MobileChelonian

 

Posted by Aaron at 3:22 PM | Permalink | Comments

Well, thusly it's been more of a plane trip than a road trip. My cell phone was detained for questioning at the TSA checkpoint at the San Diego airport - it's being FedEXed to Baltimore hopefully Tuesday. So to anyone who might try to call - sorry I'm incommunicado. Caught the red-eye flight into Orlando, basically was awake for 72 hours until last night. Right now in Sarasota, FL, the old (Folks) Home. It's been well preserved, like a mosquito in an amber lump that will one day be misused for science: ie turned into an enormous condomenium.

At my buddy Bob's apartment, hooked up to a computer that is water-cooled in a transparent glowing case...with a 36" LCD monitor. I have met the UberGeek, and he is Bob. Saw all the people from my previous life who still work at Barnes & Noble - like a black and white lithograph. Like a movie cell cut out and framed. Eerie. I come back each year primarily to remind myself why I left after 3 years.


I could go on and on about Wednesday, and going to the Timkin Museum with Annie, and talking into the wee hours of the night: but I won't, because she already did it, so if you go here: http://www.livejournal.com/users/latentblue/ and read the 29 December entry you'll get the same effect. Good times.

I bought a bunch of comics - having gone to Sci-Fi City in Orlando and Pop! Comics in Sarasota - I feel my geek quotient increasing. I picked up the first Sandman trade because enough people have convinced me to give it a chance. Also got V is for Vendetta, because I don't think I'll see the movie - but the story looked good. And I scored some Uncle Scrooge, because nobody rocks harder than Scrooge McDuck.

New Years with friends in my old Pub, and tomorrow we hit the road for Baltimore. No clue when I'll next be at a wireless hotspot and update this page for you good people - but best wishes to both of you and have a good New Years celebration. Get drunk and kiss someone new at midnight!

Posted by Aaron at 3:05 PM | Permalink | Comments

 

Posted by Aaron at 7:33 PM | Permalink | Comments

Tired...tired! Had duty today as JOOD, and it was the busiest watch I've ever stood on the quarterdeck. Drive, drive, drive...courier, scurry, ferret, clean. At least it was only 11 1/2 hours long...30 minutes early! Thanks for leaving, Skipper!

Went to Pacific Beach yesterday and picked up at a used CD store the following:

Broken Social Scene - S/T - $7.99
Randy Newman - Good Old Boys - $6.99
U2 - War - $5.99

Why would I buy an album I have in its entirety already from BitTorrent? Well, besides being only 6 bucks, now I know which track is which because the file I got is one long .mp3. And now it's portable, and shareable. I know, wasn't that the point of digital media? Go figure.

Downloaded for free I got Sufjan Stevens Seven Swans, Death Cab for Cutie Plans, And You Will Know Us By The Trail of Dead....which is the best name for a band, ever...oh yeah, and Takk by Sigur Ros, which is entirely in Icelandic and I haven't made up my mind about this yet. I have harnessed the power of the electronic donkey, and it is STRONG.

Watched a lot of CNN today - further depressing me about what's considered news. Why is it that print media, sich as The Economist, reports on matters of great import with depth and veracity - and a 24-7 outlet like CNN doesn't even mention the stories? Oh...that's right...The Economist is out of the UK, and CNN is out of the US. Who wants to go with me to Britain and say things like "tosser" and "wanker"? I am seriously leaning towards taking a trip there this year, finances, school, and the Navy permitting. Anybody know some good places to stay? Airfare isn't too bad...

Tomorrow will be fun -

Posted by Aaron at 5:53 PM | Permalink | Comments

Two fun links discovered this weekend:the first courtesy of the BBC - http://www.bbc.co.uk/mediaselector/check/doctorwho/ram/2006_preview?size=16x9&bgc=CC0000&nbram=1&bbram=1&nbwm=1&bbwm=1

It's the latest Doctor! I wish I was in England, where all the cool kids make TV shows.

And from Alan Laidlaw, my architect friend, http://www.wholphindvd.com/ A new kind of magazine, and you HAVE to watch the trailer. Because I said so, that's why.

Finished Anansi Boys by Neil Gaiman - much better than I thought it was going to be.

I-L-L-I-N-O-I-S Ring the bell and call or write us....


We are awakened with the axe
Night of the living dead at last
The have begun to shake the dirt
Wiping their shoulders from the earth...

Illinois has a zombie problem...away the Undead Response Team!

Sufjan Stevens is a GENIUS. And 3 posts in one day is a record for the MobileChelonian. Fly my pretties, fly...

Posted by Aaron at 8:26 PM | Permalink | Comments

 

Posted by Aaron at 5:21 PM | Permalink | Comments

I keep seeing references to something called "Festivus" in greeting cards, decorations, and lapel pins...someone tell me what piece of pop culture this is? It doesn't have the ring of authenticity to it.

Amazingly, it's not only the first night of Hannukah tonight but Christmas Day, which doesn't happen very often. So to my Christian friends, Merry Christmas, and to my Jewish fr..wait. Brian? Mom? Happy Hannukah.

Shopping is mostly done, gave the gift of art (oil and canvas) to Nicole before seeing Munich...more on that later. I finally finished Murakami's Norwegian Wood, which I consider one of his better ones. Oddly enough, according to the afterward, in Japan it's considered one of his least interesting, due to the entirely mundane and straightforward nature of it. But after all the magical realism, mythology, and symbolism of his other works, it was refreshing to read something straightforward. Still working on Borges, Jonathan Lethem's Cartoons for Adults which is a collection of shorts...same guy who wrote Fortress of Solitude. Good stuff, varied and well written.

The latest issue of The Word magazine, (a UK monthly) has a piece on the new Dr Who series with Christopher Eccleston as the latest incarnation of the homeless Time Lord. I've downloaded a few episodes, and it's better than I thought it'd be. It's been updated a bit visually, thank God, but the premise and the tongue is still planted firmly in the cheek of the show's writers and producers. It's at heart still about humanity, not about spaceships and explosions. I don't know if the show is available in the US yet on DVD, but use a bitTorrrent server and pirate away.

