Draped in black. Static, white sound.

I wish we'd played this last night, given the helicopters...

2009-12-22T13:52:39Z

Sigh... Another one of my favorites is gone.

2009-12-19T02:20:36Z

Dan O'Bannon
1946-2009

Ho Ho No...

2009-12-18T21:01:41Z

Don't forget to come out this Monday, December 21st as Brand X's continued holiday celebration, well... continues. We'll be showing a Christmas movie from south of the border called Santa Claus filmed in the AMAZING Mexiscope technology. Forget Cameron and Avatar. He could never come up with such an awesome word like Mexiscope.

Of course, this movie has, as you'd expect... Santa Claus. But did you expect that it also has old scratch himself, Satan?! I bet we know who Brand X's resident Satanist will be rooting for. It also features Merlin, for some odd reason.

As if this doesn't sound great enough, dear audience, the entire film is gift wrapped in a riff by Mystery Science Theater 3000. You can't beat that, now can you?

Wait... What? There's more?! Of course there's more... What would any film we'd show be without a patented Brand X preshow? You'll have to show up to learn more about that though.

From Brand X Cinema. The name you know and have trusted for like 3 years now...

Santa Claus
Admission: Free, as always!
Monday, Dec. 21st - 8:30pm
Domy / Cafe Brasil (back patio)
1709 Westheimer Rd, Houston TX 77098
713-523-3669

New Portishead... and a new direction for them... plus a VCS3.

2009-12-14T18:23:22Z

I like it.

And so it begins...

2009-12-13T06:52:54Z

...Twelve hours after my first steroid dose and that nonstop hunger is starting to set in. Fan-fucking-tastic... Where's the nonstop energy boost I got last time?! At least I can go for a 10 mile walk. The nonstop acid reflux keeps me from jogging.

The nurse forgot to bring a stretchy meshy thingy to hold my IV catheter tube to my arm so it doesn't become a new, irresistable cat toy. In its stead, I found a sock that had no match to worry about it when it went missing. I don't need no police coming around and asking questions about how that thing on my arm fits the description in a missing persons' report... It wouldn't look too good at all... Not after how bad I cut that sock up.

Did I mention that I cooked Aloo Gobi this evening? Well, I did an I should post that recipe soon because it turned out pretty well.

IV Steroids - Round One

2009-12-12T18:38:09Z

Well... the line is in and this stuff tastes as bad as I remember. It leaves a taste in your mouth like sucking on stainless steel. Apart from that, I don't like that I've gotta use a gravity bag this time. The pressurized baby bottle things were much more portable, but now I can claim I own an IV pole. Aren't you jealous?

And people wonder why healthcare reform is needed...

2009-12-11T22:59:38Z

My neurologist's office tends to set up these complicated scheduling matters involving MRIs and IV steroid treatments. It's very nice of them, really. They're setting me up with the same organization that punctured me for my last stint on Solumedrol. Makes sense as I have no objections to this.

Here's where the stupid enters. Keep in mind, I have the same insurance plan that I had a year ago, though I do pay a bit more for it now than I did one year back. Apparently, my insurance will, now, not cover the treatment if I drive to their clinic and have the IV put in there... They have to send a nurse to where I live (the same nurse, in fact, that was to do it at the clinic) and insert the same IV to push the same solution into my bloodstream. Makes sense, right?!

Guess I should have been a neurologist, huh...?

2009-12-11T17:03:47Z

So I went to my appointment this morning. I've actually managed to avoid the whole MRI business for now. My neurologist believes the issue to be the same as what I believed it to be... optic neuritis. He doesn't think that this is a severe MS flare and that I should fully recover from it, but I'm to be fitted with an IV today for three days worth of steroids and after that, about two weeks worth of oral steroids to step down. Hopefully this improves the eye issue. Of course, after I leave his office, it seems like something else rears its head. I seem to be getting more dizzy now that I've told him my dizzy spells were pretty mild if I had them at all.

Anyway... Luck just isn't with me of late. Last night I had to go run a few errands when I got home from work. The cats needed more food (it seems they always need more) and I had to pick up a few items of a mushy consistency so that Michelle could eat. She had four wisdom teeth cut out on Tuesday, so she can't eat much other than soup, ice cream and pudding. I need the machine that dispenses food for Robocop. Obviously, it would figure that when I need to take care of her, I go partially blind in one eye. On my way out, I decided to take out the trash, and as luck would have it, some jerk didn't pick up their dog's shit again, and, well, being night-blind anyway, I stepped right in it. Mark my words... The next person I see not pick up after their dog will be forced to do so... with their teeth; that is, if I leave them any.

Then, this morning, on my way to the doctor's office, my check engine light comes on. Glory be! The engine sounds and runs fine. I've plenty of oil and the other necessities, so I guess I need to have it read. I just fixed this fucker to the tune of $700 a couple of months ago... I'm guessing it has something to do with that ignition coil recall. Hopefully, that is all it is, as I won't have to pay anything. VW tends to tell people of the recall, but advises them not to bring it in for service until they start having an issue with it... at least with things like this. The last recall I got was for a brake light switch and it was only two days after I got the message that my lights wouldn't turn off and I had to disconnect my battery over the weekend until someone could fix it.

