In Which I am Found to be Psychedelic

[rain_gryphon]

So, today while playing around with my little handheld black light unit, I discovered that I've got some fluorescent areas on my skin. Seriously. There's an extremely weak, mottled green-white fluorescence, like you'd maybe get from a thin wash of some calcites. Weak as the reaction is, it's nonetheless a bit of a shocker to discover that you've become black light reactive.

My first suspect was my soap (Irish Spring, which lights up like you wouldn't believe under UV) but I couldn't help but think that I'd be itching if I had that much residue carried on my skin, and the glow didn't seem to be water or alcohol soluble either.

Apparently it's a normal reaction to aging, and is caused by collagen and elastin crosslinking. It's interesting that the scar on my leg shows no fluorescence at all, while the callouses on the soles of my feet light up rather noticeably.

*****

They remodelled the restrooms at work. One of the toilets is much more powerful than the others. When it's flushed, the water swirls so strongly around the bowl that perhaps one time out of three, centrifugal force causes it to slosh over the rim, and get the floor wet. It's not completely repeatable, though, which is curious.

They've also installed these odd little 'screamer' valves on the urinals, like the ones that the MFM hotel had. When they activate, they give off a sound like a faint, distant scream of horror. I suspect it's just water being forced through the valve opening, but the effect is still comical.

*****

The 1931 'Dracula' was on TV this morning. For whatever reason, they've decided to retroactively add a Philip Glass soundtrack. He did an honest job, and really does try to be faithful to what's being shown on the screen, but overall it tends to jar. It's just not the sort of soundtrack you expect for a 1931 film. It sounds out of place.

Despite that, it remains an engrossing and surprisingly eerie movie 75 years on. I'm bemused by the Possums and Armadillos in the count's castle. I have to assume that they were intended to be Rats, but wouldn't it be simpler to have used real Rats?

*****

The new DVDs of 'Rudolph' have been vandalized with a song from some stupid pop group that Sony is trying to promote. I need to find a 2000 DVD. I'm seriously growing to hate Sony. I used to bear the company a fair amount of goodwill, even if their products were overpriced. These last five years have just been one annoyance after another, though. It's like they go out of their way to antagonize their customers.

*****

They've replaced the creepy cleaning people at work with a more normal set. They're sullen, and don't do a very good job (ie, regular cleaners) but at least they don't weird me out like the other ones.

*****

Some local furry kid seems to have met her doom.

Comments

[stu-ath.livejournal.com]

Glow-in-dark Xolo? Wow

[rabbitboy.livejournal.com]

"Some local furry kid seems to have met her doom."

I know there's a funny side to it, but that story just makes me sad. I mean... she was just a little 11 year old girl playing doggy. And now she's dead.

Can you imagine that poor boy who was trying to help his own sister, but couldn't save her because he wasn't strong enough to lift her up? Good Lord... what he must be going through.

All because they were just playing doggy. Hell, me and my sisters did this when I was young, with choke-chains even. Imagine how things could be different.

Huh.

[xolo.livejournal.com]

I wasn't trying to be callous, but I am perhaps a bit jaded anymore.

[gedrean.livejournal.com]

Re: Rudolph - Fuck Sony. Pirate the damn DVD and send it everywehre as well as get the 2k version. Sony deserves to go down. :(

Re: Girl - Saddening. Poor kid was dickin around and what happens? Blah.

[woyro.livejournal.com]

i've got to defend the Philip Glass DRACULA soundtrack. i actually like Philip Glass alot. and i was fortunate to hear him and the Kronos Quartet perform the DRACULA soundtrack LIVE in Phoenix Arizona a couple years ago. it was held in this big auditorium. they projected the movie on a special big screen and Philip and the quartet played BEHIND the screen. several times during the movie they lit up the musicians and you could see them playing THROUGH the movie screen.

i have a dvd copy of the movie with the Philip Glass music on it. it also has a copy of the SPANISH version of DRACULA that they filmed ON THE SAME SET when the other actors and film crew were taking a break for the night. they used Spanish actors and a Spanish translation of the script. its actually quite good!

[mejeep.livejournal.com]

re: blacklight skin glowing
- is the flashlight LED or the traditional filter-type fluorescent lamp?
- when I had a blacklight in my room, a friend's smile turned rather freaky because all her teeth glowed EXCEPT ONE (a crown?)
- can blacklight tattoos be far behind?
- your feet glow under blacklight? All the more to amuse the ferrets!

[xolo.livejournal.com]

It's a filtered fluorescent lamp, using an F4T5BLB tube that peaks around 368nm. There's some visible blue/purple light too, enough to see by. The UV output is around a half watt, I think.

[mejeep.livejournal.com]

re: Philip Glass
NPR (National Public Radio) has been slowly overcoming listener's aversion to Philip Glass compositions by playing the less "strange" pieces and having interviews and explanations of his pieces by the performers and conductors.

[xolo.livejournal.com]

It's not that I dislike Glass per se, but I just didn't find him all that appropriate for this particular movie. And for that matter, in spots the score is excellent. What chiefly jarred for me were some of the monotonic passages that he used in the transitions, particularly the one which preceeds the scene where we see Dracula in London. There's nothing wrong with it musically, but it doesn't sound like 1931 to me. It calls attention to itself by its placement in what (I'm reasonably sure) was originally a silent transition.

[woyro.livejournal.com]

i believe the original version of DRACULA didnt have ANY music at ALL (except for a little bit during the opening credits). thats part of the reason why Glass did it. he wasnt really REPLACING an existing musical track.

its ok NOT to like Glass. he is a bit monotonous for some people. but i LOVE the work he did for Godfey Reggio films (KOYAANISQATSI, et al) and i love his opera EINSTEIN ON THE BEACH.