although the last few years have been good...so maybe things have changed...but i still keep my head down...and one eye over my shoulder...
anyway...
this is my way of telling you that the almanac is updated for next month...and i've added a this day in history feature...enjoy...and good luck...
for years i've been saying that...everyone with any talent in denver...leaves...well...allow me to admit that i've been wrong...
there are talented people who have worked...mostly for free...mostly without recognition...for years...in this city...
and here are three examples of people who make denver an interesting place to live...
mr frank kelly rich...
those crazy kids over at the yellow rake...
and john reidy...who, in my mind...really got things started with a not so little zine called...the hooligan...r.i.p....
[edit- i have been chastised for leaving out shoun flynn, another major indie publisher here in denver]
it's cumquat appreciation week...why...just because i like the sound of it...as well as the week of the birthdays of...Sidney Poitier...Nina Simone...Dr J...and Steve Jobs...
ms scribe has returned from las vegas...you'd think i...the man who loves chaos...would have taken the opportunity to...i dunno...spend more time at the bar...go to the strip club...head to hills and go gambling...or just generally find some trouble to get into...all those things did cross my mind...instead...i went to a couple of very fine movies...looks like i might have outgrown my chaotic tastes...maybe i've found...stability...
how boring...any way...
a history of violence...and...cache...two very different movies...grown up movies...about two two families who come under threat...of terror...the fathers...in particular...aproach the problem with...well...you could call one the american solution...and the other...the french solution...
both men have secrets in their pasts...and have chosen to hide them...well secrets have a way of revealing themselves...especially in movies...
mr cronenberg uses his opportunity to explore the relationship between sex and violence...and i think his ending also says something about family and manhood as well...
mr haneke...is definitely out to say something about the nature of terrorism...and he does a great job playing with...how we watch a movie...
watched back to back...on a weekday afternoon and evening...it's hard not to make connections between the two...if you've seen either or both of these movies...i would be interested in your comments...
do you remember new orleans...good...these good people right here could still use your help...
already gave...no problem...
you can do something for these kids...
don't like children...whatever...
this organization could use your support
don't like animals...well then...
all these people want to do...is get married...
each of these organizations is far more deserving than i am...
and if after you've given your time/money...you still feel generous...
please click the button below to drop some change in my tip jar...
i don't plan on having children...anytime soon...fact is...i'm more interested in leaving behind a body of work...but...someone asked rick...who writes everything is dumb...to put together a list of things that he's learned...the important stuff...the knowledge he'd like to pass along...it's a good list...and he's made an open invitation for others to join in...so here's my two cents...
if i ever have kids...here's some of what i'd hope to pass along...
first...everything of any real value that i've learned has come mostly from making my own mistakes and ignoring good advice...i expect no less from you...
basic principles...
pay attention...most people don't...this simple skill will give you a valuable edge...
have a plan...know where you want to go...and how you want to get there...
prepare...many opportunities are wasted because people aren't ready for them...
be flexible...the single most rewarded trait in nature is adaptability...
think for yourself...the most important question you can ask is...why...
say as much as you can...with as few words as is possible...
on youth...
your energy and optimism may lead you to feel invincible...try to avoid doing something stupid because of it...
you're going to get scraped up...you will bleed...if you're lucky...your heart...and maybesome other parts...will get broken...you will heal...
if you feel awkward at 13...theres two things you should know...so does everyone else...and...if you don't fake your way through it, you''l be a better person at 25...
on family and other relations...
most people you meet are transitory...they'll be in your life five years or less...so...value every one for what they can teach you...
the ones that stick around...no matter what happens...these people are truly your friends...
your family...are the only people who will always be there...from diaper to depends...these are the ones who chose you...and the ones you chose...
your friends and your family are your most valuable resoucre...protect them...appreciate them...honor them...
on money...
there is always someone ready to give you money...to do something that will make them richer...find a way to make yourself rich instead...
there is always someone who wants your money in exchange for something of little, or no value...
because a thing has a high price...doesn't mean it has high value...most of the time, the exact opposite is the case...
