What I’m really psyched about is this app I found called WPtoGo. It allows you to post to WordPress blogs like this one. I can view and edit older posts, view and review comments, and it even has some basic formatting tools.

So maybe I can post just a little more often on the personal blog, eh? We’ll see. Maybe write some more of my idle thoughts. I’ve worked very hard to tone the emo down, and it has become easier as I work through my divorce and find out who I really am. I believe I’ve made some great strides. I am a much different person than the man who struggled with self-hate and loathing, blaming himself for his cheating wife, unable to truly put the blame where it truly lied and wash his hands of it.

I lost a lot of friends along the way: those who hate me for who I was, and those who drop my various social network friendships for being tired of hearing my depressed rants and avoid me in person. It is unlikely I’ll get either group of people back, but in the end, I can only rely on myself.

So, we’ll see.

DISCLAIMER:  At this time, Office Live Small Business gives free webspace in the amount of 50 MB.  If your books are smaller than this, then you will be fine.  If you choose to upgrade your server space, you can do so by purchasing additional space.  $4.95 a month plus taxes gets you 1GB of space.

If you are only using Windows Vista or 7 machines, you will NOT want to use this method because there are free WebDAV providers out there that OneNote will be compatible with.  Only use this method if you are looking for a free or cheap way to sync with multiple computers that include Windows XP computers.

If you want me to explain how I set up my personal Vista machine to sync via WebDAV with a public provider, let me know.

Let’s get started.

1) Sign up for Office Live Small Business

http://smallbusiness.officelive.com/en-us/

Why?  Because standard Office Live will not allow this feature to work the way OneNote needs it to.  We all know OneNote plays nice with WebDAV and Sharepoint.  (Note: WebDAV support is currently limited to Vista without some server-side allowances that I frankly don’t recommend for security reasons.  Google it, the info is out there if you’re curious.)  The Office Live environment is a watered-down Sharepoint, however the mainstream Office Live does not have the extensions needed for OneNote to communicate directly with it (read: you’d have to manually upload and download all your files–what a pain).

Office Live Small Business has some extra features which are more than what most people need, specifically aimed at Small Businesses.  It just so happens (whether intentionally or not, remains to be seen) that OneNote is able to talk to the Small Business application as if it were Sharepoint.

Oh, and don’t worry, it’s free to sign up for a basic account.

2) Sign into your Office Live Small Business account

You will be presented with the following screen (click for larger):

3) Click the “More” option, followed by the “Business Applications” link

The previous picture showed the location of this menu highlighted.  If you’ve never used it before, then you will be prompted to activate it for free.

Then you will be presented with the following:

Here is my current Business Applications screen.  You’ll notice in the corner there that I am COMPLETELY out of space.  My OneNote notebooks are around 160MB in size, so until I upgrade my space, I’m receiving “out of space” errors in OneNote.  Keep this in mind when continuing.

4) Get the link needed for your OneNote root location

You can either use the default “Document Manager” provided, or, if you’re using this for other things as well, click “Add Application” and add another Document Manager module with a name of your choosing.  You’ll see in the screenshot above, I added one I called “Writing” for containing my Writing OneNote books. 

Whichever you do, now click on the name in the left column to bring up that application.

Now, pay special attention to the URL on these pages.

When I click on my “Document Manager,” the URL is as such:

And my “Writing” application URL is:

The OneNote root location will be everything BEFORE the /FORMS part.  So, in a more generic sense, your URL will be something like:

http://CompanyNameTypeOfficeLivecom.officelive.com/NameOfApp/documents

Now that you have your root location, let’s go set up a new notebook in OneNote 2007.

5) Create a new notebook in OneNote 2007

In OneNote, click “File” and then “New” | “Notebook”

Choose a default template, give it a name and a color, and click “Next".

Choose that multiple people will share this notebook, on a server.  Then “Next.”

In the next window, type the Root URL you found from Office Live.  Here is a shot with mine.  Notice I did not add the actual notebook’s name to the URL.  The Full path line underneath that does that for us.  Then, Click “Create".”

