hat lamp

this happened

sometimes

sometimes
i want to write something
but i don't
because
i am too lazy to log in to my account
so that i can write something
that one other person might see
and think
'hey, this makes sense to me.'

there is chess
or painting
there is also writing
and there is cooking
there is riding
and falling
and there is also reading
there is drawing
and there is building
there is also remembering
and building again
building anew based on remembering
old mistakes
there is sitting
and there is waiting
there is running
and there is jumping
all equal in weight
which of these things is the best?

three people that i don't know

are we sure?

some new and some older paintings

“A kilogram (2.2 pounds) of beef is responsible for more greenhouse gases and other pollution than driving for 3 hours while leaving all the lights on back home.” New Scientist conclusion on the CO2 emissions of the meat industry. This conclusion is based on the emissions of EUROPEAN vehicles, which are considerably lower than AMERICAN vehicles. Incredible.



The majority of the emissions from livestock originates from within the bowels of the animals themselves. That’s right. Farts. Incredible amounts of methane gas is released over the life span of the average piece of livestock. The next largest CO2 source in meat processing is the transportation and production of feed for the animals. It takes 16 times as much fossil fuel to produce 320 calories of beef as it does to produce 320 calories of vegetables and rice. 16. These figures do not factor in the transportation of the beef once it is butchered, or the hefty energy consumption of refrigeration for meat.

The UN”s Food and Agriculture Organization estimates that livestock production generates more than 1/5 of the world’s greenhouse gases- more than transportation.

It’s clear- if you switch to vegetarianism you can shrink your carbon footprint by up to 1.5 tons of carbon dioxide a year, according to research by the University of Chicago. - Time Magazine

This is the biggest impact I could possibly have on my own carbon footprint. Phasing meat out of my life has reduced my carbon footprint by leaps and bounds. I realized towards the end of this past summer that I didn’t really need to eat meat anymore, and so I began to phase meat out of my daily diet. It took roughly a week to quit completely, but I haven’t had any problem since then in terms of craving meat. Tofu, nuts, certain grains, and dairy products have kept my protein intake at a sufficient level. The most striking element of this argument that I couldn’t have predicted was the fact that changing your diet could be more effective than upgrading your car from a gas guzzling SUV to a hybrid.

Choosing to eliminate meat from my diet is clearly the most effective way to reduce my carbon footprint.

I will do a Letterman-style countdown for the other ways I have reduced my carbon footprint:

10. Craigslist

9. Buying used clothing

8. Using glass water bottles

7. Washing dishes by hand (already a part of my routine)

6. Air-drying clothing, not washing as often

5. Making a concerted effort to purchase less individually wrapped items and plastic bottles

4. Attempting to cut back on dairy products

3. Shopping locally whenever possible

2. Trying to conserve electricity, turning off lights when not in use, turning off my computer.

1. Riding a bicycle, not traveling by plane, staying in one area for an extended period of time.

The best way to make an impact is to influence others with your own actions, and I’ve been attempting to do this without forcing my views onto others. Presenting the facts is enough to at least make most people think about how they live; making someone say “wow” by showing them the reality of something they had never before considered is pretty incredible. Inspiring change through education is the ultimate answer, which is why this class is relevant in the first place.

my bike

this is my bike.

i ride it every day.  

i am happier with a bike.

running

hit the right floorboards

and they won't catch you

it's ok if you aren't the fastest

they can nip at your heels and

throw packets of ketchup at

the white shirt on your back

don't fret!

the packets won't break

and your pockets won't either

even though they are lined with nickels

try to remember

how many nickels you have

you might need them later

for an awkward parking meter

even though

you've never owned a car

christmas with a shallow stocking

today might be a new for me,

maybe,

also, people seem as if they know

what they want

they close the blinds at night

and open them in the morning

except when it rains, because

when it rains, we all feel

the collective water weight

of the entire world

sometimes i sit at a desk

and worry about making a mess

but mostly, i try not to disturb

other people,

people who have so much to do

every second that i'm not doing

i'm wondering, and worrying.

how can i move, with facility, 

through my own life, with this face

and this hair

do these ears belong to me

do i need them

i do not know

i drink water to forget.

