New Adventures in Unemployment

noreply@blogger.com (Ian St. Germain) — Mon, 22 Oct 2012 19:42:00 +0000

Untitled, a photo by ianstgermain on Flickr.

mermaid

noreply@blogger.com (Ian St. Germain) — Tue, 04 Sep 2012 19:07:00 +0000

mermaid, a photo by ianstgermain on Flickr.

testing

noreply@blogger.com (Ian St. Germain) — Mon, 21 Dec 2009 02:11:00 +0000

testing some blogger functionality, to see if its worth revisiting

TUMBLR!!!

noreply@blogger.com (Ian St. Germain) — Tue, 03 Nov 2009 21:35:00 +0000

So, I've determined that I'm too lazy for Blogger! It's not that I don't enjoy it, but it can be a lot of work.

Twitter, however, just isn't enough! One friggen line, status updates, I just don't understand Twitter at all.

Facebook is great, except you can only be seen by friends on Facebook.

Happy Medium?? Tumblr!

its pretty much all 3 jumbled together. And, they're pretty interchangeable.

So, i've made a Tumblr page

ianstgermain.tumblr.com is the url for now

and, if this HTML works, my posts should also show up here now!

Love you all!

Quick and Dirty Movie Reviews

noreply@blogger.com (Ian St. Germain) — Mon, 29 Jun 2009 21:45:00 +0000

I've seen a fair amount of movies lately, and here's my take:

Star Trek - This movie was fantastic. Visually stunning, fantastic acting, great writing. I love JJ Abrams. I was never a fan of the original Star Trek (i admit, i love TNG), but I know the characters, and I thought everyone did really well. That guy who played Bones was fantastic! And Simon Pegg as Scotty? Brilliant. And I love the fact that we have a time travel story that makes sense (SPOILER: That they don't just FIX everything in the end to go back to NORMAL! Brilliant way to reboot the story). Zachary Quinto as Spock, well, he's just fantastic. Loved everything about this movie.

Terminator 4 - I'm a bit biased, because I saw this in the LUX level at the Randolph theater, so I had dinner and beer in a big comfy chair while watching. Press a button, and the waiter appears and you get MORE BEER. But I thought this movie was the best one since the original. The guy who played the Terminator part was fantastic. The set up and story he had was VERY well done. Bale is always fantastic, even though the role was a bit transparent and redundant "This is Jon Connor" over and over again. But it was a great grim war movie. The last Terminator movie, well, i liked the story of what happened to Jon Connor, but the actual Terminator was lame. Going back to number 2, well, not nearly as good as it was when i was a kid. Especially the Arnold part. This one had none of that BS. It all went together, all made sense. All worked with the story. And the kid who played Kyle Reese, well, he was amazing. If you've watched the first movie enough, you know the actor who played Kyle Reese. He has particular mannerisms, a unique voice, etc. This kid clearly studied that, because he nailed it. I Loved this movie. PLUS, I saw the preview of 9 at the beginning, and I can't wait!

The new X-Files movie - the reason I started this post. REALLY???? They brought back the XFiles with THIS piece of crap story. No aliens at all. Just a psychic ex priest, who wasn't even that important to the story at all (though I love Billy Connoly and was glad to see him in this), and some frankensteinish russians keeping someone alive. NOTHING Xfilesish about this. This was like one of the bad filler episodes of the series that were just pointless to the overall story arc. Why make a movie with this. WHY??? dumb.

Wolverine - I need to see it again. Don't remember much. But, i know it was disappointing and cheezy yet had great moments too. Wish it was better.

THE DARK KNIGHT STILL RULES MOVIES FOR THE LAST MANY YEARS.

I guess thats it. I'm bored now.

Candles in New York

noreply@blogger.com (Ian St. Germain) — Mon, 29 Jun 2009 03:28:00 +0000

Who's Ugly?

noreply@blogger.com (Ian St. Germain) — Mon, 29 Jun 2009 03:04:00 +0000

Clearly, I can't be bothered...

noreply@blogger.com (Ian St. Germain) — Mon, 27 Apr 2009 00:28:00 +0000

...clearly. see, this is my problem. I think blogging is such a great idea. i have all these things i want to do, write about. a bunch of people actually read this. And then I just stop.

its not for lack of motivation, i swear. I don't really know what it is. well, that's a lie as well. its fucking GAMES. i get online. i go on facebook. and theres FRIGGEN SCRABBLE. There's world of solitaire .com, freaking hangman, some space mining game that friggen Jacob got me into (thanks buddy, i quite enjoyed it for a while!). And i just play stupid games online. And i let everything else go.

This is why I don't own any video game systems. I don't have a

ny games for my computer. i try to avoid my nintendo DS. and yet, i have an iPod touch, with sudoku and other solitaire games. and i just get so distracted because all i want to do is play stupid games!!!

aarrrgghhhhh!!!!

i should be telling so much. I haven't been good at keeping a journal in years, and i'll be honest, in my youth all my journal was for was writing about my sexual exploits or to vent when i was totally depressed. and now i'm old and married, and i guess i just don't need that crap anymore.

So, what the hell is the point of blogging. I mean, I have facebook, right? I can post links all i want, share crap, do status updates (which i haven't done in a while), but then i realize I have over 600 friends, which means my stuff reaches a bunch of people, but if you're like me, you barely look at what other people post because there's so many people. (note: I only have that many friggen friends because I use facebook to promote my band. I've friended the zillions of people who came and went for the last 5 years at my company, and have friends that are people i went to high school with and barely knew, and all in between. why? i don't really know).

