J anuary 18, 2000 : Official launch of Zum Zumkino, though there's not a lot here: just one page full of promises.

February 5, 2000 : I feel an additional page could be somewhat more entertaining, so I'm putting up a links page in lieu of a "Little Bit About Me" page. Eh, they're the same thing.

February 6, 2000: Added a web counter and a guest book (at least, I hope I did).

February 20, 2000: Despite crazy school schedules (or perhaps, because of crazy school schedules), I forge on, not getting nearly as much finished as I had hoped. Homepage is updated as new graphics, i.e. background and buttons (my own!) are put in. Link list is updated. Very rough first pages of Lazzi's Lounge and the BC Photo Gallery are installed. All of this is done to the combined soundtrack of the Superfriendz and the Beastie Boys. Oh yeah.

February 24-26, 2000: Miscellaneous touching up. Added to Lazzi's Lounge. Updated index & what's new list. Awfully rough (or roughly awful) 1st page of Dr. Toe's CD Review (no more construction page!) is up. Musical impetus: the song stylings of John Zorn and They Might Be Giants. And yet, the pages seem perfectly normal.

(At this rate, I may consider telling people this place actually exists)

May 6-7, 2000 : Looks like I spoke too soon. Good grief! With school sucking up 12 hours of my day, I've had to bypass the little pleasures (which can also be the little frustrations) of life. However, this weekend I've worked on the B.C. Photo Gallery. Estimated finishing date: September, 2063. An epiphanic discovery of FlamingText.com has resulted in new banners on most of the pages. Oh yes, there's more stuff at the Lounge. The ability to make subdirectories in Tripod is still eluding me, much to my annoyance. Soundtrack this time out: Neko Case's new album and The Southern Harmony and Musical Companion I bought for 3 bucks last weekend. I am so not apologizing.

July 7, 2000 : I don't really know how to correctly type a window-shattering, neighbour-frightening, primeval scream, so you'll just have to envision it yourselves. Self-estimations of my busyness this summer were grossly miscalculated. Stupidly busy seems to describe it best. I'm beginning to have nightmares about being 260 years old and not being able to die until I finish this bloody thing. Actually, that's not true at all.

Is it just me, or are these updates becoming increasingly wordier?

Anyway. Today I tacked up one more picpoem at the Lounge, for fear Tripod was going to banish me into deadbeat designer purgatory. I'm gonna finish this website, man! I'm reeeely gonna!

I wasn't going to put this last update in here, but it's exclusively for Dianne.

Addendum, July 23: In my continuing efforts to Make Myself Feel Better By Changing A Word Or Two Here and There and Dubbing It "Progress," I made minuscule changes to my We Cloe Comus page, explaining how it's not going to be Dr. Toe's CD Review nor We Cloe Comus. I am working on graphics to this page; things inch on slowly. I think I'm going to try to incorporate the cd review into We Cloe, if I can. No music tonight, just the sound of rain on the roof. Except it's raining quite hard, so it sounds as if the house is going through a particularly enthusiastic car wash.

August 13, 2000 : Yes, definitely wordier. Anyway, the big news: I GOT THE GALLERY TO WORK!! WOO! My enthusiasm is dimmed somewhat by the fact my expletive deleted computer lost my first We, Cloe file . . . one that I spent two whole entire days working on. This madness has to stop! Once We, Cloe has been started to my satisfaction . . . I will unleash this terror upon the world. (Insert favourite evil, maniacal laugh here.) Soundtrack: "Road to Nowhere" played 30 times in succession, and a whole lot of honky tonk music.

October 4, 2000 : It's late, so I will not go into the painful details of my narcissistic bouts with incongruity (oh, the pain). When I'm not at school and/or sleeping on the floor, I'm working ever so hard on We Cloe, which, in typical mestyle, is turning into a beast of a project. But it's a labour of love. Reeeeeely. It's kind of like delivering octuplets. I think. In the meantime, two more poems are going up at Lazzi's Lounge. Both are fairly old, and rather bad, but I've got a soft spot for them . . . . it's called my brain. Soundtrack: Kahimi Karie's self-titled album, which I just bought this afternoon, and goes on record as being the most expensive roll of film I've ever developed.

Mmmm. Sleep deprivation. Fun. Thinking for it good is.

Addendum, November 1 : Okay, so I may have set everything up on October 4, but they're actually going up today. I've decided to throw up a couple of lyric pages I've been working on for We, Cloe too. In the meantime, I've been wondering if Madness is really going to be on this week.

February 20, 2001 : Oh my lanta, I've been working on this page for over a year! I jested about having this done before Christmas and now . . . . it pains me to think about it (but to be fair, that could just be the pain from thinking). No colossal changes this time around: just some errors fixed, and the addition of a Vancouver page to the B.C. Photo Gallery. And still I wait for school to relax its spike laden vice from around my head. My musical caffeine tonight: ********* records, tokyo remix album. Pinball should be a verb.

April Fools, 2001 : Just because it's been bothering me for so long, I fixed a spelling mistake on this page. Oh yes, and rendered it readable to those with I.E. (or, as I like to call it, AIEEEE!) I've created a Flashing Lights page for We, Cloe, and another poem for the Lounge. When they'll actually be uploaded is a complex mathematical equation not to be attempted when one is running barefoot on slippery surfaces, carelessly waving about pinking shears, green velvet pants, and key lime pies. (Mmmm . . . key lime pies.) Anyway, that leaves me out of the running. No music at this hour. Just the overwhelming smell of fabric softener sheets and the laundry of my discontent.

August 12, 2001 : Hey, this is fun! I can go back and see what I was doing at this time a year ago! *thunks head repeatedly on desk to punctuate an evil, smart-alecky (who's alecky?) remark.* I somehow managed to make it through school, only to enter a world that is much more weird. (Weirder than living with 11 people? Yes, weirder than that.) At any rate, my disgust at these huge lapses in visiting Zumkinoland has been alleviated somewhat by the following item (are you ready for this?):

I don't care if blinking script is annoying. I'm excited. Well, the section isn't completely completed, but it's good enough for me to feel satisfied in letting other people see it. I never thought I'd live to see the day! The section in question is the aforelinked BC PHOTO GALLERY. Woo! Only two more sections until I can run away and join the Bulgarian National Circus. Time to start practicing my high wire zwieback baking act! Music, 11 a.m.: TMBG vs. McSweeney's. Music, 11 p.m.: Belle & Sebastian. I smell zucchini in butter.

September 20, 2001 : Oh my Saab, I'm almost too afraid to say something, lest I be buried under a mystical avalanche of imitation cheese slices whipped up by the webpage fates. Lazzi's Lounge . . . . finished for now. Shhhh! I'm so excited, I think I'll wash some dishes. No, really. Actually, I'd feel better about this if it weren't for the fact We, Cloe has about two years work left to go. Gumrrpl. This last update has come about quickly, so I am without music. I've become partial to the sound of my own muttering anyway.

October 13, 2001 : I am so veklempt. I think I'll leave the blinking text alone and just understate the whole pageantry by saying (typing, yes) I can't believe I did it. I also can't believe it took me two years to get this site up to a level where I felt people could actually view it. Hopefully the future will see insane schedules abate, and I'll be able to update this site regularly (you know, every 4-6 months) until it's finally completed. (Did someone just chortle?)

What have I done in the final stretch? The Sloan page, Inbreds discography and Spot the Book page to flesh out We Cloe a bit. I replaced my former links page with something much more sparse. I have cooler things planned for it, but it will take time. I must draw the line.

Please allow me a self-indulgent moment to reflect. (For impatient readers who wish to skip the kvetching, just scroll up and watch the blinking text some more). I will never claim to be artistically inclined in any way, but I've learned a lot while trudging away at Zumkino. I think this will be apparent from page to page, as you see stuff created 2 years ago, and stuff whipped up just recently. However, one consistency remains: really ugly colour scheming. Do not stare directly into the monitor. I've been colourly challenged since birth. Oh yes, and then there's my complete inability to figure out Tripod's directory system. Two consistencies.

Anyway, now it's time to do more dishes, as the last week's Zum sprint has forced me to eat dinners out of cups with measuring spoons. Don't laugh - I know you've done it too, and stained just as many shirts in the process. Musical inspirations this week: a little bit of Hawksley Workman and a whole lot of Duotang.

October 19, 2001 : Wow. When I wrote that last entry, I swore off all things webpagey for a loooong, loooong time. Hmmm. Old habits (of lying to oneself) die hard. Well, I felt compelled to do a few things. One: to include the lyrics to Pretty Together at We Cloe in order to celebrate the recent release of Sloan's latest album. (Okay, and the fact they actually included lyrics with the CD this time was a bit of an impetus too.) Two: I'm taking off my lazzi_2 yahoo e-mail address because I can't access the account half the time. All Lazzi e-mail inquiries will now be directed to zumkino@yahoo.com . Third: typos. Typos and lots of them. I'm trying to fix them all, but I have a feeling I'll still be spotting embarrassing spelling errors into the crisp spring days of March, 2012. Oh yes, I also listed this webpage with Google. I'm feeling an overwhelming urge to hide under my bed with a few non-perishables again. I abdicate all responsibilities for my wimpiness; I'm a Cancer. Soundtrack today: I'll give you three guesses.
 
October 31, 2001 : I sincerely hope I'm not going through some sort of time consuming webpage addiction thing. Perhaps, instead of procrastinating on this project, it has become a tool of procrastination. Hmmm, and at the same time, Arg. I've been accidentally cracking my skull on a myriad of objects all week (door frames, cupboards, televisions hung from ceilings), and I've yet to grow smarter. I'm considering monthly updates to this place. 12 updates a year. That sounds somewhat reasonable . . . . Anyway, this time around I've added two poems to the Lounge, completed the Inbreds lyric page, and added some desktop downloads that aren't desktop downloads to the BC Photo Gallery.

Why can't I procrastinate by vacuuming or getting a haircut or learning how to blend things without a blender? How much can I not get done in a day? Why have I been feeling so rhetorical lately?

Music, sweet music: the hits of The Mopeds. Audio Galaxy, I love you.  

January 16, 2002: Spending some time away from Z.K. has been a mixed blessing. In that time, I've had the opportunity to peruse the site on computers other than my own. It seems that living in my own personal biosphere has allowed the world to whiz by my insular bubble, and I was shocked to learn that nowadays, 99% of the world uses Explorer as opposed to Netscape. (Please don't laugh at my ignorance. This biosphere comes complete with an olympic sized pool and all you can eat banana bread. Can you blame me?)

Warning: self-righteous moment approaching: whatever happened to rooting for the underdog?!?!

Alright. The bottom line is, this entire website looks terrible with AIEEE, and that has to be rectified. I offer apologies like fruit baskets in the meantime. Anyway, I'm beginning to feel drawn towards Explorer anyway, as Netscape has been giving me such grief. I'm currently trying negotiate Composer for Netscape 6, which is rigorously testing my patience. Will clear thinking persevere? Will sanity be voted out? Stay tuned for the next episode . . . .

P.S. - Yes, updates are coming. There will be more photos up at the BC Photo Gallery (including a new region), and more complete pages at We Cloe. Whenever I say, "soon" I end up a liar, so I'll just say "sometime."
 
March 11, 2002 : I suppose this is sometime enough. Progress is slow, I tells ya, due to the aforementioned new version of Composer debacle. It's causing me to rip out my hair in a systematic deconstructing of my current John-Hughes-Era-Molly-Ringwald-Hairdo (not intentional, I assure you). And yet I've been able to add a couple of new pages: a Winamp skin page featuring We Cloe bands (well, Sloan anyway), which doesn't really work, and two new regions at the B.C. Photo Gallery, which I hope to Helen work. I know I've thanked them profusely at the Gallery already, but I'd be stuck on that site if it weren't for the photographic donations of the Culberts (that's Kim and Fraser, and perhaps their dogs too. I dunno. They seem clever enough). Thanks guys.

A few other pages have been updated. You'll have to wade through the marshes to see which ones. Oh yeah, I threw up this creepyweird background to accentuate my creepyweird ramblings. What do you think? If I get enough e-mails saying it's too creepyweird, I'll take it down and return to the comforting baby blue. My musical inspiration through this oft-frustrating journey has been every mixed CD anyone's ever burned for me (which is like, 5, but they're all very good in their own ways and thank you to the people who compiled them for me. You know who you are.)

March 15, 2002: No no no, not a productive week. Just finishing up stuff. I've been trying for the past few days to make this site look purdy for the vast majority of I.E. users, but I'm beginning to think it's never gonna happen. Bloody bloody bloody . . . . I've been creatively uninspired as of late, so no new poems for the Lounge, however I did put up some links that will be of interest to . . . um . . . well, me for one. And my goldfish, Rob. (He really digs Ondaatje.) I also threw up some more Sloan lyrics (very old and very new), and cleaned things up everywhere in much the same way a jaded janitor would. I'm starting to work on new buttons and backgrounds for all of Zumkinoland, because the existing ones are ancient. I mean, they're sooooo 2000! Hmmm . . . I'm not my usual pretzel-brained, sugar-high self today. Must be the infamous VanCity Wall O' Cloud. Or all the Beta Band music .

