why I shouldn't be left alone for extended periods of time

Cathryn got these sweater drying thingies that I thought looked like giant hats. Was I wrong? Only God can truly know the answer to that question.

rogue hair

WARNING! ¡ADVERTENCIA! 경고!

If you're squeamish about hair, DO NOT read this particular blog entry!! This entry has been dramatized for effect, edited for content, and cropped for computer screens. May contain disturbing imagery. Parental discretion advised.

When I was young (just a few years ago it seemed), I worried only about the hair atop my melon of a head. Lo, now that I am aged, I find that I am discovering hair growing where I've never seen before. Where I never fathomed hair would sprout forth and multiply. I gotta say I still don't think I'll ever have to worry about unwanted hair as much as most women have their entire lives, but this new hairy chapter in my life has been quite traumatic!

At first, all I had to deal with were my giant caterpillar brows. That's okay I figured, because I rather liked their distinctiveness and it made sense that I should care for and nurture them (how else would anyone know if I was surprised?) But one fateful day whilst I was cleansing my face, I noticed that it felt like a stray loose hair had gotten caught in my ear. No problem I figured - I'll just wash it out with some water. O the horror there was when I realized that it would not wash out! In fact it would NEVER be washed out!! It would need to be plucked out! For it was firmly rooted in the inner lobe of my ear like some evil horrible seed had sown its wickedness in the pristine pasture of the smooth and beautiful.

From that day forward, I have used all the powers my OCD has given me to never allow such freakish hairs to ever be seen upon my person in public. It is my hope, that by exercising such vigilance, I will never open up a gift and find a battery powered nose hair trimmer along with tiny scissors and tweezers inside.

I guess I should by some XM stock

So I turned on the radio today for about 5 minutes and was greeted by GAWDAWFUL emo alt rock pop crap. It's no wonder everyone bought iPods, they're all trying to do anything they can to not have to be subjected to Infinity Broadcasting's banal, regurgitated playlists. I think their company name comes for what it feels like in terms of time to listen to their selection of music. So take five minutes out of your day and listen to something you might not have heard before! I've posted a song performed by one of my favorite singers and remixed by one of my favorite DJs.

The Gentle Rain by Astrud Gilberto & RJD2

ow my ears!

So lately I've been trying to figure out how to add some music to my little blog since I've always wanted to, and since many other people seem to be doing the same without difficulty. Apparently the answer was there all the time in the form of a del.icio.us java tag, but I'm still not entirely with Web 2.0 and I'm completely darrrrrrr.... clueless about what del.icio.us is exactly and why I'd want to use it (it turns out that I don't). ANYway... here's my first posted song. It's a little ditty from Simon Says that I heard during the end credits of Boiler Room (love that movie!).

Pharoah Monch by Simon Says [warning! explicit lyrics]

tasty buds

Tonight at a small gathering for dinner, I floated the notion that taste buds change every 7 years or so. I thought this was one of those common knowledge things, but apparently not! No one else knew what I was talking about, so I figured I'd look it up on the internet (Where all the answers are! Seriously. I'm sure Bono could find out those street names he was after by using Google Maps. Someone should tell him.)

After an exhaustive search of 5 minutes, it would seem there's a lot of conjecture out there. Suffice to say that it definitely does happen to people, and here's an interesting thread to read from a Chowhound message board filled with anecdotal stories like mine (Didn't like Oreos, now I do. And I believe I previously mentioned in another post of my gradual acquirement of taste for food that's got more hizzle in the sizzle.)

But regardless if you're a believer in the 7 year itch for different foods or not, I say it doesn't matter what's right or wrong, just think of it as a chance to add something new to your lexicon of chomp and guzzle :)

dancing with the stars

One of my dreams growing up was to have a house with a fireman's pole that you could slide down from an upper floor. I'm pretty sure the dream stemmed from my carefree days of climbing around on the school yard monkey bars with agile skill and bountiful glee. Well I got older, and the agile skill isn't so agile anymore, but I'm still filled with bountiful glee. But being older of course, made me realize that poles weren't just for climbing around on or for rapid transport to a lower level. In fact, poles could be used for something... else. For whatever reason, there was an ad for such alternative use poles which popped up along side one of my emails. I wonder if I could find some place to install one of these shiny homages to the imagination of mankind.

it's just... weird

So lately I haven't had much of an appetite. I can't figure out why. Could be the warm weather, could be the exercise, but I just don't feel really hungry. This whole week I had one real lunch that consisted of more than some yogurt, blueberries, and an apple, which is what I had for all the other days. The dinners I have are normal, but other than that... nothing. But the craving is still there I tell you! I could just imagine chewing on some pizza, burger, or taco related vittles. Mmmmm... or some fried goodness from Popeye's.

