Well...

Once you've finished Storm of Shwards, you can always read the "novella" Arms of the Kraken" from Eric's Dragon magazine (that I still have!) and there are a few chapters from the upcoming book that you can read - it's all good stuff - i don't think it spoils anything, but it is quite the cock-tease.

hey eric - me and a lady friend wanna ride bikes down on the strand on monday, and i was wondering if i could borrow/rent some bikes from you if u ain't using them that morning - you probably ARE gonna use em, so no biggie, but i'm checkin' just in case (j.i.c.) Lemme know!

ruder

Misc.

Art, I wish I had the room for Costco stuff. We are very limited in Kitchen, pantry, fridge, freezer space. Maybe after we move. Anyway, that is a much better deal for chicken boobs.

Has everyone seen the new iMac line. Very cool. I have yet to get a hands on look (They didnt have them at the Mac store yet). They look very cool online though.

D>M>

I have to say...

Art: Those pictures are a tad bit creepy looking. Although, if you didn't know that it was a lost camera, it probably wouldn't feel as scary. That and the fog, dead trees, and run-down building. I guess the mind just sort of starts thinking of these elaborate, dirty, evil stories. In a different stream of thoughts, those Vision Stations are pretty wild. Talk about visual immersion. A bit on the pricey side. I wonder what the resolution is like. They seem to have a dearth of technical data on their site.

Jon: isn't that book wild. I think all the sagging story lines pretty much get propped up or dropped by the end of A Storm of Swords. Damn that is one epic series. I am bummed about needing to wait for so long for the next books. I checked Martin's site and no more updates since his June posting. I donno, it looks likes it will be a number of months yet.

D>M>

Hey Eric, thanks for the call, but none of my apartments worked out so I'm still in LA... funny, I thought I mentioned that. Maybe I didn't?

9 pages left to "A Storm of Swords." Fuck, once I finish that it's no more Fire & Ice for a year+! God dang, dude!

Freaky shit?

Am I imagining things, or are there THINGS in the images taken from the found camera?

http://moonscrater.com/lostcamera/

HOLY HELL!

Well, I've figured out what I'd spend a large chunk of my Lotto winnings on:

http://www.elumens.com/products/visionstation.html

Wow.. !

If you're curious.. the SMALLEST one runs between $20,000 - $30,000 !!!!!1!1!!!

MEAT

I usually grab the boneless/skinless baGOCK from Costco for about $13-14 per 6 pound bag. Actually, you know what I've been pretty happy with, which suprised the hell out of me? The Boca ground-beef substitute. It's actually pretty good and already pre-cooked/seasoned so all you gotta do is throw it in a pan to defrost/heat up. Daddy like!

Related note: Just used my new pot/pan set last night for the first time after hooking up the pot-rack (of which, I'm still paranoid that it will fall down). Wow.. very, very nice. The copper core really makes a huge difference and I'm already seeing a big difference between my old crappy pans and my new heavy-gauge stainless monsters. Weeeee!

Comedy Goldmine update: College textbooks (pretty funny!)

http://www.somethingawful.com/articles.php?a=2349

Late,

~O.

Chicken Prices

You know chicken is getting expensive. Well, in particular chicken breast meat. It now costs $15 for a four pound bag of frozen chicken breast. Suck. ANyway, I had wondered about those chicken selects. However, I have been avoiding fast food. I have had fast food only once in the past two months. That once was a real emergency, low blood sugar/headache.

The night I finished book five I was up until 2am reading. I felt like a turd the next day. Anyway, you know I dont have your new email address. All I have is your old AOL one.

D>M>

CHICKEN SELLECTS! Gets the big thumbs down from Rude.

