Over the weekend I discovered (and then spent an inordinate amount of time playing with) a new toy. It's called Celestia. It's a program that you can download from http://www.shatters.net/celestia, and it's basically a simulation of almost the entire Milky Way galaxy. It's especially detailed inside the solar system, including asteroids, comets, satellites, and spaceships. And it's all in the magic of 3D CGI.
The fun thing is that you can download add-ons of different things from http://www.celestiamotherlode.net, including spaceships and planets from fiction. For example, in my version of Celestia the (1st) Death Star is orbiting Earth's Moon. And there's a Star Destroyer, A-Wing, B-Wing, X-Wing, and TIE Interceptor orbiting the Death Star.
Speaking of Death Star, last night (Monday) Brandy, Geoff, & I went to see Episode III. They hadn't seen it yet. Brandy did not like the style of action. At all. See, the action in Episode III is what I like to call "Complication Action." The longer an action sequence goes, the more complicated it gets, with all sorts of crazy things added to the mix. Think of the scene in Fellowship of the Ring in which the Fellowship is running from the Balrog. They have to run down narrow steps. Then the ceiling starts to collapse. Then Orcs start shooting at them. Then the stairs start to break apart. Complications. Brandy much prefers the style of action in movies like, say, Crouching Tiger or Hero, in which the action consists mostly of extremely skilled people fighting each other without complications. But I'm a big fan of Jackie Chan movies, and we all know how complicated his action sequences can get (Brandy hasn't seen hardly any Jackie Chan... if any at all, come to think of it).
Well, as Brandy put it, "I don't like to be told when to be on the edge of my seat."
Fair enough. But I love that shit. She also cringed at the dialogue a lot, which I totally agree with (I still don't think it's anywhere near cringeworthy as Episode II).
This is Chris dot com
Tuesday, May 31, 2005
New Toy
posted by Christopher at 10:19 AM 
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Friday, May 27, 2005
Cat vs Her Knee
Wednesday after work Carrie & I went over to Cat and Chris's and hung out for the evening because (1) we like them, and (2) Cat recently dislocated her knee, and so she's all out of commission much like I am, so we thought she could use the company (especially since Chris doesn't get home often until well after 6:00).
It was a grand old time, much like that TV show "Grand" used to be. We sat around and snacked (Carrie made guacamole, so I ate Cheez-its instead) and watched Gozilla movies. Cat & I both have an odd affection for Godzilla movies for reasons we can't explain. We watched:
It was a grand old time, much like that TV show "Grand" used to be. We sat around and snacked (Carrie made guacamole, so I ate Cheez-its instead) and watched Gozilla movies. Cat & I both have an odd affection for Godzilla movies for reasons we can't explain. We watched:
Destroyah is notable for being the only movie besides the very first one in which Godzilla dies, and dies dead. He has a frikkin' nuclear meltdown. Fortunately, Godzilla Jr. survives, so it's kind of assumed that any Godzilla movies that take place after this one really star Junior, right?
And we also tried to watch Godzilla vs Megalon on tape, but the quality was so bad we just couldn't. Megalon is notable for the inclusion of super robot Jet Jaguar (or Jetto Jagâ in Japanese). It's a horrible movie, so maybe not being able to wat it is not a bad thing.
Anyway, Chris grilled up some pork ribs we brought over and some hot dogs, and we all gobbled them right quick. I even ate a hot dog (which I was only able to do after peeling off the skin—I'm not allowed to eat "encased meats"). We eventually came home shortly after 10:00.
posted by Christopher at 1:58 PM
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Thursday, May 26, 2005
'Mutant' Children are Best
There's a rather creepy little article over at The Sun Online that might be interesting to fans of X-Men.
posted by Christopher at 11:42 AM
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Tuesday, May 24, 2005
~ The Best To You ~
Thurl Ravenscroft: 1914 - 2005
posted by Christopher at 10:53 AM
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Lost To the Ages No Longer
posted by Christopher at 10:48 AM
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Monday, May 23, 2005
Oat and Aboat
On Friday night Carrie and a whole buncha bead babes went out dancing. I hung out with Geoff and we watched bad TV (the Muppets' Wizard of Oz—bleah! Awful) and most of a bad movie (Freddy vs Jason), then some Conan before the goils got back.
On Saturday Carrie took me out for breakfast at the HobNob, and we happened to run into Geoff and Brandy there, who were having breakfast with her dad and stepmom. In the afternoon Carrie & I went out to spend my birthday moneys. And also to get groceries. I didn't find anything I really wanted at Fred Meyer, so we went to Borders where I picked up the complete Bone in one volume and a Sarah Vowell book. We also had dinner at Katie Downs with her folks, where I ate an incredibly cheesy pizza of goodness.
