November 2003 Archives
Tuesday nights here in the ATL the boys get together over at Michael Row's airport hangar/garage and rock out. We've been jammin for ten weeks now -- and Coleman's Radio Shack P-140 has been archiving it all on cassette. Well - today - on a day off - sorta - I managed to figure out how to transfer cassetes to my computer - and in turn turn out MP3's...So here is a little teaser - as I am still learning to master the mixing board - of the next greatest band in the world that as of yet still has no name...The abbreviated song is Virginia (1.2 MB) -- abbreviated because the lyrics are inaudible and because - as stated before - I am still figuring out this mixing board stuff...It's the beginning of the song I wrote for my grandma after grandpa died -- and features Michael Row on piano, Coleman and Eric on guitars -- Juan on drums and yours truly on bass...Now sit back and enjoy your approximately 1 minute outtake of a 10 minute song...
On Sunday --
Today was at best describable as a curiousity that can be reflected on but should not be delved into at any great extent, (which unfortunately I manage to do anyways) for the risk of destroying the fragile yolk that contains all its vitality is great. Advancing through the day was akin to the ordered egg - not quite over easy (difficult to make - easy to break), nor was it over hard (easy to make - no fear of the break) - rather it wound up somewhat akin to over medium - the perfect blend of form and content.
Before the first slam on the snooze the subconscious became the stimulus for awakening when I was delivered into a pseudo-nightmare. Perhaps the cause could be attributed to the long hours I spend in repetitive motions - turning to glance over the shoulder, the eyes locking in on an order - then twisting back to deliver, an automaton performing menial tasks while the mind takes the snaps of the whip - hardly a bristle on the hairs of the mane - long since fenced in.
Since the change in the weather arrived - not quite bundle-worthy, no longer short-warmy enough - the wardrobe has had to adjust. I've grown unfamiliar with the winter clothes over the past year - failing to recall which jeans were too tight - which hung comfortably loose - not obnoxiously revealing my hiked up boxer waist band. It is my custom to brandish a belt with any article of clothing that has loops produced for the sole purpose of containing such an accessory. It just seems odd to wear pants without one these days -- even if a shirt is blocking the waistline from view. (One must ask oneself - what is the purpose of beltloops? Should we not attempt to saturate every possibility of fulfillment in our lives?)
Unfortunately - in the waking hours of the day - I often find myself not to be functioning at full capability. For a string of early morning risings - hurried efforts to arrive at the menial job on time led to inattention to vanity. After twisting and turning countless times - kinesthesia in the kitchen inevitably led to lubrication of the epidermis in the form of sweat -- thus causing a descension in the level of heighth that my leg coverings could maintain. Putting two and two together you can easily come to the conclusion that this cycle of events inevitably leads to a case of plumber's crack. Not acceptable. Not for me. I don't let just anyone take a peek at the wonders of my self - if even just a portion. There is a lot hidden here - there is a lot hidden even from my own consciousness - and perhaps it took my subconsciousness to reveal the bitterness my own life has formed - hidden somewhat by the glossy coat of an over medium effort.
The pseudonightmare involved this turning motion - continuously - ad infinitum, ad nauseam, I wouldn't wish it on anyone. Odd in the sense that I could perceive this without actually experiencing it in the nightmare because in my slumbers I was only clued into the aftereffects - but it was there - I knew what I had done...Having clocked out and returned home - eagerly anticipating the shower that would cleanse the slime from my shell - the hot water having already obscured my reflection in the mirror - I could feel the pain in my back. It wasn't the normal pain, the dull sense that my spine is curved, the added stress on the hips and lower espalda, there was something different. So I leaned over and with my still grimy palm cleared away a space in the mirror to view what the few have relished. In an effort to discern what exactly had become a unique sensation - I repeated the motions of the day - and revealed the shredded remnants of a human form one could only expect to see on rotten.com. The twisting and turning of the day had chafed my unseen side to the muscle. There in the reflected glass were visible the sinewy threads of my back -- like a cow hung in the butcher shop. I could see the inner workings of life. It was horrendous.
