March 31st

Sorry I haven’t written in a bit, things have been crazy for a bit, with my contract with Siemens coming to an end. Half the day I had been running around at work trying to get projects finished before my last day deadline the rest of the day was spent trying to find work (either freelance or permanent). So when it always came time to write a new update I would find myself starting on a couple of different subject matters but then got distracted by my another deadline or just panicking what would happen to me after the 31st.

As far as I know (or wish) I’ll pull through this little bump in the road with little or no issues. My head is in a lot better place this time around (i.e. three years ago in LA) and also the economy dose seems to be picking up a bit. But of course as always if you do know something of a new position opening up or know of anyone needing any marking needs or some website work, don’t forget your buddies here at fabersplace.

Hmmmm you never know, if something doesn’t happen soon I might have to break out my blue bathrobe, fudge striped cook-ay, and Coff-ay. (Ok maybe it won’t have to come to that).

Anyway, as I was saying today was my last day at Siemens. Overall it was an ok day I was madly trying to get my last few projects and lots of people were coming by to say they were sad to see me go. So finally when the day came to a end and all my goodbyes were said, I gathered all my belongings up and cleaning off my desk headed out for the last time with no regrets.

As a few of you know I have been doing all the artwork and design work for a local independent newspaper and today was the day before we go to print. So after my goodbyes from Siemens I went to the newspapers offices, and worked for a couple of hours. Around 8pm I decided to call it a night and get myself some dinner, but when I was leaving the office my wallet was nowhere to be found.

After about a few minutes of total panic I started thinking a little more rational and thinking about the last time I had my wallet, which ended up being this morning when I put it into my desk drawer at work. You remember work, that place I no longer was employed by. So now very panicked I made my way back to Siemens, and just trying to hope the security guard would find it in his / her heart to let a former employee into the building. After panicking the whole way up I actually was relieved to find my badge was still active and was able to get past security, and my wallet and sunglasses were still in the drawer of my former desk. (I had at least five minutes of angst of my whole work area stripped to frame).

Well anyway that’s my story for tonight, I’ll be spending more time working on the site now that I have some extra time, so you will be hearing from me quite often. And of course if you feel like dropping me a line I’m always online (see list of chat service that I belong to below).

Oh yeah comming tomorrow some new pictures I have been collecting over the past few weeks.

Talk to you soon

Peace

Mike

Here's something humerious that was sent to me a few weeks back, hope you lilke...

IT'S ELECTION TIME AGAIN, SO HERE ARE SOME FUN FACTS ABOUT OUR COMMANDER-IN-CHEIF - JUST SO YOU KNOW:

• I attacked and took over 2 countries.
• I spent the U.S. surplus and bankrupted the US Treasury.
• I shattered the record for the biggest annual deficit in history (not easy!).
• I set an economic record for the most personal bankruptcies filed in any 12 month period.
• I set all-time record for the biggest drop in the history of the stock market.
• I am the first president in decades to execute a federal prisoner.
• In my first year in office I set the all-time record for most days on vacation by any president in US history (tough to beat my dad's, but I did).
• After taking the entire month of August off for vacation, I presided over the worst security failure in US history.
• I set the record for most campaign fund raising trips by any president in US history.
• In my first two years in office over 2 million Americans lost their jobs.
• I cut unemployment benefits for more out-of-work Americans than any other president in US history.
• I set the all-time record for most real estate foreclosures in a 12-month period.
• I appointed more convicted criminals to administration positions than any president in US history.
• I set the record for the fewest press conferences of any president, since the advent of TV.
• I signed more laws and executive orders amending the Constitution than any other US president in history.
• I presided over the biggest energy crises in US history and refused to intervene when corruption was revealed.
• I cut health care benefits for war veterans.
• I set the all-time record for most people worldwide to simultaneously take to the streets to protest me (15 million people), shattering the record for protest against any person in the history of mankind.
• I dissolved more international treaties than any president in US history.
• I've made my presidency the most secretive and unaccountable of any in US history.
• Members of my cabinet are the richest of any administration in US history.
  (The poorest multimillionaire, Condoleeza Rice, has a Chevron oil tanker named after her.)
• I am the first president in US history to have all 50 states of the Union simultaneously struggle against bankruptcy.
• I presided over the biggest corporate stock market fraud in any market in any country in the history of the world.
• I am the first president in US history to order a US attack AND military occupation of a sovereign nation, and I did so against the will of the United Nations and the vast majority of the international community.
• I have created the largest government department bureaucracy in the
  history of the United States, called the "Bureau of Homeland Security"(only one letter away from BS).
• I set the all-time record for biggest annual budget spending increases, more than any other president in US history (Ronnie was tough to beat, but I did it!!).
• I am the first president in US history to compel the United Nations remove the US from the Human Rights Commission.
• I am the first president in US history to have the United Nations remove the US from the Elections Monitoring Board.
• I removed more checks and balances, and have the least amount of congressional oversight than any presidential administration in US history.
• I rendered the entire United Nations irrelevant. I withdrew from the World Court of Law.
• I refused to allow inspectors access to US prisoners of war and by default no longer abide by the Geneva Conventions.
• I am the first president in US history to refuse United Nations election inspectors access during the 2002 US elections.
• I am the all-time US (and world) record holder for most corporate campaign donations.\
• The biggest lifetime contributor to my campaign, who is also one of my best friends, presided over one of the largest corporate bankruptcy frauds in world history (Kenneth Lay, former CEO of Enron Corporation).
• I spent more money on polls and focus groups than any president in US history.
• I am the first president to run and hide when the US came under attack (and then lied, saying the enemy had the code to Air Force 1).
• I am the first US president to establish a secret shadow government.
• I took the world's sympathy for the US after 9/11, and in less than a year made the US the most resented country in the world (possibly the biggest diplomatic failure in US and world history).
• I am the first US president in history to have a majority of the people of Europe (71%) view my presidency as the biggest threat to world peace and stability.
• I changed US policy to allow convicted criminals to be awarded government Contracts.
• I set the all-time record for the number of administration appointees who violated US law by not selling their huge investments in corporations bidding for gov't contracts.
• I have removed more freedoms and civil liberties for Americans than any other president in US history.
• I entered office with the strongest economy in US history and in less than two years turned every single economic category heading straight down.
• RECORDS AND REFERENCES: I have at least one conviction for drunk driving in Maine (Texas driving record has been erased and is not available).
• I was AWOL from the National Guard and deserted the military during time of war.
• I refuse to take a drug test or even answer any questions about drug use, (really).
• All records of my tenure as governor of Texas have been spirited away to my fathers library, sealed in secrecy and unavailable for public view.
• All records of any SEC investigations into my insider trading or bankrupt companies are sealed in secrecy and unavailable for public view.
• All minutes of meetings of any public corporation for which I served on the board are sealed in secrecy and unavailable for public view.
• Any records or minutes from meetings I (or my VP) attended regarding public energy policy are sealed in secrecy and unavailable for public review.

March 24th

Tonight was a William night as usual for a Wednesday night and everything went great as always. But then on the way home things got terribly messy.

A lot of times after dropping William off at his mom’s house I usually stop at a gas station to clean out the car from my outing with the kid. (You know for such a small guy, he can make a pretty big mess). So I stopped at a gas station on the way home, started refueling my car and got to work on the car. I had emptied a few bags and some loose papers, but didn’t see a open bottle of soda buried in the mess.

I lifted the pile up and all of a sudden felt something wet dripping down my leg, and saw the soda bottle emptying all over my pants. Pissed off I hopped out of the backseat and grabbed some paper towels from the fueling station. Not only did I grab one paper towel but the whole roll holder came off the wall in my hands, and then proceeded to crash to the ground with a huge bang. (Gee I don’t know my own strength sometimes). Almost everyone at the pumps jumped and looked around, but not one person came over to see if I was ok. (Ah got to love people in society these days).

Kind of embarrassed, I closed up the car, and hurried out of the gas station, as I was heading down the road heading towards home. I reached for my bottle of water, but grabbed it by the lid, and guess what wasn’t closed tight, and for the second time of the night I got splashed. Being wet once again I came to realization at that point I was just going to keep my hands on the wheel and go home. Gosh being wet like that kind of makes me homesick for the wet weather in Seattle.

So now here I am changed into something quite dry, and quite happy talking to you guys.

Hope all is well, and your staying dry

Peace

Mike

P.S. ok, here's something quite funny that was sent to me, hope you enjoy..

FROM THE NEW YORKERTHIS IS HYSTERICAL - YOU MUST READ WHEN YOU HAVE TIME...Steve Martin's SCRIPT NOTES on "THE PASSION..."

the genius that is steve martin....

