I am happily settled in Columbia, Mo., and my move couldn't have gone better. My car, which has driven all across California several times as well as all the way from Ohio, arrived safe in sound in the same state from which I embarked nearly three years ago. The move was kind of hectic but after some TLC, my new apartment is positively fabulous. I'm getting oriented and trying to find my footing here academically and professionally, but for the most part things are going well. I should be really excited, but to be honest, I feel so subdued. It's just me, after all. I'm just waiting for the fun to begin.

One thing I've been working on for several weeks is a new blog. I'm moving from MovableType to WordPress and I'm launching this week. I plan on bloggin a lot more (I know, you've heard that before), but this time I mean it. I have more time, I think, and I am anxious to sharpen my blogging prowess. I want to become a more respected voice on politics, news, film and all the crazy junk I write about. And I want to grow in a lot of other different ways too. We'll see, I guess.

Anyways, thanks for reading and hopefully you'll be reading more and more! Expect some downtime, but in no time everything will be up at nicksblog.net.

Thanks!

Posted by Nick at 08:17 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Three years ago, I began a new chapter in my life when my college experience ended. On Aug. 1, 2005, I left Athens, Ga., to live with my mother in Ohio. It was a difficult change to make but it eventually led me to my new home, Visalia, Calif., where I began my career as a journalist, serving as copy editor at the Visalia Times-Delta newspaper. After over a year of work on the copy desk, I began to show an interest in multimedia, prompting my editors to create for me the position of multimedia reporter — a position which afforded me the opportunity to produce video content for our newspaper's Web site. I have been in that position for over a year now, leading me to my next big change. It's August 1 again and I'm going home — again.

It's kind of a rush, to say the least. I find it rather ironic that this point of the year beckons me back to Ohio. Though it is true that I am moving to Columbia, Mo., to attend graduate school at the University of Missouri-Columbia, I am traveling to Ohio to pick up my mother, who will help me move into my apartment in Columbia. The journey begins at 5 p.m. August 1, when my employment with Gannett ends. I will drive to Las Vegas to see my college friends Padmini and Braniff. I will spend Saturday with them before embarking early Sunday morning for however far I can drive down Interstate 70 in one day. On Monday I assume I'll be in Kansas, on my way to Ohio. I'll drive past Columbia and into St. Louis, where I will pick up my sister. Together we will go to Brookville, Ohio, where we will rest and wait for my mother to finish her night shift at the hospital. Tuesday afternoon, the three of us will head back to Columbia, get a hotel room and rest before moving the things I packed this past weekend into my new apartment.

So, yeah, that's the plan. It's really ending. My time in California has come to an end. More experiences in this wonderful state are to come, I am certain, but this detour is necessary. Graduate school, the next chapter in my life, will afford me many opportunities that Gannett and the Times-Delta will not. I will have the opportunity to develop my new media skills beyond the editing prowess and content management understanding I've mastered at the Times-Delta. My dedication to coding and Web design will be re-invested and invigorated — at least I hope. I aim to be finishing up an internship at a major media or new media corporation or Web site by this time next year. I will be cultivating the connections necessary to acheive the career goals I have set for myself in the next 5 years. Hopefully, by the end of that time, I will have re-located to my dream location — Washington D.C. — covering politics and employing my skills for a company that values my skills, intelligence and experience.

That's the dream. And it all starts today, August 1. I have been waiting for this day long before I knew it would come this day, this time, this year. I always knew I would be leaving the Times-Delta. I knew that the Central Valley was not the place for me. I love the mountains, I love the Sierra. I will miss Yosemite. I will miss the Central Coast. Los Angeles will alas quake without me. And I will continue to curse San Francisco, who not only litters my car window with parking tickets but exceeds in thwarting my flirtations with alternative transportation (translation: My bike was stolen last month on Market Street in San Francisco). But all of this is not enough to make me stay. I must move on. Finishing graduate school is something I have known I must do. Now the time has come.

As for my blog, big changes are coming. More on that when I make it a little further from California.

Thanks for reading. See you on the other side.

Posted by Nick at 12:59 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Our lives are full of different distractions that bring us joy. I have been lucky to stumble on a few, many of which continue to distract and amuse. I enjoy listening to the band garbage, though they remain in what seems like an endless hiatus. I have seven seasons of "Buffy the Vampire Slayer" to watch here at home, though a new comic book series named "Season 8" has continued this obsession for me. But, for the last six years, I have enjoyed a different kind of pop culture delight: Inuyasha.

It started for me as a late night excuse to avoid homework. I was still a college student at the University of Georgia and like many of my peers I would stay up late watching Cartoon Network's Adult Swim. At 12:30 a.m. every night, Inuyasha would come on, and as much as I resisted, I soon became sucked into the story. The anime cartoon chronicled the adventures of Kagome, a middle school student in Tokyo who stumbles upon the entryway to a door to the past — the feudal era of Japan, 500 years in the past to be exact. There she resurrects a half demon, Inuyasha, and together they go on a "collect the pieces" quest, which is an often repeated story gimmick in Japanese manga.

Well, it's been over 11 years and about two years since I picked up on the continuation of the manga version of Inuyasha, which is the ongoing storyline that the anime was adapted from. The past nine weeks have brought us the final volume of Inuyasha, where Naraku is finally killed and the Shikon Jewel is dealt with once and for all. It's sad to see the series end, but it's so refreshing that such a long standing story can be given such an appropriate send off.

Basically, if you're looking to be spoiled, Inuyasha and Kagome wish away the Shikon Jewel only to be separated by time again. As Kaede says, Kagome appeared with the Shikon Jewel and she disappeared with it as well. Three years pass and Kagome graduates high school, considering her future. She realizes why she has been unable to reach Inuyasha across time and makes the difficult decision in her heart to give up her live in the modern era and live permanently in feudal Japan.

The manga ends there, with epilogues revealing that Sango and Miroku marry and have three kids, Kohaku beginning to develop into a powerful demon slayer and Shippou training to become a powerful fox demon. The cutest part of the final chapter would have to be Kagome's heartfelt exchange with Inuyasha's older brother Sesshomaru, where she calls him brother-in-law. This is the perhaps the chapter's only clear implication that Kagome and Inuyasha have indeed decided to live on together romantically (though there other obvious implications that lead to this assumption). We're not given a kiss between the two, but their characters are allowed to drift happily into the sunset.

It might not be my chosen ending, but I'll take it. I always hoped that Naraku, the series antagonist, would live on forever coveting the Shikon Jewel. Kikyo, Inuyasha's resurrected ex-girlfriend, would curse him and drag him willingly to hell, the only place they could ever be together. Shattered and destroyed, Kagome would return to her time broken hearted, but forever remembering Inuyasha and regretting her sad fate. Thankfully for the fangirls and boys, that didn't happen.

I actually have a couple poems I wrote about the series Inuyasha, which I hope sometime I will bring to the surface of this incarnation of my Web site. For now, I've finally begun work on what may be my final poem about the anime/manga series, chronicling Kikyo's perspective of my vision of the fates of the series protagonists. I may save that for this blog or perhaps for my next blog's introduction. Who knows, we'll see.

Anyways, that's my sendoff for Inuyasha. It was a fabulous series and I will miss looking forward to a new and exciting chapter every week. Now what am I going to do!

