ldy reminded me about the strip mall of sin, posting in my journal…

Have I mentioned it before? It’s a plaza near my house, that caters to all the vices that are legal, and grayish.

Kids under 18 can read this, but don’t tell anyone, or I’ll deny it.

The contents of the plaza are as follows.

1. Adult Bookstore/Video Store, with sundry items and “marital aids”. Yes, I’ve been inside, and yes, I bought something, and no, I’m not married. What it is I bought will be an entry posted sometime in the far-flung future. The place has “porno viewing booths” that run for 30 seconds for a quarter. When I walked past, I was thankful not to smell anything vaguely emission-like. Something I found odd was that the guy looked totally normal and comfortable running the place. Kind of cool, I tend to think I might have trouble keeping a straight face if someone arrived and asked “Do you have a copy of Shaving Ryan’s Privates? No? How about Sex Trek II, the next penetration?” Posted notices there reminding prostitutes that hooking is illegal. They don’t seem to care, or maybe they can’t read English, Spanish or Creole. (See also #5, below.)

2. Grateful J’s… a head shop, full of hemp, bootleg tapes and incense. Yes, this is the main reason I go to the SOS. I have made a little trade swapping sound board bootlegs of a few Phish and Grateful Dead concerts there, I can pretty much get my tie-dye and sweet smelling burn-sticks free there. I’ve recently discovered due to sweetalyssm that kitties are smart enough to avoid fire, and after careful tests, am comfortable with candles and incense around the house! They won’t trade for some things, but Napster has made trading of bootleg stuff a good barter for me. For what it’s worth, Phish and GD don’t mind, so it’s not copyright infringement, as long as you leave the studio albums alone. I need to find a place that’ll allow me to trade burned CDs for cash. 🙂 Anyway, if you hang around there long enough, you can get assorted drugs if you’re a regular. I’m not currently into that, but sometimes wonder who else could get in trouble if I was in the room when the deals go down. Anyhoo, that’s also a place to get fun/weird sex toys too. Why they bother next to the porn place, I don’t know. If I ever decide to go back into the bookstore, maybe I’ll comparison shop. (Not that I’m in the market, one way or the other.)

3. Regular video store, but with an extensive XXX section, all titles of which are for sale. Higher quality, polished stuff there, pretty much exclusively vivid video stuff. so they don’t have a bigger competition, plus, it’s for folks that are afraid of the adult bookstore…. fearful of the towel delivery truck outside, or the imagined greasy patrons with soiled overcoats in muggy south Florida. I have a membership at the store. I like it, as it has great prices, and isn’t a major chain like blockbuster, and they have cool weirdo movies about zombies / rubber monsters / angry apes / etc.

4. Tattoo blues, a tattoo & piercing parlor. I went in there with April and Danny at one point, to look at designs and to price nipple-rings, septum jewelry, and various other items of surgical steel pushed into the body. Tattoos I’ve considered getting are my family crest (if my brother, or other close family member ever got one with me) and a couple of other design ideas…I think a lot of body art is beautiful, but am sort of hard pressed to decide on something I’d want to accessorize my skin with, forever. My brother, on the other hand, has a really keen flaming skull on his side, and stomach, and I think it looks neat. The folks in the store are quite nice, willing to let you take your time, and answer any questions you might have. Prices are much better than at funhouse tattoos, too, which is up the street.

5. Florida Models – “On Site Dating”, featuring Dancing, photography, models, fetish, and all the way down on the menu list posted outside to “Mutual Nude Massage and shower sessions” From the comments/complaints I’ve heard from the patrons in Grateful J’s, you can get anything you want in there, if you flash some dollars, and can get someone to vouch for you. The hookers at the Adult Bookstore are verbally hostile at the mention, apparently they couldn’t get ho-cred to work in the building.

6. An Electrician/Locksmith- the only remotely legitimate business in the plaza. Or is it cover for the elaborate lock picking cat burglars who get names and addresses from the wallets of depants-ed folks in #5 above? They also do faxing for you, and photo ID’s.

the new memories feature is a doozy….

