Dear Beloved Reader,
Because for all things the time comes for them to cease, and die, and live on in the next incarnation;
Because a year has passed, and more than a year, and the rains of April come again to the mountains of Oregon and Pennsylvania;
Because in the mountains of Arizona I sat with god and god with me, and spoke through one another, nor was there any separation in that time-beyond-time;
Because, reurbanized, I feel once again the poison of ten thousand soulless man-things seeping under the cracks in my skin;
And because, in the desperation of the last hours, we must fight like cornered wildcats--we who live like anarchic rats in the walls of industrial civilization;
Because of these things and other things, I have decided to end this blog, this Better Cats and Gardens. I have begun another, and the clue to where to find it is contained within the words I have just written-- I will not tell you the specific here.
Look for me in the world.
-Steve
Thursday, April 9, 2009
Wednesday, February 11, 2009
All We Know of Heaven
But I didn't entirely lie.
No, I didn't sit down and fill out my New Years Resolutings et cetera as I said, instead, I've decided--
I'm leaving tomorrow.
Right now, everything is in flux. I'm scrambling to finish things, a thousand things, last minute, the way I do--
Bu for now the plan is that I will be in Eugene at 8:00 tomorrow, & thence south, to Arizona, for 6 weeks.
What will come of it? I don't know!
See you when I get back.
No, I didn't sit down and fill out my New Years Resolutings et cetera as I said, instead, I've decided--
I'm leaving tomorrow.
Right now, everything is in flux. I'm scrambling to finish things, a thousand things, last minute, the way I do--
Bu for now the plan is that I will be in Eugene at 8:00 tomorrow, & thence south, to Arizona, for 6 weeks.
What will come of it? I don't know!
See you when I get back.
Wednesday, January 28, 2009
Resolutions, Revolutions
Or, "Things to Want in 2009."
Next year I'd like to be better than I am this year.
That's a rotten thing to say. "You think you're better than me, Steve 2010?"
"No, Steve 2009. But, I have done some things that you haven't, and that you'd like to do. It's all a process. Remember how you were in 2008?"
"That's a good point." In fact, it's the only point; the only place from which to start. What happened in 2008? What has Steve 09 added to the History of Steve?
In 2008, I:
Quit eating meat. And yes, I still go for seafood sometimes-- on a controlled and usually invertibrate level. (There are, however, 2 filets of tilapia in my freezer--tilapia, a species whose numbers, as I understand it, are not at a critical level.)
...So there you have it. Steve 2009's major upgrades. Join us next time, when we'll be discussing major changes in store for 2010!
Next year I'd like to be better than I am this year.
That's a rotten thing to say. "You think you're better than me, Steve 2010?"
"No, Steve 2009. But, I have done some things that you haven't, and that you'd like to do. It's all a process. Remember how you were in 2008?"
"That's a good point." In fact, it's the only point; the only place from which to start. What happened in 2008? What has Steve 09 added to the History of Steve?
In 2008, I:
Quit eating meat. And yes, I still go for seafood sometimes-- on a controlled and usually invertibrate level. (There are, however, 2 filets of tilapia in my freezer--tilapia, a species whose numbers, as I understand it, are not at a critical level.)
Traveled. This is a no-brainer, but it's big. I never used to travel. Now there are the obvious ones: I moved to Oregon, then spent that week in LA, then have randomly jaunted about the state. I know Portland and Eugene and the Coast pretty well; have seen Crater Lake and the Devil's Churn and other cool stuff. Then there were the two big trips: South, through S. Oregon and California; and North, through Washington. Another thing that makes these ones a big deal is that they required saving money and budgeting, and--
Learned to Drive. It's not that I want to be part of the car culture. But. Okay, driving a stick shift car is fun. And I couldn't do it before-- It's one thing to not partake because you CAN'T. It's another when it's a choice.
Learned about Grants. I cannot stand grantwriting. But the fact of being able to write a grant application is probably a useful thing.
Learned about Office Work. It's not a bad thing to learn about what you hate and are bad at.
Read a lot more science fiction and communist history. And also Paradise Lost, that was cool.
***...So there you have it. Steve 2009's major upgrades. Join us next time, when we'll be discussing major changes in store for 2010!
A Whole New _______
January 28th, not the 1st, but this year didn't begin on the first, did it?
No, it began with the move to Oregon, and the beginning of my job here with this unnamed National Service Organization, and that's how it ends, in two days time, except they're having a farewell dinner for me tonight, though I doubt they all want me to fare all that well--
And so the next Year starts now.
***
Interjection: An irate reader messaged me today. "I demand you start posting again regularly, Steve!" And I: "Certainly," though I forgot to actually send it until he'd gone away.
***
But what to post about? And this new Year, and this new -- life? -- and so, I don't know how much to write about the external world, or if I care.
(That is: I care. But the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and the new Bolivian constitution are faraway and have little to do with whether or not I eat next month, and that has to take priority for now)--
And all this is to say, this is going to be a space filled with personal reflection for a while. I haven't walked my own mind in much too long a time. And that takes the whole thing maybe to a different sort of level, and not particularly interesting to the ones who live outside my head. But then, it's my blog, and that's what I want to do.
