And then my whole office got into it…

Copier: Shiiiiit, maaaaan. That honky muf’ be messin’ mah old lady… got to be runnin’ cold upside down his head, you know?

Telephone: Hey home’, I can dig it. Know ain’t gonna lay no mo’ big rap up on you, man!

Copier: I say hey, sky… subba say I wan’ see…

Stapler: Uh-huh.

Copier: …pray to J I did the same ol’ same ol’!

Telephone: Hey… knock a self a pro, Slick! That gray matter backlot perform us DOWN, I take TCB-in’, man!

Copier: Hey, you know what they say: see a broad to get dat booty yak ‘em…

Copier, Telephone, Stapler: …leg ‘er down a smack ‘em yak ‘em!

Copier: COL’ got to be! Y’know? Shiiiiit.

(Yes, this is the actual display panel on the copier in my office at work. Blame the Dutch, they made the damn machine!)

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Some people just don’t know when to hop off the heartbreak train. And it’s this sad and masochistic insistence that drags these poor souls down a path of desperate grasping to belief, faith, promises, vows, what could have been, what was had, etc, ad infinitum. For the truly clueless, It’s as if they set their own house on fire, remain inside, and then complain about the heat. I couldn’t possibly relate. And the bizarre practice of revolving your entire life around another human, unconditionally, is beyond alien to me. It’s true that, sometimes, bad things happen to undeserving people. Sometimes. To the rest, their complicity earns them little more than turned backs. Reap, sow, rinse, repeat.

Love may never be certain, but one fact is: no one on the face of this planet is worth ending your life over…

missing peggy – m4w – 50

Well, its been some time now, since 2000, and before that was 1986 still think of you alot. But, there’s been alot of time gone by to ease the guilt. I’ve been watching the posts from time to time, just to see if I reckonize your writing. Last phone call I had with you was……you said grow up, and move on.. and again you’re right.

Talk to a few milk tankers with vermont plates and I ask if they know you, most say no, dont know you, you’ve disappeared good this time. At this stage in life, I dont blame you, doesn’t mean I dont think of you. I certainly wished I’d handled your heart with care, well, that no excuse. Hope you and your mom, and family is ok, and doing well, and I hope you’ve married and are in a happy marriage, take care.

whatever – w4m – 35

I miss you sometimes so much it’s crazy….I don’t even like you anymore. It’s like we had this whole other life that no longer exists. For whatever it is worth I still think of you every single day, you will always be the love of my life. But you know why we got divorced…..lies will kill a relationship.

missed connection with life (lost in Vermont)

I have been a family man for years now. I am a Veteran, hard worker, always try to do the right thing. I am at the end of my rope. I want to erase myself from the planet. Can’t explain all the details or you will know. I can’t talk to anyone about how I really feel or I would suffer the consequences. I have tried everything to make my family happy. It does not help that I married a total freak from hell who has destroyed me in every way possible. She has taken everything from me, not just stuff, she has taken my whole life from me. Everything I have been working for for years. I feel so crushed and lonely, more than I have ever felt in my life. People keep saying it will pass. They don’t know how committed I have been to my family. How can you give so much and then have your life taken away from you in a flash. I so wish I would have died in Iraq. I am tired of faking it. Faking being happy around people. Faking that I am ok. I am not ok. I don’t want to be here anymore.

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After a year and a half of being away from video production, I’ve decided to take up the reins once again. Part of my hiatus came with the changing out of one machine for another — namely, my old G4 mirrored-door for my Intel Mac. Seemed the version of Final Cut Pro I had didn’t want to play with an Intel processor or the too-futuristic video card inside. So, through a combination of FCP not being sold as a stand-alone app any longer, not wanting to regularly work on my old machine in light of my shiny new one, no longer doing public access TV, and the whirling dervish of my work/school/podcast life, video slipped into the background and more or less took a long nap.

Then, I woke up one day and realized just how much I missed video work. I mean, really missed it. Not producing SubSIN on a regular (or any) basis not only took me out of that loop but kept me unpracticed and, ultimately, lagging behind with the growing tech advancements. Yes, even a few years can matter. So, I tightened my belt a bit and bought the obscenely expensive Final Cut Studio. Standing at the counter of Small Dog while it was being rung up, I joked to the clerk about how $1000 gets you such a small box. Well, $1069.99 with tax, to be precise.

For those video geeks in the audience, Final Cut Studio used to come in a box the size of a large toaster. Now, it’s the size of five CDs stacked. Whether it’s Apple once more appeasing the “go green” crowd or the recession hit them a little harder than expected, or both, the manuals are not the nice hefty tomes they used to be. That’s sad because I like nice hefty tomes. Oh, sure, all the manuals to all of the Apple software are on their site in downloadable PDF format, but I’m still an old fashioned computer nerd at heart (despite my strikingly good looks). Gimme books, damnit!