I’m an instant fan.

wow. what a great idea. I need that for my brain.

I’m glad she came back… lots of work today, but it was made easier by just talking with her for a while.

🙂

I’m very happy, if harried here at work.

In other news, another story added on tales, will post the link as soon as I polish it some more.

I’m hungry, and want the smell of rosemary, lavender or african violet…

Looks like a pizza night… no Pix! maybe I should get chinese again?

Cider’s back! how wonderful!!! Always glad to see her out and about.

This weekend will be the first ‘solo’ movie in a while… maybe I can get back in with the staff at pompano muvico, shoot for freebies in exchange for bringing them coffee… it worked out well at the gateway. 🙂

If only there was a coffeehouse closer by. withing walking distance? Ray has it good. He’s local to malls, record stores, duncan donuts, los olas…. nice neighborhood, victoria park… 2 art theatres and a lovely borders all withing reasonable walking distance.

I have the stripmall of sin (more about that later), a dead mall, and a decent movie theater. 🙂

back to work, process is done.

one more thing… door locks were just broken, but a laptop was stolen from work! yikes!

see you kids later.

left my ‘working hard message’ up on aim, and missed the queen-bee.

oh well… hopefully I’ll catch her later on.

pooties.

In Your Eyes

love I get so lost, sometimes
days pass and this emptiness fills my heart
when I want to run away
I drive off in my car
but whichever way I go
I come back to the place you are

all my instincts, they return
and the grand facade, so soon will burn
without a noise, without my pride
I reach out from the inside

in your eyes
the light the heat
in your eyes
I am complete
in your eyes
I see the doorway to a thousand churches
in your eyes
the resolution of all the fruitless searches
in your eyes
I see the light and the heat
in your eyes
oh, I want to be that complete
I want to touch the light
the heat I see in your eyes

love, I don’t like to see so much pain
so much wasted and this moment keeps slipping away
I get so tired of working so hard for our survival
I look to the time with you to keep me awake and alive

and all my instincts, they return
and the grand facade, so soon will burn
without a noise, without my pride
I reach out from the inside

in your eyes
the light the heat
in your eyes
I am complete
in your eyes
I see the doorway to a thousand churches
in your eyes
the resolution of all the fruitless searches
in your eyes
I see the light and the heat
in your eyes
oh, I want to be that complete
I want to touch the light,
the heat I see in your eyes
in your eyes in your eyes
in your eyes in your eyes
in your eyes in your eyes

I wish I knew the origin of this. from my weirdness files, under affirmations of humanity. a special item, for the cowgirl riding off into the sunset, the queen bee, the sexy clown, the shy, benevolent dictator, the fae lass, the most wonderful split bamboo.

about snowflakes and shoe sizes, elephants and castles, sleepyheads and folk up all night.

I’m smiling, wondering why some folks find clowns so phobia inducing? not seamy underbelly of the world drunken, unshaved clowns with machetes, mind you, but whiteface clowns and to another extent, mimes. what caused such an extreme reaction? Nobody is afraid of jesters and stand up comics, are they? Where does carrot top fit in? He’s a prop comic. more clown than comic, making the cross-over?

Which brings on another thought…

While I like snuggling under blankets, making a fine cocoon of covers, I don’t like wearing socks. Really never have. Every possible opportunity, I wear birkenstocks to work, go barefoot if I can. Perhaps it my feet got colder, but they’re pretty all-weather. I forget if I posted a link to barefooters, but I shall here.. I really enjoy seeing that it is legal to go unshod many many places. I think it’s the constricting confinement. tight socks feel too binding, and loose socks are a bane to walk in.

Now I know the above isn’t as interesting as bee-man, but I’m just babbling today. 40 more shopping days until Christmas (or the year end holiday of your choice… to paraphrase latraviata.) Speaking of which, I think it’d be a nice gesture for members of tern to write latraviata a little thank you poem or note for her efforts, and poetry writing for the members… what do you kids say?