March 22, 2002: Entertainment: that's what it's all about! So instead of e-mailing me about the background, which I'm going to selfishly assume no one in their right mind would ever do, take a poll! Look at that! Immediate gratification! Sharing of strange opinions! This is a webpage borne of the 21st century! Wow! All these exclamation marks, and I haven't even had a sugary breakfast yet!

I've tried to fix a few things in the past few days: links, a great deal of which, unbeknownst to me, didn't work, a bit of AIEEE formatting and tinkering with the Winamp skins so perhaps they'll download properly (mebbe . . . . mebbe not). And of COURSE, the poll at What's New? I'll change the poll every time I do an update here. Because I think the world needs to voice its views on such matters of the heart as the best use of a wheelbarrow in winter, and one's favourite colour of jello. Can you dig it? P.S. - Music: Stephen Malkmus. I can dig it

March 31, 2002 : No rest nor chocolate for the wicked, though I suppose being sleepless and high on chocolate would be slightly more wicked. Darn. I knew this kind of thing would happen when the Easter Chihuahua met his demise. (Stupid low flying planes. Sigh.) I have recently barred myself from checking out graphic sites on the internet. I see these sites, get all tingly, then want to do the same kind of thing. Which would be great were it not for this big obstacle called "talent" sitting in front of me like an electric barbed wire fence. Still, electric barbed wire fences didn't stop me as a kid, and they're not stopping me now. I've added a new page to Zum Zumkino: Poppedarts (or PoppedArts or Popped Arts, believe me, I agonized over the decision), which will be a showcase of . . . well I hesitate to go into detail, since the disparity between my world and this world (which is consistently damper) is chasmic. But there are desktop wallpapers up there, and some of them aren't too bad, so check it out. I will now remove my hands from the shaping of Zumkinoville for awhile. There's so many things I want to do here, but constructive, non-eyesight-threatening activities beckon. I'll be back in a few months, if not sooner. In the meantime, I'm downloading more Hoff Dylan songs from AudioGalaxy. Whee!

What's new? Absolutely nothing. (Suckers!) I've begun to immerse myself in a million and a half hobbies just to vex me. Unfortunately, webpage building isn't one of those hobbies, but hey, why not add it to the list? I think the static I'm forced to listen to for four hours a day has finally soaked my brain in a bubbly wash of crazy.

I just wanted to inform zumkino visitors (all two of you) that I haven't given up on this site. I have colossal plans for it, including a sister site that doesn't have frustrating upload limits. I intend to divide zumkino's former content between the two sites. A snazzy new We Cloe will stay here, and the photographs and miscellaneous bits of art will consolidate and move elsewhere. I've become obsessed with photography lately, so there will definitely be more things to see at the Gallery. I promised myself five months ago the new Zumkino will be revealed by 2003. I'm still aiming for that, but have since attached one of those lampshades they put on injured dogs to prevent me from chewing my toes to alleviate the stress.

January 13, 2003: Hey! It's the 3 year anniversary of ZZk! Yay! And what do I have to show for it? Um... keep saying yay or I might collapse into a sobbing heap. (You know, it just occurred to me I come off as a bit neurotic in these entries. I just want to make a statement to the effect that I'm not neurotic, nor obsessive, nor an immediate threat to society or even polite company. I'm sure these words are a product of writing this page at early hours in the morning and have nothing to do with my otherwise charming and well-adjusted personality. Really. Honestly. I'm not lying to you. I'm not a compulisve liar on top of all that. Really.)

Anyway, the website, yes. I've dedicated the last few days to content even though I'm more anxious to work on presentation. The sorry lack of Thrush Hermit websites out there has prompted me to begin a Thrush Hermit page at We Cloe, which will be posted once the overhaul is complete. I also finally (finally, finally!) finished off the Sloan lyric page. 100 songs transcribed! There's a couple still left to do, but I'm going to have to unearth some old cassettes to do them, so all in good time. (Sorry. I apologize. "Good time" is a blatant lie. See! I told you I wasn't a complulsive liar!)

Soundtrack for this go: well, Thrush Hermit, obviously. I do so love Clayton Park.