Oh yes, I got a library card this week, as it appears that there is a small branch within walking distance of my apartment, further cementing Normal Heights as the premiere neighborhood in San Diego. I picked up the Golden Bough, which I am not going to want to return. It's an indepth and fascinating study of the world's mythology and folklegends, with an eye for the internal logic and structure behind many of the legends. Chapters range from discussions of the various Fire Festivals in Europe to the Disposal of Hair and Nail Trimmings in Indonesia. I predict much outright theft from it on my part in my writing.

Oh yes, Munich. Ill just say it was good, long, depressing, and the best spy/assasination thriller I've ever seen because it never lets the technical aspect get away from the people and the plot. Everything has a price, there are no MacGuffins here to overshadow the very high price of vengance, and the consequences of inaction. If I have a quibble with it, it's the drawn out - anti-climatic nature of the film that ends not with a bang but with a walk in the park as the camera pans out. But that's the storyteller in me trying to impose an Ending on a story that doesn't have one - read the Jerusalem Post, anything from MEMRI, or even (grunt) CNN. It's a black and bloody business, this business of statehood.

Oh yes, I'm also having another crack at the Narnia books (starting with the Magician's Nephew, as C.S. Lewis INTENDED). Last year this season I re-read Susan Cooper's The Dark is Rising ceries, since that's one of the best YA series ever written. Pick them up if you haven't already.

Good Yule to Y'all-

Posted by Aaron at 10:23 AM | Permalink | Comments

The cold December wind has blown
The oldest gods of winters past
Inside our church, inside your home,
To change their names, and thus outlast
The newer gods of Christmas Now.

There's still a wreath and still a tree,
Even holly, oak, and mistletoe
They live in songs the children sing
Of what they sing they do not know-
A hymn to the gods of Christmas Then.

The Soldiers' God, the Solstice Child
Woden's Huntsmen on the wind
The Sun reborn, so tender and mild
The spear-pierced god is on the mend-
The smaller gods of Christmas When

So as you hang your mistletoe
And tell your sins to Santa Claus
Tuck red-wrapped presents safe below
The tall green tree (with plastic frost)
You're resurrecting the gods of Christmases Past

Posted by Aaron at 4:38 PM | Permalink | Comments

In less than an hour I will make my way to the pub to pick up my Poinsietta Bowl tickets and carpool with some fellers to Qualcomm to watch Navy's triple-option running offense demolish Colorado State.

I am so sleep deprived it's nutty...in the past 3 nights I've gotten maybe 10 hours combined sleep. This should prove to be an entertaining night...

Loretta Lynn's Van Lear Rose is an amazing CD. By Crom, she's still got it.

I hope you all had a pleasant Winter Solstice last night. I ran down a stag and dedicated his blood to Santa Claus while singing God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen. Then I had eggnog,


I need SLEEP.

Posted by Aaron at 4:15 PM | Permalink | Comments

Escondido is a pretty nice place - the smell and sound of the surf smacked me in the face as soon as I stepped out of the car. It reminded me of Siesta Key in Florida, with the small boutique seaside shops and eateries. There were a LOT more people here though. I made the excursion north to visit Lou's Records, which I have been assured is THE place to go if you're looking for music. So away I went, and it was good, bought Sufjan Steven's "Come On Feel the Illinoise" and the Ditty Bops S/T album. Note for all RIAA people out there: I downloaded most of the Sufjan Stevens album before I bought it - being able to preview the songs first was a determining factor in me buying the CD. No, I didn't pay Steve Jobs an iTunes any money either, I used eMule. Same with the Ditty Bops. Now the artists can take their miniscule share of those CD sales. File sharing is an incredibly valuable tool for all artists, regardless of their label size or marketing budget. Embrace us! Embrace me! Let's all HUG!

Today the Senate rejected a defense appropriations bill that contained provisions to open the Arctic National Wildlife Reserve to oil exploration: 80% of the sales in oil leases would be funneled to Hurricane Katrina relief - roughly 6 billion dollars. But no, Democrats who have never set foot in Alaska, never seen the caribou they are protecting and probably never will; killed the bill. The Alaskan Senators have been trying to get this passed for years, because frankly it's not as af anyone ever goes to ANWR. Even the local Inuit tribes want the drilling, because they'd get a huge chunk of money and get to purchase snowmobiles instead of harnessing the natural power of the otter (which they domesticate and saddle for transportation around the ice floes.) What? I'm making it up? You been there? Didn't think so.

In related news, this means my annual cost of living pay increase in January has been held up because of this. So...my 2.5% raise is in danger. Folks, don't EVER get a job where Congress controls your salary. It's far too exciting.

For further evidence of why space exploration and travel should be privatized, read this : http://www.cnn.com/2005/TECH/space/12/15/silver.dart/index.html

Yes, you read that right, the Canadians are doing it too. In unrelated Canadian news, a Supreme Court decision in the Great North has struck down a ban on swingers clubs, basically making it OK to have group sex with strangers. http://www.cnn.com/2005/WORLD/americas/12/21/canada.court.reut/index.html

Next step: Swingers Clubs in SPACE. That's right, zero gravity orgies. Expect sales of plastic sheeting and duct tape to skyrocket.

This Sufjan Stevens CD is really good. He makes Illinois sound exciting...

