The meaning came to me

Listen to more Circulatory System. Its worth while.
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RIP Reading Rainbow

NPR had a feature today about the end of Reading Rainbow. It's sad, very sad.

Kids with guns...taking over

Never Mix Water to Acid

I've got an app in for an apartment. I'm really hoping that it all works out. I want to be done with this whole process...

I'm currently in the process of revampin' the Wake Up Seattle blog. I set up a few more networking tools for it. There is now a Twitter account and a Flickr group. I've also got some emails out for various posts I want to do in the near future. I'm actually pretty pleased with the whole thing at the moment. However, I think I'm going to shut down the Indoor Sprout as I haven't posted on it in a while and don't really feel like posting anything. I'll still leave it up there, just in case I change my mind...

Speaking of upcoming blog post. I think that this weekend I'm going to check out the guerrilla art installation that showed up at Gas Works. I love the idea of guerrilla art. Anyone interested in going should hit me up!...

I thought about doing a large tribute to Ted Kennedy, but I haven't yet. I still might. His passing is a great loss for this country as a whole. RIP Ted...

The power of three wolves and the moon on a t-shirt

This is the funniest thing that I've read in a long time. I encourage you all to check it out. As a teaser here are some of the highlights:

"This item has wolves on it which makes it intrinsically sweet and worth 5 stars by itself, but once I tried it on, that's when the magic happened"

"I'll spare the details of my conquests since I started wearing this shirt; suffice to say, I'm swimming in a sea of babes the likes of which are usually found on those K-Tel infomercials."

"I suspect the Three Wolf Moon T-Shirt contains powerful lupine pheromones."

"I do have one complaint, and that's that I must stay indoors on windy days. Last fall we had a windy day and I received notice that hundreds of women were suddenly pregnant, carrying my offspring, up to 12 miles away."

"when you put this shirt on a ladies' man, it's like giving an AK-47 to a ninja"

"I stop by an abandoned parking lot where I sometimes shoot rats with my BB gun. I drag Timmy out of the car and he screams "I thought you were taking me to Chuck E Cheeezzz?" I pick up one of the dead rats I shot and said "This is Chuck E Cheese! Somebody must have burned it down and killed Chuck!" I threw the dead rat in his lap and as he sat motionless and sobbing uncontrollably, I jumped into the car, locked the door, and drove off. I could still see him crying in the rear-view as he cradled the rat, it was a nice warm feeling knowing he has learned to care for a fellow mammal like that."

"I accidentally spilled a glass of Tuscan Whole Milk down the front of this shirt, and my soul was torn from my body and thrown into heaven by a jealous God."

"The rippling of my well endowed man curves apparently set the wolves to almost a hypnotic shimmering, trapped and yet freed under the opalescent moon they eternally worship and yet deny. Some guy took one look at me and backed right into a concrete planter. I almost stopped to see if he was ok, but then I remembered that wolves don't stop for anybody, particularly when howling."

Gettin' blocked by the PRC?

So I was cruising the analytics today and a random thought crossed my mind, am I censored in China? I have had some sort of hit in all other major countries now, but China I get nothing. What could I be saying that they wouldn't like? Who knows, but now I am going to say some things that they're not going to like:

China is manipulating the world economy by undervaluing their currency cause US trade deficits to soar.

FREE TIBET!!!

The alleged Chinese space walk was a complete and total farce. You'd think that if they were planning to stage the whole thing they'd at least do a good job at it. Alas no.

Taiwan is an independent country and any attempts by the Chinese to disrupt that sovereignty should be considered an act of war by the UN and be dealt with accordingly.

I don't really care for Egg Foo Young.

That all being said if I wasn't blocked by the People's Republic of China prior to this post I hope that I am now.

As a final thought I'd like to say that I have absolutely nothing against the people of China, they're great people in fact, it's just their government.

It's been a while

Well that might have been the longest break in blogs since I threw an ax in my foot. I guess I've been busy, probably not though...

I saw the Flaming Lips on Friday (thanks again P). The show was amazing. I got some great pics. You can check em all out on my flickr...



I've been looking at some apts. Saw one yesterday out near 70th and 24th that seemed promising. I've got an email into them now to get a final verdict on a couple things. Hopefully it all works out. I really hate this whole process. I still have to figure something out about my cats...

















I want to give a shout out to Casey, Joseph and Cat for hosting a fabulous house warming party. I hope the new place brings you all much happiness...

Because we separate

I'm moving. I'm not exactly certain when, but with the way things are going I figure sooner than later. ***TEXT OMITTED*** There is one thing that makes me feel better...



Reckoner always makes me feel better.

A little Gnarls in the morning

Zoo pics

The Zoo was awesome! I had a ton of fun. It really made me realize that I need a new camera. Mine is okay for some things, but not for taking action shots (a bunch came out too blurry). Someday...













