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Internet finds

2009-01-04T03:54:00.003-05:00

I found another dude blogging in town, Jared Watson. He sounds pretty crazy... the guy is obsessed with zombies and his last post is about him thinking there are zombies in Ada, although up to that point he was pretty coherent. Its more than a bit odd, but then again what's been going on around town is a more than a bit odd too.

At least its good to have company during Ada's whatever this is, so I added his blog to my blog list on the right.

Also, found this: http://songza.com/z/26d8um

Ok its way too late, I'm hitting the sack.

Screw the News

2009-01-04T02:55:00.000-05:00

I spent a couple hours searching for an outside news story on what is going on here. I can't find anything. Apparently, according to local area news, Ada had a freak blizzard and the town is shut down and that's why nobody can come here. BS. I live here, I would have noticed a blizzard. Outside of this region, no mention of Ada anywhere.

What I have noticed is police, and the CDC, and unmarked fed cars, and empty streets.

I did finally remember to turn on a radio. (Ancient technology, yeesh.) They're broadcasting emergency messages about the quarantine, but just locally I would assume. They say to close up your windows and shutters. Um, its winter out, so check. And they say to lock your doors, which seems like a no brainer, so check.

This making me a bit nervous though. They may be treating us like idiots, but I know they're not... so the implications of needing to lock my door is... something I'm trying not to think about.

I'm going to keep looking on the internet for more info. Maybe some one else is blogging about this.

Get Down Wth The Sickness

2009-01-03T16:46:00.000-05:00

You coppers get up, come on, get down with the sickness!

Its funny. Really. See, I'm barricaded in by police and other govt. types because my town is under a quarantine because of some terrible disease or something that nobody really knows about. See? Funny.

I broke down today and went and snuck over to a local bar for lunch. Nearly every place is shut down in light of the quarantine, but a few locals are sticking it out. The bar is a great place for up to the minute news, plus, I needed to taste some real food.

I got a really disturbing sense walking to the bar. The streets are empty. Well not quite empty... Every once in awhile a police car drives by, or a CDC vehicle. I stayed out of sight of them, figuring they would just tell me to go home if they saw me. In the distance, at either end of the town, you can see the flashing emergency lights of the vehicles forming the barricade.

I did get a look inside the passing CDC vehicle, and I kid you not, they had those creepy gas masks. I'm trying to ignore that. Other than the patrols, just empty. Its very bleak, very unsettling. I feel like I'm stuck someplace between Roswell and Chernobyl.

Ok, anyway, so I went to the bar for lunch. Russ, one of the cooler bartenders was working, but most of the employees were hanging out there too. There was naturally several of the die-hard regulars. There was also a handful of out out-of-towners. They were at the bar the night Ada was closed up and have no place to go. Most of them actually didn't care about their situation. "Better than being at work" one guy told me.

So I got the scoop on our situation. With all those college kids getting sick, somebody called the Center for Disease Control. And the CDC came in hard. As far as what this mystery disease is... nobody knows. There were plenty of stories and most of them are far fetched.

A few suspect a new outbreak of the bubonic plague (come on, really?). One guy said a drunk college kid tried to fight him and even bit him at a convenience store the night the town was barricaded, so it must be a rabies out break (come on, really?). The most likely theory I've heard is that SARS or something came back and that's why the CDC is here. At least most of the college kids made it home for their break before it all happened, the lucky farts. Still, there were lots of rumors about college kids acting really strangely, moping around, and wandering thru the street, starting fights... you know, acting like the college kids we all know and love!

After lunch I did what any reasonable person would do. I bought a case of beer and two fifths of Jack and went back home. I'm now prepared for anything.

It has occurred to me that I should look into this in the news, so I'm going to do that. And afterwards, I hear Left 4 Dead is a good game so I'm going to try it. Jimus84 is my Steam name if anyone wants to join me!

PS. I don't like Disturbed... however their song some how feels appropriate.

Sorry Adoring Fans...

2009-01-02T20:30:00.000-05:00

I hate to do this but I'm canceling all of our shows for the next week.
Ada is quarantined and I'm unable to leave town. I'm also canceling the show at our local bar because, as far as I know, I'm not sick, and I'm not doing anything to risk becoming so. Sorry, fans. :(

...

This really sucks... I was set to play at Newport, which I was so psyched for. I hope this quarantine thing blows over soon. I am way bored, and definitely don't want to be stuck in Ada any longer than I have to be.

Barricade

2009-01-01T22:37:00.000-05:00

That wasn't a drunk driver checkpoint I ran into. They've quarantined the entire town! No one in, no one out. Police, fire trucks, and unmarked vehicles block every possible easy entrance to the town.

This is crazy. I was blowing off all these sicknesses around here as a bad case of the flu or something, but clearly this is something much worse. I don't think I'm going to be leaving my house for awhile unless I have to. Do you think I should go out and grab some food/flashlights/candles? How long does it normally take for these things to blow over?

