Saturday, August 30, 2008

Palin is Pallid

I've just had time to write about Palin being picked as VP for Mccain. 

First I had to look up who she was. 

As someone who has as much political experience as she does (I was president of my seminary class for a year) I am a little concerned. I mean, governor of Alaska? Hasn't everyone been governor of Alaska at one point or another? And she was mayor of some town nobody's ever heard of until a few days ago, not even the people who live there. Her list of experience seems scant. 

Of course, she's a good shill for the tripe the Republicans are barfing out for everyone. Pro-life. Pro-gun. Anti-homo. Pro-fucked-up-Bush-economic-policy. She seems like the perfect VP for everyone's favorite dinosaur. Limbaugh must be creaming over her. 

I don't quite understand why ole Mccain chose her, except maybe because he's feeling desperate. Does he honestly think the women who supported Clinton will get confused and vote for him? "Look, a woman! That's probably who I want!" We'll see. 

Palin will get the uber conservative crazy independent vote. And that's a key demographic I'm told. I think though that Biden will probably mop the floor with her during the elections. I can't wait to see those. 

In other news, David Duchovny is in rehab for sex addiction? That's...um...unfortunate. The article says he is going to be in some show about sex addicts. I guess he went too far in getting ready for his character. I wonder why he even bothered to tell anyone. It's like releasing a statement that you have hemorrhoids or something. Gross. At least it isn't someone really old. Could you imagine hearing about Christopher Walken going to sex rehab. Gross, and creepy too. 

 


Thursday, August 28, 2008

Barack Obama's Nomination Speech

The speech was pretty good. I think he's a great orator and can capitalize on emotions. I couldn't believe how full the stadium was too. 

On an episode of Democracy Now I heard someone from Harper's magazine talk about how Obama would be a shill for corporate America. I didn't listen to his arguments, but I started thinking about the nature of politics. I don't think there are any politicians who don't have some connections with big business. It seems like you can't get anywhere in the political system without some help from people who already have a high position. And they always want something in return. 

Is that compromise, or being a complete pushover? Large corporations are what make most of the nation's money, but they shouldn't be allowed to do whatever they want. On the other hand, a good politician should be someone who is able to compromise. I hope if Obama gets elected he will put a clamp down on big corporations to force them to act ethically. Maybe Kucinich could help him out with that. 

Today I listened to Fresh Air. I regret that I didn't catch the name of the man she talked to, but he was an advisor to both Obama and Mccain when they were drafting a bill to limit the effects of lobbyists on campaigns. He talked about the number of lobbyists who quit their firms to temporarily work for the campaigns. Apparently Mccain has twice as many former lobbyists as Obama. And, most of those former lobbyists in Mccain's campaign are in high level positions. Obama doesn't have any in high level positions.  He's filled those positions with scholars. 

The speech tonight made me excited for the upcoming election. I don't think Obama is perfect, but nobody is. I really hope he can do everything he's saying he can. I guess we'll see. 

Oh, and how did Obama memorize that entire speech? I wonder if he had that clear screen thing the mormons use during conference, so they look like they're getting revelation. 

Monday, August 25, 2008

Sunday, August 24, 2008

I'm watching Monsoon Wedding

And it is really interesting. I knew there were huge weddings in India, but if the one in the movie is common then they must be gigantic. Humongous. This movie gives a good cross-section of people in the country. Do many families in India have servants? I like all of the Indian pop music too. 

Today I've been deliberating on whether to upgrade my cell phone or not. I could get a pretty neat-o one but I would have to sign a two year contract. I feel like it's tying me down to something for way too long. I know that the supreme court in California ruled that penalty charges for cell phones aren't legal, but I don't think that applies to here. 

I guess that's just how business works now. You can't just get something or change your mind, you have to live with your choice for all eternity. It's a phone. Just a damn phone. It shouldn't be this serious. I'll probably end up getting  a new phone, with a new contract, and everything will be fine. It's just not the way I'd do business. 

I went school shopping today, which basically means having an excuse to buy new clothes. Has anyone else noticed that it's difficult to discern who works there and who just shops there often? It's like they're all in camoflauge, I never know who to ask about shoes. It turns out I ran into someone I work with and he helped me (they ended up being girls' shoes) but once he left I was completely lost. I gave up then and paid for everything. 

