January 31, 2004
Check out a drunken phone call from Matt and Jim.... (read more)
January 2004 Archives
I got a call from Jim, Meg, Matt and Juliet. They sounded like they were on the cusp of drunkenness, but still somewhat in control. As Matt put it, they wanted to get their call out to me before it got too late. The best quote I heard was from... (read more)
Tonight, I've spent my time looking over old poems and reading them out loud. There's no real audience, unless you want to count me reading them for me. I like hearing the words sounded out, and when I come across a poem I'm particularly fond of I'm often try to... (read more)
January 30, 2004
Apparently, the windows in the kitchen that I thought I had sealed are like sieves. I ended up covering those with plastic as well, and I think my apartment is finally somewhat winterized. Haven't done much tonight - just putzed around at home, and worked on the blog. Whatever was... (read more)
This is the Chicago River, mostly frozen over. There was a neat circular patch, and I damn near froze my fingers off fiddling with the camera.... (read more)
This morning, on the Blue Line, I noticed a man standing across the aisle from me, leaning against the door. He had on a worn coat, and tucked into the left pocket of his jacket was an old school oil can (the kind that has a manual tab to release... (read more)
On looking over things just now... as I'm typing these words, and making this entry on my blog... I realize how silly that last line was.... (read more)
Lately, I've fallen back into the habit of looping a song by Mojave 3. called Prayer for the Paranoid. My whole looping problem has gotten to the point where I'll burn a CD just so I can listen to the same damn song play while I'm in the shower. I'm... (read more)
January 29, 2004
Stayed late at work with Justin and Deb. The one plus about tonight was that we ordered sushi, and Deb spotted the bill (woohoo!). I'm pretty happy by the fact that this week is fast approaching an end. Right now, I'm feeling pretty damn tired. In fact, I'm heading to... (read more)
I probably should have gone straight to bed. I'm sipping on a beer, I've given up on the idea of any sort of dinner, and I've gotten a few entries made on the blog. It's about 3:33 AM now, and I'm calling it a night. Meeting bright and early, 9:00... (read more)
2:45 AM. I walk out to the street, downtown Chicago, and I find a cab within 3 minutes.... (read more)
I don't know why it is I can't seem to leave work unfinished. Partly, I think it's because I know someone's going to see this thing I'm working on... and I don't like people seeing work half-completed. It reflects poorly on me, it looks like crap, and inevitably someone's going... (read more)
I was experiencing some serious lag issues with my host, and decided to post to the Community Forum, asking other users for some help. Next thing you know, my site is up and screaming again... no more lag, and everything's back to how it was about a month ago. Awesome.... (read more)
Earlier tonight, I was feeling pretty tired and down. No real reason. I'm attributing it to Winter, and the general crappiness of the skies lately. Maybe it's due to the fact that I haven't been sleeping too much lately. The pattern seems to be: tired in the late afternoon/early evening,... (read more)
Standing at the Blue Line stop, waiting for the train this morning, I was looking out across Damen. Theer was a steady snow going, and a few inches had collected along the tops of the railing. I looked over, and watched a guy gather some snow between his gloves and... (read more)
January 26, 2004
This has become something I've been thinking more and more about, lately. It's past midnight, and I'm typing away in this journal of a sort. I'm tired, but still up. Part of me feels like cracking a beer and continuing to type; part of me feels like just calling it... (read more)
On the way to work, I happened across this bit of snow, tucked into the corner of a building. I kept on walking and about 30 feet later, turned around and pulled out the camera. For some reason, I found this image particularly captivating. It made me think about... (read more)
January 25, 2004
Download File: tracer.fla Download File: drawer.fla The way I've got things set up - I'm working with two .fla files. One to do the tracing (tracer.fla) and one that does the drawing/display (drawer.fla). I'm using the Output Window to get all my information for me, so you'll need to start... (read more)
Man, it's been a long while since I've been bitten by the experiment bug. And actually, it's been a long while since I've really worked with Flash/Actionscript. So this weekend felt pretty darn good. :) So here's what I've got: my attempt at type illustration. A few things to mention,... (read more)