Steve Martin/The New Yorker

Studio Script Notes on "The Passion".

Dear Mel, We love, LOVE the script! The ending works great. You'll be getting a call from us to start negotiations for the book rights. Love the Jesus character. So likable. He can't seem to catch a break! We identify with him because of it. One thing, I think we need to clearly state " the rules." Why doesn't he use his super powers to save himself? The creative people suggest that you could simply cut away to two spectators:

Spectator one: Why doesn't he use his super powers to save himself?

Spectator two: He can only use his powers to help others, never himself.

Does it matter which garden? Gethsemane is hard to say and Eden is a much more recognizable garden. Just thinking out loud.

Our creative people suggest a clock visual fading in and out in certain scenes like the last supper bit: Monday, 12:43pm." or later, "Good Friday, 5:14pm." Love the repetition of "is it I?" Could be very funny. On the eighth inquiry, could Jesus just give a little look into camera? Breaks frame, but could be a riot. Also could he change water into wine in last supper scene? Would be a great moment, and it's legit. History compression is a movie tradition and could really brighten up the scene. Love the flaying. Could the Rabbis be Hispanic? There's lots of hot Latino actors now, could give us a little zing at the box office. Research says there's some justification for it.

Is there somewhere where Jesus could be using an IMac? You know, now that I hear myself say it, it sounds ridiculous. Strike that. But think about it.

Maybe we start a shot in heaven with Jesus thoughtfully closing the top? (Reminder: heaven is timeless) The studio is very high on Johnny Depp right now. Just saw him in "Pirates." He was hilarious. Might be right for Jesus?

Not so straightforward. He could bring a lot of pizzazz to the role. I think a meeting would be warranted. Love the idea of Monica Belluci as Mary Magdalene (Yow!). Our creative people suggest a name change to Heather. Could skew our audience a little younger. Love Judas. Such a great villain.

Our creative people suggest that he's a little "conflicted." Couldn't he be one thing? Just bad? Gives the movie much more of a motor. Also, 30 pieces of silver is not going to get anyone excited. I think it's very simple to make him a "new millionaire." Bring in the cash on a tray. Great dilemma that the audience can identify with. Minor spelling error: on page 18, in the description of the bystanders, there should be a space between the words " Jew" and "boy."

Merchandising issue: it seems the cross image has been done to death and we can't own it. Could the crucifixion scene involve something else? A Toyota would be wrong, but maybe there's a shape we can copyright, like an ellipse?

I'm assuming "the dialogue is in Aremeic," is a typo for "American." If not call me on my cell or I'm at home all weekend.

By the way, I'm sending a group of staffers on a cruise to the North Pole, coincidentally around the time of the release date. Would love to invite your dad!

March 21st

You know a lot of times I have a very easygoing attitude about almost anything. But on Friday I got a phone call that totally put my attitude to a test.

I have said over the past few weeks that my contract work with Siemens is coming to an end at the end of this month, and have been actively search for employment either freelance, contract or full time. Much to my surprise I have been really getting some great response to my resume and things have been going quite positive lately. (Surprising a bit in this economy and the current presidential administration, but I’m not looking a gift horse in the mouth).

Well anyway I have been working with quite a few different recruiters, but this is where my story really begins. Friday morning I got a call from one of the recruiters, and he said “Michael, we might have a slight problem with showing our client your website, because of some of the content.” At first I though wait a minute, is there something that I wrote in one of my updates over the past few days? Then though ” no, unless they have an issue with spider stories”. So I told him “Well if you have issues with the content you could just point them directly to my portfolio pages”. (For anyone interested to see my portfolio, click here). “He came back with “Well Michael, that’s what we have a problem with, it’s the first two items that we think might be hurting your portfolio” “Huh, what first two items?” I stammered out. “the gay content web pages, we feel will hurt you with many positions, we recommend you remove them from your site” he came back.

After a second of sheer amazement I came back to him and said “Excuse me, those pages were for the University of Washington Aids Awareness Program, and no I will not remove those pages from my site.” “Well then we might be running into a problem with this position”, the recruiter said. Well I told him that I would consider what a said and ended the conversation that way, because I didn’t want to say anything I would regret later.

