Draaaat.

James beat me to posting up the information about the two major choices in our camping... bully for you sir.  I, personally, lean toward the Soda Springs area because if for whatever reason the campsites are full, we can also just pitch our tents anywhere nearby.  And they have water we can sit by (though as James has said, it isn't the ocean... however, Saltwater is also not technically the ocean, as it is the Puget Sound).

And Jimmy is leaning toward the Soda Springs type of camping as well.

Either way, I'm bringing some Orange Creme, you-betcha!

And I think we should definitely know by the end of today/tomorrow so that we can definitively tell other people - go here!  Go here now!

Yeeupers.

It has come down to two candidates:

Saltwater State Park < click for link to park website

View Larger Map

-------
or Jeff's spot Soda Springs < click for link to park website

View Larger Map
-------

You'll note that between the two of them, one is easily accessible. The other is well passed the mountain. The pros and cons involved:

Saltwater is close. The advantages of being close:

• less money spent on gas
• closer to places in case of emergency
• forgot something? just go down to a store and buy it
• ocean-side camping, get to watch the sun set on the beach

The disadvantages of Saltwater being close, however:

• closer, easier accessible means closer and easier accessible for EVERYONE
• we've never really gone camping "way the fuck out there"
• less chance of bear attacks
  (this should be an advantage but really it isn't)
• nobody has ever been there
  (Jeff has at least been to Soda Springs)

Further information will be updated on this post.
I hope to have come to a definitive decision by tomorrow morning/noon/evening/night.

Knight.

Saw The Dark Knight.

Will see it again.

May have to see it next weekend after/before camping if possible.

Will see it again.

X-ample

You bet your ass i'm e-XXXXXXtreme.  Everything I do is e-XXXXXtreme.  

Makes for painful restroom breaks though.......

Jeff's hydration system includes an eXtreme water bottle:

T-minus However Many Days till Friday

Yeah.  I think as far as camping is concerned, we should do the puget sound area that I mentioned in a previous post.  We could start at trying to get to Saltlake, then Kopachuck, then Joemma.  I think, if you are heading south, those are the order in which you would go.  Each is first come, first serve, so if you (James) are thinking of going Friday, you could scout out a spot for us.

As it stands, Jimmy and I were talking and if he can get Friday off, or get enough of Friday free, we may try to join you (in a separate car) to get a second spot.  We all have cell phones so we can keep in touch until one of us finds a spot, then congregate.

Keep in mind that many of these spots have designated "check-in" times, which is around 3p I think.  But that doesn't mean we can't arrive at a spot and try to check in early, or hover until someone leaves.  (I will look more into this.)

Bradbury may be coming as well now.  He was going to look up information about a place south of the Tacoma/Roy area, but as James has mentioned, it might kill the motivation for others to go.  So for now, unless Bradbury's spot is amazing, I'm settling on the S-K-J option.

As far as my supplies, I have the following:

1. Tent (sleeps two comfortable - four if pushed)
2. Sleeping Bag (plus extra if needed)
3. Small backpacker's camping stove (literally quite small)
4. Cooler (buying this weekend or before trip)
5. Extra clothes/Backpacker's backpack
6. Hydration System (fuck you guys, I'm not going without water)
7. Laptop and Camcorder and Camera (not really camping gear, but as I'd like to think I've shown, someone needs to document these things and no one ever does except me.

I too will add more to this list as I realize what else I need to bring.

Also, Jimmy and I talked about possibly heading to Graham/Spanaway briefly to get some pictures of jOe for the comic.  Maybe some footage of the whole area too.  I found some interesting video footage from the past that includes our trips to Sharis, Jimmy and I interviewing jOe, jOe and the gOat, Chrissie's meeting with jOe (survived the first round, we'll see about another bout).

Oh, and Zach-0... how could I forget about you.  I found something pretty interesting involving you and "Sexy Brice".  That will also be going up when I can get the time to put it up.  (There's currently some other projects in my queue, including the comic and such.

And that, is all for now.

FYI - (G.I.) Joe's is having a camping sale.

http://www.joessports.com/home/index.jsp

I suggest you check it out if you're not prepped for camping.
Even though we still haven't settled on -WHERE- it will be.

(Jeff, any final thoughts? While I'm up for it, I think Wenatchee may be ... way out of the way for a lot of the people who are considering making the trip. I'm thinking Saltwater, while not as cool sounding as Dash Point, is our best bet.)

Some further information :
I have 26th, 27th (sat/sun) off - I intend to camp (stay out in the woods) friday night and Saturday night - then probably pack up, get everything ready to go - and leave late Sunday night instead of staying/sleeping out in the woods.

My list (as it stands now) is as follows:

1. Sleeping Bag
2. Tent
3. Light (gas lantern w/ cool noise)
4. Knife. Fork. Spoon.
5. (emergency) Change of Clothes.
6. Bag to carry shit in.
7. Cans of stuff to put in fire and eat (corn, beans, whole chicken)
8. One of those cool folding shovels to dig meaningless holes.
9. A. CAMPING. CHAIR. (WITH. CUP. HOLDER.)
10. Jeff is bringing a cooler. Get something to put in it.

...

(post will be updated as list developes)

Sinking Feelin'

So...

http://www.therepublicansong.com/watch.html

Yeah.

It's a video.

Sure makes me think stuff is getting better... stuff is getting better all the time.  Our education system and ability to master logic, reasoning, and moderation however...

Camping Details in Spades

Hello Slugs.

So some details and information points about all things outdoors.  Camping is still on, of course.  And while all are still invited, I need to now really get an idea of how many want or intend to come, or may come at all.

Right now I have six to seven people who have expressed interest:  James, Jimmy, DT, Mr.R, Adam, guy named "Cat", and myself.

I have tried to call jOe twice today, but nobody at his house picks up.  My guess is it is because I'm calling from my office line, and that might be coming up on his caller-ID as "Government Man", and the Macauley's think it's the Humane Society and thus are not willing to pick up.  Relax jOe, it's just me.  PICK UP YOUR DAMN PHONE MAN!  PICK UP!

So Dash Point's a wash at the moment  Apparently they now only do reservations, despite James' initial insistence that it is 1) walk-on and 2) free.  (It's neither.  Eight years does change things, doesn't it.)  And when I checked in on getting reservations, well, apparently Dash Point has become just that much more popular.  Go figure.

So 'nix to that one.  But fret not, for we have the following three "urban-camping" (i.e. like Dash Point) options:  Saltwater, Kopachuck, and Joemma.  All state parks, all first-come, first-served.  Those are our "close" options.  (They are all in the lower Puget-Sound to middle Puget-Sound area - near Tacoma-FederalWay-Seattle.)

For slightly further options, we have a place I checked out over the weekend, a place in the Wenatchee National Forest, just past Mt. Ranier National Forest.  Good place, though you'd better bring your own shovel and toilet paper, if you get my drift.

Either way, at least we don't have to worry about reserving.  And it's looking like James and I (possibly in separate cars) will get there first to hold spots.

Supplies:  I can, and will, bring a cooler for stuff, but people should start letting me know what foodstuffs they want.  I have a tent, it sleeps four cramped, two comfortably.  Yeeup.

And that's all I feel like writing for the moment.  I think James is having James the Elder check on Ft. Lewis to make sure that it's not available.

Ah yes, and one thing before I go.  Click on THIS LINK RIGHT HERE for some fun video nostalgia.  Better yet, download that file and drop it in iTunes and you'll see more fun stuff.  Oh, and THIS LINK get's you the same video, but formatted for your older iPods.  (The first one works on new iPods (classic and nano 3g, and iPhones/iPod touches).)

I loves me some videoage.

Effortless

Thank you James, for that wonderful example of a retort.

Though it's not that I suck at retorts (maybe I do... meh), I just didn't really feel like engaging someone so completely inept that it would waste my time and patience.  However, you did do a wonderful job on your own of highlighting practically all of the points I would have, save for maybe one or two.

Ah, but then today, I sat in on a support group for liver transplant patients and I was reminded again why Michael-Baxter and people like him irritate me like the STD's that they probably help spread.  As such, a mini-retort, built upon my associate, is in order.

1. The overarcing tone of your "comment" really does little to illustrate your own abilities at "romance" or "love" and does nothing to show that you have any concept of them, either by your definition or by my own.  You start off with an insult.  And you don't even bring up any of my points in your laughable rebuttal.  What is that?
2. You obviously have a limited communication skill-set, or you were taught communications by a helper monkey.  You state:
   
   

   do you REALLY want to go wipe an ass right now?? you're a liar if you say yes.

   But that isn't really what I said, now is it?:
   
   

   Tell you what you fuckers... when you are willing to wipe the ass of the one that you love because their body and mental functions are breaking down all around them, then I'll take your "romance" at face value.

   I've bolded the word "willing" for a reason.  Willing does not equal wanting.  If a giant boulder fell on my leg while I was out hiking and the only want to free myself was to amputate my leg or die, you'd better damn well bet that I'd be willing to amputate.  Would I want to?  No.  Tell you what, post your address in the comments and I'll mail you a dictionary.
   
   Further, it is pretty weak of you ask such an obvious straw-man question.  Honestly.  Are you educated?  And I don't necessarily mean in the public/private school system.  I mean, do you have some sort of intelligence sitting in that space on your shoulders?  That offer of the dictionary is still open.
3. Where to start on that whole run-on thought.  Unlike James, I think I will break it down:
   
   

   you have to go through the early; retarded; seeing the world in rose colored, heart shaped glasses stage;

   Actually, no, you don't.  You don't have to do anything.  People do.  It happens.  It comes with being young.  You even manage to hint that you know that being young comes with having a "retarded" viewpoint on life.  So you're telling me that you have to be retarded.  No, thank you.  Granted, I have definitely had that "what I that stupid?" moments when thinking of my own past, but if I had had the wisdom close at hand to know better, I would have tried to learn that.
   
   

   so that when you do open your own eyes the world stays a little brighter than its supposed to for a longer than it should

   (Please keep in mind that with every response I am typing, I'm trying my damn hardest not to just outright mock and laugh at you, precisely because I think you are young, naive, and inexperienced.)  It's funny, you're little "theory" here makes me think of all those people that I met in college/out-of-high school who were so poorly adapted to the real world precisely because they had a jaded view of the world and relationships.  I think of the girls that are constantly raped in dorm houses, frat houses, and on dates because they don't realize that the "dreamy" guy with the "dreamy" eyes is feeding her lines and flunitrazepam and she doesn't know better because of her rosey, heart-shaped view of the world.  Tell me, do you think that the world stays brighter for her longer after she has to drop out of school to raise a bastard-child?  Isn't it just slightly possible that if she had a more moderate view of the world at a younger age, she could have... oh... I don't know... realized a few things before hand?
   
   It amazes me to no end how when people start out at either extreme (the world sucks OR the world is a brightly color swirl of happy-fun-rainbows), they always are in for shocks in their lives, and provided they survive that, they end up much more moderate than before.  At least, the adaptable ones do.
   

   and by the time your eyes acclimate and see the world as it is; you don't notice so much anymore,

   If you want to live in your hazy world, be my guest.  But be warned, it's people like you, people who don't "notice so much anymore" that are in denial until reality really hits you.  Then, when it does, you're simply not prepared for the sometimes harshness that reality has to provide and you find yourself dead, in a gutter, the result of a quickie suicide via sleeping pills or a razorblade.  That or you be4come a meth or heroin junkie.  Still bright enough for you laddie?
   

   but you can realize that the two of you made it through everything together and will do forever.

   If you've managed to make it to this stage, I'm pretty sure you'll be wishing that you could hop into a time machine and kick your hipster-doofus, wide-eyed, younger self's ass for not having been more open-eyed to the pros and cons of life and reality.  Read a fuckin' book.  And not one from the latest MTV top 10 bestsellers list of the month.
   

At the start of this post, I mentioned how I really didn't care to give you the time of day to respond to such an idiotic, poorly thought out comment, and it wasn't until I sat with some veterans that I changed my mind.  I want to quickly elaborate on that so that maybe some of your doucheyness will fade away.

Having a liver transplant requires you to have a caregiver with you at all times.  All times.  Translate that as, if you don't have someone that "loves" you, you aren't getting a new liver.  Translate that as, you die.  Simple.  That person is in charge of keeping you alive.  They don't get paid for it.  They lose freedom and flexibility.  The invest in a person that might die before they get a liver.  And if, after liver waiting lists, heart complications, memory loss, encephalopathy, loss of bowel control, liver transplant complications, and a life-time of being on rejection drug medications... if after all that, they get a liver... well guess what, they may die anyway.  They do all that, and yes, they wipe ass if they have to.  Not because they want to, but because they are willing to.

It's funny and enlightening that you consider "this idea of love... far to grown up".  To think of all those "grown ups" that lived a loveless, meaningless life until you and yours showed up to show them the way.

You're pathetic attempts at "knowing" what love is, and "knowing" what romance is are, for the lack of a better descriptor, insulting.  You pretend to have some grasp at how it works... get a fuckin' clue.  I'm not saying you aren't experiencing some kind of love, but it's people like you who think you've worked out the philosophy of love at this stage of life make me want to punch you in the face.  Twice.  Go home, and grow up.  And the next time you decide on polluting our board with your nonsensical comments and self-righteous and self-justified positions you might want to stop and let that brain work.

James, you're right. My retorts do suck.  Can't wait for camping.  I'll post details on things we need to know later tonight or so.

No offense Jeff, but you suck at retorts. And whats with superimposing mud for my name, I mean I remember when I strove to remove any trace of my name from internets - but now that internets have become so large and my name being so common - it is impossible to find me. Since you suck so badly at retorts, I shall do my own:

"don't be bitter because you can't get your D touched as much as you would like."

Cock. Penis. Shaft. Dong. Willie. Shlong. One-Eyed Monster. There were tons upon tons of different words you could've used here, but you used "D". "D".

What. The fuck.

"there IS a difference between romance and love, but you're fixated on this idea of love that is far too grown up."

I'm not even sure what sort of point you're trying to make here. He was ranting about people in their twenties go on and on about how they are so love-stricken, about how they have so much to deal with when it comes to love and living life - but the sad fact of the matter is that most in their early-twenties haven't the slightest idea of what really is - but they certainly like to think they do.

So much changes in the span of 20-25 that it is sometimes laughable to look back and say, holy shit. Was I that stupid? This coming from someone who utilizes "D" in reference to their genitalia you're either IN or PRE your early-twenties, or just fucking retarded.


"do you REALLY want to go wipe an ass right now?? you're a liar if you say yes."

And just how do you know he doesn't have a scat-fetish? His point he was making with the section you were commenting on about here was that love and romance takes effort. It takes work. It isn't something picked up easily.

This next part I'd break up but I really, really really; really, really; really want to show you something; really i do; really a lot, really.

"you have to go through the early; retarded; seeing the world in rose colored, heart shaped glasses stage; so that when you do open your own eyes the world stays a little brighter than its supposed to for a longer than it should and by the time your eyes acclimate and see the world as it is; you don't notice so much anymore, but you can realize that the two of you made it through everything together and will do forever.."

Its called a run on sentence.

I doubt ANY slug looks, or has looked, at the world through rose-colored, heart shaped glasses. Misanthropic. Cynical. Asinine. Sure, but you seem to think that any slug would've been gullible or insipid enough to assume the world was ever bright to start with.

And nothing lasts forever.

Sassafras.

Well then, that didn't work.  James, fix that for me if you could?  I forgot how to do QT embeds.

Of course, that might be slowing up the page loading - meh, whatever you can do James, if it's too much, I'll just delete the embed and set up up like the following:

Click Me

Click Me Too

Those links better damn well work.

What is the WHA?

Remember the days when the board was populated with fun images and videos of the things we did/were doing/or could imagine? (see post with links)

... Gone For a Few Days and...

So... where to start.

Camping was good (the separate camping trip I made) and gives me hope for the Slugtitude that will come. I hear Adam might be comin', so also good stuff.

I've been going back and forth about where to have our little shindig but an impassioned plea from Mr. Mud has put me back into considering Dash Point as our Destination of Choice:

I dont know where you are off to - but i dont want to have to pioneer and explore new areas.

I want to relax on the sandy beaches of dash point and watch the sun go down like we did so long ago.

I want to see how things have changed, and reminisce how it was in the old days.

I wanna see that damn big hill that we struggled up and the gas station we parked your trooper at, indefinitely.

You do make some excellent points McMud so I think I will give Dash Point National Park a call later today or tomorrow and reserve ourselves a spot, unless I hear an equally passionate response from someone else.  Right now, I too want to see where my old Trooper died, and then died again.  And who knows, we may run across some Superhero Christians like last time.

Mudtastic: "I dig this Jesus-shit!"

Yes, I bet you do MudMan.

Next up, the July issue of James-2-James may be delayed.  I'm not sure yet.  That's due to my own stupidity, running for a bus and likely having my pen-tablet pen slide out of my bag and find itself lost and alone under the bridge or on the street somewhere.  It's probably servicing some hipster doofus who's lost his/her/transgendered will to live because the cold hard reality that they are a) not unique and b) not trendy has finally kicked in.

I'm not abandoning hope for the July issue though, as most of the templates I need are already made, and if I have to use a mouse to do photoshopping, I will.  It just takes fuckin' longer.

Three (yes, a three), look for an addition or two to the blog later tonight (hopefully) or early tomorrow.  No, this isn't one of those "look for the MEGApost" kinda things.  (And I hate how I will always have to justify that now...)  The addition is practically done (in processing stage) and it's more a matter of getting enough time to allow the computer to upload said changes - which I can't do at work, so I have to wait 'till I get home.  I think some of you will like it, since some of you have been clamoring for it for awhile.

And finally, because people are apparently still emo, and because they come on OUR/MY board and can't stand opposing opinions...

This is Michael's response:

don't be bitter because you can't get your D touched as much as you would like. there IS a difference between romance and love, but you're fixated on this idea of love that is far too grown up. do you REALLY want to go wipe an ass right now?? you're a liar if you say yes. you have to go through the early; retarded; seeing the world in rose colored, heart shaped glasses stage; so that when you do open your own eyes the world stays a little brighter than its supposed to for a longer than it should and by the time your eyes acclimate and see the world as it is; you don't notice so much anymore, but you can realize that the two of you made it through everything together and will do forever.

First:  Mwahahahahaha....

Second:  Ahh, man oh man... I don't really know where to start or if it's worth my time to start...

No.  It isn't.  So I won't bother.  There are too many intelligent people who occasionally read this, or did at one time, that I'm sure they could figure out all that I want to say to this.  And if not, well then maybe I'll respond.  But I probably won't.

I will quickly say though that something must be done regarding a "new" Michael.  We have two of them already.  So that won't do.  We can't have people getting confused and thinking that this "new" Michael is one of our previous two.  It would irrevocably harm their respective reputations.  Hereby, this "new" Michael will be referred to as "Baxter".

And to complete the change, because I wouldn't want Baxter's image mixed with our M.Collins or Rigney, I have provided what my MacBook and my own impressions have calculated is this person's image:

Good job Baxter.

And good morning/afternoon to my fellow Slugs.

Camp-Out

I will be gone for a few days, exploring a potential campsite for our great CAMPING ADVENTURE @))*... oh, held the shift key down to long...

Anyway you get the point.  So I cannot compete with Zach-o for first posts... or can I?  No, I can't.

Fuck.

Anyway, Andy mentioned to Jimmy or DT that he won't be able to go.  Sadness.  DT, you will have to pretend to be Andy for the duration of the trip on the 26th.  (You can be yourself as well, but you'll have to carry a big stick.)

I wish I had more interesting things to say.

Oh, I hate Karl Rove.  But who doesn't, so that's nothing special.  I will give him props for giving our generation a new person to make an adjective out of.  No longer does a person have to refer to another system or person as Machiavellian.  Now they have Rovian.  (Sounds like a dinosaur.)

Oh, I suppose I have something else to jabber about for the moment.

People are making me nauseous.  Not everyone, but damn if it isn't a whole hell of a lot of people.   With their whiny "I think I know what love is" or "I think I know what life is" or "I think I know the answers to every fucking problem"... "and I'm 22".

Fuck you.  Fuck you people.  It's a slap in the face to every single person who came before you with good intentions and weren't able to get things done, but actually did make incremental differences.

And fuck you people who think you know what life is and are woe-is-me'ing it up.  Fuck you.  I've seen people who come back from war with missing limbs and they are cheerier than you Hispter Doofus Fuckers with your melodramas about the man and society pressing you down.  FUCK YOU.

Fuck you Military-Supply-Protestors and Code Pinkers for not understanding that to have some level of freedom, you have to have the conviction and strength to protect it.  Fuck you for ruining it for legitimate protesters who protest against what they may feel is an unjust war (debatable) by protesting against providing supplies to troops.

And then there are the "I know what love is, and I have experienced it" bullshitters who are in their early twenties and have yet to watch as someone they know, love, are committed to legally and monetarily start to decay from the effects of lung, liver, kidney or breast cancer.  A special FUCK YOU to you pieces of crap.

People will say that I no nothing of romance.  I'm sorry, a glorified one-night-stand based off of "love at first sight" is not love.  I'm not discounting the idea behind "love at first sight", but a) it statistically doesn't work, and b) the people who claim they met so-and-so, felt "love at first sight", and have been married for 20+ years are discounting the fact that they happened to win the chances game and their time spent together helped to solidify their affections.  (You don't hear them spieling on about their other "love at first sight"s.  Do you?)

Interestingly enough, even Disney never really fully played up that angle, and they are the masters of animated love stories.

Tell you what you fuckers... when you are willing to wipe the ass of the one that you love because their body and mental functions are breaking down all around them, then I'll take your "romance" at face value.  Buying flowers, "writing" songs (laughable at best), or any other insertable cliché thing is NOT DEFINITIVE of being romantic.  It's called being a tool.  If that's all you are relying on to consider yourself romantic then congratulations.  You are not.  You are a Hallmark-Robot.

and yawn... I don't know where that sudden outburst came from, but it makes it quite apparent why I need to get away from the city for awhile.  The people that feed off of its excrement are starting to annoy the crap out of me.

So anyone who wants to join me and the others that want to go (which I think stands at James, Jimmy, DT, and maybe someone else), then come.  We will lamely try to set up tents, watch James play "master of the fire", and bitch and moan and philosophize over stuff, like we used to do, but with the cynicism and strained hope that has come with 5+ extra years.

Skids

Because... If I had a super funzo awesome fast red car, I'd have my
vanity plates say SKIDMRKS too.

Slug Snippets 2008-07-10

Slug Snippets:

1p - sitting at town hall meeting for what is called TEMPO credit.
Nothing better to do today.

1:03p - I just noticed how very dirty my lab coat is. It's actually
quite gross. Speech is beginning...

1:05p - a support group that I help to run was given a small accolade
for good service. Surprised, to say the least.

1:14p - boredom beginning to set in.

1:17p - why do they torture us so? Trapped in a room with old
people... Monotone speech. Very few hot people. I'd kill for a
Clover monster attack to shake things up.

1:20p - Large woman in front of me has a comment. Large, and yellow.
Sooooo yellow. It's like watching the sun drink a big gulp.

1:22p - the "Sun" takes another gulp.

1:23p - I find myself hoping she doesn't have a heart attack.

1:25p - they are talking about our shitty elevators. About time.

1:26p - "Sun" hydrates itself.

1:29p - the boss of primary and specialty care, or second-in-command
is kinda hot... In a slightly older, business woman kinda way.

