Not a Slut

Just letting people know - I am not a slut. I am not promiscuous. I do not sleep around. I don't sleep with just anyone. I do not sleep with someone just because they make me dinner. I do not sleep with someone just because they show interest in me.

For fuck's sake. Could people please stop assuming I'm promiscuous?

That is all.

The Daily Wrocket and What I've Been Up To... Not Much

Today is Day 7 of the Daily Wrocket. Holy criminy, that's exciting!

As supportive as the Wizard Rock Community always has been, I am still in a state of shock to see the number of readers, the comments, the messages from friends and strangers. I always knew I would have a small readership. I have friends who had every intention of reading daily from the get-go. Some of these friends are Wrock fans, some are interested in the concept of Wrock, and some just wanted to support my endeavors. So I wanted to say thank you to everyone who has supported me from the beginning of my work on this project. And I want to say thank you even more vehemently to everyone who has been reading the Wrocket since it's launch. Your interest and support is so amazing to me!

Additionally, the Wrocket launch party at Wrockstock was beyond amazing!

Whoa! It's the Artwork!

Exciting news!!! A while back, not long after I decided to pursue the Daily Wrocket, I contacted my lovely friend Aelfie to see if she would design a logo for the Wrocket. After much anticipation, the final designs have been revealed and I think it's lovely and fun!

Inspired by the classic scene from Say Anything, I give to you... The Daily Wrocket!!

Today

I go through phases. Everyone does, for that matter.

Some days I feel wonderful about myself, who I am, where I am in my life. And other days not so much. Today is one of the days where I still feel wonderful about my life and how I live it, but I start to understand why no one seems to show interest in me. Or, rather... why the people I have any interest in show none toward me.

Just one of those days when I get to be down on myself for a while. Just wait until I perk back up in a few hours.

T-Shirt Uses

As you may know by now, I have made the decision to cut back on a lot in my life. This includes the amount of clothing I have (which is entirely too much). The most difficult to part myself with are my Wizard Rock and other awesome HP related t-shirts. But I have so many. And I only wear some of them on any kind of regular basis. So why do I have them, I keep asking myself.

So I went through most of my t-shirts (only missed a few as they were in a different location at the time) and made two piles outside of the closet. In the closet, I'm keeping. Outside the closet are the random shirts/articles of clothing I'll be donating to the local Salvation Army and a separate pile of all my HP and Wrock shirts that I've had trouble getting rid of but don't wear for one reason or another. But I don't want to just donate them. I want them to come to more immediate use.

Here are my ideas: take pictures of the shirts I'm getting rid of and offer them to whoever wants to pay shipping and/or take a select number of them and cut them up, turn them into sort of canvas/reusable bag, get that bag signed by Wrockers at Wrockstock and auction it off for the HPA.

Maybe I can do both? Make the bag and offer out the rest of the shirts that didn't get cut up to go into the bag?

What do you all think? I'd love to hear opinions!

The Life I Live and Love

Let's start this out right. I love my life.

I love the things I do. I love the commitments I make. I love the people I know. I love the places I go, the adventures I embark on.

But I've felt a sort of discontent in recent times. I'm trying to evaluate what is really important and what things in my life no longer hold the meaning that they once did. I've been considering the way I present myself - the clothes I wear, the way I speak, how I take care of my belongings - and what this means about me. I think about all the things that I dedicate my time to and what benefits I gain from them, the things I lose as a result of the time and effort I put into these things. I've been thinking about the way people view me - their initial reactions to making my acquaintance.

Daily Wrocket Preview #2

Below is my next preview from the Daily Wrocket as it stands at this moment. I'm sure there will be some minor editing to this section, but I feel pretty good about where it stands now.

The below preview is the entire page titled "What is Wizard Rock?" It is designed to provide a basis of understanding of the genre for outsiders and (hopefully) a modicum of pride for insiders.

Any and all comments, suggestions, and constructive criticisms are welcome! Either comment here or email me at: dinah@dailywrocket.com

What is Wizard Rock?

Wizard Rock is, at its core, music about Harry Potter. This does not mean every song is solely about the boy wizard (not to deny that a decent amount of them are), but rather that the musicians involved in the movement write songs inspired by the characters, events, and themes found in the book series. Just as a "Muggle" music (as some of us Wrock fans refer to non-Wizard Rock) is inspired by everyday happenings, emotions, and situations, Wizard Rock is inspired by the same things, but with a focus on them as seen within a specific book series.

A Brief History of Wrock

It is widely accepted that the first Wizard Rock song was 'Ode to Harry' in 2000 by the band Switchblade Kittens that was later put onto their album The Weird Sisters. While I agree that this was one of the very first songs about Harry Potter (and certainly the first one to be widely distributed), I peg the beginnings of Wizard Rock taking place approximately a year later with the advent of Harry and the Potters.

"But wasn't it the first big song about good ol' HP?" you may be asking yourself, "I thought you said Wizard Rock was music about him?" Yes, but it's not quite so simple as that, as you'll see discussed in the section below on what seperates Wizard Rock from other music scenes.

Paul and Joe DeGeorge, also known as Harry and the Potters, started making music about Harry Potter by a happy accident of last minute cancellations from bands slated to play in their backyard. I'm sure it was stressful at the time, but I call it a happy accident because those bands cancelling essentially created a new musical genre.

The Potters started touring and telling anyone and everyone to start their own bands about Harry Potter as well. To their surprise and great joy... many of their fans did begin creating bands after listening to their music. Some of the first bands were Draco and the Malfoys, The Whomping Willows, and The Parselmouths.

Over the intervening years, nearly 700 Wizard Rock bands have popped into existence, some of which have stuck around and released extensive discographies (Catchlove and Ministry of Magic stand out in my mind at the moment), and some of which have released no more than a single song and left the band behind entirely after that.

If you'd like to read a more complete history, check out the History of Wrock posted on the Wizrocklopedia. Or better yet, order yourself a copy of the Wizard Rockumentary and watch with an open mind!

What Makes Wizard Rock Stand Out From Other Music Scenes?

