listmaking: notes and observations, slightly tardy Panic!/The Young Veins edition, 11/1/09

Ryan: Returned to LA, extracted his car from the parking lot, and commenced shenanigating with Z Berg. Together, they found a hippie bus and attended a Michael Runion show; Ryan also mentioned thinking about going to Disneyland, but that doesn't seem to have happened.

Halloween observations were a major feature. Ryan shared several pictures of himself trying on a variety of Halloween costume-y hats, and according to Z's twitter, they also went back to the Velvet Margarita Cantina and then took in a showing of Nightmare Before Christmas at El Capitan. (Ryan didn't mention any of that, so it isn't on his list. Nor were there any pictures of Z in silly hats, more's the pity.) In the end they apparently settled on being Mod Burglars, and decamped for Chicago to crash Jon Walker's party. Best part: they wore their costumes on the plane and got some poor soul in coach to take their picture.

In non-Halloween-y news, one of Ryan's friends sent him an animated gif of a jumping fox that was adorable and hypnotizing, and someone else sent one of the "owl in box" pictures that was on Boing Boing earlier in October. Both of these things were almost totally absent context, though they may have been related to costume ideas. There was also some discussion of children with cellphones, the final departure of the hornet from Greenwald's hair, and two mentions of Phoenix afterparties, which I am starting to think is a code for something else.

Conclusion: Happy Goth Christmas, Ryan!

Brendon: Two video clips early on (breakdancing, Family Guy sequence), followed by a mention of Logic Studio and Garageband, leading me to suspect he was busy working on songs while Spencer and Zack were emptying the storage units. There was also some baseball (he's watching the World Series) and, of course, some Halloween-related chatter, including a reference to a horror movie marathon. He also had something of a puzzling conversation with Pete about Point Break (there is no Jimmy Carter character in that movie).

Spencer: No new tweets; his list wasn't updated. The news of the emptying of the storage unit was via Zack's twitter.

Jon: Changed his profile picture again, to another non-distorted (but still sort of sad-looking) picture of his face. He may or may not have cut his hair. This seems to have been the week he did actually get his wisdom teeth out, though. His commentary was a mixture of Halloween and pet pics, a little bit of snark about Ryan's progress getting a record deal, two song references, one of which was the Beatles, and one of which was either one of three songs or, possibly, a video game. Or, you know, meant nothing at all, as he reminded us as well. He also shared an evil laugh and referenced the swine flu vaccine shortage. Finally, either he's petsitting for Halloween or has acquired another cat.

listmaking: notes and observations, slightly tardy Travie edition, 11/01/09

Another quiet week, though he did manage to pack three allusions into one tweet, referencing Hunter S. Thompson, Adventureland and My So-Called Life, all in less than 140 characters. There was also some discussion of Obama signing a new Ryan White C.A.R.E. bill and lifting the HIV travel ban, and then at the end of the week, Travie met two graf artists, Neckface and Skam2. The pictures suggest they're at a show, but Travie doesn't say which one. Gym Class Heroes themselves played Homecoming for Florida State (along with Pitbull) so I suppose it could have been there, but I'm not sure. The pictures also serve to highlight, again, how Travie is the Tallest Person Ever. Both Skam2 and Neckface look like hobbits next to him. Finally, he did mention there will be a new GCH video soon. All things considered, he seems to be in good spirits, if periodically somewhat bored.

Storytime Sunday, no. 1

"Spencer," Zack says. "Twenty hours."

Spencer lowers the video controller to his lap and twists around to look at Zack. His expression is both set and wary.

"Twenty hours," Spencer repeats, trying to absorb the idea of being on a plane for almost an entire day. "No breaks?"

"One layover, but it's only two hours."

Two hours is barely enough to replenish their snacks and get them all through the airport bookstore, never mind rehydrating Ryan. Spencer turns back to the tv, traces the raised designs on the game controller and listens to Zack flip pages. Twenty hours.

"Also, for both Continental and BA, he'd have to travel in the hold," Zack says. "Virgin we could negotiate the cabin, I think."

"The -- what -- fuck that," Spencer says, dropping the controller and standing up. "We just -"

He stops, cutting himself off, suddenly unwilling to look at Zack. It's not like it's really a surprise; it had come up back when they were first asked about touring overseas. But back then they'd hardly gone anywhere at all. They had had no idea what Ryan's limits were.

"It's eight months away," Zack says softly.

"I'll talk to him," Spencer says. "All of the guys, I'll talk to them. We'll figure something out."

"All right," Zack says, and bends over his paperwork.

Spencer goes in the back lounge to think, but gets distracted when he finds Brendon already there, and watching Die Hard again. Brendon pats the couch next to him and Spencer sits down.

"Twenty hours," he says, and Brendon gives him a blank look. "On the plane, to Australia."

"Shit," Brendon says, his fingers hovering over the pause button.

"Yeah," Spencer says, and curls up against Brendon's shoulder.

They watch the rest of the movie.

**

Two days later, Spencer comes off the bus to find Ryan dozing in his kiddie pool and Brendon standing over him, wearing his underpants and a thoughtful expression. Jon Walker is loitering nearby with a tape-measure and a pad of paper. Brendon's clothes are in a heap on Zack's chair.

"The fuck are you doing?" Spencer says, but quietly; Ryan get so little sleep, they never want to wake him.

Brendon ignores him, leans down so that his arms are bracketing the edges of the tangle of Ryan's tentacles, his hands hovering carefully above the water, then stands up without moving his arms. Jon walks over, measures the space between his fingertips, and makes a note on the pad of paper.

"Brendon," Spencer hisses, and Brendon steps out of the pool.

Ryan bubbles softly and rolls over, rubbing his nose in his sleep.

"It's an experiment," Brendon whispers, pulling his jeans on.

Spencer turns to look at Jon, who gives him an innocent expression.

"Dude, we're not experimenting on Ryan," Brendon says, his voice further muffled while he wriggles his t-shirt on. "We're just -- Jon had an idea, about the airplane problem."

Spencer arches an eyebrow at Jon, who smiles back at him.

"We'll let you know if it works out," Brendon says, stepping into his flip-flops. "Can you sit with him for a minute? Zack went to get sandwiches."

Spencer narrows his eyes, but nods, and then they're gone, headed for the Academy bus. Spencer sits down in the chair and watches Ryan's tentacles shift and twist until Zack shows up with their food.