tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-199811402024-03-14T08:08:45.603-05:00B.O.M.M.The Benevolent Order of Mustachioed MenBryanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09071302507467572886noreply@blogger.comBlogger1039125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19981140.post-16476109929354105392010-06-11T20:25:00.001-05:002010-06-11T20:25:31.706-05:00Moving Day, 2In case you still check this occasionally, <a href="http://slendervolume.blogspot.com/">I'm over here now.</a>Bryanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09071302507467572886noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19981140.post-75552964436116420392010-01-20T18:05:00.002-06:002010-01-20T18:56:38.280-06:00Moving DayFriends,<br /><br />BOMM has been good to us all, but we're moving over to new digs. Why? Well, partly because since I rarely talk mustache anymore, maybe it's time to quit pretending to the mustache throne.<br />And also, I think, because I'm a little bored with this one.<br /><br />So, here's the link to where I'll be.<br /><br /><a href="http://slendervolume.wordpress.com/">Slender Volume.</a><br /><br />I'm still moving into that space so excuse the mess for now and I have limited access to the internet, so it's going to be a slow process, believe me. <br /><br />Also, I will not close out BOMM because for some reason 18 posts of mine didn't import over to SL, and I don't know which ones. Plus, it fucked up a lot of my pictures. So if you're looking for old posts, look here. If you're looking for new content, please, follow the link.<br /><br />Thanks all. See you on the other platform.Bryanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09071302507467572886noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19981140.post-19246957622019937072009-12-31T16:15:00.002-06:002009-12-31T16:49:58.350-06:00Mustache of All Years<div style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.civilwarhome.com/jlchamberlainbio.htm">Joshua</a> <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Joshua_Chamberlain">Lawrence</a> <a href="http://learn.bowdoin.edu/joshua-lawrence-chamberlain/">Chamberlain.</a><br />Literature professor. <br />War hero.<br /></div><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://www.nps.gov/archive/gett/getttour/sidebar/chambln.htm"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 628px; height: 713px;" src="http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/d/db/Joshua_Chamberlain_-_Brady-Handy.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><br /><div style="text-align: center;">viva el mustache<br /></div>Bryanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09071302507467572886noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19981140.post-71697496132644625982009-12-21T08:30:00.003-06:002009-12-21T08:55:22.312-06:00KeeperFriends,<br /><br />I've sort of fallen for this book blog called <a href="http://www.themillions.com/">The Millions</a>. You probably have heard about it or have been reading it, but it's pretty cool I think.<br /><br />Anyway, while reading my way through that blog, I found an article about this guy who has his own blog about reading his way through the <a href="http://yearsofbass.blogspot.com/">Best American Short Stories from 1978 to 2009</a>. I like that, too...though he is reading them at a slower pace than I would like.<br /><br />Either the writer of the BASS blog or one of the fine folks at The Millions created a <a href="http://spreadsheets.google.com/ccc?key=0ApQuqso9H1yWdE9oVVc2OFFucktSbG5sWHlIeUJkMnc&hl=en">google document</a> that shows the title, author and gender of each story that has appeared in the pages of the BASS since 1978. It does not include the Roll of Honor in the back, just the ones that have been republished.<br /><br />From that google document, I made the below Wordle using the titles of the stories that appeared. The most frequent word for a title (not including articles and such)? Life. It has appeared 9 times. The words in the absolute smallest type on the Wordle have only appeared once, so the range is from 9 to 1. How the Wordle program chose the single-serving words they did for this mapping, I don't know. I find it is interesting "Elvis" has appeared in the title of a BASS just as often as the word "Woman."<br /><br />Click the small one to be taken to the Wordle site for the largest, clearest view. Go to the bottom to see it slightly blown up for your convenience.<br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.wordle.net/show/wrdl/1475407/Untitled" title="Wordle: Untitled"><img src="http://www.wordle.net/thumb/wrdl/1475407/Untitled" alt="Wordle: Untitled" style="border: 1px solid rgb(221, 221, 221); padding: 4px;" /></a><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiXH1H9RZbUWOxrb_bvZpRw3X1UgdVs4NDdeOMkTqx8b4qIyvq1qTVVYhOXbfzDME3MnfLmgQ9J6oNO0DNwhe9nt3AFcwSvXPmbmFJIoGS7w8nCaRt3Kmn7MQKfve18ASxIvElBWw/s1600-h/Wordle.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 350px; height: 231px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiXH1H9RZbUWOxrb_bvZpRw3X1UgdVs4NDdeOMkTqx8b4qIyvq1qTVVYhOXbfzDME3MnfLmgQ9J6oNO0DNwhe9nt3AFcwSvXPmbmFJIoGS7w8nCaRt3Kmn7MQKfve18ASxIvElBWw/s320/Wordle.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5417701534988668162" border="0" /></a><br /></div><br /><img src="file:///C:/Users/Hugo/AppData/Local/Temp/moz-screenshot-2.png" alt="" />viva BASSBryanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09071302507467572886noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19981140.post-74237517122983429142009-12-20T11:48:00.003-06:002009-12-20T12:28:43.105-06:00Real GemFriends,<br /><br />Tell you what, I about lost my mind yesterday with the book buying that I did. I have no idea how much money I spent, but I feel as if it was worth whatever cost I paid. I blame Seth, who was in town and shopping for his PhD book list. So we scoured the city's used joints for books.<br /><br />Here's the pile I acquired yesterday and this is not including the two most recent gets, <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Julie-Julia-Year-Cooking-Dangerously/dp/031604251X/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1261332345&sr=1-1">Julie & Julia</a> (what, the movie is cute) and <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Not-That-Kind-Girl-Memoir/dp/0060840544/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1261332398&sr=1-1">Not That Kind of Girl</a>.<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh36tXiFKYGkFN2V0YU8Qiq46nXJ_-Cqy0WDcNOknJkxDLdKXYNM-5tMX1XwsQ8lsK0BraGtFmpFvlVuHSmf_KOpoQGjXccP7CijCfthpDW9Lt5omvBt1qFIh3hiGSejM7CtpbxUw/s1600-h/100_0527.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 240px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh36tXiFKYGkFN2V0YU8Qiq46nXJ_-Cqy0WDcNOknJkxDLdKXYNM-5tMX1XwsQ8lsK0BraGtFmpFvlVuHSmf_KOpoQGjXccP7CijCfthpDW9Lt5omvBt1qFIh3hiGSejM7CtpbxUw/s320/100_0527.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5417382401025108290" border="0" /></a>A lot of them I only paid a dollar for, like that Best American 1996 at the bottom there, which was purchased to replace my current copy that happens to have a ripped back cover. But there's a lot of awesome in there, I think. Like the hardcover <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Persuasion-Nation-George-Saunders/dp/159448242X/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1261332729&sr=8-1">In Persuasion Nation</a> by George Saunders that has that awesome story <a href="http://www.newyorker.com/archive/2004/08/09/040809fi_fiction?currentPage=all">Adams</a> in it. Sure, my copy has a bit of a busted spine, but that's okay with me.