:: Archipelapogo ::

:: 29.8.02 ::

b/c I'm a sensitive guy, ok?

Just got word from fellow dallas MeFier Zach that there's a benefit concert called Women Rockin' 4 Women in late September down at Club Clearview in Deep Ellum. I think that all of the acts are local artists. The show benefits local women's shelters and domestic violence prevention programs. I can dig it.

Also, Denise told me that the Vagina Monologues were coming to town. That's right cool with me as well. I know Ryan went and saw it and said it was pretty good. I'd like to give it a shot too.
:: Scott [+] ::
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Do you ever have imaginary conversations with real people? I do.

Case in point: I went outside just now to take my after lunch break, and said 'hey' to one of the museum parking lot guys, as I often do. Most of the guys that work in the lot are from Oak Cliff (not the best part of dallas). One guy, who's name I don't know, can often be seen in his car leaving, or chatting, or arriving or whatever. He's actually got a pretty nice car. It's got all the fun accessories, wheels, tinting, padded steering wheel, whatnot. And a boomin' (granny) system that he often plays pretty loudly. I've never recognized anything coming out of the speakers, but it's decent music. Kind of slow, dirty rap. But not the Ludacris or whatever you see on MTV. Anyhow, he pulled up today while I was outside, and here was my imaginary conversation with him:

Me: "what's up man? That's one hell of a system you have in there."
Parking Lot Guy: "Thanks, man."
Me: "what is that you're playing?"
PLG: "Aw, it's this dude named ______" (whatever the hell it is, doesn't matter)
Me: "right on. sounds kind of like a Screw Tape*"
PLG: (somewhat stunned) "No shit? You know Screw?"
Me: "Kind of. I heard this report on NPR one time..." (aw, shit).

*(Screw Tape: Tape made by the late DJ Screw from Houston who slowed down the songs by other DJ's to a painfull pace. He died from an overdose of codeine laced cough syrup, which was popular to drink while listening to his tapes.)
:: Scott [+] ::
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by the way, if you're looking for the spousal abuse post that was here, well, it's on the collaboratory. I accidentally posted it to the wrong blog. D'oh!
:: Scott [+] ::
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Thank you for supporting the war on terrorism

Make a subtle-but-powerful statement about the connection between rampant fuel consumption in the United States, and the financing of terrorists (and their families) by oil-producing nations, particularly America's 'ally', Saudi Arabia.

The 'Thank You' sticker is designed to be a subtle attention-getter. It is a 'word-virus' that will infect the mind of the gas consumer, and force them to think - then, and the next time they pull up to the pump.

A pretty nifty little idea, I think. Still, if I'm going out stickering, I'd rather use these Anti-Racist Action stickers to go around and put on cars/trucks that I see with Confederate flags on them. I scored some at the Ska Against Racism show I went to in Dallas in '97. I put one on the window to the dorm stairwell, and within three days somebody had scratched it out with a knife or key or something. Made me quite mad.


:: Scott [+] ::
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Whew. It took almost a week, but it looks like my PayPal payment to blogger finally went through. No more flashing winner banners, hit the ducks, or help the Red Cross. Actually, I like the Red Cross. Here, go help them. But no more banner ads. I know, it's long overdue, but I didn't have a job for a long time. Enjoy!
:: Scott [+] ::
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Denise and I watched "In The Bedroom" last night. Starring Sissy Spacek, Marisa Tomei, and some other people I'd never seen nor heard of, this drama takes place in Maine. Marisa Tomei plays a single mom who's recently divorced. She hooks up with Sissy Spacek's son, who is several years younger than Marisa. Her ex-husband doesn't take to kindly to this. Sissy Spacek and Tom Wilkinson (her husband) play the middle-aged couple who have to deal with tragedy. The story was quite good, and there were many good scenes in the movie. But, to say that this movie crawled at a snail's pace is too good of a compliment. I'd recommend it, but stock up on Ritalin first.
:: Scott [+] ::
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Since most everyone else has already broken the news, I'll just add my link to the Collaboratory, the new project headed by Sean and enjoyed by myself, and a few other guys that I've never met. It's kind of heady, or supposed to be, so I'll get my fix of that now without annoying my friends too much. Good benefit, eh? There have already been some good discussions, so make sure to click on the comments. Enjoy.
:: Scott [+] ::
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Oh, Kermie!

