Gettingit.com: Dressing Up Dick

Gettingit.com: Dressing Up Dick: "The Japanese art of Kokigami". A the concept of wrapping your rascal in paper is just too beautiful. There are a bunch of books on this but to find a site that includes free samples. Well that does perk up one's day or something else perhaps. Back to work...

Orikaso Flatworld Orikaso Dish

Image: Orikaso Flatworld Orikaso Dish What a great device, origami and camping/picnic stuff combined. Way cool. Thank you Cool Tools.

Yo Chuck! Part 2: Killing Yourself to Live

For 6,557 miles, Chuck Klosterman thought as much as possible about death and dying. He drove a rental car from New York to Rhode Island to Georgia to Mississippi to Iowa to Minneapolis to Fargo to Seattle, and he chased death and rock n’ roll all the way. Over the span of 21 days, Chuck had three relationships end (one by choice, one by chance, and one by exhaustion). He snorted cocaine in a graveyard. He walked a half mile through the bean field. A waitress in Dickinson, ND, explained to him why he would never be happy. He listened to KISS solo albums and realized its band members represent every woman he ever cared about. At one point, poisonous snakes became involved. The road is hard.

From the Chelsea Hotel to the swamp where Lynyrd Skynyrd’s plane went down to the spot where Kurt Cobain blew his head off, Chuck explores every brand of rock star demise. He wants to know why the greatest career move any musician can make is to stop breathing…and what this means for the rest of us. With Fargo Rock City, Chuck examined the way we grow up on popular culture. With Sex, Drugs, and Cocoa Puff, Chuck took a look at the way we form our adult lives around popular culture. With Killing Yourself to Live, he takes on nothing less than the rest of it – living, loving, and dying – all through the ever-present lens of that which entertains us.

Yo Chuck! Sex, Drugs, and Cocoa Puffs

Sex, Drugs, and Cocoa Puffs is the manifesto for a youth gone wild with hatred and love for that which they are bombarded with, i.e. pop culture and media. Using the same memoir/deconstructive style he employed with Fargo Rock City, Chuck explores all of the things that most of us dismiss (intellectually, at least). John Cusack is to blame for Chuck’s lack of romantic satisfaction. Internet porn totally baffles him. Reality television peeves him off to no end, which is why he can’t stop watching it. The Dixie Chicks are the new Van Halen because teenage girls are the new teenage boys. And, under no circumstances, would Chuck make for a benevolent God. Each topic is connected by small passages that pull together a massive cultural quilt, one that Chuck has stitched to “playfully help people understand what they know through who they are.” Well, whatever he’s trying to do, it makes for a non-stop good time.