I had this bizarre dream last night. I remember two stone creatures coming out of a stone wall (for some reason i knew they were jewish), and they said the whole point of life was death. death was all there was. And I said something really profound about the point of life being every moment between birth and death. it was the journey. or something. i assume. i couldn't remember anything after I woke up, except that I was walking with a beautiful black woman who I think is from Doctor Who, and we kissed. I know there was a bunch of other weird stuff there, as my dreams often are. But I think it was really cool, and I wish I could remember more.

Does anyone else think its cool that John Cusack always has his sister in every movie?

I saw Flight of the Conchords live last week. It was pretty damn awesome. They did bizness time, too many dicks on the dancefloor, most beautiful girl in the room, if that's what you're into, and a bunch of other stuff. twas quite amusing. The guy who plays their building super in the show opened up (as did Mel, who was hilarious), and he did a great bit about going to a party where some kid was there with Asbergers syndrome, which apparently makes you very socially inept. The kid got mad that everyone was paying attention to the comedian and laughing. Then he yelled "why don't you worship me as your GOD???" which led the comedian to say something hilarious about how he does, and it would make sense that this kid was god. And i can't remember the punchline. so you get nothing.

I saw The Books about 2 weeks ago. They played at the Institute of Contemporary Art. Go to the site, and the first three checkboxes are albums. Go and listen to Lost and Safe or something. its brilliant. 2 guys, a french cellist, and a western mass art hippy with acoustic guitar. They do this whole visual video cut up to the music, and sample, and sing the samples, and sample the singing , and all kinds of crazy stuff. We call it ElectroFolk. So good.

Bea Arthur died yesterday. Dorothy from Golden Girls is Dead. This is very sad.

I found an article on a glow in the dark puppy someone cloned. Well, sort of glow in the dark. Go read it. I posted it on Facebook. I love that I can post links. Someone asked me if puppy has a soul. I wrote this:

do clones have souls? do we have souls? is there something more to this body and consciousness, something that, when the body dies, will live on? will my personality, my quirks, my wacky Ian-ness go somewhere when this bizarre red headed body ceases to live? Do I join the great consciousness that I am already a part of, but more directly, or do i just become dirt. All matter is simply energy vibrating at such a high frequency, all energy cannot be destroyed, but where does this consciousness come from? I have cats, and each cat is unique, smart, and has personality, so I believe they have a soul as much as I do. I feel that way about most animals I encounter. I actually think there is a great consciousness behind reality, which i guess you could call God but I won't. I think we're all part of that, already, and perhaps it split off little bits of itself into us, living things, so that it could experience itself in billions of ways, only to build a greater knowledge. sometimes, we learn, and when enough of us have learned something, it spreads like wildfire.
there is a theory called the hundredth monkey effect http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hundredth_Monkey_Effect a bunch of monkeys on an island learned something, and once a certain number learned it, a bunch of monkeys on another island just started doing it like they had known it all along. group consciousness, we all suddenly seem to know things we didn't before.

Bea Arthur died yesterday.

The books have these fantastic videos on their website to go along with the music, which you can stream. Loving this.

A new Sonic Youth album is coming out. Matador has this thing called Buy Early Get Now, and you can order through your friendly record store and get extra goodies. I order from Aboveground records on Marthas Vineyard, and they send it to me. Yay

I got the reissue of Beck's One Foot in the Grave, with like 25 extra tracks. Can't wait to listen.

i still don't have a job. can't find one i like. unemployment pays well.

Mollyburger! Go to Myspace. Go here http://www.myspace.com/mollyburgermusic

this was a 'project' thing that scott and I did when i was learning drums, and we were high, and having fun cuz everything else out there sucked. its obnoxious. Go listen. enjoy it. Its kind of a band. And we just got the actual CD's in the mail. they're pretty.

Burnt Fur is playing a gig on May 27th at Ramrod. You should all come. Its wednesday, its free, we'll play at 930. I think we're the only band. its our show. we're doing what we feel like. come and enjoy.

I think i'm done, for now, i guess. we'll see.

oh, did you hear about the crazy pigflu that's killing people everywhere. It has DNA strands from bird flu, pig flu, and human flu. sounds like someone may have created this, and it just may kill us all. weeeeee!

love you bye

Consumer Radicalism

noreply@blogger.com (Ian St. Germain) — Wed, 01 Apr 2009 15:30:00 +0000

‘Never mind what they’re selling. It’s what you’re buying.’ - Fugazi

There is a way to do it. Small ways in your day to day to not give your dollar to the man. And there are more and more ways opening up every day.

If you’re like me, you’re not a big fan of the Big Corporations that run our country. Not a fan of the War for Oil, and the insanely inflated gas prices of the last 2 years. Not a fan of the chemical-laden food that is mass produced and sold to you. (Here’s some food for thought. We use manure in our gardens because it helps things grow. Animal feces is good for plants. Try using human feces, and it will kill everything. Ever wonder why that is? Perhaps its because animals like Cows eat natural things like grass and corn, and humans eat McDonalds and Mountain Dew and things that never would exist in nature). The Corporate Run American System is poisoning you and stealing your hard earned dollars, and you and bending over, dropping trow, and sticking your wallet in your ass so they can easily do both. You are buying into what they’ve told you to.

I try to do everything in my power to keep my hard earned dollars in the hands of my peers, rather than forking it all over to big business. Granted, its relatively impossible to do this 100% of the time, but here are some of my methods that help me to sleep at night.