The first time you do this, it’s gonna run you through the whole sign in with your Passport thing.  (SEE SIDENOTE BELOW.)  Then, the book is created and syncs automatically.  Start creating sections and such.

Sidenote on Passport Login:  I had used the Office Live Workspaces as well, and as such, had the Office Live Add-in for Microsoft Office 2007 installed on my computer.  It is very possible that this may need to be installed for this process to work, I don’t know, and don’t feel like uninstalling to test it.  If you find you can do it without the Add-in, or can confirm it is needed, let me know!

For completeness sake, the add-in is available here:

http://www.microsoft.com/DownLoads/details.aspx?familyid=36BAC9DA-1EE4-40DF-B06C-A327269F2B63&displaylang=en

ONE FINAL NOTE: Opening previously created books from other computers

Okay, so you’re putting it on a server so you can open it later from another computer right?  Use “File” | “Open” | “Notebook” and then type in your root URL.  Then you will get a window like the following:

This will list the folders in that directory, one of which will be the name of the notebook you created.  Highlight and click “Open.”

ONE MORE FINAL FINAL NOTE: DISCLAIMER

You will notice that at no point does any of this process use SSL (https://etc).  This means the data is NOT ENCRYPTED.  For security reasons, if you are hosting something SUPER SENSITIVE, you may want to consider official hosting options.  1and1.com, my personal host, offers SharePoint hosting for $19.99 a month, and there are many hosts out there to give you these options.  On my Vista machine, I can use WebDAV over a secure connection with free WebDAV provider MyDrive.ch.

Have fun folks!

As ghetto as it looks… it works, and it was a marked improvement over our previous equipment.  I record because I have a strong voice, and I’ve always wanted to podcast and stuff, but I never really got the chance to.  Besides, I’d much rather write. 

(I still giggle when I see this stuff though.)

1. I have the right to judge my own behavior, thoughts, and emotions, and to take the responsibility for their initiation and consequences upon myself.
2. I have the right to offer no reasons or excuses for justifying my behavior.
3. I have the right to judge if I am responsible for finding solutions to other people’s problems.
4. I have the right to change my mind.
5. I have the right to make mistakes—and be responsible for them.
6. I have the right to say, “I don’t know.”
7. I have the right to be independent of the goodwill of others before coping with them.
8. I have the right to be illogical in making decisions.
9. I have the right to say, “I don’t understand.”
10. I have the right to say, “I don’t care.”

I have the right to say no, without feeling guilty.

I *love* gamerscore.  I want more.  I play and play on my Xbox to increase that score, and eventually, as I see more and more people with a lower score than my own, I feel just awesome.

I also love RPGs.  I get into the stories and emotions of the characters.  I enjoy immersing myself into a world that is not my own, and living the lives of these people.  That is why I play these games.  I am not the kind of RPG gamer who plays a game to get every single item in the game, or to say they’ve done everything they can possibly do (“Completionists”).  Sometimes, running around for hours and hours and hours to level up to defeat an optional boss or monster that has NO direct bearing on how the story will end for a single item that will probably over throw the balance of the game anyways (Read: Economizers) just doesn’t seem WORTH it.

[SIDE NOTE: Of course, I’m not one of those guys who also levels up for hours on end right before a boss so I can roll over him without thinking.  Those people bug the hell out of me.  I will throw my lower-end party at a boss and die a dozen times before pulling off victory through strategy before I give up and decided I can’t do this without leveling.  That’s a post for another time/rant]

But, what happens when a game mixes the nooks and crannies of the fantasy world with a real world offering that I *do* want, by offering me the currency of gaming, to compare how “gamer” you are in a liquid form regardless of what games you play?  Gamerscore.

I started realizing that I’ve NEVER maxed out a game on gamerscore.  Ever.  Not even the downloadable Xbox LIVE Arcade games (of which I have many).  I tend to play through like I do, not hitting everything, until I’m done, and then I put it away.

