I guess it's a pretty popular thing now to go up on stage and interrupt someone's acceptance speech in what is maybe that person's happiest moment.
I'm not quite sure when everyone hopped on board the asshole train in this country, but count me out because I am a human being. I have respect for other people and the more I look around, the less of that there seems to be.
If Taylor Swift had punched Kanye West in the balls, I don't think anyone would've minded, except for Kanye. And now this has spread to the Academy Awards. I assume it won't be long before making an acceptance speech is the last thing anyone wants to do because of inconsiderate people lurking in the shadows, waiting for that perfect moment to jump in. Hell, I bet It'll be the focus of some new reality show.
I consider myself to be a decent person. I have my faults, but who doesn't, right? Yet, despite my outward kindness towards others upon a first meeting, and subsequent meetings if applicable, it seems I'm always left disappointed. A good, solid, and perhaps, long lasting friendship starts to form, good times are shared and eventually I end up left behind. If I went wrong, apparently I'm not self reflective enough to see where. I'm not all that social of a person. It's rather difficult for me to find someone I really enjoy hanging out with. Yet I do like to hang out with people, but it seems to be such a rare event in my life. And it seems to be a recurring theme that people that I've chosen to hang with, eventually decide they have something better to do, and I'm left with my thumb up my ass. If I was flaky, like never showing up, I would understand. If my temper flew off randomly when I'm in public, I would understand. And if I never talked or said entertaining things I might understand. But I do my best to show up, engage in the conversation and though I have a temper, it usually shows up in the privacy of my home, not where others can see it.
I used to wonder why precisely I never hung out with people. Now it seems that I don't want be left in the dust again. It's rude to cancel for arbitrary reasons, or say you've made plans for the same time after we discussed our plans together. If you don't want to hang out, just say so, it's less painful and my time won't be wasted.
All I want is a reliable friend...
Tuesday, March 9, 2010
Monday, March 1, 2010
A Prancing Pony is a Beautiful Thing
I can't quite focus on the negative things right now, I guess today is a pretty good day.
This past weekend I discovered an extremely simple, girly and fun game through Adult Swim Games. It is called Robot Unicorn Attack. If you have played this, then you have seen the utopia that we all dream of. It is a game that consists of nothing more than a robot unicorn dashing and jumping from one far off ledge to another while chasing a fairy butterfly entity and bashing through silver stars. There is so much purple in the game, your retinas will be burned out by the color. All the while the song "Always" by Erasure will be stuck in your head and you will leave home humming it to yourself. There is no point to the game. You just dash from ledges and plow through stars to earn points merely so you can brag about it to your coworkers.
Sorry Chile, you had your earthquake too late, Haiti got all of the attention.
One of the good things about the Olympics being over is all these companies can stop trying to be so damn motivational during their commercials and go back to the same old boring crap they do best for the next two years.
This past weekend I discovered an extremely simple, girly and fun game through Adult Swim Games. It is called Robot Unicorn Attack. If you have played this, then you have seen the utopia that we all dream of. It is a game that consists of nothing more than a robot unicorn dashing and jumping from one far off ledge to another while chasing a fairy butterfly entity and bashing through silver stars. There is so much purple in the game, your retinas will be burned out by the color. All the while the song "Always" by Erasure will be stuck in your head and you will leave home humming it to yourself. There is no point to the game. You just dash from ledges and plow through stars to earn points merely so you can brag about it to your coworkers.
Sorry Chile, you had your earthquake too late, Haiti got all of the attention.
One of the good things about the Olympics being over is all these companies can stop trying to be so damn motivational during their commercials and go back to the same old boring crap they do best for the next two years.
Monday, February 22, 2010
The Freezing Thaw
No one really knows if the debate on "Global Warming" will ever cease. My guess is that it won't as climate change is a constant ongoing process, not some odd phenomenon that began back in the 1970's. There are many problems with the various debate within "Global Warming" but I'll just stick to a few.