So next up: New Years Resolutions.
No, it began with the move to Oregon, and the beginning of my job here with this unnamed National Service Organization, and that's how it ends, in two days time, except they're having a farewell dinner for me tonight, though I doubt they all want me to fare all that well--
And so the next Year starts now.
***
Interjection: An irate reader messaged me today. "I demand you start posting again regularly, Steve!" And I: "Certainly," though I forgot to actually send it until he'd gone away.
***
But what to post about? And this new Year, and this new -- life? -- and so, I don't know how much to write about the external world, or if I care.
(That is: I care. But the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and the new Bolivian constitution are faraway and have little to do with whether or not I eat next month, and that has to take priority for now)--
And all this is to say, this is going to be a space filled with personal reflection for a while. I haven't walked my own mind in much too long a time. And that takes the whole thing maybe to a different sort of level, and not particularly interesting to the ones who live outside my head. But then, it's my blog, and that's what I want to do.
So next up: New Years Resolutions.
Wednesday, January 21, 2009
Random Weirdness
New Scientist:
The holograms you find on credit cards and banknotes are etched on two-dimensional plastic films. When light bounces off them, it recreates the appearance of a 3D image. In the 1990s physicists Leonard Susskind and Nobel prizewinner Gerard 't Hooft suggested that the same principle might apply to the universe as a whole. Our everyday experience might itself be a holographic projection of physical processes that take place on a distant, 2D surface.
The holograms you find on credit cards and banknotes are etched on two-dimensional plastic films. When light bounces off them, it recreates the appearance of a 3D image. In the 1990s physicists Leonard Susskind and Nobel prizewinner Gerard 't Hooft suggested that the same principle might apply to the universe as a whole. Our everyday experience might itself be a holographic projection of physical processes that take place on a distant, 2D surface.
Friday, January 16, 2009
The Man in the Yellow Hat
Somebody help me.
Struck by sudden inspiration, I spent twelve hours on Wednesday writing a story featuring a villain called "the man in the yellow hat." I was immensely proud of it. Last night I was riding home from work with Girlfriend, and said something like,
"Yes, I just finished it. So I'll tell you about it. And now I can pay attention to you again, now that my mind isn't entirely occupied"--here I filled my voice with a tone of cosmic terror far surpassing its customary level of menace-- "by the man in the yellow hat!"
I looked at her expectantly.
"Um, Curious George?" said she.
"FUCK," said I.
***
The man in the yellow hat was just an image I thought was unassuming but memorable. So ... now I don't know what to do. Recolor his hat? But what color? The man in the orange hat? No, orange is too loud a color. The man in the silver hat? Well, maybe, he is (after all) a robot.
So...
Purple? Black? White? Blue? Red? Grey? I don't know! Help!
Struck by sudden inspiration, I spent twelve hours on Wednesday writing a story featuring a villain called "the man in the yellow hat." I was immensely proud of it. Last night I was riding home from work with Girlfriend, and said something like,
"Yes, I just finished it. So I'll tell you about it. And now I can pay attention to you again, now that my mind isn't entirely occupied"--here I filled my voice with a tone of cosmic terror far surpassing its customary level of menace-- "by the man in the yellow hat!"
I looked at her expectantly.
"Um, Curious George?" said she.
"FUCK," said I.
***
The man in the yellow hat was just an image I thought was unassuming but memorable. So ... now I don't know what to do. Recolor his hat? But what color? The man in the orange hat? No, orange is too loud a color. The man in the silver hat? Well, maybe, he is (after all) a robot.
So...
Purple? Black? White? Blue? Red? Grey? I don't know! Help!
Tuesday, January 13, 2009
Hierocles and Philagrius
This is the best thing ever.
...And, looking into it, I spent the morning laughing at the wacky antics of that world-renowned comedy duo, Hierocles and Philagrius.
A few samples:
...And, looking into it, I spent the morning laughing at the wacky antics of that world-renowned comedy duo, Hierocles and Philagrius.
A few samples:
And did you hear about the Cumaean who was selling honey at the marketplace?
Someone needled a well-known wit: "I had your wife, without paying a penny." He replied: "It's my duty as a husband to couple with such a monstrosity. What made you do it?"
When a certain person, upon testing the honey, said that it was not good, the Cumaean replied that, "If a mouse had not fallen into it, I wouldn't be selling it!"OH those crazy Cumaeans. Then there's the no-good Sidonians.
A certain person once said to a Sidonian fisherman, "Your fishing pot is filled with crabs." And so the Sidonian replied, "There is a cancer in your breast."Hahahahaha, hahaha, haha, ha.
Friday, January 9, 2009
Harry Reid is a Lying Sack of Shit
And so are most of the rest of the United States Congress.
Al Jazeera:
Haaretz:
Roughly 16,000 Americans are murdered every year. Meanwhile, the US population (~300 million) is about 35 times that of Israel (~8 million). So, the 20 Israelies killed since 2001 by Palestinian rockets would be like 700 Americans killed in 8 years by Canadians (or, maybe a slightly more accurate parallel, Mexicans)--85 per year. That's 700 in a period during which roughly 160,000 Americans were murdered.
