the rest of the weekend

I was too tired last night to write much about the rest of the evening, so I write it now:

I got to meet curiousangel and tommx at the movie and chat more with them afterwards - I knew them through geekchick's Friends list but had never met them in person before. Both very cool and funny/twisted (in a good way!), they make sense to me!

We picked up a friend of tommx's and went to dinner at City Lights of China afterwards, and had much laughter over "Agent Elrond", weird baby shower gifts and other subjects of great and lesser import. D. and I had not been properly out to eat for awhile and I am grateful I didn't accidentally spill anything on myself.

It was also nice to get out and walk around Dupont Circle, something I'd not done in awhile. Everyone helped me avoid Beadazzled, for which my wallet is grateful.

Suffice it to say it was a very good evening :)

Today was rainy and cool, so I spent the day taking care of odds and ends - grocery, cat litter changing, blah blah blah. Also lifted dumbells for the first time since last weekend's book-carrying torture.

Yesterday I did finally cut out the vinyl "scales" for the Xev cluster lizard dress, and today I basted them to the main body (with tape, because I don't want to leave unnecessary pinholes). I'm using a thin vinyl backed with fine spandex and they drape with a graceful flow that would be excellent on any other sewing project except this one. They look great but lack the "stiffness" evident in the original, and surely no lizard would have such a flimsy exterior.

I'm contemplating lining them with swimsuit scrap material but I worry that it would be too much bulk, considering the base is already 2 layers of fabric. I have definitely decided to line the skirt, if only so it will have enough weight to drape correctly (i.e., less "flowy").

So I stick to the tried and true method of leaving it and thinking about it for a few days.

Alien abductions

Saw this over in the Kuro5hin LJ. This is old news to me, because most of these theories were covered in Kevin Randle's "Alien Abduction" that came out in 1999. Still it is nice to see his conclusions echoed in professional journals.

That the phenomenon of "sleep paralysis" is a possible explanation for alien abduction experiences is no surprise to me - I've experienced this myself, and if I hadn't known what it was I'd have leapt to conclusions too. Basically your brain wakes up before your body does and proceeds to play tricks on you - you lay frozen but aware of the fact, and you hear and feel things that are not there.

In fact, IMHO most of these theories seem far more likely explanations than people literally being dragged from their beds by little grey aliens. If that were really happening, we'd have physical evidence by now. Also, why are there no reports of missing people, runaways, etc. when these people are "abducted"?

Just in case you were wondering - yes, I'm interested in this sort of thing, but tend these days to limit my reading to the more cautious writers like Randle and Dolan.

I am not one of the tinfoil hat people (click these two links to be amused, appalled, or both).

Note to self re: dress

Looking at this dress again I see that lining the scales is unavoidable. I'll make a trip out to JoAnn's for cheapie black swimsuit material and more Steam-A-Seam.

Damn damn damn. It will work but it's time consuming and the double-faced fusible web sticks everywhere.

Addendum: Will not need to pick up cheapie swimsuit material for lining. Thank the makers.

more "24 Hour Party People"

NPR's interview with Tony Wilson (scroll down). The real one, not Steve Coogan!