It's mid December and still no big amounts. 2'' - 3'' that lasted 4 days, big deal.
How am I going to learn to snowboard without snow. Damn you Al Gore and your Global Warming!!!
Don't get me wrong I still think it's cold just not cold enough for snow. It does help with keeping the heating bill low.
So what else has been going on?
Well just working in the woodshop with Ben building an entire house worth of cabinets two to three days a week. I still have 10 fingers and plan to keep it that way. Safety is no accident.
I am going to Tim's for Christmas then back to Vermont for Hannah's B-Day then off to New Hampshire for the New Year.
I hope by mid Jan. we have enough snow to make it worth while.
Have a Merry Christmas and a great New Year.
Tuesday, December 19, 2006
Wednesday, November 29, 2006
Friday, November 24, 2006
Let Me Hear From You
I have setup a new email account so those of you who would like to contact me. I would love to hear from my regular readers so I know who you all are. The address is followsean at gmail dot com. Even if this is your first time on the site and let me know what you liked and what you would like to see.
Have a great Thanksgiving
Have a great Thanksgiving
Saturday, November 11, 2006
Friday, November 10, 2006
Vermont - My Winter Has Started.
Yes, my winter has started, I saw snow at camp and it's been getting colder here. I finally feel moved in at the new place in Bristol. The thing that made it feel like home are the brand new 32'' Hi-Def LCD flat panel TV connected to Hi-Def Cable. The channels in Hi-Def look amazing. I can't watch football games on regular channels now. Best Buy had the TV marked down from 900 to 700 and I used a 12% off coupon I got for a buck on e-bay for a total price of 615.00. I love this TV. I will post photos later.
I have been working with my brother Ben in his shop making kitchen cabinets. I am also trying to get a job at the local restaurant so I can meet the locals. I will let you know what comes of it.
I have been working with my brother Ben in his shop making kitchen cabinets. I am also trying to get a job at the local restaurant so I can meet the locals. I will let you know what comes of it.
Sunday, October 29, 2006
Driving Song - By Widespread Panic
It is amazing how one song can capture your mood.
The leaves seen through my window pane
Remind me that it's time to move my life again
November sun is felt by none
A chilly breeze has blown my thoughts to what's to come
A cup of warm coffee, some vitamin C
A bowl for the cat, a bowl for the dog, a bowl for me
Choose my bluest tape and unlock my car
An honest tune with a lingering lead has taken me this far
On the edge of the porch in the warm evening night
Throwing the bone for the dog I see two passing lights
Well, I wonder where that driver's bound
Is there someone, somewhere, someway out there that I've not found
A touch of smoke ain't what it seems
Dust and sunshine can also make my eyes look mean
But there's a brown cat sleeping through this day's show
Toppin' off the woodpile, breathing slow
The leaves seen through my window pane
Remind me that it's time to move my life again
November sun is felt by none
A chilly breeze has blown my thoughts to what's to come
A cup of warm coffee, some vitamin C
A bowl for the cat, a bowl for the dog, a bowl for me
Choose my bluest tape and unlock my car
An honest tune with a lingering lead has taken me this far
On the edge of the porch in the warm evening night
Throwing the bone for the dog I see two passing lights
Well, I wonder where that driver's bound
Is there someone, somewhere, someway out there that I've not found
A touch of smoke ain't what it seems
Dust and sunshine can also make my eyes look mean
But there's a brown cat sleeping through this day's show
Toppin' off the woodpile, breathing slow
Monday, October 23, 2006
Last Night in Camp
So it is really time for me to leave camp. I truly hate to leave this place, those of you who have been to camp will understand. So as I sit here writing this I look forward to returning this winter to spend some time cross country skiing with the Leaches. I am so glad I got to see the small amount of snow before I left, it gives you a whole new perspective on camp, with the leaves off the trees the views have completely changed. I will miss the cabin and the peace and quite of the area most. It is really amazing to me that one could get used to such a small space. I hope to be able to tell you story's of a new bathroom next summer.
So what now, Vermont is the next stop on the world tour for the winter or as long as I can take the cold. I do hope to stay until May when I can return to camp, yes it's all about camp. I am not sure what to expect as I have not seen the place I plan on moving into. I am not sure about a part time job so I can ski days or do I hammer out the movie. I plan on having the complete first draft done by December 1st. I would like to get together with a few friends for a writing weekend to go over the first draft and figure out where the holes are and fill them with comedy. I broke through my writers block the other day but started second guessing the idea so I stopped. I think part of the issue has been the amount of traveling I did over the last month. I do think I have the makings of a good if not great film it is just a question of getting the pieces to fall into place and yes they will fall into place, they always do.
As for the pictures, it has been nice to capture some things here I might not normally gotten the chance too. The universe has me right where I need to be and that is nice to know. I felt lucky to get the sunset in VA, it was very brief, under 5 minutes before that shot was gone, I was just taken by all the different cloud patterns and the "Jesus Rays" look killer. Most times you get them coming on a downward angle, it was cool to get the upward. I don't remember a sunset like that ever in that area and I have driven it hundreds of times. The Colors of Fall picture was taken early in October and I was blessed with a cool crisp day for photos. I took a chance and drove about 45 minutes north and hoped for good pictures but the weather was not with me up there so I was bummed to only get shots from and around camp. The Moon over the mountains was another great day. I took a bunch of shots on the digital but I now wish I had a roll or two of real film for some comparisons. I will say I take more pictures these days but still get bummed every time I put my 17-35mm lens on the digital. For those who don't know because the size of the image chip is smaller than 35-mm film your focal length of your lens changes. So my wide 17-mm now becomes a not so wide 26-mm. I can compare to loss as going from a wide screen movie to a fit your TV movie, you loss a bunch on the sides. I put the lens on the film camera and weep at what I am missing. So that will be the next purchase, a wider lens for the digital. I also need to buy a new TV and would like to get a new Apple, so I guess I should get a job in Vermont. All things in time I guess.
I also wanted to pass on a recommendation for a movie I have seen, "Thank You for Smoking" I really enjoyed it. If you enjoy some thinking mixed in with your comedy this movie is for you. I am sorry to say this is the only good movie I have seen in the last few months. I did see the departed and to be honest thought it was to long and was not Marty's best work.
So what now, Vermont is the next stop on the world tour for the winter or as long as I can take the cold. I do hope to stay until May when I can return to camp, yes it's all about camp. I am not sure what to expect as I have not seen the place I plan on moving into. I am not sure about a part time job so I can ski days or do I hammer out the movie. I plan on having the complete first draft done by December 1st. I would like to get together with a few friends for a writing weekend to go over the first draft and figure out where the holes are and fill them with comedy. I broke through my writers block the other day but started second guessing the idea so I stopped. I think part of the issue has been the amount of traveling I did over the last month. I do think I have the makings of a good if not great film it is just a question of getting the pieces to fall into place and yes they will fall into place, they always do.
As for the pictures, it has been nice to capture some things here I might not normally gotten the chance too. The universe has me right where I need to be and that is nice to know. I felt lucky to get the sunset in VA, it was very brief, under 5 minutes before that shot was gone, I was just taken by all the different cloud patterns and the "Jesus Rays" look killer. Most times you get them coming on a downward angle, it was cool to get the upward. I don't remember a sunset like that ever in that area and I have driven it hundreds of times. The Colors of Fall picture was taken early in October and I was blessed with a cool crisp day for photos. I took a chance and drove about 45 minutes north and hoped for good pictures but the weather was not with me up there so I was bummed to only get shots from and around camp. The Moon over the mountains was another great day. I took a bunch of shots on the digital but I now wish I had a roll or two of real film for some comparisons. I will say I take more pictures these days but still get bummed every time I put my 17-35mm lens on the digital. For those who don't know because the size of the image chip is smaller than 35-mm film your focal length of your lens changes. So my wide 17-mm now becomes a not so wide 26-mm. I can compare to loss as going from a wide screen movie to a fit your TV movie, you loss a bunch on the sides. I put the lens on the film camera and weep at what I am missing. So that will be the next purchase, a wider lens for the digital. I also need to buy a new TV and would like to get a new Apple, so I guess I should get a job in Vermont. All things in time I guess.
