Dogs in the news

Yet another way that having the companionship of a dog can extend your lifespan.

More from HST

The newest HST press release includes a photograph of a cluster containing fourteen red supergiant stars on the verge of supernova! Each has between 8 and 25 times the mass of our sun (1 solar mass = 2×10³⁰ kg). This means that the total mass of the stars is between 2.2×10³² and 7.0×10³² kg. To put it into perspective, that is roughly equivalent to 4.1×10³¹ Miraphone 186 Series "S" CC 4-valve tubas! I won't even try to calculate how much it will cost to ship them.

Comments welcome

I know from my hit counter that a lot of people have been visiting my blog. I really appreciate that my friends are reading it. Having said that, I'd love it if some of you could leave comments periodically. The only comments I've gotten so far are from a complete stranger asking me questions that they should be asking Blogger about.

So here is a perfect opportunity. I have set up the blog to let you leave comments without having a Blogger account. Please feel free to comment on this post and just tell me that you've been here. Also, please comment on my previous posts at your convenience. I appreciate it very much. Thank you.

Be your own Ghost of Christmas Past

Creep out your future self with an e-mail from the past!

Now, if only someone would create a site that would allow me to e-mail my past self. I think my message would go something like this:

Dear past me,

Beware of dating bartenders, barbacks, strippers, etc. Also, never get involved with anyone named Scott. Barring that, don't date nine men named Scott. Most of them will turn out to be jerks.

Don't accept a cigarette from anyone, even if she is paying for your ticket to the Depeche Mode concert. Also, show up late to that concert: Stabbing Westward is never worth seeing, and Primal Scream will have one of their worst performances that night.

Don't bother going to the Rozz Williams/Gitane Demone show. They will both be detained on drug charges that night and you will be stuck watching that douchebag from Godless strutting around in a jockstrap.

Drunkenly making sand-angels on the volleyball court at Charlie's is not cute. It's tacky as hell. Also, puking off the balcony at a party is a major faux pas. It's probably best if you don't drink at all, lest you make an ass out of yourself.

On that note, don't bounce two rent checks buying drugs for a guy named Scott so he will have sex with you. Nobody's that hot.

Finally, don't spend the night of your 18th birthday riding around with Jenny and Aviva trying to find an Italian bisexual vampire wearing a red velvet dress and making reckless U-turns on busy streets in Glendale with half a bottle of vodka under the passenger seat. Do not bring him back to the house. Believe me: the chemical burns that will result from that evening will not be pleasant.

Sincerely,
Your future self.

P.S. Never, ever, ever shave your head.

Campus Ladies premiere

After seeing the overzealous promotion that Oxygen has done for their first original series, Campus Ladies, I felt that the show could go either way: original and absurdly funny, or dreadfully boring. Having seen the hour-long premiere, my feelings haven't changed.

These first two episodes were a mixed bag. Unfortunately, most of the parts that would have been funny had already been shown ad nauseum in the promos. There were some surprising highlights, however. Abdul (Amir Talai) showed signs that he may develop beyond a tired, dimensionless stereotype and become the most interesting character. Barri (Christen Sussin) has a comic delivery that could really bring out the potential of a good script (which is forthcoming, I hope).

The remaining characters, through no fault of their own, were as dynamic as week-old corpses. The odor, however, came not from the characters, but from the writing. The script seemed at odds with itself. The premise of the show really begs for raunchiness, but it seems the writers hesitated when they should have gone for the gusto. And why is it that, in a show about not fitting in, these two middle-aged and out-of-touch women manage to fit in so quickly? This undermines the vulnerability and awkwardness that supposedly makes them likeable.

Despite its faults, I think I'll watch a couple more episodes to see how it develops. With better writing and character development, this show could become a winner after all. It won't be easy, but I always like to root for the underdog.

Michael finishes marathon

Michael achieved his goal of finishing the marathon, despite the accident and his friend getting hurt halfway through the run. Congratulations to both of them!

Unfortunately, the pictures taken on Michael's cell phone weren't very good. Michael will send me photos of him and his friend, taken with his digital camera, with their medals tomorrow. In the meantime, here is a photo of the fireworks at the start of the marathon.

Planetary annihilation... for dummies!

