Random Joe Dream

I had a dream the other night that I was at a big seminar of some kind. There were tons of people, at least 700, all of us sitting in lines on the mat, and a few "important persons" (no one I know) were speaking to us all.

I spaced out and quit paying attention (even in my dreams I am daydreaming!). When I snapped back into "reality" there was some sort of argument happening, with half the people taking one side and about half taking the other. I couldn't figure out what the debate was all about, and right as it was about to turn into some sort of mob riot, Joe appeared. It was like he had been there in the crowd all along, and he managed to make himself heard.

I don't remember what he said. It didn't seem like it was anything heavy - he was just explaining to both groups where the disconnect was in the conversation, or something. While he was speaking, people seemed to calm down a little bit. His overall demeanor was of someone who seemed to have picked a side in the argument, but rather than try to coerce others to agree with him, he was first trying to be impartial and represent both sides fairly so we could all make up our own minds using the facts at hand, and not get all heated up over some hasty rhetoric.

Jaunters III

I think a lot of people have seen this at one point or another, but now Jaunters III, the long awaited sequel to Jaunters I and II, is available on YouTube. It's been broken up into three parts, the first shown below.
Part 1, Part 2 and Part 3.

Cold day

Today was the first cold day for Austin this year. Joe would have woken up really excited. He loved to make soup as soon as the weather got chilly. He had the best chicken soup recipe. mmm...

This has been stuck in my head all day. Coming home to an empty house that doesn't smell like delicious cooking is so fucking hard.

damn I'm tired of this. shit.

Finally!

(I posted this on LJ, but thought it appropriate to add here as well)

I can't believe it took this long... I honestly thought it was just never going to happen, but I finally had a dream about Joe. It was nothing horribly special on its own, and that's kind of what made it special. We weren't riding a lollipop train to chocolate marshmallow land. Jenn, Joe and I were having dinner together some place that looked like Earl Abel's in its better days but a bit fancier. We already knew Joe was sick, but it was that time period where we knew Joe was sick, but you couldn't tell by looking at him. We ate dinner and then Joe decided he was still hungry and fuck it, he was going to order a second course- of pork chops no less. I don't even know if Joe liked pork chops, I personally have never cared for them, so it was a weird thing my mind decided to go with. I thought this second course thing was crazy but I would just have to join him and order something too. Jenn thought we were both just nuts. And then my alarm went off the first time. And I cried and tried to force myself back into the dream. I could still see his face and hear his voice but I couldn't make the dream stay. I woke up crying. I didn't want to wake up back into this world. I wanted to spend more time at dinner with Joe. We were just having a normal conversation and a good time. Nothing dream-like about it. Except for our unnatural ability to consume a ton of food... which isn't that far from the truth. :-)
damn it.

cheesy bacony cheese

Last week the macaroni and cheese at Hoover's made me so sad. It is damn good mac and cheese, don't get me wrong. I had leftovers, and the next day when I scraped it out of my to-go box it made actual squeaky noises. Which I think indicates extreme cheesy awesomeness.

But you just can't go out to some restaurant and get mac and cheese like Joe made it. My favorite time he made it was three years ago. We cooked a massive Thanksgiving feast with Joe and Jenn. Joe smoked the meats and made an enormous, oven-sized pan of his brilliant m/c. Jenn did pies, and Eric and I did a pale imitation of my Grandma's awesome rolls, plus sides. Joe's m/c was staggering. This enormous pan was probably four inches deep with his four-cheese, bacon, who-knows-what-all concoction. Lotsa browned crumb thingies on top. Ahhhh. The dude knew how to make it right.

Then in February we went over to cook a meal for Jenn and Joe, and sure enough, Joe whipped out some leftover m/c to add to the meal. He told us, as if he were giving us a priceless gift, that the secret to his mac and cheese was beer. Ah ha! It makes perfect sense.