<br /><br />You probably also noticed the three Harry Crews books on there. Two of them, <a href="http://www.abebooks.com/products/isbn/0813007267">Florida Frenzy</a> & <a href="http://www.abebooks.com/servlet/BookDetailsPL?bi=1516214024&searchurl=sts%3Dt%26tn%3Dblood%2Band%2Bgrits%26x%3D0%26y%3D0">Blood and Grits</a> are works of non-fiction. The real surprise find is <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Gospel-Singer-Harry-Crews/dp/189900601X/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1261332603&sr=1-1">The Gospel Singer</a>. The version I found is a British reprinting of it from 1995, I believe. And it includes this strange rare story of Crews called <a href="http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0940941090/oysterboyrevie03A">Where Does One Go When There's No Place Left to Go?</a> that's a kind of metafiction that stars a writer named Harry Crews being kidnapped by characters of his stories (according to <a href="http://www.harrycrews.com/Fiction/Novels/index.html">HarryCrews.com</a>). I don't know what this Gospel Singer edition I have is worth to collectors, but I paid 6 bucks. Even if it is only worth 6 bucks, or less, I'm pleased as a pig in shit about finding it. God bless Madison's used bookstores.<br /><br />But really, the real gem was finding a copy of Roger Sheffer's <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Borrowed-Voices-MVP-Roger-Sheffer/dp/0898231167/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1261333404&sr=8-1">Borrowed Voices</a>. I hadn't expected to find it, but I did so I had to pick it up. Here's a picture I scanned from the book of our man Roger taken I would assume 1988 since that is when Borrowed Voices was released, according to the front of the book that I bought (though Amazon says a much later date). Look how young he is in this picture.<br /><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEim1c5wC6aFCzrHxSv8KfJNgIrTQJ399RJxLQVgZs2kAsKQB1cLw0qg8jAfiN5Y78X1dec4hWwtm-1OQoq3Q89Wa12wZKmy4O-OEu2bfj7_XYBpc8Td-rq4jl9M24523-b8qtl_lw/s1600-h/scan0001.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 217px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEim1c5wC6aFCzrHxSv8KfJNgIrTQJ399RJxLQVgZs2kAsKQB1cLw0qg8jAfiN5Y78X1dec4hWwtm-1OQoq3Q89Wa12wZKmy4O-OEu2bfj7_XYBpc8Td-rq4jl9M24523-b8qtl_lw/s320/scan0001.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5417376764770955826" border="0" /></a>viva used bookstoresBryanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09071302507467572886noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19981140.post-25831244974941475602009-12-12T10:40:00.003-06:002009-12-12T10:55:30.041-06:00News & MFA HumorFriends,<br /><br />Sorry for being so lax in updating lately. Internet access has been restricted and honestly I've had little to say that wouldn't result in some kind of bleeding out about one thing or another, and where's the fun in that, right? Or, I guess I could talk about my job, but I won't be talking about my job because I want to keep it, though I have heard some funny and decidedly fucked up things. Oh, I am such a tease. <br /><br />Besides that, really, I only have two bits of news. 1)I've abandoned the idea of pursuing a PhD right now for a bunch of complicated reasons, but it boils down to "I don't wanna" so I'm not gonna. Now I just have to return all those books I checked out about Brecht & Kundera. 2)I'm exploring different blogging options, something a bit more focused and without such a clunky URL (and hopefully fewer "men shitting" seekers). So, yes, the closing of BOMM is imminent once I get a few other things get straightened out.<br /><br />So, with that dispensed with, let's check out some goofy videos that appear to have been made by that fucking chain-greaser Mike Magnuson and posted to his blog, which is <a href="http://mikemagnuson.blogspot.com/">linked with these words right here</a>. These cracked me up, so I had to share them with you.<br /><br />Flannery Who?<br /><object height="344" width="425"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/2xRs4zDmwX4&color1=0xb1b1b1&color2=0xcfcfcf&hl=en_US&feature=player_embedded&fs=1"><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"><param name="allowScriptAccess" value="always"><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/2xRs4zDmwX4&color1=0xb1b1b1&color2=0xcfcfcf&hl=en_US&feature=player_embedded&fs=1" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowfullscreen="true" allowscriptaccess="always" height="344" width="425"></embed></object><br /><br />Dick Fiction<br /><object height="344" width="425"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/v059hQCn0sw&color1=0xb1b1b1&color2=0xcfcfcf&hl=en_US&feature=player_embedded&fs=1"><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"><param name="allowScriptAccess" value="always"><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/v059hQCn0sw&color1=0xb1b1b1&color2=0xcfcfcf&hl=en_US&feature=player_embedded&fs=1" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowfullscreen="true" allowscriptaccess="always" height="344" width="425"></embed></object><br /><br />What Is Metaphor?<br /><object height="344" width="425"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/sSc1wfJE8W8&color1=0xb1b1b1&color2=0xcfcfcf&hl=en_US&feature=player_embedded&fs=1"><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"><param name="allowScriptAccess" value="always"><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/sSc1wfJE8W8&color1=0xb1b1b1&color2=0xcfcfcf&hl=en_US&feature=player_embedded&fs=1" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowfullscreen="true" allowscriptaccess="always" height="344" width="425"></embed></object><br /><br />viva el mustacheBryanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09071302507467572886noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19981140.post-62688759031272248872009-11-26T08:09:00.003-06:002009-11-26T09:15:38.336-06:00Not Available at Alice's<div style="text-align: center;">this is a kiwano fruit, also known as a horned melon. it is horned, no doubt. if you threw it at dry wall, it would probably stick in it.<br /><br />what does it look like on the inside?<br /></div><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg90W4hubRJkVFHQAJTEaFebn3dUtIrW4mX5USSEKZbgO7P7O0zLUN58hBg4kVmBC6xjCXuXhTh2_gZH2EyBR-DdCP2bPY11oF69zueTBTyh75phCzdbCkWXikJOWt_QipWISl3JQ/s1600/100_0311.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 240px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg90W4hubRJkVFHQAJTEaFebn3dUtIrW4mX5USSEKZbgO7P7O0zLUN58hBg4kVmBC6xjCXuXhTh2_gZH2EyBR-DdCP2bPY11oF69zueTBTyh75phCzdbCkWXikJOWt_QipWISl3JQ/s320/100_0311.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5408420904607997634" border="0" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgm8m2SQP5d5mEymrIf30JFYg9W72NjEaaqlewmJcHAsPN_Yc6BPQfBVSCDJb3B0Vyn8pCzIzAaev2kkccrt4asKlGCQzQzcrt8Z47Vvr0eyAY5Hj5vh48HCDwtwW_WltzkBF5gqA/s1600/100_0313.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgm8m2SQP5d5mEymrIf30JFYg9W72NjEaaqlewmJcHAsPN_Yc6BPQfBVSCDJb3B0Vyn8pCzIzAaev2kkccrt4asKlGCQzQzcrt8Z47Vvr0eyAY5Hj5vh48HCDwtwW_WltzkBF5gqA/s320/100_0313.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5408420895772390498" border="0" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgEfhbmYKAOiIcb05VhtVWG1osEsE-5S7FKena3TG6eGz8Vg_d28c7F77T1QQXvU34rYZObB-ffSNKEgBj0BbRYHbnx646HTwQWor3lQodBG6lAVXIZFOA15q7x66IuBkoYwdk13Q/s1600/100_0314.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgEfhbmYKAOiIcb05VhtVWG1osEsE-5S7FKena3TG6eGz8Vg_d28c7F77T1QQXvU34rYZObB-ffSNKEgBj0BbRYHbnx646HTwQWor3lQodBG6lAVXIZFOA15q7x66IuBkoYwdk13Q/s320/100_0314.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5408420893862825090" border="0" /></a><br /><div style="text-align: center;">yes, looks like a pumpkin filled with slime. <br /><br />and the taste? and how the hell do you eat it? well, <a href="http://www.wikihow.com/Eat-a-Kiwano-%28Horned-Melon%29">we had to look it up</a>. essentially, you take one end, gently squeeze it for it to launch a slime-and-seed nugget into your mouth. next, you suck the slime through your front teeth to separate out the seed. swallow the slime, spit out the seed. viola!<br /></div><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgYrlSEqreS1ncOq9ZQJc5cUir-OJBwK3P7OOeCzHrqgyPQqkIdEAp56Mv6CdUJJj_8pUlkkfy_Syjp9DYogC9-pQqY0il60gWYUq-qwm4MMwOl5n4WSIPoJPIoEzp2yxwXZI9VlQ/s1600/100_0320.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgYrlSEqreS1ncOq9ZQJc5cUir-OJBwK3P7OOeCzHrqgyPQqkIdEAp56Mv6CdUJJj_8pUlkkfy_Syjp9DYogC9-pQqY0il60gWYUq-qwm4MMwOl5n4WSIPoJPIoEzp2yxwXZI9VlQ/s320/100_0320.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5408420887095965570" border="0" /></a><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhOUxQwKP5O6vvYePhdD4PP4HxMYW_b59ac1d2LNzm29TRjRGuZuuGFRqDaKUOAfXp5NSAfaqugoVZOcKhswtnn49sapML_9qtGSAy3xIEccvY0fYPCvam1MkrHclcYMXCzjWr4PA/s1600/100_0321.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhOUxQwKP5O6vvYePhdD4PP4HxMYW_b59ac1d2LNzm29TRjRGuZuuGFRqDaKUOAfXp5NSAfaqugoVZOcKhswtnn49sapML_9qtGSAy3xIEccvY0fYPCvam1MkrHclcYMXCzjWr4PA/s320/100_0321.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5408420883586250738" border="0" /></a><br />it doesn't taste like anything except slime. according to emily, it tastes vaguely of aloe vera and an over-ripe kiwi. it was just slime to me. not being a fan of slime, i did not like it so we threw it out without trying anymore of it.<br /><br />however, before throwing it all out, i squeezed all the seeds out of one half of the thing so you get an idea of what it looks like to try to eat it.<br /></div><br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.blogger.com/video.g?token=AD6v5dxRs9cZ7slV0gFBQv0l_7pZvL4MVKAMwSoony8gV8S11-I3cwqBSiEcJy7XaZy8tc7_JDucSbMgeck' class='b-hbp-video b-uploaded' frameborder='0'></iframe><br /><br /><br />viva el mustache<br /></div>Bryanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09071302507467572886noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19981140.post-50883622028401419622009-11-23T16:27:00.000-06:002009-11-22T21:08:37.666-06:00American Mashed PotatoesFriends,<br /><br />I had a poem unfold in front of me last week. I can't write it, but I know one happened. A perfect string of images that may be a bit too on the nose for a real good poem or story, but still, the raw data of a poem or some kind of art object blossomed right in front of me. I think. Ever have a moment like that? Where you're just watching this magnificent chain of events and you think, "This means something..." like in <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xqhE7ieH2R8">Close Encounters</a>? But right now, I'm stymied about what to do with it, so you get this blog post telling you what I saw instead. <br /><br />Anyway, during my lunch break I left to get some coffee and across the street from my building, an anti-war demonstration was just getting started. All told, there must have been 10 or 15 of them. Not a single one under 45 years old. They had signs, a spirit bell, a bullhorn, and some kind of recorded message that detailed the atrocities of the war. This recording would say something like, "6 dead Afghan children when a US bomb exploded them while they were riding bicycles." The recording was in an even, mellow tone. No harshness or anger at all. Then someone would gong the spirit bell.<br /><br />The protesters just stood there. Peaceful as cows in a field while the pleasant-voiced lady on the tape said spouted off some other kind of war detail, then there would be another gong. <br /><br />For protesters, they weren't really protesting in what you imagine protesting to be. Sure, they had signs. But they were serene. <br /><br />Due to their age and spirit-bell-gonging aesthetics, they were clearly attempting to relive the glory days of Vietnam protesting. However, when you think of vietnam protests...do you think of quiet elderly people gonging a bell on a street corner? Methinks not. Unless, of course, that's what all the protests were before the jack-booted thugs of the police showed up and whomped on them with sticks and sprayed them with firehoses. Maybe spirit bell gonging like an affected Asian tea-service really riled the squares 40 years ago. TV, movies and documentaries of that time, however, lead me to believe otherwise. <br /><br />That's image one. Old people. Spirit bell. Mild-sauce war protest. By the way, whenever you see a group of people like that, don't you imagine them just bickering over petty things? I do. All the time. You know they were bitching about stuff like how many times to gong the bell, and who gets to gong it, and what their signs would say. And you know one guy was all pissy because he went to Berkley or some shit and he thinks he really knows about anti-war protests, nevermind that Madison did it up right during that time, too (<a href="http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0080118/">evidence seen here</a>). Whatever, I'm sidetracked. Onto image 2...<br /><br />As I waited for the bus later that afternoon, a glossy <a href="http://abestlimousine.com/Images/Fleet/sub.jpg">black stretch Chevy Suburban</a> cruised up. Hanging from the back window were 3 women who I assume were bridesmaids. Maybe prom-goers. I don't know. Youthful. Blond. Tanned. Same bare-shouldered dress. Same haircut. A dolled-up crew of heartbreakers if there ever was one. When the stretch Suburban, which could not be more appropriately named, pulled up next to a bus the girls screamed as loud as they could. They yelled "Whoo!" right at a bus with all their might. The stretch went on down the road, slowly. Then, wouldn't you know, the girls circled right back around. <br /><br />So you know, I get on the bus right by the state Capitol, which is in the center of a square. The girls had driven a loop around the capitol. And again, they screamed "Whoo!" at a different bus. The stretch Suburban then left the scene without further incident.<br /><br />But how wonderful was that? Why were they giving so much hell to those buses? Probably trying to flaunt their ride at the suckers on the bus. But still, they really shouted Whoo! with some serious meaning and urgency. They Whooed because they had to Whoo. And those buses, well, they deserved the Whooing.<br /><br />The next image was a man on a chopper. The man was huge, but not weight-wise, but stature & look. No helmet. Flowing long gray hair. Bushy handlebar mustache of fuck-you proportions. Just a general grizzled countenance. His motorcycle sounded exactly as it should. A bassy growl of the devil clearing his throat. <br /><br />Planted on the back of his motorcycle were two full-size flags. One was the American flag. The other some kind of military flag that I didn't recognize. Between them was what looked like a large eagle feather standing upright and bending in the wind. Clearly this old solider was a red-meat man's man. A whiskey drinking pipefitter of a dude.<br /><br />Trailing behind him by a couple yards was a waifish college student in skinny jeans crammed onto a periwinkle scooter, a helmet so big it rested on his shoulders. His scooter passed by making that put-put-put noise of the Jetson's spaceship and the ferocity of a firefly. <br /><br />All that stuff together has potential for something. Something about America maybe, I don't know. It would be too easy drawing the comparisons between the whole scene. Too much like allegory. But, goddamn if I wasn't served a pile of creative clay and what do I do with it? This. Shame on me.