Intergalactic Walrus

People these days just don't get things like temperature

2007-12-02T20:38:27Z

In early December in Charleston--when it's still 70 degrees outside--people wear jackets and coats, in defiance of the weather.

I don't wanna live in America no more

2007-10-06T20:32:15Z

So it's been what, six months since I updated? I'm so awesome at this.

Thus far the semester has been disappointing but tolerable. I think my ennui with CofC really shows by the fact that I'm trying so hard to get out of here this coming Spring--applying to study abroad at a couple places in the UK, applying to Furman, etc. England interests me far more that Furman, considering all the extra work I'd have to do at Furman to graduate on time. Plus I think a semester in another country might make spending my last year at CofC okay. At the very least I'd have a great experience behind me and I'd be able to live in a much better dorm.

Another problem is that I'm not sure what to major in. My choices are Political Science and Anthropology, basically, and I oscillate between the two from day to day. I'm declared as poli sci and will probably end up doing poli sci, but who knows? It largely depends on where/if I get accepted in the UK, too. I'd take poli sci stuff at the University of Nottingham (my first choice by far, but an unlikely one considering my dismal GPA, courtesy of freshman year) but I'd be more likely to take anthro stuff at Bath Spa. And if I went to Furman, which is just an extreme outside possibility, I would more than likely major in the both of them. The problem is that I love politics and I love anthropology, but I don't really want to be a political scientist or an anthropologist. I told myself I'd stay away from academia, but it seems to be where I'm headed.

Anyhow, things aren't all glum. Despite the fact that I'm struggling in Spanish, I'm taking a few neat classes and making decent grades. Fall Break is next weekend and the following Monday and Tuesday, so I will be home and I must admit I'm looking forward to it.

Currently I'm reading The Years of Rice and Salt by Kim Stanley Robinson. It's pretty neat--it imagines what history would have been like if the Black Death had killed 99% of Europe rather than 3/4 of it, leaving China and India as the world's ascendant civilizations. I really wish I had more time for reading, but with all the books I have to read for class, it just never really seems to work out. I'm either too drained or disinterested to bother with it.

Next semester will be better spent! Hopefully in teh Englands.

P.S. -- It really pisses me off when people congregate around my door just because it's next to a fire staircase. It's a fucking staircase. Please be annoying CofC students somewhere else.

Pretend it's television where the good guys always win

2007-03-30T22:36:35Z

(And now for some LOST ranting, spoilers included.)

Sometimes when I am watching LOST I will ask myself, "Hey, if there's forty or so people on the island, how come they only ever talk about ten of them? What do the other thirty people do all day?" I think everyone that watches LOST asks themselves that at some point. This past Wednesday, LOST decided to answer that question. Here's the thing, though, LOST: The question was fucking rhetorical! We didn't really want to know the answer.

Nikki and Paulo are shit characters. LOST does not need more criminals and con artists! Trying to make us believe that Nikki and Paulo were there all along is a stupid trick akin to editing in a bunch of CGI into the original Star Wars trilogy. Basically, I'm glad they got buried alive and I hope they're dead. I just worry that John Locke saying something like, "Nothing stays buried on this island" two episode ago and then two characters getting buried alive in the next isn't an overlooked coincidence. NIKKI AND PAULO PLEASE STAY DEAD.

Zombies are awesome... But not Nikki and Paulo zombies! P.S. - Bring back Rose and Bernard.

There's two more dead in Texas and it's probably your girls

2007-02-18T00:38:20Z

So I'm really pretty angry that Britney Spears shaved her head. Because this is just going to make people associate girls who shave their heads with lame trailer trash pop stars.

Britney Spears, you have ruined my life.

Collected thoughts on television (not the band)

2007-02-10T22:31:46Z

(Spoilers for Studio 60, mild spoilers for LOST.)

Oh Studio 60, what are you doing? I had such hopes for you. Even when everyone else was saying you weren't really that great of a show, I clung on! But now you have disappointed me. The last few episodes (especially the last one, The Harriet Dinner, Part 2) weren't that great. It's like because Aaron Sorkin can't talk about politics or sports all the time he has to throw all of his characters into romantic relationships that don't make any sense. I mean, Tom/Lucy? Wtf? What is all that about? Where did it come from? Wasn't Tom dating that chick that's Matt's assistant anyway? Or am I just making that up entirely? I can't remember.

And don't get me started on Jordan/Danny! There was so little development to that outside of of them being shown together in a scene every other episode or so. Just because they're both kind of fucked up doesn't mean that they should date each other. I really hope this doesn't cast a shadow over how well Sorkin handled the whole Josh/Donna relationship in The West Wing.

I guess the Matt/Harriet thing is being handled well. I just don't see how they could be a good couple (maybe that's the point?) They're both opposites and would probably be happier elsewhere. Really, Studio 60 kind of makes me feel like I'm reading slash. I feel like I'm writing about slash when I write about it. Come on, Aaron Sorkin! You can do better. Studio 60 just can't compare to Sorkin-era The West Wing or even Sports Night.