1:32p - discussing green initiative... I wonder how the "Sun" feels
about that.

1:34p - the Chief of Medicine makes a joke, he's actually funny. The
"Sun" laughs... It's horrifying.

1:48p - a volunteer speaks up about a various set of issues... I think
she's been building up a list of thoughts during the other questions.
Bah, I thought I was getting out of here soon.

1:52p - the "Sun" sounds angry... With rage... Or hungry??

1:58p - the "Sun" bellows: "I'm surprised at how slow 10 mph really
is!" - Really?!? You can get up to that speed?

2:01p - town hall meeting done.

---
Jeff Paulino's iPhone
Seattle, WA

Stopped Creation

First Post King.  Crowned 2008.07.10.

I don't know why I actually bother with that... not because nobody reads these, but because I actually find it annoying when some asshat goes on to a forum and posts "first post" and then has nothing substantive.  So thus, I will only declare my First Post Awesomeness when I have something substantive.

Guess what:  Substance!

I've been hearing rumors lately of an Arrested Development movie in the works, and lately it sounds like if so, it will be released into the wild in 2009.  Do you know how happy this makes me?  DO YOU?!

For all those of you who do not know what Arrested Development is... I shame you.  Go on, wallow in your bestowed-upon shame.  It was one of the best, fuckin' hilarious tv shows of the early 2000's.  (I cringed when I wrote early 2000's and I'm not sure why.)

I know Jimmy hasn't seen it, but then again, he was also in the Air Force (or was it Space Force...?!!?!) in the unforgotten land of Alaska (where I think the events of the "Postman" took place... where else but there or hell could that movie make it, after all).  Besides, he's expressed interest in checking out my DVD's of the show, so I forgive him.

But not the rest of you fuck-ups who don't care to check it out.  Still, I save my spite for those out there who not only didn't watch the show, but didn't watch the show because it started with a ukelele playing in the background and it scared them.  Or those of you who'd rather watch Survivor.

There's a special kind of hell for your kind.  And it's filled with decrepit Michael Bay clones.

So in closing, go out and buy or rent Arrested Development and watch it.  And become excited at the prospect of a movie.

Check them out!

So now I see the little mini-zacho-boobies that he talked about earlier.  Good job sir.

If I wasn't so secure in my manliness, I would be disturbed.

No wait, I might still be disturbed.  Is it because of Zacho-boobies, or because of the guns... or because I only like my guns with girl-nudity?

I'd better just stop before this devolves into something horrid.

sometimes i wonder about you jeff.

i should point out that when i log into blogger it has me sign in with my gmail info. so i feel like if you have gmail youre good to go.

Zach-Boobs?

See, I can't see half the stuff when I'm on the VA computers... I'm curious about these zacho-boobs.  They sound enticing Zach.  Soooooo enticing.

Frightening.

I'll take a look when I get home perhaps.

Someone asked me how to post to blogger, so for those who a) don't remember, b) are completely new... you have to have a blogger account, so if you goto BLOGGER you should be able to make one.  I think the invite I sent also shows you how to, if you haven't already.  Then it's a simple matter of going to blogger, signing in, and then go to the Posting tab and click on create.  I think that should be it.

I can give lessons in person.  I'm good at lessons.  Oh yah, my lessons bring all the b--

You know what, I'm just gonna stop right now.

based on the second picture, i figure once upon a time i would have been receiving flack for having bitch tits.

but i doubt even that will get people posting.

weaponry i can do. i only have the one gas mask, but i can wear it in conjunction with other weaponry. in fact let me dig here real quick maybe give you another couple that probably exist.





ive had a long day and i just suddenly got bored to to the amount of searching i had to do for those. so my post has ended.

Mwahahaha!

Though it is only two in the running, I will still savor my eventual victory over you Zach-0.  Just you wait.

Camping plans continue.  Andy seems to be on board now after I've given him some details.  Still a toss up between Dash Point and the greater Leavenworth area.  I'm sure we'll figure that out all in good time.

In the comics-news-business, things move along smoothly, and a new issue will hopefully be out about mid-month.  It should be out before the great camping trip of '08.

Zach-0, you should pose with more weaponry, or gas masks, or both.  Definitely.  It'll help me in the long run.  (Interpret that any way you wish.)

well the gist of it is she knew a lot of people i knew at the bar, and after all her friends left i offered to let her sleep it off on my couch, as she had about an hour drive home. so yes, she was drunk.

this morning (afternoon who am i kidding) after we woke up and i drove her to her car, i recieved calls from no less than 4 different calling me to tell me the girl id been chatting up at the bar was in fact a lesbian, who was in fact at the bar because shed been stood up by a girl earlier that night.

so to all the best of my knowledge this may have just been what she might consider a drunken mistake.

thats about all i know.



i shouldnt be left alone with a camera.

(edit) first post again.

True Lesbian?

Congrats on your first post Zacho... but what a weak post... you didn't even tell us much.  After all, you said:

"oh hey interesting story.  last night i had sex with a lesbian."

 That's not a story.  At most, that's like a parable.  And not even that.  I was expecting... more.

And, is she really a lesbian?  From what I've seen of some of the lesbians I know, some of which are friends, they seem even more entrenched in their sexuality than straight males... so... was she drunk?  Or was she not really a lesbian?

It's a mystery.

I think others do read the board, they just don't post... yet.  Damnit.  Oh well.

It sounds like camping is actually on, though not many people coming... oh well x2.  Those who will come, it sounds like an area outside of Leavenworth is the goal, some non-traditional campsite.  Prepare for bears.  Too bad you can't be there for that Zacho, I think you'd have enjoyed it.  (Is it appropriate to assume one would enjoy something when it has in fact not happened yet?)

I want to ramble about something... I have this distinct urge to ramble about something... but I'm not really sure what to ramble about.  Maybe I'll post another historical-archival type image...

Is this bus is GERMAN ENGINEERED?

I want to say, circa 1997, because I was on the bus to take this picture, and I stopped riding the bus around '97 or '98... which makes this one fuckin' old picture.  (Old being relative.)  God... I hated that bus.  Though Mel was... well... he was old.  There really wasn't else I had to say about him.  I was gonna say he liked me well enough, but I don't think he did.  He liked Asian Joe though.  A lot.

And this one is just for Zacho:

BzzzZAPT!

I have to find that footage, speed it up, put it to Benny Hill music, and then promptly forget to do anything with it for another five or six years.

first post jeff. i even waited till 630 pm. i say jeff because youre the only one i ever see in here jeff.

oh hey interesting story. last night i had sex with a lesbian.

yep.

What's That?

a).  First post Zach.  Suck my nuts.

b).  Refer to point a.

c.)  Camping cannot apparently be done at Fort Lewis, as apparently they are doing some sort of "gas the area" type exercise, per Bonnie's information.  So now our options decrease a bit to Dash Point and any other site that someone suggests.  I'm fine with Dash Point personally, but if anyone is feeling "adventurous" (and not in the way that involves spending the week living in a car with Jimmoi and Zacho), then let me know of what other site you are thinking of.

d.)  All thoughts coming from Jeff may or may not be less than structured due to the number of drinks he had today when subbing in for someone in a drinking game.  Don't judge me, I was doing a friend a favor.

e.)  I'm still more coherent than YOU, whoever YOU is that is judging me.  I will cut your toe off if you think otherwise.

f.)  The numbering structure for this list is a bit off, due to the placement of periods.

g.) good night.

FIRST POST

i win jeff. i win.

im drunk.

i really just wanted to win first post from jeff since no one else cares.

where the hell is jimmoi?

its jimmoi forever. no y. oi.

i told a homeless guy to kill himself tonight.

Quick Notes

Two things, very quickly... I saw Iron Man, and will have to put up my review on it, and my thoughts as to whether or not it was a) better than Batman Begins, and b) whether I expect it will be better than The Dark Knight... oh and c) whether it was better than other summer blockbusters out that I've seen (i.e. Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull).

