Here's something you may not have been expecting: this morning I want to a horror convention. More specifically, it was Horror Realm Con, a convention held in Pittsburgh (at the Crowne Plaza) for people that love all things involving zombies, B movies, blood and much more. It features many different vendors (like most conventions do), celebrity guests, and video screenings.
My good friend Gailyn and I decided we were going to go to this. Because we worked Friday and Saturday, we went this morning for the last day. And damn did we have fun. Here are the picture highlights:
First off we visited with PJ Soles, known for her roles in Carrie, Halloween, and Rock N' Roll High School. Gailyn and I are both socially weird people, but Ms. Soles was a very friendly and sweet woman who chatted with us for a bit before getting pictures.
Next up we saw Amanda Wyss, who you probably know from A Nightmare on Elm Street. She was also incredibly sweet, asked us about our majors and said we both looked 14 (which I was later told was laughable in my case). We told her that we moisturized and talked about theater a bit.
I'll confess now, the main draw of this convention was that Nicholas Brendon, who played Xander for 7 years on Buffy the Vampire Slayer(my favorite show) would be in attendance. I actually learned of the event through his twitter account, so I will never mock Twitter as useless again.
He was a super sweet guy, who generally seemed happy to see and talk to fans. We each got a picture, Gailyn got an autograph (I'd spent too much already for an autograph, but I wasn't mad.), he gave us multiple hugs. We were very happy campers.
I usually don't fangirl with the potential of seeing a celebrity in person, but for a Buffy cast member (and he was one of THE BEST characters on that show) I'll make an exception. We managed to keep our composure at a mostly not embarrassing level and when we left we had to sit down for a bit.
We saw a few other people, some from famous (or infamous) horror movies, some makeup artists. Nivek Ogre (from the band Skinny Puppy or the film Repo! The Genetic Opera) walked by me in the hallway and said "hey you" even though we hadn't met earlier. So that was pretty cool.
We looked a lots of different items, like T-shirts, movie scripts, posters and blades (I resisted spending money I don't have on a sword). Then we got some cookies from a place called Stop and Smell the Flour that make cookies/cupcakes for various events. Check them out!
And finally, I will present to you my stash. This was what I came home with:
Starting from the left: A drawing/business card for Angry Gnome Comics. (Not pictured but deserving a shoutout was the work by artist Byron Winton.) A Power Rangers comic and a Phoenix comic. A solo role-playing game called "Zombie Death Town" and a book of zombie stories called "Zombies! Fuck!". The little vial contains fast-drying blood that is also edible. Two DVD's, one of Carrie the musical and one of Evil Dead the musical (both filmed stage versions of average quality. And a The Cabin in the Woods poster. Looks like a lot, but for the record nothing in this picture cost more than 10 dollars.
So that was my day. It was pretty freaking fantastic and I'm so happy I got to experience it.
Here's something I've been wondering about lately: why do people take selfies?
If you don't know, a "selfie" refers to when a person takes a picture of themselves with their camera/phone and puts it on the internet.
This is what every selfie looks like to me. Do we really need more of these?
Now of course there are obvious reasons why you'd do this. Nobody could be around to hold the camera for you, you might just want a new profile picture, etc. My favorite is when people are on vacation and take a selfie and say "Can't believe I'm here", but we don't know where "here" is because 95% of the picture is taken up by their face. But I'm talking about the people that post pictures of their face on a regular basis and my question is why.
I have a few friends that post selfies regularly, and let me clarify right now this blog is not directed at any one person specifically. These are just my feelings towards the entire ordeal. I put up on my twitter and my facebook a question "Why do people take selfies?" and no one bothered to answer me.
Of course, no one probably cared enough to answer, which is totally fine. I'll openly admit this is a dumb topic to talk about. But the people who do take selfies didn't answer me and you know why? SHAME. They don't have a good reason.
So here's what I think. I think a selfie is the internet's version of grabbing someone by the shoulders and yelling "TELL ME I'M PRETTY!!! TELL ME!!"
Am I wrong? People post selfies for the attention. Which is fine, it's what the internet is for. I post little jokes and statuses and I like when people say it's funny or whatever. But what I hate is that maybe 3 people will like a joke I make but hundreds of people will like someone's duck-faced bathroom selfie and comment shit like "Gorgeous". Give me a break.
I get that their argument is probably a confidence issue. I'm no stranger to shitty self-confidence, everyone has to deal with it from time to time. But there comes a point where confidence turns into vanity, and a lot of people have crossed that line.
