Minutia: Books My reading is very geographic. I have a to-be-read queue of books, all of which are on the bookshelves--about 10 books, some of which have been in the queue for far too long, some of which have been pulled off the shelves and started only to be neglected and forgotten and put back in the queue (but definately still in the queue); but I have a current reading queue, which resides in various locations around the apartment. <a href="http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0789723700/qid=1035045581/sr=2-1/ref=sr_2_1/002-7399107-1844829">Veen</a> is sitting on my desk along with my recently and finally aquired copy of my very own (yet somehow not at all mine) <a href="http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0971457603/qid%3D1035045656/sr%3D11-1/ref%3Dsr%5F11%5F1/002-7399107-1844829">I Am Relevant</a>. These alternate between the desk and the kitchen table along with <a href="http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/1861007213/qid%3D1035045714/sr%3D11-1/ref%3Dsr%5F11%5F1/002-7399107-1844829">PHP4 XML</a>. Also somewhere in a pile either on my desk or on the shelves above my desk is a stack of articles printed from <a href="http://www.next-wave.org">Next-Wave</a> or <a href="http://www.sevenmagazine.org">seven magazine</a>. By the bed are <a href="http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/0385496095/qid=1035045832/sr=1-1/ref=sr_1_1/002-7399107-1844829?v=glance">Traveling Mercies: Some Thoughts on Faith</a>, a book I am reading outloud to <a href="miriam/">Miriam</a> at night, by the very cul Anne Lamott. We're definately adding a bunch more of her books to the ol' wish list (look to the right) at some point. Also by the bed is <a href="http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/1564783081/qid%3D1035045945/sr%3D11-1/ref%3Dsr%5F11%5F1/002-7399107-1844829">Requiem</a>, a book I'm still working to get through. Then there is always one book that follows me around. It is the book that jumps queue and gets read all in one swoop, never getting stuck in the kitchen or on the desk or in the bedroom or (god forbid) in the bathroom. Recently it was <a href="http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0385504470/qid=1035046027/sr=2-1/ref=sr_2_1/002-7399107-1844829">Lullaby</a>, which I read in 3 or 4 days. Now it is <a href="http://overtherhine.com/unsung.html">Unsung</a>, with which I have again been teasing you. It's going a bit slower because I'm busy and it's not a casual read; it is quite thick. But it is the queue jumper right now. 83217617daniel millerSaturday, October 19, 2002publish<a href="http://www.sharonpaz.com/">sharonpaz.com</a> :: another installation and video artist, found via the previous 83216767daniel millerpublish<a href="http://www.evanizer.com/">evanizer.com</a> :: An artist in NYC. Excellent installation art and a seemingly good blog... Hell, what are 'liberal' beliefs? What are 'conservative' beliefs? I don't even know, and most people who shriek and shriek from either 'side' don't really know either. To them the world is a one-lane highway from pole to pole, with no place to turn around, no place to double back, no place to pull over and have a look at the map. A traffic jam in two directions that hasn't moved for centuries. Well, I'm tired of the traffic jam. Stretching out from that highway there are vistas and mountains and deep, humid valleys and soft, quiet pine forests with resinous breezes. There is a whole universe in and around that narrow highway, so I'm ramming my SUV through the barrier and simply driving away. 83215719daniel millerpublish<a href="http://www.xeni.net/images/boingboing/barlowfriendz_88_pox_americana.htm">HAIL THE AMERICAN EMPIRE. OR ELSE.</a> Despite a deluge of calls, letters, and e-mails, which Capital Hill staffers admitted ran overwhelmingly against the ludicrously-named "Resolution Authorizing the President to Use Force, if Necessary, to End the Threat to World Peace from Saddam Hussein's Weapons of Mass Destruction," Congress extended to George II the authority to make unlimited and preemptive war against another nation that has neither attacked us nor shown the ability or inclination to do so. The resolution was deemed necessary on several grounds. --Iraq possesses and is developing weapons of mass destruction - an unquestioned if Orwellian phrase that makes no qualitative distinction between a hundred pounds of spoiled hamburger and a 50 megaton bomb. --Iraq has flouted a number of U.N. resolutions and international accords regarding such weapons, many of which the United States has also ignored or abrogated. --A member of Al-Queda is thought to have visited Iraq. --Iraq has shown a willingness to use military force in the Middle East, again, not unlike ourselves. --Saddam Hussein is a real son-of-a-bitch who is easier to find than Osama bin Laden. 