Did You Know..... ?

Interesting segment on information about our society in the 21st century.
Cool music and a nifty presentation.



Makes me feel like a dinosaur after seeing that.




Big thanks to Imperfect for passing this my way.

Oooooo.... Must Have

Only 8 more weeks to go before I take off for for the Great White North.

Over on Terry Moore's blog, he posted this picture of the art he submitted for the Calgary Expo sketchbook:

The orignal art will be up for auction during the show.

Guess who's going to be bidding on it? (Wish me luck!)

Weekend Update

Nothing amazing to report from the weekend. Just thought I'd catch ya'll up on things.

On Friday I got some DVD's that I ordered on Amazon.
Tokyo Gore Police
Meatball Machine
Irreversable

I haven't watched the first two yet, but a review will be forthcoming once I get a chance for them.

The third movie, though, I did watch that evening.
It's hard to say whether it was a really good movie or not-so-great. It was a foreign film, so those are usually a bit 'artsy' and kind of subjective to each person's tastes.
I will tell you this;
It's a French film, and it's presented in reverse order. Meaning, that you see the ending (credits and all) and then watch as the movie moves backwards to see how it ended the way it did.
One of the downsides (for me) is that it is filmed in that jerky, constant movement type of camera-style. So especially at the beginning of the movie (or actually the "end") the camera moves around. A LOT.
Not very easy to watch and read subtitles and keep track of what's happening onscreen. Especially when you're as prone to motion-sickness as I am.
It does taper off and become more steady as the film moves backwards towards the beginning.

There is one scene in particular that is very difficult to watch right near the middle.
It's a rape scene and it is fucking brutal. I was uncomfortable watching it, even though I know they are actors and it wasn't real. In fact part of it was digital effects. Still, it's not pretty and it'll make you squirm, hoping that it ends quickly... which it doesn't.

Would I recommend this movie?
Only if you're into foreign films that are sort of avant-garde, and you don't mind a bunch of unsteady camera movement.
The sound track is pretty good. One of the members of Daft Punk did the music for a club scene, so it's got that going for it.
Plus.. it has Monica Bellucci. And her ta-ta's. That's a bonus.
But the ending (which you start at) is messed up for sure, and that rape scene is really hard to get over even when you're done watching the movie.
------------------------
Saturday, I went into Lynnwood and met up with Elwood for lunch.
We went to Red Robin and grabbed burgers and just caught up with each other.
Then we went back to the Comic Stop for a bit and while we were hanging out there a couple of people came in to pimp their locally produced comic book based on a post-apocolyptic zombie attack.
Yes. I said zombies. Way cool.

I don't know much about the book other that it's a photo-comic, much like "Crater on the Moon" or "Dorothy" and it's written and produced right here in Washington.
It's called "Night Zero".
You can check out more about it on their website. Or, if you're coming to ECCC this year you can check it at out their booth.

That evening, I went over to the neighbor's and we ate pizza and watched the first couple of episodes of "The Dollhouse".
I liked it, but only a couple of shows into it I'm not overwhelmed yet. I think I'd like to see how it develops more before making a real opinion of it. It was brainless fun to watch though.
-----------------------------
Sunday I spent doing laundry and dishes before Hotness came back home.
Really exciting. Oh yeah.
I did manage to go through my T-shirts and bagged up a bunch of ones I no longer wear or have been hanging onto for years (but just couldn't get rid of).
I managed to clear out at least a drawer and a half which is pretty impressive.

Then I made a calzone for dinner and watched "Secretary" before calling it a night and going to bed.
--------------------------
Today Hotness came back home.
Her mom's health is continuing to deteriorate, but she wasn't able to stay any longer.
Her brother is taking over the duties of being there and will fill us in as the days continue to go by. Unfortunately and thankfully it won't be much longer.

My niece and nephew got back from their little mid-winter vacation... and they brought their parents back with them.
I'm looking forward to seeing them all soon and hearing all about their trip.

And that brings us up-to-date.
I hope you all had a good weekend and were able to make the best of it.

Here's An Idea.....

You know they need to make?
Bacon-flavored Fritos.
That would be awesomeness wrapped with a big fluffy bow.

They have regular and chili-cheese flavor and I think they even still make ranch flavor (eh... no thanks).
And don't forget "Texas Grill" Fritos... with cute little grill marks on every chip.

Fritos make lunch "munch" better!

I think Bacon-flavored Fritos would make lunch even that "munch"MORE better.

Frito-Lay, are you listening?
I'll be waiting.