I also wanted to pass on a recommendation for a movie I have seen, "Thank You for Smoking" I really enjoyed it. If you enjoy some thinking mixed in with your comedy this movie is for you. I am sorry to say this is the only good movie I have seen in the last few months. I did see the departed and to be honest thought it was to long and was not Marty's best work.
Sunday, October 22, 2006
Saturday, October 21, 2006
Friday, October 06, 2006
Thursday, October 05, 2006
Fall is Upon Us
So it's been awhile since I have written anything. Yes that includes the movie. The last month has been an whirlwind to say the least. I will fill you in on what I have been up too. I saw 6 Widespread Panic shows in 9 nights in 4 states. (*note to "LOST" fans, there is no significance to the numbers 6 9 4 in this post, or is there?) I also had the privilege of taking six friends to their first show and all of them had a great time. My favorite show has to be the Saturday night show at Radio City. Not only did they open with Space Wrangler but Jake and I had second row tickets. The crazy thing about the seats was I was sitting one row ahead of the guy I sat next too at the second Fox show back in April in Atlanta. The show in Vermont was amazing, simply because it was such a small venue. There could not have been more than 700 people total. The show was in what can best be described as the basketball court from the movie "Hoosiers" with a large stage at the end. I had a great time in Conn. with Jodi and Mary Francis who both got to experience what it means to have the universe catch up with me, they could tell you, I can't since I can't do hand gestures in my post and with out hand gestures it's hard to explain. OK, I could explain it but it would take forever and I am just lazy. I have one more show I am going to in Charleston on Friday the 13th.
Camp has been beautiful this fall, the colors have come and gone, in a few days the skeletons of winter begin to appear. I have not gotten many shots this fall due to the amount of rain we have had over the last few weeks. One of the highlights of the Widespread Shows was taking the back-roads from show to show. I did as much as I could to stay of the main highways and I recommend you do the same. My trips may have taken me longer to get there but I would rather enjoy the view. The road I was on when I had to give the guy CPR was one that paralleled the highway, so you never know what happens on the back-roads unless your on them.
So where am I going to spend the winter. I have found a place in Bristol VT, just a few minutes away from Middlebury. It has been years since I have spent a really cold winter. I now have no excuse for not learning how to snowboard so I can finally cross it off my list. I will be around 19 to 45 minutes from three great mountains. My plan is to try and get a job in town at night so I can board in the day. When I say job I talking part time at the local pizza place working in the kitchen slinging pie. It is my true calling if I have to work, pizza is in my blood or at least the sauce runs through me.
Camp has been beautiful this fall, the colors have come and gone, in a few days the skeletons of winter begin to appear. I have not gotten many shots this fall due to the amount of rain we have had over the last few weeks. One of the highlights of the Widespread Shows was taking the back-roads from show to show. I did as much as I could to stay of the main highways and I recommend you do the same. My trips may have taken me longer to get there but I would rather enjoy the view. The road I was on when I had to give the guy CPR was one that paralleled the highway, so you never know what happens on the back-roads unless your on them.
So where am I going to spend the winter. I have found a place in Bristol VT, just a few minutes away from Middlebury. It has been years since I have spent a really cold winter. I now have no excuse for not learning how to snowboard so I can finally cross it off my list. I will be around 19 to 45 minutes from three great mountains. My plan is to try and get a job in town at night so I can board in the day. When I say job I talking part time at the local pizza place working in the kitchen slinging pie. It is my true calling if I have to work, pizza is in my blood or at least the sauce runs through me.
Thursday, September 21, 2006
Wednesday, September 06, 2006
My Muse Has Gone Missing - A Haiku for you
Whatever shall I do?
Perhaps an update for you?
Start Waponi Woo?
Perhaps an update for you?
Start Waponi Woo?
Wednesday, August 30, 2006
Notes From the Field
I have finished outlining the movie. I have every key scene set with only the base dialogue for each scene but it is enough to build on. My next step is to finish the dialogue for these key scene's. Once the tone and emotion has been set I can then write up the montages for the movie. Most of these will be longer scene's that get cut down but they are the next step. I hope to have the first draft done by the end of September. I am finding the ideas come at a faster rate the more I dig into the characters. This is what drives the dialogue, backstory. I just want it said here that this movie is going to be great, I am so going to bag Nicole Kidman once this is done.
Thursday, August 24, 2006
Housing Update
I am going to be staying in the Old Forge area as my base until the end of September. Looking at the amount of archive work I have, I will be busy (that term is very relative in my case) durning the days scanning prints and slides. The great thing is, at night my muse comes to visit me with ideas for the movie. Sometimes she comes in differnt forms, brick form, haze form and sometimes hydro form. Ah my muse, how I love thee and all you bring. I am enjoying the peace and quite of the mountains, it is so nice this time of year with highs in low 70's and lows at night around 50. Plus free rent and board. I love it when a plan comes toghter.
Movie Update
So I was visited by the muse last night and was able to completely outline the first act. I have every scene planned and mapped out. I was also able to bring many of the ideas for the movie into focus. I have my base 6 characters and some very funny bit parts for others, "Dick and Fart" jokes mostly :-)
Hi Jacob
Just wanted to give you the shout out for being the most consistant follower of my rantings. The Panic shows will be upon us before we know it. Do you want to get tix for the Chucktown and Macon Shows, they are on a Sat and Fri night shows, get a sitter and the three of us can chill. Now get back to work!
Tuesday, August 22, 2006
OK - So Where Have I Been?
I was going to the beach right after camp but due to the stupidity of others kept me from going. So I have decided to stay at camp and hang here for awhile. I am currently working on a project to scan and archive about 2000 old B/W photos and some 3000 Color Slides. This should keep me busy for some time. The great advantages for me are the free rent and food plus I am getting tons done on the movie. Yes for those of you who don't know I am writing the great summer camp movie. I have about 75 index cards with ideas already done. I believe I have enough to start outlining, which I started late last night. I will put all the ideas together and see just how much I have. I plan on having enough stuff for a 2 hour movie but would cut it down to 90 minutes. I have been choosing different songs I would like to use in the movie, most of them are classic 80's tunes, a good soundtrack can make or break a movie. I will keep you updated as I get the time.
Monday, July 10, 2006
A Real Camp Update.
So I figured it was time to give you a real update about camp. It has been 2 weeks since first session began. It’s 1:30 am Sunday and now seems as good a time as any to finally get all of this stuff down and plus Jake has earned it and I am chilling out to Widespread Panic from the New Years show. (One the top 5 nights of my life)
Pre Camp:
I spent the early part of June moving from Savannah to camp. I spent a few days in both Virginia and New Jersey before dropping into camp. I needed to unload my gypsy wagon into the formally known “Kaczynski Kabin” now renamed the “Decompression Chamber”
So how is camp? There is no easy answer to that question this summer. While on the whole camp is great there is a strange vibe this summer and no one can quite put his or her finger on exactly why. It is as if you can see storm clouds but you are not sure if the are headed your way but you are somewhat concerned just in case. I also think expectations from last year were high and very hard to live up to. On the flip side is we still have 5 weeks to go. Of course most things are the same like the food, the weather, the conversations, the core of camp, which is nice. The drives so far this summer have been OK, the good ones start next week. What makes a good drive, that’s easy, any trip that goes north of camp into the heart of the Adirondack State Park, short or long. I have a trip next week to Lake Placid, while a 2 and a half hour one-way drive, is filled with great scenery along the way so it makes it worth the drive. The bad trips are the one when I go south and have to go into Old Forge and deal with the tourist traffic, which is a pain.
