Film Fest Update

Here is a tentative screening line-up for the film fest. We reserve the right to change our minds up to the last minute:

Rocky III
Torque
The Big Lebowski
Punisher: War Zone
Point Break
Tombstone
Evil Dead II
TBD

I'm not sure about the last one yet, I'm thinking about either book ending with Stallone and showing Rambo: First Blood II (Directed by the same guy who did Tombstone I just found out) or an Edgar Wright/Quentin Tarantino recommendation called Silent Rage starring the man who leaves a trail of tears and blood wherever he goes...one Chuck Norris. We'll start screening at 8am and take a lunch break around 11:30am so if there is a movie you really wanna see you can work out the schedule from here.

So Many Movies, So Little Time

I'm starting to get pretty excited and about Pete & Randy's 1st annual Film Fest Marathon. Here's whats on my short list so far. This is without having seen Randy's list yet. I'll have to narrow it down to 4 which is going to be difficult:
1) Bottle Rocket
2) Rushmore
3) The Big Lebowski
4) Raiders of the Lost Ark
5) Jaws
6) Tombstone
7) Raising Arizona
8) Cool Hand Luke
9) Big Trouble in Little China
10) Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan

This is Really Happening

This Saturday, Randy and I are going to do a 16 hour film festival at my house. 4 of the films will be his picks. 4 of the films will be my picks. There is no theme and there are no rules, except that for timing's sake they can't be much over 2 hours. Talking and commentary will not only be allowed but encouraged so long as its of a filmic nature. I would like to invite anyone and everyone to stop in throughout the day anytime for some good cinema, beer and good converstation. The screenings have not yet been announced, but will be within the next few days. I'm not sure if I'm going to publish the order or not, you might just have to take your chances. Rest assured though that anytime you stop by, we will be screening a bit of cinematic gold.

The guy in the middle is Randy's Dad.

It's not a fake, here's the link

One question

Why is it that a flight between Chicago and LA only costs $289 or so?
But a flight from Cordova to LA costs $806?

Things that make you go hmmm...

Possible Answers

1) When there is only one road, there are only so many ways to identify it.
2) Since man's early days he gathered around the fire for warmth and protection. People are naturally drawn to it. Also, when the parents live on a virtual island there is really isn't anyway to get them out of the house for the night.
3)That wasn't really a question.
4)Alcohol. Remember kegs in the pool? Urination into the neighbors yard. Vomit on your bed. It's all interrelated.
5) Probably because when you pay all that money for a big truck you would expect that it could make its way out of a puddle.
6)if you think she was sucking them off then yes. Self esteem issues. I will say this, you were probably the only one besides the four that noticed. You always were a keen observer of the human condition.
7)Damp conditions, out of control breeding and no natural predators. Don't you guys have bats up there?
8)Again, yes you should have. You should have disappeared on that thing and hid it behind a tree or something. 4 wheelers are fun, never pass up a chance to drive one. Just watch out for cow shit.
9)You should have "done" her. Let people think it chicks like guys with skills. Acting skills, improv skills, video game skills.
10) "You're here to save the world, what a mind job...what do you say to something like that"

Questions I thought about at a Party

I went to a roadside party here in Cordova on the 4th of july. I was invited by some people who graduated high school 1 year ago. They even didn't invite me to bring beer when I asked they said they had enough. But there were a bunch of questions I came up with.
1. Party was at Mile 27 why are there no adresses or streets. Everything here is done by mile markers. This was the 3rd party where the directions to the party were given by number of miles. The others were at 6 mile, 23 mile, now 27 mile.
2. Why do all parties here contain a bonfire are there no house parties here.
3. Kids asking me I bet Mrs. Moe doesn't know I do this while they are drinking. I guess they think my Mom is a retard.
4. Why people here throw fireworks into the ground. They lit them and threw them in the ground they weren't set in the ground. This resulted in a girls hair being singed which nobody apologized for.
5. Why do people who drive big trucks get all mad when their trucks get stuck in the puddle of water and mud they were driving through.
6. There was a girl who left with a different boy 4 times and then they came back 15 minutes later. Were they doing what I think they were doing.
7. Why are there so many mosquitoes
8. Should I ask to take this guys 4 wheeler for a spin. About 5 people did and they said it was the best 4 wheeler they had ever been on.
9. People thinking I "did" that gossip girl (Blake Lively) when I was doing the movie Accepted cuz I was in her trailer one time.
MOST IMPORTANTLY
10. Why am I here

It was fun but I think these are interesting questions that could lead to interesting posts. If any of you have answeres to these questions either comment or post them. Later.

"War is destructive, even for the victors."

As I write this a fairly large spider dangles to my right, building some kind of web nest. I am trying to keep an eye on this pest, this hated animal, when I realize it is on the move, directly behind me it crawls across an invisible bridge across the steps on which I sit. Just as it reaches the other side, it surprisingly falls. I've lost sight of this dangerous entity, the common house arachnid. I not so slowly get to my feet to see it had crawled right up to my butt, presumably to kill me and make a mockery of his whole proceeding.
I stare the spider down as he crawls over the book by Sun Tzu I am reading. At this point is the best time to destroy my enemy but I decide to let them live. Maybe one day an enemy of mine could afford me the same mercy.
He crawls over the front cover, spine and back cover as if to mock my efforts at self-learning, and then not so slowly creeps up into the night.

A Plea

Could somebody please post something? I haven't been in a writing mood lately and I have to chose the subject matter a little more carefully since the audience has *ahem* widened.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY ALEX

Pete to Randy

I might get Hawk: The Slayer in the mail today so you might want to work that into your planning process. In the DVD commentary in the Spaced episode that references the movie, Edgar Wright says it's a very bad movie, so we may be in for a crapfest delight. You know what my favorite bad movie that we watched is? Ghost Ship. I really love that opening scene where the cable slices everybody in half, its craptacular. I'm excited to see what you have in mind for tonite. Your last stint planning a night out turned out to be a real adventure. They told me to tell you "Hi" at Applebee's last night. After I explained that you were in a bad place, mentally that fateful night they understood. "The aftermath of Taken has been hard on us all" they said. Anyway, they say no hard feelings you can come back any time. They wanted to know how you liked Watchmen but I just said, "don't ask." I hope your plans tonight don't involve going to Hollywood and Highland like you suggested last night. I have to be honest, I'm so old now that I don't even really know what that is. Does Paris Hilton hang out there? I still say that if I got a chance to lay down some tight beats for Paris that she would dig me. Not that I like Paris, but it would be an interesting sociological experiment wouldn't it.

Thoughts while driving the interstate 10 West

Clearman's Galley (the new one) is just OK. I have not established a great rapport with the place, not like I did the old one. I used to like sitting by the big-screen tv in the southeast corner. Now most of the tvs adorn spaces near the ceiling, and they are too small for such viewing from afar. I miss the little dinghy with all the condiments and napkins, what not as well. I like the full bar. But I haven't gotten used to the cleanliness in presentation and lines that the new Boat offers. Plus, for some strange reason (probably only in my mind) the food don't taste as good as it usedta.

It is faster to take the I-60 than it is to take the I-10. Also, instead of taking just the I-5 to Disneyland, take (edit)HWY 57 instead. It turns into the five. Much better, trust me.

There are a gang of strip clubs in Industry. I have been to some of them.

