Krispy Kreme

Say it isn't so. The best donuts in the world have gone bad?

WINSTON-SALEM, N.C., Feb 24, 2005 /PRNewswire-FirstCall via COMTEX/ -- Krispy Kreme Doughnuts, Inc. (NYSE: KKD) (the "Company") announced today that the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Southern District of New York has advised the Company that it will seek to conduct interviews of certain current and former officers and employees of the Company. The Company believes that this investigation relates to the matters currently under formal investigation by the Securities and Exchange Commission. The Company intends to cooperate with the U.S. Attorney's Office.

John Frusciante video

John Frusciante, who happens to be the greatest musician on the planet, has a new video for his latest CD, Curtains. The song is "The Past Recedes." This lovely Web site posts new videos that have been shot.

John's video is running wild on the fan sites and there's a possiblity it could get MTV air time. That is frightening. John is one of the best kept secrets in music and sometimes it's nice to be one of the few people who know about him, kind of like wearing a one-of-a-kind dress to a party. I read somewhere that he claims to have about 100,000 core fans, people who will buy everything he puts out. I count myself as one of those.

Some of the other albums he released in the past year(that's right within a year's time): Automatic Writing, Sphere in the Heart of Silence, DC EP, Inside of Emptiness, Shadows Collide with People and The Will to Death. They're ALL original and span different genres of music.

Curtains is a beautiful CD. It's just John and his guitar. The video, directed by Mike Piscitelli and produced by Partizan, is shot inside his Hollywood home. It's simple and reflective of John as an artist. I think this is the year that John breaks out and in a way, that's unfortunate.

American Idol

so far, David Brown rocks! Rocker Constantine, Scott and farm girl, too.
"If I'm not able to express myself through music I'll probably die" needs to learn she won't die and that she can still sing even after American Idol. For the girl who missed her son, good for her. American Idol is not the end all.

blogging

A North Carolina newspaper reporter kept a blog about her observations at work. Some of those observations included comments about her coworkers. While I can vouch for the fact that musing about your co-workers makes for pretty funny stuff, it's probably best to write fiction. Of course, she eventually was fired. I've thought about this. Here are my rules: Never blog about work and never blog at work. Simple.

Split Rock Arts

For writers out there who've never been to a writer's retreat, I highly recommend trying it and I highly recommend University of Minnesota's Split Rock Arts Program. I went about three years ago. It was a one-week retreat in Duluth, Minnesota in the summertime. It wasn't a snooty writers' workshop, although there are many of those. It was practical for beginners as well as published writers.

The thing that blew me away was the talent in my group. I learned a lot from all of them.

It was hard work but fun and I met so many interesting people. My roomie, we stayed in the dorms, is still one of my good friends. She is a filmmaker and writes screenplays. I also keep in touch with another, who is just about to have her first book published.

Shay Youngblood was our leader. We wrote to music. Some of the music that we listened to in the workshop, I still listen to today. Shay's written several books including "Soul Kiss" and "Black Girl in Paris." I've also seen some of her work in O magazine. She inspired me to take on a writer's life.

Here's a preview of some of the classes they're offering this summer. I believe the cost is about $600.

June 26-July 2

The Short-Short Story
Kim Addonizio

Fabric Collage and the Stitched Mark
Ilze Aviks

Landscape and Memory: A Workshop in Poetry and Prose
Judith Barrington

Stretching: A Drawing Workshop
Sally Brown and Sally Nystrom

Creating a Dream: Illustrating Children's Picture Books
Ilse Plume

Navajo Weaving
Marilou Schultz

Woodcut Printing: East Meets West
Keiji Shinohara

Knitwear: Exploring Color and Design
Rebekah Younger

Interpreting the Landscape: A Drawing and Painting Retreat at the Cloquet Forestry Center
Christine Baeumler

July 3-9

All I Want To Do Is Paint: A Retreat at the Cloquet Forestry Center
David Feinberg

