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End
Of The Month Checklist First point of interest: My friend Vicki somehow or another got entered into this new age version of the dating game. Vicki's the cute blond in the middle. Check out the link and vote for Vicki! I shot the photo by the way... Second point of interest: Today is my favorite actor, Ewan McGregor's birthday. Ewan is a month and a half older than me (one of the only people I "know" of who is older than me these days!!), so I really have to get to work on my acting career if I want to be at his success level. He's the star of a couple of my favorite movies, Moulin Rouge, and the new Star Wars flicks (they were my favorites, anyway, until LOTRs came out). He's one of those actors who can do no wrong as far as I'm concerned. It's funny how our tastes in movies sometimes change as we grow older but many times stay the same. Other favorites of mine include, in no particular order: Field of Dreams, Dances With Wolves, The Lion King, Forrest Gump, and the original Star Wars trilogy, especially Return of the Jedi. In the past few years, Moulin Rouge and The Lord Of The Rings trilogy have entered the list as well. What are your favorite movies? And finally: The photo on the right is of the bridge near my house that always challenges me during my runs. Tonight when I got home from work, I searched for a perfect image to close this month's posts with. In March, I realized that photography has capitalized these entries lately, so I wanted to end it with another photo. Initially, I wanted to take a picture of a single cloud which somehow seemed to capture how I was feeling today. But the sky didn't cooperate with me. In the end, this scene called to me instead. It's something I see every night. Sometimes it taunts me. Sometimes I crave it. Last night, as I was running it in the cold March rain, I cursed its very existence. I love this view of the underbelly of the bridge. That's all for now. See you next month! Wednesday's playist: 1. Janet Jackson - Damita Jo 2. Music from the motion picture Moulin Rouge 3. Sarah McLachlan - Afterglow |
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When the limos whizzed by us, we headed back over to the airport and got some got to see AF1 take off. I have to say, it's an impressive plane. Huge. Just like that, it flew off into the south, and within seconds, it disappeared into the clouds. In the end, my lunch break was almost an hour and a half as we were out following ol' G.W. Now, I should point out that I'm not a fan of George Bush. I will not be voting for him this fall. But I tend not to talk politics on this site too often. That's rarely where my heart is. That's not a part of me I feel the need to share with the readers out there, nor force on anybody.
It was such an exciting day for me. It was great, running around taking these once-in-a-lifetime photographs. Once I got back to the office, I put these photos on a main server to share with my co-workers. Many of them immediately sent the pix to family members. It's quite cool to be able to help them share in the day. Photography plays such a big part in my life; it's such a huge passion. The fact that I can capture these events, document my life in a small way, is a very important thing for me. I've noticed lately, more of my posts have photos than they do drawings. But I guess, at times, it's easier to document my life in that way. Today was a hectic, but good day. This is one of those stories I'll be telling people for awhile. On an unrelated note, I dropped off a few of the photos I shot today for Dad. I know he's a fan of Bush and I figured that would be something he'd be interested in. His blood levels tonight were 96, down from 140 yesterday. He's already within the recommended range of 80 to 120. The pain in his feet is slowly subsiding too. He's slowly returning to his old self. He's developing a better attitude about this all too, and actually talking now about being able to control this disease. It's good to see, that after about a week, things are getting as back to normal as they can. So that's all for today, I'm beat and it's late. Tuesday's playist: 1. Janet Jackson - Control 2. Janet Jackson - Rhythm Nation 1814 3. Janet Jackson - Damita Jo |
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The thing with Dad's diabetes really had a dark cloud over my weekend. Even though his sugar levels are getting better every day, he just seemed so depressed, not himself. I hate seeing him like that. This weekend, I realized that diabetes will forever be part of my life. It's something I will always have to help my parents with, as well as be mindful of the chance that it's hereditary and may affect my own health someday. This weekend, serving sizes, calories, fat grams, carbohydrates, and blood levels all played a major role in my time helping out my parents. 30 days ago, I would never have thought I'd be blogging about this.
Clear Blue Betty was an excellent diversion from diabetes, which seemed to consume all my time and thoughts. I met with the band earlier in the night, along with my friend Jon and his wife and kids, to see if we were all on the same page where the CD design was concerned. More importantly, though, it just seemed like old friends catching up. I forgot how much fun they all are, how crazy that family is. It was great fun going to a small bar and just listening to some awesome live music. The band even gave me three or four shout-outs during the night, really making me feel cool. Being such a big fan of music, this CD project is a dream come true. Hanging out with the band is really an exciting thing for me too. My mom and her family were in a country western band when I was growing up, so part of this brings me back to those good times. But there's also something really cool about knowing the people that everybody's listening to. Perhaps it's simply living vicariously through them, or kind of latching on, saying "Hey, I know them." But whatever it is, I enjoyed the hell out of it.
I plan on seeing the band more often when they play in this area again. Suddenly, Clear Blue Betty is on my radar. This was something I never considered weeks ago. It's amazing how things come show up in one's life, out of the blue. Yesterday and today I stopped by Mom and Dad's again and helped them with Dad's nutritional chart. Each day, things are getting a little better. They're both slowly beginning to understand how to do all the readings and what the numbers mean. Dad's blood sugar levels, which started out around 280, have quickly dropped to around 140. His target is between 80 and 120. Dad's only been on his medication for two days. Tonight, especially, I could sense that he's beginning to fall out of his funk. He's realizing that this stuff is working, that eventually life will be back to normal. It was good seeing him almost back to his old self tonight, even cracking a few jokes. Things are going to be alright. As a side note, while I was there tonight, I also managed to snap some photos reminding me of the arrival of Spring. It was so necessary for me, after these past few gloomy days, to see some green grass finally popping through, and feel the sun on my face. These images kind of just sprang up on me, again, out of the blue. Check out my photography page to see the latest updates. Also, as another side note, you'll notice that I've listened to a lot of Prince today. On Thursday morning, I heard a new song by him and found out he was going to be performing at Milwaukee's Summerest in June. I'm a huge Prince fan. I had to get tickets, which went on sale Saturday morning. Yet another example of something huge coming into my life that I had no clue was ready to make an appearance. That's all for now. Who knows what the next 30 days will bring? Monday's playist: 1. Norah Jones - Feels Like Home 2. Prince - Graffiti Bridge 3. Prince And The Revolution - Around The World In A Day 4. Prince - Controversy 5. 'N Sync - No Strings Attached 6. JC Chasez - Schizophrenic 7. Justin Timberlake - Justified |
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The
