Skrambled Ramblings: September 2005

The Destination. . .

Chocorua

I'm off to conquer this mountain, or perhaps another nearby, early in the morning. The weather looks great, so I should have about a hundred pics to post.

Update

I just updated my ever-changing profile. The quote is from a 60 Minutes interview with Jim Carrey that was amazing to watch. That's a long article that's attached in the link in my profile, so I thought I'd offer another good quote from the report for the lazy. ;-) Here 'tis:

Now, he draws his strength from the spiritual side of his life. And despite a rare Los Angeles downpour, he insisted on taking Kroft to his secret spot where he goes to shut out the rest of the world. It took a five-minute climb up a trail on his property to reach his destination.

"This is my spot. This is the center of the universe," says Carrey. "This is where I hang out with Buddha and Krishna and you know, all those guys."

Is he a Buddhist? "Jesus. I'm a Buddhist, I'm a Muslim, I'm a Christian. I'm whatever you want me to be," says Carrey. "It all comes down to the same thing. … You are either in a loving place, or you are in an unloving place. If you are with me right now, you cannot be unhappy. It’s not possible, just try."

Grrrrrrr......

Well, well, well. Blogger is down for “Planned Maintenance” again.

Since I don’t feel like saying something I shouldn’t, such as “GOD DAMN YOU BLOGGER!!!”, I’ll take the mature approach and say that, first of all, if this was planned maintenance, then why the fuck didn’t they bother sending out an email to users? Second of all, it is now 6:00pm (PST). Grrrrrr…..

Sorry, I’m a bit annoyed that at the moment I am unable to view the comments recently left on this page, and I was in the mood to post something. I win this round though. I’m writing this on Word, to be pasted in when Blogger gets its act together. (UPDATE: Things seem to be working now.)

I’m taking a break from political rants for a little while, unless something really gets me going. Lately I’ve found that I feel much better if I come home and listen to music instead of spending hours reading political news on various websites and watching television. (If you're interested, I recommend visiting the links on the Buzzflash headlines in the right margin of this page. The headlines are somewhat seditious, but they link to well-respected news sites, but also to sites presenting sides of the story you won’t see in the mainstream media. Some links go to sites that require you to register with a user name, including the NY Times, but it’s quick and easy to do. Just create a free email account (hotmail, yahoo, etc.) and use that (they send an e-mail to confirm it, and you have to click a link in the email).

At the moment I’m listening to a random U2 mix I burned this morning. The current song is In the Name of Love. My roommate (L.) and I are going to see U2 in concert on Monday night. I am so fired up for it. I’ve been wanting to see them perform since I first saw the video for Sunday Bloody Sundy, when I was probably about nine or ten years old. My seats suck, but I intend to sneak into a better location. It isn’t that hard, and at least L. will have the balls (figuratively) to accompany me on some shenanigans.

I have big plans for the weekend, and the weather looks good. I should have some glorious images to post. Tomorrow night I’m going to see a band play with L. and a bunch of her friends, and then I’ll be hiking and camping in the White Mountains with one of the girls I work and some of her friends. Hmmmm. . .as I write this I begin to wonder if she intends to seduce me. . .oh well, I have needs, I probably won’t put up much of a fight. *grin*

This may be the last post until Sunday. Have a great weekend my friends.

Tops

Beyond all those clouds is an incredible view, I swear. You'll just have to take my word for it.

I worked an extra hour and a half to finish writing up a couple of marketing mailers for properties we have for sale. I'm a bit written-out for the day. The way this job is going, I think I'll just be posting long stuff on the weekends from now on, and visiting blogfriends during the week. I haven't stopped by any blogs for a few weeks, so I have a bit of catching up to do. Especially with my friends I love the most (I won't name names, but you know who you are ;-)

The Path to Rivendell

I Think This is Where the Elves Live

Rocky Road to the Top

Summit Trail

The One Break in the Clouds

Looking Down from the Summit Platform

Cloudy, Foggy, Misty

The views would be spectacular if it weren't so cloudy. There were but a few rain drops, so I didn't mind. The fog and mist blowing through the trails on the way down had a mystical quality, though. As I sat at the summit, I took deep breaths, and I suddenly found myself in a perfect state of peace and tranquility. I needed that. . .

Mossy

Pixelated Closeup

Seal Closeup

From a Distance

Note the Portsmouth Naval Shipyard in the background, which was recently saved from being shut down (which would have destroyed the local economy as well) by the BRAC decisions.

