soon to come; gatsby review. had it done, looked good, disappeared. how pissed am I?

the Real Santa Claus was 5'6 and Turkish. . .

There is a very cool series of brief articles in this week's NY Times magazine: The Year's Best Ideas A-Z. Stuff about the best way to skip a stone, a new take on a serious education issue, translucent concrete, some gross jewelry that we're bound to see, and a bunch of other wierd and cool stuff to check out. So do!

Ladies and Gentlemen: Whiplash the Rodeo Monkey. Click the link in the article to see the pictures...

Today we'll discuss the flying lawn mower.

Death by Flying Lawn Mower

Video of a Flying Lawn Mower

Are they good or are they bad? You decide for yourself.

Here's a cool page of MP3s, that's worth going to check out here and there. Maybe you'll find something cool like this live version of The White Stripes doing "Jolene." Just scroll down a little ways and you're sure to find it.

Here's a player for the new Wilco album, A Ghost is Born. It's pretty good stuff. I dig 'Hummingbird" a whole lot. These guys are consistently solid songwriters. They also have a new interview on KCRW . . . check the sidelines here to the right for the link. Jeff Tweedy sounds a little like the '70s John Lennon here, too. Wilco has links to a coupla other bands that are cool, like The Autumn Defense. Some good music there.

Jon Spenser's Blues Explosion. These guys are the ultimate "get-up-outta-that hole" band. They're high energy, fast, rollickin' and damn proud of their name. It appears about a dozen times on every album. I wouldn't have it any other way. These guys have a new album out, too: Damage.

Hey Mario, can you work some of your charm and magic to get our boys back out on the ice?
I think folks around these parts are starting to really miss their hockey. I know I am. I may not follow the Penguins as fervently as I do our beloved Steelers, but after a while, you notice it's gone. I've noticed lots of dedicated Pens fans though (Melczak: "GO PENS!!!"), who are still wearing their gear about town. Pride yourselves dedicated Pens fans . . . Pride yourselves.

Ok, this is pretty cool, and must've been designed with the blind in mind.

Speegle, is like Google, but it speaks the results to you. Pretty sweet, and kinda funny when you type in a search query like "pillow fights" . . . Anyways, I think this has opened up the internet for the blind. Pretty cool!

Dude, you've got to go read this article. You probably know everything in it already, but that's OK, dude... will this Unit Plan ever finish?

Oh, and here's the trailer for Life Aquatic. I want to see Wes Anderson's new movie in the worst way, but it doens' come out in these parts until Christmas Day.

Squirreled away in my attic room, I'm desperately trying to finish my Great Gatsby unit plan. It's due Tuesday. Lollygagging is not good for deadlines, but even so the lolly will be gagged... if only for just a moment. I'm enjoying a fast connection from home, and finding that if I had this a week ago even, I wouldve been much farther along with this unit plan than I am.

OK. Enough of that. On to more sober topics like this poet, from the 1920s who was rather fond of his Martinis. Apparently he and his wife sometimes took their Martinis in a cemetery, and there's a great story here about when they ran out of ice. It's somewhat reminescent of the day after Curt's bachelor party: We awoke late Sunday morning after Curt's bachelor party, and after negotiating the operational mechanics of an odd contraption called 'the Big Ragu' (formerly called 'the fishbowl' ), we headed into the outside world for some brunch at Tom's Diner. It was late July, and the noon time sun shone brilliantly. Blindingly. Dazzlingly. I squinted and my eyes still hurt. As we walked out my front door and down the sidewalk I could only look at the sidewalk, wishing that I knew where my sunglasses were. Everybody else had theirs on.
"I really wish I had a pair of sunglasses," I said aloud, when squinting at the sidewalk, was a pair of sunglasses! I blinked, and blinked again. Bent over and picked up the shades, put them on my face and turned to my firends. "Look, I found a pair of sunglasses! I was just saying, i really wish i had a pair of sunglasses, and POW! there's a pair on the sidewalk right in front of me!" what really amazed me was how UN-impressed my companions were. Sorta like I had jsut seen a cloud in the sky, found it remarkable, and said so. "yup . . . " was the only resposnes I got, but there they were. Sometimes it's just like that.

I just shared a picture you may like, some of you for your own reasons, with Mikey Mel.

I had this moment, just a moment ago, where I was wondering what today's date was, and so I looked at the date/time thing in the lower right hand corner of my screen: Thursday, November 18, 2004. 11:18 AM . . . Hoo doggies . . . gotta like when that happens right?

Enjoy the Great American Smoke Out day. It's today, 11/18. I'll be sure to share that with all the smokers I encounter today, and then we'll laugh, maybe cough a little, gasp and chuckle.

And now, a poetry for you . . . we used this in my drama class about a month ago.

The Smoking Yokadokas
by Jack Prelutsky

We’re the Smoking Yokadokas,
we sincerely need to smoke,
and we do not mind the slightest
that our smoking makes you choke,
our malodorous miasma
will assail you when we’re near,
it will irritate your nostrils
and compel your eyes to tear.

We’re the Smoking Yokadokas,
we’re not nice to have around,
you can often hear us coughing,
it’s a coarse and raucous sound,
all our teeth are brown and yellow,
and our breath is always stale,
we’re especially offensive
at the moment we exhale.

Our appearance is unsightly,
we have ashes on our clothes,
our aroma is appalling,
you may have to hold your nose,
but don’t waste your time complaining
we contaminate the air,
we’re the Smoking Yokadokas,
and we simply do not care.


Text copyright © 1990 by Jack Prelutsky. Used by permission of HarperCollins Publishers.
©2002, American Heart Association. Permission granted to reproduce for classroom use.

Cannibal Stoudt

It's not available in stores, bars or beer distributors yet, but it's out there. I was hanging out with a friend from class for her birthday, and Amanda and her boyfriend Frank enjoy ;making homebrew. THeir friend however stepped it up a notch. Cannibal Stoudt apparently is made with yeast grown in human kidneys? Something odd like that, a scientific yeast used in human studies, or something. It's not the actual human cells yer drinking, so it's safe, at least I think it is . . . anyways, I tried some of this beer, and it was actually quite palatable. The coolest thing though, was the mini-tap that fits on top of wide mouth bottles. THis way you can have a gallon sized mini keg of beer, ya know homebrews, and keep it very fresh with this tap. Nothing worse than openign a big beer and having it go flat on you befor eyou get halfway through it. I'll get back to you with more details about the human yeast kidney thing. Wierd though, eh?

Painting by Numbers, a la Holden Caulfield.

I hated paint by numbers when I was a kid.

Not because I didn't enjoy doing them, in fact I had never even tried. I just thought that if you couldn't draw or paint, that a thing like paint by numbers was stupid, and you could totally tell how dumb the person was who did one. I hated paint by numbers. It was't even real painting, right? It's phony. It took no skill whatsoever. I would see paint-by-numbers in the toy section of the pharmacy or whatever and thought, who even does those? They're stupid.

