Existential Quandary

Run away! Run away!

2007-02-24T05:43:00.000-05:00

So. I haven't posted on this blog for a long time. I'm trying to start blogging again but since it's been so long I'm going to decommission this blog and relocate here. Please alert the media.

Found Magazine

2005-07-28T20:39:00.000-05:00

This is one of my favorite web sites. Found Magazine is a collection of pictures and notes and other litter found by people all over the county. Because they are found items, there is little or no backstory or information about what they mean or the people who owned them, but each one invites you to imagine its history. The site has an enticing bittersweet peaceful feeling. This item is one of the most touching things I’ve ever seen.

PS: For those from the Wing, I bought a used copy of I am Charlotte Simmons. I put in my bathroom to read one page at a time like in the old days. In August I’ll bring it to mine and David’s apartment.

Hey buddy! You can't park your tripod here.

2005-07-24T23:12:00.000-05:00

I went to see War of the Worlds the other day. It was pretty amazing, very powerful and visually stunning. I'll always have a soft spot in my heart for the Orson Wells radio broadcast, but this is a fine addition to War of the Worlds. Speaking of which, why is this story so popular? It keeps being remade again and again along with hundreds of other versions of the end of the world. Why do people like seeing everything they've ever known destroyed? Are we just bored in our modern life, looking for any distraction whether its bad or not? It kind of makes me wonder if the interest in 9-11 wasn't that it was sad or freightening, but that it was exciting. Will we destroy the world just to see what happens? Anyway, that's my quota of cheap philosophic naysaying for the week. Laters.

P.S. Is the song "Feel Good Inc." by Gorillaz brilliant or crap? I honestly can't decide. It's got to be one or the other.

Truly a son of Thor walks among us

2005-07-20T20:51:00.000-05:00

Last Friday, after a grueling week of hard-hitting journalism, I was invited by my long-haired friend Preston to a local rock show. Preston being a companion of my youth (back when our primary activities consisted of dodge ball, laser tag, and micro machines) and since I trust his musical taste (he introduced me to Nirvana), I gladly went along…to a death metal show. In Preston’s defense, it was pretty much the only thing going on in a three county area, but still. This was very different than the local punk shows and attracted a much different crowd. Once again, I sadly failed to meet the local legend known only as “Punk Rock Tom.” The attendees were almost completely in black, many in shirts with the logo of the band, inexplicably named Makeshift Faith. Some had the full white make up, black trench coat school bomber look; others were content with the Hot Topic’s tamer selections. One guy was wearing an Insane Clown Posse shirt and confirmed yet again the theory that every single ICP fan is overweight.One girl challenged every preconception of how much of one’s outfit could be made of fishnet. She performed, on numerous occasions throughout the show, a maneuver in which she ran halfway across the floor, cart wheeled, and landed doing the splits, challenging ever preconception of how much flexibility one should attempt in a 10-inch denim miniskirt. Preston said she was “one of the Manson girls.”
The band, in a stunning display of musical professionalism such as one would expect from a Middle Georgia local death metal band, they started 1:15 late. Hey, unlike the opening band, they at least showed up. During the wait, I noticed a woman sitting up against the wall, dressed in clear opposition of the all black rule. She also held the kind of extra-long notebook preferred by reporters. My spider sense went off. I walked up to her and asked “who do you write for?” Turns out she’s an entertainment reporter with the Macon Telegraph, my paper’s primary competitor. In fact, she was Maggie Large, author of the newly introduced AMPED entertainment blog. The concert was in a small building labeled “Porter-Ellis Community Center.” It looked like a detached church hall with cheap white tiles, acoustic tiled ceiling, and white-painted cinder block walls. It had lovely flowered drapes over the yellowed Venetian blinds and it was obvious that this was an unusual use for the facility. I kept expecting a bar mitzvah to break out. You can see in my picture the lovely white lattice back drop that served to contrast with the band aura of sheer metal badness.
The band consisted of four grimy, hairy men who seemed to believe that bathing would conflict with the afore mentioned sheer metal badness. The singer was a large individual, though not in ICP fan territory. His stage presence and banter seemed to suggest “hey, I can be big and still be a rock and roll sex god.” Preston calls this “the Meatloaf factor.” His wide stance, grasping hand gestures, and straining demeanor seemed to shout “I am a ----- son of Odin. I am a ------- ------- Teutonic war god. I will ripe off your head and ---------- you if I feel like it. I AM the ubermench, ------.” Actually, given his vocal clarity he might really have been shouting that. Who could tell?
Much to my chagrin, I learned that Makeshift Faith is a only a few original songs removed from being a Pantera tribute band. All through out the show the singer kept saying “Y’all wouldn’t happen to mind if we played another PANTERA SONG!” Most of their originals were odes to recently slain Pantera member Darryl Abbot. I could barely keep a straight face the third time they began a number with “This next song is very special to us. It’s a tribute to the memory of passion, humanity, and musical genius that was Dimebag Darryl.”
Overall, they weren’t bad for a local metal band. They had a full, matching set of speakers with a sound board and sound man. They had stage lights and a light show that actually functioned in time with the music. Their instruments were in tune and each member of the band was playing the same song at the same time. They all were in the same key, or at least demonstrated knowledge of what a key is. They accomplished what they set out to do well. But I just don’t go for death metal. The screaming growling, overdriven, thumping expressions of Germanic rage just kinda give me a headache.If you call me and I don’t pick up, it’s because I still haven’t regained my hearing.
Here is Maggie Large’s blog review about the show, I disagree with some aspects of her review I don't think the singer resembled Axl Rose, visually or vocally.P.S. Scantily-clad cart wheel girl is Jessica from the second picture down.

Article bonanza

2005-07-15T09:05:00.000-05:00

So... yeah I'm a lazy slacker. Promising blog entries then posting nothing for a month. The journals need a little work before going prime time. Maybe this weekend. Until then, here are the articles I've written that have been posted on the paper's website.

Kids' cereal not for adults

Salvation Army changes leadership

4-H honors dead girl's memory

City Council vs. Chamber of Commerce

City Council vs. The Sewer People pt. 1

City Council vs. The Sewer People pt. 2

Bus driver competition

It's a retirement community!

High school bull rider

Tim meets the governor

My very first story

Sure! I'll write a church story 1

Sure, I'll write a church story 2

Coming next week: Tim goes geocaching, Tim meets the democrats, and sure I'll write a church story 3.

Bloggin' in the boy's room...

2005-06-24T12:19:00.000-05:00

A bold new experiment! Blogging at work! Feel the illicit thrill. So... I've been at this newspaper for four weeks now. I've run all over the booming metropolis of Perry, GA. I've been keeping a journal of my time here and once I get a moment this weekend I'll type it up and post some content. That'll be a nice switch.

Free Religious Stuff from the Internet

2005-04-21T12:20:00.000-05:00

Your guide to all things cheap and holy

Free Rosary
http://www.familyrosary.org/main/rosary-rosaries-contact.php

Free Rosary and Brown Scapular
http://www.prayrosary.com/freerosary.php3

Free King James Bible
http://usa-bibles.com/?id=7067

Free Book of Mormon
http://www.mormon.org/bookofmormon

Free Qur'an
http://www.freekoran.com/

Free "Stop to Pray" Medallion
http://www.stoptopray.org/free_offer.htm

Free Medallion Blessed at Shrine
http://test.amm.org/submissions/survey/

Free Holy Face of Jesus Medal
http://www.holyface.org/programs.htm

Hey Cheech Man

2005-04-20T21:07:00.000-05:00

Dude, it's 4-20. Whoa.

Hey, Cheech man

2005-04-20T21:05:00.001-05:00

Dude, it's 4-20. Whoa

Hey, Cheech man

2005-04-20T21:05:00.000-05:00

Dude, it's 4-20. Whoa

Here's to you, Raul Duke

2005-04-13T00:01:00.000-05:00

Okay, it's 1 o'clock in the morning and I've just finished Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas, so I don't know if people have been asking me to update my blog or if it's just the voices in my head.
So, right, updates.
The semester is almost over and I'm pretty on top of things so I can chill a little. I'm kinda sad because I've just worked out a great system for taking Freedom's after a semester and a half and now it's almost over. Maybe I can apply it to another class. Speaking of which, the school has announced another major Political Theory which Grace rightly described as "majoring in Freedom's". A lot of people (or maybe a few people many times) have been urging me to switch over to it next year. I don't want to do that because I don't want to be a political theorist; there's a reason why I'm a journalism major. But looking at the requirements it wouldn't be any trouble at all to do both except for the 24 credits of DRW required for it. I'd like to ask if someone doing a double major could cut back or exempt those credits or if I could pioneer the concept of a minor. I'd like to talk to my advisor but due to a death in the family, he's out of town this week (The geometry adjunct too, it must be catching). Sympathies to his family, but aggghhhhh, on advising week! The one time of the semester I need to talk to him specifically. I might *gasp* just go talk to Dr. Bonicelli.
With summer on its way I am looking forward to my internship at the Houston Home Journal. I'm a little nervous because the guy still hasn't gotten back to me about the pay and when I will start. He said it was a sure thing, but I've lost too many sure things to ever again be truly comfortable with the concept. It will really be nice to get out there and get some experience. But, before I begin actual journalism, I will need to stop reading Hunter S. Thompson. Or maybe read more, I haven't decided which.
Speaking of reading things, I am almost done with A Confederacy of Dunces, which is great. I've heard that they are going to make a movie starring Will Farrell; that should be amazing, as should The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy.
Coming soon, coverage of the Presidential race and L-Ball memories. Also, An Ideal Husband and a Washington Nationals game.
PS I like Billy Wilder movies. Especially Stalag 17

Nicotine Innocence will rock your world

2005-03-15T19:34:00.000-05:00

Micah's got another show Wednesday night! Behold the glory that is Nicotine Innocence and weep. Once again I have to say "go hear Micah play and all your wildest dreams will come true."

2005-03-09T23:09:00.000-05:00

w00t!

MIDTERM'D!

2005-03-07T19:30:00.000-05:00

So, long time no post. Another midterms has us by the throat, but I promise that there is plenty of stuff in the pipe line.

If pink is the new black then incoherence is the new coherence

2005-03-01T00:35:00.000-05:00

Doesn't make sense? It doesn't have to! That's what makes it incoherent. I guess I shouldn't be too mad. It's laudable enough that your thinking and asking questions. It seems like nowadays most people are content to live a life in ignorance without asking questions or thinking at all. Modern suburban life is set to allow them to make as few meaning full choices as possible (a thousand kinds of coffee and two candidate for president). Probably it's because asking questions opens you up to get answers you don't like. Solomon says in the Bible that "With much wisdom come much grief and he who increases in knowledge increases in sorrow." That's why I've always thought the people who walk around smiling at everything must not be thinking too hard. But it's too easy to do that, to just jazzercise through life in a little prepackaged controlled manicured subdivision somewhere on a pleasant valley Sunday in status symbol land. I used to live in one of those in Florida. It was awful. It was an awful identical barren sunbaked soulless place. And Florida has a lot of soul, so it is amazing how much people have been able suck the life out of it with condos and pharmacies on every corner. I think the song Pleasant Valley Sunday could have been written about my neighborhood. No spark, no life, no individuality, no trees. It's interesting how much the lack of trees contributes to the soullessness. Couldn't the leave a few trees? And I don't mean clear cutting a woods and then planting a few saplings when you're done. Isn't there some way that they could build around some trees? People would like that and I'm sure it would increase property values right off the bat. I like trees and nature. I'm not even that much of an environmentalist but I don't see why everything has to be ugly. I'm not a socialist or a luddite or a liberal, but the whole modern suburban wasteland just gets to me sometimes. But how can we get ride of the soulless suburbia and still maintain the quality of life that allows me to run upstairs and satiate my lemonade jones whenever it strikes? I sometimes just need lemonade. It doesn't have the caffeine of Coke so I can drink it at night. And not a lot of other people get it so it's not always sold out like the Dr. Pepper. I can't have caffeine anywhere near bedtime because I'm an insomniac as it is. I've always had trouble sleeping. So has my mom so I guess it runs in the family. I'm also sensitive to light; I can't stand streetlights that shine all night through my window keeping me up. Streetlights are another aspect of surburbia that I hat. What I wouldn't give for it to be pitch dark for even one night. When I'm rich I'll build a bedroom with no windows. Speaking of sensitivity to light and things running in the family, I've got Autosomal Dominant Compelling Helio-Opthalmic syndrome. It's not serious. It's a genetic condition that a certain percentage of the population has that causes them to sneeze whenever they are suddenly exposed to bright sunlight. Isn't that wild? It's genetic, so my Dad and my brother also have it, so if we are all together we'll do it at the same time. My mom always made fun of us. I never knew it had a name before. What did we do before the internet? Aggh! That's just another aspect of the modern life that hate so much but can't live without. What can I do? I guess I'll just go to bed. If I can.

Triple word score to anyone who held on through that whole thing.

Never before seen!

2005-02-25T18:47:00.000-05:00

I wrote this article for today's Patrick Henry Herald, but it got spiked at the last moment because it mentions visiting a winery. So I'm going to put it up here.

Saturday afternoon was clear and warmer than it had been for weeks, one of those afternoons that compels you, not matter what you’re doing, to be doing something. The Midwinter Blues’ Blues Festival (every Saturday in January and February) at Tarara Winery in northern Loudoun County seemed just the kind of bite sized adventure required. I enlisted the aid of sophomore Nichole Recker and Carina Sinclair (in town visiting her brother freshman Jamie Sinclair) and set off for Loudoun wine country.
Tarara is situated a few miles north of Leesburg, almost to Maryland. The drive up is great in February and I’m sure is beautiful in any other season. The vineyards are picturesque even bare of leaves, covering the hills overlooking the Potomac River. It’s at the end of the kind of road makes you question whether or not you’re on the right one. The facilities consist of two main buildings: a bed and breakfast and the winery. A sign by the driveway announced that Tarara had been voted “Best winery in Loudoun County.”
The interior of Tarara is cozy and warm. It contains a gift shop and wine store as well as two different bars dispensing the local specialties. Past this is a room full of round tables for eight. The walls are pleasing warm tones of red and orange and well decorated. The band was ensconced in one corner and around them sat a row of those interested in the music they were playing. Deeper in, the majority seemed more interested in the wine and each other than the blues.
While the term “festival” may have been excessive in describing the single act, one guitarist accompanied by a harmonica, the music was amazing, a skillful fingerpicked guitar style with a wailing harmonica back up. The sets featured songs by Ray Charles, Tennessee Ernie Ford, and older blues greats of the “blind” variety. It was billed as a “delta blues,” but the players also strayed into bluegrass and gospel territory.
“As an old blues player once told me, you should always play one gospel song in each blues set so that you have a little chance of salvation,” said Ray Kaminsky, the guitarist, before playing Amazing Grace. He interspersed his songs with stories, pieces of history and background to the tunes they played. They were perfect blues stories of men who came from nowhere and disappeared to nowhere, including the well known tale of Robert Johnson selling his soul to the devil at the crossroads.
The musicians definitely looked the part. Ray Kaminsky is a heavyset older man with sandy hair trending towards gray and a shaggy mustache for whom the guitar was obviously a lifestyle. His album “Ghosts of the Blues” won the 2001 Wammie award for Blues Recording of the Year.
“I began by playing folk in the sixties,” he said. “I got tired of playing late nights in clubs and switched to blues about 22 years ago.”
The harmonica player had an equally fitting aesthetic, the magnificently blues name Fast Eddy Galvin and a belt full of harmonicas in an array so vast that only an expert could appreciate them all.
I wanted to ask the staff about the winery; it seemed like a magnificent building. I finally found someone with the Tarara logo on her shirt not actively serving wine, selling wine, or explaining the nuances of wine and asked her how old the winery was, but she explained that they were “too busy to answer questions today.”
I’m sure that if it were not an inconvenience, she would have explained that the land, 475 acres of it, was purchased in 1985 by Whitie and Margaret Hubert who constructed “a winery devoted to the art of producing fine wine with intense flavor and lush varietal character” as a pamphlet I found said.
Sore from being ignored, I wandered back into the main room and ended up sitting with three middle-aged ladies and an empty bottle of 2003 Cameo Blush Table Wine.
“We came here for the wine and there happened to be music, but it’s nice,” said one of them who introduced herself and both Annette Townsend and the designated driver.
“She lives here, we’re visiting,” interjected one of her friends.
“We’re from Illinois,” added the other.
The conversation meandered away from wine and blues and into a great many other things. We were told many times that we are “in the prime of your lives.” We passed a pleasant hour and the women were hilarious, though possibly inadvertently motherly. They made much of the lessons of life experience.
“I thought I was a red wine person. Turns out I’m a white wine person,” offered one as an example of such a lesson.
There is one Saturday left in the Midwinter Blues’ Blues Festival and I highly recommend it. It’s a nice drive, a great location, a pleasant atmosphere, and music that’s enjoyable even to those not accustom to blues. But if you go, talk to the people, because talking to the people is the best part.

For more information visit:
www.tarara.com
www.earbuzz.com/raykaminsky

In Memoriam

2005-02-23T19:20:00.000-05:00

I guess I'm behind the times (literally...think about it) on this, but I've just been informed that Hunter S. Thompson is dead. This is a great loss to the world of journalism real and hallucinated. Here is an article about it and some information about his most famous book Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas.

Brilliant!

2005-02-23T18:38:00.000-05:00

There is nothing more I can say. James Kimball is a brilliant man. Go to Micah Towery's blog for the article. The Economics of Courtship

On nation, under-occupied

2005-02-23T00:26:00.000-05:00

So the "numa numa dance" has spread through the campus like a virus and we are now getting to the point where the humor value of the video has dulled. Currently, the interest is in the song itself Dragostea din tei. I gotta say, as an American, that this is a great story. Some crappy euro-pop dance boy band (whatever) comes up with this song and it an amazing giant hit...in eastern Europe. I mean as far as I can tell it is the one and only hit song to come out of Romania. It's huge, the lyrics are on every Romanian website. It's bigger than their national anthem. But outside of eastern Europe...nothing. That is, until a fat bored American 19-year old living with his parents decides to make an ass of himself set to that song. Suddenly, powered by the Internet and this the humor value of this kid bouncing in his desk chair, it's and international sensation. God bless America. The most powerful force on the planet is a bored American.

Just a random thought

2005-02-14T22:34:00.000-05:00

On September 21, 2001, just ten days after the terrorist attacks I'm sure we all remember, there was a telethon/concert to raise money for the victims' families. It featured a number of notable bands like U2, Pearl Jam, and Willie Nelson. I don't know how many remember this; I'm not sure why I do. There were songs like Stevie Wonder singing "Love's in Need of Love Today," Enrique Inglasias and Mariah Carey both singing songs called "Hero," and Bruce Springsteen singing "My City of Ruins." Many of the songs had a mourning theme and many were patriotic like "God Bless America." Most were along the theme of forgiveness and healing, great themes. Most of the celebrity speakers echoed this theme. In those days, like a lot of people, we had the TV on all the time waiting for more news. I don't know what I was doing, but I wasn't really paying attention to the concert. I did, however, notice when in the midst of words like "Imagine there's no countries/It isn't hard to do/Nothing to kill or die for/No religion too/Imagine all the people/living life in peace..." from John Lennon's "Imagine" performed by Neil Young, Tom Petty & the Heartbreakers came on stage and played a song of their's called "I Won't Back Down," the lyrics to which are included below. That moment has always stuck with me. Since then I've always respected Tom Petty.

I Won't Back Down
by Tom Petty & the Heartbreakers

Well I won't back down
No I won't back down
You can stand me up at the gates of hell
But I won't back down
No I'll stand my ground, won't be turned around
And I'll keep this world from draggin me down
gonna stand my ground
...and I won't back down

Chorus:
(I won't back down...)
Hey baby, there ain't no easy way out
(and I won't back down...)
hey I will stand my ground
and I won't back down

Well I know what's right, I got just one life
in a world that keeps on pushin me around
but I'll stand my ground
...and I won't back down

I don't know how many of you remember this, I bet not many. I guess most in my generation will remember Tom Petty through Tom Cruise singing "Free Falling" in Jerry Maguire, if at all. But that's what I remember him for. I don't usually post song lyrics, but I just listened to that song and remembered that concert. Just thought you should hear about it.

Feed my Valentine

2005-02-14T16:26:00.000-05:00

In keeping with my recent saints theme, I can't not mention that today is St. Valentine's Day. Whee. I don't have much to say about this day except that I won't complain about the way couples act on this day because, honestly, if I had a girlfriend I'd act the same way too. In lieu of all that, I will relate that story of St. Valentine, the man, as it were, of the hour.

Valentinus, the future St. Valentine, was temple priest in Rome during the 3rd century, under the reign of Emperor Claudius II. He defied the Roman government by helping Christians escape persecution, especially by performing Christian marriages. Valentinus was eventually arrested and jailed. While he was in jail, he is said to have befriended the jailer's daughter and restored her sight. He also found an unlikely friend in the Emperor himself, who took a liking to the prisoner. Eventually, however, he tried to convert Claudius to Christianity and was sentenced to death. On the eve of his execution he wrote a farewell note to the jailer's daughter and signed it "From your Valentine." He was stoned and beaten within an inch of his life and then beheaded outside the Flaminian Gate in Rome. His remains were buried near the gate and archaeologists have discovered both a tomb and a church there dedicated to him. The date of his martyrdom is popularly held to be February 14, 269. The date was marked in his honor by Pope Gelasius in 496. Because of his reputation for performing marriages, he is the patron saint of love, marriage, and young people.

And now you know...the rest of the story.

Oh yeah, in response to a question by me own mum, unless otherwise noted the poems posted on this blog are all mine. Including this one:

Caelum Sanctum
Your sky is paper
With golden edges
Held up by saints and doves
Mine is air and aether mixed
And I can’t touch it
Or see the corners

This is the third time I've appended this post, but 1000 points to whomever gets the title.

A boy and his guitar

2005-02-13T21:08:00.000-05:00

Give us a sexy look. Oh yeah, you know you like it. This little blast from the past pic of me and mine git-fiddle comes to us from November 2003. Can you believe it? Yes indeed, they had cameras back then.
Please to note: This picture courtesy of me finally getting the photo uploading to work from on campus.

Because you wish you had a comic

2005-02-12T21:45:00.000-05:00

Friday, February 11, 2005

The Tao of Google

2005-02-10T02:00:00.000-05:00

Doe you ever have those times where your just sitting there with your computer listening to the Goo Goo Dolls or something and you just sit there staring at the blank Google search screen opening and closing your browser window and the opening it again to stare some more at the blinking line in the little search box and you feel like maybe if you only knew what to type in the box that you would find all the answers and finally know all the secrets and that everything would make sense for you? I'm going to guess by the fact that you're reading my blog rightnow that you're in a mood like that. Looking at other people's blogs is what you always settle for when you give up on finding the Ultimate Search Term.

A well thought out post title

2005-02-10T00:49:00.000-05:00

Many hilarious stories of New York forthcoming. As always, be thy hunger sated with a poem.

To the Swampland Still
Swamp land stretches never ending
Though I know the mire stops
Beaches golden to the east
Forests verdant to the west
But from my low hammock viewing
This is all is all there is
Stagnate sits the water dirty
Plants are rotting all around
Air unmoving trees unstirring
Smells that cling and heavy choke
All is sitting waiting endless
A river of life going nowhere
Slowly does an alligator
Tear the stillness of the water
Small fish flee the reptile lion
Elsewhere though the place is still
Birds there are on listless wing
Turtles sunning still as rocks
Many find this place a home
But for none a paradise

Howyadoin'

2005-02-06T01:50:00.000-05:00

I have just arrived back from two days in New York City with my school's student newspaper staff. In twelve hours I'm getting on a plane for Florida to go to my dad's retirement from the Air Force. Busy, busy, busy. Don't worry my dedicated anyone, at some point I'll find time to write about it all, and more. That's right: more than all. It's a good life.

Also coming soon: to completion of the philosophical rant I began several months ago. Until then let me just say that I still believe everything I said. But let me add, I do and always have firmly believed that it will all work out in the end.

High praise indeed

2005-02-02T15:07:00.000-05:00

I see that I have been recommended by the amazing Micah Towery on his blog. Thanks and backatcha. As I have been credited as "mighty" and this blog as "dispensing wisdom," I will to be and/or those things more often.

I have two issues I want to comment on today. The first, interestingly, involves Micah's Greek homework and the second once again deals with the Catholic Church.

One. Try as I might, I still have a romantic streak. As to the kiss kiss hearts and flowers Valentine's Day meaning of the word, I have no comment. Wink. In this context I mean the literary ain't that a pretty sunset all you have to do is belieeeeeeve sense. I've also always been a words person. There are always been a fascination for me about a sheet of paper covered in handwriting. There is just something aesthetically pleasing about that. I also like the look of foreign languages. Foreign writing combines the adventure of new places with the mystery on undeciphered communication. Because of these two affinities, I have like to look at Micah's Greek homework as it combines a foreign language and alphabet in a handwritten form. I guess there's a beautiful juxtaposition between the exotic look of the Greek, and the everyday ordinarity (which is a word if I say it is) of a handwritten note. Maybe someday I'll get a scan so that I can show you what I mean.

Two. A few posts ago I went off on the Catholic calendar of saints because of a perceive under representation of Saint Timothy, after whom I am named. This is a related issue regarding my brother's namesake, the archangel Michael. Anyone who has seen Gangs of New York will remember the St. Michael medal worn by the Priest's men going in to battle with the Butcher's men. Apparently, that St. Michael is the same as the archangel from the Bible. Hey, um, did the Catholic Church really need to confer sainthood upon an angel? Isn't the whole "saintliness" issue kind of a human thing? Does the head of the Heavenly Host really need props from us? "Why thank you humanity. Thanks for the vote of confidence. Because I led the forces of God to defeat the armies of Satan before your race was even created, but it's nice to know you approve."

Random St. Michael, the Archangel facts: his feastday is September 29th and he is the patron saint of policemen, mariners, paratroopers, Germany, and, why not, grocers.

Back tracking a little

2005-02-01T17:19:00.000-05:00

Friday, January 21, 2005

Why yes, now that you mention it...

2005-02-01T17:06:00.000-05:00

...I do have a weekly comic strip. Caffeine is My Muse is written by me, drawn by Stefanie Hausner, and published in the Patrick Henry Herald.

Friday, January 28, 2005

Ice Ice Baby

2005-01-30T02:38:00.000-05:00

A late night mini-post to complain about ice and snow and the cold, cold frozen north in general. I had to scrape ice off my car to get home. That is about the most wretched experience ever. I have an overwhelming sense of the irony that pervades and controls my life whenever I clear the snow from around my Florida license plate. What I wouldn't give for some frickin' palm trees right now. In other news, a trip to New York City, a brief excursion by to Florida for my dad's retirement, and the Valentine's Day Dance (not guaranteed to occur on Valentine's Day) are all coming up, so there should plenty of post fodder for weeks to come. The hilarity continues.

He's a saint

2005-01-26T22:50:00.000-05:00

So today is my name day. That is, it is the feast of St. Timothy who I am named after. In Russia, a person's name day is more celebrated that his birthday. I wrote "Happy feast of St. Timothy" up on the board in Freedom's and Professor Root drew a big black X through the "Timothy!" Ah! On my name day! Like it was wrong. If you look here, you can clearly see that today is indeed the feast of St. Timothy. Even more, he wrote "Aquinas" next to it giving the reason the tomorrow is the feast of St. Thomas Aquinas. So what? As if that was a reason. Aquinas' day being tomorrow has no bearing on it being Timothy's day today. What's more, he was wrong. The feast of Aquinas is Friday, not Thursday. Grrrrrr. Anyway, I spent some time reading about saints. Sometimes I wonder about the Catholic Church. Apparently St. Stephen the Martyr is the patron saint of stonemasons. What a macabre irony. Is St. Paul the patron of cloak-room attendants? And get this. St. Timothy, the disciple of Paul, who accompanied him on many of his trips, who went on missionary journeys on Paul's behalf, who ministered to him in prison, who has two books of the Bible named after him, is the patron saint of (drum roll...) stomach trouble. Really. That's it. Why? Because of the verse where Paul says "take a little wine for your stomach's sake." I mean, of all the things, why that? He spread the gospel across Greece. He was the first bishop of Ephesus. He was martyred after opposing a pagan festival dedicated to the goddess Artemis. And what does the Holy Catholic Church honor him for? One line about an upset stomach. What do you have to do to make the Church happy? They freakin' stoned him for christssake. Literally. Anyway, there is a lot more potential in this saint thing, so there may be more on it later.

Two for the price of one!

2005-01-25T20:12:00.000-05:00

What contrition! What value! What productiveness! Yes indeed ladies and gentlemen, two posts in the same night. And thus I muse on Kurt Vonnegut, in accordance with prophecy:

I gained a new respect for literary critic Harold Bloom (I've heard his name before, but couldn't tell you what he's done) a few days ago while looking through his suggested Western Canon. All in all it seems like a very standard, solid like of western literature. I wish I had the time to read all of the books he recommends; maybe someday I will. But at the end, when he addresses twentieth-century American books, he lists a book for author Kurt Vonnegut. This in itself is not unusual, the ironic/satirical Vonnegut is on most "Great Books" lists that deal with the twentieth-century. But instead of suggesting the obvious Vonnegut work Slaughterhouse Five like every other lit critic, he includes Cat's Cradle as the best of Vonnegut's novels. I agree. Slaughterhouse Five is okay, but I've never understood why it is considered his best work. Likely because it deals with World War II and has been adopted by the anti-war crowd. Equally likely because it is short. Cat's Cradle has always seemed a superior work, it is entertaining, ironic, and well written. It is thoughtful and absurdly philosophical. I read it all in a single day and it has since been my favorite Vonnegut book. It was nice to have some confirmation. So all of you should go out and read Cat's Cradle. For those at PHC, there is a copy in the library. Go.

Simmer down

2005-01-25T20:09:00.000-05:00

In a flash (a week), I post. Here is a poem to whet the appetite.

Glory Machine
The clock of heaven moves
In an orderly pace, exact
So turn the fixed stars
So orbit the visible planets
The pieces fit, cogs teeth in teeth
Who is a cog and who is a spindle
What parts run down
And must be replaced
The best clocks are off
By a second each year
Who is that second
It’s always that year
Where does the error go
When it is corrected
Who sweeps up the bits
That fall off the glory machine

Tim's Back

2005-01-19T23:32:00.000-05:00

Agh! That last post! So depressing and so long ago. I apologize for the long absence, I will try to have something wonderful and new up soon and regularly. I have been a bad blogger. Must not let posts get so aged. Soon my darlings, soon.

The Joy of Nothing

2004-12-03T19:04:00.000-05:00

You can count on nothing and all you have is what you make of it. This is the one fundamental truth, the one reliable axiom. How cheap it sounds I know, but it is true. As trite as it is: the only constant in this world is fact that you can't count on anything. In my experience the first reaction of a person upon hearing this is to say "Oh come now, that's not true. There's..." At that point the individual in question will stand dumbstruck trying in vain to find a single certainty. Nothing is guaranteed and nothing is perfect. Even the common patterns and expectations we think we see are violated far too commonly to be seriously considered. Let me be clear that I am talking about this life, here on this earth. This is important to note in the face of the number one objection, that is, God. Certainly God is real and ever-present. As Christians we can be confident that will have a perfect eternal life after death. But what until then? What can we believe in for sure until then? We can we count on for our daily lives? The answer for the Christian is the same for the atheist: nothing. Of course the Bible makes promises, but they of the vague and self-fulfilling type or they are promises about the constant suffering of life. Take for instance the promise that if you "ask it will be given unto you." The barest of human experience will teach us that in fact not everything asked is given to us. Considering this fact and never wanting to deny the truth of Scripture, we mush conclude that this promise means something else that we are unable to understand. Obviously, it does not represent any kind of divide aid that we can rely on. Of course, God can and does help people. But not all people, all the time. Not even all Christians if the martyrs are any example. That's the thing about absolutes, it only takes one instance to negate them. We can count on God having a plan for us, but we cannot count on it being in the best interest of our earthly lives. So until we reach heaven, we cannot count of being rich or poor, married or single, successful or unsuccessful, loved or hated, happy or sad, healthy or in pain. We cannot be sure that things will stay the same, we cannot count on them changing at any time. We cannot be sure of any length of life. I cannot count on living to finish this passage. Surely in all lives some good and some bad thing will happen. Some people lead charmed lives into which little harm falls. Some live lives of sadness and suffering. The books of Job and Ecclesiasties make it clear to us that our power, money, wisdom, righteousness, or relationship to God have nothing to do with our happiness or circumstances. So there you have it, you can count on nothing except that bad things will happen to you and though God can help you, He makes no promise that He will do anything before you die. There is the nothing, the joy coming next...

Define Legalism

2004-10-25T09:54:00.000-05:00

And then he didst commit the cardinal sin of intellectual discourse for he uttered "Don't think, just do it."
And just because you win every argument, doesn't mean you're right.

Veritas Vincit

2004-10-19T08:33:00.000-05:00

I first saw this article on the wall in our bathroom. When I read the pull-quote I had to stop and finish the whole thing.

You rock wheelchair guy!

2004-10-18T14:57:00.000-05:00

This is the most awesome picture ever. This weekend I when to the DC101 Chili Cookoff featuring Cake and Jimmy Eat World. Top prize has to go to the paraplegic in who crowd surfed in his wheelchair. Special blog tie-in: the grey clad arms belong to fellow blogger Stef (Newspaper Taxi).

Inhabitants of the concrete jungle

2004-10-15T17:33:00.000-05:00

urban tribe n. A group of city dwellers who have formed a bond through a common interest, such as work or a social or recreational activity.

