books 2008

eat, pray, love
[elizabeth gilbert]
the name of the wind
[patrick rothfuss]
the life all around me by ellen foster
[kaye gibbons]
the big over easy
[jasper fford]
currently: playing for pizza
[john grisham]

hubert in the city

hubert knew that if there were a sidewalk, he must be in the city. there are no sidewalks outside the limits. being in the city is a good thing if you are a city dweller, but hubert was not a city dweller. hubert was a cavey -- he had lived his entire life in the complex network of caves by the sea. so, he could discern that #1: he was in the city, and #2: he was up the proverbial creek. the city might as well be the moon, for all that hubert knew of either one.

moon... moon... hubert thought about what he knew of the moon & its habits, how it rose from the cityside every evening and set on the seaside in the mornings. it seemed to be squarely abovehead now, so hubert decided to wait a couple hours & see which direction it set -- knowing that would be seaward. sounds simple - wait a couple hours - but not being a city dweller, hubert did not know what happens in the city late at night.

do you?

the clouds parted, and the moon shone through.

the clouds parted, and the moon shone through. hubert was startled by the sight of his shadow -- for a not-quite-full moon, it was stunningly bright, casting the surroundings into sharp contrast. not containing the full spectrum of color, moonlight cannot reveal the full spectrum of color, leaving the environment in total greyscale. sharp contrast, but total greyscale. the grass, sidewalk, curb, street... the puddles of mud swirling around hubert's trainers - all was cast in shades of grey.

as his eyes adjusted to the new level of visibility, hubert oriented himself. this was his footlocker, on its wheeled cart. this was his bookbag. between the two of them, these meager pieces of luggage held most all his worldly belongings. he checked his pockets: knife, coins, compass, whistle, and most important, his personal identification papers. thanking the greater-power that his p.i.p.'s were intact, hubert set about attempting to discern where in the hula he was.

600th post

spotted while waiting for the vanpool: one each young man wearing loafers, tight dark jeans, tan sport jacket, & carrying umbrella & plaid messenger bag. texted elvis who confirmed gaydar alarm sounding.

also spotted a commuter on what looked like a dirt bike, popping a wheelie through the intersection. seriously. who rides a dirt bike to work, and who pops a wheelie through rush hour traffique? freaker.

speaking of cars & traffique & such -- here in my town, they have this service on big drinking holidays like st paddy's or new year's -- you can get a free ride home & also get your car towed home for free, if you have been drinking. fabulous - sober ride home. what if you have car trouble, though? you know - like a blow out or run out of gas or your car breaks down? you'd be s.o.l. - no free ride for you. tow trucks are upwards of $80 a pop. drinks are not that pricey. save yourself some dough -- if your car breaks down on a national drinking holiday: have you a couple drinks & call for that free ride & tow.

happy 600th post, eh? yeah!

gettin' messy

everyone. hey! i am talking to you. everyone!

go get a mess kit. you know, the kind you had when you were in scouts. take it with you when you go places to eat. ask them to put the food on your dishes. this might not work in restaurants, okay... fine... health dept. but, all those pot luck dinners you are going to, using all those paper plates? hello? get a freakin' clue, my peeps! your church fellowship is killing the planet!

cheryl crowe was on leno a couple nights ago, and her ideas of toilet paper conservation take things a bit far. there was talk of reusable cloth... well... you get the picture. 'nuff said.

in other news, looks like dallas may pick up ol' pacman jones. p-man was on the radio in dallas yesterday saying how much he'd like to come down there & play for america's team. right. 70% of the people polled in dallas say they want him to join the team. go for it, cowboys. don't come crying to me when it gets messy.

ut & vandy women are both in the sweet sixteen. ut men also in the sweet sixteen. vandy men... big disappointment. siena? really?

it is a sign

on the local shoney's: over five new items on the breakfast buffet. over five, eh? like... uh... six? right.

when i get my own place, i am going to decorate it with metal grocery carts, books, magna doodles.

test drove a corolla tonight. not impressed. too bad that stupid vw dealer sent the stupid used honda to the stupid auction. stupid-heads.

