I recently added a lot of new friends on here, and they are unaware of the accident, as I refer to it, so I offer this old post in explanation of this one.
Sometimes The Hip seems to take on a life of its own. Rebellious thing, it isn't part of my body and acts of its own accord, randomly flaring with pain or deciding not to cooperate. It's been a difficult week or so, and the pain of it is seeping into my subconscious; every dream I can recall for several days has involved an awareness of it, and when awake I'll find myself gritting my teeth at times.
I still don't take medication, although I do use the Flector patches, and I don't want to go back on pain management. It is difficult, though, to consider days and days that stretch out in front of me with this throbbing ache that never really subsides and sometimes spikes into unreasonability.
![[info]](http://l-stat.livejournal.com/img/userinfo.gif?v=92.1){kind=small}
Sometimes The Hip seems to take on a life of its own. Rebellious thing, it isn't part of my body and acts of its own accord, randomly flaring with pain or deciding not to cooperate. It's been a difficult week or so, and the pain of it is seeping into my subconscious; every dream I can recall for several days has involved an awareness of it, and when awake I'll find myself gritting my teeth at times.
I still don't take medication, although I do use the Flector patches, and I don't want to go back on pain management. It is difficult, though, to consider days and days that stretch out in front of me with this throbbing ache that never really subsides and sometimes spikes into unreasonability.
I meant to write an entry, but our usually misanthropic cat Clyde decided he needed some attention. I had to cut the session short because my neck and back started to ache. *sniff* Clyde's 13 years old and hasn't adjusted to Tupper at all (Pogo, on the other hand, is getting better). I still think of Clyde as a baby, even though he was 4 years old when I adopted him (and his littermate Max, who died almost four years ago). I worry about him a lot. He's so skinny, and he has trouble getting up onto furniture, especially our bed. But then he has his moments where he sits in my lap and purrs, and I imagine that we can go on like that forever.
This afternoon and evening I had to work. But I did get a chance to walk in Glendover Park in the morning.
This immature scissortail flycatcher let me get close enough to take a picture:
Our local AM radio is filled with people running ads to become Railroad Commissioner. The Railroad Commission, oddly enough, regulates oil and gas rather than railroads. One fellow's ad boasted about how he was opposed to tree hugging and lizard-saving. I like trees, lizards, and petroleum products, so I guess I never fit with either camp on these issues.
I finished a science fiction novel, and now must figure out what to download. Perhaps I will buy a complete set of Father Brown mysteries.
This immature scissortail flycatcher let me get close enough to take a picture:
Our local AM radio is filled with people running ads to become Railroad Commissioner. The Railroad Commission, oddly enough, regulates oil and gas rather than railroads. One fellow's ad boasted about how he was opposed to tree hugging and lizard-saving. I like trees, lizards, and petroleum products, so I guess I never fit with either camp on these issues.
I finished a science fiction novel, and now must figure out what to download. Perhaps I will buy a complete set of Father Brown mysteries.
Although P and I hold that Gwen Stefani is the worst about ruining a song with a really stupid lyric line, it seems that the actual Stupidest Lyric Ever is from a Train song.
I'm just a shy guy, looking for a two-ply hefty bag to hold my love.
And it gets dumber from there.
What they're saying with this lyric is, Hey, fans, we know you are loyal enough that no matter what shit we put out, you'll buy it. We don't even have to try anymore. It's like U2 did with Zooropa, or everything Dave Matthews Band ever did. It's got the ridiculousness of Fergie lyrics without the self-awareness that it is ridiculous. It's cheesily sincere without being deep.
What's the worst song lyric you can think of?
I'm just a shy guy, looking for a two-ply hefty bag to hold my love.
And it gets dumber from there.
What they're saying with this lyric is, Hey, fans, we know you are loyal enough that no matter what shit we put out, you'll buy it. We don't even have to try anymore. It's like U2 did with Zooropa, or everything Dave Matthews Band ever did. It's got the ridiculousness of Fergie lyrics without the self-awareness that it is ridiculous. It's cheesily sincere without being deep.
What's the worst song lyric you can think of?
![[info]](http://l-stat.livejournal.com/img/syndicated.gif?v=92.1){kind=small}
Here's the car in the median of the Baltimore-Washington Parkway.