And I definitely knew I was getting a bit of bang for my buck when I experienced the mind-numbing installation time: 6 and 1/2 hours over the changing of seven DVDs. Total hard drive space claimed: 48.7 GB! If I was Jewish, I would say, “Oy Vey!”

Dividing up the suite to my needs, I’d say it’s (initially) going to be Final Cut Pro for video work, Soundtrack Pro for podcasting, Compressor for YouTube prep, and the other three apps for wherever they apply. I’m looking to pick up a Kodak Zi8 for on-the-go video shooting (fun stuff, not the high-end vid work I’d otherwise do). Anyone have any input on those? Would love to hear it.

Conclusion? Well worth the purchase on so many levels. Least of all, my returned enthusiasm for the video medium. Feels good to be back home.

School is going well. Grades are up and participation is high. My one online class, however, is a bit of a thorn in my side. Seems my idea to take it in expectation of it being easier or at least less time consuming fell completely flat. It’s actually far more time draining and easily three or four times harder than a classroom-based equivalent. The Web-based structure of the learning environment is, at best, counter intuitive and, at worst, confusing and inept. And, that’s coming from someone who’s been a computer user for almost 30 years. At the risk of my GPA, I might barely squeak by with a minimal grade if I’m lucky. In short, no more online classes. I don’t work well with them, it appears.

As far as Terror Transmission goes, all is well on that front. Jason and I will be adding some interesting content to the show over time, contributing self-produced video to the YouTube page, and doing some horror convention stuff in the summer. Naturally, we’d like you all to take a minute of your time and vote for us at Podcast Alley. It doesn’t hurt. Really, it doesn’t. It only takes a minute and you’ll feel oh-so-good about helping us out. Thanks.

That is all. End of line.

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So, I’m just trying to wrap my head around this one…

I’m buying kitchen stuff downtown today as per my Bachelor Pad directives, and I stumbled upon this displayed product. I see that these are pieces that constitute the semblance of a dog and that they are to be attached to a tree. That, I understand. But, it’s the why that kept me frozen in terror for the moments I was taking this snapshot. I know that trees are made of bark, and that dogs make a barking sound, but it’s a very weird correlation — like if I said that I like Apple computers and that I like to crush apples and force feed them to rodents, and then implied a meaningful connection there. It’s just freakin’ odd, that’s all. Too many questions here: Why is the dog fused to the tree? Is he a ghost dog passing between worlds? Does this frighten young children who’ve yet to discover that dogs don’t grow on trees? And why are we decorating trees with dogs? What twisted entrepreneur puts these seemingly disparate items together? Madness, I tell you! It is an unspeakable lunacy that even Lovecraft could not pen.

I’m just going to enjoy my new dish rack, cups, and paper towel stand, and put this horror out of my mind. And into yours.

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Though hardly a secret, Vermont Craigslist’s “missed connections” section is packed to capacity with some truly stalker types. I mean, the stuff by which ’70s CBS Late Movies and Giallo films are made of. But, with the new era comes the new breed of creep — and the lingo hasn’t exactly improved with time, either. As a portrait of misspent youth and mischanneled sexual tensions, we present this linguistically challenged chap and his insistent devotion to an apparent sex goddess named Alisha…

m4w – 30 (7 Dec): where r u letz get together ill give u more detailz later but u use to live in essex with ur sister and some friendz will give more detailz as u answer back but u will b surprised!!!!!!!!!!

Alisha (10 Dec): My name is Alisha but Im not sure i’m the one your looking for, Can u give me any details on who you are?

m4w – 30 (14 Dec): Hey so its def. me that u are looking for cause I did live in essex with my sis and friends. I would like to meet but im not sure who you are and I am not willing to meet you unless i know who you are. So if you want to drop a few hints on who you are that’d be cool! Are you 30? Did we work together? Are u a friend of my sis or one of my friends?

m4w – 30 (16 Dec): i was gettn partz at the part store when u drove by me we waved and that was it i wanted to stop u and tell u everything but didnt know how it was in the petco and advanced auto on the south btown and btown line when we seen each other im a friend of a friend!!!!!! i want to give u more but dont wanna give to much out and start a bunch of drama with everyone!!!!!!!!!!!!! i just want it to stay between us till we can figure it out!!!!!!!!!! im not a stalker or some physco path either!!!!!!!!!when u do figure it out u will b surpised im sure u would have never guessed!!!!!!!!!!

