Neumu

Alright, it's nearing 2005 and I'm sitting at home tinkering around on my PC. I found this music site that looks worthwhile, so I'm posting a link.

Neumu = Art + Music + Words

SMiLE

.: I picked up the Brian Wilson| SMiLE album today. It's easy to listen to and has some great big bass drums in one of the tracks that I'd love to really experience, but I've got this neighbor I'd have to deal with. I'm not sticking it in my album picks yet, but I don't doubt that it will end up over there.

.: Well it's New Years Eve and the only thing I really am concerned with is the fact that I am NOT working on the most heinous night of the year in my profession, in my town. Can I get a 'Hallelujah!'?

.: I also have an inclination to hear The Dismemberment Plan's 'The Ice of Boston' whose lyrics I'll excerpt for you here:

Pop open the third bottle of bubbly
Yeah, and I take that bottle of champagne
Go into the kitchen, stand in front of the kitchen window
And I take all my clothes off, take that bottle of champagne
And I pour it on my head, feel it cascade through my hair
And across my chest...
And the phone rings.
- And it's my mother. -
And she says "HI HONEY, HOW'S BOSTON?"

And I stand there...all alone on New Year's Eve,
Buck naked, drenched in champagne, looking at a bunch of strangers,
Uh, looking at them, looking at me, looking at them, and I say,
"Oh fine Mom, how's Washington"

.: Dan here's to you and better times in 2005.

End of the year rant

It's over. It's posted.

Milfporn here = funny.

Freehand ampersand? Huh. Never thought about it. I just use the +.

I've been torn about the Firey Furnaces. I keep hearing conflicting stuff.

I can't find the Reese's Peanut Butter Cup Cookies. I will burn cities and eat giant lizards.

Go GU. After the article I read in the Stranger, http://www.thestranger.com/2004-12-23/feature.html
they need a boost.

Happy new year, one and all. Be safe. Hope you're doin' well Aaron.

HoustonChronicle.com

.: Here's an interesting recipe. It doesn't happen to say what to cook it in, but I imagine you can buy a microwave-safe cake pan of some sort.

bits and bits

.: As they say, it's not over 'til it's over, and I'm on a mission to grab a few more Christmas gifts. The ol' budget was tight this year and I had to put some gifts off. Tomorrow is payday and I predict it will cover the necessary expenditures, as well as allow me to pick up the Brian Wilson| Smile album which finally arrived at Boo Radley's. Seems they also decided to put a few on the shelf - 7 or 8 copies - which is a hefty stock for them. That is my sphere of influence my friends. It didn't hurt that it showed up on plenty of Best Of lists either. They also had a copy of The Fiery Furnaces| Blueberry Boat, which I have an alternative source for, but if there's a copy sitting there in front of me tomorrow it may become mine.

Hey, how about those Gonzaga Bulldogs? 2-1 one vs. top 5 NCAA teams! I didn't go to Gonzaga, and if you ask me how much I really care about basketball I'd reply "Not too much.", but I sure like to see them do well and I enjoy the buzz it creates around the community. Gives Spokane a bit of much needed self-esteem.

Question: Do you know anywone who has a nice freehand ampersand? I've been debating the merits of practicing that particular symbol.

OK, I'm going to listen to some music now and do some 'work' in iTunes.

Yahoo! Search

Apparently if you do a Yahoo! Search for 'milfporn' my blog comes up 45th on the list. Someone came to this site via that method, I imagine they were disappointed.

In the Hunt

I like cookies, and I like chocolate bars. I don't see a problem.

Games

.:Stuff to try out, if you haven't.

I can vouch for Sly Cooper and Katamari Damachy.

The Scalzi article is also very good, and should be read.

Offensive

Extra Ugly - T-shirts

Scalzi Link.

Whatever: Leviticans

Take the Lords Name in Vain Here

.: It just couldn't last could it! I'm sitting here listening to Transatlanticism since I decided I wanted to hear that damn song again. And NOW, NOW I found myself digging on the song I previously liked the VERY, VERY least on the whole album. The Sound of Settling with it's "Bah, Bah...Bah, Bah".

I have one Heineken and I desperately need five more. Fuck.

Coming Around?

.: Some will be glad that I've found a song on the most recent Death Cab for Cutie album to help redeem its existence.

Aftermath

.: I acquired The Walkmen| Bows + Arrows earlier this year and didn't really get into it, I probably only listened to it once all the way through and for some reason I dismissed it. It's been hailed as one of this years better albums on many of the lists I've seen. Today while walking home from work I was dialing through the list on my iPod and stopped on Bows + Arrows to give it a listen, maybe it's the new headphones (oooh, soothing warm bass), maybe it was the fatigue, but I'm sure I don't know why I've waited until today to dig up this gem. It's been added to my own picks for the year in the sidebar.

.: Christmas was good to me this year. I got to hang out with my cousin Marcus, and may get to again before he heads back to Bellingham. I will be enjoying The Return of the King sometime this week, in it's extended form. I just finished watching Best of SNL| Eddie Murphy. I'll be sucking the crap out of my carpet for weeks with my new Eureka| The Boss Pro, the worlds lightest cyclonic bagless vacuum cleaner, and once I obtain a USB cable that will fit it, because you just wouldn't want to include one as part of the package (feel my rage), I'll be copying, scanning, and printing my way to dear happiness with my new hp psc 1311 all-in-one printer - scanner - copier. Good food, good company, good beer & wine, my darling nephew, 3 hours of sleep and a slight hangover at work topped off my wonderful Christmas. Hope yours was cheerful.

Lists

I've spent the good part of an hour, probably more skimming throught best of lists, and found some nice sites in the process.

I've based nearly every music purchase I've made in the last two years on one thing, Pitchforkmedia.com. I will convert their Top 50 into a checklist of music to acquire. I will likely never have it all, but one of my little goals, one of the little things that keeps me going, is to get everything in the Top 10 of all their lists. If I ever succeed at that, then mayble I'll venture into the Top 11-20. This is quite a challenge because I of course want to buy new music as it is released, nonetheless I strive.

Through my skimming though, I've determined a sort of Top 10 things to get next (does not include Brian Wilson| Smile, which should be available for purchase at Boo's this week). I think that nearly all these are somewhere in Pitchforks Top 50, though I don't recall PJ Harvey. So here it is, my little list to live by for the next couple months:

Dungen| Ta Det Lungt
Fiery Furnaces| Blueberry Boat
The Streets| A Grand Don't Come for Free
Junior Boys| Last Exit
Devendra Banhart| Rejoicing in the Hands/Nino Rojo
Joanna Newsom| The Milk-Eyed Mender
The Futureheads| The Futureheads
PJ Harvey| Uh Huh Her
The Animal Collective| Sung Tongs
Kanye West| College Dropout

I *heart* quotes.

Thanks to DC Pol Sci - "When fascism comes to America, it will be wrapped in the flag and carrying the cross -- Sinclair Lewis"

Mott The Hinky

.:Well, The Arcade Fire is album of the year for Pitchfork and Tiny Mix Tapes. I guess I need to listen to it more, because a) I do like it and b) I'm just not hearing album of the year and I hate the feeling that I'm missing something.

One thing that intrigues me about music is that I can enjoy so much of the same music that my friends do and then disagree on something like this. For example I know there's a bunch of music that Dan digs on that I just don't get into, but I have immense respect for his taste & opinion because I know I can give him something like Broken Social Scene, or Sufjan Stevens, and he'll say 'Wow!'. Of course then there's 'My Morning Jacket', which he slammed. It's alright though, because for the life of me I don't quite hear the appeal of Autopilot Off, one of his picks for the year. I don't hate it, but, you know...

...if you wander over to I Do What I Can you'll see that I have very similar taste in music to Chris and he's given his nod to The Arcade Fire as well.

I haven't bothered putting together any numbered list yet and I don't know that I will. I think I bought about one-third the music this year as I did last year, and I could hardly give that the attention I should've. I don't know how I listened to so much music last year, but I couldn't get enough. This year is just different somehow. I've listed most of the stuff that I like from this year over on the sidebar, that's all from 2004. The album I find myself liking more than any other this year is the 2000 release from Clinic, Internal Wrangler. It came highly recommended from Pitchforks list of 2000's top albums. It only took a couple listens to adjust to, and now everytime I hear it I dig it more.

A final note on The Arcade Fire - if there's one thing I know about myself it's that if I don't get it at first AND it's as good as everyone says it is, it's probably only a matter of time before I'm hailing it as brilliant. There are plenty of examples of this in my past. I just need time.

Done

.: The End of the Year tape is complete, along with comments. Linky is in the usual spot.

Malware & Data Miners

.: God bless Ad-Aware!!!