I got a bunch of coupons for McDonald's, and I was hungry and lazy as shit last night, so i thought - omgwtf, i'll go try their new fancy "chicken selects." That place can't do anything right. The chicken on the inside of these super-mcnuggets is pretty good - they got the "real" chicken look, taste, and feel down pretty close this time. BUT, these mega-mc'nuggets are covered in some kind 'a "breading" that tastes worse than the original recipe mcnugget breading. And they're fuckin' expensive as shit! Well - they're about a buck-a-piece, but that's seriously too much for what you get. The outside breading almost had a popcorn-chicken flavor too it (old formula - bronco, runnded overigton!)

Enron - You rule! You read it in a day and a half?!? I did too - BUT, it was brutal - I was up well past 3am the first night of reading. Maybe email me - i got some theorys on the tattoo that appeared on harry's back - plus the missing finger! that shit was sooo good.

Art! Glad everything is ok with the lady-friend! Hang in there! That shit's gotta be pretty insane and awesome and scary-as-shit! Goodluck with it all - i'm sure it's gonna go nicely...

The Little Face That Talks on Harry's Back!

Very Interesting Johnny.

You provide such a persuasive argument. Yo Momma.

D>M>

Mic is on, just no one on stage.

Rude: I just finished Order of the Pheonix last night. I chewed through it in just about a day and a half. Those books read fast. Good stuff. Have fun on Jury Duty. Maybe you will get a trial that is interesting.

Does anyone know when Mike is supposed tobe finished with school/digs this summer? We havent heard from him in months. I hope he's getting along okay.

D>M>

*taps mic*


Is this thing on?

Wellllll...

False labor, aparently. Hurts like hell but doesn't result in anything.. like the body/baby are "practicing" as the nurse explained it to us. Ok then. First emergency adrenaline trip to the hospital under our belt! Yeehaw.

=/

I was about to post about something totally unrelated when the wife told me it was time to go to the hospital.. hehe.. hence the last minute beef-o-blogger.

Nite, all..

~O.

Best wished to you and your wife art!!!

Ya, the red wedding was pretty brutal. Good shit. I'm jamming through Harry Potter 5 now - also good shit - BUT, i'm reading a friggin pdf (i checked the rest from the library, but this one was checked out - so readin the bootleg now) and it's missing chapter 24! I'm so pissed - lookin for another version right now - oh fuck, wish me luck...



ps - good luck with teachin ryan - you should apply to hogwarts! You friggin' muggle, you! PLUS i got jury duty tomorrow. Hope I get the Kobe case - i'll write a friggin book about it or something - "i'm in the money! I'm in the money!" (what a classic jammy-jam, like house party 3 or 4.)

I laughed pretty hard at the fact that Art took the time to blog before he had to take his wife to the hospital. Good luck Art!

All worked out for the credential, if anyone cares. Seems that there was a major fuck up at the school, but everything has been straightened out. On to student teaching!

Good Luck

I hope all goes well for you and Michelle, Art.

Jon: Storm of Swords is crazy at that point. I never expected things to pan out that way. Wild stuff. I gave up trying to predict the story lines early in the second book. Too bad it will be a long time before we see how the whole story line is going to develop. I just try and forget about the books for now so I dont bum on not being able to finish the series right away.

Fart Meat. Brilliant. Got quite a good chortle out of that one.

D>M>

Good luck, Art!

The Red Wedding

I know Storm of Swords is old news by now, but I got back to it today after a loooong pause. I read about 150 pages at work today including the section about the "Red Wedding."

Damn!

You knew something was going to happen but... I wasn't expecting anything quite like that. That G.R.R. Martin, he knows how to throw a curveball or two. I don't know if anyone else is planning on reading these, but I won't say any more, just in case....

Michelle is having abdominal pains.. we're going to the hospital.. maybe time to have baby.. *freaking out*

Will report more later..

Wish me luck

~O!

SA strikes again.. this is awesome! LOL!