Somebody gave me a paint-by-numbers set for a birthday present or something when I was 9 or 10. It sat on a shelf in my closet for a year or two, and I would think, why do I keep that thing? I hate paint by numbers. Then one evening, I was bored and I thought, OK, I'll find out just how dumb this stuff really is. I opened the box on my shelf, saw that there were brushes, two plastic arrays of paints, maybe ten or fifteen colors total? I dunno. And there were four or five 'canvases' with the outlines of some picture, numbers that corresponded to paints in the array trays, so you put color #7 on all the little spots that were marked ' 7.' So I started with a picture of a cowboy riding on a horse in the low desert. There were cactuses and scrub brush in the distance. It took a few hours over a few days to finish the whole thing, not letting the colors bleed over into the other number spaces.

The finished project looked sloppy. The horse's mane was kinda tough to master, because it had so many similar clors and it was hard to get enough but not tooo much paint in one little flourish of mane hair, and not have it blend with the others. So I thought, well, even though these are dumb, I'm gonna do another one, and I'll do it better than this last one. I tried using different colors, but that looked dumb. I ignored some of the spaces, and did what I wanted in others. This went on until I had finished all five of the paint by number canvases in the box. Then I had five pictures that were . . . OK . . . and what do I do with these things now? Roll my eyes at them and think how dumb paint by numbers is, at least now I've done them to be able to say they're dumb? Hmmm. I had enjoyed some of the painting, and because I enjoyed it, I couldn't say I hated paint by numbers anymore. I just thought they were still kinda stupid, even if they give you some experience painting stuff.

So more than like likely if you are reading this, you went and voted. There's apparently a 50/50 or should I say 49/51 chance that you voted for Kerry. I have to say though, I am satisfied with my fellow voters, my fellow Americans, because you went and voted. This election garnered record turnouts here in Pennsylvania, apparently not seen since the Kennedy/Nixon election in 1960 did we see sucha turnout.

I was on the fence for a long time, mostly hoping that Nader would get on the ballot. I still want to see an outsider, a maverick come out and shake up the two-party system, but alas, alack, Alanis Morisette, it was not to be for ol' Ralphie . . . blocked of the PA ballot. I have a long digression about what happened there, but I'll save that for when I'm powerfully intoxicated. Anyways, I suppose I am a 'pocketbook' voter, going with my future as a teacher, and Kerry's Education Plans seemed a bit better than Bush's No Child LEft Behind. A good idea, if you bother to pay for it, but . . . well, he didn't.

I've heard a few folks say that they see a possible return to a political/social climate like the '60s, and maybe we will see that. There are a few parallels (go go Go-Go boots!!!) but I hope that the people of this nation are more about unity in the face of the adversity, than dissension. Speak your voice, but keep your fists in your words.

And on a note to lighten the tone, some news about traveling. I myself will be flying to Minnesota this weekend, but I'm not going to try flying this way...

You should give this player a listen: Kings of Convenience .

You can play one song at a time, but the whole album is on there. I've heard a few other songs they've done, but this good: the music and vocals are pretty solid. They're sorta like a SImon/Garfunkel or Chad/Jeremy sound, ya know the chill, slightly hep to jazz sorta tunes from the mid to late sixties . . .

Did you have a good weekend?

I sure did... I drove up near Brookville, PA to meet all the cabin campers Friday night. We stayed in very nice cabins (meaning they had gas furnaces, and were kinda like somebody's home). The fire was awesome, as usual. Saturday afternoon, I went with Marty and Renee to check out the fire tower #9, the scenic overlook, and some trail stuff. the fire tower was pretty cool cuz you go up above the tree level and then some. Renee brought her digital camera and got some pretty cool pictures. I think a digital camera would be pretty sweet to have. The weather was good for the most part, except for some rain late late Saturday night.
Driving home was the only tough part... I was so sleepy, so sleepy. SO ... sleepy... but I made it back alright.

Hey folks -

Not too much going on here. Settling in for a good weekend of cabin camping in Cook's forest. I missed last year, for some reason I dont remember. For those of you who will be around a fast connection this weekend, check out Magnet and Helio Sequence: http://www.kcrw.org/cgi-bin/db/kcrw.pl?show_code=mb&air_date=10/14/04&tmplt_type=show These guys are pretty good sounding, kinda chill . . . A little electro-effect-emo-rock and then a lot of electro-electronica rock respectively. I'm looking forward to hearing Elliot Smith's posthumous album, From a Basement on a Hill. Not like I'm trying to solve the mystery of his death, I just always liked his music. I'm sad that we've lost such a talented songwriter with a personal sense of style that powerfully evocative. The disc should be arriving in the mail today or tomorrow.

What happened to the Viceland Do's and Don'ts? they used to be really funny, but now they're becoming so predictable, it's like comparing the Cheat's cartoons with like the reality of Strongbadia.

The challenge for today? writing up an appropriate lesson using creative dramatics to teach Chief Joseph's Speech.

I've been carrying the Camel Shorties (aka filterless) since I saw Dan Brown and Dave Flick at Nadines Tuesday. Danno pulled the wrong lever on the cig machine there, and POW! out came the Camel shorties. They're a little harsh, no not terrible, but defintiely strong. You only need one for every three light cigarettes, so it'll be nice to get a new pack of my regular smokes. Oh, did I mention the attractive bar tender at Nadines? I wouldn't chase a bartender, no matter how hot she is, but it's nice to have a friendly hottie deliver you a cold beer. And they seem to have no short supply of attractive bartenders.

I hope I'll remember a couple 40s and brown paper bags... three years ago, I raced Buckethead in a 40s race. . . and won. Way it works? open your 40 in the bag, twist the top of the bad around the bottle neck, so you have no idea (visually) how much beer is in the bottle. Then you drink. At intervals (barely regulated), you check your level vs. your opponents. It';s a good game if yer not driving anywhere that night. And Booyah, when you're camping, you're setting for a while.

I hope everybody has a good weekend, and I'll catch yinz on the flipside.

The Shady Weekend

This weekend was a little shady... in that I left South Side, and hungout with some work/school folks in Shady Side Friday night. Saturday night? I went to see a band called Shade for their CD release party. My right ear is still gakked up and I can't hear well out of it . . . advice: bring earplugs to a show... especially if yer friend likes to stand up close...

Just a quick note to remind you of the show coming up. Emphasis on show... the Presidential Candidate Debates, minus the elephants, clowns and midgets will be running soon.

Hey if you like Bush or Kerry, bully for you. Go vote for them. It's what you should do. But bear in mind, if only for a second, that the 2000 Presidential Candidate Debates excluded some major candidates, who even tried to come debate the candidates anyways. OF course I'm speaking about Ralph Nader. He didn't have a role to play in the script, so they made him leave. Turned him away. Get lost, they said.

Oh, and my vote for Nader? It was a vote for Nader. Not anybody else. :P

One more thing. THere's an article here about voters being turned away. Not surprisingly, they're minority voters. In response to this article, I'd like to say I'm proud of the people who have consistently been out getting people registered to vote. They are mostly black people, getting blacks, whites, and anybody who's a citizen registered to vote. They've always been polite, and enthusiastic. Not o;verbearing, but they make it apparent that this election, as all elections, counts for something. And so does your vote. Thanks to all of you folks who are drumming up voters. I'm impressed with this city and their voters. Thanks Pittsburgh!