A-Z Quiz

The Alphabet Survey
Created by theaangel and taken 22 times on bzoink!
*~~A~~*
Apples: Red, yellow, green or none?	Red - Sometimes green
Animals: Suppose reincarnation happens, what animal would you become?	Rabbit
Allergies: Have you got 'em? To what?	NA
Asses: Everybody's got one...who do you know has a nice one?	my wife
Art: Have a favorite piece? What?	Bunches. Some by family, others by well others.
*~~B~~*
Bands: Who's the greatest one...EVER?	The Cramps
Beverages: What do you like to drink?	Tea, Coffee, Liquor, Liquids
Boys: What's their problem?	We have dicks - duh.
Baked goods: Have a favorite one?	Bread in all it's splendor and glory
Balls: Footballs, basketballs, baseballs...which balls to you prefer?	I like my balls thank you very much.
*~~C~~*
Coins: Penny, nickel, dime, quarter, any other one, which is best and why?	Quarters - nice size and semi practical.
Crayfish or crawdads? What do you call dem critters?	Crawdaddys
CDs: What one have you worn out in your CD player?	Pizzicato Five
Cups: Do you have one that you use more than others? Describe it.	Bodum Glass Tea Mug
Capes: Are they a bad idea for superheros?	Yes and No. I don't get the whole flying thing.
*~~D~~*
Doorknobs: Has anyone ever dared you to talk dirty to one?	No
Doors: Do you have a lock on your bedroom door?	No
Dirt: Do you mind getting a little dirty?	Sure
Democrats: Are you one?	For the most part - yes.
Dumbasses: Quick, name your favorite famous one.	Not worth the time or effort.
*~~E~~*
Eggs: How would you like your eggs prepared today?	Omlet
Engineers: Is/was your dad an engineer of any kind?	No
Eyes: What color are yours?	Blue but they do change
Eastside: or Westside?	Westside
English: Is it your first language?	Yes
*~~F~~*
Fridays: Do you thank God when it's Friday?	No
Fluoride: What flavor do you prefer at the dentist?	I don't because the dentist sucks and not in a good way.
Fans: Are ceiling fans tacky or practical...or both?	Practical, just try one.
Fans (of the other variety): Who's your biggest fan?	Fans should be invisible but their presence felt.
Florida: Have you been? How many times?	Once
*~~G~~*
Girls: What's their problem?	Pussy Power - duh.
Guts: Do do do do you have it? (or at least appreciate the reference)	Sometimes but I don't get reference.
Gourdes: Have you ever carved one, or merely boring pumpkins?	Yes
Gross: What's the grossest thing you can think of right now?	Vomit with chunks - really gross
Grapes: Gotta ask, red, purple, or green?	Red sometimes purple
*~~H~~*
Heat: What's the approximate temperature when you complain about the heat?	Over Ninety
Heather: Do you automatically associate the name with a slut?	Sometimes but I dig that name especially in a sweater.
Hair: The worst hairstyle you've ever had?	Who cares it's just hair.
Height: Are more of your friends shorter or taller than you?	Shorter
Hours: How many do you sleep a night?	About eight.
*~~I~~*
Idiom: Your favorite? You know you have one...	In a pig's eye.
Islands: Come on, WHO would you want with you on a deserted island?	Noone
Igloo: How long would you last living in one?	All winter
Illness: The last one you had?	Cold
Ice Cream: How many scoops?	One big one.
*~~J~~*
Jack-in-the-Box: Restaurant or child's plaything?	Both
Judgemental: Are you?	Sometimes but I try not to be
Juice: Which fruit produces the best?	Pineapple
Jam: or jelly?	Jam
Joy: When do you feel real joy?	Too personal.
*~~K~~*
Kindergarten: Best thing about it?	Nap time and the cookies.
Kaleidoscope: Do you own one? Is it pretty?	Yes and Yes
Keys: How many are on your keychain?	Four
Koi: Ever eaten it?	No
KY: Do those commercials make you giggle?	No
*~~L~~*
Latin: Is it useful to know?	Yes but I'm not going to learn it in my lifetime.
Line: Shortest distance between two points?	Not a straight line.
Lavatory: Why don't they just say toilet?	Does anyone really go to the head.
Love: Who loves you, baby?	A bunch of people.
Laugh: Is your laugh annoying?	No
*~~M~~*
Million: Have you ever seen a million of anything?	Yep
Mother: Is a boy's best friend really his mother, eh Norman?	Yes
Married: At what point will you become depressed if you're not?	Still happily married at year seven
Morning: Are you one of those obnoxious morning people?	No
Mole: Does that term make you want to vomit, chemistry students?	No
*~~N~~*
Noun: Pretend this is MadLibs...gimme a good one.	Jug
Noon: Still asleep or seizing the day?	Seizing the Day
Normal: How much do you hate that word? Or do you still think you're it?	It's just a word.
No: What part of it don't you understand?	The first part.
News: Is no news good news?	Yes
*~~O~~*
O-face: How ridiculous is yours?	Very serious the O-face
Olives: Green or black?	Green
Ostriches: Do you have any at your local zoo? If so, do they scare you?	Yes - Sort of.
Origami: Can you make one of those swan thingies?	Yes
Okie Dokie: Do you ever say that?	Yes
*~~P~~*
Past: Does your past stay in the past, or haunt your present?	Past - sometimes haunting
Pearls: For old ladies or stylish chicas?	Depends on the pearls
Pole: Can you pole dance or would you ever try?	No
Purple: Are you gay if you like that color?	No
Pennies: Is it insulting to give pennies for your thoughts?	No it shows good sense.
*~~Q~~*
Quasar: Go on smartypants...what is it?	Think Astronomy and Carl Sagan
Quailman: Would the world be a better place if he was real?	No
Quotation: What's your favorite quotation by the genius, Anon.?	Bite Me
Question: Ask ME one now.	Why do we think time is such a linear concept?
Queen: Do you know one?	Yes
*~~R~~*
Rights: Which of your rights would you fight for?	Freedom of thought
Rectum: Are you laughing yet? Or are you too mature?	Yes
Radio: Best radio station?	Japan-A-Radio
Rave: You know, with glow sticks. Have you done it?	No
Reality: What is it really?	Doesn't really exist - sorry
*~~S~~*
Strange: The strangest thing you've ever seen someone do?	Nothing is that strange anymore
Signature: Is yours legible?	Yes
School: What do you think of it?	Education is the greatest gift - honest
Sexy: What makes one sexy?	Too many elements but think eyes and lips
Stupid: is as stupid does?	No that's moronic
*~~T~~*
Tea: Relaxing or just gross?	Good
Temperature: Are you hot or cold right now?	Just right thanks
Tease: Are you one or just fall for those who are?	Neither but they are fun to look at
Ticklish: You know you are...where?	Feet but only if caught off guard
Take: Do you more often give or take?	Give
*~~U~~*
Umbrella: Do you carry one in your purse, bookbag, or car?	Car and office
Unicorns: What if we were all unicorns?	That's kind of phallic isn't it
Underestimated: Are you?	No
Universe: How big is it?	Ever expanding
Ugly: Why does society curse the ugly ones?	Cause we are a silly lot
*~~V~~*
Vortex: If you got sucked into a vortex, where would you end up?	Some other place
Vicodin: Ever been prescribed it?	No
Vixen: Is that a derogatory term?	No
Violin: Do you play?	No
Variety: The spice of life?	Yes
*~~W~~*
Weakness: What's yours?	Food
Wallaby: Can't you just call it a kangaroo?	I don't know perhaps
Work: Do you for money?	Yes
Wallpaper: Got any in your room?	Nope - paint
War: What is it good for?	Absolutely nothing.
*~~X~~*
XXX: Vin Diesel movie or something verrrrrry dirty?	Good and dirty please.
X-Ray: Ever had to get them? For what?	Yep
Xylophone: Honestly, what else starts with x?	Xerox
*~~Y~~*
You: What's so special about you anyway?	I am still here
Year: What's been the greatest of your life?	Every year is a beautiful thing
Yorkie: Can you stand those yipping dogs?	Good for drop kicking
Yellow: Good song?	Oh Yeah
Yes: Are you a yes man/woman?	Sometimes
*~~Z~~*
ZZZZZ: Do you need to catch some after this exhausting survey?	Yes just a five minute cat nap please.
Create a Survey | Search Surveys | Go to bzoink!

