Rant / Rave / Reassure

Prefatory remarks

2010-11-27T14:58:00.002-05:00

Welcome to my first blog. Rant / Rave / Reassure comes from the early days of the form, back when knowing about Andrew Sullivan was kind of cool and unusual, and the whole internet / blog / geek permaculture hadn't infiltrated every bit of working writers' lives.

A simpler time, you might say. George W. Bush was still president, things seemed to be going okay in our wars overseas and housing prices were heading straight up.

I had just started working in Florida, an rather improbable turn of events for a Kansas boy, but one made possible by the Dow Jones Newspaper Fund. I interned at The St. Petersburg Times in the summer of '02, and that internship was extended through the end of the year. That's roughly when this blog began.

At the beginning of '03 I hopped across Tampa Bay to the Tampa Tribune, where I would work for the next two years. This blog wouldn't last that long -- it was too loose, too diverse and personal.

Y'see, I'd figured out something important about blogs. The more general they are, the more likely they are to be neglected and float off into a sea of bland haze. Meanwhile, I started another blog, focused on copy editing and journalism -- one that gained a small following. A link to it can be found off to the right.

Rant / Rave / Reassure occupies a special place, though. I experimented with the form, connected with other writers and friends, and assembled my first blogroll. Good times.

As reconstituted here, the blog is more or less what you would have found back in 2002-2004. A few bits have been edited out, a few bits have been edited in, and I wrote titles for early entries that were missing them. The site also features a far spiffier layout than available at the time, which pleases my sense of aesthetics, if nothing else.

So read, enjoy and wallow in the randomness.

Props, props and more props

2004-01-31T03:55:00.000-05:00

To Brian, who is probably the only person who reads this anymore. And goodness knows, he has enough to do keeping his blog updated. It's far funnier than this, far more regularly updated, and let's face it -- better in every way.

He's also sane enough to restrict himself to the one blog, rather than the three I foolishly signed up for. See, I pale in respect to Brian in nearly every comprehensible way. I still pride myself on my hygiene.

His site will of course continue for ages and ages to come, so if anyone else comes by here, go his way. You won't regret it. If you do regret it, what can I say? Different strokes and all that.

Wrapping it up

2004-01-29T03:52:00.001-05:00

I plan to draw this blog to a close at the end of February. That will be my sister's birthday, although the combination only struck me as I was typing out this post.

I don't have the time to devote to the blogs that I used to. Verse A Day, although updated somewhat less than daily, will chug along until the end of April, when it will be one year old. This blog already passed its first birthday, but I think I'll close up shop at the 15-month mark.

I plan to keep the site up, and hopefully replenish the archives with all the old posts that disappeared into the mists of time in October. I might even post. But truthfully I have the energy for one blog ... and it's Copy Massage. I'll probably post more about my life there after Feb. 29.

So why the advanced warning? Well, I want to keep things interesting. I want to post here. I want another chance to write about silly things before this outlet closes. So I'm drawing a line in the sand.

Get ready. This could get interesting.

Perhaps / Per hat / Pear hot

2004-01-29T03:49:00.000-05:00

EverQuest has been engaging. (Pregnant pause.) Perhaps too engaging.

Have also recently had cable installed. And picked up The Elder Scrolls III: Morrowind (Game of the Year edition incorporating Tribunal and Bloodmoon). And, um ... we washed the dog.

Can things possibly get any more exciting?

Heaven help me...

2004-01-25T03:47:00.000-05:00

I've been purchasing EverQuest accessory volumes. Apparently I have the need to become geekier than I already am.

Where with all / wherewithal

2004-01-24T03:35:00.001-05:00

Much has happened. Much involving EverQuest. Some involving work. All involving me running around. More soon. Maybe. If I feel like it.

Keep searching

2004-01-11T15:34:00.000-05:00

I wonder if I helped any of these people.

"home theater" +"christmas lights"
a free graphic novel about jesus and buddha
pete jameson
characters thematic/analysis comedy
"quickplot software"
Songs for Dust Mites Album Full MP3
"a friend like you" "Brian wilson"
"steve burns" height
"rave moves"
Marlin Brando Michael Jackson music video
brian wilson new cd 2004
salon chomsky colorless
"saturn" "service engine soon"

Where novel junkies get their fix

2004-01-11T03:32:00.000-05:00

Let's allow the novel to lead us on. These are the first few sections of the first chapter from "University of Doom!" I'm finally posting it because -- well -- why not? I haven't done much work on it since November ended, so let's see if this spurs me along.

Chapter One

I sat in Professor Jon p Brummer’s poetry class, studying my fingernails and waiting for Brummer to show. It was 8:35 a.m., five minutes after the official start of class. People were restless.

The comments:

“You think we should walk out?”

“Nah, give him another 10 minutes.”

“Man, I hate this class.”

A fat man in a police uniform scurried in. His badge said “Johnson.” His expression said “campus cop.” He pounded the lectern in front of the class.

“Your professor is dead,” he said.

-----

Impaled, to be exact. Professor Jon p Brummer was found by a member of the grounds crew, hanging from the horn of the Missouri State College mascot. “Wino the Rhino,” as students like to call him, defends the administration building.

His two-foot brass horn was plunged in Professor Jon p Brummer’s back. The professor’s body was covered in sheets of paper. The paper turned out, on closer examination, to be pages from the series of poetry books the Brummer wrote in the 70s.

The professor didn’t start out as an academic. He was a wannabe Bob Dylan at one point. Didn’t have the voice. So he started writing poetry, which most people at the time thought was horrible. Except for high school girls.

He told the class that he had sold 50 million copies of his books.

“The Romance of Desire” from 1970.

“I Love You Like Paris” from 1971.

“Flames of Passion” from 1973.

His books rolled off the presses as quickly as he could write them. He tired of the professional publishing world after 10 excruciating volumes. Either that or the books stopped selling. In either case, academia called. His money bought him an Ivy League degree and he set up shop here.

He loved his old, awful books. He would read from them every day. He would tell us we should write exactly the same way. Most of us would have preferred an awful death. His death, actually.

He was covered in the love of his life. His own flowery words. The expression on his face was inscrutable.

The expression on Wino’s face? Spirited.

-----

I had run from class to the administration building as soon as I could. Not out of prurient curiosity, you understand, although I had plenty of that. I’m a reporter for the Missouri State College Daily Record.

Correction: I’m a senior reporter.

Senior reporter Ted Lewisholm.

It’s my sixth year here. I’m not interested in becoming an editor or columnist or any of the jobs they fashion for upperclassmen. Most people burn out: reporting for a daily college paper doesn’t leave time for much else.

Pansies.

Not to leave the professor hanging, as it were, but people don’t give a damn about the news at universities. Their kids post grades above D’s, especially at a state school, they don’t give a damn. But the people who run these places get away with a lot.

That’s what I try to cover. No one else here does it as well as I do. Other people win the snazzy journalism prizes, with first-hand accounts of their navel-gazing. I’m out there actually scaring up stories. I don’t just know the administrator’s names.

I know the names of the people the administrators have affairs with.

I finished all the journalism classes they offered two years ago. I’m working on an English degree now so they’ll keep me around. That’s how I got in Brummer’s class.

-----

The scene around the body was crazed, of course. A TV crew. Dozens of students, mostly gawking. Campus cops trying to keep people away from the body.

The cops had erected a perimeter, with what seemed to be sticks torn from trees and duct tape. It was not working well. The tape sagged in parts. One girl tore off a piece to repair a corner of her Algebra textbook.

Professor Jon p Brummer kept hanging. He had always been a big guy — taller than six feet, with a well-fed gut. Now he just sagged. His blood had congealed into sticky red puddles. The pedestal was slick around Wino’s hooves.

The campus cops had no idea what to do. Surprise. Several just started at the body, mouths open, eyes darting from one side to the other. Others investigated by reading the poetry stuck to the professor’s body.

A siren.

Actual cop cars drove up. Actual cops hopped out of them.

“Who’s in charge here?” a tall policeman with a moustache asked.

