the man of tomorrow (who can't get over yesterday)

i make no guarantees

2010-10-12T22:45:00.001-07:00

this isn't one of those "i promise to blog more frequently" posts.

anyway. i've come to the conclusion tonight that i have become someone that i rather like. that's not to say that i've hated myself in the past (there have been some rough spots, but none too terrible methinks), it is merely to say that i am content with who i am currently. I am also aware of my shortcomings (which are plentiful), but i know that they are things upon which i can improve. all in all, i have a lovely wife, a job, books to read, i make delicious food (pizza tonight was lovely), i'm scraping by with my bills, and i'm doing okay.

way to go me.

Irony.

2010-02-25T10:10:00.000-08:00

The day after I mention Gene Simmons' son's comic i see this article that his publisher has cancelled his book due to plagiarism (CLICK HERE). I highly suggest you check out the link.

"hello, this is rené"

2010-02-23T14:07:00.001-08:00

Well, first things first.
Planning a wedding is perhaps among the most tedious activities known to man (meaning man. not humanity in general. There is some sort of twisted pleasure that females seem to get from straining over small details. I'm not criticizing. Some people love brussel sprouts and getting punched in the face. More power to them. Different strokes for different folks). But we are less than 3 weeks away from our wedding, and Misty and I are both ready to have it over with.

I dunno if i mentioned it previously, but our luck has been comedically terrible from the moment we got engaged. Her car broke, then my car broke (costing roughly $1000 dollars). 5 of the places we attempted to book for our ring ceremony either denied us or fell through. We've been sick off and on. We had address on invitations wrong (paid for invites twice!). Brides maid dress didn't show up (until yesterday). The temple/church has weird rules. We got stuck in LA traffic while trying to pick up wedding favors thanks to a dude who sold us out hard. I got denied a job i didn't apply for. I got offered a job i didn't apply for, only to have it taken away from me later that day with a call that said "oh. we meant a DIFFERENT Josh Everett." Misty was denied a raise and made to feel that her job is not secure (Misty, the only full time employee, and only female, is being paid less than half of what her part time coworkers make). I was denied from one of my top choice grad schools. We've had issues with friends and family. You name it: it has gone wrong. There's plenty more but im not going to dwell on it.
Arsenal lost their champion's league match to Porto too. UGH.

I intended to write about comics but now this blog almost seems too far off topic to come back to it.
I guess the bottom line is that comics piss me off. They would rather tell ANOTHER zombie story than try something new, ESPECIALLY if that zombie book is written by some B or C list celebrity or their family (Case in point(s): "We Will Bury You" by someone who is on Heroes.(i'd mention her name, but you still won't know who she is) Or how about a story by Nic Cage's SON. or Gene Simmons' SON. Or Rashida Jones from Parks and Recreation/Officefame. OR Peter Petrelli from Heroes. You Get the point.)
How many stories do we have to have that are "this one is zombies in space!", "this one is zombies in the 20's", "this one is zombies underwater", or anything like it. (Comic companies, if you are listening I'd be happy to write any of those stories. haha).

I suppose my main complaint would be that I feel like when someone sets out to write a novel, in their minds it's going to be the next classic american novel and they aspire to accomplish that feat. Nobody sets out when writing their novel saying "instead of aspiring to create something myself i wish i could just Sherlock Holmes fan fiction. It doesn't need to be better than the source material...just good enough." That's what I see in comics. "I don't NEED to write anything innovative, i just need to write a decent story based on an old character." Perhaps I'm being overly critical (i'm sure i am) and there are definitely exceptions. But by and large I think this is an observable trend in comics: 1. Pseudo famous people 2. Zombies and 3. Mediocrity.
(mediocrity is perhaps too harsh a word, but I just wish comics would break out and be all they can be).

Oh, I emailed a comic writer, and he emailed me back. We were supposed to talk on the phone but i blew it. So there's an update in my "im trying to write comics" efforts.
peace.

P.S.

2010-02-04T23:54:00.001-08:00

I recently got another credit on IMDB.
this time i'm a super muscly dude who loves to lift heavy things.
that being said, my fame meter is way up!

no guarantees.

2010-02-04T22:50:00.001-08:00

I bet you thought i was going to start blogging with more frequency...sucker.
nah, i thought i would too. oh well. My car recently blew up for nearly $1000 dollars, which for an unemployed broke person trying to get married, is just great.

I've decided i would begin to blog my successes (ha!) and failures in attempting publish comic books. I may also include other professions into which i am trying to scratch and claw.

I doubt it will generate further interest in my writing, but hell, i'm willing to try most anything at this point.

I don't really feel comfortable sharing any of my stories on here, though i bet it's not the worst idea on the planet. Though with my luck I'd post one and my worst enemy would use it to become the next JK Rowling.

I have wanted to write stories for as long as I can actually remember. In 2nd grade I wrote a serialized story which i would share each week in our sharing time. I liked it enough that I kept the notebook in which i wrote it. I found it a while back, and attempted to read it. It made absolutely no sense, but was funny to me regardless. It had something to do with 2 animal friends who rode some sort of machine down hills. Around the same time my parents bought me my first comic book (and only comic until later in life). If i took the time to investigate i could tell you the exact issue number, because that comic is burnt permanently in to my mind. Im not going to chase it down though. It was an X-Men comic and it was awesome. From that time forward i practiced drawing thinking that "my mother is an artist, I can be too!". Wrong. As I began to realize that i wasn't cutting it in the art department I started thinking of the business side. I would just start my own company. Well, time progressed and as childhood dreams do, this one did not so much fade away as transform into infinite other ideas of dream professions that would promise a life of excitement and grandeur (and yet here i am, nearly 27 and an aspiring academic. yipes.).

As I entered my senior year of high school, I suddenly got wise to the fact that I had passed the Advanced Placement English exam as a freshman, and as such, I was wasting my time in the AP English class in which i was enrolled. I decided to get out of there and make my final days of secondary education as painless as possible. I switched into another English class where my friend (an excellent artist) was the teacher's assistant. The teacher, knowing that I had transferred out of AP and had passed the test as a younger student, excused my from any of the assignments, and I was free to hang out with my friend at the back of the room and performing the occasional taco run for the teacher. Most of our conversations revolved around what super hero would defeat another in a fight. I don't think i knew much about comics at this point, but one thing became clear. Comics were awesome, and I had been missing out on them for years. I began collecting. Discovered that some other friends were also avid collectors. It seemed to be that my niche had been waiting for me all this time. As i began to read comics, my mind hearkened back to the time in which I had wanted to create these 24 page stories of violence, melodrama and heroism. From that point forward I began to write out ideas as soon as they came. Some were better than others, and some I love to this day.

Long story short, i just keep writing in hope that someday some of these ideas will stick and someone will pay me a paltry amount of money to make my stories into books.

Anyhow, a quick summary of my publishing attempts, which are not as extensive as they should be...

In 2008 I submitted a proposal to Oni Press and I believe Boom! Studios. The proposal was my first, and was probably a bit rough. If i am being honest, the art of crafting a submission is still foreign to me. I submitted a small synopsis with a summary of the story and how I envision the book being promoted. I included a small portion of script and fully colored and lettered art samples (drawn by my friend Kory. He is awesome at art). I thought it was okay; that at very least it deserved a thorough looking over. I never received word back from Boom! Studios, and I received a mass email from Oni suggesting that I read Eisner's book, and a book about comic scriptwriting (which, ironically I've read).

In 2009 I submitted again. This time only to Oni (as they are the only company i know of that will consider a submission without an artist attached (more on finding artists and the impossibility of the task another time)). I submitted in July and have followed up various times since, but here it is February 2010 and I have not heard a single word. sighh...

Other than that I suppose my writer's credit on "Bloodoween", a short film i made with friendsm could be used to my advantage, but I don't quite know how. It saw a decent amount of success considering its lack of budget and time. I'm still proud of it.

I fancy myself an educated, capable, professional type person, but I am loathe to admit that it doesn't appear that the comics industry respects those qualities (which is not to be confused with not liking those qualities. It's just that they don't seem to care one way or the other) nor does it function with them in mind.

But from here on out I am going to start to poke around, investigating how to get into this crazy biz.

I am going to start emailing whoever i can to see what can be done. Is this what they call "networking"? in my mind it just equates to spam abuse. Who can get me Spike Jonze email? Whose email CAN you get me?

We'll see where it goes from here. It can only go up right?

i think it's time for me to start blogging again.

2009-12-15T11:16:00.000-08:00

Well I suppose I'm back to the blog.
I'm unemployed (semi-employed) and I watch a lot of history channel. Why is it that we continue to be taught that Pyramids were tombs for Pharoahs, when the mummy of a Pharoah has never been found in a Pyramid? Sorry, that was on my mind this minute. Further, how can they claim that Djedefre built this giant structure during the period of his rule, that was only 8 years. it took the mormons 40 years to build the Salt Lake temple. The Great Pyramid build by Khufu (Cheops) in Giza, a mere five miles away took 20 years to build and even that is an inexplicable feat. And somehow Djedefre built his pyramid in 8 or less?? I don't think so.

I'm engaged now. I asked Misty to marry me on Saturday 12 December 2009. After wandering through Ikea for a while I surprised Misty with a nighttime trip to Hogle Zoo. As it is Christmas time, I knew that they would have Christmas lights up and that it would be nice to walk around in the lights and to see some of the animals (the Tigers were awesome!). At the end of the night we rode the carousel that they have there. I asked Misty if she preferred to ride the individual animals (that go up and down) or on the bench. I recommended the bench so that I could ask her to marry me on the carousel, but she preferred the animals. I agreed to ride the animals, because in reality that is more fun. So we rode the carousel, and then stepped off. I suggested that we sit on a bench near the Carousel in order to watch it go around once more. we sat on a bench at the edge of the carousel and watched as it began to circle again. As we watched, I turned on the bench in order to face Misty and removed the ring from my pocket handing it to Misty. I asked if she would be willing to marry me. She hugged me and cried for a bit. Eventually I had to inquire if that was an acceptance. She affirmed that it was, and the rest is history.
I'm a very lucky boy. Misty supports me in a way that few (if any) ever have. She calls me on my b.s. when i need it and surprises me frequently with her intelligence, her common sense (that i sometimes lack), her sense of humour, her kindness, and her willingness to be kind and serve others. She helps me to be a better, happier person- even when it's not the easiest or most comfortable option for me. I can go on, but i won't. This blog post is probably sappy enough already.

stay tuned for future blog updates, i'll try to do better.
2009 has been a very good year for me, i wish i had blogged more during it.

while i'm blogging...

2009-04-07T05:21:00.000-07:00

i wish i could remind the world that there is only ONE Ronaldo.

THIS (above) is Ronaldo. Top world cup goal scorer. Phenomenon, weird pervert or not.

This is Cristiano Ronaldo. CR7, floppy, or anything else you would like to call him.

But until he has himself a couple of world cups and the record for top world cup goal scorer, RONALDO Fenômeno will still be on top, and C.Ronaldo will still just be opening clothing stores in portugal, wrecking ferraris, and complaining about how picked on he is.

Today.

2009-04-07T04:41:00.001-07:00

I spent last night in a rural area outside bethlehem called Beit Sahur (sounds like Bait (as in fishing bait) Saw-hooor). The landscape was lovely and i was just about as far as possible from actually civilization. It was really nice.
I stayed in what seemed to me to be a strange hippy squat. It's a permaculture farm where the people living there were trying to demonstrate sustainable living practices when it comes to food, water, waste, recycling, etc. It's a nice goal. But a hostel/hotel it is not.
I imagine that walking into this place is what it must feel like for a parent to walk into their child's college housing after they've gotten into smoking pot. There were animals that walked in and out of the house, which at times seemed really quaint and cool, and at other times seemed to be a comment on the mindset of the people who lived there. The dog slept on the couch, it even used a pillow. There was a box full of baby chicks near the window. Bowls of cat food sat on the desk next to a wireless router and a phone/fax machine.
My bank froze my accounts assuming that my card had been stolen and somehow popped up in israel. I suppose im grateful for the security, but it always comes a week after i travel. On top of that it means that i'm suppose to inform my bank of my every move. I dont like that so much. i'm not going to go into my frustrations with automated systems, but i assume everyone has some experience with that.
I paid my night's stay at the squat, which left me with 40 shekels with which to find my way back to jerusalem, and eventually to nazareth. i got a bus which bypasses the "security wall" (which as you can tell is extremely efficient due to the fact that i can bypass it with a bus) and arrived back in jerusalem. On the bus ride i met a couple from newcastle who works with a charity to help the impoverished youth of Israel/Palestine to get educations. He was very nice. I wanted to ask for a job, but it was obviously wasn't that kind of organization (the kind that has jobs for people). My favorite line from the conversations was "We help any poor child: Christian, Jew, Muslim, Israeli, Palestinian, anyone. There just aren't any poor Israeli Jews. So we help Palestinians."
I went back to the cave hostel and used the internet to sort out my banking issue and الحمد للله everything is back to normal. I then came to the bus station to get my bus to nazareth. I was here at roughly 12 i think, and my bus doesn't leave until 4. I could easily have gone out and walked jerusalem, but i have my every possession on my back. So walking around like a turtle with my home on my back didn't seem like the most appealing option. Add to that the fact that i would have to pass through security to get into the bus station again, and i decided that chilling in the bus terminal for a few hours was doable. So hear i am. Writing a blog over a back drop of Fergie, Amy Winehouse, and the guttural sounds of Hebrew. From where i am sitting i can count 8 m-16 (or some equivalent) machine guns, and am fully aware that there are countless others in this building. The soldiers here tote them around as if they were born with them. They treat them like if you were to ask them about their gun the response you would get would be "what gun? oh you mean this ol' thing? shux" The occupation of Palestine is very real, and worse than i had imagined. And i had imagined things being pretty bad.
anyway, there's an update. Tonite: Arsenal vs. Villareal in the champions league quarter finals. Come on you Reds. Up the Arsenal.

Game One: RSL vs. SSFC

2009-03-26T17:27:00.000-07:00

I have a lot of faith in RSL's ability to win this weekend.
Giving credit where credit is due, Montero has quality. Good skills on the ball, good fundamentals when shooting. But having watched and rewatched the goals from Seattle's 3-0 thumping of RBNY, I am convinced that it was more a case of NY being crap than it was of Seattle being good. NY's back 4 were consistently out of position and losing Seattle's players while their midfield stood idly, too attack minded to think about throwing out a tackle. I'm not saying this was necessarily the theme for the game, but if I were i think i could make a decent case for it. Here it is: THREE-nil.
If you watch the goals you will notice that there are in 2 out of the 3 cases clumps of white jerseys looking confused as the ball gets pushed off to a solitary Seattle player. The third goal was created primarily by Petke's mediocre first touch and his attempt to be cheeky on the ball.
So, bottom line- bad defense cost RBNY their match.
As far as Seattle's defense is concerned there wasn't much to analyze as NY's attacking was almost nonexistent. The best chance of the match was a strike from outside the 18 yrd box. It seemed that Seattle defended with numbers, but were semi complacent in keeping the defensive line high enough to pressure shots from range. The next best shot was created by a decent long ball, a Seattle defender who failed to clear the ball, and some fight from Kandji. However, the chance was easily snuffed out, having been shot directly at the keeper, who had his angles covered and was precisely where he needed to be. Seattle's defense looked pretty rudimentary on the corners, though poor delivery, and lack of NY players in the box make that difficult to assess. On top of that with Casey Keller in goal, the delivery on corners is going to have to be immaculate.

RSL's keys to the match.
Our back line. I have real faith in the RSL defense. Nick Rimando has shown time and time again that despite his height he's solid in goal. Borchers and Olave are both tall commanding center backs with good ability to move the ball. Very defensively minded. And that's what the rest of MLS is really lacking (not to say that there aren't some). Borchers needs to be careful with his back passes. Wingert has very few errors defensively that i can recall. Tony Beltran is a mystery to me, so I'm crossing my fingers. I really think that our defense will keep out the majority of Seattle's attacking threat.
Offensively i think the man of the match will be our man Jave Morales... not that that's a real stretch of the imagination. His ability to find the right pass and take shots from distance, testing the keeper, will make a big difference in the match.
Further, i would vote to have Mathis in at the secondary striker role, leaving Robbie to come in as a super sub with fresh legs. Mathis has undeniable skill in making space for himself and has a lazer of a shot. Fast or not, Mathis has a spot in our attack, even if the spot doesn't last 90 minutes.
Arsenal legend Freddie Ljunberg. In other matches i hope the best for him, but not against RSL. His main strength is running off the ball, and finding himself in the right position. At arsenal he had the luxury of getting service from the likes of Robert Pires and Thierry Henry, among others. i dunno that he'll have the same luck at Seattle, leaving him to make his own chances, of which he is definitely capable. Kyle needs to keep his wits about him in the holding role and make sure than Freddie doesn't have the space or the freedom to make runs off the ball. Kyle also needs to be willing to put in some hefty tackles and really learn a thing or two from Kovalenko (Crazy Charley).
That's my assessment of the match. we'll see if i'm as smart as i think i am on saturday.

Come on you Royals.
Oh. and if you missed it, here's this...

In addition...

2009-02-10T10:06:00.000-08:00

this article could be applied to my last blog about comics and film...

http://blog.newsarama.com/2009/02/09/mr-sequential-presents-motion-comics-comics/

it explains a little bit about reader participation in comics and how it is taken away from them in other media. it isn't directly related but it is an interesting look at how people in comics are looking to expand comics, while keeping the attribute of sequential narrative that make it great.
this also contributes to the ideas of online comics, and how motion comics are not comics...i really liked this one...

http://balak01.deviantart.com/art/about-DIGITAL-COMICS-111966969

Who's watching the Watchmen?

2009-01-30T15:51:00.000-08:00

I'm sure I will be seeing the upcoming film adaptation of Watchmen.It is far too enticing for me to be able to ignore. I have, to a certain extent, enjoyed seeing the trailers and film stills from the movie. It has been interesting and fun to see the images from the book brought to life.
However, if I could, I would go back in time and prevent the movie from being made. I've said this on various occasions to various people and am always asked why I would do such a thing. So, here are my reasons! (Many of these reasons may come off as being slightly self-righteous or sentimental, but when you've spent as much time and money on comics as i have you can feel a little bit of righteous indignation or emotional strain about the subject of your passion)

Even the best film adaptations of comic books are poor substitutes for the comic book upon which they are based (the only exception i can think of is Sin City, which is nearly an exact replica of the book). The original fans of the comic book have subconsciously adapted to the influx of Hollywood interest in comics. The most we can hope for is not a good adaptation of the comic, but that whatever Hollywood decides to pass off as an adaptation will be a good film. There have been many good films. I have liked many of them. This being said, none of them have ever been able to match the scope of wonder or the fantastic nature of a comic book.