Gas: I do not give my money to Exxon, Mobil, Shell, or any of the major companies. I simply refuse. The less people who give them money, the less they’ll have to charge for their stinking gasoline. Look at the escalated gas prices, especially since that date of huge catastrophe. There is no reason for it, except that they can.
Phone Companies: Here’s one of the most amazing scams they’ve come up with in some time. Cell phones are all the rage, and these huge companies can pretty well charge you whatever they want, and rope you in with cool gadgetry. T-Mobile, Sprint, AT&T. Huge corporations who have cornered the market. Or have they. Ever heard of Working Assets? (Now called Credo) Started in 1985 as a small company with ethics, Working Assets gives a portion of all income to various charities, such as Greenpeace and Doctors Without Borders. I’ve used them for 15 years. When I joined, you even got a pint of Ben and Jerry’s free each month for a year. They used to only do local phone, but now they do cell phones as well, and I’ve got a damn cool gadgety phone just like you! The company has raised over $50 million dollars for charitable organizations, and also promotes social activism. In each bill are a number of petitions that you can elect to add your name to, and various socially conscious books that you can buy if you’re interested. Just add it to the bill. Their website features Act for Change, the social activism portion where many political and social causes are featured so you can be informed and get involved. All this from a phone company. And my bill is no more than anyone else’s.
Organic Food: Folks, there are a few easy points I can make here. One is, take a look at the ingredients of many of the things that you consume. Good god! What is all of that stuff? Its chemicals, kiddies. Things that men created in a lab. Things that really have no place in food. Soda like Coke can rot through the dashboard of your car when spilled, but you drink it down into your sensitive little tummy. Ever wonder why so many Americans are OBESE? There’s your answer fish bulb! And the almighty THEY only know what sort of mind control chemicals are used in Pop-Tarts, Coke, Lay’s potato chips, et al. Let me tell you, once you start eating more natural foods, you can no longer enjoy these chemical cocktails. You can taste the filth. Now, I know you are going to start whining at me about costs. YES, Organic and natural foods are currently more expensive. WHY? Because they are no longer the main staple, but a niche market. However, the more of us who purchase this sort of product, the cheaper it will get. The reason all that other food is so cheap is because THERE IS NO FOOD IN IT! It is cheaply manufactured chemicals. And don’t complain that you can’t get your favorite products either, because you’ll find a brand of cookies just like Oreo’s that aren’t just crap. Support you local farmers and small mom and pop companies that are making real food.
WalMart: Department stores make me sick, and WalMart is the king of nausea. I can in no way give this company any of my money. I have been to a WalMart once, only once, in the desperate need for a cheap vacuum. And I regret that to this day. We all know the poor practices of this company, and if you don’t, look it up. My hatred for WalMart started with the censorship of music, as they only sell acceptable cd’s and alter cover art that they do not enjoy. People should never buy music from department stores. Yes, its cheaper, generally, but they only sell certain things, and if everyone shopped at department stores, they’d put real record stores out of business, and you’d lose the ability to find interesting and experimental artists (yes, this argument is out of date with the internet and iTunes, but I still feel it has validity). WalMart is pure evil, and no one should ever shop there.

Folks, there are many other ways that you can refuse to support the Big Corporations, and I welcome your ideas. Share them with me, and with others. Fight back against the Corporate Government, and support your local businesses. Use your dollar as a weapon. Use every weapon you have. This is how we will reach true freedom.

Eeeewww...

noreply@blogger.com (Ian St. Germain) — Wed, 01 Apr 2009 15:29:00 +0000

Ahh, there is just nothing like the smell of Asparagus Pee in the morning!

My photo art

noreply@blogger.com (Ian St. Germain) — Mon, 30 Mar 2009 01:31:00 +0000

Might as well post some art up here, right??

Well, here's a link to my art sets on Flickr. That's all I have for now.

I hope you enjoy!

Let me know!

Ice Sculpture

noreply@blogger.com (Ian St. Germain) — Mon, 30 Mar 2009 00:04:00 +0000

IMG_2299
Originally uploaded by ianstgermain

I found this piece of ice wrapped around the handle of my wheelbarrow in the garage.
I found it quite interesting.

Squirrels eating Pumpkins in my Backyard

noreply@blogger.com (Ian St. Germain) — Sun, 29 Mar 2009 21:58:00 +0000

IMG_2060
Originally uploaded by ianstgermain

I like Squirrels
They eat my pumpkins after Halloween, sitting on my front step
it makes a mess
but what else would I do with these pumpkins, aside from compost them.
So, I moved them under the trees in the backyard.

It makes them happy

Feel better?

noreply@blogger.com (Ian St. Germain) — Sun, 29 Mar 2009 00:56:00 +0000

signs elev 7

Originally uploaded by ianstgermain

cool religion??

noreply@blogger.com (Ian St. Germain) — Sun, 29 Mar 2009 00:47:00 +0000

Driving to Hull today, and I passed by a Church which had a sign that stuck out to me.

It said

"God is too big for one religion"

I liked that! And I don't even think it was a Unitarian Church, though it probably was!

Henry

noreply@blogger.com (Ian St. Germain) — Fri, 27 Mar 2009 06:49:00 +0000

This is my friend Henry.

Henry is a Lawyer.

He's 52

He's wearing fake teeth here

he's not what you'd expect

See more of Henry here

Sorry Ladies, he's taken.

Warren Ellis: Crooked Little Vein

noreply@blogger.com (Ian St. Germain) — Fri, 27 Mar 2009 04:53:00 +0000

Warren Ellis loves to pontificate. I mean, he really loves it. This man can pick a topic and expound like a motherfucker. And he chooses to focus on some of the most random points and expand upon them to build a landscape thats both fascinating and bizarre.

