hail to thee

this just in from Boulder: it hailed today. a lot.

after seeing a severe thunderstorm warning announced on TV, I began to hear the storm. I don't think I've ever seen hail this large, luckily I was inside because it was hitting the roof hard. I grabbed my camera to document nature's fury.

the sky was darkening. it started hailing harder. [that's the view out my window.]

more hail.

hail piling up on the deck.

then there was hail everywhere, and heavy rain accompanying it. the parking lots began to flood.

then a pool formed on the grass between the building and the parking lot.

hail!

the aftermath.


I recorded some audio of the storm and took a few videos. I'll try to get them online for your audio/visual pleasure.

crazy weather is fun.
-dg

update: here's the video. [apologies for it being side-wise.]

have time, will waste

here's a pilot for a show called Nobody's Watching that didn't quite make it. the show is a sitcom about two young TV-aholics [is there such a thing as TV-ahol?] who get the chance to make their own sitcom, while the studio tapes the process as a reality show. it was bought by NBC then picked up by WB, but for one reason or another never got greenlit. I think it's pretty entertaining, and if you look past the pilot-y-ness, it seems like the show has some real potential. take a look for yourselfs. (the above link will take you to part 1 of 3, with the others available on the bottom right 'Explore More Videos' section of the YouTube controlling panel.)

like music videos? who doesn't? Pitchfork recently trawled YouTube for 100 Awesome Music Videos. the criteria aren't really terribly specific, with videos chosen for their artistic vision, hilarity, importance, or for being just plain craptastic. each video is accompanied by the contributors' reasons for choosing it, with the commentary itself being either interesting, funny, or lame. here are some of my personal faves and whyfor I chose them:

• Björk: Triumph of a Heart - a great beatbox-laden track off her latest release, Medulla. in the video a cat is anthropomorphized to the fullest. watch to believe. [p 1]
  
• Bone Thugs-N-Harmony: "Tha Crossroads" - I remember listening to this song at Tamarack when I was around 12. never saw the video until now. [p 2]
  
• The Decemberists: "16 Military Wives" - a great Rushmore parody. great song as well. [p 3]
  
• Ice Cube: "It Was a Good Day" - always liked this song and its accompanying no-nonsense narrative video. I enjoy and agree with the contributor's description of Ice Cube as 'unfuckwithable'. [p 5]
  
• Juvenile: "Ha" - what the hell is he saying? all I can make out is the oddly-placed 'run Forrest, run Forrest, run' toward the end. a note on the Pitchfork-supplied description: the 'bright-yellow corvettes' mentioned are actually a yellow Ferrari 355 Berlinetta, a blue Jaguar XK convertible, and a 5th generation S-Class. but I can't fault a music nerd on their lack of automotive knowledge. wait, yes I can, and I just did. [p 5]
  
• Pavement: "Shady Lane" - a wonderful and expectedly odd Spike Jonze creation. and 'cause I just plain love Pavement. [p 7]
  
• The Postal Service: "We Will Become Silhouettes" - it's nice looking, the song is great, plus I get to see my favorite Troop Beverly Hills actress and Postal Service songstress, Jenny Lewis. another description comment: the 'cookie' that the 'frumpy suburban Dad' gives his son is obviously a piece of dried fruit from a RonCo-esque as-seen-on-TV food dehydrator. we all know dried food can last through a nuclear attack. that and Twinkies. [p 7]
  
• Radiohead: "Just" - great song, semi-confusing video. but that's how they likes it. [p 8]
  
• They Might Be Giants: "Ana Ng" - the Johns' odd lyrics are well matched by this equally different video. [p 9]

feel free to discuss any agreement or disagreement with my choices, or post your picks in the comments section.

have a lovely evening,
Spiral Stairs

I'll take you to the candy Apple shop

do you have 50 Cent in your iTunes library? how about having iTunes, as well as all of the other iApps and Mac OS X, on a 50-Cent-branded computer? Forbes says that 50 Cent and His Steveness are in talks to do just that. fitty wants a low-cost computing option for inner-city dwellers.

I'm interested to see what becomes of this. will we see a shift in rap lyrics in order to flaunt 20-inch screens? maybe this will add to the already growing market of Mac mini ride pimping. think of how difficult it will be to tell someone the correct price of such a product, a miscommunication [fifty-cent computers?!] might cause a stampede or something.

