Artifishall

Kids books

2009-09-23T16:06:00.001-05:00

Kids books
Originally uploaded by artifishall.

thanks to thrift stores our kid book collection just grew

-21 Degrees

2008-01-30T14:30:00.001-06:00

Driving down the highway on a cold night, the temperature, -21 degrees Fahrenheit. All of a sudden my radio cuts out. "Did I fuck up my iPhone during that last jailbreak?" I check my phone, it is running fine. The stereo on the other hand, not so much. "Great, now I need a new stereo."

A few miles down the road, I begin to notice the dashboard going a little haywire. The light with a stick figure resting its head on an airbag keeps flashing, "Is my airbag about to deploy?" I begin to look for an exit, for an ill feeling had been resting in the pit of my stomach ever since I left work and if I have learned anything in this crazy life of mine it is to trust your gut. My luck, there are no exits in sight. I am not even half way through my 30 minute drive home from work.

Snow is flying across the road, visibility is low, and I begin to notice that my headlights are fading. The interior lights are fading, the headlights keep getting dimmer and dimmer, and the car is beginning to make funny sounds. The alternator has failed to do its job, my battery is dead, and now I find myself coasting to the side of the road.

Time to bust out the speed dial, I call a few and my landlord Rick is the first to pick up. He immediately jumps in his truck and makes his way to find me. The cold begins to creep in, I pull out my wool blanket from the back of my car and wrap myself. Yesterday I left home in just a fleece thinking that the weather was on an upturn. I normally sleep in Appleton after band practice on Mondays so I was not ready for the weather to make this turn for the worse. I try to keep my mind off things by taking my 365 self portrait, powncing, and looking for a tow truck on my iPhone. That doesn't stop the cold.

About 40 minutes go by and finally my ride shows, grabbing my bag with laptop and my bass guitar I jump in a start to thaw. Rick calls the cops in New London to find out what I should do. They tell us to call the Outagaime County Sherriff's department, who transfers me to Winnebago county, in which I lose due to a drop call halfway through the call. I call back and get transfered to Waupaca County (which was my misunderstanding). So I get back to Outagaime, transfered back to Winnebago, to find out that my car is being towed to Menasha, near where I work. Now that I have everything figured out I found myself at the nearest bar for a well deserved cocktail.

New Years Resolutions

2007-12-31T16:55:00.001-06:00

I'm one to hold off to the last minute and by chance a few ideas came to mind when I read what others are doing (on pownce). Somehow I am usually good at keeping them so I'm about to give myself a bunch of work to do.

so here it goes 1. Blog more 2. Start a Video Podcast (need some actors) 3. Get back into Yoga 4. Get back into rock climbing (ever since my sis moved to Seattle I've been slacking) 5. record an album with my band

New Site Design

2007-12-09T17:23:00.001-06:00

So I finally redesigned my site. Still have some work to do, but was tired of the old design. The navigation is better and I finally unified all the deferent sections so the podcast, blog, and homepage are all the same (and yes I know I need to record a new podcast - it is coming very soon). I stripped out all of my social web presence, though it will be back at a later time, I just want to make it fit in a little better.

I now have a site that I'm not ashamed of, being that the sites I create for other people are looking better that my personal site. This also leaves me in the position to finally leave my old blogspot blog behind. I might keep posting there since I'm using flock and it would be easy to repost but if I drop of the face of the internet you might want to check my site or add the new rss feed.

Flock - The Social Web Browser

2007-12-02T15:53:00.001-06:00

So I am witting this new post from the comfort of a new browser called Flock. If you are used to Firefox or Mozilla you will be right at home for it is built on top of the same source code though it is a bit more forward thinking. The development team over at flock has built in some nice features into this browser including many social networking tools.

For instance if you login to your Flickr, Facebook, Blogger, YouTube, or Twitter account it will ask you if you want to integrate that account into the browser. For the photo and video sharing sites (i.e. flickr, Facebook, & YouTube) the browser has a media bar built in to navigate through the pictures and videos. There is also a person sidebar built in that will display your friend's updates to twitter, facebook, flickr, and YouTube. de.licio.us bookmarking is also built into the browser so that you can save your bookmarks to the browser and to the de.licio.us web site at the same time.

If you are a blogger then you can take advantage of the blogging feature which brings up a window with an editor similar to what most blogging sites use. You can type in text in the editor section (basic WYSIWYG), fix up your html in the source section, and see what it will look like in the preview section. It also allows editing previous posts making for a quicker experience in getting your job done.

And if you are worried about leaving your favorite Firefox extensions behind you are in luck because most of them will work in Flock.

Overall it is a great browser and I can see there is potential for it to grow. I have switched over fairly successfully in the past few days. It imported all of my cookies, bookmarks, and passwords that I had saved in Firefox though I don't think that the people sidebar it quite up to snuff when it comes to twitter, as It had a hard time keeping up with tweetr.

Blogged with Flock

Web 2.Ode (the song via seesmic)

2007-12-01T15:13:00.001-06:00

So I posted a poem I had written the other day. Today I decided to turn it into a song and use it as my first seesmic video. Now To teach it to my band :-)

Now if you are wondering what seesmic is, it is the video version of twitter. People post short videos (5 min limit) and others respond creating an online conversation. You can also hook seesmic up to twitter so when you post a new video your twitter followers will know. Currently it is in its alpha release so an invite is hard to come by, keep your eyes out for one.

Blogged with Flock

Web 2.Ode

2007-11-28T23:21:00.000-06:00

Strings of characters go flying by

A count of 141 they’ll always shy

Seesmic utterz flickrd on a twittergram

Blogposts podcasts and talk of no spam

mySpace and facebook bring home the bacn

thez cheezburgers are de.licio.us if I’m not mistaken

c’mon digg me up my voice must be heard

Screaming at the end of my fingers to the sound of a bird

I’m here I’m there and everywhere else too

Socializing, my tongue I do not talk through

From a phone to the im or in a feed

We communicate at light speed

while I’m pownceing you that must have file

iPhone, PS3, and Xbox lines stretch a mile

I’m flipping through Joost, Netflix, and youTube

Stopping by the Tikibar to drink with the crew

Then to the winelibrary to find a good red

While the Ninja promises I’ll be dead

Hanging around in me.dium with ½ a duo

Logging into root using sudo

I’m checkin on my stats with authority

And googling my ego, brave I must be

All of this to stimulate my mind

Or maybe just to see what I’ll find

Zach Chisholm

Riding the iPhone Rollercoaster

2007-10-03T17:55:00.001-05:00

Sitting in a starbucks with itunes ads all over the place I am reminded of the last apple event announcing the online store coming to the iPhone & iPod touch. Theoretically I could buy that Marvin Gaye song I'm listening to, but one thing stands in my way ... Apple.

They released the update with the music store for the iPhone but I'm not upgrading. Why? Well I'm on another turn of this rollorcoaster ride of being an iPhone owner.

The anticipation of this ride was the best part. We heard rumors for months before hand stocked with patent filings, fake ads on youtube, and the leaked announcement on diggnation.

Then there was the line to get on this ride, people were lifecasting, the news was all over it, and people were calling it the launch of the century.

Of course we early adopters will never forget the $200 price drop & $100 credit.

The next high I got was when I found my way through jailbreak and started installing third party apps. I could now play games, keep track of my checking, and draw on my iPhone.

Now apple has come out with a new update that will kill all those apps if I install it. So I like so many iPhone owners are holding out on the install. Who is the biggest loser in this situation? I say it is apple. Now they won't have their music store on these phones for impulse buys and they also have a core group of users making awsome apps that make this phone more appealing to potential buyers. Sure people like the photo capabilities and coverflow but I get more ohhs and ahhs with ttr (iPhone Guitar Hero) and sketch (high tech etch-a-sketch).

I would like to think someone at apple will read this and have an epiphany but I'm thinking I have a better chance of mutating into a superhero.

Rock Me.dium - The online Moshpit

2007-09-19T17:17:00.000-05:00

Me.dium has been pushing the boundaries of the web ever since it started its beta release earlier this year. I first found it through the podcast Tiki Bar Tv when Dr. Tiki sent an invitation through the tiki bar facebook group to come and hang out and chat during the next episode premiere. Now they are hosting RockMe which they are dubbing the online mosh pit.

Me.dium is unlike other social networks. It exists in the sidebar of your browser (firefox or internet explorer). There you can see a visualization of where you friends are on the web and chat with any number of users. While you go from site to site a link below your name changes letting people know where you are and likewise you can see what site your friends are on. By clicking on your friends you go to the site they are looking at. It makes sharing new sites more interactive.

This is where Tiki Bar Tv excels because fans of the show can chat with other fans and stars of the show while everybody watches together.

I can see RockMe accomplishing a similar task by music fans sharing their favorite music and videos along with talking to musicians. The whole thing is hosted by Rose Hill Drive and features the Willowz, Gosling, Jeffrey Lewis, the Fiery Furnaces, and last but not least J. Mascis of Dinosaur Jr. will be showing up on the 22nd. It lasts from Sept. 18 - 24 so go on over to Me.dium and check it out.

Apple's missing Buttons

2007-09-05T14:52:00.000-05:00

Apple anounced a new line of iPods today and a update to the iPhone which adds the iTunes music store to this wonder gadget.

from: engadget

Apple did it to us once when they first announced the iPhone, they left out the youTube button only to announce it at a later time. Now they have announced that they will be adding the iTunes store to the iPhone, but there are still three spots left on the homepage. Will we be seeing a games button there soon? What else could they be plotting to add. It does look out of place, that new little button there on the bottom of the screen, a little lonely.

Will there be the addition of sanctioned third party apps in this void at the bottom of the screen? With the abundance of iPhone hacks out there that prove this can be done, will Apple give in? There is already a hack that allows multiple homepages on the iPhone and one that allows you to scroll this page so the possibilities are endless. It is doubtful that Apple will implement these hacks but they still have a little over three months till Christmas to entice those who haven't given in already.

Cave In

2007-08-25T00:42:00.000-05:00

I wrote this for the tiki bar tv / me.dium contest http://www.me.dium.com/node/863

With only the light of the full moon I sat on a park bench with my new acquisition and awaited my contact. As I sat there I wondered why was I giving up such an priceless artifact and to who. Was this person worthy of such an item, had my travels been all for naught? I thought of what I had gone through to obtain it, the endless miles I had to walk, the endless hours of research, the awful cocktails I had to drink. This was a truly unique item and I was giving it up for monetary gain, what kind of fool am I?

I’ll bring you up to speed, when I was in the far east studying with a few Tibetan monks I had a vision. Now this was no drug induced hippy vision, this was a vision of enlightenment brought on by a long meditation. In this vision a Tiki came to me. He spoke of a small island that held a Tiki Mug with a unique power. I asked where this island was but he could only say, "Find the one who breathes with another’s breath". With those words he was gone.

For weeks these words ran trough my head but I could not make light of them. One day I was walking down a corridor towards the main hall, as I had everyday since I came to stay at this monastery. When I came to a small shrine I looked at a statue that stood before me. A large carving of a ancient man stood before me playing a flute. "One who breathes with another’s breath", that is it. Upon further inspection I looked in the flute and a old scroll was buried deep in it. I pulled it out and to my amazement it was a map. I spook to no one of this and promptly set out on a voyage to this island.

As I sailed to the far south east edge of the Polynesian islands the ocean beat upon the ship as if a force beyond our control wanted to keep me from my destination. The crew took one look at the dormant volcano at the center of the island and refused to set foot on her banks.

So I set out on a trek to the center of the island by myself. When I finally reached the base of the volcano, I stumbled across an iceberg, literally tripping over it as it had melted down to the size of a pebble thus sending me into a crevasse head over heals. When I finally came to a stop I realized that my liquor supply had been smashed in the fall. Covered with booze I quickly tore off my shirt and wrung it into my mouth. To preoccupied with the salvation of my liquor I neglected to heed my surroundings.

The fall had brought me to a cave far below the base of the volcano and after only a few drops of rum had reached my tongue did I notice that a green glow was filling the cave. There before me stood a pillar, atop rested a green tiki mug that was producing the glow.

I ran over to it squeezing various pieces of clothing and gear until I produced a Cocktail called "Cave In"

Ingredients :

- 1 oz amaretto

- 1 oz Cuban rum

- 1 oz peach liqueur

- 1 splash orange juice

- 1 splash cranberry juice

I took one sip and a weird sensation came over me. Proceeding to finish the drink I then gathered my gear, packed the tiki mug safely away in my pack, and made my way back to the ship. As soon as I got there the captain said. "Are you done monkeying around"?

As soon as the words came out of his mouth I began to jump around, swing from branches, and I even threw my feces at the crew members. Then I knew the power of this mug. I had "caved in" to his words. Little did the captain know what power he held at that point, a person with such knowledge could have had me doing anything they pleased. When I came to my senses I went straight to my cabin and locked myself in until the effects wore off.

I tested the mug out on unknowing subjects and every time I did I felt guilty. Without the will to use the mug to my advantage I decided to get rid of it but how?

Then one night in a bar a man approached me, "Bartenders, I vould like to order a some vodka, makes me a screwdriver," After taking a sip, he turned to me and asked, "You looks familiar, haves I seen you before?"

"I don’t think so," I replied.

"You haves been to the islands?"

"Islands, what Islands?"

"You have beens to the Polynesian islands."

"Yes I have, but I don’t think we have met."

"No, but I believes you might haves something I vant. I talked with a crewmember of a ship you sailed on and they described an item I have beens lookings for, a green Tikis Mug."

"What do you want with it?" I asked.

"Only to collect, I have the biggest collection of tikis in ze world at the Learnstitute Museum."

I pondered this offering, if he is truly just a collector the mug would be safe in the museum and not used for ill gotten gains. "You have a deal, Mr..."

"Mr. Ambassador"

Did I sell the Tiki mug to Mr. Ambassador? Does the green mug find its way on to a shelf in the Tiki Bar? Find out next time.

facebook adds application links to profile

2007-08-22T17:22:00.001-05:00

facebook links
Originally uploaded by artifishall.

So While I was posting my last blog post to facebook I noticed a new feature. There are now icons located under the profile picture that take you to where the application is nested on your or your friends profile.

This is a simple but very useful way to get to that wall or pirate application that could be hiding anywhere amongst the explosion of applications that have hit facebook in the past few months. It even highlights the app after you click on it.

AT&T Shrinks Paper bills

2007-08-22T14:56:00.000-05:00

Today AT&T announced through a text message that they are shrinking their paper bills by getting rid of itemized data transfers. At my estimation this is due to a viral video that iJustine released after she received a 300 page phone bill in a box (see video below).

Not only that but she was on the front page of Yahoo news, CNN, Fox news and a few other news sources because of it

Now you may say that she talks on the phone way to much but the real meat of the bill comes from AT&T itemizing every data transfer. In this day and age of the internet I am glad AT&T woke up, though they were probably looking at their bottom line, thinking $9 is to much to spend sending out bills.

Pownce Badges

2007-07-16T01:39:00.000-05:00

So as you may know from previous posts I have recently joined up with a new site called Pownce. It is similar to twitter but was laking the badges that twitter offers so I decided to make my own. I made one for each theme that the site uses. If you would like to use them for your blog, website, myspace, etc. you can find them here

Tiki Bar TV w/ subtitles

2007-07-03T02:48:00.000-05:00

I just want to give some props to Dr. Tiki over there at the Tiki Bar Tv podcast. He just uploaded one of his most recent episodes "Blue Hawaiian" to dotsub.com, a place for people to upload films and add subtitles. They let you embed the films so I guess you could say that it is a youTube for the deaf and non(insert language here) speaking viewers, well as long as you can translate and upload the text.

I hope more podcasters will follow suit as many people out there would love to watch these videos but just cannot hear what is being said. To that I say Cheers and Mahalo Dr. Tiki

Got Pownced

2007-06-29T14:14:00.000-05:00

Yesterday I was invited into the new world of Pownce (thanks LaceyFelix). Not only did I get Pownced but I found my way into Zooomr. Pownce is a new micro blog/messager ala twitter and Jaiku; Zooomr is a photo sharing site ala Flickr and PhotoBucket with some Facebook like features and unlimited photo storage.