It's difficult to track down statistics on who murders who in America. According to the far right--and, since that's the element of the "American people" whose "will" is most in alignment with Reid's, it seems reasonable enough to use their data--illegal immigrants are already responsible for at least 1,000 American deaths per year. That's--oh, 80 times what the Palestinians have managed, adjusted for population size.
Slightly calmer Eric Rasmusen gives a lower estimate, claiming illegal immigrants commit 6.1% of all crime in America. If that rate holds true across the board, then illegal immigrants commit more than 500 murders a year, and Mexican nationals, being 57% of the illegal immigrant population, currently murder at least 300 Americans a year.
I assume Reid's next act will be to a resolution calling for the immediate invasion of Mexico.
Meanwhile,
Israel bombed Gaza 'safe' house full off evacuees, says UN;
Red Cross Finds Starving Children with 12 Corpses in Gaza 'House of Horrors';
etc, etc...etc.
Al Jazeera:
The US House of Representatives has voted to endorse a resolution backing Israel in its offensive in Gaza, in which at least 780 Palestinians have been killed...Harry Reid, who leads the Democratic majority in the senate, said on Thursday following that vote: "Our resolution reflects the will of the state of Israel and the will of the American people" (emphasis added).Rasmussen:
Sixty-two percent (62%) of Republicans back Israel’s decision to take military action against the Palestinians, but only half as many Democrats (31%) agree. A majority of Democrats (55%) say Israel should have tried to find a diplomatic solution first, a view shared by just 27% of Republicans....Well, half of what Reid said is true. The half about the "will of the state of Israel. Kind of telling that he conflates that with the "will of the American people," isn't it?
Haaretz:
Noting that Israel was bent on halting Hamas rocket fire into its southern towns, Reid said: "I ask any of my colleagues to imagine that happening here in the United States. Rockets and mortars coming from Toronto in Canada, into Buffalo New York. How would we as a country react?"
Roughly 16,000 Americans are murdered every year. Meanwhile, the US population (~300 million) is about 35 times that of Israel (~8 million). So, the 20 Israelies killed since 2001 by Palestinian rockets would be like 700 Americans killed in 8 years by Canadians (or, maybe a slightly more accurate parallel, Mexicans)--85 per year. That's 700 in a period during which roughly 160,000 Americans were murdered.
It's difficult to track down statistics on who murders who in America. According to the far right--and, since that's the element of the "American people" whose "will" is most in alignment with Reid's, it seems reasonable enough to use their data--illegal immigrants are already responsible for at least 1,000 American deaths per year. That's--oh, 80 times what the Palestinians have managed, adjusted for population size.
Slightly calmer Eric Rasmusen gives a lower estimate, claiming illegal immigrants commit 6.1% of all crime in America. If that rate holds true across the board, then illegal immigrants commit more than 500 murders a year, and Mexican nationals, being 57% of the illegal immigrant population, currently murder at least 300 Americans a year.
I assume Reid's next act will be to a resolution calling for the immediate invasion of Mexico.
Meanwhile,
Israel bombed Gaza 'safe' house full off evacuees, says UN;
Red Cross Finds Starving Children with 12 Corpses in Gaza 'House of Horrors';
etc, etc...etc.
Saga Continues
10:48
I cannot think of any reason for a squid to be smoking a cigarette.
I drew a picture of one in my notebook. It didn't turn out well.
I cannot think of any reason for a squid to be smoking a cigarette.
I drew a picture of one in my notebook. It didn't turn out well.
Randomly
8:57 Friday Morning
My last post was gloomy, so I wanted to write something upbeat.
But it was 8:57. I was tired, hadn't had coffee, couldn't think of anything. The only idea that came to mind was a picture of a SQUID smoking a CIGARETTE.
Then I got it:
A SQUID SMOKING A CIGARETTE WOULD BE AWESOME!!
Does anyone have such a picture? I can't find one anywhere on the internet.
Okay I'm going to make coffee.
My last post was gloomy, so I wanted to write something upbeat.
But it was 8:57. I was tired, hadn't had coffee, couldn't think of anything. The only idea that came to mind was a picture of a SQUID smoking a CIGARETTE.
Then I got it:
A SQUID SMOKING A CIGARETTE WOULD BE AWESOME!!
Does anyone have such a picture? I can't find one anywhere on the internet.
Okay I'm going to make coffee.
Thursday, January 8, 2009
Thoughts in Grey
I think I am unbecoming brightly.
I remember a dream: I am on an island with oily black rat creatures with long noses and a village of deep-sea divers. The ocean is deep beyond the island, and, diving deep, we come up with tiny orbs of bright myriad colors. Channeling my will through the colors, the rat creatures become flower-headed creatures of a thousand shapes.
Interpret. The rats are words, black and slippery-without-context. The colors from deep in the sea are the passions of deep-in-the-mind; retrieve them, and the words are imbued with color, and take a thousand mad-beautiful shapes.
Fading to grey. I am losing even the black to write these feeble sentences, the orange to cry out in dread.
Where have the colors gone?
