I don't think I can come down cause I blew a lot of money in nyc this weekend, well not a lot but pretty much all I had. Meinhold kind of freaks me out anyway cause of the time he bit me, gave me a wet willie, and called me slutty for asking him to buy me a drink. I did call him on Sunday night. I left a message but he never called back and I'm sure as hell not trying to chase him down.
Francine said that she shouldn't go either. We're both in the poor people boat right now so ... best to stay put. I need to clean my apartment and consider what the hell I'm doing with my life and all that.

I'm back after running away to nyc for the weekend. I had a good time. Most of the trip was solitary traveling. I like people to watch strangers. New York is a large state. I had some drinks with Mr. Walsh, Nate, Sherrie, and Ned. I know Mr. Walsh and Nate from Atlanta. One was my teacher and the other a fellow student. Sherrie I just met that night. Ned went to Alfred with Mr. Walsh and I'd met him before.
We all went to a bar and had a few drinks. I reminisced in my mind about homo erotic wrestling in the interactive video lab (IVL). We all piled into dans car and left the bar to go hang out at Ned's house. Sherrie lives in the same building. On the way up the stairs we noticed red crap all over the back of Sherrie's dress. I remember following her to the door saying "hmmm, it almost looks like menstrual blood." She went to change but then she never came up to Ned's place.
Mr. Walsh, Nate and I decided to take off so we went to the car. Nate was in the front and I climbed into the back. I got something slimy on my thumb when I climbed into the car. I held out my thumb exclaiming "ewww gross what the hell is this!" Dan pulls back over and we realize it's all over the back seat. I jump out of the car shaking my hang off and gagging. We realize that Sherrie managed to secretly vomit on the ride back. Mr. Walsh wiped up her vomit with a merry Christmas dish towel that we left laying on the side of the street in Brooklyn.
The next day I boarded the train and got back to buffalo at 10:30. The subway wasn't running and I had not arranged a ride so I walked back to my house from the station. I got to see the clean up crew removing Buffalo's taste. Keith left me a message asking if I want to go to South Carolina. I called the number he gave me but I haven't heard anything back.
I talked to Andy for a good long time. I want to go see him but who knows. I think I'm finally going to clean up my messy apartment and try to focus on my academic work.
I've started reading a book called A Slave Holders Daughter and the title is apt because it's written by a woman who was born in Mississippi the year the civil war ended. Her family lost it's fortune.
It is terribly bias but at the same time it's interesting to hear a first person perspective on the conditions of life back then. I'm fascinated with the idea of slavery, mainly because I believe that it still exist but needs to be better defined. I mean working full time for six bucks an hour, isn't that slavery, in a way? Why is it that some people are screwed in life and others have opportunities fall into their lap? What is this American dream people like to speak of? I don't know. I'll figure out these thoughts eventually.

member tha time?
[inlink]terry,208[/inlink]







[inlink]robin,136[/inlink]

My night on the town caught up with me apparently cause Bob fired me today. I feel bad for him. He told me that my priorities are messed up. My coworker has his priorities in the right place but he's fucking bob's daughter so ... he needs that good impression I reckon. Well, actually he's just a nice kid, not nearly jaded as I am.
It's interesting to be fired. This was my first time. It's more fun than quitting. The plant watering thing was getting old, I mean it's nice to do you know? Flower's are pretty. I'm sad. I was starting to like scraping the rust off of trash cans, it's oddly satisfying.
I've been considering my priorities all day and I realize now that jobs suck. I'm excited about this teaching thing but that doesn't start for a while... What am I going to live on? hmmmmm... I sure as hell don't want another bullshit menial job.
I've got to start thinking about my syllabus for the fall. I was to show the kids all kinds of things. Teaching seems like it should be rewarding. My class is in the afternoon so that's lucky. I want to see the kids make things. I can't wait. Making flowers grow Vs making people grow, same damn thing is some ways. Ittle be nice to have a job where I get to use my noggin.

To bad I have a month to kill.

There are all these street people and I need to utilize them. I want to start carrying around a video camera while I water flowers and take time out every now and then to get people to act in a written script. I'll give all the actors a dollar if they want. I'll have to get people to say something. I need a character. I was thinking of being, Pansy the fish seller and making people ask me "Hey, pansy will you sell me some fish?" ... yeah um
This detective McDonnell called today. He told me some lady got her teeth smashed out when someone snatched her purse. The attacker followed her home from the walgreens. Scary shit. I'm trying to wear clothes with pockets and carry as little as possible around with me. Keys and cigarettes.
I had another meeting with jack Daniel's last night. I remember the first night I met that particular brand of whiskey. I was 14. I had three girlfriends staying the night with me. My sister liked to take her truck and go cruising in Calhoun (in between the piggly wiggly and the movie theater).We tagged along with her that night.
12 yr. old, Shannon
13 yr. old, Courtney
and my Gemini twin, Taffy


We were loitering in the Family Dollar parking lot watching the cruisers drive by. Taffy found some rednecks who agreed to go to the liquor store for us. He came back with a huge bottle of Jack.
We went to my house and got drunk after that. I remember a Mexican skirt, being topless, and blue hair dye every where. Seems like Shannon threw up a pickle and Courtney kept pointing at it saying "look Shannon you threw up a whole pickle" and Shannon was crawling around on her knees in her vomit asking "where, where"?

