The First Law of Nature

From Pat's Father

Tue, 13 May 2008 05:11:17 GMT

"We are not having a conventional funeral, but a celebration of his life and would welcome all of Pat's friends to join us on Saturday the 17th at the Monte Sano park picnic area here in Huntsville, Alabama beginning at 4:00 pm. If you need directions, please call 256-881-7028. And please share this info with all you think would like to share this day with us."

Sun, 11 May 2008 00:10:55 GMT

my best friend and housemate Pat McAdams (fingerhead) died this afternoon, right in front of me.

How I now look.

Mon, 05 May 2008 17:51:02 GMT

How I now look.
Originally uploaded by grubi

Did a bit o shave last night. You like?

Iron Man.

Mon, 05 May 2008 14:39:56 GMT

"On May 5, 2008, Marvel Entertainment released their first-quarter report to its shareholders to coincide with the announcement about the successful opening weekend of Iron Man, which grossed an estimated $100.7 million domestically and over $200 million worldwide. The announcement included an update of Marvel Studios' feature film slate with the already-rumored Iron Man 2 announced for a release on April 30, 2010, http://www.comingsoon.net/news/movienews.php?id=44654"

YES.

Blackbird!

Tue, 29 Apr 2008 18:38:00 GMT

Blackbird!
Originally uploaded by grubi

I'm on vacation all this week, and I decided to have myself an In-Town Vaca. Yesterday, I took some photos around our downtown area.

SUPER COUCHES!

Fri, 25 Apr 2008 17:35:12 GMT

SUPER COUCHES!
Originally uploaded by grubi

Relay League: Memories and Future Promise

Thu, 24 Apr 2008 20:42:15 GMT

Relay League: Memories and Future Promise
Originally uploaded by grubi

This is actually a bastardization of the meme as a way to find a band name for me and Professor T Matheson Leigh. (It's going to be a post-punk band.)

Blond Grubi 1995

Wed, 23 Apr 2008 02:34:48 GMT

Blond Grubi 1995
Originally uploaded by grubi

Me in 1995, during those few months I had my hair dyed blond.

Me with Cake

Tue, 22 Apr 2008 17:21:46 GMT

Me with Cake
Originally uploaded by grubi

Sometime in 1997, I hung with Cake, before they made it really big. Lead singer still owes me a cigarette.

The video explanation.

Fri, 18 Apr 2008 19:36:53 GMT

Another cold day.

Thu, 17 Apr 2008 13:00:58 GMT

Another cold day.
Originally uploaded by grubi

Second day in a row the day started in the 30s. April Aught-Eight is turning out to be an odd month.

37 degrees in April

Wed, 16 Apr 2008 12:37:31 GMT

37 degrees in April
Originally uploaded by grubi

April 16, Tallahassee, Florida: 37 degrees Fahrenheit.

Go figure.

One of these days...

Sat, 05 Apr 2008 23:13:22 GMT

I gotta take a day off and photograph the hell out of this city.

In which I school Tiger Woods

Fri, 04 Apr 2008 13:54:41 GMT

In which I school Tiger Woods
Originally uploaded by grubi

Tiger Woods 07 for the PSP. After many, many, many tries, I finally win a tournament. Here comes the story of Hurra Kane.

Looks like I may be changing my name legally

Fri, 28 Mar 2008 16:28:00 GMT

I mentioned in my microautobiography how I hate my first name and have contemplated legally changing it for a long time. Well, after a long discussion with my wife (who changed her last name ten years ago) and some serious deep-thinking, I feel I should start taking the first steps to do this. To start, I'd like to try out the name I've chosen, see how it fits.

And I'd like you to help.

The name is Kane. The rest of my name, the Curtis Gruber part, shall remain the same. I hope you'll help me out with this, and understand there are many reasons why I want to do this, and none of it is a whim. If you have any questions about it, as always, I'm happy to explain. But thanks for reading.

