Past El Mariachi

I read a book written a dozen years ago by Robert Rodriguez. The book was called Rebel without a Crew. I tossed a link in the books and such section (left side). It was about Rodriguez's making of a movie (El Mariachi) at age 23 for $7,000 that ended up getting released by Columbia pictures and jump starting his career. The material was presented as his diary during the making of the film. I quite enjoyed the book.

At the end of the book - to fill pages I guess, he includes the screenplay for El Mariachi. By the end of the book, you know a lot about the movie and about Robert's approach. The version I saw was in Spanish, but since I had all this time invested in learning about it, the fact that I don't speak Spanish was immaterial. El Mariachi made for cheap money, was awesome.

He died a followup called Desperado with Antonio Banderas and Selma Hayek. Hayek is outrageously pretty(so is Antonio, I'm told). Desperado was just okay for me. I've seen some of Rodriguez's other work. He's very good. Check him out, you'll like the stuff.

That Tree House

I had most every Friday off, and if I didn't I tried to get away early. I worked almost every Saturday and Sunday, so the Friday time was sweet. Right around 1992 or so I spent a bunch of Fridays building this tree house. This picture was taken before I (we) painted it white with green trim. Those chairs were tiny little kid's chairs. Once we found a bees nest in there. I got rid of it, but the girls were convinced they'd be back. I had to prove to them that the bees were gone. It wasn't up very high and it had a set of stairs in the back that weren't difficult to get up and down. The kids were only 4 and 7 years old. I don't own that property any more. I sold it in 1996 and moved away. However, it's still there. It's possible that this is the best thing there ever was.

Oh yea... and then there's that

As I returned across the lands I'd known
I recognized the fields where I'd once played
I had to stop in my tracks for fear
Of walking on the mines I'd laid

Hello Possible Neighbor

If there is a business you fancy. Find someone who has established customers and traffic in your area and open next door or across the street. If you do things as well as they do, you'll win some of their clients. If you do things better than they do, you'll win most of their clients.

Is there enough to go around?

Will the other guy punt?

Do we want him to?

A Theater?

He built a theater on the seacoast. Of all the things he could have done, he built a theater. It was built with musicians in mind, but comedians love it. It has a deep enough stage area so that plays and other types of performances can work too.

He books some kind of attraction on three or four nights a week. He also has an open-mic night once a month. He rents the facility for meetings and other commercial-type events - it's an awesome way to do a presentation.

The facility cost him about a million dollars.

"It's more of a pain in the ass than I thought it would be. I had the idea that it would be like having a few hunderd people over to the house to enjoy some art. It hasn't been working that way. I struggle to sell enough tickets to pay the artist. It pretty much is a bust. I've had some fun, but if I had it to do all over again, I wouldn't. I tried to sell it, but it makes no sense. Hey - wanna buy a business that blows money? Ahhh... naa. Oh well."

There you have it.

Moles

Digg'n, digg'n, digg'n, digg'n, digg'n, digg'n, digg'n, digg'n, digg'n, digg'n, digg'n, digg'n, digg'n hey a rock - crap, push, pull, digg'n, digg'n, digg'n oh a worm. Nice! Mmmmm... good.

Digg'n, digg'n, digg'n, digg'n, digg'n, digg'n, digg'n, a little to the left now... and digg'n, digg'n, digg'n.

Up and out... so bright here. What's up?

Obama... The Unity Speech etc.

I read Obama's "response to the criticism that his pastor was a racist nutcase" speech. The speech was a work of art. Yup - indeed it was. It's a huge hit on Youtube. I think the whole issue is going to be a problem for Obama. The Reverend's words were creepy. It's hard to make an excuse for them. Obama took a shot at it. I think he had most of the language in his pocket and ready - either just in case, or maybe some of it was slated to be used strategically.

I think everyone agrees that this fellow (Obama) is a gifted campaigner. We can argue with the substance of his plan or the lack of one, but his delivery is world-class. The notion that he doesn't go into much detail about how things will happen, isn't really the point. In politics, it's easy to have your plans picked apart and shredded - so ambiguity about the detail is not a bad thing for Obama and he clearly knows that. People groove on the fact that he might actually understand the problem - a logical prerequisite to creating a solution. It will also be important to here something other than a framing of the issue. He couldn't go all-the-way without it, could he?

He is so good at describing what hurts that nobody cares if he knows how to fix it. The truth is that solutions are complicated. Too complicated to fit well into the emotional ranting that he does so well. He clearly has that part down. Heads nod in agreement with everything he says. Whether he himself is the answer, or not - he might just get a chance based solely on the strength of his delivery skills.

