Chuggin' right along...

I must say I'm getting somewhere with the redesignof this blog. I think if I tweak the link colors and modify the margins a bit, I'm there. After that, the only thing will be to look at the old source code, and modify the links code to fit this site, and that ought to be pretty straightforward. I must say I'm already in a really good mood. It's still grotesquely hot, but not as hot. I'm confused about my earlier funk, but also fascinated by it. I hope whoever reads this feels encouraged read, think and respond to this, and/or my post below.

Good night, my friends.

Not much to say...

...but it bears saying (if that makes any sense). It got up to 92 or so today here in Pittsburgh. I felt completely sluggish all day, as though my veins were carrying Elmer's glue. I did not do a damn thing today besides get my groceries, which included some frozen dinners (sweet and sour chicken, chicken fried steak, spaghetti and meat balls, and chicken with fried rice), veggies (corn, yes, but also green beans, just to break the monotony), some weird but cheap and sugarless puffed wheat cereal, yogurt (lime and two types of cherry), and air freshener. Then I got home, picked up the mail, which had a Newsweek, a couple of bills, and a few ads. I sat down and tubed for a bit, watching some angry conservative guy on CNN, and then Good Eats, with Alton Brown. He really gets on my old best friend's nerves, but he meshes with my personality very well. Better than, say, Rachel Ray (though she seems like she'd be lovely, and more relaxed in person). I then got on my computer and read Rae's blog. Her latest entry deals with Pippin's first bee sting. She has some really wonderful photos on there of Pippin, and herself and her husband. She is so lucky to have a husband and dog that seem crazy about her.

And then, seemingly out of nowhere, I ever so gradually start bawling my sorry ass off. Ironically, about fifteen minutes later, I get to reading an article on boot camps, and start to feel more relaxed. I have no freaking explanation for what all happened. I mean, I feel bad for Pippin, and as far as dogs go, he seems like a charmer. However, I really can't fathom that being so upsetting to me. I don't know him. I've never been to Tennessee. I grew up with cats, not dogs.

I do think the heat has gotten to me, though, and has made me kind of sensitive. Thanks, y'all, for listening. As for my next cosmetic step, I don't completely know, but it may have to be reverting, as well as possible, to what I had, and no banner. That kind of annoys me, as I had a really cool banner made, kind of a la Radhole. I should start using the "Save As Draft" button, like a good little blogger.

It's the end of the world as we know it...

Nope. Not going to an REM concert. I just figgered aht haddah make my own banner, I think. Thing is, it seriously clashes with the color scheme I have on my blog. So therefore, IT'S CREATIVE MAYHEM TIME!!!!!!! I'm a-gonna shift to a different scheme, after not forgetting to cut and paste my linkage so I don't lose track of your pretty little faces. So, wish me luck, and hopefully we'll see yinz all on the flipside.

Oh, and we beat Latvia 1:0 in Hartford somewhere. Kind of disappointing, but I don't much think we sucked. I think Latvia's goalkeeper was just darned good. I wonder where he plays ball.

EDITED: We're not done yet, kiddoes. Not nearly! *evil grin*

EDITED ONCE AGAIN: Well, I'm getting warm. Warm, but kind of annoyed. I'm attempting to put an image banner where you currently see the red x. Obviously it isn't working. I think it may be a Webshots problem, but I'm not sure. I'm getting a headache, though, so this'll be it for the night.

Indy 500 (spoilers inside)

So, the 90th edition is over and Sam Hornish has won, with Marco Andretti beating Micheal for 2nd. I don't have anything very philosophical to say, even though I am a big IRL fan. I watched the race. I didn't watch any of the prerace stuff. I've been there (literally, in 1989) and done that. I will say I didn't realize Jim Nabors was still with us. I'm not huge on the song "Back Home Again", but it is a part of the grand tradition of Indy.

Speaking of which, I still think the race has a good measure of mystique, despite the split that happened in the mid-nineties. I don't miss that one year that the schedule straddled New Year's Day. I found that confusing, and too much of a breach of auto racing tradition. I understood the logic: make the 500 the final race, but I don't much care for huge changes. I also don't miss the four race season(s?) that occurred early on after the split. What'll the points system be, 5 points for leading on the 10th, 20th, 30th, and all other laps in that particular sequence?. Yuck.

The race itself was a bit of a yawner for the firt half, with the Englishman Dan Wheldon leading basically the whole way, but Danica's pits were always fun to watch, and two others had disasters involving the spillage of fuel and the breaking of fueling equipment.

A few crashes occurred, but nothing terribly extraordinary. Danica Patrick stayed completely clean, but had bad luck (if there is such a thing) with yellows, and finished eighth.

Now, off to watch the U.S. soccer team beat up on Latvia.

From Pimlico to...NBC sitcoms?

