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01.31.02 from new bed to muppet head: aaron provides us with an enlightening discourse on life-as-the-Muppet-Show. this gets me thinking. i'm afraid i grew up just outside of the range of influence of The Muppet Show. but Sesame Street always reigned supreme. i remember having this strange, um, affection for big bird. i remember wondering why nobody would believe that Mr. Snuffleupagus was real. and i remember crying when mr. hooper died, and big bird didn't understand where he had gone. that was where i learned what death was. that, and the time my sister electrocuted her hamster. # it looks like i'll be traveling to the beachier parts of jacksonville, florida later this year (may) for a conference. anyone know anything about the gay scene, or the young scene? anyone from around there? # 01.29.02 fox news overtakes CNN in ratings. wow. i'm not surprised though. CNN's limited defense is just now turning into a really poor offense, and fox news will pander to just about anyone they can find (imho). where will we go for leftist-middle broadcast journalism if fox takes over? #
my friend adam, who plays a lot of solitaire, discovered this easter egg on martin luther king day. # blogger strikes again! this time it's claimed young kevin as its most recent victim. everyone say "hi kehvan!" # brian catches a guy out on the sly, chris-does-dallas (with a go-go boy, no less. this girl has class) and aaron invents a new drinking game. am i falling behind the curve here? # you'd think that this article over at wired was about the new dual gig G4's apple released yesterday. but in fact it's not. the important part of the story comes in halfway down the page, when it introduces a homegrown app for simple parallel computing. i heard a few rumors around the initial release of os x that perhaps apple would build in native support for this kind of clustering. nothing has come of it yet, but it should, if apple is really serious about taking out the big boys in 3D and film. if native clustering support could be incorporated alongside muliprocessing and the upcoming G5... # 01.28.02 today ryan asked me what album best defines my life over the past year. i said the beatle's revolver. how about you? #
# INTO THE TERRIBLE MACHINE off in the land of "holy fuck", a new radiohead video has been released. it's for a combined and remixed version of push/pulk revolving doors and like spinning plates. the video has apparently been broadcast on musique plus in quebec and should be appearing elsewhere soon. for the moment, you can watch a crappy streaming version of it on the capital records website (enter the flash page and go to the videos section). you can read more about this amazing video was made here. now that we've covered the technical aspects, let me just say two things. first of all, this video had better be released onto dvd (like bjork's stuff) in order to be truly appreciated. the second thing i want to say about it is oh my god. the video features a giant, terrible machine and climaxes with a pair of conjoined baby's in a centrifuge. read the link above to get more detail. and share your thoughts here if you watch it. # finally, a mac at 1 GHz. and dual processor no less. # 01.27.02 adam: we're just like straight people, only more unionized. # 01.26.02 blogger pro, huh? some people might call it 'too little, too late' but as someone who's trapped into a year with a hosting service without the cgi access necessary to run greymatter or moveable type, it's looking pretty spiffy. anyone try it out yet? can it (blogger pro) live up to the promise? # i had a series of dream-state revelations last night:
# 01.25.02 it seems like more and more folks are moving on up. hi matt! # yes ameer, with dreams like that, we'd all be reluctant to sleep. # 01.24.02 wow, everything i've ever wanted to know about emo, including fashion tips for the aspiring emo kid. # prince william stood up britney spears. this can only mean one thing: prince william is gay! it must be true. anyway, even if it's not, i'm sure to get lots of search hits from google about this. # ahhhh! blogger is taking over my life!!! beside's having a blogging boyfriend, now i have not one, but two best friends (Real Life, even!) with blogs. who's next, my mother? anyway, welcome on board darin. now provide us with song, dance and merriment. # 01.23.02 it's about damn time: california to number exits on freeways. # ok, so i know i'm supposed to be saving money and all, but... jessie's elliott smith mp3 tempted me too much, and i went out and bought figure 8. whoo hoo, i'm in love! # i was on the phone with my mom last night and she used the term "commitment ceremony" - can't we just go back to the days when it was just something parents didn't talk about? # oh. apparently new york sucks. thanks sparky, you saved me! # according to the iht, the new film black hawk down is not well liked in Somalia, where the brutal events around which the film is based took place. i should make some thought provoking statement about war and our country's role in global events. instead, i'll offer pithy banter and ask if anyone is surprised by this article. # 01.22.02 jessie's gorcery store post reminds me of going to the Big K(mart) late at night with my sister. we'd go there when we wanted to talk in private. she and i would walk around the store and she'd pick up random items as we strolled. i remember walking through the automotive section, her wearing a life vest, carrying a bucket of paint in one hand and a toilet seat lid in the other. ah, fresno. # extracted from a recent conversation with the boyfriend:
ME: you realize that the potential for encountering people with poo on them will be higher in new york?