Posted by Nick at 06:23 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Today there was a bombshell: Naraku, the villainous antagonist in the Inuyasha manga, has been annihilated! With one shot of Kagome's arrow, he's been finished.

Oh, yeah, I think it was a few months ago that I announced the untimely death of Kohaku, the one-time protector of the final Shikon jewel shard. Well, it turns out the little bastard survived (some loophole involving a dead miko's enduring light).

Well, Naraku is definitely dead, right? Well, that's hard to say. The coolest thing about Naraku's death is it appears he's taking Kagome with him. A few issues back, Naraku's last remaining detachment, Byakuya of the Mirage, used his mysterious blade to cut Kagome. It had recently absorbed Inuyasha's Meidou attack, which dispatches an enemy straight to hell. Mysteriously, Byakuya's attack didn't do anything. For the past three issues, everyone has been waiting anxiously to see what wound he had inflicted.

As Naraku fought desperately against the combined force of the Inutachi and Sesshomaru, he finally faced the purity of Kagome's arrow, allowing his body and the jewel to at last be purified. Earlier in the battle, Kagome mused about the true purpose of Naraku's quest to gather the jewel shards. What wish did he want the jewel the grant? The woman he truly wanted, Kikyo, was dead, so that wish was not granted.

As Naraku hovered above the well through which Kagome magically appeared, returning the jewel to the feudal era, he conceded that his true wish could not be granted, so he made another. His wish would be granted the moment his life was extinguished. As it turns out, Byakuya's strike was integral to this wish: With Naraku dead, a path to hell opens behind Kagome.

OMG, how cool is this manga? This is freakin' Hades and Persephone! What is going to happen next?!

I'll be sure to tell. The manga is on the verge of ending, possibly in the next two months! Sadness :'(

Posted by Nick at 10:06 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Well, for once, I'm actually doing something this Christmas. After two years of night shifts on the copy desk, I'm spending a week with my family in Ohio. It's pretty fabulous, but it took a hell of a lot of aggravation and stress to get where I am this Christmas Night. As I imparted just yesterday to a friend...

I left in time for my flight, but not before an absolutely hellish experience. For one, I must have hit something in the road with my car in the hours before I left for the airport because my fender has been bent which has made opening the driver's side door an excruciating experience. I have no idea how this happened, and since I had to leave at 2 a.m. Sunday morning for the Los Angeles airport, I had no time to deal with it.

Then the cat got out an hour before I had to leave. I had to wake up my roommate to help me look for him and leave slightly late before he showed up shivering at the door. (Oh, and I had to double back to get my "Showgirls" DVD, which I will be watching with my mother over the holiday).

And on top of all this, the scary movie fog emerged in Tulare County at 7 p.m. Saturday night, making my drive down Highway 99 an absolutely horrific experience. I survived, made my flight, but sadly my Sunday was consumed by 20-minute naps and a flight experience akin to the sensations a small animal must feel being trapped in a cage.

But, after a harrowing week of breaking news related to the Tulare County Sheriff's detective's death and funeral (including 11- and 13-hour days on Thursday and Friday), this object is finally at rest.

Click here for a link to our coverage of the Detective Kent Haws death. I'm very sorry this had to happen, but our coverage of the incident was quite good.

And here's a Christmas treat courtesy of my good friend Suzanne.

Be of good cheer, it's Christmas!

Posted by Nick at 08:17 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

These special days, as I mount many ambitious plans for my future, I am noticing it's harder and harder to hold on to my hard-earned cash. One of the reaons this is so is directly related to the little nuissance that wandered into my apartment a few months ago: Sue.

Yes I have a cat now. He is a little bastard but I love him. Natalie and I were having a few drinks, toasting her recent ascension in the newspaper world, when she heard what she described as two cats fighting. I went downstairs to investigate and out of the bushes romped out the source to all my financial woe. He was an emaciated little feline and Natalie was happy to share some kibble (our first mistake). Ever since, he has not left my apartment (except of course for that wonderful day we had his little balls chopped off).

I have to say, after a few months, I am really taking a liking to this cat. He really does love me a bunch (he's curled up next to me as I write this entry). As much as I wished he would have just moved on those first few days, it's kind of nice to have a pet at last. I always knew that if I was going to get a cat, the cat would have to find me.

As for why we named it Sue, only Natalie and I know the true story. But as you can guess, it has a little something to do with a little diddy by Johnny Cash. Let me know what you think of my boy named Sue!

Posted by Nick at 10:53 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)

To follow up my Google-favorite entry, titled "Kikyo's dead!", I have to announce the passing of another hallmark Inuyasha character: Kohaku.

If anyone has been keeping up with the goings on of the Inuyasha manga, you have got to be stoked. So many plot points are becoming neatly tied into little knots all up and down feudal Japan. To name a few, Inuyasha has finally bested Sesshomaru as far as the disputed Tessaiga and Sesshomaru himself has resurrected his long-missing left arm and in its grip was his own daiyokai sword, Bakusaiga. Kagome has delved into her spiritual self to reveal why she has always been such a pussy — the reason being because the dark force in the Shikon jewel named Magatsuhi has sealed her spiritual powers. And the loving duo of Sango and Miroku have risked their lives to sustain their only weapons against Naraku, Sango strengthening her Hiraikotsu and Miroku dangerously pushing his body to its utmost limit, with a line of shoki inching closer and closer to his heart.

Needless to say, our heroes have been very busy. And in the most recent installment, Chapter 528, Kohaku, damned brother to Sango who was revived by a shard of the Shikon jewel, overcomes his many sins and grabs hold of his false life, vowing to defeat Naraku and purify the jewel once and for all. After freeing Kagome, who had characteristically been captured by Naraku, Kohaku stands triumphant, vowing from now on, he would live his live like it were his own.

It is in that moment that a discarded piece of Naraku's flesh, like a magic bullet, shoots into Kohaku's back and out his neck, CAPTURING THE SHIKON JEWEL SHARD AND KILLING HIM! This is humongous news for Inuyasha fans! With Kohaku's death and a lily piece of Naraku flesh darting up to momma Naraku with a jewel shard surprise, that can only mean the manga's end is nigh!

I get a lot of comments asking where to go to see Inuyasha scanlations. Well, click here and here. They are great!

More to come, I promise!

Posted by Nick at 10:24 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Apologies for not writing. I've been busy, that goes without saying. First up: Half Dome.

Natalie and I went hiking up Half Dome last weekend. It was part of my super weekend in Yosemite. It all began on Friday evening after Braniff and Padmini came to visit for the weekend for National Parks adventures. We went up to Yosemite and found a nice campsite and roasted up some soy dogs and soysauge and rode the weekend along as it drifted away, like the pristine constellations that wafted in and out of the endless sky. I haven't been anyplace like Yosemite Valley in the two years I've lived here, it was amazing. It was a microcosm of everything that the Sierra has to offer.

On Sunday, Natalie came up for our big finale. I might not have mentioned, but Natalie was awarded a fellowship with the Metcalf Institute, so she is moving to Rhode Island this week to begin her studies and her eventual placement at the Providence Journal. It's a real bummer, she's been my best friend for a year now here, and I'm really going to miss her. Since we have been talking about tackling Half Dome since October of last year, we had to take the trip while we could.

