via
Am I alone here?

tricia --> seattle

Hey if any scsf-ers are in Seattle, I'm moving there in a month!

happy 2015 scsf!!

I am thinking of you and wishing you all the most excellent Nye dance parties!

Mail

Hello friends. The little views tracker widget there on the right tells me some of you still look at this old thing. Nobody posts anymore. Maybe this thing is effectively done. Even so, I like having it here, and I presume some of you do, too, since you still take a look at it. A nice little record of the life of our gang.

To step backward into an even more outmoded form of friendly communication, I'm in the mood for some letters. If you'd like to exchange some real physical mail, send me your address, and I'll send you mine.

It'll be nice to see some of your handwriting. Some of you, I may never have even seen it before.

bartonj@umich.edu

New Years & lists

I just checked this blog after not checking for months because I've come to look forward to everyone's (well, especially Nicole's) "best of" lists at the end of the year. So, I just want to encourage everyone to consider making a list again this year. It may be a good way to see what we've all been up to in a year of declining SCSF blog activity! I will post my list soon.

Attention former co-op dwellers

Do you remember what GUFF stands for? Is it just a nonsense word, or an acronym?

the tour

hi friends. tomorrow i start my first solo tour. it's basically just circling around lake michigan for a week with a few excursions into the depths of MI and WI. i'll be visiting madison and marquette for the first time. i already hit tristan up for what-to-dos in marquette.

my mantra this time around is "the car will not break down. the car will not break down." i'm still a little scarred from the one and only fields of industry tour attempt that ended in humiliating defeat in marion, indiana before we even reached the first show. that tour lasted exactly four hours.

but i'm mostly trying to relax and not think about this too much. i want to have fun. touring is something i've always wanted to do but never quite knew how to do. part naivete, part self-doubt. but you see, that is exactly what i'm talking about. over-analyzing this to where it doesn't feel fun anymore. so nevermind.

i have dates and FB events listed here. if you know anyone in these towns (or if you live in them! - i don't even know where everyone lives anymore, sheesh) maybe invite them.
http://joshuabartonmusic.com/tape-tour/

i hope you are all enjoying a beautiful fall. it's my favorite season.

abraham and mary jane both say hello. we hope you come visit us in michigan.

SCFL SEASON SIX

You thought your life was so easy, didn't you? Sitting there on your computer, wasting the summer away checking your Hotmail and ordering shoes off of various discount footwear websites? Not a care in the world, just sitting in front of your AC unit, wondering if your life has maybe gotten to the point where you could own a domesticated animal of some sort and provide it a reasonably happy life.

Well think again, Buster. You forgot about one thing.

You forgot about the only sporting tradition that has ever mattered in your life, the thing that sucks up all your time and energy every fall, destroying all your relationships with other people and turning you into a manic, obsessive, violent, bloodthirsty, inconsiderate, degenerate madman. The thing that makes you feel like a real person for once in your life. That thing that makes you feel like God.

The Swim Club Football League. And it's back. The draft takes place a week from Wednesday at 6:30 PM ET. If you didn't get an invite, go to this website: http://football.fantasysports.yahoo.com/f1/614476 and use the password "buttso" to join.

Last year's Buttso Bowl winner: Josh Schultz (Stefan 2nd, Tristan 3rd)

I Bought This Crazy Knife On Ebay Last NIght

Ferris Bueller's Day Off as an Indie Film

Get yer Comics!

It's been a while since I've seen much activity here. Don't be scared of the new posting format; it just takes some time to get used to it.

Anyways, I guess this goes without saying, but I figured you guys would like this comic. Take a look:

SCSF Around The World

Brian was in Chicago for a wedding this weekend -- he made the effort to come out to my place of work for lunch; we ate at the deli off-shoot of one of the destination restaurants that populate the West Loop: http://www.yelp.com/biz/publican-quality-meats-chicago He was eager to meet Oprah, but I couldn't arrange it on such short notice. After some job talk and updating on other Super Friends we discussed the wedding he attended (he sat next to two black sheep cousins who took to him), the Nobel Prize-winning scientist who hosted him, and the Chicago character. I told him of my efforts to establish a social circle through my improv classes and how I'm taking to living alone. We had lattes -- something we never would have done together in college -- and parted ways in front of a parking lot. It was drizzling. Brian, please add/amend as necessary!

SK8 DPRK

This video has been making the rounds on the web. The gist: perpetually traveling skateboard videographers get skateblocked in North Korea, so they make this 3-minute video on the sly at Kim Il-Sung's bday bash instead. Then they sneak in one little skate. Dude is interviewed in the Atlantic here, by a journalist with a ridiculously long, mystique-laden surname.

Artisinal Foods

I almost spat my raisin bran on my laptop this morning laughing at the trust fund hipster part.

The Daily Show with Jon Stewart	Mon - Thurs 11p / 10c
Back in Black - Artisanal Foods
www.thedailyshow.com
Daily Show Full Episodes Political Humor & Satire Blog The Daily Show on Facebook

Hey! Hi guys. I'd like to say hello.

Hi!

What is new with you? I'm taking a few web design classes. One of them is HTML/CSS which is really fun. My brain is perfectly made for learning it. Maybe I should have taken an HTML class 10 years ago, and perhaps I wouldn't be a secretary right now.

The website I work for still hasn't launched, and the atmosphere at work has grown toxic, but I am trying to overcome my tendency to drift into negativity. At least I have health insurance! And I can afford to take the fun classes I am taking.

Not job-related, I really like the types of restaurant food I've been eating lately. I think the current season of clothing is cool so maybe I will allow myself to buy some new stuff.

Graham is still allergic to cats so we don't have one, BUT we're kinda in the mood to get a dog. Anyone have dog advice?

I'm on the Game of Thrones train. About 1/6th of the way through the 3rd book. I refuse to call the series "A Song of Ice and Fire" so I just call it Game of Thrones, like HBO does. I liked Catelyn, then was sorta OK on her, and now I really love her. I could tell you what I think about every character, but that would be a separate post.

Any of you fine fellows up for a visit to NYC soon? We have a nice warm couch for you. Or a nice refreshingly cool air mattress. The choice is yours. Maybe I will be able to take a trip or two in the second half of 2012. I'd like to visit several of you.

That's about it from me. Maybe we could do one of those things where a lot of people give a lil update about what's going on in life? If you're up for it.

Here's a picture of a really good meatball sub I had recently, at this place near Gramercy Park.
Gramercy Park is a beautiful park that no one is allowed to go into unless they have a special
key, which is given only to the rich people who live in places that face Gramercy Park. 

Ian and Brian: Drunk Post #1

The Chicago Skyline

1. After a few weeks of living here I figured out why the downtown skyline seems to pop at night -- it's because instead of more sprawl behind it, there's nothing but an expanse of water!
2. The Willis (née Sears) Tower wears the weather -- it has a different look every day, whether it's obscured by clouds or hazy in the morning or crystal clear. It looks like a new building every day, and I also think of it as being my big neighbor -- watching over me as I make my way to work and as I head home.

SCSF Around The World

This Saturday I hung out with Josh, Mary-Jane, and their newborn baby, Abe! It was fun, and I learned that sometimes babies make a big sound when they go to the bathroom. I got to hold him for a bit and lay my bearded cheek against his head as he bounced and looked at his mom and dad over my shoulder. They were staying with Lucas, who is a pizza and beer enthusiast -- we had a good dinner before I had to dash and catch the bus before it stopped running.

I love Michigan

Join the Army

I've gone out a few times with a gal from Marquette -- she sent me this photo from her senior yearbook.