Anyway, I'm pleased to say that the latest episode of LOST was AMAZING. Everything they did wrong in the first six episodes of season three, they did right in episode seven. They finally realized that that jumping back and forth between Jack-Kate-Sawyer-The Others, flashbacks, and the main island was constricting their story arcs. Just concentrating on the little island made it so much better. The last episode was a great blend of suspense, action, and crazy conspiracy theories. They tied a lot of things together. I was impressed and I'm really hoping that they'll keep going like this for the rest of season three.

Heroes is consistently pretty good, if cheesy and more of a guilty pleasure than LOST. I think Heroes can maintain its consistency because it has a series of graphic novels to draw from (although I don't know anything about them.) I just wonder what will happen when Heroes runs out of graphic novels to base stuff from and the studio wants to keep making it. Although I don't know how dependent on the source material it is to be gin with. We'll see, I suppose. I'm sure we have a while before that happens.

Really, it needs to be summer so I can start up Netflix again and order more episodes of Rome and Six Feet Under. Rome is a lot of fun and Six Feet Under is pretty much the greatest show in the history of television. Period. No arguments!

My new hit single

2007-01-18T20:09:52Z

Fuck the karma karma karma karma karma police.

Truly the unicorns of the sea

2006-10-19T03:13:44Z

Yes. Narwhals. That is all.

I have nothing but ridicule for this decision

2006-08-25T15:53:21Z

So I'm pretty bummed that Pluto is no longer a planet. At least there are some brave scientists out there who are fighting back. Still, Pluto not being a planet anymore makes me really sad! It feels like an old friend that I've known since childhood is going somewhere far away. So in order to commemorate Pluto's exit from the planetary stage (and indeed the stage of my heart!) I've collected some old photographs of me and Pluto hanging out when we were younger. It's so sad to think about... But this is really cathartic for me. Sometimes it's just really nice to look back on old times and remember the ways things used to be.

This is me and Pluto hanging out in the park, having fun.

This is when Pluto started dating Charon and I was sad because my best friend NEVER HAD ANY TIME FOR ME ANYMORE!

But then we had a party and everything was cool. Look, Ceres and 2003 UB313 were there, too! We had a blast. I know Ceres looks kind of funny in this picture... Don't mind him, I think he was on the dope.

Good-bye, Pluto. I'll always miss you and I'll never forget the great times we had.

Savage things wash over me

2006-08-23T15:33:30Z

Earlier I was walking around Charleston and this guy with coupons was yelling, "free yogurt!" So I took one. I mean, that's awesome, right? Someone giving out free yogurt? That totally made my day. But imagine by complete and total dismay when I looked at the coupon and found out what the dude had actually been saying: "free yoga." Wtf? Laaame.

yogurt > yoga

Anyway. I've now been to all of my classes once. They seem a lot more fun/interesting than my classes last year. Plus I am DONE with class every day before eleven... how crazy is that? Most days I'm not even awake by then. I really didn't want to go back to college, but it's been at least tolerable so far. I'm going to try to go more places outside of Charleston than I did last year, since I discovered that taking trips while you're in college is a lot of fun. Might as well use up as much of my money as possible, since I didn't work this past summer and I'm going to be broke by the end of the year anyway!

It feels like nap time. Maybe. We'll see.

Why does my family have to eat so late? I'm hungry.

2006-07-02T00:15:46Z

Normally I don't make posts about my dreams, but I'm bored so I'm going to now. I've just been having strange dreams lately. I had one where me and some people went on a quest to find the physical location of the IMDb and it happened to be in a deli in a small town in Tennessee. What the hell? I also had one where I was in a concert in a school auditorium, then left because I had to save the town I was in because its water was poisoned. Evidently saving it involved me completing an obstacle course in a near-abandoned Sears. I had to like... jump from pillows to refrigerators to beds to get to the end of the store. But then this large black woman started chasing me telling me that she loved me. I tried to run away, but eventually she caught me and made me have dinner with her over at my grandmother's house.

Last night I had an even weirder dream. It involved events from the movie Apollo 13, me trying to help Ludacris win a drag race, and a pair of spunky lesbians (there was no erotic content involved!) Basically I was at this race track trying to help Ludacris win, but his car messed up because his parachute came out too early. So I had to like... help him beat it down and let him get back into the race. There were jokes about "Gin and Juice" aplenty. Then I went to this place where my old Boy Scout troop used to meet sometimes where the family members of the racers were waiting. The race, btw, had turned into a space race involving events from the film Apollo 13. So basically, Kathleen Quinlan tried to sex me up (can you say ew?) but I escaped. She was being all weird and worrying her husband would not get back to earth. Then the next morning, in the dream, these two random lesbians discovered that Kathleen Quinlan had been transformed into a hot 25 year old but she couldn't talk because there were chopsticks stuck in her teeth. After that, I woke up.