A gigantic man stepped from behind Wino. Oh Christ. My stomach started to hurt, a reflex action against stupidity. That gigantic man would be “Sergeant” Bud Cohen, chief of campus security and the biggest bastard I’d ever met. On this campus, I’d met a few. Chief Bud had his own category.

“That would be me, Sonny,” he drawled. “Do you have something you want to say to me?”

The tall cop tapped his foot and looked disconcerted.

“Well, um. There seems to be a dead man here. We deal with this kind of thing.”

“Sonny, that’s right nice of you. Why, where would be without you telling us this critical information?”

“Er. We need to do our police things. Thanks for controlling the situation. ”

“You want to take this away, sonny? You want to take this case from me?”

One assumes ...

2004-01-10T03:36:00.000-05:00

... There were some thoughts / thunk / thudded round here, right?

Yeah, that's the ticket. We can tell cause of the poems, and the writings, and the way he ...

Well, the way he circles round and round, see? Sure, that's the way we can tell. Sometimes things can be hidden just like so. Six years or eight years or 10 years ... or no years at all.

Much changes, yet nothing changes. And the blog is the same, my stars yes. Well, mostly the same. A towering edifice of data / words / days. And archived.

Make sure of that.

Meanwhile ...

2004-01-06T15:26:00.000-05:00

... Here's a picture of some olives.

Game game game

2004-01-06T03:26:00.000-05:00

Am playing Everquest. Will be with you shortly.

Search engine mania

2004-01-03T03:25:00.000-05:00

They're visiting Rant/Rave/Reassure! But how? Let's see.

"rave moves"
eggnog drink
organize rave
nigeria barristers
claymcc
discovery rave clothes store
departure scan purpose
Solo Rave 2003
elliot smith oh well, okay song meaning
elliot smith oh well, okay means i got pictures, i just don't see it anymore
steve burns height
Apartment Rant Florida

Hello 2004!

2004-01-02T03:24:00.000-05:00

You seem a lot like the year that just left. At least right now. But I'll give you a chance. Perhaps you'll grow on me.

Bye-bye, old year

2003-12-31T19:22:00.000-05:00

Thus, we bid farewell to 2003.

It was a good year. We moved a couple of times, picked up a dog along the way, and now have more Christmas presents than we know what to do with.

Christmas loot pt. 2

2003-12-31T03:22:00.000-05:00

Two additions today:

Unearthed -- Five-disc boxed set by Johnny Cash. It covers his tenure at American Recordings in the '90s and '00s. The set mainly consists of unreleased performances.

Yellow Submarine DVD -- The restored Beatles classic, full of songs and oh-so-60s animations.

These two items likely round out the Christmas gift list. I still need to buy my family some presents, though. D'oh!

Does anyone else think it's strange ...

2003-12-30T15:21:00.000-05:00

That the spell-check program Blogger uses doesn't recognize the word "blog"? It suggests I replace that unfamiliar word with "bloc."

Silly, silly computer program.

The visual aspect

2003-12-30T06:16:00.003-05:00

As we boot 2003 out the door, I think it appropriate to add a picture to old Rant/Rave/Reassure. I seldom do this.

Why? Let's list the reasons.

1.) It's work
2.) It involves HTML coding.
3.) I have to link to someone else's site.

But I'll overcome those aversions for now. Take a break from this mind-numbing text. Gaze and enjoy.

Longest Entry So Far

2003-07-06T23:44:00.003-04:00

The house is quiet today. I plan to make up for that by posting my longest single entry to this blog -- up to today. Who knows. Some pressing matter might require gargantuan space in the future.

Part One -- Clay Outlines His Self-Referential Aims

I'm going to be adding to the post over time, and publishing at intervals. I realize that somehow violates the sanctity of the single post, the single long post, but I can't risk losing the entire thing because my browser has been inactive for too long, or something trivial like that.

I also don't want to compose the entry in Word, because that's lame. Actually, so is the entire concept, but why should I let that stop me?

Am currently reading a story about something vague and financial. It involves development funds. I'd say that since I started my life in journalism, about a third of everything I've read has involved development in suburban communities and related craziness.

I'm sure these sorts of things matter to the folks who live next door to "The Oaks at Wingate," or whatever unimaginative name is affixed to a building project. And newspapers do them a service with comprehensive coverage of such sprawl. But otherwise ...

Part Two -- Clay Muses on the Cosmic Importance of Receipts

Pay no attention to the "Parts" dividers. They serve no purpose other than breaking up the trail o' text.

Oh my God. The vague and financial story included the term "millage." Pardon me while I fall asleep.
[Clay makes faint burbling sounds and has a pleasant dream about Pokemon.]

OK, done with that. Next step: Caffiene.

Mmmmm. Nothing like a liter of lightly chilled Diet Mountain Dew. That should get me mildly excited for the evening's activities. Oh, I haven't finished the liter yet. No sir. I've only just started. It should last me for the next hour or so.

I've started drinking these liter-sized jugs o' drink all the time. At one point, I was ingesting way too much caffeine. I would have two or three of the liter jugs, topped off with some 20-ounces, a can or two, and a shot of Diet Red Bull. It pretty much turned me into a shaking, stuttering wreck.

I've cut back, but I'm still drinking the liters. They mean I don't have to visit the drink machine that often (except in awakeness emergencies).

Part Three -- Clay Travels to Ancient Egypt

The books on my desk:

Florida Almanac 2002-2003
The Synonym Finder
Lapsing Into a Comma -- Bill Walsh
The New York Times Almanac 2003
The Careful Writer: A Modern Guide to English Usage -- Theodore M. Bernstein
Words on Words -- John B. Bremner
The Associated Press Stylebook -- 2001
The Associated Press Stylebook -- 1977
The Copy-Editing and Headline Handbook -- Barbara G. Ellis
Merriam-Webster's Collegiate Dictionary, 10th Edition
Webster's New World Dictionary, 4th Edition

Part Four -- A Scandal In Bohemia

So you're asking at this point (as is some dark, frothing part of my brain), why even bother with this? It's clear you're just stringing together what would be a bunch of separate posts on any other day.

And I respond (as does some sunnier, more drug-affected part of my brain) that I'll do what I want. Thanks.

I still don't understand my phone at work, though.

I was given a poorly photocopied sheet of instructions when I started at the Tampa Bay area daily newspaper, and I suppose the expectation was that the poorly photocopied sheet of instructions would give me all the information I needed to work the phone. Which they didn't and they don't.

They're still there under the phone, over the bay, taunting me as I sit here at home, insinuating I'm not enough of a man to comprehend their poorly photocopied truths. They may taunt me, but I will not rise to their bait. I will not allow poorly photocopied directions to run my life. Nossir.

Yet the phone persists. It still has a greeting from the previous person to have my number. Sometimes, people leave me messages. I can't listen to them, of course, because they're in this previous person's voice mailbox. The little red light on the phone telling me I have a message is still lit, though.

It will stay lit for several days, then go out. The message will float off into the ether. And I will be happy.

Part Five -- An Investigation into the Medicinal Qualities of Herb Extracts

It's about 8 p.m.. In a bit, I'll start my evening rounds of the neighborhood. But before then, some random comments:

The dog chewed up my cell phone antenna a couple of weeks ago. I have restored it with tape. It does not look just like new. It does not look new at all. It looks as though I have wrapped tape around my cell phone antenna.

I have created an anthropomorphic copy editing mascot named Prickly, the copy editing porcupine. He will shortly star in his own Saturday-morning cartoon show on the WB.

Meat Loaf as a dish is much less overwrought than the singer.

I have always sort of wanted to ride in a hot air balloon. It seems as though it would be neat.

Part Six -- Paradise by the Dashboard Light

Things have been busy today. I intended to devote far more time to this monumental post. However, that seems like so many good intentions, pipe dreams, and other such cliches right now.

I'll include some more random observations to finish it all up:

Who is this guy, and why should I care?

Stress is good food.

I always liked the Transformers. There's more than meets the eye with them, you know. Plus, their movie had Eric Idle and Orson Welles in it.

Subjectivity and objectivity are both pretty boring.

I believe in plastic.

Part Seven -- Clay and the Wizard in Oz

So was this all worth it, in the end?

