sean

quo vadis

Sat, 31 Mar 2007 18:33:00 GMT

things to get in order:

school application
living arrangements

stay at the tower?
move to somewhere in cambridge with jori?
move in with maureen or aunt kate?

summer classes
...

this thing can't bullet properly. now, applying for school in the fall is nerve-wracking to me; i don't think i'll get back in. maybe after one more year of taking classes part-time (successfully)? but not right now. another (small) factor is that, despite my current job's lameness, i could do really well at it and "move on up" if i applied myself in the slightest. i think the only reason that appeals to me is because it's easy. i just keep doing what i'm doing, with a little less wasting time while at work. the fact that i might spend my life supporting windows programs and dealing with people in the entertainment industry is extremely depressing.

meanwhile, if i can ever start writing about politics/science/history/philosophy, maybe i can even get to the point of 'publishing' something i'm proud of and start producing something lasting while i'm alive. the hope is to help convince humanity to ditch the bloodthirsty powermongers and save themselves and the rest of the biosphere from catastrophe. if it's not too late. if it's even possible.

this is why i love baseball

Mon, 01 May 2006 23:32:03 GMT

a left-handed batter hits the ball to left field.

this is called hitting to the opposite field.

bahaha

Tue, 04 Oct 2005 14:34:51 GMT

digby:
I am so relieved that the Republicans restored honor and integrity to Washington. There hasn't been even one blow job in that town since they took power.

things are looking up, up, up

Thu, 01 Sep 2005 00:19:17 GMT

new position at ticketmaster. more money, better hours, and BENEFITS. yay. plus i get to go to phoenix for a few days at the end of the month! there's nothing i like better than sprawl.

also, new broken social scene. v. impressed. i see sufjan in a week, and would like to see: sigur ros (they have a new album, right? uh...), the bad plus, the black keys, the go! team. probably lots of others but hey money don't grow on trees kids. now that i'll have weekends free i'd also like to go to new york all the time. i wish amtrak didn't cost so much; buses suck.

you're not the one who's upside-down

Tue, 12 Jul 2005 00:35:39 GMT

last thursday i saw do make say think at the middle east. they rocked HARD CORE. wednesday will be düngen, whom i expect will throw me into another decade. if i drink enough, that is.

last week i went to a friend's fascism day party on a beacon hill roof. the fireworks and food were loverly; the company was rather cliquey.

Mon, 16 May 2005 22:29:35 GMT

new sufjan. soooooooo good.

also, read this (it's short) and then let's talk about it. i feel like i've gained a whole new understanding of ...well, everything. read the amazon reviews for a taste...but the entire book isn't more than 20 pages.

i move to somerville next month, close to porter squaw. gonna go all-transit (ciao, my beloved highways!). gonna be working more. gonna be reading more books and less blogs...well, probably more blogs too. can't ever seem to get enough politics.

seano <3 groophug

Wed, 12 Jan 2005 23:06:38 GMT

best ten albums of 2004.
1. dj zeph - sunset scavenger
2. menomena - i am the fun blame monster
3. danger mouse - the grey album
4. the black keys - rubber factory
5. the fiery furnaces - blueberry boat
6. rjd2 - since we last spoke
7. the secret machines - now here is nowhere
8. devendra banhart - rejoicing in the hands
9. william shatner - has been
10. air - talkie walkie

+ (up to 10 honorable mentions in no order for tie breakers.)
franz ferdinand - franz ferdinand
interpol - antics
mirah - c'mon miracle
mf doom - mm food
elliott smith - from a basement on the hill
the polyphonic spree - together we're heavy
sufjan stevens - seven swans

best five concerts of 2004.
1. broken social scene / the stars, the middle east downstairs, cambridge ma, 3/27
2. interpol / the secret machines, avalon ballroom, boston ma, 10/11
3. the pixies / mission of burma, mullins ctr, amherst ma, 11/31
4. the dresden dolls, paradise rock club, boston ma, 7/9
5. the brian jonestown massacre / the dears, the middle east upstairs, cambridge ma, 10/28

the sox

Thu, 28 Oct 2004 07:26:13 GMT

wow. what else can i say? the red sox did it. $145m will sure buy you some great players. very surprised with lowe's dominance against two great lineups, i must say. the ease of the world series has made this all a little unreal--i don't think i'll realize what's actually taken place for a long time.

i hereby dedicate the 2004 major league baseball world championship to fathers throughout new england.

thanks, dad, for bringing me to fenway. for teaching me the game, the love of the game, the beauty of it. wish you could have seen this.

