Vitriol

Vitriol

© 2003 by Andersen Silva (9-1-03)

Last updated 6-28-2022  


I sit by and watch the river flow,
  I sit by and watch the traffic go.

Imagine something of your very own,
  Something you can have and hold;
I'd build a road in gold,
  Just to have some dreaming,
Dreaming is free...

Don't dream it's over, 'cos, miraculously, it's not. As is generally the case in my life, I was hit by a bolt from the blue three weeks ago today. I'm not going to tell you what it means just yet (and by you I mean the two or three people who bother to read this monthly rambling I call Vitriol), but I will say that I'm happier than I've been in a long time. Nothing's set in stone, and, as I often say, life has a funny way of turning around and biting you in the ass; nevertheless, for the first time in a few years I see a light at the end of the tunnel.  :)   And this time I'm confident that it's not an oncoming train... The journey through that tunnel won't always be fun, and won't always be easy... but it will always be worth it, I'm certain.

With that vague declaration in mind, it's difficult for me to get too riled up about anything lately. Heh-heh... So I don't think I'll be ranting this month.

I found myself with an unexpected (and unprecedented, since my promotion in May 2002) three days off from work this past week. Well, the first one was planned... It was good to see that things functioned mostly smoothly in my absence, with only one problem requiring my immediate assistance by phone. I'm leaving for Boston on the 10th, and returning to work on the 16th, so it's reassuring to know that I can leave these people alone for a while after all.  ;)  My Superman complex often keeps me from taking well-deserved time off...

I'm very much looking forward to Boston. This will be my third mini-vacation there, and the centerpiece of the trip is a talk by the Dalai Lama at the FleetCenter. Other things I've planned include a tour of the Samuel Adams brewery (mmm, Sam Adams...), a return to Walden Pond, and maybe a visit to the South End Jazz Festival. Should be relaxing and fun.

Barbara and I saw Ringo Starr and His All-Starr Band early in August, and I think it may well have been the best concert I've been to this year. And that's saying something! Ringo's such a great guy, and so full of energy, and the music... ah, the music. In addition to his own songs, and some of the music he sang while with a little group called the Beatles, the bandmembers performed some of their own hits. The All-Starrs this time around were John Waite, Paul Carrack, Colin Hay (of Men At Work), Sheila E, and sax player Mark Rivera, so we got to hear great stuff like "Tempted," "Down Under," "The Glamorous Life," and "Missing You" in addition to "Photograph," "You're Sixteen," "Don't Pass Me By," "It Don't Come Easy," and even a wonderfully moving "Here Comes the Sun," written by Ringo's friend and onetime bandmate George Harrison.

I saw the new "Tomb Raider" movie twice last month, and obviously enjoyed it. I'd say it was as good as the first, though I don't think it did as well at the box office. On the other hand, from what I've been reading, movies in general aren't doing all that well this summer.

Where were you when the lights went out? I was at work, and had to deal with everyone's computers being shut down abruptly, except for mine, and the finance manager's, and the servers, all of which are plugged into uninterruptible power supplies. We lost power completely for twenty minutes or so, and then dealt with flickers for a while, but by 5:45 PM or so, the power came back on and stayed on. I had to stay late nonetheless, to make sure that all the servers were back online and all the services were running normally. Couldn't go home the normal way, either, as the trains weren't running; Barbara picked me up at the office a few hours later. The next day, Yesika and our outgoing receptionist, Nicole, and I went to New York, but we had to take the PATH train in, as buses were not being allowed into the City, the Port Authority Bus Terminal still being shut down. It was an interesting day; the Times Square area had power, but a few blocks down everything was still dark, as was the East Side. I dragged us all the way down to the Pioneer, only to find Justyna, the waitress, outside the darkened establishment. She told us they weren't open yet, but would be whenever the power came back on; since no one knew when that would be, though, we reluctantly left, and ended up spending the rest of the evening in Hoboken, where the electricity was flowing freely.

