406 Writing, Freaks, Angels, Death . . . and Nudity!

It was a little bittersweet last Monday evening, as the first writing workshop I've ever done -- a course on short fiction writing through The 406 Writers Workshop -- wrapped up. It was 6 weeks, and I have to say it was one of the best creative endeavors I've ever undertaken. I went into it a little nervous, a little skeptical, and probably with a little bit of an attitude . . . but it was fantastic. The people were great, I learned a ton, and I feel like it threw a big switch in my brain both as a creative person and as a person who just loves books and writing. The discussions we had were probably even more valuable then the act of sitting down and writing, though that was important too.

We each were responsible for two pieces over the course of the six weeks. My first one was the first chapter of what I intend to put online in serial format -- I hope to have that functioning by the end of the summer. It is kind of a pulp-styled quasi-superhero story (surprise, surprise). I chose that idea because I wanted something that I felt I could hit the ground running on, because I don't really consider myself a fiction writer -- mainly because I haven't done it in an age.

My second piece was better, I think. It was more straight ahead fiction, but still with elements of mysticism and myth. I'm going to rework it a bit and might even submit it a couple places. Either way I'll post it when I'm happy (enough) with it. It was a great experience.

I'm pleased because I won't be missing a beat, as the novel workshop starts on Monday. It is being taught by Michael FitzGerald, who was also in the workshop just completed. He's a good guy; I'm looking forward to this session as well. After that is another short fiction workshop at the end of July, then a nonfiction one in August. I'm going to try and keep taking them until they get sick of me!

FreakAngels

I'm a big fan of Warren Ellis. His book Crooked Little Vein, while not the greatest thing he's ever written, lit some lamps in my brain for things I think I could do with my own writing. He is writing an online comic called FreakAngels, with artist Paul Duffield. It is being published online for free, in weekly 6-page installments. In addition, it is being collected an published in graphic novel form, with the first two installments available for purchase. It's kind of a post-apocalyptic thing, set in England, featuring a group of people with some very special powers.

So far there are 60 episodes, and I like the story. What I like best is the model. I have read about other writers who release their writings for free as electronic downloads or books, and the testimonials indicate that, rather than hurt their hard copy sales, it has actually improved them. I find that fascinating. I have big plans for my own serial project to kind of experiment with this idea as well. I think this could be a look at the future, or one future anyway, of books and publishing. I know I will probably spring for the hard copies of this story as well, so Warren (and the folks at Avatar Press) have definitely hooked me. I might even spring for a t-shirt or book bag.

I've been reading a ton of comics lately. What I love best about them is the mechanics of telling a good story. You only have so much space, and so many images, to get the job done. That takes some skill to pull off. I am definitely a fan of "less is more" so I pay close attention to what I think works and doesn't. To be able to tell a compelling story in that format takes real skill. Scoff all you want, oh ye who think comics are dumb. Soon as you can turn off your fucking TV, we'll talk.

Celebrity Death

I'm mentioning Farrah first because I think her death bums me out more than MJ's. Not that I'm that bummed, necessarily. Yeah, it sucks when people die before their time, and it sucks that she suffered for so long with cancer, and it sucks for the family . . . but it's not like she was a part of my life or anything. Still, I'm glad at least that her suffering is over. What a horrible way to go.

I remember when she hit it big. Everyone, I mean everyone, seemed to have, or want to have, her famous poster. It was either Farrah, or the Dallas Cowboy Cheerleaders.

I was more into Jacqueline Smith from the Charlie's Angels cast, myself. And for cheescake, neither one of them could hold a candle in my book to Lynda Carter!

I didn't have the Farrah poster on my wall. I had one of Morgan Fairchild instead. I think I won it at the fair throwing darts at balloons, come to think of it. This is the one I had; it cracks me up to remember that thing hanging on my closet door among all the KISS and IRON MAIDEN pictures.