[I tried really hard to modify some 50 lyrics to be Mac-centric but the post title was the best I came up with, sorry]

stay fly,
Poochie D

three cheers

I got a job this week, thankfully.

I'll be joining the company of the following persons:

• Ralph Kramden from The Honeymooners
  
• Otto from The Simpons
  
• Chris Farley's character in Billy Madison
  
• Miss Crabtree from South Park
  
• Roberto Benigni as Dante in Johnny Stecchino
  
• Annie Porter in The Bus That Couldn't Slow Down*

what do they all have in common? bus drivering.

I hope to avoid any and all banana peels, and will refrain from playing GTA until the vehicle has come to a complete stop.

good, great, grand, wonderful,
Davey

*Homer: I saw this in a movie about a bus that had to speed around the city, keeping its speed over fifty. And if its speed dropped, the bus would explode! I think it was called... "The bus that couldn't slow down."

is the future behind us?

I just came across this interesting article (or did it come across me?) about an indigenous people in South America called the Aymara. it seems these people buck the widely held convention, once thought universal, of picturing the past as behind oneself and the future in front. they speak and gesture accordingly, pointing or waving over their shoulders to reference the future and referring to 'last year' by saying 'nayra mara', literally 'front year'.

Backs to the Future - PHYSORG.com

I am currently searching for a job, both in front of and behind myself, and have some promising leads (fingers crossed). I'll be sure to let everyone know when I've secured employment.

hugs,
David

here I am.

I'm in Boulder. that's in Colorado. I live here now. this is my new home. I'm sort of freaking out.

the journey began bright and early Monday morning when I set off from Birmingham and picked up my accomplice for the trip, Gabers. I can't thank him enough for sharing the driving, entertaining me, and keeping me sane over the last three days.

the route took us through Indiana, Illinois, Iowa, and Nebraska. while in Iowa (I think) we saw a sign on the highway for a Middle East Conflict memorial and decided we had to stop. it wasn't until we had driven a few miles from the interstate through a sleepy little town that we realized what was meant by Middle East Conflict, we're not talking Israel here but instead Desert Storm and Iraq. why didn't we think of that before? we were in such shock that there would be a memorial to Israel-Palestine conflict that we didn't consider any other (more logical) options. oh well. we stopped and took some pictures anyway.



we stopped over Monday night in Lincoln, NE, home of the University of Nebraska and their Cornhuskers. we stayed at a lovely Best Western with pool, spa, wireless internet and continental breakfast (though by the time we made it to the breakfast bar there were only english muffins left). we ventured to the campus that night to explore and have some dinner.

Tuesday came, and with it the rest of Nebraska. an hour or two after setting off we began seeing signs for Fort Kearney, of Oregon Trail fame, and Gabe was insistent that we take a look. it's neat to see a real live place after you've been there so many times electronically. we chose not to hunt for food or trade any of our wagon tongues but instead took this picture.



we arrived in Boulder at around 4:45 Mountain time (I'm two hours off for future reference) and met the young man from whom I'm subletting my room for the next couple of months. we commenced unpacking my fully-loaded car (in the 90+ degree heat mind you) and then went over to campus for a walk to check it out. the evening ended with a late dinner and a run to Wal-Mart for some miscellaneous necessities (no Meijer out here, a big adjustment).

today we explored the campus a bit more, strolled the Pearl Street pedestrian mall, Gabe bought his requisite Colorado t-shirt, I brainstormed employment ideas, and then it was time to take Gabe to the airport for his departure. on the way there I learned an important Mapquest lesson: if you are routed via toll roads, always select the 'No tolls' option and update the route to check how much time/distance is added in avoiding pay-roads. we discovered that E470 to Denver airport costs an astounding $6 (2 bucks at each of three toll plazas over a 15-mile stretch). on the way back, I was slightly distracted when Gabe called to tell me his flight was delayed an hour due to thunderstorm activity in the area and I missed the exit for the world's most expensive road. instead, I managed to get back to Boulder without paying a dime (sans gas costs) and when I checked Mapquest upon my return it turns out I only added a mile to my journey. I'll never take that road again.

so here I am, all alone in Boulder (because neither of my roommates have been home since I arrived last night and I haven't met them yet, seriously). this is the start of a new life for me I guess. or, according to the fortune cookie I got at China King the evening prior to my arrival: '[I am] only starting on [my] path to success.' let's hope so.

tomorrow I begin the job search.

hugs and long-distance kisses,
DG

p.s. we also saw this in Lincoln: