Jp in SD

Saturday Night, I went over to kingfuraday's place, and we watched the movie The Orphanage

I like scary movies, usually— if they're intelligent, and not just some excuse for gross-out slasher type crap. I had heard great things about this movie, and totally wanted to see it.

First, i wanna say that this was an excellent film: good direction, good cinematography, great acting, and some wonderful twists in the story. Without giving anything away, I will say that the conclusion of the film was both frightening and heart-wrenching.

There were a couple times when I screamed. Yes, I actually screamed.. although in my defense it was more of a manly kind of surprised yell. kingfuraday might disagree about this, but that's OK, because he screamed a few times, too. I, however, actually yelled in his ear at one point, making him jump and yell at the same time. Sorry about that, Brian :-)

The end of the movie is very satisfying, and there is closure, of a sorts. After we watched the movie, we shared a couple of our favorite YouTube videos. Brian showed me this amazing video, which is now my new obsession. I've found a bunch of other songs and videos by the same artist. He is immensely talented, and only 20 years old!

I got home, watched a bunch more YouTube stuff until about 3:30 AM, when I realized I should probably get to bed. I finally get settled in a little before 4 AM, which also happens to be what I call "the creepy time". It's that time of the night when all the nocturnal animals are starting to go to sleep, and it's before most of the early rising animals and birds are up and about. There's almost zero traffic, everybody is asleep, and the whole neighborhood is extremely quiet. It's even creepier when there's a little fog, since any other minute sounds are further muted.

The house started to creek and make those little sounds all old houses do. Plus, all my electronics in the house have LED lights that flash, or pulse. The Wii was telling me there were messages waiting, and it does this rhythmic "blink (pause) blinkblinkblink (long pause)" . ALl of this added up to a house that was very quietly creaking, or making sounds, and lots of lights gently blinking, as if somebody – or some thing – was walking in front of them. The combination of the house noises, and the remnants of the movie still playing in my head, and the creepy atmosphere, just totally got to me. At any moment, I expected some boney, ghostly child's hand to grasp my ankle.

It's safe to say, that movie totally freaked my shit out.

I got up, and turned on a few lights in the house, turned on the Wii so that I could get the messages off of it ( and stop it flashing blue), and then went back to bed.... with the lights still on.

Yes. I'm a 42 year old adult man, and I was so creeped out I had to sleep with the lights on.

I can't recommend this movie enough! hehe. Seriosuly, go rent it, and then tell me if you don't get as creeped out by it as I was!

And be honest. If you go to bed late that night.... did you have to sleep with the lights on too?

to an amazing guy who has shown me so much...

Thank you for introducing me to things I never would have tried. If it weren't for you, I never would have gotten a Wii. I also wouldn't have gone to Disney, let alone gotten a season pass!

Your LJ posts have been nothing if not interesting. So many times you've said something that is contrary to what i think/believe/feel. But each time, I examine my own thoughts on the topic. Sometimes, you've been right, and i've adjusted my views. Other times, I've discovered that I still feel the same about things.

In both cases, tho, I've looked at myself and my view of the world around me, and come away with a better understand of myself.

Thank you for introducing me to new things, and for challenging my world view. Both are amazing gifts.

Most of all, thank you for being a friend.

Happy Birthday, Brian! / kingfuraday

Disney

Much fun, as always. I finally got to meet the irrepressible redbeardedblond and animbear, as well as The legendary e_ticket. Somewhere along the way, I met intoutdoors, and thanked him profusely for introducing me to Brini Maxwell (iTunes link). Although I didn't get on as many rides as I have in the past, it was still an awesome fun day, with lots of friends old and new.

EDIT: I met a bunch of other people, also, including jeffnuma. My apologies if I didn't mention anybody else I met; it was such a whirlwind day, and I'm having trouble remembering everybody that was there. My brain is slowly slipping away from me.....

Tomb Raider : Anniversary

I've always been a fan of the Tomb Raider games. True, some of them have had some parts that were a bit tedious, but for the most part, I love the games, and how they've progressed and changed over time. The last game, Tomb Raider:Legend was the best of the bunch. The sets are amazing, the puzzles are fun, the game-play was very smooth. It is probably the most perfect Tomb Raider yet. I can't say enough good things about it.

So when I saw that they were re-doing the very first Tomb raider, using the new graphics/physics engine, I was super excited. I've since played it a little on PC, and a bit on XBox 360. A couple nights ago, I picked it up for the Wii.

