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Sat, 12 Dec 2009 19:45:11 -0500

bringonthetragedy: lesloups: This is for my brother…

Thu, 10 Dec 2009 11:22:41 -0500

bringonthetragedy:

lesloups:

This is for my brother…

::the Galifianakis::

Thu, 10 Dec 2009 10:26:40 -0500

Zach Galifianakis is ridiculous. That’s all there is to it. Whether he is driving a tractor in a Kanye West video, interviewing Natalie Portman between two ferns, getting tasered in the face in The Hangover, or moping around in his underwear on Bored To Death… he is always entertaining. Also, we have extremely similar beards.

Something else to add to the list: He has great music taste. iTunes does this thing where celebrities make a mix tape (that of course they want you to buy), and then can comment on the songs. You should definitely check out Zach’s list.

Today’s my birthday. I’m 28 years old. That doesn’t get me down. Instead, I think...

Fri, 04 Dec 2009 13:46:38 -0500

Today’s my birthday.

I’m 28 years old.

That doesn’t get me down. Instead, I think it’s pretty rad.

In fact, life makes me feel like this:

::water world::

Wed, 02 Dec 2009 15:17:10 -0500

This is right down the street from our house. From the Post & Courier.

The full moon caused an unusually high tide, coinciding with 2 inches of rain, right during rush hour this morning. Luckily, i was already at work, so didn’t have to deal with it, but some people reported being an hour and half late to work. But now they are reporting more severe storms, possibly tornadoes, right during my class tonight. To get home, I have to go through some of the poorest (and thus, most flood-prone) areas of downtown. I have a presentation, but I may have to skip out early.

I wish that I had a couple of kayaks for Beth and I to take out for a late-night paddle down the street.

Days With My Father

Tue, 01 Dec 2009 18:03:59 -0500

Days With My Father:

unicornzzzzz:

drinkyourjuice:

Not to post this, but:

My mum died suddenly on September 4, 2006.

After she died, I realized how much she’d been shielding me from my father’s mental state.

He doesn’t have Alzheimer’s, but he has no short-term memory, and is often lost.

I took him to the funeral, but when we got back he kept asking me every 15 minutes where my mother was. I had to explain over and over again that she had died.

This was shocking news to him.

Why had no one told him?
Why hadn’t I taken him to the funeral?
Why hadn’t he visited her in the hospital?

He had no memory of these events.

After a while, I realized I couldn’t keep telling him that his wife had died. He didn’t remember, and it was killing both of us to constantly relive her death.

I decided to tell him she’d gone to Paris to take care of her brother who was sick.

And that’s where she is now.

This is a journal.

An ongoing record of my father, and of our relationship.

For whatever days we have left together.

this is one of my favorite series.

This is simply beautiful and heart-rending.

"Because, in the end, no one will ever give a shit who has kept shit ‘real’ except the two or three..."

Tue, 01 Dec 2009 18:03:05 -0500

“

Because, in the end, no one will ever give a shit who has kept shit ‘real’ except the two or three people, sitting in their apartments, bitter and self-devouring, who take it upon themselves to wonder about such things. The keeping real of shit matters to some people, but it does not matter to me. It’s fashion, and I don’t like fashion, because fashion does not matter.

What matters is that you do good work. What matters is that you produce things that are true and will stand. What matters is that the Flaming Lips’s new album is ravishing and I’ve listened to it a thousand times already, sometimes for days on end, and it enriches me and makes me want to save people. What matters is that it will stand forever, long after any narrow-hearted curmudgeons have forgotten their appearance on goddamn 90210. What matters is not the perception, nor the fashion, not who’s up and who’s down, but what someone has done and if they meant it. What matters is that you want to see and make and do, on as grand a scale as you want, regardless of what the tiny voices of tiny people say. Do not be critics, you people, I beg you. I was a critic and I wish I could take it all back because it came from a smelly and ignorant place in me, and spoke with a voice that was all rage and envy. Do not dismiss a book until you have written one, and do not dismiss a movie until you have made one, and do not dismiss a person until you have met them. It is a fuckload of work to be open-minded and generous and understanding and forgiving and accepting, but Christ, that is what matters. What matters is saying yes.

”

- Dave Eggers (via slippy)

OH MY GOD. YES. THIS. (even though i cant get into the Flaming Lips)

(via nedhepburn)

I feel like 3/4 of the people I meet need to desperately read and absorb what Eggers is preaching (ranting) about here. Don’t just read this quote - click through and read the entire rant. Seriously - read all of it. Even read the whole email interview where it is excerpted from. If anyone knows what it’s like to be on the receiving end of such worthless, unearned exclusion, it is Dave Eggers. And perhaps Wes Anderson. And probably eventually Cormac McCarthy. Basically, everyone that produces art that I enjoy. I guess that means I’m not keeping it real.

