Midnight Honesty at Noon

Midnight Honesty at Noon

Ennui Domini

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	[Nov. 23rd, 2004\|09:32 pm]
So...funny story. The road to Office Space that I was on last Monday has become long and winding. The busy work I was doing Monday and Tuesday turned into a full blown epidemic of busy work. Apparently the compny is thinking of IPOing and needs to get things together to showcase for possible underwriters. They love me. I put in 60 hours last week and 20 already this week. We're ready three weeks early for their intended go date. I am tired in a very satisfying way. My brain has been fully engaged, I problem solve all day and get to actually recieve a check for it. It's doubtful that this would turn into a full time position as 'problem solver paper-pusher' isn't exactly on the company's org chart, but I haven;t done anything for my part to make that decision easy for them. MAN I like being an adult. And if this ends Friday or next Friday (which seems likely), I think that my California Unemployment is going to be approved (at $410 a week) so we can eat, and I can pay bills :) P.S. OPGDMFFS are now my indexed binderized alphabetical by big clients smller client and business group file system. Which was requested by General Counsel two days after I had started it. its only two days from being ready to roll. I rule.
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Image018.jpeg	[Nov. 20th, 2004\|07:13 pm]

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Dear Lord.	[Nov. 15th, 2004\|07:58 pm]
I am mostly DEFINITELY not down with OPGDMFFS (that's: other people's goddamned motherfucking file systems.) So ladies and gentlemen welcome to the latter half of my first full day of work since July 28th. For just $7.75 less than I made at my last position dictated what I did all day, I get to (for the rest of the week) salt away paper from 6/17 to present into a filing system best described as Modern Expressionism. It's not all bad. I got up this morning at 7:00, suited up in business-casual-plus-one, trying to cram the stupid shirt places, because it was billowing in the back, dropped some coffee down my throat and set off for Work At the Other End of the WORLD. I left at 7:40 and got there at 8:15 or so for a 9:00 call. Which considering the rampanting moseying of Texas driver and the incessant rain was more than acceptable. I parked well away from the building, which is in an industial park industrial park, and THEN realized that I had brought no food with me. Nothing. I had no Harvest Bar for beakfast, no Harvest Bar for lunch...not good. I am not in a position financially right now to do things like...hop out in the world and grab some fast food. So I had the coffee in my mug and that was it. NOT pleased. The nice lady sitting at the front desk had no idea who the general counsel was (I supplied the name - not on the list...he sits maybe 100 feet away.) and the secondary contact I had was busy shuffling new hires about and organizing open enrollment meetings (I don't miss open enrollment meetings). SO I paced in the very small front vestibule and coffeechattered at the nice lady at the front desk (who used to live in San Jose) until I wa rescued by the executive assistant to damn-near-everyone-who-matters. She assists (ie runs the life of) the President/CEO, the Sr VP/COO, the CFO, the General Counsel and the goddamned Chief Science Officer. She's not getting paid enough. I know I don't know what she's making...it's not enough. She explains (because some one has to) what they need me to do, in very general terms, and then shows me where the bathroom/break room are...and explains that the open enrollment meetings are in the break room so...no break room really. I slog through the piles of paper which need to be seperated into 40(ish) randomly named binders. The paper isn't org'd by client, or by date...it's very loosely broken down into types of agreement, except not always, or maybe both, or three. This "system" has been maintained roughy quarterly by temps with no legal background after (at some point in the unmeasurable past) being set up by a paralegal. The individual agreements and proposals aren't indexed, they WEREN'T EVEN ALPHABETICAL (in most cases). Specifics aside, it was roughly like translating papyrus sans Rosetta stone....no one exists who could answer my questions. And no beak room existed in this dimension so I could filf up on coffee and forget that I had no food. They day was damned near endless. I got done roughly half. Though God only knows if it's RIGHT. Their criteria for differentiating between 'vendor' contract, 'customer' contract, and contract re: trial is in no way discerable from a binder excavation, so it was all my best guess. I've had worse assignments. It's just hard going back to an office and having it be so lonely.I'd forgotten who bizarre temp life is like that. They talk about you as though you weren't there (and as 'he', because they can't remember your name), and you can't correct people when they say really stupid things. Tomorrow? Food. More Coffee. At LEAST 10 minutes with the general counsel so I can figure out what the hell to do with the (CURRENT!) promissary notes from company loans to officers(!). What a weird weird world. EDITED TO ADD: AAAAnnnnnnnddddd...I don't have access to a computer orr internet for ALL day. It's like a prison...but they pay you - and laugh at your antics.
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	[Nov. 8th, 2004\|10:58 pm]

