Goddamn Brownies

I'm a bad, bad blogger. Lately I have been neglecting posting updates here, and that will change. After moving into the new place last week I have been somewhat busy with unpacking and just getting settled.

Fulci has also needed tons of attention. He is finally getting used to the idea of this being his new home, but he was barely eating or drinking for the first couple of days. There is also the going into the backyard for the bathroom thing he had to "learn." I put that in quotes because he knows what to do at my parents' house, but not at his home. In just over a week he is getting so much better and I can kind of tell when he needs/wants to go outside.

I did take the time to see two great movies this weekend - Drag Me to Hell and Up. The first is a great return to the horror genre from Sam Raimi. He took his Evil Dead roots and mixed it well with a much bigger budget to create a fun thrilling ride. It is wonderful to live so close to a decent movie theater, Galaxy 10 (around 635 & Jupiter), with the special twilight prices, $4.75 for any show between 4pm and 6pm. For Up we had to see it in 3D and that theater does not have the technology so I figured this is as good of a time as any to try out Cinemark's XD3 screen at their location off the tollway in Plano. This auditorium has a VERY large screen (I believe around 70-80 feet), high end sound and a sweet digital projector. Of course, it is also equipped for 3D viewing. Because of all the added top end equipment tickets are $14! For that price I could see three flicks at Galaxy. Was it worth it? The experience was great, I know some people have had less than desirable experiences with this, but it was awesome for Jenny and me. None of the theater stats can really compare to the film itself, Pixar cannot be touched. With each film they release things just get better and better. I saw someone on Twitter, I think comedian Paul F. Tompkins, said on it seems Pixar has started making films for adults, and that is so true. While kids will love the jokes and animation the story really gets to adults, and there were many tissues used throughout the audience.

Both of these films, while way different, are freaking great and you should rush out to see them ASAP! I will be blogging regularly again, hopefully another post later tonight, and I apologize for my absence.

On Monday I went to Fry's Electronics to purchase a washer and dryer for the new house. Having full size connections, and a place for them, is going to be awesome! I do love Fry's but it is kind of a love/hate relationship. Sometimes when you go in the staff is overly helpful, but most of the time when you actually need assistance it is like a freaking ghost town.

This was, of course, one of those times.

Jenny and I already picked the model we wanted so all I needed to do was buy them and schedule the delivery. After about five minutes of walking around the large appliances and slamming doors to try and get some attention I went on the hunt for a sales associate. I found some young guy stocking and told him I needed help buying a washer and dryer. "What kind of help do you need with that," he asked. "I need to buy them."

Blank stare.

Then I explained I knew what I wanted, I just needed to make the purchase. He went for help and soon a manager came over to me. She was very helpful and about ten to fifteen minutes later I was on my way to the register with the papers they needed to finalize everything.

When I handed the pages to the guy at the register he looked at them, back at me, back at the pages and then sighed. "Is this all they gave you?" What the hell kind of question is that? Why would I not give him something they gave me? Did I lose it in the two minutes it took to walk to the front and wait in the short line? I told him that was it, and then he asked if I was sure. Bah. He had to go make a copy of something and then he came back and we finished the transaction.

I do not understand people sometimes. I am sure there is not a crazy I.Q. test you have to pass to work retail, but can we please weed out the morons?

I have never really been a fan of trailer parks. I guess few people are, but I'm sure they do exist. Most of my distaste for these odd places probably stems from the involvement I had in their mazes of trash while delivering pizzas years ago.

I worked at Mr. Jim’s Pizza in Burleson, at first as a second job, but then full time because it was fun and easy. No stress whatsoever and I basically got paid to drive around and listen to music, two of my favorite things. Jim’s had a large delivery area, the largest in town, and because of this we catered to people who lived out in the middle of nowhere. Sure enough part of this rural route was stocked with quite a few different run down trailer parks. There was one in particular, whose name I cannot recall but I will refer to as Crap Town, in the area known as Rendon between Burleson and Mansfield off Farm Road 1187 which was the worst. Each trailer of each row seemed to be competing for who could live the most slovenly and it seems like the land the garbage trucks forgot.

Late one night I was taking a pizza out to the super of Crap Town. He did not have a double or single wide, but a two story house in the very back corner. After navigating through all the mess I finally came upon his home and when I got out all that could be heard was barking. On the second floor was a balcony where at least a dozen large dogs of all different breeds were alerting him and everyone else in the town, of my presence.

Before I could make it to his front door he was already outside meeting me halfway. Here is our conversation, paraphrased of course. It was ten or eleven years ago after all.

HIM: Sorry about all the dogs, but they won’t attack you from up there.

ME: No big deal. Are they all yours?

HIM: Nah, they are strays. The pound is coming to pick them up tomorrow. One of them is pretty mean; he got a hold of my hand pretty good.

