I sever the ties

So I find myself in a good mood and I'm not really sure why. It's the oddest thing. I mean, sure, it's the beginning of my weekend and I don't have to run any more shitty night NASCAR races, but this is a greater sense of joy that those things would merit. I did listen to a nice playlist I made on my drive home. Lots of good songs in a row always helps.

But yeah, my night of work wasn't particularly great, as I did run baseball and had a rained out race. Lots of little bullshit to annoy, especially when you add in emergency broadcasts for thunderstorms. So yeah, it's unusual that I'm happy in the face of all that garbage.

Ohhh I also listened to an episode of This American Life, a radio show from public radio, about prisoners in Guantanamo Bay. Man that's scary. They interviewed two guys that had been released after four years of detainment. Neither had ever been anyway related to terrorism or being an enemy combatant, aside from someone turning them in for a $5-10,000 reward. Four years oftheir life stolen, forced into a cage, regularly humiliated and interrogated for no reason. Imagine.

I could go on a huge rant about that. I mean we are a nation allegedly based on freedom and the "inalienable rights" of all men, yet we detain these people without habeus corpus, without any reasonable appeal process and with minimal evidence of their guilt. It's astounding. I'm letting it go, but I may post more about it later, if my mood worsens.

I'd like to snarl at the world

So I've had a shitty day. Just something not right all day long. I didn't even sleep well. Had lots of really weird dreams about zombies (the rage-infected, fast ones from 28 Days Later) and while it wasn't scary, not really, it was offputting. Then work sucks, every little thing seemed to get on my nerves.

For example, the cleaning lady. She's nice enough, but she managed to be right in my way constantly. I decided to go prepare my dinner in the break room, she's in there cleaning. I want to go get my jacket from my Jeep, she's vacuuming the stairs and completely fucking oblivious of my desire to get around her. Not her fault, but annoying to me.

I've felt like I've had this submerged scream in my chest all day long and I don't know why. I'm gonna try to ease that burden now by eating Cheezit Crisps, drinking Belgian beer and shooting people in Halo 2. We'll see if it works. If I manage to calm down i may read some of the new Palahniuk book, Rant, that my mom checked out for me.

Please check my balls

Sooooo I had originally planned to stay in today and waste away in front of my XBox 36o, but when I arose I found my modem had died again. So I decided to take care of that and since I was out I may as well be somewhat social. So I traded in my old modem for a new one at Comcast and then met up with Trip to grab some pizza.

We then went to Advance Auto Parts (which is far out of our usual roaming grounds) too look for seat covers for him. You see he bought a shiny new PT Cruiser recently and now I'm all jealous. The highlight of the trip was the Chrome skull shifter knob with the light up eyes.

After our manly shopping escapade (yes I know escapade detracts from the manliness, that's the point), we headed back to his place and watched How I Met Your Mother, which continues to be enjoyable and Fast Food Nation, which moved at a nigh-glacial pace. I'd read the book, so I was well aware of how horrible the meat packing industry is (I've read The Jungle too, so I have historical perspective as well).

The one scene I did like was when the activist kids try to free the cows at the slaughterhouse and the cattle refuse to escape. They just won't listen even though someone is telling them they are going to die. Sadly I have to include myself among those cattle, but my apathy and laziness will not let me break free.

Badonkadonk red and the hostess

So apparently some of you Ramblers are upset with my lack of recent updates. Well, tough. I write when I feel like it and I've been distracted lately. You see, last week I impulse bought a Nintendo DS (which is a handheld gaming system for those of you not in the know) and have been playing the new Pokemon game pretty consistently since. It's like crack for kids... and I'm still pretty much a kid, even at age 32.

I did hit a snag last night when I found out that there is a "fashion" portion of the game where you have to dress up your Pokemon in accessories you get through the game. Not so much on playing dress up. Gotta see how much of that crap I have to do before I can progress.

In other news, I saw the new Spiderman movie, it's ok, but probably not something I'm gonna want to see a lot. Too many stupid jokes, kids thrown in for cuteness factor and just too long. Why do we need three villains in one movie? Why do they all take off their masks regularly? (I know it's to show off the actors underneath, but it's just stupid.) Why is Spiderman acting like a 70s pimp? I think the first viewing merited a +1 chainmail rating, but subsequent viewings are likely to drop it down to Meh. and possibly beyond.

I also watched Rocky Balboa, which was ok (in the +1 chainmail area, as well). It went back to the roots of the Rocky series and worked through those fairly well, with a few rocky moments (ba dump tshhhh). I'd rank it roughly on the same level as Rocky 4, definitely better than Rocky 5. They just never were the same without Burgess Meredith tho.

I can't see anything at all, all I see is me

Had an interesting day. Went to Eoghan's Birthday party (Eoghan is Jill's 8-year-old son, for those of you out of the know). Now contrary to what my sicko friends might tell you, I don't frequent lots of BDay parties for minors. Apparently you can celebrate a birthday without buying the BDay boy a shot. Who knew? Anyway it wasn't bad, just kinda hung out at Rollabout. Hadn't been there since like ninth grade maybe.

Headed to Trip's after that for a bit, where we watched some of that new, yet already cancelled Andy Richter show. It's hilarious and hence it had to die. I'm sure we'll get another fat guy with a hot wife sitcom on the air to replace it next season. Don't have enough of that.

Hit "The Walmart" after leaving Trip's, as I had to get a FM transmitter for my iPod, since my tape deck has decided to reject my tape adapter. Apparently the relationship just wasn't working out between them and the tape deck wanted to be alone. Found one that works pretty good so far.

Got home and tried to build up my gamer score on XBox Live. I swear, it's addictive. Not quite crack, but maybe prescription painkillers. I managed to get over 1,000 without playing any new games and have now built it up to 1,065 only playing through a tad of Tony Hawk Project 8, which I borrowed from Trip. Some of the more thorough of you Ramblers (the new nickname for people who read my blog) will note that I have linked my score at the bottom of my blog. So you folks can see both the depths of my nerdiness and what I am playing to keep said nerdiness at such high levels.

I should probably just delete the last.fm link thingie since I can't get the software to work right with my iPod. Bleh, I may try to fiddle with it sometime, so I'll leave it where it is for the moment.

Innovation is not the be all, end all of design

Had my meeting today and it wasn't as bad as I suspected. It wasn't good, meetings never are, but it wasn't horrible. But I did get more free pizza, woo. But yeah, the crux of the meetings was that sweeps are starting so we needed to do things right. Like that isn't our goal normally. Somehow I normally fuck things up intentionally, but now it's sweeps so I should stop that.

So my podcast addiction continues. The quality of podcasts varies wildly, but the good ones are really good. I have been listening to way too many video game discussions tho. I'm informed to say the least. Listened to a cool discussion about how important the Halo franchise in the grand scheme of the video games. The usual arguments of how PC FPS's always have done it better, blah blah blah. (Some of you completely got lost with that last sentence, but then i suppose it wasn't really for you then. So feel free to ignore it.)

I subscribed to Gamefly, which is basically a Netflix equivalent for games. Happy so far. Been playing last year's college football game and it's ok, not anything special. I prefer some of the older versions of it. Ehh, it's doing a nice job of pumping up my gamer score. (Those are the nerd points you get for playing games on XBox 360. When you meet certain goals in the game you get points added to your total score, which is posted for everyone online to see. It adds a cool little tweak to gaming. Adding another tier to satisfy the nerdy gaming/collecting urge and allow geeks to further rank themselves.)

Take that causality!

So my cable modem decided to end it's strike peaceably, before I sent the riot police in. At least that's the best reason I can think of, so I'm going with it. So I am back online and all is well. I'm currently listening to a podcast called "The Ungodly Hour" that features lots of industrial/gothy type music. Some pretty good stuff on there, think I may subscribe, songs in German always sound delightfully brutal!

So while in my hotel room I kept my nerd levels high by reading the new Halo novel, Ghosts of Onyx. It's hard to get nerdier than reading a book based on a video game. You usually have to dress up in some sort of costume to do it and I'm not doing that. Anyway, the book was one of the better ones in the series. Eric Nylund makes it readable and I like knowing all the backstory.

I'm now diving into Absurdistan, which is pretty good. The lead character has some wonderfully humorous moments, that he's totally unaware of. Like when he inherits $35 million and complains about his poverty. That said, he's very likable despite all his flaws. I'm only halfway through, so we'll see where it goes.

The chick blamed the snake

Well I have returned to my homestead, but remained isolated from the outside world. My cable modem seems to have revolted against the lack of power. Can't get that taken care of until tomorrow. So I'm now at Trip's letting all of you know my difficulties.

We're watching Planet Earth, which is astounding. Monkeys eating figs... good stuff.

Don't really have much else to say, so I'll go.

