RUN UP TO THE SHAMFEST I MEAN, THE FIRST DEBATE

I will watch this pitiful,sanitized,piss poor excuse for a debate with a gleam in my eye and a drink in my hand (or is that the other way around?). The run up to this game show has made me sick. All the rules and stipulations leading up to it have effectively removed the balls from the process. The participants can't even ask a direct question of their opponent, they can, however, ask "rhetorical" questions.
This in and of itself removes any semblance to real debate. As far as I'm concerned, this debate has been reduced to a feel good therapy session where the therapist is easily manipulated and misled by the percieved dominant participant...in this case, sir bunnypants, our retard leader.
I sincerely hope that my cynical and pessimistic take on this self mastabatory fluff piece will be shattered by Kerry, who will suddenly find the constitution to directly challenge bunny on all the wrongs done during his watch.
Here's my short list:
The war is unwinnable
The economy sucks
The USofA has 2 (count 'em) 2 black eyes and a bloody lip; As far the rest of the world is concerned, we are an aimless bully wreaking havoc...and death...and dispair.
Be back after.....

Something got me
Yesterday morning I reached over to hit the snooze bar on the alarm and felt a sharp, intense pain in my wrist. I immediately jumped out of bed and went in the bathroom to take a look. I thought I had impaled my wrist on something on the end table and was expecting to have to yank something out of it but no, there was only a small white wheal with an area of redness. It had to have been a sting or a bite. I went back in the bedroom to try and locate what got me. No sign of spider, wasp, centipede or scorpion to be found, but the most likely suspect was what we call a "yellow jacket". Around here, a "yellow jacket" is actually a paper wasp and the real yellow jackets are called "ground hornets". There's a big nest on the awning right outside our bedroom window and they occasionally venture inside through the opening that exists between the A/C unit and the side of the window. I've been known to stay up later than I wanted to because there was a yellow jacket in the bedroom when I wanted to go to bed and while our dog Theo does a good job of catching them, it can take him up to 30 minutes to eliminate the threat. If it was a yellow jacket sting then I knew what to expect A golf ball sized red lump would develop at the site of the sting and my hand would expand to the size of a latex glove blown up like a balloon. I would also feel like I had the flu and start puking in a couple of hours. Only it didn't happen. Instead, pain shot down to tips of my fingers and up to my elbow and I had an annoying headache all day. There was very little swelling or redness. Then last night I woke up with chills. Bone-shaking, teeth-rattling chills. I managed to go back to sleep only to wake up later with chest pains. It freaked me out a little and I had to think for a minute to be sure I wasn't having a heart attack, but it was only muscle cramps. Very strange. This morning my wrist looks the same as it did yesterday, but the headache is gone. The pain has subsided to a dull ache that runs from my fingers to my shoulder, but the itching is far worse than poison ivy and reminds me more of chicken pox. I'll probably never know what got me, but this ain't half bad. Beats the hell out of golf ball sized lumps and puking!

WE KEPT THE SECRET...HIDDEN DEEP INSIDE.

If you've not heard of Peter Case...you should check him out.
An amazing singer/songwriter.

This one's on the list Badger...:)
"Someone sees the dreams we hide"...

[Listening to: Hidden Love - Peter Case - The man with the Blue postmodern fragmented neo-traditionalist Guitar (3:06)]

NICKED THIS FROM BILLY

Bold text signifies things I have done in my life...

01. Bought everyone in the pub a drink ... everyone???!!!!
02. Swam with wild dolphins
03. Climbed a mountain- Rio Grande Nat. Forest...Windy mtn., Sheep mtn.
04. Taken a Ferrari for a test drive
05. Been inside the Great Pyramid
06. Held a tarantula
07. Taken a candlelit bath with someone
08. Said 'I love you' and meant it
09. Hugged a tree
10. Done a striptease
11. Bungee jumped
12. Visited Paris
13. Watched a lightning storm at sea
14. Stayed up all night long, and watch the sun rise-Speed is an ugly ugly thing.
15. Seen the Northern Lights
16. Gone to a huge sports game
17. Walked the stairs to the top of the leaning Tower of Pisa
18. Grown and eaten your own vegetables
19. Touched an iceberg

