Something That Happened

2010-03-29T20:59:00.003-05:00

A minute ago
I ate a plate of eight dates.
So now I just wait.

2010-03-08T18:01:00.000-06:00

Then one day I woke up and my mother had gotten old. And I had become not so young. And I went to my desk to look at the story and there were hundreds of new pieces, a secret store of senseless hurts, routine indignities, pointless hours. All of my work, all of the partial narratives I had been pasting and stapling and forcing together, it was all junk. "The Story of My Mother" had to include more fragments, more ingredients, more random intervals than I had ever imagined. And right then and there, I realized for the first time that I was not good enough to write it, realized that is was quite possible I would never be good enough, even if I had a thousand years. I realized that writing the story of my mother will require someone who can leave it all hanging, someone comfortable with ambiguity, someone with the ability to leave things out. I don't know how to do any of these things.

Quote pulled from "Autobiographical Raw Material Unsuitable for the Mining of Fiction", a short story by Charles Yu (which can be found in his book, Third Class Superhero).

2009-07-16T21:50:00.005-05:00

I think that Apollo 11 thing is a hoax; I went outside this afternoon and found the Saturn V rocket still right here on Earth!

This is just a few blocks from my apartment; I can actually see this Saturn V from one of my windows. Rockin', huh? (Or rocketin'!)

Anyway, I was taking a walk, listening to some hypernonsense being transmitted from my iPod, when I looked up and thought, Hmmm...I think I should go back and get my camera and then post to my blog! So, there you have it.

Yes, I'm still a fabulously silly man. And, unless my mind is playing a trick on me, I've been happy here -- possibly even happier than I'd been in L.A. in quite a long time. The Girl seems to think so, and I must say I agree. Like I said, though: Hopefully my mind's not playing a trick on me.

There's so much more space in the place we live -- this is the largest place I've ever lived in, aside from that summer at the Stewarts -- and that certainly helps lift some of the cobwebs from the mind. And speaking of cobwebs: There are a few, but only because we have two bathtubs -- one more than we really need -- and so the spiders take up residence in the one that doesn't get used as often. But that's a good thing! Because you see, I'd rather have too many tubs than not enough. I lived far too many years without a bathtub, and I don't believe I'll ever live without one again.

Spiders and insects (yes, there are quite a few of the latter) aside, I've really been enjoying the space of the place. Not just indoors: Rocket City is a decent-sized city, and quite a green one, too. I've enjoyed walking around, noting some of the differences between L.A. and Huntsville. There aren't as many sidewalks as I'd prefer, but I'm not letting that stop me from scrambling both over and under the city's highways. (If I live here longer than a year, however, I'll simply have to get a bicycle or a motorcycle to get around. I enjoy walking, but I'm guessing there will come a day when I tire of dashing across the freeway in order to get to where I'm going.)

Also: It's an exciting time to live in a place they call Rocket City, USA. This week's anniversary of the moon landing is a stirring reminder (around here) of this city's contribution to the space program. I've yet to actually step foot inside the U.S. Space & Rocket Center, but once I get my annual pass it'll probably be difficult to keep me out! Maybe I'll even get a part-time job there while I'm attending school.

And speaking of school: All the courses I've taken over the past two years are beginning to add up, and looking at my transcripts is beginning to fill me with a sense of accomplishment. Once I've completed the summer course I'm currently enrolled in, however, I'll need to figure out a financial pathway into a local college (which will be relatively expensive for me -- Alabama community colleges are rather expensive here in comparison to California's). There's always hope, though: Perhaps the University of Alabama will find some room for me in one of their graduate programs (and then I'd qualify for financial aid)! Wish me luck.

Anyway, it's getting late here, and the old man (I'm talking about me) is ready to get some more studying in and then get some sleep. Thanks for spending some time here, reading my words (and puzzling over the expression on my face).

2009-06-21T09:25:00.001-05:00

The day before yesterday, I went for a drive and found myself in Tennessee. I honestly hadn't realized I had driven that far, nor that I was even driving in that direction. It's a funny sensation, finding yourself driving past a sign displaying a message indicating that you've entered a new state. A new land. The land of bears -- in my mind, anyway -- or is Alabama home of the Bear Country Jamboree? Certainly Tennessee is the land of music: Elvis, Dolly Parton. Johnny Cash. Nashville, for cryin' out loud! Whiskey (whisky?). The Smoky Mountains. Smoky and the Bandit (as the face of Burt Reynolds plastered to the case of an 8-track cassette in the Fayetteville Goodwill Store reminded me).