This hike was unlike anything I have experienced so far. For one, instead of tackling a 16-mile hike in a day (much like my 22-mile hike up Mt. Whitney, which took 16 hours), we decided to split it up over two days, camping at Little Yosemite Valley, which is about half way to the summit. Because of this, I had to rent a large pack so I could carry the food, sleeping bag and tent for us. It was very rough to say the least.

On the way to Little Yosemite, we took the Mist Trail, which brings you up close to Vernal Falls and Nevada Falls, some spectacular sights. Unfortunately, though the trail is relatively short, the elevation gain is brutal, so I tired very easily carrying my large pack around. I was dying to get to Little Yosemite, where, once I arrived, I quickly assembled the tent and laid back on my new sleeping bag for a snooze.

That evening, Natalie and I shared our food with fellow campers and scored some tasty potatoes and a shot or two of tequila. In the morning, though we started out two hours after we had intended, I was slow to keep up with Natalie, who was on a rampage like always. We started at 7:30 and reached the cables by 9.

The cables are something else. Sure, they are the most dangerous part of the Half Dome hike, but Natalie and I agreed the section from "the step" to just before the cables was pretty scary. Bascially, after climbing all these steps and making it to at least the point that you can begin to see the end, you have to scale these semi-steep granite slabs without any indication of direction. Natalie and I mistakenly opted for a course on the right, which was very grainy, where one slip would have us sliding down the mountain. Luckily, we were alright.

You absolutely need gloves on the cables. If I didn't have them, I would be toast. As long as you have a firm grip on the cables and are able to pull yourself steadily up the very steep granite dome, you can do just fine. My biggest annoyance was Natalie's stop-and-go pace up the dome. I would be right behind her and she'd swat me away from her wooden plank. But if I waited, she'd be five or six planks above me and I'd have to scale the cables by myself without anyone nearby to help.

The view was spectacular. The best thing about the trip was on Saturday, when I was with Padmini and Braniff, I looked out into Yosemite Valley from the Tunnel View. By Monday, I was looking out toward the same tunnel from the very top of the Valley. You can't beat it.

The hike down was dramatic, to say the least. Natalie and I pulled it together, though. It was a great weekend, but by the end of it I was getting sick of all that fresh air and dirt under my fingernails. But I still can't complain too much — though it can be a real drag, living in the Central Valley, so close to the Sierra, certainly has its perks.

So Natalie moved out on Sunday. If you aren't clear on who she is, I mentioned her here. She's basically the reason that I stopped writing in my blog so often. She's my best friend in California and it hasn't quite sunk in how much I'm going to miss her. Thankfully, I replaced here (roommate wise), so I don't have to focus on the negative aspects of her move (that being the negative effect it's going to have on my financially). I'm really happy for her, but already I'm felling that vivacious and adventurous spirit she inspired within me deaden.

But that won't last. Even though people in my life drift in and out, I like to think that I take of piece of them with me. Though I won't get to see Natalie every day and rampage across the state with her (Los Angeles, Sequoia National Park, Fresno, Santa Cruz, Sacramento and Half Dome to name a few), I can already feel that little piece of Natalie within me finding its place. I have my reusable shopping bag ready to go and florescent light bulbs are all over my shopping list. Oh, and I cleaned the kitchen today...but that habit won't last. I guess I'll always be me.

My computer is on the fritz again so I will be back, new and improved...well, all over again. So woopie! If you've been wondering what I've been up to, go to the Times-Delta video page and you're sure to see I've been busy.

Posted by Nick at 10:02 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

An interesting thing came up in the debate between Republican candidates for President Tuesday night: blowback.

I found something very interesting in the film I watched the other day on that very subject. I wish I could express myself more clearly tonight, but this is something that I think is very important and it's something that I have always suspected since the very first few days after 9/11. Chalmers Johnson, a CIA expert, had some very interesting things to say about "blowback" in the documentary Why We Fight (which have been conveniently posted on this blog for you to see for yourself):

There is a direct connection between events that happened more than 50 years ago and the War in Iraq today. In 1953, the prime minister of Iran, Mohammed Mossadeq became extremely irritated the British were ripping off his country's national resources, he wanted a greater share in it. The British came to the new president, Eisenhower, and asked for help on this. Eisenhower very conveniently declared Mossadeq to be communist and we then set the CIA to overthrow him.

The result was we brought the shah to power and he created an extremely repressive regime that within 20 years had led to a revolution against him. The Ayatollah Khomeini creates a government that is violently anti-American.

In the after-action report by the CIA on what they had done in Iran in 1953, they said "we're going to get some 'blowback' from this."

We then made a puppet out of Saddam Hussein in Iraq, who was a friend of ours. He was an asset in the CIA's computers. We did so because he was anti-Iranian. He was very fearful that the revolution in Iran would spread into his county. He therefore went to war with Iran. The war was extremely bloody, went on throughout the 1980's. Unfortunatly for Saddamm Hussein, he began to lose the war.

At that point, in comes the United States in the form of Donald Rumsfled sent to Saddam Hussein by President Reagan to tell him, "We will provide you with intelligence, we will supply you with the weapons you may need thorough covert means." It is why cynics in Washington say "We know Saddam Hussein had weapons of mass destruction. We have the receipts."

This is what we mean by blowback. He remained a friend of ours right up to his invasion in the summer of 1990 of Kuwait. We became alarmed when he invaded Kuwait that he could also go on and invade Saudi Arabia itself, the largest reserves of oil on Earth. We stationed troops in Saudi Arabia. It was a mistake in every sense of the term.

Remember, Osama bin Laden had said, "I resent the government of Saudi Arabia for using Americans to defend Saudi Arabia against Iraq." At that point we began to fear we were going to lose our position in Saudi Arabia. Well the second largest source of proven reserves on earth are in Iraq. This leads us now to demonize our previous ally and to prepare the American public for the thought that we must take him out.

Presidential candidate and Texas Representative Ron Paul brought up the issue of "blowback" in the debate last night and has since been blasted by conservatives for daring to suggest 9/11 was in any way our fault. I believe he handled himself very well in harsh light day on Hannity and Colmes last night (hat tip to Crooks and Liars).

I never understood why it was so outrageous to think that the terrorists who attacked us on that horrible day had some defensible vendetta against the United States. I for one do not believe we should lump "terrorists" into convenient categories such as "evil-doers." I certainly don't think they have a legitimate excuse to attack Americans, I'm just saying their reasons, given their unique, individual experiences with U.S. foreign policy seem to explain why a certain group of people in this world hate us.

They don't hate us because women can vote. They don't despise us because we have the right to speak freely. They have simply experienced the day-to-day hell that has been inflicted, either directly or indirectly, by our government's actions in the world. Look at what happens in Iraq day in and day out and tell me you can't understand why someone would take arms against our country (or dare to attack us on our own soil). Again, not to say I defend their reasons...I simply acknowledge that they have a position.

I think what Ron Paul said last night at the debate is what Americans need to hear in this national contest: honest, frank conversation that seeks to uncover the root of the problems that our forces are facing today. Maybe if we considered things like "blowback" when we decide to unilaterally impose our will on another country, things like 9/11 would not happen. Again, wrongs made by elements of the military-industrial complex and not everyday Americans who somehow invited tragedy on that fateful day.

