blogs are funny things... part 4

The perfect post:

Concise.

Has a Picture.

Funny.

Controversial.

Easy to comment.

Lots of Links.

Doesn't get erased by my computer getting confused.

we should do this... maybe not.

So, the people (tens of thousands) protest and an entire Government quits. weird.

bed time, shmed time.

So, I skipped the oscars. Does this make me a bad film maker?

I was disillusioned when Cate lost to Gweneth years ago. I figure all of the highlights of the night will be on the internet anyway.

Yay $1,000,000 Baby. Do you think he could give back the pitty oscar from "Unforgiven" now?

(I talked about this before, but I am too tired to find the link.)

*whoo - hoo. I got 5th place in an oscars picking contest.

I was business meeting during the Oscars, and eating - excellent food. It then turned into a road trip... to New Jersey.

"New Jersey?" you ask. Yes... "why" because.

I got these cool pictures and fed geese, gud 'nuff.

Another reason to love NYC

Bars stay open 'till 4am and there is no smoking indoors.

My eyesockets feel like they have smoked a pack all to themselves... but had to leave the party early.

wish you were here.

Today I went across the river to minneapolis. In that city they keep the metrodome. As a child I thought of it as a giant's pillow.

They play sports there.

In Minneapolis and St. Paul (the twin cities) it gets cold. We stay warm by not going outside - such was the impetus to create the "Skyway". the skyway is on the second floor of nearly all of the buildings in the downtown area. Inside there are shops and stores - like on the ground floor of normal cities - except we keep warm.

Then I traveled (70 mph) to Fariboult (FARE-boh).

I passed a ski slope.

there are bigger ones, I promise.

saw some tractors

drove down a long, lonesome road

under a bridge

past an A&W

near Paradise


and arrived at my brother's school.

e-post cards from MN.

Fly me to the moon

I love planes, I love flying... the idea of heavier than air flight amazes me.

things I don't love:

*Nervous people who "have to get on the plane right now because they just started boarding I know it isn't my isle yet but I have to get on I have been waiting in the airport for 3 hours because I had to leave time to get through security and ..."

*No Blankets or pillows and it's really cold.

*"please turn off all electronic devices"... you mean my iPod is going to crash a multimillion dollar plane? Even the FCC is thinking of letting us use cell phones (though it would be wicked annoying, just let me listen to my music, please, I'm ok without the phones).

*I miss honey roasted peanuts... I know some people are allergic, sorry. The only thing better are these things, love them.

*"In the unlikely event of a water landing..." what? when has a plane EVER and I mean EVER landed safely on the water - why are there life jackets? If we hit the water at 200 miles per hour - I don't mean to be morbid but, come-on, it's like riding a motorcycle with a seatbelt.

*I have mixed feelings about skymall, deep down I think I like it. Such as the following, notice the line "Amazing new technology". I believe they are comparing this to the Segway with two wheels... the "Amazing new technology" must be that third wheel.

---

Now, what I am really excited about, and I don't know who couldn't be, is Virgin Galactic.

wow.

I really really want to go in space, even if it is for only a few moments - and it means I can get to Australia in 40 minutes.

Sing it Frank...

From the Field -

Field reporter Chad "minnnesota gopher" Nicholson, here reporting from the land of 10,000 lakes. (there are actually more than that) Today promises to be a long day and a rushed three days. It shall be documented because pictures are fun for all. For now it is back to the cold, ohhh yeeeaaahhhaa, shuuuaare, you betcha.

So sad

I haven't changed my number from Minnesota (651 innada house) because I like people to have my number...

Now, lets pretend I'm famous, like household name famous, (Eminem, Lindsay Lohan, Christina Aguilera, Andy Roddick, Ashlee Simpson, Avril Lavigne, Victoria Gotti, Vin Diesel, Anna Kournikova, lil' John, Olsen twins) and my friend has all of her numbers and emails hacked. Everyone would have access to my number, it would have to change. I would be upset with Paris Hilton, and the dude that hacked her Sidekick.

I was going to link to the site... but it is so sad, I'm going to let it live there, and if you really want to find Seth Green, Dave Chappelle, or Luke Willson's numbers - go to the internet and good hunting young ones.

