The Pointless Rantings of a Twenty-Something Nerd

I'm in a place where I don't know where I am!

2011-08-03T00:13:00.003-05:00

Yup, that's all.

(PS: Post featuring "DH:P2 - Essay Part 2" soon to follow...as if anyone cares.)

~o~*~o~

"I solemnly swear that I am up to no good."
-Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban, J. K. Rowling

Dad, start digging some nerd holes!

2011-07-26T12:07:00.004-05:00

Well, considering Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2 came out like a week and a half ago and I've yet to post anything about it, I figured now was probably as good a time as ever. What follows is my reaction to the end of my childhood...err, the last movie...directly from my post on the Nuthouse. Also, can we say "HOLY ESSAY, BATMAN!"? This is, of course, pretty much nine million years long (oh yes, I meant years; it's so long, we have to start measuring it in TIME), which means you should make sure that you have, like, half an hour to spare. But anyway...here is my LONG ASS REVIEW OF HARRY POTTER AND THE DEATHLY HALLOWS: PART 2 (and in case you're retarded and didn't already assume this, there are SPOILERS in here; not just for this movie, really, but also Part One and probably the series as a whole, so if you're unfamiliar with any of the films, it might be a good idea to skip over this post...also there are lots of swears, so don't read if that bothers you):

I had started to make a video response, but it was like, 20 minutes long and I hadn’t even covered half the shit that I wanted to, so I decided to scrap that idea and just type it all out instead. Anyway, here are my thoughts:

First of all, this movie should be titled SHOCKFEST 2011. I was pretty sure that I would be bawling throughout this whole movie, but honestly, I didn’t cry nearly as much as I thought I would. I cried a bit during certain parts and was pretty much misty-eyed for like, 95% of the movie, and yes, there was even a lump in my throat throughout the whole movie as well, but I didn’t actually bawl at any point. Which may seem really odd considering how much death there was in this movie - one of those deaths being Snape’s, which was, no joke, quite possibly the worst and most heartbreaking death scene I’ve ever seen in my life - but honestly, I think it was because my jaw seemed to be glued to the floor for the whole 2+ hours.

Seriously, even having read the book and knowing what was going to happen did not prepare me for what was going on in this film; it was like seeing it played out onscreen in front of me was just a completely different experience than reading the book, and the act of actually seeing it was just so raw and real and shocking and...GUH, that I was in like this permanent state of shock for the whole thing. I felt like I was holding my breath for the whole length of the movie and couldn’t let it out until the whole thing was over, and because I was just so worked up about that, I couldn’t process the deaths in the same way, you know? Like I said, the tears and the emotion were there, but it’s like I couldn’t express it properly because of the sheer shock of the whole thing, you know? I am seeing it again like next week, though, so I’m guessing that now that I’ve experienced that, the shock value will go down a bit, and I might actually cry next time, haha.

But now onto more of the specifics, yeah?

NEVILLE. Oh. My god. Seriously, this boy was like, the most amazingly awesome badass motherfucker I’ve ever seen in my life. I LOVED him. I always liked how his character changed and grew and progressed throughout the series, and I love what JKR did with him in this book, but in the movie? GOD, HE WAS SO FUCKING COOL. Again, something about seeing him onscreen and everything just made it that much better and cooler, and…god. So great. When he killed Nagini at the end, the entire theater burst into cheers. It was so AWESOME. And him and Luna? Fucking ADORABLE.

I LOVED Helena Bonham Carter as Bellatrix as Hermione. She was so adorable, walking around all awkward and uncomfortable and shit. It was so weird to see her in full Bellatrix attire and be somewhat normal and even a bit insecure and not, you know, batshit insane.

Aberforth? Yeah, I liked him. He was pretty cool. I got all teary when I saw the portrait of Arianna, cause I immediately knew it was her, and when he made that comment about how Dumbledore had put power and infamy or whatever above his family…well, that was one of those emotional moments for me. He was so cool when they showed him during the Battle, too.

And McGonagall! OH GOD, SHE WAS SO BADASS AND COOL. I LOVED her line after she made all the knights and shit come to life - "I always wanted to use that spell!" or whatever. So adorable! Love her love her love her. And her concern about Harry when he shows up too, and buying him time, and just…I love her. Like I said, she’s one person I overlook a lot, but she really is such a great character. She’s stern and strict and whatever, but she just wants what’s best for her students and holds them responsible for their actions and everything, and in the end, she’s really a great woman and is always there for them, you know? She does care about everyone, and I’m sure she does have a soft spot for Harry, and I just love her for it.

Speaking of the statue knight thingies, OH MY GOD THOSE WERE SO COOL. Honestly, I loved that sequence; the part when they’re arming Hogwarts and putting up all of the protective Charms and shit was actually one of the parts where I cried a little bit and got mad chills, because it was like, after ten years or whatever, this was it. Like, the last ten years have been building and adding up to this moment, and now, now, shit’s about to go down.

I thought the Fiendfyre scene was really well done too. I mean, the special effects were awesome, and the part where Harry’s like, “BITCHES, WE GOTS TO GO BACK FOR MAFOIL!” was really lovely and made me all, “Awwwww!” inside. And when Malfoy just like, hops on and they fly out of there all BA-like…yeah, that was a great, feel-good moment.

And, of course, let’s talk about the best part of the whole movie, SNAPE’S DEATH. OH MY FUCKING GOD, THAT WAS THE BEST DEATH SCENE I HAVE EVER SEEN IN ANY MOVIE EVER. AND ALSO THE MOST TRAGIC. I mean, seriously, when you see him getting all fucked up by Nagini through the glass, and then they walk in and he’s all dying on the floor, SWEET JESUS MY HEART JUST CRACKED. This was one part where I did actually cry (some girl behind me was like, bawling at this point, lol), and I was just all numb and emotional and sad. And then he fucking CRIES THE MEMORIES. Now, admittedly, I haven’t read the book in a long ass time and I can’t say with certainty what happened, but I don’t actually remember him crying the memories…I thought he pulled them out like everyone else has always done. Like I said, for all I know, it did happen this way in the book, but I honestly don’t remember it that way. However, if it was different than the book, this is one thing that I like better in the movie than the book; him crying out his memories was SO fuckING SAD. And then Harry like, trying to stop the blood and be all nice to him, and OH GOD IT WAS SAD. AND THEN, SWEET JESUS, Harry tries to look away and Snape’s all, “LOOK AT ME,” and Harry does, which was all emotional and shit enough, but then he’s like, “YOU HAVE HER EYES,” or whatever, and HOLY f**k MY HEART CRACKED MORE. I mean, that’s something that Harry’s heard his whole life, but this was the first time I really felt like it meant something, you know? And how beautiful and yet horribly tragic that Snape died looking at them; like, it reminded him of Lily, which was good, but at the same time, it was still Harry and not her, you know? I MEAN GOD, HOW AWFUL. And then he just f**king dies, and god, seriously, so f**king beautiful and tragic and just fucked up and awesome.

AND THEN THE MEMORIES. THE MEMORIES, OH GOD, THE MEMORIES. That section of the movie was just one horrible thing after another; I loved how adorable little!Severus and Lily were, but all the shitty stuff that happened was just so terrible, and then SWEET JESUS, when he walks into the Potter’s house after Voldemort’s been there, and just fucking loses it when he sees Lily, and it goes in and out and then you see him just clutching her body to him for dear life and sobbing uncontrollably and looking for all the world as though the earth is just gonna swallow him whole...Holy. fuck. LITERALLY most tragic moment of any movie ever. This was the point in the movie that I cried the hardest, and while, again, I wasn’t bawling, I felt so shitty afterward that I may as well have. Seriously, just thinking about it now makes me want to start crying. :( And then the bit where he’s basically signing himself over to Dumbledore, and even though you know it’s for the best and Dumbledore is a much better guy than Voldemort, you still can’t help but feel that he’s being fucked and he’s still got the short end of the stick and everything, you know? And then when he’s talking about how unfair it is for Harry, and it’s all sad and shit, and then the whole, “Always,” scene...I mean, seriously...Jesus Christ on a cross, seriously the most tragically heart-breaking and yet beautiful sequence in a movie EVER. THIS JUST PROVED TO ME HOW FUCKING BRILLIANT OF AN ACTOR ALAN RICKMAN IS, AND HOW MUCH I FUCKING LOVE HIM AND WANT TO HAVE HIS BABIES.

Onto other things, though...the Resurrection Stone scene, I thought, was well-done. I loved seeing Lily and James and Sirius and Remus, and Sirius in particular got me a little choked-up; I was all, “OH GOD SIRIUS IS BACK I MISSED HIM AND LOVE HIM! ♥♥♥” And I love how determined Harry was after that, too.

One thing that I did think was weird (just in my own head) was the whole Harry seeing Lily after witnessing Snape’s memories. This isn’t a comment on the movie, really, just something that the movie just sort of brought to my attention having seen these two scenes played out in front me sort of one after the other. Anyway, I just thought about how weird that must be for Harry to see his mom after watching Snape die and seeing his memories, and realizing for the first time that not only did he love his mom, but that everything he’d done in his life since then had been because of and for her, and that probably half the reason why Harry was still alive and standing there was because of Snape’s love for her. I just thought that would be a really odd moment, like, “Oh hey mom,” and then realizing like, Shit, Snape fucking loved her despite everything else and spent his whole life loving her, and he doesn’t really like me but still protected me because of her, and…I don’t know. I just thought it was really odd.

Anyway, I thought the scene when Voldemort kills Harry was well done, too; I think it, once again, shows how inhumane he is in that he kills Harry without Harry making any means to defend himself. Obviously, Harry knew he had to die and shit, but still...I thought it exemplified the fact that Voldemort is rather inhumane and a total douche as well.

As for the King’s Cross scene…I’ve heard a lot of complaints about that, but I thought I kinda liked it. They didn’t really explain it as well as they perhaps could have, but having read the books, I was fine with the explanation they gave and was happy with it. Voldemort lying under the bench as the gross bloody baby thing was TERRIFYING; again, maybe it’s just been too long since I’ve read the book, but wasn’t the “thing” actually in a bag in the book? As in, you never really saw it? And didn’t Dumbledore even kind of brush it off a bit and only allude to what it was, letting the reader kind of interpret it how they wanted? Well, either way, that was how I remembered it, and so when they actually showed that fucking gross thing lying there, I was pretty taken aback and actually leaned over to Trent and was like, “’DA FUCK IS THAT?!” In a sense, they gave it a much more...literal presence than metaphorical like the book (if I’m remembering it right, of course), but I sort of liked it that way. I think that the way it was done in the book was great for the book, but I sort of liked that they did the more literal and visual approach to it for the movie. *nods* And I really loved seeing Dumbledore again; it was like fucking Gandalf the White coming back in LotR, and it made me all happy. :) (Note: It was pointed out to me by the lovely SiriuslyLupin after making this post on the Nuthouse that it was actually done this way in the book...so ignore the stuff I said about it being different.)

And then when Harry came back to life, and Narcissa leaned over him…I liked that. Obviously, that happened in the book, but that was one thing that I liked seeing in the movie; the whole bargaining thing she does with Harry really reveals a lot about her character, and I’m glad that they kept that in. And then Hagrid carrying Harry…oh god, it was so sad! Hagrid is one of those characters like McGonagall for me; every time he’s in the movies or the books, I really really love him (and shit, how can you not like Hagrid, really?), but I tend to sort of forget about him a lot of the time. :P But I loved him in this, and I loved seeing him carry out Harry. I know JKR has said before that she knew she could never kill him off, because she wanted Hagrid to be the one to carry him out at the end, and I think that was the best choice; Hagrid seems to be all about delivering Harry, first to the Dursley’s, and then to the Wizarding world in general, and it just seems fitting that the same person who sort of brought him into the Wizarding world would be the same one to bring him “out of it,” so to speak. I love the symbolism in that and everything.

But it’s so sad when everyone thinks he’s dead, and even when Malfoy goes over to his parent’s to join Voldemort’s side; it’s terrible that he was just saved by Harry and everything, and then he fucking goes right back to Voldemort. Again, it’s a brilliant piece of writing on JKR’s part - and a lovely piece of acting on Tom Felton’s part, what with the look of turmoil on his face and everything - as it really shows the nature of their characters and how they’re always just looking out for themselves, but still…it was so frustrating! And then when Neville steps forward, and they all laugh at him and Voldemort’s all, “Well, you wouldn’t be my first choice but whatevs” or whatever he says...FUCK THEM ALL. NEVILLE IS GREAT. And then when he delivers that whole speech - BRILLIANT. HE FUCKING SHOWED THEM, particularly when he KILLED MOTHERFUCKING NAGINI. HELL YES. But then Harry “comes back to life” or whatever (which was another point that the whole theater burst into cheers, and which also made me cry a little) AND SHIT GETS REAL, AND IT’S GREAT.

And then there’s the whole final confrontation, and that was awesome, and the scene at the end when they’re all old (and everyone laughed, no joke) and Ron’s got a potbelly lol and OMG I LOVED IT. :D :D :D :D :D SERIOUSLY, FUCKING EPIC.

…now onto things I didn’t like,

TEDDY. He’s mentioned ONCE. One thing that I loved about DH was the inclusion of Teddy, and I’m so bummed they sort of just dropped him. I mean, yeah, he’s Remus’ kid, so of course I love him, but I always just loved his story, so to speak. I felt like he was a GREAT parallel to Harry’s life - parents both killed in the war when he was a baby, raised by his mother’s relative, has a godfather who was a good friend of his parent’s, etc - but the key difference is that, while Harry’s childhood was pretty shitty and he grew up without a lot of love, Teddy had a fairly happy childhood and grew up with all kinds of love (from what we know). I always thought that that was a really beautiful sort of parallel, and I’m so bummed they left him out. Also, because they failed to mention him, there wasn’t that great f**king confrontation between Remus and Harry. Seriously, despite the fact that it’s really sad and broke my heart a little and made me cry when I read the book, the fight between Remus and Harry at Grimmauld Place when Remus tells them Tonks is pregnant is one my all-time favorite moments in not just the book, but the series as a whole. So I’m really really bummed that got left out. Also, the scene at Shell Cottage when Remus bursts in and is all excited and names Harry godfather is great, too, and they also cut that, so…I was pretty sad that they cut him out. Not to mention, HOW THE FUCK WOULD ANYONE WHO HADN’T READ THE BOOKS KNOW THAT THEY HAD A KID? Seriously, Remus just mentions it when Harry sees him with the Stone, and is all, “OH BTW WATCH OUT FOR MAH SON,” and I’m sure anyone who’s unfamiliar with the books would be like, “WTF HE HAS A SON?!” Seriously, whatever…

ALSO, the Elder Wand thing…that really bugged me. I know it’s just a piece of wood or whatever, but it’s THE ELDER FUCKING WAND. It’s the most powerful wand in the world, it can kill bitches without any problem, it’s seen more death and destruction than all the Death Eaters combined, and yet Harry just fucking BROKE it. WITH HIS BARE HANDS.

...WHAT THE HELL?!

It also seemed rather silly to me; I mean, yeah, I guess it showed how little he cared about it, but still…I liked him fixing his own wand with it and then reburying it with Dumbledore ~~he did do that, right? Again, it’s been forever since I’ve read the book...~~; it seemed so proper and lovely and shit. Instead, he just breaks the d**n thing in half and tosses it off the cliff. Seriously, Ron and Hermione’s expressions after he does that are pretty much how I felt, too. :P And on a related note: HOW THE FUCK DOES PRIORI INCANTATEM HAPPEN WITH THE ELDER WAND AND MALFOY’S WAND? WHAT THE FUCK?

The major character deaths sort of bugged me, too; I understand that in the book, Tonks and Lupin’s deaths were sort of mentioned a bit in passing, and that they kept it canon in the movie by doing the same thing, but…really? They couldn’t have made it a slightly bigger deal? And they didn’t even SHOW Fred after he died; they sort of just implied that it was a Weasley, and if you weren’t paying attention, you could have totally missed who it was. I just found that a bit irritating. :P And Jesus, they didn’t even mention Colin. Yeah, that stuff all kind of had me peeved.

And honestly? The Molly Weasley bit with Bellatrix was a bit of a let-down. I liked that she really started to fight back and kick some ass in her duel with Bella, and I really glad they kept in the, “NOT MY DAUGHTER, YOU BITCH!” line (another point when the whole theater cheered), but…truthfully, the whole thing seemed a bit anti-climactic to me. :/

Also, the whole thing with them pretty much excluding all of Dumbledore’s past with his sister/family and Grindelwald kind of bummed me out. Again, I understand that that stuff could take a LONG fucking time to explain in the context of the movie, and would probably be really boring if they kept it all in, and I guess in the end, it didn’t make a whole lot of difference to people that hadn’t read the books (as in, the plot of the movie didn’t depend on it enough to make a difference or leave people confused), but...I don’t know, I always felt that that was such a huge part of the book that I was disappointed that more of that didn’t make it in. Particularly since they showed Grindelwald earlier in the film; it was sort of like, “HEY, HERE’S THIS RANDOM DUDE FOR NO REASON!” They might as well have just not even mentioned him if they weren’t going to develop that plot line at all. :P

I also loved the stuff with Dumbledore, because I always thought that that was something that was really important for Harry in the book; all throughout the series, Harry looks up to and respects Dumbledore, and in a sense, I think he sort of feels that he can do no wrong. Obviously, at the end of OotP, he gets pretty fucking pissed at Dumbles and see that, actually, the man can make mistakes and it humanizes him a bit, but still…overall, I think Harry just has this really positive, almost saintly view of Dumbledore, and thinks that he can always rely on him, no matter what. One thing that I liked about learning some of Dumbledore’s backstory is that it really caused Harry to start questioning some of his loyalty in Dumbledore and reexamine his feelings for and of the man, and while, in the end, he still liked Dumbledore, I think it finally caused Harry to realize that Dumbledore is just as human as anyone else. Also, all of that illustrated very important things about Harry and Voldemort, too; we always see Harry as being good because we can compare him to Voldemort - both have incredible power, and yet Voldemort chooses to use it for evil, selfish reasons while Harry chooses to use it for good, selfless reasons. However, I think Dumbledore’s past helps to give insight into both of their characters even more; Dumbledore was corrupted by his power at one point, and while he can still be a bit manipulative or whatever, ultimately turned it around and is fighting for the greater good. This shows how terrible Voldemort is, because despite the fact that he’s had many opportunities to change, he never has, and it shows how truly evil he is. Similarly, we see how truly selfless Harry is, because while the opportunity to use his power for evil has been presented to him time and time again, overall, he always chooses to do the right thing; he’s never had to redeem himself like Dumbledore, because he’s never really done anything that he has to redeem himself for. So yes, I’m bummed they left most of this stuff out.

On another note, I realize that there was a lot left out from the books (even having not read it in a long time, I still remembered parts that they missed), but two little scenes that I was hoping they would have put in were the one where Kreacher charges up from the kitchens with all the House Elves and fucks shit up, and when Trelawney is standing from a higher level and dropping crystal balls on people’s heads (I do know that Emma Thompson was supposed to have neglected to be in the film due to her involvement with Nany McPhee or whatever it’s called, but she did have a quick cameo in the movie, so I was bummed that this scene didn’t make it).

However, despite the stuff that they left out, I still really liked the movie as a whole. Initially, I was a bit disappointed with it, because I guess I was expecting more (particularly since the whole thing was pretty much the final battle, and I was hoping that, of everything in the entire series, they’d at least keep this as canon as possible), but the more I thought about it, the more I grew to like it. Seriously, they left out a ton of shit in these last two movies, but I thought it was still really good for what they kept in. I mean, if you figure they've got just two, two and a half hour movies, they actually kept in quite a bit. And again, not to mention that, honestly, explaining a lot of the aforementioned stuff they left out wouldn't be all that great for the movie; I just think about how long it took to explain all of Dumbledore's history and whatever in the book, and how much time that would have taken in the movie to explain and how boring it probably would have been. And, honestly, I think they expect that the majority of the fans have read the book and know the back story, and so they don't need to take the time to explain everything; why go into all that detail and take all that time if your audience already knows about it? Why not just stick to the action instead, which will keep you more glued to the screen? And as for the people that haven't read the books, they probably don't care about not knowing the back story, because it's not relevant to the film canon, and therefore it won't effect the movie for them; it's like, if they didn't already know about it, they're not going to miss it, you know? That's just my two cents, of course, but personally, I thought that they did a good job with the film overall. Am I really bummed they left stuff out? HELL yes. But am I overall satisfied with it. HELL YES.

Seriously, I loved the movie, and I thought it was a rather fitting ending and good way to sum up the series over the last ten years.

What follows now are comments in response to other comments left by people on the Nuthouse:

SiriuslyLupin (SL):

His line...OMG. About "it's the quality of their conviction, not the number of their followers" or whatever the f**k it was. I was freaking out to much at Remus speaking to really hear it clearly (laughing smiley) But Jesus. So hot.

