As if I need more to remind me I’m getting old…
Did you know it was 10 years ago that Daft Punk released their debut album Homework?
Author: Matt (Page 20 of 41)
Some of you may remember a few months ago when I wished I had a camera phone to document some of the oddities that life throws at me (so you don’t think I’m kidding – cause it’s all true!).
Well kids, I finally have one.
What I’d like to know is, how do they know a stripper versus a non-stripper when they see one? What are the chances I could stroll in and drink 1/2 off? (don’t answer that)
Big Ideas (don’t get any) from James Houston on Vimeo.
If I had this much extra time on my hands, I’m sure I could cure cancer. Alas, I have to leave cool shit like this up to the professionals…
I’m a student graduating from the Glasgow School of Art’s visual communication course in a few days. This is my final project.
Radiohead held an online contest to remix “Nude” from their album – “In Rainbows” This was quite a difficult task for everybody that entered, as Nude is in 6/8 timing, and 63bpm.
Based on the lyric (and alternate title) “Big Ideas: Don’t get any” I grouped together a collection of old redundant hardware, and placed them in a situation where they’re trying their best to do something that they’re not exactly designed to do, and not quite getting there.
It doesn’t sound great, as it’s not supposed to.
What a wonderful holiday weekend – best DEMF since 2000. Not only did we have amazing weather, but we had the privilege of hosting Steve & Amy up from Hotlanta, as well as Jamie in from Oregon. I’ve posted some of the photos I took from my cellphone in the gallery, with more from a real camera coming soon uploaded as of 6/15/08.
Here’s a taste…
Detroit’s annual Movement Festival Memorial Day weekend has been a staple of our holiday weekend since it’s inception in 2000.
I was excited to read about how the event organizer Paxahau has partnered with WasteONE Management and Great Lakes Recycling in an attempt to make the festival greener this year.
I know I can attest to the excess amount of plastic cups, water bottles, paper plates, cans, etc which litter the plaza every year, so it’s good to see Paxahau stepping up and implementing fully-staffed recycling stations to help deal with the massive amounts of waste generated in an earth conscious way.
The other interesting tidbit in the article mentions they’re looking into the possibility of using solar panels to power stages as early as 2009 – now THAT would be the ultimate green move…
It’s been a bad week for cars in the Ferndizzy…
Last week Christa spent several hundred dollars to have the dealership tell her she has a transmission problem, and it’ll be $3400 to replace. Then she went for a 2nd opinion and a specialty transmission shop where it stayed for the better part of 4 days for them to diagnose the problem as “probably” some value or something or other deep inside, so $3400 to replace.
Thursday we went bowling at the Majestic Theater‘s Garden Bowl, and after a night of myself kicking ass and taking names, we went back out to my car, I lifted the door handle, and felt something break. After getting in and out of my car all DUKES OF HAZZARD style for a few days, I spent 2 1/2 hours taking my door apart – sure enough the plastic handle broke. There were no used ones available at any junkyards I called on Saturday, so it’s $62 to replace it with a new one – catch is that won’t be in for another 3-5 days.
I’m ready to just screw it all and take public transit.
Pulled some ground turkey out of the freezer & combined $5 worth of stuff I didn’t have on hand to make this awesome 1-pan dinner!*
1 pound ground turkey
1/2 chopped onion
1 (1.25 ounce) package taco seasoning
1 1/2 cups water
1 1/2 cups sliced zucchini
1 (14.5 ounce) can stewed tomatoes, undrained
1 cup frozen corn
1 1/2 cups uncooked instant rice
1 cup shredded Cheddar cheese
In a skillet, cook turkey and onion until meat is no longer pink; drain if necessary.
Stir in taco seasoning, water, zucchini, tomatoes and corn; bring to a boil.
Add rice. Reduce heat; cover and simmer for 5 minutes or until rice is tender and liquid is absorbed. Sprinkle with cheese, cover, and let stand until the cheese is melted.
*Brought to you by allrecipes.com & their nifty ingredients search engine
14 days and $70 later, the nightmare officially begins; we got our building permit…
I could have taken the easy way out on my porch project, but I didn’t. I could have put ugly green Astroturf to hide the crumbling steps, jammed a bunch of concrete into the part on the side crumbling and painted it, or just fucking stuck a huge flower pot in front of it to hide it. Nope, we chose to take it out and rebuild it to improve the aesthetic of the front approach to our house. Seemed like a good idea at the time…
So I went down today for the second time to apply for a building permit to rebuild my porch. The first time I went I got a brief overview of what I needed to submit, so I went back this morning to submit it hoping I could get started working this weekend. Apparently that won’t be happening. After speaking with the building inspector, he apparently has taken an interest in my project because now he is requiring:
- A site visit to verify construction materials & the dimensions of the old porch
- Verification that my new porch will not encroach farther than the average porch of every house within 650 feet of either direction of my house on my side of the street
- Pictures of the old porch
- A property survey
- 12-14 days for plan verification before approval
That’s all super fantastic except that:
- I don’t have a fucking property survey, so lets add another fee to my list of costs I wasn’t planning
- I have a huge fucking hole right outside my front door which I can’t do anything with for 12-14 days while he verifies my plans, construction materials, and old dimensions
I would like to give the city the benefit of the doubt and think that they (Ferndale) appreciate my youthful enthusiasm and willingness to learn about home-owner processes, but if there is one thing I can’t stand is all this bureaucratic bullshit.
I was thinking to myself last night that it’s been nearly 3 months since I switched jobs and there are absolutely no regrets. It’s AWFULLY REFRESHING to not dread waking up and going to work with every particle of your being. When I come home at night, my very soul and ambition to live is not crushed or destroyed. HOW DID I LIVE WITH MYSELF FOR NEARLY 3 YEARS?! More importantly, how did C?
So now I’m my own boss, a part of management, integral in the day to day operations of a major entertainment complex, and I couldn’t be happier where I am.
