Soiled Utilities.Org
All things Edweird!
6/25/09
Today Larry is older.
For anyone who doesn't understand why I want to get out of IT, watch this.
6/24/09
Turned on the air conditioner...
6/23/09
So I've been pretty good about sticking to my schedule. School's on track. My recording projects are going well. I even found time to clean the house and do some reading. Funny what you can accomplish when you don't have a job standing in your way. Now if I can make it without turning on the air conditioner...
6/16/09
6/13/09
Wexler is just another congress critter.
The only way that could have been better would be if she poured a beer on the ground for Bea Arthur.
6/12/09
It's been a while. Sorry. I'm officially done at Saline next Thursday. I'm exhausted from doing next to nothing today. Next week I clean out my office. I can't wait for it all to be done, honestly. As someone said to me yesterday, "Things have gotten really toxic." Amen. I'm burnt out and my art has suffered for it all year.
I have a slew of projects on my plate and I plan to finish all of them as soon as i don't have to go to work anymore. Anthea and I have not worked on our record since I spoke of it last. I have tracks that I freeformed months ago that need to be played with and mixed. Goossen and I did a record together that I need to mix. I dug up some older material we did around 2000-01 that I need to mix too. Even some stuff with Toth that was stellar. Plus I'm remixing the Ladder Jak record Goossen and I recorded for those guys back in the mid 90's. I have a lot to do.
All that plus teach myself Unix and basic electronics, get my fall school schedule done and paid for, get on unemployment, and then get my mortgage taken care of. Ugh. It's a big hassle, but I'm really happy to be going through it. It's just scary.
BTW I'm looking for a roommate too.
4/05/09
"Your ability to blog whatever you want is no good if some stranger keeps breaking into your house and stealing stuff."
Like the Phoenix police dept?
3/13/09
"Why don't you get back to doing your job, so I don't have to do it for you." paraphrasing Jon Stewart.
2/6/09
I miss Bill Hicks. A lot.
1/27/09
I've owned my house for three years today.
1/24/09
A very sobering video.
1/22/09
Just wanted to post these two articles here and here.
1/12/09
First off, I'd like to thank everyone who remembered me on my birthday and/or took me out. Thank you all.
And now on to more lively topics:
"the God that he's praying to is not the God that I know." And that folks is the crux of the biscuit as Frank would say. With so many gods to choose from how could anyone pick the right one to bless an inauguration. This is why we have a seperation of church and state. So that shit like this doesn't happen. I'm tired of the whole "my god's better than your god" bullshit. I don't believe in god. Who represents me in all this?
Eric Brown sent this article out. It's pretty a pretty honest assessment of the world's view of Detroit.
Oh, best review of a bad comicbook EVER!
1/5/09
Some of my colleagues may not want to watch this, but I feel they should.
Recording went amazingly well, btw. Anthea and I are on the road to a stellar collaboration. My own work is evolving quite nicely into something I may be able to take live some day.
12/25/08
People get all bent out of shape when I tell them that I don't like Christmas. They freak out because you choose to stay home alone or try to pull together something totally not related to the event. Well it's really simple, actually. I'm neither a christian or a capitalist and I'm the worst gift giver ever. So I'm headed back to the basement to work on my new record.
12/19/08
So we have a snow day today. I'm off work for the next 11 days! Going back to bed.
12/4/08
We knew and we went in anyway. Here's the proof.
11/27/08
I'm home alone and it looks like it's going to be that way fo the forseeable future. I feel pretty empty right now.
11/8/08
It's Saturday morning and I'm making plans to finish of my project in the basement. This will be a short term fix to get me working while I start radically redesigning the basement for proper studio work. I have a headache. Not sure what that's about. I woke up very late, though, and lack of food may be a big part of it. Going to see the Polysics with Lara, Anthea, and Kris. Then on to Sue and Jon's party. Glad I splept in. Just wish the headache would go away.
Mr. Speilberg? Don't! Just don't do it. Bad touch.
11/5/08
Today started out as the happiest day of my life. Everything I've studied for. Everything I've fought for. Every part of my being was ready for last nights historic event. Then I went to work. Now I'm not going to go into detail. This isn't the place. Suffice to say that my professional life is pretty fucked up right now. Some things are improving, but others aren't. And I don't even know where to begin to fix any of the problems. So I'm just going to keep my head down and plow thru until I decide whether any of it's worth the effort. Lara's coming by. That will help for the time being, but it isn't going to fix the problem. I still have to go back. Bottom line: I'm one person trying to do the work of four and people aren't happy with me. I'm fucked. So I sit here listening to Ice Cube and waiting for Lara to show up. At least that's going extremely well.
11/1/08
Lara's in bed and I'm up reading teh interweb's this morning. Things here are awesome. So I'm reading this article right now and wanted to post it before I finished it. It's that compelling. It attests to one of the many reasons why I dislike religion so much. Here it is.
10/17/08
10/16/08
Red Band Trailer for Let The Right One In!
Ok. I hate racism. A lot. From any front. Black, white, red, green... whatever. Despise it profusely. Now watch this shit. Make you angry? I'm livid.
10/6/08
Must watch! It brought tears to my eyes. It's nice to see the unions take a stand that I agree on.
BTW I had a most awesome weekend. And I have a new girlfriend. joy!
9/27/08
Fuck you Wolfie, "don't make excuses for her."
9/24/08
From Sci-FiWire:
"The two-hour premiere of NBC's Heroes on Sept. 22 was down 25 percent, compared with last year's one-hour opener, taking an expected hit following a creatively middling second season and an extended nine-month hiatus prompted by the writers strike, according to The Hollywood Reporter."
Sure blame the writers strike not the shitty writers. I'm done with this show.
9/22/08
So I've been stiff and sore since Saturay night. I'm not sure how it happened, but I pulled a muscle in my backside and now I can barely walk. I went to the doctor and got some meds. They help. A lot. Funny thing, though; Vicodin usually puts me right to sleep. I'm way too awake to pass out. The dog on the other hand is out cold. So I'm re-reading Sandman and wondering where Tina Robinson is these days. Funny, I should be working on music. I just am not feeling very inspired right now. I really need to rearrange the basement and get things set up there. I think that would help alot. I wish I could get Geoff's drums sold. I like having them here, but I really need the space. No one seems interested in buying them, though. Ugh.
New favorite band Russian Circles. My next new favorite band Big Business. The new Melvins record is still heavy after two weeks worth of rocking it. Larry gave me an album by Kaji Meiko that is absolutely gorgeous.
Found this extremely important website tonight.
I'm also completely surrounded by animals right now. It's awesome.
9/21/08
Fuck yes! Sad that it takes a Scotsman to remind us of our JOB.
9/16/08
I stole this from Anthea. And "if you think those lobbyists are working day and night for John McCain just to put themselves out of business, well, then, I've got a bridge to sell you up in Alaska."
How lobbyists work.
9/12/08
9/6/08
Biden fights back.
9/5/08
A disgruntled Republican. I know how she feels. I've been feeling the same way for 8 years.
How low can a brotha go? This low. Seriously, after In Justice For All I pretty much stopped listening. The only two Metallica records I have in my collection now are Ride The Lightning and Master of Puppets. Honestly, they are the only two records out of their entire discography worth a shit. Slayer has been way more consistent.
9/4/08
This is the real Sarah Palin. Not only is she inexperiencd, but she's ruthless too.
Rage Against The Machine rage against the RNC.
Jon Stewart asks, "What's she know?"
9/3/08
We got the following from Geoff yesterday:
Hey there cap'n,
Shanna and I were on vacation, doing a 100 mile bike ride through rural Mississippi when we had to cut it short do to our friend Gustav misbehaving.
We scooted on home, grabbed the cat and the dog and headed out. We are now in Hazen, Arkansas.
It's hard to tell from the national media, but New Orleans is fine, just without power, but the powers that be won't let us back in until Thursday, so I guess our vacation was a little extended. I don't want to be in Arkansas anymore.
Later on,
G
Whew!
9/1/08
Everybody send happy thoughts to Geoff Dailey. New Orleans has been evacuated.
8/30/08
I've been busy. It's that time of year folks. The kids come back on Tuesday. Do not expect to hear much from me until October.
In the news:
The Republican VP (read the comments kids. There's gold in there).
The video they don't want you to see.
Hillary is a whiner? Seriously, I despise Hillary Clinton, but I'd never call her a whiner.
I seriously need to get working on music soon.
8/15/08
Pot calls kettle black! Jon Stewart has something to say about it.
8/14/08
I just got the following from Andrea tonight: "Ruby Amelie Lahodny was born at 5:27 am on August 10th, weighing in at 7 lbs 9 oz and measuring 19.75 inches. Her main interests are sleeping and eating, which coincide nicely with those of her parents right now :) "
This is really awesome news and congratualations go out to Andrea and Jon! I can't wait to meet her.
8/11/08
8/10/08
Bill O'Reilly is a madman and now the kids know it. Orwell's diary becomes a blog. Orwell on Nationalism.
Have to spend today getting my books in order. I've been on a mini spending spree for a bit now and it has to stop. I need to pretend like I don't have a job. Deebo's been costing me some money, but that's going to calm down now until mid fall when I get him neutered (when you meet him don't mention this to him, please). We went to the vet yesterday and he checked out ok. I got him his shots and some heart worm prevention meds. All in all the vet said he was in great shape for a stray. His behavior has improved a bit as well, although I have to crate hime when I leave. We did that for the first time yesterday and he tried to get out to no avail. I hate doing it, but he'll eventually get used to it and it's better than replacing doors and windows (which I will now have to do anyway).
Batman Beyond is pretty shway.
8/4/08
8/2/08
This is soooo cool! Shit, and so is this.
8/1/08
Um... It's August people. I'm really not ready for that. This has been a strange summer and it's only going to get stranger before it's all done. It's all work related, though and I'm not going there here (as usual). Suffice to say that we are dumping a lot of changes on our staff this year. Oi!
In other news, I have a new addition to my household. I have a dog. Ok, breath. Now repeat. Yes you read that right. I have a dog. My next door neighbor Rachel rescued this beagle mix a week or two ago from the streets of A2. She'd been trying to find a home for him, but no one would commit. I fell in love. He's house broken, small, and doesn't bark a lot. He's also incredibly cheerful for a dog that's been out on the streets and has likely been abused. Last night was his first night and he and the cats got along ok. We just have to work out the food details. He likes the cat's dry food. Oh, his name is Debo. I didn't name him, but it's on his tag now so...
Todays articles are on the MIT breakthru in solar technology. Here is the link to the first article I found and here's an article on Ars that mentions it.
7/28/08
Articles I plan to read today:
Wikipedia article on Russian history. White Supremists for Obama?! New book on a plot to kill Morris Dees. A great comparison between Jesus and Horus (I really want someone to do a cartoon in which the two do battle armed only with spoons).
7/26/08
Beerfest so far has been a blast! I poured for Founders this year and Dave and Matt were really fun to work for. Everyone of us had a great time and they had some stellar beers on tap. Devil Dancer and the Kentucky Breakfast Stout were highlights from our part of the tent. The Kentucky Breakfast Stout was extremely popular and went very quick this afternoon. 15 minutes after tapping it it was gone! Hands down the best beer I had, though, (other than what I was pouring) was from a small place up in the UP called Jasper Ridge. They had this Blueberry Wheat beer that was like blueberry pancakes in a glass! I went back for thirds on that one. I met the brewer Grant Lyke. Very cool guy. Matt and Grant happened to have friends in common. Matt is apparently from the area Grant's brewery is from. Small world! Jaimie wants to pull some people together to go camping up north next summer near their brewery. I'm definitely in. I'm so tired right now, but I gotta hit the after party. Davey and Jon will be there. More tomorrow.
*update: I just got back from the after party. It was a bit anticlimactic. We had to order our own pizza. They had free beer, but no food. Lame. The company was good, but I was so tired I couldn't stay more than a couple of hours.
7/22/08
My favorite Dinosaur Jr. song. More Dinosaur Jr proving they still have it.
7/20/08
Friday night Chris and I went to see Boris at St. Andrews Hall. This show is in the top ten list of the best shows I've been too in my life. Boris was amazing! At one point in their set they sent this wave of low end frequencies across the room that went through the floor and rippled up through my body in a way very similar to being in the ocean. I was stunned at how good that felt. They played as if they were wire walking without a net; like they didn't need one. The drummer is a ham. He's the guy who jumped in the crowd while everyone else played on. Only this band could get away with that. I spent WAY more on records than I should've, but...
Later we had a mini birthday party at Sidetrack for my friend Jon. He's the guy I was dog sitting for last week.
Saturday I was supposed to organize the basement, but I got nothing done. I just couldn't bring myself to go down there. Working with Anthea later in the day was uber-productive, though, so I don't feel that bad about wasting the earlier part of the day. I started out just practicing on my upright drum kit and then came up with something completely unrelated to what we were working on. Anthea was like "record that," so we did. I set up another file for recording and we wrote a new piece on the spot. It was pretty rad. Then we went back to the previous recording we were working on and nailed that down, then had dinner. We watched Shakes the Clown. After dinner I decided we should improvise with a bunch of pedals and noise toys. We ended up recording a 12 minute sonic assault that might need to get cut down a little, but it was fun doing it.
This morning I went to see The Dark Knight. I can't even write about how much that movie rules. Heath Ledger deserves an Oscar. Now I need to eat something and go mow the lawn. Maybe even get into the basement this evening.
7/18/08
So I went to Jaimie's last night and got in the pool. I'm still a little stiff from the workout, but I was extremely relaxed. I've been relaxed in mind, and I've been relaxed in body over the last few years, but it's been quite some time since I've been relaxed in both mind and body at the same time. I haven't been submerged in water properly in a long time and I think I need to do that more often.
7/17/08
I'm so relaxed right now that I can't even write about it.
7/14/08
Yeah it's been awhile. Things have improved and the worst of my situation is over. If you need to know more call me.
Now on with the happy:
I need this.
Hellboy 2 rocked!
Boris comes to Detroit Friday night.
I'm slowly putting together ideas for two new albums.
6/4/08
Some of you know that my life has been a nightmare lately. Completely turned upside down. I'm working on fixing that and may know more this afternoon. I'm not going to write about it here. If you want to know more call me.
30 days is doing an Ypsi-centric show.
Summer Japanese filmfest: Horror!
5/26/08
Today's reading: one, two, and three.
5/25/08
Pimpin for Jesus! Maynard gets a box of smut. Biden gets all vice-presidential. A reminder that Jesus was one of those brown people we want to destroy. A really cool video.
5/24/08
5/23/08
This gives me hope. Thanks Mark.
*Update: You have to watch this thing of beauty.
5/22/08
I know I'm not posting much these days, but I've been really busy, both at work and at home. Here's something for you to chew on: this and this and this. Oh and this.
5/17/08
5/8/08
So not only did we legislate bigotry into our State constitiution, but now our courts are upholding it. I can't wait to see what happens when it gets to the Supreme Court. Oh, and I hate Mike Cox. A lot. No link, just hate.
4/28/08
Just got back from seeing Alien at the Michigan Theater with Anthea and Ronen. Boy was that amazing. They showed the extended cut in the big room! Simply awesome. Afterwards we hiked back to Ronen's place above Wazoo. Nice guy. I like him. He has a nice room for movie showing as well so we're going to do a film night during my vacation. Must sleep now.
PS. Anthea is graduated and has a teaching job lined up in the fall. W00t!