If you've read Understanding Comics by Scott McCloud, or any other book on comic book theory (yes it exists), then you know that comics only function because of a certain amount of mental participation on the part of the reader. As such, comics provide the ingredients that your mind needs to create the story. Your mind creates the action that links what may often appear to be unrelated images. It is not a straightforward story-telling style like film, or arguably even prose. I cannot sit in front of a comic for a few hours and allow it to tell me a story and lead me through the plot until i reach the conclusion. Instead i have to participate with the story, and provide it with the energy it needs to tell the story. This lack of participation on the part of the movie viewer alters the very nature and feeling of the story, until the connection between the comic and the film is superficial at best.

Further, comics have no budget, no sound effects, no special effects team, no actors. In other words, comics have no limitations. If you can imagine it you can make it into a comic book. The same cannot be said of film. Subsequently, comics are often changed drastically in order to facilitate the making of a movie. I won't go into details, but one part of Watchmen has been altered entirely because what happens in the comic "just wouldn't work in a movie." As such, the film adaptations of comics water down the imaginative qualities of the original creation, leaving us too often with more high budget action movies (obs. I love high budget action movies, but not when it rides the reputation of a comic book to its grave. Case in point: Wanted).

Watchmen is such an intricate and context specific comic that any film creation of it will invariably lack the significance of the comic. As we have seen already by the removal of "Tales of the Black Freighter," and the missing plot point I mentioned above, among other things, the nature of Watchmen and it's story telling is too layered for a 2 to 3 hour film to do justice to.

Contextually, Watchmen came about as a paradigm shift in comics. The comics of the Silver age had all been awash by bright colors and 4 colour half-tone printing. The characters were often 2 dimensional do-gooders who had lost any depth of character and been emasculated by the self-imposed comic code. Watchmen, along with a few others, shifted the focus of comics away from the flat stories of meaningless vigilantes and decided instead to focus on characters, tone and theme the same as any other form of literature would. It was, in essence, the deconstruction, of the superhero. This post-modern (yipes...sorry guys, grad school) approach to superheroes is what made Watchmen revolutionary and important to comics. Will that be the case with film? No.

Further, Alan Moore, the CREATOR of Watchmen, doesn't want it made. As someone who aspires to write comics, I can't help but sympathize and side with him. Hollywood has already ruined some of his other works. They turned V into a crusader for democracy instead of the hellbent anarchist he was (In Moore's own words, V was "specifically about things like fascism and anarchy. Those words, 'fascism' and 'anarchy,' occur nowhere in the film. It's been turned into a Bush-era parable by people too timid to set a political satire in their own country"). They made such a mess of League of Extraordinary Gentlemen that its not even worth talking about. From Hell was a weak attempt at translating the comic to film. Alan Moore's genius (yes, i feel justified in saying that he is a genius of the comics artform, and there are not many i would say that about) has been exploited and abused so many times, that he has asked for his name to be removed from the films based on his work, and the comics themselves. I can't imagine dedicating myself to my work and then being so repulsed by how they were treated as to want my name removed from them. Sad. In reference to Watchmen, Moore has stated "There are things that we did with Watchmen that could only work in a comic, and were indeed designed to show off things that other media can't." And yet, that will be disregarded and made into another big-deal comic movie.

As a comic fan, I am tired of hollywood leaving its muddy footprint in comics while the comics industry is slowly dwindling and breaking down under the current economic conditions. I don't want to buy a comic just because it has Milo Ventimgilililila's name on it. I don't want the latest issue of the Jenna Jameson comic. I don't care to read Nick Cage and his son's comic. And on the other side of the coin, I'm tired of seeing my favorite character ruined by Ben Affleck. Im tired of directors treating comics like they are just another piece of campy kitsch that should have "BOOM!" and "SLAM!" all over it. Watchmen is not just another comic book. Watchmen is the masterpiece of comic books. It is our magnum opus. It is the great hope for all comic nerds that someday comics will be respected as a legitimate art form, and perhaps even economically viable. Instead, in recent years, we have only been reassured that comics only matter insomuch as they can provide fodder for big budget, poorly made, summer blockbuster films, and merchandising rights (for example the prequel video game that is already being made (or is made? i dunno) BARF). I may try and fist fight every douchebag i see dressed as Rorschach this halloween. (yes, im aware that half of my friends probably will.) Seeing bad variations on the joker last halloween made me just about lose my mind.

Those are my main thoughts about it. I think that's about it anyway, im tired and can't think of anything more.

They are all probably selfish reasons, but i'm ok with that. Watchmen is something special to me, and will continue to be after this movie is forgotten (go ahead: "so what's the problem if it isn't going to effect how you feel about it?!" eff you). None of them are very pragmatic, but im not interested in pragmatism right now. And like i said- will i see the movie? probably.

Please feel free to argue any point you want. I feel like i know all the counter arguments, but i'd like to see if something new comes up.

Jung.

2009-01-13T17:28:00.000-08:00

"The demand made by the imitatio Christi -- that we should follow the ideal and seek to become like it -- ought logically to have the result of developing and exalting the inner man. In actual fact, however, the ideal has been turned by superficial and formalistically-minded believers into an external object of worship, and it is precisely this veneration for the object that prevents it from reaching down into the depths of the psyche and giving the latter a wholeness in keeping with the ideal. Accordingly the divine mediator stands outside as an image, while man remains fragmentary and untouched in the deepest part of him. Christ can indeed be imitated even to the point of stigmatization without the imitator coming anywhere near the ideal of its meaning. For it is not a question of an imitation that leaves a man unchanged and makes him into a mere artifact, but of realizing the ideal on one's own account --Deo concedente-- in one's own individual life. We must not forget, however, that even a mistaken imitation may sometimes involve a tremendous moral effort which has all the merits of a total surrender to some supreme value, even though the real goal may never be reached and the value is represented externally. It is conceivable that by virtue of this total effort a man may even catch a fleeting glimpse of his wholeness, accompanied by the feeling of grace that always characterizes this experience.
If the supreme value (Christ) and the supreme negation (sin) are outside, then the soul is void: its highest and lowest are missing."

If I were Arsene...

2009-01-10T07:51:00.000-08:00

It's time for me to talk about soccer on my blog again...
January Transfer Window is upon us once again and Arsenal is facing real deficits in the squad. Fans have high hopes for signings that will plug the wholes and keep Arsenal from leaking goals like they have been for the first half of the season. Truth be told, i think every Arsenal fan knows that we are not going to get the signings we want. Arsene has a plan and he's sticking to it, though at the current moment, it looks as though he is doing so to the detriment of the club. If Arsenal doesn't come in at least 4th place...well, i dunno. People will be really really angry. We will lose out on Champions League play and it will probably do real financial detriment to the club. With 5 losses on the season the club is already finding it slightly more difficult to fill the stadium for every match. The club's poor form in partnership with the economic downturn felt world wide (if i hear the phrase 'credit crunch' one more time im going to lose it) makes it difficult for anyone to want to shell out more or less 50 quid to go see their team lose or draw a match they should easily win. As one of England's 'Big Four' it is not out of line for fans to expect that Arsenal wins EVERY game. Granted, it's not going to happen. But as one of Britain's most prominent team there is no other team in the league that should intimidate us; we should never enter a game thinking "well, let's shoot for a draw".
Anyway, if I were Arsene during this transfer window who would I buy?
Our most major concerns are, as every Arsenal fan knows, a central defender and a defensive midfielder. With Cesc's injury we should also be looking for someone to step up and fill the role of creative midfielder. There is also talk of wanting a secondary striker, it may be superfluous, but having a strong attack force is never bad.
I think two of these positions (maybe three) can be solved with a single purchase. Podolski. yes, he is a dick. but that's what arsenal needs right now, a real battler. Oh, and he's inexpensive (valued at 9.5? CHEAP)
For Germany/Bayern Munich he plays left midfield or secondary striker. There's no question the kid is good. He would score goals for us. I would buy him, and place him on the left in the midfield. This would free Nasri up to become the centrally positioned creative midfielder that he really is (i think Podolski and Nasri are cut from the same 'i've got heaps of talent, and i know it' cloth). This would force Diaby, Denilson, Song, Ramsey, Wilshere, and whoever else to compete for the defensive midfielder role. They should be selected NOT on account of their performance in training. But on their defensive track record. Diaby keeps talking about wanting to be an offensive piece, well pal, that's not what we need right now. If you REALLY want to be helpful, learn how to time a tackle and win the ball instead of your current role of losing the ball and short passes resulting in lost balls and injuries. I think Ramsey has the right kind of attitude and spark to fill the defensive role, but instead we are grooming him to be Cesc part II. That's great that he can pick the right pass and has great vision. Those are two of the kids NATURAL talents. Now imbue him with the ability to run NON-STOP (a la Flamini) and tackle, and you would have the most valuable midfielder in the world.
If we were to buy Arshavin (and let's face it, we're buying Arshavin) and picked up Podolski as well our attacking would be second to none.
Defending, i have less of an opinion on. I feel as though the main problem is that our defenders don't communicate and cannot defend together. That can be fixed. Or if you want to throw in Upson. Go for it. But for the most part i think that our defense can be improved a lot by making them have a slumber party and stop treating each other like dicks.

it's been a while...

2009-01-02T07:20:00.000-08:00

in what my mother would consider "avoidance behavior" (doing things to avoid the responsible things you have to do) i've been looking through old emails. i never throw anything away so there's lots of old weird stuff in there. There's stuff that makes me laugh, stuff that makes me cry, stuff i wish i didn't remember etc. etc.
I've encountered two emails that made me laugh/made me wonder what made me think i was cut out for grad school. i thought you might like to see them and laugh too.
#1 (after having been arrested)

Hi.
This is Joshua Everett from the Political Science 357 class. I'm
afraid I won't be able to make it to class tomorrow as I have to spend
the morning in court. I don't know how long I will be in court, but I
can either email you the paper in the afternoon, or bring a printed
copy on Wednesday, however you prefer. Just let me know, and I will do
my best to oblige.
Thank you so much.
Joshua Everett

response:

Wed is fine since that's when it's due.

oh jeez.
#2
My name is Joshua Everett and I'm in your Book of Mormon 122h (sec 91)
class. We just got our tests back yesterday, and I encountered a
problem with mine. I have no idea how it happened, and i feel somewhat
sheepish about it, but somehow when taking the test I missed the
entire back page. I suppose that somehow it must have stuck together
or i just was oblivious to it's existence. Subsequently I missed an
extra 50 points on the test. Is there anyway I can fix this? Maybe
something I can do to make up that 50 points? I would be pretty bummed
if my grade were affected so heavily by a case of human error.
If there is anything I can do, please let me know. I'd be more than
happy to do it.

Seriously josh, you missed the entire back page?!
more will probably follow soon.

One more?

2008-11-24T17:24:00.000-08:00

Ok.
I'm back on a prop 8 thing. I'm sorry. i really do want to stop talking about it. I come back to it, because i've been thinking about it once again, and it has occurred to me that while i have attempted to defend prop 8 here in my blog i have never stated what i think of as the ideal political remedy to this problem.

as many of you know i used to believe whole-heartedly in anarchism. i think i can say that openly because i don't ever intend to run for president, and thus i don't need to fear it as a "dark spot" in my past. i've become more pessimistic over time and so i don't put as much stock in anarchism anymore, though i still hold Anarchy as my ideal political form (a world where government is absent and unnecessary is a beautiful, if perhaps Utopian, thought). As such my political stances tend to focus on issues of decreasing government's power/impact on life, separating church and state as much as possible, and increasing social justice (i can hear so many people scoffing right now). It is precisely for that reason that i have a really hard time supporting prop 8. It is not an easy stance for me to take as it tends to contradict all the things that make up my political beliefs. But the nature of the issue demanded that i decide between my political beliefs and my religious beliefs. My religious beliefs won out, and I'm glad they did. That being said, don't fool yourself into thinking that it is an easy issue for me to take a stance on.

IDEALLY, the government would have no place in marriage whatsoever. Government would lack the power to legitimize social relationships of nearly any sort (i say 'nearly' because i am sure there are some that necessitate gov't legitimization (perhaps business arrangements like LLCs?), though i can't think of any right now). Many of my more political friends are surely scoffing at that as well, saying that government has stock in the success of families as the backbone to a functioning capitalist economy, etc. That, however, has an inherent assumption that families would somehow cease to exist or otherwise decrease in strength without government legitimization. To think so is ridiculous to me. Ask yourself, "would i lose the desire to have a family if the government didn't sanction it?" The answer is obviously no. As such, does the government really need to worry about the economy suffering without them putting their stamp of approval on our marriages?

As i mentioned in my first Prop 8 post, as Mormons we don't really believe in the full fledged legitimacy of civil marriage anyway. We don't believe that marriages outside of those officiated in the Temples have power to bind the couple in the eternities. That being said, what role does civil marriage play to Mormons? Well, if we are honest with ourselves and others the answer is "none. it plays no role."

So why all the prop 8 hubbub?
Well, because we live in society just like everyone else, and as stated in our Articles of Faith "We believe in being subject to kings, presidents, rulers, and magistrates, in obeying, honoring, and sustaining the law." As such, we do put stock into the government stamp of approval, giving birth to the problem of the government recognizing what we see as immoral as acceptable in society.

So what would happen if the government just stopped giving validation to any marriage? Would marriage cease to be?
Would families cease to be?

I argue that marriage and families would persist among whoever wanted them, but because none of them are seen as more or less legitimate than any other the problems of government sanctioned marriages would be bypassed. It could then be looked at like baptism is currently looked at in religious communities. A Catholic baptism is not recognized by the LDS nor is the LDS baptism recognized by Catholics. A 'born-again' baptism isn't recognized by people outside of their religion. Baptism isn't recognized at all by Muslims and countless other religious groups. Yet nobody is up in arms over the fact that baptisms exist for people in other confessions. Yet, if the government stepped in and chose to say "this is the baptism we recognize" there would be hell to pay. Like baptism, marriage would (and should) only matter within the context of a community.

That is how i REALLY feel about marriage and prop 8. But because we are stuck with the current system we have, i do feel that prop 8 protects marriage as a sacred institution while affording homosexuals the legal rights associated with marriage, save the term itself.

I'm starting to feel that old anarchist spirit well up again. I'm really missing Goldman, Bakunin, Proudhon, Berkman, Bookchin and the gang.
its stupid late. and im stupid for being up.
goodnight
<3

here we go again.

2008-11-19T15:50:00.000-08:00

info about me first:
still love london.
arsenal is not doing great these days.
i kinda hate FIFA (the organization, not the video game).
School is fine.

Chances are, if you read my blog, you know that I attempt to be very fair in my politics, and that i am very much in favor of the separation of church and state. In my own fashion i understand the frustration of feeling as though there is no room within your faith for the way you think or feel politically (obs. I am not trying to say that I understand the difficulty of being homosexual AND mormon. I don't. I can't imagine how difficult it would be to feel that way). Having felt on the outside of the popular thought of my faith, i have always attempted to respect the views of others and to try to see things from as many angles as possible before coming to any conclusions, if coming to a conclusion at all. When the LDS church made a statement in support of Proposition 8, i was upset and confused, and staunchly opposed to the proposed amendment. As such, coming to the conclusion that I am a supporter of it took a lot of thought and it was difficult and shocking for me.

I do not believe the homosexuality is a choice that one makes. I do believe that there are those among us who are born with attraction to their same sex. I do not think of such a thing as an abomination or an aberration. It is different from me the same way that someone having brown eyes differs from me. But because of my faith i do not, and cannot, agree with homosexual practices. It makes it clear through scripture and modern day revelation through prophets that practiced homosexuality is a practice that i cannot support. I am in full support of homosexuals receiving all of the legal rights that heterosexuals are given. I am in full support of civil unions and domestic partnerships allowing homosexuals the validity that their relationships deserve. I do not, however, support allowing homosexuals the right to "Marry."

Now, I thought one post about prop 8 would suffice but I was wrong. It continues to fester. Since the vote in November all the protests and commotion surrounding the passing of Prop 8 has kept it in the limelight for a while longer. Further, there have been numerous commentaries made by a variety of people concerning it's passing and the people who supported it that I would like to address. This is one of them:

Thank you Keith. You've spoken well. Your emotion touches me and i wish i could agree with you.

But to answer your question- what is it to me? Why do i care?
There are many who would like to paint this as an issue of compassion. That by not supporting the right for homosexuals to marry I, and those who agree with me, are somehow being cruel to gays. But what about my right to believe in something legitimately sacred (look up sacred if you need to- it doesn't just mean 'special'). You are right, Keith. It is an issue of the heart. Subsequently I believe in allowing gays to have something to legitimize their relationships, but not at the cost of defiling the most central of God-established institutions.

I have really grown to resent the comparison between the Civil rights movement and the Gay rights movement. The difference between the two is fairly clear to me. Being black doesn't necessitate that you believe or behave differently from anyone else. Whereas Homosexuality has an inherent belief system and behavior attached to it and it is precisely the belief system and behavior that i find to be immoral and an affront to the concept of marriage and family as sacred.

The problem is that people have made the issue about love. As uncaring as it sounds, this issue is not about love. Everyone has their life to live. So if a man wants to love a man that's okay with me. If Sarah wants to love Marissa that's fine with me. I think Ellen Degeneres is really cool. But I should not have to profane what is pure in order to legitimate their love. Why should I, and like-minded people, be forced to roll over and sacrifice our idea of sanctity? Yes, Keith Olberman, i do want to SANCTIFY marriage, i do want to honor my God.

So please don't presume to tell me that somehow by not supporting gay marriage I'm not practicing my religion. Don't patronize me and quote scripture at me. Don't water down and simplify my faith into being a single line used to justify sin and debauchery. Apparently (from what i have heard-I am in England after all) there have been many members leaving the church or attempting to reprimand or correct the Brethren over this issue. It is sad to me and an obvious mistake, but that is an issue for another blog blurb. i have my own Omar Khayyam quote that i keep in the front of my journal for instances like this, when i flirt with the notion that perhaps my understanding supersedes that of God. In typical Khayyam fashion, it comes in the form of a quatrain.
"Oh though who burn'st in heart for those who burn,
In hell, whose fires thyself shall feed in turn,
How long be crying 'Mercy on them God!'
Why, who art thou to teach, and He to learn?"

or in the words of Joseph Smith, "There are a great many wise men and women too in our midst who are too wise to be taught; therefore they must die in their ignorance, and in the resurrection they will find their mistake."

The protests, as they currently stand (hateful, violent, and ugly), are unacceptable and I think that everyone should be able to condemn them. There are legitimate ways to go about disagreeing and they should be pursued.

I'm fairly certain there will be more blogging from me on this topic. but let's hope not....right? i need to get back to soccer and comics.

who knew?

2008-10-25T17:42:00.000-07:00

this started out as a comment on a friends blog, but it got too long so i decided to post it here. you can tell where i changed it because the language goes from personal to slightly more formal, as i am addressing more than just my friend. ha.

you know me well enough to anticipate that i am/have been a pretty strong opponent of Prop 8. Yours has been one of the better thought out opinions that i have read on it (and i've read my share). After having read it, i read a lot more (though i've read a lot in the past as well). And have been rolling it around. I'm finding that I had fallen victim to the dichotomization of political thought that is all too prevalent in US politics. It's either A or B, no 3rd option available. The issues that i have are these:

A- Gays are denied certain rights and privileges afforded to straight couples based purely on their sexuality and inability to marry. Some of these are for the best (i dunno how i feel about adoption), whereas others are wrong. The gov't should have no place in it.

