-------- AUTHOR: Mig TITLE: Careful what you leave around STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 2 CONVERT BREAKS: __default__ PRIMARY CATEGORY: CATEGORY: DATE: 10/01/2004 08:02:57 AM ----- BODY:

When I was small and my little brother even smaller, he ate some thyroid pills my grandmother had left out on a counter at her house. We got to watch him get his stomach pumped at the hospital, through a tube stuck down his nose. A nun spoke to me, which was a bit frightening as I wasn't used to nuns.

So I should have expected this to happen: I left my Irish traditional music CDs out and now Gamma has discovered her love for traditional Irish music. No more Xtina or Shakira for her. There's a stack of CDs of jigs and reels and slow airs in the kitchen now, next to the CD player.

I come home rather late from work nowadays so it's mostly over by the time I get home, but sometimes Alpha is still hanging from the ceiling by her finger- and toenails. The only mitigating detail in this for Alpha is that Gamma seems to have good taste, and plays the better-quality stuff.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: When I was small and my little brother even smaller, he ate some thyroid pills my grandmother had left out on a counter at her house. We got to watch him get his stomach pumped at the hospital, through a... ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Mig TITLE: And who are you? STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 2 CONVERT BREAKS: __default__ PRIMARY CATEGORY: CATEGORY: DATE: 10/01/2004 20:55:47 PM ----- BODY:

Jeong-A is not a charming globe-trotting Korean lawyer who just quit her job in Hong Kong, but is actually a middle-aged Australian professor of semantics whose wife left him because he spends all his time chatting on the computer with what he thinks are young women, but are in fact middle-aged men like himself posing as young women.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: Jeong-A is not a charming globe-trotting Korean lawyer who just quit her job in Hong Kong, but is actually a middle-aged Australian professor of semantics whose wife left him because he spends all his time chatting on the computer with... ----- KEYWORDS: ----- COMMENT: AUTHOR: gordon EMAIL: gordondf@hotmail.com IP: 66.28.105.35 URL: DATE: 10/01/2004 21:53:53 PM

Hm. This makes me suspect that Monday's item was written not by an charming cantakerous Greek tortoise with a protein pellet stuck to his head, but by a middle-aged Austrian man posing as such.

And Teh Bug! Is he secretly a middle-aged man as well? I don't know what to believe in anymore!

----- COMMENT: AUTHOR: j-a EMAIL: jeonga_kim@yahoo.co.uk IP: 202.71.195.230 URL: http://www.whatarewedoinghere.blogspot.com DATE: 10/06/2004 04:02:31 AM

oh boy. EVERYONE has found my inner Ozzie!

----- -------- AUTHOR: Mig TITLE: You forgot Poland STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 2 CONVERT BREAKS: __default__ PRIMARY CATEGORY: CATEGORY: DATE: 10/03/2004 20:40:42 PM ----- BODY:

You forgot Poland.

[Probably distracted by Peacedividend.]

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: You forgot Poland. [Probably distracted by Peacedividend.]... ----- KEYWORDS: ----- COMMENT: AUTHOR: Big Time Patriot EMAIL: rant@bigtimepatriot.com IP: 24.19.23.173 URL: http://www.bigtimepatriot.com DATE: 10/04/2004 21:19:27 PM

Damn, they always forget Poland...

And no one ever expects the Spanish Inquisition...

----- COMMENT: AUTHOR: anne EMAIL: tuckova@gmail.com IP: 213.210.177.152 URL: DATE: 10/05/2004 07:55:29 AM

this seems to be getting spun in two ways:

1. bush was visibly proud of his ability to correctly pronounce the president's name and to assign the correct leader to the correct country. this is a demonstration of his general idiocy.

2. bush is so desperate to show that he has allies that he will even mention allies that everybody knows don't really count. (this kind of implication was also present in the 9/11 movie, that the non-english speaking allies were only backwards countries who didn't even have real weapons or troops to commit).

while i'm happy about anything that makes bush look bad, at this point, i'm nevertheless not too crazy about the second kind of spin. the government here (and i think in poland too) went against the overwhelming majority in committing any support to this iraq mess, and it doesn't not matter.

also: countries that supported the U.S. in this were promised goodies, like construction contracts, that aren't materializing. eeksy is a better voice from the ground, but... you know? if we're going to talk about who "forgot poland" i think most poles would say that bush has.

----- COMMENT: AUTHOR: mig EMAIL: mig@metamorphosism.com IP: 80.122.106.26 URL: DATE: 10/05/2004 11:22:53 AM

I had been assuming only spin #1. Good point.

----- COMMENT: AUTHOR: Horst EMAIL: hprill@excite.com IP: 131.130.198.80 URL: http://www.aardvark.at/blog/ DATE: 10/06/2004 11:02:01 AM

Found this in the news today:
http://www.iht.com/articles/541963.html

It seems Poland will be pulling out.

----- -------- AUTHOR: Mig TITLE: Maybe it was the light STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 2 CONVERT BREAKS: __default__ PRIMARY CATEGORY: CATEGORY: DATE: 10/05/2004 13:09:11 PM ----- BODY:

Because the light started being perfect on Monday morning.

If it was Monday, and if it was the light I remember. Because you know I am always mixing up events and properties, switching them, only it's not mixing them up exactly, they're just all equidistant in my memory. But this gentle, sweet light that morning just drew me out.

Light that is harsh you don't want to view too closely, you stand back at the far wall, clear across the room, and look out the windows from fifteen feet away; this morning in question was just the opposite, with a blanket of fog over the river just thin enough so it could still reflect the pink and gold the sunrise stained the clouds with. More fog in the woods and fields, all full of deer. Sweet, gentle light that brings you across the room of your head until you're right there, face pressed up against the glass of your eyeballs, not wanting to miss a single detail.

Light that says You must remember every single thing. Paint it if you can or take a picture of it or write it down if you like, but remember every little thing.

When I look at the webcam of the Internet's biggest camgirl, Mt. St. Helens, I am reminded of the harshness of the light where I grew up, because I grew up just a few miles from that mountain. The light there, in the summers, in my memory, was too bright to look at without squinting and drove me far back into my skull.

No one can paint Greece. Correct me if I'm wrong. The say the light there is perfect, and it is bright and clear and unique, but I'm wondering whether the idea of it being perfect is influenced by it being Greek, as in, Here we are! Greece! Naked beaches! I'm going to try ouzo again, only not get sick this time! But if the light really were perfect, you'd think you could paint it.

Although, that reminds me of one sunrise many years ago: Alpha's face golden sitting on a dock somewhere on Crete. Not just her face, the rest of my then-girlfriend too: faded blue teeshirt and jeans, long straight blond hair, golden in the sunrise, the most perfect moment I've ever seen. Even if I could paint, I'd still leave that image alone. Although, here I am, trying to describe it. We slept on the beach, which was made of stones and filthy with tar, and woke to that sunrise.

Maybe I just have a thing about sunrises, except this light here has been perfect ever since Monday. The sunsets driving home are just as fine, and the light in between as well: right there, face pressed up against my eyeballs is where you'll find me. Taking it all in.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: Because the light started being perfect on Monday morning. If it was Monday, and if it was the light I remember. Because you know I am always mixing up events and properties, switching them, only it's not mixing them up... ----- KEYWORDS: ----- COMMENT: AUTHOR: Roberta S EMAIL: ms_Roberta2003@yahoo.ca IP: 161.184.178.205 URL: http://abbreviatedabstractions.blogspot.com DATE: 10/05/2004 16:38:53 PM

I am a person fascinated by light as you are. Hub shakes his head at dismay at the many pages in my photo album of blanketing fog, spears of the suns rays through holes in the clouds. Such sightings are what makes life really special when all other events lack lustre. Really enjoyed reading this post. It gave my morning lustre.

----- COMMENT: AUTHOR: Kai Jones EMAIL: snippy@pacifier.com IP: 198.107.1.253 URL: DATE: 10/05/2004 18:19:04 PM

The light today is amazing. The fog is just beginning to lift, and the mountain is looming to the north almost glowing through the haze. To the east Mt. Hood primly oversees the hills rolling down to the Willamette.

As I look north my view captures the sparkling blue of the river, the solid dark grey and terracotta of Union Station and the Broadway Bridge, and the lighter greys of various concrete buildings and the I-405 bridge balancing Mt. St. Helens on the horizon. Over the west shoulder of the mountain is another peak, and to the east of it I can see yet another snowcap (Rainier?). There are trees of mostly green but speckled with red and orange as the leaves are just beginning to turn here, and the darker harsher green of the evergreens.

I love Portland.

----- COMMENT: AUTHOR: mig EMAIL: mig@metamorphosism.com IP: 195.170.73.162 URL: DATE: 10/05/2004 18:40:32 PM

I like Portland a lot, although the Markham bridge gave me nightmares as a child. I was thinking more of the light on the side of the volcano in August, I suppose.

----- COMMENT: AUTHOR: novala EMAIL: sodazitron@gmx.net IP: 80.108.27.99 URL: http://sodazitron.blogger.de DATE: 10/05/2004 18:51:17 PM

See Katja's entry on light:
http://careo.elearning.ubc.ca/weblogs/thieme/archives/008692.html

----- COMMENT: AUTHOR: mig EMAIL: mig@metamorphosism.com IP: 195.170.73.146 URL: DATE: 10/05/2004 19:19:52 PM

Thanks, Novala!

----- COMMENT: AUTHOR: j-a EMAIL: jeonga_kim@yahoo.co.uk IP: 202.71.195.230 URL: http://www.whatarewedoinghere.blogspot.com DATE: 10/06/2004 04:03:28 AM

that's such a beautiful memory of your wife you have - i'm sure she knows you love her so much, you gooey sentimentalist, you...

----- COMMENT: AUTHOR: francis s. EMAIL: francis.strand@gmail.com IP: 193.15.61.253 URL: http://www.francisstrand.blogspot.com DATE: 10/06/2004 15:51:53 PM

I remember when I first came to Sweden, how fascinated I was by the light and the sky. It's so clean, the light, in the summer - not sharp, just clean and everlasting. But this time of year, the sun is slipping in the sky and the light starts to shine sideways over the city, and it's exquisitely soft and melancholy.

