Harper Kingsley blog

September 7, 2012 0 comments

Roundup 01

Trailer For “Psycho Beach Party”
Vietnam Veteran Talks to Mitt Romney About Gay Marriage
Obama and Romney Tackle 14 Top Science Questions From Scientific American
Bill Clinton’s Full DNC Speech 2012

Trailer For Psycho Beach Party

The trailer makes it seem kind of over the top, but I actually really love this movie. Lauren Ambrose did an awesome job as Chicklet — which the trailer didn’t really highlight — a sweet and unintentionally hilarious character. Then the switch to Ann Bowman… wow. She is a great character actress.

For some reason, this movie was marketed as though it was an American Pie kind of movie, and it’s not. All the characters are pretty innocent and hyper-1960’s American TV people. Except there’s all these innuendos and every once and a while a character will have a “WTF?” moment as they realize something kind of sexual or raunchy just happened. It’s kind of like Pleasantville, though with a lot of silly humor.

This movie is also gay friendly, parodying a lot of the 1960’s beach movies. There’s a mystery to be solved, and a lot of hot guys that mostly go around with their shirts off. The murder is gruesome, but in a cartoonish manner. There’s a sexual identity crisis, multiple personality disorder, and tough women — the guys think they’re in charge, but the women are the ones going around doing everything. There’s a bit of raunch and some black humor, but as long as you can laugh about it things should be cool.

httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UA_G2Ts8xmo

Vietnam Veteran Talks to Mitt Romney About Gay Marriage

httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GRN9Y5Nvdqk&feature=player_embedded

Obama and Romney Tackle 14 Top Science Questions from Scientific American

So they went and answered some science questions. There’s a lot of politico spin on it and some definite… I don’t even know the word. Mitt Romney says he’s not a scientist and I believe him. But he is a politician, so I was still confused by his answers. Obama was a little more concise and to the point and I liked that a bit better than a long rambly answer that didn’t really answer anything.

They were both being the politician guys, which kind of disappoints me because I wanted some straight, honest answers. Science stuff is actually pretty important, and even if I’m personally too dumb to understand it… it’s still the kind of thing that shapes the way we live in the world today and tomorrow. And the President of the United States, as the Commander In Chief, is the guy that while he doesn’t know how to make flying cars himself, can point at some inventor dude and say “Get it done.” That or he’s supposed to know enough to say “This is stupid. Work on something that’s actually relevant. And please don’t tear up the environment while you do it. No more chopping down redwoods to make picnic tables.”

Here’s the link to the article: http://www.scientificamerican.com/article.cfm?id=obama-romney-science-debate.

Bill Clinton’s Full DNC Speech 2012

I didn’t see the speech as it played live because I was watching the movie Battleship (there will be a review of that coming soon) but I was kind of skimming the tweets. Then I tried to catch the rehash on CNN and they were just cutting it all up. So of course I went in search of the full speech.

httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uzDhk3BHi6Q&feature=youtu.be

September 4, 2012 0 comments

NOVEL: The Panic Pure, by Harper Kingsley [mm suspense] – Chapter Four

Title: The Panic Pure
Author: Harper Kingsley
Genre: mm suspense thriller
Rating: mature

Summary: Daniel Worth, billionaire and CEO of Worth Enterprises is questioned by FBI agent Marshal Newman about the disappearance of one of his employees. They strike up a conversation and soon are regularly meeting and begin dating. However neither realizes just how close danger is lurking.

September 1, 2012 0 comments

Me and Julio Down By the Schoolyard… with alcohol

A lot of times the “you” spoken of here is really “me.” This is real talk here, so I wanted to use my “speaking” voice, and if you’ve ever heard me speak live you’d know that I have an odd way of talking. I never try to lay blame on someone (sometimes my temper gets away from me) so nothing here is aimed at any particular person.

“If you don’t have something nice to say, then don’t say anything at all.”

Please be careful while drinking alcohol.

I’m not a big drinker, but I’ve hung out with people that could really put it away. There may be an idiom about fish in there. And even though I try to be the voice of logic, I’m not always there or maybe I’m incapacitated in some way — I’m easily distracted by video games and TV — and at some point you want to start believing that you’re dealing with adults that know their limits.

It’s just that sometimes limits get misjudged and you have a terrifying experience. If you’re just partying and having a good time, there should be no reason for you to get black out drunk. That’s usually something people do to avoid their problems or because they might have issues with alcohol.

There’s a very fine line between “tipsy” and “drunk” and “Did that really just happen?” And that line is usually just a couple of drinks, especially if someone slips you doubles or triples without bothering to let you know.

I had that happen to me once by a bartender friend. He thought he was being nice to me by slipping me extra shots in my drinks, but it was a jerk move not telling me. When I stood up, it was like it all hit me at once and I could barely walk, my after work cocktail turned into a real ordeal. Good thing I didn’t drive or I would have had to pick up my car the next day. I was always careful with drinks served by him after that.

I’m 5’2″ and I know my limits in general. Two shots will have me giggly, three and I’m feeling no pain. Any more than that and there’s a chance I’ll be hurking before the night is through. The problem is, I like to have my shots in mixed drinks like strawberry daiquiris, lemon drops, oatmeal cookies, etc., which can make it hard to tell exactly how many shots have been mixed in unless I’m actually watching my drink be prepared.

So I can understand how someone could get “Oh crap!” drunk. But there are things you can do during or after either for yourself or a friend.

Here’s “How to Take Care of a Drunk Person: 9 Steps”: http://www.wikihow.com/Take-Care-of-a-Drunk-Person

A Blood Alcohol Content (BAC) calculator is pretty helpful. Put in your weight and go through figuring out how many of your favorite alcoholic beverages you can put away, maybe even write them on a note card you put in your wallet. You’ll have a reference to work with. “Blood Alcohol Content (BAC) Calculator: http://www.medindia.net/doctors/calculators/blood_alcohol.asp

One time, my friend got so drunk he threw up in his bed TWICE and couldn’t manage to get up and really clean it. He just bundled the sheet on the floor and curled up on his side with his face hanging over the edge. He may possibly have removed his shirt, I don’t know, I wasn’t there. But anyway you look at it, he could have died that night. Later he got a DUI, but that’s a different story.

Anyone have any stories?

August 28, 2012 0 comments

NOVEL: The Panic Pure, by Harper Kingsley [mm suspense] – Chapter Three

Title: The Panic Pure
Author: Harper Kingsley
Genre: mm suspense thriller
Rating: mature

Summary: Daniel Worth, billionaire and CEO of Worth Enterprises is questioned by FBI agent Marshal Newman about the disappearance of one of his employees. They strike up a conversation and soon are regularly meeting and begin dating. However neither realizes just how close danger is lurking.