Michael Jackson

The uproar over this guy's death really, really surprises me. Yeah, he was an artistic genius, yes it is tragic that he has died so young, and yes his life has always been something of a tragedy (train wreck?) despite his huge success. But tragedy (train wreck?) or not, he was also a guy who basically bought his way out of a couple bigtime convictions over being, allegedly, a freakin' pedophile. All these people getting weepy over his death seem to want to re-write history about the guy. I mean, if one of the people who have meant a lot to me since I was young -- say, Paul Stanley from KISS, or Steve Harris or Bruce Dickinson from Iron Maiden -- were suddenly charged with that kind of thing, with plenty of evidence to back it up, I think they would fall rapidly from those lofty heights. And believe me, those guys have all been a biiiiiig part of sections of my life that I have really loved. I'm curious how one reconciles that kind of thing. I mean, OJ Simpson wasn't convicted of his high profile crime either, yet that hasn't stopped anyone from throwing him under the bus (and rightfully so). Two weeks ago Michael Jackson was little more than the butt of a bunch of vile jokes, and most would have likely called him a has been. In death he has reclaimed his "King of Pop" title, though. That is just really weird to me. I'm sorry you died young, man, but if you were a pedophile or some other kind of freak whose money saved you from having to be held accountable, then I hope somewhere you are being held accountable now.

When I think of Michael Jackson, honestly I don't even think of his music. I think of the video to the song "Thriller." And I don't think about the zombies or the dancing (which has been awesomely recreated by a dance group during the Dia de los Muertos parade in Missoula the last couple years), I think of Ola Ray. Ola Ray is the girl who was Michael's date in that video.

Ola Ray was Playboy "Playmate of the Month" for June of 1980. This is significant because that issue was first "girlie" magazine I ever acquired on my own. I was in 7th or 8th grade, I guess. I don't remember if I bought it, or if I stole it. I know I had it stashed in my closet, and then after cleaning out the closet my dad went through what I was throwing away and found it. I think I told him it wasn't mine, that a friend had given it to me. It remains to this day one of the most embarassing episodes of my life.

What is also significant about this issue is that it is the "Playmate of the Year" issue featuring Dorothy Stratten, who is a tragic story as well. A couple months after this issue came out she was murdered by her estranged husband, Paul Snider. A couple films were made about the story; the one you are most likely to have seen was Star 80.

And I know you perverts want to see Ola's centerfold shot. You should be ashamed of yourselves.

Sometimes Miracles Do Happen

I hope you didn't miss The Big News that came out this past Wednesday. The world will absolutely be a better place because of it.

I've been lame about updating this thing lately. I was out of town all last week and feeling under the weather, so when I wasn't working I was pretty much vegetating. I was counting on band practice not happening tonight to get all caught up, but it looks like <gasp!> practice is actually going to happen after all.

So as a stopgap, since I exerted a ton of brain power thinking this up, I am going to post a list of books that I've loved over the years, per the email to The 406 Writers' Workshop I've been attending (and really digging -- one of the best creative things I've ever been part of) over the last 7 weeks.

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From: Chris La Tray Subject: Re: Favorite Books To: "Mike Emmons", "Lydia Brown", "C. Tran", "Michael A. FitzGerald", "Brian Buckbee", "joy morris" Date: Wednesday, June 10, 2009, 12:02 PM

This was actually very hard, because I really haven't read much fiction over the last 10 years or so. So my list is a combination of stuff I have read in the last couple years, plus some of what I consider "classics" based on my own experience.

A Confederacy of Dunces by John Kennedy Toole (hilarious, charming, and a post-suicide Pulitzer winner)

A Good Man is Hard to Find and Other Stories by Flannery O'Connor (great, dark stories with not-necessarily happy endings)

The Terror by Dan Simmons (just read this last year and loved it; a combination of historical fiction and horror, it is about the ill-fated expedition to the arctic led by Sir John Franklin that no one really knows for sure what happened -- 2 ships full of men in 1845 set out and are basically never heard from again. Simmons takes the idea and knocks it out of the park, weaving what is known with stuff he made up. I really loved it)

Walden by Henry David Thoreau (not a novel, but one of my all time favorite books. Thoreau's language can be pretty dense, but the thoughts he puts down on the page bring me back time and again)

The Falcon by John Tanner (this is Tanner's autobiography of his time living as an adopted Ojibwa in the early 1800s; the portrait of the life he paints is both beautiful and just brutally harsh)

The Call of the Wild by Jack London (it's been an age since I read this, but as a kid I loved it; I've been meaning to revisit Jack London and have The Sea Wolf in my current queue)