I also participated in Fools Play! It was the "telethon" format, and I was one of the callers pledging my support and dollars for the Get Well Chris charity. I pledged $6,000! We then did a Mr. Savvy the Excellent Skeleton scene where Taisha held a photo of me over her face and I supplied the voice via speakerphone.
On Sunday I read the entire 1,300 pages of Bone. Okay, okay, I'd read a few hundred on Saturday, so I didn't read the whole thing on Sunday.
Carrie & I walked to Starbucks and then to the store. I couldn't quite make it all the way back so I sat outside Starbucks while she walked back to the house to get the car. Problem is, she forgot she'd left her keys in my pocket so she couldn't actually drive the car back. That's why you should hang on to your own keys! She walked back and by then I was rested up enough to walk the four blocks back home.
In the PM a whole bunch of bead babes came over for the massive clothes exchange. They all brought over clothes they didn't want anymore and everybody got to pick and choose whatever they wanted of everyone else's clothes. It was a rousing success. Carrie got a new tank top and pajama pants and toe socks.
On Saturday Carrie took me out for breakfast at the HobNob, and we happened to run into Geoff and Brandy there, who were having breakfast with her dad and stepmom. In the afternoon Carrie & I went out to spend my birthday moneys. And also to get groceries. I didn't find anything I really wanted at Fred Meyer, so we went to Borders where I picked up the complete Bone in one volume and a Sarah Vowell book. We also had dinner at Katie Downs with her folks, where I ate an incredibly cheesy pizza of goodness.
I also participated in Fools Play! It was the "telethon" format, and I was one of the callers pledging my support and dollars for the Get Well Chris charity. I pledged $6,000! We then did a Mr. Savvy the Excellent Skeleton scene where Taisha held a photo of me over her face and I supplied the voice via speakerphone.
On Sunday I read the entire 1,300 pages of Bone. Okay, okay, I'd read a few hundred on Saturday, so I didn't read the whole thing on Sunday.
Carrie & I walked to Starbucks and then to the store. I couldn't quite make it all the way back so I sat outside Starbucks while she walked back to the house to get the car. Problem is, she forgot she'd left her keys in my pocket so she couldn't actually drive the car back. That's why you should hang on to your own keys! She walked back and by then I was rested up enough to walk the four blocks back home.
In the PM a whole bunch of bead babes came over for the massive clothes exchange. They all brought over clothes they didn't want anymore and everybody got to pick and choose whatever they wanted of everyone else's clothes. It was a rousing success. Carrie got a new tank top and pajama pants and toe socks.
posted by Christopher at 8:54 AM
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Friday, May 20, 2005
The Saga is Complete
Yesterday (Thursday) afternoon I was picked up by none other than the fabulous Erik Melver at 4:30. We drove up to the target at Sea-Tac Mall (oh, excuse me, I mean The Commons) to pick up his sister in law Annelise, then (after a quick stop at Wendy's for some chicken strips) we three went up to the Cinerama in Seattle and met up with John & Chuck and their wives and some co-workers, and we all sat down and watched Star Wars: Episode III - Revenge of the Sith.
I am very proud of myself for being able to go on such a major outing. I was out of the house for more than six straight hours! Wow!
I've written my Review of what had better be the last Star Wars movie to be made. If you're wondering what I thought, you should read it:
I am very proud of myself for being able to go on such a major outing. I was out of the house for more than six straight hours! Wow!
I've written my Review of what had better be the last Star Wars movie to be made. If you're wondering what I thought, you should read it:
Star Wars: Episode III: Revenge of the Sith
In other news, Carrie got a really kickass haircut yesterday as well. It looks kinda like Cynthia Nixon's hairstyle in the 6th season of Sex and the City. Except it's appropriate for someone who's 28, not someone who's pushing 40. It really is supercute™.
posted by Christopher at 1:37 PM
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Tuesday, May 17, 2005
Belated Birthday Funtimes
Over the past few day's I've gotten a handful of birthday presents in the mail from various people
- Rachel & Brooks (so in other words, just Rachel) gave me Batman The Animated Series - Volume 2
- Jeremiah very generously gave me Rocky & Bullwinkle - Season 1 and Shonen Knife: Let's Knife
- Carrie gave me a really cool Pac-Man T-shirt from SplitReason
So that's supercool!
I finally did that DVD Anniversary Quiz Article that I do every year at my birthday. You should go check it out. I think I'm going to write a movie review tonight. Either that or take a shower. Hmm...
posted by Christopher at 6:49 PM
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Monday, May 16, 2005
NO PIGS
On Saturday Carrie ended up running around doing errands all day. And I do mean all day. Neither of us were expecting her to be gone as much as she was. But it's okay, 'cause Sandy & Mathias came over and watched the first half (aka Part 1) of Clone Wars (Cartoon Network was showing all of them, parts one and two, back-to-back, which took three total hours). They brought me a birthday present, which Sandy described as, "It's horrible. You'll love it."