DIY CD Jewel Case Photo Calendar Printing Software for Mac OS X

DIY CD Jewel Case Photo Calendar Printing Software for Mac OS XMAKE magazine is my hero. Sure some of this stuff I will never do but then some of it well hey. It all does my little mac heart some good to see things out there like this.

Jewelboxing - Super Jewel Box Packaging System - CD and DVD Cases

Jewelboxing - Super Jewel Box Packaging System - CD and DVD Cases Work up some compilation cds and surprise some friends - mental note to work more on that creative side. Smile, the world isn't a fireball.

artforum.com / DIARY

artforum.com / DIARY I do believe that is my brother there in the plaid. Way to go Paul. It's an exciting world out there and it's always good to know someone is working hard to influence it. Anyways my best wishes go out to you.

Napkin Folding 101

Napkin Folding 101 The whole napkin folding thing is kind of bizzare but pretty cool just the same. This site reminded me of an origami book we once picked up that included a section on said napkin folding. Creases and symetry rule the world.

Indigo Tea Company, Bodum Shin-cha tea press teapot

Indigo Tea Company, Bodum Shin-cha tea press teapot

I saw these teapots searching for a gift. They are quite beautiful and functional to boot. Mental note, go grab one of these teapots it will fit what you have been looking for, trust in yourself.

children laying before a statue of hercules

CHILDREN PLAYING
BEFORE A STATUE
OF HERCULES

From the #1 bestselling author of Me Talk Pretty One Day and Dress Your Family in Corduroy and Denim comes a collection of the short stories David Sedaris loves most. Containing the work of both contemporary and classic writers, CHILDREN PLAYING BEFORE A STATUE OF HERCULES (Simon & Schuster; April 4, 2005; $14.95), edited and introduced by Sedaris, gives his legions of fans a glimpse at the writing he finds inspiring - and helps them discover the truth abut loneliness, hope, love, betrayal, and certain, but not all, monkeys.
David Sedaris fell in love with short stories while living in Odell, Oregon. Sedaris writes, "When apple-picking season ended, I got a job in a packing plant and gravitated toward short stories, which I could read during my break and reflect upon for the remainder of my shift. A good one would take me out of myself and stuff me back in, outsized, now, and uneasy with the fit." Featuring such notable writers as Alice Munro, Tobias Wolff, Lorrie Moore, and Joyce Carol Oates, readers will reconnect with classics, as well discover fantastic but lesser-known writers.