With "The Lord of the Rings" behind me, I've started reading Terry Pratchett's "Discworld" novels, on the recommendation of a friend. I'm amused and impressed. He's sorta done for fantasy what Douglas Adams did for science fiction. I'm on the third book, "Equal Rites," at the moment...

The music thing is moving along, too. I've finished "Hole in the Wall," which will be on the album I still hope to complete by year's end. I also recorded a cover of the Standells' "Dirty Water," an ode to Boston and its college women. Heh... I'd conceived of recording it back when I visited Beantown last year. A short instrumental, "Inspired by My Muse," was in fact inspired by my muse, and I put it together over the course of two hours or so. It and the fleshed-out "Hate Theme from 'Waiting for X'" that I've started looking at again are not going to be on this album, I don't think... A new song has started taking shape in my head; actually, "That's Just What I Am" also first came to me (as a title, anyway) last October in Boston, partly in response to Aimee Mann's "That's Just What You Are." And I'll be writing "Dances on Clouds" and "Second Shot" in the near future. Ugh, I have to finish this first album soon, because I've already got a second one building up! Still not sure what to call this one, though... Well, wish me a happy birthday on the 29th, if'n ya want to, and I'll see you next month.
  - A (webmaster@andersensilva.com)


April 2004 - The real final Vitriol, Howard Stern, Dubya, etc.
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March 2004 - Dining out with my baby, Virtual PC, and the end of Vitriol... or is it?
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February 2004 - Two weeks between jobs, three new songs, grabbing Panther by the tail
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January 2004 - Ice skating with Gina, sushi at my sister's wedding, war-riding, the pink slip
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December 2003 - Moving pains, goin' places with Gina, Christmas bells
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November 2003 - The looong month of October, finding an apartment, Ozzy's gone
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October 2003 - I'm in love with her and I feel fine, Boston, the Dalai Lama, apartment for rent?
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September 2003 - Andy, happy? it could happen!, taking time off from work, Ringo Starr, "Discworld," the blackout
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August 2003 - (W)here (M)ight (D)ose WMDs be?, gay marriages and the people who fear them, '80s metal bands, Computer Man to the rescue, Philadelphia freedom
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July 2003 - Boondocks.net is back!, rudeness on public transportation and elsewhere, "Hole in the Wall"
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June 2003 - Science fiction movies, where is Boondocks.net?, still no weapons of misconstruction...
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May 2003 - How 'bout them weapons of mass distraction, huh?, Def Leppard, Michael Palin, another Silva, wireless networking, and a damned good raspberry margarita
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April 2003 - They're still French fries, dammit!, a new guitar for Andy, music-music-music
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March 2003 - The buildup for, and the protesting against, war
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February 2003 - The destruction of the Columbia, the National Day of Poetry Against the War, hard and soft atheism, Pete Townshend, and the gift shop
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January 2003 - Christmas loot, "Swingin'," more war talk
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December 2002 - The year in review, moving again?!?, moving world leaders around, too
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November 2002 - "Scarlet's Walk" and Tori's penguin, jackasses, and killing in the name of...
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October 2002 - Boston, Aimee Mann, and Palpatine/Bush
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September 2002 - George Darius Bush and George Xerxes Bush
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August 2002 - Movin' out of Paisan-town, and far away from the Regal Beagle
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July 2002 - Church and state: you gotta keep 'em separated, Dubya still doesn't want to play nice with the rest of the world, John Entwistle's gone
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June 2002 - Movin' on from town to town, Dave Barry and the Rock Bottom Remainders
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May 2002 - Science fiction movies everywhere!, jail time for virus creators, Dubya finally learns to pronounce 'occupation,' Andy gets a promotion?!?
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April 2002 - Terrorism on both sides of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, people who don't interact with me or the Web site, "For Dana" to be released on a compilation CD
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March 2002 - Chip implants, the children of God and the followers of Christ commit murder in His name, ultranationalism American style
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February 2002 - Dubya says, "These pretzels are making me- ack!" Sharon continues playing Napoleon, and... the return of Foogar?