Today is the first day of new stuff: a new job and new classes. I'm working as a GSA (Graduate Student Asst.) in the School of Ed and taking my last three classes. I still have to find out what's up with my student teaching, and this afternoon or tomorrow would be a great time to do all that. The bookstore doesn't have ANY of my books yet. I hope they come in, or perhaps that none of my classes will use texts. Right. Like that's gonna happen. It;s a bit wierd coming back after a stretch of time off, but it's pretty cool to get back into a more focused mode of living life.

Summer is on the wind down, but there's still some cool stuff happening. If nothing else, the presidential elections and stuff leading up to them should be fascinating to watch. That's all for now, so all you cats keep cool.

Oh how time flies when you're not blogging. I was a regular blogger, until I left my old job and started school. Honestly, there was little to post, unless if you wanted to know about grammar and such. You may be better off buying yourself a Warriner's then, but Max Morenberg has a good grammar book. Yeppers, starting to look like a teacher has been here . . .

OK, well other news.

Joe Hartnett and Megan Kelly got married, and should be back from Aruba sometime soonish...

Got to meet Kris Kelly's husband Jeff at the wedding. The wedding was totally fun by the way.

Got to hang out with the Seybert Family (Josh, Jesse and Jake) last week.

Made $2.06 busking last Saturday.

Meredith is off to Minneapolis in a couple weeks. Gonna miss her, but she's got a great opportunity ahead of her there.

Jim has moved out, and Marty Connolly has moved in to the place.

Oh yeah . . . and the Hookah Bars in South Side are pretty friggin cool! At least the one I've been to is cool. H-Kan in the 2200 block of Carson St. two doors up from Lava Lounge is cool spot to hang out. Especially if you want to be out, but not necessarily in a bar. It's like the beehive but different. They'll have food soon, and I hope they expand their drink menu. Stay non-alcoholic, or BYOB rather, I'll pay my "corking fee" but you need to get more than four types of tea. I have more than four types of tea in my house, and I don't consider myself a tea drinker. Four kinds of coffee, well sure.

I'll cut them some slack though... They've been open for four months, maybe five now, they're mostly focused on renovations, and getting something like a restaurant started to compliment the smoke. So picture this: some middle eastern food, then sit and enjoy a post dinner smoke of say, rose and jasmine or lemon or caramel smoke. It's not pot... ok? So many people, er dweebles, or whatever, walk by outside, hey nice bong man... some people never fail to not impress me. Anyways, go check out the H-Kan, it's pretty chill. bring a friend, maybe some beers. The staff is way friendly, atmosphere is chill. And Curt, you can smoke your cloves there. I think you'd dig it.

Books I've read: The Golem, Gustav Meyrink; Eats, Shoots and Leaves, Lynne Truss; Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep? Philip K Dick.

A good weekend overall folks. Yes, good overall.

Friday: Played some soccer at the Cost Center on Campus. I'm a bit rusty, and in need of some better turf shoes (I just bought some cleats!!!), but they do have indoor soccer too! YAY!!! Went to a luau at Dave and Casey's new place in Swissvale, pretty swankity guys. The idea was to dress Hawaiian, prizes given for best costume and such. I borrowed a lei, a big fake butt and grass skirt from Meredith, donned a black haired wig.
I was NOT trying to go drag.
I was going for the long-haired Hawaiian-dude look. Are there such creatures? If so, everyone there was apparently unawares. I figured the hairy chest would be sufficient, but I won best dressed female, was given cardboard hula girl, and a coconut bra. anyways it was lots of fun if nothing else.

Saturday: Got some rusty spots on my car worked on, painted and stuff... I hope they hold. Next is to get the handles fixed. Like three of them. I remember Dave telling me about having troubles with his Passat.

Dave (LaRose?) from Jack had a BYI party with about ten of us showing up. I brought the accordion and mandolin.

Sunday (Fathers dAy): This was the first one without my Dad, but all said and done, it went alright. I do miss him.

I have my basic agenda worked out for the next year: school thi ssummer and fall part-time. work part-time. Student teach in the spring. Get the certification and hopefully land a teaching job next fall. huh . . . next fall.

In lighter news, here's a little about the culture of Dude

go away for a week, and what happens?

Ronald Reagan dies, then Ray Charles dies . . .

but, there is good news: Movies in the park have started again.

My weekend in Gallup, NM was lots of fun, and this past week in Punta Cana, Dominican Republic was way way way fun. You can go really cheaply, stay cheaply and eat and drink cheaply. The people are all pretty friendly, and the country is really quite beautiful. I got a pretty good tan, although I'm afraid it's fading already!!!

If you do go, I recommend taking the Outback Safari Tours. Well worth the $$$ because you see a lot, learn a lot and have lots of fun. Our tour guide and driver, Greg and Sosa respectively, were awesome! I think it's standard on the tour to get served rum and 7 Up and/or some beers.

Getting ready to travel to Punta Cana, Domincan Republic.

Got my new swimming trunks, sunblock, aloe gel for sundried skin, clothes packed up, pretty much set to go.

I'll have some pics, keep your fingers crossed for more sun than rain. Right now it's looking like the other way around...

Visit the anagram page, and discover new stuff in your name:

Half of this is GIBBERISH, but Here are some cool ones for Matthew Dunegan -

A WANTED GENT HUM
A WANTED MEN THUG (Better look out!)
A WANED TENTH MUG
A WANED TENTH GUM
A TANDEM WET HUNG
A MANNED WET THUG
A GNAWED TENT HUM
A WANTED GEM HUNT
A WANTED MEG HUNT
A WANTED GENT HUM
A WANTED THEN MUG
A DAG THEN WENT MU
A DAG THEN NEWT MU
A DANG WHEEN MUTT (what did you call me?)
A HAD TEN WENT MUG
A HAD TEN WENT GUM
A HAD TEN NEWT MUG
A HAD TEN NEWT GUM
A HAD TENT NEW MUG
A HAD TENT NEW GUM
A HAND NUTMEG WET
A HADNT GWEN MUTE
A HADNT GET NEW MU
A WHATD GUNMEN ET
A WHATD NUTMEG NE
A WHATD NUGENT EM
A WHATD NUGENT ME
A MAD NUGENT WHET
A WHATD EM TEN GUN
A WHATD ME NET GUN
A MAD GENT HEW NUT
A MAD GENT NEW HUT
A MAD GENT WET HUN
A MAD GENT WE HUNT (paranoid much?)
A MAD GET WENT HUN
A MAD GET NEWT HUN
A MAD GET NEW HUNT
A MAD THEN NEW GUT
A MAD THEN NEW TUG
A MAD THEN WET GUN
A MAD THEN WE TUNG
A MAD TENTH WE GUN
A MAD HEWN TEN GUT
A MAD HEWN TEN TUG
A MAD HEWN NET GUT
A MAD HEWN NET TUG
A MAD TENT WE HUNG (Camping)
A DAM THEN WET GNU
A DAM THEN WET GUN
A DAM THEN WE TUNG
A DAM TEN WENT UGH
A DAM NET WENT UGH
A DAMN HEWETT GNU
A DAMN HEWETT GUN
A DAMN TWEEN THUG
A DAMN TWEET HUNG (penis size ? )
A DAMN GET WET HUN
A DAMN HE WENT GUT
A DAMN THE NEW GUT (mad about getting fat!)
A DAMN THE NEW TUG
A DAMN THE WET GNU
A DAMN THE WET GUN
A DAMN TENT WE HUG (lonely campers)
A WAND THEME TUNG
A WAND THE MEN TUG (masturbation)
A TAD WHEN MEN TUG
A WAD THEN MEN TUG (masturbation)
A TANGENT DEW HUM
A ANTHEM DUNG WET (Diarrhea song)
A HANG MUTED WENT
A HANG MUTED NEWT
A HANG MUD TENT WE
A WHANG NUTTED ME
A GUNMAN WHETTED
A TANG UNWED THEM (the girl that caused the divorce)
A GNAT MUTED WHEN
A GNAT UNWED THEM (or was it a bug?)
A WANG MUTED THEN (divorced men not getting any ... )
A WANG TUNED THEM (magical musical manhood)
A TAG WED MEN HUNT (label whores ... )
A HAM END NEWT GUT
A HAM END NEWT TUG
A HAM NUTTED GWEN (But she liked jim anyways ... )
A MATH NUDGE NEWT (always needed help with math... )
A MATH UNWED GENT (never did like artihmetic much ... )
A WHAM NEEDNT GUT (Some Advice)
A WHAM NEEDNT TUG ( " " )
A WHAM NEEDNT GUT ( " " )
A WHAM NEEDNT TUG ( " " )
A WHAM DUNG TENET (Shitty Philosophy)
A HAT DUNG ME WENT (drunken mistake)
A MAN DEW THEN TUG (
A MAN WED THEN GUT
A MAN WED THEN TUG
A MAW HUNTED GENT
A WANTED MEN THUG (again, best lookout for me)
HEADMAN WENT GUT
HEADMAN WENT TUG
HEADMAN NEWT GUT
HEADMAN NEWT TUG
HEADMAN WET TUNG
MAGNATE DEW HUNT
MEGAWATT HED NUN (Electric Sisters!)
WET HANGMAN DUET
HANGMAN DU TWEET (Bathroom Graffiti)
HANGMAN DU ET WET (Bumper sticker)
NATHAN TWEED MUG
NATHAN DE WET MUG
NATHAN DE WET GUM
NATHAN WED ME GUT
NATHAN DUG EM WET
NATHAN DUG ME WET
AD ANTHEM WET GUN
AD MEANT WENT HUG
AD TEAM WENT HUNG
AD MEAT WHEN TUNG
AD MEAT WENT HUNG
THE WET GUNMAN AD
THE NEW MAN GUT AD
THE NEW MAN TUG AD
TEAMED WANG HUNT (Bachelorette party)
EGAD WHAT MEN NUT
AGED MUTANT WHEN
AGED ANT WENT HUM
AGED WANT THEM NU (may december relations??)
MUTANT WE HANGED
HANGED TAUNT MEW
MUTE WANT HANGED
HANGED WATT MENU
GNAWED AT MEN HUT (Sounds gay ... )
WAGED AMENT HUNT (helped madge find her future hubby)
WAGED HUMAN TENT
THE NUT WAGED MAN (my current job)
ME HAUNTED TWANG (ghostly country songs)
DEATH TWANG MENU
DEATH WANG UNMET
DEATH MAN WET GUN
DEATH MAN WE TUNG
DEATH WANT ME GUN

And that's all i care to look at . . .

Here's a pretty cool video for teh song, Come Together.

And speaking of which, it was pretty cool to get together with Curt out in Gallup, NM.

Got to visit the Painted Desert, Petrified Forest (which is in the same huge park). Saw El Morro, which is a big bluff with some cool carvings on the sides, and some Indian ruins (Anasazi and Navajo?) on the top.

For those of you who dig fleamarkets, there;s a cool one in Gallup on Saturdays if yer ever out there.

Curt and Ann have a pretty sweet house, very colorful (Ro would be proud . . . ), with a deck out in the back, some swanky new furniture. The sad part of the trip was learning that poor ol' Buddha, probably the most chill cat I ever met, has since passed. He was much loved.

Some figures to think about in the formation of the west:

Geronimo, Quanah Parker, and Chief Manuelito.

Update from Gallup, NM

Flights in: ok. and good. always nice to have your sense of hearing once you land.

It's true.... it is a desert out here. I've seen cactuses. for really real.

and salsa

and some rocks.

No for real, toallay having funhere i gallup. it's awesome to hang with curt again. tooo bad ann isn't her. at least she's in italy though

oh yeah,i guess what can you use butt paste for? more than you'd imagine!

Courtesy . . . is it pase' these days?

What ever happened to replying to your friend's emails? Understandable if you won't respond to SPAMMERS, but what about your friends?
Your silence is equivalent to saying, "I'll email you when I am hard up for an erection, when I need to enlarge my breasts, or when I need a get-out-of-debt service."

Let me give you an example: This past January a 'friend' (notice the quotes?) sends me an email around the same time that my father passed away. They are of course oblivious to what's just happened in my life. "How are you? what's been going on? It's been a while, and it'd be great to talk with you, can't wait to hear all about the things you've been doing!" writes this person. So I respond with my news: My father's just passed, going through a lot but making it OK. How are you?"

And they wrote back: Nothing. Nada. Zippo. Zilch.

Now, to this person's credit, three months later, I got an e-birthday-card from said person. It read nothing more than 'happy birthday,' with a picture of a teddy bear holding some balloons or something. In January I suppose that person didn't know how to respond, what to say, etc.

But really, they should know.
Everybody should know (but especially someone who has also lost someone close, as they did. These are the people who surprised me the most . . . ).

When somebody has a significant life change, be it a birth, graduation, vacation, engagement, marriage, or death or whatever, you SAY SOMETHING to acknowledge said event, even if it sounds trite:
"Great to hear about your new kid!"
"Congrats on your graduation!"
"Good luck on the game show!"
"Hope all goes well with yer wedding plans!"
"I wish you the best in life together with your new spouse!"
"So sorry to hear about your Dad."

And when someone acknowledges this event/thing/whatever, you respond in kind, usually by saying "thank you."

When someone gives you a gift or a present, you say "Thank you" as well.

For the sake of these people who are consistently lacking in their manners and courtesy, I shall not list their crimes against courtesy nor shall I name them. Nor do I beg clemency from these misdemeanors. I am just reminding you, as I am reminded myself.

It is simple common courtesy.

*******************************************

On a lighter note, let me introduce you to Gunther. Listen to his song, and watch his video

Happy Birthday, Mr. T !!!

I went to the hardware store with Jim Hee last week, and vaguely recall seeing a short blonde chick and rocker type guy crossing the street as Jim was hitting the ATM on 18th and Carson. Ok, a not too uncommon sight in South Side, though eh? True enough, but Jim thought that she looked a lot like Drew Barrymore, and sounded kinda like her. He thought, nahhh couldn't be. Apparently the Strokes were in town last Thursday night, and apparently that guy who drums for them (who probably dresses like a rocker?) is dating Drew Barrymore. And after the concert, they went to Dee's. I helped Danielle take down the stuff set up in Art Space 303 last night and then went out to Pipers for beers.

In other news: Just one more reason why you should never do crack . . .

Every quadreplegic should have a monkey . . . I mean that with all due respect, but I'd think the breed of monkey is most important.

I'm getting stoked about travel plans,but a little worried that being away may hurt me in the job search. Keep yer fingers crossed for me . . . !

