Ghost In The Machine

Ice and Such

2009-02-01T12:27:00.000-08:00

I went sledding in Cherokee park a couple of days ago, only we didn't bring any sleds. After helping a stuck car out of their parking spot, a lady in an SUV gave us her old sleds, which happened to be plastic and beat to hell. More like two half-sleds.

Only Bobby and I actually trusted them enough to sled down Dog Hill, and it was worth it.

Looking to move out of the Kathouse in a month or so, find a place in Old Louisville with Rob and Mae. It'll be nice to move out of a hole. Still looking for steady work, though.

At least we've got power. Louisville is wholly unprepared for winter weather.

A New Hope... er, Year.

2009-01-02T00:09:00.000-08:00

Life in the Vast Machine

It's 2009, and I'm home in Louisville with the girl, Mae. I've been sleeping in and not getting much done, which I'm fine with for now. Spent New Years at Morgan's and made good friends with her guy, Rob, who's a big nerd and wants to roll dice with Andrea and I. Sweet.

I've been reading The Traveler, by John Twelve Hawks. As the back cover describes it, it's kind of a cyber 1984, which is pretty accurate. I'm about halfway through now, and it's a pretty cool modern adventure. I'd recommend it if you're a sci-fi fan.

So, What Now?

Resolutions? Not really. I never make New Years resolutions, but it's that time of year, and I've been feeling reflective, so change has been on my mind. My fist semester at Alfred University has been a learning experience, not so much in what I've gained from my classes, but in what I've learned from myself. Motivation's not easy to find for me, in a lot of cases, classes included. I'm not a big fan of structure, but I think I already knew that. And for all my talents and interests, I've realized that if I don't focus my efforts on a particular media, I won't get squat done in life.

So what now? Do I put all my energy into my art (which, sadly, I haven't been,) or start writing nonstop and try and get a novel cranked out? If I should want to DJ outside of WALF, what should I be doing about that now?

Hurm. I'm not going to answer these questions now, because I frankly don't know. But it's a start. Whatever I end up doing, look out. The gears are moving, and Alfred's too small for me. I'll probably travel next year if I can manage it.

Oh, and, some music.

Time in the Woods

2008-10-14T01:12:00.000-07:00

Ho hum. Life goes well at Alfred University. I'm not dead yet, in case you were wondering. It's Midterm Break, so there's not many people left, which is good for sleeping in and enjoying lazy days. Er, getting lots of work done. Yeah, work.

Bonfires will be a must this winter. Had marshmallows tonight with Mae and Steve. Good times.

On the subjeect, add Tentagon, also known as Birdhouse, or Gilligan's, to the list of sweet forts in the woods. Jim, Will, Jesse, Sodapop and I, along with a few others, have been building a giant (20' across, or so) hut. So far, we've got maybe a third of the flooring (nicely done, I might add,) a boss firepit, and roofing on the whole thing. Considering living there next year.

Also, on the subject of radio, Ghost Radio has aired successfully the past two Sundays at 12 AM. Streaming is fucked up currently, but should be fixed soon-ish, I think. Link here.

A Few Thoughts, Resounding

2008-09-22T00:04:00.001-07:00

1. Ghost Radio premiers on WALF next Sunday night, 12:30 to 2:30 in the AM. Listen in if you're in the neighborhood, or I'm sure you can stream it somewhere.

2. One of the guys, Ted, from Irene's old apartment gave me a sweet pair of boots and a sick leather jacket today. Ted is the man, the shoes fit me perfectly.

3. Poetry is both incomprehensibility easy and impossibly hard. This week we have to write a poem dealing with food in some way. Last week was place, and the week before was kind of open ended. Here's the second one.

The Room at the Bottom of the Stairs

Cat piss and Vicks VaporRub
silently stew
behind tacked up curtain
and seep ever so slightly
past an unnamed computer, teeming with
noise, sending Danger Mouse beating
up past an ashtray, a mislaid shoe,
to where I lean-

unworried about the disabled
smoke alarm, the writing on the wall-

on a stranger's futon
laid with sheets from Bombay,
which no longer exists,
except in paycheck stubs strewn
about a box
at the foot
of the next flight of stairs

up which,
past the shotgun named Reason,
the yellow bass named Nixon
drips a cord down to the amp
two flights below and this
is where Adam, another unlisted,
sits free of lease, and we prostelitize
in a daze, and Thomas feathers the bass,
the notes resounding
all the way up.

