Good with Ketchup

The bets on John were far between

2007-02-08T16:57:00.000-08:00

I watched the rain; it settled in. We disappeared for days again.
Most of us were staying in, lazy like the sky.
The letters flew across the wire filtered through a million liars.
The whole world smelled like burning tires the day John Henry died.

We knew about that big machine that ran on human hope and steam.
Bets on John were far between and mostly on the side.
We heard he put up quite a fight. His hands and feet turned snowy white.
That hammer rang out through the night the day John Henry died.

When John Henry was a little bitty baby nobody ever taught him how to read
but he knew the perfect way to hold a hammer was the way the railroad baron held the deed.

It didn't matter if he won, if he lived, or if he'd run.
They changed the way his job was done. Labor costs were high.
That new machine was cheap as hell and only John would work as well,
so they left him laying where he fell the day John Henry died.

John Henry was a steel-driving bastard but John Henry was a bastard just the same.
An engine never thinks about his daddy and an engine never needs to write its name.

So pack your bags, we're headed west and L.A. ain't no place to rest.
You'll need some sleep to pass the test, so get some on the flight
and say your prayers John Henry Ford 'cause we don't need your work no more.
You should have known the final score the day John Henry died.

Quote for a new year

2007-01-01T12:46:00.000-08:00

"We can spend our lives letting the world tell us who we are. Sane or Insane. Saints or sex addicts. Heros or victims. Letting history tell us how good or bad we are.
Letting our past decide our future.
Or we can decide for ourselves.
And maybe it's our job to invent something better."

for a change.....

2006-12-07T13:01:00.000-08:00

Smoking the cigarettes more than I should

My hands wont stop shaking and that can't be good

I would forget you if I only could

Think about anything else

Well that slow dance didn't last very long

So now I guess I'll be moving on

It was nice

Goddamn it was nice

One of these Days

2006-12-01T09:15:00.000-08:00

It’s no wonder everybodies scared of downtown Birmingham
it’s just a little too close to home
But there’s more crooks down there and the cops don’t care,
while white men wearing ties can do anything they want.

Once a country boy’s seen the way the steam rises
off a man’s insides on the sidewalk
Tends to change the way he thinks, the way he sees everything
and he goes back to where he came from

One of these days when my face looks like a roadmap gonna find my way back home.

Steady Rollin'

2006-03-27T18:44:00.000-08:00

AND EVERYDAY IS JUST ANOTHER TOWN.
THE MORE I SEARCH YOU KNOW THE LESS I’VE FOUND.
ME, I’M A SUCKER JUST A SLAVE TO SOUND.
DEATH’S COMIN’. I’M STILL RUNNIN’.
WELL I COME FROM THE OLD TIME BABY,
TOO LATE FOR YOU TO SAVE ME.
IF I REMAIN THEN I’M TO BLAME.
BUT IF YOU SHOULD EVER LEAVE ME,
I’LL GO WHERE ‘ER YOU LEAD ME.
ITS ALL THE SAME, THE SAME OLD GAME.

V Day

2006-02-14T10:42:00.000-08:00

"Difficult not to be a little bit,
Disappointed
Passed over."

oh yeah

2006-02-03T19:59:00.000-08:00

and I'm back in Hawaii.
I like it here
it's nice.

"I wish that I believed in fate
I wish I didn't sleep so late
I used to be carried in the arms of cheerleaders"

joy joy

2006-02-03T19:47:00.000-08:00

is it half empty, half full or just plain irrelevant?

"What a beautiful face
i have found in this place
that is circling all round the sun
and when we meet on a cloud
I'll be laughing out loud
I'll be laughing with everyone i see
Can't believe how strange it is to be anything at all"

happy happy

2006-02-03T09:39:00.000-08:00

I'm put together beautifully
Big wet bottle in my fist, big wet rose in my teeth
I'm perfect piece of ass
Like every Californian
So tall I take over the street, with highbeams shining on my back
A wingspan unbelievable
I'm a festival, I'm a parade

And all the wine is all for me
And all the wine is all for me
And all the wine is all for me

Advise

2006-01-08T20:08:00.000-08:00

As someone recently told me. When you don't know what to do or how to act, just do the thing that feels right. If every action is guided by doing the right thing, you can't go wrong, and everything else will just take care of itself.

"and if I found my appetite
I'd eat away at all the pain
I seem to bring to you."

here I go again...

2005-12-21T16:55:00.000-08:00

up one day, down the next.
Is it all going to be worth it?