The weather has been great since the fifth day of camp. The first four where nothing but grey rainy days, it reminded me of Seattle. I weather before camp was too good to be true on a few days, low humidity and highs around 73, perfect picture weather. I have some shots that I am going to put up when I get the chance. Most of them are panoramas so I have to find the best way to display them on the web. I have one that I am thinking about trying to sell in the local area, it is the one taken from Bald Mountain. I also got a few great shot while in Vermont. I did miss, but I can still see in my head, as what would be one of my finest shots had I had my camera with me. I was in Portsmouth NH and the mist over the river on the Maine side was glowing from the streetlights on the far dock. Imagine my alleyway shot from Savannah and turn it on its side is the closest I could explain it. I will return to that spot and get the shot this fall, it will not bee hard to recreate, well the weather has to recreate it and since my mystical powers do not seem to effect the weather, at least on a large scale. And no global warming is not all my fault.
So far this summer my “Dr. Phil” sessions with a few of the counselors are higher this year than last. Part of it may be because some of last year’s counselors had winter problems stored up waiting foe me when I got here. But I still think that is my main function at camp. I know at least one person who is having a much better time at camp after a few nights just hanging out and talking. Communication is a wonderful thing; try it some time, especially if you are married. Oh by the way, being single still sucks less than being married, but everything is perception.
I found a great place for North Carolina (vinegar based) BBQ (pulled pork) about 40 minutes north of camp in Blue Mountain Lake. It is worth the drive and the risk of a bout with the gout for this BBQ. The owner is a guy named Willie from Raleigh, NC who moved up here two years ago and he and partner purchased a restaurant with some existing weekend rental cabins. He works out of a chuck wagon while they get the place finished up for the winter season. More of my trips bring me right by him so not stopping will be a challenge. I was on my way back today from Willies with Mark (camp’s jr. mr. fixit) when we spotted a young black bear in the road. I was able to get some shot of him, which should be up soon.
I have begun to form a plan for where I am going after camp and right now the quick answer is I am moving to the North East Kingdom in Vermont for the winter. I know what you may be thinking. You hate the cold, why live all the way up there? Again the short answer is it will give me time to find a place to build my cabin. I am looking for a small plot with lake access of a small boston whaler or a few acres with a great view. I will then put up a place no bigger than 16 x 20 and off grid. This will also give me some time to complete the movie I am working on. I will not give very much away at this point but I am knee deep in story ideas and character development. I hope to have it finished before Christmas so I can start principle photography on it right after camp gets out next summer. I will tell you it is the first of the trilogy I have planned. The base story is there for all three movies with an interesting metaphysical twist that if all three movies get made should work out well. It is a camp movie but you should have figured that out by now. I do have the first 5 minutes done and I believe the opening is going to be great. I may talk more about it later but for right now that should be enough. Oh yeah, I want Kevin Smith to direct it.
Finally I have decided to release the long lost blog from last summer, it is below, enjoy.
Pre Camp:
I spent the early part of June moving from Savannah to camp. I spent a few days in both Virginia and New Jersey before dropping into camp. I needed to unload my gypsy wagon into the formally known “Kaczynski Kabin” now renamed the “Decompression Chamber”
So how is camp? There is no easy answer to that question this summer. While on the whole camp is great there is a strange vibe this summer and no one can quite put his or her finger on exactly why. It is as if you can see storm clouds but you are not sure if the are headed your way but you are somewhat concerned just in case. I also think expectations from last year were high and very hard to live up to. On the flip side is we still have 5 weeks to go. Of course most things are the same like the food, the weather, the conversations, the core of camp, which is nice. The drives so far this summer have been OK, the good ones start next week. What makes a good drive, that’s easy, any trip that goes north of camp into the heart of the Adirondack State Park, short or long. I have a trip next week to Lake Placid, while a 2 and a half hour one-way drive, is filled with great scenery along the way so it makes it worth the drive. The bad trips are the one when I go south and have to go into Old Forge and deal with the tourist traffic, which is a pain.
The weather has been great since the fifth day of camp. The first four where nothing but grey rainy days, it reminded me of Seattle. I weather before camp was too good to be true on a few days, low humidity and highs around 73, perfect picture weather. I have some shots that I am going to put up when I get the chance. Most of them are panoramas so I have to find the best way to display them on the web. I have one that I am thinking about trying to sell in the local area, it is the one taken from Bald Mountain. I also got a few great shot while in Vermont. I did miss, but I can still see in my head, as what would be one of my finest shots had I had my camera with me. I was in Portsmouth NH and the mist over the river on the Maine side was glowing from the streetlights on the far dock. Imagine my alleyway shot from Savannah and turn it on its side is the closest I could explain it. I will return to that spot and get the shot this fall, it will not bee hard to recreate, well the weather has to recreate it and since my mystical powers do not seem to effect the weather, at least on a large scale. And no global warming is not all my fault.
So far this summer my “Dr. Phil” sessions with a few of the counselors are higher this year than last. Part of it may be because some of last year’s counselors had winter problems stored up waiting foe me when I got here. But I still think that is my main function at camp. I know at least one person who is having a much better time at camp after a few nights just hanging out and talking. Communication is a wonderful thing; try it some time, especially if you are married. Oh by the way, being single still sucks less than being married, but everything is perception.
I found a great place for North Carolina (vinegar based) BBQ (pulled pork) about 40 minutes north of camp in Blue Mountain Lake. It is worth the drive and the risk of a bout with the gout for this BBQ. The owner is a guy named Willie from Raleigh, NC who moved up here two years ago and he and partner purchased a restaurant with some existing weekend rental cabins. He works out of a chuck wagon while they get the place finished up for the winter season. More of my trips bring me right by him so not stopping will be a challenge. I was on my way back today from Willies with Mark (camp’s jr. mr. fixit) when we spotted a young black bear in the road. I was able to get some shot of him, which should be up soon.
I have begun to form a plan for where I am going after camp and right now the quick answer is I am moving to the North East Kingdom in Vermont for the winter. I know what you may be thinking. You hate the cold, why live all the way up there? Again the short answer is it will give me time to find a place to build my cabin. I am looking for a small plot with lake access of a small boston whaler or a few acres with a great view. I will then put up a place no bigger than 16 x 20 and off grid. This will also give me some time to complete the movie I am working on. I will not give very much away at this point but I am knee deep in story ideas and character development. I hope to have it finished before Christmas so I can start principle photography on it right after camp gets out next summer. I will tell you it is the first of the trilogy I have planned. The base story is there for all three movies with an interesting metaphysical twist that if all three movies get made should work out well. It is a camp movie but you should have figured that out by now. I do have the first 5 minutes done and I believe the opening is going to be great. I may talk more about it later but for right now that should be enough. Oh yeah, I want Kevin Smith to direct it.
Finally I have decided to release the long lost blog from last summer, it is below, enjoy.
The Lost Post of Summer '05
The Balsams, A five star RIPOFF
It has been said that critics are "legless men who try and tell others how to walk". Well let me roll my legless body over and tell you a story.
I don't even know where to begin with one of the greatest scams ever perpetrated on rich people. I have trouble wrapping my head around it right now. Maybe I have a strange concept of money but when someone is paying 600.00 per night (this is for just my room, not the suite families with kids need, you will see this figure again just so you can imagine spending that kind of money for 3 hots and a cot) one should not have a laundry list of issues and not be infuriated about it. Now I don't want to give you the impression we (as a family) are not having a good time, far from it, all of the grandkids are enjoying the fact they are all together which to me is the main part of the trip. Kudos to Janet for making this trip happen and getting us all together for the first time in a longtime. So I will just start at the top of my list and work down. But first I will give you some background on the place.
