Coalescent

"Gonout.

Backsun."

Ah, the wonders of an Oxford education.

Hope your trip is/was (depending on when you're reading this) memorable in a good way.

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gagravarr.livejournal.com

how about "going to be"?

I bet he'll read this at the airport before getting on the plane...

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Well, it'd probably work better if 'oomlats' were incorporated...

Incidentally, I'll be sure to make him see what a cock-up his LJ has become by the hands of his 'friends.' :-) Well, assuming my cable access or monitor doesn't go haywire.

:-)

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We have not yet begun to destroy Niall. We've got ages before he gets back. We might yet break Live Journal. DO feel free to join in.

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What are you implying?

It's not like he's addicted to--oh. Good point.

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Wait! Don't! What's the fun if he can see what's happening? Let him enjoy his holiday and then come back to see the lovely surprise we have for him. Plus, you can join in if you want. :)

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Ah, the wonders of an Oxford education.

What? My literary illusions not highbrow enough for you? Snob. ;-)

And yes, I'm watching you all. 170 messages? You're all going to hell when you die.

This message brough to you courtesy of

applez.

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Applez dies tonight. We wanted to make 1000 before you got back.

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aw, crap.
we should have gotten applez in on it.
dizzamn!
there goes that 'pleasant' surprise for niall when he gets back.

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We did try but we were betrayed. *sob*

There are other ways to inflict a pleasant surprise other than via LJ... *cackle*

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re: "dies tonight" - hmm, well, as I'm living and breathing 24+ hours on, would the fact that I changed every clock but my alarm punishment enough? :-) (yes, smiling, I'm up, energised, ready to take on the world - *before* it has even awakened!) Malenfant can fill you in on my masochistic exercise regime (now made more harsh by the early waking).

re: "pleasant surprise"

Well, I must confess I told Niall 'tout suite' that things were afoot in his LJ realm. That'd just be *too* nasty a surprise. :-)

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Events that have transpired (in lieu of Mr. Malenfant himself - he hasn't web access @ his hotel):

- Niall successfully made the rendezvous besides being surrounded and effectively stopped by the 64,000 anti-war marchers.

- Checked out the SFMOMA, wherein they have a particularly new exhibit with a primitive 'AI' program ... should be accessible either by www.sfmoma.org OR www.agentruby.org (or .com) ... be sure to ask Ruby the 'robotic laws.' Very cute answers.

- Found caffeine!

- Found suitable costume for Niall for Halloween night on the Castro ... good thing it's a face mask, it might actually keep his bulging eyes in.

- Took the BART down to the Mission - introduced Niall to a very good creperie ... he can give you his vote/food column.

- Still in quest of suitable checkered shirt for my costume, we made the grevious error of walking down Valencia ... a horror because of the MANY *MANY* *MANY!* bookstores en route, including a specialised Sci-Fi/Fantasy/Horror store that I had been good to stay away from up until then. Niall was amazed at the numbers of imported British edition books he could find, and I found the US edition (paperback) of "Michael Marshall's" 'Straw Men' ... I'll see if it still has MMS's signature weird-shyte (TM). He found a complete edition of 'CyberTeen' (or was it CyberTeens? I dunno, he can tell you himself).

- Found the shirt I was questing for

- Hiked a somewhat nasty hill to get to Appleton Estates (sorry, no rum)

- And now the history is complete

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Well it's good that he's having a fun time.

'bulging eyes'?

Please remind him we saw Angel before him. And then laugh.

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Let's just say that San Francisco's Castro has a certain notoriety, especially for Halloween, that puts London's Soho and parts of Amsterdam to shame.

(okay, for Amsterdam I may be stretching it a bit)

It must be said that, as a general principle, gays will put considerable more effort into their costumes than straight folks. And ultimately, that is what makes the Castro *the* Halloween location, gay or straight.

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You crazy Americans and your love of Halloween.

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Well, I suspect Halloween's popularity is that it fits into that comfortable niche of hyper-commercialised Christmas and Easter (buy! buy! buy!), and the uber-familial Thanksgiving. Basically a good excuse to go out with friends and not spend much money.

On the other hand, Halloween is one of the few occassions in this country where one can wear fanciful costumes and not be arrested, exiled, or shot ... well, so long as you speak English (thinking on Japanese student shot in Texas for trespassing...trick or treat indeed).