After a bit I started thinking about ways in trying not to burn my bridge completely for a possible new job, and I wanted to not sacrifice my creative license and lifestyle because close minded individuals. So I slightly changed the layout of the page by adding some newer sites that I had worked on over the past year, but kept the University of Washington pages very visible on the page. No one ever will tell me, what or what not that I can put on my site ever. What’s next, someone’s going to ask me to take down the Hillel newsletter because it was a Jewish Organization, or pictures of William as baby because he had a birth defect and his face was slightly deformed, and people didn’t want to see that.

Sorry I will never stand for that. If you don’t like it tough it’s my site and I will be hard ass about it anytime. (Hey at least I can pretend to be a hard-ass).

I’m out for the night

Peace

Mike

Hi All,

I finally got Judy to write another update after much coaxing, Hope you enjoy, it actually put a smile on my face when she told me about "the Spider" I'll talk to you tomorrow.

Peace

Mike

March 17th

First off, let me start by saying that Mike is making me write this out. I told him that he is the only one who knows what a DORK I am but he said it isn’t true, that everyone knows… Thanks Mike for telling on me!!

So anyway, I have this irrational fear of spiders, to the point that I almost drove into a wall one time because a tiny arachnid (probably 1cm in diameter) appeared on my leg one day when I was driving. A little bit of background here… I have a completely messed up fireplace (I have a completely messed up house but that is another story for another day), which leaks and is in need of a good chimney sweep to clear out all of the pine straw and stuff that is stuck in it. I have to keep a tarp wrapped around the top to keep most of the water out when it rains. I would fix it, to the tune of $2000, but that day is in the future. I am getting ready to paint the front of the fireplace in my den and decided the other day to clear off all my frogs and other collectibles that are arranged on the brick stoop.

So, my roommate Woody has this witch statue that is sitting on the side. It is cute – she is all done up with white hair and a black hat, and made mostly out of straw. I picked it up to move it and almost dropped it when I saw this big black spider tangled up in the straw that is her skirt! I looked closer (not very close at all because I was freaking out) and realized that it was probably plastic and part of the decoration. Woody is in Florida right now so I decided that I would just move it into his bedroom and I could forget about the spider.

I continue my cleaning, the fireplace looks great (it still leaks but what the heck…), and I decide the witch is not coming back. Last night I went into Woody’s room to get something and noticed that the witch had been knocked over and was a bit messed up. I figured the dogs had gotten a hold of her and thought she was a play toy. I picked her up by her hat to stand her back up and OH MY GOSH, I realized that the spider was missing!! Instead of thinking that maybe the dogs had taken it to play with, I somehow convinced my neurotic self that the spider had been real and actually had crawled out of my scary fireplace chimney stuffed with pine straw and that HUGE spider was now somewhere loose in my house. I could feel my heart pounding as I considered my options, the best of which was to pack up some clothes and the dogs and take us all to Mike’s apartment until I could get him to find the monster and kill it! As a last effort, I pushed the witch over onto her back with my shoe and discovered… what? The spider, still stuck in her straw skirt, but moved around a bit thanks to the dogs playing with her. I took a closer look, realized that it really was plastic, that I had been freaking out over a toy and cancelled the plan to move to Mike’s. I decided that I never wanted to see the witch again and picked her up and put her in Woody’s closet and shut the door. He thinks the whole thing was funny and says when he gets back tonight he is putting her right back on the fireplace, but I don’t think I can allow that to happen.

Ok Mike, here is my update for you and proof to all of your friends that I am a goofball. Mike says that I never write anything for the website. Maybe another time I will write about my experience learning to play Craps at Harrah’s Casino in New Orleans. I am on the verge of becoming a great gambler! Mike, what do you think?

See ya’ll later!

JW

March 14th

I have been living here in Atlanta for almost a year and a half now, and there are still a certain few things that still amaze me about this city. First off people here hate admitting that the area has become a major metropolitan area. They still try to think of themselves as a small sleepy southern city, without all the problems of a major metro area. Boy do these people need a total wake up call. The area is being rated in the top ten worst areas for traffic and urban sprawl. They have developers that just keep building and building until the metro Atlanta area will eventually sprawl from the Tennessee border to the north, to Macon to the south, Augusta to the East, and the Alabama state line to the west (and from there who knows?) Since I have been here it’s actually rare for me to actually meet someone who was actually born and raised here in the metro area. Everyone I seem to meet is actually from “somewhere else” and here because of their company transferring them or someone in their family being transferred here (of course Judy is excluded from that, she’s ATL born and raised).

