a.to.z.

My taste in music says a lot about me. This last year has been like a music class in which I've learned a lot about both what I like, and what is good. If you want to know something about me, then take a look at this music which I have sometimes discovered, and more often been introduced.

Click.

["they all understand days that are over will not continue to last"]
brian

And So It Ends

Yesterday, I said goodbye to something I have come to love very much.

I said goodbye to my break.

This was perhaps the most bitter of all farewells I have ever paid. I think it was because my last semester was just so rigorous. I took five courses, all of which were upper-division. Guh.

This semester looks to be quite a bit lighter. I only have four courses this time around, three of which are upper-division, one of which is a 200 level survey for my major. Why the hell am I taking a survey course here and now? It baffles the mind. I will be a senior in a class composed almost entirely of sophomores and freshman. I'm a moose in a dog kennel.

Moose in a dog kennel? Hm.

So, here goes the grind again. I'm off. Or on. Or back. :-
[break>school]
brian

Redrawing the Gender Lines

Girls and homosexuals are not the only people who buy and/or want candles. I am tired of that stereotype.

It bothers me because I happen to like candles, and happen to be coined as either [a]homosexual or [b]a boyfriend who needs to get a gift fast. This is a fascimile of a real conversation at Pier 1 that I had:

Brian: How much is this Indonesian Teak candle?
Employee: $20 for the pillar.
Brian: Thanks.
Employee: You're welcome. Is this for your girlfriend?
Brian: [indignant] No.
Employee: Oh, I'm sorry! ... Is it for your boyfriend?
Brian: NO!

What is so unbelievable about a straight man wanting a candle? Candles are great, and they accomplish many things at once:

[1] They provide illumination at night.
[2] They create ambiant atmosphere for less than track lighting.
[3] They eliminate bad odors from a room [men make these].
[4] They often add good scents to a room [men don't make these].

Is it so unbelievable that a man might want to have a room look, feel, and smell good? Goshhhhhhh!

Well, I'm done ranting. Now if you'll excuse me... I have to go listen to some Kenny G while drinking rose tea in a bubble bath.

[kidding. i hate kenny g.]
brian

take that.

Would you survive a horror movie? Find out @ She's Crafty

[bad@$$]
brian

Fortified

When I was a child, I thought like a child, I felt like a child, I ate like a child. When I grew up, I put away childish things.

Except for Lucky Charms.

I love a good bowl of Lucky Charms. I've learned how to eat it so that it's always moist but never gets soggy (a difficult task) and so that there are always at least five marshmallows in the last bite (an even more difficult task). If you think about it, I have thought and felt like an adult while still eating like a child, which makes me proud.

But something recently irked me about my favorite sugary cereal. General Mills now advertises that a bowl of Lucky Charms is fortified with vitamins (A, C, and D) and calcium.

Well, sure. If you pour milk on it. Milk is what makes a serving of Lucky Charms into a bowl of Lucky Charms. And milk has the all vitamins and calcium I need. So did they really fortify it, or did they just point out the fact that milk has nurtional value?

Now why go to the pains to prove to anyone that Lucky Charms is good for you? It's clearly not. But that's not why people eat Lucky Charms. People eat Lucky Charms because it's toasted sugar and marshmallows, a recipe which few (if any people) can find fault with.

Who are they trying to impress: moms? Well, here's a tip, General Mills: nobody eats or gives Lucky Charms to a kid for health. It's for taste and/or to shut kid up.

If a health nut asked the question, "If you were stranded on a desert island with only one thing to eat for the rest of your life, what would it be?" I would answer, "Lucky Charms." I don't even have to think. I just know. I want to put Lucky Charms into me so much that I would choose them above all other foods for my magic, one-fooded desert island lifestyle.

But health nuts nay-say. They say, "Nay, Brian, you'd die because of malnourishment."

And I always say, "It's my magic desert island. I don't have to be practical, just full of sugar and marshmallows."

They don't understand my love for Lucky Charms. But I do. I've invested in this cereal for a long time. I'll drink milk to be healthy, and eat Lucky Charms to be happy. Now leave me alone and let me eat my damn toasted sugar.

[crunch]
brian

Thoughts on a Blustery January Night

-How great a blessing is a friend.
-A spitchcock is not what it sounds like.
-A zobo is not a hybrid between a yak and a zebra, despite Balderdash's claims to the contrary. It is a cross between a yak and a zebu. Just thought you should know.
-A raptor is a bird of prey, not just a dinosaur. And I'm not just kidding you.
-"For shits and giggles" really is a funny expression.
-Febreze is a godsend.

[the mroe you know]
brian

Sweetgum Fruit is not Well-Named.

I'll tell you the punchline now: it took me three times to learn my lesson.

Here's the setup:

The other night, I wanted to listen to some music, but I realized that I left my iPod in my car. So I went outside, garbed in nothing but a pair of shorts. I ran across the asphalt in my bare feet to my car, realized I left my keys inside, ran back to the house, ran back to my car with my keys, forgot what I wanted, remembered it was my iPod, grabbed my iPod, and ran back towards my house [again].

I made it past the street and sidewalk just fine. But then I hit the grass. The grass was wet and cold, so I ran faster. Now, my neighbors have a sweetgum tree. In the winter, the sweetgum tree drops its fruit and it rolls around. Now, you'd think with a name like "sweetgum," the fruit would be fun.

But sweetgum fruit is not fun. It is unfun.

Sweetgum fruit should be renamed to "sweetgum mines." Because sweetgum fruit looks like this:



If you look closely, you'll notice that the sweetgum fruit is barbed and sharp:



I hit one of these things running at full speed, and a few of its brines got buried in the sole of my foot. Since I was running at top speed, I landed on it about twice more before I could stop.

I stopped and said something. It was not repeatable.

There were two things I needed to do: [1] get inside, because it was cold, and [2] remove the sweetgum fruit imbedded in my foot because it didn't belong there. Sadly, I opted to go in that order.

I walked forward again, and again said something. It too was not repeatable.

There were two things I needed to do: [1] get inside, because it was cold, and [2] remove the sweetgum fruit imbedded in my foot because it didn't belong there. This time around, though, I thought, "Hey, why don't I take the poorly named sharp object out of my foot before trying to get indoors?"

And then I thought, "Gee, that's a good idea! Why don't I sit down on that porch glider to do it?"

I stepped forward again.

Said imbedded object became more of an imbedded object.

This time, I bit my tongue and realized that I should just stop and take thorny, God-forsaken fruit out of my feet before trying to walk on them. I soon realized that I could apply that knowledge elsewhere in life. I could apply it to just about any situation where I had something sharp in me! It was valuable knowledge.

And... insert punchline.

[stop. bleed. think. go. stop. think. go. stop. remove. go.]
brian

I Made A Playlist.

It's called "unlike another." This playlist is, and I quote for myself: "a down-tempo mix of unique and moving songs from my favorite artists."

So if you ever wanted to see the man behind the mask of the man's mask... uh... well, go.

[some days her shape in the doorway...]
brian

Oh... the GIME

I have an odd habit of really enjoying things without ever acknowleding that I enjoy them. Recently I unpacked that concept and realized that I just love the gym.

Working out provides me with satisfaction on so many levels. Physically, I get fitter. You might say, "Well, duh, Brian, that's why you work out," and you'd be right. But it's not just the exercise. I get into a MINDSET about this stuff. I eat healthier, get up earlier... I even move around more in general. I just feel alive after I get to the gym.

Then there's the emotional benefit. I get such a pick-me-up from going to the gym. Maybe it's because it's like a giant playground in my head. The machines are jumbo toys, and I go earn points which I can turn in to lose weight! There are new high scores to be set, new equipment to try, new fun to be had.

I think better after I hit the gym too. There's always the tough questions I have to ask myself when I go there, like: "Did I stretch yet? How should I order my workout? Aerobics, Weights, Sit-ups? Sit-ups, Aerobics, Weights? Gymnastics? Spinning? Do I do back and biceps, or chest and triceps today? I forgot... did I stretch yet?" After resolving them, I feel more focused, directed, and driven to do well in life. Yes, gym-going provides me with lots of food for thought.

Finally, there's the bragging rights and ego-boost. I curled 75 pounds today. I know, and now you know it too! You see this muscular thing?



Yeah, that's my deltuvius. Most people don't know how to properly lift with it, but I do.

I guess I'm pretty frickin' serious about something I discovered I liked yesterday.

[]
brian

idiocy is an art by happenstance

As I've established, I'm an idiot. For example: the other night, it was foggy and mysterious. And I thought, "Hey, I should take a picture of this!" So I whipped out my digital camera, found the scene that I wanted to capture, and charged the flash.

Now keep in mind that fog is a low-lying cloud--in other words, fog is a bunch of water floating in the air. Now you remember what happens when you turn on your headlights in a thick fog, right? The whole cloud lights up. And if you turn on your brights, the whole cloud lights up more.

Now remember how bright a camera flash can be.

"So what happened?" you might ask.

Well... idiot though I may be... I stumbled into some beauty.





Click the images to see bigger pictures.

[beauty through stupidity]
brian

my best friend: in photos.

Nick has been my best friend for near 12 years now. We've gone through junior high, high school, and college together. So he's been there for pretty much every joy, every trial, every drop of blood. Actually, Nick's been there for every significant event I've been through since I knew what "significant" meant.

But few of you have seen him. I intend to amend that [heh--poesy!].

So, without further ado... I give you Nick:







Yes, his is a countenance full of joy, grace, and (most of all) wisdom.

[marvel from afar]
brian

p.s. Sorry girls. He's married.