4/27/08
Wow. Yesterday was pretty productive. The back yard is mowed and the lawnmowers oil is new. The rototiller has a new cable (thanks John!). Jaimie has a new dishwasher. I found my barberry bushes; just have to buy them. I bought what I need to bend some toys into a useable shape. I may have even found the screw I need to fix the fan in the kitchen. Now I just need to finish the laundry, make a list of things that need to be done in the yard while on vacation, balance the checkbook, and take in the recycling.
Going to Kevin's in a few hours to BBQ. Wonder how cold it'll be today. Fuck I want spring to stay.
Anyway, back to work for now. I leave with todays stoopid. Why can't Bush and his ilk just go away.
4/25/08
It's been a really weird day and I can't really talk about it. Suffice to say, that it's like the Hulk walked through our school district today.
Ashcroft gets owned.
And I have a crush.
4/24/08
Happy Birthday Stephe!
4/20/08 (Actual)
So I forgot to mention something. I went to A2 yesterday morning to look for a few items at Kiwanis and the ReUse Center. Inbetween rummaging at the two of them I ate at a place called Mr. Greek's Coney Island on State Street. The food wasn't bad, but IMHO you don't get to put the word Greek in your name if your Giro meat comes out of a box not from a spit. I got to hang with Matt Bradish for a bit too. He was very tired. He took a job at Trader Joe's for the health insurance. Seriously, folks. The man runs a record store and can't afford health insurance. Now try and tell me that things aren't skewed towards big business. Universal health care for all is a necessity.
So what was I rummaging about at the ReUse Center and Kiwanis for? Electronic toys to circuit bend. I struck out at both places, but Value World here in Ypsi did not fail me. $10 later I had three working toys. I can't wait to rip into them. Of course I have to, because I have yard work to do, a lawnmower to get working again, and a rototiller to go buy. Spring!
4/20/08 (Technically)
Just got back from The Smithee Awards. I had a great time and I have a list of bad movies I feel I need to inflict upon any of you that may end up at my house. Beware.
I aso recently rediscovered Loudness. Yes, you should be scared.
4/19/08
Beth sent this too me this morning! I laughed so hard I was crying. Kitty cardboard art!!!
4/18/08
Complete waste of money, but if I could find it to steal it...
4/17/08
Hazel Court has passed.
4/16/08
Jon Stewart speaks the truth. It gets clipped at the end, but well worth it anyhow.
Ben Stein is a douche bag and the proof to go with it.
4/15/08
Monster gets owned! Seriously, read the whole thing. It's the most beautiful "Fuck You" I've ever read. Ever read. In my entire 39 years. I'm twitterpated. Futher reading on why Monster is a theiving company can be found here.
4/14/08
4/11/08
Favorite quote from last nights forum reading (the subject was guitar tone and sonic manipulation of the same):
"try any remote controls you have for tvs, vcrs, audio devices etc. aim them at one of your pickups and hit some of the buttons. especially fun with a lot of distortion, reverb and chorus, through a delay/pitch patch that delays shifts the pitch down for each discreet repetition. ideally the delay time is adjustable via a foot pedal, a wah-type or volume-type pedal with a sweepable value. and it may or may not *sound* cooler if you rub raw bacon on the strings while pressing the buttons on the remote. but nobody ever forgets the first time they see that one."
4/10/08
Walmart gets p0wn3d. I can't wait to see some of the footage that comes out of this mess.
New band I can't stop thinking about.
Something you all need to see at least once.
Hillary sucks part 6,789.
4/9/08
Just read this. I love how they open with Monsanto in the article. Hands down one of the most evil companies on the planet. Anyhow, it's very scary how corporate malfeasance is almost encouraged by this administration and congress (that's right, the congress critters are just as much to blame).
I'm beginning to get that creative urge again. I built the Voice of Saturn and now I want to use it. I have it set up right now making a constant beat run through delay and reverb and it sounds cool. I may even record that tonight. I also had Mickey do a set up on the 1958 arch-top Gibson. He found that the sound board is coming loose, but putting a lighter gauge string on there made most of the buzzing go away. It'll eventually need to be repaired, though, and he gave me the number of a guy in Ypsi that might be able to fix it without pulling it apart. Anyhow, I got it home and plugged it into the 1950-3 Gibson amp and played for a bit. While doing so I discovered that it resonates from one note FOREVER with tons of harmonic and subharmonic tones. As soon as I get the floor done (I'm so close now that I should be done this weekend) I'm going to do an ellaborate recording set up involving the c414 in a figure 8 pattern, the Alice behind the amp directed at the c414 and the Rode or an ADK at 6 feet away. I'm hoping to be able to capture it in all it's glory.
I replaced the faucette in the front bathroom over the weekend. Ugh. Never again. I was stiff and sore the next day.
Gandalf is sleeping through the night and not waking me up in the morning now. Giving him treats before bed and Andrea's tip to add more water to his wet food have seemed to help on that count. We'll see how his weight is sometime during my vacation, which I just got official word begins on May 3rd.
4/1/08
Minus the Bear was tight as fuck last night. It was weird, though. This was the first time I'd ever been to a show and felt like I was too old to be there. About half the kids there were not old enough to drink.
How the fuck does this happen?
Al Jaffee! (Be sure to do the foldouts)
3/29/08
Helped Jaimie move into her apartment yesterday. Nice place for a condo. I couldn't do it but it's perfect for her. She even has deck space for a potted garden. It needs some work, but for the most part it's in nice shape. I'm particularly jealous of the recently refinished hardwood floors. Afterwards I ended up eating a vicodin and chilling out with some graphic novels.
Today was a bit different. I went out and did some errands and then set about finishing up the stairwell. It's done now and so is the tile in the kitchen closet. Now I have to finish the sanding the trim and painting it. So close I can taste it. It looks good so far, although I'm finding some of the tiles are a bit loose. I hope gravity fixes that. I just finished a steak dinner. Gandalf shared it with me. He's so voracious and yet so thin. He's going to get weighed this week.
Got an e-mail from Geoff. He wants to sell his drums so he can buy some new ones in NO. Damn I wish I had the space for them, but I really want something electronic. I'm going to sell them for him, but I have to get them first. It's sad to think we're not going to be able to really work together anytime soon.
Which brings me to the crux of the biscuit. I need to start creating again.
3/28/08
Can't these people go away. Please?
Tragedy in England.
3/27/08
Amen!
I'm not sure how to feel about this one. Mumia is off death row, but he's not free. Ugh! These kids need to pick up a fucking book once in awhile.
3/23/08
The floor still isn't done, but it's very close. It'll likely take a few days. My hand is all puffy from the knife. I took a break and went to see Doomsday. Nice premise that is well executed. A little bit Aliens; a little bit Mad Max, but without actually being either of them. My only problem is that the main character is too cold. Even Ripley at her hardest had a soft spot that would shine thru occasionally. Highly recommended.
Where was this douche when the war began. Oh yeah, cheerleading.
3/22/08
Stephe has photos up for sale. You can purchase them here.
The kitchen floor gets done today. I'm almost ready. I scrubbed the floor, but I couldn't get some of the problem areas as clean as I'd like. It also occured to me that I should probably paint the base boards before laying the new floor. Oh well. Off to move snow!
Beth sent me this. It pretty accurately describes why I chose to be a homeowner in Ypsi.
I bought this last night.
3/19/08
Arthur C Clarke has died. It's funny that I was just having a conversation with Fosket about the three laws of robotics yesterday.
A not so pretty picture for you.
Why Hillary sucks part 2129.
In case you haven't seen it yet.
Your moment of Zen.
3/16/08
To go with your morning coffee.
3/15/08
Went with Anthea to go see Blade Runner on the big screen. Fucking amazing! This was the Final Cut edition and it looked glorious. Joanna Kennedy's death scene looked utterly fantastic on a large screen. Nobody I was with noticed that she had been digitally re-inserted into the film. Hell, I couldn't see the difference. Didn't do much else after that, although I'm feeling like I should have.
Tiles for the kitchen have been bought. Still no word from Lea. Back to my regularly scheduled bottle of wine.
BTW I miss Barkmarket. Sardy needs another rockband. Seriously.
3/13/08
Well well well. What have we here? Remember the homophobic tirade from an Oklahoma lawmaker I posted a few days ago? Seems she has a gay son. Of course she did the "Christian" thing and disowned him. Cunt. Ellen DeGeneres talked about this on her show. Take a look at Ellen's face as she plays the audio clip. I can imagine my face looking as pained. I like the way she dealt with it, though I wish she had actually gotten thru. I'm going to write something up and send it to her. You can too.
Just watch.
3/12/08
Nice! I'm sick of hearing about it all really and for all of those reasons, plus the fact that it's a huge distraction.
More stoopid from Congress Critters.
Which one of these two articles is a sign of the coming Apocalypse? This one or this one?
3/11/08
Ok, I can't not comment on this. To begin with, The Stooges should've been inducted years ago. Long before The Ramones, Sex Pistols, or The Clash and each of those bands would say the same thing. Without The Stooges there would be no punk rock. That's undisputed. What really makes this interesting to people who don't know shit about music is that Madonna would go for something like this. It doesn't surprise me at all. She was into punk in New York long before her first album and has always liked Iggy. As for me, I've always respected her as an artist and business woman. She's never been afraid of doing what she wants. That doesn't mean I own any of her records or listen to her stuff. It's not that I think it sucks, it's just not my cup of tea. She's good at what she does. As for the induction ceremony and her choice of inductee's... fucking respect! Just watch this shit. I want to be Iggy when I grow up. The mans 60 fucking years old and look at those abs! If they don't induct them after this, then we should collectively burn down the R&R Hall of Fame.
BTW I've been there, and it doesn't even come close to the EMP. The EMP didn't skip over the 80's underground that Nirvana ripped off. It embraced and exhaulted it. The R&RHOF went straight from The Sex Pistols right on to Green Day. Douchebags skipped 15 fucking years of vital music. Industry shills! No Dead Kennedy's, Misfits, Black Flag, DOA, Minor Threat, Husker DU, Big Black, The Replacements, Sonic Youth, Bad Brains, etc etc etc. Skipped it all. Ugh. And people wonder why I avoid the mainstream like the plague it is.
Now if they would just induct Throbbing Gristle...
Ok I'm gonna drink now.
3/9/08
Great peek into the hayday of video gaming in the Atari days. I like how the had to reverse engineer Donkey Kong for the 2600.
Hitchhikers Guide turns 30!
Drinking water article of interest. Seriously, does this surprise anyone?
Hungout with Eric's sister and her significant other Donna yesterday. It was really cool. They are really aesome people. Donna gave me a copy of Douglas Adams' "Last Chance to See", one of the few books by Adams I never got a chance to read. I plan to start it tonight. Hands down one of the best gifts I've ever been given.
Afterwards Eric left me at home to go help Jeremy with a couch, so I went downstairs to the soundlab. Eric brought me an old set of Technic speakers he wasn't using anymore so I rigged them up so I could mix without headphones. Dinked around for a bit and now I realize that I need a "live" mixing board instead of the Alesis 12r I'm saddled with right now. It works for the most part, but I can't listen in and fiddle with a signal before sending it to the speakers. Oh well. I'll hold off as long as I can. Too bad the Mackie is completely hosed. It was built for what I want to do. Later on I went to Jeremy's. Made a short stop motion film of us eating and drinking at his kitchen counter. Jeremy made he, Eric, and I this amazing past dish that I really need to learn to make on my own. I had the last of it for brunch.
Not doing shit today. Although I should.
Now on to pissing you off.
*Addendum* Someone forgot to tell this guy that cock rock is not only over, but was seriuosly lame the first time around. Unless you were in Middle School and didn't know any better.
3/7/08
Why does this even matter. Especially after this.
3/4/08
Quote of the day from Steve Albini. He was recently asked, "What does every girl really want?" His reply, "Another pair of shoes, someone to call a whore and a reason to cry."
I find that funny. What do you ladies think?
*Addendum- Must. see. film.
3/3/08
Another reason people file share.
3/1/08
To the kind soul who cleaned my driveway and sidewalk with their snow blower. Thank you. Seriously. I hate moving snow.
2/25/08
2/23/08
Obama's voting record is out and nicely collected. I'd like to see more of the candidates voting reords in congress. And what's up with the other parties? Not a peep. No Greens or Populists, Socialists or Constitutionalists. Not a word.
*Addendum #1: Nader just announced.
So I've decided to buy a MacPro in the spring. There I said it. The thing is it's a little past due. A lot of my personal recordings don't go much beyond 8 tracks usually, but when recording other people that goes up and, since I sometimes mix a bit before another track is recorded, I run into problems being able to record more tracks, especially if I have any plug-ins active. So it's time. It's gonna hurt financially, since I'm paying for it outright, instead of getting a loan. I'll also need to upgrade my pci-324 card to a pci-424 card at the same time. So I'll have to wait for this. I'm almost tempted to wait another year for the MacPro so I can have the Mondo Loco. Almost.
Today I'm going to finish building my sound laboratory. I spent what time I had yesterday cleaning the Mackie mixer I'm going to use. Boy was that fun. So many screws; so many nobs.
*Addendum #2: The Mackie is a wash. A Complete waste of my time, to be honest. I'm using the Alesis now and that's much better. Now I need to set up speakers and bring the R-5 down. I think a drum machine is going to be essential.
2/22/08
I found this article on Digg today and it's been the most interesting article I've read in quite some time on how kids create and perceive social structures. It's kinda lenghty.
2/9/08
Today's best of the web. John Stewart is my hero! Ryan Sussman is my other hero! The British can be just as whacky as the Japanese. And Leighton posts video of Dillinger Escape Plan on Conan. Truely badass!
This band gets poseur of the week award. Seriously, the only reason they get gigs is because the chicks are hot.
2/6/08
Wow. It's February. January pretty much sucked. I'm also still sick. I feel alright for the most part and can do some light excercise now, but the simple act of laughter sends me into a coughing fit. I think it may take awhile for it to get out of my lungs. I'm so glad I'm not a smoker. Anyhow, I'm going to try and get back to what's real. I've spent way too much time on the couch lately and I really need to get back to creating things. I'm hoping this week sometime to get my stop motion film started again. I also really need to redesign this damn website. This site was a good way to start out, I need something a bit more robust. And comments. I really need feedback and dialogue. It's the modern thing to do.
Anyway, I found this article written by an abortion doctor. It's the clearest argument for choice I've ever read. You can find it here.
1/29/08
Two years and two days ago I bought my house. I celebrated it with a sinus infection. w00t! This also ruined my plans for world domination through stop motion photography/animation that I had for the weekend. Instead I watched The Tudors (kids, just skip to episode 9 and forget the rest. I wish I had). I'm feeling a bit better today (I've had this since last Wednesday) so I may get back to work on the music portion of the film. We'll see.
I found this video series this morning, whilst traipsing teh interwebs this fine morn. I have to thank Wil Wheaton for turning me onto it. The guy rules, seriously. It's called "The Retarded Policeman" and it's freaking hilarious. Now before you get your panties in a bunch folks, you should know this: the kid in the video wants to do this. For proof you can watch his video response to some of the comments it got on Youtube. I think the kid said enough to fill a t-shirt or two. You can watch the series here.
1/15/08
Scott Ritter is one of my many heroes. Here's another.
1/9/08
It's my birthday in case you forgot. Found this tonight. I may have to pick up the book.
1/7/08
I'm posting this on the SUP main site too. Covering all bases. From Delilah Dewylde's blog. Seriously, stealing someone's gear while they're out on the road is simply the lowest thing someone can do. I'm not sure who's paying attention out there, but if you run across any of the listed items give these guys a shout out, please.