I remember for years my uncle always telling me to move down here to Georgia for the easier lifestyle and cheaper prices for housing. After many years when fate brings me down to Northern Georgia, I find an area as crowded and expensive in a lot of ways as I found Seattle and Los Angeles. I was reading a report a few months back were the report quoted some urban planners and said that the metro Atlanta area was only second to Los Angeles in continuing unchecked sprawl (traffic and construction) and not having the true infrastructure to handle it. Yes Los Angels has highway after highway but there they have built right along the highways so there is no room for expansion. Here in Atlanta they have just build a certain amount of highways and with so many people moving here so quickly and the suburbs moving so far out from the core downtown area, the existing highways are being choked from all ends. There really isn’t any sign of relief coming in the next 10 years. (Most politicians here are afraid to address the issue since most people don’t want their taxes raised to pay for something that would help immensely).

And the reason for bringing this up, no not for a lesion on local growth issues, but for something that happened to me Friday afternoon. As a few of you out there know, my period with working for Siemens is quickly coming to a finish at the end of this month. So luckily (knock on wood) I have been getting a few calls a week for possible positions (either f/t or contract) and had an interview for one position as a designer for a software company downtown. Thinking ahead and forward I scheduled the interview at the end of the day and then gave myself about an hour to drive 26 miles (all highway) from Siemens to Downtown Atlanta. Normally it would of taken me a half hour tops to get there, but not in Atlanta. Little did I know that I also had a few obstacles to hinder me even further (the college basketball tournament, the bridal show, the car show, and it was a nice day so everyone was leaving work early). To go said 26 miles, it ended up taking me an extremely frustrating two hours.

Let me say this in my defense I did continually call the folks I was interviewing with, to explain my progress, and situation. These folks who in their whole honestly could of easily said “thanks but no thanks mike, lets reschedule or never mind” but they actually were quite gracious and understood the frustration I was feeling. Thanks guys (if your still viewing my website) for being so understanding under the circumstances.

After that frustration I think I really need to start thinking about developing the aircar or teleporter. I would like to say this is traffic issue is going to dissapear soon, but I really don’t see how that could happen, unless everyone gives up their auto, and mass trainsit is more readily available.

Ok that’s my two cense from the slow lane of what I like to call God’s Sitcom, have fun and block some traffic for the heck of it.

Peace

Mike

March 11th

When I was down in New Orleans I found out the sad news about the authorities finding the remains of Spalding Gray in the East River. It had been about two months since he disappeared and his family feared suicide. I figured after he didn’t turn up within a week or two that he finally fulfilled his premonitions about ending his life like his mother did many years ago. The report from the AP said that the authorities figured he died by jumping off of the Staten Island Ferry, which he had been threatening to do for some time.

I’m sad to see him go, Spalding was a very talented, and driven individual. His style was quite unique, and personal. Like he brought you into a slice of his life, sometimes it was not pretty, or happy but he still showed you what it was like to in his mind. I recommend if you ever get a chance to read a few of his books (i.e. Monster in a Box, Swimming to Cambodia, Sex & Death at the age of 16), you can see where he was almost destined to this kind of ending. He wrote about his suicidal thoughts in almost every book. The last time I saw him was back in 2001 not too long after his near fatal auto accident. Seeing him then was like seeing a different person. It almost felt like his spirit had already left his body and he just going through the motions. I’m sad see him gone, but in a lot of a ways I feel a better person for letting him into my life, and what he brought to it, and guided me to be inspired to let you into my life. Hmmm maybe I should take this show on the road. The only thing is I don’t look good in plaid flannel. If you want to read more about his life and death click here to read MSNBC’s report on him. David said it perfectly about Spalding "In life he lived very self indulgent, and he went out that way"

I’m going to end this on a happier note, last night I hung out with William at a local bookstore called Books A Million. Usually we grab a few books off the shelf and I read the stories to him. Last night though we had a few other kids sitting around us and listening to me read Scooby Doo to William (I do all the character voices for him, just to keep him entertained). Well one of the stories had some army men in it, and one of younger boys asked me “what is the army?” William turned to him and said “They are like Police men except they drive tanks” ah out mouth of babes.

Ok that’s if for tonight I’m worn out

Have a great night, I’ll try to get another update in tomorrow.

Peace

Mike

P.S. Judy sent me this great test to see if your as smart as a 3rd grader, Let me know the results.

