Thursday, February 28, 2002
Mental Note: Pick up air freshener for office. It smells very soup-like.
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Oh, yeah. In other news, I spilled soup all over in my office. Man, does that suck.
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I upgraded to Blogger Pro today mainly because I wanted to take advantage of it's draft feature which is a selective publishing type thing. I saw an article a while back I started writing a post on and it got kind of longish but I had to leave it alone before I could finish it (which I haven't). For some reason I thought it was important to retain the post's time/date stamp, don't ask me why. Now you might think that this is going to be some earth shattering post in the works. It's not. It's fairly mundane and not exactly noteworthy, yet still something I felt I wanted to comment on more then my usual half-assed posts. That and a certain someone was complaining that I haven't posted in while. Obivously they never read my site when I went months on end without posting. And it's payday, so what the hell?
12:52 | link |

I am not surprised that Alicia Keys and U2 pretty much dominated the Grammys. However, a pleasant surprise and a bold move for the Recording Academy was the the O Brother, Where Art Thou? Soundtrack and T Bone Burnett picking up the Album of the Year and Producer of the Year nods. Aside from that, everything was fairly predictable.
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Wednesday, February 27, 2002
So Dooce got canned. People had a lot to say about it.
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Tuesday, February 26, 2002
Naked personalities versus naked bodies. Which do you prefer?
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Monday, February 25, 2002
The Gorillaz were great. More later. Sleep now.
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Thinking about the Gorillaz show tonight.
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Sunday, February 24, 2002
The Future of Music. Interesting thoughts by Mr. Haughey.
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Saturday, February 23, 2002
After running around town today with Ms. Davis, I was heading home and made my way to the red line. I stood by the door and was holding on to the rail on the seat and not the pole as I usually do. A family was sitting down next to me, except for the father who was standing in front of them holding onto the overhead rail. They were talking about whatever they were doing that day. A little girl, not older than six was sitting on the end seat next to me. Next to her was her brother around the same age and then the mother. During a pause in the family's chat, the train came to a sudden stop. Not such an uncommon event. However, the girl's head smacked against my knuckles while I was holding the rail. I felt kind of bad about that, especially when she started crying. What I unprepared for was this little girl going off about how I "hit" her. My chin was on the ground. Her mother who did not see what occurred gave me those motherly looks of death. A tad awkward to say the least. Luckily, the father was in position to see what happened and told me not to worry about when I looked at him. Everything seemed to work out, I guess. One thing I did notice was how differently the rest of the passengers will look at you after a small girl accuses you of hitting her.
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Friday, February 22, 2002
Chuck Jones, the man behind Looney Tunes, dead at 89.
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I am so pissed. 2002023 Update. Not so pissed now.
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Lately I have been feeling old and tired.
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When walking to Central Square to catch the T, I was just coming up on the soon to be vacant ArsDigita building when I heard a "thwat!" I looked to my right shoulder to find that a pidgeon had shit on me. A globby, white and green mess was now running down the front of my black jacket. All I could think of was "it figures..." I took off my jacket, folded it up and stuck it underneath my arm and continued to the T.

Funny how people think having that happen to you is a sign of luck. When I was in college, my girlfriend at the time, Aniko, and I were sitting on a bench somewhere, talking on a warm spring day. Suddenly a pidgeon had shit on my leg. I was wearing shorts. You get the picture. Aniko started laughing, telling me how it was a sign of luck. Prior to that day, it was something I had never heard before. I certainly didn't feel lucky. I guess it has something to do with the probability of you actually being deficated on by a bird. Who knows. I didn't feel lucky on that day with Aniko and I didn't feel lucky today. Well, maybe I did. I suppose if the bird hit me a little more to the left, I would have gotten hit right on my head.
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Wednesday, February 20, 2002
I do a bad job of explaining anything and everything.
I remember when I used to be smart. I think.
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Because sometimes you want to grab hold and never let go.
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Tuesday, February 19, 2002
You know when you buy some clothes all at once and they start wearing out all at once? That's what's happening to my socks. Just thought you might want to know.
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Today is kind of blah, despite it being beautiful outside.
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Monday, February 18, 2002
Brotherhood of the Wolf? Two words. Predictable. Renter.
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Crazy. I just checked MetaFilter, and somebody posted the same article with the exact same quote. Spooky.
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Record Labels' Answer to Napster Still Has Artists Feeling Bypassed

Last December, the major record labels responded with two Internet services of their own where fans pay monthly fees to download songs. Under this arrangement, however, the performers still don't get a dime: for each song downloaded, they stand to get only a fraction of a cent, according to the calculations of disgruntled managers and lawyers.

And, artists and their managers say, the labels, like Napster, aren't putting the music online with proper permission either.