So maybe he's not capable of being a good President. Maybe he's mostly full of shit like everyone else. The chances are pretty good that he is. I mean he seems to be quite the bullslinger. That feature doesn't help close the deal for me. It kind of rubs me the wrong way - you know what I mean. Maybe he has the world's greatest writers in his camp and all he is is a good actor. Maybe? And... while "the speech" didn't give solutions, it did do an outstanding job as a response to the "Your pastor is a nut" problem. It was delivered well and it was an awesome piece of writing on an important subject. It may rank up there as one of the best in history.

I think it's possible (likely) that the skills of a great campaigner and those of a great President, may not be the same. Then how do we choose?

Bring Your Daughter to War Day

Army Holds Annual 'Bring Your Daughter To War' Day

Hesitation

The act of hesitating; suspension of opinion or action; doubt; vacillation.

To stop or pause respecting decision or action; to be in suspense or uncertainty as to a determination; as, he hesitated whether to accept the offer or not; men often hesitate in forming a judgment.

Oh Mickey he's so fine...

Disney (Disney World) manages to find the edge of market resistance for price and patience. They make is very easy to get there, stay there, and play there. If you're willing to pay what they tell you to pay and do things the way they want you to, you and Disney will get along just fine. You'll spend more than you thought you would and not feel any (much) pain.

I've stayed at some of the Disney resorts over the years and I'm now a trained patron. I know how to get from wherever I am to wherever I need to go using only Disney transportation, as long as I am willing to stay inside the properties. With my resort ID card, I'm swiping and walking and riding and swiping and eating and walking and buying and resting and... for as many days as I can stand it. I'm aware of the inflated prices and marginal quality, but it's easy enough and "magical" enough to keep doing.

I've been with the kids a few times as they grew up. I've been with employees of my company, with and without kids. I just went with my college daughter. This time we went down there just to escape winter. It was an easy time to arrange (important consideration). We walked the parks, got our fast-passes, went on rides, ate diner here and there, and consumed as we are programmed to consume. It wasn't bad at all. However, it wasn't as magical as it had been the first, second or third time.

My big thrill now is watching the business run; appreciating the effort to keep things clean, painted and safe. Attractions, rides, exhibits, pricing, transportation, facilities, staff, marketing, image - everything done with intentions. My guess is that once you reach this point, you're done with Disney. Yup - I think I'm done. Thanks Walt.

Optimism, Pessimism and Attitude ~ Cuppla Quotes

A positive attitude may not solve all your problems, but it will annoy enough people to make it worth the effort. ~Herm Albright, quoted in Reader's Digest, June 1995

In the long run the pessimist may be proved right, but the optimist has a better time on the trip. ~Daniel L. Reardon

The nice part about being a pessimist is that you are constantly being either proven right or pleasantly surprised. ~George F. Will, The Leveling Wind

If you don't think every day is a good day, just try missing one. ~Cavett Robert

Web Fossil Club?

I remember getting on the Internet when it was essentially text-only. It was 1994 for me. I messed around a little in 1992 and 1993, but it was hit or miss with the technology I had. I got a look at what was going on, but that's about it. To tell you the truth, it wasn't all that mesmerizing to me at the time. Looking back, that was a little more than two years after Tim Berners-Lee, CERN and the actual beginning. So it turns out that I plugged myself in soon after it was possible to do it. I bought a Mac with the necessary components, including a modem that pumped data at a staggering 9,600 bps. This was a horse of a setup - especially considering the computer I got rid of had a 20 megabyte hard drive (yes - mega, not giga), and only handled 5.25 inch floppy disks. I can't even remember how much data they held, but it was close to nothing. With the Apple I managed to establish a dial up connection and an account with Apple's eworld which had a graphic skin. Everything was text, but you started out with a cartoon. I used Yahoo in the beginning. Does that make me old?

The content quickly moved to more useful hypertext links and then employed graphics. In a short time, it changed a lot. You know the rest. I moved on to AOL for a couple of years after eworld fizzled and somehow rolled into AOL - there wasn't much choice - what a thrill. The AOL "homepage" concept lost its appeal quickly. As soon as I could get connected on my own, I did. I learned a bit about html and how the web worked. I had a job that demanded my full attention, so I didn't go all-the-way down the tunnel. Still, I had email since the beginning.

I know I'm not, and have never been in the category of the ultra-heavy users. That gets reserved for special people. However, since I was up and using since 1994, always having an active email account - as far as longest continuous users go - I'm up there. If you just consider the number of users added since 1994, it looks like I would be one of the first .01% of active users. Is that right? Not 1%, but point zero one percent. 1/100 of 1%. That's crazy. The other 99.9% of you came after me. Ha! How many people can say that? How many people care? The answer to both questions is probably, "not many".

