Last night I went to the Marilyn Manson concert at the Paramount. So much to say.

First, we went to Von’s for dinner before the show. I’ve been wanting to go there for a long time, mainly because I’ve been intrigued by their sign that says Martini - Manhattan Memorial. I like martinis.

So Von’s was good. Very friendly staff all around, great food, and a fun atmosphere. The walls of the dining room are entirely covered in beer tap handles, which are fun to look at. I had a yummy roast chicken, a dirty martini, a decidedly clean martini, and apple crisp. All yum.

There was a fairly long line to get into the Paramount, but it moved fast enough. While we shuffled along, we were entertained by the fruitless efforts of Jesus-sign guys. Apparently Jesus has given us over to our wrongful passion. I got a Get Out of Hell Free Card, and then I actually witnessed a Jesus-sign guy who was reasonable and logical and possibly even sane and intelligent.

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And we’re back.

(If you have no idea what I’m talking about and think I’ve lost my mind, you might be right. But first read yesterday’s blog entry, as it might clear up at least the first part.)

The enneagram types are placed around a circle in a particular order, with lines and arrows going every which way. If you want to know the details, read the book or look online or something (if you do look online, you’ll notice that some of the type names are different — Mediator is called Peacemaker, for example).

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On a whim, I got a book from the library (shocking, I know) called The Essential Enneagram. It’s basically a skinny little book that tells you about your personality. There were two things that struck me about this enneagram thing, as opposed to the jillion other personality tests I’ve taken.

First is the way it explains how the different personality types are related to each other, which I’ll get to later.

The other thing is the basic proposition of the whole thing. Each of the types is defined by the fundamental principle this person has lost sight of, what she came to believe instead, and the strategy she developed to cope with this belief. Again, I’ll explain more later.

First, a little overview.

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Why would anyone wear plain white socks, or plain black socks, or plain any-color socks when there are so many fun socks out there just begging to be put on your feet?

Just walking through the Trouser Socks aisle of JC Penney makes me itchy and nervous. If I ever have a job that requires not only trousers but a special kind of boring sock to accompany them, that will be the day I weep for my lost youth.

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There are days when I feel like nothing can cheer me up. But it’s never true.

This site never fails to get a smile. There’s just something about kittens with bad grammar that I’m powerless to resist.

Side note: It’s a proven scientific fact that kittens make people happy. How else can you explain the episode of Scrubs where JD saves a man dying of a broken heart by emptying a box of kittens on his face?

I read this wonderful little book called How to Avoid Making Art (or Anything Else You Enjoy) by Julia Cameron. It’s well over 100 pages long, but I read it in about ten minutes, which is because I’m a genius.

Actually, the book is more like a picture book, with each page containing a drawing accompanied by a sentence or two of text.

But I’m still a genius.

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Generally, I’m a fan of progress. Technological advancements are usually good, because they’re usually improvements, a way to make life easier, or at least less annoying. Text messaging allows me to communicate long-distance without sharing my conversation with everyone else in the grocery line. Electric toothbrushes make my dentist happy. Double-sided tape saves us from making endless tape loops to put a poster on the wall.

But there’s one so-called advancement that I protest. It has caused me nothing but frustration, heartache, and stinky hands. It is the “safe edge” can opener. I like to call it the can’t opener.

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Okay, so it’s only 9:11 in the morning (on 9/11 — weird), but this is still cute. You just send a photo of a kid (yours or otherwise) and they put it into a pretty little story.

So far, they only offer the one story with fairies, but this month a pirate story is coming out! And the price seems reasonable for what you get. If only my nephews hadn’t grown up so fast.

Found via Photojojo.