.: I've suffered unthinkable torments at the hands of evil. I like to think that I do a fair job of upkeep and maintenance on my computer, but after today I will increase my efforts. I run SpyBot S&D and a virus check about once a month, I run Ad-Aware as well, but not as often. As I was saying, the last couple of days have been lame for my online ventures. Mozilla Firefox just kept crashing and getting hung up on stuff. I went in and did some cleanup, uninstalled some stuff I didn't need, shut down services, and disabled all manner of unecessary startup crap. Not the culprit as it turned out. A couple of weeks ago I began using AVG anti-virussoftware and it came up with three trojans that nothing else found. I figured most problems were taken care of, and so it was, for a week or so, and then everything went to hell. So I ran Ad-Aware today in hopes of finding something. I checked the settings, ran it and NOTHING!!! Arghhh! "There must be something else I can do," I told myself. I checked the settings again, I'm not sure what I did differently than the first time, but I ended up with a deepscan of the whole damn C: drive and my friend, that bastard turned up 18 Data Miners and 3 Malware programs. Well, I had to go mail a bill and hit the store so I fired up SpyBot and ran out the door. When I got home I was very interested to see if SpyBot found anything additional, nothing. OK, well here we go, fire up Firefox! and see what happens. And Holy Crap that shit loaded fast and all the pages are loading faster and with anyluck I won't be crashing anything this evening. I'm running that shit weekly from now on. Later.

Don't Miss This!

Because I think it's pretty.

Tools.

Here Kitty Kitty

.: I just remembered something that I wanted to post a few days ago. Sometime in the last couple weeks a local family lost their home to a fire and also lost some pet cats. A recent update in the 'news'paper a couple days later documented the charitable intent of the many kind people who offered goods and services to help the family. Apparently among these folks offering clothes, furniture, housewares and etcetera were people who also wanted to donate cats. Who does this? Who genuinely considers that one of this families top priorities is to replace their deceased felines?

Child's Play

.: The link takes you to a web site that wants people to donate $ or videogames to children's hospitals. Any moderate reader of the web is probably aware of Penny Arcade-who run this little shindig. Kudos to them for doing so.

You don't have to donate, of course, but if one has the ability, charity to some organization is a good thing-at any time. Plus, it helps improve the world, even if just a little.

And let's face it. The world needs improvement.

Dunno who might read this blog aside from anyone who would already know about Child's Play, but fuck it. That's not the point at all-as I'm sure you all know.

It's time!

Fuck did I hate 2004. That's why I'm so glad it's ending. And part of it ending is my mostly annual tradition of the End Of The Year Mix Tape.

Who will make the cut? What was I listening too far too much this year? Will anything from 2003 make it, since there was no 2003 tape? And why the fuck is Master of Puppets being considered for inclusion? HAVE I LOST MY MIND???

I'm making the tape now, and let me tell you, the word is: excited, and everyone wants to know all about it!!!!

But don't think I'll just tell you now! Oh no. As any woman will tell you: I'm a big tease! I like to stretch things out!

(Note to actual women: I'm a total slut and will fuck on the first date. Sooner, if possible.)

So as I make this tape, I'm thinking of the accompanying essay, which I will probably post in Storytime, since that section of my site never gets enough time. I'm also going to be working on an EOTY rant, where I pretty much outline the 3 things I liked about this year, and the 15 things that can lick my ass and die a horrible, septic death all alone and, hopefully, beaten by hobos. Drunk hobos.

Coming soon! Don't miss it!

Wired News: Home-Brew IPod Ad Opens Eyes

impressive.

Odds are

.: I had a better day than you did yesterday. 'You' in this case being everyone. My sister, on the other hand, did not fare as well, as her car was stolen.

Crimes

.:Lo', The new Blood Brothers album Crimes appeared in my postbox yesterday, courtesy of my friend Dan. Joy! I've listened to it numerous times and I think that it is quite good. I know that Dan talked of it some over at his site, but I didn't give that a thorough reading yet, but I know he liked it as well. I don't imagine he would've given me one if he didn't find it worthwhile.

Initially I've found that I like it better than Burn Piano Island, Burn!, as amazing as that album is. What I like is that it isn't quite as Loud, Fast, or Hard. I like all those things, but as I age I find that my propensity to listen to such music for any length of time decreases. I could listen to Crimes all day long. Easily one of the best new releases I've heard this year. Thanks Dan.

Funeral

.: I've listened to The Arcade Fire's Funeral 3x in the past 24 hours now.
I dig on it. It's going to improve as I listen to it too-which is good, but lucky. Let me explain.
I read a lot about how TAF 'rocked'. Or produced 'the best rock album of the year' or shit like that.

OK-TAF...doesn't rock. Or at least, they do not rock as I understand rock. The Hot Snakes rock. The Secret Machines rock-or at least they come pretty close to rocking. But Sufjan Stevens-he does not rock. Autopilot Off-rock. Blood Brothers-would rock if they could write a song that didn't have 12 time signature changes in it. Broken Social Scene-not rock. Foo Fighters-rock. Andrew WK=ROCK. Crystal Method-not rock.
(I have tried to stay away from more extreme bands here. It is my opinion, of course, that Slipknot rocks. They are metal, though, and that's pretty much a prereq for a metal band. If you do not rock, you cannot be metal. One easy way to see if your metal band does not rock-do you have a keyboard player?)

Don't get me wrong-The Arcade Fire is GOOD.(so are all those other bands) They seem to have a style nailed, where you start a song quietly, and then crash in at the end with a cool hooky riff, or beat, or something that grabs and says 'listen to me again!'. I like that. I like hooks.

Which is why it was easy for me to discard my first listen to Funeral. I was expecting a rock album, and it did not rock-but it had songs that insisted I listen to them again. So even though I felt initially disappointed, I was able to recognize that this was based in what I thought this album should be-and not what it was. The difference meant that I was more open to the 2nd chance I gave Funeral, and more songs have begun to appeal to me.

However-and this may have something to do with it-I don't see myself going to see them play live tonight. I just don't see them producing a live experience that makes me want to stand up and jump around(which, is part of what I feel a rock album should do).

Now, I understand that my view here is a little narrow. I don't know that I'd call TAF anything but an alterna-rock band. They've got a touch of shoegazer, a definate Trail of Dead influence(I think, but less guitar oriented), and they certainly come out of a punk tradition(the one that The Talking Heads are best known for). I also recognize that this is all about my ego-but whofuckingcares?

Quirk-rock? I dunno. I like it. But anytime you have to put a modifier on the word 'rock' that means you're diluting the rock element of that sound.

So-enjoy The Arcade Fire. They're good.

Earth to Obi Wan, come in Obi Wan

.: Can't wait until everyone's blogging about the Holy Wars.

& Then There's This

.:

Cheese is tasty.

.:Lord. That's the sentence of the day. It was by no means a bad day. That's just how I feel right now.

.:Picked up The Arcade Fire -- Funeral album yesterday. It's quite good, even upon first listen. Over time I can see developing quite an affinity for it. It will make my picks for the year I'm sure, which really isn't hard this year. I personally didn't discover much music this year that left a large impression. Maybe none. I've ended up with a lot of music that I like but nothing that was what Broken Social Scene, Radiohead, The Shins or The Decemberists was to me last year. Nothing quite as intriguing as Prefuse 73 or momentous as My Morning Jacket. I'm looking forward to the Pitchfork Top 100 for 2004 to help prioritize the spots I need to fill for my yearly purchases.

.:I'm wondering how Dan is taking the shooting death of Darrell Abbot. I don't imagine I'll be wondering long. When I first heard of the shooting, and that it was in Ohio, my first thought was that it might be Guided By Voices. I believe they're on tour right now and they're from Ohio. It's interesting the connection you develop to a musician when you don't really know them. Coming home from work in April 2004 I walked in to find my roomies somber faces glued to MTV during a commercial break and they reported the news of Kurt Cobain's death. It's sobering when this sort of thing happens.

Pants

Yes!

Temperment

.: 3 posts in 48hrs.
Nice to have you back. It makes this whole thing just go lots better. I don't have to force as much content out, people have someone they like who they can read about; once again it becomes less about me being an asshole and more about me playing foil to your good nature.

I really want to hear The Arcade Fire, too. So.

Hmm.

.:I listened to Weezer's 'Pinkerton' last night. I'd listened to it once before and it didn't really do much for me but last night a started to dig it. When I woke up this afternoon it was in that place in my head where music stays.

Er...nifty.

.:Watched American Splendor tonight with my brother. A good movie that reminded me that I met a gentlemen last year when working at Bennidito's Pizza who claimed to be the stepson or nephew or some shit of Robert Crumb. The last name on his check was Crumb, so who knows.

.:I'm checking out the Friendster thing.

.:I've had the urge to use the slang 'Hella' lately. Don't be surprised if I do. I first heard it on a road trip to San Francisco around 1995.

.:Coming attractions: Where the hell have I been?

Sweet

.: I'm back! But, I'm tired and hungry. I'll post later, but I'm fuckin' glad to be here.

Must work this into conversation

.: "If I had a reason for everything I did, I'd be crazy"-Fighter, 8 bit Theatre.