I remember a dream: I am on an island with oily black rat creatures with long noses and a village of deep-sea divers. The ocean is deep beyond the island, and, diving deep, we come up with tiny orbs of bright myriad colors. Channeling my will through the colors, the rat creatures become flower-headed creatures of a thousand shapes.
Interpret. The rats are words, black and slippery-without-context. The colors from deep in the sea are the passions of deep-in-the-mind; retrieve them, and the words are imbued with color, and take a thousand mad-beautiful shapes.
Fading to grey. I am losing even the black to write these feeble sentences, the orange to cry out in dread.
Where have the colors gone?
Wednesday, January 7, 2009
Better Gardens
It was April the 28th when I wrote, "Yesterday I planted a garden but it will not grow."
What I had really done was to plant carrot, onion, broccoli seeds randomly in the lawn and in the flower bed.
The flower bed: I don't know what the real term for the thing is, there is a sloping concrete barrier and dirt runs along the top, planted with small shrubs. Yesterday I noticed that the rain had washed some of the dirt away, revealing three huge fat carrots.
What I had really done was to plant carrot, onion, broccoli seeds randomly in the lawn and in the flower bed.
The flower bed: I don't know what the real term for the thing is, there is a sloping concrete barrier and dirt runs along the top, planted with small shrubs. Yesterday I noticed that the rain had washed some of the dirt away, revealing three huge fat carrots.
Wednesday, December 31, 2008
Happy New Year's Eve!
Should auld acquaintance be forgot, and never brought to mind?
Well, yes, probably. But I don't think so! In fact, I think it's time, for the sake of this psyche of mine, to review the last year, and see what really happened.
Let's call it 2008: We Hardly Knew Ye.
"But Wait!," I said. "Years in retrospect have to have Best Of lists!"
"You're right," I replied. But what was I qualified to describe the best of? Unlike 2007, I don't know anything about music anymore. I only saw 2 movies.
And then I got it. Each month will have one BEST BLOG POST. And they'll all be by ME!!!
Let's get started.
January
Okay so then, this year began. I was in Virginia, and I was watching The Twilight Zone marathon. Pretty soon, I would get on a plane and go to Oregon, where I'd never been.
Highlights: Traveling across the country; seeing Oregon for the first time; meeting: Thomas, Sarah, Gabe, Lee Ann, Emily, etc.
Lowlights: Being lonely; living with the Ecclesiarchy; Roseburg.
Best Post: Random Thoughts, from January 11th.
February
Then February came, and I was pretty lonely.
Highlights: Going to Bandon and Portland for the first time
Lowlights: Valentine's Day
Best Post: Portland!, from February 27th.
March
Finally, it was time for a breakdown. This month featured the quote, "Now I am going to lock myself in my room and cry."
Highlights: Visiting Emily in Coos Bay.
Lowlights: Antidepressants; "I cried for a solid hour."
Best Post: blog through breakdown, from March 25th.
April
April turned lighter, a bit. I think based on the following decision: "Now I will drink and be merry and let the past fade away."
Highlights: Discovering the Scoreboard.
Lowlights: Discovering the Scoreboard.
Best Post: Startling Revelations, from April 18th; A Letter to the People of Roseburg, from April 16th.
May
Wholly to be a fool while Spring is in the world! Not that Spring comes really to this Land Beyond the Sun, but, hints and feelers and better than nothing.
Highlights: Camping!
Lowlights: How is it this fucking cold in May??
Best Post: Obviously, This Post Is About Lobsters In Space, from May 28th.
June
May turned to June, and June, to warmth, but only for a little while.
Highlights: Loon Lake; inauguration of The Pleasures Of.
Lowlights: How is it this fucking cold in June??
Best Post: The Pleasures Of, Episode 2, from June 11th.
July
July, July. It really was strange. Changings and becomings and everything hot and new. Halfshells, cats and marines, delight in the humidity.
Highlights: Sunlight; Halfshell; New Folk arrive; poetry readings; how much happiness?
Lowlights: It all comes with a cost, doesn't it?
Best Post: And the Days, from July 2nd.
August
August, dear August. Endings, beginnings, changings. I became 25. I became other things, and only some of them good.
Highlights: Birthdays; Crater Lake; Zine launch; camping; barbecue breakfast.
Lowlights: The shadowy flowers of Orcus.
Best Post: ¿Donde está tu niña amarga?, from August 7th.
September
September is that forever mix. So much good, and yet, it's at this point that other things begin to spiral downward.
Highlights: Somehow, I don't remember September very well.
Lowlights: Fortunately, that means that I don't remember anything bad happening either.
Best Post: Prediction, from September 10th.
October
What a month, October! The season of mists finally gets underway, and the dead come a'wandering to usher it along.
Highlights: Halloween!
Lowlights: Economic crisis.
Best Post: A View from the RNC, from October 9th.
November
Remember, remember! I love you, November. This month Kat and I took off on our famous Road Trip. That was awesome!
Highlights: Redwoods; San Francisco; Santa Barbara; LAX; Pittsburgh; Motel 6; Ashland.
Lowlights: Getting In Trouble.
Best Post: Road Trip, part 2, from November 26th.
December
Oh Dear December, and winter rolling in. Alaska makes love to the Oregon coast--and what are the consequences for the rest of us! On this last day I declare, I love December 2008.
Highlights: Did I tell you how I spent Christmas? We were in a cabin--nay, a chalet--near Mount Baker in Northern Washington.
Lowlights: The anxiety of "Very soon I will not have a job."
Best Post: Happy New Year's Eve!, from December 31st.
Well, yes, probably. But I don't think so! In fact, I think it's time, for the sake of this psyche of mine, to review the last year, and see what really happened.
Let's call it 2008: We Hardly Knew Ye.
"But Wait!," I said. "Years in retrospect have to have Best Of lists!"
"You're right," I replied. But what was I qualified to describe the best of? Unlike 2007, I don't know anything about music anymore. I only saw 2 movies.
And then I got it. Each month will have one BEST BLOG POST. And they'll all be by ME!!!
Let's get started.
January
Okay so then, this year began. I was in Virginia, and I was watching The Twilight Zone marathon. Pretty soon, I would get on a plane and go to Oregon, where I'd never been.
Highlights: Traveling across the country; seeing Oregon for the first time; meeting: Thomas, Sarah, Gabe, Lee Ann, Emily, etc.
Lowlights: Being lonely; living with the Ecclesiarchy; Roseburg.
Best Post: Random Thoughts, from January 11th.
February
Then February came, and I was pretty lonely.
Highlights: Going to Bandon and Portland for the first time
Lowlights: Valentine's Day
Best Post: Portland!, from February 27th.
March
Finally, it was time for a breakdown. This month featured the quote, "Now I am going to lock myself in my room and cry."
Highlights: Visiting Emily in Coos Bay.
Lowlights: Antidepressants; "I cried for a solid hour."
Best Post: blog through breakdown, from March 25th.
April
April turned lighter, a bit. I think based on the following decision: "Now I will drink and be merry and let the past fade away."
Highlights: Discovering the Scoreboard.
Lowlights: Discovering the Scoreboard.
Best Post: Startling Revelations, from April 18th; A Letter to the People of Roseburg, from April 16th.
May
Wholly to be a fool while Spring is in the world! Not that Spring comes really to this Land Beyond the Sun, but, hints and feelers and better than nothing.
Highlights: Camping!
Lowlights: How is it this fucking cold in May??
Best Post: Obviously, This Post Is About Lobsters In Space, from May 28th.
June
May turned to June, and June, to warmth, but only for a little while.
Highlights: Loon Lake; inauguration of The Pleasures Of.
Lowlights: How is it this fucking cold in June??
Best Post: The Pleasures Of, Episode 2, from June 11th.
July
July, July. It really was strange. Changings and becomings and everything hot and new. Halfshells, cats and marines, delight in the humidity.
Highlights: Sunlight; Halfshell; New Folk arrive; poetry readings; how much happiness?
Lowlights: It all comes with a cost, doesn't it?
Best Post: And the Days, from July 2nd.
August
August, dear August. Endings, beginnings, changings. I became 25. I became other things, and only some of them good.
Highlights: Birthdays; Crater Lake; Zine launch; camping; barbecue breakfast.
Lowlights: The shadowy flowers of Orcus.
Best Post: ¿Donde está tu niña amarga?, from August 7th.
September
September is that forever mix. So much good, and yet, it's at this point that other things begin to spiral downward.
Highlights: Somehow, I don't remember September very well.
Lowlights: Fortunately, that means that I don't remember anything bad happening either.
Best Post: Prediction, from September 10th.
October
What a month, October! The season of mists finally gets underway, and the dead come a'wandering to usher it along.
Highlights: Halloween!
Lowlights: Economic crisis.
Best Post: A View from the RNC, from October 9th.
November
Remember, remember! I love you, November. This month Kat and I took off on our famous Road Trip. That was awesome!
Highlights: Redwoods; San Francisco; Santa Barbara; LAX; Pittsburgh; Motel 6; Ashland.
Lowlights: Getting In Trouble.
Best Post: Road Trip, part 2, from November 26th.
December
Oh Dear December, and winter rolling in. Alaska makes love to the Oregon coast--and what are the consequences for the rest of us! On this last day I declare, I love December 2008.
Highlights: Did I tell you how I spent Christmas? We were in a cabin--nay, a chalet--near Mount Baker in Northern Washington.
Lowlights: The anxiety of "Very soon I will not have a job."
Best Post: Happy New Year's Eve!, from December 31st.
Monday, December 29, 2008
Merry Christmas
Hi I'm back.
Okay so a couple things,
First,
I'm not going to write about the time I went to California then Pennsylvania anymore cause I'm sick of it.
Then also, I want to write a bit about Christmas holiday, even though it's kind of over, but, you know, I wasn't here for it,
I was trapped in a cabin in the frozen North. So that's what I'll do.
Okay bye.
Okay so a couple things,
First,
I'm not going to write about the time I went to California then Pennsylvania anymore cause I'm sick of it.
Then also, I want to write a bit about Christmas holiday, even though it's kind of over, but, you know, I wasn't here for it,
I was trapped in a cabin in the frozen North. So that's what I'll do.
Okay bye.
Friday, December 19, 2008
Too Big, Too Fast, Too Complex
Here's a review of a talk given by John Robb.