Then our economy sank faster than a full-armored cleric who tied himself to a rock.  (True story that, also for another time.)

Now, I’m not buying as many games as I used to.  Recently, I was invited to a coworker’s house to play Rock Band, and I was hardcore addicted, not for the music (though I consider myself a decent singer on Medium) but for the fact that I do not own Rock Band (Guitar Hero instead), and so I racked up a ton of really simple achievements in a small amount of time.  My score improved for the first time in a very long time.

I went home and looked through my games to see which ones had extra achievements.  I was gonna go for it, and max out a full game once and for all.

I ended on Lost Odyssey.  Lost Odyssey is an RPG from the esteemed Hironobu Sakaguchi (creator of Final Fantasy) with music by Nobuo Uematsu (composer of Final Fantasy).  It has a lot of optional things that actually enrich the story, and are not obvious add-ons that don’t have anything to do with the lore of the game.  They are optional, but completing them, while challenging, still give a lot to the story.

That being said, I had already completed a good majority, and decided to go through the achievement list, and max it out.

Some of them are linked to one another.  To get the “Spell Collector” achievement (“All spells have been obtained.”), you have to beat a number of the optional bosses who horde unique spells (defeating the Blue Dragon gives you the “Defeated Blue Dragon” achievement as well as the Leveler Black Magic spell). 

I worked through a number of those, and I came to the last few ones.  Lost Odyssey has a DLC that gives you 25 floors of straight pain-in-the-ass battles, down to an ultimate optional boss.  There is almost no bearing on the story, and reeks of the “optional” useless crap in games that expands on the story none whatsoever.  If it wasn’t for the gamerscore, I would’ve left it alone.

It was so difficult, that last boss (especially because there are no save points through the entire dungeon) that I gave up when I last attempted.  That was back in May.  I came back to it this month.  He has skills that do more damage than my party has hit points, causing me to rely on certain skills that keep me alive when I am about to die (“Persistence” occasionally leaves me a single hit point instead of dying), but they only work so many times, or are % chance of occuring.  One unlucky moment, and my party was wiped out.

After weeks of leveling and fighting and losing, I finally realized that his mega-spell of instant death (literally, instant death, no hit point damage, so my skills are useless) could be deflected using Reflect.  I was floored!  First, I was frustrated because I have a skill called “Complete Defense” that makes me invulnerable for a couple turns, but it only works once in battle per character, and timing it right was difficult, and then I spent rounds trying to rez without dying in the first place.  Finding out Reflect fixed it pissed me off.  Then, most large scale spells like that, by unwritten RPG rule, can’t be reflected.  Remember our surprise in Final Fantasy IV when we first learned that Bahamut’s Mega Flare could be reflected?  (I died a billion times on that bastard before figuring that one out.)

[SIDE NOTE:  In the DS version of FF4, they changed it so his Mega Flare is cast on HIMSELF when he has Reflect, thus nullifying the “Reflect myself” strategy of beating him.]

I still died a few times, but I eventually won!  Woo hoo!  I was so stoked, that left me to do one achievement left.

Treasure Trove – Collect all Treasure Box items in the field.

Okay, shouldn’t be too hard right?

There are hundreds of items to find, all individually concealed in pots, posters, vines, carts, boxes, buried in the ground, at the bottom of the ocean, and who knows what else.  (Curious?: Link.)

And there is no way of knowing what you’ve gotten already or not.  You pretty much have to start from the beginning and painstakingly check every item’s location to see if you’ve gotten it already.

Fuck that.

I’ll do that another time.  I’m not a completionist anyways.  Though, Blue Dragon looks like it needs to be maxed out….

~Dan Hughes

SoDr is a podcast/blog that focuses on the topic of tabletop gaming.  They study and discuss the world of tabletop gaming, from figurines and cards to roleplay and character sheets.  They are great taking feedback from their listeners, and have recently started adding a few columnists, of which I am one.