Snow Leopard w/ Cub














Brown Bear














Ocelot (my fav)














Gorilla doing questionable things














Giraffe! I was pissed off that I missed the giraffe feeding. It closed 45 minutes before I got there. Next time I'm going to plan more carefully.

ZOO!!!

I'm stoked to go to the Zoo tomorrow. I haven't been in a long time. Actually I wouldn't be surprised if the last time I went to the Zoo was in San Francisco which was like 6 years go. Tomorrow is Snow Leopard Day. Snow Leopards are bad ass...



I'm also looking forward to seeing the giraffes. What strange strange animals they are...

I am my own wife.

It's so true...

Health Care, Socialism and the Fall of the American Empire

This is a response to an article that was sent to me...

The health care situation is out of control and is going to be the first of many situations that one by one erode the frame work of our faux-democracy (reference Bush/Gore 2000) and will finally bring about the collapse of the United States of America.



As for classifying legitimately concerned citizens as unruly mobs I don't think that is going too far. If they were legitimately concerned citizens they would be interested in hearing the response to their questions instead of denigrating to mindless yelling and pointless name calling. If you've seen footage of some of these things than you know what I'm talking about. They are only half a dozen pitchforks and a few torches away from an angry mob.

The way I see it there are two major problems with health care reform right now.

1. Lobbyists for the medical insurance industry are some of the most influential out there. They have very deep pockets and will do anything they can to scare you into keeping the status quo because if things change they're going to make less money. They don't care that the people are being denied coverage by their insurance or can't afford to get the medicine that could save their life. They only have an interest in helping those who can pay for it. To me that is WRONG on the most basic moral levels and people aren't going to stand it anymore.

2. The American people are taking out years of anger on this one issue. These people aren't up in arms about health care they're up in arms about government. They think that the country is falling into some sort of socialist trap and they're all blaming Obama and the democrats for this. This might be the greatest illusion that Bush/Cheney were able to pull off. Upon taking office Obama had the tough position of having to deal with GM and the end result was something that no one wanted, but Obama was then labeled a "nationalizer". The people all too readily forgot that it wasn't Obama nor the democrats who nationalized huge sections of our economy. Fannie, Freddie, AIG, etc. As for socialism I never have understood when it was decided to be the worst possible thing that could ever happen. Without abiding by the basic tenets of socialism society would never have even gotten started. Think about people back in the day (3000BC) and tell me how socialism is different than a clan society? The "every man for himself" philosophy of American capitalism is the heart of the problem and people don't understand that. They're angry because they've lost their jobs and the government is having to bail out banks and they blame "socialism". They forget that unchecked capitalism is what led the government to have to do this and don’t realize the full effects (25% unemployment?) of what would have happened if the government had done nothing.

This is just the beginning of the end of the United States of America. The country is too large and too diverse in its ideals to come to any substantial conclusions that would save its life and the current health care issue is just one example. I guess some things aren't "too big to fail".

Late night thoughts

I am sitting at a bar in Columbia City writing. I usually write for hours with nothing to show. Tonight i was half a page in before... Completely empty but knowing at some point it all mattered.... The statement may be self prophetic we'll see tomorrow.

Chasing Rabbits

I've got a 60s theme going on today, this is a great video though. Very psychedelic...

Everyone needs a little more Janis

I really wish I could have found a good live version with video, but ob la di...it's still Janis.

“The best thing one can do when it's raining is to let it rain.”

The title to this post is a quote from Henry Wadsworth Longfellow. I think it's very appropriate. It's raining in Seattle for the first time in months. We get a bad rep up here for having too much rain, but if it were up to me it'd rain more.




I've always loved the rain. I'm not exactly sure what about it is so enticing to me. I'm sure part of it is the haphazard patter that comes as it lands upon the window. Some of it is how the air feels while water is falling, crisp and living. The biggest part of it is how great it is to just walk in the rain. It's like a baptismal.


Water has been an integral part of my life since I was born. The house that I grew up in was perched atop a cliff. When you looked out to the east there was a stunning view of Puget Sound, Vashon Island and the Olympic Mountains. I really wish that I had a picture of the view. There are many days that I still think about it.

(This isn't the exact view, it's missing the sheer drop off effect of the cliff.)

After graduating high school I went through a fair amount of social turmoil in my life. During this time I felt very lost. Whenever I had no idea what to do or where to go I'd drive down Alki and park my car near Don Armeni park and just look out across the sound and into the city. It was hypnotic how the buildings reflected their lights off the movement of the waves. The tiny pieces of light would dance between the swells in a way that seemed totally chaotic while being perfectly choreographed. It made me feel like I wasn't alone and we've been the best of friends ever since.














