ad astra!

Radio legend Cooke dies aged 95

Damn.

One of the best things about being up after 11pm was the BBC World Service on Michigan Radio. Every now and then you got to hear their “Letter from America” series by Alistair Cooke. This was some of the most interesting commentary on America by someone who was not an American but who’d lived here for nearly all his life. I knew he’d retired in February for health reasons-it seems that it wasn’t so far off… It was always amazing to me that he was still doing these well into his 90’s. So to our dear Mister Cooke we say goodbye, and bravo.

I always suspected that paisley was a tool of the devil.

hahahahahaha

This is probably my favourite Ted Rall cartoon, ever.

Does anyone out there know anybody at Yale?

I want to get their font.

So what’d you do this weekend?

This weekend was pretty fun. On the way to Ann Arbor, Bill called me—he was one of Todd’s friends and I hadn’t seen him since shortly after Todd and I broke up—wondering if I’d meet him at his parent’s house and he would get Brad and meet us all there, since his parents wanted to see me. I was about 1 mile from the exit I would’ve needed to take, so I said yes and headed for their house. Talked to Bill’s dad about Meijer for about 45 minutes while we waited for Bill to get there with Bill. Then Brad and Bill showed up and we went to Ann Arbor and decided where to eat. We settled on Joe’s Crab Shack. It was… really tacky. The seafood was alright; Brad and I shared 33 shrimp and a pound of crab legs. Brad was annoyed with Bill because Bill is kind of… annoying. Everytime they go out he insists on telling people he works at The Common Grill, which is an upscale restaurant in Chelsea. He does it, of course, just to be snobby, and it doesn’t really bother me. If I was the waitress at Joe’s Crab Shack and someone told me they worked at the Common Grill I would’ve said, “So what the hell are you doing here?”

So we devoured the seafood and then went into downtown Ann Arbor to Ashley’s where we met up with Brad’s friends Jeff and Jeff’s roommate Mr. Jin. (He’s a Korean guy and I don’t know how to spell his first name so I’ll just call him what Jeff does) Eventually this guy Ezra showed up, who was a friend of Bill’s and who I’d heard about but never met. Totally hot. Totally str8.

The cool thing about Ashley’s is that they have 63 beers on tap and an awesome jukebox. Something got screwed up with our tab and we only ended up paying for 10 drinks or so. The five of us had had more than that, but it was only a $50 tab so we tipped the waitress extra. Then we went to the New York Pizza Depot for some New York-style (emphasis on style) pizza and then Bill took us home.

Once Bill left we decided to go back over to Jeff’s and watched a little TV, then Brad passed out on the floor so we all went to sleep.

The next day we got some breakfast at this place called Frank’s in Ann Arbor, the food was ok but it took like 45 minutes for them to make; Brad had corned beef hash and I had french toast; simple stuff, so we couldn’t figure out why it took so long. But then we saw there was only one cook and one waitress, so that was why. I took Brad to work after he showered, then went back to his place and took a shower. His mom came home and we had a chat/lecture session (she wanted to make sure I hadn’t completely lost my way and turned into an alcoholic) and the I went to Borders to use their wireless internet access. Then I picked Brad up at work and we went back to Ashley’s because the place we wanted to go was closed. Met up with his buddy Mike and had some beers and dinner, then went back to his place and I discovered that they have wireless internet access in their apartment; some poor sap has a wireless network in his apartment and doesn’t have it encrypted. Played around a little bit, then we went to bed. I slept on the floor, rather intermittently. Took off early this morning, came home, got some stuff together.

Josh and I had Subway at the Bernhard Center and he went to class, then I got home and the power went out and I took a nap. Woke up and walked to Rice Kitchen with Josh and got some crab rangoon, then came back here and Jordan dropped in for a bit.

I’ve started downloading and listening to the audio version of Lawrence Lessig’s new book Free Culture.
It’s also available as a pdf.

So I’ve been tweaking the look of this place a little. Let me know what you think. Hopefully it looks the same on every browser, although IE is a little behind in correctly parsing the CSS but IE has always been the little retarded kid we lock up in the basement when it comes to standards, anyway. I cleaned up the HTML a little bit, too, so we’re moving towards XHTML 1.0 compliance and a little less quick & dirty. Maybe someday I’ll make something you can be proud of!

There were some mad parties going on around here. Jay and Kyle wandered around through them, and I probably should’ve gone with them as it would’ve been fun. Instead I sat here and coded HTML and CSS. Party Points: down 5. Geek Points: up 15.

The warm weather has brought not only drunken college kids congregating out-of-doors but also mad mad allergies for Paul. My eyes are all uncomfortably itchy and red; it’s like I’m stoned but without the pleasant buzz. And even though it’s been warmer for all of two days, those fuckin’ fake ladybugs are back.

