Game of tag...

So, my good friend Dan C. Got "tagged" by a friend, and then decided to "tag" me. Apparently this means I have to answer these questions he was posed. Kinda like those "gettin-to-know-you" emails that I only do when I'm REALLY bored. Anyway, here they are, con respuestas...

1. What is the total number of books I've owned?
--- Hmm.. Probably a few dozen. I'm pickier with books than I am with music, at least what I buy. Luckily I live with Erika and her siblings, which gives me access to the coolest, geekiest stuff available! A plethora, if you will. Yes, I would say we have a plethora.

2. What is the last book I bought?
--- I think it was Time Travel in Einstein's Universe. I have ten or so books on time travel. The quantum physics behind it, practical implications, theories, etc. Non-fiction stuff. I also have a large metal contraption I've been building in the garage. It's a... um... weather experiment. Yeah, that's it. Don't touch!

3. What is the last book I've read?
--- This totally counts as a book, I don't care what anyone says. I just finished (last night actually) the Sandman series of comics, in graphic novel form. Took me only a few weeks in between calls at work. And let me just say.. HOLY SHIT! Such incredible stories. I couldn't believe it. I laughed out loud, teared up, got chills down my back in parts. Great continuity, which is something I love in long stories. Like Babylon 5, where at the end, they tie up shit that happened at the very beginning of the series. Wow. Seriously, people, if you haven't read them, come over. Bring beer and we'll let you sit in our living room for 20 hours or so and read 'em all. I really hope no one makes a shitty movie out of them, although if done well, they are very movie-esque. They're also very deep and emotional and get you thinking about the world. Dreaming and death, mostly. Man, oh man. I could go on forever, but only Hob Gadling has that luxury (that we know of, at least).

4. What are the 5 books that have meant a lot to me?
--- This is a tough one. I'll probably change my mind later, but here goes.
a. A Wrinkle in Time - Read it first in 4th grade for shits and giggles. I think it was required in 5th grade, too. Since then I've probably read it 6 or so times. Every few years I go back. I don't know, it just spoke to me in a special way I guess. Me, being the time-travel geek I am. Disney made a horrific movie out of it with the little kid from The Ring as Charles Wallace. Ugh.. I used to go outside on warm summer nights when I was a kid and try to tesseract. Look up at the sky and wonder what I had to mentally do to bend the universe and travel wherever I wanted to go. Never worked, but I sure must've looked silly!
b. Breakfast Of Champions - Kurt Vonnegut, Jr. for those of you not in the know. This was the first book of his I read and I was hooked. He's a great writer and storyteller. Peter from BORD got me into him. There really isn't describing it. Just great fiction. Entertaining. A little bit of sci-fi at times. Not too much, for those of you afraid of that sorta thing!
c. The Monster at the End of This Book - Grover. Sesame Street. The reason I picked this one is because my dad used to read it to me when I was in my late teens. Just kidding. I was probably 2 or something. He read it with such expression and vigor, it really stuck in my mind. He doesn't give himself enough credit for being a good father, but he should. Weird how it's little stuff like that that I remember.
d. Black Holes and Baby Universes - A collection of essays from Stephen Hawking. You know, the "wheelchair guy". Ben Webster let me borrow this once, and from there I was in a downward spiral of quantum geekdom. It's an easy read, and he's actually an entertaining guy. I think I remember him talking about making a bet with one of his friends in physics about the existence of a black hole. The prize was a Playboy subscription. Awesome.
e. Untitled (as of yet), by Tim Budziszewski - Does this count? A book unwritten? In The Sandman comics, the dreaming world contains a library of books only dreamed of and never written. But there they are, complete, bound, and on the shelves. I think that's awesome. Anyway, I had a dream one night. One of those movie-like ones with a complete story and everything. Luckily I woke up and wrote down the ideas right away. (For some reason, the characters in my dream were all from He-Man, but that's beside the point). Basically it's a sci-fi story set in the near future. Earth was invaded by a race of aliens whose sole purpose is to spread across the universe to planets with intelligent life and make sure they are progressing the way they believe lifeforms should progress. You know- clean house, steal all remaining weapons from the humans, do genetic experiments, etc. Basically interstellar communists. There was a great war 40 years before the beginning of the story in which the humans almost succeeded in revolting against the aliens. (The humans called the aliens "The Watchers" because they had been watching the progression of humanity for centuries before their invasion). The problem with the first war was that the humans were outnumbered, with few effective weapons, and no means of communication between each other. So, one of the characters discovers the secret solution to that communication problem in a cave during an exile. I can't give away the secret, though. Because then I would have to kill you, or hire you to write my novel. It's one of the things I want to do before I die, so hopefully I've got a lot of time in which to improve my writing skills. Scratch that.. GET writing skills. Erika is a great wordsmith, and I've explained what I have of the story so far to her. It still needs a lot of thinkin' done about it, and a lot of research. Sci-fi geeks will not stand for holes in the story (I let 'em slide in time-travel stories, because they are inevitable, but that's IT!) so I gotta make sure I do it right. Someday maybe. I'll let you know when it's in a bookstore near you!

5. Extra credit question, ‘What book would you wish to buy next'?
--- I heard The DaVinci Code was good. I should read it before the movie comes out in case they make it suck. But Tom Hanks is always awesome. There are still PLENTY of time-travel books, too. As for what I will read next, I think I'll finish The Self Aware Universe. It's got some really awesome ideas in it which I'm sure I'll write about when I'm done with it.

So, there you are. Now, I am tagging Jon, Kevin, Dave, Jameel, Sunspot, and Ben Weasel. So, respond if you will. And if you have a blog, feel free to tag yourself and answer these insightful queries. Ciao.

"5 years, my brain hurts a lot"

A David Bowie quote is very appropriate for this blog entry, but that one sounds so negative. Anyway, yesterday, May 23rd, was the 5 year anniversary of my first date with Erika. We went to see Hitchcock's Rear Window. Pretty good flick. I thought it was cool that she picked something a little non-mainstream. Little did I know she liked a lot of the coolest non-mainstream stuff I did, and the stuff I didn't like I just hadn't discovered yet. I've discovered a lot of cool shit because of her. Babylon 5, the Sandman comics, Dr. Who, David Bowie, etc. I could go on. She's great. The B.o.r.d. song, "E", is pretty good. But she deserves better. Maybe one day I'll write something ten times better for her. She puts up with my stupid jokes, and I put up with her moods. But unlike a lot of couples, our relationship isn't based solely on "putting up with" each other. She's one of only a couple of girls I've dated that I can actually say are my FRIEND, too. My next longest relationship before this one lasted almost 2 years, and in retrospect, I didn't really even LIKE the girl. It was Dana, for those of you that remember her. She's probably popping out babies by now. Glad I got out of that one while I could! Alright, time for a toast... (raise your glass) - So, here's to another 5 years with Erika. (We renewed our contract!) May you all find a love so great that can be called "friend" before anything. Someone to get along with, to share your dreams and downfalls. Someone who along with you will revel in your happiness and care for you during your sadness. Then brush it off and start all over again. - I've always thought whatever master plan decided that boys and girls should get together was a freakin disatrous idea. I mean, physically, the two work together very well, but emotionally it's crazy. That's what makes it so great when you can find someone who you can live with and who becomes almost like a part of your own personality. If you've found the same, I tip my glass to you. If you haven't, don't despair. I've probably got some friends I could hook you up with.

Podcast + Gomeroke

I went to Gomeroke tonight. Did "Saw Her Standing There" and "Daydream Believer", both BORD covers! I don't have to work tomorrow, so that's cool. For the next month or two or three I have off on Tuesdays. Kick ass. Only problem with that is that I have to work on Sundays. Fuck. Oh well. I'll live with that for now. I'm listening to Sunspot's podcast right now. Pretty cool. Anyone can be a DJ now! I should make my own radio show sometime! That Sunspot band really has to be a little more discriminating with their taste in local music though. I mean, I really am NOT an asshole (I don't think) when I say that 80% of local music (and ALL music, for that matter) is complete turd for the ears. Shit, really, people, I mean, learn your fucking instrument and play it correctly, and don't write songs unless you can do it well. I mean, to each his own really, but don't expect me to LIKE anything you ever do unless it is good. How hard is that? Man. Fuck. God damn. I really AM a positive person. Really! I love most everything for what it is. But most of what IS is crap. So, I guess I love crap. Okay, sometimes. I don't know what I'm saying. Sunspot is in the carwash right now. This is funny stuff. Wish I could be there with them. Chris (guitarist) and I finished some songs today and wrote some more material, so that's pretty cool. I think we almost have a complete set's worth of songs now. Now all we need is a bassist and drummer. Easy, huh! ;)

Weezer rocks.

Got the new album. Pretty good. Didn't blow me away like the Green Album when it was new, but it's still pretty sweet. Really mellow compared to everything else. But it's cool. Get one! Oh yeah, and Mike Huberty looks like Gary Sinese. I can't believe it took me this long to realize that.

Help out a fellow musician!

If you have a minute, vote for my brother Dan's band on this site. They are "The Smokin' Bandits" and they rock. They play a mix of bluegrass, rockabilly, and jam. But not the annoying goes-on-forever type jams. Looks like they aren't doing to bad with votes, but they definitely are far behind where they need to be! Thanks!

Reviews time...

Here are Tim's reviews for the last few weeks:
1.) Job - So far my job is pretty sweet. I've gotten through the training for the most part, and it was a cinch. From now on I'll pretty much get to my cubicle, sit down, and repeat what other people are saying for 8 hours. Sounds boring, but it's really not. Most of the calls are of a friendly nature, you know, friends calling each other and such. I can't get into details at all for obvious confidentiality reasons, but it's a lot easier on my psyche than the people at my last job were. The pay is enough to live on, if I had no debt. But since doctor bills, car bills, Vegas trips, DVDs, and student loans really build up, I'm gonna need to do some other shit or get promotions to make more money. Captel is an awesome company, so I recommend anyone looking for a job to look into it. Oh yeah, and they don't test for drug use there!

2.) The Hitchhikers Guide to The Galaxy - I loved the series of books by Douglas Adams, so I figured I'd at least like the movie for the most part, and I was right. I assumed they'd add shit that wasn't necessary and take out really good, funny stuff, and I was also right about that. But since I expected it, it wasn't so bad. At least Douglas Adams co-wrote the screenplay and was an executive producer on the movie, so you knew it wasn't just a bastardized version of a dead guy's life's work. The special effects were AWESOME. If you've read the first book, the scene where they tour the planet-building factory is incredible. When I read that, my imagination could not come up with imagery to do that idea justice, but that scene in the movie does! Trillian is freakin hot in the movie, which I imagined she was in the book. Expect a love story between her and Arthur that was definitely not in the book. But hey, it's a movie, right? There's got to be at least one shower scene!

3.) Beatallica - Let me say, these guys fuckin crack me up. "And Justice For All My Lovin" is probably my favorite, since "All My Lovin" is one of my top Beatles favorites. "Kirk Hammison" (I think that's right) is the only guy not wearing a wig in the band, and he twirls that hair around like crazy while he shreds just like the real Kirk (not quite like George, though).

4.) Exercise - I hear it's good for you. Seems that way, I guess. I give it a 4.