that other guy's thoughts

"The Holidays"

There is a down side to hating people you know. The holidays aren't much fun.

Having a holiday is nice, the actually act of observing a holiday is cool, but "the holidays" as an entity are crappy. Because you see, the only difference between "a holiday" and "the holidays" is the preferential social smattering that seem to surround my beloved times of joy.

The greatest part of "the holidays" is supposed to be gathering with your family and friends to enjoy each other’s company. Well, when you hate people that pretty much rules out the friends part, and chances are if you hate people, you tend to find your family a wee bit annoying, so that really no fun. So your joy time has now been reduced from the essence of human experience normally packaged to a perfectly normal holiday, to observing traditions of that said holiday. And really, wouldn't it make more sense if "the holidays" were actually about the holidays, instead of the social foolery that we associate them with now.

If friends and family were really that important, and you enjoyed their company so much, couldn't you meet with them on a bi-annual basis, alternating weekends, or just some obscure week in June when the weather is nicer and nobody has a cold, the flu, or sparring with the bubonic plague? Why must we all gather in the bleak of winter braving the treacherous roads of ice to subject our 20-year-old college students to the same round of questions from 9,000 different people about their life. Yes, college life is fine, Yes, I like home-cooked meals, No I don't keep in touch with all my high school buddies, I didn't keep in touch with them in high school so why start now? Why must you ask these things? Idle chatter is the bane of my existence, every time I hear I have to physically restrain my self from punching someone in their fugly face.

And really when you get right down to it, that's all "the holidays" are, an excuse for random idle chatter.

Listen Here, Mirv!

I watched the Matrix, it was good times. But, I seemed to be one of the few that really enjoyed it. The movie struck me as very similar to the first two, in that you would have to see in at least twice before you really understand it all. Which seems to be why the first one didn't do good in theaters, and nobody really liked the second one when they first saw it.

Here's a more in depth analysis from me, WARNING: SPOILERS AHEAD

Going in, I had a sick feeling in my stomach that the movie just might suck, everybody else had already told me they hated it. Alas, now I understand why. The movie was the perfect ending chapter to the story, it just fits neither the masses yearning for a wonderfully happy ending, nor the critics desire to see the futility of man. The Movie was dark, dreary, and straight up about dying.

The movie, as well as the whole trilogy, is so chock full of layers upon layers of religious symbolism that I don't even see the end of it. There were a few parts I expected.

I never bought into the "matrix within a matrix" argument. I figured Neo went through a similar experience that Agent Smith went through between the first and second movies. Something copied from Neo onto the Matrix code, or visa versa, which from my understanding is similar what happened. I also went in knowing either Morpheus or Trinity had to die, because Neo had to experience real pain before he could understand the essence of humanity and demonstrate it to the machines.

The Battle for Zion: It could have used a little more demonstration of human desperation, and they conveniently neglected the barrel melting effects of firing 9 thousand rounds per minute for 15 straight minutes. Other than that...Damn!!!!!! That was awesome, that you sir, may I have another?

Neo v Smith, Round 3: those water concussion ball were one of the greatest special effects...EVER, no doubt. I'm glad they didn't go Godzilla style and destroy the entire city during their fight. You know that feeling you get when you first see something that makes you excited, like your first view of the tree on Christmas? Or the tingly feeling you get the split second after your wickedly hot significant other kisses you for the first time? Where you instantly take a huge breath, your shoulders shrug up to your ears, and the muscles throughout your entire body tense like you've been doused with Ice cold water? Yea? You know what I'm talking about? Well, I had that feeling for the entire first 5-minutes of the Neo/Smith fight scene. No movie had given me those goose bumps since Shawshank.

The Ending: This is where everybody else seems to drop off the Bandwagon. Not I, I couldn't think of any better way to end it. It works well for the bible; it works well for me. I think I even understand the method Neo used to defeat Smith, and it's akin to enlightenment. He finally used his brain and defeated Smith by destroying the "meat" of his code, not fighting the personification. To those of you familiar with website design, it's akin to finding the backend of a website and deleting it from there, as opposed to just trying to overload it with D.O.S. attacks and the like.

I could be wrong on any of this stuff...no wait, I'm not.

Never Forget

Don't remember because lots of people died
Don't remember because their families have it tough.
Don't remember because any loss that it caused anybody.

Remember because if only for a day you knew the face of evil. You understood what length the enemy was willing to go to in order to see you suffer. Remember that from that day forth ignorance vanished. Everyone in the world knew your foe. Everyone in the world saw that you were in a fight for your very existence. In the shadow of smoke you can easily see your friend from your enemy. Anyone who then opposed your quest for existence didn't do so out of their superior values for human life. They opposed your quest because they oppose your rights, and they oppose you.

No longer should our right to existence be subject to the whims of our enemies. Civilizations rise and fall, people are mortal, ideas are forever. No matter who you are, regardless of your beliefs, you will be judged. Whether by your deity or the children of history, a consciousness not your own will determine the morality of your actions. The principles that govern your actions will be questioned, do you have them or do your actions decide your principles. Emotions will die; logic lives forever.