::yawn::

a couple of aces for you

whazzup wid you?

watching harry potter #2 on dvd, and believe we should all go around in robes all the time. not like bath robes, ya dweebus -- wizarding robes. duh.

what are you up to, eh?

this weekend's rental

was a pontiac g6, which has a v6. let's just say it's got great pickup & sustainable speed, and leave it at that, eh?

dude

greetings from the home of elvis, priscilla, & beavis. the wee little screaming man is coming along just fine, and elvis & priscilla have been amazingly adaptable.

i am currently leading the pack in both basketball pools i am playing, but my potential points are too low to expect my lead to hold. i had duke in the final four, so that is blown. i do have tn & tx in the final game, which is risky enough that if it does come true, i will likely be the only one with that pick.

off to find a snack, and perhaps a game of backgammon.

friDAY friDAY friDAY

it is good friday. i remember a poem from jr high about lincoln's assassination, and it began - "good friday was the day of the prodigy & crime, they shot him in his..., they shot him in his prime". i have not been able to find it online for years... but i looked again today, and presto - here it is. written by herman melville. it's a sort of comparison of lincoln to jeebus. [that is jesus in regular english, but being currently in the land of beavis, we shall pronouncalize it thusly - jeebus.]

Good Friday was the day
Of the prodigy and crime,
When they killed him in his pity,
When they killed him in his prime
Of clemency and calm-
When with yearning he was filled
To redeem the evil-willed,
And, though conqueror, be kind;
But they killed him in his kindness,
In their madness and their blindness,
And they killed him from behind.

There is sobbing of the strong,
And a pall upon the land;
But the People in their weeping
Bare the iron hand;
Beware the People weeping
When they bare the iron hand.

He lieth in his blood-
The father in his face;
They have killed him, the Forgiver-
The Avenger takes his place,
The Avenger wisely stern,
Who in righteousness shall do
What the heavens call him to,
And the parricides remand;
For they killed him in his kindness,
In their madness and their blindness,
And his blood is on their hand.

There is sobbing of the strong,
And a pall upon the land;
But the People in their weeping
Bare the iron hand;
Beware the People weeping
When they bare the iron hand.

princess bride: not yet located

the cake was fresh baked banana bread. lunch & dinner out, flowers, vandy sweatshirt, dvd player, $20, $25, candles, & cards. would have had princess bride, if it were to be had, but alas... additionally, received neither pie nor book. odd, that.

so, here is a problem from cubicleland: some people have no indoor voice. they must not have learned this in kindeygarden. it is not a difficult concept, so one would have to presumptualize that these folks either don't have indoor voices, or they are performing for the benefit of the others in cubicleland. if it is a performance, it gets two thumbs down.

tonight we saw the bestest civic... dark gray, 4 door, 5 speed, dark interior, sweet dash layout, sunroof. too bad the price tag turned out to be too high. waaaa! really need to stop looking at cars that are out of our price range.

tomorrow - we travel to see the beav!

closet full of clothes & nothing to wear

if you were to receive a gift, would you rather have a book or a pie? would it matter what kind of book or what kind of pie?

my first reaction is that i would rather have a book, b/c it lasts longer, but if it is a book that i read in a couple days, then it doesn't really last any longer than a pie. and, if it is a book that i am not even going to read at all, then it is totally useless.

on other other hand, if it is a chocolate pie, i don't want the pie at all. but, if it were a choice between the new ken follett book & a chess pie... then, i would have to ask who is cooking the pie b/c the chess pie is a difficult thing to get right. that would be a close call. if it were some kind of dictionary or reference book, i'd definitely go for the book.

if you would like to get me a book, you can get me a copy of calculus for dummies. i used to speak calculus, and now i do not, and i would like to pick it back up. for absolutly no reason. criminy, who needs a reason to do calculus? if you would like to make me a pie, make it chess & make it right. but, if you would like, you can get me a copy of princess bride on dvd b/c i got that new toy i mentioned the other day that you never guessed what it was but i am tired of waiting on you to guess so i will tell you it's a dvd player. yeah!

wear green tomorry

the crappy green team put up quite a fight today in our first game of the season. we had to play down a couple, and the other team is well-known for poor sportsmanship. it was a close game and came down to the wire. the final score will reveal how tight the game was, and how hard we fought before losing... 12-0.

whatevs. shuddup.

we are headed to mellow mushroom. feel free to stay home with that attitude of yours.

jonesing for mary jane. the candy, ya dweebus.