Long And Winding Road Yesterday was a long day. The weather seemed gloomier, grayer, than I remember in a long time. A lot of people seemed to be running around like crazy at work. Meanwhile, I just felt like I was hovering, existing on a basic level. The deeper I got into my project load, the deeper my mind started to worry about my dad, worry about the blasted results that we were all waiting for. I didn't know how deep I'd have to fall. That blasted what if game... Initially, I was going to go to my art class and just call home during a break. As I was driving home from work, though, I couldn't believe that I'd even considered that as an option. I got to my parents' house around 5:00. Mom's Jeep was gone and my sister's car was there. That seemed a bit odd, I thought; I guess she decided to go along. She worries more than I do. I got in the house, the TV was on, but on MUTE. What the fuck is going on here? I thought. My heart sank. What is going on?? The next hour and a half seemed like the longest wait of my life. I tried flipping through the TV, finding something to watch. I couldn't concentrate on anything. I think I hit every channel on their cable at least a million times. Eventually, I heard a familiar noise in the yard. Somebody was home. My heart raced. I heard the big old garage door open, and in walked my sister. I immediately searched her face...looking for tears, looking for a sign. Nothing. She rushed up to me and said, "Our father and mother are going to have to drastically change their lifestyle...Dad has diabetes." "...diabetes..." Shortly after, Dad walked in the house, looking like an ashamed little boy. Dad's been diagnosed with Type 2 diabetes. Basically, this is the kind where his body still generates insulin, but has a harder time making it do its job. Because of this and his diet, his blood sugar was way high. His burning feet was caused by this elevated sugar level. Fortunately, Type 2 diabetes is the kind where he doesn't have to inject insulin into his body. He will have to prick himself and take a blood test twice day. He'll also have to take a daily pill. There's no sign of nerve damage on his feet. The pain should go away once the blood sugar levels off. In the end, my mom had to work; that's why my sister went with Dad. Nobody seems to remember leaving the TV on. I'm glad my sister went with him. She said you could see how crushed he was...how lost he looked. Once the doctor started talking about insulin and blood tests she could see Dad was completely floored, completed swamped. The doctor started talking about how he would have to change his diet. She started talking about calories and fat grams, carbohydrates and sugars. Dad was over-saturated and lost. My sister described him as looking like a lost little kid, practically paralyzed with fear. My sister basically asked any questions that Dad wouldn't think to ask, and was there to help translate and remember all of the doctor's jargon. The doctor they had sounded pleasant enough. But once they got to the Pharmacy at Shopko, they ran into problems with the blood monitor they had to buy and the insurance company saying they wouldn't cover it. My sister immediately got on the phone and stayed on it for almost 45 minutes until the problem was cleared and he able to get the kit he needed. Dad never would have been able to figure all of that out himself. For as much as my sister worries about things, for as much often as I've seen her break down and cry, she was a complete tower of strength yesterday. She never shed a tear that Dad saw, until long after the day was over. I was amazed and utterly impressed with how she took over the situation. By the time Mom got home from work, my brother, sister, and I were all sitting with Dad around the kitchen table. Mom looked like she saw a ghost. We quickly explained to her the situation and what this meant for her and Dad. As a family, we all sat around the table and tried to figure things out. My brother continually tried to assure Dad that everything's going to be alright, that many people live with this every day, and that it was lucky he caught it when he did. My sister and I were busy trying to figure out the blood testing monitor and eventually explained to them both how to read a nutrition label, and how to use this information for Dad's new diet. I could tell this was all so much for them to take in. We're trying to be optimistic. We realized through all of this, that Dad really doesn't eat too bad at all, but has a slight addiction to Mountain Dew. He was sometimes drinking as much as six cans a day. Hopefully, by giving up soda and sweets, plus the medication he will have to take, this will get things in check. I got home last night around 9:00 or so. It was an extreme weight off of my shoulders, knowing what the problem is, knowing what we have to do, we as a family, to help Dad get better and keep things in check. But I too, was just floored, tapped out. I realized, when sitting at the kitchen table with my sister, explaining to Mom and Dad how to check blood tests and fat grams, that the tide has a changed. This is the first real time where I suddenly felt like an adult, taking care of my parents. This is a new phase in our lives. I called my friend Mark after I relaxed a bit. Mark lives with Type 1 diabetes. We talked for almost two hours. I picked his brain on what to expect, what to do, what had happened, etc., etc. etc. Knowing somebody who deals with this is a wonderful resource right now which gave me a crash course about diabetes and helped make some sense of things. Thank you so much Mark. Last night, you were really there for me. I slept okay, but felt very weird when I woke up this morning. I thought I'd feel a little more relief than I did. I know that our struggles with this have just begun. I called my sister a couple times this afternoon from work. She went over there this morning, helped Dad with his first blood test, and then helped him with measuring his food into the proper proportions and reading the nutrition information again. She created a little chart for him that he can keep track of calories, fat grams, carbohydrates, and protein. She said he seemed scared, and still confused, but could tell that he's not going to ignore this problem. Our initial concern was that he's going to be stubborn and not listen to the nutritional advice. The hardest thing right now for him is changing what he eats. I could tell today that he felt like he was fasting, and had no idea what was on- or off-limits. After work, I stopped in again to see how he was doing. With me, I brought along some treats I picked up at the grocery store. I found some fat- and sugar-free version of ice cream, popsicles, pudding, and jello. I also brought him some lean chicken breasts just so they have them in the house. I explained to him that although he can't eat these treats like they're going out of style, he can have them every once in awhile, when his sweet tooth kicks in or he has a craving for chocolate. I then added up his chart for the day and figured out what he'd be eating for supper. The good news is, everything that he'd been eating today was way under the allotted amounts for his new diet. "What this means," I told him, "is that you don't have to fast like you thought you did." I think that shed a little light on this for him and Mom, that life and eating doesn't have to stop, that we just have to get a better handle on things. At one point while I adding up some of his numbers, I overhead Mom talking to him and then heard him break down and cry. He's having a very hard time with all of this. He's been quite depressed over the past few days. This news has rattled his world. He's still in pain, scared, cooped up, and confused. I hate seeing him like this. I hate it. All I really can do is be there for him....Do what I can. During supper, I shared with him some of my conversation with Mark; I think it helped a little. I also got him to laugh a couple of times when I warned Mom that she better watch out when he loses all of that weight and the chicks start checking him out. Dad also laughed when Mom mumbled under her breath that pretty soon, he's going to weigh less than she does. It was good to see them both laugh. I drove home tonight knowing that we're all in this for the long hall. I know that it's not going to be that easy to change their views on food, diet, and exercise. Hell, we're Americans; it's a national problem. I'm floored tonight, though, realizing how quickly I adopted the roll of the oldest adult son, and how much my parents are depending on my sister and I through all of this. I always talk about my nephews and the unconditional love I feel for them. I've explained in the past that through my love for them, I understand the love of my parents. But these past few days, with Dad's health scare and the new responsibilities that my sister and I have instinctually taken on, my love for them is solidified. This week was a hard lesson in life and love, and what those terms really mean. As the last lyrics in that U2 song that I posted the other night say: "For the first time, I feel love." That's all for now. Friday's playist: 1. U2 - The Best Of 1990 - 2000 2. The Beatles - Abbey Road 3. The Beatles - Let It Be...Naked |