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In any event, San Francisco has something of a continuous series of celebrations; off the top of my head I can think of:

Halloween (Castro)
Exotic Erotic
Folsom Street Fair (umm, more kink)
Columbus Day March (North Beach/Little Italy)
Bay to Breakers (race)
KFOG Kaboom (fireworks)
Fleet Week (Navy)
Carneval (Mission)

I think there's also a Gay Pride Day march, Dia de los Muertos (Day of the Dead; mostly celebrated in Mexican communities), Cinco de Mayo (5th of May; again a Mexican celebration in the main - but has gained wider currency).

Besides the nationally celebrated days of Christmas, New Year's, Thanksgiving, Easter, Labour Day (yeah, a 'national' holiday, we won't talk about the ComIntern *grin*);

or the regionally-popular events like Earth Day.

Over and above the occassional events, like protests, book fairs, urban murals, and the like.

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Yikes, and how can I forget:

the Nihonmachi Street Fair (Japantown)

or

the Cherry Blossom festival (Japantown)

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Incidentally, there are plenty of Chinese celebrations too, but with the exception of Chinese New Year they've largely kept to themselves, making it even less of a city-wide celebration.

... and since that is a Lunar New Year, frankly a great deal other groups celebrate it their own way uniquely - be it the Cambodians, Burmese, Vietnamese, or neo-pagan Druids.

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Umm...that should read 'between' Christmas/Easter and Thanksgiving ... whoops.

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Partay town indeed.

Fleet Week (Navy)

Uh? A celebration of the Navy?

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he hasn't web access @ his hotel

Ah, but I do at the local library! :-)

Yesterday, mostly shopping. Remind me to explain what an outlet mall is sometime.

Today, going to the beach and to see pumpkin fields and, later, to a Rodeo. No, really. Which means I'll miss the second season premiere of 24. Zac, if you feel the urge to tape it, feel free...

And I've figured out what Angel is now. But you'll have to wait until I get back for that one. :-P

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despotliz.livejournal.com

Remind me to explain what an outlet mall is sometime.

Some of us do know. WE even have them over here now.

And I've figured out what Angel is now.

Well, duh. it's a TV show.

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> Uh? A celebration of the Navy?

Yes, it generally seems to be the case. Theoretically it is a celebration of the longer and wider maritime history/tradition of the city, but it is mainly a US Navy hardware & skill display. Follow my name to see my own postings on this event.

The event was begun by then-Mayor Diane Feinstein (now Senator) in the early 1980s to boost urban commerce and generally celebrate the Navy's presence in the city (which was particularly marked by the Second World War ... the Bay Area was effectively a massive shipyard producing, assembling, and sending out literally millions of tonnes of ship & cargo). That military presence remained throughout the Cold War with nuclear submarines moored and built on Mare Island, just a dozen miles or so from my house (don't ask about the pollution legacy, just don't). The end of the Cold War saw massive cuts, up to and including the transfer of the Presidio to the National Parks Service (the original military presence in the area, going back to Spanish rule). The current Mayor has been seen as particularly militant against the military, which only has aging veterans groups and tourist-magnet mothballs remaining really. The nuclear submarines keep to the Juan De Fuca straits in Washington, the surface fleet's mainland port of choice is San Diego. Still the tradition stays with San Francisco, hence the strong Fleet Week.

I suppose to put it into context, San Francisco is a bit like Southampton ... it is a natural harbour, the best for nearly a thousand miles of coast in either direction, so retains strategic importance. Naturally there'd be loads of ships, and with them military sailors.

Okay, that was a short story made long. (but all part of the scheme to crash Niall's LJ ... hehehehe)

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1) Rodeo - what? Didn't you get enough of that in Calgary?! :-)

2) "No, really. Which means I'll miss the second season premiere of 24. Zac, if you feel the urge to tape it, feel"

Well, I very cleverly avoided this trap by knowingly foresaking primitive obsolete VCR technology in favour of my all-region + CD + MP3 DVD player. Ha ha!

Incidentally, when '24' finally runs its initial course and fufills the first day, what do you think the subsequent series should be named?

'24+'

'48'

'24-7' (arrogantly assuming a full week's worth of seasons)

3) Angel - I thought they ended the show a while ago. Ah well, I can't be bothered - wasn't all that big a Buffy fan even either.

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Incidentally, speaking of San Francisco's maritime history ... the fact of the matter is that the Spanish founded their mission of Yerba Buena in what would become San Francisco fairly late. Seems they sailed past very frequently, never finding the Bay entrance due to all the fog. Only overland parties 'discovered' that there was a peninsula and Bay, not a continuous coastline.

