Music game

Step 1: Put your music player on shuffle.
Step 2: Post the first line from the first 25 songs that play, no matter how embarrassing
Step 3: People guess and leave feedback and I will strike through the songs when someone guesses both artist and track correctly.
Step 4: Looking them up on Google or any other search engine is CHEATING!
Step 5: If you like the game, post your own.
Step 6: After a week, any songs left, I'll just post the answers in a follow up.
Bonus for corect guesses of the songs in German.


1. Was, du willst heute nicht kommen? erzähl davon später bloß nichts deinen Kindern

2. Few creatures of the night have fascinated us like vampires.

3. Wish I were with you, but I couldn’t stay

4. Du sagst du willst Frieden und nie wieder Krieg

5. Life is one big road, with lots of signs

6. Seems like only yesterday, life belonged to runaways

7. I can’t escape this hell, so many times I’ve tried

8. I feel better now I’ve seen you but deep inside my bones feel like timber

9. I try to make it through my life in my ways with you

10. Du erkennst mich nicht wieder.

11. I’m sitting in a crowded room

12. I need an alarm system in my house

13. Telling Layla Story spoken, about all her bones are broken

14. The first duty of man is to collect as many things as he can

15. Eveline grips the railing as her lover calls her to the sea

16. Streets like a jungle, so call the police

17. On a cobweb afternoon

18. When you’re on, I swear you’re on

19. How long before I get in?

20. I walk the streets where I regret all

21. Du, du hast, …

22. I've come to decide that the things I’ve tried will ruin my life just to get high on

23. Alpha step, omega step, kappa step, sigma step, gangsters walk, pimp’s gonna talk, oh hecky ya'll this boy is raw

24. War is overdue, the child has come for you

25. Clean shirt, new shoes, I don’t know where I’m going to

Well, time to check out the ole google stuffs.

I remember years ago that Muddled Ramblings featured blurbs(scroll down to christmas eve) about what searches hit frequently, or with odd queries. Since I'm just waiting for the laundry machines to be free, I'll just try to reproduce something along those lines, with lot's o those shiny links to click on!

So, we have a search that is appearing frequently this week: Real Turkeys. Those clicks must be from determined googlers, I'm not on the first page! I'm not even on the first 5 pages. I can only guess that they land on this page.

Next up is the search on Murphy's Mule Barn, which is a great little joint in north Albuquerque. Try it if you're in the area and hugry for good comfort eats. My little rave is number one in the search rankings! How awesome.

Now, another one that comes up often is a search for a Philmont Skit. The funny thing is that I haven't been there in years and I'm still seventh in the rankings! I guess that means that the traditions haven't changed much since I was there. Here's where I posted things about it.

I also get hit with a particular multi-media search time and time again. It even fits the car I own and the loaner I had before it. I am number one for the image search for Rocky Jeep, and, get this, I am number two for the web search for Rocky Jeep! Both searches lead to this page featuring Grandma's jeep. I am also number four in the google.com.tr search for racky jeep.

I could also get the typos coming, but I haven't yet. I typed (2 hlurs) in the recent post abouth getting to santa barbara with teh Arizona State University sailing club. So, I found that when I search for (2 hlurs) santa barbara, I come up in second! Now, why would anyone be searchoing for (2 hlurs) santa barbara? I don't know, but I might jump to number one sometime after this post goes up. In the same vein, I come up in second for (2 hlurs) weget, since that was another typo in that post.

Special assignment: tell me what a weget is, and what it has to do with (2 hlurs) or Santa Barbara.

Of course, in addition to the google searches, I do get referals from places that happen to feature a link to here. These include It's Five O'Clock Somewhere, Desert Sea, Fuego's Place and, of course, Myspace and Facebook,(who really don't need links on thier own, but get them anyway).

Well, so much for all the googlieness of this. I'm flying home on thanksgiving day, wich is in this very week, so I might or might not post before then. Who knows, I might have more photos of New Mexico or the Gila Monster. I might even have pictures of a cat sedated by quantities of turkey.

Night Drive

Cruising to Santa Barbara
Well, this friday has been a long day.
I of course went to all my classes (yes, both of them), and then came the drive. Studio took forever to come, and when it did, it took forever to pass. I dipped out a few minutes early, and with Kruser’s blessing, I took off for the coast. Eventually, that is. Several carloads of people were to come out from ASU. My ride wasn’t scheduled to leave until six. I just had to bike over to my dorm from studio to get my bag, then walk to the M.U. to meet Andy, Ioana and Red. We piled into the four-runner, and we took off for the airport, to get a more economical car at an airport rental agency that did not try harder. They wouldn’t let us leave a vehicle there, so we had to take the rental and convoy back into Tempe to deposit the four-runner in a secure, undisclosed location. Well, just one problem: the undisclosed location was being set up for a party.
So, we eventually got to Santa Barbara, and now it’s time for some (2 hlurs) sleep before weget up in the new time zone to get to try for some sailing.

Wow jeff

Well, jeff wanted a massage. Hands just didn't do the job, so Jon was recruited. Actually, jon's feet were recruited for the job. geraldo
Alltel has no control over, and is not responsible for, the content or use of this picture or the accompanying personal message.

Hayden Butte at Night

Hayden Butte at Night, originally uploaded by Gerald5970.

This is the same sort of deal as below, but in full color. I found that even without the moonlight, the butte was lit well enough to see even at midnight. The color is more orange from the glare of the city than it normally is. Sorry about the graininess, but with film, I don't get to review what happened until a few days after I finish the roll. So, If you have a decent digital SLR, and you're thinking about upgrading to a better one, or if you have a digital SLR camera and you found it's not your style, or if you just have a camera you don't want for any circumstances, just drop me an email. Or leave a comment on the page for this post. I'd love to hear from you!

P.S. To any Parents, Grandparents, Aunts, Uncles, Other Relatives and Family Friends: Christmas is coming up, and fancy digital SLR cameras make great gifts for starving college students!

Hayden Butte

Hayden Butte, originally uploaded by Gerald5970.

This is Hayden Butte, aka "A Mountain" at night in the glow of the city. Airplanes fly by frequently.

Tempe Night Intersection

Tempe Night Intersection, originally uploaded by Gerald5970.

Here is Tempe at Night. This is the intersection of Mill Ave and Rio Salado Parkway. I found a nearby parking garage without security at night, an I went all the way to the eighth level. I just waited for the light to turn, then I held the shutter open.

First Millennial Office Holder!

Cool deal, and almost hard to believe, but I checked Sitemeter today to find that crazy 1,014!

I hadn't even been keeping track of things too much. Visitor 1,001 was in the Portsmouth, RI area.

Here is that area:

View Larger Map

This visitor came from my Profile page on Blogger, which can be googled, or clicked on from Desertsea. So, thanks to that visitor from Rhode Island! Do you happen to sail Lasers? 

So far things have been going quite smoothly here in Tempe. I've joined the sailing group, my roommate likes Jimmy Buffet, and the Ramen is cheap. I saw a great concert last night. The bass prof here can do some crazy stuff with his instrument. The recording's going to be available in the music department library within about a week, so I'll try to get ahold of that. 

A few weeks ago I met a girl at the shuttle stop at West Campus. Today we met again and after some lunch I missed the shuttle. Ok, it's just another hour to talk. She's got a six hour gap between classes, and she carpools to and from school. Now I have some local contacts, even if on the opposite side of the nations second largest metro area. Only Los Angeles metro covers more area. The city of Scottsdale is larger than Manhattan! But that's another story.

The weather is getting better, I can stand being outside now. The evenings are wonderful and cool.

 

This is based on my past experience in a car accident last spring. I am currently fine, and my current car is also ok, to the best of my knowledge. Thanks for the sympathy, but really, I repeat, I'm fine.

 

I was not going too fast, or so I thought. I was cruising, comfortable in my cocoon of steel. I knew that nothing could happen to me.  I was invincible. I was a teenager after all, and my perishability had never entered my mind. I knew nothing would happen on that hot, dry stretch of freeway.

But then it did happen. Everything happened. I couldn’t hear anything. My face was numb. Half of what I saw was just Red. Red with a capital “R”, a physical presence that was there with me. I had to look to find my hands. One was on the wheel where I left it; the other was laying on the passenger seat. My glass and steel shell was ripped to smoky shreds. I coughed and choked on the powder acridly hanging in the still, quiet air. I looked for my hands again and forced the to stop shaking enough to pick up my phone and get the door open. I fell out. My feet weren’t working, but I didn’t even question why.