To The Guy Looking For Alisha (17 Dec): Please…. learn how to spell… its PARTS not PARTZ! WHY use a Z when its spelled with an S? You should just email her! You are 30 Yrs old…??!! You should show your age and not act like you are in high school. Alisha.. I don’t know… Maybe you should move on and forget about this one.

m4w – 30 (24 Dec): we use to c eachother all the time now we dont at all and when we meet the sparkz where fling and we couldnt do anything about it and now i want c where it may go ur the one that gives me butterflyz in my stomach everytime im close to u

Alisha (24 Dec): Unless you can tell me who you are, I don’t really like playing these games… Im really not sure who you are and I don’t really want to figure it out at this point. If this is legit you should be able to tell me your name and where I know you from, and we can start from there.

m4w – 30 (24 Dec): how do i know u wont run and tell everyone and ruin what i have now im not willn to risk what i got for something that mite not b how do i know u can keep secertz how do i know if u even felt it i know one of ur friends would love to get ahold of this and tell everyone . i

You’ve got to love the guy in the middle who woefully asserts some common sense advice into the mix. To paraphrase an old friend, these kids simply won’t read it or heed it. Because they really are about 3 or 4 bottles of Olde English away from some regretful and irresponsible sex on someone’s mother’s couch at about 3 a.m. while 50 Cent drones off in the background. It may appear like just a completely stupid game of round robin resulting in many months of post-coital white trash drama, but this could also end up the beginning of something unintentionally hilarious (read: the best kind) and ridiculously stretched out for all to virtually witness.

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Erotic Construction Inertia?

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Currently I’m caught in a double storm of finals for school and busiest time of the year at work, so if I owe some of you an e-mail or whatever, that’s the reason. Yes, my e-mailbox is packed to the hilt with inquiries and I will get to them as soon as possible, which might mean next week or so. Thanks for your patience.

So, the new onslaught of added channels on the Roku box are now out, which ultimately make it a better media streaming unit. In some respects, it still has a way to go to come close to matching the Apple TV, but this recent update is a respectable attempt. Favorites so far include those for Pandora and Facebook Photos, though the Frame Channel and a few others have pretty paltry navigation and, often enough, they only show you headlines with no ability to read stories. What’s the point? Still, I like the direction Roku is headed. Of course, much of this technology is already being incorporated into more and more video hardware out there, which means consolidation of services will also be a reality. But for now, the Roku box is cheap and I’ve gotten and continue to get plenty of use out of it for my money, so no complaints.

Looking forward to my annual winter trek to the Great White North, and with quite a few fellow travelers from different states. Should be a grand gathering. Though, with the practically non-existent signs of real winter so far (because, to Vermonters, 40 degrees is not winter), I’m hoping for some good snowfall because once I get out there, I want lots of the white stuff. I live in the North for a reason, and it’s not for “nice” weather.

Editing Episode 10 of Terror Transmission this weekend. Some interesting developments are taking form concerning the show, its growing popularity, and the attention it’s getting from unexpected sources. We’ll no doubt keep our listeners informed on those details via the show or the website, or both. Jason and I are still having a ball producing these episodes for everyone, and we hope they (or YOU!) are enjoying it, too. Wait until you hear the next episode we’ve got in store for all of you naughty boys and girls this holiday season (starting 15 December).

Still trying to get rid of my old 27″ CRT TV since the acquisition of my giant widescreen flat-panel wonder. Here’s the latest Craigslist response I got: “Hi I was wondring tat if u still have the TV n if u do can i come n look at it plzz i can b reach at 802-xxx-xxxx n ma self.” Um, how about no on the TV and never on entering my dwelling. So, given this and the seven-weeks-long slew of idiots saying “yeah, I’ll be over to see it” and then never showing up, I’m now good with giving it away but I’d rather it go to someone I know. If you fit the bill, write or call me and come pick this baby up. Otherwise, it’s getting donated somewhere. (Being an A/V guy, it’s safe to say that I have around a dozen screen-type video devices around my place, including two other CRT TVs, so it would be nice to free my bachelor pad of this rather large one.)

That is all. End of line.

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As an excuse to both promote the podcast and have a lot of fun, I and the other half of Terror Transmission had a shindig in the area. Usually, I’m a bit wary of staying in town for Halloween because it’s invariably lame and makes me wish I was somewhere else… like going to one of the places I’ve usually visited (out of state) for the observance. This time was, thankfully, very different. Jason and I had a complete blast: costumes, trick-or-treating, games, fine brews, the musical strains of John Carpenter, Goblin, and other spooktacular tunes playing throughout the well-decorated abode, and guests whose company we really enjoyed. We took some pictures and posted them to our Flickr page, but we were having such a good time, we forgot to take all that many. Of course, we were distracted by a sexy Morticia, a hound from Hell, and a three-foot Hulk, so who could remember the camera? Thanks to all who attended, and especially those who have been spreading the word about the podcast around town and elsewhere.

