Undecided

Bah!

2006-09-12T01:35:00.000-06:00

Blogger is really cheesing me off right now. I moved my blog to their "beta" thing because it promised all these great new features. But now I have to sign in twice anytime I want to post anything. I also can't leave comments on other Blogger blogs like I used to. I don't show up as a Blogger user. So I sign in, get sent to the beta sign in, sign in again, go back to the blog to comment and guess what? I'm not signed in. Yeah I may be keeping this thing but I don't plan on using it for a while. Not until all this stupid beta crap gets fixed.

Where have I been?

2006-09-05T13:10:00.000-06:00

Haven't posted here in a little over a week. Which isn't really that long but it is the longest I've gone between posts here. So what have I been up to? Well I'll tell ya. If you remember I mentioned about a month ago getting an invite to the Vox blogging service. Last week they announced a contest to design banners for their site. So I made one that wasn't that great so I had to make another and another. I ended up making sixteen of them. I only posted fourteen though, two didn't make the cut. I got a few good comments on them, and have been meeting some cool people there. It has the makings of a nice community. The url is here. I probably will be blogging my life over there mostly if you want to know what's up. I plan on keeping this blog too but making it something less personal. At least that's what I'm thinking now. That could change.

I like to do drawings.

2006-08-28T21:26:00.000-06:00

I've been doing these ballpoint drawings on 3x5 cards lately. I did the first one because I needed a bookmark. Ok, I didn't NEED a bookmark. I have plenty. I wanted to make a bookmark so I did. Anyway here they are.

The hair she is a cut!

2006-08-24T22:21:00.000-06:00

Well here is the new hairdo.

Juggling with the nephews.

2006-08-22T21:39:00.000-06:00

(Back yard Casa de Bolt. Uncle Jason watches 18 month old Porter while Frodo, aka Mr Stinky, frolics about. Walking around in the back yard Uncle Jason steps on a half eaten apple. Moments later Porter has picked up the apple and is eating it.)

Uncle Jason: No Porter that's yucky. (Takes apple and throws it into the garden.)
Porter: Eee (Looks at Uncle Jason as if he has been told he will never have chocolate ever again.)
Uncle Jason: Let me get you a good one. (Approaches apple tree. Noticing that the apples are just about palm-size he picks three.)
Uncle Jason: Watch this Porter. (Proceeds to juggle the apples. Porter smiles, then holds out his hand wanting his apple. Uncle Jason hands him the apple dejected at the nephew's lack of interest in the juggling. He sits and begins to juggle two apples with one hand. Enter three year old Heston.)
Heston: What are you doing?
Uncle Jason: Juggling. (Heston watches enthralled.)
Heston: Do it with your other hand.
Uncle Jason: I can't.
Heston: Why? (Pronounced Whyuh.)
Uncle Jason: I'm no good with the left hand.
Heston: Why?
Uncle Jason: I'm right handed.
Heston: Why?
Uncle Jason: I was born that way.
Heston: Why?
Uncle Jason: (Sighs and smiles.) Just because ok. Hey go get me another apple.
Heston: Ok. (Runs full out to the tree. Uncle Jason slowly stands and begins to follow. Heston returns with an apple.)
Uncle Jason: (Waves his arms and puts on his best dramatic voice.) Give me some room.
Heston: Ok. Come on Porter. (Runs to the back fence, turns to watch Uncle Jason and pushes his back into the fence to give as much room as possible. Uncle Jason begins to juggle. Porter oblivious to the entertainment charges his older brother and rams him. Heston unfazed continues to watch the juggling. Enter Papa Bolt checking his tomatoes.)
Heston: (Running up to Uncle Jason.) Let me try. Can I try coach? (Papa Bolt and Uncle Jason smile.)
Uncle Jason: (Hands the apples to Heston.) Sure. (Heston throws each apple one at a time into the air as high as he can letting them fall to the ground.)
Heston: Look I'm juggling.
Uncle Jason & Papa Bolt: Yeah! (Heston continues his juggling for a minute or two. Papa Bolt exits.)
Heston: (Hands the apples back to Uncle Jason) Juggle them high coach.
Uncle Jason: Alrighty. (Throws the apples ten feet into the air. He has difficulty keeping them all in the air at the same time while throwing them so high. Focused on the apples high above, Uncle Jason runs into Porter nearly knocking him down and treading on him.)
Uncle Jason: Whoa Porter! (Grabs Porter in a hug.) You ok? (Porter nods and smiles.) Ok that's enough juggling.

Disclaimer: The above is in no way a documentary account of what happened. The number of "whys" may have been exaggerated for comedic effect. Brother Dustin, his friend Ben, Ben's girlfriend Rachel, were all present for some of Uncle Jason's and Heston's juggling, but since the scene had gone on long enough the author thought he should cut that bit out. Also, the author was focused on keeping fruit flying in the air so may have missed other items of interest.

Poll time: Should I cut my hair off?

2006-08-21T00:10:00.000-06:00

It's come that time again when I have the desire to take the clippers to my head and remove the shrubbery that is now my hair. As some of you may know, I get this itch every 12-20 months. Buzz! The hair is off, and then there is the year or so waiting for it regrow, only to cut it off again when it starts bugging me. This seems to have been the cycle for the last six years. I am now heading into month 17 of the latest round of growth. So the question for you dearest readers is this, what should I do with my hair?

A. Continue the tradition and break out the clippers.
B. Get a "normal" haircut for once.
C. Let it grow for another 12 months.

For a frame of reference I give you the following picture taken about two months ago.

Let the voting begin!

Cleaning can lead to odd finds.

2006-08-20T21:38:00.000-06:00

Whilst cleaning up some boxes that have sat in the living room for far too long I came across some "treasures." There was a fifty pack of blank CD's, a USB toy microscope, a brand new LAN card, miles of cable, and a very nice backpack Mark misplaced sometime ago. Also found: a used up compact, some slippers, and two crochet hooks, all of which he got when his grandmother died. It was rather an eclectic mix of odds and ends that made the evening's work actually enjoyable. I couldn't wait to see what was in the next box.

By far my favorite find was the set of books that were behind the boxes. They are Mark's and have been here since we moved in, but I never really noticed them before. Each book is bound in brown cloth with gold lettering. The lettering, however, is pretty well worn off. That's why I had only noticed them before as a brown mass of book spine. It wasn't until I was down on the floor removing the boxes in front of them that I could see them for what they were—a time capsule from the past.

The whole bottom shelf of a bookcase is lined with these books. They are all part of a set published in 1924 entitled The Outline of Knowledge. The knowledge outlined appears to cover the whole range of human thought. Take the first volume is Evolution and Romance Through the Ages. As far as I can tell the first half of it explains evolution up to the coming of man. The second half then tries "to make the actual human life of the past understandable and interesting from the romantic angle." And this is only the first book! There are books on philosophy, religion, all the sciences of the time, poetry, art. A little of everything from everything. All the stuff that was considered knowledge. Or at least everything J. A. Richards, the editor, considered knowledge. I can't wait to thumb through all this stuff.

It's crazy how the more books I read the number books I want to read grows exponentially. When will there be an end? When I am finished.

Make a billboard for McDonald's.

2006-08-20T14:03:00.000-06:00

I came across this on Treehugger . In protest to McDonald's putting toy Hummers in their Happy Meals a parody website Ronald McHummer has been created. On it you can make fake McDonald's billboards like the one above. They also have a form email you can send to the president of the company complaining about the promotion.