Included in CHILDREN PLAYING BEFORE A STATUE OF HERCULES are:
" Introduction by David Sedaris
" "Oh, Joseph, I'm So Tired" by Richard Yates
" "Gryphon" by Charles Baxter
" "Interpreter of Maladies" by Jhumpa Lahiri
" "The Garden Party" by Katherine Mansfield
" "Half A Grapefruit" by Alice Munro
" "Applause, Applause" by Jean Thompson
" "I Know What I'm Doing About All the Attention I've Been Getting" by Frank Gannon
" "Where the Door Is Always Open and the Welcome Mat Is Out" by Patricia Highsmith
" "The Best of Betty" by Jincy Willett
" "Song of the Shirt, 1941" by Dorothy Parker
" "The Girl with the Blackened Eye" by Joyce Carol Oates
" "People Like That Are the Only People Here: Canonical Babbling in Peed Onk" by Lorrie Moore
" "Revelation" by Flannery O'Connor
" "In the Cemetery Where Al Jolson Is Buried" by Amy Hempel
" "Cosmopolitan" by Akhil Sharma
" "Irish Girl" by Tim Johnston
" "Bullet in the Brain" by Tobias Wolff
" Epilogue by Sarah Vowell

Borrowing the book's name from an Adriaen van der Werff painting, CHILDREN PLAYING BEFORE A STATUE OF HERCULES is David Sedaris's attempt to share his passion for short stories with a wider audience-and his enthusiasm is contagious. "The authors in this book are huge to me, and I am a comparative midget, scratching around in their collective shadow. 'Pint sized Fanatic Bowing Before Statues of Hercules' might have been more concise, but people don't paint things like that, and besides, it doesn't sound as good."
David Sedaris is publishing this book to support 826NYC, a nonprofit tutoring center in Brooklyn, New York. All of his proceeds, after permission expenses, from CHILDREN PLAYING BEFORE A STATUE OF HERCULES will benefit this organization designed to help students ages six to eighteen develop their writing skills through free writing workshops, publishing projects, and one-on-one help with homework and English-language learning. In the book's epilogue, Sarah Vowell describes the fine work done by 826NYC.

About the Author:
David Sedaris is the author of the internationally bestselling Barrel Fever, Naked, Holidays on Ice, Me Talk Pretty One Day, and Dress Your Family in Corduroy and Denim. He is also a playwright, contributor to public radio's "This American Life," and an extensive lecturer. He lives in Paris, France.


CHILDREN PLAYING BEFORE A STATUE OF HERCLUES
By David Sedaris
Published by Simon & Schuster
April 4, 2005
Price: $14.95 / ISBN: 0-7432-7394-X

Visit our website: www.SimonSays.com

For author photo, jacket and excerpt, type in your web browser:
http://resources.simonsays.com
(DO NOT precede this URL with "www")

New Week

Silly Flash Thing

Start the week out right. Type a little in the office and everyone will think you are working... ha. Seriously though I did want to start this week out doing a couple of simple exercises both writing and physical. The holiday weekend was a good one. Took in some camping, and a canoe float to boot. Plans to do the camping thing again this fall, not so many people. Good friends came from out of town. Those friends that you love to see but somehow forget, but never for that long. Anyways simply put it's great to have friends.

Lately there are moments when I wonder what in the world is going on, by that I mean with everything. But hey the world continues with you or without you. Fill things with beauty and compassion, free your mind and your ass will follow. All and all, it only takes a couple of events to make you realize how much you really have. Friendships, relationships, bonds that tie everything together. Memories and other filed away bits and pieces. Good times, bad times rolled up in to some chemical, filing system. The lust and madness mixed with the sobriety and logicalness of day to day bliss. This I pursue.

If only the ceiling would dry...

Duh it's the Fourth of July Weekend

What a weird and yet somewhat enjoyable week. It can always be worst, you could be a zombie or a freakish experiment. A mere pawn in someone's play that slowly unfolds as her life makes less and less sense. But hey... it's time to leave this office and hit the open road. It's a three day weekend and some adventure waits out there perhaps one that includes cold beverages and big bonfires. I'll work on stories and what not for right now the home beckons.

ICON FILM DISTRIBUTION - Movies, Videos and DVDs - Australia and New Zealand

ICON FILM DISTRIBUTION - Movies, Videos and DVDs - Australia and New Zealand Part of the St. Louis Jewish Film Festival. A very sweet movie and touching. As the phrase paints it, a feel good movie. There's enough here to enjoy and enough for conversation after the movie. Not really all that deep but it does make cricket a bit appealing. The ska references were interesting as well as the peace sign button being tied to the Nuclear Disarmament movement. I remember looking that up a long time ago and reading how you take the semaphore flags for the letters N and D and that's how you come up with that symbol. Interesting but perhaps true, as usual there are probably other ideas on this but that's the one that sticks in my head. There's one other movie we are going to see in the festival, will write about that later.

