At least...

At least the burbs makes me read more. For lack of else to do, I've just started my 7th book in 3 weeks. So far I've made it through Kurt Vonnegut's Sirens of Titan, Deadeye Dick, and Fates Worse than Death, a Civil war-era book on slavery called Cannibals All, and the first two books of Stephen King's Dark Tower. I've just Lipstick Traces by Greil Marcus which is about the art movements that can be seen as leading up to punk rock and the Sex Pistols. It's a really well-written book. I think one of my next is going to be Guns, Germs and Steel.

Other than that, life chugs on here. I got free tickets to see the Padres play the Mariners tomorrow (Sunday) so Mom, Corey and I are going to go check that out. While I'm nothing near a baseball fan, I'm interested to see the stadium (designed by Antoine Predock) and experience a major league game. I hear it's quite fun. I think I may go down to the beach and read today... going to be a nice "hot" day (80 degrees and not a cloud in the sky), though I heard distant rolling thunder this morning while I was outside. It was wimpy thunder but thunder nonetheless... evidently that's a bit rare out here.

Not alot else to report... the World is stressing me out. I don't know why I feel such an intense need to change things... I don't know why I can't just go along like everyone else. I often think I would be much happier if I could just ignore everything but what's going on in my immediate surroundings... anyone have any thoughts on that? I'd love to hear... I think I'm losing my mind. I always thought insanity would be alot more fun. Oh well... so it goes.

Speaking of the world, here's Harpers' Weekly review for last week. It can be found (along with alot of other really swell reading) at www.harpers.org. Until next time...

In Iraq an Islamic militant group claimed that it had kidnapped two U.S. soldiers, 23-year-old Kristian Menchaca and 25-year-old Thomas L. Tucker. The Army sent 8,000 Iraqi and U.S. troops, supported by fighter jets and drones, to search for the missing soldiers, [The New York Times] and the Pentagon announced the 2,500th American death in Iraq. “It's a number,” said White House press secretary Tony Snow. [Toronto Star] Iraqi prosecutors called for Saddam Hussein to be sentenced to death, [Daily Mail] and President George W. Bush visited Iraq because he wanted to “look at Prime Minister Maliki in the eyes.” [The New York Times] It was reported that a man named Abu Hamza Al Muhajer would take over for Abu Mussab Al Zarqawi, the assassinated leader of Al Qaeda in Iraq. “He has left behind lions,” said Al Muhajer of Al Zarqawi, “that have been trained in his den.” [Middle East Times] The House passed a resolution that rejected “cutting and running” from Iraq, [Los Angeles Times] and Pennsylvania Representative John P. Murtha criticized Karl Rove for “sitting in his air-conditioned office on his big, fat backside saying, 'Stay the course.'” [The New York Times] It was revealed that in 2003 the Bush Administration refused an offer by Iran to end Iranian support of Palestinian terror organizations and recognize Israel in exchange for an end to sanctions and permission to peacefully develop its nuclear program. [The Jerusalem Post] President Bush approved new legislation that allows the FCC to fine broadcasters up to $325,000 for each indecency, [SFGate.com] and Marine Corporal Joshua Belile apologized for appearing in “Hadji Girl,” an Internet-distributed video in which he plays guitar and jokes about killing an Iraqi family. “They should have known,” he sang, “they were fuckin' with a Marine.” [The Mercury News] Former Army First Lieutenant William Calley was said to wander at night through Benning, Georgia, haunted by his memories of the My Lai massacre. [The Kansas City Star] At least 52 United States agencies were mining data about U.S. citizens, searching for criminals, terrorists, and potential military recruits, [The Washington Post] and the United States added the secret phone number for its Homeland Security hotline to the federal Do Not Call Registry. “Every time that phone rings,” said Delaware Governor Ruth Ann Minner, “it's telemarketers.” [USA Today] Analysts said that $2 trillion in wealth had been lost on the global stock market over the last month. [Reuters] Rome was troubled by seagulls and lice.[Wanted in Rome][Wanted in Rome]