Tony is SO lucky.

2006-08-18T22:01:00.000-06:00

Yesterday while scuba diving the young Tony lost his wallet. There was much weeping, wailing and gnashing of teeth. How was he to get home with no governmental id? Phone calls were placed and ideas floated, mostly centering around getting a copy of his birth certificate faxed to him. Great then was their joy after coming back to their friend's home from a day of revelry to find his wallet on the counter. Billy's (the friend they are staying with) mother found it midst of swimming in the ocean earlier in the day. Can you imagine? The whole ocean and she finds his wallet. I want his luck!

Am I dead inside?

2006-08-17T22:42:00.000-06:00

While Melissa and Tony are in Hawaii for a week, I'm going over to their home and taking care of their three basset hounds. They are a rowdy bunch. Barking, jumping up on me, licking my feet and legs; basically running around in chaos. When I told my roommate Mark that I didn't particular care for being pounced upon, or the tongue action, he said I was "dead inside." Apparently I'm missing the "accepting love from an animal by being slobbered on" gene. I don't mind petting a dog that sits calmly while I do, however when they get all hyper and bouncing around I kinda freak. Part of it may be my irrational fear of them, but even when I know the dog is friendly I still don't like the craziness. So, is there something wrong with me?

TV is a DRUG!

2006-08-17T12:46:00.000-06:00

About fifteen years ago Disposable Heroes of Hipocrisy sang a song proclaiming that television was "the drug of the nation." In a new study it appears that watching television can reduce pain. No wonder I feel doped up when I watch it.

Seriously, do all dogs do this?

2006-08-12T14:09:00.000-06:00

As many of you may know, the young Dustin brought home a dog, a Jack Russell Terrier, from Wyoming. He left again, leaving Ma and Pa to care for the creature. Since I was over at their house last night-really when am I not-they asked if I watch him while they went out for their 39th anniversary. (Can't believe it's going to be 40 years next year. The clan better plan a party or the matriarch may disown us.) I figured no problem. I let him out to do his business a couple times while they are gone and no worries. Little did I know.

About 30 minutes after the parents have departed, he is looking at me then the back door. I let him out then go back to the sudoku puzzle in the paper. Five, maybe ten minutes later I remember him, open the door and yell his name. Well the latest name anyway. In the last week he has been called Zeus, Napoleon, Norman, The Dude. Frodo is the new flavor, Mom's idea. So I'm standing on the back porch shouting the name of a hobbit to the neighborhood. After a couple minutes of announcing the nerdity of my family to anyone within the sound of my voice, the little beastie comes running.

On his entering the door I notice a gray-brown mess all over his back and the blue nylon harness he is wearing. I think, "Is that..." and then the smell hits me, "yup!" "Out, outside!" I command and he complies. I sent him out to do his business, and once he was done he thought it was a good idea to roll around in it. Having no prior experience with animals taking mud baths in their own mud, I spend the next few moments chasing him around the yard with the hose. I thought it might be a bad idea, but having no other ideas going I tried it anyway. It was clear it wasn't going to work.

After I found his hiding place, I coax him out to at least get the harness off. As I spray it off with the hose, Melissa and Tony show up. My heroes! "They own dogs, they'll know what to do." Tony tells me to get a bath running and then heads back into the bathroom with Mr. Smelly. I stay in the kitchen talking to Melissa, since I assume bath time is going to be thrash about in the water time for little Frodo. Not hearing any splashing I go back to see Tony sweetly talking to the dog, and the monster quietly waiting while he is washed. I'm glad someone has more patience than I do.

I asked if their dogs do this. "Yes." WHY? Why would an animal feel the need to smear itself with such foulness? I'll admit to wallowing in my own crap sometimes, but that's wholly on a metaphorical level. Never literally. Can someone explain this to me?

A poem on the set of a sun.

2006-08-10T23:14:00.000-06:00

Been working on this one for a couple days. Still feels a little undone. I should maybe let it rest a bit, but I lack any sort of patience. So I going post it for a little feed back on it. Good, so-so, needs salt, less pepper, a waste of pixels, anything. Of course as the writer I reserve the right to ignore all critique. Well, all but my own. I can never ignore that sadly. Anyways, here it is.

The coming night

Cloud lips, rose colored
Kiss my eye,
Then turn gray
As sun from them runs.
Cobalt hangs a moment,
Over poles and house peaks.
Holding, oh too shortly
The last of day's
Luminescence.
But failing,
Fades away to Blackness
And her starry chains.
With which she binds
Breath to beauty.

Damn the Big Mac!

2006-08-09T23:27:00.000-06:00

I've been reading Eric Schlosser's Fast Food Nation and I just may never have a Mcdonald's burger again. I am weak however so I probably will break down with time. Still it's been on my mind so I composed a bit of silliness. Enjoy.

That clown stole my food!

Ronald smiling brings hamburgers in his hand,
Children now grow fat throughout the land.
The King may not have the numbers yet to rule,
But America’s girth he does fuel.
Wendy comes with her wondrous frosty,
Too many consumed causing dropsy.
Bell, Del, Time, taco stands three,
Making meat from which even rats flee.
Huts send messengers with pizza door to door,
Hungry masses eat, yet feel empty wanting more.

Fast food found failing to feed,
Taking money for grease in the name of greed.
Still I go and order the meal with a prize,
And say yes when asked if I want it in super-size.

Me = Wittgenstein?

2006-08-09T20:55:00.000-06:00

In one Jenny Davidson's resent posts on her blog she quotes some aphorisms by Wittgenstein collected in the book Culture and Value. The last one she quotes hit me.

What is it like for people not to have the same sense of humour? They do not react properly to each other. It's as though there were a custom amongst certain people for one person to throw another a ball which he is supposed to catch and throw back; but some people, instead of throwing it back, put it in their pocket. Or what is it like for somebody to be unable to fathom someone else's taste?

It was the same thought I posted about a month ago when I ask What is funny? I guess the Preacher was right: "...there is no new thing under the sun."--Ecclesiastes 1:9. Still it is nice to see your own little notion match up with an idea from a great mind.

A wandering poem I.

2006-08-09T20:21:00.000-06:00

Being the erudite readers of this blog that you are, I'm sure you could use more poetry in your life. If so head over to the Wondering Minstrels and sign up for their Yahoo! group. I've belonged for awhile, and sometimes it can make for some serendipitous moments. The other day, after weeks of heat, it was raining heavily. I open my email and what do I find? Summer Rain a poem by Longfellow. The opening line "How beautiful is the rain! After the dust and heat" was exactly how I was feeling. The Minstrels is a nice way to have a daily dose of poetry even if you find yourself too busy to pick up a book of poems.

A metaphysical question: what the heck am I doing?

2006-08-08T21:32:00.000-06:00

The last few posts have left me obsessing over the direction of this blog. "When are you not obsessing about something?" I hear you say. Well, yes it's true. I'm hoping the Prozac helps with that; I say that only half jokingly. As I was saying-nipping the tangent in the bud-I've been thinking about the last few posts. I want this blog to be an expression of me. Not necessarily a day to day journal, though I want part of that here. But since I feel that my life is pretty boring most of the time, I'd rather give glimpses into what's going on in my head. Now don't go running in fear. I said glimpses, not full mind monties. Even I can't handle those most of the time. What I mean is pretty much what I have been doing. Random thoughts, poems, "hey look at this" or "I found this cool" kind of things. Basically an eclectic mix of bric-a-brak that is interesting to me.