Just Scribbling

Inner Journey Course - found an interesting journaling class. At least that's what I hope. I think perhaps good old fashioned ink and paper for this. Is it his paranoid mind or just a little privacy and that's how it should be who knows. Fear needs to be left at the door and approaches to the keyboard should be warm and thought out. Believe in yourself and the world. What is the past, or present/future for that matter. Are these questions we even need to ask? Where does any of that get you, relax and let things fall in to place. Kind of like watching leaves drift in a stream. Ah dreams of float trips...

Ditch Witch

Ditch Witch
Originally uploaded by rocketboyt28.

Back to writing classes and odd little inspirational photos. There is something really cool about machines, especially machines that exist right outside our places of work. Funny how a plain old Ditch Witch becomes some nasty impliment of destruction waiting to grind up some innocent passerby. Waiting, stalking, gazing at the clock and dreaming of a brighter tommorow. Dream little dreamer dream.

Beat 'em while they're down

Sometimes you need a good kick in the head before you see things clearly. Clear as an unmuddied lake, right. Just that lately there haven't been that many bright points and it seems that for some apparent reason that everyone including their brother wants to spit their worldly woes at moi. Life is but a wheel and we are doomed to suffer. Suffer and fret I shall not. Like I was seeing it some times takes a fall or two to realize how fricking blind one person can be. Truth be told, I really don't confrontation. Simply put it's just easier to walk away, honestly is all that "working through it" crap really going to change anything with some folks yes but in this case that would be a no. Sorry to say but somethings get etched in stone and others in sand. If you throw in the glove proverbially speaking does that mean you've lost or does it mean you are a bigger man to see your own misfortunes. That said I throw in the glove, victory is yours and lay defeat is not mine. Rather it is time to move on and explore the world around me. The things that were good have tarnished and no longer hold. Am I venting, perhaps but it beats crying at your desk and there isn't much to do anyway.

People Come, People Go

Strange last couple of weeks... people from the past keep popping up. Persons I had worked with from years gone by. Funny how we all get a bit older and a bit larger but we still are the same person. Smiles, look, walk, etc. Funny thoughts and lusty dusty twinklings that existed long ago seem to disappeared and now friendship ensues. Am I too nice? That is the question that goes through my head, and then that thought is replaced simply with what are you stupid there is no being too nice, idiot. So, then the question turns to why have I become such a shy kid. It's not one of those paxil moments where my hands sweat and situations make me paranoid and enviroments swirl around. Perhaps a vacation would cure these blues or simply take a couple of days off. Simple and yet.

blah to the third power

Friday afternoon - chat is flying and dreams of the weekend abound. In a sense of man I should be doing something I signed up for a fiction writing class. We shall see, hopefully it will be a wee bit more exciting than the last one. Looking for something a little more dry and exercise driven. Build up the discipline side of things and let it ride. Don't take that the statement the wrong way or someone may just slap you.

Decided to stop worrying about the job evaluation. Let the chips fly and see what happens afterall that's how I ended up here now didn't I. Besides the ability to ignore people is actually fairly easy, just apply happy face every morning and voila. Either that or do the old trick of putting people into your movies/scripts/stories. Makes the day go a lot faster. A virtual cornucopia of crap can be applied here ranging from ye old smut-o-rama to horror to the occasional g-rated pixar fanfare. It's a virtual crackride from hell all being played out in your head until some idiot yells Dave!

Happiness is like soup, sometimes you throw a bunch of things in the pot and it works great other times you get soup. It's kind of the same thing with people and work. It's not that I don't work well with others because I do. The thing is that lately it's become one of those I really just don't want to do what I'm supposed to do at work. Kind of like office space but I haven't been hypnotized. Like the weather, give it enough time and things will change. People are strange, never know what you are supposed to say or do. Compound on the fact you are big, funny guy and everyone thinks you are just the best. Maybe someone doesn't want to be the best they just want to be. Work toward a better tommorow, strive to learn. See beauty in things you may have forgotten.

Funny how the days turn into weeks and those weeks fold into months. The whole thing cycling through seasons, years, etc. I need to return people's emails, and phone calls. Sometimes an old friend will drop by and always it fills my heart with goodness. Be good and worry less let life flow.