"it's the end of the world as we know it,
and I feel fine"

tug o' war

2005-12-19T23:16:00.000-08:00

sometimes I hate my brain. I can connect all the frikkin dots in the world and still can't accept what it is I'm seeing. Sometimes I wonder if I could actually leave a building that was on fire if the chair I was sitting in was comfortable enough. No, that doesn't mean I'm lazy. I just don't like change.

"so won't you kill me,
so I'll die happy?"

Big Island

2005-12-11T19:53:00.000-08:00

Back in Oahu. Going to spend the day on the big island tomorrow. Should be lots of fun.

"I'm useless, but not for long.
The future, is coming on."

God is dead...

2005-12-06T10:32:00.000-08:00

... and the war's begun.

probability

2005-11-30T15:00:00.000-08:00

if you flip a coin, as long as it is in the air spinning, it has equal probability of landing heads or tails. As soon as it lands, one choice is determined, the other is forever extinguished.

"Indentions in the sheets
Where their bodies once moved but don't move anymore "

Home

2005-11-25T19:51:00.000-08:00

where my love lies waiting silently for me.

Or not.

The end is near

2005-11-19T15:11:00.000-08:00

The museum opened today.
Everyone seems thrilled. I fly home monday night. I have a lot to look forward to. The next month or so promises to be very interesting. I should be able to finish the video among other things.
Life will never be the same after these last two months on Oahu.

"Now we must pack up every piece
of this life we used to love
just keep ourselves at least
enough to carry on."

Another week gone by

2005-11-13T12:58:00.000-08:00

And one more to go. The museum had its unofficial opening on Friday. It has a series of planned events this week before it opens to the public this weekend. It was nice to see people enjoying the exhibits. I think it will generally be well received. It's easy to get a bit jaded about exhibits and museums in general. Working on one after another and spending months at a time getting to know all the problems/quirks/issues associated with them can tend to make me focus more on the "what could have been" than the "what they are". So it's always rewarding when I can see people getting excited about what I have worked on.

I don't know what's going to happen when I go home. But home is where I need to be. I've always liked the quote by Thomas Wolfe (I think?) about never being able to go home again. And the reasoning being that the place has changed, and the person is changed, so the two together cannot be the same. Never have I believed that to be more true. Yet there's no reason why home can't be made to be better than it ever was before. That's what I need to do.

Every once in a while I think I get a glimpse of some bigger purpose in this whole life thing. I really want to believe it's true, I guess. Fate is a tricky thing, unless it's all a crock. People have amazing powers to rationalize things, and brains are pretty funny instruments.

Where does it go from here? I don't know. I don't even know how much influence I'm going to be able to exert on the direction. I'm looking forward to it though.

"Half of our lives we're going and we don't know where,
we don't know where."

Alright then ....

2005-11-06T20:21:00.000-08:00

Enough random, obscure BS. (At least for now)

This morning I got up early and headed for the airport. Originally I was going to get some multi-engine time and fly over to Molokai, but I changed to getting my BFR and staying over Oahu. I can't say I regret it. I may still do the Molokai trip, but things worked out well today.

I was really impressed with the flight school. They seemed to take really good care of the planes, and the instructors all seemed top notch.

I was able to get some pictures that will make it up to Flickr eventually.

Great fun, and I'm now legal for another two years, woohoo.

This afternoon I went for an awesome bikeride. Just one of those rides where you just keep going and it keeps getting better. I barely made it back before dark. The beauty of this island continues to amaze me.

"I can't stay
in this place.
I can't stand
when the room turns round
on my face.
You give no
guarantees.
There's no promise I can keep.
I can't stand,
I can't see my way,
I feel blind
on my feet.
I can't stay too long,
Am I wrong?"

Two more weeks

2005-11-03T21:27:00.000-08:00

and then I'll be leaving Hawaii.
I'll be sad, but it will be nice to be home.

I never would have imagined how much I like it here.

But it's been that kind of a year.
The traveling has been hard at times,
but always rewarding.
That has never been the case more than this trip.

"You will hear the shrillest highs and the lowest lows, with the windows down,
and this is guiding you home."

"She looks like the real thing
She tastes like the real thing
My fake plastic love.
But I can’t help the feeling
I could blow through the ceiling
If I just turn and run
And it wears me out, it wears me out
It wears me out, it wears me out."

Language

2005-11-02T10:55:00.000-08:00

Sometimes there are just not enough words to be able to describe the things I want to.

"... I'm stepping through the door.
and I'm floating in a most peculiar way
and the stars look very different today."

round and round and round...

2005-11-01T09:44:00.000-08:00

she goes. Where she stops, nobody knows.

"here I am expecting just a little bit,
too much from
the wounded"

Stupid is ....

