One additional note: from September 1981 to January 1982, my only journal writing took the form of participating in the group journal writing project, THE GARBAGE MEMO, at our punk record store, Garbage Inc., in Kent, Ohio. These were typed on the huge, old, store Royal office typewriter. I am re-typing some of those entries here, including some written by other authors than myself. After the date, I will indicate my best estimation of the author of that particular entry. —Randy Russell
I would rather be crazy in a world of sane people than sane in a world of crazy people. If everyone in the world was sane, but but I was crazy, they would know I was crazy, but I wouldn't, and wouldn't care. If everyone in the world was crazy and I was sane, however, I would still be different from everybody else, so I would think I was crazy and everyone else is sane, and I would eventually go insane.
I say vote for Gordon Bowie for Perkins Township trustee because he loves this community. He wants to man fully Fire Station number 3 full time, so the mall will be protected in case of a fire. Also, Bowie wants to start a program to blacktop the roads that had sewers put in so when you drive over them they don't jerk the hell out of your neck. Also, he wants more police to put their noses where they don't belong. Finally, Bowie is an American citizen and he is not a communist.
I think that the use of compound bows for deer hunting is great. The compound bow made the hunting with bow and arrow practical, so that it is not foolish to try. But it is still a challenge and the individual hunter must be skillful. I would like to see tougher restrictions on hunting deer with firearms to encourage hunters to use a compound bow. This would put more sport into hunting and enable the deer hunting season to be longer without endangering the species of deer.
There is something about not going to school on a day that it is in session, for reason other than being sick. It is a good feeling, especially when you know from experience that though you think you are missing a lot of work, when you get back you will find that you missed very little. The best day to do this is a Friday, since that will give you a nice three day weekend, and I have already written about how much fun three day weekends are.
The river is a fun and relaxing place to spend time, and it is quite an experience at night. It is best to build a fire for heat (if it is cold) and for light. The moon provides light, if it is up, and on nights when the moon rises from behind the high cliff, it is a spectacular sight. Except for a few cars that drive across the bridge, it is silent at the river, as only the unnoticeable but ever-present drone of the river can be heard. Since it is far from civilization, group activities such as singing are permissible.
I like this time of year. Fall is enjoyable because it is pretty outside. It's great great to see the leaves turning colors and dropping from the trees. Since it is cool outside, it is ideal for doing work. And there is plenty of work in raking leaves and mowing the grass that is still growing. The best thing about fall, however, is the smells. Since the air is so crisp and clear, one can smell everything vividly. The leaves can be smelled the best, but their aroma cannot really be described. Often in the air, there is the pleasant smell of burning leaves. This smell is a trademark of fall.
I wish we could get rid of all the scurvy people in this school. If we did it would cut down on the population by about 50% and there would be enough facilities for everyone. These scruves don't do anything in school anyway so they may as well not be here. When they get out, they will just get sorry jobs such as pumping gas and waste removal, so they may as well just get the jobs now and make money instead of wasting everybody's time in school.
I think that people trying to do away with Halloween is not right. Halloween is a tradition in America, and doing away with it is unamerican. I would even go so far as to say it is communist to do away with such a great tradition. When I was small, I looked forward to Halloween as much as Christmas. I hate to think that little kids of the future would not even know what Halloween was. I think we should all dress up in monster suits and go crazy this time each year to make sure Halloween isn't forgotten.
There is nothing more fun than getting up at four o'clock in the morning to go on a bike ride. The streets are completely deserted and it is very quiet. It is cold, and dark, and the air is briskly refreshing as it wakes you up. As you ride downtown, you see the city begin to come to life. The early morning workers drive to their job, like every other morning. Then, as you ride, you see the sun rise. There is more and more activity as it gets warmer, and you take off our coat and continue to ride as the day begins.
Stealing pumpkins is an enjoyable but dangerous activity. There are a few important techniques that must be followed exactly. A four door car is best used, and the driver must be skilled. The driver stops in front of a house and the retrievers jump out of the car and sprint towards the house, grabbing the pumpkins without slowing down, and sprint back towards the car at full speed. Sometimes the people chase the retrievers from the house. The driver must be aware of this as he shouts encouragement to the retrievers, who must dive into the car. As soon as the driver sees the retriever start his dive, he takes off. The retriever will land on the seat, the door will close, and they will be off. There are sometimes car chases in which the driver must use his skills of driving through lawns and such.