OK, well, we've all probably read the horrible story on the horse that broke down during a Triple Crown race recently. Thanks be to Russ for enlightening the likes of me. I had been previously unaware of the incident, as I am with all equine matters. I think I agree with him that the horse should have been put down. I saw a foreign film that was in Japanese or Korean or some such language. In it, there were scenes dealing with velodrome bike racing, which is apparently something you can bet on, much like we bet on horse races. I love the mathematics of betting, but seeing the horse in such dire straits is rather nauseating. I think maybe I'd have less sympathy for a human, who was out there because he wanted to be.

Speaking of jockeys, there's a great sitcom on TV nowadays called The Office. What's better, they inject all sorts of Scranton local references, such as the Steamtown Mall and Rock 107. Somewhat meaningless to me, as I live in southwest PA. However, I do get a kick out of shows with a local flavor, kind of like Drew Carey's old show, which I could identify with, since I have family near Cleveland. But the best part of it all? I picked up a new phrase: cubicle jockey. I am determined to seek out ways to inject this humurous phrase into my daily speech.

Also, I got some speakers today, but haven't put them in. A shack jockey (ha ha!) clued me in to how, so I should be good to go tomorrow. I forgot to get a camera at the store, so I can't shoot a photo of them (or a better one of myself, which I've wanted to do for a while, because I feel like such a stranger to y'all). I will on, maybe, Friday, though. At that point, I might try and get a shot of my room and my apartment, but I need to study up on light, because that may be hard to do with a disposable camera. Anybody have experience with disposables?

Anyhow, tah tah.

CUBICLE JOCKEYS UNITE!

Question for the masses...

OK, so Brittney has some videos of her stints on channel 2 Nashville on her site. I don't have much of a desire for that, but it would be kinda cool to introduce my voice to my website. I just wonder what sort of equipment that would require. I'm picking up speakers at Radio Shack tomorrow. What else would I need? I'm guessing some sort of mic. But what else? Anything?

The shark has jumped itself.

I was bouncing around the web as I often do earlier tonight. I decided to check out Jump the Shark, the site that tries to pinpoint the downfall of various cancelled TV shows. So, I was on this page and came to the odd realization that Jump the Shark has itself jumped said shark. Was Soleil Moon Frye a porn star at age 12?! I wouldn't have thought that legal, but one of the reasons submitted for the demise of the show was "Punky [doing] porn." Hmmmm. I was pretty obsessed with the show, but don't recall her porn career, whatever its magnitude, as part of her career on NBC. I will say that Jump is a neat idea, but needs better regulation of outside input.

In other news, as I came back from a job application at the Wal-Mart in Cranberry Township, for some odd reason I had "Come Sail Away", by Styx, stuck in my head. I suppose that band is a guilty pleasure. Sometimes Styx (and Rush, for that matter) irritates the living daylights out of me, and sometimes I get rather geeked at hearing their music, which I get on VH1 Classic. Regardless, it annoys me when something like that gets inside me for several hours at a time.

I am freaking tired right now, people! However, I realize that I will wake up at about 3:30 EDT if I go to bed now, and I hate that sort of thing.

21 JUMP STREET!!!! *dances away from the computer*

New Orleans Vote '06, part 2

Incumbent mayor Ray Nagin wins.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20060521/ap_on_el_st_lo/new_orleans_mayor

You know what I wish? I wish we could get local stations from other markets besides WGN, which everybody and their half-godnephew's pet hyena recieves. Why not make it easier to catch up on the local news that affects New Orleans, or even Rae, or Laura, or Russ?

OK, I'm getting mildly creepy, now. End of post.

New Orleans Vote '06

Looks like Nola is up for a mayoral vote, with the black incumbent facing the white challenger. I have yet to read up on much of this, however, I know the incumbent mayor is supposed to be kind of a racist, and very stubborn about that. The concensus seems to be that he really needs to reach out across color lines, and of course somehow get folks to...well, basically overlook Katrina. I suppose I'm showing my colors already. Nagin didn't, from what I see, do much to help his city through the disaster, so therefore, he is as much to blame as the U.S. Government for the slow response and recovery.

Yahoo article

WWL 4 (CBS)

With apologies to Laura...

*tag*

I declare myself it.

Appetizer: What is the last thing you had to have repaired?

I had my glasses tightened fairly recently.

Soup: If someone gave you $2,000 with the stipulation that you had to spend half of it on yourself and give the rest to charity, where would you spend the $1,000 and which charity would receive your remaining $1,000?

I reckon I'd use $1,000 to overhaul my wardrobe. I have most clothes given to me by my parents, so my wardrobe does not really reflect my tastes in clothing, except where I do actually by stuff. I like college t-shirts/hoodies, and khakis. Charity is a hard one. I think maybe Landmark College, where I got my A.A.

Salad: What is one of your favorite songs from the 1980s?

