Ok.... I know... this all looks like shit, but I'm just playing around.... bare with me a while. By the way, this is or was a cool picture of IO, but it just really doesn't have a place on this page I'm afraid... it's a real photo... not a painting. I'm going to leave this up for a very short while so all can see the beauty of this volcanic moon. Io is a moon around Jupiter slightly smaller than our own moon. Some cool trivia: It is said by scientists that sometimes lightning travels from Jupiter to the surface of Io and that it also has a weather system in this thin atmosphere that includes yellow sulfur snow.

Wow! Blogger is flying now. ....well, it's flying, but it still didn't let me publish on my first try.

I might not be addressing what is being asked, but Emily Dickinson will do anything to acquire the sympathy of the audience in her head and the toad is the lowest thing she could think of to compare herself to. At the same time, she defends her miserable state by declaring that she is just like anything else in this world. She also turns on those who she feels are without pain and who don't understand her self-centered misery by calling them braggarts. I can't stand reading Dickinson because it is too close a reflection of that pathetic part of me that is always present.

Blahhhhh.... I was sick all week-end. Work was about 300 percent more stressful than it usually is. I'm learning the same software that Sonya is. Dreamweaver, Flash, and Photoshop. My pirated versions are older than the current versions, but hopefully it's enough to get started on them to somewhat know what I'm doing when I get to England. I'm also looking into Mercantec SoftCart because small businesses are what I believe Chris' company is going to cater to. I haven't played with that one at all yet, but at least I can kind of visualize how I need to use it when planning my templates. No, I don't have any templates made yet, but I think I'll make up some practice ones to get familiar with the whole process before I get there. The real ones will come after I see exactly what we're looking for. Doesn't seem right that a Yank like me should be designing the look of an English website when I know absolutely nothing about England. Anyway, who am I to argue.... I'm going to ENGLAND!!!! YAAAAAAAAAAHOOOOOOOOOOEEY!!!! Of course, this move and career change isn't doing much for my stress level... I'm a mess. I mean it's nice to trade in all of your current worries for a new set of 'em, but that whole grey sea I see before me isn't the North Atlantic, I'll tell you that. On the preparation side of it all... I haven't started the passport process yet, I haven't sold my car, (although I just put almost $1000 into fixing it last week), I haven't shipped my computer yet (which I'm told takes at least a couple of months to get there by boat.), no salary has been agreed upon yet, I have a basic understanding of some of the software I'm suppose to know, but I have no real practical experience with any of it, oh yeah, and my credit cards are at max and I'm broke. Killer, huh. Did I mention?... I'm going to ENGLAND!!!! YAAAAAAAAAHOOOOOOOEEEY!!!!! Luckily, tax returns will hopefully be accomplished this week and that should remove quite a large chunk of the credit card debt. (especially with all that student loan intrest I paid this year.) The car selling is my greatest money obstacle and that will clear the rest of my debts and leave me with about $2000 for setting up in the new place. There is still some hope left that this will all work out just fine. Feels kinda good to vent all this.

All my dreams in the last year have been real life situations for some reason. In the past, they have always been really tripped out. There's got to be some underlying significance to that fact, but I can't come up with any reasonable explanation. For example, my dream this morning started with me in a typical working environment for some company selling products. I was sitting at a long table in a room with several other long tables and about 40 people (workers and customers). An African-American woman holding the hand of an eight year old girl was talking to me about a product she might be interested in. At some point in the conversation she had decided that she wasn't interested. Her eight year old daughter looked at me with a very sad face because she wanted it. (I have no idea what the product was) Anyway, for some reason the sad child's face made me chuckle and say to her "You know, if you whine and cry enough she may just buy it." At that, the child smiled at me. The woman was right there still holding the childs hand, but was involved with other thought processes. The comment by me was meant to be heard by both of them, but apparently she missed it and not being concerned because it really wasn't that funny anyway I went back to working on whatever I was working on before the woman approached me. Shortly after that, I heard the woman scream at her kid to shut up or she'd spank her right here in front of everybody. The little girl started bawling and pointed at me saying, "that man told me to!" The mother glanced in my direction and so I thought maybe I'd save the kid a spanking by saying, "yes ma'am, I did say that but..." I was going to say that I meant the comment to be heard by her as well, but she cut me off saying, "You don't use my kid to sell me a product!" The entire room of people were staring at me. An elderly woman who was some really high up person in the company decided to approach me speaking very loudly. "Listen, you don't ever..." I cut her off. "Look, when I said that, I was just thinking that..." The old woman cut me off. "No! You don't treat a customer..." She was speaking even louder and everyone was watching. At this point I kind of lost it and cut her off with an extremely loud, "HEY! Get out of my face, lady!" At this there was a deep shocked breath from everyone in the room. Not only had I tried to use a child to sell a product, now I'd screamed and upset an old lady. I looked at my boss waiting for the enevitable "You're fired!" but instead she said, "why don't you go grab a cup of coffee, Ben", which was probably just a nice way of saying, "You're fired!" I said, "Thank you. I'd like that about now." Then I woke up. Has my mind lost all creativity?... I don't know. I really preferred the tripped out dreams more. When are they coming back?