----- COMMENT: AUTHOR: flerdle EMAIL: flerdle@flerdle.net IP: 82.178.81.19 URL: DATE: 10/07/2004 13:25:37 PM

Light in Sweden, yes! I remember being amazed at the light when I visited in Summer, as it seemed so different from what I was used to. It was more blue in Sweden, or had some sort of different pure whiteness that was difficult to describe. It seemed much yellower in Australia. Perhaps it's just my imagination.

Perhaps it will change as winter approaches, but the light in the coast of Oman is harsh and blinding, although it sometimes makes the sea a breathtakingly gorgeous blue-green colour at midday, if you can bear the pain. The sky is rarely truly blue, but an odd brownish-grey-white; no clouds, or perhaps all cloud. Colours are strangled and dulled, even through the darkest sunglasses. Photography has to wait until near sunset or, as today, for the desert dawn.

----- -------- AUTHOR: Mig TITLE: Boy, is this right STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 2 CONVERT BREAKS: __default__ PRIMARY CATEGORY: CATEGORY: DATE: 10/05/2004 15:23:24 PM ----- BODY:

The President is not your daddy.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: The President is not your daddy.... ----- KEYWORDS: ----- COMMENT: AUTHOR: Brian EMAIL: bmkane@gmail.com IP: 207.190.233.48 URL: http://www.briankaneonline.com DATE: 10/05/2004 16:13:46 PM

Yep. Meanwhile, taking away nail clippers from every granny getting on an airplane and issuing hopelessly vague and ultimately meaningless "terror alerts" do nothing but promote the climate of fear.

----- COMMENT: AUTHOR: Adam EMAIL: adam@lucky8ball.com IP: 64.108.129.92 URL: http://www.lucky8ball.com/wordsmeanthings DATE: 10/05/2004 17:44:04 PM

Brian: You're so right about the terror alerts. Mostly what they're saying is, "Please be just a smidge more scared today than you were yesterday. Thank you."

----- COMMENT: AUTHOR: flerdle EMAIL: flerdle@flerdle.net IP: 82.178.82.84 URL: DATE: 10/06/2004 06:39:59 AM

yep, right on. Thankyou.

----- COMMENT: AUTHOR: Big Time Patriot EMAIL: rant@bigtimepatriot.com IP: 24.19.23.173 URL: http://www.bigtimepatriot.com DATE: 10/06/2004 16:58:04 PM

Hmm, an interesting point is that George Bush's daddy WAS the President.

Perhaps the younger George Bush was never able to separate his father from the Presidency and thus his weird inability to listen to input from others. (Just as his Father probably ignored Jr.'s input while being President).

Oh wow, this explains everything, I'm calling Oprah right away...

----- COMMENT: AUTHOR: peggy EMAIL: moveable@moveablebeast.com IP: 204.116.190.6 URL: http://www.moveablebeast.com DATE: 10/09/2004 17:43:16 PM

Bush isn't even my freckle-faced imaginary buddy.

----- -------- AUTHOR: Mig TITLE: Miserable failure STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 2 CONVERT BREAKS: __default__ PRIMARY CATEGORY: CATEGORY: DATE: 10/06/2004 07:52:27 AM ----- BODY:

Nice videos.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: Nice videos.... ----- KEYWORDS: ----- COMMENT: AUTHOR: Mary EMAIL: mpchar1@earthlink.net IP: 65.212.159.42 URL: DATE: 10/19/2004 20:34:25 PM

Just as tired of it and disgusted by it as you are.

----- -------- AUTHOR: Mig TITLE: No volcanoes STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 2 CONVERT BREAKS: __default__ PRIMARY CATEGORY: CATEGORY: DATE: 10/06/2004 08:25:32 AM ----- BODY:

"You were coughing last night, dad."
"I have to stop smoking."
"You shouldn't smoke at all."
"You're right."
"Are there tornadoes in Austria?"
"Nope."
"No volcanoes either?"
"Nope."
"Good. Austria is my favorite place to live."

I got Gamma off to school this morning. We had that conversation while getting her dressed and brushing her teeth.

I woke up with a headache this morning. I had been up late with Beta, watching "Underworld" (? Is that right? The one about the werewolves and vampires fighting?) and drinking wine (just me - she's not interested in wine yet).

It was hard to tell who was who during most of the film. They all had long hair, most of them, but the vampires washed theirs. They all wore long leather coats. Up close, the lycans looked like bikers or heavy metal band members, whereas the vampires were more, what, Placebo-fan-looking or something. When they were battling, it was often hard to tell who was who.

The only sure way to tell was, if they're smoking they're a vampire. None of the lycans smoked. The entire movie, in fact, was an allegory about the ongoing battle between smokers and non-smokers.

Overall, the movie rocked: acting sucked, script sucked, photography sucked, costumes sucked, direction sucked, weapons sucked, cars sucked, it was eminently confusing but, you know, chick in tight shiny black outfit.

There was something about the Michael guy being important somehow, I'm not sure what, either the movie was confusing on that point or Alpha kept coming into the room talking to us or both. But he at some point or another, the beginning or the end, ends up combining lycan and vampire in a single person, which makes him stronger.

And it occurred to me that I, too, combine smoker and non-smoker in a single person. I detest smoking and what it does to the way I feel and the way I smell. I hate the way it tastes and I hate supplying money (indirectly, since I still bum all my smokes) to, doubtlessly, rich, powerful lying immoral monopolists.

On the other hand, I continue to smoke, off and on. Only in my case, I fear it doesn't give me triple-celled platelets. Or maybe it does, but they don't make me "stronger than both".

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: "You were coughing last night, dad." "I have to stop smoking." "You shouldn't smoke at all." "You're right." "Are there tornadoes in Austria?" "Nope." "No volcanoes either?" "Nope." "Good. Austria is my favorite place to live." I got Gamma off... ----- KEYWORDS: ----- COMMENT: AUTHOR: cj EMAIL: cjcbanane@aol.com IP: 152.163.100.70 URL: http://journals.aol.com/cjcbanane/Test/ DATE: 10/07/2004 00:40:17 AM

The bright side: cigarettes make the symptoms of ulcerative colitis better. It's the only disease process known to modern medicine to be improved by tobacco smoking. So you're keeping the cost of that particular treatment down. Oh - and they make you look rebellious... and you can use the burning end to burn stuff... and tobacco shops smell good.

----- COMMENT: AUTHOR: mig EMAIL: mig@metamorphosism.com IP: 80.122.106.26 URL: DATE: 10/07/2004 06:34:41 AM

... and you can use the burning end to burn stuff...

Like my suits.

I remember my dad lighting fireworks with his.

----- COMMENT: AUTHOR: j-a EMAIL: jeonga_kim@yahoo.co.uk IP: 202.71.195.230 URL: http://www.whatarewedoinghere.blogspot.com DATE: 10/07/2004 11:49:58 AM

'underworld' was pretty dire. you need to drink through it to survive it. i do not commend your smoking however. do you realise how much carcinogenic stuff you are spewing to your beloved alpha, beta and gamma?

(yup mate, this is a guilt trip you're riding.)

----- COMMENT: AUTHOR: mig EMAIL: mig@metamorphosism.com IP: 80.122.106.26 URL: DATE: 10/07/2004 12:54:37 PM

They wear gas masks around the house. I only smoke at work, but I still make them wear the masks just in case.

----- COMMENT: AUTHOR: bran EMAIL: brandelionNOSPAM@gmail.com IP: 66.218.17.18 URL: http://em.mizdos.com/ DATE: 10/08/2004 13:27:35 PM

weather phenomena--i recently had a very similar conversation with Roo. "Mom, do we have tornados in New York?" "Not usually, honey." "Do they have them in Kansas?" "Yep." "Do we have hurricanes in New York?" "No. never." "But they do in Florida?" "Yep." "Do we have volcanos here?" "Well, do you see any mountains?" (chews on it for a while.) "What about Utah?"

----- -------- AUTHOR: Mig TITLE: Debate spotter STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 2 CONVERT BREAKS: __default__ PRIMARY CATEGORY: CATEGORY: DATE: 10/06/2004 15:52:41 PM ----- BODY:

This is very cool.

[Via South Knox Bubba]

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: This is very cool. [Via South Knox Bubba]... ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Mig TITLE: Just wondering STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 2 CONVERT BREAKS: __default__ PRIMARY CATEGORY: CATEGORY: DATE: 10/07/2004 06:39:54 AM ----- BODY:

Oh, never mind.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: Oh, never mind.... ----- KEYWORDS: ----- COMMENT: AUTHOR: eeksypeeksy EMAIL: eeksypeeksy@gmail.com IP: 83.25.133.11 URL: http://eeksypeeksy.blogspot.com DATE: 10/07/2004 08:29:55 AM

Now that you mention it.

----- COMMENT: AUTHOR: Solonor EMAIL: solonor@gmail.com IP: 68.205.189.105 URL: http://solonor.com/blogger.html DATE: 10/07/2004 11:19:27 AM

I never noticed.

----- COMMENT: AUTHOR: Ossian EMAIL: ossian@ossian.ossian IP: 213.86.108.158 URL: http://sloewine.blogspot.com DATE: 10/07/2004 12:57:24 PM

Once in a while.

----- COMMENT: AUTHOR: Brian EMAIL: bmkane@gmail.com IP: 207.190.233.48 URL: http://www.briankaneonline.com DATE: 10/07/2004 13:38:23 PM

Okay, well, whatever.

----- COMMENT: AUTHOR: Jessica EMAIL: jessica@peacedividend.com IP: 66.117.128.123 URL: http://www.peacedividend.com DATE: 10/07/2004 15:49:31 PM

Not very often, anyway.

----- COMMENT: AUTHOR: sarah EMAIL: sjersild@hotmail.com IP: 24.13.100.4 URL: http://www.fiendishplot.com DATE: 10/07/2004 16:48:55 PM

Are you kidding me? At least once a day. But I've always been like that.

