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Colin Powell's Presidential Endorsement

History of Halloween

AFTER: THE FINISHED PRODUCT

Paige's Dad, George helped out again, cutting the molding. Jody came over and helped me with the suspended ceiling perimeter.

DURING

Paige and Jody helped out with the puddy.



Paige's Dad, George, was a tremendous help building this wall to separate our hot water heater and HVAC unit.

BEFORE

REMODELING PROJECT

To make room for Mattox, I finally got off my ass and remodeled our basement. Virtually on may own and at a cost of about $850, I completed the project in about 5 weeks. Photos of the three phases follow in the next posts.

H.R. 1424 Final Vote

How the U.S. House from Georgia voted:
• Rep. John Barrow (D-12) N
• Rep. Sanford Bishop, Jr. (D-2) Y
• Rep. Paul Broun (R-10) N
• Rep. Nathan Deal (R-9) N
• Rep. Phil Gingrey (R-11) N
• Rep. Hank Johnson (D-4) N
• Rep. Jack Kingston (R-1) N
• Rep. John Lewis (D-5) Y
• Rep. John Linder (R-7) N
• Rep. Jim Marshall (D-8) Y
• Rep. Tom Price (R-6) N
• Rep. David Scott (D-13) Y
• Rep. Lynn Westmoreland (R-3) N

Both senators, Issackson and Chambliss voted in favor of the resolution.

Personally, I believe its passage to be a mistake. It will do nothing to address the culture of the market. The problems will persist, and we will still suffer a long recession. Unfortunately, we no longer have the funds to distribute any "economic stimulus packages". I love those things.

PALAHNIUK'S PACKAGE

In a previous post I showed Paige's signed copy of CHOKE. I speculated about the meaning of the inscription.

Actually, while talking to Chuck before the event, he inquired about the people he was signing to. I explained Paige couldn't make it because she was home looking after JJ. He said, "You want to do something fun and evil?"

"Yeah."

He grabbed an envelope from behind him and handed it to me. He told me to send her information to him in the addressed envelope, and in a couple months, he would send her a package. He implored me not to tell her, to let it be a surprise.


CONTENTS: Hand-beaded and personalized necklace, trick deck of cards, cigarette ink pen, SE Asian influenced temporary tattoos, joke pack of gum, 2 bouncy balls, bacon and eggs bandage assortment, laser pointer, two-headed nickel, soothing bells, chocolate sampler, plastic severed finger, jacknife comb, tobasco sauce, a seed assortment of forget-me-nots herbs and carrots, 2 personalized cds of stories he recorded in audio, and a moist towelette guaranteed to wash away your sins.



Above is the letter he wrote to her. I hope you can read it. The last lines are priceless: "Please never hesitate to surprise someone. Celebrate Christmas anytime as often as you want. Clean up this mess. I'll Shut Up Now, Chuck Palahniuk

CLEAN UP THIS MESS

Some Local Politics

Voodoo priestess says Cobb official bounced checks
Kesting’s attorney says she never met with ‘priestess, witch doctor, or anyone’

By KENT A. MILES, CHRISTIAN BOONE


The Atlanta Journal-Constitution


Monday, October 06, 2008


The South Carolina “voodoo priestess” who has accused Cobb County Commissioner Annette Kesting of writing $3,000 in bad checks for her services said Tuesday she only wanted to be paid for her work.

George Ann Mills said Kesting approached her at home in Blythewood, S.C., in late August seeking otherworldly help against her political rival, Woody Thompson.

Kesting wasn’t available for comment today. Her lawyer has denied these events.
“She said, ‘Do you see cancer in him? I said he looks like a very healthy man’,” Mills said, noting that Kesting held up a photo of a man she said was Thompson. “She said, ‘Is there anything you can do about this … give him cancer, or make him have an accident or something?’ “

Mills said she refused, saying she didn’t want Thompson’s blood on her hands. She offered to “make trouble for him, to make people see who he really is.”
Mills said Kesting wrote two checks totaling $3,000, which were returned for insufficient funds. Kesting then sent two $1,000 money orders in payment. Mills produced a copy of a MoneyGram receipt, dated Aug. 28. The receipt, which she faxed to the AJC, listed Kesting’s husband, Christian, as the sender.

“I kept a paper trail of everything,” Mills said. “I don’t think this would have ever come out if I had been paid.”

Law enforcement authorities in Georgia and South Carolina are investigating the bad check allegations against Kesting.

Sims Gordon, Kesting’s attorney, said Kesting denies meeting Mills.
“She had not seen seen a priestess, witch doctor, or anyone in South Carolina,” Gordon said.

Synopsis: “Economic Stabilization Act,” H.R. 1424

The legislation authorizes the Treasury Secretary to immediately use up to $250 billion to purchase distressed assets from institutional investors. If needed, the secretary may then access an additional $100 billion to purchase these distressed assets but only with presidential approval.

