Just Anything: Random Conversation

[BrandonLayng]

See people in their vehicles listening to loud music don't upset me unless it's early in the morning. I lived in a townhouse for a while and our neighbours always played their music loud enough that I could hear the lyrics on the otherside of a concrete wall. That's too much.

[BrandonLayng]

This may seem sad that I'm excited about these movies coming out... but I don't care if I'm a dork. My wife lovingly calls me one, so I'm used to it. Sorry I still haven't figured out how to do the short links thingy on here.

http://inmovies.ca/Home/ContentPosting?newsitemid=dishinformation.ca%2f2010%2f03%2f04%2fspace-invaders-the-movie%2f&feedname=DISH_MOVIE_NEWS&show=False&number=0&showbyline=True&subtitle=&detect=&abc=abc&date=False

Space Invaders game may become a 3D movie. Missile Command and Asteroids already in development.

http://inmovies.ca/Home/ContentPosting?newsitemid=dishinformation.ca%2f2010%2f03%2f05%2fkaty-perry-is-smurfette%2f&feedname=DISH_MOVIE_NEWS&show=False&number=0&showbyline=True&subtitle=&detect=&abc=abc&date=False

Neil Patrick Harris, George Lopez and Katy Perry rumored to do voices in Smurf Movie.

[Graveside Tales - Dale]

I took a video of my crazy basement - I coudn't post it here so I shot it up on Facebook - http://www.facebook.com/michael.hultquist - in case you want to see it the 30-foot bar. LOL.

Mike H. 

Mike see this thread http://gravesidetales.com/forum/index.php/topic,1711.0.html on posting any and all types of video formats.

See I told ya just the right size to hold a GST gathering or a writing retreat.  For the rest of the time I have a great idea for the basement caughspeakeasycaugh

We can talk about my fee offline 

[Graveside Tales - Dale]

Here's a random gripe. Why is it some people feel the need to crank the volume on their music? I'm prone to migraines but even before I started getting them, I never understood why people needed to play their music in their home at eardrum bursting volume.

If I was at a concert that is one thing. My home is another. My stereo may go up to 60 but 15-25 is a decent volume I think. I can still hear the words and I don't feel overwhelmed by what becomes noise at anything louder. Is it just me? Or do other people have a problem getting their brains to work when the bass beat is pounding it to a pulp?

Heh heh, I am probably one of those people who would annoy you.  I do tend to have my volume set quite loud, but that is because I am partially deaf in the right ear (thanks to a recurring childhood infection that repeatedly ruptured the eardrum)!  At home, I wear headphones so as not to disturb my family, but in my truck?  It's rock city, baby.   
 
 

Ha, I am right there with you Myr.  I promise Brandon if I am driving through your neighborhood I promise to turn down ICP and the rest of the Psychopathic Records group.  In my truck it's the only real place I get to listen to my music.  Sad though when I got my truck I had Best Buy put in a Pioneer CD player.  They suggested I put in an anti-speaker blow device... well needless to say the stock Infinity speakers couldn't handle ICP and now I have 4 blown speakers and need to get them replaced.

Kiss said it best "If it's too loud you are too old" 

[Graveside Tales - Dale]

Brandon, I don't know but 90 min of might be fun.

As for the Smurfs I am a big fan.  I didn't realize until I looked at your post that they were created in 1958.  I honestly thought they were created in the early 80's.  Clumsy Smurf is my favorite.  Brainy Smurf was cool and so was Vanity Smurf.   I would probably catch a matinee showing of the smurfs opening day.

I can't wait to see what they do with Thundercats when it hits the big screen.  Is it me of were the best cartoons in the 70's and really cool in the 80's?

The other night I watch the new Star Trek movie and just loved the movie.  I found myself wish for new movies with the new cast or even a TV show with the new cast and the early adventures of James Tiberius Kirk. 

[Michael West]

Here's a random gripe. Why is it some people feel the need to crank the volume on their music? I'm prone to migraines but even before I started getting them, I never understood why people needed to play their music in their home at eardrum bursting volume.

If I was at a concert that is one thing. My home is another. My stereo may go up to 60 but 15-25 is a decent volume I think. I can still hear the words and I don't feel overwhelmed by what becomes noise at anything louder. Is it just me? Or do other people have a problem getting their brains to work when the bass beat is pounding it to a pulp?

Heh heh, I am probably one of those people who would annoy you.  I do tend to have my volume set quite loud, but that is because I am partially deaf in the right ear (thanks to a recurring childhood infection that repeatedly ruptured the eardrum)!  At home, I wear headphones so as not to disturb my family, but in my truck?  It's rock city, baby.   
 
 

Ha, I am right there with you Myr.  I promise Brandon if I am driving through your neighborhood I promise to turn down ICP and the rest of the Psychopathic Records group.  In my truck it's the only real place I get to listen to my music.  Sad though when I got my truck I had Best Buy put in a Pioneer CD player.  They suggested I put in an anti-speaker blow device... well needless to say the stock Infinity speakers couldn't handle ICP and now I have 4 blown speakers and need to get them replaced.

Kiss said it best "If it's too loud you are too old" 

Oh God, you could not come to my house while I'm writing, Brandon...I really have the music cranked up.  Just not so loud that I can't hear myself think.   