Which brings me to the last few posts. They where of the "I found this cool" variety but they seem to be to sterile, unconnected to me and my life. Just reviews of products. That's something I definitely don't want this blog to be, reviews of crap. Of course I want to point out interesting, enlightening, or humorous things, but place them in the larger context of my life; how it relates to me in way that doesn't also come off as narcissistic nonsense. Tall order.

Let me take the post I made this morning on Sara Gran's novel as an example. I gave the viewing public a basic run down. Here is a book, I liked it, you should read it. I didn't mention that I had heard about it from this editor's blog. Or the fact I decided to read it, at least in part, because of reading Sara's blog. Now perhaps I didn't need to add that, since I had already linked her blog in a post because I dug what she said about writing. But given the transitory nature of this thing called the blogosphere a reminder to old readers and a heads up to new ones would have been nice. Something more than a simple "review." More than what I gave.

So here's hoping for more effort, more relevance, plain more. Ok, not plain more. I know people don't like plain more. Sparkly more? Yeah sparkly more. This has been a fairly long post, I hope it was interesting enough. If you read this far thank you for hanging in there. If not, I am sending my apology for boring you telepathically.

My new TV obsession.

2006-08-08T11:40:00.000-06:00

I've only seen two episodes but I'm completely hooked on Life on Mars. Sam Tyler is a detective in 2006 trying to track down a serial killer when he is hit by a car. When wakes up, he is in 1973. Is he just in a coma dreaming? Has he really time traveled? Or in a weird way is it both? Besides the sci fi element possed by the time shift, Life on Mars is also a solid cop show. While Tyler tries to figure out what happened to him, he also has to solve the murders that are taking place in his new reality. It's well written and well acted. Hopefully, dear readers, you have BBC America, then you can become an addict like me.

Dope is dope.

2006-08-08T10:40:00.000-06:00

Earlier this morning after posting about Joseph Vogel's book on the Michael Moore visit, I realized that for someone that likes books as much as I do, I haven't posted that much about them. I will attempt to rectify that in future. Let me then recommend a book that I finished a couple of days ago, Sara Gran's noir novel Dope. The story takes place in 1950 New York. Josephine Flannigan, the protagonist and narrator, is an ex-junkie and petty thief. The book starts with her being hired to find a wealthy couple's daughter. But as in any good noir story, things are not what they seem. No I'm not going to give away the ending, unlike one reviewer on Amazon. The book rolls along with some nice twists and turns as Josephine works her way through the underbelly of 50's New York. If you get a hold of a copy, give it a read.

First impressions of Vox.

2006-08-08T02:15:00.000-06:00

It's only been one day and two posts, so is it too early to have an opinion on Vox? Probably, but I'm going to plow ahead anyway. While I like the tagging system it has and the way you can set up a community of bloggers-they call it your neighborhood-it feels too constricted. Blogger feels more intuitive, and straight forward. All the bells and whistles on Vox create a cacophony that seems to stifle creativity. Or maybe it's simply something new and I'm not used to it. Also to be fair it is still in testing. Anyway we'll see.

Please sir I want some Moore.

2006-08-08T01:09:00.000-06:00

The Deseret News reports Joseph Vogel has written a book about Michael Moore's visit to Utah Valley State College in October 2004. He was the student body vice president at the time. From the story:

"The book is not about Michael Moore or his visit to campus," he said. "It's about issues about free speech (at colleges and) universities - which are supposed to be places for free exchange of ideas - being held to the strings by legislators and donors and things like that," he said.

Sounds like something I need to read; get an insider's view rather then watching the craziness from the outside. There is of course the Steven Greenstreet documentary This Divided State I need to get a copy of (cough Cassandra cough) and watch. It deals with the same material.

Tell me what you think.

2006-08-07T14:17:00.000-06:00

About a week or so ago I requested an invite from Vox. It's a blogging service and after reading a couple blogs there I thought it might be cool to try it. I'll probably be double posting for a while until I decide whether to stay here or move there. Of course I might decide to do both. Vox seems have more networking type tools, but seems lacking in linking outside itself. I guess we'll see. Anyway my blog there is here. Not much there at the moment. Couple pictures and one lame post but take a look and let me know what you think. Oh if any of the Bolt Clan - family first ya know :) - wants an invite to create a blog there let me know. I have two.

These are cute: Il Buddino, Buddha pudding molds.

2006-08-06T22:27:00.000-06:00

My last post was a bit heavy, so here is something a on the lighter side. I saw these on [BB-Blog] and my first thought was, "Hey, I can make a pudding me!" Ok, the first thought was really, "I want," but it was second I swear.

The company website nobodyandco. Now everyone can have Buddha inside them. Of course they must make some pudding, put it in the mold, then eat it. Enlightment through dessert! That's something I can get behind.

Are there even words?

2006-08-05T21:28:00.000-06:00

I came across this link on the creativity/machine blog, From Beirut to ... those who love us. From their website:

This video letter was made on July 21, 2006 at the studios of Beirut DC, a film and cinema collective which runs the yearly Ayam Beirut Al Cinema'iya Film Festival. This video letter was produced in collaboration with Samidoun, a grassroots gathering of various organizations and individuals who were involved in relief and media efforts from the first day of the Israeli attack on Lebanon. It was also broadcasted at the Biennial of Arab Cinema, organized by the Arab World Institute in Paris.

There are links on the site to a couple different video formats if the one I found on YouTube doesn't work.

The video is quietly sad. The news from around the world, not just Lebanon, has left me feeling numb lately. "Can't we all just get along?" It may be a trite phrase, but it runs through my mind a lot these days. Not love, not like, just get along with others. A new poem:

I see the news

Worlds warring wears the soul.
Struggling for the right to spit
In enemy's eye.
While the cry of children lost
Drowns
In hungry army's roar.
Horror
Through lens projected.
Image, and sound,
Reveal, and conceal,
It all.
I stand safe yet fearing,
I will losing feeling.
My soul swallowed by sorrow,
Left shallow, powerless to the pain.
And all my tears,
Dried up, unshed,
Dust blown through my empty heart.

A Poem

2006-08-05T14:30:00.000-06:00

Something I have been working on for the last few days.

Soporific Sauce

From the depths of an early morn,
Addled ideas struggle and are born.
Through mind’s eye seen,
Muddled thought honed razor clean.
Waking dreams dance the play,
With stomping foot and clapping hand they pray.
To ghosts and whispers come and gone,
Fleeting images not latched upon.
By their prayers color’s great hue,
Changes mood once gray and blue.
Now sunlit brilliance holds full sway,
And neuronic nymphs laugh happy in the day.

By Poet’s pen these bucolic scenes are born.
Out of Poet’s heart these idyllic worlds are torn.
Now his burden lifted,
In his bed, he is sifted.
Smiling, his head he rests upon the pillow.
From the wind comes the weep of willow.

An ode to my foot.

2006-08-02T22:22:00.000-06:00

I love wearing sandals, not just in the summer. Occasionally however they can cause aggravation, hence the poem below.

Pain in the appendage.

