I think i totally messed things up with this blog. Thanks google.
You annoy me.
Sunday, April 29
"Estro-Centric Post-Prog Pop"
is how one of the band members describes Swan Island. They sound like an 80's band that with influences by Patty Smyth (from Scandal) & early Go-Gos (or Rush as my comrade so bizarrely stated).I'm listening to their album, "The Centre Will Hold". Track #2 "Nightowl" is a good one.
Oh, and since we're being all modern and shit, here's their MySpace page.
Flashback :: Brooklyn, NYC
sunrise Saturday, April 28
haha you checked my blog!
i know of 2 "parents" out there who are hitting my blog for the first time.
welcome, trashbags.
file under :: inside joke
Dinner :: Tonight
snapped on a crappier-than-thou cellphone
I better get some sex tonight.
That's Why God Made "Spas"
It's almost boring these days to cite an example of the blatant hypocrisy and stupidity that has pervaded the government - I don't even have to dig.
At the risk of sounding crass, this guy is a classA douchebag.
At the risk of sounding crass, this guy is a classA douchebag.
Bush official who promoted abstinence and denounced condoms resigns -- after admitting he used "D.C. Madam's" escort service -- for 'massages only'Click the link above to simultaneously trigger an eye-roll *and* an ulcer.
Thursday, April 26
Today's Creative Effort
Now before you go judgin' me, incorporate this: I rode my bike to and from the gym today, had a 1.5 hour session with trainer, and tried to play tennis for the first time in my life for 1 hour.
Wednesday, April 25
My Brain's Gonna Splode :: Wii, Orb, Haircut, NY
Begin bulleted list
- [I'd like to file this under 'early adopter'] So I got myself a Wii. It happened somewhat quickly and very nerdily. It's set up in my living room with the output projected on the wall in a nice 3x4 ft window. I already have tennis elbow (no joke) and have successfully sent some Miis over to my buddy who has one (and gets credit for turning me onto it).
I've been sehr diligent in my training and am already close to pro status in tennis. It gets better though -- after installing Orb on my media PC, I can access all files, pictures, videos, mp3s, and documents from my Wii. I now sit on my couch in the evenings and surf YouTube instead of watching TV. Welcome to the future. - Orb is a little program that acts sort of like a streaming server.. From any other machine you hit a website, log in, and have access to your host. It's very sweet, if not a bit buggy on my Vista laptop [grrr].
- Got shorn today. I'm moving back towards a 'hican [or is it mullethawk?]. Once I sort out exactly how its going to be documentation in the form of pictures will be posted.
- I'm going to New York next week to visit my family -- especially my ailing grandmother. I am very excited to be able to see her, but am simultaneously sad about what I expect to encounter when I get there. She fell very ill on Easter and her status is still somewhat unclear.
Saturday, April 21
Morning Is* Broken
[*That's the Long-Island way of referring to the Cat Stevens youth-ministry song that was in an orange juice commercial back in like 1979.]
My favorite time of day is are the first quiet hours. I really dig the hour or 2 after waking up (as long as it's not super-freezing and/or still dark) when most others are still asleep and I can sit with my coffee and let my thoughts arrange themselves somewhat spontaneously.
I tend to rouse early and quickly. Shortly after I exit the sleep state, I gotta get my ass out of bed. Occasionally - as on a Saturday like today - I will swear to myself that "I'm gonna sleep in", but without fail sometime between 6am and 8.30am I will wake up, completely lucid but feeling physically very comfy, then try to settle back in to sleep for another 30 minutes or so. This is when the uncontrollable body-fidgeting begins. I can't explain nor control it - but no position in which I configure my body is comfortable for more than like 30 seconds. It's similar to a bout of hyperactivity, but in a stop-motion sort of way. I basically begin sleep-pose 'vogueing' in succession until I a) get reprimanded or b) tire of anticipating getting reprimanded so I just give up and aufstehen.
I make coffee and boot up the news, etc. Until that peaceful quiet is broken by either teeth-grindingly loud construction or the presence of another.
That time just came.
My favorite time of day is are the first quiet hours. I really dig the hour or 2 after waking up (as long as it's not super-freezing and/or still dark) when most others are still asleep and I can sit with my coffee and let my thoughts arrange themselves somewhat spontaneously.
I tend to rouse early and quickly. Shortly after I exit the sleep state, I gotta get my ass out of bed. Occasionally - as on a Saturday like today - I will swear to myself that "I'm gonna sleep in", but without fail sometime between 6am and 8.30am I will wake up, completely lucid but feeling physically very comfy, then try to settle back in to sleep for another 30 minutes or so. This is when the uncontrollable body-fidgeting begins. I can't explain nor control it - but no position in which I configure my body is comfortable for more than like 30 seconds. It's similar to a bout of hyperactivity, but in a stop-motion sort of way. I basically begin sleep-pose 'vogueing' in succession until I a) get reprimanded or b) tire of anticipating getting reprimanded so I just give up and aufstehen.
I make coffee and boot up the news, etc. Until that peaceful quiet is broken by either teeth-grindingly loud construction or the presence of another.
That time just came.
Thursday, April 19
Where My Head's At :: music
I woke up at 5.45am and was driving to the gym in a somewhat dismal mood when this came on and it had the surprising effect of totally turning my mood around. I'd like to think I kicked ass this morning with my trainer but I think he went easy on me somewhat.
Regardless, it's stuck in my head and the sun's out. I am expecting a very important and exciting delivery from UPS today which further bumps me up. Listen to it thru the opening somewhat played female AppleTalk vocal till the remix kicks in.
Enjoy.
GLOBAL DEEJAYS - THE SOUND OF SAN FRANCISCO (3:36)
Regardless, it's stuck in my head and the sun's out. I am expecting a very important and exciting delivery from UPS today which further bumps me up. Listen to it thru the opening somewhat played female AppleTalk vocal till the remix kicks in.
Enjoy.
GLOBAL DEEJAYS - THE SOUND OF SAN FRANCISCO (3:36)
Wednesday, April 18
Hey What Ever Happened to Him?
Steve Kmetko from E!After a semi-exhaustive search, I've been unable to figure out what happened to Steve Kmetko. He parted ways with Greg Louganis and did a brief stint on some private gay news channel, but the last 4 years, nada.
Tuesday, April 17
I'm Not Sayin'...I'm Just Sayin'
Marijuana Compound May Fight Lung Cancer[Forbes.com of all places]
TUESDAY, April 17 (HealthDay News) -- While smoking marijuana is never good for the lungs, the active ingredient in pot may help fight lung cancer, new research shows.
TUESDAY, April 17 (HealthDay News) -- While smoking marijuana is never good for the lungs, the active ingredient in pot may help fight lung cancer, new research shows.
Monday, April 16
Sunday, April 15
What Do You Call This Sort of Word Play?
IT'S NOT A REBUS, AND WHILE IT MAY BE AN IDEOGRAM, THAT'S THERE'S A MORE PRECISE WORD TO DESCRIBE THIS TYPE OF TYPOGRAPHIC WORDPLAY. TELL ME WHAT IT IS. CASH PRIZE FOR THE 1ST CORRECT ANSWER. (AND YES, I GOOGLED, WIKIPEDIA-ED, AD NAUSEUM.)
*NOTE: I MADE A CONSCIOUS, PERSONAL CHOICE TO TRY TO CREATE SOMETHING EACH DAY, A SORT OF A MANDATORY ART EXERCISE. I GUESS THIS WAS TODAY'S EXERCISE.
There's No Place Like Home
Saturday, April 14
Fair Warning
YOU KNOW THAT 'BIG DICK FAIRY' YOU'VE HEARD ABOUT FROM YOUR SPAM FOLDER?DO NOT GOOGLE IMAGE-SEARCH TO SEE WHAT S/HE LOOKS LIKE.
TRUST ME.
Weekend Activity: Gallery Crawling :: Bergamot Station
Bergamot Station is a cluster of galleries in warehouses that used to be a stop for the Red Line trolley running from LA to the Santa Monica Pier. I was pleasantly surprised by both the number of galleries and the quality of some of the artwork.
This is my favorite and if I had an extra $5K lying around I'd put it in my living room:
David Buckingham, 47"H X 41'W X 3'D
Friday, April 13
At the Intersection of Hypocrite Way & Illogical Avenue
Bush Calls for 'Culture of Life' [MyWay]
Hm. "Culture of life"? Hang on a minute, let my try to understand that apparently redundant (and dumb) phrase. [thinks for approximately 1 second]
I guess it's the opposite of a culture that fosters like...death, right? But wait a minute, the definition of life inherently holds the implication of the phenomenon of death, so it..doesn't..really make sense. Oh nevermind, heh heh.. there I go again, applying those critical thinking skills to things that don't really require them.
Okay, I'll just take it at it's (stupid) face value. "Culture of Life"! I guess that means like a culture that's Up with Life! and Down with Death!
Oh no? You mean it's a culture where stem cell research is prohibited? Oh..Um, I guess I could see how you'd arrive at that. [Lying to be polite]
I know! A "culture of life" would be one where they had a law that punished people for like crucifying a kid on a fence (literally) because he was gay! That would like foster a culture of life -- cause like it would be saying "it's bad to kill people", right?
No? Huh.
Okay well at least it's got the 'no war' thing in it, right? I'd imagine any culture of life's first action-item would be avoiding the death of large numbers of persons -- many of them innocent civilians and children. Er..Hm.
Keep dishing it out, pres
Hm. "Culture of life"? Hang on a minute, let my try to understand that apparently redundant (and dumb) phrase. [thinks for approximately 1 second]
I guess it's the opposite of a culture that fosters like...death, right? But wait a minute, the definition of life inherently holds the implication of the phenomenon of death, so it..doesn't..really make sense. Oh nevermind, heh heh.. there I go again, applying those critical thinking skills to things that don't really require them.
Okay, I'll just take it at it's (stupid) face value. "Culture of Life"! I guess that means like a culture that's Up with Life! and Down with Death!
Oh no? You mean it's a culture where stem cell research is prohibited? Oh..Um, I guess I could see how you'd arrive at that. [Lying to be polite]
I know! A "culture of life" would be one where they had a law that punished people for like crucifying a kid on a fence (literally) because he was gay! That would like foster a culture of life -- cause like it would be saying "it's bad to kill people", right?
No? Huh.
Okay well at least it's got the 'no war' thing in it, right? I'd imagine any culture of life's first action-item would be avoiding the death of large numbers of persons -- many of them innocent civilians and children. Er..Hm.
Keep dishing it out, presThursday, April 12
*Finally* Some Significant Good News
Liver regeneration: Simpler than thought [UPI]
...Harvard Medical School researchers said their findings could significantly affect the way physicians make livers regrow in patients who have liver diseases such as cirrhosis, hepatitis or cancer.
Yay science!
THE COMMUNIST PARTY
...Harvard Medical School researchers said their findings could significantly affect the way physicians make livers regrow in patients who have liver diseases such as cirrhosis, hepatitis or cancer.
Yay science!
THE COMMUNIST PARTYMonday, April 9
Cause Shooting Stuff's Cool -- Even If I Can't See It
Blind hunters in Texas to use laser sights [RawStory]
My favorite quote:
"It's not just a sighted sport -- you're using all your senses."
Good point. Nothing is more exciting then smelling the thing you're trying to take down with a projectile bullet from a safe distance, hidden in some bushes. Ah, the bravery. The valor.
Hm. Another reason I won't be visiting Texas any time soon.
I propose one caveat to this 'trend' of assisting blind hunters with lasers and sighted hunters: they have to find their kill in the field unaided.
