A Team Of Scientists

Fascination Forever

noreply@blogger.com (brian) — Tue, 08 Jul 2008 04:59:00 +0000

Here's to three years of A Team of Scientists, est. 7/2005. Wouldn't you know it; in the interim I've managed to live up to the moniker.

Hooray!

Holy

noreply@blogger.com (brian) — Tue, 01 Jul 2008 06:45:00 +0000

I just watched Ingmar Bergman's Winter Light and it's kinda tedious watching really old movies that are black & white and foreign but when the priest gives the sermon to an empty church at the end it's so powerful that it really doesn't matter.

DON'T

noreply@blogger.com (brian) — Fri, 20 Jun 2008 01:45:00 +0000

Maybe you can help me decide, who's the bigger girl?

Okay so the Farmers' Market here has a stand called Flaco's where they sell vegetarian Mexican food and it's so good that I'm stumped sitting here searching for a way to describe how good it is. IT'S SO GOOD. The fact that I am guaranteed cuisine like this every Thursday after work makes me want to laugh and cry at the same time, I'm so lucky.

World Champion

noreply@blogger.com (brian) — Thu, 19 Jun 2008 03:14:00 +0000

Judah Friedlander is the world's greatest athlete.

Photographic evidence of how geology I am.

Saturday is the l o n g e s t day of the year! Erin and I are going to have an adventure, a pool party, and a feast in celebration (sorry, but you weren't invited).

A Cry For Help

noreply@blogger.com (brian) — Thu, 12 Jun 2008 04:42:00 +0000

I wish I knew how to write my own code and build a blog from scratch. Blogger has been exceedingly terrible lately, and I'd rather not deal with this. Here's hoping this will even publish...

My Street

noreply@blogger.com (brian) — Tue, 03 Jun 2008 06:11:00 +0000

My room.

View from the top of the street (note Golden Gate Br.)

View from the top of the street.

Notes on a New Life

noreply@blogger.com (brian) — Mon, 02 Jun 2008 06:16:00 +0000

I'm mostly moved in to my new place in Berkeley, a sort of shared ground-floor double-studio in a very nice part of town. I'm starting my new job on Thursday and hoping to orient myself a little before then; this is possibly the most frightening, exhilarating, self-sufficient thing I've faced. Starting college (and, perhaps moreso, spending a year in Edinburgh) was hard, and though I made it through successfully I can appreciate that much of that success can be attributed to the friends and peers in it with me.

Now, as if for the first time, I'm alone. Erin said moving me in today was like dropping me off at summer camp; I couldn't agree more. I don't know what to do except wonder at my surroundings and wait for things to kick in-- though I'm not so naive as to expect a noticeable kick.

Today I ran up the road to try to find Grizzly Peak, but it never really appeared. I ran and ran and ran-- but the road would just climb higher and higher and higher ahead of me. The sun started to set so I had to turn around after climbing for an hour, and I would have felt defeated were it not for the view from nearly every cross street looking out over the Bay. San Francisco's compact skyline, the Golden Gate Bridge, the breadth of the Bay, and the most beautiful thing on Earth: the Pacific Ocean. I forgot to bring my batteries, but as soon as I do there will be photos.

When The Lights Go Out

noreply@blogger.com (brian) — Wed, 21 May 2008 05:59:00 +0000

Technically, the lights were never on.

We bowed out of the playoff race tonight, and I'm at a loss for graceful words to mark the occasion. We were beat, badly, but I'd like to think we went out in style-- laughing, shouting, swinging. The opposition consisted of mutants who were in all likelihood in the wrong league to begin with, but that's what it was. I'm extremely proud of all of us.

Heretic Pride! Spacedockers 2008

I Will Not Sing a Hateful Song

noreply@blogger.com (brian) — Tue, 13 May 2008 05:37:00 +0000

I will not sing a hateful song
Though it's in me to sing
I know to drink the blood is wrong
And undue error brings

I'm always losing sight of intentions I still feel strongly about and it distresses me. Then, mercifully, I'm reminded through some small thing or other to be a little more gracious. This time it's a(nother) rock album, with simple and resonant reminders to do what you can do, and not sing that hateful song. And, just like that, I feel refreshed.

***

Happy Birthday Erin! I can't wait to see you.

Happy Birthday Daniel Kai Switzer! I can't wait to see you, too!