I've finally figured it out.
The Livejounal- http://www.livejournal.com/users/razorclaw/
will be where I put ideas up for discussion. People can talk back easier there, and, it seems, want to.

Here-the blog, I will just put up tiny linkages, like w/todays comic. There might be tiny things, and comments are certainly welcome, but until Aaron gets back, I don't expect my content to be too deep. I hope he comes back soon, as I enjoy conversing with my friend.

The web site-which you can clicky to if you press the 'My Betterest Friend' link on the right-is where I'll do the longer thoughts, and give less than a fuck if people want to talk to me about them. Show reviews, poems, rants, all that stuff. Lists of linkages. Thinks I like. There will be email links, but nothing 'postable' since I consider posted discussions akin to blog porn; watchable, but not meant to be private, and email to be like the letters of yore, when they were written on substances known as paper and kept inside your jacket for warmth.

I don't expect anyone or everyone to go all these places all the time. I just wanted to establish some kind of guideline, for myself at least, and let everyone know so they can pick and choose which side of me they'd like to sample today.
I'm a buffet!/special in joke

New reading

.: I was reminded last night that it's a very, very small world.

In the meantime, read the link. Good stuff, once again, from my patron Saint.

whoring out

.: I just wanted to have There Is A Blue Light somewhere, so I put it in the LJ.
Well, that, and I wanted some kind of fucking post there.

There's something more than profoundly beautiful about that song, and when you couple it with the last movie I saw-Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind, which is great- I think I may be revealing more than I know about my mental state.

The house is throwing a party tomorrow. And the old friend is coming back to visit. That tingle I get when something good is coming-that's what I got.

Mornings

Woke up. Didn't really want to get up. It's Nov 18, 2004, and I don't feel like going to work. Spenet 3 minutes, just standing in front of the bathroom mirror in my underwear, wondering if I should just say the hell with it and call in sick.
This isn't depression, understand. I just know that I don't have a lot to do today that needs to be done. I'm tired. Woke up tired. I've mostly recovered from the cold, but tendrils still remain.
It just feels like one of those days when I'd be better off playing Metroid and kickin' it on the couch than doing anything useful.
Word is, the new Metal Gear Solid is worth playing as well. But I have Metroid and it's sucking me into the Aether world. I'll take it, right now. There seems to be new and interesting things to look at, and I find myself scanning everything in the game, sometimes 2 or 3 times, just to get a handle on what the fuck it is I'm looking at. The controls are as they were in Metroid Prime, and I'm very focused-far more than usual, at looking around at everthing to try and get the most out of my adventure. It's a little difficult at the start, insofar as once you set down a path, going backward isn't made possible. I figure that will change, but right now it's a little annoying because I don't always know that I'm chosing to go on a one way path, and I haven't always explored enough before going through the door.
I haven't even been at work for an hour and I want to go home and take a nap. Just blow this day off, drink some tea, play videogames until my head asplode.
I think I would've done it if there'd been someone to blow the day off with. It's that kind of day-you can't quite justify saying 'fuck it' yourself, but someone else giving you that nudge-and you're gone. You've decided to do it before you've decided to do it, you know?
The sun looked like a sigil of the apocalypse, gray clouds diffusing the faint light around it giving us only a yellow-gray ball of doom. There was an accident on Hawthorne bridge in the jousting lane, which had me arriving later to work than intended.
All signs point to staying the fuck home. I should listen to myself more often.

YAAAY!!!

.: There are times when I see or hear emails such as "watch greatest incest video ever", that I cannot wait-am actually praying for armageddon. For the gods to come, and raze the earth, and take the mostly good and punish everyone else.

Then, things like the link come along. You'll need Flash. And sound.
But it just makes my entire day better.

I need to know who does this song. It's like...balm for my soul.

Edit:
Mein Fuz, whom I love, had found this:
http://www.tism.com.au/

New

.: I've done a new rant. Just something to think about in the troubled times and all. Comment if you wish. Link is where you'd except it to be.

Wha?

.: So...I'm flipping thru the blog, no? Call it narcissism, but I do like to reread what I wrote, sometimes. There can be jems in there-and not. Occasionally there are comments-but this is rare.
Then I read this comment on the last post:
"Doug said... hola .. if you're interested in finding out how deep the rabbit hole really goes contact me 3:18 AM"

Now, really. What the fuck is going on here? You are not Morpheus, and I am not fucking Neo, and these little bullshit movie referencing headgames are something I quit giving a fuck about about 10 years ago. Being cryptic is bogus. Just fucking say you want to talk to me, or x,y,z or goddamn email me; it's not hard. You click on buttons. These buttons produce symbols on the screen known as letters-and I read those letters, decrypt what it is you're saying and we have a dialogue.

Otherwise, you're wasting my time.

When it's over...

.: Yeesh. I'm tired. A little sick, too, I think.
I've been trying to combat, in some manner, the depression that has sunk into not only my friends, but myself, due to the election results. The linkage shows the interesting debate I've been having.

Sigh. It's fucking depressing. Being a cheerleader when, really, I should be advocating the end days I think. But-and here's the rub-I don't quit. If I did, I'd've stopped writing long, long ago.

I've had the adventure of a couple 'dates' in the past month. I guess they were dates. I just went out, talked and drank beer/ate food. It never felt like a date-mostly b/c I wasn't thinking; hey, this is something I'd like to turn into a romance/sex/whatever thing. I just figure-fuck it, am I having a nice time?
Nor did any kind of romance/sex/whatever type thing present itself. Women. I think they know they should avoid me right now. Maybe I should move so I can get laid again. Yes, getting laid is still something I'd like to do. Nicely, so that nobody gets hurt, but without anyone asking me for anything.

I don't feel like doing anything but dictating the terms of a relationship, right now.

I won't deny feeling all fucked up. But I really don't want to feel pathetic. Hence, I need some goddamned rest.

And I need to work on the fucking book. Time, I just need more time.

GodDAMN I'm a dick

.: I know that I shouldn't be wasing my life on Magic General Fourm discussion boards. I know this.
But it's just such a safe place to be a dick to people like Cronac.
http://tinyurl.com/5hwtn
For example. Or
http://tinyurl.com/6ujd6
But truthfully, you have to see this to understand why I'm calling him smallshoes.
http://tinyurl.com/4xrvc

I know, I know. I shouldn't be such a spiteful, hateful fucker to people who have different values than I do.
Guess I'll have to work on that.

Messenger of fear in sight

.: Currently listening to Metallica's Master of Puppets.

Fuckin' a. I don't care what I say about their '90's career-and I say a lot, about how badly it sucked.

But jesus christ on a pogostick getting hummers from Ann Coulter, that album stomps the living shit out of everything. Turn that bitch up to 11 and scare the neighbors.

Because sometimes, that's the only thing that makes any fucking sense.

Something that's louder than everything else.

Brew Day

.: It's time. I've put it off far longer than I meant to, but today...
I brew.

I'm making a Dunkle. No, I don't exactly know what that means. But it looked interesting and dark, like my halfbeaten heart, so I'm going for it.

Besides, it's a good 3 weeks before I find out if it's any damn good...and foist it off on any unsuspecting fool who has to drink the crap I brewed up.
But I hope not. I hope it comes out great and I get hella drunk.

Tonight; Twilight Singers. Sexy.

Oh, Aaron, wherefore art thou?

Why I'm not voting Republican

.: "I don't think I'm good enough in bed to fuck if I
vote republican. And there's no way you're that
desperate."

Shit; is any Republican good enough in bed to fuck?

Today's wisdom

.: "The point is: I don't care how fat you are; you don't travel south of the Mason-Dixon line for pussy."

Brought to you by The Onion.

Fucking computers

.: It's late. I'm tired. I want to make a post on my web site and I can't-but this has to do with not being able to put a new music file up.

So.
The fucking cat is meowing-and it's not my cat-and I'm tired.

Saw some dreamscrewing things at the SG event tonight. Good times. But I won't claim..well much considering my alcohol leve.

Gone, baby, gone

.: It's been a very intense week. My sister turned 30. Two of my good friends have left town. I'm looking for a new roommate with my other sister/roommate.
I'm stressed. I want to get laid. I'd like to get a good drunk on. I miss my friends. I wish my ex wasn't pissed at me. On and on. It's not a good or bad life, it's just a life, and I can tell I'm being called to take a larger part in it, but I'm having trouble finding the heart to do so right now.

I'm kind of addicted to clicking the 'next blog' button at the upper right hand corner now. I've stumbled across foreign language blogs(spanish and french and some scandinavian script I couldn't figure out for the life of me), poets, programmers and politically aware folk.

It's almost as cool as metaspy.com, since you don't know what kind of randomness you're going to get. Seems like the next blog is just chosen at computer whim, so you may even end up where you started. Metaspy is a little...stranger. You can predict some of what people are searching for(porn) and sometimes even more specific things(MILFporn) but occasionally you get things like 'Sunnydale school quality', or
"festival of trees 2004 season of light".

