| MemcacheD Update |
[Jul. 16th, 2009|02:17 pm] |
Just wanted to let everyone know, that a new version of MemcacheD has been released. We will be rolling this out to the memcache nodes during the week of July 20th to 24th. This should have very little impact on the stability of the website; however users may see a slight increase in load times as the cache is re-populated with entries.
The software has been tested and verified to be working just fine with the application; so we perceive this to be a very minimal risk in regards to updating, and the stability of the website.
Thanks...
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| Cranberry #2 |
[Jul. 16th, 2009|05:19 pm] |
| [ | music |
| | Fever Ray - Dry And Dusty | ] |
Finishd three interviews today, getting started on three more. Colin from Alphabets is such a rad guy. Yesterday's chicken stew with caramelized onions went down really well. Thinking of compiling some recipes into a little online magazine with pretty pictures; what do you think?
Upcoming:
Zola Jesus - The Spoils
Circuit des Yeux - Sirenum
Little Claw - Human Taste
Best Coast - Where The Boys Are
Terror Bird - Sociopaths Are Glam
Grass Widow - Grass Widow
Talk Normal - Secret Cog EP
Universal Studios Florida - Ocean Birds |
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| Ornament |
[Jul. 16th, 2009|09:10 pm] |
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| MYSTERY FUNGUS |
[Jul. 16th, 2009|10:05 am] |
I've been finding these fungoid growths hanging from heath plants along the rivers this month, and my emails with the folks at Bartram's Garden and Harvard have not yet shed any light on what they are. Galls, perhaps? |
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| OLD PHOTO, NEW BUSINESS IDEA |
[Jul. 15th, 2009|09:19 pm] |
My niece sent this old shot of me at Easter one year during my "pervy antique collector who knew a guy who knew a guy who once bought Terry Thomas a drink" phase. As you can see, I was wearing an ascot. And a pocketsquare. And ankleboots. AND a waxed moustache. Not altogether convincing of course, but I might revisit this look when I'm old enough to pull it off. I'll say it was damn fun putting it through its paces at the time, though. Even grocery shopping was an adventure.
Another reason that I tried this look so prematurely is that it seemed a shame that my nieces didn't have a "funny" uncle around, so I decided to step in as a proxy. Seemed the decent thing to do.
When or if I do revisit this "look," I might rent myself out as the gay relation's "friend" at people's family holiday gatherings. |
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| (no subject) |
[Jul. 15th, 2009|01:16 pm] |
Decayed Lace
Sundays from 10pm-12am on WEFT 90.1fm, Champaign IL
http://myspace.com/stitches_cu
http://weft.org
playlist for 21 june 2009
die laughing - safe little world
the drowning season - vicious
rosetta stone - sense of purpose (omegaddon mix)
arts of erebus - in my eyes
the eden house - trashed treasure
unto ashes - the blood of my lady (pt2)
mantus - wo die einsamkeit beginnt
dreadful shadows - the drowning sun
sopor aeternus - backbone practise
cinema strange - catacomb kittens
black ice - terrible birds
the horrors - do you remember
otto dix - ancient
diary of dreams - poison breed
the beauty of gemina - nevertime
behind the scenes - sos
pink turns blue - underground
the downward path (feat. niceville) - the scourge
the eternal fall - the scar
end of data - if you like, follow me and so
absolute body control - into the light
gary numan - we are glass
monozid - let's shake hands and wonder
blacklist - worlds collide
right-click save at http://decayedlace.stitched-up.org/062109.mp3
winamp stream at http://decayedlace.stitched-up.org/062109.m3u
subscribe at http://feeds.feedburner.com/DecayedLacePodcast |
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| Dearly Departed Exhibit - Owego, NY |
[Jul. 15th, 2009|09:01 am] |
If any of you live near Owego, NY - you might find this exhibit of great interest. We plan on attending... perhaps in our Victorian Mourning attire.
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| THE MONARCH RANCH |
[Jul. 15th, 2009|09:28 am] |
Friends F and M grow a variety of milkweed species on their property, and hand-rear monarch butterflies. More photos here. |
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| We´re All Criminals Now, or all about freedom fries |
[Jul. 15th, 2009|03:05 pm] |
De primero: "Du bist Terrorist"
De segundo: "We´re all Criminals Now" by Pet Shop Boys
Videoed on the subway
Reading the news and then
Walking along the high street
Videoed once again
Waiting for a bus in Stockwell
Cameras on my back
Suddenly hearing sirens
Sounding a panic attack Hey, hey
Don't ask me how
We've changed
We're all criminals now
Hey, hey
Don't ask me how
We're blamed
We're all criminals now Just a routine procedure (we're watching you)
A sample of your DNA (the things you do)
Queuing to be finger-printed (you could be dangerous)
Going to the USA
Another routine procedure (we're on your case)
Driving in your car (we've seen your face)
Stopped and searched and questioned (some place before)
Can you prove who you are? Hey, hey
Don't ask me how
We've changed
We're all criminals now
Hey, hey
Don't ask me how
We've been framed
We're all criminals now
Hey, hey, hey
We're all criminals now
Hey, hey, hey
We're all criminals now Got the bus to the station
Music playing in my head
Ran to get on the tube train
Police shot someone dead Don't ask me how
We're all criminals now Hey, hey
Don't ask me how
We're blamed
We're all criminals now
Hey, hey
Don't ask me how
We've been framed
We're all criminals now |
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| DIRT IS THE NEW PROZAC |
[Jul. 14th, 2009|09:56 pm] |
Hey, bubble people: get outside. It makes you happy:
Some researchers have proposed that the sharp rise in asthma and allergy cases over the past century stems, unexpectedly, from living too clean. The idea is that routine exposure to harmless microorganisms in the environment—soil bacteria, for instance—trains our immune systems to ignore benign molecules like pollen or the dandruff on a neighbor’s dog. Taking this “hygiene hypothesis” in an even more surprising direction, recent studies indicate that treatment with a specific soil bacterium, Mycobacterium vaccae, may be able to alleviate depression. For example, lung cancer patients who were injected with killed M. vaccae reported better quality of life and less nausea and pain. Now a team of neuroscientists and immunologists may have figured out why this works. The bacteria, when injected into mice, activate a set of serotonin-releasing neurons in the brain—the same nerves targeted by Prozac. |
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| Beautiful mourning jewelry piece |
[Jul. 14th, 2009|03:40 pm] |
| [ | mood |
| | calm | ] |
| [ | music |
| | bat for lashes - moon and moon | ] |
I wish this were mine; I actually found it on Flickr. It's a really unique piece so I had to share it. The hair of the deceased is used as the weeping willow. Really intricate.
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| KARAOKE PUNK |
[Jul. 14th, 2009|09:14 pm] |
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Este viernes me lo pasé en grande, primero fuimos al Gris donde pinchó Javi y como esperaba puso bastante gótico y otras cosas muy interesantes, pensábamos tomarnos una e irnos pero al final fueron dos, hasta que empezó a llenarse y a ser un agobio. Han cambiado la decoración y está mucho mejor.
Yo en el Gris
Después nos fuimos a la fiesta “karaoke punk” que hacían en el “13 Monos” lo organizaba Elvis de La Corredera, la verdad es que fue gracioso, lo mas freaky que había visto en tiempo. La gente empezó a cantar canciones que estaban pinchando e inventándose la letra, hasta yo me anime a hacer el gilipollas ya que todo el mundo estaba muy desinhibido. La música que pusieron estuvo bien… Depeche Mode, Grauzzone, DAF mas punk por supuesto jajaja…
Aquí salgo con Elvis
Ángel con su amiga
Elvis y Under de karaoke
Este tío se inventaba las letras de puta madre, rimaban y todo
Hasta yo me animé a cantar.
Terminamos la noche en el Morocco donde pusieron petardeo como es habitual en dicha sala, allí estaba Javi.
Louis y Javi en el Morocco.
Aqui salgo con Louis en el Morocco
El sábado estaba cansado y salí directamente al Moscú, estaba pinchando Predicador en vez de Mariano, me dijeron que esa noche pinchaba en el Pirámide. Después fuimos al Dark Hole donde pinché al última hora como es habitual, últimamente me está funcionando muy bien Frank and the Baptist, me sorprendió que mas de una persona me los pidiese.
Armando en pleno desenfreno danzarín
Javi y Rubén en el Moscú
Hacía tiempo que no salía Lourdes y salió muy guapa, se merecía una foto
Igual le pasaba a Blanca, hacía tiempo que no salía. Todo un gusto volver a verla
Eli y Javi en el Dark Hole
Javi y Esputos en el Dark Hole
Después nos fuimos a la plaza de La Luna de botellón, estaba vez hubo más gente de botellón que había salido del Dark Hole. De echo estuvieron los chinos rondándonos para vendernos cervezas.
Momento parque feliz en la Plaza de La Luna
Lina con sus amigos en la Plaza de la Luna
Cuando se fueron todos, yo no tenía ganas de dormir mas Arturo me llamó y me fui a la fiesta que organizaba Cristina en su casa. Sobre las las doce mas o menos me fui a mi casa rendido, que paranoia ya que no podía abrir la puerta del portal puesto que estaba en obras y tuve que subir y me costó que me abrieran ya que la música la tenían a toda ostia.