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	[Nov. 3rd, 2004\|04:56 pm]
Part of the problem, in looking around at the liberal whining today, is the shrillness of our small platform rhetoric. Politics aren't won or lost on the biggest stage, politicans are too well handled to make the HUGE gaffes, they are lost in the interpersonal relatioships between people on opposite sides of the fence. Our rhetoric can't boil down to 'Bush is evil' for two reasons; Number one: it's not true on the most literal level, and number two: it's easily refutable. No he's not. There, I did it. "The war in Iraq is wrong"? No, it's not. See, I can do this all day. "We approached the war in Iraq as though it were a John Wayne film in that we thought it would be quick and easy, and the damsel in distress would be glad to see us." Same thought, but it requires a full sentence and at least a moment of thought to refute. The more robustly (and factually accurate) your position is, the more difficult it is to dismiss you out of hand as a crackpot. Look, I am fundamentally lazy. I don't take the time to organize my thoughts and present them as well as I can. The thing is? Most of us don't. The quality of writing in the medium doesn't equal the quality of the writers. I am as guilty of this as anyone. There are maybe 10 newspaper quality posts in my 3 plus years here. That's just rdiculous. Newpapers are written at a 4th-8th grade level. I can do that. You can do that. But fact checking is tedious, hell I got tired of it just writing articles for my fantasy baseball league. The thing I learned in fact checking for those articles though is: you find out how often you're wrong. And that's the real problem. It's easy to be a shrill idealist spouting rally rhetoric, it's hard to be a diligent editorialist. Shrillness is never attractive. I honestly believe that there was considerable backlash to the constant shouts of Michael Moore and his bleating end of the world doomsayers. I honestly believe that 'Farenheit 9/11' hurt this election. Because the method of the telling was so easily dismissed, the message went with it. You want respect? You want a sympathetic ear? Stop calling the Other Side vile names. Have you ever met a person who responded to a screamed 'BIGOT!' with, "Why yes, you're right, I should mend my ways"? It's hard to look up facts and figures and find out that you (and the propaganda you've been hearing/parroting) is simply not supportable. But that's adulthood. That's how it is. In response to weetanya's question: Knowing me? Nothing. Baldfaced truth aside, take greater pride and care in my writing and in my speech. I am discouraged as to the difference I can make in THE Red State. My thinking now is working with the Texas Democratic Party to make sure that this side of the fence has a voice locally. Until I get gerrymandered out of existence.
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	[Nov. 3rd, 2004\|01:04 pm]
Alright, everyone back the fuck off the ledge. It's not a time for hand wringing and whining. Make no mistake, I am devastated. I feel like throwing up. But there is nothing devious about this election. There was no stealing this time. The Republican party did what it does best, it set the tone of the election, drew up the terms of engagement and then trounced the Left with it. Period. This isn't a time for yelling at the Conservatives for being stupid, or backward (though I'll allow a slap or two for the bigots who overwhelmingly supported a gay marriage ban). This is a time to look at why. Why the hell the best we could do (and this WAS the best we could do) wasn't nearly enough. Before we get there: On the Left: The economy isn't going to tank. The economy wasn't Bush's fault to begin with. If you knew the internet bubble was going to bust this hard you are already rich and you're not on Livejounal. It will improve because that's what the American economy does. The ~~War~~ ~~Occupation~~ liberation of Iraq isn't going to go worse. It may not get BETTER, but I think that without having to be conservative because of the election we may see some more definitive action in no go areas. On the Right: This is NOT a new post 9/11 world. This is your awakening to the fact that no country is inviolable. Welcome to the world. There is no need for fear. There is need for caution. If you can't tell the difference you need a time out. You can complain about liberal whining and smug intellectualism, but you're not off the hook for your smug moral superiority. There isn't a fine line between having a defined set of morals and feeling that you need to legislate that set of morals. America was founded by people looking to NOT be told what to believe and how. This election was lost because of 'values'. Period. All of the overblown talk of the war, Social Security, health care, Fatherland security...it comes down to values. Values which of course will be blown into binary sides of the red-blue divide. Which, sadly, you can do. America has spoken. It wants fairly fundamentalist reinforcement of traditional values, and they don't want other values to be legal. The Democrats lost this race not because John Kerry was a bad condidate, or a bad man. In fact I think that given the biographies of the two men 'good' probably belongs Senator Kerry more than to President Bush, at least in the moral absolutist sense. But John Kerry, and Democrats in general, aren't interested in trying to tell you what your values should be. They simply try to protect everyone, and everything. This means of course that there IS no strong platform, that would be exclusionary. So there is no (viable) liberal party in America, there is a conservative party and a Not Republican party. It's the difference between simply saying "it's a woman's choice", and standing firm and saying 'a woman is a person and has equal moral authority so stop trying to tell them what to do". The tradition is simply weak. If Democrats don't find something to stand for, they won't win again. Period. If a President this scattershot can't get fired, it would take a full blown scandal to get him out. What's in our future? 4 More Years. Then McCain barring something horribly unforseen. Hillary and Obama have no chance. America could vote for a woman, but not for Hillary, don't underestimate the hatred of Hilary on the right. America will not vote for a liberal African Amercian. Period. The first African American president will have to be a strong moral conservative. We could be looking at 12 more years. There are no Democratic leaders to step once again into the breach. Hell, name a Democratic leader. So answer me this: What's stopping you from being that Democratic leader?
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Stuck Inside of Austin, with the 'Lection Blues Again	[Nov. 2nd, 2004\|02:23 am]
Nothing more than the end of a really boring sporting event. It's what tomorrow is for a whole bunch of folks. It is completely dissociated from George Washington and Abraham Lincoln and FDR. It doesn't occur to a lot of folks how bleached (very specifically chosen word) history gets after 200 years. They don't know or have forgotten how much flak President Washington took in a non-blogging world for his religion (a vaguely church attending deist). Folks don't want to deal with this; it's a civics lesson that won't leave them alone. People all over their LJs are yelling at them and at others from one ivory tower or the other daily. There are button and placards and t-shirts and commercials and stand up dolls and Halloween masks. The candidates and their proxies are on EVERY station. They were on Sportscenter all day (Both support public financing of stadia with stipulated public accountability, neither likes the migration of sports to pay-per-view, neither would come right out and say the Americans are fat fuckers, Bush is now a healthy eater) for chrissakes. But what it all comes down to for those who aren't plugged in (and even some who are) is a simple Us v. Them. As always. Last night at a very nice production of Jesus Christ Superstar we were sitting in front of a drawling college aged Republican (the team he votes for, not his actual political beliefs I'd wager), saying that he'd be glad once Bush won and this was all over so 'those idiots would take all the Kerry bumper stickers off their cars and he could laugh at them". Because we're bandwagon fans who picked the new guy to be hip. Obviously. Thankfully coryphella needed restraint from castrating the drawler else I would have had time to focused on how pissed I was at his ignorance. I was boiling. The idea that we were simply people who were rooting for the other side and would melt away after the ~~World Series~~ election is so juvenile I wanted to spit. But it's how so many people see it. That the Anybody-But-Bush crowd are a bunch of whiny liberal pussies who are taking time off from smoking pot and having pansexual orgies to back a liberal Senator. Which, too be fair, some are. But to paint the whole lot of us as the Liberal cartoon is as farcical are me painting the Right as bunch of black frock coat wearing, bonnet crocheting Puritans. It's not that easy. Which is why George W. Bush needs to be fired. It took a while to get here didn't it? George W. Bush took office in a clusterfuck. Whether you see Bush v. Gore as the political facade of a coup or as Justice for America you have to admit that the Florida recounts, and then not recounts, and then recounts and then not recounts was a clusterfuck. The President lost the popular vote, and had to be given the Electoral College by the Supreme Court. If ever in history there was a man who should have been clear about the divide in the country it was this man. But every step of the way he has been steadfast and resolute in ignoring the fact that more than half this country didn't want him as President. He was steadfast and resolute in ignoring the fact that there was opposition to the things he was doing. He was so steadfast that in his bizarre lead up to founding the Bush Doctrine he ignored that fact that millions of people in his major metropolitan areas were in the streets begging to be heard, never mind the tens of millions in major cities around the world. tafkak beat me to it by a little bit, but not all of you are smart enough to read him, so I'll go ahead; The President of this country is the President of the whole country. Not just the yes-folk who dote on him, not just the folks who like the fact that the President is 'just folks'. He is my President. A Twice-Coastal Liberal living in Texas. Who hates abortion but wants it legal. Who has read Erasmus' Education of a Christian Prince and thinks that it's a good idea. Who is more than willing to listen to both sides of an argument because he understands that sometimes he is wrong. And every step of the way he has ignored me, ignored my desires. Mr. President you are a War President, and you very well may be a lame duck War President by the end of the week (I'm totally an optimist). You squandered the goodwill of the world, and then of half your own country. Because you ignored them. I admire steadfastness. I admire tenacity in the face of an implacable enemy. Mr. President, I am not the enemy. I am your employer. You are not a King you are a civil servant. You are beholden to do right by me as much as the Drawler in T136 behind me. You didn't even bother to try. You broke the Covenant of the middle. The Left of the Middle or Right of the Middle is your choice. You have polarized my country to the point where if your brother's state is a clusterfuck again and you don't win a clear mandate from the people I have to be concerned that my country will be caught up in riots. Not paranoia Mr. President, an honest fear. Mr. President, I want my country to be respected in the world, not feared. You would have known that if you'd asked. ( Flavor Quotes )