I'm sure it's just a phase of some sort, and I'll be back to gorging myself like I like to do. But in the meantime, I suppose it'll be good to be on my way to being able to fit into all my clothes that don't have an elastic band at the top.

In other, less me centric news, scientists have figured out how to introduce genes into mice that allow them to have color vision. I think it's kind of cool, but also kind of scary. It's kind of cool because now the mice can enjoy watching reality television programs the way they were meant to be seen. And it's kind of scary because I'm sure DARPA will figure out a way to enable soldiers to see in the dark or in the infrared spectrum. Wait... I guess actually both of those things are cool! Genetic manipulation is fun for everyone :)

bike me

panoramarama (click the above image to get a HUGE panoramic view - 2mb)

In an effort to be able to fit into my pants again, I have finally started to do some exercise. Lucky for me there's a nice bay trail only a mile or so from home. The ride through local streets is kinda sucky because I just hate riding a bike next to cars, but once I arrive at the marshes I'm rewarded with a magnificent view. I tried to take some pictures to convey what I see, but in the end I decided only the panorama would do. I loosely stitched together about 10 shots in photoshop so you can get an idea of what I'm talking about. I only wish you could hear the wind blowing across the water and see magnificent egrets fly slowly by.

As a super happy lucky mega bonus, at the trail head is this awesome Mexican/Peruvian place. It's not much to look at, but Cathryn and I went walking here over the weekend and decided to check it out. You know how you look for local places to eat that are absolutely amazing, but that no one knows about and Zagat hasn't reviewed? Well this is it! It's family owned and operated – the mom cooked the food and her son served it. I think I'll start writing to every weekly reader to try to get them to write a review about this place. It's awesome!

our home kicks the asses of other homes

So I did an energy audit after getting a nice letter from PG&E (our local energy provider). And apparently we're doing our part in leaving a small energy footprint upon the world. Compared to similarly sized homes in our neck of the woods, we're paying about $500 less annually in utility bills than the average household - which is great and all, but my question is, what is everyone else doing that we're not?!!

So instead of installing solar panels, which I thought would be a really cool thing to do, I think I'll work on getting a hot tub, central air conditioning, a xenon porch light, and a Tesla coil.

MirrorMask

Over the weekend I finally got to watch MirrorMask. I gotta say, the imagery was a visual smörgåsbord, rife with wonder and imagination beyond... well, your imagination. Let's just say if your dreams were ever a movie, it would probably look something like this.

The only head scratcher for me was reading the reviews of this movie that had many people complaining that they couldn't follow the story; that it was too confusing or complex. I can't figure out why anyone would feel that way because if anything, this movie's plot is far, far, too simple. The story is this: girl's mom gets sick, girl worries and goes to sleep, girl has weird dreams, girl wakes up and mom is better. The end. Sure there's a lot of dream interpretation in between, but that's all it is. It's a dream! Sit back and enjoy the ride, because it's someone else's dream.

One of the coolest parts of this movie is this little red cube. A character removes it from his mask and drops it on the ground. It then opens up once with a mouse like character playing music, then suddenly on all sides with other mouse like characters accompanying him. Really, the description and the picture doesn't do it any justice, but trust me, it's cool!

ps. The extras on the DVD are BOOOOOOORRRRRRiiiinnnnnngggg. Save yourself the trouble and just rewatch the movie if you liked it that much.

cool stuff

Hooray for fun Google technology! They've now added "themes" to the homepage and they're lots of fun. After entering you ZIP code, the picture changes to show the time of day. This particular one is the tea garden and has a bunch of cute little critters running around it.

For some reason during the day today, I could remember the smell of Cup O' Noodles and I craved it.

Buttress at Bev's

Robert noticed that the buttresses holding up the balcony above looked a little phallic. From my point of view, it looked a lot like a particular toy used in lesbian porn flicks (so I've heard). You be the judge! Maybe Disney was the manufacturer...

A loose transcription of a recent conversation

Cathryn: Why doesn't your calendar have Easter on it?
Walt: I dunno... I see tax day, April fool's day, even daylight savings time...

C: Hmmmm.... I see Easter, Good Friday, and passover.
W: What's passover?

C: I don't know, you might want to try asking Andrew. He probably knows.
W: Why Andrew? Is he Jewish? I can't remember. Maybe they meant 'overpass'. Like a freeway overpass.

C: Oh my god. I gotta go.

It's hypercube madness!!!

Okay, so those images are just for Bejewelled 2 geeks, but I really wanted to post these shots for posterity. I was amazed and thought it not possible when I managed 8 hypercubes, then Cathryn continued the game and added another!