HE: compared to san francisco? i dunno. it's a gay town. anyway, it's the old people that scare me. they're poo-rific. # it used to be when people asked me my most embarrassing moment, i would draw a blank. recently it seems like someone is trying to make up for that. this weekend i laughed so hard i threw up. at a dinner party. [update: on second thought, humiliation isn't really a new thing after all. the index of incidence for public embarrassment did increase dramatically however, starting with and due to coming out my parents. it was downhill after that.] # 01.21.02 who better to do it? mtv and showtime are collaborating on a new gay network. pay, of course. figures. # 01.20.02 a lazy sunday afternoon spent lying in bed and watching whatever fodder the tv offers up. here's to long weekends. # 01.18.02 obviously, more than a few people have noted the striking similarity between the new imac and the lamp from pixar. this is a cute, funny play on that. # 01.17.02 my roommate jon just returned home, triumphant and victorious. see, jon is a history major. he writes a lot of papers. he writes most of them at the last minute. this week he was taken to task by an essay on Darwin & Nietzsche vs. God. we all stood by helplessly and watched as jon struggled with questions that fundamentally rocked his perception and understanding of life. today he came home with an A from his professor, a man whom i idolize, who represents the essence of what higher education, nay the purpose of man's existence (to question, to answer). congratulations to jon, truly a man of thought. # the hottest things ever to come from clay, wallace and gromit, are going to appear in 12 one-minute flicks, available for free over the internet. it's part of a much larger marketing scheme that escapes me at the moment. (cheers to the reg for this one) # ok, i'm guilty of not paying attention here. remember the father who was beaten to death that hockey fight? (you'd better, since i don't have the link) well, apparently his father was convicted 20-something years ago of stabbing his own son with a hunting knife. let's all take a moment to pause and appreciate our families for being fucked up in their own special, non-leathal ways. # the difference between san francisco and san luis obispo? in the city, they give you chop sticks, but you have to ask for a fork. in slo, they give you a fork and you ask for chop sticks. among other things, of course. # chris has the scoop on the next movie to feature Mathieu Kassovitz, the cutie from amelie. # anyone want to take a stab at helping me figure out what this is? it's from a dream i had once. # 01.16.02 i'd really like to know, from people who are not from california, what you know (if anything) about the spanish mission system in california. curiosity. # dried up 80's pop-star Adam Ant is committed to a mental hospital, months before launching an "80's nostalgia tour." # not to get all businessy, but wow. Kmart may be in danger of bankruptcy. martha stewart gets anxious. # i've been writing all night, trying to piece together part 2. nothing is coming from it. the story's two years old, and i've been trying to write it for almost as long. part 1 was pretty easy. at least for as long as it is. but this is much more confusing, much more emotional. it's hard to contort that onto paper. more than anything, i want this piece to be honest. but i need to do it right, because the story deserves as much. am i talking this up too much? i'm exasperated. it's cold out now. but the wind has stopped. # 01.15.02 for a while tonight, the wind knocked out our power. we lit candles, made a fire. the instuments of music were quickly produced and employed in it's making. when the power came back, we quickly turned off the lights and pretended they never came back. # i fell down today. at school, in front of everyone. i stumbled, staggered, and ate shit. in front of my professors. in front of the top-of-the-hour rush crowd. i haven't fallen since i was 13. it's a humbling experience. of course, i was checking out a guy when it happened. # is anyone else having trouble with double-posting in blogger? # sociologists are trying to map the internet's social networks via email. be careful next time you delete a fwd. # the only thing i'm really good at making is eggs. i'm really a lousy cook once you exit the breakfast arena. # A FOUL WIND the wind comes in gusts, billowing and blowing, dislodging the long dormant and thrusting forth the weary trash. on it's lips are the names of friends. in its eyes is the threat of history. i'm reminded once again that my time in this town is drawing to a close. the sweet harps of sorrow are gently stroked. i was reminded this weekend of events i'd almost forgotten. events which have faded into the