Wednesday, January 31
Last night I set up a wireless network with a G4 and a Dell PC laptop using the Apple airport base station, an internal airport card for the G4 and a Lucent Orinoco WaveLAN card for the Dell. The internet connection is through a single basic service DHCP DSL connection. A Bay Networks RT311 router handles the PPoE authentication and creates a 192.168.0.X firewalled network behind the DSL line allowing all computers to wirelessly share what is supposed to be a single user DHCP DSL connection.

I fuckin' LOVE technology when it works. Geek OUT.

Monday, January 29
I didn't write it, but it's worth repeating:

Has anyone else noticed this?

Bush on abortion funding:
We won't give any money to organizations which fund abortion,
even if they aren't going to use that specific money to fund
abortion, because giving them money for other things would free up
their other money to use to fund abortion.

Bush on religion funding:
We'll give money to organizations which fund religious
proselytization, and believe them when they say they aren't going
to use that specific money to fund religious proselytization, even
though giving them money for other things would free up their
other money to use to fund religious proselytization.
-Karl Krueger

Sunday, January 28
It just gets worse, every goddamn day: Cheney Declines to Rule Out Bid to End Roe V. Wade


When Mutant Irradiated Cockroaches Attack!

Saturday, January 27
No revolution is complete without T-shirts. Hail to the thief! Victory Is Certain.com


This is a web site I would have made, which is why I am glad it's already done: CounterCoup.org


For those of us in the Los Angeles area looking to get involved in direct action.

Thursday, January 25
I've never been a fan of surprises. I hate it when things jump out at me. I once fell down a flight of stairs when my sister decided it would be funny to stand just around the corner of the top floor. As I ran up the stairs, I discovered a person standing where there normally isn't a person. I was so startled I fell backwards down the stairs.

I resent movies that rely upon startling the audience to get a thrill. It's cheap.

Ever since I got a daily planner, I like to see my week at a glance. No surprises. Much of that has to do with the fact that I value my alone time and my time with my partner. If I can plan ahead, I can savor my quality time.

But this Sunday, my partner threw me a surprise party and it was fantastic. I was totally unprepared for the event, so much so that if I had known I was going to be around people I would have showered.

Nevertheless, I can now make an exception to my rule about surprises. I have the best partner in the world.

Sunday, January 21
It was better than I could have hoped.



My copy of American Tabloid is signed "Happy fuckin' 26th - James Ellroy". After we met the Demon Dog, we ate at the Pacific Dining Car. Half an hour after we were seated, the Dog himself arrived with his documentary crew entourage. Too fuckin' cool.

Happy birthday to me, indeed.

Saturday, January 20
Happy birthday to me. Happy birthday to me. Happy birthday dear Max, happy birthday to me.

Today's plan: protest W's theft of the presidency down at Pershing square. See/hear James Ellroy at Skylight books. Maybe see/hear Tristeza at Spaceland.

Two weeks from now: Vegas, baby!

Friday, January 19
LEGO PORN!

Thursday, January 18
Too Stupid To Be President


George Bush is a robot sent to destroy us all.


If you haven't already - OPPOSE ASHCROFT.


This is the difference between people who are in politics to change the world, and people who are in politics to better themselves. I cannot say I am surprised. He already retracted his discouraging comments about Bush, and now he's proved that he doesn't practice what he preaches. Kettle, it's for you. Pot's calling.


Prum wine, anyone?

Tuesday, January 16
What I want for my birthday:
An office chair, not the Ikea "paan und deth" I have now.
Many, many albums at Insound.com. Enon's Believo!, Skeleton Key's last two releases, Pinback's self titled album, and all the other shit I have burned copies of and haven't bought yet 'cause I'm broke.
My car window fixed.
My passenger seat belt solenoid.
DVDs are always nice.
A G4 laptop or desktop, I don't mind which.
All my credit cards flattened to zero and my student loans eradicated.
A membership to a gym so I can use a treadmill.
An 18gb hard drive to hold all my MP3s.
A good Batman movie.
A full sized human skeleton, besides the one I carry with me.
More closet space.




Cripes. Late at night, forgetting I have this damn blogger sitting, waiting for me. Sitting using Napter to grab the Gladiator soundtrack, the O Brother Where Art Thou soundtrack, and follow up on the back catalogue of obscure bands. I've been listening to Enon's Believo! album. Enon is made up of a critter named John from Brainiac. Brainiac broke up three years ago when their band mate died in a car accident. The rest of Enon comes from Skeleton Key. Brainiac sounded fun, but I think I like Skeleton Key better. These are the trials of being indier-than-thou.

What else do you do late at night? I scour the web looking for weird shit, obscure bands, and definitions for "barbecue". It's a native american word. We ate at Dr. Hogly Wogly's Tyler Texas BBQ this evening for a meat fest. Ahhh, bloodlust. What else would a boy do after so much meat than download Gladiator music?

The other fun way we spent Martin Luther King's holiday was watching Princess Mononoke, and finding the Easter Eggs hidden in some of our DVDs. And we went to Target and consumed. Our office is in perpetual hell of not-quite right. Neither one of us can have our back to the door, I need total silence and could face the corner, but I don't know if I would freak out having my back to the whole room.

Oh well. Time to go to bed and face the nightly terror of thinking about my own death. I turn 26 next Saturday and I'm wholly unprepared for it. It's like, ever reakin' year I age another year. What the fuck is up with that?

Thursday, January 11
Satan walks the earth. STOP ASHCROFT.

Monday, January 8
A great weekend. Yesterday we saw Shadow of the Vampire, and had fabulous Armenian/Persian food in Pasadena. Today, I had a great writer's meeting where I got incredible feedback on my current script.

Yes, I started a writer's group. I hate writers groups and the idea of writers groups, but I needed my ass kicked. They're doing that, since I have to have new pages every week. Today we met and I got my ass kicked, but I have direction and focus. Better, I am sure this script is the best thing I've ever written. What's funny is being in a real writer's group with real writers, but doing the cliche'd coffee bar on Sunset. I was scoped out too many times for my own self-esteem. Worse is when you're trying to keep your voice down because there's nothing worse than L.A. people acting talking about show business.

But tonight really was the icing on the cake. We saw Rob Crow play at Spaceland. He was absolutely delightful and also gave me impetus to write my Crouching Tiger review. Rob Crow is immensely talented. In his mid-twenties he's written a metric shitload of songs for over a half dozen better-known bands and probably scads of other pet projects. Pinback is probably his most widely successful band, it's brilliantly memorable songs that echo the Beatles harmonies and melodies. And yet, they still retain a tremendous punk-rock core by creating dense structure in their songs. To top it all off, they're a pair of geeks who write about Star Wars and snowball fights. Rob Crow reminds me of my best friend Dan while we were growing up in Washington, D.C. I watched Dan become a great guitar player over a few years, and I also watched him lose his inhibitions when playing. Dan's playing music in Boston now, loving what he does, playing to small appreciative crowds. Seeing Rob Crow tonight reminded me of seeing Dan play and how much I enjoyed watching him become this wonderful person.

Wednesday, January 3
Back in LA. Again.