It's all about failure

Now listening to: My Bloody Valentine

So this is my final night in the luxurious Quality Inn. It's been a decent stay, aside from the lack of a microwave and talkative people at 7 a.m. when I'm trying to fall asleep. The heating unit has two modes, blazing hot and ice cold. I lean toward the cold, of course, but it's annoying to realize you're shivering while sitting in front of the computer.

Also I need to get out of here because I keep buying crappy food to eat. Fucking Cheez-its and that whore Little Debbie screw me over at every turn. I got a nice low fat sub from Subway, loaded with veggies for dinner to try to offset some of that garbage. I get to work and they are having a going away party for Kasper and free pizza, cookies and cake were all laid out. How do I say no to that? So my plan to be healthy was foiled again by both my coworkers and my weak will.

I continue to plow my way through the Venture Bros. commentary and it amuses me. It's completely random, one minute talking about the show, next talking about having sex with tattooed women. Anything can happen.

I watched the new episode of The Ultimate Fighter at work, which was followed by a preview of this weekend's free UFC broadcast on Spike. It's free because you've probably only heard of one of the fighters going at it. Still, one of the guys is a Pride FC veteran I do believe, so it'll be good.

I must go now, as I will be forced to rise well before I'd like to so I can check out and then proceed to kill 7 hours until work. Hello book store and coffee shop. Maybe I'll get a hair cut, since I desperately need one.

Rambling in exile

Ok not really exile. I'm currently staying in a hotel in Roanoke. The power at my apartment is out and not supposed to be back before Thursday. Which could be Saturday, knowing how those estimates go. So I packed up my shit and got a hotel room in Roanoke, which, by the way, if in-fucking-credibly expensive. I didn't expect it to be so much. I did manage to talk the concierge down from $69 a night to $49, but it's still too much.

But really, can you put a price on running water and internet access? Probably, but whatever, I need those things a lot. I was starting to smell like beef ass after less than one day without a shower. Not to mention now I don't have to commute for a few days, which will be nice.

Also it seems I was lucky to get a room at all since there is a media feeding frenzy in the area due to the Virginia Tech massacre. As most of you know, I'm a jaded fuck. I shrug off a lot of things most people are concerned about and generally believe that mankind gets what it deserves. That said, this penetrated through my shield of indifference.

Not because it's Tech, a school I'm indifferent to, or near me, but because college is supposed to be a safe place. You're supposed to be able to go there, learn and be whoever you want. Explore different avenues and figure out who the hell you are. Hard to feel safe in a place that's had a mass murder of that caliber. Hell, it'd be hard to feel safe at any campus after that. If it can happen out in the middle of no where in Blacksburg, it can happen anywhere. That's a debilitating thought.

Not much else going on really. I exacerbated my money issue by buying the new Venture Bros. Season 2 DVD, but really it's a must own. Works of pure genius.

Ohh I did finish Kurt Vonnegut's Breakfast of Champions and that was very good (foot massage). The world is gonna miss a sense of humor like Vonnegut's. He knew just how to skewer the right people.

Fucking people up with math

I'm beat. Long night... I had to watch White Chicks... I can barely hold my gorge. The Wayans Brothers in all their horrible glory. I managed to not gouge my eyes out, but it was a struggle.

I have recently discovered the power of the podcast recently. I've been listening to loads of video game news with NPR shows and music shows mixed in occasionally. It's like radio, except it's not the horrible crap that gets played around here and I get to listen to it whenever I want. I'm not bound by some programming director's whims. Plus they are all free on iTunes and download automatically. How badass is that?

Anyway I need sleep. One more shift before I get a shortened weekend, I have to work Tuesday and I'm dreading it. Not as much as I'm dreading our impending meeting in a coupla weeks. I have to show up an hour early and undoubtedly get bitched at about something. My handwriting is substandard or I didn't write down all the extraneous info on some spot that is in the log anyway. Love all the bureaucratic nonsense.

Storm faced cloud

So it's been a full weekend for me. Sunday Trip and I went to see Grindhouse, which delivered exactly the joyful carnage I was hoping for (filet mignon). You just can't beat Rodriguez and Tarantino. I think overall I liked Planet Terror better (just for the zombie overtones). But I liked Death Proof considerably more than any other movie along those lines.

Monday, Jill and I hung out. We did a little shopping, had a nice dinner and watched Stranger Than Fiction. It had a cool tone to it, that I enjoyed. Also Maggie Gyllenhal is a cutie. Good all the way around (foot massage).

Today it was hanging with Danny and Trip and goofing off. We watched Trip play some Guitar Hero 2 and I tried it. I suck. We then grabbed a less than stellar dinner at Hardee's and watched Borat. Man that's funny, it can be a little scary at times, but funny. (foot massage) Trip and I also watched some more Planet Earth and that was awesome. Some nice coral reef shots, the sea snakes freaked him out a little, which amused me. Hehe.

Question everything

I'm still tired and I just woke up. Grrrrrr. My Jeep was leaking gas once again this morning when I got home. Such fun. Soo I get to deal with that.

Work is gonna suck tonight, I'm probably gonna have to run the end of a baseball game that I have no interest in. Sure hope it goes late and fucks me over.

Ohhh and remember Monday when it was 8o degrees on my front porch and I was sweating my ass off. Yeah, I drove home in the snow this morning. Umm, yeah global climate change is a farce huh. I don't think so.

Buyer's remorse

So I did it. I dropped the fat cash and bought an XBox 360 despite knowing I shouldn't. What can I say, I was bored and peer pressured. That's a persuasive combo. I also bought a used copy of The Elder Scrolls: Oblivion, but the goons at the store did not put the discs in there. I get to go by tomorrow and threaten them with bodily harm if they don't give em to me.

But, luckily, I bummed some games from Trip to keep me occupied. The sad part about that is that now I get to compare my old low def TV picture to Trip's awesome 52 inch High definition screen. Never cared about the difference before, but now it's at the forefront of my mind. Of course, no way in hell I can afford a high def tv. Not at all.

Anyway I'm off to kill some crap in stunning low definition. Later.

That's a spicy meatball

Now listening to: Ghostface Killah (More Fish)

So Trip and I hit Greensboro for some delicious PF Changs. Now I like spicy food, but damn the Dali's Chicken did a number on me. Those peppers were unfriendly.

Afterward I got involved with the Xbox 360 debate again, but resisted. I'm weakening tho. It won't be long, I'm betting.

We then hit Harris Teeter to look even gayer than normal. I mean two grown men grocery shopping together? People can't help but assume. Hell the girl checking us out asked if we'd like to sign up for a discount card, definitely implying it would be together. I was amused.

I purchased a tasty Chimay Ale which may have accidently been drank on the way home. I'm still feeling the effects. I'm a lightweight (yesh, not many context's where that's true) and am half in the bag. I have switched up to the Blushing Dog now, which isn't as good as I remember. But it does get better the more I drink.

History of Drunks

Been staying under my rock today as the Racetards were in full effect. Watched Let Sleeping Corpses Lie, which was a 70s zombie movie and boring in a way only 70s horror can be. Just sloooooow. (mudbutt).

I also watched Planet Earth on Discovery. Man that's some good shit. Awesome footage of these really rare and hard to get to camels in the Gobi Desert. Also saw the episode on ice dwellers. Love the penguin footage, but coulda done without watch the polar bear starve to death. Downer. Still the footage is amazing, betting it would look even better in high def. Can't afford that tho.

Watched I, Robot, which i had been putting off for a while, just cause I loathe Will Smith. Also I knew that Hollywood would bastardize a good book of short stories and make a stupid action movie out of it. They did. It wasn't quite the abortion I expected, but it wasn't good either. Decent CG tho. I'll say Meh. and leave it at that.

Debating getting an Xbox 360. Haven't decided if I'm gonna yet, but I need something to pass the time. I dunno. I don't wanna spend the money, but I am sick of staring at the walls. We'll see.
Listening to this album by The Melvins, (A) Senile Animal and it's pretty good. I'm digging the stoner/retro metal I've been listening to lately. Lotsa The Sword, Fu Manchu, Electric Wizard and, of course, Clutch. The musical equivalent to one of those smashing machines junkyards use on cars.

Falling through a hole in my heart

So it was a rainy, dreary and generally inconsolable type of day today. Felt lonely and crappy and just floated through work. The highlight of the night was watching a UFC's Greatest Hits 4 on Spike. Nothing like watching grown men beat the piss out of one another.

But now I'm home... with nothing to do. Sigh...

Are friends electric?

Trip and I spent three freaking hours playing the Viva Pinata demo on his 360. Nothing like a game designed for small children to keep two grown men occupied for hours at the time. Hell that goofy game makes me want to buy a 360... but I'm fighting the urge. At least for the moment I am. We'll see what the future holds in the face of Halo 3.

Since I got home all I've done really is cooked up a coupla eggs and listened to a ton of music. I was browsing around the iTunes store, just listening to stuff I hadn't heard of before and sorting through various mixes when I can across this Gary Numan track Are Friends Electric? and it's so good I had to buy it. I dig the gothy, new wave style. I debated buying a whole damn greatest hits thing, but as most were live compilations or $20 double album sets I let it go with the one song.

want more than I can get

Well at last I can relax some. Work was a motherfucker this week. Couple that with other recent developments that I'm not going to discuss and it's been as hellish a week as I've had in a long time. But now I plan to relax and recoup. Whatever that means. Might try and watch The Prestige tonight. The book was good, will the movie hold up?

I'm debating joining a gym, but I have to investigate the options and avoid year-long commitments. I need to do something active and the weather's nice. It'd be nice to have a way to vent out stress and, hopefully, look and feel better. Of course, what's going to happen is I'll join, work out for two weeks, be struck down by allergies for two weeks and never return. That's just judging from past experience.

Anyway, I'm off to waste some time and try to relax in my unshaven glory. The second Bridget Jones movie is on and I'm watching it for some reason I'm unsure of. The woman is clearly insane. Of course, it's a pretty accurate representation I suppose. Not that men are any better, I'm sure, but I have no interest in dating them.

Drifting

I gotta find more constructive ways to fill my time. The last three days have been pretty much lost and I've done almost nothing. I went to see The 300, which was good. I also cleaned out the interior of my Jeep. So there's like three hours filled. Where did the rest of it go? I did fuck all.

I'm not really thrilled with how things are going lately (which I think I made clear with my last post). I'm not sure what to do tho, my schedule eliminates a lot of options. I suppose I'll just feel like shit and bitch about it. Why break tradition?

Ever wish you were dead?

Yeah, me too. I'm currently pounding scotch to try to get rid of the feeling. Doubt it does any good.

razor girls in latex

So I am prepared to plunge headfirst into the long weekend of work. Nothing like celebrating St. Patty's Day by sitting in front of several monitors and watching crap tv all night, not a beer in sight. I could use a tasty beer, in fact... Alas.

Not much new to report. Been doing the standard crap, working, playing WoW. I picked up Monster Island so I'd have something to read at work this weekend. Can't get enough of that zombie goodness. Well now I'm off to trek to work.

Second verse, same as the first

The 300 road trip 2.0 suffered from the same problem as the first one, Trip's car crapped out. Nothing we could do this time, some hose blew or something and we got stranded in Brosville. Fortunately we were near that new pizza place Dell'Anno's so waiting for his rents and the tow truck wasn't as brutal.

I kept myself occupied yesterday by playing a ton of WoW and watching movies. I watched Clerks 2, which was pretty good. Better than I expected really (foot massage). I also watched The Departed finally and man that's a good movie. Mike compared it to The Godfather, which is saying something considering how much he worships that movie.

I don't know if I'd go so far as that, but it's really, really good. Nicholson is amazing (as usual). DeCaprio and Damon have developed into heavyweights fairly quickly. The story was fantastic and well woven. I'm saying Filet Mignon.

Das Boot!

Went to see The 300 with Trip yesterday... but it didn't quite work out that way. We stopped by Waterloo music beforehand as I was looking for some DVDs to send to my brother. I snagged a couple (including Beerfest, which rules!) and when we went to leave, his car wouldn't go. So we called his parents to come help us out. His dad gets there and informs us that there is no oil in the car and it's running low on coolant as well. Both of which we could have taken care of if we had half a clue.

So, since his car is shedding oil, we nixed the movie idea and drove home. We went to Texas for dinner and had some lackluster service. The we went to Blockbuster and had some more lackluster service. Nothing like customer service taken to a new level.

I then came home and watched A Good Year with the rents. Not bad, gotta love movies about vineyards. I need to own a vineyard... with wanton french women living around it... Ok this fantasy leads down a dangerous road that most probably don't want to read about. Those that do will find little difficulty in finding another website that caters to them.

Freckle bitches

Had a relatively interesting weekend. Got to see Corb after a lengthy hiatus. We had dinner at MiRanchito and chatted (with Trip there, as well). Afterward he tooled off to get back to work (on a Sunday afternoon, that guy is ridiculous) and Trip and I went to see Zodiac. I enjoyed it, but I'm fascinated by serial killers. I know, that's one of those interests that make people look at you like you're nuts, but they are interesting.

What drives someone to take up killing as a hobby? I mean, it's not like these are just stupid people. Stupid serial killers get caught quick. Zodiac was free for years and the main suspect died before being brought to trial. But back to the movie, it did move a little slow, particularly at the 2/3 mark. But I'd say it was +1 chainmail worthy, at the least. Jake Gyllenhal (I'm not looking up the proper spelling so deal) is turning into a really amazing actor. Who knew Bubble Boy would do that?

Monday Trip and I went to High Point to try a new sushi place... which was closed. Well the hibachi stuff was open, but not the sushi. So we bailed and decided to head to Leblon. It's this Brazilian restaurant where they bring meat skewered on swords to your table and cut off as much as you want. You have a little sign for them to keep coming or not. It was quite tasty. My question was if you have one meat wrapped in another meat is that like a double negative? Could that make you a vegetarian? My only real complaint about the place was that the bacon wrapped filet mignon was a little overdone for my tastes. Still very nice.

Language keeps me locked and repeating

I'm tired, grumpy, estranged, horny and generally offput. Long night working and I had loads to do. Had to run the live NAACP Image awards broadcast, which wasn't as bad as I thought. They honored Bono for his work in Africa and he gave a pretty kickass speech, I thought.

The thing was they talked about "Extreme poverty." I suppose they have to phrase it that way, because when you think of poverty in America you think of bums living on the streets and eating out of trash cans. Poverty in Africa means you can't find untainted water. It boggles the mind. Makes me think I should complain less about my life. Of course, then what would you people read?

Art for art's sake

Who doesn't love a smartass?

Validating the validated

Now listening to: Babyshambles

Watched the Oscars with Trip tonight (after he beat me at Tony Hawk, I report it when I school him so I'm giving him his props). Some of my thoughts on the Oscars:

• I like film montages based on past nominees or winners. I like learning about movies I may not know about that I would enjoy seeing.
  
• This show is basically a handjob for Hollywood types, validating people who already have the adoration of the masses. Still, it must be nice to get that type of recognition from your peers. Wouldn't be nice if normal people got to feel that appreciated once in a while?
• Forest Whitaker's acceptance speech was awesome. It was moving, concise and powerful. Also it looked like he was pumped to win afterward. It's good seeing an actor I really do like enjoy his moment, although I was sad for Peter O'Toole.
• Please stop with the musical numbers. I don't like em, even when I do. They go overlong and most of them are lame. Sidenote: Beyonce got shown up vocally by Jennifer Hudson. She tried to bring it back, but it wasn't gonna happen.
  
• I was rooting against the little girl from Little Miss Sunshine, because she's a kid. Trip thinks it's because I just hate kids, which I kinda do, but that's not the only reason. You have serious actresses who have dedicated most of their lives to the craft and then her comes some cute kid to snatch the accolades. She's not gonna really appreciate it, at least not until she's been through rehab a couple of times and living in a trailor, sucking dick for crack. Then she'll realize how good it was... Wow, got on a tangent there huh?
• Jack Nicholson is the coolest guy ever. What must it be like to live his life? Talented, recognized, accomplished. All while having this undeniable charm that's irresistable even to a crotchety bastard like me. He's on a short list of people that just seem to have everything pretty much figured out. Jack, Hef, Sinatra (actually probably several of the Rat Pack go here). There may be some others, but they escape me at the moment.
• Look I like Meryl Streep, I do. She has a depth as an actress that is incredible. But come on, her playing a bitch in The Devil Wears Prada was not an Oscar performance. No one but her gets nominated for that role, even if they do it better than she did.
  
• I have seen next to none of the Oscar movies this year. I gotta get it together and watch some of em, especially The Departed, The Queen and The Last King of Scotland.
  

Little something for my conservative readers

Hey what's the difference really?

Monument to my insignificance

So I haven't written much. Haven't had much to say (although that's never stopped me before, thank you for that thought Trip). Just work and Warcraft basically. Not much else going on. In fact, I'm about to head to work now. Bleh.

Been listening to the Grinderman album and it is good. Lots of feedback and interesting lyrics. Also enjoying The Sword which has a nice sludgey vibe.

Speaking of Nick Cave (who fronts Grinderman) watched The Proposition the other night and it wasn't bad. A little slow moving, but nice and bleak. I'd say +1 chainmail.

