cross country trip log

Ok, here's the nuts and bolts of the trip. More description comes later, this is just the facts.

The route:
Miami, FL take I-95 to Florida Turnpike (@ Golden Glades junction)
Coleman, FL pick up I-75 North.
north FL pick up I-10 West.
Mobile, AL pick up I-65 North to US-98 West.
Hattiesburg, MS pick up I-59 North to US-49 North.
Jackson, MS pick up I-20 West.
Arlington, TX pick up TX-360 North to TX-183/121 West to I-820 West
Forth Worth, TX pick up I-35W North to US-287 North.
Amarillo, TX pick up I-40 West.
Barstow, CA pick up CA-58 West.
Bakersfield, CA pick up CA-99 North.
Chowchilla, CA pick up CA 59/152 West.
past Los Banos, Ca pick up I-5 North, take to I-580 West to Berkeley, CA.

When	What	Where	Miles
Wednesday, May 25 9:49am	LEAVE	Miami Beach, FL	0
Wednesday, May 25 12:25pm	gas	Okeechobee, FL	162.9
Wednesday, May 25 2:32pm	rest	near Ocala, FL	294.7
Wednesday, May 25 5:20pm	gas	Tallhassee, FL	476.8
Wednesday, May 25 7:20pm (CDT)	rest	1st rest stop in Alabama	678.5
Wednesday, May 25 8:30pm	stop for night	Mobile, AL	733.8
Thursday, May 26 7:58am	start day	Mobile, AL	735.8
Thursday, May 26 9:07am	gas	New Augusta, MS	801
Thursday, May 26 11:50am	rest	1st rest stop in Louisiana	958.2
Thursday, May 26 2:24pm	gas	Bossier City, LA	1117.4
Thursday, May 26 5:45pm	stop for night	Arlington, TX	1327
Friday, May 27 8:09am	start day	Arlington, TX	1329
Friday, May 27 10:38am	gas	Iowa Park, TX	1464.9
Friday, May 27 2:49pm	gas	Adrian, TX	1727.1
Friday, May 27 5:45pm (MDT)	stop for night	Albuquerque, NM	1964.5
Saturday, May 28 11:45am	start day	Albuquerque, NM	1967.4
Saturday, May 28 12:55am	gas	Grants, NM	2040.4
Saturday, May 28 4:45pm (MST)	stop for 2 nights	Flagstaff, AZ	2283.7
Monday, May 30 6:57am	start day, gas, coffee	Flagstaff, AZ	2372.3
Monday, May 30 11:57am (PDT)	gas	Ludlow, CA	2674.4
Monday, May 30 3:39pm	gas	Tulare, CA	2913.5
Monday, May 30 4:35pm	stop for night	Fresno, CA	2962.9
Tuesday, May 31 9:00am	start day	Fresno, CA	2975.6
Tuesday, May 31 11:57am	ARRIVE	Berkeley, CA	3158.3

and away we go...

almost all packed, movers arrive in <9 hours. despite having thrown/given away and sold tons of stuff, i still have, uh, tons of stuff. books, cds/lps of course the bane and joy of my existence.

so, what then? a route that takes me north and west thru fla, into alabama where i hope to hit mobile wednesday night. dallas/ft.worth is thursday night, hopefully with time for bbq at railhead and catch the rangers game.

friday is albuquerque...catch the isotopes and get food at frontier (sense the theme here?) and maybe wander a bit thru town. since the haul to flagstaff is a shorter one (4-5 hours per mapquest) then there's no rush to get up and on the road too early on saturday.

spend the weekend in flag, tuesday night central cal, wednesday i hit town.

this is a great opportunity and i'm very excited to move there and all, but man...packing and moving sucks.

road trip v2

ok, forget the great american west trip, as things have changed. i'm moving from the sweaty sub-tropics to the bay area. which means a 3,000 mile trip, a few stops here and there. trip most likely to take place at the end of may, with an arrival in ca around may 30 to june 1.

so again i ask...who's with me?

questions from a c(an)ard carrying liberal

Here's a question to which I've never gotten a satisfactory answer...

