cgm13.net :: the boy wonder: June 2004

Shit. It just happened again. About 11:40 a.m. my left arm went numb and then it spread quickly to my right arm as well. The numbness keet coming in waves. I immediately went to my doctor's office. After two hours of my body totally freaking out the symptoms are mostly gone. The doc says that he's now convinced it's not my heart. He thinks something neurological might be going on. Maybe a panic attack. Maybe. He has no idea.

What I wanna know is ... when do we get to see the rest of this picture.

I'm depressed. Nobody in town got any copies of "Wonder Woman: The Complete First Season." Wal-Mart has a space on the shelf ... with the name ... with the price ... and not one single set sitting there. They claim it didn't come in the shipment. There is no time to travel to A-ville tonight to grab a copy at Best Buy. I am so depressed. I am so, so, so depressed.

I really, really hate being called "ma'am" when on the phone with sales people. I don't think my voice is that effeminate. Ah, who the hell knows. Maybe it is.

hey, baby come 'round
keep holding me down
and I'll be keeping you up tonight
a 4-letter word got stuck in my head
the dirtiest word that I've ever said
it's making me feel alright

for what it's worth - I love you!
and what is worse - I really do
for what it's worth - I'm gonna run run run
'til the sweetness gets to you
and what is worse - I love you!

hey, please baby come back
there'll be no more lovin' attacks
and I'll be keeping it cool tonight
the 4-letter word is out of my head
come on around, get back in my bed
keep making me feel alright

for what it's worth - I like you
and what is worse - I really do!
things have been worse
and we had fun fun fun
'til I said: "I love you"
and what is worse - I really do

for what it's worth - I love you!
and what is worse - I really do...
The Cardigans - For What It's Worth

It ended up being a video filled weekend. Whee! I rented three films and really liked one out of the three. Grrrr. I gotta start getting better odds.

"Monster" (2003)
Yeah. Charlize Theron is good in the movie and (deservedly) got the Oscar. But, past that, this movie did absolutely nothing for me. Maybe my expectations were in a different place. I really wasn't prepared for a love story and that's what "Monster" is. A love story ... not a serial killer story. It does get some points for having the fine looking Lee Tergesen in it.

"Bubba Ho-tep" (2002)
Bruce Campell ... great! Ossie Davis ... great! Probably the most original movie story line I have seen in quite a while and worth checking out if your a Bruce Campbell fan. Past that, this one didn't quite click with me either. Though I liked it way better than "Monster."

"Elephant" (2003)
Now this was the movie I really liked for a lot of reasons. The languid pacing of the movie (even when violence erupts). The "no real explanation" approach to the killers. The cool visual style. The very abrupt ending that jerks away the movie safety net of the ending coming complete with a bow. Gus Van Sant proves that he can still make a good movie.

I leave you for the weekend with some info on the upcoming Warner Bros. "Alfred Hitchcock Signature Collection" DVD Box Set which will hit the street September 7. The set will contain the existing release of "North by Northwest" joined by eight new titles to DVD: "Dial M for Murder," "Foreign Correspondent," "I Confess," "Mr. & Mrs. Smith," "Stage Fright," "Strangers On A Train" (2 Disc Special Edition), "Suspicion" and "Wrong Man." This makes me so wet in the pants. The set is gonna contain some of the truly great films from Hitch. Plus, it looks like Warner is putting the discs in standard jewel cases as opposed to their crappy snap cases. Sweet!

Foodables:
Seems like people that live in big cities tend to have emptier fridges. Is that because there's lots of stuff in the freezer to fix quickly after a long day at work? Is it because there are more restaurants to eat out at? Bubbly does seem to be a mandatory fridge item. Mine is from my house warming party quite a while back. I really need to break into it someday. Yeah. Vanilla Pepsi is a major weakness ... especially now that they don't sell it around here anymore. Bastards. You always want what you can't have ... right? I picked that pack up while in Seattle and (yes, Mom) I have been hoarding my small stash. You must send me MORE! Your son demands it!!!

