Look! Down there! At the bottom of the page! I ADDED LINKS! I'm working on adding comments next so stay tuned! :)

Having picked up The Matrix: Reloaded Album yesterday I oddly find myself in the mood for techno right now. I found the album to be better than the movie. Quite the opposite from the original where the movie was better than the soundtrack. That's my opinion at least.
Once again I find it necessary to enter another obituary onto my blog. The departing soul in question belonging to "Get Down" Gary Brown. Gary was one of the instructors at Dance Masters. He died of a heart attack while driving his nine y.o. daughter Taylor home to Northern Virginia to see her mom. His last act was to apply his foot to the breaks saving her. She dialed 911. From what I understand there will be a service for him Thursday. I think it was intended for him to be cremated. He will be missed. He was one of the best. I wish he could have taught me more. The last thing I learned from him was the basics for the tango-hustle.

Okay, I just exchanged journal URL listings with a college buddy so I guess I'd better make an entry for the evening. She mentioned playing pool again in her e-mail. I had a good time at that Monday night. I even earned a new nickname: "Clutch" because I kept coming through in them. I wasn't the best player at the table, but when the time came to put the eight-ball away I was always there. :) Go me. :) I've been so distracted by trying to write for the upcming Victorian Age: Sorcer campaign that I've been messing up or negleting other stuff in my life: like losing filter screens from the fryers at work, or not getting the credit card to push my flying lessons forward. At least I got the process of filling my prescription for allergy medication started this morning. I AM excited by the upcoming campaign, and I'm keeping so many secrets about it. I'm proud of myself for that, but it feels like I'm about to burst! Time for more resarch on that front. Gotta go!

Today is the "Cat Parade" in Belgium. Okay, without looking that up on a website one has to wonder what a "Cat Parade" would be, or its origins in mythology. I have this image of the running of the bulls with prides of house cats. And mice and birds everywhere begin to shutter. Now there's a species apocalyptic image. I wonder if Angela knows about this. I'm sure she'd love it. But why Belgium? Were they running from a broken dike? No, wait, that'd be the Netherlands then. Next door neighbor at least. I'm not completely mad. Just a lil off my rocker. Not too hard to do when I don't own a rocker. Of course there is one down in the family room though. The key word was MY rocker of course. Great, now I'm getting into a semantic argument with myself. Sign of genius, but as I'm so fond of poiting out geniuses have a higher percentage of madness. This only stands to reason: madness is defined by the social "norms" of society, and who more readily able to challenge the "norms" than a genius? Where's the fine line? I'm too sleepy to figure that out right now. Maybe next time.

Okay, I'm back... hours later. Hey! For me, that ain't bad. Oddly, I've got my radio set on the soul station. When I was frying chicken yesterday Diane caught me playing Otis Redding and loving him like she does she asked me where I got the CD. I told her Barnes & Noble. She probmptly went and bumped into her niece. Her niece said, no, don't buy your CDs here, buy 'em through the Time/Life catalog. So she''s gonna. I might order some Wilson Picket through it, but the Ray Charles I'm getting for Mother's Day will have to be from a store. The allergy medication is definitely helping. I'll have to make sure I get that prescription for Allegra. Time to go read the other blogs. Ciao.

The Gothic calendar is oddly blank today. Thus far my day is as well. A little light reading, a little Civ III, and breakfast of gluten-free waffles: not much to get ya started. Although I'm planning a little cleaning, and a little campaign writing. We'll see how much I get done. I buried my crystal yesterday. Its supposed to remain buried for three days, which means I'll dig it up and clean it off on Friday, which is my day off. I've also got a flying lesson Friday. I forget what time it is so I'll have to call DAS. Its probably ten A.M. My brain obviously isn't coming up with anything to write so I'll come back later.

Happy Cinco de Mayo, folks! Its been a miserable day between my allergies, the drowsiness from the Benedryll I used to treat it, and the occasional head-ache flare-ups that briefly occurred, today just hasn't been a pleasant one. The most interesting thing to have occurred was the procurement of my new glasses. It will take some time for my eyes to adjust to them, but they definitely seem to help. I had no idea my eyes were this bad, except when I took eye exams. Someone notable thought that my eyes might be the source of my headaches, Mom thought it was dehydration, and I think its from changes in pressure systems. Well, getting the glasses will either eliminate the problem or eliminate one of the three possible causes of my problem. Guess we'll have to see. I also received one of the books I ordered in the mail today. This book was on the Graf Zeppellin and the Hindenberg. I was hoping it would cover earlier and more airships than these, but it still gives some coverage into the ships themselves that may be usable in my Victorian Age: Sorcerer campaign. We'll see with that as well. That's enough entry for today. Till next time.

