Oozings from my head

My thoughts on tipping

2009-04-22T15:40:00.002-04:00

I am generally a good tipper. Unless someone sucks, I am always at least 15% if not 20%. Now, certain things I don't understand why we tip...like bellmen. I mean, it's not like they carry the bags any differently than I would. And I don't know why we don't tip other jobs. Like some retail person who gives great service.

But recently, as I have been frequenting Waffle House, I decided to change how I thought about the ammount of a tip. See, if I go to Outback and get good service, I will be giving that person about 4 bucks for just myself. But if I go to Waffle House and get the same level of service, and I stick to my 20%, they may get a buck or possibly 2. So half as much for the same level of service. And if I went to someplace really snazzy, the tip could be as much as 10 bucks. But that doesn't mean the service was 5x better than my Waffle House girl.

So, I have been tipping based solely on service, not a %. I guess it's lucky for expensive places that I don't eat at those places. Because they won't get as much. I can tell you this, the ladies at the House, and the dude that delivers my pizza LOVE this new tipping system. I generally get my pizza in record time now.

Sorry Folks...John Galt you ain't.

2009-03-19T09:57:00.003-04:00

So, John Galt, or Going Galt, has been popping up a lot lately. I myself have only recently learned of him. I should know who he is from back 17 years ago, when I was supposed to read Atlas Shrugged for a philosophy class. I couldn't get past chapter one. But I DID learn of him more recently, thanks to a video game: Bioshock.

In Bioshock, a brilliant industrialist builds a city under the sea and takes all of the world's most brilliant people there with him. The rule of the city is pure capitalism. To the point that NOTHING is free. Including the air. Everything has a price and you only get out what you put in. Of course in the game, everything collapses. Pure selfishness also breeds violence. Why spend a bunch of money when I can just TAKE what I want?

The game is HEAVILY based on Ann Ryand's novel, Atlas Shrugged. Still haven't read it. But from what I have gathered, basically all of the worlds biggest figures in business start disappearing. As a result, the world collapses. All because this guy, Galt, essentially organizes a strike. A strike of the producers and creators. All that is left are those that basically used those people. Most of us, as it were. These captains of industry were tired of being labeled villains and evil. So, as Galt puts it, they are no longer going to subject you to their evil. They left. And now no one is building anything new or running anything well. Collapse.

So, you have the novel saying the greed is what makes mankind grow. Then you have the game saying that greed causes decadence. And, right now, you have people (largely Republicans) evoking Galt's name against what the Democrats are doing.

Now, in the book, the Dems (and quite a few Reps, actually) effectively are the people that get left behind. They are the people whose existence is largely dependant on the 'successful'. And, honestly, there IS a layer of truth to this. My job exists (and many of yours) because someone else had the foresight and resources to start my company. They were good enough at what they do to grow this place up enough that they needed an IT guy. Here I am. I have no illusions about what I am. Without OTHER creators, I starve. Galt would not have me. Or if he did, it would only be to have someone that facilitated things for him.

The Reps have started evoking Galt. This is actually funny. Galt would have not taken many of them either. For one thing, the GOP is very socially Conservative. They are imposing morality. Galt was VERY against this. He believed that religion and the morality that surrounded it was false, and largely what caused the problems in the first place. Secondly, John Galt would be insulted that these guys are claiming to be "Going Galt". Because Galt DID something. He looked at a world that hated him (look at the wealth envy we have right now) and said 'Really? Well, I don't have to put up with that." So he took his toys and left. Problem is...people that blame the wealthy and successful don't realize that if the wealthy all left this country would die. Because the wealthy pay the VAST majority of the taxes. Forty some odd % of folks here don't even PAY taxes. Galt was willing to watch the world burn so that the over abundance of useless people and complainers or just people who don't appreciate things would be wiped out or at least learn a lesson. But the Reps aren't REALLY doing anything. They are basically pouting. And the ones pouting...Rush? Beck? If those people disappeared tomorrow the world would move on just fine.

Thing is...Galt wasn't a Rep or Dem. At best he was a Libertarian. He beleived it was a person's own responsibility to decide if they lived or died. That selfish rich guy has every moral right to be selfish. And that rich guy also has the right to donate his money to charity (yes folks, Rich people have been giving away billions of dollars of their own free will, forever). But he hated the idea that one man could force another go give away their hard earned resources by threat of government (which is what the Dems want economically speaking). He also hated that the government could tell a man what to do or how to live or think on a moral level (which is what the Reps want on a social level).

Personally I support the ideal behind Galt. I don't know that the outcome of the books is right. At the time it was written more companies were being run by the guy who started them. It was their brilliance (whether that be from creativity, cunning, charisma, or just hard work) that made the company what it was. Many of our mammoth companies now simply have the reigns handed over to some CEO type. For some, it is hard to tell what would happen if their CEO (and other higher ups) disappeared. If the entire senior staff of Microsoft left, and took every brilliant programmer at MS with them, Computers wouldn't suddenly shut down. We could keep using (and making) current product with none of their help.

Also, there is no telling how many new people could possibly step up. Some guy with great ideas that just didn't have the drive to surpass some go-getter. But with the go getters gone, he actually rises up. Also, we all know that not every boss is a capable "do-er". As an IT guy, I have worked for plenty of high ranking people who couldn't create a google account even with printed instructions. If THOSE people left to join Galt, they'd probably die. Mind you, Galt would be fine with that, as it prooves that didn't deserve to be there.

In the end, though, as with most things, I think the truth is probably in the middle. The 'best' way is probably that most of us need to realize that people that are rich OFTEN worked their asses off for it. And the rich need to remember that all those little 'poor' people are the ones working in their factories. The thing is, Government will NOT bring this about. All our current system is doing is playing us against each other. Tearing us apart economically and morally. Is it really fair to take money from me and give it to someone else? Can't you just teach your kids about Creationism at home and leave the schools alone?

But neither party wants you to think this way. Because the more you simply take responsibily for your situation and take CONTROL of it, whether it be working harder to get ahead or pull yourself up from a hole or taking social resposibility and donating your extra resources (time, money, goods) to those in need...if people do this of their own volition...they no longer NEED most of the government. Then all of those government powermongers are out of a job. better to keep you riled up, scared, and under their thumb.

Charles used to be in charge...now Sarah totally is!

2009-03-16T10:09:00.004-04:00

I used to be a big fan of Charles in Charge back in the day. And I guess I still am. So much so that during our Super Hero RPG campaign I sent the players to an alternate earth. One of the players asked what event did or didn't occur that makes it different from ours (this is what happens in comics. An example would be in Red Son where superman lands in Russia instead of Kansas=Commie Superman). My answer? In that alternate world Charles in Charge continued being produced into the year 2000. It finally ended when Willy Ames (Buddy)was elected president. That Earth was then dubbed 'Earth CnC' (a joke on Earth C from DC comics).

Now, around the time when they changed the family out and brought in the Powells was around the time that girls started to be a bigger factor in my life aside from being annoying. Enter Charles in Charge; a show I regularly watched and it had two girls who were around my age. First you have Jamie, played by Nichole Eggert. She was the 'popular' one. And thanks to Baywatch, we all know that she turned out to be pretty hot. And then you had Sarah, played by Josie Davis. She was the bookworm and the quiet non-popular one.

Now, as someone who has always had an active imagination, I have always placed myself or a character I created into shows I like. In my head I have a character that is a member of the Watch from Discworld. For the show 'Chuck' I created a character whom is an assassin who happens to also be a long time online gaming friend of Chuck's. I have actually started a story where I inserted my character Jester into the JLU cartoon. It's just something I do.

So, at the time I actually would put myself (not a created character) in the show. And despite Jamie supposedly being the hot one, I always ended up liking Sarah. I would work in little scenarios where we dated and other sad things. She was the cute one to me. For one, she was taller. I like taller. Second, she was the smart one. Smart is a very underrated trait for women. Most models lose a great deal of appeal to me once they actually speak. Most of all, she seemed approachable. Jamie would never give a guy like me the time of day.

At any rate, I had a bit of a crush on her. Nicole Eggert goes on to be a hottie in Baywatch and the movie with the Coreys. And I never heard from my Sarah again.

So, I told you all of that to tell you this: Josie Davis is alive and well and is in fact HOTTER than Nicole Eggert. I submit the following as proof.

Love/Hate Obama

2009-02-09T10:01:00.002-05:00

No I didn't vote for the guy. And I don't really agree with most of his political stances. And I think he is a bit green to be running the country. But I have also agreed with some of the things he has said. Or appreciated some statements (like his call out to all religions and non-religious folk). But this 'Stimulus' bill has me pissed.

Not so much that it is being proposed. I mean, I disagree with most of it and I dislike that they are using this bill as a smokescreen to push through a bunch of government spending and non-stimulus related legislation. But that isn't what has me pissed. What has me riled up is how the President is calling out the Reps. for not insta-passing this bill.

Why am I pissed? Because the whole POINT of our system is to make sure we don't just ram legislation through. You know, checks and balances? So I am pissed that the guy leading the country thinks we should just rush legislation (that we will be paying for DECADES to come) without a bit of debate. This isn't a dictatorship Mr. Obama. And not everyone voted for you. Those reps you are calling out DO in fact represent people who think differently than you. It is their JOB to oppose you when you try and do things that don't represent the best interests of their voters.

Yes, a majority of Americans that voted picked you. But oddly enough most Americans DON'T support this bill. As of last week it was down to only 37%. That means that not only do people that didn't vote for you not like it. But so do a good portion of people who do. So quit trying to bully people into passing one of the most important bills this year.

if this is going to be how he does things....tattles on anyone that don't agree with him. Well, we are in for a ride people.

For the Band Nerds!

2009-01-15T08:41:00.002-05:00

Yes, I was a 7 year band nerd (2 middle school, 4 high school, 1 College). Mind you, for two of those years in HS I dropped out of band half way, sick of the directors. I think I was a moderately good player. When I would go to band camp I placed ok, chair-wise. Heck, at the UF camp, I placed 3rd out of like 30. Band was probably the best thing about my adolecent years.

Anyway, for years, something has stuck in my craw about band. When you take band as a class, you are automatically expected to play in the marching band. I suppose this may have just been my school, so perhaps other band nerds can correct me. Anyway, this always bugged me. Just because I wanted to play an instrument does NOT mean that I want to march. Or to have every friday night of the entire fall taken up. Or have after school practice either.

I mean, when I took math, I wasn't automatically put in the math club. Taking PE didn't force me on to the track team. But somehow taking band=march. Heck, quite a few of my fellow band mates could play decently, but could NOT march.

Mind you, I loved it. When we did penalty box (a kind of elimination round of marching, were people are 'out' when they mess up) I was generally one of the last men standing(usually along with my buddy Michael). And away games are pretty much where I was able to get around 1st 2nd and 3rd bases. Which reminds me, I really could do with an away game right now.

So it's not that it was a bad thing for me. I guess the principal of it bugs me is all.

Cats and Dogs

2009-01-12T15:06:00.004-05:00

A recent teasing of a friend about cats made me start thinking about them. And dogs. Anyone that knows me knows that I prefer dogs. I probably would never own a cat unless I had a SO who had/wanted one. Now, I don't really have a thing against cats. I just don't get them as a pet compared to just about any other non-social pet (by this I mean animals that would prefer to be solitary in nature).

To me, a cat cares little for its 'master' beyond itself. "Free food and shelter? Yeah I'll pal up with this person...WHEN I FEEL LIKE IT." Whereas a dog to me is more like a companion. Someone who wants your attention and affection, whenever it can have it. Someone who will protect you. Someone who actually likes you for you, not just what you can do for them.

Of course, I'm biased. My family (immediate and extended) always had dogs. My friends were dog people. At least until more recently. Then I started making friends with cat people. Weirder still (when it first happened years ago) was that some of these cat people were...men! When I was younger I had always equated men with dogs and women with cats. So much for THAT sterotype.

At any rate, I started trying to think of what traits in common these people had. Gender wasn't it. I could tease some of my cat people guy friends and say masculinity. But that's not really true. I could say upbringing (most likely), as in what they grew up with. But I don't actually know everyone's past like that. And the evil cynic in me wants to say that my cat friends are all too tied up in themselves to want a pet that requires attention and work. But that doesn't stand up at ALL, since I am a lazy sack and I had a dog.

Then, today, I saw a link. Superficial to be sure, but it holds true in my TINY world at the moment. It seems that my dog friends tend to be more conservative. My cat friends are all pretty liberal.

So, if there was actually a link, what would it be? Sghoul Brain GO!

Cat People: They see no problem with having someone with wealth/resources have their hard earned wealth taken and given to people who have done nothing to earn it, don't appreciate it, and may piss on you after it is given to them.

But, I can do this to 'my people' too.

Dog People: Have no qualms about having someone less privledged/powerful as them under their thumb, kissing their butts, and rolling over whenever they are told.

Seriously though...it would be cool to see if any kind of studies have been done about the psychology of chosing a cat or dog. Also, everything here is a generalization. There are cats that come when called, and dogs that ignore their owners.

What do ya'll think?

Marry, Boff, Kill!

2009-01-05T13:22:00.006-05:00

Time to play a game. It's one I have seen around the tubes for a few years, but re-re-watching 30 Rock this week put it back in my head. So I decided to try it out here. It's called Marry, Boff, Kill (often using a less censored work in the middle there). Basically I am going to throw out three women, and we have to pick one to Marry, one to just have sex with and one to kill. And for the purposes of this excersize, we are talking about the characters, not the actresses.

Lets try some ladies from Scrubs:

Dr. Molly, the short lived shrink.

Dr. Elliot Reed, neurotic private practice doctor.

Nurse Carla Turk, know it all Dominican head nurse.

Ok, I will gladly say that I would kill our shrink. She's way to flaky to marry. And I think her penchant for 'broken' men would leave any bedroom activity rather cold.

Next I think I would boff Dr. Reed. This was tough, but I think Elliot's neurosis would drive me nuts for the long haul. but could lead to some heavy duty passion for a one time deal.

Leaving Carla to marry. Which is probably the right choice. Her take charge attitude could whip me into shape and based on the episode where she tries to hold a sex embargo (and fails because she can't hold out), I wouldn't have to worry about the sitcom sterotype of 'no sex once you're married'.

So, what say you folks? It was a fun exersize for the 10 minutes it took for me to type this up.

Toot Toot!

2008-12-22T09:48:00.003-05:00

Bragging time. Ok, part brag, but more so that I am proud of myself. Anyone that knows me knows I can be pretty selfish much of the time. Both on a personal level, and to society as a whole. These last few months have been slightly different.

1) Increased (significantly) my contribution to http://www.childsplaycharity.org/ . for those that don't know, Child's Play was started by the guys at Penny Arcade. I was originally a way to show that world that us violent video game players could also be pretty nice. Since that day, it has raised millions of dollars (this year will likely see 1.5+ million...most so far even durning the economic issues) to buy hospitals video games for kids. Not just for the fun of it, but apparently kids with games require less pain medication, and possibly recover quicker.

2) Sent an old friend of mind presents for his kids to help bolster their Christmas. It's someone I just reconnected with, so I don't even know his kids, but it felt good to make sure they had a good Christmas.

3) This fall I donated to NPR. This is something I listen to all the time, but have been too lazy to bother to call. I made myself do it this year!

4) I let your mom cancel her appointment with me on Christmas day so she could spend time with her family.

Ok, so I'm not perfect. But I'm getting better.