I find this incredibly entralling and it would be even more interesting to see more of this in our national debate.

Posted by Nick at 09:04 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

It turns out Jerry Falwell, founder of the "moral majority," has died at the age of 73.

Jerry Falwell, Moral Majority Founder, Dies at 73
By Peter Applebome
New York Times

The Rev. Jerry Falwell, the fundamentalist preacher who founded the Moral Majority and brought the language and passions of religious conservatives into the hurly-burly of American politics, died yesterday in Lynchburg, Va. He was 73.

His death was announced by Liberty University, in Lynchburg, where Mr. Falwell, its founder, was chancellor. The university said the cause had not been determined, adding that he died in a hospital after being found unconscious in his university office yesterday morning.

Mr. Falwell went from a Baptist preacher in Lynchburg to a powerful force in electoral politics, at home in both the millennial world of fundamentalist Christianity and the earthly blood sport of the political arena.

As much as anyone, he helped create the religious right as a political force, defined the issues that would energize it for decades and cemented its ties to the Republican Party.

Am I sad that Jerry Falwell is dead and gone? Hell no. He was a hateful, narrow-minded man who empowered a generation of hateful, ignorant, like-minded bigots to rise up against innocent people they disdain and refuse to accept. Would you honor the life of a racist man if you were black and witnessed first-hand the effects of polarizing hate perpetuated by that one man?

I find it insulting to read certain red blogs that are playing "gotcha!" with other left-leaning sites for taking a shots at the holy man. If my prayers would be for anyone, it would be for the man's family and loved ones. They are the ones who deserve mercy, but not that hateful man, one who spoke these shocking words after one of our country's most tragic events:

I really believe that the pagans, and the abortionists, and the feminists, and the gays and the lesbians who are actively trying to make that an alternative lifestyle, the ACLU, People For the American Way, all of them who have tried to secularize America. I point the finger in their face and say 'you helped this happen.' ~ Jerry Falwell, September 11, 2001

In the coming years, that man will be remembered more for his hateful, polarizing rhetoric against gays and lesbians than for his upholding of the faithful tenets of Jesus Christ. Anyone who hesitates in this fact will grow to regret it in the coming years and decades. This man is a dinosaur and the world is better now that he has passed.

Posted by Nick at 08:22 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

They may have passed quietly, but I heard it. And thankfully the sound is still ringing in my ear.

New Order, one of the most enigmatic and inventive bands of the last 30 years, have finally called it quits. The band formed from the band Joy Division after the suicide of Ian Curtis. They have produced hits such as "Blue Monday," "True Faith," "Crystal," "Age of Consent" and "Bizarre Love Triangle," by far my favorite. Bassist Peter Hook announced the band's split on his MySpace blog on Wednesday:

life goes on!
http://myspace.com/180575671

well here we go again another action packed week.

i suppose it was the interview with clint boon that started it all off hed asked me for a few words on perry farrells satellite party single dogstar [which he thought was great] so i went on and lo and behold mentioned the N>O> split so i suppose because it was me sayin it it was out at last. im relieved really hated carryin on as normal with an awful secret so lets move on shall we?

It was as recently as Friday night that I was driving with Natalie rocking out to "Age of Consent" on the lonely drive back from Fresno. I've even turned her on to the band, burning her a copy of Power, Corruption & Lies, the bands seminal 1983 album that beget "Blue Monday," which still influences artists in the realm of Trance and House music.

New Order is part of my own personal trifecta of musical groups that I'm always citing: garbage, New Order and The Cure. Garbage announced Friday that their long-expected greatest hits album Absolute Garbage would be hitting stores soon and The Cure have been riding rumors of a new album since the whole of 2006. I had heard New Order was keen on releasing a new album from their Waiting for the Sirens' Call recording session, but now that is a big question.

This isn't the first time New Order has ducked from the music scene. Between the release of Republic and the recording of Get Ready in 1993 and 1998 respectively, New Order seemed a lost relic of the '80s. Hopefully they can demonstrate the resilience and fortitude to reunite and forge another album to close out the decade, or at least bring us into the next. They are talented and timeless musicians and I am very sorry I may never have the opportunity to see them play again.

For now, I'll leave you with the video for "Krafty," from the Waiting for the Sirens' Call album, which helped to rescue me from a endless, consuming depression.

"You caught me at a bad time / So why don't you piss off..." ~New Order, "Your Silent Face," Power, Corruption & Lies

Posted by Nick at 07:02 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

There's no reason why I shouldn't have written this a month ago but I have just been on a break. 26.2 miles takes a lot out of you, and so does working 50 plus hours a week. Things are finally slowing down now and a lot of interesting changes are coming down the pipe. Before I go into all that, it's important that I at least address my major accomplishment, at least once before it fades into obscurity.

It was Sunday, March 25, and I woke up at my sister's friend Tyler's apartment feeling just a tiny bit uneasy about the race. I had spent the three weeks prior taking it real easy. After finishing a grueling training schedule, I had hoped to keep up the pace in the weeks closing in on the big day, but pain in my leg had forced me to rein in my ambitious plans. I woke up that morning thinking that maybe I had eroded a lot of the ground I had worked so hard to gain footing upon. Part of that was true.

Regardless, I could only race with the body I had and not the body I wish I could have had. My leg was thankfully not bothersome on race day and I made my way down to the MARTA station in Midtown Atlanta at the fine hour of 5:30 in the morning. The race was an hour and a half away.

I arrived at 6 a.m. and called Marilia. She had it real rough, a lot worse than me. I'd done this before. A marathon for me would be 26.2 miles of deja vu. Sure, it was going to be rough, but at least I knew I had once stood (barely) at the finish line. For Marilia, finding the finish was not a done deal. Also, catching the train on time was also missing from the cards — she arrived 10 minutes before the race. I tossed her her things, gave her a Tylenol 8-Hour, a kiss and I told her I loved her and good luck. It was her race and I couldn't run it for her. Besides, I had a race to run myself.

It wasn't until the mass of people started to finally eek its way to the start line that it finally hit me: I was really running this. I got a chill down my spine and I felt something I didn't expect I'd feel in the warm familiarity of the brisk Atlanta morning: I was in this all by myself. Sure, Marilia was probably a half-mile behind me there, but just like the first race, I ran this one alone. The track was familiar. My sister was a text message away, but I was still in this for myself. I somehow thought that running on the streets of Atlanta would be like seeing every neighbor and friend cheering me on, that somehow an envelope of everything I remember from my years in Georgia would whisk me joyfully to the finish line in a rush of joy and triumph. It wasn't like that at all. I had to run every single one of those miles and all the city really afforded me the comfort of was a few moments along the lines of, "Oh, Decatur...I've been there."

Well, I didn't have a cheering section, granted, but I didn't have one in Yokohl Valley either and I had some of my best runs out there. I could do this. The early race went very well. I kept up a very great pace and walked through many water stations for maybe 45 seconds or less. The only major train wreck came from the race itself — no Powerade! It was promised but the race barely delivered. At best we'd get a heavily watered down sprinkling of Powerade powder and at worse we got no water at all! Between mile 3 and mile 8, there was no water at all! And the worst part of it all was the signs promising water that didn't actually deliver until 3 miles later! It was awful, but it was a real boon for me. I never walked substantially until the half. I was in prime form.