Because here are my hippie-dippie feelings about it: if you need constant approval from the rest of the world telling you you're pretty, then you probably don't think you're pretty. And that's the problem. The only person you have to convince that you're attractive is yourself. I know, I know, I'm getting all "Oprah" on you. But seriously, work on that self-confidence. It doesn't come from other people. It's about you.
Then there's the people who claim to consider themselves ugly but still put selfies on Facebook, in an attempt to look brave and get people's reassurance. Stop that: if you truly had issues with yourself you wouldn't be plastering your face onto the internet for the whole world to see. You're not a hero, you're an asshole.
So I don't know what I want from selfie people. Stop? I guess you don't have to. But really I don't know why you wouldn't. Once you've seen one picture of your face you've pretty much seen them all. So I don't know...maybe acknowledge the fact that you're acting like a teenage girl? Oh whatever, in one ear and out the other I guess. Go to your bathroom and take a picture of yourself giving me the finger. I'm sure I deserve it.
Alright so if I have any regular readers (Hey guys! ...Mom.) then you already know I tend to talk about stupid trivial things (see last week's Miley Cyrus post or the one before about Power Rangers). I don't apologize for these; they're meant to be silly little things to make people laugh and for me to express feelings.
But now I want to talk about something serious. Well, I don't really want to, just a few people on Facebook were all "why is no one talking about Syria?" so I decided I would do just that. Or I'll at least try my best.
I don't watch/read the news regularly. My grandfather always watched the news and he was always angry about something. Which makes sense; there's always something to be angry about. But in my mind watching the news is just a new way of upsetting yourself so I try to refrain from doing so. So I didn't know what was going on with Syria.
Then a friend on Facebook posted a link that was essentially "Idiot's Guide to What's Going on in Syria", or as it is actually called: "So What's Up with this Whole Syria Thing?" It's a really great Powerpoint-esque explanation of what's happening, and it was exactly what I needed. If you yourself don't know what's going on, take a few minutes, click the link, and get caught up.
The article was written before President Obama's decision (or whatever large group of people makes such decisions, I shouldn't put it on one person) to use force against Syria. And now this is what people get to argue about. Should we use force to make things better? Or is violence never the answer?
Personally, I hate violence and bombs and guns. I play violent video games like Saints Row, because to me that's just fantasy and escapism from the real world. I cannot imagine anything on this planet that absolutely needs to end with killing a bunch of people. I still don't understand why people can't just sit and talk and drink water and work shit out.
But they say war is a part of life. I don't understand why, but it apparently is. So I'll just say this to you people: I have no idea what we should do about Syria.
I don't have the first clue to how war works. Will using force convince Assad to knock it off? Maybe. Will it cause more problems? Maybe! I don't KNOW! I also don't know the first thing about running a country. When I used to play The Sims I would sometimes get bored, lock them in a room with no doors, and watch them starve to death. I'm not someone who knows how to fix things!
So that's it, the embarrassing truth: I'm talking about Syria and I have no freakin' clue what I think. Maybe that makes me an idiot, or maybe I'm just a sheep who doesn't concern itself with stuff outside its own little life. But I'm sorry, this problem feels much bigger than me and I have no idea what to do or say about it. All I'm going to do is hope that the people who are dealing with it will make the right decisions and hopefully one day something resembling peace will be reached.
So I'm sorry people. I hope no one's lost respect for me. The rest of this month's postings will be the usual silliness. And I am concerned with what's happening in the world; I just don't know what to say about it. Chances are a 24-year old theater graduate who blogs in his spare time doesn't have the answers to ending wars.
I woke up this morning feeling almost a tad hungover. Which was very confusing because I hadn't had anything to drink the night before. Turns out I simply had leftover emotions from the concert I went to last night at the Altar Bar. Last time I went there I saw the great Wanda Jackson. Headlining this concert: cello rock star Ben Sollee.
I feel like I say this a lot, but I first saw Ben Sollee when he performed at Mountain Stage in Morgantown a few years ago. He performed a short set, as is customary at Mountain Stage, but it was enough for me (and my sister) to become fans. I learned he was going to be at the Altar Bar, asked my sister if she wanted to go, and quickly purchased tickets.
It was a simply amazing concert. Doing a full 2 hour show was a major improvement and we really got to see Mr. Sollee show off his talents.
The cello is a favorite instrument of mine. I love string instruments when they're played expertly and properly, and I have a great respect for people who have mastered playing them (I gave two attempts to learn guitar in my life and gave up quickly. No patience for that). And Ben Sollee is definitely a master of his craft.
Below is the video I took of him performing "Prettiest Tree on the Mountain". A song my sister likes to say is about her. (It isn't.)