I don't think that I could ever live without the rain. This is why I could see myself retiring somewhere on the western slopes of the Olympics. It's lovely all year long, just not for everyone.

Chisel Chest hit the small screen

So this dude from Orange County calls up demanding that I open the 10 locks...
"this broad put on my door"
..and I tell him we're not locksmiths (i didn't know where he was till I searched the area code after)...
"If you can tell me where you are I can refer someone"
"I'm on the corner and I HAVE TO PEE!!"
"sir I don't know what corner you're talking about"
"YOU KNOW WHAT SHE DID TO ME!?" "I don't know what she did to you, who you are or where you are"
"well here get that other broad (a coworker or mine) on the phone, she sounded like a hot number, she'll let me in."
"first of all you're not going to be referring to my coworkers as 'broads' and secondly it's sounding like we can't help you"
"OH C'mon chisel chest you don't have to get all salty on me let me talk to the broad again"
"sir you're not going to be talking to anyone in this building anymore"
...and I hung up the phone.

So I'm a little slammed at work this afternoon and out of nowhere an old coworker hits me up on the facebook and is asking me if I'd act in his upcoming movie. Strange request being as I have NO acting experience, but I'm intrigued. Turns out he wants me to play John Hammond in his remake of Jurassic Park. Luckily for me I won't have to get a chisel chest to play the role.

Lost: Four Seasons, Two Cents

I've finished the first four seasons of Lost. Here's my two cents on some of what's going on...

A couple of quick notes about the DHARMA stations and my impressions first:

The Swan - Originally was just a menial experiment until something went horribly wrong leading to the button scenario. It was harmless at first, but they went too far. Locke gravely misunderstood the purpose of the Pearl and the fact that things had changed since the initiation videos were taken. This should be a solid lesson not to trust that anything the DHARMA Initiative did is the way it was.

The Arrow - This one is very interesting. This is where the tail survivors were staying. It was mark "QUARANTINE" like the Swan, but the station was mostly empty. I believe something important will happen here.

The Pearl - Here's a very interesting one. They said that it's a surveillance station and we know they had cameras in the Swan and the Flame. The interesting thing is that they were supposed to write everything down and put it in a tube that we later find out goes to nowhere. I'm starting to believe that they were the ones being observed not the other way around.

The Orchid - My favorite station. Love that they covered a physics lab with a garden. I'm interested to see if this station survived. Wondering if it looked so dilapidated because of having to move the island before took it's toll on the station.

The Tempest - I want to know more about this! I think that this was one of the biggest down sides to season 4 being so short. There are a lot of questions that I have. What kind of gas was there? When's the last time it was used? Is this why Kevin Inman was in a gas mask when he rescued Desmond? I want to know more!!!

Why does the Island seem to discredit the known laws of physics?
I think that the island is a land mass of some kind of "anti matter" which has made it into a sort of worm hole. This is what led to the DHARMA experiment at the Swan to go so horribly wrong that they had to continue pushing the button. They got too close to this "anti matter heart" in the center of the island. This is also what allows the frozen wheel to essentially move the island. It also would explain why people coming and going from the island experience a break in time (ie Desmond's episodes). I also think this is why they had to add Faraday to the characters.













Did the Island really move?
It moved in space/time, but maybe not so much physically. Islands are known to move with the tectonic plates. For instance all of the Hawaiian islands were formed from the same "hot spot" but the plate moved over it causing the archipelago. Now if this is true the question is whether everyone on the island shifted in time as well, Season 5 may very well disprove this theory.













What is the "smoke monster"? Who is Jacob?
Oh the smoke monster. The smoke monster is an interesting thing. I'd like to remind you that when Locke saw it originally he described it as a bright light. This is the direct opposite of what we've seen in its many appearances. This leads me to believe that it is intertwined with the mystery of Jacob. Locke has been "chosen" by Jacob, we're not told why yet, and this I believe is why Lock see it's as light while everyone else sees it as darkness. I believe it's a physical manifestation of Jacob's judgement. It killed Eko for not repenting his sins. The mercenaries killed Ben's daughter and then it took vengeance on all of them. The interesting thing is that the monster also appears to be able to take on human forms, as was the case with Eko when it took the form of Yemi and gave him the opportunity to repent. This makes me thing that the smoke monster is more than just a mindless entity controlled by someone else, but may in fact be the one that is in control. The smoke may very well be a sub-part of Jacob. And Jacob may very well be a God-head figure.