The urban tribe is a concept banging around the halls of pop culture critics, best-seller psychoanalysts, and trendy philosophers since the late eighties. More people are familiar with the concept than would be familiar with the term which has only recently found full elucidation in a book of the same name by Ethan Watters. The idea is that of a group of friends usually of both sexes though single and in their twenties or thirties. They live in a different city than their families and have delayed marriage later than earlier generations. In that vacuum they develop a close knit ritualized group of friends that have the appearance of a family but are outside any traditional form. Basically, the cast of the TV show Friends. This is an interesting concept. I intend to read Mr. Watters' book and deal with the idea further.

Magnetic Fields

2004-10-10T20:38:00.000-05:00

It's really cliched to say so around my wing, but the Magnetic Fields are an awsome band. Stephin Meritt's lyrics are very skillful. His songs tend to be the perfect summation of an emotion everyone has felt pro ejemplo:

Or I could make a career of being blue
I could dress in black and read Camus
Smoke clove cigarettes and drink vermouth
Like I was seventeen, that would be a screem..

from: I don't want to get over you - The Magnetic Fields

A poem for you amusement

2004-10-10T14:55:00.000-05:00

This is a poem I wrote inspired by the events so wonderfully blogged by Micah Towery.

Walking down the street at night
Passing windows dark and light
It is late the walks are still
I feel so wrong I feel so ill
I run and run to anywhere
I have got to go just be there
There is music rushing hushing
And my face is flushing blushing
In the dark the air is sweet
In the dark the air is sweet

I hear the bass I hear the drums
I hear the guitar when it strums
The sound surrounds me I can’t see
Where by God can they be
Down tiny streets and alleys blind
The living rhythm fills my mind
I feel the beat it’s thumping pumping
I hear the sounds it’s jumping bumping
I run and I can’t feel my feet
I run and I can’t feel my feet

Dark spice scents across my nose
I fly by houses all in rows
A yard is bathed in electric glow
And people dancing fast and slow
I yearn towards it with all my soul
This living riot is my goal
There the drums are pounding sounding
There are the people hounding bounding
Here am I and I am beat
Here am I and I am beat

How am I not myself?

2004-10-09T15:13:00.000-05:00

Well the big day arrived, the highlight of the cinematic season, the premire of "I Y Huckabees" at last. The long awaited existential comedy who's trailer was an experience in itself. The grand verdict was kinda dissapointing but then the expectations may have been too high. I was a quirky, absurdly funny, offbeat film that made a weird kind of internal sense but left the view a little baffled. It was not the greatest movie ever nor the motion picture salvation for all thinking peoples. All in all the trailer was better than the film which sort of dragged towards the end as it's interesting characters begin to fail it. It did have nice music and some good quotes. Worth seeing, but not owning.

Inside the Beltway

2004-10-07T12:17:00.000-05:00

This is an article I wrote after attending the Christian Coalition "Road to Victory: 2004" conference in DC

Washington, DC-
“John Kerry for President.”
“I voted for Kerry before I voted against him.”
“BUSH ’04: 4 more wars!”
“Bush/Cheney ’04.”
“Re-defeat Bush.”
“Kerry is scary.”
Bumper stickers, hundreds of them. They marked the backs of a quarter or a third of the cars driving into DC Friday morning. The District’s political saturation has come to a boiling point with the impending election. With all the shapes, sizes, and tones, the stickers fell into two distinct categories: Bush or Kerry. The highway was shared by two camps, two opposing teams awaiting the final show down.
This morning a part of the city played host to the conference of the Christian Coalition which attracted several prominent figures of the far right. Each speaker brought a different perspective and championed a different issue. All in all they spread out the fabric of American conservatism going into the election.
The Road to Victory 2004 conference featured training seminars instructing attendees in methods of grassroots political activism, strategy sessions focusing on the most pressing current issues and pending legislation, a Friday night gala dinner at the Washington Renaissance Hotel, and a session all day Friday in the Dirksen Senate Office Building were several elected officials and political activists spoke.
“Instead of having elected officials come to us as we have in the past, we decided to come to them, to come to their house,” said Robert Combs, President of the Christian Coalition.
In 1979 Rev. Jerry Falwell formed the Moral Majority, a grassroots political action group that rose out of the conservative evangelical community. For decades before this, fundamentalist Christians shied away from politics. The reversal of momentum was powerful; the group is largely credited with both of Ronald Reagan’s victories and must have contributed to the election of George Bush in 1988. The group was dissolved in 1989 and its mission was carried on by the Christian Coalition, its largest offspring founded that same year. The Coalition’s stated goal is to promote a “pro-family agenda.”
“It’s worth the fight to save the foundations of the American family,” said House Speaker Dennis Hastert (R-IL) who spoke Friday. The primary legislative thrust of the pro-family agenda is currently the Federal Marriage Amendment (FMA), which would add to the Constitution the definition of marriage as a union between one man and one woman. The FMA went before the House on Thursday