I’m tempted to be a very bad Buddhist and spray the hell out of those motherfuckers.

Going to Ann Arbor tomorrow sometime to see Brad. Should be awesome, since I haven’t seen him since like January.

And in other news, both of the toilets in this house are plugged. Guess I’m gonna have to go to town with the plunger tomorrow. Score one for Jay, Josh, Joe, and Paul’s bowels! (not that any of you needed to know that)

Holy Crap

My phone bill this month is $87. That includes $20 of roaming/long distance charges from Chicago and calls to Dino… I would’ve gotten the National Plan had I known I’d be doing this much traveling and long distance calling. Alas. It’s just a phone bill.

On another note, this vacuum makes me think about nothing but sex. I want two, a purple one and a yellow one.

So I pissed Josh off tonight, not that it’s hard to do. I’ve never met anyone whose freak outs are so intense and sudden. When you take the ADHD test and it tells you you have ADHD you’re supposed to do something about it.

So anyway, he was laying on my bed and I was screwing around squeezing his leg, and he sends me an instant message telling me to “knock it the fuck off” so I, of course, just laugh at him. Since, you know, we’re in the same room and you don’t need to IM me to communicate. Then he gathers his things, storms out of the room and goes upstairs. Then he sends me an email telling me how immature I am. Because he’s behaved like such a grown up. The great line is “I know children you could have fathered that show more reverence for others’ personal space”.

Josh always “knows” someone whenever he’s trying to prove a point. “I know a so and so who is better than you because of such and such” is usually how this part of his arguments go. The big words in the email are marvellous, as well. There’s something about the formal, upright prose that just makes me not want to care if he’s upset at all; it’s like I have to deal with a stuffy, faceless bureaucracy instead of a person who’s upset. Everyone else in this house is pissed off at Josh anyway, so I might just leave it. I used to think it was worth it for his friendship, but if his friendship has to contain all of these inflammatory, childish episodes over petty scraps then perhaps it’s just not worth the effort.

I don’t know any children who Josh could’ve fathered, but I’m pretty sure that him and the kids act the same way. As long as you taught the kids some big words so they could sound smart.

Wow. I just looked at the little clock and it says 05:35. I’ve spent the past four hours just mindlessly wandering the internet when I should’ve just gone to sleep.

I want to link this here, cuz I went to high school with and used to work with this kid at Meijer, and sometimes it’s interesting to see what people’ve been up to. Charlie Szymanski

I think I was supposed to or should have called Dino tonight, he got a new job and I was wondering how it went. Guess I should’ve made time inbetween all that fucking around I did tonight.

I feel like I want to go back to NYC in April, but that I should use that energy finding a place to live. Still haven’t heard about a position in Grand Rapids yet, though, so it might be time to start emailing people once a day. Finally got a raise, though. Not as much as I expected but given the ammount of screwing around I do it’s probably more than I deserve.

Jordan really wants to go to NYC with me on his spring break, which is way to soon for me to be able to get it off work and for him to scrape together the cash. It sounded like a great idea, but now that I’ve given it more thought it doesn’t look feasible. April seems like a good shot, though, as May will probably be settling in to wherever I end up and airfare gets expensive in June. But I need to make a trip soon, methinks. I’m not sure of the status of bringing Jordan with me. I really enjoy travelling alone, and the whole fact of there being one little futon to sleep on, and the smallness of Dino’s apartment is troubling. There’s barely room for me and a bag when I visit, let alone me and a Jordan. But I absolutely adore Jordan and I know I’d have a good time, and it’d probably be our last big chance to spend any time together before the move, and after that, who knows if I’ll ever see him again…

Well shit. I might as well shoot for staying up until breakfast and blog this thought:

The idea that the curtain is falling on yet another act is troubling to me. I’ve been thinking about it a lot lately. It goes along with a song I had randomly stuck in my head, “Shimmer” by Fuel from like 1997 or something. Anyway, the lyric is “We’re here and now, but will we ever be again” and I realize more and more that the answer to that is a resounding no. What really got me was when Dino was here and I wanted him to experience all of the friends I’ve made down here and all the stuff I like to do, and there just wasn’t time. I know I said down there that I was dissapointed that we didn’t have a lot of alone-time together, but it actually worked out that Jordan hung out with us because I did want him to meet Jordan and understand why I love Jordan so much. But there’s tons of other people he didn’t get to meet, Josh hardly hung out at all, and a dozen things he didn’t get to do. So I guess what I’m really feeling is a sad feeling that the whole Dino-coming-here-experience is over and just a memory now. Soon the people and things and places surrounding this house will be reduced to memory, as well. And that gives me a sad heart, sad to see this period come to an end.