----- COMMENT: AUTHOR: anne EMAIL: tuckova@gmail.com IP: 213.210.177.152 URL: DATE: 10/07/2004 22:11:49 PM

Only you.

----- COMMENT: AUTHOR: peggy EMAIL: moveable@moveablebeast.com IP: 204.116.190.6 URL: http://www.moveablebeast.com DATE: 10/09/2004 17:44:12 PM

Pink.

----- COMMENT: AUTHOR: Ben EMAIL: benjaminsavolainen@hotmail.com IP: 69.240.155.118 URL: http://darkmatter.za.net DATE: 10/13/2004 23:34:23 PM

Oh no. That's not good anymore.

----- -------- AUTHOR: Mig TITLE: Rock on!!! STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 2 CONVERT BREAKS: __default__ PRIMARY CATEGORY: CATEGORY: DATE: 10/07/2004 15:27:19 PM ----- BODY:

Elfriede Jelinek awarded Nobel Prize for Literature!!!!!


Woet!!

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: Elfriede Jelinek awarded Nobel Prize for Literature!!!!! Woet!!... ----- KEYWORDS: ----- COMMENT: AUTHOR: jadedju EMAIL: jadedju@ninewire.net IP: 69.107.101.105 URL: http://jadedju.com DATE: 10/07/2004 15:47:07 PM

What I'm about to say is, admittedly, superficial. But it must be said--the orange lipstick and eye shadow are a dangerous combination known to cause blindness in small children.

Of course, it might just be my computer screen causing her to look like that. And I might want to read something by her in order to have something of substance to add.

----- COMMENT: AUTHOR: mig EMAIL: mig@metamorphosism.com IP: 80.122.106.26 URL: DATE: 10/07/2004 16:11:12 PM

It's not your monitor: Elfriede Jelinek causes blindness and heart attacks.

----- COMMENT: AUTHOR: sarah EMAIL: sjersild@hotmail.com IP: 24.13.100.4 URL: http://www.fiendishplot.com DATE: 10/07/2004 16:53:00 PM

The covereage on the radio this morning (thank you, NPR!) was talking about how much of the conservative political establishment of Austria hates her, and how she returns the favor, and she said something to the effect of "This prize is not for Austria." So I can imagine her provoking some heart attacks.

----- COMMENT: AUTHOR: scott partee EMAIL: scotty@halfass.com IP: 208.61.40.195 URL: http://halfass.com DATE: 10/10/2004 14:42:11 PM

haha! Thomas Bernhardt style, eh? He explicitly denied any of his works being performed, read, whatevered in Austria in his estate. what is it about Austria and its great writers?

That being said, I was going to ask you about her. I've never read her and was going to see if I should bother. I'll take the "Woet!" as a yes!

----- -------- AUTHOR: Mig TITLE: Guest post, Mig's turtle #3 STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 2 CONVERT BREAKS: __default__ PRIMARY CATEGORY: CATEGORY: DATE: 10/08/2004 07:16:49 AM ----- BODY:

tortoise

When fall comes and you want to hide, you must do this:
Choose the right place.
Go where it is quiet.
Go where there are sticker bushes.
Go where things are the color of your shell.
From above, my shell is the color of bark chips and dead rose leaves.
I can dig down a foot if the earth is soft.
Unfortunately, under the big rose bush it is hard and rocky after six inches.
Still, cover myself up with bark chips and leaves, and They can look for me all night.
Calling.
Shining their waning little AAA pocket flashlights and calling my name.
Go to hell, it's autumn.
Even just six inches down, it's temperate and quiet and peaceful.
What if one of them steps on me?
Mother-f*cker
That would suck.
But they're not going to step directly under no rosebush.
If they do though...
But they're not.
Their voices fade faster than their flashlight batteries.
They give up and walk off, their office clothes yellow with sunflower pollen.
It is dark and quiet.
It is night, and I am buried and hidden.
Mother-f*cker, put me down.
Sneaky bastard.
Go ahead, put me in the habitat.
I've found a possible crack, I'll climb out tomorrow when you're at work.
If I don't fall over onto my back or get wedged in vertically like yesterday.
And furthermore: tortoise, fool. Not turtle.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: When fall comes and you want to hide, you must do this: Choose the right place. Go where it is quiet. Go where there are sticker bushes. Go where things are the color of your shell. From above, my... ----- KEYWORDS: ----- COMMENT: AUTHOR: gordon EMAIL: gordondf@hotmail.com IP: 66.28.105.35 URL: DATE: 10/08/2004 15:50:29 PM

Coincidentally, I recently saw a "Lost Turtle" flyer in my neighborhood, complete with picture. Maybe that guy, who "answers to Herman," is hibernating too.

If I found him, though, I wouldn't know what to do: there was no contact information on the flyer. On second thought, it looked like it was written by an adult; maybe Herman isn't hibernating after all.

----- COMMENT: AUTHOR: ArtichokeHeart EMAIL: artichokeheart@mac.com IP: 12.218.197.77 URL: http://lovesinsects.blogspot.com DATE: 10/08/2004 19:18:09 PM

Dear Tortoise, your tribulations are indeed many!

----- COMMENT: AUTHOR: deb EMAIL: sugarfused@gmail.com IP: 24.158.178.235 URL: http://www.sugarfused.com/ DATE: 10/09/2004 20:15:15 PM

Turtle, you crack me up :)
Just be thankful no one's painted your shell with fingernail polish. Yet.

----- -------- AUTHOR: Mig TITLE: Annihilating the ego STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 2 CONVERT BREAKS: __default__ PRIMARY CATEGORY: CATEGORY: DATE: 10/08/2004 12:55:15 PM ----- BODY:

I made up a Buddhist joke while walking around on my lunch break, but it turned out not to be so funny.

I'm making progress in the ego-annihilation process, however. Basically, my ego did not exist yesterday. If by ego you mean that part of our brain that remembers to do things and otherwise organizes us. Yesterday I thought about an appointment I had in the evening so much, so continuously, all day long, that I ended up forgetting when it was and thinking it was an hour later and ultimately missing it. At home last night, I forgot to do every single last thing my wife asked me to do. How can a normal person forget so many things? No idea. I lay there in bed thinking, Ahhh, when she reminded me again. At first I thought, hell, I'll just do it in the morning but it was too much stuff.

So I got dressed and did them.

Have I mentioned this already? I've been thinking about it ever since I read it quoted on someone's blog. A Buddhist idea about not judging people, and how "judge" means not only condemning others or looking down on them, but also admiring or looking up to people.

It's a fascinating idea. Ever since reading it, I've been all like, Bono, sheeyit, dude, and Mother Teresa? Nice wimple, baby.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: I made up a Buddhist joke while walking around on my lunch break, but it turned out not to be so funny. I'm making progress in the ego-annihilation process, however. Basically, my ego did not exist yesterday. If by ego... ----- KEYWORDS: ----- COMMENT: AUTHOR: j-a EMAIL: jeonga_kim@yahoo.co.uk IP: 202.71.195.230 URL: http://www.whatarewedoinghere.blogspot.com DATE: 10/11/2004 06:53:14 AM

well my ego wasn't around on saturday night past midnight, i think.

----- -------- AUTHOR: Mig TITLE: Bush senile? STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 2 CONVERT BREAKS: __default__ PRIMARY CATEGORY: CATEGORY: DATE: 10/11/2004 08:15:33 AM ----- BODY:

Maybe it's not just stupidity after all.
http://home.comcast.net/~blogitics/BushTenYrs4MB.mov

[via DailyKos]

[The video appears to have been moved to here: http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/video1019.htm. Thanks to Bigtime Patriot for pointing that out.]

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: Maybe it's not just stupidity after all. http://home.comcast.net/~blogitics/BushTenYrs4MB.mov [via DailyKos] [The video appears to have been moved to here: http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/video1019.htm. Thanks to Bigtime Patriot for pointing that out.]... ----- KEYWORDS: ----- COMMENT: AUTHOR: rachel EMAIL: imacmom@kjsl.com IP: 24.128.101.25 URL: http://www.kjsl.net/~imacmom/mtblog DATE: 10/11/2004 13:59:52 PM

very, very interesting.
my husband was in Texas when he beat Ann Richards, and he was a different kind of slick then for sure.

----- COMMENT: AUTHOR: Big Time Patriot EMAIL: rant@bigtimepatriot.com IP: 24.19.23.173 URL: http://www.bigtimepatriot.com DATE: 10/11/2004 17:06:57 PM

WOW, great before and after clips...

----- COMMENT: AUTHOR: Jessica EMAIL: jessica@peacedividend.com IP: 66.117.128.123 URL: http://www.peacedividend.com DATE: 10/11/2004 20:06:19 PM

Rick James said it best: Cocaine's a hell of a drug.
http://www.milkandcookies.com/links/13599/

----- COMMENT: AUTHOR: sue EMAIL: sue@sue18.net IP: 68.112.216.235 URL: http://members.aol.com/oldesophia/Sindex.html DATE: 10/12/2004 00:55:36 AM

Well, Ronnie was in beginning Alzheimer's when he sat in the Oval Office . . .

----- COMMENT: AUTHOR: Big Time Patriot EMAIL: rant@bigtimepatriot.com IP: 24.19.23.173 URL: http://www.bigtimepatriot.com DATE: 10/13/2004 22:26:44 PM

I think that link is dead now, but you can see the clip at http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/video1019.htm

----- -------- AUTHOR: Mig TITLE: What concepts do not exist in the English language? STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 2 CONVERT BREAKS: __default__ PRIMARY CATEGORY: CATEGORY: DATE: 10/12/2004 09:45:30 AM ----- BODY:

Interesting thread at metafilter.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: Interesting thread at metafilter.... ----- KEYWORDS: ----- COMMENT: AUTHOR: Blinger EMAIL: eslteacher@gmail.com IP: 210.219.156.201 URL: http://blinger.org DATE: 10/12/2004 12:20:35 PM

I'm boycotting all the meta-sites since they do not accept new members and haven't since at least March when I first tried. To me it is just a bunch of blowhads feeding off of one another to the exclusion of everyone else.