Misc links of interest.

news article – Cops chase Donuts

Sumo Sailor Moon

It’s a well-known axiom in filmic studies that no film yet produced in the history of cinema could not have been improved with Jackie Chan and/or a monkey.

— Brian D.

Diggit:

“Until 1989 the only American foundation that had made any substantial contribution to schizophrenia research was the Scottish Rite of Freemasonry, headquartered in Boston. The Scottish Rite had done so in fact since 1934, funding many high-quality research projects during years when virtually no other research funds were available. It has continued to run this program, and to be an important source of funds for researchers on schizophrenia.”
— E. Fuller Torrey, MD; Surviving Schizophrenia: A Manual for Families, Consumers, and Providers; Chapter 6: What Causes Schizophrenia?; Funding for Schizophrenia Research (paperback,p.173)

Ahem.

WHAT??!!??!! What’s the dealie-o here? Why are the Freemasons so interested in schizophrenia?

sayra pointed out that one of the factoids from a book of trivia I posted earlier is untrue… apparently, it’s not rude to tip in Iceland….Curse you, Max for your fibs!

Which brings to mind a question. How does a “book of trivia/factoids” check it’s sources? I rather dislike having misinformation in my skull if I can help it. I sometimes wonder that about all our knowledge, and how much is patently untrue, while being accepted as fact… Did we really land a man on the moon? Is the world really round? Some of these things can be investigated, while others have to be taken in good faith. It’s not like I can go to the moon, and look for flags. I’m confident that there is math and travel that will allow us to see that the world is a ballish thing though. But why publish something that is apparently patently untrue? Filler, and the odds no Icelander (is that the right term?) will find out about it? I enjoy tipping folks for a job well done, and would’ve deprived someone of a gratuity if I took the book at face value (as I pretty much had…) while visiting Iceland.

so much for my Icelandic trivia… I wonder if my other limited knowledge of there is also incorrect….Is it true that the phone books are listed by first name? Are many of the women there as cute as Björk? Is it really nice there, while Greenland is cold and rocky, misnamed so sailor-types could have a happy private place to live?

Anyhow, thanks for the correction, Sayra…

Happy Birfday, RhondaK !!!!!

Keeno journal she has, and quite insightful.

*beeg hug*

A little FYI for any and all Evil Dead fans out there — “Evil Dead: Hail to the King” for Playstation and Dreamcast shipped October 31st, so be sure and buy eighty copies. I honestly haven’t seen enough of it to know if it’s gonna be any good or not, but this is the one time I will go ahead and say the heck with substance in favor of a license — something quite against my principles, but if it contributes to generating enough interest in the series to make an “Evil Dead 4,” then it’s justified.

However, if any of you little rascals ever buys a lousy South Park game again, I will be forced to beat you with a stick of lime pixie dust.

Due to the great resurgence of super-hero stuff.. I thought I’d provide you all with a good costume source.

lucha libre / wrestling masks, figures, or just funky lucha stuff in general

I especially recommend the Mexican wrestling mask gallery. I really admire the Payasos, Ormiga, Mexicano, and Alebrije

Please note, I have a low opinion of wrestling. but the lucha costumes are a hoot.

I think if we tattooed lucha masks on criminals, it’d be much simpler to find and arrest them.

that made no sense. I’m going to bed. ignore that prior line.

Thinking about wishing wells… if you could have one wish on a fountain, what’d you ask for?

Not even destroll could keep me down.. my queen bee has seen fit to give me new weapons with which to fight my enemies, and defend the hive!

Yikes! the happiness machine has been activated by the queen bee… she’s returned to me, tonight!

I have a quick question…

Greetings true believers, I am 3-D MAN! In the 1950’s I defended America’s shores from alien … uh … alien … whoa, sorry, but if you could just see what you look like. You’re coming right at me! It’s amazing!

Anyhow…how do wishing wells work? If I make a wish, and tell someone, will it not come true, like a birthday cake?