20. Slept under the stars- many times.
21. Changed a baby's diaper
22. Taken a trip in a hot air balloon
23. Watched a meteor shower
24. Gotten drunk on champagne
25. Given more than you can afford to charity
26. Looked up at the night sky through a telescope
27. Had an uncontrollable giggling fit at the worst possible moment- At a seminar on eviseration via swimming pool main drains.
28. Had a food fight
29. Bet on a winning horse (even if it was only £1)
30. Taken a sick day when you're not ill- We called them mental health days.
31. Asked out a stranger
32. Had a snowball fight
33. Photocopied your bottom on the office photocopier
34. Screamed as loudly as you possibly can
35. Held a lamb
36. Enacted a favorite fantasy
37. Taken a midnight skinny dip- Barton Springs, in high school, in january.
38. Taken an ice cold bath
39. Had a meaningful conversation with a beggar
40. Seen a total eclipse

41. Ridden a roller coaster
42. Hit a home run -Only if softball counts.
43. Fit three weeks miraculously into three days
44. Danced like a fool and not cared who was looking
45. Adopted an accent for an entire day- very bad ingrish, if you know what I mean...:)
46. Visited the birthplace of your ancestors
47. Actually felt happy about your life, even for just a moment- more times than not.
48. Had two hard drives for your computer- Ann and I have had more computer shit than a human should be allowed.
49. Visited all 50 states
50. Loved your job for all accounts- once, a long long time ago.
51. Taken care of someone who was shit faced- more times than I care to remember.
52. Had enough money to be truly satisfied- once, a long long time ago...then when it was gone, I realized that money isn't everything.
53. Had amazing friends- still do...
54. Danced with a stranger in a foreign country
55. Watched wild whales
56. Stolen a sign- Oh yeah...Ann and I had this courtship ritual.....
57. Backpacked in Europe
58. Taken a road-trip- Tons of 'em...mostly to Colorado.
59. Rock climbing
60. Lied to foreign government's official in that country to avoid notice

61. Midnight walk on the beach
62. Sky diving
63. Visited Ireland
64. Been heartbroken longer then you were actually in love
65. In a restaurant, sat at a stranger's table and had a meal with them
66. Visited Japan
67. Benchpressed your own weight- about 75 lbs ago.
68. Milked a cow
69. Alphabetised your records- Like I said...speed is an ugly ugly thing.
70. Pretended to be a superhero
71. Sung karaoke
72. Lounged around in bed all day- It's been awhile.
73. Posed nude in front of strangers
74. Scuba diving
75. Got it on to "Let's Get It On" by Marvin Gaye
76. Kissed in the rain
77. Played in the mud
78. Played in the rain
79. Gone to a drive-in theater
80. Done something you should regret, but don't regret it- Her name was Linda.

81. Visited the Great Wall of China
82. Discovered that someone who's not supposed to have known about your blog has discovered your blog
83. Dropped Windows in favor of something better
84. Started a business
85. Fallen in love and not had your heart broken- Goin' on eleven years:)
86. Toured ancient sites
87. Taken a martial arts class
88. Swordfought for the honor of a woman
89. Played D&D for more than 6 hours straight- Like I said...speed is an ugly ugly thing.
90. Gotten married- X 3
91. Been in a movie
92. Crashed a party
93. Loved someone you shouldn't have- Denise and Debbie...
94. Kissed someone so passionately it made them dizzy
95. Gotten divorced- X 2
96. Had sex at the office
97. Gone without food for 5 days
98. Made cookies from scratch
99. Won first prize in a costume contest
100. Ridden a gondola in Venice

101. Gotten a tattoo- Oh yeah...:)
102. Found that the texture of some materials can turn you on-Flannel....
103. Rafted the Snake River
104. Been on television news programs as an "expert"
105. Got flowers for no reason
106. Masturbated in a public place
107. Got so drunk you don't remember anything- I didn't really say that did I??? fuck...
108. Been addicted to some form of illegal drug- Like I said...
109. Performed on stage- many times...Wolves@th'door baby!
110. Been to Las Vegas
111. Recorded music- Cassettes and CD's...with wolves and solo.
112. Eaten shark
113. Had a one-night stand- It was a right of passage in those heady 70's armadillo days...beer, foosball, pussy...
114. Gone to Thailand
115. Seen Siouxsie live
116. Bought a house
117. Been in a combat zone- crisis intervention in a psych hospital counts dunnit? It should.
118. Buried one/both of your parents-Both...
119. Shaved or waxed your pubic hair off
120. Been on a cruise ship

