John Lennon
John's Abbey Road suit just
sold for 118 grand. Interesting. . . I wonder what John himself would have to say on the issue?
"Possession isn't nine-tenths of the law. It's nine-tenths of the problem."
"Music is everybody's possession. It's only publishers who think that people own it."
"The postman wants an autograph. The cab driver wants a picture. The waitress wants a handshake. Everyone wants a piece of you."
And since I'm quoting John Lennon, here's another one that I like:
"I believe in everything until it's disproved. So I believe in fairies, the myths, dragons. It all exists, even if it's in your mind. Who's to say that dreams and nightmares aren't as real as the here and now?"
The Gunslinger
The story of Roland Deschain is not finished yet! Stephen King is collaberating on his first
comic book series.
I've always enjoyed Stephen King, and I started the Dark Tower series when I was but a wee lad of 15. The series had its ups and downs over the years, and I got a bit scared when I thought the story had seriously lost it's way in book 5. Fortunately, King managed to pull it all together for one hell of a finish. I've never cried from a book, but sections of the 7th book got me as close as I can come.
Tears or no, it was hard to read that last page, knowing that there wasn't a part 8 coming. After being with me for 15 years, I felt a strong longing to experience more of that world. Now, with this news, I'm going to get a monthly installment!
Ancient Memes
It's good to know that King Tut drank
Red Wine. It provides more evidence that ancient cultures had contact with each other, and not all that contact was violent. Furtheremore, it shows that cultures are willing to adapt when it serves their best interest.
Maybe I'm reading too much into it, though.
Odds and Ends
The following good things happened this weekend. . .
1. I bought Arrested Development on DVD, and it's all that I wanted it to be. Best show since Seinfeld. I haven't watched a whole lot of television these days, mostly because of the fuzzy picture. I can proudly say that I haven't had cable TV since my move to Indianapolis in 1998, and I haven't missed anything important. On the other hand, I spend alot of money on DVDs, and while in Indianapolis, I got 6 clear channels. Here I get 4 fuzzy ones.
2. Went to the Colts game yesterday, and watched them beat Houston. I lucked out on free tickets through one of Jackie's contacts at UTMB. There really are alot of nice people in this town. The only downside is the my future of live football. I'm thinking about getting a three-game season ticket package next year, but the parking is 30 bucks! I may have to decline on priciple.
3. Bonded over beers with a guy at the Seely Center for Aging, and he's going to start putting in good words for me in his program. He's been affiliated with UTMB for 13 years, and he may just be the kind of "in" I'm looking for.
4. Decided to pursue a small business. Working out the initial budget shows that is may be a bit easier than I thought. I am going with #7 from the posts below. It's a good pedigree that fulfilled my desire for a clean, well-lit gaming store (I will have dark space in the back room for the black T-shirt wearing guys), and accounts for the copious tourism of this island. I really want to involve the locals though, so I'm going to serve a few drinks, and try to get local artists to crafts things liek chessboards, etc. I have ideas for classes, and special events, and right now I just need to organize and learn everything I can about the process. Barring a good job, I am shooting for an April opening.
5. Spent a long time in Webster, TX at a Barnes and Noble. I am finally experiencing some small successes with my current writing/submissions, but the master plan was always to start with my comfort zone (D&D) and use what I've leaned to expand my horizons (and my confidence). I have copies of 4 new magazines that don't require research or expertise from their contributors. My strategy is the same: to basically flood them with stuff. I am going to try to up the professionalism a notch, though. I've already been dinged once on proofreading, of all things, and I know this is because I'm so anxious to move on to the next thing that I don't take enough time to deal with what's in front of me.
Anyway, it was "good times" and I think my future's looking brighter too.
Saturday Night Live
I am finally excited to watch Saturday Night Live again. Well, at least until the weekend update. This is not because I enjoy the hit and miss humor of the show. . . it's because
Tina Fey is finally back after having her baby.
It won't stop me from having a massive crush on the woman.
Scary Idea #2
The Chimera's Den is a local gaming store that has little to offer anybody. It's a tight, dark little place with mold on the carpet. The bathroom (at least the one time I used it) was absoultely disgusting. I attempted to buy a few books the first time I visited, but the owners' credit card machine was down, and he went on a rant about credit cards, and how all patrons should just bring cash. *sigh*
I don't want to drive anyone out of business, but I know I could do handsprings around the "Den." He hasn't bothered to cultivate any new market, he doesn't advertise, he seems to have no network or conections outside of his business. He opens areoung 3pm and closes, in his words. . . "whenever I damn well feel like it." Last time I was in there, he looked at me blankly when I asked about WOTC's releases next month. He has no selection either, and when I asked about some products pretty common to the gaming hobby, and he said he could order them at list price with 20% cash upfront, arriving in about two weeks. Amazon is cheaper and quicker, man!
I have not found a job yet, and am starting to believe that my future career will be in Landry's management training program, which is pretty depressing.
So, with all of this in mind, Jackie and I have been discussing the idea of starting my own business in Galveston. It's primarily a tourist town, with about 60,000 residents. It also has three colleges, including UTMB, with students and employees who count for over 10,000+ of that population.
I think there are mnay things that lacking in this town, and before I head to the bank with my volumnous business plan, I need to understand what people want and figure out what isn't already here. It's entirely possible that a high-quality, friendly gamig store just isn't going to fly around here. There is a big convention in Houston in February, and a gaming store in Clear Lake that has a great feel. I need to contact them both immediately, and see if they can help me with research.
Then again, even if a gaming store doesn't work out, there are a many other busness that I think would be sucessful on this island, at least in my initial brainstorming:
1. Candy Shop - there is a carmel candy store on The Strand, but that's it. If you want a chocholate coverd cherry on this island, you have to buy it at CVS. I think there's potential there.
2. Comic Books - I haven't found one, and I'm pretty pure that there isn't one on the island. It's hard to believe, really. Unfortunately, other than Neil Gaiman and Order of the Stick, I haven't read a comic book in years. I don't have a start up collection or anything. Do comic book store owners need to read comic books?
3. Japanese Culture - The closest place to buy anime, or those paperback japanese graphic novels, is at the Mall of the Mainland, a thirty minute drive. Do people read that stuff here? Again though, my expertise is very limited, having seen a few of the mainstream biggies, but nothing else. I haven't read a graphic novel since The Dark Knight Returns. Hmmm . . .
4. Chicken Wings - When I arried on the Island, I saw a big sign that said "Wings," but it was a surf shop. There is no place to get specialty wings, like a BW-3's or an RJ Wingers. I loved those places in Indianapolis, and I miss them intensely. I have a feeling a restaurant would go over big here, but I dunno - maybe it's just a midwestern thing.
5. Music Store - there are plenty of used CD stores, but no place to buy new music. You have to drive to the Mall, or go to Target. There is also no place to buy muscial instruments. . . not one guitar store in this Island. That could be big, especially with a focus on Mexican-American instruments.
6. Movie House - There is one theatre on the Island, and it's infested with teenagers. I have been there many times already, and I absolutely hate their sound system and their cavailer attitude about keeping the place clean. I was thinking of a movie/bar, along the lines of a Cinema Grill or a Hollywood Bar and Filmworks. It was popular in Indianapolis, but then again, that was a much bigger town. At my place, I would focus on smaller Indie releases, and some Spanish films. Will they come?
7. Family Tourism - There are plently of places on the oceanfront that sell ice cream, seashells, and plastic buckets. I was thinking that a tourist business that sold family games, handcrafted chess sets, puzzle boxes, and unique card games. Maybe focus on themes that feature the ocean in some way. I am thinking about offering things for the "bored-in-the-hotel-room" family crowd, as well as the "unique-gift-that-also-brags-about-my-vacation" crowd. Plus, it offers higher class gaming materials for the locals.
8. Porno - Despite the numerous locations on this island for both "static" and "active" adult entertainment, I'll bet this is one field where there's always room for one more. It's creepy, but what can I say? It sells.
These are my initial ideas, and I think with some research and time, I could probably come up with some more. Obviously, a few would be more interesting that others. I need to get cracking on the market research, as well as continue my progress on Scary Idea #1 (getting paid to write stuff).