Day drinker with a crowbar

I'm not feeling near as bad as I did last time I posted, but I'm still feeling very drained. I think I might actually be successfully fighting off a cold, but it's sapping my energy. Or I could just be a lazy, fat bastard who doesn't have any energy anyway. Whatever.

We had a late lunch for Jill's B-Day today at MiRanchito. It was Jill (obviously), me, Trip and her friend Todd and we had a pretty good time. Rather low key. Afterward I headed back to Trip's where I dispatched a pummelling in Fight Night and we played to a draw in Tony Hawk (we didn't play a decisive match as my head was starting to ache).

We then watched a couple of episodes of The Naked Trucker and TBones Show, which is comedy gold. I honestly can't get enough anecdotes about hobos disfiguring themselves for the good of the group. I just can't.

Two dollars and a hand job

It's been a long fucking week and I still have two longass days to go. I haven't felt well for the last coupla days for a variety of reasons and nothing seems to be going my way. I'm hoping things get a little better before the week is done, cause I don't know how much more crap I can deal with.

It's been really cold of late and while I normally appreciate that sort of thing, I'm tired of commuting in it. Especially when it's also windy.

That's all I have to say for the moment.

Is it really that late?

So it's like 6 a.m. and it seems like the night flew by. Of course, I wasn't at work so that had to be the case. I am feeling kinda beat. I got up a little early today and Trip and I hit Danville. We met up with Kevin and Langdon briefly and did some low grade shopping.

Trip and I then had dinner at ye olde Red Lobster, where the calamari and broccoli appetizer proved to me much more filling than I ever imagined. That'll happen when you batter it all and deep fry it. After dinner we went to see Smokin' Aces and it turned out to be pretty good. It was sorta reminiscent Snatch or Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels. Not quite as good, but not bad. Jason Bateman was hilarious. foot massage worthy.

Hmm, what else has been occupying my time of late? Still on the Warcraft, although I'm not as much of a slave to it as I used to be. I finished reading World War Z, which was fantastic (Filet Mignon). Good zombie fiction. Gotta love those flesh-eating bastards.

Sunday just opened up

So yeah, football is finally over for the year. Sure there is the Pro Bowl, but really, who cares? I spent the evening at Trip's, watching the game in ginormous High def splendor. I gorged on wings, with a side of pizza and washed it down with Newcastle Brown Ale. Arrr, I am manly.

I thought the game was pretty good. Sure the play seemed kind of sloppy in the first half, but it was raining heavily. I didn't have a lot of emotional investment in either team, but am glad to see Peyton win the big one (basically so I don't have to hear them talk about how he hasn't anymore).

Let's see, what else... hmm... Ohhh I finished reading World War Z and it was zombie-riffic. I recommend it to all fans of the shambling undead. (Filet Mignon, or perhaps tasty human brain, whichever you prefer?) I am now plunging into Neil Stephenson's Baroque Cycle, which is an endeavor. That guy is not afraid to put down a complex plot about inherently difficult subjects, particularly the history of scientific advancement. So far it is exceptional.

I also finally watched Snakes on a Plane. Can't say I recommend it, really. I appreciated it for the high comedy that it was never intended to be, but I'd have to rate it Meh. at best. For the record I have had enough of these motherfucking snakes on this motherfucking plane.

Eat ______ and die!

Yeah it's fill in the blank. A rubber hose beating to the person who can decipher it.

So today from start to finish (well if you count leaving work as finish) I was grumpy. Just generally pissed off and so, everything rubbed me the wrong way all day. I think this problem was really magnified by the fact that I was expecting lots of snow and, as such, to not have to go into work. Instead I got it being cold and my regular work day. Blah.

Changing the subject abruptly, I was surfing the net the other night. I don't even remember what I was looking for (no it wasn't porn, I know exactly where to go for that). But I happened across an Aryan website, i.e. neo-nazi style propaganda and products. I laughed. Not because I find anti-semiticism humorous really, but because it's all so stupid. To me, it's a lot like watching a retard masturbate. You have to laugh even tho it's stupid and disgusting. You just can't help yourself.

Anyway, I'm now going to tune into some loud and abusive music and kill lots of digital creatures.

Kool-aid, of the grape persuasion

Now listening to:Amon Amarth

Enjoying some tasty corndogs and thought I'd actually post something. I know I've been slack, but I've been staying busy. Yes, mostly with WoW, but whatever. It's my party and I'll blog when I want to.

Let's see, what else have I been doing besides poping and warlocking? I watched Chinatown and, while it was ok, I didn't really get the monumental impression from it that everyone goes on about. I know it's hard to recognize the greatness of a film from a different age, but it moved really slowly. Of course, that's the case with a lot of movies from the 70s. I'm saying Meh., in spite of how awesome Jack Nicholson is and the general concensus.

I watched The Illusionist, which I thought was pretty good. I saw the twist it was going to take, but enjoyed it nonetheless. How good are Paul Giammatti and Ed Norton? Foot massage worthy, undoubtedly.

Yesterday Trip and I watched Jackass: Number 2. Now I know this is not high brow humor and I'm supposed to look down upon it, but man, I nearly laughed my nuts off. I love it when those crazy bastards do dumb shit to hurt themselves or to put people they don't really know in uncomfortable situations. Also the deleted scene with the three-legged dog being asked to fetch something that looked like his missing leg made me nearly shit my pants it was so funny. I'm saying this is filet mignon, low brow or not.

Switching gears from inane stupidity to real world documentary, I watched Tibet: Cry of the Snow Lion today, which is a film about Tibetan history and how China basically invaded, took over and is now effecting a genocide on Tibetans and their culture. This is something I know a little about, since I wrote my senior thesis on the subject and it's just tragic. We all know the Chinese government sucks at human rights, this being especially true to people that aren't really Chinese (aka Tibetan).

It was really disturbing hearing the stories of some of the protesters in Tibet speak about their experiences. For example, the Buddhist nun talking about the police putting a cattle prod in her vagina is disturbing in the extreme. But nothing is going to be done, because China's economic power throughout the world is too great and human rights mean little when money enters the equation.

I'm not gonna give this a rating because while the movie was good at doing what it wanted, what it wanted was to show me how awful things are there. It succeeded and I'm appalled.

Odin's Eye Socket

Had a nice day. Trip, Jill and I went to Greensboro for dinner at PF Chang's for Trip's BDay. Very tasty and a good time was had by all. I love me some chinese food.

It was surprisingly cold tho. I thought it was supposed to be warmer, but it wasn't. On the way home Trip and I saw some flurries and when I left his place I saw even more.

On an unrelated note, football season is nigh-done. I'm sad. Basketball is filling the airwaves and it feels so wrong. Blah.

I'm TNT

Yeah it's been a while since I blogged, what of it? I've been busy. Sorta. Plus I had a "happy" post up and wanted to see how that felt for a while. Too many more of those and I may have to kick my own ass. Hehe.

Anyway nothing major to report, lots of Warcraft and whatnot. I need to watch my Netflix movies, but can't seem to find the time. I ran the UVa vs. NC State basketball game on the CW last night. Go Cavs! Woo, college hoops. It wasn't bad, but my tolerance for basketball is pretty low.

I also watched part of the NHL All Star game, just to see Crosby and Ovechkin play together. Then I remembered it was an All Star game and nobody really gives a shit. So I didn't watch the third period. I switched to The Naked Trucker and TBones Show, which was ok. It's got some moments (TBones fighting a bear "Cmon Bear!"). I'm not sure it has long term potential, but who knows.

Anyway it's time for work, blah.

Fucksocks! World's gone sideways

So an odd thing happened to me the other day. I was on my way to work and pulled up behind this minivan with a "Life is Good" sticker on its window. Normally this would cause me to mentally vomit and have a nice little internal rant about minivan owners and people in general. What happened this time was that I stopped and thought about it and decided that my life is going pretty good at the moment.

It was the oddest thing. I've had brief periods where I was happy for a while, but I seldom, if ever, realize it until it's over and I'm looking back. Now I can kinda sit back and enjoy it. Of course, what I'll probably actually end up doing is waiting for a cosmic kick to the balls to bring everything back to normal. (What can I say, you can't throw out 30 years of pessimism overnight because of a little good fortune.)

Taking souls for the pleasure of it

So I'm living a digital life at the moment with The Burning Crusade (the Warcraft expansion) coming out today. I was at Walmart at midnight to pick it up with around 10 or so of my nerd brethren. There was also a pair of rednecks who couldn't wait until morning to pick up Gridiron Gang. They must worship at the church of The Rock.

But yeah, the expansion is everything a geek could want for the most part. My biggest problem is that everything is overflowing with people. It's massive carnage and you have to wait to kill the mobs you need. Pain in the ass. Ehh, whatcha gonna do. It'll die down in a week or two. Probably.

