Stuff from the last week

[yendi]

1. Tori Amos Concert (Thursday). Tori was, as always, awesome. Which made up for the fact that A) the Orpheum seats had less legroom than even the worst airliner I've ever been on, and B) the crowd was filled with Tori fans*. The latter was, at least, predictable at a Tori concert.

For those who want a setlist and the like, go here. We didn't get a lot of my favorite material, but the good news is, when she performed "Precious Things," Tori did not do that horrible self-indulgent croaky thing on "every nice girl" that she's done for years, and which is the Tweemo equivalent of Mariah Carey squeaking her way through "Emotions." Yes, she actually made the song not suck again! Yay! And even though I wasn't a big fan of many of the songs performed, I've never seen Tori with more energy or enthusiasm. It was a hell of a show.

More importantly, it was Elayna's first Tori show, and she loved it! Mind you, she was wiped afterwards, but getting to hear "Concertina" and "Bliss" made her plenty happy.

The opening act, btw, was Yoav, who was like previous opening act Howie Day in that he used a guitar and ninety footpedals, but unlike Howie Day in that Yoav didn't suck.

2. Deluxe Town Diner (Sunday morning). MMM, Johnnycakes with a side of the finest corned beef hash around. Yeah, Sunday was not a day for the diet.

3. Nightmare Before Christmas in 3D (Sunday afternoon). Still an awesome movie, although there were a number of reel shifts that were painful. Don't see it for the 3D (which is at its best during the snowfalls and when Jack is walking through the forest), but for the opportunity to see a great film on the big screen again. Henry Selick's direction here gives me hope that his Coraline will be as good a film.

4. In KOL, I finished my Bad Moon ascension and promptly began a second one as a Seal Clubber. It's harder (since I'm not as unhittable), but still fun.


*One thing about living in Santa Carla going to Tori Amos concerts I never could stomach: all the damn vampires Tori fans.

Comments

[heathrow.livejournal.com]

Ha!
I saw Tori perform once, and I do know what you mean about the SuperToriFans. Some of us just want to hear her sing, not have a religious experience.

[yendi]

Exactly!

I wouldn't mind if the religious experience involved meditation.

[audacian.livejournal.com]

We caught the Nightmare in 3D last night, and unfortunately, the U2 preview was much cooler. :(

[yendi]

We didn't get a U2 preview. Just crap like Bee Movie and National Treasure 2.

[audacian.livejournal.com]

Aw, you missed the best 3d stuff! Oh well.

[chris-walsh.livejournal.com]

The last time I saw Tori I was in a no-Tori-Super-Fans situation, because she appeared as an unannounced guest at a free concert for Portland radio station KINK-FM. (The concert promoters could only say that the headliner would be "a very special guest." Some days before the concert, one of KINK's DJs acted like he was about to say who it was, then said "No, I'm not going to tell you. I'd get fired. Sooner.")

I'm also lucky in that I didn't run into Tori-Super-Fans when I first saw her in 1998. The ladies I sat with were committed, but not over-committed, and had a sense of humor about the event. When Tori was late startng the show, they noted that A) Tori has a reputation for starting late and B) her husband's on her crew and C) they're both pretty frisky people so D) maybe the delay was due to a quickie... (Tori and Mark had gotten married soon before that tour; their wedding photos were in the commemorative program.)

Tori can be amazing live. I might've melted had I gotten to gear "Concertina," too. Next Elayna has to meet Tori!

[chris-walsh.livejournal.com]

had I gotten to gear "Concertina"

You know I meant "hear," right?

[yendi]

No worries -- typos in comments (given the uneditable nature of LJ comments) are pretty much unavoidable.

[yendi]

Heh. That would be a great excuse for holding up a concert. :-)

[ex-yakaveng.livejournal.com]

The FCC actually allowed a radio station with the call sign KINK? After all the things they *don't* allow? Hmm.

[chris-walsh.livejournal.com]

I'd say it was assigned in a more innocent time, but "KINK (Your Underground Link)" (as it was first known) went on the air in December 1968. Still, strangely appropriate for as horn-dog-ish a city as Portland... ;-)

I love that another DJ once said "Please visit our website, KINK dot FM. Do not go to Kink dot Com; that site has nothing to do with music."