2005-10-31T08:59:00.000-08:00

So we decide to hit the beach. Originally we were goign surfing, but the weather and the ocean were not in agreement with those plans, so a bit of snorkeling would have to do. Walking well passed the end of Waikiki, we found some nice beaches under the looming lookouts of Diamond Head. Swimming was good even though the water was a little rough. It was fun and a good workout.
We swam for an hour or so then walked back towards town. In Kapiolani Park we grabbed the #2 bus to go back to the hotel and clean up before dinner. I get off the bus and go to update my card for the free wireless room and realize my wallet is gone. So begins the chase of the bus. I ran about 2 miles in my swim shorts and flip flops. I was within a half block or so two times before the bus finally pulled away. Luckily the next #2 bus only ended up being a few minutes behind and the driver was really helpful. He was able to call the dispatcher who called the other bus. The wallet was found and retrieved without incident.

Damn do my feet hurt.

Oh well.

"half of our lives we're going but we don't know where,
we don't know where."

Here comes November

2005-10-30T09:46:00.000-08:00

and I'm still in Hawaii.
It's going to be very hard to leave. I miss home, but I really like it here. The weather is great, there is a lot to do, the people are nice and everything is just, well.... easy. I like easy, not the soft kind of easy, but the "yeah, whatever" kind of easy.
That's why it will be hard to leave.

"and I'm screaming at the top of my lungs,
pretending the screams belong to someone,
someone I used to know."

My new thing

2005-10-29T01:55:00.000-07:00

I'm going to try and amuse myself by posting obscure music lyrics that relate to things that I'm feeling and/or thinking about.
I'm sure it will only make sense to me, and that's just bloody fine.

"got no time for the corner boys,
down on the street,
making all that noise."

Still Here

2005-10-25T10:33:00.000-07:00

Hard to consistantly write anything while on Oahu. There always seems to be so much more to do than to sit at the computer. It's been raining a lot lately. Been swimming quite a bit and trying to find the ever elusive good dinner (not counting Sasabune).
I will be sorry when it comes time to leave.

Learning

2005-10-17T02:04:00.000-07:00

It's generally a good thing.
I've learned a lot the last few days.
As I've said before, Life's what you make it.

I really like Hawaii. I could easily live here.
The next few weeks are going to be quite interesting.
I'm looking forward to seeing how things turn out.
Things don't seem as bad as they did yesterday.
Hopefully I can say that again tomorrow.

Be careful what you wish for.

2005-10-15T19:38:00.000-07:00

Yesterday, all my troubles seemed so far away
Now it looks as though they’re here to stay
Oh, I believe in yesterday.

Suddenly, I’m not half the man I used to be,
There’s a shadow hanging over me.
Oh, yesterday came suddenly.

Why she had to go I don’t know she woldn’t say.
I said something wrong, now I long for yesterday.

Yesterday, love was such an easy game to play.
Now I need a place to hide away.
Oh, I believe in yesterday.

Sigh

2005-10-07T10:33:00.000-07:00

Too bad God didn't help him predict a hurricane in the Gulf in late summer.

Island Time

2005-09-27T20:50:00.000-07:00

One of the phrases the one must become accustomed to one the islands is "Island Time". It basically means that nothing will happen when you want it to. Rather, it will happen when whoever is doing what you want done gets in the proper frame of mind to actually get it done.

Case in point, I bought a bike.

This was on Saturday. I knew when I bought it, the bike had to be built. No big deal, I know how long it takes to build a bike.

It's tuesday night, I have no bike. When I said I knew how long it took to build a bike, the answer I was thinking of was not 3 days.

Sigh.

Kind of a crappy day here today. Not very warm, really windy, cloudy and a bit of rain.

Tomorrow's bound to be better.

tired

2005-09-25T21:04:00.000-07:00

spent the day hiking and snorkeling.
Lots of cool fishies.

Getting really close to having the Johanna video done. As soon as Dave finishes the final mix, we should be able to wrap this thing up.

guess where

2005-09-22T02:07:00.000-07:00

back in the hnl.
what a horrendous flight.
serves me right for flying nwa.

Home for a bit

2005-09-19T11:47:00.000-07:00

Back from Reno.
The Air Races were fun as always. Only one of the Gold Race Mustangs made it to Sunday, and it blew less than halfway through the final race. So, while that was disappointing, the three laps that Ridge Runner III lasted were entertaining enough. It did leave me looking forward to next year. Strega should be back, Voodoo should be back, Miss America should be back. Rumor has it that Precious Metal will be back and looking to challenge for Gold. September Fury will hopefully be back as well. Adding 5 contenders to the gold race can only be viewed as good. It's amazing how three years ago, people were looking for anything to challenge Dago Red, now it's the same with Rear Bear.

