"LANSING, Mich. - The Michigan Legislature passed a long-delayed smoking ban Thursday, with exceptions for three Detroit casinos that have to compete with tribal casinos not affected by the ban. The Democrat led House agreed Thursday afternoon to slight changes made by the Republican led Senate earlier in the day. The bill now goes to Democratic Gov. Jennifer Granholm, who welcomed the bill's passage. "It's a terrific gift to Michigan," she told reporters. The ban will take effect in May 2010. It applies to all bars, restaurants and work places, except for the Detroit casinos, cigar bars, tobacco specialty stores, home offices and motor vehicles. Although smoking will be allowed on casino gambling floors, it will be banned in the casinos' bars, restaurants and hotels.

With Granholm's signature, Michigan will become the 38th state to limit smoking in public places such as government buildings, bars and restaurants, according to Sen. Ray Basham, D-Taylor, who has kept alive the push for a statewide smoking ban. He favors a total ban, but was satisfied with the progress so far. "We've moved the ball down the court, and even scored a basket," he said of Thursday's vote. "We haven't scored a three-pointer." Sen. Tupac Hunter, D-Detroit, also wanted casinos included in the ban but was pleased with the Senate vote. "It will be a great day in this state when we are totally, 100 percent smoke free ... (but) I'm very proud of what we've done today," he said.

"The Legislature today has made a great stride forward toward building healthier communities for everyone in Michigan," said Dr. Greg Holzman, the chief medical executive for the Michigan Department of Community Health. Among nearby states, only Indiana doesn't have some type of smoking ban in place. Michigan lawmakers have been trying for more than a decade to pass a ban..."

- The Associated Press

http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5jKxvHHwwvJG77hma363IvkN8CzxQD9CGNQB00

so today i finished up another half written story i had done for demonstrative monsters. i have all these unfinished stories on my desktop (have you seen my desktop?) that i forget about. some are set aside for certain books, some i finish, some i hate, some need serious direction but they all are the beginnings of a story that needs a home. some of those that were intended for DM that werent finished by print time will now be included in deadxstop fanzine #7 since i finally got off my ass and got them where they needed to be.
"so chris, how do i get one of these fanzines?"

well dear friends, ask yourself this? did you buy demonstrative monsters?
if the answer is YES, then its already yours. it will be in your little package along with this:



*and while he approves, it will not come with tupac.

holy shit, chris. all that will be mine? yep.
but wait... you're saying to yourself, "but chris, i didnt have the money/time/care to order your expensive ass book but i still want a fanzine, how on earth do i attain a copy?"

well thats easy... order anything from my deadxstop.com webstore between now and december 22nd and its yours, FREE! WTF, chris? are you serious. i bullshit you not.
books ship from the printer on the 18th and will hopefully be in my paws the 22nd. im going to do my best at getting them in the mail on the 23rd. odds are pretty good of you getting them by new years but dont freak if it takes 2-3 weeks due to christmas and chicagos postal service.


- in other news:
im feeling much better. i was walking down the street the other day and i was looking around and i finally felt the weight lift. i could actually visualize a new future and new opportunities, ones that i couldnt before because i was clouded with so much stress. oh, im nowhere near 100% but i am able to smile just because im breathing, and i havent done that in far too long.

- im really stoked about my rollerskate jam on the 27th (if you dont know what im talking about, scroll down and look for the baby tupac). yes, its free. and yes, my mom will be there, so behave. no, i have no clue how many people are turning up. it may be 20, it may be 500. im not making a dime off of this so either way im skating until i sweat through my shirt. it would be rad if you were there to watch me fall and possibly break a hip.

- i am currently running low on snow fairy. if anyone has any laying around and is concerned that one day my balls will no longer smell like glittery cotton candy, feel free to ship it on over.

- when i was out in australia i met these awesome little kids. they told me they had a band. i didnt think much of it. then one night they emailed me a link to their new songs and i reluctantly clicked the link because very little impresses me anymore. but then i found myself listening to the songs over and over and legitimately becoming a fan of their band. check out BIRD IS THE WORD here. hush, dont rush is the jam.