Weekend:
The big news in this neck of the wood is that Michael Moore's "Fahrenheit 9/11" opens over in A-ville today. I'll have to see if I have time to get over and catch it 'cause I loves me some Bush Bashing. Will have to see if I can find a copy of "Bubba Ho-Tep" to keep me amused tonight. Dr. Phibes says it was pretty interesting.

Things are still going good. I just wish my left arm would stop hurting.

In my opinion, a full fridge is a happy fridge (though there's not enough beer right now).

Bored (but feeling better). Horny. No Plans for the Weekend. What's New?

I would so watch "Survivor" all the time if Jeff Probst would host the show in his undies (or better yet ... a jockstrap). Mmmm. Jeff Probst in a jockstrap ...
[via the "Must List" issue of Entertainment Weekly]

On October 5, Universal Home Video will release three more sets in its "Monster Legacy Collections." There will be a "CREATURE FROM THE BLACK LAGOON" set that will also include its sequels "REVENGE OF THE CREATURE" and "THE CREATURE WALKS AMONG US." "THE MUMMY" set will include the 1931 Boris Karloff classic, as well as "THE MUMMY'S HAND," "THE MUMMY'S TOMB," "THE MUMMY'S GHOST" and "THE MUMMY'S CURSE." "THE INVISIBLE MAN" will include the original film starring Claude Rains, as well as "THE INVISIBLE MAN RETURNS" (with Vincent Price), "THE INVISIBLE MAN'S REVENGE," "THE INVISIBLE AGENT" and "THE INVISIBLE WOMAN." Each set will contain extras. More details to follow!
[via DVD Drive-In]

How excited am I that "Wonder Woman: The Complete First Season" hits stores next week? Very! I feel ultra-gay just thinking about it. Whee!!!

I heart zombies. And for all you members of the zombie army out there, Anchor Bay has finally put up a mini-site containing more info about the super-huge "Dawn of the Dead" DVD set that will hit stores September 7. Unfortunately, no word yet on how much green it is gonna set us back.

Thanks for the "get well" messages. Things are feeling better today. My cousin (who is a nurse) has become convinced that's it's my gall bladder acting up. For some strange reason, gall bladder trouble will mimic "cardiac scenarios" in certain people. So, I have been trying to eat "low fat" for the last couple of days to see if that helps things out. I can tell you already that "low fat" sucks. I went this morning and got poked (and not in a good way) to have my cholesterol checked. The doc still wants to rule out the possibility of any fun heart problems. One good thing about this whole experience is that I am getting over my needle phobia.

Well, I think I have figured out what's causing my chest pain ... stupid, goddamn, fucking Windows. Bill Gates truly is the Antichrist ... er, wait ... that title belongs to Dubya.

While I beat my works-like-a-charm PC to pieces, distract yourself here. Mmmmm, cock.

Friday started out like any other day. Alarm Clock. Breakfast. Shower. Coffee. Get to Work. After being at work about an hour my left arm started to tingle. Then is started to go numb with this dull aching pain that would intensify and then disappear. By mid-day my chest was starting to feel some pressure, so I made an appointment with my doctor. Well, I never made it to that appointment. About 1:15 my chest tightened drastically, my heart rate went through the roof and I almost passed out. Yeah. I didn't play around and called the paramedics. A quick ride to the hospital and I'm on a gurney in the corridor of the emergency room at the hospital. Yeah. I got to be the obligatory "hall patient." They E.K.G. me. They put me on a heart monitor. They keep tabs on my oxygen. They take chest x-rays. They pull four vials of blood from my body to test. (See above photo for just how much stuff was attached to me.) They found nothing out of the ordinary ... nothing that would signal a "cardiac event" anyway. The E.R. Doc sends me home attributing the episode to stress.

So, I went and saw my regular doc yesterday and he's stumped. Says that it could be several things: angina, gastroesophageal reflux (though that doesn't explain my left arm going numb), Gall Bladder or stress. Because I'm still have that chest tightness going on. Sometimes it's worse than others. Sometimes it's gone completely. So, he's gonna start ruling each of those out which means more medical tests and such for yours truly. I go in first thing tomorrow to have my cholesterol checked.