My favorite 80s song is "Whole of the Moon" by the Waterboys. EDITED TO SAY: I was posting on a bulletin board tonight, and was reminded of Jesus and Mary Chain's "Just Like Honey". Another very good song!

Main Course: You enter a pet store. Which section do you go to first?

I dig fish, like, really hardcore. Aquarium City, dude.

Dessert: On a scale of 1 to 10 with 10 being highest, how athletic are you?


1

Let there be light!

I love photography. I'm not very good at it, in my opinion, compared to her and her and her. But it's one of those few things, like gymnastics, where I feel like I'm progressing on the learning curve every day, and I feel like I'd rather learn than know. Does that make any sense? Maybe not.

Anyhow, I decided I'd make a trip into McCandless to do a little photography. It's always a rush to snap photos, and an even bigger rush when they came out well. I think today's rush was somewhat fortified by the Red Bull and the ice cream (yes, the whole damn pint! *bleah*) I had beforehand. Thing is, the lighting just wasn't what I wanted it to be. And I knew (shame on me) that that photo of the neon sign wouldn't come out, but I took it anyhow. Oh well. Most of it turned out O.K. (and fingerless, I might add!), so you can view it here ("Abstracts") if you like.

Because Megan's bored at work...

...and because I can't think of anything to post today. But she still wants bloggers who visit her site to post something, so...

something

head-stuck song of the day

Kinks - Come Dancing

word of the day: coterminous

http://dictionary.reference.com/search?q=coterminous

"San Francisco is coterminous with San Francisco County."

"The word 'coterminous' instills me with unbridled glee!"

Coterminous.

(I wonder if this word will appear as my next search string for my eXTReMe Tracking account. "Folkungavallen" showed up, so why not?!)

Month of May, Age of Assumption

Well, I'm on edge a lot, especially with my mother. I actually had a really good talk with her on the phone today. She's visiting family in the midwest. I still hadn't gotten to reading the letter in the post below, but I mentioned it, only because it was somehow relevant to something else we were talking about. She asked me if I had recieved a belated "yearly birthday letter", and I had said that the only major piece of mail I had recieved from her was a letter I had not gotten through yet, but that appeared to be a nagging letter of some sort. She explained that she just wanted to write a yearly letter for me to have something to remember her by. And indeed, that is noble. I know when she passes on, I will experience grief. Whether the grief for losing her will outweigh the grief for just not having the best relationship with her, I don't know. But that'll all sort itself out.

As for the "body is a shrine" thing, all it really amounted to was a statement of personal belief. Nothing too pushy, and nothing about my weight issue. Just a statement of her beliefs. I kind of felt like a jerk after that, although she understood where I was coming from. I will say that I did have an overall very good chat with her today (although I was just a teensy weensy bit put off by her enthusiasm at all the babies being born in my extended family :p . I'm definitely not a child lover. But hey, family is family, and I'm not planning on having my own, so this is a good thing). I also had a very good conversation with my grandparents, who were uncharacteristicallly upbeat. Not in a grouch vs. cheerleader sort of way. Just, I suppose, more energized. Neat to see, especially since I never expect much energy from them, as they are always pouring all sorts of grease and coffee and stuff into their systems. They adhere to the '50's version of eating healthy. More like "eating 'merican" or "eating straight and narrow". Good people, though.

What's up with Indy? They just can't get the grid set for this thing. Rain rain rain. The second period of practice was scuttled today because of a nasty downpour, so Danica Patrick didn't get to go. They could have the whole thing next weekend, if I understand correctly. Or they could have qualifying sometime midweek. I'm not sure which is better for Rahal Letterman, so I don't much care. On a fairly unrelated note, I heard of some odd rule that requires teams to salvage the engine if the car wrecks. One engine per qualifying round? One engine per day? One for all of May? Does anybody follow the IRL, and can enlighten me?

Happy Mother's Day to mine, hers, and yours.

I sting, and the needle hasn't even punctured the skin.

My mother sent me a letter. I open it. "Dearest Cory", it starts, which I think is just a sappy way of greeting a person. She's very emotional. I try not to deliberately inject emotion into everything, but it can certainly happen if indeed I get upset about something. So, also, on this letter, I see the phrase "my body is a shrine". This letter was typed up, rather than handwritten, which is a red flag to me.

I am overweight. I "should" be 188. I am 210 or so. This has been an issue for maybe three years. One day back then, my parents bluntly sat me down in the chair reserved for me during disciplinary conversations during my teenhood. They took the couch and began a conversation with me that lasted at least one half of an hour. They pointed it out that I was overweight. I can't really remember the specifics of the conversation, but I felt dragged into a state of commitment to shed all that weight. I felt humiliated, although I know it wasn't their intent. I felt, obviously, as though they could have mentioned it in a more compact manner, and reinforced in a believable manner that they accept me for who I am.