On a personal note, tuna steaks marinated in greek dressing and baked for 12 minutes at 375 degrees is freaking awesome. That is all.
1/2/08
Single handedly the best mugshot ever!
1/1/08
Happy New Year! Sue's party was awesome. Thanks go out to her and Jon for a good time and special thanks to the drunk naked girl who made the party that much more dramatic. My deepest symathies to her boyfriend, who had to just go with it. Driving home at 6am this morning was a joy what with the ELEVEN INCHES OF SNOW we got over the course of the evening. Glad I drank my last at 3am. Eric left a little while ago. Can't believe either of us got up at all. It was nice having him around and a joy that his cats and mine cohabitated well enough. Anyhow, today I do laundry and lay about. I'm in the process of watching this awesome lecture by Ken Miller on Intelligent Design. It's long kids, but well worth it. The guy is very engageing and really knows how to present his ideas in a way that keeps you listening. As for the records, I have to chop them up in peak and convert to MP3's. I'll likely get to work on that later after dinner.
12/24/07
Well the last two nights have been far more interesting than my nights usually are. Eric's in town so we went to a party Saturday night. Great food, but too many people packed in too small a place. A little too "adult" for my tastes, as well. Once the place thinned out it was much better. Woke up the next morning hungover. Sunday went to Good Night Gracies for a caberet with Ian. The band was great, the chicks were hot, but I really couldn't relax for some reason. Went to The Double Eagle for food afterwards. Probably shouldn't have. Jiani may have been a lot of things, but the food was never at or below the level of Abe's. I've been working on the two albums a little lately. Hoping to finish tomorrow.
12/21/07
Today didn't start out too well. It took far too long to get better. I'm glad it's over.
12/17/07
SNOW DAY!!!!!
I mixed AYTBN's third record as well as an EP of my own stuff yesterday and Saturday. Getting to Randy's house was not the easiest thing to do yesterday. My legs are still sore from the snow removal. I had to take a vicodin inorder to sleep last night. Considering taking another today. If I do, though, I won't get any of the album cover work done that I want to do. Decisions.
12/9/07
Great fucking news! Sometimes I really hate living in Michigan. It can be so backwards, but then something like this comes up and makes me feel like it's all going to be all right. Now if we could get some of the more homophobic parts of our state constitution overturned...
BTW I didn't mention that I went to Chicago last weekend to see Crispin Hellion Glover. The new movie is much better than the first. You can tell Crispin was in love with it too. It wasn't just weird for weird's sake, like the last one. It had a point. Damn I wish I could hang with Crispin regularly. The guy is just fucking cool. Eric, Laura, and I hung out with Abe and Ken at a meatmarket bar afterwards. Had a great time, too.
Working on the next AYTBN record a bit today. Last minute add-ons to the new record. Set to mix next weekend! I'll also be working on an EP of my own stuff. 5 songs of Ambient noise. No percsuion this time. I think my next solo project will be a full album of live and electronic drum work with live bass and guitar underneath all the synth toys.
PS. I just got word that Geoff Dailey will be here Tuesday!!!
12/8/07
Today's educational video comes from my new favorite website. Hillary sucks!
11/29/07
The Orphanage trailer!!!! Francis makes another movie! I'm interested. Gibli does Tales From Earthsea. I think they still got Ged wrong. He's supposed to be black not white. At least he isn't blonde this time around. The spawn of Hayao Miyazaki looks like he did a good job visually, otherwise.
11/28/07
11/21/07
I want to go explore dead and dying buildings again. This time with a good camera, like this guy.
11/19/07
Crispin Hellion Glover is taking another film on tour! Unfortunately, not to Ann Arbor. I'm making plans to see the Chicago show with Eric.
Kucinich gets more awesome every day!
11/18/07
Larry and I went to see Beowulf last night. The 3-d was breathtaking! Although Zemeckis did get a bit gimmicky with it at times. Do I really need a sword pointed at me more than once to get the idea that I'm watching something in thre dimensions? I don't think so. The subtler stuff was far cooler. Really. I only had two other problems with it. The story was a little lite (especially the end), but that has more to do with the additions to the epic poem Gaiman made, I think, then anything else. The other thing that bugged me was Beowulf needing to remind the audience who he is. All the time! Although on second thought, it works if you keep in mind that his boastful nature is eventually his undoing. All in all I'd give it an A- only because it must be seen on the big screen.
Now on to todays links: fun with scensters, more reasons to read the Constitution and quote from it liberally, a reminder, Harry Reid finds one of his testicles, and a student uprising.
11/16/07
Kucinich is a bad ass mofo!
More fun with Christians (or why I'm glad I don't live in Colorado).
For the Pastafarians in the audience.
Send Governor Bush a copy of the Constitution! Amy Goodman did and so did I!
Sane military officers serve Cheney a cup of STFU!
On a more personal note I would like to publicly state that Abe is my hero. A friend at his work found three kittens sealed in a trash bag in her dumpster the other night. Abe took in two of them in. What kind of evil person puts kittens in a dumpster sealed in a trash bag?!
11/13/07
Um...The Real News Network? Could it be true?
We all know Rudi Guiliani is an asshat, now the rest of the country's catching on.
11/12/07
Today's reading includes the letters "F", "U", "C", "K", "E", and "D."
Understanding Nerds.
11/11/07
Matt and Trey take the piss out of Universal! This thing is fucking funny as hell. Stay til the bitter end kids. Stallone is a comic genius!
11/08/07
This should scare you. More fun with Bush.
11/7/07
11/3/07
If Halloween teaches kids to ask for handouts then what does Christmas teach kids? To expect them!?! Hannity is such a card. Maybe he should have read this before opening his mouth. Except, I don't think he can read. Or maybe he just doesn't want to.
Drew Carey states the obvious, but at least is doing it.
Naomi Klein could be the best thing since Olbermann, if anyone would just pay attention to her.
On a personal note, I feel better today than I have in a week. Antibiotics
rule! Been home for two days and of course the only way to get my internet
turned back on was to be sick at home. Bastards still showed up at 7am instead
of 9am. Speakeasy at least was cool about it. I got a month free service
out of the ordeal.
Tonight is Jon Brode's book release party. I may be able
to make it after all. So long as I don't drink tonight. We'll see. I'm baking
cookies for now and sleeping a lot.
11/1/07
I really should write about my trials and tribualtions with Covad and Speakeasy, but I'm tired of the whole thing. Suffice to say, Speakeasy took care of me to the best of their ability while Covad simply sucks. And AT&T really sucks, for disconnecting my internet service that I pay Speakeasy for. I have NO DEALINGS with AT&T whatsoever. Maybe I won't get that iPhone afterall.
Anyways, in good news the Reverend Phelps gets a douche.
Youtube fun here and here. College humor here and here.
Just in case you haven't been paying attention.
And now a temper tantrum and a whore.
10/27/07
It's 2:26am. I just got back from Rudi's. Nearly didn't go. I was so tired after De-Fenstration that I nearly went straight home. Ended up going to the Tap Room for a beer with James and Rob. Met Curtis and Scott as well. Saw Wendy come in and got snubbed (not surprised). Show was OK. Might be better recorded and edited. Went to Rudi's and ended up talking too much after a little libation. Too lubricated to bite my tongue. Jared is fucking cool, although he places too much trust in Damon and Tassie (almost completely untrustworthy in my book), but he's young. I'm rambling and really need to go to bed. May sleep in the living room. Called Lea earlier, but she's been feeling so bad lately (physically), I'm betting she passed out early. I'll call tomorrow when (if) I wake up. Rambling on and on and on and on........Robot Chicken.
10/21/07
You know, It's been nearly a month since my last post. Have I been that busy or that boring? Today I didn't do shit. I did nothing that wasn't necessary to my existence. I fed myself, I fed the cats, I layed about. About the only productive thing I did was have a very nice conversation with Lea (and she gets more fun everyday, let me tell you). I posted on Mark's website today (not sure if that's productive or not). Working hard not to spend money is boring. I wonder where Rudi is? He was supposed to come by and lay down drum tracks. I really want to finish this record. It's so close I can taste it. Anyhow. I'm hoping to learn enough about Wordpress to actually redesign this site. We'll see how that goes. I could've spent today doing that instead of watching movies and sleeping alot. I should spam the mail list. There are events coming up, Steve released another (my favorite of his) album on Tunenami, and Jon Brode's book is coming out. Maybe I'll write that up in the morning. Rudi just called. We're hooking up Wednesday.
9/24/07
I've been meaning topost for awhile, but I just haven't had the time. Along with work being a complete drag for the month of September, I've also had a special new distraction. Regardless, I would be remiss if I didn't mention the passing of Shakin' Jake Woods. Read the comments at the end of the post. My old friend John Griffin (long time no viddy chief) had some particularly kind words to say on Jake's behalf. I didn't go to the memorial. I wanted to, but I really wasn't in the mood for a circus. Jake would've loved the circus atmosphere that it apparrently turned into. I loved the crazy old man and it still brings tears to my eyes to know he's not around anymore. When I first moved to Ann Arbor I worked at Afternoon Delight. Jake was a regular, eating there three times a week. He always got his "chowder and brown bread with butter" and held court. On the house, too. I don't think there was a restaurant in Ann Arbor that ever charged the man. If they did, they didn't last long I'm sure. Anyhow, I used to take my lunch about the same time he would come most days, so I got the chance to eat with Jake occasionally. Man that guy could spin a yarn. I remember a few of us were taking a break at one of the tables out in front of AD one day in the summer. Jake walked up and sat down with us with his customary AD meal. He was limping, so I asked him why. He proceeds to tell us that he was walking home with two women one evening heading up to his apartment. After getting to the top of the stairs, he opened the door to find six more girls in the apartment. He says, "They all got jealous and threw me down the stairs." That was why he was limping that day. We all laughed so hard, I swear I was crying. He had that gift. That was also the year I got my double decker bike working again. I would always see him on the street, while I was out for a cruise freaking out the students and townies. Years later, after I got tired of riding it (and couldn't get the right parts to fix the brakes), I saw Jake on the street. I'd changed my appearance a little by this time (shorter bluer hair) and had been living in Ypsi for a bit. He stops me asks, "Where's your bike, man?" So I told him about the brakes but not about my loss of interest., He says to me, "Man that bike is your thing. You need to keep on a move." and with that he left me. The old man actually knew who I was. Maybe not by name, but he knew me. It was like I was annointed a "townie" at that very moment. I'm gonna miss him a great deal.
I'll post more alter. I have another dentist appointment later and I hope to talk to a girl about a futon frame for the kid. Zombies is a really cool game BTW.
9/6/07
I wanna see this: Brüno: Delicious Journeys Through America for the Purpose of Making Heterosexual Males Visibly Uncomfortable in the Presence of a Gay Foreigner in a Mesh T-Shirt.
8/30/07
This warms my heart and tickles my funny bone.
8/29/07
Read the article, then read the comments afterwards. Hysterical.
Hilly Kristol is dead.
8/28/07
I found this quote randomly on the interwebs and thought I'd share.
"Blaming Jesus for christianity is kind of like blaming chocolate for fat people."
Amen.
8/27/07
Wow. This pretty much sums up what I knew would happen once we destroyed Saddam Hussein's government. We are so fucked if the neocons try to go to war with Iran.
I'm on three hours sleep today. This is what I get for taking a nap in the afternoon.
I just read this article on SciFi Wire. It scares me, not only because they are going to remake one of the best Science Fiction films of all time, but because Pinochio is playing the lead. I don't hate Keanu but I'm certainly no fan. He's a cold an emotionless actor. Somehow I can see him plaing the role, but seriously, do we need too? Does this film need to be made again? Would it stop Bush from invading Iran?
*update (lunch)*
A couple articles of interest to me as a public school employee: one from
the NY
Times and one from the A2 News (here and here).
Now as you regular readers know, I usually don't comment on my job here.
Since this web-site is very public, I try not to write about the inner
workings of my school district, not for fear of being fired, but moe out
of respect for the district. As much as I sometimes hate how things are
done there, I generally like my job and believe that Saline is a good
school district. So with that in mind, I want to publicly state for the
record that I feel Bruce Ross is worth every penny we give him. I can't
say that for every teacher I deal with. This guy comes in before I do
(and I come in at 7am) and leaves well after I do (I've seen his minivan
here as late as 6pm). Not only that but he works all summer long with Drivers
Ed. The first few years I worked in Saline I swore the guy had a bedroom
hidden in his classroom somewhere. Anyhow, the guy is great with the kids,
great with the staff, and rarely has an unkind word to anyone. Firm and
fair. So there.
8/25/07
Mask curled up with me this morning on the couch and watched Little Britian with me for a bit. She's so cuddly.I'm contemplating breakfast, but I'm not really interested in anything. Helping Naz move today. I really don't want to leave the house, which means I need to.
8/23/07
I bought this. Now I need to learn how to play it.
8/22/07
I just found out that Karl Alvarez had a heart attack recently. Karl is the bassist in one of the most influental bands of my life The Descendents. Unfortunately, like many musicians Karl has no health insurance. You can donate here.
I was exhausted when I got home passed out for awhile. Talked to Eric Westmass for a bit after I woke up the first time. He's loving Nashville. Passed back out after an e-mail then got up and got a beer and did more e-mail. Then I started watching Jesus Camp. I got half way through before I couldn't take anymore. Child abuse, pure and simple. I put on Farscape to wash the anger out of my head.
8/20/07
I'm a bit hungover. Ugh. It was for a good cause, though. Mike Welshons married Janelle last night at The Whitney in Detroit. It was supposed to be an outdoor afair but mother nature had other ideas. I'm glad she was thinking for all of us, because The Whitney is one of those building a guy could get completely lost in. At least this guy. Everything is so ornate, that while eating dinner I couldn't help but just get lost in the woodwork. It was a good night over all. I was able to reacquante myself with a few old friends (Ethan, Rob, Chris, Matt, and all who acompanied them). The craziest thing happened after dinner, though. I let myself get talked into getting a drink before leaving (turned into 3 drinks) and just as I step up to the bar I hear my name. Not from beside or behind me, but from right in front of me. Craig, who took over bass duties for me in Waste Nation, was our bartender. I flipped my fucking wig! Of course he was way too busy to hang, but I got him my info. Needless to say I had such a good time, that I didn't get home until 1am and then had to go to work today.
I just finished this article written by Clara Rockmoore's nephew. It brought me to tears at the end. It is a very beautiful and loving tale about her last days.
Oh and the Constitution steps up and tells religious zealots to go fuck themselves.
8/17/07
A must read. It's really too bad that this really won't change anything at the top. Even if a Democrat gets into office.
8/16/07
So yesterday was a wash for me. I had to come in earlier than I usually do, so Steph could go to the dentist (Steph's mouth is bad but it could be a lot worse). She had a worse day than I did, but I was tied to the desk all day watching a progress bar. Ugh. By the time I got home I didn't want to do much at all. So the kid and I watched The Descent. I loved it! It made me jump in all the right places, although I wish the ending was a bit more final. It was a worthy purchase. Today I watch more progress bars. And silly videos:
Stop playing Donkey Kong and wipe my butt!!!
*Update. I just found out Max Roach died today. He was 83, a couple of years older than my dad. The jazz world will not be the same, but at least he had a good long life. You can read more here.
8/15/07
Normally I wouldn't repost something like this, but since everyone around me is hating Windows today (it should be taken for granted that I hate it everyday if you're just joining us) I figured what the hell:
Bill Gates arrives at Heaven's gates and St. Peter tells him that he really
doesn't know what to do with Bill. "I mean on one hand you've helped
get computers into many homes, but on the other hand you released Windows.
