Invisible DVD

The Scottish philosopher Balfour said that destiny is the scapegoat we make responsible for our crimes. He was probably right, too, but I bet he was real dull at parties- Darien Fawkes, The Invisible Man

That's right, I quoted a quote within a quote because I am META.

Anyway, about seven years ago when I was but a wee bairn, I saw a show of such extreme awesomeness that I love it from it's very first episode. Of course, it was on the Sci-Fi channel which meant that despite the love of many it was gone after two seasons as Babylon and Stargate rattled on and on and on....sorry. Bitter.

Lots of people protested...to scary lengths. There was a group that tried to get other channels to pick the show up and were pretty professional about it. Yet another rallied to get the show DVDs...which they only produced in England.

That brings us to present. I wish to attain the DVDS, have the disposable income finally and Nox's DVD player can read the European format thing on the UK DVDS. The only place to attain said dvds that I can find is on amazon UK. Great! EXCEPT THEY WILL NOT SHIP TO ME. WHY LORD WHY?!

The show? Invisible Man. The premise? There is a thief, Darien Fawkes, who gets a gland put in his head rather then stay in jail. This offer is made by his older brother who works in for the U.S. government and is promptly killed after completing the surgery. And of course, he is the only one who knows how to remove it. By agreement, Darien has to use the gland's invisiblity liquid (Quicksilver) producing power for the government. They have an extra hold on him because after too many uses the gland makes him bat shit crazy. Red eyes, homicidal tendencies the works. The goverment can give him a shot to prevent this..as long as he keeps working for them.

Whew. That was a lot of exposition that does not all explain the awesome of the show. The awesome is the SNARK. SO MUCH SNARK! Fawkes partner is Hobbes. Hobbes is heavily medicated schizophrenic with years of FBI experiance behind him. The government body they work for? Has to operate under disguise. So they are sent out on cases officially as Fish and Game officers. AND TEH SNARK! The entire show after the pilot is them chattering at each other. SO GAY. SO AWESOME.

And the UK Amazon does not want me to have it. SO SAD.

Also? I had WAAAAAY TOO MUCH COFFEE THIS MORNING.

Catch you on the flipside,
CGL

Micepoclypes

Last night, tired and worried about my potential job switch (Dear God, PLEASE PLEASE I WANT THIS JOB I will totally give you everything I have in my Change Pot PLEASEY MCPLEASEY PIES) and in all together distracted state of mind.

Mom had asked me to make dinner, specifically to grill her some ding dong chicken ten minutes on one side, ten on the other, last five minutes with bbq sauce exactlty. Fine. Whatever.

We have a gas grill which is mostly awesome. Crank on the gas stick the lighter into the whole, it makes a FOOOOOOM! noise and you got flesh charring fire. So I take the ligheter, turn it on, foom and what not. The dogs are running off into the yard, I watch them for a second, then glance back down.

To my credit, there was no screams. I am not a screamer by nature (just ask Nox ::waves :: Hi honey, totally not sharing about our sex lives, no worries, I would never ever. Nopers) I am a bug squisher and I was the proud pet owner of a rat in college. Not a screamer.

But I did stand in open jawed hire as mice crawled across the coals. I was so shocked that I didn't turn the grill off at first. They were silent, they were grey and guys? for a minute I thought I was hallucinating.

Then reality hit me with a mallet, I shut the gas off, herded the dogs inside and called my dad. I noticed that the grill was still letting off a few whiffs of smoke. Later, my dad uncovered an entire abandoned nest. He didn't say so, but I know he found a corpse or two because I could hear them getting sucked into the shop vac.

Poor mice.

Also? A deer ran into my dad's car last week causing a pretty close call with serious injury and there is a cricket in our living room whom we cannot locate, but is driving my dogs to insanity.

The animal world is out to get my family.

Catch you on the flipside,
CGL

Murder Most Foul

"Needless to say I have some unusual habits, yet all these socially acceptable people can't wait to pick up hammers and smash their food to bits. Normal people are so hostile." - Dexter a Shotime Series

This post deals with the themes of the show, not the plot, so it should be readable even if you've never seen or heard of it.