Accompanied by a drummer and a bass player, Sollee performs his songs with an amazing supply of soul and energy. He is definitely the kind of musician that deserves to be seen/heard live. His songs are terrific enough on his albums (Inclusions and Half-Made Man are the more recent ones) but hearing them live excels the experience. Mostly because he takes the time to do some great extended cello riffs or the occasional drum solo from his just-as-talented drummer, Jordan Ellis.
I always try to remember what songs stuck out to me. I jotted down the titles in my phone but then I forget the specific reasons why I liked them. But my personal favorites were "Teach Me", "It's Not Impossible (Boys Don't Cry)", and "The Globe". Then there was the 4-song encore ("I just don't feel like stopping" Ben would say with a sly smile) that included their first live performance of Harry Belafonte's "Dolly Dawn" (he should sing that a lot more often) and a very fast-paced version of Ben's "Bury Me With My Car".
Here is the drum break (box..break?) and also the last verse of "Bury Me With My Car".
So anyway if you haven't been clicking these links or videos DO IT because he's a great musician who gives outstanding concerts. Check him out.
Also I should mention his opening act, Circles & Squares, which is a fresh group that they said was formed roughly a month ago. Last night was one of their first outings and they did a great job getting the crowd all excited for Ben. I'd definitely listen to them again. So go to their Facebook page, give 'em a like, and hopefully we'll be seeing more of them soon.
By the time I put this post up, I will be halfway through my 2 weeks notice for a department store I have spent the last 2 years working at. Now don't get too excited for me; I'm just replacing one part-time job with another. But the new job is easier to travel to and in a nice neighborhood so I'm anxious to start it.
The department store I worked at was a constant source of jokes, pictures, and stories for me. Sure, I complained about it (I complain about most things) and I never thought I'd do a whole 2 years there. But all in all I think I'll look back on working there fondly, remembering the good times I had or maybe just the weird things I saw.
Here are 5 things I'm going to take away from my years in retail:
1. A Job is a Job I learned years ago (when I worked for peanuts at a Rite Aid) not to judge people by what job they have. I fear that it has become very easy for people of my generation who went to college to automatically judge people that work behind counters. I understand why: you have a degree that you allegedly worked hard for and you think that's earned you a feeling of superiority. Well it shouldn't; the fact that you went to college most likely stems from the fact that your parents had money and/or you had decent grades. Big deal, that doesn't make you a better person.
Very few people in this world choose retail as their ideal career, but they do what they have to do to get by. And getting by is hard, too. And I don't mean "no money for pizza this week" hard, I mean like actually struggling to make ends meet. I'm not preaching, just saying that for a (hypothetical) snotty grad student to judge a cashier who's just trying to feed her kids is fucked up.
2. People are Nuts
Here's something we all know, but those of us in retail truly see it: the general public is insane. And I don't mean just mentally insane (although I have stories of that too) I mean downright weird. People who line up at the department store doors at 9:30 to wait for it to open? Go do something else. It ain't Disneyworld, there's very little to see.
I have seen some crazy things. We had a woman who liked to yell at the sidewalk outside, then would come in the store and yell at the socks. Another older woman was sitting in the shoe department as my friend and I were leaving the store. As we passed she said, loudly, "I'm just waiting for my bird!". We kept walking without breaking stride, because you shouldn't bother a woman who's waiting indoors for her bird.
3. I Cannot Take Meetings Seriously
Probably one of my least favorite things about working for a corporate retail store is the inane customer service meetings we are forced to sit through. I get the purpose, kind of. But the "themes" and little slogans they come up with just shows that whoever's getting paid the "big bucks" has little to no knowledge on how to talk to real people.
The last customer service meeting I had to go to was on how to make a presence. We were asked "what are the ways you can say "hi" on the sales floor?"" Asking someone how to say "hi" is not a question for an adult human. We all know how to say hi. The meeting could easily be "talk to the customers more" and that's the end of it. But it has to be strung out for 20 minutes as we all mumble out different responses.
Oh yeah, and I giggle during these meetings. Because they're lame. And lame things make me giggle. Which in turn makes me look like an asshole.
4. Always Wash Things When You Buy from a Store
Listen, I'm not a germaphobe or anything but...you should wash all clothes before wearing them. I mean really. I drop things constantly. Unfortunately it's usually glassware. But I've also dropped clothing onto the floor of the dirty stock room. Where people walk. I've also been surprised by an unexpected sneeze and covered the clothes I was folding in my spit. Shit happens. Just wash your clothes before wearing them.