All things and people will come to an end. Stand and face your enemy, those without swords can still die on them. What's yours is yours, including your life. If the end comes, go down fighting for what is rightfully yours. History will remember you as we remember the Alamo. Evil is there, whether you acknowledge it or not. And only in the face of danger will the true colors of character be revealed for all to see.

The greatest trick the Devil ever pulled was convincing the world that he didn't exist.

TOG's Official Guide to Design Lab Etiquette

Casual conversation amongst friends in permissable, provided your friends are sitting 4 rows (and a good 20 feet) away. Despite the deprived image you have in your head, people actually do work here.

The same goes for class-oriented discussions. 4 different classes use the lab, and at any given time people from more than one of them are in there. If you need to hold a 10 minute discussion with somebody about why their data is valid, stand your lazy carcass up and walk over to them, don't subject the rest of us to your ineptitude.

Basically I'm just saying; don't raise your voice...ever...if there's no fire, I don't care.

All that being stated, don't this the wrong way when I say:

"Dammit Bradley! Shut the hell up right now or I will sing you a lullaby with a splitered two by four! You got it, you overbearing spoiled bastard child of a Quaker and a drunken Scottish soccer hooligan?"

words words words

Jeans. Where the crap does that word come from? It's not an obvious pop culture contraction, and it's not the name of any particular company. So what's the deal?

Here's the deal, courtesy of Design Boom:

the word jeans comes from a kind of material that was made in europe.
the material, called jean, was named after sailors from genoa in italy,
because they wore clothes made from it

100 things to do before I die [4/5]

we now return to our regularly scheduled blogcast

41. Spend a whole day in the U.S. supreme court
42. Eat a 100 dollar dinner
43. Get asked out by a semi-random lady, say yes.
44. Make some contribution to a open source software project
45. Read every Tom Clancy book ever written
46. Play a round at Augusta National
47. Own a gas/electric hybrid car bonus: tell OPEC where to shove it
48. See Bob Dylan and/or Willie Nelson in concert
49. Win a NCAA Men’s Basketball tournament pool
50. Meet Thomas Sowell
51. Help put my brother/niece/nephew/2nd cousin through college
52. Pull a “Sean Connery in Finding Forrester” to some kid I’m not related to
53. Watch all 6 Star Wars episodes in order, on a high definition TV.
54. Tell off a career politician face to face
55. Go Ice Fishing
56. Visit Ireland and be mistaken for one of her own
57. Personally watch KU win the Men’s Basketball National championship
58. Jump off a bridge (preferably into water) after my friend does
59. Own a Jet-Ski
60. Be in charge of designing an airplane that goes into full production

100 things to do before I die [2/5]

I figure I'll eventually post the entire list someplace, a lot like I've got my 100 things about me list posted. But until then...snootchie-bootches!

20. Create a scholarship available only to middle class white males
21. Rub my riches and fame in the face of my 4th grade teacher who almost failed me
22. Go spelunking
23. Physically save someone from serious bodily harm
24. Win some big contest or raffle, that is in no way based on skill
25. Ask a semi-random lady on a date, have her say yes
26. Double down on 11 in Vegas
27. Save a Jack Russell Terrier from the pound
28. Meet Jack Russell, if he’s dead, visit his grave
29. Learn to play acoustic guitar
30. Convert a hippie to capitalism
31. Pay my parents back for every dollar they spent on me after I turned 18 (yes, I’ve kept track)
32. Install some sort of alternative energy source for my house (solar panel, wind mill, nuclear reactor)
33. Spend an entire week at library
34. Give a boat load of money to whatever church my best friend is pastoring (and by boat load, I mean at least enough to buy a boat)
35. Do the same for my cousin
36. Spend all week at the Osh Kosh Fly-in
37. Get in a brawl, fight club style
38. Meet a used-to-be-famous person when they are 80 and tell them how freaking awesome they are.
39. Influence a piece of US legislation that becomes law, or influence the prevention of passing a law. (before of course, I achieve #20)
40. Work nights at a community theater for kicks

100 things to do before I die

I was bored at work so I decided to start a list of things I want to do before I die. In order to over extend the content of this site, and to establish a viable ruse to camoflage my laziness, I'm only releasing the list 20 items at a time.

Peep Delta!

Stuff to do before I die

1. Watch a MLB game in each of the following ball parks; Turner Field, Safeco Park, Fenway, Pac Bell, Camden Yards.
2. Catch a ball in the bleachers of one of the aforementioned ball parks
3. Scuba Dive in the deep blue sea (prerequisite: lose fear of water)
4. Have a 1 million dollar net worth
5. Attain pilots license
6. Avoid France under pain of death
7. Go 1 full week without talking to another human being
8. Travel faster than the speed of sound
9. Tell a professional fundraiser where to shove their contribution form
10. Visit Australia
11. Have a true enemy
12. Observe the curvature of the earth
13. Get a Master’s degree, but never a doctorate
14. Be mentioned in a published book
15. Stay awake for more that 48 hours straight
16. Be on a first name basis with the bartender of a Bar & Deli, and have a tab there
17. Buy a beer and pour it out for the homies who’ve gone before.
18. Own a house overlooking the ocean/sea/lake/pond/puddle/lagoon/broken septic system.
19. Hang out at a VFW and listen to all the war stories
20. Own a pacific island, adopt the U.S. constitution, declare independence, and tell the UN where they can stick their "peace keepers"

Interdepence my asp

Well I'm headed home for Independence Day (I've decided to cease all reference to the actual date because it diminishes the meaning of the holiday) but before I go, I'm leaving you with a few tips to think about this weekend. And so I present to you...