I awoke and glanced at the clock and saw that I still had over half an hour to replicate the working state from the night before. I cast myself into sleep only moments before the alarm awoke me for the first time. Snooze. Then again - the alarm roused me - and upon opening my eyes I was in a different world. Everything was made of gold. The sun wasn't necessarily beaming through the windows - whose blinds are left aloft so that the rays act as a natural alert in case of alarm failure - the sun was blasting its way across the sky - and whatever clouds were in said sky were magnifying the effects tenfold. I literally could not see anything but gold. Disturbing.
After a few more snoozes it became inevitable that I would have to make my way to "the office." Driving along still pondering the pink-eyed bandit that returned my stare raccoon-like into the mirror - I safely found my way to the usual parking spot to the side of the deli. Once inside - I knew - everything would be different.
A few cups of coffee and a few earlybird customers gave way to a rather odd encounter with one of the newbies on the floor...I never saw him come back into the kitchen but he greeted me with a "Hey Kevin" on his way out -- but it was in front of the drink station where he would approach Maia, who had met him only once while she was training him, and ask herr, "Could I ask you a personal favor? I'm going to the Falcons game today and I was wondering if I could borrow some money." This was somewhere along the lines of 8am...The game wasn't until 4 in the afternoon. We all thought it a little freaky - and the easy conclusion was that he had been up all night on a speed binge...The question immediately went up on the 86 board as the quote of the day -- but the peculiarities of this Sunday Brunch were far from over.
Not soon after Kristen came back into the kitchen and grabbed Coleman -- and visibly upset explained that there was a man out there who had demanded a seat and when she wouldn't see him demanded to see her boss. Probably not the best of ideas as her boss is now her husband...His main beef (Ha Ha! That used to say man beef -- and...yeah...whatever)was that he didn't like the deli policy of not sitting incomplete parties - and he had already stated that he was meeting someone...When Kristen told him he'd have to wait he went off on her...So she did as he requested and retrieved her boss -- and the man soon found another unspoken policy I'm sure he didn't agree with - we at the deli try to treat each other with respect - and we don't serve assholes...So he was sent on his way...
Amazing how a tiny box can attract so many different people just by way of offering the same food, day in, day out. Conditioned...like rats.
But perhaps to top the entire morning off - right at the peak of the brunch rush - an entire dojo walked in. "Kevin - just come over here and look at the door, now..." Paul the runner said with excitement. I stepped out from behind the line and saw a group of middle aged guys all decked out in their karate gear...I couldn't contain my own excitement - and exclaimed - "Put Him in a Body Bag Johnny!!!" - much to the delight of all...Fortunately -- they didn't hear me...and the day drudged on...
That said - I now begin another string of days off...For some reason they want me to go in at 3 on Wednesday -- even though we close at 5 -- but I've already decided I won't be wasting anyone's time...I do enough of that here at home...So I have four days off -- to ponder and train myself to avoid Davezilla's wrath for my constant improper use of ellipses. Perhaps I should look into my addiction to hypens as well.
I really don't want to go to work tonight...Really. Really...Really don't.
Well...Finally...
Well...Not exactly.
Warning - boring low-level tech talk ahead...
I've managed to set up the sideblog - at long last. There are still some details I want to add to the overall design -- mainly to the sideblog - so you won't see many of them here on the main page (gonna try to make the date headings a little more pristine and shrink up some of that space between the entries) - right now I'm sure the index file for the sideblog, as well as its yet to be constructed archives are a bunch of gobbledygook - and yes that is an official design term.
As for official design terms -- I unfortunately discovered that IE doesn't recognize the max-width property -- so I had to implement a hack (first time) I found
I decided to go ahead and leave the sideblog on the side because that was the original intent. More often than not it is more difficult to build an entry cohesively around chopped links than it is to just place the links somewhere where they stand alone - which, in essence - is what they're supposed to do. While the notion of "a post is a post is a post" may be true -- I don't really consider links to be a true post. They're their own entities, and more or less - a portal to sites apart from this one - an exit. So there they are -- little exit signs on the right of the page, as opposed to the temptations they pose in the midst of the meat. Certainly there will be occasional seasonings - but only when they don't threaten the stand alone integrity of the original entry. Not that any entries here have ever been steeped with integrity.
