Norlos.com

猫王 ("Maowang")

In Mandarin it means "cat king." And we don't mean this:

This is the Cat King:

A co-worker explains this morning that more people in China know Elvis as "Maowang" than know his real name. Which, mathematically speaking, makes it possible that more people on earth know him by that name.

Why the hell "Maowang"? My co-worker thinks it might be his sideburns. This guy thinks it's because he was once called "The Hillbilly Cat."

But wait. Did he also go by that name in Japan?

This is why we have American studies majors. Go get 'em, culture detectives.

hellx learns more about the people in his neighborhood

On Friday I stopped by Bar Tano after the evening performance of the latest show that I worked on. I grabbed a seat at the bar next to this guy who looked familiar. So I said, "you look really familiar." He said, "you do, too." Then it hit me where I knew him from: he works at Slope Cellars.

We strike up a conversation and he's actually familiar with Lawrence and Madison and said that he had really fond memories of playing at the Outhouse. Finally I asked him who he played with. It turns out he's the drummer for Alice Donut (above with Killdozer). Who'd a thunk?

On Saturday evening, I stopped by Safe Haven (in the space where Bar BQ was located) after two shows and a shift at Vin Rouge. It'd been a long day. I was just chatting with one of the owners, when a song by the Drive By Truckers came on. She gets quiet for a second and then says, "he may be a good singer, but he was a shitty husband. It turns out that she's the ex-wife of the singer. Who'd a thunk?

I Have a Sunday Routine

7:30: I can't help it. I just get up.

7:35: Kansas played last night! How'd we do.

7:36: Shit.

7:38: Ok, brew tea.

7:41: Goddamn it, we could have won the Big 12 North.

7:59: Guess we could still beat Mizzou.

8:30: Web sites of NYT, FT and my latest favorite read, the South China Morning Post, completed. I contemplate.

8:31: Verdict: The world is fucked.

8:32: Wonder what's on Phog.net.

9:40: I should probably go for a run.

9:59: Yes, a run.

10:12: I mean, now.

11:17: Well, look who's up. And how did you sleep, Dr. No?

11:21: Yeah, sure, I'll buy you breakfast. Because we have a refrigerator full of eggs and onions and tortillas. Yes. Good idea.

12:15: OK, local Vietnamese place was an awesome idea after all.

12:52-3 p.m.: Read weekend FT and SCMP, front to back. Drink Victoria Bitter.

3-5: There's some work. Not much. Time to play Spore!

6:30: The 'hood got its first wine shop! Sign says there's a tasting!

7:04: No tasting. In other news, wine from India? Maybe good idea in concept.

Rest of evening: Drine wine. Eat chicken. Watch Deadwood. Play piano. Nice to have a quiet Sunday for a change.

Oh...

When I heard promos for this movie on the radio, I just thought that Terrance McKnight just had problems pronouncing "Schenectady"...

evil loop

Obama Victory: The Aftermath

Obama Win Causes Obsessive Supporters To Realize How Empty Their Lives Are

So What Did You Do for Election Day

Dr. No and I honored the event in an old-timey way -- Indian curry lunch buffet and the BBC, which interviewed Gore Vidal. In other news, Gore Vidal is old. And insane.

Barack-lyn Industries

Slate has an interesting article about partisanship in kids. I found it interesting mainly because I was that über-liberal kid and because it used a photo of store mannequins wearing Obama masks:

As soon as I saw it, I rolled my eyes because I see those every single day and I find them really creepy.

I guess I wasn't the only one feeling sentimental yesterday...

From Obama's final rally of the campaign:

Trachtenburg Family Slideshow Players update

Rachel Trachtenburg, of the Trachtenburg Family Slideshow Players, is fourteen years old now and supports term limits for NYC politicians.

Oh Dear

Hellx is attracting national attention again:

Obama was going to win anyway...

...but the death of his grandmother seals the deal. There is no way that McCain can come back now. There is no conceivable way that McCain can break through the sympathetic narrative of a man standing on the brink of the presidency who loses one of the women who raised him.

It's almost over...

After nearly two years, the 2008 presidential campaign is drawing to a close. Barack Obama has now spent so much time as the front runner speaking in front of ginormous crowds and appearing presidential that it's useful to look back to just one year ago. At the time, Clinton was leading Obama 44% to 25% and he was speaking to groups that numbered in the hundreds, not tens of thousands:

Bingo, Bango, Bongo

That wild finish between Texas and Texas Tech reminded me of this game between Plano East High School and John Tyler High School.

hellx's dream

In my dream, while the job in Hong Kong was a great opportunity for Mr. Guapo, the real reason that he accepted it is because he is a transgendered individual and the Guapos thought it would be easier for Mr. Guapo to transition to a female in a place where nobody knew him as a male. In Hong Kong, Mr. Guapo came across a bit of information about the McCain campaign receiving money from the opium kingpins of southeast asia that he posted to Norlos.

The post resulted in Norlos being inundated with hate posts from the right wing. Mr. Guapo's response to this was to post a video of him dressed as a woman having sex with Dr. No at the top of the blog to welcome the right wingers. Let me just say, that Mr. Guapo was distressingly attractive in my dream as a woman...