My favorite quote:
"It's not just a sighted sport -- you're using all your senses."
Good point. Nothing is more exciting then smelling the thing you're trying to take down with a projectile bullet from a safe distance, hidden in some bushes. Ah, the bravery. The valor.
Hm. Another reason I won't be visiting Texas any time soon.
I propose one caveat to this 'trend' of assisting blind hunters with lasers and sighted hunters: they have to find their kill in the field unaided.
Friday, April 6
Flashback: Good Friday
When I was a wee lad, Good Friday was a memorable day. It's funny - I don't think of myself as having grown up in a particularly religious household and I always considered our transfer to catholic grammar school from the local public school as having been due to social reasons (my parents' friends' kids all went), but when I look back on my impressions from Good Friday it can read somewhat like a passage from Stephen King's "Carrie" or something.I think school was closed from Holy Thursday (no idea what that is - the last supper?) & Good Friday. For a couple of years back then my mom used to remind us that "Jesus was on the cross from 12 noon till 3" dying slowly for some reason that somehow benefited/involved me. We were not allowed to watch television, or listen to the radio (man this makes me sound ooold) or do anything else that...required electricity, I think. We were supposed to just sit quietly and reflect on..crucifixion, I guess? I clearly remember that one of the books on their living room bookshelf was an old, dry hardcover - "The Day Christ Died" - which I would flip through in search of the color-plates that illustrated moments from the whole (Passion) story.
Regardless, I recall those afternoons as quiet, somber, and somewhat...heavy. More often then not though, my brother, sister, and I would grow restless from this forced "time-out" and wear my mom down to the point that she'd allow us to "go outside" if we simply couldn't bear to sit quietly for that long.
And sometimes (this must have been very early because I don't remember my brother - must have still been attending public school) my mother would bring my sister and I up to church on Good Friday. It was open (unlocked) but nothing was going on really, mostly just old women sitting in pews mumbling the rosary to themselves while they shuffled through the beads. I'm pretty sure the (electric) lights were not lit in the church. At the front of the central aisle there would be a crucifix in a stand, low on the ground. You had to walk up to it, kneel in front of it, "pray" silently for a couple minutes, then kiss the hands and feet of Jesus on the cross before standing up and walking back to your seat. On this I remember 2 things: first, it seemed to tie in with the "kiss my boo-boo" course of medical treatment that children often receive and second, that it was kind of weird and gross that all these (old) strangers were putting their mouths where I also had to.
So there was no talk of dirty pillows or hell or anything, but it was pretty religious a day there for a while.
from the Museo del Bellas Artes, Buenos Aires
Ahhh..Christianity at Easter
If one doesn't see the sad irony and blatant hypocrisy in this..
I mean for realz, WWJD?
Lesbian Couple in Wyo. Denied Communion [MyWay News]
My favorite part of the article:
I mean for realz, WWJD?
Lesbian Couple in Wyo. Denied Communion [MyWay News]
My favorite part of the article:
Huskinson questioned why Catholics having premarital sex and using birth control are not barred from receiving Communion, too. But the parish priest said the difference is this: The other Catholics are "not going around broadcasting, 'Hey I'm having sex outside of marriage' or 'I'm using birth control.'"There you have it folks. In the Christian metaphysic you just need to hide your sins and have a happy Easter.
Thursday, April 5
Easter Is Weird
It seems that every Easter for the past bunch of years brings with it unusual circumstances, odd aggregates of people, interesting eats. It just seems to be like the antipode holiday to Thanksgiving, which is usually pretty standarized across the board - the food, the company, the weather...
I do know the 3rd Annual Championship Egg Coloring IronMan Competition will be taking place but that's about it. Hm. I need to brainstorm some ideas for egg design.
Last year's stunning finalists
I do know the 3rd Annual Championship Egg Coloring IronMan Competition will be taking place but that's about it. Hm. I need to brainstorm some ideas for egg design.