Woosh

2008-09-08T19:06:00.000-07:00

I've been drawing robots for a pretty involved comic strip the past few days. They're pretty sweet, if I do say so myself. As I'm supposed to photocopy my sketches, I'll probably post some soon.

In the past week or so, no fewer than seven various different structures have been found in the woods, ranging from sweet huts to sprawling tree forts. Tree Tree, Helter Shelter, and the Opium Den are righteous hangouts.

Downloaded the Grey Album. Danger Mouse is the tits.

Need food now, more later.

Sneaky Panda

2008-08-26T16:47:00.000-07:00

Ho hum.

I've been at college a good week now, and things are shaping up pretty well, I think. My roommate, Miguel (or "The Cheech,") and I got hooked up with the biggest room in our dorm, which also happens to be the only room on the 1st floor. Tight.

Classes are good. The Making of Europe, Writing II, Poetry Workshop, and Globalization, Pop Culture, and The Media (which is every bit as awesome as it sounds.) Nothing earlier than 10 AM, either.

I'm looking to get a job DJing for the campus radio station, WALF, as well. Been working on art, playing bass, and working on mix CDs in my spare time, which will be cut down severely if I end up actually joining all the clubs I signed up for. (Militant
Illustrators Association, AU Swing Society, Medieval Club, Pirate Theater, and probably a few others.)

Woosh. That's all you get for now, shit to do.

Well, it's no Holy Quest.

2008-08-18T19:50:00.000-07:00

Yesterday I began a journey. Physical, to be sure, maybe spiritual or some associated hoop-la. Yesterday I left my Louisville home, still trashed from the previous night's celebration, my mother in the driver's seat, for college.

Sunday involved a fair bit of driving, grabbing some pizza and catching a show in Cleveland. People Under The Stairs opened for Flobots. Goddamn, what a good show. Spent most of today driving up to Rochester, with a brief pause to get a new tape adapter at Target and nom-ing at Bob Evans. Fuck if it's for old people, I had a damn good pot roast. Rest of the evening was spent talking/eating with grandparents and secluding myself in front of the computer in the attic.

Tomorrow I get to hang around Rochester for a little bit, then head over to Syracuse to visit Bryan Crandall, my junior/senior year English teacher. Hopefully he'll set my head straight. The next day, a short drive to Alfred University, and who knows what from there.

It's a weird feeling, knowing that it'll be a good three months before I see any of my friends from Louisville again, but I put college off for a year, and it's time. We'll see where this takes me.

I think I'm writing a book.

2008-08-12T19:21:00.000-07:00

Wafts of smoke drifted lazily around Mercy's bare feet, the yellowed grass puffing into nothing at the heat. The Archon cast his gaze about the wide, crumbling, courtyard, questing about for that familiar cold presence. Nothing moved save the damp breeze that spirited the smoke away and left a greasy feeling on Mercy's skin.

There was something unnatural about that wind, the Archon decided. Still warily scanning the ancient courtyard, he resigned himself to action. Words slipped from his lips like burning pitch, steaming as they grew in intensity. A thin red line was traced on the palm of his right hand, and a wavering golden light began to spill out, luminescence dripping like wax. Emerging from the widening gash was a jag, then a spike, then a long curved blade of shimmering bone, impossibly sharp. It shone wetly.

Something in the shadows at the north end of the court moved, a sinuous, pulsing motion.

There you are, thought Mercy, sword gripped loosely. The pools of golden blood mirrored his watching eyes. His silver wings rustled in the gathering wind, and the thing emerged.

I Blame Alice's Class

2008-07-10T22:12:00.000-07:00

I blame Alice's class.

Slumped, pumping words
upon words
and even a few thoughts
onto reams
of dead plant matter.

Dumbfounded, with sleepglue in our eyes,
on those stained glass tinted 10 AM's,
maybe a few of those thoughts crept in.

Buried themselves in gray matter
that I'll one day use

to think my own thought.