I intend to have the material I publish at SoDr to be different than the material I publish at Alt.Universes.  At Alt.Universes, I publish articles that I do a lot of research on, staying objective to try and be a resource for Dungeon Masters who may run upon the information I have to share from my experience.

At SoDr, I intend to put up content that is a lot lighter in nature, funny stories, and an upcoming article on why you people out there need to quitcherbitchin about 4th Edition.  And whatever else I might want to complain about!

So, if you’re a tabletop player like me, please go over and subscribe to their podcast!  I will personally thank you later. 

Seriously.

I will.

…Quit staring at me like that.

The OC Remix community has done it again.  In a new project, spanning 14 months from inception to release, designed to honor the great Nobuo Uematsu and his soundtrack from Final Fantasy IV, the wonderful artists who contribute to OverClocked Remix for our listening pleasure have captured the heart and memory of a grand tale of, as they put it, betrayal, strife, and redemption.

I enjoyed nearly every track on this album.  Now, I am not completely geeked out when it comes to video game music, but as with each of OC Remix’s albums in the past, I find that while every song is a wonderful capture and tribute of the feeling and emotion of the original, blended with the spirit and style of the idea the artist wanted to convey, I usually want to add only a few to my mp3 player to listen to over and over again.

In what is a record for me, there are 10 tracks from Echoes of Betrayal, Light of Redemption that I felt I had to add to listen to every day.  Let me put my thoughts down on these.

(Just because I didn’t put a track here doesn’t mean I didn’t enjoy it, I loved just about every track, and I had a love-hate relationship with the rap song [name purposefully left unmentioned], but these are the ones that made me go “OOH, I want to listen to that every day!”)

ACT 1: BETRAYAL

2. The Might of Baron, remix of “Kingdom of Baron”, remixed by audio fidelity

The inordinate amount of time spent in Final Fantasy IV’s Kingdom of Baron really made me lose touch with this song and what it really represented.  This song brings it all back.  The introduction seriously puts me into a state of awe.  The beginning bells and marching, followed by the guitar intro sets the tone and setting of the Kingdom so much better than the limited graphics of the time ever could.  Walking into the center stronghold of a large kingdom, flexing its military might across the world at any cost, threading through its people, troops in the streets…

The guitars carry it through, painting one’s stroll through the military powerhouse.  Midway through, the song slows to a soft melody, while a nice piece, serves to further highlight its rock components.  An awesome solo around 3:40 really pulls in the artist’s mark, showing what he can really do with the genre, built to the background of the original song.

Personally, I think rolling into a unique take on the Prologue and the airship theme was a brilliant idea, and a great deference to the story of the original game.  

3. Overture ~ Tellah’s Prophecy, medley remix of many songs in FFIV, Remixed by AeroZ

Wow! Every memory you’ve ever had from Final Fantasy IV can be found right here.  Every 20 – 30 seconds, AeroZ is switching up the notes on you, weaving the notes to flow through a large part of the games’ tunes.  I was almost disappointed when this one ended, because I was being driven through so much nostalgia through each tune, remembering when I first heard them, that it was kind of a jolt to hit the end. 

My favorite is his mix of one of the battle themes around 2:30.  I enjoy the spin he put on it.  Overall, a well done piece!

5. Ana(pro)logue, remix of “Prologue”, remixed by Another Soundscape

Let me tell you something about Prologue.  I have seen so many renditions of the Final Fantasy prologue, that I very rarely get past a minute or two before realizing it’s just the same old song.  This remix brings so much more to the song while staying undeniably catchy that I could not put it down after listening to it the first time.

The songs starts with a wide, glorious sound, almost the kind you would hear at the victory phase of the game, as opposed to its placement at the beginning of the album.  The electronica is so fresh and upbeat, and carries between the main passages so wonderfully, without being overly long.  And the clever ditty at 2:29 was so perfectly placed that it made me laugh at the reference to Van Halen.  Very awesomely done.

14. Golbez ‘n Goblins, remix of “Golbez” and “Clad in Darkness”, remixed by bLiNd

The beginning of this song grabs me by the throat and MAKES me dance.  I have this 80’s to 90’s funk beat that pulls at you, moving your entire body from the get go.  The running bass behind the Golbez theme makes it that much more catchy.  My head has no choice but to move with this song.

bLiNd takes some liberties at 1:16, mixing up the original melody with some fancy side effects that just improves on that trance form.  But it’s build up to the true dance rhythm starting at 1:50 is the best genius of all.  This stuff right here is the stuff music videos were choreographed to.  I swear I heard this song played at the night club last week…

The song breaks down and rebuilds around the 3:00 mark, taking you back to the Golbez refrain, before breaking up again at the end.  This is one of those songs I put on repeat a few times driving down the road!

15. Fighting for Tomorrow, remix of “Fabul”, remixed by OA, Nutritious, and the Fabul Men’s Choir

What a new way to rendition this song!  To be honest, the original song Fabul in the game, I was not a very big fan of.  (The only part I really liked in Fabul was when it was invaded and the game let you attempt to hold them off.)  So, when I heard the song begin, I *almost* skipped it.  But the vocals intrigued me.  I had to listen more.

It has a very far-eastern beginning, fitting for its theme, a slow rhythmic march.  Then at 1:20, the main rhythm pulls into a subrock, and frankly, I imagined myself in the scene I described before, where I wish I had been fighting to this music during the invasion.  (If there is one thing I have a weakness for, it’s opera or choir type music set to a rock backdrop.)  The guitar at 3:20 fits between the main pieces well, and keeps your head bopping.  This took a song that I did not like to begin with, and transformed it into something I truly enjoy. 

By the time the breakdown came at 4:30, my whole body was rocking to the song, and the slow down just sucks you in even more.  I am very glad to have been able to experience this one.

ACT 2: STRIFE

2. Metal Mage, remix of “Palom and Parom”, remixed by Cyril the Wolf, Lil’ Wolfie, and OA

Hahaha, Mysidia’s twin mages were a favorite part for me.  The song was the epitome of translating “*rolling my eyes*” into song.  That song rarely came out without a grin and the shake of the head waiting to see what that silly pair would do next. 

That’s exactly what happens here.  The song starts with an immediate facepalm, as I’m like, “Oh, here we go.”  It then goes on to turn into a medley of different metal strokes put behind the classic melody.  In itself, it is a spectacular display of skill and downright cool beats.  I was surprised at how many different styles could be stuffed in one song without sounding overkill, but they did well.

What takes it from just “awesome” to “over-the-top”, is the child’s voice that is demanding the performance.  Not sure how to picture that one.  I get a mental image of some kind of cross between Palom himself and some spoiled rich kid.  Which… is still kind of Palom, if you think about it.

Final note – “Guitar Solo!”  – Best part of the entire track.

11. Somewhere to Hide, remix of “Somewhere in the World…”, remixed by Hy Bound and Loka Lafevre

This song has my favorite vocals of the entire album.  The voice here is incredibly beautiful, the song is catchy, and I find myself humming the lyrics over and over again.  On one hand I’d love to hear her sing more in this song, but on the other, I’m glad they kept it simple and didn’t turn the whole remix into a song based on vocal accompaniment, instead focusing on the remix.

The remix does an incredible job of creating an astounding beat that makes you move.  I loved the intro, I spent the first few seconds mind-racing how this song was going to take off, but then it exploded much better than I could have imagined.

But yeah, those vocals really closed it for me, absolutely beautiful.  I’m gonna look and see if this Loka has some more work out somewhere, and spread the word, she’s made an instant fan out of me!

ACT 3: REDEMPTION

11. Finale Part One ~ Éminence Grise, remix of “Another Moon”, remixed by OA and DragonAvenger

This one had me hooked from the very beginning.  Adding the skip beats to the familiar tune made me want to hear what would happen next.  The vocals play off of the rhythm with a sound that is just captivating, and paints the emotion of the once-dark hero as he immerses himself in that darkness to save the world.  The dank emotion that fills this song, suppressed hope, is accurate in its portrayal of the game’s buildup to the final battle.  Combined with Part Two of Finale, it is a beautifully done complement, demonstrating suspense towards the final battle, while standing on its own as a work of art.