Pownce is the product of Leah Culver, Daniel Burka, Shawn Allen, and digg founder Kevin Rose. Like Twitter and Jaiku it lets you update your friends with messages though here are are not limited to 140 characters. You also have the choice of sending a link, a file, event, or just a message. Not only that but you can also group your friends into sets and send messages to a set of friends, a individual friend, or out to the public. The sets I can see being handy being a twitter addict and only wanting to say something to a few people on my list i.e. co-workers, on-line friends, family. The friend feature works a lot like Twitter and Jaiku in the fact people can follow you without you having to be their friend. There is a pro option that allows you to send 100mb files instead of the 10mb limit imposed on the free users and no advertisements for $20 a year.

Pownce also has harnessed the power of air (adobe integrated runtime) to build a desktop program. It is a nice little program that could use a few more features but as it is still in alpha mode so I'm sure they will be adding them shortly. Kevin Rose already announced on Pownce yesterday that they are working on making the desktop program self updating along with the fact that more invites will be coming soon after the next version (don't ask me for an invite yet, I don't have any). The desktop program did have some connection issues from time to time but I'm thinking that has to do with the 15,000 invite requests Pownce received in the first 24 hours of existence.

The only thing I see keeping me away from Pownce is the lack of sms text messaging which is one of the main ways I use twitter. I'll just have to see how it works with my cell phone.

I found my way into Pownce when a tweet came my way about a live diggnation feed on Zooomr being broadcasted from the Apple Store in Palo Alto with everyone camping out for the iPhone. After diggnation Robert Scoble took over with the guys from Zooomr and it seemed like everyone from Silicone Valley stopped by. I am excited to see what comes from Pownce and Zooomr but with so many different web services these days it is becoming hard to keep track of them all.

Conversations that have been (or will be) abolished due to technology

2007-06-26T15:13:00.000-05:00

I was thinking about all the usual conversation starters today and how today's technology has rendered some of those inconsequential. We don't need to ask about the weather anymore because of the plethora of websites, gadgets, and widgets devoted to the subject. We need not ask what is going on in the news of our old domiciles due to newspaper websites. We need not ask about how a friend might know so and so, because on facebook that is part of the process of adding friends to your list. With the web the way it is going we have music sites that let our friends know what we are listening to, movie sites that let people know what we are watching, and travel sites that let people know where you have been and where you are going. We have text messages to say all those short sentences that don't warrant a phone call. We have status updates via facebook and twitter to let people who are all so curious on what we are doing

So what do we talk about? We still fall back on all that we are used to but are starting to be allowed the freedom of skipping the formalities. We can now say, hey I saw that you saw this movie with out vamping on what movies you have seen lately. We can now say what did you like of the new (insert band here) album without the usual what have been listening to lately.

Is this then end of useless chatter, the end of chatter, or the beginning of chatter unknown? Probably a little of each. Let me know what you think will be abolished and/or develop.

Safari on Windows - a review

2007-06-12T01:10:00.000-05:00

So today (or in fact yesterday because I finally am posting this at 1:11 am) Apple released a beta version of their web browser Safari. I took the bait because whenever I have looked at a site in Safari (on a mac) it rendered a web page completely different than Firefox, Opera, and IE. To be fair I have noticed differences in the way a page is rendered between Firefox on Windows and Firefox on Mac, I'm just hoping this isn't the case for the windows and mac versions of Safari. I'm tired of having to go through every single version of every browser to find a happy medium, it's either that or writing a different CSS file for every browser and having a javaScript or PHP function to select the correct one for the appropriate browser.

After using Safari for a day, well not quite a day because it was hard to use it exclusively, I have found some pros and cons.

The first pro is that it seemed to render faster, i.e. the Digg page that announced the product to digg's users and has over 8300 diggs and 1134 comments at the time of this writing (a recipe for a very big web page). It also has a very slick looking interface, my history carried over from firefox after install, and more real-estate for the web page.

My main con would be that Safari doesn't implement add-ons yet (I must have ad-block, greasemonkey, de.licio.us, and over a dozen other extensions in firefox). This could be coming in the future as Apple's webkit is going open source (the engine underlying Safari). I also was missing Firefox's "spell check this field" feature which I use regularly in forums, comments, twitters, blog posts, digg submissions, and anywhere else I am placing my words on the web.

So yes I'll use Safari, but as it stands it won't be for much more that debugging websites and trying to render large websites (by the way, digg when are you going to page out your comments?). As it stands that is how I use IE, unless I'm watching movies in Netflix's "Watch now" or MLB.tv which don't support Firefox yet (I'm running vista so don't correct me about MLB).

I'm wondering when we'll see the release of the firefox add-ons "open this page in Safari" and "Safari Tab" (Damn I shouldn't of said anything, I could have finally found my first Firefox add-on)

I can see why Apple is trying to make this move, they are trying to put yet another application on the desktops of the Widows iPod users (rumor has it that it will eventually be bundled w/ iTunes and quicktime) to help coerce then into buying a Apple computer once they become familiar with their products but why haven't they incorporated more into the browser. Right now it seems like Firefox lite, which is what Apple seems to do best, they seem to always take the minimalist approach which may hurt or help them in this market. Most of the users I know that have gave up IE on Widows only did so because Firefox gave them more thus leading IE to incorporate more to win back some users. The users I know that still use IE only do so because it is familiar and came with their system. So Safari's only chance in its current state is to appeal to the minimalist user who uses iTunes and the developers who will use webkit to develop what I hope to a long list of Add-ons to rival Firefox and make it a better browser, it still has a long way to go.

numbers

2007-05-23T02:35:00.001-05:00

Numbers are a strange. For some reason I make a big deal when my odometer rolls over another 10,000, or is a string of 7's, or a straight of 123456. You would think it actually had to do with how many miles I have driven the thing across this nation (it has taken me to at least 30 states) but I'm not sure that is the case.

Then of course there is time. 11:11, 12:34, 1:23; Just about everyday at those times, I just happen to glance at the clock

Being the geek that I am, I'm always check my web statistics, for some reason I always have to see how many clicks I'm getting here or there. I check to see if someone is clicking my blog, my website, my podcast, and my program. I don't know why I check, I guess it's to see if anyone is listening to what I have to say or if they appreciate my work. But I guess it could be a way to see where I should be headed. I've been throwing up random bytes all over the web to try and see what gets a bite.

Lately I have noticed a few numbers popping out though. 42 always seems to pop out partly because we all live on the greatest computer ever built, created to find the question to 42 (geek reference). Then there is also 1107 which has popped up in a few random places like a thread I started in a forum and the end of a activation code for a program I installed, both of which are somewhat related. Another number is 500, which my program shuTi just passed in the number of downloads.

So I take it I am going in the right direction. I feel like I'm beginning to come across a pattern that is leading me somewhere or it could just be all hogwash; an over exemplified set of occurrences that I somehow felt worth the bytes of a blog post. I really should get back to telling sci-fi stories.

Spiderman 3 - the midnight showing

2007-05-05T00:31:00.001-05:00

Spiderman 3 midnight showing
Originally uploaded by countzachula.

On break from my Accounting class, a few of my classmates and I conversed. We usually speak the usual geek talk, revolving around computers, comics, sci-fi, and equations that equal 42. One kid mentioned that he was going to see Spiderman at midnight. Now I had forgot that it came out at midnight even though I had just watched "The Totally Rad Show" which reviewed the movie in question. I was all about getting my geek on so I aimed my sites at getting down to that theater in the quickest manner possible, getting a prime seat, and watching a movie that will more than likely fit into the definition of a blockbuster.

artifishall Wasting time, till spiderman 3 starts 10:30 PM May 03, 2007 from txt

The evening started when we arrived at the theater an hour early. No this is not the usual manner that I undertake, but I rather sit in the theater for an hour than drive the 20 min drive home just to turn around come back. The theater was littered with the faithful fans that no doubt had help keep the mylar industry alive. Spidy suits abound, I wasn't sure whether I should run to the nearest costume shop to find some tights or break out of a cocoon and sprout wings to fly past the webs of said hybrid geek/superheroes.

The Spidermen where in full character, doing back flips in the front of the theater, dropping off the top of the staircases, stoking up the crowd into a frenzy, and of course leading a rousing version of Happy Birthday.

Now most of the Spidermen Outfits were the usual Halloween specials, but there were a few that were movie worthy (even if the bodies filling them out weren't)

artifishall Ha ha, spidey just did a faceplant 11:27 PM May 03, 2007 from txt

As we waited, my friends and I compared notes on iPod playlists and reading material.

artifishall Note to self: read terry pratchett 11:53 PM May 03, 2007 from txt

After the staff subdued the crowd and impatience let out, the previews began to roll. The crowd laughed at the New Chis Tucker / Jackie Chan flick (Rush Hour 3) and Balls of Fury, ohhed and awed at the new Harry Potter, and booed the Chef Boyardee Comercial.

The movie had all the elements that Hollywood is known for. The love story, the good guy vs bad guy, the wise matriarch whose words bring the hero back to his senses after his fall from grace

artifishall MJ you bitch, don't go 4 the goblin about 23 hours ago from txt

The love Triangle between Mary Jane, Peter Parker, and Harry Osborn continues with Peter and Harry at odds from the beginning.

artifishall What a waste of bourbon about 23 hours ago from txt

New Villians are introduced to the non-comic book types with Venom and Sandman. The back stories are vaguely told, though not noticeable while being inundated with superb action sequences or campy comedic relief.

artifishall Pete you wanker about 22 hours ago from txt

Love is lost, Found, heroes win against all odds and a few other twist and turns find their away into the plot.

Tobey Maguire and Kirsten Dunst stayed true to their performances in the previous movies. Topher Grace had a surprisingly believable evil essence in his role as Venom and nerd photographer (Peter Parker wanna-be) Eddie Brock. Thomas Haden Church pulled from pity, fear, hatred, and with the help of Brilliant CGI effects brought Sandman to life. Then Bruce Campbell came along for a much needed comic relief bit that overshadowed the rest of the comedy in the movie.

I couldn't help but twitter certain thoughts as the movie progressed as a experiment of a real time movie review, so I included them in this post (anything that starts with artifishall) I tried not to give to much away so I hope I didn't ruin the film for anyone

Step up, if Digg is to get buried

2007-05-02T00:43:00.000-05:00

Today could be the day that digg goes down and the day that digg stands up to the corporate world and gives them the finger, both of which were forced down the throat of digg.com owners and operators by it's users.

There was a string of characters that flooded the internet today and after a take down notice was given to digg.com to take it down they proceeded to do as asked. But then the digg community, the creative bunch that they are decided to strike back and create as many different ways to mask the code as they could. From picture displaying the hex color representation of the numbers to a song with the code as the lyrics. It got out of hand and the very hand that was feeding digg could now take it down. So all I have to say to my fellow diggers is that if digg goes to court we all better pitch in for the legal costs, for we are digg and if we want this thing to survive we better stand up to help fight for what we helped create.

I'm not one for DRM (see previous post) so it seems to me that it is time to stand up for our beliefs, I don't want to see any of you go hind in a corner when this sh1t goes down.

For more on this story read
Kevin Rose's blog Post from Digg.com
Jay Adelson's Original Response from Digg.com
Digg Revolt
Google & blogs issued with AACS Cease & Desist
A Hex Story
Mac OS Hex Screensaver
Oh Nine, Eff Nine - The Song

I really hope that this doesn't bring down the site, and if it does, Kevin, I'll be more than willing to host it under a different name.

09 f9 11 02 9d 74 e3 5b d8 41 56 c5 63

2007-05-01T23:35:00.000-05:00

So this string of characters has been floating around the internet today and some might wonder what they mean. They are the code that breaks the encoding of the HD DVDs. Some are trying to hide it and are coming down on those sites that are posting it. DRM can't last forever because people want the content they pay for in whatever format they use. They want to be able to convert their dvds and cds to put on their iPods, they want to store all their content on a computer so they don't have to deal with discs that may get scratched or broken. They want all their media at their finger tips and they don't want someone looking over their shoulder telling them what to do with the goods they spent their hard earned money on. How long will it take for these large industries to understand that, how long will it take before they change their practices and try to please their customers instead of continually piss them off like they are today. When.

Feeeeed Me

2007-04-27T01:08:00.000-05:00

I started accepting signups for my new social network this week. It is called Feeeeed Me (or fe5dme for short) and lets you take all of the rss feeds from sites that you have signed up for i.e. a blog, flickr, tumblr, twitter, and digg to combine them into one page that you can share with your friends. There is also a color wheel to choose colors for your profile and if you know css you can customize the page to show off your style.

Wondering in the world of one liners

2007-04-14T01:10:00.000-05:00

Not quite a month ago I got into this thing called twitter and have been hooked. I have finally found a place to keep all those one liners that pop up into my head and then fade out of existence. When I mean hooked, I mean hooked in. With the option to post to and receive updates from twitter via cell phone text message, im, or the web it turns your text and instant messaging into a conference message combining the protocols so that you can be reached by whatever means you deem suitable at the time.

Twitter lets you have control over who you are receiving messages from. You can shut off all messages at anytime by just sending the words "off" and to turn it back on, you guessed it, "on". If you want to get updates from a certain person you just type "follow username" (replace username with the person's username). To Follow all type "follow all". The command "leave" does just the opposite in the same respect (add "username" or "all"). "Delete" or "remove" followed by "username" will remove that user from your friends list. "Get" will get all the most recent updates, add "username" and you will get that users last update. "Nudge username" will attempt to get a update from a user. "Whois username" will give a short bio and a web address for a user and "d username" in front of a short message will send a direct message to someone. more lingo here.

None of that is necessary to use twitter, but it comes in handy when on the go. If you find your way over there I'm at http://twitter.com/artifishall

It wasn't the hard drive

2007-04-13T03:15:00.001-05:00

New case
Originally uploaded by countzachula.

As you might have gathered from my previous post, I am the proud owner of a new laptop and in mourning for a old desktop that I built about four years ago.

One hypothesis has been debunked as to why the desktop died. Today I performed a brain transplant and placed my old hard drive into a brand new external case. Now I have all that old data and formated the partition that housed the operating system so that I would have more space.

All my music had already been transfered as I had it all backed up on my iPod. I am making sure of that before I delete it all from the old disk.

Now I'll just have to get a few more external enclosures and some 500GB hard drives to go with them to put all my old flac files on so I don't have to go hunting through a few hundred DVDs of music.

blogging by voice

2007-04-03T12:43:00.000-05:00

So I got a new computer last week, I didn't get the Macintosh like I wanted to but I did get a very nice gateway laptop. It is running vista home premium which has given me a little trouble. Vista is an improvement over xp, but in its early stages it has a ways to go. Certain programs have crashed often, iTunes doesn't seem to like the last.fm plug in, and other programs have to be set to run with administrative privileges to run at all. I also had to copy a couple DLL files to firefox's directory so that windows media player will run inside the browser.

On the other hand other programs are running much better, but that might be attributed to the dual core processing and 2 GB ram. One of nice things about vista is the speech recognition. In fact that is what I am using to blog right now. It is a little finicky, partly because I am still getting used to it and is getting used to me. It has a nice tutorial to get started with and is helping me speak clearer. Though it has come up with some interesting errors in my adventure including "Elvis help me." It'll be awhile before I use this dictation regularly. Though I might use the speech commands a little more often.

The gadgets are a nice addition to the desktop, now I always will know what phase the Moon is in, the latest digg news, recent twitter activity, the weather, and what is on my to do list.

So you may ask why I got a new computer. Well my last one died and it was time to move on. I had been planning to buy one when I got my taxes back but this speeded up the process. Luckily I have a caring Mom that put it on her Best Buy card. Now I have to fix my old computer to either sell or use as a linux server, I have already had two offers so selling is more likely (besides I have to pay back my mother).

Quick Update: 3/5/07 Vista just doesn't like iTunes, it has nothing to do with last.fm

This is just Cool: 3d projection "I want one"

2007-04-01T01:06:00.000-05:00

I dugg this up and had to share. I have been wanting to see this for a long time. In my head it has already came to life, but to happen in the real world, sweet! HDTV is awesome but nothing could compare to this. Hollywood could pack theaters with this!