Despite the lack of a long-term career I can sink myself into, I CAN say that I'm going to stay busy. . .
Review of Elizabethtown
I saw Elizabethtown last night.
I was very worried after reading reviews for this movie. It was pretty negative all around, which made me think that Cameron was slumping or that his filmmaking may have lost it's spark after Vanilla Sky. I admit that I wanted Cameron to dazzle me, but I still went into the theatre dreading the train-wreck to come.
So what happened? Did it work?
Oh yeah. . . it worked.
This is the best movie of the year.
In my opinion, this movie is flawless. At no point did I feel that Cameron was lazy or misguided with this movie. He didn't extend scenes gratuitously, forget about the characters, slow down the plot, or take liberties with the themes. He did exactly what he set out to do, because this movie is not about any of those things.
Unlike a typical movie, there is no reason to provide endless narrative about what's going on, or explain away many of the unresolved conflicts that exist. After seeing this movie and understanding how it can make you feel, adding manufactured conflict would be pointless. It doesn't need escalating dramatic tension from scene to scene in order to keep the whole thing flowing. Instead, Cameron goes deeper, and paints a tapestry of moments driven by emotion.
In a way, you could say that this movie is a very experimental concept. I have seen countless movies (good ones, too!) that go through an hour and a half of premise, just to build to an earned moment at the end, where the music kicks in and the women in the audience are cued to cry.
This movie is 2 solid hours of moments like that. Cameron layers them into this movie like a string of pearls bunched up in your grandmother's perfumed jewelery box. He doesn't earn these moments by putting the characters through a bunch of shit, or complicating their interactions just to make it more dramatic. . . he does it by drawing on the shared experiences of his audience. Me. Us. Everybody. Each scene doesn't exist to reveal something for the next scene. Instead, each one stands on it's own with it's own set of dramatic consculsions.
I've never seen a movie like this in my life.
Consider the sci-fi movie, Serenity. I liked it quite a bit, but Elizabethtown is leaps and bounds better. To prove the point, pick a single scene from everybody's "Browncoat" favorite. Now watch that scene on it's own, wiping away everything else you know about the movie or the characters. Does that scene hold up on its own? What can you pull from it. . . or better yet, how does it feel to you? Is it beautiful? Is it warm? Does it make you understand the beauty inherent in existence? Does it make you wonder about the capacity of your own emotional states? Does it surprise you? Does it help you to grasp any unversal connection between yourself and your felow man? Or, is it like every other movies these days. . . just trying to be cool? Now, compare that scene to any random scene from Elizaebethtown, adn you can see how much is there.
To be fair, Cameron takes EXTREME liberties with reality, creating situations that are pretty surreal and borderline impossible. Yet, each one is grounded in the familiar. Just as Serenity chooses to take its liberties with the reality of future technology and political strife to paint a picture that expresses its thematic point. . . Elizabethtown does the same thing. Only its goal is not thematic, but a dive into the vast palette of universal human emotion. To live, to love, to feel.
I fantasize alot. I dream about being a writer, an artist, an exporer, a filmmaker, an innovative thinker, an inventor, a musician, a hero, a villian, an astronaut, and countless other things. The purpose of such fantasy, at least for me, is about exploring trust. It's about putting yourself out there, warts and all, and letting the chips fall where they may. They're fantasies about DARING to be yourself in embarrassing situations, and finding out that there are so many others who share your point of view. Having strong intersts in things like D&D, science fiction, or anime is a social risk, but you do them anyway because you want to. Maybe you even need to.
Along with all those kinds of nerds, I think that it's possible to be an emotional nerd. Someone who dares to get sappy, despite the jaded world and the flash-in-the-pants philosophies that rule this time and place. Other filmmakers, like Paul Thomas Anderson, or writers like Charlie Kaufman, must come to terms with their fear of rejection only to make something that is quite easily rejectable. Sometimes it works critically, and sometimes it doesn't. I think Cameron's films, especially Elizabethtown, fall firmly into that company. It's easy to reject it, dismising it's scope for sentementalist pap. When you add in that this movie is partially based on Cameron's experiences with his own father's death, that rejection will hurt all the more. In my opinion, Cameron is extremely brave, and has shown the brass balls to proclaim himself a colossal "emotional nerd." And kudos to him for making such an unusually powerful film.