The Balsams is a 5 star rated resort in Northwestern New Hampshire. Included in the 600.00 per night rate; all meals, all the golf you can play (carts are extra) tennis, a pool, a lake with a paddle boat and canoes, hiking and mountain biking trails. They also have other activities like shuffle board, billiards and the like. Now what's not included in the 600.00 per night rate that should be, any drink other than water, at these rates I should be able to get a coke and not have to pay 2.00 for it at the bar or 5.50 for a gin and tonic. Now on to the list.
The Room:
I will start on a positive note and say the room size is fine, with nice views of the mountains. That is the only nice things I can say, remember, 600.00 a night. Now the negatives. When you walk in you are walking on carpet that has been down for at least 15 years, judging by the wear patterns. Even in the spots under the desk and table where it looks fresh and new you can tell this is just cheap carpet, the same kind you would find in any high turn over rate apartment complex. The furniture is what really shocked me. I had expected with a resort of this age and distinction that the rooms would be filled with antique furniture or at least nice reproductions. Oh how wrong I was, it can best be described as, well "Unpainted Arizona". Let me explain that for those who have not seen the movie "Raising Arizona". (go rent it, that's 5 star entertainment) I am sure most of you have been to an unpainted furniture store and seen the "fine" collection of bedroom sets that you too can take home and spray paint in a light green avocado color just like my room. The bathroom looks as if it was redone in the late 50's early 60's judging by the tile shape and color. The floor tiles are white 1 inch hexagons and the wall tiles are 4 inch baby blue squares, very dated. The toilet is plain but functional. The vanity is my favorite so let me go into some detail. It is an older pedestal sink, I am not sure how old it may be but it is old enough to have individual hot and cold taps. But they are not hooked up that way. I guess at some point people complained they had to use 2 faucets so what they did was to remove the hot tap and plug it and replaced the cold tap with what I would call a short neck kitchen sink facet. I am not sure the technical term for this style of faucet but imagine your average kitchen sink faucet with a 3 inch neck (where the water comes out) as opposed to a 6 inch neck on a kitchen sink, and the single 3 inch handle that moves up and back and left to right for temperature and pressure control. The following two items are missing from the room, air conditioning and a television. The A/C I will let slide because we are in the mountains and it never gets that hot up here, or at worst nothing that a good fan (provided) couldn't take care of. The television is another story, I understand that this is considered a family resort and there are plenty of outdoor things to keep you occupied during the day, fine. But at night, after dinner the only thing to occupy your boredom is the game room. I asked at the front counter about this and they said in this area you don't get good TV reception. I guess the concept of satellite television has not made it this far north. I realize I have an affinity for television and the joy it brings most will never have, but your average joe likes to catch some sports scores, weather and maybe some Leno or Letterman before turning in for the night. The bed is a typical generic motel quality mattress. The bed linen are cheap and old. How can I tell they are cheap, they are a 50/50 cotton/poly blend that is starting to pill. Again I come back to the 600.00 per night, for that I should be sleeping on a pillow-top mattress with 300 thread count egyptian cotton sheets. I had better beds and sheets in most of the motels I stayed in while in New Zealand, at much cheaper rates. Now for the last thing, the screen in my center window. I have three windows all of which have storm windows attached for those cold winter nights here. The center one is missing the proper screen, maybe it was damaged or broken but what they decided to replace it with can only be described as an 18 inch high, adjustable width (much like a baby gate) temporary screen one would put in ones 5th floor walk up apartment in the east village because the landlord is cheap to get the screen for the storm window replaced. Now I could almost live with this expect the replacement screen is not wide enough to cover the width of the window, so what did they do to fix this problem? What any good old redneck would do, break out the duct tape and the plywood to fill the gap. I am not making this up. 5 star my ass.
Internet access
Lack of any real internet access save the 2 flaky internet kiosk (3.00 for 15 min) they have setup is one of the more surprising things I have found. I would expect for them to have a business center I could walk into, sit down at a computer and start surfing the net. Why would I expect this? Mainly because the people who can afford this place also need to be in touch with things back at the office, my brother in-law Johnny O. could attest to this fact, the company he works for got bought by IBM today . Lack of cell service makes it very tough to get work done. Now you could say why not plug into the room phone and dial out for internet. Well I was going to do that until I found out I get charged for local calls...charged for local calls even Motel 6 gives you free local calls and there rooms are nicer and much cheaper. It's not that I can't pay the 1.25 per local call I just won't out of principle, again remember 600.00 per night.
How to ruin a great bottle (or 4 great bottles) of wine.
Let me start by saying I am in no way a big wine drinker but even I know a few things about wine. First as the wine stewart I would not recommend the house merlot for dinner. (if I may quote from the movie Sideways. "I'm not drinking any fucking merlot.") And let me say to classify the "liquor lady" (her words not mine, I swear) as a wine stewart is an insult to wine stewards everywhere. I am sure if I was having dinner with a french man he would have gotten up and smacked her in the face and sat back down while mumbling obscenities in french at her. And for this thought alone I once again respect the French. So back to the wine, since it is our first night together as family my father orders a bottle of 1996 chateau lafeite (sp?) rothschild, I am sure this means something, all I know is one bottle cost only a third less than my room. So what does the "mixed drink mistress" do, she pops the cork and starts pouring. For the first time in my life I wished I was French so I could smack her. Even I know when you uncork a bottle of wine of that age it must be decanted and let breath. The other reason you do this is because after handling a bottle of this age you have disturbed the sediment in the wine and it must be decanted so it can settle again. Everyone's glass had sediment in the bottom when they where done. The sediment effects the taste of the wine in a non complimentary way, this I know. By the 4th bottle most where too hammered to tell the difference. To top off this, at the end of dinner when the "whisky wench" brought the check for my father to sign she began to recommend to us how we are to tip for tonight's service from herself and the wait-staff. I will go into greater detail about tipping later. As for the wait-staff, they where wonderful, when you could find them. I guess no one thought, "hey here is a large party of 37 people eating at four tables, two waitresses might not be able to handle that". But maybe I am asking to much of the duct tape and plywood mentality.
The Food
Those of you who have followed my exploits in the past know that food is second only to television for sheer enjoyment for me. A great meal is on par with great sex, once you find great food (or great sex), you tend to ride the wave as long as you can. The thing I looked forward too the most about my trip here was the food. I figured if nothing else the reason people come to a place like this is to eat like royalty for a few days. All I can say is, "OOOHH, sorry Chip that's incorrect, thanks for playing, we have some lovely parting gifts for you." I was very excited the first evening when I walked into the dinning room and saw what I call "Food on Parade" except we had to parade around it. What they do is put out one dish of everything on the menu for that evening so you can decide what you are interested in. Everything looked so appetizing, with the exception of anything that had vegetables as the main ingredient or vegetables in very close contact with the meat product of the dish. This factor took out about 80% of the menu for me, but I was not worried, the lobster and shrimp over pasta looked great. You would think that after 37 years of being bombarded with food ads on television, I would know you can make anything look appetizing, how else do you explain why every-time Micky D's brings back the "McRib I eat one. But I digress, shrimp was so tough I felt that I could shape it into a ball and bounce it against the walls like a .25 cent super ball out of a gum-ball machine outside Wal-Mart. The lobster was bone dry, I had to use some butter from my bread plate just to get it down. I also found out that my meal is not prepared for me, they just keep making up plates and the wait-staff just grabs what they need. How do I know this, a waitress told me after someone sent there first choice back and got a replacement in under a minute. There is nothing in the world more appetizing then a dish under a heat lamp. As for breakfast, most of you know I rarely eat at breakfast so I can't tell you what it is like. Then again it's hard to fuck up french toast but if anyone could, I'm sure they could, on a 5 star level. The lunch I had yesterday was hit and miss. After working at camp I know how to recognize last nights leftovers as todays lunch special. For lunch now I make a couple PBJ's and I'm happy.
