#coffee does nothing for amazons btw she just likes the taste

[kara-zor-els]

I need to find a way to maximize Diana's greek-ness

[mysticdreamcafe]

Yay! Update,

I did second Ig infusion treatment 2 days ago and feel good. I'm not saying I'm back to my 20 yr old self but I managed a very busy day yesterday without the normal tremors, spasms, seizure aura's, seizures of various strength, or the drunk walk because I lost all energy. u

I made sure to take meds in time to let them absorb before leaving with a hot tea and ice water. This was going to be a long day compared to my usual and for some of you a very short day if it was your agenda. I envy you...

I ate a protein dense sandwich before visiting a new Dr regarding my respiratory and sinuses. We didn't think the Ig infusion would be ok'd so fast so this visit was scheduled to try and reduce the constant infections I have had the past while.

He could do nothing since I'm so compromised and become sick so easily. So we moved on to an Asian market, 1 of three planned for the day, and got a few greens and white radish. Next up was an Arabic market that has really good inexpensive olive oil and lemons, I'm nibbling a cookie from pandora where we ate before Dr visit and drinking tea while riding to destinations. Kittycorner from that shop is another Asian market, Korean this time, and I grabbed some chicken and beef along with a premade coffee. Even after the tea and a few bites of sugar I was yawning the whole time in the Arabic store.

Back to drinking and nibbling we head to a new shop where I finally find the small yogurt drinks I've been looking for. Yakult is a name brand that's well known but others are just as good depending on your taste. They come frozen, or at least refrigerated, so I stocked up. I despise yogurt, except the Two Good brand, and these are a liquid ounce so easy to gulp down and get it over with.

Taking strong antibiotics for 20 days at a time takes it's toll on my system and I find these little bottles help correct it a bit. I am not a sponsor but I do like the results after drinking one daily.

Moving on, we drove an hour home from last shop and the lamps I'd ordered from Amazon had arrived. I put away what we'd bought, helped put together the lamps, programmed a smart bulb that didn't work in old lamp but does this one, and ate a shrimp and veg stuffed rice ball obtained at last shop.

BTW I still had cookie left and gave it to my elderly mother who enjoyed it. She also liked the bulgogi filled rice ball I got for her. Daughter says they are just like ones she ate while living in Japan for school and when she went back to climb Mt. Fuji.

I know this is getting out of hand so I'll end by saying I did all this without any symptoms other than feeling heavy and weary towards the end. I don't usually make it through 2 stores here in town without my body freaking out. Each store and highway or road we took yesterday was hellishly busy...still didn't make me take any calming medications or seizure prevention sprays.

I do feel a bit tired and heavy still but nothing like a month ago when I'd go shopping. This infusion may give me the chance to get part of my life back. I've even started chair yoga and added more self care and meditation into my days.

Love and wishes for good health to everyone.

MV

[mystictarotcafe]

Yay! Update,

I did second treatment and feel good. I'm not saying I'm back to my 20 yr old self but I managed a very busy day yesterday without the normal tremors, spasms, seizure aura's, seizures of various strength, or the drunk walk because I lost all energy.

I made sure to take meds in time to let them absorb before leaving with a hot tea and ice water. This was going to be a long day compared to my usual and for some of you a very short day if it was your agenda.

I ate a protein dense sandwich before visiting a new Dr regarding my respiratory and sinuses. We didn't think the Ig infusion would be ok'd so fast so this visit was scheduled to try and reduce the constant infections I have had the past while.

He could do nothing since I'm so compromised and become sick so easily. So we moved on to an Asian market, 1 of three planned for the day, and got a few greens and white radish. Next up was an Arabic market that has really good inexpensive olive oil and lemons, I'm nibbling a cookie from pandora where we ate before Dr visit and drinking tea while riding to destinations. Kittycorner from that shop is another Asian market, Korean this time, and I grabbed some chicken and beef along with a premade coffee. Even after the tea and a few bites of sugar I was yawning the whole time in the Arabic store.

Back to drinking and nibbling we head to a new shop where I finally find the small yogurt drinks I've been looking for. Yakult is a name brand that's well known but others are just as good depending on your taste. They come frozen, or at least refrigerated, so I stocked up. I despise yogurt, except the Two Good brand, and these are an ounce so easy to down and get it over with.