My grade: A+
When you Live on an Island. . .
This event is wrong on too many levels to count. I can't wait! Jackie and I plan to go for a midnight swim afterwards. . .
5 and 6
Seasons five and six are coming out
next month.
There is nothing else to say.
Old Chinese Takeout
I think they may have found this in my fridge. . .
Click here for some
bad noodles.
A Cheesy Song
I busted out the guitar today, playing for the first time since I moved to Galveston. I finally tweaked a little song that I've been working on for while. I can't tell if it sounds finshed, or if I'm just sick of trying. . .
What I'm doing:
Verse 1 - repeat 3 times for each verse, let it hang longer the third time, then do the Filler
A C#m Bbm
|-----5--------------4---------------2--------------------|
|----------7--------------4---------------2---------------|
|---------------7---------------6---------------4---------| let it hang
|---------------6---------------6---------------4---------|
|---------------5---------------5---------------3---------|
|---------------5---------------4---------------2---------|
Verse 2 - strum quickly, focus on the lower strings
F#m - Bbm
F#m - Dm - end with the second filler, leading back to Verse 1 tab
The Filler
|----7--5---------------|
|----------7--5---------|
|-----------------------|
|-----------------------|
|-----------------------|
|-----------------------|
Second Filler
|----7--5----------------------|
|----------7--5-----5----------|
|----------------6-------------|
|------------------------------|
|------------------------------|
|------------------------------|
Here are the lyrics. . .
Cloud Shape LullabyVerse 1
Heaven smiles on those who dream,
And as the cloud build up below
Let us float ourselves to sleep.
Verse 1
While you dream the clouds take shape
Puffy forms that know no fear
Silly fantasies for us.
Verse 1
Castle walls goes floating by
Teddy bears and tiger stripes
Drift together in the night.
Verse 2
When the cool breeze settles in
And children wave goodbye
Don’t you stir a little bit
Just look below you as you fly.
Verse 1
Smoky cottages arise
Monkey tails and Hippo sighs
Waving prairies made of sand.
Verse 1
Banners wave from circus tents
Puppies growl and Palm trees sway
Billow lazily till dawn.
Verse 2
But don’t you rouse awake my dear
Don’t’ you fret and don’t you cry
Sleep you well because I’m near
Lay down and get your rest tonight.
Copyright Fees
This is a pretty interesting article.
This particular solution to the music-sharing dilemma can never happen in the U.S.. Americans would rather fight a terrible war (and have) than endure new forms of taxation and fees. But if it starts to work in Japan, you can bet we'll start hearing about it here.
My thoughts on this issue are fairly negative. I've seen an episode of
Cribs before, so I don't have a lot of sympathy. The really popular performers on that show make some serious bank.
In either case, if it were JUST about the livelihood of the musicians, I'm sure no one would really care except the unions. This is really an issue because it effects the bottom line of record companies, distributors, and price gougers like Ticketmaster. Not to mention the lucrative marketing rights with companies like Coor Light and Pepsi.
Why NOT allow the music industry to become smaller and more diverse? I can envision a world where live music in every major city has it's own distinct flavor and culture. Tourists woudl travel from city to city just to hear what the local bands are doing next, or maybe following a peformer who travels to each city in turn. In my ideal scenario, musicians are more like traveling bards and part-time locals, playing for their supper and making a few coins at the local bar.
You're a performer, for pete's sake. . . not a rocket engineer. Artsistic expression is great, but isn't supposed to buy you a mansion. If you don't like it, get a real job.
How to Destroy the Earth
Sam Hughes has written the ultimate
top ten list.
My favorite is #3. It has a very Wile E. Coyote feel to it.
Pandemic Blues
It comes as no surprise to
learn that American companies do not want to make flu vaccines. According to them, it just isn't a venture that can be made profitable.