83200505daniel millerpublish<a href="http://overtherhine.com/unsung.html"><img src="images/unsung2.jpg" border="0"></a> 83180091daniel millerFriday, October 18, 2002publishThis is a really cul interactive map of Sarajevo: <a href="http://mapa.sarajevo.ba/">Interaktivna mapa - Grad Sarajevo - 2001</a> from this site: <a href="http://uvod.sarajevo.ba/">uvod.sarajevo.ba</a> (in Bosnian; here's a little help: zivim is arts/culture {i think} and grad is city) here's <a href="http://www.saray.net/prilozi/default.asp?id=p009">a cul timeline of No Man's Land's winning the Oscar</a> (also in Bosnian, but click on the image about 3/4 the way down, with the Rolling Stones' lips, for a cul image montage of the celebrations in Sarajevo) from this site: <a href="http://www.saray.net/">www.saray.net</a> (again, in Bosnian; but they say they have/are working on an English version; but I don't see a link to it) finally, here's <a href="http://www.bhregister.com/">travel information and advice for BiH</a>, for those interested... 83178391daniel millerpublish<a href="http://www.salon.com/news/feature/2002/10/17/zinni/index.html">Salon.com News | "I'm not sure which planet they live on"</a> Hawks in the Bush administration may be making deadly miscalculations on Iraq, says Gen. Anthony Zinni, Bush's Middle East envoy. 83177227daniel millerpublishExcellent read! :: <a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/g2/story/0,3604,813189,00.html">Guardian Unlimited | The Guardian | I'm an American tired of American lies</a> 83177011daniel millerpublishWhat the fuck was this guy thinking? <a href="http://www.cnn.com/2002/US/South/10/18/sniper.shootings/">CNN.com - Police back to square one in latest sniper killing - Oct. 18, 2002</a> 83173986daniel millerpublishThis is awesome! Check out this organic grocery delivery service in Sarajevo! We're ready to go right now! Let's hope they stay in business until next summer (at which point we will be keeping them in business!)... <a href="http://www.domace.net/who_we_are.htm">DOMACE.NET</a> 83170980daniel millerpublish<a href="http://www.overtherhine.com/">Over the Rhine</a> <a href="http://www.danielsjourney.com/index.php?archive=2002_09_01_archive.xml&id_pass=82146728">once</a> <a href="http://www.danielsjourney.com/index.php?archive=2002_10_01_archive.xml&id_pass=82846061">again</a> avoided my attempts to capture their performance on film; the venue, jammin' java, was exceptionally dark. but i did manage to finally get a hold of lindord's book; i had ordered it months ago and the mail kept losing it. i'll give a review of the show and book tomorrow... <a href="http://overtherhine.com/unsung.html"><img src="images/unsung.jpg" border="0"></a> <img src="images/linfordsign.jpg"> 83151729daniel millerThursday, October 17, 2002publish<a href="http://www.jonnybaker.btinternet.co.uk/pics/dailyproductmontage.jpg">give us this day our daily product</a> (via <a href="http://jonnybaker.blogspot.com/">jonnybaker</a>) 83151017daniel millerpublishBUT, tonight is the Over the Rhine concert, so that is the highlight of my month! 83125179daniel millerpublishMinutia: Anxiety I'm horribly anxious today, and it's not even because of the sniper; although he she they started it a few days ago. I must say, Scott, our conver yesterday didn't help. Scott: "What if it's a terrorist cell and when they catch one there are a bunch more lined up to continue?" Me: Shut UP! No, it is other things. I am still numb from my visit to the dentist this morning. Everything was fine, nothing to report about my first time ever under the drill. (Is 27 too young or pretty good for this kind of thing?) But there were some other things about the trip that had me concerned. First off, Miriam made me negotiate. Now, I've learned from her how to negotiate on consumables. I'm not quite to <a href="http://www.danielsjourney.com/miriam/2002_10_01_archives.html#82895198">her</a> <a href="http://www.danielsjourney.com/miriam/2002_09_01_archives.html#81317004">level</a> yet, but still. But at the dentist? It made an already scary thing more scary. Yes I'm a wimp. No I didn't get