Post Party

2009-01-01T08:22:00.000-05:00

Yep! That was good night! I made out with several hundred bucks tonight. It was a great time and the band was on fire tonight. Hopefully this means good tidings for 2009. I hope anybody who's reading this and was there had as good of a time as I did.

Getting back into town was a bit weird. I saw bunch of police and emergency lights on the main street into town. I think it was one of those drunk driver checks, though it was 4:30am, pretty late for even them to be out. I've had a few tonight, so I used a backstreet before to avoid the cops (don't worry , I wasn't driving plastered or anything even close, but I'm not taking any chances). Well there were cops there too! But it was really stupid, in the midst of the those flashing lights, I could see the cops dealing with at least two crazed drunks. The drunks were looking really battered but wouldn't stop messing with the cops. I decided to take my chances and drove past... I got a few shouts quick shouts but other than that I was completely ignored... lesser of evils I guess.

So I'm back home safe and sound. Have a good 2009! Night All!

New Year's Eve Gig

2008-12-31T16:14:00.000-05:00

I got a gig tonight at Fenton's down in Columbus! Its a little bit annoying that I have to work on New Year's Eve, but then I have done this before, and it usually turns out to be quite the party, even for the hard working band. Its basically one of the best nights to get free drinks and great tips so I'm really in no position to complain. I really do enjoy performing, there are those days when you want to relax in the crowd, ya know?

Either way, I'm glad to be getting out of Ada! A lot of people have been getting sick. I don't know what's going around but I know I don't want it, so this seems like a good opportunity to get away for a night. Honestly, it feels like a bit of a ghost town recently. Down at the bar, the crowd was noticebly thinner, and I heard even a few of the regulars were missing with rumors of sickness, so it appears that this holiday gift has been passed on from just the students.

Well if any of you friends are wanting to get away from the horrors of Ada, come to Fenton's and watch the ball drop, listen to me go 'meedley meee' on my guitar, and buy me a drink :) It'll be awesome!

Why Do The Big Holidays Happen In The Cold?

2008-12-21T22:00:00.000-05:00

Seriously, why do Thanksgiving, Christmas, and New Years all have to happen during the coldest months? Whoever was responsible for setting all these dates didn't think them through very well.

Thanksgiving:
I don't know history too well, but I think Thanksgiving is actually celebrated at or near the time when the Pilgrims did way back when. Its a celebration of their harvest from the summer and fall and all that, so November seems like about the right time to have this holiday. Besides I'm ok with having one holiday in the cold, just not all of them.

Christmas:
Historians don't know what time of year Jesus was born, so we don't actually know the appropriate date. From what I've heard, the best guess is not at all near Dec 25th. I believe the early Catholic church decided to celebrate Christmas on an existing pagan holiday in order to try to win some converts. I believe a better strategy would have been if the church had made Christmas during June, and said "Pagans, look at our superior religion! We even have holidays during reasonable months, unlike your crap-holidays which occur while its freezing balls outside."

New Year's:
As far as I can tell, the person who declared when the old year ends and the new one begins could have declared this to have occurred at any arbitrary location in the earth's circle around the sun. (I know, there's a nerd living inside of me.) The fact that they chose this to happen on January 1st when the weather is awful just goes to show that this person was an ass.

Alright, alright, sorry for the grouchiness, Christmas isn't really that bad. I normally enjoy the celebration of Christ's birth, the holiday cheer, and so on. I just don't think this year its going to go down so well. I've been sick for at least a week straight. I've got a runny nose and feel all puffy and groggy. I've actually been so congested that sometimes it gets hard to breathe. Real annoying. But at least I'm not alone. I hear a lot of the kids at college have been getting sick and a fair amount have even ended up in the hospital. I'm just glad I've got a cold; I'm pretty sure I won't end up in there.

Well I doubt I'll post again before Christmas is here and gone, so I wish everyone a
Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!
(even if it is so cold that even Frosty's balls have shrunk :) )

-Jim!

Some Gems For You...

2008-12-18T00:25:00.000-05:00

I came across a few gems recently that I feel I need to share...

First, this one: A news story where Adolf Hitler is denied his cake, let alone eating it too.

I can't think of a witty comment to say on this because it has pretty much left me speechless and in shock. I guess my favorite part would have to be when Adolf's loser of a dad asks "How can a name be offensive?", after he has clearly answered his own question by naming his kids after Nazis.

And for the other gem (this gem actually being upbeat and pretty funny, at least to me):
Shame and Scandal by Madness
Let me know if you have trouble getting this link to work. I know sometimes Songza has trouble.

And last, but not least, I leave you with a slightly recycled but still totally awesome gem:
Gogol Bordello - Start Wearing Purple

Enjoy!

Welcome to My Blog

2008-11-16T19:11:00.000-05:00

Welcome to my blog! I haven't decided what to do with it yet, but I figured I'd go ahead and get this space while I can since URLs and what not seem to be gettin harder and harder to get.

Check back often as I'm sure I'll be putting up new stuff as it comes to me. And there will almost definitely be great YouTube links cause I love that site. Here's one to get this blog started: