I don't know you anymore.

Wow.

Between taking up a suburban existence, becoming a father and getting generally all domestic I have not found the 'time' to post. But a-HA! ...didn't I just summary update there? I do have the 'time' to blog but rather when I put it in my expanding list of to-do's, it is pitifully down there at the bottom. Hanging Christmas lights on the house (an action that seems to require much more creativity than I had heretofore expected), fixing a drafty door, vacuuming, cooking, sitting on the couch watching whole seasons of 'The Office' with my increasingly preggo soon-to-be wife (yes, we had some steps out of sequence there), becoming the harried, overwhelmed accountant of a grocery store chain... well, all that seems to eat up a fair chunk of time.

Which is not to say that anything has or will change, just that I'm stealing time from work to type aimlessly.

So, what is on my mind:

* Becoming a good husband and father (pretty important one that).

* Meeting like-minded couples and bribing them to become our friends so we can some day throw fancy dress parties.

* Getting a BA online.

* Organizing the house before the baby comes.

* Becoming a one car house.

* Finding a church in East Pierce County or somehow staying connected to Mars Hill.

* Get a haircut.

* Chop a maple tree down, move the elkhorn to another spot in the yard.

* Make sense of our finances.

* Study up for LEED certification and convince my boss to foot the bill.

* Figuring out how to live & share the Gospel with my new extended family and neighbors.

So yeah, a few things on the ole' cerebral cortex to be sorted out.

"This is the story of how two douches from Spokane, Washington, became the most powerful players in the videogame industry."

A fine write-up of Mead H.S. boys-done-good in the current Wired. I knew Jerry a wee bit and he always struck me as one of those amiable creative-types that just needed the right outlet to demonstrate their superiority over us mere mortals. But what else would one expect from the former front man of The Righteous Corn Farmers?

Nothing I tell you... nothing.

Who's a big dork?

Do you floss?

My dental hygienist e-mailed me... she had that crazy-weird manner of being competent (thorough without being sadistic) in such supply that I had considered requesting her for my next round. But now it just feels weird... like I'm being stalked by an attractive blonde that knows how much saliva I produce.

Breanne ?(*^%$

to me

show details

09:42 (1 hour ago)

Hi Ryan. This is your hygienist. I just wanted to check-up on you after your cleanings. I hope all is well. You did a great job. If you have any questions please ask. Have a great day and see you soon.

On Moving

I'm moving (again) and hopefully not for a good long time after this one. Although that has been my intention the last two times I have moved. This is a pic of my new neighbors, I'm not sure what they think of me yet.

My Neighborhood

http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/local/326789_shots09.html?source=rss

I moved my sleeping place from the chair to the bed at about 0215 - 0230 this morning and heard this. The thing is, I heard the 'argument', there were three gunshots (and I knew what they were) and I continued to enter Happy Dream Land regardless. Living in P-Square, I am accustomed to noise, bums asking for change, crack dealers and out-of-towner frat boys getting their version of 'party' on. But maybe I just now find it troubling that I'm not bothered by bullets whizzing below my window.

Bug Report

This reminds me that The Last Girlfriend thought the September 11th attacks were done by the CIA firing cruise missiles, all in an attempt for the Bush II administration to gain absolute control ala Star Wars episode III.

sigh.

Thieves In The Night

Sometimes you find a little bit of God in the most unexpected of places.

[Talib Kweli]
Yo Dee (What?)
Come on (Yeah..)
What? What? Come on
(Yeah)

"Give me the fortune, keep the fame," said my man Louis
I agreed, know what he mean because we live the truest lie
I asked him why we follow the law of the bluest eye
He looked at me, he thought about it
Was like, "I'm clueless, why?"
The question was rhetorical, the answer is horrible
Our morals are out of place and got our lives full of sorrow
And so tomorrow comin later than usual
Waitin' on someone to pity us
While we findin beauty in the hideous
They say money's the root of all evil but I can't tell
YouknowhatImean, pesos, francs, yens, cowrie shells, dollar bills
Or is it the mindstate that's ill?
Creating crime rates to fill the new prisons they build
Over money and religion there's more blood to spill
The wounds of slaves in cotton fields that never heal
What's the deal?
A lot of cats who buy records are straight broke
But my language universal they be recitin my quotes
While R&B singers hit bad notes, we rock the boat
of thought, that my man Louis' statements just provoked
Caught up, in conversations of our personal worth
Brought up, through endangered species status on the planet Earth
Survival tactics means, bustin gats to prove you hard
Your firearms are too short to box with God
Without faith, all of that is illusionary
Raise my son, no vindication of manhood necessary

