I'll steer YOUR censorship!

During my drive back to my apartment Saturday night, I located in one of my CD wallets an old mp3 disc I created entitled "mp3 megamix." It contains about 160-odd modern rock songs that have been my favourites throughout the years. Toggling through the tracks on it was entertaining, as I completely forgot what I had put on it, and I was able to hear great songs that I have not played for myself in awhile. That is one good reason why I rarely throw away any of my aging CD-R's, even if I may be tired of them now. Five or ten years from now, I may pull some of them out of storage and play them for myself again, inciting a serious nostalgia excursion.

My musical tastes have far outgrown many of the songs; I was taken aback to discover Godsmack and Disturbed on there. Yeah, it's that old. I consider many of the songs on the disc to be overplayed, unstimulating, or simply stupid. Many of them have become far too stale or "played out" to be listenable ... they just don't have enough 'staying power' to hold my interest for so many years.

Some did, however, prove that they have what it takes to keep me entertained to this day. One of the ultimate standouts was "Sehnsucht" by Rammstein (no, I'm not patronising anyone I know). For some reason, the song sounds mind-blowing on my stereo system when turned to the 23 or 24 volume notch, and is a perfect Halloween melody. I am now reminded why I was so obsessed with them in high school.

Now, on to the messy details of yesterday. No, really, it was very, very messy. I experienced a vintage Nickelodeon moment. Before I get to the best part, though, I suppose I should provide a little background leading up to it so whoever reads this isn't completely lost in the dark.

For the past while, my friend Susi has been working on setting up and hosting a game show for university-sponsored events, modeled after old Nickelodeon game shows like Gak Splat! and What Would You Do? Contestants on these game shows would frequently get slime dumped on their heads for any number of reasons, including answering a question incorrectly or simply stepping out of line. He has a soft spot in his heart for these types of shows as he grew with them, and I actually, in a way, share his sentiment, having been an avid follower of You Can't Do That On Television! so many, many years ago.

So, his quirky sense of humour and fondness for messy fun inspired him to take on this project, which I finally had the opportunity to help out with yesterday ... by being the guinea pig! In the morning, he proposed that I could be the one to have his homemade "slime tank" tested on for proper functionality, if I wanted to. Being a good sport, I agreed. After all, I will always have that juvenile tendency towards wanting to be messy.

After playing various entertaining Pac-Man games in their cozy apartment for awhile, we set out to find a relatively uncrowded location to set the whole business up. Kolekole Beach Park would have been fine, if it weren't for that gang of local toughs hanging out in the pavilion that were looking at us like *gasp* tourists. We moved just a little ways down the road to Hakalau, that enchanting little place beneath the big highway bridge in the lush gulch.

Since we couldn't drive the equipment down to the beach due to the locked gate, we opted to simply set it up in the parking lot. By now, the persistent drizzle had actually ceased, making it easier to turn the bolts that joined the beams of the contraption together. Speaking of which, here are a couple photos of the construction of the apparatus:

slimetank1.jpg
slimetank2.jpg

Just as we were prepared to pour the slime into the tub, a car full of people pulled up, followed by a few hikers. We received a few strange looks and quizzical gazes as one man started to question our intentions purely out of curiousity. He seemed genuinely amused as we explained our project to him, and then wished us look as they all moved on down the road.

Finally, the moment of truth had arrived. I stepped beneath the tank and was offered a choice of either the green pill or the green pill. Why oh why didn't I take the green pill? The countdown began, and in 54321, I was doused in warm, sticky goop. You just can't imagine how liberating it is until you try it... it really brings out the kid in you.

Timberwolf says "I don't know," and gets slimed. View if you dare.

After I scrambled down to the stream and washed the methylcellulose off of me, we finished disassembling the unit and placing the pieces back in our respective vehicles, then headed back to the apartment. Susi and Aku prepared a very savory dinner featuring spaghetti, Hawaiian salad, and some damn good French cheese with crackers. We ate ravenously while listening to Moonspell- perfect dinner/Halloween/everything music. Oh, and I shouldn't neglect to mention that the orange and cola spritzers Aku made were also wonderful. I think I'm loving the products and customs of Germany more by the day!

While I'm posting images...

Susi and Aku in their Halloween get-ups...

...Take 2.

...I still have Pac-Man music in my head. It's catchy as hell.