my newest subject

Mom's dryer went out so she had to resort to ancestral ways.

I think that the posts which hold up the clothesline are the last remaining features which were present when my dad bought the house in 1977.  Something about the setting makes it one of my favorite photographical subjects.

Maybe it reminds me of my mom.

That would explain the positive connotation.

I tried to use it as a background for my self-portrait. 

But I still have that "is this gonna work?" look that haunts all projects involving my image.

Want to see a great rendition of a self portrait?

Click here!

I can't get enough of this gallery.

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a quick one

Mom grows great orchids. 

So I mentioned I would update this more frequently.  That means putting up a quick one from time to time.  Now is the time for a quick one.

I was reading my favorite blog this morning and it delivered me to this tangential web page.  If you click on it, it will take you to a collection of pictures taken by photographer Alfred Eisenstaedt.  And if you go there and look at the pictures you will be immersed in a state of nostalgia and history.  There was a picture there of Joseph Goebels (spelling?) which struck me in the gut.  This was Hitler's minister of propoganda and just by looking at him you could sense the evil he literally personified.  Another picture captures a sailor kissing a girl in Times Square on V.J. day.  As someone who likes to take pictures, I appreciate when a moment so precious is caught on print and saved forever.  It is easier to write about a precise moment than it is to preserve the visual idea of that moment.  This picture does that. 

Well, if you have time go check out these pictures and read what the photographer had to say about them.  It would be time well spent.

Thanks for coming by.

moving

The rising cost of fuel led us to relocate last month.  We currently reside on Hyperion and Tracy in Silverlake.  Just about three blocks from where I went to High School.  Big difference from Sylmar.  The biggest area of contrast is in people density.  A lot more people per square mile here than in Sylmar.  I grew up nearby so one would think I would be used to it.  But, it is taking some adjusting. 

I think my good friend who is turning forty tomorrow will remember this place:

Back in our metro-sexual days, this was THE place to get your haircut.  I live right above it now.  I don't think I will be getting a haircut there anytime soon though.  My life no longer demands coiffure. 

I think the kitchen area has a stylish sense to it:

But the best ammenity is to be able to look out the window over Hyperion Blvd in Silverlake.

It is an artsy and young part of town.  So it gives of an energetic vibe.  It's catchy. 

So my blog has been neglected as of late but I will make more of an effort to update it more frequently.

Just to let you know I am still around.

Happy Birthday to You Know Who You Are!!!

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Downtown Glendale

I went to return a book last week to the Glendale Public Library.  I was surprised to see that the Americana is up and running.  Read about it in this L.A. Times article.  It is a shopping, dining, entertaiment and residential center.  You can live where you eat, watch movies and shop.  Leases range from the $2000 to $5000 a mos.  I think Los Angeles is finally making vertical moves as opposed to horizantal ones.  Given the price of fuel, a wise choice (fragment). 

I remember this is where once stood a Pep Boys, Capitol Movie Theatre, Arcade, family owned Chinese Restaurant and in the back was a Thrifty and Big Five sporting goods.  My parents' home is two miles from Glendale and we moved there in 1977.  So we've seen thirty one years of change.  These pics are taken on Brand Blvd and the center stretchest to Central.  On Central, back in the eighties, I spent a lot of time in a shop called Music Exchange (which later moved to Brand).  I wish I would have taken a lot more pictures of the things that aren't there anymore.  The library has a book on sale with pictures of how Glendale once looked.  I think that I might make that investment cause nostalgia has so much value to me at this stage of the game.   I love seeing the new things spring up, but, in the words of George Micheal, "my memory serves me far too well".  The new things have replaced things that I never said good-bye to.

It's been over a month

Got 15 minutes for this, but it's all good cause "I can keep rythm with no metronome, no metronome... I can split the atom of a molecule, of a molecule."  Aight!

