Gnumoon's Stuff

Happy Monday: Appalachian football and new music

It finally stopped raining. Woohoo! But not until we all got to get waterlogged at football on Saturday, oh well. As you can see from the photos, it was a lovely day for football in the high country.

Not much else of note happened this weekend. I think I finally changed out of my pajamas to go to the grocery store around 5 pm yesterday. I did rock out a spectacular made-up meal in the crock pot, though, so that's good.

BlueRidgeBlog turned me on to a new, hip, hot way to post my halloween playlists...let's see if it works, eh? I'm 6 songs behind, so here we go:

Hell Bells - AC/DC. No explanation needed, except that I'm conditioned to cheer for a 3rd down stand when I hear the actual bells. Other AC/DC songs that deserve inclusion are Who Made Who (From the spectacular Maximum Overdrive) and Highway to Hell. 

Boris the Spider - Who. Perhaps it's a bit of childish presaging for Roger Daltrey's turn as "Argon the Bus-driving Dragon" in the Wheels on the Bus series.

Spellbound - Lacuna Coil

Tombstone Shadow - Creedence Clearwater Revival. I like this one, but I really do not like Bad Moon Rising, which everyone seems to include as a great Halloween song. Since it's my list, the one gets da boot.

Ghost Town - The Specials. Too much fighting on the dancefloor ...

Psycho Killer - Talking Heads. Fa fa fa fa fa fa fa fa fa fa.

BONUS SONG! This is not technically a Halloween song, but Goonies was on last night, and I think Chunk, Sloth, the Fratellis, Data, Rand (with awesome shorts over pants costuming) or Cyndi Lauper would be perfectly acceptable costumes. {For bonus points, you could go as Data 2.0, and combine this Data and the one from TNG.}

Goonies R Good Enough - Cyndi Lauper

11 new Halloween songs. El-ev-en, ah ha ha!

Taking a break from cookie/cake madness to bring you more Halloween music madness. I'm 11 behind, so here we go, mwa ha ha ha ha ha...

Walking With a Ghost - The White Stripes

Howling at the Moon - The Ramones. You could really make a whole Halloween mix with nothing but Ramones songs on it. And I have a rule about only including one song on the list per band, but I am absolutely breaking it for these guys. Their BEST Halloween song deserves to be perhaps #2 or #3 on this list, so look for it in October. Also consider: Sheena is a Punk Rocker (anyone know why?) and Psycho Therapy.

Shout at the Devil - Motley Crue. Mostly this is included because a friend loves her some Crue, and I wanted to give her a shout-out.

She Wolf - Shakira. What? It's a halloween song! It's about werewolves! It even includes the WORD "lycanthropy." Catchy too.
Also, she dances in the video like a hybrid of Thriller zombies and the nurses from Silent Hill. (Boys: it might confuse your penis, who won't know if he should be paying attention or running away.)

Day-o, The Banana Boat Song - Harry Belafonte. Goes Hand-in-hand with Shake Seniora, and while they aren't technically scary songs, an entire generation of people associates them wholly with the possession scenes from Beetlejuice.

The Fear - Lily Allen. Ok, not Halloweenie at all, I just love Lily Allen. Carry on.

Them Bones - Alice in Chains. If it's not your particular flavor of AIC, there's also Down in a Hole, We Die Young, or Sludge Factory. 

She Blinded Me With Science - Thomas Dolby. You know it isn't going to go well when the opening scenes of the video announce "Mister Dolby's arrival at the Home for Deranged Scientists."

Dracula - Gorillaz

Haunting Me - Stabbing Westward.

Nature Trail to Hell - Weird Al. I think I saved the very best for last today.

Rainy Thursday, Halloween song catch-up

The gorgeous early fall weather we enjoyed last week and weekend has been replaced by rain and drab. It reminds me so much of the weather we had the week Max ran away. Dreary dreary. I don't mind it much, though. It makes me feel more introspective, makes me look deeper into things than I do when I can just take Pookie outside and gallivant in the leaves to forget troubles. (Yeah, I  gallivant occasionally. I can't be a cynical cuss ALL the time.)

