"Wh-what happened...? Where am I?"

No, no.

I'm not even gonna lie.

I am NOT suffering from a case of discombobulation and/or amnesia.

I'm just a lazy ass.

That, coupled with the fact that there have been a TON of things going on within/around me that have been extremely damaging to my slightly shaky sense of calm.

I'm usually a cool collected individual, but these past three-four months have been very unnerving.

To be fair, I must admit that there have been bright spots that I have experienced as well.

I have encountered some inspirational people, had an epiphany concerning my relationship with my wife, had a revelation in terms of my role at work, and realized the amazing relaxing and restorative effects of breathing. (Who knew?)

I'm not gonna bore you with the gory details of my bouts with TMJ, the death of a friend, and increasing cases of coming down with the "fuck its".

But I am going to bore you with all the rest of the crap that happens to me from time to time.

Writing, no matter how mundane it may seem at times is Extremely therapeutic for me. I realize that in order to remain calm, and level headed, I need a sounding board for all the junk floating around in my head. I need to talk to someone, and writing helps me... uhh, talk to myself.

Ok. That didn't quite sound right.

Whatever. I'm back, and I'm ready to start taking care of my creative being, so here we go!

Mixtape #1

This is the first of many, many mix tapes that I will create and share for your listening pleasure.

Just push play and enjoy the sonic goodness.

Hey! I'm nineteen months old today!

This here's my boy.

Today marks the 602nd day my son has been in existence on this plane.

Our attempts to keep him from life threatening situations-such as shark attacks, power-line electrocutions, and avalanches have been moderately,

no- 

I'll say relatively successful...

...Nah, I'm selling my wife and I short.

Whatever about 35% more than "relatively" equates to is pretty much how safe the boy is at this given time.

I'm proud to have a son who amazes me daily, I'm proud to have a son who's intelligence is beyond the norm, (according to the reactions of our pediatrician during progress analyses)

and I am proud to have a son who's interior beauty matches his exterior beauty.

Hm.

I now see EXACTLY how my father felt and surely continues to feel.

Heh.

Happy 602nd day son.

 

First Lady I Presume?

10:48 p.m. 

Michelle Obama's got me all hyped up!!!

Working on a few more bugs...

Hey y'all! 

Have you forgotten about me yet?

Hope not.

I apologize for going into "Shadow Mode", and disappearing into the void. 

I tend to do that sometimes.

I was blessed/cursed with the ability to just blend into the shadows and observe quietly-taking it all in, and learning from all that I observe.

That's the blessing.

The curse is that that ability (behavior) tends to alienate and piss off the people I care about.

They apparently feel as if I don't REALLY give a shit about them and their feelings.

Couldn't be further from the case.

I just need breaks sometimes-

Long 

long 

breaks.

So, I will take this time to apologize again to the extensive list of the folks I do it to.

There IS a cat who understands why I do it, and I really appreciate his understanding.

I guess that's why we've been friends for over a decade. Thanks for your understanding Dunbar, and even though you are o.k. with it I wish to apologize to you too friend.

Anyway, I digress.

I've been getting complaints that you can't post responses to all the crap I write. and I've been monkeying around with the settings, and now those problems have hopefully come to an end.

So feel free to respond to whatever I say-bearing in mind that I can melt into and from the shadows, so you never know where I may be.

Therefore, I would suggest keeping your criticisms to a minimum.

I probably shouldn't be telling you this...

So yesterday, the boy-
Oh wait. any newbies visiting may not know the deal.
I have a son who is a year and a half, and he is a Wild Boy.
Not "Lord of the Flies" wild, but "Where the Wild Things Are" wild.
Well, one of his favorite things is running. I must say, the boy is quick. I am fast when given a few feet, but he is quick off the fly. Only problem is, his brakes don't work so well.
That being said, he has frequent accidents of an irresistible force/immovable object sort of nature.
Anyway, his most recent smash up involved his face and the coffee table. Apparently, he lost his balance rounding the table, slipped, and smacked his cheek/cheekbone on the edge of the table.
Needless to say it looked God-awful.
So now he has a G.I. Joe (Old school 12" tall version complete with "real" hair) scar on his left cheek. It has healed pretty well, and it's now a centimeter thick pinkish line that extends from just past his nostril to the outer corner of his eye.
I know this is horrible, but a small part of me wants it to stay, because it looks kinda cool in a James Bond bad guy sort of way. (I know, I know, again with the bad guys)
It's weird, as handsome as the boy is, that slight mark makes him even MORE handsome.
Maybe he WILL grow up to be a Bond nemesis...
...Nah.
Those guys have a short life expectancy.
Maybe he will become an evil genius.
He will surely idolize particularly evil guys modeling his life and career after them.
Guys like George Bu-
KARL ROVE.