12. Finale Part Two ~ Genesis of Destruction, remix of “The Final Battle”, remixed by Audio Fidelity, Nutritious, OA, lisabela, Cyril the Wolf, and Voices of the Blue Planet

This is by far my favorite track.  They paint the entire fight from start to end, with a quick intro setting the stage, the declaration of the good party to do, well, good, and then the banter back and forth as the battle really starts.  The female vocals declaring into the darkness that “We must prevail,” while the hard metal grunting of the representation of Zeromus snaps back in what was a beautiful choice of form.

At 1:30, the battle truly starts, and the mixture of rock beat, the beautiful vocals and rough evil retorts scream “Nightwish” at me.  Definitely not a copy by any means, just a comparison that I think best describes what this song makes me feel.  It is a mix I love more than anything, and I found myself at home in this track.

Now, honestly, there are a couple phrases in particular that make me blink.  I’m not a musician in the strictest sense, having only been exposed to basic music theory, but some things don’t always sound right to me.  The phrase in the introduction, “We believe in you” seems off to me, but maybe that’s just me.  Also, “Together, we’ll fight for our world” itself seems out of place in tone.  The rest of it sounds perfect, but those two phrases make me wonder what I’m missing, exactly.  The parts of the song with the higher-pitched vocals seem to be more in tune with the feeling of the song, but the parts I mentioned above almost hit a Broadway type feel, and it really seems to clash.

If you think I was kidding about the Nightwish thing, fast forward to 4:26 where the calm chanting begins, carrying you through the soft lull between the major passages with a feeling of getting ready to put out that last effort.  It is so reminiscent of the opera metal rock that I’m familiar with from several European bands.

This is not just a remix, this whole track is its own culmination of all the work that went into this album, and I enjoy almost every piece of it.

BONUS TRACKS

4. Morphine Kyck, remix of “Battle 1”, remixed by 2Radical

You know that Uematsu-san had to sit down every game and very carefully construct that game’s battle theme.  Someone *must* have said to him: “Be careful, it has to never get old.  It has to be a song that the player can listen to over and over and over again throughout forty to sixty hours of gameplay and still be fresh at the end.”  He delivered, time and time again. 

That’s why I have a weakness for all of the original battle theme remixes, ever.  The starting song is so fresh, constructed from scratch to always be fresh and carrying, that it makes it really difficult to top that.  Successful remixes of main battle themes have to find a way to keep that feeling while putting the remixers’ spin on it. 

2Radical just does that.  I love how he keeps the core beat running through the entire song, but changes up what he’s doing just enough that it is still recognizable, and yet completely different.  He accompanies the fast-paced beat with a mellow mix of notes that just barely fits with the original melody.  It makes for a very smooth flow that just keeps beating on its own.  It could easily loop on its own, over and over and over…

Last night, I had limited sleep, but it was good sleep.  This dream involved myself, my roommate Ken, and his 7-year-old son, Gabe.  It was probably also influenced by the several hours of Gears of War play that occurred before I went to bed.  And an interesting reference to Tales of the Abyss.

“He’s in there,” Ken said.  He pointed at the decrepit building, guarded by a number of rough-looking men, armed with all manners of pipes, wooden staves, and brass knuckles.

From my vantage point behind a roadblock down the street, I hefted my staff.  Two entrances, one on the same street as us, and one around the corner, both crowded with thugs, gave us our only hope of entry.

 

“Ken, just the two of us can’t hope to take all of them.”  I shook my head.  “We need to get help.”

 

 

“My son is in there, Dan.”  Ken growled, knuckles white over the deck brush he was holding.  “I’m getting him back.”

 

“Even if you try, how are you going to get through with—“ I blinked to see that he had suited his statement by running up the street, brandishing his deck brush wildly.  “—just a brush…?”