Like,

noreply@blogger.com (brian) — Mon, 12 May 2008 07:42:00 +0000

The Hills season ends tonight, and I'm glad. The past four weeks have been utterly eventless, seeing Heidi & Spencer take off, separate but so together, to plumb the depths of vapidity as Lauren and Lo continue a weird, confusing quest to ostracize the same housemate they wanted so badly a week ago. If you followed any of that, be sure to check out Audrina Patridge: The 7 Wonders of the World.

Happy Birthday Melissa!

noreply@blogger.com (brian) — Fri, 09 May 2008 06:56:00 +0000

Everybody meet Eliza, the lady-cruiser I finished for Mel's birthday:

a little steel wool and she'll be good as new!

Sunday Night Lights IV

noreply@blogger.com (brian) — Thu, 08 May 2008 07:49:00 +0000

We defeated an admirably gracious bunch on Sunday, to the tune of 26-0. Since there is no mercy rule in Co-ed B League Softball we relied on the clemency of our hearts to bring the lop-sided game, and our fantastic regular season, to an end.

Once again we find ourselves atop the heap, this time with a well-earned (maybe) hall-pass to the second round of playoffs.

Regular season record: 4-0-0

***

Despite hiking the loop in reverse (it makes a difference in this case), Bald Mountain at Sugarloaf Ridge State Park is a surprisingly neat excursion. Thanks to Erin for this and the other wonderful days in Santa Rosa.

***

The weirdly benign stress that has been accumulating over the past week-plus is coming to a head, and what's stranger is the way it manifests itself. With the job hunt becoming infinitely more real (and really twisted) and an onslaught of birthdays, special days, and days to get things done I've found myself organizing and cleaning and being generally productive at hours that belie my truly exhausted state. I've wanted to go to bed for the past four hours but I just can't. Save me!

Sunday Night Lights III

noreply@blogger.com (brian) — Tue, 29 Apr 2008 06:19:00 +0000

0 outs
1 walk
1 single
1 double
1 catch
2 assists
2 runs

Sunday's game was a walk in the park. Seriously. I didn't have to run once.

The photo below was taken by me, yesterday, on our picnic in the park. Click it to zoom and you will find that the blurry object in the center is a goose. A very angry Canadian Goose, chasing the photographer. If you don't know (I didn't), those things run fast and even take flight in an attempt to drive you away from their goslings. And if they catch you? Beaked to death.

shit was scary!

Sunday Night Lights II Redux

noreply@blogger.com (brian) — Fri, 25 Apr 2008 06:38:00 +0000

It went like this:

*Our team was told that we forfeited our last game, because one of our players wasn't a registered student. How could this be!? We couldn't afford to lose that game.

*The situation reverts to a tie when our player proves her eligibility. Thank God.

*The opposing team informs us that they forfeited, because one of their players was ineligible due to playing for a second team in our league.

So, our official record: 2-0-0

And our standing? Well, why don't you see for yourself. That's us at the top of our division. Oh, and that #1 ranking? It pertains to the entire league. Of 54 teams.

amiright??

noreply@blogger.com (brian) — Thu, 24 Apr 2008 06:54:00 +0000

Lars and the Real Girl is truly a work of art. To make a film about a troubled man and his sex doll companion is ridiculous, but for it to be fantastic, empathetic and even tasteful? Well, that's crazier.

click it to big it

Ducks are gross and when they approach you it's creepy. Baby ducks are cute and when they attack you it's adorable.

Sunday Night Lights II

noreply@blogger.com (brian) — Mon, 21 Apr 2008 17:41:00 +0000

We got shelled in the first few innings, and I had abandoned hope. All of us had, actually. To make matters worse, the ump consistently missed calls-- badly, and in their favor. Perhaps as a reparation he let us play a final sixth inning, the bottom of which I began with a leadoff single. I eventually came around to score only our third run, and there were still no outs. Half our lineup scored, and a quick recalculation showed the score to be 8-6 in their favor. Two outs and two runs later, I was up again. Victory had escaped us with a close play at home and a groundout, and I found myself at the plate in that most exhilarating of situations: tie game, two down, winning run in scoring position. What we imagine ourselves in during games of daydream baseball-- self-affirmation in a cut just above the infield's glove, the victory, the celebration! The first pitch was a fat slice of pie and I sent it, with everything in me, in a laser beam to short. Lined out. Tie-game, 8 all. We had mounted an admirable comeback, and we didn't lose, but damn if I couldn't stop replaying that at-bat afterward.

Midseason record: 1-0-1

Sunday Night Lights

noreply@blogger.com (brian) — Mon, 14 Apr 2008 06:49:00 +0000

Our IM softball team won our opening game in wondrous fashion, showing both commanding athleticism and easy style. Certainly a portent of things to come.

I was thinking, and bear with me: Free Darko proves, with buckets of words, that basketball is indeed a transcendent game. The tired "basketball-as-jazz" argument presented in language as free-wheeling and psychological as the game itself, it has in no small way reformed and cemented my love of the game. Baseball, though, has never needed a single word to convince anybody of its transcendence (whose disparate elements words can only tie together so well, besides). Really, it's in the way baseball is lived, its dependence on so much more than the 18 players. The way it brings fans to a common level, regardless of generation or background, and how we enjoy the moment, the day, the summer, the season-- instead of simply watching the show. Spectacle does not a ballgame make, and it's this understanding which surrounds the game with the unique, slow wonder that we share when experiencing baseball, no matter in which capacity.

Record: 1-0-0

***

A gift for those who made it through that last paragraph: a few new photos at Flickr.

It's Hot In The Poor Places Tonight.

noreply@blogger.com (brian) — Sun, 13 Apr 2008 07:11:00 +0000

-- If you wish to start over for any reason, enter the Start Over Code, *0# (Jeanie will cancel any transaction you have in progress) --

*0#
*0#
*0#
*0#
*0#
*0#.

The Devil Bowed His Head Because He Knew That He'd Been Beat

noreply@blogger.com (brian) — Thu, 10 Apr 2008 20:02:00 +0000

"The Devil Went Down To Georgia" shows Charlie Daniels to be a gifted musician, but unfortunately Mr. Daniels & friends are poor scientists.

There is nothing more frustrating.

Photostream

noreply@blogger.com (brian) — Wed, 09 Apr 2008 07:44:00 +0000

I have a Flickr account now. There are only a few photos up at the moment, and I'll let you know when I post more. Check out the Big Sur set for a glimpse into my WiLD sPRinG BReAk 2K8!!!

My first real job interview is tomorrow (today)-- eek!

I Could Get Used To This

noreply@blogger.com (brian) — Thu, 03 Apr 2008 08:22:00 +0000

Dinner at Millennium (vegetarian, expensive, in the Hotel California for chrissakes) in SF exceeded all expectations. I usually pretend to be a foodie at times like these, but this was without question an extraordinary meal. Also my first experience with tempeh, and it will probably never be topped.

My introduction to martinis, a Top of the Mark at the Top of the Mark, went pretty well too.

Thanks, Rumbergers!

Take Two (And Call Us In The Morning)

noreply@blogger.com (brian) — Fri, 21 Mar 2008 05:50:00 +0000

Whoever stole Erik's bike is gonna pay. I have begun a strict push-up regimen in anticipation of finding, confronting, and kicking that person's ass. Also I hear push-ups are the ultimate fitness test. (thx EK)

I think finals may get out as late as 10:30pm, as I passed a steady stream of bikes on my way to campus to work tonight. I also think that, as mindless as the pedaling masses are during the day, the onset of darkness makes these people at least 80% more retarded. At first they were nearly killing me, and by the end I was trying to kill them (or at least scare them into falling).

Here's a tip: get off your g.d. phone, buy a light and stay in your lane. I'm going home.

It's Me, Daniel London

noreply@blogger.com (brian) — Thu, 20 Mar 2008 07:50:00 +0000

Old Joy was exactly the slow, quiet, small movie I hoped it would be. A meditation on love in friendship, forgotten and strained by time and change but still present-- worn, as the title implies. Beautiful, and not unlike Junebug, another favorite with a penchant for long pauses and a perfect Yo La Tengo soundtrack.

I took a color quiz a while back, maybe you tried it too. I came across it and tried again, and the results were just as accurate. I don't remember exactly what it said; something to the tune of 'feels powerless, stressed, just wants love.' Basically, it's time to get something going-- I have no right to feel hopeless.

DO

noreply@blogger.com (brian) — Tue, 26 Feb 2008 04:03:00 +0000

As in, "DO-n't take any shit from anybody." Especially your friends.

DON'T

noreply@blogger.com (brian) — Tue, 26 Feb 2008 03:50:00 +0000

On your left, you goofy-ass giant-baby.
Also, get off the sidewalk Melissa.