I may or may not elect to capitalize on my status as a Web Fossil. We'll see.

No wonder I've attracted so much spam.

Selling / buying - what a concept huh?

To make money (profit), you have to sell something. It can be something you bought, or something you created, but you have to sell it (to someone else and actually get paid - No Enron stuff). If you rent it, you're selling its utility. It's still selling something. You get the idea. Someone has to buy something.

You might say, "That's not news buddy".

Ask: What am I selling, and who is supposed to be buying it, and why? Does my idea of what and why things are supposed to happen, still look like a good one? A few things have changed recently. You might want to give your situation another gander... or not.

Yes, I'm saying that you have to pay attention to what's going on, look for trends, and do a little dance if required. It's unfortunate.

Waiter... Oh Waiter!

What is the soup today?

Today the soup is Cream of Negativity. It is a creamed puree of imitation truffles and hedge fund commission. It's a little on the nutty side. It's really quite smooth.

Fine, I'll have that.

And for your entree sir?

Oh yes, I'll have the usual.

Of course sir, the naive investor fillet - medium rare with nearly rancid blue cheese that you'll taste for days, served on a bed of low-carb angel hair pasta substitute. Will that be all sir?

Yes thank you. Oh - actually... would you mind punching me in the temple when I'm not expecting it - maybe after the soup?

Of course sir.

17 new words (Part 1) and 16 new definitions (Part 2) ~ Some old ones and few I haven't heard before

Part 1

17 new words created by adding, subtracting, or
changing one letter, and supplying a new definition:

1. Cashtration (n.): The act of buying a house, which renders the subject
financially impotent for an indefinite period of time.

2. Ignoranus: A person who's both stupid and an asshole.

3. Intaxication: Euphoria at getting a tax refund, which lasts until you

realize it was your money to start with.

4. Reintarnation: Coming back to life as a hillbilly.

5. Bozone ( n.): The substance surrounding stupid people that stops bright
ideas from penetrating. The bozone layer, unfortunately, shows
little sign of breaking down in the near future.

6. Foreploy: Any misrepresentation about yourself for the purpose of
getting laid.

7. Giraffiti: Vandalism spray-painted very, very high

8. Sarchasm: The gulf between the author of sarcastic wit and the Person

who doesn't get it.

9. Inoculatte: To take coffee intravenously when you are running late.


10. Osteopornosis: A degenerate disease. (This one got extra credit.)


11. Karmageddon: It's like, when everybody is sending off all these really bad
vibes, right? And then, like, the Earth explodes and it's
like, a serious bummer.

12. Decafalon (n.): The grueling event of getting through the day
consuming only things that are good for you.

13. Glibido: All talk and no action.

14. Dopeler Effect: The tendency of stupid ideas to seem smarter when
they come at you rapidly.

15. Arachnoleptic Fit (n.): The frantic dance performed just after
you've accidentally walked through a spider web.

16. Beelzebug (n.): Satan in the form of a mosquito, that gets into
your bedroom at three in the morning and cannot be cast out.

17. Caterpallor ( n.): The color you turn after finding half a worm in
the fruit you're eating.


Part 2

16 New definitions for some existing words:

1. Coffee , n. The person upon whom one coughs.

2. Flabbergasted , adj. Appalled by discovering how much weight one has
gained.

3. Abdicate , v. To give up all hope of ever having a flat stomach.

4. Esplanade , v. To attempt an explanation while drunk.

5. Willy-nilly , adj. Impotent.

6. Negligent , adj. Absentmindedly answering the door when wearing only
a nightgown.

7. Lymph , v. To walk with a lisp.

8. Gargoyle , n. Olive-flavored mouthwash.

9. Flatulence , n. Emergency vehicle that picks up someone who has been

run over by a steamroller.

10. Balderdash , n. A rapidly receding hairline.

11. Testicle , n. A humorous question on an exam.

12. Rectitude , n. The formal, dignified bearing adopted by
proctologists.

13. Pokemon , n. A Rastafarian proctologist.

14. Oyster , n. A person who sprinkles his conversation with
yiddishisms.

15. Frisbeetarianism , n. The belief that, after death, the soul flies
up onto the roof and gets stuck there.

16. Circumvent , n. An opening in the front of boxer shorts worn by Jewish men

PowerPoint

I wonder how much money has been made from what amounts to nothing more than a well done powerpoint presentation.

Set the stage - Bring on the data - Define the problem - Solve the problem - Sell the packaged solution... get paid.


There you have it.

Thank you.