May 12, 2008
Mother's Day
It's wonderful to have kids who remember and care to make their mom's day special. Ollie and Lyric were both extremely interested in how they could make today awesome for Darby. Ollie wanted to throw her a surprise party when she woke up, so we got party horns, and blew up balloons, and hits behind the couch and shouted surprise when Darby woke up. Ollie was so excited about the whole thing that he told me that we would have to wake up in the middle of the night on Saturday to get everything ready.
Lyric took a ton of time to write a bunch of really nice little messages to Darby.
Overall, it was so sweet.
What was sad was not being on the east coast to be with our own mom's in person. But I did send my mom a couple of Wii games, so I tried to make up for it at least a little.
One thing that stunk was that I didn't get much sleep last night. There were two parties, both of which made sense for me to go to (and I wanted to go to), so I was out late.(didn't get to bed until 2.30) and Ollie was up before 6... so... yeah.
We went to the California Renaissance Faire today. I prefer the Pennsylvania one. While it is smaller, it is also more charmingly designed, the building are permanent, and the surroundings are beautiful. It's also laid out much better, so you can easily get to any area in a fairly short period of time.
Conversely, CA's Faire has temporary, cheaper looking buildings, was set up on what was basically just a large DUSTY field, and was one long serpentine path that didn't even loop.
One the other hand, the CA Faire had an awesome reptile exhibit, more games, less "hmmm that guy is so creepy he could actually be a serial killer" factor, and a much better set up for watching the jousting.
But the PA Faire has an elephant you can ride. But the CA Faire has box turtle races you can bet on.
OK, they're both good. But I like the PA Faire better. And that's that.
Posted by jason on 03:02 AM | Comments (0)
February 12, 2008
When the Magic Shows Up
I'm always amazed at how creativity shows up when you need it. Or rather, when you decide to use it. No matter how much you plan, or outline a story, when you actually start to write it, put it down on paper, it's incredible because these new scenarios, new scenes, new characters, new conversations, and new actions just all of a sudden walk into the room. It's not just limited to screenwriting either, it happens when you write music, or poetry, draw, paint a picture, sculpt.
It's fun, and breathtaking. For instance, in this latest historical epic I'm writing, I spent 3 solid weeks on developing an outline and structuring the story. I thought I had nailed everything down. Then I finally start writing the story (which I much prefer, I'll be honest. Outline work is not fun for me.) and a new breath runs through my outline, showing me these new directions I could take, brand new sequences that are just awesome to create.
I love it. But there's something interesting here. It's not that inspiration hits and then all this fun stuff happens. It's the opposite. I sit down to plow through my outline and then because I'm focused on bringing it to life inspiration hits and things become vivid and new things come to being.
And it always amazes and excites me.
Posted by jason on 03:17 PM | Comments (0)
February 03, 2008
I'm hoping for a tie.
For the first time in a long time, I really don't want either team to win the Super Bowl. I really can't accept either the cheating, running up the score Patriots or the NFC East rival Giants winning this game. In the end, I guess I'd rather see the Patriots lose, just because the way they've conducted themselves this year has been nothing short of shameful. But oh man, being a petty bitter Philadelphia Eagles fan, I will hate watching the Giants win a Super Bowl.
Who am I kidding, the Patriots are going to win regardless.
Posted by jason on 06:20 PM | Comments (7)
January 16, 2008
An observation
If Barack Hussein Obama manages to be elected president, it will be a complete miracle. Considering that name. I mean really, the guys middle name is Hussein?! And his last name rhymes with Osama? That's like the modern day equivalent of someone after World War II being named Barack Hitler Mussolimi getting elected. Could you imagine that?
It's like his parents could not have picked more unfortunate names for him. OK, yeah, the last name is inherited, and the first isn't so bad. But you know what I mean.
Posted by jason on 03:16 AM | Comments (3)
December 27, 2007
The Day After Christmas
I think Christmas has a problem. You look forward to it for a whole month, then it's one day, and it's over. And actually it's really like half a day because once you reach the evening this malaise sets in, it's kind of sad, it's over!
I think the day after christmas needs to be something special, so that you can look forward to that too. And two days of specialness is just about right, and you won't be sad as the day after christmas comes to a close, it'll seem like the right time to get back into your normal life.
So what should it be? I'm fielding ideas.
Posted by jason on 11:52 AM | Comments (10)
December 23, 2007
Almost Christmas
I've been home for a week now (east coast home, not our house home, staying with my parents home). It's been great. Getting to spend time with friends and family, reconnect with a ton of people, watch my kids with their friends. It's nice when you don't really lose anything but can just enter in with a group of people again with ease. A play that I wrote was performed twice, and it was fantastically performed, so that's always fun too.
Home for Christmas never really meant anything to me before, because I had never lived further than 10 miles from the home I grew up in. But now that we live thousands of miles away, it means a lot more, and it's more special.
Posted by jason on 11:23 PM | Comments (0)
December 18, 2007
Home for Christmas
After getting up at 3.15 AM and catching a 6.30 flight, a stressful layover in Phoenix where we had 10 minutes to sprint across the terminal to catch the plane, and 6 hours in the air, we touched down in Philadelphia. Cold Philadelphia. And now we're back here.
It's great to see people again, the familiar places. But it's also difficult to be "home" and yet not have a home anywhere. Our house that we love rented to strangers... But these things make up life, so you have to deal with them.
It's strange to live in this netherworld, that when you talk about home you have to explain where exactly you mean. You mean home in California? Or the stone house? It's like parts of you are left in different places, never put back together easily.
Posted by jason on 10:45 PM | Comments (7)
July 23, 2007
A moral dilemma
Scenario #1:
There are 5 men working on a railroad track. You see a onrushing train, heading directly for them. Their backs are to the train, and they are wearing ear coverings so they can't hear it either. It's clear that they are going to die.
However, you have a lever which you could pull and divert the train to another track. Only problem is, that other track has one man working on it. He would die.
What do you do?
Scenario #2:
Same exact setup, only now there is no other track and there is no lever. Instead, you are on a bridge about track standing next to a very large man. And you know that if you just gave the man a little shove, he would land in the way of the oncoming train and block it's progress, thus saving the 5 men again. However, this large man would die.
What do you do?
In surveys, 90% of people pull the levers but won't push the man. Even though the end result (1 person dead, 5 saved) is the same. Why do you think this is? I have my reasons, which I'll chime in with in the comments after I get some answers.
Posted by jason on 08:40 PM | Comments (19)
March 22, 2007
Seeing Pictures Everywhere
One of the tiles in my shower looks exactly like a woman's face in profile. When I'm putting Ollie to bed and lying beside him, I look up to see the underside of the mattress on the top bunk, and the stitching looks like a Suma Wrestler's face. A knot in a piece of wood furniture looks like a ship. A stain on a brick looks like a dog.
I realized today that I see these things very often. Like probably at least 5 times a day. I always assumed it was very common, you know. . . like seeing Mother Mary in a piece of toast. And of course everyone (I think) experiences the cloud that looks "just like something." But now I have to wonder and ask you, do you all see these things all the time?
Now I'm curious, is there a term for this? These unexpected, unbeckoned connections. Because I also experience them audibly, not just visually. Just about every song I ever hear makes me think of another song I've heard. sounds make me think of other sounds.
So, my questions. 1) Does this happen to you very often? 2) Is there an official phrase for it? 3) If there isn't, want to make one up?
Posted by jason on 10:41 PM | Comments (6)
March 03, 2007
Another Screenplay Finished
I'm proud to announce that I just finished the first draft of my fourth full length screenplay. Yippee for me. This one was hard, one of the most stressful times I've had writing. It was a dark story, the most serious I've written so far.
Now it needs a major rewrite.