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They say that the waiting is the hardest part. It's the part that drives me crazy. Dad seemed to be feeling a little better today, and actually got some longer periods of sleep last night. Hopefully, the meds they gave him are doing the trick, and it is only that bacterial thing. My mom, sister, and I are all terrible worry-warts. My sister is by far the worst, obsessing over everything and every little detail. Mom's not quite at that level, but lets things get to her that she has no control over. My brother's been having problems with his girlfriend (if they're even dating anymore), and I know Mom's actually lost sleep over it. I get my worrying from my mom, and she gets it from hers. For me, though, when I worry about things, it's as if life just goes on hold for a few days. I don't allow myself to do or even feel much during this waiting period, "just in case...," I suppose. I tend to hibernate and shut myself off from people a bit more than usual. A very similar thing happened almost exactly four years ago. My sister found a small lump in her breast. I happened to stop over there the night they found out, on my way through on a walk. I remember getting back to my place that night, trying to get my mind off of things. I opened up a Stephen King book that I'd been reading. The title of the new chapter I was going to start was called Cancer. I closed the book and never opened it again. I remember just sitting in my living room, in shock, in the fading light. A hundred horrible possibilities crossed my mind. It took four or five days for her to get the test results back before she found out that everything was fine, that it was only some tiny little cyst. But I have to tell you, those were some extremely long days. They seemed hazy almost, like I was floating and just kind of going through the motions. In the end, I got myself all worked up for nothing. Fast forward four years later to March 24, 2004. Life has me on hold once again. My day today was weird. I felt edgy all day. I didn't sleep well last night. I remember tossing and turning all night long and having one of those aggravating dreams that never end but don't seem to go anywhere either. Between feeling beat and being stuck in meetings for over half of my day, by 4:00 I felt quite agitated. It was hard for me to focus and not worry about things. Once I got home tonight, though, saw that Dad was feeling a little better, filled my belly with some supper, and had a kick ass run, I can say I feel better about things. To be honest, I think everything's going to be fine. I've always noticed that Dad's feet are just plain nasty. I'm sure it's all related to that and we're all blowing this way out of proportion. It's just that I hate seeing my Dad in pain right now. I have to remember not to get so freaked out, that it doesn't help anybody. Life has to go on. If we get bad news in the next day or so, we'll have to deal with it then. But right now, there's nothing we can do. Our hands are tied. As my quirky sense of humor tends to kick in now and again, I'm reminded of one of my favorite quotes from one of my favorite shows, The Simpsons: "The waiting game sucks, let's play Hungry Hungry Hippos." Yeah, the waiting game does suck. But here's to hope and a prayer....What more can I do? Wednesday's playist: 1. Music from the Motion Picture The Million Dollar Hotel 2. U2 - Zooropa 3. Sting - Soul Cages P.S. Is it ironic, feeling like such a victim of time right now, that I left my only watch at a friend's house and I've been watchless for over a week, feeling completely naked? Life has a wicked sense of humor. |
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The
First Time Mom called me about it early in the evening last night. She made it sound like it was no big deal, so I tried to put it out of my head. But tonight after work, I decided to stop over and see how he was doing. The atmosphere in the house was really bizarre, really sad, very drained. You could tell Dad was in some serious pain. The drugs they have him are pretty strong and knock him right out. Seeing this brick house of a man in such pain and the dosage of medication they have him on, makes me realize that this is a big deal. Mom's main concern right now is that it's not diabetes. Like I said, we'll have to wait and see. We're all walking on eggshells right now. Dad should get the results back tomorrow. I'm trying not to get too worried about it. That won't help anybody out. But seeing Dad wince when he walks...it just has me concerned. It sounds like my sister called a bunch of times already, my brother stopped over, and my uncle and Grandma are all aware too. The family's already pulling together for what may be as simple as a bacterial infection caused by sweaty black socks and wet dirty work boots. So tonight I end this hoping this will all blow over and everything will be alright. Like I said, hopefully it will be no big deal. Of course, tell that to the guy in pain right now. A sort of a post script to this entry, I've been listening to the soundtrack to a movie called The Million Dollar Hotel the past few days. The movie's this obscure odd film staring Mel Gibson and written by Bono, the lead singer of U2. The soundtrack contains a few U2 songs, a few tracks from Bono, and then a bunch of other tracks from "The Million Dollar Band" which is composed of various members of U2 and other collaborators. The movie and soundtrack are basically a U2 side project. Anyway, one of the songs off of the CD is called "The First Time," which is by U2 and originally on one of their older albums. The lyrics to the song are amazing. The last couple of verses really speak to me right now. "The First Time," by U2 I have a lover, Shows me colours
when there's none to see I have a brother, When I feel myself
goin' down My father is
a rich man That's all for now. Tuesday's playist: 1. Music from the Motion Picture The Million Dollar Hotel 2. Passengers: Original Soundtracks Vol. 1 3. The Corrs: VH-1 Presents The Corrs Live From Dublin 4. U2 - B-Sides 1080 - 1990 |
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In
The Zone Whenever I run, in order for it to be successful, I have to do the old mind-over-matter trick. I have to get in a zone, forget about my body for awhile, and just go. Almost immediately tonight, my mind began to wander: What will I have for dinner? What will my post be about later? Should I post that photo of the berries, talk about The Passion of the Christ? What if I had one magic ring of power? Clay Aiken really got screwed on American Idol last season. When's the new U2 album coming out? Etc., etc., etc. It's amazing where my mind can go. It was at least half way in my run that I snapped out of my wandering brain and realized I was in my zone. I was existing completely of my mind. The running part was nothing more than a bodily function I had little real control over unless I started to think about it, kind of like breathing or blinking. On my return, the sky presented an amazing sunset to me, as it was slowly melting into the Fox River. I literally felt like the colors of the sky were wrapping their giving arms around me. The more I noticed the colors of the sky, the more colors I saw. The more colors I saw, the more color swatches of my life started to enter my mind. I thought of my total love for art, the change for the better it's added to my life. I thought of my love for music, how it only seems to be getting richer with time. I thought of my friends and all the good times we've shared. And most importantly, as I saw the amazing reflection of the sunset on the water, I thought of the love I have for my nephews and their unconditional love they give me in return. I thought of how so many of my Sunday or Monday night posts on this site are always about them and how lucky I am that this is the case. I thought back to yesterday, how I'm beginning to notice how quickly they're growing and changing, becoming little people with little personalities of their own rite. I thought of how they're both really becoming my little buddies and my shadows, wanting to tag along with their favorite Uncle Punkin wherever I may go. I thought of the amazing future I have together with them. I thought of how good my life is. The past few posts have been about color. I suppose that's where my mind's been the past few days. But I can't deny the strong strokes of color that affect my life. I stayed in my zone the entire run up the bridge. The sunset and the river, my joys and happiness, my past and my future all seemed to blend together into one brilliant psychedelic mosaic. It's runs like tonight, where I thanks the heavens above for the ability to see life in a way much differently than most, see life beyond my eyes. I truly feel blessed. That's all for now. Open your eyes. Monday's playist: 1. Chris Isaak - Heart Shaped World 2. Vince Gill - Souvenirs 3. Music from the Motion Picture The Million Dollar Hotel |
