Greater Satellites

This is some pretty cool news. I finally knuckled down and purchased, in my humble opinion, a bangin’ automobile: a 2006 Jeep Liberty Renegade. Up until today I think I had an identity crisis with it; Sometimes I’d call it a car, sometimes I’d call it a truck. Now I’ve just decided to call it my Jeep (good call, Jackie).

I purchased it this past Tuesday after looking at a few different SUV and pickup trucks. One of my pre-requisites was that I wanted a car that I didn’t have to duck into. Example:

So I was looking into a few different rides, including but not limited to: Ford Explorer, Jeep Cherokee, Chevy Equinox, Chevy Trailblazer, and the GMC Envoy.

In the end, after a few test drives and reviews, I ended up loving the feel and sheer sex appeal of my Jeep. The Renegades have a pretty unique look about them, both interior and exterior. I’m glad I didn’t opt for the regular Liberty or the Liberty Limited.

So here I am, the proud owner a sweet new ride.

Road trip, anyone?

As many of you know, I have a proclivity towards the creative aspects of life. I love making things, whether they’re videos, audio snippets, pictures, illustrations, or web pages, if there’s some degree of creative freedom involved, I want to be a part of it.

For the last couple of months I’ve been the opposite of inspired, but for no real reason other than lack of time. As a result, all of these (in my mind) great ideas I’ve had were placed in the crock pot that is my mind to simmer for a while and become delicious. Recently I was hit with the urge to create in a big way. It’s a writing/video project and maybe something in the vein of music making (though correlated to the original). I discussed this briefly with the lady last night, but I’d like to extrapolate upon it a little further and give it a life of it’s own, something I can reference back to when need be:

The music idea came to me while walking down Chestnut Street between 2nd & 3rd Streets. I crossed a small walkway, which I always assumed to be an alley and for the first time in my entire life walking around in this area (I’d say I’ve passed this stretch of pavement at least 50 times before), I glanced down the alley to find that it was no alley at all, but a remnant of a long forgotten street. Cobblestone lined and just slightly wider than the width of my arms extended, there was one sign hanging from a building a few yards away, it read: Bank Street Hostel.

The how’s and why’s never really dawned on me, but I instantly had melodies playing in head. Beautiful and dissonant as the phrase Bank Street Hostel swirled around my mind. I immediately began relating it back to a story that I conceptualized, but never actually began. The words started coming to me and I haven’t forgotten them yet:

SCENE: A dark basement room, lit by a single light bulb hanging from the ceiling by a bare wire. A man is tied to a chair, bloodied and bruised. The camera pans slowly around him in a circle to reveal he’s surrounded by four men wielding pipes, bats, etc. A voice starts speaking, but it’s unclear who is actually talking.

1: “Ever hear stories about deep meditation? I wouldn’t expect you to have… The Cliff’s Notes version is this: the end-all be-all goal is reaching a higher level consciousness, a deep, spiritual sanctuary within. Buddhists are probably the most notorious meditators on the planet.”

2: “Is that a fact?”

1: “It certainly is. Get this… true story: a Buddhist monk once meditated for 10 straight years with no food and no water. When scientists heard about this, they immediately came seeking permission to study him. Their findings revealed that this monk, simply with his mind, was able to slow his heart rate and breathing down to unbelievably low levels while constantly maintaining his higher brain functions.”

3: “Sounds like a crock.”

1: “You haven’t even heard the best part. After the ten years, this guy just wakes up and tells everyone that he now has ‘a heightened sense of things’.

4: “Whatever the hell that’s supposed to mean.”

1: “While walking through his hometown afterwards, he hesitates before going into a market. Moments later the market building bursts into flames. While traveling along a cliff he felt the imperative need to rest in a small cave moments before a 170 foot Cypress tree came rolling down the edge of the mountain.”

2: “And just what the fuck does this story have to do with you?”

1: “I’m also feeling a heightened sense of things, and it’s telling me you’re all going to die very soon.”

2, 3, 4, 5: [Laughter]

2: “And how do you…”

SCENE: Just at that moment, the ropes drop from the hands of the man bound to the chair. He swings his right arm up and around hard enough to send the gun hidden up his sleeve into his hand where he immediately shoots the man in front of him, quickly grabbing the pipe he once held from mid air with his left, then snapping his arm right and shooting the man frozen there, who was too paralyzed to die immediately. He simultaneously swings the pipe he’s holding in his left hand into the jaw of the man on his left and kicks the chair he was on backwards and it slams into the man, moments ago standing coolly behind him, now charging him with a nail-bat. He does all of this with a grace that would make you uneasy to watch, you can tell he’s done this before. Maybe a million times. Before either of the two remaining men have a chance to hit the ground, they have a flurry of bullets headed in their direction that they should be worrying about first. The once-bound man walks off toward a door in the distance. He exits into what appears to be an alleyway, throwing the bloodied pipe into a sewer. The sign hanging from the building is white and pronounced and defiant in this cold, midnight air. It reads: Bank Street Hostel.

And that, as they say, is a wrap. Any and all comments appreciated.

Comments welcome…

1. The Faint - Desperate Guys
2. Hooabstank - Can I Buy You A Drink
3. The 88 - All ‘Cause Of You
4. Incubus - Stellar
5. Zolof The Rock & Roll Destroyer - Argh… I’m A Pirate
6. The Cure - Friday I’m In Love
7. Reggie And The Full Effect - Congratulations Matt & Christine
8. Minus The Bear - Absinthe Party At The Fly Honey Warehouse
9. Weezer - El Scorcho
10. The Postal Service - Brand New Colony
11. Jimmy Eat World - The Most Beautiful Things
12. Smashing Pumpkins - Tonight, Tonight
13. Muse - Feeling Good
14. THe Juliana Theory - Top Of The World
15. Gin Blossoms - Until I Hear It From You
16. Cave In - Joy Opposites
17. Hopesfall - It Happens
18. Weezer - Only In Dreams
19. Thrice - Carol Of The Bells

Well my last post received a record-breaking 2 comments… DAAAAYUM! I know that most of my posts don’t leave much room for discussion or questioning, but I appreciate knowing that there are people reading what I write. So on this short post, I will simply ask that anyone who reads this leaves a comment with either your real name, pseudonym, or just plain ol anonymous. Weekend recap post coming up tomorrow. I’m off to save the world…