Another Summer Weekend Ends
--Taken from the jetty, Odiorne State Park.
I had a great weekend. I had a really good time partying with my brother and showing him around town. He's only a year older than me, so we've always been really close. I was getting really annoyed that he hadn't come up to visit in the year and a half that I've been living here. But he was living a lot farther away up until a few weeks ago, so I guess he had a good reason. We went fishing, hit a bunch of bars downtown, came home, got really drunk, and hung out in the hot tub at my condo. It was such a good time.
Today the weather was crappy, so my brother and I went to see Star Wars 3 for the first time. The first two in this new series were so bad that I had pretty low expectations. But I was pleasantly surprised in that it didn't suck. I can't really say I was really blown away by anything in the movie, but I was impressed that it actually didn't suck.
As for the exam the other day, I ended up doing a lot better than I expected I would. It was a hard test with some pretty tricky questions. There is no way I would have done so well if I didn't study like I did. So, I'm very glad to have that behind me now. Things will be changing at work for me really soon, as I'll be moving into a sales role. It should be interesting (read: stressful). I'm really excited about doing new things though.
At any rate, I need to get to bed soon. I'm still really hungover from last night (my bro and I got goosed).
Dragonfly
I captured an image of this little critter on the antenna of my car. I'm intrigued by the fact that my car is the same color blue (no, I did not choose baby blue, I got a great deal on it from my parents). No time for posting right now. My brother is finally coming up to Portsmouth tonight to visit. Mayhem and Bedlam shall ensue...
Freaking Out
So, the test is tomorrow morning. I haven't had a panic attack this bad since I was in college (when I had a bad habit of staying up all night the night before any exam, of course). On second thought, this probably doesn't fit the definition of "panic attack." No, this is more of a long, drawn-out, starving/hysterical/naked nervous breakdown.
Okay, so I'm exagerating a little bit. I sometimes find that I'm able to feed off of the stress, and I end up doing better. I have been studying a little bit each day for a couple of weeks, so I should be okay. Even if I fail it (which I won't), I can always retake it. I would just be really embarrassed.
At any rate, I need to get back the books. I ask everyone to send positive vibes in my direction.
(Oh yeah, I meant to post a link. Whatever you do, don't click
this link unless you're prepared to be physically sickened.)
Just a Quick Update
I have to get back to studying for the license exam in a minute, but I just wanted to mention that I've made a few changes to the profile. It was time for a change. I also took down the Penises in the News site, temporarily. I just don't have the extra time for it right now.
But I do think I owe the public a good story.
Here is disturbing little story. From the article:
Investigators never found his Mr Nunez's penis. Ruiz said she threw it out of the back door, where a dog picked it up and ran away. At any rate, I need to hit the books. I will probably return later with a political rant.
Shiny Objects
Ugh. Once again I have been sickened by the news. This time, however, it wasn't the actual news that bothered me. It was the fact that the mainstream press is actually reporting the "
flip-flop 'contorversy'" as if it was an important story. They'll start calling it
flip-flop-gate pretty soon.
While I hate to even dignify this nonsense by mentioning it in my blog, I can't just sit quietly while the mainstream media creates a synthetic controversy to distract people from
the real controversies.
And don't even get me started on how Bush's announcement of John Roberts as his nominee for the Supreme Court. The announcement was made a week earlier than was expected. There is no doubt in my mind that they made the announcement early to take the media heat off of Karl Rove. This is the way they manipulate the media. It's just despicable. (UPDATE: I just saw
this article after I posted this. I rest my case.)
People, for the most part, can be stupid and easily distracted. Most will be more likely to keep watching the four minute segment on some girls wearing flip-flops in the White House than if there was a story on. . .oh, I don't know, let's say
Iraq (look at the pie charts on the right. They are based on
conservative estimates, and those lowball figures indicate that were 1,284 children killed in that time period.) I feel sick...
Okay, I'm done venting. (Note to Self: STOP WATCHING THE NEWS!!!) I have to hit the books now. Good night all.
