The first five people to respond to this post will get some form of art, by me, about them. I make no guarantees about quality or type, but I will assure that I will give it good effort and that the art will be individual to you, so if you get a mixed CD or some sort of painting doodle, yours is the only one like it.

The only catch, of course: As with most memes, if you sign up, you have to put this in your own journal as well.

Following Ryan's lead...

Top ten artists with favorite album by each artist. Not to be confused with top ten albums. Totally different.

1. They Might Be Giants - Lincoln
2. Ween - The Mollusk
3. The Pixies - Doolittle
4. Sleepytime Gorilla Museum - Of Natural History
5. Pink Floyd - The Wall
6. The Violent Femmes - The Violent Femmes
7. The Mountain Goats - The Sunset Tree
8. Iron and Wine - The Creek Drank the Cradle
9. Radiohead - OK Computer
10. Kronos Quartet - Kronos Karavan

These are not in order of preference.

Date:	2006-08-20 20:56
Subject:
Security:	Public
Mood:	exhausted

Three days of training in the field is one thing. Three days of training in the field in Kuwait is another.

We just got back and I am exhausted almost beyond anything I've been in years.

It was good training, though.

I will post some fun, new pictures, soon.

Mere is awesome!

---
dmb

Date:	2006-07-28 18:52
Subject:	O! A Walking we will go!
Security:	Public
Mood:	quixotic

O! A walking we will go! 
Through amber sands and yellow glow 
to the tent to rest these weary feet 
So in the morn at reveille
a walking we will go! 

And I'll document all the things I see 
in this little journal I keep with me 
as a walking I will go.

I'm sitting in Starbucks sipping cold coffee and sending photos to select people. Right now you may be asking yourself, "But, Dan, where's my photos?" To which I reply: "No photos for you."

Not yet at least.

Allow me time to go where I'm going, then we'll see about photos. Assuming I'll have an Internet connection on the other side.

I've developed a cough, but it's nothing to be afraid of.

---
dmb

Ran four miles this morning. It was my first run in two weeks. It hurt, but I felt really good after it was done. I'm still the fastest in my unit. Movers are coming today to collect my belongings and take them away. I've been sneezing a lot lately.

---
dmb

'What will your obituary say?' at QuizGalaxy.com

I'm nearly finished packing my rucksack and duffel bag. The Army gives us so much crap. After all is said and done, I still have a full duffel bag full of gear that I'm not taking to Iraq. It's maddening, sometimes.  Anyway, I'm just taking a break to drink some water. I've gotten a little behind on my fitness regimen since I've been on vacation. I'm going to have to work extra hard to get back up to par.

They are coming Monday to take all of my belongings away to put into storage. Friday I will be turning my truck in for storage. After that, all I'll have is my military gear and maybe a change or two of civilian clothing. My cell phone will probably be off by the end of the week, as will my Internet connection.

We are nearing the breach, my dear friends. It approaches quickly.

---
dmb

Dear Friends,

I will be flying to Jacksonville tomorrow.

Yrs,
Dan

I dreamed Frank Black was giving signatures, and I was looking for something for him to sign. It was in this big stone courtyard with a pool, and a stone building which was a hawaiian native crafts gift shop. I couldn't find anything, so I went outside the stone walls of the courtyard and found an old burned out shell of a building. It was made of stone as well. Inside all I found was scraps of burned wood, some needles that some junkies had left behind and a framed photo of me and my mom when I was a little boy. So, since I didn't have anything for Frank to sign, I went home to the barracks. There I found Data from Star Trek: The Next Generation and he had just build a new robot named Hugh to be his gay lover. Hugh was in the middle of entertaining all of us with a dinner party when I woke up.

---

There's lots more to the dream, but I don't want to embarrass myself or my friends. They were good dreams, though.

---

dmb

As many of you know, I will soon be chillaxin' with Habib out in the deserts of Iraq for a year. As many of you also know, I will be coming back to the continental U.S., specifically the Southern East Coast, to see friends and family soon. I'm writing up my itinerary for the short time I have to see everybody. Some of you I have spoken to already, but others I have not. So, anyone who wants to hang out, please let me know and we can make arrangements. Otherwise, it may be a very long time before Dan makes it back home.

If man is five,
if man is five,
if man is five,
then the Devils is six,
then the Devil is six,
then the Devil is six,
then the Devil is six,
and if the Devil is six,
then GOD IS SEVEN,
then GOD IS SEVEN,
then GOD IS SEVEN.
This monkey's gone to heaven.

---
dmb

Date:	2006-06-01 07:15
Subject:	Generations will cry in protest
Security:	Public
Mood:	disappointed

Did you know, my dear friend, your thees and thous? Did you know that 'thee' was once the informal second person, much like today's use of the word 'you.' 'Ye' was once the plural or formal singular second person, and 'you' was the plural or formal objective case.

I am afraid that the English language has lost much of its elegance in its continuing degeneration.

---
dmb

I am currently in the process of tracking down my many friends who I have neglected to keep in contact with. It is tedious, in many ways. I'm hoping to see each and every one of you before I deploy, though.


---
dmb

A friend of mine said to me the other day,"Dan, you're in the Army." It was a good reminder. Sometimes I forget.

---
dmb

Date:	2006-05-23 20:00
Subject:	It burns my mind just so
Security:	Public
Mood:	nostalgic

Floored by nostalgia. Numbed by the striking of just a few cords. I have unearthed my old collection of They Might Be Giants CDs and am currently importing them onto my iPod. Suddenly I'm back in seventh grade laying on the floor of my room in our house on Forest Boulevard in the Southside of Jacksonville, FL. I am slightly uncomfortable because of the scratchy rug, and I'm listening to "Lincoln," softly singing along to "Lie Still Little Bottle."

---
dmb

Date:	2006-05-21 14:33
Subject:	My sources have failed me
Security:	Public
Mood:	bouncy

So, it seems that "Aqua Mosh," Plastilina Mosh's long-out-of-print first album was rereleased earlier this year. Why did no one tell me??

---
dmb

Date:	2006-05-20 12:46
Subject:	dream, dreaming, dreamed...
Security:	Public
Mood:	contemplative

The old man sat across the table, looking me over closely.

"You are almost ready," he said. "Your initiantion to the society in nearly complete. There are only a few tasks left for you to accomplish."

"What tasks?" I asked.

"They will come to you in time," he replied. "The end result is inevitable. When the tests arise, you will pass them or you won't."

"How will I know?"

"You will know."

###

I walked into the house, desperately needing to find a bathroom. As I passed the foyer, I encountered a woman reclining on a daybed against the wall. She was young, perhaps in her mid twenties, and she was nude.

"Are you going to to look me in the eyes?" she asked. "You might start to realize who I am."

I tore my eyes from her perfect form and looked into her eyes.

"Do you recognize me?" she asked.

"Yes," I replied. "I think so. You seem familiar."

"I should," she said. "We've been here before, in this house, ever since you were a little boy."

And then I remembered. Night after night, dream after dream, the same woman in different ages and settings. Different appearances, but the same person. The house I had seen outside and inside a hundred times.

"Now you are beginning to understand," she said.

###

I always wake up before the punchline.

---
dmb

I had many strange dreams last night, but the final moments of my dream state have stuck with me the most. I normally set my alarm for 5:15 a.m. I don't recall the circumstances, but as I was dreaming, this voice whispered to me: 5:15 is the laziest number. I was immediately awake and looked at my clock. 5:14, it said. I laid back and laughed to myself until my alarm went off.

---
dmb

Some friends and I recently hiked Olomana Ridge on the windward side of O'ahu. It's a few miles of steep incline followed by a short vertical climb that leaves you standing on a four-foot-wide slab of rock with nothing but open air and what could be a thousand-foot drop to either side. When I made it to the top and stood up, I felt an immediate sense of vertigo followed by an indescribable elation. I took lots of pictures, and I suggest you click here if you want to see them.

---
Daniel Mckenzie Bearl