[M.D.] Not strong
[T.K.] Only aggressive
[M.D.] Not free
[T.K.] We only licensed
[M.D.] Not compassioniate, only polite
[T.K.] Now who the nicest?
[M.D.] Not good but well behaved
[T.K.] Chasin after death
so we can call ourselves brave?
[M.D.] Still livin like mental slaves
[both] Hidin like thieves in the night from life
Illusions of oasis makin you look twice
[both] Hidin like thieves in the night from life
Illusions of oasis makin you look twice

[Mos Def]
Yo, I'm sure that everbody out listenin agree
That everything you see ain't really how it be
A lot of jokers out runnin in place, chasin the style
Be a lot goin on beneath the empty smile
Most cats in my area be lovin the hysteria
Synthesized surface conceals the interior
America, land of opportunity, mirages and camoflauges
More than usually -- speakin loudly, sayin nothin
You confusin me, you losin me
Your game is twisted, want me enlisted -- in your usary
Foolishly, most men join the ranks cluelessly
Buffoonishly accept the deception, believe the perception
Reflection rarely seen across the surface of the lookin glass
Walkin the street, wonderin who they be lookin past
Lookin gassed with them imported designer shades on
Stars shine bright, but the light -- rarely stays on
Same song, just remixed, different arrangement
Put you on a yacht but they won't call it a slaveship
Strangeness, you don't control this, you barely hold this
Screamin brand new, when they just sanitized the old shit
Suppose it's, just another clever Jedi mind trick
That they been runnin across stars through all the time with
I find it's distressin, there's never no in-between
We either niggaz or Kings
We either bitches or Queens
The deadly ritual seems immersed, in the perverse
Full of short attention spans, short tempers, and short skirts
Long barrel automatics released in short bursts
The length of black life is treated with short worth
Get yours first, them other niggaz secondary
That type of illin that be fillin up the cemetary
This life is temporary but the soul is eternal
Separate the real from the lie, let me learn you
Not strong, only aggressive, cause the power ain't directed
That's why, we are subjected to the will of the oppressive
Not free, we only licensed
Not live, we just excitin
Cause the captors.. own the masters.. to what we writin
Not compassionate, only polite, we well trained
Our sincerity's rehearsed in stage, it's just a game
Not good, but well behaved cause the ca-me-ra survey
most of the things that we think, do, or say
We chasin after death just to call ourselves brave
But everyday, next man meet with the grave
I give a damn if any fam' recall my legacy
I'm tryin to live life in the sight of God's memory
Like that y'all

[Mos Def]
A lot of people don't understand the true criteria of things
Can't just accept the appearance
Have to get the true essence

[Talib Kweli]
They ain't lookin around

[M.D.] Not strong
[T.K.] Only aggressive
[M.D.] Not free
[T.K.] We only licensed
[M.D.] Not compassioniate, only polite
[T.K.] Now who the nicest?
[M.D.] Not good but well behaved
[T.K.] Chasin after death
so we can call ourselves brave?
[M.D.] Still livin like mental slaves
[both] Hidin like thieves in the night from life
Illusions of oasis makin you look twice
[both] Hidin like thieves in the night from life
Illusions of oasis makin you look twice
[both] Hidin like thieves in the night from life
Illusions of oasis makin you look twice
[both] Hidin like thieves in the night from life
Illusions of oasis makin you look twice

[Mos Def (singing)]
Stop hidin, stop hidin, stop hidin your face
Stop hidin, stop hidin, cause ain't no hiding place
* repeat 2X*

(Ad libs to fade)

Why do I not learn this?

Note to self: Never, EVER get involved in a 'forum discussion' or flame war. No matter how badly you want to set the record straight. The interwebs are the domain of crazy people with no life, 'winning' arguments is a matter of length and number of posts, nothing else matters. Reasonable people are driven out of the discussion by psychotic, torch-wielding masses, i.e. you will lose.

http://brodyharper.wordpress.com/2007/06/30/be-a-man-hulk/#comment-2266

I need to blow off some steam.. where is Rob Bell?

