tehloaf

If there was a lake big enough for all my desires, its size would be measured in miles. My first thought was sixty thousand miles. Then I wondered if that was large enough to include the circumference of the earth. I looked it up.

Equatorially, the earth is 40,075.02 kilometres around. So yes. It is big enough.

How deep would it be? I couldn't remember how to calculate the radius and diameter from the circumference, so I looked that up too.

Hmm. Interesting. Geometrically measured the earth's diameter is 12,756.32 kilometers. However, if you measure the earth from pole to pole, about 41 kilometers shorter to be precise.

I sometimes wonder if there's vindictive literary critsism behind the logic of my phone's predictive text. Just now I typed "I'm just going to eat a can's worth of soup." When I typed "can's" it assumed I was wrong, but instead of correcting it to 'can is' or 'cans' or anything like that. It just deleted the apostrophe and the 's'. What did it think I typed those letters for? Is it trying to tell me that the value of what I have to say can be measured by the correctness of my contractions? Or rather, by it's measure of my correctness? Then I realized that I had personified, even demonized the spellchecking code all the way back to cupertino, when really those folks at apple were probably just trying to help.

But how far do their intentions travel, and how subject are they to my interpretations? Hmm.

This one got a little bit explicit. But only a little teensy bit.

( A short story I thought of today in the shower. )

How about one?

Long green grass grows gray
In times of need they all say
Don't waste your water

Anybody feeling up to writing some Haikus?

I want to live in a simpler world

A world of rain, and thatch, and straw
Where a bucket is a problem solved
my enemy, the rainfall

I want to love in a simpler world

Where love was fought for, won, and earned
Not bought and sold and turned
into another product

I want to leave in a simpler world

Where the roads stretched on for good
The dirt and mud beneath our feet
measure my endless trudge

I want to live by sword and bow and plow

be measured by my worth, not what I own
I want to work for something tangible
not money in the bank.

I close my eyes to reach my simpler world

It stretches on forever, in my head
A better place for me to live, instead
I'd sacrifice it all.

there is a terrible sinking feeling in my stomach. like the feeling when you get caught doing something wrong. or the feeling you get when you realize you're about to fall and there's nothing you can do. the feeling you think a warm blanket could erase, but it doesn't and it won't. a horrible twisted tension like a cold fist. I keep starting to cry and then going back to work. I feel so isolated, so out of control of my own actions. I know that nothing will come of me doing nothing, and yet I have so much trouble motivating myself to do anything. I feel like there's no right action to take. Like nothing will improve my situation. I'm just so sad. i'm just sad. i'm sick of metaphor i'm just so fucking sad. I want this feeling to go away. I worry about so much and then do nothing about it. I think maybe I should go to the doctors. or maybe a shrink. but I don't want them to tell anyone anything. I have trouble trusting now. and I hate that. I used to be so free with my trust. what the fuck. shouldn't wanting to be happy just make you happy?

rain rain go away
these puddles look suspiciously like blood

tilt up the end of your street and watch it all run down the concrete
into your town like a viscous blanket
a comforting red flood

rain rain go away
you never did me any good

oh how I wanted you, so many dry hot days

but now you deliver the cold
straight into my bones
like a subcutaneous delivery truck

squeezing through my pores like tunnels in the rock

the trees don't look any happier
the trees don't look less thirsty
the trees are all dead

winter's almost over

but the trees are still fucking dead

i wanted salt water to grab me

a wet tortilla shell
and i'm the beans.

but you're too fresh
a thousand drops to drink.

turtle shell
turtle neck
turtle head tucked in

hide from the hawks and the cars and the foxes and whatever else
hide from david fucking attenborough

no one's arms are long enough for what I want them for
no one's checkbook is generous enough
to fund my procrastination

pluto is really far away
but I guess we're well on our way

unless it's just dirt on the lens

wooden floors
laminate boards
tennis courts

my feet thanked me for carpet.

brown glass seems pretty counter-productive

but nobody's stopped your reflection before.


start stop start stop start stop

just fucking start

I don't like hate. I never liked the expressing of hatred. I never saw the point. Isn't it better to love, after all? You might even say that I hate hatred. As paradoxical as that may sound it's made me realize things. I thought that I hate nothing, and that the things I didn't like just bothered me a bit. But it's made me into an overly apologetic, easily cowed, stammering idiot. Shutting off that emotion has stunted my creative outlets, held back my tongue in situations where i'd rather have been heard, and just kept far too many things to myself.

