Subterranean Beefworks

Morning Spectacular

At home, I'm most comfortable sleeping to music so before I go to bed, I turn on the radio, soften the volume, and let NPR cart me off to sleep with its classical music.

About five minutes to eight this morning, while dreaming about my friend telling me with peculiar resignation that his girlfriend was asleep, I was shocked out of sleep by a sudden sound. What followed the sound was a silence as loud as any calamity. The sudden sound was a boom, like a tire blow-out or someone tapping on a microphone. In the idiotic haze of just being torn from deep sleep, I looked around from between my two pillows feeling like I had just missed something important. With some profanity, I got up to investigate.

My radio was lifeless. The constant whir from the computer room was silenced. The furnace was unconscious, the refrigerator too. All the clocks had been lobotomized, and the handsets for all the cordless phones were looking at me with horrified bewilderment as they leaned over their inexplicably dead basesets. I had dealt with blackouts before. Old wiring causes the fuses to trip and turn off half of the house whenever a light burns out, so normally I just go down to the basement and reset the switch. However, this time the entire house was dead and no switches had been tripped. Something else was amiss.

In preparation for having to deal with someone to get this sorted out, I decided to take a shower. Maybe by the time I was done the power would be back on. Thankfully, there was still hot water, so I enjoyed a quick shower before reassessing the whole thing. I would've dismissed it as a simple blackout if I wasn't living in such an old house. Really anything could've gone wrong that would've been isolated to my house or even my side of the house.

To know just when the power came back, I switched my dead radio back on and turned the volume up. When power returned, I would hear music. I looked out my windows as my town bustled around unconcerned. Were the sliding doors at the grocery store working? Damn branches obscured my view. Any weird traffic patterns? None in particular to speak of. I saw someone in a nondescript red car stop at a telephone pole a few meters down from my house, jabber for a minute into his phone while looking up at the hardware, and then drive away. Hmm... My neighbor was on his cell phone with someone, as I could hear through the wall. Indeed, he had confirmed an outage in the area and PP&L was looking into it.

Not long thereafter, the heavy drone of a PP&L truck was rumbling outside by the telephone pole, so I figured I would watch them fix it and grabbed my binoculars to get a close look.

High up in his cherry-picker box, or whatever those boxes are called that firemen and electricians use, I saw the guy manipulating some esoteric component, tightening nuts and screws all over the thing, which looked like it could either be part of the electrical hardware or the tool needed to repair it. Satisfied with his tightening work, the guy hung it from something on the pole and began moving the box lower and away. Then with some long, yellow item that looked like a tape measure at its full extension, he delicately hooked on to the end of the component he had attached earlier.

What followed was spectacular.

"You ready?" he called down to his partner. There was a hint of childlike excitement in his voice. With that, he reared back and turned in a powerful, graceful arc, flinging the long yellow stick upwards and in so doing, folding the component from which it hung up on itself with springloaded, fantastically engineered quickness. Not a heartbeat later, the peak of Beethoven's "Ode to Joy" exploded from my room in madly celebratory fervor. An entire symphony harolding him as he did, the man slowly retracted his box away from the pole towards the earth, unshaken and modest, but not without an aire of pride,

I swung the binoculars from my eyes astounded, having not yet absorbed how absolutely entertained I was. With the ecstatic singing pounding from my room, I burst into incredulous laugher, wanting almost to applaud for a good show.

It was the best morning I can remember.

Poarn

Soooooo....yeah.

Soooooo.......what's been going on?

Yeah? That's pretty rad.

Did you really? My god that's nuts.

No I've just been...no, it's fine.

Oh yeah, no I've just been chilling. Hanging out basically.

The orgy? What about it?

Hahaha, no. I don't think you'd really understand.

Yeah. True. I got some CDs and a book about parots.

