Upcoming Concert

Viva Voce, a really good band that my friend Ken turned me onto, will be at the Firebird on Tuesday. Worth checking out - here's a sample:

Work It Out

I wrecked my back a bit due to a little too much working out, and some new moves. Throw in a not-so-great chair at work, and I've been in pain for the last few days.

I just got back from getting a half-hour trigger point massage at Massage Envy. My friend had a gift card that was about to expire and was kind enough to throw it my way.

What a great gift.

It was fantastic.

I feel so much better.

I don't usually get massages. Well, not professional ones anyway. I can't believe how much better I feel.

I went to the one in Webster Groves - great staff.

Go there, if you have some pain or just want to feel loosey-goosey.

Movie Review

Jeez Louise.

Inside surprised me. Completely. It is, by far, the goriest horror movie I've ever seen. It's also a very trippy, atmospheric movie.

The French seldom fail to entertain, and this little gem took gruesome to the limit.

The basic premise is that a widowed woman who's a day away from giving birth to her child is tormented by another woman. Tormented? Too light of a word. From the very first scene to the last, gore abounds. But it's not gratuitous gore.

There were some surprises along the way as well. The music and sound effects created just the right amount of anticipation and dread. There were points where I could not watch - my friend had to tell me what was happening, and then I would turn back to the screen feeling more prepared for what I was about to see.

It was scary, bold but not over the top. It played out in an interesting way - I don't want to give it away, but let me just say that this film makes the ordinary seem very disturbing. If you've seen "The Strangers", the "natural, anticlimactic" violence at the end is peppered throughout this movie. Very surreal.

If you are a horror fan, I would definitely recommend this movie. It's now in my top 10.

Key Ray Zee

My friend Kent called me yesterday. This was how the conversation went:

Me: "Hey you!"

Kent: "Riddle me this, K - on what day did a car catch fire and explode in the Delmar parking garage?"

Me: "Um, today?"

Kent: "Oh. My. God. 10 Monkeys."

You might be asking, what the hell is 10 Monkeys? We all know what 12 Monkeys is, that fine film with Brad Pitt sporting a kooky eyeball. But 10 Monkeys? Let me explain...

When Kent and I worked together, he and I came up with a rating system to describe situations that were spiraling, or already, out of control. Things like

- a teacher who came into the office one Friday morning wearing a prom dress (she's 30), last nights makeup and hairdo somewhat intact, smelling like granny powder.

- Our crazy boss's flat, square toes

- Our crazy boss's penchant for American Spirits on the fire escape, bitching about any one of her three employees, former one's also.

- Our crazy boss's "no time off for lunch" policy (Heil...)

Our system went something like this:

1 Monkey - weird, this doesn't seem normal, does it?
2 Monkeys - is this really happening?
3 Monkeys - Seriously now, when is this going to stop?
4 Monkeys - I think there needs to be an intervention...soon.
5 Monkeys - Um, this person's ten cents short of a dime.
6 Monkeys - Batshit - completely batshit.
7 Monkeys - Maybe we should lock our doors and put the phones on DND or call the authorities?
8 Monkeys - It's El Maguey time...bring on the extra large margarita. Two straws.
9 Monkeys - Oh. My. God.
10 Monkeys - I'm leaving. Now. You'll never see me again.
Shenanigans - an out-of-control situation beyond description. Call for a DQ cake with random themes and misspellings. Preferably chocolate.

The situation at the parking garage qualified as a 10 Monkey. If the exploding car had been Kent's, it would have been a definite Shenanigans.

Kent got home okay, but he smelled like he'd been standing in a bbq pit all afternoon.

I miss Kent. I've never laughed so much at work, every day. Didn't before, haven't since.

Total Eclipse of my Past

I love this!

"Total Eclipse Of The Heart" was on the playlist at my first hop, Jr. High circa 1983 (yup. just dated myself).

It was so romantical. Slow dancing with scrawny boys in our socks. Rocking out to "Cum On Feel The Noize". Big hair, Madonna bracelets and neon.

I've said too much. Enjoy this video.

Zombie Dog

He's still so sweet, I think I'll leave his head on for awhile and see what happens....

Come ON!!

I'm feeling like Carlton from the Fresh Prince...a little behind the times and snap-dancy.

I went to class tonight after work. I was ready Freddy - had my #2's sharpened, my college-ruled paper pressed - it was on. Wait. Scratch that. I went to my CLASSROOM tonight after work. My actual class doesn't start for another week. Yup, I'm OuttaSync. I'm so far from being NSync you can call me Nick Lachey.

I've 90's pop culture on the brain. Yes, I'm available for trivia nights.

So what am I going to do with four more free nights this week? More kickboxing. Thing is, I really have no frustration I'm unleashing onto the poor, unsuspecting bags. It's just pure fun.

I will also be interviewing my friend Eammon's band about their second album dropping. Check out their blog here, and their MySpace here.