...Sparks is discontinued and I just got back from a bohemian drinkfest in Pittsburgh, but at some point soon it's going to be necessary to stop all this partying on the deck of the Titanic, to use an awesome cliche, or maybe that point was four years ago.
Key is to understand that our world is too big and too connected and too fast to be understood or controlled by the way we think and act today. The financial crisis has caught all the leadership offside - they are all behind and there is not enough money in the "real economy" to cope with the damage done by all the derivatives etc that far exceed the real.
I AM SO ANGRY
And here's why:
Maryland's Attorney General, Douglas F. Gansler, announced an agreement with MillerCoors that will result in the nationwide discontinuance of the country’s top-selling pre-mixed alcoholic energy drink, Sparks.
As part of the agreement across 14 states, the mega brewer will not produce any caffeinated alcohol beverages in the future. Sparks future was in doubt when light was brought to the Attorneys General that the beverages were being marketed to an underage audience and used misleading health-related information to help sell more cans...
If you're planning on switching to a Sparks alternative, think again. This past May, Anheuser-Busch announced they would stop producing alcoholic energy drinks, including Tilt and Bud Extra. With the elimination of Sparks from the market, nearly 85% of all alcoholic energy drinks that were available at the start of this year will no longer be sold.
Wednesday, December 17, 2008
The Miseries of Pittsburgh
Okay it's like 400 days later and I still haven't finished writing about this damnable trip! This will be the last post about it. It will be epic, and cover everything. It will be abbreviated.
Day 6: In Pittsburgh
5:00 - Arrival at the Pittsburgh airport. Waiting to pick me up was JAY.
Jay: First seen at the airport terminal, bearded and carrying a copy of the Koran. Fortunately my plane was early, so he didn't have enough time to get arrested.
5:30 - There is no better entrance to a city than the Fort Pitt tunnel.
6:00 - So there's this beer called ichor by some brewer I've never heard of. The old Italian guy that runs Grazziano's pizza place apparently got a bunch in and is selling them for cheap. Hello delicious. Also, Jay and JIM are brewing BEER in their basement.
Jim: First seen walking down the street in Lawrenceville, Jim is 96% more bearded than the last time I saw him. On the other hand, so am I.
Beer: First drunk at age 14 at Thanksgiving, Beer has since become a major staple of The Steve Life.
6:30 - Enter MISTER THIRTEEN.
13: I am proud of having christened him with this name, the same under which his article which also appeared on this blog was published in Steel City Revolt.
7:00 - Belvediere's. I remember sitting in this bar on a winter night two years ago with my friend Richie. It was a Wednesday. We were two of the only people there. The bartender, bored or lonely, struck up a conversation with us, eventually inviting us to come back the next day "for our first ever 80's night." I believe the rest is history.
11:00 - Or 10 or 12. Enter some new douchebag friend of Jim and Jay's. These two have a collection of random hangers-on, all of them unpleasant. I don't know this one's name. Probably "Standard Pittsburgh Fucktard."
Standard Pittsburgh Fucktard: Gave us a ride up the hill to the BRILLO BOX. Meanwhile he had a breathalizer in his car, for some reason/because that's the kind of thing a douchebag would have. I blew .11.
The Brillo Box: Epicenter of East End hipsterdom. The scene and source of every major insane event of the last 2 years I lived in Pittsburgh. I knew the two gentleman tending bar rather well, and I suppose they must know me a lot better (since they remember the stuff I do).
Drunk:00 - Pass out.
Day 7
11:00 - Wake up; it feels like 8. Oh, it is 8, but not really. I don't understand time.
1:00 - Finally leave the house; go to OAKLAND.
Oakland: Location of the UNIVERSITY OF PITTSBURGH. My favorite restaurant there is Oishi Bento. I walked in; found it over-crowded; walked out realizing I wouldn't be comfortable unless I had a book to read. So I went to the campus Book Center and bought a collection of classic weird fiction (each story with an intro by H.P. Lovecraft!), thinking I could also make a gift of it for my hosts.
The University of Pittsburgh: Location of 5 years of idleness; source of thousands of dollars of debt.
4:00 - I had early called my friend MEGAN and invited her to lunch with me, but she said, "No Steve, there is a blizzard approaching, you should leave Oakland and come back to Lawrenceville before 6."
Megan: Anthropology grad student at the University of Pittsburgh; when I met her for coffee she brought me a scarf made in the Himalayas, presumably purchased on her recent trip to India. It was cold and I was grateful. One month later, I keep forgetting I own it until I go out the door in the morning and think "Man I wish I had a scarf."
6:00 - Megan and I went back to the Brillo Box and ordered dinner. My brother JIMMY and his girlfriend turned up.
Jimmy: 14 feet tall but still a little shit. Lately he has let his hair grow out, having no money to pay a barber. It was commented by others that he looks like me. I denied it. To demonstrate that it was true, he pulled his hair back from his face and scowled.