NASCAR. The Titans. An old Saturn plant. These are just a few things that came to mind as I drove through the summery brown and yellow (and green) landscape of southern Tennessee. I turned on the satellite radio in the rented SUV and found an All-Elvis station, broadcasting straight out of Memphis. Of what more could you ask from your first visit to the state? Oh, there's a Krystal...

2009-04-19T00:15:00.001-05:00

Smaller missiles too will mean much to Huntsville's future. An example is ARGMA's amazing new RED EYE missile...If a person forgets his lunch...his wife in the future can warm up the guidance system of her back-porch RED EYE, hurriedly shove in the lunch sack, and when her husband sees something flying alongside his car window he will reach out, take the lunch, and if it's Thursday will keep the RED EYE to send home his check.

From Rocket City USA
by David S. Akens
1959 The Strode Publishers
Huntsville, AL

2009-04-12T13:13:00.001-05:00

Art -- specifically, films, even ones made for television -- can be dangerous to a relationship. Granted, the culprit was not your typical Hallmark movie, The Burning Bed or some other similar lesson in infidelity. No, this was truly a work of art: the 1973 television (mini)series Scenes from a Marriage, directed by that famous Swedish auteur, Mr. Ingmar Bergman.

2009-04-08T01:40:00.001-05:00

Magnatune Song of the Day. I see those words every day, a subject among many subjects in my Gmail Inbox. A free MP3 download, each and every day of the year. Songs I rarely listen to (though maybe, just maybe, I will now that I'm making such a big deal about them in this post).

2009-04-06T02:09:00.001-05:00

Huntsville seems like it could be a wonderful place to live, for many people. For me? I believe it could be. I could get along fine there, just as I could get along fine just about anywhere (except, perhaps, that hostel in that movie Hostel). I'm highly adaptable, you know? Hell, I lived in frat houses for more than a dozen years!

There are problems, though, and The Employer simply isn't providing the incentive to overcome them. For one, they're simply not offering The Girl enough money (or time) to consider this offer seriously. Though they flew us out to Rocket City for a day, they haven't exactly been generous (or even fair) in the past. I believe The Girl deserves an employee who recognizes her talents -- simply telling her she's doing a fine job would go a long way toward that, but perhaps that's too much to ask for. She should at least be paid better than she has. This company lays off employees, distributes their work to The Girl, then compensates themselves while expecting The Girl to take on much of the work of her former associates. All with hardly a pat on the back (and honestly, I don't know if she even gets that), and certainly without being paid more.

So I wonder: Does she really want to work for this employer any longer? There's also my own situation to consider. Ultimately, it's The Girl's decision as to whether she wants to continue working, but the reality is that she won't be leaving without me, and I don't see how I could leave my mom here in the nursing home. I would have to know that we would have enough money to be able to import my mom once a suitable nursing home is located. I'm also starting to get a real relationship with my dad, too. And I have friendfamily (yes, I intended that to be one term) here in the Los Angeles area that I'd find it difficult to leave (even though I haven't visited them much recently, truth be told).

It'd be really difficult for me to leave, and The Girl would need to receive some measure of due respect from her employer before seriously considering whether to up and leave. Treating employees with respect year-round seems rare these days, but I don't think it's too much to ask for. And the fact is, The Girl likes (most of) her associates, including the HR rep who spends a great part of the day on a smoke break (and sends much of her own work The Girl's way). There are just some key individuals who really seem clueless about The Girl's value to the company, individuals who ultimately make those decisions regarding The Girl's compensation. Individuals who rarely work directly with her but who make the most important decisions affecting her career (such as deciding whether she's valuable enough to be included in the group of employees invited to Huntsville)!

2009-04-06T00:55:00.001-05:00

Just got back from Rocket City, USA. That's Huntsville, Alabama -- it's often referred to as Rocket City due to its role as a key player in NASA and the space program's history. Though the Saturn V rockets that carried the Apollo astronauts to the moon are no longer being built there, the city is still home to some government agencies and a few high tech businesses. The city also has the world's largest (and/or most-visited) space exploration museum.

Anyway, The Girl and I were flown out there by her employer; they want us to consider moving there. The office in Beverly Hills is closing down and some of the employees are being offered jobs in Huntsville.

2009-03-30T00:54:00.001-05:00

Now it's night; my body aches. It's time to check into bed soon. I suppose it was a good day, all in all. Not much exercise, though. I'll have to figure out a way to get that going more regularly. One long walk every few weeks just won't cut it. The heart needs more -- always so, so much more.

At least: At least I learned a few things today. Today I spent much of the day working on the labs for my PHP programming course. It's fun stuff, once I get into it. Problem is getting into it. That is, the problem is getting myself to ignore all the other distractions and get down to studying and scripting (programming).