There are so many bizarre little things at that store. Naturally, I love bizarre things. I bought a Yummy Breakfast keychain. These things are limited edition you know, and I could barely contain my excitement about opening it up. I got a smiling honeydew piece. It's great, and it's oh so rare. The company, Kidrobot,  sells the keychains and has a ton of other funny and bizarre things. 

Tomorrow is the first day of class. I've only got a year left before I graduate, but I'm worried that I'll be too insanely busy to do anything. I guess I'll see what happens.

Friday, August 22, 2008

New Podcast: Geoff's Garden Visit

My fourth episode is now available! I'm particularly excited about this one because I did a little more producing to make it all sound better. Listen as I explore my garden and then talk to a robot. I'm proud of it. 

I'm going to start writing more conventional posts next week. I've just felt like I needed to get these out as soon as possible to get a better feel for improving quality. 

It's the gays again

You know those homosexuals never sleep and are always looking for ways to destroy the chaste and good-hearted folks in America. Here's proof:



Disregard the various misspellings in the movie. This intellectual giant had to get the evidence of the gays poisoning our water out there and for everyone to see.

Shine on, you crazy diamond. 

Tuesday, August 19, 2008

New Podcast: 8.8.08 Failure and Argyle Canyon

Hot off the oven is my latest podcast, 8.8.08 Failure and Argyle Canyon. I like this one because I went on so many little adventures. Give a listen and then tell me what you think.

If you're having problems downloading it to listen on an mp3 player, let me know.

Friday, August 15, 2008

New Podcast: Leslie's Birthday

I've completed the second podcast: Leslie's Birthday. It's longer than the first one, and more freeform. The next ones are more structured.

Click on this to download and listen to it. Let me know what you think.

Thursday, August 14, 2008

Fruits of My Labor

I have finally completed my reupholstering. It took much longer than I had anticipated, but I had thought it would only take two days. Here's a pic I managed to find on the camera of what the chair looked like when I was tearing the old fabric off.


When I was all done removing the old fabric the chair looked pretty lonely.

I had to rip out some of the old batting because it was in the way. I later learned that I should have kept as much of it as I could in order to recushion it. Oh well. After I was all done with this I began laying out the old pieces to be used as patterns. Because of several tears I had a difficult time determining what was supposed to be cut, but by laying the old piece on the chair I was able to figure it out. While I cut the new pieces I listened to the TV, something I love to do while I'm working on a project. I went through hours of travel shows, cooking shows, a documentary about Muhammad Ali and even some Olympics while I cut fabric.

When I was finally ready to start upholstering, I began with the skirt. The first piece was really easy, but the bottom piece was difficult. I had to staple the bottom to the top, making sure to conceal the staples and keep everything level. It took me close to an hour to do just that.

I went onto the arm next. Although this part of the chair was the most complex looking, it was the easiest to attach. That was probably because the piece was very fitted. I learned how to use a sewing machine in order to sew the tiny pieces for the arm. For some reason I had a fear of sewing machines, but I surmounting those worries. It was pretty easy to keep everything tight too because I could use one hand to staple and the other to hold down the fabric. After the arm I did the bottom side and then finished with the back.

Here's the end result. What do you think? In case you are wondering, I still have to do the cushion. I got tired after doing the chair itself, plus I didn't want to do more sewing yet. This project was surprisingly easy. Everyone I talked to thought it was such a grand undertaking. I've never done anything like this before and it went well. If anyone is thinking of reupholstering something themselves I would give the following tips:

1) Take the old fabric off carefully because you'll be using it as a pattern
2) Pictures help, as well as writing down where everything goes as you take off fabric
3) Measuring the new fabric several times before you cut it, and placing it on the furniture to see where you need to cut before cutting
Don't be afraid! It's not that hard.

I'm going to be putting together more material for my podcast, which I will hopefully post by tomorrow. It's audio from a friend's birthday. Interesting conversation. I have my recordings from Argyle Canyon (where I was over the weekend) so I will add that too later. I have been speaking with a friend a little about combining forces and creating a podcast. It could be amazing.