At the World Cup in Germany over 400 people were arrested for violence and drunkenness related to the Germany-Poland soccer match (which Germany won 1-0). [BBC News] In Thailand a man killed two soccer fans because he was annoyed by their cheering. [USA Today] Baboons in Saudi Arabia ruined a picnic. [Arab News] In Rangamati, Bangladesh, villagers fled in boats after their town was destroyed by rampaging elephants,[Reuters via MSNBC] and in Thiruvananthapuram, India, the recently captured rogue elephant Master Killer died in a cage. [The Hindu] Gay Episcopalian bishop Gene Robinson said that he is “not an abomination before God,” [BBC News] and scientists found that African-American adults hear better than white adults. [All Headline News] Vandals were emptying the water tanks that volunteers place in the Arizona desert; the volunteers maintain the tanks so that illegal immigrants from Mexico do not die from dehydration when crossing into the United States. [KVOA Tucson] Archaeologists said that ancient Mexicans wore decorative dentures made from wolves' teeth, [AP via MSNBC] and Nestlé announced that it would buy weight loss firm Jenny Craig. [The New York Times] Bird flu was discovered in Prince Edward Island, [GlobeAndMail.com] and the Lakeland, Florida, English swan population, which is descended from swans given to the city by the Queen of England in 1957, was being eaten by alligators at three times the normal rate. [NewsNet5.com] Paul McCartney turned 64. [The New York Times]

A mine in Sri Lanka blew up a bus, killing 58 people, [Reuters] a minivan in Kandahar, Afghanistan, was bombed, killing ten people, [CNews] and at least six people died during anti-government riots in Conakry, Guinea. [CNN.com] Prince Victor Emmanuel, the son of Italy's last king, was arrested for allegedly helping guests at a casino to procure prostitutes, [BBC News] and banana rustlers were on the loose in Australia. [Times Online] The Israeli military absolved itself of responsibility for the deaths of seven members of the picnicking Ghalia family from explosions on a beach in Gaza. An Israeli committee admitted that Israeli forces fired six shells on and around the beach, but found that a mine planted by Hamas (or possibly a buried shell) had, by coincidence, exploded and killed the family at around the same time as the shelling. A former Pentagon battlefield analyst said that the shrapnel and craters he found at the scene of the explosion were consistent with shelling by Israelis, as were the wounds suffered by survivors. [The Guardian] It was reported that for two years China has deployed a fleet of Golden Champion “death vans” to allow rural communities to carry out lethal injections. [USA Today via AOL] Kazakhstan launched a satellite into orbit. [BBC News] President Bush designated 140,000 square miles encompassing several Hawaiian islands as a national monument and marine sanctuary. [BBC News] Scientists found that the sea level in the Arctic Ocean was dropping, even as global sea levels rise. [BBC News] Italian scientists said that they had developed a technique for isolating potent sperm. [PhysOrg.com] Norway began to build a guarded, fenced-in concrete bunker intended to store three million seeds,[BBC News] and a Norwegian hen laid an egg twice normal size, then was killed to stop her suffering. [Aftenposten]

This is Weekly Review by Paul Ford, published Tuesday, June 20, 2006. It is part of Weekly Review for 2006, which is part of Weekly Review, which is part of Harpers.org.

etcetera...

So I've been in California for almost three weeks now... man I hate the suburbs! I love being here with mom... I love the weather... I love having a job and actually making money for once! My job is going well... I show up an hour before anyone and listen to loud music and drink good coffee (that a nice lady named Val gets ready for me the night before). I sit all day in front of a computer and format files... merging notes with images and formatting them for archiving. I don't have to invest myself in my work in the least. I just try to stay busy all day. Mom drops me off at 7:30 am on her way to work and picks me back up at 5:00 pm after she gets off. It's nice... I've gotten to spend good time with my mother. I think tonight I'm going to go check out Rodrigo Modeiros Brazilian Jiu Jitsu... see if I can arrange to train a few days a week. That would be great. I'll let you know how that goes.