What's going on with Benjamin and Widmoore?
Benjamin and Widmoore have sort kind of game that's playing out. This is made clear when Ben appears in his room in the middle of the night and questions why he "changed the rules". So there was a pre-existing agreement between the two of them. This being the same reason that Ben doesn't just kill him, because he can't. I'd venture to guess that because Widmoore seems to have a pretty good idea about the island (ie the location of the orchid) he's probably been there at some point. Which makes me thing that he's very aware of Jacob. Now could it be that Jacob is the one who placed these two men against each other. Is this part of some plan to play out a war between good and evil? If so which is which and who is who? I'm thinking it's more likely that Widmoore is answering to some other figure that we haven't been introduced to yet. Something that brings balance to Jacob, but is unhappy that the balance exists. This goes back to the struggle of good and evil that Locke first mentions shortly after the crash.












What is Christian Sherpard's place?
This is the one character that has thrown me through a loop. He can appear anywhere at any time. He speaks for Jacob, but says he is not Jacob. He died in Australia but walks the Island as if he never died. I personally think that he is dead. I'm starting to think that Christian's body may be inhabited by Jacob. Which would make for a very interesting parallel to the Christian (notice his name too) faith. If Jacob is supposed to be some sort of God-head, it would be as though Christian is the father and the Smoke Monster is the holy spirit...who is the son? Jack seems too obvious. I'd put my money on Locke.

It would just be wasted on you

Last night I had a dream about keytars. I was in a large church auditorium with a group of friends, some I've seen recently, other I haven't seen in years. Everyone who was there had some kind of music experience. We were all sitting scattered about in the pews waiting for something. None of us knew what we were waiting for. I decided to get up and wander about. Being the only one without a musical background I was immediately a victim of social isolation even though they were all my friends.

I was pacing around the back row of pews when I noticed a small door in the far corner of the room. I quickly approached it to find that it was slightly ajar. Upon opening it I found a large cache of keytars. There was close to a hundred of them piled up. I pulled one out and hit a couple of notes. Much to my astonishment it worked. The notes echo'd through the room and suddenly everyone was staring at me. I could hear all kinds of shouts, "Where did ya get that?!", "You don't even know how to play it, pass it here", "What do you think you're doing with that thing!?"

As the crowd was becoming more and more unpleasant two people stepped forward, Jonny Durango and an old friend from primary school Ray. They positioned themselves in a way that acted as a buffer zone between myself and the mob. Many words were exchanged. The mob questioned why they would want to protect me. They spoke of how such a find would be wasted on a mind like mine. Jonny played the role of the muscle while Ray the diplomat, I just stood without moving. After fighting a few of them off physically and a long debate, little of which I remember, I was allowed to keep what I had found.

All of their eyes beat down on me as they insisted that I play the instrument. I placed my fingers on the keys and played a few notes. Some people smiled, others grimaced in horror. After the acoustics had made their final vibrations I set down the keytar and asked if anyone else would like one. Everyones jaw dropped. I then opened the small door fully, exposing the piles of keytars. No one asked me why I hadn't said anything earlier. They all just formed a line and waited patiently until they all had an instrument of their own.

The Smell of Roses

I'm on the 7. Couldn't figure out why it reeks of feces. Then i noticed the man 5 feet in front of me appears to have smeared some all over himself. Why?
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"Wings on planes, Kings with no names"

I hardly knew I should use my feet again

There is a lot of buzz about Bill Clinton. Props to the guy for getting those ladies out of N Korea. I just don't understand why he is all the sudden a hero for this? What about his efforts after Katrina? Or the Asian Tsunami? People seem to have forgotten everything else that he's done since being President. That being said, I'm glad he did it...

"And you know you know you know it all went wrong"...

Had a great meeting last night. Went over some killer ideas about how to finish up the 7 project. The way things are going I need to finish it soon or it's just not going to be the same...

I have another meeting tonight. I'm not looking as forward to this one. It's not quiet as jovial as last nights. Hopefully it goes well...

"And you know you know you know it was all wrong"...

The Wheels are in Motion

I can't get enough of the new Modest Mouse EP. It's great. I've probably listened to it about a dozen times now. You all should check out the video for "King Rat". It was directed by the late Heath Ledger. It's brilliantly disturbing...

I have a pile of paperwork on my desk that I would really like to ignore. I guess that's why I'm doing this and not that...

Life is changing. I'm not exactly sure how it's going to transpire but at this point it's going to happen. It's been a long time coming. I hope it all works out for the best. I was up way too late last night thinking about it, well I guess I should say drinking about it. Part of me wishes that it was all the way it used to be, but then I realize that it's not supposed to be. Everything happens for a reason. Who am I to question the plan? Right now I just need to accept it and move on. I just don't know what to do about my cats...

Lateralus

Where have I been?

Oh where do I begin? I haven't worked since last Thursday. It's been glorious. I wish I was still on vacation. I didn't go anywhere, but it was perfect...

The Festival was this weekend. That's one place that I've been. I would say that it was a success. I'll do a recap post later, I need to get some more pics before I do that...

I finished the third season of Lost. WHO IS JACOB!!?!?!??! Now on to season 4...