Tuesday, August 12, 2008

It's Taking Up Way Too Much Time

My chair, I mean. I have de-upholstered, cut fabric, sewn together a few pieces, and should be able to start attaching everything tomorrow. I can't believe how long this has taken. If the original fabric had been in better condition it would have been faster, but I can't tell a tear from a deliberate cut. I'm really excited for it to take shape.

The whole endeavor has tired me out, and I have no energy to write in here. That and I've been watching the Olympics too much. I'm getting tired of hearing Michael Phelps's name every ten seconds. I am amazed with everyone else at how well he is doing, but there is only so much footage I can see before I get extremely bored. They even mention him during events not slightly related to swimming. I heard someone compare him to a volleyball player during a volleyball game. I mean, really...

Sunday, August 10, 2008

Here it is!

I think I've got this all figured out.

Click here to see my little podcast thingy.

Tell me if it works.

Time to Work on My To-Do List

I have been given five days off from work. This happens to every employee every year in order to cash out all of our vacation time and to decide if we should be fired or rehired. I'm pretty confident I have been rehired, as my name was still on the schedule for next week, but I always get a little nervous initially. I actually wish they had given me this entire week off, but what can you do.

What I can do is work on a few projects I've been interested in for some time. The first one is reupholstering my chair. I found this chair across the street from Joey's old place. It was slated to be thrown away but I took it. I like the shape and the design of it because it feels very 60's to me. I like the fabric as well, but it is frayed quite a bit in several places. Today I decided to begin tearing it apart to put new fabric on it. Here's a pic of it before I began.



Pretty cute, huh? It took me about four hours to tear, pry or otherwise cajole the fabric into coming off. Don't worry, I watched two videos of Doctor Who in that time period. I was relieved to find that most of the fabric was stapled on and not sewed. The fabric itself was so worn that it was easier to tear it off at most points than use the hammer. By the end, cream-colored bunches of padding lay bunched on the floor along with plenty of small tacks. I made sure to step on several of them.

I took note of where the fabric fit in and how it was attached to the wood. I thought that taking pictures would help, and I took several, or thought I did...when I tried to look at them on the camera the card was full. I think I can manage without them. Tomorrow I am going to look for fabric. I would like something that looks mid century, but I don't know what I'll find.

I'm still trying to figure out the whole podcast thing, but it seems to be getting more and more complicated. I think I'm going to deal with that tomorrow.

Wednesday, August 6, 2008

The Life of an Outlaw

I have been living an outlaw's lifestyle for the past few days. I drove around with...expired license plates. It wasn't as exhilarating as you might think; criminals are praised way too often in TV in my opinion. No, it was pretty quiet and uneventful, mostly because I didn't know they had expired until yesterday. I usually just go in after I get a notice in the mail, but since I moved I didn't get it. Yesterday Joey told me he had to get his car inspected and that's when I suddenly remembered. 

You may know of my previous attempts to get to the DMV (if not, go read eastside/westside rift) and I was discouraged several times in my pursuit to get there. I ended up in strange industrial areas where semis and huge trains would crush a car like mine just as soon as they'd look at one. Plucky as I am, I managed to avoid the crunching and ended up at the DMV. It was tucked away on an obscure street in the middle of nowhere. I think more government buildings should be like this: difficult to find and even more difficult to find again. I was relieved when the renewal process began and concluded quickly, but I did have to pay $189. At least I'm legal. 

The whole experience really makes me want to sell my car and get a bike. I am wary of what I would do in the winter though, when everything is slippery and the temperature sticks to below freezing for the entire season. The location of my work isn't conducive to bike riding either. There would be very little room to ride on the side of the road, and I don't think it would be very safe to ride alongside drivers. I guess I'll just have to wait until my life changes. Or, I could get a helicopter. I've noticed the skies are temptingly vacant. 

Monday, August 4, 2008

It's Not Done Yet

I recorded some stuff on my new Zoom H2, but I haven't set up a podcast yet. If you are interested, send me your email in a comment (I'll write down the address and delete the comment so you don't get spam) and I will send you the audio file. It is about eight minutes long, so you can listen to it while you count to 480.

I have realized that having a podcast is a little more difficult than I expected. I have to come up with an RSS feed before I can put it on iTunes. Before I do that I want to decide exactly what my podcast will be about and have a clearer idea of how it will all work. In the meantime I'm going to be experimenting. I've already figured out how to use the microphone gain and setting the maximum decibels. The microphone is pretty sensitive; it could pick up the grasshoppers singing outside by me just holding the recorder out the window. I hope by the end of this week to have a plan for my podcast. Maybe I can use this blog for the feed?

In other news, we have been watching my neighbor's cat all day. He is a kitten named Rocky and he is pretty adorable. I feel sorry for him because I think he doesn't get enough attention. His owner is often busy. I have unofficially named myself his godfather. I wander around with him making sure he gets enough water and sees all of the cool things in my apartment. He likes to explore, which can be cute and frustrating. He was engrossed in my activity of cutting up vegetables, trying to stick his furry little face in the food. But I can't stay mad at him at all. My favorite thing is to put him on the roof and watch him stalk the birds. He loves it.

An attempt to defrost my freezer went nowhere. The ice in there is so hard, and I felt pretty primitive hacking at it with a flathead. I'm sure that was how cavemen would have defrosted their fridges, but this is 2008 and I want a better way to deal with it. I need to figure it out soon because the freezer gets smaller all the time and everything in there is getting coated with ice. It's like someone shot my jalepino poppers with the gun straight out of Batman Forever. Where is George Clooney with his horrible anatomically correct batsuit when I need him? 

Time to fold laundry!

This is the Kind of Show I Want to Be On



I don't know what the name of this show is, but this particular clip was being shot during the latest earthquake in California. Personally, I don't approve of men with mustaches on kids' shows, but a robot is always necessary.

Sunday, August 3, 2008

We're Gettin' Busy!


I wanted to show some of my estate sale finds from yesterday. I got two books for a total of $1.50. The first book I got was this Rap! book. It contains all of the latest hot artists, like De La Soul, MC Hammer, 3rd Bass and others. I liked the pictures the most. There was a section on how to write your own rap, which I might be doing soon.  The stories were pretty inspiring too. Did you know that Salt N' Peppa used to be called Supernature? They changed the name because fans thought it was a better name. And, did you know there was never anyone named N'? Fascinating. I remember that song they had about sex. They wanted to talk about it. Or maybe that was some other group. The talented Milli Vanilli is featured in this publication. I wish I could get my hair that long, but it just gets all curly. Each picture shows a candid moment in the superstars' life. 

There was an informative section on how to street speak. Apparently I really needed to read this section because I would have said "How to speak in a manner appropriate for the street". In any case, I learned that I can call my friends my crew or posse, and when someone is told to chill they should cool off. 


I also got this Flash Gordon book. It's a short story with a record in the back. I never really got into Flash Gordon when I was little. I have listened to some of the really old radio shows and they are pretty entertaining. He has a girlfriend named Dale. I want to see the movie they made in the 80's. I've heard it's pretty bad.




I don't think any of this stuff is worth very much, but it is pretty interesting. I wish the Flash Gordon book was in color, but I did like the illustrations. I can't believe that a book coming out in 1982 would still have a record in the back. Oddly enough, I have a record player but not a tape player, so I wouldn't have been able to listen to it otherwise.                                                                           


In other news, I have done some of my first audio recordings and will be making them into a podcast soon. I don't know how to put them on here so I will direct you to where they are. My first episode will be about being in a bar. In all honesty, these recordings were just for me to get a feel for how it all works.   














Friday, August 1, 2008

Say Hello To My Little Friend

My audio recorder came today! There is nothing quite like coming home from work and finding a package waiting for you. I dutifully tore open the parcel and dug out my Zoom H2. I have recorded a little and it's been pretty simple. I am excited at all of the things I will be able to record, although I have a hard time listening to my own voice. I think it's kind of annoying. 

I am way too excited in this picture. My camera seems to have some sort of smudge on it because the corner is all fuzzy. 

I have decided to name my recorder Jamal. I'm going to the Twilite Lounge tonight and I will definitely bring Jamal.