Well, i'm sick of it.

It's like having seen the world in only blues and greens, but no reds. I want to see red again.

Today I worked on a Bravofact from 3pm to 4:30am. It was exhausting. I did not get paid. I keep reminding myself "You have to do the free work to get the paid work." Which is true. But all the people i've met have just discouraged me from it. Not the working for free part, but more specifically what i'm doing. I usually end up on set as 1st or 2nd AC (assistant camera), the idea being that if I do enough AC'ing i'll be a camera operator one day. But I have no interest in being a DOP, and 90% of the time, the DOP is also the camera op. There's almost no one in the industry who just operates. Because nobody wants to let an operator film the scene they've worked so hard to light. I always thought that having an operator would lead to better specialization, and thus, better films. That way the DOP could light, and the Operator could op. Simple. They could both be good at what they like, and because the DOPs would have less to do, they'd be better at what they were doing.

The point is-I learned today that I hate being an AC. I had never really thought about it before. But I don't want to spend the next 8 years measuring the distance from the focal plane to the subject's eye. I don't want to change lenses and pull focus until I finally earn the dubious 'privilege' of being an operator. There'll be no work for me anyway!

I'm not working on other people's crap anymore. I'm going to make my own damn films.

I hate being an AC!!!!



Feels good.

I decided not to go back to set tomorrow. On the one hand, I feel like i'm throwing away an opportunity to get in with a good crowd of people. On the other hand.... that's not the life I want at all. I've got to figure my shit out though.... I really want to go back to school. I kind of want to be a marine biologist. That way I can scuba dive and film underwater, which is something i've wanted to do since I was 13.

Why it's taken me this long to realize that one is beyond me.

I haven't been having dreams lately, which at first made me nervous, and since has just made me a bit sad. I think dreams are the manifestation of desires and anxiety, and without those, you lose a large part of your identity. And I always tended to hang on to my dreams. They were stories, and places, vocabularies, friends. Anyway, I had a dream the other night that I remember, and it was very exciting. Not that the dream was exciting, mind you, but that it was exciting to HAVE a dream such as this.

Then again, it depends on your definition of excitement.

So i'm in North Korea, on a very rigidly structured government tour, except that i'm not with a tour group, it's just me and my guide and driver. I've befriended the driver and guide, to a degree, and have convinced them I don't intend to paint the KWP in a bad light with my photographs, and so they allow me more freedom. They take me, in the car to the eastern coast of North Korea, an area normally not open to foreigners. Here, i'm allowed to stay in the home of a native North Korean peasant, he invites me in and says I can stay the night, in this traditional North Korean home, an honour unlike any other. Now, North Korean males smoke like chimneys, so cigarettes are a traditional gift to them from tourists, as a tip, or thank you. I don't smoke, so I have none on me, but the man whose house we are staying in, he invites me to have a cigarette with him so we can talk.

Now, i've never smoked a cigarette in my life, and i'm very pleased that i've managed not to smoke in almost 22 years. But this is my question-

This sort of opportunity presents itself once in a lifetime. Sometimes less often. Making a connection with someone real, a real inhabitant of this country that fascinates me, and someone who's outside the very structured, specific tour that i've been on. Not to mention that, if we're caught this far off the beaten path, I could be in trouble with the North Korean government, because foreigners are only allowed in specific areas.

So -at what point does the expanse of the opportunity outweigh the importance of your morals? Having a cigarette is a very strange in-between ground, because to some people, it may mean nothing, but that sort of trust is always determined differently by different people. So on the one hand, how important is the opportunity to the North Korean gentleman? Is it as exciting for him to make a connection with a foreigner as it is for you? On the other hand, at what point does an opportunity become 'worthy' of breaking your moral barrier? Let me give another example;

Let's say you're a vegetarian, with strong convictions about your health, and animal rights. If you were in Peru, and you were walking through the jungle, hacking a dull machete through the undergrowth, when suddenly you came across a small village of indigenous Peruvians who've been living here in isolation since the dawn of time. An old, withered, shamanistic gentleman approaches you and says something in his native tongue. Your guide (yes, you have a guide now) translates that he has offered you a traditional welcome, where you will be an honored guest of the people. However, it includes an ancient ceremony in which they eat meat. Your guide assures you that to refuse is unheard of, and you may lose a unique opportunity to befriend and connect with these beautiful, mysterious people. What do you do?

Now, that example is a little more extreme, and in such a case, I believe people, when faced with a once in a lifetime opportunity, are open to the idea of throwing their morals and convictions to the wind. But at what point does it become a valid choice? How significant must the opportunity be? When do you draw the line?

And let's say you cast your morals to the wind; when faced with a second opportunity, how similar must it be to the first to remove your doubt? Or rather, to INCREASE your apprehension about abandoning your morals? Let's say you're with a second indigenous tribe (unlikely, but you never do know, do you?) Do you refuse them, on the grounds that you've broken your rule once, so it must be never again? Or do you accept with less resistance, citing the first incident as 'permission' for you to act the same way again? How isolated from modern man must the indigenous tribe be before their feelings and traditions become more important than your own personal convictions?

I feel like if I were to ever discover a niche of people like that, I would have an introspective self-analytical breakdown, and just get caught in a loop of discussion, confusing the old man, offending his people and disgracing myself.

And yet, that's another variable, isn't it?

It's like a breath of fresh air. 2009. We're one step closer to living in the Sci-Fi year of 2010! I wonder what people will do, will it be Twenty-ten? or Two-thousand-ten? I guess we'll find out then. But first we've got '09 to deal with. Last year on January first I filled out a list of my favourite things, in a hotel room in New Jersey. Today, I sit in my room at home, with a huge pile of musical equipment downstairs, in the aftermath of an excellent new years party, and I intend to see how much the list has changed over the course of 2008.


Favourite Bands - Nine Inch Nails, Soul Coughing, Queens of the Stone Age

Song - Impossible to pick.

Place - Japan.

local place - The Woods at the top of the hill.

human - That's a ridiculous question.

Food - Taco Bell :)

Memory of this year - Going to Vancouver, doing Handstands in Florida

Pastime - Movie watching / Playing my Bass / cooking breakfast

Quote - "Collinsky! Oh, hi mom."

Colours- Azure, Velvet & Metallic Red, Black, dark green.

Scents-Cinnamon, wood dust from sanding, smoky concert venues, the first day of spring, porridge, gasoline.

Animals-Emu, Daschund, Nautilus, Sharks, Whale Sharks, Alpacas, Giant Squid, Colossal Squid, Goliath Bird-Eater Tarantula, Hawks.

Flowers- Trilliums. And little cactus flowers.

Trees- Japanese maple, Giant Redwood, and those crazy cannibalistic australian trees. Also Bonsai.

Drink- Organic Juice, Fountain Drinks, Limeaid, Apple Cider, Bubble Tea

Fruit-Honeydew, Pear, Banana, Blueberry, Blackberry, Papaya.

Veggie-Onions, peppers, crisp lettuce, cucumbers,

Actors-Choi Min-Sik, Kang Ho-Song, Gary Oldman, Jean Reno, Alan Rickman, Christian Bale, Ricky Gervais, Hugo Weaving, Paulo Costanzo, Jason Bateman, Larry David, Michael Cera. I'm sure there's more...

Movies-Oldboy, The Host, Memories of Murder, Man on Fire, I'm a Cyborg but that's okay

Upon finishing this list I've realize that I can hardly attribute the changes I went through this year to the altering of a simple list of likes. My individual likes and dislikes are probably what changed the least. I'm not going to up and stop liking a certain movie, you know? I dunno what seemed like a good idea at the time I think i've outgrown. But I've realized a few things that I want over this year.

I want less stuff- as in, I want to get rid of extraneous junk I have around my house and have a nice clear meditative spot to play sitar and bass in. I want to get some cacti for my room too.

I want to be self-sufficient- as in, I want to make enough money to be able to pay for everything I need, gas, food, rent, etc. So that I can move out, and make my own way.

I want to travel- I had so many travel plans for 2008 that didn' get followed through on because I didn't make enough money. Pretty weak.

I want to be healthier- I became a vegetarian a few months ago, but I want to go to the gym, or take Marshall arts, something to stay active, and be healthy.

That's all I really want from 2009. I think it has potential to be a good year. I've just gotta get my shit together.

I was going to write some long-winded post about christmas and how i'm sick of long discussions about wine and scotch and cognac (of which I have no interest in) but I could feel the motivation drain out of my arms when I lifted them up. My neck really hurts, I think I need to go to the chiropractor. Christmas is over at least.


I feel terrible.