Posted by Aaron at 5:10 PM | Permalink | Comments

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/10545387/

This is the story about how the teaching of Intelligent Design as an alternative to evolution has been banend by a federal court in Pennsylvania. It's a bit ridiculous on both sides really, as yes, the people slipping into the classroom really were religious fundamentalists trying to throw an elbow in there on old Chuck Darwin...and even MORE ridiculous on the side of the judge, who had this to say: “overwhelming evidence” establishing that intelligent design “is a religious view, a mere re-labeling of creationism, and not a scientific theory." That's not really true at all; Intelligent Design is not religious at all, because it ascribes no attributes whatsoever to the Designer. If they were trying to teach the book of Genesis, than yes. But pointing out some obvious holes in the THEORY of evolution (theory: as in, you know, not yet proven) and postualuting that maybe the earth was Created...that's not religion. That's metaphysics and philosophy...by God, we don't want our kids studying that crap. They could grow up wearing berets and hanging out in coffee shops that smell like patchouli and espresso.

And the President of Iran, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, has banned all Western music in his country. As if denying the Holocaust, claiming Israel should be wiped off the face of the earth, and purging the government wasn't enough,now there's no more Kenny G in Tehran. No Beatles in Bushehr, no Sheena in Shiraz. Sad. He's trying to rile the people up against external threats so they don't notice the shennanigans going on at home, like the dissolution of political parties too liberal for the IRGC, the imprisonment of journalists who disagree with the Ayatollah, and the unemployment crisis gripping the country. Hmm...wait...is Karl Rove in Iran?

On a lighter note: this http://whatswrongwiththismotionpicture.blogspot.com/2005/05/star-wars-episode-iii-revenge-of-sith.html#comments parody of Star Wars Episode 3 is the funniest thing I've read in a while. Thanks Hannah! Hope your server can handle the additional traffic now that this internet hotspot is publicizing your work.

Also on a light note: http://www.rockpapersaddam.com/index.html - the intel weenies at work laughed. So presumably that means it's funny and mostly visual.

Phew - 'nuff for now.

Posted by Aaron at 4:33 PM | Permalink | Comments

They may have blocked Yahoo, G-Mail, and Hotmail, but the IT's with NMCI forgot about the world of the blog...so here I sit, on a phone watch, the only sailor in the buiding for another 90 minutes. What better use of my time than to blog (and study the Iranian Navy, of course).

Yesterday morning's post was long and tired, and on rereading I don't get the ideas across in the way I want to: I sound like an ass. So be it...political conversations are better in person. They are no good at all in music though, which was the most tiresome thing about the U2: Vertigo tour Live From Chicago DVD I watched yesterday. Some amazing music, and when I looked up the song lyrics, I was equally impressed by their use of imagery in a very gripping way. But watching Bono preach for 5 minutes before a song...not attractive. The man may just have a messiah complex (and a goofy wraparound visor thing that would make Geordi LaForge laugh). He should take a page from his taciturn guitar player, and reticent bassist, and just PLAY MUSIC. Good stuff, anyway. I don't regret pirating "War" and "Achtung Baby" as there are no spoken word bits on it. Anyone want a once-viewed U2 concert DVD?

I did finish the Meeting People is Easy DVD...despite the lack of a scene skipping menu (because art should be difficult). I came away with some rather mixed opinions. It's definitely a different sort of documentary, and as such, it's not all that hot. The only real impressions that it gives are that a) Radiohead was amazingly successful worldwide b) Touring is a sonofabitch c) Japanese fans are WEIRD. OK, I knew all that. But looking at MPIE as an art piece, as a finished product by itself and not trying to glean anything directly from it...well, it's effin' brilliant. It's one LONG music video, Radiohead style, and it supports every theme that runs throughout the album. There's a warning label on the box that speaks of "stroboscopic effects and their effects on epileptics"...screw all that, there should be a label that reads "Warning: induces paranoia and makes you want to join a resistance movement". Kinda like the one in "V is for Vendetta", which trailer I saw immediately after finishing the MPIE DVD. That was a mistake. Now I'm really worried....NSA spies....cameras...government ministers...soylent green...gaaaahhhhh!!!!!

And here I am, working for the MAN, on his computer even. If no more posts appear on this blog, it's because I have been sent to a re-education camp in Oregon. Hypothetically. You know, if there was a camp, it would be in Oregon...because

//THOUGHTCRIME IN PROGRESS

//POST TERMINATED

//HAVE A NICE DAY

Posted by Aaron at 1:48 PM | Permalink | Comments

Two contrasting op-eds in the paper this morning about torture...what is torture, is it useful, how, should the US use it, and on whom. Couple of points that I want to bring up because they make sense to me.

First, why do we keep going on about how "the United States is not 'about' torture"? We're "better" than that. How so? We've killed thousands of civilians over the years, and I don't recall seeing anything in the Constitution or Declaration of Independence about not torturing people. US citizens, certainly not. But foreign nationals? Nah. Every major world power ever has used torture to one degree or another. The mark of how humane they are is how ashamed they are of it. We're actually pretty damned humane, and if you want some comparisons look to Syria, Cuba, Libya, North Korea, China, and pre-war Iraq. So don't tell me it's unAmerican to torture. It's not.

Secondly, under what circumstances is it justified? The usual ticking bomb scenario is the justification for using it...say you've captured a terrorist who has knowledge of where a chemical bomb is going to go off...somewhere in Manhattan. If you can save innocent lives, do you do it? Do you coerce or use force to make this person talk? If there is ANY circumstance under which it's OK to torture someone for the greater good and to save innocent people's lives, you've just stepped into it. Now, to paraphrase, you're just haggling over price. How many lives have to be saved to justify torture? How immediate the threat? How certain do you have to be? These are all valid questions that get asked EVERY SINGLE DAY. So if you want to be an idealist and a humanitarian, and say all torture is evil and wrong, that's great but I'm secretly glad that our CT organizations aren't such good people.

I'm not at all in favor of torture - it can be a very unreliable tool, and it goes against everything I believe in as a human. I really don't think I could do it to another person...but I am unwilling to throw it out completely as a nation's tool. The questions about whether or not it's justfied to dunk someone, make them stand for 40 hours at a time, blare loud music at them 24-7...these questions have to be asked every time it comes up. Because ideology is far too expensive a habit to have when security is your job. Ask the Israelis if you don't believe me.


What's more disturbing than that is the domestic spying that's going on. That does contradict the Constitution, no matter how thin you slice it. What's amusing to me is the sudden mad dash to condemn it...coome on Congress, you guys sign the bills, You're on Intelligence Panels, and Defense Appropriations Boards. Now you act surprised that the NSA has been monitoring cell phones? Please....I think most Americans who have half a brain and have ever read an Orwell book have been fairly sure this goes on. Everyone was perfectly fine to overlook it at first, but now it's politiclly too volatile. These questions would have bene raised by real patriots in the very beginning - but you all wanted to get re-elected, and it was fine then.

For the record, I've never done any of that. A few people who know what I do have asked me that question, and honestly, no. I've never been asked to, or done anything like that.

"The deeds were monstrous, but the doer ... was quite ordinary, commonplace, and neither demonic nor monstrous." - Hannah Arendt, speaking of Adolf Eichmann.

Evil looks like us, carries a briefcase, and has a family whom he loves. No excess of a deranged pyschopath can ever come close to the evil committed by an ordinary, regular human being who is just doing his job.

Posted by Aaron at 8:42 AM | Permalink | Comments

Something I wrote in the Persian Gulf.

Outchop


The day is breaking on the bow,
The night is dropping swift astern,
Behind we leave the Gulf and its dhows,
The heat of the sun and the red of his burn.

We've marked the ports we cannot enter
And moored at the ones that we can,
We've haggled, and thought ourselves winners
With the sons of Dubai and Bahrain.

We've kept sharp watch upon the oceans
For things like "Freedom" and "Maritime Trade"
Daily repeating our motions,
And wondering what difference we made.

The seas of the Gulf are salty and hot,
The water is filthy and often it reeks,
But here fortunes were made and empires bought
And centuries of men rode her troughs and her peaks.

The dark eyed Arab and his cousin the Persian,
The smuggler, and his brother the thief,
Thousands of small bearded fishermen,
Exporting their catch and religious belief.

Amidst all the chaos and myriad races
The captains of tankers sail in and line up
Look at the wells with greed on their faces
Their cut of the profits shows up at our pumps.

Because we are America and we've come for the oil
(And democracy too, until your wells all run dry)
We don't expect thanks for our blood and our toil
But Cadillac Shiekh, don't let the price get too high!

The night is falling on the bow,
And the sailing from here on out is all clear,
No more sweat and forced isolation
The months without love and the weeks without beer.

Posted by Aaron at 6:45 PM | Permalink | Comments

 

Posted by Aaron at 4:33 PM | Permalink | Comments

No, I didn't eat a big block of cheese (or listen to Cartographers for Social Justice)...but I did zip by the National Review homepage this afternoon for the first time in many months, where I unfortunately discovered that John Spencer who played White House Chief of Staff Leo McGarry on NBC's The West Wing has died at age 59. I always liked old Leo, and I liked the actor who played him. Funny enough, I chose this morning to break out the WW Season 4 DVDs I've been sitting on for a while - and now this.

I haven't seen the show since Aaron Sorkin quit writing, because frankly I thought it went all to hell. But for 4 years, it was the best written thing on network TV even if the Democratic party moral at the end of each show sometimes made me cringe.

Also found a link to this piece, which I use to explain my politics to my liberal friends: http://www.nationalreview.com/dreher/dreher071202.asp - call it Crunchy Conservatism.

Hmm, and I bought Meeting People is Easy, which I am still trying to grok. I've watched a bit over half of it still thinking. Now listening to Beck's Midnite Vultures.

And my dog died. Trouble, the part golden retreiver-collie-chow mix that followed my mother home 15 years ago has finally succumbed to cancer. She was very active right up until a few days ago, which remarkable for a dog that was 112 years old in human years...I was 9 when we she joined the family. I have a hard time remembering when she wasn't the family dog. She was going to get dumped, but instead she got us. Lucky dog...but I've heard from reliable sources that all dogs go to heaven.

Posted by Aaron at 4:17 PM | Permalink | Comments

Let it Be. I can't say John Lennon or any other Beatle changed my life in a tangible way, but they sure did write and play some damned good music. So a Beatles night it is. What's your favorite album kids? Mine is Abbey Road...

I keep listening to track 08 of I'm Wide Awake It's Morning over and over again - Landlocked Blues. I highly recommend this album for sitting in a still small space and thinking until your eyes hurt. Today was productive: I went to work, made more products for Adm. Miller and the CCSG7 folks, came home, worked out, chatted online, caught up on bills, went grocery shopping, and even did a little writing.

So Mitt Romney announced his plans not to run again for Guv of Mass, further fueling rumors that he will be a presidential contender in '08. He seems harmless enough, although being Mormon will probably hurt his chances. I can't help but think it's time we had a Democrat in office, sheerly for the balance, but I'm not sure it would make any difference. The government would continue to expland, we will still have "peacekeepers" in warm and unpleasant climes, and I will still like pizza. John McCain, where are you?

Depeche Mode has been confirmed by Coachella, lending credence to the unofficial setlist that's been circulating for months that had Depeche Mode as the headliners. Here is the unofficial list as of now -
April 29 Depeche Mode, The Strokes, Portishead, Franz Ferdinand, Fatboy Slim, Massive Attack, Infected Mushroom, Royksopp, Kings of Leon, Doves, Sufjan Stevens, Broken Social Scene, Atmosphere, Blackalicious, Super Furry Animals, The Buzzcocks, Primal Scream, Supergrass, Ladytron, DJ Peretz, The Shins, Dieselboy, Tortoise, Sleater Kinney, Richard Hawley, Grooverider, Death From Above 1979, Yesterday’s New Quintet, The Walkmen, Son Volt, Will Oldham, The Clientele, Lightning Bolt, Cage, The Crimea, OK Go, Clap Your Hands Say Yeah, John Kelly

April 30 The White Stripes, Roxy Music (featuring Brian Eno), The Arcade Fire, Sigur Ros, Yeah Yeah Yeahs, Boards of Canada, Underworld, Ween, Death Cab for Cutie, Armin Van Buuren, Built to Spill, De La Soul, Big Star, Iron & Wine, Uberzone, Happy Mondays, Dinosaur Jr, TV on the Radio, Elbow, Eagles of Death Metal, The Tears, Esthero, T. Rauschmiere, Cat Power, The New Pornographers, Carl Cox, Grandaddy, Calexico, Explosions in the Sky, The Wedding Present, Andy C, Fatlip, DJ Icey, The Notwist and Themselves preforming as 13 & God, Devendra Banhart, The Coral, Stateless, 65 Days of Static

See anything you like? Want to go with a bunch of indie-rockin' sailors? If you're suitable cool enough for our oh-so-emo crowd of hipsters, we'll be getting a house in Palm Springs again and are always looking for extra people to defray costs.

The picture below, by the way, is from the island of Lantau in Hong Kong. A long and dangerous bus ride awaits those who want to see the Po Lin Buddha in person, but it's well worth it. Smaller statues of Buddhist deities ring the larger statue, in various poses of praise and worship. The exhibits and temple are stunning. And you can collar the odd monk for pictures.

Sigh. I have to go buy some U2 CD's now, because I missed that bus back in the 80's. Oh childhood, what did I spend you on?

Posted by Aaron at 5:25 PM | Permalink | Comments

 

Posted by Aaron at 1:08 PM | Permalink | Comments

Yes, yes, I just saw Chronicles of Narnia. I went in wanting to enjoy it, wanting the book to transport me to a magical land that I discovered as a boy. Instead, I got a cut-rate Lord of the Rings. I dislike child actors, but if they're British and sufficently mouthy I can handle it...these kids gave off the emotion of a toaster. Seriously. And man, this movie was antiseptic. No blood, anywhere. The scene where Peter first kills a wolf: ludicrous. The CG was OK, as long as nothing complicated was called for, like moving. And Aslan looked two dimensional and sounded, well, weedy. It had it's moments, but it was nothing like the books for magic. And maybe that's the problem. Chronicles of Narnia was one of the first fantasy novels I ever read...actually, Dad read LTWATW to me as a youngling, and I picked the rest up from there. It formed the underpinnings of what became the structure of my fantastical mind It was the rulebook for how a story should go, how children should act in magical settings, and what actions reaped what rewards. It became a barometer for the mythic, and as such, I have a hard time now going back and reading the stories and understanding them as, well, stories. Now the magic has been whisked away, and replaced with a fairly pointless movie. I didn't want to KNOW what it looked like when a centaur fought a minotaur, and I didn't want to KNOW what the castle courtyard of the White Witch looked like (the inside of a taxidermists freezer). This isn't always a problem with movies based on books: I thought LOTR would work out the same way, but Peter Jackson's amazing vision, devotion, and some spectacular cinematography and CG brought a parallel vision. I can re-read the Tolkien books and not feel cheated because I've seen the movie, and I can watch the Peter Jackson movies and still feel awed. That is what a good director does. Sadly, The Chronicles of Narnia weren't that. Goblet of Fire was a better movie, and I don't even like Harry Potter very much. I don't think the inevitable sequels will be on my To Watch list. (Curious George though, IS...the animation looks absolutely beautiful. And Jack Johnson is doing the entire soundtrack).

Speaking of soundtracks, the Narnia music was god-awful. It wasn't a counterpoint, or a cue, or melodic backdrop for a film. It was a repetitive series of flute and symphony that sounded like John Williams, if John Williams was totally incompetent and didn't know a thematic element from a trumpet. Feh.


Oh, and I'm staying in San Diego for 18 more months. Thanks, Navy.

Posted by Aaron at 7:02 PM | Permalink | Comments

I had the dubious pleasure today of taking a college English assesment test so's I could register for the Creative Writing class I want. I did well enough to skip the prerequisites (or go to the trouble of digging out my MCC transcript from my service record). Tomorrow morning, I register for college at an actual college. Heady days. Also, I'm participating in an online forum mix-CD exchange...basically I emailed the facilitator the sorts of music I liked and disliked, as did some 9 other people...our mailing addresses and preferences were then exchanged. The person I'm mixing for doesn't like " "poppy" / "generic" sounding bands... examples... nickleback, the rocket summer, the killers, the click five. i really like more laidback indie, low-fi, folky, classic rock-y, alternative type music... like... the decemberists, radiohead, bjork, midlake, sparklehorse, crosby, stills, nash and young, cat power, cocorosie, arcade fire"

So here's the mix I made up:

Track 1: Rhapsody by Alejandro Escovedo
Track 2: Bridal Train by the Waifs Track 3: Eleanor Put Your Boots On by Franz Ferdinand -Track 4: Rub Alcohol Blues by the Fiery Furnaces - Track 5: Act Nice and Gentle by the Black Keys - Track 6: It's a Hit by Rilo Kiley -Track 7: There She Goes my Beautiful World by Nick Cave -Track 8: Fix You Up by Tegan & Sara - Track 9: Lost Highway by Jeff Buckley - Track 10: Half Acre by Hem Track 11: When the Roses Bloom Again by Billy Bragg and Wilco Track 12: Stupid Mouth Shut - by Hem. Track 13: Another Travelin' Song Track 14: The Thief by Jeremy Larson Track 15: Louisiana 1927 by Randy Newman

What do you think? Did I screw it up? What would your miz look like? There's not much point in handing someone a CD of bands and sounds they already know and like, so this is the birdshot approach.