anywhere with my lame attempt. No it wasn't worth it. Miriam would've loved just the exprience, regardless the outcome. Not me. We are, yes you guessed it, opposite in many ways. (Thankfully we are also very much alike on some of the critical pieces.) Second, yesterday the weirdest thing happened at the dentist, and it was on my mind all the time until now. I had mentioned that we are moving to Bosnia next year (see countdown at right). The dentist goes "I was in Russia fishing recently and this Russian guy said he was a sniper in Bosnia." Now, first off, why the hell you even whisper the word "sniper" right now in DC is beyond me. But worse yet, I just got done, the day before (scroll down), <a href="http://www.danielsjourney.com/index.php?archive=2002_10_01_archive.xml&id_pass=83022126">talking about</a> the <a href="http://www.famainternational.com/map/snipers.htm">damn tourist killers</a> in Bosnia during the war. Many of them were Russians (there were plenty of Russian mercs in the Serbian forces as well). Who knows what the dentist's damn fishing buddy did? Kill tens? Hundreds? And then talk about it like no big deal. And then the dentist, in his ignorance, just mentions it to me like, "Hey I know someone who was in Bosnia." Yeah. So that left me pretty damn violated. I also had a Bosnian test this morning, which I bombed. Tests don't motivate me, unlike M (another difference). Especially in a subject I'm no good at, but even when I am good at something, I want to prove my ability through a project, not a written exam. As an educator, I think tests are terrible ways to judge a student's progress. If I was an educator, I would give the minimum amount of tests required, and just give assignments and projects. Knowledge, if not applied in a meaningful way, is useless, IMHO. The final violation was watching part 2 and 3 of Death of a Nation yesterday in area studies class. (Here's the only <a href="http://school.discovery.com/lessonplans/programs/yugoslavia/">link</a> I've found for it in a not-yet-comprehensive search.) It ended with the beginning of the siege of Sarajevo and the genocide in Bosnia. Very tough stuff. Horrifying, and we only saw the beginnings of it. Important to watch, but troubling. My heart is definately for this nation. In other news, I'm finding this sad and funny (from a distance): Soularize (no link: bad flash site), a conference in Minn this week, had some alt.worship yesterday. I was surprised to see Cooper so <a href="http://www.jordoncooper.com/2002_10_01_archives.html#85569403">so jazzed up</a> on something <a href="http://integration.danielsjourney.com">we've</a> <a href="http://www.danielsjourney.com/hatemail.html">been doing</a> for years, and we're, say, a decade? behind the UK in all this. Long since not novel. But then, it has to be novel for everyone at some point, sooner or later i guess. But that's not even the sad or funny part. That part is that <a href="http://monkhouse.blogspot.com/2002_10_01_monkhouse_archive.html#83121273">they used a photo</a>, the intellectual property of <a href="http://mel-x.blogspot.com/">someone</a> who's not even at the event, but is part of the larger community of post-evangelical thinkers, in their worship without permission. I'm currently trying to find out more, but I think it's safe to say that if they had at least asked, she would've said yes. Note to anyone browsing my images: the only ones you can take without asking are the <a href="http://www.danielsjourney.com/brands.html">antibrand</a> ones. If you ask, I will most likely let u use any other images, as well. But ask. Exception being just a mention/temp use on a website or something {like on a blog/not like in a core design}, as long as there's a link back to me; also if you use just a bit for texture or otherwise recontextualize the work to create an entirely new work, that's ok. (I use bits from some images I found on the web, and I have no idea where I found them at this point.) Also, if you make any money from the use of any of my images, writings, music, or any of my other intellectual property, or even use it in a commercial venture no matter how successful monetarily, you are in my doghouse and will reap what you sow bastard! In the end, tho, my policy is no harm, no foul. <a href="http://shopping.discovery.com/stores/servlet/ProductDisplay?catalogId=10000&storeId=10000&langId=-1&productId=11468&categoryId=11515&interCategoryId=22513&parent_category_rn=1107&partnumber=656868"><img width="99" src="http://a484.g.akamaitech.net/7/484/34/799226debcbd69/animal.discovery.com/sgallery/shopping/crochunter.jpg" alt="Talking Steve Doll" height="118" border="0"></a> Meanwhile, there is a talking Steve Irwin doll. God help us. I'm putting some <a href="http://www.boardsofcanada.com/">Boards of Canada</a> (note: major bandwidth and CPU required) in Winamp and am going to try and relax. 