Wednesday I head back to Hawaii.
It's a tough job, but someone's got to do it.

The Highlight of September

2005-09-14T13:50:00.000-07:00

Each year around the third week of September comes an event I look forward to.
The Reno Air Races.
It's a bit of a dilemma for me though.
See, I like airplanes. A lot. Especially the type at Reno: big, loud, fast, powerful machines. The speed and the sound leaves me in awe. I've met a few of the pilots and always run into a few people I know when I go. I always have fun and each year I leave looking forward to the next.
But if I weren't a pilot, and weren't facinated with airplanes, I would view the whole event as some overblown, jingoistic, inbred infested, embarrassment to the species.

Hence my dilemma.

So I go, try to ignore everything that doesn't have to do with seeing beastly machines scream through the sky at alarming speeds, and have yet to be unimpressed.

Life's what you make it.

2005-09-09T12:14:00.000-07:00

I've never much cared if the glass was half-full or half-empty. If I was thirsty, I drank it. It is a bit of a fascination to me though, how people's perceptions change their views of things.
Case in point, I had someone take the phrase "have a nice day" as an insult. Not because she didn't want to have a nice day. Presumably she felt her day was going to be difficult and felt my utterance was meant to be mocking (I'm guessing here). So I'm left trying to figure out how I was able to turn the phrase "Have a Nice Day." into something that could be interpretted as insulting.
I'm kind of wierd like that, I spend way to much time trying to figure out what I could have done to change/prevent a situation from developing. I figure I'm the only one I can control, so I should focus on what I do instead of what others do. As a general rule, it serves me well. Sometimes it gets me kind of trapped though.

If I know the result that will come from choosing one path or the other, do I choose the one that is best for me, the path that is best for others, or the path of least resistance?

In the end, does any of it even matter?

Useless Bitches

2005-09-07T18:00:00.000-07:00

How perfect would it be if a so called "Act of God" was the final 9 inch nail in "W's" self made crucifix?

Ganked from"The Hammer Blog"

"Everyone is so overwhelmed by the hospitality. And so many of the people in the arena here, you know, were underprivileged anyway, so this, this is working very well for them," Mrs. Bush told American Public Media's "Marketplace" program, before returning to her multi-million dollar Houston home.

"The Power of Outrage"

Indeed, it is hard to think of a time, other than at the height of the civil rights movement, when the plight of poor black Southerners so deeply stirred the conscience of the nation. Perhaps Hurricane Katrina will go down in history alongside Bull Connor's fire hoses in Birmingham and the Alabama State Troopers' nightsticks at Selma as a catalyst for a new national self-awareness regarding the unfinished struggle for racial justice.

Why would I do that?

At a news conference, Pelosi, D-California, said Bush's choice for head of the Federal Emergency Management Agency had "absolutely no credentials."

She related that she had urged Bush at the White House on Tuesday to fire Michael Brown.

"He said 'Why would I do that?"' Pelosi said.

"'I said because of all that went wrong, of all that didn't go right last week.' And he said 'What didn't go right?"'

"Oblivious, in denial, dangerous," she added.

Where am I?

2005-09-05T11:46:00.000-07:00

Took the redeye from HNL last night. Why do airlines still allow reclinable seats? Why do people recline them? You may just as well turn to the guy behind you and say "Screw You Buddy!"
Now that airlines have reduced the amount of flights so much that it's almost impossible to get an empty seat next to you, it really makes me happy to see the bastards all struggling. Except that it's the employees, that have nothing to do with BS policies, that will be the ones to suffer.
My plan to save the airlines, comfortable seats, congenial servants, and a simple, fair pricing structure.
After the hell one has to go through just to get to the frikkin airplane, you'd think maybe the airlines would try and do anything put a more pleasant spin on the experience.
Case in point. When it's 4:00 am, don't turn on the cabin lights so you can walk down the aisle to see if anyone wants water- WE'RE TRYING TO SLEEP.

Back in Paradise

2005-09-01T09:41:00.000-07:00

I'm back in Hawaii for the week. I'm doing things a bit differently this time. I didn't rent a car, so I'm reliant on cabs and busses. So far it's working out okay. Staying in Downtown Honolulu instead of Waikiki also. Jury is still out as to whether that is good or bad. The locals tell me this is a bad area, but I see no signs of it. When I ask "Worse than Waikiki?" they look kind of dazed as if they don't know why anyone would use bad and Waikiki together. Oh well, hopefully I'll get some time on this trip to do more than work.

