Couldn't have predicted that at age 30 I'd start running (after a life thus committed to indulgence). But here goes- I'm in for the 13-mile mini-marathon.

Thank you for registering for the Indianapolis Life 500 Festival Mini-Marathon & AT&T Wireless 5K. This is your registration receipt. Please note that this charge will appear on your credit card statement as signmeup.com. Keep this page for your records.

Registration Receipt for MM (Seattle, Washington)
Confirmation Number: XXX
Registration Date : 1/31/2003 4:07:00 PM
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Disturbing Search Requests

What's in your referrer logs? Are you obsessed with your site stats? Why don't you log in and post the search requests you found in your log files? It's easy. Curious? Read more about this site.

In light of last night’s Spectacle on the Hill, Ron’s outcry that, “apparently someone is slacking off in the despising George W. Bush department,” rings true more than ever. I agree with him when he writes:

“I know we can do this, people. So get out there and start making more snide comments in public places.”

To contribute to this initiative I offer up the following logo to be poached, updated, tweaked, and generally disseminated. It's just something that I made and used for the last election-- as stickers mostly.


Also check out this tweaking of the State of the Union.

Nearly every time I've gone to write someone an email today they've preempted me by seconds -- with their own email about the same subject matter. Spooky. Seriously, four times today, so far.

Oh, and a note about the mixed-CD I sent out to some of you- the download mix from Napster (RIP): It wasn't necessarily the downloaded songs I was excited about (thought there are some interesting covers), it was the burning part of it. See, MSG and I had just purchased a CD burner, and the first thing I did was to burn the Napster downloads. So it's the first CD I burned with my new toy, and I hadn't figured out how to even out the volumes and tones, etc.

Check this one out:

"If you bought ANY music CD between 1995 & 2000, you are part of a class action suit and will get a check from $5 to $20."

File claim here.

Alright, to join in the fun of favorite searches that brought people here, here goes. But one caveat: I'm terribly sorry for all of you who are actually looking for analyses of this Emily Dickinson poem (this, in addition to one famous MC, appears to be the top searches that brings people here).

The Bush White House has an "opinion" line
masturbation + temple
"soaked head to toe"
monkey + in + window
"strawberry pretzel salad"
gregory melle

And then there's this baffling one from Saudi Arabia:
http://www.google.com/search?as_q=xwp&num=50&hl=ar&ie=UTF-8&oe=UTF-8&newwindow=1&btnG=%D8%A8%D8%AD%D8%AB+Google&as_epq=sex&as_oq

Oh, and Chiseler: get yourself some new friends.

Congrats to Bob for solving the mystery woman mystery. Favorite line from his article:

This lets both LinuxWorld and Microsoft mold her to their own purposes. So as far as LinuxWorld is concerned, Sullivan said, "they're trying to say, 'Hey, there will be women there, potentially.'"

[yeah, right]

Enjoy your 15 minutes, Marla!

Happy Birthday, Nicky-Boy!

I received this announcement in an email this morning, and have tried to call the number to test it out. I've only gotten a busy signal, so it seems like it might be legit.

The Bush White House has an "opinion" line for you to call. So call and give your opinion of the proposed war in Iraq. The line only accepts calls from 9-5 EST., Monday thru Friday. Just call the White House at 202-456-1111.

A machine will detain you for only a moment and then a pleasant live operator will thank you for saying "I oppose" or "I approve." It will only take minutes. Note that the weekends are closed for calls. The president has said that he wants to know what the American people are thinking. Let him know.

Today I'm sick as a dog, only recently emerged from bed. I've got 69 Love Songs in the stereo- can't seem to stay away from the Magnetic Fields for too long. Just might be my favorite release from the 1990s.

Let me know if you want a copy of my Napster-Mix-- I'll mail them out this weekend.

Last weekend I burned my first CD from our new device-- just pulling together some stuff I’d downloaded during my brief experience with Napster and the like. No contest here- I’ll happily mail this CD out to anyone who wants one. Just send me an email (with your mailing address if I don’t already have it). I can’t promise consistency in quality or style, just a glimpse into a moment! This new acquisition also means I’ll be compiling (finally) all those mixed-CDs I’ve been promising- you can start expecting them presently.

A shoutout to Crick: LOVE your ideas for invisible theater as political action. I think it’s time to transform CAPGAS into an S.I. type group, anyway. In an email from “Jacko Suave,” he supports the idea, writing:

“We could try going to a church, and have one person wearing an anti-war pin. Another group could start accosting them for being unpatriotic. It would be interesting to see if anyone comes to their defense.”