The man was around 5.8
He was stocky.
He had a round face and round eyes.
He had medium brown skin and short curly black hair.
He wasn't that young or that old, maybe 30?

I tried to make some drawings.






Just to prove how bad I am at drawing from memory I did a sketch of Paul, Matt, and Terry. Can you tell who is who?

I went over the Keith's house at around 1. I was just stopping by to see if they were still rocking and Keith and Tack were chilling. I sat around and bullshitted for a while. Keith kept farting really loud. The stench finally drove me away.
I said goodnight around 2 or so and went downstairs to hop on my bike. I put my purse in my front basket and unlocked my bike. A man came up and put his hand on my purse and asked me
you got any money?
I have a couple of dollars that's it.
How much?
maybe five dollars.

Then he grabbed my purse and ran. I started chasing after him screaming at the top of my lungs. Screaming and screaming loud as I could. I don't know if I was afraid or full of rage. I'd guess the rage part was more.
Well, after I chased him up the street screaming Keith and Tack came running out but we lost the guy. It's hard to run and scream so loud at the same time. I must have woke up half the neighborhood so I apologize to all the residents on Franklin Street. One guy was nice enough to call they cops and 3 or 4 cars came out pretty quickly but I doubt that they help me.
I felt bad because I'm wearing my "my heart belongs to Satan" T-shirt and I bet police officers don't think it's funny. Yeah, I hope they can help me but I doubt it. They sure as hell didn't help with my bike.
It's kind of stupid ya know? Here they want to arrest a kind and peaceful man like Steve but if a man steals a young woman's purse in the middle of the night there's just no helping her in fact it's better to be rude to her. Her, that's me, I'm her. They should give that dude who took my purse a medal. He's certainly an asset to the community.
I've never needed police officers help until I moved up here to buffalo but I wonder what the point is anyway? They're not going to help me.

Watch yourself people!

He got my God Damn cell phone to. So please e-mail me your phone number if you want cause I kept everyone's number in my phone so now I don't have anyone's number but Soyeon's.

I hope that thief enjoys the tampon.

What could possibly have made Steve so curious about biology?

---

__________________________________________________

Bacteria in home of art professor spurs indictment on fraud charges

Genetics scholar from Pittsburgh also indicted

By DAN HERBECK
News Staff Reporter
6/30/2004


In a case that has angered the art world and raised concerns about academic
freedom, the federal government obtained mail fraud and wire fraud
indictments Tuesday against University at Buffalo art professor Steven Kurtz
and the chairman of the University of Pittsburgh's human genetics
department.

Kurtz, 46, and Robert E. Ferrell, 60, are accused of illegally scheming to
use Ferrell's position with the University of Pittsburgh to obtain two
bacterial agents that were found last month in Kurtz's home laboratory on
College Street.

Kurtz's attorney said the bacteria were harmless, and authorities made no
allegation that the men intended to use the bacteria for terrorism, but U.S.
Attorney Michael A. Battle said the investigation is continuing.

Federal prosecutors and agents call the indictments a case of protecting
the public safety in post-9/11 America.

Kurtz's supporters in the art world accuse U.S. Attorney General John D.
Ashcroft of making a heavy-handed attack on free speech and artistic
expression.

"This case has nothing to do with artistic expression and everything to do
with public safety," Battle responded. "Regardless of the plans these two
men had for these materials, we can't allow people to buy and distribute
bacterial agents like this under false pretenses. It's not a case of
terrorism, but it's a case of mail fraud."

But Edmund Cardoni, executive director of Hallwalls Contemporary Arts
Center said "these indictments are going to outrage people in the art
world."

"To me, it looks like a real stretch," Cardoni said. "The government
couldn't make a case that (Kurtz) was trying to make biological weapons, so
they hunted for another charge to use against him."

UB spokesman Arthur Page said the university will "carefully review the
charges and make a determination whether any action on its part needs to be
undertaken." He added that the university is also committed to encouraging
faculty members to have "academic freedom to pursue research," and providing
a safe environment for students and staffers.

Kurtz is scheduled to appear in court July 8 before U.S. Magistrate Judge
H. Kenneth Schroeder Jr.

"On this case, the feds have gone from terrorism to protecting the public
safety to this petty charge," said Kurtz's attorney, Paul J. Cambria. "We'll
be fighting this in court."

Cambria said Kurtz was using the bacteria for research for his work with
the Critical Art Ensemble, a performance art group that has been critical of
government policies in biotechnology.

