This was quite some time ago, over the summer while I was dogsitting. There's no real way to explain this, so this has the relevant bits from the chat log so you can sort of follow along the descent into pure surreal. All redacted and stuff, as the artist wishes to remain anonymous. :D

[13:37] [anonymous artist]: Hi. :D I came across something just now that I figured you'd be interested in, since I know you have a fascination with this sort of thing.
[13:38] [anonymous artist]: Let me quote part of one line, to whet your appetite for what's to come.
[13:38] [anonymous artist]: "God has a Holy, Righteous Penis."
[13:38] [anonymous artist]: http://www.fstdt.com/QuoteComment.aspx?QID=62318
[13:38] [anonymous artist]: It's not even sarcasm.
[13:39] azurelunatic: Oh ... dear. This could be either very good or very bad. *clicks*
[13:41] azurelunatic: ...
[13:41] azurelunatic: D:
[13:41] [anonymous artist]: Inorite?
[13:42] azurelunatic: Wow. Someone is carrying their analogies a ... little too far. D:
[13:42] [anonymous artist]: OTOH, it makes sense in a bizarre way. Christianity *does* teach that we're made in His image. This obviously means that God has a Holy, Righteous Vagina, too.
[13:43] azurelunatic: Which is not just for sex and childbirth, that's just your filthy evil prejudices talking. :-P
[13:43] [anonymous artist]: Right?
( And it goes downhill. Photoshop + anatomy ensues. )

In the last 24 hours, I posted the following to Twitter:

• Thursday, 0819: @rickybuchanan I think the social engineering performance art stunt one in hEll was from someone who got it out-channel with no context left
• Thursday, 0825: Heeeeeeee http://tinyurl.com/cocbpx John Mayer & Ellen singing "Just Dance" in the bathroom. <3 So. Much. Crack.
• Thursday, 0833: ... I dreamed that I was making cookies and having sex (not at the same time) with someone who was either Josh or Shawn. Also weird school.
• Thursday, 0932: Public proposals gone badly wrong: http://tinyurl.com/bnz34p
• Thursday, 0946: "PUSH" -- Nice little Christian girl. (Well, for certain values of nice.) Hogwarts letter. http://tinyurl.com/b9f5jp
( read the other 23 )

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Went into the city to hang out with ataniell93 and jamoche. I'd decided that based on the misadventures of the 31st, I was going to play it safe and just drive to the BART station, then take that in and walk the rest of the way. Naturally, I got turned around on my way to the BART station, so I was later than I might have been.

There was only one really weird guy that I encountered on my walk. The two guys vaulting over the barriers and doing the James Bond gun-hand thing didn't count; they were just normal weird. The guy who came up closer than social distance and proceeded to rant at the side of my face about Immigration doing a sweep and arresting loads of people and that would serve them right for letting him go hungry, that was the weird guy. I ignored him as completely as possible, which I was told afterward was the right way to handle that level of weird.

Just prior to jamoche arriving, we watched this particular segment of The Chaser's War on Everything, which was so hilarious that we watched it again once she arrived:

(NSFW: dude details how he tests mattresses prior to purchase.)

( Video. )

After this, we watched Night Watch and Day Watch.

For those not acquainted, Night Watch, Day Watch, Twilight Watch, and Last Watch are a series of Russian modern fantasy noir novels, about the delicate balance and cold war between Light and Dark magic users (called "Others"). To maintain the balance, a group of Light Others called the Night Watch keeps tabs on the Dark Others, and the Dark Others have the corresponding Day Watch. I recommend the books highly; they're best served with a handkerchief, and vodka optional. Currently all but Last Watch are available in English translation.

Night Watch was lovely, and true to the tone of the series if not the actual events in that particular episode in the novel. (Scary crossovers: imagine this Night Watch crossed with the Discworld Night Watch.) Then we started in on Day Watch.