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:) In my previous post from Friday night, I mentioned how I so desperately was looking for a change in my art, how I'm just beginning to use color. Well, it seems as if that need for change has entered my photographic life as well. The world of black and white photography as well as the world of digital photography have both entered my life and influenced my art. It will forever change how I view photography. I initially resorted to black and white photography earlier this year. It's the medium that I actually learned to use my camera with back in '91/92. I immediately lost all interest in it, basically due to how expensive things were at the time. Fast forward over a decade later, and I find this classic, age-old technique liberating and exciting. Sometimes, the classics never go out of style. As I'm entering this realm of black and white photography, I conversely so feel the need to go to color in my drawings and sketches. I get so comfortable doing one thing one way. I constantly worry about drawing in color; I say it's such a unique beast. Perhaps I just have to approach my drawings as I did my photography and vice versa. This irony of this lil' switcheroo that I'm doing with these two mediums doesn't fail to escape me. I find it to be a very exciting time. It's very cool how the digital realm of things has slowly affected my art. Hell, this website is completely of the digital realm, as is the approach to my writing. Obviously, my ideas still come from me, but now they're all entered into this electronic device called a computer and then beamed out to the stars. I've been shooting digitally at work for years now. It's such a tremendous time and money saver. Already in my personal life, I feel the same way. It's as if shooting photos, and then having to wait an hour these days is too much of an inconvenience. The old Richo will never go away, that's for sure, but my new Cybershot certainly makes it easier to get my ideas across almost as fast, at times, as they enter my mind. As I sit here writing this, I glance at my cluttered computer desk and see my iPod, Palm Pilot, digital camera, cell phone, and even my cordless phone. I realize how awesome all of this technology really is. I showed my mom my iPod the other night, told her it holds over 7,500 songs. I think I actually heard her mind blow. Gosh, even ten years ago, cordless phones weren't a common thing. I realize that my nephews will never know of phones that aren't cordless, much less rotary. They'll never know of a time when you didn't have to press "1" to speak to a representative who will answer your call in the order in which is was received. They'll barely remember what a VCR is or the pleasure of having to be kind and rewind. They'll never know of a time when you couldn't rent or own your favorite movie, when you actually had to wait for it to be on network TV, usually edited to shit. They'll never know of a time when cable TV didn't exist and there were only four station, and that's if you were lucky to get the right reception with rabbit ears covered in tin foil. They'll question how we could ever use cassette tapes, wonder how we could listen to them once they started to drag or after they got warped from sitting in a hot car for too long. And the way things are going, there's probably a really good chance they'll never purchase a roll of film (Nor will they drop their camera and inadvertently expose the roll of film containing pictures of President Clinton to light. But that's another story all together.). Technology is moving at such an amazing rate. And I for one, love it. I lost my train of thought where I was going with all of this. I suppose that's what 256 cable channels will do to one's attention span. That's all of now. Pepsi/iTunes promotion: 14 for 25 |
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Once I got to class, I was quite inspired by my conversation with Beth. I purchased some colored pencils a few weeks back, but have been avoiding using them ever since. If you've notice, most of my sketches on this entire site are black and white, with perhaps a few subtle tones of color for emphasis, but nothing more. I never worked much in color in college. I loved pencil drawings, charcoal sketches, and the pen and ink drawings I'm used to doing, more in a comic book style. But everything has always been almost exclusively black and white. Color is a such a unique beast. One that takes much training and practice to master. My friends Mark and Mara from the class have become amazing artists when it comes to color. Mark has become an amazing oil painter and Mara is perfecting her pastel technique. I am inspired, intimidated, and in awe of their talents. But last night, after talking to Beth, after feeling like "da bomb" where my art is concerned with this CD project, I just dove right in, got out three or four of my new colored pencils, and went at it like a bat out of hell. I focused on not trying to be like Mark or Mara with my use of color, but instead, tried to harness my style, do what I know, and go from there. I have to say, I'm quite please with my drawing from last night. It's nowhere near what Mark and Mara are doing with their work, but its a solid start. I'm learning that my talents are very unique to me, even amongst a group of fellow artist. I have to accept my style, approach, and technique with things, and just run with it. I have to try not to be anybody other who I am. I need to push myself for the sake of honing in on my individual style, without trying to emulate that of someone else. One of my New Years resolutions this year was to break out of my comfortably controlled little black and white shell and start using color and get more expressive. With my art, there's so much I want to do. By doing something as simple as getting out a two dollar box of colored pencils, I felt like I was breaking out a rut that I was slowly falling into. I was adding a well-needing splash of color to these dreary, snowy, icy, foggy early days of Spring.
With all this talk about all of these small changes adding such prevalent and brilliant colors to life, I have to mention the most noteworthy color to appear from the heavens this week. Yesterday, at precisely 11:12 am, my good friend Brandon and his wife Allison welcomed their beautiful new daughter, Clara Madison, into the world. Mom, Clara, and Dad are doing well. Congratulations Brandon and Allison and your little splash of color!!! That's all for now. What's your favorite color? Pepsi/iTunes promotion: 13 for 24 Thursday's playist: 1. U2 - Best Of 1980 - 1990 2. U2 - Best Of 1990 - 2000 3. Moulin Rouge Original Motion Picture Soundtrack 4. U2 - All That You Can't Leave Behind 5. U2 - The Joshua Tree 6. Howard Shore - The Lord Of The Rings: Return Of The King Soundtrack |
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There's
Always Time To Sleep Misc. surfing: My friend John sent me a link to a cool little movie that incororates two of my favorite things in the world: my iPod and Star Wars. Check out iPod Racing here. That's all for now. Thursday's playist: 1. Dixie Chicks - Home 2. Allison Kraus - Now That I've Found You 3. Dido - Life For Rent 4. Dido - No Angel |
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My trip to Ireland was the vacation of a lifetime for me. I'm hoping to save up and go with my friend Heather sometime next year. But between the new car payments, the two weddings I'm standing up in and three bachelor parties, plus the hopeful purchase of a new computer this year, we'll see what happens to the vacation budget.
This post tonight is dedicated to my friends Todd and Jim who accompanied me on my Irish adventures, my friends Jason and Karin who inspired the whole trip, and my friend Heather, who helps bring Ireland with her wherever she is! Happy St. Patrick's Day!! Wednesday's playist: 1. Coldplay - Live 2003 2. Clay Aiken - Measure Of A Man 3. Evanescence - Fallen 4. U2 - The Best Of 1990 - 2000 5. Gogarty's Music: Music From The Oliver St. John Gogarty Bar, Temple Bar, Dublin. Ireland |
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Monday's playist: 1. DJ Danger Mouse / Jay-Z / The Beatles - The Grey Album 2. Norah Jones - Feels Like Home 3. The Beatles - Let It Be...Naked 4. The Beatles - The White Album 5. U2 - Pop |
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This past Thursday, Wrightstown's girls basketball team played in the State playoffs. This was the first time they made it to state since my senior year, 15 years ago, back in 1989. The current coach of team was in my class, and one of the members of the team who went to state that exciting weekend all those years ago. Seeing old footage of our team from 1989 mixed with current footage of the present team on the local news brought back a lot of old memories, all somehow filtered though time. I couldn't help but think of some of those special moments during those formative years as the spring board for a much better time to come.
