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Twitter Ruined Me
posted on: 2009-02-08 at 8:33:00 PM
There was once a time where this very website, carlscripter.com was actually being tracked by Alexa -- but in the past few months, I've been scraping the bottom as the 18,614,403th most viewed website in America. AND I KNOW WHY, I don't update my blog. Also, the web in general has changed. If I'm going to keep carlscripter.com -- I need to update it all the time.
I'm on the edge. Should I let this site go and migrate my digital life to Facebook, Twitter, etc? Or should I continue being an old curmudgeon and yell violently in the wind knowing that the battle has been lost years ago?
Blah. I feel like shit. I was doing well for months now. Last night, I had a wonderful dinner with family -- and even though Oliver was running a slight fever, he seemed in good spirits. Then around 10pm, as I was reading a book in bed, that "little tickle" in my throat turned into a raging, throbbing scratchy pain. I fell asleep and then woke up around 3am to intense involuntary swallowing as my body was trying to douse the fire in my throat. Sleep was not possible sense then. I stayed awake and headed to Freddy's to get medicine as soon as they opened.
Yeah -- house full of sick Scripters now. Bleh.
posted by Carl
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Wow... Too Long...
posted on: 2009-02-06 at 9:35:00 PM
I've been putting all of my energy into music projects, Twitter, work, and meaningless projects around the house.
In short: The holidays -- Oliver's birthday part(ies), and all that it brings when the dad works retarded hours and the mom struggles to deal with all of the immediate chaos == extremely hard to manage.
All is well on the Scripter front. Oliver has a slight cold. Angie is stressed and tired (and possibly sick as well) -- Carl is trying to hang in there.
A JOKE FOR YOU: TWO GUYS WALK INTO A BAR.... *CLANG* .. *CLANG*
posted by Carl
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HAUGH! ARCTIC BLAST!!!1
posted on: 2008-12-21 at 7:48:00 PM
Wow! This truly has been one of the "worst" storms that Portland has been privy to in a long time. My experience here in Portland spans from 1975 - 1984 and then again 1991 - present. I remember a storm very early on (maybe 1980) where the ice stuck around for at least a week. My most vivid memory of that storm was how ice rained down from the evergreen trees in my neighbors house for days and days -- I was too young to actually do it, but I fantasized about running through the yard dodging the chunks of ice as they fell!
The last "big storm" was in 2004 when we had about 6" of snow and then this crazy coating of 2" thick ice which made for the most unacceptable snow cover of all time. You couldn't sled in it, you couldn't even walk in it! Your feet would crunch through the crusty ice layer, then slide around the powder beneath .. and then be TRAPPED AS YOU TRIED TO TAKE THE NEXT STEP. It was a vicious storm -- but the coolest thing about it was the deep bass-y "punch" sound that emitted when you stomped on a fresh layer of ice (I really wanted to record it .. but never got around to it.. garn).
This current storm.. The ARCTIC BLAST OF 2008 is basically the best of all previous storms I've experienced in my lifetime. We've got snow. We've got ice. We've got gale-force winds. We've got temperatures well below freezing. We've got the entire city in a frothy symbiotic cacophony of fear-mongering weather chatter.
And it's not even over yet. As I write this, we are on day four -- and I expect (based on most weather predictions and previous experience) at least three more days of commerce-stopping winter action.
Oh, did I say "commerce stopping?" Let me pontificate:
I now work for the most hell-bent retail company in the known universe. We must stay open for business even when the snow drifts reach over four feet tall. We must stay open even when nearby cities declare states of emergency. We must stay open even when the total amount of daily revenue is a very small percentage of overhead labor and operational costs. I guess the football analogy would be like throwing a "hail mary" every down, no matter how far lost the game is. It's just crazy!
Also, I work in one of the biggest clusters of large-scale "big box" retails stores in the nation .. and OTHER THAN STARBUCKS, WE WERE THE ONLY PLACE OPEN. Our neighbor, Ikea decided to keep their doors closed today. Do you think Ikea does good business four days before Christmas during the weekend? You bet your sweet lickable ass they do!! Do they have a greater concern for employee safety? Well, I am supposing they do based on their actions.