Sunday, February 17, 2002
Affirmation. Sometimes we already know the answers to questions we may have. Okay, sometimes we don't necessarily know the answers but we know the path that needs to be taken in order to get our answers. Not "our answers" in the sense of what we want to hear, but what we need to hear. It's not always palatable to hear the answer. For me in particular, it's usually not and I haven't always been wanting to hear things I already kind of know. I couldn't help but think of Mary Poppins just now. "A spoonful of sugar helps the medicine go down." Tonight, Ms. Davis was my sugar.
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Ditto.

I really, honestly don't know what to do anymore. What is it, exactly, I'm doing wrong aside from everything?
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Friday, February 15, 2002
Currently freaking the fuck out. Seriously.
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Salon.com People | Tariq Ramadan: The Muslim Martin Luther? Interesting article.
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"[I]f you thought you were being all sneaky and shit, that you were exposing me and my evil ways, I just want to say, well, thank you."

I love Dooce, if not just for that last paragraph alone.
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Thursday, February 14, 2002
Perhaps one of my fondest Valentine's Day memories was when I worked at the computer science department at Johns Hopkins University. I had only been working there for a few weeks when on the day after Valentine's Day, I am greeted by Steve D. asking Steve R. if he got sex on Valentine's. As I recall, Steve R. answered in the affirmative. Steve D. then turned to me and asked me the same thing. "No," was my reply. What a shocker! Steve D. was grumbling about how he didn't get any sex from his wife on Valentine's. Eventually, we went on with our morning and after some time, Pierre came strutting in late with a big ol' Kool Aid smile like Tom Hanks in Big - you know the scene I'm talking about. Steve D. asks Pierre if he had sex on Valentine's. Pierre's reply? "Nope. But I had sex this morning." Steve D. shook his head in defeat.

Not much of a Valentine's Day story, I know, but that's what I remember when I think about Valentine's Day.
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Just sitting there and eating chocolates until it is over is exactly what I had planned to do. I mean, you probably couldn't eat those chocolates anyway. ;-)
06:13 | link |

Holy oxymorons, Batman! I am in awe of myself for just using the term "apathy in action."
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Wednesday, February 13, 2002
Somehow, I ended up being Rob Gordon. Go figure.
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"Have fun dying. Well, you know what I mean."
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Like school on Sunday, no class for Ms. Davis. Instead, it seems, that a hair dying party is in order.
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Monday, February 11, 2002
10 Questions with Bob Mould

Oh, yeah, sure, although it's [the music industry] got its own headaches. A lot has changed since I've been away.

Like what?

The Internet, MP3's, digital theft. I'm afraid that the value of music is going down. And that's a hard thing to combat because new artists are so desperate they'll give everything away just to get attention.

Sunday, February 10, 2002
I give up.
18:09 | link |

For the past three days I have had a cramp or something in my left calf. The past four nights I nights I have woken up in the middle of the night with all the muscles in my legs totally contracted. Same thing when I wake up in the morning. Weird. I wondering what is going on...
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Saturday, February 09, 2002
No arguments. No fights. No raised voices. No stomping off. No dirty looks. No darting glances that hit you in the stomach. The awkwardness was still there, however, as was the general "what the hell am I doing?" feeling. But you know what? It was alright.

Visited the new Virgin Megastore today. It's where Tower used to be on the corner of Mass Ave and Newbury Street. The store itself is well laid out and spacious as opposed to Tower that was kind of cluttered and was almost as bad as my room. Flat panel screens are all over the place showing off the latest DVD or music video. Plenty of listening stations. Plenty of employees asking me how I liked the store. "Looks good," I would reply. And it did. Of course it was the first day and everything was naturally perfect. There's still plenty of time for everything to get fucked up and dirty and what have you. But still a better over all vibe than any Tower I have been in.

I ended up actually buying a couple of things that I probably shouldn't have as usual. I got Ghost World on DVD and a book that I have been wanting for some time, Patient by Ben Watt. I thought Thora Birch was great as Enid in Ghost World, what to speak of the mullet man in the Sidewinders parking lot. He was ripped! Let you know about Patient when I get a chance to read it. Everything I have heard about it was great.
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Friday, February 08, 2002
"Look! Angel wings are only $60 here!"
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So, no Weezer for me tonight. A free ride and I pass on it. Ended up seeing Slackers. While Ms. Davis described it as "the best," I can't say I would have. It was okay. There were some clever parts and cute at times, but I guess the jury is still out on this one. Nevertheless I still had a good time.
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It's official. I'm a sucker. Which comes as a shock to no one.
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That's funny. I feel stupid everyday.
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Thursday, February 07, 2002
Plans are now under way for "Cold Dead Fish," the zine formerly known as "There's A Fine Line Between Being Nice And Being A Pathetic Sucker, But You Know What? I Haven't Found It Yet."