Election?  Is there really any difference between the three candidates?  The last presidential election I was up in arms because I felt lots of resent towards the military action that we were and continue to be mired in.  I use the pronoun 'we' as if I am part of the team.  I mean the the military action the government of this country engaged the armed forces in.  The current candidates all seem to want to promote a policy of 'eventual' withdrawl.  I hope whoever wins follows through.  I am not against or for any of the three.  Yes, I realize that the first African American president or first woman president would be monumental for this country.  But, let's get over our sense of there-are-no-other-countries on this planet, it has happened elsewhere.  I just hope the best person for the job gets elected.  Things are looking pretty bleak, or so the media would have us believe.

Economic Stimulus Package?  The federal reserve can afford to give all tax payers or tax filers $600.  That seems like a lot of money that could be used to fix real problems.  That could build better levies, feed homeless people, educate future citizens or be used for missions of goodwill toward countries that need it.  I am not up on my macro-economics but I believe the money will go to individuals so that they can pump it back to our economy through consumer activities like buying an IPhone or something and business would thrive thus our economy would get a boost.  Seems kinda roundabout, maybe I don't fully understand it.  Don't get me wrong, I am not going to reject the money and I will probably buy myself something; maybe a nice commuter bicycle.

Price of gas?  use less people, get a bike, walk or take public transport.  The good thing is we are seeing lots of fuel alternatives.  The bad thing is that some of the alternatives are not good in the long run.  Did you know people are now starving because corn is now a commodity that makes more money as fuel rather than as food? 

I took a walk up by the Griffith Observatory.  I tried to take a picture of these wild flowers blooming in front of the trees that were burnt last year.    I couldn't get in a position that would allow for more detail from the flowers while still showing the trees.  Anyway, given the injured setting, the flowers reminded me of healing.

I went over my fifteen minutes :(

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Palm Sunday

  The picture above is from my mom's Catholic calendar for 2008.  It is a 19th century Russian depiction of Christ in the Desert.  It is representative of what I feel is typical of most Russian art; dark and real.  A lot of representations of this subject do not show such an emaciated Christ, nor do they bring to mind the struggle within Himself.  In this painting I get the sense of a strung out being contemplating his next fix or suicide.  My own interpretation of Lent deals with the idea of spiritual beings going beyond the matter they live in and live for; projecting themselves towards an essence more pure. 

Today is Palm Sunday and I thought the picture and ideas would be appropriate since it is the last week of Lent.  A week that poses a certain mystery to me.

Shamefully, I get real confused about this time frame.  Lent is supposed to mark the forty days in the desert.  Yet on Palm Sunday, the fortieth day after Ash Wednesday the first day of Lent, Jesus enters Jerusalem on a mule and spends the next six days there; ultimately getting crucified on Friday, ressurecting on Easter Sunday.  Easter Sunday is the last day of Lent but it is actually 46 days later.  There is some explanation about how the Sundays during Lent are not counted hence they account for the six days of the Holy Week that we observe as part of Lent.  But it just further confuses me.

It's funny but every year I have to look this up.  Just like I have to look up why Easter falls so early or so late on a given year.  Now this one I believe is a Christian attempt to satisfy the beliefs of early converts.  Easter is celebrated the first Sunday after the first Full Moon in Spring.  Many of the early converts came from systems of beliefs that celebrated astronomical phenomenom as they meant something in agrarian terms, like the coming of a harvest.  Days of observance may have already been in place for the day.  Meaning and relevance may have been transferred accordingly.  (Wow, how I strive to remain politically correct!)

It was hard not to hear about the Spitzer incident this week.  What I find fascinating is the wage of notoriety.  Spitzer lost big time but the alleged call-girl hit the jackpot.  Larry Flynt has offered her $1 million for to pose nude for Hustler ...

 "It will be something that will very tastefully done," Flynt said of the proposed photo spread, but he added that Dupre would have to appear completely naked and not just topless.

"Hustler readers don't like to compromise," he said. "They want the whole enchilada."   

Copyright 2008 The Associated Press. The information contained in the AP news report may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or otherwise distributed without the prior written authority of The Associated Press. All active hyperlinks have been inserted by AOL. 

"Don't you know that we are living in a material world and I am a material girl."  Madonna.

So ends my blog on Lent, Palm Sunday and Easter.   

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  So I turned forty the other day and this was my birthday present to myself.  It is a Macbook Pro.  I wanted a mac because I want to be like that guy dating Drew Barrymore from the Apple Commercials.  If you are not familiar with the commercials, they show this real square, pudgy, uptight middle aged man representing PC computers and this hipper Anthony Keidis look-a-like representing the Mac.  The ad campaign boils down to a duel between productivity and creativity.  Creativity is always the un-declared winner in the end. 

Hey I love Spreadsheets just as much as the next guy.  But the idea of building a website for my dog enticed me to drop the 2k.

Still, here I am back on AOL with my Gateway PC.  I have flirted with the idea of taking my new laptop to a coffee house, wearing a black turtleneck t-shirt and doing something "creative".  An idea I know will never see fruition.  It's just not me I guess. 

So maybe it was just a symptom of middle age crisis; me wanting to be Justin Long.  But now with a laptop I can surf the web while watching TV.  That's pretty cool!  How many times do you find yourself watching something and can't figure out where you've seen an actor before? 

One last thought.  The MP3 player turned ten this month http://www.engadget.com/2008/03/11/the-first-mp3-player-celebrates-its-10th-birthday/

I don't think I saw anyone use one till I went to Europe in 2001.  In 1998 I remember still using a Sony Walkman that played cassette tapes; and that was the norm.  Some people had mini-disc players but that technology never took off.  In 1998 I remember thinking that anyone with a cell phone was a phony :) Things have certainly changed. 

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Industrial Espionage

I feel silly.  Whenever I start an entry I am prompted to enter my mood and what I am listening to.  The choice of moods is limited and I can't add one.  You would think that since this is a journal nostalgic and  reflective  would be options.  At least there is "silly".  Music?  I heard this tune in my car.  It reminded me of the Church, a group from the eighties.  I made sure to note the artist then I called myself to leave the band's name on my answering machine.  It would have been completely forgotten otherwise.

Subject?  Industrial Espionage.  Funny how the martial terms 'espionage' and 'sabotage' come from the French language.  The suffix 'age' is a French one.  Both terms denote acts of underhanded intelligence.  Are the French underhandedly intelligent?  Something to think about. 

  The Pavilion's in Burbank now provides self checkouts for customers who feel they can do the job better than the people trained to do it.  I took these two pictures using Maria's IPhone...I felt like James Bond but probably looked like Maxwell Smart.  I was curious as to how the machines worked and their efficiency so I had to use them.  I purchased a beer (I was going to buy a beer anyways) to see how the machine would 'check for id' (a good freudian reference would go well, but it might go over your head so I will explain that by id I mean identification).  The machine made no qualms about registering an alcoholic beverage.  I looked up to see that there was an employee overseeing the transactions of the four self-checkouts.  Obviously she had been alerted as to the fact that someone was buying beer at my terminal and she had 'allowed' it when she saw how old I look (stress 'look'). 

Buying beer at noon on a Saturday went smoothly at the Burbank Pavilion's self checkout.  But we returned for some substantial shopping on Sunday evening.  That was an entirely different situation.  The more people use the machines the more of a chance that there will be a snag.  There are things that the average customer has to learn when using the self-checkout.  Registering items that do not have bar codes like apples can be tricky.  How does one use coupons?  What form of payment am I using?  Etc, Etc, many things are happening when one buys groceries.  It was a busy time and every customer that ran into an issue made the wait in line that much longer.  A lot of the checkstand real-estate had gone into making room for the self-checkouts.  As the lines grew I wished the 4 self-checkouts would have remained 2 manned checkstands.  At least there would have been some movement.  The experience proved itself frustrating.

