Hemidemisemiferal

Happy birthday, icebluenothing!

Maybe I'll see you out and about somewhere tonight?

Happy birthday, dawnchylde!

Happy birthday, vulture23!

I am overjoyed that you have been such a part of my life for two birthdays now. Best to you always, beloved.

(dawnchylde is celebrating tonight too, but has to wait for her actual birthday before I call it out.)

Something is repeatedly changing the text size on my LJ pages--sometimes halfway through a page, even--to a size that I could probably read without my contacts or glasses.

That's scary.

I have replies I want to make, but I'm going to have to wait till this stops happening.

Last night darkmane, vulture23 and I watched The Devil's Backbone. I found it fascinating and recommend it to anyone who wants a beautiful, atmospheric ghost story lacking in cheap scares.

Then I was telling the guys that we must, must rent Cronos because neither of them has seen it, and it's been stuck in my mind for years. I thought this was an example of me liking Spanish films as well as French films, until today, when I found this.

It seems that what I really like is the work of Guillermo del Toro. Or maybe Ron Perlman, or both. Heh.

I received a dollar bill as change recently that was stamped with the words "wheresgeorge.com." I assumed this was a bill tracking site, and a couple of friends confirmed that they'd heard of it. So today I went to the site and logged the bill.

http://www.wheresgeorge.com/

Now I'm registered and can see where this bill goes once I send it back out. It's wheresgeorge travels started in Seattle and then progressed to Duvall and back to Seattle. I'm hoping to see it be a little more widely travelled.

I think I left leftover clam linguini in a movie theater last night.

Well, at least it wasn't on the bus or in a cab or somewhere like that. And they're located next door to Stella's; this can't be the first time that's happened.

That would have been a nice little snack, though. But I'm not going back to try and retrieve it.

I worked in a record store the summer before my junior year of college, which would put that in 1987. At that time there were 9 major record labels. I don't think I can remember them all, but let me try: WEA, RCA, EMI, Capitol, Polygram, BMG, MCA, Columbia... Ah, I'm getting confused now because it's hard to remember were "major" and which weren't, as well as which corporation swallowed which. I just spent my lunch break trying to make some sense of it.

There are now 5 major record labels: Bertelsmann, EMI, Sony, Universal, and Warner.

In 1987, Bertelsmann was still called BMG. That year it ate RCA, about the time I was starting my job. This year it plans to merge the BMG music arm with Sony music (or possibly already has).

In 1990, Polygram bought A&M and MCA bought Geffen. In 1995, Seagram bought 80% of MCA and in 1998, all of Polygram. The whole shebang was MCA until 1999, when it was renamed Universal.

In 1989, EMI bought Chrysalis (I think that was Pat Benatar's label), and in 1992, Virgin.

In 1889, CBS bought A&M and Columbia, and was then in turn bought by Sony.

Warner Brothers was part of WEA in 1987--Warner/Elektra/Atlantic, as well as containing Reprise and a whole host of smaller labels (as did all the majors, for that matter).

And now Warner Records has been sold. I remember in college that they were the one major label that I regularly bought music from. When was the last time I bought anything from any major label? I can't even say.

I'm glad there are small labels, and I plan to support them as best I can as long as they're out there. But I hate that they're all struggling, yet lose their identity almost instantly when saved financially (maybe) by being picked up by a major.

Gee, could there be any connection between the corporatization of music and the dearth of anything worth listening to on commercial radio? Or am I just seeing coincidences where there are none?

Bah. I think I'll be visiting the Metropolis site very soon.

Happy birthday, sarmonster!

And a day late but sincere nonetheless, happy birthday to thedivas!

My ankle was a little sore yesterday so I thought I must have a bruise, but it wasn't painful enough to worry about.

This morning I noticed that there was indeed a bruise, and it's about the size of a business card and many lovely shades of purple and blue. I also have a couple of smaller bruises, about the size of Pink Pet erasers (remember those?) up my calf.

My question is, how could I not notice doing this? I know I'm always late and rushing, and I assume I must have crashed into something in the process, but good grief.

I haven't got time for the pain, heh.