Passions just like mine....

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its not easy being an early adapter...
I admit it, I'm a gadget freak.

I must have the new Apple iPad when it is out - I had put off getting an iPhone as I didn't want to deal with the hassle of switching from Verizon to AT&T and hoped if I stalled long enough Verizon would work out their own deal so I filled in with an iPod Touch but now this is even better as it delivers what I really want, an "anytime" 3G internet connection which should be available for $30 unlimited data a month (cheaper than my bill would have been switching to the iPhone & adding the data plan) Will be worthwhile just to be able to surf the web while commuting on the bus or train & not having to go find a Panera with wifi when I am en route between connections & need to order art or tickets LOL! (Plus nice access to map and GPS iPhone apps while traveling!)

Meanwhile I'm saving the $100 or so a month I spent on cable TV as I dumped comcast - once they "upgraded" their service in November we couldn't get a clear signal for more than 15 minutes at a time and I got mighty cranky loosing a picture in the midst of something intense on "Fringe" or "Dollhouse" and would have to wait until it showed up on Hulu the next day to watch all of it. For as little TV as we watch we were paying close to $10 an hour anyway for the dubious honor of a bad picture (Comcast's "fix" was to keep trading in the box for another that wouldn't work any better... grr, their customer "service" is the pits! I am still waiting a month and a half later for the refund of what I had been overcharged)

So as our TV is a really old analog Sony that won't receive anything anymore without a converter box (and didn't get any reception years back without cable anyway) I was verging towards a hi-def TV.... then I read a review about a really cool gadget that plugs into Macs called "El Gato Eye TV" that serves as a hi-def over the air tuner so you can watch & record TV on your computer! So I found it discounted on amazon and ordered it & after hooking it to a $20 set of rabbit ears from radio shack we can get upwards of 30 channels (even including NHK and Al Jazeera should we choose).

So I'm all set to go on Fringe and Lost and the upcoming winter olympics and on the rare shows I can't get on cable & can't live without like the Venture Bros I can get a season pass on iTunes! The picture on my 24" iMac is incredible (both much larger & sharper than the old 19" Sony), easily as good as any of the nice TVs I was looking at! And I can record shows (it has a TV guide function where you can just click in advance on what you want to record) and supposedly you can sink it with an iPhone (and hopefully iPad....) and watch stuff remotely... I sprang for the fancier version that comes with video capture plugs to use to transfer VHS tapes & DVDs to digital too but haven't had a chance to fiddle with that but this is definitely the way to go! take that comcast!!!! To quote Sigue Sigue Sputnik "I Love Technology!"

I am rather amused by how many articles I've read in newspapers in the last few weeks on dumping cable TV - its really gotten too bloated and overpriced and is a dying business model between online providers like hulu, itunes and over the air HDTV.

LA Times - http://www.latimes.com/business/la-fi-rabbit-ears25-2009dec25,0,3882718.story

NY Times - http://www.nytimes.com/2009/12/10/technology/personaltech/10basics.html?scp=3&sq=cable%20tv&st=Search

a lovely tribute to Böcklin & my newest fav anime....

Last night I finally got a chance to watch the end of the Japanese anime show "Kuroshitsuji" (translated - "Black Butler") and could not help but be pleased to the lovely tribute to Swiss Symbolist artist Arnold Böcklin (1827-1901) as at the end the dying tragic protagonist is ferried not down the Styx but to his famous Isle of the Dead.

I really love this series, its my favorite anime since Death Note - was a bit slow and silly getting started but once it picked up speed & got darker & more intense it became really riveting. And I could not help but love Sebastian, the title's "hell of a butler" who is a most lovely demon & I am amused as hell by the completely insane rougue Shinigami (death god) Grell Sutcliffe who is flamboyantly gay and in love with "Sebby" (and has converted his death scythe into a chainsaw for something zippier).

( illustrations below )

Current Mood: crazy
Current Music: Alkaline Trio - This Addiction

Happy (belated) birthday Eddie!

Things have been rather quiet lately, the most excitment of late was last Saturday

kisarazumama and I went up to Baltimore for the annual Edgar Allen Poe birthday celebration in honor of Eddy's 201st - it was rather disappointing that the Poe Toaster didn't show up on the night of the 19th as he has for the last 60 years to offer up half a bottle of cognac and 3 roses but certainly many folks tried to make up for it, well the roses anyway as there were quite a few on his grave this year. (If there had been cognac I do not know, perhaps the local winos had already made off with any bottles!) Somebody even put up a sign on the fence that said "Poe Toaster Applications Taken Here".

This year actor Jeffrey Combs did a one-man show entitled "Nevermore" playing Poe towards the end of his life as he is giving a reading of his work & becoming drunker & rather more unhinged throughout the performance, perhaps a bit of a controversial way to show him but they based it on many stories that made such an evenining certainly plausible. The play was directed by Comb's frequent collaborator Stuart Gordon (they are best known working together on "Re-Animator" based on a story by one of the fellows Poe certainly influenced, H.P. Lovecraft) and afterwards they did a Q&A session along with the writer of the play, Dennis Paoli, a long time friend of Gordon's.

Amused to see in attendance was last year's performer, John Astin :) It's great to see such a turnout of fellow intellectual geeks celebrating a writer!

lots of roses on Poe's grave this year

( Read more )

Liz and her doll binge.....
Sorry so quiet for a while, was suffering from a nasty upper respiratory infection which is doubly no-fun when you have bad asthma, finally dragged myself to the Doctor's office early last week & she put me on the heavy duty antibiotics (Biaxin) for a month since the Z-pack I got at the urgent care clinic in late Nov had just knocked it down & it came back stronger. Eeeep... at least I avoided the prednisone this time which is good as it has nasty side effects but because of that its taken longer to recover but I'm finally feeling better which is good, been itching to play with my airbrush but wanted to wait until I was breathing OK.

So I'm glad I have a 3 day weekend coming up to do some painting as my queue is growing! I've been rather on a doll binge lately & still need to finish the face of my Soom Cuprit girl I bought back in November - I have her body all painted but I wasn't 100% happy with the face (my first ever attempt anyhow) so I washed it off to redo it.

And now I have another to paint as well! I REALLY didn't mean to splurge again so soon after finding my dolly "holy grail" last week (I'll get to that in a moment) but I have a bad habit of checking ebay every morning & searching for "soom" and Tuesday morning I found a really cheap buy-it-now on one at the top of my wish list, the Soom werewolf boy "Chrom" and between the cheap B-I-N, free shipping and a coupon I had for ebay bux he was a steal! The seller was really nice too, sent him UPS and included some freebies and to my amazement he arrived yesterday afternoon in mint condition and she also threw in 2 wigs for him and a free pair of really nice high boots that are $59 on Soom's site! !!!!! I was able to find somebody selling his original outfit, wig and boots on the Den of Angels board so now I just need to track down the wolf legs separately. But he also needs painting as well as my Cuprit girl!

But the best is yet to come.... when I first found out about these Asian Ball jointed dolls (BJD) and that there were a lot more out there than the Volks Super Dolfies (which still really don't do much for me), my evil friend

strangemuses who has gotten addicted very fast to BJD's showed me the Soom website and I fell way hard for their limited monthly line of human/animal/creature hybrid creatures like exquisitely beautiful demons and angels. My favorite by far was the incubus named "Sard - Night Odyssey" and unfortunately he seemed to be everybody else's fav too as they are long out of production & very sought after & sell for quite a lot on the secondary market. A few months ago due to demand Soom released a measly EIGHT more and had so much response they crashed their website, I got as far as getting one in my shopping cart only to find they were "out of stock". Big surprize!

Well, last week I found somebody selling one... then she got so much response she decided to auction but also gave a buy-it-now price so I bit the bullet and said "I'll take him" as I've been so frustrated from searching and seriously coveting those I've seen photos of... he was expensive but several hours later I had somebody write me to ask about buying two pricey bone china horses I'm selling so they'll cover his cost which is a huge relief! (I've been downsizing my horse figurine collection so I'll have less to move when we get another apartment this year as I just have too much stuff! So sell some, buy less stuff than I sell and I can go for some quality over quantity.... that's the theory anyhow.)

Anyhow he'll be coming from England and hopefully will be here in a week or so, can't wait to see him!! Now I just need to get some more clothes to fit them or I'll have too many naked guys lying around the apartment (is that a bad thing? Um, these dolls are certainly very, um, detailed) It's funny in that I was never interested in dolls when I was a kid (it was all about the Breyer horses then) but then again, they sure didn't make dolls like this! I can remember years back trying to resculpt a mego girl into a guy because all the male figures were too beefy for my tastes and I wanted a more androgynous look, I guess I was ahead of the curve!

Gack.... just started collecting these last summer and I'm up to 5!!!

for those who want to see what these look like, here are some links to photos on Soom's site -

My two new dolls - (promo pix on manufacturer's site)

Sard

Chrom

the ones I already have -

Cuprit (need to finish painting her as I bought an unpainted one)

Heliot

Sabik I.B. Hunter

(some pix of the last two fellas of mine on my flickr - http://www.flickr.com/photos/sistinas138/collections/72157622181865277/ )

I still want to eventually add these two to my collection when I can find ones I can afford as they will be pricey:

Beryl the Succubus

Vesuvia the Scorpion devil girl

my wallet is doomed, or is that soomed?

Current Mood: bouncy
Current Music: Tool - Lateralus

looking back on 2009.....
What did you do in 2009 that you’d never done before?
visited Japan for 2 weeks - it had been a lifelong dream to go there

Did you keep your new years resolutions, and will you make more for next year?
I resolved to pay down debt & paid off 3 of 4 credit cards in full and now will work on the last one!

Did anyone close to you give birth?
My dear friends Jessika and Albert had a lovely daughter :)

Did anyone close to you die?
Weirdly enough the other night I googled an old friend I used to go to a lot of concerts with and had been thinking about and found her obituary - she had died 2 weeks earlier which was a huge shock.

What countries did you visit?
Japan

What date from 2009 will remain etched upon your memory, and why?
probably Halloween since I missed it by crossing the international date line! (somehow having a doubly long November 12th just isn't the same thing!)

What was your biggest achievement of the year?
Making some $ at my photography shooting weddings and drumming up some more interest

What was your biggest failure?
I can't think of any major failures

Did you suffer illness or injury?
Just the usual problems with asthma & respiratory infections :(

What was the best thing you bought?
My new camera - totally upgraded my gear & went to a full frame Nikon dSLR D700 with some kickass pro glass (24-70mm f/2.8 & 70-200mm f/2.8 zooms), plus my 24" iMac that is wonderful for photo editing!

What did you get really, really, really excited about?
going to Japan

What song/album will always remind you of 2009?
Albums: AFI - Crash Love, Muse - The Resistance
Songs: Silversun Pickups - Panic Switch, Lady GaGa - Bad Romance

Compared to this time last year, are you:
Happier or sadder?
Sadder, not really anything in particular, its just been an awful year for so many people around me
Thinner or fatter?
a bit thinner, no special diet, just eating less
Richer or poorer?
richer - having paid off debt plus my investments rebounded from 2008 losses

What do you wish you’d done more of?
travelling

What do you wish you’d done less of?
coughing

How did you spend Christmas?
driving up to NJ the day after with my friends Radu & Aerianne to see Danzig at the Starland Ballroon

Who did you spend the most time on the phone with?
my buddy

atomagedevilman who moved outta state :(

Did you fall in love in 2009?
no

What were your favourite TV programs?
Venture Bros, Fringe, LOST (which I only just discovered & quickly worked thru 5 seasons), True Blood, Dollhouse

Do you hate anyone now that you didn’t hate this time last year?
no, the folks who caused me grief are long outta my life

What was the best book(s) you read?
while they are not exactly great literature, the Charlene Harris Sookie Stackhouse novels are lots of fun and I enjoyed them all

What was your greatest musical discovery?
Didn't really discover a whole lotta new stuff this year -I guess I'd have to say Silversun Pickups and Lady Gaga

What were your favourite films of this year?
Inglourious Basterds, Avatar, District 9, Bad Lieutenant: Port of Call New Orleans, Moon, Star Trek, Ponyo, Coraline, The Fantastic Mr Fox, Up
+ Honorable mention to Zombieland which was crazy ass fun and Woody Harrelson chews a lotta scenery
I still need to see Up In The Air, The Hurt Locker, The Road & a Serious Man
I am most looking forward to The Imaginarium of Dr Parnassus, Tim Burton's Alice in Wonderland, Shutter Island (Scorcese) and Inception (Christopher Nolan) in 2010!

What did you do on your birthday?
I celebrated it the weekend before as Tiger Army played the HOB in Las Vegas that weekend so I flew out to see them & hang out with my friends and also caught Criss Angel and Penn & Teller's shows and the Viva Las Vegas rockabilly fest!

What one thing would have made your year immeasurably more satisfying?
uhhh winning the lottery?

How would you describe your personal fashion concept in 2009?
if you just wear black it all matches

What kept you sane?
who me, sane?

Which celebrity/public figure did you fancy the most?
Johnny Depp :)

Who did you miss?
that

atomagedevilman couldn't make it to Japan with me and now lives so far away :(

Who was the best new person you met?
Claudia the new girl in my office who is also a huge movie buff so we are always recommending stuff to each other

Tell us a valuable life lesson you learned in 2009.
travel broadens the mind :)

Shows I saw in 2009
not so many shows as some years but some really good ones:

Morrissey / Red Cortez (2x)
Tiger Army/ Frenzy
The Quakes / Deadnecks
Ink & Iron fest with Brigette Handley and the Dark Shadows, The Henchmen, The Peacocks, The Koffin Kats, Creepshow, Frenzy, Batmobile
Nine Inch Nails / Janes Addiction / Street Sweeper Social Club
Nine Inch Nails / Mew / Queen Kwong
The Cult / The LIving Things
AFI / The Gallows (3x)
Tiger Army / Combichrist / Creepshow
Tiger Army / The Peacocks / Miss Derringer
John Christ
The Koffin Kats
Danzig/ Gorgeous Frankenstein/ Newfits reunion/ Seventh Void

Current Mood: contemplative

Merry Xmas & eat more chiken!
Did you know that the most popular place to eat in Japan on Christmas day is Kentucky Fried Chicken? I had to google it when I got back as I wondered why all the statues of Colonel Saunders were dressed up like Santa Claus...

It's a KFC Christmas

Kentucky Fried Festivities

So enjoy your day - celebrate whatever belief of your choice & eat some good chow, be it KFC, turkey, tofurkey or roast beast! We're off to the buffet at the Holiday Inn later which is quite tasty & pretty cheap, then going to see Sherlock Holmes (Robert Downey Jr + Jude Law = yumm!!)

Celebrated xmas eve yesterday at White Flint Mall by enjoying a late lunch at the Cheesecake Factory and then caught "The Fantastic Mr Fox" at their theater - glad to finally get a chance to see it before it disappears as I thought it was quite enchanting & just weird & off kilter enough to not be the expected kid's movie. Can anybody do charming cad better than George Clooney? Just love Wes Anderson, feel like watching Life Aquatic but unfortunately my DVDs are in storage.

Current Music: Southpark Christmas album - Merry Fucking Christmas

not going anywhere anytime soon.....
It started snowing last night while

kisarazumama and I were watching Avatar and its still coming down, if anything harder than before. I am bummed but will miss

scarydavedc and

heleneotroy's holiday party tonight but I am way too chicken to try and drive in this and the buses are not running reliably.

The view from my balcony-

( and a few more pix )

Current Mood: complacent

Avatar!
Just got in from seeing Avatar - what an amazingly beautiful mind blowing experience... way exceeded any expectations I had, can't wait to see it again! (which may be a bit as the big blizzard started moving in while we were in the theater so I had to drive home very slowly & carefully and may be snowed in for a few days)

Current Mood: enthralled
Current Music: the Green Day song I heard on the radio is now stuck in my head

rockin out with the Koffin Kats

Caught the Koffin Kats last night at the Red and the Black in DC -its a tiny bar and the bands play the upstairs room which is smaller than my living room but they had a much bigger turn out than last year (when about 6 people showed up) and the place was paced & got kinda crazy when folks started moshing....

Opening were the Atomic Mosquitos, a pretty decent surf rock band with "Steve" on theremin making spooky weird noises (I think most everything is improved with the addition of a theremin!) - he looked familiar and a glance at their flyer artwork turned out why - it was Cramps cover artist Steve Blickenstaff who frequents many of the local horror conventions.

Picked up the new Koffin Kats CD "Forever For Hire" and a cool t shirt with 3 cat skulls on it (even though I really don't need more black T shirts LOL!!!)

Lots of pix of the krazy kats on my flickr here

( and a few below the cut!! )

Current Mood: tired
Current Music: AFI - Sacrilege

one good thing that did happen in the last month :)

I found out on 98 rock Baltimore (which I had only turned on as my little recently found indie channel had switched formats to pop rock while I was in Japan) that ex-Danzig guitarist John Christ would be playing in Baltimore on "Black Friday" the day after Thanksgiving - the address for the club "Sinix" looked familiar and it turned out to be the same venue that was called Mac's last May when I saw the Quakes there so

scarydavedc and I drove up to catch the show.