And two... Happy Independence Day fellow Slug-gers.  I'm feeling a might bit patriotic for the moment so don't kill my buzz.

Oh and... (though I know it's no longer the grand-thing nowadays...) FIRST POST OF THE DAY... FIRST POST OF THE INDEPENDENCE DAY.

Yowza.

Raaaa!!! Too Much Corrugated Fibers!

Oh Zach-0, how we do miss those rants about you bragging about stuff.  These days it sounds like your tales mostly consist of the retarded ones that you work with and clean up after.  It reminds me of the teachers at Bethel who used to shepherd the iSeniors of our day through our crowded halls, keeping them safe from the general high school populace.  And of course, every so often, one or two of them would break from the pack and wander around, talking to the "normal" high schoolers (as if such a thing as normal high schoolers existed).

Jimmy used to make such fun of them...

And then both of you ended up working with one:

"Hello, Lee!"

Mwahaha, there you go Zach-0, a Target memory just for you.  Or did you think I had forgotten about your posted encounter with The Balin' Machine, Curtis.

Yes folks, step right up, I have memories, one and all.

DAMMIT PAULINO!!!!

remember when me and brice would come visit you at college and you wouldnt answer your damn phone and we would just leave voice mails that said that?

also, why the hell do you forget that that picture of roger means something to me too.?

dammit paulino. dammit.

tomorrow i have to take a retard to the retard barbecue. its not as fun as it sounds. all that will get cooked is food. still, its fun to have visions of flaming wheelchair bound retardeds flailing about and screaming something about cupcakes.

remember when i lost my virginity and i made that huge post that just read "I HAD SEX.........WITH A GIRL!!!"

man it used to be fun to brag.

farts.

last time i posted chrissie left me a comment telling me she hated me. i think im not for the comments. i agree with jeff, if youve got something to say get off your ass and post it. let all the slugs see what you have to say.

my iPod just told me that if i wanted to, i oculd start it at the beginning and it would go for 39.6 days befor eit would be out of stuff. thats fun. i guess. so why do i listen to the same 4 albums?

maybe if anyone wants to know ill tell you which ones.

why would you?

there is a pizza delivery guy who lives in the complex that i work at the most. hes foreign. he told me he wanted to "make a gift of me for to" and handed me a coupon for a free large pizza.
make me a gift any day buddy. wherever the hell you are from. i hope hes not from france.

i think im actually going to go to a movie tomorrow. i think i will see Hancock. looks fun to me. i also think i will bring a bottle of gin in with me.

i might also go see WALL E. call me a gayzo. i kinda dig pixar.

i gotta have paperwork time now. random enough for you jeff?

farts.

Changes a'Foot.

So I see someone, and my assumption is Mr. Collins, has been dinking around with the colors. Good sport. It just doesn't feel right without him setting the "look" of the main aspects of the board.

For my own, I found out that Blogger is implementing a few changes in the coming months, and I managed to get some of that "beta" stuff, mostly in the commenting area. The changes probably won't be apparent, which is fine with me. As most know, I'm not a fan of the comment system anyway. I figure, if you have something to say, get off your lazy ass and post it. Post it man!

I'm trying out some of the other new "beta" type things... oooh beta!  Beta!  it's a word that gets tossed around a lot these days... it's like the internet's version of "cool" or "hip" or "buttsexx".

To test some image downloading stuffs, I think I will post up a picture I found on an archive disc from back in the year 2002.  Ooohhhh, so long ago... 

This image probably doesn't mean much to any of you... but it would to Jimmy and I... I can't even remember why I made this image, something about Roger being a terrorist and infecting all of our raisins with terrorist-type things.  Something like that.  Better be careful of using the word terrorist too many times.  I'm foreign-looking, after all, with my slightly brown skin color.

So I'll post up another, far more friendly picture from the past:

See that?  That's the board, circa... well... I don't know.  Read a post fucker if you want to know when it came from.  Obviously it was when James was going through a Pink-phase... or maybe when that artist Pink hit it big, and everyone was like, "whoa... it's Pink.  She's punk-rock!  She's the anti-britney."  Sheep.

Okay, one more, for old times sake:

DRAGON-RAGE!

Oh man, I miss posting nonsense.  I'll never be as good at it as Michael was, but it's still fun.

Skype it. Skype it good.

Good job jOe. Except I think you're the only person in this time line that uses Windows Live Messenger. I suppose I use MSN Messenger, but I'm not even sure that the two are completely compatible.

And before you say, "well, Microsoft makes both", keep in mind that Microsoft made the Zune and it doesn't even work with their original DRM structure (Plays-for-Sure). It's sad really.

But today is not a day for diatribes against Microsoft (especially when there are 365 other days for that this year). No, more I'm just curious if anyone here uses Skype for IM'ing or video/audio chats. It would help the PODcast idea along if someone else did.

jOe: Download Skype. And post your hours of availability here. And post when you work at Wal-Mart. I might be down in the area sometime in the next few weeks and might stop in to say hi. Maybe get some pictures for the comic. I need to get some of that barn of yours. Mwahaha. Ahhh... barn. Doktor Bob.

Also, camping plans moving along rather well. I think we are currently debating between Dash Point and Fort Lewis, both having pros and cons. Jimmy through out the idea of the beach, and I'm not sure if he meant Dash Point's beach or making a mini-road-trip out to Ocean Shores. I'd be completely game for that idea.

Also, it seems like the weekend of the 26-27 of July is becoming more set-in-stone, so if you want to come, take those days off. Do it. Do it NOW!

jOe, are you coming? If you are, you'll probably have to drive yourself, as I have no car and nobody left lives in Graham.

web cam

my web cam is working with windows live messenger

Whizz-Bang!

You know, I actually heard that WANTED was actually good... that yes, it was over-the-top, but done so purposely and just right that it was "awesome".

But I don't know that for certain because I haven't seen it, so I'll have to withhold judgment. And apparently, unlike Collins the Elder, I haven't seen ads for it anywhere. In fact, I first heard of this movie yesterday when I watched a Daily Show episode.

But I agree with the Morgan Freeman comment. Didn't he also do the voice-over for War of the Worlds?

Jimmy and I once had a discussion about how Morgan Freeman wasn't all that great because unlike other supposed great actors, he'd never done a bad-guy role. He had done roles that came sorta close, but nothing ever truly villainous.

Then I saw him actually play one: Click the picture for more info.

This movie even had John Cusack (a personal favorite) and it still sucked monkey balls. Horrible, swollen monkey balls. It sucked so bad I stopped watching it, which makes it worse than Undefeatable.
Click the picture for more info.

I can't talk to much shit about him though... he plays Lucius Fox, and it's just good to see any version of Batman actually mention Lucius Fox. It reminds me of the good ol' Batman: The Animated Series.

James, if you go see WANTED. Let me know. I may see it as well, and if so, we can compare notes. Or if there's time, I may go see it with you and anyone else who wants to view it.

WANTED: I want you to want to stop bothering me about the movie WANTED.

Ok. So that settles it. There must be a movie release this weekend (WANTED) because i cannot go anywhere (WANTED) without seeing a god-damn'd ad for WANTED.

ANGALINA JOLIE. IN WANTED. ITS GOT GUNS. AND BITCHES.
http://tinyurl.com/5er464
YOUR DADDY WAS A HITMAN NOW THEY'RE AFTER YOU!!!!!!!!!!

And what the fuck happened to Morgan Freeman? Do movie-makers now think to themselves, "you know what this movie would really benefit from? A voice over. Who can we hire to do voice over? Is Morgan Freeman available, he was awesome in that penguin movie!"

Of course that dialogue would all be in russian. So it would be something like ...

вы знаете что это кино о действительно извлекать пользу? Голос сверх. Кто может мы нанимает для того чтобы сделать голос сверх? Morgan имеющийся Freeman, он был внушителен в том кино пингвина!

