I openly admit my faults. Some people aren't mature enough to do that, but I am not part of that crowd. However, I am very proud of my strengths - I'm unflappably confident and like to give some of that confidence to other people through encouragement. (e:jessbob) - stop freaking out about your test - you're a smart guy and you are going to do well... being nervous about an exam is going to hurt you rather than help you. Do your work, study hard, cram every bit of your brain with the information you need to know, go take your exam, get an A, then go to sleep. Have you ever seen "What The Bleep Do We Know?" Theres a study they talk about in the movie where people can make water react differently based solely on mental power. They have people concentrate on being happy, mad, nervous, the entire spectrum of emotions. Your body is made up almost entirely of water - when you are angry or nervous remember that!

Anyhow, back to me (Haha!). Besides my natural instinct to bring people up when they are down, I dislike it when people say they can't do things. BULLSHIT! I had a guy say to me once that he wished he could go back to school and become an accountant. I turned to him and said, "of course you can do it - just do what needs to be done, get your degree, get that job and enjoy what you reap from your hard work!" To me when people are worried about whether or not they can achieve something they are thinking of the steps they need to take as BARRIERS rather than OBSTACLES that require necessary steps that can and will be overcome if you put honest hard work into it.

I serve as a confidant to my closest friends because they know that they are going to get an interesting and positive bit of advice from me. When my brother or other friends of mine are depressed I tell them that negative energy is making it impossible for them to have positive energy. Think about that for a minute. Once upon a tiime Joshypoo had a nervous breakdown over a girl - this girl had me wrangled up so badly that I literally left Buffalo for 3 weeks and didn't come back until I had the right frame of mind. I stayed with my dad and cooked together with him, worked in the yard at my grandmas house, went for runs... there was also a point in time where I didn't leave my dads living room for an entire week. What I learned during those 3 weeks was that NEVER AGAIN would I let something like that unwind me and make me forget about who I am. How insane was it for me to let somebody do that to me? Why should somebody or something make me lose my center and sense of self? I came back to Buffalo a new man with a new, meaner leaner attitude. The negative energy made it impossible for me to have positive energy - AKA I couldn't see the light at the end of the tunnel because I was too absorbed with mulling over what was wrong rather than everything that was right. Know thyself. Any other thing thats wrong is irrelevant because its temporary.

What I'm leading to in a rather longwinded way is this - what happens when the eternally confident and optimistic guy feels down for once? Does he not talk about it? I'm kind of blue today. My personal solution to this today is to make apple crisp and listen to Belle & Sebastian. What I really want to to is sit on my porch and drink heavily but I know that won't get me anywhere!

Today I read a report concerning liberal White House correspondent Helen Thomas. She says that if Dick Cheney runs for President (which he vehemently claimed he would NOT do back in February) she would kill herself. Honey don't let a silly thing like a Cheney candidacy stop you!

Al Ulthman (or whatever he is) wrote a laughable article concerning Charles Krauthammer in the latest issue of The Beast. I think Al needs a reminder that he is fucking Al Ulthman and not a legitimate journalist that could even carry Krauthammer's jock strap. The thing I found most hysterical was that he claimed that liberals are not actively engaging in forcing liberalism on America, and that all liberals wanted was for people to choose what they wanted.

Well, Al, if thats the case then explain -

1. The 9th Circuit in San Fran

2. Roe vs. Wade. I support womens right to choose, but abortion was a states rights issue in the 70's and women got them back then... don't be fooled. Its universally agreed upon by lawmakers both on the left and the right that Roe was horrible law and set precedent for the Supreme Court to commit judicial activism from that point onward.

3. If you want Americans to choose, then why the fuck do liberals actively pursue said legislating from the bench instead of going to the ballot box? Answer: they don't want Americans to vote on their issues because they will lose. So much for offering Americans a choice!

4. This is unrelated but is worth pointing out - why are people like Al concerned with a judicial activism from the right when hypocritically enough they themselves have been conducting that behavior for 30 years now? Answer - liberal activism = good and anything else is bad and wrong.

Case closed.

Today is a lazy day at 750. I'm "procuring music legally" - The Shins, Arcade Fire, Franz Ferdinand... I need new stuff for my iPod.

I think I'm going to grab some food over at our new and fabulous food store.

I highly recommend the vanilla almond cereal from Peace Cereals - damn that stuff is delicious!

(e:noobiebrothero)fmine had better not try to hijack my cereal - I will boobytrap that shit!

I can't sleep, so I decided to check out Winamp TV streams. The one I'm watching is about the Illuminati, or in their words, "Bush's Brotherhood of Death" - AKA Skull and Bones. Conveniently they forget to mention that John Kerry was initiated too... typical. If this tepid effort at entertainment wasn't so pathetic it would be a little funny.

Tonight I also found the Gitmo Menu. Everything is on a 14- day cycle. Atrocities at Gitmo continue, such as these -

Terrorist #1 - "Where the fuck are my glazed carrots?"

Terrorist #2 - "Tandoori chicken breast? What about my acid reflux disease, you infidels?"

Terrorist #3 - "Celery without peanut butter?"

Terrorist #4 - "My lemon pepper fish is cold!"

Now that the relocation is done and its open, I have to say that its truly magnificent. The only thing they are missing are my various tailgating supplies... otherwise Wegman's can officially kiss my balloon knot. <3 Their fantastic produce has expanded, they have a great pre-made food selection, a cold bar, all kinds of breads, an expanded hippie soap selection, all kinds of dairy and soy-based things - KUDOS to Lexington Co-Op and best wishes for continued success!

I came home with some instant pad thai, refried black beans, whole wheat tortillas, southwestern style salsa, blue corn tortillas (played out but so good!), shredded monty jack cheese, 1/2 gallon of 2%, vanilla almond cereal and an espresso chip cookie - all organic/vegan. Not bad!

Now for the downside - the place wreaks like patchouli and B.O. and is absolutely crawling with pencildicks and budding econazis. Seriously, the aisles were so crowded that it was truly maddening. I'm happy for the business for the Co-Op's sake, but this shop will be much better when all the posers GTFO of my new grocery store.

Anyhow, with all kidding aside about the crunchy granola contingent (where I practically get ALL of my play from females... can't bite the hand that feeds me!) I'm very happy that we have something so cool in our neighborhood. I am going to vow to shop here whenever I'm home.

This is my new place to pick up chicks and randomly shop for different things I've wanted to try but never have. I think for lunch tomorrow I am going to swing by there and pick up this cool coconut curry sauce and some basmati rice. Or maybe that great looking pastrami sandiwch. Oh, and the vegan cookie - the BEST I've had. Props to you, Alternative Baking Company! Its the first vegan cookie I've had that didn't taste like cardboard and dirt.

9/10 rating from me - please go check it out and support your local food store!

(e:paul) you are an evil genious with the technological stuff!

Its official - I'm an idiot.

For some strange reason this is my natural reaction to when girls go out of their way to try to make conversation with me -

Girl - "Hey, do you have an extra cigarrette?"

Me - "Sure, here you go."

Girl - "So, blah blah blah etc etc etc"

Me - *look away, look at my drink, take a sip, look away*

Followed by about 45 seconds of uncomfortable silence. I'm really bad at small talk so I avoid it at all costs. Plus this girl had Prada glasses on, which was a HUGE turn off. I dislike girls with expecations of a certain lifestyle because IMO if she can't provide it for herself surely she can't expect some idiot guy to provide it for her. I like independant, loud-mouthed girls with an opinion... but also the type who are ladies and know how to be sweet and discreet. Maybe she was really nice - I'll never know. In real life (that is, outside of this blog where some people get the impression that I'm a right wing fascist A-type personality) I'm actually a really nice guy that goes out of his way to try to make people be comfortable and at ease. I think this girl sensed it and kind of dug me, and I hate small talk so I shyed away. Next time I think I'll just kick it and use my gift of gab - I could care less if I get shot down. Plus, and this is going to sound REALLY strange... I've had the strongest desire for the past couple weeks to perform cunnilingus on some lucky girl. I just want to practice!

