US states renamed for countries with similar GDPs




hahahahahahahaha

Don't let Texas down, Rick

Spiders

are everywhere



These are cropped from pics I took at my brother's house


I really like the modified 747s that are being used to transport bits of the new 787.
I think its hilarious that in the midst of airbus' whole A380 fiasco, Boeing whips up a giant plane too, but its no big deal.

Down with the pope

I'm not much of a Bono fan myself
fucking whiny San Francisco hippie fucks make me want to start shooting people


I have tickets to see Spamalot tomorrow, which is pretty cool.
I need to take a shower.

300!

This is post #300. Bitch.

I like Ron Paul, and his district is right outside of Houston!



Check this out
fuckin A

You're my favorite
Of my saviours
You're my favorite
Oh no

Yes you're my favorite
Of my favors
You're my razor
Oh no

Hey!
And the situation wasn't quite
As intense as I thought
I need you around
To remind me when not to be calm
And the situation wasn't quite
As intense as I thought
I need you around
To remind me when not to be calm
Calm, calm, calm


http://ontheissues.org/Ron_Paul.htm

I saw the Blue Man Group last night at The Venetian, which was pretty cool; I really didn't know what to expect. Today I went on a side trip to the Grand Canyon, with a stop at the Hoover Dam. I would post pics, but it's late and the air is so dry here and my eyes feel like sand.

“I must and will act preemptively to defeat any enemy who would impose his or her will on me, my allies, or my friends"

The Fertile Valleys (Las Vegas)

Fertile valleys my ass. I'm not 21 yet, and being here in Vegas is a painful reminder, but I was in Amsterdam only last week, so I guess its all good.
Tomorrow is my 20th birthday and I have a mustache. I grew one a few years ago during my junior year of high school, and being in Europe made me want to do something new. And I think I'll keep it for a while.
Anyway, today after taking the early flight to LV, I walked up the strip and went into The Bellagio, The Venetian, and The Wynn, which is bad ASS. I would sooooo like to walk into the Brioni store and just be like, um, yeah I need something to wear to dinner tonight, and maybe tomorrow, and oh, could you have that sent up to my room? But I am not that rich. Yet.
Heres a pic I took of the lobby cieling at The Bellagio:


I wandered into the promo. center for the new Las Vegas City Centre development, which is going to be really cool, and probably one of the few examples of good design in LV. The model they had is sweet, but the lady wouldn't let me take pictures. So I stabbed her.
I watched Hannibal Rising last night at my mom's and I really liked it. I dunno if it's because Gaspard Ulliel is so attractive or if it's just because I'm a sick fuck who has always had a soft spot for violence. I think both. I also read all the Hannibal books back in junior high, so i'm hip to Hannibal's story, though I have not read Hannibal Rising because it got a bad review, which is really just another way of saying I have way too many books as it is.
Speaking of movies, I think its about time sensible movie watchers got together and started to vigorously campaign for Nicolas Cage's immediate retirement. He just keeps on making big budg klunkers, and he's always the same FUCKING PERSON! Just fly your jet to your island and stay there, please, for the love of god and everything holy, just stop making movies.

Rotterdam

Brussels

We've had excellent luck with restaurants so far, and until today, the weather has been perfect. Night before last in Amsterdam we ate at Blue Pepper, a contemporary Indonesian place right outside the canal belt.
The Conrad Brussels is a bit of an improvement from our former digs, a hotel within a hostel. Our current bathroom is about the size of our entire room at the Winston in Amsterdam.

I don't think this is real.


Mexican ferris wheel



The Iranians need the chill the fuck out. Seriously.



My flight to Amsterdam is today at 7:10 PM. I cannot wait.
In other news, my 20th birthday is just around the corner, and I've already gotten some gifts. My mom bought me a beautiful new digital SLR camera, and my dad is taking me to Las Vegas for the weekend of my birthday.
But I now need a new cell phone; after drinking a bottle of wine the other night, i put my phone through the washing machine.

stfu Al Gore

Nice pic of Houston that Roy found somewhere




What the fuck ever, Giuliani

The Apotheosis of Washington depicts George Washington ascending to the heavens and becoming a god
oh the irony

a terrifying development
Find them and destroy them
doctor surgically removed drug traffickers' fingerprints, substituting skin from the soles of their feet
Pablo Escobar's up there laughin'

Happy Cinco de Mayo!

I love how Cinco de Mayo is essentially a celebration of a French defeat.


just move the monument to the oval office


I love Robot Chicken

and we're trying to bring democracy to these animals? this is disgusting

Memories of secret handshakes, you
It speak my language
Sees, I cease to believe
You're gonna leave.

And acting out a fight
When you're not around
With ease, I cease to exist
I slip through the leaves
We once had to wish

Oh we wished for,
Heaven, It now only seems
Like torture

Oh this ghost
Will win my host it's, lingering
In me, and around my neck
It taps on my head
While i'm asleep

Memories of secret handshakes, you
it speak my language
Sees, that cease to believe
You're gonna leave




holy mother of God

oh no filter
cut your hair, hippie!