Aparently the "owner" of SA knows someone who is a "pre-interviewer" on a late-night talk show.. and he conned her into asking 200 random questions to celebrities. Here are the best responses and the celebrities who answered them:

Q. Why do you hate freedom?
A. "Boy, why don't I hate freedom!? It's itchy, it chafes, it doesn't…I think mainly it's the smell though. That awful, awful smell. Freedom stinks." - Will Ferrell

Q. If you were a cannibal serial killer would you eat your victims because you wanted to destroy their flesh utterly or because you wanted them to become a part of you?
A. "I think I would make a really bad cannibal. I have to tell people to catch spiders and put them outside. I couldn't imagine eating a person." - Brittany Murphy

Q. Are you ready to rock?
A. "Come back in five minutes and ask again, please." - Kelsey Grammer

Q. The orc: fact or fiction?
A. "The orc? What is that, like a sasquatch? Hell no. That shit is silly." - 50 Cent

Q. Do you believe science may some day discover a use for computers not involving masturbation?
A. "[Laughter] That's a…that's not a real question is it? I think computers are extremely useful. I used one to write my book, although if you read the reviews a lot of people seem to think that was masturbation." - William Jefferson Clinton

Q. "If the world's most infamous dictators challenged the Iron Chefs to a battle in Kitchen Stadium, whose cuisine would reign supreme?"
A. "[Without hesitation] Idi Amin. He had this hotel set up in Kampala where he would send political opponents and people within his own regime who didn't please him. Then, of course, they would be tortured and usually killed horribly. What I think would give Amin an edge on a cooking show would be his refined palate. He ate his political opponents, he sometimes cooked parts of their bodies himself, so I think he would know how to prepare a slab of Kobe beef." - Vin Diesel

Q. What is your preferred peer to peer client?
A. "That's a trick question. I think if I tell you that then you are required by law to make a citizen's arrest." - Harry Shearer

Q. Gumby was once just a little green ball of clay, but what would he be doing if we could see him today?
A. "What he's good at; scaring the shit out of children. It's either that or he's a green grit on Art Clokey's basement floor." - Marc Maron

Q. Do we really love the 80s?
A. "Oh, goodness gracious, yes!!" - Nathan Lane

Q. In the classic film "Critters" did you find yourself more closely identifying with the ravenous Crites or the shape-shifting bounty hunters sent to destroy them?
A. "I remember that movie! It was like 'Gremlins' but the things were aliens and they were nasty from the get-go. [Pauses to think] I would have to say the bounty hunters. I don't remember them, but I have a feeling I would be haulin' ass after those little bastards with a Mossberg." - Ted Nugent

Q. If you could travel back in time and make out with any past president, who would you choose?
A. "[Laughter] I don't know what [agent's name] told you about me, but... Ahhhh, I have heard through the grapevine that Abraham Lincoln danced a fierce tongue tango. It's a tough call though because JFK had those kissable lips that could make a girl weak in the knees. Du bist eine cutie!" - Ben Affleck

Q. It looks like a pump, but does it really feel like a sneaker?
A. "I'm not wearing shoes now, but I guess I will be later, so I guess…uh yes? Is that where that one is going? Should I say yes? That seems like a pretty fucked up question." - Fred Durst

Stewed Fart Meat with Saucy Gravy?

All I know is that Michelle had an inside track on a job offering for an international studies program manager at the university for upwards of $60-70k a year to start before she took her teaching job. I'm all about doing what makes you happy and all that jazz, but man, that extra 30 grand sure is appealing (including better bennies, no less).

Ahh, the allure of hard cash.

Corporate fart meat

Agreed, people are usually motivated by other factors to get into teaching, passion, love of teaching kids, persuit of knowledge are reasons more so than money. But I wouldn't automatically assume corporate america is going to pay you a guaranteed 60-100k a year either. My case is a good example. At the place I was working at, 50% -60% were making less than 50k (including health) (tech industry), while the corporate elite executive, the one's with the connections, made over 100k, fattening their own lined pockets. I'd say if you had good company politics skills, it would be easier making 60k. Me? Screwed. Granted, it's more likely to make that kind of money in the corporate world than teaching. Bottomline though, being a corporate fart meat sucks too. At least teaching can be enjoyable.