Kids Day Camp
Now one of the main reasons Janet choose The Balsams for our "family (I am not sure what to call this) get-together" because of the fact we have 19 grandchildren to entertain. The place boosted about it's Kid's Day Camp, drop off the kids in the morning and they would be entertained for the whole day until dinner with activities and fun. The kids where looking forward to all the activities they had listed for them to do. The person who told Janet all about the camp failed to mention or didn't know that they could not handle that many children at the same time to do any of the fun activities they had talked about. By lunch time on the first day all the kids where begging to get pulled out of camp because it was lame. (Their words) So parents who where looking forward to a little down time or a round of golf now had to worry about entertaining their kids.
Murph and the Magic Tones
Right now I would not be shocked to see Bob Marley come back from the dead walk down to the pool area and kick the singer square in the nuts for what he is doing to the song "Three Little Birds". For the second day in a row I have been forced, yes forced, to listen to a tone deaf aging wedding singer destroy song after song. How was I forced, again the duct tape, plywood mentality, instead of setting up the speakers so only the people in the pool area can have blood dripping from their ears, the idiots have the speakers facing back towards the hotel. If I had an A/C unit so I could close my windows I wouldn't care but as mentioned above that option is not available to me. I swear these guys would get booed out of the Blue Room at the Holiday Inn on the outskirts of Chicago. Imagine Hollywoods version of a typical cheap Vegas show at old rundown casino and you will have some idea what I am dealing with here. What I wouldn't do for a rifle with a scope right now, I can see you from here you bastards.
Tipping
When you check into your room you are shown the Official Balsams guest directory that explains everything you could ever want to know about the hotel and it's facilities. Now most 5 star hotels have these types of directories, and they are usually in a nice leather bound folio, this one looks like they are handing in a 40 page college history paper you had Kinkos copy and bind for you. But I sat down and started reading about proper dinner attire, lost and found, smoking policy, medical emergencies, etc. The part that caught my eye was not the section on gratuities but the size of the gratuities information. Let me set this up for you, each page is a 2 column setup and the gratuities section alone takes up 1.8 columns. I will try and paraphrase the section for you. They suggest 10.00 per day per person in your party for wait-staff. For those of you slow in math that works out to be 370.00 per day for our family. 370.00 a day for two waitresses that only bring drinks at breakfast and lunch (both buffets) and deliver food at dinner. Thats a racket I need to get in to. In addition to the wait-staff you are reminded to consider your busing attendant, your captain and the "Maitre d'Hotel" (there are strange accent symbols over the "i" and "o" but I can't recreate them here.) Please note that the cocktail and wine servers are not part of the wait-staff. Then personal gratuities for the housekeeper, the turn down service, golf, tennis and pool attendants can range from 1.00 to 3.00 per day. Of course you can't forget the bellman, pages, doorman and others in the service staff. Enough, at 600.00 per night you should be able to pay your staff a decent wage so they don't have to supplement their income with tips from me. Now, I am all for tipping good service but not out of obligation so the staff doesn't pee in my soup. Here's a tip for you, don't eat yellow snow.
God I miss camp.
It has been said that critics are "legless men who try and tell others how to walk". Well let me roll my legless body over and tell you a story.
I don't even know where to begin with one of the greatest scams ever perpetrated on rich people. I have trouble wrapping my head around it right now. Maybe I have a strange concept of money but when someone is paying 600.00 per night (this is for just my room, not the suite families with kids need, you will see this figure again just so you can imagine spending that kind of money for 3 hots and a cot) one should not have a laundry list of issues and not be infuriated about it. Now I don't want to give you the impression we (as a family) are not having a good time, far from it, all of the grandkids are enjoying the fact they are all together which to me is the main part of the trip. Kudos to Janet for making this trip happen and getting us all together for the first time in a longtime. So I will just start at the top of my list and work down. But first I will give you some background on the place.
The Balsams is a 5 star rated resort in Northwestern New Hampshire. Included in the 600.00 per night rate; all meals, all the golf you can play (carts are extra) tennis, a pool, a lake with a paddle boat and canoes, hiking and mountain biking trails. They also have other activities like shuffle board, billiards and the like. Now what's not included in the 600.00 per night rate that should be, any drink other than water, at these rates I should be able to get a coke and not have to pay 2.00 for it at the bar or 5.50 for a gin and tonic. Now on to the list.
The Room:
I will start on a positive note and say the room size is fine, with nice views of the mountains. That is the only nice things I can say, remember, 600.00 a night. Now the negatives. When you walk in you are walking on carpet that has been down for at least 15 years, judging by the wear patterns. Even in the spots under the desk and table where it looks fresh and new you can tell this is just cheap carpet, the same kind you would find in any high turn over rate apartment complex. The furniture is what really shocked me. I had expected with a resort of this age and distinction that the rooms would be filled with antique furniture or at least nice reproductions. Oh how wrong I was, it can best be described as, well "Unpainted Arizona". Let me explain that for those who have not seen the movie "Raising Arizona". (go rent it, that's 5 star entertainment) I am sure most of you have been to an unpainted furniture store and seen the "fine" collection of bedroom sets that you too can take home and spray paint in a light green avocado color just like my room. The bathroom looks as if it was redone in the late 50's early 60's judging by the tile shape and color. The floor tiles are white 1 inch hexagons and the wall tiles are 4 inch baby blue squares, very dated. The toilet is plain but functional. The vanity is my favorite so let me go into some detail. It is an older pedestal sink, I am not sure how old it may be but it is old enough to have individual hot and cold taps. But they are not hooked up that way. I guess at some point people complained they had to use 2 faucets so what they did was to remove the hot tap and plug it and replaced the cold tap with what I would call a short neck kitchen sink facet. I am not sure the technical term for this style of faucet but imagine your average kitchen sink faucet with a 3 inch neck (where the water comes out) as opposed to a 6 inch neck on a kitchen sink, and the single 3 inch handle that moves up and back and left to right for temperature and pressure control. The following two items are missing from the room, air conditioning and a television. The A/C I will let slide because we are in the mountains and it never gets that hot up here, or at worst nothing that a good fan (provided) couldn't take care of. The television is another story, I understand that this is considered a family resort and there are plenty of outdoor things to keep you occupied during the day, fine. But at night, after dinner the only thing to occupy your boredom is the game room. I asked at the front counter about this and they said in this area you don't get good TV reception. I guess the concept of satellite television has not made it this far north. I realize I have an affinity for television and the joy it brings most will never have, but your average joe likes to catch some sports scores, weather and maybe some Leno or Letterman before turning in for the night. The bed is a typical generic motel quality mattress. The bed linen are cheap and old. How can I tell they are cheap, they are a 50/50 cotton/poly blend that is starting to pill. Again I come back to the 600.00 per night, for that I should be sleeping on a pillow-top mattress with 300 thread count egyptian cotton sheets. I had better beds and sheets in most of the motels I stayed in while in New Zealand, at much cheaper rates. Now for the last thing, the screen in my center window. I have three windows all of which have storm windows attached for those cold winter nights here. The center one is missing the proper screen, maybe it was damaged or broken but what they decided to replace it with can only be described as an 18 inch high, adjustable width (much like a baby gate) temporary screen one would put in ones 5th floor walk up apartment in the east village because the landlord is cheap to get the screen for the storm window replaced. Now I could almost live with this expect the replacement screen is not wide enough to cover the width of the window, so what did they do to fix this problem? What any good old redneck would do, break out the duct tape and the plywood to fill the gap. I am not making this up. 5 star my ass.