You know, when you add up the columns of little numbers and see what result they give you. Did the conceit pan out? Was the result truly a product of the effort?

Admittedly, my long-form prose work varies. This is from a guy who wrote a novel when he was in middle school. It's true. I did write a novel when I was in middle school. But it wasn't overly gripping.

An excerpt:

"Pete sat at his desk, feeling nervous. Today was the day he was supposed to trip Kimberly. He didn’t know why he was mixed up in all of this, but he really wanted out. How could he leave it, though?

"Jeremy appeared in the classroom doorway and walked towards Pete. Pete glanced around, hoping a trap door would suddenly open up and he could escape through it. No trap door opened.

"Jeremy stood next to him now. Pete looked up and smiled weakly. Jeremy gave a small, cold grin. “In four minutes,” he said, “you’ll be by the water fountain. Eventually Kimberly will walk by on her was to class, and you’ll trip her. Got it?”

"Pete began to change. The doubt that had collected inside him for days changed to anger, anger that Jeremy tried to control him like this."

Yeah. So.

Maybe this whole "longest blog thing ever" thing was a mistake.

But perhaps it was a brilliant meta-blog thing thing.

It's all a mystery. In the end.

You know.

If You Can Spare a Quarter ...

2003-07-01T00:30:00.000-04:00

Go to Scott McCloud's site and read part one of his new online graphic novel, The Right Number.

Mr. McCloud has written and drawn a couple of concise, intelligent books explaining comics as an art form. He believes the future of the medium is online, and has devoted a lot of time to his site and putting various comics up there. They're all free, and I urge you to look at them too.

One of Mr. McCloud's dreams has been effective micropayments online. That is, you could quickly and easily spend a quarter or some other tiny amount to access a piece of creative work. The reasoning is, of course, that such a system would reward the creator with instant income and the surfer with low-cost fun.

For whatever reason, micropayments have been slow in arriving. But Mr. McCloud has found such a system for this new work, and I urge you to try it. It helps to have a Paypal account. You pay a few bucks into a micropayment stash, which then can be doled out to individual projects.

Not sure if the explanation makes sense, and it's all a bit long-winded, but the concept interests me. The point is, though, The Right Number is an intelligent, slickly drawn comic. And there are two more parts to come.

Check it out.

Tragic, Tragic Thoughts

2003-06-30T12:28:00.000-04:00

Nothing more fun than mocking people you secretly feel superior to, right? Then let's take a look at some excerpts from the Official Enya Web site's message board. The subject? The eventual demise of the Irish singer / songwriter / ethereal goddess.

(In my defense, I've been known to listen to an Enya album. I have not yet been known to post on the Web about her though. Until today, I guess.)

But let's listen to the fans.

"Everybody,are waiting for the new album,(me too),but we dont know if this new album will be the last one(I hope not),but suppose this was the last one,what you do?? you will try to find another artist like her?? How many albuns she will make until stop making music??"

And then --

"Do not worry, I think we will be hearing music from Enya for a long time and I would say that she will be writing music for as long as she physcially and mentally able...but that is a scarry thought. You have heard this phrase in a very popular movie..."There is another"..."

And then --

"Sometimes I've thought about what it would be like if Enya had a daughter? Has anyone else ever been thinking about that? Just imagine... another ethereal girl with an angelic voice? Or a son? Can you imagine a handsome young man singing songs that would be classified in the genre of Enya? Sorry about my imagination... I actually don't even know if I wish or not that Enya would have children to continue her genre... I've just been thinking. As I said."

OK. It's gettin' scary. Or scarry, I should say.

Not Much Change in a Day

2003-06-30T00:27:00.000-04:00

Still on page 402 of Mr. Potter and the Phoenix. Hopefully will make progress soon. I feel the irritation of my sister, thousands of miles away.

Harry P. Update

2003-06-29T12:26:00.000-04:00

I'm on page 402 of Order of the Phoenix.

Blog Round-Up

2003-06-29T00:25:00.000-04:00

Some pertinent passages from my favorite online journals. Make sure to visit them all.

Mr. Will writes the following on the Supreme Court's sodomy decision in Lawrence v. Texas:

"I can't say enough good things about this surprising decision -- a shock considering the conservative court that made it -- and it brings us one step closer to recognizing gay people as normal people, just like heterosexuals, whose sex lives aren't deemed deviant."

Mr. Simanoff, over at the Daily Dave, gives us this:

"Head pain. Massive migraine. Ow ow ow ow ow ow ow ow."

And a cool story about he and his complimentary spouse purchasing Apple computers.

Brad speaks for many:

"I love my new job and hate it with a passion, all at the same time.

"I love this new city but miss what I've left behind, all at the same time.

"The buzzword of the moment is "confliction." But it's better, I suppose, than apathy."

The ever-reliable George Harrison -- or someone who looks remarkably like him -- contributes his usual scintillating prose.

"Some things on my To Do list for this weekend:

- Thank You card for Betty
- Charge razor
- New shoelaces on DMs
- Work on that other song
- Find the referral to the wisdom tooth dentist"

Recent Issues

2003-06-28T00:24:00.000-04:00

1.) Odd rumors about an ex.

2.) Craziness from the dog -- who is also celebrating her one-month anniversary with us.

3.) Still in the 300s of Harry Potter.

4.) Looking forward to vacation

5.) Going through seven-months'-worth of St. Petersburg Times issues

6.) Preparing for an August move

7.) Antonin Scalia should take a cruise or something.

The Supremes Rule

2003-06-26T07:21:00.000-04:00

The Supreme Court, that is. The court today overturned a Texas sodomy law and a 1986 decision that said legalized prohibition of private sexual conduct was OK. In other words, the 13 states that prohibit sodomy between consenting adults don't have a leg to stand on.

One of those states is Florida. One of them is also Kansas, which has the distinction of being one of only four states that specifically criminalizes sodomy between people of the same gender.

I've long found sodomy laws repulsive. It's shameful they weren't thrown out years before this. But it's heartening to see something done. At least the S.O. and I are now assured that we won't be breaking any state laws anytime soon.

You can read the decision here. Some of the best commentary on the issue has come from Andrew Sullivan. Get his take here.

Overheard on the Copy Desk

2003-06-26T00:21:00.000-04:00

"Well, if we put it in quotes, we should actually write what she said."

Stack of CDs

2003-06-25T23:18:00.000-04:00

There's one on my desk. Let's take a look at the titles.

Brian Wilson -- Live at the Roxy Theatre, disks 1 and 2
Brian Wilson -- Imagination (words and music promo disk)
Phish -- Hampton Comes Alive, disk 3 from the 11/21/98 show
Johnny Cash -- The Man Comes Around
Brian Wilson -- Self-titled 1988 album
Icewind Dale PC game -- Disk 2
Neverwinter Nights PC game -- Installation disk 1
Starship Titanic PC game -- Disks 1, 2 and 3
Holly Cole Trio
The Beach Boys -- Love You
The Beach Boys -- Good Vibrations Box Set disks 2 and 5
Philly Variety Assortment -- Mix CD
Brian Wilson -- The Andy Paley Sessions 1996
Brian Wilson -- Live at the Royal Festival Hall, disk 1
Monterey International Pop Festival -- Disk 1
Dave Matthews Band -- Under the Table and Dreaming
The Zombies -- Odessey & Oracle
Bob Dylan -- New Morning

Book Update

2003-06-25T04:09:00.001-04:00

I purchased the latest Harry Potter volume on Monday. I'm on page 288 now. Reading isn't going quite as quickly as I expected. I'm reluctant to skim, and many other things are going on.

I'll let ya'll know about them soon. Within the next month, at least. How about that?

The book is quite good so far. I do wish it had been more rigorously copy edited in places. Too many adverbs trailing saids. Of course, given the book's nearly 900 pages, I have two-thirds to go. I'll let you know how it progresses.

Birthday Wishes

2003-06-23T16:08:00.000-04:00

To Mr. Will A., who turns 23 -- or is it 54? -- today. Congratulations, man. Speaking as someone who has been 23 -- or possibly 54 -- for several months, I can tell Mr. A. that it's the age where everything suddenly makes sense. Ha ha.