Fiesta desfase en casa de Cristina, como se puede apreciar, no fatalba alcohol
Aquí sale Cristina, tiene una casa muy chula con vigas de mandera, en plan antigua
Aquí Arturo de bailoteo.
Ángel y Ruth en la fiesta.
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| AGENT WHEELSWORTH, I PRESUME? |
[Jul. 13th, 2009|09:15 am] |
(Photo credit: Abby and Tori)
Had a grand time last week with New York sirens Abby & Tori, who swept in from the Metropolis and lured me into the woods to assist with their film project, The Hunt for Good Americans. I was asked to play a messenger from beyond named Agent Wheelsworth, which required me to compose and recite some light verse as well as ride my highwheel about the nearby beech forest.
Abby and Tori's vision is quite playful, as they dress in flamboyant getups that reflect the themes of their various "chapters". The use of color in this particular scene was vibrant, and the dialogue was a kind of musical speech, much like The Umbrellas of Cherbourg.
(No, I did not sing my lines--I can't carry a tune to save my life, and I would have mortified myself in the attempt. Honor would have demanded that I fill my shoes with stones afterwards, and walk stoically into the river.)
While they were filming their parts, I wandered off to do some birding, as they sang in the distance. The effect was quite lovely, as if some arty water nymphs emerged from the nearby river, donned frocks of flowers, and decided to have a go at showbiz. Absolutely delightful.
Then came the time for me to make a hash of things. They first filmed me riding my highwheel through the woods, which was easy enough--but then I had to act in a couple scenes. Abby and Tori are natural performers, but I confess to being a bit timid when it comes to such things. I did my best to keep pace with the girls, so as not to disappoint (I had to cover my ears on playback, because I despise my voice so). I thought my silly poem about my bicycle was quite fun, though; I included some Chihuahhuas and bananas for good measure.
After we were done shooting I gave an impromptu rant about the patch of edible cinnabar chanterelles I'd found by the river, obsessed hermit that I am. Having such colorful visitors did me some good, actually, as I needed to be drawn out of the woodsy-mossy shell I've ensconced myself in of late.
(I kind of like how I look like a rumpled old duffer in the first photo.)
Thank you for including me in your adventures, ladies. And good luck with the film! |
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| The Chap Olympiad 2009 |
[Jul. 13th, 2009|11:13 am] |
Readers with a long memory might recall my thrilling adventures at the Chap Olympiad last year. Obviously, as I'd declared myself the winner of the Scoundrels Challenge last year I had to attend this year as I had a title to defend and so on Saturday I dressed myself up to the nines and headed off.
For those of you who don't know what the Chap Olympics is, The Chap is a periodical whose editorial stance is "What would an eccentric English Gent make of the modern world?", and their Olympiad is an annual event devoted to dressing well, drinking, and taking part in exciting sporting events like the Moustache tug-of-war, Umbrella Jousting and the Martini Relay.
I think, over the course of the day, I learned three important lessons.
1) If you want to get photographed by tourists in London, all you have to do is dress smartly, pop a hat on at a rakish angle, and hold a singsong around the Play me I'm yours piano in Soho Square.
2) If you are dressed up, London beggars simply won't believe you when you when you say that you have no cash at all - even if this is entirely true - and become abusive as a result.
3) If I enter the Scoundrels Challenge next year, I'm wearing a gumshield.
I made my way to Bedford Square gardens with ![[info]](http://l-stat.livejournal.com/img/userinfo.gif) robinbloke as my valet, Langridge. This proved to be an exceptionally successful move, as I didn't have to carry my own bags, hold my umbrella or queue for food or drinks all day. As a quality of life enhancer, I heartily recommend engaging a man to do all that sort of thing. Valets - everyone should have one.
Anyway, arriving at the gardens we discovered that taking your own booze onto the site was prohibited (They had a drinks stand in the gardens) and they were searching bags on the way in; however, I must have an honest face as they didn't check mine and so I ambled in with a few bottles of decent plonk and a hipflask, which helped the afternoon swim by in a most agreeable fashion with delightful company.
I'd arrived fashionably late, which meant that most of the events were already fully subscribed (which I thought a little bit off, as many of the people taking part in the events were the organisers themselves. Poor show all round), but I registered as a competitor and hoped for the best. Alas, I missed out on the Hop, Skip and G&T and the Plate of cucumber sandwiches discus but, reasoning that I wasn't there to play fair, I elbowed my way to the front of the queue for the three legged trouser limbo. This event involved two people wearing an oversized pair of three-legged trousers between them and walking a short course before limbo-ing under a pole. Naturally, I couldn't allow Langridge to share a pair of trousers with me and so I popped them on and he carried his half. I ambled the length of the course, saluting gents with my brolly and tipping my hat to the ladies, and when we got to the limbo pole Langridge kindly raised it to a height sufficient for me to continue unimpeded. Unfortunately, this, for reasons which escaped me, was not sufficient for me to win the event. I consider myself cheated.