Superhero movies usually let me down. The last one I saw, "Hellboy" on DVD was a pleasant surprise. Either I want to have zero expectations going in, or I want the movie to be utterly faithful to the source material. No mixing and matching for the sake of cramming as much action into the movie as possible. For example, I thought X-Men 3 was craptacular because they tried to include too many characters thus neglecting the storyline which was completely bloated with too many ideas. Stick to one or two plots. With Hellboy, I had no idea what was going on yet I enjoyed it because the plot seemed straightforward.

Ronald Reagan was a war criminal.

I never worry about the gas tank anymore because I always fill it up when stopping for fuel. A sign of maturity? I dunno.

oh what a beautiful morning.

i took this picture from my patio yesterday morning before leaving for work. it's so purty here.

The Pantene Effect

There was no bar soap in the shower this morning. Which I knew because there was no bar soap in the shower yesterday, because I used it all. But of course my half sleeping pre-morning shower brain didn't realize this until I was good and wet. Lauri had already left for work so there was no yelling out, "Lauri, bring me some soap!" So two very simple options present themselves, the first is to towel off, walk to the hall closet, dripping on the carpet on the way and get a new bar of soap orrrrrr I could improvise. Shampoo is soap right? It's just liquid soap. People use liquid soap all the time with those loofas. So yes, I washed myself with shampoo this morning. I washed my armpits, I washed my apendages, and yes I washed my unmentionables with shampoo. I find that my pubes are especially soft, shiny and managable today.
***As of this publication there is still no bar soap in the shower

The problem is...

I got nothing to do. If you have read all 10 previous posts. You are either thinking man Randy is super lame, a total genius or has too much free time at work. I would have to agree with you on the last two not so much the first.

A Friendly Haiku

Pete is my best friend (5)
Lauri is my best girlfriend (7)
Tim is real cool too (5)

Another haiku for you

Seven hours gone (5)
Only one more hour left (7)
Then to home I go (5)

Started something

Did you ever start something that at first you thought was a great idea but then about halfway through you thought about it and what once seemed like a great idea wasn't anymore?

Postponed

The Forever21 company picnic was scheduled for Saturday May 16 but due to the recent public concerns over the spread of the H1N1 flu and the Company’s priority on the health & safety of our employees, the annual picnic has been postponed until September.
Damn swine flu I wanted a big TV.

Don't forget

Don't forget everyone the 3rd Annual JBC is this Saturday!!
Be there or be square.

Really?

So you'd think a guy who works on computers all day and night would be able to figure out how to change some small details on the blog as he sees fit. You'd be wrong.

Old Posts

If you haven't checked it out you should definitely check out older posts they are far more entertaining than my haiku.

A little Haiku for you

Sitting here at work (5)
8 o clock nothing to do (7)
This is my haiku (5)

-Randy

Movie Quote

Luminous beings are we, not this crude matter.

Pubs?

Pete brought up an interesting point to me on Sunday, I believe.
Why are there no pubs here? And if there are where are they?

PETE! Free comic book day is this Saturday!!!

HIT THAT SHIT UP... Everyone else interested... here's a link:

http://www.freecomicbookday.com/

This is what a Google search led me to....

I can't even begin to recall how I came to search Google images for St. Elizabeth Church photos... but that led me to Altadena's website. Then I read an abridged history of the City of Altadena (written by Mike Manning... ha!). That brought me to a blog written mainly by members of the Altadena Chamber of Commerce - when this article caught my eye. I'd love to hear what you guys think since I'm removed from the situation now.

http://ywcapasadena.blogspot.com/2008/08/wrong-side-of-tracks.html

We Kick ASS!!!!!

I just read all of 2005 posts or at least skimmed through all of them while listening to my ipod. After getting pissed that I'm not there and also crying from laughing so hard. I came to the realization that everyone who is on this blog KICKS SERIOUS ASS!!!!!!! I mean it all of you guys are great. Dammit! I wish it was still 2005 partly because I had a high society girlfriend in Haylie Duff. Just thought I should say that. I would blog more but I got nothing to blog about.

The Graveyard Shift

Ha. My dad used to work at the big Post Office on Lincoln, pretty much for as long as I was alive, til he died. He worked some weird hours; he'd leave after dinner at around 530 and get back home 'round 230 in the am. Me and my sister, Angela, watching reruns of Taxi and Tales From the Darkside would see the headlights and hear his car pull into the driveway as we scurried to our rooms.

I wonder if my mom ever thought that my dad cheated on her? Probably, I guess that's natural? But after he passed, some of his friends told me they admired that my dad never really looked at any other chicks even when they went out drinkin. Don't really know if that's true but I appreciate it I guess.

Anyway that's a weird way to start a post. I was reminded of stayin up late probably because of Randy's post title and also because I am actually staying up late too. Why am I up late you ask. Well I am painting a portrait of George and Priscilla Miranda. Why am I doing you wonder. Well I am a motherfucker I guess. But it's fun times believe it or not, I did a shot or two of Maker's and washin it down with some Heiny.

Times are alright. I wish it was hott already. I still work too much thought most of my time is spent playing basketball and making food. So that's pretty cool. Then again my work and home life intersect so much that I really actually live inside my own rat race, only there's no race, only kids who need food and guidance.

Oh by the way!!! There's a party here at Southwestern Academy (2800 Monterey Rd. San Marino 91108...Dave knows where it is he takes advantage of the gym every so) called ArtsFest at the end of the month, Apr 30th a Tuesday to be exack. And you all are invited. There's art and music and a fashion show I think? And me and Steffanie is gonna be there. PLus I have some pieces I been working on there. So it would be cool and it starts at 2pm until sunset. Also there is raffles for thinks like wiis and bicycles.

enough self-promotion... did i tell you guys the steff is my beer pong partner in the upcoming JBC?? (JOE BIMA CLASSIC!!!) this is the thrid annual one, suckas!!!

ps i don't think you guyse are suckers. thanks for reading this far i love you.

The Late Shift

So hey all. I haven't blogged in a while and I am not sure why i am now. Possibley because for some unknown reason this is the only website I can access at work. They must not have known too much about this when they blocked certain sites from viewing.
Anyway so I here at work and frankly am bored to death. I can only listen to my iPod for so long. Especially when they are all songs you have heard so many times. But that's life. So working at night sucks more or less because it is slow which is cool sorta however with no calls intense boredom sets in and with nothing to relieve it. It has been known to lead to madness.
With happiness though I can report I do have Friday and Saturday off for sure. Hopefully Sunday and Monday as well. I have worked 10 days in a row I think I deserve it. And before I get replies saying I work more than 10 days all the time, relax. I am not saying my job is harder or I deserve these days off more than you, just saying.
I think I will attempt to drink some this weekend. Hopefully this will lead to madcap and pointless adventures. Aren't those the best though. Anyway, why do I say anyway a lot? So...
I just got a call from a Store. As you probably all know I work for an IT Support Call Center. We answer the problems and fix problems for people who are not very computer savvy let's say. They are idiots. So like I said I just got a call. The store informs me the time on their registers is wrong. WAIT. What? Yes DST change happened like what a month ago and this Store is just now realizing that maybe this is why their Sales have been off for like the past month. Like I said savvy. I get calls like this every day. Sometimes they actually have problems that I can't fix or are challenging. But no most of the time, "My computer froze." RESTART THE DAMN THING! This isn't fucking rocket science is it? Sorry I have to vent sometimes.
Well I am going to go back to trying to do something productive. I know this post wasn't the best. But it is something to read for 5 minutes. Later y'all.

HAPPY EASTER

Oldies but Goodies!

I'd like to suggest to all of you reading the old posts we use to write. Our template has a nice feature that allows you to go back to 2005 if you wish. Check it out....

Twitter?

Well its been a long time since i've blogged. Work has been ridiculous lately so i kinda blame that on not blogging. But who am i kidding, i just wouldn't anyway. I do love looking at the pics Sheila has been adding. Keep us (me) updated on the house/move.

So at work the other day, i went to a seminar on how to Tweet on Twitter. Twitter has its own lingo and its own world. We were taught by an English fellow who had a great accent; I think that had made the seminar more interesting. He showed us youtube videos and statistics about Twitter. After going to this seminar, i've decided that Twitter isn't for me. Your allowed only 140 characters to type and everyone can see it and then they can "follow" you. The only thing that was kinda interesting was using "tweet-ups". You send out a "Tweet-Up" and say that you'll be at Matt Denny's and then people will "Follow" you. i just wanna send out a text to certain people and hope they join me. i'm a simple girl i guess. :) Are any of you on Twitter?

little house on the prairie

here's a picture of the house matt and i are buying. it's not little... but it is on the prairie. it's a bit rough now but it'll be amazing when we're done with it! i'll post updates of our remodel.

Back with a wimper

It's hard to follow up a good post. Randy's rampage got a lot of buzz and I wanted to continue the trend but I didn't know how. I couldn't keep up the "Randy does something unexpected" theme forever. Anyway, thats the mostly the reason for the long silence. That and the fact that I singlehandedly opened a new convention center (at least thats how it will read on my resume). Oh yeah, and I've fought off the Ebola virus once again. Still I have had several things on my mind that I think are worth sharing.
Number One:
I've decided that if I could be in any band at time throughout history, it would be Creedence Clearwater Revival.
Number Two:
I saw Watchmen on opening night and it was everything I hoped it wouldn't be. It was just okay. Besides changing the ending which I thought was a cop out, it hit all the major plot points and cut out all the subtlety and layering. Zak Snyder did nothing with the source material that could not have been done by any run of the mill hack director. However, I actually think it disappointed me enough that I'll never watch it again and stick to reading the book every few years.
Number Three:
I wish reality TV of any kind could be uninvented. I have nothing against midgets, drug addicts, fat people, people trying to buy, sell or improve thier homes, people trying to become or remain famous, I just wish I could not see those particular people on TV ever.

Is that not the cutiest fucking thing you've ever seen in your life?

A special present for Pete

I've never met someone so dedicated to the fine art of swearing like Pete. He's the only person I know to have judged a movie for not having enough use of the word "fuck". In his honor, I present to you every swear ever used in the entire run of the Sopranos:



the sopranos, uncensored. from victor solomon on Vimeo.

The latest:

Matt celebrated his 32nd birthday on Monday - we had a good old fashioned birthday party (as evidenced by the cake). Just look at the excitement on his face! My parents and I went in on a Wii for Matt... we haven't spent any quality time together since!

Closing day was changed to March 5th - less than two weeks from today. So now we start packing up our life. I took the dogs out this morning and wondered, "What if I just left all this poo in the yard?" Thank God I worked at Uline - we were able to get a ton of stuff for cheap.

I guess that's about it. Matt's back from Vegas tonight (business, not pleasure). Alice went to the vet again yesterday - she has a going problem that's becoming a growing problem. But she's on medication for a couple weeks - I'll let you know how she's doing (Lauri).

Top 5 Singers

Cuz we haven't done one in a long time I thought we could do another Top 5 but this time list the sexy sirens who melt your heart with their voices:

1. Leona Lewis - A sexy british girl who has a nice body, writes her own songs, has a sexy british accent . . . oh she can sing good too.
2. Britney Spears - After absence from the Top 5 she jumps back in with her hot bod and her catchy pop ditties.
3. Katy Perry - Am I the only one that finds her very sexy? She admits she kissed a girl and she liked it. By the way Maxim said they longed for her a bi -curious preacher's daughter who looks like she should be painted on a B-52 bomber. I agree.
4. Hayley Williams (of Paramore) - Any girl who can yell and rock out is hot.
5. Taylor Swift - Hottest Country singer out there who's also making counrty wildly popular (but Randy might think otherwise).

Yep...

We're moving to Indianapolis! Here's what'll probably be the last pic of our house. And I think Matt was feeling left out of our blog so here's a picture of him today too... lol.

News..

Since Sheila has been posting and commenting on the blog lately, i figured I'd spill the beans on her news. (sorry Sheila if ya didn't want me to tell). Sheila and her husband Matt are moving to Indiana in a month. Matt is originally from Indiana, so they'd be moving back close to his family. Enjoy house hunting and keep sending pics of the kids (aka Rudy and Alice)!! And don't forget to blog either! :)

Rudy

And here we have Rudy by the fire - her favorite place to be!

Alice

Just for the record, I don't usually dress my dogs in sweaters. She seemed to like it though!

Jeff and Randy Fought, the Raccoons Won

This isn't how I wanted it to go down and I tried to stop him, I really did. But the fact is that Jeff caught a beat down last night and Randy was the one who did it. Well, Randy and the Raccoons.
After posting about the Applebee's incident last night I thought I'd better check on Randy, as I read the story back to myself I realized that it had been a long time since we'd had a night like that and Randy might have been feeling a little...on edge. When I got to his house, Jeff had already commented on my post. See the comments on the post below to see what he wrote. Randy, to say the least, was not happy. When he answered the door, he didn't even say hello, he went right into it.
"What's with this motherfucker!?"
"Wha?"
"Jeff's comment on your post! Doesn't he know I ain't to be trifled with? Especially after last night?" He said as he pointed to the open laptop on his desk. Reading Jeff's comment, I could see why Randy was so pissed, but I tried to diffuse the situation.
"That's just his sense of humor..."
"Fuck that! Lets roll."
I shrugged, as I followed him out the door and out to his car I figured that was it. A few beers and a few laughs and everything would be back to normal. But in the back of my mind I could see that a switch had been thrown in Randy's brain. For me, looking back on Taken, I think it was the sheer banality of the movie that really got Randy's hackles up. A person can only take so much mediocrity before he decides he needs to become the shrieking banshee howling over the mind numbing din. As we got his car, I asked Randy where we were rolling to, he said, "we are going to settle the score."
"Not Dave and Buster's again," I said, "I beat you at Time Crisis 20 fucking times now and it ain't gonna change tonight."
I could barely see his eyes as he looked over at me in the dark car, but what was unmistakable was that knowing smirk as we pulled away into the night. When we started heading west instead of east, I knew we were in for a long night.
"where we goin' man?"
Randy changed the subject.
"I hope Watchmen is either really good or really bad, because if its just so so, I think I might lose really lose it." He was so matter of fact, as if he hadn't just really lost it last night, laying waste to the poor food service workers who didn't make it through the Chili's hiring process.
"You'd rather it was bad than just okay?" I knew what he was getting at, but I wanted the conversation to play itself out.
"of course. If it's terrible, we can just forget about it, move on, never watch it again and go back to reading the comic. But if its just okay, we'll watch it over and over again, wondering why it doesn't really work. Every time it comes on cable we'll sit there, turn our brains off and wonder what went wrong and the next time we read the comic, all we'll be able to concentrate on is how easy it would be to just watch the shitty movie and fast forward to the parts we want to see."
It was the same reason, I haven't read Lord of the Rings in 6 years. I'm still waiting for Viggo Mortensen to get out of my brain. By this time, the reality was starting to set in, Randy was clearly unstable and I had no idea where we were heading. We rode in silence as the 210 turned into the 134. From there we took a southerly course. It was then that the first real rumblings of dread started to bubble up in my stomach. He wasn't really gonna go see Jeff and "settle the score" was he? Had things gotten to this point? Its amazing when you think how fragile the mind can be when a small thing like an average movie on a Monday night can wreak so much havoc. It also occurred to me that Randy was thinking strategically, he was coming in from the Highland Park side instead of the South Pasadena side...the square community wouldn't even know we were coming. There would be NO warning. As we climbed the hill up to the condo, I was trying desperately to get Randy to call this off."C'mon dude, lets just get some Del and have the left over beer from the Super Bowl. You know how long its been since I had some macho nachos? This is trouble we don't need."
"Your Tombstone references aren't going to end this situation and neither is appealing to my fast food nostalgia."
Well that was it, the play had been called, time to protect the quarterback.
Randy seemed calm but confident as we walked up to the door. His knock was firm but not overwhelming. Jeff answered immediately, even before the third knock was finished. Did he know we were coming?
"what took you so long?" Jeff said as he turned his back to us and walked inside. We followed.
"it's time to settle up."
"if we're gonna do this, we have to be quiet, Amanda's asleep."
"Don't worry this won't take long..."
And with that they were at each other. The action was fast and close like the dust ball you see when cartoon characters fight. I was amazed at their ability to anticipate each others moves. Punch, block, kick, duck. It was as if they were the antithesis of one another. But they were learning each others styles and soon the blows started landing. Jeff seemed to have the advantage, he knew the terrain, but Randy held is own by sheer brutal force. He didn't have to maneuver around the lamp or the coffee table he simply punched right through it.
I stood back, I wanted no part of this. If I remember right, I kept saying something like"Alright, you've both made your point, let's just get some beers!" My pleas had no effect. They were in a grapple, a stalemate; and neither was backing down. When they finally broke apart it seemed like an explosion had gone off between them and they burst apart to opposite sides of the room. As Jeff paused for a millisecond to catch his breath, Randy made his move. I could see right away what his plan was. Jeff was standing in front of an open sliding glass door and outside...thar be monsters. Randy used one of those two legged kicks where his whole body is parallel to the ground and caught Jeff right in the sternum. It was enough to put him down...outside. Randy quickly slid the door shut and slammed down on the door lock. As Jeff began to get up, the first of them came. As Jeff realized what was happening the look on his face was something I won't soon forget. He made a move for the door but their numbers were too great and they were coming from the trees and down the hill like a flood. Raccoons. They were everywhere. On top of Jeff all you could see were those little raccoon hands, claws glistening in the moonlight, raining down scratching blows over and over again. The high pitched screaming came in short bursts at first as Jeff tried to roll and thrash around in an effort to shoe them off. It only made them madder. When they pinned his arms the screaming became constant. The last thing I saw was a mess of brown and black fur.
"I can't watch this...lets get out of here." I said.
"Now its over." Randy said as he walked out the door.
Randy, didn't talk the whole way home but that shit eating grin never left his face.
As for Jeff, I'm sure he made it out okay, nothing a few band aids and a little iodine won't take care of.

Last Night Randy Trashed the Applebee's

The night started out innocently enough. We went to see a movie. It was Taken, that new Liam Neeson movie where he tries to be a bad ass. I thought it was okay, but it really seemed to bother Randy. When we left the theatre he just seemed really morose. When I asked him what was wrong he just mumbled something about being "sicka dis shit" and something about "fucking studio system" I let it go, I didn't want to stir him into one of his rages.
"Hey fuck it man, lets go get some beer and mozzarella sticks" I said, trying to change the subject. He grudgingly agreed and being that we were in Monrovia, you know we had to hit up Applebee's.
The beer and appetizer trios were not helping Randy break out of his foul mood. I thought he was maybe just grouchy over having to stay in Boston and extra two days, but this seemed to go deeper. I thought I would let him open up a little bit so I asked the question I now regret ever asking...
"So what was so bad about the movie?" The look he gave me back was one of questioning disgust.
"How can you even ask that question?!" he said in a voice that was 2 decibels above a whisper.
"How can one man be a dopey idiot, buying his daughter a karaoke machine and the next, be like Mr. Bad ass super agent torturer. The Neeson character made no sense! and the simplistic linear plot could have been written by a two year old." he said now clearly not whispering.
"alright calm down", I said.
"I will not calm down! did you see the editing? It was like a kiddie scissor class cut the film up for paper dolls! It made the fight scenes terrible."
I could tell then that we were going down a really dark path and there was no turning back. Randy only makes Jaws references when he's really pissed.
"I've been quiet about this for too long! it's time to speak OUT!"
Before I could ask for the check the waitress was at our table.
"is everything alright?", she asked, knowing it wasn't.
"my friend's just under a lot of stress..." I said.
"Do you like Liam Neeson?" Randy asked the waitress, looking her intensely in the eye.
Here we go again, I thought to myself. Memories of drunken brawls, broken pint glasses, and cold sidewalks flooded in.
She stared back blankly, not knowing how to respond.
"Its a simple question, do you like Liam Neeson?" he said with an impatience now.
"I just saw him in that new movie and I thought he was good..." she said, hoping this was the right answer. It wasn't.
"That's fucking IT!" Randy, now shouting, threw his hands across the table and with a hulk like roar pushed all the food and beer onto the floor. I managed to get out of the way in time, but the waitress had a mixture of Miller lite, ranch dressing and marinara sauce all over her.
"I fucking hate the Hollywood studio system!" Randy said as he kicked the table over. It looked like he was going to grab a chair, but right at that moment two of the male waiters came up behind him and each grabbed an arm and started dragging him toward the door.
"Fuck Applebees and Fuck Hollywood!!" Randy screamed as they dragged him away.
"I'll puke in your fucking restaurant, I'll puke in your fucking restaurant..." he kept screaming.
And then it happened. Just as they were about to get him out the door he managed to get a finger to his mouth and down his throat. He puked all over the floor and all over the two waiters. They immediately let him go and backed away. At that point Randy bolted out the door, so I took my queue to do the same and ran right after him. We got in the car and boned out.
He spent the car ride home hugging himself, rocking back and forth saying under his breath, "I'll kill George Lucas, I'll fucking kill George Lucas..." over and over again.
I wasn't sure how he was making the connection but I knew how he felt. Maybe it's only a matter of time before we all feel the need to tear down a corporate edifice to make our voices heard.
Say what you will about Randy but the dude is passionate about cinema.
I'm just sorry that we probably won't be able to go back to Applebee's

Start Estranged at 4minutes and 32 seconds

I once got in a fight with Axl Rose and won. I'm not talkin about the fat, braided hair, no band havin Axl. I'm talking Welcome to the jungle era, snake walkin Axl. I ran into him at the Whiskey and told him that he put to much fucking Aquanet in his hair. He got all pissed and tried to take a shot at me, but I dodged it. He was so drunk that he fell on the floor. Then I stepped on his neck and said, "Fuck you Axl Rose, you ain't shit." Then he made Use Your Illusion I & II and dedicated the song Estranged to me in the liner notes. After that all was forgiven.

Times are gettin tough

Hey guys it's that Man from the GREAT WHITE NORTH!!! Anyways I have started school and I have to say I'm glad I quit and even more mad that I'm back there. I have 2 classes there which is Digital Photography which is fine and inDesign (kinda like photshop) which is okay too. Including those 2 classes I have Alaska History and English Literature from Fairbanks (I send my homework). Instead of tests or regular homework I get all essay questions. ALL ESSAY QUESTIONS!! 2 Pages each!! I get for English Literature thats okay but for a history class. I thought I could breeze through this but it's a lot harder then I thought originally. The Essay questions are stupid to like compare Alaskan Natives groups. I'm not native I don't know. I read the book and they tell me 2 sentences about them. I cannot transform that into 2 pages. Maybe I'll get better once I get going. But who knows. Maybe I'll get better once I get over my cold. Talk to all you guys later.

Beanie, come back

You don't even belong to me really. I suppose at this point we could say that possesion is 9 tenths of the law, but I think you originally came out of Tim's closet. Either way, I've been wearing you for the better part of 5 years now. Look, I know I was wrong to stray. And you have to understand that other beanie meant nothing to me. It was never right for me and I knew it right away. It was a fling. It was an attempt at something new, but it's over now and I want no part of it. You're the one I care about and your the one that knows me, or my head for that matter, better than anyone. I don't want another beanie and I know now that I never will. I made a mistake and I have to live with it. I don't want to fight, I just want things to be back to the way they were. The weather is getting cold again, can't we take the rest of the winter and make a go of it? You know its you I want and not that other beanie. Its always been you, we were meant for each other.

Potential Movie Screening

Given the dry spell of good movies (see previous post)I have a movie that I've been wanting to screen. It's the highly overlooked Coen Bros. movie called Miller's Crossing. For me, I think its my second or third favorite Coen bros. movie, behind The Big Lebowski and and maybe behind Oh, Brother... (I'm can be swayed in either direction.)
Miller's Crossing is a prohibition era gangster movie. It's a great character piece with a complicated plot. It looks great, having been shot by Barry Sonenfeld, it has a much cleaner look that any of their other movies. Its classic Coen though, dark and funny.
Anyone interested in coming over for a look see? No theme nights or dinner. Just a little artful esacapism.

Bitching about movies

I really like movies, but the time between finding movies that I REALLY like is growing longer all the time. I watched 5 movies today. I fast forward through 3 and gave up on two. I wasn't expecting anything spectacular, but my patience for mediocre movies is really wearing thin.
The first movie was Eagle Eye, it was also the biggest piece of shit of the day. It just plain sucked for too many reasons for me to even want to start listing them. Mostly though, the technological leaps which the audience was asked to take was just too fantastical to be set in the modern times. It would have worked better as a sci-fi movie set in the near future.
The next movie was called The Conversation, its a 70's movie with Gene Hackman and Harrison ford (among others) directed by Francis Ford Coppola. This movie is a throw away. It would have been good as an hour long short film. It supposed to be, I assume, a character study but none of the characters were that engaging. A lot of it was Gene Hackman by himself, so it was easy to just fast forward to the part where there was dialogue. The only interesting thing about this movie is how much it looks like the Royal Tennenbaums. I wonder if that was on purpose.
Next up, an indie movie called Humbolt County. Souless med student meets girl, goes with her to Humbolt, smokes some weed, finds himself. I still haven't finished it. I'm an hour and half in and I feel like I've been watching for 4 hours. Brad Douriff gives a good performance as an old weed smoking gradfather. No other redeeming qualities here. I think I'm just going to abandon it at this point.
Catch me if you Can was on TNT today. Thats a fun movie, not much below the surface, but entertaining enough.
Clockwork Orange. Where does Kubrick get off? I'll never understand why he is so revered. In my mind he has made two good movies, Dr. Strangelove and Full Metal Jacket. The rest is just pretentious crap and I include The Shining in that.
You know what I miss in action thrillers besides engaging characters, the F word. Because movies are made for teenagers now, I can't even her a Fuck or Motherfucker anywhere. so boring.

Pete:

Where's your blog?

Makes No Sense

I would like to take the time to comment about a Southwest Airlines commercial I seen tonight during the Laker-Heat game. By the way the Lakes are up five with about 2 minutes left. Ah shit Beasley just made a trey.. ANYWAY:

In a supermarket parking lot, a man is trying to jimmy open a car door while his wife looks on. He is patient, then harried, and finally frenetic. Losing all patience, the man tells his woman to wait while he fetches a largish rock, which he tosses at the driver-side window, presumably to smash said glass and retrieve his locked-in keys.

Or so we THINK? As the rock bounces harmlessly away and the car alarm sounds, another man walks up to the couple and asks, "What are you doing with my car??" Then the couple realize their car is in the next row of cars.

WTF? This makes no sense, i.e why would the couple think it was their car when in fact their keys....Jesus. Southwest had some funny commercials but this latest installation leaves me baffled. So a la Stan the Man I will give one of you a special No-Prize if you can explain this to me.

ps the Lakers are up 2 with 6.6 left. I would wait to tell you the outcome but the game is going to commercials and besides that's what the news and ESPN is for.

WTF?!?

OK, here is a list of incidents police had to deal with at one business in Susquehanna Township, Pennsylvania during the last year:

Jan. 19, 2007: Theft of cell phone
Feb. 16: Domestic dispute
Feb. 19: Domestic assault; one arrested
Feb. 26: Assault
March 22: Disorderly conduct; one arrested
March 29: Disorderly conduct; two arrested
April 2: Disorderly conduct
April 4: Domestic assault; one arrested
May 10: Disorderly conduct; one arrested
Sept. 9: Theft, assault.
Oct. 3: Domestic assault, simple assault; one arrested
Jan. 3: Disorderly conduct; six arrested

What kind of business attracts the kind of customers that forced twelve visits from the police and thirteen arrests over the last year (which, by the way, was actually down from eighteen response the previous year)?

Sorry, if you guessed some kind of bar, you would be wrong.

The answer is Chuck E. Cheese.

God Bless America.

I have a new blog

I have new blog. I am not abandoning this one of course, I just felt like creating something new. Check it out at http://grownupnerd.blogspot.com

HAPPY NEW YEAR!!

(HAPPY NEW YEAR!!)

Merry Christmas!!!

The Plot Unfolds

Something has just become clear to me. The 1981 BBC Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy tv show just became available for instant viewing on Netflix. Being a fan, I started watching it tonight.
What has become clear is that the recent movie was based, not on the book really but on the TV show. They took the look and even the musical score right from the TV show. Now there is nothing wrong with that per se, because Douglas Adams wrote the TV show as well as the book. But for me, the directors of the movie might have taken a shot at a fresh look and interpretation of the material instead of pretty much ripping off a 29 year old TV show.

IT Support This is Randy

That is how I answer the phone at work. Now I know I pissed some people off something fierce the last time I said I was gonna post something and then flaked with nothing to write about and not even trying which is what pissed off one so much. So since then secretively I have been working on something. Now you may not like but at least now you cannot yell at me for not trying.
Here you go a little list I call IT Support:

Before we interact, I'd like to share some thoughts with you:

* I am here, simply put, to fix your shit. My job is not complete until said shit is fixed. Please just help me fix this shit.

* With that out of the way, know that I hate you exactly as much as you hate me. No more, no less. If you are at least relatively pleasant, I'm happy to help you- even to make small talk as I attend to the issue at hand. Conversely, if you are a total and complete jackass, I will make this the worst 10 minutes of your week.

* Neither I, nor any of my coworkers, are out to fuck you. We are not idiots. We are college graduates in technical disciplines, the vast majority of whom are here to work their way up the IT ladder to more fulfilling positions. Sometimes we have off days, sure, but we know EXACTLY what we are doing. Note that this does not apply to anyone outside of our department. They are, in all reality, idiots who are out to fuck you.

* So you've already unplugged the "internet box" and plugged it back in? Brace yourself; you're going to do it again. Most of the time I do this for a reason...unless you're a dick then I do it to see how mad it makes you.

* To those who think they are "computer illiterate": The vast majority of the time, you are lovely people: Patient, willing to learn, and most importantly, willing to listen. Thank you!

* To those who think they are CompSci PhD’s: The vast majority of the time, you are retarded: If you already powercycled your equipment and it didn't work, why did it work when I made you do it again? If you are so well educated, stay the hell out of the queue so that people who need help can get it.

* Supervisors don't have a magic wand that they can wave to make everything better. They use the same utilities as I do. In fact, supervisors are more likely to tell you to fuck off- believe it or not, they have other pressing issues to attend to. If a server goes down, they WILL put those 200 stores before yours in Priorityland.

* Threatening to call your DM does not intimidate us. We have an entire department that is paid to care about that, which means that I don't have to. Harsh? Sure, but I have more than enough work to do fixing shit, yelling at field techs, following up on cases, and explaining the concept of email passwords to your sales associate that it won't cause me to lose any sleep.

* It worked fine yesterday? Oh, then I must be wrong. Let me reconsider the 40 minutes I spent troubleshooting your WinXP box. Check it out: Shit breaks (see point 1); If shit did not break, I would be mowing your lawn instead of sitting in this office.

* Speakerphone? Turn it the fuck off.

* Don't call back and have another rep troubleshoot the same problem. He will read the notes I left about how you spilled coke into your keyboard. Even if he didn't, he would come to the same conclusion, and more people with undiagnosed problems would be stuck listening to that god-awful hold music.

* I am not just saying it to say it when I say that I understand how frustrating it is to wait on hold, get transferred, and deal with bad agents. I too have called Dell's tech support line. The difference is that I actually DO care about your problem, so please just calm down before I kill your family.

* My company has over 2000 POS machines in over 400 stores. I handle you in the order your call was received. To this day, none of them have ever called in to say, "I just wanted you to know that my shit is working correctly."

So what can I help you with today?

Two Things of AW

If you have netflix rent Spaced: the Complete Series. Its AWESOME.

Do not, under any circumstances, see the new Day The Earth Stood Still its AWFUL.

Christmas Songs

Recently Pete posted a list of Christmas songs. He, however, somehow neglected my favorite Christmas song (Christmas wrapping by the Waitresses is at the top of my list). So, Check it out. The video is cheesy (made in the 1992, what can you really expect), however anything can be made better when you can include a little person and dress them in an elf costume.

What I haven't told you is...

I bought a new beanie!

On Thanksgiving...

We stood around a deep frying turkey. And it was good.

The pledge held strong

I don't want to make a big deal out of it, but I didn't drink at all this week. The last drink I had was last Saturday night. I managed sleep through the night 5 nights out of 7. No telling what tonight holds, but its a Sunday and thats always been a bad night for me. Some changes I've noticed is the ability to think more clearly, the ability to motivate myself, the ability to see the bright side of things again, and the ability to read more than a paragraph at a time without losing complete interest. The downside is that, its hard to find social activities that don't present temptation. I'm not going to say here that I've quit drinking forever, but I will say that this period of sobriety will last as long as it needs to. I've noticed that over the past year, I've had trouble regulating how much I drink at a sitting. Not that I get rip roaring drunk at a sitting, but the calorie intake has to be huge. Anyway, I don't want this to be downer or anything, just thought I'd keep you all updated.

Country Son

PAC-MAN!!!! At last, someone my countrypeople can look upon with genuine pride. No more "Rob Schneider is half-Filipino" and "oh really? He was Deuce Bigalow!" or "I think Phoebe Cates is half-Pinay" and "oh the chick who got naked in Fast Times?"
No more. Last night Manny Pacquiao defeated the Golden Boy. Naw man, he creamed Oscar de la Hoya. Maybe Oscar should spend less time prancing around in fishnets and more time training. Moreover, he should retire. Pac-Man made him look like a complete pussy in the ring.

8 Songs Of Christmas

Here are 8 Christmas Songs you should be listening to but probably aren't

12 Days of Christmas- John Denver and the Muppets
That was the worst Christmas Ever! - Sufjan Stevens
Christmas (Baby Please come home) - Joey Ramone
Don't Shoot me Santa - The Killers
Christmas Wrapping - The Waitresses
Here it is Christmas Time - Old 97's
A Christmas Duel - THe Hives and Cyndi Lauper
It's Christmastime an Every Thing's Wrong - Man of Arms

You're Welcome

Ummmmm...yeah

So remember when I said I would be making a triumphant return and that you would all be blown away. I probably shouldn't have said anything because now you are probably expecting something. I mean anything. Unfortunately as is a habit of mine I jumped in without thoroughly thinking my plan through. Because truth be told I got nothing. Now I am going to try and entertain you because frankly that is the only way I will keep myself from gouging my eyes out working this unbelievably heinous shift that I got saddled with today.
Wow writing is hard...

Triumphant Return

Tomorrow I will be making a triumphant return to the world of blogging. Be prepared to be blown away.

Happy Thanksgiving!!!!!

Thats It!

I hate not being able to sleep. I'm quitting drinking after this holiday weekend. Who knows, maybe forever...

a quickstrip for my friends:


laughing at the misfortune of others is wrong? No.

All Animals are created equal, but some are equaler than others

Sometimes...in fact, most times in my experience, when people get in high level positions of authority, they become accustomed to people not calling them on thier strange, rude, and innappropriate behavior. It's the rare person who can, when appropriate, set aside thier authority and have a normal conversation. What most people fail to realize is that their authority only extends so far. Out there in the real world, we are all just men. Just wanted to throw that out there.

Come join me and Lauri for the third annual Thanksgiving morning, bloody mary and mimosa fest. I can promise pigs in a blanket. And I'm considering a vegtable plate...you know, for the vitamins.

The Funk: A revived Draft Post

We DeClerks are famous (or infamous if you please) for our moodiness. The reaction I sometimes get when my mood turns toward the melancholic is sometimes surprising to me. It seem to me the world at large expects that we should project happiness and joy all the time when we are in public or among friends. How are people supposed to know when to leave you the fuck alone if you act all happy slappy all the time?
At work, Lauri always tells me, "People can tell you're in a bad mood today..." Good! then they are correctly perceiving my facial features, tone of voice and body language. The thing I don't understand is that they persist in wanting to fuck around with me. "what's wrong?" they say. "i'm sick of people like you..." I think to myself.
What never occurs to these people is that them continuing to talk to me only leads me to have to be more hostile towards them to make them go away. If they would only think to themselves, "if Pete is in a bad mood perhaps I would be better served in leaving him be today and perhaps he will work through his frustrations and be in a better mood tomorrow." The world would be a much friendlier place.

Best Podcast of all time?