In non-geek, but random news, my cousin emailed me a post card invitation to join her/some Christian church. I know she means well, but I wonder if Christian folk know just how insulting it is to presume they are entitled to proselytize whenever they feel like it, especially to people who have already TOLD them that they are not interested in that flavor of faith! Maybe I should tell her that I rather enjoy sex with small furry animals and would gladly join the church if I could pass out pamphlets there saying how great it is.

The word of the day is...
hyperbole [hi • pur • buh • lee] ~ noun
1. obvious and intentional exaggeration.
2. an extravagant statement or figure of speech not intended to be taken literally, as “to wait an eternity.”
3. when you accomplish anything in life, give credit to God, because that's who really did it, not you.

Tales from the edge

On Monday Cathryn had the day off, so we went to Dublin to get her hair done and shop for make-up (I'm such a good boyfriend!). Everything went great for her (superb haircut and styling, and found make-up that she liked), but let me tell you, being a guy in a salon or make-up store sucks. Not for the reasons you're probably thinking of, but because the employees of said establishments always treat me like a style and fashion retard or an accessory. I have skills! I have opinions! I am not an animal!!! I even know what color sea foam green is.

Whew! I just needed to get that off my chest, and now I feel better. In less rant-like happenings, something magical happened that day beyond the fabulous haircut and well found make-up; Cathryn and I ate dinner at Chevy's and used a coupon for a $5 discount on our meal. I don't know why, but it felt like a relationship milestone of some sort. I guess it's a no brainer to spend money as a couple, but to save five bucks on a dinner and be giddy doing so really felt good. We were like, "Woohoo! Free money!" and "Wow! This would NEVER happen on a regular date!" Life is good!

I figured I'd share something that I thought was cool and unabashedly soft, since I'm being outed as an "ol' softie" on the t-shirt contest thing anyway. But not to worry, I still want to see movies like Grindhouse and watch hockey on the TV.

Threadless Contest Entry

Hey! One of my designs that I submitted to Threadless.com is up for voting. Please vote high and often ;)



UPDATE: The voting process is almost drawing to a close and reading and responding to comments has been a great experience. I also got a lot of support from friends and their response was both surprising and greatly appreciated. I'll include this update with a comment I left explaining myself to people who had left comments questioning the design...

These comments are great! I'm glad people seem to generally approve of it despite some possibilities for improvement. But being a trained graphic designer, I can explain all design decisions with good smelling BS... While the ice cubes, upon superficial observation, seem to merely interpret the popular 80's song "I Melt With You", you'll notice that they are joined only by their mutual suffering in the form of an ever growing puddle comprised of their temporary existence, yet they are happy. This moment in time captures the happiness true love feels despite a fate that surely has a Shakespearian ending. Their very bodies will be mixed and evaporated together, and like their love, represents the ethereal nature of us all.

Chocolate chickens

Those are two words that I never thought I'd hear together, but so it was at the recent wine, cheese, and chocolate soirée that we attended. Leave it to mister MMV to bring it up, which of course lead to jokes about chicken chocolate shakes and whatnot (it was funny, but I'm sure you had to be there hopped up on the wine).

In my Google search for pictures of chocolate chickens, I came across some cooking site that had a recipe for beer can chicken. It's morbid in a way, but I find the picture hilarious, as it seems to depict chickens having some sort of relaxing time on the grill rather than being cooked upon it.

ps. Dictionary.com's word of the day is "nonplus". I'm not sure exactly why, but I really hate that word.

More Netflix fun

Our second Netflix movie was "Flushed Away". It's a lot of fun, well done with clever jokes (an Aardman trademark), and a mime scene that's an instant classic. My only regret is not purchasing the special collector's fluid filled DVD edition at Target a couple weeks ago (not that I really need to add to my aging and bloating collection anyway).

Speaking of aging and bloating, I totally feel fat and unproductive these days. I definitely feel happier more often than I can ever recall though. Hmmm... maybe I need to be more miserable and angry to exercise.

Chose your own adventure (Charlieeeee)

Cathryn recently picked up this DVD for me from the original Netflix (the library). I've been a fan of the Choose Your Own Adventure series of books ever since they came out when I was in elementary school. As far as I know this is the only DVD they ever made from the series, which is too bad since many of the books were a lot of fun. This DVD is definitely for kids, as it is kind of grating to hear the voice acting of Frankie Muniz (Malcolm in the Middle) and the choices to make towards the correct path are fairly easy calls.

