I originally logged on to rant about how great Spy Game is. I just saw it tonight, and it is FANTASTIC! Everyone go see it NOW!

But I got sidetracked, reading Tyler's latest Blog, and I must say the following:
I am one of the biggest losers on the planet. I never had a "life" in high school, I can't get a date, have never had a girlfriend, women have Never showed any interest in me, I have NO JOB, am a complete dork, and have no social skills or charisma. Most people (female or otherwise, but most often females) recoil in a sort of horror at my presence. But I must say this, after reading what Tyler had to say, I thought "Jesus Christ, Dungeons and Dragons people have got to be the biggest loser/dorks on the planet!"

here's what The Seattle Times has up at this early hour

I mean, this shit happened in My Neighborhood! I grew up in SeaTac, where he got most of his victims, I used to go biking along the Green River where a lot of the early bodies were dumped... I remember when everyone was freaking out about this... I'm having a moment here...

Isn't it kind of exciting when you get a big breaking news story like this? Flipping through the channels listening to all the inane banter.

here's what the Seattle P-I has up at this moment

the guy's MARRIED!!! I guess he works/worked at Kenworth trucks.

It's on all the local channels, but not FOX news or CNN
Gary Ridgeway is the guy's name.

Well, my site is back up, but I guess there is a limit for data transfer for free Geocities sites.

The real news is I JUST HEARD they caugh the Green River Killer. A press conference just started (I'm watching channel 5 after hearing Robin and Maynard announce it on KZOK) with King County Sherrif Reichert. Wow, I thought they'd given up on ever catching the guy.

woo-hoo! I managed to crash my website! I'm not sure what happened, but here's what Geocities says:
The web site you are trying to access has exceeded its allocated data transfer. Visit our help area for more information.
Access to this site will be restored within an hour. Please try again later.

a little George Harrison tribute:

Here Comes the Sun

Here comes the sun (Du du du du)
Here comes the sun
And I say It's alright

Little darling It's been a long cold lonely winter
Little darling It feels like years since it's been here

Here comes the sun (Du du du du)
Here comes the sun
And I say It's alright

Little darling The smiles returning to the faces
Little darling It seems like years since it's been here

Here comes the sun
Here comes the sun
And I say It's alright

Sun, sun, sun, here it comes (five times)

Little darling I feel that ice is slowly melting
Little darling It seems like years since it's been clear

Here comes the sun
Here comes the sun
And I say It's alright

Here comes the sun (Du du du du)
Here comes the sun
It's alright It's alright


Something

Something in the way she moves
Attracts me like no other lover
Something in the way she woos me
I don't want to leave her now
You know I believe and how

Somewhere in her smile she knows
That I don't need no other lover
Something in her style that shows me
I don't want to leave her now
You know I believe and how

You're asking me will my love grow
I don't know, I don't know
You stick around and it may show
I don't know, I don't know

Something in the way she knows
And all I have to do is think of her
Something in the things she shows me
I don't want to leave her now
You know I believe and how

crap... I just realized I missed a great segue with my girlfriend rant below (see #8 on Sku Blog's poll) damn damn damn! sorry, guys, I'll make up for it

I wanted to make a quick note about getting sorted into �Slytherin� in that lame-ass Harry Pothead Sorting-Hat nonsense. Being a complete ignoramous on all subjects Potter, I asked Greg for assistance in interpretting my results. He sent me the following:

You belong in wise old Ravenclaw
If you've a ready mind,
Where those of wit and learning,
Will always find their kind.

You belong in Slytherin
You'll make you real friends.
Those cunning folk use any means
To achieve their ends.

You belong in Hufflepuff
Where they are just and loyal.
Those patient Hufflepuffs are true
and unafraid of toil.

You belong in Gryffindor
Where dwell the brave at heart.
Their daring, nerve and chivalry
Set Gryffindors apart.