In the mean time, don't let yer kid leave his bike by the elephants

Starbucks has created an official entertainment position. My job search at the university is plodding along, although more slowly than I'd like it...

In more important news, are girls wearing sweaters around the hips a lot (ass sweaters)? or is this a Canadian thing? I haven't noticed it, but again it's almost summery out now!

this weekend was pretty cool. got some tix booked for my two vacay trips: Gallup, NM and Punta Cana, DR (Dominican Republic). friday night, i saw neko case at the world, and she rocked the house. what a voice, what... a ... voice...! Saturday, i went ot see Gabby and Autumn do their last show (how many last shows can people do? i thought only the Crawling Low Band did every show as their last show ... ) at the Gemini Theater. Sunday softball was excellent. And I watched The Whole Nine Yards last night after getting my first chocolate malt for the season from the Page Dairy Mart.

Today is Sea Monkey Apreciation Day! and how I wish I had known that yesterday, cuz we were talking a lot about sea monkeys...

This is the story of the cat with hands . . .

Apparently Blogger has been buys over the weekend.

Everybody is glad it's spring, and some folks are feeling their sap rising, so to speak. This is fine and natural, sometimes pleasant even. What is unpleasant is when people ignore boundaries. like the guy who accosted me this morning.

I'm on my way to work, almost to my building and i see this tall middle-aged guy, combover with glasses in a suit and tie approaching the other way. He looks like someone I know from the business school, so i nod to him, ahhh but then he speaks and I know it's not the guy I know from the business school. the dialog went something like this:

Strange man: "hey how are ya?"
Me: "Hi, I'm fine thanks..." and nod.
Strange Man: "You look really nice today, very spring-like ... "
Me (somewhat befuddled): "thanks... "
Strange Man: "how'd ya come to wear that outfit?"
thinking better of saying what immediately came to mind, Oh, my mother dresses me each morning, i simply said,
"I got up and got dressed, like i do every day."
Strange Man: "well you look so nice, like you'd cheer anybody up on a dreary day like today."
Me: "hhmmm ... "
Strange Man: "Where you off to?"
Me: "Work. I work right there." (I point to my building)
Strange Man: "Where do you live? here inPittsburgh?"
Me: "Yes"
strange Man: "Did you grow up here?"
Me: "Yes."
Strange Man: "Oh, really? Wherebouts?"
ME: "South Hills"
SM: " I know the South Hills, where?"
Me (I'm becoming a bit uncomfortable): "Mt. Lebanon" (I start feeling like i've given out way too much information to a stranger)
SM: "Oh it's very nice there. Did you go to High School there?'
Me (now definitely uncomfortable): "Yes."
SM: "Well, you look like must've graduated about 10 years ago. what are you, say 28 or 30?"
Me (Now quite uncomfortable): "Sure... something like that."
SM: "Say what's that you've got in your pocket? (Indicating my left pants pocket) Your wallet? your cell phone?" (And then he reaches over and tap-tap-taps the box of cigarettes n my pocket).
Me: "Cigarettes." (this, to my great joy, seemed to disgust him)

And at this point i've become so very uncomfortable, not only with the whole conversation but even just being near said Strange Man, and tell him:
Me: "I'm going to work now. Goodbye." And walked away.
Strange Man: "It was nice to meet you." and I continue walking nod and smile and dash across the street and into my building.

Let me be clear: I do not hate people who are old, gay, or Jewish (he was wearing a Yamuka (sp?) ). But I do feel awkward, flattered or not, when another man hits on me. Especially so when he gets in my personal space, and very very awkward when he reaches to touch me anywhere near my mid-section/crotch areas. I dont have a problem with walking away from an uncomfortable situation. I did not slug him, though I had thought about it.

My advice is two-fold . . .

1. Be polite, but don't be afraid to ask someone who suddenly asks you questions, tons of 'em, why they want to know so much about you. I should've asked him that, but i think I knew the answer already.

2. if you're trying to flirt with someone or pick them up, it's better to say something about yourself in additon to your barrage of Questions, rather than to interrogate them. Interrogation tends to make people feel like they're being interrogated, and like your up to something. If you feel like your being interogaed, feel free to ask, "What are you up to?" or "What's the point of all this?" If you're trying to pick someone up, dont get in their personal space, and DO NOT touch them, especially anywhere remotely near a personal zone. You're destined for failure and perhaps a black eye, broken nose or lawsuit . . .

A Dutch website dedicated to Air Guitar . . .

Hey, I'm looking to take some time off at the end of May, something like an extendo weekend . . . any suggestions for a trip? any takers on a road trip maybe? anybody want to go with? drop me a line and let me know what you think . . . .

So apparently rules #1 and #2 have been broken, but there is a Girl's Fight Club

What is this? Starbucks is bucking up to responsibility?

"Hey, Bob, working this flight undercover again? Let's hope it's a nice flight, eh?"

Open mic night at the Rex was kinda quiet, but it was cool to hang out with Marty and Madge and Renee and some of the regulars from down there. Not sure what was up with my guitar, cuz it sounded pretty jive, and the vocals allsounded mushed, and well not be a whiner but it sucks when the sound guy does sound for a bit ... and then leaves before you come up to play.

i'm not really sure what they're saying beyond say, some city names, but it's kinda funny. I'm not even sure why. It's just Japanese, after all.

A good weekend overall.

We had sushi Friday night, some Red Hook beer, watched Ten Little Indians and some Spike and Mike's Animation.
Saturday i helped my mom and sister with some yardwork, clearing back vines and branches... and then went with Anders to see Jill Sobule. She's pretty cool as a performer, an awesome songwriter, and she really related well with her audience.

Softball was a bit of a wash: 8 of us showed, but we had a batting practive (of sorts) even though it rained and rained, and nobody had a bat, but Stu found a branch that was kinda straight, and we something like Neanderthal softball.

Here's a pretty cool article about the revamped NYPD and how their new approach to management is cracking down on crime, and spreading across the nation. It's really working in some cities, maybe not so well in small towns though. From the NYTimes.

Correction: Gypsy Cafe is by the corner of 14th and Bingham, not 14th and Sydney

I had lunch today with Bucket, Marto, Stuch, Madge and some other Printcafe folk at the Gypsy Cafe.
We're talking good food for a reasonable price, and casual comfrotable atmosphere. I had the Curry Chicken Sald Sandwich, a Spinach Orzo salad, and some minted fruit salad. Tres Bien. is that French for quite nice? very good?

Gypsy Cafe is on the 1400 block of Sydney Street in the South Side, right up from the City Theater.

Anyone care for a muffin? #4, 6, & 9 are particularly delicious.

Spatula vs. the Burger

I've decided that I like being the spatula, and not the burger. I think I prefer being the one to flip the cooking stuff, as opposed to being cooked. Does this mean I want to work in fast food? No. Does this mean I'm carrying a spatula with me now to whack people with? No, although that's a tempting idea. I'm saying that I'm trying a new approach. It may have been prompted by any number of things, but I'm feeling a strong urge to opine. I'm not trying to pick a fight, but I may step on some toes. Pardon me . . .

Some do this a lot . Some do this a little. Some do it like never, but say they always want to do it more. Some I understand but don't, but I'm glad to see them go for it (nice to have you back, I had stopped checking).

