From Baltimore

Northern

I'm taking yet another trip up to good old Charm City tomorrow. That place is becoming my second home; it's everything DC is not (i.e. fun and unpretentious). Baltimore is the like the cool uncle who just likes to hang out and rap with the kids and has a bunch of cool shit in his house, whereas DC is the rest of the shitty family——too self-absorbed to notice how lonely you are and not loose enough to have any fun or hold a real conversation.

Travis has the day off for once because he was fired/quit his job today, so we're making a day of it. Jonathan says he will join us, too. Aside from the usual stops at Sound Garden and Atomic Books, I hope to visit Normal's (after several failed attempts in the past), the museum of outsider art (don't know the official name) and by Travis' request, Poe's grave.

I've added a few additional photos, including that curiously painted truck I see downtown. I finally got a lens cloth so I can clean my camera lens, which must have gotten smudged (don't let a six year-old hold your camera!), though I doubt my photography will improve too much. I also added what is sometimes called a "tagboard" to the sidebar on the page. Give it a try——what have you got to lose?

Sleep Will Come to Mess You Up

I can't think of more appropriate music for this cold, rainy day than this. These nine songs of acoustic guitar and piano, gentle vocals, tinkly-winkly mallets, synth flourishes, and restrained percussion are freely downloadable (with cover art) from this Icelandic musician's website. Try “drunk song” and the title track as more energetic stand-outs OR “i need a home for my hands and head” and “we like winter clothes” for smoky late-night listening.

The nine songs (8 + 1 “hidden”) of the Singing Arc EP are hi-fi home recordings which should easily guarantee young Seabear a label deal (if he wants one). Not much like Björk, Múm, or Sigur Rós or any of the more visible musicians from Iceland I've yet heard. For fans of the slow burn. Let's get floaty.

People Coated In Wax

I was all set to write about my night at the Galaxy Hut last night, how laughable the pseudo-hipsters that sometimes frequent that place can be and how utterly disgusted by people I find myself lately, when I was interrupted by a burning pizza in the oven. Luckily, my ruined dinner quite possibly saved me from posting an embarrassing outpouring of anger and bitter disappointment.

And so, after having a moment to reconsider, I'll skip the foreplay and jump right to the money shot: I hate everyone. Almost. I'm getting there, though, and I understand why.

See, there is definitely something wrong with me, but I can say with certainty that there is also something very wrong with the world in which I exist. I am an outsider and a misanthrope, but I am slowly becoming a true loner through no fault of my own. No, this is how it has to be if I am to avoid a watered-down compromise of what I believe in.

I refuse to forget the person I've grown up to be. I don't want to be anyone else.

Ever read Catch-22?

Well, we're fucking living it my friends:

“Eight soldiers stationed in Iraq and Kuwait are filing a lawsuit against the Army's stop-loss policy while 12 former soldiers forced out of the military are filing a lawsuit against the Pentagon's ‘don't ask, don't tell’ policy.” Democracy Now! (12.07.04)

The US military is keeping soldiers who have served their time and fulfilled their obligations in the Iraq war against their will. At the same time, soldiers who want to serve are being kicked out of the military because they are gay. It's quite absurd (i.e. friggin' retarded). Meanwhile, the US is sending 12,000 additional troops to Iraq, including retired soldiers who served in Vietnam in the 60's. WTF?

BTW, the Pentagon recently issued official tallies for this fantastic freedom quest: 1,275 fatalities and 9,765 wounded US soldiers so far since the invasion of Iraq. Yeah; I won't even go into the number of dead Iraqi civilians.

When asked by troops currently serving in Iraq about the wonderful “stop-loss” policy, US Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld explained very clearly that “It's basically a sound principle, it's nothing new, it's been well understood.”

[blink, blink] Gee, Mr. Rumsfeld…uhh…ok, thanks! We'll get back to getting blown up now.

It makes you wonder what they're gonna do when soldiers start deserting and/or continue to die and they've run out of senior citizens to call back to duty. Hmmm…

I've Never Relied On the Kindness of Strangers

As much as I bitch and complain about how terrible things can be and how shitty people are sometimes, I have to admit that I've been pleasantly surprised lately by more than a few random folks from the most peculiar of places. In starting this site recently and working the new blog, I've received a great amount of help from absolute strangers on the net. These faceless beings, who should by rights have no interest in helping me, have been utterly indespensable in the creation of this virtual manifestation of selfishness and ego. Kinda ironic, isn't it: the selfless aiding and abetting the hopelessly self-absorbed. Thanks—don't mind if I do!

So anywayz, the potluck at werk today was a success. My coconut rice went quite well with the Indonesian chicken, which played nicely with the asian coleslaw. The kicker was of course dessert: a homemade chocolate mousse pie with enough calories to power a wood-burning stove in the dead of winter for several days and nights. Mmm.

I worked a little bit on the looks of the site this evening. I can't seem to stop screwing around with the layout and the colors here. I've added a bit of brown (can you even tell?) to my limited palette of desaturated blues. Oh, and that logo up there—it's gotta go. I'm working on something, believe me. I'm too neurotic for consistency.

Neuroticism aside, I think I've been futzing around so much with the petty details because it's an easy way of putting off doing the music section, or not adding any other visit-worthy content for that matter. But I'll do that shit. I will. I'd like to get it posted in time for my 2004 top ten, at least.

In the near future, expect a wee bit of interactivity here, as well as some hand-picked linkage, some more photos, that damn music section, and lots and lots of nudity.

Good night, champ.