LOL..."If it's too loud you are too old"  I think it's just the opposite, Dale...the older you get, the louder it needs to be...so you can hear it.   

[BrandonLayng]

I do agree that some music is best listened to when it's cranked. When I'm by myself in the car I will crank the ICP or Matisyahu or Sublime. But unfortunately I haven't had a CD player in my car for years and I find now I put on talk radio and yell at the host as well as the callers that phone in. If I had a CD player I might switch to audio-books.

"If it's too loud, you're too old" might be getting pretty accurate to me. I find the more my body turns on me the older I feel. Musicians like Leonard Cohen now have more appeal to me when I'm writing than Sevendust or Black Label Society. So I guess it is just me; I'm a 70 year old 28 year old. What do you know, my wife was right. 

[Myrrym]

Musicians like Leonard Cohen now have more appeal to me when I'm writing than Sevendust or Black Label Society.

Eh, I don't know if I'd admit that, Brandon.  
 
Random Rant:  I don't tell people I don't know very well (particularly other women) that I am a writer, much less that I write horror.  If I do, they tend to stare at me as if I suddenly sprouted another head.  Something about being a female horror writer seems to make certain people uncomfortable.  They start saying stupid things like, "Oh . . . but what about your children?  Doesn't that, y'know, freak them out?"  As if we sit around the dinner table every night discussing the best way to vivisect kittens.  It is generally around this point in the conversation where my sarcasm kicks in, and I respond with gems like, "Oh, no.  If anything, writing horror has brought me closer to my children.  We have overlapping interests, you see.  My older boy is a genius when it comes to dismembering the human body, and the younger one aspires to create a viable zombie virus someday."
 
That usually shuts them up. 
 
Yeah, so . . . I'm not exactly the poster child for diplomacy.     
       

[BrandonLayng]

Most people don't understand what I mean when I say I'm a writer. They tilt their heads like confused dogs. Once I get it established that I write fiction and I explain what that is, then I have to explain what horror is. It's very tiring. I don't know why it is so hard to figure out.

And I can't help that I like bluesy-folk white music, my parents used to make me listen to Roger Whittaker. You have to admit Cohen is better than that old guy. Besides, he's a Canadian legend. It's almost considered treason up here not to like him.

[Y.B. Cats]

It is Michael Hultquist (Who I mentally refer to as The Incredible Hult to keep all the Michaels here straight.) that likes chilies, right? Well, I just read an article about the Ghost Chili, something I'm sure he knows a lot about. Seems the Indian military plans to use it in their war against terror.

http://www.nydailynews.com/news/world/2010/03/23/2010-03-23_4alarm_weapons_on_terror_indian_defense_officials_fired_up_over_chili_grenades.html

I wonder how they tested it...?

[Michael J. Hultquist]

Oh yes, the Ghost Chili. HOT STUFF! Peppers keep getting hotter and hotter. I still mostly with jalapenos, but have been moving largely into habaneros. The issue is my wife can't handle that much heat, so I resort to habanero dust that I sprinkle on everything. I'll have to see if I can get me some Ghost Pepper dust. Whoa!

Thanks for the link. Maybe I can use it for my next newsletter. =)

Mike H. 

[Robert Essig]

I've heard that a good way to use fresh habaneros is to poke little holes in the pepper so none of the seeds get out.  You can put the pepper in a sauce or whatever your cooking and then take it out at the end gaining the use of its eye-popping heat without having to chop it up and use the actual flesh, seeds, or ribs...

I've never had the cajones to try it.  I'll stick with jalapenos and red pepper flakes for heat.

[Michael J. Hultquist]

I'd have to try that, but it sounds like it would work. Most of the pepper heat is in the innards (placent and seeds) so a lot of it could soak in with this method, though probably not all. I've been cooking more with habaneros lately, or at least trying. I think I've killed my taste buds by now. 

[Barry]

Cohen is a master!  "Bird on a Wire" is one of the best songs ever written.

I am also one that is prone to cranking the music in my car (as of late it's been Deftones, Aphex Twin and NIN).  Not so much with the Cohen...

[BrandonLayng]

Cohen was my poetry mentor (from reading his work) when I was a teenager. His best book was "Death of a Ladies Man" in my opinion. Some of those poems were plain awe-inspiring.

You want to know how to get weird looks while driving? Pop an audiobook in the CD player and turn it up loud enough that people outside of you car can tell someone is talking. I have actually received bad looks from seniors when pulling into a parking spot while Frank Muller is reading a Stephen King book. Stephen himself gets the worst looks, while Neil Gaiman reading "The Graveyard Book" achieved a few truly screwed up expressions I imagine hurt the people wearing them; it must be his accent.

In another note. I posted in the Movies & Television section regarding an article on AMC purchasing a season of "The Walking Dead". This woman writing the article truly pissed me off. She called the show "fodder" for no other reason than it was horror and it involved zombies. Read the article and please voice your opinions. I would love for her to learn that horror shows have more than just a "cult" following. Question; why is it that only speculative shows and movies get a cult following? Why don't people say that shows like "Being Erica" only get a cult following? I'm sure that show gets the same amount of viewers that "Masters of Horror" did.