Ahhhh vacation. So far so good. Had a very pleasant Christmas up north with my folks and sister. Mellowest Christmas ever I think, which was just the thing. Good food, good gifts, and good times. An added bonus got to see The Two Towers again, and attend a fantastic Christmas eve service the evening before Christmas eve. Unfortunately I had to work Thursday afternoon and Friday so my stay up there was a bit abbreviated.
To keep the ball of fun rolling I headed down to Orange County after work on Friday the 27th to celebrate my friend Josh's 23rd, as well as say howdy to Alaskan Andy and the other assorted folks down there. Started off at the Tustin Brewing Company Josh's choice of venue. Turns out there were about 5 other birthdays from the extended Trinity family all happening so ran into Noel Crawford's entourage, and heard that a bunch of the gang were also congregated at Sing Sing (piano bar in Irvine) for Jason Gierdardo's b-day. I think the city of Tustin should have had a block party for everyone, couldn't be three places at once. Ended the evening up Dave #2's pad, and in between Newcastles shot the computer science with Jonathan Stracker and a special guest appearance of Scotty Randaze's (my former room-mate) Boeing-employed in the same building that my dad worked in sister.
Saturday after lunch, got a nice hike in with Angela, Melissa, Greg, and NAU Kathleen at good old Peter's Canyon. It was a nice change of pace walking its fearsome hills instead of running them as our cross-country team had practiced there regularly in high school. Though being sorta out of shape, we still huffed and puffed a little. Beautiful day though, a murky overcast had me imagining the grassy knolls and marshes of New Zealand or England, or Middle-Earth if you ignored all the dumb tract homes. After the hike got dropped at the traditional Saturday football, and then ended up the day with a good philly cheese-steak dinner with Nicotine Nick, my former room-mate Scotty, and finally got a steady girl-friend Dave. Got a good business idea from Nick in the form of a German themed polka-bar halfway through my sandwich. Hammered out the details, then being a zombie from the late Friday night and hiking, for-goed a party at the Driers, and a gathering at Kyle/Leon's, to crash out to the entire first season of Mr. Show, with B-rahn and Scotty at the Lucero House O' Lovin.
Sunday was errand day and wind-down. Lunch. Ikea run (my apartment is now relatively "complete" in a consumer type way muhahahahah). Coffee, nihilism 101 with Evan, reading Media Virus, talking about head calipers with Josh, and meeting an odd German. Went to 3rd service at my local religous institition and went home. New years is still up in the air. Was thinking about sticking around down south, but nothing was really organized except a self-organizing house-party at Lucero, and something at a acquaintence's apartment in LA. The itch to get back to Santa Barbara was in effect too. The logistics of mega-suburbia gets on my nerves, can't seem to stand more than two-three days of it, so decided to just dredge for stuff back here. Awesome weekend though, I missed hanging with a few folks more or less. No politics there its just being a visitor in Orange County is hard work.
posted by Brent at 12/30/2002 06:30:00 PM | permalink | (0) comments | links to this
Monday, December 23, 2002
I'll be around but not around...Happy Holidays and all that. Happy New Year. Cheers.
posted by Brent at 12/23/2002 07:14:00 PM | permalink | (0) comments | links to this
Saturday, December 21, 2002
Its spitting rain, thunder, and lightning down again, but the weekend still managed to get off to a good start last night. Got to ascend to the first level of the Santa Barbara DJ totem pole, spinning at a small party on Del Playa. Wasn't even expecting to play but I guess my karma this week dictated it. Some bloke Shawn, was playing a thing for a friend of Matt (DJ Auhay) and Chris's, Tasmin, and so had invited Matt to take the second shift. So we headed over there after meeting up at my place, ready to rawk and roll. Got there around 10ish and Shawn was laying down a slightly impeccable set of prime-time progressive trance and so we just sat there intimidated for a bit, enjoying the music and chatting with the assorted folks. 27 records later Shawn relinquished the tables to Matt for the last hour or so. Matt, I think knowing there was no way either of us was going to suddenly transform into Christopher Lawrence Jr and match Shawns style and technical precision, passed the buck to me, since I had a few drinks so was properly numbed to trainwrecking in public. Managed to hold things together somewhat (or so my sycophants told me) despite a confusing mixer (setup for volume not crossfading mixing, fixed eventually but ug disconcerting) with more knobs and faders then NASA mission control, and only having access to my emergency record pool (only brought a dozen, just in case. Always be prepared, its your duty), but it was still great practice and hellah fun. Some folks actually danced to my tunes, so I suppose no matter how sloppy that's still a checkmark in the success column. Other random cool event of the night, packing up the equipment and speakers some dude came up to me, turns out it was someone I had run cross-country with at good old Villa Park High, Vic Smith. He was a freshmen while I was a senior so didn't really know him that well, but still quite the coincidence. Love it when stuff like that happens.