"David's Story"

Everybody knows I loves me the Terry Moore stuff!
So today on his blog he posted up a link for a video based on a storyline he did in "Strangers in Paradise".
The acting is a bit 'wooden', but it's an independent amateur film so you get what you get.
But overall, I think they did a good job filming it.


In case you aren't familiar with the book; David is one of the main characters of the story and this chapter (titled "David's Story") talks about how he killed somebody but was cleared of the crime due to his family's ties to the Yakuza.
He realizes how he has ended a life which had dreams and plans but is now going nowhere because of his actions, and the guilt gets to him.

"Strangers in Paradise" is one of those comics that I can't recommend enough to anybody who hasn't yet read it. And "David's Story" is the tale of one person's wasted years and their trying to atone for earlier mistakes.
Really good stuff.

"I Don't Meant To Be A 'Debbie Downer'....."

I apologize for the lack of regular posting and wacky antics that seem to happen to us, but there's been some stuff going on behind the scenes here at "What's That Smell?" and I figured I'd fill you in.

Hotness took off last week with her brother to be with their mom, who is dying from ovarian cancer.
The last few months have been an up-and-down roller-coaster ride with their mom being at death's door one day, and just fine the next.
We've called to check in and make her laugh, but it's not like being there so we've had to rely on friends who are with her on a daily basis for her health status.
Recently her health had taken a turn for the worse so her kids decided to high-tail it back home to be with their mom.

You'll notice I said "her kids" went to be with her. I'm still at home.
It's not that her mom and I don't get along. Quite the opposite in fact. We get along incredibly well and it really bothers me that I couldn't go back to be there with her as well and to give Hotness the emotional support she needs.
But unfortunately finances and such don't really allow for both of us to leave, plus somebody has to stay and keep an eye on the house and the cat.

Somebody asked me why we didn't get a sitter to watch everything while we were away, but like I mentioned, finances just won't allow it. Especially for an unknown length of time we'd be away.
Plus the cat is old and kind of frail (health-wise). She doesn't travel well nor does she accept strangers easily. So it's easier for one of us to stay home with her so she doesn't get sick while we're gone and stay at the house to make sure nothing happens.
We don't need to worry about one sick family member while we're two states away with another one.

As for Hotness's mom, she's ready to go.
In fact, after going through the chemo therapy the first time around she told everybody that if her cancer came back she would not be doing anything for treatment. She wanted to let the cancer run it's course and leave this world. (it's a bit melodramatic, but she really did say that)
The problem now is this; while mentally she's ready to die, her body isn't quite finished yet. So now it's a waiting game while she's in pain and uncomfortable until nature takes it's course.
It's not pleasant and she has moments where it's difficult for her kids to be in the room with her, but at least they are there.

In the meantime, I'm here keeping the homefires burning and making sure all is well until Hotness gets back.
I've been a little too preoccupied to keep up with stuff on here and I thought I'd at least let you all know why.

I promise next time I'll have something funny to say or talk about.

Happy Valentine's Day

Typically I don't really get to excited about Valentine's Day.
I don't really like the way it's presented as the one holiday where guys can try and not screw up by doing something nice for their 'special someone' this one day out of the year.

But this year I actually had made plans and was going to do something special for Hotness.
That is... until she had to leave town this week.

Her mom's health is taking a turn for the worse, so Hotness and her brother took of for Montana yesterday to spend time with her.
That leaves me at home with the cat on Valentine's. Not quite the romantic scenario I was looking for.

In the meantime, here is a "How To Survive Valentine's Day Alone" video for all you single people out there:

It Just Got Better

As if this wasn't good enough, now there's a sequel.

Here's a trailer... sort of:


Actually it's a short film that's included with the two-disc set of "The Machine Girl" that's currently only available in Japan.
But I'll keep looking for it state-side. I gotta get my hands on it somehow.

After all....

what's not to like about it?

Where Has the Time Gone?

I let it slip by without mentioning it on here because honestly.... BOTH of us totally forgot.
But on Monday, Feb. 9th Hotness and I had our 11th anniversary.
Not a "wedding" anniversary, mind you since we're still 'livin' in sin', but we have been together for 11 years now. (Well.. 11 years and two days now that I'm posting about it)

Usually we do something on that day (i.e. exchange cards, go out to dinner, etc...) but neither one of us remembered about that day being special. There's been alot on our minds recently (something I'll be posting about very soon, but just not right now) and it wasn't until a good friend called me on Tuesday morning to wish us well that I finally realized we had missed it.

