Uncommon Sense

I'm starting to believe that what I believe to be "common sense" isn't so "common" amongst the world's population anymore. Take this morning when I was walking out the back entrance of the apartment to go to work. I got to the bottom floor and opened the door like I usually do, only to notice that the door doesn't open all the way and I hear a loud noise outside. Turns out some idiot was talking on his cell phone right in front of the door and I had knocked him on his arse, well, not really, since it appears that he had his back to the door due to how he was positioned when I saw him on the ground. You would think people would stand to the side instead to avoid something as obvious as that from happening. Instead I get this look of utter hatred and some pompous talk for giving this idiot a life-lesson about not lounging around busy doorways.

Take other examples such as people in stores with glass display cabinets. Didn't the mothers of idiotic shoppers tell them not to put their fingers on the glass? I swear, maybe if they worked in a place where you had to clean glass constantly they wouldn't do that. Elevators and buses are another thing. The general rule of thumb is to let people off first, then enter. This makes perfect sense, it keeps the bus or elevator from getting overcrowded to the point where it makes it increasingly difficult to exit. Despite this being easy to see, you always have an impatient idiot that tries to board first without paying heed to people exiting.

I probably could go on to list more but "common sense" tells me I should be doing something more productive with my time than posting on a weblog. Wait a second, there is no such thing as common sense. At least not with today's society. Humanity is slowly but surely going to hell. I hope you all burn. I really do.

"Hey, asshole, why'd you have to open the door so hard?"

"Didn't your mother teach you that standing right in front of doors could be hazardous to your health? Now get out of the way so that I can actually open the door and leave."

Song of the Moment: "Lasiurus" by Hans Zimmer and James Newton Howard

I hate the Black Eyed Peas

Yeah, I really do. "Joints and Jam," a great song, "Don't Phunk with my Heart," CRAP. Why did they go for this.... I'll call it, Hip Pop style, it really makes financial and commercial sense but damn, I honestly have no faith in them anymore as a group. Fergie is only necessary if you wanted to achieve pop status. Anyway, also, why is Swizz Beats making so many hit songs? I'm not saying he's bad, but wow, I'm just suprised how many decent songs he's making now. I do think he'll be fine as long as he doesnt really try too much of that Ruff Ryders era stuff. I gotta go, work calls.

The Unmanned World

Wow. I just got done with what has currently been written in the Vertigo (DC's more adult oriented line) comic, Y: The Last Man. No, there are no super-heroics to be found here. It's just a hypothetical world in which all men suddenly die within a time period of 5 minutes all around the world, leaving nothing but women. Before I go on any further, read the blurb below:

In the summer of 2002, a plague of unknown origin destroyed every last sperm, fetus, and fully developed mammal with a Y chromosome (with the apparent exception of one young man and his male pet).

This "gendercide" instantaneously exterminated 48% of the global population, or approximately 3 billion men. 495 of the Fortune 500 CEOs are now dead, as are 99% of the world's landowners.

In the United States alone, more than 95% of all commercial pilots, truck drivers, and ship captains died... as did 92% of violent felons.

Internationally, 99% of all mechanics, electricians, and construction workers are now deceased... though 51% of the planet's agricultural labor force is still alive.

14 nations, including Spain and Germany, have women soldiers who have served in ground combat units. None of the United States' nearly 200,000 female troops have ever participated in ground combat. Australia, Norway, and Sweden are the only countries that have women serving on board submarines.

In Israel, all women between the ages of 18 and 26 have performed compulsory military service in the IDF for at least one year and nine months. Before the Plague, at least three Palestinian suicide bombers had been women.

Worldwide, 85% of all government representatives are now dead... as are 100% of Catholic priests, Muslim imams and Orthodox Jewish rabbis.

Pretty scary, huh? Now don't take this comic series as just a big knock on women. It's more than that. Well, maybe not. But it's still proven an interesting read due to the witty dialogue. It's not the most original of scenarios, since Mary Shelley wrote about this one in her book The Last Man. It's still one of the better comics to come out of Vertigo since Preacher. Ha, did I trick you into reading this post because of the accompanying picture of a monkey?

"Get away from the window, Yorick!"

"But who the hell is shooting at us, Mom? Terrorists?"

"Worse... Republicans."

Comic of the Moment: Y: The Last Man by Bryan K. Vaughan and Pia Guerra

I'm on my wallstreet

Yeah, that's my laptop. I couldn't think of a decent subject title, so that's going to be it. Speaking of the wallstreet, they just got xpostfacto working for Tiger. I really should install it, but alas, I'm not too sure anymore, my machine has been officially unsupported since Jag, and i'm already running Panther at a decent speed, so maybe Tiger will slow it down a bit too much. Anyway, I saw Batman Begins. It was good, although i would have directed the action scenes differently, as the camera was way too shaky and close to the action to tell what was going on a number of times. So, I knew Batman would beat up the goons in a lot of action scenes, but I did'nt have one clue how he did it. Overall it was good though. I'm quite excited about War of the Worlds though, i've been craving a sci fi flick for a while.

Oh, now i'm on to the women. I went out with another older woman, well, 16 years older, but she's very nice. She just moved up here from Cali, and she's really attractive. But I'm not too sure about her, she really wants her alone time, and I guess that me liking her scares her a bit. Not in a bad way, it's just that she's been so hurt from her ex hubby that she's trying to rebuild a life without anyone first. So, it's hard to actually spend time with her, with us both knowing that we like each other. Well, not even knowing, but admitting, we both admitted a mutual attraction to one another, and there was a nice little kiss, but alas, i think that she's been thinking about it too much. I think that she could handle being with a guy like me, and I believe i could be with a woman like her. So, after we had the talk about space, we still flew a kite together, and went for coffee, and I'm thinking of inviting her to dinner to my house on Thursday. She's a vegetarian, so that's going to be a different style of cooking for me. And i'm sure I can make something really good, but I don't know what to make, and me being the carnivore, i love having meat with my dishes, so I guess I'll have to splurge and buy some Portabello Mushrooms. Which, used to be thrown away all the time until the a bunch of vegetarians began to like them, and then it becaume so cool of a fungi that it's value was on the up and up. End side note.

Oh yeah, I hate my manager's scheduling. She's screwing me over by giving me one day a week off, 40 hours, and shifts that are during the most painful times of the day.

And my ex wants to date me again, but she lives really far away, and I'm lazy.

Quantum Mechanics and Enlightenment

So, I read this book about two months ago called "The Dharma of Star Wars." It was, as you can imagine, ridiculous. I mean, it explained interdependence and interpenetration using R2-D2 and the six movies. Equally ridiculous is that it got the point across just fine (I think). Immediately afterwards, I read a book on the mathematical nature of infinity and Georg Cantor, a mathematician that studied it intensely and went completely and utterly insane in the process. This was, in turn, followed by reading into economists throughout history. Finally, I started reading a book on Superstring theory, which began by introducing Special Relativity and Quantum Mechanics. That last one sorta stopped me in my tracks.

So, I decided to backtrack a bit and take a look at the Quantum Mechanics from a different angle. I bought "The Quantum and the Lotus" which is a dialogue between a Vietnamesse buddhist-raised astrophysicist teaching at the University of Virginia and a French scientist-raised buddhist living in Nepal. They discuss the discoveries in modern science and the teachings of buddhism, which reach eerily similar conclusions on various subject. I particularly like how the buddhist guy could substantiate his stuff with more logic than the astrophysicists could. Poor scientist had to resort to faith, towards the end, to explain prime causes.

Of course, buddhism rejects the notion of a prime cause entirely, so maybe that's cheating.

Anyway, with this view, now we'll jump into Life of Pi, which has nothing to do with math and, as I've been told, a book that will make you believe in God. I'll follow that up by picking up where I left off in the Superstring theory book (The Elegant Universe), though I might have to find something about Quantum Mechanics specifically to get past that part. I mean, really, a paradigm that establishes the microcosm is nothing but chance? That any given particle within my body a) has a chance to be anywhere in the universe, whether inside me or on mars and b) that any given particle is also a wave is pretty fucking weird to get a grasp of. General Relativity makes a lot more sense (mass determines gravity which is acceleration and thus affects time and affects space, or something like that), but them quantum mechanics are just plain wonky.

Eventually I'll take on the ultimate puzzler book, though, and crack open the bible again (I intend to prove conservatives are the greatest threat to Christianity since...well, ever). Best to practice on easy ideas first, though, and stick with physics and math for a bit, right?

Now, if you'll all excuse me, I'm going to take some Tylenol (head hurts...a lot).

A Knight Out with Friends

My sleep schedule was knocked out of sync after the whole concert deal on Friday night. To put myself back on track I drank a shot of Bacardi 151 and followed it with some NyQuil and it worked perfectly. Worked out for the first time since Wednesday this morning. Neck was still a bit tender, but I finished a whole workout.

Wow, I've seen Batman Begins so many times now. I don't feel too bad though. I really enjoy the movie (Jack says Mr. and Mrs. Smith is better, but then again, he like's happier, more fun movies more) and hanging out with friends is a definite plus. Well, today I went with Mike and Janine today to see it at the IMAX theater at the Mall of Georgia. Janine was a little hesitant to ride in my crappy Toyota after hearing about my brake problem a couple weeks ago, but it really wasn't that bad of a ride. Turns out the IMAX showing sold out before we got there, so we settled for a regular theater. After the movie we drove Janine back to Marietta and Mike and I had some beers and an appetizer at Rocky's. Good times.

"Keep them entertained. Tell them that joke you know."

Movie of the Moment: Batman Begins

Paranoid Opioid

It seems like that everything that could've went wrong in the last couple days went wrong. I was denied the grant by GT (mostly my fault most likely though, having turned in the application last minute). On Wednesday I pulled a muscle in my neck while benching, two days before Corrosion of Conformity's concert at the Masquerade. Going to a metal concert with a screwed up neck wouldn't be the brightest of ideas. Friday morning I read some news on Blabbermouth detailing about a multiple stabbing at CoC's concert the night before in Florida. It seemed that all signs were telling me to skip the damned thing.