 

I had to hand it to him, he at least had the element of surprise.  They all stared blankly at this crazy man waving a brush, rushing towards them.  Then Ken leapt—with amazing air, I might add—and swept his brush (no pun intended) down onto the head of the closest ruffian. 

 

**CRACK** The brush tore clear off, and Ken’s victim’s eyes rolled up in his head as he slumped to the floor.  No longer amused by the situation, the remaining gang members started surrounding their assailant.

 

I sighed.  I couldn’t very well leave the man there.  I stepped into the street…and then realized the thugs from the other entrance had just appeared from around the corner, coming to watch the goings-on.  The other entrance was empty!  Giving another glance at Ken, who was quite thoroughly taking a beating, I realized what he’d want me to do, and crept around the corner to the side door, quickly entering.

 

It was a dusty building, and every step kicked up a blanket that covered me in dirt as thick as beach sand.  I only had to step in the hallway a few steps before I saw young Gabe, sitting on a run-down twin-sized bed, reading one of his books—he must have held on to it—along with a solitary guard, looking through the window at the commotion outside.  Ken was giving as good as he got, it seemed, a few more of the building’s guards were down on their knees, but he was covered in bruises and cuts.

 

Gabe saw me, and his eyes lit up and mouth opened wide, which I promptly cued shut with my finger on my lips.  Gabe nodded, putting a finger to his mouth in mime.  I waved for him to come to me, but he looked at the gruff guard at the window, and gave me a pouty look, shaking his head.  He was scared.

 

I nodded, and walked very carefully through the room, careful not to make a sound.  When I was halfway across the room, I threw my staff ahead of me, so it hit the wall beside the guard.  Instinctively, he put his hands over his head, and turned towards the source.  Bent over, and his view blocked by his own defensive stand, my knee connected with his nose before he even saw me.

 

“Now, Gabe!” I yelled, and the boy obeyed immediately.  Picking him up in my arms, I ran back down to the other entrance, and took off down the street.  No one even saw me.

 

=====

 

A few hours later, I was standing outside an apartment building in the better part of town, holding the book Gabe had been reading earlier.  A bloodied Ken stumbled up to the building.   “Dan…is…?”  I handed Ken the book.  “He’s upstairs, asleep.  Get cleaned up before you go see him.  You look like shit.”

Black dress with the tights underneath,
I got the breath of the last cigarette on my teeth,
And she’s an actress (actress),
But she ain’t got no need.
She’s got money from her parents in a trust fund back east.

T-t-t-tongues always pressed to your cheeks,
While my tongue is on the inside of some other girls teeth,
T-tell your boyfriend if he says he’s got beef,
That I’m a vegetarian and I ain’t fucking scared of him.

She wants to touch me (Woah),
She wants to love me (Woah),
She’ll never leave me (Woah, woah, oh, oh),
Don’t trust a ho,
Never trust a ho,
Won’t trust a ho,
’Cause the ho won’t trust me.

X’s on the back of your hands,
Wash them in the bathroom to drink like the bands.
And your setlist (setlist),
You stole off the stage,
Has red and purple lipstick all over the page.

B-b-b-bruises cover your arms,
Shaking in the fingers with the bottle in your palm.
And the best is (best is),
No one knows who you are,
Just another girl alone at the bar.

She wants to touch me (Woah),
She wants to love me (Woah),
She’ll never leave me (Woah, woah, oh, oh),
Don’t trust a ho,
Never trust a ho,
Won’t trust a ho,
’Cause the ho won’t trust me.

Shush girl shut your lips,
Do the Helen Keller and talk with your hips.
I said, Shush girl shut your lips,
Do the Helen Keller and talk with your hips.
I said, Shush girl shut your lips,
Do the Helen Keller and talk with your hips.

Woah, woah, woah…

She wants to touch me (Woah),
She wants to love me (Woah),
She’ll never leave me (Woah, woah, oh, oh),
Don’t trust a ho,
Never trust a ho,
Won’t trust a ho,
’Cause the ho won’t trust me.