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Wow. Sounds like a major hassle and annoyance for everyone. I don't think the UK has a similar celebration of military might. There is the odd air show, I guess.

Of course, this isn't the first thing about America to strike me as odd. ;)

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Here's a very American and very San Francisco story:

So, the Italian community in SF used to take Columbus Day WAY too seriously. They generally held a celebration, back in the 60s & 70s that had a dressed-up 'Colombus' 'discover' the New World by coming ashore in SF. Okay, historical inaccuracies aside, they then held this ceremony wherein local 'natives' would greet and welcome the intrepid explorer. Usually these were other Italians in blackface, feathers, and leathers.

Well, after several decades of this farce, the activist tribal community sued and successfully got authentic natives in for the role. The lead activist, on the first post-suit celebration, then ripped off the wig of the 'Colombus' at the greeting ceremony.

It suffices to say that the Italian community jettisoned the new natives, and returned to a ceremony which has (and had to) expire(d).

OK, entirely random, but what the hey.

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sparkymark.livejournal.com

Wait, wasn't that "Addams Family Values"?
(The blonde girl in that ended up on Buffy and, once, ANGEL)

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Oh? I don't know, I much more distracted/interested by Wednesday/Christina Ricci's career.

Still, I haven't heard of her doing any work since Sleepy Hollow ... then again I may just be disconnected.

:-)

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'Willow' does deserve credit for 'American Pie' tho. But we're just back to 'fluff' now. ;-p

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fluff indeed.

christina ricci has been busy making lots of independent films, not just starring in but producing aswell.
generally just nothing mainstream.

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...but very serious risk as well.

Check out my postings on my LJ. Those jets were buzzing my office for an entire day...flying between communications lasers and who knows what else. Plenty of military grade octane in a vehicle with poor performance at low speeds in an inherently dangerous flight path. I was just waiting for the statistics to produce a very unhappy outcome.

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Indie films, like 'Adrenalynn' perhaps? :-)

"A heroine grows up in post-Cold War Russia as an orphan turned into a half human-half cyborg, programmed to destroy the U.S."

Guess whose the cyborg. Actually, it'll be out in 2003, and may be worth checking out. :-)

Okay okay okay, maybe her role opposite Ewan Macgregor in 'Borgia' (2003) may be higher brow. ;-p

I don't think 'Anything Else' is going to be terribly good (2003, again); she'll be playing Woody Allen's lover, in a WA film. :-(

"Woody Allen's character is a struggling and insecure artist in New York. He is having an affair with Christina Ricci's character, a dense and self-centered young girl. Jason Biggs is Ricci's boyfriend, and when he finds out about the affair, he confronts Allen. Meanwhile, Allen must avoid Danny Devito who plays Christina Ricci's father, chasing after Allen with a loaded shot gun."

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Seriously though, was 'Prozac Nation' any good?

From: (Anonymous)

She has also had a rather major part in Ally Mcbeal.

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"A heroine grows up in post-Cold War Russia as an orphan turned into a half human-half cyborg, programmed to destroy the U.S."

oh my god, i knew nothing about that. sounds.. interesting. a little bit arnold schwarzenegger except with an actress shorter than me.
i just remembered her being at the sundance film festival, though annoyingly i can't remember for what film, and so i knew she was still busy. busy doing worthwhile stuff i thought, i could never have anticipated the cyborg...

i have a friend who adores christina ricci, but hates any kind of science fiction/futuristic films - this is going to hurt him.

and as mr/mrs anonymous points out, she was indeed in ally mcbeal. awful show.

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"he hasn't web access @ his hotel

Ah, but I do at the local library! :-)"

Eeeek! We cannot escape him! The net is not safe.

"Remind me to explain what an outlet mall is sometime."

Um, kinda know what that is.

"And I've figured out what Angel is now."

A nature documentary, right?

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oh my god, i knew nothing about that. sounds.. interesting

Sounds outstanding! :-)

Currently at the abode of

applez again, and demonstrating how to use LJ user tags. He admits his LJ skills are primitive. Mock him accordingly.

Anyway...we've been out at the Castro, which rocked the hizzay. I've never seen so many people in weird and wonderful costumes in one place at the same time. The OUSFG christmas party doesn't even come close. We had to slipstream behind a borg cube to get out of there. No, seriously.

Random american tale of the week: Was driving through town with my parents, and we stopped at a red light. In the car next door was a lady brushing her teeth. Not in the passenger seat, in the driver's seat.

