I’ve been a very good boy this year. And even when I’ve been bad, I’ve been good at it. I’m sure you have already chosen a few gifts from the Needful Things category here, but figured you might need a few more suggestions to finish your holiday shopping.

1. A twice a month cleaning lady. I realize that I’m sort of spread out among homes right now, but at some point in 2010 I hope to be in one place, and I do not want to spend my time in that one place scrubbing damned toilets. I’m not greedy, she doesn’t need to be there everyday or even every week. But just a couple times a month to do the big stuff. And if you could make her the sassy kind who dispenses advice and dry humor, I’ll leave you an extra cookie.

2. A little convertible. Nothing fancy…though if you’re feeling very generous I’d love a white BMW Z4. And I know it’s a $1300 option, but I want the white interior too.

3. And if a convertible won’t fit on the sleigh, I’ll settle for a panorama roof. Preferably attached to a Mercedes-Benz, but you can slap one on my Honda for all I care, I just want a glass roof.

4. A Teno diamond tension ring. I think they are pure art.

5.  A week’s worth of autobody work. Yes, yes, Santa, I did already have the bumper on the Honda repainted this year. But there’s a matter of a tire someone lost on the interstate. And I’m not selfish, I’ll share this gift with my dad, whose new car is sporting two smashed up doors and my little brother, whose Mustang bears the scars of a run in with a tunnel.

6. A Louis Vuitton carryall. Afterall, I’ve been wanting something with the little LV on it since way before you could buy a fake at every flea market and back alley in the world. And a little Louis duffle is perfect for overnight trips and weekend jaunts.

7. A massage. After the year I’ve had, I’m wound up tighter than a virgin at a prison rodeo. An hour or two of deep tissue massage would be just the thing I need to unwind.

8. A good dishwasher. A really good one. That will dissolve a whole turkey if needed. And will do it so quietly that a colicky baby could sleep right on top of it.

9. Some classic memorabilia. Like this gorgeous lamp from the Italian design house of Frajeeelay.

Seriously, though, would love an autographed script from any one of my favorite TV shows. (and speaking of which, you can stuff my stocking with Seasons Two and Three of Dexter!)

10. A winning lottery ticket. Doesn’t have to be to a huge jackpot. Just enough to allow me to retire comfortably.

Finally said goodbye to my dear, sweet, potatoes. They were well worn and much appreciated and I think they liked me too: a rogue wave in Mendocino stole one of them once but it returned to me later in the day, tangled up in a thatch of seaweed that washed up on the beach. We started calling them potatoes once they lost all shape and became perfectly round. In the last couple weeks they started to smell really, really awful (like the world’s filthiest bathmat) so I had to let them go. The time was right because it rained today. Thanks guys and adios.

Been on a shopping spree again. On sale stuff mostly. All except for one item actually. The stuff above is:

• A Stephen king movie box containing Children of the Corn, Köplust (Needful Things) and Tales from the Darkside.
• Eisenstein’s silent movie classic Battleship Potemkin.
• Bram Stoker’s Dracula. 1992 version with Gary Oldman, Keanu Reeves and Winona Ryder.
• Evanescence’s The Open Door album
• Pink Floyd’s Wish you were here album
• Cornelis Wreeswijk’s Guldkorn från Mäster Cees memoarer

Like I said; oldies, but goldies…

What do you think fashion is?  Everybody has their different views on it.  This is my little spin on how I see it.  I have used different items from *LP* Designs and incorporated it into these looks.  Some are an everday look and goes to a night on the town look.    I enjoyed putting these looks together and hope you enjoy it also.

-Mya S.

You are listening to Lady Gaga Fashion

Credits:

1st Look-

Skin- SINdecade -Wichita No. 1-Skin Gift (freebie)

Hair- Iren – Paris//black_red tipped

Jacket- *LP* design -KAROLINO SHIRT MALE UNI

Shirt- This is A Fawn -SCOOP BACK TANK {GREY}

Jeans- *Urbanity* -Ripped Jeans Denim

Shoes-  [0N] ZERO NUMBER- [0N] Wo Boots (w/resize scripts)