5. Christmas is NOT the most Wonderful Time of the Year
Show me someone who claims to enjoy the holiday season and I'll show you someone who's never worked a day in retail. What's to love? The overstocked backrooms, the never-ending supply of customers, longer hours but no extra money...and the music. Oh the Christmas music day after day for a solid month is enough to drive anyone insane. My least favorite was always "Simply Having a Wonderful Christmastime" and I am so thankful I'll never have to hear that song again.
So that's that. I'm looking forward to starting something different now. I will miss my coworkers, who have been great characters that kept me from total mind-numbing shutdown these last few years. However I eagerly await a new adventure which will hopefully supply me with new stories.
The other day I was at my parents' house for the weekend and I was snoozing on the couch. My father turns on the TV and flips to a nature channel show, which I start watching out of the corner of my eye. It starts out harmless enough, a mama mountain goat has a kid and they have to cross a river and the kid almost drowns. Cute, fun.
Then we switch to some bears, which is also fine. The bears are looking for food and then what comes along? A gray whale. A gray whale and her calf. And I start to get antsy.
You see, I "suffer" from a totally irrational fear of whales. I live in an area far from the ocean, and I always will. I have probably seen less than 10 whales in person in my life (I'm sure I went to zoos as a kid or something). But I'm terrified of these creatures.
Now there's a term for this called "Cetaphobia" which I think was invented by people on Tumblr. It is not a phobia you'll find in a real dictionary, it's something like-minded people seem to have come up with on the internet. You can argue about "is it real or isn't it" but the fact is, I'm afraid of whales and it looks like I'm not alone.
"What's wrong with you? Whales are beautiful, majestic creatures and we should appreciate them." Well to me, whales are the closest thing we have to sea monsters. I'm fairly confident that during my life we'll never have to deal with a Godzilla-esque situation (knock wood). So instead I worry about the giant animals that live in the giant ocean. [Side bar, I once had a dream where giant whales were flying over my neighborhood. It was terrifying.]
Ah, the ocean. Perhaps that's what I'm actually afraid of. It's so deep, like infinitely deep and who knows what kind of horrible shit lurks underneath it. What if the big blue whales we're used to are just the babies? What if there's like a deep sea diver that thinks he found the ocean floor but it's actually just the eyelid of a giant beast? And who knows when they'll turn on us?
Yeah, this is this stuff I'm afraid of. Monstro in Disney's Pinocchio? Horrifying. The Kraken in the Pirates of the Caribbean films? Get out of here. If I ever go to Scotland, I will go nowhere near Loch Ness because I believe that freaking monster is real. Is it just a tree branch? How can you be sure? What if it's literally a dinosaur that's survived for thousands of years and reproduces asexually?
Sorry, back to the whales. Going back to the nature program my father was watching: the gray whale was a mama and it was migrating alongside its calf. Which is fine, they're whales but there's just two of them and they're migrating. I thought they were gross but I could handle watching them.
And then shit got real.
A pack of killer whales (or orca, if you will) approach the mama Gray and her calf. The ominous narrator informs me that the pack is hunting and will not go after the mama because she is too large. They're going after the calf. They seperate the calf from its mama, attack it, and then pull it underwater where it drowns. The corpse sinks to the bottom of the sea, where the killer whales will feed off of it for days.
Yeah, your beautiful creatures just killed a baby. How majestic.
I know they're called killer whales for a reason so I'm just bewildered at the fact that these animals are the main attraction at Seaworld. I know, animals like lions are also predators and they're always at the circus. Well I don't care much for the circus either because I don't think the animals are enjoying themselves. I'm not a huge animal rights activist or anything but I just think if I were an elephant I'd rather be rolling around in the mud than have a bunch of strange little kids crying on my back.
But seriously, killer whales at Seaworld? Jumping through hoops and eating fish or whatever they do to entertain people? (I haven't been to Seaworld since I was a little tyke, and there's no way in hell I'm going as an adult). What's going on with this? These animals are huge predators, that's dangerous right?
I did a little searching into this, mainly on youtube. Because for some reason when something freaks me out, I get in moods where I want to freak out and force myself to watch shit that scares me. Then I learned about Tilikum, an old bull orca who's been at Sea World for years and has been involved with three deaths in his time there.
Two of those deaths were trainers; one was tag-teamed by Tilikum and two females while the other could possibly have been an accident. But the other death involved a man sneaking into the tank after the park closed. Apparently he wanted to swim with the whales. He was found dead and naked draped over Tilikum's back the next morning. I imagine Tilikum was smoking a cigar and saying "Look at this moron." in a smug voice.