The first is that it should not be called "Global Warming." While the planet is increasing in temperature in general, there are many flukes that occur with the climate. Some areas are getting more rain than usual, some are getting significantly less. Some areas have a later snowfall than usual, while others receive an inexplicable amount. (Take for example the snowfall on the Northeastern part of the U.S. for about a week in February.) The title of "Global Warming" does nothing more than confuse old people and Republicans.
The second is that Humans have this unrelenting urge to classify everything into sections, chapters, classes, sects, etc. Most people are debating whether climate change is a man made disaster, or a natural process of the earth. I say it's both. As I stated earlier, the Earth's climate constantly changes and the trend does seem to be going to a warmer temperature. Taking that into account and looking at the history of the Earth's temperature for the past few millennia, the Earth is still at a fairly cool phase. In fact, depending on how far you want to stretch those sections we like to divide everything into, we are still in an ice age. Sounds absurd, I know, but right now the Earth has two polar ice caps and that is a rare moment in the last 4.5 billion years of Earth's history. Keeping all of this in mind, (while sounding like I don't believe in climate change) I certainly don't think the millions of pounds of Carbon Dioxide we pump into the atmosphere is exactly a great idea. Let alone the cutting down of trees or the spoilage of our water systems.
But let's also keep in mind there is a lot about this planet that we don't know. When the Earth is mostly covered in ice, a lot of the sunlight is reflected back off the planet and is fairly useless in helping to warm the Earth. If this is the case, and most of the Earth is covered in ice, how does the planet warm back up to the state we are at now?
In addition, when the planet is at a state like it is now, and has been before, the oceans absorb the suns rays, thereby warming the ocean and melting the ice. If there have been points when no ice caps covered the poles and mostly water covering the planet, then how does the planet cool back down to an ice age like the last one we had (and still are in now) 10,000 years ago?
Regardless of the fact that the climate is changing or why, the real issue is what do we do when it comes to a point of displacing people? The Himalayan glaciers are retreating. Those glaciers are the source points for the Indus, Yangtze, Yellow and other major rivers. These rivers support half of the world's population. If those rivers run dry, do we cram 3 billion people into other parts of the world, or do they die? Perhaps those are the questions we should be asking.
The first is that it should not be called "Global Warming." While the planet is increasing in temperature in general, there are many flukes that occur with the climate. Some areas are getting more rain than usual, some are getting significantly less. Some areas have a later snowfall than usual, while others receive an inexplicable amount. (Take for example the snowfall on the Northeastern part of the U.S. for about a week in February.) The title of "Global Warming" does nothing more than confuse old people and Republicans.
The second is that Humans have this unrelenting urge to classify everything into sections, chapters, classes, sects, etc. Most people are debating whether climate change is a man made disaster, or a natural process of the earth. I say it's both. As I stated earlier, the Earth's climate constantly changes and the trend does seem to be going to a warmer temperature. Taking that into account and looking at the history of the Earth's temperature for the past few millennia, the Earth is still at a fairly cool phase. In fact, depending on how far you want to stretch those sections we like to divide everything into, we are still in an ice age. Sounds absurd, I know, but right now the Earth has two polar ice caps and that is a rare moment in the last 4.5 billion years of Earth's history. Keeping all of this in mind, (while sounding like I don't believe in climate change) I certainly don't think the millions of pounds of Carbon Dioxide we pump into the atmosphere is exactly a great idea. Let alone the cutting down of trees or the spoilage of our water systems.
But let's also keep in mind there is a lot about this planet that we don't know. When the Earth is mostly covered in ice, a lot of the sunlight is reflected back off the planet and is fairly useless in helping to warm the Earth. If this is the case, and most of the Earth is covered in ice, how does the planet warm back up to the state we are at now?
In addition, when the planet is at a state like it is now, and has been before, the oceans absorb the suns rays, thereby warming the ocean and melting the ice. If there have been points when no ice caps covered the poles and mostly water covering the planet, then how does the planet cool back down to an ice age like the last one we had (and still are in now) 10,000 years ago?
Regardless of the fact that the climate is changing or why, the real issue is what do we do when it comes to a point of displacing people? The Himalayan glaciers are retreating. Those glaciers are the source points for the Indus, Yangtze, Yellow and other major rivers. These rivers support half of the world's population. If those rivers run dry, do we cram 3 billion people into other parts of the world, or do they die? Perhaps those are the questions we should be asking.