Taking strong antibiotics for 20 days at a time takes it's toll on my system and I find these little bottles help correct it a bit. I am not a sponsor but I do like the results after drinking one daily.

Moving on, we drove an hour home from last shop and the lamps I'd ordered from Amazon had arrived. I put away what we'd bought, helped put together the lamps, programmed a smart bulb that didn't work in old lamp but does this one, and ate a shrimp and veg stuffed rice ball obtained at last shop.

BTW I still had cookie left and gave it to my elderly mother who enjoyed it. She also liked the bulgogi filled rice ball I got for her. Daughter says they are just like ones she ate while living in Japan and when she went back to climb Mt. Fuji.

I know this is getting out of hand so I'll end by saying I did all this without any symptoms other than feeling heavy and weary. I don't usually make it through 2 stores here in town without my body freaking out. Each store and highway or road we took yesterday was hellishly busy...still didn't make me take any calming medications or seizure prevention sprays.

This infusion may give me the chance to get part of my life back. I've even started chair yoga and added more self care and meditation into my days.

Love and wishes for good health to everyone.

MV

[newgeekcity]

New Geek City is Live Blogging MST3k The Return

Once a upon a time there was a bored kid. He just moved to a new place where he didn’t know anyone. Hair was coming in weird places. His face looked like it came from a rare Garbage Pail Kid card.

Other things were changing for the kid, namely his tastes. To him everything started to be so childlike. His books, Full House, even Saturday morning cartoons. There wasn’t anything that really appealed to him anymore.

Except for Batman the Animated Series, that was still awesome.

So one day while trying to avoid the Smurfs or some shit, the kid flipped on Comedy Central. Gamera was on. Everything sucked, but he wasn’t too big for Toho movie monsters. 

Just look at it...

And see those guys on the bottom? They were cracking jokes, making astute observations. Then they would do silly musical numbers. It was the best, and for years after, no matter what, the kid would tune in to see what crazy schlock the boys of MST3k would do next.

And yeah yeah, the boy was me. Twist ending, M. Night Shyamalan style. Blah blah.

Since MST3k came into my life so early, sometimes I wonder where it started and I begin in the soup of neurons and my memories. Am I sarcastic and love terrible movies because it brings me back to my safe space? Or am I drawn to MST3k because I am sarcastic and I love 1960s Godzilla movies.

I don’t think there’s a real answer to that question. However, after a long long departure. MST3k is back and on Netflix... so lets dive into the first episode which is called... episode 1? Seriously guys? Way to be descriptive.

We got movie sign after the jump

00:00 - Hold on I need more coffee. 

00:00 - Alright, back. Lets see what’s up. I’m really curious about the opening. If I remember right the opening song was sung by Mike Nelson. So lets see how this stacks up. 

I’m not looking for a perfect recreation, but something in the same spirit.

1:39 - People? There’s other people in this universe? I thought there was like 10 tops in the entire world in the original series. Then there’s Wil fucking Wheaton. I don’t mind the people, but I do mind Wil Wheaton, that fucking guy. The DIY effects and models are really great though.

In what looks like the Gizmonic mission control, the staff are puppets. I love that.

Wait I know that lady... She’s Erin Gray. Colonel Deering from Buck Rogers. When I was 5 I wasn’t sure if I was going to marry her or Princess Leia. 

Hey it could have happened, I was a cute kid.

But seriously, Fuck. Wil. Wheaton. 

2:00 - I have to admit, I’m sort of liking Jonah. He has the same affable quality as Joel and Mike. 

4:30 - Gypsy could talk? Like for reals? Weird.

I also did like the opening sequence, a lot. Its different. It feels like that’s what the sequence should have been for the movie. But I really liked it. Great work Joel. 

8:00 - Invention exchange is back. Patton Oswalt is perfect as TV’s son of TV’s Frank. Although I was doubting Felicia Day, I have to admit she is charming here. 

The movie doors are different, you could tell they used a computer for this one. Not sure if I like that, But whatevs its minor. 

The bots voices are actually pretty good too. Crow sounds like Crow. Tom sort of sounds like Tom. I do have to get used to Jonah though.

9:00 - Its not skin, its beef. Just saying.

Delicious ground beef.

10:30 - Tom can fly! He can fly!!

13:15 - We have Super Dragon reference! Also one of the best MST3k songs 

14:00 - “You know an aquarium is just a pet store that doesn’t sell anything.” Made me lol.

14:41 - Gypsy showed up and made a quip. I already forgot what it was. I wonder if it’ll be a thing.

16:35 - I’m hoping the movie picks up. I doubt it because its MST3k. But they did a “commercial break” just now. They repeated the name of the movie and showed I guess would be the Deep 13 House Band. 

I think a skit would have worked better. Its not like they have to fit in actual commercials. But they’re probably trying to keep as close to the original format as possible.

18:30 - Scientist 1: “I envy that young man.”

Scientist 2: “He will be busy now.”

Me: Yeah with your daughters, you Dane weirdo.

20:00 - Who just keeps an electric eel in a tank in a hallway? Nothing is gonna go wrong there. Nothing at all....ARRRRRGHG 

22:00 - I’m having a really hard time picking up who’s speaking. Particularly with Tom / Jonah. 

But Jonah’s Monster Mash / Reptilicus cover was definitely out of the Joel Robinson playbook. 

25:00 - Can someone tell me if that Dane blonde, scientist daughter has a single daughter along the R line? And that wound looks like pudding. Just saying it looks like delicious reptile pudding.

27:00 - Ok the skit break is this kaiju monster rap. The bots, particularly crow are more animated. He’s able to move his arms around now.

The song itself is way different from the original series. Which I’m giving it a thumbs up. It fits well into the original ethos. Its catchy, fun. Its a good update. Nice work modern MST3k writers.

32:00 - One thing I’ve noticed is the actual filmic quality of the movie. In the old MST3k’s you could still see the scratches and dust, and the warping. It looks like that this is a restored film. 

Its not awful or really a distraction. But its just something I noticed as a long time fan.

35:00 - Dickweed. It makes me laugh every time.

36:00 - Of course the goofus stuck his hand in the electric eel tank. You know comedy. It had to happen. Like the sun rising, and the rain falling in the amazon.

38:00 - I wish netflix would have some way that it counts up instead of down. It would make my life easier here.

Another “commercial break” I was wrong, in the new series its Moon 13 and Patton Oswalt gave a fun fact about the doors. The house band is playing at the same time. Its very Svengoolie.

39:00 - Xanadu reference. Not sure how many youngin’s would get it. I barely do because my dad had a bootleg VHS tape. 

It was awful.

41:00 - I was about to say a lot of the jokes are falling flat, but when that scientist “screamed” and one of the guys dubbed it with Opera, that was brilliant. 

43:00 - I get that MST3k was never really about plot when it came to the host and bots. But they seemed to jump into the riffing really quick. I was expecting some sort of intro for Jonah, like he’d ask questions about why he’s there throughout the movie and the bots would fill him in and he’d grow into the host role. 

I think it would have added some sort of dimension to it. But I would get why they would just jump right into it. 

45:00 - Also I’d expect the Mads would show up more by now. Maybe in the next skit sequence?

47:00 - No Mads, but the cloning of Tom Servo in the “genesis tank that’s conveniently off camera” was real classic MST3k. 

So far, Jonah I would say earned his spot. He nailed it. 

Crow, yup classic Crow. 

Tom, well. He’s not awful. He’s funny but I just can’t get past the voice. Kevin Murphy really owned the character. I hope its just matter of getting used to it. Like when Kevin originally took over in Season 2 (I think) of MST3k.

51:00 - Hold on I need a gif of that.. give me a few minutes.

Ok, I couldn’t get a gif. I’ll have to check into that. BUT I did grab a screenshot.

Single handedly this is my most favorite special effect ever.

54:30 - Although another stray observation, when the people are in frame, the film is alright. Like no scratches (for the most part) but when the monster is up it looks like someone went through it with sandpaper. 

Which lazy bastard only did half a restoration?

55:00 - It feels like Tom should have had that ability to fly all along. His bottom always reminded me of a hovercraft.