To get serious, though, I should say I'm not "anti-whale". I don't think they should be hunted (who needs more blubber, am I right ladies?) or anything and I don't think the ones stuck in Sea World should be trapped there their whole lives. I'm just saying I don't see the beauty and the grace in them. I see sea monsters. And when I hear about a beached whale all I think is "they're getting closer. Soon they'll have mastered walking on land."
But no worries. I'm dealing with living with Cetaphobia, one day at a time. Frankly, it's not a terribly crippling phobia, like agoraphobia or claustrophobia. I suppose if I were ever on a deserted island and everything I wanted was on a separate island and the sea between us was full of whales...yeah that would be an issue. Until then, feel free to roll your eyes at me.
I'm bringing up a classic complaint. We all know what I'm talking about, we've all seen it:
You or someone you know posts a status on Facebook, something like "If you don't see The Heat, your missing out!". And someone in the comment section will correct them: "*you're".
The person who is writing the comment could be called a "Grammar Nazi". Grammar Nazis are labeled as people who live to go onto the Internet and correct their friends' grammar. People who constantly have their friends correcting them think the Nazis are annoying. The Nazis think their friends who can't spell are annoying. Who's in the right here?
A bit of bus graffiti I found, with proper grammar to boot.
I am aware that I tend to make the occasional typo. I'll probably reread this post 20 times to make sure I didn't miss anything, and I might anyway. Feel free to say "you used the wrong 'their' in this paragraph" and I'll accept it and fix it, you troll.
But let's get into it: people have been using bad grammar on the Internet ever since the Internet was born. Is it really that big a deal? Technically no; if someone misspells something on Facebook nobody gets hurt or dies, someone just looks the fool. The audience will hopefully know what they mean and mentally correct their friend.
So do grammar Nazis have sticks up their asses? Some of them do, they are just bossy and live to correct others. It's not fun or cute, but it's who they are. Do I think they should correct people who misspell things?
Yes. Yes I do.
For the most part, anyway. Again, I'm guilty of it too. Sometimes you just type too fast or don't think and get your "their/there/they're" or "you're/your" mixed up. It happens, I GET IT. But there's a difference between people who are in a hurry and people who just don't know what they're doing.
It's not like I'm making fun of people who misspell tricky words. We aren't talking about forgetting the extra "u" in "vacuum" or having a bitch of a time with "definitely" (I always put an A instead of an E). I'm making fun of people who have a hard time grasping basic grammar. It's like not knowing basic math. If someone put on Facebook "hey guys, 2+3=9" you'd probably make fun of them. Of course if someone's putting math problems on Facebook you should rethink your "friendship" anyway.
But again, why does it matter? Well...you look dumb and you actually might not be dumb. Blatantly misspelling words makes you look unintelligent, and since spell check is everywhere it also makes you look lazy and uncaring. This is a language we ALL speak and read, so why is it so difficult to master the writing of it?
A note at my workplace. I corrected the grammar. I'm that guy.
Admittedly a lot of people don't need to read these days. There are lots of jobs that require minimum to no reading skills, and many people will choose not to read a book or newspaper if they're given the option. Thus, when these people get on Facebook they confuse "are" and "our" simply because they sound the same.
I don't mean to come off that misspelling words makes you a bad person. I also don't want to mock people with dyslexia or learning disabilities because I understand some people have trouble with this stuff. But as a population I think we should be doing better.
It's a small thing when you see someone misspell on Facebook. But suppose they don't get corrected and then they believe that they're writing proper English. Then they go write a cover letter for a job application and wonder why no one is taking them seriously. They can't find work at a job in their field so they end up working a dead end job they can't escape. Eventually they fall into a sick depression all because they think "it's" is possessive. Rough, right?
So stop defending yourself as if it's the Grammar Nazis' fault you write like a child. Just admit that you're wrong and the next time you post something, give it a second read through and see if it looks right. If you're still wrong, pick up a book or something and read. Just read. It's fun! There's so much to read and there's no good reason not to. You'll find something you like, I promise.
I'm sure I've managed to come off as a tight ass or a snob. But I don't care. It gives me a sick sense of satisfaction when I see people with master's degrees that can't write a third-grade sentence. I'm sure they can do lots of things I can't...but they'd have to tell me about it in person, because they sure as hell can't write it down.
So I say lay off of the Grammar Nazis, they just want you to look like the intelligent person you probably are. The best way to avoid one is simply to learn how to form sentences. It's very simple. I should clarify that I am not a Grammar Nazi. When I see someone with horrid grammar I think what a dumbass and go on with life. So prove me wrong, Internet! Go update your life and use an apostrophe correctly! I believe in you!