83123830daniel millerpublish<a href="http://zonezero.com/magazine/essays/diegotime/time.html">Time</a>: This is a very cul concept. Might have to start doing this in my fam. (via <a href="http://www.daypop.com/redirect?id=1462862">daypop</a> via my <a href="http://www.danielsjourney.com/syndicates.php">syndication page</a>) 83122417daniel millerpublish<a href="http://www.johnheronproject.btinternet.co.uk/">john heron project</a>: I'm so damn impressed that I am featuring in someone's fiction! It makes my day every damn time! If all my characters weren't addicts of sex drugs illegal activities other unmentionables, i would do the same thing for my friends! 83121788daniel millerpublishQuiet. Yeah. 83097890daniel millerWednesday, October 16, 2002publishTech: SWiM So, if you were paying attention, you know that my blogging tool is now in its, like, tenth name change, and is now the Simple Widget Mover, or SWiM. I have a beta of the news aggregator, unconfigurable ATM but filled with some blogs I find useful, <a href="http://www.danielsjourney.com/syndicates.php">here</a>. I have recently noticed that <a href="http://www.moveabletype.org/">Moveable Type</a> does the thing I was saying my Widget Mover was going to do the best, which is automatically categorize things and menu them for you based on said cat and title (no not that cat below). So, oh well. Not a novel idea. But hey, they have about three years head start on me, so what can I do? Mine is still novel in many other ways. This is all assuming I get the shit done! Also, I installed and played with <a href="http://radio.userland.com">Radio</a> a while and am thinking, "What's the big freakin' deal?" 83097876daniel millerpublishTech.Comment: Blogging for Dollars This topic has once again come up. I first read <a href="http://www.oreillynet.com/pub/a/javascript/2002/08/12/megnut.html">some article</a> (don't know if that was the one) on it thanks to Cooper. Thought it was sadly funny. Then I was at Greenbelt and this guy actually asks me, "So do you make your living [by blogging]?" I was like, sheyeah! And he was like, "Oh I read that there are people doing that now." And I went, yeah, like ONE. (Miriam just goes, "Yeah, the <a href="http://www.thehomelessguy.blogspot.com/">the homeless guy</a>! And he doesn't have a bank account to receive the $$ with!") Well now it's getting more complicated (re: <a href="http://www.ratcliffe.com/bizblog/2002/10/12.html#a33">Microsoft paying people to blog from their conferences</a>), but I like this summary from <a href="http://diveintomark.org/archives/2002/10/16.html#blogging_for_pennies">dive into mark</a>: 1. Wile away the best years of your life building a weblog and filling it with useful, interesting, relevant, topical, engaging content every day. 2. ??? 3. Profit! 83097621daniel millerpublishTech: Colors Oh, Brilliant!! <a href="http://www.colormatch.dk/">What a damn cul tool/idea</a>! (also found via <a href="http://www.kungfugrippe.com/archives/2002/10/16/index.php#001766">kung fu grippe</a>) 83097291daniel millerpublishElsewhere: Sick and Wrong<img src="http://www.00fun.com/wave.gif" align="right"> <a href="http://www.cnn.com/2002/US/South/10/15/offbeat.fried.twinkies.ap/index.html">CNN.com - Fried Twinkies a new state fair fave - Oct. 15, 2002</a> "It's one of the beauties of having a brand that is an American icon," said Mike Redd, a vice president of Interstate's cake marketing division. "It's fun ... and it's taken on a life of its own." Still, Redd said, "It's not something you'd want to eat every day." --- Or, how about <a href="http://www.bentmen.com/realaudio/rocketman.ram">Shatner doing "Rocketman"</a> (need bandwidth) ... All this found via this <a href="http://www.misterpants.com/01/">new brilliant well designed weblog i found</a> (via <a href="http://www.kungfugrippe.com/">kung fu grippe</a>), <a href="http://www.misterpants.com/">misterpants</a>. @@@ Miriam just goes, regarding this cat image, "These are the creatures we're trying to avoid!" She is CRACKING ME UP tonight!! 