As I they cleaned me up, I called my friends. I talked to different people for hours until my phone battery ran dry. I now know that anything can and will happen. My friends are not there to be taken for granted. Life, just the chance to breath again, smelling the clean New Mexico desert air is my drug; I cant’ get enough time.

Iced Coffee and Barley Soup

I sit in a small coffee joint on Mill Ave. (not the “cool” labeled end, but the segment across from the art museum, where one can walk through to various degrees, but is governed by the elemental nature of the edifice). The bitter brew revives. As the ice melts, the flavors diminish and subtler note can be heard forming a contrapuntal line to the melody of the bold body. New strains add interest and accent the harmony, while repeating the melodic theme in paraphrase. The barley soup has the body and spice to announce that this meal will be served with verve and my taste buds rejoice. Accompanying will be a peanut butter and fruit sandwich made for the gods. Crunchy, thick whole grain bread topped with smooth peanut butter, layers of impossibly thinly sliced apples and bananas drizzled with pure honey and sprinkled with walnuts: textures juxtaposed within a dynamic matrix of taste and flavor.
The barista, attractively filling her apron, happily served my food and beverage. She seems inexperienced; we discovered the menu together when I walked up. She knows how to make guests happy, though. I face the counter as I write. My current soundtrack is Apocalyptica’s When Worlds Collide, a great example of the range and flexibility of the cello as an anchor instrument in a rock band situation. The dorms were eerily quiet today, so after some translation from a topo to a project for my architecture studio, I headed out. Yesterday was the game, and the campus was filled with roaming golden clad groups of fans, cheering and celebrating.
Notes:
I sit and I drink. I have good music, and I just got another iced coffee on the house. Last night I had a completely odd dream sequence. I’ve already posted it as “Edward abbey, where art thou?” Tempe is hot, but I almost think I might be starting to get used to it. Tuesday I’ll be getting a bike, that’ll make getting around campus so much quicker, Excepting studio and sinfonietta, of course. The damage from the storm is being cleaned up. All streets are usable now, but there are still downed trees and sideways palo verde dot the cityscape.
I’ll go wander around now.

Edward Abbey, where art thou?

Hiking in N AZ

See Oil and Natural Gas drilling rigs

See dead animals in area

See small pond near rig with dead animals around

Start taking pics of dead critters

 GluttonGreesy Co. pick-up drives up

Two men get out

I start talking

One pulls out small machine gun

He shoots me

I don’t die

They drive off

I walk back to Tempe

Tempe Hospital won’t let me in because I don’t have all three forms of photo ID that guarantee citizenship and proofs of insurance

Different GluttonGreesy trucks in hospital parking lot

I call office of Congressman Udall

The guys who shot me also serve in the AZ government

Somehow I get dumped at the NM state line

A Navajo there gives me a horse and a loaded burro, with lots of food and stuff

I get to Albuquerque

New Mexico has health care

I somehow keep about 20 bullets in my body the whole time, without much pain, bleeding, or damage

I set off metal detectors in Senate office buildings in DC

I testify before congress

I have a lawsuit against the State of AZ for not treating people w/o proof of citizenship

It goes to Supreme Court

Amy Poehler is my lawyer

Hiking again in Northern AZ

Damn

Crazy storm went through the valley. Got hit by powerful wet. Wind came.

Howled. Screamed. Visibility 5. 1.5 in meters. Streets too flooded for fire engines.

Palo Verde on the ground. Uprooted and thrown against the landscape. Palm tree blocking University. Chainsaws. Trucks of branches. Windows burst. Water forced into the building through cracks: miniature fountains. Non-stop lightening to the tempe towers. World's longest lightening strike duration? More than forty seconds of contact on one bolt. Crazy damage.

Der Gila Monster

Well, I have to admit that I like this place. It's quiet and the view is great. I have great memories in this place with great people. Big juicy burgers made fresh over a juniper fire and friendships that still last. Friends I will always remember and nights I can't forget. And of course the vehicle that got me there.

At frontier

Friday, August 15, 2008 12:48 AM
Frontier Restaurant

I’m sitting at my table at the Frontier now. It’s pretty early, but I’ve been watching the Olympic sailing on Chinese TV. NBC doesn’t think that sailing is even worth their time to put onto their website.

My neighbors here are interesting: a bunch of friends gathered from around the area. The closest one is from Acoma, but the others are all from further afield. None of them have been to the Frontier before, and the Native regalia on the walls of this back room fascinate all. There are rugs form mostly modern times, and paintings on the wall depict scenes that are rarely seen in Fresno, California. I should mention that about half of this group is wearing regalia.  They are talking it  up, and it seems that there is nothing  like this  anywhere else.

This is New Mexico.

Thinking outside the Box

Thinking outside the Box

Wednesday, August 6, 2008
Santa Fe Bypass

I’ve had an interesting weekend. We started out in Abq, met with NJ, shoved a cat into an ever-smaller box, and took off. After we left the city, we let the cat out of the box. We attached a rope to her harness, so she wasn’t roaming about completely freely. She liked being able to roam, and she was ecstatic at the chance.

Have you ever seen a cat stick it’s head out the window of a car like a dog does? Let me tell you, it gets attention.

We first went to the lake upon arrival in the upper Chama Valley. NJ checked out a campsite at the top of the hill near the marina (insert google maps link here). We then proceeded, still with the cat, down to the marina.

Homeward Bound

Saturday, July 26, 2008
PHX Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport

I’m just about to be heading back to Albuquerque soon. The plane I’ll take is here, so sometime soon I’ll be on it. I am done with this trip, and I would like to stay a little longer. I didn’t even know that I’d be here two days ago. And I only need a name to board a plane, and there’s no rain, nor a plain.

Sorry about that, it sorta slipped in.

But Arizona State University is quite a place, and the people are interesting and even engaging.

Ahh, the sweet smell of...

Wednesday, July 23, 2008 7:35pm
Tempe, Arizona

Orientation is over, but tomorrow I’m taking a tour of both the music and architecture departments. I found a good little pizza place at the corner of Southern Boulevard and Mill Avenue. They even know what green chille is! Six bucks gets me a 16 in. long slice, a salad and a large drink.  Supreme satisfaction.

 

Aproaching Valley of the Sun

Monday, July 21, 2008
Frontier Restaurant

My trip is looking almost organized now. I’ve got a hotel and a flight into Phoenix, and I even have an agenda! I just lost internet here, though, so you may not be reading this until tomorrow, if I get a chance to post this in the Sunport. I’ll have been to ASU at least once by this time tomorrow, and I’ll get a chance to scope things out around Tempe. I’ll try to get a concrete hold on an Arizonan sailor, and I’ll be resting for my orientation.  The hotel I’m at claims to have Wifi, so I’m crossing my fingers and holding my thumbs.

At the moment, I’m trying to apply for campus housing, but it wants me to use something other than Safari or Mozilla, so we’ll see how it goes. And I’ve got internet, so it’s off to the blog.

Music

Friday, July 18, 2008
I-25, 10 Miles North of Albuquerque

Road Music

I find it interesting what music can do to a trip. The right music can make the difference between tedium and exhilaration.

On one memorable trip a couple weeks ago, I tuned the radio to a transmitter attached to my iPod. Dulce rejected some of the tunes, drowning them out with meows. Then, after she howled out some Eagles, Metallica came on with “Nothing Else Matters.” Surprise, Dulce liked it! She became silent and she settled down in her carrier. I had the iPod on shuffle, so as we wound our way to the north, the preference for some music became clear to us. Generally speaking, she showed a marked preference toward songs with strong bass, percussion emphasis, clear vocals and loud guitars. She didn’t like the quite, calm music as much. Now I just need to create a Pandora channel for her tastes.

Today, as we pulled onto the freeway with ZLee and his parents, the Z expressed extreme dissatisfaction with the unpleasant heat of the inside of the behemoth. Dad turned on the CD player, and the cabin was instantly filled with the sounds of Jimmy Buffet strumming and working on the opening bars of  “Son of a Sailor.” My mom’s favorite nephew settled down; within a minute he was in a sound sleep. So we now know that the proper nautical ballads are called for for the Z.