2009-03-29T11:57:00.000-05:00

Coffee’s brewing. I’m thinking brewin’ but I’m not from the South (though I may be soon...but that’s another story). Now the coffee’s to mouth. That happened quick, didn’t it? I took a moment between sentences to stir up my brew and pour it into my cup. A lot can happen between sentences. Any particular moment in life: a breathe, an activity. A lot of living, breathing activity.

Imagine all the things that can happen between blog posts.

My cup is half empty now. Half full? How many clichés...never mind. (Did you know that nevermind is a common misspelling of never mind? I didn’t. My word processor let me know, just now.) Coffee’s done. Maybe I should place the sentences faster. Maybe I should think less. Edit my thoughts less. (I edit my thoughts a lot. Sometimes I edit them right out of existence. That’s why there’s so few blog posts.)

2009-03-01T23:57:00.000-06:00

Childhood's End by Arthur C. Clarke

My review

rating: 4 of 5 stars
I'm close to giving it five stars, but so far I've made it a habit to do that only rarely. This was one fantastic story about the possible purpose and end-result of an alien visitation/occupation. Difficult to say much without giving away the fun; just remember this: the description of the alien race is *quite* interesting, perhaps the most interesting I've ever encountered (ahem, pun intended).

View all my reviews.

2008-12-21T01:15:00.001-06:00

While we're waiting for that big change that's supposed to occur around here, allow the L.A. Times to introduce you to Ryan Bowen, a young man who is biking for Obama. Mr. Bowen, like our President-elect, graduated from Occidental College, a private university located in my hometown Eagle Rock. He is currently riding his bicycle across the country in the hope of making it to the Inauguration of our 44th President of the United States. Vaya con Dios (or whoever is running this show), Ryan. Luck be with you.

2008-09-25T13:23:00.000-05:00

Soon,
a
big
change
will
take
place...

(in my life, anyway)

2008-07-16T12:09:00.000-05:00

Harold = "hair old"

2008-07-06T12:38:00.001-05:00

I will be there.

2008-07-03T13:04:00.000-05:00

An Evening Excursion

An old vlog post. In case anyone is interested in production technique: This recording (except for the title sequence) was edited using the "edit as you go" method -- that is, I hit the Pause button as I was recording this video. I'm actually quite surprised the batteries lasted as long as they did (about an hour and a half), considering those same batteries last no longer than ten minutes these days.

2008-06-18T20:00:00.000-05:00

Aaaah here come the comedown
And hitting walls this speed just ain't no fun
No fun

-- Love & Rockets

(I realize that song is about coming down from a more recreational substance, but I am coming down from an andrenaline rush, and doesn't that count? In any case, it's the song playing in my headphones as I drum these words out on the laptop's keys...)

What was I gonna do, once I confirmed it was him? Certainly I was going to confront him, that's for certain -- since I was already spitting (carrots) in his direction. Certainly my adrenaline was up, as it still is now, less than 30 minutes later. Certainly I was -- or felt, at least, due to the adrenaline -- ready for action. But what action? What was I going to do? Question him? Accuse him? Challenge him to a duel?

I mean, if he really did break into our neighbor/roommate's room and steal their stuff, did I really expect him to admit it?

"Why yes, Harold, I did in fact walk into their room, pick up a backpack, and fill it with the following items:

1) a brand-new Dell laptop,
2) an Apple iPod, and
3) one (Genuine?) leather wallet

Shall I return them now, or would you prefer for me to turn myself in to the local police department?"

Fortunately, we'll never know what I would have asked/accused/actioned, because when I ~~nearly jumped~~ asked him if he was so-and-so, he ~~responded in his own agressive manner~~ said that he wasn't. So, the encounter having reached its climax, I could only respond (in a somewhat petulant manner), "I'm sorry, I suppose I mistook you for someone else", and then haughtily walk away.

Technorati Tags: encounter, suspicion, adrenaline, foolishness, confrontation, something that happened

2008-06-15T15:28:00.000-05:00

The Bubblemen are here!

Technorati Tags: Bubblemen, Love and Rockets, Love & Rockets, Coachella, Coachella 2008, something that happened

2008-06-10T17:28:00.000-05:00

Technorati Tags: WWDC, Apple, Mac, unboxing, unbox, something that happened

2008-06-04T16:04:00.000-05:00

So maybe she can still pick up on sarcasm.