Thanks also to J&H for hosting a great gathering and giving me one of the nicest cards I’ve ever gotten. You two are real pals.

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“Halloween is the night / The legend says the ghost will rise
On Halloween they can’t redeem / A restless soul from an ancient scene
At the sound of the demon bell / Everything will burn to Hell
Rise… rise… rise… It’s Halloween
Rise… rise… The ghost will rise”
- Mercyful Fate

Yes, today marks the sixteenth year of Purging Talon’s existence. Sweet sixteen, and been kissed by EVERYONE! Well, okay, maybe not everyone. There might be some folks out there who actually don’t like me or my media output for some reason. Heck knows the local media has avoided my press releases this year, and for Halloween, specifically. (I’m looking at you, Seven Days.) I can’t imagine why. I’m actually a very nice fellow. Charming, affable… and much better dressed than you are. But, anyhoo…

It’s been quite the journey with, seemingly, no end in sight. I suppose that one day, I’ll be too old to read an audio or video timeline on a screen, or be able to properly type text for a new book, but that day is (or should be) long off. Still working on some book projects, but time is really the obstacle right now. Probably that whole college degree thing. Oh, and the little old thing I do with Jason on a couch on Sunday nights with the lights off.

Yes, I mean Terror Transmission, you filthy rubes! Sometime today, I will have the new episode uploaded and ready for your consumption. I’ll post about it here tomorrow, but if you want it earlier than that, you’ll have to get it either from the official site or from iTunes. And you should. It’s a good one. Scout’s honor.

Speaking of the show, we’re doing a big party for it tonight. It’s not entirely open to the public but if we know you, it’s possible that a simple and timely e-mail might get you an invitation. (You might also have to be in the area, naturally.) We’re going to paint the tyke green, for crying out loud, and that alone is worth showing up for! Plus, we’ll get lots of candy, just like little Tommy wanted in the movie, Halloween. The difference, of course, is that we’re totally going to nail the babysitter.

I’m going to be pretty busy this weekend, so if you need to reach me, best method is my phone. If you know the number, then you’re probably someone I wish to hear from. If you don’t, then go get your own damn treats!

Wishing many of you a wonderfully wicked Halloween. That one night of the year when everyone gets to pretend to be us. And isn’t that special?

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Swastika cookies, bitches! Nah, just kidding. You aren’t bitches.

In other news, Jason and I will be releasing the sixth episode of Terror Transmission — yea, our Halloween holiday episode — tomorrow (15 October)! And we’re already hard at work on the next show, preparing to go into the viewing room this week to do commentary on one of my favorite slasher flicks. I’ll be researching a bit for this one as well, not to mention emptying my head of all the trivia I have on this movie. Should be a good time. Look for that one on 1 November, possibly a night or two sooner if my Halloween plans get too involved.

And are you missing out on the hoo-larious pics J and I have been shooting of ourselves to coincide with the movies we’re commenting upon? Well, miss out no more!

Speaking of podcasts, my good pal Kevin Slaughter will be releasing the actual first episode (no, not a special, a supplement, a clip, or a teaser, but the very real Episode 1) of his show, Underworld Amusements very soon. Check into his website here and there to see when.

So, Apple’s having some issues with Snow Leopard, the latest iteration of their operating system software. Naturally, this is something that the rabid anti-Mac fanatics can jump on and gleefully roll around in like so much dung. Despite the transparency of such behavior, I once more repeat the sage advice to wait before you upgrade to a new full version of an OS — in fact, wait awhile. I don’t touch any new jump to 10-point-whatever for at least six months, often even a year, and it’s a wise practice to adopt. That pretty much weeds out the bugs naturally inherent in such a jump, at the expense of the folks who blindly leap on loading the OS as fast as possible without checking for incompatibilities with third-party software, known bugs, or arisen complaints on the Internet. You know, the exact same things that occur with Microsoft’s Windows? If it’s as important as an operating system, be careful, regardless of whose logo is on it.

Favorite Twitter feed of the moment: ShitMyDadSays

That’s all I’ve got. Very busy the next couple of days with work, school, podcast, Halloween, etc. That, and trying to brace my front door from all of the women trying to beat it down. I tell you, it ain’t easy being me.

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