I get up in the evening
And I ain't got nothing to say
I come home in the morning
I go to bed feeling the same way
I ain't nothing but tired
Man, I'm just tired and bored with myself
Hey there baby I could use just a little help

You can't start a fire
You can't start a fire without a spark
This gun's for hire
Even if we're just dancing in the dark

Message keeps getting clearer
Radio's on and I'm moving 'round the place
I check my look in the mirror
I wanna change my clothes, my hair, my face
Man, I ain't getting nowhere just living in a dump like this
There's something happening somewhere
Baby I just know that there is

You can't start a fire
You can't start a fire without a spark
This gun's for hire
Even if we're just dancing in the dark

You sit around getting older
There's a joke here somewhere and it's on me

I'll shake this world off my shoulders
Come on baby the laugh's on me
Stay on the streets of this town
And they'll be carving you up all right
They say you gotta stay hungry
Hey baby I'm just about starving tonight

I'm dying for some action
I'm sick of sitting 'round here trying to write this book
I need a love reaction
Come on now baby gimme just one look

You can't start a fire sitting 'round crying over a broken heart
This gun's for hire
Even if we're just dancing In the dark
You can't start a fire worrying about your little world falling apart
This gun's for hire

We have a freakin goldmine here, people!
Russia plans to build the world's longest tunnel, a transport and pipeline link to Alaska

This alarm clock jumps off of your nightstand and hides, forcing you out of bed in pursuit of the wily lil rascal.

I'm calling parents of students at work now. It's not bad because they are usually willing to give, and much more willing to chat. I almost shit when I saw that one guy's dad gave $10,000 to the school last year. He didn't answer the phone, though.
I wrote several haikus during shift tonight, some of which I will try to regurgitate:

My stomach bubbles
A slow rumblin' down below
I fear for my life

Stuffed jalapeños
Deliciously filled with cheese
Fried to perfection

There were more but I can't recall them. I don't consider myself a poet, not even close, but I do love the Haiku. Something about being confined to a set number of syllables. All I do is think about what the haiku will be about then I just count on my fingers until I've got it right. It's a lot of fun; I should do it more often.
I'm almost through with Gravity's Rainbow. It's good, and very funny. Pynchon's style is bizarre, very digressive. At times it seems that the book lacks a coherent plot, but overall it is an enjoyable experience.



Welcome my son, welcome to the machine.
Where have you been?
It's alright we know where you've been.
You've been in the pipeline, filling in time,
Provided with toys and 'Scouting for Boys'.
You bought a guitar to punish your ma,
And you didn't like school, and you
know you're nobody's fool,
So welcome to the machine.

Welcome my son, welcome to the machine.
What did you dream?
It's alright we told you what to dream.
You dreamed of a big star,
He played a mean guitar,
He always ate in the Steak Bar.
He loved to drive in his Jaguar.
So welcome to the Machine.




This website has some funny shit.
a sampling:

Kurt Vonnegut's rules for short stories:

1. Use the time of a total stranger in such a way that he or she will not feel the time was wasted.

2. Give the reader at least one character he or she can root for.

3. Every character should want something, even if it is only a glass of water.

4. Every sentence must do one of two things -- reveal character or advance the action.*

5. Start as close to the end as possible.

6. Be a sadist. No matter how sweet and innocent your leading characters, make awful things happen to them -- in order that the reader may see what they are made of.

7. Write to please just one person. If you open a window and make love to the world, so to speak, your story will get pneumonia.

8. Give your readers as much information as possible as soon as possible. To heck with suspense. Readers should have such complete understanding of what is going on, where and why, that they could finish the story themselves, should cockroaches eat the last few pages.

1922-2007

God bless you, Mr. Vonnegut
One of my favorite authors of all time died yesterday.

Holy shit, lesbians are tough in South Dakota (I guess you would have to be. there.)
I love pancakes


I tried to go and see Michael Dell's house the other day, but I could only see one little part of it, kind of disappointing. But it was still a lovely drive through West Lake Hills, which is where many of Austin's élite live. Dell owns his own very large hill, with several gated entrances and winding drive-ways. My former design professor was a project architect on the house when he worked for Gwathmey Siegel in New York.

Guess which house Mr. Dell lives in:



The semester is almost over and I can't wait. I don't know what I will do over the summer. I should take some summer classes considering that Austin Community College is only a few blocks away (so is UT, but fuck that), but I dunno yet. My roommate is studying abroad over the summer so we are subletting his room.
Goddamn state dept. has still not sent me my new passport.
My mom's 50th birthday was last friday, and I lived up to my title of "the good son" by giving her some cool antique stuff I bought at Uncommon Objects on South Congress, which is a really cool store.
I'm gonna watch Blood Diamond now.

I'm waiting on my laundry so I thought I would post some pics I've taken recently.

Here are two of what is left of the building that Intel never finished in downtown Austin:




Some other Austin photos I took while doing some research for my geography project:

awesome
cool

Last time I was at the MFAH there was a beautiful Christo drawing that looked like the Hoover dam draped in orange fabric. Absolutely stunning.


The Franz Kline painting I mentioned a long time ago was hanging in the Cullinan Hall section.
In the flesh:

oh god, no