Was thrilled that I was able to just walk in with my D700 and got some pretty nice shots for a little bar with very little lighting :)
http://www.flickr.com/photos/sistinas138/sets/72157622902575554/

Its been nearly 15 years since I saw John Christ - I was at the last ever Danzig show in the USA with John Christ & Eerie Von at the Edge in Orlando FL in May of '95 (along with Judy,

atomagedevilman and Devilman138 who runs the Seventh House website now) and I never thought I'd get to see him play again. I knew it was the end when John came out wearing an orange hockey jersey and Eerie Von was wearing Twiggy Ramirez's fluffy pink bathrobe (Marilyn Manson and Korn had opened) so I wasn't the least bit surprized when Eerie called me a couple weeks later to tell me that he and John had quit the band.

The show started a bit slow like John was a touch nervous and hesitant, but once he started playing he slipped into that musical nirvana where it was just him and his guitar and went...... heard medleys of bits and pieces of many Danzig riffs from Snakes of Christ, Am I Demon, Mother, She Rides, some of his own compositions from Flesh Caffiene and "For Christ's Sake" and a few covers like Jace Everett's True Blood theme song "Bad Things" which was awesome as well as some Hendrix riffs. He used a variety of guitars including a plugged in acoustic and a BC Rich Bitch and at the end was joined by the opening band Silvertung and jammed with them to play Knockin' On Heaven's Door and Mother.

After the show we hung out outside & eventually John came out, was glad to get to say "hi" after so many years & got my copy of Flesh Caffiene signed. Hope I won't have to wait so long to see him play again!

And in more memories of the "Good old days", Eerie Von has just published a book of his photos - my copy arrived yesterday from Amazon - you can grab Misery Obscura: The Photography Of Eerie Von (1981-2006) here!

( some more pix below cut!! )

Current Mood: satisfied

back home at last
Arrived home yesterday morning from Dulles after the longest day ever (left Tokyo Narita airport at 11:10 AM and got to Dulles at 9:15 AM the same day - before I left - due to crossing the international date line) Slept much of yesterday, then got up, did laundry, went to grocery store & nabbed Chinese takeout, came back & dyed hair & showered, slept a bit more & now ready to head into DC to take a megabus up to NYC to catch AFI at Roseland tonight (then take 1:30 AM megabus home to DC & homefully sleep on the way). I know I am totally mad to do the AFI show on top of everything but I hate to miss them, have today off work already & at least I can sleep through Saturday and Sunday!

What a long crazy trip its been!

Current Mood: tired
Current Music: AFI - Veronica Sawyer Smokes

Otaku paradise!

Day 1 in Tokyo - we caught a ride with our tour group up to the Asakusa Kannon Temple Complex and since they were going to only stay there for 20 minutes we set off on our own & spent quite a while exploring the whole area & the Nakamise shopping arcade, then we caught a subway to Akihabara and spent many hours shopping in anime geek paradise for toys - there are amazing buildings many floors high of just toy shops - found the Volks doll store & model showroom & many many more. Much yen was spent.

Photos from the sublime to the ridiculious -

Sensoji (Asakusa Kannon Temple) in Tokyo and Nakamise shopping arcade

Akihabara

Paula is off today to meet a doll master who is one of the National Treasures of Japan. Me I am off to Harajuku and Shinjuku and more shopping!!!!

( more pix below )

Current Mood: sore

If its Tuesday it must be Tokyo

I can't believe I am actually here, the city I have always wanted to visit, in the poshest hotel I have ever stayed in. We arrived last night bullet train after visiting Mt Fuji & only had time to walk a bit around Shinagawa station before collapsing into bed but today we are off for 6 hours of sightseeing and then SHOPPING!!!!!

2 more nights here & then I have to go home - cry! I know I will immediately start planning return to this beautiful country.

Meanwhile some photos (check out the AMAZING Phoenix Hall in Uji City and the Golden Pavillion in Kyoto - in the last few days I have seen some of the most beautiful things in my LIFE!)

Uji City & Shikoku Island

Kyoto and the Golden Pavillion

Hakone and Mt Fuji

( a few quick pix )

Current Mood: ecstatic
Current Music: Classix Nouveaux - Tokyo

In Kyoto now....

Got up yesterday at sunrise to photo the sun rising over the horizon in Beppu and made it in time to see the kitties served their breakfast :)

http://www.flickr.com/photos/sistinas138/sets/72157622620551295/

Rode the bullet train up yesterday here to Kyoto, attended a nice reception thrown by some of Akiko's friends who gave us a huge banquet that included a chef grilling kobe beef. Tasted wonderful!

About to head to Shinkoku island.

my favorite photo so far this trip

I looked out the window of the traditional style Ryokan Inn we were staying at in Beppu, Japan and saw this colony of feral cats being cared for by a woman so I went out with my camera - she rode up on her bicycle with a big sack of kibble and canned food and fed and watered them all as they wound around her feet and played with her bike. It truly made my day.

The Cats of Beppu

( der are moar kittehs below cut )

greetings from Fukuoka!

Sorry no update earlier - had no internet access in Karatsu and trying to catch up & upload pix so I don't get too backlogged, will come back later when I have a chance & expand with descriptions, for the meanwhile you can read Paula's entries -

day 3 in Karatsu- http://kisarazumama.livejournal.com/53051.html

day 4 in Hakata - http://kisarazumama.livejournal.com/53421.html

my photos!!!

Our swank hotel in Nagasaki

Karatsu Kunchi festival and parade and Karatsu Castle

early morning scenery in Karatsu

Hakata doll factory and shoppe in Fukuoka

Now to check out and head to Beppu to visit the boiling hot springs of Hell! Probably no net access tonite either as we'll be in a traditional Ryuokan.

Current Mood: busy

onwards to Nagasaki

Ack...uploaded pix last night & then was so tired I passed out, did not have time to blog - Paula woke up in the middle of the night & wrote tons so for the full report please check out her LJ entry -

http://kisarazumama.livejournal.com/52936.html

We left Sasebo at 9 AM and drove up to Nagasaki while Aki gave us a great history lesson on the importance of Nagasaki in Japanese history and how for hundreds of years it was the only post open to traders from the west. We arrived and parked, then hiked way up a hill to the the Church of the 26 Martyrs, and then further up behind said hill to Glover Garden and the original mansion and grounds of Thomas Blake Glover, a Scottish entrepreneur who contributed to the modernization of Japan. The grounds were beautiful with unbelievable views of Nagasaki from that height and many gardens and fish ponds with the biggest koi I've ever seen, begging for food (you could buy a bag for 100 yen & get many pix of open fish mouths!)

From there we headed to Chinatown and the bus dropped us off for an hour for lunch, we picked a restaurant where we could figure out what they served (yay for a few words of English on the menu) and had some of the best Chinese food I've ever had (figures being many thousands of miles closer to China)

From there we headed to the Nagasaki Peace Park near the epicenter of where the 2nd atom bomb was dropped in WWII, on the way Aki pointed out the famous "one legged Tori" - the remaining half of a stone story gate that had stood in front of a shinto shrive, the rest blown to oblivion that fateful day. We also drove by the tiny (2 tatami mat size) house built by Dr Nagai, a radiation victim who treated others immortalized in his memoirs and moved based on it, "The Bells of Nagasaki".

The Nagasaki Peace park is a huge flat stretch of land where the old prison had been, just a few foundation stones remain and many sculptures have been donated by various countries of the world to symbolize peace. The center piece is an enormous Peace Statue created by sculptor Seibou Kitamura. The statue's right hand points to the threat of nuclear weapons while the extended left hand symbolizes eternal peace. The mild face symbolizes divine grace and the gently closed eyes offer a prayer for the repose of the bomb victims' souls. The folded right leg and extended left leg signify both meditation and the initiative to stand up and rescue the people of the world. Installed in front of the statue is a black marble vault containing the names of the atomic bomb victims and survivors who died in subsequent years.

It was a short ride from there to the Atom Bomb museum which was very sobering - it really hits home to see the condition of small personal effects hit by the blast and chilling photos of the victims and their aftermath. I signed a petition for President Obama to come visit, surely any leader who has seen this would do all he could to see that it could never happen again. I left rather shaken. The design of the museum itself it brilliant as you descend into darkness, walk through hell and slowly ascend back towards the light. No tour guides are allowed as you are to read the descriptions (in Japanese and English) and experience it yourself.

From there it was back to the hotel, this time a huge luxury hotel - it maybe called the Best Western Premier Nagasaki but I've certainly never seen a 5 star Best Western before! The room is HUGE by Japanese standards and even big by US ones! And it had the deepest bathtub I've ever experience - aaaaaah!

Paula and I then braved navigating the local tram ourselves & only got slightly lost and quickly re-oriented and found a 400 year old famous cake bakery she wanted to see as it figured in "Samurai Champloo". Cake obtained we checked outthe huge shopping arcade & finally staggered home to the hotel.

LOTS of pix on flickr!!!

Nagasaki & Glover Park
http://www.flickr.com/photos/sistinas138/sets/72157622716476380/

Nagasaki Peace Park and Atomic Bomb Museum
http://www.flickr.com/photos/sistinas138/sets/72157622716604358/

( some pix posted directly behind cut )

Current Mood: bouncy

first full day in Japan - Sasebo!

Awakened early & went up to the 12th floor for a nice buffet breakfast using the coupons given to us at check-in. This tour is very nicely arranged so that when we get to the hotels there is a table with envelopes for everybody ready with their room keys and breakfast coupons! Very nice and filling meal, its nice to know breakfast is provided every day in case we spend all our $$ buying stuff and have none left for food LOL!

At 9 AM we all met in the lobby with our tour guide Aki (Sato Akira) and got on the bus (the porters having brought our suitcases down after we left them in the hallway at 8 AM and loaded them on the bus for us). Then we drove about an hour and a half to the city of Sasebo while Aki gave us a talk on Japanese history and some background on the area. Sasebo has a large US Navy base & their most famous food is the "Sasebo Burger", the town's mascot appears to be a little burger guy you see everywhere!

We first stopped at the Kashimae Pier for a cruise on "The Pearl Queen" which took us on an hours cruise around he many islands called Kujukushima (for "99 islands" although there are many more) in Sasebo's Saikai National Park. The many of the islands are quite small and are carved out of the rock very impressively with some very cool formations. The views are very beautiful but staring at the islands I almost felt like I was visiting the set of LOST. We spotted many little buoys marking where they are cultivating pearls in oyster traps as well as pens holding fish. While waiting after the cruise to rendezvous with the tour group we met our first Japanese Neko, a beautiful little calico obviously very pregnant who did not run but did not want petting either & gave Paula a little slap. She did consent to pose for photos & happily took handouts from people & seems to have a pretty good racket as she had a very sleek well cared for coat :) Took a ton of photos of course that I am uploading now to flickr =)

After the cruise we headed into Sasebo proper in time to see the Kunchi festival procession in honor of the shinto gods where miniature shrines are carried through the streets and down through the huge shopping arcade that runs for many blocks - Aki said that the tradition allows the gods to get out and see the city - I like that mental image of them getting out a bit for some entertainment. There was music and dancing and drumming, I especially enjoyed the little kids participating who were totally hamming it up. We walked around the shopping arcade and being totally American tourists, Paula had Starbucks and I tried out a tasty "Teriyaki McBurger" at Mickey D's!

