RKNet Blog... Thing

Perusing through my feeds this morning, as I am wont to do, I discovered a blurb in Wired’s The Underwire about the whole MST3K crew putting in an appearance at this year’s Comic Con! Not only that, but they plan to do a live Rifftrax session of Plan 9 From Outer Space as well.

Then the part that really grabbed me (because I can’t attend Comic Con this year), the announcement of an MST3K boxed set! SQEEEE! It’s currently up for pre-order on Amazon, with a listed release date of October 28th of this year. According to the Underwire article, legal issues have prevented Shout Factory from releasing the list of episodes that will be available in this set. With 4 discs in the set, my hope is they get as many as possible or at least all the ones not covered by the currently available DVD collections.

I’m hoping for Sidehackers, some of the Godzilla movies, Castle of Fu-Manchu (which I own a copy of in non-MST3K format), and Time Chasers. (”Wheee we’re getting poison sumac wheeee!”)

Burning Questions:
What episodes are your favorites?
Joel or Mike Nelson?
Tom or Crow?
The Doctor or Pearl?
TV’s Frank?

• you know what? I think I’m going to try to find a phone that’s just a phone. Because no hiptop super magic expensi-phone is really worth it #
• Someone explain this phrase to me “using social media to prove social media” all it says to me is this http://urlkiss.com/ym #
• when you see it, you’ll shit bricks http://urlkiss.com/yn #
• @geechee_girl Hey, glass is an insulator, don’t sweat it #
• @LostDrewid no no, that’s the one I meant #

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Shared by Mathiasx via #ectomo.
I really like this! The video itself looks like it was generated by painstaking hours on a Lite Bright, although I’m sure that’s probably not the case. The sound is modern, perhaps a rather common brand of modern not-quite-pop. Yet it’s pleasant and listenable and there are threads of influence running through here that are almost palpable. Fuzzy guitar matched with a good drum beat, and a lilting vocal make this a pleasure to listen to in my book.

What do you think?

It all started with a simple link to BoingBoing, which I don’t ordinarily read, in the ectomo chat (EFNet, #ectomo or through a java module on the site).

The article was a simple video, with the headline “Man electrocutes pickle to demonstrate power of Christianity“.

Within the video, a friendly older gentleman wishes to share a neat experiment and a metaphor with the audience. The experiment involves taking a regular pickle of fairly decent size, skewering either end with metal forks, hanging it from a safely grounded sling, and hooking up electrical clips to the forks. When the wire with the clips is plugged into a source of electricity (in this case a wall socket, as evidenced by the standard US plug on one end), we can see that electricity is conducted through the pickle to create a complete circuit. With the lights off, you can watch one end of the pickle glow and spark like a fourth of july sparkler as seen through frosted glass.

It is at this point which Grandpa John - that’s this older fellow’s stage name I’d assume - wishes to really make his metaphor. His goal was to demonstrate that by introducing the power of Christ in the life of any average person, that person will glow (figuratively) with the power and light of God.

Needless to say, the BoingBoing commenters had a field day with this somewhat dubious analogy.

My favorite comment: “Pickle! Pickle! burning bright,
Between the forks of the night,
What immortal hand or eye
Could frame thy fearful symmetry?” ~ chriss1519

Later on…

Gia-tan HA. take that expensive, wasteful floor washing kits and mops! Entire kitchen floor cleaned with one clorox wipe and my foot!
Gia-tan toes: best for getting into corners since the jesus pickle invented them

Then Mathiasx mentioned a song called Handlebars by a band called Flobots (which is absolutely amazing, by the by), which in turn reminded me of a song called Jesus Grow a Handlebar Moustache for Me by a band called Pataphysics. Bringing things somewhat full circle. Quite a reach for synchronicity, but without the original Jesus Pickle video from earlier, the odds of my remembering the Pataphysics’ song to make mention of it would have been significantly lessened.

Pataphysics - Jesus Grow a Handlebar Moustache for Me

• I totally just bought an Order of the Triad shirt. http://www.astrobasego.com/shirtoftheweek.html #
• @malpertuis <3 I’m speechless! well no, I guess I have a question. How long does it usually take to get teh shirts? #
• thinking I’m going to get cleaned up, then head down to the grand opening of Adelle’s. will probably be live-tweeting that #
• @Thommer Adelle’s as in Adelle’s Coffeehouse, just opened up in Dover #
• report on the Adelle’s grand opening: they’re having a tshirt and gift cert raffle, also, live music. missed the balloon animals tho #
• @kmkoni welcome to the club #
• gonna need to go see me some batman. afraid to check the theaters because it’s probably going to be stupid-crowded and I hate that #

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So I remember just enough of my dreams to merit writing them down. The reason I remember is because I was awakened by a combination of the cat scratching loudly at the door for breakfast, and the very last bit of the dream (which I’ll get to momentarily).

Going in list form because I don’t necessarily remember big details.

• Several people were standing outside the mill building where I work, and I didn’t really recognize most of them.
• I seemed to be viewing this through the eyes of a girl who was on the ground, but was also the “camera’s” focus at times.
• People were throwing small objects on the ground with video game-esque results. Items like cherry tomatoes tossed to the ground to be mixed with something I think they called bitter acid. Where it then turned into 3 or 4 seperate items (one of which included a whole smaller tomato and a somewhat squished smaller tomato).
• Girl-on-the-ground seemed to be our alchemist here. She also seemed to be captive by a large, angry, rather unattractive man.
• It appeared she was voluntarily mute. She defied him by not giving him the right results of the tomato alchemy, or handing him something that wasn’t what he wanted.
• Somewhere in here, she apparently felt as though she could make an escape, so she did. However, it appeared that at least one of her legs didn’t work so she was dragging herself as fast as she could by walking forward with her hands and dragging her body behind. (Which she was good at.)
• Little moments betray that her legs do work, at least some of the time. It’s never understood why she doesn’t walk or run.
• She flees across the bridge and over into the other part of the mill building, which seems to be part mill building and part fancy house… thing.
• He is following inexorably behind, taking a kind of Pepe LaPew approach, quick but not so fast that she doesn’t have an opportunity to feel like she mgiht actually be able to hide somewhere.
• A door looking like an understair (no stairs there, though) cabinet has a knob low enough for her to reach without getting up. She looks around for her pursuer, and not seeing him or hearing him close enough to tell for sure where she went, she drags herself quickly into the nook and shuts the door.
• Despite a lack of lights it’s not totally dark in the cubby. She drags herself to the far corner, behind where the door opens into the space (even though I think she opened it outward) and gasps raggedly, trying to catch her breath and be silent at the same time.
• Moments later the door opens inward, and his face slides in, turning immediately to face her in her corner.
• A little fuzzy here but no force seemed to be used to extract her from the space.
• Trying smaller doors within the cabinet revealed someone’s pantry to her.
• Vauge confusing images of urban exploration type areas go here.
• There was some kind of gathering to which both Ugly Guy and Crawling Girl were to attend.
• There was a decent-sized audience, in a hotel conference room sort of setup, with fancy dinner chairs. I think it might have been a dress-up film affair.
• People start smoking in the back of the room. This causes a wave of coughing to ensue and complaints to be issued.
• At some point in all this, A HORRIBLE CLOWN MONSTER APPEARS! (FIGHT, ITEM, MAGIC, RUN)
• People seemed to scatter. There was much mayhem. Some Beetlejuice-esque antics, with items turning traitor and scaring people witless.
• Fuzziness here.

And of course, the last thing I remember before I woke up. The girl who had been dragging herself by her arms was bying taunted by this horrible clown beast. (Who was visible, invisible, in other forms, and generally everywhere at once, I might add.) He was trying very hard to make her afraid, weak and helpless. Part of what prevented him from attacking her outright was it seemed she needed to make a wish first. Once that wish was fulfilled, he would have his horrible, monstery way with her. Slowly, slowly she stood up on her own, trying to be steady and collect her thoughts.

Friends who had been run off the scene because the buggy thing they were in ran amok with them in it, finally came back on the scene after regaining some measure of control.