A message to YouTube, iTunes, and web 2.0

2007-03-07T23:46:00.000-06:00

I'm trying to send a message to all of the video services neglecting the hearing impaired community. So I'm starting a viral campaign by posting videos on YouTube and in my podcast. If viewed enough times maybe it could make a difference, though the podcast version will only attract attention if downloaded through iTunes.

If there are more interested in this concept who would like to contribute videos I am willing to start a new podcast feed and website for the cause.

On a side note, if you are looking for closed-captioned videos on the web, check out http://www.harkle.com/ who have a search engine and listing for the like.

Joost N it

2007-03-01T19:52:00.000-06:00

Hey I finally got Joost. If you haven't heard of it yet (seriously, you haven't heard of it, have you been under a rock?) it is a program developed by those guys that made Skype and Kazaa as their solution for IPTV or Internet Protocol Television.

So far I watched a National Geographic documentary on Everest. It was good, well what I saw of it, for some reason it cut out in the middle and wouldn't play anymore (it is still in beta, some kinks have yet to worked out). So I changed channels and watched some Snowboarding.

It works fairly smoothly and has some neat features like widgets so you can IM using your gmail or jabber account, chat with other people viewing the same channel, or have a clock on the screen; all of which are semi-transparent so that you can still watch the screen behind it.

So far there isn't a whole lot of content but Joost have been striking deals with the likes of Viacom so that could change soon. Currently Joost is made up of mostly Music Channels, National Geographic with a few knock offs, a Independent Movie channel, and some sport channels of "X-treme" nature.

I look forward to see where this is going since all of my video content now comes from the net. It has the potential to supplement what iTunes, podcasts, and Netflix can't give me, surfing (oh and channel hopping too).

virtual cocktail party

2007-02-04T19:45:00.000-06:00

My sister invited me to a virtual cocktail party via her blog, to share a few things about myself. I decided to answer via my podcast.

Music to my ears!

2007-01-31T23:41:00.001-06:00

Proof of Geekdom 2
Originally uploaded by countzachula.

I received a pair of awesome Shure headphones for my iPod at Christmas but for some reason the cord started shorting out. This is the product of ripping open the cord twisting the wires together and applying blue electrical tape to make the headphones work again. Now that is music to my ears!

Olmos There!

2007-01-31T13:40:00.000-06:00

After leaving my house with 20 minutes left on my download of Battlestar Galactica on Monday, the rest of the day was laden with impatience. So I'm sitting in my Speech class and the teacher asks us to turn to chapter six. Low and behold Edward James Olmos (Commander William Adama of BSG) is prominently placed upon the page, I started to think I was hallucinating, "Come on flash backs not now!." But this was no hallucination, it was indeed Adama himself in my textbook, mustache and all.

It didn't have his name on the picture and so I did some research and followed the credit given in the book. It was credited to one Mark Richards of PhotoEdit inc. who specialize in taking pictures of ethnic and minority people, just an interesting side note

Netflix has gone digital and on-demand

2007-01-16T14:49:00.000-06:00

Yes it is true. Netflix is now on-demand over the internet. Though you do have to be a Windows user and have to use IE. Still it is a great addition to those who have a subscription to Netflix. It is extremely nice for someone like me who has severed the cable from my television and has vowed to get all my content on-line.

I just finished watching my first video, "Dr. Who: The Pirate Planet". A great episode with as good of quality, or better, than if you would have seen it originally in 1979.

So far they have a wide variety but no New Releases that I have seen. Must be so you don't cut down your subscription just yet. The video came on rapidly and I could pause it with the space bar (in reality my wireless game pad that I have set up as a remote with the usual media hot keys). It was of good quality and you get one hour of viewing time for each dollar of your monthly subscription. $18 a month = 18 hours of viewing time a month. The quality also changes depending on your connection.

From Netflix:

Tier Data rate

High 1.6 to 2.2+ Mbps

Good 1.0 Mbps

Basic 500 Kbps

Tier	Data rate
High	1.6 to 2.2+ Mbps
Good	1.0 Mbps
Basic	500 Kbps

Needless to say I am excited about this prospect. I tried out Vongo for a while as a supplement to Netflix for this reason but the selection of movies and the fact that it took up precious space on my hard drive led me to cancel.

It will be interesting to see how this catches on and what Netflix will offer. As I already have a TV conected to my computer for such purposes the average user doesn't. Will Apple TV jump on board, or will the rumors from a while back of a Tivo/Neflix partnership come to pass.

podcast

2007-01-07T00:15:00.000-06:00

So I started my own podcast last month and have finally decided to announce it. If you want to hear a story or two tune in at http://artifishalldesign.com/podcast/, subscribe using this rss feed by copying the link into your aggregator, or subscribe through iTunes by clicking here

So far I have only recorded audio but as soon as those taxes come back expect some video as I am building a green screen in my basement, and learning some 3d animation

Well

2006-12-21T10:27:00.000-06:00

Well, well, well. I have been working on my new web page (http://artifishalldesign.com) and I realized how much I use the word well.

Well, I figured this out when I added the atom feed to the page and displayed the first sentences of the past ten blogs. Well, four of them started with the word well and that my friend is almost half (well that is assuming you are in the beginning of your grade school career or have no arithmetic skills whatsoever).

So what I am prepared to do is overuse the word well now, right here in this blog, and then no more. (well at least not as often)

What a week for Open Source!

2006-11-13T13:48:00.000-06:00

What a week for Open Source! First Adobe in partnership with Mozilla, announced the release of Tamarin, a code word for what is actually the ActionScript virtual machine. ActionScript is the language that their Flash player uses. Mozilla will embed Tamarin in their JavaScript engine SpiderMokey in hopes to create a new standard for web 2.0.

A little more substantial addition to the open source community comes from Sun Microsystems who announced on today that by march 2007 they will release Java under the GPL in hopes to attract more developers and extend the language's lifespan.

shuTi - the iTunes alarm clock

2006-11-03T15:49:00.000-06:00

Well I finally have released my first program on sourceforge. shuTi - the iTunes alarm clock can be found at http://shuti.sourceforge.net/

my offudio

2006-09-27T00:01:00.000-05:00

my offudio
Originally uploaded by countzachula.

Well I received my new phone in the mail and this is by far the best feature. The Panorama, three pics combined to make one long ass pic. Here you can see my offudio (office/studio, a term coined by my sister). Now you know where I do all my blogging, recording, and such.

Just wait

Soon I'll be in the wilderness

bloom

2006-09-26T01:28:00.000-05:00

bloom
Originally uploaded by countzachula.

Well not only is this the last picture taken with my now defunct cell phone, this is the first bloom from a 9 year old plant. It came as a housewarming gift from my sister and is my very first houseplant . This was a very proud moment as I never even expected it to bloom. The bloom has now past, lasting a good ten days.

happy birthday

2006-09-25T10:45:00.000-05:00

happy birthday
Originally uploaded by anneke boudreau.

I received an email with this wonderful picture today from my sister and nephew. Yes it is my 29th birthday today and just to make sure that no one thinks I'm rude I have a little story to tell.

Friday I had a two hour break from work so I went home and did my laundry. I was in a bit of a hurry so I grabbed everything, threw it in, went back upstairs had lunch, and watched some bsg webisodes. When I went to grab everything out of the drier I knew I messed up, there was my cell phone cover laying on top of the cloths. After pulling out all my clothes I had found the rest. So the morel of the story, cell phones need not be washed and dried for they won't work thereafter.

I guess the universe was saying happy birthday, have a new phone!

though I don't get my replacement until tomorrow when fedEX will be knocking on my door.

It's about time

2006-09-12T23:20:00.000-05:00

Well I just downloaded itunes 7 and I have to say is it is about time. Gapless playback for both itunes and the new ipods, i mean come on what took you so long apple. The other nice thing, missing artwork automatically downloads, that means I will be wasting less bandwith on amazon looking for all those album covers from the past to hook up my ripped cd collection.

.... Still to come, my itunes anouncement ;)

Primary Vote Today

2006-09-12T11:40:00.000-05:00

Hear ye, Hear ye: Primary vote Today. Come one come all down to your local polling place and vote for the politicians of your choice

It's Showtime

2006-09-12T11:35:00.000-05:00

don't expect to buy anything in the iTunes Music Store today. Looks like the insiders have been right in saying today is the day that they will start offering Movie downloads as all you will find when you click on the music store is a black screen with the words "It's Showtime" in black and white. Apple does have a big media event today in which they will unveil some new products and services so keep your eyes and ears open.

Within the week I will be unveiling my own product, a program that could find its way into your everyday routine. So keep your eyes on this page and you will be able to let everyone know you heard it here first

the antithesis thereof

2006-08-23T22:55:00.000-05:00

As a computer programming student I am taught to find the most efficient way of writing a program. We a told to write somewhat generic code that could be implemented in many programs as to save time and effort to focus on the other obstacles that could occur. We spend tiresome hours debugging code and figuring out why things are not working the way we mean them too.

So I can’t help but compare what I have learned to other aspects of life. Like who is my programmer, who is the one who programmed all the living things around me. The computer revolution is to create something which is not in our own image but more in the antithesis thereof. We are trying to create something to complete us, we feel imperfect so we try to create that which will do all the work we can’t do ourselves.

Is that what we are, the work that something else can’t do themselves? Are we truly trying to find the question to 42?

blogs of late

2006-08-22T00:26:00.000-05:00

sunset
Originally uploaded by countzachula.

As I have been writing this and other blogs of late, I have begun to wonder what blogs would have been like if I would have had the opportunity or inspiration to write in my younger years.

"I went to this punk show where everybody was moshing and stage diving."

"I met this awsome girl; she has so much in common with me."

"Dude I went to this killer show last night, they did a twenty minute jam into a thirty minute one. I did this and that and had the best time since the night before."

"I screwed up now I’m going to jail."

"We played this gig last night for a thousand kids, having the best time. It was the biggest stage we played at since the night before."

I think to myself how much my life has slowed down in the past two years as it has almost come to a screeching halt, and I’m just waiting at that red light, waiting for it to turn green again so I can speed off into the sunset. I can feel the light turning green, I feel a change coming and the anticipation is peaking. I know that in a short time something really cool is going to happen I just haven’t quite figured out what.

First Day of Class

2006-08-22T00:24:00.000-05:00

Well today was my first day of class. It went well; most of it was just the usual first day of class overview. I was slacking a little bit today and wasn’t one of the first people to class so I couldn’t catch myself the usual back row seat. Though I did well for myself, the first class I was a minute of two early for and I found a seat with a clear view of the overhead. I was five minutes late to my Java class so I found myself sitting in the front row, which I never did in high school unless a teacher placed me there. These days it doesn’t matter as most teachers at my school spend more time in the back of the room where their computer is placed.

As I walked in late I saw a familiar face, one of a fellow classmate that I talked to quite a bit last semester. He called me out by name and put me on the spot as he welcomed me to his class. Yes you read that right; my classmate from c++ last semester is now my teacher for Java. I felt good with him as a teacher because he used his Apple Powerbook all last year instead of the windows boxes that clutter the campus. Before I started classes here I was almost fully in the world of Linux, but this program is so Microsoft oriented that I have found myself using windows almost 100% of the time. I don’t think I have used Linux in months.

This semester should be good as it will be more platform independent as there are versions of the software I’ll be using for each operating system.

Back To School

2006-08-19T16:12:00.000-05:00

Well I am all ready to start school again on Monday. I registered and paid for my classes on Thursday. Last night I started searching for all my books online, found all of them in a matter of minutes and saved some serious $$. Turns out that I will be able to access one of my books through my O’Reilly safari subscription, which is cool because the book is entirely online and I will be able to use their search engine to find anything quickly. It will also be nice to cut and paste code snippets into my compiler to debug them and see how they work.

I also figured out that after this semester if I continue at the rate that I am going, I’ll be able to graduate from this program in three more semesters. I might have to go to classes next summer to finish next fall. It could be an accomplishable goal I think. I guess I have to start planning the next step.

Trading Vices (Life without Cable TV)

2006-08-13T23:13:00.000-05:00

So life without cable has led me to seeking out other viewing materials. I like so many people these days am hooked on TV, now I have limited myself to watching podcasts and whatever shows I can download of the internet. Now more of my paycheck is going to itunes but still not as much as I was paying for cable, even if you tie in the netflix subscription.

The main podcasts I have been watching are channel frederator which is full of original cartoons submitted by a variety of artists, all of the national geographic podcast to get my wildlife and nature fix, and the comedy central stand up clips. I have also been building my French with the French podcast and watching the yoga podcast to pick up some moves. On the occasion I watch the Vintage tooncast to see old merry melodies, popeye, superman, and other cartoons of the like.

So as long as I keep finding good podcasts and itunes keeps offering shows like the daily show, battlestar galactica, and lost I’ll never have to get cable again, which is nice because I’m sick of all the commercials.

cubs win

2006-08-10T12:50:00.000-05:00

brewers/cubs 4
Originally uploaded by countzachula.

Damn, it has been awhile eh. So there is this blog I have and it hasn’t been updated in er … a … ok I don’t even know. It was sometime before my electricity was cut off which led to me cutting off my internet, and subsequently not having money to pay my cell phone bill. So I have had money problems which have finally been resolved just in time for me to go back to school and create more.

Not only has the currency flow hurt my living arrangements but it had slowed down my fun and extra curricular activities… until now.

Tuesday I went to see the Chicago Cubs beat up on the Milwaukee brewers. Not only did I go to the game but I went in style. We had seventh row tickets, passes to the 300 club (exclusive dining and bar), and gold preferred parking. So we only had to walk about 30 yards to the entrance, we could buy mixed drinks in the 300 club, and we were in spitting distance of home plate (sorry, couldn’t refuse)

The cubs came out and belted two doubles, a single, and two home runs in the first inning making the score 5-0 in the first inning, Thus leading to a successful victory of 6-3.

SO I’m back online and will be creating more post shortly. Giselo and Vaspola have much to say to so look towards their blogs to in the coming months.

New Song TickALittle

2006-04-14T13:42:00.000-05:00

Here is a new song I wrote, the lyrics accompanied more of a bluegrass-ish folk style until I was messing around with a new reggae-ish groove last week and found they fit with it. Myspace is supplying the bandwidth, so if you would like to check out my page it is at http://myspace.com/zachchisholm.

The song is mostly finished, I might add some keys to it later, but for now it works.

happy 1:23 4/5/6

2006-04-05T01:23:00.000-05:00

happy 1:23 4/5/6

Cubs try to break curse by bringing jackass into the locker room before game

2006-04-04T15:44:00.000-05:00

Yesterday’s opening day game of the Cubs against the Reds in Cincinnati was won by the Cubs with a score 16 to 7. The Cubs hit for the cycle in the first inning, Pierre’s first regular season at bat in a Cubs uniform produced a triple and Matt Murton in his first opening day start produced a home run Making the score 5-0. The Reds came back in the bottom of the first with one RBI.

Scott Hatteberg of the Reds struck back with a three-run homer during the third inning to bring the score to 5-4. During the sixth the Cubs brought the score up to twelve with seven RBI’s by going through the whole batting order and letting two bat twice. The Reds trickled their other three runs over the 5th, 6th, and 7th innings and during the ninth the cubs scored four more to bring the total up to 16.

With the youngest team since 1977 Cubs hope to break the curse a Chicago bar-keeper gave them in game four of the nineteen forty-five world series when they wouldn’t let him bring his goat into Wrigley Field. Over the years the Cubs have tried bringing goats to games to break the curse; on opening day in 1984, during a slump in 1994 (the year that ended early due to the strike), and 1998. This year they tried to change things up by bring a jackass to the game and giving him the ceremonial first pitch.

Before the game Manager Dusty Baker and reliever Bob Howry had to relinquish their trusty pocket knifes to the Secret Service so they wouldn’t try to cut an apple for Bush. (Frequently you'll see Dusty in the Dugout slicing up an apple for himself)

Born to Love You

2006-03-31T15:42:00.000-06:00

Here is a little video I cooked up for my song "Born to Love You".

