Sony launches a new MANGA reader.

Though the idea doesn't necessarily excite me, the technology behind it does. I'm sure SONY will adapt it to PSP and other platforms. (If they haven't already.)

There that smart guy goes again.

And if I never mentioned it before. I'm really quite hot. It's true, It's true. Every woman loves a cuddly bunny rabbit. But if you're a dude and call me cute I swear I'll kick you.

Twice. :)

I say, "shoot all the smart people now!"

Especially since I'm not one of them. :)

I was going to continue my post from earlier until I ran into this piece. I'm no fan of the Clintons but I couldn't help but be sympathetic for the ex-President with everything that happened over the weekend. Thank you Keith for being so well researched and articulate. Thank you Bill Clinton for standing up to the FOX TRASH Network.



Neither Clinton's administration or the present administration has done enough to fight true terrorism in my book. Having said that how dare the Republicans claim that the previous presidency was distracted by Lewinsky-gate. Who the hell created the scandal in the first place?

It's reasons like these that I'll never be a Republican again. Ever.

"The will to win is important, but the will to prepare is vital." --Joe Paterno

Finished Calliope Nerve IV last night. It's really quite good, if I do say so myself. And I do. :) And sent another poem in for the next issue of Non Creative Garbage.

Came home from work and the tire is nearly flat on Kalisa's car. It's always something...ain't it?

At work today, we talked about all the benefits that Big Corporate Giant has gotten rid of. In my case, at retirement I'll get no health care what so ever and more or less no pension. Though I have done well with my 401K, one bad hit and you know how that goes. Now how do I fix the problem? How do I create wealth for me and my family so I don't have to worry? I'm open to suggestions here. (What concerns me the most is if something health wise happens to me or if I get too old to work/supplement my income.) Ahh...the miracles of a free market economy.

More on all this later, as I'm getting error messages from BLOGGER saying it can't detect my connection.

All hail the return of my Misery Signal Internet radio station.

"It looked like a piece of some different dream fallen here." --William Gibson





The Troupe of Calliope

At Hatrack River
I made my crossing

To that Ferryman
Offered a -Word-
(The taste was sweet)
Turned out he loves poetry!
Charon lept for free.

This is not an exit.
Me a bard.
The altitude of me
Never brings you ladies down!
(rather swooning)

I am
May conceived
Pen man.

Duets of Fire
Insde the Soul.
We are all members
Of the Troupe of Calliope.

Their ring has six sides but only one Angle. It's about damn time.

Now I wonder if he'll be doing MMA as well?

"He who believes is strong; he who doubts is weak. Strong convictions precede great actions." --James Freeman Clarke

Why don't we have something like LitQuake here?

My brother couldn't make class last night so I taught. We did a few pure Aikido techniques and then I threw in a three or four Ju-Jitsu and Karate techniques for fun. Also made them do a few punching and blocking drills which is something Aikido-practitioners don't usually do but as you know my theories on self defense are a little different then many of my Ueshiba brethren.

My friend Steve has returned to class. Hopefully he'll stick around this time. Enjoyed training with him again. He's a cool guy. The good sign is he's already called to see if I can teach him on weeks he can't make regular class due to his work schedule.

My area in the basement is cleared for my soon to be mini-dojo. Just need a couple of mats. I can't get over the cost a new one. A three inch thick, 8" x 6" mat is about five hundred dollars. I did find some Tae Kwan Do style mats for about $220.00 a piece with shipping on E-bay. That's probably the way I'll go for now.

Still two more days of work, I love four day schedules but this twelve hour plus a day sh*t is killing me.

Sent a snail mail letter to an old friend of the family from my mom's church Bob Wilging who used to own three super markets.

Bob's wonderful wife Ruth passed away. The thing I always enjoyed about the two of them was that after fifty years of marriage the two of them were still in love like kids. You could see it in the eyes and hear it in the fondness of their voices when they talked about each other. A lesson for us all.

When my dad passed way in '90 Bob offered me a good job, training as a meat cutter's apprentice, and a rent free room to live in since his stores were about twenty miles from here. I think he understood what I had lost when Dad was gone.

Kalisa is in West Virginia for the weekend so Kevin was kind enough to watch the kids for me here at the house and take an I.O.U.

I'm outta here....