B- As a mormon we, theologically, don't really believe in the validity of state marriage anyway. If it's outside of the temple, to a certain extent, it doesn't count. Subsequently i don't believe in gov't involvement in marriage at all.

C- i don't believe that legislating morality can or should occur. i cannot help but separate church and state. i know a lot of people say the same thing and then talk about how their religious views guide their political views. I'm afraid i am not so privileged. My religious views dictate my life and my stances for myself. My political ideas are those that i feel can be applied to everyone regardless of their faith, without violating their personal choices.
(there are others, and even these are quite dumbed down, but you get the picture. this is sufficient to explain that i don't love prop 8).

This obviously clashes with my desire to follow the council of the leaders of the church, which is more difficult than people paint it. Many describe it as "simple council" or say "the prophet said it, just do it." That's not my style, nor is it the church's. We are admonished (there's a sweet church vocab word) to heed the brethren, but also to pray about every council so that we have a testimony of its veracity. When the church does something that seems to violate my personal conscience it is up to me to understand why, and attempt to reconcile the ideas. i believe whole heartedly that there is nothing that church may/will do that will be irreconcilable with my ideas. I'm not always the sharpest and sometimes need to think about things from a different perspective, and sometimes (though rarely (ha)) i'm just wrong.

I have come to terms with the fact that i could vote yes on prop 8 (if i could vote at all). My position on gay rights has not changed, nor do i believe in legislating morals more than i did before. However, as i mentioned before the american approach to the issue --"Prop 8, Yes or No"-- is insufficient. It creates a false polarity between "I love homosexuality and have no qualms with it permeating public life" and "i hate Fa$*#^s." However, that divide just does not exist. Voting yes does not make you a homophobe any more than voting no makes you a homosexual. There needs to be a rethinking of the entire situation and concessions need to be made.

Wanting to preserve marriage as a union between man and woman does not necessitate the denial of rights and privileges currently suffered by homosexuals. the rights can be afforded without redefining what is into what should not be. that is what i would like to see happen.

voting yes to prop 8 does not close the door to gay rights. however, voting no on prop 8 does soil the sacred and redefine the divine as regular. so if you are a member of the church, you have to decide for yourself. but the excuses to vote against prop 8, in my opinion, are fairly slim.

and yes. i am as surprised as you to hear myself saying this.

Old news.

2008-10-25T14:53:00.000-07:00

I apologize in advance as i am sure what i am posting is old news. Being in England i have been too a large extent blissfully ignorant to the current presidential campaign. I'm typically a very political person. I enjoy politics. I feel as though i understand them as well, or better than most people. i have become a lot more moderate than i was a few years ago, though i do find those views appealing as a utopian ideal.
I was just sitting down to do some reading about speaking and hearing when i was distracted by amanda's blog. it had shared a video with a witty anti-sarah palin song set to the melody of some pop-acoustic song that was quite popular, and that if i am being quite honest, has a spot on my guilty pleasures list. after watching it and smirking a time or two i spent a while sifting through the other recommended videos on youtube. when i came across this video (like i said, it's old- i apologize)...

what a terrifying prospect that this woman could become the vice president. truly petrifying. While watching it i literally covered my mouth in horror and said "oh no." I have heard a lot of people say "if McCain and Palin win, I'm leaving America." While I tend to think that's a stupid idea, i can't help but sympathize after watching this video. I am wanting to return to the states to do my PhD...but maybe a few more years here will help me miss out on a dark time.
if this isn't the first thing that came you your mind, let me help you compare that video to another video that also made a big splash in the news.

honestly i can't tell the difference between the two videos.
I am not a big fan of Barak Obama either and i despise the idea that we choose "the lesser of two evils," but i fear it may be necessary.
God help us.

an Update...the most scattered blogpost ever.

2008-10-22T02:05:00.000-07:00

i haven't updated this lately as i've been rather busy. strange for me but true. it's hard for me to update this blog when i don't feel interesting. right now im not feeling like a very interesting character, but im going to do this anyway.

a strange epitaph that i saw on a gravestone recently:
And when the Earth shall claim your limbs, then shall you truly dance.

From my notebook:
"Hoje, na igreja pensei em dar uma facada na pessoa sentado ao meu lado"
Translation: "Today in church i thought about stabbing the person sitting next to me"

There are 8 names in the book of mormon with the م-ل-ك root.

From Tao Te Ching (which i am rereading and loving again (i do consider it scripture)):
The Sage puts his own views behind
so ends up ahead
He stays a witness to life
so he endures
What could he grab for
that he does not already have?
What could he do for himself
that the universe itself has not already done?

I saw a real life fox the other night. It was a beautiful woodland creature in the middle of london. we connected on a spiritual level i think. Then there was a lady on the bus talking of the "white mans" conspiracy. How "the white man doesn't hesitate to kill the black man" and "wants the african woman disrespected". I love a conspiracy theory. Those of you that know me well know that i REALLY LOVE a conspiracy theory. i just fail to see how i would benefit from killing black people or disrespecting african women.

I went to Bath and Stonehenge over the weekend with Misty and Tom. It was a lovely trip. Bath is a charming place that was overrun with tourists, but didn't feel to terrible considering i live in london. There was a great little antique book shop that had the world's tiniest copy of the Rubaiyyat there. I wanted it, but maturity got the best of me and i didn't purchase it. We went to the Roman baths after which Bath is named and saw the ruins around it. The more i think about it the more i enjoyed it. Bath is also built near a river, and is full of scenic parks and views of the countryside. It was a really beautiful place. I enjoyed it. Then we drove for what felt like a long time (i have no time-telling implements here in england (more on that later)) in order to get to Stonehenge. Upon arrival we were promptly told that Stonehenge was closed. So we stood at the street and took pictures of it. And to be honest, even if you go in you can't get much closer to it than we did from the street so bottom line: 5 pounds saved. Here's a great picture (no photoshop!)

From recent conversation (edited to remove identities and content) with a friend (F) and me (J):

F: what time is it there? 2011?

J: yes. July 2011. 1:12 in the afternoon. you must kill a man and keep Skynet from being created.

F: could you get me a sports almanac?

J: sports have been abolished by the robots... you should see the &$*# John McCain has done....

F: hahahaha. i'm going to vote today

J: i wish i had made that joke with Sarah Palin instead...Pres. Palin

F: ZING!

J: i studied qabbalah today! we read the lyrics to 'like a virgin'

F: haha wtf?

J: yeah good class right? im in grad school. reading madonna

F: but it's the grad students that decide what higher education is, so who can argue?

J: haha. who WOULD argue? it seems obvious that Madonna belongs in the bible

F: at least i'm pretty sure my face is melting

J: just put clear plastic over your skull so you have a rad skull face!

F: ooh

(when i left the house after this conversation i really saw a van that said "Skynet" on it. i was afraid)

uhmm. im done with this now. I'll post more real stuff later. maybe.

arsenal plays at sunderland this weekend

2008-10-03T05:38:00.000-07:00

this video is arsenal legend P. Vieira speaking to Keane, who is now sunderlands manager. pretty funny.

sabedoria.

2008-10-01T08:39:00.000-07:00

Quem vem ao mundo é para sofrer
Uns fogem da vida
Mas eu quero viver
Quem não sabe sofrer não tem amor a Deus
Carrego a minha cruz
Deus me ensinou a suportar os sofrimentos meus
Assim eu vou até o fim, feliz
Nesse mundo é quem pensa assim
Sou pobre mas sou rico
Que bondade que Deus me deu
Deus não esqueceu!

Champions' League

2008-09-30T13:49:00.000-07:00

Arsenal 4-0 Porto.
I don't understand how arsenal can be so bad at the weekend, and so good 3 days later. I hope that this goal is a turning point for Adebayor. Last year he was scoring goals, but that sorta dried up. He hasn't scored much this year (that hat trick barely counts (serious)). But he had not one, but TWO, well deserved goals this match. That should snap him out of it. Everyone looked pretty sharp. I still dont think Denilson should be in the starting XI. whatever.

Today was my first classes. Mystical Traditions, and Research methods of Anthropology. Mystical traditions looks challenging, but cool. I feel like i'll learn a lot in that class. I've always been interested in the occult and mystical teachings that are inherent in every religion. I've always felt that mystical experience is the culmination of religion, the end that the religious are searching for. But somehow it is also the part we deny ourselves the most. We talk about miracles in the details of life, and feeling the spirit, but if i came right out and said "Last night i dreamt a dream and the Lord told me..." or "I had a vision this afternoon as i walked on the path to the library" we (myself included) would scoff. Yet, we do the things we do and believe what we believe in hope of attaining something that is completely mystical in nature. Further, studying the mystical, at least in mormon tradition (and in many others), is typically shot down and called "looking past the mark." I think i've blogged about how much that bothers me in the past. Bottom line, i am really looking forward to this class. I legitimately can't think of a topic i would rather study right now. (It also will help me with a comic idea i've been working on...haha).

Research Methods, seems less cool and ugh. but i'm only auditing it, so i can bear sitting in there for an hour on tuesday afternoons. His lecture today consisted of reading a pre-written speech about his early days as an anthropologist and his ethnographic research in India. It was sufficiently interesting, i just don't know what i was supposed to learn from it. In the course of his talk he spoke about how outgoing he had to be to make in-roads with the locals. I couldn't help but think to myself "oh jeez. there's no way i can do that. I don't talk to anyone."

Later this evening i went to the pub to watch the Arsenal v. Porto match. I bought myself dinner (which was too much money, truly more than i should pay. But i wanted a decent meal. I've been eating a lot of crap). So i ate well, and was fairly satisfied, though perhaps i should feel a bit of buyers remorse. Then i watched the arsenal match content on my barstool. Eventually i somehow ended up conversing with the two guys next to me. From what i gathered they were from birmingham, but were in london for some work (which sounded like construction work, something to do with fireproofing?). We spoke about a bunch of stuff. From football, to the US political and economic situation "that prime minis-errr president of yours is a real prick, and tony blair just lickin up his ass." I also learned that he was the youngest, and had 6 brothers. He told me about his parents funerals, how his family was originally from Scotland, and how moving to birmingham was difficult because he felt like an immigrant (justifiably so). We talked about his friend who went to the US to live, and got busted drink-driving 3 times and did 12 months in the clink which then developed into a commentary on race relations in the US prison system. we talked about a lot of stuff. There was a kid in between us, and i could not understand a single word he said. It was literally like a different language. I couldn't even pick out words that seemed familiar. Except "birds". he did say that a few times.

As i left the pub i thought to myself. ok, perhaps i could do ethnographic research if i needed to. So i feel better about anthropology right now. I'm still a little intimidated, but i'm optimistic.

i think that's all i have for tonight.
goodnight.

I truly believe.

2008-09-28T14:15:00.000-07:00

I truly believe that we could have fielded the Carling Cup team that stomped Sheff Utd. on Tuesday against Hull on Saturday and we would have won.

In other news I went to 3 hours of church today. It wasn't so bad. I took copious notes of my observations about the ward (nothing actually religious, more like "there are as many cheesy kids here as there are in wards at home" type stuff).

Classes should start tomorrow. Huzzah.

Curiosity.

2008-09-27T16:33:00.000-07:00

Part of me wonders:

Is the reason the United States has not yet had a black president because other races fear the political ramifications of the phrase "Once you go black you never go back"?

a classic conversation- yet very typical.

2008-09-22T11:29:00.000-07:00

This is a conversation that i just had and really enjoyed. I have withheld the name of the person with whom i had the conversation for his protection. It has also been edited for content.

Friend: have you started class yet?

ME (J): no. school over here is organized super weird...
aka not at all.
i never know what im supposed to be doing/where i should be
haha

F: you go to hogwarts

J: HAHA
except i don't learn anything so useful as magic

F: yeah right
its 100% magic
you will be a wizard when you're done

J: i hope so.
i'll magic me up some f*#*@*n money

F: if i was a wizard i would never be without money, or without naked babes

J: yeah.
that would be the first/only spell i learned
and maybe an asskickin' spell
so i could #**$& people up
haha

F: and my friends would never be without money or naked babes either

J: unless they made me sad or mad
and then it wouldn't be out of meanness, just because it would make me too lazy
to cast the necessary spell

F: i would wear a cape

J: oh, i would dress like Dr. Strange

F: and cast a spell that made capes awesome

J: i would want everyone to look at me suspiciously
like "what is he up to?

F: also i would cast a "fountain of youth" spell on myself
wizards are so badass

J: and a "fountain of skinny" so i could eat whatever i chose

F: totally

J:i would levitate when i slept.

F:dah! i have to go to school!!!!!!!

Sunday.

2008-09-21T09:14:00.000-07:00

After going to bed last night at some stupid hour (i think it was like 5:30 a.m) I woke up around noon. I thought about going to church, but I wasn't feeling well due to something i ate last night (probably that super spicy thing). So i thought, for the sake of my possible future social life, i would give myself a chance NOT to poop my pants at church. So i went back to bed, waking up this time around 3:00 pm.
I was feeling much better when i got up and knew that I had a few things that i still wanted to do. So I went downstairs and registered with a doctor near my school, so i can get health care. Soon I believe I will have a National Health Service number. God bless universal health care! The internet tried to tell me that there were no tickets to Tuesday's Arsenal match left, but i was suspicious, and wanted to see Arsenal stadium regardless. So i hopped on the train and rode up there, a measly 2 stops from me. Went walking and found it. I bought my ticket for Tuesday (not sold out) then went to the All-Arsenal shop and bought myself a scarf. Then i took a walk around, tried to find hangers while i was in a different neighborhood, but failed. I also saw a paper with a headline that said "Ronaldo's Girl is a 2k Hooker!" which i laughed at.
then i came home for a minute. ate some food. and then decided to go out walking again. Thats when i found that park that used to be a cemetery that i found all too charming in my own creepy way. That was actually the second park i stopped into, but it won my heart over the other one. The idea of having dead bodies under the park...just too rad. That and the graves everywhere.
Oh, I found hangers too. They were super expensive (roughly $1 per hanger) but i bought them. I only bought a few and put multiple pieces of clothing on each one. If you haven't noticed yet, i'm cheap. I've even gone back and removed all my little comments about how much things cost (e.g., the train ride, the McDonalds, etc.).
Now i'm back at my place, listening to miles davis, talking to friends and relaxing.
I'm a happy boy.
For people who read this and don't have facebook, here's a link to some fotos.

http://www.new.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2211590&l=a1cb2&id=17830946

wish me luck getting up in the morning, i have no alarm clock, and no control over my sleep lately.
Goodnight!

here's some stuff.

2008-09-20T11:43:00.000-07:00

This is an email i just wrote to my family, but it gives a fairly decent summary of...today, and my england experience so far (coughcough-today).

It's nearly 4 in the morning and my eyes just shot open (by "just" i mean 50 minutes ago). Something I ate upset my stomach (it was so so spicy) and I think I left my pepto out of my bags at the last minute. Oh well. I'll just stay up late writing *blogs*.

I'm legitimately loving it here currently, though my inability to find a place to buy hangers frustrates me to death. The fact that it gets pretty chilly at night has me a touch worried about cold weather and the warm-factor of my clothing, but I'll deal with that issue when it comes along.

Everything here is (at least) 5 pounds. Which lulls you into thinking, "that isn't much money..." then you stop and realize that it's like 10 bucks, and it makes you cry. Then you find toilet paper (the cheapest you can find) for 1.50 and you're like "Yeah! that's cheap!" but once you've bought it you realize that 3 dollars for 6 rolls of TP is not cheap, and on top of that you've gotten what you deserve for buying cheap toilet paper. I have to keep reminding myself that in a city I don't quite know yet, that price hunting is not typically the best option, and to stop being cheap. It especially isn't the best option when you've spent a large portion of your day looking for an item and found it, and if you turn your back on it hoping to find it cheaper, chances are you won't be able to find your way back.

I watched the Arsenal match in the bar across the street from my house this evening. The fact that I watched it in the evening instead of at 10:30 a.m. is thrilling to me. I don't care about watching it at a bar, but I suppose its something I should expect to do while I'm here...off to a good start then. (oh- and Alex Song the dude I've said since BEFORE the season should be starting Defensive Midfielder for Arsenal got a start tonight and did well defensively as well as putting a header off the post and having a doozey of a shot saved. Can I just say "I told you so" to nobody in particular, because nobody reading this cares? ha) I met some random dudes with thick accents watching the match. They were really nice to me and seemed pretty impressed by an Arsenal fan from the US that actually knew something about the club. They were funny and loud and fit every stereotype you would want them too. They even referred to women as 'birds' at one point. That made me laugh.

Speaking of which, I find that the English accent makes me laugh more than it used to. It's almost as if, despite logically knowing that everyone here talks like that, somewhere in my subconscious I had believed that it was something that they played up for movies to please me. As such I laugh a lot. I talked to Tyler recently and he called them "Tiny Tim voices" and now I laugh even more. *Naomi, why don't you talk funnier? You talk entirely too normally in comparison with some of these people. (haha, what a terrible thing to say. sorry.)*

Tomorrow, I have to find my way to church. It doesn't look too hard, but getting lost on the underground system worries me- expensive. Oh well. I also need to figure out if I can go to the Arsenal match on Tuesday without disrupting my school schedule. It's a Carling Cup match and I can go for just 10 pounds (cheaper than the 33 for regular league games). I'm also still on the search for hangers and super glue. People act like they've never heard of hangers around here- drives me crazy.

I keep updating that google map i made with the random places I've walked to as an exercise in learning my way around (obs. i've not been to buckingham palace or any of the other famous landmarks yet, those are just for reference).

View Larger Map

i'm pretty interested in World War II right now. Does anyone know of a good book to read on the subject? Nothing intense, just something interesting that i could read for fun?

alright, let's give this sleeping thing a shot.
goodnight.

ideas.

2008-09-04T01:06:00.000-07:00

i do not like the idea of Barack Obama becoming the next president. Nor do I like the idea of John McCain becoming the next president. What am i to do?
I watched the RNC tonight to scope out Palin and what she's all about. a few observations.
-the speeches delivered tonight really turned me off to the Republican candidates. They were critical, sarcastic, and lacked any sort of grace. I am not naive to the fact that politicians criticize one another in speeches. I watched every day of the DNC and heard plenty of criticism of McCain, Bush, and the republican party. But the criticisms offered at the RNC tonight (by both Giuliani and Palin) were not necessarily helpful to the undecided voter nor did it help McCain's image, campaign or anything else. Truth be told. I've never been as likely to vote for Obama as I was while listening to a room full of pompous republican dicks literally laugh at Obama's record as a community organizer. If you want to point out that it is not executive experience, that's fine- point it out. but do it with some shred of dignity. Do it because it's in America's best interest, or your best interest. But this felt like the condescension of the "cool kids" in school toward an outsider.
-where were the minorities at the RNC? speaking of which- where were the people. There were lots of empty seats, and those that were filled were full of old white people. Don't get me wrong, i noticed the token black person and the occasional latin person holding the VIVA McCAIN sign, but when compared with the DNC it looked like a Klan meeting.
- it is a constant criticism i have of politicians that they speak with no direction. they don't tell you of plans, or the methods they hope to employ to bring about the changes we all hope for. they merely talk around the issues, employing the necessary buzz words to instill the listener with the idea that they have actually discussed issues. Obama did this in his speech, and does it really well whenever he speaks. Giuliani and Palin however, did not even attempt to use this time-tested technique. Instead they spoke of Obama's inability to do ANYTHING and McCain's record as a P.O.W., a senator of the Reagan revolution, a maverick, a nice guy, etc. and to tell you the truth, i can't say that they even did that very well.