And now it's time to go forth for Monday Night Football: time to watch the Saints get pummeled. There was a lengthy piece on CNN this afternoon about Mardi Gras, and whether or not the city should go ahead with it. Displaced residents in Atlanta are protesting the city's decision to do 8 days of parades...they think the time and money should be spent on rebuilding...well, they think they should all be sent checks. Because they're "owed". Hate to say it, but that's the job of the federal government and insurance companies. I think there will be a party thrown that nobody will go to, but what else can NOLA do? They have to rebuild the tourist trade, focus some positive attention on the city, and get investors interested. Handing out blank checks wouldn't help a damn thing, except keep rewarding the entitlement mentality that permeates Louisiana. Heartless, maybe. Headless, no. But what's the point of going back to New Orleans if there are no jobs and no economy?


Geaux Saints! Try not to suck too bad tonight.

Posted by Aaron at 5:43 PM | Permalink | Comments

Alan, this title is for you.
So there I am, at the local sex toy shop, surrounded by things that buzz, tickle, fasten, and snap. I'm buying a few things...but not for myself. No, last night I went to a Dirty Santa Party at a friend's apartment. It was basiclaly white elephant with sexually suggestive gifts. Thank God for the couple of people who brought boring things: I scored an Instant Immersion 120 Languages on 6 CD-Roms set! Whew...because really, what would I do with 7 inch purple vibrator? Really? You can do that? Hmm...


Got no sleep last night, too little food, and too much caffiene and bourbon. So now I've stood 2 watches and been awake for 34 hours. Very, very punchy. Finally bought the I'm Wide Awake It's Morning CD from Bright Eyes that I've been dithering over for a weeks...awesome CD, awesome artist. Getting more people together for Coachella in April, assembling a weight bench, loading up a new iPod Nano, flirting with punk-ish emo girls at a coffee shop to the disgust of a long line of customers, reading reading reading and trying not to fall asleep. I applied for my next set of orders: I requested CENTCOM in Tampa, MRSOC in San Antonio, and ONI in the DC area. Acronyms got you down? Use the decoder ring in an old box of Frosted Wheaties to unscramble my codes! Guaranteed or your confusion back.

I may end up staying here for another year though..possibly until mid 2007. Uncertainty is spelled N-A-V-Y.

Ran across this site: you plug in an artist whom you like and the software spits back a playlist of artists who share some of the same characteristics. http://www.pandora.com/ OK, Computer.


Next Cd purchase: the Shout Out Louds Howl Howl Gaff Gaff.

I'm off to read some Murakami and think deep thoughts.

Posted by Aaron at 2:00 PM | Permalink | Comments

...of the emergency Turtle system. We remind you that pirates will always beat the snot out of ninjas, primarily because they cheat, and have better clothes.

Random much? Welcome to my day.

Posted by Aaron at 12:26 PM | Permalink | Comments

Salamander is one of the best books I've ever read. Wharton mixes Borges, Calvino, the history and wonder of the printing press, and some very compelling characters into, simply, a Great Book. Reminds me of Neal Stephenson's Baroque Cycle minus a few thousand pages. If you love books, history, words, magical realism, or any combination thereof go out and buy this book.

Now what the hell do I follow it up with? I'm going to marinate some steak in barbeque sauce and bourbon tonight: whilst I marinate in the sauce of some good music and good ideas. What will come of this? I'll print it here, for you.


http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0743444159/qid=1133921370/sr=8-2/ref=pd_bbs_2/102-1165132-3890539?n=507846&s=books&v=glance


(Its cheap: get it)

Posted by Aaron at 6:03 PM | Permalink | Comments

So, I finally saw Shaun of the Dead after every single person in the western world did. It was hee-larious. Every zombie cliche you can think of was skewered, every survival horror convention lampooned, and everyone was British. Plus, I'm pretty sure that was Chris Martin of Coldplay with a cameo at the end, so he just got that much cooler in my book. So that was $13.99 well spent, twice. I've been shopping for a turntable since there are two old vinyl shops on my block: now I have another reason to go back to LP's. They can kill zombies! Who knew?

Registered for college today - well applied for admission. Online. How cool is that? It's come a long way since the last time I had to go through this in 2001. I'll probably go to either City or Mesa colleges...I'm thinking French and Creative Writing. Plus, there's a writing group that meets on Thursdays at the local indie-goth coffee shop which sounds like fun. It's like I'm getting serious or something.

Oh, and yet another cute girl responded to me on OKCupid. What is it with that site? The people seem to be in general several cuts above other dating sites like Yahoo or Match...and I'm getting responses. I think it's the questionaires and general air of "we're smarter than you" that the site puts out. San Diego still doesn't have a stunning selection, but of 3 women I've talked to 2 of them are local and interesting.

I had to turn down the job offer to go ride submarines today. Yes, I want to move back east, and yes, the job sounds fascinating and would help my Navy career. But I don't want a Navy career: I want normality again. This is the third senior person that has tried to talk me into something cool sounding, ad I keep turning them down. Man, I hope full time college is all it's cracked up to be.

As they say in France, "we surrender!"
Wait, no.
"Au revoir!" ah, that's it.