More complaining. I just feel the need to vent. Pay no mind.

2009-12-10T16:37:18Z

You know... I really don't understand how a medication, any medication, can possibly merit a cost of $2,200 a month; especially when a manufacturer claims they don't fully understand how it works (how that gets by the FDA, I'll never kn... wait... this is the FDA we're talking about here. Nevermind). MS medications are notoriously expensive and there is really no way any "normal" individual could likely afford any of them without insurance. There is also no way of proving they're actually helping you. Just an FYI... When I started taking this medication 6+ years ago, the cost was $1,200 per 30 day supply. It was taken off the market, from what I understand, for a while. It seems to burn more now and I get more hard lumps at the injection sites, so maybe that why it costs more.

MS is different for everyone and it is more severe for some than others. I count myself as having it easy so far as people tend not to know unless I tell them, but is it because of the meds or is it just that it's been easier on me? I guess I'll never know. I do know that I had a lull in taking this med for two years where I was so broke, I couldn't even manage the cost of the copay. I also know that in the year since I've been back on it, I've had two of the most severe exacerbations that I've had in the 10 years of having this disease (6 years actually knowing it was MS). Granted, there are no promises that this medication prevents all (or any) flare-ups, and it is possible that I might have experienced a more serious exacerbation without it, but who is to say for sure?

Right now, I'm concerned about the current problem getting worse. My right eye has dimmed pretty noticeably, though it hasn't really blurred as is often the case with Optic Neuritis. Then again, while I can recall a number of bouts of double vision, I can't say that I've experienced Optic Neuritis previously. ON is often one of the first symptoms people get with MS (My first symptom was going pins and needles on the right side of my body for two weeks). There are two things that stand out most to me... One is the peculiarly shaped scotoma in the center of my right eye's field of vision. I can really mainly see it when I blink. It's kinda like when a bright light hits you right in the eye and you have that little ghost glare for a few moments after, only it is more shadow like. The other thing is color. With the dimness, the color seems to have lost its vividness in that eye; red, in particular. Red, being my favorite color, makes this more unfortunate for me. Here's a pretty accurate illustration. Keep in mind, my vision sucked before MS as genetics had already blessed me with a rare eye condition called retinoschisis, plus one hell of an astigmatism and myopia and nightblindness. Yep... believe you me... I'm one hell of a catch if you're looking to procreate.

I've got an appointment with my neurologist tomorrow. I predict another round of IV steroids, but I'm hoping I don't need to go through the whole MRI gauntlet again. That is not how I like to spend my day, not to mention it too gets pretty expensive. Then again... it beats the always thrilling spinal tap ride.

I'm going to be one of those people that posts images of cats for a moment.

2009-12-08T18:07:25Z

My girls do cheer me up... Especially when it looks like they're smiling (an attempt to get me to feed them more kibble)

...And even when it looks like one might be attempting scanner powers. (Again... kibble)

'Tis the Season... for Multiple Sclerosis...

2009-12-08T13:38:44Z

Geez... what is it about this time of year that MS just doesn't want me to enjoy? It seems this year and last, my right eye (the good one) is put through the ringer. Last year, I thought I'd had a stroke with my eyelid drooping and my pupil constricting... This year, it has the signs of optic neuritis. I have dim vision overall out of that eye and a gray spot just right of center. ON is usually temporary, but MS is always full of surprises.

It's bad enough that it zaps my energy, makes me sore as hell and have the oddest aches and muscle twitches, but I really hate that it messes with my vision, in particular when it's my right eye. I've always had a lazy, do-nothing left eye, but come on...

>>>End of bitchfest<<<

From 21 Floors up...

2009-12-04T17:40:01Z

You'd think there was a blizzard outside... The last few hours have looked awesome from up here. Down on the ground, however, it's a sloppy mess. The snow may stick to you for all of a second before it melts.

Edited: It's starting to stick now.

hunar_louse @ 2009-12-04T08:39:00

2009-12-04T14:39:48Z

Seeing it snow always makes me smile.

Pardon me while I kick myself...

2009-12-03T18:39:44Z

(Where YOU = ME)

You dumbass... You just have to be an adult and worry that you might get too sleepy for the meetings you have the next day and that you'll be paying for it the rest of the week, don't you?!

Of course, they'd play your favorite song the one time you didn't go... you moron.

Now you just have to watch this from a long time ago...

5 Years On

2009-11-13T18:04:41Z

Jhonn Balance
1962-2004

Yar... Avenged.

2009-11-13T00:50:57Z

Well.... here it is. The module I got instead of a case this month. It's just too cool for school.

None of that 8-Bit sound... Just 17, 9, 5 and all the way down to 4-bit Atari sounding psuedorandom ugliness.