Well, a woman was suppose to come see my car today (to buy), but she never showed up. I'm sure glad I didn't waste the time of cleaning it.

is drunkenfish back up?

I agree with John that without religion, the basic principles of good and evil are meaningless. (therefore, under my beliefs, the basic principles of good and evil are meaningless unless I'm talking to or about a religious person.) I have my own definitions of what I believe is good or bad in how to live life , but I don't feel that an individual is good or evil. It's all relative for each individual.

I remember in the not so distant past, physicists saying they could slow down light in a tube to some ungodly slow speed and now I read this. I'm not sure of the use, but damn, that seems an awfully powerful accomplishment. Actually, it's unfathomable for me to understand.

No, I'm not finished bitching about religion yet. While we're at it, we need to tax the church! I read where churches are giving campaign money to elections. What the hell? I'm not going to just sit here allowing my country to turn into the religious right. Am I going overboard here? The republicans say that we should play nice, since Dubya is in office now... "we need to heal".... fuck you, we're gonna stick you in the ass just like you did to us over the last 8 years. We're not going to let you make one feeble step in the wrong direction. (like I have a say in any of this) Already, Dubya is planning to overturn environmental and social programs. I hope the liberal left is an awesome foe for the right. Never will it be time to give in to the dark side. I got a little sidetracked on my religious topic. Perhaps, I'm really not upset with religion at all... just the right wing's connection to it. Nah, religion sucks too.

I just read an article about the Bush presidency and it seems as though they will do everything in their power to blend church and state. Ugh.... back to the middle ages! John's talking about God is a personal thing and I think that's cool (kind of like me talking about one of my 50+ personalities), but when the government starts making policy around these beliefs, it bothers me. I tell myself to just get off the religious condemnation, but it keeps slapping me in the face. How can I just sit quietly when most in the world base their decisions on mythology? I'm sorry, it's rude to put down others beliefs, but I just don't get it. Did I miss that drug? I thought I had 'em all. Anyway, I'm the last to say what is real and what is not, but (for the millionth time I've probably said it) the government has no business in religion. We are a secular state. ..I just sound like a jerk everytime I mention this subject... Oh, screw you people of Earth! The monks and demons that fly around your heads are real because you created them...... you are the only God of yourself. Blah, blah, blah....... Like I'm actually going to convince anyone by being an ass.

I have decided that (as Ned hinted at earlier) I was kind of an ass when I deleted users for not posting. I've changed the fascist policy and now believe that it's a free blog page.... blog as you like, I won't delete anyone. Also now, our lovely friend Yogurt is back in action in the second chapter of John's sci-fi, The Tea House. Check it out!

Well, I'm feeling all warm and fuzzy inside for donating just now to blogger. Wait the feeling is fading, I must make others my scapegoat to bring the feeling back. I will use the tool of guilt! Have you donated to blogger yet? Well, have you? You can bring the feeling back here.

Man, it's impossible for anyone who actually needs money to get a loan. Yes, I know, a lesson I should know well by now. My credit is good, but I don't have colateral. Student loans are a bitch! Anyway, I was checking out a newspaper article on the Manchester scene and they said that just about every person under the age of 30 is in a band, just left a band, or is managing someone else's band. Also, the article said it was one of the largest concentration of college students in Europe. Another bonus to my lifestyling. I'm hoping to get my own flat very quickly, but I'm a little clueless on how that all works with a temporary working visa. I need to just settle my brain... whew... breath.... ok... I've got 2 months of N'awlins left before I'm off. I need to start learning web design or this whole thing is going to be a bit embarrassing.

I really should have battleblogged last night. I hate to waste a good drunk like that. Well, actually it wasn't a total waste, I did finish another Crunch chapter. I'm playing two new computer games an awful lot lately. One is Diablo2 which I play with Jimbo and the other is Vampires, The Masquerade. Both eat up way too much of my time, but I'm sure I'll be sick of them soon enough.

Welcome Andy Kennedy from the sunny state of Florida! As a new blogger to drunkenfish, I'd like to encourage you to post often and write stories and encourage Jim and John to get off their collective ass and write stories also. Really you can do whatever the hell you like here, but I thought I'd at least get my wishes out front in the open. Try sampling the DrunkenBattleBlog... it's yummy. It's becoming the covenant of the Drunkenfish neighborhood to pick a sea creature picture for your blog page as well. Wow...so many demands for a page of drunks. Anyway, like I was saying... WELCOME ANDY!!!

I finally made up my mind where I'm moving... I thought I had made up my mind many times before this, but I think I'm solid with this one. ENGLAND!!!!!! Manchester, England. Cousin Chris is setting me up for the trip, getting me settled, and giving me a job in his new company. I'm hoping to get heavy into web page design as my career, but I'm very willing to work as a tech until my designing skills improve. I looked at Flash for the first time today. Cool program... I just have to take it home and play with it. Anyway, I'll be moving at the end of February. Hope I can sell my car and computer by then. Fuck yesssss! I'm very excited.