New Year

Time to close the books on 2004 and start making resolutions for the New Year. Usually, I have a tendency to make really grandiose resolutions that I never end up keeping anyway, so this year, I've decided to stick to resolutions that I have a reasonable chance of sticking to.
1) I resolve to continue my policy of not wanting to climb Mt. Everest. (This should be real easy, as I respect gravity and really don't like freezing cold. My respect for gravity is like a respect for a lion. Sure, they're great to look at in the zoo, but I'm not going to stick my hand in its mouth.)
2) I resolve to keep my disdain for Opera. (Granted, most of more famous Operas are in foreign languages, but what bloody difference does that make when you can't even make out what words these folks are warbling? Then all the characters die?!)
3) I resolve to continue buying books and music that I have no chance of getting around to for months. (They look great on the store's shelves...but oh so much better on mine.)
4) I resolve to live one day at a time. (Just by logic, this should be fine. One can't actually live two days at a time.)
5) I resolve to keep complaining about politics. (This should be very easy.)
6) I resolve to stay a Goonie. (I'm wondering how many of y'all will ask me what the hell a Goonie is.)
All kidding aside, ha ha ha, I hope that everyone's 2004 was great and that 2005 will be even better. It's always a good idea to begin a New Year optimistically...there'll be plenty of time for cynicism later on.
May all the things that begin end successfully. Remember to blow out all your candles on your birthday cake. See something beautiful, and sing along to music in the car. Get someone else to move the sofa.
Happy New Year

Water from the cup

Viewing of Elvis' Cup Auctioned
How is it that we as a culture still exist? Last week, this dude auctioned off three tablespoons of water from a cup that Elvis drank from...for $455. Now, he's auctioning a "viewing" of the cup. I'm surprised by this auction, but even more so considering someone actually bids.
Are we officially a punchline now?

Cube

Cube
Originally uploaded by mgmystic.

This is where I spend up to eight hours of my day. I think it may need some color...

American Red Cross

Amazon.com has set up a system so that you can donate to the American Red Cross. 100% of the donations go to the American Red Cross, which will help bring medicine, food, clothing, and shelter to the victims of the tsunamis in South Asia.

Just a few more days

I got the Garden State DVD last night, but I've only gone through the "making of" documentary and the bloopers. I may watch the whole thing tomorrow night.
We are almost done with 2004. Holy. Crap. Did that year go fast! 2004 was pretty good, although I would have liked Bush to lose humiliatingly. Didn't quite happen.
Nevertheless, I'm optimistic for 2005. I don't have a specific plan for ringing in the New Year, except for being someplace warm and not doing any heavy lifting. I've asked several people that I know, and they don't seem to have the night planned either. Is the excitement gone? I wonder if New Year's is kind of anticlimactic. I know I have Friday off, though, so that's nice!

Mirror

Mirror
Originally uploaded by mgmystic.

Give me something to take a picture of, quick!

New photos!

Mikey gots himself a camera, and I've done some electronic voodoo and put them on Flickr. So, check them out here.

Stevie Ray Vaughan

My roommate got me killer DVD, Stevie Ray Vaughan's Live at Montreux 82-85. It is just awe inspiring watching that dude work. I just finished watching what must have been a 10 minute or so version of Jimi Hendrix's Voodoo Child (Slight Return). I was just staring at the screen, wondering how it's even possible to create such sounds...
I was in 11th grade in 1990, and I was in my English class when we heard about the news. I didn't know who Stevie Ray was, but my teacher was bummed, because he must have been aware what kind of guitar playing genius he was.
I never knew who he was before he died, and yet, I can still watch him on TV or pick up his music at the store, and it's still new to me. How cool is that, to leave a lasting legacy that every generation can discover anew.

A Christmas message

The year has raced toward a climactic finish, and it is Christmahannakwanzakuh time yet again. Just after we gave up trying to pay off all the bills off from the last Holiday season, it's time to take the credit card out of its iced tomb in the freezer and plop it down on all sorts of goodies, everything from an Official Red Ryder
Carbine-Action Two-Hundred-Shot Range Model Air Rifle to garden gnomes. And stuffed monkeys(gratuitous monkey reference #1)!