Japan+Sghoul= Problems

2008-12-17T11:26:00.004-05:00

I have long had a 'thing' for Japan and Japanese culture. From fudal Japan to modern Anime. But my research has brought me to a problem that I may just not be able to get around: The Japanese don't like sarcasm.

How is a guy who is basically formed from distilled sarcasm supposed to visit a country that doesn't really like appreciate it? One site made it sound like sarcasm is the equivalent of piking them in the eye or something.

I guess I just won't talk to anyone. Which would probably be a good idea here too.

Women+Hair: From a guy

2008-12-15T13:18:00.002-05:00

In watching 30 Rock (I'm a new convert) there is a point where Alec Baldwin's character is talking to Tina Fey's, talking about her growing up. He says something to the effect of: 'You're going to get the urge to cut your hair short. Resist that urge.'

It really did make me think. I know quite a few women that have. and that urge goes up as they get older. I know I don't know anything about dealing with long hair. Mind you some of women's hassles in that area are self inflicted, as they refuse to let their hair be natural. But women tend to look better with long hair. With all of the things women do to try and look better, I am confounded why they would chop off one of our culture's more prevalent female 'things'.

So, in short, ladies: If you actually care what guys think of how you look, grow your hair longer.

You're different than me!

2008-12-10T11:23:00.001-05:00

So, in a conversation with my friend V I started thinking about bigotry. Not just racial. Against any group. Gays, Christians, Races, etc.

What started it was talking about Gay folks. I wondered, if ALL gay people acted similar to other people of their gender, would people get up in arms as much? When you see someone on TV that's gay, they have a lisp or a high voice (for guys) or a butch haircut (the ladies). Gay pride parades have all kinds of overt sexual themes and costumes.

Now, I am well aware that these stereotypical images aren't representative of all gay people. But this is what people see and hear. It's something DIFFERENT than 'normal'. Normal being themselves of course.

So, if the gay people we usually saw on TV couldn't be differentiated from straight folks aside from them having sex with the same sex, would we care as much? If the footage from a gay pride parade just looked like the rose-bowl parade, would people freak about it? Heck, why even HAVE gay pride parades? Are their straight pride parades?

Anyway I got to thinking about human nature. When we are babies, some of the first things we start doing is learning how to differentiate things. Colors, shapes, letters, tones, sounds. Later we take that ability and start attaching value and connotation (I like blue better than red, Chocolate is tastier than vanilla, etc.).

So, why wouldn't we do that with people? We start life generally around people like us. As we progress, we start to see people of different colors. Assuming no one poisons us in telling us that people of some other color are different, I think most of us notice the difference (it's what we do) but don't judge it. Until something happens to change this.

Maybe some 'different' kid treats you poorly. Or other kids are making fun of the differences. Something negative happens. Now, sure, negative things have happened from those 'like you', but how do you filter that? You could. Maybe all the blond girls tease you. You start taking issue with blonds. That kid with the accent pushes you around, now you hate rednecks.

I really feel that we are wired to notice differences. And then we start putting evaluations on people or things that are different through experience and society. Everyone does it. Take races. Even WITHIN a race we do it. White folks have rednecks and WASPs. A more urban black guy may tell some other black guy that he isn't acting black enough because he wears a sweater vest. Gay people even have terms for various kinds of gay folk (like Bears for big hair men).

Now, I say all of this because I don't think bigotry and ever FULLY go away. I feel that humans are built to be that way. And, worse, so long as a segment of a group choose to REALLY be different, it will make the divide greater. I do think we can get to a point where people are generally cool. Heck, I think we are pretty close to that in some areas. But it really depends.

America showed that it can look past 'differences' by voting for Obama. Even those that didn't vote for him, I knew of few that didn't vote for him because of race. BUT, I really do feel that was because the only real difference between him and average white America was skin color. I you had taken the same man, but given him Jesse Jackson's voice I think we would have seen a different outcome. Because that would have made him too 'different' for white America. The same could probably be said for Clinton if he had headbanger hair.

Not sure where I was going with this. Mostly just the we need to acknowledge that this is something humans do. Our brains segment everything we see and do. Basically we ALL profile. I believe Chris Rock said something to the effect of 'Even Black people don't wanna walk down MLK blvd after dark'.

We will always find someone to blame and dislike. Whether it be skin color, nationality, religion (or lack thereof), social status, hobbies, whatever. Deal with it people. And if you choose to do things to make yourself even more different than the 'majority' you need to make sure you blame yourself as well as them.

More random Writing

2008-11-17T14:41:00.003-05:00

The following was done as a writing prompt. The first paragraph was fed to us and the rest we filled in. I ended up doing 2 different stories. He is the short one. It's about cows!

I'm not sure when it started, exactly. It might have been with the series of reoccurring wolf nightmares, or maybe the ones where I was being chased incessantly. But at some point, I decided to wake up.

I knew the wolves would get me eventually. But my dreams had prepared me.

"Frank, you know I can hear you, right?"

I could hear their baying in the distance. Sometimes I could practically feel their hot breaths on my neck.

"There aren't any wolves around here Frank."

I had to keep moving. If I stayed too long in one place...well, I didn’t want to think about it.

"FRANK! You're narrating to yourself again!"

"What?"

"Where do you get this stuff from? You've never even SEEN a wolf. And what do you mean "keep moving"? You've been in the barn for 3 days!"

"Maybe not seen, per say, but I found some tracks around back."

"Those are Toby's tracks. You know, the Farmer's dog?"

"Maybe he's in league with the wolves."

"What WOLVES!?"

"I thought the narrator did a pretty good job of explaining that."

"That was YOU!"

"I think I'd remember taking a narration job, Charlie."

"You-...I-...grrrraaahhh!"

"Wow, this wolf thing really has you upset."

"hurgh!"

"We'll be fine. I have been taking some self defense courses. And I read where leather comes from. We're like walking leather armor!"

"GAH!"

"Maybe I can find someone to enchant me. Then I'd be, like, +2 leather armor!"

"Hey Frank. Charlie. Charlie, are you ok?"

*twitch*

"Hiya Sanders. Charlie is just upset about the wolves."

"You mean the ones the narrator was talking about?"

"The very same."

"I ordered a series of tapes on how to fight off a wolf attack. The first one only deals with a single wolf. I can't wait until I am ready to deal with a whole pack. You're lucky, wearing that leather armor like you are."

"Yeah, well you can fly...at least a little bit."

"SHUT UP! BOTH OF YOU! There's no wolves, no narrator, you don’t even have the money to BUY tapes, let alone the ability to order them. I mean, what company would even SELL them?"

"Amazon.com"

"Wha--fine, fine. I can handle this. Just go along. What can it hurt? Ok Frank, tell me what I need to know to protect myself."

"Hmmm. I don't know if I qualify as a teacher. What do you think Sanders?"

"First off, Charlie, I would cover that Udder. Pretty vulnerable."

"That's not an udder."

"Wait, you're a guy? My tapes only cover women."

"Same with my classes. Can't help you Charlie."

"Frank...you're a guy too. Why do you think you only have one, and that it doesn't give milk."

"Are you sure? I just figured I wasn’t done blossoming yet. And when I find the right guy, there will be some honey making insects and various fowl, and I shall experience the great gift of bringing life, which I will feed from my burgeoning udders..."

"Don’t you ever say 'burgeoning" around me again, Frank."

"I think it’s a nice udder, Frank. It'll look good when they all come in. I bet you'll be a great mother."

"Thanks Sanders. Hey, where'd Charlie go?"

Outside

"Here wolfie wolfie wolfie! Fresh beef! Won’t even put up a fight!"

Arrested...

2008-11-17T08:41:00.001-05:00

My buddy T.H. Elliott posted this poser.

If you saw me in a police car, what would you think I got arrested for?

Answer me, then post to your own journal.

Time for some sexy fictional women

2008-10-27T16:10:00.004-04:00

So, let's roll out some fictional hotties.

For Comics I will start with Harline Quinnzell. Harley Quinn. Silly, crazy, violent, and in love with Joker. She can hit me with that hammer ANY time! And how can you not like a woman who calls you puddin'?

For TV Cartoons, April O`Neal. Let's face it, her hotness is all in her chest. Not to mention, if she could love mutated turtles, a guy like me might have a shot. I also kinda had a thing for Irma.

Firey Tika from the Dragonlance novels. I wish I could find a better picture. A buxom warrior woman who is used to men calling her 'wench'. We need more of those.

From the silver screen, Elastigirl. Admit it guys, when you watched Incredibles, you were trying to figure out what various things YOU would do if your sexy woman was effectively infinitely flexable.

For video games, Fran from FFXII. I wanted Shania from Shadown Hearts, but good pictures of her are impossible to find. Fran is a good runner up though. And her accent in the game makes her even better. She makes me hungry like a wolf who wants to catch a naughty bunny!

So, who would YOUR picks be?

A Dash of Paprika

2008-10-16T09:18:00.002-04:00

Thanks to the wonderfulness that is Netflix, I watched Paprika the other day. Man, the Japanese make some awesome animation.

I'm not gonna tell everyone to watch this flick. It ain't for everyone. It's about dreams and a device for getting into people's dreams. So, dealing with dreams you know it's going to be surreal.

But it was so wonderfully animated and the story told so well, I fell in love. It also got me thinking. I really want to find a book that disects how and why and what makes our culture so different than the Japanese. The narrative in this would never pass muster in the states. It leaves WAY too much for your mind to have to fill in the gaps. But this is far from the first Japanese movie to do this. I am guessing that culturally they are cool with that. Why are we less tolerant?

Also, it pisses me off that in Japan cartoons are not seen so snugly in arms of children. Sure they have kids cartoons, but they have adult ones too. The visual skill of movies like Paprika (or Spirited Away, grave of the Fireflies, etc) is as good or better than visual treats like Lord of the Rings. Here in the states, Pixar does this to a degree, but we don't have much of a hand animated adult tradition here. And I'd really love to read about how these difference came to be.

Regardless, I thank Japan for making these wonderful stories and that we get there here. At least some of us can appreciate them :)

Trying for a new angle

2008-10-13T11:22:00.001-04:00

Here is a story I am working on. It definitely does not fall into the same category as my other Pr0n stuff. What do ya'll think?

Like most days, after work I went to a favored haunt. It was an odd shop that mixed a coffee house with antiques and old books. The usual crowd was generally not my type and considerably younger than me. They were the alternative/earthy types that frequent eclectic places like this. Which I suppose should make me wonder why a late twenties copier repair man like me went here nearly every day.

Well, a big part were the books. I love old books, and the shop had new ones come in all the time. So I liked to come in and scoop them up before someone else did. I also enjoyed the atmosphere. So laid back and warm. Big overstuffed seats and such a random collection of music.

And, to be honest, Melissa was a factor in my regular visits. Melissa being the owner. Over the months, I had grown a fairly hefty crush on her. I felt a connection to her. When she wasn't busy at the counter, she would come sit and chat with me. We had conversations about politics, religion, science, psychology...anything you could think of. It was impossible for me to not become enamoured with her. I met lots of women during my job. Even took a few out. But conversations with them were focused around their daily routine. Things that happened to them. Nothing wrong with that, but it was nice to talk to someone who also talked about things that she thought about or that happened to the world not just herself.

I'd be lying if I said I didn't also find her physically attractive. She had a mix of 'girl next door' and 'naughty librarian' going on. I am sure she caught me looking at her when she twirled or braided her long straight brown hair.

But I didn't have the courage to ask her out. Don't ask me why. As I said before, I didn't have trouble asking out the various women I met during the course of my job. But I think Melissa intimidated me because rejection from her would actually mean something. I didn't want to risk losing her as the friend and daily conversationalist she had become. Lucky for me, she was less worried about that happening.

Today she caught me watching her from behind my book as she finished up with a customer. But unlike most times she caught me, where she would just smile at me slightly, this time she immediately walked over to my chair and sat purposefully on the big cushiony arm.

"So, are you ever going to ask me out?" She asked. Her voice had a tone of mock annoyance.

"Um...yes?" I answered.

"When? I think I have been more than patient." She said, crossing her arms over her chest and locking them down purposefully to drive home the point that she was 'upset' with me.

"I was waiting for just the right moment." She eyed me from behind her wire rimmed glasses, asking 'what moment would that be' without having to verbalize it.

"Right after I rescued you from a burning building. When; in awe of my heroics and display of masculinity, you would be unable to deny my affections. Later we would appear on the cover of magazines as the happy couple brought together by the tragedy and horror that is arson."

"Well, buster, unless that scheme also entails an elaborate plan for STARTING a fire from which to rescue me, it doesn't count. As a matter of fact, I don't think there is such a plan. You just don't like me." She was smiling, having enjoyed my silly story. I decided to answer her little fishing attempt with honesty.

"You're kidding right? You usually only get new, and by new I mean old but new to the store, books on Tuesday. But I'm here everyday, except Monday, because you are off. And I don't even like coffee."

"Yeah, I know. Your cup is always full when you throw it away." She grinned. "So, we've established that you have the hots for me. And that you can pull stories about arson right out of your ass. So what does that leave us?"

"Cowardice?" I asked. She seemed to mull this over.

"I think I can date a coward. Pick me up when the store closes tonight. Dinner's on you for making me wait this long."

"Yes milady. I shall bring the car around promptly at eight." I said in my best posh British accent.

"Good. And change out of the white shirt and tie. I want to see how you dress when you aren't getting off of work." She smiled at me, and walked off behind the counter.

"Oh, and Steve" she called to me as I headed to the door. "A fire? Really?"

"Yup. Twelve people would have died. But the post pyrotechnic coitus would have been awesome."

I quickly left and went home to shower and change. I was pretty proud at how steady I was during our exchange. But the next two hours were a torture of anticipation and nerves. The time finally came, and I pulled up to the shop as the clock struck eight. I could see Melissa inside as the lights went out and shortly after she was walking towards me with a bounce in her step.

As we drove to dinner, there was palpable tension in the air. Both of us seemed a little guarded, which was new for us. It wasn't until our appetizers came that we really flowed back into our usual ease with each other.

Mind you, things were still different, but in a good way. Our conversation had far more flirting than normal. And Melissa's normally cool demeanor cracked several times as she would blush or giggle. It was a treat to finally see the little girl in her.

I also felt more comfortable looking at her in a romantic way. How her delicate fingers idly played with her soft brown hair. The way her soulful brown eyes pierced me as I talked. Her full pink lips trying to hold back smiles so that she could try and keep her usual aloofness.

At one point she moved her hand to mine on the table and gently grabbed it. It was strange to have such a simple thing feel so good. I could tell she liked it too, since she blushed slightly as I caressed her fingers with my thumb. Her skin was soft and creamy. My mind wandered to the thought of what other parts of her might feel like.

We stayed at the restaurant until the asked us to leave so they could close. The walk back to the car was slow, delaying the end of the night. The drive back was equally slow and the tension had returned. Melissa was uncharacteristically silent. So was I, I suppose. She fidgeted and played with her hair more than usual, keeping her eyes ahead.

I walked her to her apartment door, where we stood in silence, nervously waiting for the other to say goodnight. But doing so would end our date, and I certainly wasn't going to do that. Melissa's nervous face suddenly changed, as though she had made up her mind about something.

"So, you want to come in for coffee?" She asked. I was surprised at how cliche she was being. It proved how nervous she was.

"I thought we established earlier than I don't like coffee."

"Then how about coming in to make out and possibly have sex?" She quipped back with a snarky grin.

"On the first date? Aren't we the little slut?" Yeah, I know you should never call a woman that. But in our months as friends we had said worse to each other in jest.

"First off, this isn't really a first date. We've done all the typical first date getting to know each other months ago. So this is more like our...fourth date. Second, if you don't watch your mouth you may not get to find out how slutty I really am." As she said this, she posed; tilting her full hips and then smacking her well rounded bottom.

We both laughed. This was a big reason I was so attracted to her. That we could be so open, and not be hung up with our conversations and teasing.

"OK, I agree that this isn't like our first date. But there is a first I think we need to get out of the way before I come in for 'coffee'." She looked at me expectantly.

I glided to her, reached out and pulled her to me gently. With one hand I tilted her head up as I lowered my head and softly pushed our lips together. Those lips I had been admiring all night felt heavenly against mine as we kissed. Her arms moved to my shoulders, mine to her waist; drawing each other in tighter to match our kiss.

I let my tongue peek past my lips, which mets hers doing the same shy exploration. Slowly at first, they caressed each other, but quickly moving to a more passionate exchange.

Why it won't work

2008-10-13T09:23:00.001-04:00

So, let's talk about why Obama's plans won't work. Why are we talking about Obama? Because McCain has no shot. I've pretty much assumed Obama will win since the primaries. A) The dems REALLY hate Bush (which they carry over to any non-dem) B) Obama actually has charisma (something the last two candidates did not) and C) This election the Dems are going to get every normally-not-a-voter to vote. So, Obama wins.

That said, let's talk about 3 of his big talking points: Jobs, Taxes, Health-care.

1) Jobs. Obama says he will create more jobs. How? Well, the way i see it you can only do it 2 ways. Either you create a bunch of government jobs or you stimulate the economy. The former will cost us a bunch of money we already don't have. The latter...well how does he plan to do this? Point two addresses that.

2) Taxes. first off, Obama claims he will lower taxes for 95% of Americans. Well, seeing as about 40% of them already don't pay taxes, that number seems a bit inflated. Remember when you worked that lower paying job and got all your taxes back at the end of the year? yeah, we have lots of those jobs. So the only way for them to get MORE money back is to give them more than they took...which is welfare. AND costs us money we don't have.

So, who WILL be taxed? The rich. Now taxing some rich (entertainers mostly) won't hurt much. But taxing business people...that will hurt. See, business people CREATE JOBS. See point #1. Obama wants to create jobs...by hurting the people to do the creating. Seems silly to me. Not to mention, you will see some rich people leave or take their businesses to countries with lower tax costs. This will take even more revenue out of the country. Seems counter intuitive considering points 1 and 3.

3) Health-care. Ain't gonna happen. We are already in a huge hole because of the bailout. That alone would make it tough. Throw in the tax breaks (which cost us even more) we won't have money for health-care. Which will be interesting since the lost jobs will make more people want health-care.

Look, it's no secret I don't want socialism. Especially for our culture. I especially think it will hurt things because right now our lack of socialism means that we have more disposable income. We consume...we consume the goods of all the socialist countries. Socialism costs money. Which means less consuming...which means less money to the other countries (who are already having trouble funding their programs). Then again, maybe China or India will become the new consumer powers.

Mind you, in the end, the economy will be swinging up in 3-4 years. Obama will take credit and get re-elected. THEN he may be able to implement his plans. And then the economy will drop again (as businesses send work overseas). Then a Rep will blame the Dems, and get elected to fix it and the whole cycle can start again.

Or, Obama won't do jack, since the president doesn't have much power to do that...congress does. And they have already done very little. Mind you, some of that is due to Bush.

Not totally related, but remember how congress broke down and relinquished the oil drilling thing? Pelosi has already said that when Obama takes over they are undoing that. Wow...to say that NOW...before they win. They really do have their voters pegged....as in stupid.

Someone please DON'T think of the children!!

2008-10-06T10:40:00.002-04:00

So, this weekend, I hung out with a friend who brought up being for universal health-care at least for children. At the time, I shrugged and thought "Yeah, that's cool". Then I thought about it the next day and something occurred to me. Why are children more valuable than adults?

A child is primarily valuable to family. They are only POTENTIALLY valuable to society. Where as an adult is a known quantity. We know, on a very basic level, how much they contribute to society. So why do we always think of children first? If you have a family that has no health care and the child gets sick or the main provider (mom/dad) gets sick, which will really be worse? Will a healthy child whose Mom/Dad dies and now they have no money be better off?

My first thought is simple biology. We are wired to protect children. In olden times, kids had a much lower survival rate, so it was best for the species longevity to keep those suckers alive and well. But that 'need' doesn't exist to near that degree anymore. Our species is nowhere NEAR the possibility of extinction. But that doesn't stop our biology from placing them on a pedestal.

Second is the 'Children can't control the situations in the world they were born into'. Pretty true. But neither did adults. See, adults were once children. And current adults in America did not come from a time when there WAS some kind of universal child health-care. Yet somehow we managed to avoid some kind of baby holocaust.

Third I guess could be the impact a child that dies due to no health-care has on his family. But again, the reverse could be just as bad.

Our society has become so kid-centric that evoking them has such an immediate response that makes people follow along. It's how we are built. Even I did so until I thought more about it.

Personally, I think we need to focus on educating people to not get into responsibilities they can't afford. Our society loves to focus on symptoms and not causes. Prisons don't fix problems, because we aren't spending money to PREVENT people from feeling the need/desire to become a criminal. Universal health-care is similar. You aren't dealing with the cause of all these uninsured people, or all the children born into bad situation. You are in fact prolonging it. By taking away negative repercussions for being in bad straits, you take a percentage of people and allow them to feel safe and just continue down that path.

I have known people who gain great drive to do better and to budget well in order to provide for their kids. I really don't like the idea of bowing down to the lazy people and perpetuating it. Kids or not.

To bring it back around, I think our culture puts WAY too much weight on the value of a child.

I'ma talk about my characters...hehe!

2008-10-02T11:03:00.001-04:00

Hows this for a random blog post? I'm going to talk about my various recurring characters/names and alias I use when playing video game RPG's/MMO's.

1) Shadow Ghoul. The big one. Sghoul is pretty much my main alias. If I play a game with a single character that isn't a fantasy RPG, Sghoul is the name I use. And when I do stuff online, Sghoul is pretty much always my handle.

Shadow Ghoul was created in the Marvel Super Hero RPG, which was a system that had you randomly generate characters. I rolled him up and he had Shadow Control, the ability to rot organic material, the ability to generate fear, and no real need to eat/sleep/breathe. So I called him Shadow Ghoul. And for whatever reason it stuck. Especially since sghoul is almost always available as a username on the interwebs.

2) Kasing. Kasing DeMarkus was my first serious D&D character. A Half Elven Ranger for those who care. I generally use him in games as a bow wielding human or elven character. And Kasing had a Van Dyke (like me) before I could even grow one. Hmmmm...

3) Jessail. Female wizard type. I made her as an NPC originally. Now I use her whenever I need a caster type. Generally Elven, always blond. And I play her as haughty (bitchy).

4) Neeily. She came about in Everquest. I played around with EQ for a bit. I wanted to stand out, so I looked at various race/class/gender combos. The least used one that I could see was Halfling/Rogue/Female. So I made one. I let the game give me random names, and one came up that was close to Neeily, but longer. Since long names are harder to type, I shortened it to Neeily.

Neeily is generally my short spunky character. Most often a rogue type. And always having dark (black if I can help it) hair. Although in Warhammer, I have one that is human.

5) Marlox. This guy came from Anarchy Online originally. I made a big galoot character, and Marlox sounded pretty galooty to me. Since then, any more monstrous character I make is Marlox. My troll in WoW, my current Orc in WAR.

6) Falla. Originally Falla Firehair, Falla is Neeily's lesser used cousin. Originally I wanted to make a Barbarian Rogue in EQ, and since I already had Neeily, I made this one up. Falla is now used most often if I am making an evil version rogue type. Usually human, and red haired.

7) Dungor Deadhammer. Another old D&D character, Dungor is my dwarf character. Now, what class he is changes pretty heavily. He's been a fighter, paladin, and cleric. He is also a main character in my Arnoth stories (that I have no put pen to paper for).

Some lesser known/used characters:

Hia! (with the '!'). Whenever I make a martial artist in a none online game.
Heal. The healer...duh!
Holy. Paladin or cleric.

That's enough of my musings for now.

Jester - The visual

2008-09-23T09:15:00.002-04:00

One of my favorite hero characters I have created is Jester. So I commisioned a guy to draw a version of him. Here's what we came up with. I am QUITE happy with it.

If there is interest, I can post some Jester info.

Reel Quick Reviews

2008-09-22T10:00:00.002-04:00

The name? Lame, yeah, fuck off.

So, I got Netflix (love it) and I decided to start reviewing what I watch. So here we go>

Swingers: This supposed cult classic makes me think that 'cult classic' means 'not that good'. I didn't really get it I guess. It had parts I liked, but overall felt flat. It ended well, but didn't make up for the long stretches of 'huh?'

Definitely Maybe: Not usually one for a chick flick, I rented this because I like Ryan Reynolds. And Like him I still do. I enjoyed this movie. Sure the interweaving love plots felt fantastical, but the individual relationships actually seemed real (which is likely why they failed). Overall I felt that it romantisized love, but in a realistic way. The main character makes many mistakes before he finds 'love'.

Dexter: A showtime series about a serial killer who works for the police. I LOVE this series. All I can say is check it out. Mind you, I hate almost every character in the show besides the serial killer and one cop. But I think that is part of the point of the show. 'Normal' people can be fucked up and 'bad' people can actually be pretty nice. You know, aside from the killing.

That's it till I get some more videos!

For Steagus: NSFW...like at ALL

2008-09-22T09:45:00.003-04:00

The S man says I should stick to T&A. As much as I don't like to be typecast, I do play to the crowd. So here we go.

Lisa Ann: Porn Star and Stripper. I dig her as an older (for porn) woman. Nice rack, amazing butt, and legs to die for.

Denise Milani: Model. To my knowledge, no nudes yet. There is also great debate over the realness of her boobs. Most would say fake based on size, but I have known women blessed with chest and slim everywhere else. either way...nice. Plus she has such a sweet smile.

Ewa Sonnet: Polish model and Singer. Two great pairs. Breasts and eyes. I could get lost in either of them.

Maria Yumeno: Japanese pornstar. Know little about her since everything tends to be in Japanese. i just know I think she's hot. I have a think for asians. She can pull off both sulty and innocent.

Last but CERTAINLY not least, Nina Hartley. Long time porn star. You also might recognize her from boogie nights. A veteran, she has (IMHO) one of the best ass/legs out there. Plus she can pull of the naughty librarian like nobodies business.

Satisfied Steagus? Can I go back to other things now?

I'm a Dick!

2008-09-16T14:55:00.001-04:00

Am I? I could go with the 'It's all relative' line. And that's fairly true. But I think there is a line one can cross where the majority would feel a certain way, enough to give you that label.

Regardless, it's something I have been wrestling with. I can say that casually, no, no I'm not. If you just saw me on the street or at work, you'd probably think I am decent enough. Even nice. Most people I work with like me well enough. But what happens when you get to know me better? That is the big question. But I think it is far more complex.

First, those with soft hearts probably needn't apply. As I get more comfortable around people, the little smiley wall I put up goes away. I am more likely to say things that could be hurtful. More impassioned in my opinions. More abrasive. And more likely to get upset if I feel wronged. So, if you don't have calloused emotions, take things personally, or are just (what I would consider) overly optimistic, I will hurt you. Repeatedly, until one of us drives the other away. I don't feel that alone makes me a dick. Just not compatible with those kinds of people on a deeper level.

Second is teasing/trash talk. I can tease people pretty badly. Thing is, I rarely tease people that I actually don't like to their face. If I don't like you, you will likely only ever see Smiley to Ambivalent Kevin. So if I am teasing you, I generally like you and I don't actually mean anything by the teasing. Now I don't know if this is a real issue or not, since I don't know if it really bothers people or not.

Third: Passionately opinionated. Man, when I get to discussing something, I can build up a head or steam. Worse, I can do this about topics I don't care about as much as I seem to. Even worse, even when I run out of reason or ammo, I keep going. This I have thought on...how much is stubbornness? How much is competitiveness? How much is enjoying making my mind think fast or dig deep? How much is the enjoyment of the other person's response? I don't know. I don't even think about it when it happens. I read something, a response forms in my head and I fire it off. Sometimes pure fact, sometimes informed bullshit, sometimes random opinion. But all generally coming off as heated.

This rolls into fourth, my love of arguing/debate. I have liked it for as long as I can remember. This I KNOW comes from enjoying making my mind work fast. My brother and I do it all the time. Sometimes about real issues. Sometimes about something random. I like being able to just keep going. But other people see it negatively. I remember someone commenting about my Bro and I doing it, asking why we liked each other. I was like 'why not? It's just arguing...we don't mean anything by it.' At least from my end. But to someone outside my head, I guess it sounds angry. Maybe it is at the time...but if it is, it goes away almost right away. Again, at least for me.

I also know I can be bad with communication. If I don't have easy access to you (see you regularly like at work) I am bad about keeping in touch. Lazy is a big part of that. Is there more? I'm not sure. I don't really keep in touch with like, anyone. When I left HS, I didn't keep in touch with any of my friends (they tried with me). Same with College. And from job to job. I'm not sure if it's because I don't value people enough, or some innate selfishness. I DO know that once I get home I kind of shut off the world. So, unless I made some kind of plans with you, you are unlikely to get ahold of me. But that doesn't explain my lack of communicating, with email so available. I have been trying to get better...but I still suck at it.

I know my 'tough love' approach has been frowned upon as well. See, sometimes, when I feel that kind words or a pat on the back don't work, I instead say something snide or cruel. I think it's a combination of being fed up with a person being undependable or me trying to break them from their shell. It works with varying success. At least short term. ultimately, like in any relationship, you need to realize that a person is who they are. trying to fix them won't work. So accept it or move on.

I suppose I could go on about my faults. But I think I am tapped for now. I will say that I know at the very least in the short term, I can be a good guy. People wherever I work tend to like me. When I take classes my teachers dig me. I'm that guy you can generally call and know I will help you move or work on your computer.

All in all, I am AM curious what other's think. I know asking that will likely garner a bunch of 'yeah your a dick Kevin' comments, or people won't feel comfortable saying anything at all. But I hope some do post in seriousness and with thought out reasons and opinions.

Science Lesson for the Day - Anatomy of a Woman

2008-09-10T08:31:00.003-04:00

Since my last few posts have been so serious, and the next one I have planned is not only serious but rather personal, I decided to do something a bit lighter...but still personal.

The female anatomy :) If you asked most guys what part was their favorite part of a woman, it generally breaks down into three pieces: Breasts, Butt, Legs. So I am going to start there. If pressed to pick one of the three, here they are in order.

Breasts: Despite none of my serious relationships being with anyone larger than an A cup, I dig boobs. Bigger=Better. This also goes for areola and nipples. Now, I've never felt any fake boobs, so i don't know how I would feel about `em. But they look nice :) Here's a couple of Boob-type-pics. One is just random. The other is Christina Hendricks....the woman I am going to marry.