<br /><br />viva el mustacheBryanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09071302507467572886noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19981140.post-87694901025046618512009-11-22T19:26:00.002-06:002009-11-22T19:53:44.529-06:00Big MonthFriends,<br /><br />This past month has been the first full month at the new job, so getting used to that schedule and the long bus commute took a while. I've stopped being a strict vegetarian and have gone to taking turkey sandwiches for lunch. And, my right knee has turned into a bigger problem than before, aching regularly. My left knee starting hurting yesterday with a sharp stabbing sort of pain and today I couldn't work out because my left hip is killing me. <br /><br />Those are my excuses as to why I didn't lose any weight this month. In fact, if my scale is correct (it's been fluctuating a lot lately), I gained 2 pounds. Now, I didn't go hog wild on food this month. I didn't do anything out of the ordinary, actually, and I gained two fucking pounds. How? I don't know. I sort of expected it though because I haven't been a diligent with working out as I should be what with all the reasons I listed above. Well, it's not the turkey sandwiches fault I gained the weight. I don't think. You think? Turkey sandwiches? Naw. Not that. <br /><br />It doesn't feel like I've gained two pounds either. Actually, I bought a pair of 38 X 34 Levi's today from Kohl's and they fit much better than the 38 X 34 Old Navy pants I bought last month some time. Is this two pounds of muscle? Maybe. Not likely. Well. Maybe a little. I notice my legs are getting a bit more cut around the upper thigh area. <br /><br />By cut I mean there's a suggestion of muscle where there wasn't one before. And my arms, particularly my forearms, are like that too. Swear to god the other day, after I worked out, there was this <span style="font-style:italic;">vein<span style="font-style:italic;"></span></span> popping out sort of in my forearm area. It was gross...and awesome. And by popping out I mean there was a suggestion of vein where there hadn't been before.<br /><br />And I have been able to do some things I never done before. For example, I ran 3 miles not that long ago and loved it. I want to run more, but I'm afraid of walking around my apartment complex to get to a treadmill when it's dark so I can't really get there during the week. Sure, I could drive, but then I would stink up my car with sweaty clothes since my complex's shower facilities in the gym are substantially lacking. Also, if I want to run on the weekend, I have to get there buttcrack early to beat everyone else since the gym his a-hopping starting around 8:30, 9:00. <br /><br />Alas, here's another month and another try at 5 pounds. However, I will end this year under 240 pounds, dammit. I want to have lost 40 pounds by the end of year. I hope my knees hold out. But, no bitching. No excuses. Let's do it. <br /><br />You know, the one good thing about not hitting my weight loss goal this year is that I totally have one New Year's resolution already planned out for me. <br /><br />viva el mustacheBryanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09071302507467572886noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19981140.post-11056634427802879562009-11-22T09:16:00.003-06:002009-11-22T21:44:02.298-06:00Bad Music SundayFriends,<br /><br />Here's the BMS today...<br /><br />UFO - Doctor, Doctor<br /><object width="425" height="344"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/NWJoj-sWYvU&hl=en_US&fs=1&"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/NWJoj-sWYvU&hl=en_US&fs=1&" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="425" height="344"></embed></object><br /><br />Dr. Dre - Keep Their Heads Ringing<br /><object width="425" height="344"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/wWJqt0u_TCs&hl=en_US&fs=1&"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/wWJqt0u_TCs&hl=en_US&fs=1&" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="425" height="344"></embed></object><br /><br />Dr. Dog - My Old Ways<br /><object width="560" height="340"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/9xrC19GJcsw&hl=en_US&fs=1&"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/9xrC19GJcsw&hl=en_US&fs=1&" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="560" height="340"></embed></object><br /><br />Washingtones - Dr. House<br /><object width="425" height="344"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/pKEzTKTaOr8&hl=en_US&fs=1&"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/pKEzTKTaOr8&hl=en_US&fs=1&" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="425" height="344"></embed></object><br /><br />Thompson Twins - Doctor Doctor<br /><object width="425" height="344"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/nW5kIhcByac&hl=en_US&fs=1&"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/nW5kIhcByac&hl=en_US&fs=1&" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="425" height="344"></embed></object><br /><br />viva el mustacheBryanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09071302507467572886noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19981140.post-81839498605731038022009-11-20T20:16:00.001-06:002009-11-20T20:17:58.963-06:00Beautiful<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://www.modcloth.com/lookbooks/movember"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 411px; height: 503px;" src="http://www.modcloth.com/images/assets/0000/0400/movember_page1_right.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a><br /><div style="text-align: center;">click the picture for more beauty<br /></div>Bryanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09071302507467572886noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19981140.post-44336308665069691902009-11-19T17:00:00.003-06:002009-11-19T17:20:29.240-06:00Giant Bullshit!Friends,<br /><br /><a href="http://mlb.mlb.com/news/article.jsp?ymd=20091115&content_id=7669426&vkey=news_mlb&fext=.jsp&c_id=mlb">Timmy Hairdo</a> won the Cy Young. <br /><br />Yeah, he did good. But he won it because:<br /> <a href="http://www.stltoday.com/blogzone/tipsheet/tipsheet/2009/11/vorp-fip-war-propel-lincecum-to-cy-young/">1) Keith Law is fucking moron with longstanding issues against the Cardinals (seriously, look it up...him and that douche from Yahoo! sports named Jeff Passan have a serious boner for dissing the Cards (except for Pujols, but once they find a way, they will)...they do it probably because it gets them attention from people like me) </a><br /><a href="http://www.stltoday.com/blogzone/tipsheet/tipsheet/2009/11/vorp-fip-war-propel-lincecum-to-cy-young/"> 2) Will Carroll wanted to be special by being the only guy to vote for Dan Haren or Jair Jurrens or whatever the fuck to show he's the smartest guy in the pressbox. Well, you're special now, aren't ya, dipshit</a>.<br /><br />Oh, Timmy Hairdo is a good pitcher and you want to say something about how bad San Francisco's offense is, but you know, you have that <a href="http://www.baseball-reference.com/players/s/sandopa01.shtml">Backfat Panda</a> guy mashing the ball and the Cardinals' offense was shit all year, too. Pujols doesn't get to bat every inning now.<br /><br />Jesus...that reminds me...MVP award? Will Pujols win? Keith Law won't be voting for him, that's for sure, because he doesn't play a "premier position" but will vote for Ryan Howard because he's "clutch." And Will Carroll will blow at least one vote on, fuck, I don't know, Fernando Tatis so he can feel special about being the only guy to vote for Fernando Tatis. Could they fuck that up and give the MVP to Hanley Ramirez? Well, actually that wouldn't be fucking up too bad because Hanley really is awesome, but still...they wouldn't dare not give the MVP to Pujols...would they?<br /><br />viva mis birdosBryanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09071302507467572886noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19981140.post-66692533594535677632009-11-18T18:18:00.002-06:002009-11-18T18:27:37.009-06:00Devil on the Corner, Angel in the SackFriends,<br /><br />I was watching The Wire this morning and I realized that over the course of the show, Omar has 3 steady boyfriends. Anyone think that's strange? I mean, being a murderous bad-ass willing to rob and shoot drug dealers has to be a rare type of guy. Even more rare would be for that guy to be homosexual, you'd think. So for there to be two gay fellas who are attracted to each other that are also murderous drug-dealing robber dudes...well, geez, Omar must be <span style="font-style: italic;">awesome</span> in bed or something in order to get guys so easily...and he's got that big ass scar on his face, too...<br /><br />Really, how is it that Omar was able to be so romantically successful?