The bus picked us up and took us to our hotel, the Sasebo Washington Hotel, very similar to the previous one with tiny but very nicely appointed rooms. We crashed out a bit & then wandered back to the arcade for some shopping, found a large bookstore with tons of manga - YAY!!! Paula found the latest issue of Sayuiki Reload, I found the first new issue of my absolute fav manga Deimos No Hanoyome that has come out since about 1995!!!!! (It was serialized in one of the comic magazines a while back & I'd found a few of the issues but now has been collected into a new volume) Found a store that seemed to be the Japanese version of Hot Topic, a bit disappointed at the focus on Disney characters (I'm in Japan and want Japanese ones!!) but pleased to report that Stitch is very popular over here! After the shops started closing we wandered back to the hotel, stopping at the JR Rail station for a Sasebo Burger at a tiny take out place called Log Kit that we figured was good by the throng of locals waiting and we were right! The three girls working the tiny counter were so sweet & all bowed and thanked us as we picked up our order, looking so cute in their little cowboy hats! Everybody here is so friendly and polite, especially shop keepers and hotel/restaurant staff, it doesn't seem fake, they all seem very sincerely happy to see you and help you out, it is just a huge difference compared to home, when I get back & run into my first surly salesgirl or burger slinger I know I'll wish I was back in Japan....

LOTS of pix on flickr!!!

http://www.flickr.com/photos/sistinas138/sets/72157622584322045/

( some pix posted directly behind cut )

Current Mood: busy

I love engrish!
Woke up early (internal clock is as messed up as can be) and am entertaining myself ready the hotel services directory which is (somewhat) translated.

They describe the Italian restaurant downstairs as:

RISTOURANTE MOLTO BUONO
There are a taste which remains in memory, and Italy which I want to feel. Welcome to the space which meets with delicacy!

Current Mood: amused

Konbanwa!

The Super Shuttle picked us up at about quarter to eight this morning & took us towards Dulles only to break down on the Dulles airport road. I blame the black cat that dashed across our path as we left the apartment complex. Super Shuttle sent another to fetch us & we still got to the airport in plenty of time & caught our flight to Narita. 14 hours - ack! I watched Zodiac, The Abyss, When Harry Met Sally and Angels & Demons and the adorable and immaculately coiffed ANA stewardesses brought tons of tasty food and beverages.

Landed at Narita, grabbed bags, sailed through customs & caught connecting flight to Fukuoka where we were met by tour guide and bus who took us to the Miyako hotel in Hakata. The room is tiny but very nicely appointed - the toilet even has a heated seat & you can choose it to spray your butt if you want! There is a soap, shampoo and conditioner rinse dispenser in the shower! The hotel is very nice, got a laugh that the bar in the lobby is called the Bronze - wonder if Buffy and the Scoobies hang out there?

Only downside - totally missing Halloween this year, left early the AM of the 30th and got here the night of the 31str due to crossing the international date line - major bummer! Wish I could have been in two places at once to catch the final 2 OCtoberflame shows & hoping one of my friends will post a set list!

DEAD TIRED. Must sleep now, up early to head to Sasebo and some cruise of a buncha islands.

Edit: Added some pix to Flickr -
http://www.flickr.com/photos/sistinas138/sets/72157622584636627/

( some pix posted directly behind cut )

Current Mood: tired
Current Music: AFI - Sacrifice

last weekend in LA.......

Been such a busy week I haven't had a chance to sit down & post about last weekend which I should do now before I head on out for yet another adventure tomorrow!

Flew out to LA a week ago with my friend Jennifer to catch the two Tiger Army OCtoberflame shows at the Wiltern Theater in LA. Flew Virgin America from Dulles and after arriving at LAX picked up our rental car & drove into Hollywood. Stayed at the Best Western Hollywood Hills which is really nice (well above average for the Best Westerns I've seen) & decorated in tons of movie & music memorabilia. We had Humphrey Bogart in the room and Elvis and Barbara Streisand hanging in the bathroom. Downstairs they have a great coffee shop, the 101 which is very old & retro, reminds me of the one in "Pulp Fiction" - it's kinda a hipster hangout but the food is great.

Not wanting to waste out time in LA, we woke up early Friday and since the stores weren't open we drove around checking out cool houses including the famous Frank Lloyd Wright Ennis house and his son Lloyd Wright's Sowden house and tooled around Los Feliz a bit until Wacko's opened & spent quite a while (and $) shopping there & checking out the shows in the La Luz De Jesus Gallery in the back. Cool stuff, If I'd had more $$ I totally would have wanted to buy the great painting of Tura Satana with a pink glittery background!

Then it was time to go pick up

miseryxchord, can't believe it's been almost a year since I saw her! Tag team photographers reunited! We headed to Westwood for lunch at Native Foods & then back to the hotel & eventually down to the Wiltern. So great to see so many of my friends again including

slyabney, janice, Jeff, Ashley & Laura.

The Creepshow from Canada opened & then CombiChrist came on & put on an amazing show with Wes Borland playing with them in crazy body paint.

Tiger Army was up last, so great to see them, I've been in withdrawal with only one show so far in 2009 (back in April in Las Vegas) and they played a great set that included "Remember Forever" played live for the first time ever! For the first encore Nick 13 came back out not with TA but with his solo band lineup for his upcoming country music project which includes Alain Whyte (formerly of Morrissey's band) on guitar & Geoff Kresge on upright bass - I am ashamed that I do not recall the names of the steel guitarist and drummer. They played a new song "When Will You Carry My Body Down" and then a honky-tony version of "Cupid's Victim", then went off & Tiger Army came back out for an encore including closing with "Annabelle Lee".

Awesome!!!!

After the show a large group of us hung out in Dennys & finally stumbled back to the hotel.

Up early again the next day for breakfast at the 101 & went down to the Merry Karnowsky gallery as I wanted to see if they had any show posters for sale from the Camille Rose Garcia show last month. They did so I was able to get one and also one from her show last year in Berlin to add to my collection. The gal working there was super nice and said "gee, since you're fans of her work would you like to see the pieces we have in the back" and of course I said yes & she took us to the other side of the building where they still had up a huge mural she'd done for the show & a big painting "The Hydra of Babylon". I really appreciated that as it really helped make up for missing the show! And speaking of shows, they had some great stuff on display there in a show curated by Kent Williams including pieces by Barron Storey, John Muth, Dean Karr (including a huge framed print of one of his Marilyn Manson Antichrist Superstar photos), Chris Anthony (one of my absolute favorite photographers who's stuff blows my mind) and Kevin Llewellyn who does great paintings that remind me a lot of Michael Hussar - I think he studied under him?