Get your fill of dissection without actually harming something by going to dissect a virtual frog. Safe, fun, and educational. Plus, no smell of formaldehyde.

(note, i haven't been yet. a co-worker told me about it. if it sucks, or doesn't work, let me know)
:: Scott [+] ::
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Hoax-down

The National Geographic "THE photo of the year" e-mail that's been circulating is a photoshop hoax, according to the good folks at National Geographic. Not a big surprise. That being said, it's probably one of the coolest photoshops I've ever seen, and the photo of just the shark jumping out of the water is quite cool. (even if you haven't received the e-mail, which my mom sent to me btw, they show the pics on the linked page above. check 'em out.)

(via rebeccablood)
:: Scott [+] ::
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Gotta give a round of applause to the good folks at Blue Sky Soda, who made the wonderful All Natural Black Cherry Soda that I'm currently enjoying. Good stuff. Plus, if you send in the blue tab on the top, they'll donate a dime to American Rivers organization.
:: Scott [+] ::
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We're a Happy Family

The track listing for the soon-to-be-released Ramones tribute album has been released. Here it is:

"Havana Affair," Red Hot Chili Peppers
"Blitzkrieg Bop," Rob Zombie
"I Believe in Miracles," Eddie Vedder w/ Zeke
"53rd & 3rd," Metallica
"Beat on the Brat," U2
"Do You Remember Rock'n'Roll Radio?," Kiss
"The KKK Took My Baby Away," Marilyn Manson
"I Just Want To Have Something To Do," Garbage
"Outsider," Green Day
"Something To Believe In," Pretenders
"Sheena Is a Punk Rocker," Rancid
"I Wanna Be Your Boyfriend," Pete Yorn
"I Wanna Be Sedated," the Offspring
"Here Today, Gone Tomorrow," Rooney
"The Return of Jackie and Judy," Tom Waits
"Daytime Dilemma (Dangers of Love)," Eddie Vedder w/ Zeke (limited-edition bonus track)

Some of them will definitely be worth a listen (Tom Waits? Whoa!). Some of them will probably be really, really bad (I'm looking at you KISS). Hopefully there will eventually be an additional album with more conventional punk artists, like what was done for the Clash (mainstream, not mainstream). I don't know how they can do a Ramones Tribute album and not put "Now I Wanna Sniff Some Glue" by Screeching Weasel on there.
:: Scott [+] ::
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Heh.
:: Scott [+] ::
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Vagrant Records

Bad Vagrant: approaches Ryan at the West End train station
V: "Hey buddy, I'm trying to make my way home. Do you think you could spare fifty cents for bus fare?"
R: "Awww, sorry man, I don't have any money on me."
V: "I'm not no bum, man, I'm just trying to get home"
R: "Sorry, man, I can't help you."
V: copping an attitude "Like I said, man, I ain't no bum. I probably got more stuff than you do"
R: shocked and a little amused "Hey, man, I'm sorry. But like I said, I don't have any money on me"
V: Getting pissed, starts to walk away. "Whatever man. Just know that it all comes back to you. It all comes back to you. I should know. That's how it works. It all comes back to you."
R to me: "If it all comes back to you, then that guy's gonna have someone coming up and bugging the hell out of him in a major way pretty soon."

Good Vagrant: In my car with Denise's brother at Greenville and Lover's intersection. Window rolled down with a cigarette lit.
V: approaching "Say, man, do you think you could help me get some food tonight?"
Me: (telling the truth) "Sorry, man, I don't have any cash on me."
V: "Are you sure, man?"
Me: "Yeah, man. Sorry."
V: "You suppose I could bum a smoke off of you?"
Light is quickly approaching green
Me: "Sure man, you want the rest of this one?"
V: Takes remaining half of cigarette happily. "Sure, man, thanks a lot!"
Me: "No problem, buddy. Have a good night, and good luck."