Note how backed up traffic is. The woman who hit us was driving an SUV, and you can kind of see why she didn't think there was any damage to the bumper. Looking at it straight on, it looks almost normal. I pointed out the bulge on the side of the bumper, just behind the rear tire, and that's what she claimed wasn't her fault. I decided not to try to explain the physics that made the bulges.
You can see better how the trunk was pushed up from this angle, taken yesterday.
I drove to the farm yesterday, and on the way I hit a pothole or bump in the road, and something in the back of the car made a loud "clunk." I hope the trunk doesn't fly open on the highway. I'm not going to try to open it; I'm debating whether to bother with a repair. The car is 18 years old.
As for me, I've had to spend most of the weekend resting. Yesterday I could only be up and about for ~an hour and a half before my neck would get really tired. I only made it to the farm and back because I could rest my head at stop lights. Today I had a migraine. I haven't taken any medicines for the muscle pain, and I didn't fill the prescription for a muscle relaxant, so I think I'm probably holding up okay. It's just frustrating because I had plans to do stuff this weekend.
Note how backed up traffic is. The woman who hit us was driving an SUV, and you can kind of see why she didn't think there was any damage to the bumper. Looking at it straight on, it looks almost normal. I pointed out the bulge on the side of the bumper, just behind the rear tire, and that's what she claimed wasn't her fault. I decided not to try to explain the physics that made the bulges.
You can see better how the trunk was pushed up from this angle, taken yesterday.
I drove to the farm yesterday, and on the way I hit a pothole or bump in the road, and something in the back of the car made a loud "clunk." I hope the trunk doesn't fly open on the highway. I'm not going to try to open it; I'm debating whether to bother with a repair. The car is 18 years old.
As for me, I've had to spend most of the weekend resting. Yesterday I could only be up and about for ~an hour and a half before my neck would get really tired. I only made it to the farm and back because I could rest my head at stop lights. Today I had a migraine. I haven't taken any medicines for the muscle pain, and I didn't fill the prescription for a muscle relaxant, so I think I'm probably holding up okay. It's just frustrating because I had plans to do stuff this weekend.
i stand before you now
just as i am
whether you do...or don't
give a damn
i will be right here
and i won't stand down
just as i am
i'll be around
i tell it to you now
best that i can
whether you hear...or don't
here i am
i will be right here
and i won't stand down
just as i am
i'll be around
the walls between us may seem strong
but it we bash 'em from both sides
they won't last long
i see you with new eyes
just as you are
whether we're close...or not
it's not too far
you will live your life
and you won't stand down
just as you are
you'll be around
(2012 db michel)
just as i am
whether you do...or don't
give a damn
i will be right here
and i won't stand down
just as i am
i'll be around
i tell it to you now
best that i can
whether you hear...or don't
here i am
i will be right here
and i won't stand down
just as i am
i'll be around
the walls between us may seem strong
but it we bash 'em from both sides
they won't last long
i see you with new eyes
just as you are
whether we're close...or not
it's not too far
you will live your life
and you won't stand down
just as you are
you'll be around
(2012 db michel)
http://journal.neilgaiman.com/2012/05/la
posted by Neil
We're in the last four days of Amanda's Kickstarter.
Over the last almost-a-month of the Kickstarter she's gathered a huge amount of support, set records for what crowdfunding can do, made the news internationally, and she is now planning a giant webcast block party in Brooklyn on Thursday night for the people who supported the project and to count down to 11:59 when the Kickstarter ends and she starts to play.
She's certainly got enough supporters, and she's already well exceeded her goal and is somewhere off into the land beyond her wildest dreams. (As I write this she's 900% funded, and looks on course to make this a million dollar Kickstarter.) But I still thought I'd stick something up here, in the last few days, because...
We put together the Evening With Neil Gaiman and Amanda Palmer Kickstarter last year, to raise the money to professionally record the West Coast tour we did in November. We raised a lot more money from the Kickstarter than we had expected, so we made everything we could even better than anyone had expected. The double CD we had planned to do became a beautiful triple CD package, for example, and then we did a special super secret bonus CD with a banana on it to go along with that - as well as over two additional hours of extra material we released digitally for all the supporters. We worked very hard to make sure that everyone who supported us got something better than they had thought they were getting when they signed up.
And when the stuff started showing up in people's mailboxes and they started posting happy photographs of their stuff (like these...)