Behind on your thesis? Indicted for fraud? Can't get out of that blind date?

This handy guide has the perfect solution*: the utter destruction of the entire planet!

Solve all of your (and everyone else's) problems in one fell swoop!

*Warning: Destroying the planet may alienate your friends and family, not to mention make it impossible to ever get laid again.

Good news regarding grad school prospects

I have just been informed that I do not need a degree in music to apply for the ethnomusicology program. I will just need to take some courses as a non-degree graduate student to fortify my formal music education before I apply. This option has now risen to the top of my short list of graduate school prospects. Now it just hinges on how many courses I will need to take and how I can fit them into my schedule.

Where do I enroll?

I think I will register for BND101.

Accident photo

Michael sent me this picture of his friend's vehicle taken last night after the accident.

Mixtape

Michael left this morning for Florida. He and a friend were in a car accident earlier this evening, but apparently nobody was hurt. He couldn't talk very long so I didn't get many details. I hope he doesn't have any hidden back or neck injuries that would prevent him from running.

Speaking of Michael's absence, I have decided to use the tape to make a mixtape - mix CD, actually - to familiarize him with the scope of my musical tastes.

I have never found a tidy word or phrase to replace 'mixtape'. I haven't made a mixtape in years, but 'mix CD' seems unwieldy and fails to capture the connotations associated with the former. To me, it seems that one makes a 'mix CD' for a party and a 'mixtape' for a boyfriend or girlfriend. 'CD-R' just seems too clinical. Any suggestions?

The challenge to making a mix CD/tape is distilling my collection of almost 10,000 tracks to just a handful of representative tracks. I know that one CD just won't cut it. Four or five may be going a little overboard. Luckily, Michael already knows that I am incapable of moderation when it comes to music. Maybe I'll spread it out over the course of a few weeks so he has time to listen to it all.

To give an idea of the variety I will try to represent, here is a list of the albums I have listened to in full in the last 12 hours: Robyn by Robyn, Shake Off the Dust... Arise by Matisyahu, Ruby Blue by Róisín Murphy, Nous Non Plus by Nous Non Plus, Vocal City by Luomo, Faith by The Cure, The Red Shoes by Kate Bush, and Chunga's Revenge by Frank Zappa.

In other music-related news, I finally e-mailed a professor at the School of Music to get more information on the M.A. in ethnomusicology program. I am waiting to find out whether I would need to get a B.A. in music first, or if my B.A. in anthropology will be applicable. In the meantime, I have started looking for articles in music journals that might be interesting to me. Today I read an article about forms of Buddhist music in China and Taiwan. To tell the truth, the article wasn't very interesting to me. This is probably because my primary interests are forms arising directly out of punk and industrial. I am waiting for a book about modern Finnish folk music that I ordered through interlibrary loan. This will probably be more interesting to me, considering the recent explosion of freak-folk artists and collectives from Finland like Lau Nau, Islaja, Päivänsäde, etc. I'll post more about it when I read it.

Fantastic HST image of the Crab Nebula

Fifteen years later, the Hubble Space Telescope is still capturing stunning images. I hope that NASA Administrator Mike Griffin realizes how important the HST is and will approve a servicing mission to keep it alive.

Why I am pro-choice

This is the most well-reasoned analysis of the need for sane and realistic family planning I have read in a long time.

Absence makes the heart grow fonder

This Thursday, Michael will embark on a ten-day trip. His first stop will be Orlando, where he will compete in the Walt Disney World Marathon. Though his goal is just to finish, I'm still making a voodoo doll to represent all the other runners so that I might influence the outcome in Michael's favor.

Next, he will fly back to his hometown of Philadelphia (his childhood home is three houses down from that of Vida Boheme). He will spend a week catching up with his family and friends before returning to Phoenix and to me, provided I haven't been lynched by a thousand angry and bewitched marathon runners. Our reunion will look something like this famous photograph by Robert Doisneau titled "Le Baiser du Trottoir":

(Except, of course, it will be two men.)

J. Brundage and her amazing monologuing vagina*

Okay, it has never been proven that her vagina talks. However, she now writes the regular lesbian-oriented local events column in Red called "Red Girl". Pick up the January 2006 issue at any of the local GLBT drinking establishments or at Movies on Central or at Unique on Central. For the more slothful or agoraphobic among you, download the Adobe file.