July 5-9

SPLIT ROCK SHORT: Writing Toward a Just World
Anya Achtenberg

SPLIT ROCK SHORT: Designing Commissioned Textiles
Ilze Aviks

SPLIT ROCK SHORT: Fiber Arts Brainstorm: Ideas and Experiments
Susan Brandeis

SPLIT ROCK SHORT: Photographing Urban Communities
Wing Young Huie

SPLIT ROCK SHORT: The Fiction Writer's Fingerprint
Sheila O'Connor

SPLIT ROCK SHORT: The Expanded Hand: Introduction to Digital Drawing
Scott Stulen

July 10-16

Creating Your Future
Gerald Allan

The Essence of Place: A Watercolor Workshop
James Boyd-Brent

The Complex Cloth
Jane Dunnewold

Intimate Terrain: The Art of Knotting
Ed Bing Lee

Telling True Stories: The Art of the Personal Essay
Scott Russell Sanders

The Alphabetized World: A Poetry Workshop
Emily Warn

Drawing for the Truly Terrified: A Retreat at the Cloquet Forestry Center
Sally Brown and Sally Nystrom

Between Grass and Sky: A Nonfiction Writing Retreat at the Cloquet Forestry Center
Linda Hasselstrom

July 17-23

Art and Design From Nature: A Screenprinting Workshop
James Boyd-Brent

Fashion Design: Function, Form, and Fit
Anna Carlson

Wool Work: Surface Design and Techniques
Carol LeBaron

The Secret River: Mentoring and the Practice of Poetry
Jim Moore

The Third Eye: Painting in a New Century
Cristi Rinklin

Writing the Travel Memoir: Spirit, Place, and Change
Catherine Watson

Writing in New Ways: A Fiction Workshop
Shay Youngblood

The Five Elements: A Mixed-Media Drawing Retreat at the Cloquet Forestry Center
Emily DuBois

Reinventing Reality: A Fiction Writing Retreat at the Cloquet Forestry Center
Sheila O'Connor

July 24-30

Writing the Book-Length Literary Memoir
Paulette Bates Alden

The Anti-Masterpiece: An Alternative Approach to Artists' Books
Julie Chen

Warp and Fabric Painting for Weavers
Emily DuBois

Beneath the Surface: Fabric and Fiber as Expressive Media
Allie Kay

Chinese Brush Painting and Calligraphy
Lampo Leong

Shaping the Page:Playing With Poetic Forms
Joyce Sutphen

July 31-August 6

Transformations and Translations: Surface Design for Art Quilts
Elizabeth Busch

Watercolor
Cheng-Khee Chee

The Geometry of Hand Knitting
Katharine Cobey

Writing as Collage
Lance Larsen

Literary Journalism: Writing Portraits of People and Place
Sara Mansfield Taber

Digital Textile Design
Hitoshi Ujiie

The Recollected Landscape: Painting From Observation and Memory
Dion Zwirner

It's a small world

Finally, I've installed the Windows XP CD thanks to a friendly person in a call center in Bangalore. It took about an hour so we talked about music and sports and languages. In India, children learn languages early. He knows five! MS guy said he and his friends like American music. He likes Pink Floyd, Metallica and the Red Hot Chili Peppers, one of my favorites. It costs $20 - $70 to see a concert. Sting is going to be in India tomorrow. The weather there is much like California. They like to play cricket in India. I guess it's sort of like baseball. The only problem with cricket, he says, is that it's a game that starts in the morning and finishes at night so it takes a lot of time. Gas costs $5 a gallon. People drive motorbikes to save money. He likes to watch wrestling and they get American TV.
He said the Microsoft building in Bangalore is "cute." Lots of plants, glass windows. Like American workers, he gets two 15 minute breaks and one half hour break. He can take them when he wants but he has to punch in and out. Ick. There is a "sports room" with games. But he said there's no time to play. Microsoft pays well. He has a four year engineering degree and plans to get a master's. He'd like to study in the US but says it's too expensive.
Here's a surprise: THERE AREN'T ANY STARBUCKS. They have Barista and Coffee Day coffeehouses. What's the deal Starbucks?
He works the 2:30 am shift to 11:30 am shift.
He says Americans are nice. He has had a few calls from very angry Americans. They say that he's stolen American jobs. He says he understands.
It's a small world getting smaller.