The Coming of Conan the Cimmerian by Robert E. Howard (I was torn between listing this and The Lord of the Rings; I chose Conan/REH because he probably was a bigger influence; let's just say I'd rather trod the earth beneath my sandalled feet than sit in a tree all elf-like wanking on a harp. Anyway, I think REH was brilliant, and it is tragedy that he committed suicide at the age of 30 because who knows how great he'd have become. This is a newish edition, collected to celebrate his 75 year anniversary -- it collects not only his Conan stories in the order he published them in the great pulp magazines of the early 30s, but also shows early drafts, letters between he and his contemporary, H.P. Lovecraft, etc. Many other authors have written Conan as part of the estate's license, or written stories to fill in the time spaces between stories, but none of them touch Howard's writing. His is dark, creepy, and just electric. I will be reading and re-reading Howard's work for the rest of my life; I don't know how many other writers I can say that about)

Dune by Frank Herbert (a classic of science fiction that I think everyone should read. Magnificent.)

On the Black Hill by Bruce Chatwin. He's probably better known for his nonfiction, travel-type stuff (On Patagonia is awesome) but I really loved this book. I wonder what I would think if I read it now, but at the time it had a pretty strong impact on me.


I chose two graphic novels for my list as well.

Watchmen by Alan Moore (yeah it has been hyped because of the movie that just came out, but the book is so far beyond the movie that it needs to be read. Moore touches on so many levels here -- emotional, political, societal -- that anyone who smugly dismisses it as "just a comic book" should have their head examined)

Batman: The Dark Knight Returns by Frank Miller (if I had to recommend one or the other, as good as Watchmen is I think this one is better. It is set in the future, Batman has disappeared and Superman has become an agent of the state. Society has crumbled, and an aged Bruce Wayne comes out of retirement to make a few changes. This book is dark and just flatout awesome. Miller raised the bar for graphic storytelling with this one, and its effects have been felt ever since. If words like "Batman" and "Superman" make you chuckle, then you really need to check this out -- this is great stuff)

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Sid gave me a great Father's Day gift. Double vinyl picture disc. You know you're jealous.

Give Me Liberty or Give Me Death Metal

On August 31st, 2007 we played with a band from Athens, OH, called SKELETONWITCH. They had just been signed to Prosthetic Records at the time, and their first record, Beyond the Permafrost, had not come out yet; I believe it came out something like the following October.

(note: the artwork for that record was done by one John Baizley. Why does that matter? Well, John happens to sing and play guitar for the band BARONESS, who are coming to Missoula in July opening for the magnificent CLUTCH.)

Since then, these guys have literally been on the road virtually non-stop, except for about a month or so. They've crisscrossed the USA on various tours, been to Europe . . . just all over. They play an extremely fast, heavy form of metal usually outside my comfort zone; basically death metal. But they do it very well, and they are just great, great guys. It is one of those situations where one would easily make assumptions about the band members based on the imagery, but the reality is I don't think I've spent time hanging out with a more enjoyable group of guys from any band we've played with.

Sid told me they were coming back to Missoula to play The Palace. Rather than get the 'wolfs on board, though, I was able to get HELLIANA on the bill. I would have liked to do the show, but this was the first opportunity for Sid to have his band open for a band he really loves, and that is a Big Deal. He was pretty ecstatic. Last night is when it all went down, Sid & Co. went on first.

I hadn't seen these guys play since . . . man, I don't remember. But they flat brought the rock, and people really seemed to dig them. It is very gratifying to see them get better and better. I know they have some little internal gripes now and again, but that always happens when you are idle for a while. They impressed a lot of people with their energy and their material. I was quite pleased.

UNDUN, a local metal band that has been around a while but I had never seen before, were up next. I have to confess that I really didn't catch their show, even though I was in the room. I was too busy catching up with the Skeletonwitch guys, telling road stories, talking about our formative years as rockers, etc. They thought Helliana were awesome, and thought it was cool that they got to open given that Sid is such a big fan. That led us to tell stories about our own experiences playing with bands we love, most of which have turned out positive. That is a great thing about this underground scene, is there is an instant comraderie based on shared experiences, venue comparisons in different cities, etc. I enjoy the hell out of that.

Undun did a skateboard giveaway, which I thought was pretty cool. Everyone who paid to get in got a raffle ticket, then they drew a number out of a cup before the 'witch went on.

I've never met this girl before, but while she was clearly in the Undun "crew" she was equally enthusiastic and appreciative of all the bands. I like to see that. So many are standoff-ish in these types of events, so I like it when I see people giving credit where credit is due.