January 24, 2004
I had agreed to go to a movie night with Justin and Emma and some of Emma's friends, but decided to stay in tonight. I had high plans of writing some, but got distracted by that whole type illustration thing, and spent all evening trying to suss that out. Ehh.... (read more)
Justin borrowed my car last night, and he stopped by to drop it off. I went outside to wait for him, and decided to snap some picture of the neighborhood in the meanwhile. When Justin showed up, I hopped in the passenger side and we made our way back to... (read more)
Late last night, Dustin (a3dmofo) and Sherie got to my apartment around 1:15 AM. They'd been in Jamaica the past week, and were adjusting to the rather brisk cold that had swept over the midwest. We talked a while about their trip, and how warm and fun everything was (sounded... (read more)
I came across this on DIK a few days back. Go visit ni9e.com, and check out the Flash-based type animations they've got going on. Awesome! When I saw this, I started talking to Ben about how this might have been constructed. I had a few theories on how it... (read more)
Here is yet another example of why I love my friends, and Justin in particular. He had come across an essay he really dug, and decided to photocopy it and pass it around to all of us at work. I count myself extremely fortunate to have friends who wish to... (read more)
Had my annual review at work today. Still not sure what to make of things, and I plan on reassessing everything in greater detail this weekend. Right now, I feel placated by how things went. Satisfied is close, but a touch strong. I think I really need to step back,... (read more)
Waiting around for the Blue Line, I leaned over the railing above Damen and snapped this:... (read more)
January 22, 2004
Here's another reason why I'm so terribly happy Dave is my friend. After the movie ended and the credits were rolling, I reached into my camera bag and got out my notebook. During the movie, I got a few poem ideas I wanted to kick around and so wanted to... (read more)
I lucked into this movie, going into it on the recommendation of a friend of a friend of a friend. I heard about Sans Soleil from Justin, who had heard about it from from Dave, who had heard about it from Jim, his friend who works at the Siskel Theater.... (read more)
Check your camera. Test to see if it's the cold that's causing it to be unresponsive, or if it's wear and tear or what. Luckily, I bought something like a four year warranty thing when I got it, so I should still be covered. Worse comes to worse, I can... (read more)
Today was the kind of cold Chicago day your mother warned you about. I woke up and shivered around the apartment a bit. After doing a quick spot-check of the windows (which seem to be holding up ok), I found that the door in the living room was leaking cold.... (read more)
January 21, 2004
On Tuesday, I bought an assload of stamps. These are for the envelopes I purchased, which will ultimately be for the poems I send off to magazines. So far, I've done everything except actually decide where I want to send off to, and which poems I want to send.... (read more)
Technically, the lesson I should derive from the whole car debacle is: Don't Try Anything New. Deep down, I know this isn't true... but it's hard to avoid the message. Because I deviated from what I'm used to doing, I got the smack down. And this was no ordinary smack... (read more)
After I got my car back, I drove to the mud lot and walked to work. I crossed over the Chicago River, and as I leaned over I noticed this flurry of activity. I lingered, leaning over the railing and, within 30 seconds... the number of ducks doubled. Most mornings,... (read more)
It is illegal to park under any viaducts in Chicago. This was news to me but, seeing how I shelled out a bunch of money to the city... I figured I'd share this tidbit with you. After tracking down my missing car yesterday, I showed up at Central Pound this... (read more)
January 20, 2004
I've been adding some more insulation to the windows. Seems to be doing fuck all, but now there's a thin layer of transparent plastic between my comfort and the artic chill. Ha ha! *puts hands on hips* Take that, cold air mass! You're no match for my taped up Saran... (read more)
So let me get this right, Chicago. I find an illegal spot to park, loaded with clearly marked No Parking signs. And what do you do? You turn the other cheek. You throw caution to the wind and for six glorious months, you tell me that all is forgiven. No... (read more)
January 19, 2004
