Arthur Vogel profile picture

Arthur Vogel

'The coldest winter I ever saw was the summer I spent in San Francisco.' - Mark Twain

About Me


My mom is the best mom in the universe.
I'm your average jack-of-most-trades.
Random Facts:
I'm exceedingly opinionated, but I'm trying to do better about not sharing (read: forcing) mine on unsuspecting passers-by. That said, I do try to respect other's opinions (so long as they recognize that opinions are like oranges and everyone knows what they say about oranges...)
I can never remember how to spell one of my middle names...
The first song I learned on bass was "Hey" by the Pixies.
I'm a shitty photographer, but I take all of my background images (currently: "Halloween '03" ).
Children/toddlers/babies find me fascinating (almost to a creepy degree).
I love age for the insight it brings.
I walk...a lot.
I'm a very, very lucky man (even when my luck runs sour).
I abuse ellipses...
Drop me a line if you feel so inclined.

My Interests

In no particular order:

Music, listening, acting, observing, inventing, writing, photography, and doing all I can with the time God has given me here.

I'd like to meet:

Anyone with passion...but beware...I've been doing the whole online/email thing since '92 and I'm pretty much sick of it. I don't do well with responding to messages and such. Also, if I don't know you personally...well...chances are that I won't respond...but who knows...I surprise myself every other day (and yesterday was fairly uninspired).

Music:

Cake and Clutch are my two favorites, generally speaking.

Lately - Coldplay, Rage Against the Machine, ionic, System of a Down, David Ackles, Audioslave, Noterock & Muse.

Movies:

Some All-time Favorites:

American Beauty - this is possibly the best movie ever made. God bless Alan Ball.
The Godfather - Pt. 1 and/or Pt. 2 - Pt. 3 is proof that life is a balance as that movie sucks so terribly that it nearly cancels out the impact of the first 2.
Ghostbusters - Bill Murray and Dan Akroyd in top form (Harold Ramis is a riot, too). North by Northwest - Most Hitchcock, but especially this one.
Monty Python and the Holy Grail - Again, most any Python will get me laughing hysterically.
The Road Warrior and/or Mad Max - Great movies, even part 3 is a goodie - with or without Tina.

Oh...The Goonies, Labyrinth, Legend, and Tim Burton's entire body of work are all sure to make me smile.

Recently? Uh...I haven't seen much recently that I'd recommend. If pressed, Superbad didn't live up to its title.

Television:

Futurama ("I'm back, baby!), Dexter, Rome (RIP), Carnivale (RIP), The Simpsons, Six Feet Under (RIP), The Critic (RIP), Family Guy (Old), American Dad (New), Home Movies (RIP), Entourage, King of the Hill, Good Eats, and The Real World (didn't see that coming, did you?).

Also, Journeyman. It's pretty darn good (so far). Kevin McKidd is (still) one of the most talented men on the small screen.

Books:

Just finished "The Brief History of the Dead" by Kevin Brockmeier. There are a number of really amazing passages early in the text. I really enjoyed the parallel living/dead storylines, but was ultimately disappointed only because of a discrepancy between my own theories and those of the author. 3.5 out of 5 stars.

Generally - I like magical realism; Jonathan Carroll is a favorite.

Heroes:

My dad, my grandfather, and the former rector at my church. There are others, but these are the big three.

My Blog

So...

    The other day Elaine and I were on the 134 westbound when we observed a campfire-sized fire in the eucalyptus bark on the side of the road.     Given that a campfire ...
Posted by Arthur Vogel on Sat, 11 Aug 2007 02:34:00 PST

You can't say I don't have a good time...

One of my professors (or his TA, hence the typos/mispellings) posed the following question:"On chapter 27, an event in Munich (also known as Appeasement in Munich) in September1938 was when both Great...
Posted by Arthur Vogel on Tue, 08 May 2007 11:46:00 PST

In honor of Kurt Vonnegut - "Harrison Bergeron"

This is one of the best short stories ever written. If you're curious about English as an art form, or if you want to know what this Vonnegut guy was about...read on.-----THE YEAR WAS 2081, and everyb...
Posted by Arthur Vogel on Thu, 12 Apr 2007 12:19:00 PST

A rant.

    Lately I feel like I'm losing the human race.    Now, one could easily dismiss the above as merely some painfully clever play on words, but no...I honestly feel as th...
Posted by Arthur Vogel on Sun, 01 Apr 2007 11:36:00 PST

I'm blind exhausted...

...and I'm fairly certain I'll delete this post in the morning, but...Get this...the following is an example of what I'm up against academically.Professor's question:"Chapter 21 is about Progressivism...
Posted by Arthur Vogel on Sun, 25 Mar 2007 03:10:00 PST

I'm sick.

And I blame the asshole who sits in front of me in English. Yes, you were sick. Sure, I'm sorry. But please don't turn around to detail your symptoms while sitting a mere 1.5' away from me. If you're ...
Posted by Arthur Vogel on Fri, 09 Mar 2007 11:51:00 PST

Don't believe the hype.

    I'm not dead...yet.    In fact...I'm feeling better.    Updates soon.     I miss...well...everyone.    Peace....
Posted by Arthur Vogel on Wed, 31 Jan 2007 01:51:00 PST

Lainey's Black and White Birthday Bash - Pics!

Thanks to everybody who came out; Lainey had a blast (as did I). To the pics!Here's to the birthday girl!...
Posted by Arthur Vogel on Sun, 24 Sep 2006 02:10:00 PST

What I learned today...

    When in prison, if someone only shanks you once, it's called a "pinch" and it means they just wanted to scare you.P.S. If you know anybody who would like a really cool sequencer, se...
Posted by Arthur Vogel on Thu, 10 Aug 2006 11:43:00 PST

"The Chicken Show" (aka "Chillin' w/ Bill & Caroline")

Hung out with Bill & Caroline on Sunday...that was great and all, but the star of the day was (and seeming always is) Chicken (or "Chiken" to those in the know).The filthy, photographic evidence.....
Posted by Arthur Vogel on Fri, 14 Jul 2006 12:17:00 PST