Back to the hotel & then the Wiltern, met up with our friends again also joined tonight by Alex, rachel, Mary, April & David - yay!! Saturday the opening bands were Miss Derringer who were a lot of fun and The Peacocks, then Tiger Army. And again we got another sample of Nick 13's solo work and another new song "Gambler's Life" and the honky tonk "Cupid's Victim". Special treats that night included Nick performing Hechizio De Amor with Alain Whyte on guitar and for an encore they closed with Under Saturn's Shadow.

lots of pix on Flickr!!

cool shit in LA & my friends

The Creepshow

CombiChrist

Tiger Army - Friday 10-23-09

Nick 13 solo - Friday 10-23-09

Miss Derringer

The Peacocks

Tiger Army - Saturday 10-24-09

Nick 13 solo - Saturday 10-24-09

Am dead tired now, must crash & get up early - I can't believe I will be off to Japan!!!!!

( pix below cut!! )

Current Mood: contemplative

AFI in Richmond @ the National (Oct 19 2009)

Had an awesome time yesterday - drove down to Richmond with my friend

scarydavedc, stopping to buy some yen from a currency exchange in Potomac Mills and then on to Sticky Rice for a late lunch (that rare joint where one can dunk their bucket of tater tots in soy sauce with chopsticks) after which we headed over to the National to catch AFI.

Met up with LunaBat and were able to go in early my flashing our Despair Faction cards & getting gold wristbands from Smith. Once in we found some great spots on the rail right in front of Hunter. The crowd was so much calmer than they had been at the Starland Ballroom (hardly any crowdsurfers - hooray!!!) and not so packed so I was able to really enjoy the show without suffering any pain, yipee!

The Gallows opened again - I think their singer Frank was a bit frustrated at the laid back crowd & tried his hardest to whip them into a frenzy without a whole lotta luck. Quote of the night "Are you ready to get fucked by AFI? Who doesnt want to be fucked by AFI? Think of us as the KY jelly to get you lubed up!" He got a small pit going of a couple guys running around the floor. Totally different then NJ but they are still awesome live. During the show Frank handed the mike to their drummer Lee as he had to "get something off his chest" and he called his girlfriend Tiffany on stage & asked her to marry him - it was really sweet :)

AFI were great - similar show to the Starland but with a few changes - for the AOD era song this time they did "Days of the Phoenix" which is a particular fav of mine.

setlist:

Torch Song
Girl's Not Grey
The Leaving Song Pt II
Too Shy To Scream
Days Of The Phoenix
Kill Caustic
End Transmission
Love Is A Many Splendored Thing
Okay, I Feel Better Now
Dancing Through Sunday
The Leaving Song
On the Arrow
Death of Seasons
Medicate
Love Like Winter

Encore:
The Interview
Miss Murder
Silver and Cold

Great to see

xo_purity_ox there meet her friend Brigett, they ended up right behind us and we hung out a bit afterwards but had to start back as it was a long drive and I had to get up at 5:30 AM this morning for work - bummer!!! Finding a WaWa on the way back for a cheesesteak & tasteykakes break helped!!!

Did the best I could to get some pix with my little point & shoot, kinda dark as no flash allowed but they had some cool colored lighting that the flash would have washed away.

Next AFI stop, Roseland in NYC on Friday the 13th of November (the day after I get back from Japan - I MUST be mad!) and then the Gallows are playing here in DC that Saturday at DC9 which will be completely insane to see them in a small club

A set of my pix on flickr -
http://www.flickr.com/photos/sistinas138/sets/72157622628549172

( some pix posted directly behind cut )

Current Mood: exhausted
Current Music: AFI - Fall Children

OMG instant dream Camera!
Nikon has just announced the D3S with a top ISO of 102,400 (that is not a typo!) I guess you could then take photos by starlight....maybe even bats in caves!

http://gizmodo.com/5381043/nikon-d3s-dslr-has-night-vision-with-102400-iso-yes-you-read-that-right

Now if I just had an extra $5200 - sigh!

Current Mood: envious

A Fitting tribute to my favorite American writer

On Sunday

kisarazumama and I got up early & hit the road for Baltimore qhere we met up with

strangemuses, the occasion being the grand funeral to be held at Westminster Burying Grounds in honor of the late great Edgar Allan Poe.

When poor Eddie died back in 1849 at the age of 40, he was destitute and his original funeral was attended by a mere 6 people.

This time he got the recognition he deserved and the City of Baltimore went all out to celebrate in grand, if slightly macabre style as befitting their famous deceased resident.

The funeral started with a parade originating at the Poe house on Amity street where his "body" (a recreation by special effects artists) had lain for viewing and an all night vigil. The parade was lead by the Loch Raven pipers and then by a magnificent vintage funeral hearse drawn by a dark bay and a black horse, with a parade of mourners in vintage attire following. They unloaded the casket in front of Westminster Hall and filed inside and the public with reserved tickets for this sold out event (two seatings at 12:30 PM and 4:00 PM to accommodate the crowds!) followed.

The service was officiated by the actor John Astin, most famous for his role as Gomez Addams in the TV series the Addams Family, with an introduction also by Poe House curator and main organizer Jeff Jerome who certainly did an amazing job arranging the activities for the whole year (2009 celebrating the bicentennial of the birth of Poe in 1809).

Then the eulogies started, about 18 in all starting with actors in historic attire playing the roles of people who knew Poe in life (including his attending physician at his deathbed, his friend George Lippard, former fiance Sarah Helen Whitman, his wife's nurse, famous contemporary writer Walt Whitman and early critic, biographer/detractor and plunderer of reputation, Reverend Rufus Griswold).

