Thursday, June 02, 2005

 

So Far...

Summer 2005 Part 1

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It's been awhile. Things have happened. Let's begin.

With the exception of exceeding my bandwidth on Photobucket, Summer 2005 is off to a great start. As you all, undoubtedly, know, times and dates are not my forte. Therefore, I will just break down the events of the last month or so into separate stories, musings, etc.

Days of Graduation


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First, and foremost, I'd like to congratulate the AHS Class of 2005, or, more specifically, the 20% of said class that I wouldn't shred with a diseased weedwhacker.

Here are the pictures I took at the event.

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Miles took his diploma from Dee Are Long, and then got in the Graduate Gravy Train.

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Trent was not far behind.

After the extremely boring graduation pomp and circumstance (pun very much so intended) the non-graduates and I met up with the honored.

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Trent tries to land one right on Chandler's face while Sean looks onward.

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Weeks prior to the graduation ceremony, Caroline purchased a pair of gold sequin high heels from Mike's Merchandise to wear at the event. I was able to see them from the opposite end of the coliseum. They were dazzling... literally.

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Sean show us his pearly whites while Richard sketches anxiously in the background.

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RC and his BFF, Miles made for a great picture.

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I'll end this segment with a shot of the one and only, Mr. Scoops. At the ceremony, Scoops looked... gay. He looked very gay, really really gay, and that's fine. I'm happy for him.

Lake Martin: Casa de Patterson

One day, Richard gave me a call. It was time. The day had come when I would finally get the chance to look at his lakehouse. I was very excited. I went about calling a few choice folks to share in the adventure. I even managed to talk Sean out of going to church. "Your soul is gonna be fine" I told him. Also, it's Sean. If Sean doesn't get into heaven, then the criteria is fucked up.

Anyway, we set out for beautiful Lake Martin. The sky was blue and the sun was shining. A more beautiful day I've not seen.

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After driving down a bunch of winding backcountry roads for what seemed like hours, we finally stopped in front of the chateau that is Richard's lake house. My eyes grew to the sized of hazelnuts.

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But when I saw the inside my eyes turned the size of bagels. Then they began shooting lazers and coffee. That was when things got weird.

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The lake house has everything. Even a huge bottle of Lubriderm lotion.

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Conor was unable to contain himself any longer, and he strangled himself with a funnoodle.

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The view from the deck is gorgeous.

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Just ask Sean and Conor.

Down by the water you can catch a glimpse of Tommy Tuberville's gigantic lakeside estate.

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There's even a wooden platform down by the lake front; perfect for discussion committee circles.

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Just like it's Auburn counterpart, the house is stocked with bottles of Jelly Belly jellybeans.

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Sunset over Lake Martin.

After a brief swim in the lake, our group moved up to the deck where hot dogs, hamburgers, and oversized Kielbasa sausages were served up.

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The meat overload sent Sean into the "sausage doldrums".

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Richard returning from the moonlight swim that followed dinner.

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Conor cools out on the couch after a good swim. It should also be noted that the sofa set found inside the house is identical to that found in my own living room. Yes, it's true.

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It was during this fateful trip that the debate over the word "both" started. "The word 'both" you say?" Yes, that's what I said.

I had always assumed that it was universally accepted among those who use the English Language that the word "both" was pronounced bow-th (bow as in "bow and arrow" or "bow tie"). However, Rollie seems to think that the word is pronounced "bolth" with an "L" sound in there. Despite the fact that everyone in the civilized world is against him, Rollie holds on to his pronunciation. So, we decided to look it up in the American College Dictionary that Richard had inside the house. (I told you the house had everything, didn't I?)

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"What the fuck did I tell you Rollie?" I said. "The dictionary agrees with me. No "L" sound anywhere to be found." The argument should be over right? Wrong! Rollie then stated that the only way he would concede defeat is if Mr. Jones and Mr. Thompson BOTH said that he was wrong.

Mr. Jones, if you're reading this, please back me up. Rollie is an idiot and he must be stopped.

Later That Night...

We arrived back in Auburn from the lake. Somehow or another we ended up at some chick's house. As is customary in the households of people we don't know, we set about the job of creating fun for ourselves.

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Lock and load motherfuckers!

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Best picture of the night. Thanks "Night Portrait" mode.

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Flaming cans were also BB'd, right before the owner of the house/gun took the firearm away from us. We later recovered it, and the action continued.

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Another great shot made possible by the "Night Portrait" mode on the old DigiCam.