Okay, so my last entry was almost two months ago. So sue me. Life's been its usual busy and I've not had much time for e-mail much less blog-time. Its shortyly after noon and I'm writing on a stomach that's only had the bottom of a bag of Fritos so far for lunch. What direction I want my creativity to take today is way up in the air. Mostly I wanna bitch about being nagged at for whatever thing my parents (mostly Mom) can think of at the time they happen to talk to me. I actually had a conversation with Mom this morning where she said stuff other than naggy stuff. I got her to talk about the party across the street Friday night for our neighbors 50th(?) birthday. It was a surprize party and evidently he was genuinely surprized. A rather difficult thing to do in light a 50+ guest list! With that many people the risk of someone blabbing is great, but apparently he was floored. A few of the other neighbors were there as well. I was at the movies Friday night, of which of course my father had to mock. Sister did too a little last night. Hmph. Mundanes. I mean my sister wants a rich, dumb jock for a boyfriend. And I thought I was shallow!Anyways, I'm hungry. Gonna go grab some grub.

As I write this the temperature outside is 33 degrees, the sky is clear, and the moon is waxing to a quarter moon tomorrow night. I'm a bit tired, but its been exciting the past couple of days for little things. Yesterday I had my first flying lesson in two months. The lesson went well, but what was most encouraging was that I acquired the contact information for a seaplane flight instructor. Being the type of plane I want to fly commercially I am much encouraged. Tonight at Dance Masters I also learned two new moves in Salsa. The first was pretty easy to learn, the second takes a lot of work, and I need to concentrate on keeping my feet tight on my turn and knowing when to switch my partner's hand. I'm due to attend to another part of my routine now, so I'll end this here. As Stan Lee would say, "Excelsior!"

IiiiiiiiIIIITTT'S MARDI GRAS!!!!!! Party time! Unfortunately I still have this nagging cough. My voice apparently sounds utterly sick or totally sexy, depending on who you ask right now. And right now the cat idn't sayin'. I've got the radio streamin' on New Orleans Jazz, but its sure playing a mixture of Jazz, Swing, and the Blues from all over the area. That's good on a day like today. And with Uiscea Beatha playin' the festival of Rhiannon tonight, ahem, er Mardi Gras at least the music will be good. :)Anyways, I feel a nap comin' on. I know it was brief, but I want to at least show my hand to the world. I'm still here and writin'. Just not enough. Yesterday was farily long compared to other entries I've made so hopefully that will keep people goin'. See ya on the flip-side.

Why do I always seem to be posting about funerals and memorial services on this thing? Latest case in point: James Howell. Last Sunday we were watching Daredevil together- last night I was viewing him in his casket with a room full of SCAdians, a scant few I actually knew. Those being his wife Karen, Jenn Vermilion, and Bryan. The latter two I knew/know from role-playing. Taryn was kind enough to accompany me on this strange payment of respect. Those I met there were a very friendly and curious lot. The man I knew seemed an odd choice for one to be interred in the ground. A Viking's funeral pyre would have fitted his corpse better....IMHO.
My cold seems to finally be passing. All that's left is to be rid of this nagging cough.
On my Gothic calendar today it reads of a full moon tonight, that today is sacred to Idun- a Norse fertility goddess and guardian of the apples of immortality, today is the Witches Magickal Day, and its also Labour Day in Western Australia. Now THERE's a polyglot of information. Let's see what my Dictionary of Ancient Dieties says on idun... "Idun, and Asynjor, is the goddess who guards the golden apples of eternal life for the gods. The Aesir needed the apples for their strength and health. Idun is the wife of Bragi, the god of poetry. Her brother is the giant Thjasse-Volund. When Loki was abducted by the giant Thiassi, he gained his release by promising to give Idun to him. Loki wooed Idun by telling her he knew where she could find better apples. They went into the woods together and Idun was taken by Thiassi. Without their apples, the Aesir grew old and dissipated. They threatened to punish Loki if he did not return Idun. Using Freyjas's magic cloak, he flew into Thiassi's territory and rescued Idun. Thiassi chased them to the edge of Asgard, where he was killed by the Aesir." It seems to me that Loki used that cloak a lot. I seem to recall something about it being made of Raven's feathers and giving its wearer the gift of flight, but I'm not sure I've remembered that accurately.