For the most part, I'm not a guy who likes to live in the past. I don't associate with anybody from high school anymore, other than my friend Jon who I've only recently reacquainted myself with again because of a CD design he and Clear Blue Betty wants me to do. I've never been one of those people who is constantly reliving the glory days of high school. But with high school seemingly forcing itself back into my life these days, it got me to thinking, why don't I look back to the past more often? The main thing for me is that high school was never really full of fond memories. I was a quiet, brainy, gawky, geeky kid who was into his art. I had four other friends that I hung out with, but rarely associated with the other kids. We didn't fit in and weren't accepted by the popular kids who were mainly the jocks and the cheerleaders. In our school, those were really the only people who seemed to matter. We didn't drink or smoke and were all in the top ten percent of class. I remember my share of getting picked on and having nasty names and rumors thrown my way. When I look back to some of the rougher times, I wonder how I survived at all. God, it was really a harsh time, when I sit back and start to think about it. It's something I'd never wish upon anybody. Luckily, with the small group of close friends I had and my focus on art, I somehow managed to survive those days. I know a lot of other people who had their fair share of high school angst as well. Some of them seem to carry that baggage around and are quite bitter about it. I remember leaving for college and feeling utterly liberated, so happy to get away. When I went to college at the UW-Madison, it was such a liberal place. There were so many interestingly diverse people there. I remember feeling like I was in heaven and never wanted to go home. I didn't necessarily shun my high school life, I just opted to move on with my life, let the university guide my way. I wasn't about to let some shitty times in high school hold me back. As an adult now, with so much high school thrust in my face over the past few days, I've realized that I can find shreds of goodness from those days at Wrightstown High. If I allowed myself to, I could be very sad and bitter about a time that so many people find wonderful and want to relive. But I guess I've never been one to play the victim. Yeah, high school, for the most part, did suck, but it somehow gave me that kick start that was necessary to move on. If I really think about it, it did have its share of good times as well. I think because high school was rough, it helped me realize how awesome college was, and allowed me to live that it's potential. Had high school been a bed of roses, I wonder what kind of person I'd be today. To be perfectly honest, I feel a bit sad for people who constantly have to relive those high school days, as if nothing else in their lives since has mounted to anything. Hell, I feel like I'm really just taking off! That's all for now, though. I feel as if I've gone on long enough about the past. There's so much stuff that's going on right now that I'd rather talk about. Pepsi/iTunes promotion: 10 for 22 Sunday's playist: 1. DJ Danger Mouse / Jay-Z / The Beatles - The Grey Album 2. Norah Jones - Feels Like Home 3. The Beatles - The White Album P.S. Happy birthday tomorrow (Monday) to my friend Splash!! Tomorow night we plan on partying like rock stars, so I decided to take Tuesday off of work. Happy birthday Splash, you old bastard! |
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Where
The Day Takes Me Saturday's playist: 1. DJ Danger Mouse / Jay-Z / The Beatles - The Grey Album 2. Norah Jones - Feels Like Home (thanks Splash!!!!) |
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The
Right Hat Anyway, the main thing in my life this week has been helping my parents take care of my nephews while my sister and her husband are on vacation. I've been skipping my workouts and heading directly home after work (more or less). It's an amazing thing, coming home and having these two little tykes greet me at door, excited and happy to see me. I've realized that I have such a unique role as "the uncle." It's my job to play and be one of the kids with them. Mom's told me that my presence really helps her out. It gives her a bit of a break from their endless energy. When I get home, I immediate play with them and try to keep them out of Mom's way as she prepares supper. I've taught the boys a few things this week, but more importantly I've learned a few things as well. Last night I showed them how beautiful a sunset was. I tried to explain to them where the sun went. Of course, it had to go to sleep. I don't think anybody's ever pointed out a sunset to them before. I also taught them how to roll each other up in blankets, pretending that they're some weird cookie/burrito hybrid. I can't believe the giggles that one got! Tonight I taught them how to make puppets out of brown paper lunch bags. We made faces and numbers for the puppet's shirts (which happened to be each of their ages) out of masking tape. I also taught them how fun it is to line up Matchbox cars in a row and then crash them all up with some wild rogue car. Derick reminded me how funny shows like America's Funniest Videos and America's Funniest Animals really are. He laughed so hard watching a dog trying to flush a toilet, that he almost peed in his pants. Their laughter and wild squeals has to be one of my favorite things in life. They taught me how important it is to play fair. Anything I do for one, the other is following right behind. Pony back rides down the stairs and box rides around the house all deserve equal turns. They're each very concerned that the other gets his fair turn as well. I've also learned how important it is to involve them in simple tasks which end up taking twice as long. Getting Mom's birthday cake out of the basement refrigerator became a three person task, but, boy, did they think they were big shots. Most importantly, though, they reminded me how nice it is to come home to loving faces. Their unconditional love for me which shines through Derick's big blue eyes and Brett's deep brown eyes is astounding and profound to me. Even though they're both obviously such a handful right now, and my nights after work are suddenly consumed with being "the uncle," it's just such an amazing thing to me. A small part of me feels a tinge of sadness, wishing this could be more than a part-time gig. But for now, it's still a truly incredible hat to be able to wear. That's all for now. Wednesday's playist: 1. Elvis - 1s 2. Michael Jackson - Thriller 3. The Beatles - With The Beatles 4. Howard Shore - Lord of the Rings: Return Of The King P.S. Happy birthday tomorrow (Thursday) to my friend Mara!! Mara's been a great friend over the past year and a truly inspirational artist. Happy birthday! Someday we'll have Paris... We'll have to go out for margaritas! That, of course, means, no post tomorrow night. |
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And then I put it back and left the store. I remembered taping the movie the first time it aired on NBC. I never watched the tape. I couldn't bring myself to watching it. I got the VHS for Christmas a few years later, in widescreen, no less. Again, I never watched it. I thought to myself today, When am I ever going to watch this? Don't get me wrong. This is an amazing movie. Such an incredible work of art. I hope that this will be what Spielberg will someday be remembered for. But it's such a dark, chilling story. And it's real. The brutal truth to it is almost too much to handle. It's certainly not something one throws in on a Saturday night with a big bowl of popcorn and a couple of brews. It got me to thinking about The Passion of the Christ. I've described this move to many people as a life-changing event. It adds a huge piece to the puzzle that is my religious journey in life. It was such an incredible experience for me. I honestly lost track of time and space; I was transformed somewhere else during the story. I was moved to tears and shook to my core. But I question if I will purchase this DVD either. Again, the brutal truth to this movie is almost too much to take. (I guess I should pause for a moment and point out that I can see the total irony involved in this post. One movie has been, in my estimation, quite unfairly dubbed to be highly anti-Semitic, whereas the other film is about the mortifying slaughter of the Jewish people. Part of the slanderous campaign against The Passion actually has Mel Gibson's father quoted as saying he doesn't believe the holocaust ever happened. To me, this controversy is hogwash. Granted, Gibson's father sounds like a total whack job (or perhaps even senile), but that has nothing to do with his son's artistic vision. The fact that one movie is completely Christian in it's foundation while the other is about the plight of the Jews doesn't fail escape me. To me, both can quite comfortably co-exist. But none of this is what this post is about.)