I did watch Talladega Nights while I played today and it wasn't bad. Not Will Ferrell's finest movie, but not bad. I'd say +1 chainmail. Now I must get back to warlocking.

State of dissension

Man, I just watched Keith Olberman's take on the state of the union (which you can watch here). He's not a fan. He just rips into Bush and doesn't let up. The more I watch Olberman the more I like him. Wish we had more of that a few years ago when this thing was starting. I'm getting sick of having the executive branch being completely unresponsive to the will of the people.

I know, I know I'm a liberal nutjob. But I was never a fan of this Iraq thing and it's only gotten worse. Plus these days I have even more reason to be concerned about the soldiers dying over there since my brother could be among them.

My mind is like an orchard

Just watched The Chumscrubber and it was kind of intense. A tale about the shallow nature and self-absorption of suburban America. Basically it was about people deluding themselves about what's important and denying their basic feelings. Denying them by hyperfocusing on other things or just through drugs and alcohol. Then through that derangement of the senses they lose touch with any sort of real human contact.

The search for that type of connection is what I was trying to convey with my recent post about music, that may have failed in it's goal. Actually I'm 100% certain that I've written that type of post before, but I feel it bears repeating. Hell isn't that what art is supposed to do, encapsulate human emotion from the artist and try to convey it to his audience, whoever they may be.

Anyway, I'd say The Chumscrubber deserves a foot massage. It definitely does it's job of conveying the apathy and dread of the protaganist and the self-importance of the people around him.

By Odin's beard

Slack day, woo. Slept in, then futzed around on my comp. for a while. Had some tasty nachos. Then I rolled over to Trip's and ran him at some of his own games. Ok, I'll conceed he nabbed me at Tony Hawk Project 8, but I schooled him at hockey and closed the night by taking Jake LaMotta and pounding him in Fight Night. You just don't mess with the Bronx Bull. It's not done.

Last night, I watched Ichi the Killer, which was interesting. It's based on a manga and is loaded with bizarre S&M concepts. Nobody does S&M like the Japanese. (Trip pointed out that maybe the Germans do, but anyone not in the Axis can't compete.) Lots of torture and gore. I'd say it's +1 chainmail, but it's definitely not for everyone.

Currently listening to this album by Scott Walker, which is unusual. I don't know that I'd recommend it. His voice is overly theatrical and it doesn't really play for me. It's supposed to be kind sad, but that silly over doing it seems to strip out a lot of emotion.

goofy grin moments and otherwise

Now listening to: Jawbreaker

So I've been supremely slack today. Which was pleasant. Watched the new Pirates of the Caribbean movie again. It's pretty good. Worth a rewatch. I also played a bunch of WoW. Yes I'm back on the Warcraft. But I can control it this time. I'm just prepping for the new expansion, which will be out in a week. I'm looking forward to it, although I may wait a week or two to pick it up, just to bolster my finances a bit.

What else is new... hmm... I met my cousin Mike and his friend Wai for breakfast on Saturday morning, which was cool. Hope to hang with him again soon. Sunday I watched Over the Hedge and hung with Jill. Think that's about it. I've been keeping a pretty low profile.

I may watch another movie now, perhaps Chinatown or the Chumscrubber. Or perhaps I'll try to finish reading my book, Mappa Mundi.

Transfer my tragedy

Now listening to: TV on the Radio and Final Fantasy (the musician, not the game)

So I was talking the other day when I said something that made me think. I said that music is very important to me. This seems completely obvious, I'm sure. I have an enormous cd collection, talk about music constantly and immerse myself in hundreds of bands that most people will never hear of. The part that made me think is, why am I so obsessed with music? What difference does it make if I know about all the hippest new indie rock bands? Why must I sneer at Nickelback fans?

I haven't really come up with a good answer. I suppose it's centered on how music can make you escape. A few well placed chords and you can have an absolutely transcendent experience. Or perhaps it has to do with the fact that I don't really relate well to a lot of people. Music shows me that while human beings are often flawed, petty and horrible there is still something positive that can come out of humanity. That despite feeling solitary so often, there is still something in people with which I can relate.

Some of the new stuff I'm relating to of late is TV on the Radio, The Knife and Dimmu Borgir. TV on the Radio is hard to explain, it's got a lot of things going on, saxes, interesting vocals and very good lyrics. Still it's not easy to get into, the first time I listened to it I didn't really dig it. It's only after a few more times that I've gotten it and now I'm having trouble not listening to it. The single, Wolf Like Me, really shines. The Knife is an electronic act that has depth. It's not just beats and whatever, it's got some emotion in there. Dimmu Borgir is one of the bigger black metal bands out there and are kinda evil. But I like the evil, it's kind of my thing.

Ohh I'm also reading this book of Tom Waits interviews and whatnot that Kevin (and Courtney too I suppose) was gracious enough to give me for Xmas. That guy just can't stop with the great lines. It's amazing. "Watch out for Charlie Weis. That guy will sell you a rat's asshole for a wedding ring." I challenge you to top that... yeah didn't think so. The lobotomy line to your left also arrives via Waits.

This is my rifle

Now listening to: Combichrist

Man I always forget how much I love industrial music until I throw some on. So harsh, yet I gotta love it.

One more thing I realized today that I like about my iPod is that it allows me to keep complete track of everything I listen to. That means if you want to see what I've been listening to for the past week all you gotta do is scroll to the bottom of the page and check out my cool little iTunes themed list. It used to only be a list of what I listened to while sitting at home in front of my computer, when it updates next week it'll be comprehensive.

Watched Biozombie tonight and I can't recommend it. It was supposed to be a Japanese "cult hit" but it's just not great. Couple of cute asian girls and a few select interesting moments, but far too much filler. Also the zombies are kind of lame. I'm giving it a shaq-fu rating... Gah, I gotta think of a different name for that rating, it's kind of lame. That's gonna take some thought.

Huffing kerosene

Now listening to: Big Black

I finally got some sleep, which was nice. I plan on sleeping in a bit again tomorrow, despite work. That's just how I roll. I am totally in love with my iPod. It's sooo awesome. No more toting cds around and having to switch them out all the time. Now I just load it and go. Life is sweet.

Of course, between carrying the iPod and my cell phone I am a walking communications tower of sorts. Constantly in touch with the outside world. I'm exploring the cyberpunk ideal of posthumanity. Well not really, but I'm closing in on it.

Didn't do a whole helluva lot today. Got up late, loaded a bunch of cds back onto my hard drive, went to Walmart and OfficeMax looking for a USB hub. I still need an iPod case, but may wait until after my next payday to not stress out my finances. I need to get back to my frugal days from earlier on this year.

After that I hit Trip's for a bit, then headed over to Jill's. I met her kids, which was a little scary. Kids intimidate me, what can I say? I don't want to be the horrible childhood memory that scars them for life. Well, not unless they deserve it, hehe. Anyway, I suppose it went ok.

After the kids went to bed we watched The Devil Wears Prada, which I'll be generous and give a +1 chainmail rating. It wasn't bad, but it wasn't great either. Nothing I need to see again, still Anne Hathaway is more than a little tasty.

Festival of meat: postponed

A new year is afoot and so far I'm vastly enjoying it. Spent New Year's Eve with Jill and Trip and that was fun. Today Trip and I went shopping and I could resist temptation no longer and bought an iPod. I went with the 30 gig one so I can keep a schload of stuff on there and suit my mood regardless of what it is.

I should still be saving money and paying off my credit card, but I've been pretty good. So I decided to reward myself (especially since I got a Xmas bonus.) It's pretty sweet. I've spent the evening organizing my music and putting stuff back onto my computer that I had burned to cd and taken off. Fun stuff, huh.

Shopping was fun today. Besides the iPod I picked up a new belt and some socks (exciting stuff, I know) and fought the urge to buy anything else. Trip and I had planned on going to this Brazilian restaurant where the bring huge slabs of meat by your table and saw off portions for you, all you can eat. Sadly our festival of meat was denied, as the place was locked down for the holiday. We went to this kickass chinese place instead, PF Chang's. Good stuff.

Ohh and the chick that sold me my iPod at CompUSA was a total stoner. She called me dude like 8 times and answered the phone "Yo!" twice while I was there. I asked he a question about the battery life and she had no idea what I was talking about. It would have been amusing, if it weren't so annoying.
I should probably be asleep now, as I haven't been getting too much of that lately. But I am getting better at this sleep deprivation thing. Or, at least, more accustomed to it.

James Brown is dead

Been an intensely busy few days. But good. The holidays are hectic and this year has turned it up to extra spicy. Went to see my bro on the 26th, which was an adventure. Had a good 60 minutes of sleep and then spent the whole day with my parents. Got home around 7 p.m. and immediately drove to Roanoke to hang with Mike, Shannon, Adam and Greg. Had a good time, but I'm lucky I didn't collapse on the drive home and hit a tree.