Each new year I come up with some sort of guiding notion for the following year- a mantra of sorts that somehow relates to my goals and aspirations. It’s just a way for me to ruminate a bit on the previous year, think about what I want to happen next (albeit in vague terms), and have some linguistic fun. 2000, for example, was my year to be LUDIC AND LUCID, which turned out to be somewhat prophetic in that it was the year MSG and I began our great romance (unsurprisingly, he’s done wonders for the ludic side of things).

2002 was my year for BALANCE. While it may lack the clever wordplay, I liked it because it’s something that I traditionally cannot do well, and the notion was meant to capture all aspects of balance- in work, play, mind, body, soul etc. While I didn’t really figure out how to balance the demands of graduate school, I made some serious progress in balancing work + play (so much so that I’ll need to quit the balancing a bit so that I can actually graduate). I also think this is an aspect to what my sister, Kerry, and now Anna refer to as my Turning Soft (sounds kinda dirty or/and scatological, doesn’t it?).

And so 2003 is to be the year of CONTACT, as dubbed by Anna. I like this one, and it seems to follow BALANCE rather nicely (the alternate was CONNECTION, which added way too much pressure). I've also realized, in this last week, that it will be a year for WILLPOWER as well. Here I’m thinking of my endeavors to honestly quit smoking and to write my dissertation; right now these two tasks feel like the most daunting challenges I’ve ever faced. And to add to it, I’ve decided to train for a half-marathon in April. 2003 may actually turn out of be my year for MASSIVE FAILURE.

Bob's bad news is my good news. I have no plans to give up booze anytime soon.

(apologies for the obsession with vice- I'm not sure if I can post a blog without mentioning Quitters until I get this nonsmoking thing under control.)

I've just said goodbye to my dear friend, Laura Slade Chiera, who was visiting from San Francisco. I've been a bit nutty this week, with the non-smoking, coming down/back from Toronto, and facing the fact that I really do have to write this dissertation. My visit with LBC, however, proved to be the most inspiring thing I could be doing. Just by hanging out with her she reminded me that I really do enjoy my work, that I have something to say, that it's alright to struggle through it, that I shouldn't be too hard on myself, but that I SHOULD (and can) get this shit done. Some time's elapsed since we've spent good-QT together, so I'd almost forgotten how much larger-than-life she is, with her sage wisdom and adept approach to the world (not to mention the fact that she's funny as hell).

If you're in the NY area, check out Karaab's latest show- opens on Thursday.



Opening: January 9th, 6-8PM
Pleiades Gallery
530 West 25th St, 4th floor
Chelsea, NYC
649-230-0056
Through January 25


ARTIST'S NEW YORK SHOW “FLOCKING”

NEW YORK -- December 1st, 2002 -- On January 9th, 2003, Pleiades Gallery will host an exhibition of paintings by Manhattan artist
Valerie Allard. This show marks Allard’s second solo show in New York City.

Allard’s series, “Flocking”, explores movement of thought. Discrete parts describe individual paths of motion while also relating as a coherent group. The subject is the dynamic relationship between individuals and the group they comprise. A group in which the individual is constantly attracted to its companions but must also avoid breaking their integrity.

Form emerges as shapes are defined. Shapes are defined by what other shapes are near them and how they are attracted to the center of the group. Shape is influenced by direction, velocity, and duration. Relationship between shape, temperature, and color establish and reestablish the center.

Allard’s active brushwork makes the surfaces of her paintings rush, stutter, and at times fold toward a focal point. The fluidity of motion depends on the continual redefinition of the center. There is no fixed thought. Thoughts move one against each other, are attracted to one another; they seek a conclusion and are ever stimulated to a new resolution.

Allard’s work has been exhibited at Juno Gallery (New York), Walter Wickiser Gallery (New York), and Richard Ebert Gallery (San Francisco).

In case you've missed it, check out Quitters. Our team is relatively small, and I know there are more quitters out there. Email me or MSG to join.

Back in Seattle. After a month of travelling by plane every weekend, I'm ready to cloister a bit. And in honor of MSG's declaration of PURITY we went to the health food store last night for some groceries. I must confess, however, that all I wanted was a bottle of beer and a cigarette; but I'm determined to quit the smokes. It's going to be tough. Stay tuned for a community blog devoted entirely to these purification programs many of us are taking up for a while. You're all invited to contribute (even the lurkers, S -- you know who you are!). This way we can all stay in CONTACT while we give up our smokes, drinks, drugs, meat, dairy, glutten, etc. Ideas for a name? Email me.