Fun stuff: I forgot how enjoyable Leisure Suit Larry was! I just completed LL2 and I laughed pretty hard. I don't know why I didn't like those games in high school. Some of the puzzles were quite obscure... actually more non-linear... for example, you would have to get the your luggage first before the plane ticket.. pretty stupid and non-sensesical, but most of it was intuitive and fun! I would revisit some of these games if you have time...

On a non-fart-meat related note:

MAN, do teachers get the shit-end of the stick. Michelle got her masters in education, graduated top in her class and gets paid about $35k a year. Magic bridge! Oh, and if we want to have health insurance for her, me and our baby? We get to pay $800 a month! Yay! The local nurse union is on strike because they might have to pay $50-$100 a month out of pocket for a family of four. FU$&$#&*#$&#$*&*&@@@!!@*&@!

Ok, I feel better now.

While I've encouraged Michelle to do what makes her happy (teaching = happy), I'd be lying if I said that I wouldn't be pleased for her to give the system the middle finger and go make $60-100k a year in corporate america with full bennies. But, the noble thing is to stick it out for the betterment of the kids, I suppose. Still.. what a raw deal. It's really nearly criminal the shit teachers have to go through. Last year, our state passed an initiative approving a pay-raise for teachers and most importantly, an increase in budgeting for supplies/equipment. Right now, Michelle has 30 books for 64 students.. and the social-studies book is nearly 20 years old.

So, what did the governor/state do after this initiative was passed? Cut budgeting for supplies and cut benefits for teachers without any pay raise. Magic Briiiiidge!

/rant

I'm going to have a root beer now to cheer me up.

~O.

If you ever need your teaching credential...

never, never, ever go to CSU Dominguez Hills. They'll fuck ya every time. I am supposed to do my student teaching in the fall at Torrance High. School starts on Sept. 9. I e-mailed the head of the department (who I have been in contact with for the past month now, wondering when the fuck I was going to get my student teaching assignment) to see which classes I am supposed to register for. These classes that I am supposed to take concurrently with my student teaching began last week. I never recieved anything in the mail, never recieved an e-mail about it, but now I have to go tomorrow and get pissed at someone so I can finally get this done. It is taking so much restraint for me right now to not bash my fucking head into a wall. So frustrated.

On a lighter note, Eric and I invented a new word for "shit" last night- "fart-meat."

Just creamed my shorts.

Check out this demo video of the BETA for the new "Pacific Fighters" flight sim!

Right click, save as (about 12 megs)

http://195.140.143.41/~checksix/pf/videos/pf5.wmv


Fucking A!

Yup

I sort of felt the same way. I mean I knew about six or seven of the songs they played. Most of the rest they played were ones off of Disintegration, Wish, and the new album. I guess a number of the other songs they played were old non top-40 songs. Goth favorites I guess. Anyway I guess it is a tour to promote their new album too. Aimey knew most of the songs, so for her it was a bit different of an experience. L-rock, be glad you didnt go to Cochella. I talked to a few people about it and it was 100+ degrees there, no shade, AND you were not allowed to bring your own water with you. You had to buy their water at 6-8 bucks a bottle. One couple I spoke with spent 100 dollars on water. What a fucking crock! Aimey saw them at the Inland invasion last year and I guess they were very good AND played for 3 hours. Said they played a lot more pieces from "Galore" and "Staring at the Sea". Go figure. I have to say the songs that I did know were very well done. I guess the show was more for the hardcore fan than the top-40 radio fans. I suppose I can respect them for that.

D>M>

Edit: The songs I did know were In Between Days, Love Cats, Why Can't I be Like You?, Pictures of You, Love Song, Facination Street, Let's go to Bed and Close to Me

Edit Part Duex: Aimey took a look at your play list on the website and said it was a lot more geared towards the goth crowds of LA and less the poppier stuff. You probably would have liked ours more, but it still had a lot of lesser known songs. In hind sight I guess I knew about 50% of the songs.