Wow. the Wii really changes the game. It's a little more challenging at times, but it's also SO much more fun! and it's so much easier to aim at enemies to shoot, use the grapple hook, all that.

I played for SEVEN HOURS last night, i couldn't put it down.

Daft Punk + half naked boys dancing = fun!

And that brings us to this little gem. I found this on the mangina monologues. These two guys do a dance to Daft Punk's Harder, Better, Faster, Stronger. It's really really clever. Wait until about 2 minutes into the vid, when things really pick up.

( Video is behind the cut )

There are no bears involved in this video, and twink haters should just move along.

I'm not going to talk about how awesome the movie was, or how fucked the theater was: kingfuraday, bearringsd, pinner123, sluggobear, and bubbabearsd will probably blog about that. I need to talk about 2 special people.

My ex, Christopher, looked exactly like Bono. Exactly. The only difference was his chin cleft: Bono's is a vertical bump, and Christopher had more of a dimple. Other than that, Christopher and him looked exactly the same. I was with Christopher from 1989 to 1990. We went to see Laurie Anderson in concert in Feb of 1990, and went backstage to talk to her. She had to do a triple take when she saw him, because he looked so much like Bono.

Christopher died in 1992 from AIDS.

My best friend in high school was Greg. He was a big, burly straight guy who didn't care much that I was gay. He was also a huge Police fan, and a U2 fan. He's the one who turned me on to U2. We would go driving in his Ford Escort, or I would take my mom's RX-7, and we would go cruising along Hilltop Road. Hilltop was a semi-rural road in Pittsburgh that wound through some pastures and farmland. We would just crank up the music (Police, or U2) and drive. Or pull over, climb on top of a hay bale, smoke a bowl, then get back in the car and drive some more, listening to the Police or U2 blasting outta that awesome soundsystem in the RX-7.

Greg was a good guy, and his heart was in the right place. But his heart wasn't strong enough. He died at 26 from a heart attack.

Watching U2-3D was a very emotional experience for me. I kept seeing Christopher on stage singing, instead of Bono. I kept remembering driving with Greg, and being silly and stupid like high school buddies are. At the start of every song in the movie... EVERY song... i found myself fighting back tears from all these memories.

Christopher and Greg; you guys were such an influence on my life. I miss you both very much.

This morning started with a total wardrobe crises. See... i've lost about 12 pounds. Not enough for most people to notice, but I see it. So now, most of my shirts are either just slightly too big, or just slightly too small. I tried on about 5 shirts this morning, trying to find something that looked decent, before just giving up. All I could think was "who am I trying to look good for? it's not like there are tons of boys just pounding on my door asking me out on dates and stuff."

And so started my grumpiness.

I stopped by Kids R Us on the off chance they might have gotten in a shipment of Wii's... but no joy there, either.

It's gray, rainy, and.. oh yeah. it's Valentine's Day. *sigh*

So in an attempt to pull myself out of the grumpy doldrums, I'm going to send positive wishes out to all my friends and acquaintances.

To all you lucky guys that are dating, have boyfriends, lovers, partners, or spouses : enjoy today, and each other. Do something special and unexpected, just to affirm again how you feel for each other.

And to the rest of us single guys : try to keep a positive attitude, and know that somewhere, someday, you'll have a cuddlebunny to share the day with, also.

Ok, I fell a little better. However, I think i'll avoid shopping for new shirts until all the mylar heart balloons and shit are gone from the stores.

In my continuing quest to get out of the rut i've been in for over a decade now, I was able to hit 2 milestones last night!

The first milestone was just getting out nightclubbing again. The last time i had been to anything was L.L. Bear about a year ago. Last night we hit Bacchus House for their monthly Bear Night.

The second milestone was much bigger. sluggobear standing in front of me, and somebody behind me (I can't remember who) slowly taking my shirt off on the dance floor. I resisted, and then eventually just gave in. I've never danced without my shirt on (in public) - ever. It was kind of like the couple times i've gone to a nude beach with a group of friends; it feels kinda awkward gettin' nekkid with your buddies for the first 10 minutes or so, and then it just becomes a non-issue. Dancing shirtless was kinda like that, just without all the floppy bits ;-)

I had a great time shakin' my booty last night. The music was pretty good, and the company was wonderful - as always. I felt a little bad for the "dancer" on the stage. She was workin' it so hard that night, but nobody was interested. They really need to find a bear dancer; beefy, with a fuzzy chest, and a real smile. Miss Thang last night looked so bored. I guess i don't blame him, tho, since nobody was paying attention.

2 Milestones down, and it's only the 6th of January. I wonder what the rest of the year will hold?

I haven't been to Disney in ages. Really. A long long time. Like.. before California Adventure was built. it's been over 12– and probably closer to 15 years. Recently a lot of my friends have been trying to get me to go to Disney with them, but i've always been busy with other stuff, or not had the time. But I'm on vacation right now, so when Brian (kingfuraday) asked if i wanted to go, I jumped at the opportunity!

I should mention that I'm usually not on very good terms with mornings. Oh, I understand they need to be there, and I don't deny their necessity. I would probably give mornings a friendly nod as we passed each other in the hallway or something. That still doesn't mean I like them.

It's important to know my relationship with mornings, because I was told we were leaving San Diego at 5:30 AM. That means i would have to go to sleep about 8:30 PM, and get up about 4 AM. I almost said " hmmm.. maybe I'll meet ya guys up there about 10:30 or so" and slept in to a more reasonable hour, like 8:30 or something. I decided it was time to just make peace with mornings, and just go up with the rest of the gang. I'm so glad I did.

I get to Brian's house at about 5:20. Chuck showed up a couple minutes later. The 4 of us pile into Brian's car, drive a few blocks, pick up John, then head up to Disney! YAY!

Brian has a great car; it's very comfy and roomy. However, with 5 big burly men, it was a little intimate at times. Good thing bears like to cuddle. I think the car also has some kind of stealth turbo-boost, because we got to Disney in a little over an hour.

As we were standing outside the gates waiting to be let in, it became obvious this was going to be a very busy day. Throughout the day, Brian, John, and Liz all commented on how crowded it was, and that they had never seen that many people at Disney before.

First thing we did was head over to Space Mountain, and pick up a FastPass. Then we got in line, which wasn't too long at that point, and rode Space Mountain! YAY! my first ride of the day, and it wasn't even 9AM yet!

We soon met up with Liz, martini_tim and bigsabu, and headed out for more rides and fun. Although Tim and Robert weren't able to stay the rest of the day, it was great meeting them, and I hope to see them at Disney again some time soon!

The rest of the day is pretty much a blur, but in a good way. Lots of rides, and silliness, and fun, and GREAT company. I had such an amazing time. Many rides I had never been on ( California Screamin' is totally my favorite now, with Tower of Terror and Space Mountain running close seconds). We even went on those silly kiddie rides, like Mr Toads Wild Ride, and It's a Small World.

I had only been on It's a Small World once before. Perhaps it was my mood, or whatever, but it just seemed like the lamest freakin' thing ever. And that song would never leave my head.

This time was different. The ride is all christmassy for the season now. I heard they were shutting it down for a year to rebuild it, so this is probably the last time to see it in it's "classic" state. And yeah, it's still kinda cheezy inside, but the warmth and magic of friends and the end of a wonderful day ( and a tummy filled with hot chocolate) made the ride fun again :-)

We watched the holiday–themed fireworks show in a crowd of (what seemed like) a million people. I have to admit, the whole day, added to the music, the fireworks, and thinking about the past couple weeks, the past year, and past holidays, made me a little choked up and misty eyed. In a good way, tho!

Eventually, it was time to go. Although my energy was still high, my body was ready to call it quits. Actually, i think my body was ready to call it quits about 5 pm, but as is pretty obvious, I don't always listen to what my body wants or needs ;-)

We got to the car, headed out, realized we needed gas, stopped at the station, and then.... the car wouldn't start. I felt so bad for Brian. He was so tired, and just wanted to get home, and now the car wouldn't start. If ever there was a person who needed a hug, it was Brian at that point.

The gas station attendant didn't have jumper cables, or a battery charger. Never mind that it was a full freakin' service station ( during the day), but at night, the lackey in the office was clueless. In fact, he left to go get donuts at the Yum Yum Donuts across the street, while we're all just sitting in Brian's car, trying to figure out what to do.

People started pulling in to get gas, so I was asking if anybody had jumper cables. Out of 8 people I asked, nobody had jumpers. WTF? Chuck came to the rescue and called AAA. They arrived not 7 minutes later, started the car, and we were off once again!

We got back to San Diego ok, and I got to bed about 3:00 AM. Even tho I'd been awake for 23 hours, walked so much I have swollen feet (even my blisters have blisters), I had the best time. To everybody that was there, thanks for a great day!
Most of all, i would like to give a huge thank you, with a hug and big kiss to Brian, for organizing the thing, driving up there, keeping us moving along, and driving back again. You totally rock!

--Jp


Some of my photos from Disney