Jam at the Stone Cellar

2006-03-26T22:42:00.000-06:00

It all started as the usual work day but as soon as I got done I packed up all my gear, hopped in to my car and ........

Nothing. Damn left the lights on again.

So after asking a neighbor for a jump I drove down to Appleton and ended at the stone cellar brew pub where I unloaded my gear, drank a few beers, and played music with my friends Digger and Chris Aaron.

It turned out well as I had never played with Chris before and it came as a surprise since I didn’t he was coming. We threw down a set of music for a group of friends who apparently had a good time as they were all dancing. We even were offered another gig on April 1st, but since digger went down to Jamaica today to get married Chris and I will probably be playing as a duo.

Some of my highlights were franklin’s tower and a version of Bob Dylan’s tangled up in blue with a funky, rockabilly, blues twist to it.

Two new Blogs

2006-03-24T14:51:00.000-06:00

Vaspola
Originally uploaded by countzachula.

I have been intrusted with two new blogs http://giselo.blogspot.com/ and http://vaspola.blogspot.com/. They are both the stories of people that don't have access to Earth's World Wide Web so I will have to do their publishing. I have been telling their stories for a while now in a novel which includes much more detail but they wanted to keep up with today's age and keep a blog of their adventures.

Death, school, and baseball

2006-03-21T02:21:00.000-06:00

Casey
Originally uploaded by countzachula.

Death still seams to be the reoccurring theme as I come home from a night of playing bluegrass with my friends Insomniac Gypsy. In my inbox lands an email telling me that my morning class has been canceled due to a death in my professor’s family. I put on the movie that has been cycling in my DVD player and been my bedtime story for the past few nights - Elizabethtown. It is fitting because part of it takes place in Kentucky, where Casey was born and came into my life, Orlando Bloom even drives down the interstate through a tunnel a few miles from my old house. Elizabethtown I thought was a very good movie about a man who is grieving the loss of his father but still has an uplifting love story to take your mind off of death.

Then morning came around and I was back to school after almost two weeks of spring break. It took me awhile to get into the groove as I hadn’t done any coding for that break. I couldn’t even concentrate during my first class so after it was done I got out and ate some lunch, browsed barns and noble, and then went back to the computer lab to code my c++ assignment. Once I sat down and started looking through source code I found the groove and an hour and a half later I had my assignment done.

C++ was a little rough as again I was worn out from bluegrassing the night before but I followed along all the while watching Michigan beat Notre Dame then the first few innings of the final between Japan and Cuba with my mlb.tv subscription. They always seem to have on the channel of the baseball game for a half hour to an hour before the game starts, this time it was ESPN. I couldn’t miss the final of the first ever world baseball classic.

I found how much radio sucks around here when I couldn’t find the game on the way home, but then finished watching it at home then finished watching Elizabethtown.

A pretty eventful day in a no so eventful way, just another day in the life of a collage student.

The Curse of the Da Vinci Code - an afterthought

2006-03-19T02:41:00.000-06:00

I just hate to think what will happen to global travel when the movie hits the airplane circuit.

b.b.b. v2.4 SeattleThe ride home and The curse of the Da Vinci Code

2006-03-18T23:57:00.000-06:00

Z and Uncle Z
Originally uploaded by countzachula.

The curse of the Da Vinci Code strikes again, yes you heard me. It turns out if you read the Da Vinci Code while flying the universe will slow down your travel so you have plenty of time to read it. Ok, its not scientific, thus far it has only happened to my sister and me, to my knowledge. (see 'fashionably late' from her blog)

What started as an hour delay from Seattle due to a FedEx plane sliding off the runway in Minneapolis, trickled down into six hours of redirection. I’m still not sure what happened to my flight from Minneapolis to Appleton, it either was canceled or I got there to late. From what I understand they canceled many flights, but whatever happened I looked upon the screen when I arrived and there was no flight.

So I found the nearest terminal and found out where I could rebook my flight. I stood in yet another line and was told at one o’clock that I would fly to Milwaukee at five arrive at six and fly to Appleton at seven for a half hour flight. My luggage would leave on an earlier flight so my bag would end up in Appleton a few hours before I would.

What else do you do when you got a few hours to kill and all you have had is a muffin and a cup of coffee, find a bar, have a very expensive meal and a beer to calm the nerves. After shelling out the dough I find my terminal and break back into the Code.

EMP
Originally uploaded by countzachula.

After an hour flight to Milwaukee I find that I have to get a new boarding pass and that I am not flying a northwest plane as I had been; now I am flying on a Midwest plane. So I have to go to the ticket counter, leaving the terminal, which I had to anyway due to the way the airport is built, and go back through security. Now I find that due to airport policy my stuff and my person have to be extensively searched since I change airlines. Being patted down I recall being arrested and find that being used to this kind of treatment a little disturbing.

After getting my shoes back on and watching security go through my backpack I get down to the terminal to find - you guessed it - my flight had been delayed. After finally getting in the air, as soon as we had gotten to the point when I could turn on my iPOD I had to turn it of because we were descending. By the time I got to Appleton I had read about a hundred and seventy pages of the code, and that was with a nap that lasted an hour or so (on the Seattle Minneapolis leg).

I tracked down my bag at the airport after about fifteen minutes of waiting for a northwest agent to show up at the desk. When I got into my car I dug out my gloves and found that I had brought with me two dog leashes belonging to my sister. I had taken their dogs for a walk the day before and forgot that I had stuffed them in my pocket.

On my way home I stopped to grab some grub at the grocery in New London and immediately missed being in Seattle were I could pick from a wide selection of free ranged and organic foods, it was a massive reality check.

Well now I am home and back into my daily grind, working towards relocating myself. With this excursion behind me I now have a little fuel for the fire to get me moving.

Brain, book, and a ballpoint 2.3 Seattle

2006-03-18T00:12:00.000-06:00

greyboy allstars at the showbox - seattle
Originally uploaded by countzachula.

My trip to Seattle began to slow down. The day after I got there my sister and I went out to see the Greyboy Allstars at the Showbox. She left after the first set to look after her son. I stayed behind and began to realize that I was indeed two hours ahead of the current time zone. They were grooving so it was had not to dance though I had to sit down for awhile. I got a ride home from one of her friends that I met at set break. Five of us crammed into a pickup truck.

Ballard farmers market
Originally uploaded by countzachula.

The next few days were full of shopping around the local neighborhoods, touring Ballard, Fremont, and the cities dog parks. I feel into uncle mode and began to try and help out when I could by taking the dogs for walks, entertaining the kid, and cooking. Still was in vacation mode though.

When Sunday came around on our way to the Ballard farmers market we stopped at my mom’s sublet. It is a cottage with an old time feel. I sat down on the couch with my dog Casey unknowingly for the last time. After a day of running around we dropped my mom off and rested at my sister’s house. My brother-in-law and I took their dogs out the dog park and watched the sunset.

Golden gardens
Originally uploaded by countzachula.

On our way home the truck ran out of gas so we started to walk home. My sister called and at the moment I heard the words, "Oh No," come out of her husbands mouth I thought - ‘the truck fell out of gear and rolled down the hill striking a car’, but then my thought pattern changed and I began to think of the dog that hadn’t been eating much and who had lost a lot of weight since I saw her last in Wisconsin.

"Casey’s dead", came from his mouth and my thought pattern had proven true. My mind started racing and I wasn’t sure how to react. We got to their house and I took one of their cars over to my mom’s. All the while regret hung over my head as I had chosen to go back to my sister’s instead of my mom’s, thinking that there was plenty of time left even though somewhere in the back of my head I knew.

When I got to her house, I fumbled with the gate trying to open it, and got to the door. When it opened, there she was - eyes still open lying in her bed. Hugging my mom it began to sink in. I walked over and shut her eyes then placed a blanket over her after one last pet of the fur covering her lifeless body.

We then took her to the animal hospital to be cremated. (see r.i.p. Casey 1991-2006)

The rest of the trip included a lot of sweets, movie watching and grieving. I did make it to the Experience Music Project to gaze upon the relicts of rock and roll past. Instruments, letters, hand written song lyrics and the like from people like Jimi Hendrix, Bob Dylan, Kurt Cobain, even costumes of kiss, and a black jacket of Jonny Cash.

Instant portrait
Originally uploaded by countzachula.

It was a trip of ups and downs, I will miss Casey but she did live a full life of fifteen years and it was good that we were all there together. I was happy to meet my new nephew and my perspective on life changed a little bit. My priorities are changing as my life heads in a new direction.

B.b.b. V2 stuck

2006-03-16T09:05:00.000-06:00

Ah yes, the anticipation of returning to reality lengthens as my flight becomes delayed an hour due to nasty weather in MN. An airplane skidded off the runway. Wish me luck:)

B.b.b. V2

2006-03-16T08:24:00.000-06:00

Now boarding at gate s9 one way to reality ... Check ... 1 ... 2 ... 3 the weather in reality is fair and balanced ... Please buckle your seatbelts we're in for a bumpy ride. Yes it is time to go home from a vacation in seattle. All the sights and sounds - all the ups and downs - the celibration of life and death - family time reaffirming relationships, starting new, and saying goodbye

r.i.p. Casey 1991-2006

2006-03-12T23:39:00.000-06:00

r.i.p. Casey 1991-2006
Originally uploaded by countzachula.

As she rest in my arms as the day I brought her in to my life, covered in a blanket, I take her lifeless body to be cremated.

Her body still warm lay limp in my arms, the tears run down my cheeks as I remember going to my friend John's house to pick her out. The little silver haired beagle was a oddity in her litter though that is what attracted me to her.

She was so small then, this time she it took both arms to hold her. Lighter that the last time I saw her in Wisconsin as she had been having trouble eating.

I find myself "celebrating both ends of life" as my 7 week old nephew Zeb's life begins and my faithful companion's ends.

She had spent her last years living with my mom as I never had the means to take care of her, being on the road and living the life of a nomad without much cash. I did fall back into her life for a year when I moved back in with my mom for a time spanning a year during 2004 and 2005. I am thankful for that now.

I remember times when she was healthy and full of life. I would come home from school and she would be sleeping in the window waiting for me to come and take her rollerblading. She would pull me around the Louisville seminary, so much energy and speed that I couldn't keep up. She and I ventured around the grounds, exploring every inch of the 67 acres and then onto the park next door. Playing in the creek, trudging in the snow.

I have felt bad over the years for giving her such a good, few years of life and then neglecting her when was discovering myself. Now that I am beginning to settle into life I have the time for a dog but now no dog as she finds her way through the unknown.

Casey will be missed and her life was a flower that is still blossoming in my soul.

Brain, book, and a ballpoint 2.2 Seattle

2006-03-12T19:10:00.000-06:00

Landing in minneapolis
Originally uploaded by countzachula.

Getting off the plane I find my next gate is F14. Imagine that, I'm at B6. By the end of this trip I can call bingo. I find F14 is 3 moving walkways, 2 escalators, and a tram away.

After getting off the tram I make my way through a minimall, fighting the urge to buy something at the FoxNews store I make my way to the gate. Sitting down I then Try to post some of this story to my blog via cell phone email. hopefully it goes through (it did). My first attempt at real time blogging.

My flight is called and I rush to send what little I could type on my cell phone through the air. Realizing my battery was running low I turn it off to conserve the remainder for arrival game of hide and seek.

After waiting in line to get on the plane I take comfort in the fact that the exit is two rows ahead of me so getting off the plane won't take long.

I have plenty of room to stand in this 757, though not much room in the seats. The man next to me is talkitive, a warehouse worker whose job is slowly bing fased out while jobs are shipped overseas, $3 paycut this year, $1 paycut next year. We talk about Seattle music, football, the olympics, computers, cars, and his wife's 95 year old mother who doesn't want a new pacemaker bttery. I note that "I'm celebrating the other end of life w/ my newborn nephew."

minneapolis tram
Originally uploaded by countzachula.

After the seatbelt lights fo out I discover an Anchorage newspaper with the head story of the Ididirod and how zack Steer is following his two dog teams via the internet. Zack finished in the top 20 in 2000 and started last year but scratched when his wife gave birth. so off again I sink into Da vinchi and the soundscape of my ipod"

Brain, book, and a ballpoint v2.1 Seattle

2006-03-09T22:58:00.000-06:00

After feeling awake enough I jump in the shower, coming out I hear the h2g2 theme again, (my back up alarm). I proceed to grab a cup of coffee that has been brewing due to the built in alarm then plop right back down in front of the computer to shuffle some last minute additions to my iPod, and make some myspace comments to waste a few more minutes before I have to leave. I shut down my apartment, grab my packed bags, my coffee cup and think the next time I walk into this I will have traveled a few thousand miles and back. I throw my bags in the car, jump in the drivers seat, plug the ipod into the stereo, and stand on the pedal. Fitting, the first voice on this journey is Kurt Cobin, being that I'm headed to Seattle.

I pull into a parking space after the usual drive to Appleton. I check my bag, grab my ticket, take off my shoes, ipod, keys, cell phone, coat, backpack, and go through security, put everything back on, wait at the gate for twenty minutes while watching pundits talk about lung cancer and the death of Superman's wife, listening to john butler and breaking into the Da Vinchi code. The usual hub bub goes on, kids playing psp, teens listening to mp3, parents trying to communicate with both. Businessmen making doing last minute business before they have to shut off their cell phones.

unintelligible verbal communication coming out of load speakers with what could be your flight number or in fact anyone's flight number if you could understand it. My flight number finally comes up in the airport bingo, this time I could understand it because the voice was coming from five feet behind me. Making my way through the gate I realize how small the plane is, no Cessna but a SAAB 340 40 passenger plane. Then I really realize how small it is when I walk into the plane and I can't stand to my full 6'2", and you wish you were taller, my neck doesn't at this moment in time.

We go through the normal rigmarole of seat belts ... electric devices ... cell phones ... seat positions ... tray tables ... exits ... floatation devices ... damn I wish I hadn't been watching all those lost episodes :) We take off and my hopes of seeing my house are dashed when we are engulfed by clouds.

After we break through and see the sun with the floor of clouds beneath I remember why I like flying. I turn my ipod back on, read a chapter of Da and sink into oblivion, until I decide to write this first installment.

Brain, book, and a ballpoint v2.0 Seattle

2006-03-08T11:24:00.000-06:00

6:30 am the sound of a banjo awakens me and then proceedes into the accompoment orchestra. Yes i'm corney enough to have the theme song from h2g2 as the alarm ringtone of my phone. If you know me this is g*damn early for me, in fact most me you that have seen me at this hour have been up with me all night. I take my usual 10 to 15 min. To pull myself off the couch and plop in front me the computer, get itunes rolling and kick on cnn w/ the remote. My usual morning routine.

Myspace ups and downs

2006-03-08T00:02:00.000-06:00

Recently I found the world of mySpace. I knew it was there even ran across some pages here and there when my friends (mostly in bands) would direct me to them. Now I’m full fledged into the scene gaining new friends every day. A lot of my old friends have appeared too, and that is what gladdens and saddens me.

This brings me to the real reason that I am writing this. Mostly I have found old friends and reconnected but I ran across an old friend that I haven’t seen in awhile so I request to be his friend. After not hearing from him I go back to his page to see when he was online last. It had only been about two weeks and then I start reading the comments,

"You have touched my life in ways you will never know"
"hope the mandolins are a singin' where ever you may be now."

And other things to that effect. I sent a message to a mutual friend and it turns out he died of a heroin over dose not long ago. So if it weren’t for mySpace I would still be in the dark on this one.

It makes me sad that yet again the needle has taken another friend. Three is too many. When I first ran across his page I was glad to see that he was doing well, his new move to Boulder seemed to agree with him so now I hope his new move to the afterlife agrees with him too. Here’s to you Joe.