In related news, my good friend J. is also a professional massage therapist. (Legit only: no happy endings!!! Don't even ask unless you love the sound of a dial tone!) If you would like to contact J. for info, drop me a line and I'll get you in touch with her.

*Warning: Statements made by J. Brundage's vagina have not been evaluated by the FDA.

Amateur modelling

Last month I was asked my my good friend and hair stylist, Robert Verdugo, to be one of his hair models for the grand opening party at Brandon Alexander Salon. The The party was excellent: great buffet, interesting people, and an amazing photographer (cute, too!). His name is J.T. Pals. His portfolio is amazing! Check out his site. Also, watch the slideshow of the party.

Good karma

While I remember it, I'd like to encourage anyone reading this to give money to or volunteer for or adopt a pet through HALO Animal Rescue. They are a no-kill animal shelter that runs the adoption centers in Phoenix-area Petsmart locations. All animals available for adoption have already been spayed or neutered, microchipped, and (in the case of cats) litter-trained. I have just started volunteering for them a few weeks ago. It is so fun being around the animals that one forgets that it's work!

I have had my cat Sugarfoot (pictured below) for just over a month and she is a pure joy. My boyfriend and I fell in love with her while shopping at Petsmart one day and I decided to adopt her on a whim. I decided then to volunteer for HALO because Sugarfoot wouldn't have lived long enough to find a loving home if it weren't for them. I hope I can help do the same for the other animals they shelter.

Some facts about the Republic of Gothistan

Language: Primarily English, almost always flowery and baroque (not necessarily Baroque) prose.
Currency: Clove cigarettes.
Motto: "I like their old stuff a lot better."
Population: Unknown. Citizens of Gothistan are unique in that they claim not to be citizens of Gothistan, especially their highest officials. Furthermore, it is generally believed that anyone claiming to be a citizen of Gothistan is a "poseur".
Religion: Gnostic, Wiccan, Kabbalist, or atheist.
Prime Minister: Andrew Eldritch.
Surgeon General: Doktor Avalanche.

That's right: despite his protestations, Andrew is not only Goth, but he is the Prime Minister of Gothistan. As Gothette might say to Papa Goth, "He's the Gothiest!!!"

Luckily for those of us living in the greater Phoenix area, The Sisters' of Mercy goodwill diplomatic tour will include a stop at the Marquee Theater on Saturday, February 18th. Tickets will be $25 in advance or $26 at the door. They go on sale January 14th.

Remember: Clove smoking only in designated areas.

My babies

The Tom Tapes - 10th Anniversary

Happy new year! I hope all of you had a safe and enjoyable New Year's Eve last night.

Ten years ago this month I had begun training as a directory assistance operator. In my training class I met a guy named Tom. Tom co-ran a local dance club and had superb taste in music. We began a monthly tape exchange that, despite lasting only eight months, permanently changed the way I listened to music.

Up to that point, I had only begun to dabble in music that was outside of the 'mainstream' (as I understood it): Bowie, Joy Division, The Smiths, The Cure, Siouxsie, Christian Death, etc. Tom's tapes opened my eyes to music I had never dreamed existed or could exist. Though they sound so familiar to me now, my first exposures to COIL, Throbbing Gristle, Psychic TV, Swans, Current 93, Pigface, Cabaret Voltaire, and other 'industrial' mainstays short-circuited my parietal lobes. In addition to industrial, post-punk, glam, etc., Tom introduced me to music that was truly genre-defying and formless, presaging the current deconstruction of genre on independent labels. I believe this exchange was most influential in the development of my insatiable curiosity for music.

To commemorate this milestone, I have begun to digitize the original cassettes so they may be preserved my own enjoyment and for others'. I hope I can make them available via my podcast sometime soon. I feel I should first make a good-faith effort to contact Tom and secure his permission. Though he doesn't hold any legal rights to the music, I would want to treat the dissemination of the tapes in a manner of which he would approve. The tapes would be attributed to him, after all, and he did not intend such a use at the time (I assume). If I cannot contact him, I will post them on my webspace and include a link on this blog.