No, not really. But I did get some cds.

guzater

Dammit. I was really proud of my immune system up until now. It held so strong through all this flu shit. I put myself right up against germs and have been completely fine. But bah, now I'm starting to feel ill. I'm in the preliminary stages where the illness is just a really bad mood. My lips hurt from being dry, so that's annoying. I can't get comfortable, so whatever I'm sitting on or in is annoying. Every commercial is annoying, every website is annoying. Every song I listen to is annoying. Everything that have to eat is annoying, and everything want to eat but don't have is still more annoying. I'm not achy yet, but I can feel that coming on, and that's annoying.

Whatever. Who gives a shit.

I'm making slow progress on my webpage, and it definately comes complete with sharp shapes and warm colors, as promised. The theme of it, which remains undisclosed, is also acceptably appropriate. I'm really happy with the splash page, which sets the tone of the entire site. But it's really hard to get the layout of the page to not suck or be annoying. So far it both sucks and is annoying, which fucking annoys me. The navigation is pretty sleek though, so at least I have that to go on.

It's about 30 minutes later. I stopped to do something, and while I was doing it, X Japan came on. It's the first music that hasn't annoyed me tonight. I'm also feeling a little better.

-------Maybe what follows will be a little bit interesting.

Brendan and I went to the bowling lanes and ended up getting a pitcher and playing pool for a while. We both sucked so miserably that the game itself was hard to enjoy, but neither of us were really there for the joy of playing pool. After that, we got ourselves to Jim Dandy's, the uhh...restaurant thing with a bar. Sitting in a bar having a conversation. Damn, ya know. It completely hit the spot for me, and I hope once the rest of my friends get back from school, we'll do it even more. One could gather enough material for an interesting book just by sitting in a bar and experiencing it. We got back to his place and just ended up crashing there. I slept like a sedated log.

My sister is coming in from Montana tomorrow. Boooohaaaaa. I miss her, and am excited to see her. Then I guess it's time to finally go Christmas shopping. Anyone want anything?

I forgot about this one.

I was pissing myself this semester because I had to write 4 pages about some aspect of German history covered in class. Part of it was because I had a really shaky thesis (germans can't do anything signifigant unless their supposedly unique need for political or social unity is met); part of it was also that the deadline really came down to the wire. But mostly, I just didn't think I could express a concise argument in german over 4-5 pages. I completely forgot that I did basically that very thing at RIT many quarters ago. I seem to be really good at forgetting big things in my life. Like entire curricula.

Since I have nothing else to say, here is my paper. It's about Fritz Lang, a German director from the 20s, most famous for his work "Metropolis."