Pissed Myself

Yeah, I about pissed myself last night looking at those items. Good stuff d00d!

The Cure blew. Lemme rephrase that: If you don't like their old stuff, and wish that they would only play 4 songs from their old stuff, and in fact 4 songs seems like too many songs to play, then The Cure was good. I didn't think so. I mean, for those 4 songs, they were the best band ever! Then they wanted to play their new crap which just sounds like a huge wall of painful, droning, monotonous, boring noise.

The crowd came alive for the 4 oldies, then with the new crap they crept back into faux rocking when clearly few of them knew any of the new material, cared about the new material, or even liked it. But what are you going to do as a Cure fan, NOT like their new stuff? I saw a lot of kids and whatnot dancing and banging their heads to songs that they had no idea about, but just wanted to rock to the Cure.

Disappointed. While I feel privileged to have finally seen them, and I really thought that I never would after missing Cochella, I was stull let down. I guess you can't really ever go back, can you?

Long live Inbetween Days, Pictures of You, Just Like Heaven, and Close to Me.

Jezuz F'ing Jon

Those were some great items for sale at the Ragnar store. I nearly died laughing. I love the Mug. Jon your a funny man. It's too bad the picture on the lunch box doesn't show a close up of your awesome mutton chops you were sporting. I still seriously regret not getting a good set of photos when you had that sweet look going.

You know it is funny, but I have never really knew so many people had problems with Dairy until the past few years. I guess I never had any problems with it and assumed no one else did. Lately I have been plowing through the Milk for my protien shakes. Something like 3-4 cups a day. Ostrich is pretty good. I have had it a few times, but I have never cooked it for myself. I should give it a whirl myself. The other beef alternative is Buffalo. It is not as lean as Ostrich, but since it has different enzymes than beef it may not effect your gastrointestinal system like Beef does. Buffalo is a bit cheaper than ostrich. Much like Ostrich, Buffalo is really sensative to overcooking. It gets really rubbery and the flavor gets a bit off. Sion's really did a number on you. Then again, you were always sensative to changes in your diet. Man Nutty was the worst. What ever made that, don't do it again. I have tried the soy and rice milks, but I just can't get into them. Even though it is rare that I drink milk alone. I almost always mix it. SInce it doesnt bother me though I guess it isnt as much of an issue.

D>M>

Ostrich, the other red meat

Yeah, I could see an Ostrich Burger getting kind of funky.. that's about the only drawback with the stuff is that it cannot be cooked much beyond "medium" without getting a bit weird and gamey aparently.

For me, I love a good medium-rare or medium-ish steak, so it works fine. Be aware though, it comes in different grades just like beef. We buy individually flash-frozen filets from the farmer's market and all I do to them is brush a little wooster on and grill them for a couple minutes to a side (they cook REAL fast). DEEEE-fucking-lish.

My wife has a digestive disorder that more or less rules out any milk or beef from her diet.. which more or less removes it from my diet as well unless we're out someplace (OUTBACK) and I have access to something beefy. Funny though, now that I don't eat it hardly at all.. if I eat any processed beef products (any kind of ground beef, especially), it fugging KILLS me. Ugh. Don't ask me what Aaron's "dirty mexican" lunch did to me later that afternoon. Seriously. Don't do it.

Positive note: Finally got around to hooking up our wireless router and cards for both computers. Next step is clearing out the closet in the computer/man room, taking the closet doors off and shoving the computer desk into the closet. This makes room for the futon couch to be moved from our guest/baby room into the computer/man room... which makes room for the crib in the baby room. Suddenly, everything felt about 1000% more real when we bought a crib this afternoon. Wow. Baby in less than 30 days living in my house. MY baby girl. That's a bit of an oddity to wrap my head around. Not "bad" oddity.. just "unfamiliar territory" oddity.

Anyhow.. late.

~O.