121. Spoken more than one language fluently
122. Gotten into a fight while attempting to defend someone- 5th grade, got my ass kicked, by a black girl named "Pinky" on the bus....meh.
123. Bounced a cheque
124. Performed in Rocky Horror- If audience participation counts
125. Read - and understood - your credit report
126. Raised children
127. Recently bought and played with a favorite childhood toy
128. Followed your favorite band/singer on tour
129. Created and named your own constellation of stars
130. Taken an exotic bicycle tour in a foreign country
131. Found out something significant that your ancestors did
132. Called or written your Congress person Member of Parliament
133. Picked up and moved to another city to just start over to be with the one you love
134. ...more than once? - More than thrice?
135. Walked the Golden Gate Bridge
136. Sang loudly in the car, and didn't stop when you knew someone was looking
137. Had an abortion or your female partner did-X 3
138. Had plastic surgery
139. Survived an accident that you shouldn't have survived.
140. Wrote articles for a large publication

141. Lost over 100 pounds
142. Held someone while they were having a flashback- More times than I care to remember.
143. Piloted an airplane
144. Petted a stingray
145. Broken someone's heart- Sorry Janet.
146. Helped an animal give birth- Dixie the fox terrier...8 pups, 6 survived.
147. Been fired or laid off from a job- FUCK YOU Andy Hines.
148. Won money on a T.V. game show
149. Broken a bone- Does the funny bone count?
150. Killed a human being- Came in on the tail end of a botched restraint...so indirectly, yes.
151. Gone on an African photo safari
152. Ridden a motorcycle
153. Driven any land vehicle at a speed of greater than 100mph- My Fiat...Fassssst car.
154. Had a body part of yours below the neck pierced
155. Fired a rifle, shotgun, or pistol - Oh yeah...:)
156. Eaten mushrooms that were gathered in the wild- It was magic:)
157. Ridden a horse- It was not magic.
158. Had major surgery- See #'s 139 and 153.
159. Had sex on a moving train
160. Had a snake as a pet- Had 7 at one time...red tailed boa, 5 Ball pythons and a texas rat snake.

161. Hiked to the bottom of the Grand Canyon
162. Slept through an entire flight: takeoff, flight, and landing
163. Slept for more than 30 hours over the course of 48 hours
164. Visited more foreign countries than U.S. states
165. Visited all 7 continents
166. Taken a canoe trip that lasted more than 2 days
167. Eaten kangaroo meat
168. Fallen in love at an ancient Mayan burial ground
169. Been a sperm or egg donor
170. Eaten sushi
171. Had your picture in the newspaper
172. Had 2 (or more) healthy romantic relationships for over a year in your lifetime
173. Changed someone's mind about something you care deeply about
174. Gotten someone fired for their actions- I've fired a few people.
175. Gone back to school
176. Parasailed
177. Changed your name
178. Petted a cockroach
179. Eaten fried green tomatoes
180. Read The Iliad

181. Selected one "important" author who you missed in school, and read
182. Dined in a restaurant and stolen silverware, plates, cups because your apartment needed them- Shot glasses.
183. ...and gotten 86'ed from the restaurant because you did it so many times, they figured out it was you
184. Taught yourself an art from scratch- Guitar
185. Killed and prepared an animal for eating
186. Apologised to someone years after inflicting the hurt
187. Skipped all your school reunions- Who cares about all that?
188. Communicated with someone without sharing a common spoken language
189. Been elected to public office
190. Written your own computer language
191. Thought to yourself that you're living your dream- Everyday, only some days it's a nightmare.
192. Had to put someone you love into hospice care- My Dad...one of those nightmare days.
193. Built your own PC from parts
194. Sold your own artwork to someone who didn't know you
195. Had a booth at a street fair
196: Dyed your hair- Black was my favorite.
197: Been a DJ
198: Found out someone was going to dump you via LiveJournal
199: Written your own role playing game
200: Been arrested- PI, DUI...a long long time ago, oh yeah...possession of marijuana (high school)

Whew....long meme, but fun none the less.