I'll give you the choice, heaven or hell?"
Bill thinks about this and asks to be shown both places to make an informed
decision on the matter. And so Peter takes him to heaven, replete with clouds,
angels, harps and what not. Bill barely manages to stifle a yawn before St.
Peter takes him to hell, a fabulous beach with babes playing around. "I've
decided I want you to send me to hell," Bill announces.
So a few weeks later St. Peter looks up Bill to see how he's doing. Gates
is strung up against a cave passage somewhere, demons all around him whipping
and branding him. "Hey Bill, enjoying yourself?"
Bill grimaces and says: "This isn't what you promised me!"
"Ah," says St. Peter, "you're right. That was the demo."
On the personal creative front I did a bunch of work on my story last night. I cleaned up a lot.
8/13/07
Ok, so I nearly got killed not once, but three times this morning. Two of these near death experiences were within 5 minutes of each other. I decided to ride the scooter into work this morning to save on gas and just after pulling on to the one way section of Cross Street i had two cars cut me off. They literally pulled into my lane while I was in it. I ended up having to pull into the bike lane and hit the brakes both times. They never saw me. Not even after I honked and flipped them off. They weren't even aware. Ugh. The third guy was on State Street. He slowly started to drift over in front of me then looked in his mirror, saw me and drifted back. Then, and only then, after I had backed off, he put his turn signal on and came over. Sheesh. None of them used their turn signals. That's my biggest pet peeve on the road and I get it from my Mother. They are there people for a reason! Fucking use them already. Grr.
Karl Rove is quiting! Holy sheep shit Batman! Now can he go to jail?
"Family values" on parade! This one really sickens me. These people are really tacky to close down the guys funeral the day before. That's real "Christian" of you. Douche bags.
8/12/07
Friday night Stephe, Randy, Beth and I went to see Nobody Knows. I liked
the film, but thought it was a bit long. It definitely could've used some
editing. That aside, I thought it was a very well done film. It didn't try
to impose any moral convictions leaving that up to the viewer. Everyone else
seemed to miss having a resolution, myself included, but after letting the
movie settle on my brain for a bit, I'm glad it didn't take that road. It
really left it up to the viewers own imagination as to what, if anything,
happened to the kids.The main goal was to show how they got to that point
and how they would deal with getting there.In that it was effective. We went
to Mongolian Barbeque afterwards. I kind of wished we hadn't. The food was
good, but the place was too loud. I'm definitely getting old. Stephe thoroughly
enjoyed the experience. The rest of us were in the "Meh" section. There were
a very large section of young black gay men next to us that were annoying
as hell. Most of the gay people I know would want to smack the shit out of
them. They were all so prissy to the point of being a really bad stereotype.
Eventually a verbal brawl broke out and I thought for sure someone was going
to start slapping someone else limply. Egads! Can't we get to the point in
our society where gay men don't have to camp in order to get a date. Sheesh!
The next day I mowed the lawn. The entire lawn. Ugh, I was dirty nasty afterwards.
I'm glad it's done, though. I can chill today and write because of it. After
a much needed shower and a brief respite Stephe and I went to see Stardust
with Larry. We all loved it! Although there were a few inconsistencies that
were glaringly obvious. Watch for the scene where trhe last heir apperent
takes a sword to the farmers throat. Depending the shots angle the sword
is either behind the farmers ear or infront of it, even though the sword
is never moved. I also would like to know how our male lead got ahold of
a magic rope he should never have seen before in his life. It's like he pulled
it out of no where and, having never seen it before, already knows how it
works. Ugh. Outside of that it was fabulous! Robert De Niro is fabulous as
the gay ship captain, although again a bit campy, it works here somehow.
Clare Danes is radiant througout and our hero makes a great transition from
dork to adventurer. Very natural. A must own. I also got to paly with Larry's
new iMac. It's sweet. Super sweet actually. I thought I would hate the new
keyboard, but my only problem is that the USB ports aren't as easy to access.
They're tucked up under the back of the keyboard. I like the size of the
whole thing. Compact yet fully featured. I hope my MacPro comes with one.
Later Stephe and I hooked up with Eric W. and Anthea and went to meet up
with Steve Toth for his 48th birthday. JoJo was there as well as Anthea's
Mom Chris and Spence. We had a good time, and Anthea really needed it after
the day she had. I'll let her explain to anyone who wants to know.
Today I'm hoping for a thunderstorm to help with my writing. We're suposed to get them, but then this is Michigan after all.
PS. MY brother is a dick. Even his kids see that he's selfish. Sometimes I wish I could just bring them all here and keep them safe and loved.
8/10/07
Jon Stewart is awesome. I love how he points out the hypocrisy inherent in the right wing. It's funny how people who have been indoctorinated with so-called "Christian values" are so hell bent on telling other people how to live their lives, and yet can't seem to follow those same rules. You don't get to tell some else to get that cock out of their mouth only to take up said cock and finish it off. Now if Jon could just put the screws to Hillary and her inherent need to felate the health insurance companies...
Oh and here's one from the bigot section. Why do people wonder why I have a problem with Christianity?
Nobody Knows is playing at Lorch courtesy of the Center for Japanese Studies.
From the e-mail:
The acclaimed director of Maborosi (1995), After Life (1998), and Distance
(2001), stunned viewers in 2004 with this documentary-style portrait of
four young siblings trying to survive in a Tokyo apartment as they hide
from the eyes of their neighbors. After their immature mother deserts the
children in search of
her own happiness, the kids must try to make sense of life alone while maintaining
the illusion of family and trying to uphold the stifling 'house rules':
no loud voices
and no going outside. Nobody Knows crafts a naturalistic child's-eye look
at urban life in a uniquely dysfunctional family while avoiding simplistic
solutions and tear-jerking cinematic clichés. Fourteen-year old lead
Yuya Yagira became the youngest actor ever to win Best Actor at the Cannes
Film Festival for his performance.
8/4/07
Last night Beth, Larry, Matt, and I went to see Kamikaze Girls. Fantastic film! This is right up there with Train Man and Linda Linda Linda as best Japanese teen movie. I stuck it in my Amazon shopping cart as soon as I got home. We went to Pizza House afterwards and had a nice meal, although my margarita gave me an ice cream headache I drank it so fast near the end.
Today, so far, has been a productive one. Spent the early morning naming songs. I'll have to run the titles by the group, but I can't see anyone having a problem with them. Then I went out and picked up some fertilizer and cat food. I'm switching the cats over to a less commercial cat food. I'm hoping it'll help Gandalf gain some weight. He's been a bit thin these days. The fertilizer I bought so I could plant the six surviving plants I got from Jon and Andrea. They were flourishing in the pots after all the rain we got, so I figured it was safe to stick them in the ground. I mowed the lawn first, so as to give them some time to take and maybe grow before I have to mow again. That way I don't chop them down with the lawn mower. Eventually these will take over that area and I won't have to mow it at all anymore. It was a nice day to be outside. Now I have to figure out what to do with the rest of the afternoon. I guess i could work on the album some more. Or maybe practice my theremin technique. We'll see. I should eat. It's been awhile now that I think about it.
I gotta pull out the notes for the script I started nearly 15 years ago.
8/3/07
Last nights recording session was very fruitful. I can't wait until Sunday when I can start going through this stuff and name it. I think we have about half the record ready for premixing. I have yet to record any theremin, so I may need to get on that. This album is really meeting some of my goals. It's definitely prettier than the last one.
7/30/07
Tom Snyder has died. So has Ingmar Bergman. So many people hype up The Seventh Seal but for my money The Virgin Spring blows it away. In other news, I feel like I'm dying. My experiment is off.
One good reason to shop at Lowes.
7/29/07
Went out with Beth for breakfast. We had a good time. Then I got really sick in the afternoon. Further sun poisoning, I think. Had to take some aspirin to break the fever. I'm feeling much better now, but I'm wondering if I should stay home tomorrow and make sure. It probably didn't help going up on the roof after Beth left to make sure my one fucked up gutter is ok.
I have to take care of Jon's dogs this week. I'm going to be busy.
7/28/07
Beerfest rules! I had such a good time, even thought it was pretty hot out. I need a nap.Jon, Dave, and Dave's brother in-law and I hung out the whole time. Dave's a little scammer. He was palming his chips most of the time, so he was able to hook us up with extra beers (cuz we're way too honest for our own good I guess). Went to Aubree's afterwards for pizza and water. On the way home I hung out with Mike and Miranda. They just sold their home and are moving to Nashville. I got to meet Bob as well. Crazy guy on the street from what I've heard, but he's really got good taste in music. I like him. Although I couldn't hang with the guy alone for more than an hour without needing a break I'm guessing. His social skills are a little lacking. But then so are mine, really.
7/27/07
A great interview with Ted Haggard’s former escort who blew the whistle on him for being gay. Outing someone is a very rude thing to do, but I think in this case I could seriously forgive Mike Jones. Haggard is one of those people who works hard to combat equality for all and is/was a particular thorn in the side of the modern civil rights movement (which the gay rights movement is all about people. It's just an extension of a very long battle).
7/26/07
Yes Men. A great interview with Brian Baker (Minor Threat, Dag Nasty, Bad Religion). Here's a great quote fromt the article:"I don't really go for the costume anymore, because I don't think it's necessary. When I was very young, it was somewhat dangerous and provocative to have a certain image — it threw people off balance. But now, thanks to MTV and Hot Topic, there's nothing threatening or frightening about a guy with a mohawk anymore, so what's the point of all of that hair maintenance every day?"
Mommy, why does the lying man still have a job?
Mid August is coming quick and my life will cease to be my own. I am so not looking forward too it.
7/25/07
Something to make you scared and something to make you laugh.
7/24/07
I have four cavities. Pretty good for not having seen a dentist in seven years. Two of them aren't even really bad. I do need to start flossing more, though. I feel bad for Stephe. She's never really taken good care of her teeth and she's sure to have a ton of cavities. Hopefully she does the right thing and comes back to get that taken care of. The girls priorities are completely out of whack.
Touched base with Adnan today. It would be really sweet to be able to get together with him after all these years. I'd love to get his perspective on comic book movies and geek out old skool style.
Speeking of old skool, for you Zappa fans! All these Steve Allen Show episodes need to be released properly. Steve Allen was one of the coolest mofo's in entertainment and never really lost his credibility. Lenny Bruce loved the man as did many other hip people.
7/21/07
HP is not here yet! AAAAUUUGHHH!!!!!!!!!!! I really didn't think I'd be going this crazy. Fuck.
Last night I had a pleasent conversation with Eric as I walked to John and Leah's place to meet up with Ryan. I had a really good time hanging out by the fire with John. Cool guy. Seriously. I also met Pam who was really cool. We were the last ones to leave the fire. I feel like I should've stayed and talked to her more. She was really cool and interesting, but I was kind of tired and on the verge of being drunk so I went home. Fell right to sleep too. I should try and hang with them more. They only live right up the street for crying out loud.
Leighton had this on his website and it angered me so much I had to repost with my own thoughts. For the record, I never liked The White Stripes. It was nothing personal, but I'm a purist. They just seemed like they'd listened to too much of The Gories and Thee Headcoats. Now I hate them. For Jack White to trash Billy Childish is like Eric Clapton trashing Muddy Waters or Robert Johnson. This prick doesn't deserve to be in the same conversation as Billy Childish, let alone in the same room. What a douche.
*20 minutes after posting- It's here!!!!!
7/20/07
Ok, total disclaimer coming. Abe sent this to the work circle and we all agreed it is the single most stupidest video we have seen in awhile. Interestingly enough, the video has now entered into our daily vocabulary. Fuck.
Stephe seriously needs to get her priorities straight.
Beth is a very good friend and I love her dearly.
The Wire is cooler than you.
HP will end tomorrow sometime (if I can find time to read).
Ryan is coming!
Geoff is coming later!!!
Day two on the meds. I don't notice any difference, but it's a beautiful day.
7/19/07
It's funny how life can really fuck with you. I've gone through a varying range of emotions over the last few months and there is no end in site to the madness really. Interestingly enough, I'm feeling fairly even keeled at the moment. In fact I'm feeling much better since yesterday. I still need to get my head screwed on straight, but I may actually be alright in the long run. I definitely need a playmate, though I'm not sure my emotional fortitude is up to sharing right now. Maybe after a week on the "prescription" Gina got for me for my ADD. Today's the first day on it. Of course, I won't notice the difference and it'll take a week for the stuff to work through my system. I told Brian that I was going to do it just not when. In a week I'll tell him I've been on it and see if he's noticed a change. After a month I'll ask Troy (who's likely not to read this anyway). who will be my control and true test. Too bad insurance won't cover supplements.
And one more just to piss you off.
*Edit/Addition* I just got off the phone with Geoff. Sorry, dude. I know my problems aren't near as bad as yours. I was just trying to help you feel better in my own clumsy baka way.
7/20/07
Jon Alexander turned 40 today! Larry and I took him out to dinner at Cadie's. We ate and drank too much. A good time really.
7/17/07
It's half past midnight. Stephe just left for Ohio. I'm a mess.
It's late morning now. Trying to stay busy and keep focused. In that regard, Mark Maynard posted a link to Bill Moyers show from last night. I've just watched the first half. Wow. The guy who wrote the Articles of Impeachment for Clinton not only agrees that Bush should be IMPEACHED but that his crims are far worse. Go watch it here. You may also find this article interesting too. Thanks Mark.
7/12/07
NYFD kick Guiliani in the nut sack!
7/11/07
Bush's former Surgeon General kicks him in the nuts as a guy from the DOJ kicks him in the shins! Could it get any better than that? Yes, we could impeach and imprison the whole lot of them.
Lady Bird Johnson has passed. It's not funny how her husbands presidency has overshadowed a lot of what she accomplished on her own. A worthy successor to Eleanor Roosevelt. She was 94 and a had a long and full life and that's worth something.
Stephe and I went into Walmart tonight to replace her phone. We tried to go to both Target and Meijer first (at my request) but they didn't have the specific phone she needed (the cheap one). Anyhow, this was the first time I had been in a Walmart in a great number of years (1996 maybe?) and it was an odd experience. Every employee looked frazzled. It was as if at any moment one or more of them could snap and either a) fall to the floor crying in a fetal position with their thumb in there mouth or b) start killing anyone within reach. It was sad. My job makes me feel that way more and more these days, but I'm well compensated. I can come home from my job and leave it behind a little. In fact, I had to do that today, but after a really awesome workout I felt a lot better. I'm guessing these people can't do that. They are likely going home to a messy family situation or to another job. Maybe their third job for all I know. It was a bit unnerving.
Stephe's fighting with her Mom again. She can be so hateful sometimes. I have to agree with the fact that her parents refuse to accept her for who she is, but she could be a bit less evil about it. I wish I knew how to fix that but I don't. Carol and Frank are good people and they raised someone I love a great deal. It's just sad that they can't find some middle ground. At least when I was going through that with my Mom, I still had my Dad helping me out and encouraging me. Even if it wasn't very frequently.
I still want to kill the boy. Insecure waste of skin. All he does is call her up to put her down. The big brother in me wants to find him and hurt him. But then I'm too cute for jail.