Lots of other stuff going on, but I don't feel like blogging about it.

In fantasy football news my hunt for the championship ended abruptly when Laverneus Coles dropped a fat deuce when I needed 12. Sad.

Also a moment of silence for the godfather of soul, the hardest working man in show business, the living legend,Mr. James Brown. The world is a less funky place without you.

The feats of strength

So it's all Christmas and whatnot. I should be in Fayetteville, NC, but we were unable to trek down as my Mom is suffering from the same virus that sidelined me last week. We're going tomorrow instead, which makes things difficult, but at least I'll get to hang with my bro, Kelly and Cameron. Of course, then I have to come back and ride to Roanoke to hang with Mike, Shannon and Adam. Gonna be a long day, but should be fun.

Yesterday, Mike, Shannon and myself rode up to Roanoke and found the one place open on Xmas Eve, Awful Arthur's. We had the traditional holiday calimari and beer. Well I did anyway. We had a good time. Low key and pleasant.

Anyway I'm off to kill some time and watch some NFL highlights. The games tonight decide whether I head into the Techmo Lucky Breaks Superbowl or consolation. It's neck and neck.

Guff reduction

My day off, woohoo. I sniffled and snuffled my way through the day. Got a below average haircut, love when they rush through it as fast as they can and go "That'll be $18." Also got my glasses fixed, which is something I've needed to do for about a year. Nice to not have metal scraping my nose. I should probably have my eyes checked and get new glasses, but don't wanna pay for em really. Bah.

Hooked up with Trip and Danny and we hung out. Sadly I let Trip school me at hockey and while we split at Tony Hawk Project 8, but clearly my skills are deficient in that game. He probably should've beaten me, I just used my old school voodoo to take a win.

I just watched Penn and Teller's Magic and Mystery Tour, which was Penn and Teller traveling to China, Egypt and India in search of old school street magicians. Interesting, but not great. Well, Penn and Teller are great, but it seemed like a lot of the time they were kinda disappointed by what they found. The Egyptian guy who "swallowed" a snake basically put a snake in his mouth and then let it crawl out. Not especially exciting.

Went to the library today also, to kill time and picked up Michael Lewis' book The Blind Side which is about left tackles. So far I'm a little over a chapter in and he's talked about Lawrence Taylor's crushing hit on Joe Theisman that put him out of the game and how Taylor went on to change both the dynamics of how the game is played and how players are paid. Pretty interesting stuff, for the die hard football fan.

In the black grip of pestilence

Now listening to: Xiu Xiu

So I'm still feeling sick. Stupid cold. My eyes all watery and nose runny. I swear it also keeps me from thinking straight, but I may just be getting dumber independently of the cold. I had to get the hell out of work ASAP and left fairly early because I felt like hammered ass. (I know you're wondering whether I mean a sexually assaulted ass or an ass that has been bludgeoned, but I'm not gonna tell you. Writer's prerogative.)

Now that I deleted about half of what I wrote initially and can't remember what I wrote, I'll just cram in some quick football notes and go to bed. First off, the Steelers are back to .500! Woo. We could still get into the playoffs... ok that's never gonna happen, but it's at least possible after the crappy start we had. We finish against Cincinnati and Baltimore, which means we got a long way to go before we can finish at .500 or better. Anything can happen tho.

Secondly, the Surly Caribou are playoff bound barring Adam Vinatieri breaking all sorts of kicking record tomorrow night. I'd like to take this moment to give a little shout out to Adam and The Vendetta. He's the odd man out in the playoffs. It was a valiant effort man, just not enough lucky breaks. I know you're rooting for me in the playoffs since you don't want A) Mike's shit-talking ass to win, B) Nick to repeat or C) the rookie (Kevin) to ride LT to a title. Probably gonna have Nick in the first round so I need some serious lucky breaks next week.

Words won't save your life

Now watching: Dead Man

I returned to work yesterday and it hadn't changed a bit. Not that it really mattered, as I had managed to stay as busy on vacation as I do at work. Lots of visiting with friends, which was good. As I've said in hte past, it's easy to feel lonely working the schedule and the job I do. Soo, when you get the chance to actually get out and see people, it's for the best that you do.

But now I'm back to being estranged from everyone and working. Alas.

I seem to have the sniffles, which sucks. I'm hoping it doesn't morph into something worse. It sucks bad enough as it is, what with the snuffling and dry throat all the time.

Bastards coated bastards with a bastard center

Well I made it home safe and sound after driving all damn afternoon. Whew, it's a haul. But it was worth it, we had a good time. The hockey game was fucking phenomenal! The Penguins went down 4-0 midway through the second period, but rallied back to tie it up in the third. Then held off the Caps, despite being short-handed to start the overtime. They finally won it in a shoot out. It was worth the trip. There were a ton of Pens fans in the house, which was cool. Rachel was less enthused about the ending than I was, being a Washington fan and all, but still had a good time. Loads of fun and a $7 beer, wooo!

Today I trekked back into bumfuck, with a brief pause in Roanoke for some final Xmas shopping and Red Palace. I swear I was near a chinese coma on the way home. Brutal.

Once I got home I unpacked, talked to Mom for a bit and then watched Closer, which was pretty good (foot massage). Lots of infidelity, emotional strain and innuendo. Natalie Portman is stunningly beautiful. Breathtaking. And she can act! The total package.

Always got room for a goon

Having a good time up here in Loudon County, the fastest growing county in the US (so sayeth Adam). I'm enjoying the sprawl. Yesterday was an orgy of football watching. Sadly the Surly Caribou are behind by a nigh-insurmountable amount now. I could come back, but it would take the hand of Zeus coming down and smiting the Rams offense.

We also enjoyed watching Dallas take it in the rear from the Saints. Small pleasures man. I think I'm hopping on the Saints bandwagon . They have to cool story, with the whole hurricane thing, and they are kinda black and gold. So the transition will be easy.

Getting psyched up to see some Penguins action. Just gotta figure out how to get there. Adam's still bitching about missing MNF for hockey. He can't appreciate the joy of a low scoring game. But c'mon, it's stick wielding guys, with blades on their feet slapping a piece of hard rubber at another guy's head. How can that be bad?

I miss my mouse

Interesting couple of days. Friday, Jill and I went to my office party and had a good time. Not a good a time as Kevin, who was in the bag when we arrived, hehe. Not that he was alone mind you, plenty of drunken coworkers to be found that night.

Saturday I took the haul up to Leesburgh to visit Adam, which is a brutally long drive. I take a week off so I don't have to commute and end up driving more than normal. What can you do? Anyway, I'm actually up before noon today to watch football. So that's pretty much the whole day taken care of. Tomorrow I get to see the Penguins and Caps play, wooo. Gonna be fun, even if Adam is bemoaning the fact that we're watching hockey instead of Monday Night Football.

Now if I can manage to pull off a fantasy victory over Nick, my vacation will be even better.

Function is meaning

Now listening to: The Big Sleep

My vacation continues to be a flurry of activity, although I did get to slow down a tad on Wednesday and relax. I managed to clean my room and my desk a bit and then watched The DaVinci Code with the fam. It wasn't bad, about what I expected. Sometimes they went out of the way to explain things, but it's a Hollywood movie that wants to include every jackanape that can afford a seat in the theatre. But yeah, I'd say foot massage all told, although the book was better.

Thursday, I managed to sleep in, waking up several times and deciding it wasn't worth actually rising yet. After I finally did drag my ass out of bed, I got my oil changed so I don't have to sweat that when I trek to DC. After killing some time, I headed up to Kevin's pad and dined with him, Courtney and the Plaster daughters. We had a good time, between chatting, playing with the kids and watching the Steelers whomp the Browns (something that never gets old for me).

My only complaint was that it was friggin cold. The wind was blowing and, damn, it was ball-freezing, witches tit in a brass bra, nipple-cutting-glass cold. I gotta get me a nice winter coat and dig out my awesomely huge stocking cap. No idea where that thing is. Alas. I know us penguin types are supposed to like the cold, but we need to be prepared. When it goes from the 70s to buttcrack cold we are caught off guard.

Boondock Saints is the best movie ever!

Actually, no it's not. Not even close, but I'm fucking with Trip. He hates the Boondock Saints and claimed I'd like it just to annoy him. Which I might have done, if it wasn't so incredibly bad. It's like it was done on a dare. "I dare you to make a movie that tries way to hard to be like an ultracool gangster tip and falls flat on it's face." I think I'm pulling out a Mudbutt rating and it's been a while since I delved to those depths here.

Anyway besides watching a shitty movie, I did some more Xmas (I'm taking the Christ out of Christmas and I'm unapologetic about it.) shopping with Trip. I got most of it done, got a few people left, but the bulk is down. I need to slow down on the spending tho, it's getting ridiculous. And I still want an iPod, but it's not gonna happen anytime soon.