/* the devil's code */

2006-02-27T10:52:00.000-06:00

Well I was in c++ class the other day and we had to create a nested for loop to display:

1
22
333
4444
55555

Well this is what I came up with on my way to figuring it out:

/* the devil's code */
#include <iostream>
using namespace std;
void main()
{

int x = 0,

z = 0;

cout << endl;

for(x=1; x<=3; x++)

{

for (z=1; z<=5; z++)

cout << z << endl;

}

system ("pause"); // pc pause

return;

}

What came out on the console was:

6
6
6

I looked at the person next to me and said that ain't right, he looked over and cracked up laughing and we persued to disturb the class (somewhat) from the back row. (geeky class Clown)

disclaimer: I don't worship, nor do I even like the devil

Alcohol, the programers beta tester in self and the release of français - an aid in learning french

2006-01-29T23:09:00.000-06:00

Recently, after my reentry into the world of academia, I have become a computer programmer. It's not a full fledged position, more of a hobby at the moment but due to my interest I have stayed ahead of the class, working ahead to figure out things to make my français program better.

By the way, my first official release is here

What I have found so far is that alcohol plays a very important part in a programmers work. It is not to be used all the time but when beta testing needs to be done, and there is nobody else around to do it, have a few drinks and your slurred typing and fumbling mouse clicking can find all kind of problems in you code that you wouldn't think of with a rational mind.

As programmers, we spend to much time in front of computers to do things wrong, i.e. enter a word in a field that requires a number, enter extra spaces after single words or in between multiple. But once we drink a little we become bad typist and something that resembles a beta tester - no insult intended

Nephew Born

2006-01-18T22:00:00.000-06:00

Zeb Gregory Boudreau, 10 lbs 2 oz was Born at 4:19pm Jan 18

Birth of a semester and a Nephew

2006-01-18T18:40:00.000-06:00

and there off, their minds wondering if they are overloaded or just within the realm of a sane workload. Figuring out which classes they should take notes in and which are they can apply common sense to and skate by just by paying attention. Which classes will take up the most homework time and which will be able to do in between classes.

Yes with my first week of school done I have a general consensuses of what will happen during the next 17 weeks. I'm looking forward to the education but somewhere in there I will have to drop focus and have some fun. Probably spring break when I visit my sister, her husband, and my new nephew who should be born in the very near future (20 min).

I found out that he will be born out of a c-section at 5 o'clock seattle time. So I wish them luck and hope my sister doesn't have any complications during the surgery.

If anyone would like to check out her blog of pregnancy and birth just hop over to Gilhooly tracking the changes within. I'm sure there will be pictures of my new nephew up soon. Congrades to 9 months of creation sis.

Albert Hofmann's Mistake?

2006-01-17T09:23:00.000-06:00

It has been taboo to talk about this subject matter, unless you want to come under fire and find yourself in the name of a governmental database. But since I am probably already in that database I'll write about it.

In 1938 Albert Hofmann stumbled upon a substance in which Kevin Herbert an early employee of Cisco Systems, Nobel-prize-winning chemist Kary Mullis who developed the polymerase chain reaction that helps amplify specific DNA sequences, Nobel-prize-winner Francis Crick - discoverer of the double helical structure of DNA, Douglas Englebart - the inventor of the mouse, and Apple-cofounder Steve Jobs claim is the inspiration they used while researching their discoveries or creating their products and who all turned up at a LSD symposium in honor of Albert Hofman's 100th birthday in Basel, Switzerland

Most of our culture looks at this substance with fear; others link it to the "dirty hippies" and the Grateful Dead or Phish. But this substance is also linked to traditions of human kind from day one of our existence.

Could it be similar to the fruit in which Eve ate under that apple tree? Is it similar to the active ingredient for the Kykeon beverage used during the Greeks ancient rituals at the Eleusis site in 1500 B.C.? We know Natives to the Americas used such substances in Psilocybin Mushrooms and the active ingredient of the Peyote Cactus, Mescaline.

So are these drugs a direct link to evolution? Are these drugs and the increasing use of thereof the reason why our technology has advanced so quickly over the past century? Is there a way for these drugs to be used legitimatly in a controled environment for the sake of science, of evolution?

For more info on the symposium check out WIRED's article LSD: The Geek's Wonder Drug?

Disclaimer: I don't encourage the use of any drug

Gnu Music

2006-01-16T12:01:00.000-06:00

Just A notice of the addition of three songs on my web site http://artifishall.net. There are still fairly raw versions and will be fine tuned during the course of a lifetime but for now they give the general concept.

The titles are "What's Going On", "The Well", and "Traveling Troubadour"

Hope you enjoy
~z

Another Shameless attempt at getting a free ipod

2006-01-09T22:16:00.000-06:00

Here is another shameless attempt at getting a free iPod from freeipods.com so if you feel like getting a free ipod while helping me get a free ipod then click here

It is legit, my friend just received his 30 gb video iPod in the mail.

Matinee Rider The King Kong Edition

2005-12-14T17:16:00.000-06:00

Forecast for today, 100% chance of snow and 100% chance of entertainment. Nor wind, nor rain, nor three inches of snow stopped me from making the twenty mile drive to school and the extra fifteen across town to the movie theater showing Peter Jackson’s King Kong and let me tell you it was well worth it.

The effects were dazzling, the story was genuine, and the action was breathtaking. You should be well aware of the story by now as there have been a few renditions already. Like the 1933 and 1976 versions Carl Denham sets out to make a movie taking his crew to the uncharted Skull Island. When his hopes of finishing his movie are dashed he captures the giant ape, King Kong to bring him back to New York and make millions. Of course it wouldn’t be a movie without a love story with both Jack Driscoll and King Kong Falling in love with Ann Darrow, the leading lady of both fictional movies, the one inside the other.

This is Jackson’s imagination at its best. You would think that the Lord of the Rings would be a hard act to follow, but not for Jackson, especially since he has wanted to make this film from age eight. From the Tyrannosaurus and Kong trapeze act to Kong batting airplanes out of the air like flies this film was not stop action from the point the crew reaches Skull Island.

I knew this movie is three hours and seven minutes long when I went into it so I tried to keep some record of time. The first time I check my clock was when they first encountered Kong, this was an hour into the film. All I could think was, really, that did not seam like and hour. An hour and twenty minutes later they were back in New York. That gives you an hour to build up the premise, meet the characters, then another hour and twenty to visit Skull Island, and forty minutes to terrorize New York City.

So if you haven’t figured it out I highly recommend this flick. You won’t be disappointed.

The Lion, The Witch, and The Wardrobe

2005-12-12T16:13:00.000-06:00

On Friday I again set out to the movie theater to yet another fantasy, The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe. It was everything I expected it to be, a well told rendition of one of my favorite childhood books, a movie filled with computer animation, bigatures, enough costumes to last one through a hundred lifetimes of Halloweens, and a movie that resembled the Lord of the Rings through the use of the same toolbox. Yes I was aware that Peter Jackson’s WETA workshop was on the case, the majority movie was filmed in New Zealand, and the use of the Rings pioneered program massive was used in many of the battle scenes.

Though it did have some other elements as Industrial Light and Magic also worked on it along side WETA and Rhythm & Hues, being the first film that all collaborated on. It also had a different director Andrew Adamson of Shrek fame and Co-produced by Douglas Gresham the stepson of C.S. Lewis

Being a fantasy fan especially of J.R.R and company it was nice to see one of his best friends get his due respect during this era of revamping. It is a lighter story than the Rings of course but still a very imaginative one. The kids acting the parts of Lucy, Peter, Edmund, and Susan did a wonderful job. It was very believable, as far as a fantasy can be with talking animals and Santa Clause.

Rearranging

2005-12-11T19:40:00.000-06:00

Not that there is much there, but I completely rebuilt my website to showcase some of my creative writing. One morning last week I woke up and looked at my old site with such distaste that I had to recreate it from scratch, kind of like rearranging your furniture to make your apartment feel like new. I also had been neglecting my web presence and being in school learning a bunch of new tricks gave me some guilt to be creative with. I still have some work to do like make it more accessible and through in some more content but the basics are there.

hope y'all enjoy it,
http://artifishall.net

matinee rider The Harry Potter Edition

2005-12-07T21:47:00.000-06:00

As I walk down the hallway I step into a theater. With my choice of seats I take the dead center seat halfway up. I expect that any minute a busload of kids is going to run in though they don’t, instead an elderly couple, an older couple, and a couple about my age walks in. The previews play, cell phones are silenced, and the feature comes on. Yes I spoke once of this character on this blog as a twenty-eight year old kid taking lessons from a great fantasy writer.

Yes I am speaking of Harry Potter and the latest movie - Goblet of Fire. It stood up well next to the book and had been just long enough for me to forget most of the story so it came as a new surprise. Though I disliked at least one of the scenes, they had some crappy pop punkish band play at the school dance. It just pulled me away from the fantasy world of Hogwarts and dropped me on the floor of MTV. The rest of the time I flew on broomsticks, swam under the sea with a set of gills, and battled the death eaters with my wand. I know they were trying to get in touch with the younger crowd by playing some fly hip cool music, it didn’t work for me and by the looks of Harry and Ron it didn’t work on them either.

Let’s hope they have better taste than that next time.

All in all I thought it was a really good movie and lives up to expectations of the franchise. I had to be a critic especially while I’m considering a career in the industry. Though it is probably a good thing, so I will be selective and tasteful in the movies I intend to make.

It was the perfect setting, as I was one of the youngest people in the theater and the matinee rider that I am, always gives me the choice seats. It has also given me some much needed inspiration.

Another day in the life of a college student

2005-12-01T16:23:00.000-06:00

Another day in the life of a college student, yes you heard me right I am a college student, a 28 year old one at that. Most seem to jump right into higher education directly after high school but I opted to travel around des Êtats-Unis and tried to make a living as a musician. I made it, barely but I made it and after the egos exploded the gravity dismantled and the band ceased to exist.

Nowadays I study computer programming and how to parle français, which has recently led my writing a computer program to help me study français. Maybe if yáll are lucky I’ll share it with ya when I’m done. ;-)

iShop

2005-11-28T21:06:00.000-06:00

Usually I go shopping under the blinding florescent lights listening to muzak or the top forty one hit wonders of yester year that I really didn’t care to hear again but can’t find a reason why I am unconsciously singing all the words with my inner singing voice.

Lately I have circumvented the PA systems of the tasteless DJs of the consumerism Mecca’s with my iPod. Then I wonder what the other consumers would be listening to while they are shopping, is it really what the tasteless DJs are playing or something completely different.

Well he would be listening to AC/DC. She is more of a Faith Hill type. Would she be a Gold Digger strutting to Kanye West as I am? He defiantly got the munchies litening to Phish before grocery shopping trying to hide it with his supply of visine.

It makes me want to program a wi-fi network for iPods and consumerville that would shuffle through every consumer’s iPod in the store and display the picture of the iPod owner on your display in case you feel like striking up a conversation with that consumer. iDating, maybe it would be better suited for a club atmosphere.

Then I walk into Wal-Mart to the words:

"Oh pride is not a sin,
And that's why I have gone on down to Wal-Mart
With my checkbook to get you some.

Like waves in which you drown me, shouting

I know you must've realized by now

And by the lawn chairs there
Next to the racks of guns
Your self esteem is waiting
Canned up in aluminum"

- Mike Doughty from Soul Coughing’s Pensacola

Now I have confessed to shopping at the unethical bastard of the corporate consumer world in my blog. Damn. Well the coffee grinder and realizing what that song was about by actually paying attention to the words was worth the block walk.

A Brain, A book, and A Ballpoint Les Widespread Trucks

2005-11-01T21:26:00.000-06:00

Les was great. I have seen him many times and this was one of the best. It was strange seeing Skerik and Mike Dillon on a large stage with a few thousand people watching them play as I already seen them in front of more intimate crowds that week.

After the show we went back to City Park and I sat up and played guitar and sang some of the songs I had been working on. I had an audience of one until Dave showed up and put us to work. We did one small job and went to sleep as it was seven in the morning.

When noon came around I woke up and made my way down to the fairgrounds. I sat outside with a twenty dollar bill in my hand hoping someone would walk by with a ticket that they could give me for that amount. Another hopeful person came and sat down next to me. He talked about all the Widespread shows he had seen this tour. All of a sudden an arm extended my way and a ticket was placed in my hand. No cash exchange needed. It was a relief for I was short on cash and I wanted to see the show.

When I made it inside, the time was about 2 o’clock. So I went to see Henry Butler. A few years ago during my last trip to Nawlins I went to the Howlin Wolf after the Phish Show to see George Porter, the bass player for the Meters. He brought out Henry to play a few songs. It was good to see him on his own as he is a soulful singer and amazing pianist. He has a stage presence akin to Stevie Wonder as they share the absence of sight.

After he was done an Australian John Butler came out and performed with his trio. His song "Treat your Momma" was memorable with the line

"slap you upside the head if you don’t treat your momma with respect."

Then was the time for Widespread Panic. This was the first time I had seen Widespread with their new guitarist. The last time was at the first bonnaroo when Mike Houser was still alive. It was different and took some getting used to. With the sun beating down I felt exhausted and couldn’t dance. Then the clouds came in to caste a shadow over the city of flags towering over the people. Then I could dance.

When I made my way back to the camp ground I found that I had an intruder visit my tent. A hole had been ripped into the back of my tent and a loaf of bread stuck out with many pieces bitten in to. I took it over to a couple of vendors who had a lantern so I could see the damage and try to figure out what had done it. On my way back I saw the two eyes of the culprit, a raccoon.

Now one would wonder why I would put food back in my tent after the ant incident, the only thing that could explain it is plain forgetfulness. At least now that it has been written in stone I can’t forget it.

I Listened to Derek trucks play and then went to sleep.

Nawlins, A phoenix to rise from the ashes of Katrina

2005-09-02T00:27:00.000-05:00

The pictures are hard to look at, the stories are even harder to listen, the imagination can't even fathom the experience of living through Katrina.

I sit and think back to my recent trip there and how much fun it was. Then I see scenes on the TV of places I hung out, streets I walked down, and wonder "Will there be jazz festival next year? Did Robert Walter and the Twentieth Congress, Galactic, The Meters, Dr. John, and all the other Musicians of Nawlins get out of the city safely? I wonder will all the beautiful architecture be able to be salvaged? How much history has been lost? But more important than anything how many lives have been lost?"

I remember briefly meeting Mayor Nagin at the Mayor's Office festival, Now with his city in ruins and on every news channel while they are hounding him for sound bites while he stresses over his beloved city and its people.

My heart goes out to the City of Nawlins and the rest of the area hit by Katrina. If there ever was a more unique city in this country it is Nawlins, If there is ever a place that could come back and be reborn from the ashes like a raspy voiced phoenix singing the songs of Satchamo it is Nawlins. There is a vibe that only that plot of land can contain, there is community that has survived with it's own unique culture that will only strengthen with this experience. There is still a city of New Orleans, though it is still underwater and may not resemble the Big Easy, most of its people are still alive to carry on the tradition.

There He Blows

2005-08-22T15:51:00.000-05:00

RIP Hunter S. Thompson

A Brain, A book, and A Ballpoint Les, Truth, and Jaques-imos

2005-08-13T02:16:00.000-05:00

"So you are out looking for a ticket again, you know these things sell out. You should really buy your tickets in advance."

I suddenly felt bad for the hundreds of times (ok maybe a slight exaggeration but not much of one) that I asked this man for tickets to some show or another. "I did, well at least for the Duo, I even bought two in case I ran into someone on the lot that needed one." This seemed to shock him a little bit, for anyone who knows me, has seen me with my finger in the air at 99% of the shows I’ve been to and in some cases 100% of the shows they have seen me at.

"How do you know something to be true?"

"You just do."

"But how do you know something to be true."

"When you’ve read it somewhere."

"But how can you be certain?"

"You can research it?

"But what will research tell you, something that someone else believes to be true."

He down right stumped me but got my thought process in motion, "You just do"

"Nothing can tell you what is true, but you feel inside."

While this conversation was taking place Stew would then point to someone who might have a ticket just to see them sell it to someone else. After about a half hour or so we went up to the will call. "These kids right here have an extra ticket because their friends couldn’t come."

"What do you want for the ticket?" I asked.

"A hit of ecstasy," They replied.

"I don’t have that but I’ll give you face for it."

"No all we want is X"

"Well there is plenty of that around, how about I give you the cash and you go buy the X yourself."

