Home About the author http://www.whatjailislike.com/strangeplace/ About the author Archives Photos Videos XML RSS m.heiden@gmail.com
I woke up in a strange place


« | Main | »

May 17, 1998
post-finals edition, such as it is. it was probably my least stressful yet, since most of my classes opted for an inhuman barrage of writing due in the last week (80 pages in the space of a weekend!) instead of the increasingly tiresome ritual of essay exams. so, no concerns. pretty good grades all around, I think, although a surefire 4.0 has probably been ruined by deficient attendance. (which seems rather contradictory, doesn't it? class is there to help to attain proficiency in the material. if I demonstrated proficiency with the material at a perfect level, what does it matter if I was in class or not?) scholastic apathy having set in after last year's failed escape attempt, it was just another semester, academically. metaphysically it was an EXTRAVAGANZA!, a word that is as fun to type as it is to say in a booming voice on the radio.

so I haven't got any real reflections because nothing worth reflecting upon is ending. instead, in the ever-now:

everyone's leaving town. I'm permanently based here in champaign now, so no movement for me. my apartment building is, as far as I can tell, abandoned (I can't imagine that these places are easy to sublet). even slug is gone. I can't believe that our time together is over. he borrowed a staple on the last day. bye, slug. you've been an ideal neighbor - permissive of my loud music while supplying none of your own, just confusing enough to make me wonder what the heck you were up to but not annoying. big and hairy but never big and hairy and naked. here's to you, slug.

surely it's not just my non-carnivorous self that finds that McDonald's tie-in commercial with Disney's Animal Kingdrom a little disturbing? you know, where the family cheerfully intersperses animal noises with hearty chomps upon ribs (shot in close-up, natch)? "do a giraffe!" "mmm, that's a good sandwich!" someone, tell me it's not just me...

I left a message applying for a ten day job cleaning apartments on campus. it's not quite the same as a seat upon the stool at record service or that's rentertainment, but I never did get around to asking them (which does not excuse them from failing to seek me out, mind you). permanent employment will be sought out...oh, I don't know, eventually...

orbital ("the kitten without fear, explanation, or restriction by gravity") had a respiratory infection which healed and then got bad again in the other eye and seems to have mostly healed again. he blames his tail for the whole thing. his tail could not be reached for comment.

season finale of the Simpsons was excellent, I thought.

picked this up awhile ago, thought some of you might like to see it if you haven't already - the Kevin Smith "superman lives" script that warner brothers apparently liked but decided to scrap when Tim Burton was hired (a project which is now in limbo). the smith script got a lot of highly positive word of mouth from the geek community, so you can judge for yourself the degree to which it's a tragedy that it didn't get made. personally? I like Kevin Smith a lot and have for a long time but this script really just isn't very good. it's obviously written from a fan's perspective - which is good - but the dialogue is just a little too stiff, cliched in several places, and the pacing is poor as well. it just doesn't work for me. wish it did.

I tried to blow up my stereo by unleashing an unholy amount of brand new good music upon it in one day. new massive attack, garbage, and a one-week delayed tori amos. it survived but is feeling wobbly. orbital's tail is also believed to be responsible for this.

I'm working on new stuff for the webpage. midway through, though, the mood zipped off for a zesty jaunt in kankakee so I decided to just get on with it and upload what I have.

there was a tornado out in the area last week. I wrote an update during the storm but it was strangely flat and uninspired so instead I ditched it and went outside, hoping to embrace the tornado with open arms but finding only a slushy at the gas station.

ain't that just the way, though?





Post a comment:

(If you haven't left a comment here before, you may need to be approved by the site owner before your comment will appear. Until then, it won't appear on the entry. Thanks for waiting.)


What?

This is the home of
serious fucking journalism.

Presently:

Chicago, Illinois

Previously:

Hiroshima, Japan
Austin, Texas
Chicago, Illinois
Norwalk, Connecticut
Kyoto, Japan
Osaka, Japan
Chicago, Illinois
Champaign, Illinois

Frequently discussed:

Antarctica
Beelzetron
Books
Chicago
College
Communism
Food
Japan
Manute Bol
Monkeys and apes
North Korea
Outer space
Panda porn
Politics
Rabbi
Sports
Texas

Some peeps:

American Demigods
eat these crumbs
Finding Solid Ground
Imaginary Scenes
Man Cutting Globe
Plastic Passion
Same Day. Different Rat.
Shrubville
Spacekadet

But also:

I write about the Bulls
And I wrote some plays
I was on a bowling team
Inevitably, there is MySpace
My Amazon.com wish list
The old flash-cards

Archives:

June 2006
January 2006
December 2005
September 2005
August 2005
July 2005
June 2005
May 2005
March 2005
February 2005
January 2005
December 2004
October 2004
July 2004
June 2004
May 2004
April 2004
February 2004
January 2004
December 2003
November 2003
October 2003
September 2003
August 2003
July 2003
June 2003
May 2003
April 2003
March 2003
February 2003
January 2003
December 2002
November 2002
October 2002
September 2002
August 2002
July 2002
June 2002
May 2002
April 2002
March 2002
December 1999
November 1999
October 1999
May 1999
February 1999
January 1999
December 1998
November 1998
October 1998
June 1998
May 1998
April 1998
March 1998
February 1998
December 1997
November 1997
October 1997
September 1997

Not in MovableType:

February 2002
January 2002
December 2002
November 2002
October 2002
September 2002
August 2002
July 2002

010622 - 010619
010615 - 010611
010608 - 010604
010601 - 010529
010525 - 010521
010518 - 010514
010511 - 010507
010504 - 010430
010427 - 010423
010420 - 010416
010413 - 010409
010406 - 010402
010330 - 010326
010323 - 010319
010316 - 010312
010309 - 010307
019223 - 010219
010216 - 010212
010209 - 010205
010202 - 010109
010126 - 010122
010119 - 010115
010112 - 010108
010105 - 010102
001229 - 001224
001222 - 001218
001215 - 001211
001208 - 001204
001201 - 001124
001124 - 001120
001117 - 001113
001110 - 001106
001103 - 001030
001027 - 001023
001020 - 001016
001013 - 001010
001006 - 000927

Phew.


Well this is some thing new now.

Site design and content by
Marc Heiden, 1997-2006.

Reproduction or syndication of content from this site is prohibited without specific written permission. Excerpts may be used if the author or this site is credited by name and by hyperlink.


BANQUO
It will be rain to-night.

FIRST MURDERER
Let it come down.

They set upon BANQUO.