the coat

"you can have this coat, forever"
said in the shade
cast on a cloudy day.
warm and durable,
it really could outlast them both.

BRIAN OUT.

I got a new way to wok (wok wok)

Remember this?



I got rid of the rust using tools!



And it became shiny and, well, not like new, but as like new as I am capable of getting it.



After thoroughly washing away any metal and rust dust, I cured it over high heat until it turned blueish. Weird, scary, religious.



Added some oil to complete the curing process.



Then made pad thai!





And that's how you save an old wok.

BRIAN OUT.

ART

I have been finding some mind-blowing art on the Internet lately. So, time to share!

Garfield Minus Garfield
This site is so simple, clever, and funny. It's just Garfield comic strips with Garfield removed. Look at this one, for example:



The more of these you read, the deeper and funnier it gets. Here is the creator's description:

Garfield Minus Garfield is a site dedicated to removing Garfield from the Garfield comic strips in order to reveal the existential angst of a certain young Mr. Jon Arbuckle. It is a journey deep into the mind of an isolated young everyman as he fights a losing battle against loneliness and depression in a quiet American Suburb.

1 Year Performance Video
This is a continuous video stream of two guys doing stuff in separate cells for a full year. That's right, the video lasts a year. You can log in and keep track of how long you've been watching, so if you need to go live your life for a few hours, you can turn off your computer and then pick up where you left off. Well, pick up where you left off sort of. Its actually a collection of video clips that are shown to watchers based on the time of day. For example, I'm watching them now at 9:12 AM, so they are doing "morning things". If I turn it off and log back in at 11:00 PM, they'll be up late doing night things, like sleeping, I assume. So it's kind of a test of the viewer's commitment to the piece. As they put it:

In the work, we mimic endurance without doing the labor. We also know the audience can just close the browser and walk away. No one needs to suffer on this one. The failure is built-in at the front end.

I don't know what I'm going to do about this. I love being crazily committed to something (see also NaNoWriMo 2005 & 2006, and writing a poem for every work day), but this is pretty monstrous, and frankly, I'm scared. Like, down to my shoes. For now I have it going on the TV via the Wii's Internet Channel. Just passed 3,000 seconds of watching.


Wooden Mirror
It's a mirror, but it's made out of wood! Basically a computer converts information from a video camera to simple black and white or something, and then a bunch of blocks with different shades of darkness arranged in a big plane individually spin to the necessary shades to "reflect" the whatever is in front of it. Sounds confusing. I'll let YouTube assist:




Finally, I'd like to share one of the best art websites of all time. Click here, and enjoy! (Make sure you crank the speakers!)

BRIAN OUT.

Teenage Mutant Canola Oil

"Food"

You may be eating genetically modified food that is untested by the FDA. Here are some very common examples:

• Corn (corn syrup, many cereals, corn tortillas, popcorn, etc.)
• Soy (tofu, soymilk, lots of other stuff as added ingredient)
• Canola (canola oil, as used almost everywhere by almost everyone)

Obviously, this is a money thing, where companies want to have the highest yield at the lowest price. To do this, herbicides and pesticides are used to kill off weeds and bugs that would reduce the crop. But the main herbicide used now is Roundup, made by Monsanto, which kills off all plant life. All but plant life genetically modified to tolerate Roundup, also known as "Roundup Ready." The makers of these seeds? Monsanto. Naturally, this led to them providing the seeds. And then, patenting life.



Now, I don't want to go on and on here, but a few more things. Monsanto's "Roundup Ready" seeds can find their way onto any farm just from some wind, or a passing truckload of seeds with a minuscule spill. Monsanto can then sue a farmer for growing their seeds without a license. Just because the seed showed up without the farmer knowing. They own the patent for the plant that grows. Do you get this? No matter how it gets there, if a patented form of life grows anywhere in the world, the owner of the patent owns that plant. And thus can sue farmers that don't use their seeds. And thus can become the main producer of corn, canola, soy, etc.



Concerned about the health effects of these genetically altered foods? Don't be, the FDA has decided that since the modified corn is still technically corn, it doesn't need to be investigated any more than regular corn. Even though part of the process of altering the plants includes forcing E. Coli into the cells. Nah, don't need to test that kind of thing. Also, many people who work for the FDA once worked for Monsanto. Donald Rumsfeld owns a company below Monsanto. Remember how much power he used to have?

It all boils down to this: We don't know what we're eating unless we buy organic.

You can watch a documentary where I learned all of this information. Below is the first 10 minutes. The rest is on YouTube as well. Or visit the documentary website, here.


BRIAN OUT.

Out of Body

Below is a song I recorded last month using a cool USB/MIDI keyboard I got from my mother on Christmas. I also played around with my V-AMP 2 for the guitar recording, which works out pretty good as a microphone-free, cheap solution. I'm going to do some real mixing work (EQ, etc.) for my next project and hopefully the overall sound will be great. I've been reading about it!