On another note, I'm really liking Netflix, but they've frustrated me over the past couple of days. I've been watching the first season of Six Feet Under (which is a really fun show) but when the sent me the last disc of the first season, it was cracked so I couldn't watch it. I sent it back to get a replacement, but the replacement they sent me was also cracked! I'm not sure if I should just download the last three episodes or tell them that they sent me another cracked discs. I don't want to look suspicious. Like I'm insane and maliciously crack the fourth disc of any TV series.

And if you like zombies and cheesy post-apocalyptic scenarios, you should come play Urban Dead with me. It's a text-based browser game that takes like 5-10 minutes a day, but it's a lot of fun.

I also signed up for Last.fm, which is helping me keep up with all the new indie music I couldn't hear while at school.

So yeah, being at home is pretty boring. At least it is better than college!

I think I might go watch a movie

2006-05-29T03:52:41Z

Step 1: Put your iPod, Winamp or whatever on random.
Step 2: Post the first line from the first 20 songs that play, no matter how embarrassing the song.
Step 3: Post and let everyone you know guess what song and artist the lines come from
Step 4: Strike out the songs when someone guesses correctly.
Step 5: Looking them up on Google or any other search engine is CHEATING! (NO CHEATING)

1) Well, so we meet again (he said he'd grown spiritually since the last time)
2) Hungry people don't stay hungry for long
~~3) Any means in your horizon, heaven in a tourniquet~~ ... Placebo - Allergic (To Thoughts of Mother Earth)
4) All this talk of blood and iron is the cause of all my shaking
5) How the story rolls, magic's taught and history's told
~~6) Dark in the city, night is a wire~~ ... Duran Duran - Hungry Like the Wolf
7) Let me tell you about a friend of mine
~~8) Sleeping is giving in, no matter what the time is~~ ... Arcade Fire - Rebellion (Lies)
~~9) Say a word for Jimmy Brown, he ain't got nothing at all~~ ... The Velvet Underground - Oh! Sweet Nuthin'
10) When the ebbing tide retreats along the rocky shoreline
~~11) Well I kissed the day, I was on my way from those cold gray blocks of stone~~ ... Flogging Molly - Life in a Tenement Square
12) Settle down, don't settle down without me, no, no
13) Throw that Bob Marley wanna-be motherfucker out of here
14) The summer sun set a vicious circus when shadows held the world in place
~~15) You break my back, you won't break me~~ ... KMFDM - Anarchy
16) Watch out - you might get what you're after
17) Now I feel like breaking laws, go on, start a civil war
18) Well I wake up in the morning, look at my clock
19) Drowning on a perfect day, a surface I could never break
20) Oh comfort, you comfort, you come from far away

Then God is truly dead.

2006-04-30T01:14:27Z

Hey god Inbox

Adam
to god
Apr 26 (3 days ago)

"Will you please make the rain stop coming through my door?

Thank you."

Reply Forward

Mail Delivery Subsystem
<mailer-daemon@googlemail.com> to me
More options Apr 27 (2 days ago)
This is an automatically generated Delivery Status Notification

THIS IS A WARNING MESSAGE ONLY.

YOU DO NOT NEED TO RESEND YOUR MESSAGE.

Delivery to the following recipient has been delayed:

god@god.com

Message will be retried for 2 more day(s)

Technical details of temporary failure:
TEMP_FAILURE: Could not initiate SMTP conversation with any hosts:
[null.god.com. (10): Connection refused]

April fools! (I sure as fuck hope)

2006-04-23T04:29:22Z

This is a conspiracy theory post about the band Tool.

For those of you who don't know, Tool recently released a really shitty single off of their new album 10,000 Days, which is supposed to come out on May 2nd. The album leaked a few days ago and the consensus seems to be that it's not very good at all, either.

After listening to Vicarious many times (ugh) and reading the buzz on the internet, I've come up with the following possibilities:
1) Tool has leaked a fake album with a decoy single to show that people will listen to any shit as long as they're told it's by Tool, but the album that hits stores May 2nd will be the real album. 2) The album will actually contain two discs, one of which is the sucky leak album and one of which is something else. 3) The leak album will be released on the Volcano label May 2nd with no accompanying disc, but on May 16th Tool will release the fake leak album and the real album together on their new record label. 4) Tool has just lost it and is going to put out a monstrously shitty, shallow album. I don't really buy this one, though. 5) Tool will intentionally release a bad album to show that people will listen to anything, no immediate follow-up. Doubt this one, too.