While it all started as a single band, Harry and the Potters, one of the key ingredients to Wizard Rock is the community element. There's a reason I refer to it as the Wizard Rock Community in discussion (whether with newcomers to the idea of Wrock or to veterans of the community). Wizard Rock, by and at large, is very Do-It-Yourself. Most bands write their music, record, master, burn to CD, design and create album art, and anything else in the long "To Do" list of making an album all by themselves or with the help of friends. It's not unheard of to have music professionally mastered or to send an album out to be professionally manufactured when demand is particularly high, but that does not negate the creative process that the Wizard Rocker goes through prior to that point in production.

But that's not all, folks! Wizard Rock has this amazing tendency to support various charities and non-profits through touring, charity compilations, and general fund raising. The Whomping Willows' Matt Maggiacomo is one of the forerunners in charity fund raising, having raised money for disaster relief in Haiti and for the Harry Potter Alliance, among other charities. Also on the map for their extensive work are Paul and Joe DeGeorge (Harry and the Potters), Stephanie Anderson (Tonks and the Aurors), and Jarrod Perkins (Gred and Forge), among many others.

One charity that has received upwards of $15,000 over the years from various fund raising (including the Wizard Rock EP of the Month Club run by Paul DeGeorge) has been First Book, an organization promoting literacy by providing books to children in need. In this regard, they share an important feature of the Wizard Rock Community: the promotion and spread of literacy. As is made pretty obvious, the entire Wizard Rock genre is inspired by a book series. All of us Wizard Rockers and Wizard Rock fans are also fans of this spectacular book series that inspired us to make music, love each other, and share our passions with complete strangers with similar interests. We want more than just our music to spread, we want a love of reading to spread to those around us and those listening to this music.

This is what makes Wizard Rock stand out: We aren't in the general mainstream, we don't have competition among bands, our musicians have a very DIY and independent attitude toward their music, and the Community at large has a major focus on spreading literacy and supporting non-profit organizations.

All I can say to this is: Awesome!

Where Can I Learn More About Wizard Rock?

The very best way to learn more about Wizard Rock is to explore it for yourself. My favorite way to do this is to find the myspace page of any Wrock band and to start looking at their friends list. There, you'll see a ton of other Wizard Rock bands. Just keep clicking around and listening to more music! You never know what you'll come across!

If you don't have the time to spend clicking around, feel free to peruse the Wizrocklopedia for a list of as many Wrock bands as have been located so far and news updates on what is going on in Wizard Rock. Alternatively, you can check out Real Wizard Rock for a seriously awesome selection of Wizard Rock lyrics from many of the genre's biggest (and some lesser known) bands.

And if all of this sounds like too much work, just sign up for the EP of the Month Club for a mere $60 (the entire profits of which go to benefit a non-profit organization). You will receive a total of 12 EPs over the course of the year, sent out quarterly. That's only $5 per disc! And you'll get a seriously rad selection of Wizard Rock to listen to!

Random Thoughts

I stole this from a friend over Facebook. But it made me happy, so I thought I'd spread the joy. :D I went through and bolded my favourites.

Random thoughts from 25-35 year olds as seen on facebook, but very funny.

• Nothing sucks more than that moment during an argument when you realize you're wrong.
• I don't understand the purpose of the line, "I don't need to drink to have fun." Great, no one does. But why start a fire with flint and sticks when they've invented the lighter?
• When I meet a new girl, I'm terrified of mentioning something she hasn’t already told me but that I have learned from some light internet stalking.
• I like all of the music in my iTunes, except when it's on shuffle, then I like about one in every fifteen songs in my iTunes.
• Why is a school zone 20 mph? That seems like the optimal cruising speed for pedophiles...
• As a driver I hate pedestrians, and as a pedestrian I hate drivers, but no matter what the mode of transportation, I always hate cyclists.
• Sometimes I'll look down at my watch 3 consecutive times and still not know what time it is.
• It should probably be called Unplanned Parenthood.
• I keep some people's phone numbers in my phone just so I know not to answer when they call.
• Even if I knew your social security number, I wouldn't know what do to with it.
• Even under ideal conditions, people have trouble locating their car keys in a pocket, hitting the G-spot, and Pinning the Tail on the Donkey, but I’d bet my ass everyone can find and push the Snooze button from 3 feet away, in about 1.7 seconds, eyes closed, first time every time...
• My 4-year old son asked me in the car the other day "Dad what would happen if you ran over a ninja?" How the hell do I respond to that?
• It really pisses me off when I want to read a story on CNN.com and the link takes me to a video instead of text.
• I wonder if cops ever get pissed off at the fact that everyone they drive behind obeys the speed limit.
• I think the freezer deserves a light as well.
• I disagree with Kay Jewelers. I would bet on any given Friday or Saturday night more kisses begin with Miller Lights than Kay.
• The other night I ordered takeout, and when I looked in the bag, saw they had included four sets of plastic silverware. In other words, someone at the restaurant packed my order, took a second to think about it, and then estimated that there must be at least four people eating to require such a large amount of food. Too bad I was eating by myself. There's nothing like being made to feel like a fat bastard before dinner.
• Have you ever been walking down the street and realized that you’re going in the complete opposite direction of where you are supposed to be going? But instead of just turning a 180 and walking back in the direction from which you came, you have to first do something like check your watch or phone or make a grand arm gesture and mutter to yourself to ensure that no one in the surrounding area thinks you’re crazy by randomly switching directions on the sidewalk.
• That's enough, Nickelback.
• I totally take back all those times I didn't want to nap when I was younger.
• Is it just me, or are 80% of the people in the "people you may know” feature on Facebook people that I do know, but I deliberately choose not to be friends with?
• Kids today are soft.
• There is a great need for sarcasm font.
• I think everyone has a movie that they love so much it actually becomes stressful to watch it with other people. I'll end up wasting 90 minutes shiftily glancing around to confirm that everyone’s laughing at the right parts, then making sure I laugh just a little bit harder (and a millisecond earlier) to prove that I'm still the only one who really, really gets it.
• I would rather try to carry 10 plastic grocery bags in each hand than take 2 trips to bring my groceries in.
• I think part of a best friend's job should be to immediately clear your computer history if you die.
• A recent study has shown that playing beer pong contributes to the spread of mono and the flu. Yeah, if you suck at it.
• I have a hard time deciphering the fine line between boredom and hunger.
• Whenever someone says "I'm not book smart, but I'm street smart”, all I hear is "I'm not real smart, but I'm imaginary smart".
• How many times is it appropriate to say "What?" before you just nod and smile because you still didn't hear what they said?
• Every time I have to spell a word over the phone using 'as in’ examples, I will undoubtedly draw a blank and sound like a complete idiot. Today I had to spell my boss's last name to an attorney and said "Yes that's G as in...(10 second lapse)..ummm...Goonies"
• What would happen if I hired two private investigators to follow each other?
• While driving yesterday I saw a banana peel in the road and instinctively swerved to avoid it...thanks Mario Kart.
• MapQuest really needs to start their directions on #5. Pretty sure I know how to get out of my neighborhood.
• Obituaries would be a lot more interesting if they told you how the person died.
• I find it hard to believe there are actually people who get in the shower first and THEN turn on the water.
• Shirts get dirty. Underwear gets dirty. Pants? Pants never get dirty, and you can wear them forever.
• I would like to officially coin the phrase 'catching the swine flu’ to be used as a way to make fun of a friend for hooking up with an overweight woman. Example: "Dave caught the swine flu last night."
• I can't remember the last time I wasn't at least kind of tired.
• Bad decisions make good stories
• Whenever I'm Facebook stalking someone and I find out that their profile is public I feel like a kid on Christmas morning who just got the Red Ryder BB gun that I always wanted. 546 pictures? Don't mind if I do!
• Is it just me or do high school girls get sluttier & sluttier every year?
• If Carmen San Diego and Waldo ever got together, their offspring would probably just be completely invisible.
• Why is it that during an ice-breaker, when the whole room has to go around and say their name and where they are from, I get so incredibly nervous? Like I know my name, I know where I'm from, this shouldn't bea problem...
• You never know when it will strike, but there comes a moment at work when you've made up your mind that you just aren't doing anything productive for the rest of the day.
• Can we all just agree to ignore whatever comes after DVDs? I don’t want to have to restart my collection.
• There's no worse feeling than that millisecond you're sure you are going to die after leaning your chair back a little too far.
• I'm always slightly terrified when I exit out of Word and it asks me if I want to save any changes to my ten page research paper that I swear I did not make any changes to.
• "Do not machine wash or tumble dry" means I will never wash this ever.
• I hate being the one with the remote in a room full of people watching TV. There's so much pressure. 'I love this show, but will they judge me if I keep it on? I bet everyone is wishing we weren’t watching this. It's only a matter of time before they all get up and leave the room. Will we still be friends after this?'
• I hate when I just miss a call by the last ring (Hello? Hello?Dammit!), but when I immediately call back, it rings nine times and goes to voicemail. What'd you do after I didn't answer? Drop the phone and run away?
• I hate leaving my house confident and looking good and then not seeing anyone of importance the entire day. What a waste.