I went out after work and picked up a card last night and on Sunday night we went to a movie and watched "He's Just Not That Into You", so it's not like we haven't spent any time together.
But Monday came and went without any fanfare.

Oops.

Christian Bale Remix

Unless you work with people who curse like sailors at your work, it is NOT recommended that you play this on your speakers.
But aside from that.... please enjoy!







... And thanks to Elwood for bringing the original of this to my attention last week.

Woke Up To Snow

It snowed again during the night.

I think this about sums up my feelings for today.

At A Grocery Store Near You

Yesterday Hotness and I went out and did some running around which took us out to Lynnwood at the Comic Stop.

While we were there, I said; "You haven't been inside H-mart yet. You gotta check it out."

So check it out we did. Here's what we saw:

Diggin' the squid.



These little dudes were just hanging out waiting to be purchased.

Either that, or it was a mass migration gone horribly wrong.

Mmmmm.... nothing sounds better than a slice of cooked pork's ass.

These look tasty, no?

Hold on. Let's take a closer gander at that label...

"LIVE" Red Snapper?

I think not, my friend.

Hotness pointed this out to me:

Why are there only three feet in a package, when pigs normally come with four?

Unless there's an overabundance of three-footed pigs running around on a farm somwhere.

But then if there was... I guess they wouldn't be "running" eh?

And finally, the pic of the day:

It's hard enough to tell what's in the package so let's look at the label.

This truly, is a "WTF" moment friends.

I thought this is what they use in hotdogs, but apparently you can eat them "plain".

Frankly, that cooked pork's ass is sounding much better to me now.

Friday Was A Big Pile Of Doo-Doo

Well, that's not entirely true. The day ended up being fun, but from the time I woke up to the time 5:00 p.m. came around it was an uphill battle to keep from running outside and yelling out loud at the top of my lungs.

I woke up on Friday morning, and as usual I looked outside the bedroom window to see if Hotness had left yet.

Sure enough she had, I just didn't hear her car leave.

I also noticed that MY car was gone.

I'm racing through my mind how on earth that would have happened since both sets of keys were in the house and you can't start my car without the proper code (embedded in a chip in the key).

Did I park my car on the other side? Why would I do that? It wasn't late when I got home, so how come I can't remember why my car isn't there? Should I call the police?

Then I started to realize I had to go to the bathroom and it occured to me.... I was dreaming.

So I got out of bed, looked at the alarm clock (4:30 a.m. - an hour before I usually get up) and looked out the bedroom window. There was Hotness's car.... and mine. Right where I left it the night before.

Grrrrr! I'm awake now. No sense going back to bed when I know I won't be able to sleep now.

I get to work and as I'm pulling in, my boss also pulls in. We're both getting out of our cars and he informs me that our operating system for our company is dead and not working. Nobody can sign on, put in orders, look up pricing, etc...

Just great. Thankfully I got the bulk of work I had on my desk finished the day before, but this hindered me from doing anything new once people started calling and emailing.

About on hour into the workday, he managed to get things up and running so we were able to work normally.

Then around 11:00 I had a customer who didn't pay attention to pricing I'd given them on a special ordered item.

They thought their total amount to pay was going to be around $25.00, but in fact was going to be about $250.00.

I'm scrambling to find my notes on what I quoted them but of course can't find them.
To cut to the chase, the customer had my handwritten quote which had "$25.00 / C" (/ C = 'per hundred'... in case you didn't know).

They took it to read as $25.00 for a 1000 pcs. since they though I'd written a "K" instead of "/C".

As it is, there were lots of moments of awkward silence and debate on the phone.

After a talk with the boss, we ended up only charging the customer for the total cost of the part and not for the special process that was done. Plus we sold them just the 100 pcs they originally only wanted and kept the remaining 900 pcs. that I told them they had to get in order to get them in. In effect totally getting shafted for this part.

Just on the heels of this crapfest, another customer called looking to get samples on a part.

They needed to finish a job and only wanted 20 pcs.

This customer used to buy from us loyally and frequently but has droppped off dramatically in the last 3 months to get their parts elsewhere.

So I told them "I'm sorry. I can send you 5 pcs as a sample, but if you need more you'll have get enough to make a purchase order minimum."

After all, why should I give out free parts so they can finish a job they're going to get paid for?

I don't think so. I'm happy to help a loyal customer, but when you're buying your groceries from another store don't ask me for a free lunch.