Internet access
Lack of any real internet access save the 2 flaky internet kiosk (3.00 for 15 min) they have setup is one of the more surprising things I have found. I would expect for them to have a business center I could walk into, sit down at a computer and start surfing the net. Why would I expect this? Mainly because the people who can afford this place also need to be in touch with things back at the office, my brother in-law Johnny O. could attest to this fact, the company he works for got bought by IBM today . Lack of cell service makes it very tough to get work done. Now you could say why not plug into the room phone and dial out for internet. Well I was going to do that until I found out I get charged for local calls...charged for local calls even Motel 6 gives you free local calls and there rooms are nicer and much cheaper. It's not that I can't pay the 1.25 per local call I just won't out of principle, again remember 600.00 per night.
How to ruin a great bottle (or 4 great bottles) of wine.
Let me start by saying I am in no way a big wine drinker but even I know a few things about wine. First as the wine stewart I would not recommend the house merlot for dinner. (if I may quote from the movie Sideways. "I'm not drinking any fucking merlot.") And let me say to classify the "liquor lady" (her words not mine, I swear) as a wine stewart is an insult to wine stewards everywhere. I am sure if I was having dinner with a french man he would have gotten up and smacked her in the face and sat back down while mumbling obscenities in french at her. And for this thought alone I once again respect the French. So back to the wine, since it is our first night together as family my father orders a bottle of 1996 chateau lafeite (sp?) rothschild, I am sure this means something, all I know is one bottle cost only a third less than my room. So what does the "mixed drink mistress" do, she pops the cork and starts pouring. For the first time in my life I wished I was French so I could smack her. Even I know when you uncork a bottle of wine of that age it must be decanted and let breath. The other reason you do this is because after handling a bottle of this age you have disturbed the sediment in the wine and it must be decanted so it can settle again. Everyone's glass had sediment in the bottom when they where done. The sediment effects the taste of the wine in a non complimentary way, this I know. By the 4th bottle most where too hammered to tell the difference. To top off this, at the end of dinner when the "whisky wench" brought the check for my father to sign she began to recommend to us how we are to tip for tonight's service from herself and the wait-staff. I will go into greater detail about tipping later. As for the wait-staff, they where wonderful, when you could find them. I guess no one thought, "hey here is a large party of 37 people eating at four tables, two waitresses might not be able to handle that". But maybe I am asking to much of the duct tape and plywood mentality.
The Food
Those of you who have followed my exploits in the past know that food is second only to television for sheer enjoyment for me. A great meal is on par with great sex, once you find great food (or great sex), you tend to ride the wave as long as you can. The thing I looked forward too the most about my trip here was the food. I figured if nothing else the reason people come to a place like this is to eat like royalty for a few days. All I can say is, "OOOHH, sorry Chip that's incorrect, thanks for playing, we have some lovely parting gifts for you." I was very excited the first evening when I walked into the dinning room and saw what I call "Food on Parade" except we had to parade around it. What they do is put out one dish of everything on the menu for that evening so you can decide what you are interested in. Everything looked so appetizing, with the exception of anything that had vegetables as the main ingredient or vegetables in very close contact with the meat product of the dish. This factor took out about 80% of the menu for me, but I was not worried, the lobster and shrimp over pasta looked great. You would think that after 37 years of being bombarded with food ads on television, I would know you can make anything look appetizing, how else do you explain why every-time Micky D's brings back the "McRib I eat one. But I digress, shrimp was so tough I felt that I could shape it into a ball and bounce it against the walls like a .25 cent super ball out of a gum-ball machine outside Wal-Mart. The lobster was bone dry, I had to use some butter from my bread plate just to get it down. I also found out that my meal is not prepared for me, they just keep making up plates and the wait-staff just grabs what they need. How do I know this, a waitress told me after someone sent there first choice back and got a replacement in under a minute. There is nothing in the world more appetizing then a dish under a heat lamp. As for breakfast, most of you know I rarely eat at breakfast so I can't tell you what it is like. Then again it's hard to fuck up french toast but if anyone could, I'm sure they could, on a 5 star level. The lunch I had yesterday was hit and miss. After working at camp I know how to recognize last nights leftovers as todays lunch special. For lunch now I make a couple PBJ's and I'm happy.
Kids Day Camp
Now one of the main reasons Janet choose The Balsams for our "family (I am not sure what to call this) get-together" because of the fact we have 19 grandchildren to entertain. The place boosted about it's Kid's Day Camp, drop off the kids in the morning and they would be entertained for the whole day until dinner with activities and fun. The kids where looking forward to all the activities they had listed for them to do. The person who told Janet all about the camp failed to mention or didn't know that they could not handle that many children at the same time to do any of the fun activities they had talked about. By lunch time on the first day all the kids where begging to get pulled out of camp because it was lame. (Their words) So parents who where looking forward to a little down time or a round of golf now had to worry about entertaining their kids.
Murph and the Magic Tones
Right now I would not be shocked to see Bob Marley come back from the dead walk down to the pool area and kick the singer square in the nuts for what he is doing to the song "Three Little Birds". For the second day in a row I have been forced, yes forced, to listen to a tone deaf aging wedding singer destroy song after song. How was I forced, again the duct tape, plywood mentality, instead of setting up the speakers so only the people in the pool area can have blood dripping from their ears, the idiots have the speakers facing back towards the hotel. If I had an A/C unit so I could close my windows I wouldn't care but as mentioned above that option is not available to me. I swear these guys would get booed out of the Blue Room at the Holiday Inn on the outskirts of Chicago. Imagine Hollywoods version of a typical cheap Vegas show at old rundown casino and you will have some idea what I am dealing with here. What I wouldn't do for a rifle with a scope right now, I can see you from here you bastards.
Tipping
When you check into your room you are shown the Official Balsams guest directory that explains everything you could ever want to know about the hotel and it's facilities. Now most 5 star hotels have these types of directories, and they are usually in a nice leather bound folio, this one looks like they are handing in a 40 page college history paper you had Kinkos copy and bind for you. But I sat down and started reading about proper dinner attire, lost and found, smoking policy, medical emergencies, etc. The part that caught my eye was not the section on gratuities but the size of the gratuities information. Let me set this up for you, each page is a 2 column setup and the gratuities section alone takes up 1.8 columns. I will try and paraphrase the section for you. They suggest 10.00 per day per person in your party for wait-staff. For those of you slow in math that works out to be 370.00 per day for our family. 370.00 a day for two waitresses that only bring drinks at breakfast and lunch (both buffets) and deliver food at dinner. Thats a racket I need to get in to. In addition to the wait-staff you are reminded to consider your busing attendant, your captain and the "Maitre d'Hotel" (there are strange accent symbols over the "i" and "o" but I can't recreate them here.) Please note that the cocktail and wine servers are not part of the wait-staff. Then personal gratuities for the housekeeper, the turn down service, golf, tennis and pool attendants can range from 1.00 to 3.00 per day. Of course you can't forget the bellman, pages, doorman and others in the service staff. Enough, at 600.00 per night you should be able to pay your staff a decent wage so they don't have to supplement their income with tips from me. Now, I am all for tipping good service but not out of obligation so the staff doesn't pee in my soup. Here's a tip for you, don't eat yellow snow.
God I miss camp.
