Poop Shute

2010-07-14T17:32:00.002-07:00

I recently stumbled across an email that I wrote around the time of the 2008 election.Until I read it I forgot just how crazy John McCain went in his last-ditch effort to gain The White House. As I read it I kept thinking "oh yeah!"I've been saying for years that the American voting public has such a short memory, but it appears I'm no better. Read below and remember. Ugh.*************11/10/

2010-07-02T11:44:00.003-07:00

Oh, sweet Poop Shute. I have missed you. I have not been writing much at all lately. I'm not happy about that. But I have been focusing more on fiction, and whereas this blog was more for personal rantings, it has been neglected.To get me writing more I have created a new project to give me purpose, focus and a deadline. Once a day, every day, I will take a photograph with my camera, upload it

2009-07-20T22:36:00.003-07:00

It was Friday, a warm, summer evening after a long work week. I did what most of us do every day. I walked into the kitchen and opened up the fridge, not having the slightest clue what I really wanted, but fairly certain that I would not find it in there. But we've always got to look, just to be sure, don't we?I could have an almond butter and jelly sam'ich.Nah.Hummus and pita?Nope.Mixed veggie

2009-07-13T11:10:00.009-07:00

Recently, it has occurred to me that I have worked a number of different jobs over the years. My resume, if I were to write an all-inclusive one, would be sprawling and likely a few dozen pages long.My mind started to wander over all the things I have done for money over the years, and a list began to form. Keep in mind that this list is all the things I have done for money. Strictly speaking,

2009-07-11T22:36:00.006-07:00

What The World Needs Now...A Rant On the State of the WorldBurt Bacharach would have you believe it's "love, sweet love."I agree, but I think there's more. I think it's more guys like ABBIE HOFFMAN.I just finished watching CHICAGO 10, a fantastic documentary about the 1968 Chicago Riots, and the trial that followed. I wish you would go rent it and watch it, America, but I won't pretend that you

2009-07-09T22:42:00.004-07:00

Sadie Goes PottyIt's a balmy night. Not warm. Not cold. A perfect temperature for a short stroll to pee. It's quiet. The only sounds that make it to us, behind our apartment building, is the pulsing soft hum of the freeway on the other side of the hill.A car pulls up beside the patch of grass I'm standing near. It's brakes make an almost inaudible whine right at the last second before stopping. I

2009-07-09T22:39:00.002-07:00

A text message interludeJohn: You know, I would save the world for free.Me: ...um... what?John: You only get it once.Me: ...um, okay. I too would save the world for free... but world-saving is bound to be taxing on the body and mind and a a brutha does gotta eat. Just sayin. :-)John: Ha ha. Locusts and honey, man. Locusts and honey.Me: Well there you go. In that scenario the world "paid" you in

2009-07-09T16:27:00.001-07:00

2009-07-05T20:25:00.002-07:00

More and more books I read on writing suggest that quantity is key at first, quality comes later. I have been itching to write lately, but unsure what I want to say.Lately, I am finding my time occupied with science and religion. I devour several podcasts and audiobooks in my car every week while driving to and from clients' houses and the majority of them are all about science and/or religion.I

2009-06-19T19:39:00.003-07:00

True StoryOn the radio on NPR yesterday morning a correspondent began a story with the artificial radio-guy tone of voice and completely broke character in the middle because of is own exasperation. He sighed heavily, let a little of himself leak out, and then resumed the plastic radio voice like it never happened. It went a little something like this:"And in economic news... (sigh) this

2009-06-18T21:05:00.002-07:00

Hummus and PETAYou've got to be friggin' kidding me. In an interview the other night, President Obama smacked a fly on his hand in an impressive Miyagi-like display of reflex and speed.PETA made a stink about it. When I heard about it on the goofy morning radio show I was listening to, I assumed it was a joke.Not a joke. READ HERE

2009-06-16T19:32:00.002-07:00

Oh, David Letterman, No! No! No!Do you remember that Simpsons Halloween Special where all the billboard characters and restaurant mascots came to life and started terrorizing the town?Remember Paul Anka's jingle that destroyed them?"Just don't look, just don't look!"You deprive them of attention and you rob them of their power and they die.WHY WHY WHY can't we all agree to do that to Sarah Palin?