Let's say we accept the canard about the liberal bias in the media, judiciary and academe (and the piss poor definition of liberalism put forth by conservatives). Why is it that the people who make up the three institutions most pilloried by the conservative movement -- the press, the judiciary, and college professors -- are the ones who've spent their lives in careers dedicated to the production, interpretation and dissemination of knowledge and information? Why is it that these people, who have spent their lives going to (generally) the best schools, tend to lean liberal? What does that say about the salience and validity of the liberal viewpoint even as defined (poorly) by Conservatives that very well educated people, the best minds in the country, lean towards liberal viewpoints?

Also? On Meet the Press, Richard Land of the Baptist Convention, started blathering on about how decisions like the Schiavo case shouldn't be settled by "unelected judges", yet if he'd done his homework instead of parroting GOP talking points he'd see that a fair number of judges in America are in fact selected or retained by popular election. Many in partisan elections, and in both red and blue states. In fact, some of the FLA judges who presided over this case were elected.

http://www.justiceatstake.org/contentViewer.asp?breadcrumb=4,277

The other dumbass thing about his point is that when judges are selected they are put there by elected officials. So ultimately the elected officals are accountable to the people for the selections made to fill the judicial benches. Which, by the way, makes ridiculous the whole threat by Bill Frist and the Senate GOP to make illegal the filibustering on judicial nominees -- putting aside the fact that the 107th and 108th Congresses approved a greater share of Bush's judicial nominees than did the 103rd-106th Congresses under Clinton, the Senate's role is to advise and consent, not to "roll over and consent".

Land's point was also undone by the fact that Scalia didn't take up the case for the US Supreme Court. So the moral and ethic dimensions of the Schiavo case aside, it was pretty clear there was no legal standing for the Schindler family. That's a shame, but is something that needs to be fixed in legislature.

Another funny thing about the whole judicial activist thing is the blatant hypocrisy...rule for a conservative and with strict adherence to statutory or constitutional law and you're praised as being a "strict constructionist". Rule against a conservative and with strict adherence to statutory or constitutional law, and you're vilified for being an activist.

So crazy.

I feel horribly for the Schindlers, but I find it sad that they lit into Jeb Bush when he, a very conservative governor, decided to stay within the boundaries of the FLA constitution and statues. It may very well be that the law itself needs changing -- IMO, if there's this big a dispute between family members over the wishes of someone like Schiavo (in her condition, no advanced medical directive) then it may be that you err on the side of keeping the person alive. How to work that out legally I don't know, but it's hard not to have misgivings about her being starved to death.

But the law's the law, and once you declare a body of government null and void and usurp powers, well, it's a slippery slope to fascism and dictatorial, unaccountable rule.

All that said, I'm getting a living will done soon.

gotfuggingdamnit

twice i had a very long entry wiped out thanks to some oddity of trying to copy and paste or whatnot. i'm debating whether or not to recreate a third time. maybe i'll have a beer and watch the ncaa game while rewriting it. or maybe not. i should be outside, it's gorgeous...but too much work.

ok, who's with me?

the situation...july 2, big social event in seattle. july 16 big social event in denver. barring change in circumstance i'll be still living on the east coast. do i want to fly back and forth and back and forth? if this doesn't scream out for a 2 week road trip/sojourn/kerouacian adventure thru the great american west, i don't know what does.

so i ask...who's in? who wants to play neal cassady to my jack (or maybe i'll play neal to your jack)? all or part of the trip? do you know people who've got space where i can crash? grand canyon, bryce, arches, rockies, vancouver, redwoods, vegas (baby), tahoe...all there for the taking.

so again i ask...who's with me?

wouldacouldashoulda

scuba, salsa, key west, x, fairchild, the screenplays, day tripping, judo, any of 2 dozen books, every great idea i've ever had.

history never retreats

another year on the market, another year left on the shelf. or maybe not? switch of focus, from faculty to admin jobs, albeit admin jobs with a research angle. maybe a stretch but hey, my first face-to-interview in a while. and omens? four years ago i go to an interview on my birthday and in that cycle get a job. this year i'm flying on my birthday to an interview the next day. maybe something from this cycle? and for this interview i have homework! (and fuck me, why am i blogging when i should be working on that assignment?) but man, a cross-country flight for a one-hour interview. and while there are worse places to spend a day than ********, on my b-day? whatev. would be better if m could come up from mountainview, but she had to pick that day to fly to hawai'i with her parents. why is it i went 0-for every faculty job i went for? why did i go 0-for dc? why am i worried about it? next week? fuck it, it's go time, it's game on. westward, ho. i mean, westward ho!.