posted by Brent at 12/21/2002 10:54:00 PM | permalink | (0) comments | links to this
Friday, December 20, 2002
The sun came out today just long enough for a brilliant sunrise to lure me out of bed into the final haul towards a much needed, if sporadic, vacation. Light and green dappled mountains, orange and blue bending around the wispy remnants of last nights windy downpour. Got to work, then more free carwash, then more sun. Of course all of Wednesday here in SB was clear but that was used up in about two hours or so, being a Wednesday and all. Storm Watch 2002(tm).
So the holidays are almost here. Seems like each year they get more and more anti-climatic. Like everything. Less spirited, less soulful, like a gigantic lever that when you pull it a shiny new thing comes down the chute, but breaks in two weeks. Traditions, if any, compressed down to one day of sanctioned vacation, two if your federally mandated to be sane, then one more a little later, two if your lucky (more if your not). At least they fall on a Wednesday. Time-shifted annual remembrance of celebratory duty. Slow relaxed hunts across the range for that perfect kill, expediate that shipping to have it arrive in time of the 24th. Red-nosed-claymation reindeers rendering the meaning of the times. Carolers from your local shelter now welcomed to sing in your outdoor shopping plaza. Salvation Army ringers bastioned with empty pots displaying certificates of authenticity. Your fruitcake under suspicion. Everywhere echos, feel good its your last chance this year. Next year will be better, again.
posted by Brent at 12/20/2002 04:10:00 PM | permalink | (0) comments | links to this
Wednesday, December 18, 2002
I don't know. It seemed like the natural thing to do. Looking for new stuff to read I'd have an Amazon.com browser window open alongside my UCI and now UCSB library search. Thats so awkward though, I mean switching back and forth between windows too much work to see who had what. So I guess someone decided to make it easier. But hey it didn't work with UCSB's Aleph 500 based system. Well I'm bored tonight lets fix that, wasn't that tricky. Little tweaking batta bing batta boom. The UCSB LibraryLookup is spawned. That aint a hyperlink, drag it to your links bar on your browser (right click on your bar select links if you can't see it). Visit any online bookseller that sticks an ISBN in its book search URL., view the book hit the shortcut and see if UCSB stocks it. For questions, social implications, and other libraries poke around the instigators Mr. Udells page . I'm just happy to do my little part for UCSB and the Aleph 500 system. For you geeks modifying it to your Aleph 500 library the only variable you should have to mess with in my version script is of course the root server name and the "base=yourlibrariesdatabase". Have fun. UPDATE...the script is working for some titles, others not...big mystery any ideas?
posted by Brent at 12/18/2002 02:59:00 AM | permalink | (0) comments | links to this
Monday, December 16, 2002
Generally boring weekend. Did however finish Lawrence Lessig's The Future of Ideas: The Fate of the Commons in a Connected World. Lot of hoopla over Lessig and his ideas, as he's one of the primary lawyer-academic types thinking about intellectual property and its changing role in todays networked world, I first got exposed to his ideas in an Internet Law and Society class at UCI (PolySci/ICS 179?). Found the book interesting, particularly the WiFi stuff, though it wasn't as fleshed out as his other ideas, seeing it was published way back in 2001, ha ha. Lessigs basic premise boiled down to a short-attention span size is that the Internet's mantra of openess fosters innovation, and we are beginning to see a corporate/governmental backlash(or more positively stated misunderstanding) in the form of controls and restrictions towards this culture because of copyright/patent issues, thus less innovation. Yeah yeah I know its nothing new to us here in the trenches, but it makes a good introduction to the cogent issues for the Muggles. Your unfettered network can be controlled. United States copyright law is seriously flawed. So though the author leaves us with a bit of doom and gloom towards whats happening in this arena I didn't close the book and rush out to mail my legislator. The decentralizing effects of the net are just beginning to rev up, most of big media/politics dont have a clue, and they won't ever. One link closes up, you route around it.
