Sick

Somehow I came down with a bug and I feel like crap. I slept for 20 hours last night so I hope my body's kicking it out. Went to bed at halftime during Monday Night Football last night and finally got up at 4pm today. I shut my phone off but someone kept calling but hanging up when my machine picked up, which reminds me these people from India won't leave me alone, they always mispronounce my name but leave about 5 messages a day, so annoying.


Sunday I tried to sleep but really couldn't get any. Started halucinating a bit. Thinking there were people in my apartment. Had to check my locks a few times, started seeing things around my studio, really weird. Saw these images moving across my Johnny Cash poster, I was kinda freaked out. Called in sick in the morning then went back to bed and finally got some sleep.


But my head is all clogged and my body aches something wicked. My ankle which I hurt last July is really throbbing and it kills. Not really swollen but hurts. I'm done with feeling like shite so I'm gonna hibernate tonight and hope it gets better. Being sick bites.

Coming to a Close

So sad really that it's Sunday night already, and my long weekend is nigh over. Basically what I did these past days from Thanksgiving on is eat, sleep and watch movies. That's what I had planned going in and I do say it worked out like expected. I did plan to go for a run or at least lift some weights this break though, but that didn't happen, oh well.


What I did take in was the new Harry Potter and it was excellent. And pretty scary. This mom had brought her two young daughters who were in my row, maybe between ages 8-12 and they were really crying at a few parts. I definitely wouldn't have been able to handle it at that age. I remember freaking out watching Indiana Jones, the ark one, and the Nazi guys' heads started to melt. That gave me nightmares for years. This was twice as scary. Good movie though.


On DVD caught The Interpreter, the documentary Rize, Assault on Precinct 13, The Devil's Rejects and War of the Worlds. Rob Zombie's Rejects was definitely the most original of the bunch and was a gruesome, perverted delight. Rize was ok but I felt a lot more could be done. Interpreter and Assault were your basic Hollywood thriller fare and enjoyable at what they are. Oh yeah, and I saw Sahara and Finding Neverland too. Not bad. I wouldn't say either was great, but not bad.


About War of the Worlds. Spielberg is truly a master filmmaker in the way he can hold your attention, keep you focused and take you for a cinematic ride. That's what this movie does at points, and for that and all the special effects I was glad to be watching it. Man, what a let down though with the characters and plot and the whole dang story in it. I mean basically we're following a divorced, irresponsible dad Tom Cruise with his two kids as they try to get away from these alien "tripods" that are annihilating everyone. But who's really interested in seeing this family? Why not one so much more interesting?


Cruise makes it a point to always play characters who lack some qualities. In this he's a bad dad. In other movies he starts out being too cocky, or only concerned with money, personal glory, wealth, etc. Then by the end of the film we see how much he's changed, how he can ask for help, how he gives up money to take care of his retarded brother, how he really is responsible, and on and on. The problem in War of the Worlds is that there are hundreds and thousands of people being killed on screen! Why the hell do I care about this bastard and his annoying kids when all those other people are dying?


The spaceships are so cool and the aliens are terrific. I started rooting for them after an hour and a half of Cruise and bratty Dakota Fanning trying to "connect" as father and daughter during the mayhem. But just as soon as these two start resolving some things the skies clear and the aliens all die miraculously because of Earth's bacteria (?) and Cruise drops Dakota at his wife's parents house (where they're all safe and sound and look like they just stepped from a New England postcard). He finds his son there as well who he let go a day before to fight the aliens with the U.S. Army. Somehow he made it too.


I know, I know, it's just a movie. But I want to be challenged as a viewer. I want some depth. Something unpredictable in the characters and story. Give me something rich, Steven and Tom. Cruise wasn't believable as the father of a 16 year old; he seems still much too young and gay.


Tim Robbins makes an appearance as a man in a house who hides them for a while. He's got more depth in 10 minutes of screen time than all the other actors combined. I think it would've been much more interesting having Robbins play the Cruise part. Definitely believable and much more interesting. And then Cruise could expand his acting chops and play the shady man in the basement with a shovel.


Well that's about it. Off to bed and off to work tomorrow. Damn.

R.I.P. Mr. Miyagi

Yes, sad to say Pat Morita, aka Mr. Miyagi, passed away this Thanksgiving holiday. So sad. In tribute I watched the first Karate Kid movie today...ah, it brings back such good memories. I will never forget him and what he did for Daniel-san.


Ok, I don't want to sound like a conspiracy-theorist here but I haven't heard anything about the cause of death. Foul play? Perhaps. He was known to have some mortal enemies, like the Cobra Kai, and that fat dude from Happy Days, so maybe someone should look into that. If you see any of the Kai (below) let me or any local authority know. Remember, they strike first, strike hard and show no mercy.





For those of you needing a little Karate Kid fix, listen below. It's the song You're the Best, oh Yeah! from the tournament scenes of the movie. Great 80's song. Bansai!!!



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Happy Thanksgiving Everyone!

I Love Liz

A week ago tonight I had the pleasure of enjoying my first San Diego House of Blues concert and saw beautiful Liz Phair in person. What a great venue to see a show. Although the whole restaurant and building is huge, the venue is intimate. Mostly standing room except for some balcony seats only available with a dinner package. Incredible sound too.


Angie and I got there after dinner and drinks at Rock Bottom. We're definitely getting along real well these last few weeks, although we got into a fight on the car ride over there, but all and all pretty good considering we're doing the post-break up thing. Anyway we got there in the middle of the opening act and quickly got drinks and made our way to the front. Squeezing our way through we got up to the 4th row. It was so close, so close, so close. In front of me was a huge mullet though. This fat guy had this phat mullet hanging off his melon. Angie just loved it.


Then to our right this really abrasive bull dyke pushed her way through with her fat curly haired girlfriend. Bull dyke was loud and obnoxious and started getting into verbal spats with everyone around her except, unfortunately, mullet man. She started yelling at these two gay dudes behind her and when Liz finally came on she kept shouting things up to her like "How are the kids?" (although Liz only has 1 kid) and "Where you been Liz?", just to get a reaction and show her balls. So annoying. A weird mix in the crowd too. Older people, lots of gay couples, people obviously there just for her new pop stuff.


Liz kicked ass though. She's never had the strongest voice but she sounded really good. Luckily she did a lot of her older stuff from "Guyville" and Whipsmart". Her new album is so bad. It's a lot of manure. I've only listened to it a few times but it's trivial and all pop. Her strength has always been telling stories and catchy melodies but now we have junk words mixed with junk melodies. I wasn't a big fan of her last album either but on the 5th listen or so some songs really stuck. I could tell it was still her beneath the superficial lyrics. This new album just sounds like horse poop.


I guess I knew at some time that she was only 5 foot 2, but I always assume people are a lot bigger than they end up being. She broke out some nice boots though, and a mini-skirt, and blouse without bra, so she looked pretty tight. Really, really good for going on 40. Liz Phair is one hot older woman.


About half way through the show a Paris Hilton type young dumb blond girl started dancing next to me and when Liz broke into "Why Can't I", a shitty pop single she had on her album from a couple years ago, the chick screamed "Oh my God, this is like my favorite song in the whole wide world". And I felt like kicking her at that point. On stage you have one of the premier indie-feminist rockers of the 90's and all the dumb chick cares about is a dumb song about nothing. Is there no hope for girls today? Bring on the smart girls who care. Where have they all gone, Liz?

Ants Eat Out Woman's Eye!

Ok, check this. I've got it straight from numerous sources, including one from The Times of India itself. In the gnarliest story I've heard this week, a lady in India had diabetes and had to go into surgery to have some work done on her eye. So she gets out of surgery and she's laying there for a while, and all of a sudden she starts itching. But she can't see, right? She knows something's wrong cause it hurts so much and her bloodied, freshly operated on eye screams with pain. So she calls the nurse but they tell her to simmer down, that it's normal to feel pain after surgery. She's left there in her little cot in one of the dirtiest, vermin infested hospitals in India and her eye-hole continues to itch and burn. The pain is unrelenting. It feels like needles in her eye. She's left there for hours in pain, thinking it's all so, so normal. She has no idea the nightmare that is already unfolding within her eye.


Now, the next morning when the hospital staff go and check on her, guess what they find? A line of ants run from the floor onto her cot and INTO HER EYE SOCKET!!! They're swarming all on her face and in her socket and eating all that remains of her eye. MESSED UP!!! Ants are chowing down on this poor lady's opthalmological orifice and havin' a picnic! They're loving it, ain't never tasted nothin' as yummy as Indian eye.





The ants? They're not the small little multi-colored variety but instead those big-ass black sonafabitches that pinch and bite with those huge mandibles. In just a few hours they made her eye a big, bloody mess. And the lady? She slips into a coma. Probably too painful to bare, the poor soul. She dies a few days later and her family (all 30 strong) storms the hospital and beat the hell out of 3 hospital workers. Crazy. But really better than any other news stories I've seen in a while. Here are some links for more information. Damn, those ants are crazy.