Monday, February 15, 2010
An Enigmatic Existence
Thank you to those of you who added comments to my previous post. I enjoy a good dialogue and they've even made me change my mind a time or two.
I was pondering the other day about holding the position of an anesthesiologist and what exactly that entails. Not exactly what one does, but more what it's like and I wonder if it's a do nothing job mostly. Sure you have to knock people out before surgery and know how much to give them, but besides that is there anything else? Does an anesthesiologist ever get angry at a doctor because the patient woke up in mid surgery because the doctor got some specifications wrong, or worse, didn't get them to the anesthesiologist in time? Does a surgeon ever get angry at an anesthesiologist because his patient woke up? And is there any room for upward movement from that position? Does anyone ever look at an anesthesiologist and say "That guy sure knows how to gas people! One day he'll be chief of surgery!"
These are the ramblings that occupy my brain.
I have to say a few things about "Avatar" before the Academy Awards, and I may be the first to say such things. All things considered, I give "Avatar" a B-. I have to say I was expecting more. If you've read my previous posts, you'll see I practically loved all of Cameron's movies before "Avatar." But for me, "Avatar" is missing something, and I call that character development. This is one of three elements to me that makes a good story, the other two being story line and dialogue. Of Cameron's previous films I enjoy, those films have at least two of the three, if not all three. This movie barely focused on any one of those three elements. The story was basic. Save the trees? Seriously? We've all seen this before and personally I'm beginning to get tired of it. Dialogue was standard, nothing phenomenal, which that alone is not why I was disappointed in "Avatar." Character Development: NONE. You had two sides, save the trees, and kill everything. That was it. Sigourney Weaver's character barely had a hint of development. Perhaps there was more to her character, but if there was any, it blended into the whole save the trees plot.
Was the movie visually spectacular? Absolutely, yes it was. But I don't care about effects. All Cameron did was make an average film look really cool. It's like putting marshmallows on crummy hot chocolate, but somehow a four year old kid will find it delicious.
I've heard the new "Star Trek" movie had a basic plot. I agree, it did. However each of the characters in that film were so well played and developed, that the story was supporting the characters in this case, as opposed to the other way around. In addition, most of us have seen what happens when a Star Trek plot gets too complicated; we get lost and the film gets bad reviews. For kicking off an old franchise to a new audience, I agree with the simplicity method.
Hang in there, you've only got the rest of your life left.
I was pondering the other day about holding the position of an anesthesiologist and what exactly that entails. Not exactly what one does, but more what it's like and I wonder if it's a do nothing job mostly. Sure you have to knock people out before surgery and know how much to give them, but besides that is there anything else? Does an anesthesiologist ever get angry at a doctor because the patient woke up in mid surgery because the doctor got some specifications wrong, or worse, didn't get them to the anesthesiologist in time? Does a surgeon ever get angry at an anesthesiologist because his patient woke up? And is there any room for upward movement from that position? Does anyone ever look at an anesthesiologist and say "That guy sure knows how to gas people! One day he'll be chief of surgery!"
These are the ramblings that occupy my brain.
I have to say a few things about "Avatar" before the Academy Awards, and I may be the first to say such things. All things considered, I give "Avatar" a B-. I have to say I was expecting more. If you've read my previous posts, you'll see I practically loved all of Cameron's movies before "Avatar." But for me, "Avatar" is missing something, and I call that character development. This is one of three elements to me that makes a good story, the other two being story line and dialogue. Of Cameron's previous films I enjoy, those films have at least two of the three, if not all three. This movie barely focused on any one of those three elements. The story was basic. Save the trees? Seriously? We've all seen this before and personally I'm beginning to get tired of it. Dialogue was standard, nothing phenomenal, which that alone is not why I was disappointed in "Avatar." Character Development: NONE. You had two sides, save the trees, and kill everything. That was it. Sigourney Weaver's character barely had a hint of development. Perhaps there was more to her character, but if there was any, it blended into the whole save the trees plot.