Enough Already

2005-08-26T15:22:00.000-07:00

Looking forward to some movies that are coming out soon. 2046 looks good. Broken Flowers should be good. I liked the trailer for Grizzly Man as well. There are others probably worth considering as well.
I don't know if I'll see any this weekend though. I leave again for Hawaii on Monday, so I've got quite a bit to do. We'll see how it goes.

"It's the same old thing as Yesterday"

2005-08-25T22:12:00.000-07:00

bourbon good

"There's a little black spot on the Sun today"

2005-08-23T12:26:00.000-07:00

At least I got to say Goodbye.

6FU

2005-08-22T16:32:00.000-07:00

Oh my God.

Are you Fucking kidding me?

What a great end to end a series.
Though I'm not sure I need that strong a reminder of how much a bitch life is.

I've been kind of fixated on death lately. After careful consideration, I've decided I'm against it. I think it should be stopped.

Where's Lyra when you need her?

I am not a geek.

Movies

2005-08-22T16:04:00.000-07:00

I like movies.
To be more specific, I like good movies. I also like good TV, but that's so rare I hardly bother to mention it.
I saw Garden State on Saturday night, I had seen it before and this time I was watching it while flipping it and Dune back and forth.

It grew on me. I'm sure a lot of it had to do with the mood I was in, but I definately found myself enjoying it.

Not that I'm going to say it was a "good movie" mind you. The story was about as subtle as a blowtorch and there were scene by scene color temperature issues, key scenes were soft (and not in a purposeful way as far as I could tell.)

I loved when Natalie Portman handed over the headphones saying something along the lines of "listen to this, it will change your life". I fully agree with that because I think New Slang changed my life as well. Not in any earth shattering ways, but it did.

I think I liked it because I believe it to me an honest movie. I think Zach Braf wanted to tell his story and was passionate about the story he wanted to tell. I believe it came across that way.

That's probably why I liked it.

Before I sat down at the tube Saturday night, I went to see The Aristocrats. Well, I went to see Broken Flowers, but as I was buying the tickets I changed my mind.

After I see Broken Flowers I'll decide whether that was a good move or not. But The Aristocrats was damn funny. I imagine everyone who cares about the movie already knows about it, so I'll skip the description. I thought it was well edited and the visual story was well pieced together. But mostly I just thought it was funny. Guys that I normally wouldn't consider to be that funny were killing me. I mean, come on, Bob Saget? Who knew?

Mostly I'm trying to keep my mind off the fact that Michaela leaves tomorrow. I haven't seen her since last Monday and I'm not sure I'll see her before she leaves. That makes me unhappy.

There, I said it.

More Michaela

2005-08-19T20:40:00.000-07:00

Michaela and I had a nice time driving around the city

We saw the bridge from just about every possible angle.

Blah blah

2005-08-19T20:37:00.000-07:00

This is the impression NJ left on me.

The long awaited Michaela Update

2005-08-15T20:18:00.000-07:00

All,
Meet Michaela.

Many more pictures to follow.

Back Home

2005-08-14T14:42:00.000-07:00

Sometimes the utterings of Dorothy can't be improved upon.
We made it into Philadelphia on thursday night for dinner and observed the most bizarre trend I've seen lately. BYOB restaurants.
I'm still shuddering thinking of it.
Fortunately, friday night saved the whole trip. I took a train into NYC to meet my friends Matt and Jen. We ate at a fabulous place and had a great time. I barely caught the train back to Trenton and had to get up early the next morning to fly back.
Before even getting to the house, Karen took me to our favorite local sushi plac e. It's nice to be home.

Oh yeah, if I ever have to step foot in PHL again, it will be too soon.

Philadelphia

2005-08-08T20:25:00.000-07:00

Well, it smells bad.
It's hot, it's sticky.
That's about as much as I've soaked up so far.

Got some great photos of Michaela yesterday, they'll be up soon.

All things considered, I'd rather be hanging out with K and M, then here in lovely Mt. Laurel, NJ

There goes the neighborhood

2005-08-06T19:06:00.000-07:00

People are actually reading this crap now.
Not sure whether it was Arwen or Deb, but one of them thought it would be a good idea to link to this poor excuse for literature.
Gone are the days of posting whatever I want.
With readership comes responsibility. The last thing I want is some kid doing something stupid because of something he read here.
As we all know, anything read here is of far more worth than what should be taught by ones parents.

"Now that's sarcasm."
Homer J Simpson

Coraline

2005-08-06T19:00:00.000-07:00

Going to see the band tonight, hopes are high.
Taking Michaela so I hope it's a good night (Not that they aren't all great Dave).