Gloves-  :::[NEEDFUL THINGS-Pirate Gloves

2nd Look-

Skin- SINdecade -Wichita No. 1-Skin Gift (freebie

Hair- Exile -  JULIETTE BROWN PACK

Dress- *LP* design -SANI DRESS BLUE

Shaw-  {SMS} -LACY SHRUG WHITE

Shoes-  Maitreya – Neyya * Toe-cap White

Earrings- .:: LacieCakes ::. -Elis Earrings

Bracelet- Locke Couture -LC- -Lily of the Valley

3rd Look-

Skin- ::DUTCH TOUCH:: - JOILIE CREAM DARK

Hair- Decoy - NICOLE DARK BROWNS

Dress- *BOOM* -TAMED ADEN'S BLACK

Leggings-  *LP* design - ISKRA LEGGINGS PACK

Shoes- *Kookie* -PHOEBE-NOIR

Earrings- Locke Couture -LC-  - PIERCED HEART EARRINGS BLACK GLASS

Wings- [Pink Fuel] - CHIBI WING-BLUE BLACK SPARKLE

4th Look-

Skin- Imagen- MIRA ESTE NATURAL

Hair-  !lamb – Say -Twix/Highlighty

Vest- Pig Shop-Draped Vest F’kin pink

Shirt-  *LP* design -ROZA OVERALLE WHITE

Jeans- {SMS} -DAMAGED JEANS BLUE

Shoes-  Urban Bomb Unit- Porn Star High Tops

Bow- =HooT= - CUTIEPEA HAIRBOW

Necklace-  Locke Couture -LC- - ARMY NECKLACE

Cookie- *Dreams* - HEART COOKIE

Bangle- -mix and match- -NIGHTMARE BANGLE

Tattoo-  T U L I - STARS TATTO (off lucky chair)

Author: Stephen King
Publisher: Signet Book; (April 6, 2004)
ISBN-10: 0451172817
ISBN-13: 978-0451172815
My Rating: ♦ ♦ ♦ ♦ ♦

This is the last Castle Rock novel. Although it’s told with an expertly breezy omniscient narrative and holds a hooky premise, this long, long book, is packed with POV characters that you barely get to know.

The most fascinating character is the strange, new store owner, Leland Gaunt, who offers customers exactly what they need for just what they can afford…and a little bit extra. Readers are clued in right away that’s this peculiar dude is supernatural. His demonic charms toy and tease and offer false hope and fragile delight. We read on to learn more about him, thirsty to see secrets uncovered, but not much else is delivered in the end. He’s just as stock as the others. No motivation. No further revelations. He’s just a demon hellbent on causing chaos.

At first, to the townsfolk in Castle Rock, he seems like a dream come true, like a savior really. He has the perfect somethings for everyone. Everyone has gripes and Mr. Gaunt’s requests of pranks as part of the payment for the needful things turn the entire town upside down. Neighbors fight against neighbors, churches against churches, lovers against lovers.

The protagonists in this book are the Sheriff—can’t recall his name and I have photographic memory, so that’s how sketchy the characters are—and his love interest, Polly, who has arthritic hands and the death of her child haunting her. These two have a fully developed story arc in making peace with their own demons, but it drowns in a brew of other insignificant characters. Their scenes combined would amount to a novella.

As things go more and more haywire, and people off each other by the dozens, there seems no way out of the mess. It seems Mr. King couldn’t find one either. He actually uses Deux ex machina to end this long-winded, 700-and-something-page tale.

At the three-quarter mark more of the same occurs again and again and the heinousness of the pranks and their repercussions lose their sting. He could have trimmed out some of the cross stories and made a much more profound, shorter book. He’s such a skilled writer, so it’s shocking that he’d use an unfair hat trick, tacking on impossibilities that were never built in earlier.

I never truly cared about the characters and just wanted to see how the story ended, how Gaunt would reach an end, so I labored through it for three and a half weeks. I read the unabridged version of  The Stand, which I loved, in two days, so, I don’t mind a huge cast.

I did like the heavy theme, that sometimes the things people want and grudges they hold can become more important than maintaining and restoring relationships.

If you like his other Castle Rock books, then you’ll have to read this as his final book in the quaint town. There’s lots of mutilation and blood if you’re into hardcore horror.

ChaserAlex submitted a very extended trailer that quickly became an instant favorite.  It’s Richard Gale’s “The Horribly Slow Murderer With The Extremely Inefficient Weapon”…

I’m not sure if it’s a trailer for an even longer trailer or for a short film; but one thing is for sure, I definitely cannot wait to see this in its entirety.  This trailer is genius and writer/director Richard Gale really knew how to parody horror while at the same time respecting it.  That’s a tough act to juggle…

More importantly, our film’s woeful protagonist is played by a handsome daddy bear, Paul Clemens.

Paul Clemens reminds me of another woofy daddy bearish actor: J.T. Walsh.  Check out this trailer compilation for Needful Things (awesome movie and book, by the way) and check out J.T. Walsh’s “I killed my wife…is that wrong?” delivery.  Also, I found this interesting article where Russell’s Crowe character in Body Of Lies was also compared to the late J.T. Walsh: NY Magazine.

I know a lot of people are blogging about the Designers United Event and you may be getting sick of it, but these items are too awesome not to talk about.  The outfit I am wearing, shoes and jewlery included, is from Tyranny Design.  This is one of their outfits they made for the event.  And remember once the event is over, so is this outfit.  The skin is from the Sassy City Halloween Hunt.  I love the makeup on this skin- it looks so fierce.   I found this shape for 1L and decided to try it out for awhile.  I think it looks really cute and it is copy/modify.   Enjoy!!

You are listening to: Fly Away by Lenny Kravitz

Outfit (including top, pants, belt, pumps, stockings, necklace)- .::Tyranny Designs::.- The Tame Crow

Gloves- Needful Things-  Pirate Gloves (part of the Sassy City Hunt)

Skin- Sassy Kitty Designs- Number 9

Hair-  Tiny Bird- Swirly Black Pack

Shape- BODYLINE- Shape Gift (1L)

SIM WIDE HALLOWEEN HUNT !!

From the 25th 12 AM to 31th 12PM SL Time !
Sassy Kitty Designs and some designers the Sassy City are doing an awesome Halloween hunt for a week !

Freebies and dollarbies to find in Cauldrons inside the stores.

10 Cauldrons to find inside the Sassy Kitty Designs Mainstore, and among them you will find a exclusive outfit made for the occasion and a pre-release (or not?) of the Assassin Skins :

Hints : Some are easy, some are difficult to find Be sure to check the Sunset from the highest point of the store.

PARTICIPATING STORE ARE (they will have sign in front of their stores too) :

• Cuppy-Cake
• DeMieStyle
• LOULOU&CO
• Moloko
• NEEDFUL THINGS
• Neko Wonderland
• Prowl
• RGK
• Vampie Kittie
• Virtual Insanity

and here pictures from what you will find in some of the participating stores ! :

Virtual Insanity – Neko Wonderland – Cuppy-Cake – Prowl

TP To Sassy City !

SIM WIDE HALLOWEEN HUNT !!

From the 25th 12 AM to 31th 12PM SL Time !
Sassy Kitty Designs and some designers the Sassy City are doing an awesome Halloween hunt for a week !

Freebies and dollarbies to find in Cauldrons inside the stores.

10 Cauldrons to find inside the Sassy Kitty Designs Mainstore, and among them you will find a exclusive outfit made for the occasion and a pre-release (or not?) of the Assassin Skins :

Hints : Some are easy, some are difficult to find Be sure to check the Sunset from the highest point of the store.

PARTICIPATING STORE ARE (they will have sign in front of their stores too) :

• Cuppy-Cake
• DeMieStyle
• LOULOU&CO
• Moloko
• NEEDFUL THINGS
• Neko Wonderland
• Prowl
• RGK
• Vampie Kittie
• Virtual Insanity

and here pictures from what you will find in some of the participating stores ! :

Virtual Insanity – Neko Wonderland – Cuppy-Cake – Prowl

TP To Sassy City !

I was inspired to sketch this one day while reading Stephen King’s Needful Things.

The last collection of King’s I read was Different Seasons, it’s also one of my favourite collections, and definitely one of my favourite books by Stephen King. Although this is another collection of four novellas, that’s where the similarities end. Different Seasons was filled with stories that weren’t particularly genre tales, Midnight is most definitely and easily defined as horror. Also, the stories seem longer, each of them being almost novel length.

The best of the stories are the book-ends, “The Langoliers”, and “The Sun Dog”. The last of which is very reminiscent of Needful Things. “The Langoliers” harks back to the Twilight Zone. The other two stories, Secret Window, Secret Garden (a classic writer in trouble story from the master), and The Library Policeman (a strange and overlong ghostly tale of childhood hauntings and alcoholism, is well told, but just too long), really do sit in the middle.

None of the stories contained in this huge book really stand out on their own, which is probably why they’ve been collected. Stephen King writes best about characters, and to allow them to really grow he needs a long novel, that’s why Needful Things and some of his other books work so well. That’s also why “The Langoliers” works, it’s about a small group of characters in a desperate situation. As I think about it, these stories will feel very familiar to a King fan, the group of people in trouble, the writer attacked, the stranger who doesn’t fit in, and the shopkeeper whose greed will drive him to his death.