[Listening to: Ripple - Grateful Dead - American Beauty (4:09)]

Out with the old, in with the new
I just finished the last of the whiskey my ex-boss gave to me months ago. Seemed fitting since I was laid off on Monday to kiss the past goodbye on Sunday at midnight with a toast of the whiskey that he gave me. I start the new year (figuratively speaking) with my own supply of Crown Royal that I found whilst going through boxes of stuff that had been packed for the remodel. Amazing how the Universe provides. Not that I'll be drinking whiskey that much in the future since a bottle of Crown will last me 6 months or more if no one else gets into it, but to have it "magically" appear and be available for a symbolic switch to the future was pretty cool. Also, I have been in an inexplicably good mood today. I want to play music, I want to paint, I want to write a novel, I want to run around town taking pictures in black and white and publish a coffee table book about my take on Austin. Which happens to be how I feel every time that I find myself unemployed. The creative juices start flowing and try their best to keep me from getting another "office job" . But they also kick me in the ass for the things I declined to pursue further like the concert pianist thing and the photo lab gig. Hey there juices, I took the other fork in the path and there's no going back now so just shut the fuck up about that! If you want to help, give me some new ideas . What, you got nothing to say? Well then, I suppose I'm destined for another mundane office job to pay the bills provided I even can find one. The pickings look pretty slim in the want ads. Ah well, all things happen for a reason and maybe there's something unexpected lurking just around the corner. I think for now I will just follow the advice given in the following Clutch lyrics:

Drink to the dead all you still alive
We shall join them in good time
Should you go crossin' that silvery brook
It's best to leap before you look

[Listening to: Hollow Inside - Buzzcocks - A Different Kind of Tension/Parts 1, 2, 3]

Our desktop

1) Lady of Perpetual Help votive candle. This candle has the same picture as the one that hung in my childhood bathroom.

2) Basket o' mail and headphones.

3) Currently looking at billy's site.

4) Seeds for fall planting and some Ann papers that need to be filed.

5) Cheap inkjet printer.

6) Trackball to help with carpal tunnel/RSI.

7) Support for laptop to provide better typing angle and ventilation,.

8) Rob papers I don't know what to do with.

9) Colored pens (I had to use only black for 15 years when I worked in Human Resources.)

10) List of songs we think the band should cover.

Alive and kicking
I didn't give myself a heart attack yesterday, but I did end up too pooped to blog last night. I'm heading that way again today having tackled everything from yard work to house cleaning to going through boxes left unpacked from the remodel to rearranging furniture. There's a blank spot now on the "mask wall" that seems to be calling out for my 8 X 10 bass cabinet. I'll just have to convince Rob and Tracy to help me get it back here to the house next week. I do have my little practice amp here, but it needs repair. Hmm... the PA and speakers are still sitting in the middle of the living room after the "Thanks for letting us use your PA, but now you are laid off" weekend. Now I just need to find my Washburn bass that I haven't played in about five years due to what was/is either carpal tunnel or RSI. I'd like to see how my wrist does after a couple of years of lighter computer duty and I'm also curious to see how the finger that suffered the dog bite fares. I don't still have full motion or strength in that finger and bass playing just might be a good form of free physical therapy.

[Listening to: When You Don't See Me - The Sisters Of Mercy - Vision Thing]

P.S. This has become the song I associate with my recent "lay off" so I will probably drive Rob crazy by playing it over and over again for weeks. The lyrics fit perfectly in that weird sort of "have to be standing in my shoes" kind of way. Feel free to take a look and psychoanalyze...

BUDDY

I got buddy in colorado springs shortly after I seperated from my first wife. He went everywhere with me for almost 14 years. He was a great dane husky mix. He was my best friend. He was so much more than a dog...he was a 125 lbs. of soul, totally dedicated to me. We were connected. He rolled through all the bullshit and stayed loyal to me. I taught him the usual shit but he knew so much more...he had a conduit to my heart and reacted accordingly. He was the most awesome dog.
He was a constant source of amazement when it came to just knowing how to be, he could read people and other dogs and telegraph the situation to me in no uncertain terms. When it was ok it was, when it was time to move on, it was. When it was past the time to move on, he intervened...all tooth and claw.I never taught him any of these things, he was just that way. Loyal.
But otherwise, he was a gentle loving 125 lb. puppydog.
If my math is correct, this is the month he was born. And the Steve Earle song that was playing when I stated this post reminds me of when Buddy died.Way back in 1992...and you know what?
I am not over the loss. We never went to the carribean together, or mexico for that matter...but I can't remember if we said good bye.