Are you ready? You think you are. But you aren't. Here's what they gave me:
MouseOver the image to see a closeup of the emblem on its chest. No Pigs!
Does that make ANY kind of sense to all y'all? We can't figure it out, and it just makes us giggle.
Are you ready? You think you are. But you aren't. Here's what they gave me:
MouseOver the image to see a closeup of the emblem on its chest. No Pigs!
Does that make ANY kind of sense to all y'all? We can't figure it out, and it just makes us giggle.
Being Around People
On Sunday Carrie took her grandma to Ikea to look for furniture for her new place. That's right, Grandma Kleinschmidt is moving to Federal Way (instead of back to Cleveland). They also stopped at Red Robin and Target, so that took most of the first half of the day. When she got back we went to Paper Zone, but my right leg was killing me.
On Saturday I'd taken a rather lengthy walk around the neighborhood. That evening my right leg started to ache something fierce. Like something was all knotted up. It still hurts pretty badly today. I think maybe I pushed myself a little too much.
Anyway, Carrie then went to a store meeting that took almost an hour longer than expected, and which it turns out she didn't have to attend at all. Sigh. Then she swung by the house and picked me up, and we went to Leilani's for Viki's Bead Factory-only birthday party. Most of the Bead Babes hadn't seen me since before the hospital, and so I got lots of hugs and a few kisses. It was nice to be out of the house and around people.
I ate too much sugar. But I'm supposed to take food with my pain medicine, and all they had was desserts! Cat's were the best—a graham-cracker cookie with soft toffee and whipped cream topping with bananas. Wow.
After the party wound down we came home and played some Mario Kart before going to bed. I made it in bed until about 4:30, at which point I had to switch to chair because my leg and belly ached too much. Sigh. It's coming along.
posted by Christopher at 11:38 AM
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Saturday, May 14, 2005
My First Big Outing
And I don't mean "outing" in the homosexual sense. I mean as in I actually got out of the house.
Carrie worked an actual 9 to 5 shift yesterday (Friday). I slept an awful lot. I didn't get outta chair until 11:00-ish, and I didn't actually wake up for another three hours or so (I was super groggy).
After Carrie came home we got in the car and drove over to Linnea's. We gave her a bottle of wine and some earrings as kind of a thank you for taking care of us while I was incapacitated. I'd never been over to their house before—it's super cute, even with the rennovations in progress.
We then went over to Carrie's folks' house for din-dins, and to kind of have a joint Mother's Day slash My Birthday. I got $35 in checks from the family, and we gave Florentine really pretty purple Gerber Daisies that she can plant outside and some gourmet chocolate (Lindt I think). Dinner was good turkey. I tried to eat some cooked asparagus, but it showed up basically untouched in my bag later in the evening. Sigh. No nutrition for this boy!
I had trouble getting to sleep again until way after 2:00 AM. I put on Attack of the Clones in order to brush up before Revenge of the Sith. And I actually slept a little on the couch on my side! This bodes well for bedrest in the future.
Carrie worked an actual 9 to 5 shift yesterday (Friday). I slept an awful lot. I didn't get outta chair until 11:00-ish, and I didn't actually wake up for another three hours or so (I was super groggy).
After Carrie came home we got in the car and drove over to Linnea's. We gave her a bottle of wine and some earrings as kind of a thank you for taking care of us while I was incapacitated. I'd never been over to their house before—it's super cute, even with the rennovations in progress.
We then went over to Carrie's folks' house for din-dins, and to kind of have a joint Mother's Day slash My Birthday. I got $35 in checks from the family, and we gave Florentine really pretty purple Gerber Daisies that she can plant outside and some gourmet chocolate (Lindt I think). Dinner was good turkey. I tried to eat some cooked asparagus, but it showed up basically untouched in my bag later in the evening. Sigh. No nutrition for this boy!
I had trouble getting to sleep again until way after 2:00 AM. I put on Attack of the Clones in order to brush up before Revenge of the Sith. And I actually slept a little on the couch on my side! This bodes well for bedrest in the future.
posted by Christopher at 1:03 PM
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Now That's Some Good Engrish
Special thanks to Taisha for bringing this to me when I was in hospital. I submitted it to Engrish.com, so hopefully it'll show up on that site sometime soon!
posted by Christopher at 12:11 AM
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Friday, May 13, 2005
No Longer Pierced
I got my staples removed from my belly yesterday morning. I had a report that getting staples removed is incredibly painful. I'm glad to report that in my case this was false. It felt like an incredibly wimpy pinch by a small child with no finger strength. It was far more painful when the doctor removed the bag.
It feels a lot better to have the staples out. The pain isn't gone, of course, but now there aren't pieces of metal restricting my movement, so it makes things a little easier. In fact, I went outside and walked completely around the block! Wow!
