i like my coffee like i like my metal

Black, bitter, and full of spite.

“Build a good name. Keep your name clean. Don’t make compromises, don’t worry about making a bunch of money or being successful. Be concerned about doing good work. Protect your work and if you build a good name, eventually that name will be its own currency. Life is like a roller coaster ride, it is never going to be perfect. It is going to have perfect moments and rough spots, but it’s all worth it”

– Patti Smith at the Louisiana Literary Arts Festival, August 24, 2012

I don’t know what the fuck goes on in this house, but I want to live there.

IU on Strike!: Privatization Kills 45-year old Community Bookshop »

iuonstrike:

Because of IU’s contract with Barnes & Noble, the Friends of Art Bookshop will be closed this summer, as it violates the contract. The goal of the bookshop, for those of you who dont know, was to “assist faculty and graduate students in their research and creative activity, generate income for scholarships for art students, develop a community of people in Bloomington who support the visual arts, and create a warm and nourishing space for interaction among all of these various people at a bookshop located in the heart of the Fine Arts Building.” The bookshop has been on campus for the past 45 years, and must now leave because of IU’s privatization of the bookstore.

Here is the full email:

“Dear Board Members of Friends of Art,

As President of Friends of Art, I and the Executive Committee tell you, with sadness, that the IU Foundation and the College of Arts and Sciences have informed us that the Friends of Art Bookshop must close because its existence violates the contract which Indiana University has with Barnes & Noble for the sale of books. 

This news was given to us, and to the Chairs of History of Art and Studio Art in a meeting on April 5 with the President of the IU Foundation and the Dean of the College of Arts and Sciences. The Executive Committee met with our two professional staff members, Colleen McKenna and Marci Hughes, on April 8, and decided that the best time to close the Bookshop is mid-summer, with a target date of August 1. With the loss of the Bookshop, Friends of Art loses a significant portion of its income and loses the ability to support two full-time professional staff members, so Colleen and Marci will lose their jobs as of that date.

The Friends of Art Bookshop was founded in 1968, 45 years ago. We thank those who had the vision to realize that selling scholarly books on art and design could serve a number of purposes: assist faculty and graduate students in their research and creative activity, generate income for scholarships for art students, develop a community of people in Bloomington who support the visual arts, and create a warm and nourishing space for interaction among all of these various people at a bookshop located in the heart of the Fine Arts Building. 

We extend special thanks to Colleen and Marci, who, over the last 18 and 8 years respectively, have not only sold books, but also have worked to build a vibrant community which supports the creation and analysis of visual art. Friends of Art is indebted to their intelligence, skill, enthusiasm, and hard work for all of the progress in building a community and looking towards the future that FoA has accomplished in the past several years. Please go by the Bookshop and thank them for all they have done for us! 

The Friends of Art can continue to exist as an organization, and can continue with our mission, but to do so we must do a great deal of hard work together to imagine our future as an organization. Luckily we have a Strategic Planning Committee in place! We also have time: the Bookshop will close August 1, but FoA can use as many months as necessary to figure out what our future will be. The first step in that process will be to meet together as a Board for an Informational meeting this coming Thursday, April 18, 2013, from 5:00 to 6:45pm in the conference room of the Johnson Creamery Building. Please join us then to consider the question “What’s next for Friends of Art?”

If you have questions, please address them to one of the members of the Executive Committee. Please do not address them to Colleen or Marci.

Sincerely,
Laurel L. Cornell
President, Friends of Art

Bullshit.

It might be time to buy a shotgun

Edited: I want to make it clear that if you’re some dumb motherfucker trying to get into my house I will fuck you up. I was raised by rednecks and the two toughest Filipino parents ever. 

Yesterday was an excellent day. My fiance and I had a great engagement party that had been planned for a few months now. It was AWESOME. We had a lot of friends and family come by, and it was especially great for Elyse since a few of her  friends that she went to Philly with (who also live elsewhere) showed up. 

However, our morning started off shitty. 

Some dude tried to break into our house at 5AM. He was probably mentally deranged, drunk, or both, and was jamming his keys into the door. I heard him rustling around while I was feeding the cat. Living in college towns, I know a drunk trying to get into the wrong house when I hear him. 

I told him he has the wrong apartment. That’s when he demanded that I open the door. He said he was going to murder us if we hadn’t opened the door. That’s when he started to kick in the door and awoke my girlfriend. 

She flipped out. She called 911 and the cops came about 10 minutes later (which is pretty good for NYPD in my opinion). 

While all this was happening, we were bracing ourselves against the door, so he couldn’t come in. I put a shelf in front of the door to block his way. 

He kept saying he wanted to murder us, and threatened us several times. 

Regardless, I kept my cool. I asked my girlfriend to give me my glasses (I couldn’t see shit) and to grab a knife. 

We also had a Hamer Explorer guitar that I was ready to use as a club if he successfully tried to get through. 

Anyway, the cops came, and told us he’s from Boston, and that he’s caused some trouble up there. They think he was just drunk and mentally fucked. 

Well, that was over, Elyse was terrified and all I wanted to do was sleep. We watched some Arrested Development and I drifted off. 

If he had gotten through I would’ve probably attacked him. You can’t come into my house. And if you did, I would pummel you or die trying. 

So, now I think its time I should probably get a firearms permit and have a shotgun handy. Its easy to load and you don’t have to aim. I just wish that one could saw off their own shotgun in New York City. 

I also cannot talk shit about the NYPD. They explained the situation to us and comforted Elyse. Go 94th precinct. You guys are okay.