The Seal Sighting

I have a lot to write about, but no time. And it's driving me nuts. At any rate, I'll post some pics from my excursion yesterday. It began with seeing a harbor seal in the Piscatequa River, about 10 feet away from me as I fished from shore (of course, I didn't get any pictures of him while he was close, but that's okay).

I've been praying to get a chance to see one of these creatures since I moved here. He was amazing. My hands were shaking from the adrenaline, so the pictures look a little bit like those Lochness Monster "photos", but you get the general idea. The White Mountain pictures should be much prettier.

I made a goal, half-jokingly, to see both a seal and a moose in the same day. I was so fired up from seeing the seal that I set north, and drove for about an hour and a half to the White Mountains. This was certainly moose country, but I wasn't having any luck. I decided to take a gondola ride to the top of Wildcat Mountain, and hiked down. If you look at the map in the previous link, I followed the black diamond trail on the right (your right, as you're looking at it), and stayed on the outside right trails all the way down.

My legs are killing me from the hike down. It was steep and brutal, but well worth it. I'll load pictures as time allows.

Image Thingy Isn't Working

I have pictures, and tales to tell, but goddamn blogger won't let me post pictures right now. I'll try Hello if I have to, because I have a ton of photos from today. I've had a great weekend. I won't even get into yesterday at the moment, because today was so amazing.

I woke up early, and just felt like I had to get out of the house. I was in the living room at around 7:30 am blasting music (I think it was the Shins, if I'm not mistaken). I had no idea that my roommate was home, and trying to sleep. She must have gotten home around 3am, and I was well passed out. She came flying out of the room screaming, "WHAT THE FUCK IS WRONG WITH YOU?!?" I felt horrible. I thought she was staying with a friend for the night. I've never seen her so pissed off. At any rate, I bought her a twelve pack of beer and four-pack Recies (sp?!) peanut butter cups. Once she realized that I didn't know she was home, she relaxed a little, and then all was good.

After that, many cool things happened. I went fishing early in morning in New Castle, which is really just part of Portsmouth, but it is a world in itself. I was using clams for bait, but wasn't getting any bites. It was such a beautiful morning though, so I really didn't care if I caught anything or not. Then, something really cool happened.

Perhaps my clam bait drew him near, but as I looked fifteen feet to my left, at the mouth of a tidal stream, there was a huge harbor seal head sticking up out of the water. His head was a little smaller than a bowling ball, and he had those crazy wiskers. I was in awe of his presence. He suddenly rolled over and did a corkscrew, going deep underwater, and he popped up a short distance away. From being so close to him when he rolled, I'd say he was about 6 - 7 feet long. I later saw him hanging out with one of his buddies, but I couldn't get any good pics.

I'm going to try to post pictures of the seal, but it resembles one of those "loch ness monster" pictures, all blurry. My adrenaline was pumping, so it was hard to get a clear shot. I'll post one pic from a distance, and one zoomed in on him.

PS--Following this experience, I took a trip up to the White Mountains in search of a moose. When I first moved here I set a goal to see a seal and a moose in the same day (I think that was the goal, but the goal may really been to just have an opportunity to see either of these beautiful animals. I have many pics from the White Mountain trip, but I haven't even had a chance to look at those yet, so those pictures and that story will have to wait.

UPDATE:

PPS--Goddamn Hello is working either, so no pictures tonight. Many to come. . .

Correction

I just realized that the Pink Floyd song that I practically guaranteed would freak any dog out was the wrong song. The correct song is "Seamus", on the albumn Meddle. See link for correction.

Penises in the News.

This story leaves me a bit speechless, so I'll just post the link. . .

Another Musselly Day

I wonder why there are so many mussel shells around. Could it be because of the Red Tide Poisoning? Hmmm. . .

. . .they clank together like metal as you walk through them, like swords striking one another. . .

Return of the Mussel Remains
(Fun with Negatives, Part II)

Fun with Negatives

Apalling

I hope that even after being desensitized to the whole torture thing, most people will indeed be apalled by this Time story (found via Buzzflash): The following is Time's headline:

Patern of Abuse-by By ADAM ZAGORIN
A decorated Army officer reveals new allegations of detainee mistreatment in Iraq and Afghanistan. Did the military ignore his charges?

