Rawk'n'Rasslin

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Originally uploaded by Trevor_.

Mr. Smallberries invited us out to see the Pin Down Girls wrassle on Friday night, and whoo, what a night! Four bouts, three bands, plenty of booze, and a lot of hootin' and a-hollerin'. Here's my rundown.

Events started with K-Pop and the Coalition of the Willing, who weren't that great so I leave that part out. Next up, the Beerbarians vs. Pop Roxx. Pop Roxx showed a lot of spunk, but after their pet lap dog was stolen, beheaded, and tossed into the crowd, things got ugly. The crowd was clearly behind the Beerbarians. Two buxom, beer guzzling, fur wearing Valkyries whose signature move is called "The Hammer of the Gods." What's not to love? The Beerbarians clearly dominated a very physical match through sheer size and brawn, but in a devastating upset, Pop Roxx pulled an upset victory that left the hall filled with jeers and catcalls.

Next, Las Diablitas took on the Sockit Wenches, a visiting duo from the Rat City Rollergirls roller derby league. During the derby season, I back the Sockit Wenches, but tonight, I had to go with Chimmi and Chonga of Las Diablitas, whose smooth moves and pluck led them to victory. Then, in a controversial decision that will go down in league history, the pin was overturned by the judges on technical grounds of an illegal tap between the partners. Still, I expect great things from these south of the border dynamos.

The Invisible Eyes entertained between cards with a sound conjuring the transition between surf music and 60s California psychedelia. The third bout of the night pitted fellow rollergirls the Throttle Rockets in a grudge match against veteran duo The Westward Ho's. Without question the most brutal bout of the night, the wrasslers went blow for blow as the match devolved into an outright brawl. By that time in the evening, I was too drunk to really remember who won the bout. I think it was the Westward Ho's, but regardless of the outcome, it will only add fuel to his growing rivalry. Smallberries told us the next day that one of his friends in the bout came away with bite marks.

Next up was Lushy, spot-on capturing the sound of Swinging 60s London. Their mellow sound was a bit of an odd note for the otherwise punk rawk feeling of the night, but they sounded so good that it worked. The final bout of the night pitted the New Male Order Vixens against the Tsunami Sisters. There's something not quite right about the New Male Order Vixens. I can't quite put my finger on it, or maybe I don't want to put my finger on it, but one of that team seems awfully burly. Maybe it's steroids. The Tsunami Sisters came out strong, unleashing a deadly combination of martial arts that drove the physically dominant Vixens back. I think they won, but again, I was pretty drunk by then. It doesn't really matter, as the Vixens clearly won the hearts and minds of the crowd when they cornered the Sisters' one-legged midget manager, stole his prosthetic leg, and beat him over the head with it. Now that's wrasslin!

Now with 100% more kitteny freshness!

Kitten with kittens.
Originally uploaded by Trevor_.

We did a kitten round-up in the backyard this week. We figured these little guys were still young enough that they could be socialized as pets. Plus, if they get any bigger, there's no chance we can catch the rascally varmints before they flee into the blackberry brambles that line the back fence. So it was now or never. Oddly, when we brought them to the shelter, they kind of gave us a hard time about it. In their words, they prefer it if the kittens be left with their mother a little longer. We tried to explain the blackberry bush dilemma, but they seemed unconvinced and a tad condemning, and we left feeling like our good deed had gone unappreciated.

The next day, I caught another, so we took it in to join its siblings. The shelter accepted it, but one employee there actually told us not to bring them any more "surprises." Huh?

The kittens sure were cute, though.

Party til your sick!

Sara and I had an awesomely great weekend that put other great weekends to the shame. We celebrated Nancy's birthday by touring Lake Union in electric boats with a bunch of friends. You can see the censored photos here and here. When you put this many of our friends in one place, fuel them up with alcohol and funny hats, and set them loose on unsuspecting tourists, you have guaranteed mayhem. Those kayakers never knew what hit them. On Sunday, we saw Smoosh and The Eels play at The Showbox with Mark and Mikelle, which was equally awesomely great. Since this was an all-ages show, Smoosh came equiped with their own alternate universe of very short fans who seemed entirely uninterested in the adult universe around and above them. Ii remember being a kid and getting to go to my first concert. Of course, it was Twisted Sister and Iron Maiden playing at the Salt Palace in Salt Lake City, so as first concerts go, it doesn't rank as high. But still, it was fun to see their excitement and think back.

As it turns out, though, it was good that I got my awesomely good good times taken care of over the weekend, as by Monday morning I was flat on my back with one awesomely bad cold. I won't go into the graphic details, but there was mucous involved. And a fair amount of grumpiness. By Wednesday night, things were more or less back to their non-mucousy state. But get this. I coughed and sneezed so much while I was sick that I actually strained all the muscles in my neck. So now I'm walking around like an old man whose head is held on by Elmer's glue. On top of that, Sara left last night for a work conference in Portland, so I have the weekend to feel sorry for myself, alone and crippled. Awhh.

I finished watching the final season of Six Feet Under last night, and I just have to say this may be the best series in TV history. Perfect story arc, perfect ending, and fantastic writing the entire way through. The last season starts to feel a little collage-like at times, but it all makes sense of the final episode. Awesomely great.