An additional $350 billion may be accessed if the president transmits a written report to Congress requesting the funds. The Treasury Secretary may use this additional authority unless Congress passes a joint resolution of disapproval within 15 days.

The legislation includes a number of provisions to ensure oversight by Congress and accountability to the taxpayers, including prohibitions on executive compensation to ensure bad actors are not rewarded. Specifically, companies that receive more than $300 million from this plan will have limits placed on their top five executives. These limits include a ban from receiving a “golden parachute” as well as limits in the tax deductions they can take on compensation over $500,000.

RADIOHEAD - House of Cards

oracular?

Letterman vs. McCain : Round 1

Letterman's the best. I'm sure there'll be more to come.

WATCHMEN MOTION COMIC

(IS THAT THE VOICE OF SPACE GHOST?)

brilliant

Where we are headed.

I found this a while back when goggling space images. It's only a matter of time.

More Chuck

He asked who JJ was, and I told him my son. He asked how old he was; I said two. He winced.



Paige "accidentally" put gum between the pages of our first copy of CHOKE, so I purchased this one at the event for Chuck to sign for her. The inscription is a bit cryptic. I could be a reference to the plot, but I don't think so. Paige thinks it may be a reference to her pregnancy. I did tell him we were expecting. Could it have another meaning?





I saw a couple other inscriptions, and they were similar: Who smells like a real porn god; who has real porn star hair; who makes love look easy, sleazy. I prefer mine simply because I am a real man, and he poured a bit of Stetson cologne in the pages of the book.

Palahniuk Highlights

As #034 (Snuff reference) I was able to meet him before the event. I'm not sure who took this photo, but I found it and all others @ chuckpalahniuk.net. You can access this site by clicking "The Cult" in the links sidebar.



The auditorium was packed with over 500 people. I was sitting just out of view in the upper right of the frame, a couple rows back from the stage. The demographics were what you would expect: Primarily 20-30 year olds with tattoos and piercings abound. Much more hair was dyed black than blonde, and the bunch was lively.



He began the presentation by dispersing blow-up dolls for an inflation competition. He gave away autographed copies of KNOCKEMSTIFF by Donald Ray Pollock to the winners.



I'm glad I didn't catch one of these. I got on the new fangled way: EBAY.



He then settled in to share some stories and anecdotes. I call the one above Petey. I shot it on my digital camera, and it's only jumpy at the beginning, so bear with it a few seconds. He also read a short story, LOSER, that was an exclusive for the book tour. In it, an acid filled frat pledge is on The Price is Right and makes it to the showcase showdown. These things happen in the story, but that is not what the story is about. Like many of his other works, it is caustic commentary of societal obsession with image and materialism. I'm not including it here because I want to keep it as an experience for only those in attendence (and Paige). If he ever publishes the story, I'll post it.



Following a rather mundane Q & A, he closed by tossing signed autograph hounds to the audience. Unfortunately, I didn't get one of these.



Along with the blow up doll, the autograph hound is a prominent item in SNUFF. The other item is a cyanide pill. He couldn't really give those away, much less sign them.

FREAK ANGELS...

...is s free weekly web comic written by Warren Ellis. I won't go into the details, but it's one of the best ways to kill ten minutes each week.



The graphic above will automatically show the new content each week.

CHUCK PALAHNIUK...

...was in Atlanta on June 4. It was his first visit to the capital of the South since I've lived here: Over six years and seven books! He was promoting his new book, SNUFF, and spoke for about two hours.


It made sense, logistically, for me to arrive a couple (3) hours early for the event. It was a bit weird for me to be there that early, but I did get to meet Chuck.

He was quite approachable. He personalized 3 books: Snuff for me, Choke for Paige and Rant for J.J. I also asked him about his craft. I wanted to know if he wrote from notes, an outline, or pounded out his ideas freely as they occurred until the story was finished. He explained that he writes notes as things occur, stories are heard, and research is done. He then, on a rainy day, will type out these notes on his PC. Next he prints a hard copy of the notes and carries it around with him, so he doesn't have to be confined to his home. He further notes this copy, and once he feels he has a story together, he hammers out a draft. It was incredible to hear a talent like him explain this process. It really charged my batteries.

In the next two posts, I'll present some photos of the event I nabbed from chuckpalahkiuk.net and a video I shot of a story he told. I'll also post the personalized signings of his novels.