There is a lot going on, I have a lot on my mind, but it's all too jumbled about to write anything worth reading. So instead, I'm going to catch up on my Halloween songs - I think I've missed (*counts*) 12! 12 songs! AH! AH! AH! (<-- read that in The Count's voice)

Zombie Zoo - Tom Petty & the Heartbreakers - "Sometimes you're so impulsive, you shaved off all your hair. You look like Boris Karloff, and you don't even care."

Skin and Bones - Raffi. Some of the best Halloween songs are for kids. I remember singing this one in the graveyard by my cousin's house. I'm not sure exactly WHAT is behind the door, and perhaps it's better that way.

October - U2 Not technically a Halloween song, but captures that melancholy autumn vibe that is  swirling around. Also, I'm a sucker for long piano intros.

Cry Little Sister - Gerard McMann Ahh, The Lost Boys. The film is so spectacular as to warrant its own post, and the soundtrack is a large part of that. I quote this film at least every other day. And at least every other day, someone gives me the quizzical dog head tilt. Look, y'all, it isn't my fauly that you aren't properly versed in quotations from this awesome movie. Worms, Michael. You're eating worms.*

* Apparently this was just remade, bluesily for True Blood (which I've never seen, but understand is basically porn with blood.) It's pretty good, I might have to get it on the ol' pod.

**That video does nothing to change my vamporn ideas about True Blood.

Halloween - Aqua. Cheeserific Euro-pop. The lyrics are like the opening scene in Scream, with less Drew Barrymore. But you know, poppy. But also creepy. And poppy. Creepop.

Burn - The Cure (The Crow soundtrack)  The Cure was just made for Halloween mixes. Where would goth culture be (not to mention the entire eyeliner industry) without their contributions. This song wins out over the very similar "Where the Birds Always Sing," because it's darker, and it was on the freaking Crow soundtrack. All things considered, The Crow is up there on Halloween movies lists. *insert obligatory comment about Brandon Lee's gothy vinyl-wrapped hotness*

OK, I'll do 6 more in a bit ... stay tuned, ghouls and boys.

Here Comes the Science (and the cookies)

They Might Be Giants are big in our house. Have been since the days before Pookie, but we listen to them most consistently now, because it falls into that rare category of "stuff everyone likes to listen to without wanting to poke pencils in their ears." The stellar "Here Come the 1-2-3s" and "Here Come the A-B-Cs" are perennial favorites, and they are now being joined by a third album (this is where a bad sports writer would try to sound smart by using the word "trifecta" without any reference to a horse race). Our copy of "Here Comes the Science" is, I am assured by Amazon.com, even now making its way up the mountain, where it will be voraciously devoured by our little music nosher, over and over and over again. (Aside: as it's about science, here's hoping the word "miasma" is involved. I love that word.)

The video for "I am a Paleontologist" is great, and we've already committed most of the song to singalong in the car status. Have you ever heard a 2 year old say "pachycephalosaurus?" It's hilarious. The video inspired these cookies, made with leftover dough during this week's "FIRST HOME GAME CRAZINESS." In a world of black and gold butterfly cookies, helmet cookies, football cookies, not to mention the GIGANTOR BLOCK A COOKIE THAT ATE CULLOWHEE, these guys were a fun little diversion.

Note to any actual paleontologist who might read this blog (I know you're out there, Ross Gellar wannabes), I am well-aware that there is nothing skeletally correct about these cookies. That poor T-rex wouldn't even be able to move his leg, as I completely neglected to give him a knee or tibia. He's all femurs and teeth (and of course those ridiculous little arms). And I think it's been decided that the T-Rex didn't actually stand upright like that, but instead pitched forward more, and his tail stabilized instead of drug on the ground. Ross? Wanna pipe in and help me out here? It's a flaw in the cookie cutter (not one of my designs, it was in a set of 101 random shapes), perhaps I should demand my money back. 

I will post my ASU Gameday cookies later, they deserve their own entry, if for no other reason than how silly they are. I'll be hosting a tailgate for the first time ever on Saturday, and I want it to be good, dammit. I've ordered bar-be-que (no time for cooking, there are cookies to be made!), bought cutesy napkins and plates and accessories, and of course there will be cookies. More on the upcoming blur of a weekend later!