Posted by jason on 02:00 AM | Comments (9)
February 19, 2007
A look in the mirror
In the comments section on a couple of older topics on this blog, we have been discussing environmental issues and how we can personally make a difference. This is really exciting to me because i think that it is really easy to make simple changes in your everyday life that reflect your true convictions and make this world a better place. We have all heard optimists call America "the land of opportunity" and in this area, they are right. We all make a range of choices every day that impact the world around us, and in making those choices, we have a range of options with different impacts.
In order to make a positive change, I think that it is important to recognize our current negative impacts. It can be easy to point the finger at other "less developed" countries and say that they are doing terrible things to the environment or to their workers, but in many cases, we are directly connected to those events.
Polluting factories in China and India are producing cheap clothes and toys that are sold primarily... in America.
People are clear-cutting the rainforest in brazil to raise beef that is sold in American Fast Food Restaurants. McDonalds buys this beef because they save $0.05 per burger if they buy it from South America where there are looser environmental regulations.
So when we shift the blame to other countries who are doing damage to the environment, we HAVE to recognize our part in fueling this. Every time you buy something, you are adding to the market statistics that demand certain products and services. The American market demands cheap stuff. When you buy clothes at Walmart you are supporting the practices of Chinese factories (very often terrible environmental and humanitarian standards). When you buy a Burger from McDonalds, you are supporting deforestation in Brazil.
If you want to make a difference, back up your beliefs with your actions.
Personally, I have decided not to eat fast food because I will not support their environmental practices (fast food is really bad for you anyhow). I haven't eaten fast food in a couple of years. I used to LOVE the way it tastes, and it sure is convenient and cheap, but it just isn't worth it to me.
Also, I don't buy clothes at Walmart or other big chains like that. This was an environmental and humanitarian decision. Again, they are really cheap and sometimes really cool, but just not worth it to me.
You have to change your habits a little bit, but it really isn't hard to back your beliefs with action. It isn't expensive either. When people say it is, that is a myth spawned out of laziness and unwillingness to change. I don't spend any more money on food or clothes now that I buy mostly organic and fair trade. Some things are a little bit more expensive, but still worth it. I buy wind energy for my home. True, it is a little bit more money, but it really isn't very much, and it gives me such a great feeling to be supporting my convictions in this way.
If you want to make some changes, I really encourage you to try. I would be more than happy to point you in the direction of some more earth friendly choices if you want.
P.S. I don't want to come across as self righteous or pompous. I am really excited about some of the changes and decisions I have made over the past few years and I have been really surprised about how easy and rewarding some of these changes have been. am really excited to tell people about them. Also I know that I have a long way to go to live entirely the way I want to. One step at a time.
Posted by collin on 11:53 AM | Comments (4)
January 23, 2007
Stressful
Sometimes it seems like life plays a cosmic trick on you and everything becomes due in a very shortened amount of time. That's the situation I find myself in now. I have 4 presentations I have to finish for a consulting job that I'm doing at Chase. I have to finish another 15 pages of my screenplay by tomorrow for my screenwriting program. I have to finish writing an interactive quiz for a job I'm doing for the Blood Bank of Delmarva. I need to finish designing Christian Dunn's book. I have to finish all my financial year end stuff for my taxes. Oh yeah, and a special top 10 print for someone who is leaving Chase. And that's just the stuff that's due this week.
What do you do when you're so busy? I don't even have time to watch my netflix movies or play with my Wii.
Posted by jason on 10:25 PM | Comments (20)
November 15, 2006
Music and Emotion. Is it Universal?
You know how if you hear a song that is slow and in a minor key it sounds really sad? You know how if you hear a song that is quiker and in a major key it sounds kind of happy?
What is with that? How has sadness become attached to certain kinds of sounds? What about happiness?
Do you think that the emotion and sound connection is universal? For instance, if I wrote an instrumental song that you thought sounded very sad would someone in Congo, Yemen, or Indonesia also think that it sounded sad?
Chime in, I'd like to hear what people think!
Posted by ian on 07:11 PM | Comments (10)
November 01, 2006
An Insane Week
Many of you know that I'm trying to get into UCLA's Master of Fine Arts Program for Screenwriting. I applied last year, didn't make it, but did get invited to partake in their year-long Professional Program for Screenwriting. 19 of the people who made it into the MFA program came from the Professional Program.
So I enrolled in that program, and my thought process was this, "Oh cool, so I'll do this program and have some more strong screenplays that will help me get into the MFA program." And I put the MFA program out of my thoughts. About a month ago, I started the Professional program.
Last monday, I had this strange thought. I remembered applying for the MFA program last year around November. Huh, I thought, wonder what the deadline is for the '07 term?
I checked. It was November 1st.
And here's the kicker. I was counting on getting my new screenplays from my program. So, in other words, I didn't have a suitable writing sample. I thought the schedules would line up, and they didn't at all.
So in addition to having to get transcripts sent, put together a statement of purpose, get the letters of recommendations lined up and sent, and filling out the paperwork.. . .. I had to write a feature length screenplay this past week. In addition to celebrating my son's birthday in Baltimore, throwing a 55 person combined birthday party for my son and my daughter, AND keeping up with my weekly homework for the program I'm actually enrolled in.
And my head hurts and I don't feel like writing another word. . . but I'm done. I think it's crazy, but I wrote a 106 page screenplay in one week. I re-wrote it yesterday and sent everything off today. And I think it's a pretty good screenplay too, the best one I've written thus far. So hurray for stupidly impossible deadlines.
I have not been this stressed in quite some time though. I can't handle too many weeks like this last one.
Posted by jason on 02:59 PM | Comments (12)
October 21, 2006
Recommendations of the Moment
If you have iTunes, you owe it to yourself to sign up for the This American Life podcast. It's an hour long free radio show that includes very interesting stories from aroudn the country. Perfect for a car drive.
It's hard to over-estimate just how much I loved the film Whale Rider. The performances alone were tremendous, but then you throw in the beatiful cinematagraphy, the touching story, and the educational value that this view into a unique culture afforded, and wow. You just have to see it.
Netflix in general is incredible, I've seen many excellent movies since I've signed up. At some point I'll put together a list of the movies I've loved.
In terms of new music, I love the new Mindy Smith album. And the new Evanescence is actually better then I thought it would be.
So what are all of you loving?
Posted by jason on 10:29 PM | Comments (5)
October 20, 2006
I've been thinking about this...
Man's true self is eternal,
yet he thinks, "I am this body, I will soon die"
This false sense of self
is the cause of all his sorrow
When a person does not identify himself with the body
tell me, what troubles could touch him?
Tao Te Ching Verse 13
I'm sitting inside, watching the season change. It's almost the peak for
the leaves. There is a hickory tree right outside this window. It's
bright yellow, waving wildly in the wind. The weather keeps changing. A
few minutes ago I heard pounding rain. I looked out the front window to
see a heavy downpour. I looked out the back window, and it was still as
dry as ever. Just minutes later it was bright and sunny.
It feels like this season has really reached a turning point. I've been
hearing the geese, flying through the dark sky in the middle of the night,
honking. It started out being pairs, or occasionally a single goose,
lonely and searching... now the flocks have gotten bigger. 30, maybe 40
geese in a flock. They are headed south now, striking out for warmer
weather.
I've seen swallows flying south too. They don't flock, they fly alone, so
high that I can barely see their split tales. I never knew they migrated,
but watching the sky I've seen them go by one by one in a steady stream,
all headed for the lower latitudes. Swallows are my favorite birds. To
me they have always symbolized freedom. Their daring low passes and
swoops, just barely skimming above the grass. Their cheery songs, their
incredible speed and agility. They are not a symbol of power like the
eagle, or wisdom like an owel. They are not strikingly beautiful like an
oriole, or dignified like a heron. People don't take much notice of them at
all, but they are totally free. Free from expectation, free to migrate,
to sing...
I have always associated freedom with movement. The unstoppable flow of a
river, the uncontrollable gallop of a horse. I think of freedom as wind
on my face, and miles and miles of trail ahead of me. I think of
mountains, high planes, cliffs, rapids, journeys, the open road, open
water...