But it's really all for not. I chose to be the nubile sheep and spend the three hours of de-icing, shoveling and chaining to prove that I am, indeed, a dependable and forthright employee -- and frankly, I had a lot of fun (even though I've destroyed my car's left fender and blew through two sets of expensive chains).
I suppose the purpose of this blog is to VERY CLEARLY explain the line at which I change my focus from money to safety. Tonight was the night I made the call. On my way home from work today, I high-centered my car at the intersection of SE 73rd and Burnside over snow that my own car plowed up (right outside of a very active fire station). That doesn't happen often. My car got plowed-in by itself. The fire fighters helped push my car over the intersection and out of harms' way.
I was not alone. Four other cars, including a four-wheel-drive Jeep and two Toyota Tundras (with chains) are now permanantly parked precariously on 73rd just south of Thornburne (basically, the north side of Mt. Tabor). As I was walking home, I spent over two hours helping push disabled cars out of the crash zones. One of the poor souls was a woman who was clearly prepared vehicularly for this weather, but equally unprepared emotionally (she sobbed for ten minutes as her tires spun idle kicking snow up like a fountain).It's strange to think that my car is now a permanent fixture for the next few days. But in a weird way, I like it. We've got tons of food and sundries to last well over the storm's reach (tonight it's TURKEY BURGERS... YUMMMM!).
I'm going to take a break let my wife work from home on her crazy laptop -- and I'm going to watch Christmas specials with my son. I'm scheduled to work 4pm - 11:30pm the next two nights. Unless miraculously the weather changes, I am going to concentrate on keeping my family safe and switch my focus temporarily. I'm not willing to lose life, limb, vehicle, son and / or sanity over mediocre income ^__^
IN OTHER NEWS: CD IS DONE. CHRISTMAS IS RAD-TABULOUS.
posted by Carl
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Teeth Itch...
posted on: 2008-12-01 at 12:46:00 PM
Super quick post before I head off to work...First of all, Thanksgiving was a very nice break from all of the craziness in my life. As most of you can probably tell -- my blog / online persona has taken quite a bit more of a political stance and much less of the CARL-TELLS-EVERYTHING-NO-MATTER-HOW-AWKWARD-IT-IS stance. Well, yes. I have. A lot of personal turmoil and sadness has made it difficult to speak my mind. I think I keep waiting to "get better," so I can post about something more uplifting. But being the eternal optimist that I am, I think I see that (at least this chapter of my life) the turmoil IS the story. It IS ME right now -- and hey, I might as well stop pretending I'm super duper happy and start looking inward for some solace.
Yes, that sounded horribly emo.
I don't believe in the "the world's weight is on my shoulders" mentality. My issues are mine alone, and I control how I deal with them. I've been beating myself up for months now struggling with dealing with my sadness, but I have been able to maintain some composure.
As always, work is a great escape -- but most importantly, there is my son Oliver. He is the single most important little crazy-haired, laughing, talking, screaming, tomato-gathering, dancing
"Crazy McFace" in my life. He's keeping me centered and focused on the larger picture, which is keeping a stable, healthy and happy household for him to grow and learn and love.
Things will change, invariably. The trick is deciding which changes are welcome, and staving off the ones that are not. I can honestly say I used to have a much better grip on my life -- but DID I REALLY?
I said this would be a short post. So I'll wrap it up with this: My music project is ALMOST DONE (for reals). It is probably the most expansive art project I have ever endeavored. There is probably over 100 hours of work that has been put into this. Yikes.
Much more soon -- including a (much needed) website update ^__^
posted by Carl
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McCain Ate FAILCAKE!
posted on: 2008-11-05 at 10:38:00 AM
I am sitting at my computer watching the the election turnout -- and the news so far is VERY VERY good. I am guessing that by the time I finish writing this entry, Obama will be projected to win with the needed electoral votes.Funny thing, as I write this, the electoral count is 78 to 199, yet the popular vote is nearly tied at 21,000,000 a piece (difference of only 275,000). It amazes me that the sway of power is so incredibly heavy even though the math behind it says otherwise. But then again, the electoral college is DUMB.