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January 2002 - Rob Zombie, Ozzy Osbourne, and other Christmas-related items, stealin' cars, karaoke!
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December 2001 - George meets his sweet lord, terrorists EVERYwhere!, Tomb Raider II finished finally, and the Segway, finally!
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November 2001 - Anthrax (the band), WSOU rocks - but for how much longer? and a minute of silence?
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October 2001 - Osama bin Laden and anthrax and the women who love them
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September 2001 - Five days after the 9/11 attacks
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September 2001 - Governments and armies and the assholes who love them, more misspellings, and a large lack of feedback
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August 2001 - Dubya's isolationism, the Macedonians and Albanians search for peace the Israeli/Palestinian way, 2004 Olympics in Beijing
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July 2001 - Not the Sexiest Geek Alive, war (what is it good for?), murdering citizens American-style
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June 2001 - A dead hitchhiker, the Taliban, and an independent Senator Jeffords
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May 2001 - Joey Ramone's dead, and "Joey Ramone's Dead"
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April 2001 - Brazil (not the Terry Gilliam film), Dubya and carbon dioxide, Yugoslavia begins coming to its senses, Israel and the Palestinians still haven't come to theirs...
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March 2001 - New look for the Web site, upcoming vacation in Brazil!, the pig-headed Taliban, "Hannibal"
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February 2001 - Tomb Raider II, Dubya plays with his new toys, nature plays with El Salvador and India, and the inevitable Chechnya and Israel/Palestinians references
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January 2001 - Snow, a new year/decade/century/millennium, screen resolutions
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December 2000 - The iBook, "The X-Files," the Grinch, the pathetic turn of events in the U.S. elections...
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November 2000 - Got the iBook! the Village Parade, trouble still brewin' in the Mideast, the upcoming U.S. elections...
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October 2000 - Andy turns 30, the Middle East, the anniversary of the invasion of Chechnya...
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September 2000 - A random act of kindness, Great Adventure, new music, new iBooks?
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August 2000 - Palestine and the Israelis, Milosevic, Speight, and breaking the speed of light!
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July 2000 - Israel & the Palestinians, the missile defense shield, and (who'da thunk it?) Chechnya
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June 2000 - Um, Chechnya again, gun-totin' Charlton Heston, misspellings, and xenophobes
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May 2000 - Communism on the last May Day of the twentieth century, and Andy's life ("Don't talk to me about life...")
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April 2000 - Hold on, it's more Chechnya rantin', and an appeal on behalf of a friend caught behind red tape
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March 2000 - Hey, hey, Pinochet, Russia and China won't go away, "The X-Files," the American presidential race, and a prelude to vacation
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February 2000 - Again with the Chechens, and Elián, Pinochet, mp3.com vs. the recording industry, and snow
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January 2000 - Made it through January 1st, Syria and Israel, public transportation, and, er, Chechnya
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December 1999 - Indonesia comes apart, Chechnya (no shit), Seattle's burning, 'n Happy Xmas
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November 1999 - Halloween, my bad knee, Russians? in Chechnya?!? Buchanan and the Reform Party, NIN
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October 1999 - Hurricane on the East Coast, earthquakes in Taiwan, Turkey, and Greece, and Apple Computers
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September 1999 - I'm not getting you down, am I? I'd hate to think I was getting you down...

- - - the Dark Ages (reprise) - - -

April 1999 - the return of Vitriol, Kosovo, a foreshadowing of the Russian invasion of Chechnya (!), and Libya

- - - the Dark Ages - - -

September-November 1995 - the Underground Press Conference, a co-worker bites the dust, Rabin really bites the dust, Remington Bond, Win95, and the Sex Pistols
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August 1995 - the death penalty, the V-chip and violence in pop culture, and "TV Nation"
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June 1995 - Oklahoma City, 'zines, "The X-Files" and "V.R.5"
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March 1995 - I'm sick!, the space program (ha), alt.zines, "Star Trek" and "Voyager"
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February 1995 - the very first Vitriol! Newt Gingrich, political correctness, media overkill, Howard Stern, the Apple goon squad?
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Last updated 6-28-2022