Microsoft Nightmare

Here's my update. Eight days ago I installed Windows XP service pack 2. It made my computer nuts so I uninstalled it, which then left my computer brainless. It kept turning on and off, over and over.
I call MS and they say they can send me a Windows XP CD and help me recover my computer. I figured since their software messed up my computer, they'd overnight it. Nope. 7-10 days. My CD arrived today.
I called Microsoft and the call center couldn't help me without knowing what key to press to boot up using the CD-Rom first. MS didn't know Toshiba's key? Isn't that something they should know, or at least be able to look up easily? So MS says I need to call Toshiba and he'll call me back tomorrow. MS guy is already booked up for the day and the guy that "owns my case" is off today.
So there's the update. I've decided that I'm going to try and learn how to use Linux after this experience. It's the only way I can fight back.

yet another John post

Countdown to Curtains, out Tuesday. John Frusciante's final of six records in six months. These are lyrics from To Record Water for Only Ten Days

"Going Inside"
You don't throw your life away
Going inside
You get to know who's watching you
And who besides you resides
In your body
Where you're slow
Where you go doesn't matter
Cuz there will come a time
When time goes out the window
And you'll learn to drive out of focus
I'm you
and if anything unfolds it's supposed to
You don't throw your time away sitting still
I'm in a chain of memories
It's my will
And I had to consult some figures of my past
And I know someone after me
Will go right back
I'm not telling a view
I've got this night to unglue
I moved this fight away
By doing things there's no reason to do

Microsoft blues

Well, it's seven days since uninstalling Windows XP Service Pack 2. I uninstalled it because it was making my computer behave strangely. Now, my computer sits unused, unable to run. All it does is turn on and turn off. I can't even get it to operate in safe mode. Microsoft said they'd send an XP CD within 7-10 days. I thought that since their software killed my computer, they should overnight it to me. They said I was lucky to be getting their $250 piece of software. Meanwhile, I use a borrowed computer for the basics but my work is on my computer. I haven't been able to contact anyone other than customer service at Microsoft. Customer service is a call center. Granted, they've been helpful but I'd like to talk to a head honcho. I now despise Microsoft.

Another John Frusciante post

Now for some good news. John Frusciante's new album Curtains is out! But it's only out in vinyl. His CD isn't out until Feb 1. John is the guitarist for the Red Hot Chili Peppers but he's also an amazing solo artist. Curtains is the last of six records in six months. But it's not just quantity. His music is incredible. All of it!

Commuter train crash

A man who meant to kill himself, changed his mind, saved himself and killed 11 people and injured nearly 200. You just never know what's going to happen to you when you wake up in the morning.

P. Bush's healthy marriage

Another columnist was outed today for taking money to promote P. Bush's "healthy marriage initiative."
This is from the Washington Post:
In 2002, syndicated columnist Maggie Gallagher repeatedly defended
President Bush's push for a $300 million initiative encouraging marriage
as a way of strengthening families.

"The Bush marriage initiative would emphasize the importance of
marriage to poor couples" and "educate teens on the value of delaying
childbearing until marriage," she wrote in National Review Online, for
example, adding that this could "carry big payoffs down the road for taxpayers
and children."

But Gallagher failed to mention that she had a $21,500 contract with
the Department of Health and Human Services to help promote the
president's proposal. Her work under the contract, which ran from January
through October 2002, included drafting a magazine article for the HHS
official overseeing the initiative, writing brochures for the program and
conducting a briefing for department officials.

P. Bush said he put a stop to paying columnists to push his agenda.
The following is P. Bush's agenda:

“To encourage marriage and promote the well-being of children, I have proposed a healthy marriage initiative to help couples develop the skills and knowledge to form and sustain healthy marriages. Research has shown that, on average, children raised in households headed by married parents fare better than children who grow up in other family structures. Through education and counseling programs, faith-based, community, and government organizations promote healthy marriages and a better quality of life for children. By supporting responsible child-rearing and strong families, my Administration is seeking to ensure that every child can grow up in a safe and loving home.”