They arrived just in time to see the following:
The girl stammered “I wish… I wish… I wish…. I wish I’d stop saying I wish.”
Her eyes widened with horror, and frantically she searched about for help.
“NO! That wasn’t me who said that! He made me say it! He was moving my mouth!”
As she says this, the horrible (total Stephen King’s mini-series Tim Curry style IT) clown beast is revealed to indeed be holding her jaw, as he’s practically wrapped around her like a cloak.
These friends look on in horror, as the horrible clown monster pulls back his lips to reveal jagged, shark-like teeth, which he then sinks into the back of our heroine’s neck greedily.

(I seem to recall at some point there was a mention of it being more of a “mana” stealing, rather than a devouring, so this was more of a vampire type bite, chomping in to get the best blood flow going.)

Then I woke up and the cat was beating the crap out of my bedroom door. Then end.

• tomorrow. Dover. Adelle’s Coffeehouse grand opening. There will be balloon animals, possibly a unicycle rider and/or stiltwalker #
• almost typed “fyou too” to someone. oh typos #
• @CinemaSuicide ahahaha oh man. that sucks #
• stock photos are so fuckin creepy sometimes! #

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• this just in: Adelle’s coffee shop (new) in Dover NH will have their grand opening this Saturday. two words: Balloon Animals #
• http://astrobasego.com/shirtoftheweek.html ARGH. do want! must examine funds to make this happen asap #
• @CinemaSuicide yeah, I’m not really in a position to justify 20+ bucks for a tee shirt, even if it is rare and awesome #
• http://urlkiss.com/xq nothin’ but love for this personal treatise on UI design by Jono DiCarlo #
• dear users: I can’t fix the problem if you can’t tell me any specifics about it. <3 G #
• @LostDrewid oh shi- Is that the problem? Are there any study-at-home-as-seen-on-TV courses I could pick up for that? #
• Retweet @inkedmn our net admin was volunteered to fix somebody’s computer without giving his consent. his response: http://twitpic.com/4ghi #
• Maybe I’m retarded, but I’m not seeing these changes to twitter everybody keeps tweeting about. what gives? #

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• noticed a pattern of adds by folks who don’t follow many people. early robot adding or mysterious popularity surge? hmmm… #
• curses, another new WP version. Every time I get comfy, they up and update on me! :P I know what I’m doin tonight #
• @Thommer Even better! :D but that doesn’t explain the others. there’s a mystery afoot, jinkies! #
• I hate it when I can’t tell if someone is laughing or crying. It’s a nerve-wracking sound. #
• @RyTron could be, some add-ers have had low numbers of followers AND low following numbers. which means either folks got wise or they’re new #
• hmm… the friend/follower panels in twhirl not really all that helpful. it gives me the “add user” icon on people I know I already follow #
• I’ve been off twitter for a bit, I forgot how fast this moves! it’s enough to make one feel like a day trader in gossip and ephemera #
• @ecc1977 good to know. I’ll have to give it a look-see at some point #
• whiiiiiiite kiiiiids loooove hiiiiip hooooop #
• uuuuugh. still so tired #
• @asgorelik refresh my memory. which chat thing? :P I forgot what I said #
• @rushabhchoksi http://urlkiss.com/xj for reference. :3 #
• new coffee shop in dover. today I offered to exchange website for coffee. XD #
• @khamer they have teas from the ports. tea co, and italian sodas haven’t fully explored the place yet it’s around the corner from Dos Amigos #
• @asgorelik oh! I just meant the item that slides onto the home page advertising chat. It’s kind of a cheesy marketing tool, my opinion only #
• @malpertuis thanks, but I’m confused… my birthday was in april! :D #
• @hak42 around the corner from Dos Amigos, the people are great and the coffee’s pretty good. real verdict pending further investigation, tho #
• @debdebtig they just opened their doors on the 12th, actually. #
• @malpertuis how odd! Who was it? I didn’t see the first one for some reason. there was an @ to me, right? #
• 14 tweets? cripes! you’d swear people had stuff to SAY! :P #
• gotta stay motivated. got a wordpress install to one-click update later! :3 #
• @ciaoenrico word. Welcome to signal-to-noise ratio hell, enjoy your stay! #
• neat! I’m #2 in google for the term “fail whale pale ale” guess I should work on pimping that out more! #
• @jeffsonstein I just noticed that the wiki article was baleeted. boo on that #

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