Legs: Close second. Now, saying I like legs tells you nothing. Most folks know that saying you like boobs means you like big boobs. But saying you like legs doesn't tell you much. I happen to like good thighs and calves. Think tennis players (the female ones for those too stupid to figure out which ones I am talking about). Sorry, no images for this. The ones I found that I liked also showed OTHER parts that I don't think I should be showing on this here blog. Look up Nina Hartley (she also could be looked up for the Butt pics)

Butt: This practially not important to me. That does NOT mean I don't love a nicely curved ass. And when I see one, I definitely take time to appreciate it. But it has much less impact on how I view a woman. Look up Nina Hartley or Lisa Ann (the latter will be MUCH harder to find because of her generic name).

Having said all that, interestingly enough my last few...actually pretty much ALL of my serious relationships (ones that lasted for several months) were almost a reverse of that list. They all tended to be of the 'pear shaped' body type. Most of their weight being in the hips/butt/legs.

Now, we have the big three out of the way. But those don't begin to address all of the possible wonderful things about women.

Skin: This is actually way up top to me. I am generally a very caress-y person (if you are dating me, and I am not always trying to hold your hand or rub you, I'm not that into you or am holding back for some reason). I love smooth skin. Doesn't have to be blemish free (Look down on my love of freckles post). Luckily most women tend to have soft skin. It's part of the twin reasons to date woman for my friend Shag (Soft and they smell good). A good tan can be nice. But so can nice pale skin (but there is a fine line between soft pale skin and someone that needs to get out in the sun more).

Lips: I tend to like full lips. See miss Hendricks above. I like kissing, so good lips give lots to work with :) Also, could have something to do with the DSL factor.

Eyes: Good eyes can captivate me. BUT, it's not something I normally care about until I see a really good pair.

Tummy: I ain't necessarily talking about some totally flat belly. A nice curve can be very sexy. Then again, so can abs :)

Hips: I tend to like a nice hip to waist ratio.

Feet: This is something I never thought I would care about. But I do like nice feet. I like to rub feet (not for my pleasure, but for hers), so having nice ones makes that a more pleasing experience.

Shoulders: Huh? Yeah, I didn't get it either. But, like the feet, I like giving teh massages. Nice shoulders are a pleasure to rub. Mix in good skin and maybe even freckles and you have some good times!

Hair: I tend to like it longer...and preferably not constantly changing style and color. Sadly, women feel the need to mess with this part all the time. Worse, I know plenty of guys who tell their gals not to cut/dye/change their hair...said women usually do it anyway. But God forbid I shave or don't shave...that makes me a jerk of a man! Longer is better, cuz I like running my fingers through it.

Bajingo: Yeah, I really have no opinion on this one. Perhaps that is because It is the last thing I see of a woman if I see it at all. Since I know they all have them, I don't think about it overmuch.

There are probably lots more things. Noses? *shrug* Hands? I suppose.

Now, that is just the physical list. Personality is just as if not more important. I'm not going to say that looks aren't important. I'm a guy. I want to be attracted to who I am with. That does NOT mean they have to be 36-24-36 perfect. And if they are, only if they are 5'3" *whip crack noises*. As I said above, despite my love of mammaries I have dated few women that chart high in that area. I just would like them to be attractive...to me. And honestly pretty much everyone wants that.

Also, I don't date/not date based on race. I have dated White/Black/Latino and find pretty much everything in between attractive. I'm actually kind of proud that I don't seem to have a 'type' when it comes to looks. Lets me focus on who they are (says that guy who just posted a blog post about female body parts).

Capitalism - The Market works!

2008-09-09T09:51:00.002-04:00

I have long been a fan of capitalism. For the most part, I think most of societies ills can be fixed by the market. This of course is a point that many will argue. But I think that is because most don't REALLY know what the market entails. Heck, I don't fully grasp it.

Think about it like this: Your money is your vote. Don't like how Walmart operates? DON'T SHOP THERE. If you do, it is the same as having a politician you dislike and voting for him anyway. Wish McDonalds had healthier stuff on the menu? Tell them and QUIT EATING THERE. The latter has flat out worked. Sales dropped, consumers said it was from lack of teh healthy, McDonalds changed their menu.

Sadly, people don't get it. They either think (just like real politics) that their little voice means nothing. Worse, convenience and laziness easily overcome people's values.

And, just like politics, that is exactly what big businesses WANT you to feel. Walmart doesn't change because they know you are going to shop there anyway. No one listens to third party candidates because the sides know you won't 'throw your vote away'.

It saddens me when I think "You get the government/system you deserve". Very true....for the majority.

I hate our political parties

2008-09-05T14:50:00.002-04:00

You know, I hate parties in general. Why can't people just run? Do we need to polarize everything? Of course we do. How do you manipulate and control people without a group to get them to belong to?

I guess I am conservative. But I am NOT a republican. I'm not really a libertarian, despite agreeing with much of what they want. No one party embraces what I believe fully. If I vote Rep, they push their religious adgenda and pro-life/anti-stem cell stuff. If I vote Dem, they take my stuff and give it to other people and take away any sort of personal responsibily for how my life is.

I don't really like either option. And if forced to pick one, it would end up being about other things such as Obama's total lack of any real experience or McCain's age/replacement.

I think the problem is that we haven't REALLY had a good presidential candidate in a while (in the final running). Sure we have charisma and leadership from folks like Clinton (Bill) or Obama. We have experinece and conviction from people like McCain or Dole. But we don't have the mix. Worse, we usually don't have humility. I don't honestly feel like any of them want to SERVE. They have an agenda they want to push forward. People like them, sure. But I bet, if you never saw a picture or heard them talk...just read about what they did before being a president (facts, not manipulative prose), very few modern presidents would have made it to office.

I would love a president who, when faced with an issue, met with experts (of different walks) and passed that info on to the people. Make a choice from broad knowledge. Not becuase one advisor (who is usually a party advisor) tells me something.

When it comes down to it, I'm scared. Scared that our country is going to turn into all the other countries I have no desire to live in. Then where do I go? Suck it up, give my money to the government, pay twice as much for stuff, and sign my freedoms away? Hope some state with ideals like mine decides to susceed (sp)? try and make a difference despite the fact that most people make up their minds about issues before they even have facts?

Maybe governments rotate. China is starting to embrace capitalism, giving its people back their power. While we are leaning more and more on ours, and Europe is heavily dependant on them (with some countries stagnating and/or running into money issues).

Or maybe I should invest in some cheap land in the Arctic, which will beach front property thanks to global warming. Well, aside from the ice caps having actually grown in the past year. guess I need to burn some styrofoam to move things along.

Look at me, I'm hopping on the bandwagon!

2008-09-03T14:45:00.002-04:00

I can't help it. I want to talk about Sarah Palin. So, I will.

I found out about this a lot earlier than I normally would. Friday Morning I get an email from McCain himself! Apparently the guy in my position before me was a McCain man, and signed up for this stuff, so now I get it.

Anyway, first impression...Sarah who? Gov. of WHICH state? So I turn on some news (which I rarely do). 10 minutes later, I like it. A few days later, I am confused. Media really paints her badly (perhaps rightly so). Yet, I still like her. Younger, attractive...we need a naughty librarian in the White House. I kinda feel bad about liking this move. Makes me feel sheep like. Especially since she is likely way to socially conservative than I would like. But in many ways, it is pretty savvy on the surface. Female (pick up those Clinton votes), young, far right (get those Evangelical votes). Most of all, it got people talking about the GOP (good and bad). No one I know cared about Obama's nomination of VP. He was a bland, safe pick. In the short term, it was a trump in that regard.

Then again, I probably don't have to worry about any of it, since I am likely to vote libertarian this year :)

Popular vote my arse!

2008-08-25T09:46:00.003-04:00

So, these last few elections have stirred up the issue of the electoral college and how it doesn't allow for popular vote to allow the popular candidate to win. And, of course since a Rep won it has been the Dems who were the most upset.

This morning they had a nice thing on NPR about the Democratic nomination process. And how ~30 years ago they changed it so it would be more representative...so that all states had some power in determining who won. This is of course JUST LIKE THE ELECTORAL COLLEGE!!!

Oddly enough, Obama has recieved his nomination largely due to this representative election process. See, Hillary put most of her stock in big, highly populated states (and states Obama didn't run in). Obama courted the little states...the ones who would mean absolutely nothing if the process was purely 'popular'.

Mind you, I'm not knocking it. I fully support this. Without a process like this, 80% of the states would get ignored. And those states deserve a voice since this is a Union of states, not one solid country. I just find it funny that the party most complaining about the electoral college is having their new cadidate chosen by the same kind of process :) And I don't hear anyone complaining about it now.

Haven't even heard any Hillary supporters complaining. But that's mostly because they don't really know why they support Hillary over Obama since the only real difference between them is the color of their skin and their gender...and one of them is an evil bitch. I'll let you figure out which one it is.

In love of Freckles

2008-08-13T09:37:00.005-04:00

As with many of my posts, some things just pop into my head, and I feel like posting. This post is about freckles. I have always appreciate freckles. Especially when they pepper a cute nose and maybe flow to the cheeks. Shoulders can be good too.

What kicked this off was a weird night where I watched both Scrubs and Lord of the Rings. In Scrubs, Judy Reyes plays Carla. A very attractive woman made all the better by some freckles. In LotR Eowyn is played by Miranda Otto. After the 3+ hour movie I became very attached to her freckled soft skin. Those got me thinking...and I remembered one of my very favorite models, Veronika Zemanova. So below are some pictures of these lovely ladies. Click for bigger pictures. Sadly, it was hard to find good picks, as women seem to like to cover their freckles with makeup :(

Also, guys...if you do not know of Veronika, look her up. NOW. Turn off google's safe filter. Thank me later.

Olympics I scoff at you scoff scoff

2008-08-13T08:35:00.002-04:00

I have never understood the Olympics. It contains almost entirely sports that no one usually watches. So why, every four years, do people suddenly care. The only time I liked these sports was playing 'Summer Games' on my C64.

Most of the sports aren't even competative in the way that I usually think about a sport. You can't do anything to hinder your opponent. It's basically you against the clock. Or you against some judges' arbitrary scoring system. Sure, the other people racing may drive you to push harder, but they can't actually slow you down.

Most of all, it has become such a waste. The ammount of money wasted so that some person can dedicate their lives to swiming in a straight line...really? With all the people complaining about poverty in this coutry, how is paying so some guy can swim all the time a good expendature of money?

I know some people will tout how it builds spirit and gives people hope. Seriously? If you need some tiny girl who can do flips really well to uplift you, you really should take a look at yourself. How does her flipping in any way make your life better?

The Olymipics are only good if they have Animal or Lyaff in front of them.

I'm no poet

2008-08-04T12:58:00.002-04:00

I miss the feeling of my figertips caressing soft skin
Kissing a tear away when trying to comfort someone
Warm breath stiring the hairs of my chest as someone sleeps
Putting my arms around from behind and wrapping them up as they do something mundane.
Brushing their hair using my hand as the brush
The hum or purr of someone content

I also miss putting my penis in a vagina.

I had to put the last part so no one took away my man card.

Women portrayed wrong: So What?

2008-07-14T12:10:00.002-04:00

I friend of mine brought up last week how women are rarely portrayed well or correctly in geek-type media. Sci-fi movies, comics, games; women tend to fit sterotypes. The amazon, the sexpot, the damsel, the cutie. And, I agreed with her. This does tend to be true.

Then I thought about it...men aren't displayed real either. Even Peter Parker is still always witty, married a model, and is one of the most brilliant people in the world.

what it comes down to is that fiction often pleys to sterotypes. People like to read about exraordinary people. These extremes of both skill, power, and personality are what make them interesting. Average folks are...well...US. I live that life already.

So, yes, women in these genres are not typical. because I want to read about some hot woman who can kick butt. But I am pretty sure that most of the men in Sex and the City aren't middle class, slightly overweight couch potatoes either.

Should I do more with this?

2008-07-09T16:18:00.002-04:00

I had an idea for a new storyline. But didn't want to get farther into it if no one cared.

Everyone knows the guys who started it all. Humble beginnings back in New York City. I read about how things were before the first big coming. No one believed them. Called them crack pots. To those of us who came later, we call them the big three followed by the fourth.

When we started our group, I actually met them. They always come out to the newbies. I remember not believing that Venkman was the kind of guy to stand up to someone like Gozer. Seemed more like a class clown than the kind of guy to fight the supernatural. Spengler and Stanz were nice enough, mostly talked over my head though. I liked Winston. Just a regular Joe who had found himself as the protector of New York against the hordes of the paranormal.

He told me stories of their adventures. At the time, I looked forward to having my own slime punctuated exploits. Now of course I know that New York is lucky. I'd kill to only get stuck taking down some C5FRV's (Class 5 Full Roaming Vapors for the uninitiated). But my turf doesn't seem to attract that kind of spook.

Which is why, at the moment, I am running for my life through the Boston sewer. My pack is over heated. My backup is still minutes away, and somewhere in these dark sewers a C12 is stalking me in hopes of spending the next 20 years slowly digesting my corpse.

Porn KING

2008-07-08T16:40:00.003-04:00

I write porn. Amongst other things, yes. But I do. It started as kind of an experiment and has somewhat snowballed. I checked last night, and all of my chapters combined (10 so far) have 350,000+ reads with an average rating of ~4.5 out of 5 stars.

It's weird. I know it's just porn, but as a writer I am kinda proud. Especially since I have recieved feedback where people actually like the characters and how the story developes, outside of the sex.

Continuing the experiment I have branched into other kinds of erotica, crossing some pretty strange lines. And I continue to get largely positive feedback. The only negative feedback I have gotten has been about how my portrayals have been unreal. And those stopped when I put a disclaimer at the top warning that the acts contained within are purposely over the top.

I am filing this whole thing under one of the many things I never thought I would do.

It's SHOWTIME

2008-07-07T14:13:00.003-04:00

Man, this is awesome!

I'm gonna get my Spore ALL over you. Take it!!!

2008-07-03T10:27:00.008-04:00

So, I am addicted to Spore. The game isn't even out and I love it. I decided to post all of my creatures thus far. Here they be. It's odd how I come up with these. Some I actually think out ahead of time (what they eat, how they hunt, etc) others are more about trying a weird thing with the engine (but I usually retroactively come up with history for them later). For the names, hover over the image.

Oh how I love that Village Lady in the Water

2008-06-09T16:40:00.003-04:00

Ok, I watched Lady in the Water last night. I shouldnt have. My crush for Bryce Dallas Howard only continues to grow.

I wish I could explain it. She's thin (I usually like more curves), no boobs (we know where I stand on that). But there is something about her. Maybe it's just the characters she plays...they are smart and clever, young yet wise. Mind you, I have also seen her as her, and I like that too.

I think it's the girl next door thing. She's not some playboy playmate. She's that attractive girl who not only would give a guy like me the time of day, but would also have things in common. At the same time, despite not being "classically" pretty, she is beautiful.

She just seems like the kind of woman I would like to curl up on the couch with. Now, why am I bringing this up? It's not like I am going to stalk her (way too lazy for that). It's just one of the rare times these days that I actually feel lonely.

Point/Counterpoint: Sex and the City

2008-06-05T09:00:00.003-04:00

So, you won't believe what I did this past weekend. I saw Sex and the City. Yeah, yeah, I know. But I had some goals. 1) To see what the fuss is about and 2) to do a point/counterpoint with a friend via our blogs.

Let me start by saying that I had never seen more than 15 minutes total of the show. So, I knew very little going in. That said, the movie was actually pretty good. It was funny and charming and dramatic. It did a good job of giving me enough information to know what was going on, without having to watch the TV show.