Skeletonwitch went on next, and they flat ripped . . . it . . . up. I planted myself at the front of the stage and did not budge, and that was a blast. A good metal show is so cathartic -- it is very primal in the energy and the physical nature of people just hurling themselves against you. I loved it. It helps when you know a band's material and they are ripping the roof off the place too. It was just a blast. I didn't get many pictures because it was too wild, but here are a couple. What a great band!

After it was over, Sid and some of his friends wanted to do a group photo with the band. They were happy to oblige.

It was a great night, and while I only got a little sleep I still feel kind of renewed today. I was happy that the Skeletonwitch guys were so cool to Sid and his band, and even imparted some words of wisdom that, while no different than things I've told them, still carry more weight from someone unknown to them. It restored my faith that rock isn't just a total bullshit scene, even though so often it seems to be.

When we were driving home, Sid commented, "Man, I don't even see how anyone can get as good as a band like Skeletonwitch is." I said, "Well, for one thing they did over 200 shows last year alone. Think of how good you got after just 6 or 7 in a row playing with Lazerwolfs last summer!" He definitely understood.

Julia and I talk about that quite a bit. It is the time one puts in that makes one great. Yeah, some people are just full of natural talent, which helps, but they still have to work at it. It usually doesn't take that long to get competent at the mechanics of something, whether it is playing an instrument, wielding a paint brush, whatever. It is the hours you put in doing it over and over again where you get good, get creative, etc. Even that is no guarantee of traditional "success", but it sure doesn't hurt. It's pretty simple, but it never hurts me to remind myself of that.

Skeletonwitch are headed to Seattle, where they are going to spend the next three weeks recording their new album with the mighty Jack Endino at the helm. I can't wait to hear it when it's wrapped up! I hope they get huge and filthy stinkin' rich.

Nuggets? Any herb!

Last weekend was stuffed with more music than I really imagined it would be. It started out Saturday with a LAZERWOLFS trip to Great Falls. We get up there once or twice a year, and it always seems to be in the middle of a stretch of really shitty weather when it should be nice out. We rolled out of town around 6 PM or so and hit the venue around 8:30, I guess.

We thought there would be two other bands, but anticipated there might be only 1 besides us on account of the other band from Missoula -- Sid's band HELLIANA -- couldn't make the trip. Turns out there weren't any locals on the bill either, so it was just us. Which made it interesting, as we had not played a full night in several years. Not only that, but we'd only had one practice since we'd devoted our lives to the Judas Priest thing, so even our own material was rusty. So, first things first, we set up our gear.

That's where the magic happens. Unless it's Missoula, where we can't seem to buy a show. Got snubbed by the Total Fest folks again this year, so I'm feeling pretty bitter about our home friggin' town. The Total Fest thing could be, in fact, the nail in the coffin as far as I'm concerned. I've really been on the fence about continuing beyond the shows we have booked. Scheduling makes it tough to do much, and the simple reality that after 10 years as a band, 3+ applications, and we STILL can't get on a local festival like this, makes me realize that our home town -- the place one would assume would be the best place for us -- really couldn't give two shits about us. But this GF show may have put a little gas back in the tank, I don't know. We'll see.

Anyway, we walked across the street to a Mexican restaurant that Jimmy chose based on it being "the worst Mexican food I've ever had." I don't remember the name of the joint, but I do remember that they billed themselves as "home of the puffy taco." That sounds kinda dirty, if you ask me. It wasn't great, but it wasn't horrible either. At least none of us got sick.

While there we put a list together of songs we thought we could play -- there was literally material on there we hadn't played in 2 or 3 years. We divided it into two long sets, walked back over to the venue and let it rip.

It was pretty fun, actually. There weren't a lot of people there, but it was a good time. We were just kind of in our own little zone, almost like circling the wagons, but we nailed it. I felt good about the band and what we can do because we've been playing together so long. I was happy I was able to sing all night and not lose my voice.

We drove all night to get home; when we left Great Falls it was raining hard, which turned to snow about halfway up Rogers Pass, and finally damn near a whiteout for a stretch. Once we started down the other side, it was fine. We just ate sunflower seeds and listened to more loud rock to get home alive. By the time we got back to the rock office and unloaded the gear, then I ran Bubba home to Frenchtown, then back to my house and unloaded MY gear, it was about 6:30 AM. A long night, but it felt like an accomplishment.