the list at the moment? lost; split enz; ****** (even mentioning the name would cause me to worry about fucking it up); spring training; getting outta *****; realizing i'm not as good at the **-******* thing as i used to be (not because i'm growing attached more like because i'm not i'm finding i'm not into it).

grammy musings

It was an entertaining show. One of the better Grammy shows in a long time, and excellent as awards shows go. Yes that may seem like damning with faint praise, but it was an entertaining few hours.

Queen Latifah? Excellent hostess.

The scripted stuff for presenters? Typically forced and not funny.

Adam Sandler? Dude, dress up a bit. Just a bit.

Melissa Etheridge? As annoyingly overwrought as I find her singing style, I dug that she had the guts to not wear a wig. At first I thought she was doing a Sinead O'Connor impersonation. I had forgotten she has cancer. An interesting moment came during the pre-show thing on E...she was being interviewed and along came Lance Armstrong with Sheryl Crow. So the whole cancer-survivor kinship thing was kinda cool.

Lesbians? Clearly the new music chic, as witnessed by Etheridge and her partner holding hands on teevee, Ellen DeGeneres sitting front row with Portia, and the Queen hosting the event.

Franz Ferdninand? Rawk. What a great fucking record that is. I hope they don't become one-hit wonders, but given that they ape the sound of so many 80s one-hit wonders, it would be poetic if they did flame out.

Kanye West? Who is this guy? 9 nominations? Never heard of him. But I loved the brain pattern of his hair cut.

J-Lo and Marc Anthony? Eh. He seems soulful. She seems too showbiz, even singing with her husband.

Loretta Lynn and her escort? (who was that?) Hysterical, and clearly unrehearsed.

Alicia Keys? Ahmagah....voice, hot. Wow.

The pre-awards show on E? Gawdawful. Kathy whatshername (Griffin?) is a no-talent whose schtick seems to be asking innane questions and saying mean things about celebs. Mean things that are supposed to be funny but aren't and make her sound jealous that she has no talent. And Star Jones? WTF? (close to) actual quote "the young people today, doing their own thing...it's great". And like 5 times talks about how music genres are mixing, as if it's never happened before.

The Southern rock thing? Well done. Only version of Freebird I've ever heard that I liked. And that redneck chick (forget her name) who sang the opening verses of the song...wow.

The Tsunami relief song? Not bad for a star-studded tribute thing. interesting means of making it go...very 21st century, rather than have them all gather at a studio afterwards (c.f. Live Aid). Why the hell is Velvet Revolver the backing band? Were Asia not available? The bass player (Duff McKagen) was hysterical, clearly stoned. Brian Wilson looked like the crazy uncle who crashed the family talent night. Nora Jones needs to wear a bra. Or at least more flattering dresses. The chorus, "nothing's gonna change my world" was oddly unsuitable for the point of the song, though they did switch it up a bit at the end.

the living elvis

It's been a few weeks of Elvis mania for me. Well, not continuous, but...during the Thanksgiving ride to visit the p's I took with me the newest Elvis record, The Delivery Man. Good record, his best pure rock record in a while. Then two weeks ago, for the ride to work I grabbed Armed Forces and This Year's Model. I spent a solid week with Armed Forces. "Oliver's Army" and "(What's So Funny 'Bout) Peace, Love And Understanding" hit me in ways they haven't for a long time, mainly because of the Duhbya, Iraq and the general political tenor of the last 12 years. How can you not feel it inside when you hear Elvis ask "where are the strong, and who are the trusted"? I even came up with new lyrics for "Oliver's Army", now "DUH-bya's Army".

Then this past Sunday, while at B's house after the pose-tech running clinic, he put on the Austin City Limits show with Elvis and the Imposters (Bruce and Steve from the Attractions with Davey Faragher (from Cracker) on bass. I saw this line-up here a couple of years ago and got-damn were they good. And on ACL they were good. Excellent professional musicians playing with fire and piss and vinegar.