Adjectives fail me.

Welcome to California!

Best bumper sticker so far: Regime change begins at home.

*sigh* Back home on saturday. It's all gone so fast...

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/me duly mocks

applez

glad you're having a good time, niall.
this is the best:
We had to slipstream behind a borg cube to get out of there. No, seriously.

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So, I probably should let Mr. Harrison speak for himself in this regard, but I can't resist:

So, we were running around downtown looking for a coat for his Skyscraper frame, and shoes for this 'Thorpedo' feet (hehehe, can't kick my ass at a distance Niall) when we saw a running advert for Star Wars: Attack of the Clones ... on IMAX!

"What can make Star Wars Attack of the Clones better? Star Wars Attack of the Clones on a F-OFF BIG SCREEN^!" :-)

Hey, you've never seen that film until you've seen a 40 ft Yoda. ;-)

^ Poetic license possibly taken on certain colourful adjectives

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My own observations though:

Two things popped up that became glaringly obvious -

1) The IMAX medium is SO large, that very few conventionally-filmed movies really can be shown on it, even the modified sort. I think that the character faces and flashes between scenes ... while they may work on a conventional screen, are almost TOO big for the eye to completely take in (and the brain to process) on the IMAX. It did get a bit better later, perhaps simply requiring the brain to adapt to the new scale. Rather like how I found the first 10 minutes of Trainspotting completely incomprehensible until the language logic filters kicked in.

2) While the huge landscape scenes and urban views were simply OUTSTANDING on IMAX, they also highlighted how much further we need to go with CGI. We've brought the pixelation problem down to a very masterful quality for conventionally sized screens, but for the gigantic slightly-curved screen of IMAX...the asteroids looked a bit fake with rough edges.

Frankly, I'm glad I noticed, since now I'll have a point of reference when the next big action film goes IMAX in a few years' time.

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perhaps simply requiring the brain to adapt to the new scale. Rather like how I found the first 10 minutes of Trainspotting completely incomprehensible until the language logic filters kicked in.

you know how i mocked you, up there? (as per niall's instructions)
that was done in a scottish brogue

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Yeah, Niall informed me of his Scottish-LJ connection, and I was tempted to say something a little harsh, but then I thought: 'that wouldn't really be fair since Trainspotting is a somewhat unique case; by comparison I found Shallow Grave perfectly comprehensible and thoroughly enjoyable.'

So, for your own brogue, are we talking semi-comprehensible Leeth, or the utterly Greek of Inverness, Dundee, and Mull/Jura. :-)

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http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/chronicle/archive/2002/11/02/BA36722.DTL

Apparently there were 300,000 people who piled into a rough 10-block area over the night's entirety, and apparently we had just left before some violence broke out.

30 arrested, 4 injured (from stabbings); apparently quite a bit of bottle-throwing when the alchohol purveyors were shut at 11.00

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We have outlet malls? Goddamn, i missed the memo on that one. Where are they?

Currently in the shiny new international terminal at san francisco airport - the early flight to the uk, the one I was meant to be on, was cancelled due to lack of cabin crew (how careless...). So now I'm due back in the uk around 1400 sunday...just in time to be dcced angel, right? ;-)

This rubberised keyboard is horrible. And this service costs a fortune, so i'll just say: attack of the 40 foot yoda? Damn cool, damn cool.

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Right, since I have this particular memory of Trainspotting, I went and found a used DVD and watched it again.

The scene I remember having the most initial confusion with was actually the park scene, with the binoculars and air gun.

With the exception of Begbie in the pub (going on about his pool prowess), I no longer have the comprehension difficulty (well, for film, which is generally clearer and slower than real life). I suppose there is something to be said for spending long long long hours in pubs in the UK. :-)

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Perhapsh you just have difficultiesh with Shen Connery accshentsh?

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(grin) Hardly, between his mass market appeal (hence a modicum of comprehensibility) and those dentures (which have in fact slowed his speech further, skipping right over the innate slur), he's probably one of the better understood Scotsman around. None of the cryptic constructs about Haggis like Robbie Burns. ;-p

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since Trainspotting is a somewhat unique case

it's not actually. the actors weren't even speaking in a particularly broad accent, east coast accents tend to be fairly easy.
believe me, there are folks that talk much broader than that (and sometimes even i am thrown).

but me? er... niall could tell you better than me as to whether i am incomprehensible!

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