I'll give you an example. In the opening pages of Warren's first regular book (no pictures here), we meet the miserable Mike McGill, a private detective and self proclaimed "Shit Magnet." But, as we learn about Mike, we learn that Mike has a rat. Living in the walls of his office. The office he sleeps in, eats in, and basically festers in his own filth. This rat is big. Its strong. Its smart. And its mean. Throughout the book we learn little tidbits about the rat. He pissed in Mike's coffee cup. He absorbed many volts of electricity from a trap Mike set, laughed, and shit on his phone receiver. And there's plenty more.

This rat has no real purpose within this book, but he's a fine personification of the fact that Mike McGill is a 'Shit Magnet.' And he really is.

Warren loves to take you on a journey throughout the underbelly of society. In Transmetropolitan, my favorite comic series, Warren, through the guise of Guerrilla Journalist Spider Jerusalem, takes us all on a trip to a warped future that is much like the reality we see around us and explores everything wrong with that future while Spider searches for truth. And he does this for the greater good of us all. He'll beat the shit out of you, break your face, shit in your coffee cup, shoot you with a bowel disruptor so you shit in your own coffee cup, but all because he wants the world to see what is going on around them and get the hell off their collective ass to fix it. Spider Jerusalem is pure genius.

Mike McGill and Crooked Little Vein is nowhere near as lofty, and in turn nowhere near as cruel and hilarious. But, its Warren, and I've found that anything Warren writes is worth the read. In Crooked Little Vein, as I stated earlier, we meet Mike McGill, a PI and Shit Magnet. Apparently a golden boy who has fallen, Mike doesn't seem to do too much. Doesn't get many jobs. But when he does, he accidentally stumbles upon tantric ostrich rape cults (re: Shit Magnet) which scar his mind. And he sits in his filth and tries to kill the rat.

Then, the Chief of Staff of the President of the United States storms into his office. Check that, the heroin addicted Chief of Staff who injects monkey feces to fight cancer or some such crap. Because a Shit Magnet is what they need to find the second secret Constitution of the United States of America.

Suddenly Mike has money, purpose, and a really bad feeling. Because of course this book has travelled throughout the underbelly of the US since Nixon sold it to a whore. And now we must follow its trail and perhaps find this book which will save America from its perverted self. And decide if that is a good thing.

Mike meets a girl, Trix, a spunky punky tattooed sex fiend writing her thesis on the sexual underbelly of America. A perfect assistant. And they meet in a secret club of fetishists who only get excited by giant godzilla style lizards having sex. Yeah, its that kinda book.

They travel. They inject saline into their genitals. There could be love. They discover that finding this book might be something they don't really want to do.

So, you have the morality play, the soul searching, and the internet porn.

Is this the best book ever? Of course not. Is this book worth reading? Absolutely. It won't take you long. A few days. But I promise you that you won't want to stop, and you'll find yourself laughing your ass off pretty much the whole time. Because Warren Ellis is hilarious. He's smart, cynical, and driven. And his characters always reflect him (or so I'm inferring from reading his personal writing). Warren has a good grip on how fucked up our reality is, and an excellent way of pointing out all that is wrong in a way that will make you laugh while you get angry. Crooked Little Vein is a great illustration of that. Sure, there's a bit of a moral. Its a good one. And we realize perhaps the perversions that plague our country aren't the problem. Perhaps they are a good thing. Perhaps they add to the diversity of our little melting pot nation. Perhaps the normal we've all been living with, that our country has grown up with, is part of the problem. Look where we are now. Look at this lovely swamp of shit the normal has gotten us too. Maybe we need some Godzilla porn obsessed people in our world.

So, give it a shot. And let me know what you think.

This was my first book review, i think. I feel like I need a good variety of stuff for this blog, and I need to read more. I'll try to read a book a week, but that's not totally realistic. Maybe 2 a month? Not counting Graphic Novels. Let me know what you think of my little book review. CD reviews to follow!

Week 9, Getting stuff done

noreply@blogger.com (Ian St. Germain) — Fri, 27 Mar 2009 01:43:00 +0000

Well, tis week 9, and I'm trying to get back on track here.

Today was a fun little Thursday. The BBB has been upgraded from crutches to a cane, which makes things much easier. Of course I'm still manservanting for her, carrying her bags to her office and whatnot, but i don't have to be the runner every second of the day, which is nice.

Today she had an early meeting, so I dropped her off at the office at about 830. Nice early start. Wish this had happened on a day I was headed straight home, because I'd get a lot done. But, its Thursday, and I read to my little 4th grade buddy at noon on Thursdays.

See, the deal is this. BBB's office is about 5 or 6 miles from my house. When I had a job, it was right around the corner. And I read to this kid at a school right in the same area. So, since I still drive the BBB in to work, I still do my fun volunteer reading. It makes no sense to drive all the way home, just to go back an hour or less later. Thus, I need things to do in on Thursday mornings that are in the area. Sometimes I just sit at Flour bakery with a bottomless cup of coffee, my book, and maybe a breakfast sammich. Today, I decided to finally go to the Institute of Contemporary Art, which opened a year or so ago in the same area, and I have yet to go.

The ICA is currently hosting an exhibit of Shepard Fairey, an

iconic street artist who's work is pretty well known in this area. For those of us who grew up in the 80's in Mass and RI, we all remember the stickers of Andre the Giant has a Posse. The skateboards, posters. It was all very punk rock. Well, this guy became a serious artist, and has done some really cool work. I definitely recommend heading over the the ICA and seeing his work up close. You've all seen the Obama picture that became an icon and a ma

in part of the campaign. Well, that was him.

There was certainly some other great work in the museum, and the building itself is pretty amazing inside. Loved it. There was some art that was just crap, but most of it was fantastic.