I think tomorrow I'm gonna try to do some domestic things and keep a low profile and maybe relax. I still gotta get my oil changed before I trek to NoVa. this weekend, but it'll keep for another day. I'm actually kinda stunned with how busy I've been. I think I'm gonna go and watch Lucio Fulci's Zombie now. Hope its good and not just slow and dull.

I love Goblin Cock

Ugg, it's been a busy coupla days and it's my vacation! It started on Sunday when I roused early after very little sleep to go to Big Dave's funeral. Big Dave is my friend Jeff's father and was a really great guy. It's no secret that I'm usually fairly uncomfortable around people that I don't know that well, but Big Dave was so unassuming and fun he always just seemed like one of the guys to me. I'm gonna miss him. I hate that Jeff and his family have to deal with this type of thing, it's gotta be tough.

After the funeral, Trip, Kevin, Jill and I grabbed a bite and had a good time hanging out for a bit. Not the reason I'd like to see them, but it was still cool to hang. After that I hung out at Trip's for a while, he managed to get his manhood back by defeating me in hockey. I then came home and watched football and nodded for a while.

Today I rose fairly early (neighbor left his alarm on and apparently left the house) and Trip and I headed to Greensboro for some X-mas shopping. I spent too much money and ended up buying myself an external hard drive. I've been running low on space and thinking about getting one for a while. I saw a nice deal on a 160 gig so I splurged.

Anyway it was a long day of shopping. I think I ran Trip ragged. I just wanted to get as much out of the way as possible so I don't have to wade into the malls when the mobs really hit. I hate fighting huge crowds.

After returning, Trip and I watched Cars, which was ok. Pixar doesn't do bad work. My lack of interest in racing and unfettered hatred of Larry the Cable Guy tainted it somewhat, but I'd still say it deserves a foot massage. Ohh we also watched some of his music on demand stuff and I found the best band name ever, Goblin Cock. Ohh it brings me so much joy. I may try to find their cd on principle alone. Yes, I admit it, I love Goblin Cock.

She doesn't sound like a credible expert, does she?

Just watched Thank You For Smoking and man is that movie good. To make a character that literally bullshits nonstop about something that kills people and make that character completely likable is no small feat. I'm saying this is Filet Mignon, I really loved it.

I've been listening to lots of new music lately, spanning a broad, broad range. I got some nice metal, Isis being an interesting progressive metal band and Sunn O))), which is an interesting drone/ambient metal that offers something I haven't heard before. Got some Jawbreaker which is nice quasi-emo punk that is simply amazing.

Gogol Bordello is in the mix, which is really odd and describe themselves as gypsy punk, which seems to be as good a way to say it as any. An indie rock style band called Frog Eyes that I heard of because one of it's members is in Swan Lake with Dan Bejar of Destroyer and New Pornographers fame.

Architecture in Helsinki is an Australian band, which brings odd instrumentation and an indie sensibility. A slick Ghostface Killah album fills my rap needs with post-Wu Tang styles and it is piping hot. The new ... and you will know us by the trail of dead album is decent and I need to give it another listen. The Knife has some interesting abstract electronic sounds.

I'll finish with an artist that's a timeless classic, Tom Waits. I got his new three disc set, but haven't gotten a chance to listen to it yet. Too few hours in the day.

From off to on

Now listening to: The Knife

Well I've been monkeying with my design here again. I tried several different things and they all looked crappy. I decided to settle on this for the time being, because it's not bad. I'm not really sold on it all the way, but it will have to do for the moment.

I watched Art School Confidential and 21 Grams last night. ASC was less funny than I'd hoped. I'd rate it a Meh. at best. That's being fairly lenient I think. 21 Grams was powerful, but kind of a downer. What was the last movie Sean Penn was in that wasn't a total downer. He's always great, but it's usually depressing. Also I'm not sure if I liked to convoluted way it was shot. When I say I'm not sure, I mean I'm really torn about it. On one hand it kept you involved because it kept dropping in odd moments that made more sense down the road. On the other hand, it seemed an unnecessarily complex way of telling a story. I'd still give it a +1 chainmail rating overall cause the acting was phenomenal.

Tonight I watched the Three Burials of Melquiades Estrada, which was really good. Honestly, I would have never watched this movie without Kevin basically forcing it on me. Tommy Lee Jones just doesn't usually draw me in, I start thinking Men in Black and get disinterested. But this is a really good story. I'm saying +1 chainmail for this too, definitely worth the time.

Down to three days before my vacation. I'm counting em down.

Boys go for looks, girls go for status

Now listening to: Swan Lake

It's been a fairly eventful couple of days. Sunday I rousted my ass after only 6 hours of sleep to watch the Steelers' game. I should have slept in, it was brutal. I don't even wanna talk about it. (Much to the relief of Yvonne.) After that game I headed to Trip's and we made our way to Chapel Hill.

Once there we rode around until we found the sushi place and man was that good. It had been too long. Yummy stuff. We had Ben and Jerry's afterward to fulfill the gluttony portion of our day. We then headed to Cat's Cradle to catch the show. The opening band wasn't bad, but also wasn't notable. I don't remember their name.

The second band, The Big Sleep, I liked a lot, enough to buy their cd. It's very good. Trip, of course, loathed them. They are too challenging for him. Lots of feedback and noise, which I love. He needs his rock with training wheels attached. The headliner was The Hold Steady, which I've ranted about on here before. They were excellent, although a little less tight than the last time we saw em. Still pretty damn kickass.

So all told Sunday wasn't too bad. A horrible start, but a strong finish. Monday went fairly well for me. Trip and I grabbed some wings and then went to see Tenacious D and the Pick of Destiny. I love me some D. I do have to admit that the movie could have been a lot better. It has some moments of total rocket sauce, but not near enough. I had hoped for more. I'm giving it a +1 chainmail rating, but it would be lower if the D weren't so damn awesome by themselves.

After we returned to Trip's pad, we watched some tv (How I Met your Mother and The Simpsons) and then I fucking SCHOOLED Trip at hockey. I mean, there are victories and their are ass beatings. This was decidedly the latter.

Egg, larva, pupa, adult

Recently I've been internally debating whether or not people can really change. I mean sure, you can do things a little differently, but don't most end up being the same person no matter what? It's like a stream of water, you can divert it to go somewhere else, but left untended it will go back to it's natural path of least resistance. I'm not really certain if people work the same way or not.

The impetus for this question is, of course, the fact that I have several things I'd like to change about myself. These changes seem to be very difficult, but all revolve around my own personal tendency to take the aforementioned path of least resistance. This leads me to accept a lot of mediocrity in my life. Of course, the one area where I absolutely refuse to have mediocrity I am an abject failure. So I'm not sure that changing would definitely make for an improvement.

At any rate, I've got a lot of thinking to do and perhaps some new things to try. I'll think about it later. Now I just need some Pepto and my pillow.

Let's give thanks for imperialism and genocide

Now listening to: The Dresden Dolls

Thanksgiving. Where the pilgrims were helped through a tough winter by Native Americans. The same Native Americans that they drove off their land and exterminated using small pox blankets. They had to do that so they could instill absurd puritanical sexual beliefs to scar America for centuries to come. I'll get off my intensely liberal soapbox now and let you enjoy your charred flightless foul.

So yeah, things I'm thankful for... Well I have a job. This time last year I was pretty far up Shit Creek and lacking a means of conveyance. Now I have a lot of that sorted out. I still have a long way to go to get where I want to be, but I've made definite headway. Lots of that is attributable to my friends, to whom I am eternally thankful (I don't know if whom is right used there, I never learned that rule since it seems so extraneous.)

I'm pretty thankful for my Mom too, cause she keeps me up and running even if it's a huge pain in the ass for her. Can't imagine what my life would be like without her there, I wouldn't have accomplished even the small things I've done up til now.

Anyway I could probably be thankful for days, but I ain't gonna do it. Don't you people know the real spirit if this season is going to the mall and buying loads of shit you don't really need? Maybe getting into a fistfight over the new super vibrating Elmo game with all the bells and whistles.

Take you to brown town

Now listening to: Neutral Milk Hotel

So it was cold, windy, rainy and generally nasty today. I swear, driving to Trip's this evening it was darker as dusk than it usually is when I drive home from work at 2 a.m. I actually love this weather, the bleakness sings to my soul, if I have such a thing. But lets not debate the possibilities of immutable individuality contained within human beings.

I got to sleep in, which was nice. For me this means that my daylight time is significantly limited, but it's good to catch up on my sleep. Contrary to popular belief I don't usually get 8 hours a night. I then hung with Trip for a bit and we watched Slither, which was better than I thought it'd be. I'd say +1 chainmail. Some cool little joke things and decent gore. It had a nice concept and a sense of humor.