I am sure that this was just Pavilion's feeling some growing pains.  Our culture becomes more and more tech-savy as technology continues to pervade our reality.  It won't be long before the only snag at the self checkout will be the atm-challenged individual who has trouble using his atm card everywhere he (or she) goes. 

Will this make the human checker a thing of the past?  For the time being, I think it just a new option.  Did you get rid of your checking account when you got your debit card? 

 

My Eye!

Found a macro lens I unintentionally bought on my trip to New York five years ago.  These are great if you ever want to take a picture of Lady Bugs which are great picture subjects.  I decided to take a picture of my eye.  Unfortuneately I was by myself and too lazy to use a tripod and remote clicker so the pic's subject appears to be my eyelashes not eyeball as I had intended.  The lashes do look pretty scarce and my eye has those yellow/brown spots which I imagine most of you are speculating are the result of my long standing relationship with distilled hop commodities.  YOU ARE WRONG.  Those are freckles, collections of melanin related to sun exposure or genetic disposition. 

 So why take a pic. of my eye?  Cause I have blue eyes which is not common to people of my nationality or race.  Is race the right word?  Hispanics are considered caucasian right?  Hence there is nothing to distinguish them in racial terms from white people (white people here being a loose term, a vulgar term generally applied to people of Western or Central European heritage except for people from Spain, Italy and I don't know are French people considered white?)  Race is definitely the wrong word.  Nationality, which speaks of my nation of origin, is the better word.  Let's just say that out of the many native spanish speakers I have encountered in my life maybe five have had blue eyes.  So it qualifies as rare. 

I was walking out the gym some time ago and one of the employees stopped to ask me what color my eyes were.  Green or blue?  The question struck me as stupid.  Color is a phenomena of the mind.  It is an act of interpretation not empirical data.  Color is how light is interpreted by our mind.  Many factors will sway that interpretation; amount and quality of light being outstide factors.  Also the amount of color receptors or cones in the perceptor's eye will play a role in what color you see.  An eye which is a pretty reflective surface, being wet most of the time, will possess a color which is very malleable by surrounding circumstances. 

You can imagine the reaction of the gym employee when I went into my diatribe on color.  The lesson being "Watch who you try to make small talk with!"

Goodand Bad are sometimes also phenomena of interpretation.  Sitting here on this rainy "gray" day.  I look out my window...

and watch the low clouds traverse across the sylmar foothills.  It is a lovely sight.  Rainy days are bad because they slow down traffic, one gets wet, one gets sick, hair is hard to manage, one has to stay indoors and many other reasons.  They are good cause I get to watch the clouds cross the hills.

Fact Sylmar is named after the 'sea of trees' once present here when the largest grove of Olive trees in the world once here resided.  See Wiki Article

Same thoughts different year

Milo's favorite shirt best expresses my feelings towards the passing of another year.  Still, I hope everyone had a happy and safe new year and that it brings many good things to all of you. 

Haven't had time to write much these days.  The holidays have kept me busy.  Not only is time scant (trying to use seldom used words even when they sound innapropriate.  Scant? just say scarce, you loqacious fool.  Maybe I am not loquacious but a bit garrulous.)  But the enthusiasm is also elsewhere.  I have tried to sit down and write and all I get is forced automotive contemplations like the one below.

Had a great Christmas.  Got great stuff!  A Bee Gees compilation!  Lately I can't listen enough to "Nights On Broadway".  I have been working on a Barry Gibb falsetto in case I ever get drunk enough at a Karaoke bar. 

An unexpected surprise was this:

Explanation?  Let's just say that being unconditionally nice and courteous, sometimes (not all the time) pays off. 

Christmas is great that way!  This sounds weird, but I love when I get a present from someone I did not get something for.  It seems more genuine.  There is a line from a song I like that goes, "You didn't have to do it but you did it to say, that you didn't have to do it but you would anyway."  That is the sentiment I am trying to describe:  Something unwarranted.