There’s a rock in my sandal and I can’t get it out.
Left and right I fling my foot about.
I kick high with all my might,
But still the rock he is stuck in tight.
Reaching down I undo the strap,
That holds my ankle in its trap.
Banging this article on the ground,
The offending partial is found.
Back on goes the footwear,
And my journey to nowhere.
I take a step and with a flip,
The sandal picks up a rock in its tip.
Screaming and hollering, in a rage I pout.
One more rock that I have to get out!

And the wind it blow!

2006-08-02T21:26:00.000-06:00

While the wind in Orem wasn't too bad yesterday, Provo, just to the south, got a dose of Mr Toad's Wild Ride.

1600 west, Provo
It huffed, and it puffed, and it blew a lot of things down. From the story linked above: "About 2,000 residences and businesses in - Provo mostly in southwest neighborhoods - may not have power restored until Thursday or Friday." Can I say eewww? Eewww...I knew that I could.

The thief might not even know he had a wallet.

2006-08-02T01:04:00.000-06:00

Whilst cruising Boing Boing I came across these sweet wallets.
One of the four designs below:

Say you left your wallet in your car or dropped it in a public place. The not so savvy klepto probably would see it as a plain piece of paper. Thus missing a prime source of monetary gain with which they could continue their nefarious rampage. Of course I'm going to pick up every scrap of paper I see from now on. I might get lucky!

Vacation Mark happens to get away.

2006-08-01T21:24:00.000-06:00

Mark has left me all alone for a week. He went off with his Comedy Sportz Utah friends to San Jose California to get into some kind of nonsense. Now I have the whole place, all two bedrooms, tiny bathroom, even smaller kitchen, and average livingroom, to my lonesome. If anyone wants to party very much unlike rock stars, grab some corn and we'll watch some vids. If not that's fine too, but an email saying "HI" would be nice.

On a less pathtic note, the rain fell upon the house tops this afternoon. Kinda muggy at the moment but the cooling sure felt nice. Only supposed to be in the 80's for rest of the week. Back to the 90's for next week though. Ah well I'll melt faster.

I hope you didn't buy a Dell.

2006-07-31T05:05:00.000-06:00

Engagdet has some interesting articles and photos of Dell laptops that have caught fire.

From article #1:

Numero dos:

The trifecta:

Dell: The laptop for bloggers who just aren't hot enough!

More crap I want to buy.

2006-07-31T03:50:00.000-06:00

Perusing Engagdet I came across this little number, an air purifier & thermo alarm clock combo that is USB powered. Now my desk can have a fresh chronological air. Well not now. Later when I buy one it will. Oh yes I will buy one and then you all can smell its chronological goodness...for a price.

Side note: Is it "a" USB connection or "an" USB connection? "An" appears to fit the "rules" I learned as a child but doesn't sound right.

If it's not Scottish art, it's CRAP!

2006-07-30T00:23:00.000-06:00

Festivals, festivals, get your festivals HERE. Edinburgh is gearing "up for a five-week cultural extravaganza." I so wish I could go and hang, but sadly no. Maybe after I rob that bank.

Someone could have told me.

2006-07-29T23:14:00.000-06:00

We all know, or should know if we were paying attention, how awful I am at proofreading. I just this moment noticed that in the Eliot quote I put at the top of the blog I spelled neighbors "nieghbors." Help me out here people! You didn't have to put it in comments or nothing. A simple email would do: "It's neighbors you dolt! /smack" Now would that be so hard?

Ok, ok you all ain't my editors. It's all me, I know. Believe me most of the shame is in fact self directed as usual. And if that wasn't enough, I make a post about it. That's like putting an arrow over my head saying "Idiot man talking." Heap more shame on my head weeee! Yeah, well there it is.

On the Road to something cool.

2006-07-28T04:11:00.000-06:00

I came across this article that says Viking Penguin is going to release an unedited version of On the Road in 2007. I want!

We was wrong.

2006-07-26T05:18:00.000-06:00

For as far back as I can remember we (the enclave that is the Bolt Family) have been calling Pill Bugs potato bugs. But dear readers these are the real Potato Bugs. Different no? Well none of us have become an entomologist either. Now if I just figure out which is the hole in the ground and which is my...

Again a poem.

2006-07-26T03:49:00.000-06:00

Nearly 4 am here but I just finished this poem and wanted to share it. Enjoy dear readers:

Should I…

Should I draw a line
Across the page,
Dividing
Top from Bottom,
Left from Right?

Should I draw an arrow
On the page,
Pointing
Up and Down,
There and Here?

Should I put the pen
Through the page,
Stopping
Thought and Action,
Wisdom and Wonderment?

Or should I write
Upon the page,
Freeing
Heart and Mind,
Soul and Souls?

Madame Sosostris gives me a reading!

2006-07-25T22:39:00.000-06:00

As busy as she is, she took the time to give me a reading which she posted on her blog. A couple highlights:

You have a tendency to blow things out of proportion and the turmoil you often feel comes from within yourself.

Basically the World in this position is saying that after all the crap, the self-doubt, the hard-as-hell-work, the delusion and illusion, you will attain what you seek.

Me blow things out of proportion? When has anyone seen me do that? Well, except for everyday. Seems like things are looking up for me however. So that's good.

You will be assimilated!

2006-07-25T04:29:00.000-06:00

I told you all the NetMind is trying to take over. Now it's convincing sci fi writers and bloggers that it is a good thing. On BoingBoing Cory Doctorow links an interview that NPR did with himself and writer Vernor Vinge. There is also a mp3 of the interview. In it they speak of a "technological singularity" where humans and technology merge to create something greater than human. Technological Singularity? No dear readers, do not be fooled. It is the evil NetMind enslaving all of humankind to serve its servers. Unplug now before it is too late. Mangle your myspaces, burn your blogs, eviscerate your emails. Choke off the tubes before we all are sucked up into them. Before...before...what's that?

Mmmm apple pie. Wait was I saying? Oh yeah, the internet is way cool.

I want this T! Buy me something!

2006-07-25T03:51:00.000-06:00

Yes I want this one here. For those not in the know, and that's not you all surely, about a month ago Senator Stevens (R-Alaska) referred to the internet as a series of tubes on the Senate floor. These are our leaders folks. Jon Stewart on The Daily Show gave some astute analysis.

Now is the time on The Nutty Bolt when we DANCE!

Isn't it ironic?

2006-07-24T22:34:00.000-06:00

Today is Pioneer Day in Utah. The day the Mormon pioneers entered the Salt Lake Valley. Everywhere I went there were American flags flying. I find it ironic that these flags are part of the celebrations. After the persecution in Missouri and the slaying of Joseph Smith in Illinois, the Mormon pioneers that came here were trying to get away from the US. Utah was at the time still part of Mexico. Though it did become a territory of the US shortly there after, not ten years later President Buchanan sent troops to put down a rumored uprising. But to celebrate their ancestors, the people of the state fly the flag of the nation that persecuted them. Perhaps they are saying, "Thanks USA, if not for your hate they would not have come here." Perhaps.

So I got this chair today...

2006-07-23T03:45:00.000-06:00

...and spent three hours cleaning a corner in order to put it in. Mom and Dad gave me this old red wingback chair. I think it used to be Melissa's. Anyway I pulled out the old chair in the living room and thought, "hey I should clean-up and vacuum where the old chair was before I put the wingback in." As I'm picking up the junk on the floor I notice that the nearby shelving that runs under the front window could really use dusting and straightening up. "Well it will be easier with no chair in the way." Tackling that, I see that the horizonal blinds covering the window need dusting also. Again, "no chair = easier," I proceed to wipe them down. I went through two Cold Case Files and one City Confidential finishing the entire project.

