Alyssa’s Blog…a modern day diary of the random thoughts of Alyssa Amsbaugh

Or is the Borough of Washington NUTS for letting a rock band play outdoors at the local theater on Saturday nights? Sure, I coulld see if they played INSIDE the theater because, after all, THAT’S what it’s MADE for. But outside on the street? Give me a break.

Think mediocre rock bank. Think electric guitars and amps. Put them together and I think that’s disturbing the peace.

I enjoy rock as much as the anyone (well, classic rock, that is…mainly I’m into soul/funk), but I live a mere 2 blocks away from that cacophony and can’t escape it or block it out.

Dude, what kind of permit did you have to fill out to get permission for this? And what the hell did it cost? Not nearly enough in my book…

I just got done fast-forwarding through the original, B&W, 1968 version of “Night of the Living Dead.” (Why fast-forward? Because I get terribly scared by horror movies, even the less graphic, more “innocent” genre from the ’50s and ’60s, but I do love them so!)

Anyway, IF YOU HAVEN’T SEEN THIS YET, turn back now because a spoiler is coming.

It turns out that there’s more meat to this movie than one would have thought. Would you believe it actually has social connotations? Remember, this movie was made in the racially-charged ’60s, a decade filled with riots and hate crimes based solely on one’s race. And you don’t get the full significance of that until the very last scene of the movie.

OK, if you’re unfamiliar with the plot of “Night of the Living Dead,” apparently a satellite falls to Earth from space. Something about its radiation brings the dead back to life. Only it isn’t much of a life, because they look like hell and they crave human flesh. (Tastes like chicken? idk.) Anyway, the only way to kill these zombies is to shoot them in the head. And if you’ve been bitten by one, you’re totally fucked because now YOU will turn into one of THEM.

So people are hiding out from these zombies and have taken shelter in a house that they’ve boarded up. In the meantime, some sort of officials are aware of the zombie situation and have organized a gun-toting posse to kill the zombies…again…for the last time. (Or at least until the sequel! LOL)

Let’s get back to the house. All sorts of stuff is going on. Windows and doors are being boarded up. A couple keeps vigil over their dead little girl in the basement (don’t ask me how she died or why they kept her there…remember, I fast forwarded through the movie). The zombies are trying to bust in with lots of hands shoved through cracks in the windows and doors. It’s dramatic stuff.

So the main character of this film is a black man. And somehow he manages to survive the night of horrors. It looks like he’s the lone survivor in the house. And the next morning, he hears all the noise that means the posse has arrived to save the day…a helicopter, cars, and lots of manpower. Phew! He’s safe! He made it! He busts out of the house…ONLY TO BE SHOT TO DEATH BY THE POSSE! Wow. That hit me heavy. Because the posse comprises all white men. And at the first sight of a black man (insert the sound of a rifle being readied here), BOOM!, they shoot first and ask questions later. And that’s the REAL horror of this film.

Actually JR is the one who discovered it, but I did drink it today and I SWEAR it made me jittery! LOL Just what my co-workers want to hear, right? I’m consuming even more caffeine! I’m silly enough as it is and should probably cut down.

Anyway, YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED! LOL (So stay away from me in the mornings…)

I say that because, once again, I was asleep, I really had to pee, and I had a dream where I really had to pee but couldn’t find a bathroom! Eventually the message got to my brain to WAKE UP, GET UP, AND PEE! Thank God! LOL I know I’ve had this dream before because I recognized components of it. It really is amazing how the human body works, isn’t it? What a connection to make. MY BODY SENT A MESSAGE TO MY BRAIN FOR ME TO WAKE UP!

And speaking of amazing, it’s ALSO amazing how the moray eel’s body works. I watched a program last night that taught me a thing or two about a thing or two…that the moray eel has A SECOND JAW IN ITS THROAT. It looks like something out of the movie “Alien.” It’s incredible. The first toothy jaw grabs its prey and, at that point, THE SECOND TOOTHY JAW SPRINGS OUT TO LATCH ONTO THE PREY AND PULL IT IN AS IT RETRACTS. What a brilliant design. Who knew? Here’s some additional information I found online:

“‘It looks like a funny pair of forceps with curved sharp teeth,’ said evolutionary biologist Rita Mehta, lead author of the research, which appears Thursday in Nature. Before the discovery, scientists thought that all aquatic predators swallowed their prey using suction. By dropping the lower jaw and creating a flow of water into their mouths, they draw in the prey. The two species of moray eels studied by Mehta and Wainwright are the first examples of an alternative feeding method. Instead of sucking, one of these eels bites its prey with its primary set of teeth. It then draws the second set of teeth into its mouth by contracting long muscles. The secondary jaws clamp down on the prey, allowing the eel to move its primary jaws forward in a gulping motion to take in more of the prey. The two sets of jaws take turns until the whole animal has been swallowed.”

