For all who haven't yet, click here for news on our Broken Minds Tour which we're heading out on in early 2006 (just a short while off now!)

We'll be playing New Years Eve at Bar Sinister in LA, and several dates in Mexico mid-January opening for the band Paradise Lost have been announced. Details of these shows can be found on the website... I'm too internetically* inept to link to the specifics. Clicking above is much easier!

Please note that the bulk of the dates have not been announced yet, and that the list mentioned on the site will be added to as the weeks pass here. Please do keep an eye on the site and the board, as we will definitely be updating with show dates in the next few weeks.

We're very excited to be heading out on this tour, and preparations are hectic as always. We're also writing new music for the next album, so our "baskets are pretty full" right now. I don't think that's an expression, but it is now. :D

We had cold and snow here, and tonight, warm and raining. If that's not a recipe for catching a cold, I don't know what is. Regardless of where you are in the world, take a Vitamin C supplement or eat an orange. Or maybe a grapefruit, if you prefer them. That's what my Mum advised me to do today. Good old Mum. As much as I try to convince her it's my makeup that makes me look sickly and pale, she still insists that I should eat more green peppers..... :D

*not a word, in the strictest sense.

You know, I just realized how long it's been since I updated this thing.

I think it might be a nice idea to put up a few photos just to show you guys what's been happening... man, I haven't even updated since we went to Europe! Jeez. No good! Our trip to Europe was a lot of fun. We got to drive around and see some really nice places (through the van window) and meet lots of good people. While the trip itself was a lot of fun, I've got a few photos here to show you some of my *personal* highlights. I'm not good with photo-adding-in-LJ, so bear with me.

When we were in Zurich, Switzerland (the first show of the tour), behind the club there was a sort of canal-river thing. Rhimmy, O-en and I decided to have a swim. I thought it would be good to be able to say "I've been swimming in Switzerland" (well, more like "frantic dog-paddling" in my case) so I joined them, slithering neatly into the water as they cannon-balled themselves in. The first picture is "before". Meghann's there too, taking pictures. The second picture is "during". It was really cool. The water was very clean and warm...

This picture was taken from the M'era Luna performance. I'm so sorry I don't know who to credit for the photo. But this was a great show. It was pouring rain, as you can see from all the umbrellas. But what a great crowd! Everyone knew our stuff and were so enthuiastic it really "pumped us up". A really satisfying, amazing show despite the downpour and cold. I was amazed to see such a big crowd gather for us. It was incredible, with the rain coming down and the wind and all those umbrellas bopping around to the songs. A very memorable show for us.

We played at the Highfield Festival and Good Charlotte played as well, among others. I just had to put this photo with Benji in here, haha. Whether you love 'em or hate 'em, they were really nice to us that day and seemed like really nice dudes.

I have a *TON* of photos, it would be impossible to put them all on here. I'll find a couple more eventually, I just thought I'd share a couple of them with you.

Europe was beautiful. We got to see a lot of countries and play some great shows. I was sad to leave! :) We came back and indeed, it was nice to come home. I missed my kitties... maybe next time I can bring them along. I'm sure there'll be room for a few litterboxes in the van. *Ahem*. :D

So then we played a few dates with KMFDM a few weeks ago. That was pretty fun as well. They're really, really nice people and were really fun to hang out with. Here's Lucia giving me a big ol' smooch.

No, those aren't tears of joy under my eyes, it's just my sparkly eyeliner, which got all sweaty and smudged. It is hard to keep makeup intact while sweating, yummy times. But Lucia is awesome, very beautiful and powerful on stage. Very nice to get to meet and hang out with her.

You all have been incredible over the last few months, we thank you for your support of us while we've staggered around the globe trying to "spread the love". Keep an eye on our website, we have things to announce coming up. Dare I say it -- for the States? Oh, we'll see.

Me, personally... what's been happening... hm. Well, I've been trying to get work (I've been trying to "freelance" for a while, job-wise, and wow, that ain't easy). I've been reading a lot, and I've been knitting a lot, and managed to churn out a shawl amongst other things. (For any interested knitters, it's a pattern from the Lion Brand website and took about a week to make.)

What's everyone doing for Halloween? Any cool costume ideas? Anything exciting happening? Let me know! I promise to try to update here more often. I hope this entry wasn't too image-heavy and bothered anyone. Good times. :)

So there's a flyer I bet a lot of you have seen already. I'm behind the times. I'm currently the band's "caboose"; always at the back, kinda saying "Guys? What's going on? Huh? Eh?" This is because I have been working ten hour days, six days a week. :D

We are going to Europe pretty much the day after this show. So come out and see us! Lye, Il Attire (Tepid Lust) and New Love Army are not only great bands, but they're probably some of the coolest folks in Toronto as well. So it's going to be a great night. Plus, there's going to be door prizes, and our DVD will be available too! Come celebrate with us. It's going to be a lot of fun.

What else, what else? Hm. It's very hot in my apartment. My poor kitties are unhappy. I'm unhappy. Just sitting here at the computer, my face is sweating. Yuck! Give me the autumn, PLEASE. HURRY UP! I'd take a blizzard over this wet wall of heat any day.

I just finished reading a book called "The Eagle and the Raven" by Pauline Gedge. It's about the war in Brittania between the Celtic tribes and the Romans. This book was BRILLIANT. I am so sad I'm finished it. I was close to crying several times during reading it, and actually got a nervous stomach at other parts. I cannot recommend this book enough.

Movies I've seen lately:

1. Revenge of the Sith... yes, I saw it at last, and I really, really liked it. Talking about this movie (or anything Star Wars, really) merits a whole entry to itself... so I'll leave it at that.

2. War of the Worlds: The tripod robot things were pretty bloody terrifying. The noise they make... GUUAAAAARRRHHHH... *shudder*

3. The Devil's Rejects wasn't as cool as I was hoping it would be. It was sort of like Kill Bill Two... the first one was all colorful, and had cool characters, and then the sequel has this country n' western, cowboy boots n' tumbleweed vibe I don't dig.

4. March of the Penguins was fabulous. Yes, a documentary about penguins. And it was awesome!

This is turning into quite a bit of blathering. I think I'll close up shop before I start talking about really inane stuff. But please... if you ever see a copy of The Eagle and the Raven in a bookstore or at the library, read it. You won't be sorry.

Young hearts, be free tonight.... Ahh, Rod.

This is a photo of me, with a light saber that (screen name) Viscotis made for me a while ago. I carry it in my purse wherever I go. He gave it to me at the Violet release, and it's damn awesome.

Okay, it should be noted that I am a huge Star Wars fan. I LOVE those damn films. I have Star Wars Trivial Pursuit, and I am very good at it. I also own Star Wars Monopoly. I dressed up as Princess Leia in grade 8 (and to my horror, the boy who had a crush on me dressed up as Han Solo. I didn't like him. It was awkward times.) I own the Jedi Master's Quizbook. It came out before Return of the Jedi.

But anyways, I haven't seen the Revenge of the Sith yet. But I know the plot. Apparently Padme dies in childbirth. This, I believe, is a giant flaw. A GIANT flaw. In my opinion, there is a very cool way that this tale could have ended.

ANAKIN SHOULD KILL PADME!!! Not only would that wrack him with guilt and destroy him, but it would also seal the ol' fate as Darth Vader. Killing yo' babymomma is one of the nastiest things you can do. That's something Darth Vader would do. I have been keeping my fingers crossed that George Lucas would decide this as the course of action for Anakin. I guess it's already been predetermined in the books and storyline that she dies giving birth, but wouldn't Anakin killing her be even more evil and terrible??

Picture this: Idiot Anakin and Pregnant Padme have some sort of argument. She's concerned he's spending too much time with Palpatine, he's all defensive. He's getting crazy and evil. Padme flees to Alderaan or Naboo or wherever, so she can have the babies away from Anakin. Obi-Wan goes with her, so that he can whisk the twins away to safety. While he's whisking the twins away, Anakin shows up and confronts Padme. "Where are my children?" and whatforth. He's all mad, she's all "No way, pal." etc. He gets all crazy and frenzies, and "strikes her down", as evil Jedis do. He kills her in his rage. Then he realizes what he has done and GOES MENTAL. He's pure evil now, carried away by guilt and regret and fury. THAT'S THE WAY IT SHOULD HAVE GONE DOWN!! I think it's brilliant. I have this feeling that even though Anakin becomes Vader, George Lucas is going to try to play up the sympathy card. "Sure, he's Darth Vader. But you still feel sorry for him. Look, he's not a bad guy. PG-13, etc." Darth Vader should have NO redeeming qualities until the touching moments with Luke at the end of ROTJ. And even then, under the mask, he's hideous! None of this Ken-doll-Christensen crap! BLARGH!!!

I will end my sad attempt at fanfic now. I desperately hope that ROTS is not as crappy as the Phantom Menace and Attack of the Clones.

And now, I am going to go watch A New Hope, and practice intricately braiding my hair in another attempt at my lifelong pursuit to actually *be* Princess Leia.

Sorry for the dorkiness. But this ridiculous series of movies means a lot to me, and seeing as how this is the last one that's going to come out, I may as well get carried away.

Last weekend we packed up our long underwear and headed down to New York State to do our portion of shooting. After an eight hour drive into the night and very little sleep... we showed up bright and early on Saturday morning..... there were deer in the parking lot. It was quite endearing.

Dan Ouellette and crew were AWESOME. The set was beautiful... everything we had imagined it being. We were all quite impressed and excited, seeing the project live and in person! The day went well, complete with black latex, dolls, and rug-toying (you'll see....) and was finished off at a nice little restaurant. I had the most delicious Rueben sandwich I've ever had. *Drools... even now.*

The second day was taxing.... black paint, green screens, and the guys rolling their eyes back in their heads. Rainbow stole a banana, and Mike F had no shoes. I never thought I'd see the day when I was rushed down a hallway wrapped in garbage bags to the women's washroom. (Again... all will be clear on the DVD.)

It was quite an experience, seeing how music videos are made from behind-the-scenes. So much work, so much effort, so many people working together... it was amazing to watch Dan and his crew. I must also give giant hugs to Dan's wife Bernadette, who is quite possibly one of the sweetest women alive. There are too many people to thank for their hard work that weekend...

The weekend was capped off with a soap-in-the-mouth contest. Myself, Aslan, Jim and Meghann each held a piece of hotel room soap in our mouths. Whoever could keep it in the longest won. Aslan bailed first, followed by me. With defiance in their eyes and foam in the corners of their mouths, Jim and Meghann faced off. It was a close match... but Jim ultimately "brought home the gold" as Meghann delicately deposited the melting soap-slab into the bathroom sink. It was a glorious time.

We had a great but tiring weekend, and I am absolutely an excited wreck to see this video. Hence, the flyer above... again, giant thanks to Dan, Rob, Bernadette, and all the other people who worked so hard last weekend.

For those of ye who haven't stopped by the message board tonight, I'm here to share some details with you about our BLUE video.

The director is Dan Ouellette, who is not only a talented videographer but is also a wicked visual artist as well. There's lots of stuff you can check out online, including THIS LINK RIGHT HERE, where you can check out the video he created for Android Lust. Great song, and really beautiful video.

The lesson I learned today: white clothes apparently aren't in season, in Toronto. ANYWHERE. I spent the afternoon chuggin' along Queen Street with Meghann. Shopping is fun when you have money. Not so much, when you're broke.

Speaking of which: If you're NOT broke, and you haven't gotten a copy of Nothing and Nowhere yet, I'd recommend doing so. It is a limited edition re-release and we're actually suprised at how fast the copies have gone. We have some left... but I don't know how long they're going to last for. What better way to brighten up this ENDLESS, MISERABLE WINTER than by getting Nothing and Nowhere? I know I can't think of one! .... er, except for maybe a nice cup o' tea and some wool socks, both of which I'm going to fetch right now. I hope everyone's enjoying their weekend!

We had a good week. Lots of writing going on. :o On Thursday me, Rainbow, Mike and Jim went downtown to a party for a dude named Andy B. Rainbow and I went to college with Andy, he's an old pal. Thursday was the celebration for the release of his comic book, Dead End 56... it was a lot of fun to see the guy. And I gotta say he's an awesome artist (and always has been... ahhh, college days). He and a girl named Katy Brown have made this comic themselves, and have released it independently. I'm really happy for Andy. I'm proud he's continuing in the visual arts field, not very many of us fine art graduates found success on that path, and he's doing it all himself. Give it up for independence... he's DIY and it's awesome. Check out his website RIGHT HERE.

There were a lot of talented comic book folks and artists at the party. I bought some prints off a really sweet girl named Alana Machnicki, her stuff is awesome. Check out her website HERE.

I admire people who get out there and do their thing, creating awesomeness and being awesome people. It's inspiring.

In other news, rhim_jim  has decided to start putting together a little archive of our US jaunts on his LJ. Some new, dorky photos are there, plus his recap of some fun (and not so fun) moments, uh, "on the road", or whatever. So be sure to stop by his journal, he'll be adding more soon.

On that note... I leave you with the fuzzy muffin Kisou, all snuggled up in her surrogate mother's first-ever knitting project from... oh god, is it two years ago? Regardless, she's keeping warm. It's cold tonight.