And then Kingsley says, "Who said that?" And I was like, "He did!" And then Remus said, "I did."

I loved that line, too! And his delivery of that line to Kingsley was perfect! :)

SL:

Oh. And Harry's line about, "We plan, we get there, and then all hell breaks loose." (laughing smiley)

Yes, that was a great line, too! I love that acknowledgement!

SL:

OH. OH. AND GREYBACK EATING LAVENDER *FLAILS*

OH JESUS I FORGOT ABOUT THAT! That was so fucking horrifying and yet great! I'm really glad they put that in, because it was so brutal and awful, but like, raw and realistic, I guess; again, it illustrates how fucked up some of Voldemort's followers are or whatever, you know? LOVED IT.

Ellie (E):

The music in PS and CoS kinda hasn't been used in films since but I LOVE it. To me it sums up Harry Potter. And I said, I wanted them to use that music at the end of DH2. And they did. So happy :)

AH! I forgot about this! I totally noticed this when I saw it, too; I also love the music from the first two films, and hearing it again at the end made me get a little misty-eyed, cause like you said, it was perfect having them end the series the way they started it, you know?

E:

3: The Harry-Voldemort duel should have been in the Great Hall and as was in the book, basically. With cheering at the end and without that rubbishy apparition bit.

THIS. The whole apparition thing in the movies is one thing that's always bugged me; yes, it does look pretty cool (especially at the end of OotP when they're all in the Department of Mysteries, and there's all these black and white smokey things flailing around and weaving in and out of each other and whatever), but to me, it always seemed too much like flying. It's like, how are people able to fucking duel and shit while they're apparating, and just fly all over and direct themselves and whatnot? One of the big things at the beginning of DH is when they see Voldemort actually flying during the seven Harry's scene. It sort of belittles that, I think, to have all of these other characters essentially being able to do the same thing. I suppose in this final scene that you're referring to, you could say that Voldemort was doing the flying thing and not the apparating thing, but even so...I felt that was kinda lame and really unnecessary. And yeah, I would have liked it in the Great Hall; I mean, I guess it was fine that it was outside, but they should have at least had an audience or something. As it was, it was basically like Harry and Voldemort dueling out there alone without anyone watching, and you'd think that if the biggest and more important duel of the war was going on, you'd want to be out there watching it. :P

E:

And one overall issue. All of this spell stuff, non-verbal spells that all do the same thing. For a start, it would be a lot more interesting if the films used the diversity of spells used in the books. Secondly, HARRY CAN'T DO WORDLESS SPELLS DAMNIT.

Again, THIS. That was something that's been bugging me throughout the last few movies as well; why cut all of the spell dialogue? And why can Harry use wordless spells? I know he's powerful, but he's not that powerful. I mean, really; how much harder would it have been to include that shit? It just seems silly. And I was hoping they'd keep in the "Expelliarmus" bit at the end, too, with how Harry eventually offs Voldemort using a basic dueling spell and not the Killing Curse (well, I guess it was the rebounded curse that killed him and not the Expelliarmus charm or whatever, but still...again, I think it's a testament to Harry's character that he didn't even use the Killing Curse on Voldemort). I liked that, and I'm bummed they didn't use it. :(

E:

The Kreacher meat cleaver scene wouldn't have worked given that they didn't properly show the Kreacher's Tale scene in Part 1. His change of heart was barely shown, let alone explained. So yeah, wish it was in, but then that stems back to Part 1 and how I wish they'd properly explained Kreacher then.

Again, you're right, of course, but still...to be honest, Kreacher's change of heart was one of my favorite bits in DH, and I'm disappointed it didn't make it into the film. :(

E:

But yeah, I kinda hate nit-picking *giggles*

Oh, yeah, me too, to an extent; this makes it sound like I found all these faults with the film and that I hated it, but really, I did love it. I'm always going to nit-pick the movies and there's always going to be something they left out or added or did wrong or whatever, but overall, it is a film adaptation of the book, and for that, I think they did an awesome job. :)

E:

Apparently they filmed Fred's death but it was deemed too distressing.

...And what, the roughly two hours of footage before that wasn't? :P

On that note I'd LOVE to see Director's Cuts of the later films, where they cut lots out. Especially OotP; apparently 45 minutes was removed from it. That makes it an entirely different film.

YES. I hope they actually do release the full Director's Cut, because I would seriously sit through them all. :)

...and that's all I have for right now (ha, like that wasn't too much about 1000 words ago). I am seeing it again (in D-Box 3D, mind you) with Sean and Schiffler on Friday, so we'll see if I start bawling this time around and have anything else to add to this post. But as it stands, this has been my review/rant of HARRY POTTER AND THE DEATHLY HALLOWS: PART 2.

~o~*~o~

"And there's
One thing that I've got
One thing that you've got inside you too
One thing that we've got
And the one thing we've got is enough
To save us all

The weapon we have is love"
-The Weapon, Harry and the Potters

Your mother seems really upset about something. I better go have a talk with her... during the commercial.

2011-06-09T21:52:00.002-05:00

I really, really, really, really wanna go back to Kosovo.

...Yeah, that's it.

~o~*~o~

"Love isn't hopeless. Look, maybe I'm no expert on the subject, but there was one time I got it right."
-Homer Simpson

I won't sleep in the same bed with a woman who thinks I'm lazy! I'm going right downstairs, unfold the couch, unroll the sleeping ba...uh, goodnight!

2011-06-05T20:08:00.002-05:00

Ho shit, first post in forever, and it's not even anything interesting; I just wanted to make a post stating that I changed my background and color scheme and everything, because it's totally not obvious or anything (and because I have so many readers, of course). Anyway, that is all. When I am not busy (or lazy when I'm not busy), I will actually post a real blog because, hey, I'm overdo. But for now, as I said, that is all.

~o~*~o~

"Multitasking? I can't even do two things at once. I can't even do one thing at once."
-Helena Bonham Carter

When will I learn? The answers to life’s problems aren’t at the bottom of a bottle, they’re on TV!

2011-02-03T21:13:00.003-06:00

I wanted to share an article from one of the books I'm reading for my Service Learning class. While I don't necessarily agree with the whole thing, there's a lot of it I do agree with, and I happened to really enjoy reading this article. We're supposed to be discussing it on Monday, and I'm really looking forward to that discussion. Rather than take a long time introducing it, I'm just gonna post the article here for you to read through and, hopefully, enjoy. Word.

The Problem Is Civil Obedience
Howard Zinn

[By the latter part of May, 1970, feelings about the war in Vietnam had become almost unbearably intense. In Boston, about a hundred of us decided to sit down at the Boston Army Base and block the road used by buses carrying draftees off to military duty. We were not so daft that we thought we were stopping the flow of soldiers to Vietnam; it was a symbolic act, a statement, a piece of guerrilla the after. We were all arrested and charged, in the quaint language of an old statute, with "sauntering and loitering" in such a way as to obstruct traffic. Eight of us refused to plead guilty, insisting on trial by jury, hoping we could persuade the members of the jury that ours was a justified act of civil disobedience. We did not persuade them. We were found guilty, chose jail instead of paying a fine, but the judge, apparently reluctant to have us in jail, gave us forty-eight hours to change our minds, after which we should show up in court to either pay the fine or be jailed. In the meantime, I had been invited to go to Johns Hopkins University to debate with the philosopher Charles Frankel on the issue of civil disobedience. I decided it would be hypocritical for me, an advocate of civil disobedience, to submit dutifully to the court and thereby skip out on an opportunity to speak to hundreds of students about civil disobedience. So, on the day I was supposed to show up in court in Boston I flew to Baltimore and that evening debated with Charles Frankel. Returning to Boston I decided to meet my morning class, but two detectives were waiting for me, and I was hustled before the court and then spent a couple of days in jail. What follows is the transcript of my opening statement in the debate at Johns Hopkins. It was included in a book published by Johns Hopkins Press in 1972, entitled Violence: The Crisis of American Confidence.]

I start from the supposition that the world is topsy-turvy, that things are all wrong, that the wrong people are in jail and the wrong people are out of jail, that the wrong people are in power and the wrong people are out of power, that the wealth is distributed in this country and the world in such a way as not simply to require small reform but to require a drastic reallocation of wealth. I start from the supposition that we don't have to say too much about this because all we have to do is think about the state of the world today and realize that things are all upside down. Daniel Berrigan is in jail-A Catholic priest, a poet who opposes the war-and J. Edgar Hoover is free, you see. David Dellinger, who has opposed war ever since he was this high and who has used all of his energy and passion against it, is in danger of going to jail. The men who are responsible for the My Lai massacre are not on trial; they are in Washington serving various functions, primary and subordinate, that have to do with the unleashing of massacres, which surprise them when they occur. At Kent State University four students were killed by the National Guard and students were indicted. In every city in this country, when demonstrations take place, the protesters, whether they have demonstrated or not, whatever they have done, are assaulted and clubbed by police, and then they are arrested for assaulting a police officer.

Now, I have been studying very closely what happens every day in the courts in Boston, Massachusetts. You would be astounded-maybe you wouldn't, maybe you have been around, maybe you have lived, maybe you have thought, maybe you have been hit-at how the daily rounds of injustice make their way through this marvelous thing that we call due process. Well, that is my premise.

All you have to do is read the Soledad letters of George Jackson, who was sentenced to one year to life, of which he spent ten years, for a seventy-dollar robbery of a filling station. And then there is the U.S. Senator who is alleged to keep 185,000 dollars a year, or something like that, on the oil depletion allowance. One is theft; the other is legislation. something is wrong, something is terribly wrong when we ship 10,000 bombs full of nerve gas across the country, and drop them in somebody else's swimming pool so as not to trouble our own. So you lose your perspective after a while. If you don't think, if you just listen to TV and read scholarly things, you actually begin to think that things are not so bad, or that just little things are wrong. But you have to get a little detached, and then come back and look at the world, and you are horrified. So we have to start from that supposition-that things are really topsy-turvy.

And our topic is topsy-turvy: civil disobedience. As soon as you say the topic is civil disobedience, you are saying our problem is civil disobedience. That is not our problem.... Our problem is civil obedience. Our problem is the numbers of people all over the world who have obeyed the dictates of the leaders of their government and have gone to war, and millions have been killed because of this obedience. And our problem is that scene in All Quiet on the Western Front where the schoolboys march off dutifully in a line to war. Our problem is that people are obedient all over the world, in the face of poverty and starvation and stupidity, and war and cruelty. Our problem is that people are obedient while the jails are full of petty thieves, and all the while the grand thieves are running the country. That's our problem. We recognize this for Nazi Germany. We know that the problem there was obedience, that the people obeyed Hitler. People obeyed; that was wrong. They should have challenged, and they should have resisted; and if we were only there, we would have showed them. Even in Stalin's Russia we can understand that; people are obedient, all these herdlike people.

But America is different. That is what we've all been brought up on. From the time we are this high and I still hear it resounding in Mr. Frankel's statement-you tick off, one, two, three, four, five lovely things .~ about America that we don't want disturbed very much. But if we have learned anything in the past ten years, it is that these lovely things about America were never lovely. We have been expansionist and aggressive and mean to other people from the beginning. And we've been aggressive and mean to people in this country, and we've allocated the wealth of this country in a very unjust way. We've never had justice in the courts for the poor people, for black people, for radicals. Now how can we boast that America is a very special place? It is not that special. It really isn't.

Well, that is our topic, that is our problem: civil obedience. Law is very important. We are talking about obedience to law-law, this marvelous invention of modern times, which we attribute to Western civilization, and which we talk about proudly. The rule of law, oh, how wonderful, all these courses in Western civilization all over the land. Remember those bad old days when people were exploited by feudalism? Everything was terrible in the Middle Ages-but now we have Western civilization, the rule of law. The rule of law has regularized and maximized the injustice that existed before the rule of law, that is what the rule of law has done. Let us start looking at the rule of law realistically, not with that metaphysical complacency with which we always examined it before.

When in all the nations of the world the rule of law is the darling of the leaders and the plague of the people, we ought to begin to recognize this. We have to transcend these national boundaries in our thinking. Nixon and Brezhnev have much more in common with one another than - we have with Nixon. J. Edgar Hoover has far more in common with the head of the Soviet secret police than he has with us. It's the international dedication to law and order that binds the leaders of all countries in a comradely bond. That's why we are always surprised when they get together -- they smile, they shake hands, they smoke cigars, they really like one another no matter what they say. It's like the Republican and Democratic parties, who claim that it's going to make a terrible difference if one or the other wins, yet they are all the same. Basically, it is us against them.

Yossarian was right, remember, in Catch-22? He had been accused of giving aid and comfort to the enemy, which nobody should ever be accused of, and Yossarian said to his friend Clevinger: "The enemy is whoever is going to get you killed, whichever side they are on." But that didn't sink in, so he said to Clevinger: "Now you remember that, or one of these days you'll be dead." And remember? Clevinger, after a while, was dead. And we must remember that our enemies are not divided along national lines, that enemies are not just people who speak different languages and occupy different territories. Enemies are people who want to get us killed.

We are asked, "What if everyone disobeyed the law?" But a better question is, "What if everyone obeyed the law?" And the answer to that question is much easier to come by, because we have a lot of empirical evidence about what happens if everyone obeys the law, or if even most people obey the law. What happens is what has happened, what is happening. Why do people revere the law? And we all do; even I have to fight it, for it was put into my bones at an early age when I was a Cub Scout. One reason we revere the law is its ambivalence. In the modern world we deal with phrases and words that have multiple meanings, like "national security." Oh, yes, we must do this for national security! Well, what does that mean? Whose national security? Where? When? Why? We don't bother to answer those questions, or even to ask them.
The law conceals many things. The law is the Bill of Rights. ;'~ fact, that is what we think of when we develop our reverence for the law. The law is something that protects us; the law is our right-the law is the Constitution. Bill of Rights Day, essay contests sponsored by the American Legion on our Bill of Rights, that is the law. And that is good.

But there is another part of the law that doesn't get ballyhooed- the legislation that has gone through month after month, year after year, from the beginning of the Republic, which allocates the resources of the country in such a way as to leave some people very rich and other people very poor, and still others scrambling like mad for what little is left. That is the law. If you go to law school you will see this. You can quantify it by counting the big, heavy law books that people carry around with them and see how many law books you count that say "Constitutional Rights" on them and how many that say "Property," "Contracts," "Torts," "Corporation Law." That is what the law is mostly about. The law is the oil depletion allowance-although we don't have Oil Depletion Allowance Day, we don't have essays written on behalf of the oil depletion allowance. So there are parts of the law that are publicized and played up to us-oh, this is the law, the Bill of Rights. And there are other parts of the law that just do their quiet work, and nobody says anything about them.

It started way back. When the Bill of Rights was first passed, remember, in the first administration of Washington? Great thing. Bill of Rights passed! Big ballyhoo. At the same time Hamilton's economic pro gram was passed. Nice, quiet, money to the rich-I'm simplifying it a little, but not too much. Hamilton's economic program started it off. You can draw a straight line from Hamilton's economic program to the oil depletion allowance to the tax write-offs for corporations. All the way through-that is the history. The Bill of Rights publicized; economic legislation unpublicized.

You know the enforcement of different parts of the law is as important as the publicity attached to the different parts of the law. The Bill of Rights, is it enforced? Not very well. You'll find that freedom of speech in constitutional law is a very difficult, ambiguous, troubled concept. Nobody really knows when you can get up and speak and when you can't. Just check all of the Supreme Court decisions. Talk about predictability in a system-you can't predict what will happen to you when you get up on the street corner and speak. See if you can tell the difference between the Terminiello case and the Feiner case, and see if you can figure out what is going to happen. By the way, there is one part of the law that is not very vague, and that involves the right to distribute leaflets on the street. The Supreme Court has been very clear on that. In decision after decision we are affirmed an absolute right to distribute leaflets on the street. Try it. Just go out on the street and start distributing leaflets. And a policeman comes up to you and he says, "Get out of here." And you say, "Aha! Do you know Marsh v. Alabama, 1946?" That is the reality of the Bill of Rights. That's the reality of the Constitution, that part of the law which is portrayed to us as a beautiful and marvelous thing. And seven years after the Bill of Rights was passed, which said that "Congress shall make no law abridging the freedom of speech," Congress made a law abridging the freedom of speech. Remember? The Sedition Act of 1798.

So the Bill of Rights was not enforced. Hamilton's program was enforced, because when the whisky farmers went out and rebelled you remember, in 1794 in Pennsylvania, Hamilton himself got on his horse and went out there to suppress the rebellion to make sure that the revenue tax was enforced. And you can trace the story right down to the present day, what laws are enforced, what laws are not enforced. So you have to be careful when you say, "I'm for the law, I revere the law." What part of the law are you talking about? I'm not against all law. But I think we ought to begin to make very important distinctions about what laws do what things to what people.

And there are other problems with the law. It's a strange thing, we think that law brings order. Law doesn't. How do we know that law does not bring order? Look around us. We live under the rules of law. Notice how much order we have? People say we have to worry about civil disobedience because it will lead to anarchy. Take a look at the present world in which the rule of law obtains. This is the closest to what is called anarchy in the popular mind-confusion, chaos, international banditry. The only order that is really worth anything does not come through the enforcement ... of law, it comes through the establishment of a society which is just and in which harmonious relationships are established and in which you need a minimum of regulation to create decent sets of arrangements among people. But the order based on law and on the force of law is the order of the totalitarian state, and it inevitably leads either to total injustice or to rebel lion-eventually, in other words, to very great disorder.

We all grow up with the notion that the law is holy. They asked Daniel Berrigan's mother what she thought of her son's breaking the law. He burned draft records-one of the most violent acts of this century- to protest the war, for which he was sentenced to prison, as criminals should be. They asked his mother who is in her eighties, what she thought of her son's breaking the law. And she looked straight into the interviewer's face, and she said, "It's not God's law." Now we forget that. There is nothing sacred about the law. Think of who makes laws. The law is not made by God, it is made by Strom Thurmond. If you nave any notion about the sanctity and loveliness and reverence for the law, look at the legislators around the country who make the laws. Sit in on the sessions of the state legislatures. Sit in on Congress, for these are the people who make the laws which we are then supposed to revere.
All of this is done with such propriety as to fool us. This is the problem. In the old days, things were confused; you didn't know. Now you know. It is all down there in the books. Now we go through due process. Now the same things happen as happened before, except that we've gone through the right procedures. In Boston a policeman walked into a hospital ward and fired five times at a black man who had snapped a towel at his arm-and killed him. A hearing was held. The judge decided that the policeman was justified because if he didn't do it, he would lose the respect of his fellow officers. Well, that is what is known as due process-that is, the guy didn't get away with it. We went through the proper procedures, and everything was set up. The decorum, the propriety of the law fools us.

The nation then, was founded on disrespect for the law, and then came the Constitution and the notion of stability which Madison and Hamilton liked. But then we found in certain crucial times in our history that the legal framework did not suffice, and in order to end slavery we had to go outside the legal framework, as we had to do at the time of the American Revolution or the Civil War. The union had to go outside the legal framework in order to establish certain rights in the 1930s. And in this time, which may be more critical than the Revolution or the Civil War, the problems are so horrendous as to require us to go outside the legal framework in order to make a statement, to resist, to begin to establish the kind of institutions and relationships which a decent society should have. No, not just tearing things down; building things up. But even if you build things up that you are not supposed to build up-you try to build up a people's park, that's not tearing down a system; you are building something up, but you are doing it illegally-the militia comes in and drives you out. That is the form that civil disobedience is going to take more and more, people trying to build a new society in the midst of the old.

But what about voting and elections? Civil disobedience-we don't need that much of it, we are told, because we can go through the electoral system. And by now we should have learned, but maybe we haven't, for we grew up with the notion that the voting booth is a sacred place, almost like a confessional. You walk into the voting booth and you come out and they snap your picture and then put it in the papers with a beatific smile on your face. You've just voted; that is democracy. But if you even read what the political scientists say-although who can?-about the voting process, you find that the voting process is a sham. Totalitarian states love voting. You get people to the polls and they register their approval. I know there is a difference-they have one party and we have two parties. We have one more party than they have, you see.

What we are trying to do, I assume, is really to get back to the principles and aims and spirit of the Declaration of Independence. This spirit is resistance to illegitimate authority and to forces that deprive people of their life and liberty and right to pursue happiness, and therefore under these conditions, it urges the right to alter or abolish their current form of government-and the stress had been on abolish. But to establish the principles of the Declaration of Independence, we are going to need to go outside the law, to stop obeying the laws that demand killing or that allocate wealth the way it has been done, or that put people in jail for petty technical offenses and keep other people out of jail for enormous crimes. My hope is that this kind of spirit will take place not just in this country but in other countries because they all need it. People in all countries need the spirit of disobedience to the state, which is not a metaphysical thing but a thing of force and wealth. And we need a kind of declaration of interdependence among people in all countries of the world who are striving for the same thing.

