panic attacks and happy endings

For Geoff: pedestrian road rage!

I recently read: The Medusa Frequency by Russell Hoban. I'm currently reading Pilgermann by Russell Hoban. Last weekend Laura and I picked wild mushrooms and made a pot roast. This week I made a pine nut dip. Next week I think I'd like to make something unusual with potatoes: something other than french fries, mashed potatoes, hash browns, or a baked potato.

I'll probably update more frequently after next weekend's marathon.

Her life was in our hands, man!

In preparation for Jeff Bridges' new movie Stick It this weekend, I'm watching several Bridges movies this week. I started last night with his fantastically evil role in The Vanishing. I have no idea what accent he speaks with in that (Dutch?), but the cold psychopathy was enough to get me to root for him the whole way through. I'm downloading The Door In the Floor right now. I plan also to catch The Fabulous Baker Boys and Fearless. The Dude abides.





Everyone I know with an unusual name loves it. It's only the losers named Dave that think having an unusual name is bad, and who cares what they think. They're named Dave.
-- Penn Jillette, whose daughter is named Moxie CrimeFighter

Re: ci/\lis vs pig blood redaction

Apologies to everyone on MySpace who I'm only now bugging (again): I had an account years ago that I left fallow and to which I forgot the password. The email address I signed up with is long gone, so it's time to start fresh: anyone want to be my friend?

Also, from the Crazy Department, my friend Abby is taking a trip to New Orleans on a whim tonight! Bully for her: I wholeheartedly endorse capricious trips to disaster-ravaged distant cities on holidays. Want to unexpectedly visit Sri Lanka on the Feast of the Ascension? I'm all about it. Fancy a journey to Hindu Kush on St. Valpurgis Day? Trust that Landon is behind you all the way.

My Sunday was glorious! Woke up after 10 hours of slumber and went grocery shopping. I had planned to go to a nice Easter brunch but I changed my mind. I figured the amount of (good) food I could consume per dollar was highly inefficient. I rather chose to splurge a bit and make today (and with leftovers, the next few days) a little bit gourmet. Relaxed after a form run and caught up on some reading.

never entertain any abject thought

Let death and exile, and all other things which appear terrible be daily before your eyes, but chiefly death, and you will never entertain any abject thought, nor too eagerly covet anything.
Epictetus

Pro-democracy Nepali demonstrator is beaten up by police officer at Gonagabu in the capital Kathmandu April 11, 2006. Nepali troops opened fire and baton-charged protesters, who burned tyres, chanted slogans and clashed with government forces on Tuesday before a fresh curfew took hold on the sixth day of mass protests against the king.


Men look at burning vehicle set on fire by angry protestors after a bomb explosion in Karachi, Pakistan. The bomb exploded during an Islamic prayer service in a park in the southern Pakistani city, killing at least 40 people, the interior minister said. Dozens more were wounded.


An Iraqi man shouts as mourners carry the coffin of Mahmoud al-Hashimi, whose brother Tariq heads Iraq's largest Sunni Arab political party, Friday April 14, 2006 in Baghdad, Iraq. Hashimi was slain along with a companion Thursday as they drove through a mostly Shiite area, the Iraqi Islamic Party said. Tariq al-Hashimi is among the key players in negotiations over a new national unity government, which have stalled over the issue of who will be the next prime minister.


At least 13 people have been killed and 26 injured after two trains collided on the Indonesian island of Java. Reports suggest one train crashed into the back of the second, stationary train. One of the train drivers is believed to be among the dead.

Saturday comic roundup

don't be mewled by warlocks on my yacht

May 7^th, 2006: In Cincinnati I'm running my first marathon. I couldn't be more nervous about it. I think I'm really underprepared. I made running schedules that now seem optimistically naive. Things like severe rain, homework, sickness, and unforseen circumstances slipped in as usual. In my head, I always had lots of time left to make up my missed days -- but now it's about three weeks away and there's no time left to be come overprepared like I'd wanted to be.

Nearly everything I've read in the past year while considering running a marathon has suggested that I not set any time goal for this first race. I'm human though (LandonBot3000 is not yet fully operational) so I made this internal goal for myself that I will now reveal to the world: beat Oprah. Yes, that's right. My dreams will be realized if I can best 4:29:20 and thus do one thing better than Oprah.

John Vanderslice
04/17 Mon, Columbus OH
High Five w/ Wooden Wand, Eric Metronome | Early show! Doors at 6pm

here you are, inferior posterior!

Thank you to everyone for alerting me that my site was down. The host I had sold out and cancelled all its free accounts. It seems I even received an email to that effect a few weeks ago but promptly forgot it. These things happen as soon as you leave town, no matter when you leave.

Boise was great! So much math in one tiny room. I was able to run a total of 23 miles over a few days along the Idaho river. The skyline to my north as I ran consisted of HUGE MOUNTAINS! A departure from the staid suburban Columbus streets I normally putter through each day.

Back to the grind for now.

The Onion: Seven Songs With Factual Or Logical Mistakes In The Lyrics