Tue, 05 Oct 2004 01:28:26 GMT

i ask you,

is there nothing better than playoff baseball?

monkeys

Fri, 10 Sep 2004 23:53:46 GMT

haha "triumph of a heart" has some of the funniest noises i've ever heard

Fri, 16 Jul 2004 04:41:59 GMT

i fear that last year may really have been the year for the current incarnation of the red sox. this pains me greatly.

going to new york city on saturday for the siren festival. you should come. it's free.

watched a pbs show on the everglades tonight. they discussed the landmaking that went on after world war ii, turning the kissimmee river into a canal and the surrounding swamp and marsh area into irrigated farmland, and the subsequent destruction of local wildlife. i've been reading lots lately about the history of landmaking in boston (it never occurred to me that the back bay really used to be a bay), and the big dig as well. the immense scale and complexity of the latter just blows me away.

i've tried especially hard to figure out exactly how things have progressed at the south bay interchange, where I93 and I90 meet just south of downtown and the new I93 tunnels. one of the first things they did in the area was turn the mass. ave. exit from a T intersection (which meant a left-hand exit for northbound I93 drivers) into a more normal exit. interestingly, the reason there was a huge T intersection here (anyone remember how I93 south went up on a bridge to get over the northbound ramps?) was that there was going to be an 'inner belt' highway circling around boston. it would've left I93 at the current mass. ave. intersection, then followed melnea cass blvd. by roxbury (where it would've met with I95 heading south through roxbury and hyde park) and continued northwest over the fens, and crossed the charles where the BU bridge is. then northeast right through the middle of cambridge, and turning east in somerville to meet I93 just north of the charles (you can still see ghost ramps veering off to the left if you take I93 north past the city; the southbound ghost ramps were recently (1999) converted into the new storrow drive exit). but those communities were able to successfully prevent the further building of highways through their dense urban zones; hence the traffic nightmare that was the central artery. anyways. so in 1999 they finished the new mass. ave. exit, modifying the entire surrounding highway structure in the process. I93 south was no longer on a viaduct here; and construction continued on the 'new' I93. I93 north would be moved over to the east, and the southbound lanes would be shifted over as well, partially onto old northbound lanes. at the south bay interchange, I93 north would split from I93 south and head into a new tunnel underneath atlantic ave., right next to south station. hmm gotta go...more later.

Tue, 25 May 2004 05:48:58 GMT

all i ever do these days is waltz.

polity

Sun, 18 Apr 2004 14:55:54 GMT

i dreamt i was on a train speeding through the streets of paris. what a beautiful city it is, in my head.

Tue, 30 Mar 2004 05:56:07 GMT

Irving Cummings, pastor of the Old Cambridge Baptist Church in Cambridge, said his church has been celebrating the relationships of same-sex couples for two decades. He said nothing in the Bible specifically condemns homosexuality, and questioned why many religious organizations are focused on gay marriage at the exclusion of other issues.