i really wanted the mary janes, but they did not have them, so i got the bit-o-honey. i am not sure it will do the trick b/c yesterday i wanted bit-o-honey or sugar babies, and ended up w/ fig newtons b/c they didn't have any of the good stuff at the tigermart. so, today, the bit-o-honey jones had grown into a full-fledged mary jane jones, and they don't have any at the dollar tree. i obviously am a very discretionary shopper and cannot be bothered to go to places where the things i want might actually live. anyhoo - no mary janes at dollar tree, so i got the bit-o-honey, but i don't think ol' mary jane jones is gonna go away that easily.

beware the ides of march.

beachwalker

she did not know why she liked to walk on the beach... she just knew that she liked it. sand, shells, waves & foam, driftwood, and smooth little pieces of glass. sometimes there was a sand dollar or a starfish, but usually not.

anyway, it wasn't really about the stuff, although the stuff was fun to pick up & pretty to look at. no, it wasn't really about the stuff. it was something altogether simpler than the stuff... it was the moving.

well, simple on the surface, but possibly more complex at a level that others could not see. the moving of herself down the beach, through the sand & foam, propelling herself with her own power -- this so basic of abilities that humanity everywhere takes it for granted -- filled her with such deep & profound pleasure that she needed nothing else to make her complete.

books 2008

eat, pray, love
[elizabeth gilbert]
the name of the wind
[patrick rothfuss]
the life all around me by ellen foster
[kaye gibbons]
currently: the big over easy
[jasper fford]

word peep friend keep

word wordie word word
who will have the last word
who will have the final say
at the end of the day

peep people peep peep
who are the ones you keep
in your mind & soul & heart
when the path is cold & dark

who do we have if we don't have each other
who keeps you sane when your life is a mutha
when it all comes crashing down at the end
where would we be if not for our friends

left to my own devices

watching harry potter & the sorcerer's stone while my rice w/ shrimp & asparagus heats on the stove. here's what i am wondering about harry potter -- did we ever get the whole scoop on harry's aunt & her relationship with harry's mother? i think not. something happened between those 2 sisters when they were children. and, there's more between harry & dudley. but, ol' j.k. had to spend so much time bringing poor dumbledore out of the closet, she didn't have time to cover the real business.

food's warm - time to eat. yum!!

may the nutella be with you

if one were to use one's light sabre to spread nutella on one's biscuits, would one's light sabre retain a patina of nutella? or, is it the nature of the light sabre to remain unsullied by residues?

i am the miracle worker

i poured water on the plant, and not only did it not die, it grew.

huh.

::happy dance::

my new toy is working. too bad you do not know what it is.

did a little shopping today, with no buying. newly impressed with the subaru impreza. there's one at the local used car lot, and i like it. can't take a test drive for a couple days, and it will probably sell before we get over there. if it is meant to be, it will happen, eh?

from the used car lot, you can smell the cracker barrel - pumping out their wood smoke & bacon smellation. we drove by there but the place was packed, so we came on home & made breakfast for supper here.

you know, being at home is so much more fun now with the new toy and all.

sunday

my new toy is not working. disgustion abounds.

here's an ace for you, from today.

that is all.

eschew conformity: spring sideways

talking about this year's pro football draft, the radio guy said - this draft is full of inside left tackles. fairly specific, don't you think?

caught last night on tv a sport i have not seen. it is difficult to explain, but these people were hanging from ropes off the side of a cliff and doing, like, formations together. i thought maybe i could find a picture of it, but no luck. it was cool & looked fairly intense. the people practicing it were quite buff. i would say it is like skydiving formations, but they were tied to the ropes.

why do all the culkin boys have such long hair? girlie boys. macaulay. kieran. rory. how many of he little freakers are there?

did some shopping today & came home with a present for me. i would venture to say you will never guess what it is, but i will give you three guesses & this hint: the purchase was made at best buy. if nobody guesses, i will presume nobody cares, and i will tell nobody what i purchased.

in closing, found this ace for you today:

good ol' teddy k

ol' teddy kennedy is truly old - 76 yrs old as of someday this week. they showed a clip on the news channel of him singing something from some podium somewhere in some language that did not sound like english. he appeared to be drunk, and it was sort of an odd clip, but you know what? i really feel sorry for ol' teddy. there he was back in the day, the little baby brother party boy, and then his two serious older brothers up & get theirselves shot, leaving him to bear the burden of their greatness. he's never been up to the task of being that serious, and it's a wee bit unfair that seriousness has been expected of him. all those expectations, and two dead brothers. sheezle.