TOG’s Official Guide to Independence Day Glee

1. Many domesticated animal meats are acceptable grillable feasts, the neighbor’s cat however, is not.

2. Drinking and driving is never a good idea, so be sure to get fully hydrated before you go on that road trip.

3. The holidays are a time for family, friends, and fellowship. Any family bickering puts a damper on everybody’s fun. So be sure nobody sees you deck your brother-in-law.

And finally…

4. Beware all fireworks named “Commie Surprise”

today's BIG question:

what exactly is this?

I'll post the answer here tomorrow.

UPDATE: Congrat's to Nick for picking it out as the Mother of All Bombs. The Air Force test this bad boy out yesterday. Needless to say, it went boom. 21,000 pounds of boom to be exact. It was the largest conventional bomb ever dropped. You all can see the footage from the test here. The only question that remains is, "Will we use our new found powers for good or for awesome?"

The simple-minded person’s guide to parade viewing:

1. It is not necessary to proclaim to the world what float is coming next. They are only moving 3 miles/hour, I’m pretty sure that I’ll be able to see each one before it’s beyond my visual range.

2. When it’s 13 degrees outside, everyone is going to be cold. Just because someone isn’t bundled up like an Eskimo doesn’t warrant a comment on how chilly they must be.

3. When you see a float coming down the street 3 blocks away, and all that you can make out on their banner is “Valley Falls Band” don’t turn swiftly to everyone in the area and ask “Where are they from?” Your fellow parade viewers are busy looking at the Float in front of them, not what will be coming along in 10 minutes. And even if they were pyschotic like you, they don't have any better vision, so just down some more ritalin and wait it out.

4. Complaining about not being able to see clearly to total strangers is useless, they don’t care and neither do I.

5.You don’t have to read every banner and bit of text you see out loud, the world is neither impressed with your reading skills nor your public speaking ability, and you don’t need to prove that you can do either.

6. No, you can’t cross the street in-between floats; the police barriers and armed officers should have given you a hint. And calling the officers “coppers” won’t help you cause, deal with it.

7. It’s not essential to use the presenting/providing companies name when describing any float. I don’t care about the “Holiday train by Coca-Cola” or about the “'a Santa Claus Thanksgiving' float presented by Target” The TV annoucers are required by contract to say these things, and they get paid to do it. Unless you're getting some sort of corporate kick-back I don't know about, shut your yapper

8. I don’t care what your favorite float/band/famous person/song thus far is, and neither do the 300,000 other people out here, so stop analyzing and dissecting the parade when it’s only been going for 20 minutes.

9. Your comments are never witty; don’t try. I don’t care if you think that helium-ballon Paul Bunyon’s axe could cut down lots of trees. Neither do I care if you think a 40 foot-long Alligator needs a really big toothbrush. Think about it, you sound like you’re three years old.

10. No, they aren’t waving at you, they don’t know you exist, they don't care that you drove 10 hours just to see them. They’re probably thinking about the money they’re making for being in this stupid parade, or how numb their butt is or how tired their face is because they have been sitting on the back of a convertible and smiling at idiots like you for the past 3 hours.

Today's unjustified, sometimes unseen, movie reviews:

Die another Day: starring Pierce "pretty boy" Brosnan, and Halle "and I would like to thank my hair stylist, chauffer, pizza boy, cab driver, the poor people of Nigeria..." Berry.

I haven't seen it yet, but it looks to fit the standard Bond mold, lots of overly drawn out sexy woman shots, impossible physics, and explosion galor! (Wow, this sounds like a pretty good movie, I think I'll have to go see it)

Harry Potter and the Global Marketing Campaign of Doom: starring some wee lads and lasses I've never heard off.

The thing about this movie is...Well to start off...You have to understand...the film's general context.... I haven't seen and probably won't until I'm 30 and my kid wants to see and old movie in which the special effects don't look believable.

8 mile: starring "The most evil rapper alive" (tm)

If you had...just one chance...one opportunity...to see this movie...would you take...or would you just let it slide? Sorry Marshall, I have to listen to you everyday coming from my roommates speakers, no way on God's green earth an I going to pay to see you act.

Punch Drunk Love: starring Adam "Stop looking about me swan!" Sandler.

Sole member of the "actually paid 5 bucks and saw this movie" club, I was actually rather impressed, both with Adam Sandler's acting ability, and this artistic flavor of the film. It's definately not standard hollywood, but definately orginal and worth seeing the first time.