6:00-2:00: 8 hours of the fucking Brillo Box. After Jimmy, CURT arrived. It was an interesting combination. Megan said she had to go home because she had no money. I said No, stay and I will buy you drinks. 13 turned up. RYAN and BEAUREGARD turned up. LAUREN turned up. This is why I spent so much time at this bar: EVERYBODY ALWAYS TURNS UP. Jay turned up. IAN turned up. Jim turned up, I think. Let's examine some of these characters.
Curt: Delightful artist and longtime friend; the only person I know who is karmically in the black. Curt is one of my favorites.
Ryan: Only speaks in rants. In the past he, Richie and I spent a great deal of time playing Rummy and watching Bruce Springsteen live in London in 1975.
Beauregard: Ryan's current roommate; also works with Curt at a gallery downtown. Coincidences like that happen frequently in Pittsburgh. I call them Pittsburgh Moments.
I cannot handle writing anymore right now. Therefore I am going to post this as is. Still to come: Rummy; Black Velvet; and the Trinitarian Heresy. Join us next time.
Day 6: In Pittsburgh
5:00 - Arrival at the Pittsburgh airport. Waiting to pick me up was JAY.
Jay: First seen at the airport terminal, bearded and carrying a copy of the Koran. Fortunately my plane was early, so he didn't have enough time to get arrested.
5:30 - There is no better entrance to a city than the Fort Pitt tunnel.
6:00 - So there's this beer called ichor by some brewer I've never heard of. The old Italian guy that runs Grazziano's pizza place apparently got a bunch in and is selling them for cheap. Hello delicious. Also, Jay and JIM are brewing BEER in their basement.
Jim: First seen walking down the street in Lawrenceville, Jim is 96% more bearded than the last time I saw him. On the other hand, so am I.
Beer: First drunk at age 14 at Thanksgiving, Beer has since become a major staple of The Steve Life.
6:30 - Enter MISTER THIRTEEN.
13: I am proud of having christened him with this name, the same under which his article which also appeared on this blog was published in Steel City Revolt.
7:00 - Belvediere's. I remember sitting in this bar on a winter night two years ago with my friend Richie. It was a Wednesday. We were two of the only people there. The bartender, bored or lonely, struck up a conversation with us, eventually inviting us to come back the next day "for our first ever 80's night." I believe the rest is history.
11:00 - Or 10 or 12. Enter some new douchebag friend of Jim and Jay's. These two have a collection of random hangers-on, all of them unpleasant. I don't know this one's name. Probably "Standard Pittsburgh Fucktard."
Standard Pittsburgh Fucktard: Gave us a ride up the hill to the BRILLO BOX. Meanwhile he had a breathalizer in his car, for some reason/because that's the kind of thing a douchebag would have. I blew .11.
The Brillo Box: Epicenter of East End hipsterdom. The scene and source of every major insane event of the last 2 years I lived in Pittsburgh. I knew the two gentleman tending bar rather well, and I suppose they must know me a lot better (since they remember the stuff I do).
Drunk:00 - Pass out.
Day 7
11:00 - Wake up; it feels like 8. Oh, it is 8, but not really. I don't understand time.
1:00 - Finally leave the house; go to OAKLAND.
Oakland: Location of the UNIVERSITY OF PITTSBURGH. My favorite restaurant there is Oishi Bento. I walked in; found it over-crowded; walked out realizing I wouldn't be comfortable unless I had a book to read. So I went to the campus Book Center and bought a collection of classic weird fiction (each story with an intro by H.P. Lovecraft!), thinking I could also make a gift of it for my hosts.
The University of Pittsburgh: Location of 5 years of idleness; source of thousands of dollars of debt.
4:00 - I had early called my friend MEGAN and invited her to lunch with me, but she said, "No Steve, there is a blizzard approaching, you should leave Oakland and come back to Lawrenceville before 6."
Megan: Anthropology grad student at the University of Pittsburgh; when I met her for coffee she brought me a scarf made in the Himalayas, presumably purchased on her recent trip to India. It was cold and I was grateful. One month later, I keep forgetting I own it until I go out the door in the morning and think "Man I wish I had a scarf."
6:00 - Megan and I went back to the Brillo Box and ordered dinner. My brother JIMMY and his girlfriend turned up.
Jimmy: 14 feet tall but still a little shit. Lately he has let his hair grow out, having no money to pay a barber. It was commented by others that he looks like me. I denied it. To demonstrate that it was true, he pulled his hair back from his face and scowled.
6:00-2:00: 8 hours of the fucking Brillo Box. After Jimmy, CURT arrived. It was an interesting combination. Megan said she had to go home because she had no money. I said No, stay and I will buy you drinks. 13 turned up. RYAN and BEAUREGARD turned up. LAUREN turned up. This is why I spent so much time at this bar: EVERYBODY ALWAYS TURNS UP. Jay turned up. IAN turned up. Jim turned up, I think. Let's examine some of these characters.
Curt: Delightful artist and longtime friend; the only person I know who is karmically in the black. Curt is one of my favorites.
Ryan: Only speaks in rants. In the past he, Richie and I spent a great deal of time playing Rummy and watching Bruce Springsteen live in London in 1975.
Beauregard: Ryan's current roommate; also works with Curt at a gallery downtown. Coincidences like that happen frequently in Pittsburgh. I call them Pittsburgh Moments.