This isn't some plea for sympathy. I am just trying to keep you, my faithful readers, informed. What I really need is Josh Davis here to hold my hand and keep me calm.

So, I wonder what it would take to get Josh Davis to North Carolina to go on a date with me? Damn. Where's that witch doctor? Yeah. I'm a little Shadow obsessed today.

Wow!!! This country can't fail with a zombie in office. He'll pair up well with the Antichrist.
[via The Rezidence]

Hi. Hope ya'll had a good weekend. Mine was weird. Friday was probably the ... well, I may talk about it later. The rest of the weekend was spent resting up and doing as little as possible.

I did get my copy of DJ Shadow's "In Tune and One Time" DVD/CD set in the mail on Friday. It's sweet. Highly recommended for those who like Shadow's music (and for those who just plain lust after him). I am a member of both groups. Whee!

And now a (not quite work friendly) word from our sponsor ... [5.6 MB]

Just what I needed ... more porn! Have I ever mentioned that BJ is the greatest man on the planet?

Prepare your bladder for immanent release! A New, Not-So-Exciting Video Post! Tomorrow!

John (not his real name, of course) is a guy that's done a few shows down at the local theater. He's cute. He's young. He was always on about the ladies, but something always seemed a little "off." I ran into him over in Asheville last night after having not seen him for about a year. We chatted for a few minutes ... catching up on what each other has been into. John turns around and pulls another fella over and introduces him as "the boyfriend." The Boyfriend is equally young and cute. We talked for a bit about various theater oriented projects and other things. They both looked very happy together. It made me happy. Happy because they have each other. It made sad. Sad because I was at yet another event by myself.

Yeah. Another "look" for the site already. What facilitated this one you may ask? Hostility. Plain and simple. I feel very hostile right now. And if this site is anything (besides a showcase for my sketchy writing skills), it can at least visually state some things. Multiple meanings exist for this one. They are all pretentious.

I am the victim lying dead in a pool of blood. I am the killer standing over the body. Blood is dripping from the blade of my knife. There's blood smeared all over the walls. I am the observer. I want to know the reasons.
Skinny Puppy - Killing Game [3.5 MB]

The evil monkey is smart. He knows what's going on. He knows the answer.

A Wednesday List from the Anit-Social One:
1) Aimee Mann Concert: "Kicked so much ass!"
2) Aimee Mann (In General): "I think I'm in love."
3) New Beastie Boys Album: "Still Evaluating"
4) The Simpsons Complete Fourth Season DVD: "Best. Season. Ever."
5) Another Video Post: "I'm working on it."
6) Currently Need: "A beer or gin or vodka or something ..."

Finally! The details on the four disc dvd release of Romero's "Dawn of the Dead" are out. There's gonna be so much zombie goodness ...

DISC ONE: U.S. THEATRICAL VERSION
(same contents as March’s single-disc release)
• Widescreen presentation (1.85:1) enhanced for 16x9 TVs
• Audio commentary by writer/director George A. Romero, makeup FX creator Tom Savini and assistant director Chris Romero, moderated by Perry Martin
• Theatrical trailers
• TV spots
• Radio spots
• Poster & advertising gallery
• George A. Romero biography
• Comic book preview
• 5.1 DTS Surround sound
• 5.1 Dolby Surround sound
• 2.0 Dolby Surround
• Original mono track

DISC TWO: EXTENDED VERSION
• Widescreen presentation (1.85:1) enhanced for 16x9 TVs
• Audio commentary by producer Richard P. Rubinstein, moderated by Perry Martin
• Monroeville Mall commercial
• Behind-the-scenes photo gallery
• Memorabilia gallery
• Production stills
• Original mono track

