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I’m at my mothers, taking a break away from the relentless video game battle that has consumed my brothers and I for the last few hours.

I am surrounded by boxes. Boxen. My mother’s moving tomorrow, and it could be a very, very long time before I see her again. Charlie, my little brother, is going with her.

Adam’s already left. Christo was the first to go, and Paul isn’t staying. Venk’s still here, but we don’t talk, really. We haven’t since I’ve moved back. I don’t think this is likely to change.

My potential ‘best men’ are all in absentia, as it were, and now most of my immediate family is about to leave as well.

Soon, there won’t be anything outside my house for me at all, in this town.

Inappropriate grokking of young teens

Texan parents are looking to remove “Brave New World” and “Stranger in a Strange Land” from the curriculum.

“We feel this is inappropriate for the ages of the students at (the) Science Academy or at any South Texas ISD High School,” parent Julie Wilde said of Brave New World, adding that the books may lead to “inappropriate sexual arousal of young teens.”

(Update: The South Texas ISD board voted unanimously to keep both books.)

I’ll Sleep When I’m Dead

The RIAA continues its fight against filesharing and all its evils, suing a 12-year-old and forcing her into a $2000 settlement. Breathe easy, Madonna — you’re safe now.

Bill Joy, perhaps the greatest computer scientist who has ever lived, is leaving Sun Microsystems. (And here’s a link to why the future doesn’t need us, for those who have yet to read it.)

Also leaving us is Leni Riefenstahl, the brilliant Nazi propaganda filmmaker who wrote and directed “Triumph of the Will“.

And finally, our third brilliant departure for today is Warren Zevon, as remembered by Dave Barry. (Who once performed Werewolves of London with Zevon, Carl Hiaasen, and Stephen King.)

Reaction time is a factor in this, so please pay attention.

Researchers who ‘proved’ that Ecstasy equals Parkinson’s gave monkeys the wrong drug. (Prediction: This announcement will have zero effect on drug policy/propaganda, and substandard research will continue to serve the status quo. It’s a pretty wacky theory, I know….)

Voight-Kampff Test administered to San Francisco mayoral candidates.

Direct-to-DVD Family Guy might happen soon.

White Wolf sues the shit out of Sony for making a crappy movie in the World of Darkness without permission.

Trifid M20 and IC 443.

gang stories part one

Sometimes I think that I must be miserable in order to be happy — or that this once was true, and the remaining vestigial parts of who I once was seek to sabotage the now, if not by action then by emotion.

How do you war against your shadow?

…

I’ve never known if insomnia is the condition, or the symptom.

…

Noted for future reference: There have been helicopters and fighter jets in my area, these past weeks. Driving back from Toronto a month ago, I saw an unmarked bomber refueled in midair, both planes grey. Two weeks later, I saw them there again.

I can hear them now, circling overhead.

178

Attention!

Leslie and I are going down to Toronto to host the side room at r351570r this weekend, and we could desperately use a second car to transport deco and people. If you’d like to come down for the event, and you have a car, we’ll cover your gas and entry and such.

The event is Saturday night, so we’d be going down Sat day and coming back sometime Sunday. We can arrange somewhere to sleep, if you’re into that whole sleep thing.

Also, we have cookies.

Are you taking any steps to keep shit real?

From a Dave Eggers rant on ‘selling out’:

“I really like saying yes. I like new things, projects, plans, getting people together and doing something, trying something, even when it’s corny or stupid. I am not good at saying no. And I do not get along with people who say no. When you die, and it really could be this afternoon, under the same bus wheels I’ll stick my head if need be, you will not be happy about having said no. You will be kicking your ass about all the no’s you’ve said. No to that opportunity, or no to that trip to Nova Scotia or no to that night out, or no to that project or no to that person who wants to be naked with you but you worry about what your friends will say.

No is for wimps. No is for pussies. No is to live small and embittered, cherishing the opportunities you missed because they might have sent the wrong message.

There is a point in one’s life when one cares about selling out and not selling out. One worries whether or not wearing a certain shirt means that they are behind the curve or ahead of it, or that having certain music in one’s collection means that they are impressive, or unimpressive.

Thankfully, for some, this all passes. I am here to tell you that I have, a few years ago, found my way out of that thicket of comparison and relentless suspicion and judgment. And it is a nice feeling. Because, in the end, no one will ever give a shit who has kept shit ‘real’ except the two or three people, sitting in their apartments, bitter and self-devouring, who take it upon themselves to wonder about such things. The keeping real of shit matters to some people, but it does not matter to me. It’s fashion, and I don’t like fashion, because fashion does not matter.”

Moving over and making room

Starbucks was hit by a well-organized culturejam last night. Locks were jammed, ‘For Lease’ signs were hung, and fake notices on Starbucks letterhead were attached to the windows:

“The global economy requires a relentless substitution of quantity over quality and shareholder value over human values. At our current market level, Starbucks cannot in good conscience guarantee all of our beans meet both our rigorous quality standards as well as our commitment to social responsibility. We are moving over and making room for local coffee bars.”

Less than 1% of Starbucks coffee is fair trade, and if you try hard enough, you can taste the jet fuel they use to roast the beans.

Pooter Madness

Looking to trade away some computer parts.

What I have:

– Pentium III 800mhz Slot 1 CPU
– ABIT BX6 Slot 1 Motherboard (Built for overclocking)
– Module # CT32M64S4D75, which is 256MB of Crucial Registered PC133 SDRAM

What I’m looking for:
-Crucial PC2100 DDR
-7200RPM HD
-Monitor
-350W+ Power Supply

Everything works great, but I just upgraded to an AMD system. I’m willing to trade as a package, or separately. Feel free to offer me some combination of the items above, or cash, or other items of interest.

168

“While there is a lower class, I am in it; while there is a criminal element, I am of it; and while there is a soul in prison, I am not free.”

– Eugene V. Debs (1855 – 1926; Five time Socialist Candidate for US Presidency, and the only candidate to run for President from prison)

…

Sometimes, when I cannot sleep, I’ll spend hours awake next to her, breathing her in. I do this, so that she knows she is loved.