Visited Aaron last weekend along with celebrating my sister's birthday. Got a ton of music off him. Sufjan Stevens and The Black Keys are awesome. Pinback, Sun Kil Moon, are worth investigating. Superchunk just floats off me-as does The Exploding Hearts. Not good nor bad.
My Morning Jacket-just makes me tired. Alt-country ususally does that to me, tho. Glenn Branca just irritates me.
But then there's the Blue Comets. This is the band Pitchfork is hyping as being great?
You've gotta be fuckin' me. They're fucking boring 'rock'(think Stooges/MC5 era) shit that isn't really being done well by anyone right now that I can think of-and the Comets do NOT have the attitude to make it work, and the songs are, say it with me now, dull as flyshit. I can just see them getting on stage, and shouting at the crowd "Are you ready to ROCK?!" about 20 times through 4 songs before actually fucking ROCKING. And I'm sorry, but I want to treat bands that do that like Iraqi prisoners.
Oh well. Different strokes and all that.
The TV On The Radio EP ruled, though.

Everybody should think about registering at votergasm.com

My timing sucks

.: Once again, I find myself way behind the curve-or very very far ahead. It's been 14 years since I worked at McDonalds.
Now Playboy wants to do a spread of hotties who work there.

There's something obvious and tragic about this. I just can't put my finger on it.

But it's also kinda cool. Or-I'm really lame.

Gone fishing.

.: So hey, I've been on a cyberspace hiatus. This is a quick hello. Borrowing a friends internet connection. What's been up you ask? Well only major life decisions. Turns out I am moving. Quite suddenly the opportunity came up at just the time I though I should change some scenerey and I am moving down to Portland, PDX, PTown... By next month this time I'll be living with DM, Nad, Dan himself blogging from the same internet connection, ranting and goading and churning your chum. See you then.

See what happens?

.: We get all disconnected, and/or start doing other shit, and suddenly, there's no posts.
What have you all been doing with your lives without the ability to check in and see our innermost thoughts?

Me; I'm gonna go get a beer and write until things start to make sense again. Life has, once again, shuffled a new hand up for me.

Oh, and I have a mohawk. Not for much longer, but still, I have one.

What a night

.: I'm glad it's over. I don't even want to be home. I want to be somewhere anonymous. I want a fucking reset.

Jesus is fucking metal

.:I always kinda figured he was cooler than those religious freaks made him out to be.

Good News, Everybody!

.:I'm not evil. I'm insane.

I don't sleep,

.: I like the word 'drunklaimation'. Nice.
Just figured I'd get the ball rollin' again, since 200 posts is a kind of milestone, and then-what?
Sleep has been patchy. Not just because of the heat.
I am kicking the writing gear back up again, but it's slow going sometimes.

One of my roomies and I went to a country bar on Fri. He got digits from one who left early, and was taken home by another.
I sat there and wrote, scaring off females.
Come Mon-guess who's calling him?
If you said 'both' then we have a winner.
I think I'm going to sit here and keep writing, scaring off females.
I'm told I need a booty call. That may be true, but I don't have the wherewithall to actually look for one. Let's face it; booty calls require at least some effort-but I don't have it in me right now. I mean-it would be good to not lay awake at night, thinking so fucking much, it would be good to get back to a state of 'normal'.

It wouldn't cure things. I'd still have a sense of longing that wouldn't go away, I'd still be wishing for apologies that don't matter, I'd probably drink a little much, and I haven't the slightest idea if I'd write enough.

At the moment, I'd take the ability to fucking sleep at night, though. The chance to dream a new dream. Hell-I would've liked the old dream to have come true, even though I'm a little vague as to what that old dream is.

I guess that's something to think about. I don't take the 3rd step before the 2nd. Ever. Wonder how that affects things?

The link is just something I found that I thought was cool. No real relation to this post.

200 Posts

.: as of Dan's drunklamation.

.: Just wanted to let everyone know I'm drunk. Not too drunk. Just a little. Buzzworthy, like MTV.

It's on, oh yeah, it's on.

.: Would you like some W with your fries?

inspiration

.: Kables has a fun post on his site. After a fun holiday weekend he returned to work to find this at his cubicle.



Read all about it.

re: A.C. Newman 'the slow wonder'

.: There is something magical about this album. It took me quite a few listens, most of them quite casual, to grasp it, but last night, lying in bed, it touched me.

humor

.: God is having a very good chuckle. The laughter mentioned in my last post is in regards to girls. Night before last I basically decided that I was going to make some 'moves' on various young ladies. This after nearly a year-and-a-half since my last relationship. So yesterday at work, no joke, they all came by within the same hour, just daring me to make some kind of decision on which move to make first. Then today I run into this girl who I've known for 8 years and always had a crush on. When I first met her I thought she was too young, it was that awkward stage between adolescence and adulthood for her and I was in my mid twenties, then she ends up dating a guy I know who happens to be my age. They were together for quite some time and have a child together. Insert a bit of laughter. Well I run into her now and again over the last couple years since they split up and always talk myself out of making any move. Then she dates someone else I know, albeit briefly. I hung out with her a couple months ago with the idea that maybe something could happen, then I got distracted or distracted myself purposfully but unconsciously. Today: I run into her and she looks amazing. I am excited and we plan to hang out later this week. By the way, she only lives a block away. This evening I walk over there to see if she's around and find out her ex has a job offer in another city and that she needs to decide whether or not she is willing to move, in fact she is supposed to decide tonight. Otherwise I guess he won't take the job, because of the child. Unabashedly I let her know that I would be sad to see her move, that I am always excited to see her and for whatever reason I never really pursued her but at this point I am interested. I'm sure this must have uncomplicated her evening entirely. I'm not sure how I feel about the fact that I had to put that out there for her. All's I can do is wait, and I don't know how interested she is but she's always seemed so. I guess I just hope and pray for the best whatever that result may be.

now...

.: ...I use Mozilla Firefox! I tried Mozilla a bit over a year ago and had Java issues. I'm trying it again, and everything seems to be working fine. "Bye, bye IE."

.: ...God is laughing at me. Which is fine, because of all the qualities God surely has 'funny' must be in the Top 3.

.: ...I cook dinner.

.: ...I'm listening to The Cars.

.: ...I want a new bicycle. Go Lance.

.: ...I like Icehouse beer. Yes, it's true. Considering it's price and the fact that I tried it from a can, it is quite tasty. Maybe it's me.

.: ...my bathroom is clean.

.: ...I want to read "Life of Pi" by Yan Martell

.: ...I think that Cosmo is part Penthouse Forum for women. There's at least elements.

.: ...I know Icehouse is brewed by Plank Road Brewery. Plank Road Brewery is owned by Miller. I still like it.

Six

.: Ready, Set, Go.

uh oh & oh boy

.: Lord help us.

the slow wonder

.: Picked up 'the slow wonder' by A.C. Newman of The New Pornographers today. Needs more listening.

I was messing around with photoshop creating a collage of sorts and I made this, which I kind of like.

ummm...I gave myself a haircut.

Mmm...beefy

.: I guess the hamburger is 100 years old. Time for some fuckin' grillin', baby.

Of course, there is such a thing as too much:
http://abclocal.go.com/wpvi/news/62904-burgerchallenge.html

I mean, 6 pounds. Really.

Found this Capt. Think you'll dig it. http://69.93.188.167/scell/splinter.html
I'll probably post it on my site later.

prediction

.: The new Spider-Man movie will make, bare minimum, a juhzillion dollars. And I don't know the numbers that constitutes big movie budgets, but Spider-Man 3's will be gi-normous.

The Truth

.: "For if this nation is to remain true to the ideals symbolized by its flag, it must not wield the tools of tyrants even to resist an assault by the forces of tyranny."- Justice John Paul Stevens

Found the article that's linked above today.

I just gotta wonder; how fast will the Bush Administration find the person who wrote this book? Before or after they find out who leaked Valerie Plume's info?

via Dead Parrot Society -- X-Men 2.5

Would the real Professor X please step forward. We have mutantkind

Given

.: I'm going to buy beer now.

Here's an "artsy" photoshopped image of the madness. I didn't have presence of mind to take a picture when it was absolutely crazed so this is a photo after it slowed down.

One more notch.

Well, today marks the end of my 5th Hoopfest work-weekend as a barista. It's the busiest weekend of the year for us, and I imagine any downtown food/beverage vendor. It's completely bonkers. The 1st link shows you the numbers and this one is a map in PDF if you're so inclined.

Caveat

This tiny, miniscule dot on the web is a forum for the expression of thoughts, inanity, concerns, tribulations, love, humor, opinion and utter randomness. If you don't like what you find, don't get upset. If you decide to be upset anyhow please let us know so we can discuss it here.

Merton

.: Among the books I've been picking my way through over the last few months is 'Run to the Mountain ~ The Journals of Thomas Merton Volume One 1939-1941'. The last few pages I've covered have been in regards to war, particularly WWII. Thought I'd share some passages I think are important.