Honestly does anyone remember when cinemas started HATING the internet because word-of-mouth would kill movies before they even had a chance to make money? Now its like they have to post it on every possible place you could ever look on the internet so instead of hearing from someone that the movie sucked balls you're confused by trailers which only show the good parts.

Or, if you recall from THE TRAINSPORTER - they even REMOVE the good parts from the trailers from the movie (hello where is my rocket being deflected by a trashcan lid?) right >>>> HERE <<<<

All in all i will probably have to see this movie (maybe not in theaters) just for the lead male character - who was in the movie Atonement.

Now Atonement, while I wasn't fond of - I would strongly suggest anyone to see it. It's a drama but I would classify it as a predictable comedy. Really slow movie - but it has some good, funny scenes and the ending is the funniest of them all. I'm going to see if Blog-Spot has implemented a spoiler-feature. If it has, awesome. If it hasn't well then fuck you - like you were going to watch the movie anyway:

[spoiler]Atonement because the two main characters die and she was responsible for getting them separated because she's a liar and so she writes a story where they get to yell at her and profess how much they love each other on a beach.[/spoiler]

Anywho. I like it, but really too long. But they were using some stupid thing that old movies and sometimes girl-films do: Character development. Bleh, who needs character development when you have
!!! eXpLoSiOnS !!!


Yeah I just did a marquee in a post.
Talk about a "LOOK WHO IS BACK" post, damn.
I'll come up with something more coherent to say later.

New Comic Friday!

Many of you have probably doubted that I would actually continue with my comics. I know some of you will point to the long-lost "MEGApost".

Granted. Perhaps the whole MEGApost idea was a bit too ambitious, especially for someone who was working and going to school full time. Far too ambitious.

But this time around, I have the time, the resources, and the drive. And so, I present, Chapter 2 of James-2-James, the comic that will change the way you... do... something.



Click it. Now. And learn the secrets of the Prehistoric Past!!!!

Bluetooth

Even old people have them.
Even parents have them.
Even the veterans with disabilities have them.

... Okay maybe that last one makes sense.

Much like cell phones, I know I will start out hating them and then
probably have one myself.

Fuck.

Return to Dash Point

There has been some talk as of late (and it's not just me talking), of doing camping. I think, if we do, we could go to Dash Point. It's relatively in the middle of everyone, from Tacoma to Seattle, so whoever wanted to go, could conceivably go.

Anyone else interested in this idea? I'd even be willing to plan most of it (though as far as getting there, I will likely have to rely on James/Jimmy).

I would need to know the level of interest and the best days for everyone to go. I'm thinking sometime mid-to-end of July, or mid-to-end of August. Tentatively.

Hey jOe, you could even go, but you'd probably have to drive yourself there. Don't bring your brothers. They are idiots and smell bad. No offense.

Posts from the Street (Solstice Fair Edition)

Now I'm live blogging the Solstice Parade.

I'll also try to find jOe a woman.

Meet Funzo!

See that thing on the right! Yup, that's right fools. That is Funzo, our new mascot/logo, and I made him.

It's a great feat, considering I'm not good with bezier curves and that's what Adobe Illustrator uses. It's hell to figure out.

(To be completely truthful, Funzo was made from a trace program that turned him into a vector, then from there he was adjusted and given a slime trail... but oh what a wondrous slime trail it is. And I made that slime trail all by myself. FUNZO!)

One wonders a little if I'm losing my mind on this.

Oh, and James? I now have server space... I'm learning the ins and outs of things, but I think I know how to host Loose Slugs on it. Awesomo.

Zach-0

Yeaaah, Zach's back. Sorta. Welcome our newest, oldest, correspondent from the great state of... Ohio. Okay, so it's Ohio and Ohio hasn't given us much yet. Well... it gave us Bush in '04.

Thanks Ohio.

Honestly, I'm sorely tempted to question everyone who voted Bush in '04. In '00 I could understand. He even had a record of working in bipartisan coalitions. But in '04?? By then we had oodles, yes I said oodles, of evidence that he wasn't the best idea. And still...

So... to try and not make it a judgment call, I'm honestly curious, if you voted Bush in '04... WHY?

And now, back to Zach-0. Welcome back Zach-0... it's good to see/hear/read you again.

One other thing, I've posted my Wii-information and James' information to the right. If you have a Wii (any of you) and you want to share such info, post it on the board or send it to me. I will put it up on the side to.

Yay. And I'm spent.

.

There's wasn't so much as a contention as an agreement with one outlier.

California sucks. Simple as that. I could go into why, but I have a run to get to a'gettin' to. The "contention" was that you thought it was happy-land. There are happier lands then California.

Much happier. And with far less gonnerea (mispelled and I don't care), Code Pink, and bloated over-drugged wannabes.

Funzo.

I'm moving to California in a month and a half to be a Torrero.

I recall California being a subject of contention on this message board.

ha

Dear Slugs,

I'm back.

love,
zach-0

!!?!

I FUCKIN' HATE IT WHEN SOMEONE CANCELS SOMETHING AND FUCKIN' FORGETS TO TELL ME!!!

Commentary-to-Go

I'm going to keep hammering this home because it's the only way to get anything done...

I've been talking with Aaron about this podcasting idea I've been brewing on, and apparently he has access to an audio/video studio. A STUDIO! That's useful.

So the idea I'm working on is a semi-long series of audio and video podcasts (audio because some people prefer to listen to a radio-like show as they are driving, walking, jogging, and so forth; video because video is interesting and sometimes you just can't convey a message quite right without the picture - and I'm sure James would get a kick of video).

The subject matters I'm playing with are rather obvious, things that spawn conversation. It doesn't have to always be about one particular topic, but a semi-directed topic of choice per podcast would be a better idea overall.

So... I think I really just need to know, for the moment, who'd be interested?

I know, I know, it probably sounds lame or (insert random excuse), but it could be fun. Bradbury, you are in town for a few weeks, or relatively close-to-town, it'd give you a chance to voice some opinions, and from the past, we know you like that.

Hell, we all do.

Jimmy, get your fuckin' computer working and start being online again damnit!

Joe... sorry... jOe, you're in Graham and probably unable to drive on up here... but you have a webcam as we've all been fortunate enough to see... I'm looking into ways of recording video conferencing through my MacBook Pro, so you could conceivably give join us, and give us an update on graham and redneck culture.

Just kiddin' jOe. Don't eat me.

Just kiddin' about that too jOe. (Besides, I'm workin' to make you a star. You can be the next TroubledGirl15, or whatever the hell YouTube girl that was.)

James, you long-haired hippy fucker... well, really I just wanted to use the phrase "long-haired hippy fucker" even though it does not apply in any real-world, conceivable way. But James, you occasionally bitch to me about these sorts of things (creative outlets, expression, blah-blah-blah), so here you go. Run with it. Or hobble with it. (I'm not sure of your health situation currently.)

And finally, if we do that camping idea that I've also been formulating, we could video-podcast that as well. I've got a full series-of-tubes worth of space, so I can host it.

Posts from the Streets

About ten minutes ago, I felt bored out of my mind and I was going to
post something about this fucking huge, giant-ass fly that I thought I
had killed earlier in the day and yet had somehow come back to life
and started crawling around my floor.

But then this guy got on my bus and I found him a little more
entertaining. He stumbled on the bus, seemingly dazed and confused,
(probably drunk) and after slurringly asking the bus driver to be
allowed on the bus (I couldn't quite catch his excuse), he proceeded
to ask someone for a quarter.

He just said, "Man..... ...... I'm tired", as the smell of cheap
alcohol wafted out of his maw and toward my airspace.

It looks like I'm listening to music right now, otherwise he probably
would have asked me for a quarter as well.

Four-W: Jeff

Following Bradbury's suggestion, since it seemed like a simple and useful one... a little update about the last few years...

Where to start...

So, left college, getting the all-important Bachelor's Degree (of Science, in Psychology). Was it worth it? Yes. Did I learn a lot? Yes. Did I learn a lot in the field I was studying? Meh.