My weakness with the small talk is the death of me, so usually the ladies I end up with have to practically hit me over the head with a bat to get me to talk to them. I wish I was different!

Anyhow, I think Atlanta is really Southern slang for "delay." My plane this week was 3.5 hours late. I hate getting Atlanta'd - sorry (e:jason) for the wait!

I'm home in Buffalo for the next week - not working this next week sucks because I like being busy, but on the other hand 750 is going to get a makeover while I'm here. Plus I truly miss the neighborhood while I'm gone, so I get the opportunity to take advantage of what we have on Elmwood while I'm here. I kind of want to hit up Ambrosia for lunch next week, or maybe the lunch buffet at India Gate. Every freaking day I go to SpOT and get a mucho iced coffee. Anyhow if you see a right-wingish looking guy with Birkenstocks, collared shirts and aviator glasses with short hair (shaven or unshaven depending on the hour and/or my laziness) around, thats me!

Concerning the Supreme Court issue, it seems that we've given Democrats just enough rope to hang themselves -

Senator Ted Kennedy (D-Mass.):

• "Nominees deserve a vote. If our . . . colleagues don't like them, vote against them. But don't just sit on them - that is obstruction of justice. Free and full debate over judicial nominations is healthy.

The Constitution is clear that only individuals acceptable to both the President and the Senate should be confirmed.

The President and the Senate do not always agree. But we should resolve these disagreements by voting on these nominees - yes or no." Congressional Record, January 28, 1999.

Senator Tom Harkin (D-Id.):

• "I really believe that the filibuster rules are unconstitutional. I believe the Constitution sets out five times when you need majority or supermajority votes in the Senate for treaties, impeachment." Congressional Record, March 1, 1994.

Senator Joe Lieberman (D-Conn.):

• "[T]he filibuster rule... there is no constitutional basis for it.... It is, in its way, inconsistent with the Constitution, one might almost say an amendment of the Constitution by rule of the U.S. Senate." Congressional Record, January 4, 1995

Senator Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.):

• "If we want to vote against somebody, vote against them. I respect that. State your reasons. I respect that. But don't hold up a qualified judicial nominee. [...] I have had judicial nominations by both Democrat and Republican Presidents that I intended to oppose.

But I fought like mad to make sure they at least got a chance to be on the floor for a vote. [...] Don't hold them in this anonymous unconscionable limbo, because in doing that, the minority of Senators really shame all Senators." Congressional Record, June 18, 1998.

Senator Barbara Boxer (D-Calif.):

• "According to the U.S. Constitution, the President nominates, and the Senate shall provide advice and consent. It is not the role of the Senate to obstruct the process and prevent numbers of highly qualified nominees from even being given the opportunity for a vote on the Senate floor." Congressional Record, May 14, 1997.

Senator Tom Daschle (D-S.D.):

• "I must say, I find it simply baffling that a Senator would vote against even voting on a judicial nomination." Congressional Record, October 5, 1999.

Ugh. This week was freaking terrible. 5 plane rides, 3 cities in 3 states over 4 days. By far the Orlando airport is the nicest of the airports I've seen so far, followed by Louisville. Miami is a distant third. The absolute worst airport I've seen so far is Detroit - they seriously need to think about digging up some tax dollars and welcoming their airport to the 21st century. (e:hodown) - corroborate this shit!

We had the coolest car this week - a brand new '06 Charger... it arrived at the rental agency just earlier this week. I don't care what anybody says - those cars are crazy. The V-8 version has some kind of displacement feature that turns the engine into V-4 mode... and the car still has 325 horsepower. That is some sweet shit right there. I had to clean the drool off of the hood... people were mesmerized by that car everywhere we went. Personally, if I was going to spend $24-$30k on a ride, I'd buy a Chrysler Comet and trick that bad boy out with some rims, drop it 4" lower to the floor, take off all identifying marks, give it a custom paint job and put a crazy sound system in it. I saw a car just like this in Los Angeles... I WILL have one some day. Yeah, it would look kind of like a ghettomobile but I guarantee that every (e:estripper) couldn't peel the smile off their face if they were riding with me.

Seriously, if Bruce Jackson gets "best blog" that will be a testament to the poor taste of Artvoice readers. Thats like saying that Marino was better than Kelly - that shit is patently false.

Ugh. My break is almost over and I leave for various parts of the USA on Sunday night. Its been fun being on the shelf for a week - Its been two months since I've really been able to do nothing whatsoever. Back to the grind.

Besides my iPod and my trusty (and old) Walkman that I use for late nights when I'm bored and laying in bed and want to listen to George Noory or whatever local shit is on, I buy books. I learned the hard way about long flights with no entertainment... that is not going to happen to me again. I bought a book called "The Fabric of the Cosmos" by Brian Greene - essentially its an explanation of theoretical physics written in a manner that people without background in physics can relate to. I went to school for business and never took a physics class so excessive details are meaningless to me. Dr. Greene is an interesting guy - I first saw him in a PBS/Nova show about string theory and thought it was excellent. Why not read one of his books?

The funny thing about investigating books to read for me is reading reviews on Amazon - in the science community there is so much petty professional jealousy its hilarious. People that are obsessed about "being right" concerning things that are only theoretical in nature makes me laugh out loud. Being a geek is ok, but dickswinging over physics-related stuff is disturbing. People like that need to have their ears boxed a couple times, but I suppose if I earned a Ph.D in Physics I'd be hard up for a life and social skills too.

(e:Paul) - I was about a week away from entering Officer Training School for the U.S. Air Force before I got my current job. At least you're willing to admit that there is nothing you'd die for... a lot of people with your perspective don't have the guts to admit that. That kind of a retort is a last-resort copout but I respect the fact that you are principled. Even if I disagree with somebody 110% on an issue if they are principled and do not resort to some kind of moral relativism bullshit then I have an enormous amount of respect for them. Alot of anti-war people don't have principle and are protesting because they think its cool... and no I'm not belittling protesters. Don't try to set up the chickenhawk argument, its old and unapplicable to me.

And stop calling me conservative - I'm moderate. Being pro-war on terror doesn't mean you are conservative. Millions of Democrats are pro-war on terror, and in November the Democrats lost because of this and other issues. Ask me about some social issues and I think your predisposition about me (someone you haven't met, by the way) would be shattered.

I think my views on social issues is my redeeming factor with the liberal girls... when it comes to day to day real-life issues I don't like to see people be oppressed. Gay marriage shouldn't be banned, we should do more for the poor for our country (although a full blown socialist welfare state is unacceptable), at the very least kids should be provided some kind of basic health care, our social system causes us to be overworked, we should find some real and practical energy alternatives so we can put the brakes on global warming or at least shift the blame to India and China (plus give the Middle East and Venezuela the finger, a bonus), and in general I think that we Americans should learn to live with a bit less so that doing something for the common good isn't such a big deal.

Anyhow, onto other non-terror or war related issues. I decided to do the fiscally irresponsible thing and get a forebearance on my $40,000 worth of school loans. I don't want to pay them right now. The problem with education is that you can't win no matter if there is an abundance of or lack of a welfare state. If I wasn't paying $40,000 for school out of my pocket I'd be paying for it partially out of my pocket directly, partially out of someone elses pocket via taxes (fucking unacceptable) and out of my own pocket via taxes.

Bonobo + Lazlo Hollyfeld at Nietzsche's tonight - $10. (e:Jason) and yours truly will be there and if you are into quality instrumental music you won't be disappointed.