Now I'm exhausted, my nose is plugged with grime, and I believe that foul odor is me. But that corner of the living room now looks sweet. One corner at a time I might have the whole place clean in a week. Better make that two.

More melancholy musings.

2006-07-20T21:32:00.000-06:00

I've written another lugubrious lyric that may cause you, dear readers, to whine and shout, "Enough already! You are depressed, we get it!" There is a silver lining in this writ of woe. Early this morning, when I wrote the following, I was in blueberry haze. Most probably because I needed to go to sleep. However, I wrote this poem, and the act of creation actually lifted my mood. So while it may be a sloppy slough of sauce, it was good for me.

In My Head

Anxious, angst-ridden guilt
My blood.
Every heartbeat,
Beats me
Down, down, down.
I drown in sorrow.
Self-pity's sigh I cry,
Why?
No answer but the rustle
Of thought
Caught in emotional winds.
Blowing out the twinkle
In my blue eyes.

Running low on crazy? Try eBay!

2006-07-19T22:28:00.000-06:00

I'm over at Techorati playing around doing random searches for fun when I try Insanity and this appeared in the sponsored links section:

Insanity on eBay
Find insanity items at low prices. With over 5 million items for sale every day, you'll find all kinds of unique things on eBay - the World's Online Marketplace.

Yes, folks, you can get your insanity at insane prices. No need to go to that chic up scale mall of madness. Get your dose of crazy at below market prices!

Turns out its nothing so cool. Simply items with Insanity in the name. But damn if it were possible to sell insanity on eBay I'd be rich. Heck the Bolts could be the Rothschilds of irrationality. Mayhap I hyperbolize a bit, but not by much.

Ladies and Gentlemen, The President of the United States.

2006-07-19T05:32:00.000-06:00

Another silly old bit.

2006-07-19T04:45:00.000-06:00

More stuff I've found while digging through old journals. Liked it, thought I would share it.

Free form poems in the wee hours can free you.

Thought has stopped.
Late early time works on my mind,
Twisting turning
Turing and his machine.
Death to all hearts,
Be there and be.

-- July 2001

Blogged out?

2006-07-17T23:31:00.000-06:00

I have this intense desire to blog, but I've had no inspiration the past few days. Everything I've written about, or linked, I thought "hey this that's cool I should share this on my blog." As the days have gone by there has been nothing I thought worth blogging about. Still, having no ideas doesn't mean I don't I have that twitch to type something, anything, to fill the blank.

"...white quadrangular deserts..." The narrator of Yevgeny Zamyatin's We uses this metaphor to describe the pages of his journal before he writes on them. It happens to be one of the books I am reading at the moment. I read that passage earlier today and thought it was a compelling image of empty pages. Writing the above paragraph it popped into my head. I began to write my thoughts in prose form but my mind started chanting a poem, a poem, we must have a poem. So I tweaked it a bit came up with a poem. It's simple but here it is.

Pages,
Deserts
Where words water
Idea-plants,
Creating green worlds,
Or
Leaving nothing but mud.

Wow, that gave me a little thrill. Maybe I should simply write more often. Funny how the act of writing triggered the memory of the metaphor. Granted it wasn't the Proustian revelation brought on by eating madeleines; the memory being so new as to barely qualify as a memory, and so small as to only contain three words. But it was enough to turn this post from some dull rant about the lack of blogging material into something slightly entertaining. Or was it?

The Allen Incident continues!

2006-07-13T14:07:00.000-06:00

Yes, dearest readers, the sad tale of my lack of reading skills continues. The shameful email I wrote was published in the Dereset News without correcting the name of the letter writer I was responding to. Below is my email, then what was published in the paper.

My Email:

I'm not going to argue with Steve Allen (Reader's Forum, July 11). He likes what he likes and there are no facts that will change his mind. Fine. While I can't argue, I would like to state that my taste in humor is completely different than his when it comes to "F Minus" and "Lio" comic strips. He found them "pretty amateur." I on the other hand love them. They are the first ones I read when I turn to the comics page. Their subtle humor makes me smile, if not laugh out loud, every time. I know this isn't a serious issue, and that if said comics did disappear from the paper I could find them elsewhere. I simply wanted to state my opinion in case there was any thought of getting rid of them.

The Dereset News:

When it comes to the comics page, I'm not going to argue with Steve Allen (Readers' Forum, July 11). He likes what he likes. But I would like to state that my taste in humor is completely different from his when it comes to the strips "F Minus" and "Lio." He found them "pretty amateur." I love them. Their subtle humor makes me smile. I know this isn't a serious issue, but I wanted to voice my opinion.

I put both versions up to show that the paper had edited my email quite extensively. Yet they didn't edit the most glaring mistake in the email, one in which I even sent a note asking them to correct before they published it. The man's name is Stan Miller, not Steve Allen. Thanks Deseret News. In truth, I have only myself to blame. Lack of double checking the facts; the facts being a simple name in this case. My error now stands naked before the whole state of Utah. I may never write a letter to the editor again. Well maybe one more to apologize to Stan.

I need to enroll in The Zoolander School For Kids That Can't Read Good.

2006-07-12T22:26:00.000-06:00

Yesterday I posted about Stan Miller and my disagreement with his taste in comics. I mentioned I sent a letter to the editor. There was a slight problem with the letter. I called him Steve Allen. Yeah. I can't read so good. I actually had posted here with Steve this, Steve that when I thought, "Wow, that's odd he has the same name as the famous comedian." I even made a joke about it in the post. So AFTER I sent the letter and posted here I recheck his name. Stan Miller glared back at me. Somehow when I first read the name I only saw the "St" and the double l's and added the rest. I need to be smacked. What makes the whole thing even worse, it was my first letter to the editor, any editor. Good start huh?

I quickly sent a note to the Deseret News saying I had made a mistake. But never fear, I made a mistake in that email as well. See if you can spot my slaughter of the English language. I wrote: "I had called the letter writer Steve Allen, where as should be Stan Miller." Did you see it? I'm sure that you did. What the hell does "where as should be" mean? Where as IT should be!

It seems I like to add letters that aren't there. For example there is a program on PBS named Globe Trekker. However when ever I see it on the guide I want to say Global Trekker, adding an "al" that isn't there. In fact while googling it just now I typed Global before correcting it.

All this goes to show that I should never be an editor. My proofreading is bottom barrel at best. Even before The Allen Incident, as I will now be calling it, I had notice when I reread posts here an hour or two later I would find fine ungrammatical errors. Who knows how many I didn't catch and change? They will come back to haunt me from the depths of literary hell. Friends, beware the missing pronoun. There is much weep and wailing in their vengeance, and many a great ego is laid low in its grave by them.

What is funny?

2006-07-11T22:27:00.000-06:00

If someone doesn't share the same sense of humor as you, do they simply have no sense? I think most people want to dismiss others has having no sense of humor when it doesn't jive with theirs. I got to thinking about this because of a letter Stan Miller wrote to the Deseret News today. Stan called two of my favorite comics Lio and F Minus "pretty amateur." Immediately I wanted to write a letter to the editor saying, "You sir have the humor of a snail!" While I didn't write that I did in fact write a letter simply to put my two cents in. I can easily disregard Stan as a rube that wouldn't know humor if it came up to him and said "Hi, I'm Humor."

