This Blog is Your Power Animal

we had running water for only about 2 out of the last 6 days. i say about because we had a leak in the front and once it was found we had to shut the water off outside and only turn it on long enough to run a quick shower, let the toilet refill, and brush teeth. SUCKY. Once the hole was dug to expose the leaking pipe, leaving the water on would have created a mudslide into the streets and, of course, disaster would have ensued.

now, i'm not generally too much opposed to a little disaster every now and again, but turning the water back off (which the authorities would have eventually made me do) would have involved hip waiters and a safety line. so the land lord has been laboring in our front yard for the last week and occasionally i have to go out and hold a flashlight for him. i doubt i'll get a break on rent for that work, but whatever...

to add to that, kendra and i received 2 parking tickets EACH for a grand total of $176 owed to the city of seattle. SUCKY. we probably should have seen it coming since it's zoned parking right in front and neither of us has the required parking passes. I HATE PARKING TICKETS. and $44 a piece is pretty fuckin' steep. the application fee is only $30-something. (it's a long story why we haven't just gone ahead and gotten the passes and i won't go into it, but it ends with it being this jackass at the transportation department's fault.) ... but it could be worse. i could be living in a carport in front of our house.


well it's off to safeco field where i will probably only semi-legally park my scooter and be pissed off if i get a ticket for it. damn the man, always trying to keep a scooter riddin' brotha down.

word

Posted by Devon at 9/29/2006 04:42:00 PM | Permalink | Comments

so it has been a good month and a half at least since we moved into our new place, but we are finally unpacked so we thought the best thing to do would be to trash the place by throwing a party. all the regular "scenesters" were there as it was the place-to-be last saturday night.

i could go through the list of events point by point, but instead, i think i'll just list the highlights in picture and video format. these need no explanation so there will be none...

Posted by Devon at 9/25/2006 12:20:00 PM | Permalink | Comments

So here are the great things about working from home...

*waking up 5 minutes before im supposed to start working.
*wearing whatever I feel is the best thing for that day's work (mostly pajamas and an unshaven face.)
*playing music as loud as I want and occasionally getting up to dance with the dog to a particularly good song. (I recommend "papa was a rolling stone" by the temptations or "don't stop till you get enough" by Michael Jackson.
*when, in the course of the day, it is necessary to yell "FUCK" at the top of my lungs and throw something, I just go ahead and do that.
*not sitting in traffic and yelling "FUCK" while wanting to throw something at the bus that just cut you off on the 520. i'm pretty sure i would have eventually been sent to prison for running someone off the road in a fit of rage.
*all the frozen microwavable lunches i can handle.
*indiana jones movies playing in the background... almost everyday.
*the space in which i spend my day is larger than 8' x 6'.
*you know how late in the day on friday it always crosses your mind "man, this week sucked. i need a drink." ya, i just go ahead and get a drink.
*wasting time writing a pointless blog entry when i should be working.

Posted by Devon at 9/22/2006 04:02:00 PM | Permalink | Comments

went and saw a couple of very good bands at the crocodile last night. elvis perkins, cold war kids, and dr. dog. the music was mostly very good. i liked elvis perkins more than dr. dog. and I liked cold war kids better than elvis perkins.

we began the evening as any evening of this nature should, with pbrs at a dive bar down the street from the croc. i had 3 or 4 beers under my belt (or i guess right about at belt level) when cold war kids came on and i had to pee like nobody's business. we were in the front right next to the stage and it was pretty crowded. i hate being the person who has to push through the crowd in the middle of a good band, especially when i literally have to squeeze past every single person in the entire place to get there and back. i very seriously thought about putting my empty beer bottle to good use right there in front of the stage at one point. i didn't. not that it would have bothered me much, but i've tried before with less than sanitary results. plus, i figured 4 beers probably wouldn't fit into one beer bottle anyway.

the first act was elvis perkins. i wonder, is it an asset or a liability to be named elvis if you are trying to make a career in music? i mean, wouldn't it be better to actually name your band something unique than go with your name, which happens to be the most famous name in rock music. regardless, elvis perkins was a lot of fun. kind of folksy / bluesy clap-your-hands-and-stomp-your-feet type stuff. lots of weird instruments and inviting other bands' members on stage for sing-a-longs. good times.

cold war kids rocked. i had a suspicion they would since their music is really good. i was right. they're kind of brit pop meets old r&b. they put on a good show too. here is a music video of theirs. and a link to a live performance at KEXP a couple months ago.



i could take or leave dr. dog though. they're kind of quirky soulful pop. nothing too out of the ordinary and they seemed to be really loose. maybe they wore themselves out with all the tambourine-ing on stage during the other bands... plus their name sucks.

Posted by Devon at 9/13/2006 05:24:00 PM | Permalink | Comments

So the Cavvy is gone. Sold. It is just a sweet memory now. There will be no more toting the canoe across Washington into Boise, no more 3 hour drives down to Portland, no more running down hobos in the streets, the engine revving as I leave a trail of blood and tears in my wake.

No, the car will now provide that kind of happiness to some other lucky young man. I on the other hand, will be spending about $400 less per month for a car I never used (except for those uses listed above).

And so, we bid thee a fond farewell... may your air filter always be clean... may your tires remain inflated and grippy, and may you never miss when a homeless family of three crosses your path (the arrogant jerks that they are).

...adieu

Posted by Devon at 9/10/2006 11:34:00 AM | Permalink | Comments

...regardless of whether or not you choose to believe it.

this is a really interesting video of Ken Miller, a biology professor at the university of colorado and devout catholic.

he talks about the inherent flaws with the intelligent design argument (including the bacterial flagellum motor and so-called "irreducible complexity") and some updates on the absolutely shameful attempt by creationists to insert non-science into science class rooms. next they'll be teaching the scientific merit of astrology.

...discuss.


--------------added subsequent to initial post.

Evolution is not without unknowns. SCIENCE is not without unknowns. That's what science is about. It is always changing with new evidence.

So why is it that evolution is being singled out in this case? Why aren't we talking about Einstein's theory of relativity having holes? And why are these attacks on evolution all coming from thinly veiled religious groups.

Christians see evolution as a direct threat to their creation story and therefore a direct threat to their religion. They can't see the two being able to exist at the same time because it's all or nothing to most of them. And it's from that frame of mind that they attack evolution. If one part may not work, the whole thing has to be thrown out.

That's just not how science works. Scientists are constantly re-evaluating evidence, testing hypotheses. Evolution is constantly being tested by a number of different areas of science and it just keeps holding up. Intelligent design collapses under the same scrutiny.

Posted by Devon at 9/08/2006 08:47:00 AM | Permalink | Comments

I haven't seen much of Keith Olbermann's show as I don't really have television. But the little bit I have seen leads me to believe that he seems like possibly one of the most reasonable mainstream TV journalist around these days.

I'm sure he wasted his fair share of time on the whole Jon Mark Karr fiasco, but pieces like this one above give one hope that jounalists actually DOING THEIR FUCKING JOB might still be profitable and popular.

...by the way, throwawayyourtv.com is an excellent sight for TV clips of various kinds.

Posted by Devon at 9/02/2006 12:19:00 PM | Permalink | Comments