Equal parts disturbing and humorous Vagrant: At West End station after work. Finishing cigarette.
V: "Say, buddy, you 'spose I could buy one of them smokes off of you?"
Me: "Naw, man. Here, take this one." Hands over pack with one or two cigs left in it.
V: Pulls a five dollar bill out of pocket. "You sure you don't want this, man?"
Me: Slightly confused as to why the guy doesn't go buy his own "No, man. It's cool, I don't want your money."
V: Puts five dollar bill back in pocket. Lights cigarette "Aw, cool, thanks man."
Me: "Hey, no problem."
about a minute goes by
V: "Say, man. I don't have any money on me. You think I could borrow a dollar to get home?"
Me: Trying to repress laughter and stunned look. "No, sorry man. I don't have any cash on me." (Again, the truth. I very rarely carry cash.)
V: "Alright, thanks, man."
Me: Getting ready to board train. "Take it easy, buddy."
:: Scott [+] ::
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150K in a day

Want to book a successful concert for your college? Yet, one that you would also enjoy? Screw around with this page and figure out who you would book for $150K (an arbitrary budget that I just made up). Remember, it needs to be diverse to attract many kinds of people. Yet, enjoyable by all. Here's my list:

Fishbone ..... $7,500 (a steal!)
Bobcat Goldthwait ..... $10,000 (just to hang out with him for a little while)
Sonic Youth ..... $20,000 (about 1000x what I paid to see them two weeks ago)
Dilated Peoples ..... $7,500 (keeping it diverse)
Jeneane Garafalo ..... $50,000 (same price as Dana Carvey, and a hell of a lot funnier if you're older than 12)
Dave Attell ..... $5,000 (host of Comedy Central's Insomniac. Probably the best deal I've found on there)
Public Enemy ... $20,000 (Gotta do it before Flavor Flav has a heart attack)
Norm MacDonald ... $25,000 (but only if I get to stay up drinking with him all night after the show, otherwise, that 25k is going to Social Distortion)

And I can't find anyone else for the remaining $5,000, so I'll use that on local bands, food, drink, and advertising. What would you do? How much would you pay for a festival containing all of the above people?
:: Scott [+] ::
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Screaming Infidelities

Wow. I just saw in the Metro part of the paper that Texas is well-represented in the next Survivor saga. I've never watched an entire episode of that show, and I don't really care to. Thing is, this guy, Jed, that's on it, um, he was on my study abroad trip to France/UK that I took summer of '98 with Baylor. I didn't hang out with him, probably didn't even speak to him the whole trip. Didn't much want to. But...weel, I don't want to say too much, lest I fuel the massive Survivor rumor mills that exist on the internet, so I'll leave it up to about three choice phrases: Rampant Infidelity, Hotel Balcony, and Busted Upon Return to the States.
:: Scott [+] ::
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Pulling Dusty Volumes off of the Bookshelf

As I said below, I'm thinking very strongly about re-reading Grapes of Wrath. It got me thinking about a lot of books that I need to re-read. If I would just take some time off of reading new stuff, then it could be done in a relatively short amount of time. Here's what I'm thinking about re-reading:

Grapes of Wrath, John Steinbeck

Invisible Man, Ralph Ellison

A Tale of Two Cities, Charles Dickens

Les Miserables, Victor Hugo

Great Apes, Will Self

the Brothers Karamazov, Dostoyevsky

I'm sure there are plenty more that I need to re-read. It's tough finding a balance b/w re-reading stuff and exposing yourself to new things. I'm probably thinking way too much about it, but my boss is gone, and I don't have any work to do, so what else am I going to do?
:: Scott [+] ::
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I finished "Cannery Row" by John Steinbeck yesterday on the train ride home. I like Steinbeck (also read Grapes of Wrath and The Pearl). It was a good read, very much done in what I believe to be Steinbeck's way. Some very good characters. The story centers around a section of a town called, oddly enough, Cannery Row. It's close to some fish packing areas, and many of the people work there, at least during the "on"-season. Very indicative of a time and place no longer around, and that's what I really like about Steinbeck. He's got that period-piece thing working very well for him, but he does it without getting too detail-oriented or boring with describing the scenery (a la James Michener).

