I've started up a new blog and website to chronicle my fundraising for the Lance Armstrong Foundation this year. I'll be copying my posts there to my livejournal as well. I hadnt realized how long it had been since i wrote in here. Now the site should get regular updates though, if anyone even remembers this LJ exists.

I do come view my friends journals daily. My friends list is still one of my first stops on my list of sites to visit each morning.

Spent last nigth with friends at Kings. This morning im fulfilling a christmas tradition ive been doing for as long as I remember. Watching the best version of A Christmas Carol ever made. The 1953 version with Alistair Sim. Then im off to the beach to my aunts for xmas.

Merry Xmas...

The four worst days in American History

1) Pearl Harbor
2) 9/11
3) The first election of George Bush (the past 4 years proved this)
4) The second election of George Bush (the next 4 years will prove this)

I always suspected i was surrounded by ignorance but now we know that its only 58 million people. And luckily they've been nice enough to brand their cars and yards with W stickers and what not to identify whom we dont need to waste my time talking to.

On NPR this morning there was a woman explaining why she voted for Bush. She said it was because Academia and the media were aligned against him. Academia = the educated. So she wanted to vote for Bush because the educated people didnt. Ok, wow, that makes sense. Her next statement was about how she was concerned with her neighbors and what not. The host asked "Aren't Democrats too?". She responded sure but im worried about my family and my taxes. Sounds like she's admitting she's selfish and doesnt care about those neighbors she just tried to say she did. Its amazing that people are still using the same old pro-Republican arguments and that the party no longer matches many of those values. Big Government = Democrats. Ah...no. Clinton shrank the government and Bush has increased the size. Fiscally Responsible = Republicans. Ah...no. The democrats had over a 200 Billion in surplus. The republicans have led us over 500 Billion into debt. Thats a 700 Billion dollar loss (since apparently im an academic and need to do the math for people). Im sick of laying out facts for people. Over the course of the election i never met a single Bush supporter that could uphold their beliefs with facts and that i couldnt tear apart with the truth. It always ended with either "you're just wrong", "whatever", "you're lieing", etc.

Wait and see. These next 4 years will be unbelievably bad and all of us, our children, grandchildren, etc. will suffer for "our" (meaning those 58 million's) ignorance.

Everyone take a moment of silence in remembrance of John Peel. He died yesterday night of a heart attack while on vacation in Peru. He was one of the greatest Radio DJ's ever on the air and whether you know it or not all of radio was affected by his presence. He played anything and everything and was one of the biggest proponents of every new form of music as it became available. From punk to Hip Hop.

Learn more here about one of the greats here.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/radio1/alt/johnpeel/index.shtml

Date:	2004-10-22 12:02
Subject:	Suspiciously Content
Security:	Public
Mood:	cheerful
Music:	Chris Moyles on BBC

So two of my favorite movies ever are Fight Club and SLC Punk. I was watching SLC again the other night. I dig these movies because i can so easily fall into the main character's modes of thinking. It isnt Matthew Lillard complaining about Posers its me. Not Edward Norton lamenting knowing what a duvet is but me. I think and say a lot in the same vein as these guys but then i digress. I feel all the angst and disgust but also am somehow content with it. I recognize all the issues presented and have the same inherent disinterest and disconnect with society but...am somehow content with it. The biggest source of my own personal angst is that contentment. I feel like a sell-out when im relaxed thinking about materialism i see around me and partake in to my own extent. That pisses me off and that makes me angry that im not angry and not pissed off but that im relaxed and joking about it. One should be stessed over the issues that bothers them and irritates them, not stressed over their lack of empathy and own indifference. Its almost like being the guy that gets the joke of it all and doesnt want to be part of it. Sadly by doing so he does become the joke.

Oh and 50 Cent just recorded a song with Bart Simpson for a new episode of the simpsons. That makes sense to me somehow, and i dig it.