The Weeping Widow
This is another random photo (by Mary) from London last September. I think my camera takes better pictures than hers, but I've been meaning to post this picture for a while. This was in a park near the Embankment. I had never seen anything quite like it. Can you imagine if someone created a memorial for you like that when you die? I think I might find it a bit excessive. Ah well, I suppose it is romantic.
I got the letter I've been waiting weeks for, so I can finally schedule the license exam and get that over with. I can schedule it for whenever I think I'll be ready to take it, and as of right now I don't feel quite ready (in other words, I need to start
CRAMMING!!!) I will be studying seriously starting tomorrow night for about the next week or so, so I won't be blogging much. But once I pass the test I will be coming back here with a vengence.
Lazy Saturday
--At the mouth of the Sagamore (Odiorne State Park)
(No, it's not that type of bud, but I thought it looked pretty cool.)
--bzzzzz
--Shady Grove
--Reflection
Homer on Hiatus
"Whosoever wishes to know about the world must learn about it in its particular details.
Knowledge is not intelligence.
In searching for the truth be ready for the unexpected.
Change alone is unchanging.
The same road goes both up and down.
The beginning of a circle is also its end.
Not I, but the world says it: all is one.
And yet everything comes in season."
--
Hericlitus of Ephesus (circa 535-475 B.C.)
I was looking for a good "change" quote, and this is what I found. I had never heard of him, but he was also known as "The Obscure," according to the article. So it all makes sense.
At any rate, I have summoned a new avatar, because I felt that it was time for a change. The current image is temporary, until I can come up with something better (and if I can't find anything better, Homer shall return). I may feel compelled to tool around a little bit with other aspects of this page, so don't be surprised if random things start changing.
I'm off to see
Charlie and the Chocolate Factory in a little while, so no time to write. I may return for some late night (and possibly drunken) ranting.
New Website!
I don't have time to post anything significant right now, but I wanted to direct people to a new endeavor of mine. That's right folks,
Penises in the News now has its own website. We'll see if I have the motivation to keep this thing going.
(Yes, I know, I'm immature, but life's more entertaining that way.)
Let's Not Break Out the Champagne Just Yet
I must say that I'm encouraged by recent events in the
Plame case. Could this be a sign that the Washington press corps is returning to the business of journalism? Karl Rove was the subject of
a recent rant, and it now appears that his goose is cooked. For those unfamiliar with the name, he is just about the most powerful unelected person in the world. And he is pure evil.
However, like all men in history who've sought to rule the world, hubris has been his undoing. Or at least that's the way it now appears. This story is a bit complicated, so I'm sure that most of the public won't fully understand it, but all people really need to know is that Karl Rove (and whoever else in the Bush administration may have been involved) jeopardized national security by blowing the cover of a CIA agent in an effort to discredit that agent's husband, who was becoming too vocal of a critic of the war of agression in Iraq.
This was an utter
abuse of power, but what's worse is that this is exactly the kind of thing we've come to expect from the thugs of the repuglican party. And furthermore, we've come to expect all the good little repuglicans to toe the party line and defend Rove's indefensible actions. This is why they're so often compared to fascists. It's not about right or wrong for the repugs, or about having "moral values, " no matter what they say. It's about saying and doing whatever is necessary to maintain their grip on power.
There are good republicans out there, don't get me wrong, but I'd just like to see a lot more of them stand up for what's right, especially when someone on their side is dead wrong. Oh well, I have a feeling that -- to used a mixed metaphor -- all his GOPig buddies will be jumping ship and throwing him to the wolves (or, er, um, sharks) before all is said and done.
Confession Time
"The tools I need for my work are paper, tobacco, food, and a little whiskey."--William Faulkner (1897-1962)
"Tobacco, coffee, alcohol, hashish, prussic acid, strychnine, are weak dilutions; the surest poison is time. "--Ralph Waldo Emerson (1803-1882)
Okay, so I thought I'd come out and admit to blogdom that I am a complete and utter jackass. A few months ago, in the midst of my stress over the job situation, I started smoking cigarettes again. I've been smoking on and off since I was about 14 or so. I've quit several times for at least six months at a time, but I always find myself drawn back in. This was just about the worst "re-starting" of all the times I restarted. I quit for over three years this time, but as soon as I had one, it was all over.