[Listening to: Goodbye - Steve Earle - Train a Comin' (4:57)]

[Listening to: Napoleon Bona Part One And Two - Budgie - The Definitive Anthology (7:16)]

A rock and roll song about Napoleon...you haven't lived until you've heard the guitar in this song.
And yes, I have been drinking.

WHAT'S UP WITH THESE BEHEADINGS?

There's a demographic here that I think most folks are either missing or ignoring. When an american is abducted and put under the knife (so to speak) you hear about the abduction and then the beheading, broadcast on the internet (god bless the internet in all it's glory...not). There's nothing in between abduction and beheading as far as I can see. But when some other nationality is abducted, there is an outpouring of press featuring family,organizations and governments begging for mercy, pleading with the abductors to spare the lives, muslim organizations pleading for application of the true spirit of the faith.But more times than not, when american hostages are involved,we skip the histrionics and move straight to the choppy-chop-off with your head infidel finale followed by a post mortem outpouring of sympathy on all the major networks with interviews that amount to "he was more like my (insert relation here) before they sawed off his head with a knife...Bush will save us".But no public media sponsored family grovelling that has worked for other families connected to coalition connected abductees in some cases.
Is it simply the fact that we, the USofA are exempt from any shred of mercy? Do those heartless fucks see other nationalities in a different light, seperate from the perpetrators of this invasion?Are they willing to play the mindfuck game with Turkey? Jordan? The UK? Is it a "lets make you think were gonna do it, and then release 'em after you've grovelled publically" but if your american, kiss your head goodbye?
I think this is the case. Americans are abducted and beheaded, to make the point.Other members of the coalition are abducted and frequently released to ratchet up the dissention. Sometimes they are killed just to shake up the balance, to generate a sense of chaos.
The longer this war goes on the more I'm convinced that it's being orchestrated by the same kind of teams that develope commercials to sway you to buy this kind of toothpaste.
War as reality TV...the ultimate "Survivor" and it leaves me wondering about what happened to the concept of a fair fight?
We could have kicked their asses months ago, and yet we are avoiding areas of Iraq that are controlled by sunnis and shites...why are we doing this? This war on terror is making less and less sense as time passes(like it made any sense after the iraq invasion) and you really have to wonder what the fuck is going on. Just don't say it outloud. That would be unpatriotic.
That swelling in my chest is certainly not a swelling of pride.
My deepest sympathies to all who have lost a loved one, be it a result of combat, "non combat related accident" or propaganda driven beheading.

[Listening to: Careful With That Mic - Clutch - Pure Rock Fury (3:27)]

THERE SHOULD BE A LAW ABOUT STRETCH PANTS

I went shopping at the third world this evening after the shower that followed the sweat filled romp in the yard pulling weedy-trees and sorting through our bulky items (bulky item pick up begins on Oct.18th,this is when the city will pick up all the big junk they won't normally pick up for free...we are swimming in bulky items that need to go to that bulky item heaven landfill in another county). Anyways...I was at the third world, cruising through the produce/deli area when I realized that 1: I had left the list in the truck, and 2: the 40 something woman with enough cottage cheese on her child bearing hips (at least 5 or more ninos) was locked onto my forward radar and-she was wearing stretch pants...really thin stretch pants that revealed not only panty lines, but the label of said tent I mean panties, was visible.
She seemed to be on every aisle I turned down with her gigantic panty line accentuated pitted buttocks assaulting my every sense. I was determined to avoid her and began doing donuts with my cart at each assualt and headed the other way. Where I encountered in no particular order:
A family of 6, walking shoulder to shoulder plus cart making it impossible to pass.
Two older women who decided to park their carts side by side in a traffic area and catch up on everything that's happened since they last saw each other in 1985.
Running, screaming children.
The walking sack of curds and whey I was trying to avoid. Despite the trauma, I verified the contents of the list with a quick call to Ann and made it out of that godforsaken place in one piece.