It's just one big circle jerk - there isn't even a way to contact someone about opening membership again. If you are a member of the community perhaps you can pass the word to the people in charge.

p.s your spam filter doesn't like my website address for some reason - so I decided to use CNN

----- COMMENT: AUTHOR: Blinger EMAIL: eslteacher@gmail.com IP: 210.219.156.201 URL: http://blinger.org DATE: 10/12/2004 12:22:20 PM

it wasn't my web site address it was another word I had chosen which unfortunately has a meaning other than the one I intended and got caught by the spam filter.

----- COMMENT: AUTHOR: mig EMAIL: mig@metamorphosism.com IP: 80.122.106.26 URL: DATE: 10/12/2004 12:47:06 PM

What spam filter?

----- COMMENT: AUTHOR: Blinger EMAIL: eslteacher@gmail.com IP: 210.219.156.201 URL: http://blinger.org DATE: 10/12/2004 22:47:21 PM

well when I typed a word that has the meaning of family members engaging in intercourse with one another my comment was rejected. that sounds like a spam filter too me.

----- COMMENT: AUTHOR: anne EMAIL: tuckova@gmail.com IP: 213.210.177.152 URL: DATE: 10/15/2004 15:08:22 PM

it was an interesting thread and i enjoyed it not least because nobody brought up the myth about the five kerjillion words for snow. but it was not surprising how quickly it devolved into "this word doesn't have a directly translatable word". i tend to get all itchy and irritable when people talk about one language being harder or easier or worst of all RICHER than another, or when they say something "can't be translated"-- it's the thing that turned me off kundera, his whole "one really really unique thing about czech is this special special thing that simply can't be translated" like how there is no word in english for LITOST ("a state of torment created by the sudden sight of one's own misery"). which there is, it's REGRET! it's even a one word deal! kundera does that kind of stuff a lot, with language (this language is complex and untranslatable) and with culture (this way of thinking is complex and cannot be understood by someone who did not experience this very exact event leading to this way of thinking). every time i see that kind of thing from a writer i think, what is the point of art altogether? aren't we to some degree trying to communicate to each other, not only to people who are very much like us but also to people who maybe are very different, and isn't the task then to go about explaining as well as possible, rather than waving a dismissive hand and saying, you don't have this word, this concept, you could never understand.

i think the translator's dilemma is, at what point do i start explaining the cultural background of this, or when do i just leave the word in the original language and leave the finding out up to the reader? that doesn't mean it can't be translated, though. stavros took a stab at "translating" some korean there and i thought it was pretty clear, even though i've not been in korea. in japan ("itadakimasu") and in czech ("dobrou chut"), people say something before they eat. in america (unless you say grace) you probably don't. that doesn't mean the concept cannot be explained to and understood by americans, or even that the concept doesn't exist (because some people do say grace, so it's culturally understood that you might say something before you eat), simply that it's not as universal as it is in other countries. i think in general the failure to communicate a concept lies with the person who is doing the communicating, rather than with the language he tried to communicate with.

well, that's enough out of me. it's a slow work day, what can i say?

----- COMMENT: AUTHOR: francis s. EMAIL: francis.strand@gmail.com IP: 213.89.61.12 URL: http://www.francisstrand.blogspot.com DATE: 10/16/2004 16:30:37 PM

Yes, Anne. I can't think of anything in Swedish that an English speaker actually wouldn't understand if properly explained... there are foreign concepts but they can be explained in a way that can be understood I think. Ovän, for example, which means someone who is not a friend, it can be a former friend or someone upon immediate acquaintance one knows one will never be friends with, but it doesn't mean enemy either. It literally could be translated almost as "unfriend." We don't think quite in those terms in English, but I think most English speakers should understand this concept.

----- COMMENT: AUTHOR: me EMAIL: melodie42@hotmail.com IP: 82.224.121.119 URL: DATE: 10/17/2004 17:09:50 PM

Still, I'd love to be able to figure out how to describe "cozy" or "snuggle" to my french friends without having to take half an hour to explain the concept and give lots of similies.... but then again, it took weeks for me to understand what "glauque" means, and it was a lot of fun listening to all the explanations that were offered.

Learning new words that require a description of the concept rather than a translation of the word is a lot of fun, and makes for great dinner conversation

----- COMMENT: AUTHOR: Michael M. EMAIL: ljubljana@beethoven.com IP: 213.161.3.30 URL: http://www.carniola.org DATE: 10/28/2004 22:12:03 PM

Blinger: I'm one of the "blowhards" and, for what it's worth, there are quite a lot of us who want to see MeFi reopened to new members.

Lately, though, the site has been very slow (and often down) so I believe there need to be a few upgrades made before this is done. But then it will be open again.

----- COMMENT: AUTHOR: asfodel EMAIL: asfo_del@asfo.com IP: 69.22.197.115 URL: DATE: 11/01/2004 16:08:01 PM

I tried to post a comment but it was repeatedly rejected no matter what I tried to delete. Spam blocking is getting out of hand.

----- COMMENT: AUTHOR: asfo_del EMAIL: asfo_del@asfo.com IP: 69.22.197.115 URL: DATE: 11/01/2004 16:10:13 PM

Interesting: apparently what you're not allowed to post is a y*hoo mail address. So the email address I actually posted is fake, but I guess that's okay?

I grew up speaking Italian, English, and Portuguese. I agree that almost any concept can be explained if one is willing or able to take the time to do so, but it's also true that there are many words whose meaning is difficult to convey. I haven't been able to explain to my Italian mother what "cheesy" means. ("Formaggioso" doesn't work... :)) "Cozy", which has already been mentioned, doesn't exist in Italian either. English has no word for "simpatico" -- although the word simpatico is itself used in English, but incorrectly. I find that English lacks an adequate word for "cattivo" as used to refer to a person. Cattivo simply means bad, but when we say in English that a person is bad that sounds very mild, even childish. Cattivo implies a malevolent intent, an inherent callousness, but "evil" is too strong.

----- COMMENT: AUTHOR: mig EMAIL: mig@metamorphosism.com IP: 195.170.73.164 URL: DATE: 11/01/2004 17:34:44 PM

fixed the yahoo thing, thanks for mentioning it and not just giving up.
as far as spamblocking getting out of hand, my logs show about 50 attempts at comment spam blocked in the last 2 hours.

----- -------- AUTHOR: Mig TITLE: You forgot Poland STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 2 CONVERT BREAKS: __default__ PRIMARY CATEGORY: CATEGORY: DATE: 10/13/2004 07:17:10 AM ----- BODY:

I'm growing tired of the current title up at the top of this page, "You Forgot Poland," and would like to change it, say (after listening to the radio on the way home yesterday) to "Lucky that my breasts are small and humble," or (after listening to DePhazz on a sampler this morning titled "Bar Lounge Classics") "Looks like time for that certain holiday." Eventually it will change, sometime soon, but for now it stays since traffic has climbed by about 50% due to random innocent googleetceteraers coming by (repeat traffic has remained unchanged).

The only time I've seen a larger increase in traffic due to specific searches was shortly after 9/11 when the phrase "Bin Laden Jokes" ended up in a post somehow, and produced quite a spike.

Obviously, I have nothing to say today. The hedgehogs appear to be hibernating. It turns out that Central European hedgehogs are the world's sleepiest mammals, moving my wife and me into 2nd and 3rd places. Also the turtle tortoise has hidden herself beneath some leaves in her box. My mother-in-law wanted my father-in-law to bathe the tortoise yesterday; luckily my wife caught them before they had disturbed the animal.

And so it goes. Wish I had a TV to watch the "final" "presidential" "debates" tonight. From what I've heard, the bar has been set so low for Bush that he somehow can't lose. Scowling? Smirking? Confused? Defensive? Senile? Running amok? Cheating? Stupid or just brain-damaged? At least he didn't reach into his pants and play with his poop.

It's a sad world we live in.

Funny at times, but sad.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: I'm growing tired of the current title up at the top of this page, "You Forgot Poland," and would like to change it, say (after listening to the radio on the way home yesterday) to "Lucky that my breasts are... ----- KEYWORDS: ----- COMMENT: AUTHOR: j-a EMAIL: jeonga_kim@yahoo.co.uk IP: 202.71.195.230 URL: http://www.whatarewedoinghere.blogspot.com DATE: 10/13/2004 10:09:22 AM

do tortoises need to be bathed???

----- COMMENT: AUTHOR: mig EMAIL: mig@metamorphosism.com IP: 80.122.106.26 URL: DATE: 10/13/2004 10:53:21 AM

no. they clean themselves like cats. only it takes longer.

----- COMMENT: AUTHOR: Mark EMAIL: blog@marramgrass.org.uk IP: 82.41.225.162 URL: http://www.marramgrass.org.uk DATE: 10/13/2004 12:12:04 PM

You know, it never occurred to me to wonder if tortoises had tongues. For some reason, I'm now chuckling about this. I don't know why...

----- COMMENT: AUTHOR: mig EMAIL: mig@metamorphosism.com IP: 80.122.106.26 URL: DATE: 10/13/2004 13:37:02 PM

They don't have lips, so that's how they kiss.

For some reason that reminds me: my 5 year-old nephew recently asked his parents, "How do you mate?" during a drive in the family car. During the pause while my sister and her husband each waited for the other to field the question, nephew added, "Does dad climb onto your back?"

----- COMMENT: AUTHOR: Mark EMAIL: blog@marramgrass.org.uk IP: 82.41.225.162 URL: http://www.marramgrass.org.uk DATE: 10/13/2004 16:25:32 PM

> They don't have lips, so that's how they kiss.

They kiss? This gets more and more confusing/disturbing/intriguing.