"There are possibly five passages in the scripture that talk about something that we might call homosexuality," said Cummings, 52. "There are over 900 that talk about poverty and the relationship of wealth to poverty. Why aren't all these people out here protesting what's going on in terms of budget cuts to the poor?"

brutality

Wed, 25 Feb 2004 01:15:03 GMT

hello hello. i'll start writing in this again. chances are it won't include much in the way of personal happenings. it's not that my life isn't uneventful; it's just i get quite bored talking about myself. i'm out of school and in need of a full-time job and an apartment; i'm not going out much because what little money i have i'd like to save so that i can get that apartment sooner rather than later. pete wants to get a place together, but i can't expect to be able to afford a place until i've had a full-time job for probably at least two months. besides, for the past two months i've been looking for a job and not found one. ugh. meanwhile the wicked stepmother is in control of $35,000 that is ostensibly mine but which i cannot touch. familial relationships are getting thinner and thinner, as i haven't been to hingham to see the kids in over a month and only see my mother and sister when i move my car for them each morning before going back to sleep.

but i'm reading lots. spend tons of time reading blogs on foreign policy, economics, and other such stuff. which is probably what i'll turn this into--commentary on current events. my mind explodes with information, and with no one to talk to about it all. i'll do my best to keep it interesting. no promises, though.

went to new york city a weekend ago. got a flat tire on I-95 near yonkers, that wasn't fun. had a cold all weekend too, that wasn't fun either. but got to see some fantastic pieces of art at the museum of modern art in queens, and some fantastic dinosaurs, aquatic creatures, and planets at the museum of natural history. and had some fantastic penne margherita at an italian restaurant in the upper east side on valentine's day. silly holiday.

Sun, 12 Oct 2003 20:50:48 GMT

get me away from here, i'm dying

gumby and pokey

Sat, 27 Sep 2003 23:24:55 GMT

i got rid of my moustache the other day, but now the beard hair on my cheeks looks out of place; i feel like an amish farmer. is it odd that i have no idea how to groom my facial hair? perhaps i should just stick with shaving it all off every few days.

on thursday i drove to philadelphia to visit the touchdown twins, erin and hannah. they were both quite hilarious and quite insane. erin and i smoked numerous times, and we drove to hannah's school to pick her up and bring her home. got lost at least three times. late in the night we went to their friend bree's house and drank some. bree and i watched as erin and hannah put plastic bags over their heads. mind you, these were not your average kitchen-size trash bags, but perhaps the size of a piece of paper, and certainly smaller than either erin's or hannah's head. but somehow they managed to squeeze into them, unable to open their eyes or (i imagine) breathe through their nose. i was in stitches. alas, i had to leave friday morning because arnie-the-one-man-party (apparently) was sick (again) and i had to cover for him. so the trip was altogether far too short. but i hope to return soon, perhaps in a month or so. it's a long drive, but that's something i enjoy, for the most part (eventually it just gets too uncomfortable); and the girls are just too much fun to hang out for only one night.

Sun, 21 Sep 2003 23:02:45 GMT

attack on love

every little gesture

Wed, 03 Sep 2003 23:30:07 GMT

let's see.

radiohead was august 13. an excellent show, though not as stellar as previous shows. part of this may be because the new album and i don't jive (though, i like amnesiac even less, but that didn't stop them from blowing me away on that tour). there are a lot of songs i really like; a couple i'm not too fond of, and a couple that i genuinely don't like. these divisions more or less carried over to the live performance, with some notable differences. they turned down the volume on the lead guitar for "there there" and "go to sleep", turning both songs into something just above 'boring'. not to mention, the last half of "go to sleep" featured jonny fucking around on guitar, which would have been cool, except it wasn't. however, his solos (if you want to call them that) during "paranoid android" and "my iron lung" were fantastic. they did a reworked version of "kid a" that was excellent. both "backdrifts" and "a punchup at a wedding" left something to be desired. it's nice (i guess) to say i saw them play "creep", but honestly i could care less, and while i don't think it's a -crappy- song, i also don't think it's terribly good either. hm...nothing else of note.

ben folds and tori amos were august 24. ben was fantastic, his playing really amazes me sometimes. he opened with "best imitation of myself" (!!!!!); other highlights included "zak and sara", "all you can eat (they give no fuck)" (he's getting on the bandwagon...), "philosophy", and "not the same". tori was ...well, she was good, surely; however, i failed to be captivated by her words or music. it's a problem i've always had with her--i really enjoy her songs, but they don't blow me away or touch me on a personal level. at the show she played a bunch of songs i had wanted to hear ("a sorta fairytale", "cornflake girl", "leather", "siren", "precious things", and "your cloud"), and her voice sounded great, and her piano sounded great, but it just wasn't...exciting or interesting or anything. le sigh.

