Mind Vomit by the ikss

beta carotene

I just ate an entire pound of baby carrots. By myself.

Just thought I'd share.

the ralph and karl show

Of course, right as I get back in to writing on this blog, I come across this article: “Is Personal Blogging Fast-Fading?”.

Andrea, you may be particularly interested in the following paragraph:

To be honest, I don't know anyone using Twitter or Jaiku other than my geek techie friends, but microblogs are quickly gaining momentum beyond early adopters…

:) Hee!

I came across some interesting (well, to me anyway) articles on these internets this morning. Let’s discuss…

my day, in convenient list format

One of the guys who works in the actual nursery here at Friendly Flower Place apparently had to trim back a Gardenia bush this morning, because he brought several of the blooms in to our office. I now have one in a little vase on my desk.

And it smells absolutely wonderful.

What a nice little treat for my day, I must say.

gordy on peter case's blog

Hmm…so Peter Case reprints an interview (or part of one) with a certain Mr. Gordon Lightfoot on his blog.

Well, that's just delightful! :) I happen to love Gordy, but as I am one of only a hand full of Americans who do, I always find it exciting when others show their appreciation of him. The fact that this appreciation comes from another songwriter whom I revere is just...well...delightful!

(or is it a show of appreciation? I mean, really, Peter Case just reprinting an article having to do with songwriting...

I choose to think Mr. Case loves Mr. Lightfoot)

how was your weekend

Well, after working on this exercise, I am sadly reminded that I am not at all creative…

Week 282

I say ... and you think ... ?
1. Goodbye :: Hasta
2. Cage :: Bars
3. Buddy :: Pal
4. Magic words :: Wand
5. Library :: Space
6. Fall in love :: Flutter
7. Tense :: Ache
8. Work! :: Interruption
9. Empty :: Air
10. Heat wave :: Ugh!

my first memory

My first memory is of my father helping me use the potty.

We were in the master bathroom of our house on Lawford Street and I remember that my parents were getting ready to go somewhere. Now, my mother was the one who usually helped me to use the facilities, but she was apparently otherwise occupied on this particular evening, so my daddy was helping me. Once I had completed my business on the toilet, he helped me pull my pants up. However, he pulled both the pants and the panties up, in one fell swoop; which, as anyone can tell you, leads to the improper placement of the panties and causes them to bunch uncomfortably inside one’s pants. You must pull up the panties, then pull up the pants, separately.

“No, Daddy. You pull up the underwear first.”

This is the first thing I can remember saying to my father.

And I heard my mother echo me, from the adjacent bedroom, in that teasing tone she sometimes gets to her voice. “Yes, Daddy – you pull up the underwear first.” I seem to recall they both chuckled, or there was at least the idea that they were smiling at each other.

There is something completely endearing to me about this memory, and a tad sentimental. I’m not sure why. Scenes similar to this one have probably been acted out in most every house in America. But there is something about the awkward, yet loving way my father assisted me which seems reflective of the way he was with his children in general – he knew he wanted to help, he just wasn’t sure about the mechanics.

off-shore drilling

OK, this makes my blood boil.

Opening up off-shore drilling is not the answer to your soaring gas prices, people. Even if we start drilling in new places tomorrow, it will be years before that drilling translates in to useable oil. Additionally, America has under its surface only 3% of the world’s oil supplies. We’re not going to get much, even if we do drill. Perhaps most important is the fact that THERE IS NOT AN INFINITE SUPPLY OF OIL ON THIS PLANET, FUCKTARD! We’re running out. There will be no more oil, some day. Whether we spoil our environment by drilling all over it or not, THERE WILL BE NO MORE OIL.

So…and this is just a thought…perhaps it is time to consider alternate fuel options.

Perhaps the money idiot Dubya wants to spend raping the planet so we can feed our SUVs would be better spent developing alternative fuel sources. Perhaps it may even be time for him to discuss electric vehicles with our car manufacturers.

I understand that Dubya, Cheney and their buddies have a huge stake in oil companies and that perhaps this is the real reason they want to drill, drill and drill some more. However…

Wait…I guess there is no “however”. Because when all you care about is lining your pockets, there is no alternate way of viewing the world you are leaving to your children.

what's new?