For those of you not in know or like me without premimum cable stations like Shotime, Dexter came out last year. It's about a serial killer who takes out bad guys. It had the potential to be very very bad. The decision to rent in on DVD was based on a series of great reviews, Michael Hall (my most beloved actor formerly of Six Feet Under) and a morbid streak the size of the Grand Canyon.

As creepy and morbid as the show's concept is, Nox and I consumed the entirety of it over the weekend and I never felt afraid or grossed out. There were tense moments, but there was more blood and gore in one episode of CSI.

The writing for this show is phenomenal. The artistic direction is beautiful. Like the first few seasons of Six Feet Under, there is a perfect sync between words and visuals.

So that's the review. Now onto the meat of the matter:

What makes this show so appealing?

Surely, Dexter is the monster we most fear. He repeatably assures us that he feels nothing, cares for no one and that if it were not for his foster father's particular way of dealing with his killing urge, he wouldn't even bother choosing sinister victims.

The show is told from the first person. There is no escaping that this is a man who kills because it is the only way he can 'feel'. He followed the traditional path of a sociopath, killing animals as a child working his way up to human victims.

And yet...there is something so very appealing about him. About his situation. Every time he takes down another killer, a part of me cheered for him. After all, how different was his take down of a child killer then that of one Batman might exercise? Batman is continually cast as fairly unfeeling and he's a superhero!

The theme of normalcy comes up often. Dexter must maintain a veneer of the normal to cover his bloody acts. Continually tested beyond his capacity, every day is a struggle to fit in and pass under the radar. Layered in with that is a deep feeling of loneliness. Only his father really knew him and now, he feels unknowable.

And who the hell hasn't felt that way? Dexter is that most extreme end of that darkest piece we all carry. That awful, unknowable and alien depth which the book Why Good People Do Bad Things calls the 'Shadow Self'.

Every time Dexter uses his dark impulses to rid the world of someone bad, who hurts others...is that to be celebrated?

How do we all turn our own dark impulses to good use? How sure are we that it isn't another way of saying 'the road to hell is paved with good intentions'?

The mask of normalcy we all wear can cover a multitude of evils not only in ourselves, but in our day to day lives. Is it any wonder that this show is a hit in a country that watches an endless (seemingly bloodless if you judge by the news) war slowly strangling our economy and social infrastructure?


Catch you on the flipside,
CGL

Lonely Only: The Myth, The Legend, The Cold Stark Reality

I was reading one of those charts the other day that breaks down everything about you based on birth order. This particular chart had nearly nothing nice to say about onlys even though it found a few positives for the other sorts.

Being an only myself, I have a few things to say about this because after all, we're narcissistic bastards. So let's break it down:

1. Birth is a miracle.
First off, I'm a big believer in every birth is a miracle. But my parents hardly screamed out hallelujahs to the almighty when I was born. Not to mention they'd had three miscarriages (one late term) and if they wanted to think it was a miracle, they had a right. I never felt particularly miraculous.
2. Parents have no previous experience.
My dad is a kindergarten teacher and my mom worked with troubled youth. If they had more experiance they probably never would have had me at all.
3. Retains 200% attention from both parents. May become rival of one parent.
200%? These researchers apparently can't do math. Anyway, this was most definitly not true in my case. My mother worked two jobs (by choice) and my dad was getting his doctorate and working full time through most my early years. They tried their best, but I got maybe 50%.
4. Can be over-protected and spoiled.
Were my parents over-protective? It's hard to say since I was the most introverted kid ever until I got to high school. I was far more protective of myself then I would ever allow them to be. And I was certainly not spoiled. My mom taught me how to make her coffee when I was three. I always worked for what I got. Presents at birthdays and holidays were extremely reasonable. They did buy me a car and I did get to travel as a teen, but it was ingrained in me how lucky I was to get all those things.
5. Likes being the center of adult attention.
God, no! I was extremely respectful of authority figures and they liked me because of that, but I did not want the full focus of their attention ever. Way too scary.
6. Often has difficulty sharing with siblings and peers.
Did these guys miss the definition of only? Ok, I will cop to this one. Sharing gets to me sometimes. Then I slap myself upside the head and give it. Because sharing is a lot more fun.
7. Prefers adult company and uses adult language.
I preferred my parents company, not adults in general. I did use adult language. This I will agree is pretty much inevitable. It didn't help that my parents were big believers in not talking down to kids. Which is how I came to write a paper on paradigm shifts in eighth grade. Thanks, Dad.

