America. Put DOWN the stupid juice, and back slowly away...

I AM SO FED UP I AM WRITING IN ALL CAPS...

I've reached my limit of tolerance for the rampant stupidity and distracted morality in this country. We have to pull ourselves together, and do it now. I'm at such a loss for words. I feel like the only sane person in the room some days. I see my coworkers watching mindless 24 hour "news" channels with mindless faces... constantly being spooned sugar-coated celebrity gossip followed closely by horrific stories of mass killings and tragic earthquake photos in crisp colors... 5.1 dolby... Soon I see my coworkers stop flinching when the scene shifts from Lindsay Lohan to a bloodied face of a carbombing victim in Iraq. Flies gathering around his eyes. My coworkers munch on their lunch and are immediately shifted to a fear story about identity theft which is followed by a commercial that says nothing but "Head on, apply directly to the forehead. Head on, apply directly to the forehead. Head on, apply directly to the forehead." For the morons who won't even question the idea that applying a glue-stick like device to their head isn't a bit strange, and certainly doesn't deserve an explanation... just obedience. We're a few steps from the government paid message coming up to tell us to take our afternoon medicine.

Have you noticed that with the exception of the Iraq war, CNN and Fox news cover American news? How do they fill 24 hours with American news? They can't. They have to over cover. They have to find news... even when it's not news. They will grab any survey or study statistic in hopes of filling several seconds of airtime before switching to a story on a brutal rape/murder. With photos of course.

The choices we make. The speech we use. All are effected by watching stupid people. Stupid news. Stupid leaders who tell us to obey without question. Don't think about it Joe and Jane... it'll just make your head hurt. If you get depressed, just switch to a sitcom, and listen for the crowd to laugh. That will let you know when a funny happened.

Even TV for the "intelligent" is dumb. Opinions all. C-span is nothing but a bunch of book authors reading their own work in monotone. History channel plays footage of long dead wars and gives us their opinion of whether Satan exists twice a month. Discovery channel provides some intelligent entertainment, but it's just a distraction from the dullness of life. There are a few channels that seem to promote "living"... the Travel channel and Food network seem to have a world view that promotes learning about "real" people in their "real" environment.

NPR provides stimulation on a near-dead media (Uh, what's FM?). Doing their best to raise questions, focus on the harsh realities of our shrinking global economy... but it's on the radio. Who's listening? Will it make a difference? I know it won't to my coworkers who trudge from work and climb into their cars and listen to nothing on their way home while they anticipate who is going to "get it" on tonight's episode of reality tv.

This all seems to take perfect form in the presidential race. I'm pretty unabashed about supporting Barack Obama, and I don't go a day without somebody asking me how I can trust a muslim... or why I'd support someone who doesn't think the war was a good idea... Last night, a valet that works for me looked at me and said "You'd vote for a black guy?" When I choked on my dinner and stared at him he explained that having a black president would "give the blacks momentum, and make them feel like they were in charge which is the last thing we need right now, right?" I was in shock. I don't know why though. Racism is obviously still alive and well. Both sides of every fence... but to hear it voiced, as if legitimate, was indeed shocking.

It's hard enough to explain that if you are going to believe any candidate when they say what their religious affiliation is, then you need to believe all of them. John McCain has declared in some meetings that he is Episcopalian, and in others that he is Baptist. Depending on the crowd, he gets to anger catholics in a totally different way! Giuliani had a blatant affair with his secretary and leaves his wife for her publicly. But I'm sure he's a wonderful spiritual role model for our children right? And that one candidate who's attended the same protestant church for years, has a healthy relationship with his wife and daughters, lives by what most would say are strong christian values? Nah. His name is Barack Hussien Obama. And he'd give blacks too much confidence. Make em feel like somebody in office wasn't going to screw them over... don't vote for him.

Things I love

Recently I heard this song off the not-too-old Danielson album "Ships."
I fell in love with it. One music critic I respect called this his favorite rock song of 2006.
The video is ridiculously awesome. They are so uncooly cool.

The song is called "Did I step on your trumpet?"

Enjoy.

Not to mention that blogger now supports video!

Awesomeninity.

More stuff you don't care about...

Using a new operating system theme called "Rhino." The desktop pic is made by the same designer to go with the theme.

Jim hearts this. The iTunes skin is beautiful, and really has a nice futuristic feel.

I think I can, I think I can, I think I can...

So my time at the front desk seems to be drawing to a close.

Thank the good sweet Lord Jesus.

I've written about 3 emails to my GM in the past few days that I've saved and won't send. But they make me feel better. I'm just furious with the way I've been treated. To a degree, I understand that I've been acting very entitled, and yet half of me feels justified in that entitlement. So I have to be careful that I don't assume everyone else feels as bad for me as I do. And that's what those emails have been about.

Needless to say, Sarah and I are still very up in the air about what the future holds, but we will see.

Keep us in your prayers and thoughts.

We love ya!

Love is a mix tape.

I said in the post below that I'm reading the book "love is a mix tape." It's really meant alot to me, and made me think a bit more about how integral mix tapes are to my life. I listen to my mixes that I've made for others all the time, due to the fact that they're still playlists in my iTunes. In a way I'm keeping a copy.

Of course, just handing a cd to someone doesn't cut it for me. I have to have a professional looking cover, along with a back page with the songlist on it. I've grown quite proud of the mounting collection of mixes and mix covers I've made over the past several years. So I thought, "Why not share some of these covers on the blog?" They're entertaining enough. While sometimes they include an inside joke, usually they simply embody the type of music on the mix or the mood I was in when I made it. So without further ado... well... some ado.












"Ugly" volume one. - I made this for my friend Kirsten I think. Right after I started at the Antlers.












"Pretty" volume one. - Why not?












"Flightless Birds" - I know it's odd to use flying birds for an album called flightless birds. So what?












"Rockness" - This has been easily one of my best mixes. It seems geared to a female audience, who seem to like it more than boys, but the songs rock 100%.












"Evan: Doorman mix" - Made this for Evan when he was a doorman. (It's not a pic of him.)












"Evan: Valet mix" - When he moved on up, I made him a new soundtrack.












"Honesty" - My most recent mix. I listen to this alot.












"Looking for Trouble" Jessie's version - This mix was made with my friends Chad, Joni and Jessica in mind. I then found a picture of a young Jessica on her myspace, and the cover was decided. This is Jessica's version.












"Looking for Trouble" Chad's version












"Looking for Trouble" Joni's version












"Dark Days" volume one - I haven't finished this one yet. It's been over a year since I started it. Sometimes the best things are worth waiting for. And this one is if the cover is any judge of character! I love it.












"Ezra Benjamin" - Made this for Ezra's birthday this year. 12 already! That's Kiah on the cover.












"Stephen Isaac" - Made this for Stephen's birthday. He's 14.












"Laura has the ring" - At the time this was a joke, but now it makes sense.


Well, that's it for now. Hope you enjoyed them!

Artsy

So I've had a creative spurt lately... here are a few sketches.

Waiting till the rain slows down only works if the rain slows down...

Asia's death, and the subsequent issues which surrounded and centered on this blog have left their marks, but little else. The current maelstrom of events has little to do with the events of last month, and more to do with day to day insanity. Therefore, I find little strength or desire to cover all the crap that took place last month.

All I can say is that it has become more and more difficult to remain positive and upbeat these last few weeks due to some turmoil at work. The fact that I'm even mentioning this shows that I've learned nothing regarding disclosure. So let me be as vague as humanly possible. I've rejoined a department I wished to leave behind, and done so against my will. Despite the wonderful news that we as a hotel achieved a long term goal, I have been very negative about my current situation. Hours, requirements, lack of purpose... all these things go into what I consider to be a highly undesirable position.

I plan on talking to my big boss tomorrow to see if I can exit this position asap. To add to my discomfort, my work bank of roughly $320 is missing. I cannot account for its disappearance, and I have the only key. It is unlikely that I will suffer any consequences other than a write up, which may not be fair if the money was stolen from my locked safe... but it has caused me a bit of frustration these past few days as I did not need this added to my plate.

On top of that, I got a traffic ticket the other day for not stopping completely at a stop sign. Traffic was turning left in the turn lane, and I slowed and turned right. $190. The cop told me immediately to go and appeal the ticket and they'd "decrease the fine and points"... well, if you're so danged compassionate, why not give me a warning?!?

I'm just really worn. Really tired of things sucking. I want everything we want and need, and I want it now. I don't want to wade through any more crap. I know it sounds wrong, but I feel that we've paid our dues and the good stuff is due now. It doesn't display maturity, growth, or a good world view to be upset by this, but I am.

Other things have gone well lately, and I'm thankful for them, I just want to live elsewhere, work elsewhere... etc.

Strangely enough, all this angst has spurred my creativity. I've been drawing and reading at a breakneck pace. Sarah and I are working through HP5 right now. I connect with Harry and his constant mood swings lately. I'm also reading a book right now that seems as though it were written by me. I hightly recommend it. It's called "Love is a mix tape." by Rob Sheffield.

In other news, new iPods and iMacs have come out. Go Apple stock.

Sarah and I had a date today. It was my 2nd day off, and we went to the $ theatre to see Pirates of the Carribean 3. It was awful. Pointless and rambling, the only thing worse than the overthought plot was the abysmal acting. It was the most expensive piece of crap I've seen since Waterworld. (Waterworld substituted a better plot for Dennis Hopper...) Johnny Depp even had moments of pointlessness. It was just BAD. Parents should not take their children to see it, as it was much more brutal than the previous 2 films. Bullets in the forehead, graphic hanging, impaling, decapitation... it's all over the place.

Anyway, I'm back and done ranting. Forgive me for the absence, but I've been waiting for the frogs to stop falling, and it hasn't happened, so I just bought a titanium umbrella.