Today the wind is tossing the tree branches like they are nothing. Leaves
are blowing wildly by the windows, geese are headed south. It seems like
everything is moving. Everything but me.
In one hard tackle my whole idea of freedom was demolished. I can't walk,
I can't drive, bike, paddle, or ride. There is no wind on my face. The
distance from my bed to the kitchen seems longer than any trail I've ever
hiked. The road is anything but open.
But strangely I don't feel any different. Physically, I'm in pain, but
emotionally and spiritually I am if anything, better than before. My
concept of freedom was destroyed, but I still feel free. I find myself
asking, What is freedom?
Today, lying in bed I was alternating between staring out the window and reading the Tao Te Ching for a class in school. Verse 13 suddenly stood out to me. Here it is again, in case you skipped it up higher.
Man's true self is eternal, yet he thinks, "I am this body, I will soon die" This false sense of self is the cause of all his sorrow When a person does not identify himself with the body tell me, what troubles could touch him?
My physical self has been, for a time, broken. but rather than breaking
my spirit, it set me free. Truly free.
So now, I'm trying to discover what it means to be free. Is it to think
for yourself? Is it to pray to whom you choose? Is it political?
Economic? Is it the ability to maintain emotional and spiritual well
being regardless of physical conditions? Is it as Webster thought: "the
absence of necessity, coercion, or constraint in choice or action"?
I just don't know.
It reminds me of something in the Bible. "It is for freedom that Christ
set you free." Whatever it is, freedom is intrinsically valuable. It was
worth the life of Jesus. I can not be imprisoned by a wheel chair. I
will not be enslaved by this body. I am a free man, and nothing in this
world can change that.
By the way, I sprained both knees. So I'm in a wheelchair for a little while, but it's not a big deal. I'll bounce back before you know it. I am amazed by people who spend their whole lives not walking.
Posted by ian on 01:37 PM | Comments (3)
October 10, 2006
More on Columbus
I am glad that Jase posted about Columbus day. Thanks Jase, great job. I started writing a comment to add to it, but it grew very long, and I thought that i should make a full post about it. Warning, don't click the link and read the rest of this post if you like to think of Columbus as a nobel explorer or a good christian spreading the word of God.
I am appalled by the fact that this is still celebrated as a holiday. It is very true that Genocide ensued after european contact, but people should recognize that Columbus himself was more that a mere catalyst. He was a tyrant in the truest sense of the word.
Before Christopher Columbus was a "discoverer" he was a slave trader. In his report to the spanish crown, he said that the people would make poor slaves, but that they did possess riches that Spain could capture.
In 1493, columbus returned to the Americas with an invasion force of 17 ships (appointed at his request). His expressed purpose was to set himself up as "viceroy and governor of [the Caribbean islands] and the mainland" and seize the wealth there by whatever means necessary.
He promptly instituted a tribute system where every native citizen over the age of 14 had to pay a certain amount of gold to him every 3 months. Upon payment, they were then given a token to wear around their neck to show that they had fulfilled their duty. If they did not pay, they were punished by having both hands cut off and were left to bleed to death. In his first 4 years as governor, it is estimated that around 10,000 natives died in this manor alone.
Bartolome de Las Casas was the first european historian in the Americas. He oversaw conducted censuses and documented (in exquisite detail) what was happening in that time and place.
He gives accounts of Spanish colonists hanging Tainos (the native people) en masse, roasting them on spits or burning them at the stake (often a dozen or more at a time), hacking their children into pieces to be used as dog feed and so forth, all of it to instill in the natives a "proper attitude of respect" toward their Spanish "superiors."
Here's another description by another historian "The Spaniards made bets as to who would slit a man in two, or cut off his head at one blow; or they opened up his bowels. They tore the babes from their mother's breast by their feet and dashed their heads against the rocks...They spitted the bodies of other babes, together with their mothers and all who were before them, on their swords."
By conservative accounts based on Spanish surveys, the Taino numbered as many as 8 million in 1493. Las Casas estimated that over 5 million people had been exterminated within the first three years of the Columbus rule. By the time of Columbus' departure, only 100,000 Taino were left, and by 1542, only 200 were left. Within the entire Caribbean Islands, about 15 million indigenous people are estimated to have been exterminated within one generation of Columbus' arrival. This is genocide, the wholesale killing of an entire people group.
Hope you enjoyed your day off.
Posted by collin on 10:11 AM | Comments (16)
October 09, 2006
Columbus Day
Today I visited the Rankokus Indian Reservation in New Jersey for an Arts Festival. It featured a number of talented artisans from around the continent, from a wide variety of the nations that were here long before Columbus sailed the ocean blue.
In introducing the events, the Indian M.C. said, "Today is not a holiday, and we don't say the C word around here. But we forgive him, for being 15,000 miles off course and accidentally finding this land." He was making a joke, yet of course there is quite a large bit of truth to that. I would add, "And we don't forgive him for enslaving us and killing us."
Truthfully, how is it that Columbus Day is still celebrated? He never actually landed on North America. He killed the people he found. And he certainly didn't discover America. Of course there were already people here, and if you want European contact, the Vikings were here long before Columbus stumbled on to the scene. Isn't the celebration of this day kind of just dancing on the graves of the people who were here before the Europeans showed up?
At the risk of upsetting some Italians, I would propose changing to this a Native Heritage Day or something like that. I know it sounds trite and its been said before, but we did steal their land. At least we could give them a bank holiday.
Posted by jason on 10:07 PM | Comments (3)
June 29, 2006
The Clayton Family Reunion
I have to admit, as a kid I could sometimes be a real snot. I remember once when my mom graduated with her Master's Degree in Counseling. She was so proud, and wanted all of us kids there to support her. But, it was like 130 degrees at the University of Delaware football stadium that day and all of us just complained the whole time we sat there through the lectures and the ceremony, complaining because pop wouldn't buy us the overpriced Pepsi.
After the ceremony, we continued to complain about the heat, and no one mentioned that we were. . . proud of my mom or anything. I remember not understanding why my parents were so annoyed and (my mom) hurt by us.
Like I said, total snots.
I think part of growing up, part of becoming an adult, is examining the parts of your life where you act like a snot and deciding if maybe you shouldn't. Now I don't think being a snot is always a bad this necassarily. Sometimes it's good.
But in my attitude towards the Clayton Family Reunion, I was definitely wrong. As a kid, I would not look forward to this day. The Claytons are my father's mother's family. My dad's mom, Helen, was one of 8 children (7 girls and 1 boy). She died when he was 4 in a tractor accident. The Claytons loved Helen and were devastated by her death, and my dad was the only child, the only trace left of her.
Looking back now, as I understand more about kids and connections and such, I can see that my dad wanted to go to these reunions because these sisters needed that connection, and my dad needed to remember his mom through them. And of course seeing Helen's grandchildren would only strengthen that severed bond.
Enter us the Latshaw kids. Complete and total snots.
Where what in reality what was going on was recovering something lost in this tragic accident, all we say was old people who we didn't know and food we didn't like, at the end of a very long drive.
We'd complain on our way there, alot. We'd complain there, we'd ask when we could go. We'd reluctantly meet people, embarrassed that we didn't know who they were since they were family. I'm actually shocked my dad didn't just scream at us in frustration. Of course, we only went about 3 times and I think I know why.
Last Sunday, Darby and I and the kids attended the Clayton Family Reunion with my parents. i have to say, I think I've grown up, because I realized all this stuff and I had a great time. Meeting all these women who were my grandmother's sisters, it helped me recover something that I lost out on. And I could tell they all loved my dad, and seeing us.
Fortunately, I think the 1999 and 2002 models of Latshaw (my kids) are much less snotty then me. They managed to be well behaved, not complaining once, the entire time – and we stayed a long time. I was very proud. And they are better at introducing themselves and all that.