Those summer days...

2008-06-29T14:40:00.000-07:00

Yesterday: ?
Tonight: Making tea, taking Crack and watching Teeth.
Tomorrow: ?

http://knivtheturtle.muxtape.com/

Rusty Bearings

2008-06-26T09:41:00.000-07:00

Changes

Moved in with JJ, Thomas, Adam, and Elliot in that giant house on Third and Oak. Loving every minute. Two giant stories, super cheap rent, close to things, and an unreasonable amount of music, art, and weaponry. That, and old houses are the bomb.

Need to get my bike fixed and my shirts from the house on Somber Way. Also could use a new job. Yeah, quit Subway. Had a pretty chill last day, actually. Booker brought pizza, we were kinda slow, and I wasn't working with any tards. Good stuff.

Some Things Never Change

"You named the shotgun Reason?"
-JJ, about 5 seconds ago

Safety Deposit

2008-06-14T14:08:00.000-07:00

Quick update:

Got an appointment for my squid tattoo on Monday. (Plus have plans for two others in the works. One and I'm already a tattoo junkie.) Blew 40 bucks on art supplies for a graphic novel that Thomas and I are starting. Realized I'm probably going to end up majoring in art. Going to Scorched Nuts with Lewis and probably JJ come a week or so. About to watch Gangs of New York.

Busy bees, every one of us.

Fuel

2008-05-11T22:29:00.000-07:00

Of speed, iron, and purple drank.

So, the Iron Man movie is pretty freaking awesome. I was the last person in my house to see it, but that's cool, cause I totally got in free. Thomas, go you for having friends who work at movie theaters. Also, props for beating Rita to the movie theater in your piece of shit station wagon.

Fail for losing on the way home.

Props though for making me laugh and spitting purple drank on Spenser.

Wait, what?

Yeah, you heard right. Spicy's in town.

What a pimp. You should go check out his new blog, Hot Mantra. Check it regularly, because there might or might not be sandwich art from yours truly.

Oh no you dinnint.

Sandwich art? Yeah, that's right, I'm a sandwich artist. Not only do I work in cardboard, but I work in Subway. And goddamn, do I make the sweetest sandwiches. Exhibit A: The Marzarie Special, AKA the Lovewich, AKA the Meatocalypse, AKA the Fat Kid's Wet Dream. If you get the foot long, it's only 12 dollars. If you're me, it's free.

Om nom nom nom.

Shameless Plug

2008-04-23T17:03:00.000-07:00

So, remember forever ago when I made a deviantART account ad posted a million different art pieces? Neither do I. And it was only like six. But now it's fully updated and has a metric crapton of new pictures. Go check it out.

Disambiguation

2008-04-21T22:35:00.000-07:00

Yesterday was...

Shit, there was a yesterday?

Today was interesting.

Work was about eighteen times suckier than it needed to be. The lines were fucking ridiculous, we were understaffed because someone just quit out of the blue, everything was just not in the right place, and one of the new workers tried conversing with me in squeaks and hums. Things brightened up later though, and I made a damn fine sandwich for lunch. I've just recently discovered I like banana peppers a lot. Go figure.

Afterwards, headed home, kind of watched Diehard whilst checking internet things for maybe an hour. Then hopped on my bike and headed down to Cherokee park, where I did the whole Scenic Loop thing. Stopped for a while at this chill spot that no one knows about and tossed rocks into the creek. Very relaxing. Course, beforehand, I managed to stumble a bit and get my shoes soaked, as well as an ugly looking cut. Skipping backwards over water = bad idea.

Biked around sockless for a while (ran into Eli who got fucking tall) before heading home to enjoy a fulfilling dinner of Ramen and peanut butter from the jar. (You are all envious, I know it.)

Tomorrow will be more interesting.

Why? Because NO WORK, that's why.

Under Ill Repair

2008-04-16T19:50:00.000-07:00

Behold, I am LAME

Ho hum. I seemed to forget that I had a blog until recently. Oh dear faithful readers (all .5 of you,) I apologize. Here, have a webcomic.

Yes! Zombies are awesome, and if you're one of the cool kids, you'll read this one!

Lunchmeat!