But music on the road is more than just something to please unhappy passengers.

The other day, as I was heading up to the mountains with a couple friends, the weather, always unpredictable, decided to add some interesting effects to the trip. I was in a melancholy mood that evening, and just as the heavens opened, “All Alone” by the Gorillas came on. We went and got a little mud on the tires, and there wasn’t a soul visible the whole time we were up (It wasn’t a big adventure, but it showed that big tires can really plow through the thick stuff, slide along through the thin, and they established that they can make a big splash in deep puddles). 
Jerry will testify that the right music on the open road can set you free. I like Audioslave, Die Toten Hosen, Apocalyptica, The Editors, AFI and Fettes Brot when I’m on a roll. Jimmy Buffet and more mellow tunes are for the last stretch into the lake. And I’ll even put Iron Maiden on when I’m running to the hills. I also find that some of the local radio stations have some good music. Despite being owned by Clear Channel Communications, 104.1 The Edge gets some airtime in my car. There used to be a “pirate” station, an unauthorized low-power radio station, which popped up here and there around the metro area. I‘ve got music that I bought on iTunes and music from CDs, but no particular age is emphasized. Red Hot Chile Peppers, Chance the Gardener, Three Days Grace, Finger Eleven, Flyleaf and the Beatsteaks all go well as road trip music. Franz Ferdinand, Gnarls Barkely and The Foo Fighters add their tunes to the mix.

A little more jeep

Yup. Here is some rocky jeep. Going down the stairs (see last year sometime for more). And darn you alltel for doing your weird thing with adding non-visible things to this! geraldo

Testing new jeep

Here it is at the local proving ground, where hummers are just too big to go. geraldo

Here's the other side

Here's the other side, originally uploaded by Gerald5970.

This is the view of my jeep from the left side on the rock mentioned below. Wide-angle lenses are cool, but my phone does the same thing. See how the right front wheel is floating beyond the rock?
I have an interesting strategy for getting a great lift on my jeep: I let someone else outfit their own vehicle, then when they sell it, I can scoop it up for a fraction of the cost.

I'm flexing

I'm flexing, originally uploaded by Gerald5970.

Here I am, but I left my quick disconnects connected, so the left front wheel on the big rock holds my right front off the ground. This is in the Sandia National Forrest, near the Cedro Recreation area. I like the area because of it's proximity to Albuquerque. Here's a map that show's where i'm at.
View Larger Map The edge of the clear area holds the rock my jeep is on. Long live the rocky jeep abilities!

Dad's dockmaster delivery

Wednesday, July 2, 2008

Delivering Dad

So I am on my way to Heron Lake today, because my dad’s got to do his dockmaster duty for the New Mexico Sailing Club. He’ll be there from today until Saturday at midnight, when I start my duty.

Separate note, I’ll be attending Orientation at ASU in a couple weeks, so I’m thinking that I want to have a vehicle by then. I’m looking for something reliable, with good gas mileage and also the capability of towing 1500 lbs or so. Know of anything either in Albuquerque or Tempe?

I’ll be staying in a tent this time; Syzygy is still for sale and still in Truth or Consequences.

Anyone know the whereabouts of a decent used mountain bike for sale in the Albuquerque area? That would be cool for me to use this weekend.

I’m writing as we head up, so I haven’t seen the lake yet.

South Valley

Tuesday, July 1, 2008

Today was an interesting day. I started by going to the Frontier on my way to work. I grabbed a deuce of Carne Adovada burritos and got a quick stop by the blogosphere before I had to get to the bus stop. When I take busses to work, interesting things usually happen. Today, the northeast bound 5 that was supposed to be at UNMH at 3:06 failed to arrive. And yes, I do walk across the University of New Mexico’s campus to get from the Frontier Restaurant to the hospital.
So I wound up at work at 3:45, although I was aiming for a bit sooner.

The canvass went well by percentages, but not too many doors were hit. My turf was in the South Valley, where houses are situated on largish lots with lots of space between. However, the fact that all of the people I talked to were chill with Tom Udall and that the neighborhood is friendly made up for the distance traveled. It was a good afternoon. Some rain came down, but it wasn’t to heavy, and when combined with the wind and clouds, the temperature was kept low and the enjoyment kept up. I found many people who would’ve liked to talk for a couple hours about why they like Udall over Pearce.

Colorful Colorado?

Colorado's green. Some brown, but mostly green.

Ok, I’m back from my foray into northern Colorado. We went to Lake Granby, near Rocky Mountain National park. It’s a cool area, with many shades of green present. We camped at about 8,400 feet elevation, with cool mountain air to keep us at a reasonable temperature.

Colorado’s been hit hard by bark beetles, which kill pine trees indiscriminately. The dense, overgrown forests of the region are conducive of the destruction the beetles cause. In some cases, only one tree in ten survives. For every tree left at the Stillwater Recreation Area, many logs lay upon the ground. The National Forest Service is working on managing what they can, but the state of Colorado will not pay for any new management ideas. They state that the long mismanagement by themselves led to the conditions that allowed the beetles to propagate, and that they must allow nature to thin the forests back to a pre-human-influence state. This is an interesting theory, but how are they going to remove so much dead wood and prevent a major conflagration or two?

Camping was nice, but we spent as much time getting there as we did there.

I wanted to go fishing, but the local stores at Lake Grand want cash only for licenses, and all three area ATMs were out of service. The stores will not do cash back from a debit card, but they will give cash back from at out of state check (no comprende); however, I didn’t bring a checkbook.

To get from Lake Granby to Rocky Mountain National Park, one only has to drive up the road from Granby. One passes Stillwater Reservoir, where there are some expensive houses jammed into the woods. Then comes Lake Granby, where the main attractions are go karting and horseback riding. Next, comes the park entrance, with a visitor’s center just before the gates into the Park. Trail Ridge Road runs from here up and across the park to Estes Park.

Wowo!

Wowo!

That was an interesting weekend. Friday, I had no work, so we took off for Heron Lake State Park early in the afternoon.

Did I mention that I’ve gotten a job? Yep, I’m working for Tom Udall’s senate campaign. And I don’t even need to get up early in the mornings.

Ok, back to the lake. Friday we launched a Sunfish, and I sailed to the marina. We hung out with the folks at the docks, and then we eventually went to five o’clock somewhere, where we fired up the trusty ole DVD player. Movie: The Pelican Brief, a legal-action combo. Law and Order could take a hint; have random government agencies try to off the district attorney and all the caseworkers.

We’re driving back into town now. Earlier, we stopped in El Dorado to look at a cat. That is a catamaran, not a feline. Our feline needs are fulfilled for the moment, and every mile driven with Dulce reminds us of this fact.

Today was calm for a while, and then around 1:00 it picked up. Suddenly. That was a blast. I managed not to capsize, but I found my tiller extension on the Sunfish to be too short. Later some Boy Scouts showed up. We put four of them on two boats, then both boats received an extra person to coach. I was on one while the scoutmaster was on the other. After a minute, I jumped off my boat onto the floating section of scrap marina bits. The scoutmaster stayed on the other boat with his scouts. About the time I got off my boat, they capsized. I turned the kids I was with loose upon the lake, and they did quite well, no accidents, no capsizing, and they figured out the relationship between sheet, wind, steering, and weight. They had a great time and would like to sail again.

Yesterday was for racing, but the committee boat was not where most people expected, and only three boats found it in time to start. One boat finished from each fleet. Then came potluck. I made guacamole at the marina for our contribution to the dinner. Chile Man had some habeñeros. I cut some guac to the side and added the peppers to the smaller portion. All night long people raved about the guac that would burn your taste buds to high heaven.

Almost home now. I started writing about at Budagers, which is now a movie production zone.

Poor little jeep

I encountered a alternatively aware driver a couple weeks ago. Now i'm waking everywhere i used to drive in town. I real aspeciat those curses that run frequently, like the 66 Central. That vehicle could in where very few all stock cars could, and t did so with a aptitude rarely seen. Maybe it's a jeep thing, but i feel the loss of this able car that could. Lately there haven't been too many pics of the jeep on the rocky areas, but the rocky keep won't be going far now. geraldo
Alltel has no control over, and is not responsible for, the content or use of this picture or the accompanying personal message.

Lawn leopard again

geraldo
Alltel has no control over, and is not responsible for, the content or use of this picture or the accompanying personal message.