"No we can get a better deal with the ticket."

Do to my previous experience dating back from the moment in question to my first dead show n ’93 I knew the inter-workings of ticket deals fairly well and knew they were not going to budge.

"Here," Said Stew while digging through his pockets and fishing out a cigarette cellophane with some foreign objects in them. Then promptly shoved it back in his pocket and said while pulling something completely different out, "You know what, here," Handing me a ticket to the Les Claypool show. "I heard what I wanted to hear from you."

"You mean to say you had this ticket the whole time?"

"Yes. You knew I was going to get you in right?"

"Well,yeh."

"How do you know something to be true?"

I then thought back to all the times I had asked for tickets from this man, and he always turned up with one. This how I knew I was going to get in before I even knew it. "Well what do you want for it?"

"Something less than face value."

I couldn’t believe the audacity of this man, but that is what makes him so interesting and wonderful to run into all across the country. We went into the show and I bought him and myself some Makers Marks on the rocks and we drank to our friendship.

While we were making our way towards the front of the room, I almost felt like I was being tested in my concert tactics. We made it up to about the forth row and settled in to few complaints. He mentioned that I should go and eat at place called Jaques-imos. A short while into the set Les suggested that everybody should go eat at, where else but Jaques-imos.

Side note: posts are abundent, (today only: details inside)

2005-08-06T03:20:00.000-05:00

For the amount of time I spend on the computer you would think some thing useful would come out. Maybe it’s just storing up and waiting to explode. Though you would think that I could simply sit down and write the simple story of a trip to New Orleans and be done writing about it in a few days, but no something begins to brew and a bunch of useless shit which could eventually lead to something gets in the way and then the track comes from somewhere beneath all that snow and you off and running again full speed like nothing ever happened. Let’s see if we can get this tale told so I can find the switch track that leads to the other story I’m writing.

A Brain, A book, and A Ballpoint Day Four - part one - scene one: action

2005-08-06T03:10:00.000-05:00

Eight in the morning rolls around pretty fast when you’re sleeping in tent. My camp laid out in a nice spot between a few trees, so the sun wasn’t an issue - though the ants were. I got up pulled out everything out of my tent in a hurry to find that my PB and J had betrayed me by spilling in my bag the day before. Having found the accident the night before when I pulled it out for a sandwich just before going to sleep. My eagerness for slumber had betrayed me when I neglected to clean up the mess.

Now you may be questioning, Peanut Butter spilling? Well my particular taste involve the butter in its natural form - not the creamy substance full of preservatives and additives that I dare not try to say for phonetically speaking I couldn’t even sound it out - It is not the plastic jar of goo named after beloved story book heroes - What it is, is peanuts ground up with salt and put in a jar. Pretty simple recipe if you ask me, though if I had heeded the labels warning of "Oil separation occurs in natural nutbutters. Stir before use. Reclose Lid Tightly"

The Bread bag had also been left untied so the ants were having a hay day there too. After pulling everything out, I cleaned off my jars and threw out the bread. Luckily I had bought some quarter noodles and another loaf of bread yesterday so the four slices I threw away hadn’t hurt me any.

I cooked up the noodles on my backpacking stove while cleaning out my belongings and evicting the ants by shaking out the tent (still set up). Then I proceeded to catch up on my writing.

People started to show up for work shortly after, mind you I had slept in the park with only the company of the ants and a police officer who was keeping a watch on things. Odd normally they kick you out of parks for setting up camp; this one was my private bodyguard for the night.

So when Dave came around I found myself setting up banners for beer around the perimeter of the Island "So that no drunk Hippies fall in the drink."

Lesson learned from camping with PB and J, keep it wrapped up tight, if you have to leave it outside your tent, anything to keep ants out of your tent. The other lesson learned, always grab your shampoo and conditioner from the house you stayed at the night before, Damn it! I always leave something behind.

On had for this festival was a girl that I only saw once. She was not only promised a role in one of Dave’s Films but she had also landed a coordinating job for the festival. For the whole of a few hours that I actually saw her on the grounds she would complain about how this is never going to work and that the festival was going to be a complete loss. Well the more I got to know these people and the more I saw their thought process in motion, the more I believed in that fact. I became very glad that I wasn’t one of the forty people who paid a hundred sum dollars to camp and see the bands. We hung around doing little odd jobs, but mostly just hanging around. Another volunteer, Brent and his friend Jeff were trying to catch up on sleep from the night before. Once they came around I caught a ride with them down to the quarter for another night of music. We stopped at a little deli, which I never caught the name of but was located right in the heart of some walking tour. While we sat in the car and ate our meals (mmmmmmmmmm crab cakes) we could see the eyes of about fifteen people glancing at us while we ate trying not to divert their attention to the balcony above us and the guide whose back was turned to us.

I went back in to grab a bottle of whiskey for my rum had ran out. While standing in line a familiar face stood in line behind me, Chimi, who is the saxophone player from Robert Walter’s Twentieth Congress. I made some small talk, asking if he had any gigs tonight. He didn’t but "Might be sitting in somewhere."

We then headed over to the Howlin’ Wolf to see Mike Clark’s prescription Trio with Skerik and Robert Walter filling out the band. The show jammed, just can’t get enough of these guys. As soon as it was over I searched out my ride and we drove over to Twiropa to see Les Claypool. I didn’t have a ticket and stuck up my figure and started looking. I ran into my good friend Stew from Madison. We walked around while he helped me look for a ticket. Now this was the first time we had seen each other since my band broke up, so he became pretty inquisitive.

"Are you sure you weren’t there when they destroyed all of Kyle’s shit?"

"No, I wasn’t I was with Kyle at the time, you can call him right now and ask him," as I handed him my cell phone with the number displayed on the screen. Risky business that one is, once you’re involved you don’t want to do anything else even though the hardships are abundant.

"How do you know something to be true?"

"You just do."

"But how do you know something to be true."

"When you’ve read it somewhere."

"But how can you be certain?"

The Half-blood Prince - Another Harry Potter Book By JK Rowling (spoilers...Many...Many Spoilers)

2005-08-06T02:37:00.000-05:00

Wow Dumbledore is no more, Harry is out on his own with Hermione and Ron - Apparating around with him to help look for horcruxes and Snape, who is hiding out with he-who-must-mot-be-named and the Malfoy’s minus Lucius who is in Azkaban. Bill might be a werewolf but that is ok with Phlegm because love is strong in the world of magic especially when Tonks and Lupin are involved, or the lucky Ginny Wesley: the stand in seeker for the Gryffindor Kwidditch team. Now Slughorn had the hidden secrete in which made Voldemort strong, but his misconception of reality and drive for immortality is misconstrued by the shear imbalance of the ego and the id within the evil archetypical villain. Though Potter doesn’t actually come in contact with his nemesis, he learns just how evil this foe is through the pensive, Trelawney’s prophecy, and the events played out shortly thereafter it’s coming into existence. But all doesn’t settle well with Hagrid, the merpeople, and Firenzé when a funeral is involved, though nothing does make a more hypnotic sound than Phoenix in mourning.

A Brain, A book, and A Ballpoint Day Three, "The Long Walk Home"

2005-06-17T00:47:00.000-05:00

The merch girl disappeared with some guy from the show. When we all woke up they had received a voice mail from a friend in Austin about their merch girl, wondering why she had called them to let them know she was lost in Nawlins. Turns out the guy had talked her into staying with him there and the house filled with stress trying to cope with the new developments. She finally came around with the guy and could tell how she was persuaded for she was on know sleep and who know what kind of additives. They convinced her to stay with the band as they were responsible for her and didn’t want her slipping into her old habits.

They carried out to the van after she had fallen asleep on the couch and dropped me off at the trolley. I rode downtown while talking to my sister on the cell phone. When I had left her a message from the B3 summit it had been the first my family had heard of my trip. I neglected to inform them of my trip. It was more or less in my fashion of waiting to the last minute to even decide if I was going. The trolley engineer was talking to a few of his regulars and talking local gossip. An old lady gets off saying,

"They don’t drive them like you anymore, thank you."

When the trolley ended I walked from the quarter all the way to City Park. This is not a short trip. It took a few hours of walking and two hitchhiking attempts to get there. The first driver was a man who admired those of the beat generation and had always wanted to be a hitchhiker, but could not get out of his comfortable construction worker life with his girlfriend. The second was an older woman who was a traveler herself, telling me about her last trip and why her car was so cluttered because of it. The first dropped me off by the art museum.

City Park is adjacent to the Jazzfest grounds. Inside City Park there is an Island by the name of Scout. There I was to volunteer in exchange for a campsite at the Fat City Soirée, a small first time festival after the Jazzfest grounds close. Derek Trucks and Deep Banana Blackout will be performing.

There was a cop directing traffic next to the Art Museum as the NO philharmonic was playing in front. I asked him how to get to Scout Island. He had no idea so I mad my way through the park. After getting lost again I found an old man who had observed me being lost. He gave directions and I was on my way. Stopping more and more frequently now due to my heavy ass pack I found the second kind soul who gave me a ride the final stretch.

When I waltzed in they were testing the lights and I found Dave, the guy running the whole thing. He told me I could set up camp and gave me a ticket for Susan (the woman who gave me a ride). After walking all that way I set up camp played some guitar and crashed out.

A Brain, A book, and A Ballpoint Day Two - MO Fest and Frenchman St.

2005-05-24T21:10:00.000-05:00

When I woke up, though not fully rested, I could not go back to sleep for on the coffee table before my eyes there was a pear or an orange or some kind of citrus fruit bubbling and rotting with the tenants of fruit flies circling above. Thus interrupting my train of sleep, so I got up and we all took turns taking showers. There were six people in their group five band members and one merch girl. So showering took awhile.

We all ate and were on our way downtown to MO Fest where Skerik was playing with Robert Walter (keys in Greyboy All-stars and 20th Congress), and Stanton Moore (Drums in Galactic). They jammed on their respective bands tunes including tunes they wrote together (improvised and un-). One highlight was their rendition of Led Zeppelins Good Times Bad Times in which Skerik switches between the vocal and the guitar melodies on his sax.

Again they started on musician’s time but had the excuse of waiting for the Mayor of Nawlins to introduce them and give a Short Speech. After all this was the Mayor’s Office (MO) Festival. He thanked the local trio for coming out and playing with all the other local musicians. The rest of my Nalgene was being drained of its rum so I proceeded to shout out

"Ain’t that boy from Seattle?"

Turns out Robert Walter just moved to Nawlins so I couldn't yell out any California remarks.

After this trio was done they had a B3 Summit. For those of you who don’t know what a B3 is, it is an organ that most organist use and if they don’t usually salivate in the presence of one. Made by Hammond in the good ol days it has become a staple in the world of Jazz and Blues for decades.

The Summit included a band that backed up the organists and three B3’s set up. They cycled through with Ivan Neville, Robert Walter, Art Neville, Rich Vogel (of Galactic), Willie T, and Dr. John all taking turns at the Helm. After that the Merch girl and I walked around the French Quarter looking for a club to sneak into. The Band went back to nap so they could play their 2 am to 6 am slot at a club. We were standing outside one club called One Eye Jacks when my friend Red walked up. We met in Madison when I was playing down in a little coffee shop called Fruit of the Earth every Sunday - were my musical career began.

"Hey what’s happening?"

I esthetically questioned.

"I’m just working as the road manager for Signal Path. I have work to do though."

"Can you get me in?"

"No, sorry our list is full."

So that club was out. When we made it down the Preservation hall they were selling tickets for $35 and I didn’t want to pay that so I listened outside for a while. The Merch girl decided to head out to the bands gig. After a while Jonathan Freylick and Mark Sutherland walked up, the Bass and Sax players from the Malachy Papers. I chatted with John for a while as I had the night before, though now we could get along with other topics of conversation since we had talked shop already. So after they went in I headed on down towards Frenchman St. where the Austin band was playing and a few other shows were going on. Robert Walter had a gig as well as some members of Galactic and the Naked Orchestra which included a good 20+ Musicians.

I jumped around from the DBA and Café Brazil and settled in at the Austinites show, fighting off slumber as the couches in the Café Brazil were comfortable. Towards the end Brian Jordon (of Karl Denson’s Tiny Universe) and Brian Haas (of Jacob Fred Jazz Odyssey and Dead Kenny G’s) walked in with their girlfriends and watched the music. I chatted with Brian shortly before he settled in on one of the couches.

After the show was over they all packed up, and Robert Walter walked by. We fished the keys to their van out of the drain in which the drummer had dropped them and went back to sneak into the house again.

A Brain, A book, and A Ballpoint Arrival NAWLINS

2005-05-22T15:32:00.000-05:00

The train moves an a weary traveler tries to rest in the front seat of his railroad car, and finds his tendency to locate the seat furthest from the entrance - laid in by the school bus factor - has backfired. The furthest point from the entrance to a train car is also the entrance or exit from/to the next car, thus whenever anyone passenger traveling on this train enters or exits your car a door opens and noise enters. Another lesson learned in rail riding (1st bring own alcohol - common sense really). So when 5am came around and a load of elementary school kids hopped on the train this whole enter/exit game came into play and this weary traveler became even wearier. So Sleep took over for most of the ride into Nawlins. Though when the sun was rising from its slumber I took the opportunity to watch it from the lounge car, and then promptly went back to my seat. When we came closer and had about an hour left in the trip I went back to the lounge car to admire the suessesqe landscape of Louisiana, the marshes with strange trees, the houses up on stilts, the rusting cars floating along the river. I found myself back in the lounge car with a familiar face, the man who was sleeping next to me at Union Station. He sits playing with two cell phones, when one cuts out he picks up the other to recall the other end.

When we arrived in NO I collected my belongings and set out on the town. I fight my way through the many taxi drivers and walk my way down the street. The duel phone sleeper has made his way down the street always and figures he has had enough and comes back towards the station as I am leaving,

"You got to watch out for these people, they are crazy."

Though by what I observed on the train, his craziness was very apparent. So I kept on walking heading his warning but not paying too much attention for everybody is a little bit crazy. The weather started in welcoming me with a little drizzle so I found myself ducking into a park shelter until it let up. I kept on walking until I found myself in Louis Armstrong Park, looked at the statue of this man cloth in hand to wipe his brow, trumpet in the other ready to play a tune. Then I head towards downtown and the looks began again as a couple hundred people stared at this traveler with a home attached to his back. Walking through the Quarter, with ears open searching for a park in which MO fest was being held. One reason I found myself at Armstrong Park. When I reached the river I found such a park with music radiating as far as the ear could listen. So I made my way n that direction until the park was visible. It took a few blocks to get out of the buildings and onto the river. Taking a rest half way down the sidewalk I sit at one of the park benches along the river and a short distance from the park so I could take in some scenery before the bombardment of music begins. A familiar face walks by, the owner of Madison’s Barrymore Theater. I never really talked to him so I don’t pipe up, though I have played on his stage. Another being comes to visit though as a caterpillar makes it way across my backpack. Who knows how long I have had this companion on board? I leave him at the nearest tree and make my way down the home stretch the park.

The first was some hip hopers with Soapbox showing his skills over Ladyfingers turntables. Next was The Soul Rebel Brass Band with their traditional background fused in with funk and today’s hip hop. Then while Johnny Sketch played the weather became sketchy and started raining so I found my way to a restaurant to eat and let my shit dry.

Then it was right back out in the rain which became a drizzle, while I search for Old Point Bar on Patterson. I walked around for w while trying to figure out where it was but nobody could tell me. So I continued thru the Quarter somehow the river kept drawing me back. I took a pass through the Casino fighting the urge to lay all my money down on the Texas Hold’em table. I didn’t have the extra money in case my losing streak of the past few weeks kept up.

I walked across the street to a liquor store and asked for a map. It turns out Patterson is in Algiers which is right across the river. Luckily I was only two blocks from the ferry that would get me there. I waited along with a mother and son. Once we were let on the boat they seemed to take no notice of me until we passed a cruise ship which was making its way back to sea.

"See that front panel there?"