7/9/07
Here's a douche bag of the highest order. No one asked this guy to stop being a christian. As David Yas states in the article ``Knowing the law has nothing to do with agreeing with the law.'' So this guy doesn't like other guys. Ok, fine. Don't suck dick then, but at least have the decency to allow my friends to suck cock if they want too. It's none of your business. We're all supposed to be created equal under the Constitution right? Isn't that how the sodomy laws got struck down. Live and let live ass hat.
Oh and here's the Iraqi punchline. It was about the oil after all. Go figure. Amy Goodman rules!
7/8/07
So not looking forward to work tomorrow. It's been a week since I've been there. Now I have to try and remember where I left off. That's the really hard part about vacations for me. I have people fooled into believing I'm organized. It's a sham. Anyhow, didn't really do shit today. It was too hot to work in the yard or change the oil in the car. So I stayed inside and traded off reading and napping. Mask has been in the bed with me most of the day. Gandalf tried to kick her out once, but I wouldn't let him be that mean. She really wasn't bothering him and the bed is big enough for all three of us really.
My sister is getting another cat. Some friend of hers rescued it from a job site in Queens (NY) and can't really keep it very long. It's funny how that works out. I ended up taking Leon from her years ago because Smurfette kept trying to kill him. I later had to pass him to Andrea because he cried all the time I was away, very loudly. I was living in a no pet apartment complex at the time where all the tenants had pets. I didn't want to get anyone in trouble. I saw Leon yesterday. He's so big compaired to the little black kitten that cried all the way home from PA in the car. I went to Jon and Andrea's to get some more rose of sharon for the yard and of course had to give face time to the kids. I love Andrea's cats. I got about eight Rose of Sharon sprouts (?) and I hope they survive this heat. I really want them to take over that section of my property next to the driveway. Less mowing is good for the environment!
7/5/07
Happy Birthday Les Brown!!! Went to Shed's Aquarium today. Pretty cool place but a little expensive for what it turned out to be. The kimono dragon was lazy as all get out. I was hoping for fire breathing and destruction. At least a demonstration of his legendary agility. More like watching Jeremy pass out after several shots of Jameson. Which was what Tuesday night was all about. Anyway, l picked up a gift each for my little sisters and moved on to hooking up with Abe at a pub on Wabash. Abe is definitely adjusting to life in Chicago. I think it'll be good for him and it gives me another reason to come down to Chicago. I really love this town. If I could move my job and my house here...
I wiped my iPod and it now refuses to play nice. I love Apple but....
7/4/07
Happy fourth! I'm in Chicago with Jeremy and Larry at Eric's. Slight hangover this morning, but breakfast at the Golden Nugget (at 1pm) helped a lot. We're chilling and grilling today. Tomorrow we go to the aquarium (Yeah!) and then home on Friday. Stephe was supposed to go back on the road today, but her ride fell through. I'm not sure what I'm going to do about that. I love having her around, but need less drama in my life. I really want to kill her verbally abusive boyfriend. I don't ever want to be 21 again.
I may have a date soon. Something to look forward too.
A very weird thing happened on the way back from grocery shopping at Jewel. Eric wanted to take our picture under the L line. I get into position and look down and there's a pigeon sitting there with half it's tail feathers missing and a good chunk of its ass missing. It was still alive. I couldn't take my eyes off it. I wanted to put it out of it's misery, but didn't know how. If I'd had a car I would have run it over and ended it's suffering. It's been hours now and I can't get the sight of it out of my head. I hope someone was able to do what I couldn't.
6/17/07
There's a lot going on in my life right now. But rather than take you down memory lane I'll just give you a brief: Eric Brown's birthday was Monday and I forgot it (baka), Stephe moved in with me for a spell (which distracted me from a lot of other things, like birthdays), Kevin Leeser showed his Ren Fair Jousting documentary "Renaisannce Men" at Planet Ant last night (nice work), and Abe is moving to Chicago. Whew! I am buying a new mattress (shut up Beth), and doing more yardwork today. I am killing as much grass as possible so I'm not wasting fuel mowing. This will take a few years but I have a good head start. The house has been re-graded on two sides and I start on the third and final today. Speaking of gas and prices, I found this one on Slashdot with the following remarks below it:
Q:"If you are going to drive a vehicle that is that dangerous to everyone else on the road, shouldn't you have to meet much stricter requirements?"
A: "Fully agree. Given the various harms monster vehicles cause, the only
way to rationally preserve people's freedom to drive them is to take steps
to
make their owners bear the costs imposed on all other motorists by their
self-indulgent vehicle choice.
First, increase the gas tax until the drivers of heavier vehicles are paying
their fair share of the road repair bill. (There are very rational arguments
for subsidizing road wear caused by heavy vehicles, such as semis, used commercially.
There are no rational arguments for subsidizing excess road wear by mindlessly
heavy personal vehicles.)
Second, actually increase insurance premiums for large, poorly performing
vehicles until they are in line with the extra deaths caused by those vehicles
in collisions with rationally sized vehicles.
Third, given that truck-based vehicles in particular are much more challenging
to drive safely than average cars (as they take much longer to stop, have
less body control which means more likelihood of losing grip, and are far
more prone to rollover), require special licensing. Of course given the variety
of vehicles on the road any line we draw between normal vehicles and heavy,
trucklike vehicles is likely to be arbitrary. But I'll propose one anyway:
To drive a vehicle for personal use that is EITHER over 5000 pounds empty
OR over 78" tall, you need a Class C CDL with the attendant training
and much tougher skills test."
No shit.
6/10/07
The Smoking Gun is awesome. They get a hold of documents that most of the rest of us would never see in a million years. One of the types of documents they post are rock star riders. Riders are the contract between the artist and venue that describes what the venue has to provide, such as food, in house mixing board and stage and back stage set up. Some are rediculously pompous (as you would expect), but most are pretty average and boring. Well they just posted the best one I've ever read. The Stooges rider is not outrageous in it's requests. They really don't ask for much. It's just the way the ask for it. Funniest rider hands down. You can find it here.
5/26/07
The following is pretty much how I feel about teh TV show Jericho:
I watched it to the end. I'll admit it. But it was pretty much coming off as a low rent bad 80's drama show in the latter half of the season. It deserves to die, so let it. Lost is losing it real fast too.
Going to The Meatmen tonight. Eric's still asleep. Jon Alexander is the least dependable person on the planet when it comes to having a good time. My solo record is almost done and ready to post. My Thingamagoop is being built right now! Steve recorded his tracks Thursday night and Rudi came by to see the whole thing happen. He is now planning to work with us. I may have a plan to start dealing with my ADD better so I won't have to post incoherent verbal purges like this anymore.
PS Al Gore isn't such a bad guy, although I still think he's a pussy.
5/25/07
I just had to post this. Joss Whedon is really cool. I watched the video he spoke of and I really don't want to link to it. I'm usually pretty thick skinned when it comes to blood but this one really got me. If you want to see it it's out there, but you have to seek it out yourself.
BTW, I bought a Thingamagoop. Next year I may have to get him a little brother.
5/20/07
Lee Press-On had this on his site a few days ago. So sweet. He also had a link to one of the coolest little noisemakers ever (next to my Egon). I'm so getting one of these as soon as I can stop bleeding money.
This is a must watch for anyone who has and or deals with teenagers on a regular basis.
5/19/07
My rain barrel came today. Now if I could just get the ground turned...
5/18/07
The new Pelican record is being streamed on Hydra Head. Go now.
5/9/07
Chris Brooks can no longer call me old man. We are now the same age. At least until January 9th of 2008. Then he can call me old man again. This goes out to him. Happy Birthday dude.
4/29/07
DUDE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I just don't want to wait until fall. Grrr.
Went to Anthea's birthday party last night and had a drunken verbal brawl with part of the 25%. She actually told me to get out of the country if I don't believe in God. Politics became the discussion for the rest of the night, after this person was dragged off of me. So I got drunk. I'm hungover enough today to not want to do anything outside on this beautiful day. This is why I don't drink like that very often. It's such a waste.
Everyone needs to check out this, this, and this.
4/26/07
This is how we deal with real terrorists. This is how we deal with those we label terrorists.
4/25/07
Reason number 5,129 of why I think Christianity is stupid: being a Christian doesn't give you the right to be an insensitive douchebag. Seriously, if I don't believe in an afterlife and I'm killed, my life still meant something to those who knew and loved me. You cunts don't have a license to go out and mock them for their or my beliefs (or lack of them). Especially when my death was senseless and served no purpose other than to serve someone elses selfish needs.
4/15/07
So yesterday was pretty weird and cool at the same time. I stopped in to the post office to drop off my house payment before breakfast. Just as I'm dropping the letter in the slot this old man asks me, "Can you read this for me?" He's got a piece of paper with instructions on it and a couple of plastic vials. I figure the guy can't see very well and can't read the label for his medication. So I take a look at what he's trying to read and I'm not sure I get it either. That is until I turn the paper over. Basically the doctor sent him home with a stool sample test kit that he was to bring back on his next visit. Do I get karma points for telling an old man he has to shit in a pan without pissing on it and then mix some of it into a couple of little vials with chemicals in it?
Later on I discovered some cement I didn't know I had. I edged the back sidewalk and patio. Wow, does grass really spread out. I reclaimed a foots worth of pavement! Can't wait to do the front.
Got the scooter almost ready to ride. It starts and runs, but it's still choking out a little when I ride it. I really need to get the repair manual so I can properly clean the injectors. I also need to get some car ramps today and replace the fuel filter on the car. If it's warm enough tomorrow...
Chris, Mary, and I went to see Grindhouse later on. Just go see this film. It's fucking incredible. Takes me back to the Lakes Drive-in in Brighton. Seriously.
Why hasn't anyone thought to do something like this before?
4/12/07
A great American died last night. Kurt Vonnegut was 84. So to honor him (and make you all think a bit) I'll repost this speech he gave a couple of years ago, that someone posted on Twitchfilm. Even the kids on Punknews couldn't make fun of this one.
From Vonnegut's Clemens lecture at the Mark Twain house in Hartford, CT.
-----------------------------------------------------------
First things first: I want it clearly understood that this mustache I’m
wearing is my father’s mustache. I should have brought his photograph.
My big brother Bernie, now dead, a physical chemist who discovered that silver
iodide can sometimes make it snow or rain, he wore it, too.
Speaking of weather: Mark Twain said some readers complained that there wasn’t
enough weather in his stories. So he wrote some weather, which they could
insert wherever they thought it would help some.
Mark Twain was said to have shed a tear of gratitude and incredulousness
when honored for his writing by Oxford University in England. And I should
shed a tear, surely, having been asked at the age of 80, and because of what
I myself have written, to speak under the auspices of the sacred Mark Twain
House here in Hartford.
What other American landmark is as sacred to me as the Mark Twain House?
the Lincoln Memorial in Washington, D.C. Mark Twain and Abraham Lincoln were
country boys from Middle America, and both of them made the American people
laugh at themselves and appreciate really important, really moral jokes.
I note that construction has stopped of a Mark Twain Museum here in Hartford —behind
the carriage house of the Mark Twain House at 351 Farmington Avenue.
Work persons have been sent home from that site because American “conservatives,” as
they call themselves, on Wall Street and at the head of so many of our corporations,
have stolen a major fraction of our private savings, have ruined investors
and employees by means of fraud and outright piracy.
Shock and awe.
And now, having installed themselves as our federal government, or taken
control of it from outside, they have squandered our public treasury and
then some. They have created a public debt of such appalling magnitude that
our descendants, for whom we had such high hopes, will come into this world
as poor as church mice.
Shock and awe.
What are the conservatives doing with all the money and power that used to
belong to all of us? They are telling us to be absolutely terrified, and
to run around in circles like chickens with their heads cut off. But they
will save us. They are making us take off our shoes at airports. Can anybody
here think of a more hilarious practical joke than that one?
Smile, America. You’re on Candid Camera.
And they have turned loose a myriad of our high-tech weapons, each one costing
more than a hundred high schools, on a Third World country, in order to shock
and awe human beings like us, like Adam and Eve, between the Tigris and Euphrates
Rivers.
The other day I asked former Yankees pitcher Jim Bouton what he thought of
our great victory over Iraq, and he said, “Mohammed Ali versus Mr.
Rogers.”
What are conservatives? They are people who will move heaven and earth, if
they have to, who will ruin a company or a country or a planet, to prove
to us and to themselves that they are superior to everybody else, except
for their pals. They take good care of their pals, keep them out of jail—and
so on.
Conservatives are crazy as bedbugs. They are bullies.
Shock and awe.
Class war? You bet.
They have proved their superiority to admirers of Abraham Lincoln and Mark
Twain and Jesus of Nazareth, with an able assist from television, making
inconsequential our protests against their war.
What has happened to us? We have suffered a technological calamity. Television
is now our form of government.
On what grounds did we protest their war? I could name many, but I need name
only one, which is common sense.
Be that as it may, construction of the Mark Twain Museum will sooner or later
be resumed. And I, the son and grandson of Indiana architects, seize this
opportunity to suggest a feature which I hope will be included in the completed
structure, words to be chiseled into the capstone over the main entrance.
Here is what I think would be fun to put up there, and Mark Twain loved fun
more than anything. I have tinkered with something famous he said, which
is: “Be good and you will be lonesome.” That is from Following
the Equator. OK?
So envision what a majestic front entrance the Mark Twain Museum will have
someday. And imagine that these words have been chiseled into the noble capstone
and painted gold:
be good and you will be lonesome most places, but not here, not here.
One of the most humiliated and heartbroken pieces Twain ever wrote was about
the slaughter of 600 Moro men, women and children by our soldiers during
our liberation of the people of the Philippines after the Spanish-American
War. Our brave commander was Leonard Wood, who now has a fort named after
him. Fort Leonard Wood.
What did Abraham Lincoln have to say about such American imperialist wars?
Those are wars which, on one noble pretext or another, actually aim to increase
the natural resources and pools of tame labor available to the richest Americans
who have the best political connections.
And it is almost always a mistake to mention Abraham Lincoln in a speech
about something or somebody else. He always steals the show. I am about to
quote him.
Lincoln was only a Congressman when he said in 1848 what I am about to echo.
He was heartbroken and humiliated by our war on Mexico, which had never attacked
us.
We were making California our own, and alot of other people and properties,
and doing it as though butchering Mexican soldiers who were only defending
their homeland against invaders wasn’t murder.
What other stuff besides California? Well, Texas, New Mexico, Utah, Nevada,
Arizona, and parts of Colorado and Wyoming.
The person congressman Lincoln had in mind when he said what he said was
James Polk, our president at the time. Abraham Lincoln said of Polk, his
president, our armed forces’ commander-in-chief: “Trusting to
escape scrutiny by fixing the public gaze upon the exceeding brightness of
military glory, that attractive rainbow that rises in showers of blood —that
serpent’s eye, that charms to destroy, he plunged into war.”
Holy smokes! I almost said, “Holy shit!” And I thought I was
a writer!
Do you know we actually captured Mexico City during the Mexican War? Why
isn’t that a national holiday? And why isn’t the face of James
Polk up on Mount Rushmore, along with Ronald Reagan’s?
What made Mexico so evil back in the 1840s, well before our Civil War, is
that slavery was illegal there. Remember the Alamo?
My great-grandfather’s name was Clemens Vonnegut. Small world, small
world. This piquant coincidence is not a fabrication. Clemens Vonnegut called
himself a “freethinker,” an antique word for humanist. He was
a hardware merchant in Indianapolis.
So, 120 years ago, say, there was one man who was both Clemens and Vonnegut.
I would have liked being such a person alot. I only wish I could have been
such a person tonight.