I did come away with the probably rather obvious conclusion that college is not for everyone, but it was most definitely for me. I also wish I could have stayed a few extra years, most likely because I have found that I thrive in education-filled environments. I'm planning on graduate school (the college that comes after college), which sounds even more like for me. (Think of an environment where knowledge not only comes from what has been learned in the past, but what is discussed in committee or think tanks or in concert with each other. James once mentioned a kind of learning like this...)

Since college, I have entered the workforce, now finding myself working at the Veterans Hospital in Seattle. It has its ups and downs, but at the end of the day, there is nothing spectacular to it, and when I leave, it won't be a sad occurrence (though not because it was a terrible place).

And that, is that, for the some of you who do not know what has been going on.

---

Now onto the more current matters of the day. I invested about a hundred dollars in the ability to do a wide-variety of "web" things, i.e. podcasting, graphics, photography, and the such. That might sound stupid or foolish, but I have found that until you put up the money, you are reluctant to carry out creative, hobbyist, endeavors.

So, now I definitely need to push on this podcast idea. Bradbury, James, Jimmy, Mike, Aaron, jOe, or anyone else who remotely reads any of this... ideas on a podcast? I know I've been mentioning this much lately (possibly ad nausea), but I'm intrigued by the possibilities of what amounts to "new-age HAM radio broadcasting".

Ideas for a theme include movie reviews, music reviews, reviews about reviews, "How much I hate Michael Bay and here's why:", or some other miscellaneous topic. The best part is, we don't all need to necessarily be in the same place to do it. (Also kind of a sad reality, since we lose out on face-to-face time, but whatever...). So, seriously, get back to me on this.

DO IT. DO IT NOW!

OKAY, NOT NOW...

NOW!

A Few Little Things...

A quick few updates before I go to bed...

I've added a few links to various board-member's personal sites, as you'll see on the side. There's Bradbury's and Rigney's sites... and I think NOT mud's site as well.

And I've also added a link to the comic that I made, and subsequent comics to come:
James-2-James.

More issues will appear there later. Also, when I figure more of this out, I will be able to post future podcasts, as that's a plan I'm working on. James, i will likely need your help, and Aaron's too.

And now... I'm going to bed.

Hello Five Dollar Footlong

Fuckin' yummy man. Anything five dollars and a foot long is worth it.

I've been thinking, camping soon anyone?

Oh, hello there.

Slugs, eh?

...

It's been a while, since these parts have seen the kind of action they've seen lately. But, uh, it seems most of what's been happening (or, at least, what I catch in the email updates I get) has been talking about the old board.

Ok, wow. Nostalgia. Awesome.


Anyway, I'd like to go on record as saying it doesn't fucking matter why the old board withered away.

Aside from that, it's been a long, um, half-decade since I've seen many of the old folks.

How about a post from everyone with a little four-w action (where, what, why, how) about your life? I'll go first:

---

I found my way to Pilchuck Glass School in 2003, and it worked, so I went back in 2004. Learned a shit-tonne, made a lot of strong, life-long friendships, and didn't get to go back.

For the next two years, I spent my free time in Eugene, working in the Eugene Glass School and University of Oregon hot shops with my good friend Jason Harris, among many others.

In the fall of 2006, our merry band of glass junkies started trickling out to Maui, where Jason and longtime friend Bobby Smith had been assembling a world-class glassblowing studio. April, July and December of 2007 saw me on the island, helping put together a few last details and make a fair amount of interesting glass art.

April 2 of this year, I quit the school system, packed what little shit I need (eight boxes and two suitcases), and got on a plane to my new, tropical home: Haiku, Maui.

In the past two months, I've learned much about life, glass, culture and myself. I've grown a great deal personally, and (here comes that word) as an artist.

Tomorrow, I get on a plane to return to the damn-it's-cold northwest.


Oh, and I've been relating little bits of life and such over at my little website, BAMFglass.com

There are pictures. Most are blurry and/or out of focus.


The purpose of my return, though, is a little more ...merry. Da Factory (my actual home, as it seems) is throwing a wee little party, to honor Ken Kesey, the Merry Pranksters and Furthur. Furthur will be there, as will a lot of original and second-generation Pranksters. Da Factory's team (which includes me) will be making an over-the-top glass sculpture.

More info is on my site, and on Da Factory's homepage

Anybody with an appreciation for Kesey, the Pranksters, the "psychedelic" counter-culture or the "psychedelic experience" should plan on attending.

---

There you have it. Not too hard, for author or readers. I was considering hyperlinking it all wiki-style (like the press release), but you all know how to use google.

Cup Cakin' It

There is nothing better, work-related, than when someone retires or
leaves because there is always free food. Like the awesome free
cupcake you see here.

Yes, it is fuckin' delicious.

(note: I suppose the actual best thing that could happen at work would
be having sex with the bosses hot college daughter in the conference
room. But that cupcake makes a close second.)

??!?

Chrissie has left a new comment on your post "Indescriminate Caring":

This makes me want to look all of y'all up on facebook.

One hopes, one hopes strongly, that this is either 1) sarcasm or 2) satire.

I don't think it's sarcasm... cause... I'm not that lucky. And I don't think it qualifies as satire.

'Could have been worse. It could have been MySpace.

...

Otherly... Aaron, if you are reading this: are you still putting on shows? If so, when, where? And, in considering this podcast idea I mentioned to you before... would it suck if I asked you if you could provide some sort of intro-music to such a thing? Again, all very preliminary, but something I want to seriously look into.

To others: Podcast? Thoughts? We bitch all the time, why not force that on others in an audible-context?

Rebuttal on Commenting

James (Not Mud) Wrote:

oh yeah fuckers "nobody left comments so my post wasn't read and nobody liked it" - wasn't my fault that every "slug" was self-depreciative.

And "the board stays on the board" is an archaic thought system. Try hanging out with young 20 year olds sometime, thats all they talk about is INTERNET INTERNET INTERNET.

Hmmm.

Since Facebook is a worthless scrapheap - didn't you say you were trying to convert the board-history to a Word Press system?

Maybe I should just spruce up the ol blogspot board. hmm.

In regards to the commenting system being a factor in killing of the board, it isn't that not gaining comments stopped people from posting. I really don't think that played a factor at all. It was that people have short attention spans (though many of the board members had slightly larger attention spans). Thus, when someone comes on the board, they typically look only at the posts. They may look at the comments if they are board, or more likely if they are the ones that posted. The casual reader won't.

Some of the best/most interesting posts of the past took place prior to the comment system. Granted many posts were also one line "you're an idiot" type posts... but others were back-and-forths that had high-entertainment value. Those kinds of back-and-forths now get buried in a comment system, and the only indication that there was a commentary is a small digit indicator at the bottom of a post in a small font.

An early set of posts between you (James) and Jimmy went back and forth on the subject of winners being the deciders/writers of history and crimes against humanity (started here and ending here, with posts in between.

If you had started that post post-commenting system, the various back and forth would have been lost to the comment system, and the casual reader would have never bothered with it. (There are ways around that with the newer blog type formats, but that's a discussion for another time.)

As for the other stuff... I actually did migrate this over to Word Press... then I realized that by doing so, all of the past posts show up as if they came from me. That's a problem, so until I figure out how to fix that, this will have to stay with blogspot. I thought about starting a new board altogether, but there's a thing in marketing/advertising called "Brand Recognition"... it's why Sony keeps recycling the used Walkman brand, instead of coming up with something new.

And the problem is that people have no outside connections these days... it's all-or-none with the internet... there are mini-movements to change this, such as dedicated social-network sites, (i.e. Flickr) that are geared toward a social network specific to a common goal/idea/activity like photography (again, Flickr) or paintball. I'd go out on a limb and say that our board was a sort-of precursor to that idea, in that it was a "social network" dedicated to hating the idiocy of our contemporary environments and occasionally getting together to wallow in that.

I felt long-winded today.

Indescriminate Caring

So I've been reading over the old posts of the past - partly because I have nothing better to do at times, partly over the previously posted nostalgia, and partly because I'm working on a few projects (of which some of you know about, some of you don't, and many more in both categories don't care).