As you shake your head at my wit, head over to Will's Damn Blog and wish him the best.

OK, OK, OK

2003-06-23T04:07:00.000-04:00

A sibling informs I absolutely have to go out and purchase the new Harry Potter book so I can discuss it with her. I'd planned on holding off until I could read a copy for free, but I suppose I'll bite the bullet and buy the thing.

The series is good, don't get me wrong. But now I'm committed to reading a 900-page book as quickly as possible. Perhaps I'll update this blog as I make progress. That should offer some entertainment.

Toodles.

What I've Been Reading Lately

2003-06-21T16:06:00.000-04:00

Not a book, but a message board. The American Copy Editors' Society message board.

As geeky as it sounds, there's a fun, outspoken debate about headlines going on over there. You really have to read it for yourself. And no, I haven't tossed in my spare change. I would be tempted to say something nasty.

Ditto

2003-06-21T04:06:00.000-04:00

Same as last night.

Cranky Muttering

2003-06-20T04:05:00.000-04:00

I wish there was something particularly original going on tonight.

Sadly, there isn't.

The news business still chugs along. The wealthy continue to consolidate money and power. People throughout the country continue their life missions of being effective cogs in inefficient machines. Or vice versa. I churn out a few poems, chat with the S.O. and play with the dog.

Perhaps that's the best one can hope for. Until naptime.

Surprise Music Chart News

2003-06-19T04:00:00.000-04:00

Several years have passed since I considered using that headline. But this week's Billboard album chart has some interesting debuts.

Closeted R&B music icon and stroke victim Luther Vandross is at No. 1.

Androgynous '80s icon Annie Lennox bows in at No. 4.

And making their first appearance in the albums chart for decades, the Beach Boys' latest collection of old and moldy hits, Sounds of Summer, arrives at No. 16.

Congrats to all.

Today's Events

2003-06-18T03:59:00.000-04:00

Max and I were quite the jet setters of St. Petersburg today. From the tables of IHOP to the aisles of the grocery store, we were where things were cookin' in this great city, one of many such great cities in the sunny state of Florida.

We started off by taking Tundra, the delightful dog, to the vet. She got shots. We then raced to the pet store and bought her some puppy food. After dropping her off at home, we went to the bank and the drugstore. After that, we traveled to a comic book store in Seminole, where Max burned some bucks on X-Men items.

We then returned home, where we picked up the dog and took her out to one of this fine city's many delightful dog parks. This park was full of other dogs and their owners, all devoted to the pleasures of running around and peeing.

After that, it was back home briefly. We then purchased some groceries. Watching of videos and eating of hot pockets followed. What bliss. I'm not going into the whole unfortunate incident with the bottle of iced tea. That's for me to know and Max to tell.

He's Home!

2003-06-16T03:58:00.000-04:00

The significant other, that is. I picked him up from the airport Sunday morning.

Now I have someone to share all this ridiculous with on a personal basis. Yay!

Why the Delay?

2003-06-15T03:58:00.000-04:00

I've been answering e-mail from devoted readers of the site. Okay, one reader, who may or may not actually be devoted. But this reader did e-mail. So that's cool, then.

Vitals Revisited

2003-06-12T03:56:00.000-04:00

A quick recap of me, this blog and the location of those pesky weapons of mass destruction.

Name: Clay McCuistion.
Age: 92 and a half.
Height: 8'1.
Weight: 40-ish.
Occupation: Civilian administrator in charge of Iraq.
At Times Also: Copy editor at a daily newspaper published somewhere in the state of Florida, possibly near the Tampa Bay area.
Main goal in life: To be a friend to our dog.
Secondary goal: To somehow transfer all the cool music files from old, grimy computer to my new, sparkling one.
Another random goal: Compose an avant-garde dance piece

Just a Note

2003-06-11T15:56:00.000-04:00

I'm listening to Phish's Hampton Comes Alive live CD set (six disks covering two complete shows) and am on "Divided Sky." A 15 minute, 12 second opus.

I suppose I wanted to say it's awesomesauce. Thank you.

The Worst Car Song Ever?

2003-06-11T03:55:00.000-04:00

That's what NPR car advice gurus Click and Clack (also known as the more-difficult-to-spell Tom and Ray Magliozzi) said about the Phish song "Contact" years ago. Here's the lyrics. See what you think.

Contact
By Mike Gordon

The tires are the things on your car
That make contact with the road
The car is the thing on the road
That takes you back to your abode

The tires are the things on your car
That make contact with the road
Bummed is what you are
When you go out to your car and it's been towed

I woke up one morning in November
And I realized I love you
It's not your headlights in front
Your tailpipe, or the skylight above you
It's the way you cling to the road
When the wind tries to shove you
I'd never go riding away
And come back home without you

Obsession Alert

2003-06-10T03:53:00.000-04:00

This actually started with Max. Then it snowballed.

I've been listening to a lot of Phish lately. The S.O. purchased one of the now-20 volume "Live Phish" set. I listened, I downloaded some of their shows, and I've been buying up assorted other merchandise. It's fun.

But what -- or who -- is Phish? I'll let the erstwhile folk at All Music Guide explain.

"During the early '90s, Phish emerged as the heirs to the Grateful Dead's throne. Although their music is somewhat similar to the Dead's — it's an eclectic, free-form rock & roll encompassing folk, jazz, country, bluegrass, and pop — the group adheres more to jazz-derived improvisation than folk tradition, and they have a looser, goofier attitude."

In other words, a jam band. With four guys -- Trey Anastasio (guitar), Jon Fishman (drums and vacuum cleaner), Mike Gordon (bass) and Page McConnell (drums) -- Phish goes a lot of different places. I've been engaged and excited by their music.

Let's see where it goes.

Early Morning Meander

2003-06-09T03:52:00.000-04:00

My head hurts from the binoculars I rented at the Fleetwood Mac show this evening. By "this evening" I actually mean the evening of June 8, a.k.a. Sunday. The show was good in an arena-rock sort of way, and I'm glad I had the binoculars. But they made my eyes focus kind of funny, and now my head has interesting little pinging sensations.

Did a load of laundry this evening. It should hold me for a few days, although I plan to do more. Obviously that will be worth some serious space in the blog.

The dog has a name now -- Tundra. It was not so much decided in a burst of inspiration as finally settled on. I think it's a decent name, although the dog clearly doesn't associate with it yet. She was wild tonight -- my time at the concert should have been spent running around with her, she seems to say.

Over For Raines

2003-06-06T03:51:00.000-04:00

The executive editor of the New York Times, Howell Raines, resigned yesterday. I'll let the folk at the Times tell it.

2 Top Editors Resign After Furor on Writer's Fraud
By JACQUES STEINBERG

Howell Raines and Gerald M. Boyd, the top-ranking editors of The New York Times, resigned yesterday morning, five weeks after the resignation of a reporter set off a chain of events that exposed fissures in the management and morale of the newsroom.

In a hastily arranged gathering in the newsroom on the third floor, the newspaper's publisher, Arthur Sulzberger Jr., told staff members that he wanted to "applaud Howell and Gerald for putting the interests of this newspaper, a newspaper we all love, above their own."

Mr. Sulzberger said that Mr. Raines, 60, who was the paper's executive editor for less than two years, would be succeeded on an interim basis by Joseph Lelyveld, 66, his immediate predecessor, who retired in 2001. There will be no immediate successor for Mr. Boyd, 52, who was the paper's managing editor.

A spokeswoman for The Times, Catherine J. Mathis, said that the search for a permanent executive editor was likely "to move quickly" — other company officials said it could be a matter of weeks — and that candidates would be considered from inside and outside the paper.

Read the rest of it here (registration required).

Zzz

2003-06-04T03:18:00.000-04:00

I'm beat. More soon.

Continual Praise

2003-06-02T03:15:00.000-04:00

The canine companion remains wonderful. She's about a foot away right now, sprawled on the orange tile floor. I tried writing a poem about her tonight, but poems about pets tend to suck.

