Wednesday, March 07, 2007

Be-ACH! or, How I learned to Stop Worrying and Love My Pathfinder

Ok, lets be serious - I never worried, and I love my pathfinder. I love adventure. I love adventuring in my pathdfinder. I don't know what i'll do if i ever have to get another auto.
i will admit that i am stuck on the top of this wussy little hill. i will also, however point out that i only got stuck in the soft sand on top of the hill, which i only decided to go up after the tacoma in the BG couldn't do it. he got pissed, and tried to go up the bigger hill. well, guess what. he's stuck on that big hill. sooo . . .

luckily, our trucks were competent enough to be able to back out of our holes. . . for those less competent . . . well, there are solutions.
now, i do recomend driving your auto off road as much as possible. take the "road less traveled" as it were. i also recomend full comprehension of the clearance of your auto, or, your tailpipe might fall off. . .

yes, i did surgically remove the hanging tailpipe from the bottom of my auto with my bare hands. yes, i did feel manly. is this a good idea? well, if you are driving a short distance, its no problem. . . if you are driving a long distance, it is admittedly better to get it fixed before you go. . .
i love camping out. i love people in the desert. or, in this case, in the desert by the beach.
camping out with the peeps on the pismo dunes was way cooler than i could have ever expected. i recomend it.
p.s. eat your heart out tom.

I should have done this years ago

holy crap, where have i been? well . . . LOTS OF PLACES! but first things firs, i have been riding my new road bike. i love my new road bike. i have wanted one for about 2 years, but i just kept putting it off. finally, i did my taxes, and when i saw the tax return i was getting, i realized that i could get a bike! Than YOU, U.S. Government, for giving me a bike back.
(not the actual bike, but close enough . . . real picture to come)

so, what did i get? i got an '05 Sacttante CFR. "But, Mike," you may be thinking, "i have never heard of a Scattante, and that name sounds a little gay . . . " or "nice, but what does scattante mean anyways" (it has something to do with speed, in italian) to which i can only respond . . . me too. i had never heard of the brand, it is the Performance house brand, it turns out. But i dont need a name brand bike, and in all of my road bike searching, there seemed to be only one constant - not "how the frame feels" or "these components are the best" but "if you can do anything to get into a carbon bike, do it. get as much carbon on your bike as you can . . ." soooo, i was over at performance checking out bikes, and i saw this one. its black, has a full ultegra setup, flat spoke wheels, and a full carbon frame, which is pretty amazing. so, i bought it, considering it cost a couple hundred less than any other bikes i tried, and it was less than half the price of the next best full carbon frame in my size from this year. . . . so, i've been riding it, and it is excellent. it weighs 18 lbs.

here are the things i have learned:

for components, Shimano is the standard. with the componentry quality going "105", "Ultegra", "Dura Ace". now, what does this mean? for mountain bikers, its is most clearly translated as the relationship between "LX", "XT", and "XTR" respectively.

for frames, you got aluminum, aluminum with carbon fork and seat stays, full carbon. these days, all bikes come standard with carbon forks. carbon seat stays are "standard" for a price, and, of course, full carbon is the bomb. now, what does this mean? why is it important? apparently, carbon is good, not because it is light and strong, but for two things, mainly: vibration dampening, and speed transferral. because it is a more rigid material than aluminum, that is - it flexes less - the power of pedaling is sent straight to the wheels, and is not lost in the frame. however, even though it is a more rigid material, it disperses vibration better. that is, the intensity of the little road bumps that you feel under your hard as rock, skinny as a rail tires are somewhat reduced. mountain bikers: think "shocks", to a degree. . . a much lower degree . . . now, this vibration dampening doesnt nessecarily matter for short rides - you wont notice it so much after 20 miles. but it is apparently extremely helpful over the long haul, to help reduce fatigue, etc. hence - get as much carbon as you can. one bike shop guy - who must be sponsored - said that he had been riding a $3000 aluminum frame, that "they" had given him, and he "wasnt supposed to be seen on anything else" but one day he got on a bike that had carbon seat stays, and couldnt believe the difference that they made in dissipating the road vibrations. now, thats nice, comming from a shop guy, who, as nice as they are, you have to assume is trying to upsell you at every corner, but on my test rides, i noticed the same thing! even on a short around the block run. so, i am all for having carbon on the bike. am i convinced that full carbon is better than just seat stays and fork? for the "retail" money, no. but, then again, i dont get paid to race or ride my bike.