Something I noticed in reading all of those posts (and I'm only in December of 2000), there seems to be this undercurrent that people actually cared about what each other posted about and cared about what was going on in each other's lives outside of the internet...

And everyone seemed to genuinely care.

This is different from the kind of caring that seems obligatory in the age of Facebook. The idea that you have to say, "Aw... I hope you get well," on someone's Facebook Wall, so that others can acknowledge that you do "care".

Pre-Facebook, early-blog days, you get the sense that people cared and were interested beyond the superficial. And you could almost tell that because no one ever really said, "aww, I hope you get well..." type crap. Rather, expletives and insults were hurled at each other, but in ways that subtly belied the true intent, which was often, "good to know you are still alive."

Something else that seems interesting, is that I have had multiple conversations with people since the birth of MySpace and Facebook, the Cthulhu's of the depths of the Internet, about people getting pissed at each other on such sites. It at first would remind me of the back-and-forth animosities of the board... until you remembered that often that was left "on the board". And people knew that.

People don't know that now.

Is it because people who use Facebook are of the casual-user stock... the ones who came late to the burgeoning Internet? Whereas those of us from the board had used the Internet before, and understood some of the fundamentals... like, digital conversation is fun, and connective, but not end-all-be-all?

It's interesting from the sociological-psychological perspective, to understand the inter-dynamics of modern day human interaction (especially since at one point or other, I will be going back to grad school, likely to study child psychology, and I'll likely have to deal with the 3rd generation of children to grow up in "an increasingly interconnected world".)

Oh, and something else I have casually noticed which lends credence to an argument I remember having with James years ago: the implementation of the comments-system was the slow death knell to the board. Suck on that James!

Wii!

Because many have requested this from me:

Wii Console: 4299-0178-9998-6595
Mario Kart Wii license: 2105-9143-6631
Super Smash Bros Brawl: 4682-8140-3095

There you have it.

Amorphous

First I thought it was a woman.
Then I thought it was a man.
Then I realized that it was the amorphous personification of my
nightmares and deepest fears.

Lines...

Nothing special today... Except "Beardy" being in front of me while I
wait for movies from Scarecrow.

My Suspicions Have Been Aroused...

I saw an article in the Seattle Times today:
Boy who hopped flights caught again at Sea-Tac

It's apparently about a boy named Semaj that doesn't like living in Lakewood (or Tacoma basically, for those unfamiliar) who keeps trying to escape back to Dallas, TX.

I can't blame the boy. I've lived in Lakewood, and other parts of Tacoma... (and Roy... [shudders]) and now when someone talks of going to that area, I want to gouge my eyes out with a butter knife.

But Texas? I've lived there too... it's not much better.

But I'm digressing... that's not what I wanted to mention today. What I wanted to mention was what I noticed in the article. Namely... the boy's name.

Now, the newspaper CLAIMS that this person is a 10 year old boy named Semaj... but just look at that name. It looks fake. I'm sorry, but it does. In fact, take a look at it again... and then flip it around... and you get:

Semaj = James

Coincidence.
Fuck no.

I think James is posing as a ten year old boy trying to hop flights to go down to Texas. For what reason?

I don't know... but I bet it's something deviant. Just look at that face:


I am DEVIANT!

some thing funny

check these out
http://www.newgrounds.com/portal/view/350391
http://www.newgrounds.com/portal/view/351128
http://www.newgrounds.com/portal/view/354960

Elevators Make Friends

Setting: Elevator in Bellevue
DT, Jimmy, Bonnie, Myself

One woman enters, thinks elevator is going up when in fact it goes
down. Pushes button. Her friend says, "no that's going down."

The friend pushes the button again, still not convinced. Then pushes
it again.

Friend finally convinces her that it is, in fact, going down. Both
leave elevator.

Elevator doors start to close.

DT: I fuckin' hate dykes!

Elevator doors continue to close, slowly.

Enraged "dyke" yells: Fuck you cocksucker!!!

Door closes, screaming continued.

Hahahahhahaaa. Ahhhh DT...

Alleged Baby-Daddy Jimmy

Well its allegedly. I think it happened sometime while he was in the
Air Force. He doesn't talk about the child much.

I think something might be wrong with it. He seems almost embarrassed
when I ask him about it.

Dear god

Jimmy had a kid boy I have been out of the loop

Phone Updates

So I lied. Jimmy hasn't gotten remarried. I just learned how to post
to the board with pictures via email and iPhone.

I can't wait to run into a person drunk and throwing up on the street.

Updates

Hey jOe,
Forget to mention that Jimmy got remarried. And she is accepting of
his child from the first marriage.

Time changes all

People change with time man. Yet I think I have a solution for the jimmy issue. I think it is time for a little reunion. Lets get the hole gang to gather some way some how. Think of a way and post.

Near Eight.

Eight years.

Okay, that's premature. Not quite eight years yet. But we are slowly creeping upon that mark. And I do mean creeping. I was looking at the board statistics, being bored and yearning for a simpler time when I didn't worry about bills, melting glaciers, and super-viruses, and I noticed the trend in postings, and number of postings.

And I also have been re-reading some of our thoughts, many juvenile, some almost prophetic. (Okay, there really weren't many of those... I'm not even sure there was one of those.)

I really doubt this board will survive past this year because in the last three years it's pretty much been me reminiscing about how we don't post on the board. And then there is Heather who posts something arguably inane or downright scary. Then Bradbury who posts something that amounts to a solid, "Yeeeup."

Gone are the days of Jimmy and James screaming "buuuutttsexxxxx" to each other. (My bad, that was Jimmy and Zach.) Gone are the photoshop-wars that were launched from cities apart. Gone are the days of Chrissie and Bonnie half-bitchingly whining at each other about God only knows what. Gone are the blogged-about BBQ's and MEGAposts that almost never come to fruition. Gone are the lists and rap-battles. Gone are the days when Michael would get online, rant about something involving cows, and scare the living shit out of me.

I have occasionally come to a point where I think, "Man I miss the board the way it was..." and think of efforts to resurrect the finer, best points of it. Maybe even introduce a few new things, like podcasts (maybe of movie reviews), another shot at a MEGApost, a comic book series involving some of the slugs as characters, etc...

But then I think of all the wasted effort as no one reads the board anymore. Few probably know it still exists in some fashion, and I'm sure many of the original authors have hit puberty and are now into girls (or guys, I'm not judging). James has lost his creative-motivation or something, because he can't muster then mental-libido to fire anything back these days. I think he was right when he posted years ago that when he got a job, he would become corrupted:

However - my parents are seriously considering going down to some car-store and getting two cars for the price of one. You know what that means? That means I get a car, and I have to get a job. And when I get a job, I'll be corrupt and wallow in the filthy pollution known as MONEY. God I hate the concept of money.

Jimmy is in a relationship, and having been in one, and being in one know, I know what type of time-resource-consumer that can be. Last I heard, he doesn't have a computer again.
Joe, as in MEGAjOe or just jOe, well... he's still around in some fashion or another, but I doubt he uses his computer for anything other than looking up Pokemon-related porn. (Hentai, sorry, gotta get my nouns correct.)
Bradbury... he too will always be around in the same way that fog is around... ethereally, with his trademark "Yeeeup"-type comments. I don't fault him for that, half the time my life is a yeeeup-type situation (with regards to career).
Are Mr. R and "Slim Jayee" (I still don't know who the hell this is) still alive?

There are more names, many more than I can recall on my ever-shortening lunch break... and maybe I'll get the inclination to write more about times-since-past. But then again, I don't want to be that loser that attends his HS reunion every time because he can't let go of the past and move forward.

Perhaps that's what I'm doing now... trying in vain to grasp as a past, instead of what I think I'm doing, which is trying to preserve a potentially meaningful outlet into my darker, laid-back side before it succumbs to the titanic pressures of adulthood, responsibility, children, and death.