Well here's three beefs I've got:
Giant Eagle's self-checkout gig;
Anti-Abortion advertising in the sky;
Dan Brown v. Christianity

Giant Eagle's self-checkout gig: Let me begin by saying the machines are rude. "Move your Braeburn Apples . . . " Sounds like the angry woman in produce who's trying to get by you, but your too busy squeezing fruit to notice her. It's an impatient machine, with its frightfully slow process. Maybe you regular users of the self-checkout love it. I used to think it was great, until last night when my ginger ale fridge pack jettisons cans all over the aisle. Until the machine stops to demand that I wait for someone to bag my groceries (and they're not coming, but the light above the register is blinking like there's a problem at this machine) because the cargo area is full. Until it stops asking me, like an unsatisfied wife, if I'm finished yet. Until it jams up when a toothbrush passes through the belt way. Until it seems apparent that the days of the clerk and bagger are numbered.

Anti-Abortion Advertising in the Sky: Ok, the concept of an aborted fetus flying here in Oakland and presumably elsewhere. Have your beliefs, ok . . . but do you really need flying aborted fetuses?

Dan Brown v. Christianity: The fundamental tenet of Christianity is that Christ came to earth as God incarnate to die for man's sins, and then rose from the grave. It's simple: You buy it or you don't. Without delving too far into Nietzsche or Hegel or other dialogues of truth and reality, suffice to say that anyone can claim any authority for any reason. The proof or disproof is often difficult. That's why it's called a faith. Faith in your friends, family, deity, whatever . . .

"so if trees could scream, would we still cut them down? probably, if they screamed all the time for now reason . . . " obligatory deep thought and its related article

Flexitarian: a person who is usually a vegetarian, but is known to eat meat on occasion.

Jim Dietz and Mel have opened the Gypsy Cafe on the South Side. It's off 14th and Sydney. Their black bean hummous is pretty killer, as is the pesto pizza. thanks guys, fo rhaving us all out to your opening!

Jim Hee has a new blog, Caesar's Jester. You can find a link on the side, too.

Here's a cool new word: Iraqnophobia

Another word that's just funny: Poo X. It's any poodle crossbreed. The list of names is brilliant: cock-a-poo, peek-a-poo, etc.

First it was panties for men, now it's panties for dogs. people are really really strange.

I saw a girl picking up roadside garbage (No, I don't mean hitchhikers ... ) this morning on my way into work, and I thought, how odd, cool but odd. And then I realizes that . . .

Earth Day is today... The name of this day always makes me think of aliens from our neighboring star systems coming to visit all the quaint Terran sights: the big pictures of critters drawn in the chalky hillsides of England, Mexico and Australia. Some of the mildly miscreant ones will be doing the old crop-circle-practical-joke thingee again before leaving. Others, the more surly of the lot, will be doing all their goofy Mengelev-type experiments with bright lights and dentistry tools. Gross. . .

Anyways, there's a coupla different things going on if yer interested in helping out in some way:

Post Gazette has some things about cleanups, as well as PA Cleanways. These folks are also having an Art for Arts Sake/Earth Day event. the details are below:

hey, everyone!

In my earnest attempt to save the planet, I am pushing AGAIN to solicit your attendance at art for earth's sake. It's this Thursday -Earth Day. Tickets are $12 (26-/65+ and $20). There will be music (per Duquesne University), food, good libations, and an spectacular silent art auction. Please support our mission by attending this event. To learn more about PA CleanWays visit www.pacleanways.org. Please pass this along to anyone who may be interested. I appreciate all that you do to improve our community, and I ask that you extend your effort to my organization and purchase a ticket to this great event.

art space 303 is located at 303 east 8th avenue in homestead - just 2 blocks from the homestead hi-level bridge on the left.

And you never know who is reading your blog. I found out last night that a Duquesne professor I never even had has a link to this blog. You go, Anne Brannen....!

Finally, a solution for your bruised bananas . . .

Flying somewhere soon? Want to see what they'll be serving you? Check this out.

And the porn industry is shutting down for 60 days.

I bought a mandolin this past weekend. It's a made in China type, but the cool part is it has some built-in pick-ups. i've learned a couple chords, and have a whole lot more to learn, but it's pretty sweet.

Not a whole lot going on today, it is monday after all.

My spring class is finished for the semester, softball has begun for the season, I have vacation-jones working, I just need to figure out where I am going, and if I can drag an accomplice with me.

Oh, and I started a Fotolog on Fotolog. I'll be posting some pics up there,probably jsut one a day, at least for now.

So it's that time of year agian when the dogwood trees bloom . . . and for some reason, they make everything smell like there is a guy out and about abusing himself and spreading his man seed all over the sidewalk.

For real, these are the second smelliest trees, aside form the infamous Gingko trees. they are the stinkiest trees.

Some pretty cool artwork, from Tara McPherson. I especially like her posters for Beck, Cat Power and Suzanne Vega

Here is a freaky looking video, with a kinda cool but equally freaky tune . . . I'm not sure who the band is though.

Who knew Kissing was good for curing the hiccups? As well as a wealth of other ailments . . .

Sushi fans, cartoon fans Join Forces. My Favorite is the Power Puff Girls one . . .

Hello All.

I hope those of you who celebrate Easter had a good 'un, And I hope everyone had a good weekend.

Today, the first monday after Easter, is Dingus Day. There will be clebrations at the Bloomfield Bridge Tavern tonight. Alas, i won't be able to make it, since I've got some portfolio work and some writng to do for Wednesday.

April 15 is this Thrsday folks . . . just a little heads up.

May 7th is No Pants Day.

Candian news: Cattle Burps, and the importance of animal bones in the great North

Some weird French cartoons... even if I knew French, i doubt if I'd know what they're saying. #1 is dumb, #2 is ok, #3 is kinda funny, # 4 is dumb.

This is probably the hottest bird i've ever seen. Oh! Sexy sexy . . .

As they say, these chicks rock. I think the little blue guy they rock out with is really Jon Spencer from the band Blues Explosion. The SWEEEEEEEEAAAAAAAAAAAAT!
. . . of the Blues Explosion. This is the band who reminds you of their name in nearly every song when they say "Blues Explosion." And they make for some rockin' rock n roll music.

And no, dear reader, I am not interested in any manties for myself, thank you.

The Ultimate in Emasculation . . . for a gift giver at least.

M C Paul Barman is back with a new album.

Lyrics may be explicit (and funny): "It's a porn utopia, cornucopia of warm fallopia"

Andrew Beaujon writes some cool, simple songs with a subtle something. something like some cool lyrics. Yeah, and he's written what's possibly one of the funniest song lyrics I've heard in a long while: "Baby yer so cold, you got a popsicle at end of the stick up yer butt, hope you don't die alone another succesful New Yorker." The website this came from is a good source for music you've never heard before. they even have a Boxstep single on there!

This weekend saw my birthday (30th) come and go. Thanks go out to matt and tony and kath and kelly for buying me a steak dinner, and much thanks to the 15 lucky women who helped me get halfway to my goal of kissing 30 beauties for my birthday. You know who you are, you minxes. :P

Here's a silly ad for Sports Betting in Europe

Hey Sci fi fans,Asimov readers, and tech heads . . . this movie coming out inthe summer looks pretty cool

For those of you who just like cartoons, here'sone from Steve Martin. i like th tiger best . . .

The music of Mark Geary is good food. He's like Damien Rice meets Josh Ritter when he was feeling a bit like Paul Simon. Go check him out!

Here ya go, Skippy . . .

This is probalby some of the wierdest,sorta creepy sorta funny picspage i've seen in a while.

Margot Quan Knight

I like the series called a Girls' Best Friend and "Bad Worm" best . . .


And this is kinda funny.... a brief biref version of the Lord of the Rings

Internet Explore is a bitch. No, it's a dirty, old, egg-suckin' bitch dog in heat.

I wrote out this rather concise, well crafted blog post, some links and cool ideas in it . . . and of course as I near the end of the post, POOF!!! That dirty old egg-suckin' bitch dog in heat vanished into thin air. Gone. With all my eggs . . . or blog stuff.

Go see Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind. Tell me what you think. I dug it, but was a little confused will have to see it again, sorta like in Memento and in Being John Malkovich.

This is a band called Schrodinger's Cat. Check out their page, go to the games section, and play the s-cat game. It's a bunch of sound samples from their songs . . . pretty cool schtuff!

I ran across the here, at the SXSW (South by South West) page. It's worth poking around there, too. Probably gonna be something you like, seeinghow there's all kinds of music there.

This morning's commute was like no other.

I got on the bus, and the driver said "Don't worry about the fare . . . " to me and the other passengers getting on board.
Strange, I thought.
As we crossed the bridge heading towards Oakland, made a right onto Forbes and approached the merger of Forbes and Boulevard of the Allies, we were forced to stop. Two cars in front of my bus was the police motor cycle blocking traffic for
the fallen firefighters funeral procession that was just coming into Oakland.

Firetrucks . . . and firetrucks,

and firetrucks,

and firetrucks.

and firetrucks,

and firetrucks,

and firetrucks,

and firetrucks,

streamed by with lights a-flashing, adorned with black banners, black wreaths, black cords, and uniformed firefighters.

There must not have been a single district, borough, township, or municipality that didn't send a representative truck or engine. Folks from Ohio were there. It was nearly thirty minutes of continuous emergency vehicle parade. I thought this was every little boys dream, a half-hour parade of firetrucks, every shape size and color.


Truly a sight to behold how firefighters honor their own. Be proud of the men and women who protect us an come to our aid in times of need.

Viceland has some dumb stuff, but the dos and donts make it worth checking out once a month, and this article on Canada is totally worth reading. Especially if you know anything about Canada or ever went there.

The Bata Shoe Museum in Toronto, Ontario is supposed to be pretty cool. A guy I chat with on the bus some mornings told me about visiting there with his SO/GF this past week on Spring Break. I think you shoe freaks should go check it out.

A good weekend this past one... talking like Yoda, mmm? I saw La Jetee and San Soleil at the Melwood. You can still check out this double feature tonight....

I saw My Architect last night, and although it was a little rough in spots, it was good.

St Patricks Day stuff in Market Square was fun, as usual. Hungout at Becko's place afterwrds, with a bunch of cool folks. and no hangover yesterday, very cool, no headache, nausea, just a little stupid was all.

Please say a prayer or take a moment for reflection for the fallen firefighters. Charles Brace was the dad of Chuck Brace, an alumni from my fraternity.

Bloggers of note . . . be you "relevant" or not, congrats for getting a write up in the paper.

Anyone up for movie-oke? It may be here soon. Perhaps our friend Rich can swing something thru his work? Or maybe the Rex ? they still have movie capacity there.

This girl is way cute (I think it's the hat), and apparently pure evil. I haven't quite decided yet if an eyepatch would make her hotter . . . regardless, I'd sure like to buckle her swash. Funny, if you look, sometimes you find what yer looking for: here's your girl with an eyepatch.

Oh, had I the scrilla to scrape up a trip to Tarifa Spain and go Kiteboarding. Looks like Daedalus if I ever saw him...

You can tell a lot about your lover by how they eat their pancakes. do they stack 'em? spread 'em around? use butter? syrup? a fork? or maybe their fingers?

And now somebody thinks their choice of chocolate has lots to tell as well. For the record, I prefer dark chocolate. the 70% cacao is about my threshold for that. when you get into the 90th percentile, I'm out dude. just a little too bitter. I have to wonder how this one eats her pancakes, and what kind of chocolate she prefers?

I learned something today, something about this record label called Elephant 6.

See, sometime about four years ago, Rich Engel introduced me to a band called the Neutral Milk Hotel. They are a little quirky, trippy, maybe even moments of beautiful dissonance (it is possible). Then last January or February, Josh Seybert introduced me to the band Of Montreal. They are a little quirky, trippy, maybe even moments of beautiful dissonance (it is possible). Their main songwriter, Kevin Barnes, strings together some very different sounding chord progressions, and the contributors make a sound like . . . nobody else. so last week, I dropped off Coquelicot Among the Poppies to Gabriel, a guy I work with. I told him it was maybe the strangest album I own. Today, he beckoned me off the elevator, and said, "Here, give these guys a listen. They're called The Olivia Tremor Control. They're another Elephant 6 group," he said to his girl Kim. And they're all apparently part of this Elephant 6 label. Pretty cool, eh?

Has anyone seen one of these ads yet (courtesy of Exit Stage Left) ? The first three of these refer to 9/11, and Mr. Bush, this is in poor taste. The fourth one makes you look like a beter candidate.

Hey Dr. Seuss is getting his own Stamp!

A page from the Guardian, about Mel Gibson's film . . . and it's a fun read. Trust me. And this one is silly silly silly

She Called it Torture

"Do you ever have a dream where you're with a dream-hottie, they're maybe not even a real person, but someone from the cast of your dream characters. You're hanging out with them, laughing, having fun, and so on. Maybe you are both sitting on a blanket in the park, or maybe on the couch in their living room. They have you lay down on your back; they're beside you or above you. And you know you want to kiss them and they want to kiss you, but for some reason they wait . . . and they hover . . . just above you . . . you may even feel their breath softly brushing over your lips. But no kiss, not yet. They move closer to your mouth, lips parted ever so slightly, eyes closing into smiling slits as their gaze moves from your eyes to your mouth and . . . BLINK!
You are in your bed, and you are alone.
It's Tuesday morning, moments before your alarm clock goes off.
Your dream-hottie, real or not, is certainly not there, just about to plant one on you. And as you drift back into dreamland after hitting the snoozebar, you may be in the same park, in the same room, or wherever you were moments before waking, but that person is simply nowhere to be found."

"That's torture . . . " she sighed, pulling me closer and then she kissed me.

A pretty good weekend overall:

The goodness started Thursday evening, as many good weekends do: I had dinner with my friend Meredith at Tram's Kitchen. Friday I had a nice apres-work nap (also known as stacking Zs in some circles) and then met Jim and Chris at the Inn Termission for some beers and pool. Saturday, i went skiing with Barb, Jack, and his brother Mark. that was pretty sweet. And yesterday, when I woke up, mylegs were a little sore, so I went to the gym, did a little lifting (it's been a while), swam laps in the pool, and then went to visit my mom. While in the gym, i worked my tripceps (oneof my favorite groups to work) but maybe a bit too hard? This morning when I woke up, I cou;ldn't really move my arms. so That means I have to go back tomorrow and lift again to get 'em back in place. Exercise is good food.