[shadesong.livejournal.com]

Next Elayna has to meet Tori!

She has. 11 years ago. :) We have a pic of Tori singing "Happy Phantom" to a faerie-costumed 18-month-old Elayna at a meet & greet during the Boys for Pele tour.

[chris-walsh.livejournal.com]

Then I hope you and Elayna can meet her again and bring that picture. Circle of Life and all that!

[ex-yakaveng.livejournal.com]

Henry Selick's direction here gives me hope that his Coraline will be as good a film.
Coraline? Ah, Google is my friend. Ooo! How do you feel about the soundtrack being done by TMBG? The husband's favorite level in Kingdom Hearts was the Halloweentown one... It was how I finally got him to watch that movie.

The Orpheum does suck for legroom, but it was awesome to see the Dresden Dolls there last year.

[yendi]

I've got mixed feelings about TMBG here -- I adore them, but they're not the first band (or even the ninetieth) I'd think of for coraline. That said, I still plan to give it a shot.

[dougals.livejournal.com]

*One thing about living in Santa Carla going to Tori Amos concerts I never could stomach: all the damn vampires Tori fans.

"I need aftershave!"
"Umm... We've got Windex..."
"Just the thing!"

[robyn-ma.livejournal.com]

YOU GOT TO SEE TORI AND I DID NOT. SEED PACKET SEED PACKET AAAAAAIIIIEEEEE

[creepingcrud.livejournal.com]

Re Seal Clubber bad moon, a handful of tips from my run.

1: Ben-gal balm, all the time you can afford it, and especially before you use medicinal herbs, to get the most out of them.

2: You won't actually need it for most of the run, but don't forget, like I did, that blood of the wereseal exists - you may need it to defeat the battlefield boss.

3: Alternately, consider acquiring a bottle of pirate juice (semi-rare) from the cove at some point during the run and waiting to kill Ed (UNDYING!) until you can use it to outmoxie both him and the battlefield boss. You'll probably also want at least one irradiated pet snacks for the NS's familiars, and definitely score a KGE outfit.

4: Almost all of your dimes/quarters should go to poultices/garters which then need to get saved for the NS.

5: Thrust-smack is worthless, but LTS is essential (albeit still awful). When you hit level 10, you'll need LTS and EOTS to hit anything, but you can't count on doing reasonable damage. On the upside, your mp needs are relatively small compared to other classes, and you don't need to buy many skills, although I do recommend acquiring Tongue of the Otter to clear Beaten Up. Super-Advanced Meatsmithing is probably not worth getting, even if you don't get chrome from the trapper, particularly since you'll need the +muscle on your legendary epic during most of the run to hit stuff.

6: All the slackers who claim that clubbers need to go to level 14 to beat the NS are full of crap, but you do need to be fairly aggressive about acquiring +muscle equipment. Definitely take the time to get a chintzy seal pendant, for example, as the +12 there makes a big difference. As above, get tons of poultices/garters, and don't use them the first few times you fight her unless the fight is going unusually well. Dook feathers are a great way to seal the deal when you've got her on the ropes.

[yendi]

Thanks! I'd completely forgotten about the Blood of the Wereseal!

[creepingcrud.livejournal.com]

Actually, almost all the Smacketeria items are handy. Even without Armorcraftiness, it may be worth using Turtle Pheremones while you are going through either the Sleazy Back Alley or the "Fun" House in order to get an early shield, since unless you get a billiard ball, there are very few useful offhand items.

Also, the Cheap Wind-Up Clock is essential in the later parts of the game (10-12) for getting the jump on foes and thus having to heal less often (I found myself filling my spleen daily once I hit 11)

Regarding Wereseal, in case you don't know, the formula for its muscle bonus was adjusted with NS13 so that it is never negative - the minimum is now +10% and it apparently can go as high as +66%. Too expensive to use regularly, but it can be great vs. bosses or particularly rough areas.

[yendi]

I actually scored a 6-ball, so I'm okay on off-hand items for now. I wasn't aware of the wereseal change, but knowing that, I'll definitely be using some.