Who's Michaela?
I'll probably post some pictures of her after I take some.

In case anyone is confused by this...... good.

Karen is the coolest/greatest person in the world. Even if some of her friends have death wishes.

Mortality

2005-08-04T20:02:00.000-07:00

My cousin Ben died. Two days after my friend Noah died. Ben was 15.
I'll say it again.
It's just not right.

I wish there was a God so I could say to his face that he's a bitch.

the good... the bad.... sometimes life's really a bitch

2005-08-01T15:59:00.000-07:00

Back from Hawaii.
Made some new friends, one is a glider instructor at Dillingham field in Mokuleia. I went up with her once and can't wait for more.

My friend Noah died. Knowing how I feel I can't imagine how his wife and family (who I've never met) must be feeling.

It's just not right. It's not.
No one will make me think otherwise.

Hawaii Pt 2

2005-07-29T01:02:00.000-07:00

So far, I'm unimpressed. The traffic is horrible, it's rained most of the 24 hours that I've been here and I'm having a hard time keeping myself entertained. Haven't even found anything to take pictures of.
There's always tomorrow.

Hawaii

2005-07-27T12:06:00.000-07:00

Getting on a plane in a few hours. More pics to come. In the meantime, check out the latest offerings on flickr.

Johanna continues

2005-07-24T08:50:00.000-07:00

Yesterday marked the end of the shooting of the Johanna video. It's taken a long time but now I just need to get the film processed and then get the editing done. It's great to have it all be up to me now. Trying to schedule a bunch of busy people is a bit difficult and, quite frankly, not my cup of tea. Everyone was great to work with. The band was great. Andrea was great. Karen was great. It has been a lot of fun and I hope the finished product will end up as something we can all be proud of.

End of an Era

2005-07-24T08:44:00.000-07:00

Lance Armstrong was a big reason why I got into cycling. Long before he was diagnosed with cancer I was in awe of his brash, in-your-face style. Like the rest of the world, I marveled at his successful battle with cancer, and his return to pro cycling. To be able to come back and win a Tour de France was seemingly inconceivable, but he did it. He kept doing it until he tired of doing it. No one was able to beat him, he just had enough and decided it was time to move on.

Certainly he will not be forgotten.

Defineately he will be missed in the peloton.

The Fog is back

2005-07-19T12:43:00.000-07:00

And everything has cooled off quite a bit. I shot a roll of 35mm last night, I should be able to get some scanned and uploaded to Flickr in a day or so. Other than that, I'm just enjoying the tour and being annoyed with the bastards.

The way it should be

2005-07-16T21:11:00.000-07:00

What a great day. I got up and watched the TdF, then went on my own bike ride up to a nice park. I managed to avoid killing myself when I rolled a tire on the decent and escaped with a punctured tube. Then I went out to the aiport and worked on the plane. Things went well enough, I got some free food (well I did need to join the club). After that, I went to see a guy I just met who owns a T6. He was getting ready to fly and asked if I wanted to come along. Fun stuff. Days like today, not even the frikkin Pope can screw up.

Hey Pope, shouldn't you be off molesting a twelve year old boy anyway?

Random stuff

2005-07-12T17:33:00.000-07:00

Where to begin? Lance is doing great.
Bush is lying.
Rove is smirking.

I'm working a lot and not having much time for things.

I have been riding my bike a lot though. So that's good.

I got a new tripod and a new light meter. Hopefully I'll put them to some use soon.

Le Tour

2005-07-09T08:27:00.000-07:00

As mentioned previously, the Tour de France is the only sporting event that eclipse the NBA finals. I've been a Lance Armstrong for a long time now, back to the days when he was a young rider for Motorola and the Tour was dominated by Miguel Indurain. With today's stage being the first mountain stage of the 2005 edition, I was up early. While Lance looks fine, his team has got to be a bit concerned. If he is going to be left alone to combat the top T-Mobile and CSC riders, he is going to be in trouble. Today's stage was great to watch. Tomorrow promises to be even better.

Friday Already?

2005-07-08T23:05:00.000-07:00

Holidays always make for fast weeks. I just realized I hadn't posted anything in a few days. I got a new tripod today, and my new lightmeter will show up tomorrow or monday. More pics in the making.

Red Rover, Red Rover send Treason right over.

2005-07-05T14:23:00.000-07:00

It's amazing how often the administration resembles a bad Hollywood movie. Even more amazing is how easily their supporters are willing to overlook crimes commited by those who claim to exemplify the supposed moral fortitude (read: ignorance) of said supporters. It's clear now that lying, stealing and murdering are ok, let's see how treason flies.

