tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-51452002011-04-21T18:08:16.125-07:00Syntax of ThingsOne person's crap is another person's blog.Jeffhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11940530135106097723noreply@blogger.comBlogger981100tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5145200.post-1075090537771688072004-01-25T18:15:00.000-08:002004-01-25T21:09:42.293-08:00The New Syntax of Things
Starting today, you can find Syntax of Things at its new Typepad home. Sorry for any inconvenience to those of you who have this one bookmarked. www.syntaxofthings.com will take you there as well.Jeffhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11940530135106097723noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5145200.post-1074895228893069562004-01-23T14:00:00.000-08:002004-01-23T14:04:20.983-08:00Dropping Ping Pong Balls in Heaven
Rest in Peace, CaptainJeffhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11940530135106097723noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5145200.post-1074887201580517662004-01-23T11:46:00.000-08:002004-01-23T16:41:21.060-08:00If You Need a Laugh...
Largehearted Boy has been kind enough to provide a link to one of the funniest things I've seen in some time (you'll need Quicktime and some volume, but trust me on this one...it's worth it). And today I needed a laugh, so thanks David! And thanks Venis Productions.
Jeffhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11940530135106097723noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5145200.post-1074886758800085862004-01-23T11:39:00.000-08:002004-01-23T11:40:47.623-08:00A Friday Mixer
I know that I often present myself as one who is reticent to change. Some readers may get the idea that I live in a bubble or a cabin in the east San Diego mountains. Actually, I'm not at all adverse to most change and welcome it with at least a half-open mind. For instance, take the Labradoodle. Now if I were so set in my ways, I would spew forth at least three paragraphs on Jeffhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11940530135106097723noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5145200.post-1074736096830628242004-01-22T05:37:00.000-08:002004-01-23T16:39:48.356-08:00Would You Like Fries with That? 1990
This is part two in a series in which I reflect upon the numerous opportunities I've had to demonstrate the flexibilities of my protestant work ethic. You can find part one here.
My time of being a gas station sweeper/painter earned me enough pay to keep me happily unemployed during my freshman year of college. I was able to learn all of life's important Jeffhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11940530135106097723noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5145200.post-1074652559750903142004-01-21T06:35:00.000-08:002004-01-21T07:45:12.810-08:00My Travels with Steinbeck
I know that I’ve mentioned before that one of my biggest fears concerning the Internet is the inevitable further loss of regional identity. Not a new concern, I know. In fact, before there was even the notion of every house having a computer, John Steinbeck had a similar lament. Here’s a passage from My Travels with Charley, first published in 1962:One of my purposesJeffhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11940530135106097723noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5145200.post-1074560173902534642004-01-20T04:56:00.000-08:002004-01-20T06:25:37.356-08:00This Is a Tiny Town
I know I mentioned Atmore, Alabama, on here just last week, and it probably comes as much as a surprise to me as it does to you, but I have to give it another mention here today. Atmore is a tiny town, population of 8,000 soaking wet and shrinking everyday. My parents still live there; Dad still runs his business as best he can, mostly by taking on jobs from neighboring Jeffhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11940530135106097723noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5145200.post-1074294808977642342004-01-19T03:13:00.000-08:002004-01-19T10:18:16.920-08:00There Ain't Just Coal in West Virginia
I’ve come to expect a certain amount of discomfort from a good novel. I expect the plot—or some plot device—to move me from a place of relative comfort and make me question the very idea of this comfort. In J.T. LeRoy’s Sarah, the discomfort is evident from the opening scenes and reaches its zenith with the realization that this is a world occupied by Jeffhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11940530135106097723noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5145200.post-1074267660103670432004-01-16T07:41:00.000-08:002004-01-16T16:44:36.623-08:00The Scroll Knows
I haven't really followed the NFL season this year, so I'm not going to give a comprehensive breakdown of the two championship games this weekend. But if beatific karma has any say in the matter, then I'm putting all of my coins on the Colts. It has nothing to do with Peyton Manning rising to the occasion and finally getting over the "can't win the big game" hump that has Jeffhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11940530135106097723noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5145200.post-1074128381053547682004-01-15T04:59:00.000-08:002004-01-15T08:01:24.590-08:00Theme Thusday
One of my numerous (I’m up to three) responsibilities as a supervisor is to weed through the slush pile of resumes to find the person who will one day take over my job. In doing so, I’ve been thinking back on my overflowing experience in our great American workforce. For the next few Thursdays, I’m going to give you a look back at my job history. Jeffhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11940530135106097723noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5145200.post-1074128207533577752004-01-15T04:56:00.000-08:002004-01-16T09:09:12.623-08:00Would You Like Fries with That? 1984-1989
Not many people I know entered the workforce at age 13 (and I’m not including grass cutting, car washing, or lemonade selling). Trust me, I didn’t one day wake up and decide to get my career started before all of the good ones were taken. My decision was made for me. In 1983, my dad discovered that there was an alarming shortage of electrical Jeffhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11940530135106097723noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5145200.post-1074046916034317522004-01-14T06:21:00.000-08:002004-01-14T11:26:45.640-08:00Where's Spalding?
In case you haven't heard, Spalding Gray is missing. I didn't post about this yesterday, hoping that today would bring news that it had all just been a mistake and he was actually in Tampa shopping for an antique desk. No such luck as of the time I'm writing this. Gray is somewhat famous for his "walks." In fact, in this interview, he discusses the importance of his walks Jeffhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11940530135106097723noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5145200.post-1073969435468253082004-01-13T06:50:00.000-08:002004-01-13T08:21:15.186-08:00Daylight Fading
I thought it might be time to mention that all is not right in the world of music. Sometimes I cringe at the thought of turning on the radio or opening one of my favorite music blogs to read about what is going on. Yesterday came what has to be one of the final straws. Largehearted Boy has posted an mp3 link (warning: I'm not responsible for the crap that will come out of Jeffhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11940530135106097723noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5145200.post-1073935396519378522004-01-12T11:23:00.000-08:002004-01-12T11:25:22.246-08:00Don’t You Wish Your Weekend Was Half as Fun or Where Has All My Weekend Gone or End Game: The Weekend That Wasn’t and Never Was or Week(end)
I read this rather interesting take on titles (link from ArtsJournal) and it was a rude reminder of my weekend. No, I didn’t spend it all trying to come up with a title for my Great American Novella. Instead, I had a wonderfully enjoyable time writing Jeffhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11940530135106097723noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5145200.post-1073686798947302652004-01-09T14:19:00.000-08:002004-01-09T16:31:02.560-08:00When I first stumbled on Mark Haddon's novel, The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time, I figured it would be a good final book to finish off the $150 Borders Gift Certificate that Santa brought me. I'd filled my arms with fairly pithy books that promised days of intense reading and needed something of a simple page turner after just finishing House of Leaves. The premise of a mystery Jeffhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11940530135106097723noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5145200.post-1073599701905369092004-01-08T14:08:00.000-08:002004-01-08T17:20:58.983-08:00An Oldie But Goodie
Because this has turned into a 12-hour day at the grind, I'm going to dig into the pile of old material to give you (and me) a bit of humor.
BLOOMINGTON, IL—Claire Thompson, author David Foster Wallace's girlfriend of two years, stopped reading his 67-page breakup letter at page 20, she admitted Monday.
"It was pretty good, I guess, but I just couldn't get all the way Jeffhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11940530135106097723noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5145200.post-1073523691149204342004-01-07T17:01:00.000-08:002004-01-07T17:04:28.840-08:00Is That a Detector in Your Pocket?
Since I had all of zero blog-worthy links in the previous post, I thought I would throw this in for good measure....the government sent hundreds of pager-sized radiation detectors to ten cities, including San Diego, as part of the effort to detect and prevent dirty bomb attacks.Sleep well tonight.
Jeffhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11940530135106097723noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5145200.post-1073523404093450742004-01-07T16:56:00.000-08:002004-01-07T17:07:21.043-08:00Stirring Up Memories
There comes a time in every early 90s Hyundai Excel owner's life when he or she has to make the ultimate decision, and when I smelled the acrid smoke of some sort of electrical fire followed by the inability to crank said car of mine while in the middle lane of traffic at a red light, I knew that I faced this decision: life or death. When my newly found mechanic (who Jeffhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11940530135106097723noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5145200.post-1073406505935556282004-01-06T08:28:00.000-08:002004-01-06T09:04:51.966-08:00Collecting What's Mine
With the latest news that Pete Rose is admitting that he gambled on baseball, we all now await with bitten nails to see if he will finally get his shot at the Hall. Well, some people do. I just wait for the fifty bucks that my cousin owes me for the little wager that we had on whether or not Pete was a gamblin’ man. Ok, it was years ago. In fact, I haven’t even seen Jeffhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11940530135106097723noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5145200.post-1073344346650094562004-01-05T15:12:00.000-08:002004-01-05T19:14:56.590-08:00Getting Dumped On
I know that I’ve been a bit more narrative with my blog than usual. I can promise it won’t always be like this. Most of my narrative thrust goes in to the other part of my writing, but because I’ve decided to be at least a part-time blogger, I need to have things to blog about (and I’ll now quit using that word) and I can honestly say that I haven’t spent much time “in the Jeffhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11940530135106097723noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5145200.post-1073270966575685022004-01-04T18:49:00.000-08:002004-01-04T18:52:35.500-08:00Sugar
I've come to the conclusion that watching college football with the volume down is another one of those surreal experiences that only happens every so often where sports are concerned. Sure, I've done it before, but never, I guess, with the intensity of the football game being what it is tonight (LSU v. Oklahoma for half of all the marbles). Perhaps I've had way too much coffee (not to Jeffhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11940530135106097723noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5145200.post-1073076098087225782004-01-02T12:41:00.000-08:002004-01-03T21:00:25.513-08:00Smoke and Mirrors
From now on, every pack of cigarettes will come equipped with a tape measure. Thanks California for making smokers feel at home.
Smoking: Taking a puff is now banned within 20 feet of an entrance or window of a public building. The buffer zone was five feet.
Jeffhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11940530135106097723noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5145200.post-1072915069453655652003-12-31T15:57:00.000-08:002003-12-31T16:09:57.810-08:00It's Ball Dropping Time
I don't have many fond memories of New Year's Eves. For the most part, I can split all of them for the last two decades into sober (boring) or drunk (empty). Actually, that pretty much sums up every calendar day since my first drink back in 1984 or so. This will mark my fourth clean-and-sober NYE, and for the most part I've simply watched as everyone around me got Jeffhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11940530135106097723noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5145200.post-1072811765224629422003-12-30T11:16:00.000-08:002003-12-30T11:41:05.606-08:00Listless
So I’m a little tired this morning. I spent the better part of an hour walking through the streets of downtown San Diego carrying my Old Farmer’s Almanac while trying to figure out what the weather is going to be like on New Year’s Eve. Not that I really care; my festivities will take place under a roof and the only moisture that I’ll feel will probably be the result of Bob Pollard’s Jeffhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11940530135106097723noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5145200.post-1072736519401954982003-12-29T14:21:00.000-08:002003-12-29T20:34:50.186-08:00This Here's A Fish Tale, Sorta
I feel like I should have prefaced the previous entry with some explanation. For those of you who don't know, I'm a southerner by birth, and I spent the first 28 years of my life in various parts of the South (Alabama, Georgia, Florida, Louisiana). My family, with the exception of my brother, still calls it home. When I first moved to California, I almost felt Jeffhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11940530135106097723noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5145200.post-1072649925899288832003-12-28T14:18:00.000-08:002003-12-28T14:20:53.280-08:00Southern Accents
There's a southern accent, where I come from
The young 'uns call it country
The yankees call it dumb
I got my own way of talkin'
But everything gets done, with a southern accent
Where I come from
Now that drunk tank in Atlanta's
Just a motel room to me
Think I might go work Orlando
If them orange groves don't freeze
I got my own way of workin'
But everything is run, with a Jeffhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11940530135106097723noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5145200.post-1072489070826148032003-12-26T17:37:00.000-08:002003-12-26T17:39:53.326-08:00A Picture Is Worth...
Jeffhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11940530135106097723noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5145200.post-1072412586232074832003-12-25T20:23:00.000-08:002003-12-25T20:27:21.340-08:00The Man Settles Down
Santa brought me my favorite thing: rain. Only problem was the fact that the wind that accompanied the downpour (yes, Virginia, a true gulleywasher, a bonafide toad strangler) made it just a tad difficult to use my new gas grill. The steaks were unevenly cooked (but good). Our flying pig wind toy was trying to head toward North Park, but the strings that tied it down Jeffhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11940530135106097723noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5145200.post-1072213251591682342003-12-23T13:00:00.000-08:002003-12-23T13:02:56.670-08:00Bleh
I've consumed so much coffee over the last few days, I'm beginning to get this strange feeling brewing in the depths of my very being. And to think, I've been away from work where my coffee consumption is usually five-fold what it would otherwise be. This is just pure Xmas season, need a pick up to be alert with the parents around sort of caffeine fix. And then I find this little nugget.Jeffhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11940530135106097723noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5145200.post-1071960798364919762003-12-20T14:53:00.000-08:002003-12-20T15:08:46.686-08:00I'm in a Mood
Hell will be a constant state of forced cleaning, perhaps the type of cleaning one has to do only when the parents are a few hours away from being delivered unto us by Delta. In the same hell, the cleaning will involve lots of dust and cat litter boxes, dog hair hidden in every possible crack in the floorboards with huge piles gathered under the bed, and toilets--toilets Jeffhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11940530135106097723noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5145200.post-1071677068850255912003-12-17T07:04:00.000-08:002003-12-17T08:08:57.123-08:00What's on My Bookshelf
A few weeks ago, I made the daring yet impulsive purchase of William Vollmann's new treatise on violence, Rising Up and Rising Down. It's a pretty impressive package, looking more like law books than anything else on my shelves, but now it sits there waiting for me to even crack a single spine. Ah, too much to read and not nearly enough time. Well, time and the fact Jeffhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11940530135106097723noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5145200.post-1071504599434769762003-12-15T07:09:00.000-08:002003-12-15T08:12:05.420-08:00Death of Theory[?]
Things always have to come to such an unceremonious end, don't they? In the 1970's and 80's, legions of students and professors in humanities departments embraced the view that the world was a ''text'' -- that the personal and political were shaped by language and that literary and cultural critics possessed tools as powerful as those of, say, political scientists for Jeffhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11940530135106097723noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5145200.post-1071257368512138992003-12-12T11:29:00.000-08:002003-12-12T11:45:33.653-08:00A Word of Advice
When preparing for that oh-so-fun Holiday party, make sure to take care of even the smallest details.Jeffhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11940530135106097723noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5145200.post-1071256906883401902003-12-12T07:21:00.000-08:002003-12-12T11:48:01.233-08:00Can We Talk About the Weather
Thursday morning there should have been rain. All signs pointed to a decent chance: greens on radar, Channel 8 initiating their Storm Watch coverage, clouds, wind. I should have know better than to get excited over the prospect of something other than the ubiquitous San Diego sun. I've lived here long enough to know that more often than not the chance of rain is Jeffhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11940530135106097723noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5145200.post-1071169811326340112003-12-11T07:10:00.000-08:002003-12-11T11:12:25.310-08:00Begin Again
So no one was minding the store while I was away. Pity, huh? Seriously, though, the last six months have been overwhelmingly busy and I simply could not dedicate the time to this site. On more than one occasion, I at least thought of making a graceful re-entry. I even received a few requests and some suggestions via e-mail, but I couldn't make it back until I knew I was ready to Jeffhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11940530135106097723noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5145200.post-1071073742298973152003-12-10T08:29:00.000-08:002003-12-10T08:29:47.590-08:00Ok, so maybe it's time to blow the dust off this thing. Jeffhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11940530135106097723noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5145200.post-1055901222630128492003-06-17T18:50:00.000-07:002003-06-17T18:54:32.876-07:00The Syntax of Things
I would be remiss, and I guess I have been for some time now, if I didn't mention that out there in the great ether of the Web, another like-minded person has named her site similarly. If you want to know about or follow the actions of knitting, The Syntax of Things is a great place to go. I've never knitted a thing in my life, but I'll be checking there from time to time Jeffhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11940530135106097723noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5145200.post-1055820024152569372003-06-16T20:11:00.000-07:002003-06-16T20:28:14.513-07:00The Nightmare from which I'm Trying to Awake
Bloomsday and all is well. Let the Sirens be your guide:Bronze by gold heard the hoofirons, steelyrining imper thnthn thnthnthn.
Chips, picking chips off rocky thumbnail, chips. Horrid! And gold flushed more.
A husky fifenote blew.
Blew. Blue bloom is on the
Gold pinnacled hair.
A jumping rose on satiny breasts of satin, rose of Castille.
Jeffhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11940530135106097723noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5145200.post-2004122782003-06-11T08:03:00.000-07:002003-06-11T08:12:31.000-07:00My Sex and My Drugs and My Rock 'n Roll
Nerve.com's Sex and Drug issue has some really good essays on, you guessed it, sex and drugs and stuff. I highly recommend the Richard Hell and James Frey essays. A bit from Hell: My feeling is that the influence of a drug, if it's a drug powerful enough to noticeably affect the experience of sex, in a real way subsumes the experience into itself. When Jeffhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11940530135106097723noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5145200.post-2003888482003-06-05T07:45:00.000-07:002003-06-05T07:46:10.000-07:00Uncork My Heart
If you don't read Neal Pollack's blog, you should. (Warning: An appreciation of satire and irony required.) Here's a sample from his take on Sosa-gate:Oh, I'm so sad today, as you can tell. How could the glories of interleague play be so besmirched? Will the Cubs have what it takes to defeat the mighty Devil Rays? Will our nation's collective soul ever recover? Will Mitch Jeffhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11940530135106097723noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5145200.post-2003817692003-06-03T17:42:00.000-07:002003-06-03T17:55:47.000-07:00Ding-Dong! Who's There?
From the "I thought I'd seen everything file," I give you Puppetry of the Penis, "the ancient art of digital origami." For $37.50, you too can enjoy men (at least I think it'll be men), well, being men. I say good for them. The member has been tucked away in the zippered closet for long enough. If women can have their Vagina Monologues, why can't we have our JohnsonsJeffhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11940530135106097723noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5145200.post-2003803602003-06-03T11:45:00.000-07:002003-06-03T12:00:52.000-07:00Almighty Crap
One of these days when I have little to do and even less to think about, I'm going to compile a list of the five or ten worst movies I've ever seen. I already have a list of the best (stored away for safe keeping) but I haven't actually given much thought to the crap that I've been subjected to and actually paid to see over the years. Of course, it would be easy to say Dirty Jeffhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11940530135106097723noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5145200.post-2003734092003-06-02T07:38:00.000-07:002003-06-02T07:38:41.463-07:00Rumors of my Demise
I woke up this fine morning, a day in which out of my office window I will be able to see the return of the USS Constellation through the fog of another marine-layer Monday, and I realized that Syntax of Things has become yet another victim to my laziness. Not really, but it sounds like a nice excuse. Actually, I've been going non-stop since my return from Atlanta. I've Jeffhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11940530135106097723noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5145200.post-2003572392003-05-29T07:47:00.000-07:002003-05-29T07:47:11.846-07:00Another Update (Excuse for Inactivity)
I thought I would take a brief moment to recount the week that was, but I’m so strapped for time right now that I can’t slow down enough to compose at this point. I can tell you that I’ve been promoted at work, which basically means that I have seven days to put closure to nearly four years of work, and then it’s a new position with new responsibilities. Jeffhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11940530135106097723noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5145200.post-2003530832003-05-28T09:00:00.000-07:002003-05-28T09:00:53.323-07:00Briefly Noted
I have returned, but I've yet to get my blogging legs back under me. As soon as I rid myself of this kennel cough, I'll have more to say (I hope).Jeffhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11940530135106097723noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5145200.post-2003335252003-05-23T11:15:00.000-07:002003-05-23T11:32:32.000-07:00Atlanta
I can barely hear right now. My inner ear doesn't take too kindly to variations in air pressure. I feel like I have a small ocean in my head. Other than that, I'm happy to be in Atlanta. My aunt's house is less than a block from the apartment I lived in back in 1990. As we were driving in, I barely recognized anything. The main road to Stone Mountain, Memorial Drive, has undergone Jeffhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11940530135106097723noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5145200.post-2003265202003-05-22T05:44:00.000-07:002003-05-22T05:47:42.000-07:00Georgia on my Mind
Wouldn't you know it? I think as soon as I make plane reservations, I set in motion some series of events which will ultimately lead to an increase in my already pervasive fear of flying. Better yet, maybe I'm so attached to San Diego that when I plan on leaving, even for a few days, things start happening on a metaphysical level that creates a certain chaos that ultimately Jeffhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11940530135106097723noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5145200.post-2003218212003-05-21T07:24:00.000-07:002003-05-21T07:28:03.000-07:00The Funky Monkey
We’ve resisted it for too long. After developing our language ability, we decided to set ourselves on top of the pecking order of things. This easily allowed us to look down on the hairy ones, the gorilla clan that we’d been allied with until that nasty accident which allowed us to use sticks for more than something to scratch our back with. Before long, we’d discovered that Jeffhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11940530135106097723noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5145200.post-2003164112003-05-20T07:00:00.000-07:002003-05-20T07:17:30.000-07:00Watch for Falling Value
I’m not one of those people who pays much attention to the best seller lists when choosing my reading material. In fact, most of the time after scanning the list I’m left scratching my head, wondering how Bill O’Reilly’s book(s) can stay at the top of the list for such a prolonged period. Can O’Reilly have so much more to say in a text than he’s allowed to spew for an Jeffhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11940530135106097723noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5145200.post-2003146382003-05-19T19:39:00.000-07:002003-05-19T19:39:35.810-07:00Earthquake Glue
Largehearted boy has linked two songs from the upcoming Guided by Voices release.Jeffhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11940530135106097723noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5145200.post-2003127802003-05-19T12:37:00.000-07:002003-05-19T12:39:26.000-07:00More Fun with William Bennett
An interesting article from the New York Times in which more of William Bennett's hypocrisy is brought to light. I'm sure the Bennett defenders will immediately hop on the "look at the source" bandwagon. O well, take it for what it's worth.
Mr. Bennett was recognizable as a phony (at least to anyone outside the Beltway) long before he was captured on video at a Jeffhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11940530135106097723noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5145200.post-2003108342003-05-19T06:49:00.000-07:002003-05-19T06:53:36.000-07:00Waking Up
My apologies for a weekend off. I spent three days at Qualcomm Stadium watching my Atlanta Braves sweep the San Diego Padres. I won't go into details, but let's just say it was ugly. I'll return to regular posting tomorrow. In the meantime, here's something for you:
Further Instructions
Ezra Pound
Come, my songs, let us express our baser passions.
Let us express our envy for theJeffhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11940530135106097723noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5145200.post-2003003022003-05-16T07:18:00.000-07:002003-05-16T07:28:32.000-07:00Notes from the Q (Game One)
Things are pretty slow today. I stared too long at the lunar eclipse last night so I have permanent retina burn. Game one of my three-day, three-game journey to Jack Murphy Stadium brought to you by Qualcomm is in the books. I offer you the highlights:
* If you sit in the first ten rows behind homeplate, the Q really isn't a bad place to see a baseball game.Jeffhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11940530135106097723noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5145200.post-2002984052003-05-15T19:45:00.000-07:002003-05-15T20:39:16.000-07:00Touchdown Auburn!!!
Another voice of my youth silenced today. Thanks for the memories Jim Fyffe and War Eagle!
A great Fyffe call here.Jeffhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11940530135106097723noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5145200.post-2002950412003-05-15T07:01:00.000-07:002003-05-15T07:12:04.000-07:00Change Their Minds and Change the World
All the world is waiting for you
and the power you possess
In your satin tights
fighting for your rights
And the old red white and blue
Word around the schoolyard that mid-fall day of ‘79 had it that two sixth graders had been expelled. After my fellow second graders figured out the meaning of expelled and exactly what expulsion would do to one's Jeffhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11940530135106097723noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5145200.post-2002923912003-05-14T15:55:00.000-07:002003-05-14T16:01:08.000-07:00UPDATE: Tongue Splitting
In my quest for a body beautiful, I decided to do a bit of research during some down time at work. I gave a quick call to the Church of Steel, a piercing sanctuary on Broadway in downtown San Diego. A deep voice with an odd lisp answered the phone and after I asked him if he did tongue splitting, he said, "Sthir, we don't dtho tthat here." I thanked him for his time Jeffhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11940530135106097723noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5145200.post-2002894922003-05-14T06:55:00.000-07:002003-05-14T06:55:55.290-07:00Don't Let Life Pass You By
Are you tired of that boring, white-bread look that you are doomed to carry around from day to day? Sick of the tattoos and piercings and looking for something new? Well, you’re in luck. Just when it seemed that the human body could not possibly be mutilated any more than it already has, I give you the newest fad sweeping the nation—tongue splitting!
Now, being Jeffhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11940530135106097723noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5145200.post-2002837912003-05-13T06:44:00.000-07:002003-05-13T06:51:04.000-07:00The Color of the Crimson Tide
Last week in my post about the Mike Price firing at the University of Alabama, I failed to mention one aspect of Southern culture that seems to be as pervasive as Christianity and college football: racism. At the time, I really didn’t suspect that there was any need as this issue had to do with a man’s judgment in his private life affecting his public position. Jeffhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11940530135106097723noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5145200.post-2002779832003-05-12T06:56:00.000-07:002003-05-12T06:56:13.850-07:00Midgets, Playboy, and Madonna's Bush
As we looked out the tinted windows of our Hollywood Starlines tour bus at the homes of the absurdly rich and obtusely powerful, Elaine and I kept having to replace our jaws into their sockets. We’d decided on the tour while checking the size of our hands against the prints of Hanks, Wayne, and Monroe. We could have bought a star map and fought the traffic Jeffhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11940530135106097723noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5145200.post-2002750232003-05-11T13:10:00.000-07:002003-05-11T13:12:05.000-07:00Ducksnort Blues
I'm beginning to worry a bit about Geoff over at Ducksnorts. I don't think anyone, including Geoff, believed the Padres would be very competitive this year, especially after the loss of Hoffman and Nevin in Spring Training. At the same time, not many of us expected them to be a couple of Tigers' victories from the worst record in baseball. Luckily for Geoff, he earns his pay Jeffhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11940530135106097723noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5145200.post-2002717502003-05-10T10:04:00.000-07:002003-05-10T10:06:22.000-07:00No Cartoons on My Saturday