Today, Rob Bell is my punching bag

Okey, it's not the Gospel but this is one way you can use a sub two minute video to actually say something. And I love it when my pastor speaks his mind.



*allright, so the full version is longer than two minutes.

Rob Bell – pansy, effeminate church boy

What’s the deal with Rob Bell? Nooma podcast, no mention of Jesus, God or really anything Christian or even faith based. What’s up with that? You are supposedly a pastor, you have a nicely produced, widely distributed video podcast and you squander it by looking creepily asexual and saying absolutely NOTHING about Jesus?? You had a minute and a half to preach the Gospel, spread the Kingdom, or even expose yourself to the culture and “take one for the team” and you blew it Rob Bell by spouting lite touchy-feely psychobabble that means NOTHING because you didn’t connect ANYTHING back to Jesus. Matt Chandler of The Village or Darrin Patrick of The Journey could have used that nice little media opportunity to kick some ass and win a few hearts for Jesus. If your intention is to attract people that might be offended by Christians by not being a Christian, well then hooray for you, you just added the fat, whiny kids to the bench that do nothing but slow us down in advancing the Kingdom. You can just hole up in your Mirror Universe Mars Hill Church and cluck like a witless chicken for all I care. ‘Sex God’ is so coming off my Amazon Wish List.

All Ages Admitted?

Mingle² - Free Online Dating

For fucks sake! What do I have to do to get a respectable 'R' rating? And here I thought that I should tone my sailor language down.

Bird-like Contraptions

It’s the time of year again when my focus at work is directed out my window rather than towards my monitor. My work is in the SoDo area, maybe a mile north of Boeing Field; airliners and private planes taking off and landing are common sites. The other day a formation of four CH-53’s flew low and slow directly over the building, rattling the walls which was so very cool for me. Soon Seafair will be upon us again and with it the Blue Angels F/A-18’s. They practice for several days before the show and we all go out and watch them as best as we can. Going to the annual air show at Fairchild AFB was a highlight of my youth and it really spawned a love of aircraft for me. From Grade six on, I could identify everything in the sky and was a total aircraft geek. At the time, Fairchild was still a SAC base and home to B-52’s, the sound of which is one of the most comforting to my ears. My favourite air show memory is actually of that huge, ungainly monster taking off on full military power and climbing what seemed to be straight up into the sky. I also love the sound of UH-1 helicopters, that distinctive “whump-whump” of the rotors that just reverberates somewhere deep inside you and the sight and sound of the Coast Guard Dolphin helo that flies by my apartment nearly every hour. Just a few more weeks and I’ll be out in the parking lot staring up into the sky, waiting for the Blue Angels to scream overhead.

What Zune does the caged bird sing?

Earlier this week I had the opportunity to participate in my first Microsoft usability study. It was focused on two upcoming accessories to their Zune player which I had to figure out how to set up and then was asked how I could improve the product and instructions. The first half took place in a fishbowl room while I tried to hook one of the accessories up to a tele as the engineer took notes and asked questions from the other side of a one-way mirror. Given that I have been television free for a year and a half and even when I did have one, it was 10-12 years old, I had the most awkward, embarrassment of a time trying to figure out which holes to put the connection into. Why does a modern television need 3-4 different input points?? I swear, sometimes modern tech is just so much pearls on a swine.

It was so much fun to actually voice those thoughts that always bounce around my head about the way things are designed.

“Are those buttons big enough? Is it a problem that they are so flush with the mount? Could they make an audible noise when pressed?” Etc.

And although I’m really starting to wonder if Microsoft has hired every androgynous female that they can, I almost asked her “how did you get this awesome job?”

Rise & Shine

I half-awoke this morning to my usual series of alarms (three, two of which I hit the ‘snooze’ button on) and tried to prod myself from sleep with my usual mantra of “It’s Friday, just one more day and then tomorrow you can sleep in.” The problem is that today is only Thursday and when I realized this, my inner mantra said, “screw this” and continued to loll about in almost sleep snooze button dreamland. Point and summary: I am not a morning person.