And so the highlight of the afternoon drew near. The Scoundrels Challenge. One of the toughest sporting events known to man, the Scoundrels Challenge was entered as a display sport in the 1996 Altlanta Olympics but was withdrawn after seventeen deaths in the first round. The event involves walking up to a lady and acting in as caddish a manner possible until driven away by a ringing slap. The winner is the man with the reddest cheek but the wryest smile. I've spent pretty much my entire life in training for this event.
Langridge and I took to the course.
"I say, Langridge", I said, indicating a nearby beauty. "Acquire me this lady, would you, there's a good fellow."
Langridge made an enquiry as to the lady's hourly rates.
"More than you could afford!" She replied.
"Don't be so sure", I replied with an encouraging leer. "I have three, perhaps as many as four shillings in my wallet?"
The lady gave an outraged squawk and then...well, if I'm being honest I'm not entirely sure what happened next. Whatever it was, though, it left a ringing in my ears and a taste of blood in my mouth. As colonel_maxim observed more then fifteen minutes later, "Good heavens; you can still see the marks her fingers left in your neck".
Needless to say, I sacked Langridge on the spot.
So it was that I retired hurt from the event. It's difficult - nay, impossible - to maintain a wry smile whilst attempting to straighten your nose, and so I couldn't complete the competition. So I lost my title - but, seeing as I only got it by cheating and villainy in the first place, I really can't complain too much.
Anyway, plenty more pictures from the event can be found here. |
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| Furniture |
[Jul. 13th, 2009|10:48 am] |
This Saturday and Sunday, we multiplied our storage space by about 10. Which is great.
We inherited a lof of furniture (so these are just not happening anymore), and we have reorganized our living room, dining room, kitchen, bedroom and workshop. The furniture in question is a great 5m long cabinet that is mainly covered with doors, so that is great to avoid dust bunnies. It is mostly massive oak with some composite laminated with oak, it's about 40 years old or a bit older. Also, 5 open bookshelves, in oak too, this time just fronts and doors are massive oak. These are about 10 years old.
We also got a pinkish sofa and armchairs but they are at Pim's parents waiting for a sunny day so that we can clean them and steam them properly, they are dusty.
We changed the position of the sofas to cover our only long wall with the cabinet. It just didn't fit, so we had to saw off 1.5cm of each side's legs. We saved the bits so they can be reconstructed later on. The cornice sticks out so we could not fit it either, we put it behind the cabinet. We put one of the bookshelves in the bedroom to store shoes (hah :D), a couple in the kitchen, where I covered the shelves with oilcloth, and another couple in the dining room, where the Ikea buffet used to be. This one went on to my workshop for my kilns to put on top. We also finally hung the top shelf piece thing, on top of it. The narrow long table where I had my kilns is now in the kitchen. The table in the kitchen was just an horizontal surface to cover in clutter so we got rid of it.
I think that is mostly it. Ah no, we also got three (yes... one relative took the other 5, why 5 I don't know) dining room chairs that more or less go with the cabinets, they are oak too.
I couldn't carry furniture of course, Pim and his dad did that, his mom helped too, but also of course I managed to hurt myself cleaning years of dust off and doing another million little things (and sometimes carrying furniture despite all). In any case I am very glad, everything looks a lot better now, we have so much storage space, no more things on the floor without anywhere to put them I hope. Well, except for the bedroom, we still have a bit of storage problem there, blankets and clothes in cardboard boxes, and due to the shape of the room it is not an easy one to solve.
Still a lot of work to do, just the great amount of little things lying around. Oh and we have a few lamps to hang too... I don't know when we are gonna do that. I will have to take pics when everything is organized which what with working and everything I guess will take all of this week. Will take some temporary ones now anyway, of course there's still mess:
( Read more... )
Just one other thing :> I waxed chairs and cabinet, but for the fronts of the cabinets, I made a special blend of furniture wax and BPAL 'The Lurid Library" (The incense-tinged scent of forbidden tomes and the musk-laden remnants of infernal servants), so that it will smell of proper library: lightly musky paper and parchment. A ridiculously decadent use for BPAL :D I also sprayed the inside of the cabinets with a tiny bit of BPAL 'The House" (Rotted ebony wood, faded incense, moldy earth, creeping moss, and blighted roses). I still have to polish the fronts with a woolen cloth though, but it does smell lightly of the perfume :) probably only I notice it but it makes me smile. |
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