DISC THREE: EUROPEAN VERSION
• Widescreen presentation (1.85:1) enhanced for 16x9 TVs
• Audio commentary by actors David Emge, Ken Foree, Scott H. Reiniger and Gaylen Ross
• International theatrical trailers
• UK TV spots
• International lobby card gallery
• International poster & advertising gallery
• International pressbook gallery
• U.S. & international home video & soundtrack artwork
• Dario Argento biography
• 5.1 Dolby Surround sound
• 2.0 Dolby Surround
• Original mono track

DISC FOUR: DOCUMENTARIES
• DOCUMENT OF THE DEAD, The original documentary filmed during the making of DAWN by Filmmaker Roy Frumkes
• THE DEAD WILL WALK, an all-new 75-minute documentary featuring interviews with cast and crew members Claudio Argento, Dario Argento, Pat Buba, Tony Buba, Zilla Clinton, David Crawford, David Early, David Emge, Ken Foree, Michael Gornick, John Harrison, Clayton Hill, Sharon Ceccatti-Hill, Jim Krut, Leonard Lies, Scott H. Reiniger, Chris Romero, George A. Romero, Gaylen Ross, Tom Savini and Claudio Simonetti
• On-set home movies with audio commentary by zombie extra Robert Langer
• Monroeville Mall tour with Romero

1) "Sleepaway Camp" 1983
Probably the funnest slasher flick ... ever! Silly (but twisty) story, laughably great acting, nice kills and and off the hook, totally fucked up ending! And that's a good thing.

2) "Lifeforce" 1985
Interesting (though not very scary) Tobe Hooper film written by Dan O'Bannon (of "Alien" fame). There a lot of stuff going on. Kinda like a sci-fi-zombie-vampire hybrid. Gets bonus points for Mathilda May being topless for most of the film.

3) "Naked Lunch" 1991
It's David Cronenberg. I heart David Cronenberg. 'Nuff said!

4) "Book of Shadows: Blair Witch 2" 2000
Hmmmm. Totally pointless sequel to one of the best horror films of recent memory. It kept me interested until the end, but then it was like "so, what's the point of this whole thing?" Not good but it could have been worse. Could have been "Cabin Fever" bad.

5) "Carrie" 2002
Pretty pointless television remake. It was fun to see some of the stuff from the book that didn't make the DePalma version ... but past that ... not worth watching. Patricia Claskson's bland portrayal of Margaret White really helps kill this one. That and the off the hook, totally fucked up ending. Which in the case is not a good thing.

[via my friend Michael]

So, what are my big plans for the weekend you might ask? Five horror films. Plain and simple. Some will be good. Some will be bad. I know and accept this fact ahead of time. Five horror films. That and maybe the new Harry Potter movie. And some beer. And pizza.

1) "Sleepaway Camp" 1983
2) "Lifeforce" 1985
3) "Naked Lunch" 1991
4) "Book of Shadows: Blair Witch 2" 2000
5) "Carrie" 2002

The undeserved deification of Reagan is almost done. Finally. After one week of watching the progress of his corpse around the country. After one week of hearing nothing but glowing praise for the man who did his share (and then some) of very bad things while President. Now maybe the news can start focusing on more important issues ...

It really sucks to have a kick-ass new compact disc (in this case Skinny Puppy's "The Greater Wrong of the Right") ... you want to listen to at it work ... you whip out the case ... only to discover that you have left the cd in the player back at the house. Grrr.

The Greater Wrong of the Right.

empire sews the seed of hate we remove ourselves passing flames inspires ugly traits sanitize creepy ills to keep the fear in line is it wrong to let the liar lie creepy ills to keep the fears in line more acquired is disease the souls state I am a god I am a faceless warrior lost leaders wins the glorious growing stocks of used up people life is twisting all the words to shun life worth less than corporate rape empire takes control of fate I am dying I am dying is wrong to call a spade a spade popping pills will ease the daily pain bombing peace back up into the stoned state I am not living here I have got much left to fear in the place of safety I am fortunate to be alive with all these distant rich things around me I am left to realize its not the blood in me it's not the hate it's just the simple things that I relish I am a god I am a face less warrior we remove ourselves from the war looking from a distance sanitized wash your hands and feel it the dirt is down the drain. enough
Skinny Puppy - DaddyuWarbash

Call me a dork 'cause I still think it would be really cool to own a G4 Cube.