Pointing at the ship,

"They ran into a dock in Mexico and had to send all the passengers home so they could fix it. That is why it is here. See that Riverwalk over there? That was hit by an oil freighter last year. Did you hear about that? The news said that they were pulling out bodies, according to eye witnesses, but it turned out to be mannequins from the (insert big name corporate store here)"

Her son would somewhat repeat the ends of her stories with a hint of the want for attention. He then began his own story,

"Wanna hear something funny,"

Without hesitation or an answer,

"This man jumped off the ramp to the ferry on his bike and missed the ferry."

"Be quiet,"

Putting her hand over his mouth,

"That was not funny, that man died. He was a cook in the Quarter and died because he didn’t want to miss the last ferry home to Algiers. Well we are here, have a good time in Nawlins."

I walked around lost again, being brought up in spirits by the stories of tragedy - funny how that works - the at least I’m no them theory. I stopped in at a bar - had to be buzzed in. When the Bartender opened the door I asked,

"Where is Old Point?"

"Go down to Olivia and take a right, it’ll be on the corna."

I walked until I found Olivier Street remembering how the French pronounce things. When I got close I heard the rumblings of

"Skerik doesn’t like that."

And I knew I was in the right place. These people were unloading musical equipment out of pickup trucks, vans - with trailers attached and then Skerik drives in a car, with sax in tow. Mike D with all his timpani, Vibes, drum kit, and marimba was on pick-up driver and Brian Haas was the van and trailer guy - Making the Dead Kenny G’s.

When I walked up a group was standing outside and opened the door for me.

"How are you doing?"

One asked after I had dropped all my belongings inside.

"Sore I replied."

"Sore?"

They questioned with the feeling that implied the wrong connotation.

"Yea, from carrying around that bag all day."

"Oh, you hungry, we’re cooking up some beans and rice."

"Sure."

We all got to know each other with the gift of gab, during the meal of red beans and rice with the cast of musical patrons being fed by this improv group from Austin. They all had a day off of their tour and decided to learn from some top musicians. Girl from Venice Beach and I had some mutual acquaints in a film co-op out there.

Then an Irishman walked up and talked to the group. When the Austinites talked about the fact that they were in a band the Irishman noted that they,

"Should play some Irish music."

"You mean Celtic music?"

"You actually know how to say it, seems like everyone in this country says Seltic."

I chimed in,

"It’s those damn Boston Basketball fans that ruined it for y’all."

Now the music started on time for musicians but 45 minutes late for those tide to the preconception of time. Its and organ, sax, percussion/vibraphone trio, probably three of the hottest players around, in my opinion Skerik is the best saxophonist alive.

The bar is mostly a straight shot rectangle with the stage in the back left from the front door. If you are looking at the stage the bar is to the right taking up the whole wall until it reaches the bathrooms which are parallel with the stage. If you go past the bathroom and stage there is a pool table in an elevated (2stair) room. Now on the opposite end of from the stage (where the front door is) is two windows that open out onto the street where dinner was so kindly served. I sat in the window with my back towards the outside and the Irishman was behind me taking to two of the Ausinites. The Irishman called out, and I didn’t hear him until he said,

"Hey Alpine,"

Referring to the brand name on my jacket though making me second guess his psychic abilities and referring to Alpine Valley were I had been busted a few years before. Then he said,

"I’m sorry it just…"

I cut him off with a

"Yea whatever Seltic man,"

Which set him off into a fit of laughter being a good fifteen minutes past the Celtic conversation.

He proceeded to talk about Moterhead and how,

"Lemi plays a black and white? Come on now what is it?"

Being a bass player and a non Moterhead fan I at least knew he played bass.

So I said,

"Bass"

"Yes, but what kind?"

"Uh, err,"

Multiple uttering and brand names were shouted but he ended our guessing with Rickenbacker.

The band played for a while, towards midnight or so, a few other musicians joined the Dead Kenny G’s including Dr. Eugene Chadbourne on Guitar, Mark Sutherland on Sax, and Jonathan Freylick on Bass then it slowly morphed into The Malachy Papers as Skerik and Brian Haas left the stage leaving Mike D with his other band.

The night wore on, the music played on, and luckily after it was all over the kids from Austin had a 15 passenger van and a place to stay for the last ferry was at 11:45 and I didn’t have a place to stay. So we all snuck into this house after finding our way through the streets of Nawlins. Including an almost pull over when we needed to make an illegal U-turn and the driver asked,

"Does anybody see a cop."

Another replied

"Yes"

even though he was joking, a cop appeared hanging out just out of sight. We then all made our way to our respective couches and fell asleep.

A Brain, A book, and A Ballpoint Stage Two "Destination Nawlins"

2005-05-21T13:40:00.000-05:00

Stage 2 is now complete as I sit back in the train station - Union Station of Chicago. Pope Benedict the ... oh I forget the Roman Numerals behind - Well anyway he is being sworn in on the TV. So now it is time to wonder, what is this man will have to offer the world? Yes I said man; he ain’t Buddha or that son of a virgin, no matter how hard he or any of his predecessors try or has tried.

I picked up my ticket at the window - previously buying it online. The ticket woman knew that Jazz fest is going on and that there was no other reason for a transient such as me to be heading to Nawlins.

Now I just sit here as an orchestra of chatter fills the air of Union Station as all are waiting, some patiently, some hurried. An older woman passes by the gate as the call last call for the Illinois Zephyr. Her son and daughter run in, one you can add the -in-law to being that I can’t figure out which.

"We have three minutes till they lock us out - hurry up."

Ah yes 911 is still ever present in the world of public transportation. A voice comes on over the PA addressing the fact that you should not bring any packages with you on the train if some strange person gave it to you. This makes me wonder what has happened to common sense.

The world today sure has changed as cell phones are fixed to a good number of people waiting here. The other half are glued to the TV news program which isn’t really news just a window into the trends of the day and human interest stories.

This wasn’t the first breakout of the cell phone rash as the bus offered many people trying to escape the monotony of sitting on the Bus.

What people must think of the stranger with a pad and paper scribbling down a shit load of words? They see the guitar case and pray that I pick it up and start playing so the monotony is broken and they can peak into the window of my soul. Or maybe they just want to read the crap I’m writing. Will they? No, these are not the type of people searching for the Neo - Beat - hipster - drug addict - writing from the bottom of his soul. These are the type of looking for the tabloid on the super center aisle, the next New York best seller, that classic Hemingway or the biography of that baseball giant.

An hour and forty minutes till the train leaves, maybe I should talk my way into a crochet lesson from that old lady over there or invite one of those Barbie dolls into doing things that her ken doll would never think of, "Whatever, like oh my god!" Wait strike that, dirty mind gone awry. Loveless lust strikes again and the pursuit of a meaningful relationship thwarted by a girl with too much makeup and time in the tanning booth, equaling the equation of a turn on the bed turn off out of.

Ipods replace the cell phone as the population sink away into their preferred soundscape.

Two Jazz aficionados walk in with the aura of multiple Jazz fest experiences under their belts. With a Thirty Five year tradition underway, wonder when their first was. Oh the waiting has taken hold of another in the form of slumber, again sleep breaks the Monotony. Boredom starved for another stretch of time.

"Have a good Trip, and don’t take no shit,"

The wise words of a conductor as I walk out onto the platform to board my train. I can only guess the weight of this human monstrosity, several thousand tons of metal bolted together to create a mode of transportation able to carry hundreds of people vast distances. It is dim lit as the only lights are around the windows and the faint glow of the stations 40 watt bulbs peering in. This is the only Amtrak train amongst nine visible tracks until the wall on the right and a metro train on the left. One can only imagine the good ol days before airplanes ruled the sky.

T minus 8 minutes till the train kicks into gear and starts the 19 hour ride down south to Nawlins. Ah yes the anticipation is building and my body seeks hibernation for the subconscious has a premeditated conception of the lack of sleep.

A voice comes on the PA, her Self Conscious out ways her courage. Her public speaking days must have been numbered so she took to the rails. She has an apparent accent but I can’t pick it out, when she comes around as she has promised I’ll ask. The students that have spilled over from the next car because of its noise can’t help but take the fodder and use it to their humorous will.

"Ah ha, take your shoes off for you safety,"

Did they miss hear that or did she really say that? Ah here she comes. Her courage comes out a little bit more in person.

Oh it must be an English accent.

"Don’t die, don’t die young, don’t die at all - Peter Pan."

Well read, at least in children stories. Finally moving, riding backward is always unnerving to me unless it’s under the power of my own two feat. Chicago at night is visible as the sun finishes its decent pass the sky line, the city aglow with a million street lights. The conductor takes my ticket and complains about the eight student refugees from the next car.

"We were short one seat so eight of you spilled over, Great, Great."

I take it back the accent has to be Scottish I’ve got to work on that one yet, especially being of that descent. Ah yes, the train is rolling the booze is flowing and the full moon is in bloom, bright orange over the black sky scattered with grey clouds. Johnny Depp is on the TV in the lounge playing his part in "Finding Neverland". Quite proper that this bookend is here in spirit maybe I can channel his loathing other half for the trip. After all this is becoming a "Rum Diary". I’ll have to make a trade for some Vodka that the kids across from me have.

Thank god for baseball, a few years ago I didn’t give a shit but now I can pick up a conversation with a complete stranger about the subject. Neifi Perez hit a home run ball into the glove of the subject of conversation of the last hour as the rum kicked in. Luckily I got to handle the ball before he left, the first such event of my life. It’s a wonder, you go through life with a glimpse of great sportsman but the actual grasp of a ball that has been homered is different. It is a touch of greatness, a feeling of the vibe of someone who has spent their whole life to get where they are, the vibe of a few thousand people cheering as that particular ball flies over one of the oldest parks left standing - Wrigley Field.

I find my way to the downstairs of the lounge car to get another cup of ice to mix the two liquids in the two bottles I have together. At the table directly in front of the stairs sits one of the students with the vodka talking to three other students. She notices me and asks,

"What ya drinking?"

"Oh the same thing as these guys,"

As I hold up my Nalgene bottle and refer to the fifth of Captain Morgan sitting prominently on the Table.

"You have a Nalgene full of rum?" She exclaimed.

"I was going to drink it hobo style."

"Then you saw me walk back with a cup of ice." She finishes my sentance.

Indeed she had led me to the Ice of salvation; rum is nice by itself but not warm. I sat down at a near by table. Across from me was a student from Carbondale who had his laptop out.

"I am surprised they ended the movies so quickly." I noted after the second movie Spanglish had ended.

"Would you like to watch another?" He answered with the displaying of Napoleon Dynamite on his screen.

The Scottish conductor came down to our level to check on us all and was obviously in the same state as us, Tipsy and conversationally abundant. She began telling the story of McSomethingRather who had two families neither having any inclination of the other existing until the death of said father McSomethingRather.

The movie was cut short by the arrival at Carbondale; the party was winding down so I found my way back to my seat. My body finally received its request for sleep.

A Brain, A book, and A Ballpoint Stage One "Destination Nawlins"

2005-05-20T00:33:00.000-05:00

Ah yes, stage one complete in the journey of a brain, book, and a ballpoint. One wonders why a perfectly good human being would stuff a portion of his belongings into a backpack hop into his car, drive to a random street in Madison WI, park, walk down to the union with a rather heavy pack on his back, and jump on a bus that arrives at a train station in Chicago that in turn has a train slated to leave said former city and arrive and the later city of New Orleans, LA or hereafter referred to as NAWLINS.

One might take into account the possibilities that

a) He packed to much shit and his shoulders will be aching for the next week or two.

b) Maybe it wouldn’t be so bad if he had brought a small paperback instead of the hardback book in scripted with the words "don’t panic".

c) Maybe if I just drink all this rum down the bag will be lighter, the shoulders won’t feel pain, and a shitload of obscene jester’s will come out on the written page.

Oh yes, then there is that final and absolute point of

d) Which indicates that once in Nawlins I will be bombarded with so much music, that points a) b) and c) won’t hold much weight.

The agenda is getting thick; so far I drove my car to Madison, partied all night in a room full of friends. Taking part in the suitable substances and the drinkable legal addiction:

"Uncle Sam is a stick in the mud! He says that we cannot smoke, drink, or fight over the seats,"

Sorry the Bus driver interrupted my story which didn’t concluded with more than a buzz and a conversation of data junkies talking about the torrents that they had downloaded. Both collections had included a 2 DVD set of Hunter S. Thompson interviews.

When I passed out I found myself waking up in the middle of the night to pizza and a Michel Moore film. Odd it was few days after a six year anniversary of Columbine. After passing out again I woke up to the final time with a view of Monona Lake out the window unobstructed by anything but a tree that made it even more scenic. Then came the moment of truth, I got in my car, went to get the proper diet for a man trying to save all his cash for an art-if-I-shall-e induced week of music: PB and J with a loaf of bread. Next I found the perfect street to abandon my vehicle. Luckily they don’t enforce the "NO Parking" on "this side" of the road on "Fridays" "May 1st – Nov. 1" with my travels ending on May 3rd that gave me plenty of time in which to reclaim my vehicle.

I grabbed all my belongings and headed towards downtown Madison. This is when the moment of realization kicked in and all the weight currently resting on my shoulders rang in and said,

"We’re part of your being for the next week and a half, for it is now too late to turn back."

I have exactly 15 minutes to get to the bus that will lead me to Chicago and not enough time to tread back and leave any unnecessary items in the car.

Note to self: buy a lighter tent and sleeping bag for the next expedition.

I reached the bus in time as everyone was lining up to get on, but not before getting the first of what I assume will not be the last of strange looks in my way as an urban explorer makes his way across the country with a load of shit on his back.

I paid for my ticket and settled in the middle of the bus. It was somewhat closer to the back but experience has lead me to stear clear of my school boy urge of sitting in the back few rows, due to heavy traffic and sometimes the unwanted smell of human waste lurking its way out of the bathroom.

What is it about a moving vehicle that brings on the irresistible urge to sleep? Every time I look up I get a glimpse of a partially opened mouth, a nose, and two eyelids shielding two eyes form the outside world and doubling as a movie screen for her dreams. That PB and J is calling my name.

Native Nazi – The continuing story of the powerless

2005-03-29T13:23:00.000-06:00

Last week on March 22nd a 16 year old by the name of Jeff Weise shot his Grandfather and his Grandfather’s Girlfriend. Then took his Grandfather’s Police issued pistol, shotgun, bulletproof vest, and squad car to his school. At around 3pm Central Standard time he opened fire at killing six students and a teacher.

"I stumbled across the site in my study of the Third Reich as well as Nazism," he wrote in post made in March 2004 on The Libertarian National Socialist Green Party web site. "I guess I've always carried a natural admiration for Hitler and his ideals, and his courage to take on larger nations."

It is hard to believe that a member of the Ojibwa tribe would buy into Hitler’s ideals but then again he sees a view of this country far from the norm. His people had been rounded up like wild cattle and fenced in, on a little piece of land called a reservation. Far be it that this happened a couple hundred years ago, the stigma of hatred could still be lingering and legalized gambling is not the answer to centuries of hate that were brought on by hate. I can see how someone who hated interracial relationships can be drawn to Hitler; it’s the same idea no matter what race you are. You fear what is different and feel that your race should stay pure. Some natives go as far as having kids with first and second cousins to keep their blood true. When you’re stuck on a reservation what choice do you have to preserve your race. Though I do not condone incest, but when a society is in abnormal conditions abnormal occurrences happen.

Of course the society as a whole is breeding killers. This is being called the next Columbine already, being just shy of the same magnitude. But who is to blame, is it the parents, the schools, the government for taking away what power we did have albeit it has always been minimal. I think this country is in need of an overhaul. The checks and balances were been erased in the last election. People are killing each other left and right, and the government is not the best role model either, staging mass murders that have been best defined as wars - though lacking an opponent. As long as they stay powerful and keep the rest of us powerless there will be more out lashes like this one.

We are running out time people, we have to stand together and make sure that future elections are done fairly, that every voice is heard, and that we get some people in this system of government that are not you average ordinary kissing babies politicians, we need some people that are going to change the way things are done before we end up in the road of a dictatorship hidden behind the mask of democracy.