I can't wait to actually use it, but I haven't yet a case. Until I do, though, here's what she sounds like.

So, I'm watching Clash of the Titans and... wait... YARRGH!!!!

2009-11-12T19:27:01Z

I went to MFAH's screening of Jason and the Argonauts. This, of course, put me into the mood to watch another film that Ray Harryhausen was involved in, Clash of the Titans. I've loved this movie since I was a kid, and I've owned it for years and years... Hell, I even still have the awesome comic book adaptation and my old metal lunch box tied to the film's release from what seems to go back to when the Gods were still in power.

But then I'm blindsided today by this shit... They've remade it. WHAT THE FUCK?! This is exactly why I don't keep up with current film releases anymore. I'd have a stroke. You've gotta have a hundred other Greek myths that haven't been translated onto celluloid, but no.... you pick this one. It also looks like they're not even getting the Perseus myth right anyway... I suppose the one thing this actually has in common with the original film is that there doesn't seem to be one Titan in any of it.

Of course, there are already legions of morons saying stupid shit like, "Good. It needed to be remade. The original looked silly."

Fuckwits.

Funny.

2009-11-10T13:58:06Z

toothpastefordinner.com

When I saw it in red, I almost peed my pants!

2009-11-09T21:09:25Z

So, for the last few months, I've been plotting away at the inevitable case I was going to get for my modular system. I was pretty dead-set on getting Doepfer's 9U portable case. It had enough room to keep me busy filling with coolness for a while and it was portable. It also costs quite a bit, so I kept putting it off. I was planning on finally getting it this week, but, instead I opted for another module, the identity of which I will disclose when it arrives.

After I made the module order, however, I was perusing Analogue Haven's website (which I really shouldn't have bookmarked in my browser) when I came across Monorocket's section. They make cases! In fact, they make cases that are slightly wider than the aforementioned Doepfer case, and even better... they're less expensive! They even make a large suitcase style enclosure that looks remarkably like an Arp 2600.

My future baby... and it has blue LEDs...

That Arp look... This one definitely gives me pause for thought on the possibility of assembling a larger system at some point.

Pearls before swine...

2009-11-08T00:04:01Z

So... This is the swine flu everyone's been talking about...

Ugh.

Houston Press Best Film Series 2009

2009-11-04T00:56:23Z

Did I neglect to mention we won this? Well, we won it and we weren't even aware we were up for an award (meaning we didn't even have to beg for votes. Not that we would have.)

This was about 2 months ago and I was getting ready for Fantastic Fest. That's likely why I forgot to say anything.

The End... Or is it?! (DUN DUN DUNNN!)

2009-11-02T20:24:02Z

The Burning
Dracula: Prince of Darkness
Blood and Black Lace
Hellraiser: Hellseeker
The Exorcist
Halloween
The Legend of Hell House
Black Sabbath

Though November 1st, I attended a screening of Jason and the Argonauts, we're providing our Domy audience with one final week of Halloween by showing The Exorcist III this evening.

Even the rain avoided falling on Bentham.

2009-10-30T12:41:00Z

And I know the feeling.

I love jogging in the rain. The thing is, it never seems to rain very long, if at all, once I head out. One would think that a 100% chance of rain and the fact that it is raining outside might guarantee that it will continue to do so once I step out of the door. Yesterday it did, but it stopped before I even got to the point where I was jogging. Oh well, I guess...

One thing I do enjoy about the rain is that people tend to stay out of it and, in turn, away from me. I find it funny that those who choose to run in it seem so frightened of water. After a decent rain, the trail around Rice puddles up rather well in places. Now, I'm of the mind that I jog to exercise. I assume this will likely make me a sweaty mess. I don't see much point in worrying about how I smell or how I look while I'm running as there isn't much I can do about it at that point. That's the point of the shower afterwards. On almost any normal, non rainy day, I will go by any number of people dressed in their most perfectly matched little outfit or wearing cologne/perfume. It's bizarre. Admitedly, my clothes tend to match, but then, black matches everything; especially black. Regardless, its very amusing to see those that actually decide to brave the wet weather go to extreme lengths to avoid a puddle all of a quarter of an inch deep. They'll do some hilarious hops and footwork just to not step in one. You're already wet... who cares? Me? I love tromping through puddles. The bigger the better. These others will look at me as though I know not what I'm doing and go even further not to get any of my splashing on them. Often, a car will drive through a semi-flooded street and splash me... OH NO!

After 11 hours at work, I look forward to playing in the rain. I'll never understand why I should grow up so much.

Maybe it's just that time of year

2009-10-28T13:45:10Z

For whatever reason, King Diamond popped into my head this morning. I think it might be due to my severe lack of sleep. On a whim, I looked him up (my older sis introduced me to his insane vocal range when I was about 12). I then found this and it amused me.

Um... Hell Yes!

2009-10-27T19:18:27Z

MFAH is screening Jason and the Argonauts on Sunday!