And I guess that's why I didn't buy Schindler's List today after work. I don't know when I'll ever actually enjoy watching such a dark, depressing story about one of the most shameful moments in the history of our world, despite the anamorphic widescreen and 5.1 sound. For that matter, I'm not sure when I'd ever want to watch the two hour torture of our Lord Jesus Christ in the comfort of my own home. Obviously, my not purchasing these movies doesn't make them any less credible artistically. Perhaps, if anything, it shows how strong the art is if I'm not able to consume it that easily. There's a lot of incredible photography out there of some really morbid stuff. That doesn't mean I want to own any of it, hang it in my house, or look at it over and over again. I've experienced a certain quiet beauty with a few of the deaths in my life. That doesn't mean I ever want to experience them again. Watching Schindler's List and The Passion of the Christ were two movie-going experiences, heck, just two experiences, that I will never, ever forget. How does ownership change any of that? Buying movies is such a modern thing, which really has no say in the quality of the art. Ownership is such a tiny part of the entire art experience. I wonder how many of us claim ownership to our own brutal truths? As I wrap this up, I also decided to post an amazing photograph that I shot this evening at my parents as I was helping take care of my nephews. Somehow, this sunset describes how I feel about movies like the ones I'm talking about. There's a real beauty in a sunset to me, but a real sadness as well. I'd never want to hold onto that beauty for too long. It also seems to capture the ultimate sense of hope both movies achieved as well, despite the horrors that endured. I don't know if any of this makes sense to anybody but me; it's such an pure, raw abstract feeling. I hope I can just share this photo with somebody out there and have them experience those feelings too, even if at a very basic level. That's all for now. My brain's turning into mush. Totally unrelated surfing: Dear Abby, I am a writer for a lame advice column with no real foundation in reality. What do you suggest? - Hopeless in Springfield Dear Hopeless, Well lash me with a wet noodle, I recommend watching the Simpsons, Season 1 on DVD. It's full of great advice. - Abby Gosh, I wish these two worlds would have collided. Somebody has a real good sense of humor. Check out the story here... Tuesday's playist: 1. Johnny Cash - American IV: The Man Comes Around 2. The Very Best Of Sheryl Crow |
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Collaborated
Efforts I just got off the phone with my friend Beth from Clear Blue Betty. After my post last night, I got an email from them with some pretty specific details explaining the scope of what they'd like to see. I'm beginning to realize that this isn't going to be about me or some G. Meulemans original. It's about their vision, what they want to represent their songs. I was a bit deflated by that initially, but as an artist, that makes perfect sense to me. Once I kind of got that through my head, and realized that they need my creativity to flesh out their vision, I'm totally stoked about it again. I think it's going to be an amazing group of people to collaborate with. I was so meant to do this! Like usual, I have a bunch of other stuff I want to write about, but I need the rest of the night to be about me, away from a computer screen. That's all for now. Misc. unrelated surfing: The theatrical version of Return of the King comes to DVD May 25th! Read about it here... Monday's playist: 1. John Williams - Star Wars Episode 1 The Phantom Menace original motion picture soundtrack 2. The Story of Us- This is the soundtrack to the family video I made for Mom and Dad for Christmas 2002 3. Howard Shore - various Songs from the Lord of the Rings trilogy 4. Cyndi Lauper - At Last |
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Friday night I saw The Passion of The Christ. I knew seeing this movie would be a very personal thing. I wasn't sure how I'd react to it, decided that it wasn't a group event, and saw the movie by myself (which is something I do quite often, anyway). About an half an hour into the movie, I caught the skeptic in me wondering: Do I even believe in this stuff? But at that same moment, a different part of me, the part that's been doing a lot of thinking and soul searching lately, realized that my eyes were already stinging, burning with tears. When the movie ended, as the credits rolled, I just sat there, floored. The skeptic in me had left the building as a deep sob inside of me swelled. Then, in an instant, I snapped back into things, realizing I was in a movie theater. It took all I wanted to do to hold the sobbing back. I left the theater quite shaken. I was caught off guard, having to exit through a packed lobby, with all of those facing search mine for some type of review. I'm sure my blood-shot eyes were better than anything USA Today could serve up. I drove home in perfect silence. When I got home, I kept things quiet as well. I felt so moved, so different. This seems like a huge piece in the puzzle of things for me. The skeptic in me says: Chill out dude, it's only a movie. But the part of me doing all that soul searching knows it's more than that. I avoided writing in this thing yesterday. It seemed so futile. It didn't seem right. I'm still digesting the movie, and may be doing so for quite awhile. I have a sketch and a post both composing themselves in my head and heart. Hopefully they will see the light of day soon. On Saturday afternoon, I spent a few hours with my mom, who was having her 54th birthday. I brought over a bouquet of flowers, a small cake, and a card with a nice saying in it. I rarely buy cards for anybody these days. I'd rather throw the extra money towards the gift. But my mom is the exception to that rule. She reads each verse and holds the words close to her heart. She almost broke down in tears reading my card. I'm sure she too felt a deep sob swell inside. We watched a couple hours of Country Music's Top 100 Songs of All Time. I'm glad I made a point of spending some time with her. I hope I helped make her day a little bit special. The look in her eyes was review enough. Saturday night I spent with my friends Nate and Kim, their daughter Alana, and Nate's sister Nikki. It's cool getting to know her a little bit more these days. She's a really cool person. Saturday night I had the honor of sharing my entire music collection (over 800 CDs worth of mp3s) with Nate's new eMac. May the RIAA be damned. This morning I got up early had brunch with my friends Jon and Stacy, and their daughters, Kirsti (my goddaughter) and Lexi. Jon and his family seem to move around a lot. I'm ashamed to admit that, without really knowing why, I haven't made much time for them in my life over the past three or four years. It was awesome catching up with them. I couldn't believe how much the girls have grown. I feel horrible how much time has passed. Our meeting this morning actually was a bit of a business meeting though. Jon helps manage his brother and sister-in-law's band, Clear Blue Betty. They're currently putting the finishing touches on their first studio album, which is going to get pressed and shipped within the next two months. They asked if me it I want to do the cover art for them! They're doing this with all of their own money, as they haven't been signed to a label yet. I won't be getting rich off of this project. But they want me to do the CD artwork!!! How cool is that??! I live for music. I've seen them perform once, and have been listening to a rough demo they made up. They are really good. Really good. I have a feeling they're going to make it big. And I have a small shot of being a small part of it. Even if they only sell 10,000 copies...that's 10,000 copies of my artwork that people would see!!!! That would be some amazing exposure. This has the potential to eat up a lot of my time, but I think it's going to be well worth it. We'll see what happens with this exciting new development to have only entered my life since the weekend. After brunch with my friends, I swung by the local middle school, which had been heavily promoting a "Fine Art Extravaganza." The middle school used to be my high school school before the population grew which led to a bigger, better high school across the street. Sometime around 1:45 this afternoon, I found myself in front of locker 312 for the first time almost 15 years. I didn't even remember my locker number until I was standing in front of it. But there was no denying it. The lyrics to that John Mayer song, "I wanna run through the halls of my high school, I wanna scream at the top of my lungs," kept buzzing in the back of my head. I didn't stay at the extravaganza long. I had hoped to see my old art teacher there or possibly by a piece of art to help inspire some young artist. Unfortunately, Mrs. Hendricks wasn't there nor were they selling art. In one of the painting rooms, though, they had a Jackson Pollack display set up. They requested that anybody who came into the room to add something to a work in progress. As I added a few spatters of yellow paint to this community project, it felt as if I was connecting the artist of my past, that of an insecure 16 year old, with my artistic present and future. It was the first time I walked through those halls feeling tall and strong. All of the bad memories that I had from high school, all the teasing and isolation, seemed like a distant, insignificant memory. I smiled at the thoughts of the good that place did for me, the artist that it helped turn me into right now. It was such an interesting post script to my morning, as concepts of that CD cover were already forming in my head. After the art show, I spent the rest of the day at my parents. My sister and her husband are gone on their first vacation without the kids. My mom offered to watch my nephews for the week. It's pretty apparent to me that she appreciates and can use any help that I'm willing to give her with the boys. At ages four and two, needless to say, they are quite the handful right now. I have a feeling that I'll be over there after work all week long, just to pitch in. How that will help create the CD designs or flesh out all of these items into richer posts is beyond me. Life seems pretty rich right now, though, I have to admit. So, in a nutshell, that's the busy view from this Main Street, USA. As I said in my last post, everything changes after today. That seems fitting in more areas than one. That's all for now. Pepsi/iTunes promotion: 8 for 17 |
