The online computery journal thingy of a turtle

Oh, so NO FMF for MFF then

Sat, 14 Nov 2009 16:40:58 GMT

So I was planning to see "The Fantastic Mr. Fox" on Thursday before MFF, but apparently it's only playing in a few coastal-town theaters right now, and it won't open nationwide until Nov. 25? Furriest movie to come along in a long time, and nobody can see it until after the con?

This does not help the Fun. This is Doing It Wrong. I'm sure the distributors of the film don't know about MFF... but if they did, they couldn't have chosen a better way to say "Screw you, MFF!"

Fine then. Maybe I'll see some other movie. I've been wanting to see "Pirate Radio".

EDIT: wbwolf explains that The FMF has suddenly had to be pushed back to a Thanksgiving weekend release so that nobody mistakenly thinks that Mr. Fox stares at goats or visits any fifty-something-th planets. Thanks for the info, Wilford.

Va-va-voom!

Mon, 09 Nov 2009 08:39:00 GMT

Rosie the Robot Maid never looked so... BOT-eelicious!

"One of you has been WAY oversharing."

Mon, 09 Nov 2009 01:45:41 GMT

Y'know, other comic strips have been making fun of websites such as MySpace, Facebook, Twitter, etc...

...but at least this one sounds like it was written by someone who actually uses the sites! (There's also been a story arc about Roland Hedley using Twitter... and he's been depicted *actually using* Twitter.)

Also... I don't think (have any reason to suspect) that Alex or any of her friends are furries. Remember that next time you think of dragging out the ol' "FURRY = DRAMA" chestnut.

The Fantastic Mr. Furfest

Sun, 08 Nov 2009 01:16:51 GMT

I see that "The Fantastic Mr. Fox", Wes Anderson's stop-motion Roald Dahl adaptation, is opening on Friday the 13th. (Let's hope Mr. Fox doesn't get stabbed to death by Jason, hyuk hyuk! There, the obvious joke has been made and is done with.) Y'know, I'd like to see it before Midwest Furfest!

Thing is, I leave town for MFF on Sunday the 15th. I want to experimentally take a different route this year; plus I want to arrive a day earlier than usual. My itinerary is as follows:

Sun Nov 15 - Houston to Denton, TX
Mon Nov 16 - Denton to Joplin, MO
Tue Nov 17 - Joplin to Springfield, IL
Wed Nov 18 - Springfield to Wheeling, IL

So for seeing "The Fantastic Mr. Fox", I have three choices: see it on Friday, on Saturday, or on Wednesday or Thursday in Chicago. I don't really like to see movies the day they premiere, or on weekends, because of the crowds. So what I'd like to do is see it on Thursday somewhere near the Westin.

Anyone care to join me? Any locals care to recommend a theater (or warn me away from a bad one)? I will of course have my car and can drive someone there.

EDIT: Ground rules.
1. Anyone wishing to go with me better be ready to go when I am, because I hate missing the beginning of a movie. If you're not ready to go when you should be, I'm leaving without you and you're not allowed to complain about it later.
2. I will ask you before we leave if you have money for a ticket. If you don't, you can't go.
3. I can take a *maximum* of three people, and I'd honestly rather just bring one or two.

Diary update!

Wed, 04 Nov 2009 21:53:23 GMT

New diary:
KT's Rainfurrest 2009 Diary!

Nine pages:
Title page
Page 1: Flew to Seattle while meeting Devilduk, watching Kiki's (De)Livery Service, and standing in line at the car counter.
Page 2: Shopped at Archie McPhee before going to the hotel. Met 2 and Tallyhawk. Visited the hilly 7-11.
Page 3: Offered some furs a ride to Denny's and Subafeway.
Page 4: Opening Ceremonies. Awesome atrium! Zombies. GOH dinner and roast. 2's show.
Page 5: Talk Like a Pirate Day. Variety Show rehearsal. Fursuit Parade led by Alexander J. Adams. Jon showed up!
Page 6: Alexander J. Adams's show. Variety Show. Sunday: Lunch at Ivar's. Underwater billboards!
Page 7: Ice cream social. Dinner at 13 Coins. Beatles: Rock Band with Jon.
Page 8: Sunday: Harmonies tripped me up. Monday: Flew home watching Toy Story and eating at a Subway.

I'm such a wacky artist.

Wed, 04 Nov 2009 02:40:55 GMT

Lookit this thing I did last night for no reason!

http://kinkyturtle.masemware.com/misc/LoweezeewoL.gif

The Judy's - Grass is Greener

Tue, 03 Nov 2009 02:18:17 GMT

There was this band local to Pearland, TX, called The Judy's. I might have mentioned them here before; they were one of my favorite bands back in college, and when I learned recently that their albums were available on CD, I ordered my own copies. The songs are still every bit as much fun as I remembered...

But there's this one song, "Grass is Greener", that touches on transgender issues, and hearing it again now, though it's still as fun and catchy as ever, the attitudes behind the lyrics are now rather badly out of date. It goes as follows:

Johnny is a boy
He wants to be a girl
More than anything
In the whole wide world

When he's up and able
Right off the operating table
Where they tuck it in...
He'll be a girl.