Thanks, josh, for the always exciting dive into pop-culture world.

learn more here.

pbr triathlon

Thanks to Desi running the World, I have challenged myself and my roommate (My Trapeze Teacher) to participate in the New York Triathlon. He raised the stakes by say we should do it "competitively". Meaning that we cannot come in last place. The last time I did a triathlon I was 13 and did come in last place with my father... It was really fun though. I'm not so much a runner - the swimming and biking - not a problem. Running = problem. So we shall train. I also remember "skinny chad", he was a cool guy, I'm going to see if we can find him again.

Having a goal is good.

On the fun side, here are a few photos from the evening.

I like the snow.

I'm social, really.

Does admitting that you watched Saturday Night Live make you a looser on Saturday Night...

ok, I was watching a re-run (yeah, that's the ticket) of SNL with Hillary Swank. Ouch. I love her... but, ouch. Not as bad as Paul Giamatti though... the re-run I mean. On the good side - Tina Fay, She is quite nearly the closest thing we have to a female John Stewart. Love Her. I also have this unexplainable attraction to Maya Rudolph - she's in every scene, not so much a "laugh out loud" type, I just can't look away, odd. I think the one of the problems with this season is that there is no strong male presence.

ok, subject change, on the SNL site there was a link to the new version of "The Office" with my friend... we'll call him... Nearly Famous. You can visit the preview site here. He is in the top left scene. I'll be out of the country when it premiers which is half sad - because I'll be in Europe, and that ain't bad at all. Unfortunately, NBC doesn't support me (macs), so I can't watch it - when someone does, can you get back to me?

I'm social, really.

Just what I needed...

when I go home I need to get rid of money... That's why I'm excited by a $1 billion expansion to the Mall of America. Not only do I get more stores, but I get a casino. I love my state being a punchline.

"he expansion would include three or four hotels, totaling 1,500 rooms. One hotel would have a family-oriented theme with an igloo room, a train room and a Hawaiian room. Other features of the expansion: an NHL-sized ice rink, a 14-screen cinema, a tram to transport customers from the light-rail station to the center of the expansion, and an Italian canal with gondolas surrounded by dancing fountains."
- Jim McCartney (I know him, family friend... huuh.)

Chubby.

I love Chubb.

huh, does that need explanation? Ok, sorry.

I love Chubb insurance. I have had two "incidents" this past year. First was a nice lil' hit and run... I didn't hit and run, I was the victim. See pictures here, an earlier post. They came, appraised, and wrote a check. done. Yesterday I... (I will take responsibility for my actions) hit a car. The guy seemed like a cool dude - he didn't want to deal with cops "I hate cops" (this means no ticket for me), however he also wanted nothing to do with insurance. Knowing that I would have to pay for everything anyway - I realized this is what insurance is for.

I called up my friendly adjuster and gave her all of the information. She told me not to worry, and I needn't talk to the other guy again, she would handle it. Sweet.

*update* the guy just called... I didn't call him before the insurance people, he was upset, I feel really bad. shoot. really bad.

Anyway, Chubb = good. me = not so good (I was just afraid when he said, "I don' know, man, my neck sorta hurts, so, if you could pay for a massage or something, that would be cool." That is scary - you never know how long pain could last. I just needed to be more personal to him. poop. sorry.)

I need a massage.

Bad Car-ma

Well I did something substantial today... some good things, some bad. I think it may have been karma as I laughed at another's misfortune.

It started well, I just wanted to help My Trapeze Teacher at a benefit post-Sri Lanka. I got all of my stuff together, drove half way there and realized I did not have the right adapter cable. I turned around and quickly went back home. I played with my radio. I looked up. I saw a car directly in front of me.

Yeah, so I get to deal with insurance tomorrow. awesome. I'm selling my car. Yup, that whole straw and camel thing. Done. It will be my first time since 16 without a car, I have been blessed - and it is sadly over, any road trips need to be done now.

Next I was not so great at being techie boy at a benefit, good one. This was followed by a trip South to the 11th st Bar to meet with Flickr folk. At the front door I asked people outside where the photo dorks were. They said they were in the back with the flashes.

good clean fun. For those of you not "in the know" Flickr is a photo sharing site with all sorts of communities and the like... uber-photodorky. We met in the real world. Broke the fourth wall, if you will. Above are Flickrites girlhattan and EVill1. To end the day on a high note I went to girlhattan's blog and found a way to make myself into a southpark character.

cheers.

news for you.