83096345daniel millerpublishMinutia: Rainy days It's a cold, rainy day today; but I don't mind. One thing Florida did was make me used to rain. I'm hoping the rain deters the sniper long enough for the police to find him/her/them. Please continue to pray that they do; the fear on this city is debilitating. I'm home for lunch after my class in the morning, a trip to the dentist, and this afternoon I have area studies class. We're watching this excellent video in that class called Death of a Nation. I'd link to something if could find anything on the web about it. I mentioned the book last week. Gonna be a quiet few days as I get through some offline things and some long overdue programming. Tomorrow I have a test in Bosnian and a cavity drilled at the dentist. Woo hoo. All before noon! Lose Vrjeme (bad weather):<div style="margin-left: 20px;">Momak Jeden: Oprostite? Momak Dva: Da? 1: Da li je to vas kisobran? Is that your umbrella? 2: Ne znam. I don't know. 1: Ciji je to kisobran? Whose umbrella is it? 2: Ne znam. 1: Da li imam taj kisobran? May I have that umbrella? 2: Ne znam. 1: Sta znate? What DO you know? 2: Znam ti si mokar. I know you're wet.</div> 83066812daniel millerpublishThanks dude! Sparkle Motion: just think, you are going to bosnia to _escape_ snipers :-) A Snider: ok thanks Sparkle Motion: that's a twist A Snider: that did make me lol 83044197daniel millerTuesday, October 15, 2002publish...and then your mind thinks that this is how urban warfare must feel like, only alot worse; and you think we are going to send thousands of young men into Bagdad to engage in urban warfare that could last months if not years and for what? for something honorable? ... 83044075daniel millerpublish<a href="http://www.voanews.com/article.cfm?objectID=2C0389EB-86B9-440F-9D362D7B3D53F071">VOANews.com - Sniper Turns Washington DC Area into 'Fear City'</a> Tonight I had to walk around arlington around 8-9.30. It's strange how your mind works. It's crazy how many white vans match the composite. At least 10 in my 5 block walk. It's also crazy how many dark parking lots there are, how many dark alleys and streets, how many long line-of-sights from said dark streets straight into you, silhouetted against some bright storefront. The bullet travels faster than sound. It's possible you could be dead without any warning whatsoever. Just instantly before God. One victim (and <a href="http://www.cnn.com/2002/US/South/10/15/shooting.victims/">don't forget them</a>), a woman with a husband and a seven year old daughter, she was reading on a park bench. DC Police managed to shut down the city a couple weekends ago for peaceful protests. THIS is the time when we WILL understand a more visible, aggressive police presence in our streets. Let's get this motherfucker before he... 83043872daniel millerpublishTech: Syndication Page This may take a little while to load but I've done something smart with RSS feeds, methinks: <a href="http://www.danielsjourney.com/syndicates.php">SWiM News Aggregate</a>: I finally got my new aggregator set up the way I like. Still working on who's in there by default, and this type of page will be a configurable option in the final SWiM product. Catching you up: the new-new-new name for the blogger on steroids is Simple Widget Mover. 83038575daniel millerpublish<a href="http://weblog.delacour.net/archives/000734.html">Jonathon Delacour: Our volatile, dangerous neighbor</a> Again something I'm posting just in case you've missed it. I don't watch TV at all anymore, so I don't know if TV news totally took a pass at this huge piece of news; but this Aus. blogger seems to provide the most concise explaination and good links... 83036011daniel millerpublish<a href="http://daringfireball.net/2002/10/microsoft_makeup.html">Daring Fireball: Microsoft Make-Up</a> Ok, if you want to know the whole story, this is the blog entry to get it from. I personally didn't think this was worth so much energy, but it certainly made the big-blog circles, so I figured it should make our little one as well. 83035354daniel millerpublishfear. the demon of murder comes to feed all the dark spirits with fear. fear grips a city and pushes out all other affects. it brings you to a halt. it keeps your mind far away from the quiet and the peace. your fear of losing love pushes you away from Love. Love seems so far away. Love, You can't be close enough. You could show up in this room and hold me in your arms all afternoon and I'm not sure that would be enough. did you know that during the siege of Sarajevo, it was popular sport