BUT, there were quite a few things that pissed me off. Rather than lay them out here, I will start the back and forth with EDP now, and see if they don't come up then.

EDP: Admit it. You thought it would suck, and suck hard. I'm delighted that you liked parts of it, though. Let's start with what you thought the movie got right.

For me, it synthesized everything that made the show work: Fashion, whip-smart dialogue, and some real insight into modern relationships and what we want vs. what we get. You first.

Sghoul: Actually, the parts that I didn't like were pretty much what worried me about the movie before I went in.

What worked? It was fairly funny and clever. It had good heart string moments. It moved quickly with a snappy pace. And I really liked the character of St. Louise.

Also, for you guys out there, it turns out that women actually like dick and fart jokes. I mean, there is a scene that seems like it is right out of a Farley Brothers movie.

EDP: I got teary a couple of times. The scene on the bridge with Steve and Miranda killed me. As did the New Year's Eve scene with the mournful "Auld Lang Sine." Tears! I knew I was being manipulated, but I didn't really care. I've always felt that there were two kinds of women who liked this movie: Those who saw it as a modern fairy tale with moments of real truth and insight, and those who saw it as the Bible for single, sexually active women. Like the women to my left. The moment when you looked around and saw a sea of giddy women was absolutely hilarious.

Sghoul: Ah, the crowd. I think THAT is one of my biggest peeves about this movie. It was a solid movie. But women walked out of there like it was some kind of life event. If I go to Star Wars with a plastic lightsaber, I am a sad loser type. But if you go to SatC with some giant flower on your shirt, you're an empowered woman!

I think there are more women that fall into your later group...and that bugs me. Because the main 4 characters don't seem like real people to me. They seem like one sided caricatures. The Uptight Bitch, the Bubbleheaded Optimist, The Nympho, and Fashion Clown. I almost felt like this movie was a parody...but I know it isn't. And that makes me a sad panda...to think that there are women who want to emulate these shallow, and frankly stupid people.

EDP: I think you know the hyperventilating women in our row annoyed the living crap out of me. But just because they're stupid doesn't mean the characters are! Now, this is based on my years of watching the TV show, but the characters evolved a lot during SATC's run. Miranda, especially.
She was a cynical ballbuster in the beginning, but she opened her heart to, of all people, a bartender. The fact that she re-hardened was, to me, a realistic depiction of a marriage in which one person is the go-getter (in this case, the woman) and the other is laid back. It is very easy to let the love life go, which is what happened to them. I don' t think of them as stereotypes so much as archetypes.

Sghoul: Ah, see, no fair trying to make up for characters shortcomings by referencing outside material. Would it have been fair of me to defend the children in the Narnia movie by saying that they were much better in the books?

Regardless of how she grew in the series, in the movie she was largely one dimensional. And, honestly, they may have done this purposely so that when the character steps outside that box (like when the redhead goes to the bridge) it is heavy. But that is just a trick. It is similar to my relationship theory about setting the expectations low in the beginning. By having her basically turn into a real person, the watcher thinks it's awesome, but all that really happened was that they finished fleshing out the character.

EDP: Now, you said Louise was your favorite character, but she did nothing for me. She was sweet and all, but she seemed to exist mainly to give the film some diversity and youth. I was appalled that she left Manhattan to go back to St. Louis for some tool who told her she wasn't "the one."

Did you buy the whole thing about Carrie's wedding? The more I thought about it, the more horrified I was that he bailed at the last minute. I know she pushed the big ceremony and that he didn't really want it, but that was some cruel shit. It gave the movie a great subplot, but I'm not sure how I feel about them getting back together in the end. I don't think their offenses were equal.

Sghoul: I may have been snowed. I liked her because she seemed like a real human being. She liked fashion, but wasn't ruled by it. She didn't have an apparently limitless amount of money. Keep in mind, what you didn't like about her is silly, when you realize that she moved half way across the country "for love", which is pretty damn retarded when you think about it.

The wedding? Well, I saw it differently. The night before, he called her...obviously with cold feet. And she promised him "just you and me".
Which was a lie. It was NEVER about him. On top of that, why the fuck didn't she call him in the morning to check on him? I mean, who goes all the way to the wedding and doesn't communicate with the other person?! And when he DID call her (after spending the whole morning calling her constantly) she didn't talk to him...she just dropped the phone and ran out. If she had spent 5 minutes finding out what was up, he probably would have come back.

When it comes down to it, none of those women (with the exception of maybe the redhead) should be in a long term committed relationship or have kids. They are all too into themselves and their friends. I mean, the bubblehead...why the HELL did she bring her stupid daughter to every get together? I mean, all these ladies do is drink and talk about sex...why bring a 4 year old to that?

EDP: She RENTS handbags, practically wept at the sight of her own Louis Vuitton and isn't ruled by fashion? Were we watching the same movie? Look, I never said it was smart to move to a city for love, but it's equally dumb to leave arguably the most exciting city in the country to settle down with your last serious boyfriend. If he'd said "I'm not ready" or "Let's take some time apart," that would be fine. But when a guy says "You're not the one," um, I don't exactly see a white picket fence.

Things are nuts the day of your wedding, so it's EASY to not have a conversation beforehand. Especially if someone's stupid kid, you know, takes your cell phone. And remember, he said, "I can't do this." What was she supposed to say to that?! She's in Vivanne Westwood about to walk down the aisle, and he can't even get out of the car? That's lame. All she knew was that he WASN'T effing coming. And then when she confronted him on the street, he just kept saying "I'm sorry." Not, "I still want to marry you, just not this way."

Sghoul: Well, she dressed pretty normally for someone ruled by fashion. Unlike her boss who wears the weirdest crap, just to sit around the house.

It's not easy when the night before the man calls and says he is having second thoughts? She even said "I knew you were going to do this." You did? And you never thought to call? You know why? Because IT WAS NEVER ABOUT HIM. Hell, she pulled in right next to him, and didn't notice. She was too busy playing with her friends.

BTW, when a chick is hitting you with flowers in a rage, there is no reason to say much of anything, because she isn't listening.

EDP: One man's weird is another man's fashion. And that, my friend, is fashion. Carrie wore a lot of crazy stuff during SATC, but it was always interesting -- even when it was seriously "WTF?"

It was her wedding day, and she was in a car with her best friends! Of course she was distracted! Is it so bad that she wanted to feel like a princess for one stinking day? It's not like she had been badgering him about having a dream wedding until the idea was introduced. I'll allow that the groom can get edged out of his own wedding ceremony, which is a shame. But remember, this was Carrie's first wedding. At 40. That's kind of a big deal. Should she have called him? Yeah, probably. But that didn't make it OK for him to stay on the curb like an idiot. Man up.

I liked almost everything about the movie except Louise and Charlotte's storyline. Charlotte had a long, painful search for true love, and I wanted to be happier for her for getting everything she wanted. Instead, I was just annoyed. But maybe that's because I don't have a Park Avenue apartment.

Curious about how you thought men came off in this flick.

Sghoul: I just found it excessive. And it feels shallow to have someone spending SO much money on something like that. Also, men don't really HAVE fashion. If you'll notice even the gay guys clothes were fairly normal.

You aren't going to change my mind on the wedding. Women need to get it out of their heads that the wedding is all about them. She PROMISED that it was just him and her. Her saying that pulled him from the ledge. Then she lied. So, he left. They had a deal: This is about just us. If so, I will come, if not, I go. SHE made that deal. And then dropped it.

I mean, seriously, aside from sex, what had she done for him for the entire movie? He buys her a dream penthouse, a closet that is better than most NYC apartments, says yes to marrying her...all to make her happy. And she can't bother to do ANYTHING for him. Not one damn thing.

Yeah, I don't like Charlotte's character or plotline at all. Or her character. Living on pudding cups for several days in Mexico is stupid. But, she was the only character that wasn't actively doing her best to screw up everything she had.

The men? They weren't real characters in the movie. They were just set pieces. They seemed to exist just to add drama as opposed to being real people. The redhead's husband was the only interesting one.

EDP: Is the fashion any more excessive than the whiz-bang gadgetry in your average action movie? You can't extricate the fashion from SATC. It's almost a character on its own. Not to reduce everything to a stereotype, but many women like designer clothes. It's the movie's job to give us that over-the-top fantasy.

Again, I'm throwing in stuff from the show, but Carrie put up with a lot of shit from Big over the years. And she never once ASKED him for that fancy stuff. All she really wanted was him, because she can take care of herself. I'm not saying that she shouldn't have been grateful (she was), but she has given him plenty over the years: companionship and true friendship when no one else was there, a shoulder to (kinda) cry on and her heart. I mean, she took care of the man after he had a heart attack.
I know a movie has to stand on its own, but understand that this is the context for their relationship. He was FINALLY doing the right things.

So maybe the men weren't three-dimensional ... but they were nice to look at. I'm thinking specifically of Dante's shower scene. Yow! I like how they played with the stereotype of the objectified, beautiful woman and turned it on its head.

Sghoul: True, but an action movie for the sake of action would get panned by critics. And BAD action isn't even liked by action fans. But it seems that if you put the right name on fashion women will like it, regardless.

Maybe...just MAYBE if what you say about Big is true...MAYBE she shouldn't have been in a relationship with him to begin with. If it took him 10 years to get it right...well, she's pretty stupid.

All that scene proves is that women are no longer allowed to give men crap for being pigs. Ya'll are just as bad...worse actually, because when boobs show up guys movies, the audience rarely hoots and moans.

EDP: Are you kidding? I thought that outfit Carrie wore with the knee-high argyle socks was wacky as hell. But it was interesting and daring, almost like she was in on the joke.

A lot can change in 10 years. But I can't argue about their track record. The bottom line is that the audience wants to see Carrie with Big, just like the audience wants to see Superman with Lois Lane. It's the payoff for all those years of off-and-on, but I have mixed feelings about the way that played out. Which makes it more real.

Men don't hoot at boobs because it's become standard. Yawn. SATC was one of the first TV shows to turn the tables and reduce certain male characters to pieces of tail. I wasn't cheering, but I understand -- to a point -- why the audience did. We like to look, too, and I don't think that's exactly a secret.

Sghoul: You don't get to pick and choose. Either objectifying is bad or it isn't.

Basically this show has all of the things in it that women complain about in men's shows: crass humor, sexual objectification, nudity...but instead of being a bad thing, it's a celebration.

I find it funny that Kim Catrell has been on both sides of that fence, from SatC to Porky's.

EDP: Uh, you're talking to someone who dug "Superbad" and "The 40-Year-Old Virgin." Crude doesn't bother me as long as it's funny.

OK, let's talk best/worst moments:

Best: I'd say it's a tie between the bridge scene and the New Year's montage.
Worst: I'm a mom, but you know how I feel about kids. So I agree that having Charlotte's daughter at a pre-wedding sleepover was a drag.

Sghoul: Best: While I did like the bridge scene...I preferred the moment that red realizes she is making the same excuses her husband is...expecting people to forgive HER but not forgiving him.
Worst: Almost anything big nose Kate wore.

EDP: See, that's another thing. Why not celebrate a heroine who is not stereotypically pretty?

Sghoul: I will, if I actually find them attractive. I LOVE me some Janine Garafalo. I just don't think SJP is attractive. But she is playing a character who is supposed to be.

EDP: I see her as playing a character who is a modern, sexually confident woman. I think her attractiveness stems from her sophistication. True, SJP is not Heidi Klum, but I love that she hasn't had any surgery and has become an icon WITH her quirky looks.

Sghoul: Well, she's mostly become an icon with women. I don't know any men aside from Matthew Broderick that like her. And, honestly the part that is least attractive is her weight. The scene where she doesn't eat for 2 days...she should have died.

EDP: I can't argue that she is quite skinny, but it appears natural. She doesn't look like she's starving; just very wee.

Despite your criticisms, I think we both agree that the movie was good overall. I'd give it an A-minus, as its head and shoulders above the usual "chick flick" crapola. You know, my husband actually wants to see this. Eventually.

Sghoul: Well, it doesn't look natural to me. Very women that skinny look natural to me, since the human body rarley wants to be so emaciated. Heck, I know for a fact she didn't used to be that skinny (Square Pegs).

Yes, good overall. A solid B for me. And yes, better than the average chick flick. Guys, take your woman to see this. It doesn't suck, and it has more female nudity than the last 10 movies I saw put together. Not including porn of course.

Sounds like some women are on the rag

2008-05-23T08:40:00.002-04:00

So, on the radio, apparently Clinton supporters are crying “sexism”. That poor old Hillary is treated unfairly because of sexism. Now, I ain’t gonna say that isn’t true. May well be.

What I find funny about it is that her largest voting block is all women. Heck, whenever someone is defending her: woman. So, isn’t that also sexism? Her supporters picking her BECAUSE she is a woman? How is that any different than people not supporting her because she is a woman?

What was really sad is that one of the Clinton groups said that if Obama gets the nomination, they will switch to supporting McCain. WTF? So, you believe in democratic principles, but if your party decides to put Obama in office, you’ll switch to supporting A) someone who DOESN’T support your views and B) a MAN (just like Obama).

Pretty stupid…or maybe they are racist.

The VP may actually be useful soon!

2008-05-23T08:31:00.001-04:00

This yea, more than ever, I will be looking more at the vice presidential candidates, than the presidential.

As my blog notes clearly state, I am a pessimist. Because of this, I feel that there is a very strong possibility that if McCain becomes president, he will have health issues. Now that isn’t such a huge deal. But on the democratic side…well, either Hillary or Obama…I think there is a strong possibility we will have a presidential assassination on our hands. More so with Obama. This country is too full of hate filled morons. It’ll happen.

So, pay close attention to the VP candidates…they may well be running things soon.

I got Tagged - Whisper

2008-05-16T08:29:00.002-04:00

So, Lyza Lynne started this with me, and I intend to finsih it! Here's the rules:

The rules:
1. Make a change in the paragraph below. It can be as little as a single word or almost every word, so long as we can still recognize the paragraph you received from the person who tagged you, not the original paragraph.

My paragraph:

When she came to the tracks, they were all wrong. She usually prided herself on her ability to hunt. She was practically addicted to it. But these tracks made no sense to Desiree. This confusion led to anger. And as that anger washed over her, she pittied her quarry. She would find him. Hunt him down like a dog. And when she found the fool, she would finish this business.

2. Next, tag three people to make a change in the paragraph you wrote, and link to them.

3. Also link to the person who tagged you (me) so the chain will not be broken.

4. Go to the original paragraph at Alice's Restaurant and let her know you did it so she can link back to you. For extra credit, head over to AliceAudrey.wordpress.com around June 9th for the contest based on this meme. You could win a $20 gift certificate!

I am sending to: Shag, H F, and EDP

Here is Lyza's original paragrph for reference:

She came from the wrong side of the tracks, her pride in one hand and his addiction in the other. Her name was Desiree and she'd never called upon him before when she needed the business. He'd said he pitied her, just like he had so many other girls before her. She cursed him, and then she got down to business. “Like a dog returns to it’s vomit, so a fool repeats his foolishness.” - Proverbs 26:11

Obama, you crack me up!

2008-05-12T08:40:00.002-04:00

Something quick that I have been snickering about in the back of my brain. Obama made a comment about how guns and religion were things that poor folk cling to. I have always thought that was funny since A) he is a democrat, the party of the poor and B) What he does when he gets up and speaks is basically the same thing a preacher does: get in front of folks and tell them what they want to hear in hopes of influencing them.

