Dear Lj readers,

good evening, how are things? Hopefully well.

Here are today's puzzle pieces :

* Brushed up

3 random notes, in no order : two days ago marks the 6th anniversary of me creating a Livejournal. woo! I am glad to have been able to purchase a permanent account, last year. LJ's news blog passes along that another sale will be occurring sometime relatively soon.
I also cleaned my upstairs shower yesterday, which is always nice to have done. And finally, I now maintain an(other) online pet, a horse named Peter, on colorful website BellaSara (a kid-themed, horse-themed game site, heh).

* Good Will update

Courtesy a flyer from an earlier time in which I was in a store of theirs, I had incorrectly assumed that a range of dates mentioned on it, as a 'good time' of 'specials', was something conducive towards an actual sale, heh. Of course, items at a thrift store are already quite inexpensive as it is. It turned out not to be the case, when I went early one morning, but it's all good. I had a general 'replace / update' list, as it were, already. I found around 50% of the items for which I was looking. I got a new belt, replacement boxers, a replacement black sweater and an unexpected find : a Ruehl jacket. Score! R is a company of A & F and, while good quality, is even more expensive than the others. $4 at a thrift store was a pretty good deal, heh ;)

* Cocktails @ the Conservatory

This past Thursday evening, my friend KeithG and I headed out to the Franklin Park Conservatory, a large greenhouse facility in the also-pretty Franklin Park. They opened two upper patios (with potted pine trees and sitting pavilions) for the evening. It was in an area I myself originally couldn't place where in the building it was, however quickly figured it out. They had a bar for interested parties, light jazz music and tables. A pretty, slowly-changing light display around the nearby greenhouse part added color to the night sky. The event was free and took me (and, by extension us, since K had never been here before) to a part of the place we normally did not go.
With around 20% of the 'rest' of the building open, there was some flexibility as well.

* Ohio Historical Center

(Jim, John and I finally went!)
This past weekend here in town was Experience Columbus Days, a time wherein they promo various attractions our city has. So inspired by this, I asked my friend John if he would like to go, and off we went.
OHC is a large, two-story square building (done in the rare 'Brutalism' style, a now-uncommon European-based design) which has general information about the state of Ohio, from prehistoric days up to essentially today. We saw quilts, a running stone mill, even a life-size Mastodon skeleton in the main lobby. It was neat hearing 'old-timey' music and seeing pictures of nearby "High Street" back in the day.
After that we had a filling lunch at a local Johnny B's (with coupons - thanks, J!) and went to a few stores here and there. It was a fun and busy day.

* Misc. other

Some other small things, for which I am thankful : finding a general set list of some of the songs played at an Indigo Girls concert, to which I recently fortunately attended. my friend Scott's nice new finances. a good deal on flowering tea bulbs (3 for $1), on sale at a nearby outlet mall. finding some DVD-backups I thought I had misplaced. some great pictures of me, taken while on trip to NYC.

Okay. Have a good evening!

Take care,
* Geoff

Greetings LJ readers,

How are things? Hopefully the evening finds everyone well.

Here are today's holders of liquid :

* Co-op (summary)

Earlier today was the final shipment of the particular CSA for which my friend Scott and I had decided to split this year. We divided up weekly shares of produce from a local farm here in town. This week we got 2 large potted 'mum' plants, 6 pumpkins (2 big & 4 small), a small bag of apples, a 1/2 dozen eggs and a bottle of honey. I shook hands with the delivery person and thanked them for a good season.
At home I sliced one of the small pumpkins, toasted the seeds (and ate them - delicious!), then used much of the rest of it for a West Indian soup (beans, onions, veggie meat + pumpkin). I'm sure I can find good homes for some of the other ones.