Have I mentioned how much I hate PC's and the Windows OS? I hate them so much.

Someone like me should never go out on a date. All those evil little "issues" compound themselves drastically when you have self-esteem problems.

During:
"Am I dress up enough? Am I over dressed? Is my nervousness showing? Yes it is because I'm rambling on about myself too much and not letting him talk enough. What the hell am I doing here?!!? This fella is way too good looking to ever be interested in me. Shit. I had all these questions that I wanted to ask him that immediately went outta my brain as soon as we said hello. Damn, damn, damn. I hope I don't sound like an opinionated jerk."

After:
"Wow. I had a nice time with this guy. I hope I made a good impression. Now, how long to I wait until I call/e-mail to tell him what a nice time I had. Don't want to seem desperate by doing it too soon! Oh, no. What if he didn't have a good time?!?!?"

Yeah. You guessed it. I had a date last night.

I'm still trying to figure out what great things Reagan did that should grant him such status among our past Presidents.

Since I've been having a major hard-on for Juliette Lewis for the past few days ...
Juliette Lewis (From the "Strange Days" Soundtrack) - Hardly Wait [3.5 MB]

Whee! Photos of my trip to the Greater Seattle Area are now up. I have not had time to caption them yet, so you'll just have to deal with looking at them with no commentary for now. As you will be able to tell, I like taking pictures of mundane things and clouds. I likes clouds. The cast of characters include Lynnette (my traveling companion), Judy (super hostess), Erik (her son) and Amie (his wife). You may notice two sets of margarita photos. Yeah. We drank a lot of margaritas. Enjoy!

Yeah. I can say that I super excited that Juliette Lewis is cutting an album. Ever since I saw "Strange Days" way back in 1995, I have thought she could be a rock goddess ... and a far better one than Courtney Love. Don't believe me? Check the movie out and watch as Juliette burns through "Hardly Wait" and "Rid of Me."

Oh, my goodness ... this makes me very excited!!!

Since I'm gonna be all day getting back to the wilds of North Carolina ... here's a list to keep you busy.

10 Bands You've Seen Live:
1. Sting
2. Natalie Merchant
3. Laurie Anderson
4. Aimee Mann
5. Concrete Blonde
6. The B-52's
7. X
8. The Twinemen
9. Laurie Anderson
10. Aimee Mann

9 Things You're Looking Forward To:
1. My next beer
2. Having NO paneling in my house
3. Seeing "An Evening with Siouxsie"
4. "Haute Tension"
5. The next "Complete Peanuts" collection
6. Some pizza
7. Watching more vintage porn
8. Being kissed
9. Sleep

8 Things You Wear Daily:
1. Glasses
2. Boxers
3. Watch
4. Ring
5. Belt
6. Earrings
7. Shoes
8. Shirt

7 Things That Annoy You:
1. People who are late
2. Cellular Phones
3. Bad Drivers
4. Republicans
5. Organized Religion
6. Using "God" as justification for your actions
7. Gay Republicans

6 Things You Touch Every Day:
1. My Cock
2. Powerbook
3. Soap
4. Bread
5. Door Knob
6. Coffee Cup

5 Things You Do Every Day:
1. Sleep
2. Eat
3. Masturbate
4. Work
5. Masturbate

4 Of Your Favorite Bands or Musicians:
1. The Cure
2. Skinny Puppy
3. John Coltrane
4. Aimee Mann

3 Movies You Could Watch Over and Over:
1. "Short Cuts"
2. "Vertigo"
3. "All About Eve"

2 Of Your Favorite Songs At This Moment:
1. "A Drunken Punch-Up at a Wedding" Radiohead
2. "I Like You" Morrissey

1 Person You Could Spend The Rest of Your Life With:
1. Like that's ever gonna happen ...

[via a Couple of Places]

Eeep! I stand corrected. It's the White "Sox" not "Socks" ... which (by the way) the Mariners won the series this evening. Rawk!

My thoughts on the Director's Cut of "Donnie Darko" will appear when I get back.

It may have been asshole-ish of me to take a picture of the panhandler as we were leaving the game. But, he wasn't exactly asking for money for food was he.

Whee! The Mariners actually won. I think it must have been because I was there at Safeco Field and they wanted to make sure I had a good time. You know, I had forgotten how much fun baseball is when you see it live.

Last night was sweet. Cool mountain air, grilled burgers, beer and that wonderful view of The Cascades. Today we go see the Mariners getting their ass kicked by the White Socks. Should be fun. Afterwards we have salmon. Mmmm, salmon.

We went today to see the killer whales. The boat blew an engine. We didn't get to see the killer whales. What a bummer. There was no killer whale mayhem.

Having margaritas with Mom at Ixtapa!

The view from Mom's deck.

Inside the Pike Place Public Market.

Well, I made the push through and am now on Pacific time. Yesterday was rough as I was up at 3:45 a.m. to make to the plane and was up here until about 9:30 p.m. I think that totals about 21 hours straight. Got to see Downtown Seattle, the Public Market, the Locks and glorious downtown Sultan. We are off in mere moments to see the whales. Some photos will appear later today ...

Howdy from the Pacific Northwest! Plane trips went fine and I am still alive. Yes! Gonna go drink a beer and look at the Cascades. More info and pictures later ...

Yeah. I am outta here "bright and squirrelly" tomorrow morning to go visit my friend Judy in the greater Seattle area. Should be fun as I have never been that far west before. I will be close to a machine while there, so you can expect sporadic updates with tales and photos of whale watching and (most important!) Mariner's asses in tight uniforms. Rock!

HOME STATUS REPORT
* * *
Room One: Destruction - Complete
Room One: Rewiring - Pending
Room One: Insulation - Pending
Room One: Drywall - Pending
Room One: Paint - Pending
Room One: Molding - Pending
* * *
Room Two: Destruction Pending ...

Apparently, the Director's Cut of "Donnie Darko" is only playing in the greater Seattle area right now ... which is where I am going to be this weekend! I'll have to see if there is time and such to squeeze in seeing the movie. That would be sweet.

I'm not too sure about the new Director's Verison of "Donnie Darko." It doesn't seem like the movie can really gain much by addded scenes and music. Will the director be trying to make the story more straight forward? I hope not. That's part of the fun of the movie. A least the new poster art is pretty sweet though. [Please Note: I have bitched about other films before and been proven way wrong.]

The fun of bigmusclebears.com (and the internet in general) is that you just never know what you're gonna see. I never expected to see an acquaintance's cock and a photo of himself bound, gagged and tied to a dungeon post. I had always suspected and now I know. Crazy!

Hmmmm. Ya'll are probably getting tired of "home improvement" at this point. Too bad. That's what's pretty much consuming all my time right now. It's been decided that while everything is down there needs to be new wiring put in as well. It will be good in the long run 'cause I can add some more outlets to the rooms. So, that's gonna add a couple of more days to the project. Mess!!! My house is a mess and I can't stands it. "Cry Me a River," anyone?

In other news:
Yet another trip hits this weekend. Damn. I have become the traveling fool as of late. This time it's off to the Pacific Northwest to visit "Mom." Should be a fun trip even though I have to spend a lot of time in a plane to get there. Grrrr. I do know that on Saturday we have tickets to watch the Seattle Mariners play. Hopefully we have seats close enough to ogle the ball player's asses. Otherwise you better make sure we have some binoculars, Mom. Beer and asses in tight uniforms ... a winning combination. Whoo!

In other, other news:
I might be all trendy and start a photoblog as well as maintaining this little slice of internet angst. I love the new digital camera and have been taking pictures like a mad man. But I don't want to overload this site with too much "stuff." We'll see if I actually get off my ass and do it.