It's easy because I don't know him. But what about someone you know and like? Generally the people you hang out with share a similar humor. At least the people I hang with do. If they don't get my jokes, they aren't long on the list of people I like to talk to. So when you have the anomalistic event when they "don't find that funny" how do you take that? If I found the material truly funny yet my friend didn't find it so, it's almost a betrayal. "You faked your way into being my friend you LIAR!" They laughed before when I laughed, why not now? Then it becomes a mental exercise to figure out why they might not find it funny. But I simply end up with I just don't get them. Or could it be that I don't know what's funny? Nahhh.

Warning: You might cry.

2006-07-08T01:20:00.000-06:00

Mark got the first video here in an email. It shows Dick and Rick Hoyt who compete together as Team Hoyt in athletic events. The first shows them at a triatholon.

This second one tells a little more about them.

Team Hoyt is an inspiration. Any words I use to discribe them seem trite so I'll stop trying. Simply enjoy them. More about Team Hoyt here.

Something lighter.

2006-07-07T23:24:00.000-06:00

I thought since yesterday's poems were on the downside I would put something a little more lighthearted up for your enjoyment.

Don't Follow Sheep

Ubiquitous ewes
Use you
For their evil aims:
Fleecing farmers.

-July 2006

Yes, yes groan away. Fear the philosopher fool and his funny phrasing.

Poem old and poem new.

2006-07-06T00:58:00.000-06:00

Three years ago the city was tearing up the street in front of the duplex I live in. One night I stood by the chain link fence on the side of yard and looked at the destruction/construction and came up with this poem.

Street Side

Warm summer night
After
Hot summer day.
Leaning on link fence to look at
Covert culverts recently uncovered by construction.
Drought water
Slides across rock filled silt
Culvert to culvert.
Light
From moon in sky,
Light
From street lamp corner across,
Catches clear stream
Illuminating haphazardly.
Nostalgic breeze embraces
Sweat stained tee.
Near silent,
Until
Train whistle sighs distant,
And human heart sighs near.

-July 2003

Early this morning I came up with this poem. It expresses a kind of melancholy I have been feeling lately. Ah, wasted time.

Genius Lost

It is
Sadness
Seeing native
Talent set aflame
By doubt
Leaving ashes
In which to mourn.

-July 2006

I finished Genius Lost yesterday after I had found Street Side in a notebook (though I hadn't given it that name until a few minutes ago), rewrote it here and saved it as a draft. They both share a certain sadness, a longing for things past and lost.

Wall talking.

2006-07-05T23:17:00.000-06:00

I got the title of this post from this cartoon. I thought it was quiet humorous. Sometimes writing here feels like that. Not that I don't get feed back from you all, just it isn't immediate, and I have no patience. So it's more like talking to a wall with a chink in it. Now the question is, who is Pyramus and who is Thisbe? Oh, ok I'll be Thisbe. I'm cuter anyway.

Along the lines of keeping sane through writing I came across this article on Stephen King in Parade magazine. When asked by the columnist if he got nightmares he replied:

Working helps me sleep well, he said. But when I'm not working, I do have them.

Reminds me of one of my favorite quotes from Hamlet. After Rosencrantz tells Hamlet it is his ambition that makes Demark a prison for him, Hamlet replies:

O God, I could be bounded in a nutshell and count myself a king of infinite space, were it not that I have bad dreams.

Perhaps the old boy should written down his angst instead of wandering around wondering whether to be or not. But then there is no play. And the play is the thing as we know.

Calling all content pirates. Get your insurance here!

2006-07-03T15:25:00.000-06:00

It appears you can now get insurance in case you are sued for piracy. At least if you live in Sweden. An article from Engadget has all the details. I want to know if I can get the t-shirt even if I don't get the insurance.

I got convicted for file-sharing and all I got was this lousy T-shirt

E.T. paints me a picture.

2006-07-02T04:49:00.000-06:00

Early in the AM and odd sites are invading my eyes. It appears extraterrestrials are sending us abstract art. An article in Art Knowledge News describes how Jonathon Keats, an artist in his own right, interpreted radio signals from Arecibo Observatory in Puerto Rico. If this really is art from another planet, why is it in some art news site and not blasted across every major news station, paper, internet site, billboard, carrier pigeon, pony expr...you get the idea. In fact the whole article seems so matter of fact about the whole thing. Bizarre. My favorite quote by Keats from the article:

Historically our culture has ignored extraterrestrial artistic expression.

Not me! I have the latest Gee Zu Oopoop on my wall. That's his Earth name. Since his species communicates telepathically so they have no auditory sounds. Their language is pictures and colors. The painting I have kinda looks like a Pollock.

More on writing.

2006-06-30T21:52:00.000-06:00

Perusing Sara Gran's blog I found some more ideas apropos to what I was writing yesterday. She is a writer that has written a couple novels, Come Closer and Dope.

...I think the meaning is clear in any case. It's great to hang out with other writers and be part of a scene; that's fine (Algren disagrees). But that's not writing. Writing is a solitary act not just literally--that's obvious--but emotionally. You don't run around worrying about what the nighbors [sic] or your fellow writers or your editor or your workshop instructor are going to think--not if you want to produce anything worthwhile. Instead, you will follow your obsessions, even if that leads you against the tide of your own time, against the current that surrounds you...

When you love books as much as I do, the life of a writer seems to be this idyllic land of cafes and intellectuals. In a word: Coolness. But being a real writer means work and work and yet again work. And that's work without the usual watercooler talk to keep it from becoming too oppressive. At least it's not mind numbing but in a way it seems to be worse. You have to be hyper-mindful, wrenching your guts out and smearing them across the blank page. Then you are left naked to be ripped apart by agents, editors, critics, Joe the guy at the at the 7-Eleven selling you a cherry Slurpy telling you that his mop water was better than what you wrote. Why would anyone, such as myself, with the skin of a grape and a spine of mush even DREAM of doing this?

Why? Because when I force myself to actually write I feel I'm using my talents they way they should be. Of course I'm constantly thinking, "This is crap why am I wasting my time?" But when I get the right words there is a contentment I don't get from much else. Like the poem wrote here last week. The contentment express there partly came from the expressing the moment and not just the moment itself. So who cares if anyone but me ever really likes this stuff.

But in the long run, if you're not expresing [sic] your true obsessions in your writing, you might as well just get an easier job.

Maybe not a job for me. Probably not. A method of keeping sane. Definitely.

Harper Lee, writing, and the art of being lazy.

2006-06-30T04:49:00.000-06:00

Here I go again traipsing down the electronic highway find ever more bits to fill my head with. On a blog called Wild-Mind I came across this quote by Harper Lee:

You know, many writers really don't like to write. I think this the chief complaint of so many. They hate to write; they do it under the compulsion that makes any artist the victim he is, but they loathe the process of sitting down trying to turn thoughts into reasonable sentences.

I thought hey that's me. I feel this great urge to write and create but then when I'm in front of the computer I can't seem to force myself to flesh out the ideas spinning around. I went to the interview that this quote comes from and found a couple others that apply to me:

It takes time and patience and effort to turn out a work of art, and few people seem willing to go all the way.