utopia

utopia seems alright

a little boring for me

we'd like to get it right

through mass hypocrisy

pretense causes tension

and tents pop up anew

rejection of your pension

and pens predict the blue

fields of green and gold

but not of plants and mold

sunlight gives up hope

still face an upward slope

swallow your pride, i've tried

allowed to slide you lied

retention of the facts

practice with your ax 

my roommate, justin gilman

pretend

i used to pretend

that i had a little brother

we played tag in the woods

and burned paperback books

tree

a tree is like a ring

perfect in it's vision

better still than fission

take less than what it brings

everywhere

if i sleep here, 

then this is my house.

at least one person should sleep

in every building

first time ever

for the first time ever, 

last night,

i had a dream about something,

that i was thinking about, 

just before i went to sleep.  

awesome things

there are so many awesome things

that it makes me want to throw up with joy

i have seen a lot of amazing things in my life

and i don't know if i have made anything that is amazing

this notion might induce nausea 

in myself

i'm not sure

i am afraid of not doing enough with my life

and also afraid of my hands becoming old and gnarled

these are legitimate fears

i know this, because there aren't many things that i fear

i just don't want my hands to become useless

i need my hands 

and

i need to do something, always

impossible triangles

impossible triangles

are like girls

who make things difficult

for you

smells

Some good smells include:

fresh grass

washed clothing

newly born babies

air mattresses

small filing cabinets

dense magnets

leftover Olive Garden in a styrofoam container

books made of polymer 

nylon

bbqs

the nhl

leather sporting equipment

receipts from items purchased that passed the test of longevity

anything that is designed and printed nicely

cedar

any volkswagen manufactured between the years of 1983 and 1992

any purse

all packages received from amazon.com

electricity

those soft sticky eyeballs that you get in a quarter-machine at a 50's-themed diner

some bad smells include:

your own burning flesh

hair of any kind

people who have been working out for an extended period of time

plastic spider rings that you get at halloween

a woman's clothing who isn't your mother when you are 7 years old

shoes that you've worn every day for the past 6 months

fried leftover potatoes

burnt corn

ridiculously obese people who can't possibly clean their entire body

your arm after it's been in a cast for any period of time

french public transportation

cavity breath

mold of any sort that looks like it might be powdery or could become so at any point in time

any volkswagen produced between the years of 1992 and 1999 that is owned by a student

a season of soccer without the smell of wet leaves

your old house

cat shit.

The terms "retardedly awesome" and "brilliantly stupid" come to mind in situations such as these.

I'm having trouble understanding how "everyday life" is related to "time" or "the big picture."  

There is a blatant disconnect between these two ideas which I'm forced to consider always.

Somewhere off in the distance, a small plane sputters in the air for a moment before reconsidering life and coughing back to life with a great roar.  No one notices, mostly because the plane has no pilot or passengers and the air traffic controllers are napping after eating peanut butter and jelly sandwiches.  

James Madison was our country's smallest president.  He was both the shortest and lightest.  I think he was 5'4".  Is it obvious why this fact is notable. 

Barack Obama is our country's blackest president.  No one else has come close.  I think I should feel "inspired" or "moved" by this fact.  I do, sort of.  

In some faraway crater, a snake sheds it's skin and slithers away, feeling sad because he just lost something that was a part of himself at one point.  

fuck

Fuck.

I built a refrigerator for my class with beer inside of it and then I didn't go to class.  I feel like a loser.  I drank some of the beer instead and fell asleep.  It doesn't really matter.  Everything that happens will ultimately prove to be either false or misinterpreted.  This is ok.  I will continue to make appliances that don't really work out of wood.  Probably for my final wood project, I will make a pizza and box for the pizza, both out of wood.  Everything will marvel at my ingenuity and my ability to render the banal in a way that is imaginative and also still convincingly realistic.  It is ok to make pizza out of wood, I know this because I have thought about it before.

I also used epoxy last night.  Now there are various items permanently attached to my desk.  I also masturbated with some epoxy on my fingertips.  I was surprisingly calm during this process.  I washed my hands afterwards and went to bed.  

Here is an artist who has done some actually amazing things with wood.

Also, Ryan Manning, how did you find me?  Do you have a team of blog-explorers constantly searching for new and obscure blogs to post on?  You are like ten men, except you're just one really lonely man.  I think I maybe posted once on someone's blog that you could have possibly seen, and you found me?  I feel so confused and alert.