coffee grounds for dismissal: May 2006

Poison Ivy

I have poison ivy all over. It's awful. It itches, burns, oozes, bleeds. It keeps showing up in new places. Like on my face. Behind my knee. On my fingers.

I smear prescription cream on it. I slather benadryl gel over it. Calamine lotion. I get mild relief for about 4 minutes.

I've resorted to trying crazy remedies that I read online. Like aiming a hot blow-dryer at it from 4 inches away until it burns. I took a bath in Lemon-fresh Joy. I considered spraying myself with WD-40.

Arghhh!!! I'm mad that, as a grownup, I should have to endure what I always thought was a juvenile malady. Like chicken pox. I've never had it, and I sort of thought I was immune.

Here are some wacky facts about Urushiol Oil, the poison in poison ivy and its kin:

Only 1 nanogram (billionth of a gram) needed to cause rash
1/4 ounce of urushiol is all that is needed to cause a rash in every person on earth
500 people could itch from the amount covering the head of a pin
Specimens of urushiol several centuries old can cause dermatitis in sensitive people
1 to 5 years is normal for urushiol oil to stay active on any surface including dead plants

Also note that while I look like a leper ("Unclean! Unclean!"), poison ivy is not contagious, nor does it spread. You breakout where you touch the ivy. It can, however take a while to appear, so that it looks like it's spreading. Or if the urushiol oil is still on your towel or shoes or jacket, it's possible to get a few bonus rashes.

Know, dear readers, that it is even worse than it appears in my picture. If you need any further convincing to pay attention the next time you go tiptoeing through the tulips, check out the Skin Rash Hall of Fame. (Not for the faint-hearted.)

Spiderwalk

Just watched the Exorcist -- the version I've never seen. Scarey. I'll probably replay it later as I try to go to sleep.

Mostly I am impressed at how well it stands up after so many years. Often, when I see movies from a decade or two ago, I'm amazed at how dated it seems with embarassing writing, acting, and special effects. Not so this movie.

Top Horror Movies

One of my favorite lists to contemplate and question others about : scariest movies. (Kind of revealing, too.) This post is prompted by a similar thread from Ishbadiddle.

Here's my list today (in order):

Honorable mentions: there are many movies that creep me out. Even if the movie ultimately stinks...there may be that one image that lurks and ferments and becomes part of one's nightmares and chills forever.

The Changeling (rickety wheelchair careening down the stairs.)
The Ring (creeps galore)
Twilight Zone ("Wanna see something really scarey?)
Pumpkinhead
Jaws (truly life altering)
Jacob's Ladder
The Shining
The Amityville Horror
Friday the 13th
Candyman
Don't Be Afraid of the Dark
Invasion of the Body Snatchers
The Omen
Phantasm
Rosemary's Baby
When A Stranger Calls

And many many more.

Butch celebrates spring

Wil Wheaton in exile

Just tonight, I was talking with Peter about Star Trek: TNG and about the strength of the ensemble cast including Wil Wheaton. Then tonight, as I'm perusing popular blogs (research for work), whose candid and surprisingly human blog should make the top 100 list?

That's right -- Wil Wheaton. (Yes, it’s really him. He posts almost every day.)

See his original blog, which is currently under renovation: www.wilwheaton.net See his not-so-temporary back up blog, updated frequently while WWdN undergoes redesign and renovation. wilwheaton.typepad.com

If you weren’t quite sure just how dorky he was...(And yet, I sort of love him for it.)
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

“...So, if this is really your first time here, you are in for a surprise! I can promise you that I'm not what you expected. By reading this website, you will get to know the real me, not the space-suited, enterprising young ensign, or the sweet, vulnerable little dead body seeker.

"I'm thirty years old. Although I don't always take myself seriously (if I did, I would be in an urn next to River Phoenix by now . . . those people who are the real life inspiration for The Comic Book Guy have been giving me shit for decades), I am politically active and aware. I passionately believe in progressive causes, freedom from religion and government intrusion, and the right to privacy -- on line and in your home.

"If you've come here looking for a washed-up, former child actor, I guess you could find that. But if you're willing to look beyond the surface, and challenge your preconceptions, you will get to know me for who I am now: a very happy husband, step-father, and writer. So now that you've been properly warned, you may enter, and experience the lameness that is WIL WHEATON DOT NET.”

(Note: excerpt is imperfectly quoted from the intro to wilwheaton.net, which is undergoing renovation. Current postings can be found here.)