[Listening to: Alchoholiday - Teenage Fanclub - Bandwagonesque (5:26)]

Sweating like a racehorse
I'm working out in the front yard today pulling up all the mulberry weed trees that have invaded the north side of the front yard and the crepe myrtle that insists on rebirthing itself. The weather is not cooperating and it has been sprinkling off and on making the outdoors seem like a giant steam bath. The plan is to remove everything but the Heavenly Bamboo and cultivate this side of the yard for fall planting. It's a huge undertaking that I should have started sooner, but this has been one of the hottest Septembers I remember. It's still hot today, but I'm running out of time unless I want to do the yard in carrots and pansies. Well, I suppose I should get back to it. I'll blog some more after dark if I haven't given myself a heart attack by then.

[Listening to: Flowers by the Door - T.S.O.L. - Change Today? [Bonus Tracks]]

PIPE BENDING MAKES MY BRAIN HURT

Three of four crews spent this week installing new exterior lighting in the vendor/parking area inside the north end of the stadium. It was hot, it reeked of bat shit. There were all kinds of twists and turns as far as running the conduit. For one section, the journeyman and I switched places, so, with tape measure in hand, I planned the run and installed it. Offsets,kicks,90's...a junction box here-an elbow there. It worked out quite well. I spent the rest of the time bending from his measurements and pulling wire, the usual grunt stuff. Only this time my brain didn't instantly lock up when I would be instructed: I need a 4 1/2 " off set, 56 1/4" long with a 9" 90. But transferring the numbers to an image in my head and translating it to 3/4" metal conduit made my brain hurt. I swear I smelt my synapses burning...no,wait...that's bat shit intermingled with the smell of popcorn.

[Listening to: Overt Enemy - Slayer - Diabolus in Musica (4:41)]

Childhood Influences
So here it is a Friday night and Rob's working late and not home. An unusual occurrence around here, but one that got me to thinking about all the other Friday nights I've spent at home, alone, whether single or married in the last 20-plus years. I inevitably choose to do the same thing. Drink beer, eat pizza, listen to music and surf the net. Okay, so the internet wasn't around that whole time, but before the interenet I spent time on BBS and if you go back years before BBS then I was listening to the ham radio (though probably drinking Dr. Pepper instead of beer.) In fact, I have spent most of the Friday nights of my entire life listening to or reading the words of people from all over the world because when I was a kid Friday night was ham radio night at my house. Actually, every night was ham radio night in my household, but Friday nights were special because that was the one night to stay up late. Ham radio was how I learned that the world was a really big place with lots of time zones and sometimes people were sleeping when we were awake and sometimes we had to stay up really late to catch them when THEY were awake. Ham radio is why I learned where some of the countries of the world are on a map and a bit of history about them. I never had world history in school and only minimal geography, but if dad would talk to someone in Jordan then I'd look it up in the big atlas that we had and learn a thing or two in the process. And it's one thing to read a paragraph or two about a country in a book, but a whole different experience to actually TALK to someone living there. Like most kids I didn't think my experience was unusual at the time though looking back I'm sure it wasn't the norm. Combine that starting to read at age two and my habit of reading every book I could get my hands on, I ended up the odd man out for years. A person who thought a lot differently than my peers. Trust me, reading Farhenheit 451 , The Illustrated Man and 1984 at age five is going to change how one looks at things even if you're a kid and don't understand some of the finer points. Kids understand a lot more than adults think they do. Which reminds me of a pornographic fiction book I once checked out of the public library at age ten. How it ever made it on the shelves at a public library I'll never know, but it was a fascinating read for a ten year old. Ah, I'm rambling on here, but the point I'm trying to make is that I was lucky because no one ever told me what I could and could not read, that I couldn't listen to voices from Iraq or China on the ham radio. No one ever said that I couldn't read that huge book on the races of man (the exact title and author escapes me) and decide it was complete bunk based on other stuff I had read. Sure, the internet is full of lies and falsehoods, but so were my childhood libraries. There's no real difference here. But are we teaching our youth to question, to always wonder, to seek out the facts for themselves or are we asking them to swallow the whole ball of newsreel and public education wax; line, hook and sinker? I fear it's the latter.