posted by Brent at 12/16/2002 05:43:00 PM | permalink | (0) comments | links to this
La la la
La la la la la
La la la
La la la la la
I just can't get you out of my head
I just can't get you out of my head
I just can't get you out of my head...
posted by Brent at 12/16/2002 03:11:00 PM | permalink | (0) comments | links to this
Thursday, December 12, 2002
Well Burger King of Isla Vista has apparently bit the dust. Long live the King. But now I'm left with the burning question of where I'm going to purchase my Simpsons talking watches. Guess I'll have to make a massive 5 mile trek to the its other Santa Barbara outpost. DOH. The other question that remains is what caused this burger mecca to choke smack dab in a ripe demographic of 18-25 something years olds jonesing for cheap eating. Lets throw out some theories here...
1. Isla Vista being 45-63% hippie, are vegetarians/vegan, and thus the community could not morally, ethically, and politically sustain a Burger King, even with the appeasment of the recombinant miracle that is the veggie Whopper.
2. Isla Vista being 50.000001% slacker student preppie (our economic base), are health food fanatics, ate at Silvergreens everyday this year, thus undercutting Burger Kings haf-!@# attempts to get their money with its shi-shi veggie Whopper.
3. Disgruntled employees killed the management.
4. The management of the franchise was really really really %#^(in stupid.
5. The veggie Whoppers gained sentience and killed everyone.
Who knows what actually happened (I'm guessing #4), there was just a little red sign about paycheck pickups on the door, and there was no splattered blood anywhere. The final question is what if anything will fill its empty carcass. How about another bar with the fast-food motiff intact. The 99 cent menu could have apple pucker shots. Built in deep fryer no additional cost. Liquid value meals with free plush toy for alchoholics. We can only pray that we get Jacked.
posted by Brent at 12/12/2002 06:05:00 PM | permalink | (0) comments | links to this
Tuesday, December 10, 2002
So showing my attunement to the force I was able to preemptively sense the brakes on my car going out about a week ago, and now the red hellish light on the dash confirms it. So no wild skidrides down the 101, plowing into the sides of storefronts, or pedestrian mauling (well at least from bad brakes) will ensue. She's going to the emergency room. Now I get to waste another Saturday at the Honda place (5 minutes away), or try a new Isla Vista based salvage operation, Top Shop Auto (a block away from my house). I'm always leary about new auto shops. One of the newer great American stigmas I guess, didn't we used to find our auto mechanics some of the most trusted members of our society (next up to Milkman Dan anyway), the high priests of commuter culture. We'll see what happens, it comes recommended by a friend. If worst comes to worst and Aeon Flux ends up in some hock shop in Tijuana, I can still stumble to work. True square mile lifestyle. The free carwash might be worth the extra $200 dollars to the dealers Honda shop though. There is a reason that lonely parking space under those bushes/trees remains. Death from above. Nature attacks. The possums this close to the University are also deviant, wanting to steal that Ramen stash right out of your vehicle. Saw a furry attempt on my neighbors Honda last night. Be wary of your habitat.
posted by Brent at 12/10/2002 03:45:00 PM | permalink | (0) comments | links to this
I wonder what life would be with some things that our nascent infosphere haven't forced into life now. If without our now hard-wired personalities, I hadn't seen a certain image, read this book, played that game, downloaded her illegal song, or read a random article at this accelerated point in time, and dissolved these things into my consciousness. If we all still followed the normal course of things, watching, reading, tasting it years later, when your younger, or older, or don't care anymore, when your settled down, when you had to seek it out, when life catches up. When nothing but sheer determination leads you to whatever isn't put in front of you. You hear something you'd never actually buy, a friend plays something you'd never actually play. You sit down and talk to someone not on your ICQ list. Time and your better judgement the guiding constraint on your attention, and money really doesn't factor into the picture at all. Does it make us wiser, more cultured, a better person, stronger community, more diluted, more impressionable, more lost, more bored. Giving this to everyone.