I always find it easy to stop completely for long periods of time, but when I smoke cigarettes, I smoke a LOT of cigarettes. For me there is no middle ground between being a non-smoker and being a chain smoker. I wish I could enjoy a cigarette every now and then, but that's just never going to happen.
Yeah, I know, starting again was dumb, but I've actually been enjoying it--and I mean , really
really really enjoying it. Nobody ever talks about the positive effects of smoking, but people wouldn't keep doing it it wasn't enjoyable. I tend to suck them down pretty quickly, but for those two or three minutes I fall into a deep meditation. It's a perfect time to sit and think, and to make sense of things. I think it had a postive effect on my brain in a time of utter stress and confusion.
But I digress, because I still really hate cigarettes (though of course I still love them). They're disgusting, unhealthy, addictive, and you know the rest. I'm determined to quit again pretty soon, since I don't have the job hunt stress as an excuse anymore. I plan to enjoy it for a couple more weeks, and I'll stop when I feel ready. I'm not ready today, that's for sure. More to come on this, as I'll probably be grumpy and having nicotine fits. It should make for some quality ranting, at any rate.
(Okay, okay, fine. I'll tentatively promise to quit after I pass the license exam, but I refuse to feel guilty if I end up waiting a little bit longer :-P)
Brief Generic Update
I just wanted to post a quick update before I go out for the night. I've had a pretty good weekend, just relaxing and doing absolutely nothing. I've been spending so many weekends on long road trips, so it's nice to just sleep late and lounge around the house.
I noticed that the
unkymoods site is working again, but I'm not sure if I'm going to put it back on the blog (I mentioned
previously that I thought it might be gone for good). It was fun while it lasted, but I think I'm done with it. I may still change my mind.
I don't really have too much to stay at the moment. For the next couple of weeks I'm going to be insanely busy getting ready for real estate license exam, but once that's done I'll have much more time to blog. I may return later with a rant.
Aw fuck, Not Again!
--Queen's Rose Garden, Regen'ts Park in London, September, 2004 (Photo by Mary)
Those fucking cunts
attacked London. Sorry, I tend swear a little bit when I'm angry. I went to school there for about five months in '98, and I fell in love with the city. It's just about my favorite place on Earth, and it really hurts to see this horror inflicted upon it. What did this accomplish for those who carried this out? Some people might be scared (or, terrorized) by this sort of act, but many more will just be angry and looking to seek revenge. . .on someone. . .anyone. . .and the cycle continues. It doesn't matter what side you're on in a war. Everyone loses. For all the progress the human race has made, we still haven't figured out a way to survive without killing one another.
"I'd like to share a revelation that I've had during my time here. It came to me when I tried to classify your species. I realized that you're not actually mammals. Every mammal on this planet instinctively develops a natural equilibrium with the surrounding environment, but you humans do not. You move to an area, and you multiply, and multiply, until every natural resource is consumed. The only way you can survive is to spread to another area. There is another organism on this planet that follows the same pattern. A virus. Human beings are a disease, a cancer of this planet, you are a plague. . ."--Agent Smith, The Matrix
Terrorism is
nothing new to the city so, so I'm sure they'll get through this just fine. But my heart aches for London right now, and I'm disgusted with humanity. I'll just end this with another photo by Mary from our trip there in September. God Save the Queen.
Unky, Say it Ain't So!
I've been noticing that my unkymood character hasn't been showing up on my page, and that I have an "errors on page" message when my page is loading. So, I just tried to go to the unkymood site, only to find that there's a "Go Daddy" domain name advertisement there now. I'm afraid the unkymood may be no more. A moment of silence please. I took the code out of my template so my page will load correctly again.
As stated previously, I am running about three brain cells right now due to sleep deprivation. I am off to rest my weary brain. I leave you with this
Canine Edition of Penises in the News. Isn't there something in the
Book of Revelation about this?
Sleep Deprived Rambling Update
I think I like this new image thingy on Blogger. It's a little bit slow, and it seems to have the type of annoying quirks we'd expect from Blogger, but I think I can deal with it.