Personally, I think marriage in its current form is outdated and doesn't work for many people. I don't think marriage translates into a "loving home," although sometimes it can.
Maybe I'm a radical but I don't think "marriage" promotes the well-being of children. I think mature adults do, all kinds of mature adults be they married, unmarried, teachers, role models...
I don't think children's well-being has anything to do with two people legally entwined.

Toasted Pixel

I love this guy's story because I can relate. Tod Emko of New York City is able to experiment and do the things he really wants to do because he keeps a simple lifestyle. He pays $715 a month for a small apartment in NY. It's rent controlled and he's fortunate beyond belief. He sacrafices some of the things others might not to do the things he wants. With the money he saves he trained to run in a marathon, wrote a technology book and started a Web comic of his life at toastedpixel.com. Here's the story in the New York Times

M blues

Tonight at the best pizza shop in town, The Pizza Bakery, someone thought that it would be wise to park his or her Mercedes sideways so that it took up three spaces on a busy pizza night. I took a picture cause I thought it was kind of funny. Perhaps they had a good reason? Easy wheelchair exit? NOT.
I'll post the pic later cause my XP CD has yet to arrive from Microsoft. My computer went bonkers after I installed the XP service pack 2. My advise, be cautious. Microsoft is supposed to call me tomorrow night in case my CD arrives early.

Squid guts

Well, we found a squid on Saturday. He was dead, of course, and his guts, which were gooey and white, like marshmallow, were puffed out. Even though I only saw one, the whole beach smelled of dead sea animals.
The beach, always amazing, was dotted with stacks of bamboo brought to the shore by the recent rains. People even built bamboo shacks on the beach. I took some great pics but because installing Windows XP Service Pack 2 made my compter go bonkers, I won't be able to post them until 7-10 days, when Microsoft is sending me a Windows XP CD.
Thanks to good friends, whom lent me their computer, I can at least get online.

Microsoft XP Service Pack 2 BIG problems

No blog yesterday. Microsoft killed my computer. I unwittingly installed Windows XP Service Pack 2 and my computer went nuts. So I uninstalled it and now all my computer does is turn on and turn off, repeatedly. I called Microsoft. The best they can do for me in send me a Windows XP CD – in 7-10 days and help me bring it back to life. I’m hoping I haven’t lost all my data. So consider this a warning about the service pack. Apparently, there have been a lot of problems and everyone knew about it except for meL I should know better. The MS tech support said it’s been “a nightmare” and MS even has a link: “Some programs seem to stop working after you install Windows XP Service Pack 2.” Thanks Microsoft. My next computer is a Mac.
Pass it on.
If anyone has any helpful suggestions to get me back sooner, please email me.

American Idol

Ok. American Idol is my guilty pleasure and it’s the only TV I watch (except for my other guilty pleasures: Desperate Housewives and Oprah). Fox put out a release saying it didn't think that the ratings would be as high this year. Ha! What a PR scam. Watching American idol is like taking a sociology/psych class. We wonder how people can commit horrible crimes and yet never admit to it. They never admit it because they never admit it to themselves. They convince themselves they didn't do it and they believe it. Just watch American idol. Some people are really oblivious to the truth, so much that they’'ve deceived themselves. They believe they’re the best when they'’re awful. Then when they hear the truth, they call Simon an ***hole. Haven’t they watched the show before? That’s Simon'’s gimmick. So much denial. People work themselves into a lather. But watching those people makes me cringe. I prefer watching the reactions of the ones who do well. The thing that American idol does well is weave in the idol wannabe’s lives, so we care about them in some way. Good or bad, it amazes me that people have so much guts. I admire anyone who gets up there and auditions. So far, I'm rooting for rock n' roll man.

Martin Luther King Day

Words of wisdom

Winter Beach

John Frusciante

Yes, I know. I post a lot about John. But I want to share. Here is the photo that was in this past weekend's Los Angeles Times, courtesy of the Rampart's fan site.