March 9th

Hi all, and greetings from New Orleans, the big easy. The trip out here was kind of long and uneventful. I ended up meeting Judy at the airport in New Orleans, (I flew out of Birmingham, since it was cheaper, and Judy flew out of Atlanta since here company paid for the ticket). Then we grabbed a taxi to the hotel her company was putting us up in, which was a lot nicer then I could of even imagined. We ended up staying in this hotel called the Chateau Sonesta, which is right on the edge of the French Quarter and only half a block from Bourbon Street and all the major nightlife in the city.

Since we had gotten into the city fairly early on Saturday we check our luggage in with the concierge at the hotel and started wandering the streets. Of course we wanted to check out Bourbon Street since that’s all anyone even hears about. When we got there it was only half past ten in the morning but all the bars were already open (bars never close there) and people were already very heavy into drinking. Not being a huge drinker, and the thought of starting that early in the morning didn’t really appeal to me. In all truth Bourbon Street kind of disappointed both of us. It was very schmaltzy with t-shirt shops, bars and strip bars. I could of stayed in Atlanta and seen the same thing.

Very dejected we decided to get off the beaten path and start checking out some of the side streets, that is when we discovered the French Quarter that wewere expecting to see. As soon as you get away from Bourbon Street you start seeing the art galleries, antique, and specialty shops I had imagined seeing. The city had a few of the streets closed off to traffic in the French Quarter and they had street performers, bands and human statues (Seeing someone stand that still, for such a long period of time was beyond belief, ok it did get boring to watch after a while but I still respected them for their ‘art’). We pretty much spent the rest of the day wandering the streets and discovering all the area had to offer.

Now lets talk about the fun part of visiting New Orleans and the French Quarter, why I’m talking about the food of course. Man you can pretty much get any kind of food to eat, 24/7 and the amounts these restaurants server are to totally to die for. The first night there we had Louisiana Barbeque, and then second night we had sushi from the only sushi restaurant in the French Quarter, then last night we had Cajun Cooking (Jambalaya, Red Beans & Rice, shrimp and crab meat stuffed mushrooms quite good). Of course during the day you had to try the pralines and cream, the Beignet’s from Café Du Monde are to die for, and Judy even got to try some famous New Oleans jumping ice cream (well actually the ice cream flew off my cone, down my arm and all down the front of Judy’s white shirt, she’s such a good sport, she just went with the flow).

The main reason for us to even be in New Orleans was that Judy had to attend a Cardiology conference to help recruit new doctors for her placement company. So while Judy was busy during the days, I got into the confrence to look around and meet with my fellow co-workers at Siemens. But also I got to explore some great shops and parks the French Quarter had to offer. It was a nice mix of both sightseeing and of physical activity since I didn’t take any mass transportation, and just walked everywhere I needed to go to. (Which made me feel good to do, since I haven’t been doing the gym as much as I would like). Well Ok, let me rephrase on the mass transit thing. To get to one of the places I did go to I had to take a ferry across the Mississippi River. (Very short 15 minute ride each way, nothing like Seattle Ferry's), The place I went was ‘Blaine Kern’s Mardi Gras World!’ One of the major builders of floats and props for the famous New Orleans Mardi Gras parades. I didn’t really know what to expect going on the tour (it had recommened by David, so I didn't know what to expect), but it ended up being the actual factory / warehouse where they build and store all the different props year round for the big event. The sheer size and variety of objects is alone worth the price of admission but then to see them actually being worked on, and also to have the chance to try on the big heads, and costumes from the parade, made the tour worth it. A must visit if you ever get to New Orleans.

Overall the visit to New Orleans has been great, it was fun to finally get down here and see what all the hubbub is all about. Usually when I do come to a city to visit, I always have in my mind, “could I live here?” and New Orleans is not one of those cities (I think Lincoln Nebraska was another one on that No list.) Don’t get me wrong. After three or four days I was ready to leave. New Orleans was an interesting city, but I’m not sure it has all that much to offer for me, but I was pretty confined to downtown and French Quarter. So I would want to see more of other parts of the city. It’s like if you could only see downtown Seattle and Pioneer Square would I be interested in that city, ummmm let me rephrase that, it’s what I did on my first visit there, and ended up staying in the Pacific Northwest for almost 10 years, So anyway. It was a fun trip, here are the pictures below, have fun. (I'll add pop up's to larger versions in the next few days).

Have lots of other stuff to talk on but will cut it here for tonight. Hope you all are doing well.