This book is huge, and because of its size it’s quite hard work. Like most of King’s novels, it’s easy reading, and he manages to evoke fear, even if you know what’s going to happen. Not particularly inventive, King still manages to entertain, but this is a McDonalds of a book, satisfying but ultimately of no lasting substance.

*BOOM* has made the cutest angel wings ever!

So adorable! I love the chain and heart. Very cute detail. <3

• Skin: Carina 07 [Peach] Glow skin – LAQ
• Hair: Romy (Night) – Truth
• Boots: Wrapped Boots (white) –  AVZ
• Bikini panties: Hotness Bikini Cards – Luck inc
• Jeans: Low Rise jeans white – Luck inc
• Piercing: Bijoux – Cobrahive
• Mouthchain: ::LEO-NT:: Bed of Roses - Needful Things
• Belt: RJK2 studded belt (white) – Sey
• Shirt: Double shirt blue/white – [Cynful]
• Wings: Aranel’s Wings (Flared) – *BOOM*

I just finished reading Stephen King’s “Needful Things,” the first of Stephen King’s books I’ve ever read. I had seen parts of the movie when I was prepubescent, on a big screen at the home of a family friend, and the images of violence and despair stuck with me for a very long time. A few weeks ago I found the book at a flea market and dickered for it – a dickering that was strangely ominous, in view of the book’s subject.

The premise of Needful Things is insatiably cool. Leland Gaunt, an otherwordly figure of Old World class, arrives in Castle Rock, Maine. He opens up a store called “Needful Things,” a store that has something for everyone – something that will fulfill (or appear to fulfill) their heart’s deepest desires. But anyone who buys something from Mr. Gaunt inevitably falls under his hypnotic spell, and he commands the citizens of Castle Rock to perform virulent pranks that sow the seeds of discord throughout the little New England town.

Reading Needful Things made me realize just why it is that Stephen King is a bestselling author. King has such a brilliant understanding of people – their hopes, their fears, and their secrets – that his characters burst to life in a constantly dazzling display of avarice and shamelessness. It is this deep understanding of human beings that allows King to so faithfully recreate the small town antagonisms that are blown to absurd proportion by Leland Gaunt and his Needful Things.

I did have a problem with the book, though, a problem that didn’t arise until the very end. Leland Gaunt is, in the end, not a well developed character and not even moderately interesting as a subject of fantastical speculation. As the story progressed I got the impression that Gaunt might be some kind of crazy old wizard, a really crotchety conjuror with a story all his own to tell; perhaps, I thought, Gaunt had his very own “needful thing,” a thing that lead him on a quest of evil down through the ages.

But this was not the case. The book’s finale suggested, rather, that Gaunt was The Devil, or at least an evil demon in a highly organized ontological-ethical reality. This is further reinforced by a spell of some nature cast by Sheriff Alan Pangborn, who “turns” Gaunt by brandishing a magical white light and exclaiming: “The white! The coming of the white!“

I was really disappointed by this ending, because until that point “Needful Things” had painted a picture of a morally ambiguous world. Either King believes that the world is not morally ambiguous (and, indeed, that moral worthiness can be colourized), or he was unable to think of a better ending. Either way, I was greatly saddened by this particularly epic fail.

And that said, I would still recommend you read this book!

-bn

The full review of Stephen King’s Under the Dome is now available.

Everything that deceives may be said to enchant. –PLATO

Be careful for those unneeded needful things. It is wants and greeds that trap us. The beautiful but painful. No true blessing should ever cause harm, mental distress or financial injury. Beautiful words, Beauitful promises, Hypnotizing moments tend to cloud our judgement. We make impulsive buys, we build irrational beliefs without concrete evidence. In sum, we set ourselves up for misfortune and disaster by our inability to see past right now and look at the possible ramifications in the distant and not so distant future. My friends, when your eyes become bigger than your stomach, you have unnecessary and costly waste.

Bottom Line: When you feel you cannot do without something, that is probably the first clue that this thing has an unconventional and dangerous hold on you. Let it go.

Blessings and Prayers
The BLAQUESMITH

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Topics

• Books: The Golden Compass, Needful Things, 7th Son 
• The coupon conundrum.
• Shilling for the Terminator 

Music provided by Jonathan Coulton.