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	[Oct. 28th, 2004\|02:56 pm]
Please. PLEASE tell me you've seen the Curt, Ortiz, Pedro Disney World commercial?
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	[Oct. 28th, 2004\|02:12 am]
Thank you sir, may I have another?
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So...	[Oct. 22nd, 2004\|02:39 pm]
As those of you who are on the grid may have been bludgeoned with, my baseball team has moved on to the World Series. And I apologize. I would like to poiint out that despite their East Coast base the Red Sox Nation does NOT control the national media. I would stop the deluge if I could. I can't, but please don't hold that against the team. If you hated the team irratioanlly before this due to a preponderence of 18-20 fangurls/bois on LJ, well, you keep on with your lil hatefest and pray your team never manages to become popular. If you're a Yankees fan, be an adult. Realize that your team has 26 rings and 39 pennants, and that's GOOD. You are however not entitled to the World Series. It is not, as I saw in a recent yankeesfans post, 'your month, your time, your Series'. It's that kind of whiny arrogance that helps you stay the most hated team in baseball. Well, that and all the damn winning. Today I read in the same community how dumb it is that teams like the Bulls and Lakers and the Cowboys (and the Yanks) shouldn't be hated 'just because they're winning'. Why not? The best reason to hate a team is because the beat you consistantly. It's a much better reason to hate a team than for say, having long hair and facial hair, no? Regarding this hair thing - I don't get the derision that has been tossed at this Red Sox team for their sartorial speldor all year. As Americans we have collective worshiped at the shrine of rebellion since our inception. It's why most of our ancestors left home in the first place. It's why we massacre the Queen's English every day in a fond display of continuing revolution. So why when a group of professional athletes decides to do what they want with their appearence do we take a shit on them and call them unprofessional? Athletes of all classes of people? I mean David Beckham (he's a soccer player for the Americans reading) gets a faux-hawk and is the fashion toast of the town, Kevin Millar grows out his facial hair or bleaches his head surfer blonde and he's a disgrace? The Yankees are the class (heh) of the clean cut equals professional caste. So perhaps the clean cut look equating success comes from there, but thats simply a facist decree from The Man. Jason (Samson) Giambi shed his locks and his personality, his health and his place on the postseason roster. Do you prefer Arm and Hammer sponsored Big G, or the Jason that appeared on the 2001 ESPN baseball preview? Back in the day before The Big Stein ruled with Absolute Authority over the Pinstriped Pavilion these Yankees were characters. Thurm? Oscar Gamble? Mickey Rivers? REGGIE! ? Lou Piniella? Sparky? Goose? Nettles? Are they not worthy of being Yankees now? How but Broadway Joe New Yorkers? Are you disawoving him now? Is he less forthcoming than Curt Schilling wanting to shut up 55,000 New Yorkers? Would you shoot him down for wearing furs? I just don't get this whole vein of thinking. I wouldn't wear my hair like Kentucky Fried Kevin, or Bronson Cornrow-Yo, but why should they conform with Yankee style? Why should they not have fun playing a little boys game? They are the new Masters of Chaos, the new Gas House Gang. Sure, they're dirtballs, but shouldn't someone be? Shouldn't some team go against the flow? Those of you who've read this since the Good Times when I still posted may know that my least favorite aspect of Livejournal is the feeling that because you have a platform you can simply spout crap off it. Mostly due to a pathlogical hatred of stupidity. Combine that with baseball fans common feeling that if you've seen more than 20 games you're a huge baseball fan and you have more uninformed stupidty rolling about this space than high school political debate. It's hard. Folks, if you know nothing about the Curse of the Bambino? Shut up about it. If you really honestly think that there's a Curse, that George killed a goat on a granite altar in Sudbury and invoked the spirits aginst the Sox, then you need to stay in your house and not talk to people. If you think the Curse existed before 1990 you need to lay off the Sam Adams. That's when it started. 1990. The Curse JUST made it to high school. My fandom predates it. It was just another Red Sox book in a glutted market. There are as many Red Sox books out there as self-help books, this is not an accident. The Curse sprang out of a need to explain in a post-Bucky post-Buckner world how the hell a REALLY good team could find such excruciating ways to lose. And it worked in its own little way. I mean the inexplicable happens to the Red Sox the way Ben Affleck picks bad scripts, often and painfully. The problem is the kids don't know. They came to the team recently and the Curse has always existed in their experience, so to their thinking it's always existed, and the 'stupid Sox fans' have believed it since 1920. Which is crap. Yankee fans? Stop trying to figure out the Curse and start leaning on George to sign a Yankee-style player and not the most expensive player on the market. Trying to salvage a moral victory out of this collapse by saying we haven't taken care of the Curse, while claiming out of the other side of your mouth that you don't care about this rivalry and it's all in Boston's head is also crap. You got beaten, again. This is the fourth year in a row. By a variety of teams and styles, in a variety of series. Get your house in order and stop whining. PS: We do NOT have Zero World Series victories. We have 5. So stop saying we have zero, it makes you sound like an idiot. I want to stop hearing about how the Red Sox are screwed because now they have to face the Cardinals Murderer's Row. We JUST put down a team that has a lineup as good as this one. It went down due to good pitching and a WHOLE lot of it. We dodge the hotest pitcher in the postseason (Buzzsaw Brad Lidge) and we get a WEAKER starting staff than the Yankees. This Card's team has better defense and a better bullpen than the Yankees, but it's just as even as the last Series was.
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	[Oct. 18th, 2004\|10:06 pm]
[21:29] rzickjr: Is it gay of me to be in love with Wakefield? [21:32] travisbedard: no. it's a man-crush....very straight [21:35] rzickjr: cool [21:35] travisbedard: Can I hit? Just a chip shot up against the wall and then you pinch run Pokey for me? [21:36] rzickjr: sounds good... your in [21:36] travisbedard: phat [21:40] rzickjr: after teks ab...shouldn't he have put dougie in? [21:40] travisbedard: yes [21:42] rzickjr: I could man crush him to death... (totally straight) [21:42] travisbedard: totally straight [21:43] travisbedard: He's the only one left from the 95 Renaissance [21:47] travisbedard: They're killing time until midight [21:47] travisbedard: I'm serious [21:49] travisbedard: how are either Tek r Rat-face still standing? [21:53] rzickjr: send damon? I would... manny would bat first if caught [21:53] travisbedard: no bad thinking [22:00] rzickjr: tivo died on the hit... it was hit at exacty 11;00 [22:01] travisbedard: I told you
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	[Oct. 17th, 2004\|08:40 pm]
I don't like eulogizing things in general, much less eulogizing a team that isn't (officially) dead yet. This is the last Red Sox game of my second Red Sox Generation. I jumped on this stupid ship in '85, watching sporadic games, figuring out the whole deal. 1986 was my first full year as a baseball fan ending of course in tears. I held in there through the '88 and '90 flamouts and Dr. Pappas blowig out my favorite player's knee, I held on through high school. I drifted away through college as they had the temerity to cancel the World Series and have the Sox suck at the same time (seriously - does anyone miss the Scott Cooper years?) I started coming back with the Seton Hall corp making things interesting (Mo and Val), I remember being pissed that our All Star shortstop was being moved to third for the stupid kid with the big nose (even though he'd looked pretty goof for Georgia Tech a few years back). But the full unreserved love wasn't back until 98-99. Pedro, Nomar - the Fire was back. It was FUN to be a Sox fan again. And this is the ultimate culmination of that generation. Nomar is already exiled. Pedro will whine for too much money this year and get offended and leave, Derek Lowe is currently pitching in his last game for the Sox. Varitek COULD go though I don't think he will. Which leave Trot as the only hold over. Trot and Wake. It just seems unfair that this team, so likeable, so GOOD, couldn't get over that hump and get me to my second Red Sox World Series. As I said to RobyontheWeb last night - in my next life I'm coming back as a Cardinals fan.
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	[Oct. 10th, 2004\|01:34 am]
More good news in Harry Potter Land
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	[Oct. 8th, 2004\|11:30 am]
I have another interview today, for a paralegal assistant position. They called me out of the blue, so that's nice. Starting to get nervous for it. Their web page has limited history, and no details of their cases (workers comp defense) just a representative list of clients. So I can't really study up and look intelligent at the interview. I get the feeling that this is the first round not the decision round. I'm nervous about it but not excited, which is weird, as I could REALLY use the job :) I now have a PS2 network adaptor and played Tiger Woods v. The Red Headed Bastard last night (tied after he blew the match clinching putt). A LOT of fun, very little lag even over dial up.
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Serperated at Birth?	[Oct. 7th, 2004\|11:50 am]

