Vagabond

I know how to make Vertigo not shit.

I actually got the idea from Vertigo.

Put Garf Ennis in charge.

I've never taken a good long look at mine myself.

I imagine there's some renaissance artist who wrote poems in Italian about how beautiful they are though.

Them in general, not my testicles in particular.

I think there should be an IRC channel.

You should start playin' that one hair metal song "Here I Am (Rock You Like A Hurricane)".

Wait, asians can't tell age now?

the Mancunian Gollum

Love it.

I'm going to start referring to MES by that.

Who makes the Nazis?

It was pouring in Boston for the last two days, but we don't really get storms.

Tape yer windows.

On a great note, I CAN PLAY DIRTY OLD TOWN ON BANJO!

I can keep time if I play slow!

I was in the basement for an hour and a half or so, practicing.

It's only four chords, but I've only been playing a few weeks, so it takes time to switch.

This is great though.

My left hand has calluses, and my strumming/picking fingers are slightly bloody.

This is GREAT!

Fucking idiot dad returns my DVDs to the library before I can fucking watch them.

No fucking Once Upon A Time In America.

No fucking My Name is Nobody!.

Fuck.

I had a great plan where instead of leaving the house, I'd watch movies where people left houses.

Now I got to get outside and ride my bike or I won't be able to sleep.

Fuck.

Reserved from the library, thanks guys.

I also want to know this.

And what's a good collection of original Howard Conan stories?

*Nervously looks around for lurking Vertigo writers with several Z's in their names*

I'm still learning banjo.

I can play a scale in G tuning now.

I can ALMOST keep rhythm.

Saw it last night.

It's good, no question.

As good as Batman Begins, maybe better.

Ledger is good, Bale is good, the script is good.

The new Rachael is annoying, and the Dent thing is paced badly.

I'd give it maybe 9/10.

It's a great thing that this year we've had two commercially and critically successful superhero movies.

Iron Man is better though.

Guys, I'm at a sf con in Massachusetts.

It's pretty good, more about books than star trek.

I've seen a good hour long thing about PKD, and a good hour long thing about Stanislaw Lem, and a good hour long thing about speculative fiction. There've been some other okay things.

There are some famous writers here, but only if you know SF.

Oh, guess who was at a panel about "transcending your influences"?

That awful writer what wrote The Dreaming and those shitty vampire comics.

I wanted to ask her if she'd ever taken Garf's advice.

Bought a banjo, I've been playing it for two days.

I can do 3 chords and maybe 6 or 7 notes, switching between them without looking, but not quickly. First instrument I've learned. Hopefully I'll be able to do a rousing rendition of Old Dan Tucker by the end of the summer.

Oh Lord won't you tell me I'm sure I don't know,

Who makes the plans that change our lives so,

From a place in the country so peaceful and calm,

We moved up to London as the bombs fell around,

On a street by the river where the rent it was cheap,

The Landlord he told us "It's yours to keep",

For a regular payment week after week,

You've always a roof under which you can sleep.

 

The years passed by, the war came to an end,

We lived our lives did nothing to offend,

But the Landlord's conditions yearly they grew,

With the size of his gut and his housing values,

He'd kneel on a Sunday and pray to the Lord,

For ideals of love his wealth can't afford,

When the Bastard he came round to raise up rent,

We swallowed our pride and we smiled our best.

 

Bricks and mortar, a kingdom of stone,

When you go when you're all alone,

They'll carve your name where you lie,

And I for one no tears will cry.

 

Greed knows no boundaries, greed does not feel,

I'm damned if I'll die for a property deal,

The woman next door she just passed away,

For the rent grew so high that she just couldn't pay,

And there in her bed she closed up her eyes,

The last time she gazed on this world of lies,

With nowhere to go and nothing saved,

She went to the next world and the Bastard he smiled.

 

Bricks and mortar, a kingdom of stone,

When you go you're all alone,

They'll carve your name where you lie,

And I for one no tears will cry.

 

Oh Lord won't you tell me I'm sure I don't know,

What makes some people so callous and cold,

I've lived in this house for forty-four years,

My children were born here, its here I'll grow old,

A curse on you, Bastard Landlord be damned,

Who needs one more house like a beach needs more sand,

I'll stay here till I'm done only then will I go,

Was never meant one man should treat others so.

The Landlord's here to visit

They're blasting disco down below

Says, "I'm doubling up the rent

Cos the building's condemned

You're gonna help me buy City Hall"

 

But we can, you know we can

But we can, you know we can

Let's lynch the landlord man

 

I tell them 'turn on the water'

I tell 'em 'turn on the heat'

Tells me 'All you ever do is complain'

Then they search the place when I'm not here

 

But we can, you know we can

Let's lynch the landlord

Let's lynch the landlord

Let's lynch the landlord man

 

There's rats chewin' up the kitchen

Roaches up to my knees

Turn the oven on, it smells like Dachau, yeah

Til the rain pours thru the ceiling

 

But we can, you know we can

Let's lynch the landlord man

Once Upon a Time in America

I love everything Leone's ever been near, but the movie's a good 4 hours long, so I hadn't watched it til I had time.

Yet more evidence that Sergio Leone is the greatest director ever.

Fucking landlords, man.

Squatting always seemed really cool to me but it's not so doable anymore.

Good luck with finding a place.

Alright, there is NO way his hand is on the trigger there.

I'm a secret Abba fan (well, not secret on the internet), I'm planning to see it.

Was anyone dancing in the theater?

I live pretty close to Worcester, I'd heard of him.

That wasn't really covered anywhere outside of newspaper obituaries. Sad.

You're so lucky to have a family that speaks a second language.

You've never had a large extended family of Jews.

If I'm ever in a city where say, a third cousin of my grandfather's nephew, once removed lives, I'm obligated to visit him for a dinner, or I'll hear about it for months afterward from other parts of the family.

And if distant family members visit Boston, my family has to offer to host them.

At least it's only my mom's side who's like this. But yeah, there are drawbacks to families that speak Hebrew.

Actually Malin's sig reminds me.

I've got a few books, but mostly, my parents are fluent in Hebrew, and my dad's got a spreadsheet to learn words off three-letter roots which worked great for my little sister.

Honestly everyone in my family says it's easy to learn.

Well I'm only 2 days in, so I'm just past letters, but I'm aiming to be able to speak modern Hebrew, and read the Torah.

So both, I suppose.

My grandfather, who in retirement became a Talmudic scholar, reads ancient Hebrew, and speaks ancient Hebrew, unaware that the Israelis he speaks to are barely speaking the same language. My dad can pass for Israeli when he speaks. I'm learning from my dad.

Well I didn't expect this when I entered the topic.

I have to say, Christian, your arguments here seem more reasonable than in the Jew topic.

I identify pretty strongly with socialist policies, but when I try to explain them to people, they just say shit about Soviet Russia and the Great Purges. Stalinist Russia was classist and totalitiarian, I tell them, but they don't even get that.

But really, you look around and it's obvious that under capitalism, The People have to work or starve. That's not freedom. And it doesn't make sense anyway, since there's more than enough food in the world that no one need go hungry again. Smith's ideas are no longer relevant, post-industrialization, but the neoliberals have a vested interest in not letting anyone know that, and to a pretty major degree, they control information.

I can't think of much more tragic than the populace mistaking the freedom to purchase for liberty.