björk was august 31. superb! far better than the wang center show. near the end of the main set was a run of five or six songs that, methinks, is unparalleled in my entire concert-going experience: "you've been flirting again" (in icelandic!), "isobel", "bachelorette" (INCENDIARY. turned my head upside down.), "hyper-ballad", and some techno remix of "it's in our hands" that had her running all over the stage, sometimes dancing or jumping but mostly just shaking her hair at the people in the front row. loverly.

requiescat in pace

Tue, 29 Jul 2003 13:57:06 GMT

they got a name for the winners in the world
and, i want a name when i lose
they call alabama the crimson tide
...call me deacon blues.

principal bundle

Fri, 20 Jun 2003 18:52:50 GMT

a kiss on the neck made my night.

Sun, 15 Jun 2003 15:50:00 GMT

'twas in another lifetime, one of toil and blood
when blackness was a virtue and the road was full of mud
i came in from the wilderness, a creature void of form.
"come in," she said, "i'll give you shelter from the storm."

and if i pass this way again, you can rest assured
i'll always do my best for her, on that i give my word.
in a world of steel-eyed death and men who are fighting to be warm.
"come in," she said, "i'll give you shelter from the storm."

not a word was spoke between us, there was little risk involved.
everything up to that point had been left unresolved.
try imagining a place where it's always safe and warm.
"come in," she said, "i'll give you shelter from the storm."

i was burned out from exhaustion, buried in the hail
poisoned in the bushes an' blown out on the trail
hunted like a crocodile, ravaged in the corn.
"come in," she said, "i'll give you shelter from the storm."

suddenly i turned around and she was standin' there
with silver bracelets on her wrists and flowers in her hair.
she walked up to me so gracefully and took my crown of thorns.
"come in," she said, "i'll give you shelter from the storm."

now there's a wall between us, somethin' there's been lost.
i took too much for granted, got my signals crossed.
just to think that it all began on a long-forgotten morn.
"come in," she said, "i'll give you shelter from the storm."

well, the deputy walks on hard nails and the preacher rides a mount
but nothing really matters much, it's doom alone that counts
and the one-eyed undertaker, he blows a futile horn.
"come in," she said, "i'll give you shelter from the storm."

i've heard newborn babies wailin' like a mournin' dove
and old men with broken teeth stranded without love.
do i understand your question, man, is it hopeless and forlorn?
"come in," she said, "i'll give you shelter from the storm."

in a little hilltop village, they gambled for my clothes.
i bargained for salvation an' they gave me a lethal dose.
i offered up my innocence and got repaid with scorn.
"come in," she said, "i'll give you shelter from the storm."

well, i'm livin' in a foreign country but i'm bound to cross the line.
beauty walks a razor's edge, someday i'll make it mine.
if i could only turn back the clock to when god and her were born...
"come in," she said, "i'll give you shelter from the storm."

-bob dylan

call number one

Sat, 17 May 2003 00:51:56 GMT

"1-800-54-GIANT" is the best ad campaign ever.

Sat, 26 Apr 2003 19:45:56 GMT

johnny's always running around
trying to find
certainty

camaraderie and

Sat, 26 Apr 2003 19:14:49 GMT

having traveled out to amherst last night for a party at josh's house, i've decided i need to engage myself in better conversation. i've known this for a while, of course--that i enjoy talking about physics and international affairs and sociology and music and math and whatnot. but i never actually get to talk about it very much, except for music. laura is somewhat interested in the politics, but usually our conversations are a bit one-sided, since she's still getting her feet wet in the subject (not that i'm a factotum, by any means). what i want is scintillating discussion. well-thought reasoning. useful insights. etc.

so yeah, maybe i'll start writing in here again. or maybe i'll say i will, but in fact just forget all about it again.

living at/near a college has got its merits.