so, the verdict: i got my bike for $1000. a deal for a full carbon bike with an ultegra setup - i got the deal because it is an '05 frame. which bike would i love to own, if money was no object and someone was going to give it to me tomorrow? well, i road almost every bike out there, and, hands down the Specialized Tarmac was the "best" bike i road. it was comfortable and seemed to have nearly instant power transferral. how can i tell? um . . . yeah, i dont know, it just seemed that way. is it worth the money? um . . . no. not for me, at least. not now. i'll let you know if that changes. but for now, i love my scattante, in all its carbon fiber glory.
(specialized tarmac, bike of the future)

Thursday, February 22, 2007

How To . . .

have you ever found yourself in this situation? you've got a bunch of angy people with a cause together, and you're off to your protest on your protest bus, but how do you get these people impassioned, inflamed and ready to GO!?

well, luckily, Wiki How-To is here to help. they have a complete list of helpful how-to's, from captaining the protest bus, to talking to that attractive member of the opposite sex you find your self in proximity to on your local public transit, to tieing your shoe (hey, lets be honest, you mix that up sometimes too in this, the age of the slip-on revival)

so, shoot on over there, and get a little help, goodness knows you need it.

Monday, February 19, 2007

Chocolate Chip Cookies, Diet Coke and True



soooo . . . first of all, i have to say that the Chocolate Chip Cookie/Diet Coke combo is deadly. it struck at me twice today, while at work. luckily, i was able to defeat it, by devouring the cookie and drinking the coke . . . yes, i did this twice. yes, i love diet coke and chocolate chip cookies. yes, work gave them to me. yes, i will probably get fat at my job. which brings me to an important point: why i need a new road bike. when i get one, i will be able to ride it easily before work, and not get fat. . . or, at least, stave off the fatness for as long as possible.

which brings me to a quandry. why do i always see ads for TRUE, the dating service which, apparently, has so many hot women that they will probably explode if all of us nerdy guys dont sign up immediately. apparently, she's out there, just waiting . . . for ME! i cant believe it . . . in fact, i cant believe it so much, that it makes me a little tired . . . remember the one True ad with the not very cleverly airbrushed topless chick, who's back was to us, holding her breast. yeah, that one was dumb. but, apparently affective, because i still remember it. would it have been as effective if i had only seen it once, instead of, oh, 700 million times? would an image of, say, a tree, be just as effective if i saw it 700 million times? maybe, if the tree had boobs. i see these ads mostly on myspace, where i have to assume that they are showing me chick ads because my profile identifies me as male. do chicks get TRUE ads about all the hot dudes, just waiting for them out there in cyberspace? maybe the ads arent that smart. maybe chicks have to look at the same ads that dudes have to look at. i hope not, for their sake.

and, lastly, so that i can finnish this thought on a high note. my little brother has been experimenting with the recording of musics. you should check out what he's doing. he's 17.

Friday, February 16, 2007

Drew and Johanna got married


last week, dan and i went to Tucson, Az, where we met up with shaun and katie and went to drew and johanna's wedding. it was an excellent affair, in drew's folks back yard. there was a wonderful jazz band playing at the reception. and, one dirty hippy who thought the things he had to say and sing about were more important to me than not hearing them . . . which i would have preferred.

the day after the wedding, dan and shaun and katie and i went down to Tombstone. famous for . . . being Tombstone. it was . . . disapointing. i dont know what i expected, but not the dirty half-assed tourist trap of a town that i got. oh well, it was still fun.

on the way down, we stumbled upon the airplane grave yard (and here), which i wish we would have had time to tour. but it was still cool to see all the planes anyways.

other than that stuff, the highlight of the trip was discovering that, apparently, the fine citizens of Tucson, AZ are single handedly doing their part to preserve the market share of the long neglected RC cola. we first made this nearly archeological find while dining in a barbeque restauraunt of unreasonable terribleness (which still haunts me), but soon found it (the beveradge) to be nearly ubiquitous among the southern parts of AZ. Diet RC is relatively tasty . . . although i dont know if i'll ever sway from by true addiction to Diet Coke. i know that Diet Coke is true. amen.

we also found a dairy queen, in a middle-of-nowhere type of town, where i got a tasty cherry chocolate blizzard. why is it that dairy queens always manage to make it in those small towns? the DQ is definately a small piece of americana.

later in the day, after getting back from our old west adventure, dan and i hung around Tucson. we cruised through most of the city. failed to find an open motorcycle shop, perused the U of A, and finally landed in a small nameless retaurant/bar, where we got some wings, nachos, popcorn shrimp, and, of course, Diet RC. and i have to say: maybe i didnt see the better parts, but, all in all . . . Tuson is boring.