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Always the loner, Sean found the smallest possible corner to sink into.

Later that night, Charlie, Jessica T., and I ended up at a swimming pool owned by Charlie's neighbor, the Auburn jet-setter, John Bedford. Upon Jessica's assurance that he was in Europe, we hopped in for a pre-dawn swim. I left the pool just as the sky was getting cobalt blue from the forthcoming sun.

I got home, changed clothes, and got into bed. Not five minutes had passed before I received a phone call. It was Charlie. "Dude", he said, "John Bedford was home man!" Right after I left, it turns out, John Bedford, an early riser apparently, came out of his house only to find Chongo and Jessica in his pool. Wow, how fuckin' awkward. is that?

New Ryder Art


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The Tiki God

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Rebarb Forms and Jack-O-Lanterns

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Oscar the Grouch 2005

Orion's Car


For his birthday this year, Orion's dad decided to "do something crazy. Here's what he decided on:

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Recreated Matisse paintings on the front and back of one of the Stan-Gravois family's Mercs.

Star Wars

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The night of May 18th, it was time to see Star Wars Episode III: Revenge of the Sith

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Everyone was packed into the theatre. This was going to be good.

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Conor and Eoghen even dressed up like a couple of gay French vampires for the movie. The idea behind their costumes was lost on me, but it was irrelevant. This was sure to be the greatest movie of all time. As it turns out, it should've been called:

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This film was the worst thing that has ever happened to me. God Dammit! George Lucas got me once again with his bullshit. When it comes to Star Wars, I'm like a battered house wife. I love Star Wars some much, and he keeps hurting me; but no matter how many times he hurts me, I always come back to him. "He just loves me too much," I tell my friends. "Maybe this time he won't hurt me," I think to myself. But he always does.

Honestly, before this movie came out, just seeing the previews made my heart rate go up. According to Richard and Caroline, I got to talking about it so much one night that my unadulterated excitement changed the tone of my voice to that of a prepubescent boy child clamoring for a piece of candy at the K-Mart checkout line. The previews for that movie were more than misleading, they were false advertising.

I didn't even get to see Jar-Jar Binks die a horrible and violent death. Boba Fett didn't come back to kill Mace Windu, come on! Lucas should've let me write that screenplay. Imagine it, Mace Windu gets thrown out that big window and lands somewhere on the busy streets below. His Jedi ability allowed him to survive the fall, but he is weak and can hardly move. Just as he's reaching for his lightsaber, Boba Fett steps on his hand, grabs the lightsaber, and cuts his head off. Poetic justice. Am I right? No shit, I'm right. All that's left to say is: George Lucas: Best Writer of all time, worst director of all time.

I could rave all day about how fucking disappointing this movie was, but I'll spare you. Although, I do encourage you to read Maddox's review of the film.

Adam Monty G Bitch

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Adam Montgomery hosted a party at his house one night. Fun was had by most.

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I took a picture of Junior that looks like the photo from every Time Magazine article about raves and rising ecstasy use in teens.

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After his trip, Junior jamed out in the bathroom.

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Orion and Ryder showed up and then the party began.

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More "Night Portrait" magic

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No explanation will be given.

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Ryder's blue period. Yeah, we all agree, that was a cop-out.

Columbus Adventure

During one of the first days of summer, Trent, Chandler, and I loaded up the Mini and took a trip to the magical land known as "The Fountain City" a.k.a. Columbus, GA.

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Before leaving we stopped at Mike's Merchandise. If you've not been there, you're gonna want to go.

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Yes, those are old WWF Wrestling notebooks that Chandler has.

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Trent shows off his favorite book: The Stink Files.

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Then he tries to grope Chandler's balls.

After the quick stop at Mike's, we headed to Columbus. As expected there was little to do there.

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We stopped at a place called "Rotary Park". It's exactly as interesting as it sounds.

We saw a forest fire on the side of the road, and we got lost at Ft. Benning. It was a harrowing experience. We also saw this sign:

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It was the saddest thing that I've ever seen.

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The real fun started when we stopped at the Dolly Madison Discount Bakery Store and Gas Station. Yes, you heard right.

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It's really a very fun place.

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Check out the signs that were posted in the breakroom.

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With sweet rolls purchased, the ensuing sugar high was phenomenal.

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We also discovered that Chandler bears a striking resemblance to Twinkie the Kid.

While we're on the subject of Chandler:

Chandler, here are your MySpace photographs that you requested:

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The Creek

We've been to the creek many a time of late.