I also have plans to do a little more research into the movabletype categories and see how I could possibly use those to accentuate whatever it is I am doing here in the cyberworld. There may be some changes to the link dynamics as well -- so that they don't distract with the normal flow of the text and are more easily readable for the colorblind. All this is pretty much mumbo jumbo - and important to very few - but it does explain what exactly I've been doing, or for that matter, not doing here the past week.
Basically - in an effort to find myself doing something productive instead of sitting around watching daytime television -- I thought I'd put a little more time and effort into my little escape that is yezbick.com. Now that I've gotten started -- it seems with each new addition there are five new tasks to begin on -- and my to do list now has to be transferred from the back of a Hollywood Video receipt to something a little more permanant.
All in all -- the past week left a lot of empty space here...
Unfortunately after I've had a few days to mull over things that have occurred - I no longer find them remarkable enough to include -- so the past is truly irrecoverable. Anyhow -- next week should be a little stronger...Once again I find myself with three days off the work week -- only this time they are a little more smattered about -- and what better way to spend your day off your job than sitting in front of the internet looking for jobs and distractions from reality.
See ya then...
It's gonna be crazy around here for a few hours as I try moving these divs around and getting the layout back to being somewhat functional...But at least the PHP is set up.
Currently continuing efforts to improve -- converted the DB to MySQL today...hopefully figure out that sideblog soon -- though according to Jason -- a SIDEblog isn't necessarily design conscious...
That little thingy up in the right hand corner is proof that I'm trying to figure out how to run a sideblog of links without any knowledge of PHP...fun. gotta go to work...
driving me insane...can't figure out the MTOtherblog plug in -- won't render links....aarrrrrrrghh..
Well...I've finished...
The "Why'd You Leave Town?" backblog has been completed -- though I'm sure willi can still contribute some more pictures as he peruses the results...Not all the pics I've uploaded are chronological - but I tried to keep the backblog in its original journal state...There may be some more tinkering here and there - but for the most part - you can kill some time reading it after your lunch break...
Okay -- I've got a template down and have been able to begin some new entries finish the entries in the "Why'd You Leave Town?" backblog...Will need to upload the photos I have tomorrow, as well as add a few lines of text for some entries that took me by surprise - wedged tight in between others...But now I am overwhelmed by fatigue and must soon cast myself into slumber...This I proclaim before I go -- Willi -- you should check out some of these entries -- most of which won't be up until tomorrow afternoon -- and see if you can unearth any more photos...then ftp em up into the /images/skagway directory...
should be fully complete early next week...
In the continued redesign efforts - I have managed to mangle the "Why'd You Leave Town?" section...I'm planning on finishing that up late tonight after work or early in the manana...If you haven't checked out Willi's movie yet -- while it may not be up to Paris Hilton standards - it is still quite impressive what modern technology can do...check it out and relish the freedom...
Congrats to Monsieur's mom -- awarded Teacher of the Year over at Fernbank Elementary today...
Some anti-Bush leaflets from Gore4Dean Design for you to print out and wedge underneath the windshield wipers of automobiles...
Unauthorized Michael Moore video and audio archive...via BoingBoing
I checked out Fleshbot today, that new Gawker media production that has gotten so much hype for being a blog about pron that I just don't get it...oh -- it's not safe for work - if you didn't already figure that out...
Toilet paper testimonial -- testify my brother!
Dad never took us on vacations like this...(thank god)
Sites I found interesting that you probably won't --
opensecrets.org via oliver ---
nuclear explosions throughout history - via Caterina -- who listed this under her art category...
Ariel has resurrected the pic a day project...my heart is all a flutter...
Speaking of hearts aflutter...People are raving about one of Sarah B's posts -- and deservedly so - cause if you've ever had your heart grinded up and fed to vermin -- you can relate to it...
I also mention it because in the comments she got Optimus Prime -- the transformer, not the army dude - mixed up with Voltron -- a whole nother basket of eggs...At least now I can say I've cleared that up for those of you who didn't already know...and that I have earned my nerdlinger points for the day...
After meeting with my creative consultants in Alabama via telephone - I did a little tweaking. Who knew Star's Halloween boob would make such a great background?
The parental units have left town. They're headed back home - with a stopover in Nashville. I am sad.
They left behind a king sized Serta bed. For that I am glad. ($5.00 rides starting this weekend - sign up in the comments)
Yesterday - pops took me golfing. He still has yet to lose a round to his sons. For that I am both sad and glad.
After golf I returned home, showered - and rocked it out real nice at band practice music night. Then I went back home and drank (more) beer.
All in all - in the past 24 hours - I have probably peed on the most trees since the cumberland island outback springbreak spectacular many years ago...
That makes me glad. Catharsis.
Edwards is making the right points...Dean needs to pay attention...I'm a lil more wary now that I've increased my wager...I suppose I just wanted to feel like I was making a difference -- but I can't help but say that my confidence is a bit shaken...The parental units are in town -- and when politics was brought up (briefly, thank god) at the dinner table - there was a bit of guffawing when I mentioned my donation...got me a lil nervous to see how this pans out...but at least there is some good news...
This past week has been a pain to watch as far as politics. Earlier this year I contributed for the first time to a political campaign - that of the good doctor from Vermont, Howard Dean. I still think he's gonna win - and my Uncle George will have to pay up that dollar he wagered back in August. But the flag flap (via rc3) is unnerving for a few reasons --
Well -- I've finally finished doing what I can with the poorly developed Halloween pictures from Wal-Mart with Photoshop...Keep in mind that Willi is the digital film expert...
I don't know exactly what happened this Halloween...It came down to less than 24 hours before I was able to decide exactly what I was going to "be." It came down to less than 3 hours before we knew where the party was going to be held...It took less time than that for me to spill beer all over B's head...And a little longer for me to get schnockered...
When we all got over to B's house, we sat through another one of Manah's horrific lectures about the evils of Halloween -- and it was fitting that she should deliver it in her get-up as Indian Prophet. I think the combination of the trembles I felt surging through my soul from those golden words and the shock of seeing B dressed as J-lo was what caused the beer catastrophe to ensue. I mean -- we all know B was born without an ass -- so when I saw this thang on her -- I was, well, in awe. I tried drowning out the impure thoughts in my head by chasing bass with bass -- not to mention a jello shot here and there for taste -- but the intoxicating waters only quickened my sight to the object of my infatuation...Finally - in a pure act of desperation -- I feigned losing control of my costume and doused the fires of my passion - on her head - with beer...That seemed to help...
Until Star showed up.
Once again I was drawn in by the sins of the flesh. Manah's words were but a distant memory when I beheld the awesome power of Star's dead mermaid bosom. I think B was on to my impure thoughts -- and despite my efforts to ward her off with a drenching of sweet english ale -- the two of them doubled their efforts against me. I am all but convinced now that it was no accident that one can observe Star's navel in this shot. She had been crafting this pose the entire evening in the wrinkles of her mind - knowing that if she could get under the lights just right -- she would be wearing nothing more than a translucent green aura. Ohhh Star -- you naughty girl...
Still - Star is not without morals. She knew she could only push the envelope so far -- so she brought a safety net. An idol so blatant in its protective powers that a man would be a fool to test its mettle. Bestowed with the power of creative cuteness -- Star revealed that she had brought her Bret - and that their costumes were actually part of a grander scheme. They had used their creative wits to form -- a theme. Dead pirate, dead mermaid. Bret knew our thoughts...being from beyond -- he could read all...For our sakes - he gave us fair warning of our fates should we give in to temptation -- tattooed with the evils of the flesh.
Warded off - at last - I managed to retreat for some time into the shadows of B's home. But it wasn't long before I was presented with a new nemesis. BEHOLD! THE AWESOME POWERs OF THE SULTRY SUZANNE!
Sensing my slip-up - the shadows offering protection no more -- Star redoubled her efforts -- and soon I was lost in bedlam once more...
Finally -- at long last, and after a an effort worthy of at least some acknowledgement -- I surrendered my pride -- raised my arms in defeat - and left myself open to any woman's whim...
Later I would sleep -- alone...again...
(But at least I didn't drink the ashtray beer!)
BTW - for those who need the explanation for the get-up -- refer back to the big question.