Thursday, February 15, 2007

Toshi Gets A Sax

so, yesterday toshi looked up from his computer with the face of childlike glee. he immediately dropped his blue bunny drumstick icecream, ran . . . somewhere, returning with a medium sized cardboard box . . . which contained - a SICK black saxaphone! he's about to take some lessons, and i'm sure, in no time, he'll be totally SICK at playing it - just like Rob Lowe in St. Elmo's Fire. "Lets Rock!" SICK.





Wednesday, February 14, 2007

Why My Job Rules, Valentines '07

well, yet again, my place of work proves itself to be artist-centric and a lot of fun. today, for valentines day, not only did we have a wonderful lunch as always, but there is a big Happy Valentines sign, made by the girls who take care of us, paper hearts on the walls, pink and white m&m's everywhere, heart candies of various chocolate varieties, a valentines oreo cheeze cake, personalized boxes of candy hearts (thats right, it has my name on it) annnnnd - if that weren't enough - AN ICE CREAM TRUCK! thats right. there was an ice cream truck parked in our little parking lot distributing frozen confections to the masses, compliments of Asylum. I had the Pink Panther cherry flavored novelty ice cream bar. it was awesome. Thank you, Asylum.

The Whizzer!

gonna go check this out on sat. pretty stoked, seeing as its one of the coolest things i may have ever seen. . . it's here, at the Solvang Vinatge Motorcycle Museum. gonna ride my bizzike up there . . . my moto bizzike, that is, not my peal bizzike. oh, what was that? you want to know the history of this fine machine? well, thank YOU Jack Backstreet for putting it together for us.

Wednesday, February 07, 2007

Slideshow! Boosh!

some people have wondered why my gmail status message says "Slideshow! Boosh!" well, hopefully this will clear it up. actually. no, it wont. because that phrase didnt appear in the series till about episode 11 or so. however, this is a good introduction to the seriese Frisky Dingo, and perhaps my fave episode - episode 2, our first introduction to Awesome X. so, start with this, and then you can get to the rest. BOOSH!

ep2 pt 1



ep2 pt 2

I Love Flickr (have i said it enough)

yeah, thats my pops in the center, with the sweet brown suit

if i haven't said it before (and i'm sure i have) i love flickr. flickr helps fulfill the biblical prophesy that in the last days the hearts of the children will be turned to the fathers. for example: today my father posted pictures of his mission in switzerland, from 1974. aaannnnd, they're amazing. suddenly i want to know more about my dad, again. what questions haven't i asked? what dont i know? what happened to the stylish young man of the early 70's to turn him into the anti-style king of the capital beltway? and, perhaps most importantly, why havent i seen these pictures before?

also, it helps when friends post pictures of things you've done. for example, the art show which i reported about the other day, andy totally posted some pictures from it here. thanks again, flickr. what am i going to do if flickr ever blows up? i dont like to think about it . . . so i'll just look at the pictures. . .

Tuesday, February 06, 2007

Finally, a List i can USE!

so, last night my roomate andy and i gave a 5 minute presentation on places to find live music in Los Angeles. in preparation for this, i populated a list . . . then, looking at the list, i realized that IT'S THE LIST I'VE ALWAYS WANTED! a simple list of venues in LA, with links to their websites. well, i made the links, and HERE IS THE LIST world. i hope somebody finds it as useful as i am sure i will.

shareef don't like it. rock the casbah.

The Frozen North

so, two weekends ago i went up to Ut to give a couple of lectures. "but, mike," you may be saying to yourself, "what sort of lectures? . . . and to whom? and . . . what - since when are you the kind of guy that gives lectures anyways?" well, funny you should ask. my siblings would readily tell you that i'm the kind of person prone to the giving of lectures on any of various topics. and, it is true that i have never been accused of talking too little . . . but these lectures may be a little bit different.

i gave a little presentation to the students of Utah State Unviersity and The University of Utah on getting into the business of animation. i hope i was able to answer some questions about how to make the transition between school and work, as well as bring a little reality to their quests, and maybe even a little bit of inspiration.

luckily i was able to fill the lecture with plenty of videos, including this hi-res version of the Halo 3 teaser that i worked on, so it wasnt so bad.

the question is, really, though . . . should i go to UT to do a masters of some sort as an excuse to make alot of animated stuff? . . . the answer: geeze, i dont know.

