The Inshredible Bulk: Not Trending, Not Roll Spiking Either

CIC flurry · Post by **CIC flurry** » 07 Mar 2008 05:32

March is here, baby. It's outside time! - sometimes.

I said wacky hair not broke and dirty. There are wacky haired people in art school. As you say, maybe some broke people, so they get dirty and use it as charcoal for paintings.

Zeke · Post by **Zeke** » 07 Mar 2008 08:03

Rrrriiiiiiiiiiiiiight

There was a story you were telling me while you were still in school about a group project where you had to work with an industrial designer. The designer was telling the group about his part of the project and how it should look and I remember you saying something like, "Who cares how it looks, I MADE THIS WORK!" You did say that, right?

I was shocked at the contempt in your delivery. Seriously, WTF?

So by that, do you imply that artists and designers are somehow inferior to you engineers? Are we lesser people because we don't 'make things work? Because you see the scuzzy goth/emo kids smoking in front of the dirty little arts schools you assume that all artists are going to be just like them?

Reminding others the painful truth of their inferiority to you ("Your nothing!") has been a reoccurring theme but I wonder what specifically started this deep rooted resentment towards the graphically inclined and the structurally challenged? Did some kid draw better than you in kindergarten? Was there an bully in art class? Was coloring within the lines too constraining? I want you to open up like a consenting vagina that I may penetrate and understand you on a deeper level.

Does my present situation enforce your belief that artists are "nothing" because I went to art school and now work at a dental office while you worked so hard for an engineering degree and are now a successful and wealthy engi - oh no, wait

Zeke wrote: Artists are awesome, props and much love to all of you.

Asmus · Post by **Asmus** » 07 Mar 2008 08:18

Haha I enjoyed reading that Zeke.

Engineers always say they make stuff work. But the world doesn't work well.
Artists say they make stuff beautiful. And the world is a beautiful place.

we win.

Zeke · Post by **Zeke** » 07 Mar 2008 08:30

Hehe, I just like giving Tom a hard time sometimes

Iron Clad Ben · Post by **Iron Clad Ben** » 07 Mar 2008 08:31

Unfortunately the way it goes, many engineers are socially retarded. I know, I am one, and I've had plenty of interaction with the "OMG DO U KNOW HOW F$#%ING SMART I AM?!?!" types over the years. I think the whole arts vs. sciences rivalry is stupid. Most people are right or left brained, neither is better than the other, they are just two sides of a coin.

When people are douchebags like that, it's really their problem and not yours. Their superiority mentality (which maybe an external expression of internal of feelings of inferiority) is just going to alienate people, probably only making them feel worse. Don't waste your time getting pissed about people like that, it's not worth it.

Chim-Chim · Post by **Chim-Chim** » 07 Mar 2008 09:07

nfortunately the way it goes, many engineers are socially retarded

the same could be said of many artists... and foozbaggists .. and anybody for that matter

Zeke · Post by **Zeke** » 07 Mar 2008 09:59

Iron Clad Ben wrote:Most people are right or left brained, neither is better than the other, they are just two sides of a coin.

Iron Clad Ben wrote:Don't waste your time getting pissed about people like that, it's not worth it.

Sometimes you just gotta stand up for yourself. (EDIT: that is to say, sometimes I like being an ass just to really get my point across)

hacksterbator · Post by **hacksterbator** » 09 Mar 2008 20:24

and sometimes you just gotta choke a bitch. or and engineer. whatever.

CIC flurry · Post by **CIC flurry** » 09 Mar 2008 22:17

Andrew, listen to both sides, homes.

Though I'm angry enough to stop being your friend, Zeke, I'll post my side of this soon without anger (it's hard) but with respect that a friend deserves.

Zeke · Post by **Zeke** » 10 Mar 2008 07:21

with respect that a friend deserves

that is exactly my point

CIC flurry · Post by **CIC flurry** » 10 Mar 2008 10:57

I really don't want to add to this Jerry Springer, so I'll only post this in your blog, and if we continue to discuss this it should be over PM. In fact, I'll not read your blog for a while so as not to fall into the drama any more.