Zombies are Trying To Eat My Brain

Who would have ever thought that the zombie would rise again in popular fiction? I mean really, it’s just a hokey idea. For the undead, vampires at least can be sexy and refined… zombies? They just stumble about and rot, not much depth there. I’ve been pulled into a series of cheap online zombie fiction called ‘Monster Island’ and just started the second book, ‘Monster Nation’ last night and I don’t know why. The genre is a one-trick pony; legions of undead, stumbling towards us, wanting to eat us, there’s too many of them, blah, blah, blah. And this ‘Monster’ series is even worse because it quickly degrades from ‘hokey’ to ‘super hokey’ by introducing mummies too. That’s right, mummies… sheesh. Poorly written too but I still just can’t detach myself from it. Even though I haven’t seen it, I think the film ’28 Days Later’ would be on the ‘sophisticated’ end of the zombie fiction spectrum. In fact, I watched the trailer to the sequel; ’28 Weeks Later’ and it did look rather good. Although it reminded me of an episode of The Smurfs wherein there was some sort of mysterious Smurf disease being spread by bites. Once bitten by the infected, the Smurf would turn a purple colour, jump up and down quite a bit and seem to develop a case of Tourett’s. I can not recall exactly how this Smurf contagion was contained and it is so far back in my memory that I’m not even completely sure that this episode even existed or was a result of a Kool-Aid binge in my adolescence. But assuming that I actually viewed this, it would seem a pretty messed up plotline for the wholesome Smurfs. Maybe the writers were stretching the boundaries of the material in order to appeal to the more mature 10-12 yo. demographic, Smurfette wearing a push-up bra probably helped that too.

But the absolute best zombie work? Shaun Of The Dead… rock.

The Internet Is Big

I see recent hits of my blog from Oslo, Norway and Canberra, Australia. Wow, this here Internet thing is gosh-darn big. Too bad I don't have anything intelligentsia to say. Oooohhh... dig it.

Oh Canada

I seem to have unwittingly convinced several people in my office (my boss included) that I am Canadien. Unfortunately I can't quite pull it off but it would be downright handy, it would explain my weirdness and eccentricity so well.

The Rumours of My Premature Demise Have Been Greatly Exaggerated.

After calling and wishing my Mum a most joyous Mother’s Day, I spent most of Sunday in the quaint village of Buckley with Aimee and her parents. Over the past week I had burned a few topical and (what I thought to be) very good sermons by Matt Chandler from The Village and Darrin Patrick from The Journey for Aimee to enjoy. These sermons covered some ‘biblical roles/ 1 Corinthians/ Ephesians type stuff’. Aimee then had her Mum listen to these and I received the fallout of that yesterday. Literally not two minutes from when all four of us entered their car did it take for Aimee’s Mum to lay into me about how “dangerous” it is for a pastor to teach of wives submitting to their husbands. I then had to endure a thirty-minute diatribe of her Mum’s opinion of biblical marriage through the filter of her own particular flavour of 1970’s era feminism. I refer to her speech as a ‘diatribe’ because one does not speak with her Mum as much as one is spoken to. Having absolutely no desire to engage in warfare with my probable Mother-in-law, what few times I managed to breathe defence were only suggestions for her to read the Bible if she had issue with it and not to reference a History Channel special on how chauvinist the human authors of the Bible were. She was clearly viewing the Bible through her chosen lens and not letting the Bible be the lens that she looks out unto culture. My few feeble attempts to change the encounter into an actual conversation failed miserably and the three of us were treated to four hours of a fifty-three year old woman sulking over an engagement that she herself started and dominated. It made for a memorable Mother’s Day 2007 to be sure.

Podcast of the Week

On a lighter note; I’ve had the pleasure of listening to a really great podcast of two former high-school lads, Jerry and Mike. It seems that they are the creative tour de force behind Penny Arcade; a gaming site/comic/extravaganza. The comic is rather funny when I can get past the gamer culture and stick my fork into a hearty slab of comedy and the podcast is pure comedic gold, so much so that I would describe it as “funnier than Hell” (which I hope most things would be).

Dustbowl

Day 185 of The Great Blogging Drought - Bessie, the family's prized cow died of emaciated, utter boredom... her bovine bones blown to dust in the searing cruel wind of Internet Interesting-ness. Another day and I fear our youngest; Stella Mae shall not be far behind in such a fate.