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Everything
Changes After Today |
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Thursday's playist: JC Chazev - Schizophrenic P.S. Special shout-out today to my friend Brandon who will be celebrating his 30th birthday tomorrow (although I know by the time he reads this post, it will be tomorrow). We had his party last weekend, but for some reason, he seems to think it takes a week to celebrate the big three-oh. Oh well, welcome to club thirties! |
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The first conversation dealt with the idea of learning about an artist's life (in this case, a movie director) from a documentary, finding them so completely fascinating, and feeling a bit not so interesting. It's as if we learn about some people's lives, and everything they do seems so wild, quirky, and fabulous. It makes our lives pale in comparison. The second conversation dealt with art and simply not having the time to do all of the things one wants to do creatively. It seems to me, that art is one of those things in life of such an intricate balance. Does one become a master painter, an expert wood carver, a guy who sketches portraits in pencil, or simply a jack of all trades? How do life, friends, family, and careers fit into that fine balance of things? How do those things fit in with art, which can be so all-consuming? With both of these conversations, the one thing that I noticed to be getting in everybody's way is that nasty four-letter word: time. If I had all the time in the world, I'd imagine I'd do more photography, more painting, watch more movies, travel more, sail more, and spend much more time with friends and family. I'm convinced that if I didn't have to work, and money wasn't an issue, my life would be a lot more interesting than it is. I'd be a much more fascinating person. Now don't get me wrong. I'm not complaining about my life. I'm quite happy with who I am, what I do, and my life in general. I love all of my different hobbies, and, to sound quite egotistical (possibly the third night in a row), think I lead a relatively interesting life. I guess my point is, that if I didn't have to keep my life on some kind of daily routine, worry about getting up for work the next day and paying the bills, I'd be doing even more of what I love to do. I'd be even deeper into my art. God knows what other hobbies would come my way. The documentary they'd do on my life would be just as wild, quirky, and fabulous. It's funny, how when I was young, the days went on forever. Kids these days constantly complain about being bored. But any adult I talk to always seems to see time as a protagonist. It gets in our way. It never truly allows us to dedicate as much time to our loved ones as we'd like or to the hobbies we have or would love to pursue. I've noticed with this site lately, that there's so much I want to talk about, but I just haven't been able to get to in these posts. Tonight's sketch was meant to be posted last Friday. Somehow though, something else always came up. I have another drawing from Thursday night, a cool story to go with it, and some relatively heavy accommodating thoughts. But, once again, I just haven't been able to get to it. There are so many pictures I want to add to the photography page of this site. I'm trying to add comments to these pages. I have a ton of file management things I want to get to. But the days seem to fly by and choices must be made as to where I want to concentrate my time. The need to write wins the fight every night lately... Where this weekend was concerned, I couldn't complain about how busy I was. My schedule was full, but with good times shared with good friends. But this week (and it's already Wednesday), there's so much I want to do, and just can't seem to get to it. I've been pounding it so hard at work that I've skipped my workouts and just want to come home and relax in front of the TV. I want to go out on more photo shoots, get my paints out, start working with my colored pencils, and do more sketches in my book. But these past few nights, if time's not the issue, my energy is. For as busy as I sound, I realize that I'm a single guy, and only have me to worry about. I can't image the delicate balance a married person or somebody with kids must have to make with their time. It's all obviously about priorities. At times, something has to give. For me, as I spend more and more time with this website and my art, my TV watching has gone down considerably, as has the amount of time I spend on the phone or doing things with friends during the week. Sacrifices have to be made for one's art, but that can be an extremely selfish thing. I wonder how somebody with a successful family life balances out a hobby that they haven't had to give up. The two little conversations I had earlier today sparked such wild thoughts in my brain tonight, many which I can't fully articulate at the moment. I think I'm going to end this now before I think myself into more corners. My brain, head, and eyes hurt from a hard workday. Right now, I'll postpone that painting I meant to start (sorry Splash), in favor of some quality time with a continuing Sex And The City marathon on DVD. Wednesday's playist: 1. Edie Brickell And The New Bohemians - Shooting Rubberbands At The Stars 2. 10,000 Maniacs - In My Tribe 3. The Police - Every Breath You Take: The Singles 4. Peter Gabriel - Shaking The Tree: Fourteen Golden Greats |
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Kick
Some Ass Today was one of those good days. The kind of day where my head is throbbing right now, but in that sastified kind of way. I had my nose crunched down so hard to the grindstone. After a few weeks of questioning my role and feeling extremely disposable, today I feel like I did some tremendous good. Over the course of the next year or so, the product we put out will be going through some changes due to one of the programs that we use. We're basically forced into an upgrade cycle, not only on this software, but on our Macs' operating systems as well. This upgrade that we have to face has presented some extreme challenges. I've had to quickly learn a drastically upgraded but poorly documented program, and figure out how to make it work with the current product development guidelines I've had a huge part in setting up over the past four or five years. First, the good news: I've figured a solution to the obstacles. Something that seemed huge, impossible, and unknown will now be a reality after some necessary tweaks to our development process. Now, the better news: I actually found a couple ways to make our product much stronger and more useful than before. I discovered a way to do something that many of our customers have been requesting for years. They're going to be blown away by these improvements. I have to admit that I'm pretty proud of myself right now. Yeah, I'm patting myself on the back. Granted, it's no Oscar, but... Today I really felt like I was doing what my job title calls me to do. It's the first time it seems to truly fit the definition of the title. I'm a Product Development Specialist, and I feel like I used my expertise, for lack of a better word without sounding too egotistical, to figure out some major problems, and then came up with some major solutions. I realized today, that I'm quite capable of learning new software quickly, analyzing problems, dissecting all of the pros and cons of an issue, and figuring out feasible solutions. I know those all sound like trendy buzzwords, the kind I tend to despise, but once in awhile, it's good to recognize some of the strong skills that I have. The real challenge for me now comes in the implementation of these changes. Much like the online products that I'm currently developing, these changes will not see the light of day for over a year. The time is a mixed blessing. It gets frustrating being on the development side of things, when there's a couple year disconnect with our general audience. But the good news is that through that time, changes and fine tuning are much easier to do. We actually have time to do this right. Well, I've gone on much longer than I intended to tonight, especially about work. I'm physically and mentally wiped out. But it was a good day. I feel strong. It's nice to kick some ass once in awhile instead of getting it kicked. How was your day? Tuesday's playist: 1. Howard Shore - Return Of The King 2. Alanis Morisette - Feast On Scraps 3. Dido - Life For Rent 4. Cyndi Lauper - At Last 5. U2 - Boy |
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I'm glad I changed my mind at the last minute and stashed the hobbit costume I was going to wear for my Versachi tuxedo. It always pays to have one of those crumpled up in a ball in the back of the closet. I have to start out by thanking God on this night of decadent excess. I'm sure he's tuned in, laughing at Billy's schtick, shaking his head at the natural disaster that is Uma's dress, blushing a bit at Angilina Jolie's protruding nipples, and probably gushing, much like myself, over the flawless Liv Tyler. Class all the way, baby. Of course, I truly have to thank all of the little people out there who helped get me to this point. Thank you Sam, Frodo, Merry, Pip, and Peter Jackson himself, those inquisitive little hobbits, who somehow managed to have a clean sweep with all 11 of their awards. Does my Oscar, given to this hobbit, this Samwise the Stout-Hearted, make it 12 awards, breaking the record set by Ben Hur |
Just a quick post tonight.