2009-06-13T00:12:00.000-07:00

Obama Drastically Scales Back Goals For America After Visiting Denny's

2009-06-04T09:31:00.002-07:00

People make me laugh(myself included)With each new convenience that we manage to contrive for ourselves comes a whole new laundry list of complications and ailments and overblown health alerts by the media.Everybody, please say hello to CELL PHONE ELBOWEssentially, it's a cousin of carpal tunnel, only it lives at the other end of the fore arm.Who among us hasn't spent a little too long on their

2009-06-02T21:53:00.002-07:00

UghI'm working too much. I'm tired all day, every day. I don't think very clearly lately. I'm clumsy. I'm forgetful. I'm occasionally very cranky. My occasional stutter has gotten worse. I have no energy for my own projects, let alone this blog. Most days go something like this: I get up, I go to work, I eat, I go to work, I eat again, I work some more, I go to sleep.Once this global economic

2009-05-19T07:14:00.003-07:00

Funny/Scary Song About Anti-VaccinationistsI knew these people were out there, I just didn't know Jenny McCarthy was one of them.

2009-05-10T13:57:00.002-07:00

Funny, But TrueTrekkies Bash New Star Trek Film As 'Fun, Watchable'This new Star Trek movie elevates the tired, old franchise into something that's not just fun for a handful of nit-picky fanboys. It is just plain good fun, and great performances by all the actors.I will say that the fact that they used time travel AGAIN got on my nerves for a second, but I ended up being okay with it when the

2009-05-09T13:13:00.002-07:00

Coffee TalkI am generally not a big coffee guy. I used to be, back in college, but for several years now I've made it a point to avoid caffeine in general. The joking poster above is a reality for me. If I have a strong cup of coffee, I will feel shakey. In college I relied on it heavily (and ephedrine products, before they were outlawed) to make it through my hectic schedule, but now caffeine

2009-04-30T12:04:00.002-07:00

FIT YOUR LIFE NOW DOT COMIt is still a work in progress, but take the link above to visit my brand-spanking new website for my fitness business.In the days to come we will be adding a daily fitness blog, a testimonials page, a BIO page, a videos page, and a contact page that will include real world contact info and links to the blog and the TWITTER ACCOUNT.I know what you're thinking. Like many

2009-04-19T23:32:00.002-07:00

I don't know whether to laugh at how ridiculous some people can be, or cry because there are people who really think and talk this way.This new tactic of making it sound as though pushing for gay marriage rights actually takes rights away from straight people is particularly shocking. I hadn't heard that argument before. The sad thing is, I'm sure it will be compelling to people who were

2009-04-14T11:02:00.002-07:00

In my weekend job I work with little kids. And as cliche as the saying is, it's true: kids really do say the darnedest things.We play games, get them running around, and also we spend some "free play" time wherein we blow bubbles for them to run around in. Sometimes we make tongue-in-cheek jokes, that the kids pick up on more than adults even do.Me: Don't pop my bubbles! Those are my bubbles. No.

2009-04-07T21:00:00.002-07:00

"When life gives you lemons, make lemonade. Provided life also gave you water, sugar, and ice. Otherwise, that advice is just cruel."~Stephen Colbert

2009-04-04T17:56:00.001-07:00

Kings on NBCIt's not America. It's a fictional land called Gilboa that happens to be the most powerful country in it's version of earth, but it's an earth where America never existed. The premise is NOT "what if WE had a king", but what if a country in our current position on the world stage in a 2009 world still had a king. What would that be like? No such thing as the statue of liberty. No such

2009-03-31T20:50:00.000-07:00

2009-03-29T19:00:00.003-07:00

Will Ferrell's Kid Hit Me In The NutsOkay, so I don't know if it was his kid or not, but he was there, and that makes for a much more interesting tagline thanOne Time A Kid Hit Me In The Nuts While Will Ferrell Happened To Be In The RoomI took a second job working at a kids gym on weekends. We throw birthday parties and get the kids running around and playing games for about 2 hours. Will Ferrell

2009-03-25T23:47:00.002-07:00

HELL YES CLICK ME!!THREE STOOGES MOVIE?!?!?! I'm excited.I know, I know. It's probably going to suck, but I will probably love it anyway. When I was a kid I used to LOVE the Three Stooges marathons. They were second, in my heart, only to the Twilight Zone marathons, but it was a very close second.I vividly remember waking up and nestling into the couch with a big bowl of Cap'n Crunch and giggling