It's an old cliché
Heard it all his life:
"Grass is greener on the other side."

Jonna is a girl
She wants to be a boy
Just the thought of it
Fills her with such joy

When she's up and able
Right off the operating table
Where they sew it on...
She'll be a boy.

It's an old cliché
Heard it all her life:
"Grass is greener on the other side."

They'll never be happy
They'll never feel satisfied
'Cause grass is greener on the other side.

Whoa ah oh

The undue focus solely on genital surgery, the failure to adjust pronouns, and of course the false assumption that TG individuals can "never be happy"... it's all wrong! (Not to mention the name "Jonna"; meh, I don't like it!) But still... it's such a catchy tune. Rather than pretend this song doesn't exist and sweep it under the rug, I decided it needed updating, so I've taken the liberty of modifying the words. My version goes thus:

Johnny is a boy
He wants to be a girl
More than anything
In the whole wide world.

When he fills the forms out
And takes them to the district courthouse
Where they change his name...
She'll be a girl.

It's an old cliché
Heard it all her life:
"Grass is greener on the other side."

Jenny is a girl
She wants to be a boy
Just the thought of it
Fills her with such joy.

With hormones injected
Until a beard can be detected,
And a change in voice...
He'll be a boy.

It's an old cliché
Heard it all his life:
"Grass is greener on the other side."

And now they are happy
And now they feel satisfied
Their grass was greener on the other side.

Whoa ah oh

Much better, don't you think? I like to sing my version over theirs when I play the CD in my car.

Song can be temporarily found here: http://kinkyturtle.masemware.com/sound/music/TheJudys/The Judy's - Grass Is Greener.mp3

Rainfurrest diary?

Thu, 29 Oct 2009 19:19:55 GMT

Y'know what? I've been working on the diary for Rainfurrest, off and on, since I got home from Seattle. But I've been lazy about it; more off than on. Maybe if I set a deadline and make it public, that will spur me on to finish it.

So: I will have the Rainfurrest diary completed and uploaded by Wednesday of next week, November 4. Shouldn't be hard; it's only like 8 pages long. But it will be 8 pages of pure con-diary fun!

KT's wacky Halloween-era news

Wed, 28 Oct 2009 03:23:49 GMT

Guess what: R2D2 has H1N1.

In other news, I'm going to spend Halloween wearing my wolf suit and making mischief of one kind and another. Specifically I'm going to write a sequel to "Where the Wild Things Are", in which KW shows up at Max's door, asking to sleep on their couch because she and Carol had a big fight. Max's mom will be the one to answer the door, and not having seen the Wild Things before, she'll be all AIEEEE!

And then I'm gonna make naked Lego people.

KT on Flickr? Why not indeed.

Fri, 23 Oct 2009 00:35:49 GMT

My photo page has fallen so woefully far behind that it hasn't been updated since 2006.

So I've decided it's time to start uploading photos to Flickr. Here's my photostream, which so far only has a few photos on it, from the Cake Wrecks tour.

I haven't done anything!

Tue, 20 Oct 2009 22:00:54 GMT

Oh wait, yes I have. I went and saw "A Serious Man" today. It was good, although I can't help wondering if the ending would make more sense if I were Jewish.

Where the Wild Things Are

Mon, 19 Oct 2009 23:21:46 GMT

I see WtWTA has been getting mixed reviews. Clearly, people are responding to it in different ways. Me, I liked it; it was emotionally intense.

I can see why some people don't like it; the Wild Things' problems don't get resolved (not before Max leaves, anyway), and a lot of the story is pretty depressing. But it does stay true to the theme of the book. And it does it by being an intense exploration of personality conflicts.

Loma Prieta

Sun, 18 Oct 2009 17:38:14 GMT

Several people on my friendslist are posting memories of the Loma Prieta earthquake, which happened 20 years ago. So I'll do the same:

I saw it on the news. I remember seeing pictures of collapsed freeways and buildings.

Didn't feel it, of course. Here in Houston, TX, I have never been in an earthquake, nor felt shockwaves from earthquakes anywhere else. The only thing remotely like that that I've ever felt was when a chemical plant outside town somewhere exploded. The windows made a "thud" noise, as if a large basketball had been thrown against the side of the house.

Oh, then there was the time lightning struck a tree in our yard. I was at home reading, and suddenly there was this deafening *BANG* from outside. When I went out later after the storm, I saw that one tree was missing a thin strip of bark from a high branch all the way down to the ground, and there were strips of bark lying around. That tree died and had to be removed.

Other strange things happen around here occasionally. One time there was smoke in the sky from some forest fires in Mexico. Then it rained dirty rain, and everyone's cars got dirty. I had to take mine to the car wash.

Then there was *&^%$#@!ing Hurricane Ike.

