Taking Stock

The days are swirling by. snow comes early to Michigan. The election erection is over. focus on work. in the spotlight....
SharePoint. Once again MicroSoft alters our perceptions.
Adobe Acrobat is no better.
Take Stock.
Design = the Obvious.
Track-it.
Share it
Post it
Roast it
Holidays are not easy if you are depressed.
Depression impression expression Shout
4 emails
three group spaces
three my space pages
one facebook
two blogs
and a lot of internet hype.

another month begins

there are few things more frustrating then....
new technology
intermittent crashes
slow connections
high gas prices
dull skates
broken sticks
no pucks
....no end in sight
getting the house together for the winter. new fences and gates. new tires and brakes. new stick and socks.
same old same old.
reunions are getting closer
tomorrow is a tenacious anniversary that will never be.

up all night

Third time in a month that I've laid down for a nap after dinner, awoken before midnight, and spent the rest of the evening/morning reading or surfing the web. That's not always a good thing at the beginning of the week. recorded myself the other night getting into an arguement with cynthia. will probably be hard to listen to.

spent yesterday at the funky ferndale art fair (last of the season) with mark and maggie. saw gerry kelly and richard nagler(OCC) and dave feeny (blanche, american mars, thursday night hockey)

this week need to connect with Ray about returning goods: ryden's drums, av cart and video gear. also clean out garage, finish painting basemwnt walls, restain and replace trim, prepare for house inspections and see if maude is ready for some real LIGHHT!

book alert

food as link between soil and soul. the organic, the wild, the toxic, the processed.

reading "everything is misc."
about how "order" is applied to the natural world psuedo-rationally vis a vis alphabetization, the dewey decimal system, or even the periodic table of elements. and how in the digital realm, third order "organization" relies not on arbitrary classification, but in bifurcation filteration during the search/retreival process.
I know, a bit of a stretch from the "Preacher" graphic novels I've begun to indulge in.
Just finished "Tricked" by Alex Robertson: an Altman-esque riff on relationships, human fraility, obsession and random acts of ....

4:45am: unable to sleep. pre hockey jitters. a new season. a new time! (9:30) a new jock, a new stick. keeping track of stats: goals, assists, wins, (not so much) apres skate beerage. pre skate jammage

building a fence to no where,
piking/Par PQ/Protherhood
briorities & opligations

bomb drop

got a text message from Ray the other day.
"did you hear that I'm getting a divorce?"
Wha ha!?

this is indeed, a year of change.
made contact with ken morrell.
Obama is black(ish)
McCain picks a woman for VP
Fanny Mae & Freddy Mac....
moved to Highland Lakes to check out the campus
and they're all
Bold As Love

High Life Tech Lab Time Capsule

This is where I belong. On the top of the world. But since I must ponder such heights from afar, I live vicariously in the High Life Tec Lab Thyme Capsule.

surrounded by lakes and verdant green pastures. drinking purified water from a plastic bottle shipped from a Georgia bottling plant.

I should be golfing. I could be biking. I like blading. I love swimming.

teeth. hockey. slides. trim. turn off the TV, hang up the phone and ignore the computer for a month or two. Fall Semester is starting up Vroom vroom.

new old tunes:
grantchester meadows, pink floyd
house of the rising sun, animals
photograph, weezer
fake plastic trees, radiohead
strawberry fields, beatles
bold as love, jimi hendrix

the night before

no more music Tuesdays
Wednesday biking - every other week if I'm lucky
Hockey begins in 35 days - will I be ready
the commute through the lakes
the soft underbelly
hope is a floating word in a floating world
days are measured in bushels that rake the breath

what to do
when to act
how to ask why
who where hoo ray

straw berry feels 4 ever

Sun Mon TV
music Tuesdays at Mark E.s
Wednesday biking with the vikings
Thursdays Hockey
Friday Saturday Sunday CRIB

my fake plastic love

dog walk left. swim leg clockwise. video sub-clip trip

scanning slides authoring DVDs & video iPod revelations.

"Hear the lark and harken to the barking of the dog fox
...gone to ground."

in memorium tempus interludium

and The Days go By...

the new life begins at Highland Lakes
Making a countryClub, cyberCafe, from a room full of strangers -
a technology concierge
a teaching and learning Lounge

using the tools to transfer / deliver knowledge & "mad critikal" thinking skills

seeing the forest from the trees - weekly biking, blading, lifting, walking, sweaTING, swimming.

prep for the Fall and Winter terminology - registering for classes.
I. Adobe photoshop
II. web development w/ Adobe dreamWeaver
III. Video editing w/ Adobe Premiere Pro
IV. Digital Audio w/ DigiDesign Pro Tools, Audacity & Ableton Live

memorial went well - brothers are gifted and caring. silence is golden. be @ peace
friends are a wealth of creative and fusion.

burn MMX DVD
burn in memorium DVD and slides.