I cannot handle writing anymore right now. Therefore I am going to post this as is. Still to come: Rummy; Black Velvet; and the Trinitarian Heresy. Join us next time.
Monday, December 15, 2008
The Call of Cthulhu
So that readers named Gabe will be able to make an informed judgment of the previous post, here is a link to the full text of The Call of Cthulhu by H.P. Lovecraft.
I. The Horror In Clay
The most merciful thing in the world, I think, is the inability of the human mind to correlate all its contents. We live on a placid island of ignorance in the midst of black seas of infinity, and it was not meant that we should voyage far. The sciences, each straining in its own direction, have hitherto harmed us little; but some day the piecing together of dissociated knowledge will open up such terrifying vistas of reality, and of our frightful position therein, that we shall either go mad from the revelation or flee from the light into the peace and safety of a new dark age....
Friday, December 12, 2008
The Road Goes Ever On and On
Day 6: To Pittsburgh
On the plane I read Gene Wolfe's new book An Evil Guest. Gene Wolfe is my favorite science fiction author and this book was hyped as a 30's-style Lovecraftian pulp horror story set in the future with other planets, wizards, and Cthulhu. As you can imagine, I was pretty psyched to read it.
Unfortunately, it mostly sucks.
The main character is a woman. That would be fine, even a really cool opportunity to mess with the tropes of 30's pulp fiction, but Wolfe apparently decided to import his value system directly from 1933 as well. So she mostly cries and is pretty.
Even that would be fine. It's obnoxious, but I know plenty of women who spend a lot of their time crying and being pretty. But then almost every single sentence in the entire book is dialogue, and it reads mostly like this:
"I have two questions. Wait, make that three."
"Okay, I'll try and answer them."
Invariably, only the first question is answered, and only sort of, before it's time for the next chapter.
Of course the plot doesn't make sense. The genius of Gene Wolfe is that his plots are buried pretty deep and almost never really make sense until you read the book again three or four times. Meanwhile on the surface there is enough interesting stuff going on to keep you entertained, and enough hints of the real story to force you to read the thing again. This is even true of his short stories, which is impressive and really difficult to pull off. The problem with An Evil Guest is that the on-the-surface story is not remotely interesting, and you never get enough of the real story lurking beneath.
When you do it's awesome. One chapter shows us a Cthulhu-cultist's journey to R'lyeh, where, of course, the dead god waits dreaming, and it's so freaking cool you want to crap your pants. And then another time a character talks about how there are all kinds of aliens on our world, but they never reveal themselves to us. And then he compares it the other planet in the book, Woldercan, which humans have visited and instead of lurking in shadows and swamps and ruined mansions in New England they've set up an embassy and diplomatic relations. Why isn't it like that here? Well, he explains, the difference is that Cthulhu is really the ruler of our world and he claims it as his private fiefdom or farmyard.
!!!! Holy freaking crap, right?? Unfortunately I just ruined the whole book for you because those are the only cool parts. Then I realized that I'd written a book review instead of a blog post about my trip to Pittsburgh so I got mad and posted it anyway.
On the plane I read Gene Wolfe's new book An Evil Guest. Gene Wolfe is my favorite science fiction author and this book was hyped as a 30's-style Lovecraftian pulp horror story set in the future with other planets, wizards, and Cthulhu. As you can imagine, I was pretty psyched to read it.
Unfortunately, it mostly sucks.
The main character is a woman. That would be fine, even a really cool opportunity to mess with the tropes of 30's pulp fiction, but Wolfe apparently decided to import his value system directly from 1933 as well. So she mostly cries and is pretty.
Even that would be fine. It's obnoxious, but I know plenty of women who spend a lot of their time crying and being pretty. But then almost every single sentence in the entire book is dialogue, and it reads mostly like this:
"I have two questions. Wait, make that three."
"Okay, I'll try and answer them."
Invariably, only the first question is answered, and only sort of, before it's time for the next chapter.
Of course the plot doesn't make sense. The genius of Gene Wolfe is that his plots are buried pretty deep and almost never really make sense until you read the book again three or four times. Meanwhile on the surface there is enough interesting stuff going on to keep you entertained, and enough hints of the real story to force you to read the thing again. This is even true of his short stories, which is impressive and really difficult to pull off. The problem with An Evil Guest is that the on-the-surface story is not remotely interesting, and you never get enough of the real story lurking beneath.
When you do it's awesome. One chapter shows us a Cthulhu-cultist's journey to R'lyeh, where, of course, the dead god waits dreaming, and it's so freaking cool you want to crap your pants. And then another time a character talks about how there are all kinds of aliens on our world, but they never reveal themselves to us. And then he compares it the other planet in the book, Woldercan, which humans have visited and instead of lurking in shadows and swamps and ruined mansions in New England they've set up an embassy and diplomatic relations. Why isn't it like that here? Well, he explains, the difference is that Cthulhu is really the ruler of our world and he claims it as his private fiefdom or farmyard.
!!!! Holy freaking crap, right?? Unfortunately I just ruined the whole book for you because those are the only cool parts. Then I realized that I'd written a book review instead of a blog post about my trip to Pittsburgh so I got mad and posted it anyway.
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