Bryan Strawser

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Archives for February 2004

Building a Mystery

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You come out at night
That’s when the energy comes
And the dark side’s light
And the vampires roam
You strut your rasta wear
And your suicide poem
And a cross from a faith
That died before jesus came
You’re building a mystery

You live in a church
Where you sleep with voodoo dolls
And you won’t give up the search
For the ghosts in the halls
You wear sandals in the snow
And a smile that won’t wash away
Can you look out the window
Without your shadow getting in the way
Oh you’re so beautiful
With an edge and a charm
But so careful
When I’m in your arms

– Sarah Mclachlan

Four Seasons in One Day

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Four seasons in one day
Lying in the depths of your imagination
Worlds above and worlds below
The sun shines on the black clouds hanging over the domain

Even when you’re feeling warm
The temperature could drop away
Like four seasons in one day

Smiling as the shit comes down
You can tell a man from what he has to say
Everything gets turned around
And I will risk my neck again, again

You can take me where you will
Up the creek and through the mill
All the things you can’t explain
Four seasons in one day

Blood dries up
Like rain, like rain
Fills my cup
Like four seasons in one day

It doesn’t pay to make predictions
Sleeping on an unmade bed
Finding out wherever there is comfort there is pain
Only one step away
Like four seasons in one day

Blood dries up
Like rain, like rain
Fills my cup
Like four seasons in one day

– Crowded House

The Real Issues

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As usual, Citizen Smash outlines the real issues involved in this election.

I read through Bush’s records from the national guard today on calpundit and other sites, I don’t see the issue here. Smash outlines it quite well in his post about this issue.

Are we going to have yet another election as usual or a real debate about real issues. He’s got some good ones listed below… Read on..

I’d like both candidates to address the over-utilization of the Guard and Reserves. I’ve already spent eight months in the Sandbox – are they going to send me back? Why are some reserve units serving fifteen month tours, while the active duty guys spend a year or less in Iraq? What gives?

Senator Kerry voted to authorize the war in Iraq, but only (as he claims) to give the President more leverage to negotiate. At what point would Kerry have committed to military action? Would a French or Russian veto in the United Nations have deterred him? Would he get down on his hands and knees and beg for Chirac’s approval? Or am I to assume that if Kerry were President today, Saddam would still be in power? Would the sanctions against Iraq still be in force? How about the Oil-for-Food program? Would Libya and Iran still be working on nuclear weapons?

Would Kerry have taken the same military action against al Qaeda in Afghanistan? What if Pakistan had refused military overflight rights? Would he have responded with cruise missiles? Or perhaps a subpoena?

I’d also like to know if President Bush is committed to go after other state sponsors of terrorism. How do we address the problems of Syria and Iran, who openly sponsor Hezbollah? Will we consider an expedition into the Bekaa Valley? How about Yemen? Pakistan? Egypt? Saudi Arabia? How far are we willing to go?

These are real issues – forget that 1970s crap.

Concise Summary of President Bush on Meet the Press

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An excellent summary of Bush’s appearance on Meet the Press from Wonkette, courtesy of Citizen Smash:

[W]ar against the terrorists . . . war against terrorists . . . war against terror. . . Yeah. . . Yeah. . . . this war on terror. . . fight the war on terror. . . . Yeah. . . . this is all in the context of war. . . war against terror. . . . this war on terror. . . Yeah. . . . Yeah. . . . the war on terror.  . . . the war is against terrorists . . . Yeah . . . Um hmm. . . . war against these terrorists. . . the war against terror. . . Yeah. . . . Yeah. . . Yeah.  . . . Yeah.  . . . Yeah. . . Um hmm. . . Um hmm. . . . we are at war. . . Yeah. . . Yeah. . . . I want to lead this great country to work with others to change the world in positive ways, particularly as we fight the war on terror. . . . Thank you, Tim.

Adventures with Remodeling

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Two things have been the source of inspiration for me when it comes to looking at changing the colors and layout of the house lately.

The first was the runaway hit Queer Eye for the Straight Guy. I enjoy the show, not just for the humorous content, but for the great examples of fashion, decor, and home interiors.

Particularly home interiors.

The house, when purchased in January 2001, is covered in a cream colored paint in every room (except for one baby blue bathroom), and a dark stained wood for all window trim on the interiors. What I saw on Queer Eye made me want to paint and rearrange and generally tear up the interior of the house, room by room.

The second thing that has inspired me was a waterleak in my basement ceiling that occurred on Christmas Day, while I had family in town. Because of this, i’ve had to do alot of drywall work and painting in the basement. Once you get started on stuff like this, it’s hard to stop.

So recently the paint section at Home Depot starting calling my name – and after consulting with a variety of different paint catalogs, settled on Aegean Blue and Sneaker White from the Ralph Lauren Home Collection. They seemed perfect for the guest bedroom…

So, with the selection made, I began masking off and painting away. I do believe that the person that invented the trim brush should win a medal.

Trim Painting taxes my patience.

But the end result, after a brief shopping trip to Target for art and accessories, is priceless.

I still have to paint the doors, the closet doors, and the inside portion of the windows. And, still have pictures to frame and add in.. but the bulk of the work is done.

Now… what room is next?

Additional Pictures Available as well.

Keep On Lovin’ You

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You should’ve seen by the look in my eyes, baby
There was somethin missin
You should’ve known by the tone of my voice, maybe
But you didn’t listen
You played dead
But you never bled
Instead you lay still in the grass
All coiled up and hissin

And though I know all about those men
Still I don’t remember
Cause it was us baby, way before then

– Reo Speedwagon, “Keep On Lovin’ You”

Dooce: Our Little Frog Baby

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Dooce has had her daughter:

Some women say that their babies look like opossum, gerbil or other type of lovable rodent. Ours looks like a frog.

[…]

Leta has had a pretty remarkable life full of poopy diapers and several successful attempts at feeding at The Trough of Mama.