May 26, 1940 (p. 221)

The cause of England in this war can be said to be just only in-so-far as it is somewhat less unjust than that of the Nazis, who quite clearly wanted the war, and started it, and England has a natural right to defend herself. She has been atacked, yes, and she is defending herself it is true. Whether what she is defending is, in any other than a very superficial sense, just, is quite another matter.

And if we go into the war, it will be first of all to defend our investments, our business, our money. In certain terms it may be useful to defend all these things, an expedient to protect our business so that everybody may have jobs, but if anybody holds up American business as a shining example of justice, or American politics as a shining example of honesty and purity, that is really quite a joke!

And if this is a joke, it is also a bit blasphemous to get up and say that just because Germany started the actual fighting, ultimately Germany is to blame for everything, and God is on the side of England and the democracies and all enemies of Germany. That would make God the defender of more kinds of dishonesty and trickery and avarice and bribery and hypocrisy than a person with a tender conscience can bear to think
of.

June 16, 1940. Olean, New York (p 231)

...It is possible to imagine a man coming silently out of these woods into the open grass space before me and aiming a gun and shooting me dead in this chair, and going away again.

Even though there is sunlight, the woods might well fill, all at once, with the clack and roar of tanks. The airplane that went by an hour ago might have been filled with bombs, but it just wasn't. There is nothing too fantastic to believe any more, because everything is fantastic. There is no fighting here now, but there could very well be plenty tomorrow.

The valley is full of oil storage tanks, and oil is for feeding bombers, and once they are fed they have to bomb something, and they generally pick on oil tanks.

Wherever you have oil tanks, or factories, or railroads or any of the comforts of home and manifestations of progress, in this century, you are sure to get bombers, sooner or later.

Therefore, if I don't pretend, like other people, to understand the war, I do know this much: that the knowledge of what is going on only makes it seem desperately important to be voluntarily poor, to get rid of all possessions this instant. I am scared, sometimes, to own anything, even a name, let alone a coin, or shares in the oil, the munitions, the airplane factories. I am scared to take a proprietary interest in anything, for fear that my love of what I own may be killing somebody somewhere.

Even then, though, property is not the only thing wars are waged for...

June 25, 1940. St. Bonaventure, New York (p.233)

If we are ever going to have peace again, we will have to hate war for some better reason than that we fear to lose our houses, or our refrigerators, or our cars, or our legs, or our lives. If we are ever to get peace, we have got to desire something more than reefers and anaesthetics: but that is all we seem to want: anything to avoid pain.

It is terrifying that the world doesn't wake up to this irony: that at a time when all our desire is nothing but to have pleasant sensations and avoid painful sensations there should be almost more pain, and suffering and brutality and horror, and more helplessness to do anything about it than there ever was before!

The last passage was written 64 years ago, almost to the day. How do you think we're doing?

Scalzi

Thanks to John Scalzi I now feel a little organized and less ashamed. Watch.

the dream's the thing

.: Seems like we both been having odd dreams. I had one that the girl was seeing someone else-the morning before she told me she was.

Yesterday, in a nap, I had one where I gave her a hug and forgave her. And I totally meant it. But I was also sneaking a peak down her back to see what color underwear she was wearing(blue, I think). Woke up feeling ok. How about that?

Let's hear it for love, eh?

Dude. Austin is the jewel in the shit that is Texas. Don't do it. Save some $ and just travel down there for SXSW sometime. You'll have all of the fun and none of the taint that is Texas.

Getting a motorcycle, now that's cool. Dad bought one. Digs on it, especially in San Fran.

There's something else, but I'm forgetting, probably on purpose so I can get some work done. But I'm taking Friday off. Thurs=good times.

Do they need baristas in Texas?

This cinches it. I'm buying a Harley and moving to Austin. Who's with me?

Wilco: A Ghost Is Born: Pitchfork Review

Pitchfork has it's say on the new Wilco. Rob Mitchum isn't impressed. Whether I'll agree or not, it's a well executed review.

Sleep Cycles

Yeah, so, umm, I dreamt about these this morning. Kind of out of nowhere, but certainly intriguing.


Sweet.

1st Wilco review.

Well, here's the first review I've seen of the new Wilco album. It's been streaming on their website for sometime now but I have been avoiding it. It's just not the same as buying that brand new CD, slicing into that sucker and giving it that first listen. I look forward to it. The review is good. 5 of 5. Not that it really matters much to me. I find it unlikely that I'd be disappointed. Nonetheless, it's good to see.

FYI: Butter

It may interest you to know that I love butter. If you know me you may already know this. Another way to say it would be to state that I like extra, extra butter. Thus the relevance of this fancy device.

The Arcade Flyer Archive

This is pretty sweet.

Brings Real Arcade Play Home

Vectrex

Today has been filled with the funny

.: I NEED the shirt that says: My Killer Robot Skull-Fucked Your Honor Student.
I'm not shitting about this. I must wear it in public and be worshiped.
Love me, all of you.
And when you make the statues, pad the groin. PAD IT!!

Pics

.: Dude, I just saw the pic you posted in your profile.
That's fucking sweet. Maybe I'll try and do some similar so we can be profiled by the FBI.

GOAT: A Tribute to Muhammad Ali

Saw this on The Charlie Rose show tonight. I'll take 2.

GOAT

.:"I don't know if it's cowardly to tell you by email, but I wanted to let you know that I'm seeing someone. " she says.

And I knew this already, somehow. She was/is too cool/pretty to be left single for long, and quite frankly, hasn't been single since she was 18. So.

I really want to go home and never speak of this again. I really really want to go fucking home and just tell the world where it can go.

I knew this was going to happen, and now it has. Yay. Nothing to see here, please move along, let me just hurt again, ok?

lots and lots and lots.

.:I can't speak to Aaron's dislike of Transatlanticism. I figure I'm in a place where I'm going to like songs that are about longing in some manner(and that album is nothing without unfulfilled desire) and DCFC's record is hitting me at the right time.
The title track really caught me, and so I listened to the rest. Or kept listening to it over again. Who'd'a thought I was a pop music flunky. I try to add harmonies to Slipknot, so you can just take my opinions for what they're worth.

School of Rock-should be watched by anyone wanting to start a band. It's fun for everyone else though, unless you hate Jack Black. I don't, so yay me.
X-Men 2. Good friggin stuff. Want to see it again, just haven't made the time.

I'd rather attempt to recessitate my own heart than ever see A Mighty Wind. It just looks cripplingly boring-and worse, unfunny. I didn't care for Best In Show, though. Whale Rider is really good. 21 Grams is also well done, but they use a gimmick for reasons I cannot understand, and it takes away from the movie. I haven't seen Intolerable Cruelty, and that's in part b/c Fuz hasn't been around-he's my Cohen Bros. movie buddy.

Alaska. My trip was uneventful, and I'll probably talk about it on my web site, since if I don't, all I have are bits and pieces of me screaming.

Saw The Chronicles Of Riddick. I like Vin Disel. I think this movie was trying to do way too much though-someone let me edit that fucker before you see it, and you're set.
That said; I'd see it again, if there was beer involved. It's entertaining enough, and what-you wanna see fucking Catwoman?

I should be doing work, but instead...

hmm

.: Something about doing the < blockquote > list thingy affects all the line spacing afterwards.

Uncommon Occurrence

.: I like movies but I don't go to them very often and I don't rent them. Mostly because I prefer to spend my money on music or videogames. I don't have use for a Netflix account because I wouldn't watch that many, it's just as economic to buy a couple used DVDs now and then. I dropped by Blockbuster today on my walk and picked some up. I don't really like Blockbuster, but they're close by and I won't be paying any late fees on these:

- 28 Days Later
- Runaway Jury

I've heard all over the place that '28 Days Later' is good. I never heard anything about 'Runaway Jury' but it has Hackman, Hoffman, and J.Cusack so it should be good, I'm not expecting genius from it. Besides, the preview was intriguing and you know that's a good indicator.

There's some other stuff up there that I may need to check back on in a couple of weeks. But first I'll do some research at The Flick Filosopher.

Stuff I'm thinking about picking up:

- Intolerable Cruelty
- A Mighty Wind
- School of Rock
- X-Men II
- 21 Grams
- Whale Rider

Thoughts?

It's been a productive weekend. A weekend made for moping.

.: I'm not living up to my potential. Oh well, who says I have to. But maybe I am living up to my destiny. IF everything is predetermined, IF God has a plan, well then, maybe I'm playing right along. And if so, who am I to fuck with it.

.: Stayed up too late playing Rainbow Six 3 on XBox LIVE. Team Survival was the game, played through numerous maps with a decent crew. I figured out that it's best to play on a dedicated server, a box that's just hosting w/o it's owner playing. The maps change predictively, no getting kicked off for unknown reasons, and time between rounds to change up your gear if you need to, no rushing into the next round, but no lingering waiting for some guy to decide what he wants to play with. In short, it's all preset. It was fun, some of the most fun I've had on LIVE since I've been using it, only three months. I do plan on upgrading to a faster connection. I have a 256k DSL line that averages about 192k up/down. It's merely adequate for LIVE and is starting to feel that way for general web use.