I came from the RNC feeling that maybe Obama is deserving of my vote. I felt it more strongly tonight than i did at the end of the DNC.
(if i'm honest with you, i'm not going to vote. but i like thinking about it)

I was wondering today, is John McCain 2008's Bob Dole? Does the Republican party want him because they think he can win, or do they want to reward him for his long period of service to the party?

i'll probably rewrite this tomorrow. i recognize this is poorly written and doesn't express my thoughts well.
i can't think straight right now. must sleep soon.

p.s. why can't BYU and Provo get on the same page to make this city much much cooler for all who live here?

good day.

2008-08-30T12:26:00.000-07:00

Arsenal 3-0 Newcastle (RVP x2, Denilson)
Now watching Speed Racer.
Vicki Cristina Barcelona is among my favorite movies this year.
I love comics.
I move in t-minus 19 days.
I'm starting to collect photos of friends after whom I can pattern the physical appearance of characters in my comic. if you are interested in that, let me know.

for Francesco. and me.

2008-08-19T22:50:00.000-07:00

i like making lists lately.
Francesco asked me to make a top 5 records i listened to in High School. i changed it to 10 and this is what i came up with (in no specific order):

-Hot Water Music- Forever and Counting

-At the Drive In- in/casino/out

-Promise Ring- Nothing Feels Good

-Cave In- Until Your Heart Stops

- Get Up Kids- 4 Minute mile

- Curl Up and Die- the Only Good Bug is a Dead Bug

- the Casket Lottery- Choose Bronze

- Cave In- Jupiter

- Saves the Day- Through Being Cool

honorable mentions:
- Rancid- Life Won't Wait.
- You and I- self titled
- Cursive- Storms of Early Summer: Semantics in Song
- Twelve Hour Turn- Victory of Flight

and the best EP's ever are as follows:

-Hot Water Music- Moonpies of Misfits

-Cave In- Creative Eclipses

-Get up Kids- Red Letter Day

-Promise Ring- Boys and Girls

-Elliot- If They Do

- Ink and Dagger- Drive this 7 inch stake through my Philadelphia Heart

man. music used to be awesome.

what happened?

Almost nobody I know will be interested in this, or This one is for me.

2008-08-12T15:52:00.000-07:00

I've been worried about Arsenal this preseason. As they've been, I don't think they've got it in them to win things. However, i've figured out the line-up that i would trust most. So, if i were Arséne Wenger, this would be my XI:
Goalkeeper: Almunia (Fabianski)
Defenders:
(L)- Clichy (Traore)
(C)- Gallas (Senderos)
(C)- Toure (Djourou)
(R)- Sagna (Eboue/Hoyte)
Midfield:
(L)- Nasri
(C-Attacking)- Fabregas (Denilson/Wilshere)
(C-Holding)- Song (Diaby/Ramsey)
(R)- Walcott (Vela/Eboue)
Forwards:
Adebayor (Bendtner)
van Persie (Vela)

As far as the Defense go, the line-up writes itself.

In the midfield i've excluded those permanently injured (Rozicky) as well as those i know nothing about (Amaury Bischoff). I hope that Amaury Bischoff surprises me and becomes obvious first team/starting choice on the right (or Rozicky has a miraculous healing) in order to free up Theo to be the first choice striker behind RVP (who I expect to injured any time now, and who hasn't quite refound his touch/positioning). If i'm being honest I just want Eduardo back as first choice.
I chose Song as the holding midfielder because A- Diaby is made of glass and I don't know if he has the chops to play game in, game out, B- Song's experience playing as a center back would calm my concern for the mediocre relationship between Toure and Gallas, and C- when played as a defensive minded center mid-fielder for Cameroon Song has shone, even getting named as one of the Africa Cup of Nation's best players.
Cesc is the obvious choice, as is Nasri on the Left.

Adebayor is our obvious first choice striker. As dumb as he made himself look over the summer, we need him to keep scoring goals. RVP will be the proper attack partner for Ade if he finds his touch again soon. If not i would like to see Theo getting the start partnering Ade. As soon as eduardo is back i want to see him getting time.

For my money- thats the best line up. in my opinion, that line up can win trophies.

Best songs ever...

2008-08-09T23:22:00.000-07:00

As of late i've been trying to decide on what the best songs ever are... i'd like to hear your opinions too. (obs. Im not taking into consideration classical music.)

My indisputable #1 is Bohemian Rhapsody by Queen

Tied for numbers 2/3 are Kashmir by Led Zepplin

and Tonight, Tonight by the Smashing Pumpkins

Arsenal plays their first champions league match on wednesday against Steve McLaren's FC Twente. We shouldn't have a problem- but who knows lately. After that we have our first league match on the 16th against West Brom. Should be an easy match. but never say never.
(this is where my friends stop reading)

I would love to say that i believe that Arsenal is going to win everything this season, but if i am honest I don't think our team is deep enough to do it. I really do feel that the back 4 needs an overhaul (obs. Clichy and Sagna are wonderful. Its really the centerbacks that worry me (obs. on my obs. if there are criticisms of Clichy or Sagna it's that they are sometimes caught out of position on the counterattack)).

On top of that we NEED to sign someone to take Flamini's role on the team. I would love Gareth Barry, and be excited about Gokhan Inler. We were recently linked with Giavinco- he looks like class, but he looks like he would fill the same role as Nasri (who is already injured...ugh). I would love to see a signing to take the place of RVP. I've lost faith that he will be fit enough to play throughout the season- and he seems to have problems positioning himself properly lately. If i'm honest i really just want Eduardo back. I love him. A lot.

im impressed to death with Jack Wilshere. i wish i had half that talent when i was 16.

comic con wrap up

2008-07-26T23:40:00.000-07:00

i almost got barfed on my an irishman.
i almost got barfed on by a little kid.
i successfully gave my pitch to 2 companies (boom! and oni)
i stared at corey feldman.
i went to the US premiere of pineapple express (it was rad. most of the cast was there. super fun/funny).
i saw step brothers. super funny.
i saw the rock.
i saw mark hamill in a rolls royce.
i saw harold and kumar.
i saw method man.
i went to the watchmen panel and was aroused.
i saw lou ferigno again. this time i didn't have to cut in line.
i saw the girl that was tank girl and the romance interest in point break.
i saw the guy who killed uncle ben (that bitch) his last name is Poppajon. i think he owns pizza. all of it.
i saw peter mayhew (chewbacca) again. this time we were at peace with each other.
i bought books (Contract with God trilogy, the Damned, Fables (vol.1), Last Call).
i told/heard lots of dirty jokes.
i broke my headphones.
thats all i think. no need to elaborate.

Update and Observations.

2008-07-24T07:59:00.000-07:00

A recent email sent to my brothers and my friend Kory:
Well, day zero of comic con is all done. The highlights? a long car ride, dirty jokes, no sleep, a decent philly cheesesteak from a bar, and a nearly being vomited on by one of a group of irish kids who were on the train yelling "Sheeew us yerrrrr puuuuuuubbbeeess" (yeah, you read that right).
I was up all night writing this damned pitch for the comic. There is no "right" way to write a pitch because, the more time i spend around comics the more i recognize, comics are not a professional community. They just a bunch of grown ass fanboys (the word fanboy is in the dictionary now, don't judge me).
Anyway, I'll probably mull this over throughout the day and print it tonight to have it ready for day 2. I'll go ahead and try to make some contacts today, as well as going to some panels on "How to Pitch Your Comic"- to see if i can't get any last minute pointers on how to go about doing this. tomorrow will be the day that i have the comic ready for anyone who wants to see it. Hopefully by then I will have made some contact with someone so that I will have someone to show it to, rather than just meandering around like a waif with a comic book.

And an observation:
Nas (a rapper) has recently launched his own campaign to denounce Fox news' apparent mistreatment of Black people, with specific focus on their portrayal of Barack Obama in the news media. If he were smart, Barack would denounce Nas' anti-Fox campaign. As a presidential candidate surely he recognizes the abuse that he will take in the course of the campaign. Further, Nas will reintroduce the race issue that Obama has worked so hard to avoid during his campaign up until this point. The repercussions of this will make it so that nearly any criticism of the Obama can be written off as racial criticism. It will only further taint an election process that is already foolishly full of foibles (alliteration! bam!) I am not attempting to say that Fox news' portrayal of Barack or his campaign. But i do think that this will potentially damage the ability of the news media to portray Obama with the amount of "fairness" or political criticism that he may deserve. Further, if Fox news is truly being as unfair as Nas would have me believe, surely this would do more to damage their reputation than that of Americas first viable african american candidate.

I am not an Obama supporter. In fact, i am not an anyone supporter. These days i really wish i lived in a monarchy... good thing im moving to one soon enough.

i feel sick and i can't eat and im too tired. but optimistic.
ciao bitches.

Players

2008-07-19T23:10:00.000-07:00

I wish i could have seen
Garrincha

and Pele

and Zidane

and zico
and socrates
and maradona
and beckenbauer
and cruyff
and henry (for arsenal)
and many many others.

recent favorites

2008-07-19T20:34:00.000-07:00

Drinks:
1. Coke
2. Mountain Dew
3. Full Throttle/AMP

Comics:
1. Invincible
2. Iron Fist
3. Daredevil

Records:
1. Lil Wayne 'Tha Carter III'
2. N.E.R.D "Seeing Sounds"
3. Russian Circles "Enter"

Movies:
1. The Dark Knight
2. Iron Man
3. The Bank Job

TV:
1. 30 Rock
2. It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia
3. Curb your Enthusiasm
4. Battlestar Galactica

Cartoons:
1. Metalocalypse
2. Gotham Knight
3. Foster's Home for Imaginary Friends
4. I like Justice League and the Batman when i can catch them. And batman the animated series

Activities:
1. Sleeping
2. Writing
3. Stressing about what on earth i'm doing.

Foods:
1. Coke
2. Sandwiches
3. anything not hot.

Soccer Teams:
1. ARSENAL
2. Real Salt Lake
3. America
4. Hull City (they're the Tigers!)

Basketball Teams:
1. the Jazz
2. Golden State (or what's left of them- that may change soon- as i have no brand loyalty to the warriors)
3. Pistons

Things i'll miss when i leave:
1. Sporting events with friends
2. going to movies whenever i like

Things I'm looking forward to:
1. Comic con (starts Thursday)
2. Arsenal season
3. moving away
4. the Watchmen movie

Goals i have:
1. growing up a little/getting my act together
2. publishing my comics
3. becoming a more well-rounded person

im working on a comic submission to show around at comic con this week. wish me luck.
i have some other things going to. wish me luck on that too i guess.
ha.

As I've always said...

2008-07-06T12:38:00.000-07:00

Coca-cola makes the world go 'round. I've always said it and i will always stand by it. I know a lot of people who boycott it for supposed wrong doings- but really. That thought is based on misconceptions of the coca-cola corporate model.
Coke is the best thing the planet has to offer. If i could give the world a coke...

read this. From the Economist:

Index of happiness?
A bottle of Coke tracks change in Africa

AFRICANS buy 36 billion bottles of Coke a year. Because the price is set so low—around 20-30 American cents, less than the price of the average newspaper—and because sales are so minutely analysed by Coca-Cola, the Coke bottle may be one of the continent’s best trackers of stability and prosperity.

“We see political instability first because we go down as far as we can into the market,” says Alexander Cummings, head of Coca-Cola’s Africa division. The ups and downs during Kenya’s post-election violence this year could be traced in sales of Coke in Nairobi’s slums and in western Kenya’s villages. Events in the Middle East, such as the 2006 war between Hizbullah and Israel, can dent sales in Muslim parts of Africa, though anti-American feeling usually wears off quite quickly.

Coca-Cola says it is the largest private-sector employer in Africa. Its system of distribution, which moves the sugary drink from bottling plants deep into slums and the bush a few crates at a time, may employ around 1m Africans. A study at the University of South Carolina suggested that 1% of South Africa’s economy was tied up, one way or another, in the distribution and sale of Coke. The company has been in Africa since 1928. Its outgoing global boss, Neville Isdell, grew up—barefoot, he says—in Zambia. Mr Cummings is from Liberia. In Africa, as elsewhere, the company has to defend itself from critics who accuse it of “mining water” for production, encouraging expensive and environmentally harmful refrigeration, and hurting local producers of juice and water.

At a macro-level, when Coke fails, the country whose market it is trying to penetrate usually fails too. Coca-Cola’s bottling plant in Eritrea hardly works because the country’s totalitarian government makes it impossible to import the needed syrup. The factory in Somalia sputtered on heroically during years of fighting but finally gave out when its sugar was pinched by pirates and its workers were held up by gunmen. Mr Cummings admits that Coca-Cola is “on life support” in Zimbabwe.

Still, if Coca-Cola’s predictions are anything to go by, Africa’s future is mostly bright. The company expects sales in Africa to grow by an annual 10-13% over the next few years, handily outstripping economic growth. The biggest markets will be in petro-economies such as Nigeria and Angola, and countries like Ghana and Kenya where a middle class is emerging. Kenya’s citizens may like to know that, despite their country’s many troubles earlier this year, Coca-Cola has invested $50m in a new bottling plant and $10m in new offices.

http://www.economist.com/world/africa/displaystory.cfm?story_id=11670946

i've been thinking.

2008-06-28T19:24:00.000-07:00

Tomorrow is the Euro 08 final. Germany vs. Spain.
I predicted Germany to win from the beginning, and I'm not going to abandon that prediction- however, for Cesc Fabregas' sake I would prefer Spain to win. I love Cesc. I can't say enough for the caliber of player he is. As far as Arsenal fans are concerned, allegiance is divided between Cesc and Spain, and Jens for Germany. I'll miss that mad german. so crazy.
I wish that home phones would make a resurgence. I may let my contract expire and not get a new phone. Cell phones are a tedious instrument. And i feel as though having a home phone and nothing else would slow the pace of life and require one to make plans and be more considerate. Cell phones certainly can increase the ability of a person to be spontaneous. Hrmm i can certainly see the benefits of cell phones. but i think im going to regress to a home phone.
man i am amped for hellboy 2 and the dark knight.
i have a new job in provo, so i am there every day now. its nice to be somewhere with friends, but it is crummier than i anticipated to live on random couches throughout the week. And teaching high school kids isn't the raddest either. (By the way, can i come sleep on your couch?)
Comic con is coming up soon. I am really excited about that. The plan is to have enough of the artwork complete on one of the comics that i am writing so that we (the artist and I) can show it around to publishers and make some submissions. Soon enough we can get published, insha'allah.
speaking of me regressing in time. I wish that boxing were still a major sport. I've always loved watching boxing matches. it just ain't what it used to be.

thats really alli have today.
nighty night.

whats going now!...or 'we are not the same, i am a martian'

2008-06-12T12:37:00.000-07:00

R. Kelly and Soccer blogs make the world go round. so say i. but for your sake i'll push them to the end.
In recent news, i went to Kanye West's "Glow in the Dark" tour. And i can say it was one of the most impressive things i've seen before. it was bananas! With a line up of 4 different hit makers (Lupe Fiasco, N.E.R.D., Rihanna, and Kanye), the show was crazy from start to finish. I would go further into the show, but there is really no describing it. Less like a concert and more like a play, ridiculous special effects, an inspirational message, a free inspirational book, sensory overload to the max and all the sci fi a nerd like myself could want...it was rad.
My opinion on Kanye hasn't changed really. I still think of him more as a pop star than as a hip hop MC- but i've got a lot of respect for Kanye's drive to do interesting/epic stuff.
Now, to contradict myself, Mr. West recycled another sample for Lil Wayne's new record, using the same sample in both Alicia Keys "You don't know my name" and Lil Wayne's "Comfortable". both tracks are hot, so im not really complaining- merely observing. it doesn't bum me out as hard as the sample biting K. did on "they say" by common and "Drive slow". i still love you kanye.
Speaking of new records: Lil Wayne's "Tha Carter III" is rad. the more i listen to it, the more i want to listen to it. N.E.R.D.'s new record "Seeing Sounds" is a must purchase. Just when i was looking for some new music these two popped up and quenched that desire with exactly what i would want. Im also looking forward to new records by R. Kelly and Phoenix. May they come soon. Im sure there are other records im waiting on too, but those are the ones that come to mind right now. Oh, Rancid's new record too- I hope its better than "invincible"- that record was a bummer.

Kells:
-R. Kelly, may not be innocent, but sending him to jail is just punishing Society as a whole. Locking up Kells is like locking up love...and if you don't buy that surely his sexual depravity will only be served by jail time. ha.
Soccer:
-i knew Croatia is good (one of my favorite players is Croatian (kinda, he's really brazilian naturalized in Croatia)). but a win over Germany was unexpected. I can say they outplayed germany, but really their second goal was a miracle fluke-but Olic's positioning was right, so you can't whine too much.
-the netherlands are going to stomp the shit out of france tomorrow. im excited to watch it. but France may surprise me, especially if Domenech pulls his head out of his ass and fields a decent team (meaning the Henry and Viera (both ex-Gunners) will need to be back). It would have been easier for him to field a decent team had he made better selections when building his squad.
the euro's are taking over my life.

well...

2008-06-08T14:15:00.000-07:00

apparently people don't like blogs on soccer. well suck it. we're 2 days into Euros and so far my predictions are 100% correct. Today i not only picked the teams that would win, but also the scores, and who would score goals. man. im rad.
i was on the radio last night, did anyone listen? it was plenty ridiculous. but super fun. i hope to do it again.
tonight america plays argentina. we are going to get thrashed. my prediction is 3-1. and the 1 for america is being hopeful/generous.
tomorrow is the hard day for predictions. ugh.
tomorrow im going to see Kanye West, Lupe Fiasco, NERD and Rihanna. pretty hyped on that.
im still poor and still need a job.
R Kelly is still innocent! (maybe not innocent, but not guilty? not deserving of jail? ...uhm.) well i dont want him in jail. the end.
Does anyone screen print anymore, i want to make a shirt.

nothing is going on.

2008-06-03T13:32:00.000-07:00

im watching soccer matches from last year because theres nothing else.
i constructed my Fantasy team for Euro 08 this is it. If I didn't have a money limit it would look different.

