Went out to the Empty Bottle to catch The Beauty Shop. Still one of my favorite bands. John Hoeffleur’s unique voice always takes me places. Sometimes to glory and sometime to the depths of despair, but where ever the destination, each song is a hell of a ride. It was nice to see Eric Fisher, formerly with Lorenzo Goetz, playing with the band. There is some amazing music coming out of Champaign/Urbana lately. I think someone should check the water (and then bottle it and spread the magic).

I had never thought about the prospect of loving a battery, but now that I have my new laptop battery I am smitten. It is giving my laptop over 4-5 hours power. It wasn’t even this good when it was brand new. Now I can get a couple more years out of my favorite laptop. 🙂

Don’t know if I caught the flu or if I ate something bad, but I am very sick right now. Hope it is a short one. Trying (and failing) to get some sleep.

Heath Ledger is dead tonight. Went to writing class tonight and heard the news from the other writers. It is sad to hear someone has died so young. It is even worse when you think of his 2 year old daughter.

I feel for Heath’s family tonight.

It was Martin Luther King day today. Sometimes I wonder how far race relations have come. I used to think that it was just the older generation that was clinging to old beliefs, but I have met some people from my generation who still haven’t caught on. I feel like things are moving in the right direction, but it saddens me that it is still a long way ahead.

I wonder what this means for Obama. It seems like the Clintons are trying to paint him as the black candidate. I have always seen him as more than just his race, but I guess it helps to win an election to make your opponents smaller.

I have had this 12″ PowerBook for the last few years and I think that it is the best computer that I have ever used. It is getting a little long in the tooth though, and I was hoping to replace it soon. It was my hope that the MacBook Air would be the replacement that I was looking for, but it doesn’t have what I need. I figured that I would send Steve Jobs an email and let him know of my displeasure. Got an email back from one of his email people that said that I should give the Air another look. The problem is that I have given it a chance and it just doesn’t work for me.

Here is what I want in a laptop: 12″ Screen, Full Keyboard, Metal Construction, Low Power Consumption, Long Battery Life (8 hours would be great), a Firewire and USB port, and an ExpressCard slot. What I don’t need is an Optical Drive, Ethernet Port, or the Fastest Processor.

Sounds a lot like a 12″ MacBook Pro if they would ever make one. Come on Apple, you can do it.

Instead of a new laptop, I just bought a new battery for my current one. One of the reasons for this is that I have decided to move all of my writing to the laptop. In the past I have done all of my creative writing on paper and transfered it the laptop when it was done. I have too much to do in my life to waste time with the double effort. I’ll see how it works out.

It was so, so, so cold today. I didn’t even want to go out. I got frost bite on my ears when I was a kid, and I can still feel it sometimes when I go out in the cold.

Bobby Fischer died a couple of days ago. He was a tremendous chess player. Kind of nuts, and had a lot of views later on in life that got him in trouble, but the kid could play chess. One of my favorite movies is Searching for Bobby Fischer. I like the idea of chasing excellence but still taking time to have fun. I guess that I miss chess a little also. I haven’t played a good game in years. It used to be a big part of my life in my high school days. I look forward to playing chess with the kid someday. That was something that I always pictured myself doing with my child.

Sam the Butcher from The Brady Bunch died today. Television is such an essential part of our lives. We bring these people into our lives every week and they become a part of the family. We know that they are just characters, but they are real is some way. This is just a thanks to all of my television friends. Thanks to all of the people involved in bringing them to us.

What a wonderful pronoun. So much better than “it.” Virginia went in for an ultrasound today and found out that “it” is a she. I know that Virginia had a strong suspicion that it was a girl all along, and I guess that I have been assuming that myself (but nice to get confirmation). Makes it easier to know.

Don’t know why I thought about the Elvis Costello song, “She,” when I heard the news, but I do love that song. It is from the movie Notting Hill. A Hugh Grant movie that I love (as if there was a Hugh Grant movie that I didn’t love). Also has Julia Roberts, which isn’t too bad. Virginia and I watched the movie early on in our relationship. It is interesting how things come around in life.

I did a little research about the song and it turns out that the Elvis Costello version was a cover originally released by Charles Aznavour. It reached #1 on the billboard charts in 1974 (the year I was born). Fun fact.

It is a love song, but it has a lot of uncertain qualities about it. I guess that I am feeling a lot of uncertain things myself. I was very happy to hear the news today. I didn’t really think that it would do much for me, but I guess I was wrong. Seems like there might be a lot of surprises in store for me in the coming years.

Here are the lyrics for the song.

She may be the face I can’t forget
The trace of pleasure or regret
Maybe my treasure or the price I have to pay
She may be the song that summer sings
May be the chill that autumn brings
May be a hundred different things
Within the measure of a day

She may be the beauty or the beast
May be the famine or the feast
May turn each day into a Heaven or a Hell
She may be the mirror of my dreams
A smile reflected in a stream
She may not be what she may seem
Inside her shell….

She, who always seems so happy in a crowd
Whose eyes can be so private and so proud
No one’s allowed to see them when they cry
She maybe the love that cannot hope to last
May come to me from shadows in the past
That I remember ’till the day I die

She maybe the reason I survive
The why and wherefore I’m alive
The one I care for through the rough and ready years

Me, I’ll take the laughter and her tears
And make them all my souvenirs
For where she goes I’ve got to be
The meaning of my life is
She….She
Oh, she….

And for those of you who don’t know the movie or song here is a YouTube video:

I have some friends who say they are open minded. They can have an opinion, listen to valid arguments, and then change their mind to the new idea. The point is that they always believe things to be one way or the other, but can change between them. I have a different idea of open mindedness. There are a lot of times that I have many thoughts that contradict each other, but I am able to hold them in my mind without having to choose one or the other. It is especially essential when dealing with other people to be able to do this. There are always mixed feelings. Sometimes I can love and hate at the same time. I have had times where I can understand where people are coming from with out feeling the same way.

Sorry for the ramble.

Went out to a new place in Bucktown tonight. It was a drunken blast. Jamie (my new best friend) and I happened to get a table and were joined by many fun people sharing the table the rest of the night. Here to Nat-a-hoe, John who is Clayton, couple of Davids, and other people who’s name I have forgotten.

Life is good.