Does anyone know which cheeses? How much bacon? What kinda beer? It might be something we need to work on together, rebuilding Joe's masterful macaroni and cheese. Or at least trying to. Then we can all sit around a giant pan of it and remember the amazing ways Joe fed us, with comfort food, disturbing humor, preposterous movies, music, and general crazy Joeishness. Sigh.

Another funny Joe story

While in college, Joe went on a date with a girl from one of his classes. Let's call her Jill. He said the date was okay, but a little awkward. Apparently, he was her first real date ever.

They didn't go out again after that and he hadn't seen her since the weird date. Apparently, she thought that making out meant they were a couple. She showed up at his dorm room on Valentine's day with a cross stitch that read "Joe and Jill Forever". Not knowing what to do, but feeling like he should give her something in return, he dug into his pockets and gave her a handful of change.

I don't think Jill knew how to take that. I do't know why. What girl doesn't want change for Valentine's day???

I like to believe that she ran away stunned and hurt, but then bought a coke and a snack from a nearby vending machine to console herself.

Funny story Joe loved to tell

Joe would tell me these funny, yet kind of mean stories about things he would do to his highschool girlfriend, Celeste.

This is one of my favorites.

Celeste, Joe and some of their friends went to an amusement park one summer day. Joe was never a fan of rollercoaters, especially ones that loop-dee-loop. He said they made him nauseous. Celeste didn't believe him and pressured him to go on the ride by taunting him and calling him a chicken. So, to prove a point, he went on the ride. After it ended, but before they got out of their seats, Celeste asked "See, now that wasn't so bad was it?" Joe then vomited in her lap.

I believe they all went home after that.

Sinking In?

I have been thinking about what I wanted to write here for over a month now. I wanted to say the right things that would be a credit to what Joe meant to me. Unfortunately, I don't think I can put much of what I feel into words.

I think the first night I actually talked with Joe was at YiMay's during a Nintendo Night gathering, to which I'd brought an Atari 2600 collection of games. Joe kept wanting to play the old Atari stuff rather than the fancy-pants new games. After that, there were several times when Joe and I would go on nostalgic conversations about Sesame Street, the Muppets, Gigglesnort Hotel, Sid and Marty Krofft, or other strange phenomena related to being kids in the early 80s.

I think it was when Joe invited Jennifer and I to go out to Canyon of the Eagles for his birthday in 2005 that I got to know so many of the nice people that I call friends now. That trip was a great weekend getaway, and I still remember it fondly.

I was lying in bed the other night and not sleeping. The house was quiet, and for some reason, I thought about Joe for the first time in a while. I remembered hugging him that last time. I remembered that at some point while he was still able to walk around a bit, I made him laugh. In retrospect, I think I can see that Joe did what he wanted the way he wanted, without exceptions. I'm not sure if his death has really sunk in or not. I still keep thinking that he's out there doing his thing. And I'm still trying to put words to my feelings.

no-boil noodles are a lie!

dear joe,

a few nights ago i made lasagna from the recipe you sent me two years ago. it's still awesome, even though i always forget and buy an 8 oz box of noodles instead of 16 oz. i know you probably got it off the back of a noodle box or something, but whatever, it's perfectly saucy and cheesy, just like you. thanks.

love, jen

Joe Goodbody in Vega$

STAND UP FOR SCIENCE, Y'ALL

Good and Wonderful People of Texas; Friends / Family of Joe!

Not to hijack this site with politics, but this is relevant to our Joe and the condition of PSC (and help finding a cure, furthering research, etc…) This is also, per his own words to us, what Joe hopes we do.

To quote Joe: "I hope you will engage in constructive activities, like supporting research towards finding a cure for the disease that took me down. Be watchful for the government attempting to block or prevent the research of new kinds of treatment, including stem cell research, and also other, as yet unknown, potentially controversial treatments.”

With this in mind … the following information has come from the Texas Freedom Network, who are offering very simple ways to support (stem cell) research in Texas.

The next seven weeks will be critical to the future of embryonic stem cell research in Texas, and it all starts this week. On Thursday, the House State Affairs Committee will hear testimony on seven bills related to stem cell research. But you don't have to drive all the way to Austin to have a voice at this hearing.

TFN has already received more than 1,300 postcards in support of stem cell research, and with our help we intend to double that number by the end of this month. They need you to sign up TODAY to become a postcard captain.

It's easy - if you know 10 friends and family members who will sign a postcard, you're already qualified.
E-mail them today and they will send you the simple Postcard Captain Packet with tips for collecting signatures, a bundle of postcards, and a return envelope.

Not everyone has time to come to Austin and address the Texas Legislature, but everyone can join this campaign to support scientific research that provides so much hope to so many. And it's simple:

The first step is to sign the petition yourself (if you haven't already done so).

Then, e-mail Val at TFN to get your Postcard Captain Packet and help your friends get involved in this campaign.

I have already emailed Val for the packet and signed the petition. I don’t know how much (if any) weight signing a petition or sending in postcards carries, ultimately – but if it gets attention, proves a point or generates a second-thought about controversial treatments (like stem-cell research), it’s worth doing.

Thanks!

-Devonie

a sweet post about joe on astrologyzone.com

i hope it's ok to post this here. it is so kind and heartbreaking to read. my friend back in okc who didn't even know joe was reading his horoscope and saw this wonderful letter at the bottom, and forwarded it to me. scroll way down: http://astrologyzone.com/forecasts/monthly/sagittarius_full.php

and here it is copied and pasted, if i may:

In Memory of Joe Warmbrodt

Astrology Zone's Beloved Friend and Engineer

February 9, 1974 - March 26, 2007

Dear Astrology Zone readers,

Our beloved friend and engineer, Joe Warmbrodt, died of liver cancer at 2:15 PM on March 26, 2007. He was 33 years old.

Everyone here at Astrology Zone is feeling terrible grief. As I write this, I am heavy of heart, and in my hotel room in the city where Joe lived, in Austin, Texas. The memorial service for Joe took place this morning. It was filled with people, most very young. The ceremony had all the qualities that I would use to describe Joe: intelligent, at times very funny, and filled with genuine affection and emotion. The music he loved best, from the Beatles and Bach, was played.

Joe and I first met in 2001 when I was looking for top-notch engineers for Astrology Zone, a search that took me to cities all over the United States. AZ had been on Time Warner and Disney servers, but it was time to go onto our own.

It was actually an executive at Barnes & Noble who sent me to Joe and his brother Tom because the Warmbrodt brothers had built part of the Barnes & Noble site. BN was very pleased with the Warmbrodt brothers' razor sharp intelligence, solid practicality, and spot on problem-solving ability. Tom, Joe's younger brother, had a consulting service, and both brothers were to work with me to get Astrology Zone safely transferred to our own servers, and after that, to care of the site each month.

When I first met Joe and told him I am an astrologer, in my mind the thought flashed that because Joe is a man of science, he might make disparaging remarks about my interest in astrology. Joe surprised me - his reaction could not have been more different from what I expected.

Joe told me he was quite an astronomy buff and had studied the planets with his own telescope for years. He told me he was quite curious about what I could tell him about the planets he had studied, from an astrological standpoint. I knew immediately that we would be good friends. What I saw on that first day was very "Joe" - ever curious, funny, and without exception, kind.

Joe, Tom, and I began working together in August 2001. Tom wrote new HTML code for us because Disney would not give back the code I had bought from Time Warner. Had Tom not done the writing of the code - a monster job that took many grueling weeks for Tom to complete - Astrology Zone would have been wiped off the Internet immediately. Astrology Zone debuted on independent servers on September 11, 2001, having left Disney servers the night before.

Tom told me that his brother, Joe, would handle the day-to-day care of Astrology Zone and do the postings each month. From that day forth, Joe and I had the most contact, and we enjoyed our frequent conversations. Joe had a strong philosophical bent, and so do I, so there was a ready-match.

Joe first became ill one year ago at the March 29, 2006 eclipse. We all almost lost him last year, as he had a reaction to the medical procedure he was given at the time, and he went unconscious for weeks. When he came out of it, doctors were surprised. All us thought he had finally beaten his health problem.

It was not to be. On December 22, 2006, this past Christmas time, Joe was diagnosed with a certain kind of liver cancer, an autoimmune disease that is genetic. He was not on the list for a liver transplant, as his body would have attacked his new liver. He called me and asked, "Susan, are you aware of the seriousness of this?" I was, but I tried hard to sound calm yet optimistic.

Joe was married to a lovely girl, Jenn, whose voice and manner is as soft as perfume, but who also has a powerful inner core. Joe adored Jenn. She had been Joe's rock throughout his ordeal, which we learned stretched back many years, as far back as 14 years old. Joes' father told me that Joe had spent years in and out of hospitals.

Jenn is not only lovely but also a person we all admire. The couple did not have any children. Jenn has been at Joe's side every minute. Joe was glad he had the past weeks at home, where he was happiest.

Everyone here at the Astrology Zone office feels in crisis. None of us can believe Joe is gone. In January, just after he was diagnosed and just prior to beginning heavy-duty treatment, he and Jenn took a little holiday to Las Vegas. I know he was really looking forward to getting away and spending some fun, quality time with the girl he loved with all his heart, Jenn. He told me that he planned to use the time he had fully, with gusto. There was to be no gloom and doom.

Today, at the service, his friends read two letters they had found in Joe's computer. One letter was a goodbye to all of us, his friends, collectively, and one letter was addressed to Jenn, his wife. Both were read, and they had Joe's usual wit and humor throughout. Joe was always hilarious, and never more than now. Aside from the lighthearted parts ("I am sure there will be rioting in the streets as soon as news of my passing is announced. The National Guard will have to be called in to stop the looting.") But a deeper serious side was evident too, one that showed he was very concerned about how we would feel, and how we would get along in the future.

A talented musician on the side, Joe wrote a song for Jenn, and told his brother Tom that he regretted never having the pleasure of recording it for her. His friends looked at his notes, and saw the song was fully complete, with all the musical notations and lyrics done. His friends recorded the music and sang the song to that music live for Jenn at the memorial. There was not a dry eye in the group. It ended the ceremony - there was nothing more we could say.

Thank you for being there for me today, dear readers, and for caring so much about our beloved friend of Astrology Zone, Joe Warmbrodt.
I know you have been sending prayers for Joe for months, and I know Joe appreciated them so dearly. We shared your messages with him and his family from time to time. Your ability to comfort others is enormous, and I thank you from the bottom of my heart for your tenderness, sensitivity and compassion.

Thank you too for the poems you posted on the Astrology Zone Message Board for Joe after his passing. Many posted beautiful poems of famous poets that we all have found comforting. I have given Jenn copies of those poems. One reader wrote an original poem, very simple, and yet very heartfelt. I will share it with you. It was submitted by "playfulpisces" on the board:

Joe

We never met,
But it was plain to see,
How much you did here,
For all at the AZ.

We enjoyed the scopes,
It raised our hopes.
Was that way for me.
And all because
You worked diligently

So I say goodbye,
With tears and a sigh
See you again
At your home in the sky.

Farewell.


Thank you for all you did for us, and for everyone you touched, Joe. We love you.

Susan

a Year from Now ...

Information from Dawn that will interest you good and wonderful people.

“I have created this site for people who are interested in helping with a memorial benefit in Joe's honor to raise funds for PSC research. PSC Partners has already agreed to partner with friends of Joe to make this dream a reality”.

Joe's father said:

I want the people who hear or read this to understand that the cancer that killed Joe didn't just pop up out of the blue, but is actually the culmination of a single disease process that started in his early teen years. A small percentage of the general population gets IBD (inflammatory bowel disease, either Crohn's Disease or Ulcerative Colitis), a small percentage of IBD victims get PSC (primary sclerosing cholangitis), and a relatively large percentage of PSC victims get a specific type of liver cancer. The PSC and liver cancer (cholangiocarcinoma) are relatively rare, and there is not much research money going in their direction...

"This should change"

"The fact is that Joe surrounded himself with amazing, talented, and generous people. Collectively we have the power to help this cause. Please join the community if you are interested. The purpose of this community will be to discuss and plan the memorial benefit.”
-Dawn

http://community.livejournal.com/hotbread/

Sweet People … this is a tremendous opportunity for us to really do something awesome to honor our dear friend, and to hopefully save other cherished “Joes” from the same struggles with PSC (and the PSC/Cholangiocarcinoma Cancer Combo). I can think of no better way to honor his memory and spirit, and I can certainly think of no better group of people with which to do so … If you join the community, you can read the communications between Dawn and the PSC Partners org.

Hooray!
@(-_-)@
-Devonie

The Candy man sure as hell can!

Joe iChat: Elvis Is King

Behold this iChat I've been saving, wherein Joe is awesome as always:



My thoughts were with all of you who were at his services and memorial today. I wish I could have been there...

Karaoke and Stonehenge

Unless I dreamed this (and correct me, someone, if I did), the last time I saw Joe in person he and Jenn were singing "Muskrat Love." And it was amazing! It was Chris and Phil's wedding -- one of the most beautiful evenings ever -- and Patrick and I were so happy we could be there. Aside from all the love and laughter in the room, Joe and Jenn's karaoke classic definitely stands out in my mind above all else. There was cute muskrat miming and coordinated lovey dovey-ness, along with excellent singing, of course. And it was just so Joe and Jenn.

Another classic was the time when "Spinal Tap" came out in special edition and we all had that big party/jam session and Jenn danced like a dwarf around Stonehenge. When a woman that awesome loves you, you know you're awesome, too! And vice versa. Joe and Jenn were and will always be TOTALLY AWESOME! It sounds goofy but it's a fact.

And now it's time to go to Joe "Hot Bread"'s memorial and celebrate the life of one of the best guys we've all ever known. We love you, Joe.

You haven't lived like Joe lived.

Perhaps my favorite quote from Joe is one he made a few days after Halloween. 2003, maybe? (edited by the safety of a fuzzy memory)

You haven't lived until you’ve been Willy Wonka, fucking an Oompa Loompa. Highly recommended.

ichatting with joe

once jenn went out of town and joe was left alone at home with nothing to do so he decided to harass me and my choice of pet.

Joe iChat: Baby Names & Cat Disorders

Joe was so cool about letting me babble on and on about our soon-to-be-born child, and of course he cracked me up the whole time, which took the edge off my nervousness.


And this is just damn funny:

it's a moral imperative.

I've just been reminded of a Halloween party a couple of years ago - this one, hosted by Joe and Jenn, had an eighties theme, complete with a polaroid photo yearbook being assembled on the wall as people arrived. The idea piqued a lot of people's interest and creativity, but it took a few weeks for my obvious costume choice to became clear. In my case, it based on a nickname I'd had in years past, from the days when I had long hair, studied physics, and lived in a corner room on campus.

Just prior to the event, Joe and I were discussing the upcoming party, and he had a concept he obviously was proud of, as well. We smugly dropped each other hints.

Then paused.

Then realized that we had picked the same movie: Joe was planning on impersonating Chris Knight from Real Genius, and I had zeroed in on Lazlo Hollyfeld. (Joe's costume featured an "I heart toxic waste" shirt; mine included a large tray full of envelopes and a wig). Somehow both of those character choices still seem perfect.