The Ear Infection

MOVING

2008-06-14T11:43:00.001-07:00

The web presence of T.J. Tranchell has moved to teejocracy.blogspot.com

Come join the Teejocracy today!

Guns n' Roses for every emotion

2008-02-02T21:19:00.000-08:00

It's true. There just might be a Guns n' Roses song for every human emotion. There are for mine, anyway. I offer two examples below, showing two sides of the same situation.
First up, "Used to Love Her"

and "Patience"

Just for the hell of it, here's a third, "Don't Cry," that is kind of a mesh of the first two:

Shitty video quality is not my fault.

Cleveland Rocks!

2007-10-10T10:05:00.000-07:00

Yes it does and it may rock even more in the future. We shall see what we shall see.

and no, I'm STILL cheering for the Red Sox.

9-29-2007 Playlist

2007-10-03T09:02:00.000-07:00

This was "Weird Al" Day at the Ear Infection

Metallica- Whiplash
Metallica- Hit the Lights
Dethklok- Awaken
Dethklok- Go Forth and Die
Weird Al- Amish Paradise
Weird Al- Alternative Polka
Meat Loaf- Bat Out of Hell
Voltaire- When You're Evil
Iron Maiden- The Evil That Men Do
Savatage- Hall of the Mountain King
Frank Zappa- Don't Eat the Yellow Snow
Frank Zappa- San Ber'dino
Primus- My Name is Mud
Oingo Boingo- Dead Man's Party
Weird Al- Couch Potato
Weird Al- Angry White Boy Polka
Spinal Tap- Stonehenge
They Might Be Giants- Instanbul (Not Constantiople)
Dr. Demento- Shaving Cream
The Vestibules- Bulbous Buffaunt
Barnes & Barnes- Fish Heads
Frank Zappa- Joe's Garage
Tenacious D- Destiny
Tenacious D- History
Adam Sandler- Lonesome Kicker
Danzig- Come to Silver (acoustic)
Danzig- Deep
Patton Oswalt- Werewolves and Lollipops
Metallica- Battery
Metallica- Master of Puppets
Static-X- Destroyer
Weird Al- Money for Nothing/The Beverly Hillbillies
Weird Al- I Lost on Jeopardy
Ogden Edsel- Dead Puppies
Shel Silverstein- The Smoke Off
Dethklok- Mermaider
Dethklok- Bloodtrocuted
Dethklok- The Lost Vikings
Weird Al- Smells Like Nirvana
AC/DC- Problem Child

9-22-2007 Playlist

2007-09-24T10:51:00.000-07:00

Lordi- SCG3 Special Report
Lordi- Bringing the Balls Back to Rock
Dio- Rainbow in the Dark
Dio- Holy Diver
Iron Maiden- Iron Maiden
Iron Maiden- The Number of the Beast
Mastodon- Bladecatcher
Overkill- Time to Kill
Paradise Lost- The Word Made Flesh
DevilDriver- The Axe Shall Fall
3 Inches of Blood- The Forest King
Ozzy Osbourne- Perry Mason
Dragon Force- Trail of Broken Hearts
Alice Cooper- Feed My Frankenstein
Exodus- A.W.O.L.
Obituary- Killingtime
King Diamond- Into the Convent
AC/DC- Who Made Who
AC/DC- Hell's Bells
Tiamat- Clouds
Emperor- He Who Sought the Fire
Dark Funeral- Armageddon Finally Comes
Danzig- Come to Silver
Danzig- Blackacidevil
Superjoint Ritual- The Knife Rises
Superjoint Ritual- The Horror
Hank Williams III- Louisiana Stripes
... And You Will Know Us By the Trail of Dead- The Rest Will Follow
Iced Earth- Stormrider
Cradle of Filth- Coffin Fodder
Opeth- Death Whispered Lullaby
Slayer- Eyes of the Insane
Savatage- When the Crowds are Gone
The Haunted- Demon Eyes
GWAR- Eat Steel
GWAR- Jack the World
Tenacious D- Master Exploder
Black Sabbath- Heaven and Hell

Thanks for listening!

Chhhh Changes

2007-09-12T11:12:00.000-07:00

So you may have noticed I changed to name of my blog. The change is meant to reflect my new radio show set to begin on Saturday. If you live in the Moscow, Idaho area, check me out on 89.3 FM. If you live outside the area, and most of you do. you can listen listen via streaming audio at www.kuoi.org.
There's a DJ cam, too, so you can watch me playing my wicked air guitar.

DONE!

2007-08-08T11:37:00.000-07:00

So I haven't posted anything in almost a month. I get busy, you guys know that. And this week will mark the end of my time as a Seattle Weekly intern. Sad news, eh?

There's a bright side.

I will continue on with SW as the "Moscow Bureau Chief." A half-joke, half-serious position which will allow me to continue working with their blogs and throw them something in the music section every once in a while.

I've said it before and I'll say it until it's no longer true. I RULE.

More Ozzfest news!

2007-07-13T21:26:00.000-07:00

Blabbermouth.net, one of the biggest providers of metal news, linked the Ozzy portion of my story. How fucking cool is that?

http://www.roadrunnerrecords.com/blabbermouth.net/news.aspx?mode=Article&newsitemID=76744

Ozzfest!

2007-07-13T14:02:00.000-07:00

http://www.seattleweekly.com/music/blogs/reverb/2007/07/yesterday_ozzfest_at_white_riv.php

And, just for fun, check out the comments section of this post. Apparently, I suck. NOT!
http://www.seattleweekly.com/music/blogs/reverb/2007/07/last_night_deftones_dir_en_gre.php

For My Metal Heads Out There

2007-07-11T14:36:00.000-07:00

Tomorrow I will be at Ozzfest, with a press/photo pass.
Yes, I do rule. Thanks for asking.
I probably won't get to meet Ozzy, but I'll be damn close.
Yes, I do rule. Thanks for asking.
By this time Friday, I will have plenty of my own pics for you.

T.J.'s Rules For Living

2007-06-30T09:51:00.000-07:00

Listen carefully. I don't want to repeat myself.

1- Don't take life too seriously. After all, no one gets out of it alive.
2- If you can't count on your family, they suck. If they can't count on you, you suck.
3- Don't worry about money. It makes things easier to deal with when you don't have any. When you do have money, be generous. It makes it easier for other people to help you out when you're broke.
4- Never forget the people who helped you get where you are. You may need a job reference down the road and if you treat them like shit, they'll remember it.
5- There is only so much fun you can have with two Legos.
6- Chocolate makes people happy. Dark chocolate makes me happy.
7- No matter where you sit or who is playing, always bring your glove to the ballpark.
8- Have all the fun you want, just get your work done, too.
9- Just because you are "grown up" doesn't mean you can't watch cartoons or have a nap after your milk and cookies.
10- Remember the first time you heard about Dinosaurs. Don't lose that child-like sense of awe. No matter how much you've seen, you haven't seen everything.
11- If it takes you longer to wait for a bus than to walk to where you need to go, walk.
12- If life starts to overwhelm you, just stop it. If it continues, stop it or I'll bury you alive in a box.
13- Make your own rules, then live by them. Except when they need to be broken.

And now for your viewing pleasure.....

2007-06-25T22:31:00.001-07:00

You'll just have to imagine the song in your head.

So I been busy, give me a break.

2007-06-09T15:04:00.000-07:00

OK.
I've had fish and chips twice now. Neither time did they have actual English-style chips, which is what I'd really like. I also had a great bowl of clam chowder from a place that sells it half off after 2 p.m. These things are very good to know.

Also, found out that I get reimbursed for my bus pass. Sweet, eh?

Interviewed Static-X.
Saw a group called The Raveonettes.

This will be a short week because I'm headed to Eugene, Ore., for the graduations of my sister and brother-in-law. They are getting Master's degrees so it is kind of a big deal.

Catch you all later.

I've been in Seattle 2 weeks now...

2007-06-01T21:52:00.000-07:00

...and I still haven't had fish & chips.
Soon, though. Soon I shall have fish and chips.

Call me...Joker

2007-05-28T21:59:00.000-07:00

If you know me, you know I'm a big Batman fan. The next movie, The Dark Knight Returns, is filming as we speak and the biggest news is that Heath Ledger is playing The Joker. Well, I just saw the first pic of him in the make-up and I have to say, I love it. It's much more fucked up than Nicholson's make-up was and I LOVE NICHOLSON and that film. Check out the pic. (Yes, I'm adding hyperlinks now. Just something I've gotten used in my work posts, so expect more of it here.)

Eventually, I'll get around to another update. I had a full weekend, so I'll get to it when I get to it.

Catch you later.

Strangest e-mail ever

2007-05-24T07:32:00.001-07:00

So I'm checking my three e-mail accounts this morning and I had the strangest e-mail ever. First, some background.

I have a MySpace page, specifically so I can listen to new music from up and coming bands, but the page has also connected me with a couple of my favorite authors. I've been able to exchange a few e-mails with them and it's awesome. They are on my friends list, of course.

I'm checking the account linked to the MySpace and I have a message that says, "Dean Koontz would like to be added to your friends list."

I thought it worked the other way around. I'm meant to ask famous people if I can be their friend, not the other way around.

Yes, I approved Dean Koontz to be my friend, even though I like Stephen King better.

Day Three

2007-05-23T20:23:00.000-07:00

I got to "work from home" today. Did a bunch of stuff and even screwed up a couple things in my first solo blog post. Yes, they are noticeable but they don't hurt anything. I'm learning still. Also paid a visit yesterday to Ye Olde Curiosity Shoppe. Took some pics of Pier 54, too, that I'm trying to load on here but it's being difficult, as you can see by how it totally messed up my text. (Until I fixed it, that is.)

For anyone who misses my voice, check this out: http://www.seattleweekly.com/podcast/short-list/
You have to wait a while to hear me but I'm in there, darn it.

Tomorrow will be spent getting ready for my big weekend assignment. It's gonna be cool. I'm especially looking forward to hearing this accordion quartet called Hell's Bellowes.

Days one and two

2007-05-22T20:36:00.000-07:00

I'm going to try and keep up with this but these first two days have worn me out.

Short version is: I rule and my boss thinks so, too. I've learned so much in just two days that the Argonaut Web site is going to rock when I get back.

I'll be spending my weekend covering the Northwest FolkLife Festival while my boss goes to Sasquatch! Fest. I guess that's fair.

I already turned in my first assignment: a review of Ozzy's new CD, Black Rain. Hopefully, I'll be able to take some of my learning and make my own blog rock harder.

Catch you on the flipside.

Emerald CIty, here I come

2007-05-17T15:56:00.000-07:00

Seattle's nickname is the Emerald CIty but I don't think the WIzard lives there. I am, however, on a search for something to make myself a better person: more real world experience.

If you've been following along, you'll know that I am doing an internship with the Seattle Weekly in the Web and music sections. I'll be bringing my learning back to Moscow as next school year's Web and Opinion editor. Cool beans, eh?

Yes, it is an unpaid internship. (Anyone caring to donate to the T.J. Summer in Seattle Survival Fund can e-mail me for details. I'm not kidding.) My current newspaper adviser hates the idea of me not getting paid, but knows that this is one of those experiences that is worth the trouble.

A little bit about the Seattle Weekly: It's one of those alt-weekly papers. For my Vegas co-horts, it's like the City Life or Las Vegas Weekly-- two papers which never took anything I sent them. I wonder if they'd take my work now? Or after the summer, anyway. Best of all (or worst of all, depending on what your leanings are) SW is owned by The Village Voice, the grand daddy of alt-weeklies. Pretty cool, eh? The office is just a couple blocks away fromPioneer Square in downtown Seattle, right where everything is happening. I'm going to have a nice bus commute from Tacoma (thanks to Aunt Billie for agreeing to put me up for a spell) but I'm no stranger to mass transit. ($108.00 for a month pass, though. See comments about the TSiSSF, again.)

So I'll be going to concerts, small clubs mostly. I'm geared up to be the resident Metal HEad, which means coverage of this year's Ozzfest, kickingoff July 12 in Seattle, is mine. The chance to meet Ozzy Osbourne is one of the only htings I can think of cooler than meeting Rob Zombie. (Search back about a year--wow!--for that day.) I will be sporting a Black Sabbath hat for the occassion. I only packed band T-shirts for my stay, too.

Unless you count the couple Red Sox shirts I popped in my bag, too. I will go to at least one Seattle Mariners baseball game while I am there. Won't get to see the Sox, but might catch them when the Reds come to town and see Griffey, just like the old days. Nah, those games will sell out, too. I might get stuck watching the M's and the Pirates. It's Major League Baseball, though, so who cares who is playing as long as I get to go.

I'm going to keep up the blog as much as possible over the summer, too, so check back for news as often as you like. Also check out www.seattleweekly.com to see if my stuff shows up there.

Thanks again to everyone who has supported me on my wild and crazy adventures. I never would have thought to be doing this if Coyote Press in Vegas hadn't come into my life (along with Karen Laing who made it possible for me to do what I wanted) and if the Argonaut here in Moscow hadn't treated me so well. Just goes to show that making plans doesn't always work out the way you want them to.

And, before I go...Hi Julie!

Stranger things have happened

2007-05-10T14:09:00.000-07:00

So, I cleaned my room yesterday. I used fewer garbage bags than the last time I cleaned. They were bigger, though. Today I'm doing laundry. I did a very odd thing for me, something I don't recall having ever done before.