I claim no blood relationship with Samuel Clemens of Hannibal, Missouri. “Clemens,” as
a first name, is, I believe, like the name “Clementine,” derived
from the adjective “clement.” To be clement is to be lenient
and compassionate, or, in the case of weather, perfectly heavenly.
So there’s weather again.
4/5/07
Stole this from Mark this morning. So why am I supposed to worship this guy again?
This needs to be checked daily.
4/3/07
This is going to eventually come up against the US Constitution and fail miserably. Hell it may even go far enough to desolve the concept of marriage being defined by the state at all.
More reasons for the rest of the world to fear us. (Thank you Heir Mann)
4/2/07
My credit card is paid off, wrapped in tin foil, non active, and frozen solid in a block of ice in my freezer. Boom! Headshot.
In other news more bullshit from the Bush administration ( and I use that last word very very loosely).
Snoop Dogg goes off on Bill O'Reilly!
Terry Jones goes off on his native Britain.
And on a more somber note, we lost a kid this weekend. What a way to start spring break.
4/1/07
I must first start off by stating that the following is not a joke. I was looking at my wimpy pathetic 6 volt drill and realised I really need power tools. I own a home and have no excuse not too. So I did some checking into drills online to see what the best drill is for a good price. Two of the sites I hit like the Ryobi p201 and mention that it sometimes comes in a combo with other tools. The price alone should be around $50. I went to Home Depot's site and found this for $159 I got two more useful tools and a flashlight and a vacuum. So I went to go buy it. As luck would have it they had a set that had two more tools ( a sander and another saw) for $199 AND (the clintcher) a $35 discount. I'm set.
3/29/07
Metafilter has links to one of the greatest documentaries on punk music I've ever seen. At least right up until the brits try and talk about American punk, then they lose me. Any discussion of American punk rock that leaves out The Swans, The Butthole Surfers, and Big Black, discusses Seattle without even a mention of Thee Melvins and Green River, and dains to mention Blink 182 as anything other than the pop crap it is needs to be stopped. That being said, watch everything except the "California Uber Alles" section. They only interview british journalists and never talk to any of the principles by this point. This is where the rest of the documentary shines. Other quick thoughts: John Lydon is a dick and I'm ok with that. The douche bag from Kerrang needs to be beaten. I really miss the Two -Tone compilations Eric had that I duped on cassette. The Selector rules.
Thanks go to Mark Maynard for the links.
Addendum: What would Jesus do?
3/18/07
Why the fuck is this not being discussed?! I've read and heard nothing but the bigotry, but not the come back. Fucking spread this shit will you folks!? The cluesless need to be shown their clue.
On a more personal note, I'm very tired of constantly being sick. I've had it. This cold that I got on the heels of the shingles has pissed me off. I had two more days off work and couldn't even bring myself to make music. Washing the dishes was torture. From here on out, no alcohol for 2 months, I start cooking again, and I have to work out everyday. Even if it's just for 15 minutes. The shingles caused a serious lack of appetite so I lost nearly 10 pounds, but I'm flabby and weak and constantly tired. No more.
3/13/07
Pelican was cool. Shingles wasn't. Sleepytime Gorilla Musem was cool. My Aunt Betty Jackson dying was not.
2/27/07
Must read articles of the day from The New Yorker and Alternet.
Spent most of last night fixing my 16 bit debacle and ended up doing some stellar stuff. At 2am. Anyhow, I still have two more to fix, but I came up with a plan to combine the two original tracks and make something new. We'll see how it comes out. I have to re-record a Bari-guitar part today and then post the tracks for everyone else. I also have a way to incorporate live recording into these mixes, but I need to ask Geoff some questions first. Hmmm.
2/26/07
"Best Picture Oscar winners with dildos? DEPARTED's not the first, RAIN
MAN had Tom Cruise in it."
» Posted by
Rhythm-X at February 26, 2007 02:48am
I laughed so hard at this I cried from the pain in my already strained nerve bundle in my side. So fucking true.
Some good news today in the "culture wars." Now if we could get that shitty amendment that Michigan voters passed in November struck down.
Addendum: I just realized that all the work I've been doing on the next record has been in 16 bit mode instead of 24 bit. I have to start all over again.
2/25/07
One more reason to despise religious zealots.
2/24/07
Woke up this morning in a bit of pain. I had to eat at 4am so I could take the pain medicine. I can't wait until I can get through a day without vicodin, although the Gabapentin is really what's helping I think. Still have that weird tingly feeling in my belly but the sharp pain is now a dull ache.
I've
gotten board enough with my dvd collection that I've gone and dug out some
VHS tapes. I hate the inability to skip around the movie inherent in
the format. It does force you to pay more attention though, I guess.
My sisters Macbook arrived and Troy brought it from the school for me to
set up. I'm really impressed. Especially the keyboard. I could easily move
to one of these if I was forced to give up my Powerbook.
I've made my first of two music gear purchases that I'm allowing myself, thanks to Randy. I bought a Roland R-5 Human Rythm Composer from Ebay. I used to own this drum machine, but traded it to Goossen for the strat. I never regretted the trade. I love the strat, even more than the Iceman, but I've always missed that drum machine a little. Especially the six individual outputs. I have eight free inputs on the 24-i that are begging to be used. This still leaves me two free for guest devices, yet makes me feel like I'm using the 24-i to it's fullest potential. I hate waste. In fact I got such a good deal on the R-5 that I may actually be able to afford an extra gear purchase if I'm equally frugal. My Small Stone has seen better days and Electro-Harmonix has a smaller version of it for under $60. Electro-Harmonix also makes this little bundle of joy, but it's out of the running this time around. Maybe I'll ask for it for Christmas/Birthday. I'm really leaning towards purchasing the Boss PS-5, though. It's not as cool looking as this one I've been eyeing, but will be a ton cheaper. I think it will color the sound less too. I also really want a Reamp so I can record stuff direct and then send it back out to an amp so I can mic it without the need to have someone keep playing the instrument while I set stuff up and get a sound. Although this would be much more useful if I had a studio to record in instead of a glorified echo chamber, I may still buy one. The echo chamber that is my basement has a certain charm after all.
I found this and wanted to share. Not so funny funnies.
2/19/07
Mask likes hot sauce. Art and I have been going to Tios Hot Sauce tasting for some time now. I consider myself a bit of connoisseur by now. The mark of a great hot sauce is it's ability to meld with a meal without taking it over. Some hot sauces only work well in certain situations. For example, a hot sauce with fruit (ie mango, pineapple) works great on chicken or fish, but not so good on beans or beef. To this end, I keep Cholula hot sauce around always. It is my mainstay. It's good on chicken, beef, beans, fish, vegetables; almost anything. Today for lunch I made a beef and bean burrito with some olives and carrots and a little rice on the side. I doused the burrito with a bit of Cholula and then came into the living room to eat and watch a bit of Dune. Mask doesn't give a fuck. She's a street rat at heart and will steal your food if you're not waching. To this end, she stepped up on my plate to sniff around and wait for me not to be paying attention. So I put some Cholula on my finger and gave it to her, figuring she would freak out and leave. Not the case. She licked it all off my finger then curled up in a ball at my feet and got comfortable. She hasn't moved and let me finish my meal in peace. Weird.
Addendum: I watched this tonight. I think you should too.
2/17/07
Apparently, the terrorists are winning.
2/16/07
I'm drinking my first cup of coffee in almost a week. Boy is it yummy. I
ate my first real meal yesterday (a cheeseburger with potato chips). Progress.
I still feel like I have a knife in my back, and had to cancel a studio session
with a student, but I'm definitely getting better. The rash is even looking
like it might scab up tonight! No more contagium (look it up kids)! This
has really put a damper on my work for Tunenami and As Yet To Be Named.
I did manage to read the first book in Anne McCaffrey's Harper Hall trilogy
(makes me wish there were real dragons, although Mask and Gandalf have been
acting like fire lizards all week), finish Warcraft III's single player game,
and watch a few english-language movies in my collection that have gone neglected.
These are all things I can do with out having to get up too frequently. I
usually change the dvd every eight hours when I have to take my medicine.
I've slept a lot. So much so that I had to stretch yesterday just to walk
to the kitchen. My 80 year dad could likely outrun me in a race right now.
Anyhow, this whole thing has taught me something. I really need to get better
focused. I don't want to say too much here, but I need to make some changes
in my life. This illness was brought on by stress, and I need to have a plan
to alleviate that. The first thing I'm going to do is get financially solvent.
I have my credit card half paid off. Once that is cleared in a couple of
months, it will be used only in an emergency. Since I have the debit/credit
I'm going to be using that to pay for things instead. It'll keep my interest
payments down. I'm freezing that credit card and not activating it. Basically,
it's dead to me.
The next thing I do is build my savings. I want to have
at least enough in savings to carry me thru three months worth of bills.
All the repairs I need to do to the house will need to be on the cheap and
preventive maintainance type. Hopefully no more than a grands worth this
summer. I need to tar the flashing on the roof, fix a gutter so it doesn't
leak, build a small sidewalk from the front deck to the driveway, seal the
front deck, build up the ground around the foundation of the house and fix
all the window wells, and, if there is any money left over, replace as many
basement windows with block glass as I can. Also, Abe and I are going to
do a garden and he's going to teach me to can. This will
help
a
lot. I
just
need
to clear
that
back
corner
as
soon
as spring hits and build my compost heap.
The studio is off for now. It's too much of an investment to make
in this climate. I'll be making two gear purchases that will help me get
some work done: a reamp ($250) and one effect pedal or analog synth (haven't
decided yet on what but I have some ideas; no more than $300). I likely
will not be recording anyone else unless they can work in a more intimate
setting
(ie acoustic/in the box direct).
Anyway, I'm talking too much and really need to get back to my coffee.
Addendum: Ok, that was scary. I just lost power in the house for about two hours. The tempature dropped five degrees in that time. Grrr.
2/15/07
I have shingles. It sucks. Bad. Anyhow, you should read this. I listened to the moron for a bit yesterday. What a retard. You should do yourselves a favor and listen to this guy flounder like a 10 year old caught shoplifting and trying to get away with it. I really believe we did enough to hurt Iran back in the 50's and should never be allowed to talk about them unless we're willing to apologize for the harm we've done to their sovereignty. Not to mention their secular community. What a dick.
On a more personal note: Congratulations to Scott Beal and his Mlive article.
2/3/07
(Added to on 2/15/07)
In an interview on MSNBC (the MS stands for Microsoft) Bill Gates today defended Vista. He makes the claim that "security guys break the Mac every single day. Every single day, they come out with a total exploit, your machine can be taken over totally. I dare anybody to do that once a month on the Windows machine." He really is grasping at straws here.Is the Mac OS exploitable? Yes. Is it to the same degree Winows is. Not even close. The fact of the matter is, that OS X, out of the box and freshly installed, has most of the exploitable services turned off by default. Windows is still based around an old creaky code base that is going on 15 years and has to be configured by the end user after installing to be safe. I deal with end users and they don't understand the word "configure." They look at you doe-eyed when you try to describe the file system in the hopes that they understand where exactly their files are. ugh. You can read some more enlightening comments on Slashdot. The following is my favorite:
"It wasn't a double-dog dare, so he's not serious."
2/1/07
The world is a little less funny and a whole lot less informed as of today. Molly Ivans has died.
Addendum: Molly being interviewed about the brewing Clinton "scandal" on some Fox "news" program in March 1998 (courtesy of his Royal Rudeness): "If we had devoted this much time and this much space in the newspapers to the single most important problem in American politics today, which is the money that finances campaigns and the way the people that get elected respond to that money, we would have solved the problem by now. We would have the people of this country so outraged, they would be demanding campaign finance reform. What are we doing? We're talking about the president's dick. It's ridiculous."
1/29/07
Saw Volver yesterday with Randy. Fucking amazing!
1/22/07
*Cute moment* You've been warned. I woke up this morning with Gandalf in his customary place on the upper right corner of the bed. Mask on the other hand had taken up the middle and sprawled out. I was in a ball. If she wasn't so cute...anyhow, later on I had packed my saddle bag for work and went out side to start the car. When I got back, she had parked herself ontop of the bag and looked at me as if to say, "You're not going anywhere." She didn't look exactly comfortable. *Cute moment over*
1/20/07
One more reason I don't eat a lot of pork (if at all). I have one weakness: Pepperoni on pizza's. Fortunately, I'm broke enough now that I won't be eating out that frequently anymore.
Went and saw Pan's Labyrinth with Randy this morning. It has a slightly better story than The Devil's Backbone, but lacked the intensity of it. I never really felt unsafe. Even so, it still blows everything else in the theater out of the water. Definitely not for children, but as Todd McFarlane once said, "We're adults longer than we are children."
1/18/07
"There are religious people who are not content to say, "Oh, well, my religion doesn't allow me to use contraceptives, but I'm quite happy for anybody else to." Instead, we have religiously-inspired prohibitions on aid programs abroad, including in areas where HIV AIDS is rife, prohibiting aid going in any form that might be used to help contraception. That is religion over-stepping the bounds and interfering in other people's freedom. So, religion does not observe this "live and let live" philosophy." ~Richard Dawkins
12/20/06
So I kinda crawled into a hole for awhile, and I think I needed to do that. In the meantime, I've begun work on a solo recording, started planning the next As Yet To Be Named record, and planning the new studio. Fortunately, I have a two week vacation coming up starting on Saturday. Once I get back from my Dad's I'm going to try to get to work on all this stuff. If I can finish the basic tracks for the solo recording by the end of the break, I'll be feeling pretty good. I also want to get the sampling started for the next AYTBN project. Geoff and I are supposed to do some recording at the Red Hawk one morning next week. I hope the stuff turns out ok. I bought an iTrip for my iPod to do mobile recordings. It'll only do 16 bit but I'm kinda looking for grainy sounds. We want to do all the base tracks using foley techniques. I'm definitely doing the vacuum cleaner track over the break. Maybe the first day I'm back from PA.
11/28/06
Bebe Moore Campbell died yesterday. I read "Your Blues Ain't Like Mine" in college and liked that she made her women characters strong. I always planned on reading more of her work, but hadn't gotten a round to it. I think I may need to purchase "Brothers and Sisters" soon. She was only 56. Very sad.
11/13/06
I've spent a small amount of time this weekend going through a thread on Electrical Audio's forums and found this. You kids out there reading this shit take note: he's four years old. By the time he's in high school, he likely won't need to go to college. Either that or he'll be able to pay for it out of gig money. Shit. I need to practice more.
11/10/06
As many of you know, I try to keep up with the restaurant inspections for Washtenaw county on a regular basis. They come out every Thursday. Temptations was one of my favorite places to eat. Not any more.
Temptations
2876 Washtenaw Ave., Ypsilanti
Date: Oct. 11
Number of critical violations: 8
Critical violations: Raw lamb, raw eggs and raw chicken were improperly stored
in the walk-in cooler, next to or above ready-to-eat foods (corrected). Butter
chicken was at improper temperature in a six-inch deep tub on the floor next
to the walk-in cooler (corrected). Lentils and chicken were found on the grill
at improper temperature (corrected); assorted potentially hazardous foods were
found on the hot buffet at improper temperature (corrected). Bulk sugar was stored
in a cat litter container (corrected). Hot water was not supplied to the hand
sink in the prep area. Gnats were found throughout the facility - in the kitchen
and the buffet area. Spray bottles with cleaners were found hanging on the dry
food storage racks (corrected). Vitamins, personal herbal supplements and nonprescription
medicines were found stored on the prep shelf above the prep area.
Noncritical violations: Food employees were not wearing proper hair restraints.
Utensils were stored in a bucket of stagnant water in the kitchen. Assorted foods
were stored on the floor in the walk-in freezer. A bag of vegetables was stored
in direct contact with other vegetables in a container on the top part of the
prep unit; a plastic garbage bag was found taped to the shelf in the dry storage
area. Assorted foods in the walk-in cooler, walk-in freezer and three-door display
cooler were not covered. Two bags of frozen chicken were found thawing in a container
on the floor in the dishroom. Rice, tandoori chicken and butter chicken were
improperly cooled. The steamer closest to the back wall was not properly adjusted
for hot holding. Interior of microwaves and ovens were not clean. Outsides of
cooking equipment, filters for the hood, outsides of storage containers were
not clean. Plastic children's cups in a carton were found stored in the employee
restroom. The faucet on the three-compartment sink in the dishroom had a leak.
The floors and walls in the kitchen prep area and dishroom, and floors in the
dry storage area were not clean.
11/4/06
More fun with god.
11/3/06
Unless, of course, you're gay.
10/28/06
"I would like to note that even if America has a 19 strength, as a 20th level Warmage, America only has a Base Attack Bonus of +10, which leaves its total attack bonus (minus any magical weapons, such as the vaunted ICBM of Total Supremacy it might possess) at an anemic +14, which makes the melee combat we have chosen to engage in an entirely unsuitable tactic in the War on Terror. If America had placed its 19 in Intelligence, as I had suggested in the lead-up to the Iraq war, then the +4 bonus to its Warmage Edge would have surely turned the tide. Unfortunately, fifth columnists in the military decided that Strength was a priority in the assignment of our stats, and we have paid the price every since."
~Andreas Schou
Best fucking analogy of the Iraq "war" yet.
BTW did I mention there's a party going on at my house tomight? Come on in.
10/27/06
Man I've been fucking out of it. The job has been a total drag lately and all I seem to do is sleep. At least the record is done and up. I am so fucking happy with this record. Now as long as the Secret Service doesn't come bust down my door...
PS. Party at my house Saturday night (tomorrow). BYOB 21 and up please. Come costumed if you feel so inclined. I'll have some munchables and sangria made up.
10/4/06
9/27/06
I'm home sick. Here's a piece of black history for you.
9/25/06
The definition of p0wn3d!
9/23/06
And on a completely seperate issue, Bill Clinton puts the smack-down on Fox "news" and Rupert Murdoch while trying to discuss his new $1 Billion Renewable Energy Fund. I never voted for the man, and never truely trusted his conservative approach to getting things done, but if he were running again...
9/17/05
This is probably the most passionate musical performance I've ever seen come from TV. I'm not a huge Dixie Chicks fan (actually I pretty much despise any and all country that has come out in the last 30 plus years) but, this helps me understand why anyone would like them. These women have more punk attitude than any of the lame as "punk" bands I've read about on Punknews.org. Natalie looks very determined underneath her anger. The sheer force of her integrity is something to be reackoned with. Kudos!
9/16/06
A lot has happened in the last few weeks. I went camping with Geoff, Ryan, and Anthea and had a blast. I helped open school and have really started to hate my working environment (not to the point of wanting to quit, mind you, but certainly to the point of mental exploration of other options.) I went to Chicago with Jeremy Sell to see Eric Brown and the Touch & Go Records 25th Anniversary Block Party and had a blast. Now I'm recuperating my knee. I pulled it a few weeks back during a workout and never was able to give it time to heal. Now I'm doing housework, slowy, and working on Anthea's record. It's coming along nicely so far.
8/24/06
8/17/06
I may have to start reading Decibel more often: "There are still stereotypes that all gay men are effeminate and weak and queeny. Of course, nothing could be further from the truth, which is why I think it's unfortunate that that type of portrayal is still given to the straight general public." ~Rob Halford.
At some point I stopped listening to and buying metal. I didn't give up on what came before that point, just stopped buying into newer bands. I really believe it was the relative conservatism of metal that struck me. After the crossover scene, bands went back to the same old tired shit and their politics didn't really change. I was also meeting gay folk for the first time around then and realizing that they are people just like anyone else. Most of the metalheads I knew were hanging onto their inner neanderthal like a security blanket. So I bailed. Lately I've been getting back into heavier music. Botch was a great band and I never knew their bass player was gay. And it didn't matter, nor does it now and I think this is the point. Funny side point, though. Much of what passes for metal on the radio these days is still crap. None of them would know how to take an artistic leap if you stood them in front of the ledge and told them how to jump.
8/16/06
Frank Darabont, who directed The Shawshank Redemption, talks about Guillermo del Toro's upcoming film Pan's Labyrinth. He also makes some strong arguments for ignoring most of what comes out of Hollywood these days. A nice read for a film I've been wanting to see for the better part of a year.
Fuck I'm busy.
8/9/06
7/23/06
This is why governement should be transparent.
Anyhow, it's been a nice weekend thus far. Friday night Randy and I went out to the Japanese filmfest showing of Takeshi Kitano's Kids Return. Great film, although it meanders a bit. Kitano is the guy who played Zatoichi in the 2003(?) remake/update. We had enough time to waste before the film to wander Fart Air. Hot women everywhere. A lot more art than I remember there ever being at an art fair. One booth in particular had some latex sculptures of people that was just freaky. I wanted the life size fully dressed maid sculpture. It was so life like that you expected her to admonish you for staring at any moment. Saturday I ate at the sushi/Korean resteraunt that opened up near The Edge. It wasn't bad, although not as good as Cherry Blossom or Yatsuba. It's close enough to home and the food was good enough, though, that I wouldn't avoid going there again. After that I went to see Monster House. I didn't realize until I got to Showcase that it was being shown in 3d. After Superman Returns I'm a little leary of new 3d movies, but i decided that this being a cartoon could work in it's favor. My hunch paid off. It was really cool. After that, I fought my way through Fart Air to get to Vault of Midnight to pick up some graphic novels. I'm really getting into Batman of late. Weird for a guy who swore off DC comics as lame and shitty with no continuity. Stranger things have happened, though. Apple's using Intel chips now. Go figure. Didn't do much in the evening. Ryan stopped by. I think he wanted me to go to a party with him, but I wasn't really interested. I figured Jon or Geoff would call, but no dice. I passed out sometime around 11pm. This morning has been really slow. Going to see Clerks II at Quality 16 with Troy and Randy at 3pm.
7/21/06
As requested here is a link. Pertinent if you live and vote in Ypsi.
7/19/06
Funniest thing I've seen on YouTube yet! Copyright infringment is your best entertainment value!
7/16/06
In the "Holy Sheep Shit Batman!" category today we have an article form the Livingston County press that points to how Republicans work on the local level. If anyone out there wonders why I left Livingston County after reading this, you should just slit your wrists and do society a favor. I think it's even more ironic that the Press has another article about how Livingston County residents are trying to show off their diversity in order to help business in the area. I'm laughing so hard, I'm crying.
7/15/06
There is some lively debate going on over at Alternet. Pay close attention to someone named Jenny in the comments section. She gets smacked down early, but later someone brings up the subject of trolls. I'm really starting to believe that "conservative think tanks" are paying people to troll progressive websitesl. I've suspected it for a few weeks now, but others are beginning to notice as well.
Also read this morning about rape in our military today. Here is a petition you should sign to let the Bush "administration" know that you won't tolerate this kind of behavior from American soldiers against their comrades.
Going to mow the back yard now. Hoping to finish AYTBN album two this weekend. Someday I need to clean up this site. It seems messy to me.
7/13/06
This is the best thing I've seen on YouTube yet. That is the type of video it was designed for.
7/12/06
Somedays it seem like it would be easier just to give in, shut up, and just ride the rollercoaster. I woke up at 4am angry. I was dreaming about arguing with my former neighbor, Brian. It put me in a foul mood. Then I got an e-mail from Jim that was a forward of a bunch of pictures of troops doing "good" work in Iraq. The first picture is of a soldier with a patch saying basically that he was doing the work that France, Germany, and Russia wouldn't do. I figured it was more propoganda. "Support the troop!" jingoistic crap. So I replied. I wasn't going to at first, but I was angry this morning already and couldn't stop myself. This is what I sent back (my only mistake is replying to all):
Democracy is not like a pizza. It can not be delivered, not even at gun point. Our kids are being grossly misused and misinformed. Please do not pollute my inbox with this short sighted crap again. If you really want to do some good, press Cheney to buy them some armor that works, some food that is edible, and some very much needed water, all of which they lack at the moment. Or better yet, bring them home.
This is what I got back:
get over it eddie, fuck man! a friend of mine, a marine, was killed last week, because he protected people his whole life. here is a pic. of him doing what he joined the marines to do. his name was Raymond Plouhar! that was sent from his sister, I hope to god you did not just send that bullshit email response back to his family...
I sent back this in return:
I'm sorry for your friend and his family. I didn't know your friend, I didn't know he died, and I never should have been forwarded this message without that information. But I won't "get over it". I have a friend who is likely going over there soon too. This "war" is wrong. We have been lied too again and again and I am done with being called "unpatriotic" for saying so. Do I want our troops put into harms way so that big oil can make more profits and pollute the planet further? No. Do I want to see PFC Andrew Beyer slaughtered because Halliburton robbed the coffers of the funds needed to buy equipment that works, food that isn't past it's expiration date, and clean water? Fuck no. Don't even get me started on how Bush and company have gutted veterans benefits and deny the National Guard of thiers. I'm pissed. I've had it and I'm not apologizing to no one for wanting every single troops life to matter for something respectable. This "war" does not allow for that anymore than Vietnam did.
I hope he understands. I feel sorry for his loss and the loss of Raymond Plouhar's family.
7/10/06
In the Christians are silly people department:
12 Biblical Principles of Marriage
1. Marriage consists of one man and one or more women (Gen 4:19, 4:23, 26:34,
28:9, 29:26-30, 30:26, 31:17, 32:22, 36:2, 36:10, 37:2, Ex. 21:10, Judges 8:30,
1 Sam 1:2, 25:43, 27:3, 30:5, 30:18, 2 Sam 2:2, 3:2-5, 1 Chron 3:1-3, 4:5,
8:8, 14:3, 2 Chron 11:21, 13:21, 24:3).
2. Nothing prevents a man from taking on concubines in addition to the wife or
wives he may already have (Gen 25:6, Judges 8:31, 2 Sam 5:13, 1 Kings 11:3, 1
Chron 3:9, 2 Chron 11:21, Dan 5:2-3).
3. A man might chose any woman he wants for his wife (Gen 6:2, Deut 21:11), provided
only that she is not already another man's wife (Lev 18:14-16, Deut. 22:30) or
his [half-]sister (Lev 18:11, 20:17), nor the mother (Lev 20:14) or the sister
(Lev 18:18) of a woman who is already his wife. The concept of a woman giving
her consent to being married is foreign to the Biblical mindset.
4. If a woman cannot be proven to be a virgin at the time of marriage, she shall
be stoned (Deut 22:13-21).
5. A rapist must marry his victim (Ex. 22:16, Deut. 22:28-29) - unless she was
already a fiancé, in which case he should be put to death if he raped
her in the country, but both of them killed if he raped her in town (Deut. 22:23-27).
6. If a man dies childless, his brother must marry the widow (Gen 38:6-10, Deut
25:5-10, Mark 12:19, Luke 20:28).
7. Women marry the man of their father's choosing (Gen. 24:4, Josh.15:16-17,
Judges 1:12-13, 12:9, 21:1, 1 Sam 17:25, 18:19, 1 Kings 2:21, 1 Chron 2:35, Jer
29:6, Dan 11:17).
8. Women are the property of their father until married and their husband after
that (Ex. 20:17, 22:17, Deut. 22:24, Mat 22:25).
9. The value of a woman might be approximately seven years' work (Gen 29:14-30).
10. Inter-faith marriages are prohibited (Gen 24:3, 28:1, 28:6, Num 25:1-9, Ezra
9:12, Neh 10:30, 2 Cor 6:14).
11. Divorce is forbidden (Deut 22:19, Matt 5:32, 19:9, Mark 10:9-12, Luke 16:18,
Rom 7:2, 1 Cor 7:10-11, 7:39).
12. Better to not get married at all - although marriage is not a sin (Matt 19:10,
I Cor 7:1, 7:27-28, 7:32-34, 7:38).
And people wonder why I'm not a Christian.
(Stolen from Slashdot)
7/ 7/06
This wouldn't be a problem if there was a world court.
7/6/06
It's T-dub's birthday! He is old now. Went to Q'doba to celebrate, which is paying off handsomely now.
Later, after work, Larry, Randy, and I went and checked out Cherry Blossom. It's a Japanese restaurant on State Street near Ellsworth. Yes it used to be a Chi-Chi's. Don't hold that against it, though. The place is fucking awesome! The atmosphere is very elegant, and the food was great. Slightly different menu than Yotsuba, but on the same par quality-wise. The only downside I saw was that they still hadn't gotten their liquor license yet. We actually saw people leave for that reason. We laughed at them.
7/5/06
My shed is gone. Thank you to all of you who helped tear down and throw
away all my backyard eye-sores. The dumpster left as I was getting home
today. The guy nearly knocked down my fence, but it's fixable. The post needs
to
be pushed back a little is all.
Hung out with Chris and Mary yesterday. I had a good time, but it was weird
not being able to leave and waiting for the breathalizer to go off (it never
did while I was there). It also made me realize how much I dislike Howell.
It's more a feeling than anything else.
I went and saw Superman in 3-D. It was ok. Good enough to have on dvd,
but not good enough to pay for it. I'd rank it just below X-men 3. Sorry
if my writing is perfunctory, but I've been more interested in living than
writing about it.
This is going to be my next new favorite band.
6/30/06
Guaco has left the building. Last night was a pretty good night. Guaco, Robin Clanard's punk band, came up from Memphis to play at the Elbow Room last night. The bar was pretty empty, but it went alright anyhow. I had a good time. After the show, the band and several more people all came back to my house to keep it all going. Again, a very awesome time was had by all. The boys in Guaco even signed all my condiments! At about 4am we all passed out. I, of course, got up at 7am this morning anyway, but I was able to lay about. Thanks again goes to Nancy and Kitty for squaring things so I could take the day off. No I need to figure out what I'm going to do with the rest of my day. I have thing to do, but I'm not very inclined to do them. I'd really like to go to a beach. Jon e-mailed me earlier and he wants me to go to the Pig tonight. Egads! Two in a row. I'm going to be partying straight thru until Monday at this rate.
6/28/06
Late post: This is a thing of beauty!
According to this I'm somewhere between a nerd and a geek:
"Re:Clasic anti Nerd Propiganda
(Score:5, Insightful)
by munpfazy (694689) on Wednesday June 28, @01:40AM (#15618760)
Nonsense, I say. Worse still - blasphemy! To place the nerds above the geeks
is an offense of the worst kind.
There *is* a clear distinction and a value hierarchy among geeks, nerds,
and dweebs, but you've got it all wrong.
What follows, I claim, is the one true classification of geekdom. It has
stood up to rigorous peer review (loud arguments amongst drunken physics
students) for years, and I stand by it.
A dweeb is someone without social skills who either doesn't recognize or
is unable to accept that they are unusual. They constantly *try* to fit in,
with disastrous results, and dedicate a significant portion of their daily
lives to obsessing over how to pass as normal.
A nerd is someone without social skills or popular interests who recognizes
that he or she is unlike most people and feels no shame in it.