Never Happier to be Clean

This has been an extremely long week. Worked 50 hours in the office, but am still behind on my project to the point where my boss is unhappy, had to change my sleep schedule to start getting to work around 4-4:30 am, had to tech the show, which would keep me awake far longer than I wanted to be up when I had to go to work so early, and to top it off, I couldn't make it to HC84 because it was far away and I had to run the show.

So last night's party was a very welcome thing. However, it wasn't just any old party. It was a Food Fight party. Everyone brought a token messy/sticky/squishy food item for the fight and we stashed them on tables in the backyard. At 11:30, all of us in our food fight clothes, rearing and ready (and drunk) for the food fight gathered in the center of the grass. On the count of three, we all made mad dashes for the various containers of food around us. It was a mad five minutes of throwing glop around, grabbing mashed potatoes and smashing it into peoples' hair, smearing spaghetti and red sauce across someone's shirt, picking up chunks that were on the ground and throwing them back into the chaos.

Holy freaking crap, it was a lot of fun.

To wash off, a bunch of us jumped into the pool and continued having a blast. There were also a couple people hosing everyone else off. Despite all the hosing, dousing, swimming, etc.... when I woke up this morning, I had dried mashed potatoes and other unknown food remains in my hair. Best. Shower. Ever.

Will definitely grab and post pictures from last night as soon as people get them up on Facebook.

I think last night was the most fun I've had in a very long time with the possible exception of a certain roof excursion at Azkatraz. But it's definitely a close call.

I can't wait for Wrockstock to blow this out of the water. Because I'll be damned if it doesn't!

The Daily Wrocket

As the Daily Wrocket official website is still in progress (and thereby closed to the public), I have decided to post at the least a very small preview from what is ready so far: a portion of my answer to the question, "What is the Daily Wrocket?"

So sit back, relax, and read a little about the Daily Wrocket to give you an idea of what it's all about!

What is the Daily Wrocket?
Have you ever considered how music plays into our lives and the effect it has on masses of listeners? I hope to use this project as a way of learning about and sharing the effect that Wizard Rock in particular has on the individuals who listen to it every day by observing the bands instead of the listeners.

I will be taking a different Wizard Rock band each day for 365 days and focusing my thoughts and discussion of Wizard Rock through them. The ultimate goal of the Daily Wrocket is to take an alternative approach to listening to music and sharing it with others. This is not a project where I plan on listing a band each day with their rap sheet of albums and music to date. No - I want to react to the music, to the band, and to the impact each band has had on the Wizard Rock Community, the Harry Potter Fandom, and on my own personal life.

I hope for this to be a very personal approach to music, Wizard Rock, and the challenges that arise in a small, close-knit community and how we rise above them to grow closer and stronger than ever before.

If you're a Wizard Rocker and would like to have a write-up about your band on the Wrocket, please email me at: dinah@dailywrocket.com I will send you interview questions to answer so I can make your write-up as awesome as possible!

