skullblog

skullblog http://www.calavera.com/skullblog/ the life and times of the calavera contingent en Copyright 2008 Sat, 15 Nov 2008 21:39:53 -0800 http://www.sixapart.com/movabletype/ http://blogs.law.harvard.edu/tech/rss my ears are burning i have both of my ears pierced. multiple times. at least they were pierced. while working at my last job, i dressed up more and thought an ear full of hoops was unprofessional. thus, i removed most of my earrings and didn't wear them on a daily basis. eventually the holes close up. i can't even remember when's the last time i wore earrings. i must have taken them out 1-1.5 years ago, at least. i keep thinking that i should find my earrings and put them back in, that i better hurry before the holes close for good. well today was that day. i looked in the mirror and was shocked that i could barely see a trace of several of the holes. not good. not good at all. i then proceeded to try putting on earrings, one hole at a time, starting from the lowest which are my oldest piercings. fine. no problem. alright then, the second hole that i've had since late elementary school. ouch!! alright, now holes #3. fucking shit!!! closed!!!!! once i could relax a bit, i decided to bite the bullet and try holes #4 & #5. FUCK!!! i almost pissed myself. actually, not true. i think i almost pissed myself on #2 when i used a thick earring, OUCH! i'm going to let these heal for a bit before i continue re-opening the holes. my ears will be goth once more. http://www.calavera.com/skullblog/archives/2008/11/my_ears_are_burning.html http://www.calavera.com/skullblog/archives/2008/11/my_ears_are_burning.html living Sat, 15 Nov 2008 21:39:53 -0800 yellow peril supports black power (caam) because it's one of the museums in los angeles county on my list to visit. i want to visit most of the museums in the county, both those that i haven't been to as well as ones i haven't been to in over a decade. i've never been to caam before and decided on a whim today to go to a museum. i checked the web pages of the top ones on my list to visit and noticed that the current exhibit at caam is "a moment in time: bingham's black panthers". i actually learned some cool things about african americans in california history. i guess i just never thought about this stuff or it's not the things they taught when i was in elementary school. that back when this little pueblo of los angeles was founded in 1781, there were 44 settlers and 26 of them were black. the numbers then decreased to just 12 in 1850 but were up to 4000 in 1860, something like that. and also all the african descent people that went to mexico city. there was also an exhibit on black motorcycle riding clubs, which has a rich history. but back to the black panther photo exhibit. it was the last exhibit i viewed. just as i was ending the exhibit, there was a man taking photos in this no photos allowed museum so i figured he must be a reporter or something. he walks up to me and asks, "where are you from?" i kind of giggle and smile whenever someone in los angeles asks that because they must think i'm a tourist. "i'm from LA." he then introduces himself as howard bingham, the one who took all these photos in the exhibit. i'm kind of stunned and don't know what to say or ask him since i'm not familiar with his work, biography, nor do i know that much about the black panthers. like a dork, i mention that i went to ucsc where angela davis teaches and that's why i was interested in this exhibit, that it's very nice. that was about it. i really did think it was a nice exhibit, very good photos that convey the mood of the time, captured some qualities i didn't think about like asian support of the black panthers. what a contradiction to the LA riots and race tension between asians and blacks when i was in high school. it just made me walk away with a desire to learn more about the period. i've actually learned a lot related to photographs and photographers this weekend. i've been viewing photos on the internet that have helped to change the world politically and socially courtesy of photosthatchangedtheworld.com. i've read up on some things i had heard about but didn't really know. like the song "strange fruit" and its meanings as well as origins as a poem and also about the photographer kevin carter. all very powerful stuff. caam is located in exposition park, where there are a couple other museums as well as the coliseum. i had some fun doing action photos in the rose garden. i tried to do a high kick and touch my foot but my face looks too strained in the photos. not enough natural smile to make it look effortless. then i started jumping like i was in one of those toyota commercials in the 80s. just across the street from exposition park is the university of southern california. i've never been there but it's one of those institutions i don't like due to having sports and brick buildings *shudders*. i walked over there to say i've been there and took some more silly photos. highlights from today's photos:

riding the bicycle rack

toyota!

fountain

usc

ucsc vs. usc

pretending to hurdle

]]> http://www.calavera.com/skullblog/archives/2008/11/yellow_peril_supports_black_power.html http://www.calavera.com/skullblog/archives/2008/11/yellow_peril_supports_black_power.html learning Sun, 09 Nov 2008 22:10:36 -0800 speaking out on usa elections 2008 results california secretary of state website.

]]> http://www.calavera.com/skullblog/archives/2008/11/speaking_out_on_usa_elections_2008_results.html http://www.calavera.com/skullblog/archives/2008/11/speaking_out_on_usa_elections_2008_results.html screaming Wed, 05 Nov 2008 05:51:25 -0800 no scars on broadway i received an email alert that scars on broadway have cancelled the show i bought tickets for as a birthday present for myself. i checked their web site and they have cancelled the whole tour because daron's heart just isn't into it (singer/guitarist). your heart isn't into it? you just want us to buy the cd but you don't want to go out and play for the fans. fuck you. then daron posted that he's sorry everyone's so upset but he wouldn't have done this if he didn't have good reason to. then members of the band backed him up on this. ok fine, if you are going to cancel, you have to at least tell a convincing lie that will ease our pain. say that you have a big drug problem (truth) and are going to rehab (lie) and you're so sorry but the tour will be rescheduled for a later date (lie) and you can't wait to play in front of the fans again (truth?). anyway, fuck you guys. now what the hell am i supposed to do for my birthday?! http://www.calavera.com/skullblog/archives/2008/11/no_scars_on_broadway.html http://www.calavera.com/skullblog/archives/2008/11/no_scars_on_broadway.html listening Tue, 04 Nov 2008 06:05:03 -0800 is kissing cheating? after watching season 5 of "the l word", my friend and i had a very interesting conversation on what constitutes cheating. you see, in one of the episodes the characters are all gathered around a fire and one of them asks, "is kissing cheating?" from there they have a discussion on what each of them thinks cheating is. some think that kissing is cheating, some think that even thinking is cheating, some of them think that these are not cheating. at least 1 or 2 of the characters think that sleeping around is not cheating, as long as it's not with the same person twice. a few characters believe it's not a blanket standard to be held but more of something agreed between the couple as to what their rules are. once you start discussing these things with your friends, it's a really interesting glimpse into their standards and morales, if you want to call it that. no matter how much you may agree with and get long with a person, you'd be surprised at how much you disagree over the cheating issue. in that respect, it's kind of like religion and politics. so what do i think? is kissing cheating? it all depends on the context, baby! http://www.calavera.com/skullblog/archives/2008/11/is_kissing_cheating.html http://www.calavera.com/skullblog/archives/2008/11/is_kissing_cheating.html thinking Mon, 03 Nov 2008 21:07:08 -0800 october netflixes here's what i watched in october and my silly comments. the l word: season 5 - like i said before, season 4 was the first season that i really got into this show. season 5 aired in january and i considered getting cable so i could watch it instead of waiting for the dvd release. after watching season 5, a couple things that i was wanting to happen did. a couple characters got dropped but that's ok because i wasn't into them. but what the fuck is up with jenny? she is super annoying and still around, wtf?!?! i'm also thoroughly confused now as to where bette lives because she apparently doesn't live on the west side... but i thought it was close to the planet and that the planet was in west hollywood. whatever. i still feel like this show is a poor version of "queer as folk" and at least with "queer as folk" i didn't hate any of the characters. the self-reflexivity and LA references were a bit funny in this season but the lingering battle between lesbian hangouts was too drawn out. i read that in january season 6 will start but it will be very short with only 8 episodes. wonder if they'll wrap up all story lines in nice little everything will be wonderful hollywood endings. indiana jones and the legend of the crystal skull - i so do not understand why they even bothered to make this one. i knew nothing of the plot before i watched this. they tried too hard to reference and recreate the past instead of continuing on with the essence of indiana jones and creating a fun film. utter crap. heavy metal in baghdad - i don't remember how or when but i felt like i had already seen this documentary before. maybe i've just seen one too many pieces on heavy metal in iraq. once i watched this, i realized i hadn't seen it before. perhaps i just saw some preview scenes online or on tv back in the day when i had cable access. this film was pretty good, especially if you just try to think about the people and relate to them. imagine if you were caught in the middle of the war. all your conditions around you, all the death and chaos, they had nothing to do with you and were beyond your control. but somehow you just got to keep on living and surviving. if you manage to flee to another country, will anyone even help you? will you get denied entrance and have to go back? or for the rock fans out there, due to conditions around you, you can't even listen to what you want publicly, dress how you want publicly, style your hair the way you want publicly, etc. i think that aspect might touch some young people. makes you realize all the things you take for granted. the freedom to just be yourself, the comfort and safety of our surroundings, and the general ability to live life the way you want to. to live - damn this was a good film. there were a couple of heart-wrenching scenes that really got to me and choked me up. it kinda makes me wonder what chinese today think about watching movies like this. about watching period films on the revolution. if it's nostalgic, if it induces pride or criticism, etc. anyway, i recommend it. twilight of the golds - twiddle thumbs said we watched this years ago but i don't remember a thing. watching it now, it feels outdated but i bet it still impacts people. grave of the fireflies - japanese animated movie about siblings during world war 2. it's kinda sad but i'm used to thinking about fucked up things in japan during world war 2. still, it's pretty flawless and i recommend it. what's cooking? - this was a fun movie. in some ways it seemed so LA and i liked those bits. some of the family fighting moments, well i think many could relate to that. life and debt - i really didn't know anything about jamaica before watching this movie and it was a documentary on life in jamaica, the debt the country is in, how poor some people are, etc. it talks about the agriculture industry and mentions the free zone with factories. now i realize for some movies it's not a good idea for me to just sit on my thoughts and wait to review many things at once like this. i feel like i had some powerful words to say after i saw this film but they're gone now. basically it comes down to many in the first world might not take the time to ponder all the exploitation that's going on globally that enables us to enjoy the lifestyle that we do at such a cheap price. it's because we consider the lives and values of others to be cheap. we don't care about others, just give us cheap goods. thinking about these things, i really believe in macrobiotics. i believe that the land you live on should provide for you. i don't think you should import foods from far away. to eat food from far away at a cheap price, there's got to be some exploitation going on. if the land can't or isn't supporting the local people, there's gonna be trouble. to me, being able to eat locally grown food is a key element to a sustainable society so the way this film painted the troubles of jamaica and food really struck a chord with me. plus sweatshops are sweatshops and must end. the documentary is not current but still quite powerful. quadrophenia - i have been wanting to see this film for about 14 years now. back when i was really into britpop, this film seemed quite influential to the scene. it wasn't so bad but it's not exactly something i could watch again and again. http://www.calavera.com/skullblog/archives/2008/11/october_netflixes.html http://www.calavera.com/skullblog/archives/2008/11/october_netflixes.html watching Sun, 02 Nov 2008 14:11:47 -0800 a new record officially i've been living at my place for 2 years now. true i got to move in my stuff a few days early but the lease started 2 years ago today. this is a new record for me. ever since i moved out of the house at 17, i've never lived at a single address for 2 years. i've lived at places for maybe 1.5 years or perhaps a little closer to 2 years, but i don't think i have ever reached the 2 year mark. therefore i don't know if this is a good or bad thing. not all of my stuff is unpacked either (bad) but that just means that i'm slightly prepared for the next move (good, hahaha). i really don't want to be in this area very long. i can't see myself living here for years. but right now i just don't know what's next for me and that was the whole point of me returning to where i grew up. to reconnect with family and focus on what i want next out of life. it's really fucking hard to figure out too. http://www.calavera.com/skullblog/archives/2008/11/a_new_record.html http://www.calavera.com/skullblog/archives/2008/11/a_new_record.html living Sat, 01 Nov 2008 12:18:11 -0800 2 halloween celebrations

i was the devil of the disco now for the evening when i went out with friends. let me tell you, gays love halloween. it is our holiday for sure. so where else better to be than in the heart of it, in west hollywood. gays and lesbians can come together, especially for halloween, so ultra suede had both sides open, one side for dykes (girlbar) and the other for the fags (not sure what they call their club, hahahaaa). it took me awhile to get into the music. it always sucks on the girl side, even if a guy is dj-ing. i don't know why that it is, it just is. the kind of music they play is a lot of that "oh damn, that's my jam" and "throw your hands in the air" type shit. after 1-2 hours, i eventually got into it, but if not more in a comedic way than anything else. as i was dancing, i was pretending to be the rabid rabbits of the video game when they dance as well as kind of making fun of popular hip-hop style dancing and freaking. one older weird creepy guy started kinda freaking behind me at that point and i changed my direction of dancing so he wasn't on me and then he walked away, thank goodness! i don't understand the straight people at the gay clubs and it's always couples or weird creepy guys. i think both types are looking to get off or hook up with lesbians, which isn't gonna happen so go home already.

she works hard for the money

we went back and forth between the girl side and boy side. the boy side was clearly playing better music and had a more festive mood. my friends commented on how bitchy the women were and skanky. i was paying attention more to costumes. i noticed that lesbian couples like to dress alike, even for halloween! i saw matching pirates, school girls, skeletons, etc. i also noticed how much better looking the guys were than the girls. damn, maybe i'll become a gay man. seriously, it was a significant difference. it got really damn hot in that club and even though i had freshly re-glued my horns on for the evening's festivities, again i was sweating so much that they were coming off. after all that dancing, everyone was pretty much tired and hungry. we're all vegan but there's nothing open past 2am, pickings are quite slim, and especially nothing vegan open.]]> http://www.calavera.com/skullblog/archives/2008/10/2_halloween_celebrations.html http://www.calavera.com/skullblog/archives/2008/10/2_halloween_celebrations.html living Fri, 31 Oct 2008 23:59:10 -0800 rayman raving rabbids rayman raving rabbids for wii because it just looked so silly. i didn't know anything about it but when i've browsed for new games, the box always calls to me. finally the price went down so i got it. i don't have very many games for the wii and i'm hesitant to spend lots of money on something i might not like. in 3 or 4 sessions of play, i've finished the game in story mode. that's saying something. either the game is ridiculously easy (which it probably is) or it's so damn fun that i didn't notice time fly (which it might be as well). now that story mode is 100%, i've got to move on to score mode and unlock all the challenges and bonus material. in this game, basically you are some kind of duck creature i guess named rayman and you've been captured by these crazy rabbits and must do a bunch of mini games as if you're a gladiator. they keep gathering in the arena to watch you. as you get on with the levels, your cell that you're imprisoned in improves. oh and the rabbits are armed with plungers. they like to dance. they're not so good at singing. you throw cows and save pigs. just one of those odd games that somehow works.]]> http://www.calavera.com/skullblog/archives/2008/10/rayman_raving_rabbids.html http://www.calavera.com/skullblog/archives/2008/10/rayman_raving_rabbids.html gaming Sun, 26 Oct 2008 21:15:41 -0800 you might be a dyke if... thought this blog could use a little humor so i decided to come up with a list. you might be a dyke if... 1. you wear tank tops often. (bonus points if you wear polo shirts/men's dress shirts often) 2. you wear athletic shoes and despise high heels. (bonus points if you wear converse chucks) 3. you got your "purse" at an outdoor recreation store. (bonus points if you don't have a purse, just wear a wallet on a chain.) 4. you keep up on celebrity lesbian couples and are distraught over breakups. (bonus points if you cried when ellen degeneres married portia de rossi.) 5. you cut your hair like shane after watching "the l word". (bonus points if your hair was like that before the show debuted.) 6. you don't wear lipstick--it's all about lipgloss. (bonus points if you only wear chapstick) 7. you listen to tegan and sara. (bonus points if you have seen them live.) 8. you know how to change your car's oil, tire, etc. (bonus points if you teach men how to do these things) 9. you never realized how hot tina fey was until she impersonated sarah palin. (bonus points if you now have a crush on sarah palin.) 10. you don't eat meat. (bonus points if you're vegan) http://www.calavera.com/skullblog/archives/2008/10/you_might_be_a_dyke_if.html http://www.calavera.com/skullblog/archives/2008/10/you_might_be_a_dyke_if.html living Fri, 24 Oct 2008 23:51:14 -0800 i look nothing like these bitches!

]]> http://www.calavera.com/skullblog/archives/2008/10/i_look_nothing_like_these_bitches.html http://www.calavera.com/skullblog/archives/2008/10/i_look_nothing_like_these_bitches.html geeking Thu, 23 Oct 2008 22:37:28 -0800 immigrant moms mymomisafob.com]]> http://www.calavera.com/skullblog/archives/2008/10/immigrant_moms.html http://www.calavera.com/skullblog/archives/2008/10/immigrant_moms.html living Wed, 22 Oct 2008 21:43:18 -0800 speaking out on usa elections 2008 palin as president. more fun: video clip of the real sarah palin on saturday night live but amy poehler takes her place rapping on weekend update state politics - california proposition 8: look, i'm 3rd generation californian. i'm proud of this state. i'm glad that history ran the course that it did so that my interracial parents could marry. now for my generation, i would like the possibility of marriage for everyone. i'm not the biggest supporter of marriage. i personally don't believe in legal binding as evidence of my commitment to someone. (not to mention the legal mess of separation.) however, these legal bindings are necessary because they provide rights. we may think that things should be some way and that they are. but just because we think that's how it should be doesn't mean that's how it is. if we were living in a rural place a long time ago, perhaps if a man and woman lived together and everyone in town knew that they were a couple, and something happened to one of them, well then who would disagree with the other inheriting the property, goods, and whatever debt there may be. it's just a given. that isn't what happens these days. hetero or homo, a couple has to be legally bound for such matters. this proposition is one step towards removing equality if you vote for its approval. california took a step towards equality and this proposition wants to walk back much more than a step in my opinion. it also saddens me to watch the ads supporting the proposition. these ads are heavily funded by the knights of columbus, a catholic society to which my father was a proud member. i know the basics of my father's political mind (republican!) when he was at university and i think it fits with the times and his religion. i'm curious, but perhaps do not want to know, how that political mind would have changed with the times, or if it would have changed at all. would i be yelling and screaming at my father, walking out on the family and being disowned? would i visit for sunday dinners and have happy times? would he be dick cheney or would he be sonny bono? i'm gay and love my father and cherish the few things of his i have, including his knights of columbus soft briefcase but maybe i'll put some rainbow and hrc stickers on it and attend some catholic events.]]> http://www.calavera.com/skullblog/archives/2008/10/speaking_out_on_usa_elections_2008.html http://www.calavera.com/skullblog/archives/2008/10/speaking_out_on_usa_elections_2008.html screaming Tue, 21 Oct 2008 06:04:36 -0800 well at least i tried... for years i've been a bad friend. after leaving home to go to college, i lost touch with my first best friend from when i was in kindergarden. 13-14 years after kindergarden, it can be hard to be friends with someone because the friendship isn't based on playtime and pretend anymore. we just didn't make a smooth transition i think but i always considered her to be a good friend. so i felt bad about not keeping in touch. i also feel like i was not keeping in touch on purpose for personal reasons. but always in the back of my mind lingered the to do item of "must get in touch with so and so". i think the last time we were in contact was at the turn of the millennium, not exactly sure but maybe then. i'm not really sure where the hell she is even living anymore. i decided to do some internet detective work, determined to finally right the wrong and get in touch. i found a number, called, and spoke to her. this was 2 weeks ago i think. i was nervous as hell. of course she had no idea who it was but since my name isn't common, it was a bit sad that i had to give my full name for her to remember who i was. i gave her my contact info, not sure if she'd bother but i had some hope. no contact yet. oh well, at least i tried. i finally tried so it's no longer going to bother me that i owe her a conversation over tea or something like that. we had a lot of fun as kids. i'll always remember that. http://www.calavera.com/skullblog/archives/2008/10/well_at_least_i_tried.html http://www.calavera.com/skullblog/archives/2008/10/well_at_least_i_tried.html living Mon, 20 Oct 2008 19:25:29 -0800 burning my first dvd i've had a dvd-r drive for 4+ years now but have never burned a dvd in my life. given my geek tendencies, i'm sure many will be surprised by that. i'm also one of the worst people when it comes to backing up my data. i've had lessons taught to me, such as failed drives and my own stupidity in transferring files to new computers, but yet i did not learn fully from them. this year i have been making cd backups of music and photos, but not on a consistent basis. after the media, then i was going to backup the rest. at this rate though it'll never be accomplished. after burning about 100 cds of my music as backup, i realized that this is fucking ridiculous. in the age of dvds, what the hell am i doing backing up on cd?!!?!?!?!?! so today i have burned my first backup dvd of music. after doing 4 of those, almost all of my music is safely backed up. just one copy is not enough so later i will have to make another copy and possibly on another medium such as a backup hard drive. however, there are those 100 or so backup cds. maybe once i've backed up everything, i'll load the cds and condense them to dvds. seems like such a landfill waste though. i've got to come up with some art project for discarded cds. i've seen a few ideas online but nothing really struck me. well, on to backing up the photos. i've burned one photo backup and it felt like it took a lot longer than the music, but since there wasn't a timed countdown in iphoto like there was in itunes, i'm not really sure. http://www.calavera.com/skullblog/archives/2008/10/burning_my_first_dvd.html http://www.calavera.com/skullblog/archives/2008/10/burning_my_first_dvd.html geeking Sat, 18 Oct 2008 22:08:41 -0800