You have been warned.
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Wednesday, February 06, 2002
On Ms. Davis' suggestion (snarky one at that), I am starting a zine. Maybe I will call it "Cold Dead Fish." Let me know what you think, okay?I'm glad I amuse people so much.
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*sigh*
10:29 | link |

Will I make through the semester? I'm thinking I need to get a new job and somewhat soon.
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Tuesday, February 05, 2002
Ugh! Natetrain just got back from seeing the The Dark Crystal with The Adventures of Baron Munchausen at the Brattle! How come no one told me about this? Why wasn't I notified? Who do I have to yell at?
19:16 | link |

The Trouble With Self-Esteem. An interesting article. Perhaps I'll have more to say on this after I have digested it.
(Free NY TImes registration required | via MetaFilter)
12:00 | link |

Ms. Davis has had a rough 24 hours. Give her some loving if you see her.
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Monday, February 04, 2002
This is an amazing and crazy story.
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I think Chan Marshall freaked out or something, because Cat Power has been postponed until the 25th. That kind of sucks because that's the same day as Gorillaz. What to do? I think Gorillaz may win out.
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Hi. My name is Ryan and I'm skipping out of work a wee bit early today.

Highlight so far today: Getting a mini-banana from The Doughty. Reminded me of all the bananas I got while in India.

Cat Power tonight at Coolidge Corner. Am I going? Good question.
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Sunday, February 03, 2002
Is it bad that I have serious problem with my tenses in my blog? Hmm...
17:24 | link |

Things didn't go as planned today, but that's okay. It happens sometimes.

Not feeling quite well today. I think it's a combination of a lack of sleep and a lack of eating. Seem to have fallen into some kind of pattern that I should probably do something about I suppose. Going to Burrito Max for lunch didn't exactly help things either.

What to do? What to do?
17:18 | link |

Oh. And happy birthday to Paramananda. How can you still be youth crew at 35? ;-)
07:35 | link |

You can't ask for a better something to read this morning than Norman's entry on the Hey Mercedes blog from yesterday. I know first hand how much he loves Rasa-prayana and only imagine how psyched he is about Chaiten Harrison. (How cool of a name is that!?) Congratulations to Rasaraja and Prema. I hope everything went smoothly. Note to the guys in Hey Mercedes: how about some permalinks?
07:30 | link |

About three hours of sleep and I'm feeling fine. For now.

I acomplished my first mission today, so the rest should naturally fall into place. I got up at 7 am to beat the laudramat rush. I was quite successful other than getting a dryer that decided to stop spinning after two minutes. The usual Sunday morning people were there. The security guard who wears the navy blue pants with the light blue stripes down the sides that uses the triple-loaders at least four times is there. The elderly Portuguese or Brazilian lady who doesn't speak English that pulls the chair in front of her washing machine, sits down and peaks in on her laundry every four or five minutes makes her appearance. She always goes for the New Yorker if it's there. I love the way she first quickly scans through the whole magazine and then goes through it carefully even turning it on its side to read the subscription cards and inserts that are occassionally perpendicular to the rest of the magazine. The whole time peaking in on her laundry every five minutes or so, of course. Luckily that old fucker who occassionally shows up on Sunday mornings, throws his clothes in, sits in a chair and lights up a cigar (despite the signs that tell him to do otherwise, what to speak of common courtesy) didn't show while I was there.

While my clothes were spinning away in the dryer I look out the window at the people walking by. Most people are walking to the S & S for Sunday brunch. I see a family of four walking in the opposite direction, just having finished their morning brunch I assume. I see the little boy wearing his Patriots jersey with pride in preparation for tonight's Super Bowl. He's talking with his mom as they walk behind his father and little sister. I don't know what they're talking about, but there's a pause in the conversation where they turn to look at each other and smile in a way that I can only describe as comforting and causes me to smile too. Imagine that!

A woman not so much older than me compliments my folding, which I found strange, smiles and I managed to squeak out a "thanks." With that said I put my clean clothes in my bag and get on with the rest of my day.
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T-I-R-E-D.
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Saturday, February 02, 2002
Today's moods: Strange. Contemplative. Unsure. With maybe a fleeting feeling of hopefulness.
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Friday, February 01, 2002
After a rough start, the evening went on quite well I had the best time of my life tonight. Hopefully the rough start days are numbered.
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Sitting in the Mac Lab with Ms. Davis. We took the mash test three times and I ended up being her husband all three times. Sweet! Sorry, Corky. I'm kicking you to the curb!
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