So my brother in-law is doing well with his new, used kidney. The kidney is being a tad temperamental and is not working 100% of the time, but it is working some and the doctors are not overly concerned. Of course, we are all sending high hopes and positive thoughts his way, with a prayer or two to The Guy Upstairs, as well.

Other people who could have used our prayers recently? The Lakers.

Frankly, I am happy for Boston. They were at the bottom last year and are now at the top. They worked hard. They play hella-fab* defense. The totally threw the Lake’s off their game. They simply out-played them and they won.

The Lakers looked like a high school team last night.

While I like the Lakers and have a quasi-allegiance to them, stemming from the years when I loved them like no other – my like for the Lakers is far out-weighed by my dislike of Kobe Bryant.

Sorry, kids. I don’t care that he was acquitted. I still think he did it. I think the man has not heard the word “no” very often and didn’t fully understand its’ definition that night. Plus, he’s just an arrogant tool over-all.

So anyway – for me, this loss is not one which is going to send me in to weeks of despair, despite the fact that I live in Southern California.

i do

So today, in the State of California, hundreds of gay couples are saying “I Do” to one another. This is because, as of yesterday, their marriage will now be recognized and allowed by law, with all of the benefits implied by such.

Cool, huh? And about damn time.

The highest court of our state has dictated that such a marriage should be allowed and legal, ruling that "people have a fundamental 'right to marry' the person of their choice and that gender restrictions violate the state Constitution's equal protection guarantee"*. Like, no kidding. It’s amazing and downright inconceivable to me that this is still an issue and yet gay marriage is recognized and allowable by law in only one state.

Until yesterday, that is. Somewhere during the past few years since we had an initiative on the ballot which outlawed such marriages, we in California evolved in to a higher version of ourselves. We have finally recognized that love is love and that adults who want to do so should be allowed to marry and thereby create a family and a future together.

Of course, some in the State of California are putting an initiative on our November ballot which will once again outlaw these marriages by ammending our State Constitution.

Because we may have evolved, but at our core we are still asshats.

the alaska experiment

Did anyone watch The Alaska Experiment on the Discovery Channel? I did. Aside from thinking it was far too short, I highly enjoyed it.

Here is the premise: Four groups of people were sent off to live for three months in little cabins in Alaska, to see if they can make it out there on their own. See the web site for additional details.

I loved this show. The whole time I was watching, I was thinking, “Where was I when they were casting this show?” The Old Man would be great on it – he is strong, he can fix anything; when you give him something which is not working, he will figure out how to make it work – even if he doesn’t have the tools he needs, he will jerry-rig something up. He’s handy to have around, is what I’m saying. He would be ideal in a survival situation.

Me? I would just look good and take lots of pictures. And probably supply the comic-relief by falling down a lot.

Sure, after only a few weeks of being cooped up in a cabin the size of my closet one of us would most likely be killed by the other – but that just makes for good tv, right?

Anyway, I figured this show was a one-time experiment. I was bummed I missed out.

Well…They are now casting for season two of The Alaska Experiment!

So yes, I applied. The Old Man has no idea I did so, but I figure if they actually call us in I’ll tell him then. Sure, if we get cast it will mean we have to take 3 months off of work and we both just started new jobs and are actually in the process of moving in to a new home, complete with a new lease. These are just technicalities, folks. I would find a way to make it work, if it meant 3 months living in Alaska.

All joking and job-related concerns aside, I would seriously LOVE to challenge myself in this way. That’s why I was so excited by the show in the first place. The notion of pushing our bodies and our mental capacity to that extreme is quite attractive to me. Not only do you have the obvious physical challenge of hiking long distances with packs, hunting for your food, chopping wood endlessly for days on end; the isolation and having to live with one other person in a tiny space – even a person you like to have sex with – would push you to the max. And what would it be like to totally disconnect from society - from our cell phones, the constant clamor of the television, from the internet; even from our families?

I like to be pushed.

Well, I like to be pushed when I know there are survival specialists off camera who will try to make sure I don’t die...