Here is the summary of the new reports of widespread prisoner abuse in Iraq and Afghanistan (found via a link in the Time story). It's a long read, but worth going through. How the fuck do we, as Americans, -- as human beings -- stand for this shit? Where is the outrage?!? Aaaagaggghhh!!!!

Okay, I'm done freaking out.

Finders, Keepers

Some idiot neighbor of mine threw this thing out (well, actually, they left it standing up against the dumpster, so it wasn't technically dumpster diving). It's about 42 inches across, and the print is beautiful.

(the pic is a bit crooked, but the framed print on my wall is crooked as well, so I guess it's appropriate...I shall have to straighten that out...)

Not Dogs--Seamus (CORRECTION: PLEASE READ)

UPDATE--9/25/05--I originally thought the Pink Floyd song was "Dogs", on the albumn Animals, but I was incorrect. The correct song is "Seamus", on the albumn Meddle. As such, I have edited the original post to include the correct song.

I know, it's been a while since I've posted. Crazy week at work. I don't have time to write at the moment, but I should tonight. While I'm thinking about it, I have to share this little trick I learned several years ago. I remembered as I was listening to an albumn called Animals, by Pink Floyd.

I share the following information with you (the reader) in the hopes that you have a dog, or know someone who does, and that you have, or can get a hold of, a copy of *Meddle* by Pink Floyd. If you're the downloading type, just download the song "Seamus", on the albumn Meddle.

There is one part of this song when the band plays a spaced out jam, with the recorded sound of dogs howling in the background. Every single dog (and I mean EVERY SINGLE DOG)I have played this song for has started howling and barking, and just generally going crazy. I've seen this happen with at least a dozen dogs. They start howling like wolves. I have reason to believe that this song will work on any dog.

That's it for now kids. I hope to come back tonight with a nice, long screed about all the crap clogging up my brain. I should have some nice pictures from today as well, it's supposed to be a beautiful day.

Mussel Graveyard

Uh Oh, I Think Autumn May Be Upon Us

Quickie

No time, but three things I've seen today:

A huge deer in the driveway of my condo complex.
A minivan on the highway in Massachusetts with a bumper sticker that said: "Live Free, Be Naked", in huge letters. I pulled up next to it and saw a fat, naked guy driving it (well, shirtless at any rate, but we can only assume that he wasn't wearing pants either).
A gigantic coyote in my parent's backyard in CT. My grandmother was yelling, "Skram, there's a dog in the yard!" I came to look, and saw this huge carnivore right in the backyard. He looked like a huge German Shepherd, or a wolf, or something. I didn't think they got that big around here, but apparently they do. They run in packs, so I'm sure there are more of them around. Hope the neighbors bring their cats inside.

Machine Gun

Written by Jimi Hendrix for Vietnam, appropo today with the situation in Iraq (er, um, situation, um, sure, yeah). I'm listening to Band of Gypsys right now. This song blows my mind, but the lyrics stand well on their own (btw, in case you've been living in a cave for most of your life, the axe he's talking about is actually a guitar).

Machine Gun

-by Jimi Hendrix

Machine gun
Tearing my body all apart

Machine gun, yeah
Tearing my body all apart

Evil man make me kill ya
Evil man make you kill me
Evil man make me kill you
Even though we’re only families apart

Well I pick up my axe and fight like a bomber
(you know what I mean)
Hey! and your bullets keep knocking me down

Hey, I pick up my axe and fight like a bomber now
Yeah, but you still blast me down to the ground

The same way you shoot me down, baby
You’ll be going just the same
Three times the pain,
And your own self to blame
Hey, machine gun

I ain’t afraid of your mess no more, babe
I ain’t afraid no more
After a while, your, your cheap talk don’t even cause me pain,
So let your bullets fly like rain

’cause I know all the time you’re wrong baby
And you’ll be going just the same
Yeah, machine gun
Tearing my family apart
Yeah, yeah, alright
Tearing my family apart

(don’t you shoot him down)
(he’s ’bout to leave here)
(don’t you shoot him down)
(he’s got to stay here)
(he ain’t going nowhere)
(he’s been shot down to the ground)
(oh where he can’t survive, no, no)

Yeah, that’s what we don’t wanna hear anymore, alright?
(no bullets)
At least here, huh huh
(no guns, no bombs)
Huh huh
(no nothin’, just let’s all live and live)
(you know, instead of killin’)

May this be
Love or just
Confusion born out of
Frustration wracked
Feelings - of not
Being able to
Make true physical
Love to the
Universal gypsy queen
True, free expressed music
Darling guitar please
Rest. amen

What Have I Done?