----- COMMENT: AUTHOR: Jessica EMAIL: jessica@peacedividend.com IP: 66.117.128.123 URL: http://www.peacedividend.com DATE: 10/13/2004 18:08:14 PM

You can find videos of the "joint appearances" online. Here's the first one: http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/mmedia/politics/093004-15v.htm
and the Vice Presidential farce: http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/mmedia/politics/100504-16v.htm
and the "town hall" thing: http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/mmedia/politics/100804-15v.htm

----- COMMENT: AUTHOR: anne EMAIL: tuckova@gmail.com IP: 213.210.177.152 URL: DATE: 10/13/2004 18:35:52 PM

"set the bar so low"... maybe we can hope that he'll think it's a limbo bar, and try to go under.

you should try "need some wood?" as an alternative to "you forgot poland".
http://www.defectiveyeti.com/archives/001019.html

----- COMMENT: AUTHOR: cj EMAIL: cjcbanane@aol.com IP: 205.188.116.74 URL: http://journals.aol.com/cjcbanane/Test/ DATE: 10/14/2004 03:01:14 AM

I'm watching the "debate" right now, and I swear I just saw his hand slip under the podium in just that certain way... well... it seemed suspicious to me.

----- COMMENT: AUTHOR: The Cowboy EMAIL: karan@flummel.com IP: 24.18.52.52 URL: http://www.flummel.com/ee DATE: 10/26/2004 20:07:18 PM

I was gonna say somethin' about playin' with my poop, but I forgot what. Georgie Bush

----- -------- AUTHOR: Mig TITLE: Light, again STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 2 CONVERT BREAKS: __default__ PRIMARY CATEGORY: CATEGORY: DATE: 10/15/2004 07:16:58 AM ----- BODY:

One deer in a dark field this morning. Traffic was light.
Cold, cold and rainy. It felt almost like summer. The darkness shimmered, drawing me out, away from the back wall, towards the windows again.
When we were kids, we used to hold our hands in the icewater bucket when we were cranking ice cream in the summer, just to see who could stand it the longest. Yesterday, last night, I listened to Gamma's Shakira CD all the way home.
The plot to a movie blossomed in my mind, starring Shakira. One-sentence summary: "Different enough from "Being John Malkovic" so they couldn't really sue you." And two short stories in progress developed a bit as well. Simmered. Bubbled in the crock pot of my head, with its matte no-stick surface.
This morning I listened to Shakira for a bit, then replaced her with the Clash. I thought about true love. I wonder whether the love of a parent for a child is the truest of all, because you don't want anything from your kid, you only want good things for them. A partner, you want more sex from them or less sex, you want money or you want them to help out more with the housework or you want them to leave you alone or to say they love you. You want them to tell you more about their feelings or you want them to shut the hell up for once. Kids, all you want is their welfare maximised. You want them to study, but only because it will make them successful, and success you assume has a positive correlation with happiness.
And so on.
People who did not experience perfect love from their parents, or people who did: who is luckiest when they become parents, those who finally get a chance to create the perfect love they missed, or those who have half a chance of really managing it because they know what it is?
Only, does anyone get perfect love when they're kids? Is any parent capable of giving the absolute love a kid needs? Are we all doomed to fall short?
Quarter-past eight in the morning and it's still grainy grey out, drizzling and beautiful already.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: One deer in a dark field this morning. Traffic was light. Cold, cold and rainy. It felt almost like summer. The darkness shimmered, drawing me out, away from the back wall, towards the windows again. When we were kids, we... ----- KEYWORDS: ----- COMMENT: AUTHOR: novala EMAIL: sodazitron@gmx.net IP: 194.232.66.11 URL: http://sodazitron.blogger.de DATE: 10/15/2004 09:10:34 AM

Ich kenne keine Statistik - aber wer bekommt schon ein Kind um des Kindes willen? Ganz ehrlich: Ist man nicht trotzdem enttäuscht, wenn das Kind Gegenliebe nicht in der Form zeigt, wie man es gerne hätte?

----- COMMENT: AUTHOR: anne EMAIL: tuckova@gmail.com IP: 213.210.177.152 URL: DATE: 10/15/2004 11:56:44 AM

i've been thinking about precisely this fairly intensely for a while now. i mean about the perfect love/ child thing. kein wanted to have shakira as his second mother, and we thought about that for a while, but i think we've moved on.

anyway, i don't think parents don't want anything from their kids- i think a lot of the time what parents want for their kids is more demanding than what adults want from their partners, because to some degree we want them to have what our kid selves didn't have, and that hunger can be much more consuming.

the lyrics to alannis morissette's "perfect" can get me absolutely wrenched sometimes:
"we love you just the way you are when you're perfect"
i mean, seriously, think about stage mothers. are they really any better than lady macbeth?

have you read this?
http://www.nytimes.com/2004/09/26/magazine/26LIVES.html?ex=1097380800&en=395a8bd62707d79d&ei=5070&oref=login
"The longing not to hurt my children now feels a bit like the longing to stay young myself, to remain a child until I can fix what went wrong. Maybe it's time to let go of my grievances, to
grow up, to give some new little person a chance to be young."

thinking about it a lot. thanks mig for adding to the conversation in my head.

----- COMMENT: AUTHOR: mig EMAIL: mig@metamorphosism.com IP: 80.122.106.26 URL: DATE: 10/15/2004 12:08:43 PM

Thank you, Novala, I'll think about that.

And thank you for that link, Anne. Are we giving our kids what they need, or what we needed? It's so tempting to see them as a second chance, isn't it.

----- COMMENT: AUTHOR: eeksypeeksy EMAIL: eeksypeeksy@gmail.com IP: 192.55.37.193 URL: http://eeksypeeksy.blogspot.com DATE: 10/15/2004 12:45:31 PM

When we raise kids, we are pushing ourselves into the future, buying an extension on oblivion. We love them as much as we love (or don't love) ourselves because they are us. And we try to edit the past by making them better versions of ourselves, versions that brush their teeth properly and cross at the crosswalk and creat art and are, more than we were and are, lovable and loved and successful and happy.

Then the kid turns out to be a psycho ("He's got his father's eyes. No, I mean literally! He's got his father's eyes! Run!") and you realize that you weren't such a bad kid and that it was a good thing your parents didn't make you get A in everything and join the football team, softball team, baseball team, hockey team, badminton team, curling team, orchestra, marching band, choir, church youth group, scouts, young embezzlers organization, math club, French club, Latin club, chess club, drama club, and junior geneticists.

So you ease off and let the kid waste a little time. With you.

Partners are another story: we want them to be the people we fell in love with, before we destroyed them.

Heh. I like typing.

----- COMMENT: AUTHOR: novala EMAIL: sodazitron@gmx.net IP: 194.232.66.11 URL: http://sodazitron.blogger.de DATE: 10/15/2004 12:48:50 PM

btw - my parents might not have succeeded a 100 percent in giving perfect love to their. But they have always been pretty close to full score. I am a lucky child.

----- COMMENT: AUTHOR: sue EMAIL: sue@sue18.net IP: 68.112.216.235 URL: http://www.sue18.net/MIUL.htm DATE: 10/16/2004 01:11:34 AM

(gotta dig out my German-English dictionary to completely understand the first comment. At least I can muddle out some of it!)

----- COMMENT: AUTHOR: novala EMAIL: sodazitron@gmx.net IP: 80.108.27.99 URL: http://sodazitron.blogger.de DATE: 10/16/2004 20:32:24 PM

It's more or less s.th. like: I don't know any statistics - but who wants a child for the child's sake? Honestly: Isn't one disappointed if the child doesn't return love the way you would love to get it?

----- COMMENT: AUTHOR: j-a EMAIL: jeonga_kim@yahoo.co.uk IP: 202.71.195.230 URL: http://www.whatarewedoinghere.blogspot.com DATE: 10/18/2004 04:08:10 AM

well, my mum said to one of my ex-boyfriends once this:
"you try really hard to look after your children, but you end up screwing them up anyway."

i said: "thanks, mum."

mortifying.

----- -------- AUTHOR: Mig TITLE: Endorsement STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 2 CONVERT BREAKS: __default__ PRIMARY CATEGORY: CATEGORY: DATE: 10/18/2004 07:33:12 AM ----- BODY:

In view of the disasters the past four years have brought to the world, metamorphosism.com whole-heartedly endorses this morning's sunrise. What started out dark as night and deerless turned, in the space of just a few minutes, into a glory of pinks, blues, greys and greens so intense that if you painted them, you could only sell the painting in a furniture store, and no one tried to crash into me on the road today (in stark contrast to the fools let loose on the weekend).

And Beta was nice to me.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: In view of the disasters the past four years have brought to the world, metamorphosism.com whole-heartedly endorses this morning's sunrise. What started out dark as night and deerless turned, in the space of just a few minutes, into a glory... ----- KEYWORDS: ----- COMMENT: AUTHOR: Brian EMAIL: bmkane@gmail.com IP: 207.190.233.48 URL: http://www.briankaneonline.com DATE: 10/18/2004 14:03:01 PM

I'm Brian Kane, and I approve this message.

----- COMMENT: AUTHOR: novala EMAIL: sodazitron@gmx.net IP: 80.108.27.99 URL: http://sodazitron.blogger.de DATE: 10/18/2004 17:27:49 PM

In other words: Beta was still tired from the weekend and slept all the way to school.

----- COMMENT: AUTHOR: beta EMAIL: epsilon@gmx.tk IP: 195.170.73.187 URL: DATE: 10/18/2004 20:24:46 PM

how did you know that?

----- COMMENT: AUTHOR: cj EMAIL: cjcbanane@aol.com IP: 205.188.116.74 URL: http://journals.aol.com/cjcbanane/Test/ DATE: 10/19/2004 00:43:05 AM

Wow. I only just started being nice to my dad this year... and I'm 31. She's ahead of her time - even if she was just sleepy.

----- COMMENT: AUTHOR: paul EMAIL: rant@industrialfreedom.net IP: 24.19.23.173 URL: DATE: 10/19/2004 02:51:26 AM

When you have a 13 year old boy who is taller than you, it is always good to hear of niceness from child to parent.

----- COMMENT: AUTHOR: j-a EMAIL: jeonga_kim@yahoo.co.uk IP: 202.71.195.230 URL: http://www.whatarewedoinghere.blogspot.com DATE: 10/19/2004 03:08:52 AM

i was TOO nice to my parents.

----- -------- AUTHOR: Mig TITLE: Hyena STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 2 CONVERT BREAKS: __default__ PRIMARY CATEGORY: CATEGORY: DATE: 10/18/2004 07:35:17 AM ----- BODY:

"If a spotted hyena stepped out of Air Force One wearing a baby-blue necktie, most Americans would salute and sing 'Hail to the Chief.'"

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: "If a spotted hyena stepped out of Air Force One wearing a baby-blue necktie, most Americans would salute and sing 'Hail to the Chief.'"... ----- KEYWORDS: ----- COMMENT: AUTHOR: sue EMAIL: sue@sue18.net IP: 68.112.216.235 URL: http://www.sue18.net/MIUL.htm DATE: 10/19/2004 00:35:05 AM

Great piece!! And I highly recommend following some of the links to Forever Dada. (http://www.foreverdada.com)

----- COMMENT: AUTHOR: Adam EMAIL: adam@lucky8ball.com IP: 64.108.128.16 URL: http://www.lucky8ball.com/ DATE: 10/21/2004 18:09:14 PM

Wonderful. Thanks for the link. I think my favorite sentence is:

"A guerrilla who opposes an invading army on his own soil is not a terrorist, he's a resistance fighter."

This is what Michael Moore was trying to say in his "Minutemen" comment, and he got flayed alive for it. But it happens to be eminently logical, and something we forgot in the march to Iraq.

----- -------- AUTHOR: Mig TITLE: Guest post: Mig's cello STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 2 CONVERT BREAKS: __default__ PRIMARY CATEGORY: CATEGORY: DATE: 10/19/2004 07:43:52 AM ----- BODY:

burning cello image lifted from someone's site that i think they lifted from apocalyptica but i photoshopped it anyway just to be safe
You start out as what, spruce, growing two hundred years up the side of a mountain then they cut you down and age you for another fifty or so. It's a grandfather - father - son - grandson business. Eventually you're a cello.

Eventually you're a cello. In the right hands: wow. You're the king. Even there in your case, leaned in the corner of the room: pure potential.

Look, in Mig's defense I'll admit he had an especially bad day yesterday. It didn't seem bad to him until he got to his cello lesson then he finally noticed.

Still, it was painful. I felt like I was watching Michael J. Fox try to eat Froot Loops with chopsticks on a bad day. Or: Larry Flynt getting a lap dance. Whatever.

OTOH, Mig did learn something important that might help him vastly, about the relationship of the white and the black keys on the piano with his finger positions.

We'll see.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: You start out as what, spruce, growing two hundred years up the side of a mountain then they cut you down and age you for another fifty or so. It's a grandfather - father - son - grandson business.... ----- KEYWORDS: ----- COMMENT: AUTHOR: anne EMAIL: tuckova@gmail.com IP: 213.210.177.152 URL: http://www.tuckova.com DATE: 10/20/2004 11:56:43 AM

do your guests get to choose their photos or do you do that for them? because i think your cello photo is very pretty, but i don't know whether to compliment your taste or the cello's.

----- COMMENT: AUTHOR: cello EMAIL: cello@metamorphosism.com IP: 80.122.106.26 URL: DATE: 10/20/2004 12:45:04 PM

I'm the one with the taste, not Mig -- he's just lucky.

----- -------- AUTHOR: Mig TITLE: Handshake STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 2 CONVERT BREAKS: __default__ PRIMARY CATEGORY: CATEGORY: DATE: 10/19/2004 08:03:24 AM ----- BODY:

He has one of those handshakes like forklift would have. It's weird: he has such a manly face, yet it looks so pretty on his daughter, who totally inherited it.
"Hi," he said.
No, wait. Actually, it was me who spoke first. I said, "servus," because we were in Austria. This was yesterday evening. "Servus" means "hi," more or less. I had seen him when I got out of the car to go into the DVD rental place, but only out the corner of my eye and hadn't recognized him. I told him as much.
"Returning a video?" he said. He shook my hand.
I said something like, Yes, and asked him what he was doing there. He said it had been raining and gestured at his bike in the back of his station-wagon.
"Raining, huh," I said. Everything was pretty dry, but there were puddles around. I assumed his wife had met him there to drive him the rest of the way home etc., cause there his bike was, right, in the back of the car.
"Well, it was raining pretty hard," he said. As it had been. On my way home, I had noticed a huge rainbow in my rear view mirror.
"Isn't that a great sunset?" I said, "Look at those clouds."
It had been a great day. The sunrise had been nice too, and I didn't know yet that I was going to suck badly in my cello lesson.
I said bye and he also did and I drove away. I saw him go into the drugstore and talk to someone who I then recognized as his daughter, my daughter's friend. One of her friends. She has more than one.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: He has one of those handshakes like forklift would have. It's weird: he has such a manly face, yet it looks so pretty on his daughter, who totally inherited it. "Hi," he said. No, wait. Actually, it was me who... ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Mig TITLE: It's like bumping into someone you used to be crazy about on the street and wondering what you ever saw in them STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 2 CONVERT BREAKS: __default__ PRIMARY CATEGORY: CATEGORY: DATE: 10/19/2004 14:58:05 PM ----- BODY:

I think I will be skipping this this year.

Could this mean mental health is just around the corner?

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: I think I will be skipping this this year. Could this mean mental health is just around the corner?... ----- KEYWORDS: ----- COMMENT: AUTHOR: Jessica EMAIL: jessica@peacedividend.com IP: 66.117.128.123 URL: http://www.peacedividend.com DATE: 10/19/2004 15:34:52 PM

Ooh, I think it just might.
Good thing, too. I'm going to have a firstthreechaptersofa manuscript for you to look at, in a couple of weeks.
If you don't mind.

----- COMMENT: AUTHOR: mig EMAIL: mig@metamorphosism.com IP: 80.122.106.26 URL: DATE: 10/19/2004 16:42:49 PM

Absolutely.

----- COMMENT: AUTHOR: francis s. EMAIL: francis.strand@gmail.com IP: 193.15.61.253 URL: http://www.francisstrand.blogspot.com DATE: 10/20/2004 16:39:09 PM

What happened to the first novel? It was damn good and would take little editing to get into great shape...

----- COMMENT: AUTHOR: gordon EMAIL: gordondf@hotmail.com IP: 66.28.105.35 URL: DATE: 10/20/2004 17:56:38 PM

That's what I want to know.

Also, I like the Jessica's idea of a three-chapter sofa. Sounds like a great place to spend an afternoon.

----- COMMENT: AUTHOR: j-a EMAIL: jeonga_kim@yahoo.co.uk IP: 202.71.195.230 URL: http://www.whatarewedoinghere.blogspot.com DATE: 10/21/2004 05:42:28 AM

ha ha ha... i remember this fuss from last year!!! HA HA HA!!!

----- COMMENT: AUTHOR: Andy EMAIL: andy@beginningtwenty.com IP: 62.3.245.15 URL: http://www.beginningtwenty.com/blog DATE: 10/23/2004 14:31:46 PM

Oh, mental health is always just around the corner.

----- -------- AUTHOR: Mig TITLE: Ireland's green STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 2 CONVERT BREAKS: __default__ PRIMARY CATEGORY: CATEGORY: DATE: 10/20/2004 08:33:52 AM ----- BODY: ----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: Gamma: Ireland's green, right? Mig: Pretty green. It rains a lot. Gamma: We'll go there sometime, right? Mig: You bet. Gamma: Austria's yellow. Mig: Sure. Gamma: It is. And America, America's blue. Mig: [Sigh] Gamma: Red, what country is red?... ----- KEYWORDS: ----- COMMENT: AUTHOR: Mark EMAIL: blog@marramgrass.org.uk IP: 82.41.16.104 URL: http://www.marramgrass.org.uk DATE: 10/20/2004 09:28:07 AM

Inescapably logical, really.

----- COMMENT: AUTHOR: anne EMAIL: tuckova@gmail.com IP: 213.210.177.152 URL: http://www.tuckova.com DATE: 10/20/2004 11:55:22 AM

aaaaand now she's got the requisite four colors, so she can quit while she's ahead.

http://www.cs.uidaho.edu/~casey931/mega-math/workbk/map/mpbkgd.html

although she's wrong about austria being yellow, because the czech republic's yellow (i think it's related to the high beer consumption) and you can't be the same color as your border country.

----- COMMENT: AUTHOR: sue EMAIL: sue@sue18.net IP: 68.112.216.235 URL: http://www.sue18.net/MIUL.htm DATE: 10/21/2004 00:49:49 AM

Out of the mouths of babes . . .

----- COMMENT: AUTHOR: j-a EMAIL: jeonga_kim@yahoo.co.uk IP: 202.71.195.230 URL: http://www.whatarewedoinghere.blogspot.com DATE: 10/21/2004 05:41:32 AM

out of the mouths of babes, indeed.

is austria really yellow?

----- COMMENT: AUTHOR: novala EMAIL: sodazitron@gmx.net IP: 194.232.66.11 URL: http://sodazitron.blogger.de DATE: 10/21/2004 06:43:47 AM

Austria is silver and white

----- COMMENT: AUTHOR: mig EMAIL: mig@metamorphosism.com IP: 80.122.106.26 URL: DATE: 10/21/2004 07:25:15 AM

Our neighbor's house is yellow. As are many leaves this time of year. Silver and white though, yeah. And sometimes loden-green.

----- COMMENT: AUTHOR: novala EMAIL: sodazitron@gmx.net IP: 194.232.66.11 URL: http://sodazitron.blogger.de DATE: 10/21/2004 09:10:13 AM

And Germany? (Don't even dare to think "brown" ...)

----- -------- AUTHOR: Mig TITLE: Hi STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 2 CONVERT BREAKS: __default__ PRIMARY CATEGORY: CATEGORY: DATE: 10/21/2004 07:57:17 AM ----- BODY:

On my home planet we recognize the fundamental oneness of all beings and therefore don't get too exercised over names. This of course causes problems for my fellow planetarians and me while here on Earth, where people say things like "Hi, Mig," when they meet you and sort of expect you to say their name, too, when you issue your countergreeting, or at least react more positively to that if not actually a little disappointed when you just say, "Hi," back or at best, "Hi, beautiful" because who, face it, who doesn't like to be called beautiful?