I wrote a poem about my ex-roommate Sean's cat. It was called "Kira," and I was pleased with it. But cats seem somehow more suited for poetry. After all, Old Possum wrote an entire volume about them. And then the horrid ex-Mr. Brightman felt compelled to pen some tunes for those poems.

Thankfully, that's all a separate story. Much more coherent too, if I weren't quite as exhausted.

Dog!

2003-06-01T03:14:00.000-04:00

The dog has finally arrived. She's a mostly white American Eskimo Dog (with some touches of light brown). She's about five months old and weighs 20 pounds.

Max and I picked her up from the Humane Society of Tampa Bay this morning. She's been a joy, so far. Intelligent, kind and incredibly responsive.

I'll try to stop gushing for now. It's late. But she's a wonderful dog. If only we could figure out a name for her.

Dog Dog Dog Dog!

2003-05-31T03:13:00.000-04:00

The dog should come home today. I promise to update soon after the beautiful (and hyper) creature enters this apartment. Perhaps I'll have her try her paws at an entry. Stay tuned.

Dog Dog Dog!

2003-05-30T03:12:00.000-04:00

As in, Max and I are getting one.

It's an American Eskimo dog, a beautiful animal from the Tampa Bay Humane Society. It should arrive Saturday.

I'll detail all the wonders of that adventure soon. Stay tuned.

Rick Bragg Redux

2003-05-29T03:08:00.002-04:00

I am unhappy with Mr. Bragg. The New York Times reporter announced he'll be resigning from the paper, after a stinging correction on one of his stories brought his news-gathering methods into question.

Rick Bragg is a great writer. His collection of news stories, "Somebody Told Me," is full of stories that resound with grace and good-ole-fashion Southern charm. But his reactions to the correction have been egotistical, slanted and undo virtually all of my positive feelings toward the man.

(Follow this all on Romenesko for details. I'd link more extensively, but it's late and I'm irritated.)

To pass off an uncredited stringer's work as your own, when that person contributed significantly to a story, is wrong. I don't care if it's institutional policy not to give that credit (Mr. Bragg claimed that was the case, the NY Times says not quite). It's still wrong.

If you dedicate yourself to the craft and art and backbreaking toil of shaping words, but you don't understand that, then I don't understand you.

Write what you know. Write what you know. Write what you know. That's the mantra. Journalism, by definition, is writing what we know. It's writing what we find out. It's writing what we experience. It's telling the truth.

Skimming off someone else's quotes and experiences and wrapping it in homespun verbiage ain't writin' what you know. And it's not journalism. It's doubtful you could call it art -- or even expression. It's an attempt by a person to be someone he or she isn't.

I don't know Rick Bragg's story. I don't know what personal factors may have motivated him to act the way he did. I hope that, if indeed he has medical problems that hinder travel (as he's said), he rests and gets medical help. I wish the same for Jayson Blair, who seems to have struggled with depression.

But the work is separate and must ultimately be judged on its own. Mr. Bragg has not been honest with us. He has not been a journalist.

Things That Make Me Smile

2003-05-28T03:07:00.000-04:00

Monty Python
"God Only Knows" by The Beach Boys
Douglas Adams books
"Good Omens" by Neil Gaiman and Terry Pratchett
"Goodbye Yellow Brick Road" by Elton John
"Cigarettes and Chocolate Milk" by Rufus Wainwright
"Why Does It Always Rain On Me" by Travis
The Daily Show
The Onion
Cats and dogs (when not attacking me)
Phone calls from friends
A cup of coffee with milk in it
Watching Max
Bubble baths

All the Money In Tokyo

2003-05-26T03:05:00.000-04:00

No, I haven't lucked into a fortune. I am listening to a song by the Magnetic Fields called "All the Umbrellas in London." If I were British, I might say it's bleedin' brilliant, guvnah!

It's not only melancholy and beautiful, but I think the lyrics are pretty clever. Take a look:

All the Umbrellas in London
By Stephin Merritt

if i make it tonight it'll be all right
it'll make a good song or something
i've been trying to give myself reasons to live
and i really can't think of one thing

i drive around, i walk around in circles
'cause i've got no sense of direction
and i guess i've got no sense at all

all the umbrellas in london couldn't stop this rain
and all the dope in new york couldn't kill this pain
and all the money in tokyo couldn't make me stay
all the umbrellas in london couldn't stop this rain

i don't cry anymore, i go out the door
and i usually keep on walking
i will sit in the bar where the cocktails are
but i really don't feel like talking

i lie around and let the darkness fall
'cause i've got a sense of perfection
and nothing makes much sense at all

all the umbrellas in london couldn't stop this rain
and all the dope in new york couldn't kill this pain
and all the money in tokyo couldn't make me stay
all the umbrellas in london couldn't stop this rain

Not Him Too!

2003-05-25T15:03:00.000-04:00

Rick Bragg has been suspended for a couple of weeks by the New York Times. His situation is much milder than Jayson Blair's, but it's irritating nonetheless.

Slate has a pretty opinionated take on it here. I could grouse for awhile about this, but I won't. I love Bragg's writing, but this irks me.

Search For Canine Companion Continues

2003-05-25T03:02:00.000-04:00

Max and I remain committed to the idea of a dog. The concept of a peppy ball of fur that bounces around the apartment and barks now and again is appealing.

Yet the specifics remain difficult. We both want a smart dog ... poodle or schnauzer-esque. Max has taken a shine to corgis. I keep pushing for something a touch larger.

Whatever way you slice it, we're looking to adopt in the next few days. It should be thrilling.

The Project

2003-05-24T02:58:00.000-04:00

From February to early this month, I embarked on an experiment.

I created a comic strip, from the ground up. Titled "Dorm Room," it follows the adventures of three residents of, well, a dorm room. It's quirky and, hopefully, amusing. With Max adding suggestions and fine-tuning some of the knottier jokes (not to mention adding some punch lines), it's a project I'm proud of.

I'm a cartoonist from way back. From my third-grade to eighth-grade years, I drew some 2,500 pages of comics. I was proud of the count, and the output allowed me to make it through middle school sane. The work also taught me how to draw, how to write, and how to look at the world (absurdly, it turns out).

I started writing more seriously in the eighth grade, and since then I've written a lot in the way of poetry and nonfiction. But I never turned my back on cartooning entirely. I drew editorial cartoons steadily through my college years.

As I spent time with Max, we worked on some art projects. We've planned to put them online for some time, but it involves time and a scanner, both of which we're without for the moment.

For all that, I figured my time working on cartoons proper was over. But then my friend Katie Hollar zapped me an e-mail some four months ago. She was working for a publisher and wanted to see some of my cartoons -- and not sketches, but a proposal for a series.

It took a long time. I knew I wanted to deal with college life, but the angle and character development took time to evolve. The writing of the six strips took several days of brainstorming. And then I spent about a month working on the final drawings. By that time, Katie had left her employer.

But I sent them off anyway. It was a blast.

What's Going On

2003-05-23T02:56:00.000-04:00

A lot, but not much.

That is, many minor incidents but few major ones. Got a filling put in on Monday. Joy. Worked a six-day week, which really wore me down to the nubbins.

Was off Wednesday and Thursday. Max and I have decided we're going to get a dog. Am scouting around the internet now, looking at breeds and other such information. Purchased The Best of Bowie, a 2-DVD set of videos from the erstwhile rock icon.

Looking forward to doing some copy editing this upcoming week. Not sure why. I guess I've been twisted.

A Great Story

2003-05-19T02:55:00.000-04:00

Take a look at the ongoing series: 13: On The Edge Of Everything at the St. Petersburg Times. Those of us in the copy editing biz can grouse about narrative journalism, but this is a series that couldn't be done any other way.

Congratulations to writers Thomas French, Monique Fields and Dong-Phuong Nguyen and photographer Krystal Kinnunen. This is some special work. The interactive Web version is a canny example of convergence as well.

Today's Accumulation

2003-05-17T03:12:00.000-04:00

A brief mention of a few of the entertainment items sitting on my desk. This very moment. It's true!

1.) "Yankee Hotel Foxtrot" CD by Wilco.

2.) "Love God Murder" three-CD box set by Johnny Cash.