The reunion ended with some of the ladies playing brass instruments, and some of us singing along with them with handouts of choral versions of hymns (many of which I'd never heard). It was a total and complete blast, so full of life and energy. It made me regret all the Clayton Family Reunions I've missed in the past, and decide that in the future we will go if at all possible.
Posted by jason on 10:12 AM | Comments (18)
April 24, 2006
Around for at least another year.
Well. . ..
I didn't make it into UCLA's MFA of Screenwriting just yet. And you know what, I never even got a letter from them. They rejected me via a low-resolution online gif. How insulting.
The silver lining of course is the look machine survives a lot longer now and things are rolling well with the band. And, I did get invited to enroll in UCLA's Professional Screenwriting program, which is modelled after the MFA but allows more (though not all) people in. It's an online program. I'm going to do it.
Posted by jason on 03:02 AM | Comments (5)
April 05, 2006
The Weather Outside
This morning, when I woke up, the sun was streaming in my windows and I thought that we were in for another beautiful spring day. I dozed off for about another half an hour and when I awoke, it looked like a different day entirely. The sky was almost black and the wind was blowing the trees about like long grass. Within about 5 minutes, rain was pouring from the sky and pounding on my roof. The rain stopped in about 2 minutes and there was a moment of calm. Then, before I knew it, I saw a wall of snow rushing through the woods on a strong gust of wind. For about 5 minutes, I could barely see out of my window through all of the snow swirling about. Then, almost as quickly as it had come, it was gone. I grabbed my camera and ran outside to capture a few images of winter's last throes toying with springtime. Enjoy the pictures (click on them for a larger version).
Daffodil.
My front yard as the storm is ending.
Pine needles.
My backyard fence.
I live in a log cabin. I have always liked the way the corner of a cabin looks in the snow.
Rhododendron leaves and bud.
Forsythia flowers.
I don't know what these flowers are, but they are pretty.
The stone wall in my front yard.
More daffodils.
Posted by collin on 12:53 PM | Comments (10)
March 01, 2006
A thought (or maybe it's two)
I've decided that the internet is a preditor, and it eats only time.
I swear, I waste so much time doing nothing online. I just surfe around, reading this xanga and that blog, check the news and play snake. For real, it probably kills a bar minimum of 30-45 minutes a day, and sometimes a lot more.
Last night I decided not to go online at all. Instead I played guitar and watched my fish swim around their tank. It was so nice! I'm trying to cut way back on needless internet time.
I want my life back.
In other news, the Penguine Club took it's February swim today (techincally yesterday). It was by far the coldest of the year. I thought my face was going to freeze off, and my toes turned white and were totally numb for probaby about six years afterwards... anyway, I'm off to crawl into a sleeping bag and sleep outside.
Posted by ian on 12:24 AM | Comments (11)
February 24, 2006
Pet Peeve of the Day: Electric Scooters
I need to vent about something. After being nearly run off the sidewalk here in sunny Disney World multiple times . . .
There are way too many people riding electric scooters now.
I understand that these large annoying beasts have their place. For very old people. And very handicapped people. But really, those are the only 2 people that should be riding these things around when you could -- neigh, should -- be walking.
It seems now though that people only slightly older and / or slightly overweight are giving up one of the few advantages we have over the rest of the animal kingdom -- WALKING -- and eagerly giving into this Jabba-the-Huttish tendency of just sitting and be moved around without any exersion at all.
They are so rude too, laying on their tinny horns, acting as if they are cars driving on highways and we are mere pedestrians who stumbled into their domain.
Hey scooter-people! This is a sidewalk! I don't need to wait for you to pass at a top speed of 2.4 MPH before I cross your path. You may think I won't be able to make it, but I promise you, I am not a 3 toed sloth. I will be able to pass without a collosion. I promise you. So stop beeping at me and giving me that sour face.
They congregate in gangs. I'm not lying, like motorcyle gangs, only on these beeping electric scooters, driving 6 wide to terrorize the walking among us. And then -- if that's not bad enough -- they roll on up to the front of the line, past all the walking people (usually surrounded by an entourage numbering into the teens), because goodness knows they can't stand in line with the rest of us. No, their feet couldn't handle it.
(While I'm on a rant, I might as well also mention the group of "handicapped hanger-oners" who seem to only go to amusement parks with handicapped people so that they can go to the front of the line. One time I saw these 3 (normal, healthy) irate women yelling at a Disney employee because a particular ride was not "wheel-chair special entry." In other words, the regular line could accomodate wheelchairs, so those in wheelchairs had to wait (in their wheelchairs), in line, like everyone else. They had a severely mentally challenged person with them, in a wheelchair, and they just refused to get into the normal line. "What in the world are we going to tell him!" They asked, and pointed to their companion. Who was picking his nose, eating it, and then said "I don't want to go on this ride! I told you!" People! Handicapped people are not "Go to the front of the line passes"! Don't treat them as such.)
Again, I'm not talking about the very old or the very immobile. Of course a scooter is a God send for them. I'm talking about little-Ms-I-weigh-40-pounds-too-much-so-the-solution-to-that-problem-is-to-give-up
-all-physical-activity-while-stuffing-my-face-with-mickey-popsicles-and-foot-long-hotdogs.
Maybe.. . maybe. .. part of the problem is that you no longer walk. Think about that! You no longer walk from here to there.
Look. I know that a day at Disney is exhausting. My feet are sore too. Maybe. . .sometimes, I might like to glide around the park on my own electrically powered chariot, beeping at all the walking people who deign to get within 10 feet of my majestic transport. But hey, it was a big day when I learned how to walk. I'm not ready to forfeit that skill just yet.
To sum up this rant, I shall share with you a battle, an epic war that Darby witnessed while attempting to rent a stroller at Epcot. A mildly overweight woman and a very old handicapped man had unfortunately both been promised the LAST SCOOTER in the park (yes, they were OUT OF THEM, that's how many people are now buzzing around on these things). In between haranguing the manager for not having enough scooters for the parkgoers and insisting that she would get the scooter no matter what, she kept telling the poor old man that she was promised the scooter first, and he would just have to deal with it.
Managers after managers were called, the problem was discussed, until finally a resolution was reached.
And away she rolled on the last scooter. . . gleefully beeping at the walkers, on her way to the nearest ice cream stand.
I swear, it's gotten so bad that now when I see a somewhat overweight or older person actually walking in the park, I want to kiss them full in the mouth and just congratulate them for not succumbing to the scooter pressure just yet. Really, bravo!
PS. I've been complaining about this all week. And yesterday I call home to find out that my younger brother – who had a serious knee injury last month – scooted around Costo the other day in on of these electric scooters. Pretty funny.
Posted by jason on 09:09 PM | Comments (11)
February 13, 2006
Bank Error in My Favor
Lately I've been on the receiving end of a number of nice financial suprises.
For instance, I had this broken soundboard taking up space in my office. I wanted to rearrange the office, so I decided to put the thing up on eBay. I thought I'd pocket about $200, tops for it. In the first 30 minutes of bidding it was up to $300, and the bidding ended at $960. WOW.
And right now I'm in Florida. We're checking out Jessica's (my sister and Drew's wife) touring show, Will Rogers Follies in Naples (and also visiting Darby's grandparents). Anyway, we get to our hotel last night and the lady at the front counter is visibly upset while she works through my reservation.
Finally she gives me the reason. "We don't have a room for you." Her co-worker had accidentally given it to another person.
"Do you have any rooms at all?" It's 10 PM, our flight had been delayed, we were very tired.
"Well, we have a handicapped room, but that doesn't have a bathtub. Just a shower. You have 2 kids right? That won't work."
"That might be ok." It's not like our kids needs baths every day.
"No, I'll tell you what I'll do. I'll call our sister hotel, 1 mile up the road. You can stay there."
"How much is it?"
"well, since this our mistake, you can stay there for free."
"Oh, and should I come back here tomorrow then?"
"Well, you can stay there for free for the length of your stay, so I'd stay there."