Technorati Tags: something that happened

2008-05-20T00:10:00.000-05:00

The months roll by. Months turn into years; you find out about things you've been missing. For example, a couple of new releases (which are, of course, not so new anymore) by one of your favorite recording artists (The Orb). You haven't spoken with friends in ages -- it's nearly hostile the way you've stopped speaking with anybody. (On the phone, at least, since you still kinda/sorta communicate using the 'Net.) You're angry all the time, and you feel like you shouldn't be: fer Chrissakes you've been seeing a shrink for three or four years now! Shouldn't you be sane already? Or a bit less mad, at least.

You keep telling yourself that you'll return to something that happened, in one way or another. You know it's okay that you disappear; you don't need anyone to tell you that. But still, Hurley wants to know: Where've you been, dude?

Been studying. Yeah, studying. Programming, mainly, but also some web design stuff -- you know, graphics applications like Photoshop and Fireworks and Dreamweaver. Currently you're learning Visual Basic in class and Ruby on your own, and today you enrolled in one class to learn PHP and another to learn Excel (because the C Programming course was full). This is the current direction of your careerseeking, and you hope it helps you find that fun vocation that you desire (rather than that horrible customer service-by-phone stuff you absolutely loathe).

As you edit this post you decide to link to someone, because you know that people have difficulty reading stories that don't have links, so you insert this paragraph right smake in the middle of your article and mention your friend Matthew, because he's one of the first people you can think of to link to and because you actually think he's a decent and hardworking person with artistic inclinations. (This is all true but you're still going to cross out this paragraph, excepting your friend's name, because you want folks to ignore everything but the damn link.)

Aside from a reincarnated bad neighbor situation and a bad case of anger, you're actually doing okay. Maybe you've gotta just live with being a somewhat angry dude, like that comic book guy in New York who they made that movie about. Harvey something or whatever. Picar, that's it. Pikar? Whatever. Dude's always angry about something or other. Hate to be angry like that all the time, but maybe you are. You know, inside. At least you don't carry a sourpuss face around. Or do you? Nah, you don't (you don't think).

You finally visited your mom again -- it's been what, a year? Okay, maybe not that long, but it sure felt like it. You've adopted a new strategy that you hope will work for you: Try not to do everything when you visit her. That's a hopeless situation, and it'll just frustrate you and inevitably make you want to avoid going to see her altogether. No, you're going to do things differently this time. You're going to just visit. If you don't have the money to take her out, that's okay, you can eat in. Bring a sandwich or two, enough money for a can of Coke if you can, a cup of coffee. Truly, you just need the bus money, you know? That's it. You don't have to always bring treats; you're her best gift, and she yours.

What else? Too much. Too much to catch up on, and there's no way you can possibly relate all that's happened, all that hasn't. So don't even try. Just this little bit of information is good for now. You know yourself; you know you have love in you, you know who you love (you think). You may not be showing it as often or in the way your friends and family would prefer, but with a little luck they'll understand that this is one way you can handle expressing that love: With this tiny article of information.

Technorati Tags: something that happened, information, what's happening, what's new, news, friends, family, passing of time, personal development

2008-03-18T22:57:00.000-05:00

One of my personal hero-authors has passed away, Sir Arthur C. Clarke. If you happen upon news of this event, you'll read that he was one of the great science fiction writers, was a visionary, was a futurist, was inspirational to a great number of people, and collaborated with film director Stanley Kubrick (on the 1968 cinematic tour de force, 2001: A Space Odyssey). All of these are certainly true, but is it also true that he was a pedophile? Is that why he moved to Sri Lanka?

A quote from Arthur Charles Clarke:

Every revolutionary idea evokes three stages of reactions: At first people say, “It's completely impossible.” Then they say, “Maybe it's possible to do it, but it would cost too much.” Finally they say, “I always thought it was a good idea.”

Technorati Tags: something that happened, Arthur C. Clarke, pedophile, science fiction, Sri Lanka, sex with children, rumours, famous obituaries

2008-03-13T00:20:00.000-05:00

I just received an email from the US Copyright Registry. At first I thought it was spam, but closer examination seems to indicate that’s it’s real. Apparently, I own a domain (Internet address) that is now available for copyright registration. In other words, I can register my website with the US Patent and Trademark Office and be protected from anyone else infringing upon my works. If someone produces a work that is derivative of my website, I can sue them for damages.

Here’s the funny thing: The domain itself was once a copyright infringement. I purchased the name because it was one letter of difference from another, much more popular, domain. Kind of like what MacDonalds.com is to McDonalds.com. In fact, in my case it was another popular McSite (but not related to McDonald’s).