After my nap in the afternoon I found that my neck seemed miraculously better. I made sure to dress appropiately. Band shirt, check. Unbuttoned crappy overshirt, check. Jeans, check. Old boots for kicking meat-heads, check. Combat knife, well, I left that at home. Didn't want to risk losing it to potential metal detector checks. I walked in and found the stage, and much to my confusion, there was some poppy rock/emo band playing. I looked around and saw a whole bunch Abercrombie and Fitch crackers and began to dispair. Luckily the bartender chick let me know that there was another stage upstairs.

The CoC show was pretty damned good. I got smacked in the back of the head by a bunch of meat-head moshers, so I joined in for about 45 minutes, sending my fair share of them on their asses. Of course I helped them back up, it is mosh-pit custom after all. Great way to get rid of pent up aggression while not getting charged for assault. Anyway, here was the set list:

"It is That Way"
"Paranoid Opioid"
"Diablo Blvd."
"Shake Like You"
"Long Whip/Big America"
"Albatross"
"Infinite War"
"Wiseblood"
"Hungry Child"
"Stonebreaker"
"The Door"
"Rise River Rise"
"Vote with a Bullet"
"In the Arms of God"
--------------------
"13 Angels"
"Clean My Wounds"

I knew all but one song, which was good. It's retarded when people go to concerts and can't sing anything but choruses. I still have to say that Metallica was a better live experience, but I really enjoyed the sweaty rawness of a club show. One last note, one of the openers that I missed had the band name Alabama Thunderpussy. Fucking hilarious if you ask me.

"...SO WHAT DO YOU WANT ME TO BE
I’M THE SAME OLD BEAST YOU HATE TO SEE
JUST LIKE THE HEAVENS WHEN THE LIGHT RECEDES
I’M FOREVER BLACK WITHOUT A NEED
AND THERE’S NOTHING LEFT AND NOTHING MORE
CAUSE YOU LOST THE BATTLE AND THE WAR..."

Song of the Moment: "It is That Way" by Corrosion of Conformity

Topical Blend

WARNING! The contents of this post contain things that do not at all go together in any way shape or form. Combined with poor writting flow, reading this post may result in unwanted side effects such as the reduction of the reader's intelligence.

Work this summer is turning out to be somewhat interesting. My two jobs are distinctly different, especially with coworkers. While working at the gym I interact with a staff that is comprised more or less with crackers caucasians. Sure, some of the supervisors are black, but everyone acts in a way that reminds of people that shop at American Eagle Outfitters. Most of my coworkers at the Post Office, on the other hand, are black, and act it. Half the time I don't know what they're talking about, but oddly enough I don't find this annoying, in fact I find it a humorous environment to work in.

Ok, it looks like I'm not getting a grant to go on that CSIS trip, but I think I'm still going. It's basically a near free trip for me, supposing Daniel is still willing to house me at his place. I'm just kind of miffed that I won't be making money off of the school.

I found out about a week ago after seeing Batman Begins that one of the new roommates, Ian, is a comic fan of old. We've already made a couple comic runs to the shop near Buckhead and up the geekiness factor by discussing obscure Marvel lore that would make a normal cringe violently, and then fall into a fetal position and bash his brains out through a massive epileptic seizure. Regardless, it is kind of fun having someone that I can discuss with how bad the Marvel vs. DC crossover event was.

I really need to stop having vodkas and orange in the mornings.

"Vodka and Orange? It's 10 am, Tony."

"Not in Moscow, old boy. Cheers, by the way."

Comic of the Moment: The Ultimates Vol. 1: Super-Human by Mark Millar and Bryan Hitch

Doomed to Failure?

Ok, movies with the focus on a team of heroes are rather difficult to pull off. Examples of this are The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen and the X-Men movies. Both were really flawed due to their execution. After seeing Batman Begins, I really began to fear for the upcoming Fantastic Four movie. The bar for comic-themed feature films has been lifted rather high now. I fear this movie is, pardon the pun, doomed to failure. On a (slightly) positive note, they seem to have gotten the part of the Human Torch dead on from what I've seen in trailers. They also have Jessica Alba in skin-tight latex, which is also a plus. Now, if only they could have Dr. Doom, wait, before I start, Dr. Doom is the best villian ever conceived. Hell, Darth Vader was modeled after him. If the movie version would only end every sentence with, "There is only Doom," then there will be hope for this movie.

"Victor, you always thought you were a god."

Movie of the Moment: Fantastic Four

Wonder Drug

A couple weeks back I was working fitness on a Monday morning. These four guys have been working out in the mornings for years, the majority of their workouts spent on the benchpress with weights exceeding 300 lb. I remember asking them on this particular morning on if they take any of those protein supplements that seem to be all the rage these last couple years. The old Marine of the group simply replied, "Ibuprofen."

It just blows my mind on how useful C₁₃H₁₈O₂ is. Army doctors will prescribe it for just about anything. You could have the flu and they'll write you up a prescription for 400 mg of ibuprofen. I remember the wrestling team handing the shit out like it was crack-cocaine when I was in high school. In fact, I just took some since I seemed to have pulled a muscle in my neck this morning during my workout. Now I'm ready for some more pain.

"...DRINK UP
SHOOT IN
LET THE BEATINGS BEGIN
DISTRIBUTOR OF PAIN
YOUR LOSS BECOMES MY GAIN..."

Song of the Moment: "Harvester of Sorrow" by Metallica

We pledge allegiance...

I found this quite interesting. Despite being an ex-Catholic, I still mantain myself as a Christian. The author of this particular piece brings up an interesting discussion, but I do have to wonder whether or not the Americans do worship their flag or not.

One of the commentators brought up the idea that when you take a symbol and surround it with ritual that it closely resembles worship. Now, theres a lot of ritual surrounding the US flag, and a lot of weight is placed on it as a symbol. I would dismiss it as a piece of cloth, whose relevance is no more important than any other piece of cloth (I'd rather have a world with only pants than a world with only flags), which is a sentiment shared by many people abroad regarding their own flags. Then, after said dismissal, I'd be attacked for not having any pride in my country. I fail to see how one leads to the other, though.

Despite my deep and brooding hatred of the current US government, this doesn't mean I don't feel very lucky to have a chance to participate in the American Experience. This country isn't a flag, after all. If anything, its the Constitution (and its Bill of Rights) or the Preamble to the Declaration of Independence. That would be too narrow a definition, though. But oh well, work beckons. I think I'll buy a flag and burn it tonight, while I still can.

Though that might be worship, too. A burnt offering. Damned if you do, damned if you don't, I guess.

Daniel

Thanks for Listening

People love it when others listen to them talk. For some it instills a false sense of respect towards the communicator, sometimes even importance. Seriously, it's really easy to get a person started. All it usually takes is a simple question along the lines of, "How are you doing?" This in-turn can lead to misplaced trust towards the listener and the revealing of sensitive information. But are good listeners necessarily a good thing? Sure, they might be able to provide the communicator with some outside insight, but chances are the communicator is giving the listener an edge. What sort of edge you can figure out for yourself, I'm thinking along the lines of a cliché if you're confused about what I mean. It's astonishing just how much one sentence can hurt a person emotionally.

Did any of them even realize how closely he watched them? They couldn't have. They couldn't even have suspected. Never saying anything about himself... ...never missing anything they said about themselves...

Comic of the Moment: JLA: Tower of Babel by Mark Waid and Howard Porter

A quick aside...

Curiosity often gets the better of me (shut up Jack). For months, I've been seeing this "Pom" juice being sold and advertised, and I've ben curious. Whats it like? Why is it healthy? Why the fuck do the charge $4 for a goddamn 8 ounze bottle? I decided to find out.

I paid the four dollars, opened the thing up, and...well, it wasn't bad. However, if you take grape juice and lemon to it, you'd get the same taste, I think. It tasted like grape juice that was sour. $4 dollar Pom vs. $.89 Welch's + $.15 lemon. Hmm...

Lesson?

Daniel likes to waste money on things most reasonable people know to be bullshit.

Its not exactly a revelation, I know.

Daniel

The Impending Death of the English Language

I know I'm not the greatest writer in the world when it comes to grammar and spelling. In fact, there's someone at Tech that believes I'm a blithering idiot in that regard. But still, whenever I read something like the following random exerpt, I get nausiously violent:

daym itz ben a grip sence i wrote in dis i gess im starting fresh haha thx jen for convinceing me :) haha well this year is the last year till i graduate :S im kina nerves of gettin out on my own but i dink itz goin to be all good yah every one is growing up so fast itz crazy well im out peace

Sure, I can (somewhat) understand it, but that doesn't change the fact that it was poorly written. I used to hate English classes throughout my pre-college career, but after reading posts like the one used as an example above, I've been slowly giving my English teachers of old a bit more respect.

"Since when did a good education and an extensive vocabulary become handicaps?"

Comic of the Moment: New X-Men Vol. 6: Planet X by Grant Morrison and Phil Jimenez

The Plan

The International Affairs department is offering to aid people within my major's school in taking a trip down to Washington DC to attend briefings held by the Center of Strategic and International Studies (CSIS). The aid is going to be something around $200 to $300, which would cover most of the plane expenses. However, I managed to run up about 100,000 frequent flyer miles through recent travel and can use about 25,000 miles for a free round trip flight instead. The other problem was hotel reservations, which are a tad expensive in the downtown DC area but luckily I have a friend down there willing to house me for those days. I had to fib a little with the application since GT employees have to submit receipts to receive reimbursement, while non-GT employees receive a lump sum check. Hopefully this will pan out and I'll make a couple hundred dollars for nothing more than hanging out with a friend from college.

"I say we go with plan 'B.'"

"They could be expecting that."

"That's what makes it unexpected."

Comic of the Moment: Superman/Batman Vol. 1: Public Enemies by Jeph Loeb and Ed McGuinness

The "Best Of" Trend

Required Reading: "Good Charlotte Does Duff." IGN.com. 14 Jun. 2005.

Wow. This is almost as bad as the Sex Pistols releasing a best of album. Don't get it? The Sex Pistols only released one album. How many albums does Hillary Duff have out? Can you answer that, Jack? Oh wait, you're the Lindsay Lohan fan, my bad. And why is she dating some guy from Good Charlotte? So many questions!

"...BETTER THAN YOU..."

Song of the Moment: "Better Than You" by Metallica

Movie Review

Wow. Badass car, a hottie, intense action, humor, and ninjas? 'Tis the trappings of an excellent Hollywood blockbuster. But still, it was easy to go into the movie as a skeptic, the previous Batman movies were far from stellar. To add to this doubt, the last couple movies feature large ensemble casts (Troy, Alexander, Ocean's 12, etc.) had been highly disappointing. It's rare for me when a movie delivers much higher than what I had previously expected. I this "wowed" with a movie since seeing The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring. Even people not well-versed with the character of Batman were greatly satisfied with the movie to say the least. The movie was almost inspirational in a sense, allowing you to watch a man overcome his fears and doubts with sheer tenacity to "become more than just a man." If only it had pirates...

"If you make yourself more than just a man, if you devote yourself to an ideal, you become something else entirely."

"Which is?"

"A legend, Mr. Wayne."

Rating: 9.5 out of 10

Character Concept

The Batman
I felt like writing this because of today's movie (GEEK POST ALERT).Probably the best character concept in the way of tragic characters since Edmond Dantés from The Count of Monte Cristo in my humble opinion. The problem is that he's rarely written in the correct manner. You all know the story behind the origin. A 13-year-old boy, son to a wealthy family, witnesses his mother and father gunned down in an alleyway during a random robbery, making the promise that night to rid the city of evil that had taken his parents (and his childhood). He disappears for 12 years, and returns to Gotham in his mid-twenties. After the disastrous events of his first night out trying to purge the streets he gets the inspiration to dress up like a bat in an attempt to make him seem like more than just a man, using the shadows, stealth, and brutality to instill fear in the criminals of his city, which is something that is needed since dressing up like a bat alone is just kind of goofy. He becomes something of an urban legend within the city. The funny thing about the character is that the persona of Bruce Wayne has become the mask, being used mostly as a tool to further his goals as Batman. He also has one of the most colorful rogue galleries in comics, which ironically came to be due to his presence in the city. His childhood promise essentially ensures that he'll never know peace, which is besides the point. He can still kick Superman's ass.

Father… …I’m afraid I may have to die tonight. I’ve tried to be patient. I’ve tried to wait. But I have to know. How father? How do I do it? What do I use… to make them afraid? If I ring this bell, Alfred will come. He can stop the bleeding, in time. Another of your gifts to me, father. I have wealth. The manor rests above a huge cave that will be the perfect headquarters… …even a butler trained in combat medicine… …yes, father. I have everything by patience. I’d rather die.. than wait… another hour. I have waited… eighteen years… eighteen years… since… …since Zorro. The Mask of Zorro. Since the walk that night. And the man with frightened, hollow eyes and a voice like glass being crushed… …since all sense left my life.

Without warning, it comes… …crashing through the window of your study… and mine… …I have seen it before… somewhere… …it frightened me as a boy… …frightened me… …yes. Father. I shall become a bat.

Comic of the Moment: Batman: Year One by Frank Miller and David Mazzucchelli

Crime Tv.

Ok, my first post here, but I've been watching enough TV as of late, well probably too much, but I mean, it's really all about crime these days. Reality TV seems to be falling to the wayside as Dick Wolf (Law and Order) tries to expand his series, CSI continues to have it's many shows, and TNT has a bunch of new shows out. Speaking of that, i'm watching The Closer, which seems to be a combination of law and order: ci and I would say NYPD Blue. And on that note, did anyone watch the Michael Jackson case get reported live. It was crazy! I was quite excited to hear that he was innocent. I mean, he's a bit strange, well a lot strange, but he really didn't do it. I can see a lot of people trying to get his money (or what little is left), and their 15 minutes of fame. Anyway, now is the time for crime on TV.

Some (Random) Thoughts

I helped the boss at the GT Post Office figure out how to use the dinosaur old software for keeping track of all the outgoing mail. The thing is I have never seen or used it before, so it took about 15 minutes of fiddling with the rather backwards mail software until I figured out how to get it to do what he wanted. One of the other girls who worked there was surprised that I, an International Affairs major, could figure out what a science major couldn’t. I caught her going through my processed mail, probably trying to find any mistakes I had made.

During work I noticed something weird. The boss likes to play the jazz channel on Sirius radio and I heard what I thought to be a jazz version of 50 Cent's "In Da Club." No lyrics, just jazz. Wonky.

I could be watching an advanced screening of Batman Begins right now, if only Jessie would’ve called my cell phone instead of my house phone. That girl infuriates me sometimes. Oh well, I settle for going with Jack and Melody tomorrow. It is only one day, after all.

A third of the space in the fridge is occupied by (assorted) beer.

”…THEY DEDICATE THEIR LIVES
TO RUNNING ALL OF HIS
HE TRIES TO PLEASE THEM ALL
THIS BITTER MAN HE IS…”

Song of the Moment: "The Unforgiven" by Metallica

Those crazy terrorists...

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/4091838.stm

So, yeah, they captured her, kept her in a tiny basement (though bigger than some holding cells in Guantanamo), deprived of even a chair...

Then they let her out, gave her tea and some roast chicken, and some parting gifts.

Kidnapper: "Lucky reporter #5, you've been chosen to play on the Hostage is Right! Come on down!"

*Reporter runs for their life.*

At least you have to think theres no malice in their hearts (the kidnappers'), though I'll admit it may have just as likely been a way to try and get her to co-operate.

The Last Straw

God, I've never had this much trouble over a fucking thermostat! I sweat at night unless the thermostat is set to 65° F or below, which costs me valuable hours of sleep. On Mondays I have to be at work at 5:45 AM, so I need all the sleep I can get. The roommate, Matt, a skinny bitch kid, is only comfortable if it's 70° F or higher. I gave him two reasonable warnings about turning the thermostat up. His responses were those of a pissy little bitch brat. All the fucking bastard guy has to do is put on more clothes. There's only so much in terms of clothing I can shed while maintaining a level of decency. After he switches the thing up for the seventh time I literally explode out of my room with my bat in right hand, grabbed him by the throat and slammed him against the wall. I think he understands the gravity of the situation now. God, less than two months before I move, but it seems so long.

"...SAINT ANGER 'ROUND MY NECK
HE NEVER GETS RESPECT..."

Song of the Moment: "St. Anger" by Metallica

Of Friends and Roommates

Do friends make for good roommates? After living in this apartment for the past 3 and a half years, I'm going to have to say no. Rooming with friends has a tendency to turn things a bit more bitter than if you were just mad at a roommate that you could care less about. I guess it could kind of be likened to relationships that come undone, where the two people can't even be friends anymore. Friends might not make for the best roommates, at least not in that kind of general sense. You basically have to find the right person that will hang out with you when you want to chill and leave you alone when you need time with yourself. It's not as easy as it looks, but I think Jack'll fit the bill.

"...AND NO ONE SAID IT WAS GONNA BE EASY
I FOUND OUT THAT AIN'T NO DAMN LIE..."

Song of the Moment: "Found a Friend" by Pride and Glory

Post Crash

Got the bill for the car yesterday, which was $1,921.72. This also covers the replacement of my headlight lamp assembly, the replacement of one of my rear lights (which was out before the accident), and my melted wheel covers. Called the dealer about it and they refused to help pay due to the fact that I've had the car for a little over a month now. Picked up the car today and was duly surprised on how well it runs now that the brakes aren't constantly on. This is what the labor description said:

Found front brake calipers were dragging causing excessive heat, boiling brake fluid and ruining front wheel bearings. Replaced front calipers with pads, front rotors and wheel bearings - performance tested vehicle, braking fine at this time.

Found master cylinder damaged from boiling brake fluid. Replaced brake master cylinder. Cleaned and adjusted rear brakes.

I'm a little pissed off that I didn't take steam rising from my front wheels as a sign of a problem before I got back on the road. Can't afford a new (used) car, so there was no choice but to repair Luckily I had enough foresight to save money for times like these since I don't have the car insured (basic liability), but still, this was a rather hard hit to the bank, regardless. I'll probably cut out alcohol or something to help the replenishment of the savings account.

"I'VE COME SO CLOSE, IT'S ALMOST HARD TO BELIEVE
WHEN YOU'RE UP CLOSE, IT BLINDS YOU BRILLIANTLY
JUST ONE RUSH CAN CHANGE YOUR LIFE FOREVER
JUST ONE PUSH CAN END IT ALL TOGETHER..."

Song of the Moment: "Learn from this Mistake" by Down

Resident Merchant?

I purchased Resident Evil 4 a little more than a week ago and I have to saw that I'm enjoying quite well despite severly disliking the previous installments. I just hated having to shoot in the older games because of the very poor aiming system in which you swiveled on your heels and hoped to be aiming in the right direction. What surprised me with RE4 was the fact that it's not all that scary. Compared to Doom 3, RE 4 is rather tame. However, I've found myself panicing during the game due to the fact that it can be rather difficult to stay alive. There were times where I was holed up within a derelict house shooting zombie-like villagers (called ganados) coming in through the windows when suddenly the feared chainsaw-toting guy with a burlap sack somehow sneaks behind me and one-hit-kills me by lopping off my head. However, this has proved to be quite fun and worth the $50 (I rarely buy games at full price) I paid, further justifying my purchase of the Game Cube system.

Now what bothers me is this. All along the way through the game you encounter the "merchant." He just happens to be one of the few non-zombies throughout the games and sells you weapons as well as upgrades them. Sure, this is nice, but still, why the hell is he there? It just doesn't make any sense. You can kill him though...

"...DRAIN YOU OF YOUR SANITY
FACE THE THING THAT SHOULD NOT BE..."

Song of the Moment: "The Thing That Should Not Be" by Metallica

For fucks sake...

http://www.cnn.com/2005/LAW/06/07/border.crossing.ap/index.html

You know, after all this bullshit involving Homeland security, all this talk about protecting our borders, all this panicking, something like the above happens. I'm a firm believer in due process. I also believe that people carrying chainsaws and swords and hatchets with arrest warrants out for them ought to have some difficulty getting into the country.