Breitbart Report

Yahoo News Report

The Times of India

Bush Caught Sniffing Panties

What a pervert

Nice

Angie just got me tickets to Liz Phair tomorrow night at the House of Blues. So sweet. More to come after the show!

This is hilarious! Just ran across this guy's website. Old Brooklyn guy with a webcam. Here he's talking about a good solution to stopping terrorists on the airlines. Check it out...


www.thekidfrombrooklyn.com

Don't Bring Your Guns to Town?!?

Have you heard this report out of San Francisco? They've passed an ordinance banning firearms in the City. I guess it was on their ballot recently, to put it to a vote to the citizens of San Francisco to see if they wanted to continue to allow guns or to outlaw them altogether. The good people of SF said "this city is only 7 miles by 7 miles and close to a million people in it. Do we really need guns? No." Well good for them.


So now the NRA (National Rifle Association, though they dig more than just rifles) is suing the City claiming it is unconstitutional for a city to adopt such a law when it goes against federal rulings.


Now, personally, I believe in the right to bear arms. But as a man of common sense I realize San Francisco is not the most conducive place to discharge a firearm. No one needs to protect themselves from wild animals on the prowl there and the only bears foraging in the City are hairy, overweight, gay men. No reason to have guns there. I lived there for a year before my move to San Diego. We had 4 of us in a 1 bedroom apartment. And other apartments were stacked on top of us and on our sides. When I went to take a leak and cracked a window in the bathroom, half a dozen people at any given time could hear me piss. Too many people, not enough land, no need for guns.


Furthermore, I believe overwhelmingly in city and town rights, and the rights of its occupants to run the damn local government how it seems fit. Certain stipulations of course: their laws can't discriminate or hurt people. But a city like the bubble and bastion of freedom like San Francisco putting it to the people to see what is best for their own, getting schlocked by outside organizations? Man, get your ugly nose out of that city. How many San Francisco residents do you think are members of the NRA? Not many. Let the residents of the bay do what they want.


And this argument doesn't just stop with the gun debate but extends to gay marriage, of course, medical (or even non-medical) marijuana, etc. It should be within a city's right to make a decision like this. You don't like it? Don't live there. Don't visit there. Whatever they vote for is preferred by the people of that place so leave them the hell alone.


What's up with the NRA (a mostly Republican group) sticking their noses in other peoples business? I thought Republicans hated big monster federal government coming in and interfering with state or local rights. It seems like Republicans and conservatives love playing that game until they feel passionate or moral about a subject. Then it's easy to hide behind federal government's apron strings. I'm still getting over this president wanting to make a change in the Constitution to outlaw gay marriage (a moral thorn in his side so he wants to use his big government powers). Give me a break. It doesn't cause you physical harm to have two gay men marry, it doesn't demean your married life, get over it. Dickheads.


In Oakland some time back I remember the city passing an ordinance to allow certain people to grow marijuana plants. They had doctors notes and city approval to do so. Enter the FBI to arrest the people citing federal law (even though the Oakland as a city had approved it) trumping lower levels of government. The pot growers were prosecuted and the judge refused to allow the jurors to hear or see any knowledge of the fact that Oakland itself had given the residents the right to grow. The jurors convicted the men of possession with intent to distribute and later the jurors found out about their "permission slips". Boy,were some of them furious. I would be too. It's just not right for Uncle Sam to play Big Brother. Live and let live a-holes!

Damn!

That's intense. Now that's some real life true blogging. Heavy stuff. If you want to know what I'm talking about you should visit Kiki's Revolving Girl, blog link in my favorite blog sections below.

Edmund Fitzgerald

Today is the 30th anniversary of the sinking of the Edmund Fitzgerald on Lake Superior, back all the way in 1975 during a massive storm. The shipwreck prompted my favorite Canadian folksinger Gordon Lightfoot to pen the song Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald the next year, in 1976.


I first heard the tune, and got introduced to the story of the wreck itself, when on a trip through Michigan with the family back some years ago. We stopped at the Shipwreck Coast Museum at Whitefish Point Light Station in Paradise, Michigan. As I entered to look at all the shipwreck artifacts, Gordon's tune was playing on the overhead speakers. But it was muffled in such a way that it seemed to be playing underwater. I will never forget that. It was slow and haunting, and catchy too like most of his tunes. I had no idea who he was or what the tune was but it made quite an impression. I've been hooked on Gordon ever since.



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I didn't go out and get a Gordon tape right away (I kind of shelved it in the back of my mind for a while) but when I was 17 I remember driving around South Attleboro and hearing it on the radio. I then went to Newbury Comics and bought Gordon's Greatist Hits Volume II so I could add it to my collection. But the song on the cd sounded faster, and different. Finally in college when I got a record player from my wonderful, most favorite uncle and aunt Ron and Naomi, I went out and bought Gordon's 1976 album Summertime Dream. Here was the original ballad. Slow, haunting, eerie, beautiful. One of my all time favorite songs. It makes you feel cold and wet, and really humble. If you get the chance, check it out. Here are some great links.


Whitefish Shipwreck Museum

Lightfoot website

CNN article about the anniversary

Audio and Video Clips

I Want the Truth!

But they'll never admit it. What I'm talking about are these oil companies continuously raping America for every red freakin' cent we own to put gas in our cars. Being in San Diego I don't have to worry about heating my house or apartment this winter, but what about all of you on the East Coast or up north who are gonna have to flip the bill for heating? These companies have all recorded profits this last quarter. Why? Because they're playing on America's fear. Fear of natural disasters, fear of overseas production problems, fear of what the future bring. So lay down America and take it. They can set the bar at whatever level they want and suck it out of us.


From CNN, "The industry's third-quarter profits jumped 62 percent to about $25.9 billion, as Exxon Mobil, the nation's biggest oil company, posted the largest corporate profit in history. Oil company's stocks are up some 40 percent from a year ago, giving big gains to shareholders." So now it's up to our politicians to control their blood sucking. Of course our government can't stop private corporations from charging us a certain price for items we need, but they can establish taxes for these groups and make them contribute back to the community. Congress is meeting today with all these big, rich, fat, white men (no doubt they all voted for Bush) who run the oil companies.


Here's Exxon Mobil's CEO Lee Raymond, the big-ear, droopy jowled, old coot: "History teaches us that punitive measures hastily crafted in response to short-term rises in prices will have unintended consequences and disincentives to investment." Ok, Mr. Raymond. Slide it in nice and easy and just don't be too rough on us as you bend us over.


In other news it has been almost three weeks since I've filled up my truck. So it was about $45 to fill it up last time and I used to go through that in 10 days. Now, since I'm taking the trolley to work, I'm averaging 18 days or so. It's really helped on the finances. Eventually a hybrid will be the way to go. I give it maybe 3 years and I'll be buying one.

Not well

I'm not feeling good. Really stressed out and I'm in a bad mood. I have almost an hour left here at work and it feels like this day and week is just dragging on. Too many things at work, they just keep coming and coming and it never stops. I want to take an axe and chop wood or wrestle someone to release my aggression. But my body is starting to feel like crap and not just my mind, otherwise I would probably go run down Sunset Cliffs and get it out that way. If I get sick I'm gonna get more pissed. I am just in a really pissy mood and I really hate everything and just about everyone right now. Man, this sucks. I need a vacation like now.

Lame

Twice in the past few weeks Christina had asked if I wanted to see the new movie Capote. On both occassions I said "sure, just let me know". So today she breaks out with "Oh, I went and saw it last Wednesday". How lame is that? She went and saw it without me. Didn't even ask if I wanted to go. What a jerk.

How Good is Nickel Creek!?!

Local San Diego County band Nickel Creek has been a favorite of mine since, oh, about the year 2000 or so. I've got their new album. I like a lot of it but then on some of the songs I can't get into it as much. It's a different album. More mature? I guess. A little darker in parts is more like it. Some highlights though...Sara Watkins. That's all I can say. Here are some shots of her performing. Voice of an angel.











Their new album is called Why Should the Fire Die? She sings this cool song called Anthony which is quickly becoming one of my favorites. Another great track from the album is her cover of Bob Dylan's Tomorrow is a Long Time. Hard to believe that song is over 40 years old (from 1963) but it still sounds fresh and timeless with Sara singing. She does beautiful work, listen below.



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How eerie is it that lead singer Chris Thile looks like my friend Dave? Check out these photos by comparison. I'm thinking I can use Dave as a doppleganger when Nickel Creek comes back to SD to play in December. We could sneak backstage and I could meet Sara and have her sing a love song to me. Of course Dave lives in Connecticut so he would have to fly out here, and I'd have to buy him a mandolin, but I think it could work. Can you tell the difference between Dave and Chris???

Separated at Birth???

Questions

Here are some questions that have been floating around my head this week:


Sometimes these simple things in life seem so outrageous, like we take them all for granted but it is truly a miracle. For example, the fact that there are rivers and lakes and huge ocean like bodies of water underground. It's called natural water or spring water. How can there be that much water underground? Ground is solid. I would've figured the force of gravity would collapse underground chasms and prevent such huge spaces from forming. But there are huge chambers everywhere. Anyway, here are a list of some more questions I've been pondering and forgive me if I sound dumb, because sometimes I am, but please help me in my quest for knowledge.