Goalkeeper-Iker Casillas
Defenders- Metzelder (Ger), Pepe (Por), Senderos (Swi), and Sergio Ramos (Spa)
Midfield- Aquilani (Ita), Miguel Veloso (Por), Argen Robben (Hol), and Samir Nasri (Fra)
Forwards- Ruud Van Nistelrooy (Hol), Luca Toni (Ita), and Karim Benzema (Fra).

I've also filled out my brackets, I'll save you the game by game details but heres who i have coming through.

Group A- 1-Portugal 2-Czech Republic
Group B- 1-Germany 2-Croatia
Group C- 1-Italy 2- The Netherlands (this very well could be france- but i think that the netherlands can pull the upset. they've got a lot of talent right now, and i dont feel as though France is taking advantage of all the young talent it has access to. This is the group nobody wanted to be in.)
Group D 1-Spain 2- Greece

thats all for now.

i've returned home.

2008-05-24T23:57:00.000-07:00

i've returned to blogging after quite some time. i hope that i remain on top of it and blog more frequently than i have recently.
i've found that i love google reader and subsequently i spend a lot of time reading other peoples blogs and not so much writing my own. im okay with that. I suggest you too sign onto google reader and that we become gfriends so that i can share awesome comic/movie/soccer news with you via reader.

In recent news. I've moved to sandy where i live with my brother. That should be good i think. We've always been good friends and so thats good.

I'm moving to London in September (for Grad School (Masters (Social Anthropology))). Everyone is invited to visit. I doubt that (m)any of you will, but the invitation is extended. if you know of any fabulous way to finance that education i would appreciate your insight. i am currently unemployed and rather enjoying it, but truth be told, i need some money- i got a speeding ticket, expired license ticket, and a parking ticket the other day. downer.

i saw thrice and pelican the other night, and it kinda restored my faith in the fact that i can go to shows and enjoy them. Both are bands that i've been into a lot lately, and i had seen neither before. Soon i will see joan of Arc (which i am HYPED about) and Kanye West/Lupe Fiasco. rads.

i haven't seen some of my friends in a ridiculously long time. that needs to be remedied. you know if you are on this list. call me.

the new indiana jones was rad, and if you didnt like it there is something wrong with you- not the movie. yes it is about aliens. i too would have preferred they hadn't dealt with aliens, but they did, and they did it as well as can be hoped for. disagree? hit me up, i'll happily tell you why you're wrong.

i get asked this a lot so i'm going to go ahead and say it here. My favorite comic movies are
#1-Iron Man
#2-Hellboy
#3-Batman Begins
#4-X2
#5-Superman Returns/Sin City/Spiderman 2/V for Vendetta

Arsenal didn't win anything again. 3 seasons now. ugh. but we're now into the summer months were rumours abound about who Arsene intends to sign. There are some rumours to be excited about, but they're rumours. So it's best to just sit back and trust that Arsene will sign who we need. The pictures i've seen of the new kit are cool. I hope they're legit.

REAL salt lake still sucks and it still makes me mad.

i'm unemployed. if you want to hire me at a better than living wage to just hang out and be rad, i will surely consider your offer.

i bought new shoes recently. pretty content with them.
im in saint george and my parents have the HEAT on. im pretty irritable about it. i should be kinder about it. but its so hard when im sweating.
i have a cut on my mouth that won't heal. weird. i've been sick a lot lately. i think i have tuberculosis.... not really. but who knows.
this is a long stupid entry. my apologies.

oh. i have two muxtape things. they're not up and working just yet. but will be soon. probably tomorrow night (tonight).
songs to wake to: conquerorworm.muxtape.com
songs to say goodnight to: josauh.muxtape.com
be on the lookout. i'll update them on occasion.

ok. i'll sleep now.
until i write again. be good.

Now.

2008-04-14T22:06:00.000-07:00

i can't lie: the fact that Arsenal was knocked out of both champions league and contention for the league title may, in fact, be the source of my current period of melancholy. do not misread. it is not the ongoing reason for said period. but it may have been the kick-off point.
I went to Real on Saturday. They won. It was a temporary distraction from my current morose state.
I woke on sunday to watch arsenal give away the league once and for all. i was upset so i went back to sleep.
Then i woke up again and went to watch the Bees play. They won. Baseball is fun, but lasts soooo long.
Today i went to the Jazz game. We won. I like basketball, but im not invested in it like soccer. So it passed the time, but didn't conquer any sullen feeling away.

Go listen to Isis.

i want it to be true.

2008-04-02T20:11:00.000-07:00

This is purported to be Joseph Smith. I want it to be real.
What are your thoughts?

my favorite lyricists.

2008-03-31T12:29:00.000-07:00

in no particular order:

Chuck Ragan (Hot Water Music/Rumbleseat/Chuck Ragan (among others)
-somehow chuck always was able to infuse punk rock emotion into old time wisdom and positive vibes. I've always loved him for it. And i still do.

John K Samson (Weakerthans, Propagandhi (like 2 songs))
-approachable poetry about the day to day and insight into the human condition from the point of view of cats.

Aaron Weiss (mewithoutYou)
-just awesome. i dunno what to say about it. obscure religious references and subtle Christianity make him a winner in my book.

DUNE remake.

2008-03-29T18:51:00.000-07:00

If the MUST remake DUNE- i think that Tarsem Singh is the director to do it. He directed "The Cell" in 2000 (i didnt much like the cell bit it was really cool looking). He also has a new movie coming called "The Fall" that Bret told me about/showed me the trailer for. It looks remarkable visually. It seems to me that Tarsem Singh is full capable of making a visually stunning sci-fi film without making it uncomfortably sci-fi, or sacrificing story for action/asthetic.

Comments.

2008-03-29T18:13:00.000-07:00

i was just on the radio for the Real Salt Lake post-match show. I got cut off really fast so i didn't get to say even a beginning of what i had to say. these are my comments on the RSL game:

Defense:
We need one defensive player who is going to be the rock in the back. We used to have Eddie Pope and you could always count on him to do what was necessary. Too often we tried to salvage the ball and it cost us chances on our goal. We need someone who will step up and clear the ball out of danger. A safety first center back. The job of the center-backs is to be a wall. Clear it out. don't toy around.
I liked that Wingert played from right-back all the way into the attacking third. Ian Joy played with panache that i appreciated.

Midfield:
Our midfield did a good job finding each other and giving options off the ball. However, i feel they need to train keeping shape. By working to maintain the midfield shape, not only can they find each other and give more chances, but they can use that shape to stretch the defense. As it was during the game a lot of the passing consisted of 4 foot, barely out of danger, passing. By keeping shape you let your strikers play up front; they should be receiving service from the midfield. not vice versa. Keep shape, maintain space, provide opportunities, take advantage of the speed of the pitch.

Strikers:
I DO like robbie findley. But i don't know if he's a 90 minute player. I'm not that familiar with him. He's got great pace, and i think that will make him a great sub. If i were to pick starting forwards, I would like to have Deuchar and Movsisyan train together and see how they gel. Deuchar is obviously a killer with his head. He won every header that came his way. Further, his headers aren't pop-up pinball headers. he brings the ball down with his head really well. Combine that with Movsisyan, who strikes me as being very goal-oriented striker (i'd be curious to see how many shots he took tonight). I think you have in Deuchar someone who can score with his head or play it to the feet of his striker counterpart. i think movsisyan should be that partner. He's not afraid to shoot, he seems a cool finisher.

Referees:
Ridiculous. Comedic at times, infuriating other times. MLS has bad refs- i know. But there has to be some way to improve. The FA can fine refs for game changing calls, can MLS? Does the MLS even review their refs? Can the MLS even hope to be taken seriously as a league while the refs are this bad/while they cannot exercise any sort of control on the refs? these are my questions.

These are all early judgments. but i believe it.

i don't normally want things for my birthday...

2008-03-28T12:17:00.000-07:00

...and i suppose i still don't really want things in the sense of "someone please get this for me" (because i don't expect anyone to, and i would feel bad if anyone did). But were i going to get things for my birthday this year these are things i would be into.
1-the new US Men's National Team Home Jersey

2-Freaks and Geeks

3-Long sleeve Arsenal away jersey

4-Tickets for comic con (4 day pass)

5-Real Salt Lake away jersey

6-battlestar gallactica season 1

7-to get into grad school

8-to have someone pay for my grad school

thoughts on arsenal. (i expect no comments)

2008-03-24T14:27:00.000-07:00

well, its been a while since i've written anything on here so i figured i would write a few random thoughts that i've had today.

Arsenal recently lost to Chelsea and dropped to third place in the league. i hate it. im really bummed. angry. here are my recommendations:

-DROP Hleb!
Let Inter take him. Make sure they pay for him, but let him go. With the money (and let's face facts, Arsene's transfer policy ensures that we have plenty of money even if we didn't sell Hleb at a high price) we could buy someone to fill his spot and will want to work harder. Here's my beef with Hleb. A. he doesn't seem dedicated to doing what it takes to win trophies. He's happy to get his big fat check, he doesn't have to compete to get playing time. That's all he wants. B. He doesn't take shots. He stays on the ball too long and often tries to thread impossible passes through defenders, giving the ball away. He dribbles so well, but if you can't take shots, and you can't provide service to the people who can take shots, what good are you?

-DROP Eboue! I don't even care if we get anything out of him. worthless piece. He's got a terrible first touch, a terrible attitude, stays on the ball too long, doesn't score goals, ALWAYS gets cards, and is terribly irrational. I would rather have Walcott start EVERY GAME. Eboue is shit.

-Play Senderos instead of Toure. I think Toure is great. But i think that Senderos has really stepped up his game and is the solid last man that Toure is not. Gallas and Toure like to bring the ball up and play an offensive role. Senderos seems to enjoy being the last defense. I like a defensive player that loves to play defense. I think Sagna is that way. While he does play up the right constantly, he never fails at being back in time to defend. He is a defender first and foremost. (in fact i would say that Sagna and Clichy are probably my favorite players on the team right now. Not goal scorers, but so so so solid in their role on the team.)

-give Flamini what he wants. Do what's necessary to make sure he stays.

-extend Fabregas until the millennium. He wants to. We want to.

-Invest some money in some solid players to ride the bench. We need to be deeper to provide opportunities to rest the starting 11. When we've had injuries decimate the team this season we have had to shift people out of position and play reserve players, in order to put together a team. a little ridiculous. And i don't want to hate on Arsene's system in the slightest, because i think its great. but i am certainly not opposed to spending some money on players that are over 18.

- I would be curious to see 3 strikers up front. i am a steadfast believer in the 4-4-2, but i would be curious to see how Arsenal's attacking football would look with three strikers up front.

-Win Trophies.

Future Ghosts.

2008-03-18T06:06:00.001-07:00

i've been thinking a lot over the last day or so and i'm starting to come to some conclusions about life. i am making decisions that are simultaneously counterintuitive, surprisingly mature (though they bring on negative ramifications), but make me feel pretty good about me.
here is a good playlist that you should assemble with purely downloaded music and listen to throughout your day. it's what i'm listening to today. and i like the idea that you and i are somehow connected/on the same page.

First Time-Junior Boys
I Know- Jay Z
Sexual Explosion- Snoop Dogg (or sensual seduction if you have baby ears)
Don't Stop- Brazilian girls
Punchbag- Band of bees
Track 3- Ivy (i don't know the title)
Oh Horatio- Tiger Lou
Last Night they had to carry me home- Tiger Lou
August Day Song- Bebel Gilberto
Blue Light- Bloc Party
Let It Fall Apart- Helio Sequence
Absinthe Party at the Fly Honey Warehouse- Minus the Bear
One With The Freaks- Notwist
One step inside doesn't mean you understand- Notwist
Loro- Pinback.

let these pictures of people eating giant burgers make you smile.

mellowing.

2008-03-14T14:31:00.001-07:00

im going to a movie soon.
for now im listening to music. and sitting around...
i'll organize some comics i think.
yes.

Snoop Dogg

2008-03-09T23:51:00.000-07:00

Can i just say that the fact that Snoop Dogg exists makes this world a little bit brighter to me? Whether you like him or not, whether you like hip hop or not, Snoop Dogg is a pop culture icon that can't be ignored. He's had reality shows, a comedy show, he's been in movies, he's made porn and is a musician consistently selling ridiculous amounts of records. And he's been around since the 90's. I love knowing that of all the years of my life that have mattered (before 12/13 you're not really a person), snoop has been there cranking out tracks to bump to. I remember being 13 and buying Doggystyle and Murder was the Case and knowing all the words to the singles. I remember being relieved when he was exonerated in his homicide case. I remember thinking it weird when he left Death Row to go be on No Limit Records (i hated Master P. Hard (i was down with Mystikal though)).
He was gangsta before gangsta was cool (obs. he's still Gangsta).
He was pimpin before pimpin was hip cliche.
And here we are 15 years later and he's still cranking out the jams.
man.
Take a minute to be grateful for snoop dogg.

p.s. on his new record "Ego Trippin" (out on the 11th) you need to here "My Medicine" as its dedicated to Johnny Cash "a real american gangster." Oh, did i mention that its a country track. DAMN RIGHT. and its cool

Places to Visit.

2008-03-08T21:19:00.000-08:00

While i maintain that there isn't a place on this planet i wouldn't like to visit, there are a few that i yearn to visit. As of late these are the places i most want to visit.

1. Jerusalem
-i don't think that one needs much explanation.

2.India
i can't say for certain what part of india i would like to see, but i would like to see india. I've wanted to since i was a kid. I grew up reading Rudyard Kipling stories and subsequently have fantasies of India and what its like ingrained in my brain. I want to see the jungle. I want to see tigers. I want to see the Taj Mahal. I want to see Zoroastrian fire temples, and Jain temples. I want to eat indian food CONSTANtLY.

3. (recent addition) Croatia.
Croatia is beautiful and has interesting history. It has early Christian history, Roman history,it was part of the Ottoman empire, it has history stemming from its time as one of the Warsaw Pact nations...and beaches. They also have soccer. Decent soccer at that.

4. (recent addition) Sudan
Did you know that Sudan has MORE pyramids than egypt! The history of Nubia really intrigues me lately. I want to check that business out.

5. Any portuguese speaking country (brasil, portugal, angola, moçambique, the açores, etc.)
i speak that, there is no reason i shouldn't see these places. speaking that language feels like an open door policy.

6. Baghdad.
it's babylon for heaven's sake, how could you not be interested? On top of that it was the capital of civilization and education during the Abbasid period.

there are certainly more. but those are top of the list for now.
what about you??

a dream...and a nightmare?

2008-03-06T18:34:00.000-08:00

today i had a dream while napping. in my dream i had been set up on a blind date with Katherine Heigl by my sister and brother in law. She seemed nice enough, but was pretty self involved. I, of course, was a little bit shy because thats how i am by nature. Add to that the fact that i was on a blind date with a celebrity and of course i'm going to be a little bit unnerved.
So we went to this fancy sushi place, but all i remember about it was that the tables were all so small that i had to pull them together to sit down (on this date was Katherine Heigl, me, my sister and her husband, and a few other random friends).
After sushi we went to this club/bar and Danzig was playing. But instead of playing Danzig songs they were playing covers of old hits from the 70's. There were lots of old people there and they were all singing along. Danzig was wearing a hybrid of a RUN DMC style adidas track suit and a StormTrooper uniform. It was rad. At a certain point he left the stage and came down to the bar area where i was sitting. He asked why i wasn't singing along with everyone else. I told him that i didn't know the songs. he was surprised, but didn't seem offended. You could tell that he wasn't hyped on doing 70's covers. I told him i liked his StormTrooper get up and he appreciated that, said "catch you later" and went back to the stage. I went back to the table and chatted with one of my friends who was there for a minute before Katherine Heigl came back from (i assume) the bathroom. She had decided she was going to leave. She was nice about it but expressed that she wished that i had talked more and not been so shy. i tried to explain myself a little bit, but it developed into and argument. she told me that she felt like i was too reserved and that she hadn't learned anything about me. i told her that she hadn't asked me anything about me, but had talked about herself all night. She took offense. I told her that it is natural for me to be slightly intimidated being out with a celebrity. We eventually made peace, decided that we should hang out again, and parted ways. I think we're dating now.
Future updates will come when we have our next date.

in other news. pictures of the costumes from watchmen have been posted. i don't like them. am i being nitpicky and overly critical? YES. But thats that. i'm tired of talking about it right now....barf.

this is really what i'm all about.

2008-03-05T08:59:00.000-08:00

Scott Pilgrim Casting.

2008-03-01T21:07:00.000-08:00

i was talking to tyler recently about the upcoming scott pilgrim movie and how awesome its going to be and who should have roles in the movie. i could not come up with any really decent recommendations off the top of my head so i have made it my mission in life to come up with what i think would be decent casting for scott pilgrim.
Scott- based on looks alone, i've come up with Aaron Stanford, who played Pyro in X3. i know that's not a huge endorsement, but i think he looks the part, and he seems a decent actor. (the dude in the picture is who i think would be a good Scott.

Ramona-should be everyone's favorite pregnant teenager, Ellen Page. That's what i think.

kim-should be played by Nora Zehetner of Brick fame. I kinda love her.

knives-could be played by Nan Zhang. she's on gossip girl, and i think could look young enough to be knives.

young neil is hard, because he's supposed to look like Scott. I dont know.

steven stills- i'd love Charlie from "It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia" he's too old for the movie, but Steven still is supposed to be old.

Wallace-Zach Efron

natalie adams (scotts ex)-should be played by Leighton Meester, also of Gossip Girl.

Thats all of the main characters and some smaller ones too. that's all im coming up with for now.

We've Been Decieved.

2008-02-29T09:44:00.000-08:00

Ron Paul and Noam Chomsky are the same person. Both hate the American empire. both love conspiracies and a return to constitutional/moral government. However, when this man feels appropriately libertarian, he cleans up his look in order to appear sufficiently conservative and campaigns for President. On other days he lets himself go a bit, rocks his glasses and extols the virtues of the left.
So often i hear people criticize Superman by saying "why don't people recognize that Superman is Clark Kent! All he does is put on glasses and people don't see that its him!?"
And yet we face the same issue. "Why dont people recognize that Ron Paul and Noam Chomsky are the same person!? All he does is put on glasses!"
I'll let you decide which one is the champion of the people.

and it was alright.

2008-02-28T17:51:00.000-08:00

so today someone challenged me to come up with my ideal concert event. any 5 musicians/bands, alive or dead. i'm still having a hard time coming up with what would be ideal, but this is what i came up with as being a rad show, if not the ideal show.

Opening: Outkast (post Speakerboxxx/Love Below, pre-Idlewild)
2nd: Michael Jackson (Thriller era)
3rd: At the Drive In
4th: David Bowie (Aladdin Sane tour)
5th: Queen

It's hard. I really like that line up, but i dunno.
People who almost made the cut:
Crass
Minor Threat
Lou Reed/Velvet Underground
Iggy and the Stooges
Led Zeppelin
Wu Tang Clan(Circa 97)
there are others too. Im sure im forgetting some.

things that i love
comics.
sports.
soda.
music.
air conditioning.

tonight.

2008-02-24T22:47:00.000-08:00

tonight i feel old and inexplicably sad.
the end.

oh shit!