So on July 4th i was over at a friends for a barbecue and he had on the Tour De France. He's heavy in to cycling and does about 50-60 miles a week. Anyway i watch it and start to get interested. Now i've been watching it for two weeks and its pretty damn exciting. In the meantime ive been watching more and more documentaries on Lance Armstrong, as everyone's focused on him for the race. So i've been hearing his story and decided to go pick up his book. In the first chapter he's saying all the things about his life at that time and how it was so important and everything was perfect for him. And im thinking (with less financial means of course) the same kinds of things. What im thinking is important is on track with what he thought was important. And even though i chastise myself daily thinking these kinds of things, what you have, what you're job is, who you're dating, etc., shouldn't matter they still do. And at the end of the chapter he realizes he's got cancer and goes through his priorities and realizes that when he listed them that he might die wasnt the most important. Over the course of the drive home he realizes that thats the only one that matters, that he might die, and the rest is insignificant. Hopefully no one else needs to hit something as threatening and frightening as cancer to realize priorities, hopefully it doesnt take that for me to lock down my priorities.

On a side note check out www.wearyellow.com. You may have noticed people around wearing yellow bracelets. I've passed out a few around the office and going today for another batch as more people from work want to help out. They're one dollar and 100% of the money goes to the Lance Armstrong foundation for cancer survivors and research. My grandfather died of cancer and my mother's had skin cancer removed. I've been wearing mine for a couple of weeks now and i look down at it when i lack motivation and it reminds me to get off my ass and do what i need to do. Its got LiveStrong etched into it. Its for a good cause and maybe is a little bit inspiring as well when you wear it, I know it is for me. They're at the website and individually for sale at Foot Lockers.

Its a surreal feeling when you ride down Glenwood Ave

I washed my car on Sunday and didnt pay attention enough to throw my shirt back on. Now half my back is blistered from sunburn. I skipped work Monday and riding in today was, well, not a fun experience. Ive only gotten out of my chair once today in mortal fear someone will walk up and hit my back somehow :(.

im escaping home to the cool caresses of an aloe spray can.

Words cannot do this justice

http://www.wilenkin.com/transformers/Video_player_06_content.html

So im back from Bonnaroo....

The place:
You cant imagine what the place is like without being there. Tents and RVs and tents and people stretching in every direction as far as you can see. A refugee camp from the disaster movies with none of the tension, none of the dread. A community of close to a hundred thousand people that is more communal and understanding than the apartment building you live in...and you're all strangers. Mounted policeman that pass you on the dirt paths while one person passes you offering you pot and the next corn that he's frying on the grill. Its a place where when you walk around the corner at close to two in the morning you come face to face with a Mr. T float, then dancers on stilts, then a dragon with a woman in its jaws being presided over by William Hung singing "She Bangs". Helicopters passing overhead continuously with spotlights sometimes scanning the world below. A place that in the cleansing rain breeds closeness. Whose muddy aftermath becomes a dancefloor for the world. A world that pulls your shoes off as you sink into it as if trying to bring you closer. The mud you'd avoid in life you walk through proudly in this one. Landmarks named "That Tent", "Which Stage", "This Tent", "Another Tent", "The Other Tent", and "Which Stage". Names that turn every conversation into a Laurel and Hardy sketch of "Whose on First? Whats on Second". Primus is on Which Stage? The Dead play What Stage. Fireworks that explode the sky overhead all day and all night. Not the bottle rockets but the bombs that drop in the cardboard tubes and form spiderwebs in the clouds. Its a magical place, a fleeting place that cannot last but goes on forever and will stick with you for eternity when you close your eyes at night and snap them open hearing the fading sound of a firework exploding overhead.

The Music:
Its everywhere, it permeates, it reverberates and eventually you reach the stages. Bands you know suprise you and ones you never heard draw you in as you pass by. Jem is amazing and steals the weekend with her soul and energy. The Dead inspire you to see why so many follow. Primus delights as three floating eyes stare at you over the pounding of bass. Doc Watson proves his legend. Robert Earl King inspires laughter in his stories and lyrics. Cut Chemist proves that the Turntable Is Indeed An Instrument. The music was outstanding and like a brief love it lingers as you move to the next one and fall into it again. The drawbacks of an overlapping schedule that teases you with greatness while keeping you looking at your watch to hear your next new friend. A definite drawback in scheduling but in the end a tradeoff for both quantity and quality. Fleeting and fulfiling.

Overall:
Amazing. Fun. Wet. Sun Poisoning. Muddy. Cold. Hot. Relaxing. Tiring. Sore. Moving. Satisfying.

