Since I'm my own sysAdmin, I suppose I should be sending out nastygrams, but I'm just too tired.

---

Okay. Lemme start by saying that I like Mark Cuban. We've traded a few e-mails here and there, but he's never bought me anything.

I also like Tim Rogers. He's one of the few writers in the Dallas market that I think knows the meaning of the word 'sardonic.'

What Cuban did was wrong. What Rogers did was also wrong.

Cuban shouldn't expect the complete anonymity of his fiancee when she's been in the public eye for the last three years.

Rogers should not have printed his conversation with Cuban -- transcribed, no less, with a Real Audio file of the conversation -- without telling Cuban first.

So, kiddies, where do you fall on the fence?

posted by Devin Pike at 1:57 AM

I was sitting in line waiting for George Lucas to mainline my veins with 142 minutes of utterly cool digital heroin. I didn't stay out overninght, since I was a) broke, b) three years removed from freezing my ass off waiting in line in Fort Worth for 'The Phantom Menace, and possibly most important, c) not about to give in to my base instinct of geekiness.

So, instead, I drove out around noon Wednesday, May 15. There are only a couple dozen digital projectors in America showing 'Attack of the Clones,' the way Papa George wanted us to see this movie, and two of them were less than an hour away from me. Would I take the easy way out and merely walk across the street to see the film? Screw that.

It's twelve hours of reminding myself of why I cringe looking at Fanboys Deluxe, and why I could still actually be one.

In all fairness, there were only a dozen or so costumes in attendance, and they were all Jedi. Out of those, only two weren't wearing tennis shoes. C'mon, guys! A Jedi shall know not anger. Nor hatred. Nor Nikes.

However, I was in a little pocket of anti-fanboy at my spot in the line. The people around me also grew up with the Star Wars films, but they were removed from the instinct to dress in the outfits, wearing the Jar Jar masks, or even deciding to be a Line Nazi. (If you haven't been in a line for a Star Wars film, there's a tendency for the fan group promoting the line to get a little... full of themselves. DFW FanForce was great this time, but the reports from 1999 were quite ridiculous. "No smoking in line!" Yeah. Is that a plastic lightsaber? Get out of my face!)

We talked over the next few hours on every thing regarding the movie, while skirting spoilerish bits. I was the only person in our merry band who had read all of the spoilers -- I pretty much knew the whole plot and thrill points -- and while the rest were intrigued about 'em I wasn't about to ruin the film. "So, Devin, who are the clones actually for?" "La la laaaaa..."

However, we were dancing around the real question, until a very odd looking forty-something guy (his pants didn't beling on him, he didn't really have a waistline, and his hair was three days removed from a science experiment) wanted to know why we were actually here.

It was something I had been thinking of since my failed experiment to buy tickets two weeks earlier (read below on May 3). The consensus was that, even though we all had lives, most of which didn't involve speaking like Yoda, we had all grown up with fond memories of the Star Wars films. I had been the first in line to see 'Return of the Jedi' in 1983, and would have been there in 1980 for 'The Empire Strikes Back' had my father wanted to take my 10-year-old ass out to the NorthPark I & II at an ungodly hour.

Nowadays, it's almost a given thing that no matter what we're doing in our lives, when there's a Star Wars film coming out, we would pretty much drop what we're doing and be there for it on the first night.

Did we grow up with Star Wars? Hell, yes. Jake (no relation to our Line Mascot, Jake Lloyd, a tiny field mouse who adopted us) said the line that made all of us laugh for an hour. "Princess Leia taught me to masturbate."

Was 'Clones' worth all the fuss? You had better believe it. It was an amazing visual feast. Critics who nag about the stilted dialogue are flat-out missing the point. you don't go to a Star Wars movie for Algonquinian conversation. You go to pee yourself over some amazing effects. I did that and more. Log off the 'Net and go see it. I'll likely see it again before the weekend's out. I may go see it right now.

More delays on The Big Thing. I refuse to lose hope, but I'm cringing at the alternatives I face in trying to stay solvent. Dallas Alley is opening a retro & disco club in a couple of weeks. [shudder]

Word to the wise: if a person annoys you repeatedly, do NOT give them your phone number.

posted by Devin Pike at 1:22 PM

Worked a wedding reception last night, and it was just as much fun as I remembered. Trick is, the trend continued, and I didn't realize it existed until last night.