Posted by Aaron at 3:02 PM | Permalink | Comments

 

Posted by Aaron at 11:12 AM | Permalink | Comments

A quiet morning and some coffee and music were what I needed to finish this: a short story that's one part Borges, one part track 2 from Jeremy Larsen's CD, and one part deployment.


solar powered girl

She told me that once she'd been a prow on a longship, a crudely carved legless beauty who faced the waves and tasted the salt of the ocean on her wooden lips every day. She had sailed the North Sea, the Atlantic, and even through the rivers of eastern Europe to Miklagaard where she had been sunk by one of the Emperor's galleys. An oilcloth wrapped ballistae bolt had run her ship through, setting the hull alight and consigning the longboat to a watery grave. For decades, she layed at the bottom of the Sea of Marmara, gathering mussels and watching the occasional corpse sway down to the ocean floor. She'd been raised by a Turkish salvage crew who was looking for Viking gold. Finding none, they sold the lady to an Arab merchant in antiquities, who smelled of figs and had a well oiled moustache that he would sometimes brush against the lady's cheeks. Following the sack in 1453 by the Ottomans, she was put in a mildewy cog and sailed across the Black Sea to Varna, and then overland in a wagon of valuables to Sillistria where she was trundled onto a barge and floated up the Danube to Belgrade. At the time, the names meant nothing to her: she was a wooden woman, uncomprehending. All she knew was that she was far, far from the sea. The smells and tastes were different, no seagulls keened to wake her in the morning. Only a succession of men, speaking in many tongues who traded and sold her as if she was only wood. Her lips were wooden, true, but her heart was red and and her breath was warm.
She was then modified, placed upon a dais and raised in a hall to look down on some noble's dining table. They even built a false ship for her to front, a few yards of curved wood nailed to her backside to complete the illusion of a longship coming through the wall. There she remained until a bomb from a bloodier war fought by great machines and small men tore through the roof of her hall, and failed to explode. The shock carried her into the rain, where she began to grow again. Slowly, over months, she ejected the nails and foreign objects that had been buried in her body. Like hair growing and falling out, ejecta. Like a statue crying, but she was very happy. She put down tenative roots in the cracked and wet earth, and by summer leaves had begun to sprout, covering her face. Years went by and a garden grew up around her, untended and uncalled for. Men walked by and paused in their chores, at peace for a moment, but soon to forget they had ever been there.

I was a child near the village of __________ which had been rebuilt after the bombs and boots had pounded it into the ground. The children used to play near the garden, but I was the only one that ever went inside it, ever dared to approach the strange and disturbing tree at the center. Her carved face was still visible, the swell of her breasts and the gentle curve of her hips...but she was like a mermaid planted in soil. We talked, for she had learned the language of our land through many nights in the Lord's hall here. She told me of far lands, and the travels and travails she had endured. Nails and bolts she could remove, but never her memories, and she never could regrow bark over the scars she had received at the hands of the sculptors who fashioned her. She once showed me some runes carved into her right breast that were the mark of a Norse woodcarver. He loved her for the thing that she was, and although he never understood fully what she was or what he had done to her, she could not or would not hide the markings. The Arab that owned her was always afraid of her, she said, because of the Quaran's prohibition on idolatry, the scars he gave her were hidden and secretive, flowing lines in Arabic etched into her hair, a sura from the Hadith about great beauty.

The day came eventually when I stopped going to my girl in the garden. She never spoke to anyone else, and I like to imagine she has never spoken to anyone else. I don't know why I stopped going, but it was like I had taken her life inside mine, buried it deeply, and walked away without remembering the girl herself. She became to me her stories and memories, and ceased to be a person. A person, yes, she had every quality of humanity, I am certain. Now I am very old, and I am going back to that garden to see if she still remains, as I remember. I have seen many things, traveled to some of the lands she saw, and remembered her occasionally at the sight of a sandstorm, or the flash of steel in the desert, or the sound of a seagull far from land. Now I am ready for another to tell my stories to, and I hope she will listen to mine and let me lay there with her for a time. Maybe I too will grow roots and leaves, and turn my face upwards into the sun and my legs into the warm earth.


I hope you read and like it.

Posted by Aaron at 8:19 AM | Permalink | Comments

This city must be growing on me...apogees and perigees are in alignment, the planets are wheeling around in the right order, or something. Today I went to the swap meet, bought a hat, went to Little Italy and had lunch at Mmmiro's which has murals all over the inside and good Italian food...ate sushi tonight at Sushi Deli Too on Broadway, and was introduced to this guy: http://www.matisyahu.org/. Two new restaurants, a new musical artist...oh, and I bought a fifth of Drambuie. This city is packed with good places to eat, cool hangouts, and things to do. If only it was in, say, Georgia. It's December and warm, Nickel Creek is coming to town next week, and I'm listening to a Brooklyn Jew doing reggae. Really great reggae and beatboxing, singing about Judaism. He is getting local radio play too...

If youre wondering about the seemingly random photo of me, I was playing around with Picassa and Hello and somehow posted a pic of myself to my blog. I thought it would go into my profile, but nooo, now you have to look at my stubble to read my blog. Until I make a second page.

I like hats and scotch, and Jewish reggae artists...and sushi, and living close to friends.

Posted by Aaron at 7:57 PM | Permalink | Comments

C'est moi. 

Posted by Aaron at 4:36 PM | Permalink | Comments

These are a few of my favourite things...a friend of mine lent me "Salamander" by Thomas Wharton. He's a Canadian author, and I've never seen his stuff here...she bought the book in Dubai and now I have it. It's very good so far, sort of a magical realism/Neal Stephenson sort of plot so far. The writing is spot on with what I would like to do, so now I have someone else to steal blatantly from. I ordered "Icefields" and my own copt of "Salamander" from Amazon.com, they should be here shortly. The books were $.67 and $.89 respectively...can't beat that.

I finally got my CD's off the ship, so now Hem's Eveningland is wafting from my speakers like the smell of cinnamon bread. Mmmm. And I just bought, for the second time, Sean of the Dead. I keep hearing good things about it - the first time I bought it it disappeared before I could partake. I like British humour, and I like zombies, so British humor involving zombies may just be, well, I hope not orgasmic because that's messy but at least pleasantly tingly.


This kick started my morning: http://www.latam.msnbc.com/id/10265078/

PETA are some seriously messed up people. Like most organizations, it's probably 80% quiet, polite people who feel strongly about animals and 20% radical leftists who want to seriously change the world. Guess who gets all the attention? Right.