Except there's no way to say that in German that doesn't sound even more stupid than it already does in English. So yesterday evening, when I went to this meeting after getting a haircut at a place where everyone was dropping things -- first the customer next to me dropped her cigarettes, then some insert fell out of the magazine I was reading, where I read the coolest Plutarch quote: "Der Geist ist kein Schiff, das man beladen kann, sondern ein Feuer, das man entfachen muss," (which really got me thinking (it translates as "The spirit (or intellect (or mind)) is not a boat that you can load, but rather a fire you have to set") because I had always sort of seen the intellect, the mind, as this big warehouse, or maybe this big gigantic library to which you are adding books upon books during your education; and now I realize, it's a pyre, or the books are not just books, they're fuel and not worth a damn until you light them on fire, it's the conflagration that counts, not the pile of wood (give me a second to get my puncuation straight here...) and then the hair stylist's apprentice (Goethe version, not Walt Disney) dropped a stack of towels -- everyone was all, you know, "Hi, Mig," and I was all, "Hi, hi, hi, how you doing, hi, what's new" wondering if my name problem was a sign of senility and convincing myself I'd had it all my life, which I have and in addition to feeling stupid about that, I also felt stupid because I had sauce from the kebab sandwich (kebab bits in a toasted pita bread, with lettuce and tomato bits, with a big squirt of kebab sandwich sauce) I had gone and bought after my haircut to kill time becasue I was still early for the meeting all down the leg of my suit because I had stupidly tried eating it on the go and by the time I thought, "I'd better be careful with this, it's pretty juicy," I already had the sauce down my leg and the sauce was white of course and the girl had only given me one little dinky napkin with the sandwich, and it quickly transformed itself from a napkin into a little ball of cellulose saturated with white sauce and was more painting the sauce around the leg of my suit than wiping it off, and there I was at the meeting hoping the sauce will dry invisibly and it did go pretty far in that direction, leaving just these suspicious-looking grey traces which I tried to scratch off surreptitiously but unfortunately the stains just turned vivid white where scratched so I had to darken them, again surreptitiously, with a bit of saliva, which probably made an even odder impression than my inability to remember names. Stupid humans.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: On my home planet we recognize the fundamental oneness of all beings and therefore don't get too exercised over names. This of course causes problems for my fellow planetarians and me while here on Earth, where people say things like... ----- KEYWORDS: ----- COMMENT: AUTHOR: anne EMAIL: tuckova@gmail.com IP: 213.210.177.152 URL: http://www.tuckova.com DATE: 10/21/2004 10:36:25 AM

A different view of that pile of books:

"When my father died we put him in the ground. When my father died it was like a whole library had burned down." -Laurie Anderson

----- COMMENT: AUTHOR: francis s. EMAIL: francis.strand@gmail.com IP: 193.15.61.253 URL: http://www.francisstrand.blogspot.com DATE: 10/21/2004 11:37:09 AM

You would do fine in Sweden, where people don't greet each other by name, but with a simple "hi" of one sort or another. They're both impressed and find it slightly ridiculous that Americans always call people by name. Then again, they think "how are you" is also slightly ridiculous, and even more, disingenuous, and have difficulty comprehending that it's a nicety and that people aren't being false by asking that question.

----- COMMENT: AUTHOR: mig EMAIL: mig@metamorphosism.com IP: 80.122.106.26 URL: DATE: 10/21/2004 11:40:51 AM

Laurie Anderson is so hot.
Also, I get depressed alot, so I think I'd fit in well in Sweden. Although blondes tend to frighten me. Are there really so many blondes there?

----- COMMENT: AUTHOR: francis s. EMAIL: francis.strand@gmail.com IP: 213.89.61.12 URL: http://www.francisstrand.blogspot.com DATE: 10/21/2004 18:07:08 PM

There are indeed many blondes, although most of it comes from the bottle. Still, the Swedes are a handsome people on the whole, if you like blond and nordic. I've always preferred darker types myself.

----- COMMENT: AUTHOR: sue EMAIL: sue@sue18.net IP: 68.112.216.235 URL: http://www.sue18.net/MIUL.htm DATE: 10/22/2004 01:10:40 AM

I'm okay on names--as long as I recognize the face. Worst time was when I walked right by with whom I'd had a blind date the night before.

----- COMMENT: AUTHOR: mig EMAIL: mig@metamorphosism.com IP: 195.170.73.141 URL: DATE: 10/23/2004 08:21:27 AM

I never forget a face, ever; just names. Also, you're especially hard to forget, Jessica (Gamma keeps asking when she can see you again).

----- -------- AUTHOR: Mig TITLE: Mission Accomplished STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 2 CONVERT BREAKS: __default__ PRIMARY CATEGORY: CATEGORY: DATE: 10/22/2004 07:44:32 AM ----- BODY:

George W. Bush and the 14 points of fascism

[Via Eeksy-Peeksy]

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: George W. Bush and the 14 points of fascism [Via Eeksy-Peeksy]... ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Mig TITLE: Do not feed the naugas STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 2 CONVERT BREAKS: __default__ PRIMARY CATEGORY: CATEGORY: DATE: 10/22/2004 08:08:05 AM ----- BODY:

It was a 1968 Pontiac something-something station wagon. It was blue. I would have to have been ten or eleven; I feel smaller in the memory, but I would have to have been at least that old because my parents never bought cars new back then. On the way home from the beach, on a long, straight empty stretch of road, mom in the passenger seat, us three kids in the back seat with our crackers and games and the coffee can full of urine (Dad was a busdriver and didn't like to stop for anything) dad stepped on it. (On the accelerator, not the coffee can.)

He floored it.

"What are you doing?" my mom asked him in a voice that suggested white knuckles and fingernails digging into blue imitation leather upholstery.

"Cleaning the cobwebs out," he said.

I looked over the top of the seat at the speed-o-meter. He got the needle all the way to the right, to where it maxxed out at 120 mph. Then he took his foot off the accelerator pedal and we coasted back down to 65.

I did that once in February 1981 in Czechoslovakia, which has (or at least had then) some long straightaways and nice flat freeways en route to Poland. I was driving a Polish woman to Cracow in her blue Volkswagen Scirocco and got it up to 240 kph before she started screaming.

It's fun to do that when you're writing, pile on the hyperbole until you burn out the cobwebs. It works best with humor. If people think you're serious about it it sounds stupid, so you act like you're not serious.

It was pitch dark this morning and I couldn't see a damn thing. It was drizzling and my headlights seemed to be powered by fading AA batteries. The heat was on and so was the Bylsma/Bach CD and Beta was snoozing in the passenger seat. Sometimes I wish I understood her better. Maybe I do, and just amn't sure. Maybe I understand no one really; bad for someone who wants to write, on the one hand, but I have sworn allegiance to bewilderment and confusion, on the other.

I posted to Painsuit a story I wrote about 15 1/2 years ago, just before Beta was born. I posted it because I recently found it again and hadn't posted anything there for so long.

Re-reading it, I saw it was not brilliant but also I seem to have worked harder on the structure end of things back then. It still needs work, but it's not a bad story. It's interesting to see how I've changed and how I've stayed the same since then.

In particular, from a non-literary point of view, I found three things most interesting:

This story, in fact, was one of about three I wrote back then that came true in unexpected ways. Since most of what I wrote back then -- no, all of it -- was negative or scary or sad, I quit writing for a long time.

Oblivio has a story about this very thing, called End of Story, that you should go read. He writes better than I do.

Here is a bit of the description from my story:

Whatever. Writing the story, I thought I was describing a little guy who had been beaten, but when my daughter was born 10 weeks early, it was too close for comfort.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: It was a 1968 Pontiac something-something station wagon. It was blue. I would have to have been ten or eleven; I feel smaller in the memory, but I would have to have been at least that old because my parents... ----- KEYWORDS: ----- -------- AUTHOR: Mig TITLE: Civic duty STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 2 CONVERT BREAKS: __default__ PRIMARY CATEGORY: CATEGORY: DATE: 10/22/2004 16:40:04 PM ----- BODY:

Okay, voted.
Now if I can just remember to mail the absentee ballot back in time.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: Okay, voted. Now if I can just remember to mail the absentee ballot back in time.... ----- KEYWORDS: ----- COMMENT: AUTHOR: Steel Buildings Diary EMAIL: georgesheeron@gmail.com IP: 66.65.160.189 URL: http://www.steelbuildingsdiary.info DATE: 10/22/2004 18:39:29 PM

You're ahead of me. Don't forget to put a stamp on it :)

----- COMMENT: AUTHOR: anne EMAIL: tuckova@gmail.com IP: 213.210.177.152 URL: http://www.tuckova.com DATE: 10/22/2004 21:00:38 PM

neeener. i mailed it today. it has to get there before the second you know (it's not based on the postmark). don't forget to sign the back of the envelope, either.

----- COMMENT: AUTHOR: flerdle EMAIL: flerdle@flerdle.net IP: 82.178.83.28 URL: DATE: 10/23/2004 08:24:01 AM

Australian postal votes are based on the postmark date/time, which was good for us because of a mess-up with the Embassies and then FedEx (just don't ask). But then they only wait 13 more days for them to arrive, that is until the Friday a fortnight after polling day. And not that it would have made any difference to the result...

And did you use one of these methods to choose Your Man? http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/magazine/3745864.stm

----- COMMENT: AUTHOR: megchem EMAIL: blah@aol.com IP: 70.56.52.68 URL: DATE: 10/25/2004 05:40:33 AM

bummer.....
this is how science suffers....

----- COMMENT: AUTHOR: Big Time Patriot EMAIL: rant@bigtimepatriot.com IP: 24.19.23.173 URL: http://www.bigtimepatriot.com DATE: 10/26/2004 02:55:43 AM

I mailed in my vote early, to avoid the terrorist attacks at the voting booth :-)

I nearly changed my vote. I was engaging in the quaint custom of carving a pumpkin for Halloween. I carved "Vote 4 Kerry" in my pumpkin, but as I was starting to carve "Kerry" it occured to me it would be much easier to carve a shorter name such as "Bush".