2009-03-24T08:55:00.003-07:00

Monkey BusinessCillian scratched his head and bit his lip. he was beginning to think he and his mates had bit off more than they could chew. He was struggling with the demands of his new job, and it was getting harder and harder to hide it. He glanced down the length of the long conference table to see the others working furiously. They had a deadline looming on the horizon, and they were all

2009-03-19T21:49:00.004-07:00

Spring Time In The DesertI've made the drive between LA and Phoenix dozens of times now. It's only just now dawned on me that until recently, I had never made that drive in spring before.This past weekend I made a drive home for a couple days. I needed to do my taxes, and my grandfather is my accountant. I also wanted to see my family, and pick up a few things that I had left behind.On my way out

2009-03-09T21:29:00.005-07:00

Ben Stein said what?!?!?!I was puttering around on the interweb just now and I saw a clip involving Ben Stein. It made kind of an oblique joke that implied he was anti-evolution. I always knew he was a republican, and a former speech writer for Nixon, but beyond that and his status as a pop culture icon I didn't know anything about him. So, I pulled up HIS WIKIPEDIA PAGE.I was horrified to find

2009-03-06T14:03:00.003-07:00

"I distrust those people who know so well what God wants them to do, because I notice it always coincides with their own desires."~Susan B. Anthony**********************Today marks eleven months Lenka and I have been together. We're very close to one year already, and it has flown by like a pleasant breeze.As I'm getting older I'm starting to see how old people describe their lives. They blink

2009-03-03T14:46:00.003-07:00

My good friend, Mr Crohn, is experiencing his first year of fatherhood and isn't sleeping too much. Today on Gchat we had this conversation. Thought it was funny enough to share.Josh: I need longer than 24 hour days.1:39 PM That would make things easier. me: yeah, don't we all what planet in our solar system revolves slower? I know Mars goes ever so slightly slower right? like 40 minutes longer

2009-03-02T19:40:00.002-07:00

WTF just doesn't cover it this time. This time I gotta say WHAT THE FVCK!?!?WATCH THISThere is a video over to the right on the page.How does that bloated sack of sh*t, Rush Limbaugh, still have a job?The thing that makes me so terribly sad is all his blustering about hoping Obama will fail (which means we ALL fail) and airing of stupid sh*t like this "Magic Negro" song (which worse than racist,

2009-03-02T11:17:00.005-07:00

David LunaThe name is changed to protect the man. I was in line at the bank Saturday morning behind him. I was there to make a withdrawal too large for the ATM, and the place was packed. I was probably waiting in line behind the man for a good fifteen minutes, and during that time I observed some odd behavior.First I will describe him for you. He was heavy-set, latino man about my age. He was

2009-02-24T19:00:00.002-07:00

How EmbarrassingMy "best audition ever" wasn't exactly as good as I thought.The man I read for said to me that he wanted me to come in and "meet the producer." Those were his exact words. This put me under two assumptions:1) This man I read for is the director2) I am now "director's choice."It turns out the man I read for was only a casting director. When he said he wanted me to "meet the

2009-02-22T12:28:00.002-07:00

The War On Moral WillYeah, it's a little long, but it's worth the 20 minutes.This is only implicit in Mr. Schwartz's lecture, but he says more eloquently what I've been trying to say about morality and religion lately. Religion, and The Bible more specifically in my arguments, did not give us modern morality. What the Bible did give us is a series of rules and and incentives in an attempt to

2009-02-20T20:16:00.003-07:00

Simple PleasuresYou might think I'm crazy, and you might be right, but I love the feel of a fresh, new pair of chonies.This week has been.... Well, other than that great audition this has been a kind of lame week. I never have bad days, let alone bad weeks, but this one was mostly kind of lame.I have been in bed for most of the last three days hacking up all kinds of gross crap out of my lungs

2009-02-19T12:35:00.002-07:00

My Best Audition Ever!Yesterday I walked into an audition for a gig that will be shooting in Rome, Italy for a week. It pays $1000 flat rate, plus travel accommodations and a per diem while we're there.I listened to the director tell me a little bit about the character/story, like I usually do. Then I did my thing. I gave my reading.The second I finished my read the director grinned and shouted "

2009-02-18T11:42:00.003-07:00

AAAAAIIIGGHH!!!That is all.*****************I don't remember where I found this, or if someone sent it to me, so I can't give a nod. If you are the one, please take credit in the comments.This is not a photoshop either. It was attached to a similar news story to THIS ONE