Maybe he will take over the world-leaving his dear mother and father Costa Rica to rule in a hierarchy similar to Britain.
You know, where WE get to run things, but don't have to do all the work.

Maybe he will invent a weather machine and hold the world under his thumb until they succumb to his ridiculous demands.

Maybe he will be so warped by his scar that he will don a steel mask to cover his entire face and use his knowledge of electronics to build an innumerable army of unstoppable robots which will force the world to bend to his will.

Yeah.
Big dreams for the boy.

Or maybe the scar will just fade away in a couple of days, and he will just go back to being our sweet little boy.
That's probably for the best.

Hooray for the baddies!

This guy is the reason I have such an affinity for the bad guy.
Bad guys are evil, unpredictable, dangerous, and a hell of a lot of fun when they aren't scaring the crap out of you.
But this guy goes far beyond that. He instills that "can't look away from the train wreck" thing in us. His behavior is abominable, but you just want to see what he'll do next.
This guy makes me want to hang on every word and action he carries out while at the same time I'm cringing and expecting the absolute worst behavior that is in/humanly possible.
And- the guy does all this with a smile etched across his face.
Heh.
My faith in the bad guy has been restored.
Go and see "The Dark Knight".
NOW.
Oh, and if you can, read the "Killing Joke" for a Joker refresher course.

Rasl dazzle!

Jeff smith is back!
If you are not familiar with his incredible work, check out Bone. It's a funny (huge) graphic novel set in medieval times and follows the lives of the three bone cousins and their encounters with dragons, giant mountain lions, giant rat creatures, evil wizards, and a great cow race.
The book is an amazing amalgamation of fantasy and comedy in a sort of Lord of the Rings meets Pogo sort of way. The book is both hilarious and scary at the same time-nothing short of genius. It's available at bookstores, comic shops, and at the library.
Smith now has a new book called Rasl (pronounced razzle). It's shrouded in mystery, but I do know that it follows an art thief who travels inter-dimensionally for his clients. The trip is apparently so rough on his body that he must indulge in booze and cigars to help take the edge off. (smells like some personal stuff has been peppered in this new work by the author-but I could be wrong)
It's a really cool book, and smith's art style is great. Pick up the book if not only to see where it takes you. Bone was such a good mystery and a great ride that you can't go wrong by investing in Rasl.
By the way, if you want to be immersed in Smith's work stop by the Wexner Center for his exhibit. I'll be doing a review of it in the very near future.

NEARING THE END OF AN ERA...

Alright, alright!!!
Today is my birthday y'all!
I am a respectable three-eight folks.
Wow.
It makes me remember the year 1988.
I was just about to graduate from high school and I thought to myself- Damn, in the year 2000 I am gonna be 30.
JESUS CHRIST I will be OLD!
It's been nearly ten years beyond the dreaded year 2000, and I feel GREAT man.
I must say that this has been shaping up to be the best decade of my existence.
I mean, I am more comfortable in my skin, I have a BEAUTIFUL wife (I really should express that feeling to her more often), a whip-smart and EXTREMELY handsome son (the similarities between the two of us are amazing! Heh.), and I own my own business.
Life is good.
I guess all I can do is sit back and enjoy the last couple years of my thirties, all the while looking forward to "The Big 4-0" and the great things that are bound to happen to me from that point on.
So, Happy Birthday to me, and here's to life, and living it to the absolute fullest!

PEACE.

Hello again.

Well, it's been a long time since I've scribed on static-y pages.
My last foray into blogging was Just trying to make sense of it all. Check it out all those who may not know what I am all about. It documents my love for my wife and my son, coneys, halloween, karate/kung fu movies, and music.
I'm gonna try writing on a daily basis, and if I don't face the problems I faced with my last blog, all should be well.
So hang onto your britches as I fly by the seat of my hat and enjoy.