How about if you lie, like “you know, I really really might’ve wished for world peace, but I didn’t, because then it wouldn’t happen”

Upside of this evening… got to talk to the girl, downside, it was cut short, due to technical difficulties. 🙁

I am delighted to have spent some time, however brief…but I didn’t get to wish her sweet dreams, and so on.

Well, in other news, Robbo is officially gone… movers came today and packed him up, so he’s driving north first waking tomorrow. He left me with some non-essentials, nibbling on graham crackers he abandoned for the move right now. I’m really going to miss him. a swell guy. Oh well, a good reason to visit Seattle, now.

I’m still in awe of the number of replies to bee-man. I almost have a need to post another pic of him, just to get more responses. 🙂 The queen bee was quite conciliatory today, I enjoyed her being around, pumping larvae from her thorax, with much regalness…:) She is so lovely with her magnificent distended thorax and multifaceted eyes….I’m proud to be her worker bee….

Played AOK with Sweetalyssm today, and learned quite a lot of helpful tips on how to develop in there (and how to be destroyed by a rampaging brigade of elephants. note to self, make lots of priests, and convert the enemy. it’s faster that trying to fight ’em) Now I just have to figure out good counter groups.

Had a delightfully long conversation with my sweetie. Her voice is beautiful, musical, and soothing. Smart girl, too, and fun. we read together a classic bit of literature…and had a grand time Reading it like pirates to boot. Arr, matey. 🙂

Keen crows in japan that can drop nuts on the road to have cars run them over, and fly down when the light changes to eat the meat inside. neat documentary on PBS

Just watched a betty boop cartoon, starring Popeye! weird!

Got to see Robbo tonight after all! hooray! We went to Denny’s and talked, I had cherry pie ala mode with my fave coffee. (pie coffee for me is black, double sweet. I felt like Agent cooper, in a South Florida version of twin peaks.)

He’s blowing out of here on Wednesday-ish. Very sad, but I’m super happy he’s going to Seattle, as it’s a great step for him… been talking about it for as long as I’ve known him. 🙂 It’s odd, we didn’t get to be good friends until after everyone else left, really.

I present 5 fun facts about Robbo. (some reasons I like him)

1. We share the same birthday, February 2. Groundhogs Day, Candlemas, Imbolc, and very close to the Chinese new year, depending, and fat Tuesday. (Of course, I was born like 6 years ahead of him… weird generation gappy stuff, which makes things fun to talk about, like late 70’s.)

2. He’s the least egotistical computer guy I know. Not a braggart. A fine quality in someone competent.(or someone incompetent, for that matter… but Robbo knows what he’s doing.)

3. A fine eclectic Taste in media. Music, movies and books are all open, and he can appreciate most all of them. a co-fan of They might be giants, soul coughing, cat power, and prairie home companion.

4. A very similar world view to my own. “If it’s worth doing, it’s worth doing all the way, or not at all”. (scaled down a mite, to balance with reality, and personal comfort zones) can lead to a little trouble, but I think is a good motto. Went through some of the same things I did, but later. I feel that of my pals that’ve moved away, we’ll stay in touch. Might get lazy about it, but I don’t see it breaking off completely, like the others who have moved out of state. His sense of style is different than mine, I prefer a clunky but functional thing, he likes pretty and maybe less functional. (or more expensive and neater abilities, while I like Spartan and ‘does what I need’)

5. Just a swell guy. I’ve only really seen him angry once, and even then, he was pretty cool about it. For knowing him about a year and a half, that’s a good track record. Had some great conversations with him over coffee, observations, and interesting things about people, and why they act the way they do. He’s the type of guy that instead of getting road rage, is likely to want to pull a bad driver over in front of him, and just ask them what they were thinking. (in this day of dangerous psychos on the road, he doesn’t of course, so he’s destined to just be curious, and we speculate.)

Well, time for me to go to bed. Work tomorrow! (I hope. I still don’t know why the locks were changed on Saturday.)