I've been meaning to post this new spider picture that I found on my camera as I was cleaning some files out. This little critter was the subject of
a few recent posts, after
Mysfit pointed out that it only had six legs in the pictures. In all of the other pictures I looked at, he only appeared to have six legs, so we wondered what in god's name this freak of nature was. It's good to see that he does in fact have eight legs (or, at least seven). At any rate, this will be the last creepy, icky picture I'll post of this little fucker, I promise. However, I may just have to find new disgusting creatures to photograph and share with the world.
Things are going pretty well at the moment, except that I'm running on about four hours of sleep. I haven't eaten anything since breakfast except for a bag of popcorn, so my head is spinning from just a few sips of wine. I was up until 1:00am last night trying to finish up a take-home exam for my course. I've been procrastinating for a couple of weeks, but I finally decided to sit down and do it. I think it took about 12-14 hours across a few days. The good news is that I finished it and delivered it to Concord for my 9:00 class on time (okay, fine, I'll admit it, I got there about fifteen minutes late :(P )--and I passed the test! I am now done with the course, so I feel pretty good about that. All that remains now is to pass the license exam, which will require a substantial amount of studying if I am to have any hope of passing. The stress continues.
Alright, I'm off to eat some dinner before I pass out. I may return later with some sort of rant.
Squiggles
Sea Foam
Among the Barnacles
Rye Beach
Alone
--by Edgar Allan Poe (1830)
From childhood's hour I have not been
As others were; I have not seen
As others saw; I could not bring
My passions from a common spring.
From the same source I have not taken
My sorrow; I could not awaken
My heart to joy at the same tone;
And all I loved, I loved alone.
Then–in my childhood, in the dawn
Of a most stormy life–was drawn
From every depth of good and ill
The mystery which binds me still:
From the torrent, or the fountain,
From the red cliff of the mountain,
From the sun that round me rolled
In its autumn tint of gold,
From the lightning in the sky
As it passed me flying by,
From the thunder and the storm,
And the cloud that took the form
(When the rest of Heaven was blue)
Of a demon in my view.(I'm sort of in a bad mood today, so I thought I'd kick things off with a typically dark poem by Poe. I don't usually like poetry written in rhymed couplets, but this is Poe, so I guess I'll allow it. I'm off to cheer myself up, I may return later.)
Image Thingy
Sweet! I just saw
this news item from Blogger, so I had to test it out (I think I may have posted this photo once before, but this is just a test run). I'm really sick of Hello, so this is a big step forward. I think I'll set off tomorrow in search of some good photos.
I just got home from a trip to Connecticut to go to my brother's wedding. Needless to say, I am badly hungover still and am not going out tonight. I had a really good time. The wedding and reception were both held at an amazing banquet facility on the beach in New Haven. There were close to 300 people there, so it was a little crazy. Unfortunately, I forgot my camera ("doh!), so I won't have any pictures to post (unless I get a hold of some from somone else in the fam).
There were a few people at the wedding from the bride's side of the family that I didn't expect to see there. A guy I went to high school with was there, and I found out that he's my new sister-in-law's cousin. So, he is now related to me "by marriage," which I find somewhat amusing. My thought's on this person weren't entirely positive when I used to know him, but I'm going to bite my tongue. People change (I know I have), and I'm sure he's grown up a lot since then.
I also saw my friend Mario's brother there, which kind of freaked me out (and him as well, I think). Mario was one of my closest friends all through college, and I shared an apartment with him in 1998. He moved back home the following year to live with his parents for his last semester, and he ended up dying in a motorcycle crash. His brother is the spitting image of him, so seeing him had a powerful effect on me. Memories came rushing back so fast and hard that I was almost knocked off my feet. I found it really uncomfortable to talk to him because he looks so much like Mario. He's a great guy, and it was good to see him, but damn did it freak me out.
All in all, the whole thing went off without a hitch, and it seemed like everyone had a good time. My neice (age 5) and nephew (age 3) were in the wedding, and they were hysterical. They are the most adorable kids on earth (sorry to any moms reading this, but I'm just being honest ;-). He was picking his nose during the vows, so I'm sure that'll be in all the pictures and videos that were taken.
At any rate, I am off to relax for a while. I may return later with a rant (depending on how much wine I drink).
