"`Vol. 1' goes out, `Vol. 2' goes out, then `Vol. 1 Special Edition,' `Vol. 2 Special Edition,' the two-pack, then the Tarantino collection as a boxed set for Christmas," he said. "It's called multiple bites at the apple."

Read the story and then read this other one.

The whole thing smells a lot like the comic book industry in the mid-90s. Multiple covers, pack-ins, special limited editions. That nearly destroyed the Comic Book Industry.

I'm utterly appalled by this story for a couple of different reasons. First, why the hell did the secret service get involved? Is Bush THAT MUCH of a paranoid megolomaniac that he has his sunglass-wearing goons hunt down a freaking highschool softmore? Secondly, how dare the school, and the teacher, punish the boy for expressing his feelings towards the governement. Even in the "post-columbine" climate the administrators have no grounds of discipling this kind of artistic expression. The administrators "insisted it was not a freedom-of-speech issue but a concern over the depiction of violence."
So they can tell the kids to read MacBeth, but the kids can't use violence in their assigned artwork?

Until then...

I'm slowly adjusting to the rat-race, which I think is bad. I'm worried of getting lost in the currents of a 9-5 job. The original plan was to keep writing after work, or on weekend when Julie is slaving away in the coffee mines, but in reality I have been in no mental state to devote attention of the written word. I can barely bring myself to blog. I hope it is just my body/mind getting adjusted to the new stresses, and I am actively forcing myself to write whenever I can. Keep the tool honed so to speak. The point is, if you got a review copy of my script, and I haven't heard from you, please send me some comments! The more comments I get the more kindling I have to stoke the creative fires. The more specific the comments the dryer the kindling.

Lastly, what the hell is the deal with The Gilmore Girls? I flipped over to an episode just to get some Lauren Graham action and now I'm fascinated. I don't think I get it. What is the hook? Are the witches? Do they fight vampires? Do they have super powers? What is the point? SO... MUCH... DIALOGUE... But it is oddly entertaining.

I also need to see Kill Bill Vol. 2 sometime this week. I'm hoping that is will not only blow me away, but also elevate my opinion of the first film. It will be nice to actually get some SCENES with David Carradine and Michael Madson. But I probably won't be fully satisfied until QT releases a DVD of the "saga" as one film...

I've been missing it a lot recently. Andrew and Jodi were down and stayed with us last night, and it was very nice to see them. But it drove home the point that Jules and I REALLY need to make a trip up north to see friends, family, and redwoods.

I can still remember how excited I was when my first set of Worldbook Encylopedia's arrived at my childhood home. I was a nerd even at 8 years old. My dad suggested that I read an article a day until I had consumed the whole shelf of leatherette bound tomes, and I would often read myself to sleep with one. (I told you I was a nerd.) Wikipedia does this one better and even has a random page link. So hit that up and surf the Wikipedia for a while. You'll defiantly learn something, and you might even be able to TEACH someone something.

I love you Jules!

Band of Brothers, the HBO miniseries following American paratroopers in Normandy and beyond during the invasion of Europe, is being re-run on the History Channel. I'll take the time now to urge you to go rent the DVDs as the series is a stunning example of the war movie genre (but the edited History Channel version is kinda annoying.) But the combined length of the 10 episodes gives the show the freedom to explore areas that the typical 3 hour-long war-flick just can't do. Character development is the greatest strength of the series, which makes the soldiers plight (and sometimes their deaths) that much more affecting. Even if you're not usually a fan of the genre I think you will get a lot out of Band of Brothers.

In the meantime checkout this article at Rollingstone.com about the impact of legit music download services on the Music Biz.

I can't even seem to get motivated to write about Hellboy (which we saw on Saturday.) It is really a good movie. A lot of fun, and really faithful to the source comic. Ron Pearlman is THE PERFECT actor to play "Big Red" and John Hurt is equally perfect as Professor Bloom. If you haven't read any Hellboy, your really missing about on a GREAT comic. I was happily surprised that the film addressed so many of the Lovecraftian themes of the Hellboy mythos. I think some of the people in the theater were taken aback by the amount of humor in the film, but the comic is the same way. The only real way to present such unspeakable horror is to temper it with a 7+ foot tall wisecracking demon that loves cats (and nachos.) So go out and see it. You'll have a great time.

You can't fire me because I quit
And I'm living off of grass
All apologies
Surrealistic fantasy
Bruises on the fruit -- tender age in bloom

every wet nurse refused to feed him
Won't you believe it
Your dirty wings
And I've got this friend, you see
It's just my luck

I remember being steamrolled by the media blitzkrieg that was "Nevermind" WAY the fuck back in 1992. It was, to me, what the Beatles were to my parents. The fucking essence of Rock and Roll. The trio spoke to me, and to my peers, in a way that nothing else ever had. Kurt's passion was an inspiration to me. Seeing him fall was like watching Christ die on the cross. That sounds extreme, but when you're 15 your all you know is extremes.

I'm not going to get into my age-old theory of music as magic and existence of musical "prophets" who have been the harbingers of musical and social change, buy be a pint sometime and I'll get into it. Never the less Cobain was the driving force behind a magical movement that has literally changed the world. Today I raise a mug of coffee, play nothing but Nirvana, and reflect on the 10 years between then and now.

I'm having some difficulty reintegrating into reality and my increasingly frustrating job-search today. I just had an interview for a tape logger position on a medical reality show. 10 hours a day of logging graphic clips of surgery sounds pretty hideous, but I'm getting desperate. I have another interview at a different company tomorrow, and this will be the third position they have interviewed me for. So at least I have some prospects.