Microautobiography

Wed, 26 Mar 2008 15:11:58 GMT

I was kicked out of the Air Force.

I was homeless.

I have been a father.

I won awards for my writing, and one for my cartooning.

I have been to a political convention.

I have met a handful of mid-level celebrities and a couple of big ones.

I essentially taught myself to play guitar.

I have written almost 400 songs.

I have written 50 songs that don't outright suck.

I saw glaciers, swam in two oceans (and a gulf), flown over Canada, and built snowmen.

I have been married twice.

I have one piercing (left ear) and no tattoos (yet).

I have been Episcopalian, Lutheran, Baptist, Lutheran again, agnostic, Deist, Taoist, and now atheist.

I can cook rather well.

I can type upwards of 95 wpm.

I have been a waiter, grocery store clerk, hotel night auditor, columnist, radio news reporter, record reviewer, cook, web designer, rock musician, rapper, illustrator, and a support technician.

I have been in Wired magazine, mentioned in a published book, been in 5 different commercials on TV, on the radio, and all over the Web.

I have been arrested three times.

I've been drunk 10 times. High five times.

I've never done any drug harder than alcohol or weed.

I play most of my video games with the cheats turned on.

I use a Mac and I like it.

I have been dirt poor, working class, and middle class.

I have only one official education-related certificate of completion (my high school diploma).

I lost my high school class ring years ago.

I am 5'6" and weigh about 256 lbs.

I like swimming and bike riding, but I've done neither in years.

I developed arthritis at age 14, shinsplints at 19, and gout at 32.

I have been blogging for more than eight years and have been online for almost 15.

I carry a laptop bag with a portable DVD player, a 60GB iPod, a mobular phone, a PSP, and a digital camera almost everywhere I go.

I am not as hip as the web kids or the indie kids or the photography kids, and by kids I mean you people who are my age or thereabouts.

I hate my first name and have been seriously contemplating legally changing it for all of my adult life. My latest possible name change? "Kane."

I am a grammar/spelling/punctuation pedant.*

I can dance.

I have nice, if rough, singing voice.

I cannot play sports worth a good God damn but have wished I could almost every day since I was 3.

I am a depressive.

I have tried to kill myself 5 separate times.

I abhor alcoholics, the right-wing, the religious, addicts of almost any stripe, and the people who think they're cool because they're contrarian.

I hate what my parents have done to me but sometimes I still miss talking to them, even though we haven't spoken in 12 years.

I love cats and dogs alike. I am not a fan of fish or birds as pets.

I am 34 but I am still very much a kid in my own mind.

I love Star Wars, Star Trek, and loads of sci-fi.

I am a fan of TV as a form of entertainment.

I am bold, brash, confrontational, rude, but very much insecure much of the time.

I am Chris Gruber.

(and I'm fine if you want to turn this into a meme and do it yourself.)

* Props to alanpartlow for pointing out my irony-rich life. :-)

Lemme tell ya somethin'...

Thu, 13 Mar 2008 13:32:17 GMT

Yesterday was my 34th birthday. I enjoyed my day off from work by indulging in a gift to myself, a portable DVD player from the folks at Sony. Now I can watch "Scrubs" wherever the hell I am. But the focus of the day ended up being a secret plan hatched by my wife Lisa (aka skovalia) and my roommate Pat (aka fingerhead).

Apparently, for the last few weeks, they have been conspiring to surprise me with a birthday gathering at a local Japanese steakhouse, one of those with the wacky knife-tossing chefs. I enjoy this sort of thing just fine, but I was feeling tired yesterday and was tempted to say "Aw, the hell with it, let's just go home." Turns out, that would have ruined everything since there were about 8 people waiting at the steakhouse for me.

For the birthday roast.

Years ago, I proposed a birthday party idea to my then-group of friends: a birthday roast. For one year, everyone's birthday party would be a Friar's Club-style roast at which we would poke, prod, and tease our friends out of love. Finally, after years of talking about this idea, Pat and Lisa made this happen.