  Mitleidlos,” ,,geheimnisvoll,” ,,sadistisch”…diese Worte sind passende Worte, der berühmter Regisseur Fritz Lang zu beschreiben. Durch der Arbeit seinen Meisterstücken Metropolis und andre Filme, gewann Herr Lang diesen unschmeichelhaften Ruf. Es ist nicht schwer zu verstehen, warum er so beschrieb ist. Fritz Lang war Perfektionist, und immer arbeitet er ,,bis zum Weissbluten.” Darum verlor er viele Kollegen, aber auch schaffte er ein paar die beste Filme aller Zeiten. Obwohl er es nie zugäbe, beeinflußte Herr Lang Generationen von Regisseurs. Auch heute ist sein Stil ganz ursprünglich, und noch in dieser Zeiten imitierte.
  Der sagenhafter Lang begann sein Leben in 1890. Er war zu seinen Eltern Anton und Paula am 5. Dezember in Wien geboren. Ein glückvolles Kind war er, weil er in dem sogenannten ,,Goldenen Herbst” geboren war. Zur dieser Zeit kam ,,der alte Herr” Franz Josef an der Regierung. Unter Josef erfreut Wien sich von 1848 bis 1916 beispiellose Fortschritt an. Das bedeutete Toleranz, Liberalismus, Zuversicht, und auch natürlich Wohlstand. Für die Familie Lang war es kein anders. Von Beruf war Anton Lang Stadtsbaumeister und controllierte er eine Baugesellschaft, die er erbte von seiner Mutter. Diese Gesellschaft verdiente den Langs viel Geld und ein gemütliches Leben. Doch, es wäre keine Möglichkeit ohne Antons schwer Arbeit. So mit alles, strengte er sich bei der Bauarbeit sehr an, und mehrte sein Ansehen. Es ist so gesagt, dass Fritz von seinem Vater Arbeitsverbissenheit lernte.
  Der Rest die Lehrtätigkeit gehörte Fritzs Mutter, Paula. Als Normal zu dieser Zeit, trug sie die Veranwortung, Fritz zu ausbilden. Am wichtigsten war Religion, die sie Fritz lehren mußte. Hier liegt etwas komisch, weil Paula Juden war, während Anton catholisch war. Die Zeitliche Sozialgesetze (vergrößender Antisemitismus und soweiter) waren Gründe, Paula Catholischerin zu werden. Paula lehrte was sie von catholische Tradition wußte, aber am Ende kann man nur sagen, dass sie ihr Bestes gab. Was ist mehr interessant, ist was Paula und Anton in seiner Freizeit machten. Zweimal pro Monat gingen sie ins Theater um einer Spiel sehen. Danach würden sie nach Hause kommen oder ins Cafè gehen und sprechen mit Freunden über was sie meinten. ,,Es war ein Ereignis,” errinerte Fritz sich. Manchmal war Fritz mitzukommen erlauben, und wann er alter war, ging er allein oder mit Freunden ins Theater. Es ist leicht zu sehen, wie Fritz an Film interessiert wurde.
  Fritzs Kunstinteresse blühte während er Jugenlicher war. Er verbrachte seine Zeit in Kabaretts mit anderen Kunstleren und Intellektuelleren. Er studierte Malen vermutlich, aber am meistens vergeudete er seine Zeit. Auf diesem Gründ setzten Fritz und seiner Vater oft auseinander. Anton wurde immer mehr böse an Fritz, und Fritz gleichfalls, weil er von seinem Vater geldabhängig war. Mindestens einmal pro Monat setzten Fritz und seiner Vater auseinander. Es wurde immer schlechter bis Fritz sein Haus ließ. Um 1910 begann er seine Wanderjahre, während welcher Zeit erforschte er Deutschland und endlich Brüssel.
  Fritz Lang war ein man der Übertreibung. Er übertrieb oft wieviel er reiste während seinen Wanderjahren. Nord Afrika, Turkei, Japan, und zurück nach Frankreich forderte er. Dann später hängte er noch mehr Plätze an. Die Frage ist wie er bezahlte. Seit niemand eine Antwort hat, denkt man, dass er nach allem nicht so weit flog. Es ist bestimmt, dass er Zeit in München, Frankfort, und Nürnberg verbrachte, vor er nach Brüssel und schließ Paris flog. Am meistens besuchte er Museen mit einem grossen Interesse an japanisher und asischer Kunst. Obwohl er noch malte, Mädchenen waren seine Lieblingskunst und Herr Lang baggerte mehr als er malte. Um dieser Zeit erforschte Lang Film. Bald ging er eins oder zweimal pro Tag ins Kino und erfreute er sich an französichen Filmen.
  Dann in August 1914 flog Lang zurück nach Wien. Während dieser Zeit ging die Mobilmachung, also sah Fritz ein neues Wien. Krieg begann in Europa und plötzlich fühlte Lang eine Bindung zu seinem Land. Am 12. Januar werbte Friedrich Christian Anton Lang dem Militär an. Er war bravouröser Soldat; er war dreimal verwundet, weil er so tüchtig war und vor lange wurde er Leutnant. Wann er in Krankenhaus war, begann er an Film zu denken. In einem Tagebuch schrieb er kleine Sache und Handlungen, und in seinem Kopf gründete er seine Filmwahrlieb. Am Ende dem Krieg begegnete Fritz Erich Pommer, wem wurde später Regieassistent zu Lang sein. Vor einem Jahr nach dem Krieg war Lang in Berlin als Regisseur.
  Fünfzehn Filme später in 1927 kam Langs berühmste Film Metropolis. Lang war schon angesehener Regisseur und arbeite mit dem UFA, oder Universum Film Aktiengesellschaft. UFA war Deutschlands Hollywood mit Staatzuschuss. Obwohl UFA shaffte Film um dem Publikum zu unterhalten, es ging auch um dem Publikum zu indoktrinieren. Propaganda war sehr wichtig zur dieser Zeit und die Regierung fühlte, dass Deutschland auf dem Hohepunkt von alles sein müssen. Langs andere Filme gab Deutschland die Möglichkeit Hollywood zu einholen und Metropolis wäre der Schlüssel gewesen sein.
  Metropolis ist eine Zukünftsgeschichte. Lang stellte sich vor einer dunkeln Zukünft in der Leute waren fast nicht mehr Mensch. Sie waren teilen von Maschine, lebten verarmt, und hatten keine Persönlichkeit. Die Stadt ist controllierte von die Denkeren, wem die Stadtsplänne machen. Ein Tag besuchte ein Denker die Arbeiter und Kaos folgt.
  Als typisch für Fritz Lang ist die Anfangsidee von Metropolis mit Übertreibung verschmutzt. Er sagte, dass er ein Geistesblitz hatte, während er in New York City war. Das ist aber Quatsch, weil Erich Pommer die Metropolis-Plänne dem Publikum Monaten vor der Reise nach New York erklärte. Die Anfangsidee ist aber nicht wichtig wenn man die Productionsache wissen. Metropolis war zu dieser Zeit das grosstest Production. Es kostet um 5.3 Millionen Mark und machte UFA fast bankrott.
  Unglaubliche, wann Metropolis veröffentlich wurde am 10. Januar 1927, bekamm es mittelmäßige Reaktionen. Darum kürzte UFA um einem Quartal des Film, und leider ist das Filmmaterial auf immer verloren. Trotzdem geltet es heute noch als Meisterstück.

It depresses me greatly that I don't know a great deal of the vocabulary used in the paper, because I did know it when I wrote it. Ugh. Shitty.

Beginning.

Before beginning, Chris will be happy to know that the code word for today is definately "brazen."

Breeeaaaaaaak.

Mine has officially started. I don't mean to rub it in or anything, even though I have already done just that, merely by mentioning it. Out of courtesy, I would gladly change the subject for you instead of talking about how I have nearly nine-hundred hours to do whatever the slog I want. It would be completely indecent of me--I know this--to sit here and type a novella out of how I only have a four page paper to write and I have until the 17th to hand it in. Hah, to even mention that I can write it in the comfort of my own home, which smells of cookies baking, which is about two minutes from a very festively decorated town center, which is a further one minute from restaurants, a grocery store, and a beer distributor, would just be an asshole thing to do. So, I guess I'll just leave the topic right were it is: I am on break, and I'm pretty happy about that.

Of course, all breaks that I've ever had start off with ambition, and this one is no different. I have things on my list such as eating a lot...and.....drinking a lot. If I can muster the strength of spirit, I also plan on looking out the window, breathing, and watching TV. I think my mom made me agree to doing the dishes after dinner from now on, but the memory is a little vague so maybe I could play it off that I never made such an agreement.

Yes, this is going to be the longest winter break that I've ever had.

Actually, to be truthful, I do plan on doing constructive things, and I hope to return to school in January an improved person. A one-month student membership at the local gym is something like 30 bucks, and I think my arms and chest could do well with some fortification. I'm going to do some mad (yes, mad) stretching of my legs too. I'm tired of having hamstrings as tight as suspension cables. I plan on doing much more writing of stories, reading, technical practice on the guitar; perhaps I will write some progressions, and also sharpen some pencils around the house, if I happen to find any dull or unsharpened ones lying around. In preparation for a much more hard-core German semester, I will be listening and reading Deutsch a great deal as well. Furthermore, I'm going to mess around with personal webdesign again too, maybe put some real effort into a production for once. I'm imagining a design dominated by hot colors, sharp shapes, and a layout that makes your eyes feel like they're sucking on watermellon Jolly-Ranchers. A new haircut is in order as well, something shorter, but that would still embody the disorganized warm mass that sparks quietly a thickness of skull beneath it. New clothes too dammit. Some new, unique clothes with colors like green, orange, white, red, and black. No more blue, I'm ill of blue ensembles.