Oh yeah, Cake Wrecks

Sun, 11 Oct 2009 21:42:09 GMT

The Cake Wrecks event in Austin was fun! I finally got to meet John and see the slideshow, a sort of brief history of the Cake Wrecks blog. Also, I brought sprinkles. Y'know, just in case Jen and John might want sprinkles after all they've been through. They were very appreciative.

While I was at the bookstore, I also bought some other books, such as The Cartoon History of the Modern World by Larry Gonick, I Judge You When You Use Poor Grammar by Sharon Eliza Nichols, and Who's To Say What's Obscene? by Paul Krassner.

After the event, I drove home. It takes about 3–4 hours.

Ceee-le-brate good times, COME ON

Sun, 11 Oct 2009 21:25:30 GMT

I'm going to say something primarily because I don't see anybody else saying it.

Woooo! Way to go, Obama! Winning the Nobel Peace Prize, you lucky man! Hey Republicans, SUCK IT! Hah!

Voice Post

Sat, 10 Oct 2009 00:53:59 GMT

Cake Wrecks tour, take 2

Fri, 09 Oct 2009 04:07:55 GMT

Well, Jen of Cake Wrecks's husband John is out of the hospital and feeling better, so they've decided to resume the book tour where they left off. They'll be appearing in Austin on Saturday at Book People at 2:00. I'll be there!

And I'll only be away from home for one night, so I'm not going to bother bringing my laptop. This means no updates from the road. One oughtn't use a laptop while driving anyway. I mean, if you thought texting was bad...

Totally random thought

Mon, 05 Oct 2009 22:11:04 GMT

While driving home today, I spotted a car with lettering in the windshield that spelled "PICASSO" in all caps in Old English script. I know that makes some people cringe, because you're not supposed to use that font in all caps. There's supposed to be one capital letter at the beginning, acting as a decorative lead-in to the rest of the word.

And I thought of an analogy: setting all-caps text in Old English font is like singing a song and inserting a flourish intro before every single word. Like instead of singing:

o/` Dada dada da da, hey! Mary had a little lamb, little lamb, little lamb... o/`

...you're singing:

o/` Dada dada da da, hey! Mary...
Dada dada da da, hey! Had...
Dada dada da da, hey! A...
Dada dada da da, hey! Little...
Dada dada da da, hey! Lamb... o/`

Cake Wrecks totally wrecked

Mon, 05 Oct 2009 21:55:56 GMT

Now that I'm home, I've read the Cake Wrecks blog and gotten more information. Jen's husband John is in the ICU with a head injury, pneumonia, and a staph infection in his blood. Annnd... Jen herself apparently has flulike symptoms. The entire rest of the Cake Wrecks tour has been canceled. So send them your well-wishes and happy thoughts.

Cake Wrecks... wrecked!

Mon, 05 Oct 2009 03:38:26 GMT

Cake Wrecks book tour, day 1 for KT

Sun, 04 Oct 2009 03:07:45 GMT

Saw Jen of Cake Wrecks at Legacy Books here in Plano. Apparently there were two things missing from the event this time: her husband John, who apparently had to be taken to the emergency room (she didn't say why -- eek, hope he's okay!) and a slideshow that the bookstore was supposed to show on two video screens but which they couldn't get working for some reason.

She talked about the blog and the book, took questions, and then judged the wreckplication contest where people brought in homemade cupcake versions of famous wrecks from the blog. One of them won!

Then there was cake to eat, and booksigning.

After that, I wondered how to spend the rest of the day as I drove around and it started to drizzle. I found a movie theater, so I went in and saw "The Invention of Lying", starring Ricky Gervais. It's pretty good.

Then I got a burger from Jack in the Box and came back here.

Cake Wrecks book tour comes to Texas

Sat, 03 Oct 2009 05:51:06 GMT

I'm in Plano, TX!

Tomorrow, there's a book signing for the book "Cake Wrecks" by Jen of the Cake Wrecks blog here in Plano, and I'm planning to be there.

On Sunday, Jen will appear in Austin, and I'll be there too!

'Cause I'm totally stalking her. No, not really. But there will be cakes! I'm totally stalking the cakes. Yeah, that's it.

Incurious bastards

Thu, 01 Oct 2009 02:05:26 GMT

I feel kind of weird complaining about this.

I mean, I know it's a misspelling, and I know it's just a damn Tarantino movie, but why does nobody on the face of the earth except me seem to notice that it's "IngloUrious Basterds", not "Inglorious Basterds"?

I mean, I'm glad people are spelling "inglorious" correctly, but I wish it weren't because they're being unobservant!

Brief filk idea: Glass Bottom Boat

Sun, 27 Sep 2009 16:46:49 GMT

Ohh, you're gonna take me for a ride
Ohh, where I can fishwatch from inside
Ohh, I can see kelp and coral too
Glass bottom boat, you make the ocean floor astound.

Prisencolinensinainciusol, all right!

Sat, 26 Sep 2009 04:31:54 GMT

This video is awesome and dancy and full of English-sounding total gibberish written by an Italian guy.