...then people here and on Twitter and on Tumblr started sending me sad messages, telling me they wished they had supported the Kickstarter, they'd missed it as they hadn't seen it, or had forgotten, or were broke at the time -- but was it too late to get the stuff? I wrote back a lot, and said yes, I was sorry but it was too late. We'd only made enough for the Kickstarter backers.
(We do plan to release An Evening With Neil and Amanda commercially, probably towards the end of the year. And it'll be a nice package, but it won't be what the Kickstarter folk got. That was special, and it was just for them.)
Amanda will be releasing a version of her new CD to the public in September. That's the one you'll be able to buy at your local store. But the two CD set inside a book (the blue thing on the right), or the quadruple vinyl in its box, or whatever else she decides to throw in to the other levels, the art-book she's making -- that stuff will only exist for Kickstarter. If you want it, or any of the other rewards (down to the $1 reward that gets you the whole album digitally when it comes out, which I promise will be significantly cheaper than it'll be on iTunes) then this is really just a reminder that you only have four days to click on the Kickstarter link and support it...
...
Amanda did a post the other day on her blog and for backers, explaining that, no, a million dollar Kickstarter wasn't actually going to make her rich. People are signing up for things, she'll make the things and provide them, but she doesn't get to put a million dollars into a swimming pool and then throw it into the air, like Uncle Scrooge. It's not tax-free donations, it's people signing up for services.
So, to clarify:
The Kickstarter exists to fund a CD release (to the public, not Kickstarter supporters) and a tour (ditto).
The Kickstarter money funds the studio and promotional costs (just as a record label might have done). The business model isn't, Make Money From 20,000 people. It's Use 20,000 people to crowdfund the costs of manufacturing and distributing and promoting a CD and a tour to the General Public. And then get rich from that.
You'd think a band who took their video and studio and promotional budget from a record label and used it as income instead of as an investment in their future were being pretty shortsighted. That's the Kickstarter money: it's a video and promotional and design and manufacturing and touring budget. That's what it's for.
...
There. That's the very last post about Amanda's Kickstarter, unless I start blogging from a rooftop in Brooklyn when it's all over, as the NYPD haul Amanda and the Grand Theft Orchestra away. She says they have all the permits in place for a midnight rooftop gig, and they've even hired the police to block off a road and so on. I just think of the Beatles on the roof of the Apple building, and the legion of uniformed cops who appeared to make them stop...
Over the last almost-a-month of the Kickstarter she's gathered a huge amount of support, set records for what crowdfunding can do, made the news internationally, and she is now planning a giant webcast block party in Brooklyn on Thursday night for the people who supported the project and to count down to 11:59 when the Kickstarter ends and she starts to play.
She's certainly got enough supporters, and she's already well exceeded her goal and is somewhere off into the land beyond her wildest dreams. (As I write this she's 900% funded, and looks on course to make this a million dollar Kickstarter.) But I still thought I'd stick something up here, in the last few days, because...
We put together the Evening With Neil Gaiman and Amanda Palmer Kickstarter last year, to raise the money to professionally record the West Coast tour we did in November. We raised a lot more money from the Kickstarter than we had expected, so we made everything we could even better than anyone had expected. The double CD we had planned to do became a beautiful triple CD package, for example, and then we did a special super secret bonus CD with a banana on it to go along with that - as well as over two additional hours of extra material we released digitally for all the supporters. We worked very hard to make sure that everyone who supported us got something better than they had thought they were getting when they signed up.
And when the stuff started showing up in people's mailboxes and they started posting happy photographs of their stuff (like these...)
...then people here and on Twitter and on Tumblr started sending me sad messages, telling me they wished they had supported the Kickstarter, they'd missed it as they hadn't seen it, or had forgotten, or were broke at the time -- but was it too late to get the stuff? I wrote back a lot, and said yes, I was sorry but it was too late. We'd only made enough for the Kickstarter backers.
(We do plan to release An Evening With Neil and Amanda commercially, probably towards the end of the year. And it'll be a nice package, but it won't be what the Kickstarter folk got. That was special, and it was just for them.)