2009-02-12T12:06:00.002-07:00

HAPPY BIRTHDAY DARWIN(title is a link to a very well written piece on Darwin)

2009-02-08T16:36:00.003-07:00

Calf -Worshiper: Hey look everybody! Moses is back! Hey buddy, what's going on?Moses: Well, everybody, I have news. Some good, some bad.Prostitute: Lay it on us, man.Neighbor-Coveter: yeah, let's hear it.(the crowd of rabble roar their agreement)Moses: Okay, okay. So, I was talking to our all-knowing and all-powerful creator. He told me that when we die we don't really die. We get to live forever

2009-02-08T11:25:00.001-07:00

Storm by Tim Minchin

2009-02-03T19:44:00.000-07:00

"Prop 8 - The Musical" starring Jack Black, John C. Reilly, and many more... from Jack Black

2009-02-02T14:01:00.002-07:00

I am in LA!It took me almost 5 years to get back, but I made it. I got here about two days ago, but we had some internet issues.Here's the list of everything I did NOT have when I came out the first time that I now DO have- a car- a real place of my own, not a friend's couch- awesome headshots (last time I didn't have any, not even bad ones)- a chunk of money to get me started- experience in an

2009-01-23T21:22:00.005-07:00

Rush Limbaugh age 8, circa 1959For eight years we kept hearing the same tired song from the right-wing pundits. We heard it from Bill O'Reilly, from Sean Hannity, from Ann Coulter, and from Rush Limbaugh.Ragging on the president is un-American! Even if you don't like him and didn't vote for him, you need to stand up and support him and blah blah blah blah!!!Depending on which sycophant you were

2009-01-09T01:36:00.006-07:00

The Propaganda MachineJust got in from a late night shoot a few minutes ago. Tonight I was on a commercial shoot for a burger chain that shall remain nameless. Just know that they're big in the midwest and they've just hit the AZ market. And they may or may not rhyme with Pulver's but start with a C instead of a P.It was a lot of fun. Lots of cool people, lotsa laughs. We shot out on the patio of

2008-12-29T23:52:00.003-07:00

The cashier looked over my shoulder as he brushed my box of Triscuits over the scanner. A funny sort of smile crossed his face, and he gently shook his head. It was one of those slight smiling head-shakes you give when you hear on the news that some poor bastard was shot and killed in an armored car robbery. You didn't know him, or his family, but some small part of you inside still feels for

2008-12-26T18:17:00.001-07:00

Every Year I tell my Dad and Linda that these two little snow-midget statues they have are the "creepiest $#@% things I have ever seen" and every year they don't listen.Maybe this brutal attack will change their minds!Merry Xmas.

2008-12-24T00:00:00.005-07:00

A Blog Is Worth A Thousand Words Day

2008-12-21T23:40:00.002-07:00

Creepy Veepy“If he wants to diminish the office of vice president, that’s obviously his call"-- Dick Cheney on Joe Biden's remarks. Read full article HEREThe Vice President isn't supposed to have any power, you megalomaniacal jackass!According to the laws set up by our brilliant founding fathers, the Vice President does the following and ONLY the following:1 Takes up the mantle of The Presidency

2008-12-16T20:40:00.002-07:00

Sh*t StirringApparently I cannot avoid it. Most of my social and religious opinions are very controversial in some circles, so I really shouldn't be surprised. At any rate, I received an email from someone who said the comment system wasn't working. Here is my reply.I made no such statement that any religious person is an idiot. Upon reading my original post with that in mind, I can see how I

2008-12-16T12:35:00.005-07:00

Religion (again)For those religious readers, please know that (for once) I am not stirring up sh*t here. I am not poking the bear with a stick to watch him roar. I am just sharing some conclusions I have come to for myself. Feel free to disagree, but lets keep it civil.I saw Bill Maher's new film RELIGULOUS on Saturday. Good times. It got me thinking about a conversation I had a couple summers

2008-12-12T13:37:00.001-07:00

If I Were Gay, I Would Be In Love With Jon Stewart...And I Would Still Think Mike Huckabee is a Tool..cc_box a:hover .cc_home{background:url('http://www.comedycentral.com/comedycentral/video/assets/syndicated-logo-over.png') !important;}.cc_links a{color:#b9b9b9;text-decoration:none;}.cc_show a{color:#707070;text-decoration:none;}.cc_title a{color:#868686;text-decoration:none;}.cc_links a:hover{

2008-12-10T12:39:00.005-07:00

You asked for itOkay, here is a rough draft of the new template. It will get cleaner and sharper in the days to come, but ta-da!Ed, does this let you do RSS now? Is there something else I need to do?

2008-12-10T11:08:00.003-07:00

FinallyBesides Nanowrimo distracting me, another reason I was not posting very frequently was because I lost my internet at home. Business has been sh*t for a couple months now thanks to our floundering economy. Business is still terrible, but I have received a settlement check for a car accident I was in back in March. As of yesterday afternoon I have the internet at home again.Not too much to

2008-12-05T10:33:00.002-07:00

BackgroundWednesday afternoon I had my first experience as an extra, also known as "background" in the business. I say Wednesday afternoon, but it also included a big chunk of Thursday morning as well.This will be my last experience in such a role.The money is pretty crappy, and the hours are worse, that part I knew and was expecting. But this gig was just plain awful. I love Ricky Gervais, but

2008-11-29T19:42:00.002-07:00

"Through storm and sun, you traversed the noveling seas. Pitted against a merciless deadline and fighting hordes of distractions, you persevered. You launched yourself bravely into Week One, sailed through the churning waters of Week Two, skirted the mutinous shoals of Weeks Three and Four, and now have landed, victorious, in a place that few adventurers ever see. We congratulate you on your hard

2008-11-25T22:23:00.005-07:00

I realize I didn't say anything in advance this year, like i have in previous years, but this is NANOWRIMO (National Novel Writing Month).For the unititated, it's a challenge to write a 50,000 word first draft of a novel. The catch is you can't start it until midnight on November 1 and you have to finish prior to midnight on December 1.Editing and revising come later and can and should take weeks

2008-11-08T19:28:00.002-07:00

This is about a week late, but my room had begun to take on a life of its own. With a great, weighty claw made of dirty sweat socks and piles of dog-eared paperback books it snatched up many of my possessions. The camera was first to go, Halloween pics still on its memory card.I'm proud to say I killed the beast early this morning. It was touch and go for a while there, but in the end good

2008-11-06T09:34:00.002-07:00

Congratulations AmericaI meant to write this yesterday, but my internet was down. So here we go.Four years ago, on election night. I posted a picture of myself flipping the bird. I went to bed very upset. I had cried a little. I was also a little drunk.This time around I went to sleep a little drunk with excitement. I welled up with tears a couple times, but they were tears of joy.Now I finally

2008-11-03T11:27:00.003-07:00

The Last WordThis election season has drive me batty. Every election has, and every furture election likely will. Thank god, this one is nearly over. But this one... a lot of what I hear coming out of the Republican camp is so misguided and/or distorted and I keep getting in my email box.My grandfather sent me a silly story about a man confronting the "redistribution of wealth" idea by stiffing

2008-10-22T20:27:00.001-07:00

Gas BoycottsOye. Please, people, STOP email-forwarding gas boycotts! Please spread the word on this one: gas boycotts (and I have seen dozens of different angles on that idea) cannot work. Ever. Period.The people that suggest a boycott are operating under the traditional supply and demand ideas, and in a supply/demand situation, a boycott is a great tool.But brace yourself for this one, because

2008-10-22T18:18:00.002-07:00

HAHAHAHAHAHA CLICK METake the link to a story about the asinine amount of money spent over the last 60 days on Sarah Palin's wardrobe, hair and makeup.Or just read here and learn that it's over $150,000The thing that REALLY cracks my sh*t up the most is you've already got right-wingers running interference and saying that this isn't important enough and we're ridiculous to talk about it, because

2008-10-22T15:50:00.001-07:00

Wars throughout history have been waged for conquest and plunder.... the working class who fight all the battles, the working class who make the supreme sacrifices, the working class who freely shed their blood and furnish their corpses, have never yet had a voice in either declaring war or making peace. It is the ruling class that invariably does both. They alone declare war and they alone make

2008-10-21T11:03:00.003-07:00

I've recently taken up a position as a writer. Don't ask too much about it yet, I'm not comfortable talking about it until the project gets off the ground. More about that in weeks to come.I had remembered some things I had written in years past that I thought might be useful for this project, so I started digging through my old hard drives in search of them. I came across a WEALTH of fiction. I