Hey, you got your religion in my politics!

2008-05-08T17:24:00.001-04:00

This is not in essay form, so no guff about my wandering thoughts.

Religion…and Politics. Two things we aren’t supposed to talk about in polite company. And funnily enough two things that are merging. And, frankly, it pisses me off.

I’m a Christian. I’m not going to maintain that I am a particularly GOOD Christian, but I do all right. I say this so that my upcoming complaints about the Christian Right (as in wing, not correctness) won’t seem like the ranting of some upset Atheist. They will instead be the ranting of someone who supposedly has the same belief system as the people being ranted against.

Now, let me throw out a book: Golden Compass. In the books, apparently the ‘good guys’ kill god. I thought about it, and it seems to me that the real issue to the author wasn’t the notion of god, but of god and his followers forcing things on those around them. And frankly, I can’t blame him for hating it. Because I would too!

But, for me, God doesn’t force anything on me. I am free to ignore Him or try and follow. So, that’s cool in my book. And then I read the Bible. Nowhere in there does it say ANYTHING about forcing others to follow God. It may say to lead them to God, but it never says to FORCE them.

So we come to religion and politics. In this country, religion is playing a BIG role. Pastors are telling their members who and what to vote for. And Sghoul don’t play that. And I really feel that God doesn’t either. See, if He wanted everyone to act a certain way, He would have simply built us that way. He never asked us to enforce His rules. And He pretty much told us flat out NOT to judge people who don’t follow the rules. AND he said to love your neighbor. Not ‘Love thy neighbor unless they are a certain race or sexual orientation’.

I am basically tired of seeing freedoms go away so that Christians (and other religions I am sure) can feel like they are doing what’s right. But I don’t think they are. It just doesn’t seem like the right thing when you force it. Sure there are certain things, like theft and murder, that you have to punish to protect people. But stopping gay people from marrying…how exactly does that help anyone?

Most of all, just because a candidate says they are Christian….well, so what? Bush is Christian, and tons of people hate him. Clinton was a Christian and he had an affair in the white house and lied about it. Folks, your belief system does not necessarily dictate how good a person you are.

In summation, quit voting your faith. Quit pushing causes that take away freedoms simply because they go against your beliefs. You wanna help people? Take the time and money you have spent to stop abortion or gays and spend it on the poor and homeless. I read about this guy…he never said much about gays or abortion or porn or violent media. But he sure spent a good deal of time serving others and hanging with the needy. Maybe you could read about him yourself…

Biofuel - Meet Peter and Paul

2008-04-23T07:53:00.001-04:00

Once again, I am right  We are trying to save the world and people starve because of it. I am referring of course to bio-fuel. The great white hope that is to save us from evil fossil fuels.

Now, don’t get me wrong. I’m not against Bio-fuel as a concept. I think alternate fuels sources are a good idea. But bio-fuel is turning out to be a Jurassic Park.

For those that actually read Jurassic Park, a main theme is that of man throwing themselves fully into an idea without thinking of the ramifications. In that book it was about screwing with nature in terms of dinosaurs. When it comes to bio-fuel we are talking about the fact that our capacity to grow vegetation is limited.

See, we jumped on the bio-fuel bandwagon and never wondered where new food would come from, since we were taking a bunch of farmland and no longer making food with it. Food that people used to eat. So, we are letting more people starve around the world, so we can drive cars. That’s pretty awesome isn’t it?

What it comes down to though it our tendency to look for a single big solution. We love smoking guns. Because one solution is easy. So, gas prices are high? Wanna wean off of foreign oil? Bio-fuel. No talk of increasing mass transit, building our rail infrastructure, decreasing population growth, and stop our need to sprawl instead of centralize.

So, we will slowly use more bio-fuels, and the price of food will rise beyond the capacity for many poor countries to afford it. We can keep driving our cars while millions starve. Actually this may be a good plan. Since I believe overpopulation is our actual culprit in many global issues, letting tons of people die will in fact elevate many issues. And then we can use the land they used to live on to grow more fuel!

ALF, the cartoon

2008-04-15T13:49:00.001-04:00

Anyone remember this? Man, I loved this show. How can you not love a show that features Mayonase mines?

More Random Writings

2008-04-15T08:12:00.000-04:00

It's Storytime!

The room swirled with smoke. The biggest sources of light coming from candles on each small table. The crowded audience listened to the haunting tune, whose melody was sung by violin. Guitar, keyboard, and drums accompanied, but for the crowd, the violin may as well have been solo. It’s minor key touching each person’s soul. Lost love’s remembered. Old pains, long pushed to the bottom of the memory were brought to the surface. From some, tears rolled down cheeks. For others, fists clenched and teeth grinded. By the end of the song, not a happy thought would be left in the dark room. Despite the negativity filling the room, when a lone light shines down on the violinist, the room erupts in applause.
Standing in the circle of light stands a woman, tall even by men’s standards. Her slightly curled raven hair seems to absorb the light, as do the leather pants stretched tight across her long legs and the leather vest, doing it’s best to contain her full breasts. Her skin is dusky, and her beautiful features are exotic. Her full lips, slightly pale, purse as she blows a kiss to the crowd.
As the applause begin to die, she turns and takes long strides off the stage. Every male eye, and quite a few female, watch as she all but glides out of sight. The band begins to play again, beginning the notes of some industrial Goth tune, but the audience’s minds are still thinking of the exited woman.
Once back to her cramped dressing room, Veronika exhales deeply, as though she had finished some monumental task. She slowly lowers herself into the tattered, once plush, chair and she looks at herself in the grimy mirror that dominates the wall opposite her. Instead of the perfection on which the audience gazed, Veronika is greeted with a pale, emaciated specter of herself. Through her mirrored form, she is able to make out the duct tape holding her chair together. The image always saddens her. Knowing that were any of her family still alive, they would slay her without hesitation for what she had become. Only her tiny sister remains of her family, and she had yet reached a point where she could attempt to cleanse the world of Veronika’s taint. That day was years away, if ever it would come.
Thirty minutes later, her band had finished its set. An hour later, Veronika finally decided to head home. Her sister would be waiting for her. She steeled herself for the men that would be waiting for her outside. Not that she didn’t like the attention; she would have loved to take any of them home. But, if she did that, the ‘new’ her would not be able to let them leave. And she couldn’t risk that. So, as with every night, she walked the gauntlet outside the back door of the club. Luckily, mere men were no obstacle for her. Her well toned body already looked formidable, but looks only hinted at the strength that lie within her. Her six and a half foot frame towered over most men, and she looked down to watch as their eyes fixated on her chest, ass, or legs.
Finally she exited the small gathering of admirers, and swiftly continued down the alley. The cool night wrapped around her and made her feel strangely warm. As she continued home, she kept to the alleys. She was less likely to run into anyone that way, and should she run into someone less than scrupulous, she was sure she could handle it.
Halfway home her normally solitary walk was interrupted. At a crossing of alleyways she walked into the middle of an encounter. To her left was a girl, nearly the same age as her young sister, yet rather than dark haired, and tanned skin, she sported pale skin, and blonde hair. She was dressed in mismatched clothes, one leg in a striped stocking, the other bare, shoes of different styles and a knit cap. In her arms she clutched an odd doll. To her right were the men that caught her attention. They stood, uniformly seven feet tall, yet looked to weigh no more than one hundred and fifty pounds. Their arms and legs were exceedingly long, the arms almost reaching their knees. Hands that could easily palm a basketball ended each arm. They wore dark blue suits, and sunglasses covered their eyes, despite the dark night. But this was all easily overlooked because of the way the men stood and walked. They all leaned forty five degrees to their left. It was as if, to them, the world was tilted. They took long strides toward the girl, who had seemingly tripped, and they acted unaware of Veronika. She knew there was something unnatural about them, as they were the first men she had seen in a year that she did not hunger for.
Walking past her, the four of them advanced on the girl, the lead reaching out his enormous hand with its spindly fingers, for the child. Veronika did not want to get involved, but this girl was her sister’s age, and the image of her sister being in the same situation would not leave her mind.
“Can I help you gentleman” her voice called out, it’s tone both sweet and threatening.
By this time, the lead man had grasped the girl by the shirt. The remaining three turned as one on Veronika, their lean features seeming to focus on her for the first time.
“Be gone amalgam, we are not here for you yet” said the one closest, his voice hollow and without emotion.
She was about to speak, when his hand shot out with amazing speed to grip her throat. His grip would have snapped a human’s neck. Thankfully, she was not one, but the pressure was still great for this form. His grip began to widen, as her neck, and the rest of her body, increased in size. From every pore, hair sprouted. Her vest and pants, already straining from tightness, gave way. Muscles across her entire body bulged and swelled. Her face elongated, her ears coming to a point and moving up her head. From her back sprouted two appendages, each appearing to be small bat-like wings, but quickly became larger, eventually spanning twelve feet. Once her transformation was done, Veronika resembled a nine foot human-wolf being. Her fur was as raven as her hair had been, her new wings flapping slightly before folding in against her back. Dark canine eyes looked down her long snout to the arm griping her neck. In a movement almost too quick for the eye, her tooth filled maw snapped down on the arm and cleanly severed it from its owner, causing it to drop to the ground.
The man looked at his newly severed limb, no expression on his face. Without a word, the three men swarmed the newly formed, hulking beast. They moved with supernatural speed, and their thin long limbs contained incredible strength. So did Veronika. She slashed at her original attacker, her newly clawed hands tearing deep gouges of flesh. His thin torso nearly severed, the leaning man fell, dropping to the ground bloodlessly. The remaining two were attempting to grapple the canine beast. One had is long arms wrapped around her waist squeezing tight, but her supernatural muscles prevented the crushing squeeze from having much effect. The last man had his hands around her throat, but he never got to squeeze, Veronika's tooth filled wolf-like maw snapped through his neck, severing his head. She expected the gratifying sensation of his blood filling her mouth, but no such sensation came. Only the taste of stale flesh was there. Turning her attention to the man wrapped around her waist, she placed both clawed hands on his head and pressed them together, feeling it give, as though squeezing a grapefruit.
Immediately she looked to the remaining man and the girl. He had picked her up, held tightly in the crook of his arm she kicked with no effect. He was facing Veronika, watching her with an impassive look on his face, his body still leaning to the side, somehow not falling even with the extra weight of the girl. Both knew he was capable of killing the child before Veronika could get to him. She growled low, angry at her inability to do anything. Despite being focused on the man, she noticed movement behind him. A dark figure was standing there. Even with her night vision, it was hidden in the shadows as it silently approached behind the leaning man. As it got closer, Veronika could make out details, although the figure remained shadowed. He was immaculately groomed, with what appeared to be a pencil thin mustache. His dress suggested a Victorian age gentleman. And closer inspection made him seem flat somehow. He gave no scent either. He raised one hand and spoke in a language Veronika did not understand. The leaning man whirled around at the sound just as a red glow arced from the shadowed man’s hand. When it struck the kidnapper, he froze. Glowing red cracks appeared throughout his skin, as though he were about to crumble, but he did not. The shadowed man glided forward, and Veronika finally saw that he had a no legs, simply a dark column touching the earth, and then a trail of shadow leading back to the girl, defying where the light would normally place the shadow. He moved to free the child, but his hand simply passed through the arm holding her.
“Damnation” he uttered, his voice hollow, with a slight echo. “You there, Garou, would you mind releasing this child.” Veronika continued to stand there, stunned that this ‘shadow’ knew what she was, or at least part of what she was.
“Chop chop now! We have not got all night.” He commanded. Veronika moved forward slowly, and growled at his arrogance, but he seemed not to care. She easily pried open the incapacitated man’s arm and the girl dropped to the ground.
“I swear child, I do not know what I did to have you forced upon me.” His voice sounded very irritated. The girl finally spoke “It was probably all that bad stuff you used to do.”
“Yes, quite right I suppose.” He then looked at Veronika “You may go now. Lady Mindy must scrounge for her supper now.” Again Veronika chaffed against being treated as a servant, but the thought that this girl would be alone on the streets tugged at her heartstrings. Looking down on the girl, she could see fear in her eyes. Knowing that it was likely her form causing it, she reverted to human form, and crouched down to the child. She did notice the shade ogling her naked form, but ignored him.
“Mindy, right?” She asked the girl, who nodded “My name is Veronika, how would you like to come with me and get some food?” The girl nodded vigorously.
“You can go now mister Moot” the girl said to the shadow. “Oh I do so hate that name…” his words trailing as he melted into the ground, Mindy’s shadow returning to its rightful spot. For the first time, Veronika noticed that Mindy’s doll bore a slight likeness to ‘Moot’.
The pair walked down the alley. Mindy didn’t seem to mind Veronika’s nakedness. “You know Mindy, I have a sister your age…” and the night swallowed them.

New Job BITCHES!

2008-04-10T08:06:00.002-04:00

So, yesterday was a whirlwind of spur of the moment interview, second interview, job offer! And what an offer it is. I am will be going from menial support staff to IT director. And a raise that I am not entirely sure I know what to do with.

Now, I am VERY intimidated by this job. I may be biting off more than I can chew. But, at worst, I will discover my limits. At best this will be the exciting place that lets me discover NEW limits in myself.

One comfort was that I was very honest. I made sure to impress on them that, while I think I learn quickly and have great capacity for my knowledge, I couldn't promise to be their IT messiah. But, I think, in their mind, they wanted the personality and the passion. They would teach me stuff they needed me to know. A good person was far more important to them.

That made me feel VERY good. I can only ask that God give me the strength to live up to the responsibility they have given me. But I sure look forward to it!

Because this cracks me up.

2008-04-09T10:43:00.000-04:00

Haves and Have Not's

2008-04-08T09:41:00.002-04:00

Seems that I keep reading about the growing gap between the haves and have not's. For a bit, I agreed. The rich keep getting richer. But then I thought about it. I'm a have. I make good money, own a home and car, have cool stuff. I'm not rich, but I'm in good shape. So is almost everyone I know. Friends, family, etc.

Then I looked at the people living around me. I suspect that they would be considered: Have not's. And my drive to work goes right through havenotville. I started thinking. There is a have not...with 3 kids. They live right across the street from me. And, judging by how they live, they have always been have not’s. And yet, despite not having enough for themselves, they brought 3 more have not’s into the world. Nothing really changed. No greedy rich people screwed them over. The number of have not’s increased simply because they made more of them...themselves. They created 3 have not’s, essentially from nowhere.

More so, those three new kids have a high chance of staying have not’s. Their folks have no money, so they will likely lack education. And the parents have a high probability of not being very educated themselves, so they won’t pass any of that on. So, there is a good chance that those kids will grow into adults who each create their own family of have not’s.

Now, I know that this isn’t the only factor in the equation. But it is a factor that never get’s mentioned. It is at all possible that the gap is growing because the have not’s are populating it?

It’s something that I feel covers several categories. We have lots of kids with no health care? How many of them were BORN into that? How many parents chose to bring a child into the world whom was uninsured from day one?

It seems the media mostly looks to the government and companies to blame for our poor. No one is looking at the poor and asking “If your life was so precarious before, why did you bring a child into it? And moreover, why did you likely bring more than one?”

Again, I know it’s not the only factor. And probably not the main factor. But like with any problem, all problems should be addressed. And so long as no one is looking at those issues and statistics, how is it supposed to be fixed?