Monday, February 05, 2007

The Hunted

(not an image from the show, but a good one anyways)

On Sat, i went to the opening of an art show for one of my favorite "LA underground" artists, Blaine Fontana at The Lab 101 Gallery. i really enjoyed the show, wich was mostly a collection of smaller works (about 12x12) with a few larger paintings and 2 sculptural instalations. i like to go to openings, because the gallerys are open late, and i actually get to see the works, as most gallerys close early, and i never get to see them, because of working.

the theme was about hunting, and i'm not going to read too far into any potential message, probably because i like hunting, and i dont want to think that Blaine may want to argue with me about that in his art, even if he does. ( i couldnt say, i'm avoiding the topic) . but i enjoyed the images none the less, and bought a print.

i was most impressed with his use of pop cuture images (like a truck with a camper cab, targets resembling "Target"), old photo material (pictures looked like they were taken in the 50's), and an apparent silk screening of images and colors. i always enjoy Blaines use of line in his paintings, and his illustrative quality. all in all, i thought the show was great, and i enjoyed seeing a bunch of work in the same place, as i'm used to seeing maybe just one piece as part of a larger colaberative show.

Blaine is way better than Buff Monster, who's show i also went and saw, last week at Gallery 1988, and seemed to be based more around porn than quality art (though i know that is debatable in the world of "what is art" anyways). oh well, Buff doesnt claim to be otherwised influenced, so i'm not complaining, just wishing there was more substance to his work too . . .

AN IMPORTANT (re)DISCOVERY!

a while back, i discovered a link to about a billion tv shows. it alowed me endless hours of time wasting, and i was able to catch up on the Venture Bro's . . . however, much to my dismay, one day that link stopped working . . . BUT! i have just discovered on the Lost Boy's blog, that the TV LINKS LIVES ON! Now i can continue to waste my life with such classics as He-Man, Johnny Quest and Power Rangers. thank you Lost Boy . . . thank you.

also, speaking of power rangers, check out this sweet Japaneese commercial. thank you Toshi.

Tears of the Black Tiger


second of all, i want to see this movie . . . realy bad.
(trailer)

Last week in a whirlwind and a blur. . .

hello blog, i'm sorry i neglected you . . . first things first:

Wednesday, January 24, 2007

Holy Hungry Devil Reincarnated

A new development! after further sleuthing into the nature of Seikimat-II, i was curious about whether the name had more meaning to it, or, double meaning. i mean, Toshi always says the name like it's one word (seikimatsu), but there is a very obvious roman numeral, hyphenated on the pneumonic spelling, which led me to believe that it must mean more. Toshi had told me that the name (or word, or phrase) "seikimatsu" usually means "the end of the century", but he had also mentioned the incarnation of devils from the underworld, which had made me oh so curious . . .

so i asked him, and here's what i have learned about japanese characters. the characters of the name:
really mean, in, Holy Hungry Devil "the second" or "reincarnate". so, the meaning of the visual name is that the band are reincarnated devils from the underworld, who have retuned to our sphere to eat the souls of the holy. pretty awesome, right? and, if you say it phonetically - seikimatsu - you are also saying "the end of the century"

so, this band was formed from an otherworldy sphere, sent here to rock you. much like Kiss, or Tenacious-D. also interesting is that, according to Toshi, this band was much more interesting in its inception than later in years, as, in the early years they used to do things such as drinking tomato juice out of the severed head of a pig, wich they used to bring on stage. oh, such antics! however, that was in the 80's, which we all know were just the years of endless party and crack coacaine. apparently, in the 90's the band relized that they needed to sell some records, so they toned down the live show a bit, and started doing some songs and shows all in english. thats considerate of them, right?

well, i now have seikimat-II songs on my iPod (no thanks to the iTunes store), but thanks to Toshi, who reasures me that his tribute band definately drank the "pigs blood" on stage.

SEIKIMAT-II!!!!


Tuesday, January 23, 2007

Being Seikima-II

i sit next to Toshi at work. he is a quiet unasuming 3D modeler, who speaks english with a heavy japanese accent. but by night, he sheds his innocent skin, weilds his trusty axe (bass guitar) and becomes a demon rock member of Seimadense-II !

at least, thats the case when he is in japan. toshi would be the guy on the right, with the horns, except, he has notified me that his hair was long and white at the time . . . when he left japan for the states, he passed his gauntlet of rock to the man you see in the picture.

this amazing amalgam of amateur auteurs is none other than a tribute band for Seikima-II, 80's glam rock legends in japan. this is Toshi's favorite song and video from the band. i wish i could have seen him in action.



i raise my goblet of rock to those who rock. and to those who are about to rock, we salute you.

i love concerts, and i love genii


whoever invented this is a genius, and i love them with my heart.

Monday, January 22, 2007

diet cherry coke . . . or LIQUID CRACK?

today i made an excellent discovery. i went to the drink fridge at work. (you know, the fridge where you can have anything you want to drink. for FREE). and, lo and behold, what should i find? why, none other than DIET CHERRY COKE! and to think, i only went for a bottled water . . . but i came back with bottled water AND liquid crack!

i love my job.

am i afraid of commitment?

this weekend i was offered a work related opportunity. this situation could result in a fun/cool project to work on, and the promise of some residual income in the future. my skill set is well matched to the project. the people working on the project seem like fun and agreeable types. and the project will be done in my spare time between now, and, about november, if i want to take that long to complete it.

the project includes: me animating. and me making an educational DVD.

now, my hangups are: i currently have a full time job. i have several other small projects which i want to make, and have planned on making durring this same time period. i dont want to be responsible for the creation of the DVD. and i may be tied to this till nov.

the questions that come to mind are: will i have time to do this and those projects while working a full time job? is it worth possibly putting off other projects to do this? is it financially worth it, considering the possibilities of residuals? do i want to be tied to this till Nov.?

of all of those questions, is my biggest hangup the possibility of commiting to something till nov? if i was offered a job at my current place of employ, which was set to last untill nov., would i take it? if i had to make a decision about the project right now, on the spot, what would i say?

well, the truth of the matter is: if i had to make a decision on the spot right now, i would say "no." why? because that feels like the right answer. now, am i afraid of the unknown, and is that paralyzing my abilites to look forward to the possible outcomes of this project? possibly. but i feel inclined to commit myself to the projects that i have personally decided to execute. i feel like i have been putting them off for too long, and now that i am finally of the mindset to do them, i should follow through.

in fact, i feel that being personally creative, while holding down a regular job, is probably the best option for me at this point. one of my biggest frustrations over the past couple of years is that i have been tied to everyone elses project, and not doing enough of my own. now, is the promise of a healthy residual enough to sway my opinions? is that my only motivation for getting in on this "game"? if so, will that be enough for me to stay committed to it untill possibly nov.?

hhmmm . . . i'll have to give this a little more thought, and get back to you. . .

Thursday, January 18, 2007

Laugh In

today . . . i discovered Laugh In (or here or here). aparently a very popular show from 1968 - 1973, i actually discovered it through a little blog i like about obscure comic strips. the show evidently spawned a short lived strip, which didnt go over as well as they'd hoped, because the comedy was largely dependent on the timing of the show.

well, i watched the show (thank you YouTube, bringer of all things groovy), but it was so corny. . . and one of the funniest things was to watch the evidence of blatant stereo types, so indicitive of the day - the only black guy i saw espoused the virtues of "grass", the only girl's attention was gotten with a smooth "hey baby" and most of the girls were totally brainless. i think i actually liked the comic strip better! it was, at least, better than 80% of comic strips today, anyways. which leads me to lament: WHERE HAVE YOU GONE BILL WATTERSON!?

so, here's a comic strip, ripped off from that other site. you can go watch the clips yourself.

.

Wednesday, January 17, 2007

Vicious Cycles



if anybody knows where i can find "Sgt. Swell of the Mounties", shout me a holler, dog.

Friday, January 12, 2007

Charlie Brown Christmas

so, another of those websites that i like to read had a totally interesting article on how A Charlie Brown Christmas got made . . . or, almost not made. check out the article here. and check out Jim Hill Media for interesting animation news, gosip and tidbits.