So, anyways, I am fine thanks.  Maria and Milo are doing well.  Looking forward to the new year.  Erick is still in traffic (if you were wondering, sono in transito continues!)

Related note:  I am reading a novel where a character goes to see a fortune teller.  The fortune teller tells him, "yes many things will happen to you."  She adds, " I could tell you about them but what's the use?  You will remain the same person throughout them."

I hope to write again soon.

Take care! 

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Picture from wikipedia entry on Z's

I saw an oder model Z in the Century City parking lot.  It was definitely a 70's model and it looked a lot like the FairLady in the picture above.  I am not an enthusiast enough to know what stage in restoration the car was but I know I was quite taken by it.  I walked around the car admiring it.  My age was in the one-digits in the seventies but I remember this being one of the more prominent cars of the time.  By prominent I mean seeing it often.  I think the design easily rivals a car that was dramatically less accessible to the average consumer; the Porsche 911 was around at the same time.

The Nissan looks a lot more sleek, I think.  The shape communicates function better.

I think I'll leave car critiques to experts.  But my point is that I might just walk by the latter but stop and awe at the former.

Have a nice week!

 

angels and ambiguities

It is starting to get cold.

What are you looking at?

So I took this great picture of wind chimes in front of a setting sun:

It is an angel praying.  I used a flash to defeat the backlighting unfortuneately the formats on this blog do not flatter the pic.  So I attached the pic to my invitation in case you are curious.

Not much going on here.  Working a lot.  I realized that I am getting a bit lazy in terms of self-edification.  So I took some steps toward fixing that.  First off I went to the library and checked out a book.  I was originally going to check out Ben Franklin's autobiography but I started reading the first page and skimming further and realized that I have too long been removed from literal pursuits.  I then caroused to the fiction section and found the Vonnegut area.  Satirical sci-fi is a good genre to start my pathway towards the land of the Litteratti.  Just not ready for anything to heavy right now.

I also bought a Nintendo DS and a couple of their brain games.  I hope those synapses are still firing.

But essential to any progress will be my engaging more physical activity.  And for that I have to limit my time in front of the television and, alas, the computer.  I will start scheduling more workouts and walks.  One can only hope.

Ambiguities?  I was listening to a radio commercial the other day and at the end a disclaimer stated that the product was " not available in all states."  Why advertise at all then?

Time Article

Anyone else intrigued by the cover story in Time the week of 10/28?  I was, so I bought a copy.  I learned something.  Did you know that Shirley Maclaine and Warren Beatty are siblings?                                               

I didn't. 

The article is really quite fascinating to anyone who suscribes more to "nurture" than to "nature" in regards to social development.  I wouldn't want to hurt Time sales by paraphrasing the article here, but I would like to mention one point the article made that struck a chord with me; that elder siblings "(enjoy) on average a three-point IQ advantage over the next eldest-probably a result of the intellectual boost that comes from mentoring younger siblings and helping them in day-to-day tasks."  I have always believed that you better comprehend things when you have to explain or teach them to someone else.  It is the difference between comprehending a process and doing it by rote or mechanically.  When I was going to school whenever I couldn't really get a grasp on something I would pretend that I needed to teach it to a class of my peers the next day.  That would help.

Real fun article.  There are some examples from the animal and plant world of parental prefference geared towards elder offspring.  Fun facts, fun facts, pick up the issue. 

  Some week huh?

All the smoke in the air made it possible for me to take this picture of a setting sun without the use of filters.  Unfortuneately, I didn't have a tripod so there is a little bit of tracing above the sun caused by my pushing the shutter button. 

I hope anyone whose life was affected by the winds and fires will soon be able to put things in order.  Maria, Milo and myself had to go stay with my parents because the power was out for two daysat our place.  But, most wicked of all, I had to cancel any outdoor activities on my day off because the smoke could damage my eyes and lungs.  That hurt!  It brings to mind how much we take for granted the fact that 95% of the time our lives are pretty much okay.