mess of history, into the mortar of this wall. when i was in high school, finally old enough to realize, just old enough to empathize, a young boy killed himself. death is not an uncommon occurrence in our lives. but this one felt different. the boy was young, freshman, fifteen. he didn't leave a note and no one knew why he did it. and i thought to myself, what could have been so terrible and lonely that he could do this? perhaps i knew. his specter haunted me, his need and his emptiness. and i thought, who did he have? and i thought, what would it have taken? what did this boy need so badly, what was he refused so often that he could take his life? perhaps i knew. and i thought, maybe i could have done something. and i thought, maybe i could have known him. maybe i could have smiled at him. maybe i could have helped. # 01.14.02 welcome back, kotter. # 01.09.02
within and throughout this month, i'm enjoying the lovely company of adam and peter. peter is returning to us from a year abroad, studying in denmark and traipsing about europe. while there, he's come across great deals on the russian black market, naked shoplifters and (as always) plenty of go-go boys. and he brought back with him the first euros that i've ever seen. welcome back boys! # She smells and I heard that she slept with the whole Republican Caucus. I mean, GROSS. I love your new hair cut and color. It�s so �ready for winter� with a optimistic �there�ll be another spring� flip. welcome backs go to aaron, seven days at sea. # 01.08.02
[images courtesy of cnet] apple's not the first company to release a flat-panel all-in-one machine. which would you prefer? # it seems everyone in the media loves apple right now. wired has an article on iphoto that reads like a marketing piece, direct from cupertino. i think the most interesting aspect of the software might be the book-making feature. not that the idea is so revolutionary, although it certainly hasn't been done before, but i wonder where they've found a printer that is willing to produce all these unique books, in single quantity, in a $30 price range. considering wired's assertion that the books are printed offset, it seems that apple must be subsidizing the printer in some manner. (fellow printing folks - perhaps they've got a small army of heidelberg DI's?) # the first week of school is often the most aggravating time for sightseeing amongst the student population. week one, winter quarter is typically the biggest fashion show in town, and all the kids are dressed to impress in their after-christmas-blowout best. which makes it pretty hard to tell which team the boys are playing on. rest assured, within a week the frat boys will have thrown up on all their good clothes, and it'll be back to the greek-week shirts and the cal poly sweatshirts. [update: ok, so i'm having a good hair day, and it seems silly to waste it. since i have one more 'first class meeting' left, i guess i'll throw my hat in. here's my contribution.] # dave thomas, founder of wendy's and adoption advocate dies at 69. # 01.07.02 it's not sleep deprivation, i promise you. i've slept more in the last week than i have in at least a year. yet as soon as i walk into my new classes, my head starts to fall. perhaps i've killed significant portions of my mind with drugs and alcohol? maybe i've grown more ignorant since my arrival at college, descending into a vegetable-like state? perhaps i've developed sudden-narcolepsy? most likely however, is that they're simply saying the same things over again. most likely, i can't remain attentive in my classes because now, finally, with less than six months remaining in my educational experience, i've simply gotten bored. # 01.06.02 in the name of all that is holy, go to TIME canada.com right now if you're a mac fan. someone's going to loose their job over this... [update: the mainpage for time-canada was redirected to time-usa earlier. i've updarted the link above to a different server that they missed...] # had a fun lunch today with mr. blue, who was passing through the lovely hamlet of mine. now i'm wallowing in self-pity, muddling in PC-land. it's time for a nice clean reinstall of everything on my mac, which leaves me (semi) computer-less and with time on my hands to start reading one of my most interesting christmas gifts. be sure you'll hear more on this one later. the point of all this being: i don't want school to start tomorrow! # so i had this dream: i'm sitting in my kitchen, feeding chocolate to a pregnant bjork, who has cut herself whilst preparing vegetables or fruits. a child starts crying in the other room. (motion blur effect here) suddenly i'm riding a train across a collapsing bridge, and i leap off the bridge onto the nearby ledge of a dam, just as the train collides with