A weekend that will last. One that im still feeling as if recovering from and dont really want to. A relaxing feeling that has permeated and lives on. An understanding that one must "Let that that does not matter truly slide".

Ill do it again.

So i get back from lunch and sit at my box. Turn around and look across the street and there's a herd of goats there. An area of the field out my window has been roped off and they've released goats to try to control the weeds and kudzoo thats taken over.

Cool to watch and more of a guarantee that ill do no work today.

Bonnaroo in 2 days...

New icon, better philosophy

So i ran into an ex tonight. She works at one of my favorite bars (now manages ive learned). A bar ive avoided since we tried to go out. My friends suggested the place after the hockey game and i tried to steer away but they were adamant. She still was beautiful and still was extrememly cool when she came over and put her hands on my shoulder and massaged gently while asking me how ive been. I asked her about her move and she was suprised and said that was a year or so ago and i realized how long it had been since i had dated her/seen her. I never see my ex's for the exact feelings i felt tonight. Even though it was only a couple dates once i change my mindset towards a person it changes completely and i never see them any other way again. I still look at them the same way and feel about them the same because its the rare woman that switches that in my head in a way other than a mere infatuation.

I heard her on the phone tell someone she loved them and i was happy to hear it. I think i wish it had been me on the other end but feeling how i felt when i saw her im glad it was someone/anyone.

damn im a hopeless romantic without the romance sometimes, most of the time.

Ok just got to the Where is My Mind track from the Pixies Coachella concert. I got chills.

I have to see them live.

So my copy of the Pixies Coachella show finally came in today. I walked into work and it was sitting in a package on my desk. Immediately popped it into my itunes and shared it out (i know 2 people listenting to it with me). Somehow the day is brighter and flying by when there's good music to go with it.

So today i did my first rally cross in my car. Ive had my Subaru for 3 years now and been wanting to do it but living in mortal fear of hurting my car and being unable to pay for the repairs. Only sensible course of action...say fuck it and live a little.

Extremely, Extremely fun. My first time ever on a course and i was powersliding the curves, scaring the piss out of myself and loving every second of it. Got sixth place overall out of 10 and i was the only person who was new. Even beat the guy from work in his WRX who talked me into the race three out of the six runs.

Ill try to put up some pics if i can load it up somewhere.

So we're in the new office here on centennial campus at state. Found a new toy. About half the office is on macs and most on itunes. Turns out you can share your playlists over the network and see what each other is listening too and listen as well.

Who knew someone in this office was into DJ Shadow too.

My playlist is screwing with their perceptions. Ballboy -> MF Doom -> Me First and the Gimme Gimmes -> Tuesday Weld. They're all confused on my tastes now.

Hey Kelly (and anyone else whose interested), click below.

http://www.apple.com/trailers/warner_independent_pictures/before_sunset.html

I wish i had posted sooner so that anyone who reads this journal could've made it to the show. I just got back from the Red Elvises at the Pour House. If these guys come within a two hour drive of where you live you should go see them. They put on one of the best live shows i get to see. This was my second time.

Think Rockabilly, maybe the Brian Setzer Orchestra kind of vibe, then place the musicians from Russia and thats an inkling of the sound. The website (www.redelvises.com) can give a taste but it wont do too much justice. You got to love a band thats slogan is "Your Favorite Band". The energy at one of their shows is what hooks you. The way they can work the crowd and give you that positive vibe you always know is missing but becomes more profound when you find something to fill it. I've only found that energy in hip hop shows (from the early 90's not the pop crap now) or in Punk shows like the Deftones or Bouncing Souls at the Cats Cradle. Its a palpable energy that you cant help but feel. The nature of music in its purest that inspires fun, excitement, and most importantly participation.

I dig these guys. I cant not move when they play. Ive seen my favorite DJ this month (DJ Shadow) and my favorite hip hop act (Blackalicious) but i rate the Red Elvises as the April highlight.

See them if you can....

One New Years Resolution bites the dust. Just submitted the payment for my last card.

1) Pay off all credit cards
2) Buy a place to live
3) Exercise at least 3x a week
4) Visit a new country
5) Write at least 5 short stories (and submit)
6) Get at least one certification in my field
7) Relearn to play guitar
8) No more soft drinks
9) Play in a hockey league
10) See the glass as half full