Source: "The Problem is Civil Obedience" by Howard Zinn from The Zinn Reader, 1997. Reprinted courtesy of Seven Stories Press. I also yoinked the text itself from Third World Traveler, because I didn't want to type it all out myself. So major thanks and kudos to them for doing it for me. :)

~o~*~o~

"The most wonderful study of mankind is man. Relieving human suffering and diffusing universal knowledge is humanitarian."
-Daniel D. Palmer

I resolve to lose 10 pounds, and then gain it back by Valentine's Day.

2011-01-01T22:21:00.002-06:00

so this is the new year.
and i don't feel any different
the clanking of crystal
explosions off in the distance

so this is the new year
and I have no resolutions
for self assigned penance
for problems with easy solutions

so everybody put your best suit or dress on
let's make believe that we are wealthy for just this once
lighting firecrackers off on the front lawn
as thirty dialogues bleed into one

i wish the world was flat like the old days
then i could travel just by folding a map
no more airplanes, or speedtrains, or freeways
there'd be no distance that can hold us back.

there'd be no distance that could hold us back

so this is the new year

~o~*~o~

"An optimist stays up until midnight to see the new year in. A pessimist stays up to make sure the old year leaves."
-Bill Vaughn

Aw, Dad...you've done a lot of great things, but you're a very old man now, and old people are useless, aren't they? Aren't they?

2010-11-22T21:03:00.005-06:00

HOLY CRAP MY BLOG TITLE IS NO LONGER ACCURATE! D: As of October 22nd, I am now officially 20 years old, which means that this blog can no longer be "The Pointless Rantings of a Teenage Nerd," because, of course, I am no longer a teenager. Therefore, this blog - at least for the next ten years - will become known as "The Pointless Rantings of a Twenty-Something Nerd." SO THERE. ENJOY THIS MONUMENTAL MOMENT IN HISTORY.

In other news, I hate my life (no, not really; I just wanted to sound all angsty, since I'm not really gonna be able to do that anymore, what with me not being an angsty little teenager now...mostly my life is fine, just really stressful as of late...), and Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 1 came out last week, which of course I went to at midnight. I am hoping to finally get around to making a post about that tomorrow, which will be in the form of an OMG VLOG!! :DD So yes...that will hopefully be up tomorrow.

Really, that's all the interesting stuff that's been going on lately. To be honest, between full-time work and full-time school, my life is fairly uninteresting. God, barely out of my teens and already I'm boring. FML (like I said, I've gotta get all the angst out now...lulz).

~o~*~o~

"Live as long as you may. The first twenty years are the longest half of your life."
-Robert Southey

I’m here today as Luke Skywalker, but I’m also here…to talk about Sprint!

2010-09-27T09:06:00.005-05:00

I just realized that I never posted my last rant up here, despite the fact that it was written back in March. Therefore, I am posting it now. Have fun.

'Bout damn time I got another one of these things out, AM I RIGHT?! This rant is long overdue, both in a "series" sense and a topical sense. It's going to be a little less in-depth and OMG REAL PROBLEMS! than the last few rants that I've written, and it's also crazy short, but it is still an important issue and definitely still rant worthy. So, that all being said, let's get to it, yeah? This is - Rants on Everything Pissing Me Off at the Moment: Part 8.

So, the topic of this rant is pretty much retarded parents who decide to give their kids retarded names. Working at Lifetouch, I am unfortunately exposed to hundreds upon hundreds of kids names everyday, and it’s not uncommon to see a few really shitty ones. Take young Harrison Weiner, for example; this poor little boy already had the misfortune of having the last name “Weiner,” and then his parents needed to add to the humility by naming him “Harrison.” That in and of itself is not bad; I couldn’t care less if they named and called him that. Unfortunately, if his parents chose to use the nickname “Harry,” they’re pretty much asking for this kid to be mocked throughout the next 80 years of his life. And how about some great last names? Try Glasscock, Woodcock, Dyke, Gay, Hymen, Areola, and - my all-time favorite - Fuckler (who was a teacher, by the way). Lovely, yes? In all fairness, you don’t really choose your last name, but still - if my last name was Glasscock, I think I’d have it legally changed.

What is the most annoying, though, is when parents name their kids after shitty celebrities/singers/characters/etc. Don’t get me wrong here; sometimes these sorts of names can be super rad. I myself fully intend to name any and all children that I have after a literary character. However, I’m not going to be obnoxious about it; for all my infinite love of the series, I am not going to name my son “Harry Potter,” because that would be annoying and stupid. Some parents, however, choose to go down this road, and end up coming up with some of the most ridiculous names. And there is one in particular that I have seen multiple times, and that bugs me more than all of the others, and what this rant was originally written for. I just came across it again recently and therefore felt the need to specifically point this one out, because it is dumb.

Anakin.

Anakin.

As in, Anakin Skywalker.

What.

The.

AIDS.

Why in the HELL would you name your kid Anakin? I mean, obviously, you’re a Star Wars fan and want to name him after one of those characters, but really? Anakin? You have a plethora of badass names in Star Wars, and you choose Anakin. Anakin. Anakin freaking Skywalker. A wimpy, douchebag little kid who grew up in a junkyard and turned out to be an annoying, whiny son of a bitch who, along with Jar Jar Binks, completely ruined the first movie and who only became cool once he turned into Darth Vader.

Now here is where you might be saying, “But, but he turns into Darth Vader. You said it yourself. Doesn’t that make him cool?” To which I reply, “Hell no.” He’s not like me, where he was born cool and grew up cool and is just all around awesome. Anakin and Darth Vader are like two separate people; Anakin is an irritating little asshole, and Darth Vader? He’s a beast. Seriously, if you were trying to be cool, you should have named your kid Darth Vader. I don’t care if it sounds ridiculous; obviously, you weren’t concerned about that too much if you named your kid Anakin. You name your kid that and he’s going to grow up to be an irritating little shit that no one likes and everyone picks on. You name him Darth Vader, and the other kids in school are going to fear that kid. They’re going to look at him and go, “Fuck, there goes Darth Vader. That kid is so ridiculously cool and intimidating. Let’s go grovel at his feet before he decides to off us.”

I mean, seriously, there is no contest between Anakin and Vader. Like I said, Anakin is this whiny little emo cocksucker who’s all like, “I miss my mom! This isn’t fair! I hate you Obi Wan! I’m going to kill everyone! Waaaaah!” Vader? Yeah, waaaaaay different. He’s like this huge, BA, seven-foot tall Sith Lord with the voice of James Earl Jones and with more Dark Side energy in him than everyone and their mom combined. Also, he can breathe and talk at the same time. The guy is like this force-wielding machine (and is, in fact, part machine in reality) that sliced his own son’s hand off, killed Obi-Wan - his former master - and literally killed Emperor Palpatine with his bear freaking hands. Obviously, he is umpteen times cooler than Anakin. WHAT ABOUT THIS DO PEOPLE NOT UNDERSTAND?

Seriously, this is ridiculously annoying. I am a proud, proud nerd, but this is taking nerd to that obnoxious, annoying level that makes everyone who sees you want to punch you in the glasses and shove your head into a toilet, before stealing your lunch money to go buy a pack of cigarettes (I don’t even smoke, and yet I would do that if I ever had the misfortune of knowing one of these assclowns). Really, people; grow the hell up and maybe make some real friends, so that, when you produce another retarded offspring - something that seems like it would be too complicated for your dipshit brain, considering you were stupid enough to name your first kid Anakin - they’ll have the mind to punch you in the dick when you suggest to name your second child “Jar Jar” (which would be inevitable if you named your first kid Anakin; it would only make sense that you would name both of your kids after shitty characters), and maybe, just maybe, that’ll make you change your mind and give your kid a normal name. Or at the very least, a less obnoxious one.

That being said, let’s leave off with the customary: JESUS DID NOT HAVE THREE HEADS!!!!!

End of Rant.

~o~*~o~

“Hello. I’m Leonard Nimoy. The following tale of alien encounters is true. And by true, I mean false. It’s all lies. But they’re entertaining lies. And in the end, isn’t that the real truth? The answer is: No.”
-Leonard Nimoy in a guest appearance on The Simpsons

I used to rock and roll all night and party every day. Then it was every other day... now I'm lucky to find half an hour a week in which to get funky.

2010-03-07T16:36:00.003-06:00

I am totally a pretentious music snob. With the exception of my brother, I am completely convinced that I listen to better music than anyone I know. Generally, if there's one thing that I get really irritated at with the people I know, it's when they listen to terrible, awful music and sit there and think that it's the shit, when it obviously isn't. I also hate when you ask someone what kind of music they like, and they go, "I love everything!" when, by "everything," they actually mean "everything on Top 40 Radio." In contrast, I also hate people who go, "Top 40 Radio is shit, I only like cool indie stuff!" and pretty much think that they're the shit because they listen to underground, non-conformist, indie/rock/etc music, when in reality, they listen to some of the most mainstream of these genres, like Modest Mouse or Iron and Wine or something. On a similar note, I hate how emo/metal/scene/etc kids are like, "ALL OTHER MUSIC SUCKS - METAL IS THE ONLY WAY TO GO AND LYK OMG IT'S SO GR8!" when in reality, most music associated with emo/metal/scene/etc kids is usually some of the shittiest of all. I hate how close-minded some people are when it comes to music, because in my opinion, music, like any other form of art, is something that you really can't be close-minded about. And, I hate how everyone and their mom seems to think they can make music - and good music at that - when 99% of the trendy 13 year old tards that start MySpace pages for the music they make with their Rock Band mic and a shitty, ten year old copy of Acid on the computer in their parents basement makes my ears bleed and makes me feel like my organs are being harvested from my still-alive body while a small child pukes in my mouth.

Yes, I am a totally pretentious music snob, and one who's not afraid to tell you that you listen to shitty music. I guess that might make me a little close-minded too, but you know what? I don't give a shit. The point is, I listen to better music than you.

End of rant.

~o~*~o~

"What's the worst thing, that could happen
We find out that we don't quite fit
But on the flip side, we could be just right
And sure there's the chance
That we'll both end up broken and split
But that's my kind of risk

I'm not trying to make you think
This is some kind of great big deal
I just know exactly how you feel"
-First Person, Jenny Owen Youngs

Vampires are make-believe, like elves, gremlins, and Eskimos.

2010-02-19T20:22:00.004-06:00

Haven't read this yet? Do so. Now.

That is all.

~o~*~o~

"I'm conflicted
I inhale now I'm addicted
To this place
To you babe
I can't stay away
Can't stay away
We get up, we go down
Then we go one more round
It's wrong, they say
I can't stay a- I can't stay away
No I can't stay a- I can't stay away"
-I Can't Stay Away, The Veronicas.

I didn’t think it was physically possible, but this both sucks and blows.

2010-02-08T19:35:00.001-06:00

FML.

...that is all.

God, I know you're busy...you know watching women changing clothes and all...

2010-02-04T19:04:00.003-06:00

Holy AIDS, have I been busy recently. I spent last week in Isla Mujeres, Mexico with my parents, which was pretty shpadoinkle, let me tell you. I will probably post some pictures in the near future from that; you know, once we go through all nine thousand of them. :P This week has been crazy at work, as I've been busy trying to catch up with the stack of reorders that built up for the five days of work I missed while I was in Mexico. My free time has been spent trying to unpack and tidy up my room a bit (the latter of which I've failed at pretty miserably), drawing (I started getting back into a bit of drawing for the first time in a long time while I was on vacation - again, pics to follow in an upcoming post), reading the Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy series (which is fantastic, FYI), and trying to fight off a ridiculous sinus infection I woke up with on Sunday (yuck).

Lucky for me (though in terms of my paycheck, it's a bit unlucky), we've been reduced to 32 hours a week at work, meaning I only work four hour days on Thursday and Friday. Hooray! I am taking full of advantage of that, and using my extra time tomorrow to catch up with friends I haven't been able to see in ages; as soon as I finish work at 10am tomorrow, I'm heading over to the U campus to see Nancy. We're meeting at Coffman to shoot some pool and catch up, followed by lunch at our favorite place, Hong Kong Noodles. And of course, after that we have the customary stop at Tea Garden for my large cherry almond shake with strawberry jellies and her regular lychee shake with bubbles. :) That evening, I'm meeting up with Mary after she gets off work, and we're heading over to the Mall of America to stop at one of our favorite spots, Rainforest Cafe. Afterwards, we're hitting up Underwater Adventures, which I am ridiculously stoked for. Finally, after hanging out with her, I'm meeting up with my brother, Sean, Holly, and probably Sika and we're going to Uncommon Grounds in Uptown, where I will have a delicious, true to it's name Orgasmic Chai latte. YUM.

So yes, my day tomorrow is jam packed with friends, food, and fatassedness (yes, I just made up the word). It will be GREAT. Also, I'm following all that up with a Harry Potter photo shoot on Saturday with Kelly. HELL. YES.

Anywhoozle, that is my life for the moment. I would post/write more, but I need to clean this national disaster of an area that I call my room if I want to be able to do any of the aforementioned things tomorrow. :P That is all.

(God, what a boring blog. :P)

~o~*~o~

"I swear when I grow up, I won't just buy you a rose.
I will buy the flower shop, and you will never be lonely."
-The Gambler, fun.

I’ll keep it short and sweet — Family. Religion. Friendship. These are the three demons you must slay if you wish to succeed in business.

2009-12-30T17:18:00.002-06:00

Last year in my English class, we got into a debate over whether Lucifer and Satan were the same person. There was pretty much a universal acknowledgment that they were, with the exception of one girl in my class, who claimed to believe otherwise. Because she had the reputation for being a fairly devout Christian and "knowing her facts" when it came to the Bible, we actually started a debate over whether she was right or the rest of us were. I forgot what exactly her belief was, but I think it was something along the lines of Lucifer being an angel that was cast out from heaven, and Satan just being a separate evil entity that was "ruler of hell," so to speak; basically, she thought the two were separate beings (I know, I don't know where she got that from either). She brought up some evidence for her side that was fairly convincing (well, for her, anyway, though not for me :P), but in the end, I think most people still believed the two to be one in the same.

Now, this should have nothing to do with anything, except that I was just doing some Biblical research, and came across a few things that caught my eye and reminded me of this topic. Wanting to reassure myself that I was indeed correct and she was the one that was wrong, I browsed the internet a bit and did a little research to try to prove my point. And, I believe that I have. What follows are a few verses which I believe back up my case pretty solidly, and should have even this girl in my class convinced that Lucifer and Satan are one in the same. Have a look-see:

"How you are fallen from heaven,
O Lucifer, son of the morning!
How you are cut down to the ground,
You who weakened the nations!
For you have said in your heart:
'I will ascend into heaven,
I will exalt my throne above the stars of God;
I will also sit on the mount of the congregation
On the farthest sides of the north;
I will ascend above the heights of the clouds,
I will be like the Most High.'”
-Isaiah 14:12-14

Here, we see the name "Lucifer" appear. There's not much reference to him being the devil - or "Satan," as it were - but pay attention to the first three lines: "How you are fallen from heaven,
O Lucifer, son of the morning! How you are cut down to the ground..." Okay, got that down? Let's move onto the next verse.

“Then the fifth angel sounded: And I saw a star fallen from heaven to the earth. To him was given the key to the bottomless pit.”
-Revelation 9:1

This whole verse is pretty key. We start with "And I saw a star fallen form heaven to the earth," which is of course referring to Lucifer; Lucifer is the star that is falling from Heaven to earth, which directly ties back to the previous verses in Isaiah 14, specifically the first three that I laid out for you. The second half of the verse, "To him was given the key to the bottomless pit," is important to keep in mind for the next verse, which I'll list out now.

“And they had as king over them the angel of the bottomless pit, whose name in Hebrew is Abaddon, but in Greek he has the name Apollyon.”
-Revelation 9:11

And therein lies the final piece to my argument. The first part says, "And they had as king over them the angel of the bottomless pit," which we know from the previous verse in Revelation which I highlighted for you is Lucifer. It then goes on to say, "[the angel of the bottomless pit,] whose name in Hebrew is Abaddon, but in Greek he has the name Apollyon." "Abaddon" is the Hebrew name for Satan, meaning "Destruction," and "Apollyon" is the Greek name for Satan, meaning "Destroyer." From this, we are led to believe, therefore, the the king of the bottomless pit is Satan. So, let's put all of this together now, shall we?

Lucifer fell from Heaven. A "star" - Lucifer - fell from Heaven and was given the "key to the bottomless pit." And the "angel of the bottomless pit" is also known by the names "Abaddon" and "Apollyon," which are the Hebrew and Greek names for Satan, respectively. Therefore, based on that path of logic, Lucifer = Satan.

I'm sure no one else cares about this, but for me, this was extremely satisfying, as I now have Biblical proof that Lucifer is, or became, Satan, and that I was indeed right. So lady, you can suck it. Oh, and I mean that in a loving, Christian way, of course. ♥

~o~*~o~

Michael Scott: "What about you?"
I.T. Guy: "Well if you're going to reduce my identity to my religion, then I'm Sikh. But I also like hiphop and NPR. And I'm restoring a 1967 Corvette in my spare time."
Michael Scott: "Okay. So, one Sikh, and..."
-From The Office

You're as dumb as a mule and twice as ugly. If a strange man offers you a ride, I say take it!

2009-12-09T19:30:00.003-06:00

Why is it that whenever you just start to get your shit together and start to get to a good place in life, something either devastating or incredibly irritating butts it's head in and causes the shit to hit the fan? It's ridiculously annoying.

I thought I was over all of this high school drama. I thought that with everyone going off to college, that this sort of thing wouldn't really happen anymore, or at least not as much. I thought that with fewer people around, stuff like that wouldn't manifest because there wouldn't really be anyone to help it get started and build. I thought that maybe people would get out into the real world and mature a little bit more, become more level-headed, and, you know, grow a brain. I thought people would start to care more about the important things and less about the stupid little retarded things. And most of all, I thought people would move on and stop living in the past so much and just get on with their lives.

I thought wrong, apparently.

It's funny to think about how these stupid things - and people - follow you around, even after you graduate and get out into the real world and start living more of a normal, everyday life. Over the last year or two, I've encountered some pretty stupid, awful, irritating, and hard (that's what she said) things. And yet, I've overcome them, moved on, and have grown to be (I think) a better person because of it. I've always prided myself on being an individual, being my own person, being who I want to be and not who everyone else wants to be, and I've especially been proud of myself in that respect over the last two years, and, even more specifically, since high school ended. For the first time in my life, I really love who I am, truly and fully. Don't get me wrong - I'd like to lose like 20 pounds and I wish my hair was a bit longer and I'd really love to be doing something a little more interesting work-wise and, of course, I'd kill to be dating Daniel Radcliffe with some Alan Rickman action on the side - but in general, I'm really happy with where I am in life right now. I like me. That's not something that a lot of people can say, and I'm proud that, for at least right now, I can.

And then, of course, something irritating comes back to bite me in the ass and wreck that. Something that just annoys the hell out of me because it brings me back to a time when I was really happy with who and where I was, but ultimately led me to being unhappy, and forced me to completely rethink myself and my values and everything. Again, don't get me wrong, having to go through that made me a much better person, and a lot of that is responsible for me being who I am today, but at the same time...well, at the time, it sucked. Plain and simple. And being reminded of that sucked. Being reminded that I put up with that for a long time sucked. And becoming aware now that I'm much better off without all that and knowing that, not only can it surface again, but that it would come back and think that I'd want to be a part of that after everything that's gone down - that, that right there, sucks. How are you supposed to tell something - someone - that you're over that? Over them? Over everything? Even now, I feel guilty, feel like I should give in, but I know that that's just an older version of myself surfacing, an older part of me that I've tried to distance myself from, because I'm happier without it.

I guess I just don't know how to rationalize this. I know I need to say no, I need to stay away, to keep moving on, keep growing, because I'm much better off without it, and I like myself a lot better without it, but there's still a small part of me - a very small part, mind, but a part nonetheless - that wants to just fold. And that sucks.

...I thought high school was over. Apparently not. Like her immature ways in the sense of drama, I too want to give into my immature ways and just punch her in the face.

~o~*~o~

"I'm friends with everybody in this office. We're all best friends. I love everybody here. But sometimes your best friends start coming into work late and start having dentist appointments that aren't dentist appointments, and that is when it's nice to let them know that you could beat them up."
-Michael Scott (Steve Carrell), The Office

Thats it! If that horse does not start winning soon then we are going on a trip to the glue factory and he won't be invited!

2009-11-09T19:49:00.003-06:00

I feel extremely productive tonight, because I just sat for the last like two hours and made this:

It's for a lady at my work. She gave me that picture with her and her mom (and her sisters? I'm not really sure who the two in front are), and the recipe card which her mom wrote out with a "Recipe for Happiness." Since her mother passed away, she wanted a way to display her card and the picture together, so she gave them to me to try to just throw something together on the computer (actually, she gave them to me last spring, and it's taken me this long to finally sit down and do it, which I feel really awful about :P). I was originally just going to do a simple thing with the picture and recipe card on a pretty background that I made, but then I came up with the idea to do a digital scrapbook page instead, and thus, the picture you see above came into being.