2008-10-20T14:52:00.003-07:00

Dogma: I am GodorPalindromes Are FunDue to all the recent God talk (again) lately, my Google ads link took me to a site claiming to have six reasons to believe in God. If you're interested, CLICK HERE. We have actually discussed most of them on here at one time or another over the years, so I won't bother with most of the article. But the intro caught my eye.After a bit of preamble about these

2008-10-19T14:30:00.002-07:00

HOLY AWESOMENESS!COLIN POWELL BACKS OBAMA AND CRITICIZES MCCAINOne of the highest profile Republicans, former generals, and African Americans threw his support behind Obama.Read the article in the link to some specifics of what he said.

2008-10-19T12:17:00.003-07:00

A BLOG IS WORTH A THOUSAND WORDS DAY:SEDONA EDITION!

2008-10-16T15:50:00.003-07:00

Gay GenesI hope that title alone doesn't bring me hundreds of strangers from google searches, but here we go anyway.There is no specific research data that I can mention to suggest that there is a GAY gene out there, but my personal observations lead me to believe that people are born gay. I do NOT believe that it is simply a lifestyle choice. I think some people are born with no attraction to

2008-10-15T12:49:00.004-07:00

LoveThis is one of the more long-winded posts I have ever written, but it was needed. Someone posed a very complex question that demanded a complex answer. If you read, please read the whole thing. There is a point. I assure you.Before I get deeply into explaining what I see as the true origin of love, I just want to say that I feel it just like you and everyone else. I feel that strange mixture

2008-10-12T14:04:00.003-07:00

This is in response to a friend's Facebook blog post. It was months ago, but I just got on for the first time since then. One person, Anne tried to describe my immovability on the issue of faith (and those like me) as though it were it's own kind of faith unto itself. Here is my reply.To Anne, and anyone else that would accuse my non-belief as just as much of a faith as your own, I will strongly

2008-10-06T20:13:00.001-07:00

TodayApparently today is just another day with no particular significance. Nothing special happened today. I really wish I had something special to tell you about, and in fact, I had something special planned for this day. But sometimes life doesn't go the way you would like it.Sometimes today just ends up being today.

2008-10-02T23:56:00.003-07:00

Mass Debatin'Governor Palin: [on climate change] I don't want to argue about the causes. What I want to argue about is, how are we going to get there to positively affect the impacts?Joe Biden: If you don't understand what the cause is, it's virtually impossible to come up with a solution. We know what the cause is. The cause is man-made. That's the cause. That's why the polar icecap is melting.*

2008-10-02T23:27:00.002-07:00

There was a comment on a post a few weeks ago regarding the selection of the Democratic party candidate for president. Here is an excerpt."...ultimately the presidential election is rarely set by policy--there's not a lot of substantial difference there between any mainstream candidate. The president is a figurehead. I want a charismatic well-spoken leader at the helm. He can sell his ideas to

2008-10-01T15:32:00.002-07:00

Oh please no. Not again, America. Not again.Watch the clip first. It's hilarious. Last night on CNN (I think) I saw a split screen shot of Tina Fey's Palin Impression from the clip, next to the real Palin in the real interview. A couple sections (and the ones that make the least sense) are DIRECT QUOTES FROM THE REAL CANDIDATE.I didn't get

2008-09-25T11:05:00.002-07:00

SCAM ALERTI had an unusual scam email today, and I realized that some of you might not have come across this type, so I thought I would share and warn.We've probably all seen the ones from Nigeria that claim they want to wire you CRAPLOADS of money from some obscure diplomat who has just died, and all that. This one today was new to me. I have heard of it, but never seen til now.This one was

2008-09-22T12:46:00.002-07:00

Going To The DogsI have recently strayed into the world of Dog. (pun intended)Years ago I tried to rehabilitate a friend's german shepherd, with little success. The main problem was the dog was not given consistency. Everything I taught her was thrown out the window every time she was around any of my roommates at the time, because they allowed her to misbehave without correction. I ended up

2008-09-16T11:35:00.002-07:00

This is a reposting of a very eloquent and thoughtful piece about the smear tactics of John McCain. I am posting it here with the author's permission. "What is a Community Organizer? I am watching the 9/11 forum, and John McCain has just stated his belief that the important people in this country are the people who work in their community to improve this nation, which he calls "grassroots"