In the evening Brandy came over and brought some movies. We watched Scottland, PA, which has another great Christopher Walken performance. Then we watched CQ, which I had seen most of, but never all the way through. It's really a great movie. Coppola's kids are better filmmakers than he is these days. Geoff came over as well while CQ was going. The whole time we were watching movies, Brandy was organizing her scrapbook stuff. She likes to tear things out of magazines.
It feels a lot better to have the staples out. The pain isn't gone, of course, but now there aren't pieces of metal restricting my movement, so it makes things a little easier. In fact, I went outside and walked completely around the block! Wow!
In the evening Brandy came over and brought some movies. We watched Scottland, PA, which has another great Christopher Walken performance. Then we watched CQ, which I had seen most of, but never all the way through. It's really a great movie. Coppola's kids are better filmmakers than he is these days. Geoff came over as well while CQ was going. The whole time we were watching movies, Brandy was organizing her scrapbook stuff. She likes to tear things out of magazines.
posted by Christopher at 3:05 PM
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Monday, May 09, 2005
A Surgery Clarification
I wanted to give you all some better idea of the surgery I had. It's called the Ileoanal Reservoir Procedure. It's a two-step procedure, meaning I'll have another (final) surgery in about ten weeks. Here's an excellent link to read if you're at all curious:
http://www.j-pouch.org/Whatis.html
http://www.j-pouch.org/Whatis.html
posted by Christopher at 8:23 PM
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Saturday, May 07, 2005
Home For My Birthday
Yesterday was my 28th birthday. I spent it quietly in my house. At various points during the day Neighbor Gary, Geoff, Brandy, Mary, and (very briefly) Jimbo and one of his friends stopped by and hung out with me. My family and a few other friends called to wish me a happy birthday. Doesn't seem like much, does it?
It was absolutely the best, because I was actually in my house. This may not seem like a big deal, but for those few of you who may not be in the know (and I apologize if you didn't get told and are hearing it now for the first time), I have been in the hospital for three weeks.
I had a massive flare of my Ulcerative Colitis that could not be controlled by medicine, and so eventually had to have a surgery that removed my entire large intestine. I am home now and slowly recovering, with 25 metal staples going down the center of my belly and a temporary ostomy bag. In three months I have a follow-up surgery that will make it so the lower end of my small intestines will act as basically a fake large intestine, and I'll be on my way.
Once I have recovered enough from this first surgery, though, I'll probably be throwing an actual "I'm Back -slash- Belated Birthday" party to which all or most of you will be invited.
In the meantime, if you wanted to get me something for my birthday but didn't know what to get me, you can always check out my Amazon WishList. Sort the list by "priority" and get me something from Priority 2 or 3 (Priority 1 is reserved for immediate family).
As much as I like getting cool stuff, though, spending three weeks in the hospital is, as you might imagine, rather expensive. Also I was unable to work during that time, so I'm out basically a month of income. If you wanted to help a brutha out with a little bill-paying monies instead of (or in addition to) giving me some cool stuff, I'd be more than appreciative. In fact, you can just click that button below (using PayPal).Huge shout-outs to everyone who visited me in the hospital, everyone who called me while I was in the hospital, and everyone who wished me well while I was in the hospital. Much love to my peeps.
Thanx!
Christopher Grant Harris
It was absolutely the best, because I was actually in my house. This may not seem like a big deal, but for those few of you who may not be in the know (and I apologize if you didn't get told and are hearing it now for the first time), I have been in the hospital for three weeks.
I had a massive flare of my Ulcerative Colitis that could not be controlled by medicine, and so eventually had to have a surgery that removed my entire large intestine. I am home now and slowly recovering, with 25 metal staples going down the center of my belly and a temporary ostomy bag. In three months I have a follow-up surgery that will make it so the lower end of my small intestines will act as basically a fake large intestine, and I'll be on my way.
Once I have recovered enough from this first surgery, though, I'll probably be throwing an actual "I'm Back -slash- Belated Birthday" party to which all or most of you will be invited.
In the meantime, if you wanted to get me something for my birthday but didn't know what to get me, you can always check out my Amazon WishList. Sort the list by "priority" and get me something from Priority 2 or 3 (Priority 1 is reserved for immediate family).
As much as I like getting cool stuff, though, spending three weeks in the hospital is, as you might imagine, rather expensive. Also I was unable to work during that time, so I'm out basically a month of income. If you wanted to help a brutha out with a little bill-paying monies instead of (or in addition to) giving me some cool stuff, I'd be more than appreciative. In fact, you can just click that button below (using PayPal).Huge shout-outs to everyone who visited me in the hospital, everyone who called me while I was in the hospital, and everyone who wished me well while I was in the hospital. Much love to my peeps.
Thanx!
Christopher Grant Harris
posted by Christopher at 7:41 AM
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