- tonight i was on stickam for 1.5 hours. is it weird to say that i had fun? charlie guest starred and asked for many n00dz. at some point, i got all burt reynolds zexy in my new christmas hoodie:


*look, it has balls.

- two new framed quotes coming very soon. both will only be available for one week.

"Two rules to success in life. 1. Don't tell people everything you know."

This song started out as a potential Deathmøle riff and quickly morphed into...something else. Sort of Fuck Buttons meets Dan Deacon meets dub techno I guess? I don't think I've ever had this many MIDI tracks running at one time before. Your average Deathmøle song has three, maybe four tops.



Anyway here's the song, hopefully you will like it: Weird Methods (tumescent elephant mix)

dear friends, relatives, lurkers, haters, supporters and ex-girlfriends,


this will be my last post in reference to my most recent breakup. i feel the time and effort and words have become nothing more than self-serving and redundant. sure, i use this blog to vent/mock/dispose and it really has helped me mourn the loss but i cant move on if i dwell on this much longer.

now that the disclaimer is out of the way, let me say this: i figured it would get ugly. i mean, really. did anyone think it wouldnt? i knew the lies and accusations would come flying and i have done my best to weather the storm the best i could under the circumstances. call me a liar, a fraud, a coward... call me anything you like, thats fine, ive always been able to roll with the punches. but what you are not, nor EVER allowed to call me or even allude to is that i have ever hit a woman. to make vague statements that you know will be taken as an accusation of me being violent are not only 100% untrue but telling of a desperate and sad character that i am more than happy to have put distance between.
my hand to god/vishnu/allah/satan, and may god strike down princess gia if i am lying: never, have i ever hit a woman. (well, there was that crazy homeless woman who was about to attack kate, but hey, i didnt know it was a woman so i dont count that one.)

i just spent a few hours drinking tea with my brother discussing the traits of our father we see in ourselves, and i mentioned how i received an email from one of my other ex-gfs this morning (happy birfday, morgan) who made a comment about this entire "character assassination" campaign lindsie has been on. how immediately she takes to trying to fuck my friends because she knows how much it will hurt me. and hey, ive taken a lot of blows during this thing but the one i simply will not stand by and ignore are these allusions of violence towards women. any and all girlfriends will vouch for this and anyone who truly knows me or my character will know that i would sooner shoot myself in the face than raise a hand to a woman. i take great pride in the fact that is one of the few traditions of my father that will end with me, so i take any accusations of the like to be more than insulting and offensive but rotten and indicative of a person with a black soul.

also, if you guys could do my a favor and please do not email her or try to contact her in any way. please dont IM her, email her, visit her site or hack her accounts. she thrives on the attention and it is only making things worse on my end. and while i apologize that my hand has been forced to defend myself on something as so public as this, the best thing we can all do is to ignore her and hope that she moves on to the next rockstar.


again, i apologize that i have to even write this but i hope you understand.
thank you,

christopher

**FINAL EDIT Thu Dec 10 02:15:47 UTC 2009**

So there is the final update... Over the past day we have processed around 11 million jobs out of the 12 million that were in queue at that time. Please bear in mind that over this past day, more jobs for notifications are also created. So while the queue has been dropping, we are still not fully caught up at this point, due to backlog and new jobs. We have roughly 3 million jobs still pending that involve the notification system in some manner. We had hoped we could have fully cleared the queue in a day, but unfortunately we can't clear it too quickly, since we need the rest of the site to operate normally. From our current perspective on the amount of jobs that are left in queue, and how many it has processed thus far, we believe it will take around another 8 - 12 hours to process everything.

And finally some answers to some questions:

( Read More and Get Some Answers... )

Come and check out an awesome line up of all types of music!


Saturday December 12th
Belle Epoque
809 Adams St.
Bay City, MI

All Ages

$3 suggested donation at the door

( Full Artist info behind the Cut )

i typed the words then i erased them.

thats how much it hurt.

have you ever been sitting alone on a train or in a window of a coffeeshop thinking to yourself about how one day you will write "that" blog post? the one you know is coming. the one that is so inevitable you plan out the beginning, middle and end. what lines you would use and what would leave the most impact upon your readers?

this is that post.

its exactly how i expected it to end, you know? most of you are familiar with my last girlfriend. whether you met her at a speaking or from my writings, you know just how much i felt for her and the depths of my belief in her broken life. hell, a good chunk of my 3rd book, notes from the deep end, was about her. to say that i loved her would be an understatement. 3.5 years of never-ending infatuation. one would think there comes a point, especially in long relationships, where the light stops shining. that that person becomes a simple prop in your life. couch, television, girlfriend, nightstand. but she wasnt. i still watched her sleep and was amazed by her laughter. i touched her as often as she would allow and i would hold her even when she didnt hold me back. i paid for her, i supported her in directions most men wouldnt and i accepted her past because like ive always maintained, i judge a person based upon who they present to me now and what they desire to become. i knew it was a huge risk. everyone told me so. from you, to my friends to her friends to my family to her family. but im sure you guys know how it goes. no one sees how it is in the dark. in bed at 3am when they are so willing and vulnerable and talk of dreams and aspirations. you didnt see that. her. in the light of that darkness, you didnt see that little girl.

despite the odds, i fought for her. i believed in her even when she gave me every reason not to.
i talk a lot about believing in people because very few people have believed in me. i have this idealistic notion that maybe if i give back more than ive gotten that i can make my corner a little better. but like an abused animal that you take in, when it bites you because thats all it knows, you cant really be surprised.

i know some of you follow her writing. i havent read any of it since the post that was 60% truth, 20% exaggerating and 20% lies. but again, its how i expected this to one day go down. just sucks that this is all so public. but hey, its my fault for putting so much out there. the consequences for making this a window into my private life. but i havent really addressed it. i wanted to try and be the bigger man and hold my head up despite the mud-slinging. but for those of you who actually follow the drama and entertainment show, i feel that i am allowed to state my position. and really, its just a fucking blog, right?


i guess what im really getting at is the fact that i just cant shake feeling like a fool. i went against my good judgment and the combined opinion of the people i trust the most. i didnt take my own advice and this is why i ended up getting bitten in the end.
but i wont die. i will laugh today like i did yesterday and i will heal soon enough and i will thrash forward once again. and one day i will meet someone who knows how to say "thank you". someone who will hug me first. someone who will text me goodnight. someone who wont steal from me. someone who will appreciate the emails, the texts, the kisses, the little surprises. someone who will welcome me in their bed. someone who wont go try and fuck my friends the instant we break up. i will believe in someone again.

and i will continue to walk into the burning houses of women. and i will still hold them when they dont want to be held. and i will still hold out this dented and rusted brown heart of mine. because just like the ones that tried years ago, and the ones before that and the ones before that... none of you fuckers broke that shit. not one. and even after giving this thing every ounce of energy i had. year after demoralizing year saying, "all i am is a boy asking you to love him." i am ready, willing and eager to fight another war.

because all this fighting and believing will pay off one day.
it has to.

and today is a good day. because today marks something special.
the day that i stop hurting and begin healing.


that made me smile.


I don't regret the time we spent, but I do regret the day we met.
Because I've learned my lesson and I've learned it well, now there's no more secrets for you to tell.
For all it's worth. I'm still dreaming and feeling without you.
-bookworm, kid dynamite



- and i still kept your story in the book because its one of the last good memories i have of you.
even you cant take that from me.


11x17 poster

"Find out just what any people will quietly submit to and you have the exact measure of the injustice and wrong which will be imposed on them."

I like live journal because it's so much deeper than face book.
It's a place where you can write your thoughts and feel free doing it.

A place to vent or share your happiness.

I wish more people updated. I used to read new posts everyday, I miss it. I miss seeing people raw, and free.

But for all of those that read, or don't.. I'm doing great.

I'm working on leasing a new car, I spend a lot of time with such great people. I'm blessed to have the friends I have. Plus! I actually love my job.

And I must mention how well Roy and I are doing. I know we have a past, and some people may not have great things to say about us But, I'm so happy.

AND THAT'S ALL THAT MATTERS. Right? We have so much fun, We treat each other with respect, and we show as much love as possible to each other everyday. I do know it's rare.. and I'm so thankful for the relationship I have.

The past is the past, I can't change it, and I don't care about it. I'm looking at where I'm at now... NOT where I used to be.

I know I'm lucky.
and this is me just writing how thankful I am. Because it could be worse.

**EDIT Thu Dec 3 23:24:15 UTC 2009 **

Hey Everyone, we are about to run the last alter job that we need to on our database servers. This will effect userpics / scrapbook / vgift images for the next few hours. Have no fear, your images aren't lost, there is just a really intensive process running on the servers which store the information for mogilefs. Thank you for your understanding and all the LJ love...

Hey LJers,

I just wanted to let you all know that we are going to be performing some mogilefs maintenance over the next few days. We will be upgrading our current version to latest stable as well as changing some db config information to better handle the amount of files we are currently hosting. This shouldn't cause a big impact on site stability, but you may see some minor delays with userpic / scrapbook images appearing or other requests associated with our mogilefs. We would love to not have that happen, but unfortunately with some of the steps we need to take we have to cause a delay with images. I figured this was a better solution than taking down all of LiveJournal because well lets face it, we all need our daily LJ fix ;)

Thanks,

the last time i went to the doctor for a check up was probably somewhere around 1991. i have this aversion to letting anyone tell me how to fix my body, this goes for dentists especially. i mean, what is this 1482? do you really still have to use drills that actually FEEL LIKE DRILLS?!?
man on the moon.
movies download directly to my laptop.
my phone can turn on my television.
cars literally speak to me and you're going to tell me there is no way to get a root canal that doesnt make you want to punch a kitten in the face? fuck you, bub. i want nothing to do with your butchery, tyvm.

so my family has a history of heart disease. lots of people died really young because of this. i was born with a heart murmur which they told me it may or may not be a big deal but that throughout the course of my life i should get it looked at often. to which i said, nope. im also a grown ass man with a terrible sleep disorder and acid reflux. sigh. either way, all of this was enough to cause my mother to call her doctor and make me an appointment. so i reluctantly waltz in there and wrote this on the medical history chart:

"they tell me i was born with a heart murmur. apparently, it went away for my 8th grade physical then it came back in high school. i really dont know if im messed up or the doctors are but its all types of weird."

but everything came back good. we have a plan for my sleep that im trying tonight (note the bedtime!) and i was told that my heart murmur is gone. he told me, "its a non-issue." cool, i suppose. but then they took my blood and uh, i found out i have high cholesterol. oh fuck me. hes like, "well, you're supposed to be at 100 for bad cholesterol levels, and you're at 176." are you fucking serious? then he grabbed my mid-section (any girls who have previously dated me know how much i LOVE that, grrr) and said that i wasnt overweight so it must be genetic. cool. thanks again, dad.
so you know my paranoid ass went out and bought a ton of oatmeal and some herbal oil pills to make sure that shit looks respectable when i roll back through in a month because ill be damned if i have to take that lipitrol bullshit like those balding grey-headed old fucks. i mean, what would 7-seconds do, right? would you take a dude seriously if he was on top of a crowd, finger pointing, while screaming, "im gonna stay young until i die," after he just downed his daily lipitor pill to help maintain healthy cholesterol levels?
basically, what im trying to tell you is that pizza and hot dogs?... pretty much out of the question. as if life couldnt get any more rad.


- in other news:
if you live around chicago or will be in town you might want to keep december 20th, from 4-6pm open. ill tell you why soon.

- i am also featured in some book that came out today called 'we feel fine'. to be completely honest i dont know what the hell its about but they contacted me over a year ago to use a picture and a quote from me. all i know is it makes me sound way arrogant, so thats cool:


- also, my latest art installation:




- also, ive been totally obsessed with missing persons lately.

i finally washed your smell off of my pillows tonight.


then i died a little.

Recorded a new song, this one with actual (semiaudible) vocals.

Horus

High On Fire meets uncomfortable self-examination. Enjoy?

The Williamston Theatre got a rave review for our production of This Wonderful Life, which is playing now through December 21st!

Encore Michigan calls the play "artful, delightful"! Click here to read it!

A teaser from the review:
"If you're impressed, and you should be, by the thought of one actor convincingly performing the entire movie It's A Wonderful Life, what would you make of one actor doing the entire movie in less than 60 seconds?

That's how John Lepard begins This Wonderful Life, playwright Steve Murray's one-man stage version of the classic film, at Williamston Theatre. Then Lepard (and Murray) get down to the business at hand, an artful, delightful 80-minute retelling of the 1946 movie that packs the narrative substance, multiplicity of characters, humor and emotional impact of the original while trimming it by a good 45 minutes. It'll get you home in time to see the Frank Capra opus on TV this holiday season but eliminates the need altogether."

The Williamston Theatre is the professional theatre company located in downtown Williamston! We're only 15 minutes from Lansing - come out and see this beautiful holiday show!

Our tickets normally range from $18-24, but we have discounts for groups and senior citizens! Students only pay $10!

For more info, call our box office at 517-655-SHOW (7469), or visit our website at www.williamstontheatre.com

my tolerance is gone. i hung up on the lady who attempted to take my sushi order but asked how to spell my name too many times. ordered something completely different. my mood, my tastes were affected by the misunderstandings of a woman. actually, i was so frustrated that even now the thought of sushi makes me angry.
im not like this. i am not this guy. i sit in the same spot on the couch and brood like some teenage cliche. im that roommate. the one who never moves off the couch. i see the texts and calls inviting me out. offering solace.
"hey dude, lets get you out of the apartment."
each one is a tiny bright spark. a reminder that i truly do surround myself with good people. but they cant help. you cant help. they take me out, they move me around, they make me forget and allow me to find myself. but the thought of putting on a pair of running shoes or going to some social gathering is more than i can stomach. it takes all i have to walk the two blocks to the starbucks to get my green tea and yesterday i sat in a purple chair up against the wall without headphones and stared at the floor wondering how good would it feel to just curl up in a ball and lay there. not so much out of pity, not so much for my loss and not even out of the pain, but out of the frustration of knowing there is no one, no where that can make this better. none of you. oh and god i would love it if you could. i would give any of you everything i have if you could take this away. to make me whole. to give me back and get me back. make this happen and i am truly in your debt.

i opened a window to purchase plane tickets to anywhere since i have frequent flyer miles and credits just waiting to be used. i stared at a map and thought about renting a car and driving to nowhere. i mapped out what couches would have me and what cities had the biggest and brightest distractions. i closed my laptop, put a pillow over my head and whispered, "it wont be so bad in the morning. it wont be so bad in the morning."
its funny to read all these words, all these posts, all the books and think they were my fingers. its easy to be positive when the sun is shining, your moms invites you over for dinner and you have a little money in your pocket. but maybe thats what they are. not books for you, but for me. letters written in the past for a injured future. to bring me back and remind me of the person that i am.

because all of the hate, spite and animosity... all of the terrible words, evil texts and ugly threats. all the accusations, exaggerations and outright lies, yeah, they fucking sting. but i refuse to sink to that level, it would only make this so much worse and prolong this detour on my journey and ive got things to see. and character shines through during the darkest of times and honey, your light is out.


and my nights may be long and my songs my be ruined and my pillow may be my only confidant... but i havent given in to those terrible thoughts just yet. and if i make it out of this alive its only because i truly believed those words i wrote with these very same fingers.



because i truly am unbreakable.



for her.