All this,...Really?

An ambulance on our street

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Tue, 17 May 2005 08:21:00 -0400

Following my morning coffee I walked out the front door as I usually do. To check the weather, look for signs of terrorist attack or alien invasion. You know the routine.
It actually took me a few seconds to notice the flashing lights. An ambulance was parked and flashing on the curb, just two houses down.

Me: "Hey Dani, you know anything about the neighbors two houses down?"
Dani: "Isn't he the guy that introduced himself at the last HOA meeting saying -"Hello, I'm your neighbor"."
Me: "Really?"

I go back outside thinking, "how could I not know anything about the humans that live next-door to my next-door neighbors?" and feeling a little embarrassed.
The paramedics appeared, exiting the front door of my immediate neighbors house. I've talked to this guy a couple of times. A nice guy, he's a beach cop. I never really met his wife who was laid out on the stretcher and being wheeled across the lawn.
I wanted to ask, "What happened?" , "Is there anything that I can do?".
But I stood there for a long second and feeling guilty for my lack of communal bond, I returned inside.

I hope he didn't kill her.

Rumors and rumors of rumors

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Sun, 15 May 2005 18:25:00 -0400

Good God! Michuli is back, what the?...
Funny things may happen when you least expect them , yet hopefully, this will happen when you are in need of the funniest of things.
Ok, sit back and relax. We'll catch up eventually.
First, those of you who are still caught up on "what's in the box?", It was, and still is total crap! really, you are giving this poop, way to much power in the way of attention. I could easily make more useful items from the cardboard boxes that contain the embarassing array of poo within. With the aid of a glue gun, I can surely assemble items worth wondering about. so enough!

And so we continue,

What happened with your 30 day venture to a secure career?
All those who bet against this excercise in mindless futility, please collect your winnings now.

So, Michuli, how are you?, You know we've been worried.
I'm great, really!

What'cha been doin'?
Holy crap, how could I possibly remember it all. you realize, I've slept since then.
I have been trying to find (create) a happy place in the back yard. these photos are pretty much up to date.

The beginnings of this years TIKI Lounge

I have a feeling, I have already spent too much time here.

Girl on girl violation, hey, it's Spring

The newly renovated pond with a new hand carved TIKI

Girl on girl retribution, cause little guys fight back

a wider sense of the scene

one of the lounge lizards hanging in the banana palm

These are the first grapes to come up after 3 years

They will certainly become wine by the end of the season

Sorry for the bad focus, These are two frogs (bumping)
in the pond with strings of frog eggs, the offspring will play havoc
with the pump filter. I will probably turn off the pump and let the tadpoles
deal with the mosquito larvae.

The girls playing dress-up after Dani and I went to the grand opening of the new Buffalo wild wings restaurant in the neighborhood. We got to judge a celebrity wing eating contest. I will leave you with this thought, Never watch a 90 year old man compete in an eating contest, at least not from 13" away

And the day gets progressively stranger

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Tue, 26 Apr 2005 17:35:00 -0400

Oddly enough, as I was writing the last post the FEDEX guy came to the door with a large box, It was addressed to my wife Dani, but the original address under the fedex sticker was to an independent film organization we used to belong to a couple of years ago but left. This was all very curious. Upon opening the box, we found it filled with $90.00 worth of crappy merchandise, from a company Dani and I had never heard of. The packing slip also served as a bill that asked for payment upon delivery. We called the company and asked that they have the package picked up. While talking to the customer service rep, I learned that someone had used my wife's name and old organization email address to purchase these items online. I assume the person who placed the order would have picked up the delivery at the org's address and any ensuing bill would have been waved off by them as "Oh, I don't know. She used to be with us, haven't seen her in years".
I cannot imagine the incredible balls of some people. And the crap inside the box, Geeeze.
The rep also stated the order was not complete, two more pieces of crap were still waiting to be shipped.
In similar news:
when the mail arrived this afternoon, I received my second issue of US News and world report.
I do not have a subscription to this magazine, but according to their website, I contacted them early this month and requested 53 weeks of their dry, biased tome.

Needless to say, by this point I can only wonder what will happen next.

Careful where you click!

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Tue, 26 Apr 2005 14:56:00 -0400

Angry does not describe it. Sometime after New Years I clicked a button while web surfing, for a company that was offering a free virus scan for my PC. Sure, what the hay, you can never be too sure about the security or cleanliness of a PC so a free scan?, Why not. Of course the free scan showed innumerable trojans, and assorted viral clutter that neither my Norton nor my Zone Alarm could identify, but the free trial would not actually fix them. Not wishing to purchase the product, I decided to simply close the page. Lo and behold a pop-up arrives, (why did my pop-up protection allow this?) It pleaded, Don't leave just yet, and offered 1 month of free service.
A little farther into it I was asked to provide my cc number. I was assured that if I cancelled within the month my card would never be charged. Ok, I'll bite you clean my machine, I cancel.
So I enter the product key they emailed me and started the cleaning process.
Nope, not gonna work, I was asked to un-install my expensive Norton and Zone Alarm.
Forget that, I don't know you that well and at this point I'm not willing to find out. I call the company and tell them, "Look, I just tried to use your product, it's not presently compatible with my system, I am canceling your service.
Carol, the pleasant voice on the other end says "No problem" and that's, that.
Wrong! I got an email today saying thanks for your order, we'll be charging your account and PS do not attempt to reply to this email, it is un-monitored.
I could feel the dull throb beginning at my temples.
So I call them up, This time it's Robert D at customer service. I explain my situation, he says yeah, it's right here, and something about Carol not filling it out correctly. I asked, "Because Carol cannot do her simple job, I am being Charged for something I cannot even use?"
The rest of it I can barely remember, something about suing their ass off, incompetence, oh, It's all just a blur anyway, Robert says It's all taken care of now.
...We'll just see.

The Aliens are here!

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Sun, 24 Apr 2005 16:58:00 -0400

LB feels that Sydney gets all the photo op's here at "All this,...Really" so I decided to post this photo from Saturday.
Name : LB
Breed: Alien wire haired Dachsund.
Diet: Dirt, kitty poop, Carpet lint.
Hobbies: Licking herself into a lather, (Gag!), barfing, eating same.
Distinguishing features: Hair grows in odd directions and is unbrushable, back legs are longer than front legs, one front leg is shorter than the other causing a pronounced lean.
And she wonders why Syd gets all the photos?

Podcast Friday 4/23/05

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Fri, 22 Apr 2005 22:00:00 -0400

This week's Podcast features a band we interviewed on the April first podcast. Maximum Overdrive. The band has a big show Saturday night at KEFI's, a showcase of sorts for an A&R guy from EMI records. We wish them well and hope they score a big fat contract. For all you folks out there that can't make the show, This Podcast is for you.

click the graphic above for an instant streaming feed from my server.
For an iPod feed, click the orange xml button on the sidebar.

Hey Wacko!

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Fri, 22 Apr 2005 14:37:00 -0400

So my sister-in-law sent me an email;

"i saw you taking pix of your hottie sister-in-laws awesome vintage shop while you were out and about . . . how 'bout posting those? . . . .wacko "

Yes, my sister in law Alyssa has a really cool vintage boutique in the heart of the downtown business district. This is not your usual second hand store, by any means. She recently got a write up in Elle magazine. Not too shabby for a new business. She is having a new website built so she can share her all too groovey merchandise with the world. So your gonna have to check it out once she's finished. I left a little animated link at the bottom of the sidebar just for my readers. www.flashbax.net

We'll call this a sneak preview.

Here's to better days.

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Tue, 19 Apr 2005 19:48:00 -0400

I must say, I've really been kind of "out of it" for the past week. No sense of calendar or clock. No sense of direction for the day(s). I suppose this is part of the employment loss grieving process. So this past Sunday I spent the entire day, from 7:30 am until dark, working on the yard. It's wonderfully grounding to expend sweat and energy in work that requires little if any thought. Yeh, I was a little stiff the following morning as well as a little sun-kissed, but having had the opportunity to take a complete breather from the daily routine of job questing, I feel mentally well rested. And with that, and a little white wine, "Here's to better days."

Podcast Friday 4/15/2005

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Fri, 15 Apr 2005 22:00:00 -0400

This week's Podcast Features one of my favorite lesser known bands. NUTTY. Nutty was featured as "B" side to last week's podcast and I felt this just was not enough. So get up, go fix yourself a martini and kick back with NUTTY.

click the graphic above for an instant streaming feed from my server.
For an iPod feed, click the orange xml button on the sidebar.

Fighting Mr. Big. and other news

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Tue, 12 Apr 2005 13:50:00 -0400

Todays post goes back to 2 posts generated in early March. see HERE and HERE. The photo above was one of the photos taken on that day from the ninth floor of the Wilmington Hilton. The mound in the background is the simulation I was asked to provide. The amount of work required to produce an accurate simulation was quite complex. First I had to sneak onto Mr. Big's (Hugo Neu's) property with members of the coalition and take GPS readings. This was followed by various mathematical calculations derived by relative size, distance, atmospheric conditions by distance, horizon calculations and relative height to eye level from the 9th floor window of a hotel in which I was not a guest. All in all I think the image is rather dramatic as well as accurate. The billionaire, Hugo Neu, will be none to happy with my handiwork. The end result?...We shall wait and see.

In unrelated news

Vlogger® Up and running

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Mon, 11 Apr 2005 18:22:00 -0400

Vlogger®
VIDEO BLOG

click image above to visit.

It's been up for 24 hours now with 59 viewers and counting. Now that I have fixed a couple of small problems, I am working on more entertaining content. You can click the image above for a visit. Comments and suggestions are always welcome and will appear back on this site.

Podcast Friday April 8, 2005

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Fri, 8 Apr 2005 13:51:00 -0400

This weeks podcast, I have something you will be the first audience to witness. It's the world premier of a cut from my upcoming CD "Mystery repeats itself".Oh the privileges of being a regular All this really reader/listener. Also this week, a NUTTY version of something a little more familiar so kick back and enjoy All this really's Podcast Friday.

For an easy no Ipod version streaming from my server, just click the title of this post.

Tuesday, it's Wednesday

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Wed, 6 Apr 2005 15:41:00 -0400

A week has come and gone. I did not receive any artwork contributions this week but that's ok, there is always next week. If you want to participate in "Painting Tuesday" an online artist's colony, just do the following:

1. Go to "Artpad digital canvas" and create your masterpiece.
2. Email your painting to me at: filmtunes@gmail.com
3. Top 5 paintings as judged by me will be displayed on my digital gallery the following Tuesday.
4. Top painting as judged by me will win a nifty blog medallion of their accomplishment to display on their blog.
6. All participants will receive a brilliant full color downloadable "Starving Artist" certificate suitable for framing.
7. Best of the month as judged by readership will have their artwork printed on t-shirts to be sold on a commercial site and receive 50% of the proceeds.

In other news, I had another appointment at the Employment Securities Commission. Seems they have special programs for workers who lose their jobs due to foriegn trade, like educational programs and health insurance. Although that's pretty cool, I'd still rather have a fulltime job.
...And so I continue.
-michuli

Work is work

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Tue, 5 Apr 2005 14:43:00 -0400

Ok, I realize that I am still posting one day behind reality but I'm sure that I will catch up soon. All of the work that is required to find work is actually more wearing on the brain than the actual work that it hopefully will bring. I am rebuilding my work portfolio online. The endless searching through old cd roms makes me wish I had marked the contents on them as they were made. But anyway, work being work for the sake of work is still work. And so back to work I go.

Next Post: Tuesday on Wednesday.

Padded Cell tour April 2005 Begins

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Sun, 3 Apr 2005 12:42:00 -0400

"And so today begins my 30 day quest to find a new and fulfilling career". That has to be the most insane statement that ever formed within my mind. But very well, let's get on with it. Today is the day that I am to contact my parole offi..., No, that should read, My employment consultant, and brief her on my first week's journey to find a job, because the state simply cannot afford to give me back but a pittance of what I have doled out to them every paycheck for many years. Anyway I have a few promising leads so I'm not freaking out or anything. I have imposed the 30 day timeline on myself, mainly because I feel, If I can't do it in 30, I am just as talented as I believe myself to be. And I'm not about to believe that. So place your bets ladies and gentlemen and strap yourselves in, for what I believe will be one hell of a bumpy ride.

And the results are...

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Sat, 2 Apr 2005 11:29:00 -0500

I began this blog two months ago today out of sheer curiosity. I had no preconceptions of it's usefulness to me, in fact I thought that after a couple of weeks or so I would just abandon it, the shiny, newness having lost it's luster. Let me share with today's post, the results at the end of my second month;

I have received 3,900+ page visits.
My international guest list represents 38 countries on 6 continents.
I have shared many a hearty laugh with many new virtual friends.
I have learned more HTML and CSS hand coding in the past 2 months than I have in the past 2 years.
I have found many valuable resources that will help further my career.
I have begun a weekly podcast that has become a very pleasurable hobby.
I have located several online free hosting sites that will store and stream my A/V files, saving me $264.00 a year.
I'm sure there is much more that I have not listed.

I find this a valuable experiment after only two months, I can only imagine how much more this free curiosity will afford me, say, in a years time.
I have noticed a continuing stream of users who are bailing on the Blogger community for other blog hosting services and I must say to them, "Get with the future" My highspeed cable connection has served me well. I am just not experiencing the Blogger problems I keep reading about.

I do keep up with reading the Blogger corporate blog, blogger buzz and they have been continuously updating and improving their free service. I have no reason to complain. And again I state: "I can only imagine how much more useful this will become in about a years time"

So this is the start of my third month, there are many improvements I am giving a try.
Sign me; a satisfied Blogger.

Podcast Friday #4 [click here to listen]

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Fri, 1 Apr 2005 07:51:00 -0500

This weeks  Podcast Friday. Podcast, is music from the Hard Rock band "Maximum Overdrive" We were happy to get an interview with frontman

Ronnie Lamanna

 here at All this,...Really? studio and I'm sure your gonna dig this one. Just in case this Podcast is not enough to satisfy your rock'n'roll cravings you can hop over to the bands website.

For anyone who is not familiar, podcasting is a fun, fast and simple way to subscribe absolutely FREE, to content such as music broadcasts, video, and/or text media using an ipod or even your My Yahoo or My MSN account. FREE software like, iPodder will also let you subscribe to the feeds, even if you do not own an iPod. Here is an easy way to understand how it works. Think of it as a cross between TiVo and email. If you find a show or other content, such as Podcast Friday, on the web and you think it may be something that you would enjoy, you would just click on the little  button on that website or blog, copy and paste the RSS address that the orange button takes you to, into your iPodder feed reader or your

My Yahoo or My MSN  "add content, box" and you are subscribed. Now every time a new podcast is broadcast, it will automatically be transferred to your iPod, other mobile device or computer. Simple, clean and best of all since it happens automatically there is no waiting for downloads because it is already downloaded when it arrives. Pretty gosh darn neat, huh?

*If you don't have an iPod and don't want to download software you can always stream it from my server. Just click.

Yeh, I know it's Thursday, but...

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Thu, 31 Mar 2005 19:28:00 -0500

Alright all you staving artists out there, I have finally worked out the details of the weekly Tuesday feature "Painting Tuesday" an online artist's colony of sorts in which you can participate for fame, notoriety and possible $$$.
1. Go to "Artpad digital canvas" and create your masterpiece.
2. Email your painting to me at: filmtunes@gmail.com
3. Top 5 paintings as judged by me will be displayed on my digital gallery the following Tuesday.
4. Top painting as judged by me will win a nifty blog medallion of their accomplishment to display on their blog.
6. All participants will receive a brilliant full color "Starving Artist" certificate suitable for framing.
7. Best of the month as judged by readership will have their artwork printed on t-shirts to be sold on a commercial site and receive 50% of the proceeds.

And as promised, although I am not competing in the weekly prize category I am still posting the painting I create after coffee every Tuesday morning. So here is "Log"

In LIVID color

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Wed, 30 Mar 2005 15:28:00 -0500

1. I apologize to my readers for the missing the "Painting Tuesday" weekly feature.

2. Regardless the tone of this post, I am just fine.

Tuesday; I got a call from my boss. I was told that my last paycheck from the company will be this Friday. (see Ides) There is so much going on inside my mind right now that I cannot concentrate. Somewhere, deep inside and pushed back as far I can remember having built shelves., there is a tiny lifeform named "Upset". I am doing my best not to feed him. And that in itself makes me feed him all the more. I hate him!
-michuli

It's just a simple blog,...That's all.

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Mon, 28 Mar 2005 16:38:00 -0500

Google, what the hell. I have never seen so much confusion over such a simple concept. 35,200 references to the words, "All this really" and every link a missed point. Here are just a few random examples of the misinformation found in the name of this humble blog along with my reactions:

Is all this really Greenspan's fault?
No, Greenspan had nothing to do with it.

Is all this really possible?
Absolutely!

Is all this really worth it?
This I don't know, but I am having fun.

Who cares about all this really anyway?
I do, I care,...anyway.

All this really took place today.
Indeed, yesterday as well and also tomorrow.

All this really happened before.
See comment above.

How Does All This Really Work?
Elves, it's all done by elves.

And all this really means is you're one in a crowd.
Hmm. No, that was not my intent.

Is all this really necessary?
Again, I must say absolutely.

You can see my puzzlement. Google, All this really is (is) a blog. It's just a simple blog.
Greenspan indeed!

Inanimate Sexuality

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Sun, 27 Mar 2005 09:19:00 -0500

Now that I have your attention,

One of my earliest memories and I'm talking three years old here, was my Grandfather taking me, my brother and two sisters to a neighborhood pizza joint in Long Island, I remember that we did this probably once a week.
On one side of each booth was a shiny, chrome, art deco Jukebox remote just like the one pictured above. While we waited for the pizza to cook, I would study the letters and numbers intently. Now granted, I did not know the difference between letters and numbers, not being able to read yet. But I could differentiate the shapes as all being unique.
This is where it gets weird.
For some unknown reason my three year old mind assigned a gender for each letter and number. This was not something that I had to work out. There was no sexual ambiguity here. The letters and numbers were plain and simply either a boy or girl. Yea, I know, BIZARRE you say. But wait, don't run away just yet, I'm not finished.
My two sisters being older than I, would come home from school with the idea that they were the teachers they had idealized that day and took it upon themselves to teach me to read their school books (Under the apple tree, Dick and Jane Etc.) and thus, I was reading on a second grade level just prior to kindergarten. During my entire academic career, letters and numbers maintained their specific gender identity, whether print or script or the ever evolving family of fonts and stylizations
There were no sex changes, cross dressing or leanings. Each and every letter and number remained the same sex as I had originally envisioned. Today I am a graphic artist by trade and utilize literally thousands of fonts and typefaces every week. And no matter how you shape it, twist, bend or embellish it. This odd, useless genderfication persists, unchanging and never forgotten. I only hope for the sake of my sanity, (Stop, I know what you're thinking), that one day I will know what all this means.
Oh,... and keep your Freudianism's to yourself, for cripes sake. I was only three.

Shooting the Dog

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Sat, 26 Mar 2005 17:34:00 -0500

There's an old maxim, "Never work with animals and children", I went with my wife Dani on one of her commercial shoots this morning. It was for a modular home TV ad featuring a nice family with the prerequisite 2.5 children and of course the star, a diminutive Yorkshire terrier named Arthur.
Arthur was an absolute pro the entire shoot, not at all demanding or overbearing. The agency provided him with a gift basket of canine snacks to keep him happy on set and he didn't seem to mind working closely with the child actors. It wasn't until near the end of the shoot when Arthur's owner/wrangler told us the steamy story of Arthur's libidinous past. It seems the little guy was quite the stud. Literally. Arthur spent the earlier part of his life living in a box as a device for producing pups. It sounded to me like something you would do with a cumbersome kitchen gadget that was too awkward to leave on the counter, but could always be pulled out when needed. He was rescued by his owners and now lives the life of a star. I say, Bravo! to Arthur. Sometimes the little guys do get a break. I'm sure he'll be working for a very long time.

Podcast Friday

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Fri, 25 Mar 2005 18:13:00 -0500

I hope you enjoyed last Friday's Podcast with Seeds and Stems. This week we are continuing in that same vein with three very different cuts from three North Carolina bands. We'll start it off on the east coast with Trent Boswell's Plastic infinity with their song "Looking for a way" from their CD Flagship. We then go west to the mountains of North Carolina for Ras Allen and the Lions. with the cut "Textile town". From his CD Native. Then we'll finish this weeks Podcast from deep in the Green Swamps of Columbus County with Hard Luck's recording of Sweet Abuse. There were many other NC bands that I could have added but we'll save those for a future Podcast.

Don't own an iPod?, Don't want to download?, stream it here free. Just click "stream it"

To Setup your iPod for Auto Delivery Click the Little Orange XML Button in the sidebar.

The good, the bad, and the carpet

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Fri, 25 Mar 2005 10:59:00 -0500

The Good...

Wilmington, is a Restaurant intensive town. There are more restaurants, diners, and fast food joints per capita in the Wilmington area than any comparable city in the southeast. With this weekend being the beginning of the tourist season, spring break and Easter, finding a place to dine without the long wait is difficult even in a food centric town such as this. Dani and I had received a buy 1 get 1 free coupon in the mail from one of our favorite Italian restaurants (Giorgio's) and It being Thursday, this was the most logical day to really enjoy it. We had a pleasant meal with enough leftover to fill 2 large styrene containers. I don't know if you can scale it from the photo but the restaurant uses dinner plates that are a more than generous, 14" across. The food was delicious, and with the coupon, shockingly inexpensive.

The Bad...

We forgot to feed the dogs.

The Carpet...

I can imagine the two of them, like children, having the following conversation:
Sydney: So what do you want for dinner?
LB: Hmm, something smells really good in the green box under the sink.
Sydney: Yea, I guess they won't mind, I mean we're doing them a favor.
LB: Dibs on the tin foil!
...Nuff said.

Signs of Spring #2

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Thu, 24 Mar 2005 12:04:00 -0500

The Parrot dancing at the title to this post is my son Tudor. Dani and I inherited him from my mother (still living). He is an Amazon Double Yellow, of unknown age and is currently driving Dani and I berserk! When he is being good, he is an amazingly intelligent, talkative and highly entertaining kid. But with the sudden change of seasons, Tudor has become a spastic, screaming monster that is winning us no favor with our neighbors. I am trying to enjoy the warm, fresh gentle breezes via open doors and windows, but to unfamiliar passers by it sounds all the world of an elderly woman being brutally tortured, while another female voice is screaming, "Shut up or I'll kill you!" and this will go on all day. I am patiently awaiting the arrival of the police or a SWAT team or perhaps social services to investigate us wicked people who are flaying their poor old grandmother. Perhaps all he needs is some hot South American parrot sex. I'm looking into the cost of a live chicken.