And speaking of 80s new waver icons? While getting my hair cut the salon folks were playing the Cure's greatest hits thing. Talk about college flashbacks.

playing catchup going upfield

Has it been that long since I've indulged my narcissim? What's going on? Oh man...lots. More adventures in adult dating (see later entry), too much sloth, just enough work to get by, curing an obsession or two that got in the way of work...

Reading tvdetective's rave about the Wrens makes me realize that I want to be in a band again (and not just because I want hipsterette bloggers to write virtual odes to freaking my shit). I miss making music. I do creative stuff now, but for me it's a more tortuous process to do academic writing than it is to strap on the bass and groove away. And the photography stuff is very amateur and I'm not certain I want it to be more than that, despite that I know I have a decent enough sense of composition and can find a good shit.

But with music it's a time thing. I don't have the kind of time I'd like to devote to it. I also don't know that I'd find a situation like I had back where I came from. I've only played in three serious bands and another thing as a semi-acoustic duo. In each case I played with very good to excellent songwriters. I'm sure there are good writers here, but where? And would they want a me who can only give a bit of time each week, who doesn't care anymore about "making it"? I've done the big record deal, done the indie thing, had musical if not financial success.

And soccer, what about soccer? My knees tell me that my days may be numbered, even inthe rec league thing I'm in now. The level of competition is high, but that's keeping my game sharp. I'm also learning a new position, sweeper. After years of outside mid and outside defense, now it's to the middle, cleaning up when everyone else is busy. Yelling for when to move up for offsides traps, encouraging and cajoling. But it's frustrating because thanks to the knee surgery and layoff, I've lost some touch on the ball and a step or two of speed. I've been responsible for goals against as guys have blown by me when I over-commit to the tackle. But I had a couple of good games as well. Solid, where the middle of the defensive line held it together. But I feel I'm on borrowed time now. Maybe the pose-tech running will as advertised help prolong the life of my legs. But got-damn if it ain't fun to get out there every week and run around for 90 minutes. Pain and frustration notwithstanding.

west winging it

I have to confess this as a guilty pleasure, The West Wing. It's the perfect show for the political junkie who appreciates well-written dramatic performance. Trouble is, of course, that sans Sorkin the show has suffered. Last season out and out sucked. John Wells has done to TWW what he did to ER, which is to say he's made it an overwrought, melodramatic passion play every single week. Even some of the casting is spilling over, with Mary Macormack and Alan Alda (each did ER stints) on TWW now. What next, Anthony Edwards?

Gone is the Capra-esque quality of the first few seasons when Aaron Sorkin was writing everything. Every single episode had multiple story arcs that played off each other even if they weren't related. Not every episode was "a very special West Wing" {jebuschripes, an *asteroid* next week?!?}. Some were simple stories that did nothing more than present the White House as a place where hope triumped over despair, even when things were desparate. He wrote a White House and government that you wished existed, a pefect antidote to what we have in reality.

There have been good moments so far this season, but invariably Wells succumbs to the cheesy (they're ramping up the MS and again, an effing asteroid) instead of staying with the more deftly and deeply compelling (the interplay between the Dem and GOP challengers for president that gave tonight some promise). I like the show, but it's time they ended it.

respectfully depressing

So there I am in the gym (student fitness center at my university..hey it's cheap {$5/pay period}). Mostly populated by undergrads, smattering of grad students and faculty work out there as well...a guy is just handed a set of 20lb weights and I see a pair of 15s on the floor at his feet. Exchange follows...

me: are you done with the 15s?
guy: yes
me: thanks
guy: no problem, sir.
{he says this as i'm bending over to get the weights. i stop amid bend and cast him a piecing glance, with eyebrows raised]
me : {very dry, flat tone} my dad is sir.
guy: sorry

Seriously, I look that old? Gotdamn. I'm only 29 (or so).

Also? I'm making cookies for my class tomorrow. Little tradition I have, making oatmeal choco-chip cookies the last day of class. The first step in making them sounds dirtier than it is..."creaming the butter".