An Update After a Long Time

I recently realized how ridiculously long it's been since I've done any kind of blogging here. A lot has happened in the meantime:

• My opinion article turned fiasco


• Azkatraz


• Running two productions at my local theatre (still running the second one now)


• Freya went to Europe for two weeks


• Preparing as much as possible for the Daily Wrocket


• I moved out of my old house


• Staying with my grandma until the next place is ready


• Continuing to work anywhere between 42 and 50 hours a week

I'm sure there's more, but I'm having trouble remembering more than that right now. It's pretty ridiculous, to be honest.

In any case, I've been doing a lot of thinking about a whole ton of stuff lately. Among these things is where the Wizard Rock Community is right now and what the future of it is. It's a terribly interesting train of thought and I'm working on writing up a few things about it right now. None of them are quite ready and I'm still trying to decide where I want to post them. One option I've been considering is re-instating my bi-weekly "Straight From the Dinah Saur's Mouth" column, but I have yet to determine whether or not I'll have time for that, what with the Daily Wrocket coming along so swiftly. We'll see.

Speaking of the Daily Wrocket, I've got a decent amount of the information for the website itself written. I'm collecting Wizard Rock email addresses and interviews to make my writing about them better and more interesting, but I'm slacking on actually getting write-ups written so far. I need to just sit down one day and start going through what I've got, listening to music, and writing my thoughts on what's going on. Hopefully I'll have time to do this sometime this weekend. Hell, I should just make time for it. It's the only way I'm going to get anything done. I can write about the bands I have interviews from and even do some write-ups on bands that haven't been active in an extremely long time. I don't anticipate getting a response from any of them regarding interviews, but that doesn't mean I don't have enough fodder to write about them!

I've purchased the domain name and have an email all set up. I just need to get the domain name linked to my blog (which is proving to be troublesome at this point, I think I just need to actually call their customer service on this one). Also, my lovely Aelfie is designing banners, icons, and the like for me. Once I have those, I plan on getting the web design set up (with the help of the ever-awesome Aaron, who also does the web design for the 'Pedia), and to start using social networking sites to begin promoting. By then, all the info pages will be up on the website and maybe I'll post occasional thoughts about my progress prior to the official launch to keep people updated and interested.

Well, I really ought to get going now. I just thought I'd give a basic update now that I have thought about it! Hope you're all having a wonderful day and that everything is awesome in your lives!

Random Interlude #2 (click image for full comic)

Thanks to Brittany for this! www.toothpastefordinner.com

LeakyCon To Do List:

• Make cds for people
• Get carry-on luggage from Grandma's
• Make cookies (unnecessary)
• Write down all the times and places I'm meeting people
• Do my laundry
• Make gifts for two individuals who may see this, so I can't say what
• Make more powerpoints for the HPA (unnecessary)
• Get final touches done on WRPCA winner envelopes/cards
• Pre-order live Wrock album from Leaky (save for later)
• Maybe register for the Michael Goldenberg or Hottttt Cheryl keynotes (unnecessary)
• Take a minute to breathe
• Complete at least these two projects at work before leaving
• Pack my bags
• Not forget anything (I think!!!)
• Gear myself up for being on a panel with some majorly amazing people
• Not be a bumbling idiot on the panel
• Make copies of Pat Hull albums for James
• Make a list of all the things I'm picking up for other people (get something signed for Chan, and I'm sure there's more!)

I'm sure there's more. I should have made a list like this much sooner. *facepalm*

Some input, please?

x-posted from a note on Facebook

Hello Friends!

I have decided to try an interesting project. I don't know how well I will do it, but hopefully it will be awesome! What I'm doing here is looking for input (positive, negative, and constructive are all welcome! Especially constructive. :P). Additionally, I am trying to figure out WHAT to call it. I honestly haven't a clue at the moment. So maybe title suggestions?

So here's the idea:
I want to choose a different Wizard Rock band each day of the year for 365 days. Each day I would listen to as much music from the chosen band as I can, provide a helpful list of their songs and/or albums, review the band, reflect on Wrock as a whole in relation to this band or as brought up by the band, potentially make a vlog once a week or something along those lines.

At this point, I just have a vague outline of what I'd like to do. So what things would you like to see happen with a project like this? What would be a good name for it? What are your thoughts on what has been going through my mind so far?

Thanks for your input, everyone!

UPDATE: Suggestions I've received so far have essentially been to go for it, but have a few ready in advance for days when I can't make it to the computer.

Family and my Weekend

I have been spending the weekend with my family, and I love it. It's the first time I've seen my dad, step-mom, and little brothers since the end of last July and, as crazy as they can be, it's pretty glorious. Friday night, they arrived in town, I went to my grandparents' house and had dinner and chatted quite a bit.

Lovely.

After that, I went out with Juanita and Andrew because Andrew is about to move to Washington. Juanita and I ended up back at my house at 2am - at which point I noticed James was online, so we drunkenly Skype chatted with him for about an hour before going to sleep around 3:30am.

Then it was an early morning for us (up at about 8:15am) to go grab some breakfast at Cafe Coda, immediately followed by a bit of tidying in my room and meeting my family at Saturday Morning Market at 10am. This led to an approximately 9 mile bike ride with my dad, my aunt, and my little brothers (including a bit of a picnic on the creek in the park). It was a great time.

After this, I made it home in time to catch about the last half of the Wizarding Radio Hour, which was particularly fun, actually! I look forward to future airings. I had a great time with it. A bit of rest later and I went back to my grandparents' house for dinner where I had a drink with everyone, a large dinner, and a good amount of discussion and telling of family stories.

Now I'm dead exhausted and SO looking forward to sleeping. I feel a bit bad because I want to go to Tila's birthday party tonight, but I don't have a ride there or back and I would be a lame guest because I'm so tired.

Ah well, she knows I love her and hopefully I will see her soon enough anyway!

When Incompetence Pays Off

I just re-installed my OS in order to fix some obnoxious glitches on my computer. Before I did this, I saved all my important files to blank CDs. When I put the first disc into the computer (this disc being the one I put most of the really important things onto), I discovered that I had failed to fully close the session, meaning my computer couldn't read the disc at all.

FUCK.