Was the movie visually spectacular? Absolutely, yes it was. But I don't care about effects. All Cameron did was make an average film look really cool. It's like putting marshmallows on crummy hot chocolate, but somehow a four year old kid will find it delicious.
I've heard the new "Star Trek" movie had a basic plot. I agree, it did. However each of the characters in that film were so well played and developed, that the story was supporting the characters in this case, as opposed to the other way around. In addition, most of us have seen what happens when a Star Trek plot gets too complicated; we get lost and the film gets bad reviews. For kicking off an old franchise to a new audience, I agree with the simplicity method.
Hang in there, you've only got the rest of your life left.
Monday, January 25, 2010
Perhaps a Case of the Mondays
I don't feel like writing.
Nothing has me worked up. Perhaps this blog writing so regularly is a little too therapeutic, or maybe I'm too busy to focus on things between work, reading Youth in Revolt and watching "Lost."
My cat's aren't being so annoying right now. A few days ago they decided to start crying outside the door at six AM in order to be let inside the bedroom. My solution to that was to turn up the fan to drown out the sound. I haven't heard a peep since.
I just saw the movie "The Queen." I never realized the Queen was so snobbish and self centered. Then again, she is a queen, what else am I too expect? That she would be charismatic, charming and a prankster?
Oh man, now I'm going to have Britain all over my ass.
Nothing has me worked up. Perhaps this blog writing so regularly is a little too therapeutic, or maybe I'm too busy to focus on things between work, reading Youth in Revolt and watching "Lost."
My cat's aren't being so annoying right now. A few days ago they decided to start crying outside the door at six AM in order to be let inside the bedroom. My solution to that was to turn up the fan to drown out the sound. I haven't heard a peep since.
I just saw the movie "The Queen." I never realized the Queen was so snobbish and self centered. Then again, she is a queen, what else am I too expect? That she would be charismatic, charming and a prankster?
Oh man, now I'm going to have Britain all over my ass.
Monday, January 11, 2010
A Thinking Cap is Not a Fashion Statement
I hope that when I get too old to drive, I'll realize it and put down my keys, before I kill someone.
I was at the grocery store the other day and the checker asked the person ahead of me if she would like any help out. As far as I know, this question was asked for no obvious reason of physical disability, just good customer service. I was wondering if she was going to ask me and as luck would have it, she did. I said no, but it got me thinking how often is that question asked now? I remember when I was a child, going to the store with my mom, she was offered help out, but that was first time in like fifteen years I heard that question. Is it because customer service has gone down and employees just don't ask anymore, or is it because the staffing for that sort of thing just isn't done now?
My neighbors were talking in the entry way, I had to go spy on them just now. No matter how often I spy on them, they never do anything interesting. One of these days though, I'm gonna see some shit go down.
Back to the grocery store. If you shop at Fred Meyer you may have noticed they have these check out lanes now that say (Express Lane (about 12 items)). One time when checking out in one of these lanes, the checker while scanning my items, actually reminded me it was a lane for only twelve items. The next time a checker has the gumption to remind of this mathematical phenomenon I'm going to remind them of what the sign says, "It says about twelve items and apparently I decided to round up today." Maybe this wouldn't annoy me so much if there weren't five lanes of "about 12 items." I understand the use of express lanes, but we don't need seven of them in a store, and the checkers should be appreciative of the fact that I'm actually utilizing them to scan me out, as opposed to those self scan aisles. I'm trying to keep these people employed and some of them have to remind me of arbitrary rules.
In addition, Express Lanes in a grocery store, or any kind of store don't make sense. In retail the big push is profit and the more the customer buys, the happier the store is. Although it would be more aggravating, it would make much more sense in this capitalistic country to have a "50 items or more" lane. No one can leave the store, until they've bought fifty items. Now that's capitalism. I foresee this in our distant future.
I was at the grocery store the other day and the checker asked the person ahead of me if she would like any help out. As far as I know, this question was asked for no obvious reason of physical disability, just good customer service. I was wondering if she was going to ask me and as luck would have it, she did. I said no, but it got me thinking how often is that question asked now? I remember when I was a child, going to the store with my mom, she was offered help out, but that was first time in like fifteen years I heard that question. Is it because customer service has gone down and employees just don't ask anymore, or is it because the staffing for that sort of thing just isn't done now?
