Signifying nothing

Blossom , originally uploaded by usujason . Blossoms in the sun So little time to notice Water must be drawn (Excellent photo by usujason on flickr. Complements go to him, not me for this photo.)

The Plan 1) get a girlfriend 2) don't fall in love 3) dump her 4) be the asshole, for once in your pathetic life 5) don't tell her that you never really loved her even though you sort of did (maybe) 6) apologize because it is you, not her 7) leave her sobbing on the couch, but don't slam the door 8) feel a. free b. manly c. tough d. open to new ideas ( Chuck Palahniuk's ), people (porno chicks), and experiences (video games) e. empty f. lost g. shamed h. inadequate (although your dick is not) i. like a fucking loser that you know you really are 9) eat meat lover's pizza everyday and drink 6 PBR tall boys 10) lay around the house 11) don't shave 12) bathe infrequently and haphazardly 13) drink gin 14) call her at 1:23 a.m. and tell her how much you miss her 15) ask her to come over 16) cry and then punch the wall because you are crying 17) take 5 aspirin and drink 2 1/2 quarts of water in the morning 18) shake your head at yourself before you shave 19) shave 20) ...

Two ravens just flew overheard, cawing all the way. They swarmed a tree a street over, and then flew west into the storm. I wonder if they noticed me noticing them?

For Sarah , originally uploaded by Theorris . Yes he does. He does, indeed. It is a tale told by an idiot, after all, Signifying nothing Full of sound and fury Ah, all of our yesterdays have lighted fools The way to dusty death. Out, out brief candle! Life's but a walking shadow, a poor player That struts and frets his hour upon the stage And then is heard no more.... It doesn't get more emo than that, does it?

Ugolino & his sons , originally uploaded by Theorris . Ah the memories: "This might be the strongest, most compelling sculpture at the Met. The subjects don't necessarily look like they are starving to death, but the emotion caught in marble is tight. Look at Ugolino's feet, and the despair, fear, and need on his eldest son (to the left). Complicated and amazingly carved, this depicts the story from Dante's Inferno, where Ugolino was locked in a tower with his sons and given no food." "Carpeuax's sculpture is often used as a political metaphor." "Exactly."

Some colleagues from afar agreed to split a cab to La Guardia, so I am at the airport a couple of hours early. I don't mind that, really, as all I would have ended up doing in Manhattan is worrying about when I have to get to the airport. Sunday travel sucks, and I've had enough crammed-in, close calls, to know that one needs more than the 2 hours they suggest on a Sunday--especially in a behemoth airport like this. Yesterday I took a break in the morning from the conference I am at and went over to the Metropolitan Museum of Art. I was there way back in the day, and it remains the same: too much to digest in 2 months let alone in the 2 hours I alloted myself. I particularly wanted to see their Roman/Greek collection, but they have been remodeling and most of their collection was behind a screen. Apparently it will re-open on April 20th. Oh well--a month too early. Basically I wandered through the museum, and finally decided to seek out their 20th century collection. I...

I'm going to miss this shit , originally uploaded by Theorris . The last time I was in New York, it wasn't such a nice experience. It bothers me, of course, that only multi-millionaires could ever live here, but still. I'll take a Romantic notion over horrible, brutal, facts of life. NYC is fun and super safe these days. It is clean and the people are very, very, very friendly. (Avoid the Disneyland that is Times Square, however.) Ultimately, however, it is a fantasyland. Outside my hotel I noted some Japanese tourists getting into a van. A young woman was carrying a bag that was imprinted with "NYC Disney." Oy. Luckily the city isn't 100% New York, New York (ala Vegas), but that seems to be how things are working.

Pond , originally uploaded by Theorris . Central Park is not far from my hotel. I went over there before conference sessions this morning. Good thing I did: it is raining this afternoon.

People looking at art 1 , originally uploaded by Theorris . This is a lowrez series that will be posted on flickr. It will have to wait, however, as my phone won't connect to my Mac--just a PC. Nokia is bad. Bad. Bad. Down with Proprietarianism!

"More great art inside." , originally uploaded by Theorris . With great art like this, who needs cheap crap?

The City that Never Sleeps, Asleep , originally uploaded by Theorris . This is what I'm looking down on right now. Pretty sleepy if you ask me. Come on, city, its 4:30. Time for milking! Ok, it is 5:46, actually, but I never miss a chance to make a Witness allusion.

Since I am in New York, it is 5:30 am (3:30 am in Utasia), and I cannot sleep, I give you The New Yorker : Shouts & Murmurs: The Wisdom of Children a dialog between children "imagined" at the kid's table pretending to be grown-ups at the adult's table by Simon Rich: M OM : Pass the wine, please. I want to become crazy. D AD : O.K. G RANDMOTHER : Did you see the politics? It made me angry. D AD : Me, too. When it was over, I had sex. U NCLE : I’m having sex right now. D AD : We all are. M OM : Let’s talk about which kid I like the best. D AD : ( laughing ) You know, but you won’t tell. M OM : If they ask me again, I might tell. F RIEND FROM W ORK : Hey, guess what! My voice is pretty loud! D AD : ( laughing ) There are actual monsters in the world, but when my kids ask I pretend like there aren’t. M OM : I’m angry! I’m angry all of a sudden! D AD : I’m angry, too! We’re angry at each other! M OM : Now everything is fine. D AD : We just saw the PG-...

Woo hoo! Tomorrow I head for New York. It has been some years since I was in the City. I'll be tied up with professional commitments and I haven't planned a damn thing, but still: it is New York. City of the small shoulder! Book reader of the world! I'm not sure if Carl Sandburg ever wrote a poem about New York. I doubt it. Maybe I'll skip everything and visit Paterson , New Jersey for the fuck of it. The Silk City. WCW. WCW. Aww yeah. Oh, I'll post pictures in the usual place , given that my mega-watt hotel supposedly has highspeed Internet access as a part of its "comforts."

Join the buycott: What's Up With SugarHouse?

I am reading Richard Dawkins's new book The God Delusion . Here are a couple of lines for you (not quoted exactly, mind you, but paraphrased: 1) I don't know that theology should be considered a subject (for proper academic study.) 2) And on Bertrand Russell being confronted by an angry God after death inquiring why Russell didn't believe: "Not enough evidence, God. Not enough evidence." To wit one would assume that God disappears in a blue puff of blue logic-smoke. Where I am at in The God Delusion , Dawkins is rather ably taking on various arguments for the existence of God (such as Thomas Aquinas's medieval hair-splitting or Pascal's Wager .) I think I like Dawkins's answer to Pascal's Wager (which runs surprisingly along the lines of a 100% theist's position): if your omniscient god sees that you are just bluffing you're going to hell anyway. Having disposed of the Wager rather quickly that way, Dawkins moves on to the the tough...

I could tell by the looks on their Wizened faces that they didn't get Many men entering their shop "I need buttons for a coat I really like." "We have a few," and the older one (I could tell she was older by her Dyed hair) motioned to the wall rack With a smattering of buttons Not many Not a lot After I examined the rack And went back and forth between The spinner and the wall I found some that matched "Are they for you," the elder one said She was leaving the store and I was Interrupting their leave-taking "Yes." "You'll need four then." Such knowledge is rare. She knew men's coats had Four instead of three, I guess "That's OK, I'll buy extras. I'll need them." And she continued her way out of the shop The younger old woman rang me up I paid cash Two dollars, fifteen cents. She gave me incorrect change, But I didn't bother Because they reminded me of my Mother And her gentle manner And her lost bu...

Number 1 shot of the day , originally uploaded by Theorris . What is wrong with me?

Bowl Take pictures Takes pictures of bowling Bowl Wear my new shirt bowling Bowl Make a movie about bowling alone based on that sociological study that came out last year Bowling Alone . Drink some beer Do you think I have enough bowling squeezed in there?

Some guy snapped his leg In three places right under Where you are sitting

I used to be much better at this shit: Signifying nothing: journal. (Yeah I know I've said that before, but it all so gone down hill since I started using Blogger--3 years ago now?)

I can't decide if it is something out of the British version of The Office * or Office Space , but poor Sarah is suffering the consequences of some rather serious corporate shenanigans . Hell in good Bowling Syndicate fashion, you stick up for you bowling compadres , now don't you? * Sorry no matter how much I think Steve Carrell is the shit, he doesn't hold a candle up to the thousand watt bulb that is Ricky Gervais .

What was that song they Just made me sing? Please, not “Pour Some Sugar on Me!”

It is snowing and it is beautiful.

I usually never miss work for illness, but I was hammered this week with the flu, so I was forced (by fever no less) to take a day off and just slept and slept and slept. I haven't felt on top of things all week, but have, as Frost can attend, miles to go before I sleep this week, so I went to work anyway. I was debating about this move, given that I do not need to make the people I work with ill, since we all rely on them to make my workplace function. I have, therefore, been hiding away, avoiding close contact with anyone so as not to infect them. No doubt, however, I have and next week I will be paying the price by covering for the ill. Let me describe this particular brand of influenza: you start out with a violent, random, cough that progresses by the next day into a fever that you can remedy by aspirin or your other favorite anti-febrile. By day three, you feel somewhat ok again, aside from the same random cough. The fever has broken, however. Day 4 has a special trea...