And so, for this holiday season, I have decided to include a handy shopping guide for those of you who are not quite sure what to get those on your list.

1) Road warriors making your commute a living hell? Well, everybody needs a Trunk Monkey (gratuitous monkey reference #2)!!
2) Don't quite know how to tell that special someone just how you feel? How about fertilizer!
3) Don't you just love the irony when someone is late for an ironic fashion trend? See the look on your favorite hipster's face as they unwrap their very own trucker hat!
4) The show is even better if you throw a pair of Uggs into the mix.
5) Know someone that needs a buddy? How about a Buddy Christ? They may or may not be Christian, but at least they'll have someone looking over their CDs while they go into a 7-11 for a Big Gulp.

I hope Santa gets you everything you didn't know you really really wanted, and if not, I can get you a good attorney. To you and yours, may your merry's be merry and your happy's be happy.
Happy Christmas!

The biggest "So There!" ever.

Thought I'd leave Bush Monkeys well enough alone? nope.
The small little Bush Monkey painting that caused a stir and closed down an art exhibit is now a giant f***ing billboard plastered right above the Holland Tunnel. This is going to be the best Christmas EVER!

New Potter book!

The sixth Harry Potter book will be on the shelves July 16! I will count down the days...
I thought I'd be able to get my holiday shopping done last night at the store, but nope, didn't happen. I still have to track down a few things, so it means yet another trek to the bookstore.

Ice everywhere

I was able to switch days at work this week, so I'll be able to go to NYC this Thursday evening as planned. Hopefully, it won't be disgustingly cold. We will be open until midnight, so tomorrow will be a long day. The rest of the week will be easy.
I have to write a christmas message this week.

A long week, done

I talked last Tuesday with a girl that I worked with at the bookstore about a year ago. She left to work and study in Crete and Greece at the beginning of 04, and during her time there, she had sent me postcard. (I'm guessing that she sent everyone that gave her their address got one, but that's beyond the point.) It was a pleasant surprise to see her postcard in the mail, and I really appreciated it. Fast forward to this Fall: this August, as I was leaving the theater after Garden State, I passed by her on the street. We had a brief conversation in passing. I couldn't for the life of me remember her name(although I knew she worked at the store, and went to crete), until, of course, I got home. I felt like a complete prick.
When I got home, I tried to look all over the place for that postcard. Curses! I'm such a pack rat; I never throw anything away, and then that anything evolves into something, and then that something becomes an unmanageable mass of paper in which i can't find anything. Convoluted sentence...
I couldn't find that postcard, and it pissed me off.
I have a cool desk in my living room that is almost completely hidden by paper. So, I decided to buy a cheap office desk for my bedroom that I could keep my paperwork on, thereby clearing the nicer desk. I basically removed all the paperwork from one desk to another.
I know at this point you are saying, "dude, you really need to get rid of that paper."
The cat has taken a liking to that desk. Not a very interesting note, except for the fact that every now and again, a few of envelopes and paperwork fall off and get shuffled about. This happens for about a week.
Now, back to this Tuesday. She exits, and I enter the bookstore. We have this really nice and easy flowing conversation together. Seemed really comfortable and unforced. I was very close to asking her out, but I didn't.
The next morning, the first thing I see when I get up is that postcard from Crete. It was almost jumping out at me, saying "Here!! Look at me!!"
If one were inclined to look for signs in everyday occurences, they'd certainly be here.

Laundry roulette

I have a cold, which is a drag. I am medicating the hell out of it, though, so hopefully it goes away pretty quickly.
Last night, I had to play laundry roulette. The laundry machines at my apartment complex suck. There are at least two machines that don't drain the water after washing, plus two or three dryers that don't dry at all well. I've figured out which washers to avoid, but the dryers are a little more complicated. I think I've had a problem with each one over the last few years. Exciting stuff.
I want to go back to bed...

Monday, Monday

Listening to the new Elliott Smith CD, "From a Basement on a Hill." I was showing this to S. at work, and when I asked if she liked E.S., she said that his music was depressing. Yes, it is. I guess that's somewhat the point. I don't actually think he set out to make depressing music, but he was just being honest with himeself.
We had also talked about her wanting to leave NJ something fierce. She's been here all her life, and she's ready to get going. I guess I can understand her desire to leave, although I can't relate, given my past. We moved so much, all over the place, so I don't really have a hometown, and I really don't know my uncles or aunts all that well, as everyone is still in "old Europe."
That's something I envy about living in one spot...in that you have your family all around. However, if you've lived here in jersey all your life, I guess I can understand how eager you would be to leave. It's a big world out there. It must get old seeing the same people your whole life.
We also talked about movies. I said she had to see "Finding Neverland", and when I asked if she had yet to see "Ray," she said that she hadn't seen it, and doesn't know anyone to go see those movies with. She quickly added "or they've seen them already."
Normally, I'd see this as an opportunity, but I think I'll just let this one lie.

Bush Monkey

How can I best explain this: if you look at this painting from far away, it's Dubya. If you look closer, it's monkeys. I'm not making this up.


Well, of course, this has created a bit of an uproar. This painting was featured in an art show in NYC (Chelsea, no less). Some dude got his knickers in a bunch, and what was supposed to be a month-long show, has closed down. That's kinda messed up, no?
New York Art Shuttered After Bush Monkey Portrait

Weekend

The weather over the weekend was a drag from start to finish. This time of year just sucks in NJ, and it's not going to get better any time soon. It hasn't even snowed yet!
I started off the gray, dreary, wet, and cold morning by listening to SRV, loudly, on the way to work. No better way to get the day started off on the right foot. Or, at least, "a" foot, as I would have been inclined to sleep in bed all day.
I went to see two movies this weekend. I had to force myself out of the apartment friday night, as I was going stir crazy, and wound up seeing "Ocean's 12."
It wasn't as good as the remake of the original, but it certainly had its moments. There's a great cameo and an even better "cameo," but I don't want to spoil the surprise.
I also saw "Finding Neverland" on Saturday evening. Johnny Depp nailed the role as JM Barrie. I find it kind of annoying how these "biopics" bend the truth in order to make a better story, but I guess that's how it's done. My griping aside, it was a great movie that makes you want to dig out the imagination from wherever you've hidden it and play in the garden. It was nice to see something completely devoid of cynicism for a change.

Well, duh!

They had to do some polling to figure out the painfully obvious:
Polls: Europe Negative on Bush Re-Election

The I-threes

Another meme. OK, so I'm kinda bored. Sue me!

THREE NAMES YOU GO BY:
1. Mikey
2. Michi
3. Homeskillet (only one person in the world calls me this, and I've no idea why)

THREE SCREEN NAMES YOU HAVE HAD:
1. mgmystic
2. intothemystic
3. camdude

THREE THINGS YOU LIKE ABOUT YOURSELF:
1. Sense of humor
2. My unique perspective of the world and not being a sheep
3. The loyalty I have toward my family and friends and being able to listen and be a friend
THREE THINGS YOU DON'T LIKE ABOUT YOURSELF:
1. My shyness
2. Being too laid back and easy going
3. Not taking initiative when I should
THREE PARTS OF YOUR HERITAGE:
1. Swiss
2. Austrian
3. French
THREE THINGS THAT SCARE YOU:
1. Not getting married and having kids
2. Heights (more specifically, falling from great heights during bad dreams.)
3. Driving on quiet NJ country roads at night when it's raining.
THREE OF YOUR EVERYDAY ESSENTIALS:
1. iPod
2. Cell phone (and its charger for the car as the phone keeps its charge for, oh, five seconds, maybe.
3. e-mail

THREE THINGS YOU ARE WEARING RIGHT NOW:
1. Usual Saturday attire.
2. Shoeclassics t-shirt
3. My lucky necklace
THREE OF YOUR FAVORITE BANDS (or artists(at the moment)):
1. The Beatles
2. The Cure
3. Bob Dylan
THREE OF YOUR FAVORITE SONGS AT PRESENT:
1. "Run" Snow Patrol
2. "Somewhere only we know" Keane
3. "Last Goodbye" Jeff Buckley
THREE NEW THINGS YOU WANT TO TRY IN THE NEXT 12 MONTHS:
1. Whitewater kayaking
2. Try to finish writing a book
3. Acting my age. Eh, maybe not
THREE THINGS YOU WANT IN A RELATIONSHIP (love is a given):
1. Honesty
2. Intellectual stimulation. I want someone I can learn something new from in 20 years
3. Sense of humor
THREE PHYSICAL THINGS ABOUT THE OPPOSITE SEX (or same) THAT APPEAL TO YOU:
1. Eyes
2. Hair
3. I'll say this politely: curves, in proportion
THREE THINGS YOU JUST CAN'T DO:
1. Do the "triple Lundy" dive from the movie "Back to School."
2. Climb Mt. Everest. Well, I guess I could...but not without dying.
3. Give presentations to large groups of people, and not come across as a quivering, ineloquent mess.
THREE OF YOUR FAVORITE HOBBIES:
1. Reading
2. Listening to music and playing guitar
3. Writing
THREE THINGS YOU WANT TO DO REALLY BADLY RIGHT NOW:
1. Knock the cat off the computer desk
2. Head off to sleep
3. Get me a drink
THREE PLACES YOU WANT TO GO ON VACATION:
1. Italy and Monte Carlo. Driving along the Amalfi Coast and winding up in Monaco in time for the F1 race there.
2. Ireland
3. Australia
THREE KID'S NAMES:
1. Anna
2. Joseph
3. Shannon
THREE THINGS YOU WANT TO DO BEFORE YOU DIE:
1. Get married, have kids, and raise a family.
2. Own a Ferrari
3. Publish a best seller

You dirty hippie, you!

I just finished watching VH1's My Coolest Years: Dirty Hippies. Funny stuff! I relate all too well.
I just wish I could have followed the Dead for a summer. I was a hippie back then, and I'm still a hippie now (although the clothes I wear now are corporate business park attire rather than jeans and t-shirt.) That, and I cut the hair off. I had the hippie look down completely in college, although I never really did the drugs to go along with the hippie stereotype. God knows what could have happened to me if I had.

Dude, imagine that

Gotta love this. Someone took the time to study the uses of the word "dude."
Linguist Deciphers Uses of Word 'Dude'. The author contends that "it is much more than a catchall for lazy, inarticulate surfers, skaters, slackers and teenagers." Bummer...I was really gunning for that "lazy and inarticulate slacker" sound.
Completely unrelated and considerably more depressing, John Lennon was killed 24 years ago today.

My shampoo is killer

What a bloody great story to wake up to. It turns out that my shampoo has an ingredient in it that has shown to kill a rat's brain cells.

"The chemical, methylisothiazolinone (MIT), belongs to a class of compounds called biocides. These are used in the manufacture of many common household products and industrial water cooling systems to prevent bacteria from developing."

Granted, I'm not a rat. But look at the suffix in biocide! Do you really trust something that has -cide at the end?
Here's the story: Shampoo Ingredient Kills Rats' Brain Cells.
Have a nice day!

Ouch

I helped my brother move sheetrock from his garage to his basement, and we moved some old carpet from the basement to the garage. I was done after 5 panels of sheetrock, but still had 20 to go.
One word: painful. That, and I realize I'm geting old. Doing stuff like this wouldn't have caused so much pain when I was in my 20s.
I plan on going to my annual pilgrimage to the consumerist Mecca- NYC- this weekend. I want to see all the holiday decorations, plus the tree in rockefeller center. I wouldn't mind hitting Macy's too, so that I can do my annual freak-out because of the huge crowds. I swear, when that place is crowded, after some time, I got to get out of there something fierce.
No better way of getting into the holiday spirit like running out of macy's in a panic.

Monkey!

I know what I want now if I participate in a secret santa thing at work. Take a look.