OK, class dismissed. That’s all I’ve got for this morning. I’m going to watch “The Horror of It All” now. It should be an old B&W movie featuring Pat Boone of all ppl. He plays the fiance of some British girl (or ghoul?) and meets her creepy family @ their mansion. It’s categorized as “horror” but I find that hard to believe. The all-American, clean cut Pat Boone in a HORROR flick?!? If so, it’s because he would be the perfect foil for a creepy family. I’m relatively sure this movie is going to stink and that’s great because I’m a sucker for this type of “B” movie! LOL After all, one of my favorite Christmas movies from my childhood IS “Santa Claus Conquers the Martians”…a B&W (and slightly colorized) flick from 1964. What can I say? I’m the Godzilla generation…scifi is in my blood!

That’s what I found out when I checked him out online. But why did I check him out in the first place?

I was listening to Howard Stern (just as I do every day on my way to and from work) when mention was made of Chuck Zito. Chuck WHO? Other than on Howard’s show, I had never heard of him before. Apparently he’s some sort of bodybuilder. Maybe he’s a bodyguard? Who was in some movie(s)? And now has a show on Sirius satellite radio? idk.

Anyway, Howard was raving about how Chuck is a real “man’s man” and how successful he is with women. Then he played a little bit of Chuck’s radio show where Zito was telling the tale of how yet another woman he just met ended up in bed with him.

Curiosity always seems to get the best of me, so naturally I had to do a Google search when I got home to see if Chuck Zito really is “all that.” After all, when I looked up porn star Nick Manning, he did turn out to be somewhat handsome. (Mind you, I don’t watch porn. The only reason I know his profession is because he talked about it on Howard’s show! LOL And I only looked him up because Robin was drooling over him.)

Anyway, imho, it seems that Chuck has over-developed muscles to go along with an over-inflated ego. omg, how I hate the latter. So that said, I can’t imagine who would jump in the sack with him, let alone upon a first meeting, but I guess it takes all kinds. No offense, Chuck, but you just aren’t my cup of tea.

YOU do a Google search and YOU be the judge!!!

idk if “defection” is the right word, but it sure seems that way. Lately a lot of actors from the now defunct and beloved TV series “Stargate SG-1″ are popping up in guests roles on “Eureka.” What’s up with that?

First the actress who played the original doctor from SG1, Dr. Janet Fraiser (Teryl Rothery), showed up as a church organist. Her husband had recently died, she wanted to be with him again, hence she was royally messing up life in the town of Eureka by trying to create a time portal so she could go back in time to be with him. Need I say more? You know what havoc a time portal can cause! Please!

Then the actress who played the replacement doctor from SG1, Dr. Carolyn Lam (Lexa Doig), showed up in town when the air conditioning system was on the fritz and suddenly all the women were strangely attracted to Sheriff Jack Carter (portrayed by Colin Ferguson). Doig was hot for him as well and there was a cat fight between her and Allison Blake (Salli Richardson-Whitfield) over his affections. (Who could blame her? The A/C WAS down! LOL) For what it’s worth, I never cared for Doig on SG1. She spoke with a weird affectation, like a lot of phoney women do.

Now this past week, the actor who played SG1′s Dr. Daniel Jackson (Michael Shanks) showed up in Eureka as a metallurgist (or whatever you call someone who makes metal statues and artwork). He was his usual hunky self as the town battled a virus that turned metal into gold into rust into, what next? Something harmful to humans? Or just harmful to Allison’s son? Who knows?

OK, while I’m on my soapbox, let me get another thing about this past season of “Eureka” off my chest. Allison and Nathan are over…history…kaput. The divorce papers have been signed. The ink has long dried. So can we PLEASE move on to Allison and Jack? Why complicate things by throwing that woman dry cleaner into the mix? Jack and Allison together is a much hotter story line. And Allison makes an awful head of Global Dynamics. The power of the position is corrupting her ethics. Get with the program, Allison!