So basically, when I arrive back at campus in January, I will be physically stronger, more durable, more flexible, slightly more kempt, more colorful, more openly creative, better at guitar, more well-read, closer to fluency in German; I will have gotten Tai off my back about updating my webpage, and I will hopefully have molted out of Stasis-Dan and into a Dan that can have an antonym for "stasis" on the other side of the hyphen.

Maybe by the 18th I'll have thought of an antonym for stasis.

Obligi2

Some Belongings

Oblgi

Let it be known that I have nothing to say right now. But I guess I will post something on this anyway.

It's 7 minutes to 3:00am.

Away messages

I hope no one minds that I am violating they're copyrights or whatever, but i'm going to post the away messages of everyone on my buddy list. These are accurate as of ~1:45AM. See if you got published!

(sorry if your special characters or colors didn't show up)

"away~"

"Knead your failuredough ...
your failurecakes are baking...
mmmm....tastes like......failure"

"this is what it was like playing football tonight . . . http://www.kimbanet.com/~eandpnewnam/pnK/penguin.htm"

"excedrin works wonders

to be read in a loud opera like voice- SHOPPING!:-D"

"out"

"here"

"Hi, the flu has smacked the shit out of me since Tuesday night. :-[ So if you are a good person, you would bring chicken noodle soup to me.
xxx Lincoln
Evanston, IL 60201"

"pearty."

"i think getting to page 8 is cause enough for celebration, dont you?"

"home"

"CLICK HERE NOW!!!
off to wal*mart"

"zzzZzzzZZzZ
Dreaming of dreams I have................................"

"and some day, i will finally be able to go insane. then i will transcend what is now, and move on to what is coming up.
sanity is going to have to change in order to stay sane."

"Hey.. I'm here.. but I'm not really here. Call my cell xxx-846-xxxx"

"zzz"

"here"

"'scars heal, glory fades, and all youre left with is the memories made. pain hurts, only for a minute, life is short, so go on and live it...'"

"
relaxing."

"boozin"

"programming"

"i want to live in alaska"

"80's roller skating!!!"

"The world is full of bastards, the number increasing the further one gets from Missoula, Montana"

"maybe i'll have a weekend when i can sleep in sometime."

"home for the night, be back sunday"

"Despite the multi-faceted appeal of a nuclear war, one must of course anticipate objections. The one that is most passionately voiced is that millions upon millions of people will die. While at first glance this appears to be a most compelling argument, upon closer inspection its force disappears, as it were, in a cloud of smoke. Afterall, most people don't know millions of other people, and in their hearts don't really care if millions dies. Millions have died in the past. Millions will die in the future. Let's forget it and have a beer"

You have made a place in my heart where I thought there was no room for anything else. You have made flowers grow where I cultivated dust and stones. Remember this, on this journey you insist on making. If you die, I will not survive you long.' "

"Sleeping.. and hoping I'll be more productive in the morning.. :-\"

"'No man is an Iland, intire of it selfe; every man is a peece of the Continent, a part of the maine; if a Clod bee washed away by the Sea, Europe is the lesse, as well as if a Promontorie were, as well as if a Mannor of thy friends or of thine owne were; any mans death diminishes me, because I am involved in Mankinde, And therefore never send to know for whom the bell tolls; It tolls for thee.'
-John Donne"

"get OVER IT!
you guys take all the fun out of enebriation >:o"

"Christmas is not a time of year, it is a state of mind" --I'm there baby! ;-)"

"at work. check out quone.org."

"sleeping............Zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz......:-P"

"
happy b-day Dave"

"budokai"

"Cheer Rookie Party.... muahahahahaha!!

Call my cell.;-)"

"I guess it comes down to this smile that I can't seem to shake... and wouldn't want to."

"Off playing on Arkania, a Uber Weapon, Good RP, AWESOME Quest based Server, with DM interaction."

"Just not paying attention to the machine."

"sleep."

"'I am not young enough to know everything.' - unknown"