It seems I've turned Skrambled Ramblings into a photo blog. I just haven't had time to write anything significant, but at least I'm posting something. If I were able to convey to you, the reader, what the last couple of weeks has been like, it would make your head explode. Too much to write about. So, I think I'll use this bullet point option for the first time to mention some of the things I've learnd:

Falling asleep at your desk at work is not an acceptable thing to do, and repeatedly getting caught doing so may lead to some awkward meetings with management (no worries, after explaining that it was due to some side effects from some necessary meds that I was adjusting to, all was understood).
Some people don't understand that friends have responsibilities to one another, especially on their birthdays. It's not their fault that they're that way, but it is a personal fault nonetheless.
I've learned that nothing heals the soul more than forgiveness. I was raised Catholic, but am currently a follower of the Church of the Flying Spaghetti Monster. At any rate, I still believe that we should strive to live as Jesus did, and that means forgiving those who have wronged us. It is one of the hardest things for a person to do.
If you accidentally drop your check book in a puddle after arriving late to work, the pages tend to get stuck together and the checks tend to get ruined. Oy vey.

Okay, that's enough with the bullet points. I'll try to write more this weekend, but I'll be running all over the place, and may not have much time. The camera shall accompany me on my adventures.

Birthday Cake with a Couple of My Favorite People

The Bald(win) Brothers

Sure, he was the first one to shave his head, but that doesn't mean I was copying him. He's been doing it for years. He may be a little better looking than I, but I'm smarter goddamnit.

No, No, You've Got it All Wrong

I discovered this evidence in my ash tray. I'm pretty sure it was my roommate who lit the wrong end of her cigarette, because I sure as hell don't remember that happening. Then again, this was from my birthday celebration on Tuesday, so it's possible that I just don't remember. . . nah, it was she who smoked the filter.

I haven't updated verbally in a while, so I'm not sure if I mentioned that it was my 29th on Tues. One more year and I'll be thirty. I hear it doesn't feel any different. At any rate, I had an okay birthday. I had one "friend" really piss me off, and I was annoyed for much of the day, but at night I went to the Rusty Hammer with my roommate and a girl I used to work with. We had some surprisingly good (and cheap) food, and I made my roomie do a couple of Lemon Drop shots with me. The shot glasses were huge, so the two probably worked out to about six normal shots. We had a great time at the bar, but I never quite shook that pissed off feeling from earlier in the day (don't worry, I won't let this post turn into a venom-spewing rant against said "friend"). I'll conclude this memory by saying one thing: Birthdays Are Over-rated, and They Suck.

Now, let's rewind a few days back from there.

I went down to CT for the weekend, had a great time. The whole family was over, including all the brothers, wives, adorable kids, and their equally adorable great-grandmother. I got some good dress clothes for work, which was all I wanted. After that party, my brother (the one who's 30 yrs old) and I went to a housewarming party with our friend Meredyth, whom we've known for over fifteen years. We've lost touch in recent years, so it was great to do some catching up. My old friend Kathy was there too (I think I mentioned her in a recent post, will link to it if I have time). She pissed me off on my birthday a couple of years back (coincidentally), and I cut her out of my life ever since. It was so great to hang out with her and re-connect. It was, all in all, one of the best days I've had in recent memory.

So, things are good. Work is hard, but going well for the most part. I'm exhausted and am off to bed soon. Good night all.

Hotel Lobby Orchid

T-Rex Noggin

Cute Little Birdie

I Have an Uncle Who Looks Just Like This

Dinoshark, or, Sharkosaur, or, Dinofish, or, Fishosaur

Dinosaur Turtle (or is it a tortoise?)

--Taken at the Natural History Museum, as were the next few pics.

This guy was behind some thick glass, so it's a bit blurry. You can still see the ridiculous smile on his face though. He cracked me up.

Boardwalk at South Street Seaport

The Crew at South Street Seaport

The Crew

Mosaic at Strawberry Fields

Where Blood Was Spilled

This is the place where John Lennon was murdered.

Some Dude Who Needs a Tan

Something's Missing

Survivors

--Taken from the site of the World Trade Center (with the crater at my back).