posted by Brent at 12/10/2002 06:39:00 AM | permalink | (0) comments | links to this
Friday, December 06, 2002
Soooo tired. But hey at least its a worthy tired. Blame for my (relative) sleep truncation can be put absolutely on Honey White, who played a rawking show at Giovanni's last night. I almost flaked but watching an evening of TV just wasn't gonna cut it, plus it was two blocks away from my pad, so no excuses. Venue was nice in a Weezer "Buddy Holly" video pizza parlor sorta way, crowd was friendly, and beer comparitively cheap so that was a good start. The band as usual didn't disappoint either, blending its surfish signature rock and roll with some more mellow numbers, as well as some tastefully done covers. They ain't no Isla Vista frat rock. If your local try and catch their next show, or check out the CD floating around. Ok where's my payola...
posted by Brent at 12/06/2002 04:07:00 PM | permalink | (0) comments | links to this
Thursday, December 05, 2002
In the continuing bout of Netflix induced movie-alism hit some Human Traffic crossing the road last night. A good hyper-kinetic British comedy, it was amusing to this anti-club head, and probably would have an average British clubgoer rolling (sic) in the aisles laughing. The plot was fairly weak and loose, a group of friends delve into the dabauchery of a weekend. At its heart a comedy so thats execusable, a bender romp with the most unresponsible of them. No ethical compassing to be found here. The director leaves you in never-never-land as to any moral, width, or height to the experience contained within. Lacking the redeeming dredgyness of Trainspotting, and never fully developing the characters shananigans into a cohesive line of thought, one's left with a vacancy in the brain department. Particularly, potentially poignant thematic elements, like the characters relationships, often seem to clash rather then meld with the overall feel of the picture. Its a comedy though so who gives a rats-@#@. The characters were cool and amusing, pacing was good, camera-work interesting, and it definately had its ROTFL moments. Like Jip and crew breaking out into a new British national anthem. On the bad, any Saturday night antics (would have strengthened the film a bit I think) were left out and the friendships between the crew could have been explored in more depth. Still though, I recommend it for all you ex-party-party-people/jaded ravers out there, who want a vicarious jaunt out when your stuck inside the predictable patterns of life.
So yeah movies, mirth and madness is all thats been going on. Also having some mighty surreal dreams lately...but I think that might just be psych compensating for boredom. Nothing disturbingly nightmarish or anything just odd, and sometimes fun, in an odd way. Anyway. O also if you know my crazy ex-coworker bloke Keith send some positivity his way, he appears to need it. Christmas and New Years can't get here any sooner.
posted by Brent at 12/05/2002 05:00:00 PM | permalink | (0) comments | links to this
Monday, December 02, 2002
Another NorCal vacation come, vacation go. Granted it was a good one, but it disintigrates away like turkey stuffing hitting the garbage disposal come Monday. Some highlights
-Thanksgiving gorging at Mimi's Cafe.
-Contagious sillyness seeing Singing in the Rain on the BIG SCREEN at the Castro
-Stalking the grooviest record shop in Berkeley, Primal Records.
-Hip-Hopping The Coup at Slims
-Confusing perspective at a Thiebaud showing at a gallery in North Beach.
-Finishing off with wonderful food at a little Italian diner in North Beach (blanking on the name), where the A stood for atmosphere.
Sleep deprivation was also a big theme for the weekend, with a really early flight out on Sunday morning, and Orange County Josh dropping by on his way to/from Santa Cruz laaaaaate/early Wednesday and Sunday. Cracked out Gamecube/Xboxing all night anyone? Rambling ranting political rhetoric debate on a "work night" anyone? So the groggy fog might lift, as the day burns away. Well worth the mental hazing though.
posted by Brent at 12/02/2002 05:00:00 PM | permalink | (0) comments | links to this
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