Small Pond.

So, everyone here picks up this small weekly paper.

And I'm in it this week.

My brush with greatness.

(For the record, I said nothing about photography during the interview portion. She googled me and came up with "accomplished" on her own.

Shuffle Me Baby

So, Olga mentioned something about an Ipod meme. So I googled and found this one:

Instructions: Go to your music player of choice and put it on shuffle. Say the following questions aloud, and press play. Use the song title as the answer to the question. NO CHEATING.

My results are fairly depressing/odd:

How does the world see you?
"Over," Kate Maki [I really, really dig this tune--editor]

Will I have a happy life?
"Bob Dylan's 49th Beard," Wilco

What do my friends really think of me?
"Fox Confessor Brings the Flood," Neko Case

What do people secretly think of me?
"Into Dust," Mazzy Star

How can I be happy?
"Duet For Guitars #3," M. Ward

What should I do with my life?
"Drunk By Noon," Sally Timms [Thanks for the justification--editor]

Will I ever have children?
"Windout," REM

What is some good advice for me?
"I'll Be Your Lampshade," Beulah

How will I be remembered?
"Mespotamia," B52s

What is my signature dancing song?
"Numb," Portishead

What do I think my current theme song is?
"This is How it Goes," Aimee Mann

What does everyone else think my current theme song is?
"English Rose," Everything But the Girl (a cover of The Jam song)

What song will play at my funeral?
"Youth Decay," Sleater-Kinney [nice--editor]

What type of men/women do you like?
"De Do Do Do, De Da Da Da," The Police

What is my day going to be like?
"La Fin Justifie Les Moyens," MC Solar

I tag: Briar, Wes, Olga and anyone else who wants to play

Let Your Fingers Do The Walking...

Click Cartoon To Enlarge

I Miss These People

Because, really, when you're dropping some serious cash on a dinner, and you look across the room and see this:



You want to be able to laugh just as hard as we laughed and not feel like the only person in the room who still has the emotional maturity of an eleven year old boy.

By the way, when, exactly, did I grow all those chins?

These Are Not the Droids You're Looking For...

The other day in response to something Weasel said, I called the current Administration "Orwellian.” And, while I realize that there are things here that carry hints of the “We are not at war with Eurasia. We have always been at war with Eurasia.” ethos, I’ve come to realize that the correct adjective is actually “Lucasian.”

Because what this President has done is really not out of Orwell, but more out of that first Star Wars movie when Obi Wan waves his hand in front of the Storm Troopers and makes them believe that R2 and 3PO are different droids altogether.

Except the Storm Troopers are roughly half the population of the United States and I want to hide my head under a rock.

I have measured out my life with coffee spoons...

Beseechment

Key West, Florida

In Which We Acknoweldge A Debt to Rothko

Handball Court, Key West, Florida

Happy First Day of Spring

Ah, It's the Media's Fault

Dick Cheney in today's New York Times:

Mr. Cheney was challenged on "Face the Nation" about his statement three years ago that "we will be greeted as liberators" and his assertion 10 months ago that the insurgency was in its "last throes."

He insisted that in both cases his facts were right, but that the news media had created a different perception with vivid imagery of killing.

"I think it has less to do with the statements we've made, which I think were basically accurate and reflect reality, than it does with the fact that there's a constant sort of perception, if you will, that's created because what's newsworthy is the car bomb in Baghdad," he said.

Of course. There is no civil war here. The media just wants to think there's a civil war here.

Guess Who's Back?

The Screech Owl Nest Cam!

Climbing

Key West, Florida

Sailor's Delight

7 Mile Bridge, Florida Keys

an illustrated book about birds...

Key West, FL

In Which We Acknowledge A Debt To David Hockney

Key West, FL

Weather is Here, Wish you Were Beautiful

7 Mile Bridge, Florida Keys

Lit From Within

Marathon, Florida, Private Dock, 11:30 PM

Gone Fishin'

Be back next week.

Might get a post in this week, but who knows?

Damn It, I Broke Another One

But it sounds like there's more right over there.

This Is An Order

Get yourself to your favorite non-chain record store. Or open your iTunes Music Store. And buy the new Neko Case record, Fox Confessor Brings the Flood.

That is all.

The Pope and I

Peas in a pod.

But you'd think he could've done better than 2 gigs, what with all the money and ill gotten treasure inside the Vatican.

I'd love to see his what he picks from iTunes. I'd wager it won't be this.

A Question For The Pod People...

So, I still love my ipod. And I really, really, really love to set it to shuffle songs. Because it's like having a radio station where I set the playlist.

But, do ipod's have strange attachments to certain songs? Because my shuffle feature lands on the Nada Surf track, "Imaginary Friend" from their newest record, The Weight is A Gift all the damn time. Now, don't get me wrong. I like that song. A lot. It's bouncy. I like bouncy.

But it's weird.

Briar, I owe you the Meme of Four. Tomorrow maybe.

For Sale: One Virgin

Mary, that is. She's on ebay and can be yours for a starting bid of $5000. Only three days left and no bids yet.

From the auction text:

Thousands of believers have come to view the image of the Virgin and to pray at the tree. The first visitors came mainly from Dallas’ Mexican Catholic community, but after the story spread around the United States and then to Central America, hundreds more people have made the pilgrimage to the front yard of the small South Dallas home where the tree is growing. An impromptu shrine quickly sprang up around the base of the tree, with candles, rosary beads, bottles of holy water, and other offerings. The ill, the crippled and the hopeless have all come to the tree—from as far away as Mexico City and Korea—praying for a cure, or for a personal miracle.

Unfortunately, the constant stream of believers has worn the once lush front yard down to bare dirt, and has trampled the family’s private life as well. On one night in December, there were nearly 500 people in the yard around the tree, including a mariachi band. Dozens of people still come to the tree every Sunday morning, while many also visit on their way to and from work each day. Believers have even camped in the family’s yard overnight so they could be near the tree and perhaps witness something miraculous.

The owners of the tree originally had no intention of selling it, believing that they should share their blessing with the community. However, with no end in sight to the flow of uninvited guests some three months after the image of the Virgin was revealed, the owners have made the difficult decision to sell this majestic tree so as to reclaim their privacy. They hope that the purchaser will treat the tree and its image of the Virgin with due respect, and will make the tree available for viewing by the public in its new home.

The starting bid for this auction is $5,000, and there is no reserve. This amount was determined based on the owners’ estimated cost to return their front lawn to the condition it was in before the image of the Virgin appeared on the tree.

Dallas is about a three hour drive for me. If you need help with the pick-up, I'm sure we can work something out.

A Public Service Announcement

I am wearing shorts. And flip flops.