Another reason to keep loving July. Lance is doing the Tour again. Now, I don't so much watch sports on TV unless one can purchase a pitcher of beer at the same establishment... mmm... beer... however, I will change my schedule to watch portions of the Tour de France. I know you may be thinking, "it's biking, what can be so exciting about that?". You have never watched the tour. First - beautiful, B - So much strategy, 3 - Unifying mixes - Individual & Team, multiple countries, IV - I feel proud rooting for someone from the US in Biking.

I know what we should do this weekend, screw the beer...
"The 50-year-old, from Michigan, admitted she was drunk after swallowing substantial quantities of... Mouthwash... Mouthwashes cleanse the mouth by rinsing and are not intended to be swallowed. Some brands can contain as much as almost 27% alcohol, more than twice the content found in wine."

79 year old caused, "a mild concussion while Sgt. John Pavlekovich suffered a separated shoulder and hand injury" with her cane.

And almost too complex to summarize - Bush doesn't want to give Americans who were shot down in Iraq compensation for being tortured in Abu Ghraib in 1991.

I might do something substantial tomorrow... might.

Blog Confessions

I said earlier that I was going to have a busy half week... I did.

Recap - Greenestreet was good. So many artists, so little time. Maybe I should be a band photographer - anyone want to pay me?

Dogs were good. Intense. I actually got pretty good at choosing the winners... I don't know how, but I did... So glad another big dog won. (Thanks to My corporate TV Angel for the passes)

Gates were good. Mmmmm... Installation Art.

side note - We have had a few subleters who watch MTV and reality TV a lot... is that weird, or do most people watch MTV and reality TV? I like "Docu-TV" Stuff that follows people around - not places people in situations. For example - I read about the new season of Taxicab confessions was coming back to NYC. I watched the old ones Long time ago - back when late night HBO (and USA "UP! all night"... you know what I'm talking about...) and stealing a playboy was the closest a kid could get to porn. Anyway, I had never been to New York so the addresses and types of people meant nothing to me, they were as fake as all TV people.

Oh, they are real, they are real. When drunk, hipster kids get in on the Lower East Side, where do they ask to go - Williamsburg - of course. When a man with his wife and mother in law get in at Midtown after the shows - UES, duh. I've had only one conversation with a yellow cab driver in NYC and that was because I started it. Car Services are sort of fun because the ones I use all have great Polish immigration stories. Driving under the table is one of the few jobs they can get while they are waiting for their green cards.

I guess that's what these things are - Blog Confessions.

dogs

I saw some dogs.

I saw some people.

(she just won)

more fun tomorrow.

gates

saw the gates, like everyone else, took pictures, like everyone else.

mine are cool, I promise.

(will post more tomorrow, probably after the dog show.)

Tchad

flip through some of the best photos of the year - amazing.

*Jahi Chikwendiu of The Washington Post took this picture of a Sandstorm in Chad.

Art, oh he was good.

Arthur Miller died today. I'm no biography writer, but he done good with his life.

Subtle, poignant plays... ok, maybe not that subtle - let's just say he new how to get to the root of things.

"In due course his liberal views caught him in the McCarthy anti-communist witch-hunt. He testified before a congressional committee, refusing to name friends and colleagues who might have been communists and was held in contempt." Awesome.

"Miller worked as a loader and shipping clerk", almost makes me think I could do something with my life... I'll get working on that Pulitzer before 33.

So much crazy, so little time

""In his inauguration speech, Bush trumpeted that 'fire of freedom will reach dark corners of the world.' This is nothing but a plot to engulf the whole world in a sea of war flames and rule it by imposing a freedom based on power," North Korea's state-run Pyongyang Radio said this month.

Thursday's statement from the North Korean Foreign Ministry said nuclear weapons are "for self-defense to cope with the Bush administration's evermore undisguised policy to isolate and stifle" its government."

wow. I thought we were supposed to think the North Koreans were crazy.


I know... with a country with 25% of adults HIV positive, lets make bracelets out of free contraceptives... good one.