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	[Oct. 1st, 2004\|02:27 am]
In politics always figure out how the other guy saw it and then readjust your mirrors before leaving for the night. Most interesting to me is the stategery that is evident. What can you pick on the President for in this whole thing? Lack of substance. Looked dumb. Less elquent then the rank and file of my Public Speaking class. Kerry NEEDED to have specifics because he hasn't publically delivered them to us. But now? Now there will be stylistic grilling of El Jeffe and a poinbt by point refutation of every thing Kerry said. Spin or no the next few days will bring fresh attacks of the substantive part of Kerry while still hammering the lack of a plan and the waffling. Facsinating. Something that is very difficult to remember is that these debates aren't FOR me. They're not really FOR anyone who has the time inclination and ability to break the damn thing down afterwards. They're for people who don't have the time or desire to follow this sport but have to decide on the champion in a month. See this whole shebang wasn't going to change my mind. Unless maybe aliens clawed out of Kerry's belly and started eating Jim Lehrer. Which would make me undecided. Both sides are going to see what they want to see and hear what they want to hear. If you roam around the blogverse a bit you'll see a bunch of references to John Francois' gaffe's - which are apprently anything they disagree with. I've seen two references to things I would call a gaffe. One - the 'global test' thing I mentioned earlier, which makes us sound a little weak even for my tastes; The other was a reference to Treblinka Square which is apparently just wrong. A lot of the Uber-Republican's I read - those who aren't in it for ideology so much as the Cowboyism that W. so readily projects - aer going to lap up the individualist platitudes that the President delivered. But I need to clear something up. No one. Not one single person in this country. EVER said that Saddam Hussein wasn't a bad bad man. No one thinks that the worlds was a happier shinier place with The Butcher of Bahgdad ruling the roost. What the dissenters have said all along is that America wasn't sold the fact that Hussein was evil and needed to be Dealt With. America was sold the fact that Hussein was complicit in 9/11. Period. That's where Bush's Mandate came from. He created it out of whole cloth. Why has this point been eliminated from the debate? Why has this been forgotten from the collective memory? Why? Because the Bush team has dictated the debate, and any response from the team to questions about the validity of their war goes like this: "This War is a distraction from the Real War on a Concept!" "Saddam Hussein is Evil." "Well SURE, but that's not the point!" "So you want to leave an evil man in power?" "No...of course not" "So you're for the removal of Saddam Hussein but not the war?" "..." "Flip Flopper" Couth prevents the liberals (moderates) from just laying it out. We were told that Saddam and OBL were partners. That's it. The Weapons of Mass Destruction was the second excuse. Saddam being bad the third (by my count). And the administration is getting away with it. Not to bring in a sports metaphor, but that my friends is a moving pick. Which is a foul.
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	[Oct. 1st, 2004\|12:28 am]
I scored the debate a win for Kerry. Not a huge win, but a win. He managed to not meander. He didn't, as President Bush did, stutter and stammer and slouch and give us (at one point) 3 seconds of stunned silence. Kerry managed to stay away from gaffes for the most part, though the 'global test' line was a bit wonky. But one thing really bugs me, and it's bugged me stright through but I keep FORGETTING how much it bugs me. Dear President Bush, I appreciate that you are steadfast and resolute. Even though I'm very tired of hearing you talk about exactly how steadfast and resolute you are. America does not have a "solemn duty to defeat this ideology of hate." The World, hell the UNIVERSE, has a duty to eliminate the ideology of hate. You are not the Last Starfighter. You are not the last line of defense. Period. Get over the cogniive dissonance. Mr. President, impudent as it might be, I'd like to ask you a question. Why do they hate us? Do you know? Is there a possible systemic holistic solution to the problem? Not to invoke your father, but is there something we can do to hasten a less feudal New World Order? Your continuing assertion that You and ONLY you are correct (whether the concepts originated with you or Rove or Cheney or the Templars) is frankly childish. Adults accept that this world is not binary. They accept that decision trees have more than two branches. Adults also don't smirk and lear and make fun of people for their differences. "John Kerry looks French" isn't acceptable. I accept that you aren't evil, though I do feel that you have a biazarre messiah/martyr complex that really should be addressed. Show the grown up we had for the few days following 9/11. There's a reason your approval ratings were at all time highs. You weren't telling us how strong you were, you simply WERE. Now cut the crap. sincerely, frawst
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Image041.jpeg	[Sep. 30th, 2004\|06:37 pm]