How their brain works

2008-04-07T08:04:00.000-04:00

Ok, I am going to bring this up hoping for a somewhat serious answer. Has anyone done a study to determine where women derive their logic? I mean this in regards to a specific process, wherein a woman gives choices A and B. When man gives preference to 'A', then in the woman's head 'B' is now a hated choice by the male, even though the man said nothing of the sort and can even state that he does in fact like B. The woman will still think that the man dislikes B.

Example:

"Honey, which of these dresses to you like better? The Blue or the Red?"

"I like the Blue better."

"Why don't you like the red?"

Now, you will notice that the man never said he doesn't like the red. In fact, by saying what he did, it is probable that he actually likes the red. Had he disliked the red, he probably wouldn't have used it as a means to elevate his like of the blue. Had he disliked the red, his statement of liking the blue better doesn't even mean he likes the blue.

Now, seriously, where does this come from? Women are supposed to be the stronger communicators. Yet somewhere, be it biological or environmental, they picked up a tendancy to make everything black and white. If it isn't the prettiest, it's ugly. If it isn't skinny, it's fat. If it isn't sexy, it's disgusting.

Why did we bother to invent all of these qualifiers and degrees of things if women are just going to break everything down into 1's and 0's? Oh...I may have just stumbled across something there. I will have to think more on it. And hope that some women post here and give me some insight.

Random Stereotypical Man thoughts

2008-04-04T07:43:00.000-04:00

Doable women in my office: 12

That is all.

Random Writings

2008-03-19T15:23:00.000-04:00

At the request of a friend, I will be posting my random writings:

The road stretched on as far as one could see. The landscape had taken on a brown/orange hue, thanks to the setting sun, that made it all look dead. Dust kicked up, as the man walked the dirt road. At his side trotted a small dog, a terrier of some sort, but that was all one could tell. Its gait was one of determination not happiness, like that of its companion. The man walked with a slight slump, as if the weight of the guitar across his back were bringing him down. He stopped to grasp a long piece of grass, and placed it in his mouth. The movement caused dust to displace from his denim jeans and jacket.
On the horizon behind; a cloud of dust was approaching. The man paid no heed, the terrier turning its head and managing to trot sideways. The cloud slowed and one could make out a dusty Chevy pickup. It pulled up next to the man and stopped, as did the man. The driver was attractive, or had been in her youth, her face now creased with age and hardship. She offered the younger man a ride, which he accepted, lifting the dog into the bed before hopping into the cab.
She was heading to her sister's wedding in Georgia. He was heading to meet his father, and possibly cousin, in North Carolina. They made small talk. She didn't like her sister really, and he had never met his father. For the night they stopped at an old hotel, the man offering to pay, so long as she was willing to share. She most certainly was. Clouds, then thunder, then rain rolled in as the man shared his bed with the woman. He brought back feelings of her youth, before he brought on a blissful sleep.
The morning would find her clutching the room's toilet, as she hacked up phlegm and blood. Over the last few days of her life, as she coughed up the last of her lungs, and slowly bled both inside and out, it would never occur to her that these things were from her brief, blissful meeting with the man who wasn't there when she woke. That same morning found him trudging along the road. He wondered if his dad would care. Would his dad be proud of him?

I want my Daria

2008-03-18T09:54:00.000-04:00

Anyone who has known me for awhile has probably heard me mention Daria. I don’t bring it up a lot. But it is often at the back of my mind.

For those still wondering WTF I am talking about, it is a reference to the old MTV cartoon, Daria. It was a cartoon which focused on the life of a teenaged girl, bespectacled and cynical, and I loved it.

Now, cartoon aside, I kinda had a crush on Daria. I love the idea of a strong, intelligent, confident woman. One that knows what she likes and doesn’t care what other’s think. But at the same time, under all the witty banter, and high minded ideals, there still lies a girl.

Also, it doesn’t hurt that Daria has glasses. I love glasses. Not sure why. I guess I could go all oedipal and say that my mom had them. But, in order to save my sanity, I will discount that. Especially since she looked like a huge dork back then. I think it more likely that my brain buys in to the stereotype of glasses=smart. And I like smart women. I mean, I would always pick Velma over Daphne. Always.

Also, glasses let a woman give you that look, where they look over their glasses at you. Very sexy. It allows a woman to have a ‘stare’ without actually needing to have one naturally. And a woman who already has one? Man, if Nicole Kidman ever gave me one of those arched eyebrow stares over the brim of a pair of glasses…I think I would need a change of boxers. Add some double pigtails to the mix and you may as well burn whatever room I was in at the time. You’ll never be able to get it clean again.

Wow, that went somewhere I didn’t expect. Anywho, yes, Daria girls. I like women smart, funny, clever, and having chosen a style that works for them. I know that some people out there may be wondering why it took a cartoon character to figure that kind of thing out. Wish I could tell you.

Now, I don’t feel like that narrows me down too much, as far as what I want in a woman. I just know that I need someone I can banter with. Someone who is smart enough to appreciate many things in life, from cartoons about a talking milkshake and meatball to documentaries on the wild west. Someone who is confident in who they are and doesn’t need for me to save them, yet still wants me to be there to hug when the world gets her down and the little girl in her is scared.

She doesn’t need to look at the stupidity of the world and do all negative like I do. Probably better that she doesn’t. But she does need to be able to see it.

She doesn’t need to be totally hot. I just need to look at her, and think how lucky I am.

Also, she needs to be amazing in bed….yet having very low expectations.

Most of all, I want to find someone whom, when I say 'You are my Daira' will understand what all that means to me.

Death to College kids!

2008-03-18T07:50:00.000-04:00

God I hate college kids. And before you say anything about my age or generational issues, I hated them when I actually went to school 10+ years ago. They really haven't changed.

I should also clarify, and say that I hate UNIVERSITY kids. My experience with community college students has been, by and large a positive experience.

This rant is brought to you courtesy of St. Patrick’s day. The day we celebrate the patron saint of drunken fuckwads everywhere.

My office is near the FSU campus. On the way to work, kids were already mingling outside of a campus bar. By noon, you couldn’t drive anywhere near campus without having a constant stream of students who don’t know how to use crosswalks step in front of your car.

Now, this is a long standing issue I have with college kids, St Patties just makes it worse. It seems to me that these kids are so self absorbed that common decency and even the desire to not get run over, are gone. They don’t care about anyone around them. They don’t even look at traffic, so confident are they that no one would dare run them over. And they never pick up their slow pace. No matter how many cars they are holding up. Regardless of whether they are crossing when they should or not. They won’t walk faster, let alone jog out of the way.

I even witnessed, on a main road, a car stop so his buddy could walk over and talk to him. Not pull over. Not stopped at a light. Right in the middle of the road. Dozens of cars backing up behind them. And they don’t even look your way. You don’t exist. And they can’t be bothered to even give you a courtesy “Hey, sorry for holding you p” wave.

St Patties just makes it all worse. Now when they walk into traffic, they aren’t walking straight and are wearing bright green.

I really am looking forward to the day that I snap, so I can start killing these bastards.

Man, our political system sucks

2008-03-17T07:56:00.000-04:00

I think voting has become a HUGE issue in America. By and large we seem to have only a few voter types:

1) People who vote party. Doesn't matter who, they vote for their party.
2) People who vote AGAINST party. They just hate the other guy that much.
3) People who actually like the candidate. This seems to always be based on a delightful lack of knowledge about a candidate. I say that, because thus far I have never seen someone albe to actually support their candidate beyond "I like him" or "They are better than so and so".
4) People whose vote goes to waste because they don't vote for one of the big two.
5) People who don't bother to vote.

This same system works for all voting...for laws too. I remember debating someone here about the proposed new electric plant. It was, as is normal, going to be a coal fire plant. A bunch of folks were all against the horribly dirty and polluting plant (which is not really true of a modern power plant of any kind). So, I asked if they would simply stop using electricity, since they were stopping someone from making more. Of course they said no.

So, where will this magical electricity come from? They said, how about solar. I asked them where they would like to clear a bunch of land to do so. And what they would do when it rains (a regular occurence in FL). So them mentioned Wind Power. I licked my finger and put it in the air...hmmm, no electricty being produced today. And I knew thery wouldn't even mention Nuclear (even though it is perfectly viable). I watched them shut down, and realized that this person had voted...voted without any real grasp on th eissue aside from some slanted article in the paper.

I think this country actually needs less people to vote, not more. I am fine with having 50%+ people not vote, if those people are sheep or misinformed. Sadly, it is my experience that many non-voters (or wasted voters) are actually the ones who know about the issues. And that's why they don't vote (or don't vote for the big two).

Hillary, you suck!

2008-03-14T07:36:00.000-04:00

I know I probably shouldn’t care as much as I do, since I won’t be voting for either of them anyway, but I am pissed off at how the Democratic race just got retarded.

Hillary has decided that the votes she received in Michigan should be counted. You know the votes that she received in the state that she wasn’t supposed to have her name on the ballot in? The primary she “won” that Obama wasn’t even IN? The Primary that her party said, doesn’t count?!

Listen you manipulative skank, I realize that you see your dream dying as Obama kicks your can from state to state. I know you spent so much time and money worming your way into being a senator of a state you never lived in so they you could eventually use that to become the first woman (debatably a woman, granted) President. But that does not give you the right to try and smarm your way to the Whitehouse!

You joined a party. You joined because you want all the benefits that come with it, such as having a built in voter base (those morons that always vote party). As such, you need to play by the rules of your party. You wanna do it your way? Go independent!

Don’t get me wrong, I am NOT defending the party here. I think the party system needs die in a fire. A fire full of radioactive material and acid. And bees with rabies. But the members of said parties need to follow the rules of their party. The party says don’t be on the ballot in a state, because said state broke the rules, and you AGREE to that, then DON’T PUT YOUR NAME ON THE BALLOT!!! And if you do, don’t expect the party to consider them.

This pisses me off more that the recount bullshit years ago. At least that had merit. But it smacks of “But I wanna win!” The recount at least had the issue of pointing flaws in the system and making sure everyone’s voice was heard. But that isn’t what Hillary is doing. She just wants to win.

Any one of you people that still support her, suck. People like her are why we have screwed up stuff in our country as it is.

/Seinfeld What's the deal with people leaving so much space at stop lights?! /seinfeld

2008-02-26T08:26:00.000-05:00

I'm not sure how long this has been going on, but I have been noticing it more and more. People leaving HUGE gaps at stoplights. When I say huge, I mean big enough to pull into. Literally, as I have done so just to make a point. It's actually pretty satisfying to do so, and watch the gap leaver get all pissed off.

But I seriously want to know why it happens. What is the goal of leaving 10-20 feet of empty space? Does your car have personal boundry issues? Everytime I see it, it claws at my brain. I know full well that I can't espect humans to always make sense, but I figure there must be SOME reasons that at almost every light at least one person is doing this.

Help me, signed: Reallypissedofandeventuallygoingtostartkillingpeople in Tallahassee.

I am a horrible racist...and I think everyone else is too.

2008-02-11T08:49:00.000-05:00

Not going to be a long post. Just wanted to congradulate the Black population for voting for Obama en masse. Way to continue segregating yourself by showing the world that you will in fact largely vote the same as everyone else with your skin color (and in this case, also vote FOR the same color).

While I am at it, I want to applaud the black folks in my office for having segregated lunches. Rosa Parks would be proud.

*slow clap*

So long as groups of people continue to act in kind with other people of their same "race", and then forcefully put themselves in situations where they socialize with people based on color, racism will never go away.

Romance, I spit on you!

2008-02-06T08:56:00.000-05:00

So, someone where I work just got engaged. And I hear the retelling of how it happened, and how sweet and romantic it was. And all I can think is “This is why women end up in shitty relationships.”

Ladies, being romantic is not hard. Coming up with a cool way to propose (having the waiter bring the ring on a platter) is easy…because someone already came up with that years ago. Frankly, I am surprised some guy hasn’t published a book full of romantic things for other guys to do so they can get laid (another idea someone will steal from me).

Romance is a fake thing. And how romantic a guy is, at best, an indicator of how much work he will do to impress a woman. Romance is NOT an indicator of compatibility. Sadly, I think since women swoon over romance, romance can replace or interfere with compatibility.

Take joking. If I learn a joke, and later tell it, that doesn’t make me funny. The person who created the joke is funny. I just memorized it. But, some people get away with simply regurgitating other people’s materials, but rarely coming up with their own jokes or timing or rhythm. But they end up getting credit for being a funny person. Romance is like that. A romantic guy, gets credit for being a good boyfriend, without having to actually be a good boyfriend.

The main reason I bring this up, is because when I hear women talk about their boyfriends/spouses, they rarely talk about how great it is that their man always takes out the trash, or works hard to provide, or is a great father. But, on Valentine’s day (a rant is coming about that, don’t you worry) when the guy coughs up some flowers and candy, the woman gushes about how wonderful he is. HE DIDN’T ACTUALLY DO ANYTHING!!! Romance is something that was concocted (honestly, probably by a man trying to get laid) but has no actual value aside from what women give it.

And for the record, I actually like being romantic. And I do it spontaniously...random acts of kindness...singing love songs, writing poems, buying thoughtful gifts. But I don’t like how much weight women give it. Especially when they give it more weight than the actual important things in a relationship.

Florida...WTF is wrong with you?!

2008-01-30T08:06:00.000-05:00

I am so sick of my state voting crap into our constitution. It seems to be so easy to do so, that they do it for any old thing. Worse, since you apparently don't need the help of anyone that really KNOWS anything, that means stuff gets voted on without the benefit of, youknow, THOUGHT!

I have been thinking about trying to put something in our constitution where every Floridian will get a free monkey. Or an amedment that will force any strippers in the state to go door to door and give lap dances.

In the end...don't force things on the whole state unless they belong there. A property tax thing...which also effects local goverment but gives them no way around it, is stupid. Worse, you saved me at best 200 bucks. But you cost my county and city MILLIONS of dollars. Honestly, I think cities should make a point, and cut that money from schools. That way it would get immediate coverage and hopefully get undone (like our stupid Bullet Train ammendment).

Every day, I think more and more like Professor Blight...humanity is too dumb to live.

From the desk of Professor Blight

2008-01-15T09:25:00.001-05:00

The poor. What pests they are. Their neediness and drain on society. I don’t mean those that are down on their luck. I mean the chronically poor. Those who have no desires or means to really produce much for the world. Or worse, simply take more than they produce.

In my city, they cannot vote. One must own land or a home to vote. This is an attempt to take power from the poor. “Why?” you may ask. I do not wish for the poor to influence society. The poor tend to simply push for government to supplement their lives, to make up for their shortcomings. And by doing so, insure that their poorness passes on. This is not something that I, or even nature’s design, wishes to see happen.

Don’t take me as heartless. We have programs to help people back on their feet. Charities. But we monitor them closely. The thought of someone’s donated money being shoveled down a hole, that is some lazy piece of meat, sickens me. The world is full of people who want to work, and work hard, and make intelligent choices with their funds. When one of those people falls, they should be lifted back up. Sadly, most of humanity has a hard time sorting those people for the others. Those people who have no skills, drive, of decision making ability. The ones who are supposedly struggling to make ends meet, yet they have cable TV and a cell phone. Do we really want to prop up the kind of being who can hardly fend for themselves, yet sees fit to bring children into the world, usually repeatedly?

I suppose I shouldn’t fret much. It won’t be long until I have isolated the various genes that make humans weak and stupid. From there it will be a small mater to devise a plague to wipe them all out.