That was all I could think. I was screwed. Then.... I started restoring my iTunes library (backed up to a million blank DVDs) and realised my computer was running out of space. That didn't seem right! So, that's when I discovered that I hadn't deleted or even replaced all the old information on my computer. It just happened to get pushed into the "Windows.old" folder instead of the new "Windows" one. I did a little digging, and found every single file I thought I had just lost.

GLORIOUS!

So... I guess the moral of the story is that when things look like they've gone wrong because you were being an idiot (like me), just hold out a little longer before getting upset. Chances are your idiocy will be found elsewhere in a way that actually helps you.

Or something.

Because I'm Lame

Bwahahahahaha!

Thank you Jason!

From: http://www.smbc-comics.com/

I'm Awesome(ly Nerdy)!

So... the other day, there was a random reference to Pokemon by James. This reminded me of how I used to collect Pokemon cards when I was in middle school and then again not long after I started at University. Tonight, I looked over and saw the cabinet in which I have stored these items for the past couple years, taking them out to reminisce over every so often.

So I opened it and started giggling, looking at all that filled it. I had forgotten just how much I enjoy these little things in my life. I started pulling things out, looking through my toys one sort at a time. I started with my Pokemon cards. I have a rather large binder filled with them. I have a couple long cardboard boxes filled with more. I have a couple decks that I had built in individual cases. I have more just stashed around that didn't fit anywhere else. What I had nearly forgotten about, however, were my "special" Pokemon cards. Well, they're special to me. I once saw on eBay, an unopened box of 1st Edition base set cards... wait for it ...in German! I bought it and had more fun opening those booster packs than I had ever had in the past! I now have almost the entire base set in German but for a few cards that happened to not be in that box. Additionally, I had purchased a couple starter decks in German... both from the Fossil set.

To continue, I next took a quick peek at my old Magic cards. I don't have many, but it gave me a good laugh at how I got many of them. You see, I had a Swamp deck back in my day. I didn't have many cards and wanted to make my deck better, so I went around to my brothers and step brother to see if they wanted to give me any. My step brother, in particular, was very helpful. He had a bunch scattered in his desk drawer. Of course, it turned out that he used to stash is illicit green smoking substances (XD) in that drawer. So I ended up with a ton of cards that smelled strongly of marijuana. Cracked me up.

Anyways, so then it was time to look through my Harry Potter TCG cards. I have a binder filled with some from each set I have (my old 'Magic, Witchcraft, and Religion' binder with a Potterpuff image on the cover). In addition, I have a two player starter set, an old box from the Diagon Alley set, my own deck (Quidditch and Potions headed by Oliver Wood), and a slew of unopened booster packs!

I have officially decided that I will not yet open these booster packs but wait until one of two things: either LeakyCon or when James comes to visit (hopefully with Christie in tow for the weekend!). Either way, it will be so much more fun with friends who are as crazy about HP fun as I am and I'm already excited!

So the whole time I was going through these things of mine, I kept thinking to myself, "I'm awesome! I love this stuff! How can that not be awesome!?"

If you'd like to look at many more pictures of these things, check out the album here!

Working Out

Follow-up on yesterday's post:

Things have worked through. Took about 20 hours longer than it should have, but it's fine.

ps. I forgot how much I like the song "Snape vs. Snape" by MoM until it just turned up on my iTunes on shuffle. XD

Uncertainty

If I don't hear back in the next day, I think it's too late.

It isn't worth the heartache of going through it again and again. I am trying. I am putting forth the effort and getting no response. I haven't officially decided yet, but I think I know where this is leading. I love the people as individuals, but as "co-workers" of a sort, there is a lot of trouble. They say that communication is most important of all things, but they are failing at that game now. Feel like I'm being shut out.

Don't want to lose friends over this, but I fear that I might.

Sorry for the vagueness. Don't want to give any details until I know what will be happening.

Funny Story Time, Kiddies!

After Cannibal was over on Saturday night, I was down in the performance area talking to friends of mine who just saw the show. Then some random guy walks up who looks almost vaguely familiar. He starts talking to me, excitedly proclaiming, "See? I did end up making it!" and other such phrases that made me think, "Do I know this guy and just forget who he is?" So I continue talking to him a bit asking how he liked the show, etc. And then he goes, "Your name is Dinah, right?" I laughed and said it was wondering how I was going to get out of the situation where I had no idea who this person was in the first place. At which point he says, "You probably don't remember my name, do you?" I explained that I am terrible at names and I'm sorry and blah, blah, blah... the usual.

It turns out, after a little more discussion, that I met him in the stairwell down to the U Bar one night when I was drunk (and don't remember meeting him) and I must have told him about Cannibal and apparently gave him a hug.

Yeah... good times... ?

My guess is it happened the night I went out with Janae, because no other night did I wander down there following enough Jager to make me at least a bit forgetful of the events ending the evening.

A Beautiful Day on the Horizon

So, to start off... last night was the opening of Cannibal: The Musical. It went very well! Lots of fun, went out to the only local pub afterwards. Didn't have anything to drink as I was driving home right afterwards, but it was nice to hang out with everyone from the show for a bit. And to not have the annoying kids in the show around. :D

When I got home, it as about 1:30 and I realised that it was morning in the UK and I wasn't quite tired and James deserved a shot at chatting at me when I was dead exhausted. Ended up talking for a few hours and it was lovely. Woke up exhausted around 10:15 this morning, but today will be great anyway!

So.... onto the day I'm looking forward to now! To begin with, I'm still house sitting for my mum, which means I have probably the best view in the city. The day is so clear I can see the Buttes (the world's smallest mountain range) straight out the window. Rarely is the air so clear and the mini-mountain range so crisp in appearance. I just wish I had a camera to take a picture and show you. Alas, I do not at this time. :(

However, sometime soon, I will be going over to my cousin's for my family's Fourth Annual Wine and Brewfest. Basically, everyone brings some kind of six pack - a beer that is uncommon, interesting, or just something they'd like to try - and we spend the day together drinking and having a good time. Yeah. My family is freaking awesome. Adam and Mary started this new tradition and it is definitely a good one!

Of course, I have to run the show tonight, so can't drink too much. And the fact I have to drive over there is another thing. At least the show is late night and I can wait until I'm perfectly cogent to do any driving and tech running.