Love Your Mother Earth Festival

Julia had scheduled to help out with a bellydance workshop at this festival at Lolo Hot Springs, then participate in a performance. I went along to play the doumbek. When we got there, of course it was utter chaos with no one knowing what was going on, but eventually we got it sorted out. Who knew that loving your Mother Earth meant beer cans all over the ground, plastic water bottles, and pizza boxes? I think their heart is in the right place, so I'm not going to gripe just because probably 70% of the crowd are probably the same idiots you find staggering around puking downtown whenever some remotely enebriating event is taking place.

It was cold, but I had a great time. We met two wonderful people from Utah, Cara and Wade.

They are travelers (6 months in Turkey, for example) and musicians. They had a bunch of Middle Eastern musical instruments, and we played music with them for a couple hours. I played with them for a dance that Geneva did, then also for a big group dance at the end of the performance. It was one of the most thrilling musical things I've ever done. It felt great to be part of something like this. Meet a couple people, and 2 hours later be on stage performing with them. It was fantastic. I really admire these two people for living a life that I hope to pursue, in some fashion, before I call it a life.

Here are a few more pictures; I hope someone hooks me up of pictures with the live music and dancing! My friend Charles was there, but he wandered off to photograph some annoying jam band he's probably seen 100 times already rather than stick around for the good stuff. His loss! I guarantee he will have fantastic shots from the entire event, just not this part. I'll make sure and update this blog when those are online, because it really did seem to be a cool event. For now, the best I can do with documentation of our own little red-headed stepchild part of the goings-on is via my own (crushingly) amateur photography.

You know what I love best about Julia's performing? Her facial expressions. She really looks like she is having fun when she does it. I like that. I know this particular craft takes a lot of concentration, but I think facial expression is as critical as the hand and body movements. My girl has it going on, and I'm proud when I watch her.

Geneva's enthusiasm really helped. She recruited Cara and Wade to play music for one of her dances, and got me on board on the drum. We worked out a piece that we played that didn't go quite as planned but still came off pretty cool. Then it was her idea to have us play another song while she brought all the dancers on stage for one big piece. That was great. Like Julia says, Geneva is totally a "yes" person; no idea is too risky. I like that. That's how I want to be.

We'll definitely do something again next year, only this time we will plan ahead a little bit; camp out, play some music for lovely women to dance to around the camp fire, oh yeah. Hopefully in the next couple years we can join Cara and Wade as part of a traveling troupe across Central Asia! Now that is what I'm talking about. . . .

Would You Like to See My "Laser"

Saw this article earlier this week linked from David Sirota's new pop culture page, Nerdivore. Here's a slice from the original article:

A US weapons lab on Friday pulled back the curtain on a super laser with the power to burn as hot as a star.

The National Ignition Facility's main purpose is to serve as a tool for gauging the reliability and safety of the US nuclear weapons arsenal but scientists say it could deliver breakthroughs in safe fusion power.

"We have invented the world's largest laser system," actor-turned-governor Arnold Schwarzenegger said during a dedication ceremony attended by thousands including state and national officials.

"We can create the stars right here on earth. And I can see already my friends in Hollywood being very upset that their stuff that they show on the big screen is obsolete. We have the real stuff right here."

NIF is touted as the world's highest-energy laser system. It is located inside the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory about an hour's drive from San Francisco.

Equipment connected to a house-sized sphere can focus 192 laser beams on a small point, generating temperatures and pressures that exist at cores of stars or giant planets.

I can say that I worked on this project, though so far removed from the actual purpose that it doesn't count. These guys were using an ERP system that had contracted my employer to provide a barcode interface to their basic software. When LLNL (Lawrence Livermore National Labs) decided they wanted to barcode all of the materials that come into their warehouse for tracking purposes, we went on site to evaluate their needs and make some recommendations -- software, hardware, etc. This was actually several years ago, and was one of the first projects I was involved with. I traveled out to Livermore with Chris, the president of the company I work for.

First we had to undergo a security clearance check. There were forms to fill out and send in, etc. before they would even allow us on site. Once we got to Livermore, we had to meet our contact there just to get through the gates. This was some James Bond type stuff, because the guards at the gate were heavily armed, and one would position himself off to the side of the car with his hand on his weapon while the other would check the IDs of everyone in the car, all the while keeping his hand on his weapon as well.