The rest of my day was somewhat mellow. Read to the kid, drove back home, stopped and got a veggie burger with fries at this place called the Real Deal that I hadn't tried yet. It was pretty good. Brought it home and watched last nights ep of LOST, which I didn't quite get through last night. Did some housework, picked up the BBB, came home, made vegetarian chili and lots of it, and watched last nights episode of America's Midol. Now I'm watching tonights. then Hells Kitchen.

Yesterday was eventful. Last week Burnt Fur's PA blew up. Apparently 8 inch flames shot out of it (I wasn't there yet). So, we needed a new one, and I'm the one with the car. So my day started, after dropping off the BBB, with going to the new Guitar Center store in Boston, waiting till 10 when they opened, and buying a new PA. Only had open box ones, so I got a nice discount, a rack for it, and a good warranty. Then, off to the Apple Store in Chestnut hill, so they could help me with my email problem. I just set this laptop up, and everything seemed to work fine, except email. I love the Genius bar. They help you, its free, answer questions and are cool. Love it. Got a new bit of software for this baby, and signed up for the One to One program. For a nominal fee, you get weekly lessons in whatever you want. Loves it. Doing it! Left there, headed over to Furspace, dropped off the new PA, and worked for an hour programming drum tracks on the keyboard for a cover we're working on. Then home, l

itter boxes, shower, eat. pick up BBB, and head back to Furspace for practice. PA works, yay. short practice, but good. Also last night was my buddy Jamie's birthday, so I went out to Central Square to have some late night celebratory drinks. Didn't leave until about 1 am!!!! Got home at about 130, and tried to watch Lost. Passed out. Ah well.

I know theres a lot I missed sharing, but why go back at this point? if its important, i'll remember it and share it.

Oooh, on Monday, I finally started one of my unemployed goals by watching the first extended Lord of the Rings movie. I've seen the first 2 extended before and own all three (they're all at least 3.5 hours long, up to I think 5). My goal was to watch all 3 in a week. Well, that ain't happening, but maybe one a week will work! pretty damn amazing, I'll tell you.

Oh, and you should all watch this Jon Stewart serious interview where he rips apart this financial douche from CNBC or something. Pretty amazing.

I cooked some things, but whatever. Little creations that were fun and yummy.

ooooh yeah, i forgot to mention, I GOT A RAISE!!!! Love this. I guess part of the stimulus or whatnot, but anyone on unemployment gets $25 more a week, and its retroactive for a month or so. Amazing. No job, and I get a raise. I'm doing a great job.

peace

This Is Really Happening

noreply@blogger.com (Ian St. Germain) — Fri, 27 Mar 2009 01:24:00 +0000

...so, those of you who know me know I have special hope for the world, and that I really wish for drastic and positive change. Right now, and it may seem silly, but my hopes are directed at the year 2012. December 21, 2012 is one of those apocalyptic dates, the date the Mayan Calendar ends, the date of all kinds of crazy predictions. The Mayans believed that this date would hold drastic world changes, but also that it would bring on the age of enlightenment, or something like that. I like that, and hope for it. This world is a mess, I'm bored, and things need to change! DRASTICALLY. So, I keep my eye out for interesting things that make me think of this. Some are just ways to point out how wrong the world is right now. Others are things that could happen. We'll see what comes of it, but I plan to have this be a recurring theme. Just like Warren Ellis has 'Our Doomed World' come up on his website quite often, I now have This Is Really Happening. It works. Oh yes. So, here are two points for today:

Watching an episode of Chronicle, which is a pretty interesting show. This episode is about struggling retail in this lovely recession of ours. And then comes Wal-Mart, the evilest retail empire there is. And, shocker, one of the very few companies that is POSTING A PROFIT in February!!!! Why is this? Because Wal-Mart undercuts prices like crazy, and everyone is hurting for cash, so they can go to the Evil W and get things cheaper. BUT FOLKS, THIS IS KILLING US! Wal-Mart is renowned for opening up a store, pricing everything lower than all the businesses in the area (businesses run by your friends, family, neighbors, etc), and putting all these businesses OUT OF BUSINESS. Then, well, if their store isn't turning a big enough profit, they shut it down. They decimate local economies, and then leave. PURE FUCKING EVIL. Capitalism at its worst. Look, I know you're hurting for cash. Hell, I ain't got no job. I understand. But you can't fall into the trap of shopping at WalMart. The company that censors art (they won't sell CD's with anything they deem offensive unless they can censor it, change the cover, whatever they want), sells more guns than just about anyone, treats its employees like crap, the list just goes on. STOP SHOPPING AT WALMART!!!! SUPPORT YOUR LOCAL BUSINESS. If you all go to local places, they can charge less for things because they actually get your business. They sell stuff, are able to order more stuff, get stuff cheaper when they buy bulk, and you can eventually pay decent prices for things. You have to pay a bit more at first, but its for the best interest of everyone. Trust me.
Secondly, heres an interesting NASA report on what would happen to us if a big solar storm comes a calling, which it might. What would the world do without electricity for an extended period of time. What would we do? Think about it!

i don't even know what week it is anymore

noreply@blogger.com (Ian St. Germain) — Wed, 25 Mar 2009 04:29:00 +0000

sorry, my friends. I've been a bad blogger again.

I've probably lost all my readers at this point, unless you signed up for email notifications, and then you'll actually see this.

Its Tuesday, well, I guess technically Wednesday, since its 1230 pm.

And so much has gone on. I've got notes taken about what I need to post, but bed is calling to me, so not too much right now.