2008-02-20T14:33:00.001-08:00

holy shit! its rorschach wrecking a cop! perfect!

wolverine.

2008-02-20T12:40:00.000-08:00

in the new wolverine movie Hugh Jackman will be back as Wolverine, Ryan Reynolds will be showing up as Deadpool, and Will.I.Am will be Wraith.
I like the inclusion of will.i.am. that seems rad.
Ryan Reynolds as deadpool...
I like deadpool. I like ryan reynolds. But i think he should have held out for a better role. He has the face and the build to play a better hero. there's no reason that he should be considered for Cap or Thor instead of a b-lister like deadpool.
i dont hate deadpool. i like him. but he's not going to take on a larger role than being a supporter in the wolverine movie.
it does however reveal that deadpool will be in the wolverine movie. which is interesting considering deadpool's history with Weapon X and all that business. Further both wolvie and deadpool have the healing factor, so they could make for interesting rivals.
I dont know much about Wraith who will be played by will.i.am. but cool.
Taylor Kitsch will be playing gambit in the movie. i guess he was in friday night lights. he looks appropriately dreamy/feminine to be gambit. and once they black out his eyes and give him a cajun accent i can see that being really cool.
who knew that i would be optimistic about the wolverine movie???

Things to be looking forward to...

2008-02-20T08:58:00.000-08:00

There are lots of movies that i am looking forward to this year. they are (in no special order)(and i always forget some of them)

*Iron Man

*Hellboy II

*Dark Knight

*Incredible Hulk

*Pineapple Express: Judd Apatow produced comedic goodness.

*Where the Wild things are

*Indiana Jones

*Be Kind, Rewind

*Clone Wars animated movie: i need a star wars fix. so what?

*Speed Racer

*The Fighter: darren aronofsky's newest

*The New James Bond movie: james bond is sweet

*Wanted: maybe. its based on a comic, but doesn't look much like the comic. sheesh.

*Choke: hopefully. it's based on a Chuck Palahniuk book. high hopes.

*The Happening: can m. night shamalamalamalamalan make a good one following that stinker? who knows. it has mark wahlburg. thats cool.

*Get Smart: looks funny. I used to watch that show growing up

*Wall-E: i like pixar movies, and this one seems really interesting

*Valkyrie: brian singer is a decent director. Tom Cruise is a nazi that is going to assassinate hitler...no in the movie.

*The New Star Trek movie: i normally don't like star trek, but this intrigues me.

i should be writing a quiz right now. yipes.
Everyone pray for the gunners today.
first leaked pics of 2-face in dark knight (obs. these are not 2 Face. they are the planned action figure for the movie. so it will tell us what to expect from the movie); http://www.darkhorizons.com/news08/080220c.php

I just wanted to point out...

2008-02-15T18:33:00.000-08:00

the comments on Provo Push have vindicated my initial instincts. People are starting to backbite and treat each other terribly. It's sad. But it was destined to happen.

I received one comment on my last blog saying that they disagreed with my stance. And I agree with disagreeing! I'm glad that someone disagreed. Someone with a bigger heart than mine would disagree.
My stance in it-what i tried to put forward (only semi-successfully??) is that a gossip blog is a bad idea- because gossip is inherently bad. and i'll go a step further to point out that everyone knows gossip is wrong! (((((UPDATE: having gone back and read my post i can tell that i did not express that idea well. i, like many others, was caught up in the initial humour of the situation. as such i supported it. i dont think id do any different if i went back in time. but i think everyone has known since the beginning it was a bad idea/destined to go wrong. i'll attempt to express myself more clearly in the future. back to your originally schedule program....)))))
but in life, i believe, we get what we want. and for a period of time (may it end soon) we wanted to talk down to each other, share information that is not ours to share, and find humor/drama in the difficulties of others. we wanted to say cruel things to each other, and about each other and hide behind the anonymity of the internet. well, i hope that our hunger for unnecessary drama is quenched and we can be done with it.

i wrote a small article on comics for bardhi's up and coming zine. check it when you get the chance. it's entitle 'the ultimate nullifier.' it was almost called "the belly of the worm" but bardhi didn't like that one so much. so look for it.

i don't like that people love kanye west so much. don't get me wrong. i like him. but be realistic. -more on that at another time.

go listen to:
Hieroglyphics
Quasimoto
Busdriver

and read:
scott pilgrim
torso
the amazing adventures of Kavalier and Klay.
bye.

It's All Fun and Games...

2008-02-10T14:05:00.000-08:00

well, i spent the weekend in provo (as i'm sure a few of you noticed). it was a good time. it's nice to go down there and have friends. I love my friends in salt lake- but i get out far far less.
a big topic of conversation while i was there was the creation of the provo push blog, in connection with a secret BYU football loving identity on facebook. although i haven't yet seen that it has been updated since its creation, it purports to be a blog of juicy provo gossip. i like it. i am in favor. as has been pointed out it is our very own Gossip Girl blog. Since it's creation everyone has been attempting to guess the identity of our mysterious gossip blogging friend. I have my theories, and i'm sure you do too. but the point of this blog is to advocate the abandonment of all our theories.
I think everyone is pretty hyped on the idea. However, when the identity of the person/people behind it is discovered our beloved source of juicy gossip will be lost. so please- let it go. don't worry about who is doing it. just be content that it exists. contribute if you have good stuff- and enjoy the lecherous joy of gossip.
it is enjoyable right now, but eventually it will suck. its going to hurt peoples feelings and share things that people don't want shared. that is the nature of this beast. as they say "it's all fun and games until someone gets hurt." i believe thats a true statement. For now, this is fun and games. Eventually someone will get hurt. But before you think "maybe this isn't the best idea!" let me see if i can change your perspective a bit.
When someone is injured in a sports game- they are applauded as they are taken off the field. Nobody ever stops and says "you know, maybe we should get rid of sports, people get hurt!" instead, they say "well, s/he knew the risks when he got into it."

And so with gossip, its all fun and games until someone gets hurt (which is why its fun to those of us unhurt). So let the fun and games proceed, but we should also be aware that at one point this will lead to its inevitable end- someone, perhaps everyone, perhaps you or i, will be hurt. if it still sounds good to you, well good. happy birthday bret. may 23 be your best year yet.
the end.

People do this.

2008-02-05T22:48:00.000-08:00

Now I do too.
I pick my records based upon what i actually listen to. not by what is complicated, acclaimed, or otherwise praiseworthy. there are records that i recognize are amazing, but i don't listen to them much. so be it

My Records of 2007 are as follows (in no specific order):

Alchemy Index- Thrice
The Cool- Lupe Fiasco
Desire- Pharoahe Monch
Graduation- Kanye West tied with Double Up- R. Kelly
Reunion Tour- the Weakerthans

Honorable Mentions:
Bangers & Cash- Benny Blanco and Spank Rock: super dirty booty rap. exactly what you'd expect from Spank, exactly what you get.

Mirrored- Battles- deserves all the acclaim it gets, i just can't listen to it for long periods.

Finding Forever- Common- strangely enough i felt like this records lyrical content was its weak side. strange from common who is normally a great lyricist

Wincing the Night Away- The Shins-their best record. i dunno if people agree i don't care. its nice to have production value

Versions- Poison the Well- not the poison the well i grew up with. a change for the better i think

Free at Last- Freeway- this almost made the best of list. his first record had one track on it i was into. i think this one only has one im not into.

City of Echoes- Pelican- this is slowly going to overtake all the records on the best of list. so good.

Records Worth Missing:
8 Diagrams- Wu-Tang Clan- what a let down. ugh.

The 3rd Hand- RJD2- rad dj. bummer of a weird pop artist. (jury is still out as to whether i would like this if i didn't know rjd2 as a dj first... i'll let you know.)

p.s. a remake of Nightmare on Elm Street??? NOOOOOOOOOOooooooo......!!!!
a remake of DUNE??? NOOOOOOOOOOOooooooo.......!!!

Obs.

2008-02-05T14:54:00.000-08:00

ive started working on a script for a short movie. i dunno if i'll ever invest the time or effort to try and rally people to make it (i suppose it depends on how i feel about it after the script is done). but i like the idea. and im excited to get into it. for now its called either middle america, or my connection is disconnected. should the day come where i want to make it- i will expect your full cooperation.

confession: i have a soft spot for piano driven female pop singers.

20 Years Later

2008-02-05T09:40:00.000-08:00

It's been 20 years since Alan Moore's "Batman: the Killing Joke" came out.
I don't care how much you think you like or know about Batman. If you haven't read "Killing Joke" you don't get it. You don't get Batman. You don't get the Joker. There are few other books I can hold to that same high standard. I think every character has books that define the character, but few as strongly as Killing Joke does for Batman
Perhaps:
Killing Joke, and Arkham Asylum for Batman.
and
Man Without Fear and Guardian Devil (by Kevin Smith) run for Daredevil.
Anyway, there's a good article on Killing Joke here. Check it out.
I recently read that Adrien Brody wanted the part of the joker. No offense to Mr. Ledger, but that seems a better fit to me. I have no doubt Heath will do a great job, but as a comic geek its hard to see past my own preferences and be happy with a good job. I think Adrien Brody should be in every movie. I think Woodie Allen, Darren Aronofsky, Wes Anderson, and Danny Boyle should direct every movie. Clint Mansell, Jon Brion, Danny Elfman, Mark Mothersbaugh, Yann Tiersen and as of late Dario Marianelli should score every movie.
This is an exaggeration, but you get the point.
There are essentially two ways that joker is portrayed in comics: clean, handsome, calculating, brilliant, etc.

and dirty, disease ridden, maniacal, creepy, and otherwise disgusting.
I prefer the second. I like my joker insane. Good stories have been told with both. but the crazy joker scares me more.
i'm glad that that is the direction they are taking Ledger's batman. I personally wanted them to cast Steve Buscemi as the Joker, because in my mind the Joker is older than Batman, but Adrien Brody would have been sweet.
I will be happy with heath ledger. but until i can have that fact confirmed to me i worry.

But it should be a good year for comic movies. Hellboy 2 is going to be cool. Iron Man is going to be awesome. New Batman should be rad. and then next year we see Watchmen. Good things are coming up. in the more distant future we have film versions of Surrogates and Scott Pilgrim to look forward to.
awesome.
thats all.

Oscars 2008

2008-02-03T21:26:00.000-08:00

I decided halfway through not to publish full predictions, as i don't feel i've seen enough of them. But these are strong opinions i have.

Best Actor in a leading Role
-Daniel Day-Lewis: There Will Be Blood. 0% doubt.

Best Animated Feature
-Persepolis. It was beautiful to look at, and a fabulous story. Ratatouille was fun and well animated, but Persepolis had more substance.

Best Film
There will be Blood.

Movie that should get no awards: Atonement.
I hated this movie hard. Romance, england, long crane shots, war, keira knightley? sounds like a movie i would love love love. but NO.
Only redeeming characteristics of the movie:
Music
the Letter
looking at Keira knightley for a few hours. (the movie tried its best to make even this beloved past time tedious. may it be cursed)

Movie that deserves the "its a solid OK award": Juno.
Contrived dialog nearly destroyed this film for me. Why do people who write screenplays think that teenagers talk completely in wack ass jibber jabber code language? Much of the dialog in this movie was on par with Bill and Ted's, which i love, but one is nominated for oscars, and the other was Keanu Reeves in the 80's.
I wanted to love this. But everytime there was an unnecessary pseudo-teenager slang term was like fingernails on a chalk board for me.
could i do better? probably not. but i don't have to, i paid 8 dollars to have an opinion, popular or not.

when will Phoenix's new record be out? i'm tired of waiting.

I'm afraid of space and time.

2008-02-03T20:37:00.000-08:00

i think space is the scariest place ever. everything in space is infinitely hot, or infinitely cold. radiation floats around screwing stuff up. black holes destroy and create universes. speeding dust particles can puncture your body and kill you. essentially everything in space can kill you. the universe is against us. our planet floats naively through space bickering about silly things, ignoring the fact that any minute some physics principle that we're incapable of imagining (let alone understanding) could destroy all we've ever known. and its infinite. let that resonate for a minute. INFINITE. such a tidy word for such a ridiculously difficult concept. the fact that our planet has been around for billions of years really seems to defy the odds. we're on borrowed time. surely some galactic destruction awaits us any day now. thinking about it makes me nauseous. whether we've been to the moon or not aside, man moving to the moon and back is the galactic equivalent of a first step. not even that. its the first time a baby shuffles on its belly.
it makes me question the concept of an objective reality. the fact that i live on a minuscule chunk of floating dust rotating its way like toilet water towards its inevitable doom really puts an objective understanding of reality in question.
ugh. im nauseous right now.
while space is super scary, it doesn't bother me too badly. my perspective is too limited to worry about my little planet careening through space.
Time on the other hand scares me terribly. it doesn't do it justice to say it scares me. It petrifies me. It leaves me paralyzed with fear sometimes. Time is an unstoppable tyrant that will, inevitably, destroy you, everyone you love or hate, and everything you've ever known. And once it has done this it will bring about new ages and new people who will walk on your bones and your memory as if you and everything that was once important to you never existed. you were nothing but a work of fiction. the things that made you happy and sad, the things that were earth-shattering and revolutionary to you will be lost in time. brushed off like detritus in time's unending march to unknown territories.
surely as you and i breathe, this will happen.
there are today cities buried underneath our cities. Ancient Egypt's majestic cities were buried and forgotten in time. Ancient Rome existed for nearly 2000 years before time evoked its death rattle.

Eccl. 1: 2, 14
2 Vanity of vanities, saith the Preacher, vanity of vanities; all is vanity.

14 I have seen all the works that are done under the sun; and, behold, all is vanity and vexation of spirit.

Eccl. 4:
4 Again, I considered all travail, and every right work, that for this a man is envied of his neighbour. This is also vanity and vexation of spirit.

7 ¶ Then I returned, and I saw vanity under the sun.

8 There is one alone, and there is not a second; yea, he hath neither child nor brother: yet is there no end of all his labour; neither is his eye satisfied with riches; neither saith he, For whom do I labour, and bereave my soul of good? This is also vanity, yea, it is a sore travail.

16 There is no end of all the people, even of all that have been before them: they also that come after shall not rejoice in him. Surely this also is vanity and vexation of spirit.

Now that i have pointed out the seeming meaninglessness of everything (which i don't believe in) i can move on.
you can expect my Oscar predictions soon.
Go listen to Team Sleep. It's better than whatever you're listening to, no doubt.

Covers.

2008-02-02T12:11:00.001-08:00

I think cover songs are interesting. Subsequently i made a playlist of some of the covers i like a lot and they're originals. It's not all the covers i have, just the ones i wanted to include. If you know of other rad covers i should know of-you should tell me. and i will check them out. I intend to continue adding to this. There are some things im missing on it. but they will be added. guaranteed.

"10:15 Saturday Night" by the Living End- orig. by The Cure
"Wonderwall" by Ryan Adams- orig. by Oasis
"Warsaw" by Swing Kids- orig. by Joy Division
"Two Sides" by Strike Anywhere- orig. by Gorilla Biscuits
"This Night has Opened my Eyes" by At the Drive-In- orig. by the Smiths
"This Charming Man" by Death Cab, and Braid- orig. by the smiths
"Things We Say" by Defiance, OH- orig. by Gorilla Biscuits
"These Boots were Made for Walking" by 7 Seconds, and operation Ivy- orig. by Nancy Sinatra (the Op Ivy cover is entitled "One of these days")
"Six Different Ways" by the Casket Lottery- orig. by the Cure
"Ringing of Revolution" by the Weakerthans- orig. by Phil Ochs (i cant make it through the original. haha)
"Red House" by the Casket Lottery- orig. by Shudder to Think
"Never Meant" by Owen and American Football (i dunno that this really counts as a cover)
"Mrs Robinson" by Weezer- orig. by Simon and Garfunkel
"The Man Who Sold the World" by Nirvana, orig. by David Bowie
"I'm Always in Love" by Owen- orig. by Wilco
"I Want You to Want Me" by Propagandhi- orig. by Cheap Trick
"I Can't Get No Satisfaction" by Otis Redding- orig. by the Rolling Stones (i think?)
"Hybrid Moments" by Burning Brides- orig. by the Misfits
"Here Comes My Baby" by Yo La Tengo- orig. by Cat Stevens
"Don't Look Back in Anger" by Owen- orig. by Oasis
"Fortuna Imperatrix Mundi (1. O Fortuna)" by Botch- orig. composed by karl orff in Carmina Burana
"Femme Fatale" by Owen- orig. by the Velvet Underground
"Dazed and Confused" by Cave In- orig. by Led Zepplin
"Clash City Rockers" by Saves the Day- orig. by The Clash
"Chesterfield Kings" by Owen- orig. by Jawbreaker
"AstroZombies" by Pennywise and My Chemical Romance- orig. by the Misfits (haha- those are good ones)
"All is full of love" by Death Cab- orig. by Bjork (i hate the deathcab version)
"Across the universe" by Fiona Apple- orig. by the beatles.

p.s. Arsenal is back in the top spot in EPL.
p.s.s. I miss mikey taylor. if you read this mikey. i love you.

Good.

2008-02-02T11:44:00.001-08:00

It's Fantastic.

2008-02-02T02:24:00.000-08:00

Frustration.

2008-01-30T20:41:00.001-08:00

I keep myself pretty busy these days and its starting to bum me out. Hopefully I can get accustomed to a new schedule and stop being a lazy bastard.
I am legitimately hating the current presidential primaries. Initially, they were exciting because things were up in the air- but at this point, i feel as though the primary system does nothing but filter out the truly decent candidates by way of survivor/reality tv style tactics of forming temporary coalitions to take out the strong player. That, combined with the typical political tools of exaggeration and downright lies, guarantees that the laughably insufficient TWO CANDIDATES that we get to choose from come november are NOT the candidates that would be best for the country. (yes, i understand that you CAN vote 3rd party, but thats a topic for another time. and i don't think any third-party supporter out there would really debate that we live in a TWO-PARTY system). and now here we are, facing the national elections which (as of right now) appears to be shaping up to be John McCain vs. Hillary Clinton. Emperor Palpatine of the Galactic Empire vs. that bad lady from Chronicles of Narnia (she represents Satan right?). The primary system has ceased to serve the interest of the american people. However, perhaps people will be able to see that the 2 party system is no longer sufficing to represent the american people. When both the Democratic and Republican parties are so divided that they cannot decided upon ONE OF THEIR OWN to be a candidate for president, it is obvious that the Party cannot truly represent the full body of its members. The other benefit that these primary campaigns may unknowingly bring about is to make people recognize the disproportionate role that media and money currently play in politics. I am SO sick of political analysis telling me who won a debate. Isn't the point of the debate to allow me to hear the candidates and decide who is best for me? I don't need Chris Matthews, Bill O'Reilly, Lou Dobbs (no offense Lou, you know we're bros), or ANYONE else broadcasting from the effing spin room, to tell me why i should disregard the opinions i formed during the debate, because its "obvious" that their man won. How is it that what was last week the election that was going to "change" washington and bring new hope to american politics, has now been divided up between two long time washington professional politicians. the fact that professional politicians even exist in america is a sign of the failing of the american experiment.
I was raised in a patriotic family. some would even go so far as to call it a nationalist family, although i would disagree. and whether you know it or not i consider myself to be a believer in america and subsequently a patriot (the sad part of this statement is that i am squeamish about calling myself a patriot, because the meaning of the word has been so distorted as to imply the person who blindly obeys and is complacently complicit in all of the twisted policies that come out of government these days). I can truly say that i am discontent with the political direction of the nation, and that what i grew up believing in as American and decent has fallen into nothing more but reactionary reality tv on an embarrassingly large scale. It's no wonder i've always loved anarchist thought- it is certainly more reminiscent of what america was founded on than anything we see coming out of our nations 'leaders'.
shameful.
im sure i have more to say about this. but i can't think of anything that won't come out as meaningless complaining. if i can come up with more, you'll see it.
peace.