a pylon and the bridge falls. scaling the dam, i find myself swimming away on the other side, fighting against the powerful current of water falling over the dam's spillway. after struggling, i finally reach land. the beach is full of people, most are watching the sky. a few yards back is a group of school age children, standing in front of lockers, changing into swimming suits and trunks. one distinctly beautiful young boy, standing in his shorts, makes eye contact with me and motions for me to come stand near him. as i oblige him, the other boys start to laugh at him. he blushes, and the boys all run off towards the water together. i'm left standing next to a young girl, who is wearing a nondescript two-piece and putting clothes into a locker. she looks at me and smiles. closing her locker, she hands me a dollar and walks away. # i can't decide - do i love jonno more for his talking heads references or for his cock addict's test? # easy living, easy hold easy listening, easy love easy answers, to easy questions i get up on easy love i get up on easy questions # INTO THE GREAT WIDE OPEN what could be better than spending time with friends, imbuing one's self with acohol (and other substances) and reliving the height of pop culture? tonight i went out to the bars with my roommates. i came to realize that our haunt (if it could be called that) is really a very very straight bar. a 'pub' more likely. the frog and peach, as it's known, always has live music, courtesy of our many local bands, and greets one with a room full of boys in hooded sweatshirts. we got some beers and moved to the patio, talking with our friends of recent time spent with loved ones. afterwards, i dragged everyone over to mission grill with it's (semi) trendy dress and a full compliment of sorority girls. at least i didn't look so out of place there. i bought my friends a round of cocktails and made idle conversation. finally, we stumbled home, planted dayv in front of the porcelain god, mixed some drinks and put on some madonna and (classic) michael jackson. ending the night involved the friendly friendly at the nearby 7-11 steering us towards the breakfast croissant; it's good to be home. # 01.05.02 i like her. she looks like a good time. [via found] #
did you know that our sun can look like this? or that it can do this? ain't science grand and beautiful? # 01.04.02 maybe, as brent says, this thing (thinking, talking, sharing) will save us all from ourselves, in the new year. # things i like to do:
# a sad, sad day - adcritic is dead. how much more senseless violence must we tolerate? # 01.03.02 tragedy strikes the Clintons: Buddy the dog dies, struck by a car. # ok, did i fail to mention that my friend dan saw bjork in london a little while back? yeah. we hate dan. matmos performed with her as well. matmos is a electronic duo (dan says they're IDM, if that makes much difference to you). they're also a couple - fancy that. they worked with bjork on some of the tracks on vespertine, which led me to pick up their latest album a while back. it's really pretty cool, filled with samples taken from the semi-real life of surgery. you've never danced until you've danced to the sounds of someone having liposuction. # LA STORY this extended holiday weekend found me in los angeles, city of angels, freeways and strip malls. i drove down with friends from school. we went together to marry off one of our own, in what was perhaps the most beautiful wedding i've ever seen. much champagne was drank, much celebration was had. the next day was new year's eve. i spent some time with a friend i wont see again for quite a while, and then met up with some friends i haven't seen in quite a while. (let's pause here for a moment to recall how i loath la. i just plain don't like it. sorry all you socal kids, but i don't enjoy that place much.) and, in keeping with history, i got lost. after that painful experience, i enjoyed very much being chaufered around by mr. matt, who is both cute and kind, as one would guess. more overwhelming friendliness from chris and his beautiful colorado friends, who really know how to show a girl a good time. my new year's eve could only have been better if my baby had been with me. we danced the new year in, we painted the town, we wandered the beach in the silver moonlight and we walked the dawn among towers of glass. a surreal experience for certain. a new year begun the right way. goodbye 2001, good riddance. # 01.02.02 what is going on? apple is pumping next monday's Macworld Expo keynote speech as the biggest thing this year. what could they possibly have up their sleeve? # 01.01.02 happy new year! # « December 2001 | archive index | February 2002 » built with movabletype |
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