.: I'm going to start taking a day every week or so to try and give a good listen to albums that I don't particularly like, by artists that I'm not particularly fond of, that my friends and/or the general underground listening public seem to dig on. The reasons for doing this:

-So I don't listen to something once --or less-- or twice before deciding that it's not worth my time.
-If I still don't like it, then why?

Today's special: Death Cab for Cutie Transatlanticism.

I listened to tracks from this before and I really hated it. The thing is, I know a lot of people who love Death Cab. My friend Ben feels The Photo Album is genius. It was my first Death Cab exposure and the only thing I could think of the first few times I heard it was The Lightning Seeds. It still sounds similar to me, but after awhile I started to dig on it. I'd even say I like it now. Do I hold it in highest regard, like Ben? No. So when I was initially turned off by the songs I heard from Transatlanticism I pretty much decided that that was that. Then Dan, of all people, tells me he likes it. My world was falling apart.

When I heard 'Title And Registration' I writhed, and then 'The Sound Of Settling' with it's "bah bah, bah bah", please spare me. Giving it most of an entire listen today on my walk I determined something. Generally I either hate the lyrics, and dig the music or vice a versa. Some of the songs just come off as way too sappy for me I guess, but there is something there that merits further listening. Now, if I can figure out what and/or why everyone loves The Postal Service that'll be something to write about. I like it some, but don't understand the hype. It's like a puzzle, this music thing.

Next week, Dashboard Confessional? Right, not gonna happen. Maybe Sunny Day Real Estate, the band everyone loves. It baffles me.

Glory Days

I was eleven when the A-Team came into my childhood and made everything wonderful. Here's some pics. I look forward to watching the DVDs that I will be buying. I may even shell out for the Dukes of Hazard while I'm at it. And you may as well know that I plan to get the whole Battlestar Galactica set too, someday.

Thanks go out to The A-Team Shrine

Tech Support

Xbox Solution Forums - Customer Service

Hell Yeah! It's Kaboom!

Check it. Kaboom!

Un Fun.

I think I may have conjunctivitis.

Music

.: It should come as no surprise that the new Sonic Youth is very good. Three tracks stand out right now:

1. Pattern Recognition, 2. Unmade Bed, and 5. Stones

I really, really like Unmade Bed but then I found myself particularly astonished by Stones, good stuff. What else did I listen to this evening:

Sufjan Stevens - Seven Swans and Ghost - Hypnotic Underworld

Listening to Sufjan is always cool and I'm finally beginning to dig the psych-folk-rock grooves of Ghost. I picked it up a couple of weeks ago, but hadn't found the appropriate time or mood to allow it a reasonable listen.

.: Update - Sonic Youth on their Leno appearance played Unmade Bed.

Good to know.

Guess I can go ahead and plan that picnic.

Weather Forecast Warm for the Next 15,000 Years

For music fans.

Well, I've never heard of Robert Quine but it sounds like I should hear him.

SY

Tomorrow it is mine. And they're on Leno Wednesday night.

He's dead

.: Reagan died last Sun.
I respect the man as a politician.
That's where it ends. I don't even know that I respect him as a man. So much evil was done under his watch. Not to mention scaring the hell out of me as a little boy-nuclear war seemed far more likely than it does now.

But Alzeheimer's is a shitty way to die, regardless,(my grandpa had it) so I'll hold my tongue. Go ahead, click the link and see the discussion. You can judge for yourselves.

Complete with swimming iCons

iMac Aquarium

via Advice Goddess Blog

Quote I liked -

"You know, back in 2000, a Republican friend of mine warned me that if I voted for Al Gore and he won, the stock market would tank, we'd lose millions of jobs, and our military would be totally overstretched. You know what? I did vote for Al Gore, he did win, and I'll be damned if all those things didn't come true."


--JAMES CARVILLE

Is it true? - Gates holds a first-look contract for *all* Apple technologies. If they come up with something, he gets the first peek at it. He has an 8-or-9 figure investment in Apple stock. Through his support for the MS Office suite on OSX, he decides whether Apple lives or dies. Whimsically.

Bill's planet: Surrender, Dorothy.

Posted by Crid at June 3, 2004 02:47 PM

".: So why do we have the word 'daylight'..."

.: So why do we have the word 'daylight' but not the word 'nightdark'? Just popped into my brain as I tried to think of a title for this post. Why? KoTOR. Ever play one of those missions in a game that you think is going to just be fun and quick but turns out to be fun, then fun and long, and then long? Of course you keep playing because it's fun and you think it's going to be done anytime now, not that you're really thinking about the time, mind you. Yeah. That happened to me last night. I'd already been playing quite awhile, finished up a level and was actually going to stop when out of nowhere comes this level that is just too cool to turn off. So I keep playing. Then the sun starts to come up, and then the sun is up and then it's 6:45AM! and I'm going to bed.

I've decided that this entire post is the title of this post.

best news I've read in a long time

.: Fuckin' A.

Oh Daisy!

Welcome to Hazard County

KoTOR II: The Sith Lords

It's not being made by Bioware but sounds pretty good nonetheless. Nine months they're saying.

I tell ya, it's a good game.

...and then there's this.
BioWare: Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic Awards

British Game Winners

Feb 25, 2004 -- Old News but relevant since I played KoTOR all eff'n day yesterday. Plus it's given me some ideas for what to keep my eye out for used - Call of Duty.

I been readin'

.: I saw that letter in the Spokesman Review. Bah. The Shrub has presided over what?
The economy is vibrant and strong where and to who? In Oregon, we can't pay for full years of schooling for our younglings, so I ask; who's benefiting under GWBJr?
Those million new jobs? What kind of jobs were they? In what industry? Because a million new jobs at McDonalds level does not boost the overall well being of this country. If for no other reason that they have no health care, so again: who's benefiting under this?
Those members of the administration have presided over the greatest debt in history, created in under 3 years, and some of the biggest human and civil rights violations this country has committed in the last 50 years. Start with Camp X-ray, holding people without trial, and just move on up to the Iraqi prison scandal.
To cap it all off, where does he say people should go for their research? www.georgewbush.com.
Because The Shrub would NEVER lie to further his own gain, right?
So fuck that. And fuck anyone who just believes in this president without actually doing that research. I can fucking prove those abuses. I bet with just a little effort, I can find out that those jobs are not jobs that would elevate a person above poverty level. To call me a dumb liberal is to open up the biggest can of whup-fuckyousilly-ass I can possibly find, and while I drink it and crush it closed on your head, you can suck it.

Sorry. The current administration is liars and thieves and murderers, and while I don't expect greatness from my leaders anymore, I'd still like someone who actually considers the needs of the many before the needs of the few.(or the one, Kahn echo)
Mr. A Ho is, of course, being far more subtle, and I applaud him, but I don't got time to bleed, as they say.

Xbox will carve it's niche of Live material out, and it will stay in the console game just becuase of that. Tycho at Penny-Arcade said that you can't fuck with their Live service, and from what I've seen, that's true.
But 1) I don't think online gaming is ready for prime time yet. I don't know that it ever will be except to the hardcore. Hell, the internet isn't even for everyone, and that's far more accessable. Plus; you cannot take away from the fucktards in online gaming. There are too many of them, and too few of you.
2) Common sense moves help you. We like being able to play our old games; Sony was a genius for putting backwards compatability into their system, Nintendo foolish for not doing this. If nothing else, you've got all those old games you can re-market, as SquareEnix did with Chrono Triggger and the Final Fantasies. People bought that shit. Hell, I did.
If you can't follow up on the smart moves of your competitors, then what the hell are you doing in business?
3) The library of games really does matter. Nintendo is getting away with it, so far, by having titles of exceptionally good shit that plays into the nostalga factor. But there aren't enough of them. So what are they doing? Expanding what was possible by allowing games like Resident Evil 4 to exist on this system.(Mmmm..RE4. Fucking love that series.)
But I think the Xbox is suffering in part because the range of titles you can play is minimal. I don't see a whole lot of RPG's for example, or much unique content that really must be played, as well as a poor relationship with the mecca of all console gaming; Japan. It does have the best graphics, and some fantastic titles-but not enough of them, and, from what I'm hearing about the Xbox2, Microsoft isn't listening to the consumer base. Too bad, because I really do believe that competition is a good thing, and I don't want to live in a world where my choices are the PS2 and nothing else.
Of course, I don't want to live in a world where my computer operating systems are Microsoft and...
Yeah, I use a Mac, but it's not like Apple has become a serious competitor. They're working on it, but you get my point. The problems that plauge Windows operating systems exist because they can. Sony will fall into that trap if they're allowed to.

Madeleine is a cutie.