After seeing his bandaged hand I looked up and there was one dog staring me, and my delicious smelling pizza, down with thick foam dripping from his mouth! This was not drool. I rushed through the rest of our transaction, hurriedly walked back to my car and drove the hell out of Crap Town. I never found out if they guy was alright after his altercation with the foaming beast, but I’m pretty sure he was. I would think news of him dying of rabies or something would have spread to me somehow.

It really is a shame that trailer parks are such lousy places, because some of the doublewides I have seen are not too bad. Take this hip new place from Clayton Homes for example.



This is the iHouse. Not sure why Clayton has adopted the Apple “i,” or anyone else for that matter. I guess people think adding that before your product automatically makes it better and that much more of a hot item. Oh well. The iHouse is very eco-friendly and comes with energy-efficient appliances, rainwater-catching system, dual flush toilets and heavily insulated walls. All this and the solar panels help to make the place so energy efficient that it is estimated the heating/cooling and electric needs are about $1 a day! Not only is the place nice to the environment, but it is pretty easy on the eyes as well. It might retail for around $140,000 for 1,000 square feet, but it does come fully furnished. Check out some interior shots.




This is the type of trailer I could see myself living in, if I were to ever go that route. The only problem is where would you put your iHouse? I think someone needs to pick a nicer area, buy a bunch of these and start the iHouse iPark. If everything is kept nice and tidy on the grounds it could really be a nice place. Much better than any duplexes and think of the wonderful ecological benefits. Maybe someone will do this someday, I sure as hell don’t have the money.

[Clayton iHouse]

Evidently Disneyland has had a position at its theme parks for boob watchers. The highly boring job is to watch all of the photos taken on rides and check for objectionable things before showing it on the preview screen for the public to see. Every once in a while a girl may flash her boobs (like the above photo will prove), but I'm pretty sure most of their problems are kids, and/or frat guys, giving the finger. Most of the time it is probably nothing fun to watch.

Evidently Disney agreed this was a minor problem because as of this week those porno peepers have been reassigned in other areas of the theme parks. If anyone reading this is out in the Disneyland area feel free to have a go on Splash Mountain, Tower of Terror, Space Mountain or California Screamin'. If you want to see a few more, and uncensored, photos like I have included head over to Flash Mountain.

Pranksters and exhibitionists enjoy!

[Boing Boing]

While I was going through stuff to pack for moving I had to go through my "junk" drawer. This is not the normal junk drawer most people have with odd keys, screwdrivers and other assorted randomness. I have one of those too, but this drawer takes up an entire level in my dresser. In here I stash things I really want to keep but do not currently have shelf space for them. I found a G.I. Joe toiletry kit (the soap still has the Joe wrapper on it), Batman cereal box, a Jesus of the Ozarks pencil sharpener (!), Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles cereal box and many other cool trinkets. Luckily in my office at the new house there is a shelf in the closet so I can put some books there and use other shelving for my toys. Yes, I'm a dork.

One of the cooler items in the drawer was something I had forgotten all about - a Mickey Mouse wind-up alarm clock. I could not remember where this came from, just knew I have had it in my possession for as long as I can remember. Because of the lack of space, and me forgetting about it, the clock has been in this drawer for at least five years, maybe longer.





As you can see the clock has seen better days. There is a crack in the front, some rust on the bells and the back leg is missing. I decided to try winding it for fun and it works! This thing has kept time for over 24 hours now.

I called my mom to see if she knew where it came from and she, of course, does not remember except that it was most likely hers. Then I turned to the internet for info. After a while of searching I found one on this site called Go Antiques that is just like the one in my room. According to the description it was made by Bradley in the early 1950s. I really cannot believe this clock is, probably, 50+ years old and is still working, especially since it has been sitting unused for so long. Really shows you how well made things used to be. If it was something from today it would never make it that long.

As soon as it began to work I figured the ticking would get to me, it's definitely not quiet. I kept packing with it sitting near me and soon I forgot about it. Every once in a while I would notice the sound, but it wasn't a big deal.

This morning when I woke up I was greeted by the hypnotic sounds of the ticking clock. I was ready to get up but instead I just lay there in bed listening to the ticks and tocks for what seemed like a few minutes. In reality it was about thirty. Not really sure if this is a good thing, but I had some great brainstorming ideas in that time. I guess it hypnotized my brain into a good, creative place. Thanks Mickey!

By the way, the alarm does work. A very annoying ringing sound as one would expect. For some reason though it did not wake me up this morning, or it did and I just don't remember. It was not sitting very close to my bed and I sleep very soundly, so I might try moving over to my nightstand.

Well it is official, we were approved for the rent house. This is great news. Fulci will finally have a big backyard again. Now he will be able to run around leash free, not to mention how much easier it will be to let him out to go to the bathroom. Right now we have to "leash up" and go down three flights of stairs and then walk a little ways so he can take care of business. I don't mind the stairs all that much, but it gets to be a pain in the ass. Opening a door and stepping out on the back porch will be a welcome change.

There are a lot of things I have to do before the giant headache known as moving can be complete.

• Fortify spots in backyard fence so Fulci cannot sneak through.
• Set up for my internet/cable, through Uverse, to be installed at the new place.
• Figure out if I need to buy and run Cat5 cable from the office into the living room.
• Finish packing (big pain)
• Get rid of stuff so I don't have to move it.

Another thing I need to do, that really sucks, is I must find a new home for my cat, Evilyn. Jenny is highly allergic to cats and cannot live with one. Usually when she leaves my apartment she is all sneezy and watery-eyed. I have no clue how to go about finding a place for her. If you, or anyone you know, would like an approximately six year old black cat let me know.

Once everything is moved in, any my office is all set up I will definitely be posting pictures for all to see, but that won't be until at least the end of May. If anyone is wanting to help with the moving process I'll gladly let you, ha!

Back to packing.

Have a job this week working for an out-of-town reality show. After the last, horrible, reality job I did I swore this would never happen again. Months go by, jobs do not and here I am suckling at the reality teet yet again. A paycheck is a paycheck, right?

They told me that I needed to bring in a copy of my driver's license and social security card - eek! I have not seen my social security card in a long time. Luckily I have a U.S. Passport, which will also work, but I need to get a new card. This means going down to an office and probably standing in a long line. Ack! I guess I don't really have anything else to do.

With the Dallas film business so slow lately I have thought of looking for a part-time job or something, maybe at Central Market, but then when a film job comes along I'll be screwed. There are so many more things I would rather do than have a "real" job. I have been toying with ideas of doing some writing again - books, articles, whatever. If I decide to try and make a living on the side with writing then I'll have to find a literary agent, which seems like another headache. I guess if I'm going to try and accomplish anything in this I need to get off my ass and do it. I will, trust me, I will.

I am getting sick of apartment living. For the most part I have been pretty lucky when it comes to the neighbors I have. Sure, a ton of them are annoying and I don't want to talk to them, but they are usually pretty respectful about noise levels and such. Occasionally I hear some shouting for whatever reason, most of it is in the stairwell and the rest is on the sidewalk by any number of other residents here.

I am looking around and trying to get a rent house when my lease is up in a couple of months and a huge selling point will be the garage. Hell, I'll even go for a private carport. Right now I have an assigned spot underneath a carport but people are always parking in my spot. Alright, actually they have been good recently... until today. There is not much I can do. I could do what my across-the-hall neighbors do and have them towed. My luck is they will get annoyed and mess with my car or something. People are stupid and I wouldn't put it past them. I have to live around these people, I don't want it to be complete hell. I just left a not under the person's windshield saying, "these are reserved parking spots, please do not park here."

I thought that was a decent way to handle the situation. A couple hours later the truck was gone, and I parked in my spot. My assigned space is far enough away from my apartment as it is, I hate having to find a visitor's space even farther away. It would be nice to come home with a backseat full of groceries (no, that is not a euphemism) and take them from the garage to the kitchen.

Soon. Hopefully soon.

The Irish Festival is officially over. It is always a beating going to any big festival and dealing with the crowd. Everything went relatively well considering. I did have a few Disney World crowd/stroller flashbacks. Ack!

Today I decided to take Fulci for his very first festival. He was so good, I was proud. Behaved well with all of the other dogs, and did not pee inside. He even sat with Jenny for most of our set. Here he is with Jenny, Travis and Lindi:


I am pretty tired so I'll just leave you with a video of Beoga's amazing bodhran player, Eamon Murray, doing what he does best. Go n-éirí on bóthar leat




By the way, I HATE daylight savings!

I had a thought earlier about friends, fighting and booze. From time to time things tend to happen in bars, or anywhere alcohol is involved. Someone has a few too many and crosses the wrong person. It could be the one with more alcohol is that wrong person, but not necessarily. This just escalates and before you know it - FIGHT!

My question is about one of your friends being involved in the heated moment. Sure, if your buddy gets into a fight you have his/her back. What if they are in the wrong? What if they are the one who is the drunk asshole? It is hard to say what is the right course of action here. I am going to stick by what I would want done if I was the offending person.

-Tell your friend to calm down because they are in the wrong.
-Tell the other party to let it slide.
-If the friend does not heed your advice and keeps pressing on the other party let them get punched like they deserve.

Yeah, if I was being that big of an ass then maybe I need to be punched in the face. This does not mean let me, or your friend, get the shit beat out of me. Let a hit happen then intervene. Just because they are your friend does not mean they don't require a "wake-up."

What would you do?


*By the way, none of this actually happened to me or any of my friends. It was just something I thought of while talking with Billy K and Jan tonight.

Yesterday one of my earbuds died. I have had this pair for a quite a while now and they were getting sketchy. It was only a matter of time. Since I had a few errands to run today, one of which was going to be sitting around while my oil was changed and I got new brake pads, so I needed some new earbuds. There is a Wal-Mart on the way to the place I was going. They sell iPods, so they must carry the Apple earbuds.

They had a bunch of iPod accessories, Apple branded, but no earbuds. I had to get something so I checked hear selection. Nothing really jumped out at me. I know a lot of people get fancy headphones, but the classic white ones are just fine for me. I figured I would buy a pair here to leave in my car, then go get the ones I really want as my main set. I settled on some that actually go in your ear canal. I see a ton of people with this kind, so what could I lose?

When I got to the counter in the Electronics department I thought I'd try and ask if they had the Apple brand white iPod earbuds. The woman said they did, and I said there weren't any out there, but she came out to check anyway. I'll be the first to admit I've searched for something many times that was in plain view, but I looked for a long while at their small headphone section and saw nothing. She went immediately to a white pair of some like I was about to buy and said, "here you go, they say 'iPod' on them."

I was polite and said those weren't them and I would just purchase what I already grabbed. On our way back she pointed at another random pair that said "iPod" but we just kept walking.

I don't expect much from people who work in most retail places, especially Wal-Mart. So it's really my own fault for asking.

By the way, they changed my oil but I have to go back tomorrow for the brake pads. As for the earbuds - I'm not really digging them.

I forgot to blog yesterday! Ahhh! To make up for it I'll write something else post-Oscars as a sort of "wrap-up" or something.

Worked a charity event last night for Limbs for Life, if you don't know they help with prothstetics for amputees. They had a theme dinner and auction so a bunch of wealthy types gathered to spend money for the cause. I have never been to any kind of a charity dinner before so my only experience has been from socialite photos in magazines and what I see on TV. It was pretty much what you would expect. They dressed to the surf theme and mingled with each other, gossiping. I did not talk to any of them, I just watched from my second level perch next to my camera.

Live shows are a pain in the ass. You never know where the on-camera target is going to move, and having the stage in the round did not help. Some speakers just stood still and turned every once in a while, and there were others who didn't stop walking in circles the whole time. For having one leg they can really move.

My grandmother called me yesterday to wish me a happy birthday. Very rarely does she ever call me, February 1st is pretty much the only time. She is pretty hard of hearing, but she is 89 years old. I would not expect her to have the most acute of ears. These calls are usually rather short. She says "happy birthday," I thank her and we ask each other how the other is then the conversation is done. This time was a little different, and I don't think I've ever talked on the phone with her for as long as I did. And it was only about five or six minutes.

After the usual pleasantries she went on to talk about how she does not see me very often, or anyone else. My mother talks to her usually once a day, but she does not see her that often. Her sister who she used to spend quite a bit of time with, in person and on the phone, has a mind that is slipping more and more with each passing day. Her brother and his wife are in poor health and going in and out of different hospitals. My grandfather, her husband and my mom's dad, died when I was two. Since then my grandma has lived alone, and created what could only be described as a rat's nest. For as long as my parents can remember she has been something of a pack rat, but it was leveled out by my grandfather. After his passing the house that I used to be able to navigate through, now has only the smallest path from the front door to the kitchen, bathroom and her bedroom. To my knowledge she does not watch TV, but AM radio is on at all times. I could hear it blaring in the background during our conversation yesterday.

When my grandfather died in 1982 she got a clerical job at Longhorn Dodge, the same dealership he worked at, for some extra money and to keep busy. She drove herself to work everyday and did her job perfectly well. There were even trips to the courthouse and post office for different office purposes weekly. Eventually they took away the trips for her and passed that along to someone else. She was a little upset by this, but could deal. Then about a year ago my mom got a phone call from one of her bosses who wanted her to know that they were cutting back some staff and they were letting my grandma go. As if her lack of social gatherings or visits were not bad enough now they took away her one piece of "life" she had left. At the time she was very upset by the loss of her job, and the woman who never slept past around 4:30 in the morning was now sleeping in until 10:00 or so, because she had "nothing else to do."

Needless to say the phone call was a bit awkward, but I can only imagine how she feels. I feel like I should go see her and spend some time with her, Jennny thinks so to, but what are we going to do? She does love Taco Bell Mexican Pizzas, but it's not like before/after we can sit around and talk at her house. For one I probably couldn't maneuver through the stacks of newspaper and boxes, and for two - what are we going to talk about? I probably sound mean or heartless and that is not what I intend. You have to repeat everything to her because she can't hear you and I don't really know what to repeat at top volume.

I can remember her from my childhood and all the time we spent together and it breaks my heart to think this woman has lived 89 years and this is the merit - sitting home alone and kicked to the curb by your job.