Of course, I thought, that doesn�t sound like me at all. None of them sound like something I�d really be a part of, save for Ravenclaw, except I�m admittedly too lazy to go to Grad school, but Slytherin sounds the least like me.

I thought for a moment about whether this should bother me or not.

Of course, I finally realized it shouldn�t. I�ve never been a big fan of all this wizards/fairies/elves/ogres/magick/princes/witches/heroes fantasy-type �Lord of the Rings� type crap. And this is from someone who religiously read all SEVEN of the �Narnia Chronicles� books in elementary school. People keep telling me I should read all this crap � like it�s some kind of religious experience � but I can conclusively say that I have NO interest in doing any such thing. I�m sure most people who read this will cringe because I�m lumping together Harry Pothead and the Hobbit/Lord of the Rings, but to me it�s all the same hooey. I�m not going to bother with any of the books because I KNOW I�d get a bit into it and lose interest.

I�m sure a lot of people will try to make the same tired old claim that I have no imagination. That�s easy to do because I�m seen by so many people as such a logician. Well, I think� no, I KNOW I�m every bit the �dreamer� that everyone else is, if not more. When I was a kid, I was playing outside or with my Legos while everyone else obsessed over their video games or GI Joe crap. I�ve always felt like I have a strong creative element, but it doesn�t necessarily jive with someone who�s creative element produces fantasy/wizards crap.

Here are my answers to Sky Blog�s lame-ass survey:

1. What is your favorite Christmas song?

Hmmmm�. Non-traditional: the �Let me Sleep� song by Pearl Jam, definitely, and the �Christ on Calvary� song by that Canadian Men�s chorus, or whatever the fuck it is.

Traditional: �Santa Claus is coming to town� as performed by Bruce Springsteen and the E street band, and Paul Schaefer�s yearly rendition of his impersonation of Cher singing �Oh Holy Night.� Also, anything off the �Jingle Cats� CD.

2. What is your most hated so-called Christmas song?

I �love to hate� a number of songs. My mom would always blast all her old X-mas records every day starting in December. Stuff Like Bing Crosby, Steve and Eydie (famous for �when the weather outside is frightful�� and �sleighbells ring, are you listening��) Perry Como, even Barbara Streisand. But I�ll admit it doesn�t seem �right� if I don�t hear that stuff at least once� except for Streisand. Oh yeah, and Mannheim Steamroller blows!

3. What are your picks and pans as to versions and artists?

I think I�ve answered this adequately with above rants, but let me include a note about ACDC�s �I Want a Mistress for Christmas� (thumbs up), �12 days of X-mas� by the guys from �Strange Brew,� and that �X-mas wrappings� song by however that is (used to like it, but have heard it too many times and have soured on it)

4. Christmas versus your birthday: compare and contrast.

No comparison, really. Most of you know about my b-day, but before the last couple years it was something I never wanted a big deal made out of. I mean, it�s just you, and it�s supposed to be �your day� to do whatever the fuck you want (that�s why I firmly believe in people setting up their own b-day celebrations, If you want it, you�ll do it, and when someone else sets it up, it�s never what you wanted to do). Christmas, you can�t avoid, its like the defining celebration of our culture, and it�s just too much work to �avoid it� like some people do. You might as well just accept it and take part.

5. Has the season traditionally been or good or bad to you?

Despite my complete inability to get into �the holiday spirit� until X-mas morning, it almost always shapes up well. It�s all the crap before-hand that irritates me.

6. How's this year shaping up?

Same-ol, same-ol. Morning gift opening at the �rents, where I�ll make out like a bandit Again because my mom doesn�t know when to stop, and lately my sister has been giving me multiple gifts (guilt from being in Colorado�????) Man, I couldn�t Believe how I made out last year� I felt weird about it, comparing what I got to my roommates (Me: �I got, that, oh yeah, that too, and then I got this�� Greg or Rich: �damn, you got a lot of stuff!�) After the morning thing, we�ll trek down to Chehalis for the big dinner/gift exchange shin-dig.

7. Which is longer: your giving list or your getting list?

Getting (see above). I get one thing each for: Mom, Dad, Sister Jill, Aunt Jan (most years a collaboration with Sister Jill) and Family Gift Exchange.

8. If you could have one thing for Christmas, within reason, what would it be?

My first impulse was to answer �a girlfriend.� Then I thought about it for a moment, and realized �no, don�t say that, it�s Really pathetic!� Then I though �well, Bucko, let�s face facts here for a moment, you ARE Pathetic!� Then it occurred to me, �Jake, you having a girlfriend isn�t within the bounds of reasonable OR realistic.� Then I thought about it for a few minutes, and said �a digital camera,� which I�m planning on getting.

9. What's your Christmas meat of choice?

I�m with Tyler here: turkey is a twice-a-year thing: Thanksgiving and X-mas. Turkey or death, I say. At this point I should tell you all about the 50lb home-grown turkey named Charlemagne that was the feature of last year�s celebration at the Suhrbier�s house (Cousin Andy�s family). Uncle Arn is one of my heroes for that!

X. Are the following good gifts: clothes, cash, gift certificates/cards.

Clothes are great, I almost always get clothes: things like Canucks Jerseys and Swedish Nat�l team kits (props to Jill!) or outdoor/athletic wear (jackets, fleece, etc.) I�m of the mind that cash, gift certificates/cards are what you get someone for their birthday. The point of Christmas is your are supposed to get the person Something, and if you put any thought and time into it, that gift should also be an expression of who/what you are, and be something that they actually Want or could Use. Getting people crap just to get them crap sucks, and so do gift certificates. And this is coming from ME, folks!

I keep forgetting to include links to pictures of naked chicks in my posts. Mainly it's because I rarely have a good segue in the rant I'm on, and I don't feel like veering off the subject to include a naked-chick link. But here you go!

Well, as you may have garnered from some past outbursts, I have entered the exciting realm of home brewing. Ambiguously Disgruntled Brewery is officially up an running My first project is a porter. I brewed it up last night, and now it is happily bubbling away in the fermenter. It�s all very exciting, watching the bubbles come up through the airlock, knowing the yeast is happily working away. You�ve really got to appreciate fungus, you know, what fantastic stuff. I once compared myself to fungus.

Anyway, today I went to Bob�s Homebrew supply (Yesterday I bought a �starter kit� from The Cellar) to buy another carboy and ingredients for an amber. I�m giving Greg the lead on this project, and he says Monday night we�ll brew it up. I�m thinking we can decant this for the Super Bowl. The Porter I may open up for New Years, but it will be a bit early then, so maybe just a bottle or two (or six!)

I played an indoor soccer game earlier tonight. After a string of 1-2 goal losses, it felt good to win in a blowout, 13-8. It was one of those �not as close as the score� games because of the rule Arenasports has � if a team is down by six or more goals they can have an extra player on the field. They only scored one �even-strength� goal in the game. I felt like I had a good game, and even though I only had one goal and one assist, feel like I contributed a lot offensively by passing and setting things up.

I cooked up some mighty good burritos today. I�m one of those weirdos who doesn�t like the tendency in cooking to add a lot of spices or condiments or garlic to food to make it taste good. I believe the natural flavors of food can come out and make something much tastier than any spice-type additives, as long as you use the right combinations of food. I started by saut�ing three of the hot red peppers from the plant we have hanging on the wall, a diced onion, and diced red and yellow peppers. Then I cook in the beef, added some then added some already cooked rice and cheese right at the end, and Voila! The only thing I added was salt, pepper, and just a little Tabasco. I think they�re pretty tasty.

Some notes on my Thanksgiving:

I think I�ve pretty well established that I�m allergic to my family. Let me explain.