And so is Boxstep. My pal Sarah Siplak signs with Boxstep, and they have a CD jsut coming out now. Gotta like whenyer pals are seling CD's here and over in Europe as well. Rock on Sarah!!!

Here you will find some grisly poems to read,
and some lovely pictures go with them indeed.

Peering from behind death's velvet curtain,
The author, of course, is one Tim Burton.

For these I must thank the girl on the bus,
The one so pretty she'll make you cuss.

And if you wouldn't venture a guess,
I'll go on and tell you, her name is Jess.

The word is kind of familiar, in that I've encountered it before, but never knew what it meant. Think ... MacGyver.

Bricolage - (French, 'doing odd jobs'). A characteristic (according to C. Levi-Strauss) of the early human mind, in contrast to modern scientific thinking. But bricolage is entirely rational (i.e. not pre-rational) in its own way. He introduced the term in The Savage Mind. A bricoleur is one who improvises and and uses any means or materials which happen to be lying around in order to tackle a task: 'The bricoleur is adept at executing a great number of diverse tasks; but unlike the engineer, he does not subordinate each of them to the availability of raw materials and tools, conceptualized and procured specifically for this project; his instrumental universe is closed, and the rule of his game is to make do with the means at hand.' In the making of myth, bricolage is the use of whatever happens to be 'lying around,' so that myth is both rational and improvisatory.

Courtesy of my pal Kurt, and of course the folks in Britain, I offer you these three items:


http://flash.trojangames.co.uk/tgames/movies/movie3.html
http://flash.trojangames.co.uk/tgames/movies/movie2.html
http://flash.trojangames.co.uk/tgames/movies/movie1.html

They are not obscene, just funny . . .

Whether I'm dateless or not, this approaching 'holiday' ranks low on my list
(below Columbus Day, but above Flag Day, maybe on par with Arbor Day?), and yet somewhere in the depths of my being, it does have something more than commercial appeal.

I guess . . .

I mean, it worked as an excuse to kiss a girl one night many moons ago: '"Well, no girl should go without being kissed on Valentines day," I said. And then I kinda ended up dating that girl. Hmmmm . . .

So I'm posting a couple items of interest, one for either sex, you can determine who gets what, or you can take both if you like, I won't know and it won't make a big difference to me either way. I'd hope it's not completely obvious that I'm dateless fo the weekend . . . anyways:

1. Gentlemen Beware: During the month of February in a leap year (like this year), it is kosher, kopacetic, considered fair game, in England (and their colonies?) for a woman to propose marriage to a man. Ok, wait, it's really just the last day, the 29th, so be ready. Although traditions and what not are looser now, or it could be anytime this month or this year or .... whenever. Ballsy, eh?

2. For those who are less interested in words, I offer you this link: Sweet Kisses Enjoy!

So Pennsylvanians, even if their convenience stores don't sell hooch, are still big time boozers. check it out . . . Pretty soon, we'll all be subscribers, eh?

Speaking of drinks n'at, I kinda like this Tiki Lounge place on Carson St, and apparently, it's a style of place popular with folks, dudes at least, all over.

Even though there's the little known spot in Friendship (a 7-11) that sells six-packs, for the most part, you can't find beer or alkeehol in a convenience store. But this makes me think , ... could it be true? that perhaps the Commonwealth is catching up with our neighbors? Eh . . . doubt it.

And then that's it for Bingo? Sheesh ...

Even the British politicians are looser than ours here in PA.

Some good fotolog pages to check:

Criminal; Debdamone; Roberta666; Biti; NERVOCRIATICO; MacWagen (aka Dan Buczinski?)

And Punxsatawney Phil says blah weather for the next six weeks . . . as if we needed a doped up groundhog to tell us that....

I want to go see Bubba Ho-tep, it's playing out at the Oaks Theater in Oakmont. THis movie features Bruce Campbell of Army of Darkness fame, and it's supposed to be top notch. Anyone wanna go? My car's down for the week (at least) so you'll have to drive.... :P

Here's the scoop, it's a limited engagement (from the Oaks webpage):

Bubba Ho-tep
SUN & MON @ 3:15, 5:15

TUE, WED, THU @ 5:15, 7:30, 9:30


PITTSBURGH EXCLUSIVE! Based on the Bram Stoker Award nominated short story by cult author Joe R. Lansdale, the stylish and funny "BUBBA HO-TEP" tells the "true" story of what really became of Elvis Presley. Bruce Campbell ("Evil Dead," “Army of Darkness”) and Ossie Davis ("Do the Right Thing") star as two elderly residents in an East Texas rest home plagued by an evil Egyptian mummy. Apparently Elvis (Campbell) actually switched identities with an Elvis impersonator years before his "death," and has now lost his desire to live. But when Elvis meets Jack (Davis), a fellow nursing home resident who thinks that he is actually President John F. Kennedy, the two old codgers sally forth to battle the mummy and rescue the other residents from losing their souls (as well as their lives)! At once a hilarious comedy and outrageously clever horror flick, "BUBBA HO-TEP" is a unique exploration of aging, dignity and the meaning of life.

It's like some local talent's Citizen Kane. but who in Pittsburgh would be Orson Welles? Ok, it seemed a bit hoi poloi (for the rock n' roll set at least) but i'm sad to see this place go. I saw a lot of good shows and this doesn't bode well for the music scene in Pittsburgh. Goodbye, Rosebud.

Correction: Apparently said sleepyhead foreign dignitary is a member of Congress: Democrat Representative Chuck Rangel. Thanks for the heads up, Joe! (see below)

here's a pretty cool article about an artist named Phillip Guston.

My favorite moment of Bush's State of the Onion address last night? When towards the end, the camera panned over to some foreign dignitary who was faaaast asleep . . . perhaps he's thinking deeply? No, he's dreaming . . . :P

Ok, so you may or may not have heard of the movie Big Fish. If you havent' you should check it out. Given recent events in my life, it held particular relevance for me, being a father/son type movie. Plus, Eddie Vedder and the Pearl Jam do the closing credit song, and blammo, it's a doozie. Quite fitting and a good song in and of itself.

I had my first class for the semester two weeks ago and saw this quote in the elementary school classroom where we had our first meeting:

"Be patient towards all that is unsolved in your heart, and learn to love the questions" - Rainer Maria RIlke

Dang! what a great thought for folks at any age (I'm finding it especially relevant in many realms ... ), and what a great school that must be (the Falk School in Oakland) for kids to be getting Rilke perhaps as early as 1st or even the 6th grade. Wish maybe I had gone there as a kid.

Today is my first day back to work. It's a big step in returning to normal.
So far it's going well, mostly I'm being left alone to do the piles of work that appeared while I was away. For those of you who don't know, my father passed away a week ago today (last Friday). He suffered from colon and liver cancer. He was 70, almost made it to his 71st birthday. It's a bit wierd sorting through all these emotions and stuff, but it's also quite an eye-opener learning experience. My father was a good man, and I'll surely miss him. As one friend aptly put it, "he was very sweet, yet scrappy." I am so very appreciative of all the friends and folks who came to pay their respects, and for those who couldn't make it... thanks for being there if only in your thoughts.

In memory of Dr. Lawrence A. Dunegan

February 23, 1923 - January 9, 2004