Well, the first advice I would give is this: hope for the best and expect nothing. Then you won't be disappointed. You must come to terms with yourself about your writing. You must not write "for" something; you must not write with definite hopes of reward.

It takes work. Work that may well go unrewarded. BUT...BUT I WANT REWARDS!! So hard to let that go. I do know I feel better when I write, even if it is this silly blog. Is that a reward? Probably but I'm taking it.

Their melting! What a world, what a world...

2006-06-29T22:09:00.000-06:00

Just got off the phone with Mom. She and Dad are on their way to visit Sarah and Tyler in San Diego. Apparently there was an accident in Barstow that had the freeway backed up to Baker. They spent three hours in 115 degree heat driving from Baker to Barstow. The worst part was just before getting stuck in traffic they had eaten some chips and jerky, but they didn't want to drink anything for fear their "bladders might explode." So they tortured themselves with salty mouths and intense heat for three hours. The car they rented had a thermometer that showed the outside temperature, and Dad qua Dad had to announce every few minutes what the temp was. "It's 113, now it's 114, now 115, oh now it's down to 113 again" and so on. Mom was laughing the whole time she relayed this, so it didn't sound like the typical Bolt family road trip. Much more calm prevailed. Maybe because they didn't a gang of unruly kids screaming "are we there yet?"

The Branding of Children.

2006-06-28T22:00:00.000-06:00

Mom was watching Heston and Porter (two of my nephews) today and she told me this story about Heston. He had been taking a nap, got up and ate some crackers. After eat the crackers:

Heston:(points at the can of soda on the coffee table) Is this Fresca? It looks like Fresca. (picks up the can, drinks from it, holds it up smiling) It IS Fresca!

She said she wished she had a camera at that moment. She could have made a million bucks. I assume selling it to Fresca.

I thought it sounded cute and very Hestonesque but then it got me about the ubiquity of brands in our world. Heston, who's three, can't read yet but he can recognize the brand Fresca, and probably many more if you tested him. Whatever happened to Sesame Street brought to you by the letter B? Wait Sesame Street is a brand now too. Sigh. With the state of education in the US we should make everything educational brand-like:

Crisp! Clean! Clear! Calculate with Calculus and you'll never be sorry!

PI! The dessert for the mind.

Know where you are, know where you are going, Geography!

From Ancient Asian to Zippy Zanzibar History has it all!

Philip Seymour Hoffman loves Philosophy. Shouldn't you?

Not really sure Hoffman likes philosophy but we could pay him to say he did. Branding educational stuff might make it cool. Or maybe not. It would be fun to try with a few million dollars to spend on the ads.

Weird, just plain weird.

2006-06-28T04:06:00.000-06:00

Microsoft has come up with a demographics predictor where you can type in an item/idea or URL and get the target audience. This very website gets a 50/50 split among men and woman with the highest age group being those under 18. Who knew you all were minors? Turn back that clock. The Baze was 66/34 in favor of men, 24-34 being the dominate age group. Guess I shouldn't make that Baze Perfume like I wanted to. Baze Cologne on the other hand...

It seems eHarmony is not so harmonious.

2006-06-27T05:30:00.000-06:00

I did a google to see if I could find any of that 20% the rejection mentioned. There were a lot of sites complaining about the service. Matches not matching, customer service a joke, not being able to cancel. One site listed a bunch of complains. I only got about a third of the way down and found a couple cool quotes.

Susan of Telford TN (04/10/06)
After a long time of filling out a questionaire, I was told I was rejected. Now that I have read other people's woes about the site, I am not so heartbroken...

Rob of San Diego CA (02/13/06)
...I'll bet the other rejects from eHarmony are very cool people.

You got that right Rob! The coolest.

eHarmony cannot match me!

2006-06-27T04:46:00.000-06:00

So I'm tooling around the net as I want to do when I see this link for the eHarmony site. I'm sure you've seen their ads on TV. I thought "hey I'll take their profile for fun" and this is what I got back:

eHarmony is based upon a complex matching system developed through extensive research with married couples. One of the requirements for successful matching is that participants fall within certain defined profiles. If we find that we will not be able to match a user using these profiles, we feel it is only fair to inform them early in the process.

We are so convinced of the importance of creating compatible matches to help people establish happy, lasting relationships that we sometimes choose not to provide service rather than risk an uncertain match.

Unfortunately, we are not able to make our profiles work for you. Our matching model could not accurately predict with whom you would be best matched. This occurs for about 20% of potential users, so 1 in 5 people simply will not benefit from our service. We hope that you understand, and we regret our inability to provide service for you at this time.

After saying AMEN, and laughing very hard I looked closer at the statement. Twenty percent can't use this site? That seems like a lot to me. Can't they match me with the 20% of women that get this message too? Guess not. The creation of that much chaos could sent the Earth spinning into the Sun. So to all my relations (especially Mom) out there, if a COMPUTER can't match me up with someone, please, please don't you try.

Food to die for.

2006-06-26T04:55:00.000-06:00

Some of you have heard of the Deep Fried Twinkies. Well now there are more heart stopping food. Let's have a big hand for the Beer Battered Deep Fried Bacon Double Quarter Pounder and his tagalong friend the Deep Fried Brats. Mmmm mmm fried goodness. Warning: Sane people have determined that this stuff will kill you. Enjoy at your own risk.

Some Pictures Stolen from Dustin.

2006-06-26T03:01:00.000-06:00

It's the whole crew here, minus the parents, spouses, and younglings. So it's far from the whole crew but it's a nice shot of my siblings. For those that don't know left to right it's Tyler, Melissa, Me, Ryan, Dustin, Cassandra, Matt. This picture was taken on Grampa's (my Mom's Dad) 80th birthday last summer. We are a large group in many differant ways.

A smaller gang of us at Cassandra's wedding last April.

Since we are sharing wedding pictures might as well share this one. That hot hunk of man love is Cole. What a cute couple of kids.

OK since we are on wedding pictures here is a picture of Tyler kissing his lovely wife Sarah last summer at their wedding. I promise this will be the last of the mushy pictures for awhile.

Man I love my family. =D BTW thanks again Dustin for the pics.

Something for the kids of the 70's!

2006-06-25T04:40:00.000-06:00

Stevie Wonder lays down this rift in '73. Though I don't remember it, I was only four, but being the Streetophile I was as a young lad I'm sure I saw it.

The NetMind is sucking me into its vortex.

2006-06-25T00:10:00.000-06:00

Well after much cajoling and threatening by my siblings I final made a MySpace account. Mainly I made it so I could harass them on their sites. The older brother still tormenting the younger ones. My profile pic as donated by Dustin. Thank you brother!As you can see I'm super excited to be part of it all. Or is just the NetMind taking over my will? Fear the NetMind it will destory you.

Yard Sale!

2006-06-23T22:25:00.000-06:00

If any of you are going to be in the Orem area between 8 am and 12 pm tomorrow you should stop by the yard sale at Casa Bolt. No es me casa. It's the folks. Mom had me moving some cra...I mean wonderful items at low prices around. One was a crib I think I slept in. Maybe not me but I know a few of my siblings did. She called it an antique. What's that make me?

By the way, the yard sale will not be mocked!

Me: Are you going to sell this dirt too? (pointing to the potting soil nearby and grinning)
Mom: (with some heat in her voice) Why do you kids have to mock all my projects?