So I don't seem too much like a crazy conspiracy theorist who can't accept reality, I have compiled a list of evidence:

a) The officially released album art and the name of the CD. Take a look. It's obviously just leftovers from Lateralus, a piece by Alex Grey. Now take a good look at the new band logo. Doesn't the word "Tool" look awfully like the word "fool" to you? Also take note of the eyes which just so happen to look like CDs. That seems to imply two CDs. Also, the album name. 10,000 Days? Come on. Every single one of Tool's previous albums have had single-word titles (Opiate, Undertow, Aenima, Salival, Lateralus.) Also, evidently Disturbed recently released an album called Ten Thousand Fists. Surely this is just Tool's way of poking fun at bad rock music.

b) The names of the songs, the lyrical content, and the way the songs sound. You can look at the lyrics here. The songs are out of order, but that doesn't really matter. Don't the names of the songs just seem like something Tool would make up as a fake leak? The Pot? Rosetta Stoned? Wings for Marie? Come on. The lyrical content hardly needs to be mentioned. If you take a look, you'll realize that they just aren't any good at all. They're nothing compared to past Tool songs. They have to be jokes. Now, unfortunately can't comment on the way the songs sound with any authority. I haven't heard the leak, just Vicarious (which is shit.) But there seems to be a pretty good consensus running around that they sound like rehashes of stuff from old albums: b-sides, bits and pieces of songs they never did, and joke songs, all thrown together and recently re-recorded. Doesn't sound something they needed five years to make.

c) Comments left by Kabir at toolshed.down.net and comments left by BMB over at toolband.com/news. Kabir (who is close to the band) gives an early review of an album after hearing it at a listening party. He says this: "And so, it was time for 'Viginti Tres' [the last song on what is supposed to be the album.] But my host was running late for dinner, and I was as well. It's another segue, I was told. I'll hear it soon, I said." A segue? It's weird that he would call the last track on the album a segue, implying that the song was a transition into something else. He ends with this: "You will want to buy this the day it comes out. Trust me. It may not be exactly what you are expecting, but it is exactly what you are waiting for." Curious. BMB over at the official Tool site also said this in response to people emailing him about the album art: "It seems that a few of you are also anticipating ‘the bigger picture’ – that which you’ve become accustomed to over the years when it comes to Tool’s art direction. Well, to you, I will only say that you will not be disappointed… and that the key is right there before your very eyes." I think that implies that there's something more.

d) While there would be legal and technical difficulties with doing something like this, it's not impossible. The leak that's out now was leaked awful early for a CD that doesn't come out until May 2nd. There's always the possibility that there might be a real leak (of the real album sometime before May 2nd. Also, look on any site that sells CDs. You can find two copies of 10,000 Days, each with a different price and release date. One is cheap--cheaper than any recent Tool CD has been--and is released May 2nd on Volcano, a record label that Tool has had problems with and is leaving after this album. The other is labeled as an import, costs much more, and is being released two weeks later on the new record label that Tool has created. It seems like something is going on there for sure.

e) Tool is infamous for their April Fools jokes. They love them. Remember when the band died in a fiery bus accident in Australia? Or when Maynard said that he had found Jesus and that Tool was going to have to take a backseat to his new faith? Tool loves to ridicule people for following anyone or anything blindly. They want people to think for themselves. Besides, they haven't pulled off an April Fools joke this year. They always reveal them at an off date. Who says they're not just waiting to pull the biggest joke ever?

If Tool is doing this as some kind of joke, then they will have successfully pulled off the greatest prank in the history of music. If they're just gone downhill and happen to be putting out a really crappy album, I'm going to be pissed off. No matter, what, though, we'll all know for certain what's going on by May 2nd (maybe earlier if there is another leak closer to the release date.)

P.S. - If the album doesn't suck and they play in SC/NC/GA, does anyone want to go see them?

War! College exams!

2006-04-02T05:25:46Z

Maybe it's just me being weird, but I think indie music is one of the most important advances in musical history. People always lament the fact that indie music doesn't have a poster-child. They think it won't ever gain much popularity because there's no one band monopolizing the genre. I really disagree with that idea, though. Indie music's strength is the fact that it's democratic instead of authoritarian. I think one of the reasons that I like it so much is because it really speaks to my socialist sensibilities. There's no Led Zeppelin vs. The Who feud that divides high-schoolers along class lines. There's no Nirvana worship that leads to thousands of exaggerated and painfully bad elaborations on one band's work. Indie music is communal. People often decry the fact that indie bands steal ideas and sounds from one another just as often as mainstream bands do. This may be true, but indie music is a group effort. It's an exploration of sometimes similar, sometimes very different sounds and ideas that are more or less community property. Mainstream music tends to just be bands and artists who are following a chain that goes far back that they're copying a copy of a copy of a copy of a copy.