* The Saddest Music in the World

I first saw a Guy Maddin movie earlier this year at our local art center (My Winnipeg), and enjoyed its 1920's / 'dawn of cinema' look. In some ways this is a prequel to that film ; also being set in a snowy version of Winnipeg (KeithG, if you remember MW, TSMITW also has a sleepwalker, heh).
Although what one might call a 'minor' work by him, certainly interesting. Mark McKinney (yes, the Kids in the Hall boy) stars as a slick American entering legless beer-baron (yes, legless beer-baron) Isabella Rossellini's moody contest.
I found the DVD at Big Lots, still-new in their $3 bin (only $2.40 after the rare '20% off' coupon they have now). 3 short films were also included, among them the quasi-famous Sissy-Boy Slap Party and also the captivating Sombra Dolorosa, about a woman literally wrestling 'death'. These alone were certainly worth the $2.40.



* Bowling (with) Green (bowling balls)

Yesterday evening I met my friend John and another friend of his, also named John by a coincidence, at a nearby Subway for dinner. After that and some quick shopping at Big Lots (I didn't get anything this particular time, having been to another one recently) we bowled at the also-in-the-same-shopping-center entertainment 'store', MOMO2.
An Asian-themed place, they had a Sanrio / Hello Kitty store, karaoke rooms, bubble tea and 4 lanes of bowling. We took advantage of a nice "$6 for 2 hours of bowling and free shoe rental" special they had. Visiting friend John nicely treated us to everything, including a Thai bubble tea for me. Thank you, sir!
I hadn't bowled 'in real life' (Wii excluded) for a while, however did average a 94 or so between my 3 games, which wasn't too bad. Some cute, presumably gay boys in the next lane had a good bowler among them, who often would break 100. All in all a great time. We shall have to do it more often!

* Misc. other

Some other small things, for which I am thankful : the ability to pick one's self up and keep onward. investments. my friend / roomie Graham showing me a new function on my scanner / printer (how to use it as a 'copier'). the heater in my car. pumpkin-pie-flavored yogurt, at Target (they were all out when I last went ; I shall have to try some!)

* Poll results

Here are the results of last week's poll. Thanks to all who voted! The question was "Do you yourself have a fireplace in your house?" The choices were : yes (a wood-burning one), yes (a gas-based one) or 'nope, not currently!'. 100% of those surveyed who did have a fireplace had a wood-burning one. I myself do as well.
Here is a copy of this week's :

Empty orchestra

Have you yourself ever done karaoke before? Indeed I have! Nope, not yet! Current Results

Okay. Have a restful night!

Take care,
* Geoff

Good evening Lj,

How are things? Hopefully well.

Here is today's freebie :

* John Waters

This past Friday, well-known filmmaker John Waters stopped into town to speak on his remembrances of artist Andy Warhol, as well as to socialize in general. He conversed with art world figure Vincent Fremont in the music hall at OSU. John had on a unique suit - a very nice, tailored black one, except that the top 10% or so was gray. Everything else was completely regular about it - it was simply as though he were wearing a gray suit and someone dipped 90% of it into dark ink, heh.
I couldn't have asked for better seats - the front, near center. Ironically, I only stayed for some of it, as I was off to my next stop :

* The Indigo Girls

This is been quite a last few days. I was offered a new job (which I took), and a few days ago I received an e-mail : I won a contest a local club I participate in was sponsoring! Two tickets to see "the girls".
I have been meaning to see this well-regarded, lesbian folk duo for years. Emily & Amy Ray are very social-minded and have released many albums, both together and solo. My friend Jim originally passed along an excellent fan site by them, which has dozens of live sets and b-side-compilations to download, Lifeblood.
I met my friend and new roomie Eric for the standing-room-only event. I hope to find a set list of the evening sometime soon. They played Cold Beer and Remote Control, Pendulum Swingers (changing the line of "You should listen to your mama if you have a lick of sense left" to "You should listen to Obama if you have a lick of sense left", ha!) and two songs from their (zing!) forthcoming album : Sugar Tongue and another one whose title I missed. It was great to see them.

* Coupons

This upcoming week offers some opportunities to save $ a few places. Outlet chain Big Lots has a rare, twice-a-year-or-so coupon for 20% off of everything. It is good until this Friday.
Restaurant Max & Erma's (, based out of Columbus here) has a "free appetizer with purchase of any entree' " coupon on their website to print, as well.
Finally, for those in the Columbus area, this upcoming weekend is their annual Experience Columbus Days event, with 50% off of many local attractions and a 25% off of the bill at any of 40 or so local restaurants. One can print up the (free) coupon / flyer for it here.

* Sarah Silverman

Courtesy the "on-demand" feature my cable nicely has, I recently watched some episodes of this unique live-action show from Comedy Central. Sarah's different-each-time viewfinder opening is but one of the unusual senses of humour she and the writers infuse throughout.
The comedy is not for everyone - I cannot find a good word for it. My favorite 30-minute episode had her looking for batteries for her remote control. By the end of the episode she has assaulted the handicapped, slept with God (yes, "God") and - in the best / most immature bit - mocked a random stranger who drives a car 'just like hers' - for no reason whatsoever!
Update : because Youtube seemingly has everything, lol, here is that exact 13-second bit.

* Misc. other

Some other small things, for which I am thankful : the bravery of honesty. a good deal on Honest Tea I recently took advantage of, at a Whole Foods. a "$5 donation to breast cancer research" special I did at a local store (I got a coupon for $3 off of my next order, too). the convenience of gmail's built-in e-mail / chat messenger. a large ("400 gb large") gift of music my friend Scott recently acquired (he is still, of course, going through all of it, heh).

Okay. Have a good evening!

Take care,
* Geoff

Good evening readers,

how are things? Hopefully well.
Welcome to October! 'Tis a month of heavier blankets, bread mixes and falling leaves.

Here is today's quiet moment :

* Semi-annual house organizing (summary)

This particular cycle of home improvements has completed. Lots of things were done. I :

( Read more... )

* New job

After a while of doing some temp assignments, as well as keeping an eye out for a position, some exciting news : I was offered one! It was something for which I was quite hoping. It's a data company and is located in Westerville, OH. It's a permanent position and involves having incorrect financial accounts rendered correctly. Nicely, it's within biking distance (woo!) and also offers a 401(k) (which is, as I might say, 401(great), lol).
They have 'flex-time' for some of their schedule, which essentially means one can set one's own hours in-between Tuesday and Friday. That will be nice as well. I begin paperwork and etc. later on this month.

* Jordan Crane : The Clouds Above

After seeing this book in a local art center's bookstore recently, I was inspired to check a copy out of the library and read it. I also found a short 'mini-book', The Last Lonely Saturday, as well.
TCA's artwork is lovely and very evocative of older comics like Little Nemo and Krazy Kat (surreal works before many people's times ; at the 'dawn of comics', such as it were). A young boy finds a staircase which leads up into the clouds. His cat, who talks, comes with him.
TLLS, although short, also provides enough of a plot arch to provoke some thought. I can see why many children (and adults) love 'picture books'.

* Phil Solomon : Crossroads

"The underground", he told us, "is ground under".
Earlier this evening I returned to the local art center to see a selection of shorts by this particular filmmaker, whose textures and audio moods are very evocative. Featuring Mr. Solomon himself, the presentation in many ways was as much a class as a showing, which was a nice combination.
A percent of his works draws on existing 'hidden' places within the imperfect series of Grand Theft Auto games. It is interesting to observe such physically-detailed prettiness, rendered in a game so absent of moral prettiness. Seeing something never seen before is always a treat.



* Poll results

Here are the results of last week's poll. Thanks to all who voted! The question was : "If playing Monopoly, do you yourself have a 'favorite' piece to use?" The choices were : the car piece, the dog / horse piece, the hat piece, the shoe / boot piece, another piece not mentioned or 'Oh, I myself didn't play Monopoly enough to have a favorite piece'. The top choice was the hat piece, with 60% of the vote. I bet there are some interesting psychological ideas in regards to that observation.
Here is a copy of this week's :

Crackle

October can be a good month for fires. Do you yourself have a fireplace in your house? Yes : a wood-burning one. Yes : however it is a gas-based one. Nope, not currently! Current Results

Okay. Have a good evening!

Take care,
* Geoff