<br /><br />viva omarBryanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09071302507467572886noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19981140.post-31591216198588695162009-11-15T20:43:00.005-06:002009-11-15T21:12:47.417-06:00Jerk(y)Friends,<br /><br />I've pretty much given up vegetarianism. I know, don't all cry at once. Really, it's about having sandwiches for lunch. I really like sandwiches and vegetarian lunch meat, while tasty enough, is damn expensive for the amount of food you get. However, as I say this, I spent about 10 bucks today on lunch meat for me and Emily to get turkey that doesn't have any corn starch or sugar in it (where I shopped today, they only had one turkey option that fit that bill and it was 3.70 for a package with 3.5 servings, so I had to buy 3 packages for me and Emily for the week).<br /><br />I've decided to be a social vegetarian. When out with people or just me and Emily, I'm going no meat. If smokers and drinkers can rationalize their behavior this way, then so can I.<br /><br />Also, I haven't completely given up on vegetarianism. Like today for dinner we had this lentil chili that turned out pretty damn good. Could use to be spicier, but that's for next time. Also, there's plenty of vegetarian food oddities out there to try...like meatless jerky. Observe!<br /><br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;">Yes, this is a vegetarian jerky.<br /></div><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgYQPUjNckjslxRK2kY55CxSwTf_OhGuAEILI9LeBb7rDPiBF-PyBvI1gwp2kb0TMYx9KdD-IiSTYmtlu9oxDVDc0gC_Q9LdXIVeSdkt902pFjnshoCisz_AtsGIyfdCVNlFhSn3A/s1600/100_0256.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 240px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgYQPUjNckjslxRK2kY55CxSwTf_OhGuAEILI9LeBb7rDPiBF-PyBvI1gwp2kb0TMYx9KdD-IiSTYmtlu9oxDVDc0gC_Q9LdXIVeSdkt902pFjnshoCisz_AtsGIyfdCVNlFhSn3A/s320/100_0256.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5404529368057138738" border="0" /></a><br /><div style="text-align: center;">Here's what it looks like. Felt just like those jerky chips you buy.<br /></div><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjJkLXnqXSdiLlgMWtSlaaX1RnZO5Qdqxl_JCcQNK0A0LX4PXF3qsPcJSX7CKhQiN4nNE8JOeo-Wy6pc3glnyk6LzRmdZTdJKZ1QelAVvqoOfyw1rm9IoUZMhftdIPKqzywkKiFOQ/s1600/100_0257.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjJkLXnqXSdiLlgMWtSlaaX1RnZO5Qdqxl_JCcQNK0A0LX4PXF3qsPcJSX7CKhQiN4nNE8JOeo-Wy6pc3glnyk6LzRmdZTdJKZ1QelAVvqoOfyw1rm9IoUZMhftdIPKqzywkKiFOQ/s320/100_0257.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5404529362958278690" border="0" /></a><br /><div style="text-align: center;">The smell...<br /></div><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhY_cptrAWjJ_B-h8f3ey7CN1m9dw1GfgKVt-6m5SpjkePYRV92HmjnpPQEBroezZG27CC8imrkUH2mmJXeYFvMqYFtQhMJBHeJQoAicMG1vhl8Bxy-ZICKb3MIak5ueRNZlTf2Iw/s1600/100_0258.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhY_cptrAWjJ_B-h8f3ey7CN1m9dw1GfgKVt-6m5SpjkePYRV92HmjnpPQEBroezZG27CC8imrkUH2mmJXeYFvMqYFtQhMJBHeJQoAicMG1vhl8Bxy-ZICKb3MIak5ueRNZlTf2Iw/s320/100_0258.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5404529355408626882" border="0" /></a><br /><div style="text-align: center;">The taste...<br /></div><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh6kyD5n1cApWYbbvFzoR0qWphBCb9CeHHrol1Vloy8d5bIbsURN5WOak9zhSeH4ehbkVQ1ifWOcahTWjzYRFdo-tjFeMBsPNtWkXhmdr_2tWabEFYa7Q1WhdRnu_z5sbt7tB6rQQ/s1600/100_0259.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh6kyD5n1cApWYbbvFzoR0qWphBCb9CeHHrol1Vloy8d5bIbsURN5WOak9zhSeH4ehbkVQ1ifWOcahTWjzYRFdo-tjFeMBsPNtWkXhmdr_2tWabEFYa7Q1WhdRnu_z5sbt7tB6rQQ/s320/100_0259.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5404529349733242658" border="0" /></a><br /><div style="text-align: center;">Good enough! It tasted mostly of unsweetened chocolate, but just a touch spicy. So it was hard, chewy, vaguely chocolatey and peppery stuff.<br /></div><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgWYPAn_b9iFj1nBezimuDG8-4kupBJ2tQAHGzYVE6_PIh-aRqln7mFm5DwcjJj4yQxc_UZEW2SQ2dqRQsd1wfySDTbJ3PsDV6m5jrVfkO23ScvQOF1kjeJahiKCgJcmUYFcIn7Ww/s1600/100_0260.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgWYPAn_b9iFj1nBezimuDG8-4kupBJ2tQAHGzYVE6_PIh-aRqln7mFm5DwcjJj4yQxc_UZEW2SQ2dqRQsd1wfySDTbJ3PsDV6m5jrVfkO23ScvQOF1kjeJahiKCgJcmUYFcIn7Ww/s320/100_0260.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5404529344312651570" border="0" /></a><br /><div style="text-align: center;">So, I make Emily try it...<br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg3twm2zTeDV5rENC5CcCBNj2O8bS_nMmCM893nuZegkrf62wnP1pyaXz8bqnjNmHnk6hPgFWOS9KGopCiGsKB0b3RLk_DPEkURg3Ep8MZ8cak_Q6EqIMbLYzWZG0-LWDzekOGfaw/s1600/100_0262.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 240px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg3twm2zTeDV5rENC5CcCBNj2O8bS_nMmCM893nuZegkrf62wnP1pyaXz8bqnjNmHnk6hPgFWOS9KGopCiGsKB0b3RLk_DPEkURg3Ep8MZ8cak_Q6EqIMbLYzWZG0-LWDzekOGfaw/s320/100_0262.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5404530084373566034" border="0" /></a><br /><br />She disagrees. Had the consistency of dried prunes, she said.<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEilkfYGoALqP9kEwdrSLT2f6LKPAbmSyWpQ-Z3ic7Y6ePEzr6q3x6qADzqI-Uo42LIbhsjwMwHee-HM2rMGXZ9UZvFjRJOponojKP87z58OmoYXVgAJW2_G18bF2DAmo-DSMWfbxg/s1600/100_0261.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEilkfYGoALqP9kEwdrSLT2f6LKPAbmSyWpQ-Z3ic7Y6ePEzr6q3x6qADzqI-Uo42LIbhsjwMwHee-HM2rMGXZ9UZvFjRJOponojKP87z58OmoYXVgAJW2_G18bF2DAmo-DSMWfbxg/s320/100_0261.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5404530096089868290" border="0" /></a><br /></div>Choose for yourself, here's <a href="http://www.soybean.com/">a link to their website</a>, which will can lead you to an online shopping portal. I know you want to try it or other meatless stuff...then probably take a ham bath or each your weight in <a href="http://www.whitecastle.com/_pages/home.asp">White Castles</a> to restore your meat levels.<br /><br />viva el mustacheBryanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09071302507467572886noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19981140.post-78132254969871921162009-11-15T08:32:00.002-06:002009-11-15T09:12:30.315-06:00Bad Music SundayFriends,<br /><br />My blog output has been pathetic lately. It's not because stuff hasn't been happening that's worth blogging. But, I honestly haven't had the time to write about any of it.<br /><br />I just realized that while my new job is awesome, my Mondays through Fridays are, essentially, 12 hour days. I'm up at 5 AM and home around 5:30 PM, depending the bus. I work out, eat dinner and then it's time to make my lunch for the next day and go to bed to do it all again. <br /><br />Anyway, I'm going to make an effort to change this. Haven't quite figured out how yet, but I will. I don't intend on letting this space wither and die yet.<br /><br />But, for now, here's another BMS. This one goes out to Seth and his current personal drama revolving around rumors of Aerosmith's rumored disbanding.<br /><br />Aerosmith - Jaded<br /><object width="425" height="344"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/705LEH3j2g0&hl=en_US&fs=1&"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/705LEH3j2g0&hl=en_US&fs=1&" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="425" height="344"></embed></object><br /><br />My lord. Steven Tyler has to be one of the ugliest men on earth. He's like a gypsy Gollum...all scarves and tendons. Gross.<br /><br />viva el mustacheBryanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09071302507467572886noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19981140.post-32984722400644633332009-11-08T08:05:00.003-06:002009-11-08T08:08:46.981-06:00Bad Music SundayFriends,<br /><br /><a href="http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5gpIu0sRdV7eBJ9SxI7w72sB4WAUgD9BNJFCO0">George Jones is right</a>. Pop-country needs a title onto themselves because this music isn't country. Not that all country is good, mind you. A lot of it is crap actually. However this stuff? This Taylor Swift stuff? Got as much flavor as an air sandwich. So what the hell should it be called? Any ideas?