[Listening to: Bugle Call Rag - Benny Goodman & His Orchestra - More Fabulous Swing Collection]

Wasting Money
Not a good thing to be doing under the circumstances, but I just blew $10 on cab fare to the grocery store (round trip.) You see, Rob is working a double today and will not be home until after midnight. Now Rob would very much like to drink some beer when he gets home, but there's no beer in the house and by the time he gets off work it will be too late to buy any. I also needed some other things from the store before tomorrow and it's only 1.5 miles away so I figured cab fare would be pretty cheap. NOT. Seems that rates have gone up a bit since the last time I took a cab from Sixth Street for $7 one way. Either that or I'm a lot closer to Sixth Street than I thought. Anyway I discovered that in addition to the price, waiting for a cab is not much faster than waiting for a bus. I've always complained that the bus on my street only runs every 20 minutes, but I'd have never guessed that the wait for a cab was about the same length. Live and learn. I also blew 99 cents on a "Lady of Perpetual Help" votive candle in the hopes that she will provide me with one of those little portable folding grocery carts for the next time I go to the grocery store - by bus. That would be sweet.

[Listening to: La Serenissima - Loreena McKennitt - Book of Secrets]

PS: I am a lot closer to Sixth Street than I thought. It's only 3.67 miles from Emo's to my house.

The Experiment
There's a slight problem with my idea to bake bread today. I can't seem to remember any of my bread recipes which I never wrote down and even if I had written them down, I'd never find them. I do remember the basic ingredients for a variety of breads and when to use egg or milk depending on what kind of bread I want, just not sure about the amounts. I think I will just start with the old basic recipe of ones to three. That is, one cup water, one tbsp. yeast, one tbsp. honey, one pinch of salt, one tbsp. oil (if planning on keeping the bread around more than one day) and three cups of flour more or less. I don't have any bread flour so all purpose will have to do and if memory serves me right, that makes one loaf of bread. The raw dough should fit in the serving bowl I'm having to use as a mixing bowl (my giant mixing bowl is still packed away somewhere.) I can't find any measuring spoons, but I should be able to eyeball the tablespoon. I have no baking sheets or bread pans so I'm going to have to cook my loaf on the stove top griddle (which should provide a very nice bottom crust) and that means I'll be making either a french or italian loaf (depending on how much flour I decide to knead into the bread) though without bread flour the results might be disappointing. I have no clue what temperature to cook at so I'll try 375 degrees and cook until it smells right and a knife stuck in the bottom comes out clean. Now I suppose I could get on the internet and find a recipe, but I think that would take some of the fun out of it.

[Listening to: Basket of Eggs - Clutch - Jam Room]

Update: Three cups of flour is way too much, but two wouldn't be enough so maybe that's why I remembered three. Our stainless steel worktables are perfect for kneading bread, but I had a little too much fun and I think I kneaded the dough a bit longer than was required. Oh well, it's just an experiment. Now I need to find something else to do for the next hour or so during the first rise.

[Listening to: From Centre to Wave - Loop - A Gilded Eternity]

Update: Well, a couple of hours later I was pleasantly surprised and ate most of what was a pretty damned good loaf of french bread. The new oven is perfect for bread baking, but I think I'll save any future loaf baking for when I have acquired some bread flour. In the meantime, I think I will go take a nap and sleep off this massive amount of carbohydrates I just consumed.

[Listening to: Disney Girl - Thin White Rope - Exploring the Axis]

Distracting the Mind
I spent the evening of day two doing laundry at the third world laundromat next to the third world grocery store (HEB on Congress.) There I spent over an hour with Spanish music videos on the TV and not a single word of English spoken in the place. It didn't take much effort to pretend I was on vacation in Mexico and had gone into town to do some laundry because, of course, I was on an extended vacation and my quiet little beach bungalow didn't have a washer or dryer. I hadn't brought a book to read so the best activity I could come up with was to people-watch and make up stories about them set in the context of the laundromat in Mexico fantasy. Then I switched the location back to where I really was, a laundromat in South Austin, and noticed how the stories changed. It was an interesting exercise.

Yesterday, I spent the entire day playing The Sims. It's the perfect game to play when you're feeling a bit out of control in your real life, but by the end of the day I was quite bored with it all. I have no idea what I'm going to do today, my last official day of rest. Maybe I'll bake some bread.

[Listening to: Bloody Mary - The Jesus Lizard - Head / Pure]

Day Two
Woke up at 5:00 AM again only this time I wasn't quite as refreshed. There were too many strange dreams that had my brain working overtime, but they ended on an interesting note. All the people I worked with at this last job were standing in a group apart from me and someone standing next to me asked me a question. I don't remember the exact question, but I think it had to do with moving on and I answered, "I need to remember that those people are just a pigment of my imagination." The play on words was deliberate and I woke up with that sentence running through my head. Hmmm, that gives me plenty to think about today.

Also, I should probably clarify my statement about the luxury of staying out of Rob's way in the morning lest anyone think he's some kind of monster when he wakes up. No, it's just that we have a house with one small bathroom, a small kitchen and a small bedroom. Two people getting ready for work at the same will invariably trip over each other multiple times in the course of the morning. This is a dance we've never quite been able to choreograph since neither of us possess strong organizational skills first thing in the morning.

A Day in the Life of the Suddenly Unemployed
9:00 AM Plans to sleep late were thwarted when I woke up at the usual 5:00 AM hour. I took a look at the clock and waited to drift back to sleep when I discovered that I was actually READY to get out of bed. It was an odd feeling, one I don't think I've had in years. I made some coffee and emailed a friend. I reveled in the luxury of staying out of Rob's way while he got ready for work and then spent some time worrying about what I was going to do with the rest of my life. I decided to fill up the outside trashcan before the trashmen arrived at seven, though as luck would have it, it's nine and they still haven't come by the house. Since then, I've mostly been puttering about and squashing worries that are doing their best to muck up what could be a peaceful day of relaxation if my brain would just SHUT UP.

[Listening to: Gettin' By - Jerry Jeff Walker - Viva Terlingua]

THE REAL RAW DEAL

Check this column by Michael Ventura...

The real raw deal

If you are likeminded , you can agree with and cower to this gloom and doom forecast and gnash your teeth and wring your hands about the certain demise of the american dream. On the other hand, if you are a comrade commissar of the GOP, you can dig up a proportionate amount of propaganda that negates what Michael presents to us in his chilling commentary.Who in the hell is telling the truth here?Are we doomed to another depression, or are blue skies and golden dreams just around the corner?
If you are like me (god help you) you wantto buy into the Bush spin,but you cannot deny what you see unfolding around you domestically and globally. He's a puppet, a liar, a friend of the super rich. He's also a fucking dolt, a killer, and a drug addict/alcoholic who traded in his chemical vices to abuse the system and the working class much like regular working class addicts drink coffee and chain smoke.
And what of Kerry? OK, sure...he went to Viet Nam, he won earned some medals. This carries major credibility for me, especially when he came back home and denounced the war in such a public way. A picture of a working class hero. But he's not. He's as privileged as bunnypants,if not more, and his VP mate is just as bad on the "more money than people should have" economic scale.It reminds me of that scene in "Platoon", when Charlie Sheen is telling King he volunteered for the experience and King says "You gotta be rich to think like that".Plus, he's married to a monied woman who strikes me as a bitch, whose demands of him are answered in a "my mother makes the best brisket" kind of pussywhipped roll over and pee on yourself way.Plus she looks like an old barfly...ok, that was a cheap shot. But I swear I got a blo...nevermind about that Denny's parking lot in '80.There's something about him that just isn't right, but I'll take apprehension over fact, and the fact is Bunnypants is the human incarnation of the downfall of the USof A, as much as he would like for you to believe he has the answer, his answer is not the way.His answer is the way to the end. An ugly, ugly end. You might have a shitload of money when the end comes, but it's still the end, the end doesn't care about money, and it's still over for you rich guy...your'e still just as dead as me.
These are rich, privileged people pretending to know what's best for us and I'm here to tell you they don't have a fucking clue. Neither party can address the issues confronting this nation because neither party has been there in a long, long time.

[Listening to: The Wizard - Uriah Heep - Demons and Wizards (3:02)]