carlo rossi

it's snowing and raining real ugly like, and something tells me that those who were coming up to kiss at midnight with us are not coming. so this morning my wife and i figured that if no one shows, we will spend the evening with uncle carlo, and ring in the new one with black and milds and a love game. oh yes... we will. this is not to say that it would be wonderful to have our friends up, so if you are considering braving the roads (which really aren't bad), than do it, you have a place to stay.
and to comment, rather than something you want to change, please mention one thing you would like to see stay the same in the new year. mine would have to be... the continuing of my book obsession. i've never been a reader until just recently, and it is extremely fulfilling. so i hope that continues.

who found who's hair in who's bed?

there has been so much time to do nothing lately. a tsunami, so to speak, of completely random thoughts has risen and submerged my over-populated third world mind, leaving debris, and washing many rationalities out to sea to die and decompose. hence this post.

1. seeing as how i "wished" a "happy" new year just before christmas, i find it appropriate to say finally merry christmas, given that new years eve is pretty much here. i hope everyone had a nice time with their friends and families, and recieved everything on their list and all that hot air. mine was nice. i recieved a really beautiful acoustic guitar from my wife, you know, since it's just now getting cool to play the guitar, i thought i would give it a go. our family gave us a cruise to mexico along with my brother and his wife, and my mom and dad. your probably saying, "must be nice". in responce i say,"yes it is very nice". i've never been on one and i am excited to drink alot of free drinks, and disrupt the perfect balance of the massive vessel with my not-tan and not-in-shape body. so any way, merry christmas.

2. while on the subject of holiday merry making, i'm having a hard time understanding christmas shopping, just being in the stores, and the days after, returning gifts and such. i described it to amber as "the mystery of successful human co-existence, a.k.a. why are we not extinct?" i was amazed that in the midst of the panic, we lemmings didn't frenzie up and walk off a cliff together. just a thought.

3. and speaking of tsunamis, i really heard this on the radio, "the latest prediction is that the death toll in south east asia will reach 100,000 soon, due not only to the initial impact of the waves, but from disease and polluted water and resources. in other news, liza minelli fell off her bed yesterday and hit her head, sustaining minor injuries. arriving at the hospital she told reporters that she felt some-what weary but otherwise fine."
this is a fantastic example of how handicapped the priorities of the "fair and balanced" american media are, for the most part. as funny as that is not, i thought it appropriate to mention.

4. let's see, what else. we tried to come up to big bear last night but were turned around at a point in the road that was bursting at the seams with inteligent life staring in awe at their instructions on how to install tire chains, so we went to panda express and then to victorville to come home. we awoke this morning to the same residents of los angeles filling our streets with cars stuck in snow. so i weaved and honked in the only language they understand, and proceeded to take back roads, which i will do for the next week most likely. is there anyone who can relate? nate this is where (if you get this far because it's boring by now) you describe the i'm sure lovely situation at leroys.

5. being married is cool, but taking part in the physical and organic act of marriage is even better.

enough is enough, and i think i'm there.

2005 and so on

the year is coming to an end in a little over a week, and i've been thinking about things that i want to change, things that i have allowed to go on long enough. i can't tolerate resolutions. i think they only set you up to fail, and in my experiences that failure leads to the things i wanted to change only growing worse. but i'm going to be twenty five soon and i want the self respect that i've always imagined comes with the age. that said, i am going to openly and honestly spend the next year, and those ever after, attempting the following...

-to stop fantasizing about the past
-to consume the present
-to grasp the future
-to stop thinking about smoking every fucking step i take
-to cure this crisis of faith, and establish a true reason to be happy
-to pursue romance and passion in my love life
-to put my wife's needs before my own
-to stop being so selfish
-to no longer justify meaningless dispair, which leads to my laziness
-to stop eating things that make me over weight and sick
-to improve my personal hygene, and give a damn about my appearence
-to not wear the same clothes every day
-to not be an asshole behind peoples backs
-to cherish my friends
-to rid myself of any lust, and respect other people
-to understand money, and not envy it
-to stop shaking
-to be more brave
-to accept failure and move on positively
-to laugh more
-to cry more
-to take vitamins
-to return phone calls
-to be ontime
-to stop lying, and be sincere
-to love people the way they deserve to be loved

pardon the honesty if it was offensive in any way. my hope is that by being openly forthright, i can more successfully do so in my mind.

i've seen the movie and i know what happens

it's christmas time
and the needles on the tree
a skinny santa is bringing something to me
his voice is overwhelming, but his speech is slurred
and i only understand every other word
open your parachute and grab your gun
falling down like an omen, a setting sun
read the part and return at five
it's a hell of a role if you can keep it alive
but i don't care if i fuck up
i'm going on a date with a rich white lady
ain't life great?
give me one good reason not to do it
(because i love you)
so do it
this is the place where time reverses
dead men talk to all the pretty nurses
instruments shine on a silver tray
don't let me get carried away
don't let me get carried away
don't let me be carried away

new.M3<$>.lastused.1/??/04.etc.

the last time i went snowboarding was A YEAR AGO! as sad as that is, here's to that day with andy, josh, and joshes video making skills.

bachelor party to end all...

friends
Originally uploaded by mattamberpool.

friends from all walks of life gather, love each other, consume and inhale things that the sergeon general warns about, catch the fish, dance the blues, jump in the bushes, climb the hills, throw the bottles, preach of love-making, be-friend the homeless, throw down your woe's and lift up your ale's for three days straight and never forget them.

santa's dirty

ambertree
Originally uploaded by mattamberpool.

mom and dad threw the good ol' company christmas party tonight. we played dirty santa, ate real house-keeper-made tamales that spiced the hell out of us white folk. josh and i snuck a healthy amount of rummy rum into our noggy nog and had a jolly laugh. christmas time is alltogether too good. i want to share it with everyone.

a very special day

today is the day of my best friend's birth. you all know and love her, rosanna jeanne piacentini. God chose this day, 24 years ago, to give the world a tremendous gift. and aren't we lucky to be her friend? yes we are.
rosie is a person who deeply cares for other people. God has given her the gift of being compassionate and empathetic. she doesn't like to see anyone hurting, even strangers. i have seen, time and again, the Lord put rosie in the path of hurting people, people in need of love. and i have seen the Lord use rosie to comfort those people and give them love. i am one of those people. i'm sure, at one point or another, many of you have been also. i'm sure there are many people who will never read this that have been loved through rosie.
it is rosie's calling to go to those in need: the sick, the hurting, the unloved. i know she will make an incredible nurse. she will do more than care for people's physcial needs. she will minister to their spiritual needs. she will love them and it won't be hard for her, because it is her gift. did you guys know that rosie dreams of going to india one day? she feels a burden on her heart for the people there. and she also wants to help the sick in africa. these are true desires of hers, given to her from God.
there are many reasons to love rosie. here are some that i have chosen to share: she is a true and loyal friend. i can tell her anything, no matter what, and feel completely comfortable. she always listens. she makes me feel like myself, and makes me feel like who that is, is ok. she is honest. she never lets me down, ever. she is hilarious. i can laugh for days and days with her, about nothing but our own nonsense. she is smart. she likes to read and write. she likes to make pictures. she is creative. she can always think of something nice to say about someone, or a wise crack if the occasion calls for it. she isn't afraid to speak her mind if she really believes something. she prays for us, her friends. and finally, she always (without fail) dresses me and fixes my hair ( i am constantly in crisis).
pray today. thank the Lord for rosie and ask Him to continue to use her for His purposes.
and leave a post in answer to this question: why do you love rosie?

tee sthausee suntube eeja lee

just say it all together real fast

here's to the inner turmoil of understanding

O Divine Master, grant that I may not
so much seek to be consoled as to console;
to be understood as to understand;
to be loved as to love;
for it is in giving that we receive;
it is in pardoning that we are pardoned;
and it is in dying that we are born to Eternal Life.

-Francis of Assisi

"no, you don't have to. it's all about tickling their buying bone."

ha ha ha.-a

"for sale: big, JUICY, van...interesting trades considered."

ha ha ha! -a

(208)755-3453

so rosie has declared that she is on sabbatical for the next week. she has asked me to pass this along and to let everyone know that she will not be using the internet or answering her phone. she says to only call if it is an emergency. so EVERYBODY call and harass her. leave long and detailed messages. post a hundred comments on her blog. i've already tricked her into calling me once by telling her i have something really really cool to tell her. it's really easy to trick her. do it right now. -a

question

why does my right nostril always get runny, and never my left?-a

a day of joy and frolics

before anything, if you haven't already, read my wife's post below, it's more important.
and secondly more important, go to my brothers blog and read his chrisTmas song, you will laugh.
last and least, i'm having left over tofu pa nang for lunch and felt like being twelve again, thus, my christmas list.

1. an assortment of rocks and minerals.
2. a rock tumbler set (page 82, sears christmas catalog, 1992)
3. cool sweat shirts
4. mighty ducks sweat shirts
5. a new sr-71 blackbird poster, and a new lambourgini countach poster
6. the new Mcgee and Me, it's called "Twister and Shout"
7. since seven is my lucky number, this one's really important, Bayou Billy
8. a new lava tube, with an 8 ball slammer with finger holes
9. construction paper and glue and a book on how to make finger skis
10. and last, since buzz says he saw some grizzly bears near Pallasie's Candy Store, i need a Red Rider BB gun, with a compass, and a stock, and this thing which tells time

prayer request

i want to ask for all of you to pray for my brother ryan. as most of you know he is in the army. he spent a year in iraq and got to come home last february. he just got promoted to sergeant and now his unit has been called up again. he left tonight to go back to iraq. my brother isn't the type to open up, but i know he hated being there before and he isn't thrilled about going back. my mom flew out to be with him this last week at his house in north carolina. she's doing alright, but i know it's hard on her and on my dad. my dad wasn't able to get the money together to fly out to see him before he left and he was really upset about it. please pray that God would keep my brother safe and bring him home to us. pray that my brother would turn to the Lord; his heart has been hard for a long time. pray that my family would have peace. last time ryan was there my mom felt complete peace and that is what held her together. most of you know ryan. if you want to write to him or send him anything i will give you his address. i know it would make him happy. he may not say it, but i can always tell.
thank-you guys.-a

a great deal of nothingness

it's christmas time, it's christmas time, it's christmas time. i'm drowning in my chair at working job #2 (sleepy forest cottages) dealing with the nothingness to do. my left ear listening to the deafening hum of the shower in the room next door, my right ear, a beautiful christmas-mixed-compact-disc-early-holiday-gift accompanied by the damn near funniest picture post card i've ever seen of tyler and paul, with whom, by the way, i need to spend more of my free time with. they are good good people who live in the same town as i. a town in which, and in fact, i have less than many good friends...my dear sweet wife and best friend is always there when i need her, my brother and his wife and child have us over quite often, caleb likes to play settlers of catan with me, and nate is at his apartment maybe every third night, so i should be more thankful than not, but it's time we need together, time we have, but fill with nothing. then again, time i have is filled with lots of things, e.i. loving wife, fixing house, arching tect, breaking car, being broke, drinking wine, smoking nothing, and blogging. i just thought of this, we need to have a titanic new years eve merry making, with food and drink drink drink, explosives and flamable objects, love and sex, with heaters high and socks down low, we will yell and whisper and wait for the sun to come up before we put our heads down on the knees of our neighbors and tangle their hair in a bunch. we will smile and smile and smile for a while, then we will sleep without a peep, and keep a deep creep out with a weep.
call it christmas not holidays and dream of sugarplums. buy a tree today, and don't let the a.c.l.u. take it away.
...with a good evening and a parumpumpumpum.

it's my right to be a *@&%$ing baby sometimes

we went to chain-worst place ever-reaction last night for a show, and stood outside for a long time trying to evade any "extra good" bands. sorry but being surrounded by many emo 5000's last night made us all a little extra sarcastic. so moving on we left before the headlining "christ-core" (yes they really call it that) band "me without you" played, which was just after the absurdly talented "saysfuckalot-core" mike kinsella played flawlessly by himself to a house full of asses saying supid things and being stupid. there were a few who appreciated it but the majority of the audience couldn't decide whether to stop pooping out of there mouths or tighten their pink scarves and act skinny. so lets try this link crap and if it doesn't work i'd rather not hear about it... new owen song

comrade napoleon

i finished george orwell's animal farm last night, and it was exciting in more ways than one. first reason being that this is the first book i've finished out of the seventeen or so that i've started since my birthday. second reason being that reading it this time around i captured the bigger picture of the story, rather than thinking it was about a bunch of not-smart animals doing farm things (which is all i got out of it when i read it in fifth or sixth grade). and third it's about pigs which my fat ass can relate to. anyhoo it's a good one that i recomend. i also called to wish a happy 25th to peter, the ol' bastard. and i put a call in to the talbots to say hi to derek and josh (no more font colors to piss josh off) and talk about our disneyland family merry-making plans of '04. it was really good to hear from them but it made me hate the fact that we all live so far apart. all of us in different towns, blogging to keep in touch, and maybe calling here and there. we say it all the time but we need to start an animal farm of our own. a commune where we are all equal, all together all the time. location suggestions? it would be a fantastic time you know. think about it.

p.s. our friend lindsay is in l.a. for the week, meaning amber wants to go visit with her on thursday evening, meaning i may have an extra ticket to owen. i believe dirty was looking for one so he gets dibs, but if not it's up for grabs. let me know.

give thanks

turkey
Originally uploaded by mattamberpool.

...for this beautiful american day with abounding food and wine, wonderful family and unexpected best friends.

books, check em' out

i am reading a book right now that you all have to read. especially all of my musician friends. it is called Lady Sings the Blues; it's billie holiday's autobiography. even if you aren't a fan of her you will love her story, tragic as it is, and will find her telling of jazz and blues in the 30s/40s very cool. if you don't want to buy it just let me know and i will lend it to you.
here is a little taste:
"Everyone's got to be different. You can't copy anybody and end up with anything. If you copy, it means you're working without any real feeling. And without feeling, whatever you do amounts to nothing.
No two people on earth are alike, and it's got to be that way in music or it isn't music.
I never forget this wonderful old Spainiard, Pablo Casals, who played the cello once on TV. When he finished some Bach he was interviewed by some American chick. 'Every time you play, it's different,' she gushed.
'It must be different,' said Casals. 'How can it be otherwise? Nature is so. And we are nature.'
So there you are. You can't even be like you once were yourself, let alone somebody else."
-a

winter

winter
Originally uploaded by mattamberpool.

got a fresh foot this morning. i'm waxing my snowblades so call me when you want to go.

onthebrain

onthebrain
Originally uploaded by mattamberpool.

i need more than words

this is the first time i have posted anything on here. i am doubtful that i can convey what i am feeling. in order to understand you have to see the look of ectasy on my face. i smiled for so long last night that i went to bed with a headache. but it was well worth it. i am, of course, talking about last night's wilco show at the wiltern. they put me in rapture, my friends, rapture. they opened with "the late greats" (matt's favorite off that album) and did not stop rocking all night. each song flowed into the next, interrupted occasionally by jeff tweedy being funny and making the experience all the more intimate. at the beginning of every song matt and i would shake each other and exlaim "i love this song. i'm so glad they're playing this one." i confess that i may have done a bit more of the shaking and exlaiming than matt. but even if their set list had been different the result would have been the same because every song of theirs is fabulous and they played so so well. (if i knew how to italicize on this thing the words so so would be in italics) they did two encores with at least four songs each. they even played a song off of mermaid avenue. they ended (why did it have to end?) with a cover of blue oyster cult's "don't fear the reaper"; it was amazing and my mom would have loved it.
so as you can tell, it was a perfect show. i haven't been that giddy since my wedding day.
i will end with some equalities. wilco=disneyland=ice cream=buttefly-tingly joy! -a

inspiration renewed

it's nearing 3:00 am. fresh in from los angeles after being born again at the wiltern. before wilco took the stage (and when i say took i mean pillaged) it was as if musical expression was not yet in existence. jeff tweedy was the creator, the rest of the band his heavanly host, and the instruments his supply. his vocal chords breathed life into the art form as we gazed in wonder, our heads stirring to and fro, our beers budding with jealousy at this sudden lack of affection. bla bla bla... longstoryshort, the show was simply fascinating, and completely redeeming. there is always the fresh excitement when parting from any performance, but this one was individual and unique. wilco now consists of six, but they function as one, and they played so well. very happy evening. i will stop there and let amber (wilco's biggest and baddest fan, she owns every record, not to mention the book and the movie) take it (above). frankly, her excitment put mine to shame.

hansens

hansens
Originally uploaded by mattamberpool.

a cool photo of some of where i came from. my grandma pool is the little girl second from the left, who looks like she's about to shoot lightning from her eyes. beside the squinting, she really doesn't look any different. i love her.

does anyone ever get the feeling that alot of things suck?

but the shape we meant to make is gone

love is a tired symphony you hum when you're awake, love is a crying baby mama warned you not to shake, love is the best sensation hiding in the lion's mane

crap tv shows

first it was felicity, now it's smallville. amber gets fixed on these middle of the afternoon shows and i start out teasing her about it. a week or two later i find myself stopping to watch for a minute as i'm walking by, and not long after that i'm positively flipping out when noel doesn't make a move, or when lex and clark almost come to punches. it's lame but i love it. everyone has their little thing, in fact if you read this and should choose to comment, please share with the world what your "little thing" might be. i.e. derek - harry potter

can't go wrong

enjoy music:
crash and die

enjoy reading:
tour journal

out with the new

saw death cab last night, and encountered an assortmant of different emotions. seeing anyone in san diego is a mistake, that town breeds some stupid young o.c. watching people. although the sound was good and they played very well, i was growing weary of the new stuff. then i was distracted by the sound of someones mexican grandma clapping and singing ba-ba to sound of settling. it was at that moment i felt i may never see them again. having seen them so many times, both josh and i were struggling to suppress feelings of elitism and snobbery, which wasn't hard if i just thought about when i first saw them, i was clueless. nonetheless it was different, kind of a bummer. i'm sure wilco will be more redeeming.

please comment on the above if you wish, but the following may be more tempting...

if you could visit any one of the following three for one week, where would it be and why:
a) middle earth
b) hogwarts
c) narnia

p.s. only answer if you're not cool, because i'm not

the johns flushed

a happy day for people who do like america. yesterday i got up, got ready, grabbed some starbucks, and then had my say in the election of thee most powerful person on thee planet. pretty amazing. i'm happy, we're happy, if your not happy, maybe move to haiti, you might like it better.

newborns

trying to figure this all out, someone please say hello