The Conqueror Worm

2008-01-21T20:47:00.001-08:00

LO! 't is a gala night
Within the lonesome latter years.
An angel throng, bewinged, bedight
In veils, and drowned in tears,
Sit in a theatre to see 5
A play of hopes and fears,
While the orchestra breathes fitfully
The music of the spheres.

Mimes, in the form of God on high,
Mutter and mumble low, 10
And hither and thither fly;
Mere puppets they, who come and go
At bidding of vast formless things
That shift the scenery to and fro,
Flapping from out their condor wings 15
Invisible Woe.

That motley drama—oh, be sure
It shall not be forgot!
With its Phantom chased for evermore
By a crowd that seize it not, 20
Through a circle that ever returneth in
To the self-same spot;
And much of Madness, and more of Sin,
And Horror the soul of the plot.

But see amid the mimic rout 25
A crawling shape intrude:
A blood-red thing that writhes from out
The scenic solitude!
It writhes—it writhes!—with mortal pangs
The mimes become its food, 30
And over each quivering form
In human gore imbued.

Out—out are the lights—out all!
And over each quivering form
The curtain, a funeral pall, 35
Comes down with the rush of a storm,
While the angels, all pallid and wan,
Uprising, unveiling, affirm
That the play is the tragedy, "Man,"
And its hero, the Conqueror Worm. 40
-Edgar Allen Poe.
listen to Kill Sadie.
i owe many blog entries. 2 in specific.
-In defence and condemnation of the cool.
-Why I am afraid of space and time.
coming soon.

something that spilled out.

2008-01-06T23:38:00.000-08:00

this is 100% free-write, whatever came out stayed. no grammar or spelling checks. no logic checks to make sure it makes sense.
dumb? perhaps. Cheesy at parts? for sure.
~enjoy~
When attempting to describe one’s self it is always and temptation to focus primarily on positives, which further leads into a downward spiral where you end up not describing yourself, but describing what you wish you were. If that description is written for anything but enjoyment, you are already attemtping to characterize yourself inside the context of the person, institution, or even emotion that has required you to write that description. Another pitfall of the self-description is the laundry list. The person who falls into this trap begins bullet-pointing the different aspects of life that occupy said person’s attention. “who am i? I like: music, books, movies, comic books, cartoons, coca cola, soccer, my pillow, not having to pay for things, being able to pay for things, slippers, naps, kittens, politics,…” When all is said and done, the reader has gained no insight into the true character of the person, but rather knows what to buy them for their birthday.
So how to describe myself…? It’s hard to say I think. If beauty is in the eye of the beholder, well, I think everything else is too. Perhaps you would learn more about me if I told you what I want to be. Maybe that’s the exercise. However, is the reader to assume that I am not the things that I claim to want to be? I don’t know the answer to that.
Perhaps “who” is a more complex idea than we give it credit for.
So who am I? What do I want to be? Who do I want to be? If I don’t know the answer to that, what does that say about me? What does it matter? (wouldn’t be an interesting social experiment to see what becomes of a person who is willing to do anything, but has desire for nothing? Where would such a person end up?) Who knew mere existence could be so complicated?
Well, luckily, I do know.
I want to be intelligent. I want to be respected and loved. I don’t feel the necessity to be loved widely by lots of people, because when it comes right down to it, I don’t respect many opinions. I can’t buy self-love with democracy. I want to be moral. I want to live a lot. I want to be wise. I want to be brave and try lots of things. I want a family. I want to serve the people around me so that life isn’t so hard on them. I want to be a blessing to my family. I want to be ambitious. I want to be above materials and objects. I want to be above the baseness of human existence, focusing rather on the things of life that matter most. I want to see this world it’s peoples and their cultures. I want to find a person who thinks that I’m strong and that supports me when weak, that has an understanding of where I am coming from and how I feel that needn’t be expressed, and in reality cannot be. I want simplicity and grace. I want to have internal serenity that balances me against the chaos of life.
There are probably more. But that’s enough for now. I think that we could probably waste away our entire life thinking about what we want from life. Unfortunately, actually living takes up our time. We have to know what we want instinctively well enough that when faced with decisions we can do a proper analysis of what will bring about said results.
So whatever, or whoever I may be now is merely a vehicle. It is my cocoon. It is my womb, the place where I can develop. The shell that I use to get me to the me that I want. I continuously molt, leaving me behind and hopefully getting closer to a better man. A more complete creature. I can’t recall where I’ve come from, and I can’t fathom who that person will be. But perhaps the day will come when I can meet that me that I want.
the end.
for now.

List.

2008-01-04T02:10:00.001-08:00

Things to do tomorrow/today:
sleep.
work on applications.
work on having my criminal record expunged.
call about transcripts.
write a syllabus.
call jason.
read comics.
get more comics.
email girl about tutoring.
set up movie blog.
go to a movie? (anyone??)
eat.
read/write.
pay cable, phone, electricity, rent.

i think thats all.
i hope thats all.
that seems like plenty.
the end.

A brief encounter.

2008-01-01T23:48:00.000-08:00

i'm home from Christmas break. i think the heater in my room is broken again. sheesh.
here are some things about my life right now:

i hung some pictures in the apartment tonight. they're all terribly off center. don't point it out.

for some reason i seem busy since i've returned home. strange to me.

can i request transcripts via phone?

grad school apps.

writing things.

its nice to be home.

Arsenal is still on top of the league. Carlos Vela and Djourou are coming back from being on loan. Thats good because Van Persie, so rad, is always injured, and Toure is going to the Cup of African Nations. Eduardo is growing on my slowly. He's a killer in the box.

Check back with me tomorrow for less interesting/important updates in a blog about hip hop entitled "in defense (and condemnation) of 'the cool')
until then watch this...with the sound off.

p.s. people say i seem more grown up lately. funny.
p.s.s. kanye west is great, but can't rap. he's a pop star. not a rapper.

I wake up crazy

2007-12-22T17:14:00.000-08:00

im watching the Vegas Bowl. BYU is going to win. mark it.

everytime i wake up- i am delusional and crazy.
Example #1-
As an unemployed man, i take a lot of naps on the couch. the other day i had fallen asleep on the couch for a while. when i awoke it was about 4:30 in the afternoon. I had slept flat on my back and when i started to raise my head my brain thought "don't!" so i promptly laid flat again. I then thought to myself that my roommate had booby trapped the couch to through pudding on me when i tried to get up. I lied flat on the couch for easily 10 minutes contemplating how i was going to get off the couch- eventually i just had to go for it. So i rolled off the couch onto the floor as quickly as possible. Once on the floor, i stood up and sat back down in order to watch soccer. It took me another 30 minutes to realize that not only is it asinine to think that my roommate would booby trap the couch- but it was preposterous to think that he could booby trap the couch.

Example #2-
By brother brought be a fancy basket full of cookies today. it had fancy wrapping and ribbons and it looked pretty and presentable. Attached to the ribbons was a clear plastic miniature basket.i awoke from a nap wanting to eat a cookie and watch the BYU game. initially i thought that if i pulled on the plastic baskets, the ribbons would come untied and i could eat cookies. but when i pulled on the basket, it broke really easily and my brain said "i think that must be candy!" so i tried to eat this plastic mini basket- in the process cutting my lip and bleeding all over the place.

im stupid.
BYU needs to win this. and its not going well just yet. stupid. so stupid.

I really don't mean this in a dickheaded way

2007-12-21T21:49:00.000-08:00

-really, i don't want this to sound cruel or like im laughing at someones misfortune. but seriously, why can't george lucas and Stephen Hawking get together and build Hawking a darth vader body.
it takes a lot for me to say this because i effing hate robots ("he's more machine than man. Twisted and Evil). but you would think technology has progressed enough that wheel chair would be a little obsolete. its pretty cool that you can control a wheel chair through those straw things, but isn't the next logical step something besides a moving platform? when is nanotechnology going to start doing useful things? like darth vader bodies?
(if i'm wrong on some of this, and nanotech is doing awesome stuff and i just don't know, will someone inform me?? i read scientific american and national geographic and they talk about nanotech all the time, but its always about invisibility and making glass heat resistant and stuff. silly)

listen to this awesome quote by Stephen Hawking (who, by the way, i think is more brilliant than everyone i know combined) "I think life on Earth is at an increased risk of being wiped out by disaster, such as sudden global warming, nuclear war or a genetically engineered virus or other dangers...I think the human race has no future if it doesn't go into space."
we sci-fi kids are really going to have a leg up then. suckers. start listening to Millenium Falcor.
moving on. how effed up were iron lungs? that would suck terribly.

man- this whole blog came out wrong.
and the grammar on the last one was poop.

and they ain't leaving until 6 in tha mornin!

2007-12-20T05:21:00.000-08:00

it's currently 6:21 in the a.m. and im awake. im not really happy about it to tell you the truth. for some reason i didn't fall asleep until about 3 am. and then my eyes popped open again at 5:30. so now im sitting around in my undies in my living room. I tried to go back to sleep, but to no avail.
As i laid on the couch with my eyes closed trying to go back to sleep i couldn't help but think about Lampião. I dunno why. I don't even know anything about Lampião to tell you the truth.

--well i just went around and read a bit on Lampião to remind myself. Lampião was a working class youth in the NE of Brasil who's family got involved in a feud. His dad got killed by police so he gave up the working mans life and becoming a bandit. He's looked at as robin hood nowadays, and his typical style of leatherwork (most specifically that hat) can be bought pretty much anywhere today. he, his girlfriend, and 9 of his pals (the cangaço) ended up dead, with their heads on traveling display in the northeast of brasil.

i think i knew more about him than most in my mission, because it was that kind of folklore that always sucked me in. further, he is a frequent topic of what apparently in cordel literature (essentially early brasilian comics-though in truth they're more like illustrated pamphlets). but i always liked them when i was there and bought a lot of them (and threw most of them away-regretfully). they have them on everything from poems to science and politics, dramas and romance in serialization- all with woodcut print illustrations. they really are so so so so so cool. they look like this (it's lampião and his girlfriend maria bonita (déa)):

im glad i got to live in a part of brasil that is still so uniquely brasilian.
im always surprised when i find out that people read my blog. if you do, you should tell me. i like it.
i dunno how coherent this blog is. sorry.

my talk

2007-12-17T11:13:00.000-08:00

i gave a talk in church. you may or may not be interested in it. but here it is.
sorry- i dont write out talks. i just make wack outlines and then you get whatever comes out of my mouth in the moment.
outline formatting doesn't copy/paste into the blog so well. i tried arranging it a little. got tired of it.
deal with it.

I. introduction
a. who am i?
b. What is my topic?
c. Jesus of Nazareth, Savior and King- Neal A. Maxwell
d. The One True God and Jesus Christ Whom Thou Hast Sent-Elder Jeffery R. Holland.

II. 1 Nephi 11:16 & 26
a. Do we know the Condescension of God?
b. Theologically there is plenty to think about.

i. He is the God of the Old Testament. Prophesied by inspired men to come and to save his people.
1. John 1:14 (the word was made flesh and dwelt among us)
2. Isa 7:14, 2 Nephi 2:14, Matt. 1:23, etc. (he would be called Emanuel, or God with us)

ii. On earth he was born to a virgin. By nature he was fully divine, and fully human.
1. ‘To speak by way of analogy, the hypostasis of the eternal Son is like a river that receives two streams: the river is said to receive two streams, but neither of the streams receives the other. In the same way, the eternal Son receives both the name an the definition of “God” and the name and the definition of “man,” but God in no way receives the name or definition of “man,” nore does man receive the name or definition of “God”’- Theodore Abu Qurah

iii. He is the only begotten of the Father.

iv. He bought each of us with a price and made our salvation possible.

d. HOWEVER- rather than focusing on christmas or any other topic, I would like to focus on the import of Christ’s life.
i. John 3:16- For God so loved the world…
ii. In his life he lived with perfect love for those around him. Descending from heaven and from perfection to administer to his children.
1. (I enjoy the stories of human frailty in the scriptures and often think on them in the face of hard times)
2. Peter walking on water (Matt 14:28-…)
3. Bless thou my Unbelief (Mark 9:17-…)
4. Thomas’ Doubt (John 20:24-…)
5. He Cares for us (ACTIVE VERB) (1 Peter 5:7)
iii. The Atonement of the Lord Jesus Christ is central to all of our lives. Though it happened 2000 years ago, it remains the centerpoint of my existence.
1. Isa 50:6- I gave my back to the smiters
2. Isa 49:9- that thou mayest say to the prisoners, Go Forth
3. Alma 7:11-12- that he may know how to succor his people.
4. Heb. 4:15- For we have not an high priest which cannot be touched.
iv. Further we know that he was able to complete his work and bring the Atonement to fruition. Saving us from Sin (and the requirements of the law) and Death.
1. 1 Cor. 15:21-22
2. Job 19:25

D&C 45
Saying prayers in the name of Jesus Christ.
We take upon us his name at baptism and during sacrament.
“O Lord, I know you as much as it is possible for me, forgive me for my knowledge of you is my way of reaching you.”
“if I may be content with simple living such as my hand may gain by its own efforts I shall be safe midst all the turns of fate. O time, be thou my right arm and my aid.”

NUNS from Jerusalem
Igreja dos imitadores de Cristo.

its nice to see.

2007-12-16T22:38:00.000-08:00

i just saw the video for Battles "Atlas" and "Tonto" and they were refreshingly good. The video for Atlas was really interesting to watch. I like the video for tonto as well, but i liked being able to watch them push buttons and do things in Atlas.
I do so love battles. Though i think i continue to prefer Don Cab.
here are the videos. its amazing how much i like these videos.
ATLAS

TONTO

i suppose if you like battles, you should also check out other bands that are awesome:
Don caballero
Helmet
Ghosts and Vodka
Hella
Crime in Choir
65 days of static

and im sure there are some others but im forgetting them right now.
For the record- if you like stuff like battles, and you like minus the bear, there is NO REASON you shouldn't be passionate for botch. so its loud and the singer screams. quit being a wiener and learn to love botch.
other bands that people should learn to love include:
Cave In (old stuff)
Pelican
ISIS (seriously)
Mouth of the Architect
Zozobra
you and i
yaphet kotto (scope the Running Man reference!!)
as always there are more- but for another time.

i also liked the MIA video for boys.
this track definitely has the BBC djs feel. rad.
here scope it.

i think thats it for today.
oh yeah
ARSENAL-1 chelsea-0
One more for the GOONERS!

its been a long time, shouldn't have left you...

2007-12-12T19:32:00.001-08:00

im watching the republican debates right now. ugggh.
i've watched most of the democratic debates. ugggh.
politics in america is a mess. There isn't a single candidate that I like. As of now, it looks as though either Hillary Clinton or Barack Obama will win the Democratic nomination. I will not vote for either of them as their policy positions currently stand.
The Republican nomination is pretty up-for-grabs (primarily between Rudy Giuliani, John McCain, Mitt Romney, Mike Huckabee (and depending who you ask, Fred Thompson)). Goodness knows i'm not a huge fan of any of theirs either.
The mormon question has brought the element of religion into the race. This has me a little on edge because i find it tedious. I'm happy to be mormon, and when people criticize it it only strengthens my desire to stand behind it. Are mormon beliefs/doctrine wacky? yes. But no wackier than religious faith in general. Even if you look at it as "mormons believe Jesus and Satan are brothers" how is that any crazier than Catholics believing in transubstantiation (the idea that the emblems of the sacrament transform into the actual flesh and blood of Christ), or the idea that some memorized acceptance of Christ can guarantee a glorious after life in heaven, doing who knows what?
That, however, is all beyond the point. The point is that "the mormon question" or the questioning of anyone's religious beliefs has no part in the election of public officers. I am completely in favor of secularism in the public realm. In fact, I am put off by candidates who speak of prayer, faith, or religion in general. Mike huckabee likes to quote christian values ("do unto others as you would have them do" and "as ye did it unto one of these my brethren, even these least, ye did it unto me" most recently)- well congratulations. You will not be receiving my vote.
Sadly, criticism of mormons is coming from both sides of the political divide. Its really disappointing to see the treatment of mormons who are by all accounts stalwart patriots. So much for tolerance in america.(i want to point out that if the criticism of mormons came only from political generalizations that could be made about mormons i would not take offense. However, when it comes to criticism of points of doctrine, church leaders and accusations of racism, i take it a bit more personally.)
im over it. its just a glaring example of the circus of politics.
in better news i learned how to make a subwoofer that looks like the death-star. it looks like way more work than i am capable of, but if someone wants to make me one heres the link...
DeathStar Plans "help us obiwan kenobe, you're our only hope"

im also wanting to toy with circuit bending and try to build a Kraakdoo or Crackle Box. anyone have experience with that?

im listening to Deftones/team sleep a lot lately. The new Rivers Cuomo demo record is ok. thats about it.

I want this arsenal jacket
for Christmas. Get it for me?

does anyone want to see "I Am Legend" with me at Imax?

watch this video.

whats next in star wars.

2007-11-26T22:21:00.000-08:00

if you don't like star wars, its because you're stupid. i'm putting my foot down on that.
CLICK HERE to see what's going on with awesome star wars stuff.
don't suck. check it out.

3 hours.