  Take care!

October already!?

Wow, it is October!  The scary thing is we don't know how Curious George got up there. 

Sometimes at night I hear little feet scrambling in the living room and I think I know why now.

I haven't been able to play with "sono in transito" lately and I feel bad.  Even right now I feel the same as when I come home tired and obligate myself to play with Milo; who waits for me at the top of the stairs cause the dead air which escapes the space between the steps forbids him from coming down.  He has no problem going up the stairs though.  Back to my point, I feel like I am forcing it.  I enjoy writting, contemplating the most precise use of diction and syntax to convey meaning is an activity I have been drawn to since I was a child.  Not unlike the artist trying to capture his world and mind through paint on canvass, I feel a pleasureable release of energy when an idea has been most-effectively communicated.  Yet it is hard for me to make time for it.  I am not blaming my busy schedule cause if you really want to do something you do it whether it is five minutes you can squeeze in in-between obligations or in the middle of the night when you have sacrificed an hour of sleep towards this activity which you realize enriches your soul.  You just do it. 

And so, as the clock continues forward and warns me that I only have 30 minutes to walk Milo before getting ready for work, I wonder if the sacrifice has been worth it.  Was what I said meaningful or pertinent?  You tell me.  I will see it as a mental warm up, a way of re-affirming processes of the mind much like you would movements of the body.

"YOU'RE GIVING ME DOG FOOD!?"

Milo is having a problem eating anything that doesn't come from a human's plate.  He is spoiled and I can't help but spoil him cause of his charming demeanor.

                                          

He is a great dog though.  We definitely feel blessed to have him in our lives.  Having something to take care of really kicks meaning into life.  This might sound corny or melodramatic but I sincerely feel an obligation to make the world a better place so that Milo will be safe and happy.  Those are definitely the relationships you want to nurture in your lives the ones that make you a better human.

 

It always catches my eye

There has been a whole lot of home improvement going on in North Atwater, Los Angeles.  This is just one of four homes within 100 feet of each other being re-built.  I am hopeful for the area because of this because it shows a willingness by the village's inhabitants to stay. These are people building homes not turning a profit.  No one makes money tearing it down and building it up again.  It is too much of an investment to make a financial gain in the end.  Flippers make small repairs and cheap cosmetic fixes.  Flippers are the gypsies of the modern real estate market.  Kudos to those who buy houses and invest their heart and soul to the betterment (never thought I would use that word) of a home and neighborhood. 

I gave myself some advice a few moments ago; "If you want people to remember what you say, don't say much.  Most people don't have great memories."  It is kinda like ninth grade English tautology concerning writing; KISS! Keep It Simple Stupid!

The pictures?  I love the way a wall looks when it's surrounding walls and ceilings are no longer there, especially when there is a window.  It is a window that lets you see what you can already see but frames it for you.  There is something deep in that. 

Post Script.  I used Gypsy in a derogatory fashion earlier.  I used it generically as a reference to people who migrate from place to place using thievery to maintain a morally questionable lifestyle.  In no way did I mean to offend any true Gypsy or person with origins tracing back to a certain ethnicity.  Gypsy is not always negative.  Fleetwood Mac has a song called Gypsy describing a 'poetic soul'.    "Into the Mystic" by Van Morrison (the best song EVER!) has the lyrics " I wanna rock your gypsy soul" I don't think that was meant in a negative tone.  Finally, there was a movie called Chocolat some years back where Johny Depp plays a very cool and good looking gypsy who helps the protagonist discover her bohemian nature.  Gypsy is not always negative.

Wow KISS is hard to maintain. 

BTW 'gypped' as in "he gypped me" is derived from the word Gypsy. So every time it is used it is insulting a certain ethnicity.

Have a Good Day! 

 

childhood friends

My photographic theme the last months has been Our World as Interpeted through Fences.  Do we see through fences or is the fence part of what we see?