Amanda will be releasing a version of her new CD to the public in September. That's the one you'll be able to buy at your local store. But the two CD set inside a book (the blue thing on the right), or the quadruple vinyl in its box, or whatever else she decides to throw in to the other levels, the art-book she's making -- that stuff will only exist for Kickstarter. If you want it, or any of the other rewards (down to the $1 reward that gets you the whole album digitally when it comes out, which I promise will be significantly cheaper than it'll be on iTunes) then this is really just a reminder that you only have four days to click on the Kickstarter link and support it...
...
Amanda did a post the other day on her blog and for backers, explaining that, no, a million dollar Kickstarter wasn't actually going to make her rich. People are signing up for things, she'll make the things and provide them, but she doesn't get to put a million dollars into a swimming pool and then throw it into the air, like Uncle Scrooge. It's not tax-free donations, it's people signing up for services.
So, to clarify:
The Kickstarter exists to fund a CD release (to the public, not Kickstarter supporters) and a tour (ditto).
The Kickstarter money funds the studio and promotional costs (just as a record label might have done). The business model isn't, Make Money From 20,000 people. It's Use 20,000 people to crowdfund the costs of manufacturing and distributing and promoting a CD and a tour to the General Public. And then get rich from that.
You'd think a band who took their video and studio and promotional budget from a record label and used it as income instead of as an investment in their future were being pretty shortsighted. That's the Kickstarter money: it's a video and promotional and design and manufacturing and touring budget. That's what it's for.
...
There. That's the very last post about Amanda's Kickstarter, unless I start blogging from a rooftop in Brooklyn when it's all over, as the NYPD haul Amanda and the Grand Theft Orchestra away. She says they have all the permits in place for a midnight rooftop gig, and they've even hired the police to block off a road and so on. I just think of the Beatles on the roof of the Apple building, and the legion of uniformed cops who appeared to make them stop...
We all know those couples that you think will never break up, that are touchstones of coupledom, but you never know what goes on in another couple's relationship, no matter what you think you know. Today I learned that two dear friends have split up, a total shock to one half of the couple, although he wonders if he willfully ignored some signs.
Incidentally, the blindsided half is the one to whom I am close. They were together through terrible difficulties: major illnesses, bankruptcy, family deaths and drama, unemployment, relocation. It seemed like if they could get through those things, they could get through anything, but maybe that's just the thing; maybe there was just too much painful history.
The half who has left has in the last year undergone a transformation, and I admit I had idly wondered a bit about it. He seemed a bit different, particularly after losing over 100 pounds, as he began posting more photos of himself and seeming to enjoy going out more than he used to. I wondered if he didn't suddenly feel a bit like the belle of the ball, renewed and curious about what new doors might be open to him in his new city, his dream job, and with his new appearance. I'd like to hate him for hurting my friend so deeply, but I don't; he did after all stick by my dear friend during the darkest times of his life. His support was never wavering during those times, and you can't fault someone for simply falling out of love. It happens all the time.
I do feel a bit like things have shifted a bit on the axis. I wish there were something I could do, but no one is a bad guy and and I can't rescue anyone. I'd like to fly my friend home and baby him a bit, or meet him somewhere else far away and have an adventure, but I can't. It's just one of those non-happy endings, where things draw to a close whether you wanted them to or not. It's just sad when things fall apart.
Incidentally, the blindsided half is the one to whom I am close. They were together through terrible difficulties: major illnesses, bankruptcy, family deaths and drama, unemployment, relocation. It seemed like if they could get through those things, they could get through anything, but maybe that's just the thing; maybe there was just too much painful history.
The half who has left has in the last year undergone a transformation, and I admit I had idly wondered a bit about it. He seemed a bit different, particularly after losing over 100 pounds, as he began posting more photos of himself and seeming to enjoy going out more than he used to. I wondered if he didn't suddenly feel a bit like the belle of the ball, renewed and curious about what new doors might be open to him in his new city, his dream job, and with his new appearance. I'd like to hate him for hurting my friend so deeply, but I don't; he did after all stick by my dear friend during the darkest times of his life. His support was never wavering during those times, and you can't fault someone for simply falling out of love. It happens all the time.
I do feel a bit like things have shifted a bit on the axis. I wish there were something I could do, but no one is a bad guy and and I can't rescue anyone. I'd like to fly my friend home and baby him a bit, or meet him somewhere else far away and have an adventure, but I can't. It's just one of those non-happy endings, where things draw to a close whether you wanted them to or not. It's just sad when things fall apart.
