Twitterpated

• 08:11 It makes me a little uneasy when people talk about "hearing both sides." When you find an issue that has only two sides, you can let me know #
• 12:10 Why have I been so tired recently? It's not like I've been doing much of anything. #
• 13:34 @NowIsStrange Only when you do ungodly things with them #
• 13:40 RT @3x1minus1RT @sarahcastic: megan fox is the worst invention ever -@3x1minus1, quoted for TRUTH. #
• 14:45 @rainnwilson Because that's where you go when it's on? #
• 14:47 @DVDBoxSet Maybe the ones who don't are just afraid to admit it. #
• 15:12 Photo: samuraifrog: tumblr.com/xpy35th01 #
• 17:44 Photo: Fashion direct from the Mushroom Kingdom! thedailywhat: tumblr.com/xpy35vhp5 #
• 17:48 Photo: I was actually discussing food eating people in my LiveJournal this week (check the comments for more... tumblr.com/xpy35vjrp #
• 18:15 Photo: This parasite will eat and replace a fish’s tongue.  Found on Unreasonable Faith. tumblr.com/xpy
  35vwta #
• 18:20 The President of Somalia is called Sheik Sharif Sheik Ahmed. Did he figure that putting "Sheik" before BOTH of his names made him cooler? #
• 19:27 "Sam's Club is Stupid Club." -@NowIsStrange #
• 19:49 Photo: What the hell kind of slogan was this, Sega? bronz-age: tumblr.com/xpy35x3p6 #
• 20:16 Photo: (via kidskidskids) tumblr.com/xpy35xfwz #
• 20:33 So the proposed beverage tax WOULDN'T affect diet soda? Well, that's mostly what I drink these days, so I guess I shouldn't worry about
  it. #

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There Wolf, There Castle

bethje and I watched An American Werewolf in London last night. Neither of us had seen it before, but it was a good movie. It contained a good mix of comedy and horror, and seemed quite fast-paced. John Landis discussed the movie at the last Monster-Mania Convention, and mentioned that there really are no set rules for monster movies. This film mentioned the idea that you need silver bullets to kill a werewolf, but dismissed it. I guess my thought is that you can have a monster or other mythological creature follow any rules you want, as long as you clearly establish them and stick to them. Nods to the better-known rules are nice, though, because they show that the writer knew the mythology behind the idea, but chose to go in a different direction.



Really, the lore that everyone knows about werewolves is pretty recent anyway. If Wikipedia is to be believed, the idea that werewolves are only harmed by silver weapons only dates back to the nineteenth century. Older weaknesses for lycanthropes include rye, mistletoe, mountain ash, and wolfsbane (the latter of which actually was used in the Canadian Ginger Snaps movie series, which I believe also dismissed the silver thing). Also, while modern werewolf stories often focus on people being changed against their will, old European tales tended to be about witches and wizards who voluntarily turned themselves into wolves to carry out the Devil's work. The idea of lycanthropy being contagious also seems to be a more modern development, possibly borrowed from vampire lore.



One classical myth that a few websites mention as a possible source for the werewolf concept is the Greek tale of Lycaon of Arcadia, who presented human flesh to Zeus. Sound familiar? Instead of being tantalized in Tartarus, however, Lycaon was transformed into a wolf. Some versions of the myth say that his children also became wolves, while others simply say that Zeus killed all or most of them with thunderbolts.

Music Is the Victim

Here's a meme that I got from the now-infrequently-posting obsessical.

Number of Songs Total: 10,062
Total Length of Songs: 23:20:43:08
Most recently played: A Thousand Lovers in a Day - Future Bible Heroes
Most recently added: The Baseball Project's album

Sort By Song Title
First Song: A #1 - Sadies
Last Song: 99 Red Balloons - Goldfinger
Last Song Starting with a Letter: ZZ Top Goes to Egypt - Camper Van Beethoven

Sort by Artist
First Song: Drink to Me Babe Then - A.C. Newman
Last Song: I'm Only Human - 6ths
Not Counting Digits: Helpless - Zoogz Rift

Sort by Time
Shortest Song: The Sky Is a Harpsichord Canvas - Olivia Tremor Control (0:04)
Longest Song: Marais La Nuit - Neko Case (31:39)

Sort by Album
First Song: Weeds and Dirt - Flat Old World (album: The Abasement Tapes)
Last Song: The Casino - Sugarplastic (7x7x7)
Not Counting Leading Digits: That Was - Fastbacks (Zucker)

Top 10 most played songs
1. Your Kisses Are Wasted on Me - Pipettes
2. Pull Shapes - Pipettes
3. It's Not Just the Size of a Walnut - Soft Boys
4. Runs in the Family - Amanda Palmer
5. See Fernando - Jenny Lewis
6. Circus Fish - Vermillion Lies
7. The Astronomer - Vermillion Lies
8. City of the Damned - Gothic Archies
9. Complicated Game - Moonshine Willy
10. Totally Nude - Talking Heads

First 10 Songs That Come Up on Shuffle
1. Respectable - Nellie McKay
2. Dear Jenny - Dresden Dolls
3. Jane - Elf Power
4. Supercollider - Fountains of Wayne
5. Hiroshima - Ben Folds
6. Fall of the High School Running Back - Mountain Goats
7. Medley: Rock 'N' Roll/Night Clubbing - Human League
8. Shades of Gray - Monkees
9. Placebo - Posies
10. Leave It There - Odds

TOP TEN FAVORITE BANDS/MUSICAL ARTISTS:
1. They Might Be Giants
2. XTC
3. Frank Black/Black Francis/Pixies
4. Young Fresh Fellows/Minus 5/Fastbacks/Sgt. Major
5. Magnetic Fields/Future Bible Heroes/6ths/Gothic Archies
6. Neko Case
7. Camper Van Beethoven/Cracker
8. "Weird Al" Yankovic
9. Dresden Dolls/Amanda Palmer
10. Tori Amos

And according to last.fm, my top ten most played artists are TMBG, XTC, the Magnetic Fields, Allan Sherman, Camper Van Beethoven, the Fastbacks, the Monkees, Weird Al, Sloan, and Tori. There are quite a few similarities, actually.