I find the birth order psychology to be a lot like the horoscopes. If you say things generally enough it will count for most people.

Being an only child did not affect me much as a child. In fact, given my personality I was much better off then I might have been with a sibling. Having no siblings is only now starting to effect me. There won't be any weddings or cute nieces and nephews. My own potential kids will have to relay on their father for an extended family.

And yet, I would still say to anyone who asked: If you think you can only handle one kid, it is not a crime to only have one. Only children are not little adults with an endless sucking need for attention.

As a sub note, they also analyze adopted children and on behalf of Nox, I'm more offended then I was about the only child breakdown. He's a lot of things, but spoiled and demanding he isn't.

Catch you on the flipside,
CGL

Cause She's Got Rocks On the Mind

Today, a tribute! It is in actuality, a birthday tribute to my most wonderful Geo Penny. The Tribute is late because I suck at life for two years running and she has the right to beat me mercilessly...with sticks.

So without further adieu (well maybe just a little adieu...adieu) reasons why Geo is so freakin' awesome:

1. OMG this girl is smart. Smart to the S to the M to the A to the R to the T. She can eat you with science! It's true!

2. She is a nazi about recycling. At one point, she was hoarding 100+ shopping bags.

3. Her dorky obsessions are many, but my favorite is her love of movies that contain bad geology: Dante's Peak and The Core for example. She can watch these over and over.

4. She is the only one who loves our shared home state as much as I do.

5. She's also an only child and we totally get that about each other. Awesome.

6. Once? We both wanted pie. DESPERATELY. We bought two frozen ones and defrosted them and ate nearly the whole of one in a sitting and it was awesome.

7. She always has a solution. See #1. If you have a problem, she's all over it. Also? She gives good hugs.
8. The Knitting Saga:
Me: I will teach you to knit!
Geo: Meh. Knitting is lame. My mom wanted to teach me, but I don't like it.
Me: I bet if I taught you, you would kick my ass at it.
Geo: Meh.
Law: TEACH ME! Even though I am left handed and will require brain strain to reverse the knitting ways!
Me: OK! ::does so::
Geo: ...now I'm left out.
Me: LET ME TEACH YOU.
Geo: Ok, ok. ::proceeds to learn and KICK MY ASS AT KNITTING. She made a sweater and the sweetest stuffed pig ever::

9. She out stubborns me and Law on occasion. This is incredibly impressive.

10. She's my hetero life partner. Nuff said.

There's no number 11 because this really isn't my reason, it's just a cute story. See, I hate the franchise that rhymes with Rectal Hell, but Law and Geo LOVE IT. They refer to themselves as rhymes with Rectal Hell friends. See why I adore them?

Rock on, Geo, rock on like it's your birthday from last week.

Catch you on the flipside,
CGL

Now I Is Stock Full of Culture

Were you getting sick of all the TV talk around these parts? Yeah, me too.

Luckily, Nox and I went and stuffed ourselves silly on culture over the weekend, ostensibly to celebrate our two year anniversary.

Shakespeare was seen, jazz was listened too and awesome food was consumed. Midsummer's Night was the play and it was impressively done with a very strong Puck and Mechanicals crew. The four lovers were dull, aside from the fight scene, but I've found that to be a weakness in the play not just the overall performers. The languishing lovers really need to be hammed up to wring more then a modicum of amusement out of them and I've yet to see that tack taken.

We ate dinner at an amazing restaurant. The atmosphere was killer and I wished, briefly, to be rich enough to eat at places like that all the time. The I realized I would wind up looking like a whale.

The jazz was good though I'm not much of a judge of those things. What was really nice was to be outside on a perfect day, reading a book and being with him.

In other news, if I have to argue over the packaging of my food one more time with the lunch truck guy... Every time I buy food off of him, he gives me a nine act play about wrapping the donut in a separate bag etc. Let me be clear. The truck parks outside my building. I walk maybe one hundred feet and ten stairs to get to and from this place. And every time he tries to foist two or three bags on me and tells him things like "But it might get squashed." As if I have no experiance ever with food and the squishabilty thereof. And yes, squishability is a word. It's my word and I will love it just like I love Nox.

See, all things are connected.

Catch you on the flipside,
CGL