I'm really proud of it, because it's the first digital scrapbook page I've done, and I think it turned out rather well. I downloaded a free digital scrapbook pack from Shabby Princess (), and then just went ot work putting this together. It's mostly a bunch of layering and careful erasing and editing and screening and such, but again, I think it turned out rather nice, and it's a lot more in-depth than I was planning on getting (though I owe that to her for keeping this thing for so long). So yes, I feel very productive, and I'm excited to give it to her tomorrow and to see what she thinks. :)

In other, more embarrassing and quite dangerous news, because I was so focused on making her this digital scrapbook page, I completely forgot that I left a pot with water to boil on the stove for making some mac n cheese, and as such, I now have one wrecked kettle that I'm going to have to throw away. Frankly, I'm just glad the thing didn't start on fire and burn the house down, because all of the water completely evaporated and it was slowly burning away the non-stick stuff on the inside of the kettle and completely scorching the bottom brown. That's the first time I've ever been that distracted (and retarded) and left something on in the kitchen like that. I mean, don't get me wrong, I've burned a few things because I've gotten a bit absentminded, but I've never left anything on THAT long, to the point that I completely wreck something and, again, threaten to almost start a fire/burn down the house. I'm pretty sure I get the moron award of the day - maybe even month - for that one. :P

Anywhoozle, I guess that's all. Pray that I don't do the same thing as I attempt to make my mac n cheese again now, and, on a lighter note, that Sue B. likes her thing I've made her. :)

~o~*~o~

"But when you touch me like this
And you hold me like that
I just have to admit
That it's all coming back to me
When I touch you like this
And I hold you like that
It's so hard to believe but
It's all coming back to me"
-It's All Coming Back to Me Now, Céline Dion

...Try to understand. There are two kinds of college students -- jocks and nerds. As a jock, it is my duty to give nerds a hard time!

2009-11-08T18:37:00.003-06:00

I WENT AND SAW HBP AGAIN TONIGHT AND OH MY GOD IT'S STILL AS AMAZING AS EVER.

It's at all the cheap theaters now, and since my bro hadn't seen it yet, I told him I'd take him. OH GOD IT WAS GREAT. My brother really liked it, too - he agreed that it was the best one yet. Course, he kind of hates most of the other ones, so there wasn't much to beat, but...well, still. :P AND OH MY GOD, I FINALLY SAW THE HOUR GLASSES THIS TIME!!! *DIES A MILLION TIMES* At the end, when they show the Great Hall right before they cut to the scene with Harry and McGonagrizzle in Dumbledore's office, you can see the hour glasses up at the front of the hall on the right hand side. That's the first time I've ever seen them! IT WAS BOMB. :D

Basically, I am really excited for December 8th. :)

...OH, AND PS, SINCE I POSTED THIS AFTER SEEING IT IN IMAX ON THE NUTHOUSE AND NEVER POSTED IT HERE, I WANT TO POST THIS LITTLE BIT OF INFORMATION NOW BECAUSE WHEN I SAW IT I FELT LIKE THE BOMB DIGGITY (and when I told my brother this tonight after we saw the movie, he goes, "Oh my God, how did you pick up on that?! You're such a nerd!!).

COPY AND PASTED FROM MY POST ON THE NUTHOUSE ON AUGUST 1ST, 2009:

Oh, but I did remember one other thing from the movie that I picked up on the first time that I had forgotten about, but which I thought was really cool! There's the scene where Dumbledore takes off Gaunt's ring and sets it down on the table, and Harry reaches out to touch it, and there's this awesome foreshadowing sort of sequence. He suddenly gets like, this vision type thing of all of these different images (memories?) of Tom Riddle and bad stuffz, and then he suddenly like snaps out of it, and he kind of like makes this weird, almost neck cracking motion where he twitches his head, and it's EXACTLY THE SAME MOVEMENT THAT VOLDEMORT DID WHEN HE'S RESURRECTED IN GOF! And then Dumbledore gets this creeped out look on his face and suddenly looks at Harry's scar, and then he looks back and forth between the ring and Harry's scar again as he's talking about Horcruxes, and then he says, "I think I found another one," or something, and you assume it's just about the locket because he starts talking about their mission to the cave then, but it's too much of a coincidence to not have some sort of double meaning, you know? If you're not paying attention or haven't read the books, you probably wouldn't think anything of it, but knowing what we know about Harry being a Horcrux, it's totally foreshadowing that. I just thought that it was a really cool little scene, and actually done really well. :)

OH GOD AM I GREAT OR WHAT?! :DD

OKAY THAT IS ALL. KTHXBYE.

~o~*~o~

Hermione: [snaps her fingers] Hey! She's only interested in you because she thinks you're the Chosen One.
Harry: But I am the Chosen One.
[Hermione smacks him on the head with the newspaper]
Harry Potter: Sorry...kidding!
-From the film version of Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince

When will I learn? The answer to life's problems aren't at the bottom of a bottle, they're on TV!

2009-11-07T17:52:00.006-06:00

My life is full of random moments that just make me...feel. Feel what? ...Alive, I suppose. Or, perhaps "infinite," to quote Chbosky, is a better word. In Stephen Chbosky's The Perks of Being a Wallflower, there's this beautiful, wonderful moment, which the main character Charlie sums up quite well. A chunk of this passage is below:

"When we got out of the tunnel, Sam screamed this really funny scream, and there it was. Downtown. Lights on buildings and everything makes you wonder. Sam sat down and started laughing. Patrick started laughing. I started laughing.
And in that moment, I swear we were infinite."

THIS. This right here sums up what I live for; moments like this when the world is good and you're content and everything seems to fall into place and it's like magic exists because the moment you're living is purely magical and nothing else matters and it's just you, you and anyone else you may be with, and you're breathing and alive and the rest of the world is breathing and alive with you and there's no death and no end and in that moment, in that moment, you truly feel infinite. I think moments like this are all what life is about.

Moments when you're driving home at one in the morning from a party and it's dark and still and silent, and you've got the window open and the crisp night air is blowing in through your open window, and suddenly an amazing, epic, beautifully written song comes on the radio and it's just you and the night and the wind and the song driving down that road, and you feel as if you're apart of everything and nothing at the same time, and it's beautiful.

Moments when you're with a group of friends sitting in front of a lake in the middle of the day, and you hear the water and the birds and the wind and the music from a nearby group of people blaring their stereo with summer tunes, and you can literally almost smell the sun and the heat and the sand, and even though it's bright and sunny and you're with a group of friends, everyone is just silent and still and contemplative, and in that moment, you're having the most wonderful conversation without ever having said a word.

Moments when you're observing the outdoors late in the first quarter of the year, when the weather is in that stasis somewhere between winter and spring, where it can't quite seem to make up it's mind, and there's mucky puddles everywhere and hints of brown grass are peeking out through the dirty snow and small buds are starting to form on the trees and some of the animals in the area are starting to come back after the long winter, and it's as if all of nature is just silently screaming to come back to life, screaming to end the season of death and enter into the season of life, and everything is just mounting and mounting and growing and growing until finally, finally, spring arrives and brings rebirth with it, and you're experiencing the rebirth, too, shedding your cares and problems for just that first moment of real sunshine, of blue sky, of warm breezes and green grass.

Again, this is what life is about; a series of moments when everything is right in the world and nothing else matters, and you feel like you're a part of something greater and bigger than you can ever imagine, and just for a few seconds, you, like Charlie, feel infinite. I love these moments. I embrace them, I seek them, I live them, and I absorb from them all that they have to offer. These moments are the ones that help to define my life.

"And in that moment, I swear we were infinite."

~o~*~o~

"And all the books you’ve read have been read by other people. And all the songs you’ve loved have been heard by other people. And that girl that’s pretty to you is pretty to other people. And you know that if you looked at these facts when you were happy, you would feel great because you are describing “unity”."
-Charlie in The Perks of Being a Wallflower by Stephen Chbosky

Have the Rolling Stones killed.

2009-11-06T18:35:00.002-06:00

HOLY CRAP THERE'S ANOTHER THING OVER THERE ON MY SIDEBAR. IT'S PRACTICALLY SPAM NOW.

...No, but seriously, I did add something new, and it is for your benefit as much as mine. I have no added a small Grooveshark playlist to my blog, with some of my favorite songs by my favorite artists. Currently, we've got some Jenny Owen Youngs, Iron and Wine, Manchester Orchestra, Tegan and Sara, and Christophe Willem. IT IS GREAT. Go listen to those songs. NOW.

That is all.

~o~*~o~

"Jacques a dit « cours ! »
Jacques dit « vole ! »
Mais pas le jour où je décolle
Jacques a dit « cours ! »
Jacques a dit « aime ! »
J’ai beau t’aimer, tu pars quand même
Jacques a dit « marche ! »
Jacques a dit « rêve ! »
Me fait tant marcher que j’en crève
Jacques a dit certes je lui pardonne
Jacques est un rêve pas un homme"
-Jacques A Dit, Christophe Willem

I hope I didn’t brain my damage.

2009-10-29T17:25:00.007-05:00

...Ignore when I say, "I need to show the internetz my junk." :P

~o~*~o~

"You can lead a herring to water, but you have to walk really fast or he'll die."
-Rose Nylund, The Golden Girls

Oh, loneliness and cheeseburgers are a dangerous mix.

2009-10-26T20:03:00.003-05:00

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That is what I just bought. I know, it's disgusting. I can't believe I spent that much money. But I figure I'm not going on vacation like I thought, which means I can spend that money on something else - that something else being this. And actually, this is still cheaper than going on vacation, sooo....yeah. I know. Still ridiculous. :P
Also, I was going to buy the cardboard cutout of Snape (which would have been the sexiest thing EVAR), but it wouldn't fit in my room, so I nixed that idea and got McGonagall's wand instead. *nods* Seems like a better (though less sexy idea). Only bad thing? It doesn't ship 'til the movie comes out, meaning I won't get it until December. GAY.

....OH MY GOD I CAN'T BELIEVE I JUST BOUGHT ALL THAT STUFF. I'M GOING TO THROW UP FROM THE AWESOMENESS OF IT ALL AND THE RIDICULOUSNESS OF THE MONEY I SPENT ON IT. MERLIN'S MOST BAGGY Y-FRONTS.

~o~*~o~

Mrs. Edna Krabappel: ...Harry Potter, are you chewing gum?
Harry Potter: ...no ma'am, it's brimstone...
Mrs. Krabappel: ...oooh hoo hoo hoo, well wonderful...
-The Simpsons

I don't know where you pixies came from, but I like your pixie drink!

2009-08-30T17:16:00.005-05:00

I just found websites where I can buy both Fanta Exotic and Bitter Lemon. OH. MAI. GAWD. I am like, ridiculously excited about this. I have not had either since I was in Kosovo just over three years ago, and I have searched high and low for both and have been able to find either. I did find some on Amazon once, but it's expensive and the shipping was like $10 on top of the already too-expensive price, so I never ordered. Now, I was curious again, and so I looked and found websites for them both. Unfortunately, not the same websites, which means more shipping than probably necessary, and the bottles themselves are already like $5 which is insane, but I don't even care because, after my next paycheck (when I can actually blow money on ridiculous things, unlike this paycheck which was pretty much reserved for paying back everyone I borrowed money from when I was broke this summer), I am going to go ahead and order 2 liters (or 2.5 liters, whatever the hell they are) of each of them, and it is going to be the BEST DAY EVER. I am SO EXCITED, you would not believe it. And over pop, no less. How silly, and yet, how utterly beautiful. LOLZ AND NOMS. :DDDD

~o~*~o~

So, yesterday Dwight found half a joint in the parking lot. Which is unfortunate, because it turns out that Dwight finding drugs is more dangerous than most people using drugs.
-Jim Halpert, The Office

My cat's name is Mittens.

2009-08-21T21:36:00.004-05:00

PART 2, LOLZ.

~o~*~o~

"There is no snooze button on a cat who wants breakfast."
-Anonymous

My cat's breath smells like cat food.

2009-08-21T15:26:00.004-05:00

Dees seam liek 3 of mai nu favrit LOLcatz. Dey make funnee:

see more Lolcats and funny pictures

see more Lolcats and funny pictures

see more Lolcats and funny pictures

Also, chex out dis nu LOLcatz video naow, kplz? It r funnee 2:

HAR HAR HAR.

~o~*~o~

"Oh hai. In teh beginnin Ceiling Cat maded teh skiez An da Urfs, but he did not eated dem."
-Genesis 1, Lolcat Bible Translation Project

The only difference between our marriage and any one else's is: we know ours is a sham.

2009-08-19T18:24:00.003-05:00

Some of my new favorites. ♥

~o~*~o~

Wasn't it me you didn't want?
Wasn't it me who was hanging on?
Now I'm done but before I go I want you to know ...

This is how it feels
When you wait for a call that never comes
Are you waking up 'cause you miss someone?
This is how it feels
When the trust you had is broken,
And your left to burn with your heart wide open
-This Is How It Feels, The Veronicas

Remember, you can always find East by staring directly at the sun.

2009-08-13T23:59:00.015-05:00

Hokay, I changed my background again. I attempted to make my own, but blogger is being gay and not letting them work, so I just found another one online that I like much better, and then customized the rest of my layout to look good with it. :P Anyway...

I wasn't planning on making a post tonight, but then I remembered that I had promised three new bits of Harry Potter info, so I'll put that up now, shall I? To be honest, I'm not really in a blogging mood, so I'm just going to be quick about this, but at least I'll get it up, right? Right. So here goes it.

FIRST, Nancy, the greatest person in the world, made me another Potter Puppet Pal, this time, Dumbledore!! And the best part is, his robe is removable, so he can become nakey-time Dumbledore (as seen in the above picture)! Hooray!! Just sit back and bask in his infinite cuteness, yeah? :DD

SECOND, I saw HBP in IMAX with Schiffler, one of the other coolest people ever. LAWL. Honestly, it was great seeing HBP again, just because that movie is flippin' sweet and hella good, but I was less than pleased the IMAX part of it. The giant screen and surround sound and all that jazz was cool, and the 3D scenes were awesome, but the 3D thing overall was disappointing. I had originally heard that the first and last 20 minutes, respectively, were supposed to be in the 3D, and it turns out that it was only the first 20 minutes. Now, like I said, those scenes were totally bomb, but if they were only going to do one or the other, I would have much rather had it at the end instead of the beginning. That, and Schiff and I were so excited at the end to see it in 3D - we had our glasses ready and kept waiting and waiting and waiting for it - and it never happened, so we were totally bummed when the credits rolled and we had experienced no more 3D action. We both just looked at each other and were like, "What the hell?!" It was gay. Also, after seeing OotP in IMAX, and getting to experience the MoM battle in 3D (which was like, the most badass thing ever), I was really looking forward to seeing the ending to HBP in 3D as well. You can't tell me that cave scene with all the fire and shit wouldn't have been a zillion times more epic in 3D than just Harry and Dumbles apparating. :P So yeah...that was kind of lame, and a huge letdown.

THIRD, HOLY SHIT I WENT TO THE HARRY POTTER EXHIBITION IN CHICAGO!!!!! *SQUEEEEEEEEEE* Nancy and I spent a few days in Chicago, and we were able to go to the Harry Potter Exhibition, and OH MY GOD, it was the GREATEST THING EVER. I shit you negative, it was probably one of the best moments of my entire life. I will post a giant blog about it later, complete with awesome photos, but for now...that is all I will say. Oh, and I almost jizzed in my pants when I saw the first set of Dan Rad's robes and saw Alan Rickman's robes. It was a beautiful moment. ♥

(So much for summarizing...God, I fail so hard. LAWL.)

~o~*~o~

I sense there's something in the wind
That feels like tragedy's at hand
And though I'd like to stand by him
Can't shake this feeling that I have
The worst is just around the bend
-Sally's Song, Catherine O'Hara/Fiona Apple/Amy Lee (my favorite being the latter, though all are amazing)

A woman is a lot like a refrigerator. 6 feet tall, 300 pounds...it makes ice.

2009-07-31T03:35:00.002-05:00

OH MAI GAWD I FINALLY UPDATED TO THE NEW VERSION OF BLOOGER!!!! :DDDD LOOK AT HOW BEAUTIFUL MY NEW PAGE IS!!!! (Although, I really need to make my own background...this one is pretty okay, but I could make a way cooler one (I actually have many of the same brushes that were used to make this one), particularly if I put together a Harry Potter themed one...I'll get a move on that.) BUT ANYWHOOZLE, WELCOME TO MY NEW BLOG!!! :DDDDD

(I will actually post more about my life later when I am not being lazy, especially since there are three new bits of AMAZING HARRY POTTER NEWS!!!! OHEMGEE!!!)

Kthxbye.

~o~*~o~

"Why are you making cupcakes when you're just gonna poop them out?"
-Pete Wentz of Fall Out Boy

Son, when you participate in sporting events, it's not whether you win or lose: it's how drunk you get.

2009-07-20T00:05:00.002-05:00

I'm not sure if anyone (ha, I’m talking as if people actually read this thing…hilarious) who isn’t a Harry Potter nerd has heard of this or not, but We Are Wizards is this documentary that was made about the Harry Potter fandom that is totally awesome. It covers Wizard Rock, fansites, Brad Neely's stuff, some of the legal battles surrounding Harry Potter, and there's even stuff in it concerning the whole "Harry Potter is anti-Christian" stuff.

You can check out the official site and watch the trailer for it here:
http://www.wearewizards-themovie.com/

But yeah...I finally got around to ordering my copy about two months ago (I bought the super cool holiday pack with the DVD, t-shirt, movie poster, pin and sticker, which is totally bomb :)), and I just finished watching it tonight, and it's freaking fantastic. It's really interesting hearing some of the people who have been involved in the aforementioned big fandom stuff talk about it and hear how they all started out as just regular fans and decided to start up little "fan stuff," and then have it explode. They interview Paul and Joe DeGeorge from Harry and the Potters, Draco and Malfoys, the chick who started The Leaky Cauldron, and others who were involved in these things, and it's actually really interesting to see how they've gone from doing stuff from the basements and backyards to being known on a national or even world-wide level. It's crazy!!

My favorite parts were definitely the ones where Brad Neely talks. I'm not sure if you're familiar with him either, but the guy is my freaking hero. He essentially did a narration to the entire first HP film called Wizard People, Dear Reader (which you can watch on YouTube here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u981JhkK46o) which is absolutely freaking HILARIOUS. I first watched it all about a year ago, and I've watched it many times since then and laugh every time. Seriously, you NEED to watch that.

But anyway, on this DVD, he talks about that and makes a bunch of new, improv stories about Harry, and they're just as funny - if not more funny - than the ones he did for Wizard People. For example: Harry Potter flying around with his wand, just lookin' for some chumpass to stick his head at. “I'm so pissed, that this world is like it is. No one is nice, and everybody wants money. I've got enough money to not care about money. What the fuck? Look at this pile of gold that just came out of nowhere.” FREAKING. GENIUS.

I also really enjoyed the interviews with Harry and the Potters. Paul DeGeorge is absolutely freaking adorable, and I love him to death. I also loved how he just sat in the back and laughed half of the time while Joe sat and talked and just spouted out ridiculous stuff. It was high quality.

One other part that I thought was funny, though not for the same reasons, was when the one chick who started the Daily Prophet site thing was talking about Dan Rad in Equus, and was talking about how WB is using double standards, because they get all pissy about people writing or talking about HP slash or whatever and yet, here’s the star of the freaking movie completely starkers in a play. And while I understand that, I still thought it was a bit silly. I mean, after all, she was starting a fansite containing copyrighted material and got in trouble, and people are writing fanfiction or doing fanart or making fanvids about copyrighted characters that find themselves in, err, “questionable positions and circumstances.” All Dan Rad is doing is acting in a freaking play which, as an actor, is his right to do. WB doesn’t own him, and he’s not committing copyright infringement, so why on Earth should WB hold him to the same standards? Don’t get me wrong; I’m an avid Snarry fan and I think it’s dumb that WB can get pissed and tell me that I’m using their characters in a way that they don’t like and could potentially sue me for that, but really…to compare what she and others were doing to what Dan Rad is doing seems a bit ridiculous.

I also really liked it when she said, "I would love to know how many girls are seeing to see that play just because Harry Potter's naked in it,” because, quite frankly, that’s the only reason I was interested in it. …Okay, so it wasn’t so much the “Harry Potter naked” part as it was the “Dan Rad naked” part, but still…it’s essentially the same thing, innit? :)

The one thing in the film that really pissed me off was (cue rant) that woman Caryl Matrisciana. She’s one of those “HARRY POTTER IS THE DEVIL!” people, and for some reason unbeknownst to me, they thought it’d be a good idea to put her in this movie and let her share her opinions as to how Harry Potter was essentially going to bring about the freaking apocalypse because it was teaching kids about magic and planting the idea that the occult was a good thing and that they’re all going to be able to learn about and practice magic in a comfortable environment and we’re going to have this giant cult of little Harry Potter Satanist’s or something. I don’t know, I sort of started to tune out whenever she spoke because she was really pissing me off and bringing down my mood.

I hate people like this who follow this ridiculous bullshit that Harry Potter is a bad series that’s trying to get children to become Wiccan and take part in the occult. I mean, really, how many little kids read Harry Potter and then suddenly start drawing pentagrams and shit on the ground in an attempt to summon demons? I’m guessing next to none, if any. I hate this ridiculous stereotype, because it simply is not true. If anything, Harry Potter further pushes and advocates for very common and popular Christian beliefs. There’s the whole battle of good vs. evil (in which good eventually triumphs), the importance of friendship and family, a gigantic play on how big and important love is, the struggle to stay on the light side and maintain good morals and values, how to stand up for yourself and your friends and what you believe in, that immortality, though something devoutly wished, is in the end, a very un-human thing and not something one should seek, etc. Not to mention there’s hundreds of religious and biblical references, allusions, and parallels that can be found in the books.

I also find it funny that these people seem to think that all of the magic and sorcery and mythical creatures and stuff in Harry Potter are obviously a push for the occult, but yet, find books like C. S. Lewis’ The Chronicles of Narnia or J. R. R. Tolkien’s The Lord of the Rings trilogy okay. So, what, because these guys were openly Christian and whatnot their books are automatically okay? How is it that Harry Potter gets shafted when these books don’t? Narnia has magic and mythical creatures and witches and truly evil villains, and LotR not only has all of that, but it’s arguably more violent and the characters more gruesome and all that. But still, these people only seem to have a problem with Harry Potter. Don’t get me wrong, I love C. S. Lewis and I’m a Tolkien fan as well, but why is it okay that these people are allowed to talk about this stuff in their stories and Rowling is not? It makes absolutely no sense!!

The other thing that really irritates me about this is that these people have never read the books or seen the movies, and yet, they make assumptions about them and think they’re right, when the only evidence they have is word-of-mouth or speculation. They’ve come up with all of these complex explanations as to why Harry Potter is, for all intents and purposes, the work of the devil, and yet, none of it is based on anything in Harry Potter, because none of them have even cracked open one of the books! That would be like me saying that Caryl Matrisciana is a Satanist, without ever taking the time to read her website or articles or books or talk to her or whatever, and just basing it off of a picture that I saw of her and somebody remarking to me that she has written books related to the occult. It’s a completely ridiculous statement to make on my part, since she is really a Christian (though even that seems a bit speculative, considering the woman seems highly intolerant or anything but her own thoughts and beliefs and is ready to condemn half the world as Satanists for reading Harry Potter (or Twilight, which seems to be her new beef)), and it’s as equally ridiculous for her and others to state that Harry Potter is meant to draw children into the occult when it obviously is not and especially when none of them have read/seen it. It’s simply mind boggling!

Whoever the hell thinks that Harry Potter is trying to push the occult and Satanism is simply ridiculous. I have an aunt who feels somewhat the same and used to preach to me about how awful she thought it was and how I was dabbling in witchcraft by reading it. However, I realized that when I argued with her about it, my arguments weren’t any better than hers or anyone else’s who believes in any of that garbage, because my thoughts were also one-sided, not researched, and quite biased. Therefore, I took it upon myself to read up on both sides of the argument. For a year or two, I spent my time reading many internet articles and published books, watching videos and interviews, and listening to various people preach about the issues, all from both sides of the argument, and all giving detailed reasons as to why Harry Potter was or was not Satanic or presenting ideas that would lead young people down the road to Satanism or the occult. And with all the research I did, you know what I came up with?

The same thing that I had been preaching all along: at it’s core, Harry Potter IS NOT a Satanist’s bible, it does not encourage children to dabble in witchcraft and become practiced members of the occult, it does not teach poor moral values, and does not corrupt children. If anything, Harry Potter is actually something that Christians can enjoy, considering it teaches good moral values, the difference between right and wrong, illustrates the battle between good vs. evil, and other things that I’ve already mentioned above in this article. Not to mention the fact that it has gotten many children who previously did not like books to read, something that can be appreciated by all people, Christian or not. You can still call me biased since I was a fan before I decided to make myself informed, but really…I think I’ve still got a better handle on it than all of these other people, considering I’ve actually read the books, and researched the argument from both sides, basing my opinion on all of that, instead of just what other people have said or what I’ve heard.

(End of rant.) (…I think I may have just written the next “Rants On Everything Pissing Me Off at the Moment. :DD)

So anywhoozle…in conclusion, We Are Wizards was a pretty great documentary, minus Caryl Matrisciana, and I would definitely recommend it to anyone who wants to be awesome. That being said…I’m done. I wrote more about how I truly dislike her than I did about the DVD itself, but…whatever. I don‘t care. Also, expect my next “Rants” blog to pretty much be the last six paragraphs of this post. Word.

~o~*~o~

Love grows in me like a tumor,
parasites bent on devouring its host.
I'm developing my sense of humor,
till I can laugh at my heart between your teeth,
till I can laugh at my face beneath your feet.
-Fuck Was I, Jenny Owen Youngs

The doctor said I wouldn't have so many nose bleeds if I kept my finger outta there.

2009-07-15T16:12:00.006-05:00

OH MAI GAWD.

HARRY POTTER AND THE HALF-BLOOD PRINCE CAME OUT LAST NIGHT, AND IT WAS FREAKING BRILLIANT!!!!!

I can't even write about it anymore because I've already done it a thousand times and I can't type anymore...but I will copy and post my original reactions to it, which were posted on the Nuthouse. My original post (with the exception of one thing) should basically make sense, but the rest of the posts after that (which I will mark) might not as much because they were in response to other posts. Therefore, I will clarify a bit and explain what they were in reference to. Enjoy!

Original Post:
WARNING: THIS POST IS RIDICULOUSLY LONG AND FULL OF NOT ONLY SPOILERS, BUT LOTS AND LOTS OF CAPS-LOCK AND SWEARZ. ALSO, IT HAS NO ORDER AND PROBABLY MAKES NO SENSE. SO YEAH. WORD.

OH MY FUCKING GOD, I THINK I JUST DIED AND WENT TO FANGIRL HEAVEN. THAT WAS THE MOST EPIC PIECE OF FREAKING AWESOMENESS THAT I HAVE EVER SEEN.

I FUCKING LOVE HARRY POTTER.

RON IS FUCKING ADORABLE.

FELIX FELICIS!HARRY IS SO LULZ.

SLUGHORN IS FANTASTIC.

DUMBLEDORE WAS DAMN HILARIOUS.

RON/LAVENDER MADE ME WANT TO VOMIT.

HARRY/GINNY, I SHIT YOU NEGATIVE, ACTUALLY MADE ME VERY HAPPY.

MCGONAGALL IS THE SHIT.

SAD!DRACO MADE ME VERY SAD. :(

SNAPE WAS THE MOST BADASS THING IN THE ENTIRE FUCKING MOVIE, AND I TOTALLY WANTED TO THROW HIM UP AGAINST THE WALL AND HAVE MY WAY WITH HIM.

BELLATRIX WAS THE SECOND MOST BADASS THING IN THE WHOLE MOVIE.

I FUCKING LOVE HARRY POTTER.

...Now that all of the expletives and insane yelling are out of the way...OH MY GOD, I LOVED THAT MOVIE!!

Seriously, I cried during this movie. I freaking cried. When I read OotP, I bawled like a freaking schoolgirl, and was depressed for two freaking days. But yet, when I saw movie!OotP, I was just like, "Ah, that's sad..." and then moved on. When I read HBP, I got a little misty eyed when Dumbles died, but I didn't cry. And yet, what happened during this movie? I freaking cried! I got all choked up when Harry started force-feeding Dumbles the potion, and it was just downhill from there. Seeing Draco be all emotional, and then seeing Dumbles die, and seeing Snape obviously not happy...god, I cried. And then when Harry found Dumbledore's body, I cried some more, and and when they all raised their wands for him and everyone else was crying too, there were more tears. I just felt awful about it all.

And Jesus Christ, the Sectumsempra scene!! Honestly, I didn't really like HBP my first time through, and I always joked I hated everything up until the second-to-last paragraph of page 521 in that book, because that's when Harry uses Sectumsempra and from that point on, the book got freaking awesome. And when that scene came in the movie, oh sweet jebus was I ready for it. I knew it was coming, and I started to tense up and get all nervous, and when I saw Draco crying, my heart cracked a little bit cause it was so sad. But with the curse itself, as soon as Harry said the word, I got immediately tense and just...I don't know, like, ridiculously tight chested or something. And that whole time he was walking up to Malfoy, it kept getting worse, and then he sees what he did, and it got even worse, and then Snape fucking comes in and sees what happened and he gives Harry that freaking look, and then I lost it. I got all emotional, and though I didn't cry, that tight feeling just got ridiculous and I got all misty-eyed and it was just like that awful, hollow feeling again. And then he runs out, and Snape starts healing Draco, and it gets even even worse, and then Harry is all upset by it, and just...GOD. I thought I was going to freaking lose it. It was just that shocking, hollow kinda feeling, similar to when Dumbledore died and yet, different. To be honest, I was a little upset that they didn't make the slashes and stuff a little more epic looking, but still...probably one of my favorite scenes in the movie. It was fucking brilliant.

And then the scene with Snape at the end! When he was behind Harry and told him to stay quiet, and Harry lowered his wand thinking that Snape was going to help, and I'm sitting in my chair knowing that he's not going to...God, that was so awful too! In the book, Harry was under the invisibility cloak and in a body bind, too, wasn't he? So he was physically prevented from doing anything. But in the movie, he could have actually done something about it, and instead, he put all his trust in Snape and just let him walk in and kill Dumbledore. And to me, I loved the change, because it made it just that much more tragic.

[Quoting Jess:]

Bellatrix, I kind of love her. Kind of.

I KNOW WHAT YOU MEAN JESS!! I hate her because she killed Sirius and she's the biggest bitch ever, but I can't help but freaking love her at the same time! I blame most of that on Helena Bonham Carter because she's so freaking brilliant, but still...God, I don't want to like her, but I freaking do. She was so ridiculously awesome and badass and I just...God, I love her.

And speaking of characters, LUNA!! OH MY GOD, EVANNA LYNCH IS MY FREAKING HERO. I LOVE THAT GIRL AND WANT TO BE HER BEST FRIEND.

And McGonagall! You know, I always forget about her, but every time I see her in the movies or read her lines in the books, I'm reminded of how much I love her character. She's witty and cool and just awesome, yet at the same time, super sensitive when she needs to be. The scene at the end where she's with Harry in Dumbledore's office was just so sad, but I loved her for it.

AND THE D-BOX! IT WAS SO BOMB!! It was mostly during Apparition scenes, Quidditch, the Pensieve stuff, and then the cave/battle at the end, but it was so worth it! :D

I realized they left out so much, but honestly, the only thing that I'm really disappointed about is the big thing at the end between Snape and Harry. I love that part so much in the book, and I was kind of upset that they didn't do more with that. It's like, Snape didn't even really get upset that Harry called him a coward, and that kind of irritated me. I loved Harry repeatedly throwing curses at him, particularly Sectumsempra and then the corresponding reveal where Snape tells him that he's the Half-Blood Prince, but I just still felt that the scene was...lacking. I wanted Snape to explode and do the whole, "I AM NOT A COWARD!" line, and go fucking apeshit on Harry, and it didn't happen, and I was really disappointed. And while I did love how it was revealed that Snape was the HBP because of the Sectumsempra thing, in all honesty, it seemed a bit anticlimactic. Like, he just says it, and then kinda walks away, and that's that. WTF?

Finally, I will end this post with my favorite line from the movie:

"So, did you and Ginny do it?"

OH THE LULZ.

Post Two:
[talking about the Sectumsempra scene] I know! That scene was just...just...GAH, I can't even describe it. Like so awful and yet so awesome, and just...yeah.

[About loving Snape] AND I KNOW. I'm telling you, it wasn't until probably OotP that I really started to like Snape - like, I often found him kind of witty or funny or something, but didn't really like him until OotP - and my love for him has just been growing ever since. Snape is the definition of "the shit." Like, he is the biggest BAMF ever, and I freaking LOVE HIM. (And having the sexy Alan Rickman playing him just makes me love him that much more...God, I love that man.)

*cheers for the movie and having a good night* This is definitely one of the nights I'm going to remember most when it comes to HP. *nods*

Post Three:
I know. God, Snape...what a fucking beast. I would do him in a freaking heartbeat, especially if it was Alan!Snape. If I ever met/saw Alan Rickman, I would, no joke, ask to have his babies. He's hot and has the sexiest voice ever and is my all-time favorite actor. I love that man. And I love him as Snape so freaking much. Like you said, that look when he killed Dumbledore - brilliant!

I loved the one-liners and the humor, too, and I'm so glad they kept it. :)

[About them leaving out a bunch of the Pensieve scenes/Voldemort history] I was kinda "eh" about missing the extra stuff about Voldie. Like, for me personally, because I knew the rest of the history, I honestly wasn't that upset about it. Normally, I get pissed when they leave that stuff out, regardless of the fact that I've read the book and know what's going on. But in this case...I knew what was going on and for some reason didn't really mind that they left it all out. I was surprised they did, especially because I think it's really leaving so much out for people who haven't read the books and makes it just that much harder to get or follow, but again, I was personally okay with it.

And I agree - I wish there would have been more action and less romance. I liked the romance, of course, but I wish they would have substituted some for a bit more action. I was really hoping for a bit more of a "battle" at the end instead of just the main showdown between Dumbledore and Snape, you know? I was satisfied with what they gave us, but wished there could have been a little more to the ending.

But yes, this was indeed one BAMF of a movie.

Yeah, I think she'll [Meredith] enjoy Greyback, although, to be honest, I thought he'd have a slightly bigger role. He was scary though!! I'll give him that. And yes, I wished for more Sirius grieving, though I figured they'd cut that...after all, JKR did, so why would they spend any time on it in the movie? :P And Remus was a jerk to Harry. To be honest, that part did piss me off a little bit. I also didn't like that he and Tonks seemed pretty close at that point, too, when she was still supposed to be all depressed about it then.

Post Four:
[Talking about the Remus/Tonks thing] Don't get me wrong, I hate RL/NT, but the way they presented it in the movie was kinda gay. I hope they totally don't skip over it all in DH, but they probably will, and just shorten it like you mentioned, TGBTA.

God, I just want to watch the Sectumsempra scene again. And again. And again. That scene was freaking gorgeously done. I loved it.

So yeah...I LOVED THAT FREAKING MOVIE. BEST HP FILM YET.

And just for fun...here's a video from the news this morning about the new film which was filmed at the MoA last night while I was waiting in line for the movie.

THAT IS ALL.

~*~
"Once again I must ask too much of you, Harry."
- Albus Dumbledore in Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince
~*~

Can't we have one meeting that doesn't end with digging up a corpse?

2009-07-08T19:52:00.006-05:00

OH.
MY.
GOD.

I'M SEEING HARRY POTTER AND THE HALF-BLOOD PRINCE OPENING NIGHT IN D-BOX!!! AND THEN I'M SEEING IT AGAIN AT THE END OF THE MONTH IN IMAX!!!! OHEMGEEEEEEEEEEEE!!!!!!!

Okay, so I was going to order my tickets for HBP tonight, and then found out that the theater that we were going to go see the movie at was sold out of tickets. I started looking around at other theaters, and the closest one showing it at midnight that still had tickets available was the theater at the Mall of America. I decided to just order our tickets then, when I realized they had another, different showing of it in addition to the main one. I knew it wasn't the IMAX one, so I checked into it, and the extra one is a D-BOX showing!! There's only five theaters in the US and one in Canada that are doing D-BOX showings, and this happens to be one of them. So, despite the fact that tickets cost $7.50 more than standard showings, we're going to go see the D-BOX one. I'M SO FLIPPIN' EXCITED!!!!

If you're unaware of what D-BOX is, it's basically like a moving chair type thing that reacts in time with what's going on onscreen. It's looks ridiculously awesome. Here's their website: http://www.d-box.com/

Oh, and in addition to this, I'm also seeing the IMAX showing of it at the end of the month. Schiffler (my former English teacher) is taking me to it as part of my graduation gift (the other part being a super sweet copy of Pride and Prejudice that she gave me already). That ones going to be awesome, too!! Apparently, there's 3D footage at the beginning and the end of it, as opposed to just the end in this one. God, I'm SO FREAKING EXCITED FOR THIS MOVIE!!!!!! *SQUEEEEEE* Excuse me while I melt into a puddle of fangirl goo!

Oh yeah, and did I mention that I got a free download of "Friends and Love," the new "single" off of the Half-Blood Prince soundtrack for pre-ordering tickets? Because I did. And it's great. :DDDD *DIES*

OH YEAH, and did I also mention that I bought like a million dollars of Harry and the Potters merchandise? Because I did! They had a giant $5 CD blowout sale (which I think is actually still going on, if you're interested), and since I only had the Scarred for Life 7" and their Enchanted Ceiling EP from the first Wizard Rock EP of the month club (in addition to two HatP t-shirts, a couple of buttons, a tour poster, a toothbrush I got for free for writing an essay on an old summer tour, and a bookmark, mind), I decided to buy the rest of their albums! I ended up buying the A Magical Christmas compilation that they're featured on, Harry and the Potters, Voldemort Can't Stop the Rock!, Harry and the Potters and the Power of Love, the In the Cupboard EP (from the new Wizard Rock EP of the month club, which I didn't join this year), and their new 2-Disc, limited edition album Priori Incantatem (which was the full price of $10 and not part of the sale, actually, but whatevs). I also ended up buying the Unlimited Enthusiasm Zine, since I wasn't able to get it at their tour last year because I ran out of money. :P But anyway, that was only $3, and it also came with a full set of 8 HatP postcards from their summer tour last year, too. AND, in addition to all that, they actually ended up throwing in a bookmark, two buttons, and six UEE nametags from last year's tour FOR FREE, probably because I bought so much shit. SO HOORAY AND HOLY SHITZ FOR ALL THAT!!!

FINALLY, Nancy Mai, the coolest person on the entire planet and a very dear friend of mine, made me POTTER PUPPET PALS!!!!!! OHEMGEE!!!!!! She made me a Harry one and a Snape one, and is in the process of making me a Dumbledore one, too. SO HOORAY FOR THAT!!!!

SO YEAH, THAT'S PRETTY MUCH IT FOR AWESOME HARRY POTTER POST! WORD!!!

~*~
I'm a lonely boy
I live beneath the staircase
My cousin is real fat
He makes my life a sad state
The Dursleys are my guardians
They are so mean and evil
If only I had some magic powers
Surely I could make them tremble

- I Am A Wizard, Harry and the Potters
~*~

Well, whenever I'm confused, I just check my underwear. It holds the answer to all the important questions.

2009-06-28T02:33:00.006-05:00

http://caitlinschultzweekly.blogspot.com/

Finally, finally did another one. Holy bejeebus I suck at life. :P

Also, only 18 days, 21 hours, 18 minutes and 50 seconds until Half-Blood Prince comes out (as of right now as I'm typing this), and I get to see it in all it's 3D awesomeness at the IMAX. God Bless Schiff. :DD

~*~
Maybe I would have been something you’d be good at
Maybe you would have been something I’d be good at
But now we’ll never know
I won’t be sad
But in case I go there
Everyday, to make myself feel bad
There’s a chance that I’ll start to wonder if this was the thing to do

- Call it Off, Tegan and Sara
~*~

You couldn't fool your own mother on the foolingest day of your life with an electrified fooling machine!

2009-03-22T22:24:00.003-05:00

http://caitlinschultzweekly.blogspot.com/

I finally did it. Enjoy.

~*~
To pray for what I thought were angels
Ended up being ambulances
And the Lord showed me dreams of my daughter
She was crying inside your stomach

And I felt love again

- I Can Feel a Hot One, Manchester Orchestra
~*~

Let's drown our sorrows with a big bowl of strawberry ice cream!

2008-12-02T21:08:00.002-06:00

I did a bunch of pointless, random Facebook tagged note thingies tonight (four, to be specific), which I will now post here. Have fun reading through them. I know I had fun writing them!! :DDD

Number One

Ten Things I Wish I Could Say to Ten Different People Right Now:

1. For how amazing you are and how close we are, sometimes, you *really* piss me off...but not enough to ever hate you.
2. I sometimes wish you hadn't grown up after ninth grade and were still the same person you used to be.
3. You're one of the only people who I can never get pissed at, and any anger I feel towards you is usually gone within like two seconds. Thanks for that.
4. You're my best friend. Seriously.
5. I often wish that we never would have made up.
6. I liked you a lot better before you started being who everyone else wanted you to be.
7. I'm sorry for being blinded by other people's interpretations of you. I feel like I really missed out on getting to know you better.
8. I'm sorry for being a jackass to you most of the time. I'm also sorry that, most of the time, you're a jackass.
9. I often wonder if I misjudged you. Then you open your mouth.
10. You are seriously the sweetest, most sincere person I've ever met, and I love you for it.