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	[Sep. 29th, 2004\|12:29 pm]
http://www.livejournal.com/users/randomways/4476.html Min: http://www.livejournal.com/users/randomways/4056.html#cutid1
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	[Sep. 26th, 2004\|09:26 pm]
So it's recorded. If Frankie Rodriguez blows this game and gets the win and Percival gets the save, I retire from Fantasy baseball. Edited to Add: No win, No save, no retirement.
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Hang over	[Sep. 25th, 2004\|01:07 pm]
Woke up cranky as hell. No real reason. Last night was tough. Didn't get the job, followed by a listless Red Sox loss to the Yankees followed by watched my CPL Harmful Free Radicals continue to underperform. The Aussie Football League Grand Final WAS great (well until Brisbane forgot to come out for the second half) as I ended the night on balance pretty ok at about 4. But now I'm just bitchy. And I hate that. It's hard for someone to be a sypathetic, helpful partner to you when your snapping at everything that happens for no cause. Which sucks. Yesterday was our fifth designated anniversary and the fifth anniversary of my arrival in the Bay Area, and all I can manage is crankyness. We're going to do groceries and go to Home Depot to get stuff to perfect the new used drafting table she acquired on Thursday, and then we're going to go see the new Julianne Moore thriller Forgotten. It's just not as BIG as I like to do anniversaries. I would like to truly CELEBRATE 5 years. It's been a bizarre ride, but we've ended up traveled some interesting ground in that time, and at the end of the day I'm a better man for having her in my life....and can you really ask for more in a relationship than someone who makes you better?
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	[Sep. 24th, 2004\|05:31 pm]
There was no second round of interviews. They gave the job to someone else. But my 'qualities are good'. Apparently not my qualifications or demeanor. Bah. Not too broken up right now. I wouldn't lay a confident bet on my mood at two in the morning though.
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Image014.jpeg	[Sep. 23rd, 2004\|02:01 pm]

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Interview	[Sep. 22nd, 2004\|03:27 pm]
Well that was painless. A little TOO painless, but we make do. NOTE: Whoever was responsible for reminding me that Austin traffic is NOT equal to SF traffic is fired. I was 45 minutes early. I had a smoke in the parking lot and reviewed what I wanted to know about them (I already knew quite a bit from their site) then I went up a half hour early. I regard half hour early reasonable (though not preferable). Today was an pre-interview from my standpoint. They had softball questions and real introductory stuff. There'll be a call on Friday as to whether or not I get a call back. I think I will but I don't think it went well enough to say it's a slam dunk.
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	[Sep. 21st, 2004\|04:23 pm]
I have an interview tomorrow. Good thoughts and prayers etc., I've never done one of these before :)
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	[Sep. 16th, 2004\|03:24 am]
Why do people feed their pet peeves?
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	[Sep. 10th, 2004\|02:18 pm]
I'm sure given the political stance of Bookpeople here in Austin that this was unintentional. But funny. Oh so funny.
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I liked it better when all we had were undisclosed location jokes	[Sep. 8th, 2004\|06:30 am]
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/5936960/ I'm not even sure why this bothers me as much as it does. For those of you who remain click averse; The link above regards the Vice President of the United States coming right out and saying that his bosses opponent in the coming election will allow a terrorist attack if we vote for him. I've been saying for 2 1/2 years that our Leaders have been trying to drive us into fear. That they have done everything they can to convince us that we live in the Bleakest Era of American history. Except of course for the Police Action on an Undefinable Unbeatable Foe which we won in 2 months, and is going spectacularly if only we UnAmerican folk would pipe down with all the questions. Why should it surprise me that Cheney would come out and threaten American with 9/11:2 This Time It's Your Fault? They've been playing this card since, oh...before Howard Dean took cheerleading classes. This is the next step. Maybe I'd laugh if he'd simply found a clever new way to call Kerry a coward, but he didn't , he told America that if they make the wrong choice we would be attacked again. Now I only got a B in logic at UNH so forgive me if I'm missing something; Cheney is one of two viable choices on the ballot in November. In saying that there was a 'right' choice (that wouldn't end up in terror) and a 'Wrong' choice that would be straight out of the Revelations to John on Patmos it seems clear to me that he was strongly suggesting that the KerryEdwards choice was wrong. He wouldn't after all be suggesting on the stump that he and the sitting President are the wrong choice would he? So why the disingenuous spin from the spokescorp about Cheney simply pointing out that things are tough? That's not even in the BALLPARK. The fact remains that America in her existence has faced one terrorist attack by foreign nationals on her soil. While it would be foolish to assume that because we've only had the one that we'll never have another, it's equally foolish to assume that another small cell of men will cause havoc on that level in the next minute or two. And it's more than brazen to suggest that a random intial next to your name determines whether or not you have the balls to do something about it. Mr. Cheney? You seem like a nice man. All right...you don't. But your family sticks by you no matter how far down the river your solence sells them...so I'll give you the benefit of my doubt. If you'd like to discuss the pros and cons of preemptive vs. reactive foreign policy we have the means to do that. If you'd like to offer some proof that your teams methods have done more to hurt terrorist groups than to fuel them, we have the means to do that. If all your going to do is stand up on your bully pulpit and tell America that if they vote for the Other Guys they and their loved ones are going to die? You can go fuck yourself.
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	[Sep. 5th, 2004\|04:55 am]
HAH! We have a coffee table and you.... probably have one too. I'm taking small victories right now. Watched Underworld with Kate Beckinsale. SO many good ideas. SO much style. Failed in the end. Note to screen writers: Never. Ever. Make your actors utter the phrase 'time to die'. See Jeremy Irons did this D&D; movie and it was in all the trailers and... it wasn't good. Actors: If you're creating a character of dubious intentions described as weak and decadent, and NAMED Craven don't yell like a goddamned junior high water boy. Look up decadent. Please. Spoiled is one thing, whiny is a WHOLE other thing. Seriously. If you're having problems drop me a line at Frawst@livejournal.com $200 an hour...I can get you fixed in 15 minutes so I'll prorate. Sox lost. Which is good. I feel that a team on a long winning streak starts to press. Now they aren't working on something 'special' they're just kicking ass. On of the things I do to kill time until I fall asleep is watch ESPN Classic. Mainly because they keep having the 80's Celtics on. Right now it's the 94 Pacers/Knicks Eastern Final. What's funny to me?? The Knicks and Pacers run plays to see what will go. The Old School C's just did whatever they damn well pleased. Heh. What do YOU think has caused the overwhelming amount of negativity in the world? I'm of course referring mainly to the flippant cynicism on-line primarily (which I attribute to anonimity) but it's prevalent in real life as well. Why? Why is it easier for folks to be negative and caustic than (at a minimum) just shutting up? Or, heavens forfend, doing something positive? I'm hear, I'm scattered is all.
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	[Sep. 4th, 2004\|02:23 am]
Good morning. How are you? Yes good. Sleeping is a current goal. I'm all over the map. I've managed to go to bed at a normal hour twice in the last three weeks. Twice I've not slept at all. I fall aslepp at 5-5:30 and wake at anywhere from 11-3:30. This doesn't in any way aid the motivation and focus needed to flag down a job in a down market. Combined with my natural disinclination to, you know, DO stuff. And it's been a terribly unproductive week. It'll shake. I just am very hard on myself when I fail for no good reason. VERY hard. I'm not depressed so, you know, I have that going for me. My girlfriend's current biggest worry is that she knowsw more than the other kids. She makes teh bombass tomato curry. My cat got excited when I got out of bed for to stop being in bed. (the Fox sports radio guy bugs) My Red Sox are pissing me off. Hope is death to New Englanders. Sort of the equivilent to driving logic (or humility) for Texans. Having the Sox play Texas is gret, I GET WATCH.We all know I like to watch. Rocky IV is on. There HAS to be something better
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	[Sep. 1st, 2004\|03:10 pm]
Boiling Point is on MTV right now. We have absolutely no dignity as a human race. At some point (coryphella says November) in 2006 the minority of people will be those who haven't stripped for the internet or been on a reality show.. N ote to Texas drivers: you seem very nice. I appreciate your desire to assert your individuality even on the road, however if you review your drivers' manual you will note that stopping behind someone else DOES NOT qualify as YOUR obligation to stop at the stop sign. You see, when you roll through a stop sign you disrupt the flow of the intersection. No matter how much you honk your horn you will not improve the flow. Do your duty for God and Country: Make your obligatory stop at the stop sign: It's not just the law - it's good karma.
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	[Sep. 1st, 2004\|11:15 am]
August 31, 2004 - ROUND ROCK, Texas – After being eliminated from the playoffs Monday, realistically, the Wichita Wranglers had little to play for Tuesday. Unfortunately for the Round Rock Express, the Wranglers apparently didn’t get that memo. Wichita scored three times in the top of the ninth to shock the Express, 4-3. With a 3-1 lead going into the inning, all things looked good for Round Rock (82-53, 37-28 in the second half). That meant little to Wichita (71-63, 34-31) who immediately went to work against Express reliever Mike Burns (10-3). Cory Aldridge began the inning with a single and was followed by another single by Justin Gemoll. Chad Santos closed the deficit to 3-2 with a double and put the go-ahead run at second base. After getting a sharp grounder form Brett Groves, Wilikin Ruan reached out a poked a Burns pitch through the drawn-in infield to score both runs. Colt Griffin closed out Round Rock in the ninth, but not before Kevin Orie gave the Dell Diamond crowd one final thrill with a deep drive to left that twisted foul. Round Rock built the lead on the bats of Luke Scott and David Matranga and the arm of Fernando Nieve. Nieve, making only his second Double-A start, was sterling in his seven innings. He allowed a single run on four hits and struck out eight. Scott’s 14th home run of the year in the sixth gave Round Rock a 2-1 lead and was extended to 3-1 by Matranga’s seventh inning RBI single. Round Rock will close out its regular season at home Wednesday against Wichita with the final non-playoff Texas League game ever. The game will be followed by a massive fireworks display that will be twice the size of a normal Friday Fireworks display. And a good time was had by most. I attended the game with RobyOnTheWeb who had stolen passes from a little old lady in Pfluegerville. The drive was pure Texas. In all reality it was two interchanges....Loop 1 to 35 and then off 35 to 79 to the Dell Diamond. But in Texas every road has multiple names and the freeways end when they feel tired. So there's no "take two exits and park". No sir. MoPac to 1 to 1325 (which isn't a freeway it's a FM with lights) and then leaping about trying to get around the construction to get on 35. It was nerve wracking, but you know I had the Black Eyed Peas keeping e company...so it was all good. The park is quite nice actually. Wide open, seats close to the field not TOO many ads. The 'Home Run Porch has wonderful rocking chairs out in right field fir a $5 ticket upgrade. I had a Texadelphia Chicken Cheese Steak (with tortilla chips) and a Nolan Ryan Super Sipper of Coke (Cheesesteak B-, needed perppers and more onions.) later hada footlong hotdog with another Coke. Our seats were quite good, about 7 feet east of first base. If they weren't Double A kids we'd probably be dead. Parking was $3 and even with the food overload I spent only $20. God Bless minor league ball. And the article above seems to downplay Wilkin Ruan's contribution to the win. That last hit that he 'poked' was deliberate bat control. We hate you Wilkin Ruan.
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	[Aug. 30th, 2004\|03:13 pm]
http://www.livejournal.com/users/bosox_globe/262923.html?mode=reply&style;=mine Or you know. Tris Speaker.
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Sports again - Sorry Bre	[Aug. 30th, 2004\|01:32 am]
I am so tired of know-it-all web sports fans. I ask a lot of questions. I want the information in your head. When it comes to most sports you can teach me a little something. When it comes to baseball odds are I can teach you something. When we pool our collective knowledge we can then figure out new things together. That's how it works. If you assume that you know everything there is to know we can't get ANYwhere because you're going to be wrong too often for us to move. We have to go back and correct your misconceptions before we can continue the dialog. If you'll accept that you misconceptions aren't Truth and can be corrected, which isn't often on the internet. Things I'm tired of? 1. "I never wanted ARod - I hate that guy" Yes. You. Did. If you didn't you're a moron. And unless you're a Mariners fan you didn't hate him until he put on the Pinstripes AFTER we botched the deal. 2. "I support the Nomar deal %100" No. You. Don't. We got nothing of subtance in return for him unless Cabrera re-ups. We got spare parts in return for our franchises greatest shortstop ever. I root for the front of the jersey, but I know what the man inside is too, and we got two men who fill a role, not redifine it. 3. "The Sox' winning streak is because we got rid of Nomar" No. It. Isn't. The winning streak has MUCH more to do with the schedule and Manny waking up than OCab and Minky - You're the people who tried to make Shannon Stewart the MVP last year aren't you? 4. "The Moneyball style the Red Sox are playing now is boring and unproductive." Moneyball isn't a baseball playing style. It is a player acquisition system. Look for the market inefficiency and pick up players who are disdained by the market for less than their actual worth. PERIOD. The Red Sox are playing EXACTLY the same brand of two singles and the three run homer that they have played since Time began marching. You find me a non-facetious instance of the 'Runnin Red Sox' and I will retract my statement. Also: Read the fucking book. Don't be Joe Morgan. When you talk about things you don't know anything about you look REALLY stupid. If you're referring to their aversion to hitting and running, sac bunts and the stoloen base....that's not 'Moneyball' that's American League ball. That's Earl Weaver ball as opposed to Whitey-ball (apologies to the run n gun Amos Otis/Frank White Royals of the Seventies - I know you were in the American League). If you would like to have a discussion of the theories and the basic mathematics behind not 'manufacturing' runs more. Try me. I will do my best to distill it for you. The math isn't my strong suit, but I GET it. 5. Don't be such a homer. You don't have to LIKE the guys in the other dugout - but know who they are. Respect them as deserve it, even if you don't like them. It may be cool to be able to tell the grandkids some day that you shook Pedro's hand....but it's just as cool that you got to see Jeter play. Not as Special, but it's something.
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Phone Post:

[Aug. 28th, 2004|07:58 am]

PhonePost
253K 1:14

“Good morning, LJ.
This is a quick warning: this post will contain no content.
It is before eight o'clock in the morning. I haven't slept. And I am walking a college campus that is not my own. I didn't walk my own college campus in <I>five years</I> before eight o'clock. I've .. never once had an eight o'clock class. This was on purpose.
And now I haven't slept, and I'm wandering UT, 32 oz. of iced coffee in my hand, because Megan's grad advisor would like to meet me and we're going to have brunch after their meeting.

This is so much fun, I can't even tell you.

Alright, um .. well, have fun. And, um .. I hope none of you read this for hours to come.
'Kay bye.”

Transcribed by:

venkhman

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	[Aug. 27th, 2004\|12:52 am]
LisaLemonJello saw this AGAIN. http://www.livejournal.com/users/arimle/36050.html
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	[Aug. 25th, 2004\|05:58 pm]
Us Vs Them is the oldest game in the book. Well...second after lying. Generation Two pitted the Farmers v. the Hunters. Abel gets whacked and it was on. We play it every day in every way. As we grow more entrenched in our various subcultures we split every argument into the factions that make us look most right. We don't try to understand the argument on a deeper level than "Here is the most egregious way someone has offended my sensibilities". Find the first thing that annoys you and yell about it as loud as you can to the nearest group of people who won't argue with you about it. If someone argues with you about it because you were indiscreet enough to yell about it near them....yell louder, and question their mother's virtue. Do not, whatever you do, question your position. Never EVER reexamine the issue, and don't look for more facts. that makes you weak. frawst, what spawned this? Welp. Newsweek did. there was a letter writer opining that those who think that john Kerry is 'better prepared to fight terrorism'...'don't know who we are dealing with". Because of course 'We' have better and more information than 'They'. Always. The fact that there are large numbers of people who want to boil this down to a Holy War between Muslims and Christians refuse to split the pie in the other direction. To me the fight isn't about what religion you are, it's about extremism. what causes it? What makes these men willing to die rather than deal with another (Christian) nation? What is making them feel that their position is so untenable? I will slip into Us/Them mode for a second and ask the question: Is a preemptive war the best way to remove a persecution complex? As far as the election goes: we are in the midst of a group (affiliated or not) savaging John Kerry for his Vietnam War record. How the hell did we get here? 1. President Bush is running on his War record (Making America Safer). 2. John Kerry responded with the fact that he's actually BEEN in a war. 3. President Bush responds with: John Kerry is weak and looks French (AND he's a liberal), and releases his National Guard records. 4. John Kerry responds with bringing the Band of Brothers with him everywhere so they can vouch for the fact that he's neither French nor weak. 5. the Swift Boat blahblahblah Truth folks come out with their ad saying that John Kerry is a liar. So here we are talking about the War that Won't Go Away, and it boils down to John Kerry having to defend a matter of public recored because some Vietnam War vets are mad that he went anti-war after the fact. Why? Because just like the soldiers fighting this war - the reasoning behind it and the execution of it remain spurious. Making what they did less special than the GREATEST GENERATION. They've had to explain themselves for 30 years for things beyond their control, and now they have a focal point. The fact that Senator Kerry didn't cause their pain, and that there's nothing he can do to make the leaders of that era any more correct in how they dealt with things. the fact that he wants very badly wants to do right by the men and women in the desert right now is lost on them because he said bad things about THEIR effort. They are putting the men and women in the Gulf right back in their shoes. But they can't see beyond their hurt. Their martyrdom is confusion the most important election we've faced in memory. We can't talk about issues because we're off on this bizarre track. Both sides are so intent on winning that their not submitting their resume to America for the job. They're talking about ancient history. So we all lose.
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Microsoft	[Aug. 24th, 2004\|08:04 pm]
I am not generally a basher of any company. Those who bash the major corporations hate the fact that someone wins in a (vaguely) free market. The hate the fact that at their hearts all people are cheap, and will take inferior product for the 3.59 it saves them. I do it. I'll do spot cost/benefit analysis. I'm not going to spend an extra $10 to keep a store that provides no other services to me open. I'm not going to pay the same money for inferior coffee just to spite the first place team. I run Mozilla's FireFox because it's a better product. Period. Security matters to me. I like the tabbed browser. I like that they don't force you to carry every piece of code ever written for a software package to run it at all. I run Windows XP because it's free. After two weeks of turning off all the helpful little people in the machine it's not too annoying. But the fuckers up in Redmond REFUSE to put out safe software. And so every time someone cracks the damn thing they put out a patch. A patch. A couple of line of code that fixes their mstake. Oh no. No sir. They're huge. And frequent. You see the folks coding in the rain up there all have gig after gig of hard drive space so they've stopped trying to code anything lean and mean. So via dial up I have to Smart Download mammoth service packs. nice. And Windows Media Player wants to download new code regularly. But that's not the kicker here. WMP won't encode MP3's. It's a vehicle for the market share grab of Windows Media Audio. If you'd like to use the worldwide standard for digital audio you have to pay a third party $10 for a plugin. Clever. I'm not going to, but clever. So done with it all. First person who tells me to buy a Mac gets to pay for it.
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	[Aug. 20th, 2004\|10:15 am]
Morning folks. I am the apartment troll. I stay here making bumpy thumpy sounds in the middle of the night, and growl on approach. My sleep cycle, already fucked up because of - y'know - not having to be up for anything, has flipped... Good lord the grammar in that sentance is totured. I've been unable to sleep before a minimum of 4 in the morning and as late as 7. This leads to sleepy until later and later in the day until you hit today. Today is the official Trying To REFlip the Sleepcycle day. No Sleep Til...11pm Tummy's already pretty pissed. bah. It'll cope. The thunderstorm last night was Pheee-nominal. Lots of lighting. LOTS "Sometimes Daddy Warm Front and Mommy Cold Front fight" Is it me or are they broadcasting the here Olympic Games differently than they have in the past? It feels like the randomly assigned people to events and then those people talk. I don't feel like I'm having any of the events Expertly Analyzed. Sample Gymnastics Announcing: #1: OOOOOOH! That was purty. #2: She needs a 9.64324654 to move into the medals #1: (Repeat results of most recent World Championships) #2: I don't think this routine is going to get a 9.64324654 #1: What's a beam? #2: I TOLD you it wouldn't. More later (you were warned)
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	[Aug. 11th, 2004\|01:04 am]
1. The House of Sand and Fog is a beautifully acted movie. Ben Kingsley is phenomenal. It is as heartbreaking a movie as I've seen in a long time. It is well worth your time, unless you need hope in your movies. I really think it would work best if you shut off all your lights and let yourself be immersed in it. Ron Eldard is terrible,and his character has no possible rationalization for any of his actions, but it's really the only bump in the road for this movie. 2. Having a platform to express your views doesn't obligate you to. Just because you have a place to speak doesn't mean you should. I realize the irony of saying this from my platform. I'm very tired of looking for intelligent discourse on things only to be bombarded by people who have no grasp of their on ignorance droning on at length about how stupid other people are. coryphella went looking for stuff about the movie after we'd finished with it, and hopped around the web looking for reviews and opinions. The level of stupidity on message boards never ceases to amaze me. The House of Sand and Fog was never coy about what it is. It is a heavy drama. It's not A Cinderella Story, or Princess Diaries II:Royal Engagement. One "reviewer" called it boring and depressing. Dear lord yes, it's depressing. Sir Ben put it best in the special features; It's a Greek tragedy. But folks...the trailer never promised you a rose garden. If you were looking for little Mary Sunshine there are plenty of movies out there for you, look for the Disney label on the box. Let's leave off running around the web trashing the big boy movies just because they don't have jokes about fucking pies shall we? If you want to talk about the lack of realism in Lester's character bring it on. 3. Dear Ben Affleck, I'm not sure who voted you prom king, but I demand a recount. I don't want you as the Voice of Red Sox Nation, and I SURE as hell don't want you talking politics to adults while claiming the only candidate I've been allowed. Shouldn't you at least have to do one of the big boy movies I discussed above before you get invited places? Or at least a baseball movie with Costner. Next time we have a campaign for King of Red Sox Nation can someone remind me to run as an independent? 4. Your official review of Wendy's Tuscan Chicken Meal: Like a frozen dinner you don't have to heat yourself. The taste was actually pretty good (the asiago sauce was definitely usable) but the textures were wrong wrong wrong. The vegetables are steamed, not roasted, no matter what the ad's tell you....steamed and then tossed with a little liquid smoke. all in all it was probably a B/B- points off for repurposed lettuce in the side caesar salad. How in god's name are people supposed to lose weight eating that crap again? I understand how cutting out carbs will kill some calories...but that was EASILY the heaviest fast food meal I've had in memory. I don't know that I've had a richer sauce short of country fried steak gravy. I'm STILL sweating grease in the (much more manageable thank you) Austin heat. I'd recommend the grilled chicken sandwich instead. same meat, a little bread, MUCH less fat. 5. I am a very good interview. I interview far above my resume. So why in god's name would the temp/placement agencies decide they just want my resume? Are they really not peoplesmart enough to know they they can tell a lot more from an interview? I understand time crunch and all, but placement fees should offset the cost of sitting down for twenty minutes with someone. 6. For the first time in my life I have too much stuff to put on a resume. I had to cut out the crap job and only leave the adult and semi-adult jobs. And I STILL have to have fairoriana gain me a little space to fit it all. Weird. 7. I'm not used to having this much time off. dabrooklyn I don't know how you're still sane. It will be two weeks Thursday, and even with the whole driving to the middle of the country and packing and unpacking everything coryphella and I own, and setting up the new place and updating the resume and all...I'm getting to the end of my tether. I've not had a vacation....ever...without having family and friend obligations to pinball around to, this is all very new to me. 8. Mr. Edgar Martinez. You play the game the right way sir. Never has a cross word been said about you. I know you fall short of the Hall of Fame for many people because you field at a third grade level, but I'm going to level with you: even though I figure you're not quite right for it...I hoping you get in anyway. nine.ten
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You're so lucky	[Aug. 10th, 2004\|09:57 am]
First two people to respond who have time in the next hour get to review my resume.
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I NEVER have pictures	[Aug. 5th, 2004\|01:40 am]
Because that's the kinda guy I am. But I have a camera phone now....so...I have to use it or People will mock me... HERE is my good friend and bitter fantasy baseball rival venkhman And HERE is someone who NEVER would have visited our windows in San Francisco, but seems to think that our bedroom window is the place to be in Austin: so cute. The gecko.
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	[Aug. 4th, 2004\|11:50 am]
adiaraven is an angel. Just so's we're clear. She swooped down out of the 100 degree heat (106 with the heat index) with a map and a smile and showed us around Austin. She explained the (apparently) haphazard road naming scheme (many streets have multiple names, 2222 having at least 4) She showed us the major throughways and thoroughfares and in general was the best thing that could have happened to us at this point. It's been a game of dueling panic attacks thus far. Not knowing anything or anyone really (god bless LJ) and having landed in a foreign country was a bit of a shock. A um....culture shock as it were. People will TALK to you here. At length. In the move theatre they play commercials before the film. Not the dumb slides, actual commercials and stuff. We went and saw the Village. M. Night owes me 8 bucks. Or he can dish me $100K and I'll write him a better script. So all in all, I can breathe now. Homesick sure. But not for a specific place as fvor my ownership of the place. I love San Francisco, but it's the fact that I can can get around San Francisco easily and surely that I miss more than the City itself. (I haven't been gone long enough to miss the people so pipe down y'all). This city is of a size as to be taken over :) This pleases me. Now if I could just convince the weather gods to give us a probationary period of it only being 85 instead of 100, we'd be ROLLING. In Best Pack Ever News: Total loss in the move: some damage to the couch (repaired) one cam lock broken on one bookcase (ignored), the frame broken on coryphella's Picasso print (will have to be replaced) NOTHING else was broken. So there. To clarify: coryphella and I are NOT married as yet. I DECIDED to marry her. And we WOULD be engaged but the jeweler I procrastinated going to didn't have opals in stock. I promise you this, even with my haphazard posting regime I WILL let you know when I get engaged and married. Let's stick to moving to a foreign country at this point shall we?
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	[Jul. 29th, 2004\|11:55 pm]
You know how your dad has this one really weird skill that he's just unabashedly proud of? Not like juggling or anything like that...like...being able to trim the box hedge perfectly evenly? Something assinine. I have my skill. I can pack a 10 foot truck like no one's business. The Red Headed Bastard took of the afternoon from work and between the two of us we managed to fit a two bedroom apartment in the truck. You have NO IDEA how unlikely that was at noon. So that's done. I have no job. My home is 3 days from here. My cat isn't speaking to me (and will speak to me less shortly) and in just over 7 hours I will leave the first city I was ever an adult in. I had a Big Person Job, and I did it well. I made the theatre people take a second look. I decided to marry my Beloved while I was here. I love this place. I really and honestly do. Not bad for a city I knew nothing about before the Red Headed Bastard dragged me out here 5 years ago. The apartment's echoing. I don't particularly like it . Goodbye San Francisco. I have only nice things to say about you.
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	[Jul. 23rd, 2004\|12:06 pm]
http://www.signonsandiego.com/sports/sullivan/20040723-9999-1s23sullivan.html this article is pretty reasonable but the hawks in sports radio have been seriously bashing the poor man. For those of you not in the forced news cycle that is sports news, Puerto Rican citizen and Toronto firstbaseman Carlos Delgado won;t stand during the 7th inning stretch to listen to God Bless America. Hasn't all year because he thinks the war in Irq is a 'terrible thing'. Hasn't. All. Year. But it's news now because he did it in New York. Where they make a production out of it. To the point where even noted Yankee-fellator Tim McCarver asked if it was disruptive to the game. Delgado doesn't turn away from the flag. He doesn't piss on apple pies. He simply doesn;t stand for the seventh inning stretch rendtition of God Bless America. He sits quietly in the dugout or in the clubhouse. If he's caught on the field because he was on base or whatever he stands quietly and waits for it to be over. He stands for the National Anthem. How much MORE respectful do you want the guy to be? No one noticed anything auntil early in July when the Toronto Star asked him about it. And people are pissed at the guy? Some ass on Fox Sports News was railing about 'time and place' last night. Saying that Carlos was making an incorrect choice about making a political stand on a ballfield in the middle of the game, that he was an entertainer and (lumping him in with Robbins and Sarandon) that we don't care about his political views. But obviously we do. Because you're there talking about it at 1 in the morning Mr. Radio Guy. Carlos didn't seek out the press to make a point, they sought him out. He didn't turn around during the National Anthem (of a country not his own), he didn't wear a shirt comparing our President to a developmentally disabled simian, he didn't even try to write "No War" on his wristbands. Leave Carlos alone. I'm going to say this: If you put politics in the middle of the ballgame, all 'time and place' criteria go out the window. YOU put a political song in the middle of his game. You give him no choice but to react to it. So take the politics out of the game. Stop telling me that he's being disrespectful. He's MORE respectful than most of the beery eyed bleacher asses by the time some hack attempts God Bless America right before the beer shut off. If you don't want a political stand don't ask for one. If all of a sudden they started playing the Battle Hym of the Republic at 3:30 in my office....I wouldn't stand. I have things to do. And to the sports radio callers parroting endlessly that you disagree with him but that's What Are Boys Are Fighting For....cut the crap. You are NOT the bigger person. You WANT him to conform just like you do. You want him to walk the party line and say the right things, because him bringing real life into sports is interrupting your escapism.
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I say funny things in my 'sleep'	[Jul. 19th, 2004\|11:00 am]
I do it all the time. This morning: Megan: Trav, it's time to wake up, it's ten til 8. Travis: But the souvenir calender just came out. M: What calender? T: The Gary Sheffield souvenir calender. M: OK, but what does that have to do with it being ten til 8? T: If it's ten til 8, how can he know all he knows?
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	[Jul. 15th, 2004\|12:35 pm]
GIP
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	[Jul. 15th, 2004\|11:37 am]
So are there any Laker fans even Breathing right now?
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	[Jul. 15th, 2004\|09:12 am]
fairoriana go HERE
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	[Jul. 13th, 2004\|12:23 pm]

link	8 Voices\|Wilderness

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