3.) "The Dance" DVD by Fleetwood Mac.

4.) "The Sims Hot Date" PC game expansion from Electronic Arts.

I'd go on, but even I'm bored.

Random Grousing

2003-05-16T03:09:00.000-04:00

It's been a tough week or so.

I've just come off the week of working zoned copy at the major metropolitan daily newspaper, and it's left me tired. I had a weekend that really wasn't that restful. Not sure why ... but I'm sure that staying up until the wee hours of the morning didn't help much.

I have to go to the dentist Monday, which fills me with dread. I had a filling come out several weeks ago, and I couldn't get into the office that my dental HMO assigned me. I didn't tell them it was an emergency, and thus got stuck calling them every day to see if an appointment had opened up. None did.

Thus, I'm scheduled to go to a fee-for-service dental technician bright and early Monday. Oh well. Just get it out of the way. To top that off, on Tuesday I have a meeting at work and on Thursday I get to go talk to a bunch of Dow Jones Copy Editing interns (the program I was in a year ago). The meeting and talk aren't bad things ... I expect to enjoy them ... but they are extra commitments.

Plus, I'm working a six-day week. Ack. Weeks like this come along, I suppose. Times like this happen. One just keeps at it.

And gripes about it in one's blog.

Reason Prevails

2003-05-13T03:09:00.000-04:00

For now at least.

The University of Kansas has found that its -- gasp! -- sex class is not obscene. The issue was raised by a state senator. I'd hope this ends it all. But I doubt it.

Embarrassment Detailed

2003-05-10T15:08:00.001-04:00

The Times has released an article outlining some of Mr. Blair's failings.

"NEW YORK - A staff reporter for The New York Times committed frequent acts of journalistic fraud while covering significant news events in recent months, an investigation by Times journalists has found. The widespread fabrication and plagiarism represent a profound betrayal of trust and a low point in the 152-year history of the newspaper.

"The reporter, Jayson Blair, 27, misled readers and Times colleagues with dispatches that purported to be from Maryland, Texas and other states, when often he was far away, in New York. He fabricated comments. He concocted scenes. He stole material from other newspapers and wire services. He selected details from photographs to create the impression he had been somewhere or seen someone, when he had not.

"And he used these techniques to write falsely about emotionally charged moments in recent history, from the deadly sniper attacks in suburban Washington to the anguish of families grieving for loved ones killed in Iraq.

"In an inquiry focused on correcting the record and explaining how such fraud could have been sustained within the ranks of The New York Times, the Times journalists have so far uncovered new problems in at least 36 of the 73 articles Blair wrote since he started getting national reporting assignments in late October. In the final months the audacity of the deceptions grew by the week, suggesting the work of a troubled young man veering toward professional self-destruction."

Read the whole article. Registration is required, but it's the New York Times. You can fill out a few lines for the Times, can't you?

Latest Embarrassment to the Fourth Estate

2003-05-10T03:07:00.000-04:00

Why, it's Mr. Jayson Blair, late of the New Yawk Times.

Read about his unfortunate tendency to fabricate sources, quotes and other such bits of journalism most common folks assume to be -- ha ha! -- true.

Howard Kurtz lays out the basics.

Slate ponders the issue.

And a Times managing editor weighs in.

(Thanks to Romenesko for a couple of these.)

Please Mr. Postman

2003-05-09T03:05:00.002-04:00

I've just finished writing an e-mail. Here's the edited, blog-spiffy version:

Dear M -- :

The two biggest events since I talked with you last are the purchase of a little vacuum cleaner and a watch. The Casio I had, after a couple of band replacements and several battery replacements, just had it. The little pin that connected the timepiece part of the watch to one of the bands wore through its tiny plastic tube. Thus, I couldn't get the band to snap on anymore. Have no idea if that makes sense, but it's broke.

So I went by Target and picked up a $20 Mossimo watch ... black band, but a rectangular face, with silver numbers and background. A little fancier than I expected, but the basic watches looked doofy.

While I was there, picked up a Dustbuster-clone vacuum. One room in the apartment is carpeted, so it's needed. This mini-vac is shaped kind of like a shark and is, in fact, called the shark. The package said it was powerful and such, so I bought it.

And such are the exciting events in the life of me.

Yours,
C --

What I'm Doing Today

2003-05-08T22:04:00.000-04:00

Every third week, my job at the Tampa Bay area daily newspaper changes a bit. Instead of editing the nation/world, metro or business sections, I tackle zones.

Zones is short for zoned sections -- localized sections put out by the paper to appeal to readers in the suburbs or certain city neighborhoods. They contain a lot of "chicken dinner" news: community events listings, theater reviews, school news. It's the stuff readers can actually use.

But it can be deathly dull to edit. One of the other copy editors here says the sections are aptly named, as she zones out whenever she works on them.

Teaser

2003-05-08T15:04:00.000-04:00

Detail on that big creative project to come soon. I promise.

Bio, Again

2003-05-08T03:00:00.001-04:00

Every month or two, I update my vital signs. Here's the latest installment.

Name: Clay McCuistion.
Age: 23
Height: 6'1.
Weight: 182.
Distinguishing Trait: Moles on my left ear. That, or chronic anxiety.
Occupation: Attorney general.
Actual Occupation: Proofreading-type person.
Significant Other: Yes.
Main goal in life: To get a full night's rest soon.
Secondary goal: Canonization. Or, barring that, cleaning the bathroom.
Another random goal: Discover the lost city of gold.

Complaining

2003-05-05T02:59:00.000-04:00

Having a devil of a time posting.

Blogger ate my last two posts.

Now, the world will forever be without them. What a sad, tragic loss.

Oh well. Off to bed.

"You'll Pay For That Free Music! Bwah-ha-ha!"

2003-05-04T02:23:00.000-04:00

This whole music piracy thing is silly. Well, not the music piracy itself. While morally questionable (perhaps), the truly scary behavior is coming from the record industry.

Take it away, New York Times.

Software Bullet Is Sought to Kill Musical Piracy
By ANDREW ROSS SORKIN

Some of the world's biggest record companies, facing rampant online piracy, are quietly financing the development and testing of software programs that would sabotage the computers and Internet connections of people who download pirated music, according to industry executives.

The entire article is here.

Desktop descriptions

2003-05-02T02:20:00.000-04:00

For your pleasure, dear reader, allow me to present this list of items on my desktop.

(I call it a desktop. It's actually the space around my computer monitor. My computer desk is snazzy, buit it's not as though I have this huge expanse for in/out boxes and the like.)

1.) A Memorex CD marker. Color: Red.

2.) Seven compact disks. First, a Memorex CD-R with handwritten title: Many Heroes and Plentiful Villains. Second, a CD-R of indeterminate brand, with handwritten title: Philly Variety Assortment. Third, an Imation CD-R with handwritten tracklist: That's Amore, Chiquita Banana and La Bamba. Fourth, another Memorex CD-R with the handwritten title: Food Songs. Fifth, a Capitol Records label CD, titled :Hawthorne, CA, Birthplace of A Musical Legacy (Artist: The Beach Boys). Sixth, a Capitol Records label CD, titled: The Beach Boys, Good Vibrations -- 30 Years of the Beach Boys -- Sessions. Seventh, an Imation CD-R with handwritten title: Bob Dylan's Greatest Hits v. 3.

3.) A service invoice from Saturn of St. Petersburg

4.) A Nokia cellular telephone. The Cingular trademark is inscribed toward the bottom.

5.) A book by Theodore Dalrymple, titled Life At The Bottom: The Worldview That Makes The Underclass. Publisher: Ivan R. Dee.

6.) A piece of paper listing the songs found on CD No. 3 of the earlier list. One title is not found on the CD: "We Got The Beef" by Weird Al.

7.) A box of Sucrets sore throat lozenges. Flavor: Vapor black cherry.

8.) A newspaper employee identification bade, with my picture and name affixed.

9.) A compact disc case for: The Beach Boys, "Good Timin', Live at Knebworth England 1980." Label is Eagle Records.

10.) One pad of bright pink sticky notes.