Wow, 3 free nights, That would have cost $550! Awesome.
Posted by jason on 11:12 PM | Comments (5)
February 02, 2006
4 Things by Jason
A very special person tagged me to answer these questions.
Four jobs I've had:
Busboy at Ruby Tuesdays. (Let's just say. . . don't eat at the salad bar).
Inbound Telemarketing for TCI Communications in Newark, DE. I took calls from old ladies who were mad that their Estee Lauder makeup was discontinued. And Franklin Mint orders. The worst thing was that I wasn't allowed to read or anything while I was waiting for a call and I bored myself to death.
VP of Online Marketing at First USA/Bank One/Chase. Lots of good memories. Lots of great people.
Screenwriter/Writer/Rock Star/Online Agency Dude. I can't complain about anything.
Four movies I can watch over and over:
The Chronicles of Narnia (NOT the horrid BBC version)
Office Space
Drop Dead Gorgeous
The Big Lebowski
Four places I've lived:
Kemblesville, PA
Newark, DE
Elkton, MD
(extended visits in Philadelphia and LA)
Four TV shows I love:
The Office
Curb Your Enthusiasm
The Sopranos
LOST
Four places I've vacationed:
Polperro, Cornwall, England
Isla Mujeres, Mexico
La Jolla, CA
Egypt
Four of my favorite dishes:
Crab Bisque from Nutters
# 15 from Seaside Thai at Rehoboth Beach (It's like calamari, shrimp, and scallops in a garlic sauce on rice)
Shrimp and Scallop Rossini at Bertucci's
Open Faced Peanut Butter and Jelly with Chocolate Milk
Four sites I visit daily:
Boysetsfire
MyNym's Weblog
Ask Metafilter
Lifehacker
Four places I would rather be right now:
Watching the Eagles win a Super Bowl
Swimming below a waterfall somewhere
On the cliffs of Cornwall
Upstairs eating.
Four bloggers I am tagging (so they will all have a good reason to post):
Posted by jason on 11:51 AM | Comments (9)
January 19, 2006
A Nation of Pharisees
This is a very thought-provoking article written by a Jesuit Priest. . . thoughts?
Published on Tuesday, February 15, 2005 by CommonDreams.orgPharisee Nation
by John Dear
Last September, I spoke to some 2,000 students during their annual lecture at a Baptist college in Pennsylvania. After a short prayer service for peace centered on the Beatitudes, I took the stage and got right to the point. "Now let me get this straight," I said. "Jesus says, 'Blessed are the peacemakers,' which means he does not say, 'Blessed are the warmakers,' which means, the warmakers are not blessed, which means warmakers are cursed, which means, if you want to follow the nonviolent Jesus you have to work for peace, which means, we all have to resist this horrific, evil war on the people of Iraq."
With that, the place exploded, and 500 students stormed out. The rest of them then started chanting, "Bush! Bush! Bush!"So much for my speech. Not to mention the Beatitudes.
I was not at all surprised that George W. Bush was reelected president. As I travel the country speaking out against war, injustice and nuclear weapons, I see many people consciously siding with the culture of war, choosing the path of violence, supporting corporate greed, rampant militarism, and global domination. I see many others swept up in the raging current of patriotism. Since most of these people, beginning with the president, claim to be Christian, I am ashamed and appalled that they support war and systemic injustice, that they do it in the name of God, and that they feign fidelity to the nonviolent Jesus who gave his life resisting institutionalized injustice.
I am reminded of Flannery O'Connor's great book, "Wise Blood," where her outrageous character Hazel Motes is so fed up with Christian hypocrisy that he forms his own church, the "Church of Christ without Christ," 'where the lame don't walk, the blind don't see, and the dead don't rise." That's where we are headed today.
I used to think these all-American Christians never read the Gospel, that they simply chose not to be authentic disciples of the nonviolent Jesus. Now, alas, I think they have indeed chosen discipleship, but not to the hero of the Gospels, Jesus. Instead, through their actions, they have become disciples of the devout, religious, all-powerful, murderous Pharisees who killed him.
A Culture of Pharisees
We have become a culture of Pharisees. Instead of practicing an authentic spirituality of compassion, nonviolence, love and peace, we as a collective people have become self-righteous, arrogant, powerful, murderous hypocrites who dominate and kill others in the name of God. The Pharisees supported the brutal Roman rulers and soldiers, and lived off the comforts of the empire by running an elaborate banking system which charged an exorbitant fee for ordinary people just to worship God in the Temple. Since they taught that God was present only in the Temple, they were able to control the entire population. If anyone opposed their power or violated their law, the Pharisees could kill them on the spot, even in the holy sanctuary.
Most North American Christians are now becoming more and more like these hypocritical Pharisees. We side with the rulers, the bankers, and the corporate millionaires and billionaires. We run the Pentagon, bless the bombing raids, support executions, make nuclear weapons and seek global domination for America as if that was what the nonviolent Jesus wants. And we dismiss anyone who disagrees with us.
We have become a mean, vicious people, what the bible calls "stiff-necked people." And we do it all with the mistaken belief that we have the blessing of God.
In the past, empires persecuted religious groups and threatened them into passivity and silence. Now these so-called Christians run the American empire, and teach a subtle spirituality of empire to back up their power in the name of God. This spirituality of empire insists that violence saves us, might makes right, war is justified, bombing raids are blessed, nuclear weapons offer the only true security from terrorism, and the good news is not love for our enemies, but the elimination of them. The empire is working hard these days to tell the nation--and the churches--what is moral and immoral, sinful and holy. It denounces certain personal behavior as immoral, in order to distract us from the blatant immorality and mortal sin of the U.S. bombing raids which have left 100,000 Iraqis dead, or our ongoing development of thousands of weapons of mass destruction. Our Pharisee rulers would have us believe that our wars and our weapons are holy and blessed by God.
In the old days, the early Christians had big words for such behavior, such lies. They were called "blasphemous, idolatrous, heretical, hypocritical and sinful." Such words and actions were denounced as the betrayal, denial and execution of Jesus all over again in the world's poor. But the empire needs the church to bless and support its wars, or at least to remain passive and silent. As we Christians go along with the Bush administration and the American empire, we betray Jesus, renounce his teachings, and create a "Church of Christ without Christ," as Flannery O’Connor foresaw.
Troublemaking Nonviolence, the Measure of the Gospel
The first thing we Christians have to do in this time is not to become good Pharisees. Instead, we have to try all over again to follow the dangerous, nonviolent, troublemaking Jesus. I believe war, weapons, corporate greed and systemic injustice are an abomination in the sight of God. They are the definition of mortal sin. They mock God and threaten to destroy God’s gift of creation. If you want to seek the living God, you have to pit your entire life against war, weapons, greed and injustice--and their perpetrators. It is as simple as that.
Jesus commands that we love one another, love our neighbors, seek justice, forgive those who hurt us, pray for our persecutors, and be as compassionate as God. But at the center of his teaching is the most radical declaration ever uttered: "love your enemies."
If we dare call ourselves Christian, we cannot support war or nuclear weapons or corporate greed or executions or systemic injustice of any kind. If we do, we may well be devout American citizens, but we no longer follow the nonviolent Jesus. We have joined the hypocrites and blasphemers of the land, beginning with their leaders in the White House, the Pentagon and Los Alamos.
Jesus resisted the empire, engaged in nonviolent civil disobedience in the Temple, was arrested by the Pharisees, tried by the Roman governor and executed by Roman soldiers. If we dare follow this nonviolent revolutionary, we too must resist empire, engage in nonviolent civil disobedience against U.S. warmaking and imperial domination, and risk arrest and imprisonment like the great modern day disciples, Martin Luther King, Jr., Dorothy Day and Philip Berrigan.