For your viewing and listening enjoyment, may I now present They Might Be Giants with "I am a Paleontologist." {note: I heard there is some controversy about this album because it discusses *gasp* evolution and scientific facts. It's about science. Duh. In my opinion, those who would protest this album do not deserve to listen to something as special as TMBG.}

Be sure to look for the pachycephalosaurus doing the Roger Rabbit at 2:22!

Whooo goes there? Owl, mushroom, and acorn cookies.

Here are the shots of the cookies from last night, with me considerable more awake and adept with a camera. I'm going to change the name of the gallery over there to "Cookies," and add lots more photos there.

 

Acorns:

 

Owls:

 

Mushrooms:

 

Bonus photo, "Cookies in Love":

Edited to add the

Spooky Song of the Day: 

The Gonk. This is the ridiculous mall muzak that plays in the end credits of the original 1978 version of Dawn of the Dead. It's such an obliviously chipper piece, playing as footage of hordes of the undead stagger about their new world. I was such a fan of the juxtaposition that I once had this as my ringtone. Notice I said "once." Even as a huge stinkin fan of the genre, I couldn't stand it playing over and over, especially when I couldn't find the phone. Ugh.     Still, great song.

(Note: with my new theme on the blog, you may not be able to see that the title of the songs are highlighted for linking to the song, or in this case, movie clip)

That's the way the cookie crumbles.

Last night I was so ready to finish icing my "70's Autumn Woods" set. I'd done the initial icing, I'd made a fresh batch of fondant for sculpting snails and mushrooms and whatnot, I was READY. And then it all just went to sugar-coated hell. I was making myself learn a few new techniques, that I thought I'd have no trouble mastering, and nothing went correctly.

I don't feel like getting into the frosty details, but let's just say that it ended in me writing a very bad word across a hedgehog's back in royal icing (with a #2 round tip) and harumphing out of the kitchen. (Photo caption should read, "Waaah! Waaah! Gnumoon is such a crybaby!")

I googled, learned that I was doing the technique exactly backwards. Oops. By that time it was very late, so I'll give it another go tonight.

I ate the hedgehog.

Spooky Song of the Day: I missed posting yesterday, so here are 2 songs for today:

Batman, Wolfman, Frankenstein and Dracula, by The Diamonds.

This is a great, catchy tune from the 1950's about a guy whose girlfriend is an adrenaline junkie and can't be put "in the mood for love" by anything but being scared. I hope her need for a rush never moved on to the thrill kill stage, as that wouldn't make a very good doo-wopp song. Fun fact: there is a "Doo-Wopp Hall of Fame." The Diamonds were inducted in 2006. (Never ever say this blog isn't educational.) 

Honky Tonk Halloween, by Captain Clegg & the Night Creatures

One more psychobilly entry here. Although it is from the abysmal reboot of the Halloween movie franchise (Seriously, Rob Zombie, that's enough), this is a solid party compilation song, as is "Transylvania Terror Train," also on the H2 sdtk.

Survival!

This is more of a tweet, but I'll put it here anyway... I survived another 4-day marathon shooting session. It was hard this time because it was difficult to be away from the baby that long, but it was good. Got some good shots, met some cool people. I wish I had a day off to rest tomorrow, but alas it is not to be.

Merlefest LiveBlog, Day 4

- I seem to have finally recovered from my food poisoning/food intolerance issue from last night, but not before a nap in the car and a good night's sleep. Pookie was affected by the high pollen count, so we were a snotty, nauseated, sleepy bunch last night. FUN!

- This last day of the festival is always the day DJ has to literally push me out of bed. It's the day I wake up and say, "I have another whole DAY?" But then I forget about this day in about 2 weeks and only have the fun memories.

-Current kept photo count is about 2050. That's a lotta editin' going on.

- Levon Helm has more energy than he really should have. Here he is tearing it up last night during Ophelia:

Merlefest LiveBlog, Day 3

Update (7:19 pm) -
-The festival feeds those of us who work here. Normally the food is pretty good, but tonight I seem to have gotten my hands on some bad bbq. I am NOT feeling well at all. I don't want to go from being "That pregnant photographer" to "that barfing photographer". Or anything else embarrassing.