This is an example where adherence to economic principle has nobody's self-interest in mind. This is unfortuante. With a interconnected global market and increased overcrowding, a Pandemic is a statistically probable event. Ironically, it is also preventable:
1. The consumption of flu vaccines must be subsidized locally. It's in everybody's self interest to have everybody you come in contact with vaccinated. This means a proactive push to involve the poor and homeless.
2. The production of flu vaccines must be subsidized nationally. If we lose a appreciable percentage of our poorer working population to the flu, it's going to give our economy a drastic hit. We're talking serious economic Depression here.
3. The distribution of flu vaccines must be subsidized globally. Little critters, such as the bird flu, do not originate in industrialized nations. They come from poorly sanitized, overcrowded populations like southeast Asia. Distributing flu vaccine soley to the countrys that can afford them is an excercise in futility.
Establishing the yearly habit of global vaccine overproduction/use is not an insurmountable obstacle. Of course there's no profit margins on paper. However, I would compare it to a necessary cost for basic community protection, like the fire department. After all, maintaining the fire department is cheaper socially than watching one house in fifty burn to the ground. . .
Seriously, it's in our own best interest.
Shining
This is perhaps the funniest thing I have ever seen. Since I first watched it a week ago, I've noticed it popping up all over the place in forums and blogs. I've never been one to waste a good meme, so download it
here.
Waiting. . .
I saw that this
movie will be coming out soon. It isn't my brand of humor, so I may not actually see it. however, it got me to thinking about my own experiences in waiting. . .
Here are my observations:
1. The Pay is bad. Yes, you can have very good nights, such as Saturday, but you also have to work the Monday lunch shift. Everything is inconsistent, and you have no idea what you're going to make on any given day. My offical pay is $2.15 an hour, which is just enough to cover taxes and insurance. I have seen one experienced waitress cry her eyes out after working a bad shift. She needed rent money, and didn't have it.
2. You are a servant. And make no bones about it, you are also treated like a servant by the management. The customers can't tell much of a difference, but at a fancy restaurant, life for a waiter is like Edwardian England. You must provide all your own tools (wine opener, lighter, pad, bank, etc.), and anything you need with the Willie G's logo must be purchased from the restaurant. Your shirts must be oxford white, pressed and starched for a visible crease along the sleeve. You must know the menu perfectly, and while you are lined up for inspection during preshift (no joke - lined up!), you are quizzed on drink specials, 86ed items, etc. If you don't look perfect or you show any lack of knowledge about the menu. . . you are sent home that day, period.
3. Serving is hard work. On any given day, my feet have migranes and my legs tingle when I sit down. A busy shift finds you in a constant state of motion, which can go on for 4-5 hours straight. There are no breaks, and no free food during your shift. On any given day, I will walk out of the restaurant tired, sweaty, hungry, and dehydrated. Plus, those trays are heavy and more awkward than they look. When you see people carrying those things around, you are not seeing some balanced piece of engineering, you are seeing ALOT of practice.
4. The restaurant is full of assholes. The servers and kitchen staff are in a very stressful world where you have no idea what their monentary future may hold. While in such a state of manufactured desperation, there is no time to be polite or ask nicely. One one will volunteer to train the new kid on how to debone a flounder at the table, or teach him to open a bottle of wine. Everyone is on their own. The conditions are cramped and hot, and the wait staff must move through the stations like ants, crawling over on another and violating space in a desperate attempt to stay ahead of their tables. It's a world of youth and energy, full of cocky, self-assured people with raging hormones.
5. Waiters are very brave. No one is there to help them, and most of them can't fall back on a degree or a savings account, as I have been able to do since I moved to Galveston. They aren't asking anyone to help them make their way either. They gladly live there on the precipice, working toward their hand-to-mouth daily bread and taking each day as it comes. Anynoe can do if for spare money, but I dare you to make a living at it.
In any case, I won't be doing this much longer. I am still looking for a "real" job, but despite what my future may hold, I will always have an appreciation of this gig. I will certainly never tip the same way again.
Birthday
Today's my Birthday! My Buh-buh-buh Birthday! It was a good day. I was off work, so Jackie and I went to a cool Japanese restaurant, and went nuts with the sushi and appetizers.