“There is a very distinctive role for a man and a woman in the life of a child,” said Rep. Marilyn Musgrave (R-CO), sponsor of the FMA. The main reason for FMA is the attempts of several states and courts to legalize same-sex marriage, specifically Massachusetts, California, and Oregon. Gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgender groups have called the bill an attack on their basic human rights.
“We are attacking no one, we are defending the basics institution of marriage,” said Rep. Mike Pence (R-IN), who described the importance of tradition marriage to our national wellbeing. “It is the glue that holds this society together.”
Several speakers criticized the courts for forcing the need for a constitutional amendment and accused judges of trying to rewrite the law.
“There is only one branch of government supposed to be making law, the legislature,” said Rep. Musgrave.
“Aside from terrorism, one of the greatest threats to our country in activist judges,” said Rep. Todd Akin (R-MO), sponsor of the Pledge Protection Act of 2004 which excludes federal courts from ruling on the “under God” clause.
“Judicial activism destroys the people’s right to govern themselves,” said Sen. Orrin Hatch, Chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee. “Judges are changing the laws that the people and their representatives have chosen,” said Sen. Hatch who denounced the Democrat’s blocking of confirmation proceeding on current judicial nominee and their use of Roe vs. Wade as a litmus test.
“A candidate’s position on Roe vs. Wade is a candidate’s position on what kind of government we have,”” said Father Pavone, head the Catholic pro-life group of Priests for Life, who called abortion a horrible crime that undermines our system of government.
“It’s an illusion to think that a politician who cannot respect the life of a little baby can respect yours or mine,” said Father Pavone. “A holder of public office who turns his back to an entire segment of the population who is being destroyed does not deserve to hold public office.”
“We can elect a pro-family, pro-life president or we can elect a man who voted against the partial birth abortion ban,” said Speaker Hastert. The differences between George Bush and John Kerry were a common thread throughout the day. The election loomed large over each issue.
“This is a year of big stakes,” said Sen. Mitch McConnell (R-KY). “You know there is a war in Iraq, well there is a war going on here too.”
“We hear all the time ‘this is the most important election in American history.’ Well this one is,” said Sen. Hatch.
The speakers demonstrated overwhelming support for President Bush, who has maintained a close relationship with the religious right and has been widely described as a man of faith.
“I’ve met President Bush on many occasions,” said Armstrong Williams. “Bush is a decent man. It’s not because he’s Republican or Democrat. Let’s not kid ourselves. It is what you believe in.”
“I’m going to predict for you: we will be at the polls like never before. I have never been so optimistic about this country,” said Rev. Jerry Falwell, whose “get out the vote” efforts spawned the Christian Coalition and like organizations. “There is a spiritual awakening; I cannot tell you how explosive it is.”
Rev. Falwell did, however, warn that the support of the religious right was contingent upon the Republican Party continuing to uphold conservative values.
“We don’t tell people to vote Republican or Democrat; we tell them to vote Christian. Christian is simple, it’s a buzz word. It means pro-life, pro-family, pro-morals, and a strong national defense,” warned Rev. Falwell. “The Republican Party does not have the head count to elect a president without the religious right.”
But Rev. Falwell placed his support behind the campaign of President Bush and pledged the efforts of his grassroots activists.
“We’re going to win in a landslide in November, but let’s play the game like we’re a point down. Let’s not get cocky,” Rev. Falwell said.
“I am encouraged by the grassroots efforts of people across the country,” said Dr. Michael Ferris, veteran political activist and President of Patrick Henry College. Dr. Ferris spoke on the need for conservatives to focus on education.
“People who receive an elite education disproportionately become the leaders of the nation,” said Dr. Ferris, decrying the liberal hold on education. He described the need for conservative interest in education and called for the creation of a “Christian Ivy League,” which he believes his college is at the heart of.
At 4 o’clock the session adjourned and the attendees headed back to the Renaissance Hotel for the “Faith and Freedom Gala.”
“I don’t care what your background is, there are families everywhere who’d want their children to be able to start the school day out with a prayer,” said Sen. Lindsay Graham (R-SC), the keynote speaker. “What we have in common is the family. We’ve got some brothers and sister in the Islamic world who want the same thing for their families as you want for yours.”
Sen. Graham was followed by Sen. Sam Brownback (R-KS) who spoke on the role of faith in government and John Fund, an editorial writer for the Wall Street Journal, who spoke on the need to eliminate voter fraud and warned that “Election Day could turn into Election Month again.”
Mr. Fund concluded his remarks and a praise chorus took the stage. Some people left while others clapped and cheered as the ballroom became more like a prayer meeting than a political gala. To those who remained, Roberta Combs gave these concluding remarks:
“It’s a continuous fight and it’s a continuous sacrifice to move forward.”

Putting the "Vice" in Vice President

2004-10-05T21:37:00.000-05:00

Watchin' the debates
Best coverage on the net: Wonkette (if you can handle it)

And the beat goes on...

2004-10-03T22:55:00.000-05:00

The Desolate Field
By William Carlos Williams

Vast and grey, the sky
is a simulacrum
to all but him whose days
are vast and grey and --
In the tall, dried grasses
a goat stirs
with nozzle searching the ground.
My head is in the air
but who am I . . . ?
-- and my heart stops amazed
at the thought of love
vast and grey
yearning silently over me.

The kudos, the kudos

2004-10-03T13:52:00.000-05:00

The grand rollout has received numerous mentions on fellow blogs, check them out:

David Cooper
Brooks Lampe
Micah Towery

Don't be dramatic

2004-10-02T00:13:00.000-05:00

I just watched "Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind" and "Lost in Translation." The common thread? Both star great comic actors in offbeat serious roles. In my opinion, both Jim Carrey and Bill Murray do excellent jobs crossing genres. They are very believable in contrast with the previous films "Hamlet" (featuring Bill Murray) and "The Majestic" (starring Jim Carrey) where I found both a little disconcerting. Though it didn't detract from their great acting, both Eternal Sunshine and Lost in Translation included a few brief glimpses that reminded us who the actors really were by letting their old, familiar mannerisms shine through for a moment.

Behold! Content

2004-09-30T15:23:00.000-05:00

Yes indeed. Finally, for the first time since this blog's ill-advised 1:30 am birth, there is actually content. It comes in two parts:

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

1. A literary limerick

If Medieval books make you go frantic

And the Classical seems to pedantic

If you love the allure

Of the sky's deep azure

Then alas! You may be a Romantic

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

2. A humorous link

Ever found that a truly funny thing can be revisited years later for renewed hilarity? Such is this. The Acts of Gord are the travails of an independent video game store owner in British Columbia written with "Python-esque" religiosity.

Midterm de jour

2004-09-30T12:25:00.000-05:00

Alright Western World exam. Bring it on.

Arrival

2004-09-30T00:19:00.000-05:00

Bwhaa! I'm here and my opinions matter. More as soon as midterms are over.