After that I tossed Trip a beating in hockey in retribution for his actions yesterday. Fear my mighty Penguins, for they are legion! Speaking of penguins, I read a disturbing thing today that mentioned that some penguins are moving toward extinction because of global warming. If ever there was a reason to halt global warming, it's this. (Well this and the continued existence of our species and life as we know it.)

After returning home I watched L4yer Cake, which is a cool British gangster movie, with some caper elements. Worth the time (foot massage). What is it about British gangsters that is so compelling to me.

Sadly I return to work tomorrow, so much for the holiday. Ahh well, I needs to get paid. I'm still trying to control my consumerist tendencies, but it gets harder as my nerd-desires go longer without being quenched. For example, you can get a 30-gig iPod for $250 now and I want one bad. But I must resist. Also I want an Xbox 360 and with the potential sale at Amazon on Thurs. I may procure one despite my better instincts.

I know about pain and suffering and being cold, but I just wanna fuck

Now listening to: Jane's Addiction

Soooooo not much went on the last couple of days. Watched some football, Steelers and Surly Caribou were both victorious (despite a stunningly low score by the Bou) and all is well on that front this week. Tonight Trip and I hung out, played some video games. I schooled him at Soul Caliber 3 and he had his vengeance in hockey. They grossly underrate my Penguins, but that's not entirely why I lost. I do kinda suck, especially on defense.

We also watched Squidbillies, which is undoubtedly the best show on television about hillbilly squids and their hijinks. Click that link and hit the fix up to see a brilliant 15 minute episode dealing with complex issues of dating, love, fidelity and truck-boat-trucks.

Hey speaking of hockey (a paragraph ago) I got the tickets to the Caps-Pens game that Adam, Rachel and I are attending. I'm stoked. Looking forward to heading up to civilization for a coupla days and doing this and that.

Ohh the title? That's a Jane's Addiction lyric that I appreciate. It's my mission statement these days.

Before bed rambling

Apparently I'm not updating enough to satisfy some of my law enforcing readers. That's how it goes when you have to do actual work instead of sitting in your car eating donuts. Hehe.

Honestly there is not much to tell. I bought Soul Caliber 3 for my PS2 (which has become officially antiquated as of 8 a.m. yesterday) and have spent too much time with that. I've also been reading Neil Stephenson's Cryptonomicon which is quite good. More about that when I've finished it. Ohh, I also watched The Breakup, the Vaughnifer vehicle, and it was ok, nothing exceptional really (Meh.). I mean it has some cool Vince Vaughn moments, but I'm accustomed to greater things. Ohh and Jennifer Aniston is hot, I'll give her that.

What I should be doing instead of all of those things is writing. I've been working on a couple of ideas during my commute. (Gives me something to do besides dwell on self hatred.) I think I've more or less worked out what I'm gonna write for my grad app. Still there is the process of taking that out of my head and putting it into real words and that can be time consuming.

Something just isn't right pretty much always

Blarg. I'm in the middle of my weekend and I'm not sure how to fill the time. I need to be doing something other than staring at a screen for hours on end, but what? It's Monday so no one else wants to do anything and I need to not spend a ton of money anyway. I dunno I'm just bored of doing the same old thing. I need more social interaction.

I dunno, I'm just bitching. I suppose I'm a bit jealous that Mike, Nick and Adam flew down to Miami to see the Chiefs-Dolphins game. They're off partying while I'm stuck working. Bah, it's my own fault, I gotta pay my dues now after being slack for so damn long.

I did finish Accelerando and it was good, although the ending kind of dissappointed me. Still well worth the effort (foot massage). Ohh and I finished watching Godard's My Life to Live, which is about a woman who finds herself becoming a prostitute. I can't say I really liked it, it was a series of marginally related scenes and didn't involve me as much as I'd like.

In other news, I got my packet from Hollins University and looked over the requirements for admission. If I do the creative writing program I need to do just that, write creatively, for the application. I also need three letters of recommendation and have no idea who to get to write them. Who knows if my college profs will do it since it's been so long since I was there. The people I worked with at the Bulletin I have either drifted away from or hated from the start. My antisocial nature bites me on the ass once again.

pushing past the current possibilities

I feel like ass. It all started last night when I at some chicken and my body rejected it immediately and violently. Unpleasant. Then I wake up a half hour before the alarm because my arm is numb because my melon head is lying right on top of it. By the time I drift back off, it's time for the alarm to go off and I feel like total ass. I debated calling in sick, but decided to tough it out. Work was fairly uneventful and I stayed busy so it went fairly quickly.

Now I'm back to filling ill and tired. I need to get back to walking and eating better, but it's damn hard. I'm gonna try to reinstate it on Sunday, but I may be exhausted from work and distracted by football. We'll see.

I finally finished reading The Prestige, which was pretty good (maybe foot massage, but more likely +1 chainmail). I want to see the movie now, but will probably wait for DVD. It's just easier and less annoying than the theatre. But yeah, the story is pretty good. It's about a feud between to 19th century magicians. It gets a little odd at the end, but that's part of the charm.

I'm now reading Charles Stross' Accelerando which is excellent so far. It's a cyberpunk tale that is a decidely 21st century novel. It keeps pushing new ideas and information at you constantly, like a less sucky MTV dialed up to eleven. Lot of ideas about people becoming "posthuman" which is a concept that fascinates me.

Known racist and Virginia senator... maybe not

So I exercised my franchise today. As cynical as I am I do try to take advantage of the advantages a democracy brings. Too bad I'm surrounded by absurdly conservative people who base their lives on a book written 2000 years ago and translated more times than you would believe. But yeah, I figure that if you don't vote you shouldn't complain. So I vote... and complain. The circle is complete.

I'm listening to the new Badly Drawn Boy album, which is pretty good. I think this is an album several of my more middle of the road readers would like. It's got a nice mellow rocky vibe, but with depth. It's not my usual brutal metal or anarchistic punk, more mainstream.

Edit:Looks like I was lamenting an Allen win too early and Webb may have pulled it out. Maybe Virginia is less dumb than I thought. But just barely.

Flames of Icarus

A low key birthday for yours truly. Went to High Point and had dinner with Trip and his girl. Had a pretty good time. Got our TGIFriday's on, and they have some intriguing appetizers. We went with the fundido, which is both tasty and fun to say. Fun-Di-Do. It's like a party in your mouth... That sounds like a bad joke waiting to happen, so I'll stop.

Since I got home I've basically just futzed around on the net, not doing much. I did read the Marvel Zombies comics, which was interesting. Basically all your favorite heros had been transformed into zombies and had eradicated almost all human life on earth. Loads of fun. Zombies and superheroes, two great tastes that taste great together.

I'm also listening to the most recent Ministry album, Rio Grande Blood, which is wonderfully brutal. I recommend Assclown to anyone who isn't a big Bush fan.

subtracts and divides

So it's been a pretty shitty football day for me. Steelers, lose. Caribou, have a tenuous 10 point lead, but have three players left to face on Monday night, including both starting backs. Not good. I was so disheartened by the Steelers' fumblitis that I packed up and went to Kev's where we watched the Colts-Pats game. It seemed like the Pats kept forgetting that their rushing attack was slapping the Colts' D and just decided to pass a lot and lost.

It was cool hanging with Kevin, although I was stunned driving up there. I don't need to be on that road any more than I have to at this point. Too much time to think and let my negative mindset take hold. Still it was worth it to get to hang some. Plus I ended up swiping a bunch of his DVDs to watch.

Speaking of DVDs, I just watched Fugazi's Instrument, which was pretty good. It follows their career with different shows, interviews and whatnot. Interesting stuff for those who want to know more. Fugazi is one of those seminal bands that really affected my world view. They have a different way of looking at things and I'm a better person for having heard it and trying to apply some of it to my life, even if I fall short of the ideal quite often.

Murder train a-comin

After a brutal work week I am finally free. Today I enjoyed the first of four days off and that was nice. I went to my grandma's 80th birthday party. It wasn't too bad. Lots of older people that I really have no idea about, but whatever. I got to see most of the relatives I like, so that was good.

Ohh, one thing I can complain about is the fact that when I arrived home at 7a.m. this morning I got out of my Jeep and smelled gasoline. I check underneath and, sure enough, gas is dripping. So now instead of being free for time off, I get to stay in and wonder if my Jeep will be back on the road by the time I have to be at work. If not, I'm fucked. It's pissing me off.

Anyway, after the party I went to Trip's for a minute (in Mom's car) and we watched a Hellboy cartoon he had taped. It was pretty good, most of the same people from the movie. Trip was less enthralled and slept through a significant portion of it.

It's late (early?) and I'm headed for some sleep. Maybe I'll be able to rise before the first games start tomorrow.