The two biological agents seized from Kurtz's home were bacillus atrophaeus
and serratia marcescens, which are not alleged to be highly dangerous
substances. But prosecutor William J. Hochul Jr. said the substances were
purchased under false pretenses by Ferrell, who said they were going to be
used in research at his university.

Some e-mails exchanged last December between Kurtz and Ferrell provided
"significant evidence" in the case, Hochul said.

"Hi Bob. Well it looks like my bacteria is not as harmless as I previously
thought," Kurtz allegedly wrote in one e-mail, quoted in court papers.
"While not wildly dangerous, it is associated with pneumonia and urinary
tract infections . . . Seems to be hardest on kids and people with



compromised immune systems. Do you know what kind of strain we are getting,
and how toxic it is?"

Ferrell's response was not contained in the papers.

Serratia marcescens is a common bacterium found in soil, water, on plants
and in animals. Once believed to be harmless, the microbe has increasingly
become associated with hospital-acquired infections, including those of the
urinary tract, especially among very sick patients who are more vulnerable
to infection, according to microbiologists.

Bacillus atrophaeus is another common microbe with characteristics similar
to anthrax, except it is harmless. As such, it is used as a stand-in for
anthrax in biological studies, microbiologists said.

Before the attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, and the anthrax scare, researchers
routinely shipped bacteria to each other, said UB associate professor of
microbiology and immunology Terry Connell. Since then, he said, the federal
government has instituted strict regulations that scientists view with mixed
emotions.

Indictment papers allege that Ferrell illegally gave Kurtz the bacteria
after purchasing it from the American Type Culture Collection laboratory in
Manassas, Va.

"There are very strict procedures for getting these materials," Battle
said. He said the investigation showed that Ferrell was fully aware of the
procedures but violated them.

Kurtz is an artist, author and associate art professor at UB. He previously
taught art at Carnegie Mellon University in Pittsburgh.

According to University of Pittsburgh officials, Ferrell is a highly
respected scientist and professor. "Of course, we're concerned (by the
allegations)," said Robert Hill, vice chancellor for public affairs. "We
have cooperated with authorities in the investigation. We hope there is a
swift and positive outcome."

Ferrell could not be reached for comment. His attorney, Efrem M. Grail of
Pittsburgh, said his client is "surprised and disappointed" by the
indictment.

"(Ferrell) is a well-respected, honest, principled and experienced
teacher," Grail said.

The FBI investigation began May 12, the day after Kurtz's wife, Hope, died
from what police believe are natural causes.

Emergency first responders called to Kurtz's Buffalo home found what they
considered unusual items in the home, including a laboratory and petri
dishes with bacterial cultures in them.

When asked if authorities believe the bacteria kept in the home could have
contributed to the death of Hope Kurtz, prosecutors declined to comment.
Cambria said there was no connection.

As the case plays out, Cambria predicted, the public will learn that
Ferrell and Kurtz had only good intentions and never set out to defraud
anyone.

"There was no criminal intent here," Cambria said. "These men were setting
out to advance enlightenment and knowledge, which is what professors do."


e-mail: dherbeck@buffnews.com

News medical reporter Henry Davis contributed to this report.

I've been meeting all these people off the street while I'm on my gardening or flower watering patrol. This week I met two Vietnam veterans.
I was with the group of suburbanites and merchants pulling weeds and turning soil when I met the first man, Carl. The super gargening lady brought him over because he said he wanted to help. He made funny little music noises under his breath. He touched things like his hands were new, like a toddler he enjoyed the fresh sensations as he crumpled the dirt between his fingers.
Then he took the shovel from my hands and lifted it up horizontal. It made me nervous. I braced myself for the worse and Carl started playing air guitar on the shovel, swaying his hips asking "Y'all know Keith Richards man, Mick, Y'all know crazy Mick?" and so Carl was a big hit with all the sulky young gardeners who were only there because someone agreed to give them some undisclosed amount of money.
The next day I was on my usual plant watering route. I'd stopped at a Sunoco to make use of their watering spout and smoke a cigarette or two. A skinny old man in short shorts and sunglasses started up a conversation with me. Jimmy was his name. He told me he was in Vietnam and I told him "Yeah my dad was drafted but he was injured in training so he never had to go overseas." Then Jimmy started in on war stories.
The bright sun shone down on us while he told me of the perfect trap they had made for the Viet Kong. The perfect trap, he said, and then out of no where came the bagpipers playing loud and proud. The Viet Kong killed every one of those bagpipers. There were no rules in that war. They killed them bagpipers and Jimmy had to get his men out of there. The perfect trap foiled. Now when Jimmy is flipping through channels and sees a bagpiper he goes straight back in time to the massacre of the bagpipers who ruined his perfect death trap.
The good news is there are lots young soldiers coming home from Iraq who could be destined for the same future as Carl and Jimmy.