I know I�m allergic to a few things, they were pretty bad at times when I was growing up, but I never had shots or pills or anything. I figured I was allergic to cats, but we had two in our house, and I built up a tolerance, and it was never that bed. I also figured I was allergic to dust � although that can mean any number of things. Most likely, its that you are allergic to dust mites, tiny bugs that feed on dead skin (which, as you know, is what makes up 90% of normal house dust).

Once I moved out of my parent�s house, and headed to college, I Never had allergy problems. But I�d visit home and be sneezing the whole damn time. It seemed pretty clear that I was allergic to cats, since the two kitties still lived at the �rents house. Over the years I also established that I was probably mildly allergic to a few other things, like dust and some pollens, but I am definitely allergic to cats. Most of the time, allergies aren�t a problem.

But some cats I don�t seem all that allergic. When I crashed at my cousins pad Wednesday night, I shared the couch with his cat Weevil (Weevil is an absolutely kick-ass cat, by the way, everyone should meet Weevil). Weevil slept on, near, and by me all night, purring happily away. When I got up Thursday morning, I was suffering from hardly any allergy symptoms, just a mild attack at best. However, as I headed over to the his rent�s place for the festivities, and it filled with all my relatives, my allergy symptoms were exacerbated, and continued throughout the day, even though there weren�t cats in the house. I was sneezing all day, often violently enough to get a bloody nose (which happens to me, I get bloody noses real easy). After we left, and my head cleared up, I didn�t have many problems.

This isn�t the first time I have launched into seemingly inexplicable sneezing fits at large indoor family functions. So, I think I�m allergic to my family.

The beer-making continues, I hope I'm doing this right. In about two months I guess we'll find out.

I'm making beer! Woo-Hoo!

Notes from the cabin:
Fri Nov 23 1:31am:
"Ch 44 (= ch 8) is like 'Monet on the TV' it's amazing, get Jody out here, she's got to see this." Ben Folds is on the TV and Andy just a) farted and b) took a picture -- Now I know who Ben Folds is, but I still haven't been to the Showbox EVER.

Fri Nov 23 10:20 pm:
There's nothing like walking out on a cold November night, standing at the edge of the surf, and pissing into the ocean. You can't put it into words -- so I won't try.

Sat Nite Opinion Poll:
poll #1 When did Aerosmith lose their credibility:
Jody - when they first opened their mouths
Andy - videos with Liv Tyler and that other chick, "isn't that sick and wrong, having your own daughter..."
Jake - Armegeddon, "nuf' said!"

poll #2: favorite non-swearing curse
Jody - dadgummit!
Andy - Jacob-b!
Jake - god bless America

poll #3 What will the final score of the UW-Miami game going to be (taken at end of 3rd quarter with score at 51-7)
Jody - 72-13 [note: Jody graduated from UW, but doesn't give a shit about football]
Andy - 65-14
Jake - 58 - 21
the final score was Miami 65, UW 7

poll #4: favorite song you don't want to admit you like
Andy: never answered, but commented "the first CD I ever bought was Milli Vamilli
Jody: "Fishin in the Dark" by Nitty Gritty Dirt Band
Jake: that "How Bizarre" song by OMD

poll #5: worst major television ad campaign
Andy: "that little Pepsi bitch"
Jody: GMAC and Ford 0% financing: Keep America rolling my ass, hiding behind veil of "patriotism" to seize an opportunity to sell tons of cars and make tons of money
Jake: the whole trend in advertising in which men are always foolish idiots and it's up to their wives/girlfriends to get things right

poll #6: the most inconsequential state
Andy - Saskatchewan
Jake - Delaware
Jody - Kansas

poll #7: one thing from the 70's you'd like to retain for your future
Andy: "ME"
Jake: Led Zeppelin
Jody: the Voyager missions

poll #8: album that changed your musical views as a teenager
Jody - "10" by Pearl Jam
Jake - "The Real Thing" by Faith No More
Andy - "One from the Vault" by Grateful Dead