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On one such occasion, Trent brought down a strange structure that had been erected on the site some time ago.

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Later, he released Miles' shoe into that same water

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Miles looked on in horror.



Miles then chased Trent down and strangled him.

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After it was over, reactions among the crown were mixed.

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Then Miles and Adam left. It was sad.

Summer Sitting Out By the Pool

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Milo lounges around the Gullatte family pool one lazy summer afternoon.

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Conor puts on a pair of Adam's skivees. Hee hee.

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Meanwhile, across town and into the future, Charlie is launced into the water in a chair by Ryder and Rollie.

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Ryder doesn't share the same luck, as the chair fragments during his turn.

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Rollie swims around the Kingsport apartment pool facility.

I'll tell you, the damndest thing happened while we were there.

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As he was doing the backstroke, Ryder was suddenly lifted out of the pool.

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He danced around on the surface of the water for a few minutes. He kept flicking me off saying something like "Hah, ha I can out-Jesus you anyday, punk".

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Following that, he was raptured away. I thought he had gone to heaven. Turns out he just went to Alaska. He'll be back in September.

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It was at this point I noticed Charlie was also being raptured away. Unlike Ryder, however, Charlie was raptured away to a Jesus Camp in Appalachia. Sorry Charlie!

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Here's a close up on that face, by the way.

Misc.

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Sean with "Mr. Bone" the club footed fruitfly.

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RC's foot after a slight moped malfunction.

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Ryder shows his attitude about his new Alaska-bound hairdoo.

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Ryder then warms his face by the grill.

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Rollie... IN SEPIA!

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Sean... IN SEPIA!

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Chandler in my headlights.

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Chester signs Chandler's graduation present, a road cone!

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Ray at Project Graduation.

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Close-Up of Miles

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Adam D. and his giant tally-whacker laundry hamper.

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Charlie puts his feet up.

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Conor rests his bones.

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I go to sleep now.

*UPDATE*

At the strong urging of Miles, I have decided to post these pictures:

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There you go, Miles. I was a little tired when I first posted this. I'm sorry I forgot you.

posted by Rivers  # 4:30 AM
Comments:
Another great post, Rivers. My soul is warmed by the accounts of such good, clean-cut, all-American fun.

On to the "BOTH" issue. I checked 2 dictionaries, and they both (har har) concur with the one you checked. No "L" to be found. But I bet a linguistics person would be able to tell you why Rollie puts an "L" in his--it's probably a regional dialect thing, the way some people pronounce "wash" as "warsh." I've heard folks say "boLth"--I always assumed it was a northern thing.

I'll double-check with Mr. T (who would rather be tortured to death in an Indonesian prison than do anything to hurt Rollie), but I'm pretty sure that the score on this one in Western World 1, Rollie 0.

--MJ

Oh, and I want a camera with a night-picture mode. Those look great.
 
Nice post, Rivers.
 
Oops, that last comment was from me, but I accidentally hit enter way too early. I was going to say that you really could have spared us the agony of seeing Miles picking at his crotch. Other than that, and the picture where you can practically see up his shorts, this was a really great post.

I stopped by Mike's Merchandise too, and it was awesome.
 
Okay, as far as episode three goes, I allowed myself to like it, because despite some of the worst screen writing I've ever seen ("No, I am beautiful only because I am so in love..." etc...), I took it as the pivotal movie in the "new" trilogy, and subsequently, the only one that really matters at fucking all to the classic holy trilogy.

I let myself like watching Anakin become darth vader, and forgave all cheesiness.

The thing is, when I watched Jedi last night, I realized how fucking Cheesy that movie was, and it helped a lot with the anger and hate spawned by episodes I & II. Three's the best of the lot, admit it man. No podracing, little Binks, minimalized horseshit love story. But chock full of leg-slicing and skin-melting and decapitation and evil wrinkled emperor-faces.

I let myself leave the theatre happy, and it has made all the difference.

-Jon Mosman (hopefully see you in birmingham tomorrow)
 
Another really good post. My favorite pics would have to be Junior with the trippy background and the night shot of richard with the gun.
-sean
 
you've been home from bonnaroo nearly 12 hours now. where's the update?
 
Matt, really, chill the fuck out. It'll come when it comes.
 
Matt,

I have 250+ pictures and dial up modem. Update is on the way, but it could take awhile. Hopefully by the end of the month.
 
I'm kidding of course, Miles. Don't be a Miles.
 
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