Holy Aniversary Batman!

i have just discovered this important trivia fact (and, of course, by discovered i mean that it was told to me by my 'daily history' engine on my google home page): it was this day in 1966 that Adam West first dawned the cape and cowl to fight crime with Burt Ward as his faithful exclamation spouting sidekick on national television. now THAT's trivia!

Weather Watch 2007

so . . . it was freaking freezing this morning . . . i'm pretty sure it was <40 degrees when i rode my bicycle to work this morning. . . and it was AWESOME! its projected to be so unusually cold this weekend, that the state of california has issued warnings, advising the wussies here about how to bundle up and stay warm (hint: Layers).

p.s. i love riding my bicylce to work.

Wednesday, January 10, 2007

To Protect and Serve?

this article caught me by surprise a little: http://www.timesonline.co.uk/article/0,,11069-2541133,00.html

its about an individual who was jaywalking, when he was apparently tackled by 5 police officers. now, i know there is alot that comes from context, and that this is only one telling of this particular story, but it sure seems a surprise to me that someone would get arrested for jay walking . . . especially a historian. i mean, i know that those librarian types can be shifty. . . but c'mon . . . tackling him?

my favorite quote from the article is: "Officer Leonpacher was unrepentant, saying: “He chose to ignore a uniformed officer. At what point can anyone say I overreacted?”"

-hmm . . . i would say at the point at which you apparently kicked the guys legs out from under him and tackled him.

Monday, January 08, 2007

Living It

yeah . . . so . . . this morning, when i woke up and rode my Beach Cruiser to work at 10 am and it was already 80 degrees out (in January), and i realized that i was a little early, so i cruised down along the beach a little . . . and then got a beveredge and a banana at the Sev and then went into work where they pay me to animate stuff and give me free food all day and i work with excellent people on cool film and commercial projects (did i mention animating stuff?) and listen to music and wear my cords and t-shirt and sit next to a groovy cat from Japan who has a gnarly accent. . . and try to make cool films and art myself when i'm not busy riding my motorcycle and going to sweet rock shows and sweet art shows with groovy friends . . . yeah, i realized that i have it pretty good here in Southern California today . . .

nice.

Saturday, January 06, 2007

Naked Guy

this is my friend Keith.
this is his first paying commercial gig. it is, apparently, a national spot.

http://veryfunnyads.com/ads/25085.html

Friday, January 05, 2007

New #1 vacation destination

so, yesterday i posted my top vacation destinations in the world, and, to be quite honest, i thought that it was pretty definitive, all inclusive list for me. WEELLLLL, new infomation has come to light which has greatly swayed my ambitions, and now THIS is, hands down, my new #1 destination. ever.i know it may not seem like much to the eyes of the mere mortals. . . but this is HUGE! i had no idea this was still around. and, yes, i understand that i am labeling myself as, maybe, the biggest nerd you know by typing this . . . but i want to go to tatooine . . . Now, keep in mind that it has been nearly 30 years since Star Wars hit the big screen, and that i am probably the last person on earth to have heard of the fact that this place still exists, or that Uncle Owens house was actually a real hotel, and not merely a Hollywood fabrication. Oh man, i am seriously geeking out right now. i need to go here. maybe i can ride my speeder around, or bulls-eye wamp rats in my T-16. . . they're not much bigger than 3 meters . . . .

also, as if the afore mentioned information wasn't amazing enough. THIS may be one of the most frightening and amazing things i have ever seen.
i have no idea where i found this. i'm sorry i ripped it off. but its out of love and admiration. (and nobody reads this blog anyways, so who cares)

Know Your Roots

review this relevant historical document for context. nuff said.

Thursday, January 04, 2007

Top 10 places to visit

my sister put forth the query: what are your top 10 places to visit? i thought about this for at least 7 1/2 minutes, and came up with this list, while i was at work, not visiting anywhere except for the distant recesses of my imagination (it gets dark in there, back in the corners).

so, in no particular order of importance, here are my top 10 places:

Istanbul
China
Japan (incl. Okinawa)
Cambodia
Mazatlan, Mexico
Seattle
Mount Rushmore
Europe, generally
Greece
Mt. Kilimanjaro
Australia
New Zealand
Belize
Yosemite

ok, so thats 14 places, big deal. there are probably more than that too, because i love to visit new places, and there are lots of places that i have never been, but these are the ones that come to mind.

hooray traveling!