2008-09-09T23:59:00.005-07:00

The following was taken from a blog that shall remain nameless. I know this person, but many of you do not. Regardless of who wrote it, this sort of nonsensical, circular logic is symptomatic of one of the larger problems facing our country, and the international community.This is a small excerpt of an extremely long-winded and meandering post that makes very little sense. I wish I could say I

2008-09-05T12:52:00.002-07:00

Faux PatriotismThe above pic is my grandfather, Alfred Stramaglia. It's a crappy pic on a camera phone, but you get the idea. This man is truly and deeply patriotic. He's been flying a flag for as long as I can remember. Most days it's American, but occasionally it's an Italian flag. He's very proud of his heritage as well as his country, and he has every reason to be on both counts.He is the

2008-09-02T15:39:00.006-07:00

Sometimes A Quote Works BestRecently it came to light that John Edwards had an affair. You may or may not have noticed, but he quickly vanished off the radar after that, and made no appearance at the Democratic National Convention.Whether you liked Edwards for president or not, you have to respect that he was a major voice against the financial inequalities in this country. He was the greatest

2008-08-27T08:41:00.002-07:00

"DON'T BLAME ME FOR HIGH GAS PRICES, I VOTED REPUBLICAN."...what!? What!? WHAT!?! Can somebody explain what the hell that is supposed to mean? I saw this bumper sticker in traffic yesterday, and it's been ringing in my head since then. I don't even know where to begin picking that apart.The DNCHillary Clinton's supporters are just plain silly.What the %$#& is wrong with these people? They've been

2008-08-22T10:03:00.002-07:00

PropagandaBoth sides are using it. THIS PIECE happens to be from the side I am leaning towards, but that's not why I wanted to share it.The writer has a fun time peppering in internal rhymes into the first several paragraphs. I can only assume he's going for some kind of metaphor about the frivolity and circus-like zaniness that these two campaigns are taking on... not that they are any different

2008-08-21T17:00:00.002-07:00

...................Yup, that's the title alright. It is an ellipsis for a reason. An ellipsis is a commonly used literary tool employed by writers to denote a long silence, or a long period of nothing happening.I can't think of anything more appropriate to represent the last two days.Yesterday and today I had one session each day, and spent the rest of the day online. Some of that online time was

2008-08-20T10:45:00.002-07:00

Business stuff AGAINLast summer I hit a very rough patch. There was a period of about three months that I had one client and no calls from possible new ones. Luckily then I had a few thousand in savings, but by the end of those savings, the client situation had not improved, and I was worried about how I was going to eat.Luckily, my roommate had bought herself a bunch of NutriiSystem food, and

2008-08-18T11:56:00.002-07:00

A Rare ConnectionI have been rocking out in the gym again, but the morning power walks are still limited to two to three days a week. Better than the zero I had been doing in recent weeks, but still not every day.This morning I had a really nice moment with a complete stranger. I find so many people this day and age would rather put on the earbuds, stare at the ground and pass you by without so

2008-08-17T19:28:00.002-07:00

Olympics The SequelI have been working in gyms in one way or another for about four years now. In all that time I have never used a rowing machine, because I just never worked at a gym that had one. And I don't mean the cable row weight lifting machine, I mean the cardio machine that simulates rowing a boat.I love it.Yesterday morning I was watching the coverage of the Men's Skulls rowing event,

2008-08-16T20:52:00.002-07:00

Detox ShmetoxFor the better part of a couple weeks now I have been getting stomach aches fairly often. Some debilitating to the point of curled in a ball, but most only mildly irritating.I haven't made any significant dietary changes, so I was wondering if maybe I picked up some kind of persistent stomach bug. A virus or bacteria maybe, I don't know.I decided in advance of today to make today a "

2008-08-15T13:17:00.002-07:00

Having a lazy day todayI was supposed to have three clients, but two of the three canceled.I'm trying to reset my stubborn sleep schedule to a regular bedtime/waking again. I dragged my ass out of bed at 8, even though I wasn't asleep until around 2. I did my morning walking meditation, and then ate a wholesome breakfast....I found myself thinking "now what?I have updated my acting resume and my