(...wow, am I ever bitter...)

Nine Things about Myself:

1. "I'm only happy when it rains." :)
2. My obsession with Harry Potter is siriusly unhealthy. ...SEE WHAT I MEAN?!
3. I always say I have better taste in almost everything than everyone else. The funny thing is, I'm completely serious about it.
4. I doubt. A lot. But I still yearn to believe.
5. The only thing I like more than laughing, is making other people laugh.
6. I want to be a writer. And I want to illustrate my books, too.
7. I want to be able to speak a gazillion different languages. I'm up to about one and a half. I have a little ways to go.
8. I can't keep my room clean for the life of me. But I'm okay with that.
9. I try not to let what other people think about me effect my life...but sometimes it does.

Eight Ways to Win My Heart:

1. Love Harry Potter.
2. Don't be an asshat. Nobody wants to date someone with a hat made of ass. Seriously.
3. Have a sense of humor. The more obscure, dark, weird, and/or random, the better.
4. Be a nerd.
5. Love me for me.
6. Being a "spiritual" person is always good.
7. Don't listen to shitty music. Your taste in music does not have to be as good as mine, but it shouldn't be horribly shitty either. And believe me, this one's easy to mess up on, because there's a lot of shitty music out there.
8. Love Harry Potter.

Seven Frequent Thoughts:

1. ...What?
2. I'm hungry.
3. Well, in Harry Potter...
4. ...That's the dumbest thing I've ever heard.
5. Need Shockwave...
6. Seriously, STFU. Right now.
7. Okay, now what does that mean in English?

Six Things I Do Before I Fall Asleep:

1. Wash face/brush teeth/put on pjs
2. Make sure that I have some homework done, and that I'll have enough time to finish the incomplete stuff in the morning.
3. Think about what I have to do the next day.
4. Set alarm.
5. Put on a random DVD (usually whatever box set I'm currently watching)
6. Fall asleep to TV and my thoughts.

Five People Who Mean a Lot:

1. God
2. Family
3. Friends
4. J. K. Rowling
5. Dan Rad

Four Things I'm Wearing Right Now:

1. Glasses
2. Undergarments
3. Earrings
4. Headband

Three Songs/Bands/Artists I listen to Often:

1. Tegan and Sara
2. Manchester Orchestra
3. Antony and the Johnsons

Two Things I Want to Do Before I die:

1. Write a novel
2. Make enough good decisions to balance out all the bad decisions.

One Confession:

I don't like half of the people that think I like them. Whoops.

Number Two (Dinner with a Gypsy)

Directions:
1. Put your iPod, iTunes, Windows Media Player, etc. on shuffle.
2. For each question, press the next button to get your answer.
3. YOU MUST WRITE THAT SONG NAME DOWN NO MATTER HOW SILLY IT SOUNDS
4. Pick ten Random friends who like music as much as you do and tag them.

1. IF SOMEONE SAYS "IS THIS OKAY" YOU SAY?
Back in the Village (Iron Maiden)

2. HOW WOULD YOU DESCRIBE YOURSELF?
Asleep in the Chest Cavity of the Depraved (ANGELswing) [...hahahaha...]

3. WHAT DO YOU LOOK FOR IN A GUY/GIRL?
A Cosmic Telephone Call (Kali Bahlu)

4. HOW DO YOU FEEL TODAY?
Sugarcoated Poison Apple (MxPx)

5. WHAT IS YOUR LIFE PURPOSE?
27 (Breaking Point)

6. WHAT IS YOUR MOTTO?
Belt (Mitch Hedberg)

7. WHAT DO YOUR FRIENDS THINK OF YOU?
Come Rain or Come Shine (Art Blakey & The Jazz Messengers)

8. WHAT DO YOUR PARENTS THINK OF YOU?
Harbour (Moby)

9. WHAT DO YOU THINK ABOUT VERY OFTEN?
Symphony No. 95 In C Minor, IV, 3 (Franz Joseph Haydn)

11. WHAT DO YOU THINK OF YOUR BEST FRIEND?
Trippin' (Kittie)

12. WHAT DO YOU THINK OF THE PERSON YOU LIKE?
The Odyssey (Orgy)

13. WHAT IS YOUR LIFE STORY?
The Camper Velourium II: Backend of Forever (Coheed and Cambria)

14. WHAT DO YOU WANT TO DO WHEN YOU GROW UP?
The Pill (Atmosphere)

15. WHAT DO YOU THINK WHEN YOU SEE THE PERSON YOU LIKE?
The Hollow [Constantly Consuming Mix] (A Perfect Circle)

16. WHAT WILL YOU DANCE TO AT YOUR WEDDING?
Moya (Godspeed You! Black Emperor) [...that's weird...and unfortunate...]

17. WHAT IS YOUR HOBBY/INTEREST?
Kiss the Sky (Dear Theophilus) [...:)...]

18. WHAT IS YOUR BIGGEST FEAR?
Chance (dcTalk)

19. WHAT IS YOUR BIGGEST SECRET?
Hop a Plane (Tegan & Sara)

20. WHAT DO YOU THINK OF YOUR FRIENDS?
Eric's Song (12 Stones)

21. SONG THEY WILL PLAY AT YOUR FUNERAL?
You Stand Above Me (Antony and the Johnsons)

22. WHAT WILL YOU POST THIS AS?
Dinner with a Gypsy (I Am Legend)

Number Three

Post your name and I will do each of the following:
1. I'll respond with something random about you.
2. I'll tell you which song or movie you remind me of.
3. I'll say something that only makes sense to you and me.
4. I'll tell you my first memory of you.
5. I'll tell you what animal you remind me of.
6. I'll ask you something I've always wondered about you.
7. I'll tell you my favorite thing about you.
8. I'll tell you my least favorite thing about you.
9. If you play, you MUST post this on yours

Number Four

Rules: Once you’ve been tagged, you are supposed to write a note with 16 random things, facts, habits, or goals about you. At the end, choose 16 people to be tagged. You have to tag the person who tagged you. If I tagged you, it’s because I want to know more about you (or because I know you!)

1) I could live on mashed potatoes and bread. Those are seriously like, the two best foods ever.

2) I've never gotten a speeding ticket.

3) I'm really good at pulling essays for school out of my ass. And not only am I good at the action, but the essays themselves are really good. Phenomenal even. Yeah, I'm kinda bomb like that.

4) I have an entire, GINORMOUS wardrobe that is completely full of art and craft supplies.

5) I have strong opinions about most things. And I'm not afraid to tell you that mine are right and yours are wrong. :)

6) I crack my wrists. A lot.

7) I'm totally addicted to caffeine.

8) I once changed out of shorts and a skirt into a pair of jeans while driving my car.

9) My favorite cookies are Icebox Cookies from the Cold Spring Bakery in Cold Spring, Minnesota. That is the only town that you can buy them from. And once, I drove about 45 minutes out of my way just to get them.

10) Everyone knows that I'm really weird, but I'm A LOT weirder than anyone but my family probably knows.

11) One time I wore the same pair of socks for almost a whole week.

12) I love peanut butter and bacon bit sandwiches. I also love cream cheese and bacon bit sandwiches. Mostly, I love bacon bits.

13) I have nine piercings on my right ear. I'm going to make it ten.

14) I love to sing (especially in the shower). Just not in front of people.

15) Alan Sidney Patrick Rickman is quite possibly the sexiest man alive.

16) And even though he's 62, if ever given the chance, I would totally bone him.

~o~*~o~

"I hate so much about the things that you choose to be."
-Michael Scott, in reference to Toby Flenderson on The Office

How is education supposed to make me feel smarter? Besides, every time I learn something new, it pushes some old stuff out of my brain.

2008-11-16T20:15:00.004-06:00

So, it's currently 8:26pm on a Sunday night as I am writing this, and I still have yet to start my homework. Now, normally, this wouldn't be a big deal. I'd normally just pull that one essay out of my ass, finish up a worksheet for French, and altogether ignore my Calc homework, like every other night. However, on this particular night, I don't just have a simple English essay and half-finished French worksheet. Tonight, I've got a little bit more. Let's make a list, shall we?

AP Calculus: Review problems, studying for No Calculator Unit Test tomorrow, and Calculator Permitted Unit Test on Tuesday.
American Government: Nothing, actually, which I guess is one good thing
English: A synthesis essay on some packet we read last week for Frankenstein...and, for the first time in my life, I have no idea what to write for this. Also, I have about five other assignments/essays I haven't turned in for this class that I still need to get finished and turned in so I don't fail. :P
Gym: Read through two self-defense packets, familiarize myself with the information contained in them.
AP Biology: An entire study guide (it's like six pages, and we were supposed to be doing it over the course of the last three or so weeks), two test essays, and studying for unit test tomorrow.
CIS French IV: Three or so worksheets from our workbook packets, some reading from our text book, write the last three-fourths of our script for our speaking quiz on Wednesday, and studying said script so I can memorize it by then.

So yeah...I'm a bit overwhelmed in the homework department here. You think I would've started this on Friday, and spent most of yesterday working on all this stuff, finishing off today with some good studying. But instead, I'm sitting here, now at 8:34pm on Sunday night, and I haven't started any of this. And instead of working on this stuff now, I'm writing a blog about how I should work on it, but I'm still failing to do so.

Wow, what's up with that?

I'd like to blame it all on a case of Senioritis. And, quite honestly, part of that does play into this. Especially since I'm going to Normandale next year, and though I have yet to apply (I know, just one more thing I keep putting off), I'm about 99% positive I'm getting in, because I'm not retarded, and currently have a B+ average with a 27 ACT score and did PSEO there during my junior year, which, by Normandale standards, makes me a freaking genius. But I digress...

Despite the fact that part of my lack of severe procrastination and "I don't give a shit" attitude is due to this "Senioritis," fact of the matter is, I've been doing this for far longer than this year. I mean, I've been procrasinating for years. And I mean years; I honestly remember putting off my first major project until the night before it was due when I was in fifth grade. Seriously. By now, I'm a pro at waiting until the last minute and pulling shit out of my ass (no pun intended).

But even with that, I've never been this bad. In the past, I've still always gotten the work done, even if it meant staying up until un-godly hours of the morning to do so. Don't get me wrong; I've missed more than a few assignments, and there have been numerous times where I haven't done my homework, but really - this is a bit ridiculous.

I think maybe it's just that I really don't care as much anymore, as obvious and/or as stupid as that may sound. It's like, I leave home at 7:30 in the morning, and literally don't get home until 7:30/7:45 at night. That's 12 hours of my day that I've spent at work and school. And I'm sorry, but the last thing I want to do at the end of a day is a shitload of homework. The same applies for weekends, too; at the end of a week spent at work and school, and staying up extremely late those nights when I actually do my homework, I just want to be able to sleep in a little on Saturday, and then get up and, for once, spend a little time doing what I want to do, not what I have to do.

It sucks that I'm forced to do a gazillion hours of homework every night (and a gazillion times a gazillion on nights like tonight when I've been putting everything off all weekend), when, in just over six months time, I'll be out of this school and done with high school entirely. And I hate that I have to do this to "prove" that I'm smart and diligent or something. I know I'm smart, and I know that, when it comes to something important to me, that I am diligent and responsible. That may sound cocky as hell, but damnit, I know that I'm intelligent and creative and smarter than a lot of the people I know, but that I just don't always apply myself because I think that a lot of what we do in school is so retarded and so pointless, that I feel like I'm wasting my time trying to do it. Again, call it cocky and arrogant and bigheaded if you want, but fuck, I know it's true. And it sucks that this is how it is.

But you know what sucks even more? The fact that I'm going to be starting this all over again when I go to college next year.

I used to look forward to college. But after attending college last year, I realized it's much the same as high school, except that more kids smoke and the parking lot's a lot fuller and I don't know nearly as many people. And the classes are a lot more intense and the teacher's care less if you have other stuff going on outside of their class and people are less likely to smile at you in the hallways and I feel a lot more like I'm just walking through the hallways without any purpose.

I don't know...all I do know is, I'm not looking forward to going back there anymore than I'm looking forward to doing all my homework tonight. And it sucks, because based on what everyone else has told me, I need at least a basic college degree to get anywhere in life these days. And if I don't have one? I'll be working at Lifetouch for the next fifty years of my life, something that seems even more depressing.

All I want to do with my life is write and paint and travel and love and laugh and live. But I feel like my entire life right now, and for the next fifty-odd years or so of my life until I retire, is just going to be one boring day after the next, where I'm either in school, or working to pay for school or my home or my car or my life in general. And it's really depressing. Maybe this is just the part of my brain that is scared of leaving high school because it means I'm giving up the last 18 years of my life, giving up on my childhood and my dreams and everything that it was and is to be me, in order to go out into a giant world that's scary and either super unpredictable or super predictable, where I'm going to have to work everyday just to make ends meet and never have anytime for myself until I retire, at which point I'll probably be so old I won't have the strength or ability to do what I want anymore. Maybe it's just me trying to cling to what I've always known and lived and what I will soon be ripped away from. But if that's the case, really, what am I clinging to? I'm not saying that my life over the last 18 years has been terrible, but there are a lot of things that I've gone through that I never want to repeat again. And if this is just the beginning...well, quite frankly, I'm not sure I'm ready for what comes next.

I honestly don't know where this is going anymore...what started as a post half an hour ago about me not doing homework has now turned into a post that is deeply rooted in fear about moving on, but also a fear of staying put. I don't know...I have no idea what to do with myself anymore. Somehow, I thought senior year would be different, you know? And it is, I suppose; just not in the way I planned. Fuck.

~o~*~o~

And you run and you run to catch up with the sun but it's sinking.
Racing around to come up behind you again.
The sun is the same in a relative way but you're older.
Shorter of breath and one day closer to death.
-Time, Pink Floyd

All you touch and all you see,
Is all your life will ever be.
-Breathe, Pink Floyd

Is this the real life,
Is this just fantasy,
Caught in a landslide,
No escape from reality.
-Bohemian Rhapsody, Queen

Weaseling out of things is important to learn. It's what separates us from the animals ... except the weasel.

2008-09-15T18:58:00.007-05:00

Standing on a corner watching all the girls go by
Standing on a corner watching all the girls go by
Brother you don't know a nicer occupation
Matter of fact, neither do I
Than standing on a corner watching all the girls
Watching all the girls, watching all the girls go by

I'm the cat that got the cream
Haven't got a girl but I can dream
Haven't got a girl but I can wish
So I'll take me down to Main street
And that's where I select my imaginary dish

Standing on a corner watching all the girls go by
Standing on a corner giving all the girls the eye
Brother if you've got a rich imagination
Give it a whirl, give it a try
Try standing on a corner watching all the girls
Watching all the girls, watching all the girls go by

Brother you can't go to jail for what you're thinking
Or for that woo look in your eye
Standing on the corner watching all the girls
Watching all the girls, watching all the girls go by

Powder your face with sunshine
Put on a great big smile
Make up your eyes with laughter
Folks will be laughing with you in a little while
Whistle a tune of gladness
Blue never was in style
The future's brighter when hearts are lighter
So smile smile smile

Powder your face with sunshine
Put on a great big smile
Make up your eyes with laughter
Folks will be laughing with you in a little while
Whistle a tune of gladness
Blue never was in style
The future's brighter when hearts are lighter
Future's brighter, hearts are lighter
When you're wearing a great big smile

'm praying for rain in California
So the grapes can grow and they can make more wine
And I'm sitting in a honky in Chicago
With a broken heart and a woman on my mind

I matched the man behind the bar for the jukebox
And the music takes me back to Tennessee
And he asked who's the fool in the corner crying
I say a little ole wine drinker me

I came here last week from down in Nashville
'Cause my baby left for Florida on a train
I thought I'd get a job and just forget her
But in Chicago, the broken heartache's still the same

I matched the man behind the bar for the jukebox
And the music takes me back to Tennessee
When they ask who's the fool in the corner crying
I say a little ole wine drinker me
I say a little ole wine drinker me

How lucky can one guy be
I kissed her and she kissed me
Like the fella once said
Ain't that a kick in the head

The room was completely black
I hugger her and she hugged back
Like the sailor said, quote "ain't that a hole in the boat"
My head keeps spinning
I go to sleep and keep grinning
If this is just the beginning, my life's gonna be beautiful
I've got sunshine enough to spread
It's like the fella said
Tell me quick ain't love like a kick in the head
Like the fella once said
Ain't love like a kick in the head

Like the sailor said, quote "ain't that a hole in the boat"
My head keeps spinning
I go to sleep and keep grinning
If this is just the beginning, my life's gonna be beautiful

She's telling me we'll be wed
She's picked out a kink size bed
I couldn't fell any better or I'd be sick
Tell me quick, oh ain't love a kick
Tell me quick, ain't love a kick in the head

...I love Dean Martin like a diehard Snarry shipper likes the HPSS bumlove...

~o~*~o~

"The winner takes it all
The loser standing small
Beside the victory
That’s her destiny"
-The Winner Takes it All, Abba (or, as I prefer it, Meryl Streep)

I've gone back in time to when dinosaurs weren't just confined to zoos.

2008-09-11T16:39:00.007-05:00

I thought I'd post a copy of my research paper from my Freshman Comp course from Normandale last year on here, because a friend of mine wanted to read it. So yeah... since I'm too lazy to upload the actual thing to either an e-mail and send it or another site where everyone can read it all formatted and whatnot, I decided to just post it here. Note that because of that, it's obviously missing a title and table of contents page, and the formatting that I do have is really terrible, but whatever. I'm not really expecting anyone other than her to read it, so yeah. But if you're interested in the topic, give it a little skim. And if you're really interested in what a paper of this magnitude is like when you write it all the night before it's due, DEFINITELY check this out. :) So with that, I give you:

The Music Piracy Controversy: A Hindrance or an Aid to the Music Industry?

Music piracy is a controversial issue in today’s society. There have been many disputes and cases filed over whether or not an individual has the right to use an electronic medium to take from or share a piece of music with another person based on the United States copyright laws surrounding it. And with the rise of technology and global communication over the last decade, there has also been a rise in music piracy. However, while some companies – like the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) – still think that electronically downloading, burning, and file-sharing music illegally is harmful, many recording artists who are the “victims” of piracy are now in favor of it, and are actually embracing it and using it to their advantage.

Many organizations today are trying to tell society that not only is music piracy illegal, but that it’s also morally wrong. MusicUnited, an organization that is trying to publicize how and why piracy is wrong and the negative effects that it can have has said, “Most of us would never even consider stealing something – say, a picture or a piece of clothing – from a friend’s house. Our sense of right and wrong keeps most of us from doing something so selfish and anti-social. Yet when it comes to stealing digital recordings of copyrighted music, people somehow seem to think the same rules don’t apply – even though criminal penalties can be as high as 5 years in prison or $250,000 in fines,” (MusicUnited). Basically, what they’re saying is, stealing is stealing. Taking a book from a store without paying for it is stealing, and stealing is illegal. Most people know this, and would have the common sense not to do something like this. The same idea holds true for a song, however; if one downloads a song from the internet without paying for it and without the artist or record company’s consent, then one is stealing the song, which is an illegal action. It’s as simple as that.

However, some people still have trouble comprehending that, because MusicUnited, the RIAA, and other organizations are continually trying to get out the word about the negative effects that music piracy has on bands and record companies, and that the action itself is illegal. According to statistics found on the RIAA’s official website, global piracy causes, “$12.5 billion of economic losses every year.” (RIAA). Also, there are, “71,060 U.S. jobs lost, a loss of $2.7 million dollars in workers’ earning, and a loss of $422 million in tax revenues, $291 million in personal income tax and $131 million lost in corporate income and production taxes,” (RIAA) every year due to music piracy. Those are some very startling figures. Basically, what all those numbers mean is that the recording industry is losing very large sums of money every year due to music piracy, and therefore, they cannot afford to pay employees that work for them, resulting in many job losses. These statistics are what have led the RIAA to believe that music piracy is harmful, and needs to be stopped.

There are also laws surrounding music piracy that are further backing up the RIAA’s case. According to federal copyright law, there are, “severe civil and criminal penalties for the unauthorized reproduction, distribution, rental or digital transmission of copyrighted sound recordings. (Title 17, United States Code, Sections 501 and 506). The FBI investigates allegations of criminal copyright infringement and violators will be prosecuted,” (RIAA). If a song or an album is copyrighted, and one uploads the album onto the internet or downloads it from a website without paying for it or without the consent of the record company and/or band, then one is, in effect, breaking copyright law and stealing the album, which could result in one being arrested and/or fined.