with many europeans to join the serbians in the hills above the city and shoot at the bosnians running from building to building? <a href="http://www.applicom.com/twibih/voices.html">Voices From Sarajevo</a> <a href="http://www.friendsofbosnia.org/zones/exhibit/exhibit.htm">Zones of Separation</a> note to self: go see this when in Boston <a href="http://www.friendsofbosnia.org/zones/images/Images_inx.htm">Zones of Separation - Images and Text</a> all found on the <a href="http://www.friendsofbosnia.org/">friends of bosnia dot org site</a> <a href="http://www.honco.net/archive/990403.html">to live, not just survive</a>: Unless you have had the experience, it is very difficult to comprehend what it means to live under a state of siege. To be besieged becomes not only a matter of physical danger and limitation; it also entails a special state of mind. The siege of Sarajevo, in particular, involved terror of a scale and sophistication possible only at the end of the twentieth century. There was no safe zone. The hills around the city were filled with a wide range of heavy and light arms. Sarajevans were constantly exposed to sniper fire and shelling -- on the street, at school, in the park, at home, in the hospital, at houses of worship. You had to accept the fact that you were, at any time, being watched and controlled and that you might be vulnerable to sniper fire. And if you as a reader are to gain a grasp of the experience, you must try to see from this perspective and apply your feeling. <a href="http://www.honco.net/archive/990403.html">more...</a> <a href="http://www.famainternational.com/">FAMA</a> <a href="http://www.famainternational.com/map/mapgrid-f.htm">Sarajevo survival map</a>: I saw this map in class a couple of weeks ago. That's how I knew about the <a href="http://www.famainternational.com/map/snipers.htm">European's "sport shooting" Bosnians during the seige</a>. <a href="http://www.famainternational.com/map/legend-f.htm">Sarajevo survival map legend</a> 83022126daniel millerpublish<a href="http://abcnews.go.com/wire/US/ap20021015_865.html">ABCNEWS.com : Va. Slaying Brings Sniper Toll to 9</a> Yes, this is the Home Depot that I've been to on a number of occasions. This is the strip mall that Miriam has shopped at often. This is just a few miles west of where we live and where Miriam works. Pray. 83014440daniel millerpublishMinutia: Columbus Day Today, we have the day off. I haven't had Columbus Day off since high school! Working for the government is cul sometimes. Of course I'm not the one working for the government, but whatever... I have some positive news about our good ol' USoA, and Lord knows we need some. The government does not buy from any manufacturer that could possibly be exploiting human rights, directly or indirectly. This means that most of what the government buys it buys from US factories. Not something you could say about all those "successful" nations out there: Nike, Starbucks, the Gap, etc., etc. I found out through Miriam, who found out in her administrative training. It came up in the context of the crappy furniture we get with our housing at post. That is a major bone with most FSO's and their fam's; but now that I know why it's crap, and that it was built by people not losing their jobs in this country and not by people not getting paid a living wage abroad, I will happily deal with the crap until the US manufacturers can make something decent and our government can afford to buy it for their employees abroad. Our gov. also buys from industry which supports handicapped persons; there are companies out there making office supplies, etc., that intentionally hire and train handicapped people to manufacture and sell the product. Miriam's class was visited by a blind sales rep. We both think that is pretty cul as well. <a href="miriam/">Miriam</a> has been writing her <a href="http://www.danielsjourney.com/miriam/memoirs.html">memoirs</a>. If you haven't been over there, I highly recommend it. She's been publishing her latest story one segment at a time, and it's right at the suspenseful moment! <a href="http://www.danielsjourney.com/miriam/2002_09_01_memoirs_archive.html#82270120">click here</a> to go to the first of this particular series and read up (she's publishing it via a blog). You'll be on the edge of your seat I promise. 82970076daniel millerMonday, October 14, 2002publishTech: Get in the spirit! did two sarajevo-related things to the site. 1. the countdown at right and 2. a new "sarajevo" <a href="customize.html">color scheme</a> ..after you can go choose the appropriate "enthusiastically moving" face to go with all this... 82949134daniel millerpublish<img src="images/chucksign.jpg" align="left">continued... Experts in ancient Greek culture say that people back then didn't see their thoughts as belonging to them. When they had a thought, it occurred to them as a god or goddess giving them an order. Apollo was telling them to be brave. Athena was telling them to fall in love. Now people hear a commercial for sour cream potato chips and rush out to buy... ...Colonizing me. Occupying me. The mass media, the culture, everything laying its eggs under my skin. Big Brother filling me with need. Do I really want a big house, a fast car, a thousand beautiful sex partners? Do I really want these things? Or am I trained to want them? Are these things really better than the things I already have? Or am I just trained to be dissatisfied with what I have now? Am I just under a spell that says nothing is ever good enough?<center>The best way to waste your life is by taking notes. The easiest way to avoid living is to just watch. Look for the details. Report. Don't participate. Let Big Brother do the singing and dancing for you. Be a reporter. Be a good witness. A grateful member of the audience.</center>The details on Olsson's bookstore are it's right outside the Metro Center Metro stop in downtown Washington DC. Metro is what people from the District call the subway. The District is what people from DC call DC. The details on our trip to Olsson's to see Chuck Palahniuk in the flesh are it was crowded and smelled of Asian sweat dried on blue oxford shirts and fragrant oils rubbed into dreadlocks formed years ago using scrambled eggs and flour. Kids in thick glasses stood up and asked intelligent questions about Chuck's commentary on the nuclear family and about what books are going to be made into the next movie. The details on Chuck are his first words were, "Dry your little eyes." His second spoken sentence was, "I'm not going to read any of the book to you tonight." Third, "There are copies of the book here tonight, and you can buy it and read it for yourself." The details on that night were Chuck didn't bore us with readings from a book we were all reading or going to read ASAP. He told us stories about peeping toms jerking off under his sister's trailer window, about passing kidney stones, passing out in a bathtub full of his own blood and urine, about drugging a single serving friend on a flight back from the UK and having to keep watch over his dangerously low heartrate for 8 hours, watching the Ya Ya Sisterhood 4 times in a row.<div style="margin-left: 20px;">A Snider: it was awesome A Snider: u would've freaked A Snider: someone asked for his movie recommendations Sparkle Motion: get out A Snider: #1: Jesus of Montreal A Snider: i was like A Snider: holy shit A Snider: Riddell and Chuck??? A Snider: i gotta watch it again A Snider: :) A Snider: he said that movie got him into the new testament! Sparkle Motion: fur sure A Snider: someone asked about how his characters reach a moral rock bottom and then are born again and asked whether that was an intentional theme of redemption A Snider: or if he's mocking religion A Snider: he said that he thinks part of the idea with god is that we can't know him, at least not until after we die, and he's mocking all these metaphors we have for understanding god Sparkle Motion: ! A Snider: yeah A Snider: his comments were all on this kind of spiritual plane A Snider: he talked about his thing is to explore topics Sparkle Motion: no recording, huh? A Snider: , that his writing is theraphy where he can explore these things obtusely, Sparkle Motion: maybe a kazaa fan A Snider: i forgot to ask A Snider: i was thinking it big time tho A Snider: would be clutch A Snider: anyway, explore these things until he's desensitized to it and can deal with it, live around it, and make fun of it A Snider: he said if we can live beside all these things and then laugh at them, then they're done A Snider: not issues Sparkle Motion: ohmygosh A Snider: something like that A Snider: but i was thinking at one point A Snider: this is the best sermon i've heard for a long time! Sparkle Motion: akkk</div>....<a href="http://www.danielsjourney.com/miriam/2002_10_01_archives.html#82522431">You might also want to hear Miriam's account of this event...</a> 82930732daniel millerSunday, October 13, 2002publish