Urban goes rural

Urban Meyer has accepted the coaching job at UF. He's done well in other places, so I hope he's good for UF.

Layers

9 Layers
A meme to peel aways the layers of you.

LAYER ONE:
-- Name: Michael
-- Birth date: September 12, 1974
-- Birthplace: Solothurn, Switz.
-- Current Location: New Jersey
-- Eye Color: Brown
-- Hair Color: Black
-- Height: 5'9"
-- Righty or Lefty: Right
-- Zodiac Sign: Virgo

LAYER TWO:
-- Your heritage: Swiss/Austrian
-- The shoes you wore today: Hiking boots
-- Your weakness:
-- Your fears: Not meeting potential, not moving forward
-- Your perfect pizza: mushrooms and red peppers on one half, plain on the other
-- Goals you'd like to achieve: Write a novel, restore a car

LAYER THREE:
-- Your most overused phrase on AIM: Dude!
-- Your first waking thoughts: Can I hit the snooze once more?
-- Your best physical feature: legs
-- Your most missed memory: I don't remember

LAYER FOUR:
-- Pepsi or Coke: Diet Coke
-- McDonald's or Burger King: McDonald's
-- Single or group dates: single
-- Adidas or Nike: Adidas
-- Lipton Ice Tea or Nestea: Screw that! Snapple!
-- Chocolate or vanilla: chocolate
-- Cappuccino or coffee: cappuccino

LAYER FIVE:
-- Smoke: Only when I drink too much. So, very rarely.
-- Cuss: Yes
-- Sing: In the shower, in the car, to scare off potential thieves.
-- Take a shower everyday: Yes
-- Do you think you've been in love: Yes
-- Want to go to college: Been there, done that.
-- Liked high school: Not especially, but didn't hate it either.
-- Want to get married: Yes
-- Believe in yourself: More now than i did a few years ago.
-- Get motion sickness: Nope
-- Think you're attractive: I'm no Tom Cruise, but not too shabby either.
-- Think you're a health freak: Nope
-- Get along with your parent(s): Yes
-- Like thunderstorms: As long as I'm not driving, but generally, very much
-- Play an instrument: Gee-tar

LAYER SIX: In the past month...
-- Drank alcohol: Yes...there's a reason I'm doing this list, and I think alcohol has played a part!
-- Smoked: Yes
-- Done a drug: No
-- Eaten an entire box of Oreos?: No, but couldn't be too much of a challenge
-- Eaten sushi: No
-- Been on stage: No
-- Been dumped: No

LAYER SEVEN: Ever...
-- Played a game that required removal of clothing: No
-- Been trashed or extremely intoxicated: Yes
-- Been caught "doing something": Yes
-- Been called a tease: no
-- Gotten beaten up: no
-- Shoplifted: no
-- Changed who you were to fit in: nopity nope

LAYER EIGHT:
-- Age you hope to be married: before 35
-- Numbers and Names of Children: 2-3
-- Describe your Dream Wedding: Simple
-- How do you want to die: Quickly, but make it interesting!
-- What do you want to be when you grow up: Done grown up already
-- What country would you most like to visit: Ireland, Italy

LAYER NINE:
-- Number of illegal drugs taken: None
-- Number of people I could trust with my life: 9
-- Number of CDs that I own: over 200?
-- Number of piercings: zero
-- Number of tattoos: zero
-- Number of times my name has appeared in the newspaper?: twice
-- Number of scars on my body: two
-- Number of things in my past that I regret: the more i think about it, the more things i can think of to regret. So, I ain't gonna think about it too much.

psychologically speaking

The BBC has a cool page of surveys and psychology tests. Learn more about yourself than you ever cared to know.

Erg

Well, I thought I'd have off tonight. Didn't. They called me this afternoon and said "woops, we made a mistake. your hours weren't cut." Kind of a bummer, cuz i had plans, but i got to keep my hours for the week. I still need to pay off my trip.
It was a dull evening.

Milk and sugar

There's a new restaurant in Philadelphia that serves only cereal.
All-Cereal Restaurant Opens in Philly.
I want to go.