As soon as I hung up the phone, one of my co-workers had to open their mouth and say,"I think $0.60 in parts isn't too much to give them if they want them."

I just about took his head off and said if that what he wanted to do, then he could do it.

The remainder of the day was uneventful and I managed to keep everything caught up so I don't have to start Monday under a pile of paperwork.

Finally, 5:00 rolled around and we all headed our separate ways.

I was actually going into Seattle to meet up with a friend and help him get his own blog started up. I'd talk more about it, but he's still getting things going with it and there really isn't much to see or read yet. As soon as it's "live" I'll let ya'll know and post a link up.

I hung out at his place for about 2-1/2 hours and finally said I needed to get home.

On my way, I stopped at Dick's Drive-In on Holman for a couple of 'deluxes' and a chocolate shake. And fries, of course.

So it ended okay. But man! What way to start the weekend.

Lesbian Birthday Party

A few years ago, Hotness and I were invited to a friend's mother's 60th birthday party.

It was more Hotness's friend than mine, as it was somebody she went to school with and has kept in touch with over the years. I'd only met her once before, so I guess really we were just more-or-less aquaintances.

So anway, one day we get a invitation in the mail and Hotness says, "Honey, would you like to go to Sue's* birthday party?"

Me: "Who's Sue?"

Hotness: "You remember. Anne's mom. You met her that one time we got together for Easter and dyed eggs together."

Me: "Um.... oh yeah. I guess. When is it?"

Hotness: "Her birthday is in three weeks. We don't have anything planned. Shall I say we'll be there?"

Me: "Uh, yeah. I guess so. Hey, isn't Anne's mom a lesbian?"

Hotness: "Yeah, she is. Now do you remember her?"

Me: "Oh yeah...."

And that's when it occurred to me:

A birthday party with lot's of women. I mean lot's of LESBIAN women.

So in my mind I'm thinking this is going to be fun.

Don't get the wrong idea, I wasn't looking to trade up and ditch Hotness or anything, but the prosepect of hot, girl-on-girl action and being only one of very few guys invited... Heck! How could I have not wanted to go?

Plus there's gonna be cake! So what's not to like?

It's a win - win situation in my book.

For three weeks I'm thinking about what it's going to be like.

And I'm reminding Hotness that we're going to a "lesbian birthday party", so I'll have to protect her from their wily, lesbionic ways.

She just laughs at me and says, "Yeah, whatever."

So now it's Saturday. The day of the party and I'm thinking:

But when we get inside, it ain't nothing of the sort.

Oh, there's lesbians all right. And lots of 'em.

But this was a 60th birthday party, so all of them are old enough to be my mom. Or worse, my grandmother.

Yup! There were butch haircuts, 'mom jeans', and plaid. Oh there was so much plaid. As far as the eye could see!

Nowhere to be seen was the soft, firm skin of young women. But instead there was grey hair, wrinkles and cardigans.

I'm thinking it was going to be this:

but instead I got this:

Welcome to Disappoinment City.

Population: Me

* Actual names have been changed. What? you think I'm an idiot or something?

I Got Your Number On The Wall

Famous rock song phone number up for sale.

Oh Jenny, how will I ever get hold of you now?

I'm not like the other guys, so why must you make it so difficult to keep in touch?

More PG Porn

Nobody complained the last time I posted one of these, so I'm assuming ya'll got a laugh out of it.
Or at least a chuckle.

So here's another in the PG Porn series.
You know... for those who like their porn, but without all that sex stuff.

Roadside Ass-sistance Girls SPIKE.com

Please keep in mind, while there's nothing extremely naughty to get you in serious trouble it really isn't all that safe for work.
Unless you work with a bunch of pervs. Then it's totally cool.




And just in case you missed it last time, here's the original video that started it all:

Nailing Your Wife Girls SPIKE.com

The Sum Of Many Parts

Racial slurs, foreign food, "priceless" jewels, bacon, fun music, and above all else.... friends.
"What do all those have in common," you ask? Well, I'm about to tell you.

On Friday night after work, I headed over to my buddy Imperfect's house.
We hung out, watched a few trailers for movies coming out and played with his kids for a bit.
Then we took off for Bellevue to meet up with a couple of other friends at Mayuri for Indian food. (This is the place that almost all the Redmond Microsoft workers go to, so it's always packed)
Food was great and I was able to try something new for a change. I typically get the same couple of things whenever I order Indian, but this time we had a couple of 'experts' (read: Indian friends) who I let pick dinner and I discovered something new I liked and can now order. Yay!

Our original plans were to meet up and go to a movie, so after dinner we got back in our cars and headed over to the theater to see "Gran Torino".
I'd heard good things about the movie, but I wasn't all fired-up about seeing it. I just kind of tagged along to spend time with friends. But ten minutes into the movie, after watching Clint Eastwood be a grumpy, scowling, ornery old cuss, I leaned over to Imperfect and said,"Oh. I'm gonna like this movie. I already like his character!"
The movie was really good. Be warned though, if you're easily offended by racial epithets than this movie will make your jaw drop. It's got a lot of them.
Definitely glad I went and saw this though. It was very good.

It was late when I got back home after the movie. We went to a 9:30 p.m. show, so by the time I got home and in bed it was well after 1:00 a.m.
I slept in and did some errands before getting ready for Saturday evening's events.

Hotness was out toodling around doing her own thing, so while she was gone I made some more of the bacon explosion that I tried out a few nights earlier. (You'll see why a little later)
This time I flattened out the sausage and basted it with BBQ sauce and some rub. Then I rolled it up and wrapped the bacon around it.
While it was in the oven, I ironed clothes and took a shower and shaved to get ready for the ballet that evening.

We were going to Lynnwood first to drop in at the Comic Stop and and congratulate Technogreek and Kyle Stevens on the release of their debut CD collaboration: "Kirby Krackle".
I'd seen Kyle perform some of the songs from the CD live before but I hadn't heard the whole album yet.
Unfortunately, Hotness and I couldn't stay for the concert at the shop. But we did get to meet up with several of our friends from the store including (but not limited to): Elwood, Maimed Man, Dr. Zoltar and his wife, not to mention the aforementioned Technogreek and Kyle Stevens.

I brought a big ol' plate of freshly made bacon explosion which was quickly devoured by everybody fast enough to get some, then we talked with friends for a bit.
We could only stay for a short amount of time, so I bought a copy of the CD and had both the guys sign it before we took off for Seattle.

We got to McCaw Hall with plenty of time to spare, so Hotness got a drink and we sat and watched the people come in.
One thing about attending the arts in the Pacific Northwest; there is no 'hard and fast' rule about how to dress at these things.
You see many folks (particularly older) dressed up for the evening. Your typical evening dress for her and a suit & tie for him.
But you also see lots of jeans and pullovers, tennis shoes and the like.
Sometimes we get the occasional "WTF?" kind of outfit. Case in point last night: There was guy who looked like he just stepped out of the Blue Oyster Bar. He had black leather motorcycle boots, black jeans, black leather jacket, a T-shirt and a biker leather cap.
But hey, it's all good. They're there supporting the arts and that's a good thing.

The evening's performance was three separate pieces under the title "Jewels".
We saw these before about two years ago, and they are more in the classical style with very colorful outfits and different styles of dance to differentiate the pieces.

First up was:


This was a rather slow piece, with light music and very smooth movements.
It's a nice beginning to the set as it moves freely but not distractingly.
Here's principle dancer Louise Nadeau talking about "Emeralds";


We had an intermission after that, and Hotness and I both discovered how hungry we were.
We hadn't really eaten that much during the day and now our tummies were starting to grumble.
We wanted to see the second piece, so we decided to watch it and then decide if we'd stick around for the third piece.

The second dance was:

This is a huge break from the earlier piece.
The movements and sharp and jarring, and very deliberate. Coupled with music by Igor Stravinsky and you get a very different visual experience.
The reason we wanted to stay for this was that our two favorite dancers were performing in it and they are fantastic.

Ariana Lallone is to ballet what Wonder Woman is to comics. Beautiful, graceful and a force to be reckoned with on that stage. She is amazing and has been our favorite performer in all the years we've been attending the ballet.
Jonathan Porretta is somebody you have to see to believe. He moves and whips around on stage like a dervish without ever missing a beat. And he does it with a smile on his face every time.
Here is Jonathan talking about his role in "Rubies":


The final piece was:

There was an intermission between "Rubies" and "Diamonds" but hunger was taking over and to quite honest, after watching Ariana and Jonathan we were quite satisfied and ready to go home.

So we didn't stick around for this piece.

We originally planned on going to Pomodoro for something to eat, but Hotness wanted to find someplace a little closer to home.
So instead we went to Matt's Oyster Lounge in Redmond.
Not wanting to get too full that late at night, we split some appetizers and called it good.

After that, we came home, fed the cat and crawled into bed.
So much packed into just a day and a half and we still have all of today ahead of us.