I think all elections should be based on actual popular votes from here on out. I don't see it happening, but Obabma is just the kind of president to make that kind of change. Once the polls close on the west coast, the popular vote will obviously be in favor of the black man.
NO JOHN MCCAIN CAKE FOR CARL. *Sigh*
7:40 -- watching the results come in ... things are looking very glorious...
8:02pm -- the results are in (brb .. watching, crying)...
--
First of all, I think Obama's acceptance speech will go down in history as being one of the greatest political speeches of all time. "YES WE CAN."
In a sense, I am glad that we have gone through such hard (and harsh) times for the past eight years because it created enough of a sense of desperation for some Americans to finally give up their old views on bigotry and racism and cast that vote for for "underdog." There is no escaping the fact that Obama did not win by a wider margin because there are still people out there that rely on their parents and their parents' parents old beliefs. Last night was another huge step towards abolishing prejudice based on the color of one's skin.Americans are desperate for change -- and years ago, I believe Obama had the presence of mind to forsee America's problems before most others did. He did not buy into the formula that we were all forced to adapt to. Obama is an extremely intelligent and undeniably caring soul whose bigger purpose is selfless. I believe his message of change will carry on outside of his presidency for many generations to come.
Maybe Obama could have waited few terms in the Senate to gun for a safer bet in an election, but he jumped in early in his career against almost impossible odds (historically) because he knew his time was now. "YES WE CAN."
I am proud to be an American. I feel like a new person this morning. This has nothing to do with any monetary benefit I or my family may have as a result of his election -- because frankly, I believe that Obama's bigger plan is not about helping ME -- but helping US. I care much more about the changes he will make in our hearts and minds than I am about the changes he will make in our paychecks. He is a motivator, NOT a manipulator.
Give a man a fish, teach a man to fish.. (or in the case of Bush, give a man a fish and then charge 28.9% interest on it because the economy is healthiest when everyone buys stuff on credit!!)
I am keeping a sharp eye on North Carolina's popular vote. 99% of the precincts are in, and it is a statistical tie (the numbers are slightly in favor for Obama). If I see North Carolina turn blue, a very lost and hurt child will finally be freed from within my spirit. Having lived there and witnessed racially-motivated acts of humiliation and violence by children in schools and in public have stained my memories and have created a sense of pessimism within me. Seeing North Carolina go blue will be a huge sigh of relief that change is possible -- even in places where I once believed it was not possible.
We are not in a society that is united. There is much more work to be done. I believe this election is as much about the leap forward in America's political and economic landscape as it is America's ability to change on social and civil fronts as well. I am so very happy that Oliver is going to begin imprinting his memories on a president who he can look up to. Oliver will be 10 years old and in the fifth grade by the time we vote for a new different president (hopefully). I feel so very elated that I he is in good company ^__^
"YES WE CAN!!!"
--
In other news, it is autumn! YAY! Things are cold and wet here in Portland. I love it. I can see my breath. The trees are beautiful yellows, reds, and oranges. I have to bundle up the kid when we go for our daily walks -- and for what it's worth, he does not like being bundled up and our adventures become a comedy show for passers-by as he throws blankets, gloves and hats out of the stroller.
Autumn tradition: My music "CD."
I haven't made a mix in three years -- before then, I made seven (like clockwork). This time, I wanted to resurrect my creative mix-making tradition, so I have unearthed a project I started over three years ago. This particular audio mix was a deviation from my normal formula of extremely syncopated and sonically-rooted music to a music "experience" that has the seed of something much more complex and ethereal. I'm sure many people will not enjoy listening to it -- but I am marching forth with it as a visceral recording of what my brain sounds like.
Oliver is healthy and happy (pics to come, I promise) -- and work is MUCH BETTER. More on this soon.
"YES WE CAN!!!"
posted by Carl
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