One thing that hadn't occured to me (this is the first time I've read any Steinbeck since high school) was that he really seems to have some very strong mysogynstic themes in his stories. In the Pearl, if I remember 8th grade correctly, the woman is painted as the reason for the downfall of the protagonist. In Cannery Row, the only women that receive the attention to get to know the character are neurotic, whiny, and shallow. Well, except for one woman, but she owns and runs the local brothel, so, yeah. I've been thinking about this for the last day or so. The only rebuttal I can think of is this: None of the characters in his books are stellar citizens. Many of the men in Cannery Row are lazy, self-seving, and bumbling. Maybe Steinbeck just had a sour view of humanity (i can relate) and he just focused his story more on male characters so you get to see their positive sides as well. All in all though, there was only one redeeming character in Cannery Row, and he was an alcoholic anyways. Something to chew on. It was definitely a good book though, and inspired me to re-read Grapes of Wrath sometime soon. (see next post). Would I recommend it? If you like Steinbeck already, then absolutely. If not, you probably won't be converted by this book. If you haven't read any Steinbeck, go read Grapes of Wrath. It's a much better book.
:: Scott [+] ::
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And you thought Thriller was scary?

The HiStory of Michael Jackson's face. I'm speechless. Someone else come up with something here.
:: Scott [+] ::
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Sadness

Ed Headrick, inventor of the modern frisbee and disc golf has died at the age of 78. Tributes from the PDGA here (for now), and another here. Godspeed, Eddie, and thanks for some great contributions to recreational society.
:: Scott [+] ::
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Blush

Economic summit in Waco. I think this was held at Baylor. First things first:

As expected, Bush presented no new policy = pep rally

The conference brought together Bush, members of his Cabinet, and more than 200 invitees who met to discuss topics ranging from corporate responsibility to health care. According to NPR this morning, this was mainly CEO's of big companies, and then a couple of placements, i.e. a plumber, a construction worker, etc. According to this MeFi thread, no Democrats were invited. Why, George? Why?

Now, re: Baylor and Dubya. Back in about September or October of 2000, Baylor was already campaigning for Bush, should he win, or steal it, or whatever, to put his Presidential Library on campus. A&M has Daddy Bush, UT has LBJ, so it seems Baylor would be a major contender for the next Pres Library in Texas to come around. Looks like they are now shifting themselves to be in prime position. The proximity of the ranch/slumber party palace in Crawford is probably a big pull as well, as I believe when he flies to his ranch, he lands at the small Waco Regional Airport, and drives from there. I had a professor that, during the elections of 2000, went out really late one night to hold up a sign for when he flew in for a rest stop. Then again, this is also the Prof that called then-president Clinton a "rapist" in class, resulting in laughs from everyone in there besides me and maybe one other person (small class, about 15 people). I kind of regret not leaving class at that moment. Not that I'm a big Clinton supporter, I just found it extremely inappropriate to use the time that I'm paying for to propagate name calling of any current politician. That was not a fun semester at Baylor, which I'm sure isn't a big surprise to anyone. Sigh.
:: Scott [+] ::
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This is how we rake the muck, rake the muck, rake the muck, this is how we rake the muck, so early in the morning

This post from Stavros's Empty Bottle is a wealth of information that is equal parts interesting, humorous, and disturbing. Here's a teaser:

GW Bush - decided that a six-year Nat'l Guard commitment really means four years. Still says that he's "been to war." Huh?
Dick Cheney - several deferments, the last by marriage (in his own words, "had other priorities than military service")

Att'y Gen. John Ashcroft - sought deferment to teach business ed at SW Missouri State
Speaker of the House Dennis Hastert - avoided the draft, did not serve.
Majority Leader Dick Armey - avoided the draft, did not serve.
Majority Whip Tom Delay - avoided the draft, did not serve. "So many minority youths had volunteered ... that there was literally no room for patriotic folks like himself."
Senate Minority Leader Trent Lott - avoided the draft, did not serve.

Now, I would in about 99% of cases choose, or try my damnedest, to avoid military service. Round about Sept. 13th, with my nerves still pretty frazzled, I read all I could about conscientious objection. But then again, I'm an unapologetic peacenik. But if you're going to sit around and stir up a shitstorm about going to war, you'd better be willing to go yourself.


:: Scott [+] ::
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The blogging world is getting awfully big.

Exhibit A): This statement from the front page of Blogger: "Interesting factoid I just calculated for a journalist: During the month of July, there were 1.5 Blogger blogs created per minute (on average)."

Exhibit B): Sometime yesterday, MeFi got its 15,000th user.

Good or bad? I have mixed feelings. We'll see. I just don't want to see blogs become like chatrooms and bulletin boards did after hundreds of thousands of pre-teens took over and drove them into the ground. Maybe this is already happening/has happened. I hope not.
:: Scott [+] ::
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Whiskey River, Don't Run Dry

While out this weekend, I tried a couple of new potables. First, I tried Old Whiskey River brand Bourbon, the official bourbon of Willie Nelson. I'm no expert on bourbons, so it kind of tasted like most others, but very good. Kind of reminded me of Knob Creek. But it's authorized by Willie Freaking Nelson. That's the best part of it. And the bar that I tried it at had all kinds of things to do with the Old Whiskey River. Drinks such as the Red-Headed Stranger, Wet Willie, On the Road Again, well, you get the point. If you get the chance, though, drink one for Willie.

Also tried Honker's Ale, made by Goose Island in Chicago. This has been all over the place the last month around here, with its distinctive taps. I liked it. It's fairly light, but it has a lot of flavor. Just a little bit of bitterness (not like old beer bitter, but bitter flavor. For more info, see any pub in the UK) but not enough to kill the taste. Not too shabby.
:: Scott [+] ::
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If George Clinton were God, this is what the moon would look like

The NASA website has a feature titled "Astronomy Picture of the Day". They've also got an archive of a whole bunch of past pics. There is some truly beautiful stuff in here. Personal faves include:

The Moons of Earth

Io: Moon over Jupiter

The View from Everest (amazing!)

and Aurora Through a Moonlit Sky

I'm not a science geek, much less a space geek (i'm so a webgeek, dammit!) but this stuff truly impressed me and interested me. I spent a good half hour flipping through them. Some of the explanations at the bottom were interesting as well, although some went straight over my head. Hope you enjoy them too!
:: Scott [+] ::
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Random other links, with little to no comment:

An antique .38-caliber pistol accidentally discharged as it was being handled by Rep. Bob Barr during a reception in his honor. The bullet hit a glass door, and no one was hurt.
Georgia lobbyist Bruce Widener said Tuesday that he had removed the magazine from his 1908 Colt but did not clear the chamber before handing the weapon to Barr, a board member of the National Rifle Association.

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Michael Moore's mother has passed away. He's in pretty deep mourning.

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Playground comebacks. Official rules site for Kickball, Tetherball, and dodgeball. Enjoy.
I will add, on this note, that my favorite playground game in elementary school was "World Cup" which was every man for himself, one goal, and when you scored, you got to be goalie. A close second was 4-square. And the dodgeball game for the original Nintendo was the best game that system ever had.
:: Scott [+] ::
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Read an article in the Morning News a couple of days ago about Baylor Freedom, an underground organization that serves as a support group to gay kids at Baylor. They won't ever be official, and their members are kept secret and their meetings are only known about to members. Seems kind of strange, but maybe I'd be paranoid as well. I thought it was a cool idea, and was going to leave an encouragement on their message board, but it's not working right now. Oh well.