If a little old lady gets put on a terrorist list for losing a short kitchen knife in her luggage (and I actually had a friend have the same problem), why didn't someone take another few moments to check up on the psycho with the mideval arsenal? I won't proclaim this as truth, but my theory is that its because he was white. Had he been wearing a turban or looked like his name was Paco or Manolo, he would have been detained...and probably shipped elsewhere for "questioning."

Due process is great, its critical, its one of the most important things a civilized nation can have. At the same time, it does help to temper it with common sense (or at least stricter weapon laws), while at the same time remembering "ragheads are terrorists" is not common sense.

Peace outside,

Daniel

First time for everything...

Today, for the first time in my life, the following thought popped into my head:

"What if I eat too much meat?"

It was pretty scary, I'll tell you.

I'm a self-proffessed carnivore. I genuinely enjoy the taste of dead animals, cooked (and sometimes not cooked) to perfection. It is very rare for me to enjoy a meal that doesn't have meat in it, and certainly one without animal products of some sort. Breakfast might not have sausage everyday, but it certainly has milk and eggs. Vegan-issues aside, though, I found myself thinking recently that I might eat too much meat.

Now, I'm not obese. Not even close. I don't feel unhealthy, nor do I avoid vegetables and fruits and whatnot. I just like meat. However, a thought occured to me after reading some comments about sustainability and societal affluence and shit like that. I eat a lot of meat, but do I have to? Is this taste of mine something that promotes environmental degradation? Am I subsidizing ideas I disagree with by forking over money to people that make my meat?

I haven't come to any conclusions, per se. But I did find it curious that I would even think of this in the first place. I couldn't give up meat entirely, I know that much. But maybe cutting back on it and increasing my intake of some other stuff might be better. For now, though, I gotta get going. This steak wont grill itself.

Daniel

Whats cooking: Cubed steak, tenderized overnight in vinegar, seasoned with oregano, garlic, and salt, served with white rice and Caesar salad.

¡Accidente!

Well, I was on Piedmont Rd. driving back from the local comic shop and I was going downhill when I noticed my brakes just died. I floored the brakes to no avail pulled the emergency brake and ended up minorly bumping a lady in her Volvo station wagon. No major damage from the accident, just a sliced muffler and bumper and a broken brake light on the Volvo and a broken headlight on my Toyota. The cop didn't write me a ticket, which was actually pretty nice. Had to pay $85 for a tow and the repairs are going to be almost $600 at worst. Here's to hoping for the best and seeing this as a positive life experience.

"...TAKE THE CORNER, JOIN THE CRASH..."

Song of the Moment: "Fuel" by Metallica

Ninjas vs. Al Qaeda

I copied and pasted this from an old post of mine on a different blogging site. While reading The 9/11 Report for class I came about this excerpt:

At some point during this period, President Clinton expressed his frustration with the lack of military options to take out Bin Ladin and the al Qaeda leadership, remarking to General Hugh Shelton, “You know, it would scare the shit out of al-Qaeda if suddenly a bunch of black ninjas repelled out of helicopters into the middle of their camp.”

Yes, ex-President Clinton actually said this. No, I am not pulling your chain. This can be found in chapter six under the "Afghan Eyes" section, if you have the document readily available.

Song of the Moment: "War Pigs" by Black Sabbath

"To Conquer Fear, You Must Become Fear"

Required Reading: Asadullah, Khalil. "Movie Review: Batman Begins." Comic Book Resources.

The running question this summer is, "is Batman Begins better than Star wars Episode III?" The answer is "yes." A better story goes a long way. Both have dynamic and iconic characters but the blend of a better story line and arguably the better talent makes Batman Begins the summer's biggest blockbuster. Do not go to the theatre thinking that this is a comic book movie; this is nothing of the sort. This is an action/drama that just so happens to use a comic book entity. So put down your lightsabers and take a dive into a world that is as much real as it is fantasy.

It's sad, Star Wars was just a diversion. Ever since seeing the first teaser I believed this movie would probably be my pick for 2005. Gone were Tim Burton's goth overtones, as well as Joel Shumacher's 70's inspired campy gay-jokes. Most people are going to going to go in theaters believing Batman Begins is just another "superhero" or "Batman" movie. I think they're going to be surprised (or at least I hope so). Sin City showed how well the comic medium could be translated to film, if in its own disjointed way. I think Spielberg's reinterpretation of War of the Worlds is going to have some real competition this summer.

It rose into space,
It's wings spread wide,

Then fell, its wings
Now a fluttering cape
Wrapped tight about
The body of a man.

Comic of the Moment: Batman: Year One by Frank Miller and David Mazzucchelli

Going Postal

I start my new job at the GT post office today. Luckily they've had enough sense to keep me the hell away from any window that has to deal with customers. I'll be routing mail from central to the different departments around campus. This should delay my coming redefinition of the term "going postal," but it will come sure enough. There's no delaying the inevitable.

"...THERE'S AN EVIL FEELING IN OUR BRAINS
IT'S NOTHING NEW, YOU KNOW IT DRIVES US INSANE..."