Also also? Tomorrow night our Dean is hosting a holiday soiree. Open bar and stuff. Note to self -- do not get too shitfaced and try to dirty dance with the dean. Any other office party advice is welcome.

the list for 2004...update

First, the good. My first published solo-authored journal article. Not in a top-tier journal in my field, but still peer-reviewed by a good editorial board. And it's an SSI journal, so I get citation points. Of course they got my name wrong on the table of contents page (copy editor did it, for some unknown reason), but still, it's there. In print.

Ok then, among the bad for 2004?

Cars and driving. I've come to realize that I don't like cars or driving all that much. Well, to be specific, I don't like driving to work as the only option, I don't like the annoyance that comes with keeping a car -- the wear-and-tear and constant maintenance, high cost of insurance and all.

What's done me in on this is 3 years of living in a parking-deficient town and especially the last six months which have featured two hit-and-runs on my car (the trial for one happens on Thursday) and two parking tickets that shouldn't have been issued but I had to deal with nonetheless (go to the parking office downtown and apply for a hearing).

Seriously, I want a job where I can walk, bike or take a short pubic transport ride to the office. I want to use the car very sparingly.

from the uncool files

How is it possible that nobody I know can or wants to go to the Magnetic Fields show this Tuesday? Well, there are two people, but one is supposed to be at the same meeting I'd like to blow off to go, and I haven't been able to get in touch with the other. Still, that my pool of friends who'd want to go is that small...gah.

cuba libre

No, it's not about rum and coke...

So my friend N has a friend E, a curator and artist. E is curating a show by a Cuban artist. The powers that be at E's institution are now giving her some grief because they are either getting grief or afraid they will get grief from the Cuban politico mafia that runs things around here. To which I say to the hard-liners around here...

Shut the fuck up already. Seriously...shut the fuck up and ge over it.

We know that culture and commerce break down barriers. It's worked in Vietnam and it's worked in China. Things aren't perfect in either place, but they're arguably better than in Cuba. Yes, I know that you have friends and relatives who have suffered at the hands of Castro.

But guess what? Your friends and relatives aren't the only ones to have ever suffered from political repression. Your situation isn't special. What makes you special, different from Chinese and Vietnamese in this country, is that you're enough of a concentrated voting bloc that you weild disproportionate power. You beg for hard-line policies that just hurt those friends and relatives in Cuba but not in jail, people trying to work hard. Your reactionary and archaic political philosophy hurts people living in the US who want to help their friends and relatives in Cuba. You keep them from sending money, visiting...you claim that such revenue only props up Castro.

But guess what? That old S.O.B. will be around for a while. Like the miserable curmudgeonly old great-uncle who is an unpleasant jerk, he won't die. He'll be around for a while, and every day he breathes you fret and worry and sit and spin. And your hatred and irrational behavior just hurts your own countrymen.

I have Chinese friends who happily return to visit, who send money, who host their families here. They know that this makes better the lives of their China friends and relatives sill in China. The situation there is no less repressive than in Cuba.

All E wants to do is to stimulate dialogue. That's the point of art in situations like this -- to get people thinking and talking. Arts and sport are two effective means of transcending the bullshit pettiness of the modern nation-state political litterbox.

Commerce and culture break down barriers. We know this, and it's time to bring Cuba into the fold. Force change by giving people there a taste of the outside world. We know it works, even if the change takes a while, and there are Tiannemen-like hiccups along the way.

So please, shut up and get over it.

the list for 2004...

the good, the bad, the ugly, the fugly, the best of times, the worst of times, the shameful, the blameful, moments of beauty, moments of bliss, moments of hit, moments of miss, moments i'll want to relive, moments i'll never live down

I don't have any entries right now, just saying this may be how I organize it. And I'll take suggestions, both on entries and categories.

Actually, I do have the first entry...

moments of beauty? the falls at iguazu --
http://www.fotolog.net/dannebrog/?photo_id=8116602

art basel

Now in it's third year in Miami Beach, the Art Basel show opens this week. Well, opened tonight, and thanks to my friend N I got passes to the pre-grand opening opening. Not VIP tix to where the free booze was, but free tix nonetheless. Being the pre-opening night meant less crowds, a more serious crowd (as in people looking to buy stuff, and in fact buying stuff already) and more fun people watching opportunities. And the tickets were free.