I'll be playing the role of tourist today. We're headed to the land of fruit loops and lucky stars; nope, not Battle Creek, Michigan...Hollywood. The wife has yet to go, so I promised this outing weeks ago and after a few failed attempts we're now ready to walk amongst the stars--or on top of them, although I'd rather go here. On second thought, a museum of beat artJeffhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11940530135106097723noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5145200.post-2002667272003-05-09T07:00:00.000-07:002003-05-09T07:00:37.673-07:00Goal Posts and Stripper Poles
If you’ve ever spent much time in Alabama, you know the old saying that there are two religions in the South: Christianity and college football. If you’ve never been there, you may not understand the significance of this past week’s headlines out of Tuscaloosa. First, you have to understand that probably no other person in the state of Alabama is held in higher Jeffhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11940530135106097723noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5145200.post-2002643532003-05-08T17:08:00.000-07:002003-05-08T17:12:49.000-07:00Musicians Unite
Quite a hodgepodge of musicians have appealed to the FCC for a more open review of the possible relaxation of regulations that prevent corporations from basically monopolizing the media in a given market. This is a story that has gone under the radar and probably for obvious reasons. But this is frightening considering what has happened in a few short years: Since Congress Jeffhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11940530135106097723noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5145200.post-2002610382003-05-08T06:52:00.000-07:002003-05-08T07:29:28.000-07:00Review: A Million Little Pieces
When you see the gloves come off in the literary world, you can't help but rubberneck. In the pre-publication interviews for his memoir, A Million Little Pieces, James Frey not only took some unprovoked jabs at writers Dave Eggers, Jonathan Safran Foer, and David Foster Wallace, but he stated unequivocally that he would be the best writer of his generation. AllJeffhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11940530135106097723noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5145200.post-2002581422003-05-07T15:47:00.000-07:002003-05-07T19:43:18.000-07:00Mother Pluckers
I have just been alerted to the fact that PETA has declared May a "month of action against KFC." As a former PETA member (I was young once) and a veteran of many animal rights' battles, this brings me much sadness. Even in the days of vegetarianism, I always enjoyed the best mashed potatoes and gravy money could buy. O well, at least the KFC down the block has closed and is Jeffhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11940530135106097723noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5145200.post-2002551492003-05-07T07:02:00.001-07:002003-05-07T07:10:04.000-07:00Marine Layer Blues
It's quarter to three, there's no one in the place
Except you and me;
So set 'em up Joe, I got a little story
I think you should know.
We're drinking my friend, to the end
Of a brief episode
Make it one for my baby,
And one more for the road....
I spent a couple of hours watching the A&E Biography on the Rat Pack this past Sunday night. I really wish I'd watched the full Jeffhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11940530135106097723noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5145200.post-2002527622003-05-06T17:46:00.000-07:002003-05-07T19:41:53.000-07:00Me and Mr. Barthelme
During the first Gulf War, I was reading Donald Barthelme's 60 Stories. I think I got through all of them at that time, but a few years ago I picked the book up again to make sure. Barthelme is by no means an easy read, but if you haven't had the chance you should really pick up one of his collections. Or go here and check out a few stories.
{Thanks to Stumbling Tongue Jeffhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11940530135106097723noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5145200.post-2002507072003-05-06T10:47:00.000-07:002003-05-06T10:50:09.000-07:00Alas, an Addition to the Links
I've added an interesting site to the Enhancements section to the right. Thanks to Alas, a blog, I've been spending the first part of my day trying to decide whether or not I believe that shoplifting, out of necessity, is wrong. I've only shoplifted once in my life (a book from the college bookstore) but the urge has been there. Yes, I've been as poor as nearly Jeffhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11940530135106097723noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5145200.post-2002490742003-05-06T06:47:00.000-07:002003-05-06T06:55:46.000-07:00A Toke, a Toke, My Kingdom for a Toke
These are propitious days to be a pot smoker. Not only is a Major League baseball pitcher named Bong getting high praise for his efforts, but it now appears that none other than William Shakespeare enjoyed marijuana. Archeologists have uncovered some clay pipes at Shakespeare’s home that they believe may have been used for smoking weed (though not Jeffhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11940530135106097723noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5145200.post-2002475362003-05-05T19:48:00.000-07:002003-05-05T19:55:46.000-07:00Viva Mi Madre
A reader has pointed out that Søren Kierkegaard was born on this day in 1813. To complete the triad of philosopher birthdays, I would like to add my mother ("I speak therefore you do").
Happy birthday, Mom!Jeffhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11940530135106097723noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5145200.post-2002452842003-05-05T11:22:00.000-07:002003-05-05T11:22:02.743-07:00Viva La Revolución
In case Cinco de Mayo isn't quite your cup of Tecate, you can always head to your corner, working-class bar and take a swig of the hard stuff in honor of Karl Marx's birthday. Or you could just stay at home and watch the Lakers game like I plan on doing.
Jeffhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11940530135106097723noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5145200.post-2002438822003-05-05T07:21:00.000-07:002003-05-05T07:45:01.000-07:00Viva el Beisbol
Monday morning blues, drained from a Cinco de Mayo eve spent in the left field bleachers of Qualcomm Stadium watching a baseball game (thanks Geoff). It really is hard to beat a Sunday afternoon baseball game, even when you aren't a fan of the two teams you are watching. (Luckily, the wife let me use her web-ready cell phone, so I kept tabs on the beloved Braves until I wore Jeffhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11940530135106097723noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5145200.post-2002407102003-05-04T11:45:00.000-07:002003-05-04T11:45:15.056-07:00That Pain in My Arm
My very observant wife points out that in the limited number of posts I have thus far made, I have mentioned my fear of needles twice. Ah, so true; now I must come clean. I’ve never had this fear—which is actually called belonephobia, and includes all sharp objects—psychoanalyzed, but it really isn’t that difficult to figure out. When I was a strapping young lad in the Jeffhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11940530135106097723noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5145200.post-2002387822003-05-03T17:27:00.000-07:002003-05-03T17:27:30.050-07:00The Moralist Is Naked
Whereby are given unto us exceeding great and precious promises: that by these ye might be partakers of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world through lust. And beside this, giving all diligence, add to your faith virtue; and to virtue knowledge; and to knowledge temperance; and to temperance patience; and to patience godliness…. 2 Peter 1:4-Jeffhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11940530135106097723noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5145200.post-2002385752003-05-03T15:49:00.000-07:002003-05-03T15:49:26.093-07:00Word Up
Rumor has it that the Philological Society of London plans a special edition of the compact version of the Oxford English Dictionary to coincide with the inclusion of the term “bling-bling” into the venerable dictionary. This particular edition will include a diamond-encrusted magnifying glass and a DVD copy of all of Tupac’s posthumous speeches.Jeffhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11940530135106097723noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5145200.post-2002320002003-05-02T06:20:00.000-07:002003-05-02T06:20:03.493-07:00I Heard a Fly Buzz
I planned on watching Ol' Tailhook George's V-I speech, but I was too busy untangling my maypole. I'm sure I missed a dazzling bit of rhetoric, but I've never been able to stomach victory speeches be they given in sports locker rooms, on entertainment award shows, or aboard aircraft carriers. Forgive my cynicism this time, but I'll just have to read the pundits’ commentariesJeffhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11940530135106097723noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5145200.post-2002304212003-05-01T18:58:00.000-07:002003-05-01T18:58:06.733-07:00Toys 4 Us
If you really wanted to know why I exiled myself from the south, just take a quick look at this.Jeffhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11940530135106097723noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5145200.post-2002267242003-05-01T06:18:00.000-07:002003-05-06T07:34:52.000-07:00Writing Beneath the Curriculum
Does anyone think that students' poor writing skills might be a result of the ideological cleansing of thought and language from textbooks? It might be hard to make a direct link, but when discovery and discussion are sacrificed for the sake of feelings then we are perhaps producing minds that won't be able to survive the rigors of the real world, much less Jeffhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11940530135106097723noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5145200.post-2002248102003-04-30T17:45:00.000-07:002003-04-30T17:51:28.000-07:00A Million Brittle Egos
When I first read Norman Mailer's editorial claiming that the "war" with Iraq was just an effort by America to boost the white male ego, I couldn't help but laugh. Then when I remembered that the release of James Frey's memoir, A Million Little Pieces, coincided almost perfectly with the fall of Baghdad, I realized that Mailer may have been on to something.
Note: I plan Jeffhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11940530135106097723noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5145200.post-2002214472003-04-30T07:03:00.000-07:002003-04-30T07:03:08.933-07:00As Long as You Both Shall Live
In light of Sen. Rick Santorum's recent remarks concerning the Texas sodomy law, Aaron Haspel (God of the Machine) has written an interesting assessment of the institution of marriage, specifically the notion of same-sex marriages. He writes:
Homosexuals who promote laws protecting single-sex unions are looking through the wrong end of the telescope. If you wantJeffhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11940530135106097723noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5145200.post-2002192842003-04-29T19:00:00.000-07:002003-04-29T19:00:34.720-07:00I Think, Therefore...
I mentioned in an earlier post that I’ve often been accused of thinking things to death. A lot of times this hinders my creativity. For instance, I never seem to feel comfortable composing anything until I have thoroughly mapped it out ahead of time. Not just simple character or plot outlines, but taking things to their extreme. Perhaps I apply Chekhov’s gun to every Jeffhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11940530135106097723noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5145200.post-2002192762003-04-29T18:58:00.000-07:002003-04-29T20:23:40.000-07:00A Supposedly Fun Book I'll Never Finish Reading
There has been a David Foster Wallace sighting.*
*For those of you curious, I seem to be permanently stuck on page 509** of Infinite Jest.
**Footnote 209.
Thanks to Bookslut for the article.Jeffhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11940530135106097723noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5145200.post-2002128712003-04-28T15:29:00.000-07:002003-04-28T15:29:43.483-07:00Watson, I Have a Crick in My Neck
Writing is difficult enough, but when one has a literal pain in the neck and is killing the pain with flexeral, the task is nearly impossible.
But I didn’t want to go another day without wishing all of our DNA a somewhat belated happy 50th birthday. To celebrate, my DNA and I will be relaxing in the Lay-Z-Boy, alternating cold and heat packs, and chasing Jeffhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11940530135106097723noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5145200.post-2002080772003-04-27T19:17:00.000-07:002003-04-27T20:36:27.000-07:00Overkill
I enjoy sports. Sometimes I find myself watching too much of them, thinking too much about them, wanting more. But it’s a healthy addiction. That said, if anyone actually watched more that the first round of the NFL draft on ESPN yesterday, please seek immediate help. In fact, if you spent too much time watching ESPN’s all-the-information-you-can-handle vertical and horizontal Jeffhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11940530135106097723noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5145200.post-2002042802003-04-26T14:55:00.000-07:002003-04-26T14:55:17.620-07:00Blogging (re)Considered
I’ve never been the type to go at something without first thinking it to death. Blogging is no exception to this. While I’m still trying to figure out where Syntax of Things is going, I’ve also been contemplating the nature of blogs. Lately, this public address seems to be doing the same thing.
Jeffhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11940530135106097723noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5145200.post-2002042242003-04-26T14:34:00.000-07:002003-04-26T14:34:20.113-07:00Argh, Matey
There are two things I don't do much of anymore (well, more like thirty-eight, but for the sake of this post I'll stick to just a couple). First of all, I don't read the signs, handbills, advertisements, etc., on telephone/power poles anymore. Occasionally I'll take a quick glance and see that someone is looking for a lost cat (good luck), having a yard sale for the third weekend Jeffhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11940530135106097723noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5145200.post-2001983842003-04-25T07:01:00.000-07:002003-04-25T07:01:44.750-07:00Untitled in Blue
I hope everyone has been enjoying Syntax of Things. I must say that after a week of posts I’m still not sure if a “theme” has developed. When I began this project, I decided to simply go at it, no structure, no unifying themes, just posts on subjects I find intriguing. I’m still at that point, allowing SoT to develop organically. I’m sure that in due time a thread of unity Jeffhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11940530135106097723noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5145200.post-2001927532003-04-24T05:49:00.000-07:002003-04-24T05:49:01.400-07:00The “Days” Roll Away
It has been such a busy week that I completely skipped over two fairly important days: World Book Day (23rd) and Earth Day (22nd). It appears that the former is actually the UNESCO-sanctioned version of one that occurs on March 6. Personally, I think it makes much more sense to celebrate it on April 23rd since this is believed to be the day that Shakespeare was born (and Jeffhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11940530135106097723noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5145200.post-2001874592003-04-23T06:55:00.000-07:002003-04-23T06:55:34.733-07:00Mullets Galore
There are times when it is no fun living out here on the left coast. Sometimes you just need to let out your rat-tail and have a good time. So if you’re in the vicinity of Pensacola-Gulf Shores-Mobile this weekend, you may want to head to the “Last Great American Roadhouse,” the Flora-Bama, for the Eighteenth Annual Interstate Mullet Toss. I can assure you that the fish won’t Jeffhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11940530135106097723noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5145200.post-2001854592003-04-23T06:00:00.000-07:002003-04-23T06:49:55.000-07:00Bling-bling Polished?
Rap is dying and I'm readying the coffin. Catch me on one of my angry days and I'd probably volunteer to pull the plug. I've never been a fan, never really claimed to understand the appeal, never appreciated the way it denigrates women and glorifies violence (ok, not all, but in general). When I hear a rap song on the radio these days it reminds me of what my parents Jeffhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11940530135106097723noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5145200.post-2001814882003-04-22T06:15:00.000-07:002003-04-22T10:51:04.000-07:00Site Update
I have killed the ads. It cost me a couple of bucks, but after seeing an odor removal product advertisement at the top of my screen, I had to do something.
Also, I’ve decided to post each topic separately. This will aid in your ability to comment and/or link to the individual topic.
Jeffhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11940530135106097723noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5145200.post-2001814862003-04-22T06:00:00.000-07:002003-04-22T06:00:41.000-07:00The Needle and the Damage Done
Just as the heroin addict needs his hypo, the TV addict must have his remote, and in my case, not just one remote but five (one for each TV, and one each for the DVD player, the VCR, and one for the all important cable box). Here is an interesting article detailing the remote’s importance in our TV-addled society. Interestingly, the first “remote” that my family Jeffhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11940530135106097723noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5145200.post-2001814812003-04-22T05:59:00.000-07:002003-04-22T05:59:46.986-07:00Drug of the Nation
Well, it’s that time of year! Time to put down those remotes and pick up a book. Yep, today marks the beginning of TV-Turn Off week. In case, like me, you’ve been in a cave (or simply watching your TV), you’ll be happy to know that this event has been taking place since 1995. It seems that I’ve heard brief mention of it, probably on TV, but like the Great American Smokeout Jeffhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11940530135106097723noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5145200.post-929914822003-04-21T10:07:00.000-07:002003-04-21T21:19:59.000-07:00Be Careful of the Karmic Energy of the Material GirlBe Careful of the Karmic Energy of the Material Girl
Something told me after I made my little comment about Madonna in my last post that I had set some strange things in motion. If a blogger in San Diego sneezes on his keyboard, does it cause a hurricane in a Guy Ritchie movie? First of all, my wife, Elaine, is quite the Madonna devotee. She speaks often of her childhood memory of her and herJeffhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11940530135106097723noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5145200.post-929239582003-04-20T00:18:00.000-07:002003-04-20T00:28:57.000-07:00Today Ain’t Only Easter
Because Easter falls right between Valentine’s Day and Arbor Day on my list of favorite holidays, I must admit that I don’t really have anything dyed to hide around my yard. I’m probably not the only person who doesn’t know the date Easter is on until a few days beforehand. But for those of you who do celebrate it, enjoy!
Pretty strange that Easter is sharing one of Jeffhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11940530135106097723noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5145200.post-929047392003-04-19T14:54:00.000-07:002003-04-21T10:02:57.000-07:00Slap, Swish, and Pop
This is one of those days that the sports fan inside of me smiles the smile of a thousand happy clowns. With the exception of Opening Day in baseball, which ranks right up there with my birthday, no other day really compares with this one for me. America's pastime is in full swing (nice win by the Braves last night), NHL playoff intensity continues to build, and the real Jeffhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11940530135106097723noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5145200.post-928620732003-04-18T16:19:00.000-07:002003-04-21T10:03:28.000-07:00Thank God It's (Good) Friday!
As most of you know, I was born and raised in the south and lived there until my self-imposed exile to California in 1998. When I was a kid, my parents dragged me to church—usually as I kicked and screamed—not only on Sunday mornings and evenings but also on Wednesday nights (youth group) and any other time an event of even the most minor of magnitude occurred (Jeffhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11940530135106097723noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5145200.post-928193922003-04-17T21:25:00.000-07:002003-04-18T14:58:55.000-07:00I’ve been giving this a lot of thought. The blog thing, that is. Afterall, does the Internet need another ultimately useless slate of daily updated blathering? And then today I read where nearly half of America has no desire to be on the Internet. For years I’ve been having a debate, often internal, about the usefulness of WWW. I remember the cries of “Revolution,” of how the Internet would Jeffhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11940530135106097723noreply@blogger.com