See, every wedding reception I've worked as a DJ, I have ALWAYS screwed up some part of the announcement of the couple. One reception, I said (with names changed to protect the uninformed) "May I please present John & Jane Doe," when the groom's last name was 'Smith,' and the BRIDE'S name was 'Doe.' D'oh.

Another, I mispronounced the bride's first name. Tough to say how without the name coming out, but I've known the person for years, and it's a name I have used repeatedly without error. Until there are 150 people staring at me.

Last night, I hadn't known the couple for a while, but when I met them, and in all subsequent communication, I had the groom's name written down as Jeremy. It wasn't Jeremy. So, when I'm telling Jeremy to go get his mother for the second dance, the bride is looking at me, laughing, saying, "Jesus, I have to marry somebody else?" The crowd got a kick out of it. I covered, saying the speakers must be bad.

No one minded. Except me. And the crowd had a good time following. And I made a little money. Thank God. I need it.

posted by Devin Pike at 12:15 PM

Fri, 3 May 2002, 03:51 am

I'm sitting outside the Cinemark Legacy theatre in Plano, wearing a suede jacket because I'm getting tired of the chill wind. There's an axiom that Mark Twain coined about New York, that's equally applicable in Texas. If you don't like the weather, wait two days. It'll change. (Except in the summer -- then, wait four months.)

I know there's a lot of questions in the fanboy community about which will be the better draw -- 'Star Wars: Episode II: Attack of the Clones,' or 'Spider Man.' The argument didn't really interest me that much. Although I understand Spidey's appeal, and I'm a huge fan of director Sam Raimi, and I've really been impressed with the things I've seen so far... who cares? This is flippin' Star Wars we're talking about here. The series that created a whole generation of fanboys.

In 1999, I went to Fort Worth to stand in line to make sure I got tickets to the midnight screening of 'The Phantom Menace.' I was first in line to see 'Return of the Jedi' at the NorthPark theatre in 1983, and I knew I had to be there for the first showing of 'Menace' as well. It's the latent geek in me. Pops out every now and then and screams at you.

There was some debate whether or not I would be able to go to the first showing of 'Clones' or not. After all, I'm not even close to a worthy theatre. The Legacy is an hour's drive from my new apartment, and money's especially tight this month.

Sure, that's what my left brain was telling me. Then, my right brain saw the trailers. And the commercials. And the other people lined up to see the film. Bear in mind that the Legacy is one of 19 theatres in the country that has digital projection. It's important because George Lucas shot 'Clones' in digital, and it's the way The George' wants us to see his creation. How could I not be here?

To my credit, I didn't shell out the $300 it would have taken to go to the charity screening. I was able to exercise that much control.

So, the night of May 2 rolls around. Two weeks prior to the premiere. AMC Theatres has had notices on their site that they're selling tickets the next day. Does Cinemark? No. I refuse to take the chance. So, when I can't keep the voices in my head silent anymore, I grab my laptop and head on out. I figure, even if they don't start selling tickets, I can catch an early screening of 'Spider Man.'

I get to the theatre around 3:30 am, and I don't see anyone in front. Or on the sides. Either the weather, which feels like London on any Spring day, has kept people away, the promise of quick instant gratification has kept people at home, the lack of Cinemark information has quelled interest... or I'm just an idiot.

There is one group of high school kids sitting in front of the theatre, so I figure they're getting ready to do the same thing I was doing when I was their age. I was partly right.

"Greetings, gentlemen," I say to the quartet.

They greet me, asking, "You're here for the same thing, right?"

I nod and sit down, grumbling about the lack of ticket information available.

The lads look confused for a second. "We bought them yesterday. On Fandango."

"Wait a second. You're here, even though you bought tickets yesterday?"

"Yep, and the thing sold out right after we bought them."

I'm totally befuddled now. "You mean the midnight screening on the 16th is already sold out?"

Awkward pause. "No, dude, today's first showing. For 'Spider Man.'"

My light bulb slowly comes on. "Ohhhhh... I thought you were talking about 'Clones.'"

Blank stare.

"'Attack of the Clones.' 'Star Wars.' You know, that other movie."

Their light bulbs come on. "Ohhhhh."

These guys, though clearly fanboys, were just about clueless when it came to the goings-on in Star Wars Land. Didn't know about Star Wars Celebration II going on in Indianapolis. Didn't know that Legacy was digital, or that 'Clones was shot in digital, making Legacy one of the best places in America to see the movie. They were interested, mildly, but they just didn't seem to care.

It then dawns on me that the whole Star Wars base might be generational after all. The first time these guys probably saw a new Star Wars movie in theatres was 'Phantom Menace.' Like the rest of us, they probably found the movie lacking in a lot of areas. However, unlike people who grew up with the troika of Luke, Leia & Han, this generation took one look at Jar Jar Binks and the farting pack animals and gave it a hearty "Whatever, pal."

Where my generation of fans was willing to give Lucas a second chance after teasing us in 1999, these kids weren't convinced that this was the real deal. They're likely tired of hearing us go on and on about how we peed our pants when the first Star Destroyer came rumbling over our heads in 1977. Films like 'The Matrix,' 'The Fellowship of the Ring,' and 'Spider Man' are gaining a foothold in their hearts, and it'll be a tough task to get that ground back.

'Clones' might do it, from all accounts. The spoiler boards are a-buzz with tales of how this movie rivals 'The Empire Strikes Back' in quality, tone, and writing. The four Spidey fans will give it a shot. But they will already have seen 'Spider Man' swing through the streets of New York for two weeks by the time 'Clones' hits the theatres. Will they care by then?

Part of me hopes so, because they deserve a good Star Wars movie in their pantheon of fandom. We got lucky, in our youth. There wasn't a lot of other films that came close to 'Star Wars' in terms of impact. This summer, the moviegoing public has a lot of movies to choose from -- 'Men In Black II,' 'Minority Report,' and the two May powerhouses, and that's just in sci-fi alone.

As for me, I'm going to head back to the car. It's starting to rain, and I need to keep dry and warm. 20 years ago, I wouldn't have cared. I guess I've changed as well.

posted by Devin Pike at 6:55 AM

They're told that there won't be any 'Episode II' tickets sold this morning, since they still haven't gotten the go-ahead from Lucasfilm to sell them. Great googly-moogly.

So, now I'm hunkered down in Starbucks, trying to decide how to kill off the next five-plus hours while I wait for my tickets to 'Spider Man' to come around. Feh. Damned Lucas.

posted by Devin Pike at 7:07 AM

I got tired of all of the design issues with my template, so I decided to start from scratch. Therefore, I went in and saved out everything in my Archives, and it's all here. It's mammoth, but oh well.

[4/30/2002 7:01:19 PM | Devin Pike]

Whenever I go into my kitchen, this is what I see.

I shouldn't mind much. After all, it wasn't long ago when Isis (on the left, with green eyes) wasn't eating anything, and she spent the better part of a week at the vet's. Add to that the frail appearance she's always had, and I should never begrudge her a meal. I used to wonder why she would never gain weight, and I took her to vet after vet, who assured me that she's just got a high metabolism.

However, if I fed her every time she would scream for food, she would eat entirely too fast and hork it back up noisily 30 minutes later. So, it's half a can of food, twice a day. (Yes, she has dry food as well, but she doesn't care about that. It's the canned food that makes her swoon.)

It's not enough. It's never enough.

Now, she yells at me every time I go to my room, because she thinks it's time for me to take her plate in and fill it up with vile-smelling cat food. She follows me into the kitchen every time I venture in, because she thinks I'll be cracking open a new can for her.

And now she has an accomplice.

Moliere, Marty's kitten-about-to-be-cat, is taking lessons from Isis. When she's in the kitchen bitching at me for not feeding her, he'll follow her in and join in the chorus.

When I was out of town a couple of weeks ago, Marty told me that I would hate him for what he had done. See, before, when Isis would eat, Moliere would muscle her out of the way and eat the food himself. So, to appease him, Marty gave Moliere a little bit of food as well. He doesn't eat as much as Isis, and not nearly as fast, either. That said, now I can't feed my cat without feeding his as well.

I don't mind that so much, as the constant feline guilt trip. Kill me.

[4/23/2002 11:30:10 PM | Devin Pike]

So, DevinAndMarty.com will happen, even if one-half of the team is in a faraway land. I'm buying the domain tonight.

EE.net will remain my stuff, but I'll mirror everything on DAM. (Heh. There's a little bit of acronym serendipity.) We may also do dual webcams, just because it'll be a cool thing to do. I'll likely coat the top of my camera with catnip so Isis will come over and sniff at the lens every now and then.

Still looking for a gig here, in case The Big Thing doesn't materialize. (If you don't know, I can't tell you yet. Hang loose.) I cashed in the remnants of my 401k from AnywhereYouGo this week to sustain me while I search. Yes, I know, I should have done it long ago, but I fully expected the market to turn back on by now, and I've lost half of my savings riding the storm out.

In the mean time, I'm still keeping chin up, while Rome burns. I'll have to tell you a story in the meantime. One from my past.

When I was a senior in high school, there was a period where I didn't know if Chaline would stay with me or not. I dated a couple of people, but for the most part I was happy being single. My writing was taking off, and I was busy bouncing around being Journalism Boy. On St. Patrick's Day, 1987, I went to the Hard Rock Cafe by myself to see Joe Walsh play a free show. I was doing that a lot those days -- my father pretty much gave me free reign when it came to being in on time, and for the most part, I was home at a semi-decent hour.

That's when I met Meredith.

She was a blonde from Highland Park, my age, my height. Tan, from a lot of trips to Padre and elsewhere that upper-class kids got to go on the weekends. We sat together on the floor of the Hard Rock, 20 feet or so from Joe's mic. We were both big fans, and talked before and after the set. She kissed me, and it was like my whole skull was involved in the process. No, that sounds bad. She sent a charge through me, but it wasn't the Davy Jones 'Zot' kind of charge. More like the warm, fuzzy Zot you get when you see something that makes you stop and breathe slowly.

We traded information, and I made a date to take her to dinner the next week. Two days later, she sent me a picture of herself -- clothed, you pervs -- and wrote on the back that she couldn't WAIT to see me again.

On the day we were supposed to go out, she asked if we could just hang around her house instead. We looked through photo albums, talked about our high school careers, and so on. She was going on a ski trip in two days, and she showed me her new ski gear. Since I had just finished rehab on my knee from gymnastics, I wished her luck and hoped she didn't come home looking like I had a year ago.

When she came back from skiing, she informed me that we wouldn't be seeing each other again.

She had met someone while on the ski trip, and didn't offer any more details than that. I was crushed. First Chaline, now this. I looked at that picture, with her smiling at me in that sunset glow. Now, it was almost as if she were laughing at me.

I saw her again, about six years later. The details are fuzzy now -- I think she had heard me on the radio or something and we agreed to meet up in the West End to talk. She didn't wantr to resume things, because she didn't think we could last. I had so much to tell her, and I never got the opportunity.

Is there a point to this memory? No. She was in my head today, and I needed to see her again.
[edit]

[4/14/2002 11:30:56 AM | Devin Pike]

I'm trying to decide if I'm going to renew posting to Grey Matters here, or fold these blogs into the new format at the soon-to-be-launched site DevinAndMarty.com. The new server is online and has performed flawlessly for the last week (thanks, BigFatPipe and Chris!), so it's time to get that stuff running.

Also, I now have to decide whether or not to turn EverythingElse.net into the webzine that everyone wants me to, or leave EE my own sample server. Decisions, decisions... I need a ball game to clear my head.
[edit]

[2/19/2002 4:04:33 AM | Devin Pike]

Right now, I am so mad I could spit. In fact, I think I have a couple of times.

History is repeating itself, and I have no one else to blame for it. Bear in mind that I have absolutely zero reason to be mad, and yet I'm entirely furious.

I suppose that I will never get to be close to someone ever again, for a lot of different reasons. A lot of them have to do with me, but I'm blaming timing and karma on some of them as well.

Goddammit.

[2/4/2002 11:58:23 PM | Devin Pike]

Bruce Willis' oldest daughter looks JUST like Demi Moore. Good thing the genetics don't work both ways. None of them look like Bruce.

This year is shaping up to be an amazing one in the theatres. 'Attack of the Clones,' 'Spider Man,' 'The Two Towers,' 'Bad Company,' 'MIB 2,' and those are the ones I can think of. Oh, yeah, 'Austin Powers: The Spy To Be Named Later.'

Great question on 'Politically Incorrect': Is September 11 Tribute Fatigue understandable, or does overload make you a bad person? I think it's understandable, but the Lincoln Tribute made me cry like a little girl.

Why can't I find a good web log reader that I can use and understand -- and is free?

I just signed on with Mac Evangelist to write a weekly column about things Apple and Mac related. I'm deeply honored that Shane Anderson liked my stuff enough to ask. No, I'm not getting paid. I don't care.

I'm [really] missing AdCritic.com .

The World Trade Center site shouldn't be built over with new towers. They should finish the clean-up, and leave the site as is. It is hallowed ground. I saw the site from the air for the first time from the pre-game, and it's amazing.

If musicians weren't allowed to lip sync at the Super Bowl, no one would perform, except U2. Were the Boston Pops playing live, or was that recorded as well? McCartney sang over a recorded track. Crazy Mariah? Lip sync. Manilow & Co? Lip sync, and bad lip syncing at that, with the exception of Patti LaBelle. If they can make U2 sound good live, the rest of these people have ZERO excuse.

I'm getting my singing voice back, finally, after being sick for seven weeks. Leemer, get the studio ready.

[1/1/2002 3:59:45 PM | Devin Pike]

I just got this e-mail from John. I can't stop crying, not because it made me sad, but because it rings so true. How is it that everyone can see what I'm feeling, yet I can't get in touch with it?

Enjoy. Happy New Year (emphasis on the "New").

When Paradise is no longer fit for you to live in

Your adolescent dreams are all gone

Through the days you feel a little used up

You don't know where your energy's gone wrong

It's just your soul feelin' a little downhearted

Sometimes life's too ridiculous to live

You can count your friends all on one finger

I know it sounds funny, but that's the way that we live

Between a laugh. And a tear.

Smile in the mirror as you walk by.

Between a laugh. And a tear.

And that's as good as it can get for us, and there ain't
no reason to stop trying...

When this cardboard town can no longer amuse you

You see through evrything and nuthin' seems worthwhile

And hypocrite used to be such a big word to you

Don't seem to mean anything to you now

Just try to live each and every precious moment

Don't be discouraged by the future, forget the past

That's old advice, but it'll be good to you

I know there's a balance, I see it when I swing past

Between a laugh. And a tear.

Smile in the mirror as you walk by.

Between a laugh. And a tear.

And that's as good as it can get for us, and there ain't
no reason to stop trying...

When Paradise can no longer amuse you

You see through everything and nothing seems worthwhile

When Paradise can no longer amuse you...

Leemer

[12/28/2001 12:40:38 AM | Devin Pike]

This is how fragile we're feeling:

One of the other DJs gets a text message from whatever news service he subscribes to, saying, "Bin Laden Urges Attacks on US." He took this to mean that there were new attacks tonight.

Knowing that I have a live Net connection here, I've had no less than 10 people coming up to me, freaking out. Explaining that there's NOTHING HAPPENING is getting a little tiresome.

I can understand everyone feeling punchy, but it's an almost willingness to believe that we are that vulnerable that almost pisses me off. If there is another attack, no, it wouldn't surprise me, but I'm not sitting around expecting it. Good God.

[12/20/2001 11:15:02 PM | Devin Pike]

Aside from the obligatory comments on how being sick sucks so much ass, I'm inclined to elaborate a bit. After all, Mom always taught me to share.

I haven't been so incredibly sick that it has incapacitated me. If I were, then maybe it would be over that much sooner. Instead, I've been mildly to moderatly sick for the last week or so. I can get around alright, can breathe half of the time, and I'm able to work. Compare that to most of my friends and co-workers, who got knocked to their knees with the same illness or a mutated strain thereof.

Does that mean I'm made of tougher stock than they are, or that I'm just not that sick? Will I get that sick in time, making this just a long prelude, or will I just end up back at one hundred percent and not realize it?