Questions


1. Thinking of the whole origin of species thing...how do viruses form? Has AIDS been around since the dawn of time and just layed dormant until a quarter century ago? If not, how did this virus all of a sudden appear? And, furthermore, why is its purpose to destroy and kill a host? How do new viruses just all of a sudden appear? We've pretty much catalogued all the flora and fauna on this planet, so we know new species of apes or cats aren't magically formed everyday, but somehow new viruses like SARS or strains like the Bird Flu suddenly appear. And don't give me this evolving crap. What did AIDS evolve from? It has never affected humans before the past century!


2. Is it really true that for about half of a woman's monthly cycle it is impossible for her to get pregnant? I had an ex tell me this but I find it hard to believe. If so why are there so many "accidental pregnancies"? I've always figured everyone was fertile all the time.


3. Why do we require the opposite sex to pro-create? Life started out on this planet as single cell organisms reproducing asexually. Seems to me, if evolution is real, the quickest way to enhance, protect and ensure the survival of a species is to reproduce as easily as possible. This means the reason why two distinct sexes, each needing the other to produce offspring and the continuation of the species, is ambiguous. It'd be much more simple for organisms to maintain their original reproduction methods. Somehow organisms had to "evolve" a way to make it more difficult to survive.


4. I've always been confused by hard-core fundamentalist Christians (and other religions too) who are also deeply patriotic. If you follow the Bible closely and to the T, how can you possibly have an excuse for pledging allegiance to a false God (i.e. your flag or nation)? Or paying taxes? Or recognizing a President as your sovereign leader instead of God? Or following a Congress that makes laws and rules of the land? They are not consistent. Don't these pure believers understand they are going against God's will as his children by being established in a society that recognizes any one or government beside the Lord?


5. I might just be paranoid, but do you think I'll be arrested or sued for using a peer-to-peer network and downloading copyrighted movies and music? I know they usually just target people distributing, but every day I see more and more regular people who get caught. I thought it was anonymous downloading. Can they really track what I'm downloading? That's scary.


6. Also I'm still confused by armed force Chaplains. I know they are there for guidance of the soldiers, but how do they resolve the fact that they are part of an Army who at one time or another supports the death of another individual.


7. Is there someone in Alice Springs (the only town within all those hundreds of miles in the Outback that seems to be represented by the dot in the middle of Australia) who reads my blog? I'd love to know! I visited there in '98 and tasted my first Camel burger!


8. Why are some people magnetically attracted to each other? Senior year of college before Ash and I started dating, we would sit next to each other while doing data entry over winter break and I could feel myself being pulled to her. Honest to God, it was like an electric charge. We were friendly with each other at the time, but I could close my eyes and just feel my body leaning that way. Yet with other people (and sometimes other girlfriends) I don't feel this magnetic draw.


9. How many generations would we have to go back to see that all those of Sicilian descent living in America are all related? I'm thinking only about 300 years worth. You'd probably find a Vincenzo and Maria whose line can somehow connect all of us to one another. It's not a very big island, c'mon.


10. Do you think the reason I'm attracted to blondes, or redheads, or girls with really fair skin and features, is because I subconsciously don't want to mate within this 300 year gene pool of relatives? That somehow my body and it's electrical impulses knows who may be a relative and who may not be? By being attracted to Irish and German girls I'm essentially being a trailblazer and taking the steps to spread my seeds in new ground? Nice visual picture for you. And if not, why do I like girls with those features? Freckles, blue or green eyes, soft features and really light or pinkish skin? I can walk by hundreds of girls but those are the ones that stand out. It's not like I'm consciously in control of it, something just hits me when I see these girls.


That's my top ten for now!

BTW, that's Kelly Reilly above, a great Irish actor.

FEMA e-mails Recovered

Rep. Charlie Melancon, D-Louisiana, has just published on his website a plethora of emails from former FEMA chief Michael Brown. In them we see just how ignorant and clueless he was during the Katrina crisis. Truly, he was unfit to be leading the organization. Someone please submit this pdf file (found here from Melancon's website) to the White House under the title "Brownie, you're doing a heck of a job."

Unbelievable.

Failure

This is so worth the experience!

1- Go to www.google.com

2- Type in "Failure", without the quotes

3- Instead of hitting "Search" hit "I'm feeling Lucky"

4- See what comes up!

5- Tell your friends before the people at Google fix it