Walking by my old elementary school, I think about how much it has changed since I left it in June of 1980.  There are many more bungalows and the playground has been re-configured.  The handball court revives many memories.

Handball was always a fun game.  We of course played it with an inflatable rubber ball the size of a woman's volleyball.  It was one on one, one set was played and the winner went on to play the next person in line.  Simple and orderly as children's games should be.  There were times,when supersvision was (how do you say) not up to par, we would then play a game called Suicide.  Suicide involved everyone (usually about 12 boys) standing in the court while one boy threw a tennis ball at the wall.  The tennis ball would bounce back from the wall and someone would try to catch it.  Catching it meant you got to throw the ball.  There was a caveat involved, in its bounce back from the wall if the ball touched you and you did not catch it everyone was obligated to hurt you until you made it to safety by touching the wall.  There were so many ways to make someone drop the ball.  Conspiracies arose like the one where one child would stand in front of someone and without warning deflect the rebounding ball onto that someone.  The deflector would be able to reach safety since all the other kids would have focused their blows and energies on he who last touched the ball. 

Oh, the HUMANITY! 

When we were forced to, my friends and I would play Suicide.  We never admitted that we didn't like it; not out loud anyway.  But we did have a game we played when it was just us that was similar to Suicide.  It was called Tags Up.  It possessed the same rules except that the person who dropped the ball was merely tagged out.  No physical pain was involved in our game.  My friends and I were not tough kids.  We lived our lives pretty safely. 

Today the inventor of Tags Up turns 39.  I want thank him for all the fun times in our youth, he always knew how to turn bland times into fun times.  Happy Birthday and my best to you and your family!  Though it is rare we see each other, things like a handball court or a Mitsubishi Cordia ("MITSUBISHI CORDIA!") always bring you to mind. 

Childhood provides our 'a priori' experiences.  The rest of our lives we sort out our moments according to those of our early years.  I thank God for giving me such happy tags to organize my folders with.

 

video store

Remember American Gigolo?  I was trying to recreate the effect they produced with Venetian Blinds in this picture using the shadows cast by a chain link fence.  Maybe Richard Gere is just a little bit more handsome than I am.

So today's blog concerns an incident at the Video Store last week.  I went in to rent a video which is something I do on my days off.  When I got to the counter with The Peaceful Warrior, the girl who works there told me that I owed $3.50 for a movie that I returned late the week before.  She said that I returned The Last Mimzy on Saturday and it was due on Friday.  At first I didn't question the delinquent return but when I thought about it I realized that the last time I was in that part of town was Friday not Saturday.  I worked Saturday so I had no time to drop the video off on Saturday.  Friday was the only day I was able to return the video and that was the day it was due.  She tells me she is going to double check and she says her records show the video being checked in on Saturday.  Furthermore she adds that the computer went down those days but it would not account for when I dropped off the movie.  I heard this and I thought, if your computer went down how can you be so sure of your records, so sure that you would argue with a regular customer about a $3.50 discrepancy.  I got mad and told her I would pay the late fee but would no longer be renting videos there.  Me getting mad is not as bad as it sounds.  As you can see I was passive-agressive in that I was going to pay the late fee but no longer going to patronize them.  So she says she would waive the late fee but "just try to get your videos in on time".  I thought this isn't about a late fee.  I have never argued about being late before, if I am late I pay.  This was about her not believing me when I told her I returned it on time.  I asked if I could see what my account looked like.  She showed me the screen and since she had waived the late fee there was nothing outstanding on the account.  She asked if I still wanted The Peaceful Warrior (ironic huh?) and I said no and walked out of the establishment for the last time. 

At work a lot of people come up to me and begin thier adress with " I also work with people and I know how you are supposed to treat customers".  This usually means "give me what I want or else!"  The incident at the video store showed real bad business sense by my antagonist.  Maybe I only spent $15 a month there so I wasn't a valuable customer.  I think it is a shame that they would lose me for a $3.50 disagreement.  And, I REALLY DID RETURN THAT VIDEO ON TIME!!!