Sadly, the hills of Decatur hit my pride hard and I began to conserve my energies. Conserving began to weaken my resolve and I started to scale back my goal from 4:30 to 4:45 and 4:50 (4:59?). I walked a lot toward the end and I only have myself to blame. Besides that, water stations were never reliable and Powerade was absolutely no where to be found in the second half of the race. I had relied very much on Gatorade in my training so I'm almost certain that had an effect on my energy. How much, I'm not certain, but I still tried to stick it through.

In the end, I finished the race in 5 hours and 4 minutes — a full 15 minutes faster than I did in San Diego almost one year ago. It was a fabulous end to a marathon effort. I am very pleased with my finish and I only hope to roll back my time 15 or 30 minutes more in my next race. My goal is to surmount a marathon again before the end of the year. I have my eyes on the Sacramento race in December but I may also try for a summer race along with a quicker training schedule.

Also, I am considering rearranging any future marathon training schedule. Distance is no longer taboo for me. Fourteen miles is a drop in the bucket, and 18 to 20 is also very doable, even now after slumming it for almost a month. I would like to start running longer distances and working on speed in my future training. I know I can make 4:30, I just need to chip away at it more and more.

For now, I'm taking a serious break. My leg pain really worried me and I think I've been overdoing it so long. I think I may have slipped into a postrun depression too, which is kind of unsettling. An almost, "What's the point?" feeling has settled over me. I run so much, it's like there is no end. The race was the end, in this sense, so what next? I'm still thinking, but I know I will be running again soon. Maybe I need a special treat, like a new iPod to bring me into play again. I just know I'm not through. I will be running a 5K on May 5th at the very least. I may try for an exotic half-marathon somewhere in California. I just need to rearrange a few things and soon I'll be laced up and on the run again.

If you have ever experienced something similar, please offer up some pointers. I'd love to get myself out of this post-run depression and get back on the road.

So that's that. More on some of the other stuff later. Right now I'm going to enjoy the rest of my evening and listen to some tunes. Later.

Posted by Nick at 09:07 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

It was amazing. I felt like Nomi Malone walking into Ver-sayce for the very first time: My first trip to Vegas since my "Showgirls" awakening. This weekend I went to see my good friends Padmini and Braniff, who moved to Las Vegas last year after graduating UGA.

It's quite extraordinary. I only have Jeremy to blame. Ever since that DVD took a spin, I have been devoted to the crazy film that is a considered a camp classic as opposed to the abysmal film most people remember. There are many memorable scenes, but none as outrageous as the Spago scene. Shortly after I disembarked from McCarran, Padmini and I ventured to the hallowed film landmark that is the Forum at Caesar's Palace. There I was on cloud 9.

The highlight of the trip would be asking the waiter at the ritzy Spago retaurant for chips, even though they were not on the menu. When they were brought to the table, I couldn't help but relive that awesome scene...

Crystal: Do you like brown rice and vegetables?
Nomi: Yeah.
Crystal: You do?
Nomi: Sort of...
Crystal: Really?
Nomi: Worse than dog food. It is!
Crystal: I've had dog food.
Nomi: You have?
Crystal: Long time ago. Doggie Chow. I used to love Doggie Chow.
Nomi: I used to love Doggie Chow too!
[As if the wall that had once separated them had been felled by wave of Doggie Chow, Crystal raises the chip in her hand and Nomi touches her chip to it and they toast chips.]

It was like everything I dreamed it would be. Afterward we went to the Ver-sayce and I couldn't help but notice that the photo I took resembled a doorway to heaven, likely the same image that came to Nomi's mind when she first laid her eyes on the establishment. If only the sight of expensive dresses could bring me to the heights it brought her, but I will be just fine living vicariously through the acting of Elizabeth Berkely.

Well, now that I've gotten over the Showgirls-related goodness (we took a photo outside of the Cheetah too!), I can talk about how wonderful my trip was as a whole. Padmini was so wonderful and I had such a great time going around with her and Braniff. Never have I seen such a complete picture of Las Vegas. Oh so often, tourists are relegated to the two or three miles they decided to walk along the Strip. There's so much more to Vegas than that. There's the renowned Thai restaurant we went to on Friday evening. There's the delicious vegetarian Chinese restaurant Braniff and Padmini took me to before we went to "Mamma Mia." And then there's Red Rock Canyon, a beautiful natural landscape that not even California can claim.

We also enjoyed many things on the Strip. I got to see the aquarium conservatory at Mandalay Bay. There was the fountain at the Bellagio that played "All The Jazz" from "Chicago." And the premium outlet where I spent too much money. It was truly the vacation that I never expected. I would have been perfectly happy with chilling at the apartment with Turtle (the cat) watching a movie with friends.

So that was my vacation to Vegas. It was wonderful and I can't wait to go back again (I hear there's a marathon in December). And I really can't wait for Padmini and Braniff to come visit me. There's nothing like sharing the Sierra with friends.

And I swear, marathon entry this week!

P.S.: Video bonus, Padmini's sister's commercial for Swami Pretti Dance Studios. Fabulous! All it's missing is a star wipe, but the bubble wipe almost just as good!

Posted by Nick at 09:30 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Well, the marathon has arrived. I know I haven't chimed in with an update really since I started my whole post-20-mile slow down. There really hasn't been much to report besides this nagging pain in my leg that I'm praying isn't as bad as I fear it could be. I took things really easy on myself for the past two weeks. I feel very lazy though, I am kind of itching for a good run. It would have been nice to get a few more training runs in, but I want to be 100% on Sunday.

I'm on the plane writing this now, actually, and there is a woman sitting on my row who has taken on the same goal that I have been considering: running a marathon in all 50 states. It's an incredible goal, and when I mentioned it in my typical blabbering manner to the man who sold me the shoes I'm going to wear in the race on Sunday, he laughed out loud. "Who would want to do that??"

I need to keep the long runs up though. I must admit I really enjoy my Saturday runs. Though I'd much rather get sleep, There is something so calming about lacing up at 6 a.m. and trotting down Yokohl Drive alone. It's breathtaking and I always come home feeling incredible. Regardless of what happens Sunday, how can I not do this again? Why wouldn't I want to committ my adult athletic life to something spectacular that only a very select few could ever hope to accomplish. It's these goals that keep me going, these personal feats that provide me with great personal pride.

But that's the day after the day after tomorrow, isn't it? Shouldn't I be more concerned over the fact that my friends have noticed a slight limp in my step the past two weeks? Shouldn't I be wary of all those extended breaks I took at every water stop in Yokohl Valley? Is there anything more I can do?

The race Sunday will be great. I'm expecting, in light of my sometimes sluggish sum pace on my training days, I will finish between 4:40 and 5:00. That's commendable, but I want to do better. I still somewhat consider that a lazy marathon (but an improvement on my first).

I think I might surprise myself tomorrow. While I did take the water stops slowly while training for Rock 'n' Roll Marathon last year, I also walked a whole lot more than I did this year. I ran at a brisk pace for the majority of all my runs this time around. I also showed up to an impressive amount of mid-week training runs. I followed the schedule very closely, so I may find that even walking through the water stations on Sunday will still bring me to a 4:45 finish (maybe even 4:30). I'm just trying to be realistic and not get my hopes up.

In concert with running my second marathon and marking a second state off my marathon list (only 48 states left!), I will be visiting Georgia, where many of my dear friends still live. I'm looking forward to this very much and I'm thrilled I will have the opportunity to share this race with the people I care about. I'm especially proud of my friend Marilia, who will be running her first marathon on Sunday. I can't wait to see her sprint across the finish line. I just hope her experience will be as positive as mine has been.

This is a dream come true for me, I've looked forward to this weekend since last summer when I was bemusing crazy thoughts with Marilia on a Sunday evening. It's amazing how far I've gone. I've run over 300 miles since November 20th. I've been so committed to this, I'm so stoked to see it finally come full circle. Please wish me well and thank you so much for your support!

Want to track my progress? If you are registed with Active.com, you can actually get text-message notifications of my progress in the race! You can opt for a message when I finish or get text message when I reach the 10K, half, 20 mile and finish line. Click here to sign up. (But you'll need to know my full name or bid number, so if you don't know that, I guess you'll just have to ask!)

Posted by Nick at 07:25 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

It feels strange to be on the other side of March 3rd. It really wasn't anything more than my 20-mile run, but last year that meant so much to me.

When I took on the 20-mile run in preparation for the Rock 'n' Roll Marathon in San Diego, I had never really run more than a few feet over 15 miles. I had taken a serious stab at the 16-mile run when I was visiting in Georgia last May, but it was very half-hearted. It was more a tour-de-force of my former stomping grounds. I ran all the way from downtown Athens to my old apartment and beyond. I walked often and when I returned to my friend Padmini's house, I scoffed at my recently-acquired GPS personal trainer that said I had only run 15 miles (of course now I can testify to the accuracy of that nifty device).

This year, I have made it to the top of the hill at mile 8 on more than one occasion. I have begun to frequent the water stops that I no longer need to set my odometer when I'm driving ahead to place my water stops. Twenty miles, to me, represents no more than two miles more than last week, and that's somewhat disappointing.

I almost think that the 18-mile run was more difficult. It was such a nonstarter. Still having the same problems: too much rest. I'm going to run the remaining training days without stopping for water. I can easily run an 8-mile run without water (I think I'm overly hydrated as it is). The last Saturday run — only 10 miles — I can bring the water-bottle pouch I bought for the last marathon if I need it. I know during the race I won't have the opportunity to sit on a stump and take a breather, so at least any sluggish time won't be as wasteful as standing still for 5 minutes. It's going to be cool...

One thing I did do last week was skip my mid-week runs. I lost a total of 11 miles on my training schedule, but it was totally worth it. At this point in the training last year, I was having shin splints and I was in bad shape. This time around, my legs are aching all the time. Now that I'm through the thick of the training, I just need to keep them warmed up and ready for the big day. There was no point subjecting them to unnecessary strain in advance of the big 20-mile Saturday. I knew I was going to make it, with or without the extra training.

The photo I included this week is the "T." When I was training with Team in Training, I always imagined it stood for that since we parked a few hundred feet from that sign. Now, when I see it rising over the hill, I know the run is almost over. Now that I'm slowing down in anticipation for the actual race, it's sad to think that the training is really coming to an end.

"Slow down! / Why you gotta move so fast? / Why you gotta walk so far..." ~"Slow Down," Nada Surf, The Proximity Effect.

Posted by Nick at 07:35 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

I was gushing about my weekend plans this Friday in the newsroom. I really only had one major thing on the agenda: run 18 miles at Yokohl Valley. This guy who I work with, a real cynical guy, asked me, "Why?" I told him I was training for a marathon. He asked again, "Why?" And I told him it made me feel good. And he asked again, "Why?" I think I blubbered something about accomplishing something incredible, and blah blah. He just brushed me off and told me, "You're crazy."

I don't know if he's right about that. I must be crazy to trump a zillion more pleasant things to do with my weekend by insisting I spend nearly 4 hours slaving in the sun trying to beat the clock. I don't know, it seemed to make sense at the time.

Unlike the week before, I've been doing really well this past week. When I laid out that 122 miles on that little .jpg graph last week, it made me feel more inclined to complete my miles for the week. Of course, whenever I complete my plan for the week, I always feel good. Since it's been up and down the past few weeks, I guess I really wanted to feel like I was pulling it together for the big day. That day, of course, is this Saturday.

Last year, when I was training for the Rock 'n' Roll Marathon in San Diego, I never ran the 18-mile training day. I did 16 miles in Athens when I was visiting in Georgia, but that was hardly comparable to what I accomplished this weekend. I remember walking a great deal and I don't think I even completed 16 miles. I was just above 15 when I finished. This past weekend, I kept myself above my goal 10:17 pace with the exception of one mile, which included the most grueling hill of the entire circuit. I let it slide.

My only problem at this point is the water breaks. The only way anyone can really finish a marathon for the first time without extensive experience is by breaking it down into small pieces. The way I see it, I'm just running two miles until the next water break. When I get there and am refreshed, I take on another two and possible take a gel to help increase my energy. This has been a real problem on days like Saturday. After hills like the one I just mentioned, I tend to sit on a stump sipping my Gatorade and taking a break. During the marathon, that's not an option.

I will probably break a few times for my 20-mile training day — I have to. It's so long, it's probably impossible for me to take it all in one gulp. I think once I finish this grueling day and throttle back to shorter runs. I may try to scale back my break times. During the marathon, there being no stumps to sit on, I will probably have to get by with an occasional stroll through a water stop or a light jog.

Anyways, I did take pictures as I promised. I may share some more next week. I can't believe how good I looked before taking on the day! It's amazing how much eighteen miles takes out of you.

But, I can honestly say, it was worth it.

Posted by Nick at 04:38 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

It's a shame that I've been training for the Georgia marathon for the past 3 months and I haven't written very much about it. I had intended on updating my progress every week as a way to blog about something very interesting to me as well as to coach myself through the training. Sadly, that never materialized, but with just a scant 122 miles left in my trek, better late than never.

Training for a marathon is a very amazing feat. Pulling together all those numbers to come up with 247 miles run since late November is staggering. I had to add up the runs again to be absolutely certain I didn't make a mistake. They really do add up.

When I started training this time around, the marathon itself was cemented firmly in the center of mind. I knew running 4 or 5 miles each training day had a point because it was going to make that first stretch of the marathon that much easier. After a while, though, the marathon drifts in your mind and you begin to take each week for what it is, almost forgetting all these miles amount to something. I'm at the point in my training when that once-sought goal is beginning to rise again.

This Saturday's 16 mile run was not very successful. Granted, I did the run, but I kept thinking during the run that my heart just wasn't in it. I've been working long hours at work with little return. I'm having to accommodate weekly runs by waking up at 3:45 in the morning in order to get them out of the way before I have to go into work. All of this weighs heavy after a while and when you finally get to the one day a week you get off (I was supposed to have the weekend off, but that changed), you realize all you want to do is sleep. I walked a bit of the run because I was just exhausted. I'll make it up next week.

Anyways, back to the larger point: the goal. This past Saturday was the first in a line of the most intense training days I will have before the marathon. The next two runs will be 18 and 20 miles respectively, and they are very important. At mile 8 this past weekend, I sat sipping my Gatorade thinking, "I'm only 2 miles away from 20 miles," meaning only 2 miles from the 10 mile mark, the halfway point for my longest run of the training. I can't wait to get there.

After that point, the marathon itself will begin to crystallize for me. My trip to Atlanta will be a double-edged sword: I get to see my friends and family, but I also have to tackle a 26.2 mile behemoth. I know that by the end of that 20 mile run, I'm going to be ready to comprehend exactly what I need to do to make that goal.

To do better this week, I am going to try to wake up early instead of taking the run later in the afternoon. I think I will have more energy then. Here's hoping! We'll see how it goes...

Next week I'll try and bring my camera to share some sights from Yokohl Valley and maybe even Rocky Hill.

Posted by Nick at 11:33 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Hooray! I'm not dead yet! But I did need to take a lengthy vacation. My computer had a nice time getting it's brain replaced in Tennessee. I, on the other hand, wallowed on my roommate's computer playing Sextris, watching films like My Own Private Idaho and To Kill A Mockingbird and listening to albums like Nada Surf's Proximity Effect and Wilco's Yankee Hotel Foxtrot. You have no idea how much blog fodder I've had to give up in the past month. I mean, Anna Nicole Smith died! When will I ever get to blog about something that huge again?

Anyways, I am really sorry I have been so scarce. I had no idea that it would be such a big deal, I actually heard from people saying they were wondering why I had stopped blogging. And it wasn't the usual suspects.

Well, I've come up with a personal goal for the year (or at least the next three months). I am aiming for four updates a week, each on different subjects, and they will go as follows:

• Monday, marathon/personal blog: I had planned on writing about my progress in training for the Georgia Marathon but that just kind of sputtered right out of the gate. I'm still trying to remember to bring my camera to such exotic locales as Yokohl Valley and Rocky Hill so that I can share the sights and scene of my training experience. Just so you know, I'm progressing very well, and despite skipping this last weekend to accommodate my roommate's birthday rampage, I am certain reaching my goal of a 4:30 marathon is within my reach.
• Wednesday, movie/music blog: There have been a few films I have seen in the past three months that are certainly worth sharing. If I haven't seen anything good recently, I may reach back for some of those picks or I may begin to feature some of my less favored movie picks. Anyone up for a screening of Gigli (like I would Netflix something like that)? Also, I'd like to blog about some albums I'm listening to, so when appropriate, you'll hear the music.
• Thursday, politics/news blog: Depending on what's going on, I may pick an obscure story of the week to highlight or perhaps follow up on some obscure appropriations bill in the House. Someone's got to protect the Pentagon's right to relegate our liberal, San Francisco-values speaker to her connecting flight in Denver. This is when I'll do it.
• Friday, news/California blog: On this day, I'll feature the story of the week. Odds are, it will probably be local. For this week, I'm inclined to the (non) story of this girl who was missing for a few hours on Sunday that had webgoers at the Visalia Times-Delta Web site on the edge of their seats. Someone has to bring these stories to light because no matter how many Drudge tips I send, I'm dead to him.

But I'll start all that tomorrow. For now, I have to reformat my hard drive because despite sending my computer to get a new motherboard because the AC adapter was for some reason charging the battery intermittently, I somehow wound up with a bad hard drive. Wow...and something about a bad CD/DVD-ROM too...what the hell?

A bit of advice: Don't hand your computer to strange postmen. You'll end up regretting it.

Later

Posted by Nick at 03:12 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)

It's entry-palooza this week, isn't it??

I was watching Family Guy last night and I saw something that reminded me so much of my fabulous roommate Natalie. For anyone who doesn't know Natalie, she's this great person I met in California. She's been such a great friend these last few months and we've had a great time tearing it up in Visalia, Fresno and recently Sacramento.

She moved in this last October and, if you read the blog, her entrance corresponds with my sudden drop-off in writing in this silly thing. I mean, two of the entries I have done in the last 24 hours were done in her absense and I was only able to tweak out my President Ford tribute while she was sleeping on the couch.

Anyways, I'm really glad to have a friend like her and I look forward to spending even more time with her next year. We'll be swimming in men next year, I just know it! More on Natalie later if I am able to push out this year-in-review thing I've been throwing around in my head...

Posted by Nick at 12:15 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)

Another Christmas is over and, sadly, this was the second Christmas I spent alone. I know, doesn't that sound depressing? It's really not. it's kind of understandable even. When I moved to Visalia in 2005, Christmas was less than two months away and I had three months until I could take any vacation. Spending Christmas at work was a pretty easy conclusion to come to. I didn't resent it. It sucked, but it was life. In exchange, I got to move to a fabulous new place and get the escape I had so desired.

At the same time I was grabbling with the fact that I couldn't see my family then, I was jotting down a vacation for this very week. I wanted the few odd days I had left of vacation for the year to pile up here so I could spend at least 2006 with my family. Unfortunately, a senior coworker put all his chips down and won out (but not before quitting a week before taking the vacation, effectively preventing me from spending the holiday with my family when I very well could have). Since that avenue was blocked, I looked to New Year's and on Friday I'm gone.

It's only four days off coupled with a weekend, but I think it will be enough. I'm flying home to Ohio to be with my mother for a few days. Just like my Georgia trip earlier this year, I am so excited about this trip. The one thing I almost can't stand about living here is the lack of familiarity. Everyone here seems to have some place to call home. They have some enclave to which they can return to. For me, all of that is no less than 2,000 miles over the Sierra. It's very seldom that I feel fulfilled by the familiar.

Having the opportunity to go back is like a breath of fresh air. I am looking forward to throwing Joey's tennis ball around my mother's backyard and harassing that little dog in the fresh layer of snow. I got my mother some thoughtful gifts and I look forward to seeing what she thinks of them. I can't wait to see my grandma and wish her a Merry Christmas in person and thank her again for all she did for me last year.

Dayton represents to me this mysterious, marginal place. I was born there but I have never had a real connection there. Answering the question, "Where are you from?" has always presented a problem for me. Looking down the runway now, setting aside any other plans I would have for New Year's (and they range from a fabulous wedding to imploding of a Showgirls landmark), I realize Ohio has become something new for me. Now, I am just happy I am going home.

And in three months, I just get to do it again...

Posted by Nick at 11:08 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

On the heels of my entry discussing the revelation that soy makes men gay, I am not surprised to see this coming:

Kids with high IQs grow up to be vegetarians
HealthDay

As a child's IQ rises, his taste for meat in adulthood declines, a new study suggests.

British researchers have found that children's IQ predicts their likelihood of becoming vegetarians as young adults -- lowering their risk for cardiovascular disease in the process. The finding could explain the link between smarts and better health, the investigators say.

"Brighter people tend to have healthier dietary habits," concluded lead author Catharine Gale, a senior research fellow at the MRC Epidemiology Resource Centre of the University of Southampton and Southampton General Hospital.

Recent studies suggest that vegetarianism may be associated with lower cholesterol, reduced risk of obesity and heart disease. This might explain why children with high IQs tend to have a lower risk of heart disease in later life.

It's really funny how the story caught a lot of buzz in the newsroom. I am, shocker, the only vegetarian in the building to speak of (as far as I know). There are plenty of ex-vegetarians, and they are always asking me what's going to push me back to the dark side. I have no idea, honestly, I think when my boyfriend cooks me a big turkey for Thanksgiving or someone sends me a Chick-fil-A chicken biscuit express mail that I'll cave.

Being a vegetarian is positively fabulous. For one, it's always fun to take the moral high ground. I personally do it for nutritional reasons, but I have not shuttered at the idea of wagging my finger when it's funny or convenient. I mean, I cringed running in Yokohl Valley passing all the beef cattle. It's sad to think of all the delicious hamburgers that came from those doe-eyed fatlings.

Next Friday, for our newspaper's holiday party, I am bringing in plenty of fake chicken for everyone. It's going to be delicious, I'll be sure to convert someone or at least get some pompous brat taste the nugget and complain all party on how it tasted like tree bark or something. Oh well, those carnivores are too stupid to understand anyways.

Posted by Nick at 04:10 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

I'm so bad. I have neglected my blog for two straight weeks now. And it's not like I don't have things to write. I totally have plans. Three entries have been percolating — one on The Color Purple, the second movie that made me cry; one beginning a series of entries about my training for second marathon; and another one on this album I've been listening to the past year, Nada Surf's Let Go, which is just flippin' awesome.

Anyways, for now, I'm going to chime in with a beautiful photo of Marilyn Monroe. I added Gentleman Prefer Blondes recently and I can't wait to see it. Of course, I must first sift through the latest season of my favorite lesbian show and throw back another disk of the Golden Girls. But for now I can bask in beauty of Norma Jean.

Posted by Nick at 01:01 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

It's hard to believe, but I have been a Californian for a year now. A year ago today I pulled my car up to my new apartment after a week of driving across America. I left my mother, grandmother and Joey in Miamisburg, Ohio and for four days made my way across Interstate 70 to the great state of California. It was an exhilarating experience, one I had been waiting on for so long. I wanted so much after graduation to go some place new and different. Fulfilling that goal was a terrific rush.

A year later, I'm still in the Valley. My apartment is so much more than just the exhumed contents of my packed car and the futon I assembled on my first night in my new apartment. I am so much more than that green, young copy editor from Georgia. I have accomplished so much since I've arrived here.

In just one year, I have bought furniture and things for my apartment, trained and completed a marathon, climbed the tallest mountain in the state and even fulfilled my promise to my good friend Nicole and made it all the way to France. I'm so thankful for the opportunities afforded to my since I got my job. I feel I have purpose and direction which a year ago were things I desperately sought. My life here is invigorating and I look forward to what the next year has to offer.

A year from now, I hope things will be very different. My goal is to apply to graduate school in the fall with an assistantship at a school in California or hopefully in Washington D.C. or New York (two places I have dreamed to have lived). Before I do that, though, I hope to achieve more in New Media at my newspaper. On the Saturday after Thanksgiving, I will begin training for my next marathon, the Georgia Marathon on March 25 in Atlanta, Ga., which I will be running with my friend Marilia. I am also ironing out the details of a trip to Las Vegas with my friend Jeremy to see our fabulous friend Padmini and visit the hallowed landmark The Cheetah, where they filmed the film classic "Showgirls." I'm going back to Ohio early this January to see my mother and grandmother. I may also be going to see Jeremy in Ann Arbor, Mich., next year.

Apologies, setting goals like this keeps me motivated and keeps things interesting. Like I said, I accomplished so much this last year, and if I hadn't laid out so much I probably would have just wasted away in the boring Central Valley.

Well, before I go, I thought it might be interesting to share my iTunes Top 25 Most Played playlist over the past year. Here it is:

Top 25 Most Played on my iPod

1. garbage - Run Baby Run
2. Amuro Namie - Come
3. Relient K - Who I Am Hates Who I've Been
4. Day by Day - Itazura Na Kiss
5. garbage - Happy Home
6. The Cure - Push
7. New Order - Turn
8. New Order - Regret
9. The Smiths - Some Girls Are Bigger Than Others
10. The Cure - Just Like Heaven
11. New Order - True Faith
12. Relient K - More Than Useless
13. New Order - Bizarre Love Triangle
14. Relient K - Be My Escape
15. Madonna - Forbidden Love
16. The All-American Rejects - Dirty Little Secret
17. Ayumi Hamasaki - Dearest
18. The Cure - Friday I'm In Love
19. Kelly Clarkson - Since U Been Gone
20. The Killers - Smile Like You Mean It
21. The Flaming Lips - The Wand
22. Nada Surf - Inside of Love
23. Tears For Fears - Head Over Heals / Broken [Live]
24. The Smiths - This Charming Man
25. garbage - Cup of Coffee

And, just for reminiscence sake, check out my letters from last year. I chronicled my whole trip from Ohio to California, reflecting on my three months with my mother as well as reflecting on my experience in Visalia a month after I had arrived. It's pretty sweet, check it out.

Posted by Nick at 02:45 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Sorry about that stupid idiotic thing I posted last night. My grandfather did pass away yesterday and it was very troubling, but I should point out I am at peace about it. I'm am doing just fine (I had just a bit too much wine and I watched a depressing episode of Buffy).

By the grace of God, I actually spoke to him yesterday. I hadn't spoken to him since I visited in May this year. I told him about my marathon that I ran in June and also my grueling hike up Mt. Whitney in August. He used to live in California so he was aware of the mountain. I told him I loved him and that I would be coming back to Georgia in March to run the Georgia Marathon and I was looking forward to seeing him. That's not going to happen but I find I cannot feel bad about it. It's incredible that I spoke to him the day he died and I was able to make peace with him and tell him that I loved him. It's truly incredible.

I'm in Reno this week and I will post some pictures later. I had a bad sinus headache coming over the Sierra today. My coworkers made fun of my ravings for veggie dogs (don't ask why the subject of my vegetarianism came up in conversation, it always seems to be a hot topic). Tomorrow is going to be a long day and I may do some gambling tomorrow evening. I won't win anything, but what the hey, I can try.

Thanks for your kind words, I'm doing just fine. I loved my grandfather, but he is in a better place. I may be going to his funeral at Arlington Cemetery, so maybe I will reflect on him then. Right now, I am just still absorbing it. But I'm doing just fine (I just need to stay away from my computer as well as my cell phone if I decide to have a lot of wine again).

Good night (what did people think of my France pictures?? They are here, go see them!)

Posted by Nick at 10:47 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Today was a rough day. My grandfather died today. I'm sorry I haven't posted in a while. I'm sorry I haven't posted links to my complete Web site. I'm bad. It's been bad.

Some of the France posts are up. I have pictures here. I'm sorry, but this week is kind of complicated. It's been kind of rough. I had a lot of wine tonight because, I don't know. I've been watching "The Body," an episode of Buffy. It's sad.

I'm going to Reno tomorrow probably. I'm not sure what to think about it. Leave me a message, that would be nice.

Anyways, I have to think of something else, like sleep or running. I like to sleep and run.

Good-night.

Posted by Nick at 02:32 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)