After the show, we'll all be heading over to Tony's birthday party, which should prove to be particularly entertaining! It will be good to see everyone again and have a good time. I don't know if I'll be drinking much there, as I'll still be driving myself about. But if I do, I'm sure I can crash if necessary. I doubt I will, but I'm sure it's available.

Anyways, off to start my day!

Things You Know You Want to Do...

1. At lunch time, sit in your parked car with sunglasses on and point a hair dryer at passing cars. See if they slow down.

2. Page yourself over the intercom. Don't disguise your voice.

3. Every time someone asks you to do something, ask if they want fries with that.

4. Put your garbage can on your desk and label it "in"

5. Put decaf in the coffee maker for 3 weeks. Once everyone has gotten over their caffeine addictions, switch to espresso.

6. In the memo field of all your checks, write "for sexual favors."

7. Finish all your sentences with "in accordance with the prophecy."

8. Dont use any punctuation marks

9. As often as possible, skip rather than walk.

10. Ask people what sex they are. Laugh hysterically after they answer.

11. Specify that your drive-through order is "to go."

12. Sing along at the opera.

13. Go to a poetry recital and ask why the poems don't rhyme.

14. Put mosquito netting around your work area. Play a tape of jungle sounds all day.

15. Five days in advance, tell your friends you can't attend their party because you're not in the mood.

16. Have your coworkers address you by your wrestling name, Rock Hard Kim.

17. When the money comes out the ATM, scream "I won!", "I won!" "3rd time this week!!!!!"

18. When leaving the zoo, start running towards the parking lot, yelling "run for your lives, they're loose!!"

19. Tell your children over dinner. "due to the economy, we are going to have to let one of you go."

Rawr

I don't really have much in the way of anything to say, but I felt like getting a good old fashioned rawr out there.
Image from this site.

A Nice Day

I nearly forgot to write this blog! I told James I would, so I feel obligated to now. XD

So today has been interesting, but is ending quite nicely. It started with the lovely ability to sleep in for nearly an extra hour complete. That alone should have been enough to make my day glorious! However, not long after I got to work, Greg started IMing me and, when I explained that my weekend is jam-packed and he explained that he was trying to organize a surprise weekend visit with me, he got angry. What it all comes down to is I was so angry at him that I was literally shaking at my desk. I went on Twitter and asked James to come online and talk to me because I just needed to talk to someone I actually enjoy talking to.

After a bit of ranting and raving to the ever patient James, I stopped shaking, I felt a bit better, and I was actually able to form a coherent thought. So James... you are the only reason my day ended up fine in the end. Huzzah!

After lunch, I got a chance to get to know one of my co-workers better and discovered she's quite a lot of fun to chat with. She called me over at one point later to help her with a piece of a project that was really just causing her a massive headache. Took about 20-30 minutes, but was a lot of fun, once we got it figured out.

From there, I got to check on my grandma's cats, pick up some food at Trader Joe's, and head to my mum's home. Laundry took place while I got my bath ready... and let me tell you... I now understand why people love bubble baths so very much! It was just like in a movie when you see the woman in the bath with bubbles so thick she might as well be fully clothed under all the white. Except it was me and it was real. I learned something important for my future bath adventures.... have a glass of cold water nearby!

So now I'm silky smooth, eating delicious vegetable lasagna from TJ's, typing up this silly account.

But oh! I can't believe I forgot to mention this sooner! Earlier today, my friend Chelsea and I were walking out to the coffee truck that parks outside our work building a few mornings each week. I accidentally caught a snail with my shoe and broke it's shell. It was still alive, so I put it among some foliage to hopefully recover. Within an hour of this, Felicia Day happened to post this to her Twitter: "Seeing lots of snails in LA lately. I know people hate them, especially gardeners, but I don’t. Fairies use them as mounts after all. "

My friend @replied to Felicia saying: "I love snails (because they are mounts for fairies :)) but my friend accidentally broke one’s shell as we were getting coffee " And, once I saw this, I sent another @reply to Felicia explaining, "I would like to mention (as @[my friend]’s friend) that it was an accident and I moved it to safety so it could try and recover!"

Chelsea and I started giggling about it because it amused us. But the story doesn't end there! Apparently, Felicia got so many hilarious @replies that she wanted to post a number of them in her blog. Chelsea and I are among them and are some of the first mentioned! Absolutely hilarious!

"I guess having over 300,000 followers on Twitter can be a good and bad thing. The bad is I can’t possibly follow or know each and every person who follows me, but the good is that when I get so many insanely smart and wonderful responses to things I tweet. I would love to RT (ReTweet) them all and share them on my Twitter feed, but sometimes I get so many awesome responses I can’t give credit where credit is due. So I decided, based on a Twitter I did this morning, to share some of my favorites."

So... if you'd like to see this post, check it here. We're @caliclia and @WrockDinahSaur

Cannibal: The Musical

So I'm doing some tech for a show called "Cannibal: The Musical"... Freaking hilarious. Tonight was the first time we had any actual tech. I'm running the follow spot. But let me tell you... it is the jankiest form of follow spot that I can possibly imagine.

To begin with, it's not actually a spot light. It sticks, it gets very hot and has no handle, and the aiming is freaking awkward as hell! Oh... and I haven't even mentioned the best part. There is some kind of giant power thingy with a huge, extremely noisy dial that turns the light on and off. I have to do that every time the light goes on or off... and some cues are pretty fast, meaning it's even louder. We're going to try and WD-40 it tomorrow, but we really don't know if it'll even make a difference. Bah!

But the show is really coming together and should be a blast. We open on Friday night! Yay!

Okay, now I really just need to get some sleep. :P

Thought of the Day

In the words of Andy Scott and Trevor Griffin, "Love is like oxygen."

Shit. It's true. "You get too much, you get too high. Not enough and you're gonna die." Currently searching for that middle ground. Good luck to me!

And yes... I am quoting cheesy glam rock from the '70s. Get over it. :D

(That's the band off to the right, by the way... The Sweet. How can you not love them when they used to wear outfits like that?? I mean, for reals! )

Thanks to Wikipedia for the picture.