But, again, it is not simply legal issues that give anti-piracy supporters a reason to prosecute those that choose to download music. As mentioned previously, morals play a large role on their decisions and actions, and so do the livelihoods of all the musicians who make the music. Many people fighting in the battle against piracy feel that by downloading music illegally, one is disrespecting the band whose music one is downloading, and that one is preventing said band from earning money for the work that they are doing. MusicUnited has stated that stealing music, “…stifles the careers of new artists and up-and-coming bands.” (MusicUnited). They believe that by downloading an album, one is preventing a sale to the band. This means that, while one may have a copy of the album, that one is not actually giving anything back to the band for having it. By stealing the music, one would be stealing money from the band, which can damage the band’s career, especially if they are not very well-established.

Not only that, but the site also goes on to say , “The cost of recording and promoting a major album can easily top $1 million, and only one out of every ten ever turns a profit.” (MusicUnited). Albums are extremely expensive to create and market and produce, and by downloading an album without paying for it, one would be making it harder for a band to make a profit from their CD. Based on all of these facts, one can see that there are many moral and legal issues surrounding the controversy over music piracy, and why it has the potential to be harmful to those involved in the music industry.

It is not only organizations who are sharing their views on the music piracy issue, however. Many bands and artists are now coming forward and sharing their personal views on illegally downloading music. And, surprisingly enough, not all of them see it as harmful. Obviously, there are many who agree with the RIAA’s stance on music piracy and believe that it is wrong and hurting their careers. Multi-Platinum Award-Winning artist Eve has been quoted as saying, “We work really hard. We love our fans and we appreciate the love, but don’t steal from us, support us. Go in the stores and buy the records.” (MusicUnited). Musician Mark Knopfler of Dire Straits has said, “You might as well walk into a record store, put the CD's in your pocket and walk out without paying for them,” (MusicUnited). These artists, obviously, are just as opposed to illegally downloading music as the RIAA seems to be. They feel that, with all of the hard work they do, they should be able to profit from their work. And those that illegally download are stealing their music and are preventing them from receiving the money that they claim to rightfully deserve. The Barenaked Ladies, a famous Canadian band, says, “When the Gap went online, T-shirts didn't become free,” (MusicUnited). They are stating that, just because one can find music online, doesn’t mean that one is allowed to download it at no cost. These artists – and many others, including music-icon Madonna, Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Inductee Elton John, three-time Grammy winner Diddy, rap-icon Eminem, and Italian tenor Luciano Pavarotti, to name a few – believe that uploading, downloading, and file-sharing music is, first and foremost, against the law, and second, damaging each of them as a band or musician. And they would all prefer to see music piracy put to a stop.

Yet, not all bands agree. In fact, many popular artists are in favor of downloading music for free, and are using it as a way to boost their sales as opposed to lowering them. Not only that, but there are many musicians who feel that some of the facts that the RIAA is coming up with are not true, and are not a very good representative of the general population of music lovers.

One of the most outspoken people about music piracy and views on it in the musical world is singer/songwriter Janis Ian. Since 1957, Ian has been producing music professionally, and has been nominated for and won many awards for her music, in addition to being known world-wide for it (Ian, Wikipedia). Ian differs from many artists in the fact that she feels that music piracy can actually be good for an artist’s career. She has written two major articles on music piracy on her official site stating her beliefs, and the overall theme of both is that the RIAA has mixed up and misinterpreted a lot of their facts, and that music piracy can actually do more good than harm. (Ian, Debacle and Fallout).

Ian has asked, “Who gets hurt by free downloads? Save a handful of super-successes like Celine Dion, none of us. We only get helped,” (Ian, Debacle). She claims that, apart from really well-known, well-paid musicians, not many artists today are really suffering due to piracy; if anything, they are only being helped by it. In fact, she has stated that, since she began placing free downloads of some of her songs on her site, her merchandise sales have increased by 300%. (Ian, Fallout). That is a significant percentage for sales to go up, and she believes that it is directly related to the fact that she is now letting fans download her music for free.

Ian isn’t the only one who believes in piracy, however. Many other bands and artists are pro-piracy as well. Radiohead, an Electronic Alt-Rock band from England, released their album In Rainbows last year as a free digital download. Fans did not have to go out and pay money to buy the album when it came out; instead, they could download it all directly off the band’s site for free (Radiohead). Trent Reznor, the popular industrial musician behind Nine Inch Nails, is a believer in illegally file-sharing songs, even boasting about having an account on the now late torrent-based file-sharing site OiNK (Buskirk).

Reznor, who recently split from his label, also decided to release his newest album in much the same way as Radiohead by offering the first nine tracks for free download off of his website. If the more diehard fans wanted more, they could get a, “$5 download of all 36 tracks, a $10 two CD set, a $75 deluxe edition package and a $300 ultra-deluxe limited edition package which featured a Reznor autograph, along with a variety of other merchandise,” (Strobel). He charged money to those fans who really wanted to pay for the album out of their love and respect for him, but allowed others to download a part of the album for free if they wanted to. Because of the respect that many fans have for Reznor, “the limited edition [$300] package…sold out all 2,500 copies,” (Strobel). Reznor proved here that a band does not need to professionally market their CDs and have a price put on them for people to buy; allowing the fans the option of downloading an album could potentially boost record sales.

Other artists, too, including Andy Hull of Manchester Orchestra and the members of the band Staple, allow fans to download, upload, and share their music for free. And they all claim their record sales haven’t been hurt because of it. Some bands have also embraced file-sharing because they feel that they are spreading the word about their band more effectively by allowing people to keep passing on their music to others free of charge. In an interview with ThEbAkEr, a female musician who is part of the underground experimental black metal band DarkGrandpa, she stated that she and her band allow their fans to download a good portion of their music, because, “It’s nice to be able to show the old fans our new stuff and introduce new fans to what we have to offer,” (ThEbAkEr). Others feel the same way, stating that it’s easier for people to hear about and listen to them if their fans are able to freely spread their music around without having to purchase a new copy of the CD each time. Ian has claimed that artists do not become successful strictly through CD sales, but through “exposure,” (Ian, Debacle). She says that people aren’t going to buy a band’s CDs if they don’t know who the band is; they need exposure in order for people to hear about them and buy their CDs in the first place. And she believes that downloading albums on the internet for free is a great way for a band to gain this necessary exposure (Ian, Debacle). By downloading or sharing copies of music by an artist, individuals are getting to hear what said artist sounds like without having to pay full price for their CD. Before going out and spending money on a CD that one has the chance of not even enjoying, one could download or get a burned copy of the album to “preview” the tracks first. And if one likes the CD enough, one can then go out and purchase a copy of it.

Many bands are also beginning to see more eye-to-eye with those who are pro-piracy because they feel as though what the RIAA is saying is a misinterpretation of the facts. They say that, while the record companies and music industry in general may be losing some money from illegal downloads, that they themselves are not experiencing much – if any – negative effects from it. Popular mainstream rapper 50 Cent has been quoted as saying, “What is important for the music industry to understand is that this [music piracy] really doesn't hurt the artists.” (50 Cent). Janis Ian also believes that RIAA and the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences (NARAS) are being ridiculous in saying that downloading is costing her money and hurting her record sales. She says, “The premise of all this ballyhoo is that the industry (and its artists) are being harmed by free downloading. Nonsense,” (Ian, Debacle). She believes that the case that the RIAA is trying to make about piracy hurting a band’s record sales is false. In fact, she goes on to say that, “…after 37 years as a recording artist, [and] creating 25 albums for major labels,” she’s, “never once received a royalty check that didn’t show that I [she] owed them money,” (Ian, Debacle). She claims that she has made most of her money from touring and shows, merchandise, updating her own site, writing articles, etc. This gets her money and exposure, which results in a larger profit for her. The idea, then, that piracy has been hurting her income is preposterous. One must ask the question, then, as to whether the organizations who are against piracy are more worried about the impact it’s having on the artist’s finances or their own.

Courtney Love, widow of grunge legend Kurt Cobain and singer and frontwoman of the band Hole, doesn’t necessarily agree with music piracy, but does agree with the thought that the bands are the ones losing the most profit from sales due to piracy is ridiculous. Much like Ian, Love claims that the labels these days are making the most money. According to her, many musicians have even had to file bankruptcy to make any money or get out of terrible contracts with their labels, because, despite the fact that their albums are selling millions of copies and earning them millions of dollars, they’re not seeing any of that money; their labels are getting it all. (Love). She has cited different artists and groups that this has happened to over the years, including TLC and Toni Braxton (Love).

Love has mentioned on her internet blog that the RIAA is upset about piracy because it is coming out of their pockets, not the artists. In fact, because of the way that some companies are interpreting copyright laws, many are claiming that they own the rights to a musician’s song as opposed to the musician’s themselves owning it. Many artists are opposed to this, and Love is one of them. She explains her reasoning like this: “When you look at a legal line on a CD, it says copyright 1976 Atlantic Records or copyright 1996 RCA Records. When you look at a book, though, it’ll say something like copyright 1991 Susan Faludi, or David Foster Wallace. Authors own their books and license them to publishers. When the contract runs out, writers get their books back. But record companies on our copyrights forever,” (Love). What Love is saying here is that, unlike author’s who own the rights to their books, most musicians don’t own the rights to their own music; their labels are the ones that own it and are allowed to make all decisions concerning it.

In the interview with ThEbAkEr, this musician thought the RIAA owning the rights to a band’s music was, “stupid,” (ThEbAkEr). While not signed to a label, she still believes that labels have too much control over their bands music, and that they have more rights than they should. She believes that most decisions concerning piracy should be left up to the band or musician, not their label (ThEbAkEr). And, because artists want the freedom to make their own decisions and own their own music, many are leaving their labels. According to Love, many bands are choosing to leave their labels once their contract expires so that they can manage themselves. This allows them to have more money and take all their profits for themselves, without having to pay their record companies, and allows them to make more of their own decision (Love). Reznor, mentioned earlier as splitting from his label and producing and marketing his own music, has already done this, and many bands are sure to follow him.

What does this all mean for the RIAA, then, and how does it relate to piracy? Simple: if bands start disagreeing with and leaving their labels, said labels aren’t going to be getting any money. And therefore, neither is the RIAA. According to Orson Scott Card, author of more than thirty novels and a regular contributor to the online political newspaper, Ornery American, record companies are realizing that, “musicians don’t need them [the record companies] anymore,” (Card). And if a musician doesn’t need a label anymore, that means less and less money for the label. Which is why some argue that so many companies and organizations are so dead-set against piracy: they don’t want to lose a profit. After hearing this and examining how the RIAA has misinterpreted and not been completely honest about some of their facts and statistics, one must wonder if they are not just pushing the issue because they are most worried about losing money for themselves. Of course there are some who must have the artist’s best interests at heart, and indeed, there are many artists who against illegally downloading music. However, one must also note that it is interesting that most of the hype and controversy surrounding music piracy comes from those who are being most greatly effected by it, and yet, are not making the music in the first place.

So, this all leaves one with a few final thoughts: What does one do about the issue of music piracy? Is there a way to resolve it? Do companies like the RIAA just continue to slowly track down and sue each music pirate one by one? Or, can artists and their labels learn to adapt to piracy?

According to a 1996 article by James Boyle in the New York Times, “If classroom copying is sharply curtailed, if we give someone a software patent over basic functions, at some point public domain will be so diminished that future creators will be prevented from creating because they won’t be able to afford the materials they need. An intellectual property system has to insure that the fertile public domain is not converted into a fellow landscape of walled private plots,” (Boyle). What he is saying is that, if we keep putting into effect new kinds of copyright laws, and we keep preventing people from using material that has already been used, that, eventually, no one is going to be able to create anything new anymore. In effect, creating more, tougher laws isn’t necessarily going to make things better; if anything, in the long run, it could actually makes things worse.

Instead, labels, companies, and musicians need to try a number of other ways to go about relating to the piracy issue. Card has offered some suggestions on how to lower file-sharing, beginning with just telling people to cut back. He has said that these people in charge should not outright tell those that are downloading to stop or arrest them for it as the RIAA has been doing, but “scorn” them for it. He also suggests that the record companies should get rid of the, “piracy hurts sales crap,” and should, “drop CD prices to a reasonable level,” (Card). And, most importantly, “start treating the artists better,” and, “stop threatening…[people] with ludicrous prosecution,” (Card). He is saying that, while labels still have a right to profit from music sales and therefore be angry because they are down, that the ways in which they are going about to prevent this are only making matters worse. Instead of suing everyone and telling them to quit right this second, they should just tell music pirates to cut back on the amount they download and support the artists they love by occasionally buying a new CD. And if labels lower CD prices to a more reasonable level, this should encourage people to buy more CDs. By learning to adapt to the issue instead of opposing it, the RIAA will not only be saving a lot of time and money, but, if done properly, could be making more money in the long run.

Labels also need to realize that society and technology today is different than it was five, ten, or even twenty years ago. Anthony G. Gorry, a professor of management and computer science at Rice University, has said that music companies really need to learn to adapt to the increasing amount of technological advances. By simply calling Person-To-Person (P2P) sharing, “theft,” they are overlooking the technology that has allowed that to be so. He claims that today’s kids are raised in a different society, and have different beliefs relating to technology and illegally downloading music, which music companies fail to recognize (Gorry). He believes that as technology advances and changes, that more and more people are seeing it as a better way to get what they want without any negative effects, and that many believe that piracy isn’t wrong. Because of this, companies need to learn to adapt and somehow embrace this, because, as time goes on, it’s only going to increase. And being so thoroughly opposed to it is going to get them nowhere. Companies are already starting to this a little bit. When posed with the question as to whether CD burners should be outlawed, since many people are using them to burn illegal copies of CDs, the RIAA has stated they do not believe that is a good way to go about things. They believe that, while burners are obviously being used to make illegal copies of CDs, that CD burners and other “burning” or “copying” devices should not be outlawed. They have claimed that, “Devices and technology are not the problem. It’s when people use technology to break the law that we take issue,” (RIAA). In other words, they want people to use CD burners and other technological devices, but in a responsible, legal way. This still isn’t adapting quite as much as they could – or should – be adapting, but it is a start and is showing that they are finally beginning to acknowledge that some things in technology are almost encouraging people to pirate music, and that it would be virtually impossible to completely get rid of it based on that.

Finally, it has been stated by many that one of the best ways to go about eliminating piracy is to make products that consumers will enjoy for a reasonable price. Ian has stated in one of her articles on piracy that, “It’s difficult to convince an educated audience that artists and record labels are about to go down the drain because they, the consumer, are downloading music. Particularly when they’re paying $50-$125 a piece for concert tickets, and $15.99 for a new CD they know costs less than a couple of dollars to manufacture and distribute,” (Ian, Debacle.) She believes that part of the reason that people pirate music so much is not just because it’s free and easy and technology allows them to do so, but because the cost of CDs, concert tickets, and other merchandise is just too expensive. She asks later in her article Fallout, “Do I think consumers, one the industry starts making product they want to buy, will still buy, even though they can download? Yes. Water is free, but a lot of us drink bottled water because it tastes better. You can get coffee at the office, but you’re likely to go to Starbucks…and bring it back to the office with you, because that coffee tastes better. When record companies start making CDs that offer consumers a reason to buy them, consumers will buy them. The songs may be free online, but the CDs will taste better,” (Ian, Fallout.) What Ian is saying here is that, regardless of whether the albums are available to download for free online or not, that if companies start producing good quality, affordable material that their consumers will want to buy, that the issue of piracy will not be as big of a deal. Reznor has already proven this in marketing his last album. Again, part of the album was put up for free download online, but fans could also choose to pay money for it as well. And because it contained a lot of material that they wanted and liked, his fans ended up buying all 2,500 copies of the $300 set. (Strobel). This shows that, given a quality product that is marketed right and comes with items that they want to have, that fans will always buy music, regardless of whether or not the album is already online. Companies need to adapt to this and start marketing their products in a better, more affordable way, and start giving their audiences exactly what it is that they want to have. In doing so, they can stop worrying about piracy being such a huge issue, because more will be willing to buy than download.

There is indeed much controversy when it comes to the issue of music piracy. Many companies, including the RIAA, believe that by downloading a song, one is stealing it based on copyright law and is therefore committing an illegal act, and there are a number of artists who feel the same way. Record companies feel as though they are being robbed of their income because they are not making enough profit off of CD sales anymore. Yet, more and more bands are beginning to embrace the concept of music piracy, and are starting to see it as a way to get them new exposure and new fans. And because some don’t agree with the ways in which their labels are claiming rights to music that they didn’t even create, bands are beginning to leave their labels in favor of producing music on their own; some, such as Radiohead, Trent Reznor, and even Janis Ian, even going as far as to put tracks up for free download on their websites. Artists are beginning to use the concept of piracy to their advantage and learning to adapt to it. And if record companies would be willing to do the same, in addition to working on a better way to market CDs and merchandise and sell them at a more reasonable price, they too would find that, while the songs may still be available for free download online, that more consumers will start buying CDs again. By learning to adapt to advances in technology and the changing thoughts of consumers that make up the largest part of the music industry’s sales, music piracy will no longer be an issue. If anything, in the long run, it will end up helping artists to make more sales than hinder them. As Janis Ian has stated at the end of her Fallout article, “America has always exported its culture; that is our number one route into the hearts of the rest of the world. Instead of shutting that down, let’s run with the new model, and be the first and best at it. It’s a brave new world out there, and somebody’s got to grab it,” (Ian, Fallout).

Works Cited

Buskirk, Eliot Van. “Reznor vs. Radiohead: Innovation Smackdown.” Wired. 09 Apr 2008.
<http://www.wired.com/entertainment/music/news/2008/03/reznor_radiohead>.

Card, Orson Scott. "The Harms of Online Music Sharing Are Exaggerated." At Issue: Internet
Piracy. Ed. James D. Torr. San Diego: Greenhaven Press, 2005. Opposing Viewpoints
Resource Center. Gale. Normandale Community College. 02 Apr. 2008
<http://find.galegroup.com/ovrc/infomark.do?&contentSet=GSRC&type=retrieve&tabID
=T010&prodId=OVRC&docId=EJ

3010337203&source=gale&srcprod=OVRC&userGro
upName=mnanorman&version=1.0>.

50 Cent, "http://recproaudio.blogspot.com/2007/12/50-cent-piracy-hurting-my-label-
artists.html." Recproaudio: Miscellanious Music. 09 Dec 2007. 10 Apr 2008
<http://recproaudio.blogspot.com/2007/12/50-cent-piracy-hurting-my-label-artists.html>.

Gorry, Anthony G. "Many People Do Not View Online Music Sharing as Wrong." At Issue:
Internet Piracy. Ed. James D. Torr. San Diego: Greenhaven Press, 2005. Opposing
Viewpoints Resource Center. Gale. Normandale Community College. 09 Apr. 2008
<http://find.galegroup.com/ovrc/infomark.do?&contentSet=GSRC&type=retrieve&tabID
=T010&prodId=OVRC&docId=EJ3010337204&source=gale&srcprod=OVRC&userGro
upName=mnanorman&version=1.0>.

Ian, Janis. "FALLOUT - A Follow Up to The Internet Debacle." JanisIan.com. 01 Aug 2002. 10
Apr 2008 <http://www.janisian.com/articles-perfsong/Fallout%20-%20rev%2011-23-05.pdf>.

Ian, Janis. "THE INTERNET DEBACLE - AN ALTERNATIVE VIEW." JanisIan.com. May
2002. 10 Apr 2008 <http://www.janisian.com/article-internet_debacle.html>.

"Ian, Janis." Wikipedia. 3 Apr 2008 <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Janis_ian>.

Love, Courtney. "Courtney Love does the math: The controversial singer takes on record label
profits, Napster and "sucka VCs."." Salon.com. 14 June 2000. 13 Apr 2008
<http://archive.salon.com/tech/feature/2000/06/14/love/print.html>.

MusicUnited, MusicUnited.org. 02 Apr 2008 <http://musicunited.org/>.

Radiohead. 09 Apr 2008. <http://www.radiohead.com/deadairspace/>.

RIAA, "Facts and Figures." 02 Apr 2008 <http://riaa.org/keystatistics.php>.

Strobel, Dan. "Trent Reznor: Singlehandedly Fixing the Music Industry?." The Campus Word.
23 Mar 2008. 14 Apr 2008 <http://www.thecampusword.com/content/view/2668/589/>.

ThEbAkEr. Personal interview. 14 Apr 2008.

~o~*~o~

"I don't need air
I don't need to breathe
And I don't need rest
I don't have time to sleep
'Cause I've got you... and you've got me
And that's all we need"
-When I Get Up, Tegan and Sara

When I held that gun in my hand, I felt a surge of power...like God must feel when he's holding a gun.

2008-08-29T03:15:00.002-05:00

Wow, three posts in one day! Although, in all fairness, those last two were just because I forgot to upload them on here when I wrote them like four months ago. *nods* So yeah.

But anyway...I just wanted to make a post on here stating that I finally, Finally, FINALLY opened up my new online store, Caitlin's Crafty Creations. It is super cool, and full of awesomeness and wonder. So you should definitely check it out, and probably buy lots of stuff too, because I can always use more money.