Last year's stunning finalistsWednesday, April 4
Houseguest!
Arrives tomorrow night. A very dear old, old, old, old friend is coming to stay for Easter. Actually, she's agnostic, daughter of an atheist Jew but w/e. We're coloring eggs Saturday for the 3rd (?) annual.
I scrubbed the bathroom top to bottom, cleaned the guest room, dusted/vacuumed/organized etc. and will finish the remainder tomorrow. After my 7am training session.
Maybe I'll start photo blogging the physical transformation that is going on in my mid-region.
So both of you can see my progress. lolz
I scrubbed the bathroom top to bottom, cleaned the guest room, dusted/vacuumed/organized etc. and will finish the remainder tomorrow. After my 7am training session.
Maybe I'll start photo blogging the physical transformation that is going on in my mid-region.
So both of you can see my progress. lolz
Christ Getting In Shape For Second Coming
"If every eye is going to see Me, and all the tribes of earth are going to wail on account of Me, I think I owe it to them and to Myself to be in the best shape of My life," Christ said. "Right now I'm up to 35 minutes at seven [miles per hour] on the treadmill and benching about 165 [pounds]."
Doubleplusungood If You Watch Fox "News"
Watch this video clip of the actual news reporters blatantly speak nontruth as they report on the results of the "Most Foolish Person" poll that was conducted. Pay close attention the the slide at the end that posts the actual data in contrast with the bullshit that comes out of the anchors' mouths'.
Intelligent Timesuck
This is a cool Java applet that calls itself "the Genealogy of Influence":
**Note: it is entirely western culture here - no mention of our eastern brothers and sisters from the contemplative arts.
a visualization of the connections betweenRegardless, it's both informative and fun. Click on the individual to expand information, drag em around to rearrange.
the most influential writers, artists, philosophers,
scientists, and mathematicians of Western culture
**Note: it is entirely western culture here - no mention of our eastern brothers and sisters from the contemplative arts.
Tuesday, April 3
Live Blogging: File Under The Obvious
American Idol sucks. As prime-time "entertainment", as 'reality-based television' whatever. It sucks. It tries, quite unsuccessfully, to create a sense of immediate drama that simply does not exist. It reminds me of The Gong Show -- except it sucks. The Gong Show had personality...and Chuck Barris. My daddy.
He got weird later in life though. :(
Anyway, Sanjaya was just on. But I was in the other room. Paula Adbul said he was charming but that his vocals were "off" or something in the first part of his song. I think that's the nice way of saying he sucked. I'm glad I never watched this show.
He got weird later in life though. :(Whew!
This morning at 7am I had a PT session. Luckily, there were not (m)any plyometric exercises involved. We focused on the usual strength-exhaustion routine:
Warm up: elliptical 5 mins
Warm up: elliptical 5 mins
Bent-over row using a long barbell
- Squat to a leaning in overhead press using long barbell
- Barbell curls
- push ups
- Medicine Ball Squat (arms outstretched, touching ball to floor in squat, lifting out and over head as standing)
- Medicine ball alternating side twists
- ball crunches (feet up on wall) with weight held out arms length
- passing fitness ball hands-feet v-ups
- Treadmill 12 minutes, last 3 running up max incline
Monday, April 2
More Photograph
The World Trade Center, NYC before those assholes went and blew it up.
A good friend of mine used to live across the street from here.
A good friend of mine used to live across the street from here.
She died 2 years later. I miss her.
click the pic you know the drill
click the pic you know the drillSunday, April 1
Holy █████ Why didn't I █████ ██ ████ sooner?
Haha, this is a good idea. I can write some entries being completely honest, using my friends' names like ███ or ████ all I want. I can say how I ██████ someone's █████ or grabbed my ████ if I wanted.
Redactions are the new black.
Redactions are the new black.
Step 1 In My Effort to Post More Photographs I've Taken
I took this picture in Kathmandu, Nepal back in like 1996. Click on the image to see it full-size.