I'm going to Alaska in a week. Should be interesting.
Irony moment: saw this at gamespot today. Aaron; we're playing this when I come visiting, yah?
Link: http://www.gamespot.com/xbox/action/chroniclesofriddick/review.html

Work calls. I rant no further today, here.
love

A.Ho's Photos -- get em' while they're hot --

I started a separate page as a photoblog, some people got emails about it. I primed it with older photos taken over the last couple of years. I need to get the battery cover of my camera fixed so it's not such a pain to use, then I can start collecting newer photos. Not that there will be many, I'm not much for snapping pictures, but once in awhile I'll put something new up. Link can be found on the sidebar.

Future of Consoles

Dan-O linked me to this. Interesting. Microsoft has their work cut out for them, for sure. If the XBox 2 isn't backwards compatible I think the rides over, which I think stinks. Halo 2 is going to carry the box pretty far and LIVE has a million subscribers so it's not like they don't have something going, the question is how much more do they need. I guess the answer is content. I don't have a problem with their amount of content, for me there will always be too many games to play, there's just not enough time and it's not my top priority.

The Dukes of Hazzard: The Complete First Season

Cool.

ROTFL

Dan Reynolds is precious and cute. He wrote a letter suggesting people do research before dismissing the qualities of The Chief in a letter to the editor. At the end of his incredibly persuasive rant he recommends starting the task at The Chiefs honorable re-election website. While your there, face-to-face with pure, unbiased information, do some homework on John Kerry as well.

A former locals thoughts on Sasquatch.

Here's some words on Sasquatch from Kables. He lives in Portland but grew up in Yakima, to me that's local.

A Nod From The Goddess

Kind of cool how a little something like this can make a persons day a bit better.

This is not my itinerary.

There is a bit of fun happening this weekend that I will not be part of. The Sasquatch festival is tomorrow at The Gorge. It will be a day filled with music, music that I am partial to.

I’ve never been to The Gorge. I’m not a fan of crowds. Move that crowd to a big field, far from my house, with porta-potties, expensive water and potentially hot-hot sun and I like it even less. I get anxious so I choose to avoid these events. Nonetheless, if I were more comfortable in such surroundings I would love to be there. The Gorge sits on the bank of the Columbia River Gorge and is said to be one of the most beautiful outdoor amphitheaters around.

Most of the bands that I would choose to see will be playing the mainstage. Here they are as a matter of priority: Sleater-Kinney, Built To Spill, The New Pornographers, The Shins, Cat Power and The Postal Service. Those last two could be swapped. There are a couple of bands on the secondary stage that I wouldn’t mind seeing too. The Black Keys are good and they play during the set of The Postal Service. It’s quite possile I’d choose their set. The Long Winters are fully pop-competent, but they play during The New Pornographers and on into Sleater-Kinney. The Decemberists are who I'd really like to see from the second stage. They'll be playing during Built To Spill and The Shins. I’ve seen Built To Spill, they were good but it probably could’ve been a better show. Seeing them again would be great given the possibility that they could pull off a mind-blower. I heard that The Shins weren’t so shit-hot live in Portland recently so I could duck and catch The Decemberists then.

Lollapalooza is coming to Auburn. Broken Social Scene and Sonic Youth will be there. I’ll give a hypothetical itinerary for that festival when the time comes.

Madeleine likes to have her picture taken.

Shrek 2

.: The Cousin and I went and saw Shrek 2 this afternoon. I haven't seen a movie in the theater since, I think, Kill Bill v.1. I go through phases. This morning on my walk for coffee and breakfast I quite abruptly decided that I needed to see a movie. I've been too stressed out and busy for my liking and the things I normally do to relax just haven't been cutting it. In fact I'd say they've been adding to the grind. Laughs we're needed.

I didn't see Shrek in the theater. After all the hype I figured that it couldn't be that good and my friend Ben confirmed this. So I was quite surprised, when it got around to being in front of my face on video, to find it quite entertaining.

Of course I was subjected to the requisite trailers as well. The only one that stood out I can't remember the name of. It's from Pixar and has superheros. They're called 'The Incredibles' I think. It looks good. I will be there.

Fin.

Testing the new photo-functionality. This is my nephew Sean.

Clearing the air.

I like a good downpour, and we're getting one. Feels good. Well worth the mugginess leading up to it.

geek riots

.: So I went to see Fear Factory last night. Alone. I think there were at least 9 metal girls there I wanted to have sex with. I'm probably understating, but for our purposes, we'll say 9. Of those 9 metal girls, I'll let you guess how many had boyfriends.

Still-aside from sexual frustration-it was a good show. The band didn't really kick in until the 4th song, but when that song is Zero Signal, one of the best goddamn metal songs ever, I figure that's a good time to find your legs.

I left the show sweaty and happy about it. Just a little sore in the neck, which thankfully is about the same today. I stretched out for 30 minutes before I went to the floor, though, so obviously that helped. And don't tell me I didn't exercise; my thighs have bruises on them from where I beat them playing airdrums.

Having no beer at the house(a capital crime) I stopped at the Safeway on the way home. I could feel the salt on my skin flake off as I moved through the store. Fuck 'em. It's 1230 on a Wed. I need beer.

1am is not the time to start thinking heavily about your life, unless you have someone to bounce ideas off of. I shrugged off the fact that I didn't have someone to have sex with in my pseduo-delirous state, finished my beer and went to bed. Most of the time, it's still good to be alive.

Emmylou & Patriotism

Found this in the newest Esquire -- "Patriotism can be good or bad. Knee-jerk patriotism can be very bad. I'm patriotic almost to the point of self-consciousness, but I love my country the way I love a friend or a child who I would correct if she was going the wrong way. Who I expect the very best from." ~Emmylou Harris

Could happen

.: Sometimes I want to just throw all my stuff out, give it away, whatever and just start over. I guess I'd need to keep some clothes. I'd buy a couple books, a jigsaw puzzle and some crosswords. I'd get a bicycle, an acoustic guitar or maybe a violin. I'd move into a smaller apartment, maybe a studio, get a new bed or futon. Or maybe just a nice sleeping bag. I'd need some pencils and pens. Pencils for crosswords and pens for journaling, which I may or may not do, but I should have pens. I'd cut my hair, hell, maybe I'll get my hair cut. I'd pick 50 CDs to keep and buy a little stereo. Maybe I should do that. Give everything a couple of listens and sort through it. Or just go with the gut. I know what is worth keeping. In ways I think I have the simplest lifestyle of anyone I know and sometimes it all seems too demanding and superficial.

Grumble

I've been in a mood lately, man.

Eff the RIAA

.: According to USATODAY.com, "The average amount of time annually that Americans spend listening to recorded music has declined, with the drop expected to continue." The graph shows that Americans spent 290 hrs/annually in 1999 vs. 228 hrs in 2002 and a projected 195 hrs in 2006. That may have something to do with declining CD sales vs. file-sharing, no?



They cite this source -- Statistical Abstract of the United States, 2003.

DSL

My DSL is back, I have a new phone number, and I found Battlestar Galactica for my XBox today for $20.

Yo Capt

.: Found an album by The Circus Devils. Wouldn't care except Pollard is involved. Sounded ok; like a dirtier, more hard-rock GbV thing. Make it spacey hard rock. Thought you might be interested, didn't want to wait for email.

Ho-ly Fuck

.: http://www.austinchronicle.com/issues/dispatch/2004-03-19/cols_ventura.html

Uh...I know I'm preaching somewhat to the converted, but after reading that column, all I can say is; if Bush is elected, facism will soon follow.

And it scares the hell out of me. Our worst enemies; we're looking them in the face every night on the news.

What is happy?

.: http://www.plastic.com/article.html;sid=04/03/31/15161640;cmt=17

Go ahead and start with that. We'll talk when you get back.

In the meantime, I'm thinking of this-happiness can only be considered once your needs are met. The homeless don't give a fuck about free speech. They want a roof and 3squares a day.

Once that's met, though, then what? We should be doing something with ourselves that matters. That let's us know that life can be more than just sleeping/eating/fucking.

I need to make art. But if I can't, will I die, or just be so unhappy that the life/death question becomes moot?

The Maggot

.: Listening to the Melvins lately, b/c...well, I wanna. And I gotta say, when they're on, nobody can fucking touch them in the realm of Heavy Metal. Oh yes. And The Maggot is the best example of this ever. The sequels, The Bootlicker and The Crybaby are also very good, but nothing epitimizes Heavy Metal like The Maggot does.
It makes me wanna get really stoned and headbang.
And eat pussy(while stoned, after headbanging.)
What can I say?

Cavat; when The Melvins are off, they are sludgy noise that bores the fuck out of me and I'd rather use my fingernails to do a lobotomy. My lobotomy.

March 11th, 2004

I hope that the entire world is mourning.

It's not the first cultural sweep I've missed, though.

.: Well, maybe I'm just missing something then.
Don't get me wrong; they don't suck. I just don't see how they seized the day here, you know?

I, too, have seen them.

.: I've actually seen the first two seasons and most of the third. I think they're very good.