My god, my head is spinning. I feel like I've turned and overturned a thousand massive life-changing decisions in the past week. On the one hand, things are going pretty okay. The band's demo is almost done, we've got one song left to go and then we're off to play as many shows as we can. I got a few unpaid film gigs which led to meeting lots of cool people, and I got a few paid film gigs for corporate vids, things that aren't the most fun but aren't too difficult and pay reasonably well. And yet...

and yet and yet and yet.

I feel like my mind is being swallowed by a thick viscous pond. I feel like I'm getting smaller, so that people simply look over my head. I feel unmotivated, with no goal, no direction, and nothing to say that's worth hearing. I feel like I don't have a point of view. What's my stance on large looming issues? I don't really know... I feel like both sides are fairly valid. I don't know... my worldview has been really shaken up in the past few months. I had a visit from Brock that sort of bowled my priorities over, and i've done a bit of reading about politics (a foray into which my interests never had drifted before) and... I don't know who to believe, who to side with, who's right, who's fair... but most importantly... I don't know what I think. And that is the single most depressing fact of my life at the moment. Who am I if not the sum of my parts? How do I define myself when I have no concrete ideals? All that is in my head are images of open grassy plains, vast gleaming deserts rich with heat and history and transient migratory life, blue unknown seascapes with semi-sentient leviathans that seem like they've figured it all out. All these beautiful images, all just leave me with the rabid desire to rush out and see it all.

My whole life I imagined my career would be in film. I never doubted it for a second, and I prided myself on the fact that I had figured out my calling so early. But I never looked at the other side of the coin. I woke up a little while ago and thought "What if film's not really the career I want to be in?" Then I felt music was the way. After all, what else could there be for me? My bass has always played second fiddle to my camera, and so I debated giving it all up and travelling around as a musician... but i'm in a band and i'm committed to that band and leaving would destroy that oppurtunity in pursuit of another, more fleeting, less likely one. But I have doubts about the band all the time. Not in our ability, but in our direction... in our methods... in other things. I'm wracked with indecision nearly always. I can't pick a damn thing, whether it's a career, or just a job, or an activity while I hang out with friends, or even a god-damned meal. I fell out of an excercise routine i'd taken great pains to get into, I fell into a spiral of smoking weed FAR too often, to supress my depression (something i'd never used weed for before). I started to sell everything I own, because suddenly my value system is all askew. I used to think owning the things I wanted would quench my desires but the only thing I feel like I know for sure is that I want to TRAVEL. No other force drives my actions harder, and because it's so general and diluted (and because i'm so broke) nothing happens! I'm in debt, i'm debating going to a real university because I regret not doing that more and more (and I don't know why i regret it). But were I to go, I don't even know what I would take.

I never considered a future outside of film, and my focus is narrowed so sharply that I have no idea where to begin. I don't think suddenly giving up on film is the way to go either... but. I really have no idea what I want. I feel like if I could reach into my heart to find the truest words to express what I feel, or what I think, or what I want...I still wouldn't know what to say.

The only course of action now is to try to sell my shit, pay my debts, and debunk any long-term financial commitments. But I fear that without direction or anything to tie me down, my whims and desires could become self-destructive. Imagine I followed through on my desire to go to Antarctica (a wild thought from the other day, after watching Werner Herzog's encounters at the end of the world). Say I arrived, I worked, and then I lost my job. Trapped in Antarctica? That's the sort of blind-led stubbourn bullshit I imagine I could easily get myself into. So by car at first, I think. That'll be the way to go. Maybe through Europe. Lots to see there. Lots to do. At this point I honestly would take a job as a dishwasher, so long as I was washing dishes in another country. This reckless indecision is downright paralyzing. I feel so fucking trapped. Although for once-- I can say I don't feel the desperate desire for companionship I often slip into. And that's a big step for me. Normally when I slip into a depression all I can think about is that one girl who'll come along one day, and where is she now? That hasn't really been a priority for a while. Which is nice, one less thing to slowly drive me crazy.

I'm vegetarian now, which is nice. I feel healthier, and I just feel good when I wake up. Since I started drinking soy milk I actually get the essential nutrients that humans need, which I haven't really had in a while. I survived the past few years on almost nothing but fast food. But I eat at home now. Which is awesome (and cheap) and gets me cooking neat things, and experimenting... but it's also one more thing that keeps me from leaving the house. It's not uncommon for me to spend two or three days without going outside... simply to save money. Although, I always make a point to walk through the woods at night at least a few times a week. But it is driving me crazy.

