Old Friends in the News

Before I moved to Blogger, I used to keep a blog on my Sympatico webspace. Back then, I had written a post about a high school reunion I had attended (summer of 2001). I've just heard from a mutual friend that Eustachio has handed himself to police for murdering his girlfriend. I'm completely in shock.

Here's my old posting about him:

On Saturday night, I attended my Katimavik High School reunion (that was just the name of the High School and has no connection to the Katimavik program). I haven't seen some of these folks in 15 years (ye Gods, I'm old). I was a bit nervous about attending, mainly because I didn't know what to expect (they had another reunion five years previous, but I couldn't attend that one).

There were a few people there who have not changed since I saw them 15 years ago, while others it took a few seconds of careful scrutiny before I could zero-in on their identity. I was a toss-up: some people said I had not changed while others said I had.

It was great to see everyone and hear that they were all doing well. We had an attendance of 25 people out of the 60 that could've come (there were another 10 who said would come, but they didn't show). At the end of the evening, two more guys show up. One was a friend that I have kept in touch with over the years (Jean-Luc Trahan) and the other was Eustachio Gallesse.

Eustachio gave me nothing but grief for all of my elementary and high school years, but when I saw him at the reunion, he made a beeline towards me, gave me a warm handshake and said "I want to apologize for all the horrible stuff I put you through in school. I'm really, really sorry for being such a shit to you all those years." Wow, I thought. Someone must've treated him worse than he treated me since those years.

I had long since put my feelings of resentment towards the bullies that hounded me over those years behind me, but it was nice to hear that from him. We were kids, what did we know? I don't hold any grudges against any of them now. Still... It was cool.

Release our women, you KISS-impersonating midget freaks!

This is just a sampler of the conversation in my household. I was remembering and recounting an evening at Brutopia when I was surprised to see that the band on stage was four midgets from New York dressed as the members of KISS.

I could've sworn I blogged about it, but I couldn't raise it on the Google search. Weird.

Anyways, I was just whining about how storytellers just don't get the same kinds of groupies that rock stars get. I was recounting the time when I walked into Brutopia one random night and noticed that the back room was curtained off. Just as I asked the doorman who was playing that night, the mini-KISS singers strode to the stage surrounded by their groupies.

The groupies weren't short women. They were regular girls who were attracted to these very short KISS performers. So you don't have to be tall, dark, handsome, and play guitar to get the groupies. Maybe the guitar is all you need.

Then again, I wouldn't mind hanging with this rock band. They've got to have some interesting stories to tell. But I guess the strongest attractive factor is being confident in what you do, believing in what you do.

If you're 4 feet tall and putting on a KISS concert, confidence had better not be the thing you're lacking. It's a good lesson to learn.

Blog Ideas

Ms. Carotte and I made our way to the town of Russel yesterday to plunder it for its unearthed treasures (translation: we went to get the rest of Ms. Carotte's stuff out of storage). Thanks to Aengus for the use of the USS Galileo (translation: his white minivan).

I distinctly remember saying to Ms. Carotte that I needed to blog about something, but for the life of me, I can't remember what it was.

I do this all the time. "I'll be blogging about that!" I'll exclaim, but when I finally sit in front of the computer, I usually can't remember the tidbit of human nature I wanted to capture and immortalize in blogform.

Apparently, my friends describe my way of being in two ways: 1) He's forgetful and 2) He's always a bit late. I'm trying to fix #2, but it keeps slipping my mind.

Vaudou Cancan balais taboo

So I finally saw Les Triplettes de Belleville. This was the first time I ever bought a DVD without actually seeing the movie first. I just knew that I would like this film and ye gods... I wasn't disappointed.

I am so glad that the Oscars noticed this film, although I'm still bitter that Finding Nemo actually won the Oscar for Best Animated film. Every aspect of Triplettes was infinitely more daring, blatantly traditional, and yet still used cutting-edge modern animation refined compared to Nemo (a now run-of-the-mill 3D cartoon). I'll admit, I may be biased because I know the making of this film used a technology that I once documented.

Yeah yeah... I know the Oscars are rife with politics. It's still an honor to be nominated and I'm glad that a film that broke so many "rules" was recognized.

