As much as dislike television, I admit I watch a few shows on NBC Video Rewind and through Netflix. I am watching an episode of the office, well listening to it now, and they play some ads during the episode. Just a few; much less than on TV. One of the ads is for Southern Comfort. The ad features Against Me! I understand why the band signed to a major label and even though I don't like their new album; I respect their decision. However I am having a hard time watching a liquor ad featuring a supposedly "politically charged" band. I'm sure they were paid well, but I think they just lost all of their (remaining) artistic integrity. I don't mean that they used one of their songs in the ad, I mean they are IN the ad, being interviewed and playing. In a few short years they have gone from "Baby, I'm an Anarchist" to hawking whiskey on NBC's website. Wow. I realize they want to make a career out of this, and money, but even if they were selling organic yogurt or something I'd be OK with it, just not something like whiskey. What's next? Tom Gabel dressed up as the Marlboro Man? Teenagers (and many others) love that band and now their idols are telling them to go get shitfaced on over-priced booze. I am really disappointed. It shouldn't matter to me, but it does.

I haven't posted in a few months, and I'm not sure why. Oh yeah-I'm lazy.

The summer vacation from teaching is almost over and in some ways I am looking forward to getting back to work, in other ways-not so much. Next week I am doing this program for incoming freshmen. 6 hours a day for 5 days, and they're paying me $1200 so that's definitely sweet. I don't even have to really teach them for 2 of those days, and on the other 3 days we are doing relaxation exercises, yoga and meditation. Sweet.

Here's one story for ya'll. The other day I get Stop-Loss from Netflix and the disc is skipping and being all funky. Finally after the first 18 minutes of the film, which I was greatly enjoying as I felt the movie was accurately portraying the realities of the current Iraq conflict; I take the disc out to look at the scratches. I notice that the disc is really scratched up, so I report it as being scratched and go on with my day. A few hours later, I am thinking about the scratches and I realize that they looked intentional. I realize that since the movie has just been released on DVD, it looked as though an individual who perhaps supports the current war effort (who knows why) got the disc and INTENTIONALLY took a knife to the underside of the disc and put deep gouges both horizontally and vertically in an effort to make the disc unwatchable. I may be wrong it could be some sort of crazy DVD player malfunction or child-mishap that caused this, but the scratches looked surprisingly like what a knife would do. Makes you wonder.

Hope all is well. Stay cool. Drink plenty of fluids. Say your prayers. Take your vitamins. Listen to your parents.

OK, so the school year is almost over and I decided that I was ready to get my forearms tattooed after-all. Hope all is well. Enjoy the pics. This is my right forearm, I will be starting on my left forearm sometime within the next few weeks.

Hello everyone. Well I ended up skipping the tattoo appointment. I hate to say it but in part I wasn't ready for the "blue collar commitment." It is nice to have my tattoos but at the same time be able to keep them covered and not be relegated to long sleeves in the hot-humid Virginia summer. So I bought a motorcycle instead. It needs work,but that's what summer vacation is for. :) It is a 1983 Yamaha Virago XV750 Midnight Edition. It's pretty much all blacked out--even the engine and the pipes. Looks nice. Good deal too. Gotta re-build the carbs and maybe some electrical work then it should be straight.

The kids are getting crazy. About 5 weeks left in the year and I'm ready to kill a few of them, and most are probably ready to kill me, and all are ready to graduate.

I had my first (former) student killed in Iraq this past week. He graduated from the last district a couple of years ago. I almost failed him and if I had he wouldn't have been able to get into the Marines. Strange-I passed him because I felt the Marines could teach him more than any more time in high school could. I feel slightly guilty but I am comfortable with my choice. I actually didn't care for the kid, but I certainly didn't want him dead and I sure as hell didn't want him to die in a pointless war halfway around the world. Yes folks--the war is pretty much pointless. Most of you already know that. The rest will realize it eventually. Sounds like Vietnam doesn't it? Then again-it sounded that way pretty much from the start.

Hope all is well. Enjoy the Spring.

It's 70 degrees today. You know what I am not going to miss? Winter. Not in the least. I will of course be saying the opposite when July arrives, but for now I am definitely glad to see the cold weather go away.

I have a tattoo appointment coming up in a little over a week. I am taking the big step and ...starting on my forearms. I am getting things like a devil having sex with a nun and naked women. You know-work appropriate stuff. ;) OK, it's really gonna be a dagger and a snake and stuff.

Fresh tattoo pics. It's a zombie. Enjoy.





Found out tonight that Kat Von D charges a $1000 minimum. F*cking rip-off.

My tattoo artist had to move my appointment. It was supposed to be tomorrow but now it's Tuesday. Not much else to report, it's Friday morning and this has been a long week complete with a student telling me something I said was the "stupidest thing [she] had ever heard." Boy teaching can be fun. ;)

Tomorrow is March and we are looking forward to our first winter in the mountains coming to an end.

Hope all is well.