Song of the Moment: "Seek and Destroy" by Metallica

¡La Cucaracha!

I opened the silverware drawer this morning only to find a small cockroach scurrying away. This is the first time in over three years of living in apartment 418 of 8th Street West where I've actually seen any sort of insect inside the apartment. I probably should get some roach motels soon and hopefully the roommates will eat (and die) from those as well.

"LA CUCARACHA, LA CUCARACHA
YA NO PUEDE CAMINAR
PORQUE NO TIENE, PORQUE LE FALTA
UNA PATA PARA ANDAR..."

Song of the Moment: "La Cucaracha"

Ghost Rider

Now here's a Marvel character that people seem to have forgotten about. I guess he was lost amiss the river of bad comics during the 90s. Sad, the concept behind Ghost Rider was actually kind of cool. Basically it's another story of a guy selling his soul to save someone else (for naught). Because of this bargain, whenever there's innocent blood spilled (within the vicinity) the guy's skin melts off and he becomes a skeleton fire demon thing riding a flaming motorcycle in order to avenge innocent victims. Kind of a neat little twist on The Legend of Sleepy Hollow's Headless Horseman. I think Garth Ennis (Preacher, The Punisher) is writing a new series for the character and they're making a (most likely bad) movie starring Nicolas Cage.

"...THIS IS THE TEST OF FLESH AND SOUL
THIS IS THE TRAP THAT SMELLS SO GOOD
THIS IS THE FLOOD THAT DRAINS THESE EYES
THESE ARE THE LOOKS THAT CHILL TO THE BONE..."

Song of the Moment: "Some Kind of Monster" by Metallica

What Happened to Him?

Required Reading: "Ex-KORN Guitarist's 'Letter to Dimebag': Video Posted Online." Blabbermouth.net.

Wow, I remember a couple months ago Welch, one of the guitarists from my one of my brother's favorite bands, Korn, abruptly left the band to become one of those "born again Christians." A week or two there were news articles saying something about him getting baptized in the Jordan River in Israel. I think they may have held him underwater a little too long.

"...BLIND DEVOTION CAME
ROTTING YOUR BRAIN..."

Song of the Moment: "Leper Messiah" by Metallica

Dumplings, Beer, and Braveheart

After many phone calls of heckling, I finally gave in cooked some food for dinner at Jessie's. My contribution for the meal were these eggroll-like dumplings with pork called Man-du in Korean which I fried and supplemented with a side of Asian rice. Nothing phenomenal, anyone can fry if they've got the right tools. Keith, one of the roommates bought some MGD, and Jessie made some barbeque chicken. I think Aaron, Jessie's boyfriend, made some daquiri's, but I avoided those like the plaque.

So it turns out that Jessie's never seen Braveheart, so Keith pops the DVD in. I was surprised. How many people do you know that hasn't seen Braveheart? I think I left after the first battle in the movie because I've seen the movie quite a few times.

"Is your father a ghost, or do you converse with the Almighty?"

"To find his equal, an Irishman is forced talk to God. Yes Father. The Almighty says don't change the subject. Just answer the fucking question."

Movie of the Moment: Braveheart

Defective Reps

Required Reading: Nilsson, Nick. "Defective Reps." Bodybuilding.com.

Bruce, my Jap/Cracker internet informant, sent me this link earlier tonight. I spend a considerable amount of time in the gym and it seems this article nailed just about every gym mistake/annoyance known. I should print this out and put this article on all the bench presses. Or better yet, drop 100 lb. weights on their heads' when they do these annoying things.

"...A NEW LEVEL OF CONFIDENCE AND POWER..."

Song of the Moment: "A New Level" by Pantera

Here's hoping this doesn't get ugly...

So David had the bright idea of inviting me to this Blog, which I graciously accepted. It may very well be the worst thing he has ever done, giving me an outlet to show my thoughts to complete strangers, but I'm sure he'll point out when I'm saying things that are not socially acceptable. Or when I'm saying things that mark me as a person he doesn't want to be associated with.

Incidentally, for those of you that may not know me, I'm Daniel. I studied engineering for a bit and it didn't like me, so I studied International Affairs instead. I work in foreign exchange doing nothing special and I read a lot about lots of things. I've been called a "pinko", "commie", "fascist", "raghead", "spick", "geek", "right-wing nutjob", "satanist", "honky", "whore", "mexican", "bible thumper", "idiot", and so on and so forth. I don't mean all this to say that I'm hard to gauge or understand. Its just my little way of saying that most people are incredibly poor at making judgements of any sort. So don't jump to too many conclusions based on my unorganized rantings herein.

I also thought about annoying David right now by writing a paragraph with atrocious grammar and punctuation, but I think one sentence will suffice...

Ok, I can't actually force myself to write a really bad sentence. Oh well.

Back to Basics

I've determined that I like Blogger enough to stay with it. It's like a better version of Xanga, but has slightly less functionality than Live Journal. However, people on here seem to a bit more literate than users on the other two blog sites and more mindful of punctuation. A much needed fresh start in my opinion.

"AND IT FEELS RIGHT THIS TIME..."

Song of the Moment: "No Leaf Clover" by Metallica