Flickr Updates

2005-07-03T14:27:00.000-07:00

More stuff uploaded to the Flickr site. Some old, some new.

Including one of my favorites:

Home

2005-06-30T14:56:00.000-07:00

Back from Portland. I hear the weather got nice as soon as I left. This is the impression Portland left on me.

Rain

2005-06-29T07:38:00.000-07:00

I got in Portland Sunday night and it's been raining ever since. Last night we worked until 9:30. I'm tired and the gloomy weather isn't helping. No time for pics, maybe tonight. Oh well, at least tomorrow I go home

Portland

2005-06-27T22:40:00.000-07:00

I'm in Portland working silly hours for a propoganda museum of the timber industry. It's raining and I'm tired, and I haven't taken hardly any pictures.

So there

Last Game of the year

2005-06-23T10:17:00.000-07:00

It all comes down to this. The first game 7 since 1994. Have to admit, I'll be sorry to see it end. The last two games have been two of the best games I've watched. I'm amused by the media. As soon as SA went up 2-0, everyone wrote the Pistons off, then Det ties it at 2-2 and suddenly SA is too slow and not deep enough, then "Big Shot Bob" plays the biggest game of his life and most of the media annoints the Spurs then and there. After Det mans up in game 6, now the story is how bad Tim Duncan is. How bad Tim Duncan is?? The worst game he's had is 14 points, 10 boards , 4 assists and 3 steals. This despite Detroit rotating 2 of the best defensive power forwards in the league on him.

Without Duncan, this series was over 2 games ago. I hope he plays well tonight, and I'm sure he will. But I still want to see Detroit win.

Yes, I know I'm a basketball geek. But after tonight I become a TdF geek, GO LANCE!

Something Positive

2005-06-21T13:33:00.000-07:00

It's not often I find something in the news that makes me happy, but it happened today.

The International Whaling Commission voted today to uphold the almost 20-year-old ban on commercial whaling, blocking moves by Japan and its allies who favour a resumption.

It's not easy to find, but thankfully there's always the Guardian.

Sweet Irony

2005-06-21T07:26:00.000-07:00

You have to wonder how something as obvious as this still gets published.

Andrea Pics

2005-06-19T10:44:00.000-07:00

Finally I was able to post some pics from Coraline's "Johanna" video. Mostly makeup and lighting test shots. Andrea and I shot for a few hours yesterday. As soon as Dave and Arwen get back from Alaska, we should be able to finish it up.

Coraline Video

2005-06-18T09:28:00.000-07:00

The slowly evolving music video is going to continue today. Great weather for it. I'll see if I can get some stills and upload them. The video is about 70% done at this point, after today I hope to only have a couple more days of shooting.

More Pics

2005-06-17T11:08:00.000-07:00

Lots more updated at the flickr site.

Good Morning

2005-06-16T07:52:00.000-07:00

Always nice to wake up to crap like this.

It a beautiful world these days, isn't it?

"So wasteful and contemptible"

2005-06-15T12:11:00.000-07:00

"For now, I must refuse the job. Somehow, the only thing more depressing than making plastic shit for Americans is destroying the plastic shit they send back."

Makes you proud, doesn't it.

the blog goes on.....

2005-06-15T11:50:00.000-07:00

It seems kind of important to post something often. Even without much to say, I think that making a habit out of posting will make this more likely to not die an untimely death. I picked up my film from the lab this morning. Not quite as good as I'd hoped, but some of it looks pretty good. I'll get it scanned and upped to flickr in the next day or so.

Detroit played well last night. Not too surpised. Game 4 will be crucial, if not outright critical. Nice to see the swagger come back a little.

Hopefully Michael Jackson can disappear for a while, not that the media will get back to covering actual news stories.

Check out 1115.org for some great commentary about CNN trying to become the Carchase News Network.

More Basketball thoughts

2005-06-13T19:53:00.000-07:00

I like both the teams in the finals. They both play hard, they both prefer a style that I find entertaining to watch. But I like Detroit more. I don't like the whining though. Generally whining accompanies a style of Basketball that I don't like, for example the Kings, Mavericks and the Suns. In fact my favorite quote of the playoffs so far has been Nate McMillan's:
"Playoff basketball, you don't play it in skirts"
That he said it in reference to the Kings made it even better.

The way I see it, it's a man's game, you should play it like men. Not a bunch of spoiled schoolgirls (with apologies to spoiled schoolgirls).