<br /><br />Taylor Swift - You Belong With Me<br /><object height="340" width="560"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/5AHzIq_n-DQ&hl=en&fs=1&"><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/5AHzIq_n-DQ&hl=en&fs=1&" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" height="340" width="560"></embed></object><br /><br />Just one song today. Emily's got plenty of work to do.<br /><br />viva el mustacheeBryanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09071302507467572886noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19981140.post-68249011215250420142009-11-07T06:29:00.002-06:002009-11-07T06:40:39.905-06:00One HourFriends,<br /><br />Either I suddenly became an old man, or this some mystic power to waking up at 5 AM everyday. See, for my job I have to get up at 5 AM Monday through Friday. My shift starts at 7:30, but I have to catch an early bus to get there on time and on days where I don't need to take the bus, I still get up at 5 so I don't screw up my morning routine.<br /><br />While working relay and for a while now, I got up pretty much everyday at 6 AM. Like clockwork, I'd be up a 6 because, well, Emily woke me up. It was no problem. I'd stay up to midnight, or maybe even a little later if I couldn't get to sleep, and I'd be up at 6. Of course, I'd be groggy and barely alive at 6 AM, but I'd still be awake.<br /><br />However, since I started getting up at 5 AM, I can't seem to stay awake beyond 9:30 PM. Last night, I fell asleep on the couch before 9 PM while reading the new New Yorker. Yeah. That's not the first time that's happened either. This sucks a lot.<br /><br />I get home from work, most days, at around 5:30. If I eat, let the food settle, then work out for my usual amount, it'll be 7:30 or 8:00...and my body is just powering down for sleepy time.<br /><br />What the fuck? 5:00 AM is only one hour earlier, but it has completely sapped me from all my ability to stay up at night. I'm a bit more perky in the morning now, but I have so little time to do anything at night anymore. <br /><br />Is this just getting old, or is 5 AM magic, somehow?<br /><br />viva el mustacheBryanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09071302507467572886noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19981140.post-18636209368893084492009-11-01T14:13:00.001-06:002009-11-01T14:13:00.295-06:00Bad Music SundayFriends,<br /><br />Last week, I was in such high spirits no music could be bad music. This week, the glow of the new job has worn off. So the whole world of shitty music has blossomed anew. Here's this week's dose...<br /><br />Tim Curry - Anything Can Happen on Halloween<br /><object width="425" height="344"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/-FMf8ltkCgM&color1=0xe1600f&color2=0xfebd01&hl=en&feature=player_embedded&fs=1"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowScriptAccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/-FMf8ltkCgM&color1=0xe1600f&color2=0xfebd01&hl=en&feature=player_embedded&fs=1" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowfullscreen="true" allowScriptAccess="always" width="425" height="344"></embed></object><br /><br />Hoobastank - Ghostbusters<br />Some songs just cannot be covered. The genius of Ray Parker Jr.'s Ghostbuster's theme is one of them. Behold, Hoobastank doing what they do to this gem from our childhoods.<br /><object height="344" width="425"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/b1WLwEQPfx8&color1=0xb1b1b1&color2=0xcfcfcf&hl=en&feature=player_embedded&fs=1"><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"><param name="allowScriptAccess" value="always"><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/b1WLwEQPfx8&color1=0xb1b1b1&color2=0xcfcfcf&hl=en&feature=player_embedded&fs=1" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowfullscreen="true" allowscriptaccess="always" height="344" width="425"></embed></object><br /><br />Sophie B. Hawkins - Damn, I Wish I Was Your Lover<br /><object width="425" height="344"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/RQQpbRN1FrE&hl=en&fs=1&"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/RQQpbRN1FrE&hl=en&fs=1&" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="425" height="344"></embed></object><br /><br />Midnight Star - Freak-A-Zoid<br /><object width="425" height="344"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/j8OL7I3hpYA&hl=en&fs=1&"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/j8OL7I3hpYA&hl=en&fs=1&" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="425" height="344"></embed></object><br /><br />Whodini - Freaks Come Out at Night<br /><object width="425" height="344"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/JLYC7ltxOrk&hl=en&fs=1&"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/JLYC7ltxOrk&hl=en&fs=1&" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="425" height="344"></embed></object><br /><br />Mannheim Steamroller - Creatures of the Night<br />This band ruins everything.<br /><object width="425" height="344"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/xpWTmGR2T-A&hl=en&fs=1&"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/xpWTmGR2T-A&hl=en&fs=1&" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="425" height="344"></embed></object><br /><br />Def Leppard - Love Bites<br /><object width="425" height="344"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/IfyDgNbaiyg&hl=en&fs=1&"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/IfyDgNbaiyg&hl=en&fs=1&" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="425" height="344"></embed></object><br /><br /><br />Bonus Oddity<br /><br />I heard this one on the radio today. Apparently, it's by the guy who does the "Witch Doctor" but I never heard this before. So, enjoy. Hope your Halloween was good.<br /><br />John Zacherley - Dinner with Drac<br /><object width="425" height="344"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/b8sONyA6eTk&hl=en&fs=1&"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/b8sONyA6eTk&hl=en&fs=1&" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="425" height="344"></embed></object><br /><br /><br />viva el mustacheBryanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09071302507467572886noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19981140.post-45897761830746852522009-11-01T08:32:00.003-06:002009-11-01T08:37:43.182-06:00Sunday Morning<div style="text-align: center;">daybreak, this morning.<br /><br /><br /><span style="font-family: arial;font-size:78%;" >(the top two pictures were taken with the panorama function on our new camera, so click on them to enlarge them.)</span><br /></div><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgeTbdNNXRWD8_CpdZTLSV6JuP3XSBUiQj5yKBqL1_ZpcZqTCOoGkSgmFtOK6zkBbJ4WEJKQFxjifudDi5NEoL2cqhg0i-LiCo7TI3uITupxgZxR044bitiXIGtu-3G0MfoDNrn_w/s1600-h/100_0250.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 80px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgeTbdNNXRWD8_CpdZTLSV6JuP3XSBUiQj5yKBqL1_ZpcZqTCOoGkSgmFtOK6zkBbJ4WEJKQFxjifudDi5NEoL2cqhg0i-LiCo7TI3uITupxgZxR044bitiXIGtu-3G0MfoDNrn_w/s320/100_0250.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5399143670819360722" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgW-kh6Cy83pYC3AsMFzD2OQ4IdXcO13WI_3WnV2s7ArH9LTAyH5j946Za7TL7RCb0A1NSCteAY_ZF5OFUXfpExBYll9YnxWp84mCai36nlTnv6bU43KENSVW1cnHuy8l7d1-uoVw/s1600-h/100_0251.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 84px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgW-kh6Cy83pYC3AsMFzD2OQ4IdXcO13WI_3WnV2s7ArH9LTAyH5j946Za7TL7RCb0A1NSCteAY_ZF5OFUXfpExBYll9YnxWp84mCai36nlTnv6bU43KENSVW1cnHuy8l7d1-uoVw/s320/100_0251.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5399143671603307602" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgTGXdcwFYPmMxXHS7MKydaircMX4DcT5fkU5zJ3JzhQcZqzOpJRMxGS8lfOwVKiJSff-wmwISnxNHHfRJ-DY35BDaW2xFVcrvRS7RDGzC5-8gzVj25e4rfp5oUG7pjc9gaJOOXQQ/s1600-h/100_0252.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 240px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgTGXdcwFYPmMxXHS7MKydaircMX4DcT5fkU5zJ3JzhQcZqzOpJRMxGS8lfOwVKiJSff-wmwISnxNHHfRJ-DY35BDaW2xFVcrvRS7RDGzC5-8gzVj25e4rfp5oUG7pjc9gaJOOXQQ/s320/100_0252.