I separated clothes before washing. Weird, I know. I didn't divide by color because taht would be pointless. Instead I grouped by type. Socks and underwear and in the dryer right now. Just finished washing are all the T-shirts I plan on wearing over the summer. Next in will be pants, followed by button-up shirt to be worn over the summer, then the rest of my T-shirts. Pants might take two loads, otherwise they will never get dry.

Oh the things I've been doing differently the last few weeks.

I love every hair on your 27 acre body...

2007-04-24T16:15:00.000-07:00

So my newspaper duties for next yera will be: Web/Opinion Editor. Yes, that's right, I do in fact rule.
The return of the happiest dictatorship in the world is well under way.
Kick Ass.

And that's when I saw the bear...

2007-04-23T11:06:00.000-07:00

Well, this semester is almost over and it's finishing on a high note.
Tonight, i should know which desk will be mine come fall semester. It will be exciting and time consuming, but I'm ready. Bring it on.

I still have a bunch of work to do, both for classes and for the paper, but I'm not too worried. I'm the Alfred E. Nueman of college. "What, me worry?"

I banked $150 for the last pay period, which is significantly high for any writer on this paper. This week has the potential to be even more. Tuesdays issue will have an opinion column, an arts story, a book review, and a 30-inch sports story. I will make more from this one issue than I have in some entire pay periods. Yes, yes, I rule.

Jule and I are good. We had a rough couple days, in which I learned to be more sensitive to certain issues and she learned that I often have Zen-like patience. me going to Seattle for the summer while she stays in Moscow will be good and bad, but I think more good. We both need to remember that we can't see each other every minute of everyday. The relationship is still in its early stages; we have plenty of time for other things still.

Spring semester cruised by. I don't know how all of a sudden it is almost May. It is also weird for me to have this plan, again, of going to Seattle for something that will have far-reaching affects beyond just the summer. And knowing I'm coming back here after that, instead of going to Lund for a couple months and not doing anything. Due to certain situations, part of me very much wants to be in Lund for the summer. I know, though, that Mom wouldn't want me to give up on my future now. So I'm going.

I'll do my best to do better at keeping this blog up. I know there are some of you out there I haven't spoken with for a long time and I take complete blame for that. I'm sorry.

OK, now I have to go write some more stuff. I will catch you on the flipside.

The Ups, the Downs, and the Middles

2007-04-12T16:58:00.000-07:00

OK, we'll tell a happy story first. I got a new computer and so far it kicks ass. Thanks to funding through organizations I'm associated with, I only have to pay half the total cost. They didn't have any Macs in the program which is a bummer, but this is pretty cool. Plus it is up to dat enough to be cool anywhere.
Another happy story is that i did get the Seattle job. I start on May 21.
The bad news, well, some things yesterday really sucked ass, including the death of Kurt Vonnegut. There is something else, too, but that's my business.
Catch you later.

No joke

2007-04-04T09:52:00.000-07:00

If I had posted this on Sunday, no one would have believed me. "Oh, that crazy Teej, trying to pull an April Fool's Day joke on us." Crazy, yes, but this is no joke.
After weeks of spending time with this great girl named Julie, she and I decided to make that leap into "couplehood." Really, I mean it. Do I have to simplify this for you?
Teej has a girlfriend.
The world still turns and hell didn't freeze over. Stranger things have happened.
We are taking things slow, which is best for us both.
It is a frightening thing. The last three days I've woken up thinking, "I will see my girlfriend today." Every time, I get a little freaked out and rightly so. The whole relationship business hasn't been kind to your pal T.J. I don't need to get into any of that. It is a constant gnawing rat inside my head, waiting to burst out the first chance it gets, just to remind me that I will probably do something to wreck this entire deal.
Optimist to end, aren't I?
Between the two of us, we have our share of stories to tell each other. She writes Young Adult-style fantasy fiction and I write what I write.
Last night I let her listen to Meat Loaf. today she will hear Metallica and feel the awesome rock that is The Beasts from the Bay.
And now you are asking yourself, "How the hell did Teej get hooked up with a girl that doesn't listen to Metallica but has an overwhelming fondness for Josh Groban?"
Like I said, stranger things have happened.

In other news, I'm still waiting to hear about an internship in Seattle. I didn't get the New York scholarship I was up for, but that's OK. This Seattle deal will be better in the long run. Also,my prospects for being super important at the Argonaut next year are increasing. There will be a number of vacancies on the editorial staff, including Web/managing Editor and Arts editor. The way things are going, if I don't get one, I'll get the other. It really depends on where the new Editor-in-Chief (who just happens to be my current section editor) wants me.
We shall see what we shall see when we see it.

Big News

2007-04-01T17:35:00.000-07:00

Big News coming up. You'll hear about it as soon as I get around to writing about it.

7 DAYS......

2007-03-17T11:48:00.000-07:00

Bythis time next week, I will know more about what my summer will be like. I will know whether or not my summer will be spent going to concerts in Seattle or studying with Amy Hempel in New York.
I really wish I knew now.
Until then, I shall immerse myself in...well...horror business. I have some Poe plans for my book.
Cheers.

Oh yeah, go see "300" or, if it is playing somewhere near you, "Pan's Labyrinth."

The Past catching up to me

2007-03-04T20:15:00.000-08:00

Usually when some one says that thier past is catchingup with them, it is a bad thing. Not so much for me.
First, a bit of backstory for those who may not know.
I used to act. A lot. High school plays and a summer of "film acting" once held a major place in my life and my heart. I haven't been in a play since 2001.
Over the weekend, I was working on an articel for the paper about a group of students working on their film project for the semester. Just for fun, they talked me into auditioning.
Just for fun, they chose me for a role in the picture.
Here's the problem: If I had known I was getting a part, or if I had gone to meet them with the intention of auditioning, I couldn't write the article. Total conflict of interest. I won't be able to write about this project from an unbiased, reporter-like point of view anymore. the straight reporting thing is out the window.
I can still write about it, though. Columnist style.

In other news....
Found out today that outside readers like to link to other people's work. Specifically, an opinion blogger from Spokane. He likes a couple of our other columnists more than me, but he linked to my bit about getting out of jury duty.
Kick ass, right?
So I snooped around (actually, I Googled myself) and found that another group linked to my article about the Burns Night Supper I went to. You know, the night I ate haggis. They liked the article, even though they don't know who I am.
I think I'm going to e-mail them and ask if I can get a free ticket next year.

Check it out:
http://mysite.verizon.net/borderhighlanders/BurnsNight2007/ui-arg-burns-2007.htm
http://www.spokesmanreview.com/blogs/nhb/archive.asp?postID=13291
(you have to scroll down a ways to see that I'm on that page, but I'm there, dammit.)

Bonus points: super combo

2007-03-04T13:03:00.000-08:00

I love Invader Zim. I also love Rob Zombie. Wanna see something supercrzycool?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NqH2IPiyv-g

Man, I love YouTube.

Please submit 15-25 pages of your best work...

2007-03-02T16:27:00.000-08:00

So, My writing professor in Las Vegas nominated me for this super kick-ass summer writing program scholarshipin New York State. he warned me ahead of time to watch for an e-mail from Skidmore College. (I really want this scholarship so I won't make any jokes about their name.)
I recieved that e-mail today.
Everythingis cool. I just have to fill out this application, write a letter about what I have done and what I want to do, send them $40 for the appliaction fee, (which sucks, 'cause i don't exactly have an extra forty bucks just lying around), and 15-25 pages of my best work.
WHAT????????????

Yes, I have more than 25 pages of writing that I think is good. That isn't the problem. Do I send them a couple short stories (I can hear Leslie Shipp in my ear saying, "Send them 'Seeds and All.") Or do I send off 25 pages of the novel in progress which many of you currently have available?
I have to have this sent out by March 9, by the way.
I should have been thinking of what to send before now.
No matter. I will send my best work (suggestions welcome...fiction only) and I will get this scholarship.
Yes, I rule that much.

Mid Term So Soon?

2007-03-01T13:40:00.001-08:00

Somehow, midterms have snuck up on me without my knowing it. And I'm think, What the hell? It is barely March and I'm halfway through this semester? The calendar doesn't lie.
Here is how this breaks down:
I have one test next week, on Thursday. It is in my FIlm Theory and Criticism class. Today, I got back the results of the first test in the class. I thought I had bommbed it. I was sick and missed the review day, which was also the day everyone else was handed a copy of the questions and told we could use a one-page "cheat sheet." I scored an 83 out of 100. Not too shabby for not knowing the questions. The funny part is how I earned those points. The test was short essay-style. We had to answer 4 out of 6 questions with each essay being worth 25 points. My break-down went like this: 24, 10, 24, 25. So I must not have paid attention to the day we talked about that second question.
Moving on. I have a 9-page paper due for my 16th century poetry and prose class next Thursday, also. NOt as bad as it sounds. It is writing about 3 of 6 questions, 3 pages each and at least one secondary source for each question. I can handle that.
For my fiction writing class, I turned in a short story last week and the rest of the class will be spent workshopping. Cake.
For my News Editing and Production class, we'll have a much larger midterm project that will be assigned on Tuesday. i sort of know what to expect but not entirely.
Naturally, I will be spending the weekend workingon the paper and studying for the film test. Then I can give the rest of the week over to the News project.
Sure does sound like I have things planned out, doesn't it?
Good thing there isn't a NASCAR race this Sunday or I'd be screwed.
And after this "midterm" week is over, it is Spring Break.
Already? Geez.

My 100th post!

2007-02-23T15:14:00.000-08:00

In honor of this special occasion (which coincides almost exactly with the one year anniversary of my first post), I'd like to give you all thelyrics to a song that is very special to me. It's a great story and a great song. Enjoy!

Well, like to explain to you all before,I ain't no drinkin' man
I tried it once and it got me highly irregular
And I swore I'd never do it again
I promised my brother in-law that I'd go up watch his still
While he went in to town to vote
It was right up on the mountainwhere the map said it would be
Friends let me tell you one thing,though it wasn't no ordinary still
It stood up on that mountainside
like a hugh golden opal
God's yeller moon shinin' on the cool clear evenin'
God's little lanterns twinklin' on and off in the heavens
Like I explain'd to you once before I ain't no drinkin' man
But temptation got the best of me
And I took a slash
That yella whiskey runnin' down my throat
like honey dew vine water
And I took another slash,
Took another'n an another'n an another'n
For you knew I'd downed one whole jug of that shit
and commenced to gettin' hot flashes
Goose pimples was runnin' up and down my body
And a feelin' came over melike somethin' I'd never experienced before
It was like, like I was in love
In love for the first time, with anything that moved
Animate, inanimate it didn't matter
It's like there's a great neon sign flashin' on an' offin my brain sayin'
"Jimmy Buffett there's a great day a comin'"
`Cause I was drunk
I wasn't knee crawlin', slip slidin', Reggie Youngin'
Commode huggin' drunk
I was God's own drunk and a fearless man
And that's when I first saw the bear
He was a Kodiak lookin' fella `bout nineteen feet tall
He rambled up over the hill
expectin' me to do one of two things,
Flip or fly, I didn't do either one
It hung him up
He started sniffin' around my body tryin' to smell fear
But he ain't gonna smell no fear `causeI'm God's own drunk and a fearless man
It hung him up
He looked right in my eyes, and my eyes
was a lot redder than his wasIt hung him up
So I approached him, I said "Mr. Bear, I love
every hair on your twenty-seven acre body
I know you got a lot of friends over there
on the other side of the hill
There's ole' rare bear, tall bear, Freddy bear, Kelly bear
Really bear, smelly the bear, smokey the bear,pokey the bear
I want you to go back over there tonight
And tell them I'm feelin' right
You tell them I love each and everyone of them
like a brother and a sister
But if they give me any trouble tonight
I'm gonna run every God damn one of them off the hill"
He took two steps backwards and didn't know what to think
Neither did I but bein' charitable and cautious
Well hell I approached him again
I said "Mr. Bear, You know in the eyes of the Lord
we're both beasts when it comes right down to it
So I want you to be my buddy, Buddy bear"
So I took ole' buddy bear by his island size paw
and I led him over to the still
He's a sniffin' around that thing cause
he's smellin' somethin' good
I gave him one of them jugs of honey dew vine water
He downed it up right
Looked like one of them damn bears in the circus
Sippin' sasparilly in the moonlight
I gave him another'n an another'n an another'n
For I knew it he downed eight of them
and commenced to doin' the bear dance
Two snips, a snort, a fly turn, and a grunt
It was so simple like the jitter bug
It plum evaded me
We worked ourselves into a tumultuous uproar
And I was awful tired and went over to the hillside
and I laid down and went to sleep
Slept for four hours and dreampt me some tremulous dreams
When I woke up, there was God's yeller moon
shinin' on the clear cool evenin'
God's little lanterns twinklin' on and off
in the heavens
My buddy the bear was a missin'
Want to know something else friends and neighbors
So was that still

Will I Ever have Class?

2007-02-20T10:54:00.000-08:00

It sure has been interesting the last few weeks. This week is no exception.

Yesterday I found out that my 2:00-3:15 Tuesday-Thursday class is cancelled for Thursday. Wouldn't bother me so much if my 9:30-10:45 T-Th was not already scheduled to not happen on both days. It's cool because I got to sleep in today and wil again on Thursday. The problem is today. I slept in, walked to campus in the rain, (which I love, except that I've been sick), and checked my e-mail before goingto class. I was immediately confronted with a sign stating that today's class was cancelled.

Well, shit. I could have slept in even longer. Or stayed at a computer and done more work. Or...any number of other things.

I do know that I have class tomorrow morning at 8:30. Of course, I didn't have that class yesterday (Monday) due to President's Day. And it was cancelled the Monday before.