- The Hillside Zeppelin set was pretty sweeeeet.

- I always run into the most random people here. I've seen several people from college, a few media people, and a guy who recognized me from being a sideline shooter at football games.

Update (3:38 pm) -
- Here comes the rain again, falling on my head like a memoreeeeee. This weather is blecch- I'm so glad I'm not out in the audience with only a plastic poncho to keep away nature's wrath.

- The Waybacks and John Cowan are performing all of Led Zeppelin's II on the Hillside Stage here in a bit. I'll def. have to make my way over there and take that one in. It's one of my favorite albums by them.

Original post -
- This morning was perfect. Beautiful. Sunny.
Now we are in the midst of the first real spring thunderstorm of the year. And I am coming to you live (right now) from an aluminum tent. My father-in-law would be horrified.
I am very, very glad that DJ chose not to bring Pookie down here today. I am unimpressed by a mere radar image showing a monster storm, but he was raised to respect that big green blog and heed its fury.

- More dudes in skirts. More ball sweat.

- Still no female photogs, and the count on "That's a big ol camera for a lady" is at about 14 so far. You'll think "big ol camera" when I smack you upside the head with it.*
* I would never do that. The lens cost too damn much.

- This is from last night, but here are some Avett Brothers for your Saturday viewing.

Merlefest Live Blogging, Day 2

- Perfect weather. oooohhhhhh it's nice!

- It is too sunny. Even though I'm in tent, it's so bright out here that photo editing besides cropping is virtually impossible.
<-This photo, for example...I know it is very strangely colorized, but I can't tell exactly how, so I can't fix it right now.

- Lots of dudes in skirts. Some are kilts, some are hiking skirts. I'm confused- I don't have the parts, but I'd imagine the balls, they sweat. Ew.

- Every year at this festival I discover a new band to love. So far the frontrunner this year is The Waifs, an Australian group.

- You can always tell when the "headliner" bands show up, because the nice tour buses appear in the gravel lot backstage. There's a lovely shiny shiny black and red one back here now, but I'm not sure who it belongs to.

- I underestimated the heat today. I'm not comfy in just pants and a pink tank top, but I might actually pass out if I was wearing my hoodie. Luckily my camera is really heavy, so it kind of makes my arms look muscley, even if the rest of me looks flabby.

- There are ZERO other female photographers besides me here. I keep getting weird looks from the crowd, and once I confirmed that there was no booger present, it occurred to me that I just look much different than the others. Oh well. Maybe if I was wearing a skirt I'd blend in?

- I just took a little break and sat and watched a band. It was very nice, but I of course ended up people-watching instead of band-listening. There is a high percentage of hippies here, and besides the usual hippie twirling-hula-hooping thing, I now notice little hippie babies. All hippies have babies; it comes with the dreds and earth shoes. (You can tie-dye a shitload of onesies with one box of RIT, by the way.)

So I was watching this one cute little hippie family and I started noticing things that didn't jive ... for example, they had this stroller that costs $1300. I know it does because I think I loudly mentioned it in the store ... "WHO would pay that much for a stroller?! How bourgeois!" (You know what irony is?) The parents also had on matching Merrills, a 3.0 Kelty pack (the $300 version to my $100 cheapo) and were snacking on uber-expensive local organic yogurt.

Ah, so not hippies, then. Trustafarians. Riiiight. These are people who ACT like hippies, but have the money to buy nice expensive things while pretending to be broke and not cowing to the Man. My town is overrun with them. Other tip-offs are: Brand new Land Rovers or Subarus, perfect straight white teeth, and lack of tattoos. Also any overtly stereotypical hippie behavior may help you spot them - it's an overcompensation mechanism. LOTS of patchoulli? LONG dreds? INORDINATE amounts of body hair? The tendency to loudly write off Trey Anastasio because he "like, sold out the rest of the band"? These are all signs to look for.

There is nothing wrong with TFarians, by the way, but those who don't know what to look for might mistake them for something different. I'm just providing a public service, you see. Their kid was 100% adorable, and incredibly well-behaved, so they are doing something right.