I eat good lunches at school. This may sound weird since everyone knows the school lunches are shit. But I carry my lunch so that I may eat like a king. For instance, today while the other poor students ate the usual greasy fries and so-called salad, I ate a succulent meat sandwich with rye bread and Cheetos baked to a delicate crunch. And instead of drinking luke warm milk, I refresh myself with orange or grape drink.
Chemistry II is a garbage glass. We don't do shit in experiments and the only movies we see are about waste removal. All we talk about is a bunch of god-damn numbers and some Charles Boyle's Law. And Mr. K___ does not even give a hoot about answers. This is sorry because answers is the meat and potatoes of school. And we don't even do no experiments, so how can we ever learn. And have fun. And remain sane.
I think the Charles R___ Piano Concerto is the most fabulous piece of music ever written. Especially the First Movement in D minor. This work, however, can only be fully appreciated when R___, the young genius, is playing the piano himself. The thrill of seeing the wedge-headed youngster hunched over the piano, banging on the keys, is like none other. R___ cannot read music, he just improvises. Says the genius: “Iaaa laaak theaaa blaaaak keeeees betah thaaan theaaaa what onesa.”
I would like to get rid of all the clocks in my house. Clocks are a tool to make time your enemy. When you are doing something you enjoy and keep looking at the clock, it makes the time go faster. When you are doing something boring and keep looking at the clock, the time drags on. You can make time your friend if you don't look at clocks, but if they are there, you cannot stand to not look at them. So that is why I don't wear a watch, and the next step will be to abolish all clocks.
The best way to keep time from being your enemy is to not worry about it. When you are doing some kind of hard work that takes full concentration but is enjoyable for you, such as working on art, the time tends to fly by faster than you can imagine. You can't do anything about it though, so it is best to just not worry about it. If you take this attitude and not always look at the clock and worry, time will become your friend.
I would like to have a small sports car just for a day to do what I want with. I do not care what kind it is, just so it is fast and small. I would go out and just drive fast all day. As I would get more used to it I would drive faster and faster until I got in an accident. Hopefully, if I am not killed, I would not have the craving for driving a small fast car for awhile.
Stroh's Bohemian Style Beer is one of the best brands available that is made in the United States. It is definitely the best available in the Midwest for a moderate price. Stroh's carries on a long tradition of being fire-brewed and it is the only fire-brewed beer in America. Though this may not mean much, there has to be some reason for Stroh's superb taste. Unlike some beer that has a bitter or foul aftertaste, Stroh's is mellow and tasty. In fact, Stroh's is very good warm because the taste is so pleasing.
I hate typing. It gets my back and neck sore and tired, and it gives me a headache. My fingers always miss the keys and go between them and get mangled. Or I hit two keys at a time and they get all jammed up. And Mrs. Smith drives me crazy, saying, “Push it! Push it!” I think I will throw a damn typewriter out of the second story window and watch it smash to bits on the ground.
This school is terrible in its heating system. There are such temperature extremes that one must carry a coat with him all day, putting it on in certain rooms. For example, the chemistry room is so cold, one can see one's breath. A coat is necessary for mere survival. And then there are the well insulated and well heated rooms in the senior hall. Some of these rooms are so hot that one's glasses steam up upon entering.
I think I will go to California this summer. I will go with Scott K___ and Joe F___ and Paul M___ in a van that burnt up inside and was restored. The van will have a motorcycle racing scene on the side since they are going to the motorcycle races in California. I will take by bike along so after I see all of California, I will ride my bike up to Oregon and then ride home along the northern border.
NEWS
Home Page—notice of recent additions to this website. Occasionally, a link to somewhere else.
MEMO
Currently, a kind of travelogue written by our roaming operative, Kenneth Oats. You can still find previous “blog” entries, by Randy Russell, by scrolling down, down, down…
MEDIA
Individual pages for select books, movies, and articles, with links to take you there. Ongoing, and more soon.
MEMORABILIA
For now, consisting of three separate pages. SOCK MONKEYS: Images of favorite fiber-art sculptures/children's toys, most commonly resembling monkeys and often fashioned from old socks. PHOTOS: A few, random photographs, most of which spent time on the main page of this website before being replaced by something new. COLLAGE: Images of collages, made with paper and glue. Most of which are small, for sale, dusty, able to be dusted.