My present is the new
George R.R. Martin book, due out in November. I can't wait to read it.
Being 31 now, I'm offically a thirtysomething. Nevertheless, I still feel like a little kid. I still get geeked out over nerdy things (Star Wars, D&D, Weezer), and I doubt that by now that will ever change.
How can I still feel so young?
D20 Modern
I am a little disappointed that I have no gaming group yet. I feel like I'm all dressed up, with nohwere to go. In the meantime, I have been busy wasting time and writing. One of my projects has been conceiving a whole D20 Modern/Pulp Heroes campaign. Working with the stat blocks has been pretty fun. . . a nice change of pace from D&D.
Recently, I posted a cheezy ad at the local gaming store. No hits whatsever, but it's early. I also posted it online, which you can view
here.
It's my first attempt at a website, so there may be probems with ad banners, formatting, and sound. Both the host and my web services were free, so you get what you pay for. Enjoy.
The Hiatus is Over
This is my first post in about three months. I have been an extremely busy, to say the least, but I think the madness is finally over. To sum up my activities since the time of my last post:
1. Job searching in Indianapolis. Didn't find what I wanted, but in the meantime, Jackie finishes her MPH and gets a position at
UTMB, Galveston, TX.
2. We pack our bags, and realize that the moving truck alone will cost us $1,100. Everybody freaks out.
3. I put in my notice at
Noble of Indiana ,and starting looking for a job in Galveston, TX. I have been with Noble for 4 and half years, and was looking for something else anyway. Regardless, everybody freaks out again.
4. I tell my long-standing D&D gaming group and all of my other friends that we are moving away. This is the toughest part.
5. We move to Galveston, TX the weekend of
GenCon in Indianapolis. It's also the weekend of my Fantasy Football draft. I miss both of them and wonder why the fates are exceedingly cruel.
6. Galveston is a very pretty town, but the unemployemnt rate is 12%. I have alot more trouble getting a decent job that I thought. I settle for being a waiter at
Willie G's Seafood and Steakhouse. For now, the status of my resumes and job search are still pending, but the career of a Circus Clown becomes more appealing, as I know how to juggle and can make a balloon dog.
7. I play a single D&D session at the only local gaming store in town. I make a 6th level Wizard to suppliment the party's needs and am ready to roll. They're a very nice bunch of mid 20s and early 30s guys, but after the inital session I am able to pick up a Staff of Power and a couple of other high powered magic items. For those of you that don't know D&D, this is like playing chess against a computer opponent, only you're allowed to convert all of your pawns to queens before you start playing. In addition to many, many other problems, I have to say it was not very fun. With my regards, I told them that work will interfere with future sessions (which is true) and bowed out. I haven't played since, but I have hopes for a new game, as I am still organizing something in Clear Lake and trying to get a day job with stable hours.
8. Hurricane Rita hits, and I spend last week in a hotel room watching cable and trying to find an internet connection. Everybody REALLY freaks out. Not only that, the
Austin City Limits festival was going on, and I was in the same city as both the Black Crowes and Widespread Panic. I just missed them. . . sooo close!
9. I am working today. This is the first Sunday in over ten years where I have had to work. I am not religious or anything. . . but it is Football season!
Well. . .
On a positive note, despite this post, things have definitely turned a corner. For one, I would not have writen this long bitch session if I didn't feel like things were ready to get better. I'm finally over the culture shock of a Gulf Coast town and all that it entails, and am narrowing in on a new job.
I feel very good that Jackie is doing well at UTMB, and I rest easy knowing that I'm doing everything I can to support her. Our life has been like an afterschool special entitled "Jackie and Chris Move to a New Town," and it's good to know that I'm with someone who understands my needs, and vice versa.
As for things to come. . . in November, I'll be travelling to Virginia for D&D with my old high school group, a yearly tradition for us. This year, I'll get to show off my first published article in a gaming magazine (the first of many, I hope). Plus, just for fun, I've decided to take the GRE, just to keep my options open. What's next?
Well work beckons, so it's time to put on my tie and apron and go sell some crab cakes. Nanu, Nanu. . . and all that.