But like this books, the DVD is lots of fun. We whipped through it in about 15-20 minutes and ended up in Shangri-La after finding out the secrets of the Yeti. The real fun is to go back and see what other paths there are to take, which the DVD makes easy by having a menu of decision points to choose from after your adventure ends. Among the fun ways to meet your fate – killed by a brown bear (in the Himalayas no less), killed by a swarm of bees, killed by tigers (after being thrown in a pit by a poacher), and getting left behind due to AMS (acute mountain sickness). Of course, this being a kid's DVD, you don't actually see any gruesome fates, just a fade to black and the words, "The End?", with the question mark appearing dramatically over the period.

The other thing Cathryn got me from the library is a copy of Rich Dad, Poor Dad. I'll get back to you on that when I'm a millionaire.

FREE Google Calls!

I'm starting to wonder if Google will suddenly turn evil and use its vast stores of knowledge and cash for world domination, but in the meantime, I just discovered that you can make free calls to businesses using Google maps! All you have to do is search for a business using Google maps and click on the "call" link. Then you enter your phone number and Google connects you to the number and picks up the tab. Gotta love free services!!!

The Defarted

As I *sqeeeeeze* out yet a tiny bit more Blistex from my mostly spent Blistex tube, I write this blog. And I should probably also have some caffine too, as it is currently 6:30am. Yes, I said it - AM! I totally fell asleep last night at 10:30 and now I'm up and actually feel mostly rested (we'll see how long it lasts).

Anywho... here's the dish on my first Netflix movie, the Oscar winning, Irish bashing, face smashing, bullet ridden, brain splattered roller coaster ride that is The Departed. I had high expectations for this movie, and while not completely disappointed, it wasn't as good as I hoped it would be.

The very first thing you'll notice is that everyone kind of looks the same at first. Why, why, WHY, when filmmakers are introducing 15 characters would they ever have them all wearing similar clothes with the same haircut? I understand it's Boston and all, but at least have someone have a limp or a flower in their lapel or something so that we can easily distinguish one person from another (in the movie, everyone has a bad accent, bad haircut, and bad attitude - also the entire city consists of all Irish men, slutty therapists, and two black guys).

Everyone involved does a pretty good job, but DiCaprio and Nicholson both deliver stand out performances (in my opinion anyway) and I was very surprised they weren't nominated for anything (Wahlberg did a good job as well, but his part is so small and one dimensional, I would hardly even qualify it as a supporting role). If you can look past giant plot holes and things left unexplained, you'll enjoy yourself lots.

One side effect of this movie is that for at least 6 hours afterwards, I felt as though someone at any moment would come bursting into the room to shoot me in the head, splattering my brains and head full of blood all over the room. Seriously, I'm NOT kidding! There were a lot of graphic head shots in this movie and I'm not sure if all of them were necessary. It was pretty traumatizing. On the flip side, the next day I had feelings of being able to solve any issues I had with anyone by shooting them in the head. Who says violent movies don't make people violent? :)

ps. Scorsese may have won for best director for this film, but I personally would choose Bringing Out the Dead or Kundun as better representations of his incredible talent.

pps. I'm always disappointed when I see some fantastically designed posters for a movie that's not carried through in the titles or in other marketing material. Instead of the above stark, traditional design, they moved on to a crappier standard poster.

ppps. Who did the soundtrack for The Departed??? It seriously sucked big donkey brains.

I need a hair cut!

Last night I stayed up until about 5 doing some work and then moving on to making design submissions for Threadless.com. Not that I think I'll win (though it'd be nice!), but it felt SO good to do something purely creative without any expectations attached to it. I don't know why I always forget that I need a creative outlet, but I do. The next step is to purchase acrylics and take advantage of the incredibly generous donation of canvases to me from Andrea before she went away to attend Otis.

I managed to complete another fun little project today and that was the installation of a new fangled thermostat. I gotta tell ya, the place is much more comfortable now! Who knew it would make such a big difference? Of course, during the installation process, I discovered that the wasps are building another condo in the attic vent. *Sigh* ...one project always seems to lead to another, doesn't it?

Much ablog about nothing

My mind currently feels out of place. Or more accurately, not timed correctly. I've felt this way before, and sometimes it's better and sometimes is more pronounced. The best way I could describe the feeling is if you imagined that your thoughts and thought processes flowed like a river. If you've ever spent time at the river's edge, you'd see large pools of water that swirled in place and didn't go anywhere (usually trapped by a circle of boulders). If you watched long enough though, eventually a big rush would come by and flush it all out, and the once stagnant water would rejoin the torrents passing by.

I'm not really sure what's going on, but lately it seems like I always have force stagnant thoughts downstream to get anything done. Everything feels gridlocked inside. It's very weird to have so many thoughts and ideas that have no where to go. At least it feels better to write about it though. *Sigh* I probably just need to get out of the house...