All this despite reports that the rumor of the flu reaching near-epidemic proportions being just rumors.

Two weeks ago, I was sick and missed classes for three days. the week before that, I had one class (the same one I knew wasn't happening today) cancelled due to the professor being ill. It may not be a real epidemic but it is getting annoying.

And Spring Break is in two weeks, also.

A song for today....

2007-02-14T18:33:00.000-08:00

There aren't too many songs I know all the words to. The followingis one of them. Originally recorded by J. Frank Wilson and the Cavaliers and covered a few years ago by Pearl Jam. These are the lyrics. If you know anything about me, you why this song is in my head today. Happy fucking Valentine's Day.

Where, oh where, can my baby be? the lord took her away fromMe. shes gone to heaven, so Ive got to be good. so I can see my baby when iLeave this world.We were out on a date in my daddys car. we hadnt driven very far. there inThe road, straight ahead. a car was stalled, the engine was dead.I couldnt stop, so I swerved to the right. Ill never forget the sound thatNight. the screamin tires, the bustin glass. the painful scream that I heardLast.Oh where, oh where, can my baby be? the lord took her away from me. shes goneTo heaven, so Ive got to be good. so I can see my baby when I leave this world.When I woke up the rain was pourin down. there were people standin all around.Something warm flowing through my eyes. but somehow I found my baby that night.I lifted her head, she looked at me and said. hold me darling, just a littleWhile. I held her close, I kissed her our last kiss. I found the love that iKnew I had missed.Well now shes gone. even though I hold her tight. I lost my love, my life,That night.Oh where, oh where, can my baby be? the lord took her away from me. shes goneTo heaven, so Ive got to be good. so I can see my baby when I leave thisWorld.

Ye olde Link

2007-02-13T16:19:00.000-08:00

So, that link a couple posts down has worked for some and not for others. I still think it is valuable to check it out within the context of the site I posted it on all those years ago but, for those who just want to read something old of mine, here it goes. (and with all the punctuation and erros in tact. most of them were on purpose anyway.)

Vignette
i suppose the grass would be green during the day. it is black now. it's flat, mostly, with a slight rise in the middle, six feet long. i stand at one end looking at the stone cross on the other. chiseled into the dark granite is a name and two dates, just like any other marker. but how many people can read their own headstone? i step closer to the marker, admiring the workmanship. just like i wanted. the writing sunk deep into the face, no other words besides the name and dates. through the grapevine i hear that high school kids come to this spot to scare each other with stories i wish were humorous. thankfully, no one else is here tonight. i stand here gazing at the plot for what seems like hours but is only a few minutes. my mind wanders and fades. i think i'm falling asleep. then another visitor to the tombstone arrives. he doesn't stand and stare like i do. he perches lightly on the crossbeam, first looking at nothing then looking at me. a caw sounds in my mind but not my ears. i know it is time for me to leave again and i may not ever return here. i say one last farewell to myself before turning into the forest of the dead. it hurts to leave but it hurts worse to stay where there is nothing for me. some where in the darkness there is something waiting for me. as that very darkness closes around me i pray that whatever awaits, wherever i end up, that i will know what it is when i get there. sometimes it is so dark not even the shadows know if they are really there. end

try this instead

2007-02-12T14:08:00.000-08:00

SInce that little bit of fiction is unable to be viewed, I offer instead, the following essay. The format might be a bit screwy because I'm copy/pasting. Deal with it. Enjoy.

The Future Gods of Rock

And nothing really rocks
And nothing really rolls
And nothing’s ever worth the cost
“Bat Out of Hell” Meat Loaf

I’m standing at the door to the House of Blues- Las Vegas with Beth Hale, tour manager of Halestorm. This is not her first time in Las Vegas but it is her first visit with the band. Beth isn’t just the tour manager, only there to push T-shirts and CDs. She is also the mother of Lzzy and Arejay, the two original members of Halestorm.
“You were right,” she tells me. “You were easy to pick out of the crowd.”
A few minutes ago, I called her to let her know I was on my way to the venue, stuck in Las Vegas rush hour traffic. “Look for the redhead in a Fight Club T-shirt,” I told her.
I couldn’t get right back to meet the band despite my interview with Halestorm being scheduled for 4:30. The House of Blues is very strict on who goes backstage and who doesn’t. Right now, I’m a “doesn’t”. The scene from Almost Famous where the wanna-be rock journalist kid is stuck outside because the doorman doesn’t believe he is on list runs through my head. I’m looking for groupies who will let me tag along with them, just so I don’t blow this job.
“Dave, with Shinedown, should have your pass,” Beth says. “Let me know when you get it and I will take you back.”
Dave is late. I’m not the only journalist waiting for my press pass to arrive. Luckily, I already have my tickets, thanks to Halestorm’s public relations representative at Atlantic Records. I don’t have to wait at will call for my tickets but I do have to wait for my photo pass.
This whole time, while I start to sweat in anticipation, Brianna just smiles. I brought her with me because I know she loves rock music. She’s wearing a Lynard Skynard shirt and seems just happy to be there. Also, she knows who Shinedown is and I don’t.
Brianna is also only nineteen, young like the band. Bassist Josh Smith is twenty-five, closer to my own age, and sports a wild mop of hair worthy of any 1970s arena-rock group. Joe Hottinger, with his “Jesus” beard and Led Zeppelin necklace, won’t be twenty-four until after the group’s return trip to Sin City three months from now. Arejay, blonde and wearing a T-shirt featuring co-headliner Seether, is mere weeks older than Brianna. Lzzy, once Elizabeth, is barely twenty-two.
By the time Dave makes it to the venue, I’m already backstage, courtesy of HoB’s house manager. Due to the lateness, Shinedown interviews are divided by priority. My place on the totem pole of rock chroniclers merits me the drummer.
Briefly.
You can read about the show in the article I wrote. You can read how well-received Halestorm was by a crowd previously unaware of their existence. You can read about how the band members signed anything anyone handed them and how they are still nice kids, despite being of the verge of rock stardom.
What you won’t read is how Josh gave me a Heineken and Brianna a Budweiser. I know she’s only nineteen but I’m not her dad.
You will read about why Lzzy wore a fingerless leather glove that night. Two nights before she cut herself on the strings of her white Fender guitar and sprayed blood all over her Hendrix-like axe and the bald head of a security guard.
You won’t read about how raven-haired-rock-goddess sexy I think Lzzy is. How her lungs and eyes are just as appealing as her chest. You won’t read about how Brianna started crushing on Joe and his beard and how overjoyed she was when he threw her one of his guitar picks during the show.
You won’t read about how spending time with this young band from York, Pennsylvania reignited the adolescent rock and roll dreams of a small town Utah boy, trying to make in the big city.
It is in there, somewhere, but you’d have to look for it.

But the thrill we've never known
Is the thrill that'll getcha
When you get your pictureOn the cover of the Rollin' Stone
“Cover of the Rolling Stone” Dr. Hook and the Medicine Show

I won’t lie and say Wes, my mom’s third husband, never did anything good for me. As much as I’d like to say that, I can’t and still tell the truth. One of the good things about Wes was that he played air guitar. He shredded air guitar like no one I had seen before.
Actually, I had never seen anyone play air guitar at all. All the people I knew up to that point who wanted to play guitar learned how to do the real thing. But that was Wes, a balding, thirty something teenager who collected baseball cards and Rolling Stone magazine.
At first, I stole copies of Rolling Stone because there were pictures of gorgeous women on the covers and inside. There were racy ads for English Leather—my man wears English Leather or he doesn’t wear anything—with lingerie clad models and an occasional ad for “couples therapy” videotapes. Some boys find Dad’s copies of Playboy; I fantasized about female musicians.
They had Hugh Hefner. I had Jann Wenner.
Most of the copies were from the late 1980s and early’90s. Hair metal was dying out, grunge wasn’t invented yet, and Madonna was still a hussy instead of a mother.
I can’t remember all of what I read because I was still focused on the pictures. I do remember photos of the Bangles (Susanna Hoffs is still beautiful), Pat Benatar, Lita Ford, and, thanks to Rolling Stone’s diversity of age and race, Janet Jackson and Debbie Gibson.
I remember listening to The Bangles, even knew many of the lyrics to their hits. When I was ten, I knew that the girl I would someday fall in love with would be my “Eternal Flame” and want to “Walk Like an Egyptian” with me. My sister, Leslie, listened to Debbie Gibson. Debbie was cool, I guess, but I wanted to rock.
And I wasn’t the only one in the house with that desire. One day when Wes wasn’t busy trying to be a Blues Brother, I caught him strumming that air guitar to Bon Jovi. At the time, I tried not to like Bon Jovi because Wes liked them. Him and all the “cool” guys at school. Being cool was not high on my priorities. All the cool guys I knew were jerks. Why would anyone want to be a jerk?
Plus, Bon Jovi wasn’t loud enough.

And it came to pass
That rock 'n' roll was born
All across the land every rockin' band
Was blowin' up a storm
“Let There Be Rock” AC/DC

Jeremy Wright’s parents were rockers, too. One night, I was set to sleepover at Jeremy’s house. A couple nights before, the sleepover was canceled. Jeremy’s parents weren’t going to be home because they had tickets to a concert in Salt Lake City and wouldn’t be home until the next afternoon. It was January and they didn’t want to risk driving at night in the snow.
Specifically, it was January 18, 1991. For fans of AC/DC and all the haters of rock music in Utah, this was the night the Salt Palace entered a level of rock history occupied by The Rolling Stones at Altamont and The Who in Cleveland. Three fans, including one from Logan, Utah, only thirty miles from my house in Lewiston, were trampled to death.
The next Monday, AC/DC was banned at school and at Jeremy’s house, even though his own parents had been at the concert.
Guess who benefited from this tragedy?
Jeremy gave me all the copies of AC/DC music that he had. I don’t know what his parents did with the original CDs (and, according to Jeremy, vinyl!) but the tapes made from those originals came home with me. I had heard the hits on KBER 101.1, Utah’s Rock Station, but many of the other songs had never breeched my ears.
The next day, when Principal Goodey heard me singing “I’ve got big balls, he’s got big balls, she’s got big balls, but we’ve got the biggest balls of them all,” I lied and told him I made it up. Anything in order to keep my precious tapes.
From then on, any time I’ve been forced to return to Cache Valley, I crank up “Highway to Hell” without caring who else is in the car.
Of course, any early-90s burgeoning metalhead who didn’t listen to Metallica was a bigger loser than a regular metalhead. The “Black Album” was the biggest thing in the world at the time and I didn’t own any Metallica. I borrowed “…And Justice For All” from a friend I don’t remember but wasn’t impressed. Where was the bass, I wondered. (I didn’t know anything about the band, so I didn’t know it was Jason Newsted’s first album with the group. If you asked me who Cliff Burton was, or even James Hetfield, I would have tried to remember which baseball team they played for.)
Strange, isn’t it? Any other kid my age into hard rock idolized Metallica to the point of near-psychosis. Maybe it is because I came to them later that I am able to appreciate the music they’ve made since 1991. Don’t get me wrong; anything from “Master of Puppets” and before licks the sonic ass of anything after it. There are some gems on the later records, but nothing like the old days.
I missed those old days. I didn’t own a Metallica record until 1994. Now I have all of them, even “S&M”, the record they made with the San Francisco Symphony. I listen to it with my mom.

***

Some marching band keeps Its own beat in my head while we're talking
About all of the things that I long to believe
About love and the truth and what you mean to me
And the truth is baby you're all that I need
“Bed of Roses” Bon Jovi

When my family escaped—and I use that word with all of its intended meaning—from Cache Valley, we did so with a bit of spending cash. Each of us kids, me, Leslie, younger brother Deken, and youngest brother Logan, were given a special treat over the summer but Mom was looking for something we could all do together.
Sticking it in the face of three-year-gone Wes who never made it to a real concert, we went to see Bon Jovi as a family. We were going to get general seating but while we were at the SmithTix booth (SmithTix, at the time, was the largest ticket seller in the state and operated out of Smith’s grocery stores. They might still be the best place to get concert tickets but I don’t know.) we noticed that reserved seating wasn’t much more expensive than the general seating.
Imagine my family of five, Mom is barely thirty-five and Logan is only seven, tenth row at Bon Jovi, banging our heads together, having a better night as a cohesive unit than any church could think of. We rocked as a family. We each left with a tour T-shirt—“You can’t leave without knowing you were there,” Mom said—and some with sore necks or headaches.
The next day was the first day of the new school year at a new school for me. My siblings had moved back to Payson, our first and best home, in the spring so they were already acquainted with their schools.
I remember the first words I heard from another student at Payson High School. “Hey, everyone, look. It’s Ron Jon Bovi!” While I thought my worst fears were coming true, it turned out different. The speaker was a senior and quite a popular one at that. If he said someone was cool, then that person was cool.
For the first time in my life, I was cool. And I owed it all to Rock.
Wes, with his wicked air guitar, was never this cool.
There is a picture of me in the 1995-96 Payson High School yearbook, almost at the exact center. It covers the top half of two pages. I’m smiling because I’m a sophomore and a senior girl has her arm around me. The caption reads, “Alice Webber seems to be one of Ron Jon Bovi’s biggest fans.”
I am a Rock God!

I'm so happy 'cause today
I've found my friends ...
They're in my head
I'm so ugly, but that's okay, ‘cause so are you ...
“Lithium” Nirvana

Grunge took over and life went back to shit. No more Rolling Stone to read, which I learned to live with, and not as close a family, which was harder to deal with. Mom married again, her fourth marriage, and moved to Washington. At this time, I was exploring a different kind of stardom, that of high school theater. I got over that, dropped out of high school, and basically became a loser. I didn’t have anything. I didn’t even own a stereo.
The girl I was in love with, Jenny, was a dedicated follower of Nirvana, even after Kurt Cobain’s death. I didn’t want to listen to new music. I wanted Led Zeppelin and the Doors. I wanted to marry her. I tried to be a normal guy for her, ditching my brief affair with “goth” and bullshitting my way into a real job at a warehouse.
Everyday, I woke up at 4:30 a.m. just to make it to work at 6:30. I made a decent wage, especially for a drop out and had a good apartment.
I didn’t have anything I wanted.
Jenny went to college at Southern Utah University on a theater scholarship. There she met her soon-to-be husband.
The day they were married, I blasted the Velvet Underground and the Sex Pistols on the small K-Mart stereo I eventually bought. “Sweet Jane” was one of our songs. The Sex Pistols was the angriest music I could find without looking too hard.
I could have played any number of songs I considered “our songs.” Van Halen’s version of “You Really Got Me” that we danced to during our first official date. “You Shook Me (All Night Long)” by AC/DC which was the first song Jenny and I eve danced to together ran through my mind. It had to play in my head because I smashed the CD with my fist in anger.
The day Jenny died I bought a Johnny Cash record, the one with the cover of Nine Inch Nails’ “Hurt” and the first Evanescence album. I cried like crazy listening to both of them. I don’t know that Jenny ever heard the songs on these albums but I think that she would have liked them.
By then, it was 2004 and I was almost back on track to my dreams. Now I just needed someone to share them with.
***
Take your time... Don't live too fast,Troubles will come and they will pass.Go find a woman and you'll find love,And don't forget son,There is someone up above.
“Simple Man” Lynard Skynard

I took Brianna with me the second time Halestorm came to Las Vegas, again with Shinedown and again with free tickets. There weren’t the same moments of doubt as the first time. In the months since I met Lzzy and the boys, I had interviewed up-and-coming British band Athlete, members of the Italian metal group Lacuna Coil, and met Rob Zombie. Oh yes, and my ten minutes with Barry, Shinedown’s drummer on that fateful first night.
Beth recognized me and let me right in, no hassles. Brianna was there the whole time, at my side. I made jokes about how she has become Joe’s number one fan and how I wouldn’t mind if she decided to become a groupie. She returned fire by asking me why I didn’t ask Lzzy if she had a boyfriend. It was all friendly joking, with each of us smiling and having a great time.
There is just something about being able to go into a show, being remembered by the band, and seeing the jealous eyes of those turned away because “no cameras or recording equipment are allowed” inside the concert hall.
Some call it rebellion; some call it working the system.
I call it living a rock and roll dream.
We—Brianna, Lzzy, Joe, and me—sat at the coffee shop next to the House of Blues after Halestorm’s set and chatted like old friends. I closed my reporter’s notebook and just talked. Given our ages, we all could have gone to school within a few years of each other. Joe could have taken Brianna to the prom and Lzzy could have been my first crush. Instead, we met like this: me, a writer for a community college paper and his friend going to interview a newly signed band on their first major tour of the country. Beth, band mom and manager, worked the T-shirt stand, eventually running out of copies of “One and Done”, Halestorm’s five song live EP. She peeks in, checking on us, asking if anyone needs a drink, and asks where Arejay and Josh have gone.
“Josh is probably running from the ladies,” Joe says.
“Yeah,” Lzzy agrees. “These Vegas girls love Josh.” No one has a clue where Arejay is.
I wink at Brianna and make another groupie joke. “Don’t worry, Joe,” I say. “You have your own female fans.”
Brianna blushes and I wish I hadn’t said that. I’m starting to think that she could be my Linda McCartney as opposed to being Joe’s Yoko Ono. Sure, Lzzy is super hot—rock-goddess sexy, I believe I said earlier—but Brianna is right there. She is the one who will drive home with me and the one who knows where I live.
We are all good friends now but you won’t read about that in any newspaper article. You won’t read about how I’m going back to Las Vegas for the semester break and that Brianna is at the top of my “people to call” list in a rock magazine.
In our own way, Brianna and I are just as much the future of Rock and Joe and Lzzy are. We are the fans, the ones weaned on Rolling Stone and bootlegged tapes of banned rock and roll bands. We are the ones who will take our kids to see groups like Halestorm just to spend time with our families.
Brianna and I are the kids who showed up to Halestorm’s second show and knew the words to their songs.
We are the future gods of rock.
Oh, you understand, it’s been a long time comin’ Oh, you understand, no offense I’m in love with somebody Found someone who completes me I’m in love with somebody AND IT’S NOT YOU! “It’s Not You” Halestorm Halestorm is in Chicago recording their first full-length album. I tried to make a deal where I could follow them throughout the process and write a book about it. The deal was contingent on them recording in Los Angeles. So here I am, Moscow, Idaho, looking back on my glimpses of rock greatness. I’ve been lucky, lucky enough to see AC/DC during their return to Salt Lake City in 2001. I’ve been lucky enough to be in a position to see a few concerts for free. I’ve been fortunate enough to become friends with a band that, if there are such things as rock gods, will soon rule the charts and airwaves. I’ve been lucky enough to have known a girl as great as Jenny and to meet another wonderful woman in Brianna. The question is: How far can luck carry me? Halestorm didn’t get to where they are by sitting back and letting things happen. It takes hard work and dedication, along with talent, to become a true rock and roll hero. It takes equal dedication to fall in love and make it work. Every AC/DC concert since 1981 ends with the same song. It seems funny, given the title, like something they should play first, but that isn’t how they roll. It isn’t how I roll, either. So, raise your arm and flash the sign of the beast. It is about to get loud in here. Kiss your best girl and bang your head. It is about to get LOUD IN HERE. We ain't no legends ain't no cause
We're just livin' for today
For those about to rock, we salute you
For those about to rock, we salute you “For Those About to Rock (We Salute You)” AC/DC

Bummer

2007-02-12T14:05:00.000-08:00

So, the day after I find my old work, the link doesn't work. I can't even get to it the way I found it in the first place. I shall keep trying. I hate to leave you, my loyal readers, hanging like that.

Blast from the past

2007-02-10T15:38:00.000-08:00

SOmetimes, it is fun to go back and see what you've done and where you've put it. I found this one today. I know where I was when I wrote and can remember almost exactly what I was thinking. I would place the writing of this in late 1999. (Let me know if the link doesn't work and I'll just copy and past the piece. The place where it is, however, tells a lot about the piece.)

http://www.abahbnews.com/Misc/fiction/vignette.html

Just keeps snowing

2007-02-03T22:03:00.000-08:00

So much going this year and February has just begun. Where to start or even what to say. Well, no sense in beating around the bush.

Classes are...interesting. One class has a lot of reading and is turning an otherwise engaging subject into a mush of information that I really didn't need to know. ANother has me going back to basic that I've been so used to just working with that I'd forgotten why. I'm learning a lot and having a good time doingit. Plus it will nmake me better at a few things I'm pretty good at now. A third calss has me reading 16th poetry and I love it. I wasn't sure how well I'd take to such a class but the in-depth analyses of these poems has proven to be more funt hat it would seem to someone not interested in the subject. AN, finally, is my actual writing class for the semester. i don't know about it. Sure, some of the assignments are fun but this is the first time in a writing class where I have the feeling i may be wasting my time in there. previous classes I took were in areas I knew I struggled in and wanted to improve in. Don't get me wrong; I want to improve in my fiction writing but none of the things we've done so far have had eye-opening effectson me or my work.

Really, with all the work I'm doing at the newspaper here, i feel like I'm getting closer, faster to the point of being ready to jump out and into a job.

Scary, isn't it?

And then there is this other thing that I haven't sorted out yet that I'm not ready to talk about. It may be nothing and it may be everything. I don't know.

For those of you out there that I may not have spoken with recently, I'm sorry. I think about many of you often and wonder why you still put up with me when I'm not acting like a very good friend.

It is funny how happy and sad go hand in hand so very often.

Busy body

2007-01-17T11:58:00.000-08:00

So I haven't written anything here lately because I've been busy. Sue me. With new responsibilities at the paper and classes starting up for the semester, time for this has not been there. I'm going to keep trying to get things on here.
There is news, though.
I've gone digital which means I may have photos to post on the blog. Naturally, not very many of them will be of me because I will be behind the fancy new camera. We shall see what we shall see.
As always, if you want to see something on here, or just want to jibber jabber, you know what to do.
And if you want to read how busy I am, check out the Argonaut at:
http://www.argonaut.uidaho.edu/
Cheers.

And so begins a New Year

2007-01-06T17:06:00.000-08:00

Just a basic update. Had a good break. Still trying to sort some things out in my head that went on over the couple weeks I was back in Nevada. I'll let you all in on them once I figure it out.
Spring classes start on Wednesday. I will be taking my first ever journalism class. yes, that's right, my FIRST EVER JOURNALISM CLASS. And it isn't a 101, either.

Anyway, I'm hungry and have some other things to do. i'm excited to get back into the mix of another semester. Catch you on the flipside.

T.J.'s As-Promised Year In Review 2006!

2006-12-11T12:41:00.000-08:00

Everybody does this, don't they? Look back at the year they had and wonder where all that time went? Since I am cooler than everyone else (unless I've previously told you that you are cooler than me) my YIR will be much cooler than all those others.
At least, I think so. Amazingly, 2006 was a year of semi-bridled positivity for me. No major tragedies or anything really to look back and say, "Wow, that sucked so much I never want to talk about it again." Anyway, on with the show.
Best Movie: Stranger Than Fiction. The only movie I saw twice in one week this entire year. Honorable mentions go to Slither, Feast, and Tenacious D and the Pick of Destiny.

Best Book: Cell by Stephen King. This came out in January and no other book that came out this year impressed me as much. Honorable mentions to Anasazi Boys by Neil Gaiman and A Thousand Good Prayers by Yiyun Li.

Best Music: Halestorm. Halestorm. Halestorm. If the world goes right you will all hear more about them next year when their first full length album comes out. Honorable mentions: Educated Horses by Rob Zombie, Rockstar Supernova (even though they picked the WRONG vocalist), and We Are Pilots by Shiny Toy Guns.

Best TV: Rockstar Supernova. Dilana should have won and Storm is still my favorite. I haven't actually watched TV for real for most of the last third of this year, so maybe I missed out on somethings, but I'm not too worried about it.

Ok, that is the "best of" list. Now for more personal reviewing.

This year, I went on more dates than I have in....um....well....a really long time. Thank you to all the girls that went out with me, even though none of those dates turned into relationships. I'm okay with that, too. The more dates i go on, the more likely I am to find the one of you out there meant to be with me.

2006 was also my most productive writing year EVER! thanks to multiple writing classes and work on two separate newspapers, I have more decent work to show people than ever before. granted, not all of it is great, but there is definitely something to having to produce adequate work multiple times a week that can make any writer better. Now, if only I could finish my damn novel. (It's coming, really. I might start posting chapters here for those of you who have been waiting for a taste.)

The other two big accomplishments of 2006 were getting my Associates degree from CCSN and (finally) getting my driver's license. Now I know that a lot of people have these things before they are 20, 25 at the latest. I just do things differently. You should all know that by now. It is done, that is what counts. I'm well on my way to the Bachelor's degree and driving regularly (when the Hell-Bitch wants to go, that is.)

If this were the Oscars or my novel, I would have a list of people to thank. It isn't but I'm going to thank a few people anyway. Here goes (and in no real order, so don't get pissed if you are toward the bottom of the list. Just think of all the people who didn't make the list):
Mom and Pop, for putting up with me over the summer and helping me along when I've needed help. Dad for calling me even if I don't answer. Karen Laing for calling me from Vegas just to talk. The Gibson family for three great years: I miss you guys! Dr. Campo for deciding I should be in charge of Coyote Press: it was a wild semester and put me on a path that I'm still on now. John, Joel and Leslie, three of the best professors ever who don't seem to mind that I call them by their first names now. Gina (Joel's wife) for building my confidence and sharing her own stories with me. My fellow students in ENG 205 (Las Vegas), 291, 293, and 309 (Moscow) for understanding that sometimes I just have to talk and not getting too pissed off about me never raising my hand. Sasha for knowing I named a character after a Misfit. All my staff at Coyote Press, we rocked! Harley and Pam, two women who will never meet each other but were both honest enough with me so that I didn't get crazy. Pam and Mark for being there and for picking me up at the airport tomorrow. Amy, still my best friend who I don't talk to enough, but that I vow never to lose contact with. Brianna, my rocker, for enjoying some good ol' rock and roll with me, and letting me feel important. Mark and Leslie, for hanging out in Portland with me in March and letting me hang out in Eugene for Thanksgiving, and all that other stuff, too.

There area bunch more people I should thank but it is starting to get mushy and that isn't my style. One last thank you and this year in review (shorter than I thought it would be) is done.

To everyone who has followed this blog and encouraged me to do what I want to do: THANK YOU! With out all of you, I'd probably consider getting a "real job" again. If things work out, I'll never have a "real job" again.

Coming Soon....T.J's Year in Review!

2006-12-07T11:02:00.000-08:00

What that says.

:)

CLassical Headbanging

2006-12-03T17:17:00.000-08:00

If you can watch this video and not love both Clasical music and heavy metal, then you suck. Bad.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Rw0TikGmVz4

(I tried to post the video but it wouldn't let me. Stew Pidazho.)

While this now under the label "Gods of Rock" Apocalyptica is more like a demi-God.

Like a I need a hole in my head

2006-12-02T18:02:00.000-08:00

For some of you who've known me for a while, this would be pre-Vegas, I used to have my right eyebrow pierced. Well today I went and got it done again.

Funny thing i sthat it didn't hurt as much nor did it bleed as much as it did the first time. Of course, i didn't have a super hot woman doing the piercing, so I guess it's a toss up.

I like it. Reminds me of my rebellios and anarchic ideals.

Yes, I know that having a piercing is no longer as rebellios as it once was. When I had my original piercing, I never saw anyone else with a pierced brow. Now, they are everywhere.

I don't care. I'm not trendy. I do what I want. If a lot of other eople just happen to want to do the same thing, good for them.

Snowblind

2006-12-01T10:44:00.000-08:00

It keeps snowing. Every morning there is more snow on the ground than when I went to sleep. Sure, I kind of expected it and I'm not really complaining. I'm just wondering when enough is enough?

This morning on my way to class, I almost died three times. Stepped right on ice patches that nearly caused me to tumble downhill. I don't want to die in the cold. (I don't want to die in the heat, either, but I survived that. I guess I can survive this, too.)

All I'm asking for is one day without added accumulation. Please.

Beverage of your choice

2006-11-26T16:31:00.000-08:00

So I didn't get that job I wanted but I should have ample opportunity to expound my joyful, sarcastic commentary on life and all I see. Which is the only reason I wanted that particular position anyway. Things have a strange way of working out.

Thansgiving was fun. I drove through a snowstorm on my way home. And when I say "I drove" I mean I was driving, not the passive passenger, hiding from whatever wrecks may or may not happen. I didn't kill anyone and no one screamed. Which is good.

Also, I made my best batch of Cow Slobbers ever! Used Wild Strawberry flavor. Not only did I think they were good, but so did my sister and a few people who'd never had the pleasure of Slobbers before. So I can make Cow Slobbers and Taco Salad. Hell, That's almost an entire meal right there. I can buy soda/milk/water/other beverage of your choice, so I'm doing pretty good.

"Hey, baby, want to come over to my place for some taco salad, cow slobbers and a beverage of your choice?"

Semester is almost over, too, which means the year is almost over. I started this blog in February. Minus the months I was in the middle of nowhere, that's almost a year of intermitten posting. For my constant readers, feel free to comment on what the highlights of this blog's first year have been for you. Coming soon will be my Year In Review. I'm going to make it as positive as I can, too.

Still undecided about what I shall do over the break, though. Don't be surprised if I show up at YOUR house.

The Wait...and wait

2006-11-15T16:40:00.000-08:00

I'm a rather patient guy. I can sit and wait for things for a very long time. Like buses and mail and such. What I hate waiting for is news. When someone tells you they will "let you know by tonight" I want to know NOW!
Right now I'm waiting to fins out if I get promoted from Arts&Culture grunt to Opinion Editor. I really want the job. The other person being considered is equally qualified. We would each bring a wealth of experience to the position. We would do things differently, I'm sure, but either way, it is a win-win for the paper.
That is what I should focus on and probably what those deciding are focusing on. "What is best for the paper?"
It is a good question. Would it better to have someone who is an excellent news writer and probably knows more about the local area than I do? Or me, who will never back down when someone needs to be made fun of?
That is what I bring to the table: If someone needs to be kicked in the nuts, I shall do the kicking. Humor is at a premium in many newspapers these days. We all seem to take ourselves too seriously. Not me. The best part is that I'm likely to make fun of myself before I make fun of any one else.
Chicks dig self-deprecating humor. Or so I'm told.

While I wait, I'm watching all the Strong Bad Emails I can. Good times, yo.

Just an update...

2006-11-13T21:05:00.000-08:00

Thanksgiving break is coming up as is the end of my first semester here at the University of Idaho. Made some friends, had some good days and some bad days.
Made some headway with my work, although still not finished with the novel. I have been very productive otherwise. Done some pretty good newspaper work, some damn good nonfiction works and some interesting poetry. Next semester, I will get back on track with my fiction work.
You can see I am in a comtemplative mood. Usually this is bad. Usually when I get like this I start thinking of mistakes and how things could be different. Today, I'm thinking of the things I did right.
It is a longer list than I thought it would be.
I'm waiting for New Year's Eve, then I will go back and give you the whole list of things I did right this year.

Beat Days...Beat Nights...And Everything In Between

2006-11-08T17:17:00.000-08:00

Transcript Cluster Fuck

2006-11-07T12:30:00.000-08:00

So, transferring schools is a pain in the ass, as I was reminded again today. First of all, my finall transcript from Las vegas took forever to get here. Once it arrived, I went right to my academic advising and then registered for next semester. After signin gup for some classes, I got an email about the remainder of my transcript being evaluated and adjustments made.
those adjustments include my not having had to take a class that I am in now and not having to take one of the classes I had added mere minutes before.
The shitty part is that I'm required to have a certain number of upper-division classes here in order to graduate. Almost all of the Lit. classes I took in Vegas at 200 level transferred over at 300 level. Basically, I don't have that many more English classes to take, I just have to take a bunch of shit to meet the credit requirements.
And also foreign language, but that is another issue and one I don't feel like talking about right now.

Coincidental Scarring

2006-11-03T12:57:00.000-08:00

I do not believe in coincidences. While I may not always be able to explain why certain things line up like they do, I do believe their is a bigger scheme at work.

Right now, I am about halfway through the new Stephen King book Lisey's Story. I had to check it out at the library but I'm okay with that. A recurring setting is a place called the Shipman Library. On the second day of my possession of this novel, I wrote an article about a 1920s era female filmmaker named Nell Shipman. So, not a huge coincidence but it caught me funny.

Yesterday, walking around town, I was sing the Johnny Cash song "Walk the Line." While singing, a truck pulled up next to me playing that exact song at the exact point I was at in my singing. Getting a bit freaking now, eh?

There's more.

For the British Literature class I am taking, we are reading Shakespeare's King Lear. One recurring theme of Lear is the so-called "duty of love." In the Stephen King book, that precise phrase is used in a similar context. Now, it isn't unusual for an author to reference previous works (King does this through out the current book) but it isn't everyday that I'm reading something one of those major references comes from.

How about this.

One major concern of the Stephen King book is self-mutilation. You know, cutting yourself because you are a bit nuts. I used to do this and have the scars to prove it. I haven't done it in a very long time but I have been thinking about WHY I used to do it. One particular incident left me with a scar about two and a half inches about my left nipple. Heart area, basically. The scar is a name. The name has to do with the novel I am nearing completion of. While this is more of a stretch than the other coincidences, it is still there.

I was going to write this last night. I didn't and now I have another bit to add. I fell asleep last night singing the song "Last Kiss" as originally recorded by J. Frank Wilson and the Cavaliers and covered a couple years ago by Pearl Jam.
While here in Moscow, I've been listening to the oldies station more than the newer rock stations, so I've been expecting to hear that song any day now.
today I heard it while eating a burrito at Taco Bell. It was the Pearl Jam version because they weren't listening to the oldies station.

Yes, I'm starting to weird myself out. And I'm wondering just what all this is supposed to mean.

Help low-income kids get books!

2006-10-31T12:02:00.000-08:00

By clicking that little link, you will help my school compete to win $1000 worth of books to distribute to low-income kids. if youknow me, you know I don't support charities lightly. But this is about books and kids who need them.

DO THIS!

Halloween

2006-10-31T10:53:00.000-08:00

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO ME!

The following is an account of my weekend. An abridged version appears in today's Argonaut under the headline "The Longest Halloween Ever"

The Long Halloween by T.J. Tranchell
Argonaut
This weekend was a lot like that Ministry song “Everyday is Halloween.” With the actual holiday being on Tuesday, much of the activity around town happened Friday and Saturday. That is the bad news. The good news is that there are still a few things to do today.
This Halloween began on Oct. 20 by driving the 13.5 miles to see the Haunted Palouse. It is a rare wonder to see a cornfield on Main Street in any town. Those who want to make the drive are in luck because Haunted Palouse will be open Halloween night. With a few nights under their belts, the attractions should be better than opening night. The museum section is fabulous and puts the Old Fire House and Corn Maze sections to shame. I’m hoping they got better, anyway. Otherwise, what good am I at Halloween consulting?
Good enough to help out with a local “home haunt.”
I only planned to pass along a few tips to Eric Conte, a food science major and pirate paraphernalia collector. His enthusiasm for his “Moscow Massacre” was infectious. I signed on a week before the gig.
Between Sunday and Friday, lots of time was spent costume shopping. The most popular costume this year is the Pirate, which means Conte is ahead of the game. Specifically popular is anything related to “Pirates of the Caribbean.” Pirate costumes flew off the racks at Wal-Mart. One poor mother had to convince her son to be Superman when all the good pirate costumes were gone.
Sun Rentals did a brisk business in pirate gear, too. When the previous “Superman” movies were released Superman was one of the best costumes. If it wasn’t for Johnny Depp we would be seeing more red capes around today.
I made a stop at Hot Topic, too, just to see if they were sick of the people who only shop their once a year. It was rather busy so I didn’t hear any complaining.
Thursday night brought me to the Sigma Tau Delta Halloween Poetry reading. We had some good Poe readings highlighted by faculty advisor Walter Hesford’s rendition of “City by the Sea.”
All six people there, including myself, hoped for a bigger turn out. Then again, if more people had shown up, I might not have won the pumpkin full of candy for my own original poems.
Friday marked the first night of the “Moscow Massacre” and the first round of major partying. We couldn’t get a chainsaw so I had to improvise.
Let me tell you about chainsaws. They are crude and lack subtlety. Chainsaws should be the last resort, not the first. And if you see someone carrying a chainsaw and wearing a hockey mask, you have my permission to mock them and tell them to watch a “Friday the 13th” movie to see how often Jason Voorhees wields a chainsaw. Answer: NEVER!
Isn’t it scarier to have someone chasing you while scraping knives together? I thought so and that is what I did. It worked. One woman ended up in the bushes and more ran screaming back inside the house.
If you came to the house and we made you scream, good. If you didn’t scream or weren’t scared at all, it only cost you a dollar so quit complaining.
Maybe we helped teach a few people to watch behind them. The screaming isn’t over until I say it.
“Moscow Massacre” should be back next year, just in case you missed it.
Friday and Saturday were great nights for parties. The Knightmare on Lambda Street on Friday, the Moscow Social Club’s Costume Party Saturday night, and the Garden Lounge’s Twilight Zone where just a few.
The Twilight Zone accentuated another feature of the weekend: the fall back to standard time from daylight savings. An extra hour to drink! Or an extra hour to sleep, if you aren’t the partying type. It is like a tax return. Here is this hour we took from you earlier in the year. You can have it back now. We don’t it.
Until March, that is.
There were trick-or-treaters out Friday and Saturday, too. Many went to the “Tower of Terror” at Theophilus Tower. I wonder how many of them know that the second floor is supposedly haunted. (Argonaut Oct. 13, 2000.)
I don’t have a problem with going to an event. I do have a problem with door-to-door trick-or-treating on days other than Halloween.
As essayist David Sedaris said, “Asking for candy on Halloween is called trick-or-treating; asking for candy on November first is begging.”
I’m also bothered by “trunk-or-treating,” also. Have you seen this? A bunch of people take over a parking lot and decorate their trunks. The trunks are supposedly filled with candy. What kind of fun is this? Getting into costume and walking around for less than a block? Candy should be a reward for a child’s hard work in costuming and trudging their parents around throughout the neighborhood.
Call me a Halloween purist, but if you don’t knock on my door on Oct. 31 don’t expect anything from me.
I did notice a good crowd for the showing of “Poltergeist” Saturday night at the Kenworthy. I love seeing who screams the most during the clown attack. I’m not afraid of clowns, but I know a lot of people who are. Even something that looks like a clown scares them.
I saved my movie money to watch “Saw III.” I suggest going to see it, if you don’t mind blood. A little torture never hurt anyone.
Sunday and Monday might seem like they should be days off (party recovery days for many of us) but even then Halloween still occupied the time of a few brave souls.
Pumpkin carving, which many people still do, is one of the oddest traditions. You know your pumpkin is going to be smashed by someone. Yet we still put forth the effort. Every year I say my pumpkin will be better than last year. It never is.
As such, I stayed out the pumpkin carving contest held on the Commons Plaza Lawn Sunday and Monday.
I painted a pumpkin instead. Less mess and harder to smash. That and I didn’t have to endure the momentary hail storm Sunday afternoon.
With that activity over the weekend, don’t forget when the real holiday is. Trick-or-treating should not be limited by age. If you go out, in costume, you should be rewarded.
Don’t come to my house, though. I will be busy celebrating another aspect of Halloween: my birthday. Partying will be done and joy will be had.
If you need somewhere to go, try Tubaween, 7:00 p.m. at the Recital Hall. Go in costume.
Have a Happy Halloween, Moscow. I know I will. And if you see me waiting for the Great Pumpkin, stop by and say hi.

Weekend stuff

2006-10-29T15:02:00.000-08:00

Two nights of chasing people with knives. What a blast. Due to myingenuity, we didn't need a chainsaw. And I'm glad. Chainsaws are too much trouble, cost too much, and are too loud. How much better is it to be able to sneak up on people and start scarping knives together? Had a good time. We pretty much doubled my expectations, getting close toa hundred visitors over two nights versus the sixty I tought might come.
All proceeds go toward partying my ass off Tuesday night.