Anyways, I've begun my lifetime dream of perusing a career in sandwich making at Subway. Yes, while few of you know, it has been my lifelong ambition to make sandwiches, day and night, rain or shine. Right.

But yeah, Subway has been pretty chill so far. Pretty easy, but not in the mind-numbing way that Kroger was. That, and free sandwiches. ^.^

Mixed Media

Do you like movies? I know I do. Here's some... you just didn't get 'em from me, hear?

I have a new piece up on my DeviantART account. Yeah, I forgot I had one too. Though, sometime in the next week or so, I'm going to be getting together with my dad and getting decent quality pictures of all my pieces up on the interweb. Fuckin' hi-ya.

Anyways, done rambling. Here's some music.

"Sleep is for the weak!"
-Marz
"And the tired!"
-Grey

Misc

2008-03-03T15:27:00.000-08:00

Aaahhh Epicfest

In like a week. I'm pretty psyched, and you, dear reader, should be too. If you don't know what Epicfest is, it's a week long nerd fest run by our very own, El Presidente, the magnificent Spenser Isdahl.

In related news, why I will never have a girlfriend.
While I'm at it, I've found some new webcomics that are pretty sweet, if I do say so myself. Check 'em out.
We The Robots
The Phoenix Requiem
Qusetionable Content

Chinchillin'

The House on Somber Way now owns its very own Chinchilla, affectionately dubbed Captain Waffles. He is cute, and very much like a super-soft baseball. We think he is a ninja. No shit. He's escaped twice already in less than a week. We calls him the Ninchilla.

Hurm. Anyways, I'm helaciously tired, and it's getting difficult to put together coherent sentances, let alone spell words like helacious, so I'ma go to bed.

Fuck the whole robot thing.

2008-02-21T23:32:00.000-08:00

Stunning Realizations!

I just looked into the mirror. I'm currently wearing a backwards Nightmare Before Christmas cap, my "Art Fag" black t-shirt, and kinda tight pants, and my usual pair of glasses. It was then I realized I could be another stock webcomic character.

I might go kill myself now.

On the other hand...

Should be starting my new job at Kroger soon. Shit, that's just part of the plot. I've been unemployed nearly a month now, and haven't gotten a haircut or a girlfriend. The audience is getting bored!

What the fuck?

For those of you without the nerd gene, the above picture is a Kobold, a reptilian creature who are adept miners, baby-eating-evil, and the descendants (supposedly) of dragons, and inheritors of their sorcerous might.

I fucking hate them, and they don't exist in my campaign setting.

Oh yeah, forgot to mention, nerd tangent ahead. Ahem. I've been doing a bit of work on Invernus in the past couple of days, the campaign is nearing a starting point. Nerds, rejoice.

These headers have nothing to do with the content below them.

I've begun work on an awesome (read: really big) art piece on a huge piece of cardboard I nabbed from Bombay when I had the chance. We're talking queen size bed big. It's been getting in my way, so I figured I'd do something with it. Kinda like that dead hooker in my closet. The look on those 3rd graders faces was so worth it.

Wait, what?

Sorry, there's actually no video here, the site I use for this shit just didn't have just the audio, and I'm too tired/lazy to figure out another way to imbed the audio. Anyway, Gorillaz are nothing new, but I really like this song. That, and they played Clint Eastwood on the radio earlier. It was tight.

OH SNAP

2008-02-07T22:10:00.000-08:00

So, this is my car.
Yes, just earlier today, someone rammed my car and totaled it. And for the record, they ran the red light. (They disagree, but they also said they were going 25, and the picture above begs to differ.)

I'm doing fine.

In other news...
Had a fun dinner with Jo, Logan, Thomas, and Thomas' parents. Lamb stew = WIN.

I've been listening to Pandora radio recently, and it's pretty baller. I would recommend song stations as opposed to band ones. Below is a gem from Red Right Hand radio.

EDIT: Nerd Stuff!

Check out the Entropic Blade class I made; it's pretty ballin.

Let he who is without sin throw the first nuke.