I got ragged on for being short, fat, hairy, talkative, argumentative, and even for being an atheist. It was hilarious and of course I got my chance to hit back. There were even two long-distance jabs at me from folks who couldn't make it and instead sent videos. I haven't ever had such a fun time on my birthday and I feel more sorry for the folks who missed it. Maybe one of these days I'll upload one or two of the videos to YouTube and let you guys see what sort of thing went on.

I BLAME BEETRIX.

Mon, 10 Mar 2008 15:49:57 GMT

1. If you HAD to eat human, what body part would you choose?
Leg.

2. what's the best top ramen flavor?
Chicken

3. what does your favorite pair of shoes look like?
My moto-cyco boots.

4. find the picture frame closest to you. who's in it?
My son, a few yrs ago, "swimming" in six inches of ocean water. Huge smile on his face.

5. if your best friend were to get annoyed with you, what would be the reason?
I'm argumentative.

6. do you ever feel lame for taking pictures of yourself for myspace?
I don't really do that. MySpace is not my thing.

7. do you have any memory of new years/eve?
1995 > 1996: dancing hard while downing half a jereboam of cheap champagne.

8. what would instantly attract you to someone?
Laughter

9. is sleeping naked uncomfortable?
Not as much as it used to be.

10. would you rather go on a roller coaster or a water slide?
WATER SLIDE!

11. what would be your ideal birthday party?
Dinner, movie, hanging out, and Trivial Pursuit.

12. are cutesy nicknames for significant others overrated?
No. Just be reasonable.

13. do you ever feel awkward while shopping for undergarments?
Nope.

14. if you could have ANY career, no questions asked, what would it be?
Baseball player or full-time musician.

15. does the thought of childbirth scare the crap out of you?
No. But then again I have seen it!

16. how many words per minute do you think you can type?
Maybe 100.

17. what goes on first, right shoe or left shoe?
It depends. No consistency on my part.

18. would you describe your style as casual, or more dressy?
Supa-cazh.

19. do people with too many facial piercings gross you out?
Absolutely.

20. have you ever thought that you might die before your parents do?
Of course, if I'm lucky.

21. is hello kitty cool?
NO.

22. if you told your parents you were gay, would they be able to accept it?
More than likely.

23. would you describe yourself as spontaneous or planned?
Spontaneous.

24. what do you enjoy about doing surveys?
Sharing. Having people learn more about ME! ME! ME!

25. what's your favorite summertime activity?
Anything involving A/C.

26. would you feel nerdy going to an arcade?
No.

27. are candlelit dinners romantic or cheesy?
Certainly can be.

28. speaking of romantic, what would a guy have to do to completely sweep you off your feet?
He'd have to "convert" me first.

29. do you think you could eat a large, non-poisonous, living spider for $100,000?
Yes.

30. are british accents attractive?
Sure.

31. what's the nicest thing your parents have ever done for you?
Gave me intellectualism.

32. were you a bully as a child?
No, I was the victim.

33. if you were to go on a picnic, what all would you pack?
Fried chicken. But then again, that's my food-related answer for everything.

34. would you ever shop at goodwill?
I used to.

36. have you ever farted in front of a boyfriend/girlfriend?
Hell yeah. How else can you properly vet them?

37. is it weird when people chew their ice cream?
Absolutely. Nutjobs all.

38. does your best friend know your darkest secret? do you know theirs?
I don't know what my darkest secret is.

39. do you enjoy going to the zoo?
Oh god no. Horrible things.

40. are brownies better with or without nuts?
With, baby. With.

Tue, 04 Mar 2008 14:46:52 GMT

Got a call from the Sleep Center here in town. Recently I had a follow-up sleep study appointment (following up my October tonsillectomy) and wanted to see if the removal of the tonsils had any real effect on my sleep patterns, as horrid as they've been.

The nurse said "Your apnea is resolved."

Resolved? As in cured? As in never coming back?

"Yes! I freaked when I saw that!"

The nurse "freaked" because she's never seen a case where the doctor says the sleep apnea is cured.

Or maybe I never really had it? Maybe, as I told the doctor, it's not apnea, but an infection? My tonsils would swell up in teh night, choke me, and I'd wake up. I told her I honestly didn't think apnea was involved.

And now, one way or the other, it is not. :-)

Guess my ten favorite films.

Wed, 27 Feb 2008 03:46:32 GMT

In no particular order. No cheatings!

1. "So rose the dreadful ghost from his next and blackest opera."
2. "Time for me to get away from you, and enter into Creation."
3. "Surrender is a perfectly acceptable alternative in extreme circumstances!"
4. "We both have dead people in our families."
5. "When you have insomnia, you're never really asleep... and you're never really awake."
6. "Wonderful girl. Either I'm going to kill her or I'm beginning to like her."
7. "Do you spend time with your family? Good. Because a man that doesn't spend time with his family can never be a real man."
8. "Don't do shit unless."
9. "I ate fiberglass insulation. It wasn't cotton candy like the guy said... my tummy itches."
10. "I don't want anything to happen to him while my mother's alive."

UPDATE: If it's bolded, someone successfully guessed it (see comments). I chose to bold instead of show the answers so that people can keep guessing without having to see the ones already chosen.

UPDATE 2: Extra points for anyone who can tell me what four of the first five have in common, plot-wise.

Tue, 02 Oct 2007 12:44:14 GMT

Blame beetrix

Mon, 17 Sep 2007 19:42:08 GMT

(1) Go to career crusing.
(2) Put in Username: nycareers, Password: landmark.
(3) Take their "Career Matchmaker" questions.
(4) Post the top fifteen results.

1. Historian *
2. Animator
3. Desktop Publisher
4. Fashion Designer
5. Cartoonist / Comic Illustrator *
6. Costume Designer
7. Set Designer
8. Artist *
9. Graphic Designer *
10. Medical Illustrator
11. Computer Animator
12. Director of Photography
13. Anthropologist
14. Special Effects Technician *
15. Criminologist

* Jobs I have actually fantasized about or participated in some way.

Mon, 10 Sep 2007 19:47:07 GMT

Here is how it works: copy this list; leave in the bands you've seen perform live; delete the ones you haven't, and add new ones that you have seen until you reach 25. An asterisk means the previous person had it on their list. Two asterisks means the last two people who did this before you had that band on their list.

(I'm including solo acts too)

1. They Might Be Giants*
2. Weezer*
3. Slaughter
4. Warrant
5. Bacon Ray
6. The Wrens
7. Jonathan Richman
8. Goo-Goo Dolls
9. Pansy Division
10. Man or Astroman
11. Canard
12. Kelley Deal 5000
13. Cake
14. Victor DeLorenzo Band

...and that's it. Sorry. Don't give me shit about the hair metals bands; they were the choice of my ex-wife.

I know a thing or two about her...

Thu, 23 Aug 2007 13:19:30 GMT

Pat and I have finally settled on a name for our band. We first talked of starting a band in 1994, and settled back then on the Accidents. Since then, he's used that name for another project (with my blessing), so the name is gone. So we've been brainstorming on another one, since now that we live in the same town, we can actually rock out.

The name we chose? Ready Demolition. After I set up a proper Virb site and a MySpace, you can listen to our version of Kiss's "Strutter." RAWK.

EDIT 070823.0938: Ready Demolition has a Virb site. Dig it.

Back from the Big Apple

Mon, 06 Aug 2007 12:37:22 GMT

I'm back in TLH, after my big new York City trip. I'm all but exhausted, but I have some detailed stories to tell, a la the Adventure Chronicles of Mr Lammers. Hopefully I can recount these tales for you soon.

But I can say this much: I still love NYC, better than ever.