money is nothing more than a tool...what you do with it is more important than how much you have...
time does not equal money...
on sex & love...
it's easy to confuse love...with in love...in love...comes and goes...love...is constant...
sex is not always about love...sometimes it's just for fun...
be careful...some people use sex as a weapon...
spend some time alone...you will bring more to the table in a relationship...
because you can...doesn't mean that you should...
if you want to be good at sex...give slightly more than you receive...and never be afraid to do something new...
marriage...like the military...is not for everyone...have some relationship experience before planning to spend the rest of your life with someone...
on health, hygiene and beauty...
get out of the house...your body was made for movement...
your body is like an engine...when you put crappy fuel in it...it performs like crap...
one whole food everyday...at least...
drugs...have been around as long as human beings have been eating flowers, roots, and mushrooms...if you're going to do drugs...try sticking with stuff thats been around a few centuries...better yet, a few millennia...because the modern stuff is deadly...
speaking of drugs...um, smoking...how dumb is that...but hey...it's your body...
you're going to die anyway...so...pick your poison...
your teeth...your hands...your ears...and your feet...keep them clean and protect them...
anyone can be attractive...character, that's beautiful...
on art, culture and fashion...
art...like love...is an overused, misunderstood word...
half of government/religion/science/philosphy/business...the dominant cultural paradigm...is bullshit...the other half should be understood in the historical context of power, politics, and personality...
comfort and convenience are overrated...learn how to live outside the dominant paradigm whenever possible...
you will always look good...as long as what you're wearing fits...
for men...own a tuxedo...no sandals...ever...a high quality hawaiian shirt is a good thing...white socks...only with sneakers...after 25, you are still allowed wear a ball cap...but...you can only turn it backwards if you're a baseball catcher...
finally...
be wary of anyone else's rules...
rolling out new version of website...mainly for easy of use...this new version will make posting to burnsizzlebleed a lot easier...good news...that means more frequest posts there...it also puts me in a better position for podcasting as well...expect a few gliches though...while i get the code fully ironed out...until then...you can check out a new photoset...2005- year in photos...
whenever someone asks me about ms scribe...or the perpetual cliche...hows married life treating you...i always find myself saying...i got lucky...somehow, i don't get the feeling they understand how true that really is...i can prove it...
four or five years ago...because im such a romantic...and because no matter how big denver gets...it can feel like a small town when youre on a date with someone who knows one of your exes...i was begining to wonder if i had run through the entire dating pool in this city...so...i crunched the numbers...
at that time the estimated population in the front range area was somewhere around...1 million...[correction: that number was for the six county that make up the greater metropolitan area; Adams. Arapaho, Boulder, Denver, Douglas, and Jefferson counties]...and all points in between...even though i know there are slightly more women than men in the area...to keep the math simple i just dividedthat number in half...because...im such a mathlete...
500,000...because the age range i was interested in...25-35...was so narrow...i reduced that number to a third...that age range is either a reflection of my arrogance...or my naivete...i'll leave that for you to decide...
166,666...from that number i removed those who would have no interest in me...and those who i would have no interest in...racists...the insane...either congenital or chemically induced...lesbians...what have you...another third...
55,555...i reduced this number by eliminating anyone living outside of denver...why...i didn't own a car...what a winner...
18,518...another third...i figured about half of these women would be married...so...
9,529...and i rounded it up...for sake of generosity...
10,000...
if my potential dating pool was ten thousand women in the city of denver...i still had a lot of work to do...that's just a little less than a thousand dates a year...for ten years...if i shot for an average of ten dates a month...well you can see where i was headed...
even when i met the future ms scribe...she was supposed to be just one of those ten thousand...and it's music to a single mans ears when the woman he's dating says nearly simultaneous as him...i'm not looking for anything serious, let's just keep things fun...
and then one morning i was laying in bed...looking at her...and something inside me said...of course...i'm supposed to be with this woman...it would be a tremendous mistake if i were not with this woman...and so...here we are...
1 in 10,000...i am a lucky man...