I read an article in Newsweek several years ago about the Flaming Lips and indie music. It was basically talking about how they needed to stand up and take the lead in directing indie music. And I remember thinking, "Wow, that's exactly what needs not to happen." Not because I have anything against the Flaming Lips--they're fun, I really enjoy them--but because indie music doesn't need a leader. It's doing very fine on its own, thank you very much. I'll admit that it was something that worried for it would happen. That some behemoth would step in and kill the movement while pretending to champion it, kind of like the way Lenin fucked up the Russian Revolution ("What? Democracy? You guys don't need that, you have a worker's state! Come on, it'll be fun.") But now I don't think that'd be possible. Indie music is just such a communal thing that no one band would be able to harness it.

Indie music is a grassroots revolution. That may sound like a drastic statement about a genre that's generally mellow (well, indie rock is, but indie hip-hop is a different story,) but I think it's definitely right. Indie bands and artists are pissed off at the corporate stranglehold on popular music. They're tired of this bizarre 90's faux angst-music revival that's being spearheaded by an 80's "cater to the suburbs and houses with white picket fences" mentality in music industry board rooms. They're tired of it and rocking out against it in their own way. For the most part it's not Rage Against the Machine sledgehammer music and vitriolic lyricism, but songs about girls and the lives of twenty-somethings. Maybe it's not new material. But that isn't what matters. It's a sonic collaboration, a group exploration. Sure, record execs will attempt to gain a hold of it. They'll try to colonize it, kill the inhabitants, pave over culture with strip malls. They'll snare a few bands, I'm sure. But they could never get all of them. Not even most of them. That's why I'm sure that if there's any movement that will be able to topple this current gentrification of post-'94 rock and hip-hop, it'll be indie.

Indie bands of the world, unite!

Love me til my heart stops.

2006-02-06T06:11:04Z

Sometimes I'll catch myself writing a sentence and I'll have a revelation: "Whoa, that makes me sound ungodly pretentious!" I mention it because I caught myself doing it just now. I guess there are worse habits that you could have. And I don't think I talk like that. Most of the time I have a too much trouble phrasing sentences to be able to say anything that sounds that annoying, haha.

I went home this past weekend. It was really weird to just be home for a weekend like that! Because I wanted to think it was winter break again or something. And then I was like, "Oh shit, I have to go back!" It's just that my classes are so boring this semester, I think. And so many of them are early classes. And I am nooot a morning person. I'm still going to apply to Furman as a transfer student, but at this point I am leaning toward staying at C of C. I would just like to keep the option open if I change my mind. We'll see.

As far as Althanas goes, it has dawned on me that the Gang of Ten's current revolutionary antics really implement Leninist dual power theory. That makes me happy. And for those that are curious, we'll start seeing how things are going to play out on Monday. Evidently Madison transferred the funds with a shitty account, so everything won't clear until then. By the end of the week, I'm guessing, we'll know where everything stands. I would really like to stay on staff, but that's rather dependent on my side winning this little bureaucratic war. If we end up losing and I do get fired (I really doubt either of those will happen,) there is always Edges of Eternity and Quichetopia.

I've found myself becoming obsessed with steampunk. And Wikipedia. And linking to Wikipedia articles on my lj. But yeah, I just finished reading The Scar by China Mieville. I thought it was a lot better than Perdido Street Station, which I also liked (and think I mentioned before, maybe?) I mean, a linguist running from the government of an authoritarian city-state gets kidnapped by pirates who live on a floating city made of thousands of boats? How is that not awesome? I guess the way he broods over the same themes is kind of obvious, but the book just had so much of an awesome factor that I really didn't mind. Oh, I also read A Feast for Crows by George R. R. Martin, the fourth book in the A Song of Ice and Fire series. I liked it a lot while I was reading it, but I was kind of disappointed after. It was fun, but it didn't seem like it moved the plot forward too terribly much. I'm still really looking forward to A Dance with Dragons, though, which supposedly comes out in a year. Right now I'm reading Guns, Germs, and Steel by Jared Diamond, which is definitely interesting. It's cool to be reading it and taking an anthropology course at the same time.

I haven't really written anything since creative writing at the FAC last year. Which makes me kind of sad. I mean, I have done a lot of stuff with Althanas. But I don't know if that counts as actual writing. I don't think it does. I should write something. But this is more of me half-heartedly scolding myself for not writing, even though I know I'm not going to do anything about it. I should try to take a creative writing course here next semester (do we even have them?) so that I will be forced to write. It might be fun.

Wow, I haven't updated in a really long time. I didn't write about... a lot of stuff. Oh well. I will try to update again by sometime during/after spring break at the very latest. Maybe then I will actually have something to say. Right. We'll see if that happens! Also, I went to elementary school here. ... Yeah, that was really random. Oh, memories! And oh, shit! I have an 8:00 lab tomorrow. Must sleep.

Your heart felt good.

2005-11-26T04:10:08Z

I am not very good about updating this anymore. Not that I ever was. Oh well.