If we do not want to be part of the Pharisaic culture and do want to follow the nonviolent Jesus, we have to get in trouble just as Jesus was constantly in trouble for speaking the truth, loving the wrong people, worshipping the wrong way, and promoting the wrong things, like justice and peace. We have to resist this new American empire, as well as its false spirituality and all those who claim to be Christian yet support the murder of other human beings. We have to repent of the sin of war, put down the sword, practice Gospel nonviolence, and take up the cross of revolutionary nonviolence by loving our enemies and discovering what the spiritual life is all about.
Just because the culture and the cultural church have joined with the empire and its wars does not mean that we all have to go along with such heresy, or fall into despair as if nothing can be done. It is never too late to try to follow the troublemaking Jesus, to join his practice of revolutionary nonviolence and become authentic Christians. We may find ourselves in trouble, even at the hands of so-called Christians, just as Jesus was in trouble at the hands of the so-called religious leaders of his day. But this very trouble may lead us back to those Beatitude blessings.
Posted by jason on 09:12 PM | Comments (13)
December 30, 2005
10 Years (and Counting)
10 years ago a lucky boy married a beautiful girl. Now, 2 kids, a couple of college degrees, and 3 careers later, we're still having the time of our lives. Here's to you Darby, and growing old together. Love you.
Posted by jason on 02:43 PM | Comments (5)
December 23, 2005
Ticketmaster is such a scam.
Today I bought 2 tickets to see the band The Fray at the TLA as a Christmas present for my sister. (It's not a suprise.)
These tickets were supposed to be $10 each. They are open admission, standing room only. Guess how much my total bill was (and I chose the free shipping option since for some reason email wasn't offered and I couldn't stomach the thought of paying an additional $15 for them to mail me two pieces of paper sooner.)
$35.50. $35.50
What in the world Ticketmaster, how in the world can you get away with this? That's a 75% markup. And there is no other way to get these tickets. That would be like fandango charging you an extra $7.50 for your $10 movie tickets. They charge you $1.
Aren't they the classic example of a monopoly - a company that has no competitors so they can charge whatever they want to charge and we just grin and bear it. Monopolies are illegal.
They have no competitors. They charge an exhorbitant amount for their services. They provide an essential service (if you are a music fan).
Whatever, I hate Ticketmaster. And if I was The Fray, who are doing a pretty cool thing by keeping their ticket prices low only to have TM come in and still make the night an expensive outing, I'd be especially angry.
Posted by jason on 12:56 AM | Comments (18)
December 13, 2005
A fine ride
Tonight I went horseback riding with my mom. (In case you don't know this, she's a cool person). It's almost the full moon, and it's all snowy out so it was really beautiful. We went out in Fair Hill, or the seven thousand acres, and rode for a little it over an hour.
It was really cold out, so we went bareback. It's really nice and warm that way. When you're sitting right on the horse you can borrow some of their body heat, and they are really nice and fuzzy.
Anyhow, we were out there, riding through the fields in the dark and my horse started getting nervous. She is a really big animal (half Clydesdale, which is the Budweiser Horse) and she seems a lot bigger when she's scared.
Something startled her and she shied, so I ended up on my butt on the ground. I've had this horse for like 4 years now, and this was the first time I've ever fallen off her. I'm kind of glad I did.
Whenever it's been too long since I've done something it starts to seem scary. I haven't fallen off a horse in ages, so I've been really careful not to recently. Partly to keep my good record going, partly because I forgot that it's really not a big deal.
Also, I came to the conclusion that there is absolutely no reason to play tackle football then be worried about falling off a horse. It makes no sense. It's really not any more dangerous than anything else I do.
Now I remember, falling is just part of riding and that's ok.
Posted by ian on 12:23 AM | Comments (15)
December 07, 2005
Oliver the Humanzee helps the Look Machine
Almost on a lark, I posted about Oliver the Humanzee quite some time ago.
Little did I know that he would be making us fans some day. For example, gillian writes us and tells us:
i googled humanzee today after watching the same documentary and your site came up. then i d/led all your mp3s and they are awesome, and you know what is more awesome is that you recorded them in boysetsfire's basement cause they are like my fourth favorite band ever.
Also, on our myspace site we got this comment:
Awesome songs! keep it up! I actually came across your music pretty strangely. I was googling humanzee and y'all popped up with some discussion that the humanzee, Oliver, is actually just a chimpanzee... Thanks. :)
And through google, we get more than 300 hits a day from people searching for - you guessed it - our friend oliver the humanzee.
You know, ever since I first saw the documentary about this creature, I was inspired to write a song called "The Ballad of the Humanzee" about not kind of being a part of two worlds, but not belonging in either one. I think I have to finish it so we can capitilize on this groundswell of Humanzee related fervor.
Posted by jason on 11:41 AM | Comments (5)
Back from the Dead
Hello everyone, you may have noticed that my posting has been a little on the light side lately. This is because I had an extended bout with the non-respiratory flu, one which I only very narrowly won.
Ugh, talk about horrible. 10 straight days of fevers above 102, all the way up to 103.7. Piercing, torture-filled headaches. The chills. The sweats. Unable to regulate body temperature at all. Unable to get comfortable. I even had a touch of vertigo one night, unable to stand up straight, the world spinning around me. I threw up.
So I'm probably at about 70% now. Still very tired, but the fever has broken and I'm in full recovery mode now. Which is a good thing, since I had a large number of projects piling up while I laid in bed 24 hours a day. I love sleeping in, but when you don't do anything else it can become its own hell.
On the bright side: I watched the entire first season of Six Feet Under in one and a half days. What a well-made show. Hmmm. . . other than nice care received from my wife and kids, that's about the only bright side to the whole experience. Oh, I did get lots of prayer from caring people, like my parents, so that was nice too.
In non-flu related news, since the release of the vine magazine's video of Simpler than it Seems, we've been getting between 100-120 downloads of that song everyday. If you think about it, that is really a lot of people to be downloading a particular song.
If we could only identify where these people are, we could play some pretty fun shows, you know?
Posted by jason on 10:10 AM | Comments (9)
November 23, 2005
First Snow of the Season
We finished a fine practice at the Palkovitz house, where we concentrated on relearning the song "Becoming" and working on another new masterpiece. And I'm walking out of the house and WHAT it's snowing, and really coming down pretty heavily and there is already a nice white carpet on the ground.
I don't know what it is about snow exactly, but I love it. I think it has something to do with the fact that it used to raise the chances of Missed School, and then I could Sleep In and Do Whatever I Wanted. But even now, when I work in my basement and enjoy the work I do, I still love snow days just as much. It still gets me just as excited inside. It's almost magical and mystical to see these pure white crystals fall from the heavens.
I love a snowy thanksgiving. I'm so thankful.
Posted by jason on 11:27 PM | Comments (15)
November 11, 2005
A Brett Weber Photograph
Brett took this picture. I like it a lot.
There is just something about a cold fall night. It's windy, leaves are falling, and you just know that things are changing.
Fall is so fluid, so changing. Summer and Winter, they arrive, and they are real, genuine seasons. Fall just passes through. It's different out every day. It's a time of transition.
Honestly, that's how I feel about my life these days. Not in a depressing way, like everything is falling apart and getting cold. I just feel like I'm changing, becoming who I'll be. I'm in a transition between just living for the present and doing what school I have to do every day to taking hold of my life and directing it. I'm thinking about carreers, and plans. I'm picturing myself working, and I'm doing what I need to do to get there.
I'm pretty much a happy-go-lucky person. I take life as it comes, and I have a great time of it. I've always thought "I've got plenty of time," and so I've put off thinking about what I'll end up doing with my life once I'm done with school.
But now I'm thinking about it, and It's pretty exciting.
Posted by ian on 12:20 AM | Comments (11)
November 04, 2005
Senate Approves Drilling ANWR
Yesterday, by a 52-47 vote, the US Senate directed the Department of the Interior to begin selling oil leases within four years in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge (ANWR), with the goal of lowering the deficit and helping to pay for the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina.