I can’t go get breakfast anyway since Josh has someone over and he or she (or them, for that matter) is parked behind me. I could walk to Food Dance but they are stupidly expensive when all I really want are some eggs and bacon. I think I saw some greasy-spoon place on Michigan that looked alright, so I might try walking there.

Ok. The giant 70 second yawn says I’m just going to get some sleep. Joe’s alarm has gone off. Let’s see how many times he hits the sleep button this morning. LOL

The Moses Action Figure Just in time for Passover!

U.S. Supreme Court hears ‘Pledge of Allegiance’ case

Seriously, it’s the 21st century. Don’t you think it’s about time we eliminated these casual references to religion from America’s everyday life? Liberty itself is supposed to guarantee freedom of choice and expression; those of us who want to thank a deity for the existence of our country are free to go to our nearest (tax-exempt) church, temple, etc. How is the recitation of the words “under god” by children in a public school not a state endorsement of religion? It’s not 1954 anymore. “Godless communism” is no longer our greatest threat. Of particular note is that “our greatest threat” right now (al Qaida) stems from religion itself and was financed by a state (Taliban-controlled Afghanistan) that was more than happy to see to the forced indoctrination of its youth. That should be a testament to the need for a continued, if not stronger, separation between church and state.

While we’re at it, guys, why don’t you get “In God We Trust” off my money, too.

Look on the bright side
Monty Python to re-release “Life of Brian”

“
You’d hear guys whacking off up there. Then you’d hear them groan. Then you’d hear quiet or you’d hear a sock coming off his foot. It was amazing how well your hearing would work up there. Or the noisy furnace would run and that’s when he’d be whacking off. You’d hear his bed squeaking until the furnace stopped and then you’d hear:
chk
chk
chk
chk
chk.
Then after a few seconds he’d realize that he didn’t care, so you’d hear, chk chk chk chk chk. Then you’d hear a come-soaked sock flopping down on the floor. Lively.
”via MetaFilter

My Weekend With Dino

So yeah… It’s been an whirlwind few days. At the beginning of the week Dino had decided to drive in from New York this weekend… Let’s break it up like this.

Thursday: It’s Thursday night/Friday morning around 1am and I get an sms from Dino:

So much snow.. Looks ike tomorrow aint hapenin.. : =(

So I quick look up the weather and see that just the little eastern chunk of PA is getting dumped on and it should be over by morning, so I call him and get his voicemail, tell him the weather and that he should come… also while getting prepared for a huge dissapointment and scrapping all my plans for the weekend. A few minutes later he calls and is all chatty then he wants to know where exactly I live. You guessed it, he was already here! Ahead of schedule and I was all surprised and excited and stuff. I run out to the street and he’s 1/2way down it already, so I’m chasing his car waving my arms getting him to turn around. Then he’s pulling into the driveway… walking into the house… holy crap! ::takes a deep breathe:: I was so happy that he came. Then he pounced on Josh, Josh freaked out, then we went to bed.

Friday: We got up around 10, went out to breakfast with Jay, then dropped Jay off at his class, drove back to the house and I decided to give Dino a little walking tour of the neighborhood. We made it down to Westmain and the (ugly) Radisson, then headed towards KVCC’s campus and where Jordan lives. I called Jordan to see if he was home and he was so we went up and hung out there for awhile. Kyle called and asked if we were still going to the mall, so Jay and Kyle picked us all up and we went to the mall. Jordan bought some Peeps at the dollar store and I thought it’d be cool to put one on the escalator and see if it got sucked into it, but it didn’t, so we put it on the railing going down instead. We went to Marshall Fields and got checked out by this old guy who looked like Adam West, Dino and Jay tried on this one longsleeve shirt (that was only $4) just so they could give him a show. He was very entertained. Then Jay took off with a children’s sized suitcase and it was hillarious. We hit a few more stores, then everyone had had enough. Came back home and I started making a lasagna upstairs while Jordan and Dino had a long time to bond and talk. Very good for them, kind of lonely for me as I wanted everyone up in the kitchen talking while I made the lasagna. Once the lasagna was ready we devoured it. It was the very best one yet. As of tonight there’s just one slice left. I should go get it and hide it. After the lasagna Dino, Jordan, and I just sort of collapsed on the bed and listened to music, screwed around with the iBook, chitchatted, took turns giving Jordan a backrub, then Dino went to sleep and I cuddled with Jordan while we slept through the rain.