Yesterday I finally set up my laptop. Its a Mac Book Pro, very nice, big screen, SO MUCH faster than my old computer. I successfully migrated over my profile from the G4, and ALMOST everything works, except the damn email for some reason. Going to head to the Mac store tomorrow, and figure that out with some help. I may also sign up for a membership. Have you heard of this? For a nominal fee, you get a year membership and can go to the store once a week (i guess) and have an hour session with a Mac expert on anything. Garageband, iWeb, basic computer stuff, anything. I'm so doing that.

Here's a little summary of what I've been up to lately:

set up laptop
this past weekend was 2 days of Yoga Teacher training again. It was the Philosophy and Energy of Yoga. Pretty cool. 2 actual yoga classes, discussion of the Yoga Sutra, and other interesting stuff.
Went to the Red Fez on Saturday night. Middle Eastern restaurant. Not bad.
Finally saw the Watchmen a week or so ago. Really freaking good. Not Dark Knight good, but real close. It was perfect in terms of the book, and all the damn fanboys can just be quiet. The changes were necessary. The acting was fine, excellent in some spots. Visuals were stunning. Story is of course excellent. If you haven't read the Watchmen, I highly recommend you do.
Restarted and finished reading Crooked Little Vein by Warren Ellis, one of my favorite authors. Normally a Comic Book author, this was his first regular book. GOOD GOD NO PICTURES!!! It was a good read.
Went to the Fuller Museum with my mother to see a craft exhibit that had some really cool stuff.
Watched a really cheesy movie called The Ruins about killer vines in the Mayan jungle. Funny, and had Donnie Darko's girlfriend in it.
Watched The Number 23 again. Still not that great, but I enjoyed it.
Have a great Jon Stewart thing to share with you later!

I can't think of anything else to share, really.

oooh, got a letter from Unemployment saying I got a raise! Yes, my not working is paying off wonderfully, as the stimulus added $25.00 a week to my unemployment pay. And I get it retroactively! Love it. Have to go to some seminar about unemployment too, its part of the deal, but I may be able to get my Yoga Teacher training paid for!

i know there's more, but I'm done for the night. Now that I have this laptop, well, the sky is the limit, so you should be hearing more from me!

gnite!

good lord, this is week 9!

Week 6! Bad Blogger..

noreply@blogger.com (Ian St. Germain) — Fri, 06 Mar 2009 23:23:00 +0000

Bad Blogger, no posting!!!!

sorry, i have no good excuse.

i STILL haven't set up my laptop, and this machine is slow, but that's no excuse. I don't know what to tell you.

What I can tell you is that I've recovered from 9 days of Yoga teacher training. Of course, I have a lot more to go, but at least we got Primary Series out of the way. If you don't know what that is, look it up. Its really crazy intense yoga, and it hurts!!! But I had a good time! That was Saturday the 21st through Sunday the 28th. And I don't even remember what I did during the evenings, but I don't think it was much beyond watching the usual TV shows and chilling.

Actually, the Friday was pretty damn funny. Friday was the Practical exam. We had to memorize Primary Series, which is about 90 minutes long. We also had to memorize all the Sanskrit names of all the poses. I'd say I memorized about 1/3 of it all, but oh well.

Friday, we all partnered up, and from 9 to 1030, one person taught, and the other person practiced. The teacher had to cue all the poses, breath, and adjust the practicer too. A surprising lot of work. Then there was a break, and then we switched. I went second. It wasn't as bad as i thought, but I forgot a lot and just had my partner continue. I knew the adjustments well.

Anyways, we got out early, and I was thrilled to be done, and starving. So, I headed to the old office where my parking pass was still working, parked the car, and headed down to Lucky's Lounge for lunch. I had a big nasty Burger, which was great, and 2 beers. Strong fancy beers. I hadn't had breakfast either, so I was feeling a little tipsy. Visited my friends at the office for a bit, and then got back to the car. it was 3pm. I had 2 hours till I picked up the BBB. So, what did I end up doing? Passing out in the car. Yes, the unemployed was studying what it would be like to live in the car! I slept for almost 2 hours in the drivers seat, reclined back, with the ipod playing. It was LOVELY! The girl at El Starbucko's called me a brat, cuz i needed caffeine, and I told her i just woke up from a nap! I deserved it.

Anyways, this week has been pretty calm. Been doing laundry and trying to clean, and rest up, and apply to a few jobs I found. We'll see. Watched the usual TV shows. Heroes still disappoints, but I still love it and watch it. Lost was fantastic this week, I must say. Love that show. Had dinner at Myers and Chang on Tuesday with one of our Yoga teacher buddies. That was nice. Wednesday Burnt Fur practice was good. Last night had dinner at Zon's in JP with my brother in law. Monday it snowed a lot, yucky. BBB stayed home. Stayed home today too, cuz she had a doctor's appt. Foot is getting better, but its slow going. Ooh, we also cooked a Rutabaga puree with Salsa Verde, and Braised Celeraic Root with Chickpeas and Saffron. Yummy.

THE WATCHMEN CAME OUT TODAY. I WANTED TO GO SEE IT, BUT CANNOT DEAL WITH OPENING DAY MOVIE NERDS. SOOOOOOOON!

So, I have a bunch of pics I should post, and better stuff to write, but tonight it just ain't happening.

All I can share is this. The Yoga studio is upstairs from JJ Foley's, an old Boston bar. I walked around a lot on breaks to stretch and get food, and noticed, on 2 separate days, on exactly the same spot on the sidewalk next to the bar/in the alley, the following items:

that is all

Holy Crap week 5!!

noreply@blogger.com (Ian St. Germain) — Wed, 25 Feb 2009 01:28:00 +0000

DAMMIT I so owe you all a post

sorry, but you'll understand!