to blog, or not to blog

i feel like i have a lot of ideas about things . . . maybe too many ideas . . . and, i dont necessarily mean good or relevant ideas. just things i want to say out loud. this has caused me to face a small delima. to blog, or not to blog. you see, i have this overwhelming desire to write down everthing that comes to mind . . .but then i'd be doing, like, 10 updates a day on the blog (well, at least 2 or 3), and, aside from making myself feel like a big dork for writing too much on an electronic journal that nobody really reads, i opt to "save" some of the thoughts for later days.

however, two things have come to mind in this regard. 1.) when i dont write down the ideas, i generally forget them. 2.) nobody reads this thing anyways, so why not record them for myself.

the conclusion: risking oversaturation, i will write every entry that i feel needs to be written, no matter how big, small, or lame.

so there. take that indifferent world. take that.

Wednesday, January 03, 2007

Dont Scratch You Balls In Public, Boy

My little bro needed some advice for something for school. i guess i got a little carried away. here it is.

---

To Matt, a word of advice, by wrote. In a phrase: Don't scratch your balls in public, boy.

Here's the thing. . . in this life, we all have a way we want to be perceived. We, as human beings, want people to understand who we are, what sort of things are important to us, and, perhaps most importantly, why we are different or the same as the other fish, floundering around us, in the sea of humanity. And we seem to want that sort of comprehension to be fairly immediate. Thus, when we wake up in the morning, or go out to a social function, we carefully select and don the uniform of our preference, in order to communicate more easily to others with which faction we stand.

Now, the various cultural revolutions of the decades have made displaying our individuality easier than ever. Most of the time, it is a wonderful thing. I appreciate knowing on site that the well endowed blonde girl with the big glasses, tank top and fuzzy boots will know nothing about polyphonic modal operators in my favorite Modest Mouse song, thus freeing me to appropriately spend my time pursuing the tiny brunette with the square glasses. It also offers us pleasant surprises, such as finding out that the long haired fellow in the camouflage hunting jacket is well acquainted with the words of Emmerson, even if he likes the woods and ponds for different reasons.

However, there are also the drawbacks associated with humanities acceptance of this "anything goes" policy. We used to, as a body of people, carry ourselves with an air of pride in our appearance. Now, it would seem, that in order to prove ones difference, or indifference, as the case may be, we have also moved away from our penchant for tact, social grace, and what generally would have passed, and would still pass, as "class."

This self-centeredness has caused us, as a society to become crass and ugly in public. We no longer regard those around us to be of worth, if they do not embody the same ideals which we hold dear. In this, our classless society, we love to perform actions that were heretofore left for private exhibition, and to speak loudly, using whatever obscenities are perched at the tips of our lips. We callously fling them to the air, unwary of what possible fertile ground they may land, explosive devices, undermining our ability to effectively and intelligently communicate.

Our classless society also values ignorance over intelligence, filth over cleanliness and the perception of non-conformity over protection or, at least, observation of the common good, or pleasantness. It has taught young people that sexiness and desirability have more to do with the amount of clothing worn (or not worn) than with the attitude with which more attractive clothes are worn. Indeed, it has championed that in our society which is equal to the least: the very baseness of our humanity.

Furthermore, what is worst about this so called "revolution" is that is embodies self centeredness at its core. It says: I am an individual, I should be able to do what I want, whenever I want. But it holds to this statement to the detriment of all surrounding. It forgets to hold in regard what it is that others want. It forgets that: if we hold in regard what others want, they will hold in regard what we want, and we will all be able to do what we want. This lack of regard for others breeds contention and discontent, causing the self centered to believe that they are misunderstood, causing them to desire, sometimes violently, to prove how misunderstood they are in their individuality, perpetuating an endless downward spiral of selfishness.

Therefore, to this is the query: do you want to be less, or more? Do you want to embody that which is least, or most? Do you want to be an example of base intelligence, or the greater good. Do you want to be a gentleman, or a common degenerate, unable to tell his food from his feces?

And to this I respond: Align yourself with that which you hold most dear, of its substance, but remember: you don't have to embrace the baseness of society in order to be, and represent, your true self. Hold yourself and others in higher regard than to embody baseness in public. Do not subject others to that which is base, even if you enjoy it yourself, for they may not hold it in the same regard as you. And, even if they itch really bad, don't scratch your balls in public, boy.