Do I sound stressed?

June/July 2007

June/July 2007

I needed to update sono in transito.  Decided to do it with a video.  Click on the box and enjoy.

Last burned C.D.

I hate having to use a flash.  But Milo is so darn dark!  Here he is on one of his favorite perches- throw-blankets above the sofa.  I think he is part cat.

So... I am planning to buy an IPod soon.  But I gotta tell you, I am sure going to miss burning CD's.  So I am burning one last CD.  The CD to end all CD's.  The quintessential Erick CD!!!  So what tracks will I use?  I haven't decided on the order but the following list is a list of songs that made the cut:

1.  The Police, Every Breath You Take.  The best love song that was really about a stalker.

2.  U2, Beautiful Day.  The best U2 song since Desire (just kidding Desire is a terrible song.  I would rather listen to a J. Geils track than Desire) since B.A.D.  I will forever associate that song with my trip to Europe.  It came out around the same time and parts were filmed at Charle De Gaulle Airport where I first set foot on that old continent. 

3.  The English Beat, I Confess.  There is a line in that song, "I know I am shouting and I LIKE TO SHOUT!".  I LOVE THAT LINE!!!

4.  New Order, Bizarre Love Triangle.  Can you use the same word twice in one blog entry?  The quintessential eighties song.  If you looked up the eighties in a mixed media Dictionary, that song would be playing.

5.  Depeche Mode, But Not Tonight.  Let's talk about the elephant in the room.  I came of age in the eighties and a lot of my favorite music came from that period.  Had I been born 10 years prior, you would see bands from the 70's on this list; Blue Oyster Cult, Boston, Yes, Genesis, ELO or Supertramp.  That is not the case and this song, this song I have a special memory associated with it:  Windy night, souped up japanese cars in an indoor parking lot in Westwood and my high school buddies waiting for a dance to begin in a hotel on Wilshire, I remember hearing this song that night and it brought to mind how special that moment was.  It still is.

6.  Peter Gabriel, Salisbury Hill.  No explanation needed.

7.  Psychadelic Furs, Heaven.  There are rules to burning a good mix C.D.  One of them is not to use the same artist twice.  If I could break this rule I would use Love My Way and Heaven by this group.  Heaven wins out because it is not as played out as Love My Way.  I can still remember the video with Richard Butler spinning in the rain.

8.  Gordon Lightfoot, If You Could Read My Mind.  Don't laugh, I am serious.  This is classic sadness, the kind you want to bottle so you can have it handy for those moments when you feel a need for catharsis.

9.  Doobie Brothers, What a Fool Believes.  This song always bring to mind that 'road not taken'.  And I wonder how she's doing.

10.  Simple Minds, Someone Somewhere in Summertime.  A perfect blend of nostalgia and drama.

11.  Earth Wind and Fire, Fantasy.  Ever listen to this song while driving at night on an empty freeway? :)

12.  The Killers, When You Were Young.  This song had the same appeal  as Beautiful Day by U2.  Inspirational?

13.  When In Rome, The Promise.  It is everything I ever wanted to say to a girl but didn't.

14.  Fleetwood Mac, Sarah.  Stevie Nicks has a hypnotic voice.  This song and Dreams capture best that talent.  I like Sarah for the lyrics, "if you build your house... then call me...home."

15.  Led Zeppelin, Going To California.  It is a song about resolve and starting over.  Don't you wish you could just resolve and start over?

16.  Led Zepellin,  Over the Hills and Far Away.  I always break the rule limiting one song to each artist. Both Plant and Page strut their stuff in this existential ballad, "I live for my dream and a pocket full of gold."

17.  Van Morrison, Into the Mystic.  If I use Roxio to burn my CD I will not be limitted to the 16 track ITunes allows me.  In a dictionary of mixed media the word "Sublime" would be defined by this song.

If you read this far, thank you!