I do remember saying "Who cares how this looks?!" about *4 years ago*. It was because I hated that girl more than anything, she was always so useless and didn't want to be in the class (unlike the rest of us who signed up, but I had to blame something she was referring to at the time (taking us all through 10 minutes of pick the font). I had a lot of respect for my other industrial designer team member who actually designed the outside shape in solidworks. He made posters and made a color pallet that could make you see it actually being used before we completed it - which helped our presentation much more than this girl. And even helped in construction in true interdisciplinary fashion.

It's a shame that you took that one sentence I made *4 years ago* and extrapolated that I look down upon artists. ...and the one i recently made about Tom/twitch's wacky hair. This is really far from the truth. There were mp3 players before the ipod. But none sold like them without the industrial design and business/marketing aspect of apple. I know this, and believe it and agree with it, and would have been active on all fronts had I developed the ipod. Just an example.

How does 2 of my random comments about unrelated people count as disrespect towards you? It definitely doesn't compare with your judgment and personal attack on me on this forum. And then you go all Loren Baum and post the drama on here. Wtf, we hung out the rest of the day after i said Twitch "had wacky hair so he'd be accepted more at an art school" and you wait till I leave to post about it? Speak up, puss. And you waited 4 years for the other one.

Why do you get to defend the world's artists? You're more a drawer than an artist to me anyway. Art requires an open mind. <- K, I couldn't help myself from a little angry retaliation. I often forget you are an artist because we don't normally talk about careers, and you don't have the typical attitude. I don't judge your present work situation. Oh wait, I just saw reread and saw you slip that in there - "successful and wealthy engi-" Fuck you. I've never judged you on not using your degree. I have my reasons as surely you have yours.

I won the district drawing contest in first grade, so no resentment here, and I've never been bullied. I'm really starting to question whether people used to bully you or people otherwise making fun of you being an artist. Perhaps your parents disappointed in you? Whatever.

This entire thing is ridiculous. I feel like I just read the writings of a mad person - all aggressive and blowing up (again) with barely a reason to risk a good friendship. You have anger management problems. You know this. I hope you have close friends in the future because you always push me and Reile away. I'm sure you could have a whole club of non-close friends like Ronnie and Marty. Next time, please ask me instead of extrapolating about my attitude and then disrespecting me. This is the last time I'll tolerate it. I do require an apology, and I may not accept it.

I sure could be in the wrong here with what I said, and I'm willing to discuss it in a reasonable way (privately, without pre-judgement, with respect), though I'm pretty sure you're angry at this message (And I could have made it much worse), so we won't talk for some time.

Zeke · Post by **Zeke** » 10 Mar 2008 11:21

though I'm pretty sure you're angry at this message

Actually, no. I'm quite relieved now. I like that you keep this in check (not that it's your obligation to):

all aggressive and blowing up (again)

I guess it would seem reasonless and completely random. But to me it was an accumulation of repetitive snide comments over the years about my race, work, and that business with the club a while back. It just felt like it was ok for you to just keep chipping away at me and I never did or said anything much about it until it manifested itself in that post, I just wanted to shove all that right back at you. It started out with one pic then it snowballed into what it is now. The more I added the worse it got.

I'll elaborate more when I get the time...

Zeke · Post by **Zeke** » 15 Mar 2008 08:43

I love my blog. It's so exciting and entertaining

Picked up my bike from my parents on Thursday. The weather was GORGEOUS!!!!!!. I guess I'm so used to slouching in an office chair that it was just weird to be back on my bike and leaning forward so much. Despite a lot of creaking from my stem (easily fixed by playing music loudly) and the saddle feeling a little like jail rape, it was fucking great to just get on and cruise.

After a quick stop at the office to check the mail, I flew through the traffic on Devon to hook up with Ronnie. I had to help adjust his brakes before we rode to Welles Park. At the park, we played 3 or 4 (best of 3 matches) using some new rules. They actually worked out quite smoothly and more fun than I was expecting despite not remembering all the new additions and minor changes. After a break we hacked for a bit then rode down to the lakefront. It's an ugly time of the year as far as scenery is concerned. The trees are still bare, the grass looks nasty and there's debris everywhere large mounds of snow and ice have melted. I had my camera and managed to take a few decent shots. I'll post them with a couple more sunsets when I get home if I can remember to do so. On the way home we rented Army of Two, a shooter the really emphasizes on 2 player co-op. It started out smoothly on the easier levels but we lost sync when it got more difficult and resorted to each man for himself.

I left for work about an hour early to bike around a bit and take more pics by the lake. On the way back, I rode down Devon again and had some close calls with traffic. I cut into the flow of traffic to avoid no less than 4 cars trying to parallel park and was almost sandwiched between an SUV and a freaking bus! The bus was about 20 yards ahead of me and had pulled over to the curb to pick some people up and I thought I had enough time to pass on it's left. I misjudged the timing and the bus had stared to drivel away and back into the lane. Both me and the SUV had the idea of trying to pull ahead of it and next thing I know I'm right in between both vehicles for a few seconds. They were no more than a foot and a half on either side of me until they both slowed down so that could pass in front of the bus and get back into the far right side of the lane. My hands were still shaking wildly and my heart was pounding like a drum solo by the time I got to work. It was more of a pumped-up energetic feeling rather than a scared shitless one.

I could see myself in an alley cat race. I must admit that I do enjoy the rush of cutting in an around traffic knowing you're just inches away from a horrific mangling. It seems crazy while I'm sitting here typing and just thinking about it, but on the bike I have this insatiable 'go as fast as I can' mentality. I would rather do that than go on any roller coaster!

So there's been plenty of e-mails regarding the Net event here in June. Scot Hansen has secured a finals site, but the UIC is asking for money to use their site for prelims. I'm also excited about starting a formal club with the other players and we're still working on a good name. PT suggested something professional sounding with 'Chicago' in the name to help nail sponsors. My clever name well has dried up.

So I'm pretty sure Memphis is not going to happen for me so I've got 3 months to get myself into net shape for the Chicago event. This should be sufficient motivation to start jogging again and really focus on getting my net skills to a more consistent and competent level. I realize I may not take intermediate singles (although I REALLY want to, I'm just being realistic) but at the very least I do not want to let this new club down.

Zeke · Post by **Zeke** » 17 Mar 2008 14:27

Saw my nieces yesterday. I think that was the first time in many years that we actually sat at the dinner table with family and friends while we ate & talked for hours. About 16-17 years ago we would often have 2-3 other families over both days of the weekend. My dad and all the other older men hung out in the kitchen, all the women chatted in the dining room while all the kids were in my room playing Hero Quest. Everyone brought food and drinks to share, the meals were nothing short of epic and conversations were hilarious. Ah, the good old days. Yesterday made me miss all that just a little.

Cool, getting of work early. Gotta post those pics when I get home.

Edit:
Hm, those pics of the lake I took on Thursday didn't come out as good as I thought. I did get these on Sunday though.

I kinda wish I had zoomed i a little closer on the bottom two but Kaya (left) was moving around so much she kept going out of frame

EDIIT:
Spent the rest of the night adding tags and placing pics on the map. I should be sleeping. To Emily>

Senor Grommet · Post by **Senor Grommet** » 18 Mar 2008 17:14

You really should make Memphis happen. I am disappointed that you're not locked in! You need motivation and that event would provide some for sure. Either way, I'll see you soon, but maybe not until Chicago in June.

Moxie · Post by **Moxie** » 18 Mar 2008 17:41

Zeke · Post by **Zeke** » 24 Mar 2008 11:25

Helped my older brother babysit the twins while their nanny was out of town. We had breakfast at The Golden Apple diner on Lincoln ave (not to be confused with the really crappy Golden Angle near Welles park). The food and service were both pretty good so far. We played at the park across the street from their condo before taking their afternoon nap. I watched I Am Legend. It was a'ight. When the kids woke up we went to the pet store then the book store. This whole time I'm just sitting back and watching their little attention spans jump from one thing to the next. They're absolute angles compared to their cousins in the Philippines. Back at their home, we ate lunch then I sat and read them their new books. My brother warned me that they would want to give me more for them to listen to. Sure enough after 3 stories they were eager for another. That's a good sign, I guess. Thankfully their mom got home in time from work and got the two ready for bed. It's still just a little weird (but endlessly entertaining) to watch my brother be a dad.