56:00 - Yup the commercial breaks definitely is reminiscent of Svengoolie, Paton Oswalt should just show up on that set one day as TV’s Son of TV’s Frank. 

It would be some great cross promotion.

BTW, go watch Svengoolie. Its not as funny as MST3k, but it’s really charming and fun.

Occasionally they show a good movie. Which I guess defeats the point, but whatever.

60:00 - We’re about at the halfway point. So far, I will admit the new MST3k is... I don’t want to say a worthy successor but Joel Hodgson really did something special. This definitely feels in place with the originals. Almost like it never went away. 

I do want more Mads for this episode. Where are they?

62:00 - How did they get letters? This is like the first episode in almost 20 years. How many 8 year olds could sit still long enough to watch reruns? Aren’t they making methlabs and sexting? 

63:00 - Just a note, I know nothing about modern children.

71:00 - Have you ever wondered why Kaiju are impervious to tank shells? Think about it, they’re designed to punch through concrete, steel plating, etc. I don’t think they’d have a problem with reptile skin, prehistoric or otherwise.

74:00 - Another thing I noticed is that the guy and the bots are more animated compared to the originals. They’ll move around, fly by, bring in barrels to interact with the screen. 

I know the originals did similar, but it seems to be more frequent here. Its not unwelcome. Its actually nice.

77:00 - Another commercial break. Its a TV seal of quality with the Moon 13 house band. I’m still liking them.

Patton talked about how Kinga established some TV group, probably to make profit. 

Its not so much how the joke was clever, I just liked how they used that to add some background of the world of MST3k. Because we really don’t know much about it, besides the SOL and Deep 13 and such. 

I never thought it was missing, but now that I’ve seen some glimpses into the surrounding world I am interested in learning more. Does the world know about the Forresters? Have they always run in secret? Or they make their intentions known and the government is powerless to stop them. Who is the government there anyway?

Are they considered brilliant or total fuck ups? Are they part of something bigger? Like SMERSH or the illuminati or something?

78:00 - They’re freaking out about getting a gallon of some sort of lizard knock out drug. Do Danes know how much a gallon is? It’s not that much, if it was like an oil drum’s worth then you got problems.

80:00 - The gallon is really just a beaker. So I guess Danes don’t get the imperial system after all.

83:00 - Seriously the guy playing Crow is really good. If I close my eyes I’d have a hard time telling the difference between him and Trace Beaulieu.

Although I noticed the mouth movement on Crow isn’t as pronounced as it was in the originals. Its a little detail, but it went a long way in figuring out who was talking.

85:00 - Monster’s dead, yay I guess.

86:00 - “Push the button Max” doesn’t have the same cachet as “Push the button Frank.” But I’m glad they brought that back.

87:00 - The end credit song sounds like it was made with a real orchestra. It gives it some gravitas. Its rather lovely. 

88:00 - They’re repeating the monster rap. Not bad, still cute. 

89:00 - Wait, in the end credits, They gave the proper name for the Moon 13 House Band, they’re called “The Skeleton Crew.”

I like Moon 13 house band better.

90:00 - Nice touch--

And of course--

The end tag. Its nice to see some old standbys come back.

Final Thoughts - 

I suppose if you really wanted to you could say its worse or better than the originals. I guess its like how you wanted to fight over Joel vs Mike. 

They’re different. They had their own styles, and they were very funny in their own way. 

MST3k The Return is a lot like that. There’s enough elements of the originals that it feels familiar, but stylistically its been updated. I personally think its a good thing. 

With the bigger budget, and more modern delivery I feel a lot of the fun, DIY, anarchic, lo-fi qualities that was so mind blowing about the original show is very much here. 

I like the new cast, except for Wil Wheaton (fuck you Wesley Crusher), and I think they’re as charming and clever as the previous casts. Just... different.

So if you loved the originals as much as I did, I definitely think its worth binging with your kids. Personally I plan to make this a Saturday morning thing like I did way back when.

One last last thing. From what I saw of the preview for the next episode it looks like Pearl, Bobo, and Brain Guy are visiting. Hopefully Mike shows up too.

I. Can’t. Wait.