I'd wanted to post a bit about some of the art, but there are 175 galleries showing tons of work, and after an hour or so it gets overwhelming. It's really hard to remember much. It's not really a venue for superstar artists, but there were a few Calder mobiles, a Warhol or two and a few Lichetensteins. N's friend E had one piece up, a photo series of stack of letters sent by her father in Cuba to her mother in Miami. There was supposed to be a voice installation as well, with E's friend JC reading from the letters. Sadly, the gallery owner hadn't put it up yet.

Some work that did stick out was a collection of landscapes using denim as the media. Yes, cut up pieces of denim, in all colors, substituting for paints. And the artist, So Young Choi, was able to get perspective, point, geometric pattern...pretty damned inventive. The best of the lot sold already, but there were more available, and one at only $2,000.

Go to,:
http://www.caisart.com/gallery/gallery_main.htm

...select "domestic artists" and "Chio, So Young"

This also pretty much marks the beginning of the tourist season. From here on out it's heavier traffic on the causeways, events almost every weekend...with a better economy it should be a busy season. The relative peace and quiet of summer is over. Bring on the snowbirds.

---update (11am, Thursday, 12/02)

Apparently, Tobey Maguire and Alex Rodriguez were there. Who knew?

the girl with crimson nails has jesus 'round her neck

At the risk of losing whatever remaining cool points I may have left, I'm going on record as thinking that U2's new album is pretty damned good. "Vertigo" is one of the best rock singles of 2004 -- great riff and melody, quick and easy chorus. What I love about the record is that there are no real clunkers like on Pop and All That You Can't Leave Behind. "Crumbs From Your Table" is perhaps a weak point, but it's the only one. It's a solid record with some songs that soar -- "Vertigo", "City of Blinding Lights", "All Because of You" -- to name a few. Lyrically it's overall more introspective and personal than most U2 records -- less grand statements and more "of the moment but my moment" songs. With "Miracle Drug" and "Sometimes You Can't Make it On Your Own", Bono uses the "One" device of addressing the listener mainly in 2nd person, which makes it seem (from the listener's perspective) less like being talked at and more like being talked to.

Their recent appearance on Saturday Night Live was impressive. Bono, for all his affected rock-star persona is impossible not to watch. I don't mind so much the over-the-top rock-guy stuff. He plays the part and it doesn't come off as too forced. He wears it pretty well, much more so than do the cookie-cutter angry-young-neo-punk bands. Musically U2 are playing as powerfully as I've ever seen or heard. "I Will Follow" sounded as good as any live recording I've heard. I like how Bono changed the wording a bit to mark the passage of time ("a boy tries hard to be a man, his lover" {used to be mother} "takes him by the hand").

Watching them reminded me of watching great athletes like Pele, Gretzky, Jordan, Montana, Carlton, and Schmidt when they were just past the mid-point of their prime years -- they had enough experience to make being great look easy, but they were still playing with enough of an edge as if they had something to prove.

Or it could be that my 20 years of fandom are blinding me to a once great band going through the motions. Is this how boomers felt when the Rolling Stones were releasing records at age 40? Will U2 hopefully hang it up when they get old enough that they have adult kids or grandkids?

No, that's not it. This is a very good record, and they are pretty much the one of the only bands that matter.

the first thing to go is the knees

Old...I feel old. Yet I'm only 29 (or so). Went for a run on the beach yesterday (well, tried to), and could barely start, much less finish. not 100 yards into it the left knee was a problem. During a morning walk through the antique/vintage/crafts fair along Lincoln Road (where I saw a cool seersucker suit) it had bugged me a bit but I thought it would feel better by later in the afternoon. No such luck. On top of that, my friggin hips were all balky and creaky. Seriously, this is depressing. Maybe it's from having sat on my ass the better part of the last two days, maybe it's my crappy sofa, bad posture while sitting, who knows. I'm sure it has to do with playing soccer on a hard artificial turf field, years of abuse from waiting tables, soccer, running, walking, the acl injury, genetics. But good lord, this sucks. And the glucosamine tablets aren't doing much to help, apparently. And of course it doesn't help that I need to run to work off the weight I gained during an extended period of interrupted workous and no running thanks to knee pain. A vicious circle, it is.

My kingdom for a fresh set of knees and hips.