I can't believe its week 5! I'm not actually counting the week I got laid off, especially since I was in Mexico at the time! The layoff happened the 21st of January, but I didn't get home until the 24th, so that is where I'm counting from, and now its Feb 24th! One month plus! Damn.

OK, so real quick, I just don't have the time or energy to do the full posts on what went down in the last few days, but I'll give you the best summary I can!

Thursday: Drove up to Portsmouth to work on my friend Steven's boat for the day. I promised him I'd help. I took a bunch of fun pictures, which will be posted very soon. That night, had dinner at Dali, a Tapas restaurant in Somerville, with our friend Lisa. Good stuff. More on that later.
Friday was pretty uneventful. Cleaned, relaxed. The BBB had a Doctors appt that morning, and sadly the cast cannot come off yet. So she worked from home, I cleaned, and we watched TV. Ten Tables of course that night, which was yummy. I had the calamari salad, an amazing spicy lentil soup, and the steak. yummers.
Saturday is the beginning of the real reason I'm too damn tired to post right now! I started a Yoga Teacher Training. I don't know what the hell I'm thinking, but I love it. Yes, the Yoga studio that i TRY to go to each week, but haven't since before the BBB broke the foot, the people I go to Mexico with, et al, do a Teacher training at the studio. Its pretty damn intense, I'll tell you. And I'm in the thick of it. It started Saturday, and ends this coming Sunday. And that's just the first week. I have a few more weekend sessions and 2 more full 7 day sessions to go. Good lord!!!! And for anyone who's done Yoga and is familiar with Primary series, well, its the second most intense yoga practice in the states, and that is what I'm learning all about. Its the basis for the style of yoga that happens at my studio. So, I have to learn all the poses, the sanskrit names for the poses, the different modifications students need to do if pregnant or injured, and the different adjustments that teachers do for the students when in the poses! its Nuts!!!! So, more on that in a minute! I still want to wrap up my other extra curriculars!!!!
Saturday night I was too tired to do anything, so I think we just chilled out. I don't remember.
Sunday, after Yoga, was a PARTY! and not just any party. It was the TEN TABLES CAMBRIDGE pre-opening party! And it was a blast. Got there at 7, drank lots of wine, hung out with the staff and friends of the restaurant, ate lots of yummy passed snacks (cuz i dont feel like spelling ourderves correctly right now), and had a blast! Left there at about 10, drove my buddy and his wife home, and came home. Tried to watch the Oscars, but SOOOOOO BOOOORING! Passed out on the chair. woke up at 3 am, went to bed!
Monday, yoga at 830!!! to 330! The picked up the BBB and headed to Cambridge for the actual opening night of TEN TABLES CAMBRIDGE!! You know it. Yeah, I went to the party, buy I had to go and actually have dinner on the first night! Yyyeah! We were there about 3 hours, and had a great dinner! Its a really nice restaurant. I'll have to put up a link to the blog Mike made about making it all happen. But, too lazy right now.
Today, yoga again. Was supposed to have acupuncture after, but the BBB was stuck in meetings, so we just headed home and cooked a bunch of stuff! I made Farrow, sauteed onions, tempeh bacon, and peas, and roasted tomatoes. She made Mac and Chrees (not cheese, she's vegan), with peas. I have a cat on my lap right now that isn't happy with my typing cuz I'm not petting him.
Heroes was only ok last night.
Oh, I remember on Thursday maybe, or no, it must've been the weekend after the BBB went to bed, I watched the Incredible Hulk with Ed Norton. Can't remember what day it was, but it was actually pretty good.
Also watched the Descent on Saturday night, which was a fun little scary movie about 6 women who go speelunking, and run into scary flesh eating man things underground. Actually not bad!

So, just a quick fill in on why I'm so tired from doing Yoga Teacher training

The weekend sessions aren't bad, 1230 to 630. Primary series class at about 2. Crazy tiring and intense, that yoga.
Weekday sessions are 830 to 330. Actual yoga class is 945 to 1115.
Before hand is discussion or review of some poses.
After class, we break down poses and how to adjust.
Lunch
after that, we partner up, guide our fellow trainees through the poses, and then they do the adjustments and we do the adjustments
I did the actual practice on Saturday and Sunday, but yesterday just observed (which is encouraged), and today observed and did adjustments when I could. Fun, but scary at first.
When we were doing the partner sessions, I did my first successful headstand. My back hurts a bit now, but my whole body is sore from Primary series, and I feel pretty damn badass about doing a headstand, cuz that shit ain't easy.

So, I guess that's it. I'm gonna go watch some TV before putting away all the food I just cooked for lunches.

I promise I'll post up pictures from Sunday soon enough.

TEN TABLES CAMBRIDGE IS OPEN!!! To all my friends across the river, get excited! They're on Opentable too! Go eat!

I guess that is it! I gotta shower and stuff too, cuz i smell!

lates

Comments and Such

noreply@blogger.com (Ian St. Germain) — Wed, 18 Feb 2009 21:07:00 +0000

Just a quick FYI

Someone told me yesterday that you had to have a Gmail account to leave comments. I just checked it, and you don't. You can do anonymous, or even better, put whatever name you want and a url if you want. so, please, leave comments. Let me know who you are and if you are enjoying this silly exercise in excess!!!!

also, on the right, I've added a subscription link. If you enjoy reading this, but get tired of checking it each day to see nothing new, put your email in there! It will let you know when I post. THEN come back here to read and comment (i don't think it emails you the whole post, but if it does, you won't show up on my counter and make my ego bigger with the increasing number of readers!!!!)

So, thats for you, dear readers, whomever you are!