Oh, and here’s one last bit of trivia for you. In real life, Michael Shanks is married to Lexa Doig. Go figure. I thought he’d have better taste than that…

Was driving home from work today, listening to the Soultown station on my Sirius satellite radio—that’s only my favorite station—when some oldies but goodies came on. I was especially excited because I recognized one of them as a tune that I was wracking my brain to remember! Bobby Caldwell’s “What You Won’t Do For Love.”

You’d better believe that I grabbed any old piece of paper and a pen and jotted this info down immediately! Am going to get that song and The Chi-Lite’s “Have You Seen Her?” and Bloodstone’s “Natural High” for my mp3 player.

For the benefit of those who don’t know the elusive “What You Won’t Do For Love,” here are the smooth, sexy lyrics. Look it up for a listen and get your groove on!

http://www.amazon.com/What-You-Wont-Do-Love/dp/B000001PGZ

WHAT YOU WON’T DO FOR LOVE

I guess you wonder where I’ve been
I searched to find a love within
I came back to let you know
Got a thing for you and I can’t let go

My friends wonder what is wrong with me
Well I’m in a daze from your love, you see
I came back to let you know
Got a thing for you and I can’t let go

Some people go around the world for love
But they may never find what they dream of
What you won’t do, do for love
You’ve tried everything but you don’t give up
In my world only you makes me do
For love what I would not do

But then I only want the best it’s true
They can’t believe the things I do for you
What you won’t do, do for love
You’ve tried everything but you don’t give up
In my world, only you makes me do
For love what I would not do
Makes me do for love what I would not do

My tummy is so full of carbs tonight.  I’m not advocating this as surely it isn’t the best move in the world, and not something I really do anymore, but it just felt good goin’ down!  LOL

In the stupor that follows a heavy meal like the one I just had, I have no choice but to relax in my nice, cool, comfy bedroom and watch “Hot Fuzz.”  This is a British cop comedy that pleasantly surprised me went I originally saw it in the theater months ago.  Somehow I was afraid that it was going to be like Monty Python or Black Adder.  (idk, I just don’t see the “ha ha” factor to them.  But I did always enjoy “The Young Ones.”  Go figure!)  We enjoyed “Hot Fuzz” so much that we immediately gave it the Amsbaugh equivalent of two thumbs up…we said we have GOT to get it when it comes out on DVD.  Well, that moment has arrived.

But before I move on to tonight’s enterainment, I just want to share that this topic of British comedy reminds me of our old neighbors, Paul and Cindy Holt.  Years ago, they lived across from us when we had our very first apartment, which was in Mansfield.  We clicked, became very good friends, and hung out all the time.  We often rented movies and watched them together.  Invariably, if the movie was something that Cindy and J.R. liked (like Monty Python), it was something that put me and Paul to sleep, and vice versa.  omg, it was so funny!  Proof to me that opposites really do attract!  We had a lot of fun with the Cindy and Paul and I happily got a lot of experience babysitting their kids…Gary, Deanne, Kenny, and Paul.  I think I’ll look up their e-mail address this week and try to catch up with them!

In the meantime, on with the show!!!

It all started with J.R. and I going to see the “Reno 911!: Miami” movie. I had low expectations and ended up laughing my ass off. I don’t even think we intended to see it. Were we late for some other movie and decide to wing it? Who knows?

The important thing is that now I can’t get enough of “Reno 911!” I’m completely hooked on the TV series that started it all. I can’t explain it; I think you either love it or hate it. Much like Howard Stern, who I also love. Much like Monty Python, who I can’t stand. (I just don’t “get” them. Nothing to belly laugh about in my opinion.)

Anyway, just as an FYI, I’ve now come full circle with this series as J.R. was kind enough to buy me the unrated version of the movie so I can watch a little bit of “Reno 911!” every day…even if our TiVo is out of recorded episodes. Thanks, J.R.! And somehow, because it IS, after all, “Reno 911!,” all those naked fake boobs don’t bother me one bit. LOL (That’s a miracle because you know that they do in real life.)

it’s because I’ve been listening to Gustav Holst’s “The Planets Suite.”

Heard it on the classical channel on my Sirius satellite radio in the car and had to buy the CD. It’s beautiful in a fittingly scifi way…sounds like the score to an epic scifi movie!

For each of the planets in our solar system, Holst has a specific composition. I’m not sure which is my favorite yet, but it may be Jupiter or Mars. Here are some links if you’d like to learn more about Holst or hear some of these pieces.

Live long and prosper, y’all!

http://www.gustavholst.info/

http://www.aquarianage.org/lore/holst.html

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gustav_Holst