::the annunaki::

Sat, 28 Nov 2009 22:30:52 -0500

::Cormac McCarthy interview::

Sun, 22 Nov 2009 11:49:17 -0500

This man writes some of the most disturbing and most beautiful things you’ve ever read. I’ve been a fan since Professor Bill Koon assigned Outer Dark in our Southern Fiction class. I’m reading Child of God right now. Last night Beth and I watched All the Pretty Horses. I would recommend his stuff to you, but it’s like Chuck Palahniuk - it’s not for everyone. Regardless, I’m really glad that he has won a larger audience with his Pulitzer Prize winner The Road (thanks Oprah!), and with No Country For Old Men and The Road being made into a movie. I loved the director’s previous movie The Proposition. He hasn’t made many movies, but I’m confident that it’s gonna be good. And the soundtrack will be tremendous if all else fails.

Anyways, here’s a great interview with McCarthy. He almost never grants an audience with the media. Once for Oprah, once for the New York Times, and handful of others. He seems to be catering a little more now since he’s getting older and, I’m guessing, wants to leave his young son with a decent inheritance. Here’s the link:

::Hollywood’s Favorite Cowboy::

Full of great quotes like:

CM: I’m not interested in writing short stories. Anything that doesn’t take years of your life and drive you to suicide hardly seems worth doing.

CM: I have friends at the Institute. They’re just really bright guys who do really difficult work solving difficult problems, who say, “It’s really more important to be good than it is to be smart.” And I agree it is more important to be good than it is to be smart. That is all I can offer you.

CM: Creative work is often driven by pain. It may be that if you don’t have something in the back of your head driving you nuts, you may not do anything. It’s not a good arrangement. If I were God, I wouldn’t have done it that way. Things I’ve written about are no longer of any interest to me, but they were certainly of interest before I wrote about them. So there’s something about writing about it that flattens them. You’ve used them up. I tell people I’ve never read one of my books, and that’s true. They think I’m pulling their leg.

"“It’s [Love Is Hell] very victimised, full of ghosts. And there’s a narcotic theme and a lot of..."

Sun, 22 Nov 2009 11:20:39 -0500

“

“It’s [Love Is Hell] very victimised, full of ghosts. And there’s a narcotic theme and a lot of anger and resentment. To make that record, I had to write about the things I think, but don’t want to say. Things that maybe shock yourself even more than other people. And that’s hard to do - but worthwhile. I really thought it was my masterpiece.”

His record company, Lost Highway, didn’t agree and declined to release it. Adams remains incredulous and incensed about this crushing rejection.

“They said there weren’t hits on the record. If you really want a hit recording artist, you need to go find a 16-year-old girl who can dance, sing, who is interested in glory and fame.

“I don’t want any of that shit! Music is very personal and important to me. It is my life, my art. It’s my creative run and I have to put the force behind it to make it work.”

”

- Ryan Adams, from The Telegraph, London, 14 Feb. 2004

(*smh.com.au)

(via ryanadamsfansite)

palahniukandchocolate: I’d live on this. Really interesting....

Sun, 22 Nov 2009 10:00:45 -0500

palahniukandchocolate:

I’d live on this.

Really interesting. Check out these photos.

::oyster harvesting::

Sun, 22 Nov 2009 09:40:50 -0500

Oysters are a big thing down here. However, I’ve never had the chance to go out and see how they harvest them. This short photo-blog entry gives me as close a view as I’m likely to get. The Bowen Island Restaurant that they keep mentioning is one of our favorite places to take visitors - for the delicious seafood and for the lowcountry authenticity (it’s also in the book “1000 places to see before you die). If you’d like to join us sometime, let us know soon. I foresee that it won’t last much longer in its current state.

Check out the photos here: Aw Shucks, It’s Oyster Season

::wes anderson article::

Fri, 20 Nov 2009 19:31:47 -0500

“What’s Wrong with Wes Anderson” - LA Weekly

Interesting article about “Fantastic Mr. Fox” director. Did I mention that I can’t wait for this movie? Also, I’m tired of all these people hating on him just because he is (or was) popular with the hipster set. I know that this is how it works with indie music… Love it like it’s your mother until everyone else starts to like it, and then find some ridiculous reason to hate it. But don’t start doing this with movies too.

