Who are you and how did you find me!?
Interrobang
Huh?
I have spies everywhere:
Spies drink martinis, and the occasional g&t:
We’re watching you.
Month: September 2005
This isn’t new.
In fact, it seems to be nearly two weeks old.
This means that, in internet terms, it’s positively archaic.
But it still cracks my shit up.
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We rain devils play
Yesterday was the first day of rain we’ve had in some time. If you’re familiar with the Pacific Northwest, then you know how odd that is. Sure, we have nice summers, but it seems like it’s been dry as a bone around here for a solid month, and that just isn’t how we rain devils play out here.
The best thing about rain is the morning after, and how many things can you really say that about? Right. All the humidity is drizzled/poured/bucketed from the air onto terra firma (terra sogga?), and afterwards, especially in the morning, the atmosphere seems so clear that you should be able to pick out individual veins on individual leaves of individual trees at a thousand feet. Breathing seems like something you may have never experienced before; entirely enjoyable as though each draught swept the vapor of ambrosia through your lungs.
Colors are enhanced, leaves hang from limbs like emeralds and turquoise, embedded with the rubies and garnets of the approaching fall. The post-partum sheen of the rain sparkles in the wan light of the clear sky. In the distance, perhaps, a cloud or two, and the promise of more rain to come.
Life like a dirty martini
dance the fork out and swing it
wore holes through my socks on a sticky floor
trying to find the right way to
woo
She’s mentioned that breakfast numerous times
I’m always flattered
French poetry in the underground
smiles and coffee and oh what times
and thank you for the years
Now a reciprocity, previously unsuggested
French and dancing?
at the same time no less
like Dionysus waiting in the wings
with wine and fervor and he’s winking
but I’m not going to chase because
I’ve tried that and …
The right way to woo is like dancing
like jazz in the underground club
with smoke against the ceiling
and wine for 10f
and every night we’d stumble home
across the Rhine
just find the syncopation
and Apollo be damned
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I Need Some Intelligent Design
I want to completely redo the template for my blog. And perhaps, even the idea for my blog, and what I post about. I feel like working on one thing will help negotiate the other. What I’d like to do is take the elements I like from certain blog designs and weave them together in a masterful way to create something pretty, and wholly my own. Like Frankenstein’s blog, I guess … and yes, it will probably come out looking like a monster.
Here’s a big link-dump of design sites and blog designs I’m eyeing enviously. Please feel free to make any suggestions.
powazek – I like the banner especially, and the way it fades into the rest of the page.
shifted librarian – Nice, simple, easy layout. Very readable. Could have fun with the 2-tone aspect.
bizgirl – very simple, easy, elegant. girl’s hot. I need to actually read this at some point, too.
stephanie klein – pretty straighforward. i like the colorful banner and the absolutely useless line of green along the right side.
indiekids – i like the top banner with the links. also the muted background colors. it’s nearly blogger-styled, but cooler.
tequila mockingbird – rocking colors. nice, easy layout. easy is good. color is good. take notes.
boudist – i think this is fucking class. nice primary colors, elegant.
chromewaves – good width-fit. i like how the boxes are seperated.
fluxblog – ooOoOo, I kinda like this mono-color thing, especially with the banner. Cute logo, too. I need me one of them.
jason santamaria – this is way too clever for me to figure out. but i like the banner and link style up top. how the hell do you do that stain thing along the top-right of the page?
karen cheng – very clever, fairly simple, good content. i like the day-of-the-week headers especially.
lowculture – i like the two blogs in one approach. could do some fun shit with this, i think?
popagandhi – i like the retro banner, and once again, the white on white background keeps it simple
pussycat – simplicity rules the day. this is a well-done minimal.
watchblog – tri-blog, one page. good idea
Design & template sites:
If you know of any other gorgeous blogs, or awesome design sites, let me know! That’s it for now!
Welcome to the Saint Martin’s Campus, where the fun never stops, even when it means blowing shit up. Komo got the damn story before we even issued our official press release.
Old Main is the main building on campus (as you may have guessed from the name). The O’Grady Library, where I work, is near Old Main, and the coolest building on campus anyway, so it filled up with displaced students, faculty, and administration in the blink of an eye.
Even so, things have quieted down a bit already. It’s kind of amazing how fast life can just … move on. Not that this was a tragedy by any means, more of an incident. Just allow me my little dramatic moment.
edit: The Seattle PI is a little slow, but they’re doing their part.
The Olympian chimes in.
Brief coverage from the Tacoma News-Tribune.
The Olympian takes photos of our suffering.
I wouldn’t make light of it, but no one was seriously injured. Even so, my condolences to everyone who had flying glass shooting at their heads. That can’t be fun.
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I’m going blind for mankind
Categories
The Highest Tide
This last Saturday I went to a local book reading/signing at Orca Books. The book being read was “The Highest Tide” by Jim Lynch, who is an Olympia native, and whose book takes place in Olympia. As of about an hour ago, I finished reading it, and I have to say, it rocks my face off. Seriously, go read it.
The story follows a thirteen-year-old boy named Miles O’Malley who lives on the edge of the Puget Sound and who is obsessed with Rachel Carson, marine life, and the girl-next-door who used to babysit him. When Miles finds a giant squid washed up from a high tide, he is catapulted into local fame. When he continues to find things in the bay that shouldn’t be there, his fame goes from local to national, and he gets a lot of largely unwanted attention. Despite these catalysts, the story remains focused on Miles’ experiences with the ocean, with growing up (at the age of thirteen he still looks nine), with his parents who are growing distant, a friend who is dying and a girl he loves who is spinning out of control.
It’s often funny, particularly when Miles is explaining such things as the sex life of barnacles, or trying himself to understand the perhaps more bizarre sex life of humans. His friend Phelps plays a mean air guitar, and constantly talks about “melons”. The girl he loves is a local rockstar known to faint onstage. The book is so abundantly infused with life and energy and depth that it mirrors the bay around which it is framed.
Jim himself seems very cool, and he signed my book, which is awesome.
Rating: 5 / 5 stars.
Note: This book rocks my face off.
Link.
Categories
Snark the f*** up.
Snarky political rant. Go Eric!
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I Love Virals
Say what you will about viral advertising, but I find it much more engaging than the alternative.
Granted, it will be hard to top “I Love Bees”. But I hope someone tries.
And ‘lo there was a great smoting, and those quiet moments between words were banished, and the cup of conversation runneth’d over, and there was a great rejoicing.
Sometimes you just can’t do events justice with words. Letters glued together like matchsticks trying to build the strongest bridge, but that annoying kid who eats lunch with you sat on it, and it was never meant to withstand that sort of “earthquake”. Poor, poor matchstick bridge …
My analogies keep running way the hell away from me. We’ll simply call them expeditious and leave it at that.
The short of it is that I met a girl. Those of you who are vigilant would have noticed two posts, that lasted just a day or so, and were then deleted, expressing my enthusiasm about said girl. They were deleted because, when the pot comes to boil, some things are still private, and even if I don’t care that strangers know my most intimate moments and/or embarrassing analogies, it’s not my place to share everything that involves other people. Besides, sometimes you just have to play your cards close to home. This blog is, after all, ridiculously easy to find.
So it was one of those conundrums. And I panicked. These things happen.
So I met a girl, and I was completely flabbergasted. As a friend has told me since (and I would tend to agree, now), my being completely flummoxed about this girl said a lot more about where I was then it really did about her. But you can’t tell these sorts of things to a madman. We went on a date, I bought her dinner, I was smitten instantly. We talked about France, and film, and school and friends and London and travel and language … oh the things we said! The conversation was good, to put it simply. The next day I sent her flowers, and then I didn’t hear from her for a couple days, and got dreadfully anxious. When I happened to run into her at a restaurant downtown, it all seemed so serendipitous that it HAD TO BE FATE! Seriously, my brain was all gunked up with romance. Stupid thing.
A few nights ago, as I was walking around my neighborhood, admiring the stars, she called me and we had a nice conversation. It was nice until the “I can only offer you my friendship” part, and then it was kind of not-nice. But it did help get my head screwed back on straight, and it really didn’t hit me as hard as I was setting myself up for. Thank goodness for skeptical friends who are completely willing to balk at your inexplicable enthusiasm and give you sketchy glances when you’re being foolish. I pay heed to these things, anymore.
So the “f” word was dropped, not so much like an atom bomb as like a … I dunno, water balloon. I was disappointed, sure, but I don’t have anything if not perspective, and I’m a resilient son-of-a-gun, anyhow.
Besides, y’all wouldn’t love me if I weren’t unpredictable and spazzy. The longer people know me the less surprised they get when I do completely off-the-wall things, without explanation or warning. And usually so mild-mannered and level-headed … but that’s what makes life snazzy!
A Pithy Mood has been a secret pleasure of mine for months now. Something delectable, to be treated with earnest admiration, but from afar, and infrequently. We must not oversup on our extravagances.
Her recent post is about helping out with Katrina, and donating to a cause we might otherwise forget about. Pets. In most cases, these are family members that were left behind with food and water and a wish to stay well. As Tamea says:
However, the millions of now homeless, lost and starving animals who’ve also been affected by this hurricane have no politics to disagree with and they need help desperately.
If you have issues with humanity, then donate to save these animals instead. You can donate to the humane society who is working to reunite pets with their families, or find new families for abandoned animals. You can also donate to the petfinder disaster fund, which is doing the same thing.
Merci pour votre patience pendant que je traduit tout de ce blog en Francais. Je vous plaisant, bien sur, mais c’est vrai qu’il faut faire des changes ici. Ne me quittez pas! Je reviendrai.
Gros bisous,
l’homme autrefois connait comme “bava”.
babelfish: french–> german–> english
Thanks for your patience, while I translate everything this blog into French. I you pleasing naturally, but it is true that one must make rates of exchange here. Do not leave me! I will return.
Large kisses,
humans known in former times as “bava”.
Categories
A couple jiggers of rye.
My oh my. But seriously. Oh my.
I feel bad about feeling so good while people are doing so poorly.
People have faced shoot-outs and some reports say martial law has been imposed in some areas. Armed gangs have moved into some hotels.
Some have been breaking into shops, houses, hospitals and office buildings.
Thieves used a forklift truck to break into a pharmacy, AP news agency reports, while dozens of carjackings have been reported.
I’ve made my donation, and honestly wish there was more I could do to help, but for personal reasons I’ve been walking on sunshine for the last couple days, and it’s difficult to break free of my happy myopia.
My best wishes to all those displaced by nature. Life will find a way.