Next were a succession of famous creators influenced by Poe including Charles Baudelaire, Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, Howard Phillips Lovecraft (who started his eulogy with a few lines from his carefully wrapped tome of the mad Arab Abdul Alhazred, the Necronomicon) and director Alfred Hitchcock (who started out with his trademark "Good Eve-en-ning" even tho it was only afternoon, just because it was expected of him), and then finally some actual real live people still carrying on the influence of Poe, writer and editor Ellen Datlow and ghoulish children's illustrator Gris Grimley.

Maybe it was 160 years late, but at least this artistic dark genius has gotten the tribute he deserved. I'm so glad I could attend!

Still need to head back to Baltimore soon to check out the special exhibit at the Museum of Fine Art "Edgar Allan Poe: A Baltimore Icon" including works by Gauguin, Manet, Matisse, and others, and while we are at it, pop in to the Annabel Lee Tavern for some lunch!

Many photos on my flickr -
http://www.flickr.com/photos/sistinas138/sets/72157622441597899/

( some pix posted directly behind cut - WARNING image intensive!! )

Current Mood: amused
Current Music: Tiger Army - Annabel Lee

AFI at the Starland Ballroom (Oct 10 2009)

On Saturday

kisarazumama and I drove up to NJ to catch AFI at the Starland ballroom, the first show I'll have seen on the Crash Love tour (and the first time I've seen them since I caught them at the Troubadour in October 2007).

We got there early & checked in to the Best Western nearby & then headed over to the venue, picking up some chinese takeout at the corner restaurant on the way in. Being in the fan club has its privileges so we got in the early line for belonging to the Despair Faction and were able to grab great spots on the rail to the left of the stage. (Much as I would have loved to be closer, I was afraid to since I'd heard that at earlier shows on this tour the audiences got very violent during the opening band, British punkers The Gallows so we stayed to the side which turned out to be a wise move since I heard of at least one gal in the center getting hospitalized with a broken collarbone during their set)

The Gallows certainly did stir the crowd up but they were very lively and entertaining with a wonderful working class ethic, telling the crowd to thank the security and tip the bartenders well! Their singer Frank jumped atop the crowd & proceeded to crowd surf from the bar on one side to the other clear across the other side.

AFI followed to an insanely excited crowd who sang along to every word (a bit too loud, I would rather have heard the band than the very loud girl behind me but at least she had a good time). The new songs are great live and they included a mix of older stuff as well which judging by other setlists I've seen posted they are rotating from night to night, another reason to catch some more shows :) It was a great show!!!

they played -

Torch Song
Girls Not Grey
Leaving Song II
Veronica Sawyer Smokes
Forever & a Day
Kill Caustic
End Transmission
Love Is a Many Splendored Thing (with special guest Lou Koller from Sick Of it All!)
Beautiful Thieves
Dancing til Sunday
Leaving Song I
On the Arrow
Death of Seasons
Medicate
Love Like Winter

Encore:
Just Like Heaven (Cure cover)
Miss Murder
Silver and Cold

link to a review by somebody else) with their video clips here:
http://thevoidremains.blogspot.com/2009/10/star-treatment-starland-ballroom-co-afi.html

A set of my pix on flickr -
http://www.flickr.com/photos/sistinas138/sets/72157622577048576

( some pix posted directly behind cut )

Current Mood: nostalgic
Current Music: AFI - It Was Mine

road trip!
Bags packed, about to hit the road and head up to NJ to catch AFI at the Starland Ballroom tonight, then we'll leave early tomorrow morning to get to Baltimore by noon to attend Edgar Allan Poe's funeral :)

Current Mood: amused
Current Music: AFI - Beautiful Thieves

my BIG trip for the year!
So my BIG trip for the year is finally all paid for (yahoo!!!!) and will definitely happen -

kisarazumama and I are heading to JAPAN!!!!! For two weeks!!!! We will leave on October 30th which is the only bummer since due to crossing the international date line we will actually miss most of Halloween (we'll arrive there the night of the 31st) which also means missing the two Anaheim Tiger Army OCtoberflame shows but at least I can make it to the ones at the Wiltern the week before.

Still, I am soooo excited to finally make it to Japan as this is a lifelong dream for me, I know I will take zillions of photos, I have stocked up on big memory cards & some extra batteries & bought a special backpack to hold the right lenses & laptop and am still trying to decide what all to pack. I have invested in two essential guidebooks:

Tokyo Underground is a guide to all the toy stores in Tokyo and has useful info like maps, subway stops to get off at and hours when they are open - YAY!

Crazy Wacky Theme Restaurants in Tokyo - did you know they have a Vampire restaurant? A Ghost bar? Let alone Maid Cafes, Drag Maid Cafes, Butler cafes, places you can rent a cat to pet by the hour etc etc.

And I have just ordered the Lonely Planet guide Japan and Cruising the Anime City: An Otaku Guide to Neo Tokyo from Amazon.

I need an empty suitcase as well.

I am just depressed that the Studio Ghibli museum will be closed while I am over there which just means I will need to go back!

I've found links to all the places & hotels we'll be hitting (below cut)

( itinerary & links behind cut )

Danzig in NJ the day after Xmas!
Just posted to:
http://www.danzig-verotik.com/danzig/danzig_news.html

DANZIG EAST COAST LIVE DATE ANNOUNCED

DANZIG have added their only other Live Date for 2009
December 26 at Starland Ballroom in Sayreville, NJ

Tickets for this Show go On Sale Sept.25

Just like in 2006! (I think not-so-jokingly that this is Glenn's way of going to visit mom for the holidays and making it tax deductable!)

I'll definitely go have myself a dirty black xmas and welcome any fellow roadtrippers!

Current Mood: bouncy
Current Music: AFI - Darling, I Want to Destroy You

just what sparkly vampires deserve
This video remix is sheer brilliance - ladies and gentlemen, I present Buffy vs. Edward Cullen!