Saturday: Saturday I had to work, so I got up around 9:30 and got ready, headed out and when I arrived I announced that I was going to leave early and nothing short of apocalypse was going to stop me. I left promptly at 6:00pm. Dino spent the day driving around exploring Kalamazoo (our fair city) and a little time with Jay and Kyle. I came home and Dino was napping, so I took a shower, then we went and got Ritter’s Custard (aside: holy crap. this stuff is sooo good.) then came back and he introduced me to the brain-wringing riddles at Johnny Hollow.com. After struggling a bit we started getting ready to go to Diversions because we were waiting for a phone call from Jordan who was in Allegan at a winter guard competition. Jordan called, so Kyle & Jay & Dino and I went and got him, then we headed up to Diversions. I got pretty sauced myself, didn’t really intend to but all I’d had to eat was that custard so the booze hit me harder than I really wanted it to. Dino and Kyle and Jordan encouraged me to hit on this one guy who was absolutely the hottest man there, the perfect boy I described him. Kirby gave me 2 shots and I got the courage to approach him. I gave him my number but he’s yet to call. For the rest of what happened, I’ll give you Jordan’s sober description:

My first gay club experience! Wow, it was really cool. So many cute boys, loud music, and boys….and did I mention boys. I was kinda observing most of the time since it was my first time going to one, but I can see my self getting really into it the next few times. I saw a couple friends outside of the people I went with which made me happy…and I made a new one. so yeah, it was overall a good experience. What happened afterwards was such gay drama that it just made me laugh. We went to this shitty after party and soon left cause it was dumb, where we next headed to steak and shake. I have never seen a steak and shake soooo loud and busy at 3:30 am before. But it was nice to eat food. From there we went to Eddies house (the new friend I made) and this bastardy queen person that was with him pissed the hell out of Jay and they were like having this major loud catfight…. So in the background we had this cat fight and Eddie, Paul, Dino, and I were kinda like talking and exchanging numbers etc…and It just made me laugh. We headed home after that.

Also of note was the stop at the 76th street truck stop and the fact that we went to Steak’n Shake in Grandville and everyone got the historic tour through Grandville/Jenison to see the Meijer I used to work at and whereabouts I used to hang out. Especially that Steak’n Shake, because that’s where I used to go to study for long hours. Daisy was there (still) an old friend from high school who’s worked at SnS for years now. We all came home around 6 and Jordan, Dino, and I collapsed on the bed.

Sunday: Sucked. Dino left around 1 or 2 or something, I’m not sure. I wasn’t really all that hungover, just beat from the huge day that was Saturday. The mental snapshot for this day compliments the one from Thursday night. Thursday night’s is the back of Dino’s car as it races towards me (in reverse, haha, slick) and Sunday’s is the same car, also viewed from the rear, this time illuminated by daylight, as it crawls down the street away from me. I was a little dissapointed that we didn’t get a whole lot of time by ourselves, mostly because we spent so much time with Jordan, but that’s cool because Jordan is awesome.
I dropped Jordan off at his car where we’d picked him up the night before, then came home to an empty house. Such a stark contrast from hours before when I had been surrounded by the goodness of Dino, Jordan, Jay, and Kyle. So that really dragged me down. I crawled back into bed, took a nap, and basically stayed in the whole day. Dino called when he got to his parent’s house in New Jersey around 12:30. I watched The Virgin Suicides and a little bit of Lost in Translation until the loneliness was overwhelming and I let the warm arms of sleep embrace me.

---

Monday: Was better. I snapped at Josh, which I really didn’t mean to so harshly, but I was still in a down mood until Joe invited me to lunch and then we went to see Dawn of the Dead, which was alltogether an effective and well-done scary movie. I was surprised that there was actually an ammount of character development. We went to Meijer to look for 28 Days Later or Star Wars Episode II but couldn’t find either, so we came back here and Joe played xbox for awhile then he went home just after Dino called me for a bit. I’m currently working on getting my music collection (mp3s with bad ID3 tags) into iTunes so I can put them on my iPod.

I really love hanging out with Dino and I hope I get to see him soon.

“So I’ll check the weather wherever you are / Cause I wanna know if you can see the stars tonight…”

Make your own swill! Complete with custom label!

Really, can this stuff be any good at all? I suppose if you don’t know any better…

you are violet #EE82EE

Your dominant hues are red and blue. You’re confident and like showing people new ideas. You play well with others and can be very influential if you want to be. Your saturation level is lower than average – You don’t stress out over things and don’t understand people who do. Finishing projects may sometimes be a challenge, but you schedule time as you see fit and the important things all happen in the end, even if not everyone sees your grand master plan. Your outlook on life is bright. You see good things in situations where others may not be able to, and it frustrates you to see them get down on everything.

the spacefem.com html color quiz

Dutch slaughter deer to preserve Tulip tradition

Also of note is the fact that there really is a Windmill Island and it might possibly be the lamest tourist attraction in the United States.

Here’s today’s four minutes of laughter.

the dude abides