Wednesday, July 05, 2006
Tuesday, June 13, 2006
Tuesday, May 23, 2006
It's Almost Time to Leave Savannah
I hate to go but camp is almost upon me. I am leaving on Tuesday the 29th for Richmond. I will then leave on Thursday for Newton, NJ. I will head into NYC for Saturday Night as I have tickets to see Billy Connelly in concert. For those of you who have never heard of him, he is a Scottish comedian that Jason turned me onto years ago. Other than Richard Pryor, and Bill Hicks (both dead) he is the only comic I would want to see. After that I have not locked into where I am going, VT, NH, or NY first. I will be able to make that call as the day gets closer. I am sad to be leaving Savannah but I may be back in September for another winter. But as you know that is so far away I am not going to worry about it.
Monday, May 22, 2006
Into Every Life, A Little Rain Shall Fall *UPDATED*
And to be honest if this is the worst that has happened in a while I really can't complain. So what happened, what is so tragic it would cause me to make an entry. It's simple my iPod broke. It sucks, plain and simple, the hard drive crapped out. I am holding out hope that if I drain the battery completely I might be able to get it back, I give it 1 in 5 chance it can be reborn. More as it happens....
So I got up this morning and started to look for ways to fix the iPod and I can across a web site that said just whack the side of it and damn if that didn't bring the hard drive back. I am so happy!!!!!!!
So I got up this morning and started to look for ways to fix the iPod and I can across a web site that said just whack the side of it and damn if that didn't bring the hard drive back. I am so happy!!!!!!!
Friday, May 19, 2006
Wednesday, April 26, 2006
Big Shout Out to....
well the only 2 people who actually check the blog with any regularity, Jake and someone at Software Enterprises. How do I know these things, cookies, that's how. Anyway thanks to the both of you for keeping an eye on things. I am afraid if I start posting a bunch of stuff people will expect that all the time and you guys know I am all about setting low expectations.
Sunday, April 16, 2006
Tybee Island Lighthouse
I took this tonight around 10 pm. It was an 8 sec. exposure but man
what an effect, it almost looks like a cartoon. The only edit to this
photo was the removal of lens flare caused by the moon.
what an effect, it almost looks like a cartoon. The only edit to this
photo was the removal of lens flare caused by the moon.
Saturday, April 08, 2006
I'm Back!
OK, it has been awhile since I have posted any words so I figured I owed it to the 4 of you who check the blog. So what's been going on? Well the long answer is not much the short answer is nothing. I have had some fun though, I was lucky enough to see Jerry Seinfeld in concert this past Thursday, it was a great show. The other fun I had was joining the "Digital Dark Side" and I got myself a new Nikon D70s digital SLR. I have had it for a few days now and I do like the fact I will save a ton of money on film processing. I have taken about 70 pictures so far but none worth posting yet. Other than that I am looking forward to seeing Widespread Panic on the 21st and 22nd. After that I am heading to Richmond for a few days before coming back to Savannah for May before heading north for camp. I can't wait for camp.
Friday, March 31, 2006
Sunday, March 05, 2006
Saturday, February 25, 2006
Tuesday, January 17, 2006
More of the Playboy Interview *Updated* (Part 2)
You have kept a low profile the last year, why?
Have I? I hadn't noticed but I know I was out of cell phone range for over 4 months this year and that may feel like an absence to those who talk with me more than they see me, which is most of you. I will admit to also leaving my phone at home or in the car on purpose. I am not a big fan of being always available for people, we live in a world of instant gratification and over time we (I know I have) loose interest and no longer derive the same happiness we once did. Stay with me on this, if I was always available over time the shine wears off, I like to stay fresh.
Past, Present, or Future?
That's easy, since I can't do a thing about two of them, I love that I live in the present. I just wish some times, not often, it wasn't this present. The universe tends to unfold as needed with or without me so I go with it. Of course I could go into the idea that all three happen at the same time but I don't think you would find it interesting.
I have heard you say 2005 was not one of your favorites, is that true?
Yes, I have said that on occasion. I came rolling into '05 from '04 (in the top 5) only to, how can I say this, make a sharp course correction on my journey. While it was very unexpected, my life has been built on changing course. Sometimes for the better, sometimes not. That is what makes life fun, the unexpected. While I admit '05 basically sucked for about 5 months out of the 12 it was not an entire loss.
What about '06?
I seem to do well in the even years so I have a lot of hope for this year. I have enjoyed the first part of '06 for sure, Savannah is great and I have St Patricks Day right around the corner. And you know what the Monty Python boys say? What "Always look on the brightside of life." No, it's - "No one expects the Spanish inquisition."
What is on your iPod?
The two albums I listen most lately are U2's "How to Dismantle an Atomic Bomb" which is the best U2 album since "Joshua Tree" and Green Day's "American Idiot". The Green Day album could be the best I have heard in the last 5 years. Pink Floyd "Animals" and "Wish You Where Here" are staples. I do have a main mix I listen too which is an eclectic mix even by my standards. It al depends on my mood.
You answered my question about God. Does this mean you believe in God?
Yes, but not in the way you would think. I have said before that the only truth is what can be proven mathematically and everything else is just opinion. So I look at "God" as you put it, as truth, that's all. So if I want truth I look to math and in math I find the truth or God to me. I think you may find sometime in the future I will be looked upon as somewhat ahead of my time in this thinking. Then again I could be completely wrong since as of yet I can not prove everything in the know universe mathematically but I will get back to you when I do. I do think sometime the universe may just be an equation on God's chalkboard he is currently working on. Now if I could just come up with some "L. Ron Hubbard" religion scam out of this idea I would be set.
I find your belief structure fascinating, what else is there I don't know?
First I call it "an idea" nothing more. I think one thing people find interesting is this. My math may be off but not by enough that would matter. We are the third rock from a sun (read 1 Star) on the outer edges of the galaxy. There are 6 billion people in this world. There are 100 billion stars in the Milky Way galaxy. So that means there are aprox. 16.5 stars for each man, woman and child on earth now. I will make it 15 to be easier. Now there are 100 billion galaxies in the known universe. If we make a big but simple assumption that all of these galaxies are like ours, I know they are not but trust me, go with it. So that would mean there are 15 GALAXIES for every man, woman and child on earth. And if my 15 galaxies have 100 billion stars that means I (just me, or you, this works for everyone but just one person) could control 1.5 trillion (1,500,000,000,000) stars. Now I would think only 20% may have or had planets so that leaves me with 300 billion chances for life. Now times that by 6 billion people. That gives us this 18,000,000,000,000,000,000,000 chances for life somewhere out there. Or are we the 1 in 1.8e+21 chance over the last 3.5 billion years. How's your bean now?
Have I? I hadn't noticed but I know I was out of cell phone range for over 4 months this year and that may feel like an absence to those who talk with me more than they see me, which is most of you. I will admit to also leaving my phone at home or in the car on purpose. I am not a big fan of being always available for people, we live in a world of instant gratification and over time we (I know I have) loose interest and no longer derive the same happiness we once did. Stay with me on this, if I was always available over time the shine wears off, I like to stay fresh.
Past, Present, or Future?
That's easy, since I can't do a thing about two of them, I love that I live in the present. I just wish some times, not often, it wasn't this present. The universe tends to unfold as needed with or without me so I go with it. Of course I could go into the idea that all three happen at the same time but I don't think you would find it interesting.
I have heard you say 2005 was not one of your favorites, is that true?
Yes, I have said that on occasion. I came rolling into '05 from '04 (in the top 5) only to, how can I say this, make a sharp course correction on my journey. While it was very unexpected, my life has been built on changing course. Sometimes for the better, sometimes not. That is what makes life fun, the unexpected. While I admit '05 basically sucked for about 5 months out of the 12 it was not an entire loss.
What about '06?
I seem to do well in the even years so I have a lot of hope for this year. I have enjoyed the first part of '06 for sure, Savannah is great and I have St Patricks Day right around the corner. And you know what the Monty Python boys say? What "Always look on the brightside of life." No, it's - "No one expects the Spanish inquisition."
What is on your iPod?