2007-11-25T21:55:00.000-08:00

i went to church today. i even went for the full duration. i'm fairly sure its the first time i've been to a church meeting in it's entirety this year. it was simultaneously exactly what i anticipated and not as bad as i expected.
The priesthood meeting was about writing in journals-ugh. it was taught by your typical 'i got home from my mission recently' priesthood instructor, and was full of the expected "does anyone have an experience?" and "what do we think he meant?"questions.
then came sunday school, which brings me to the point which i hope to address in this blog posting.
a- don't spend half the time rambling about some unrelated topic as an "introduction" to the lesson. nobody gives a crap about some weak comparison to your high school extra curriculars.
b- don't spend 10 minutes on each scripture you read in class looking for examples and spiritual experiences only to determine that the scripture means exactly what it says.

c- do not tell me that there are things that i shouldn't study, or will do me no good. don't tell me that knowing about "space doctrine" isn't as important as something else. Somehow Kolob has become a slur word for "religious nonsense" in mormonese. The next time someone says that they don't have to think about "deeper theology" because all they need is faith/repentance/baptism/holy ghost- i'm going to scream. you may as well transform completely into a mainstream christian and tell me "accept Jesus" or "confess the name of Jesus and be saved- the blood of Jesus has power!"
i didn't know that certain passages of scripture had at some point been deemed apocryphal or otherwise taboo in someway. I guess no more reading Revelation, or Ezekiel and his beasts, or Isiah and all his nonsense, no more genesis-because it talks about stars and things that don't make sense to humans, or how about no more new testament, cause let's face facts- the atonement IS "space doctrine"- salvation IS deep doctrine.
where did this filter on theology come from? unique theology is what made mormonism what it was at its inception.
the example that always gets thrown around as useless knowledge/gospel trivia is "Kolob" and stars. Granted, we don't have tons of information about that and i won't be turned away from the pearly gates for not knowing constellations. However, genesis tells us that the lights in the firmament were for placed there for signs and for seasons and for days and years. Abraham studied astronomy (astrology?) and it was important enough that God revealed it to him, and then again to moses a few hundred years later. it was via stars and astronomy that God marked the birth of his son (both in the Old and new world)- at the death of his son, what was absent? stars. so is it really useless? i dunno. Joseph didn't seem to think so.
anyway. thats a bit of a rant tonight.
i suppose i will save more for later- next time: mormons- christians?

Top Five...

2007-11-19T21:55:00.000-08:00

...bands that i miss.

Twelve hour turn

Cap'n Jazz

Casket Lottery

Ink&Dagger

Murder City Devils

that didn't count.

2007-11-19T15:56:00.000-08:00

i generally try not to write on this thing twice in a day, but it's been a while, so i suppose i can bear to write in it. and that last one is just drivel anyway.
here's an update of what i'm about these days.

-i'm bummed cause mattitude (who i love) just turned on fox news super loud and left the room. sigh. (obs. the dude on Fox news just said "sperms" haha)

-i tried to join what most would consider a cult last night. i didn't because the annual fees were too much money. i'm all about the secret chiefs, and i think they're all about me.
this is what i would have learned:
---the magic of Light
---The Holy Qabalah / healing qualities of the Tree of Life
---Tarot meditation, magic and divination
---Astrology / Gematria / Geomancy
---Astral travel / astral projection
---protection rites / banishings
---Skrying / clairvoyance / traveling in the spirit vision
---Ceremonial magic / alchemy
---Enochian / angelic magic and techniques
---Talismans / amulets

-i'm working on grad school applications right now. i hate applications.
-i'm looking for a new job where i can make money...because of grad school. garbage.
-this is the book that i'm reading right now. i really really enjoy it.
i'm also reading a few others, that i've yet to draw any conclusions about. soon enough.
-i'm tired a lot. but thats all for now. maybe later i'll have more to say.

good things.

2007-11-19T15:20:00.000-08:00

good things.
matt wood linked me to this video today. it makes my mind marvel.

and THIS is good news too. for the record, you should all go read THE SURROGATES before it's a movie, just in case they botch it all up.

Scott Pilgrim 4 was fantastic. FANTASTIC. its going to be a movie sooner or later too (with Edgar Wright (director of Shawn of the Dead and Hot Fuzz) directing). you should read it first.

we wake up in the morning and bear away.

2007-11-12T23:45:00.000-08:00

00:38
you are just as indie as any other fuckin indie kid
00:38
hahaha

i knew it was coming.
there is further explanation of that post on the way. bear with me.

until then go listen to
ink&dagger.

"the deep-rooted meaning of a vampire is one who strives and exists off the energy found in situations, interactions, and communications. There are negative and positive intentions behind this, but as far as the punk rock perspective is concerned, what better way to become a weapon of the supposed revolution against normal society than to become totally in control of your own energy? We're not out sucking blood, but taking back the energies from those complacent fucks in the world."

I am the Anti-Hip, or a Spade's a Spade.

2007-11-08T22:33:00.000-08:00

My roommate recently complimented me by saying that i "call a spade a spade." I think that's a pretty great compliment considering how often people say things for unknown and often illogical motives: to impress, to form/retain some sort of image, flatter, etc. In the words of Operation Ivy, "civilization, ha. i call it as i see it. i call it bullshit, you know i simply cannot believe it."
This will probably be the first in a series of rants about the tendency towards "indie" "hipster" garbage that i see around all too much lately.
first off, i recently heard someone say "indie is the new sweet bro" with some level of surprise, as if they didn't know that before. i reserved any comment at the time, because i don't need to go looking for conflict and because i dearly love the person who said it, but i was shocked to see that people thought that was some sort of new idea. "indie" has always been the safe haven for the smugly obscure and willingly pretentious. i feel perfectly qualified to say so because i have wasted my share of time on being "hip" in the past.
referring to a person as "indie" is now, and always has been as stupid as referring to someone as "AN EMO." i don't want to come off as condescending or pretentious myself, but indie (independent) should never have been used as anything more than an arbitrary description for bands who weren't signed to large record labels or any record label. how it somehow mutated into a genre of music, and subsequently a cliché categorization for people. but what the hell does it mean? seriously. it doesn't make any sense as a musical genre (please describe to me what an "indie" band sounds like) or as an adjective to describe a person. it is not a social movement. even in its newfound meaning it is a trite trend that has little to do with character and everything to do with fashion. to quote rancid "you got no passion its all fashion."
"INDIE" is not A TREND. it is a SYNONYM for TREND. indie is the newest thing. indie is the fad. its the right brands, the right clothing, the right (or left, as the case may be) political stance, the right computer, the right taste in music, art, movies, etc.
"sweet bro"?? maybe i misunderstand the concept but when i hear this i imagine hollister and american eagle, popped collars, top 40 music selections, etc. but what most mean when they say it is a veiled cockiness, or sense of self declared status. but"indie" is the same thing: veiled cockiness and self-declared status because you are "in the know." you know whats going on while everyone else is groping for what the next new thing is going to be.
you know what i wish the next big thing would be? just liking shit because you like it: you find value in it.
its ok to not like the arcade fire or the new (or old) wes anderson movie. its alright to believe in conservative politics and wear baggy clothes.
at the same time its fine to wear your cardigan and american apparel v-neck. its fine to get your 100+ dollar jeans that somehow make you look more disheveled than a pair you could have gotten at walmart (God forbid!!) go listen to sigur ros or whatever other boring instrumental group is around that week.
im just wishing for more people with broader horizons i suppose. i'll continue on that topic another time.

please commence sending me "your a hypocrite, because your jeans are too tight, and you like wes anderson and leftist politics!" messages. im ready. im fully aware that they're coming.

A quick entry for the evening.

2007-11-08T01:25:00.000-08:00

I wanted to leave everyone with a special message from Ghostface Killah tonight:

On Living:"a lot of y'all ain't livin' right, walkin' around like a zombie. Y'all sleepin' too much. Time is money. it's time to get up with some new ideas. think of an invention. make a new toilet bowl or something."

On Hustlin': "gotta stay on point. this is survival. a man is a man. don't let nothin' scare you. this is the science of karma. a lot of the time, when y'all handle our beef right there on the spot, it gets deaded right there on the spot."

On Love: "surveys say chick gotta wait like 8 months before she can shit in your crib but if that's your girl how you gonna tell the chick she can't shit?"

On Nutrition: "Comin' from where we come from in the hood, we make a lot of things work. We can't be out there movin' in these fancy restaurants. i still eat ramen noodles. easy quick meals. there's mad ways you can just freak shit. just look in the cabinets. You can put something over the ramen noodles"

On Toneology (the study of pretty toney): "it all stems from the table. Nowadays everybody wants to take their plates and go to their rooms. we're supposed to be at the table, like a family. once everybody leaves that table, that's where the house starts gettin' broke up at. we gotta bring it back to the table."

i just wanted to leave anyone out there that's reading this with that message...and i pissed in a garbage can in park city tonight. more tomorrow.

Arsenal, Prague, Mac, and sleep.

2007-11-07T13:00:00.000-08:00

the Arsenal v. Slavia Prague game is remarkably boring. i was really excited to see the 2nd/3rd team play. i like seeing who arséne is holding in reserve, but today they are playing really boring football. Walcott is fast, but as of yet i've yet to see any other quality in his play. too often he sets off on a sprint, but he can't keep the ball at his feet. nobody else is standing out. and thats bad. eduardo is one of the few strikers who consistently is running AWAY from the goal. i miss van Persie.
all we need is a tie to qualify. so be it.
click here for a lovely mac rumour. i'll start saving now.
i slept really well last night. makes me want to take a nap.

favorite.

2007-11-06T21:56:00.000-08:00

i've recently settled on the idea that i want to study Anthropology of Religion for my masters degree. this is something that i never tire of. I really like different theological thought and the superstitions, mysteries, and mythologies that accompany them. i like official theologies offered by religions as coherent explanations of faith. i also like the far out sounding "space" doctrines that despite neglect continue to exist in connection with the officially recognized dogmas of religions, often despite condemnation and discrediting.
i mentioned this in my class today, explaining that i would like to study the relationship between official doctrinal stances of religion and the accompanying folk religion, superstition, magic, and the occult and the response i got was "that's great!...and you're mormon!" i'm not really sure what that means. but it made me laugh. i think i kinda get it though.

anyway. things that have sparked my interest this week include
Grimoires (in general)and Picatrix (a book originally in arabic, later translated to latin, which contains lots of info on talismanic magic, conjuring spirits and astrology), Goetia:the Lesser Key of Solomon (the method by which Solomon is purported to have conjured and captured 72 demons) (in particular).
I've been rereading a lot of things about mystery cults and alchemy lately too.
i came across something called the Voynich manuscript, a book written in the late 1400's/early 1500's, that nobody has ever been able to translate. it is written in some crazy language that nobody understands. anyway look into it. pretty cool. aliens wrote it-obviously. yeah, i listen to tool. so what?
someone pay for me to go to grad school.
ojohndeenovo.
books i want to read right now:
high fidelity.
tao te ching.
the cairo trilogy.
the name of the rose.

things to look forward to.

2007-11-06T15:47:00.000-08:00

this week in comics is crazy good. beware.
TOMORROW:

-there is a special edition of 'Palestine' by Joe Sacco coming out. To all my MESA friends/anyone with a shred of interest in comics/Palestine/or just good human stories: cop that. I own two copies of it already, and will probably buy this new one for the extra stuff that's being added. i'm really excited. Keep in mind that Edward Said wrote the intro for this comic book. Comics are for kids right? go get it. in fact, get two: one to keep and one to lend to friends and zionists.

-there is a new graphic novel from DC/Vertigo coming out called "Cairo." it's fictional and a 'thriller' and i think it has something to do with a Djinni. but i'm not sure. i'll probably check it out though.
<(while on the topic, has anyone read the Cairo Trilogy by Naguib Mahfouz? i'd like to, and i want some insight from someone who has. I read Mirrors by Mahfouz and really enjoyed it. the end.)>

-Scott Pilgrim was supposed to come out this week, but it looks as though it was pushed back until next week. that's bad news for me- but good for you! it means you can run out and get the first three volumes to be ready for when it comes out next wednesday. if you like shitty rock bands, o.g. nintendo, funny things and happiness, there is no reason you shouldn't be reading this already.

it will be coming out from a publisher called ONI PRESS. they publish some cool books (black metal and sharknife, among others). but the one that i think most of my friends would be interested in (besides scott pilgrim) is STEPHEN COLBERT'S TEK JANSEN SPACE ADVENTURES. this is the presidential candidate's (in SC) comic book. read it.

queen song for the night: all dead, all dead

comics are awesome. you should be so lucky.
rock that shit homey.

AIDs and Vampires.

2007-11-04T20:51:00.000-08:00

it seems apparent to me that AIDs did not originate from sex with monkeys, but with vampires. it seems far more logical to me, and i don't understand why the concept is overlooked.
when you look into the history of vampires they are often affiliated with plagues and epidemics resulting in the death of large numbers of people.
further, Bram Stoker* leads us to believe that only after having been bitten thrice (causing the intermingling of human blood with that of a vampire) will a human turn into a vampire. is it therefore hard to believe that AIDs could be the human body's attempt to fight off the presence of vampirism?
im sure you are now thinking "but if AIDs were vampirism, wouldn't AIDs victims live forever?" Good. But as noted before Bram Stoker leads us to believe that it takes three bites from a vampire to complete the transformation of human to vampire. only after that complete transformation would one become the undead. unfortunately, we don't have enough information to know what the incomplete transformation entails. but i feel it safe to assume that the human body would struggle against the agents in the blood bringing about the transformation. It seems obvious to me that the agents bringing about the transformation are stronger than the human immune system. vampires are, after all, immortal. The human nervous system has no chance of defeating vampirism, even in its incomplete stages.
all of my logical college educated friends out there are surely thinking "vampires don't exist!" to which i respond "prove it!" there are plenty of historical documents from a wide variety of cultures, dating to ancient times about the existence of vampires. Many Jews believe that Lilith (Adam's first wife) left him to become the queen of demons, feeding on the blood and flesh of babies. is that not vampirism? babylonians believed. assyrians. jews. everyone. is the existence of vampires really so far fetched?
further, even were i to grant that TODAY there are no vampires, their existence in times past is enough to warrant suspicion of their role in the HIV virus and AIDs.

i will grant that this theory is entirely speculative. i do not have the education nor the will to prove this theory. but i think that it deserves some attention and serious thought. so, you don't want to believe it? fine. go back to thinking that sex with monkeys brought AIDs into existence. That makes WAY MORE sense.

i just wish freddy mercury had become the undead rather than dieing. i'd gladly sacrifice a pint or two every once in a while to keep him around.

lazing on a sunday afternoon.

2007-11-04T13:28:00.000-08:00

before i take my sunday nap i think i will update this. im trying to form a habit.

first: everyone should own everything that Queen has ever done.

second: everyone should eat something delicious on sunday afternoon and then nap.

third: everyone should go out and read WATCHMEN by Alan Moore. its a graphic novel that graced Time Magazine's top 100 english language novels. It's being made into a movie and will be released in 2009. Read it before its butchered by hollywood. you'll be glad you did. it's always cooler to say that you read it BEFORE it was a movie.

fourth: jay z is too cool to exist in the same realm as us normal humans.

fifth: im looking to download the records by Supernatural (the rapper) and Witchdoctor but can't find them. garbage. but i am going to see ghostface killa on wednesday with Rakim and Brother Ali. rad.

quotation for the moment: "i ask you to be my clementine, you say you will if you could but you can't."
freddie mercury. he and i are somehow on the same page.

maybe i'll add pictures later.

i slept all day.

2007-11-04T01:21:00.000-07:00

so now i can't sleep.
topic #1: Arsenal draws against Man United.
I'm happy with this. It's not the ideal outcome. But it keeps us on top of the league and shows that Arsenals long string of success isn't a fluke. Gunner 'til i die.

topic #2: i saw the spice girls 10 years ago. And i will see them again in december. 75 dollars is worth it. Hearing/seeing the spice girls makes me super nostalgic and happy. i think about jed rudd and buying spice girls suckers while in vegas at F.A.O. Schwartz. I think about being at that show and Jed screaming at the little girls "I DIDN'T COME HERE TO LISTEN TO YOU! SHUT UP!" those were good times.

topic #2.1 new spice girls single. exactly what i would expect it to be. rad. +weird lingerie in the video? +ginger (geri) is hotter now than she was then.

topic #3. does anyone know a way i can make lots of money without lots of work? grad school costs too much money.

reccurring dreams

2007-11-03T11:38:00.001-07:00

i have a reccurring dream where i'm living in a 3rd world country. perhaps in the poorest circumstances i've ever seen. as time continues on i realize that it's not actually a 3rd world country, but some sort of huge flying machine. if i had to describe it i would describe it as a huge submarine that flies. i never see it from the outside, but the inside is full of twists and turns and narrow hallways comparable to those of an old person's house. They're full of books, and bottled and canned foods, and ancient looking miscellanea that appear to be from another life.
i'm not alone in the machine.
there are a few other people on the machine. one is an old woman who is kind to me, and consistently feeds the rest of the people on the machine. at one point in the dream she buys me some kind of delicious pastry. in the process of buying it there are some dirty poor beggar kids who come to ask for money or pastry, hungry and unable to give them money i generally ignore them.
another man is there. he strikes me as being crazy. he's hyperactive and always talks what sounds to be nonsense. he's consistently talking about how long he's been there, but he thinks that soon "they'll" let him come home. on this particular day he's running all over the place claiming that he finally got word that he can go home. he's gathering up canned foods and books from off of the shelves and taking them to what appears to be the area of a bomber airplane with the huge doors which allow the bombs to drop (the bomb bay?). the room is full of books with fluttering pages and cans and bottles of food. it appears to me that's he's going to jump from the machine and i start asking him questions about things to try to get him away from the open bomb bay doors. its about this time that it occurs to me that he can't read anyway, so i dont really understand what he's thinking. he continues babbling about how we're done and we can go home now. the way he talks about it makes it seem like we've been on a mission for years and are finally permitted to go home.
out of nowhere i begin to believe him and that i get to go home too, that my time on the machine is over, that i've somehow done my duty. i start to go back through the machine and get a few things that will remind me of my time there later, mainly books. i put the books on a table in the kitchen where another one of the machines passangers is standing.
the crazy passenger runs in and tells me that we need to hurry up because they'll be here to get us soon. the other passenger looks at the crazy one and asks "what are you doing man? why are you getting him revved up?" the crazy one says "he's like me and we're through. we can go." when he says that i hear a car honk its horn outside the kitchen's window. i go over slowly to the window thinking that it must be the person come to get me. i peek through the blinds but there's nobody there. its just an empty driveway. its at this point that i hear the one man say to the crazy one "you know he doesn't know whats going on, why do you get him going? look at him. waiting for someone to come." the crazy man responds "i think he's like me, he can't read either."
the other man retorts "he's not like you at all. he can read, he's just alone."
the end.

Soul.

2007-10-18T18:56:00.001-07:00

somehow i feel as though old soul singers are the only people who i can identify with. i feel as though Al Green, Otis Redding, Marvin Gaye, Stevie Wonder, sam cooke and I would have been really good friends. i wouldn't have been able to handle marvin gayes death. i think we would have scoffed at Barry White together.

Otis Redding songs not to be missed:
try a little tenderness
these arms of mine
i've been loving you too long
that's what my heart needs

sam cooke is rad. dont miss anything he did. that same goes for all of my soul singer friends.
barry white's not cool though.

Some things that make me happy.

2007-10-18T15:04:00.000-07:00

I am happy that cartoons don't suck anymore. There are still a few caroons out there worth watching. They are, to my knowledge:
Justice League Unlimited
The Batman
Foster's Home for Imaginary Friends
Teen Titans
Metalocalypse.
I love them.
I am also currently excited for "Scott Pilgrim Gets it Together" (out november 7) and curious to watch Casshern, which is some crazy looking Japanese sci-fi movie. Apparently it is based off of some old anime about a dude who fights robots. That sounds pretty rad to me. thats all it takes to make me interested.
i hate robots. really.