I've been staying up later and later each night this week and
haven't been to sleep once before midnight. I'm not sure how
I even make it out of bed in the morning. Tonight, I just want
to relax, kick back, and hit the hay early.
Another Kodak
Moment
I
took an extended lunch with some co-workers. We went where his
motorcade was going. It's amazing, all the commotion this visit
caused, all the diverted traffic routes and police cars which
seemed to be everywhere. Anywhere the president was, whether
it was when Air Force One was landing or his motorcade arriving,
so was the red helicopter you see on the right. It felt a bit
odd, feeling like we were under heavy surveillance. But it also
felt pretty cool, from a purely technological point of view.
We were all like excited little kids watching this all. We wondered
how much radar was going on around us that we didn't know about
or how much other invisible intelligence and security was happening.
It seemed like they had the entire Fox Valley police force and
the County workers hard at work. Our government dollars were
being definitely spent on this day.
It
was pretty interesting to see how efficient this whole political
machine was: how they got him out of the plane, then downtown
for his one hour speech to some local businesses, and then another
motorcade back to the airport. We caught the motorcade back,
which happened in a flash.
As
I told somebody today at work, in my modest opinion, George Bush
is the epitomy of corporate evil in the world. But so is Darth
Vader (except for the corporate part). If Darth Vader's spaceship
landed in Appleton, I'd be there to take photos as well. Despite
my political beliefs, I know that this isn't something to come
our way too often. He's still the president of the United States,
one of the most powerful men in the world. I can't deny any of
that. It was quite impressive to simply see the ceremony of it
all (despite how much it was costing the taxpayers).
Out
Of The Blue
But
30 days ago, if you would have told me I'd be watching my friend's
band on a Saturday night, only two days after my father was diagnosed
with diabetes, I would have thought you were crazy. Life takes
you in funny, unexpected directions.
My
friend Splash went along with me. We both had one of those great
nights out on the Appleton bar scene. I talked to so many people,
had so many drinks, and really felt good escaping my dad's problems
at home for awhile. Splash and I have this thing, where we try
to seek out "celebrity look alikes." Once you point
one out, the other has to rate the similarity, one through ten.
On Saturday night, Splash ran across the dirrrty one,
Christina Aguilara (see the photo on the right). It was such
a good, well-needed laugh.
March 26, 2004 (photo shot
10/03) Friday
10:40 PM
Please
Hold
Yesterday morning, my dad
had to go to the ER. I guess his feet felt like they were on
fire and he could barely walk. My dad is one of those "tough-as-nails"
kind of guys (although he is softening up since he became a grampa),
so I know it's serious when he has to go to the hospital. Mom
told me that Dad even broke down crying, he was so scared. He
ended up talking to a couple of doctors yesterday. The first
one at the ER seemed to think that he's got some kind of nasty
bacterial infection in his feet. He prescribed him some pain
relief and had him go to a different doctor. That one had Dad
get some blood work done today. Until we get the results back,
they're still not ruling out the bacterial infection, but it
could be as bad as the gout or maybe even diabetes. We'll just
have to wait and see.
March 22, 2004 Monday 9:53 PM
This weekend I spent much
time updating the 
A Splash
Of Color
Just a quick post tonight
as I'm off to my art class in a few minutes. Why is it, that
after taking a day off this week, on a Tuesday, no less, that
I'm more tired today than if it was a normal work week? What
I should do, is keep my ass home tonight and get to bed before
midnight one night this week. But what fun would that be? There's
always time to sleep on the weekends, I suppose. This gloomy
snow and ice that we've been having for the past two weeks can
stop anytime soon too. I need to see the sun in the worst way.
No Green Miller
Lite
I
celebrated St. Patty's day today by having dinner with my friend
Todd, one of the guys who went on the trip with me. Maybe later
I'll go through my photo album of the awesome trip. No green
Miller Light for this American lad tonight, though. It doesn't
quite scream out Ireland to me after being at St. Patrick's Cathedral,
visiting the Blarney stone, and spending considerable time in
small pubs drinking Guinness and Bemish with the locals dancing
to Irish music and watching soccer. Perhaps I'll crack open a
Guinness tonight, like a genuine Irishman.
Splash Of Alcohol
Smells
Like Teen Spirit
Last
Sunday afternoon, I stopped by an art show at my old high school.
As I walked down the halls of ol' Wrightstown high, this member
of the Class of '89 couldn't help but walk directly to his old
locker, which was right across from the old art room. I couldn't
help but think of my life in high school and how it made me the
person who I am today. So much of my high school career
was completely consumed by art. There were enough people in my
life who supported and helped me pursue my art interest, which
I did in college from day one.
Last
night, I went out with my friends. In honor of all of this high
school stuff going on, I searched the very back of my closet
and resurrected my red Chuck Taylors from '87. It's been well
over 15 years since I last wore them, but decided to kick it
old school last night for something different. For me, that's
the extent of reliving my high school past. My friends and I
ended up at a bar after a hockey game. I bumped into an old high
school friend who, at one time, had a crush on me. The romance
never blossomed as I distinctly remember having a heavy crush
on somebody else. We ended up being really good friends, though,
and spending much time together over the years. Somehow though,
with many relationships, life gets in the way. She's divorced
now, has two kids from a relationship after the divorce, and
is no longer seeing that guy. I'm never really sure how we lost
touch. But as I said, I guess life just gets in the way. Seeing
my friend last night, though, once again brought back a lot of
good memories of a time much different than now.
Okay. I have to keep
this short tonight. Each night I've been staying up later and
later. It's getting increasingly difficult to drag my butt out
of bed in the morning and actually function at work. This website,
my ever-continuing Sex and the City DVD marathon (I just
started season 3 of 5), and life in general just seem to fill
up all of my time, making it harder for me to get to bed at a
reasonable hour. Last night, before I knew it, it was midnight.
When life is full, life is good. Sleep just seems to cramp my
style these days and get in the way. Whenever I go to bed for
the night, I always feel slightly defeated.
The
Brutal Truth And Ownership
In
my mind, both of these movies are based in reality and on the
truth. More importantly, though, they are both about the complete
and absolute brutality that human beings are capable of, the
depths of evil that our species is actually capable of succumbing
to. It boggles my mind that such evil exists.
The
Busy View From Main Street
Hard At 'Er
Time
Bandits
March 2, 2004 (sketch date
4/13/91) Tuesday
9:37 PM
My
Big Night At The Oscars