Neptunes Net is LAME

On the first day of '07, Andy and i took a little ride up the PCH, stopping just past the LA county line at a little seafood dive called Neptunes Net - an apparent mecca for all things two wheeled, as the parking lot was full of motorcycles and bicycles together. Annnnnd . . . i have to say . . . i was not impressed. Now, granted, the place is a seafood place, but all i wanted was a cheezeburger and some fries, so thats what i ordered. i figured: how hard is it to make a cheezeburger? this seems to be a well frequented location, they must be able to make a cheezeburger. However, being that the ride was a little chilly, and the fact that it had been about 20 hours since i had actually eaten anything, i decided to try a bowl of chowder also, chowder is usually pretty safe, right? wrong. BOOORING! the chowder, though served hot and immediately to me, was a poor example of a creamy soup. it was very thin, the potatoes were nearly non existent, and i dont think there was a single clam in the bowl . . . what kind of chowder is THAT!? And, if that weren't reason enough to give you pause, i waited for 45 minutes for a truly lousy burger, which had sauce on it that i had specifically asked to have removed. nowstep back a few minutes with me, if you would. being that i like fish and chips, and its mostly a fish and chips joint there, at neptunes, and, in the 45 minutes i waited i had seen numerous baskets of fish and chips handed out before i had gotten my burger, i went to politely ask if i could, instead of the burger, which was not coming, trade for a basket of fish and chips. i would happily just take the next one that came up. the manager at the place there was not a reasonable individual. she said, sure, i could trade. . . .if by trade i meant: get a refund on my burger, and then order and pay for some fish and chips. but i'd have to wait, because "all these people" were here first. . . (people that had ordered after me - essentially, i'd have to go to the back of the line.) well, i wasn't going to do that, and as luck would have it, my burger was ready. i think it had been sitting on the "almost ready" part of the counter for about 15 minutes, cause when i got it, it was ice cold. the only redeeming moment was when - in a moment of out of the box thinking not common to the food service world these days - the kid working the cash register refilled my drink for free, as he realized that i was getting the shaft on my order. . .

so, all in all, i can not recomend Neptunes Net. in fact, i will go so far as to NOT recomend them. or ANTI-recomend them. if you are thinking about going there - DON'T! go to Malibu Seafood instead. i love it there, its just down the PCH a little, closer to Malibu, just down the street from Cher's house (if that's improtant to you) and, according to my good friend Richard, has the best fish and chips he's had since he was in London. the people are nice, competent and you can always find a seat outside. (Andy and i had to sit inside at Neptunes. not the end of the world, but it was a beautiful day out, and would have been nice to be outside.)

oh - and, while sitting there, the kids taking the orders and calling them into the microphone PA system when ready must have called order 84 at least 756 times, in the space of 10 minutes. ok you guys, we get it, order 84's shrimp basket is done. obviously they dont want it. STOP YELLING OBNOXIOUSLY INTO THE MICROPHONE!!!!! geeze . . . hard to find good minions these days . . ..

Tuesday, January 02, 2007

2007

Well, well, well . . . 2007 is officially upon us. And just when I feel like I was getting the hang of 2006. It seems to be an appropriate time for reflecting on the highlights of 2006, but since I don’t feel that I have the mental capacity for such reflection at the time, I will, instead, reflect only on the past couple of weeks.

Christmas time was a good time this year . . .. I went home to the Virginia, in close proximity to Washington DC. It was a rather low key Christmas time, and my man Peter came for a visit - because he had never been to the Capital of the Free World, and what better time to visit it than on the birthday of its inventor. (Happy birthday Jesus) We had a great time checking out the sites of the District, including the Spy Musem, The Smithsonian’s smattering of museums and all of the relevant monuments and locations in the town. The surprise of the trip was the Smithsonian American Art Museum. Also, often known as The National Portrait Gallery. Though I spent my formative years in the DC metropolitan area, I had never been to that museum, and it was excellent. Even better than the spy museum, which was across the street. What a find that was.


We also visited Mount Vernon, home of George Washington, First President of these United States. Usually, I find the place to be quite tranquil, but this year my mellow was sufficiently harshed by the endless throngs, whom, it would seem, were out en masse, probably due to the excellent weather . . .

Now, I’m back at work at DD for the next couple of days, and I’m trying to figure out what will be next, after this commercial project. I guess we’ll see what 2007 will bring indeed.