Mental Note #37

When picking up a hot curling iron, make sure you pick up the cooler end. In case you ever wondered how hot a curling iron really is, let me assure you that the pain in the hand that picked it up for about two seconds lasted for six hours. It's friggin' hot.

I tried to cover up the fact that I stupidly burnt my hand by picking up a hot curling iron from the wrong end by telling people I had picked up Ms. Carotte's bible by accident. "You call yourself a loving God?!?! Is this a sample of your mercy?!"

You had to be there: Happy belated Tarasmas everyone! As it is tradition after all, I got to play the drunken informant at the annual Tarasmas celebration again. Thanks... it was fun.

Most Amazing Line this Week

Yesterday, I overheard a statement that nearly made me drop my dumbbells.

"I'm a lesbian that likes men."

This town is just filled with people, stories, and bizarre statements like this one. You just have to keep your ears open.

Variety and the Planet Thongo

Ye Gods... I just blogged about Ming the Merciless. I knew it was just a matter of time.

Don't tell me you don't get an unpredictable amount of variety on this blog. As my mother would say "Franchment!"

I know I had something brewing about thongs, but I can't seem to get it out there. Basically all I have to say about Thongs and the People Who Wear Them is that I'm not sure how to feel about them. I know that thongs on men are just wrong, but what's with the visible thongs on women?

With the arrival of low-rider jeans, more of a woman's lower back is on display. Mind you, I'm certainly not complaining about that. If you're going to get a tattoo down there, do your best to show it off. Flaunt!

But when their thong underwear is clearly visible... Are they doing that on purpose? Is it supposed to be erotic?

Personally, I just find it embarrassing all around. I'm not particularly turned on by seeing a woman's thong, but I'm not sure if I should say anything about it (along the lines of "Your fly is open.").

For now, I'm leaning on the cautionary side and not saying anything, but my feelings are still mixed. Maybe I'm just not a Thong-Man. I can live with that.

Sky Captain and the Koopa

Last weekend was the last game at Domaine du Createur and it was great fun. Maybe because it was Thanksgiving weekend or mid-term season, but attendance was a bit low (the Francos were missed).

However, you can't go wrong when the final battle involves a giant green dragon, although I couldn't help thinking of the Koopa from the Mario Bros game. Hence, here's the spoof shot:



The good news is that Valentino made it through to the end with a couple of lives to spare. I'm toying with the idea of shelving this character for awhile and coming up with something new that I can really role-play and not care if he gets killed off quickly. I think a Town Drunk would be fun.

As usual, after weekends like this, I'm completely exhausted. I spent most of Monday asleep, and consequently, I couldn't return the rental car on time. So since I had wheels last night, I roped Elim into seeing Sky Captain last night in Kirkland. Sure, we could've gone to see the movie in town, but since I had the wheels, so I wanted to see a movie in a cinema that was far away with decent parking. Sue me, I live to drive.

Sky Captain was fantastic and beautiful filmed. It is written and filmed in a style that was prevalent in the 1930s (a la Flash Gordon and Ming the Merciless), but brought to life with modern blue-screen and CGI technology. This is a Pulp Serial brought to the blue/silver screen. As long as you understand this, you'll enjoy it. It's getting so-so reviews, but I think the people aren't appreciating it in the right frame of reference.

With everything going on, we haven't had time for Thanksgiving turkeys, but the plan is to have our turkey offering next week.

And Ms. Carotte is coming back today. Yay!

Good Cause

Note: Sympatico seems to be down, so my layout is a bit messed up. Please excuse the mess.

This just appeared on one of the elists I moderate, so I thought I'd pass it along. Sorry for the long silence, but life has been a bit hectic. Busy, but oh so good. I'm brewing a post on the concept of Thongs, so stay tuned.

Here's the good cause. I should be dropping off my donation today:

~~~~~Please pass this on and help find a cure~~~~~

Breast Cancer Foundation - Shave to Save

The Editor of Caffimage.com will have his head shaved for the Quebec
Breast Cancer Foundation.

More info please follow the link:

http://www.caffimage.com/forum/viewforum.php?f=39

~~~~~Please pass this on and help find a cure~~~~~

Alana:
Moderator&Owner
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/caffimage2/
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/StrikeAPoseSHOWDOWN/
http://www.caffimage.com/
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