Slide Show

--This was taken from the car, while I was driving through Times Square. Yes, that's right, I'm a lunatic for driving in NYC, but it was a rental car, so I just said fuck it. It was actually kind of fun driving through the city, but I don't recommend it unless you've got some serious cajones.

So, I finally got my camera back, and am ready to start throwing up an insane number of pictures, some of which I may comment on, some of which will speak for themselves (published separately for expandability--they make great wallpaper). Enjoy!

My Brain Hurts

It was nice having Monday off, but that just meant that I had four days to do five days worth of work. I feel like I'm walking in my sleep right now. I still haven't gotten my camera back, so I don't have the NYC pics yet. They shall arrive soon, so have no fear my friends. I don't have any energy for posting anythying significant, and am off to bed soon. This weekend should be interesting, but more on that in a later post.

Bob Denver, Rest in Peace

I just learned that Gilligan has died. A moment of silence please. . .

The Trip to NYC was Perfect, Except for:

1. Getting a flat tire. It ended up being much easier and cheaper to deal with than we initially anticipated, however.

2. Getting lost trying to find the hotel. We were in the right general area, but we were pretty much driving in circles. Damn one-way streets.

3. Forgetting my camera/backpack in Queens (no worries, it was found and is being shipped to me).

4. Having the toilet get clogged in the hotel room, and then having to wait an hour before a guy came up with a plunger. I had to shower, but it smelled pretty freaking bad in there. (*eww* sorry), so I had to wait.

5. After stopping in Hartford, CT, to visit a couple of friends, I was ready to be on my way home. I was in such a great mood. I popped the trunk using the thingy on the keychain, threw my backpack in, and my only set of keys along with it, and shut the trunk, that's right, I locked my keys in the trunk. AAA saved my life within about an hour.

That's it for now. I'll have pictures to post after my friend mails me back my camera. I'll also write more about the great parts of the experience.

One More Thing

A must-read (sorry, I hate to use the term "must-read") open letter to President Bush, written by Michael Moore.

Kicking It in Manhattan

I'm writing this from my hotel room in NYC. I got upgraded to a deluxe room, which includes a computer and free internet service. I just found out that it's free, or I would have written sooner. Right now I'm enjoyed a scotch on the rocks, courtesy of the mini-bar in the room. It's goddam expensive, but I am really enjoying it right now.

I've been having the most amazing weekend in New York. It started with my car rental, which became a fiasco when the pickup location was closed. I found another location with the same car rental company, and they upgraded my car for all the trouble. The car is SWEET!

I got to the city and went right to my friends Eric and Erica's place about ten in the morning, along with my friends Mike and Tom, who rode with me. We got off to an early start and did so many things. I had an early-morning Bloody Mary, which set the drunken tone for the day. We went everywhere. We saw the World Trad Center site, the spot where John Lennon was murdered, the Strawberry Fields memorial, the Natural History Museum, Soho, Chinatown, Little Italy, the Village, and the South Street Seaport, which is really close to my hotel.

On the negative side, my car had a flat tire when I went to get it from the garage. There was some sort of warning light going off ("check tire pressure"), but I didn't realize what it meant. Silly me. Also, when I came back to the hotel today, I found that one of my friends who stayed here clogged the toilet up. It was disgusting, and it took them about 45 minutes to get someone up here with a plunger. The smell was so bad that I couldn't go in there to take a shower, as I had initially planned.

Today we went to a party in Queens held by a couple that Eric and Erica are friends with. The host's father is apparently a very successful businessman, because this had to be a multi-million dollar house. It was beautiful. We had good food, good wine, and we even got to take a swim in the pool. It was a blast, but I had to leave early so I can get up in the morning and get my rental car back to New Hampshire.

I have spent a ton of money this weekend, but it was worth it. I wish I could afford to live in NYC. Perhaps someday, when I'm rich. I shall have many pictures to post when I get home. There may in fact be a ridiculous number of pictures posted (which will probably include pictures of me so I can enjoy some more compliments from all of you beautiful ladies. I don't even know what most of you look like (you know who you are) , but I can just tell.

Okay, I'm starting to get buzzed from the scotch, so I better stop before I write something I regret. I may return later to treat my blog withdrawal some more. I hope everyone had a splendid weekend. Pictures to come.

Island in the Sagamore

No time for writing, though I do have much to say. Alack, time is a bitch.

Skrambled Ramblings

Friday, September 30, 2005