But I'm torn. I don't want them to feel like they can't be concerned for me. I just am at a point where I don't want interference from them, I suppose. I want a sense of mutual respect. And I am sick of them, especially her, saying how much they respect me. I guess I want proof. I want subjects that are sensitive to them to be approached in a manner that is sensitive to, and accepting of, me.

My father instructs tai chi. My mother has to have her daily walk. By the ocean, to boot. Nature is something she just absolutely craves. It is a deity to her. I am an atheist, and I am more comfortable amongst the skyscrapers and a little bit of smog. I would suppose that shedding the extra weight I have would make ambulation easier. However, I do not predict ant sort of epiphany. If I hit 188 again, life will move on silently, parents willing.

I'm just plain torn. I don't want to live to be 90. There have been times I just plain have not wanted to live, period, and I am only 30. But on the other hand, however long I do have to live, I'd rather not spend debilitated by a stroke due to my high blood pressure (a condition that is fact, not hypothetical). I am perfectly used to the disability I was born with. However, I can see how other people are saddened by it. I am not sure I could handle a different disability than I have, especially thirty years in.

Happy Mother's Day, Mother. I do love you, and learn from you every day, in ways that you'll never understand. Perhaps I just don't learn from you in the ways you'd like. My cup is somewhat fuller than yours, and that's OK. I'm a thirsty guy, like that waiter in Florida commented cheerfully.

Parker, are you being shadowy?

Well, folks, I am beyond shot tonight. I really don't know why. I've not done anything too productive besides uncover a $500/mo pension that I didn't know I was eligible for. Important, yes, but things like that don't burn too many calories.

I watched the bird flu movie that was on ABC tonight. Not sure about your DMAs, but in Pittsburgh, our local affiliate actually had a bunch of "bird flu experts" on standby to take your calls, as though it were a WQED telethon. Personally, it was an entertaining movie, but it really irks me how severely the media are trying to get us all panicky. I do think this disease will amount to something, but probably nothing worse than SARS.

In other news, I kept seeing ads for Boston Legal tonight, which I had never watched. But I am freakish about Parker Posey, ever since my cable system has aired Party Girl a gazillion times a month.

Speakinawhich...could this be her that I saw in Squirrel Hill at CMU?



Caption time, baby!

Shifting attention away from Juventus' pink jersey...

According to Who Ate All The Bratwurst, Tottenham Hotspur of the English Premier League are getting a new jersey sponsor in Imodium. This begs the question of why there isn't a lavatory timeout in soccer matches. At least I think so.

new photos out of nowhere!

It's amazing what you find each time you routinely (let's hope!) clean your room. I have a tendency to put things in places that seem very logical at the time, but a few months later, when I am looking for that item, I cannot find it. And when I'm not looking for the item, there it is! Such is the case today. I was looking for some envelopes and stamps, and shazamm, I find a camera that I never got around to taking into the shop for development. As it turns out, I was going grocery shopping today anyhow, so I thought I'd give it a whack and turn the camera in. I wasn't expecting much at all, as I had waited for, I think, two years to get these done. I thought they'd be all grainy, as some pics are. Shows how much I know about photography. The only problem was my thumb, which ruined five or six of the photos. But if you want to see them, they have been uploaded here. They are all of Carnegie Mellon University, in Squirrel Hill, a Primarily Jewish neighborhood of Pittsburgh. I follow the women's soccer team here.


Not sure who the girl (or is it a guy?) whose shadow appeared in one pic, btw.

A moment of vanity for Cory

Just curious, does anybody subscribe to this thing? Like, does anybody get emails when I get around to updating this blog?

I'm being so silly. :p

guilt trip post

I've really not had much to say the past few days. Well, really, since the fourth previous entry to this. Why? Not really sure. Just havent had much noteworthy to say. I did fire off some writing to my mother, who is trying to write her first book, with some of my stuff as part of it. I suppose that was productive of me, although I don't think I'm any more articulate on paper than on blog.

Ohhhh, what else? My uncle e-mailed me, suggesting a trip next month to Niagara Falls, not sure which side, or what we will do there. I suppose I'd better get crackin' on learning about customs at the border just incase we go to, say, Skylon Tower. He also wants to see a couple of movies. I've seen Stick It and She's The Man. I want to go see Akeelah and the Bee. Any other ideas?

In other news, ever lose sleep because you're so happy because a favorite song came on VH1 Classic? They played the Waterboys "Whole of the Moon" a few days ago, and I was insanely happy because I hadn't heard it for a while. But I had massive insomnia that night, to the tune of maybe three hours of sleep.

Also, I caved in and watched my first episode of Veronica Mars. Not a bad show, actually. The critics are right. But I mainly watched it because I'm a nut for Tina Majorino.

G'night.

just an apology

Dang, that list of questions was long. Sorry, folks. I know some of yinz hate to scroll.