The two albums I listen most lately are U2's "How to Dismantle an Atomic Bomb" which is the best U2 album since "Joshua Tree" and Green Day's "American Idiot". The Green Day album could be the best I have heard in the last 5 years. Pink Floyd "Animals" and "Wish You Where Here" are staples. I do have a main mix I listen too which is an eclectic mix even by my standards. It al depends on my mood.
You answered my question about God. Does this mean you believe in God?
Yes, but not in the way you would think. I have said before that the only truth is what can be proven mathematically and everything else is just opinion. So I look at "God" as you put it, as truth, that's all. So if I want truth I look to math and in math I find the truth or God to me. I think you may find sometime in the future I will be looked upon as somewhat ahead of my time in this thinking. Then again I could be completely wrong since as of yet I can not prove everything in the know universe mathematically but I will get back to you when I do. I do think sometime the universe may just be an equation on God's chalkboard he is currently working on. Now if I could just come up with some "L. Ron Hubbard" religion scam out of this idea I would be set.
I find your belief structure fascinating, what else is there I don't know?
First I call it "an idea" nothing more. I think one thing people find interesting is this. My math may be off but not by enough that would matter. We are the third rock from a sun (read 1 Star) on the outer edges of the galaxy. There are 6 billion people in this world. There are 100 billion stars in the Milky Way galaxy. So that means there are aprox. 16.5 stars for each man, woman and child on earth now. I will make it 15 to be easier. Now there are 100 billion galaxies in the known universe. If we make a big but simple assumption that all of these galaxies are like ours, I know they are not but trust me, go with it. So that would mean there are 15 GALAXIES for every man, woman and child on earth. And if my 15 galaxies have 100 billion stars that means I (just me, or you, this works for everyone but just one person) could control 1.5 trillion (1,500,000,000,000) stars. Now I would think only 20% may have or had planets so that leaves me with 300 billion chances for life. Now times that by 6 billion people. That gives us this 18,000,000,000,000,000,000,000 chances for life somewhere out there. Or are we the 1 in 1.8e+21 chance over the last 3.5 billion years. How's your bean now?
Friday, January 06, 2006
Excerpt From My Interview in Playboy (Part 1)
So what have you been up to lately?
I moved to Savannah for the winter in hopes of a warmer winter than last years. I am currently working on a few projects right now but they are in the early stages so there is not much to talk about. I plan on traveling some in the next few months with possible stops in Florida and South Carolina.
What was your best memory of '05?
By far, Camp, everything about about it was great. I am counting the days until camp starts again this summer.
Your worst?
February 15th
There is some talk on the street you are working on a screenplay?
I am not sure where you get your info from but I cannot confirm or deny that. Let me say this, I am working on something that if I can flesh it out may become fun for me, everyone else, that's their issue.
What about the Tabloids linking you romantically with Nicole Kidman earlier this year?
Just because you meet someone in Sydney and have lunch with them then a few dinners in NYC later in the spring does not make us romantically linked. She was going through a tough period in her life and needed some advice. I just happened to fit the bill.
Is there anyone special in your life now?
Yes, me.
What are your plans for the future?
Well I know what I am doing tomorrow and the next day, after that I can't tell you.
Why?
Mainly because I think too many people today focus only on their future and never the present. You give up today to live for tomorrow, not a good way to live, you tend to resent the things you focused on because of the things you gave up to get them. I hope that makes sense to you, it does to me.
Where do you see yourself in 5 years?
Did you not listen to my answer above?
O.K. I get your point, how about what do you hope for?
Well there are a few things I would like to see happen but I like to keep that to myself.
If heaven exists what would you like God to say to you?
Can you take over for a bit I need to have a smoke?
What do you think people overlook these days?
If it can't be proven mathematically it is only opinion.
I moved to Savannah for the winter in hopes of a warmer winter than last years. I am currently working on a few projects right now but they are in the early stages so there is not much to talk about. I plan on traveling some in the next few months with possible stops in Florida and South Carolina.
What was your best memory of '05?
By far, Camp, everything about about it was great. I am counting the days until camp starts again this summer.
Your worst?
February 15th
There is some talk on the street you are working on a screenplay?
I am not sure where you get your info from but I cannot confirm or deny that. Let me say this, I am working on something that if I can flesh it out may become fun for me, everyone else, that's their issue.
What about the Tabloids linking you romantically with Nicole Kidman earlier this year?
Just because you meet someone in Sydney and have lunch with them then a few dinners in NYC later in the spring does not make us romantically linked. She was going through a tough period in her life and needed some advice. I just happened to fit the bill.
Is there anyone special in your life now?
Yes, me.
What are your plans for the future?
Well I know what I am doing tomorrow and the next day, after that I can't tell you.
Why?
Mainly because I think too many people today focus only on their future and never the present. You give up today to live for tomorrow, not a good way to live, you tend to resent the things you focused on because of the things you gave up to get them. I hope that makes sense to you, it does to me.
Where do you see yourself in 5 years?
Did you not listen to my answer above?
O.K. I get your point, how about what do you hope for?
Well there are a few things I would like to see happen but I like to keep that to myself.
If heaven exists what would you like God to say to you?
Can you take over for a bit I need to have a smoke?
What do you think people overlook these days?
If it can't be proven mathematically it is only opinion.
Mr. Mojo Risin
The movie will begin in five minutes
The mindless voice announced
All those unseated will await the next show
We filed slowly, languidly into the hall
The auditorium was vast and silent
As we seated and were darkened,
the voice continued
The program for this evening is not new
You've seen this entertainment through and through
You've seen your birth, your life and death
You might recall all the rest
Did you have a good world when you died?
Enough to base a movie on?
(Jim Morrision)
What can I say it's 2am and I can't sleep.
The mindless voice announced
All those unseated will await the next show
We filed slowly, languidly into the hall
The auditorium was vast and silent
As we seated and were darkened,
the voice continued
The program for this evening is not new
You've seen this entertainment through and through
You've seen your birth, your life and death
You might recall all the rest
Did you have a good world when you died?
Enough to base a movie on?
(Jim Morrision)
What can I say it's 2am and I can't sleep.
Thursday, January 05, 2006
My Soundtrack for 2005
I have always thought that you could find out a lot about a person if you asked them to put together a collection of songs that captures either the whole person (hard to do) or a time frame (easier) that can sum up an experience. So that is what I have done. Each will link you to Apple iTunes Music Store (you must have iTunes installed) so you can listen to a thirty second clip of each song. Each one of these songs tells it's own story to me, you also may understand what they mean to me but you may also misinterpret them, be careful about that. The order of the songs also tells me a story but would be hard for you to really get it.
Iron Lion Zion
New York Minute
Maybe Today
The Seventh Stranger
Romeo and Juliet
City of Blinding Lights
Blurry
Save A Prayer
The Killing Moon
Breathe
Everybody Hurts
Mr. Brightside
My Happy Ending
Wake Me Up When September Ends
Mad World
The Sea Refuses No River
Are We The Waiting
Sometimes You Can't Make It On Your Own
Good Riddance (Time of Your Life)
Beautiful
If you want a copy of it let me know at
sallocca at hotmail dot com (avoiding spambots)
and I will see what I can do for you.
Iron Lion Zion
New York Minute
Maybe Today
The Seventh Stranger
Romeo and Juliet
City of Blinding Lights
Blurry
Save A Prayer
The Killing Moon
Breathe
Everybody Hurts
Mr. Brightside
My Happy Ending
Wake Me Up When September Ends
Mad World
The Sea Refuses No River
Are We The Waiting
Sometimes You Can't Make It On Your Own
Good Riddance (Time of Your Life)
Beautiful
If you want a copy of it let me know at
sallocca at hotmail dot com (avoiding spambots)
and I will see what I can do for you.
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