For a more complete report click here

The Void Known as the Gas Tank (disclaimer: No Scientific Facts Presented)

2005-03-27T01:25:00.000-06:00

Another day another few dollars sucked away into the void known as the gas tank. What is being done about it? Other than millions of dollars sucked out of our tax paying pockets and diverted towards military funding, so that we may take over the countries with the most oil reserves under their soil? Now we have brought the battle to our own land and started attacking the very land we call home and have set aside for the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge.

What is wrong here? We have other means of fueling our cars such as biodiesel but no one is taking the time to implement it into society so that at least those few treehuggers that have a big enough conscious to do something about the rash of humanity destroying this earth, can fuel their cars as they travel across the country to go to the next big festival of a thousand bands (I’m taking the train next time).

So gas prices keep on raising, people keep on driving bigger and less efficient vehicles, and governments keep sending people to war to fight out their economic battles. Forrest are leveled to make room for refineries, animals are driven out of their homes upsetting the balance of nature. The world becomes lopsided since the proportion of matter is being sucked dry to be burned in our gas tanks and horrible tragedies occur when abnormal earthquakes create weather strong enough to take out ten’s of thousands of the species earth is trying to shake off its back.

And then there is nothing left but a regretful species of humans watching a planet they called home fall apart in front of their faces as they try to leap off with vehicle burning the very substance that got them into this mess in the first place.

So Please take the time to do something for a change and boycott the oil companies that could still prevent this monstrosity if they drill somewhere else (fat chance but it is worth a shot) True Majority - Online activism at its best

From Our Mother's Eyes

2005-03-27T00:27:00.000-06:00

I got fleas Sucking My Blood dry
charging each other a high price
so they can run over me
on shackles made of my flesh
continuing to stress
the very cap that holds their breath

And what thanks do I get
for sustaining their life
a hole on my head
made by some explosion
funded by the funds
that make all these smoking guns
so that their pockets can deepen
with oxygen providing life

but each explosion, each shackle,
each piece of hair plucked from my head
adds a piece to the puzzle
to put on the muzzle
silencing these fleas lives
making them realize
what they had

as I sit back and rebuild my flesh
as I have done so many times
when some animal takes advantage
of the life they've been given

after all I'm just the referee
here to call out the penalties
cause this is my court
and y'all are just visiting

The End of Fear and Loathing

2005-03-25T00:00:00.000-06:00

Dr. Hunter S. Thompson
1937 - 2005

sorry this is a month late

A voice silenced by the woes of old age. His favorite tool of terror turned into the period ending the great American novel of Fear and Loathing. There will be an absence of gunshots at the Owl Farm creating Hunter’s signature through the pages of his books, though our beloved Gonzo Journalist will go out with a bang when a cannon shoots out his final remains.

He was unable to rage the parties like he used to after the wheel chair incarcerated a madman after years of being on the move. Years of idolizing a writer from a generation before, who came to a similar end, gave him a way to nod to Hemingway one final time. Now Ernest’s antlers need to find a new home (Hunter stole them of the door of Hemingway’s home in Ketchum, ID).

In my search to remember this great writer I began digging up interviews from years past and one from two years ago disturbed me a little bit. In Hunter’s own words from his January 2003 interview on Democracy now.

“We'll see what happens to me if I get my head cut off in the next week by -- it's always unknown Bush [inaudible] strangers who commit suicide right afterward. No witnesses. They have a new kind of crime.”

It is somewhat hard to take this as truth when you take into count that his son was in the next room and he was on the phone with his wife - but it would be a good alibi.

We'll see you in the next life Hunter. Goodbye

The Drifter - chapter 6

2005-02-05T04:22:00.000-06:00

Now I have come across the definition of absence - not a single item to be seen, heard, felt, tasted - not even a heart beat coming from my chest. Have I found death, is this heaven? Or...

"Hell, no this is not hell. How could you say that. With all your preconceptions this doesn't even remotely stack up to any form of hell imagined by Dante, The Bible, or even Marilyn Manson."

"Oh, you again. How can you be reading my thoughts."

"Thoughts, there are no thoughts here, just communication. Nothing is hidden as you can tell. The only thing here is the true essence of the soul, no body to hide behind, no verbal nonsense to get in the way of communication, no sight to convolute feelings, no organs reacting to the drive of humanity. This is where truth and lies cannot hide, this is where politics, money, stature, and fame have no meaning, This is the true essence of life, this is the souls playground."

"The souls playground?" Those words brought on a epiphany, everything became clear and a new sense became known to me. It was somewhat like vision but it didn't end peripherally. Every direction was open to exploration at once and a few more directions than normal. The limits of space and matter had been lifted as I could now be anywhere and everywhere at once. I ended and everything began for there was no I anymore. The universal mind had annexed me into the being that is everything.

by Zach Chisholm

The Drifter - chapter 5

2005-01-19T03:06:00.000-06:00

Ah the life of unemployment. What shall I do today. Might as well enjoy it. I have a couch, a TV, a fridge full of food lets see what's on.

Channel 2 .... crap,

channel 3 .... crap,

channel 4 ... crap,

channel 23 ... crap

channel 37 comedy I guess that'll work.

“I've already answered it, what are you talking about how can I have the answer if I'm the one doing the questioning?”

“Just because you've asked the question doesn't mean that you don't have the answer. It's like connecting the dots. You don't know that if you connect point a to point b that you will have a cat, until you get to point z. You've found point z before connecting points a and b and now you have confused your mind to the point in which you can't find your way to the answer.”

“I don't think that I'm the one doing the confusing around here.”

“On the contrary, I have laid out the clearest explanation I could. Though the clearest explanation doesn't have to be the most apparent. Sometimes coming to the conclusion on your own will help you to embrace the concept to the point in which you will not only grasp it but also fully understand what you must do with this piece of information.”

by Zach Chisholm

The Drifter - chapter 4

2005-01-16T02:09:00.000-06:00

“May I speak with you in my office?”

Oh great, A meeting with the boss. Well at least I get a glimpse of the outside world while I'm in his office. There will be delusions of grandeur and everything. I can vision myself sitting in a desk in a real office with a bunch of drones underneath me kissing my ass and obeying my every command like a well trained dog. Weeding out those bad apples and defining the meaning of “bad times” for them when they lose their job and can't start a new one because I won't give them a good recommendation. Ah yes to be an office manager, the power of having something when you really don't. You still have to answer to those in the corner offices and the nice seats in the board room.

“Come in. I've noticed that you haven't quite started to fit in here yet. How long have you worked here, six months?”

“I believe that is right.”

“We here work as a team and when someone isn't fitting in to that team we have to correct that and make sure that this machine stays well oiled.”

“Are you trying to fire me? Or are trying to rebuild me.”

“Well I have tried in the past to get you to change your ways, but taking extended lunches, coming to work whenever you feel, and leaving at five when you haven't put in a full eight hours is not what I call a team player. And what is this, a tee shirt with some hobo printed on it?”

“It's Pig Pen.”

“Who?”

“The first Keyboardist for the Dead.”

“Oh, I was a Deadhead, until I got a life.”

A life! He calls this a life. Strangling himself with a suit and tie everyday. Sitting in the same cramped room seven days a week, fifty to fifty-one weeks a year. Telling people what to do while he just fumbles through paperwork figuring out how to make things run more efficiently.

But wait, didn't I envision myself in his chair didn't I want his job. What is it that compels me to be like this man I hate. The success, the money, is that all the greed of power and money has reared its ugly head in the very core of my soul that I have lost sight of who I am.

Man this is getting confusing, first I'm in some exit-less town, then when I found the exit I became the only resident of a bridge in the sky and the only known consumer of a pedestal of fruit and now I'm traveling in mid flight across a sky with no visible walkway beneath me, no viable way of being transported if any motion is involved. I have found myself in a predicament that to my knowledge is a first. No one has ever came up to me and told me, “You want to hear something strange? Well I was Hitchhiking this one time and I went to far. So far that I couldn't find my way out of this deserted city for weeks. Then when I finally did, I walked up this staircase for weeks until I arrived at this bridge in the sky that went on until I realized that I was walking on air.

Well now that I have summarized my reality, I guess I should figure out what is next. Though that has not been up to me for some time now. Just then a whirlwind flew around me as I felt like Dorthy, nay Toto as I felt clutched in the grasp of a larger being as I flew through the air. Up and down left and right, diagonal up three and over one I flew while I lay limp knowing that whatever may happen it will be the last thing I expect.

What!

Did I black out?

“Yes you did”

For the entire time I had been here - weeks, months, however long it had been, I had yet to come in contact with anything living – even the fruit had been dead.

“Where am I?”

“That will be revealed when you are ready, right now it is best if you just relax.”

“Relax, I have been traveling through the most strangest places of my entire life and you tell my to relax. I have been in seclusion for months and all you can tell me is to relax. No food, no companionship, no stimulation of any kind and all you can tell me is relax. I have been locked up in the most depressing city I have ever known of, Strolling across the most unusual bridge in the sky - that could have instilled a fear of heights into anyone - only to be taken away so that I found myself hovering a few thousand feet in the air - just to wonder if I were about to fall to my death if I took a wrong step.

Now I am here in, wait I can't see anything. Am I anywhere. There is Nothing around me,

no color,

no substance,

no air,

no feeling.

Where Have you Brought me?”

“You have already answered that.”

by Zach Chisholm

The Drifter - chapter 3

2005-01-14T01:42:00.000-06:00

The cubical next to mine needed to be fumigated for the over sized talk radio host that was coming out of the speakers. Every day I had to listen to that bloated voice talk about how he couldn't understand why people would put metal in their lips, tongues, prince alberts, where ever they please. Why they would marry their own sex and why they should vote for apes. Then I remembered why they act the way they do, they're scared into it, placed in the balance of power with the weight of fear that grabs them and pulls us all down into the quagmire of international hatred.

So I go back to listening to my British news and American talk radio that weighs out on the other end of the scale to level out the playing field. Those who respect the rights of all humanity and fight for those constitutional rights given to us by the forefathers of this country. I keep reminding my self that “The only thing we have to Fear, is Fear it Self.” Someone is hiding that from the people these days.

“What are you listening to, may I ask?” Comes the authoritative voice of the office manager, ridding in on his high horse from the realm of the outer offices that have walls that reach the ceiling, a door, and a window to the outside world.

“Oh, you don't recognize it?” I retort.

“Yea, It is that comedian I used to think was funny, at least when he was on that late night sketch comedy show.”

“What changed your mind, it didn't happen to be his politics?”

“No,” Trying not to sound obvious, “I just don't care for him anymore.”

What is so bright?

the sky overhead was clear and a bright sun was shining down on me, penetrating my eyelids to the point where It didn't matter if they were shut. I sat up looking at the vast pillar of fruit in front of me so I started to gather it and stock up my backpack for whatever lay ahead of me on this bridge in the sky.

After loading down my pack with more weight than it had seen in months I staggered off in the heat of a rising sun with a body that had to be reassured that it was awake.

As I walked the scene stayed the same, slowly the bridge carried me across the sky, and slowly my body woke up to realize it was under more pressure and lacking protein from the newly introduced diet of fruit, "Its was better than nothing," I kept telling my self. Wait a minute, why the hell was there fruit in the middle of this bridge, then again where on earth is a bridge like this. Nowhere that is where. I new I was somewhere other than earth or at least had hypothesized that when I couldn't find a way out of that previous city. Then Again I found a way out or at least a extension thereof that was less depressing and had some kind of substance to fill my belly with.

Now where am I going?

Will there be more food

Will there be some kind of companionship

Will there be some kind of drink,

I'm dying for a drink

a beer

wine

I would even drink that stuff in the box

I need a 12 step program

or at least 12 steps that would lead back down to my life

unless this bridge leads somewhere truly amazing, I'm always up for that. Paris, New York, the mountain range of - well any mountain range

Wait a minute

where did the bridge go

looking down at my feet I realized that there was nothing under neath them but the ground and a few thousand feet of air and clouds between me and it. Though I wasn't falling.

Should I stop walking?,

or would that make me fall?

Should I stay walking straight?

when would I know to turn?

Should I keep looking down?

where the fuck am I?

by Zach Chisholm

The Drifter - chapter 2

2004-12-04T02:17:00.000-06:00

Still nothing, I rummaged through the house looking for something to eat, nothing there except an empty kitchen. My stomach was growling loud enough to scare off any predator. While digging through my pack I found the remanence of a granola bar, torn from its packaging and smashed to bits from the incessant digging my hand had been guilty of during fits caused by bad packing. I picked up the bits of granola piece by piece as if I had turned into a ape cleaning the parasites from the cloak of a fellow ape. Even after every crumb was recovered from the inner lining of the backpack and shaken from every article of clothing I had - the state of contentment had not been reached. My stomach had now gone on the attack, as if it were going to scare its prey to death, but I was the only prey it could devour and If I didn't find food soon I would be eaten from the inside out.

So I started my quest, looking for a bug, a leaf, a blade of grass, sap dripping from a tree, anything that remotely resembled food - anything that could supply sustenance. With the dense fog over head I tried to suck as moister in to at least supply me with the essential hydration.

Wait

what is that?

is that a birdsong?

or just the wind whistling?

looking all around I searched out the bird running this way and that. I heard it over here no it was over here. I picked up rocks and thrust them in to the air hoping that they would magically hit something and a meal would land at my feet.

Nothing

Trudging on I found my self in the shoes of the Theater Arts Student. There was the ray of light blinding my dilated pupils. I looked up to see a massive building, one unlike any I had ever seen. The darkness seemed to stem from this building, as if it was inverting the very light illuminating it. There was no resemblance to any architecture I had seen, no hint of Frank Lloyd or I. M. Pei, just a solid formation jetting out of the ground with an odd entrance. Two black columns zig zag their way up to a mutual point, over head a doorway at least thirty feet high. The doorway was empty with nothing physical to open, just an encompassing dark mass to let you know you had passed into the building. I reached for my flashlight yet again but to no avail, the darkness just grabbed the light right out of it and suck it into whatever void it created. As I walked forward I became blind to my surroundings. With my arms extended to their full reach I proceeded with a caution and slowly rotating from side to side so I wouldn't hit anything. After a few minutes of careful exploration I found a staircase and found myself climbing up the spiral to find whatever lay at the other end.

Hours went by and still no end to this staircase, not even a level to stop at. In the back of my mind was the intention of turning around and going back to the desolate world below, but at least I felt I was going somewhere, if not in reality, in my imagination - which complete darkness lends itself to fairly well. Again the mountains came to mind, the fictional wife and job, life on the road, and the bird of prey resting in the pit of my stomach creating the overwhelming hunger. Visions of Ghandi took over, and the a peaceful feeling came over me. I was fasting, forced yes but still fasting, and not just food but

companionship

beauty

travel

communication

entertainment

everything I had known throughout my life was gone and every thought was geared on how to get it back - but that is not what I'm supposed to be doing now is it. Whatever, whoever sent me to this place is not trying to convince me of this. When I'm on the verge of gaining something more is taken away, delusions of the perfect life come to mind only to stripped away in this harsh reality to the point where there is nothing left to entertain me but thy own mind.

So I keep climbing

hoping to attain something resting at the top of these stairs

my hand drapes across the banister

holding me up

The hours seem to drip into days

the days into weeks

and I still climb

taking breaks every once in a while to sleep

- very uncomfortably I might add.

and Up

and up

and horizontally

wait

horizontal

the staircase start to flatten out and go in a different direction and I found my self walking on level ground again. Was I imagining things or was it getting lighter? In front of me was a opening similar to the zig zap columns of before but white. As I got closer I expected the sky to dreary and full of fog but it was brilliant. I found my self standing on a marble bridge above the clouds with the sun shining down. it looked to go on forever, at least past the horizon so I hiked on.

Is that a mirage? As I got closer, a pedestal lay before me garnished with fresh fruit. I grabbed an apple and inspected it. Got out my buck knife and cut it into pieces. It appeared to be fine so I took a gamble and took a bite. I ate for hours on apples, bananas, mangos even a few I didn't recognize. By the time I filled up sleep came over me and for the first time in who knows how long I laid on level ground with my mat and sleeping bag and fell asleep.

by Zach Chisholm