My neighbors were talking in the entry way, I had to go spy on them just now. No matter how often I spy on them, they never do anything interesting. One of these days though, I'm gonna see some shit go down.
Back to the grocery store. If you shop at Fred Meyer you may have noticed they have these check out lanes now that say (Express Lane (about 12 items)). One time when checking out in one of these lanes, the checker while scanning my items, actually reminded me it was a lane for only twelve items. The next time a checker has the gumption to remind of this mathematical phenomenon I'm going to remind them of what the sign says, "It says about twelve items and apparently I decided to round up today." Maybe this wouldn't annoy me so much if there weren't five lanes of "about 12 items." I understand the use of express lanes, but we don't need seven of them in a store, and the checkers should be appreciative of the fact that I'm actually utilizing them to scan me out, as opposed to those self scan aisles. I'm trying to keep these people employed and some of them have to remind me of arbitrary rules.
In addition, Express Lanes in a grocery store, or any kind of store don't make sense. In retail the big push is profit and the more the customer buys, the happier the store is. Although it would be more aggravating, it would make much more sense in this capitalistic country to have a "50 items or more" lane. No one can leave the store, until they've bought fifty items. Now that's capitalism. I foresee this in our distant future.
Monday, January 4, 2010
No New Direction
So I said I would try to update every Monday, however when you get sick and it gets to be the holidays, plans can go awry.
I really try not to do anything online when I'm sick, just in case anyone from work may be watching. I don't want to call in, go on facebook at 10 in the morning and have my boss ask me if I'm feeling better. It's just one of those situations you do not want to find yourself in. And in case anyone from work is reading, yes, I really was sick, evidence of me still having the sniffles. This stuff just wont quit.
I flew up to Whistler for a couple of days to ski. I was glad I went as I hadn't been up there in two years. I was a little timid skiing for the first time in so long, but towards the end of the day I was really starting to get into the hang of it. I have to to make sure it's not another two years before I go skiing again.
Now that it's a new decade people feel compelled to categorize everything into top ten lists. I've been asked a couple of times what the best movies of the past decade are. This is a reasonable question as I love movies. However I cannot conceive of compiling all my favorite movies into a list of a hierarchical structure. It's impossible for me to do. Just as it is impossible for some people to drive like they have a license. It's not going to happen. You can ask me, but there likely won't be an answer. Even asking me my favorite movie of all time, I cannot do. I've seen too many and there are too many I enjoy. Each has wonderful qualities that I cannot ignore or toss to the side.
Christmas was awesome, I got cool stuff, that's all that's worth saying. However I do have to go out and buy a High def TV for my Blu Ray Player now.
Ta for now, back on Monday.
I really try not to do anything online when I'm sick, just in case anyone from work may be watching. I don't want to call in, go on facebook at 10 in the morning and have my boss ask me if I'm feeling better. It's just one of those situations you do not want to find yourself in. And in case anyone from work is reading, yes, I really was sick, evidence of me still having the sniffles. This stuff just wont quit.
I flew up to Whistler for a couple of days to ski. I was glad I went as I hadn't been up there in two years. I was a little timid skiing for the first time in so long, but towards the end of the day I was really starting to get into the hang of it. I have to to make sure it's not another two years before I go skiing again.
Now that it's a new decade people feel compelled to categorize everything into top ten lists. I've been asked a couple of times what the best movies of the past decade are. This is a reasonable question as I love movies. However I cannot conceive of compiling all my favorite movies into a list of a hierarchical structure. It's impossible for me to do. Just as it is impossible for some people to drive like they have a license. It's not going to happen. You can ask me, but there likely won't be an answer. Even asking me my favorite movie of all time, I cannot do. I've seen too many and there are too many I enjoy. Each has wonderful qualities that I cannot ignore or toss to the side.
Christmas was awesome, I got cool stuff, that's all that's worth saying. However I do have to go out and buy a High def TV for my Blu Ray Player now.
Ta for now, back on Monday.
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