Anyway, this week has been both fun and really boring. The School of the Americas protest turned out to be kind of lame, although the trip there and stuff was fun. It was just so disappointing. The term we've been tossing around for it is "Fall for Greenville for hippies." Everyone there was just so... Weird and lame and sad. The message was unfocused, there was too much conservative-bashing (because conservatives can't be against torture!) and I couldn't believe people were still digging up Rosa Parks's corpse to parade around for whatever cause they wanted. Columbus, Georgia is also the worst town in the US. It exists to support the military base and feeds off the good will of all who visit it. All that being said, I did have a fun time. The part of the protest they had Sunday probably would have been cooler, but we were too tired to stay for that. Sleeping in the car takes a lot out of you. There are lots of funny--might I say hilarious--stories (prostitutes and pimps and trains, oh my!) related to that, actually, but they are better told in person.

My break has been pretty boring. There's just not a lot to do and I don't really have much of a desire to see people from my high school. But Thanksgiving was good, I guess. How could you not enjoy the celebration of genocide? Oh, America. You and your crazy holidays.

I'm not really sure what to do about Edges of Eternity. Madison doesn't have the time to do it, evidently, so evidently I will need to run it by myself. I just don't know if I have the drive. I'm really more into the creation aspect of things than actually role-playing. I'm torn, really, I guess. Because writing fiction on my own makes me feel lame, but role-playing is so demanding. More and more it just feels like my role-playing days are over. Treline is gone and Althanas is dead to me. It seems time to move on. I would like to do something with EoE, I just don't know what. I'm going to have to think about it over Christmas, I suppose. We'll see what happens.

I want to do that ABC's of Music thing, since all the cool kids are doing it, but I'm too lazy. Peer pressure's got nothing on me. Anyway, I guess I am done with this entry. Hopefully I am going to find something to do that is not boring! Wish me luck.

P.S. -- My cat is getting FAT. WTF? It throws up all the time! At least Wills is still awesome.

Last I checked pyramids wasn't built like projects.

2005-10-23T20:01:41Z

Someone threw up ALL OVER the stairwell. It's really gross.

This may seem weird, but lately I've really been wanting to become a vegetarian. Just because I really think it's the right thing to do and it wouldn't be that hard to do at college. I've been thinking about it for months, but ever since the mouse incident last weekend (me and Madison saw a mouse die in a mouse trap--it was SO SAD--it made me feel awful and we even had a funeral for it, even though it was like five in the morning.) I dunno. It's just some thing that I'm thinking about right now. Not just because I've read so much about the state of meat production that just horrifies me (did you know Brazilian beef production employs slave labor?,) it just seems right.

I'm reading Perdido Street Station by China Mieville, which I am enjoying so far. It's very strange, but very awesome. I'm not far enough into it to decide if it's superficial or not, but I don't really think I'll care if it is. It's about this bizarre city with this rogue scientist that has to heal a dewinged bird-man and the scientist's insectoid lover who takes on an art project for a crime boss. So far, anyway. I also picked up a copy of Snow Crash by Neil Stephenson, which I am anxious to read again. It's too bad that all of the books he wrote after it sucked. But Snow Crash remains awesome. Hiro Protagonist! Best name for a character EVER.

Jason Lee and Isaac Hayes are no longer cool, because they are both Scientologists. Jason Lee is really sad, but Isaac Hayes is just baffling. I had always wondered why South Park had never done an episode on Scientology, but now I know why. My hopes of Chef ever singing a funny, sexually-related song about Scientology are forever crushed. BECAUSE CHEF IS A SCIENTOLOGIST!

Stan: "Why would God let Kenny die, Chef? Why? Kenny's my friend. Why can't God take someone else's friend?"
Chef: "Stan, Kenny didn't really die. We are all immortal. Kenny just died because he was overwhelmed with the malignant spirits of thousands of dead aliens that were tied to earth's volcanoes millions of years ago by the evil Emperor Xenu, killed with H-bombs, and shown movies for 36 straight hours. Everything will turn out okay. Kenny will be reincarnated in some galaxy far away as an alien."
Stan: "I think I understand."

Also, WTF? You guys all suck! Evidence:

My LiveJournal Trick-or-Treat Haul
anothersea goes trick-or-treating, dressed up as Intergalactic Walrus.
aburame gives you 5 brown grape-flavoured jawbreakers.
alonelydecember tricks you! You lose 2 pieces of candy!
clockwork_apple tricks you! You get a broken balloon.
coverlet_nf tricks you! You lose 1 pieces of candy!
munchor tricks you! You get a block of wood.
peglegpogostick gives you 2 light green apple-flavoured pieces of chewing gum.
ponzis_ruin gives you 11 red-orange cinnamon-flavoured pieces of bubblegum.
raintoday gives you 14 dark green mint-flavoured gummy bats.
sighter_goliant gives you 3 pink passionfruit-flavoured jawbreakers.
somehipcat tricks you! You lose 30 pieces of candy!
anothersea ends up with 2 pieces of candy, a broken balloon, and a block of wood.
Go trick-or-treating! Username:
Another fun meme brought to you by rfreebern.