I have to take a side trip here, because something unusual just happened while I was considering the name of America’s most famous restaurant chain. I was looking at the name, “McDonald’s”, and I had the sudden realization that it’s such a mundane, normal name. McDonald’s. A last name. A family’s name. It could have been Smith’s or Swift’s or Johnson’s or Swanson’s. It could have been Cho’s or Pho’s or Hung’s or Kim’s. It could have been Morales’ or Garcia’s or Sanchez’ or Gomez’. It could have been Washington’s or Jefferson’s or Black’s or White’s. That name, which today represents French Fries, Coke, kids -- that name, “McDonald’s”, is curiously mundane and could easily have been any other family’s name. “McDonald’s” could easily have been “Obama’s”.

You think I’m way off, don’t you? Obama’s? No way, you say, not in America. Well, maybe you’re closed-minded, or you have the notion that most Americans would be uncomfortable with a name that recalls the Middle East. Yet back in the fifties, before all of this 9/11 madness and fear of all things Middle Eastern, when McDonald’s came into existence it easily could have been named after Barack’s family. After all, they represented the American Dream, to some extent. Immigrating to the United States to make a better life and all that. Had they opened the fast-food chain we all can’t help visiting from time to time, we would now be conjuring up images of golden arches and a fire engine red-haired clown whenever the name “Obama’s” was uttered.

To be perfectly honest, however, I have to admit that the Obama family’s half-blackness could have been a problem for their business back in that pre-enlightened era. They still had a few years before the Civil Rights Movement would differentiate between the Good, the Bad, and the Ugly. So maybe “Obama’s” is a bad example. Point is, McDonald’s could have had plenty of other names, and it’s quite likely those other names would have represented the same things McDonald’s does today. McDonald’s conjures up images quite different than Callendar’s, doesn’t it? Yet Callendar’s could have been the name that brought up cheap ass microwaved apple “pies” rather than homestyled pie-tinned holidays.

Do you ever have those moments? When you look at a word -- when you stare at a word -- and see it for what it truly is? Or at least, see it as something different from what you always thought it was? If you think you haven’t, maybe I haven’t properly articulated my realization. We’ll leave this side-trip now, in any case, and get on with the domain issue.

So I received an invitation from the copyright office to register a domain that I had used to mimic another website, and all just to gain a few more visitors to my own website. Thankfully, the owner of the original domain hadn’t sued me; they were hip enough to realize that my little game was more of a tribute than an actual attempt at infringement. Besides, I linked back to the original name: I told visitors that they’d arrived at the wrong site if they’d been searching for “Mc____”, as my site was “Mac____”.

All this is kind of difficult to explain, or at least I’m thinking it might be difficult to understand if you don’t know a thing or two about domains. Still, it gave me something to write about, and I appreciate the time you took to read it. Perhaps it even gave you a little something to think about. Now go get a word or a name and think about it for a long time, and let me know how odd it seems when you really think about that word.

2008-03-11T23:49:00.000-05:00

I hadn’t realized television had decayed to the point of recycling the Battle of the Network Stars concept. The updated version, of course, is Battle of the Network Reality Stars. I discovered this while doing some research -- you know, your typical Google/Wikipedia search on some topic of passing interest. It probably began with reading a news article about an alleged criminal act performed by a former Reality series “star”...feeling like I recognized the name of said “star”...being irked that I’m not certain...bored and procrastinating...digging around online for more information in the attempt at satisfying that nagging feeling of recognition...I’m sure I know this guy, it’s on the tip of my tongue...my girlfriend exclaiming (“That’s him!”) her boss has a working relationship with the very same criminal person...sidetracking into other Wiki-information. Somewhere along the way, there it is: Battle of the Network Reality Stars.

Are you kidding me? Is television getting this desperate? I mean, I know this show wasn’t broadcast on the Networks, as it was in the old days -- this time around it was a Bravo production, which explains why I hadn’t known about it before (since I haven’t had cable or satellite service in years). But still...Is Bravo so desperate as to resort to this type of recycled programming? Apparently so.

It’s not simply that the concept is recycled. That’s not what bothers me; television has delivered plenty of recycled concepts I’ve enjoyed a-plenty. In fact, I recall really enjoying Battle of the Network Stars when I was a kid. Nothing like watching Tattoo and Mr. Rourke team up with the crew of The Love Boat in a tug-o-war against Eight is Enough. It’s a postmodern delight, genre-busting mischief that could only be enjoyed by true television aficionados.

I’m also not a Reality Hater. Really. I’m not one to duck Reality. (Well, for the most part.) So maybe it’s just a knee-jerk reaction, this nausea over Bravo’s attempt at entertainment. I suppose I might have really enjoyed watching Battle if I’d actually invested more television time to Big Brother and Apprentice and Average Joe and Amazing Race and America’s Next Top Model and American Idol and Real World. But I didn’t, so this Reality show and Reality stars just seems plain silly to me.