Sure Signs of Weight Loss

2006-10-26T16:06:00.000-07:00

I have this shirt that I love. Okay, I have a lot of shirts that I love. This one in particular is a black button up with different pictures from Frankenstein movies on it. I got it off a clearance rack at Hot Topic almost five years ago.
Over the summer, I discovered that if I poked my belly out just a little more than it poked out on its own, I could pop the buttons. Sure, it's funny, but man, what a shock. I've made fat jokes about myself for years but this was ridiculous.
I wore this shirt yesterday. All day long I waited for the buttons to come undone. They never did. I must have lost some weight.
Hooray for me!

With apologies....

2006-10-24T17:44:00.000-07:00

One curse of starting college late is being surrounded by younger people. NOw there are those people who are obviously older and not part of the same social atmosphere as the average university student. I'm not that old. Yes, I'm closer to 30 than I am to 20, but most people don't know it unless I tell them.

If I come off as a creepy old guy, I'm sorry. I'm not old enough to be a "dirty old man," thank goodness, but I guess it might be a little weird.

So if I walked you home today, and it made you uncomfortable to be around an older guy, I'm sorry. (This isn't my sarcastic sorry, either. This is the real deal.) Maybe I am too old to ask out sophomores. 25 is not the end of one's life. many writer's don't get published until their 30s and many don't reach their peak until their late 40s and 50s. Hell, if you are Walt WHitman, you didn't hit your peak until your 60s!

27, though. Jimi, Janis, Kurt, Tupac, Jim...I'm not going to see you anytime soon. I won't be the candle that gets snuffed out too soon. I plan on fading away and not for a very long time. And if I have someone to share that time with, all the better.

I realize that in my thumbnail profile, it says that I will explain why I am single. Perhaps the time is coming when that explanation is due. It is a long story, with no one knowing the whole thing. Some know more than others and an argument could be made that I don't even know all the reasons why. These are not the things to be brooding about so close to one's birthday.

I'm going to shut up now.

Se7en Days....

2006-10-24T12:48:00.000-07:00

Yes, one week until Halloween. With the date being on a Tuesday, most of the good stuff is happening over the weekend. I've supplanted myself into a local "home haunt" which should be a lot of fun. The organizer is an energetic guy with some great ideas. I just stepped in and offered my help and advice. Things should go well. And if anyone who comes through doesn't like it, it is only a dollar so who cares?

In other Halloween/birthday news...The new Stephen King book came out today. I'm broke-ass (as usual) and can't buy it for myself. So if anyone was thinking of a birthday present to get me...That would be it.

The good news is that I should have a few people to hang out with on my birthday so I won't be alone.

The further adventures of T.J. and the Hell-bitch

2006-10-20T23:39:00.000-07:00

Just in case you wondered, Hell-bitch is the cute pet name I use for the van. I borrowed it from "Lonesome Dove" in which Hellbitch (see how I slightly changed the spelling?) is the name of a horse only one man can ride and tends to bite and kick anyone else.

I haven't ridden-- excuse me-- driven the van in close to two months. School is a ten minute walk as is most everything else. And I didn't feel like spending the money required to fix it. I bought food instead. Because there were some things I wanted to do this weekend that obligated more than a brief jaunt on foot, I spent the money to finish the minor repairs. After some finnicking (it IS a word if I say it is) I was on the road. After doing what I wanted to do, the van started right back up and I was headed home. Instead of coming right home like a good boy, I stopped at the grocery store to pick up a few items. I could buy more at once because I was driving and wouldn't have to walk home with my purchases.

And that is when the bitch reared its head.

It wouldn't start. I leave for nearly an hour and it cranks right up. I leave it for twenty minutes (in a parking lot less than ten blocks away from home) and it won't do anything. No engines noises that say, "I want to start I just need help." Just a click. I check everything, all the battery connections (root of the original problem anyway) and everything is as snug as I can make it. Stil won't go. Finally I am saved and given a jump and the Hell-bitch growled its growl and the engine fired up.

Fucking bitch. Wonder how long it will be before I drive it anywhere else?

Who is ready for another poem?

2006-10-19T21:22:00.000-07:00

This is more befitting the season. Enjoy.

Dead Again Tomorrow

Open your eyes.
Open…your…eyes.
OPEN YOUR EYES.
Now, breathe.
Inhale.
Exhale.
Do it again. Alive.
You are alive.
Can you move your arms?
Good. Find the zipper,
yes, right there next to your head.
A microcosm of light.
Stick your finger through,
Push down.
Don’t want to be stuck
in this bag any longer than you have to.
Soon the doctors—hope they are doctors,
not the backwoods undertakers like last time—
will cut letters into your chest.
They just have to follow the map
of scars plotted out for them.
But not this time.
Woke up still in the bag.
The black plastic cocoon you know
so well. Easy to escape from,
just push down the zipper
and out you go.
Don’t hear any voices,
as much a problem as if you did
hear talking. No voices
might mean you are in the locker,
flat on your back on a sliding tray,
heavy door blocking out any voices.
No, it isn’t cold enough.
Not in the locker.
Still on a gurney,
Shrouded in dark,
waiting for your autopsy.
Time to get out of here.
The zipper stops,
you sit up. The room is vacant
of other living bodies,
population of the dead.
Some burnt,
some bludgeoned.
Some you’d rather not think of.
Still have your pants on
But nothing else.
Have to buy new shoes again.
Pockets empty, too.
No shirt, of course.
The paramedics removed it to see
Where you were bleeding.
Won’t be shopping at any convenience
stores for a few hours.
Shit like this is why you prefer dying alone,
peacefully.
No one around to steal your stuff
or cut you open more.
If they only knew you’d been down this road before.
And every time,
River Styx spits
You back up on the shore.
You are alive now,
sure,
but you’ll be
dead
again
tomorrow.

The Devil's Luck

2006-10-18T13:00:00.000-07:00

So, in the last few days (since F13) some people I know have had some terrible luck. Youngets Brother's new tattoo got infected, a player on the baseball team my other brother owns and manages killed aguy with a bat, my sister was in a car accident, and my father, well, I really don't want to get into what happened to him because it makes me hurt, physically.

My luck, on the other hand, has been on the upside. Sure, I'm broke, but on Friday I get to daye a bunch of girls and it will only cost me $3. Finally got in touch with some local haunted house people, too. And today, while eating a Snack Pack pudding, I was handed a coupon for a free medium pizza. No purchase required. How cool is that?

I only get one topping, but if anyone ever catches me complaining about free, you have my permission to kick me.

My Perfect Job

2006-10-16T12:02:00.000-07:00

I've decided what my perfect job is: Independent Haunted House Consultant. There's that question, right, about what you would do if you had a million dollars and what ever you answer that's what you should do with your life. If I had a million dollars, I would build the most kick-ass scariest haunted house in the world. I have proof, even, that other people want me to do this job.

After working for a year in the Mortuary, I spent the next two years telling the operators what was good and what wasn't. And they always asked first.

Early this month, a cousin of mine called me for suggestions on a haunted forest attraction he is overseeing this year. I think I gave him twohours worth of advice. What do you think I should charge for something like that?

Today really sealed the deal. For my newspaper, I am writing a review of the only major haunted house in the area. While talking to the event organizer, my own experience came up. I was invited to participate but had to turn her down due to time constraints. Then, I was invited to check out their show for free and then go back through and give comments where I deem valuable. See? Independent Consultant.

I hear those guys make shitloads of money, too. I will do it for much cheaper, but I get to go all the shows for free and I get candy. Sounds fair to me.

15 days until Halloween.

Friday the 13th and more

2006-10-13T11:18:00.000-07:00

How lucky is this? I only had one class today. My poetry class in the morning was fine. I knew I wouldn't have Brit Lit this afternoon because the prof has been hunting all week. Upon checking my email this morning, I discovered that my Non Fiction teacher has decided we needed a day off. Isn't that great? Sure it is. The bummer part is that I have an interview to conduct at 1 pm, otheriwse I would be home now, alternating between sleeping and working on my book.

Speaking of the book, I've been in th emood the last few days to drop everything and fully concentrate on the book. I'm so close to finishing that I just want it done. And as soon as I finish this one, I can start on the next one. I already have a couple ideas I'm toying with. One would be a haunted house book and the other would be...something else entirely. We shall see what we shall see.

Anyway, have a happy Friday the 13th!

Feel like an ass

2006-10-10T17:40:00.000-07:00

Ever have one of those moments when you just totally feel like an ass? I had one today.
I'm writing a piece on Fridaythe 13th and superstition in general. The concept is "13 Views on Friday the 13th." Coole, eh? Well I though it would be cool to talk to the football and soccer players that wear #13. First one I talked to was the soccer player, a sophomore who looks like she's 14. Turns out she was injured in a game this past Sunday. And here I come, "So do you think wearing 13 is bad luck?"
Sometimes, I wonder just what the hell I'm doing.

Break Out Issue

2006-10-03T11:47:00.000-07:00

So I've been writing for the Argonaut, the UI student paper, since I got here. Today's issue can be considered my real break out issue. I have four different articles in today's paper. Three in my usual arts section and one on the sports page. If everything goes right (which it is looking to do) I will have a regular column in the sports section. Included will be my vast knowledge of sports and general trivia, cultural references, and, with out a doubt, my smart ass attitude.
Have look and let me know what you think.
www.argonaut.uidaho.edu or www.uiargonaut.com
Enjoy!

Again: Why I am in Idaho

2006-09-30T17:43:00.000-07:00

Last night was one of those nights that really made me understand why I chose UI. After going to a staged reading of a new play, I went to a reading by an awarding winning author. Both were great. Th eimportant part is something that wa said during the introduction of thw writer. Went something lik ethis:
"Many people wondered why Ernest Hemingway would choose to spend his final years in Idaho. Many people ask those who come here from other places the same thing. Hemingway knew why."
So, the next time someone asks me "why Idaho?" i will say, "Ask Hemingway. He knew."

2006-09-26T16:28:00.000-07:00

Father Figures

2006-09-21T12:35:00.000-07:00

It is interesting that two of the men who have helped shape my life share a birthday today, and third has his birthday next week. Maybe that is meaningful in some astrological sense that I don't know about. As it is, I'm going to tell you a little bit about all three of them.

Stephen King turns 59 today. While horror was always an interest of mine (changed from being scared to scaring), through his books King let me know it was okay to write it out and want to scare people for money. He is the one who said, "It is okay to turn YOUR nightmares into OTHER PEOPLE'S nightmares. And I've been doing it in one way or another ever since. I've never met the man I call Uncle Stevie and I probably never will. I wish there was some way of letting him know how much his books have meant to me without seeming like a stalker creep.

Celebrating his 60th birthday today is my Pop. My stepfather. We didn't get along at first but somewhere along the road things changed. Maybe I grew up some and maybe he realized that no one could change me but me. Whatever it is, he and I get along great now. Without his assistance (he'll say he didn't really do anything but give me a hand up and I say going to war was a pretty big deal) i would not have gone back to school when I did. I wouldn't be writing this now. I tell him thank you, but it never seems like enough. Maybe telling everyone else will help. He doesn't have a computer so he won't be reading this, but it still feels good to tell him thank you in front of a larger audience.

Next week, my Dad has his birthday. He will be 47. He has it rough a lot of the time and loves telling me about it. I'll be honest, there are days when I wish he'd call someone else. ANd then I think about it a bit more and realize he tells me because there isn't anyone else. Not to say he doesn't know any other people, but I am his only son. I'm the one who will pass on the name. Sure, he missed out on my childhood, but that's okay. If he had been there things would be different between us and not neccesarily for the better. As it is, we can to each other like equals. That means a lot to me. He always says that I'm the only person he knows that is smarter than him. I love hearing that. He gets to compliment himself at the same time he compliments me. Any kid will tell you, sometimes it only takes a smile from a parent to feel like the king of the mountain.

2006-09-20T21:03:00.000-07:00

Crossing the Black Cat's Path

2006-09-20T10:38:00.000-07:00

Superstition says that if a black cat crosses your path, you will have bad luck. I take this to mean that the cat actually has to walk in front of you, literally crossing your path. But what if you come upon a black cat which seems to be headed that bad luck walk but then stops and not just waits until you finish your walk but actually turns around and goes the other way?

Yes, this happened to me this morning. I saw the cat and waited to see if it would indeed cross my path. It did not. It stared at me and turned around and hid behind a bush.
DOe sthis mean I will have good luck today? Or does it mean I will have no luck, good or bad? I don't know but it made for some interesting comtemplation.

2006-09-19T15:06:00.000-07:00

Audio Blog!

2006-09-19T12:57:00.000-07:00

So I just found this audio blog thing. You can listen to my voice. How cool is that? There should be a little link to click to hear me talk. This should be fun.

A Poem for y'all

2006-09-18T19:18:00.000-07:00

Ok, here is a poem I am working on for class. Please, if you read it, let me know what you think.

Cook Off
Every house you visit someone next
door is barbecuing. On the second floor
the water tastes like blood running
down your throat. Midday haze
covers the valley sky. "Can’t stand
all this smoke," he says then proceeds
to light
a cigarette.

Where’s my invitation to the final
cook-off of the world? I can bring
my own sauce. The Earth burns but
I can’t play. "I should have known by
drinking from the fountain filled with
copper fire," he yells. Who ordered
their planet
well done?

But I'll Never Smoke Weed With Willie Again

2006-09-18T16:34:00.000-07:00

Is anyone else surprised that Willie Nelson got busted for marijuana possession? If you are, you are an idiot. What does surprise me is the narcotic mushrooms. Ok, that's a lie. I'm not surprised at all.