Oil would not be available for another ten years, and according to a 2003 DOE report, opening the Alaska refuge to drilling would only reduce U.S. dependence on imported crude oil in 2025 from 70 percent to 66 percent. The House of Representatives decides next week on whether to keep the drilling measure in the bill.
This is what ANWR currently looks like.
These are pictures of current oil facilities in Alaska. These facilities meet the same environmental regulations the proposed drilling would. This is considered "clean" drilling.
So, over the next 20 years, if we get the most we possibly can out ANWR, we may reduce our dependency on foreign oil by 4%.
There are several reasons why I find the whole concept of drilling in Alaska to be disturbing.
1. This land was set aside as protected land in 1960 by the Eisenhower administration. Drilling it would be blatant disregard for a legal contract that protects the land. What good are laws and legislations if we can simply overturn them when there is money involved?
2. Part of the reason it was designated as a wilderness area was to protect the lands where one of the last surviving indigenous tribes lives in much the same way as they have for centuries. If we drill for oil, they will be forced to leave their homes and their land. They will literally be rounded up like cattle and forced onto a reservation.
3. There are endangered species that live exclusively in that part of the world. Drilling would ruin their habitats and disrupt their migrations, thus making extinction virtually inevitable.
4. There is inherent value in preserving wilderness as it was created. ANWR is literally one of the last great wildernesses.
5. No matter what you hear, drilling for oil is NOT clean and WOULD severely damage the environment. The current alaskan drilling projects have shown us time and time again, that despite the best efforts of science and industry, terribly damaging spills happen with regularity and frequency. On average, there is one oil spill of 2000 gallons in Alaska every day. This is considered routine and clean.
6. Although I don't think drilling would be worth it at any cost, WE WOULD ONLY REDUCE OUR FOREIGN DEPENDENCY BY 4%!!!! Also, because drilling in that environment would be so expensive, there would be NO drop in gas prices.
7. There is only enough oil in ANWR to sustain US oil consumption for 6 months. Drilling there would ruin it forever.
If you want to do your part in trying to stop this, please email your representative and let your voice be heard. While we do not live in a democracy, many voices can still change minds. Congress will vote next week. This is not a done deal. Congress could overturn the senate vote. YOUR OPINION MATTERS!!!!!!!
Click Here To write to your representative who will vote next week.
Here are email addresses for the senators of some states where I know we have a lot of readers. Please take the time to write to them too. Let them know if they did not vote in such a way that represents you. Perhaps your thoughts will influence how they vote in the future.
Pennsylvania Senator Rick Santorum
Pennsylvania Senator Arlen Specter
Delaware Senator Joe Biden
Delaware Senator Tom Carper
Maryland Senator Paul Sarbanes
Maryland Senator Barbara Mikulski
New Jersey Senator Jon Corzine
New Jersey Senator Frank Lautenberg
New York Senator Hillary Clinton
New York Senator Charles Schumer
Posted by collin on 10:12 AM | Comments (13)
The Republic for which it Stands
When I pledged allegiance to the U.S.A. I took the words at face value. I thought "the republic for which it stands" was something more than just empty words. I thought it was a nation that valued human life and dignity, a land of opportunity. A country that offered liberty and justice for all.
Did I pledge allegiance to a dream?
Check it out.The Associated Press points out that:
Led by Vice President Dick Cheney, the Bush administration is floating a proposal that would exempt covert agents outside the Defense Department from a Senate-approved ban on torturing detainees in U.S. custody.
Again, according to the The Jurist points out:
The White House recently proposed absolving CIA agents abroad from proposed legislation advanced by Senator John McCain barring the "cruel, inhuman, or degrading treatment or punishment" of detainees.
So in a nutshell, the government is asking permission of itself to torture terrorists suspects. Not convicts. Suspects.
They are holding them without trial for undisclosed amounts of time in top secret prison camps scattered around in different countries.
Is this liberty? Is this justice?
Go ahead, read about it.
The Central Intelligence Agency has held and interrogated some of its most important al Qaeda suspects at a Soviet-era compound in Eastern Europe, the Washington Post reported Wednesday.According to current and former intelligence officials and diplomats from three continents, the secret facility is part of a larger covert prison system that has set up compounds at various times in Thailand, Afghanistan, and several democracies in Eastern Europe, as well as a small center at the Guantanamo Bay prison in Cuba. The existence and location of these facilities, called "black sites" in government documents, are known to only a few US officials and are indicative of the CIA's unconventional war on terror.
There is mounting evidence that countries known to practice torture have been specifically selected to receive certain suspects for interrogation in an attempt to distance the USA from the abuse, the rights organization said. This is outsourcing torture.
Unbelievable!
First off, it’s sick, inhumane, and terrible. It’s against everything I thought that America stood for.
Second, how is this going to help to stop terrorism? This is only going to fuel anti-Americanism.
Since when did the land of the free arrest and torture suspects with no trial? And when did the home of the brave start slaughtering people from the air?
The Post mentions that about 20 people were killed late yesterday by two U.S. airstrikes. "The people gathered to rescue people whose house was bombed in the first strike," said one neighbor. "A short time after they gathered, another plane came and bombed the house again, killing most of them."
America, do not be deceived, you reap what you sow. Stop sowing hatred! Stop sowing violence! Stop sowing seeds torture and injustice. Stop slaughtering the innocent, the civilians.
Stop sowing terror.
Posted by ian on 01:48 AM | Comments (22)
November 03, 2005
A New Car
I did something I've never done before in my entire life, something that Darby has never done either. I bought a brand spanking new car. As someone who has taken as gospel the mantra that "A car loses 20% of its value when it drives off the lot" this is certainly something I thought I'd never really do.
I went to a Saturn dealership planning to look at their 2003 Saturn Vue with 13,500 miles. It was listed at $12,995. However, seeing it up close, I saw that it had a number of deep scratches that had started to rust and its interior was not looking so good. Since the most I've ever spent for a car was $5000, I really didn't want to more than double that up for a car that didn't look so hot and already needed some repairs.
Also, its warranty was running out in like 3 months. I'm just tired of having to worry about car repairs so being under warranty would be a necessity for me here. So If I bought this used car, I would going to need to buy an extended warranty.
I wandered over to the new cars and saw that the 2006 models listed at $17,995. Hmmmm. . .. a brand new car, with no mileage at all and 3 full years of warranty. Plus the new cars come with a $500 rebate AND a $500 gift certificate from Target.
So let's figure this out.
Used car --> 13,000. Add 3 years of a warranty = +$3,000. We're already up to $16,000 here to reach the warranty I'd get with the new car. And you don't get to take advantage of the $1000 discount on the new car. So really, the new car is now down to $16,995. For me, $995 is worth having a car that is 3 years newer and has 13,500 less miles. So this is how. . . somehow. . . I ended up with this new car.
Also add in that the new car gets slightly better mileage (29 highways versus 27) and contributes less emissions. .. and the fact that I don't even have to go to the DMV now, I will get the title mailed to me with no need to get an inspection (you know how I feel about Maryland's inspection process), and the fact that I get to pick a color that I very much like (midnight gray) versus the orange. I was sold. I really like that color. In the words of Paris Hilton, "It's Hot."
(I added a leather interior and a nice roof rack too. . .for not that much.) Darby and I have this weird habit of treating things really well when they are of nice quality, but unfortunately we junk up things that are not of such quality. So I thought if we got the leather interior, I'd ensure we'd keep this car clean.
The bad news? I have to wait 4-6 weeks to get this thing. It's in the factory right now, rolling down the line, being lovingly crafted by Saturn's highly skilled artisans.
Actually, that long waiting period might be a blessing in disguise. If at any time in the next month and a half I reconsider. . . I can cancel the sale. . .
Posted by jason on 08:59 PM | Comments (5)
October 22, 2005
Congratulations Merry and Mike
Collin's and my sister-in-law got married today.