A geek is a nerd with technical skills and passionate interests; in particular
one who has a myopic dedication to a particular specialty. (This is the subspecies
*true geek,* distinct from but related to the *common geek,* or nerd who
is generally technically savvy and useful to have around.)
To summarize, the dweeb is the guy wearing a slightly out of fashion hipster
shirt who generally creates embarrassing silences at parties by saying awkward
things about pop stars or sports teams.
The nerd is the guy who skips the party in order to achieve moderately high
scores on a popular video game while eating unheated canned peas with a spoon
and listening to recordings of experimental music.
The geek is the guy who skips the party in order to code a popular video
game, figure out the angle of repose one might expect for a pile of canned
peas, or compose and record some experimental music.
On the college campus, geeks make up virtually the entire population of physics
and math majors (as well as a majority in classics, many of the less trendy
engineering sub-disciplines, linguistics, physical anthropology, and some
of the more obscure languages.)
The nerds are the guys who drop out of school after one semester but stay
in a college town working in a bookstore, where they get great discounts
on whatever genre books they happen to like and talk to their geek friends
about writing their own books yet never seem to actually finish any of them.
The dweebs largely end up in engineering or the quantitative business disciplines,
in the hopes that they can earn enough money to buy the respect of powerful
and attractive people. Those in engineering have a tough time of it, as they
are publicly ignored by the normals whom they so admire while simultaneously
earning the scorn and contempt of the geeks in their departments. Those in
business do rather well, since they have a good chance at fooling their colleagues
into thinking that they are geeks. (Normals may not invite geeks to parties,
but they do like to hire them.)"
6/23/06
So I just started a biography of a well know right wing nut job. This book is supposed to be the most researched book on the guy possible and it's girth should be a testament to it being so. In this book there is a quote from this man from early in his carreer that really resonates today and should be forwarded on to anyone you know that may still be on the fence about this "war."
"We would like to see all peoples of the world enjoying the liberty
and freedom that we have. But it is written in history that when an autocracy
is removed
by powers other than the people themselves, that autocracy will be replaced
by an autocracy even more vicious.
Democracy has never been bestowed upon a people by an outside paternal
hand. It is only when their liberty is purchased by their own blood and
courage
that people are willing to fight to preserve liberty."
~Joseph Raymond McCarthy, Appleton Post-Crescent, July 3, 1939
Basically stated, democracy is NOT like a pizza. It cannot be delivered. And yes, it's that Joe McCarthy. The communist witch-hunt Joe McCarthy. This was during the time he was running his first campaign to be a circuit judge. Someone should beat Anne Coulter over the head with this quote.
6/21/06
From Ann Arbor news online edition:
Ypsilanti activates its 1st Amber Alert:
"Ypsilanti police activated what they believe was their first Amber Alert
on Tuesday, when a 7-year-old boy was reported missing. The boy's father
eventually found him safe in his former neighborhood. Officers said the boy's
father called police at 5:50 p.m., when the boy hadn't been seen since
3 p.m. The 30-year-old man told police he'd been looking
for the boy for nearly two hours. After police found the boys shorts and
shirt near a set of railroad tracks, the searched was intensified and police
called in a tracking dog from Pittsfield
Township, then from Michigan State Police. Officers saturated the area near
where the boy had last been seen, on Miles Street, and a helicopter was
called in from the Oakland County Sheriff's
Department, Sgt. Tom Eberts said this morning. Eventually, Eberts said, the
father thought to look in the area of Armstrong Drive and First Court,
where the family had lived until late last year, and
found the boy unharmed."
Yeah, this is how I spent my evening. I love living in Ypsi! I never realised just how boring Ann Arbor really is.
6/19/06
I stole this from Leighton so blame him. These guys have to be joking. Really.
6/16/06
Respect your elders.
6/15/06
Taken from this Slashdot article:
"Outing Greenhouse Deniers is Easy
(Score:5, Informative)
by Doc Ruby (173196) on Wednesday June 14, @11:45PM (#15537517)
(http://slashdot.org/~Doc%20Ruby/journal | Last Journal: Thursday March 31,
@02:48PM)
Of the hundreds of comments attached to this story, yours is by far the most
insightful and informative. I disagree with your polite "none very impressive",
and think you're wrong about "none in global warming" and "unqualified
scientist". That panel is composed of professional Greenhouse deniers.
They are "impressive" and "qualified" to testify before
a Canadian fake "Conservative" government that's hired by polluters
to protect Canada's giant fossil fuel exports to the US (our #1 supplier).
And probably dreams of a "warm Canada" their vast real estate holdings
can finally cash in on as people "migrate" from uninhabitable regions
to the south, while finally getting a year-round passage between East and
West hemispheres across the Arctic.
Just look at their actual resumes, of course not quoted by "Canada's
Fastest Growing Independent News Source", probably also funded by the
Canadian Greenhouse industry and their global Murdoch partners.
Tim
Patterson [carleton.ca] is a geologist, not a climate scientist - exactly
the kind of scientist the BS article excludes to fake its conclusion that
most Greenhouse scientists aren't qualified.
Boris Winterhalter [kolumbus.fi] is also a geologist, not a climatologist.
Geologists mostly work for the oil business, which is where most of the money
for the entire science comes from, their peers who review, their "next
gig pool".
Bob Carter [jcu.edu.au] doesn't even rate a page at his tiny Australian department
where he's just an "Adjunct" professor.
Timothy Ball [envirotruth.org]'s "EnviroTruth" org is a division
of the National Center for Public Policy Research, an front for Exxon
Greenhouse denial [sourcewatch.org] propaganda and other Vast
RightWing Conspiracy [google.com]
players.
Wibjörn Karlén [misu.su.se]'s research supports Gore, but he
signs the BS letter anyway.
Dick Morgan doesn't have an Exeter
page, nor does he have [google.com]">any
recorded association [slashdot.org] with the World Meteorological Association,
so he has no credentials whatsoever, apart from lying.
These people are professional Greenhouse deniers. That Canadian panel and
its Canadian tabloid (an obvious rightwing rag, just looking at its front
page) are cheap fronts for the polluters responsible for the Greenhouse.
They're not even trying to hide it more than a couple of googles and clicks
deep, they hate us so much. And judging from the hundreds of posts in this
story falling for it, we are that stupid."
Also reading this.
6/3/06
In the "You know you live in Ypsi when" department, I glanced out my window and saw one of the neighbor kids on a razor scooter butt naked. He had to be all of 4 years old and he got at least five houses away before his dad caught him. This would've never happened on Kay Parkway. The tears were streaming down my face from laughing as this kid was doing the same from getting caught with his pants down. Classic.
6/2/06
"The Republican leadership had begun assigning chairmanships in part based on how much campaign money a member had raised for other members." If this is how they do things, maybe we need to throw them all out. Every last one of them. It's this line of thinking that fucked the gulf coast during Katrina.
Hidden Blade is my new favorite samurai film, even surpassing (by a small margin) Twilight Samurai.
Planned on ripping out another stump and possibly moving a small tree today. That didn't happen. I checked the weather and decided it would be better to clean my car out. It's supposed to storm tomorrow. I've been working on music since cleaning the car. I think I have a new song done. I just want to pass it by Geoff first and possibly tighten up some of the voice samples before I master the track for posting. I have to go to a graduation party at 5pm and I have showered yet, so I'm bagging off for now.
5/26/06
RIP Desmond Dekker. The world is likely clueless to your passing, but some of us know and are greatly saddened by the news. The Ska scene will never be the same.
Beth and I broke up a little while ago. We're not even speaking right now, which night be a good thing for awhile, but is still sad. Going to see X-men with Larry and Randy tonight. Hoping to post some Oceanfront tracks on the Main site soon. I've been spending some time learning how to mix and I now have a mini-studio set up in the library. I still miss the Mackie's, but someday I'll get my own pair. For now I'll live with the M-Audio's as my mains. They're not bad; just a little too quiet for my tastes.
5/22/06
I got the scooter back this weekend. Thanks to Ryan Crane for helping me out with (read:build) the new shed and thanks goes to Jon Alexander for driving me out to Kay Parkway to get my bikes. It was a cold ride back, but fun none the less. I can't wait to start riding regularly. The gas savings alone will be nice.
5/5/06
I really need to spend more time with this site. My Powerbook's hardrive died, so it's been a few weeks since I was able too update, but that's not really an excuse. I didn't update all April. Not much has happened in that time. Things between Beth and I are strained. Stephe got her own place. My sister came out for a week, which was nice. The cats now beg regularly. Jon and I cut down some trees in my yard and I've begun digging up stumps. Eric Brown came out for a weekend and we went bar hopping, which I abhor. It was cool hanging with him, though. I've set up a mini-studio in the library for now, but I really need to get the basement framed. Then I can do the electrical and cabling. Once that's done, I can finish off the control room. Then I can take my time with the tracking rooms. I ordered some cheap studio monitors to get me by until then. Of course the first set was bunk, so I'm waiting for the new ones to arrive. I'll eventually use them for my near fields and buy the Mackie's Randy has (HR824's) when I can afford it. Ok, I'm rambling. New shed tomorrow. Then I can get the scooter and start saving money on gas again.
3/27/06
Wow, it's been awhile since my last update. The workout room is done for
the most part. The floor came out really good and the weight bench and elliptical
fit nicely. I can bench press without worrying about knocking into something
now! I've even nearly got the tracking rooms for the studio painted and sealed.
I spent this weekend getting the control room cleaned out. I scrubbed yesterday
after moving the washer and dryer. They tucked up under the stairs pretty
well. Tonight I spend cleaning out my gutters for a bit and then sealing
the cracks in the control room floor. If I have the energy, I'll Dry•Lok
the walls in there. I should be painting the floors at the earliest tomorrow.
On a different note, Geoff and I hungout trying to clean up some Fallow
Farm Quartet demo's to go up on the SUP site
on Friday. I got my Ypsi welcome while we were on the front porch taking
a break. Apperently, the guys nextdoor were going bowling and a friend of
there's brought over some girl. She was stinkning drunk, as the song goes.
Their landlady called the police and of course drama ensued. I love living
in Ypsi. That never would've happened on Kay Parkway. Anyway, the landlady
came over and apologized. Then I showed her the studio. She kinda freaked
for a minute and then was like, "As long as people are respectful." I told
her I work regular hours and never go later than 10pm, and this seemed to
calm her down. I still want to get the sound proofing going soon. I'm not
going to feel comfortable playing at any decent volume until then. I need
more $$$.
Three other things of note:
1)
Stephanie Targgart is staying with me until just
after her 20th b-day. She's been a great help with getting the house in order.
Jon Alexander has been a great help as well.
2) Chris Brooks' dad is in the hospital and may be dying. Chris has had a
rough couple of months and anyone who's not interested in helping the brother
out
can go fuck themselves. There, I said it.
3) Apparently, the answer to life, the universe, and everything is 42 after
all.
3/1/06
It may be the weekend before I get the pictures ready. Chill. Here's some stupid for you to get you all riled up.
BTW this website was getting a bit unruly, so I cleaned up the home page a bit. There are now archive links at the bottom of this page.
2/27/06
I painted the walls in the furnace/workout room. I also watched the video for the floor epoxy kit I bought for the floor. The prep is going to kill me. I'll need to get the squeegy from Kay Pkwy. Anyhow, it looks good so far, but the floor will have to wait until the weekend. Beth's coming by tonight to help me put up the curtains in the living room. They showed up Saturday. I can't wait to get this done. It's the second to the last thing I have to do in order to check off the living room as done. After that it's just sanding down the end of the wall trim to meet the corner. I may even do that tonight as well. I'll be taking more pictures and get them up soon.
2/24/06
I'm tired. It's been a rough few weeks and I really need to learn to pace myself. The kitchen is nearing completion. I got the cabinet doors up and it looks pretty good. Still wishing for more counter-space, though. I'll post more pictures soon as I finish the trim. The new curtains should be arriving anyday now. I wish JC Penney's had given me a proper tracking number for UPS so I'd know when they were going to be here. This weekend I hope to get the workout room done. I'm losing weight, but not in a good way.
Found the following this morning: "If there weren't sixty years and the unbridgable gulf between good and evil separating us, perhaps we could have been shopping buddies."
2/14/06
I have a phone number now! Go here for the info.
2/13/06
Added some pictures. They are on a new page.
2/5/06
Ok, I'm ready to tell you all the big news. I bought a house! I have to
apologize for my lack of posting, but I hope that one sentance sums up why
I've not been updating regularly. I've had my hands full of late. I took
posession of it January 27th and have been busy getting it ready for habitation
ever since. I would also like to publicly and profusely thank Beth. Without
her help and patience I would never have gotten through the last week, nor
survive the next few. She has done more than any single person I know without
me even me needing to ask. I would also like to thank Troy and Brian, my
cohorts in counter terrorism, for their advice and steering me to a good
loan officer (Karen Hallways) who in turn got me intouch with a good realtor
(Kathy Jackson (no relation)). If you would like to see some pictures, I
have a page set up that I will be modifying periodically as Beth and I remodel.
It will have a link on my Links page, but you can
go there directly from here too.
My bedroom and the second bedroom (soon to be Geoff Dailey's) didn't need too
much work, but the rest of the house was in some serious need. My bathroom
needed the toilet fixed so it could flush and the shower isn't exactly water
tight. The public bathroom leeks into the basement as well, but I believe it's
just a matter of sealing it up properly. The living room, as you can see from
the picture had this hideous wainscoating (sic). The pictures don't do it justice.
I decided to stick with the general idea but go for a solid black bottom. I'll
have pictures of the work Beth and I did up soon. My camera is at the house.
grr. The hallway and kitchen were in dire need of repainting, as well. They
had used five different colors for the walls and ceiling and, as you can see
from the pictures, the floor is trashed. I plan to gut the whole thing eventually,
but for now we're just going to paint it one solid relaxed color (instead of
purple, navy blue, olive green, mustard yellow, and white) with some black
trim. We spent yesterday and today priming it and by two o'clock we were exhausted.
BTW Randy and Milky will not be moving with me. He is keeping the Kay Parkway address as well as the phone number.
1/24/06
1/20/06
Why is this news? She asked for a vintage dress. That means pre-worn. The fucking thing had a previous owner. Get over it. There are far more important things to write about than a fucking dress. Such as this and this. No wonder the rest of the world hates us. We are collectively and terminally shallow.
1/18/06
For those of you who may or may not have not heard, Gandalf went in for surgery yesterday. I finally had his cyst removed and had his teeth cleaned. He also had to have two teeth pulled because they had gotten that bad. I should've had that done awhile ago, and yes I feel bad about this. Regardless, he came through ok and is home now. He's stuck in the basement control room for today, just to let the wound heal a night before Mask tries to remove his sutures. He is very grumpy, but conducted himself well. The girls at the Cat Clinic loved him.
On my big news, keep waiting. I have to. Hopefully I'll be able to announce something soon. If your on the Soiled Utilities Productions mailing list you'll get the news before I post it here, so shoot me an e-mail and join.
Now, fun with stupidity!
1/13/05
Greg Palast is cool. That's a fact. If you don't know why, then go here.
1/12/06
If you were on the fence as the whether Bush deserves to be impeached or not, read this. You won't even question the possibility.
1/11/06
Wow. It's been almost a month. Sorry, but it might be a little while more before I get to blogging regularly. Life is pretty crazy and I don't want to talk about it until some things fall into place. Be back soon.
Archive 3 (6/05 - 12/05)
Archive 2 (1/05 - 7/05)
Archive 1 (6/04 - 12/04)