Chapstick for other lips

2008-01-07T17:11:00.000-05:00

Ok, the previous post spawned a rather horrible, yet possibly lucrative idea. My use of the word "Chapped" in regards to the vagina sparked an idea...Chapstick for vaginas. This product would serve (it turns out, after much talk with female friends) many purposes. I would like to thank them, as I know so little about the female body (which any past girlfriend will tell you) that I didn't realize the full ramifications of my proposed product.

Not only can said chapstick be used to eleviate the chapped-ness, but its basic shape (larger than original chapstick) could be used for more pleasurable activities. Add in the various flavored variants, and now a lady's male friend can join in on the fun! Some flavors (such as pepermint) may also work as a stimulant.

And just think of the ads! I plan to have that bearded guy from the Kaboom commercials do it. Imagine, him holding new ladies only chapstick, shouting exuberantly: "Not only can this product eleviate dryness, but with a few quick twists on the bottom , it becomes a friend for your lonely friday night. Act now, and we'll throw in cherry and spearment absolutely free!"

With a built in purchasing group of the many of post menopause women who suffer from this, and the propensity for people to become addicted to chapsick, I am shitting on a gold mine!!!! I can't wait to help with quality control testing...

Random thing I wrote in an email

2008-01-07T16:57:00.000-05:00

This came about in an email exchange with a friend of mine. She and I were discussing writing a stroy where you describe all characters in hyper sexual ways (good and bad), but never have sex things actually happen. For some reason, I am proud of this.

So, a male lead might walk in and you describe him thusly:
The man walked into the office, as he had done so every day for years. This man was so bereft of masculinity, that being in the same room with him cause other men to become temporarily impotent, and women in the building made regular visits to their gynecologists, complaining of chapped vaginas. He set about his daily routine of spreadsheets and emailing.

Go Geek-chic, I choose you!

2007-12-11T10:53:00.000-05:00

The time of the Geeks is here! At least I see it that way. Now, let me start off by telling you what I think a geek is/isn’t. A geek is someone who is a fan of: Sci-Fi, Fantasy, Comics, Video Games, Technology, Gaming (miniatures, board, RPG, etc), Anime/Cartoons, or some combination. Geeks are not necessarily nerds or dorks (but often are). Nerds are those who find entertainment in academics (often math and/or science) to a high degree. Dorks are like socially or physically awkward folks. You know, that guy who has a stupid lagh and doesn’t know it. Or that lady that dances funny. Now, often these can overlap, and thus you get stereotypes that Geeks are also nerds or dorks. But I have known geeks that are highly lacking academic merit or are not in any way awkward. And I know quite a few non-geeks who are very academic or awkward (it actually surprises me how many dorks there are who aren’t geeks, yet geeks get labeled that way).
Now, why is it the time of the geeks? Look around you…all the biggest movies are typically geek movies. And there are tons of them! Comic book movies, Sci-Fi, Fantasy. The big TV shows are all geek fair. Heroes, Lost, Chuck…and things Like Dr. Who actually becoming popular!
Video games are out selling DVD’s! And things like the Wii and DS as well as Guitar Hero/Rockband are bringing gaming to the main stream. The stigma attached to RPG-ing is fading.
Anime is booming for kids, which often means parents who wouldn’t normally watch it, are. And those kids are getting into manga, which lives next door to comics.
Technology is hip. iPods, iPhones, Google, Wikipedia, blogs…all huge…and growing. And there are generations of kids that are growing up with these interests as normal, not some basement activity that you can’t talk about in school.
Geek Conventions are starting to get over crowded. And I see more and more “normal” people there, when it used to be dominated by overweight sweaty guys.
The downside is that some geeks won’t like it. With any minority, there are those that got into it because they either didn’t fit in or didn’t want to fit in with the main stream. They liked their interests being obscure. It set them apart. Made them special. This can be seen as rumors of Dragon-Con splitting and forming a more “hardcore” convention for the “real” fans. They don’t like sharing a Star Trek panel with some soccer mom who doesn’t see the point in debating who was a better captain (it was Picard BTW).
And to be honest, when it comes, I will miss getting weird looks at a luncheon when someone mentions that I play video games at 33, or trying to explain to someone what role-playing is. But I also know that I will be on top. I will be one of the cool kids. Because when the day comes that it is cool to talk about comics, that guy that has been reading them for years will have a bit of an edge on Johnny Come Lately  Also, if there does come an age of Geek-Chic, I can only hope that it will bring down the empire of sports entertainment….especially Nascar. Turning left is NOT entertainment, people.

Guitar Hero 3: It Sucks...but I still love my PS3

2007-11-13T10:51:00.000-05:00

So, I got Guitar Hero 3 for my PS3 this weekend. I hates it. How did they take an established franchise and ruin it? Let us count the ways:

1) They re-designed the guitar. Instead of being nice and smooth and rounded, the edges are square. So, my wrist hurts from being forced on the edge all the time. The buttons are also "mushy" and the strum bar is not real resposive. The only improvements they made were to allow me to detach the neck for travel and adding a D-pad. But I don't know if I care about travel, since it, you know, sucks!

2) Song selection: many of the songs are great to listen to, but dull as crud to play. The others are fun to play but painful to listen to. As such, I will likely only play most of them once.

3) Note Charts: Sometimes they feel off. I am sonetimes "playing" when I hear no guitar. And sometimes I am not really playing what the guitar is playing...simply to either make it easier or harder.

4) Character Animation/Design: Somehow went downhill. Through most of the song your guitarist just stands there and bops back and forth. Star Power simply activates pretty lights. Heck, the lead singer gets more screen time. And the dork looks, litterally like a muppet. Some kind of goth/metal muppet. His mouth just seems to hinge on th eback of his head. This is NOT ok on a next gen HD console.

5) Battle Mode...don't turn my rhythm game...which I play to try and feel like I know how to play guitar...into a video game in which I am trying to blast my opponent. Even more so, don't force me to use this mode just to progress in the game and unlock more songs!

6) I think the programmers got paid every time they had a character or picture of someone "throwing up the horns". It quits being cool after the 10th time in 10 minutes.

On the plus side...man I still love my PS3! Not love love...but I would totally hit that! Well, I guess I sould say "hit that again after the burns have healed". Damn that thing runs hot!

From the mind of Professor Blight

2007-11-11T20:50:00.000-05:00

So, I decided to start doing blurbs of things Prof Blight thinks or does. I know full well that his views are mine...taken to the nth degree. Much like when I write a hero who is more pure and selfless than I...it's a part of me to an extreme...so is Prof Blight. In my continuing story, we find that Blight has just passed a law in his city legalizing suicide. His biggest reason? If life is so precious, why is it so east to make? Millions spent every year to prevent it or abort it...must not be so valuable. Now, the Professor (not the coconut wielding one).

Cockroaches. Pests. Poisoned by the millions. We have decided that they are disgusting. So they must go. But how are we better? Like most of the rest of nature, roaches live in equilibrium. They don't over produce. They don't strip the area of resources. And they have predators. But not us...

The average person in the first world consumes 3-6 times what the world can replace (assuming the whole of earth lived the same way). Luckily for the earth, the first world is only a percentage of the total of human kind. But China and India, bastions of populace, are growing up. They are becoming the consumers that we already are. And as they do, they will strip this planet bare...along with our help.

Will technology help this? Possibly. But technology still requires resources. And even if we adopt this magic technology, our upcoming brothers will not have it. And, even if we give it, they won't want to use anything that will slow down their ascent. They won't want to slow down simply because their older sibling is warning them of the dangers. No, they won't lets us hold them back.

And, even with this non-existent technology, the root still exists. There are too many of us, and we keep making more. Even the more "enlightened" of us tend to have two children. Thus ensuring that at the very least, we keep the population stagnant. But lower classes have even more. Producing less and consuming more. Travel to the third world and it becomes worse. Lack of education, funding for contraception, and social and religious stupidities have them reproducing quickly. Luckily in these poorer countries, they don't have a large population of bleeding hearts available to fund their stupidity. As such, nature is allowed to assert itself and hinder their growth. But wonderful us...we are doing are best to stop this.

In the past, wars and plague have helped keep us in check. But now we are so "modern". Most diseases are stopped or kept in check. Casualties in war are low (despite the whining about the casualties in our current skirmish). We are learning to control nature enough so that she is no longer a factor. We turn to technology to solve our problems. So, I will leave them to try and solve the problem of dwindling resources. I, however, will use technology to solve the issue of our over population.

Experience does not always equal Wisdom

2007-11-11T20:16:00.000-05:00

So, a reply to my last post brought something to the forefront of my head. The fact that I didn't send my last post (about people and their kids) to any of my friends with kids. Why? I have learned that in general, people don't like it when you criticize their relationships. Be it kids, spouses, or other family.

See, in my experience, if you bring a negative light on to people in that regard they get pretty defensive. Worse, if you yourself don't have kids/are married, they immediately throw that in your face. "What do you know? You aren't married!" "I'm not listening to someone who doesn't have kids."

This got me thinking...just because someone has experienced something, doesn't mean they are better at it than someone who hasn't. It doesn't mean they are necessarily good at it at ALL. Even more so, their closeness to the situation makes them biased, so their opinions are automatically tainted.

Think about it...we all have that friend who is a horrible driver. You fear for your life when you are in the vehicle with them. Yet, they have YEARS of experience in driving. Heck, they even had to pass a test to be allowed to drive...yet they aren't good at it. How would marriage or parenting be any different? With around 50% of marriages ending, that sounds like at least 25% of the folks in marriages are not doing a great job at it. With them odds, you'll have to pardon me if I don't think your opinions are better than mine just because I haven't yet made the mistake of a bad marriage.

When it comes down to it, I have spent a great deal of time reading about relationships. Most people...not so much. New parents read tons baby books...most with all kinds of "how-to" stuff. But almost nothing with alternating theories or studies. And even then, the parent picks parts to follow and throws the rest out the window.

I think we can agree that relationships are pretty dang complicated. At least as much as fixing a car (probably much more so). Well, if I decided to read a book on fixing a car and then only followed some of the directions, would I be a good mechanic do you think? Even more so, if I were to start trying to fix cars with NO prior training or study, do you think I would be considered a good mechanic? And, in that situation...me trying to be a mechanic for the past 2-3 years simply trying to figure it out as I go...and a friend comes up and says "Hey, I read an article that talks about how to fix the transmission. It had studies from many top mechanics, and even schematics." Should I maybe at least listen to this knowledge? Or dismiss it because it contradicts what I was trying to do, simply because my friend doesn't actually have a car?

Deep down, I know that more than likely they are just being defensive because people are overly sensitive about things they love. And no one likes to be told they are doing things wrong. Add that together, and they are simply dismissing me to protect themselves. Very human.

But that doesn't mean I have to take it with a smile.

Start it off with a bang!

2007-11-09T10:14:00.000-05:00

So, I am going to start this blog off with a topic that will upset most folk. Children. Since so many people have them, they won't like what I am saying. But I wanna say it!

I used to want children...badly. Now, not so much. As I have had so many new people around me have children, they have degraded that desire to almost nothing. Why? Because I don't want to suddenly be lobotomized simply because my sperm fertilizes an egg.

I have watched numorous people...once logical, turn into gibbering idiots because of the arrival of a creature that basically exists to eat and poop, with crying in between. Sure, eventually it turns into something that can, you know, DO things. But these people don't wait until then to start fawning over the thing.
From day one it controls them. Even the most normally hard nosed people submit to its will and begin spoiling it right away.

What's interesting is that most of them are clear headed enough to be able to look outward and say "wow, we have such a kid centric culture...that's messed up!" or "I sure don't want to spoil my kid like everyone else does." Then, five minutes later they are buying candy for the kid or planning some new outfit for a thing that can't even walk yet, or perusing the web for a toy that the child won't really appreciate to give as a mid summer gift...thus ensuring the child assumes that it will always get gifts simply for existing. How does this NOT spoil a child?!

They always say something to the effect of "When you have your own, you'll understand." How does that make it ok? I don't WANT to be crushed by my biological urges. If I was ok with giving in to instinct, I would run around in the woods and hump women when they were in heat. But generally we acknowledge that we are above instinct. We are supposed to be creatures of free will. But that seems to go out the window for children. People become baby-zombies (not undead babies, but people who become braindead droolers in the presence of children).

Here's some rules to try and live by:

1) This is your child, not a doll or show dog. There is NO good reason for dressing them up in "outfits" aside from selfishly wanting to draw out a few "awwww, they're so cute!"'s. And, since your child can barely talk, let alone understand the ramifications of such a statement, you are doing this purely for yourself. And that is pretty wasteful.

2) Your child does not need fancy toys with lots of lights and sound. Especially not 50 different kinds. Now, sure people will give them as presents....after the first 2-3, start exchanging them for diapers and formula. But by giving your kid access to a ton of diffeffering things you are establishing that THEY rule and get to choose what they want at any given moment...not to mention probably increaing the likelyhood that they will have some kind of fake ADD, where they never learn to focus because they have never HAD to.

3) Your baby isn't special. Yes, everyone will say how cute they are. But, almost ALL babies are cute. Even babies in other species! And even if your baby was ugly, no one is going to tell you that...except maybe me. But, again, throwing out all these photos of your child dressed in a costume that they don't even know what they are or what they are doing when they say "trick or treat" is, again, a waste of time and money. You are just trying to gratify yourself. You are fishing for compliments.

4) Don't buy them shit if it isn't for a reason. Just because it's tuesday is not a reason to buy your kid a toy. Just because they ASKED is even LESS of a reason. This is practically the definition of spoiling a child. They don't need that toy. Never. That candy is not a necessity (and it just increases the likelyhood of us continuing to have the fattest kids in the world). At best, buying them toys is a way for you to continue to be lazy so you don't have to deal with a whining child.

5) Your child should NOT be the center of your universe. Yes, they are important. Yes, they are valuable. But nothing should ever be so important to your life that you end up basing your worth on it (except you know, God, if you are religious). When something, ANYTHING, becomes that, it's an addiction or obsession. And, don't we normally consider that a bad thing? Your life should be solid and happy without your child...not defined by your child. Because they are going to get sad or mad or unhappy. And not every time they do will it require you to do anything. Wanting to stay up late or they will cry is not a reason for you to cave. Life is sometimes disappointing. You can't always save them from it. But if you always try to...and crumble when you can't, you aren't much of a parent for them.

6) You job is NOT to make your child happy. That is their job. Your job is to raise them well so they are more likely to suceed at said happiness in the long run. If you fawn over them and cave to them, how are you in any way preparing them for life? In the real world they are nothing speical. Everyone else has their kids they think are special too. They need to learn they they aren't the center of things. But if you establish that, you have failed as a parent.

7) They are not your friend. Or at least, not your friend first. Child first, friend whenever that doesn't get in the way of you doing your job.

8) Your child is not a tiny adult. They do not have experience or have done anything to earn trust or respect. They shouldn't call adults by their first name. They shouldn't feel that they can impose themselves on adults or adult conversations. And most of all, you shouldn't trust you child over an adult unless you have good reason to believe otherwise.

Well, enough of my rant. In general, I will be fine. I have job security, since the upcoming kids will be so screwed up, employers will be begging for a person who doesn't think they are the best thing since sliced bread, and has learned to make friends and compromise with people. And I won't have to deal with my children living with me until I die, since I didn't prepare them for the world.