2008-08-14T16:21:00.002-07:00

Son-of-AJust when I thought things were turning around. Today in a matter of five minutes I had two clients call with some cancellations for next week for various reasons. $275 that I won't be earning. Damn it.And the new client that I thought I was picking up this week completely flaked on me, so there goes the $400 a month I was expecting to make from her.Right when I picked up a new expensive

2008-08-13T15:49:00.002-07:00

One of Those DaysI don't have bad days. I don't believe in it. Any day spent alive, alert and awake beats the alternative.I am having a day today that I can only describe as a "dumb day."Everyone has these days. You feel like you got up out of bed, but your brain stayed behind on the pillow.In the car I sometimes do listen-and-repeat spanish lessons just to refresh the language I spent four years

2008-08-12T20:44:00.003-07:00

I spent a solid four months working my ass off 5 to 6 days a week in the gym in preparation for and maintenance of my appearance onstage in a g-string.We closed on July 5th. For most of the month of July, and the first week of this month I have been slacking into maintenance mode. I've been phoning in my gym time, half-assing workouts, calling it quits early, skipping my morning walks, and those

2008-08-11T18:02:00.003-07:00

Rocky Horror ShowSound designing for a big paycut. I'm making $100 on this one, which is exactly 10% of what I made on the last gig. Meh. I'm doing a favor for a friend, really. Besides, I love this job!I love it when a director makes a request in really bizarre terms. The goofier the language he uses, the more room for creativity and fun I have. I get to make whatever craziness he just described

2008-08-10T22:50:00.005-07:00

OlympicsPart of me wonders if I might have already blogged about this, back when I first witnessed it, but I don't feel like looking through the archive to find out. If it's a repeat, I apologize. But, regardless of whether or not you've heard it, it's a damn good story.I was never really a big fan of the Olympics until I spent a summer living with my best friend at the time. We are no longer in

2008-08-09T22:55:00.003-07:00

Next?Lenka called in a pickup order for us at NYPD pizza, and I went to get it. Up near the register is a section of counter labeled with a big, bold-lettered sign that says:CALL-IN ORDERPICKUPI walked directly to that part of the counter and stood and waited patiently. There were a couple groups off to my left at the register, so I was just politely waiting for the guy behind the counter to have

2008-08-08T23:54:00.002-07:00

I need to write something, so here is something that I am writing stream of concsiousness style no punctuation and no stopping no stopping at all not to go pee not to eat not even to scratch an itch just a big flow of word vomit and I can tidy up any typos once I'm done, but it's damn near midnight and I need to get something posted right this second. Oh look there's some puncutation afterall.

2008-08-07T20:36:00.003-07:00

I love the rain.Dance in it. Splash in it. Revel in it. Make love in it.It brings life. It brings calm. It brings peace.It rejuvenates.Makes new.It makes me wax poetical....and borrow from Stone Temple Pilots lyrics, apprently.That is all.

2008-08-06T21:50:00.004-07:00

BudgetSummer has been rough on my wallet. It always is in my business, but this year was really bad. See, people go out of town and they don't have the decency to bring their trainers along with them. The nerve! As a result, in the last two and a half months I watched my savings drop from $2300 all the way down to $170. Ouch.Oh well, the travel season is coming to a close, and all my clients'

2008-08-05T13:25:00.003-07:00

Rock Climbing, F^@k yeah!Ryan, Lenka and I went to the Phoenix Rock Gym on Sunday for my first time. I used to hang out a lot with a group of guys that went a couple times a week, and they invited me often but for some reason it never interested me.I cannot imagine why it never interested me! It was a BLAST! And, I found out that I'm really frigging good at it. I started on the easy ones, a 5.5

2008-07-29T23:12:00.002-07:00

UghFriday night the boys came over and we played Rock Band on the Wii and drank lots and lots of beer.We played Rock Band and drank beer until almost 4 in the morning.I still haven't recovered.I didn't even suffer a slight hangover, mind you. It's my $%#@ insomnia.The damage to my sleep schedule was HUGE. Since that night I have yet to fall asleep earlier than 2am. And I get up at 7ish for work

2008-07-23T12:24:00.007-07:00

Forgiveness ReturnsThe last few years I have both been hurt a lot, and left my fair share of hurt in my wake. I learned a lot about myself, relationships and human nature in general. I have also learned a lot of lessons about forgiveness. These themes are nothing new if you've been reading throughout this period.Last night I was reading the latest issue of Yoga Journal, and there was an article