I guess the song isn't really that good, but I love to post anything and everything I create. So, yes. Also, the spoken stuff is from Musicophilia by Oliver Sacks, which is read in the audio version (sampled in my recording) by Simon Prebble.



BRIAN OUT.

I have the best taste in music

I remember a disagreement over musical taste in early college with a peer (not sure who it was), and we came to the conclusion that everyone thinks that their taste in music is the best, no matter what anyone else says. And this can apply to any other personal preferences. For example, I often think that I watch the best TV shows.

But lately I've seen how important it is that we realize not that our tastes are the best in our own minds, but rather that the tastes of others are not wrong just because they are different.

For example, my brother likes a new band and I just think they're OK. For this reason, I briefly thought my brother had bad taste in music. But on the contrary, I can think of many examples of his excellent taste in music.

And to get to the point, what I'm really trying to say is that I don't think we can know anything about anything, ever. I don't believe in certainty.

This is coming after I sat through something I just found on the Internet that made me mad: The Art of Sleep. Unless you are curious and have about 10 minutes to fill, you may not want to watch it. I think it's way too long, it's commanding, and it overtly rambles. The narrator claims to be an artist, but I find it to really be the voice of an arrogant yet clever person who wants to holler about absolute truths. I guess sometimes these people have been thought of as artists. The basic theme of the "piece" is that everything is art, from dog poo to people crushed by pianos. Bravo. The narrator goes on and on, occasionally showing off by referencing philosophers, and then claiming that they have found the secret to all art and life and want to tell everyone. My opinion: maybe so, maybe not.

It seems like a minor difference in opinion, but really it's so huge that I feel I must use words like "furious" and "enraged". I am furious and enraged after watching that animation.

The argument over whether art is universal (that of the narrator) or relative (my former view) is great, and I didn't like seeing just one side of it so confidently enrobed in snazzy jazz and stylish animation. It's not fair. It's like a political ad.

I am unintentionally using a writing style similar to the narrator. Gah.

The wisest man knows he is not wise at all. Or something like that. It's from Socrates through Aristotle. Whoops, referencing philosophers. But I think it's a good summing up of what I've been feeling lately. Overconfidence causes so many problems. I'd rather be unsure about something than be so sure about something that is wrong. A lot of people would say this is a weakness. It probably is. But I bet you can't think of a war, or a even simple argument between friends, that wasn't fueled by one side (or both) being confident in their view.

This sounds idiotic. Of course people who disagree are going to be confident in their own opinions. I'm confident that not being confident is the way to be. I'm a sorry hypocrite. Whoops, another philosopher reference.

It's just that the deep down problem is that we don't naturally want to entertain the thoughts and ideas of different people, something that is so important and worth doing. I have rambled so much and I am sorry. So I'll just say it and be done with it.

You're not always right. And neither am I.

BRIAN OUT.

when my breath has too much coconut

also

• in a waiting room, squealing child
• old man can't find the key
• will brakes break?
• calling all continents

BRIAN OUT.

25 Random Things About An Omelet

Rules: Once you have been tagged, you are supposed to write a note with 25 random things, facts, habits, or goals about what you're eating or have eaten recently. At the end, choose 25 eaters to be tagged. You have to tag the eater who tagged you. If I tagged you during breakfast, it's because I want to know more about your morning.

1. I made an omelet this morning.
2. The omelet upset my stomach.
3. I'd never made an omelet before.
4. I don't know much about omelets at all.
5. I knew to use eggs and a nonstick pan.
6. The nonstick pan cost $22 at a restaurant supply store.
7. I used mostly egg whites that had been in the freezer for several months.
8. I'm not sure I cooked the omelet thoroughly.
9. I think I should have had toast.
10. Toast, or any dry and delicious carbohydrate-rich food, usually calms my stomach.
11. It's kind of difficult to write 25 things about an omelet.
12. I did use cheese in the omelet, but only a little.
13. Gotta keep the saturated fats to a minimum.
14. For your reference, Market Basket has a pretty good cheddar/mozzarella mix, known within its walls as "Fancy Blend."
15. Seriously, cheddar and mozzarella are not fancy.
16. Especially when it's the cheapest cheese of that variety.
17. But I guess when you COMBINE them, things are getting pretty upscale.
18. I also used green bell "peppers" and onions.
19. Did you know that bell "peppers" are a fruit?
20. I actually hate bell "peppers", but only when uncooked.
21. Black "pepper" isn't even close to a bell "pepper".
22. Well, actually, they're both fruits.
23. I also had a nice cup of organic coffee with soy milk.
24. Coffee beans are fruit, too.
25. So are soy beans.
    

BRIAN OUT.