A Wild Night

Okay.... so last night was freaking awesome. Janae made it here not long before 10pm, so it was easy and fine to just head out pretty much right away. I had given much thought to where I would take her because it was her first time going out drinking since turning 21 earlier this week. The way I saw it... I had to give her a true Chico experience, so to the U Bar it was. For those who read this and don't live in Chico (which I think is everyone, actually), the U Bar is something of a dive, but one that's actually pretty decent. The drinks are cheap, but not terrible. So it works out well in the end.

Anyways, we started at the U Bar, I had been waning more and more all day, so I started the night with a Jager Blaster followed immediately by a Long Island. Janae decided to stick with fruity cocktails and got some kind of strawberry drink. Then I saw a friend of mine, so we sat with him and his other friend and chatted a bit. After finishing our drinks, we decided it was time to move on. We went to Panama's, but it was particularly lame, busy, and smoky all at once, so we just left and headed to Duffy's where Janae had another cocktail and we had a good time chatting. Then, to keep up with the Chico spirit, we went by the Bear. It's not a very fun place to go at night, I find... but I felt like it was part of the experience. It was just waters for us there and then we left and hit Normal St. because it is right around the corner from the Bear. By chance I ran into some old friends I hadn't seen in many, many months and that's when the night got particularly interesting.

Heidi and her boyfriend started buying me more and more drinks. And all of them had Jager. I had a Jager Bomb (like the Blaster, but pre-combined) and a half followed by a Red-Headed Slut (or something like that... I don't really remember the name because by then I was pretty well inebriated). At this point, I ran into Matty and when Heidi and Anthony decided to head to Panama's, Janae and I joined with Matty in tow. At Panama's we just had a couple glasses of water and did a good bit of dancing.

And now that I'm typing all this up, it sounds pretty lame. But we had a great time. Janae and I came home, had some more water, and put on Mr. and Mrs. Smith to fall asleep to. My bladder woke me around 5am and the Janae's stomach woke her just after. It took a couple hours for Janae to be better again, but she got a little more sleep and ate a bit of toast (my personal stomach quencher) and headed back up to Redding.

Apparently, when we got back from the bars, I did a little bit of Facebook updating and wall posting. Awesome. XD

A Brief Interlude

So I just wanted to put in a brief little interlude from the nonsense going through my head. I'm going out tonight with Janae and it's going to be tons of fun. She's coming down from Redding right now and we'll be going out and having a rad time.

So in celebration, I wanted to post something joyful and adorable all at the same time. I present to you... lolcat #2!



see more Lolcats and funny pictures

Inebriated Ramblings

This post is made while I'm a little in the drink. To be precise, I've had half a bottle of wine to myself and that's about it. I actually made a vlog for my youtube channel, but for some unknown reason, it won't upload. Honestly, that's probably for the best.

I am a pretty ridiculous vlogger, even in the soberest of moments. So not having to inflict my friends upon the torture of seeing me vlog while inebriated is probably a good thing. Of course, blogging while inebriated isn't much better, but at least you can't see my face.

Why that makes a difference, I really don't know. But the fact that you can't see the expressions I'm making is pretty significant.

I drank half a bottle of wine tonight. So forgive any spelling or grammatical errors I make. I don't think I'm making any, but I might be making a shitload.

The big question: why is Dinah drinking tonight? Answer: because she feels truly and completely alone for the first time in a long time. I believe that being even just a bit inebriated is a great way of learning how people actually feel about certain things. I know it's when I feel most honest. Without realising it, I am more honest (which is seriously saying something) when I have had a few than when I'm stone sober.

Huzzah to that..... or something.

Anyway, it's late - I've been drinking - and now I need to sleep. I hope you enjoyed these inebriated ramblings.

Skipping Ahead

So remember that post a bit ago about wanting to skip ahead and get to the happy ending of my life? Well, I've been thinking about that a lot recently. Sure, it sounds nice in theory, but when it comes down to it... that's not what I want or need right now. It's true, I can think of at least one person who is pretty much exactly who I would love to have in my life 'til death do us part. But that's not what I need right now. I think I still need the freedom of being a woman of sense and independence.

Looking ahead to the me of 5 years from now, that person looks even more appealing to my sensibilities. And by then I may just be ready for more. I don't want to miss my middle, as Lorelai Gilmore would put it. I see the beginning, I see the ending I could have... and as much as I want to jump forward in time and just have it... I don't want to miss my story, my middle.

The important part isn't the result, it's the journey that takes us there. So I guess it's time for me to just live it up, go with the flow, and have a good time with my life. No more fucking around and feeling sorry for myself because things aren't turning out as well as I had hoped. No more being shitty at keeping up with people and wallowing pitiably because I don't seem to have anyone around anymore.

Yes, there are rough times. Yes, I have always gotten through them as well as I could. And now it's time to just freaking get over it.

Life - here I come.

And the sad part is I can't even bring myself to end that statement with an exclamation point.

Taking a little trip...

So..... I'm planning on going to Mars. Their flights are all booked right now, but hopefully I can catch one of those ones in 214 days they mentioned on the site.

What I'm Looking For

I'll be honest. I don't know what I'm looking for. Right now, I just want to have a fun time. I am so unbelievably happy to not be in my last relationship that it shocks me every time I realize it. At the same time, while I miss the comfort of having someone I could (sometimes) rely on when I needed human contact, I definitely don't want to be in a relationship now. Not if I have to fight through the beginning stages that always seem so nice at the time. I guess I just don't want to deal with that right now. I want the happy ending. I want the first letter in "Slay the Critics" at the end of Buffy the Vampire Slayer Season 8, Issue 22. I know what the ending is, but I don't know how I'm going to get there or who it's going to be with.

For those who don't have access to this issue of Buffy, allow me to enlighten you. The very first letter was led into with these simple words from Scott Allie (the man who answers the letters sent in), "And now...a very special Slay the Critics. Please read the following letter, everyone." To say the least, he has never instructed the readers to make certain to read a specific letter. In fact, he has commented on getting flack from fans for not printing the entirety of every letter in the past. Yet this one was somehow special. I read on to learn the story of a guy who is not only new to Buffy, but to Joss Whedon in general. He told the story of meeting a girl. A girl who tried to get him to watch Firefly to no avail. A girl who he compromised with (without telling her) by watching Buffy, without realizing that she didn't even like the show at the time. When he shared his news, they agreed that if he watched Firefly that she would watch Buffy. They both loved all of it in the end. And now they are eagerly reading Season 8 in comic book form. Now for the important part, as this letter-writer put it. He ended his letter with a proposal to his girlfriend.

My initial thought? "Where can I find one?" But what about this story makes me wish it was mine so much? I think what I desire most about this isn't the nerdy boyfriend/fiance. It isn't the amazing and perfect proposal in a comic book/Joss creation. Sure, these things are both great and amazing, but what I really want is the relationship where happy compromises are made, where interests are shared and valued, and where life improves. Ha! You thought I was going to say I wanted the happy ending, didn't you? Well, I do. But it's not what makes this story or this relationship particularly poignant.

Yes, I know relationships require work. Yes, I know they're hard. But this is what I long for: the simplicity of just loving someone for all they are.

I'm jealous.


Buffy art from: http://www.whedon.info/

One of those days...

Today is officially "one of those days"... You know the one. It's the day the alarm didn't go off, you woke up after you were supposed to already be at work, and it all just frustrates you beyond means. Top it with feeling shitty the night before and managing to use it all as an excuse to take a day off work.

Plan for the Day

1. Buy new alarm clock
2. Watch more episodes of Angel
3. Read some graphic novels

And now... to make things a little better, I am leaving this off with an adorable lollercat.

WonderCon '09

A week ago, I went with a few friends down to San Francisco to attend my first convention - WonderCon. Let me just say it... freaking awesome day! I met people I admire, people I love as actors, and people whose comics I enjoy. I also found out about various comics, music, and other such nerdy things that I would love to learn more about!

We got to the con a bit later than we had hoped. Christie and Mojo were already inside and waiting in line to meet Felicia Day. They said the line was already cut off and she was supposed to leave soon, so I ran and snuck into line with them. Terrible, I know... but the fact that Felicia Day was there and doing that signing was the number 1 reason I went down there in the first place. While we were in line, Mojo pointed out Kim Evey, the producer of The Guild. He, being an employee at PAX, knew her and introduced Christie and I briefly. Then it was time to meet Felicia Day. They were sold out of Dr. Horrible DVDs, so I had to satisfy myself with just The Guild instead of the pair. Felicia Day signed it and chatted with Christie and I. She is totally down to earth and extremely fun to chat with. Great times!

Next on the list was Adam Baldwin. Oh Adam Baldwin. I can't deny that he's amazing. A great actor playing a phenomenal character in Firefly and Serenity. Gotta love him. When I first got up to him, I was a bit worried that I would be disappointed when I met him - that he would be rude or apathetic. And at first I thought my fears were manifesting themselves. But in the end, Adam Baldwin was just a stand up guy who was extremely pleasant and nice. It was a rare pleasure to have the opportunity to meet two people I admire so much as actors and have them both turn out to be just great!

After Adam Baldwin, I decided to do a bit of wandering. I came across a ton of comic book writers and artists. Really just anyone and everyone who wanted to spread the word of their work and hopefully make a sale or two. As I was wandering, I would stop whenever something was at all intriguing to me and have a chat with the people behind the tables. In the end, I had a ton of great conversations with people, artists, and writers. Some of them were just so excited to have someone so much as talk with them, it was pretty hilarious. I think they just sit behind those tables all day long for three days and have hardly anyone actually stop and talk to them. So in the end, it turned out very well because a few of them were just so grateful they even gave me free stuff. One woman, after telling me about her book when I asked, decided that she had a feeling about me. As I was walking off she called me back saying, "Wait a minute! I have a feeling about you. I just have this feeling." At that moment, she grabbed a copy of her book, asked me how to spell my name and signed it to me. I have been reading Watchmen so I haven't had a chance to read it yet, but once I have, I've promised to email her and tell her my thoughts. I want to send anyone interested toward her site, though. She was just so nice! The book is called Fortress and you should totally check her site.

In addition, I got to meet Ted Naifeh, the writer of the Courtney Crumrin graphic novels. I had no idea he would be there, and when I saw him selling some original artwork, it was all I could do to walk away without the intention of finding one of my friends to borrow a bit more money from. Sadly, he wasn't as nice as I would hope - more interested in making a sale than talking. Once I told him I didn't have money but I greatly enjoyed the Courtney Crumrin stories, he just lost interest in me entirely. He did have little things to hand out for free and was nice enough to sign one for me anyway... so at least there was that much, right? Better than nothing, I guess. Like I said, though... he had some original artwork there and I wanted some of it so badly. I guess I'll just have to wait until the next time he's at a con or something of the sort nearby and I can afford to spend a little extra cash on it.

Anyway, other than all that, it was mostly hanging out with friends, attending a couple panels, and just having a generally good time. I can't wait until the next con, to say the least! PAX, here I come!

An Introduction

So this is it. Me.

A little about me. I'm Dinah. Fondly known in the Wizard Rock world as Dinah Saur. To be honest, I had the nickname Dinah for somewhere near 4 years before I realized that adding a "Saur" on the end turned me into the extinct beast with which I have so long been fascinated. Sometimes I'm just a little slow on the uptake. Similarly, one of my greatest weaknesses is probably the fact that I'm extremely gullible. No, not enough that I'll look it up in the dictionary when you tell me it's been spelled incorrectly, but I sometimes take a bit of extra time to figure out when someone is speaking in jest.

I am a huge fan of Harry Potter and pretty much everything created by Joss Whedon. I am a gamer and enjoy a good graphic novel or interesting comic. I not only listen to Wizard Rock, but I help run a site dedicated to spreading the word and the love of the genre.

More than anything else, I highly doubt anyone will want to read any of this. I don't see myself being interesting enough for people to check my blog or any of it. Despite that, I find it's just nice to have somewhere to let out my thoughts. So enjoy when it comes up!