by Felix Jung Love returned is warmth and brilliance, the sun in all its anger and benevolence. Blinding hot, a slow explosion rolling forth as wide as planets, seemingly inexhaustible. Flowers arch their backs, the birds wake up, take flight and sing. All-encompassing, it spreads across the hemispheres until the... (read more)
Some time ago, I stumbled across chicagobloggers.com. I held off registering my site for a few weeks, but finally gave in a day or two ago. For the most part, I've scanned through their listings... and the majority of the blogs listed seemed to be pre-made blog sites, where the... (read more)
While I was a graduate student at Ohio State University, I had the good fortune to take a Literary Bibliography class taught by Jim Bracken. The man has forgotten more about research than I will ever know. One of the more memorable things I learned in his class was the... (read more)
January 18, 2004
Last week, I purchased a big box of manilla envelopes and some labels (for my laser printer). I'm trying to slowly gather the pieces that I need to send poems out into the world once again. The only thing that's missing is the actual writing. :| I've been scribbling... (read more)
I'm not sure exactly when, but Monday is when evidenceincamera.co.uk goes live. On the site, there will be some 5 million Royal Air Force photos of Western Europe (including photos of the D-Day landings in Normandy. Thanks to epohs for the link to the site, and the Yahoo article.... (read more)
January 17, 2004
I grabbed some blankets, some pillows, and set up camp near the television. I found a late episode of NOVA, and even then, watching TV, I felt like absolute crap. Keep in mind now, this was around 11:30 PM. For the rest of the night, I just closed my eyes... (read more)
I woke up and felt kinda woozy all day. Perhaps it was because I only had a few hours sleep yesterday. Perhaps it was due to the fact that I hadn't eaten any dinner yesterday. Perhaps it was because of the four healthy glasses of whiskey I consumed. Maybe that... (read more)
January 16, 2004
I got home to find a message from Liz and Steph, who are at the Artful Dodger and want me to join. I put my shoes and coat back on, and I'm back out the door. I buy a round, and the three of us get caught up. Both Liz... (read more)
Justin gave me a lift home from work and, as we were coasting down North Avenue, he spotted a Goose Island sign above a nearby bar. It's a local bar that I've never gone into before (I don't know the name: on North, 50 feet west Ashland, right next to... (read more)
Dustin (aka a3dmofo) and Sherie showed up at my apartment, roughly at 12:30 AM. They had planned to leave earlier, but there were complications. Dustin couldn't get out of work until late, and it was after 10PM before they got on the road. They're headed to Jamaica for a wedding,... (read more)
January 15, 2004
Found out this evening that Gretchen has a poem online. Check out the2ndhand.com.... (read more)
Alex and Linda came into town, spending a brief night before jaunting off to Florida. Unfortunately, Linda was sick and ended up just sleeping at Justin's apartment (where the two of them were staying). Tonight's potluck (I went for the cheapie out, and bought a cake from a nearby bakery)... (read more)
Just in case there's too much fun to be had this evening, I decided to get you a little something: The dropdowns aren't the most thought out thing in the world, but I'm willing to overlook it for the sheer greatness of this site's content. American celebrities, Japanese commercials. This... (read more)
January 14, 2004
I have nothing. Sorry. Spent most of the night cleaning up the apartment. Alex and Linda are visiting from out of town tomorrow night, and there's gonna be a potluck dinner at Dave's house. And as luck would have it, Dustin (a3dmofo) and Sherie are also visiting from out of... (read more)
January 12, 2004
I'm feeling severely unproductive tonight. I got home, and shortly after turning on the television... I fell asleep for about 30 minutes. Solid sleep. And since then, the rest of the evening, I've had this deep sense of negativity follow me around. It feels like wearing a heavy coat. And... (read more)
January 11, 2004
I'm two poems behind (Matt and I are on a schedule, where we're sending one another poems every Sunday, Wednesday, and Friday). I should be working on writing tonight, but it's already 11:00 PM, and I'm not particularly in a mood to stay up too late tonight. Plus - I'd... (read more)
January 10, 2004
To celebrate, we all started off the night with dinner at Papajin. Funny thing, since I had just eaten Papajin last night. But no matter - I couldn't help myself. I ended up getting miso soup and sushi. Again. There were a lot more folks in attendance than show up... (read more)
by Steve Almond Josephine Byron chased me all through college. Nobody could figure this out, not her friends, not mine, nor the frat boys who watched her wag across the wide lawns of our school. She was one of those women invariably refrred to as striking, a great big get-a-load-of-that:... (read more)
January 9, 2004
On the way to Justin's. At the bar, one of Justin's favorite songs Yo La Tengo came on (I forget the actual title). When I mentioned that I didn't really know their music, his jaw dropped and he looked at me like I had just taken a big crap... (read more)
After work, Justin and I stopped in at the Rainbo for a few drinks. The interior of this place has changed (at least, the interior perimeter). Both of us were really taken with the decorations/displays. All along the room, there are these wire men. They're obviously hand-made, and the amount... (read more)
Shortly after lunch, I grabbed one of Justin's leftover pancakes, and threw it to him like a frisbee. At the end of the day, as Ben was leaving, he picked up some pancakes and started to chuck them at Justin who, in turn, was trying to catch them in his... (read more)
Peanut butter jelly! Peanut butter jelly! Peanut butter jelly with a baseball bat! A quick shot of all that was brought in. Ben got this from Daniel, down at the Artisan Cellar (ah damn, no web page for them. One of these days, I need to go in there... (read more)
This morning, I set out to the grocery to pick up some supplies (note: this pic was taken later in the day, when I was at Justin's apartment). A little backstory: some months back, a new restaurant opened up inside our building. On their menu, one of the sandwiches they... (read more)
This morning, as I was walking down the street, a small boy walked out his front door and stood in the middle of the sidewalk, looking up at the sky. There was a fairly thick snow falling down (although none of it seemed to be really sticking), thick flakes falling... (read more)
January 8, 2004
by Felix Jung When dreaming you, it never hurts. We kiss and everything I've missed about you goes away. The shape of your face, the fragrance of your breath takes precedence. The aftermath is certainty. I sense your image as it dims and fades, you go away. The mind is... (read more)
I saw this on my walk to the train, after work. The way it's situated, someone had to have physically climbed up to make this tag. After stopping and staring (and realizing what kind of effort was made), I decided that Jef needed to be rewarded. So I took... (read more)
Every few weeks, an ambulance shows up at the front door to the Merchandise Mart. I'm never sure who it's for, whether someone inside the building has had an emergency, or if it's for some of the homeless folks who seem to hover around the exterior of the building.... (read more)
January 7, 2004
Currently, I'm looping several Björk songs. In particular: Jóga and Hyper-Ballad. I find her songs catchy in the same way that I find some pop songs catchy, but the melodies in her music jump around in a way that's markedly different from regular pop songs. There's something captivating about... (read more)
Right now, I need to thank both Mr. Grumpy and Matt Z for helping motivate me with writing. Grumpy made some comments today, and we talked about both the option of self-publishing and the typical process of writers publishing work. And Matt? He's been pushing me for years, and always... (read more)
I stayed at work late, and packed up everything around 7:30 PM. I got home around 8, and had a few things to finish while I was at home. Every fiscal quarter, my company has financial news that needs to be updated on the web site. Partly it's a legal... (read more)
Last night, I forgot to take a picture of yet another gift Justin got me for the holidays. He was worried I had already purchased a copy of this book for myself... but I still haven't read it! Awesome! I've been incredibly excited by this book, and I can't wait... (read more)
January 6, 2004
So statistically, I've had one beer in two plus weeks. For a while there, I wondered how long I could go without actually having a drink. That question was answered immediately when I showed up at Justin's. Within 10 minutes of arriving, I was sipping on a small tea... (read more)
Tonight, Justin invited a few of us over to his apartment for a good home-cooked meal. It's been ages since I've eaten this well. My word, great drinks, great food, great conversations. I had a blast tonight, and this evening will quite possibly vie for a spot on the Best... (read more)
January 5, 2004
Last night, I was struggling to get to sleep. I've had my futon opened since the illness and moved all my blankets/pillows out to the living room. So far, I've been lazy and haven't moved all my crap back into the bedroom. I've gotten accustomed to leaving the television on... (read more)
First day back at work, and it feels good to be productive again. I've spent too many days just sitting and sleeping and not moving. My brain feels like it's a functioning part of me again, awake once more after a long state of dormancy. Work is good. This morning,... (read more)
January 4, 2004
by Felix Jung When the snowflakes hit, it's hard to tell if I'm the one they cling to, or if it's one another. Flagrant lovers, they'll bind at any opportunity. There's a solid inch laid down, a frosted white that makes all surface icing, all concrete, cake. Ahead, I see... (read more)
Drum machine, one of the runner ups in Rockstar's Upload III. If you liked the drums, check out tokyoplastic.com. Thanks to TS7 for the link.... (read more)
I was digging through all my digital photos earlier, and lost track of the time. I caught the last 10 minutes of the NOVA program. Damn! On the plus side, they're running the documentary again on Tuesday evening, with updated video/images. So... all is not lost. In case you missed... (read more)
Last night, the first of two planned rovers landed on the surface of Mars. There's a NOVA special on this evening (Mars Dead Or Alive) that should include the latest images/video.... (read more)
January 3, 2004
by Lucille Clifton Kali queen of fatality, she determines the destiny of things. nemesis. the permanent guest within ourselves. woman of warfare, of the chase, bitch of blood sacrifice and death. dread mother. the mystery ever present in us and outside us. the terrible hindu woman God Kali. who is... (read more)
The First International Human Beatbox Convention. Just happened across this while tooling around the Internet. :)... (read more)
While I was an undergraduate, I held a job at the Monroe County Public Library for many years. Mornings were a slow time for me, and I started most days by throwing on a pot of coffee. Because I had classes during the day, I tended to work mornings. Because... (read more)
This morning, I got up around 8 AM. Alright fine, the alarm went off around then, and I kept smacking it until around 9. But after that, I made my rounds and got a crapload done: I returned some gifts at Old Navy (and bought some more clothes); I bought... (read more)
January 2, 2004
I've wasted today like a professional. Tomorrow is a day for errands, for productivity. Partly it's the illness, but it's also the fact that I've been holed up inside my apartment for a very, very, very long time. Time to venture outside.... (read more)
January 1, 2004
I know I'm not doing much justice by introducing Aaron this way - we've got too much history together to really summarize, and I'm finding it difficult to represent that in anything other than sheer time (we've known one another now for some 23 years). Here's a picture of Aaron's... (read more)
Aaron and I have known each other since we were in first grade. His house was right behind mine, and our backyards touched (imagine two squares touching on one corner). Since we were six, we played with one another, hung out, you name it. After college, we talked less and... (read more)
This is the big honkin' television my dad purchased, sometime after Thanksgiving. No real occasion, he just wanted a bigger TV: During the holidays, I watched a lot, A LOT of old movies. My parents have cable, and I vegetated my days away watching such classic films as Beverly Hills... (read more)
Christmas Eve, I went to St. John's United Church of Christ, on the South Side of Indianapolis. I went with my mom and dad, my sister, her boyfriend Shane, and we were to meet up with my grandmother, my aunt Vicky, my cousin Ellen, and her boyfriend Dave. My grandmother... (read more)
Since I don't really have specific things for every single day of the holidays, I'm going to just lump everything together here. For the most part I hung out with the family, got sucked into the West Wing Marathon on Bravo, rolled around with my sister's dogs, and had the... (read more)
Most of the sickness has passed. I woke up today feeling on top of the world. No fever, no dizziness, no chills. The only thing I have remaining is a slight cough. But thankfully, it's turned into a regular cough, and not the lung-rattling, bronchial pool party cough I've had... (read more)
by Lucille Clifton i am running into a new year and the old years blow back like a wind that i catch in my hair like strong fingers like all my old promises and it will be hard to let go of what I said to myself about myself when... (read more)
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