But the feeling passed....

----- COMMENT: AUTHOR: Amy EMAIL: nospam@amytart.com IP: 169.244.70.148 URL: http://www.amytart.com DATE: 10/26/2004 23:30:41 PM

Hey. Remember me? Miss me? :) I miss Raising Hell..still have the coffee cup!

----- -------- AUTHOR: Mig TITLE: Hello, is this history? STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 2 CONVERT BREAKS: __default__ PRIMARY CATEGORY: CATEGORY: DATE: 10/27/2004 09:06:35 AM ----- BODY:

Get your war on #42

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: Get your war on #42... ----- KEYWORDS: ----- COMMENT: AUTHOR: steel buildings diary EMAIL: georgesheeron@gmail.com IP: 66.65.160.189 URL: http://www.steelbuildingsdiary.info DATE: 10/27/2004 16:57:24 PM

a little too close to reality for my comfort. i like my cartoons to be funny and this one is scary because its real.

----- COMMENT: AUTHOR: scotty EMAIL: scotty@halfass.com IP: 208.61.41.138 URL: http://halfass.com DATE: 10/28/2004 01:27:36 AM

like all good humor, it's totally true.

and knowing my little "secret", mig, you gotta know I love a certain 3 panels!

----- COMMENT: AUTHOR: Big Time Patriot EMAIL: rant@bigtimepatriot.com IP: 24.19.23.173 URL: http://www.bigtimepatriot.com DATE: 10/28/2004 03:34:13 AM

I just hope it is NOT a close election. I hope that Kerry wins by an extra state or two, or I will be deciding what clothes I should wear for the civil war. I think some older close that I won't care if they get stained will be most appropriate.

----- -------- AUTHOR: Mig TITLE: Condoleeza Rice sex video STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 2 CONVERT BREAKS: __default__ PRIMARY CATEGORY: CATEGORY: DATE: 10/28/2004 08:25:25 AM ----- BODY:

If the day went, you know, directly from your morning commute back to bed, that would be best some days. Some days, you would be ahead of the game if they ended right then.
Like, I mean, it's still pitch dark, you're in the kitchen head-on-the-table tired waiting for the coffee machine to finish its brewing cycle and while you wait you go outside to look for the moon and it's warm as a summer evening (16 degrees celsius) and you really have to look for the moon, because although it is full it is in the middle of a total lunar eclipse too.
You finally find it over the neighbor's house with the barking German shepherd, about 100 degrees from where you expected it (over the neighbor's house with the biting tortoise), emerging from the Earth's shadow like a grey pollywog out of its egg sac.
Your wife goes and wakes up the kids so they can see it. They look and go back to bed.
You forget why your wife was mad at you and maybe she does too.
You drink coffee. You forget to eat anything.
The sunrise is the best of all. It's that nice light again. You wish the sun wouldn't come up, would just sit there just below the horizon until all the chickens gave up and climbed out of their coops and scratched around the flowerbeds, squinting in the dim golden pink light to see if they turned up anything good.
If you could go to bed right then, you'd be ahead of the game. You'd be sustained sufficiently to begin the next day already.
Just skip work, skip trying to decide what to eat for lunch, or whether to skip lunch and buy some more time for your cell phone. Skip trying to start outlining that novel, skip the drive home and everything else.
You wonder if you could sort of close your eyes and coast through it.
You wonder how long it will take for this depression to peter out.
You wonder, if you found the energy instead, if it could be a productive day, friends won and enemies influenced.
You wonder all sorts of things.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: If the day went, you know, directly from your morning commute back to bed, that would be best some days. Some days, you would be ahead of the game if they ended right then. Like, I mean, it's still pitch... ----- KEYWORDS: ----- COMMENT: AUTHOR: steel buildings diary EMAIL: georgesheeron@gmail.com IP: 66.65.160.189 URL: http://www.steelbuildingsdiary.info DATE: 10/28/2004 15:31:08 PM

Please don't use that title again. :)
It gives me the creeps just thinking about her and a video.

----- COMMENT: AUTHOR: dogpossum EMAIL: dogpossum@dogpossum.org IP: 220.253.25.137 URL: http://www.dogpossum.org DATE: 10/29/2004 06:08:31 AM

times like those you need to go dancing in the evening. til the sun comes up again. partner dancing so you get moving around to music cuddle-equivalants all night. dancing is the i-can't-believe-it-is-exercise exercise that flushes your self clear of lows.

----- COMMENT: AUTHOR: mig EMAIL: mig@metamorphosism.com IP: 80.122.106.26 URL: DATE: 10/29/2004 07:28:14 AM

Yeah, social dancing changed my life. We were going to enroll in another class this fall, but just didn't have time.

About the title: a couple sites use my RSS feed for content, and titles like that sure increase the click-through traffic.

----- COMMENT: AUTHOR: D EMAIL: dave@acerbia.com IP: 160.79.240.162 URL: http://www.acerbia.com DATE: 10/29/2004 10:53:37 AM

Cause it'll be time to get your civil war on. Yeeha.

----- COMMENT: AUTHOR: D EMAIL: dave@acerbia.com IP: 160.79.240.162 URL: http://www.acerbia.com DATE: 10/29/2004 10:57:22 AM

What the hey? This comment posted to the wrong post. How did that happen?

----- COMMENT: AUTHOR: mig EMAIL: mig@metamorphosism.com IP: 80.122.106.26 URL: DATE: 10/29/2004 11:21:12 AM

It's my new context filter, it moves comments to the post where they are most apt.

----- COMMENT: AUTHOR: Big Time Patriot EMAIL: rant@bigtimepatriot.com IP: 24.19.23.173 URL: http://www.bigtimepatriot.com DATE: 10/29/2004 16:15:52 PM

I think if you put this condaleeza title on the top of your website you will get a lot of hits from pathetic people...

----- COMMENT: AUTHOR: Jessica EMAIL: jessica@peacedividend.com IP: 66.117.128.123 URL: http://www.peacedividend.com DATE: 11/01/2004 00:29:35 AM

See and over here the eclipse happened just after dark.
Big bloody red pollywog in the sunset-ish sky.

----- COMMENT: AUTHOR: minas EMAIL: mnspt@otenet.gr IP: 212.205.255.153 URL: DATE: 11/19/2004 00:00:29 AM

Condoleezza Reich

----- COMMENT: AUTHOR: Fred EMAIL: karkedit@yahoo.com IP: 203.221.156.25 URL: DATE: 11/20/2004 11:13:05 AM

I did a google search for GONZOLEEZA and got this instead.

----- -------- AUTHOR: Mig TITLE: Bush twins eat opossum testicles live on Fox television STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 2 CONVERT BREAKS: __default__ PRIMARY CATEGORY: CATEGORY: DATE: 10/29/2004 07:39:58 AM ----- BODY:

Fog this morning.
Mmm, fog.
There was a wreck on the freeway, so probably not everyone feels the way I do.
I woke up in a good mood.
My daughter cuddled with us in the big bed last night. The big daughter, Beta. I'm writing it here so I don't forget it. Actually, she was just going to cuddle, but she fell asleep and stayed there the whole night. Beta the blanket thief. I woke up at midnight and got up to turn off the hall light, then moved to Beta's bed where I had both a blanket and a pillow to myself. Alpha, on the other hand, spent the night in the big bed without any blanket. Which was okay since she fell asleep in her lounge wear.
We were all exhausted yesterday, I guess.
When I woke up in the morning a certain stuffed rabbit was on the floor, although it had started the night in bed with me, making me wonder what I had dreamed. I never remember my dreams lately. Except the wild nightmares.
Anyway, sitting there at breakfast I said out loud, I'm in such a good mood today.
Anyway.
I was looking at people in their cars yesterday. They all looked so desperate and sad. What a world, where desperation, fear and dread are so abundant, where depression, grief, aggression and frustration are the sane reactions and the only solution seems to be an array of pills or walking on hot coals.
When your conscience hits you knock it back with pills.
(Had Led Zeppelin in the car stereo this morning until the fucker started to skip.)
People looked so isolated and sad. So oblivious to the love and beauty around us.
Because it's there, man.
If we could only be made aware of it. Of our fundamental love for each other, our connection to each other.
If you could only make everyone aware of that, I thought. If you could only make everyone aware of that. There must be a ton of money in that, I thought.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: Fog this morning. Mmm, fog. There was a wreck on the freeway, so probably not everyone feels the way I do. I woke up in a good mood. My daughter cuddled with us in the big bed last night. The... ----- KEYWORDS: ----- COMMENT: AUTHOR: anne EMAIL: tuckova@gmail.com IP: 213.210.177.152 URL: http://www.tuckova.com DATE: 10/29/2004 13:35:10 PM

you know the spaulding gray bit about listening to the radio and turning it off on a good word, for good luck?

anyway, i have this overwhelming urge to turn off the computer and walk away from it now. the luck won't get better than this.

----- COMMENT: AUTHOR: j-a EMAIL: jeonga_kim@yahoo.co.uk IP: 202.71.195.230 URL: http://www.whatarewedoinghere.blogspot.com DATE: 11/01/2004 07:19:01 AM

how are you coming up with these crazy titles for your posts??

----- COMMENT: AUTHOR: mig EMAIL: mig@metamorphosism.com IP: 195.170.73.135 URL: DATE: 11/01/2004 09:02:34 AM

I prefer "evocative".

----- -------- AUTHOR: Mig TITLE: Bush woos gangsta vote STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 2 CONVERT BREAKS: __default__ PRIMARY CATEGORY: CATEGORY: DATE: 10/29/2004 08:16:41 AM ----- BODY:

monsterfinger.jpg

I suppose if I'm going to link that then I ought to link this and this as well.

----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- EXCERPT: I suppose if I'm going to link that then I ought to link this and this as well.... ----- KEYWORDS: ----- COMMENT: AUTHOR: Andy EMAIL: andy@beginningtwenty.com IP: 82.133.68.39 URL: http://www.beginningtwenty.com DATE: 10/31/2004 10:28:05 AM

I like your titles lately.

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