I must be coming down with something. I woke up this morning with horrible congestion and its been draining into my throat. I suspect soon I'll start coughing and that my throat will be sore. Its already got that peculiar tickle one gets when something starts affecting you. My eyes are also itchy and watery. At least my lips aren't chapped this time. I took some Top Care Cold when i got home from work today. Hopefully that will give me a head start on taking this bug out before it gets worse. I've already heard that what's been going around can last as long as two months! I hope I can cut it off at the pass. I'm already taking medicine and drinking my fulids so that should help. May all of you who read this find yourself well and better than I am.

Yes, I know that last entry is an extravagant indulgence in childish pasttimes. I wrote SOMEthing didn't I?

Mercury-skinned demi-god riding the waves of the star-filled void
Pursuent of your forsaken alienity
Molded in the image of the god of consumption
Rebellious of your deity
Loaded down with wanderlust, you seek the untrodden lanes of the aether

What is this worthless life-den of a rock?
What wondrous beings inhabit here?
Do I have the right?
To choose between occupation and conscience?
Consequences are the weight of it

My morality denies me all hope of return to love
Return to Shalla-Bal
Let the guitar-riffs sing
Collect the gauntlet ring
He who woos death is no nobler a thing

What a lonely thing to be the former herald

Ode to the Silver Surfer
---------------------------------

Given the assignment of writing something still gives a sense of dread, like I'm about to perform. I can get on a stage faster than I can unleash the full expression of my thoughts. What mad inhibitions have forced me into this... complex? Irony? Juxtaposition? Contrast? Okay, I'm at loss for the word I know is in there somewhere. I think I know what my problem is: I sit here watching the dumbe-down motion pictures that pass themselves off as teen angst. This movie whose name I have yet to learn can't even pass for an intelligent romantic comedy. Matthew Lillard and Freddy Prinze, Jr. I can understand, but has Anne Paquin truly sunk so low? Her career began with The Piano! I felt so much more intelligent watching that. Heck! X-Men was more intelligent than this riff-raff. I've been getting lost in doing research for writing a role-playing game, but how much have I really written? Very little. Pencil needs to connect with paper and needs to KEEP connecting with it. Oh dear. Here we go again....
So why am I only writing during the commercials? They've gotten me haven't they? Okay, now I know I'm a bit of a conspiracy theorist, but have I truly lost it if I think "they" are out to dumb the masses down. Not just me. Everybody. Noone's going to revolt to the "New World Order" if they're too stupid to know that they're oppressed, right? Or am I just "suffering for my art"? What art? I haven't produced anything one could quantify as art in any shape or capacity since...Maine. Why Maine? What was it about Maine that unleashed me? Alowed me to cut loose? Is it blind admiration for my aunt and uncle?I keep asking questions, but I'm not giving myself any answers.

Okay, gotta keep this brief. Pop-Pop talked my ear off about getting settled into a career just now, and it decimated what little muse I had. Maybe I should finally sit down and write something publishable. I'm not sure these entries really count. I tend to save all my stories for role-playing adventures, which isn't necessarily a bad thing, I just don't profit off of that. I feel like I'm really beginning to explore the roots of Gothic fiction. I'm hoping that will help me tell the kind of stories that I want to tell for the upcoming Victorian Age Sorcerer campaign I have planned. When and where I'll be able to tell this tale is a mystery to me!Anyways, taht's my entry for the day. See most of you tonight.

Yikes! This is embarrassing to have been negligent of my blog for so long. I don't expect too many people follow it in any case, but here goes. Today was my day off from work at Ukrop's. I still did teacher training with Taryn at the studio this evening though. I had intended to have lunch with Pop-Pop today, but when I tried to contact him he was, as I later found out, buying an electric can opener at Wally World.
Mom's been edgy about what's goin' on in the world. The U.S. goin' to war has got her spooked some. We've been at war for a year and a half now. What made today so special besides Osama's promise of more attacks yesterday? Mom and Dad jokingly talked of moving to Bermuda tonight. I was thinking Iceland myself. I'd have to learn how to speak Norge and become a Lutheran, but one out of two isn't bad. I'm sure the glaciers are gorgeous and the volcanoes keep the island warm. I mean, who bothers with Iceland anyways?