Peace

Mike

Day 1	Click on Images Below For Larger Images
Day 2 & 3

March 5th

Man what a difference a week makes, last week we had temperatures here in Atlanta in the low 30’s and snow and sleet. (And boy I thought the drivers here were bad in the rain, you haven’t seen anything till you see them in the snow here). Now lets fast-forward a week, yesterday was 78 degrees and humid. Today was even worse with it being in the mid 70’s and very muggy. It’s incredible how much the temperatures can change in little under a week. We went from the dead winter to late spring almost overnight. No wonder everyone and their brother are getting sick. Wonder if the whole spring will be this way?

Lately I have been very very busy working on multiple projects and getting a major lack of sleep, but when I do sleep it’s been a very deep sleep, and I have been finding most mornings have been a little bit of a challenge to get up and going. On Tuesday morning, it was one of those mornings and I guess when the alarm went off, I kind of hit the snooze bar, and fell back into a deep sleep. Of course after 9 minutes the alarm went back off and this time I didn’t budge. I was in some kind of dream and somehow my subconscious picked up the DJ’s from the morning show on the radio. So for the next twenty minutes or so I was dreaming that I was the one of the DJ’s talking on the radio, doing the interviews, and was doing a damm good job. Everyone was going great until they had to play a song by Justin Timberlake and was jarred awake rather quickly. (Something in the guy’s voice just makes me cringe). It was such a weird feeling going from being in a bright radio studio, to finding myself in my dark bedroom staring at the ceiling. I think it took me at least an hour to get it into my head that it wasn’t real.

Anyway I’m calling it a night, it’s really hot in my apartment and I still have to pack for tomorrow morning. Judy and I are heading to New Orleans for a few days. I’ll try and do a daily update (including pictures) from the Big Easy. It will be very cool exploring the a new city, I have heard really good stuff about it down there. I might even try to catch the Vampire tour and meet Lestat himself. Hope you have a great weekend; I’ll have some Ett Tu Fe and Jambalaya in your honor.

Peace

Mike

March 1st

Well I had these plans to write about the Academy Awards show last night, I sat up through the whole thing writing down all the different categories and watching every winner give some really lame speeches. Ever since my late teens I have enjoyed watching the movie industries night to shine. But this year was the first year that I felt actual pain in watching it. I even at times was tempted to turn it off or start playing a PS2 game. (Right now very heavy into the new Ratchet and Clank game, yeah Judy got it for William as a Chanukah gift but I’m playing it more then him, and boy dose it rock).

So anyway, unless you were living under a rock you know that Lord of the Rings: Return of the King basically made history in becoming the first fantasy movie to win the best picture category, and also tied with the most wins every in Academy Awards history (11 awards) tying them with Titanic and Ben Hurr. Congrats to Peter Jackson and gang for winning all the awards, his trilogy totally deserved it, and this made up for the snub the previous two films received in the past two years. I never knew that so many people lived in New Zealand till I heard all the thank you speeches.

The show itself showed no real surprise, or actual life itself, there were a few minor highlights throughout the show. Most of the actors went through their moves and the speeches were very generic. No real headline grabbing speeches, just the Thanking of mom, everyone in New Zealand and their Dog.

The few highlights to me were:

• Mitch and Mickey Performing A Kiss At the End of the Rainbow (would of preferred the song Mighty Wind but probably couldn’t get the whole cast)
• Jack Black and Will Farrel – Singing the words to the walk off music
• Adrian Brody - His Introduction of the Best Actress category was classic.
• Bill Murray – Introducing ‘Lost In Translation’ for best picture was most appropriate, with his usual dry wit and sarcasm (and boy did he look disappointed when he lost to Sean Penn for best actor).
• I still liked the Billy Crystal montage at the beginning of the show, but it’s starting to show it’s age (ok I did really like the bit with Michael Moore yelling at the Hobbits about the war and then getting crushed by Elephant creature from RTK).
• Was proud that Peter Jackson actually dressed for awards show (well he was wearing a tie).

Would be too many bad things to list, but overall was just bored with the telecast.

Ok one last thing before I head out, Just curious, I’m thinking about adding a message board to the web site, would you guys be interested in posting messages on the site?

Ok that’s it for tonight; hope everything is bright and shiny (they are calling for temps in the 70’s here this week, gosh and it’s only March 1st, ok I can get used to that).

Peace

Mike