Posted by Aaron at 6:45 PM | Permalink | Comments

There's an interesting article in the latest Atlantic Monthly entitled "Is God an Accident?" by Paul Bloom. I read it this afternoon after work, and I'm skeptical. The author starts off by pointing out that America is no more religious than the rest of the world, thus linking all humanity together by making sure we don't feel ignorant compared to those enlightened Icelandic folk, 80% of whom pray on a regular basis and believe in an afterlife. He makes a point to decouple "Church attendance" from "religious belief". OK, fair enough. He talks about how Americans go to church more because our organized religions exist in a little Darwinistic/Adam Smith free market economy so they have to work harder to evolve and attract parishioners, as opposed to state-sponsored European churches. Good, great, lovely. Interesting. Then he moves on to ask the question, Why Religion? Why does it exist? The first "myth" he debunks is religion as opiate of the masses...that religion exists to soothe the pain of a nasty existance, and quell our fears of death. He makes what seems to me a circular arguement here about how hungry people don't believe in food to get full, they have to have it. So, believing in something doesn't make it exist, so how can religions fill that role for us? Since obviously sophisticated people know that there is no God or heaven, but they continue to believe in them, psychology is Right Out. Also, he makes a good and often undernoted point that our monotheistic religions offer a comprehensive worldview that explains humanity's role, postulates a caring and interventionist God, while many other religions have quarrelsome and very human Gods, who do not offer much in the way of hope or a One True Way. Fair point...no justice, no peace. Anyhoo, the upshot is that religion can be an opiate but that's not good enough. So onward we go to Myth #2, Religions evolving as a social construct...a fraternity. This is a more Darwinistic approach, basically saying that religion gave an evolutionary edge to young cultures and tribes, binding them together more tightly and giving them a reason to look out for each other and help each other survive wolves, winter, and other people. All right, he says, so now we're all eating the same food, not intermarrying, and circumcising the kids. Who is this God fellow and what does he have to do with it? What role does He or She play in tribal rituals? Why does the Thunder have to Speak? Why do we bother with souls, gods, creation, etc? Hmm, well, Ive never liked that theory anyway so I'll bite. And now: babies.
There are studies that show babies are dualistic, they are capable of abstract reasoning. Babies understand motivations, and the nature of things quite a lot earlier than we may have thought. We seem, from infancy, to understand or believe in a separation of body and soul, or mind and body. The idea of endurance, of perpetuation after death seems to be built in with humanity. We live in a material world and a non-physical one, and the division between them leads us easily into imaginig soulless bodies and bodiless souls. There is something called the "hypertrophy of social cognition, wherein we see purpose, intention, and design even when it's not there." Hmmm. You run across the same idea in Terry Pratchett's books, the power of stories. Stories that perpetuate themselves through people: Terry takes it a step further and writes that stories are organisms, parasitcal ones. Not a far stretch from hypertrophy of social cognition. That idea is picked up can carried for a few more yards in The Science of Discworld II: The Globe where precisely this is talked about - the propensity of people to think in terms of story, to ascribe motivation and purpose to even inanimate organisms. To understand that common things motivate us all and thus to predict how strangers will act. Anyway, back to the article. Interviewed and studied children want to believe in God, so therefore it's inborn. Presumably the children that talk about God and creation have not been indoctrinated into one religious canon, otherwise that sort of voids the whole "kids are little tabula rasas" theory that ascribes deep meaning to what the little munchkins say. The article then devolves into some idle speculation about the nature of heaven, and Buddhism, and whatnot. The point that he shakily makes is that humans are born ready to believe in something, therefore, religion is an evolutionary accident. The stretch is never quite made satisfactorily to me. How can you tell accident from design? And why is this an evolutionary trait? Why should humans want to believe anything? Why do we care what the thunder says? Will it get me more mammoth to eat? We don't need a God to make a tribe, and we don't need a philosophical system in order to live, eat, and reproduce.
It's an interesting article, and a thought provoking one, but ultimately unsatisfactory.

Posted by Aaron at 7:15 PM | Permalink | Comments

Here I am, marking my territory on the World Wide Web much the same way that a terrier marks a lightpole. Although in Baltimore, all the canine urine in the world isn't deterring this horrible crime: http://www.nytimes.com/2005/11/25/national/25metal.html

So why would you steal a lightpole? Seriously? The local po-po explanation that heroin addicts trying to sell the lightpoles for drug money seems a little far fetched. This requires far more planning and execution than your average strung out junkie can manage. I blame it on the parents.

And now we're paying stringers to write stories in Iraqi press to make ourselves look favorable. I bet that's fooling a lot of people. "Hey Rafik...look at this full color supplement in how Humvees are good for the enviroment." "My friend, that is no news story. Look at the small print. Kfeiyah!" "By the smell of my camel's breath, you are right. 'Paid for by the Multinational Coalition Force Command'. " "What about this allergy medication story? It too has fine print."

Yeah. Us jaded, bloated, midly bovine Americans can smell out a fake ad from a real story with one eye on a reliaty show and the other on our Newsweek. The Iraqis are much more saavy than we are, I give them 48 hours before there is a website debunking our stories. With Flash, probably.

Do you want to know more? http://www.nytimes.com/2005/12/01/politics/01propaganda.html?incamp=article_popular


I saw The Ice Harvest last night. It wasn't all that hot despite having Grade-A talent in it and glowing reviews in a fake newspaper story (hey...wait a minute) pasted up over the theater lobby. The movie was a succession of fine and entertaining movie scenes strung together by some sort of plot that was far too clever for its own good. I give it 2.5 stars, in the manner of pretentious reviewers everywhere who are too lazy to write more. I am waiting breathlessly for Syriana, which looks to be overly complex and full of explosions.

If you're in San Diego, you should check out the Star Bar downtown. It has a copious alcohol selection, smells of urine, and has one jukebox. I loved it. I bought a lily from the flower lady for my lady friend, which helped to mask the smell of pee. I know how to show a girl a good time - Coronas were $2.

This blog may not look like much but she's got it where it counts, kid.

Posted by Aaron at 2:31 PM | Permalink | Comments