I'm not sure if they knew it or not, but I recorded a bullshit session that Me, Randy and Alex had on Saturday night for a possible podcast. It's better than any podcast that we've done before because it was basically real. There are three problems with this podcast, however. One, I forgot to turn the ceiling fan off so you can here the air hitting the mic. Two, we weren't very close to the mic so it kinda sounds like a background recording. Three, it has background music that would violate copyright laws if I published it. If you feel you can't go on living without hearing it. Let me know and I'll burn a CD.

Warning: Political Rant

It feels weird to say, but if the Republicans hold the line on the auto industry bailout, this is one time I actually agree with them. I think that the Big Three have run their business into the ground too many times to be bailed out again. Remember, they were the ones who, in the face of Global Warming were producing bigger and less fuel efficient cars. Lets see, there was the Hummer, the Hummer 2, the Escalade, and the Expedition just to name a few. And even though the American consumer backed them all the way and bought bigger and bigger cars, the auto makers should have been looking toward innovation. We all watched as gas prices went from 2$ per gallon to $4. Didn't somebody at some point think, "maybe people are not going to be able to gas up these gas guzzling behemoths."? Meanwhile, Toyota is laughing all the way to bank because they brought hybrid technology to the road.

"but Pete," you'll say, "what about the hard working American auto workers, they will be out of a job..."

Thats right they will, but...what can I say? I feel badly about it, but how many of us can say we are knowingly working for a dying company? If I knew that I worked for a company that consistently put out a bad product, I don't think I would bank my retirement on it.

And how are we ever supposed to put out a better product if a bad product is continually supported by the government? Maybe there is some genius car maker out there that just can't get a foothold on the market because his competition gets and infusion of gov't money on a regular basis? Those who work on the assembly line will be able to find a jobs new assembly lines.

I'm not going to argue that we should become a country that doesn't produce anything, I think we should be a country that produces the newest most innovative products in the world.

Here's something to ponder over, what if, when the iPod was invented the gov't decided that it didn't want to see the people who make Sony discman's out of job(I know Sony is Japanese company... bad example), so they sunk a bunch of money there. That would have been a pretty stupid move.

If we are going to be a free market society then the working class has to realize that they need to be as innovative and adaptable as our products if we are going to maintain market superiority.

I know Obama thinks that the Big 3 will see this as a wake-up call and change their ways and he's afraid of what the failure of the automakers will mean to the overall economy, but I think in the first place he's being naive and in the second place, we may just have to take this one on the chin (easy for me to say because I'm not going to retire for another 35 years). Who knows, maybe this is just the catalyst we need to start seriously looking into clean transportation.

I know, I sound like some old corporate douchebag, but we have to realize that Democrats are capitalists too. We may not think that the free market is the best way to educate or provide health care to a society, but its definitely the best way to sell a car.

mystery posts

If you are a contributing member of this blog (or have the permission to do so but never do it) you can sign in and see that there are several "drafts" of posts that were never posted. Pete has one about the auto industry that he started yesterday that I think he needs to post because I agree with it 99%.

Also, I want to note that I neither condone or condemn the use of the neti pot. It is simply a funny video. However, I brought this up at dinner with some friends the other night and one said that he uses it. He also has two kids who were born intentionally at home and served in the peace corps, so there you go.

Who watches the makers of the Watchmen

If you now read or have ever read comics, you probably know that there is a Watchmen movie coming out this spring. Now, besides the fact that I mess my pants everytime I see the previews because they look so freakin cool, I have to remain objective here. So here are some reasons to be optimistic AND some reasons to be pessimistic:

Reasons for Optimism:

• Its directed by the guy who did 300, which I thought was a pretty good representation of the graphic novel.
• The scenes shown in the preview are pulled directly from actual panels in the graphic novel so this looks like it will also be pretty faithful.
• The chick they go to play the silk specter is friggin' hot.
• In Jackie Earle Haley they could not have picked a better Rorschach
• Watchmen is arguably the best graphic novel (I would argue that it is one of the best 3 but whatever) ever so if it even gets it vaguely right we should be in for a good movie.

Now, Some reasons to be pessimistic

• For me, the look they have chosen for the film, from what I've seen in the previews is close but not quite right. The book is set in a alternate 1980's in which we have continued on the brink of nuclear annihilation with the Soviets since the 1950's. Nixon has continued on as president in this world and whole place just looks a little dilapidated and dirty, sort of unwilling to move forward. I think this look was given to the book on purpose by the writer and artist. The film just looks a little to slick.
• They got the look of the heroes wrong as well. The main story line of the book takes place when the heroes 'The Watchmen" are all past thier prime. So Nite Owl has a pot belly and Silk Spectre and Viedt should be over 40. The muscley armored suits that are typical to superhero movies aren't really appropriate here.
• With the book being set in the 80's it risks not being relevant. Knowing what we know now, the Soviets just aren't that scary anymore so it might be hard taking that underlying threat seriously.
• Because the book is so complicated, there are inevitably going to be some VERY big ommisions that explain backstory, character development and build tension. for those of you who have read it: The Pirate Comic, Rorschach's psychaitrist's file's, Behind the Mask to name a few.
• I honestly don't know if they are going to be able to pull it off. The book is really subtle and really complicated. I've read it three times and still find new stuff everytime I pick it up. Its hard for a film adaptation to pick up the subtler points of any book.

Well, there it is. I will remain very cautiously optimistic.

I will say this, if you have not read the book. You need to check it out. Its really good. If you are a fan of Sci-fi, it is probably one of the best works of our generation. It definitely change the way you think about comics. It's dark, complicated, and violent. Really, read it. Especially read it before you see the movie.

Feeling a little congested?

Here is the solution to your problems! I assure you that this is a real product.

Trying it out

I am going to try to post more now since I have Internet at work. Beating the system. I still don't have it at my humble abode because I suck. But oh well nobody is perfect.
So I guess not too much is going on just sitting here at work wishing I was anywhere else. My brother Big Al is in town. He is going to be staying with me this week. It'll be a tight fit in my little home but no biggie. Wow this is so boring. Writing is hard work.
OK Back to work. Bye.

On Halloween

Governor Palin confers with Joe Six Pack

Voting just became a hassle

So....during the course of my entire voting career, my polling place has been conveniently located directly across the street from my house at good ol' Henry Longfellow Elementary school. I recently received my practice ballot (or whatever that thing is called), and guess what...my polling place has been relocated. What the hell!? Now, I have to travel to some crazy church that I've never heard of and have no clue to its location. Not a big deal, you say, well here is the kicker. Longfellow will still be utilized as a polling place, just not mine. Why would my polling place be relocated when the closest polling place is a rock toss from my front porch. Whoever is in charge of this is a dumb ass.

HAPPY HALLOWEEN!

Happy Birthday Amanda!!!

ah, much better!

that other layout was pretty rough on the eyes - thanks pete.

Back to the basics

Okay. I'm back tot he basics here. I'm going to try to revive this thing with some simple text. Its going to take some planning, I've got to discipline myself and come up with a few mini essays. I encourage everyone to start submitting again.

I hate this new layout. I'm changing it, the first chance I get.