Anyway, today I need to study for Philosophy and Poli Sci exams coming up. So I'll get to that.

It was ill-looking and its eyes looked bloodshot...

2005-10-08T23:22:43Z

So earlier today I was reading this article about violent crack squirrels in South London. And, not thirty minutes ago, when I was walking out of Craig Cafeteria, I spotted (what I can only assume was) a chipmunk. I suppose it could have been a rat or a mouse or something, I didn't really look at it. But as I was walking closer to the bush, I saw it scamper nearer to the sidewalk. I told myself, "Rodents are creatures of nonviolence! I am surely safe from harm!" But that is when it leapt out and attacked me. I am so not joking. Well, maybe a little. It ran full speed into my shoe and tried to crawl up my leg, but I shook it off into the bushes. I think I scared the shit out of it. I am really glad I wore my shoes since I overwore my flip-flops and the straps cut my feet open. And that I wore long pants. Because otherwise I would be developing rabies and a crack addiction as I write this. But denim and tennis shoes saved me from harm!

I finally got around to putting all of the CDs I have with me into iTunes (so I can transfer them to my iPod.) After I had done so, I decided to listen to the first/self-titled The Presidents of the United States of America CD for the first time since like elementary school. And, for the sake of the good old days, I decided to listen to Peaches. And I was like, holy shit! That song is all about oral sex and jacking girls off! I had NO IDEA when I listened to the song when I was a kid. That whole CD is so perverted (and awesome,) haha.

Movin’ to the country gonna eat a lot of peaches
I’m movin’ to the country I’m gonna eat me a lot of peaches
I’m movin’ to the country I’m gonna eat a lot of peaches
Movin’ to the country I’m gonna eat a lot of peaches
Peaches come from a can they were put there by a man
In a factory downtown
If I had my little way I’d eat peaches everyday
Sun soakin bulges in the shade

Movin’ to the country I’m gonna eat a lot of peaches
Movin’ to the country I’m gonna eat a lot of peaches
I’m movin to the country gonna eat a lot of peaches
Movin’ to the country gonna eat a lot of peaches

I took a little nap where the roots all twist
Squished a rotten peach in my fist
And dreamed about you woman
I poked my finger down inside makin’ a little room for a ant to hide
Nature’s candy in my hand or can or a pie

Millions of peaches peaches for me
Millions of peaches peaches for free
Millions of peaches peaches for me
Millions of peaches peaches for free

I don't even really feel like I have to bold the obvious parts. I rest my case.

That is all, really. I just had to share. Life is a strange thing. I will do that long, boring survey... later.

If there is hope, it lies in the salad.

2005-09-27T01:22:14Z

Of late, I have developed a fascination with salad. Not so much the idea of salad as a food product/matter, but salad as a concept. It's so hard for me to explain, but I'm completely serious. There's just something magical to me about salad. It's like I think I feel the same way about salad that some people feel about God. I'm totally serious, at least in regard to the span of the last week or so. I mean "salad" more as an idealistic concept than some commanding, condemning salad-of-fire type thing. I can't really put this into words, I think it's the kind of thing that only makes sense in my head. But salad is one of the few things in the world for me that has real, true spiritual connotations for me. Even as an atheist, there's still something divine/benevolent in the idea of salad.

I'm not even thrilled or excited about the actual eating of salad. But then again, that is not an idea that seems perverse to me. I'm really indifferent to it. Again, it's honestly just the idea of salad that interests me. The soul of salad, if you will. Or better yet, the soul of the idea of salad. I don't know. I guess this sounds crazy. Perhaps it is just silly. But if there is a god, then I swear it is made of salad.

(I'm not even really interested in the spirituality of the little additions to the salad like bacon bits and croutons, although dressing does seem a little more holy. It's mainly just the lettuce that holds all of the power for me. The idea of the lettuce, anyway. I'm sorry, I guess this doesn't really make sense to anyone. But I've really been thinking about it lately. I felt the need to try to write it down.)

Anyway, I had a Poli Sci exam on Friday and a Philosophy exam today. I think I passed both of them, but I'm honestly not sure how great I did. I was much more confident on the essay portions of both than the other parts. I have a Geology exam and a Math exam on Wednesday, which I am certainly not looking forward to. But I will study and I will survive and hopefully not fail, like always.

Herman: "Salad's my Rushmore."
Max: "I know. It was mine, too."

Because I am the best new thing in metal.

2005-09-23T02:47:51Z

This is a song about the devil I wrote in 30 seconds at Manda's prompting.