I can't believe just how devoid of ideas I have been these last few months. Maybe it's *just the distraction of events of more importance and closer to my heart that have prevented me from a deep dissertation on the novelty of naval oranges and other such flotsam that would normally pepper this humble blog abode.

So, a few little strings of things going on:

I think that I saw my last girlfriend, Lisa K. at the five o'clock Mars Hill service yesterday. The shock of seeing the postmodern girl at a hard-core conservative Christian place was both a bit of a shock and an extremely happy occurrence. This is the same girl that was voraciously reading Anais Nin in the wake of our breakup. I may be jumping to conclusions but this is one of the few things that I have ever prayed for and to see a possibility of it coming to pass is quite something. I hope the best of luck for the christian(?) guy with her.

Aimee had a much needed talk with her parents yesterday as well in which she brought up the fact that she was in contact with me. This was a crucial testing of the ice as far as her parent's receptiveness to me in her life is concerned. It seems to have gone rather well although key details were excluded. All mindful of easing them into the state of things, much in the same way one does not bluntly inform to the helicopter parents that their little Suzy has taken up rugby and never much cared for Malibu Barbie in the first place.
All in all, a good week looms. Aimee has two promising job interviews; hopefully something will work out and enable her to keep her house in the divorce.

On my own front, I continue to root around for more lucrative employment. I had a lukewarm interview with a small reprograhpics company in Bellevue this afternoon; the position sounds rather interesting although it would involve working on the Eastside and one knows what those people are like. This past month has been very un-fun financially speaking which has made the yearning for the Benjamin's and dissatisfaction with my current position all the more pronounced.

Something that made me very aware of the aforementioned Benjamin's was a long overdue check-out of the Queen Anne High School Condominiums. Aimee and I toured several lovely models in an utterly fantastic 1909 former high school, ladders to sleeping areas were prevalent which makes me question what sort of individual would drop $266k minimum on something that hearkens back to a pre-pubescent bunk bed. We did however find a livable 931 sq. ft. unit that was somewhat lacking in closet space for a measly $536,950. One must wonder how we walked away from such an opportunity.

And lastly, can one really be a christian and yet believe that the bible is full of contradictions and inconsistencies? This was stated to me by a dear friend last week, a girl that I tried in my small way to shepherd a bit. I guess I didn't do a very good job at it because if you don't have the bible, just what do you base your faith on?

Let Me Sing you A Waltz

If you haven't seen it, I highly recommend the film 'Before Sunset' and it's prequel 'Before Sunrise'. The former is so relevant to what is currently going on in my life that it is more than a bit eerie. Ethan Hawke's character, while almost unbearably annoying in 'Sunrise' has scenes in 'Sunset' that I can intimately identify with. The way he looks at Julie Delphy's character at times and says things in just the right tone that I know what the character is thinking... so amazingly good.

There are things going on in my life right now that I have been very tight-lipped about mainly because they are still in process. That, and if I shared everything I have the feeling that I would either disappoint people that I think highly of or they would commit me to an institution. But here's a spoiler; watch these two films and you might get the gist of things. I think that some people would see me as overly romanticising the situation but I am in the situation and that is not the case. I am just so incredibly moved and authentically happy that if I am indeed 'wrong in the head', then at least there is a woman in my life that suffers the same condition.

Sonicare Torture Droid

Torture Droid from ANH
Originally uploaded by mtfbwy.

Just a quickie; I received a Sonicare toothbrush from my parents to care for my apparently English gene influenced teeth. It's downright odd to use and immediatly reminded me of the floating torture droid in Star Wars that Darth Vader says something like "We have ways of making you talk" as it floats ominously towards Princess Leia with it's syringe of 'truth serum' or whatnot.

No needles involved however, it's quite pleasant apart from flinging toothpaste all over the place.

The Gospel According To Steve

Steve Jobs
Originally uploaded by jdlasica.

I just finished watching Steve Jobs' Macworld keynote address, I feel like a new convert with my MacBook along the lines of a Southern Baptist type. And I think that I'd sell a kidney for an iPhone right now.

http://events.apple.com.edgesuite.net/j47d52oo/event/