Kinkade Raid

i always knew this guy was a fraud.

Place Your Bets

the verdict is now quite conflicted. reports of internet at my apartment are flying in from left and right, from next monday at the latest, to next wednesday, to next friday, to god knows when. anyone wanna make a wager on the day i'll have internet access? my guess: when it's most convenient for conquest staff.

Witty Euphemism About Tool Use

there's still hope for prez chimpy.

Doyle's Law

i was just informed that my new apartment will not have ethernet access for another two weeks. so i won't be posting much in the next few weeks. if i were to typographically represent my state of mind, this: @!$%@%$#%!#$@$&@$%&$%*&*# wouldn't even come close. anger.

Long-Awaited Update

this post has been a long time coming. i've been back and forth between downtown and usc, moving things everywhere, going to class, trying to find time to eat and play guitar and read and think. although internet access has been available with relative ease, i haven't found the energy or inspiration to write much. but as this first week of chaos slowly winds down, i thought i'd send a brief message to my many adoring fans (read: 4 or so people who have financial or emotional investments in the day-to-day occurrences of my life).

to put your mind at ease, all is well. the new apartment is approaching some semblance of normalcy. in a few short days, it should be completely settled, everything in its correct place. once my internet is established there, i plan to return to a more consistent schedule of posting on this and my other virtual espousing locale, skp magazine.

for those interested in my classes, they all range from somewhat to very promising from first impressions. magazine non-fiction writing and guitar will be my indisputable favorites. theatrical film symposium will be an enjoyable finish to the week. investigative reporting is a necessary evil, and with the planned slate of guest journalist lecturers, it will hopefully prove itself as, if nothing else, a glimpse into the real world (not the mtv show, but namely adulthood, reality, life, bills, taxes, marriage, kids, house payments, car payments, vacations, relationships, work, retirement, responsibility, etc. -- all of which you will presumably agree, quite readily and without qualm, are not seen in any accurate form of representation on the aforementioned "reality" show).

Tab Wars

not only are they liars:

Mr. Keiser, of the Music Publishers’ Association, estimated that, including overhead costs, tablature could cost about $800 per song to produce, license and format for downloading.

but they are greedy assholes as well:

In the last few months, trade groups representing music publishers have used the threat of copyright lawsuits to shut down guitar tablature sites, where users exchange tips on how to play songs like “Knockin’ on Heaven’s Door,” “Highway to Hell” and thousands of others.

i don't hear any of the songwriters complaining. the article cites mike happoldt of sublime, who says he doesn't care about tab sites and that publishers are just greedy bastards (okay, so i added the bastard part). how many people buy sheet music to begin with? just charge a nominal access fee and post the correct tabs to the songs. we'll appreciate it because we won't have to sift through the absolute crap out there right now, and you can reach your precious profit margins. and finally, $800 to format and post a song tab online? please. that is the biggest line of crap i've ever heard.

read the whole story here.

Westin Checkin

i've checked into my room at the westin bonaventure, and i'm not as disappointed anymore. it's a decent room, pretty nice hotel. i wouldn't mind it at all if it weren't for the fact that i'm 4 miles from usc now and i have to move again in a week. oh well. and we don't get hbo. how sad is that? every freakin' hotel has hbo. not this one. typical. stay tuned for further updates on my living arrangements.

Move #4

i'm back in los angeles. i'll be moving into the westin bonaventure hotel downtown. for "a week at the most." i've resigned myself to the fact that conquest is going to constantly let me down and dick me around. it doesn't even surprise me anymore.

i should have internet in the hotel room, so i may be posting more in the near future.

Break Down

hey guys. i've been taking a little vacation before classes start up again. and i haven't felt the urge to struggle with dial-up internet, so i haven't been posting much. or at all. but in a few days, after i move into the new place, i should be up and running again. take it easy until then.

Fresno Post

hey all. i'm back in fresno for a last-minute vacation before classes start up again. i'll be heading over to the coast (thankfully) for the weekend, then hanging around this exciting place for a few days before heading back to los angeles. i'll try to contain myself. nah, it's actually nice to be home. relaxing. well, i'm off to enjoy the last week of true freedom in my adult life. feel free to offer your condolences.

Bottom of the Birdcage

great article about the crappy journalism being practiced everywhere. i can only pray that i won't end up at a place like that.

Plzen or Bust

this article from the nytimes makes me want to go to the czech republic. a lot. really really badly. someone buy me a plane ticket. right now. go on expedia. do it.

this week is officially the last week of summer work. i'll be done at the la times tomorrow, although they are "keeping me at the top of the list" for any big projects they need help with in the future. and this friday i'll be done at the business school. so it's back to the physics department, probably five days a week, hopefully near 20 hours a week. score.

Fehr 'n Bahlunced Reeportin'

i guess it's hard to convince yourself as an editor to run a story when everyone is so used to the subject matter.

You Don't Have to be a Hot Dog

there's a guy named john dardenne. i had writing 340 with him last semester, or the semester before that, i can't recall. i ran into him last weekend during a drunken rampage down 30th street. he's a stand-up comedian. visit his blog and check out his hot dog public service announcement. i highly recommend it.

Premature Daylight Savings Time

here's what happens. it's late at night. i'm going to bed. i take my contacts out, arrange my covers, and adjust the air conditioner. i climb into bed, sit up and set my alarm clock. now, for some reason, as i'm adjusting the "hour" setting of my alarm, the time setting also jumps ahead one hour. naturally, i didn't notice it. so i get up this morning, shower, dress, bike downtown, sit at my computer, and then notice the time. yea, so i'm an hour early. and i lost an hour of sleep. great.

on a good note, i did get a lot of time to browse through the blogosphere and catch that little item i posted earlier. which brings us back to a bad note. jackass.

i'm going to fix me a nice bowl of steamed rice, randomly flip to a page in my dvd case, and watch whatever movie my finger lands on. after that, i'll probably go to sleep so i can manage to drag myself out of bed tomorrow for a swim. and i'll doublecheck my alarm clock. triplecheck.

Ad Nauseam

bush, about sectarian violence in iraq, from here:

"You know, I hear people say, Well, civil war this, civil war that. The Iraqi people decided against civil war when they went to the ballot box."

he says civil war, schmival war. hundreds of iraqis die daily. your call.

Shake and Bake

i am destroyed. so tired and sore. maybe i should've worked my way back up to 6,500 meter workouts. that might have been a good idea, in retrospect. aaarrrgh.

i saw an advance screening of talladega nights with the roommies on tuesday. it was pretty enjoyable. i wouldn't pay $12.50 to see it. but then again, there aren't many movies i would pay that to see. plus i was running on 30 minutes of sleep from the night before, so i think my perspective might have been a little skewed.

Department of Redundancy Department

okay, so i was watching one of those "extreme police chases 4" shows (yea yea, i was bored). anyway, the voiceover guy was hilarious, as usual. he actually said at one point, and i quote, "the would-be robbers then threw a sack of money they had illegally stolen from a bank earlier that day out the window." that's right. illegally stolen. as opposed to the money they legally stole last week. brilliant. cheers to that moment, which absolutely made my day.

Copies, Coffee and Mail

well, as i predicted, i didn't make it up this morning. but i am doing laundry right now...so...that totally makes up for it, right? yea, i'm going to hit the pool and the gym hard tomorrow. get off my back.

it looks like next week is my last week of work at the business school. then i'm on a week-long vacation, and then it's back to the grind. i'll be back at the physics department, which should be fun. i'll probably have to train in some newbies. and it will be interesting to see what it feels like to be a big, bad senior. probably like every other year. yep. two more weeks. here we go.

Internal Debate

it's nearly midnight, and i'm debating the likelihood that i will manage to get up tomorrow morning for a swim before work. i'm thinking there's a .04 percent chance i'll make it. i'll let you know tomorrow. cheers.

The Brentmeister General

i'm just re-watching the office (bbc version of course). david brent is so ridiculously frustrating and unbelievable. it's almost masochistic to keep watching it. but i will continue in the name of humor. signing off for the night.

Post Hoc Ergo Propter Hoc

nice logical fallacy, matthews.

Absolutely Priceless

about why "everyone in iraq and the middle east hates us," by ohio rep. jean schmidt, from here:

"The United States is the kindest, most generous country to ever exist on this planet."

"The United States is not just another country to them, we are utopia."

"We simply ignored the screams of his victims in exchange for regular trade or some such thing."

"It is easy to understand that when you know your liberator and he does not come, it must mean he doesn't care. Hearts begin to fill with hate. Evil takes root."

"The Iraqi's perception is that we are all powerful. We watch them from space with technology they cannot even imagine. Surely if we wanted to turn on his electricity we could do so. He has no idea how large the problem is but he knows we can do anything. He was angry. Eventually his air conditioning began running and his anger cooled."

Even Walls Fall Down

just moved into the new digs. after the initial apprehension at the astounding amount of crap we have and the seemingly shrinking size of the studio apartment, it's turned out pretty nice. if i didn't have to move again in 18 days, i'd probably be pretty happy. but it's nice enough so i'm happy for now, and that's what counts. plus the ac.

i went on tom petty's official messageboard and it was a godsend. people actually posting accurate tabs of how petty plays his songs. it was amazing. i had always attributed the bland sound of my attempts at tom's music to my mediocre guitar skills. now, if i may say so, i'm a goddamn rock god. well, higher than a rock plebe, if nothing else.

three weeks until the start of the last year! woohoo!