As the rains pours down and my eyes droop wearily under my brow, I fathom the little challnges of the day. This morning I encountered the rudest customr as I can remember in some time. He complained about what it took to get service around the area. When I explained the system, he grew more indignant, but I found an unlikely ally amongst the other customers as a lady explained to him that the more he argued the more he made an ass of himself. Witnesses claimed his response to this was "What business is it of yours?!" but I was walking away at that point. I'd had enough. When I came back to the front I thanked the kind lady. June had done the same. The other problem of the day is that I seem to have lost my pocket watch. I hope that I might be able to find it in the car or tomorrow at work. I'm too tired to go hunting for it as of now.
Last night was Rebecca's Twelfth Night party. We had sweet potato soup, shepherd's pie, and wassail. Rebecca and her hot roommate Mariam gave away door prizes, which were basically what Tolkien's hobbits would refer to as mathoms. I got three books out the generous nature of my hostesses. After the giving of door prizes, we sat in candlelight and told ghost stories. I managed to weasel out of telling any by leaving early. I wanted a full night's rest, but it got me out of telling a story that I could not do full justice to anyways. The story belongs to Dawn, and should be hers for the telling. My life has given me no supernatural experiences that I could deem to qualify.

Its Friday afternoon and I have no idea as to what I want to do tonight. The most obvious plan seems to be to either go out and see Star Trek: Nemesis or stay home and watch either Monty Python's the LIfe of Brian or The Dark Crystal- two DVDs that I received for Christmas that I haven't had opportunity to watch yet. Although I've seen both before. Of course my mother would say to clean up my room, but that has only productive redeeming qualities, and is hardly any way to spend a weekend. I'm sure that I'll be working on my bathroom tomorrow morning and helping to take down the Christmas tree and other decorations. Depressing, and yet I'm certainly glad that this particular holiday season is over as orbid as its been. I enjoy the rain, but I could use a little sun. (momentary interruption)
Pardon that, but I had just realized that I had not yet scheduled myself a flying lesson for this weekend. I had received a gift certificate for one that I had not used yet. I just hope the sky clears up Sunday. Flying would definitely help raise my spirits. It might be just the thing to help get my life back on track. Paying off my car bill will help for certs. Too long have I put off just getting my solo. Its time that I was licensed to fly. Maybe now I'll be able to afford a lesson every week. That will certainly help. New year. Fresh start. I will return to job-hunting as well. I need something to replace Ukrop's. They don't seem interested in promoting me to manager. I must presume that my attitude needs adjusting. I'm sorry, but kissing ass just gets tiring after a while.
I hope Angela is able to get her Lord of the Rings chronicle up and running soon. I'm certainly stoked enough. I'm also considering intermittently running a Call of Chthulhu campaign once I get through the LotR rules and read CoC rules. Who knows? Other games I've considered have been Vampire: Vicitorian Age, and Demon: the Fallen. The former is certainly tempting, the latter I just don't think that I'm evil enough to do. A certain mentality is necessary to play a demon. I just don't have it. That's probably a good thing.

When it rains it pours. On Wednesday, December 11, 2002 Elizabeth Patton Fridley died of a heart attack. It was her sixth. Grandmama was the dearest woman that I had ever known. This time I was able to attend a visitationon Friday evening at Woody Funeral Home. Her funeral itself was at Maury Cemetary at a familiar plot next to her husband, my grandfather, Erskine Fridley. It was cold, but a proper gathering attended. Many of these then proceeded to come to my folks house where the main topic of conversation was horsebackriding with a dash of shopping added in for good measure. After the gathering I went Christmas shopping with my girlfriend, Taryn. On Sunday she came over for the Luminaria in my neighborhood. She'd seen individual houses do this, but not an entire neighborhood. She seemed to think the view to be beautiful, but was put off by driving around without her headlights. She switched them off and on intermittently.
I have not much more time to write as I must procure dinner and prepare to teach a beginning hustle class this evening at the studio. Thank goodness this is the dance with which I feel most competant.