RADIOHEAD

We went to the show a couple months ago, but I made no post. I plan to make up for it in the following:

FIRST A FEW CHOICE CLIPS





NOW THE SET LIST

Set 1: All I Need, There There, Lucky, 15 Step, Where I End and You Begin, Nude, Pyramid Song, Optimistic, Weird Fishes, National Anthem, Idioteque, You and Whose Army?, Reckoner, Everything in Its Right Place, Bangers + Mash, Bodysnatchers, Videotape

Encore 1: Gloaming, Talk Show Host, Just, Faust Arp, How to Disappear

Encore 2: Paranoid Android, House of Cards

FINALLY...COMMENTS

The show was great, the atmosphere was great, the band was great. They were right on with most songs; though, Paranoid Android seemed a bit awkward. It had been FIVE YEARS since they toured. I truly hope it's not another 5; Thom will be 45!

P.S.

We saw the show for free, sort of. I purchased three copies of the box set release of In Rainbows. I sold two on eBay for a $60 profit, and we used gift cards to pay the balance. As my friend Mason says, "Well that's like a sore peter;...you just can't beat it."

Goofy Video

Decisions, decisions

When your responsibility in this world becomes elevated beyond your own existence; decions must be made. I am willing to sacrifice a rockin' Clinic show for a Chuck Palahniuk event.



I'm so dramatic.

JUST WHAT THE WORLD NEEDS...

By specimenj at 2008-04-18

ANOTHER THAT SHARES MY GENETIC MATERIAL. THIS ONE LOOKS TO BE A THANKSGIVING TURKEY. THINGS ARE WELL SO FAR, AND I'LL KEEP THE READER UPDATED.

COMMUNICATING WITH YOUR RADIOHEAD

CHINESPIRATION

The upcoming Beijing olympics have spawned intense criticism (and rightfully so). When the Olympics were first announced to be in China a few years back, I saw a poster in a professor's office of the hands of a handcuffed person forming the bottom two of the traditional five Olympic rings. I could not find the poster I saw in their office, but I wanted to post a few conceptual drawings and photos that show the global discontent with Chinese policies. But really, will knocking the torch from the hands of a wheel chair bound participant help or hurt your cause. Let's think these things through next time.











As for a boycott; you can't. There's no way to prevent the purchase of Chinese products. There hasn't been a way around it for 30 years. We should simply continue to protest their policies while avoiding their products when we can.

More importantly, support all the participating athletes. They train their entire lives for this moment, and they deserve our apolitical endorsement. After all, what have you been doing for the last decade?

2 MILESTONES; 1 BLOG

In case you can't make out the score on the screen, it's 116,740!




ALSO: This is my 100th post. (Yeah!)

My Lawn Mowing Song

The White Stripes album, Icky Thump, came out last year just after we closed on our house, and I would always listen to it while mowing my lawn. Like a scent that triggers a memory, "Catch Hell Blues" will always be associated with pushing my Briggs and Stratton up the mountainous region I call a yard.



ALSO, this song in particular reminds me of hanging out in Jody's garage apartment in the mid 90s. It was the place to be in Waycrizzy, and if you leave out the slide that Jack White uses, it sounds like Jody's best work on the electric. Meg's rudimentary drumming even mimics Mason's perfectly.

This video stops before the best verses begin, so I recommend you purchase or illegally download the complete version. While you're at it, get their complete discography; it's worth it.

Pinnacle of Taxidermy

From the author of Transmetropolitan...

You are never going into space.

You will never own a jet pack.

Your car will never fly.

HIV will not be cured in your lifetime.

Cancer will not be cured in your lifetime.

The common cold will not be cured in your lifetime.

Don't these things bother you?

Suicide is the third biggest killer of teenagers in the United States.

In 1999 more people in America died from suicide than from homicide.

Do you think about this?

As anyone who ever read MyDeathSpace.com for any period of time know, the leading cause of death in America is automobile accident. This is generally interpolated into a number placed under the heading "accidental death." When the operation of cars is the leading cause of loss of life I'm not entirely sure how it comes under the term "accidental death." It wasn't a fucking accident, it was done by someone with a car. It's 2007 and we don't know how to operate cars without killing people. It's not a fucking accident if it was caused by someone getting into a one-ton metal bullet that cannot be operated with complete control at all times.

In Europe in 2004, 13000 kids – persons under the age of fourteen -- died due to poor water. It’s 2007 and the society does not yet understand how to operate water.

Are you thinking about this now?

People keep asking me what DOKTOR SLEEPLESS is about. This is what it's about.

Someone stole your future. Don't you ever wonder who?

- WARREN ELLIS

DIG DUG

This classic is one of my all-time favorites. I began feeding quarters into this machine while standing on a stool when I was around 8, and I still play it on my Game Boy Advanced. Last month, it occurred to me that I was approaching it the wrong way. This was one of the first big time coin-ops. Back then, points were the goal, not level advancement. This epiphany has drastically improved my Dig Dug experience.
For the last month, I’ve been consumed. I don’t know what score is high enough for me to be satiated, but my highest thus far is 99,670. I can’t seem to break the 100K barrier, but I challenge ANYONE to get as close as I have. I’m willing to put money as well as my reputation as a 5-tool-gamer on the line.