Funerals & Birthdays & LifeGoing On after math BeAt PeAce

Anonymous Posting as an emotional outlet

Poe(s)try as Poems as Rap as SinQuain as Melodies as Analogies as Iologies

do not change the format of the Simpsons

Monsters are real, Homer is Real, Ralph Is God. Ah! Ha :-/

here take this:

Monkeys swinging on the Vine
Ain't no monkey friends of Mine
Monkeys farting on the Porch
Smelly noising, dwinking scortch
I am not the first to Die
Yours is not to wonder Why

Miles Davis was trying to record the process of making music. Where it comes from. How is comes out. reinvention OR bouncing-back?

ESL Karma. foreign aid. language. art. action. tonic. time to go get my drink on.
Take that: Beck has a new album something, Guilt Modern Guilt?

Reading the Preacher series by Ennis & Dillon

finishing up some wild ass books and keeping busy with one thing a day. now if I could only add eating and exercising. hockey come back!
Rydaddy pulls through before the Holidaze. Sports are just slithering through the months: Stanley Cup//French Open/Euro2008/US Open/Wimbledon/Tour De France/
All offered on HDTV broadcasting 1080p

gone but not forgotten.

Avatard

Am playing with Lively, Google's 3D virtual community.
check me out:
jezabelle in front of her Saki machine on her own private oasis.

I also made a STUDy for chillin in the 3D realm.

and the CROSS for worship and other ritual behaviors.

oh google.
in google we trust.

"Shut your Pie Hole"

sounds overheard while walking through M building to gather my mail....

"life is sad
life is a bust
all you can do
is do what you must

you do what you must do
and you do it well
I do it for you
honey baby can't you tell" - dylan

It's quiet here on campus (OR).
tomorrow a drive to AH to interview more candidates for Temporary Instructional Technologist for RO campus.

time to come up with a new password. Preacher. reach around

Edging toward Fifty

I have been blessed with a loving wife, a tender family, a solid work scene, and a functionally active imaginary life.
The friends I have and the friends I have known are genuine and sincere. I enjoy a healthy relationship with my dog and thank god there are no children in my life.
There is still room for growth and there is always time to change the intention of your will. Staying active and being still. These are matters to cultivate. amen.

all our lives are a little emptier...

The eldest son sums up Tuesday's loss. Mark flies into town on the Red Eye, committed to talking her into death. A gentle diatribe, a tearful confession, a solemn goodbye
Rest in Peace Elsie Virginia ClarkLayton Strong
8/26/26 - 6/24/2008

the end is near

for mama's mortal coil as it begins to back up with bodily fluids and enter post pneumatic sepsis.

hunkered down in a morphine drip of oblivion she awaits her eldest son to magically appear from distant lands before drifting off to join her husband on the other side.

After not seeing or talking to her for six months - the first words out of her mouth when she saw me were:
"you must think I'm dying." that's me mum

from better days...

birf daze

Yesterday my oldest best friend turned 50. Tomorrow my brother Jefe turns 51. The days stretch ever longer as the solstice approaches. a full moon crested yesterday. life returns to its natural rhythms. peace pervails.

Last week /end JEff was in town to see mom (who went into hospital soon after he returned to Wisconsin) Richard & Miles stay a few days bereaving his eldest sister (Diane, Christian's mom.) many libations and sacred rituals later a jam is attempted in the crammed basement...

captured hastily with a portable stereo recorder. the talking between jams is the best parts. an instant classic: Pop Pa Wood y.

work swirls around ESL and Foreign Language classes. punctuated by Lit out Loud and Writer's Block meetings. subtle shifting of alliances and emerging intrigue keep the tension at work palatable. some people. get abused.

Brian tells stories of michigan cougars and his daughter in the news. Her google hits have quadroopled in the last month.

enough with made up words. imagination is inspiration. talk is cheap.

began reading a new slate of books after lingering on two Chinese novels and a book of lyrics.

language

home alone

a man alone is in poor company...
read a book
cook a meal
clean windows
wash clothes
walk the dog
call a friend
change the channel
surf the web
pluck some strings
bang a drum, slowly
feed the hungry
host the homeless
watch porn
choke the chicken
ride a bike
go for a long walk
on a short pier
invite someone over to watch the game on the small screen
fix the side door
go shopping
write
post
evolve

gypsy ukulele

Mums' the Word this coming Sunday
the festivus for the rest of us

dennis is coming into town tomorrow (tonight) to spend some time and drink some wine and see old friends and make amends.