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5399143662221475138" border="0" /></a>Bryanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09071302507467572886noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19981140.post-23619758605216906142009-10-31T16:56:00.002-05:002009-10-31T17:07:36.463-05:00The Big Stinky FlowerFriends,<br /><br />We were driving around Madison when we saw this:<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhvqpYhI5V3DActYkk18XrDwYIZ95HEX6N6hnfcr7AoOeSP8OxkoWE234iGU8xVnCDNyuOONrH65r2FxTpC8XkhiMLVQczZRgSB7SwNcc3j01kJdq4a6G-CsTUtmtSCzplfeJ_inQ/s1600-h/100_0249.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 240px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhvqpYhI5V3DActYkk18XrDwYIZ95HEX6N6hnfcr7AoOeSP8OxkoWE234iGU8xVnCDNyuOONrH65r2FxTpC8XkhiMLVQczZRgSB7SwNcc3j01kJdq4a6G-CsTUtmtSCzplfeJ_inQ/s320/100_0249.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5398887988745385010" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><br />So we were like, "Fuck yeah!" So we go in.<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEifpeJo65BnMBaP7-V7yJnh-wlhqVlvK6bcEKAcrN2_vEB_ZvcGeGyAPYaH4BihyalfJEmqQDHTsC58MtACCGPbtQ41jpz-VUyC1mANVIkkNLIPfFu7LlHaHTDnzOVNHMHa9csULg/s1600-h/100_0248.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEifpeJo65BnMBaP7-V7yJnh-wlhqVlvK6bcEKAcrN2_vEB_ZvcGeGyAPYaH4BihyalfJEmqQDHTsC58MtACCGPbtQ41jpz-VUyC1mANVIkkNLIPfFu7LlHaHTDnzOVNHMHa9csULg/s320/100_0248.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5398887984570604050" border="0" /></a><br /><br />And, here it is. The Big Stinky Flower. <br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjrQUFgi17EbcgVTY9qwNQt3kEDJxUJOUNXM4WDk3-8O9ExrOfYYro_3kCfNtGhyphenhyphencdO86AebUFZzQ0cKf-c93ebIbBrA0QjXwwK9JaTnBP5hu7jX8R5PiS5oPi6QI7sLqqlK0QEcw/s1600-h/100_0232.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 240px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjrQUFgi17EbcgVTY9qwNQt3kEDJxUJOUNXM4WDk3-8O9ExrOfYYro_3kCfNtGhyphenhyphencdO86AebUFZzQ0cKf-c93ebIbBrA0QjXwwK9JaTnBP5hu7jX8R5PiS5oPi6QI7sLqqlK0QEcw/s320/100_0232.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5398887981560080338" border="0" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgyOWmymMDU96EWV5Ccvg8-Kzpp1ND4hS0cEZpwMHV-1nOq-wea5dudcaq7IBL4q7MdfQhH4XzbmiXmc-WQlSIdtQZFn4D4Y7qHrLf2fQPmjreH-qLfN3Xo0-2nDQqpPDKmOjFSaw/s1600-h/100_0211.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 240px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgyOWmymMDU96EWV5Ccvg8-Kzpp1ND4hS0cEZpwMHV-1nOq-wea5dudcaq7IBL4q7MdfQhH4XzbmiXmc-WQlSIdtQZFn4D4Y7qHrLf2fQPmjreH-qLfN3Xo0-2nDQqpPDKmOjFSaw/s320/100_0211.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5398887971828732242" border="0" /></a><br /><br />Does it stink like rotted meat, as advertised? Yes.<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiuUnK_ybe3Q6SqR0oYnaLrJOdyNTDm20M2dZLhp5oeaCkMBhsJjitzagO_D_HTighDsFQJs57CRVWd_oFBbFgdVXhwIWIY4-1YUU_NoPfgasujio8u3TsJn0ZjFBpUqny2Tu99sA/s1600-h/100_0213.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiuUnK_ybe3Q6SqR0oYnaLrJOdyNTDm20M2dZLhp5oeaCkMBhsJjitzagO_D_HTighDsFQJs57CRVWd_oFBbFgdVXhwIWIY4-1YUU_NoPfgasujio8u3TsJn0ZjFBpUqny2Tu99sA/s320/100_0213.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5398887967915109714" border="0" /></a><br />viva the big stinky flower!Bryanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09071302507467572886noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19981140.post-86988942353582586482009-10-29T20:56:00.003-05:002009-10-29T21:08:55.461-05:00Parents in WisconsinFriends,<br /><br />I never posted these? Really? These are from Labor Day. Everything is falling behind.<br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;">My dad, posed heroically (though he didn't know it and wanted to delete the picture)<br /></div><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj3S4j5x7KTnov3CtVQ7DAsn0bdK5ThgnZxIpAWvTXZ_LnfjSQCSNvbrIcr5GkRTLA0aU0aZq5DhXYkNei86sM-mWXtP4o57oZkHOMTwt17klT1POm6eUZAhomALixLfh4lPL5p8w/s1600-h/100_0657.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj3S4j5x7KTnov3CtVQ7DAsn0bdK5ThgnZxIpAWvTXZ_LnfjSQCSNvbrIcr5GkRTLA0aU0aZq5DhXYkNei86sM-mWXtP4o57oZkHOMTwt17klT1POm6eUZAhomALixLfh4lPL5p8w/s320/100_0657.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5398207195303072354" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;">Bernie watching the game.<br /></div><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgMkTA8e2A1bcn1Ub-tJ7TaIfynhtg3IZoLk63tWogL1kGXgLmLvJDdBfDBGYMzA77MkmJMNmg5sqmS1Hk8SkKzNIRYsQYcmlHhTABj-P29mge4h-FcrlvL_9z1X_iOoVGECWCHSQ/s1600-h/100_0594.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 240px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgMkTA8e2A1bcn1Ub-tJ7TaIfynhtg3IZoLk63tWogL1kGXgLmLvJDdBfDBGYMzA77MkmJMNmg5sqmS1Hk8SkKzNIRYsQYcmlHhTABj-P29mge4h-FcrlvL_9z1X_iOoVGECWCHSQ/s320/100_0594.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5398206816049588642" border="0" /></a><br /><div style="text-align: center;">SAILBOATS! They were sailing in a very tight circle for a while, obvious part of a sailboat class at UW.<br /></div><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj8G3BYASXFyzQCGjTk3n-8oweFrFIzO1mZ1fNDz_L9HPZRruhorP23yPzCMMXoyIIne_sPE4URDBuyUvrGM_YFGd07otLzSoz83sFauAQg6v5zr1XYwrVuCDmFuAcgwZv25sFcQg/s1600-h/100_0663.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj8G3BYASXFyzQCGjTk3n-8oweFrFIzO1mZ1fNDz_L9HPZRruhorP23yPzCMMXoyIIne_sPE4URDBuyUvrGM_YFGd07otLzSoz83sFauAQg6v5zr1XYwrVuCDmFuAcgwZv25sFcQg/s320/100_0663.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5398206806682218962" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;">Seagull on the UW Memorial Union Terrace. I wasn't that close. My parents have an awesome camera.<br /></div><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjAey7R9o937QpWWnmFfTSE_rBPq-qhF6M60LZH1fS7yaJRw5kR0qbHqQMUNA-xH_dVClaqxVDvY0EPvcbl-bj6XidpJGtdjPwOC_zTsWticdITMRdlB54n3GF5nGbdsh0JwOfuiQ/s1600-h/100_0650.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjAey7R9o937QpWWnmFfTSE_rBPq-qhF6M60LZH1fS7yaJRw5kR0qbHqQMUNA-xH_dVClaqxVDvY0EPvcbl-bj6XidpJGtdjPwOC_zTsWticdITMRdlB54n3GF5nGbdsh0JwOfuiQ/s320/100_0650.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5398206798791284754" border="0" /></a><br /><div style="text-align: center;">This hawk was sitting on the roof of a mini-mall that houses a fine place for breakfast called the Pancake House.<br /></div><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiX4qBRIO2kVUt-YgObKl-8rgEGvjDuVva-WKLeMpPF41XPuyhei1YmxdM1QSctu67yZvOXL_A9iIogX9OAPd59UFoJ9cfqbnpjlrW24OmgWc30K-bnC8FdF_OAuQeXWyZ8-0Hy8Q/s1600-h/100_0500.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiX4qBRIO2kVUt-YgObKl-8rgEGvjDuVva-WKLeMpPF41XPuyhei1YmxdM1QSctu67yZvOXL_A9iIogX9OAPd59UFoJ9cfqbnpjlrW24OmgWc30K-bnC8FdF_OAuQeXWyZ8-0Hy8Q/s320/100_0500.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5398206796401736562" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;">Here are pictures of me with my parents. I never noticed how huge my ears are until this picture...or that my head changes in height according to who I'm sitting next to.<br /></div><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj9oPhILvCkO1FEzinc9ar6PGNp4DLMzL-Hwi8YN5UqB9ZEXfPqfd3qhu3pvWzphnmGTG2Hgf52c9azN9mtu2gzN66EV-GBZ3vsof-IXoUuNpuo4k18aUL8IUctQggXGdpGlACMVQ/s1600-h/100_0640.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj9oPhILvCkO1FEzinc9ar6PGNp4DLMzL-Hwi8YN5UqB9ZEXfPqfd3qhu3pvWzphnmGTG2Hgf52c9azN9mtu2gzN66EV-GBZ3vsof-IXoUuNpuo4k18aUL8IUctQggXGdpGlACMVQ/s320/100_0640.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5398207189132991218" border="0" /></a><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjlNBfiQ6Upy6j-Ak_j_3oLSBHocsl1zINgeI8j52YgVEmt4keeyGMxOtlR9j-hxdn96yu2yFaBpCdAqhIznVn-wUVBhvbwylDt6CnbUOmJnY0NS1r-BxM0R5nL7O-PRLDyyvTZYQ/s1600-h/100_0638.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjlNBfiQ6Upy6j-Ak_j_3oLSBHocsl1zINgeI8j52YgVEmt4keeyGMxOtlR9j-hxdn96yu2yFaBpCdAqhIznVn-wUVBhvbwylDt6CnbUOmJnY0NS1r-BxM0R5nL7O-PRLDyyvTZYQ/s320/100_0638.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5398206809976766258" border="0" /></a>Bryanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09071302507467572886noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19981140.post-81448900268957672392009-10-27T20:56:00.003-05:002009-10-27T21:49:30.616-05:00The Shine of Golden HandcuffsFriends,<br /><br />When I reflect on what I wanted to be 5 or 6 years ago, and where I am now...things certainly veered a touch. I never was a wild one, or even remotely interesting on that front, but still...police? Really? After bouncing from elementary school teacher to here, while it hasn't been a jagged line, full of wild anecdotes about strife or loss. I got middling meandering. That I have. But still, to be here now instead of in another year teaching just seems strange. And where I landed, this isn't a job anyone would ever strive for. No child growing up in America says to himself, someday, I'm gonna push paper for the po-lice. Nope. <br /><br />Funny how many jobs there are that are like that, too that wind up being careers. Life's work in doing some menial, yet essential thing. And I always wonder how people reconcile that with what they wanted...how are they able to let go? Or, maybe, jobs like mine is where people without plans wind up. Just adrift out there and their little balloon of life gets hung up in a corner, so there it nestles in for as long as the helium will let it because there is as good a place as anywhere else. <br /><br />All this is on my mind today because I endured a new-employee orientation session with what I believe to be an honest-to-god motivational speaker who said, when he left, "I'll see you on the flip flop," which sounds funny from a 64 year old. At this event, they talked about a lot of planning for retirement, and one person chimed in that they knew of someone who had retired after 40 years in parking enforcement. Writing tickets for 40 years. A lot of helium in that balloon...or maybe the person just loved pissing off people, I don't know. Those kind of folk exist. But, this gig here, in all it's splendid mediocrity, so long as the technology doesn't make me obsolete, could, maybe be a career. Maybe. Not the best choice I made, but if we're talking solely money wise...I'm doing about as good as I would be teaching elementary school...and it's less dangerous (I got some bullet-resistant glass where I'm at now). Oh, these golden, golden handcuffs.<br /><br />All this isn't some round about way to say I'm unhappy. Like I said, I got 300 more dollars in my paycheck and I never have to listen to old ladies and their foul pooping ever again (I don't think). What's to be unhappy about, right? Well, there's<a href="http://crimereports.com/"> this information I suppose</a>, that's enough to give a person the heebie jeebies about the world outside (punch in your address...while only select cities provide criminal data, you could still look up the sex offenders in your area here). <br /><br />This is a `round about way of saying, "So, this is where I am now. Hm. How about that shit? Didn't see this coming. What the hell am I doing now in order to do something next, if there even has to be a next?"<br /><br />viva el mustacheBryanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09071302507467572886noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19981140.post-19365278209085519082009-10-23T18:48:00.004-05:002009-10-24T16:01:58.344-05:00A Moderate RollFriends,<br /><br />I bought pants in a store from the regular men's section.<br /><br />My paycheck was $300.00 more than what I got at my last job.<br /><br />Scored decently, not great, but I think okay, on my GRE today (640 verbal, 620 quantitative with writing score pending).<br /><br />Made some good book purchases, including finding <a href="http://www.roomofonesown.com/NASApp/store/Product?s=showproduct&isbn=9780814334126">Bonnie Jo Campbell's American Salvage</a>, which sounds tailor-made for my tastes.<br /><br />Ate some good vegetarian gumbo, which I chose instead of raw oysters, so I think that counts as a win.<br /><br />Didn't have to buy gas for two weeks.<br /><br />For my birthday, I got some new socks, new books and a lunch at a cart called <a href="http://lmnopies.com/foodcart.htm">LMNO Pies</a> that was phenomenal.<br /><br />The Angels forced a Game 6.<br /><br />I saw a Zombie Walk / Protest March today. Their chant went like this, "What do we want?" "BRAINS!!" "When do we want it?" "BRAINS!!"<br /><br />Life, it seems, is good.<br /><br />viva these last few days.Bryanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09071302507467572886noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19981140.post-58096267047487177222009-10-22T10:46:00.000-05:002009-10-22T11:05:45.571-05:00Yeah, That Weight ThingFriends,<br /><br />Failed again! Drat. I wanted to lose 6.4 pounds by my birthday and I lost 5.4 pounds. <br /><br />That brings the yearly total lost up to 38 pounds, but that puts me exactly 10 pounds behind schedule.<br /><br />The weight loss was really hampered this month with some ongoing right knee pain/discomfort, not to mention my new job which has a schedule that's been trickier to adjust to than I expected, leaving me completely exhausted by the time I get home. So I've lost about a week's worth of exercise due to all this, maybe more. So I'm pleased with being only a pound away from the goal. 10 pounds off the pace for the year? Well, that sucks and I wish I could have kept up more. Oh well. On to the next month and 5 more pounds. Go, Bryan, go.<br /><br />viva el mustacheBryanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09071302507467572886noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19981140.post-62062391532400198272009-10-22T09:34:00.002-05:002009-10-22T09:58:51.671-05:00Population 486Friends,<br /><br />I dismissed Michael Perry at first as some local hero, a Wisconsin-boy done reasonable so that's why his books are everywhere in this town. When his new one, <a href="http://www.roomofonesown.com/NASApp/store/Product?s=showproduct&isbn=9780061240430">Coop</a>, came out, I think you could buy it at gas stations around here. Turns out, it's because he's awesome.<br /><br /><a href="http://www.roomofonesown.com/NASApp/store/Product?s=showproduct&isbn=9780060958077">Population 485</a> wasn't a funny collection of misadventures, though comedy is found within. Nor is it some ode to small-town life, but small town life is always paraded, rarely dismissed. Nor is it a "ain't working as an EMT grand?", though you get the impression Perry believes being an EMT is darn cool. Those were my concerns coming into this book that it was just going to glorify all things Wisconsin, small-town and EMT. And yes, they do get cheerleaded some, they are just a couple of steps in what turns out to be an intricate dance. Overall, it's full of anecdotal material that somehow woven together to produce a weighty book dealing with worries of death, loneliness, progress, and blue-collar artistic guilt among other interesting themes.<br /><br />If I were to complain about the book, it would be that all of the essays seem to have this "One time X thing happened" which then dovetails to "Another time Y thing happened" but that's just mimetic of conversation, now isn't it? And a guy with these kind of stories, not to mention the good sense to patch them together into a cohesive point, well, you want to hear him talk. You want to buy him a beer, and let the old boy keep telling you stories, like he's one of the old-timers at a bar you hear so much about.<br /><br />Also, I bought this book for a dollar, and, of all things, Mike Magnuson shows up in one of the essays (it's just one sentence, but it still surprised me...Perry calls him a "grunt novelist.")<br /><br />If you have the time (and who doesn't?) I would read this one. Makes for an excellent toilet book.<br /><br />viva el mustacheBryanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09071302507467572886noreply@blogger.com0