My goodness! Week 4, day 3, and the rest of week 3 and 4

noreply@blogger.com (Ian St. Germain) — Wed, 18 Feb 2009 20:40:00 +0000

Woah, almost a whole week?! What the hell happened??

So, Where did I leave off (sorry, Jacob, but this is going to have to be a bit of a catch up post!)?

Wednesday ended after picking up the BBB, went home, ate a tad, and went to Band Practice.

Have you not listened to Burnt Fur yet???? GO NOW!!!!!!!

Oh, wait, I already did Wednesday. Whoops.

Thursday is not memorable in any way. I'm sure I watched some television and ate some food, but I can't remember anything significant. I may have vacuumed, but I don't think so. Dishes, probably. Oh well.

Friday the BBB worked from home, so I slept in until like noon. Did some house cleaning I guess. Oooh, and I think I did some Laundry.

And then, of course, Ten Tables. Had a lovely meal. Calamari over lemon salad. Portuguese Fish Stew. Pasta with Lamb Ragout. Stinky cheese. YUM.

THEN, I came home, and realized that we were going to my mothers the next day and hadn't cooked a damn thing! We were going to make that Fritatta, but it wasn't very good. Mom had already had the Sausage Potato thing, and we wanted to continue showcasing new Vegan foods that are good, so not that again. It's supposed to be just lunch, and I knew Mom was making 2 soups, so............A-Ha!!! CHICKPEA SALAD!!!!

This is a great and easy thing to make. It was passed on to us as Mock Tuna Salad (seaweed gives it that fishy taste), but I prefer it just as chickpea salad. YUMMSY on sammiches.

Just 2 cans of chickpeas, pickles, celery, onions, lemon juice, and Mayo (veggenaise, cuz its just as good and way less nasty when you think about it). Recipe is posted and linked above. I recommend giving it a whirl!

Made 2 batches of it at like midnight, cuz, well, why not!

Saturday is easy. Woke up, picked up flowers for Mom and her cousin Bonnie who came to visit my mom for the weekend. New Leaf Flores is the best florist, if I haven't mentioned them already. Gotta plug my friends.

Then we stopped by Flour in the South End to pick up these yummy chocolate cherry sourdough loaves as Hallmark Day gifts (VDay is a myth. its all Hallmark!!!) and some vegan chocolate cupcakes, which are YUM. got 2 loaves of regular bread for the chickpea salad, and some dirty heart cookies for the band.

Drove down to Plymouth to the Mom's house. Nice day. Niece chloe (age 5) was there. Sister came too. Had some cheese, chickpea salad on bread, Split Pea Soup, and coincidentally, Portuguese Kale soup with Linguica. All Yummers.

Went for a drive with the sister for a bit, Mom's cousin showed up, BroInLaw came over, and we had a nice afternoon. Wine, talking, eating, fun. Sister n BroInLaw n Niece left, had Pizza with the ladies. Drove home at like 1030 (crap), watched something, went to bed.

Sunday was a nice calm day. Slept in. Laundry. Had a fire all day. Did some computer stuff. I figured out how to put a password on my wireless router all by myself, with the internet to help. I'm impressed. And posted another recipe to the Vegan blog. Other than that, relaxed, watched TV. Nice calm day.

Monday was the same. BBB had a holiday. Fire all day. More Laundry. Made smoothies (chocolate soy milk, peanut butter, bananas, vanilla protein powder, ice - YUM).

Then met up with my oldest friend in the world, Todd, who I met just after I was born (he's about 3 weeks older, our Moms are friends), and his wife. The 4 of us went to Oleana, one of my favorite restaurants. Its an Arabic Turkish restaurant, very much bent on the spices they use. Fantastic very high end yummy food. I had:

3C's Ale, a beer made special for them by Cisco brewery on Nantucket (containes cumin, coriander, and cardomom). So yummy, and Cisco is one of my favorite brewers.
appetizer of Seared Pork Belly (confit style), Prosciutto, Fried dates stuffed with cheese, and frizee. YUM
Entree was Venison Shish Kebob with Carrot Kibbeh, Escarole, Dates, and Haloumi
Dessert was Muscat!

Amazing meal, and got back early, cuz it was an early dinner. Actually, we were there 4 hours! Came home and watched the season finale of Dr. Who, which I've been getting in to lately.

Crap, I gotta go get the BBB in a minute!

Tuesday, which was yesterday. What did I do. Very little!

Drove the BBB to work, visited the xoffice friends, and came home. Cleaned a bit.

Watched Heroes from last night while eating Ten Tables leftovers. Then watched the newest Incredible Hulk with Ed Norton and Tim Roth. WAAAAY Better than I expected. Not amazing, but way better. Applied for a job (not telling where), cleaned a bit, and picked up the BBB.

Acupuncture. Then home. Cooked Trader Joes frozen Arrabiata pasta with Vegan meatballs, made salad. Watched House, America's Midol, the Negotiator. BeD

OOh yeah, and i got my first unemployment check (why, since i signed up for Direct deposit, i don't know!) YEAH!!!!

today. drove BBB to work. We've actually been ontime this week! visited the friends. came home. dishes. met the 3 xcolleagues for lunch at Fugakyu. Sushi Lunch. Yumm.

Now this. Now off to get the BBB, then band, then Lost. then Bed.

Tomorrow I got visit my friend Stephen in Portsmouth NH and help him work on his boat. then dinner with friends.

busy busy busy

Readers Poll #1

noreply@blogger.com (Ian St. Germain) — Thu, 12 Feb 2009 21:14:00 +0000

So, I'm taking a vote

Should I buy this shirt?

comment yes or no!