Day Watch is pure crack. The plot is woven from threads of several episodes from the novel. We were expecting Russian modern fantasy noir. We got Russian modern slapstick fantasy with some noir elements. Watch carefully for an unusual murder weapon (it showed up at the beginning and it was a That's Unusual, so I was not surprised to see it near the end). There are conversations to not have in the middle of the road. There are driving stunts that James Bond only wishes he could pull off. There's an intriguing little plot of confusion. There's ... something that's almost femslash. :D There are times that snogging in the car is not recommended. Some Dark Others celebrate No Pants Day. The bear shapeshifter made us make PREVED references. There was tangoing! Unorthodox use of a juice box! By this time we were trying to think where else we'd seen this sort of cascading clusterplot. It's a Bujold dinner party. It's a Korman finale. It's pro wrestling. It's RP gone wild. It's several other book and/or movie references that I didn't catch. Nude watermelon slicing! THEIR WORLD IS CRUMBLING AROUND THEM! Ferris wheels running amok! The MacGuffin! It was not at all what any of us were expecting, but I'd watch that again.

After that, we did some RP hashing-out. Benito is good with understatements such as "That did introduce some undesired elements," after his experiment is tested under field conditions that he did not take into account when designing.

( Character nattering: Lovie vs. Sally )

I walked back to the BART station, and did not have any unnerving encounters, although there was a thing at the ground level of the station that looked very interesting, with an assembled group, a speaker, and five candles in paper bag lanterns. I figured out which train I needed, and caught it.

A group of young people got on at a later stop, and then got off at the next stop.
"That was really fast!" marveled a young lady.
"That's what the 'R' is, for 'Rapid'," one of the young men said. "Otherwise we'd have BAT. ...Which is what they have in Boston."

I found my car with no problem and drove back home, not getting lost in the process. Rat-memory wins the day: I remembered how my aunt had gone and it happened to be the right way, and got me back to where my directions left off.

It was very good to see people who weren't family. I've been fairly well holed up here, in social hibernation. I've needed that in part, and it's great being with my family, but social time is very necessary.

Assorted things in IRC led to the concept of The History of LJ: The Opera! The following features contributions from everyone who was there, including, but not limited to, gameboyguy13, pauamma, kamara, right and whatever phoenix's username is phoenixdreaming.

We'd need a Brad. Casting call followed. We'd need Brad's Mom, Developers, a User Chorus, Trolls, Ops, a clashing, sequin-studded dance troupe to represent Icons, a pantomime Goat (Frank), a backdrop to the set that changes every minute or so, pulled in and out by stagehands dressed in otherwise inexplicable colorful horse costumes...

Part of the opera must be dedicated to the blackout.

The entire house goes black, and a very tight spotlight falls on a soloist pulled from the user chorus (probably a soprano). She starts singing while fumbling around in the dark.

Another spotlight on the other side of the stage, and another soprano soloist from the user chorus starts. They're facing away from each other, unaware of each other.This section might be in the form of a round.

The basses start in, very quietly, with "re-load. re-load. re-load." All is still in darkness.

A larger spotlight represents IRC, with volunteers joining together, still with the sopranos as counterpoint.

Lights come up very dimly; Emergency Backup Journal locations are apparent. The meet-and-greet from the chorus swells, and the number ends to make way as Ops tries to clear up the mess.

The heartrendingly comic "Big Red Button" duet between Ops and the Colo Klutz follows. The Big Red Button will be visible for the entire show; many of the dance routines will come perilously close to it. Later, a bowl of petunias may fall on it.

right brought up Nipplegate. OK. "...We use these boobs to feed our baby / We don't care 'bout lotus pods or other slightly shady / forms of nipples on the internet..."

DDoS attacks are clearly a great moment for a zombie crowd; this is where the Ops' song "Send Shotguns and Fire" comes in (an obvious homage to "Lawyers, Guns, and Money").

The chorus will have parts for different prominent portions of the userbase as well as SATB, and should be able to dance as well as sing, because there's no way that we can represent scrolling through the friendspage without a whole lot of sound and motion.