I play host & hostess

?

though not very well...searching for frank & kenny - watching lost and conference playoffs on CBC

strumming some strings and planning on recording a performance and mailing it in. the projector never lies. a marriage of technology and talent.

mixing two wireless mics into a video camera - interview / podcast. template. standards. fate.

show me a little

affection.
is it too soon?

the plum blossoms are full
the tulips are blooming
the spring rain is sweet
and warm
like a
(yellow)
submarine.

evening comes upon us
the stars twinkle in the sky

postscript

breathing heavily, panting
walking slowly, stroll
eating too fast, scarf
forlorn moaning, howl
yesterday's dinner, leftovers
tomorrow's breakfast, cake
fragmented words, poem
rhythmic talking, singing
not solid, plaid
100 percent vegan, natalie
proud omnivore, biggie joe
I say, Simon says
do it now.

EartHday Observed

ray writes -biking tonight. mishka and amy have a new baby. baby's on fire. books are burning. London bridge is falling down. My fair Lady.
Mark wonders what the dilly oh is? how come she is against it? why does love got to be so sad?
people, some people: get confused
the rest of us linger far too long.
beware the copy protected
obey the copyright
beware!
obey!

Post Haste Past Tense

revamping the web page to be more CSS and graphical. thinking of some nice java mouse over effects. but also making it totally ADA validate when testing for accessability.
the word that isn't a word, yet.

anyway the idea is to have an image background. a couple of large buttons.
and the ability to defocus or blur the part of the image where text is displayed.

I will do a mock up and post it at the end of this entry. listening to son volt doing towns van zandt's "rex's Blues" on Pandora.

Ray just called. Gary is in town to do a memorial thang for erkki recently deceased. Partay tomorrow at Zirpa's. LArryVille will be in the Van.

catching up on the rocketboom / wikipedia / facebook / youtube / pandora

aliens v. first peoples

designing a web page / site based on usage / needs.

FORMS
CONTACT US
CALENDAR
WHAT"S NEW
ARCHIVES
DL PORTALS
REFERENCES

OCC HOME PAGE

brian's b-day 1951

hard to believe "maud" is only a year younger than my oldest brother Mark.

wonder how this day is greeting him. the weather sure is nice, though still a bit chilly.

Cynthia will swing by this afternoon with "boo boo". give the kiddies something to scream about.

yesterday I spent 24 hours reinstalling widows xp on the home computer. now there is no printing or sound card functionality. damn you WindoWs!


need to work on the web page redesign. I think I will create three web pages: mencenter, gypsy uke and tltc. design using powerpoint. save as portable document format / cascading style sheets.

hockey is over with. my numbers for the "season": 15 goals and 13 assists for 28 points.
not bad for a 49 year old rookie.

still haven't talked with mom since christmas. all the money's gone. just getting over an infection. no smoke till memorial day. no music at all. fix the house up: fence, basement, paint.

Adam Strong to pay rent for the summer while working downtown? we shall see. that is all.

saint paddy's day

Originally Blue, now Green. shamrock. mandala.
time to grab some gunniess, bushmills, and baileys and celebrate.

aftermath redux

history repeats
this time, though, Cynthia is the beneficiary of minimally invasive elective surgery care of UofM Medical Center department of Gynocology - Arnold Advincula manning the DiVinci laproscopic robotic surgical thingamajing.

got all the endometriosis. stuck to both cervix and sigmoid colon. removed cervix, uterus, ovaries and various sundry fem-bits.

and changed my wife into her recently deceased aunt (olga). don't you just hate those genealogical curses.

all joking aside, why does caring for someone have to be so painfully unrewarding. sacrifice is a noble and foolish undertaking. more like undermining. there is a pun here somewhere. oh yeah, I can't sleep.

Rest in Peace

Olga Kolb passed away on the tenth of February 2008.
She was old. She lived with Mary, her sister.
Today is Valentines Day.
Skiing and/or Hockey tonight.
Lost on video tape
Cynthia's family has moved in for a few too many days. it's going on seven weeks since I last talked to my mom. I think I can hold out longer than her.
that is all for now.
Cellar Door

Winterfest

Blue are the life giving waters...
got wit mark finally to work on a few songs for cellar door performance sometime in the next three months.
radiohead
weezer
nilsson
monkees
& maybe some
dylan and hendrix for yux

LOST

spent $$ on some comic books.
been playing guitar, mando, uke and violin.
this month I devote to Cynthia. next month too. hell the whole year we need to focus on each other and the house. so there is a gaping void when it comes to anyone older than 55.
1991 wasn't that long ago. but it seems like a lifetime. no where is god. now here is god nowhereisgod

CellarDoor

came across a synchonicity that I think may be intentional.
Donny Darko quotes "a famous linguist" who claims 'cellardoor' is the most beautiful phrase in the English language.
it becomes evident what that means when he and Gretchen break into grandma death's cellar but are accosted by two costumed thieves - one who is Seth Rogin of 40 year-old virgin and knocked up fame.
this because I have nothing better to write. It's been far too long between posts. but no hurries.