I was trying to take shots of the girls at the playground but it's very difficult since they're never still for very long. I also get conflicted on whether I should try and get that perfect shot or if I should just put the camera down and just live the moment instead, know what I mean? I can't really explain it.

On Sunday I helped my younger brother clean out his old room that they now for storage. I picked up the last few boxes of my stuff and cleared out the boxes of action figures I had collected over the years. A majority of them are going to my cousin's kids in the Philippines. I kept a few choice ones to be displayed at LaRAZA. My family has this bad habit of never throwing anything away so all this old junk just accumulates. I'm trying so hard to break that habit because I don't have as much storage as I used to. This morning I spent a few hours at home throwing away stuff that I've kept around, you know, in case I needed it for later. Never used them. Even then, I still only managed to dump 3/4 of the crap I was planning on getting rid of. I need to do more cleaning/organizing this week. To be honest with you I love going to the nearby Target and checking out all the various storage and organizing items then visualizing (more like fantasizing) them in my room, managing all that (naughty) clutter. Can't wait to get home now...

While cleaning out the closets at my parent's I found an old box of CIC footbag from back in the day. I also found the VHS cassette (<--- cassettes, lol) where I had recorded that tiny clip of MTV's Hardcore that featured footbag. I'm so glad I found it. As a hacker learning a few tricks, it was probably my first exposure to actual footbag freestyle. I need to find some way to digitize it somehow.

Asmus wrote:I've been wondering, why do you only bike in the summer?

Zeke wrote:I don't ride when its below 55f/13c. All that cold wind hurts my face.

I've biked a few times in the past month. I don't mind going out now when its around 35f/1.67c so long as it's dry, sunny and not too windy. When dressed adequately, I can be warmed up or even sweaty a few minutes into a light ride. I rode to work this morning while it was still sunny and gorgeous. It's going to get crappy when I get out later tonight, though.

Net. Yeah, I should be training or something

Zeke · Post by **Zeke** » 25 Mar 2008 21:15

Biked to work again today. The wind was strong enough to make me suddenly change directions while I rode. Usually I have a fairly light grip on the bar but today I made sure that I had a strong grasp and locked my arms straight to keep the wind from blowing me into the parked cars. That's pretty freakin' strong! Oh man, a patient totally ripped ass in the waiting room while I was at a nearby computer. Didn't even flinch as he looked my way to see if I had heard it. Needless to say, he left in a hurry! I got out early and rode around the parks before coming home and snapping some shots of the sunset. Click the photos to view the rest of the set in my Flickr gallery.

These are the shots I took last Thursday of the twins.

Zeke · Post by **Zeke** » 01 Apr 2008 12:51

Some pics from last year that I just uploaded to Flickr. I just joined a bunch of groups and submitted a bunch of photos into their pools. It's really great to see the work of so many talented photographists in one place.

My e-mail inbox is flooded with correspondence about the upcoming Windy City Cup, a big Net event happening here in Chicago June 13-15. I'm just overwhelmed at the way local Net players organize and how big they plan. I just registered for intermediates singles and doubles but Scot Hansen wants me to compete in the open division. Yeeeeeeaaaaaaaaaahhhh... while I'm flattered that he thinks I may have that potential, I honestly think I don't have the skills to be competitive at that level (EDIT: PT and Manu are coming

) - even if I trained hard the next two and a half months. I dunno. Speaking of training, that was supposed to have started 2 weeks ago... fuck. Damn you, Tom Clancy!!!!!

EDIIT:
Oh, man how sweet would it be to play net with my old freestyle idol, Eric Wulff!?!?!!?

Zeke · Post by **Zeke** » 01 Apr 2008 15:11

So I'm browsing around on Google maps in 'Street View' and I found LaRAZA, the mysterious PT Cruiser, Dan's place in Miami (kinda), 2 of the old apartments my family used to live in, the Roman Colosseum(!) and my mom's house out in the country of the Philippines.