thursday

beavis sent me a bag of candy corn. such the kidder he is becoming. trying to work out a trip up there to check him out in person, and wondering why road trips have to be so complicated. maybe b/c i don't have a car, eh? yeah. tonight, the oldest odometer known to man did a big ol' flipperooney and landed on 209000. impressive, quite. but, not something you'd want to rely on for the road trip adventure.

from the world of the locker clock, i bring you:

the palindromic 12:22:21
the poetic 12:21:12
and, the perfect 11:11:11

karmalized

remember how i won the lotto? yeah, well... i seem to have misplaced the actual $40 that i won. sheezlemeneezle. either that, or i spent more on the adventure than that for which i have verifiable recall. either way, it's all coming up short $40.

karma. she's a spicy little peanut, isn't she?

hello, it's tuesday.

suffice it to say that this round goes to the old man

so, i had this medical test today that involved a tube up the nose & down the throat. odd & disgusting, though not overly painful due to the numbing substance one must snuffle up ones nose. now that was really the especially disgusting part. anyhoo - i was telling my old man how it was all oogie & slightly painful, and he was like - the last time i had a tube stuck in my body, it was in my ___. hey, kids, you fill in the blank, okay? yeah, and you know it... he wins this round in the medical test challenge.

sweet!

woke up in the middle of last night and found out it was actually early in the morning - 4:44:44 to be exact. sweet! speedy & i went for a run, and as predicted, it just wasn't our day and not our best effort. however, speedy spotted $20 in the ditch. sweet! ut won their basketball game [unlike vandy yesterday] and then i had an hour nap. sweet! went to the grocery, and they didn't have aquafina aleve water, but they had a yoyo for 99¢. sweet!

[okay, it's not aleve water, it's alive water, but you don't know the whole story of the reason why we call it that. rest assured that i did not spell it wrongly.]

watching the race, and tony stewart went out on lap 109. don't want to see anyone seriously hurt, but sorry to you tony stupidhead stewart - couldn't happen to a nicer guy. i am not going to say "sweet!" about a wreck, but we're all on the same page here, are we not? yes, we are. you know what is ironical? all the race teams sponsored by beers & liquors -- jack daniels, jim beam, budweiser -- and fairly certain here you're not supposed to be drinking & driving.

speaking of driving, we tested a maxima yesterday. talk about sweet! dark gray exterior, black interior, 5-speed, with a moonroof, cd-player, and sweet stylin' with a spoiler on the back. very sweet car, but the unfortunateness of a wee issue -- either my old man forgot how to drive a 5-speed, or the clutch is out. criminy. oh, yeah... 107k miles on the li'l sweetie... that's a wee bit much mileage. still holding out hope for it to pass the mechanic test, but it's a small hope. i would say i will keep you posted, but we all know i will forget about it.

stay sweet!

::sigh::

speedy will be here in an hour to go for a run, and i just don't know if i am up for it.

208802

that is what the odometer revealed today.
time for a new odometer, eh?

more cool numbers from today:

global cooling is part of global warming

have you heard the latest? the globe is cooling, not warming. the global warmers as expected are claiming the cooling as part of the warming. i would like to clue them in - of course it is all part of the same system. it is called geology, and we generally see changes manifested as weather.

it is a mystery to us, but not to god, and it is all part of his plan. of course, we need to be careful & thoughtful stewards of the earth that god gave us. he says right there in the bible that he gave us the earth to care for. it's like you give a child a toy or a book -- you do not give it to that kid just so the kid can break it.

god did not give us the earth in order for us to tear it up. he expects us to be conservative with it. but, he also expects us to use it. even if you take really good care of something, it will get worn out.

and, we have not taken particularly good care of the earth -- we have not put it in the garage or had the oil changed regularly... we have been careless, so now, there are some parts of it that cannot be fixed [thinking about places that have been strip mined, nuclear damage, etc.], but there are many parts that are still in good shape or can be fixed.

the bottom line is that it is going to wear out, like a favorite shirt that you wear every day. you can wash it, and mend it, and press it, but no matter what you do - it will still wear out.

be careful, yes. but, accept reality, too.