Cripple Fight

2006-09-16T18:22:00.000-07:00

Today, my college football team won its first game of the season to go 1-2 for the year. But is this really a win? The vandals played in-state rival Idaho State, which is one of the few teams considered to be worse than UI. Throw in that the final score 20-17, the idea of "winning" gets slimmer and slimmer.
How good can it feel to beat a tem worse than you? isn't it better, or more gratifying, to defeat a team that should be better? Yeah, it was a close, hard-fought battle, but who cares? It isn't the NFL where the loser gets a higher draft pick.
And yet, I'm reminded of the South Park episode with the cripple fight. Now that was funny.

Untitled Number One

2006-09-15T19:44:00.000-07:00

Let us just say that it has been a busy week. Homework, writing, reading; all that good stuff. My poetry is getting interesting. I'm not writing funny poetry like I thought I might do. Rather, I am writing horror poetry. Except for my first poem for the class which was about Las Vegas and purposefully copied the style of a Jack Kerouac poem.
As for essays, I had to do two separate "personal essays" about a "significant moment in your life." I've done these before. One was a rehash of an event I've written about often. I just wrote in a different way. The second, trying to think of another significant moment in my life, was a little different. I decided to write it about discovering Stephen King. If you know me, as most people reading this do, that really was a SIGNIFICANT moment. ANd it turned out to be a pretty good essay.
Not much else going on. I'm broke for the moment. i've been eating cereal all week because last time I had momey, I bought a gallon of milk. The cereal was leftover from the trip. Wednesday, there was supposed to be free pizza from a new place but their electrician didn't show up to wire their oven hence they could make no pizza. Yesterday there was a chili cook-off. i didn't find out until I showed up that it wasn't free. Not even for the newspaper. Bastards. I guess it's ok; I didn't have my chili boots on anyway.

Also on Wednesday, I was able to sit through a rehearsal of a play being done in town. Not only was it just about one of the funniest things I've ever seen, it got that acting bug of mine itching. Perhaps I shall make some time for that while I'm here. Can you believe it has really been over five years since I was last on stage? It is hard but that is what happened when the wrting bug itched harder.

Date Night In Moscow

2006-09-09T12:58:00.000-07:00

I'm trudging home, almost to the top of my hill when my pocket vibrates. It is my phone and a number I don't recognize. That isn't a surprise as I was expecting calls back from some sources for stories I was working on. Instead, it was a woman from my poetry class. We had been chatting and I gave her my phone number.
I answered, breathing heavily. (I'm still not back to my fighting weight, but I will be soon.) She asked me if I was ok, and I explained the hill. And then she asked me if I wanted to go to a movie.
Do you know how long it has been since I've been asked out? High school and that was almost ten years ago. I didn't know if her intentions were of the date type or the friendly-let's-go-hang-out type. Either way, it was being asked to go out.
I said yes.
We went to a movie (The old fashioned part of me took over and I paid even though I only had $20. Tickets were five a piece and large drinks were $2.50. We got the dollar bag of popcorn for free. I really liked this theater and will be going there more often.) We laughed at the show (a chick flick based on a chick lit book. It was what she wanted to see, so shut up.)
Even though we both had proclaimed that the shadow of homework lurked over us, neither of us felt like going home. We went to a coffee bar with live music. She had a beer and I had a hot chocolate. (I don't like beer or coffee so there wasn't much to choose from.) The three person group was pretty good, but we sat back in a corner and chatted. I found out she is older than me. That's cool. It means I'm not the oldest person in my poetry class. Besides, she looks at least five years younger than she said she is.
And eventually we left. I walked her back to her car, where we gabbed some more before she finally drove off. I walked home. It was nearly eleven by now. The movie started at seven.
I had a good time. It was a no-pressure situation. I'm sure we will hang out more. I make no predictions on anything else.
Total cost of date (combined spending): $20.55. She paid for the drinks at the cafe.

Yes, I am cheap. But I'm not easy.

It just may be a Loooooonatic you're looking for!

2006-09-05T17:45:00.000-07:00

I've had this Billy Joel song stuck in my head for over a week. It is one that really makes a guy like me think.

Yes, I am still single, depsite numerous attempts. I've not attempting any such thing yet here in Moscow. I'm still getting a feel for the playing field. And, let's face it, I'm way too busy an dway too broke. Maybe I'll luck out and the girl looking for a guy like me will ask me out. Then she can pay. Right?

Friday night I crashed your party, Saturday I said I'm sorry, Sunday came, we did it all again....

There is one thing I won't be doing again, at least not this semester. I had to withdraw from the Chinese class. The transport, while not an issue today, just can't be relied on 100%. I switched it with another writing class. So now, like I always wanted, my entire day is devoted to writing in one way or another. Reading is related to writing, so that counts. I'm keeping the Chinese books and CDs, though. Maybe I can learn a little on my own.
The class I replaced it with is great. It i staught by the same instructor of my creative non-fiction class. According to him, most of the stuff done in the new class is the same stuff I did in the other class. Hooray! I'm not behind. Plus, I already own one of the books and another book for the class is by David Sedaris, a writer i really like, many times over the past year, I had contemplated purchasing the particular book. What would have been funny is if I had bought it but left it in storage.

So that is all for today. I have some reading to do and some writing. Catch you on the flipside.

Oh, Wendy, why hast thou forsaken me?

2006-09-04T15:42:00.000-07:00

About three hours ago, I ate my first fastfood hamburger in over three months. I had managed to avoid the burger joints but I gave in. And now, I am paying for it.
Imagine if you had quit smoking. You were completely over the physical symptoms but every once in awhile, that little monkey in your head starts scratching, telling you you want a cigarette. And let's say you give in. You buy a pack (or even better just bum one from a friend) and light up. And suck in. And get sick.
This is roughly equivalent to my fastfood experience today. I didn't get sick right away. In fact, it tasted great. Soon after, however, my stomach began clenching and I had to run for the restroom. I don't have the best digestive system in the world (due in part to the fastfood I am now condemning) but this was a new record and a new low. I won't go into exact details. Suffice it to say that it was not pleasant.
What does all this mean for me? Well, it means I will be eating more salad and more single slices of pizza from campus dining.
Just imagine if my craving had forced me into a McDonald's instead of a Wendy's. The horror...The horror...

Burning Man Blues

2006-09-02T21:12:00.000-07:00

I was there a few years ago. Seems so much longer ago than it really was. I want to go back. I think I would have more fun than I did that first time. I didn't know what was going on and, honestly, was a little afraid to join in. Many of those fears (like talking to strange people I don't know) have been overcome in the days since then. I'm a better writer than I was then, too. I'm more complete-- although not entirley complete-- as an artist and participant in life.
Burning Man is going on right now. In fact, The Man should be close to frying. I know a couple people out there. I know they are having fun. They, too, are wiser and more experienced than they were the year I was there with them. I wonder if they still have just as much fun? I'll have to ask.
In a strange coincidence, I was in a bookstore today and one of the random books that caught my eye was about Burning Man. I would have bought if I'd had any money. Maybe later. I don't think anyone else is swooping down to purchase it.
I'd rather be there than sit and read about it. That is a big step for me.

Then again, maybe I wouldn't. Even now, in a town with a healthy art scene, I'm sitting home on a Saturday night. I did go to a gallery today, after the bookstore. It is only 9:15. Maybe I should go out anyway.
I'd have to put on pants, though. If I were at Burning Man, no such requirement would exist.

What a rush!!!!

2006-08-30T12:40:00.000-07:00

Busy guy. Between th ewritingjobs, the writing classes, and trying to earn Chinese, i am doing a good job of filling up my time. Then there is the hanging out at open mic nights, the gettingto know people, and the sleep. Yes, I still find time to sleep. And i'm doing this all with a still broken car.
I can fix it. I know what to do. The auto parts guy didn't quite understand what I needed even though I showed him exactly what I needed. The wire is just fine and the car would be running. It's just that, after listening to the parts guy and doing how he told me, the wire is too short.
AAAAAAARRRRRRRRRRRGGGGGGGGHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!
On the other hand, it only takes me less than 20 minutes to walk to campus from my house. Other good news is that there is a free (yes, free) bus that goes between UI and WSU. I can take that bus Tuesdays and Thursdays when that is the only class I have. Mondays, I only hav eclass at UI. WHich leaves Wednesdays and Fridays as the only days I need to drive. And that will save me gas. I like saving. (I like gas, the naughty voice in my head says.)
ANyway, Brit Lit is coming up soon. We are reading Beowulf, which I've read before. But the instructor speaks Old English and reads the epic in the language. It is very cool. I wish there was an old English class here. I'd rather take that than chinese.

TEEJ OUT!

Boston Red Sox

2006-08-27T17:11:00.000-07:00

Warning: Explicit language ahead.

If the Boston Red Sox can't beat the fucking Seattle MAriners this year, then the team doesn't deserve to be in the playoffs. How can a team expect to win the big games if they can't beat a team that lost 11 in a row and 20 in a row to its own division?

Yes, I am pissed off. If Boston is going to keep playing like this then the fucking Evil Empire (aka the New York Yankees) have every right to win the American League East this year. And as long as somebody beats them in the playoffs then I'll be ok.

Right now, a Detroit Tigers-New York Mets World Series is shaping up. While I do not despise the Mets as much as I do the Yankees, I'd rather not have them in the Series. Give me the Dodgers or the Reds. Yeah, Cincinnati and Detroit, a real old school World Series.

Hills and Stairs

2006-08-23T16:24:00.000-07:00

By the end of this semester I will have lost a significant amount of weight. Have I started a workout plan with time and the gym and cardiovascular aerobic excersise? Stationary bikes, treadmills and powerbars?
Hell no!!!! What kind of person do you think I am? The gym is not a place I want to see or be seen. So how will I lose all this weight, you ask? Three words: hills and stairs.
The closest parking lot to the building my class at WSU is held is at the bottom of a very steep, rather long hill. Today was teh first time I parked there. On the parking map, they only show you roads and lots and buildings. They do not indicate whether the road is a hill or not. So I gasped and trundled up this hill then up another hill (not so steep and not as far) to the building. The classroom, naturally, is on the tird floor.
That is not my only hills and stairs area. This whole place is hills and stairs. I only have one ground floor classroom. I could take the elevator (and I'm sure I sometimes will) but I'm not as lazy as I look. Even with the brief respite from stairs, I still have to face the hills.
If I knew it wouldn't ruin the beauty of this area they call the "Palouse" (that is an "oo" sound, not an "ow") I would petition for outdoor escalators.

"I'm against picketing but I don't know how to show it." Mitch Hedberg

The Writing-est Fool Around!

2006-08-23T09:14:00.000-07:00

This is a quicky post to say how my first classes went and some other news.

Classes are great. I have poetry again in 20 minutes. today is one of the busy days when I have to go from UI to WSU and back in the same day. Should be fine. i got lost at WSu yesterday so I won't get lost today.

In other news...I have TWO writing jobs. One is with mmarketing Director of the Theatre and Film Department writng the department newsletter. Cool, eh? Second is writing reviews (except not of school plays, now) of books, movies, music, and such. Cool, cool, cool. Right now, I am a pretty happy camper.

Tomorrow....

2006-08-20T16:16:00.000-07:00

Ok, so tomorrow is the real beginning of this show. The first day of class. I'm all moved in and all set to go tomorrow. First class of the day is poetry. I don't really like poetry as I think I've mentioned previously. I'll survive. After that is British Literature, with a focus on reading Moll Flanders by Daniel Defoe. After that is Non-fiction writing, with the book This Boy's Life by Tobias Wolff as a supplement. Both are great books and I look forward to getting into some deep conversation over them. After single semesters each of Spanish and Japanese, this time I am taking on the challenge of Chinese. Am I asking for it or what?

Tonight I have a meeting with the newspaper staff to see what I can write for them. It will be different working for a paper instead of being in charge but I think I'll do fine. Also, I have a work-study assignment as an office assistant in the Theater and Film Department. Only a few hours a week so it won't be too bad. I will let y'all know tomorrow how tomorrow goes.

(Pick up The Muppet Show: Season and find the song about going to Morrow tonight. It's a hoot.)

Cars (part two)

2006-08-18T17:47:00.000-07:00

After some smoke and nearly electrocuting myself, the car started going again. What a pain! For a while I was sure I had only made the problem worse. GRRR! Taken care of for now. WHo knows when the next day of trouble will be. The good news is that it isn't sucking down gas like I thought it would.

In other news, my lease is signed. I have a place to live. Of course, I can't move in until tomorrow when the flooring is finished. It is that cool "hardwood" laminate flooring (just like is now in the house I used to live at). They couldn't start putting down the floor until the paint dried. Yes, until the paint dried. New floor, new paint. And I'm still balking at the price: $335 a month! hard to top that. The closest was a studio for $385 with only water/sewer/gas paid. This place, that price is a flat rate AND includes electricity and internet. Phone service will be voted on by the housemembers once all rooms are filled. Most people have cell phones. Which means I might have to go get a cell phone. (Anyone want to lend me a few bucks to get one? Especially anyone who wants to talk to me on the phone.)

So, I move in tomorrow. I have all my books; I know where all my classes are. All I need now is a night of sleep somewhere other than the back of my van and a shower. i'm starting to smell.

Cars suck

2006-08-18T10:50:00.000-07:00

Ok, one of the other reasons I avoided driving for so long was the responsibility of owning a car. The car I drove to Idaho did get me here but there was a catch.
Sunday, after gassing up in Boise, the beast would not start. I tried all the tricks until finally the battery just gave out. Problem solved the next morning: bought a new battery and things continued on their merry way.
Until today.
I woke up, got the car started and headed to a gas station to wash off a bunch of bird crap from my windshield. Made it to the station without a hitch. And then that power problem recurred. I turn the key, the gas gauge goes up and that is all. NO whirring of the engine, no clicking. Nothing. And so there it sits, at a gas station mere blocks away from where it spent the night.
Can you say frustration? I knew you could.

A room in a house!

2006-08-16T15:14:00.000-07:00

Today I found a place to live. I will actually be living in a house. A real house. Of course, it is split into a duplex (upstairs/downstairs) but the whole house is under the auspices of one person. I have a large corner downstairs room. There is a path to a separate downstairs entrance, which means I never have to go upstairs for anything. I mean anything. Downstairs has its own kitchen, living room, bathroom and washer and dryer. All the utilities (including phone and internet) are included in the rent. Now, how much do you think one would pay for this? Keep guessing because it gets better.
The house is hard to find. It sits on a hill that overlooks the valley in which Moscow sits from the back patio and from the front is an incredible view of another valley. Across the street, on the top of this hill, is a small park. All this located less than a two-minute drive away from campus. How much did you say you would pay?
How does $335 a month sound? Not too shabby, eh? And the best part is that they were looking for quiet, non-partying people. Well, hello? That is me. I have writing to do, after all. And studying and sleeping and all that fun stuff.
For those of you who need it, I will be shortly letting you know the address and phone number. For those of you who do not need it, post any and all comments here.

Stay groovy.

Moscow!!!

2006-08-15T10:25:00.000-07:00

Here is a short snippet of my journey to Moscow:

Yes, I have a driver's license now, acquired on AUgust 10th. Today is August 15th. In that five days I have driven over 800 miles. Am I crazy? you know, I just might be. The freeway is a scary place full of maniacs. There is nothing one can do but go with the flow, keep a watch on multiple angles and pray for the best. I made it. Contrary to what many others might think, 75 miles per hour IS TOO FAST!!! Especially when 90% of the drivers exceed that limit.

As for the vehicle, well, it got tired at a gas station in Boise and didn't want to go anymore. After a rest, the remainder of the journey went smoothly. I arrived in Moscow around 2:30 PM and, after getting lost, found the campus and the right building to get my student ID/debit card. Then I went and bought my books. I lucked out and only needed relatively cheap books. Not getting that employee discount after so long really bites. Such is life.

After spending the nigth parked in a grocery store parking lot (WinCo, for those in the know) I continued taking care of business. I had planned to park at the Wal-Mart, but I seem to have found the last Wal-Mart in the world that closes at 10 PM. Anyway, I went to sleep and woke up early. I drove myself over to the Parking Office and bought a Parking Permit. I used the same card I used to get my books, so I didn't use any out of pocket funds. It cost $125, which sucks, but the good news is that it is good for an entire year (as opposed to just the semester) and also allows me to park in various lots at Washington State University, where I have one co-op class. I was worried about having to pay an additional fee to park there, but I don't have to. Hooray!

Ok, tomorrow will be a day when I just sortof wander around campus and not do much else. thursday I find out what my work study job will be. Once I know that, I can get a better idea of how much time I'll have to take over the newspaper here. :)

I'm going to go take a nap now.

Catch you on the flipside.

I'm BAAACKKK!!!!!

2006-08-11T21:19:00.000-07:00

Ok, so my internet access this summer has sucked the big one. It still isn't the best. Next week, however, it will be better. I will be back in school, in Idaho, with real internet access again!

A lot has happened since my last post. Once I make it to Moscow, I will fill everyone in on the summer. (Some of you who know me are wondering exactly how I am going to get there. That is all part of the adventure.)

So, for now, hello, goodbye, see you later. If I don't post by the 17th, that means I did not make it to Moscow.

CHeers.

Leaving Las Vegas

2006-05-17T14:51:00.000-07:00

Well, that is it. I've done all that I was here to do. Today, I spent one last day working for the bookstore. I went to the library and turned in the last set of books I checked out. Now, all that is left is to pack. I have a few get-togethers to participate in but that is all. Nothing else to do.

It will still be a week until I actually leave Las Vegas but in my heart and head I'm gone already. Have been for a while. Yes, I'll miss a few tings but it is time to move on. Here I go...

I R Gradu8

2006-05-16T07:38:00.000-07:00

The good news is that the speakers kept it short and simple. The bad news is that I had to stand and wait for about two hours before the procession. I ended up in the second row, so my bit went quick. The other good news is that not everyone who graduated showed up for the walk. Otherwise we would have been there forever. My CCSN graduating class was 1805. In two weeks, my little brother will graduate high school with a class of...10 (it might be twelve, I can't remember).

But it is done, that is what matters. All done. I didn't take the actual ceremony as serious as some people because that isn't my style. I put my cap on over a baseball hat and I didn't zip up my gown. Some of my fellow grads kept asking me if I was going out like that and I said yes. For some reason they thought there would be someone enforcing a dress code who would stop me. Didn't happen. Dress codes suck anyway.

Walking the Line

2006-05-11T14:15:00.000-07:00

Well, Monday is the day. I'll be taking my first ever graduation walk. For those of you who may not know, I dropped out of high school. I've never done the grad thing before.
When I stopped to think about it, this is the first long-term project I will have successfully completed. Ok, I wrote a novel (that sucks, it was practice) and an ok book of essays (finished but unsuccewsful because I haven't managed to publish it yet). There have been a few other projects that I've done but none of them required sustained efforts longer than a few months. Even the newspaper, from the day I signed the contract until the day that contract runs out spanned less than five months.
The newspaper gig is only the second time I've had a job that I didn't quit. The first was a magazine gig that ended when the operation wentout of business. Every other job I've had I've quit. The last good job I had, the bookstore thing, I left to do the paper.
The positive side is that I've never been fired. I'm just a quitter (I even managed to quit smoking). Call me a quitter or someone who just gives up and you are probably right. I've rationalized it by telling myself I didn't need to be doing what ever it was I was doing any longer.

But not this. I stuck it out. Yes, I made some changes to the original goals but I crossed off every goal on my list. It must be time to make a new list. We'll see how long it takes to finish it.
I just have to keep plugging away.

Catch you on the flipside.

Third and Final

2006-05-04T11:23:00.000-07:00

I knew it would happen someday, I just didn't think it would be this soon. My third and final issue of the newspaper is now available on the web and should be arrivng in print any minute now.

Wow. To paraphrase, what a short strange trip it has been. I got to do a lot of cool stuff (most of it for free) and meet a lot of cool people. Right now, I'm torn between being glad it is done and wishing it would never end.

The good news is that now I will have the time to finish a novel (should be done before I head up to Idaho.)

The TEEJ news will continue to be posted here. It isn't like I'm going away. Don't cry. It isn't that bad. There will be other papers, other magazines, other books. It might take some time before I get to be in charge again but I'll be ready when it happens.

No, I don't want any candy.

2006-05-03T09:03:00.000-07:00

Do I have a lot to talk about? You bet I do.

A week ago tonight I saw this movie called Hard CAndy. Look it up because I'm not going to tel you what it is about. No, wait. I have to tell you because it relates to the next thing.
Hard Candy is about a 14-year-old girl who gets picked up by a 30-year-old guy through an internet chatroom. They go back to his house but before he can get pervy, the girl drugs him and proceeds to torture him, both physically and psychologically. It was a very well-made film but a little too creepy. I'm still feeling weird about it. Because it is well-made, from the acting, direction, editing, and otherwise, I want to tell people to go see it. Due to the subject matter, finding the right people to tell is more difficult.

Strangely, this does relate to something that just happened to me.
I'm in this writing class (read past posts for more on that). There is this girl in class who indicated that she enjoyed reading very violent and twisted stories. Guess what? I love to write violent and twisted stories. She mentioned enjoying the work I'd shared in class and I was very interested in reading some her writing.
Here's the deal. She is a very good looking girl. But I'm shallow. I had to read her story before deciding whether or not to ask her out. Her story (a serial killer bit that, with some work and practice could turn out very good) was very twisted and I loved it. So, yes, I asked her out. Not on a "real date" because I'm not comfortable with that yet. I asked her if she'd like to have a root beer float with me at the A&W a block away from the school. Not only does that maintain my comfort level, it is also cheaper than a real meal (still broke) it is in public, and it is still close enough to campus (and in broad daylight) that if things don't go well, either one of us can walk away.
How does this connect with the movie? If you think about it I think you'll know. I thought she was 19. Turns out she is only 16. She graduated early and I think is planning on being anurse or something like that. That is the dangerous part. More than looks, I'm attracted to smarts. Her liking my stories is a major bonus too.
Looks like I'll just make a new friend. And that is ok, too. It is better than nothing. Given my track record with trying to date, I should have expected something to get in the way.

Oh, The Places I'll Go...

2006-05-02T08:43:00.000-07:00

Finally, it is graduation time. One more class to go to and I am outta here. I turned in my final issue of the paper to the printer Friday night. I have only a few more office things to do and then I am gone. Sure has been fun. It hasn't always been fun but een those moments have contributed to the overall experience of the thing. I'm glad I decided to take this gig.

And now, I shall go do other things. I have a new book I began two weeks ago that I want to finish. I have to get myself ready for the new adventure that will be University of Idaho. I have to pack up all my stuff before I hit the road.

But I don't have to do most of the things I've been doing the last few months. Sounds good.

Who wants to buy me dinner?

Since I've Been Gone

2006-04-21T08:51:00.000-07:00

You may have noticed that I've not posted for a while. PArt of that is because I'm enjoying a respite from contact. The home internet connection is temporarily unavailable and my cell phone has been turned off (if anyone wants to spot me the cash to get it turned back on, that would be great). The funny thing is, I don't miss the phone. Sure, there are some people that probably have been trying to call me and can't get through and I feel bad about that. But everyone knows they can find me here. leave comment. If you need to talk to me that bad, I'll call you.

Family...

2006-04-17T17:11:00.000-07:00

Right now, the house I live near is empty, ready for a two-week remodeling project. It has been empty for a couple days and already I feel how lonely a desolate home can be. I miss everyone that should be in the house. I don't so much miss the animals that go along with the people, but no situation is perfect.
I miss the kids the most. I'm pretty sure they miss me, too. I miss walking into the house and asking how the day has been. I miss the slence of a child not paying any attention to me just as much as I miss the common answer of "Good." I miss the answer "stuff" which nine times out of ten follows the question "What did you do today." I miss the high fives for no reason and the occasional tug on the leg. The tug is often accompanied by the plea, "Take me with you!"

It hurts, too. I know they will all be back in a couple weeks and things will seem like old times. But it won't be like old times. Once they are all back in the house, I will begin my packing in preparation for my move out of the house and out of this city. Then the real good-byes will happen.

Strange as it may sound, all this causes me to yearn for a family of my own.

Yankee Fans

2006-04-14T10:21:00.000-07:00

Ok, I am Boston red Sox fan. I'm also a New England Patriots fan but that is another story. Today I want to talk about Yankee fans.

I love baseball. As such, I have an immense respect for the history of the game. Much of that history involves the New York Yankees. I'm ok with that. What i can't stand are most of the current Yankee fans.

After Boston (finally) won the World Series in 2004, I fequently heard the shouts of "Red Sox Suck!" Jealous bastards. I don't think it was NY losing the American League Championship as HOW they lost it. The Yanks, by all means, should have won that series. Of course, they should have beaten the Florida Marlins the year before and they should have beaten the Arizona Diamondbacks in 2001. They didn't. Losing is something you just have to live with and move on. I'd like to remind Yankee fans of the years between 1981 (lost to the Dodgers in the World Series) and 1996 (won the Series against the Atlanta Braves) in which the total number of World Series appearances add up to...ZERO!!!!! The Yanks haven't always been on top. Losing bad is someting they should have remembered when they should have beaten the Pirates in 1960 on a late inning home run. They've won games that way and they've lost games that way. It is baseball; that is how it happens.

There is one particular fan I'd like to address right now. i don't know her name. I saw last night while on the Las Vegas Strip. i was leaning against a railing, waiting for some people to catch up. She saw me, wearing my 1947 throwback Boston cap, before I saw her. When I made eye contact, she turned her ballcap around so I could see the NY logo and smirked. I shrugged my shoulders and watched her walk away. Not too far down the road, she returned her cap to its previous state, again showing me that dreaded logo.

The worst part is she was an attractive girl who obviously cares about her baseball. I respect that. But could you see me dating a Yankee fan? That is just as likely as the Cubs winning the World Series.

Master Packer Strikes Again!!!!

2006-04-13T11:18:00.000-07:00

moving always sucks. I've done it so many times I am nearly an expert. Moving sucks even more when it is other people's stuff. I don't mind it when i want to help (as I did the last two days). What really sucks is when there are plenty of people to help and some of them just stand there. I hate people in the way. When it comes to moving (actually, when it comes to anything) I'm a don't stop until it's done kind of person. Granted, I may put off starting a project but once I start, it is going to get done.

I, along with a select few family members, am a master-packer. We can fit boxes and weird shaped things into an intricate puzzle in order to make as few trips as possible. When only one trip is allowed, this is a must. It is a skill born of practice and problem solving. Not everyone can be a master-packer.

In two weeks, all the stuff I helped pack and move will be coming right back. Slightly after that, I get to pack my own stuff. I don't have as much stuff as an entire household. Good think, too. i can move all my stuff myself without anyone getting in my way.

Coyote Online

2006-04-12T09:58:00.000-07:00

Ok, so my first issue got bogged down and never made it online. However, my second issue is now available online at http://www.coyotepressonline.com/home/

Enjoy!!!