Mocking is fun? Sorry Mom.

Robert Carter-Something to think on

2006-06-19T21:47:00.000-06:00

While over at Mom's today I stumbled on an anthology of essays. In thumbing through it I came across an essay entitled The Anti-Jefferson (Levy, Andrew. American Scholar. Spring 2001) The author has now written a book on the subject. What is the subject you ask? Well one Robert Carter III who soon after the Revolutionary War freed all his slaves. In fact it was the largest emancipation by a single person in the antebellum South, over 450 slaves. The title of the article comes from the fact that Carter lacked the luster of Jefferson, but in the end was more committed to the idea that freedom should be universally applied. It was an interesting read into why what a seemingly great act has largely been forgotten. I'm compelled to read the book now.

I'm really not sure why I'm posting about this. It's just a "hey look at what I found cool" I guess.

Oh look there's a picture!

2006-06-18T01:51:00.000-06:00

Mark took this looking east from our front yard. Nice huh?

I'm feeling a poet...ere poetic.

2006-06-14T22:11:00.000-06:00

I don't know if it was because I put poem up yesterday or it was just a good moment. While over at the folks sitting in the back yard I got this line running in my head. So I wrote it down. That lead to another line and another until I had written the poem below.

On the porch

The fading orb
Dapples trees with light.
A gust
And multihued green
Shimmers in the slacking summer sun.
Chimes tinkle
The blowing breeze.
Morning dove coos
Mourning the coming night.

Alone on the back porch
I sit
Witness.
And for a moment,
A single moment
I am content.

Old bits and weird finds.

2006-06-13T04:12:00.000-06:00

I was going through old Word files today and came across I love letter I wrote to my ex-wife while we were broken up (long story). If you think it's a little impersonal to write a love letter on a computer you haven't seen my handwriting. Anyway the letter isn't what struck me but the poem I put with it did.

Beautiful Uncertainty

Write and wrong word put in place of thought
Babbling ink down the book
Stretching hand across the dead tree
Painting page with the matter that grays the mind
Wipe away the fears falling before eyes
Visions find flow to show

Blind men leading bound tongue
“We must have the sure
Varying verbs not needed here”
Logarithm jams stifle creation
Effective causes sought
Imposing order on orderless beauty
Doubt lost by theory thinkers
With it awe-struck naive idea
No one to wander with wonder?

But see science lose certainty
Whispering words wear coat of comforting confusion
Singing symbols slide against dull dots
Find end to string as firm foundations fall
Understanding through controlled chaos
Only the lost discover the New
Rejoice in the unclear!

--December 1996

It is actually older than the letter it came from. It's from an old journal that I can't seem to find now. Pretty rough I know but I like the imagery. To stop trying to know everything and let go. He, O men, is the wisest, who, like Socrates, knows that his wisdom is in truth worth nothing. So much for old bits.

Anyone every just type in their name to a search engine to see what they would find? I did that and came up with some funny stuff. Jason Bolt dreamed of trees. A lumber jack! Leaping from tree to tree. I believe the site is a story based on the TV series Here Comes the Brides, which you will notice started the fall before I was born. Mother swears I wasn't named after the oldest brother but I have my doubts. I'm also a student at LSU. At least I finally got into the right party!

That's enough of my insanity for one day. Take care all.

My nose itches

2006-06-10T04:03:00.000-06:00

Not so much itches as annoying me. Someone is twitching a blade of grass in my nasal cavity. With all the lawns getting cut around here it's probably not far from what is actually happening. Ah summer. At least my eyes aren't irritated. Just as I write this my right eye gets a little tickle. Psychosomatic? More than likely, but my rubbing it will make it more than real. Wheeee!

Much later today (is it really 4am?) is the Orem Summerfest parade. Being the big ole stick in the mud I am I doubt I will be viewing it. The fireworks however I can see from the front porch. So long as the entertainment comes to me I'm all for it. Been thunderstorming a bunch the past couple days, hopefully it will be clear tonight. If not, lightning can be as cool as fireworks and the rain sure is nice.

Told any good Fibs lately

2006-06-06T23:47:00.000-06:00

Whilst wandering the sphere of blogs I came across this story on Fibs. The creator's blog describing them is here. Basically you use the Fibonacci sequence as a guide for the number of syllables per line. I thought it was kinda cool. Mark however was unimpressed and I wrote a Fib on what happened when I got all excited and told him about them.

Mark!
Yes?
I saw
This thing called
Fibs, what do you think?
It's not exactly poetic.

Anyway there it is for you to enjoy or not.

Fun with the folks

2006-06-04T21:51:00.000-06:00

Cass and Cole came down from Ogden so there was much rejoicing. They brought with them these huge steaks from Costco which we cooked over Cole, I mean coals. Too punny? Well tough it's my blog. Ashley and Matt also came over with their two boys. Melissa and Tony were invited but had to go to friends. Too bad they missed some fine meats and salads.

It was the usual good time with the usual pre-party nerves by hostess Mom. She thought Cass had said they would be there at two but when they final got there at a little after four Cass said they had told her between two and four. Between two and four there was a lot of "Where are they?" but everything settled down after they go there, for the most part. Heston did throw a bit of tantrum when he couldn't play with the neighbor girl until after he ate.

Everyone: You can play with her after you come eat something.
Heston: I can't! I can't!

They way he yelled it you though we were asking him to lift an elephant or drive 55 ala the Red Rocker. He just couldn't eat before playing. Not until his dad took him inside for a bit to calm down.

After we all consumed much food and drink Matt and Ashley took the boys home while the rest of us sat around in the cool of the evening talking. We went from favorite PBS shows and the physical impossibilities of Dan Browns Angels and Demons to sharing hospital/surgery stories. Conclusion: some of us have a hard time suspending disbelief, at least if it's suppose to be in the real universe and not a magical one, and that an anesthetic can be nice before an operation but it's a real pain post-op.

Typing this whole thing I wonder should I say who all these people are or should I just assume that anyone coming here will know me so have an idea. I really can't imagine anyone that didn't know me reading more than a sentence but hey who knows.

One final anecdote, while waiting for C&C to appear, Mom visited this wondrous blog. She clicked on the Other Nutty Bolts link whilst I was wandering around upstairs. I then heard confusing about what was going on.

Mom: Jason what's going on?
Me: Huh? (I descend the stairs to see what's wrong now)
Mom: See I click this (Mom clicks the link) and it goes to Shannon's blog. Why does it do that?
Me: Ah, because I put the link there.
Mom: Oh.

It was almost as if she believed somehow the blog had mystically put it there on it's own. Maybe she needs to start a blog to learn more about how things work around here. Of course I would be the tech guy for her. Hmm yeah no blog for Mom.

First Posting

2006-06-02T22:48:00.000-06:00

A blog? For me? Who knows? I was talking to my roommate Mark about blogs,

Me: I was thinking of doing a blog.
Mark: A blog is perfect for you!
Me: Why's that you think?
Mark: Its writing and pictures and stuff.

Still it seems dubious to me. Not blogs per se, just me writing one. I do like to write (when I'm not being lazy, and I'm lazy A LOT) but mostly esoteric nonsense that I can't imagine anyone but me being interested in. But with all the nonsense on the net and otherwise, hell why not add my scream (whimper?) to the masses. Hi I'm Jason Bolt, just some guy.