I need a massage and a week without my brain.

[12/10/2001 3:14:54 PM | Devin Pike]

It's going to be February before I can get into an apartment. That means at least six more weeks of driving an hour each way to work and back. My ass can't take it.

The good news is, with the extra shifts I'm working, it should be at least marginally doable, financially.

As I commented to Marty yesterday, I'm starting to get my swerve back. I'm losing weight, my confidence is back, and I'm getting interested looks from women. This might be alright.

[12/8/2001 5:34:30 PM | Devin Pike]

Am I "increasingly unreliable," as I was told in an e-mail by someone today? Am I really that far gone? I used to think I was a rock of stability. I know that I have lost a bit of my edge in the last year or so, but I had no idea that it had gotten that bad.

Fuck.
[edit]

[12/8/2001 4:21:26 PM | Devin Pike]

Some days are spikier than others.

---

There are now four people who have made it their mission to find me someone 'special.' These are, for the most part, people whose opinion I trust, but I still don't know how successful they'll be. After all, if I'm not happy with myself, who will be?

[12/6/2001 6:30:17 PM | Devin Pike]
Weeee!

Revelation for the Day: Female truth is a tidal wave, not a faucet. Either you ride the waves, or drown.

[12/6/2001 4:32:24 PM | Devin Pike]

I have to admit, I was a little late coming to the coffee house party. After all, I only drank coffee when I knew I would have to be civil before 10:00 am, and only then after dumping a cane full of sugar and half a cow into it.

Add to that my built-in disdain of Corporate OverCulture, and you can see why I stayed away from Starbucks for as long as I did.

Two things changed my tune. One was the deployment of wireless networks in every Starbucks in the Dallas area, and the other was my discovery of the Caramel Frappucino. So, I satisfy my sweet tooth and my tech tooth at the same time.

---

My lack of direction continues to baffle me. I have very little passion for writing (these brief missives are just to help document my slow descent into oblivion-tinged madness), and nothing else seems to get my spark up. When I do get back on track, it should be magnificent, but I have to ask myself: "Will it ever get as good as I had it before?" The answer eludes me. Feh.

[12/4/2001 6:40:29 PM | Devin Pike]

Forgiveness is something I used to be very good about. See, when I was younger, stuff rolled off my back like water. If you did me wrong, I didn't hold a grudge.

Flash forward ten years later. Someone I held in high regard screwed me over -- not once, but twice. I thought they had changed. I thought I had changed. I was only half-right.

Now, someone has violated my trust again. They've apologized, and I can't tell if they're being sincere, or if they're trying to get close again to stick the knife in deeper. Do I let them in? I just can't decide.

[12/3/2001 12:54:23 PM | Devin Pike]

I hate being taken advantage of, and I really feel that my job is doing exactly that. When I know for a fact that I'm worth $20 a night more than I'm making, and I get resistance from my boss, what am I supposed to think?

[12/2/2001 2:49:47 PM | Devin Pike]

I met someone last night. It's one of the things you hear about where your eyes meet and you melt. Actually, we had met two nights earlier, but neither of us made any connection. But last night, I was incredible pissed off at a pair of morons from Dell Computer (big shock) and was ready to break out the machete.

She saw the abject rage on my face, and touched my forearm. All of the anger went away, and all I wanted to do was ... be.

She's a redhead. She was wearing a little plaid Catholic schoolgirl-type skirt. Owwie.

We'll see.

We'll see.

[12/1/2001 1:03:32 PM | Devin Pike]

Living out here with my grandmother has made me realize a few things, such as the results of the decisions of my youth.

I'm not married, I don't have any kids, and I don't have my own house. I am the only person on the wall of pictures my grandmother keeps with no one else by my side.

Does this bother me? Yeah, a little. If I subscribe to the American mode of thinking, I should have been more than divorced by now. I should have started my own family, and starting work on my second child.

That said, I think that, had I followed the path set before me by generations of Pikes as well as society as a whole, I would have been pretty miserable. I would not have traveled the country, gone on numerous adventures and been the person who people love to hear stories from.

Am I less complete? No. Just wired differently.