What would you do with $400 million... how about give it to nations that are helping us in Iraq... that doesn't make sense to me - it won't entice other countries to help - and these countries already are "helping"... why would we give them money?


on more fun notes I was given fun links - one "uplifting one" from josh and a sign of the times from ... (what do I call you... wannabejapeneseliberalminnesotanjew... no that might be offensive - funny, but probably would offend someone somewhere... well, you were the first to tell me of the joy of mac...) My Personal Steve Jobs.

I am going to try and party non-stop from 6pm tomorrow to Wednesday... I don't think it will work unless I call dog shows and "planning" partying.

I promise to get good pictures of the crazy dog people.

That last one is going so well...

When I was a kid, my brother, sister, and I would have water balloon fights (I have a balloon thing right now). I was the biggest, so I usually won. I became so that I even controlled who had the balloons and hose.

I thought my brother had taken or purchased some of his own balloons... So, I got his room all wet and dug through his stuff. He didn't have any. When he complained to my mom and dad I explained that I was helping to clean and organize his room. They believed me by 51%.

Now my sister has admitted that she has balloons... But just for helium. I don't believe her. She may try and soak me and my rooms full of water balloons. I guess I will have to use my parents time and money to go all the way across the country to fix our little "problem"... great idea, worked so well last time.


Rice said on Wednesday that Iran must live up to its international obligations to halt its nuclear program or "the next steps are in the offing... And I think everybody understands what the 'next steps' mean."


We wonder why the dollar is so low.

More Balloons?

I was told it was a sign... but I saw more balloons on my way to celebrate Mardi Gras last night.



Maybe I've just been looking up more lately?

Here's to looking up.

Always/Never

Remember taking standardized tests (I won't go into what I think of them) in school? One of the best hints a teacher gave was "Look for the absolutes - if there is an "Always" or "Never" it is easier to prove statement false.

The pope can never be fired or forced to resign.

All human cloning is intrinsically wrong and should be outlawed.

Parents must OK all sexual information given to children - even when giving blood.

An enemy combatant never needs a trial.

Absolutes are always awesome.

blogs are funny things... part 3

Now, I keep learning more and more about blogs as the learning curve is steep at the beginning.

Today I defined a blog to two people as (ala websters), "an online diary; a personal chronological log of thoughts published on a Web page; also called Weblog, Web log".

I realized how much you can learn about a person through words, you don't really know them. It would be like me saying I know Anton Chekhov because I read his biography, plays, and stories. I like him, may even go so far as to say that he is my friend - little one way that friendship... but I really like him...

I got an email from " an undergraduate from the School of Communications and Information, Nanyang Technological University (Singapore)... conducting an online survey to study the practices and attitudes of bloggers on ethics and blogging as part of our honours thesis. We hope you can help us by taking part in our survey."

I did. It's sort of fun... if you like that sort of thing.

whoop, whoop bloggers - you can do it here.

or visit the homepage here.

Wasting time has never done so much good, unless of course, it is the Hunger site, Breast Cancer Site, Child Health Site, Literacy Site, Rain Forest Site, and Animal Rescue Site. You can help people, just with clicking. Good stuff.

Workin' 9 to 5

Occasionally I will work a nine to five day, odd, but it happens. Everyone looks so tired on the subway - both ways. I wonder why they aren't singing along or at least moving to the music they are pumping in their ears... maybe it's bad music... I should just tell everyone to listen to better music.

but then I saw this on the way home.

and as we all know "a Balloon on the mailbox is the international sign for Par-tay!"

I hope it's a big party.

football 2

good game. well played - except the silly Eagles letting the time slip by, silly.

I like monkeys, mostly when they are wearing clothes, and when they play tricks on humans, silly monkeys.

just got home from work - post-superbowl. I'm glad I find a lot of fulfillment in building things, I have to be back in less than 8 hours. Masochistic.

had an avocado Benedict today. Excellent. Also took some more flying pictures - best free models around.

and I visited my favorite fake park.

nap time.

Football 1

are you kidding me? no. no-one anywhere likes patronizing shots of of people signing (not sing, but sign) "america". shmultz.

ok, maybe their parents.

I hate "producers". I hate knowing that we are watching something 8 seconds slow. I'm crabby.