I keep thinking that moving out will be the be-all end-all solution to it all... but I fear that were I to do it... I could easily fall into the same pattern. I think what I really want to do is ask for first and last months rent for Christmas, move downtown, get a job (doing anything) and that way I can have my independence, have my large change (which I need every now and then), and have income with which to pay off my debt. I think that's the best course of action. That way no matter what happens, I've improved on two major things.

*exhale*

wow. this is what I get for ignoring my journal for a while. Well, literary admission breeds hunger, and thus I'm going to fire up a fried egg sandwich.

Oh, and on a side note, if anyone has any thoughts as to adventures that can be had locally for little (or no) money, i'm curious. I mean, anything at all. What do people do, anyway? My friends and I jam, we watch movies, we get high, and we eat. Not that I don't love those things, but I crave change desperately. I want a life beyond that. Most importantly though, I need to start writing again, or i'm not making any progress at all.

Allright that's enough for today, I think. Thanks for listening, internet.

Today's number, was one-ninety-two.
Today's batch, was heavy with emphasis on conservation. Thus, smaller than usual.

Little little---was on Nick's mind, just the other day.

Ink seems to only stretch for five seconds at the most- terribly inconvenient.

I'm looking for some good egg recipes, if anyone knows any. And I think tonight i'm going to bake a pumpkin pie.

Double chroma key seems to be excessive.

This is going to sound ludicrous- but the dazzle duck crashed my computer.

Okay, autosaved half an hour ago, didn't lose much.

Hmm...

Hey! Brock and Whitney moved into their new place in Vancouver, just saw it on Skype.

News just came in that Kindred Cafe got busted :S that really is sad.

I'm going to put titles in the woods now, so i'm going to continue this stream of consciousness later on.

Peace

We beat the storm to Tampa, and our flight even left early to get us out of the winds and rains. It was a great day. A great dane! But I am home again. And as I begin the monumental task of importing all ten discs of the John Lee Hooker: Blues is the Healer collection into my itunes library, I am happy to be back. Time to go make nachos.

Peace!

So we've re-located from Sarasota up to Tampa, and we got a room at the airport Marriot hotel which has been surprisingly excellent, with huge comfy beds, and tons of space to do free-standing handstands with no falling consequences due to the extreme comfiness of the beds :) We went to downtown Tampa to check out the Hooters location down there, which was kind of disappointing. It was a huge location but they were out of oysters, didn't serve the turkey sandwich, and suffered from a number of other shortcomings, apparently due to the fact that it's a corporate store and not a franchise-owned one. But we had an interesting revelation about Tampa, and US cities in general. Canadians tend to preconceptions that every city in the US is a sprawling metropolis, because the average Canadian assumes any other place is larger than the place we live. However, my Dad brought some interesting numbers to light. Toronto, is the third largest city in North America, behind only New York and L.A., with a population of 2.5 million humans. Boston, is only 600,000. Tampa Bay, is only 300,000! So we went downtown, and they've got five skyscrapers. Five. The downtown core is about four square kilometers.

So we wandered home slowly from the downtown Hooters to check out the downtown core, and see if we could take some interesting photos after our dreadful disappointment at the corporate Hooters store, and it was absolutely desolate. There were no people to be seen at all, and almost all the businesses were closed, closed down, or boarded up. There were vast empty parking lots, cracked and decrepit, temporary buildings thrown up in parking lots with tiny alleyways full of concrete parking stoppers.



No wonder the Tampa Bay Lightning has trouble selling out seats.



So we could take photos like these, and take our time taking them too.







What a lovely little alliteration.



This was a rare sight:



But there were some neat shots. My uncle took several with my camera as well.






Really changes your perspective of America. The whole walk was truly an exercise in perspective.

Anyway, we're flying back a day early, so after a good photo session downtown and some good olympics on television, and listening to an excellent blues hour on public radio during the drive to Tampa, I think I shall toddle off to bed. The flight leaves tomorrow at 1:30... half an hour before Tropical Storm Fay reaches Tampa. Here's hoping our flight's on time.

Peace!

So unfortunately, tropical storm Fay is looking to become Hurricane...whatever letter they're up to so far. Schools are closed down, some of the smaller airports have shut down, and Tampa Bay is expecting 85mph winds on Tuesday by around 8pm... which is not a great sign for us, so it looks like our vacation may be cut short. None of us are really complaining, because we've all had a great time and we all did what we came here to do. So we may be coming home tomorrow, if we can get a flight. People are already starting to be evacuated, since a state of emergency has been declared in Florida. So hopefully we can fly out of Tampa tomorrow morning. If not, we may have to drive down to Orlando, or all the way up to Atlanta, about six hours north :S. But we'll cross that bridge when and if we come to it. I was going to do a big huge photo post today, but the wi-fi here is friggin' unpredictable and irritating, so instead i'm just going to do a monster one when I get home. I've got my Uncle Phil's photos too, so there are actually some pictures of me! I'm stoked! I often end up with no pictures of myself since i'm always behind the camera. Anyway i'm packed and my ipod is loaded with some new albums I bought down here, and I have hilarious domo-kun boxers that I found at a record store of all places lol.

So I may be back tomorrow, and if not, i've got a rainy couple of days to finish out an otherwise excellent trip. I forsee a lot of guitar being played, if that's the case.

Stay tuned for pics soon!

This truly has been a trial of minor inconvenience. After the internet started to work, we discovered it doesn't actually work INSIDE our villa....most of the time. It depends on what chair you sit in. Some chairs allow you to get on the wi-fi... some do not... it's RIDICULOUS. Down by the pool (which is further away from the wi-fi antenna i might add) I get perfect reception, but they lock up the pool at night now so I've had to sit in the grass behind the villas to use the net. However right now, i'm lucky enough to have reception INSIDE! (being on the couch, and not in a chair). My laptop power adapter was shot, but we wiggled it until it charged my battery, but then my sister moved it (after repeated requests not to) and so it died and just this morning I got a new one from down at a computer store (which took two days to find, because it's number 7810, and the numbers on the street jumped from 5000 to 8000 [turns out its because the county line is right there, and so afterwards the numbers go DOWN instead of up] but we solved it finally) Hey, double brackets! Neat.

Anyway, FINALLY I can post some photos!











So as per usual, we've done an exceptional amount of relaxing, however this vacation has been very different from usual (this being our 17th trip to Sarasota) for a number of reasons. For one, Alex, my cousin, couldn't come because he's trying out for the varsity soccer team. Unfortunately, it was kind of decided at the last minute, so my aunt Mary had to go home early, because she'd arranged her flight to go back early with Alex, who ended up not coming at all. Also, my other cousin, Andrew and my uncle David have to go back early as well. They left this morning, so it's down to me, my dad, my sister, uncle Phil and Maris. I'm glad at least that we got the early-leavers for a week though :)

Another difference is that this year, i'm finally old enough to drive the rental car! And good thing too, because it turns out my dad forgot his driver's license, of all things, at home. So fortunately, I was able to rent the car and his girlfriend Daphne shipped his license down after a few days. But that's been interesting, us kids have been able to go out on our own for the first time, seeing movies and going to the mall and stuff, so that's been pretty neat. And my dad can have a few beers at dinner cause I can drive him home, which is nice. One less thing for him to have to worry about on his vacation.

Since i'm old enough to rent autos in the US, that means I'm old enough to rent motorcycles too! Every year my dad and uncle David rent Harleys at Rossiters Harley-Davidson, and go for a rip around town, and this year I got to go too. I drove an ultraclassic soft-tail and the VRSC V-rod, which is a bike i've ALWAYS wanted to drive. The seat and riding position are chiropractically crippling, however i'm told that it's possible to relocate the foot pegs so that this is not the case. Otherwise though, it was awesome. The torque on those harleys is insane, so you have maximum acceleration no matter what gear you're in, or how fast you're going. You can just rip it. My bike at home is 500cc's (for those who don't know, that means the engine displaces 500 cubic centimeters. It's a general guideline to how powerful/big/fast a bike is going to be.) The V-rod is a 1200 and the soft-tail is a 1600 which is just ludicrous power. They make great noises too :D

So that was a lot of fun, we went up to Bradenton to see if the Bradenton hooters was better than the Sarasota one we know and love. It was okay, but it just made us miss our Sarasota hideout, so after a brief lunch we came back down to the Sarasota location. It was bike night that night, which was nice, and which also meant that later in the day we had yet another visit to hooters (three in one day lol) to scope out all the sweet bikes that came in from all around the county.




It was very enjoyable.