Well its been a long time. I guess I haven't had too much to say. I've kinda fallen into that wake, work, sleep routine. Which by the way, will play hell with your health. Its a vicious cycle of being too tired to exercise and then being too tired because you are not exercising. If you're considering getting a job, I would recommend against it. GODDAMNIT ! If there is one ting I hate, its that little fucking red line that shows up under misspelled words! You've got a thought in your head and then that little fucking line keeps popping up and totally breaks your concentration. I really wish it could be shut off in this window, but I don't know how. Anyway, where was I?
I was thinking about Neil Young. Are you a fan? I would not say that I was a fan, BUT I don recommend the following songs: Heart of Gold, Everybosy knows this is nowhere, and Comes a time. Truth be told, those are the only Niel Young songs I can name except for Southern man which I can't listen too because of how Lynyrd Skynyrd rips it in Sweet Home Alabama so who knows? maybe Neil Young is the best and I've just haven't been able to "hear" him yet.

Little Bill O'Reilly Tells It Like It Is - Watch more free videos

Short(!) Story

She left cigarettes; I remembered Dad.

HaPPy BiRthDay RaNdY!!!!!!

Talk Like a Pirate Day!

Avast me hardy's! Happy Talk Like a Pirate Day! Arrrrrrgggghhhh...'tis on this day alone when a scurvy 'ol pirate might have a chance against a ninja...arrrrrggggghhhhh

I'm Angry

You can tell by the title That I'm Angry not because the Chargers lost 2 staright, or my Fantasy Football team who had the #1 pick has also lost 2 staright, or that I only got $120 bucks for officiating a bunch of JV volleyball games. No I'm Angry at the Alaska Government. Not at Sarah Palin (hottest VP Candidate) or anything like that. I'm angry at the PFD department. Who last Wednesday sent me a letter stated they needed more info about my reloctaion and living in Alaska. Now that's okay and all but that Friday was the day people got their checks in direct deposit or today by mail. If you didn't know what PFD's are they are a check that Alaskans get for the drilling for oil in Alaska. This year the check would be $3,269.00 that's including a $1,200 bonus for energy costs. I originally sent them a one-way airline ticket I used to get here back from 2006 but they needed more. Proof of employment prior to 2007, movement of household goods, proof of having a home here, etc. None of that applies to me. I got my Alaska license in 2007 when I got a real job in March. I use my Parent's mailbox. But I did apply for a full-time job up here before 2007 at the Medical Center he wrote a letter and I just sent it out today so hopefully that's enough so I can get my check. Hopefully it's enoug I can't call their office cuz their phone is always busy. They really pissed me off becuase now I can't come there in october which is what I was planning to do. Don't mess with me and my friends. But I will come once I get my check and can work out my travel arrangements. So I just needed to tell you that if you haven't heard. Well gotta read my Basketball rule book. Hope to see ya guys soon.

Flamming Gorge

Aj i want you to paint this for me

San Clemente

Text Messaging

As a sort of social experiment, I'm giving up text messaging. Even though every time I try to make a cell to cell call, its almost guaranteed that the call will be dropped. Anyway, if I don't answer your texts, don't be offended. If it requires a response, I'll call you. Or you can call me.

Its the end of the world as we know it...

The Large Hadron Collider or so called Big Bang Machine in Cern, Switzetrland is scheduled to be turned on tomorrow. There are those that believe that the machine will create microscopic black holes that will expand and gobble up the planet. In fact, creating black holes is exactly what the machine was designed to do but scientists believe that they will pop in and out of existence and therefore do not pose a threat. Does this make you nervous? Don't worry, it will be a month before the particles reach full speed. (0.999999999 times the speed of light)

Am I propagating the worst possible scenario just to entertain? Maybe. If not though, I'll catch you all on the flipside.

A short trip

I have occasional, brief, but slightly dangerous departures from sanity that tell me, loudly, not to go into work the next day, take the money we've saved and live on the road for about a year. I'll probably be okay tomorrow. But not now.

Shit!

Got to write fast! I was preparing to type this entry by writing some beforehand notes. (The other day I recommended a Taiwanese kid at my school to write, by hand before even touching the computer, what he wanted to express in his short essay about Chinese economy and how their economy affects the kajillions of young Chinese, and then type--how old-school is that? So, I am deciding to practice what I preach. We'll see how it works.) The notes read thusly: TV->Fantasy->school->horror. Interesting. But right after I wrote the notes, and thinking of a clever title I accidentally pressed the "enter" button thereby creating a blank post.

So I apologize to those of you who saw this instance of unprofessionalism. I would hate to think that you thought that my increasingly diminishing word count in my posting finally dipped to nil.

I watch very little TV these days. I have decided that TV only reminds me of things that I cannot have, like a brand-new BMW, NFL Game Ticket on DirecTV, and Jackie Johnson. If I do watch the ol'tube it will be for one of three things: DVDs of dope movies (some of which I will describe at some length in a couple of grafs), the Simpsons (and Family Guy but I don't go out of my way) and what my good friend Chrib calls the best and original Reality TV: sports!

That said, I am elated at the new NFL season breaking. I own two Fantasy football teams, one of which I drafted myself and am hoping to come in the money, which for me potentially could help handle two car payments this year. Fantasy football singlehandedly restored my love for football, which began in the sixth grade after my dad took me to a Raiders-Broncos game at the Coliseum. After witnessing madness all around me (you'd be surprised at how far a fan can throw a 9V battery) and a guy named Bo run circles around men much bigger than he, I was hooked. Then Al Davis moved back to Oakland and the rest was history. Until there was Fantasy.

Luckily the network at school allows me to access Fantasy Football, which could be viewed as a gambling site, which along with pornography, dating sites and "malicious content" are blocked by the programs monitoring net use at Southwestern Academy. However, I can still google "boobs" and voila nudity. Go figure. The kids come back this coming week, at which point my summer of fun ends. However busy I will be with Westridge kitchen in the day and resident ass-kicking a noir, I am looking forward to it. I am ready for it. Anyway I was really freaking myself out lately with my recent make-up session with Netflix due to a class-action lawsuit winnin me a free month of the service thus re-hookin me on the 'flix.

I mean I Netflixed the entire oeuvre of Dario Argento. He is the master of all horror, I don't care what anyone says... everyone: Carpenter, Craven, Hooper, they all copied him. so I am looking forward to the campus being re-populated and feeling less like late-night Crystal Lake. My fave of his has to be Rosso Profundo ("Deep Red"), so friggin cool and Italian and...red. The only thing about his films I don't like are that the victims are so victimized and helpless. I mean that's pretty Kosher for horror, but I mean what the fuck? Fight back, bitch!

Hey it was nice to see some of ya for Joe's birthday.

listenin to neil young's "don't let it bring you down" (live at massey hall) on Pandora.

I used to skate

I skated all wrong. To start with I'm goofy footed, plus while most skaters push off with their back foot using the front foot to lean the trucks in the direction they wanted to go, I always pushed with my front and used my back heel slightly on the tail to control my direction while pushing. This allowed me to keep my trucks extra tight for more stability when landing. I also felt like it kept the weight off my front wheels so there was less of a chance of me flying into the pavement if I hit a pebble. I went through a lot of trucks that way. I'd make them so tight that either the rubber would burst or the washer would blow out. With trucks at about $25 apiece and no form of income, buying new trucks every few months was no easy task.
If there is one thing I miss about my early teens, and believe me there ain't much, its skating. I was good, sort of. We skated on big wide boards that fit your whole front foot on the front, so flip tricks were pretty damn hard.
Back then, there was no such thing as chicks who liked skaters, at least not at Pasadena High School. Still though, I wish I had kept skating. It was good excercise and good for agility.

Okay if you aint tried Pandora.com yet (click here)

Go there now. It's nice I like it you will too.
specially Pete. (happy birthday mon)