MEMOIR
Memoir is often a fictional account of personal experience, passed off as autobiography, but here it's used as a heading for the chronological pages that are home to my ongoing project of typing and posting my personal journals, usually written by hand, in notebooks. STRAWBERRY ICE CREAM SODA starts way back in 1972 (as always, the oldest entries are at the bottom of the page, and newly recorded ones at the top)—progressing through childhood, adolescence, and up to heavy drinking proprietor of a punk record store (in which I get some help from my friends). NOW IT CAN BE TOLD takes up the story in 1982, when things get serious, and will proceed (ideally) until 1996 in which NOTEBOOK JOURNALS commences, and will run until 2016, when the journey is taken up by NO MEMORY. The intention is to record notebook entries from that year until January 19, 2020, and the beginning of the final page: SEX DIARY (Sexagenarian Diary) (That's a joke.) (And the next memoir page, projected for the decade of the 2030s, will be titled “Deviated Septuagenarian.”) (God willing.) Please note: this is an ongoing project which depends on me living long enough to type and post the multitudes of journal entries. Half the time, I can't read my own handwriting, and there's very little chance that anyone else would have the interest or patience to take it up after my death.
LUNCH
PIE — Currently this is the place for the extent of my dessert intake, specifically; Sparking Water (I am on a quest to try them ALL). (In Older Posts: Memories, drinking, drugs, holidays, family, the forbidden, pipe tobacco, doughnuts, cupcakes, macaroons, tapioca pudding, mung bean and coconut milk, ice cream, incense, croquembouche, cookies, candy, pie, Sahara, strudel, Jello, flan, cannoli, fank, custard, halva, schweddy balls, rice pudding, schaum torte, and more!)
TACO — Near perfect concepts, far-ranging ideas, everyday breakfasts, favorite foods, local destinations, ongoing adventures, tacos…
COFFEE — Cafe, coffeehouse, espresso bar, cat cafe, tearoom, coffee shop, on and on…
DINER — Family restaurant, cafe, greasy spoon, hash-house, lunch counter, blue plate, cafeteria, luncheonette, diners, etc.
LISTS
READING is a reading list of books that I’ve heard about, read about, that have been recommended to me, and/or books that I’ve found, borrowed, or bought that I want to investigate to determine if I want to read—now, or in the very near future. BOOKS is where I post what I’m now calling “Book Reports”—as they are more akin to book reports from grade school than actual “reviews.” VINYL Now posting all review of vinyl records here, as well as my long-running blog: DJ FARRAGINOUS. STEELY DAN is the page where I write about individual songs by the band, Steely Dan, who may not be my favorite band of all time, but are definitely my favorite band to write about. MOVIES is the page for writing about movies. Currently, I’m trying to find, watch, and write about all existing Ella Raines movies. SOAP EXOTICA is reviews and musings on Bar Soap (over 100 varieties and counting!)—often overly extensive, and admittedly, somewhat insane. LISTZ-O-MANIA! is the new page for random lists and rankings. Currently there’s the revised ranking of James Bond movies, my 100 all-time favorite pop albums, and an ongoing ranking of Daniel Clowes books!
PODCAST
This is the home page for “The Randy Russell Podcast” in which RR talks to a guest for an hour or so. Each episode might have a rough theme, but overall there is no real focus (except for, naturally, the guest, and RR). You can listen directly from this page, or download the podcasts from Apple Podcasts and the Stitcher app.
CONTACT
On this page there are BIOS of contributors to this website, as well as contact information. (Though, there is no guarantee the contact information is valid. If you want, or need, to send an email regarding any of the contributors here, or anything on this website, please write to this address: RandySRussell at Gmail dot com (addressed in, you know, email form. Sorry, no hyperlink here). Please make sure to spell the name RandySRussell correctly. If you don't include the middle initial “S”—or spell the last name with two S's and two L's, your email will not reach who it's intended for. It's rough. But also, if you'd like to correspond that old-fashioned way, with paper, stamp, and envelope, first send an email, and if you can convince me you're a person, and not a bill collector, I will trade addresses, and communication can happen not unlike it's 1999.
FINALLY
If you've read this far, Thank You for reading!