So to see Detroit constantly complaining about the officiating is disturbing to me. I wish they'd shut up and play better. Then I come across something like this:

Brown declined to elaborate, but postseason box scores show Detroit is 1-7 when either Ron Garretson or Dan Crawford has officiated its games and 11-1 when neither has been on the court.

How the hell is that possible? You mean to tell me, after all the times I've bemoaned their whining, they're right?

That's a pretty disturbing thought.

Riddle me this

2005-06-13T11:05:00.000-07:00

The whole Downing St thing is baffling to me. I understand how people are reluctant to change their beliefs. I understand they will support positions that don't get backed up by the facts. But in a case where compelling evidence exists about the prelude to the invasion of Iraq being a main agenda of the (s)elected administration, it's hard to understand why no one seems to be interested.

My only conclusion is that those who support Bush think it's justified, and those who don't aren't surprised.

I still think it should be the job of the media to cover this. But I guess Freak shows get better ratings.

Ho Hum

2005-06-12T19:33:00.000-07:00

Messed around with settings a lot today. I kind of like this look, we'll see for how long. Posted some more pics to the flickr site.
Detroit is playing like crap right now.
I get more pics back from the lab on Wednesday, looking forward to seeing how they turned out. The 35mm's are up, but I shot 3 rolls with the M645 in the warehouse. I expect them to be better.
I might try and shoot some more tomorrow, we'll see how things go.
Karen and I have been discussing various ideas for some shoots, but we need a model, or else a stylist as good as Karen.

more pics

2005-06-11T11:05:00.000-07:00

The ways of Music

2005-06-10T10:26:00.000-07:00

A couple months back, I'm sitting in a hotel bar in Seattle when I hear this song playing that I really like. I had recently had an email from my wife about I song she had heard which she thought I would like. Of course they were the same song, otherwise I wouldn't be mentioning it. Oddly enough, the song itself is almost irrelevant to the story. But in looking for this song, I discovered the soundtrack it was on. After legally obtaining said soundtrack, (If I've legally purchased it, why isn't it mine? - but I digress) I found many songs on it that I liked. One of which was a song by Remy Zero. In looking for more Remy Zero stuff, I learned that they are no longer together, but that the members had gone there seperate ways and formed new bands.

Which is the story of how I came to find Isidore.

I find it amusing the way things work out sometimes. If I hadn't gone to Seattle would there still be a hole in my ipod that is currently filled by Isidore?

And lest anyone think that because I have linked to itunes and I own an ipod that I am a fan of Mr. Jobs, I'm not. All the itunes digital rights management stuff is a load of crap, it's ridiculous that I have to either waste a disk or use third party shareware to be able to play a song I paid $$ for. Greedy effing Bastards.

Pics

2005-06-08T19:29:00.000-07:00

Going through my old folders and came across these, thought I'd put them up.

Here's to you Mrs. Robinson.....

2005-06-08T17:03:00.000-07:00

Jesus loves you more than you will know. RIP

Rain.....

2005-06-08T17:00:00.000-07:00

I can deal with the occasional summer thunderstorm, but regular old rain in June just blows.

It must be Tuesday

2005-06-07T19:44:00.000-07:00

Ah the joy of driving to the city.
My friend Dave got a new camera, so we're talking about shooting some film this week, that should be fun.
I made reservations for our anniversary dinner, bought tickets to the play, and got a bunch of work done.

Oh, and I thought 6FU was really disappointing, but not entirely without promise

Detroit Basketball

2005-06-06T20:30:00.000-07:00

I guess it's because I grew up playing sports; I can look at athletes and fans and find them largely contemptable, but yet I have to confess- I loves me some sports.
Case in point, tonights Eastern Conference NBA Finals. Damn, what a game. Despite watching grown men act like spoiled children, I enjoy the competition and appreciate the skill required to do a job at the level these guys do. Hopefully I'll get to watch some of the finals, but I'm happy getting to see most of the Det-Mia series.

Saturday I'm taking Karen and Andrea to see my friend Arwen's play. We're planning on getting some good food and making an evening out of it. It should be fun.

Getting ready to watch Six Feet Under now, I hope it's good. It's been on a "every other season is good" kind of trip, so my hopes are high.

Sunday

2005-06-05T21:49:00.000-07:00

Quiet day, worked on the plane.
Went for a bike ride.
Watched some TV.

Blah blah blah.

And So it Begins

2005-06-04T17:00:00.000-07:00

So this is a blog.
I was happy to see the Pistons win game 6.
But alas sports can only do so much when stuff like this is going on.

I saw this on MoxieGrrrl's site (which was used as a link to FreewayBlogger), it made me laugh.