::matisyahu (hebrew for matthew)::

Fri, 13 Nov 2009 17:07:06 -0500

I’m a big fan of this dude. Really talented beat-boxer and musician. I love the reggae stylings and his lyrics are personally really inspiring and challenging. Despite inevitable doubts, his faith seems really sincere and natural.

As Gary-the-plumber was in the process of fixing our tankless hot water heater (no shower for 2 days - not so bad), Beth contacted me to tell me that he was playing for free at the Half-Moon Outfitters in town 45 minutes from then. Gary finished up super quickly so Matt Lambert picked me up and we checked it out.

He signed some autographs and talked to the crowd for a bit…

Then climbed to the top of the climbing wall… Him being at least 6 feet tall didn’t hurt.

Then they delivered 4 perfect songs…

He signed the boulder, Lambert ran over to meet some guy that’s on 30 Rock (Beth and I don’t watch it), and we took off. Excellent way to avoid doing schoolwork.

Here’s a pretty sweet video of all the sweet action that...

Fri, 13 Nov 2009 13:40:01 -0500

Here’s a pretty sweet video of all the sweet action that went down at the annual hipster festival Kulture Klash last weekend.

I’ve been itching to see the two Kill Bill films again....

Wed, 11 Nov 2009 14:07:41 -0500

I’ve been itching to see the two Kill Bill films again. Beth has never seen them. Anyone want to join us?

::names for "bible study group"::

Wed, 11 Nov 2009 11:51:26 -0500

Tuesday night small group emails get me every time...

Matt: We need a small group nickname. Brainstorm and vote..
Mark: "James Island Juggernauts"
Jenn: Real Small Groups Love Jesus - maybe that can be our motto.
Beth: I suggest B.S. You know, short for Bible Study...
Jenn: Jesus' Dope Disciples
God's Awesome Army
Defenders of the Bible and Truth and Other Religious Words
P.E.A.C.E - People Engaging in Analyzing Christ's Excellence
Jeff: Joining
Everyone
Forever
Finally
Matt: Ok we are getting there, but not quite. The Eastbridge youth group is The Hardcore Jesus Explosion. That's the kind of thing we need here...
Jenn: The Bada** Jesus Dynomite
Jeff: How about "The Beatboxin' Bible Beaters"
Beth: The Chosen Ones

I don’t even know what this music is, but I thought it was...

Wed, 11 Nov 2009 11:10:17 -0500

I don’t even know what this music is, but I thought it was an interesting idea for a music video. Something about our decisions in life, blah, blah, blah. I can’t decide what the moral of the story should be. Any ideas?

"With all the hope for an end to the recession, military spending does seem to be the open wound of..."

Wed, 11 Nov 2009 10:35:47 -0500

“With all the hope for an end to the recession, military spending does seem to be the open wound of America (and perhaps no coincidence that the military budget is almost the same as the bailout package). The military spending is the elephant in the room any time we speak of health care for all or reforming the broken education system; one wonders how much good we can do when nearly half of every tax dollar goes to the military. Dr. King’s words ring truer than ever: “A country that spends more money on military defense than on programs of social uplift is approaching a spiritual death.” The U.S. is now paying over $16 billion a year just to maintain its nuclear arsenal, an arsenal so big it takes the next 50 countries combined to even get close. I did a little research recently and talked to some folks in DC just to wrap my hands around the numbers. Using the Hiroshima bomb as a measuring unit (and remembering that this bomb killed 140,000 people in one blast, and 90 of these bombs could blow up all of Russia), the U.S. now has the equivalent of more than 122,000 Hiroshimas. How many times do we need to be able to blow up the world? It must break God’s heart. As Jesus wept over Jerusalem because it did not know the things that lead to peace, Jesus must be weeping over America today. It is my prayer that we would have the courage and imagination to beat these “swords into plows” — to turn the things that have brought death into things that bring life. As the rate of soldiers dying by suicide has now outnumbered those dying in combat, it is time for us to say “enough” to the sword which we have picked up and died by over and over. It is time to choose another future than wars and rumors of wars. And perhaps it is time once again to pray on the steps of Congress for a moral budget… and to go to jail as we pray.”

- Shane Claiborne (via azspot)

jessicat: davidkaneda: Kevin Spacey doing some great...

Tue, 10 Nov 2009 16:38:12 -0500

jessicat:

davidkaneda:

Kevin Spacey doing some great impersonations of Al Pacino, Marlon Brando, Christopher Walken, Clint Eastwood, and more. Oh, and man, James Lipton is annoying.

This is amazing. Gotta love Kevin Spacey.