We also walked down the beach to the public beach on sunday, because every sunday there's a drum circle where tons of people get together and jam out. I bought a little tiny belt-clip guitar amp so tomorrow i'm going to go down and jam with them :) Here are some photos from last sunday.




I've been keeping up my handstand portfolio by adding one a day. I'm waiting to finish out my film roll to get it developed so I can upload the one for day 4. They're all over on facebook, so go on over and check 'em out if you like.


Today my uncle Phil and I are finally getting to go to Boogie-Woogie, the best used music store i've ever been to, so hopefully i'll come back with a ton of cool stuff. I really want Burton Cummings' solo album from after he left the Guess Who. That man has got the greatest voice in history.

I think that's all for now, we showed the parents Superbad 'cause they'd never seen it, and it got good reviews, and we've been watching Ricky Gervais' Extras and also Flight of the Conchords so there've been good times. I think my dad's going to make hashbrowns so i'm going to go eat.

Seeya!

lol. A five-day battle with wi-fi, the island house staff, and verizon has FINALLY yielded internet. Unfortunatley, it still doesn't work INSIDE our villa (for fuck's sake) and the pool area is now locked up at night??? don't know what that's about. So the only place I get enough signal is out in the area between villas, so i'm out here at night in the grass with my laptop, probably looking really creepy lol so this'll be a short post, and expect a longer one tomorrow when I can sit down by the pool and post leisurely. And with photos. I'll update the handstand count too.

Tomorrow we're renting Harleys! So i'ma drive a big monster biker-bike. I'm stoked.

Peace!

Ah, it's that time of year again. My family goes to florida once a year and has I think for the last 17 years. So i'm stoked. It's definitely been the sad summer of cancelled trips. I was going to go to San Diego, but couldn't afford it and the convention passes sold out before I could get one, then I was going to go to Peru but they had a transportation strike, I haven't even gotten down to montreal, and I couldn't get anyone to come with me to lollapalooza, and even if I had, the week before, my car broke down lol. It's been frusturating. But florida shall liberate me! Kirk and Alf and Will have challenged me to do a handstand every day in a different place, and photograph it. So i'm going to post a new one each day, and hopefully on the last day i'll be able to do one free-standing. I get more points for creativity of the shot, and for uniqueness from the other shots, and more points if I get strangers to be in it, and even MORE points if they're handstanding WITH me. It's going to be difficult, but i'm up to the challenge. So i'm bringing the D-80 along and i'm going to recruit my cousins and uncles to help.

Life update? I guess? I was down for a while but recently since I've moved my room around I feel a lot better. I've been creating again which was missing before, but i've been shooting shorts and recording songs and all sorts of great stuff. Got some drums, webby's old ones, they're at my house now, pretty stoked about that. Just waiting on getting the kick pedal cause Mark Manner has it and he's on vacation, and now i'm gonna be on vacation... in like... three hours... man I shouldn't be up this late.

Got an agent for voice acting, pretty excited about that, going to start going to auditions when I get back on the 20th. Apparently xbox is one of this agency's big clients so who knows? maybe i'll be in a video game? I'm excited.

Taking my guitar down to florida and for the first time ever i'll be able to drive the rental car (now that i'm 21) so that'll be fun. I forsee a lot of shuttling to and from hooters. Packed my hooters shirt from L.A. to raise confusing questions at the sarasota hooters. (Are you from L.A.? No, toronto, actually.)

Might get to rent a Harley with my dad and uncle, cruise around florida. I wanna try the '09 night rod. Looks so friggin' cool. I'm just getting over my last second "Did I forget anything" 's. I think i've got it all. All the necessary bags and chargers and cords and cables and stuff. Got my guitar, tuner, picks, all that. Bringing my loop pedal so that Maris and I can jam with only one guitar. Got the stuff to hook it up. Just need that cable out of my sisters room... I'll get it when she wakes up. 3 hours left.

Gotta drive out of tampa bay so I should probably get some sleep. Anybody want anything from florida? I'm going to try to blog every day (with photos) so feel free to leave me some feedback, i'll read it. I haven't told my dad about the drums yet... and I have a really bad feeling that he'll come into my room tomorrow morning, see them and flip lol.

So i'm debating not going to sleep... I dunno though.. i'll be MANGLED for driving later... which is not good.

hm.. maybe all the alarms in the world will do the trick.


Well, I guess i'll post again once i'm stateside. Peace!

This is a long one, folks.
( Read )

I may be doing something awesome... very very soon... stay tuned...