2008-02-05T15:00:00.001-08:00

Nerd Stuff

Might as well get this out of the way, first. Work on Invernus is coming along smoothly. The cosmology is 60% to completion, and I've got a handful of new gods. Houserules next, then maybe I'll put this shit up on the internet. I've got a freewebs, but no work has been done on that front yet.

More to come.

Cool Shit

So, everyone knows how to use Google as your own personal Napster. Or, maybe you're weird, and you don't. Either way, you can find out how to do do just that here, as well as a bunch of clever Google tricks.

Paper Rock Scissors is a classic. Everybody loves it. But have you ever heard of ULTIMATE PAPER ROCK SCISSORS??

You have now.

BOOM

Mission: Dinner once a week has thus far been a success. Made burgers last week, and they were freaking awesome. Michael and I decided that everyone should have burgers for breakfast, and are in the process of patenting burger toast. I'm unsure as to what I'm making this week, though. Some kind of stew, maybe? I'll keep you posted.

Vending Machines

2008-01-24T03:35:00.001-08:00

So, Michael is putting me to shame with his frequent posting, so I feel the need to update. BEHOLD.

Zed's Dead, Baby

Nom nom nom

So, as the house is mostly bereft of food, I decided to take it upon myself to learn to cook. The past two nights I've made a white chili that's pretty damn tasty. (Well, tonight's chili was better. Had more chicken and the potatoes were better prepared.) Regardless, my first attempt at cooking has been non-disastrous, so go me.

I think I'm going to make a dish once a week, but don't hold me to that. Next week- who knows? Maybe burgers. Burgers would be chill.

Nerdatude

I am currently in the process of creating my own campaign setting, Invernus. I've got a good chunk of history worked out, and some of the cosmology. I'm also putting together a freewebs site, and should be putting up information within the week.

DO WANT

Degredation

2008-01-13T01:57:00.001-08:00

The new year has come, bringing with it a foul stench and a deadly curse of the plague-ridden lands of Somber Way. Er, not really. All it brought was the loss of our dear Spenser Isdahl and a rapist. What a bummer.

Anyways, on to more pertinent news. We have reached the one week mark in terms of work. Bombay will soon be closed for good, and I'll be forced onto the streets to live a cruel, grueling, and ultimately short existence. That, or I'll win the lottery. This may be difficult, seeing as I don't buy lottery tickets. On the bright side, I've got a couple of promising job prospects in the works. More on that later.

The track above is by Th' Legendary Shack Shakers, whom I saw perform just yesterday. It was a ridiculous show, as is to be expected from the Shack Shakers. A guy called Hambone opened with this great one man bluesy set. All in all, a pretty chill night.

Mistletoe is a parasite

2007-12-23T12:04:00.000-08:00

Solstice celebration today with the mother, Ed, and Thomas and co. Should be interesting, to say the least, and the food will be rapesauce. I'm looking forward to it. First, though, I gets new glasses.

The past week has been pretty tight. Spenser's in town, and staying at our place. That, coupled with Michael moving in, and the rather extraordinary amount of D&D, Illuminati, and Settlers of Catan we've been playing has contributed to our breaking of the soda record. We've gone through eight 12 packs in the past week, and Leroy hasn't even been over. That's a lot of damn Dr. Pepper.

Also, the band business is finally in order. We've had two practices so far, with better than expected results. The current lineup has Matt on guitar, Micheal on vocals, and the drumming position up in the air. We had Michael play for the first practice, and one of his coworkers (Chad, I think?) play for the second. We're trying out Ruthie sometime in the next week, hopefully.

Other than that, life has been plodding along as usual. Work, driving, Cthulhu.

Also, I has musics.

ATM Machines

2007-11-29T19:47:00.000-08:00

So I got caught speeding the other day.

Got a new phone the other day, as my old, not shitty one was lost. The number's the same, so no worries.

Work is going well. I ran some numbers the other day, and I should be a millionaire by the end of 2007. * I'm looking forward to it. I've been talking with a few people, and Sometime around January, if not sooner, I'm going to be looking into a job at UPS. Better pay, better hours, benefits, and the company isn't going out of business. Sounds like a win-win, considering I'd be doing pretty much the same thing.

Boxes, boxes, boxes. Kind of ironic, considering all my art is done on cardboard. Er, maybe not ironic as such, but it's something. Maybe it means something. Who knows.

I like cardboard.

Ahem. This week, a la Spicy, I'll be adding some music. Enjoy, damnit.

*The numbers I ran may or may not have counted me on winning the lottery. But seriously, I'm not going to have to sleep in my car anytime soon.

Loose cogs.

2007-11-25T16:50:00.000-08:00

Long time no update. Unfortunately, every time I sit down to update, the list of things to mention gets bigger and bigger, which leads to putting it off for later every time. So, to save time, here's what I've been doing the last month:

Halloween zombies Rita car accident (haha) pink hair job furniture store black hair Spenser DnD lulz Thanksgiving (yum) Zach emergency brake (more lulz) Leroy computer getoutmahhouse Amtgard administration hates 6th level scout leg hurts bacon-sex 68 cans 8 two-liters (one week) Settlers of Catan (holy shit awesome) Michael roman candle fight lost Hikes point crackheads cold fuck Christmas.

Stay in tune for regular updates now!

Dinner at the house on Somber Way

2007-10-16T02:10:00.001-07:00

"Why wouldn't you be happy about rape? It's just sex you didn't know you wanted."
-Rita Hazlett

So, we've had these recipes on the fridge for a while...

Let's try the second one, shall we?

Meet Mel's guinea pig. He has a name, but I don't remember it now.

Let's just call him "Dinner" for now, shall we?

Dem's good eatins!

Random.

2007-10-10T14:28:00.000-07:00

Well, I've been driving for a little over a week now, and I must say, it's changed things a lot. I'm enjoying the freedom. Gas costing money kinda sucks, but you know.

I'm not really enjoying doing laundry, but some things must be done, and I've been out if clean socks for a while. Meh. Laundry is boring. To rectify that, I present you with this:

I need a haircut. That's all.

Edit: Okay, so it looks like Blogger is cutting off the last panel. Just click the picture to see the whole thing.

Killing Machines

2007-09-26T21:40:00.000-07:00

Leroy and I have come to a conclusion regarding this year's Halloween costumes. He will be a giant 2-liter of Dr Pepper, and I will be Leroy. We toyed with a couple of other ideas, including cardboard boxes, Death Pope (don't ask), Amtguarders, and cardboard boxes filled with candy.

Further squirrel hunting, thus far, has been unsuccessful. The weekend involved an excursion to the local woods, though naught but one squirrel even showed itself. (I missed, and it scurried away. Filthy bastard.) Our second excursion was cut short when someone called the cops on us. Balls.

I like this video.

Welcome to the Brown

2007-09-20T20:10:00.000-07:00

Today I went and visited my old home, the J. Graham Brown School. Cody called me yesterday and asked for a bunch of weird clothes for picture day, so I took the opportunity to wake up ungodly early and TARC it down to the 'ol bomb shelter.

I got in about 8 minutes late, and as I was going up the steps, Mr. Clean yells "Hey kid! You need to sign in!" So I signed in and received my tardy slip and was off to class. Brilliant.

1st period, Chilled in Carrie's class and read Odysseus, then went to Art and made a cool piece (which is currently hanging on Andrea's wall.) 3rd, watched jazz band play and talked with Nick Logsdon. After that, visited Becky and MC Loud. Spenser and I's symbols are still up from when we visited the first day of school. Fucking nice.

Left after lunch, left and ran into a bunch of people I know (Becca Calebro? Storm? Peter Volkver? Weirdness). Chilled with Nick and some people for a while, then got a ride from Mitchell (Winston) and picked up my first paycheck from Spinelli's.

Fast forward. Shooting bottles of Budweiser with a BB gun with Zach and Leroy. After sucking violently for a few shots, I discovers that I was a pretty damn good shot without my glasses on. No joke. I got a bird from a good distance with no glasses. Fuckin' A.

Fast forward. Chilling at the homefront, blogging like a good little boy. And I forgot to mention the paisley tie...

Day 1- Enter The Machine

2007-09-20T20:01:00.000-07:00

I am a human machine.
I eat too little, I sleep to little, and breathe all the wrong things.
Welcome to my life, now broadcast straight to your computer screen!
Begin transmission.