I hope the Patriots don't tromp the Eagles too hard.

commercials are good so far.

odd

huh, where to start? - there was the celebration of my birth, beard removal, lifting plaster, great meeting, javits center moving, oh, wait, I'm getting ahead of myself...

Meeting I invited some friends to talk about my lil' dream - I want to create a space that will house, promote, and further multi-disciplinary artistic creations and foster community of artists and patrons... sounds a little silly right now - but it'll get better...

Javits Center had a "gift" convention. I was working with Stelton and Fink. good 'nuff.

After this I am quite tired and want some "home-made" food. There is no better place than Christina's in Greenpoint. Now, the joys of Christina's exceed the great food at a low cost... you may be thinking - "but how?" There were 10 men, one old woman, and one young girl eating. "but why?" best looking waitresses, ever. they wear all black - sweater, mini skirt, and tights. And they are really nice. Did I mention the good food?

I was silly enough to have a beer with dinner - so I decided to "lay down for a second" did I say second, no - passed out for an hour.

Then I had to go to Nevada Smiths To say adieu to my Philosophy Teacher before he moves back home for a while. We chose this bar at this time to watch a very exciting basketball game. Beloit vs. Grinnell.

it wasn't on "the ocho", but this is probably as low as ESPN goes. Now we can usually watch the games on the big screen (all of the bartenders know our names... I don't know if that is good or not, I've never been a "regular" before) but it was Karaoke Night. We were about to leave, when we met a new friend. He works for Bud Light and his job is to "advertise" for Bud Light - he buys people beer.

He is only supposed to give one round a person. He gave quite a few more. We had woman giving us an "offer" as well... yeah. Then we had the Zippo lady try and pawn her wares on us.

The Karaoke continued.

Killing me Softly.
Killing. Me. Softly.

I went to pick up my charger, told jokes with strangers, came home to a new roommate and an ex-roommate and a few more cocktails.

By all accounts, odd.

there is a lot going on... so I'll post more when I wake up - theater, absurdness and more.

gotta love the teaser.

blogs are funny things... part 2

I'm addicted. I just start reading, then find their friends, and read theirs, and so on and so on. Unfortunately, the really interesting, well written bloggers have been doing this for a while - meaning I have a lot of catching up to do. I nearly read 6 months tonight.

Oddly enough, people read mine. Someone in "Western Africa Time Zone" reads it - which is weird because I don't know anyone in western Africa... maybe they mean England too...

Almost half of my readers use Macs. A good chunk also use Safari and Firefox (big fan - though I haven't figured a good way to convert my safari bookmarks to firefox) I have artsy friends and family - and friends of family.

Flickr is always a good source for readers.

I find I write best when I am thinking of a specific person. Said person may never read the post/journal entry/letter, but it gives the words focus. I shall try to write with purpose - this means I will probably try and be funny for you, smart for you, political for you, talented for you, intriguing for you, old for you, young for you, frequent for you, silly for you, wise for you... and me for me. (that means I can use punctuation and caps Any. way.. I want)

You can choose the correct "you" for you, or all of them, if you like- that would mean every entry was personally crafted just for you ::*awww*::

Try, good word that. "do or do not, there is no try." I feel the impetus of change, there may be a lot of changing going on.

I should have been asleep over an hour ago - at least that hasn't changed.

Celebrity/bum

On my way home tonight I saw the stars. It was one of the hardest days of physical labor I've had. 3 Flights, Plaster, 50 pound bags. I was prewarned (forewarned? ... isn't that all the same as "warned" - isn't a warning by necessity before the fact... anyway) I was very dirty.

I love watching peoples reactions on the subway - conscious or not. Of the four people I was working with, three of them had their masters. They may have been more dirty than me. I don't so much put on clothing as put on costumes. Work clothes, party clothes, suits, beards... Did you know that people make more room for you on the subway if you are wearing a suit? They do.

I love the city, where else can you sit next to a celebrity/bum and not have a clue.

Bed face.

The worst part about megga beard was sleeping - not all that comfortable - and then waking up and half of it up, the other half down. Food in the beard...

It was really good in the cold, the ice chunks were great.

I realized some people did not ever know me without a beard - weird. I will always hate shaving - but here is to a new start.

The following is to help federal agents find me if I am ever on the lam.

I recognize myself again.