That's where the Bond-level coolness ends, for the most part. You would expect that such a high tech installation would look high tech, but it didn't. The main campus was a hodge podge of temporary buildings, like portable classrooms or trailers, not unlike this:

I think the maze of roads and dead ends was enough of a deterrent for criminals bent on espionage -- who the hell would know how to find anything important? We asked why it was like this, and our guide told us that it "takes an act of Congress" to allocate funds to budget constructing an actual building, but as the installation grew they were allowed to throw up the temporary structures as needed -- and they had obviously done so, all higgeldy piggeldy. That's your government in top form, ladies and gentlemen!

We were shown through a couple warehouses, talked to some people, then went back to a conference room to sit down with a bunch of managers and their IT guy (the security level on the IT side was ridiculous in the way the IP traffic was handled; well beyond my understanding of this stuff, with "green zones" and "red zones" and all this mumbo jumbo keeping addresses segmented away from certain security levels; what a nightmare it would be as an admin for that stuff).

We didn't get to see the actual inside of where they were doing all their laser development -- at the time they had 1 of the 192 lasers operational -- but we drove by it. It just looked like a sports arena, not unlike the field house here in Missoula.

We got to hear the whole story of the project during our meeting. The main project manager was one of the people in the meeting, and he seemed like just a normal guy, clearly in love with the challenge -- which was touted as a Department of Energy project to explore nuclear fusion as a potential source of energy for powering the national grid.

The word "laser" kept coming up, and I kinda smirked as I was taking notes. My boss said, "What are you laughing at?" because I'm sure he knew what I was thinking. So all these guys are looking at me, and I said, "Did any of you guys ever see Austin Powers? Every time you mention the 'laser' I think of that movie." They thought that was pretty hilarious. So from that point forward, every time anyone mentioned the "laser" they held their fingers up to make the double-quotes sign. It was amusing. Stupid, but amusing.

Anyway, that's my story about the LLNL project. I think they have since changed ERP software, I don't know. They bought all the tools from us that would enable them to do all their customizations and stuff themselves anyway -- I know I haven't talked to them in at least a couple years. But it was fun. And my first opportunity to see the Bay Area as well -- we spent an evening in San Francisco. That was memorable.




Speaking of Rocket Science

Who knew Nascar was really a front for Star Wars?!?

Building Food

I uploaded the rest of the pictures from the Memorial Weekend trip we took to Oregon. I'm not going to write about it, but if you care you can see the images via this flickr photostream (clicking the image will show any commentary that goes with it). It was a blast.

Gardening

Last year I built a couple raised beds, but it was too late in the year to get any planting in. This year, though, we are ready . . . this past weekend we got them ready to start producing some food. In total there are three beds we will plant in; each took about a yard of earth to fill.

You can see we have some smaller boxes there too; those are potato boxes. They are starting to grow as well (and since this picture was taken they've gone nuts!)

Before I filled the boxes with dirt, I unloaded a year's worth of household composting and mixed it into the straw base. After the top layer, our compost can was full of the blackest, wettest, stinkiest compost you've ever seen.

I got the soil from Marchie's Nursery here in Missoula. I was going to get just one big load delivered, but not knowing exactly how much I would need, I decided to just take the canopy off the truck and haul it myself. Julia was teaching a dance class, so I did the first load/box myself. Here's what happens when you set the camera down to do some real work and you have an obnoxious teenager that takes a bit much after his grandpa watching over your shoulder:

Didn't take long and I had box #1 full of dirt. It's a bit full, but it has settled quite a bit.

About this time Julia got home so we went after load #2. It's weird seeing my truck without the canopy, since it's been on there for about 10 years!

A couple trips later and we had all three boxes filled. It went a lot faster with a real helper!

Once all the dirt was in, I started spreading that material on the ground around them to block grass and weeds from growing through it.

After that, it was one more trip to the nursery for bark, a little more shoveling and spreading, and it was complete!

It was hot, dirty, sweaty work but I enjoyed the hell out of it. I think I am going to fill in the spaces where the shape isn't square so it is easier to enclose. We can't decide if we are going to just figure out a way to cover the boxes vs. deer or just fence the whole space. I have a little while before that decision needs to be made. Now, we just have to accept that we have introduced the neighborhood's premium catbox facility for all the local felines, the little bastards. . . .