Factor is a large enough part that it can make me dismiss a theme I would've otherwise used. So that's the main reason I've had this Kei Toume theme for so long. The other reason starts with an L and ends in AZY. I'd be using this one if it weren't for all the repeat images (which is pretty much unavoidable with Guy Blank). BUT I MEAN. LOOK AT IT.

I'm almost sure I've told this story before, though it may've been on my pre-LJ blog, or in a comment somewhere... anyway, an entry on my friends list made me want to bring it up again.

( Cut, because those sensitive to stories about loss and funerals may not want to read it. Although it's mostly funny. )

If you've been reading my LJ for a while, you probably know that I have a history of really bad menstrual cramps (I've certainly bitched about them here enough). Well, those days may be over!

( Cut for possible bodily TMI. )

On another note of awesomeness, remember how a certain fundie hate group was going to picket a high school in my town for their performance of The Laramie Project? Well, it looks like they never showed. A few local people came to protest on opening night, but they were apparently so intimidated by the 50-something supporters with signs that they didn't do much. Heh!

Just a quick heads-up, since this happened to me: if you use Firefox and have the NoScript extension enabled, and you make a payment to LJ with PayPal, your account might not be credited. Not sure how long this is going to last, but Support says you should temporarily use another browser or disable NoScript while making payments if the above combination applies to you. If you've already paid for something and it's not being credited, they recommend opening a support request. Mine was cleared up promptly and with an apology.

On a more amusing note! Does anyone remember Facade? If not, it's a freeware interactive fiction game where you take the role of a friend visiting a passive-aggressive couple with relationship problems. You can try to play therapist to them -- good luck getting them to listen to you though -- or you can mess them up even worse, which is fun. But it's even more fun to say all sorts of bizarre shit and watch the AI try not to self-destruct in confusion.

I forgot about this thing until today, when I was cleaning junk off the ol' hard drive and found a bunch of really stupid logs. XD Those of you who had my gameblog friended might recall one where I pretty much just made weird noises at Trip and Grace until they kicked me out. I did some later where I actually spoke to them in complete sentences... not that it made any more sense. I would like to share one of these for your edification.

( Beantinis, baby-eating, and the musical stylings of Toto: it's a Tallulah party! )

( Blurp )

Confession: I have a minor obsession with online wishlists. I'm fascinated by others' lists, and I find making them more fun than shopping for real for whatever reason. You might remember me mentioning a "universal wishlist" site called The Things I Want a while ago -- but thanks to a rec from thestarlet, I switched to Kaboodle. It has more of a social networking flavor than TTIW, which alarmed me at first (hermit hermit bzzt bzzt who are these random people talking to meeee), but I'm actually kind of getting into that aspect now too. And I like its functions and features much better. You're not limited to making wishlists either, though they seem to be the focal point of the site. You can make collection lists, recommendation lists, link lists, or whatever strikes your fancy. I'm working on an online recipe list, for example.

Anyway, give it a look if you're into that sort of thing. And feel free to add me if you have an account there... or just poke through my lists. :)

I love Rebecca Purcell's design sensibilities! She often crams her spaces fuller than most people would probably like, and with stranger elements -- some of the photos put me in mind of a discerning magpie who goes for slightly spooky old objects rather than shiny ones. But I think they're gorgeous. (The first two shots in that LJ entry are very close to how I pictured Ma Dendy's parlor in Tipping the Velvet, with the walls covered in dusty, odd-sized pictures of her former theatrical lodgers... well, except the people in her pictures were probably wearing clothes.)

Yet another thing I'd like to blame on Silent Hill's influence is my love for rotting antique wallpaper. Seriously, I can't tell you how thrilled I'd be if I lived in a house with walls like these.

If you like this aesthetic as much as I do, you should also check out the rest of salvage_style, as well as the maintainer's blog, Little Brown Sparrow. There are beautiful things to see in both.

...make numbered lists, I guess.

• One of my cats is beside me playing frantically with a Cheerio. I think I need to rustle them up some new toys.
  
• Sometimes when I'm bored, I like to click the Discussion links at the tops of Wikipedia articles to see if there's a fight going on in the comments. I'd say I end up finding at least a minor kerfuffle about half the time. See the Talk page for Neanderthals for an example of what I'm talking about. Wall of text attack does 5000 damage!
  
• I found my copy of The Happy Mutant Handbook that'd been missing for ages. Reading this is like time-traveling back to a weird little corner of the mid-90s! In their section about fun oddities on the Internet, they talk about Usenet. (Usenet and mailing lists and FTP archives, oh my!) But my favorites are the article on "Digital Dodoes" (like the Coleco Adam) and the extended love letter to old-school Wham-O toys. Not to mention the article on building hacking, which must've been one of the things that sparked my interest in abandoned buildings. And I think this was also the first place I ever heard of Einstürzende Neubauten.
  
• I dig these things. Mmmm, root vegetables. Bonus: everyone else in my household thinks they're yucky, so I have no competition for them! I might just try to make my own sometime.
  
• This is a really cool and sweet idea -- a gender stereotype-busting coloring book. See here for some sample pages.
  
• May I direct your attention to this fine wall decoration I received a bit ago? (Yes, they signed the chicken. I love these people.)