"Mindset: Get in touch with your grey matter. Program your mind with positive, committed thoughts. If you believe it, you can achieve it." --Terry Telford

"Culture's a dirty word now-a-days but God knows I try." --Lex Luthor (as written by Grant Morrison)

I think I got the Internet back. Finally. But another serviceman will be out to fix the slowness of my conneciton. (I'm told that cable is much faster than dial up but I thought it was normal for my hair to get grayer as I download web pages.) All I really have to say is, "man it sucks to actually walk into a bank to balance the checkbook."

Just got the time to get the last issue of Calliope promoted (better late than never I always say.) Now it's time to put together issue number four. Should be getting the latest issue of the APA in the mail here too (my last one got lost because of my move), after I read it going to do my next regular zine as well. However, first I have to get my printer running again. (It's always something with computers...)

If you haven't yet, do yourself a favor and go pick up an issue of Matt Fraction's Casanova. It's smart, chock full of tight dialogue, wonderful art, spies, sci-fi, and it's the first non Warren Ellis book published in the Fell format.

Aikido practice tonight, an episode of RAW, some time with the kids and some zine making and even the sun is shining. Me thinks it's gonna be a good day....

"He doesn't look a thing like Jesus but he talks like a gentlemen like you imagined when you were young." --The Killers

Calliope Nerve Issue #3: The Grail is now available and free of charge featuring Sheila Murphy's January 15th:

January 15th

blinds
part open
this winter morning

I watch you
walk away
holding

shut
your coat
amid stippled sleet

I think of
Escanaba South
Bend

Ann
Arbor Kalamazoo
even Mishawaka Indiana

everywhere spears of
winter obligate
neighbors

to
cozy up
within parentheses and

breathe warmth together
as if
all

for
now is
basically quite copasetic

and spring remains
a probable
attraction

Other authors include James Dilworth, Ariel Lee, Billy Jno Hope, and of course me, I'm Nobius Black.

For a copy (drop me a line with your snail mail address) or for submission information email nobius AT gmail dot com.

Will someone please fix my da** internet connection at home?

Please...?

Pretty please?

Oh well, at least I got some new comics. Life ain't all bad.

"Any kid who has two parents who are interested in him and a house full of books isn't poor." --Sam Levenson

No Internet connection at home still. Driving me nuts. Changed from DSL back to Cable and now something else needs done so another serviceman is due out in two days. Did I mention I hate computers? And the Interwub.

Still haven't received the latest issue of the APA. If anyone talks to Mark please ask him to send me a new one.

Raining all day, two inches expected by the time it's over. Timing couldn't be better as I'm burning my last vacation week. Don't stand too close that black cloud follows me.

Send cash and alcohol. To my new address, not my old one. In dire need of both. :) Well at least I'm still good looking....:)

"Learn to think like a child then your imagination will be free. When your imagination is free you can do anything." --Criss Angel

Originally written August 31st:

"I read because I can’t stand not to. I get panicky when I don’t have reading material, scanning my surroundings for any words I can find. I know exactly what to do in an emergency on BART. A short list of things I have read when nothing else was available: My parents’ Maxima owners’ manual, AARP magazine, Iron: Are You Getting Enough?, Some Facts on Herpes, LOTTOPeople Magazine, Burpee seed catalog, Map of Los Angeles, the back of a Safeway receipt, BEEF (America’s #1 cattle magazine), My Kaiser member handbook, LL Cool J’s autobiography: I Make My Own Rules. I’m sort of lying about that last one. I had other things to read. But it’s true: Ladies Love Cool James, and the book has its moments." --Jenny Traig

Did you know Stephen King reads romance novels? And even recommends them.

Have you ever seen the move Falling Down? That flick rules. Nothing quite like shooting up a McDonald's because its 10:35 and breakfast ended at 10:30.

If Cleveland is the poorest city in the U.S., I wonder what that makes us here in Barberton that's a mere thirty five miles away?

This website looks neat: Antiques Finder. I wonder if someone would hire a Comic Book finder?

My wife once bough Candlelite (sp?) from a lady who was also an accountant, truck driver, and owned several successful businesses. What personality trait makes some people so successful/so prone to make money? (Which the saleswoman obviously has.) Can that talent be developed? I believe it can.

When I was in middle school I read a book once about a young girl that survived a nuclear war. She was living in a valley that was situated "just so" and the radiation fall out missed. She survived by taking over the grocery store. And then one day a man in a yellow protection suit came to town...it wasn't good. Now if I could only remember the name of that book, which was good.

This was the first of what was meant to be a series of posts called “On Random.” But then my DSL connection failed. Will explain later, may not be online again for a while. Such is the joy of computing...