11.) One silver pen/pencil container, containing pens and pencils. Inside: A green, unsharpened pencil labeled "Chicago." Two dark green, unsharpened pencils labeled "St. Petersburg Times, tampabay.com." Five Bic brand #2 mechanical pencils, varying colors. One retractable pen, bearing an ad for Lawrence (Kan.) Automotive Diagnostics. A translucent blue retractable pen, labeled "Dow Jones Newspaper Fund." Two Bic brand round stic ballpoint pens. One green retractable pen, labeled "Poynter.org." One Bic brand round stik grip pen. A Papermate black, medium-point pen. A green Pentel brand R.S.V.P. pen.

12.) Inside the pen/pencil cup are found some stray items. Two multicolored erasers. Two small keys, one with a piece of paper taped to it reading "Max."

That's pretty much it. And all I have the patience for.

Tickets, Akira and the poetry page

2003-05-01T13:35:00.000-04:00

Last night, I purchased a couple of tickets for a June 8 show by Fleetwood Mac. They're coming to the St. Pete Times Forum for a concert. Max and I will be there, braced for a dose of the Mac. Oh yeah.

In other news, received my copy of Akira today. Purchased the two-disk set on Ebay awhile back. While not advertised as such on the auction site, this copy of the movie was in a relatively rare metal box. I got it for a song. And that song was "Eye of the Tiger."

Remember, if it's poetry you want -- if it's poetry you need -- Verse A Day is here to help. Drop by sometime.

Project / Pro-jector / Jester

2003-04-30T18:31:00.000-04:00

Also today, I've put in serious effort on an art project. I can't reveal any details, as I think it would jinx things. Once it's wholly completed and dispatched, I'll tell a bit more about it.

Rest assured, it's cool.

Inside anime

2003-04-30T13:30:00.000-04:00

I referenced AnimeNation in my review of Kiki's Delivery Service a few days ago.

I learned a day or two ago that the Web site has its headquarters -- and a retail store -- in Tampa. Max and I visited this afternoon. Fun place, though it seems most of the building is devoted to the Web business.

Picked up a copy of Cowboy Bebop -- Best Sessions, a two-disk set containing six episodes of the science fiction show. Back in December, I rented the set. This is what I wrote, back in the ancient past:

Cowboy Bebop is an "anime show about a bounty hunter's adventures in the future. Rented it on a whim last night, and have been watching through it this afternoon (this being my copy editor's Saturday and all).

It's beautifully done, albeit with the shortcoming I mentioned. The sense of style is unmatched, and the music is wonderful. Kind of a jazz/delta blues/pop mix."

What an insightful young man I was.

Poloxamer 407 FTW

2003-04-28T13:27:00.000-04:00

Ingredients in a bottle of Publix brand Antiseptic Mouth Rinse (Publix is, for non-Floridians in the audience, a chain of "rad" grocery stores).

Active Ingredients:

Thymol
Eucalyptol
Methyl Salicylate
Menthol

Other Stuff Thrown In For Kicks:

Water
Alcohol
Sorbitol solution
Flavoring
Poloxamer 407
Sodium saccharin
Benzoic acid
Zinc chloride
Sodium benzoate
FD&C Blue No. 1

Refreshing!

Poetry's place

2003-04-26T16:25:00.000-04:00

For those of you who can't stomach the poetry I sometimes post here, rest easy.

I've started a new blog -- an online poetry scrapbook, really -- called Verse A Day. It will henceforth be the home of my online poetic rambles.

I'll add a poem each day. Stop by sometime.

Abundant animation attention

2003-04-26T14:22:00.000-04:00

As promised, some musings on Kiki's Delivery Service.

The film is aimed at children, it seems, so the trope of many anime fanatics doesn't work in talking about it. That is, you can't claim it's for mature audiences and thus revolutionizes our narrow U.S. concepts about the potential of animation.

But that doesn't mean the movie is less inspired, or particularly similar to children's movies made by the Mouse House (who at least had the courtesy to buy up Miyazaki-san's work for worldwide release).

Kiki, the story of a young witch making it on her own in a new city, is an eloquent and touching story about growing up. It has an exciting dirigible crash, humor based on its characters, and a plot that doesn't go the way one would expect. Add to that a memorable score and pristine animation, and you have a little jewel of a movie.

Perhaps the most fascinating aspect of the film -- if not the most obvious one -- is that it's an alternate universe tale. Miyazaki sets it in 1950s Europe, but a 1950s Europe in which World War II never happened and where witches roam free.

It sounds strange, but it's handled with grace, delicacy, and the firm touch of experience.

I watched the English dub, which features an excellent performance by Kursten Dunst as Kiki, and an intermittently funny one by Phil Hartman as her pet cat (the dub was recorded in 1998).

Hartman's performance is too talky, though, and winds up changing the feel of the movie. I watched a chunk of the film in the original Japanese, and it's a much quieter -- and more powerful -- experience.

Still, the DVD gives you the option of watching either version, and they both have their charms.

It's difficult to write about Miyazaki in a coherent way. Do a web search about him and his films, and you'll find a lot of enthusiasm. You won't find much cogent writing about why his movies work the way they do.

They stir emotions that most movies don't consider. They combine images and story in a way that suggests abstract art more than a Disney opus. And they share an ultimate optimism about humanity that is too often difficult to muster in these times.

That being said, Kiki may not be the best Miyazaki movie to start with if you've never sampled his work. I'd try Spirited Away or Castle In The Sky, both available on DVD, first. Then move on to his other films.

More Miyazaki information:

Studio Ghibli (where he makes his movies).
The U.S. DVDs (released a couple of weeks ago).

More Anime information:

AnimeNation.

Breaking news

2003-04-26T13:20:00.000-04:00

It's drizzling outside.

And that's the weather.

Not overstated at all

2003-04-24T23:38:00.000-04:00

This is the best Web site ever.

http://www.lileks.com/

Go there and go there often. (Thanks to Sean, who so considerately e-mailed me about this site.)

As for "Kiki's Delivery Service," don't fret. A review of sorts is festering in my brain. Soon, it will fester here.

... enervated ...

2003-04-24T16:37:00.000-04:00

So...tired...

But must...update blog anyway...

Why...so many...periods?

...

Hello there, sir

2003-04-23T23:36:00.000-04:00

A great big shout out (or some perky greeting along those lines) to my buddy James, who reads this very blog from his comfy Chicago home. Hi James. Rest assured that Rant/Rave/Reassure is committed to serving your Clay information needs.

Those needs may, obviously, vary.

Can't stop

2003-04-22T23:36:00.000-04:00

Purchased "Kiki's Delivery Service," another Miyazaki opus, today. I'll let you know how it is shortly.

In depth, indeed

2003-04-21T23:55:00.000-04:00

Howzabout an intimate look into my "artistic" process? Oh come on. It won't be that bad. I promise.

I wrote this in the bathtub today. I had an idea for a poem, but what I wrote didn't please me. Okay, it sucked. I decided to try a bit of free-association. This is what came out.

N/N/N

Never
Notagain
No.

Policemen dance round the barricades
Where my mother slipped and fell.
But how can you tell
I don't like you?

All you know
My mouthwaterin chickpea
Is what's printed
In those scandal sheets

Of bubbles and pollen and sneezes
That follow rules no men make.
(No man that that I know. You?
Nope.
Thought so.)

Where does the blossom sprout
In the businessman's briefcase,
Where numbers foam --

On the beer head
(Use yours, Spinoza)
Or A.G. Bell.
Give 'im a ring
Or a zing zong
Diddly zing.

We expect so much
And so so little
For them.

The lines and ranks and file folders
Hanging in the box,
Top of the Pops.
And snap and crackled
And breathed dust for you,
As the day eats its young
And the night stammers fitfully.

So where does it end?
With warmth
And soap.

Twin enthusiasms

2003-04-21T23:33:00.000-04:00

Miyazaki, Miyazaki, Miyazaki.

Watched "Castle In The Sky" tonight. A two-hour burst of fun, energy and world-creation that the Disney folk only dream they could do. And that's why they bought the U.S. rights to all of Miyazaki's superb anime. "Castle" is available right now in a 2-DVD set. (One DVD has the movie, in English and Japanese, and the other has the storyboards for the movie -- drawn by Miyazaki himself -- accompanied by the soundtrack.)