I knew quite a few out gay people at baylor. Most of them hung out with each other, and were in the music/art/theater programs, and just seemed normal. I wonder how much of making a secret society is a good idea, or if they should just try to integrate on a more personal level. Then again, i realize, it's Baylor, and it's hard to do much of anything there. Good job, and good luck, kiddos from this alumnus.
:: Scott [+] ::
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The MeFi meetup went fairly well. Started out slow, but once people kind of came out of their shells, we had fun. It was kind of like going on a blind date with six people. I enjoyed myself, though. Not sure if I'd want to do it on a monthly basis, but 3-4 times a year could be cool. here's a pic of the group (be nice, kruggel, some of them may read this).
:: Scott [+] ::
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Tonight is the much hyped MeFi meet n' greet (i've pretty much abstained from any connection with meetup, at least for the time being). We're meeting at Ben's Half Yard, a sports bar/pool hall type place. Hopefully, all will go well. And you can spare the 'dork convention' comments. At least it's not a sci-fi convention or a dungeons and dragons tourney or something. (No offense, sean). Supposedly there are going to be pictures posted too, so if that happens, I'll let you know.
:: Scott [+] ::
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One Hell of a Big Bang

On this, Hiroshima day, the Guardian gives us an interview with Paul Tibbets, the man who piloted the Enola Gay over the soon to be damned Japanese city. Tibbets exhibits no remorse, and little but pride to this day. How do you sleep at night, Mr. Tibbets?
:: Scott [+] ::
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Alright, I've put it off long enough....

I bring you the all enclusive Sonic Youth show review

The show was really really good. And I mean that in the best way possible. Stubbs was packed to the hilt. Probably at least three times as many people as when I saw Jon Spencer there 14 or so months ago. Hot, sweaty, and really loud. It's always nice when the indie kids stop looking at their shoes and actually dance a bit. And there was plenty of dancing.

Thurston Moore still somehow looks like your friends 22 year old stoner brother, even though he's probably in his mid forties. He's also traded the small dreads in for his classic moppet hair look. Kim Gordon == gorgeous. That's what most of the guys I went with talked about after the show. Nevertheless, the music was quite phenomenal. They played mostly newer stuff. Not anything off of Dirty or Experimental Jet Set... if I remember correctly. They did bust out Silver Rocket though, which was a nice surprise. Two encores, with very little waiting inbetween, which was nice. The second one consisted mostly of a loud jam and thurston moore screaming over and over. Still seemed brilliant.

So yeah, i gotta say, if you get the chance to see them, it's probably required. Do it quickly. And enjoy it.
:: Scott [+] ::
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Found out that MeFi guy ceiriog has a blog in Welsh. Very cool. I went to Wales on my study abroad program in the UK. It's an extremely pretty country. The people were also really cool in that totally laid back, unpretensious way that rural people that aren't hicks have. My friend Dave (who i'll be crashing with this weekend) and I found a series of tapes that were "Learn to Speak Welsh". We totally wanted to buy them. We had this delusional fantasy that we could master it, and talk our heads off and we'd find less than one person per year in Texas that had any clue what the language was, much less what we were saying. I bought a flag on a stick instead. Within an hour, I had removed the flag and thrown the stick away. It's a shame. It'd still be really cool to speak Welsh.
:: Scott [+] ::
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Woohoo! The Sonic Youth show is tonight. I'm taking off work early (stayed late yesterday and wednesday) and heading down 35 to a city cooler than my own. I haven't been to Austin in a while, plus i get to see some friends that I haven't for up to two years. Shweet. The Dallas Observer printed this interview with Kim Gordon in this weeks edition. Learned that they're going to remaster "Dirty" and put it out as a 2xCD with some b-sides and unreleased stuff. Cool. I'll probably be able to post an entry tomorrow about the show, so come back and watch for it, eh?
:: Scott [+] ::
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Insert humorous quote about Pennsylvania here

I thought that the license plate study had bottomed out, but then I spied one from Pennsylvania today in the parking lot. That brings me to a grand total of 37 states represented in the parking lot of the museum in the past month. Not too shabby. Plus, seen a handfull from Mexico, and even one from Quebec. Also, randomly enough, got one from Hawaii. Either someone has moved here, or they're really, really afraid of flying. Who knows?
:: Scott [+] ::
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