.: Dude, I saw the first 4 episodes of the Sopranos.
Didn't get it. I mean, it's good, but not brilliant, not Homicide or early Moonlighting or Farscape, Angel, whatever. It has boobs, blood and they say fuck. It doesn't suck, but I fail to see where it's better-or even equal, really- than anything Martin Scorsese has done.
So save your $$; rent the gangland adventures first, see if you dig on it.
I think it's an East Coast thing. The West Coast drama wouldn't be so...typical.

Master Sword Forged

Cool. Thanks for the link Dan.

Ouch, but I won't Cry

This must sting.

Money better spent?

For almost $40 less than the Star Blazers DVDs I could get the first four seasons of The Sopranos

File Under -- Christmas

Boltz

LInks

Read My Boobs!
No Fat Trucks
All cunts should be represented.

Dan...FYI

.: I'm not sure what that URL thing is for because it doesn't show up on the actual blog page, so links have to be added in the actual post with the little link doodad to the left of the B.

Something hideous should be done with this

.: But I'm not going to tell you what.

the new war

.: Will be over water. Freaks me out. Of course, the link just tells you how much companies lie to you.

And I liked Star Blazers, but WOW that's money that could be used to pay for an entire month's worth of beer. Maybe a month and a half.

$336.00!?, Yikes!!

Star Blazers

I think they'd make a lot more fucking money if they just gave it a wide release.

Parade

.: They know I am feeling weak. That's why the hot, hot girls are parading themselves about in my presence. Their attempts to lure me into glorious adventure make me silly with a mournful sort of glee.

.: Broken Social Scene's feel good lost is a very good album in my opinion. It is almost entirely instrumental with brilliant percussive touches, beautiful trombone and lovely song structures that build almost imperceptibly. The Thrills album grows on me. It is good solid pop, nearly quirky and not at all awful.

.: I have beer. I have noodles. I have nothing to put on the noodles. I have beer.

Run, run,run but you sure can't hide...

Huh. How's about that...Spokane is wired. Really, really wired.
Never woulda thunk it.

Point 1) Fuck I'm tired of penis spam. I just had to say that.

Point 2) The 3rd draft of my book is done.

sounds like...

.: I'm listening to The Long Winters When I Pretend to Fall, the first track reminds me of The Monks of Doom, the rest of the album doesn't.

Terabyte Triangle

Well hmmmm...

sometimes...

.: I have a hot dog and a coke.
.: I go to the music store and they have nothing and sometimes I go to pick up an album I've decided to buy and there are five or six more I desire. So, today I bought Broken Social Scene's reissued first album feel good lost and The Thrills So Much For The City. I have no concrete opinion on either one as of yet and I got them both for under $20 but, I feel I may have jumped the gun on The Thrills. As much as I trust Pitchfork Media I sometimes stray and maybe I shouldn't. The Thrills were on Letterman and had a good show. I often don't even like performances by bands I dig when they're on Letterman so I figured it must be safe. It is certainly not bad, it just isn't much.

yee and arghh

.: So, I've been waiting days for DSL. I signed up for it with Qwest a bit over 2 weeks ago. A few days later the modem was delivered by UPS, then a couple of days later Qwest called me, with a recording, to let me know that the service was ready to go. Then I tried to install the software for the modem and it says that I should have a welcome letter from the ISP I chose, SISNA. I still have not received said letter and have had no luck connecting without it. I have no idea if I need a password or anything and cannot even finish installing the software. I called and emailed SISNA tech support only to be told to call a given number by an email, or transferred to another number when I call one of the numbers I have. I even got a message where I could leave a call back number. Have I heard back yet? No. So I tried to call Qwest today and can't get through.

Another strong review.

I bought Beyond Good & Evil out of the blue, having seen it for $19.99 on the GC. I checked some reviews and decided to make the purchase. With all the favorable reviews I was incredibly disappointed to not like this game, at first. It seemed cheesy and ridiculous, but I didn't give up. I'm starting to figure that, like music, some of the best games may not click at first.

XIII

Here is a good review of the game XIII. I haven't played as far into the game as this guy so I don't have quite the same view of it yet. He complains about having to play a certain section 50 times over. Yeah, I had to do that with a section too, but I mostly enjoyed it because when it came down to it it just had to be done that well. And he's right about the music, it rules. The only thing I don't understand is his reference to aiming problems in Rainbow Six 3. That's a damn good game, and I never had any problems aiming quickly and smoothly, any problems I had were a matter of the number and quickness of enemies.

Ian MacKaye Interview

Read it.

and they're gone

Tickets for The Pixies went on sale today at 10a.m. They sold out by 1p.m. Thankfully, and thanks to Vince, I have one. I really wish more people I know were able to get them. But as they're not playing Seattle or Portland, I'm sure that plenty of folks from those locales snagged some.
Ok, I'm in total disbelief! I just looked at the tour schedule again (link above) and they're only playing 5 shows in America, all the other shows are in Canada and Europe, and they're playing in Spokane. That's crazy. So it's quite possible that people from all over will be coming to see this show.

me likey

What a Crappy Present - CD Gift Advice, Parents and Kids

NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOooooooooooooooooo!!!!!!!!!

http://www.muppetcentral.com/news/2004/021704.shtml

Couched

I've been in video game mode all week long and actually most of last week too. Call it a craving. I have more than enough to keep me busy through March and probably April right now but I want more. It has become difficult to stay away from EB Games and more difficult yet to leave without spending money.
There will be Halo on Tuesday night, like last week, and probably next Tuesday also. I'm in training, on Ubisoft's XIII though. I cleared through quite a few of its levels pretty quickly the other day, then realized that the difficulty was set to 'Arcade'. They don't ask you to set the level prior to commencing this graphic adventure. 'Arcade' is the default and the easiest setting, so I upped it to 'Realistic', the most difficult setting, 'Normal' sits between the two. It's much harder now. Almost painfully so.
Also played this week P.N. 03 and Sphinx and The Cursed Mummy. PN3 is cool, a tactical arcade shooter on the GCube and Sphinx I really need to play more before I comment. Most everyone says they like it. I had minor concerns right off, some are aesthetic and some relate to gameplay.
After quite a few listens I'm starting to get 'The Rapture'. Their album Echoes will make you want to move if you let it. I don't find it incredibly inspired, as of yet, or groundbreaking and I have a hard time considering it Pitchfork Media's #1 album of 2003 (espescially over Broken Social Scene). But Interpol's 'Turn on The Bright Lights' was their 2002 pick for #1 and it took me a bit to get into also. My feelings on that album? Well, I listen to it more often then Wilco's 'YHF' and Wilco is the proverbial shit, in my book. Interpol fashioned a brilliant album.

FYI -- My top picks of 2003

1. Broken Social Scene ~You Forgot it in People
2. Radiohead ~Hail to The Thief
3. The Shins ~Chutes Too Narrow

I also recently picked up Sufjan Steven's 'Michigan' and I have to say that had I gotten my hands on it in 2003 when it came out it might've displaced the 2 or 3 spot. That was a hard record to get my hands on.

Deep Thought

The more I listen to it, the more I feel like I've heard it before.


...word for the day: Twerp

Anxiety

So I get this beermaking kit from my Dad for christmas. I like beer. I like making things. I like cooking. Seems like a natural fit, no?

I make the beer last Sunday. I had equipment I didn't even have a use for. Fuck me. And I don't quite make it right.
Sigh.

I tried, I really did. But even though I'd read the instructions 3x, I still short circuted a few things. So for the past 3 days I've been all down on myself for fucking up this beer. Making beer really isn't hard, and I want to do it right, but noooo. I don't even know if the fucker is gonna ferment, for christssakes, as I put the yeast in too soon.
Today I hear a gurgle from the closet.

Well goddamn. Maybe it's all gonna work out, you know?

Aaron; like the new name for the page.
Monestaries are overrated. There are other filters.

And FUCK George Lucas.

Han shot first.

Original 'Star Wars' Trilogy Set for Fall DVD Release

Yahoo! Movies: Full Coverage - Original 'Star Wars' Trilogy Set for Fall DVD Release

Bird news.

a new customer for Rand McNally

I suppose...

...the only way to forget the shit I don't care about at all would be to:
a) never ever watch tv
b) or listen to the radio
c) or log on to the internet
d) or talk to any one who ever does a, b, or c

this means I must join a monastery.


of course as soon as you click on that link you'll be reminded too. I apologize.

Don't Show Me That!!!

Here we go now.

In other news...

I'm spring cleaning.

Crass?!

Since when are tits crass? Leave this shit alone because shit happens, and even if it was a 'stunt' who gives a flying fuck. With all the lowbrow crap on television that people are allowed and encouraged to watch I think we, as a society and country, can deal with seeing a teat. Get the fuck over it.

Whew...!

My love affair with the idea of owning an iPod is finally over. I'm grateful.

Dude, Fuzzy loves his. But the new ones, he says, are not as good a deal so look into what's the best thing.

...

I know it's a chunk of money, but I think I need an iPod.