Say You Will

As unfashionable and er -- white -- as this sounds, I bought the new Fleetwood Mac album Friday. Some good tunes on there.

Ghibli-d

2003-04-16T23:32:00.000-04:00

Actually purchased "Miyazaki's Spirited Away" on DVD yesterday.

The film remains stunning. I wish, however, that some company other than Disney had the rights to the films for the U.S.

Why? I could do without the constant head shots of Disney employees in the bonus material, telling us how much they were inspired by Miyazaki.

Let's watch the movie. Please.

Whither Williams

2003-04-14T23:27:00.004-04:00

Not to go all over-dramatic here, but I'm sad that Roy Williams is leaving Kansas.

Roy Williams was always part of the package when I thought about KU. He was by far the most famous man on campus, and his silver-haired presence was ubiquitous. He was always on television, in the newspaper, etc.

As someone that thinks sports receive far too much attention, I would have been the first one to grumble about this -- if Roy had ever been anything but gracious. Indeed, he just seemed like a classy guy. Year in and year out, he would assemble winning teams.

Of course, year in and year out he would fumble at tournament time and tears would be shed. But that was part of the charm. He seemed like a real guy. That's a quality midwesterners appreciate.

Imagining Lawrence without him is difficult. He will be missed.

Oh, Roy

2003-04-14T15:31:00.000-04:00

Roy Williams will announce tonight that he's leaving KU for the presumably greener pastures of UNC.

Oh well. It's a good thing I don't care about sports, or else I'd be really crushed -- rather than just disappointed.

Middle-earth treat

2003-04-14T13:26:00.000-04:00

Strange school lunch menu item of the day:

Oatmeal Elfin Bar

Sounds like something from the Lord of the Rings.

Read all about it

2003-04-13T23:25:00.000-04:00

Please note the new link to the right.

Roper in China is properly titled "Wrong Side of the Wall," and is a new blog starring my former co-worker and Daily Kansan photographer extraordinaire Jamie Roper. He's teaching English in China.

Read it. I command you!

Urgy burgy

2003-04-11T23:24:00.000-04:00

That's Clay for "hi there."

Here's a poem I wrote a couple of days ago. No title, not for the blog version at least.

The dryer churns.
I walk back inside our apartment,
Pebbles clinging to my bare feet.

The air conditioner gasps.
I fold the frayed gray T-shirt,
Drop it on the uneven stack.

The ceiling fan rotates.
You sleep,
Covers drawn to blank out light.

There is nothing to add to this interval
In words or thoughts.
All we need is here --

In between our breaths
And the movement of our blood.

How many?

2003-04-10T23:23:00.000-04:00

A midweek weekend has passed.

What did I do? Um. Cleaned up around the apartment, did seven loads of laundry and watched Tootsie.

And I drew some comic strips.

Reasoned response

2003-04-07T21:08:00.000-04:00

I think I speak for KU fans everywhere when I say:

AUUUUUUUGH!

81-78, Syracuse. Wow. That hurts.

Game day

2003-04-07T20:07:00.000-04:00

The KU basketball team is toughing it out at the NCAA championship game tonight. It's halftime now, and they're trailing Syracuse by an inexcusable amount.

I'm not a sports fan in general, 1.) because I can't play well and 2.) because it makes me nervous. However, as a KU grad, I've obviously followed the team here and there this season. They've made it to the championship. But now they have to win.

I'm rooting for them, but this is way too nerve-wracking. I think I'll wait until the game is finished. More then.

Worthy of note

2003-04-07T17:06:00.000-04:00

Salon has posted a painful, yet delicately observed piece about a suicide. Read it here.

The ride illustrated

2003-04-05T21:02:00.000-05:00

The car looks more or less like the one in this picture, only white.

Start your engine

2003-04-05T18:00:00.000-05:00

The silence can end.

I'm now the semi-owner (thanks to Redacted Financial Corp.), of a 1999 Saturn SL1 motorcar. It has four doors, 21,600 miles, and is white. It's the new Claymobile.

As I've said before, and as I'll doubtless say again: Whoohoo.

Military poetry

2003-04-04T18:58:00.000-05:00

A poem by Donald Rumsfeld, our secretary of defense (thanks to Slate, which figured this out).

Clarity

I think what you'll find,
I think what you'll find is,
Whatever it is we do substantively,
There will be near-perfect clarity
As to what it is.

And it will be known,
And it will be known to the Congress,
And it will be known to you,
Probably before we decide it,
But it will be known.

— Feb. 28, 2003, Department of Defense briefing

Profiled

2003-04-04T17:10:00.000-05:00

Updating the obvious. It's time for the semi-sorta-regularly-recurring McCuistion profile.

Calm yourselves.

Name: Clay McCuistion.
Age: 23.
Height: 6'1.
Weight: 183 (according the scales at the doctor's office last week).
Occupation: Copy editor at a daily newspaper located in the steaming, sultry countryside of Tampa Bay.
Main goal in life: To finish that damned comic strip project I've been working on for two months.
Secondary goal: To arrange semi-sorta reliable auto transport.
Another random goal: To put paper in neat stacks.

Day by day

2003-04-04T17:08:00.000-05:00

Howdy there. Just checking in.

Let's look at the calendar ... hmmm .... why, it seems to be April 4. What's that about?

I just came off my four-day vacation. I'll summarize it for you:

Day One (Sunday): Watched Spirited Away. A marvelous animated movie from Japan. Being released by Disney in the states. It won the best animated feature Oscar.

Day Two: I drive by some car lots, and walk past a couple of them too. I talk to my dad on the phone about possibly buying a car.

Day Three: Visit Ford, Honda and Saturn dealerships with Max. I picked up the DVD Brian Wilson On Tour. A nice collection of performances from the ex-Beach Boy.

Day Four: Take test drives of a couple of used Saturns and decide to take the plunge. Start working on financing.

That's the rundown. Today, I returned to the dealership and gave them more information. I'll be returning tomorrow. Let's hope for the best, eh?

Just so-so

2003-03-29T17:06:00.000-05:00

Sick day did not help quite as much as planned.

I am feeling spectacularly mediocre right now. That's better than spectacularly crappy, which is how I was feeling about an hour ago.

Things are exciting in Clay-and-Max land. Max's car was towed away, Clay's car is sputtering and creaking, and both of us feel sick. Thank goodness it's the weekend, right?

Oh wait. We both have to work tomorrow. Joy.

Sick day

2003-03-27T17:05:00.000-05:00

On one hand, I feel drained and virus-y (fought off a sore throat and body aches for the last two days).

On the other, I get to spend quality time in the new apartment.

On yet another hand (perhaps someone else's), most of that time will be spent sleeping.

High speed

2003-03-26T17:04:00.000-05:00

DSL has finally been transferred to the new apartment.

Whoohoo!

World on its side

2003-03-20T17:03:00.000-05:00

For a country now engaged in war. Make of this song what you will.

Ring Them Bells

By Bob Dylan

Ring them bells, ye heathen
From the city that dreams,
Ring them bells from the sanctuaries
Cross the valleys and streams,
For they're deep and they're wide
And the world's on its side
And time is running backwards
And so is the bride.

Ring them bells St. Peter
Where the four winds blow,
Ring them bells with an iron hand
So the people will know.
Oh it's rush hour now
On the wheel and the plow
And the sun is going down
Upon the sacred cow.

Ring them bells Sweet Martha,
For the poor man's son,
Ring them bells so the world will know
That God is one.
Oh the shepherd is asleep
Where the willows weep
And the mountains are filled
With lost sheep.

Ring them bells for the blind and the deaf,
Ring them bells for all of us who are left,
Ring them bells for the chosen few
Who will judge the many when the game is through.
Ring them bells, for the time that flies,
For the child that cries
When innocence dies.

Ring them bells St. Catherine
From the top of the room,
Ring them from the fortress
For the lilies that bloom.
Oh the lines are long
And the fighting is strong
And they're breaking down the distance
Between right and wrong.