La-la-la Satan
He has lots of flashy clothing and nice machinery
La-la-la Satan
He eats all the corn down at the beanery

You see him at work
You see him at school
You see him smoking
That's not cool!

La-la-la Satan
He looks like a giant artichoke
La-la-la Satan
We have a Nazi for a Pope

You see him in Italy
You see him in the Vatican
Kill all the Jews?
He'll never do that again!

I'm sorry, but some things should never be forgotten.

You lack the things to which I relate.

2005-09-11T23:10:32Z

I am so very restless. The lack of things to do here (that I'm interested in) is insane. Plus all the people I've met thus far are extremely boring. I just thought there would be more to do in college. I hear the Fencing Club is pretty dead, but I dragged my equipment down here, so I might as well check it out. I'm also going to join Amnesty International if I can find out when they meet. I might join the Young Democrats, but only as a last resort. I'm so disenchanted with the Democrats of late. I'm just really bored. All I do is sit around and play guitar, read, and look at Althanas. I believe it may eventually drive me crazy. But I hope not.

Speaking of Althanas, I think it is time for me to step down. I just don't want to be an administrator. I'm not even sure I want to be a moderator, though I will likely stay on as the Salvar writer for a time. I'm just tired of the politics. I don't want to do it anymore. I want to be able to actually role-play on Althanas. Although, I think I am going to use new characters. Wyn and Ashiakin just aren't working out with the newer Althanas environment. Sadly, I don't think either one of them is going to last much longer.

Between us, Madison and I have a total of over ten years of role-playing experience. I feel like we're very capable of establishing and maintaining our own role-playing website. Something that won't be just another retarded Althanas rip-off. We've put a lot of thought into it and I'm very certain that we can pull it off. I don't think I'll ever leave Althanas, though. Despite its many flaws, Althanas remains one of the best role-playing sites that I have encountered. I figure I'll be there for a while in some form.

I haven't looked at hurricane stuff since last night, but it felt very ominous outside today. Also, after reading an interview with Chris Weitz, I feel slightly more comfortable with him directing His Dark Materials (although I still have no earthly idea how he is going to pull off The Amber Spyglass.) And I'm looking for a copy of The Hedge Knight to sate my hunger for more George R. R. Martin while waiting for A Feast For Crows (November 8th) to come out. I had a very strange dream last night that I thought about typing up and posting here, but I decided the only one that would understand it would be me (kinda like the rest of my lj entries, huh?) Anyway, I really need to be studying/looking stuff up for Philosophy and start on a paper for English. So I'm off to do so.

Wow, it's September 11th. Rock on, America! SPREADING DEMOCRACY LIKE BUTTER OVER THE TOAST THAT IS THE MIDDLE EAST SINCE 2001!!!

Entries look strange when they do not have titles.

2005-09-04T03:33:46Z

So I have officially spent over two weeks in Charleston. I'm inclined to say I'm enjoying it, although I certainly have a few complaints. But I really like my professors. Even the ones I don't particularly care for are still okay. Most of my classes are cool and even the general education stuff is bearable. My dorm is also enjoyable, even though everything in it tends to get really dirty.

The only major complaint I have is the people. They're all dumb, but worse than high school. Plus there just isn't a whole lot to do. I'm going to look into some of the liberally-aligned clubs and organizations, though, to see if I can remedy either of those things. Did I mention that outside it is UNGODLY HOT AND HUMID? I'm so glad the AC in my dorm makes it feel like a walk-in freezer.

On a side note, the wildly arthritic elderly lady at the cafeteria on St. Phillip's makes me sad. The other day I went there to get food at that weird time when they are about quit serving lunch but haven't started serving dinner. She scanned my card and told me it was Express Lunch, which pretty much means that the food is going to be shitty because of the time. And I was all like, "Oh, sure, that's okay." And she was like, in this really quiet voice, "I'm glad somebody still loves me." It was creepy and sad rolled into one.

With all this hurricane stuff going on, I'm kind of wondering what I should do in the event of one. I mean, Charleston is on a PENINSULA. It's like 10 feet above sea level or something. It floods when it RAINS. Right now it's looking like I'm going to have to drive my car into the ocean. You'll think I'm dead, but I sail away. On a wave of a mutilation. A waaave. Waaaave. On a wave of mutilation.

Ahaha, my old LJ is as boring as my old one. Also: SOLO QUESTS ARE FUCKING DUMB! And while a battalion of halibut (a halibutalion) may be able to defeat a battalion of scallions (a scattalion) in their own environs, the Scatallion would OWN the Halibutalion on the open field. The simple fact of the matter is that a halibutalion simply isn't trained well enough in survival skills to live outside the water, whereas Scatallions have been known to triumph in places as damp as river valleys and swamps. Halibutalion < Scatallion. That is all.

Just checking things out.

2005-08-15T01:57:09Z

This is totally my first entry here.

(And it's also kind of a test.)