This past weekend I went with Mom's boss, Karen (a wonderfully spriteful older woman with a taste for both flair and adventure) to an event called "Taste of the Gaslamp District" where we spent 4 hours wandering downtown from restraunt to restraunt sampling some amazing (and some not-so-amazing) food. I was so full by the time I got done. Lots of seafood, sushi, some steak joints, Carribbean, and some other stuff I wouldn't know what to call. After doing that, I spent almost 5 hours getting home (maybe 15 miles). First, I had to wait 2 hours for the Coaster (train) that runs towards mom's suburb. So I wandered around downtown by myself until the train arrived. Then, when I got off at the Coaster stop "near" mom's place (almost 6 miles) I found out there was no bus service on the weekends so I walked over 5 miles uphill in flip flops to get home. It was a beautiful night for a walk, luckily... perfect 60 degree california dusk. I was just impressed that I can still walk 5 miles at the drop of a hat. And I wasn't kidding... it is all uphill... from Serento Valley to Mira Mesa. I didn't think about that before walking it. Sunday I mowed their yard. It was the first time I'd gotten to do that in a few years. You really do miss it a little when you don't get to do it. I got to talk to Jenne on the phone... haven't talked to her in awhile... that was really nice. Then I went to Pacific Beach and laid on a blanket and read book two of Stephen King's Dark Tower. I don't know why Jenne didn't put that book in my hands long ago (she introduced me to it, albeit not aggressively enough) but I am hooked. I'll let everyone know when I'm done but for now I will say that it is quickly climbing towards the top of my recommendation list. If you're looking for something to read this summer, pick up The Dark Tower. It's not horror... it's not in the slightest scary... it's just some really good writing and a beautifully developed story.

So that's me for now... I got my first paycheck last week so I have a little money finally. I'm going to start going to museums and whatnot throughout the weeks. They just opened an Andy Warhol show at the San Diego Art Museum with over 100 pieces! I'm pretty excited about that. I should be going tomorrow... museums are either free or cheap on Tuesdays (so I've heard). I guess I should get back to work... I'll write again soon.

Peace...

Better late than never, right?

So I emptied my camera and found a bunch of pictures I've taken over the past couple months...

Steven (12), Nicholas (6), and Peter Parker Mical (20 mo.)...

...my man, Peter...

It's like Master and Blaster from Mad Max...

What kid isn't cute sucking on a syringe?

This is the final state of the fish I made. I call it Killer Bass...

I made this for Nicholas for his 6th birthday. The overall painting, including frame, is about 18"x24"... It's called Emporer Magnafique or Medium Emporer...

This was my studio area at the end of the semester... this is my creative place. I slept here under the desk (which you can barely make out in the corner) 3 or 4 days a week...

The view from my desk...

...and to the right of that.

This one is tough to see but it is the piece I gave my mother for Mother's day... each square panel is 10"x10" and it acordian-folds into a booklet. The first panel on the left is the cover as seen closed, then the second and the last panels are the insides of the cover with the rest being the center. She really liked it... I really enjoyed making it.

"Sunny" California

It's been over a week since my last post... since then I packed up and migrated to San Diego where I'm living with my mom and working for the summer. I have a great job where I get paid good money to do monkey work for a forensic architecture firm. Basically, these guys do "surgery" on buildings to provide expert architectural witness for insurance companies involved in lawsuits. They determine the factual state of a building... generally water damage due to construction defects. All I do is format information all day for archiving. It's mindless and boring but the place I work is great. There's no dress code, I have no time clock, and the boss gave me a key so I can come in early (mom drops me off at 7:30 on her way to work). He doesn't care how much or little I work... I have alot of freedom. The people I work with are all very interesting, very nice people. It's a good work environment.

Mom is doing well. She and Corey are being wonderfully hospitable as are her housemates. It's so nice eating real food again! And getting home-cooked meals to top that off! California is in the middle of their "June gloom" which means that the sun hasn't come out in a few days... constant cloud cover from the ocean. The temperature stays nice though. Anyway, things are well and I will write more later... I just wanted to let people know where I am and that I'm doing well.