Posted by jason on 03:00 PM | Comments (11)
October 06, 2005
Quotes about Art and Rejection and Needing to Keep Trying
We're working on redesigning the website at Elany Arts in our big push to get more clients (that's a design agency where Collin and I work to pay some bills here and then when the rockstar thing get tiresome.)
Anyway, I wanted to rotate through different inspiration quotations about design and art and stuff like that on the site, and in the search for some, I found some great quotes that apply to the neverending grind of rejection that any artist faces.
I thought I should share them with you.
"There is always a heavy demand for fresh mediocrity. In every generation the least cultivated taste has the largest appetite." Paul Gauguin
"If you hear a voice within you say "you cannot paint," then by all means paint and that voice will be silenced."
Vincent van Gogh"Inspiration may be a form of superconsciousness, or perhaps of subconsciousness - I wouldn't know. But I am sure it is the antithesis of self-consciousness."
Aaron Copland"An essential aspect of creativity is not being afraid to fail."
Dr Edwin Land"Every child is an artist. The problem is how to remain an artist when you grow up."
Pablo Picasso"I passionately hate the idea of being with it, I think an artist has always to be out of step with his time."
Orson Welles"Ah good taste! What a dreadful thing! Taste is the enemy of creativeness."
Pablo Picasso"Don't worry about people stealing your ideas. If your ideas are any good, you'll have to ram them down people's throats."
Howard Aiken
Posted by jason on 03:45 PM | Comments (12)
September 24, 2005
Eternity.
Eternity. Geometry. God. Here's my explanation. It just doesn't seem fair at all that a line and a ray have the same length. The line goes on forever in both ways. the ray has a definite starting point. Yet, they are the same length. Not fair. So, I was thinking... Eternity streches out in both directions for distances that never end. (This is a modern western view of time says ian.) So, a person is a ray. God and eternity have always been, and will always be. see this figure. ignore the segment. the ray is us joining into existence. Now, the real dispute is wether our 'ray' starts at conception or birth.
After our initial starting point, we will continue on forever. just a thought. pick it apart.
Posted by shane on 12:16 AM | Comments (11)
September 23, 2005
The Bitter Taste of Rejection
I was rejected today. I applied for a writing fellowship with Art Within , a Christian screenwriting group. And I didn't make it. I got an email that congratulated me for being a great writer, but not right for the program.
Ah, how I hate rejection. I have such a hard time dealing with it sometimes.
The Look Machine has gotten rejected a number of times. We didn't make it into the Dewey Music Festival. Goodness! We couldn't even imagine that we wouldn't make it into that. . . but we didn't. We've sent demos places and not gotten any response. And we're gearing up to send out a lot more promo kits so I'm sure we could probably paper the walls with the rejections we're going to be getting soon.
I know, on a rational level, that everyone gets rejected sometimes, that it's a right of passage, that it's paying your dues. I know, and I try to live this way, that what you have to do is just start trying again. And that the moment after the rejection is the most important time. You going to keep going, or just pack it up?
Anything worth doing is worth getting rejected over. I know this. And yet. . .
I wrote my first feature screenplay 2 years ago, and sent it off to Project Greenlight. I didn't make it out of the opening round. To my shame, I didn't write another full length until this year. I wrote some shorts, and had a good time with them, but I got bucked off that horse, didn't get back on, and didn't ride for a very long time.
Because even though I know that rejection is part of the game, part of the struggle of art, part of life. . . I hear this tiny voice that say, "Actually, if what you did was any good you'd have made it. . . so really what you did probably isn't so good."
And I want to shout out that voice, scream for it to shut up, that it's not helping matters, that really it's just lying to me. In a band, it's easier to do - because we can all silence the voice for each other.
When it's just you and a empty piece of paper and the words in your head that you have to fill that page with. . . it's harder.
But I'm not going to give up. Art Within. . . we just aren't a good fit. I'm glad you noticed that, spared us some anguish. But you missed out on a good writer. And you just kind of missed out on me. Because I'm going to keep coming, and I'm going to be one of those guys that people will kick themselves for overlooking.
New Lines' Lord of the Rings, U2, Harry Potter, the Sopranos, Lost, the Sixth Sense, Desperate Housewives, etc etc.
All of them were passed over numerous times by "the tastemakers," And of course, they are all awesome.
Rejection, I reject you.
Posted by jason on 10:05 PM | Comments (13)
September 19, 2005
The Pennsylvania Renaissance Faire
If you live anywhere near Manheim, PA, you owe it to yourself to attend the Pennsylvania Renaissance Faire. If I were just 2% nerdier, I myself would purchase medieval outfits for the entire family and we would attend in "period attire."
But for now we have to be content with merely snickering at those who do go all out.
Now there is far too much cleavage on display from the wenches in attendance, and it's the only place where it makes sense to see swords hanging outside of the port-a-potties while knights relieve themselves. We go at least once a year, 2 times if we're fortunate.
Check out the pictures after the link.
A Handsome Man.
If you are ever under attack, call me and provide axes as my weapon. I am unexpectedly excellent at throwing axes. I stuck all 5 of them to the wood wall, and 2 hit "the target." I impressed the full time axemen.
Josh however. . . he was not so good. In fact, he couldn't get one of his axes to stink in the wall. Oh well, he was actually fairly good at archery.
Drew and my sister Jessica were also there. Drew and this man made me feel. . . uncomfortable.
And he could not get the white ring while jousting either. (for the record, he was the only one who couldn't).
He also fell over when trying to climb Jacob's Ladder.
To be fair, ALL of us fell over trying to climb that accursed ladder. Even graceful dancer Jessica. (I have a bruise on my shin to commemerate my fall).
There were many attractive people there. Actually. . . this one had a boil that squirted water at you when you got too close. Got to give him points for creativity.
Another example of the beautiful peasants that gather here.
People were very tall in olden times.
Posted by jason on 04:00 PM | Comments (10)
Copy Protected CDs Make no Sense.
I don't believe is in illegal downloading, but I do believe in MP3 players, particularly the iPod, which I love.
So, why in the world do certain labels now have a policy that makes it very difficult to rip their new realeases to these players? They say they are protecting themselves from piracy, but that's just not making sense to me - it only takes one person to get past the restrictions (which can be done) and put the files on a network and - viola! - rampant piracy again.
Really all they are doing is being annoying. Very annoying. I understand that piracy is a problem. But htis isn't a solution. It would be like trying to stop shoplifting by adding 50 pound weights to every product you buy in the store. Mostly that just punishes the poor innocent dude, and the real shoplifters will know how to remove the weights. (Not the best analogy, but I'm tired right now).
Switchfoot's new album - to their own dismay - is protected, and they've posted a personal statement about how upset that makes them. Good for them, they even let their fans know how to get around the restriction.
I'm sure Sony can't be too happy with them, but it's the right thing for Switchfoot to do. With so little "label awareness," fans are going to think that "Switchfoot did this."
Posted by jason on 09:16 AM | Comments (5)
September 15, 2005
Embarrassment at Walt Disney World
Argh! Christians of the world!
Please. . . If you're going to behave as awful representatives, don't even let people know you consider yourself a Christian.
It's a shame.
Posted by jason on 02:07 PM | Comments (7)
September 13, 2005
Deployed to Iraq
The townhouse I used to live in I still own and rent out. It's vacant in October, and I've been needing to find another resident to move in.
Someone saw an ad online. Her husband is being deployed to Iraq at the end of the month and she wants to find a safer neighborhood for herself and their 4 children - all girls between the ages of 12 years and 5 months old.
This, unlike anything else, has made the conflict in the Middle East so personal for me. I don't know exactly why, but I can barely think about it without tearing up. What if this man dies, leaving behind these 5 girls who depend on him? Is it worth it? If he dies, I may have to join Cindy Sheehan in Crawford, Texas.
So, anyway, I'm showing the house to her tomorrow. For rent, she can pay what she can afford. And I will be praying for her husband's safety.
Posted by jason on 01:35 PM | Comments (27)