So yeah...check it out here: Caitlin's Crafty Creations

Hooray for me! And my store! And, most importantly...me! :D

(FYI, Shameless Advertising = +100000000000 Internets)

~o~*~o~

"Bears. Beets. Battlestar Galactica."
-Jim on The Office

All normal people love meat. ..I'm trying to impress people here. You don't win friends with salad!

2008-08-29T02:34:00.006-05:00

I promised there would be another one. And I’m not one to go back on my word. So, without getting into too much info before I even start, I bring you - Rants On Everything Pissing Me Off at the Moment: Part 7.

Now, in my last post, I attacked two main points: the Christianity and the Straightedge labels. And last time, I mentioned that I wanted to focus on other topics like this, specifically vegetarianism. Which I am now going to do. So prepare yourselves, because, as with my last post, there’s a good chance this will offend you. Buckle up, douchebags: you’re in for a ranty ride. (Hahaha…that sounded awesome…I am amazing…)

Sooo…vegetarianism. Where to begin with how much this topic has the tendency to aggravate me? Hmm…well, maybe beginning with myself is a good place to start. Because, guess what? For basically three or so months, I was a vegetarian. I know. Shocking. Sickening, in fact. I decided I wanted to try to go vegetarian because I thought it would be “healthier.” And, fact of the matter is, for a lot of people, cutting meat out of their diet does make them healthier. In my case, however, that wasn’t so, because instead of eating meat, I ate a bunch of crap. In the words of Dana, it was pretty much like, “Ooh, cupcake! That doesn’t have meat in it! *CHOMP!*”

I eventually realized that cutting meat out of my diet didn’t make me any healthier, and therefore decided to drop the vegetarian thing. Not only that, but there was no freaking way that I was going to make it through Thanksgiving Day with just plain mashed potatoes and some cranberry sauce. Because, quite frankly, I love meat, and I was not ready to completely give up my turkey, meaty stuffing, and every other non-vegetarian food item all smashed and piled together on one plate with a 24 ounce river of meaty gravy poured over the top. Heck. No. So, my last day as a vegetarian was the day before Thanksgiving. And Thanksgiving morning, I woke up, knowing that my true destiny of being an omnivore had been re-instated. And I was one very happy, very meat-loving SOB that day, you better believe it.

Now, what’s my whole problem with vegetarians/vegetarianism/

etc, then? For the most part, the people. Now, this, again, does not apply to everyone, but it does apply to the vast majority of the people that I’ve met and know who consider themselves vegetarians. Overall, I’m fine with people not wanting to eat meat. I think it’s stupid, yeah, because meat is delicious and I can’t understand the reasoning behind not wanting to eat a nice, juicy, pickles-mayonaise-ketchup-mustard-cheese-lettuce-tomato-and-onion-covererd-burger, but it’s not like it’s that big of a deal. I mean, if someone wants to be a vegetarian because they think it’s healthier or because of some “animal rights” thing, then that’s their prerogative, and who am I to say I’m better because I do choose to eat meat? Right. So, it’s not the whole concept that bothers me.

Like I said, more often than not, it’s the people. Because, quite frankly, many vegetarians are just…well, douchebags, to be honest. Again, pardon my unfair generalization, because not everyone is like this, but a lot of people are. It’s like, people who don’t eat meat need to, A, rub it in your face that they don’t and you do and therefore that makes them more superior, and B, constantly badger you about why they’re vegetarian and why you absolutely need to be as well. That pisses me off. Look, just because you want to live your life without touching a chicken nugget doesn’t mean that I want to or should have to. Those people chose to be vegetarians, and I chose not to be. End of story. I shouldn’t be constantly hounded by these people every time that I eat around them simply because I’m eating something that they don’t like. That’s stupid, and really freaking annoying.

Look at it this way: say you’re a Christian, and you have someone come up to you who’s Buddhist, or Hindu, or Muslim, or even a Zoroastrian. Take your pick – it doesn’t really matter. Now, say this person who is affiliated with this other religion starts badgering you about why your religion is wrong, and why theirs is right, and why you need to stop believing what you believe and start believing what they believe right away, because otherwise you’re committing some huge, immoral sin or whatever. Can you picture that in your head? Do you get how annoying and stupid that is? Because that’s what has happened to me a million times, only I’m not a Christian (relatively speaking), and that person is not Buddhist or Muslim or whatever. Try replacing me with a person who eats meat, and the other person with someone who is a vegetarian. Yeah, that’s what it’s like.

I don’t understand why people who don’t eat meat seem to take it personally whenever I eat meat in front of them or something. It’s like, what, am I not supposed to enjoy a meal? Am I only supposed to eat meat around my meat-eating friends, and then stick to vegetables and tofu and soy around my non-meat-eating friends? Because, quite frankly, that’s the most retarded idea ever. If I was eating with a vegetarian, I wouldn’t expect them to eat meat too, just because I do, and I certainly wouldn’t take offense if they were to eat something without meat. So why should they take it personally if I do eat a nice, big slab of steak? It doesn’t make any sense to me. If anything, it just pisses me off.

Also, most people who are vegetarians – or, I should say, most of the ones I know anyway – don’t eat or stopped eating meat because it’s “wrong.” They think that it’s wrong to kill animals for food, that it’s inhumane; basically that’s it’s one of the worst things a person can do. Now, again, if you believe in that, that’s all fine and well, and I say, good for you. However, I also say, ARE YOU FREAKING RETARDED?!

First of all, since when has eating animals become a bad thing? Why is it wrong to eat the meat off an animal? I’m going to go back to the age-old argument that, if we were not civilized beings like we are today, all of use would be running around fields right now, probably butt naked, and feasting on animals, probably with the bones and fur still attached. Hell, we’d probably be eating each other, if it came down to it. However, one might then argue that we are a civilized society, though, and therefore should have the common knowledge and decency not to eat animals. But guess what? That gene still hasn’t kicked in on me. I still like my animal flesh, thank you very much, and lots of other people do, too. Why? Because it’s not freaking wrong. Why is eating an animal wrong? Because it was living? Well, guess what, douchebags, all those vegetables you’re eating are living things, too! Just because they don’t grow fur and hop around and take a dump in your backyard doesn’t mean that they’re not living. And how about that tofu you’re eating? Guess what? That came from a soy bean, and that soy bean was a living thing. So, really, you’re still eating something that was once alive. And now you killed it, and processed it into a tasteless block of white mush that you’re using as a meat substitute. Bravo, retards. You lose. (For the record, I actually like tofu. However, I like real meat way better. One small piece of ground beef could kick a block of tofu’s ass any day of the week.)

Oh, and another thing: if you were standing out in nature, and you walked up to a freaking bear and were like, “Hey, I’m a vegetarian, so I’m not going to eat you,” it would waste no time in knocking your head clean off. Why should we feel bad about killing animals if animals don’t feel bad about killing us? As far as I’m concerned, every shark that I eat is one less shark that’s going to eat me.

Some people might still say that it’s wrong to be killing animals for food. But guess what? We’re doing the planet a favor. If we weren’t eating meat, all of the animals in the world would be all over each other, reproducing like there was no freaking tomorrow, and before you know it, there’d be eighteen bears living in my house and I’d be dead. And then what? No more freaking humanity, that’s what. We’re not eliminating species by eating meat; we’re keeping them under control so that they don’t eat us. Not only that, but a lot of cattle is raised specifically to be eaten, anyway. Again, I know there’re people sitting there reading this saying, “That’s so inhumane!! We shouldn’t be raising animals just so that they can die for our food!” Well, guess what? One, if we didn’t kill ‘em for food, they’d die eventually anyway. This way, we’re actually using the animal as opposed to just wasting it. Second, by raising cattle and chickens and other animals specifically to be butchered, it means that we’re saving all of your precious, natural wildlife. By breeding and raising cattle, we’re saving all of the wild ones that were out there on their own from the get go. So shut up.

Then there’s the slaughterhouses. Vegetarians are all like, “Oh, slaughterhouses are so terrible! They kill the animals and chop them up and process them and give them to stores to sell to us!”

…

WHAT THE HELL IS THAT ARGUMENT?! Of COURSE they cut the animals up! What, you expect them to just shoot a cow and then hang it in the grocery store, fully intact with all it’s organs and eyeballs and stuff hanging out? Are you really that retarded? Of course they’re going to cut the darned thing up, and of course they’re going to butcher it and process it and everything. What else are they going to do? Good Lord Almighty… And as for slaughterhouses being an inhumane way to kill an animal, let me just ask you one question: is there really any humane way to do it? No. They’re not going to read it a story, give it a dish of ice cream and a pat on the back, and just hope that it dies within the next few minutes so that they can eat it. They have to kill it. Point blank. Therein might lie your problem, but guess what? Eating my roast beef sandwich far surpasses my care for whether or not my cow was killed “properly” or not.

Another thing I don’t quite understand is why it’s okay for vegetarians to eat some kind of meat – say, fish – but not others – say, beef, chicken, or pork. Now, granted, when I was a vegetarian, I did eat fish and wouldn’t eat any other form of meat, but again, bear in mind that I was doing it more for health reasons and not because I’m against killing animals for food. But for those that say it’s wrong to kill a cow in order to have a hamburger, why is it then okay for someone to catch and kill a fish in order for you to have a bowl of tuna salad? That makes no sense to me whatsoever. Also, why is it okay for you to wear a leather belt or leather-soled shoes when the leather came from a cow’s hide? If you’re against killing an animal for fur, then why not killing it for leather? And really, if you’re that concerned about the welfare of animals, why even drink milk that comes from a cow in “captivity?” Or eating eggs that come from chickens who are kept in similar circumstances? After all, isn’t that like eating an aborted chicken fetus? Let’s just say all dairy products in general; if it’s got milk in it, why are you eating it? As far as I’m concerned, being a vegetarian because you’re all for animal rights is bullshit. It’s like your saying, “I’m not going to eat meat because it’s wrong!” but then turning around and saying, “I’ll have an egg-salad sandwich and a glass of milk because it’s not the same thing.” That is freaking ridiculous. I think vegans are even more insane than vegetarians, but at least they’re sticking to what they really believe. My thoughts are basically either be a vegan, or be a meat-eater. There should be none of this, “in-between” BS. Because that’s just stupid.

Still, the thing that probably confuses and pisses me off the most is the concept of “fake meat.” Again, I’ll admit that, when I went veggie, I was a person who bought and consumed some of this so-called “fake meat.” I ate Boca Burgers, Gardenburger Ribs, Morningstar Chicken Patties, and some crazy off-brand soy Salami lunch meat. But again, let me remind you that I wasn’t against eating animals; I was doing it for health reasons. Let me also remind you that, looking back, I realize I was being a moron when I chose to become a vegetarian. That being said, let me continue.

I don’t understand why so many vegetarians who are so opposed to eating meat because it’s supposedly morally wrong would eat a MEAT SUBSTITUTE. So, what, because it’s made with soy or tofu or tempeh or something instead of actual meat makes it okay? Um, NO. It’s IMITATING MEAT. People are eating it because it TASTES LIKE MEAT, FEELS LIKE MEAT, SMELLS LIKE MEAT, and REMINDS THEM OF MEAT, it’s just a “vegetarian version” of it. Heck, that’s why I was eating it, and I’ll be damned if other vegetarians/vegans aren’t eating it for the same reasons. It’s not like they’re going, “Well, I just want to buy all of these meat substitutes because I feel like it.” No, they are deliberately buying them, because it allows them to enjoy meat, without actually eating meat. And, in my humble (but nonetheless right) opinion, that’s called cheating, boys and girls.

Vegetarians need to learn that, if they want to not eat meat, then fine. However, they also need to know that, if they’re doing it for animal right’s reasons, then again, while it’s totally their choice and their prerogative and, really, I have no say in the matter, that I am still going to think that they are retarded. Point blank. If you’re going to be a vegetarian, fine. That’s your choice. However, remember that it’s my – and millions of other people’s – choice to not be a vegetarian, and that, since we don’t sit here day in and day out trying to force you to eat meat, that you should do us the same favor. We already know that you think it’s wrong that we’re eating meat and that you have chosen not to eat it, and fine, whatever, that’s cool; you also know, however, that we don’t think it’s wrong, and that we do enjoy eating it, otherwise we wouldn’t be eating burgers, right? So seriously: freaking back off. Really, no one else cares that you’re a vegetarian, and you’re only pissing people off by rubbing in their faces that you are and that we’re all basically going to hell for not doing the same. So really, just lay off. You go back to shoveling blocks of tofu in your mouth, and I’ll get on with eating my large, rather appetizing looking piece of cow flesh, and we’ll all be fine. Because, I swear, the next vegetarian who tries to preach to me about how what I choose to put in my own mouth is wrong and deeply offends them will wake up to smell of bacon cooking in their room one morning, with piles of raw, bloody meat thrown in piles around their room. Also, in the words of the great, amazing, king of the internet known as Maddox, know that, “For every animal you don’t eat, I’m going to eat three.” So put that in your soy pipes and smoke it.

And of course, JESUS DID NOT HAVE THREE HEADS!!!!!

Photo courtesy of http://maddox.xmission.com

I'm normally not a praying man, but if you're up there, please save me Superman!

2008-08-29T02:28:00.002-05:00

I just realized that I never posted my last two "Rants On Everything Pissing Me Off at the Moment" blogs on here, and only on my Facebook/MySpace. So yeah...I'm gonna go ahead and post both of those now. However, since they're already considerably long, I'm going to do it in two separate blogs as opposed to just one blog, because if I were to combine the two into one, it would be WAY too long. So yeah...I'm gonna go ahead and do it in two. So there. Part 6 can be found below, and Part 7 can be found above, both as they were originally written on my Facebook/MySpace. So yeah. Word up to ya mutha.

It's about damn time I got another one of these things out. It's been like, what, almost a year? Damn son!! Haha, yeah…good times… But anyway… So, because I've been so horribly pissed off lately, I decided I'd pull another one of these things out of my butt. Because, honestly, it needs to be done. However, like the previous blog in this series, this rant is again going to have more of a point to it instead of being just about pointless stuff that pisses me off for no reason other than the fact that it's horribly gay and stupid. I mean, all of this stuff that I'm going to be mentioning in here is horribly gay and stupid, but…well, I'm sure you get what I mean… So, this all brings me to – Rants on Everything Pissing Me Off at the Moment: Part 6.

Okay, so in all honesty, this blog is going to be very, very angry. I mean, all of my blogs are, but this one is especially angry. And it's almost-surely going to offend people, a lot of whom are my friends. But you know what? I've stood by these opinions that are going to be contained here for a long time, and I'm going to continue to stand by them no matter how many people I'm going to offend, because I know that some of this stuff needs to be said. Now. So, let's skip the whole nice, ease-your-way-into-this intro, and get right to the point, shall we?

You know what really bugs me? The fact that we're labeling things that should NOT be labeled. What sorts of things, you may ask? Well, because this is going to be long enough as it is, let's just focus on two for the time being, shall we? The "straightedge" label and the "Christian" label. People wear the aforementioned things like a label, and quite frankly, that pisses me off to no end. When did a choice, a belief – a freaking lifestyle – that is so personal become so…open, for lack of a better word?

I hate that being straightedge has suddenly (okay, maybe not suddenly…but it's become a lot more apparent with people I know recently) become a trend statement. I hate that people advertise the fact that they're Straightedge. Don't get me wrong – I've stated it before in these blogs (see: Rants On Everything Pissing Me Off at the Moment: Part 2) – I'm all for the straightedge beliefs and concepts, but that doesn't mean I support the way people are "advertising" their beliefs. It seems that a lot of people who are straightedge "flaunt it," for lack of a better expression, when in reality, it should be a private thing.

It's not like I'm saying that you can't tell people that you're not into drugs or sex or drinking or whatever, but there's no reason to be advertising it all over, either. Fact of the matter is, you make yourself seem conceited and big-headed when you do, because it seems as though the people that flaunt it all the time think that they're better than you are; it's like they go out of their way to tell you, "Guess what? I don't smoke or drink or have sex because it's wrong and you shouldn't do it, and because you do do it, that automatically makes me a step above you." I'm sure that's not everyone's reason in being so verbal about it, but guess what? You still come off that way.

Again, like I said, I'm all for the concepts of being straightedge. I'm straightedge myself. That's right – I don't drink, I've never smoked anything in my life, and honestly don't plan to, and I've never had sex and don't feel the need to until I get married. I've never even had a freaking boyfriend. So, in essence, I'm just as straightedge as the person who walks around with a straightedge shirt and x's on their hands. But the thing is, you don't see me going around boasting about the fact that I'm drug-, alcohol-, and sex-free. And I think I'm better off because of it. Because choosing to do that should be for your own personal reasons, your own personal beliefs. It's not something to be used for bragging rights. It is a personal decision that you should make, because you have moral standards set for yourself or you want to keep yourself healthy or whatever. It's not something that you do just so you can parade it around and make yourself look like a complete and total douchebag. Jebus Cripes.

Going along with this, like I mentioned, is the "Christian" label. That, quite possibly, pisses me off even more than the straightedge label. Again, since when did it become trendy to be a Christian? Not that I'm complaining about people wanting to know and have a personal relationship with Jesus – as with the straightedge thing, I'm totally for it. I'm a Christian, I love God, Jesus is my Homeboy and I have a personal and loving relationship with him, I go to church, have been on numerous church retreats and two mission trips, and all-around just love God. But again, there's a point when being "on fire for God" turns into "being a completely unbearable asshole."

Again, I'm totally down with people being Christian's and sharing Christ's love with others, but there's a point where you need to take a step back and just stop. And it seems like a lot of people don't get that. It's as if some people feel the need to be like, "Hey, look at me! I'm a Christian! I love Jesus! And guess what? Because you're not a Christian, that automatically makes me better than you!" It's the same as the people who flaunt the fact that they're straightedge; they use Christianity more as a label, as a set of bragging rights, as a way to make themselves feel like they're better than others, which is totally and completely against what being a Christian means.

Being a Christian is about having a personal relationship with Jesus Christ, and because of that, living out in a way that God would want us to. It's about loving others not matter what they believe or how they act, and, yes, it's also about sharing God's love with others, whether it's by sharing the "Gospel Message" with them or simply doing them a favor when they need it. It is NOT about using God's name as a way to boost yourself up above others, and it is NOT about forcing your beliefs on other people. Especially the latter…I mean, people who force their beliefs on others, and who say that they're better because of what they believe, really aggravate me. You cannot force someone to be a Christian. God gave us free will; he gave us a choice. Get that? A CHOICE. And if someone chooses not to be a Christian, then that's their prerogative, and you have no right to badger them further.

The Bible also says not to, "bring your pearls before swine," which means that if someone is truly against Christianity and doesn't want any part of it, then we should not continue to share the Good News of Christ with them if it's obviously not doing any good. Obviously, there are some people who have probably been hesitant about Christianity at first, and have later become Christians, but that's not what I'm talking about. What I'm talking about are the people that are completely committed to their own, other religion – or lack thereof – and don't want any part of Christianity, and yet some still continue to try to force their Christian beliefs on them. That is NOT cool.

I can't stand when people just stand there and flaunt their beliefs around like that, as if they have to make sure that everyone precisely knows that they are a Christian. In all honesty, you shouldn't really have to tell people that you are a Christian. Again, I'm not against it, but if you have to parade it around for someone to realize it, then you might have a problem. Being a follower of Christ is something that should be evident by the way you act and the things that you do. While people aren't always going to know specifically that you are a Christian by what you do, they should be able to tell that there is something different about you, something that is "Christ-like." That is what being a Christian is about. It is about living in a Christ-like way; it is about following and living lives that are focused on living out in a way that Christ would. That's not to say that we don't all slip up from time to time, because we do – that's human nature, something that has been stitched into us from the first sin of Adam and Eve. However, that's not to say that it makes it okay either; we are supposed to try our best to live Christ-like lives. And honestly, continually advertising your beliefs in a way that makes people single you out as a "religious hypocrite," or, more plainly, an annoying douchebag, is not something that you want to be doing.

I want to keep going…I really do…but I think that this is long enough already. Also, I have about twelve essays to write before tomorrow afternoon. So I'm going to stop. Besides, like always, I don't know if I'm making sense anymore, and I sense that I've probably already pissed off enough people. But don't worry – I'm by no means done with these rants. Eventually, I'll get another one of these up here and pick up where I left off here. But for now…I'm going to post this without reading over it again, without proof-reading, and without spell-check. Because I am lazy, and at this point, I am tired and I don't care.

And, so silly of me, really, to have left this out of the previous blog in this series: JESUS DID NOT HAVE THREE HEADS!!!!!

End of rant.

Woah, slow down there maestro. There's a New Mexico?

2007-01-07T21:57:00.000-06:00

I've been listening to this song quite a bit lately, and it's been floating around in my head a lot, too. There's been some things going on in my life recently that have made me feel really distanced from God, and yet it seems like listening to this song has made it better. It's a good one to listen to when you need to be lifted back up again.

Everything - Lifehouse

find me here
speak to me
i want to feel you
i need to hear you
you are the light
that is leading me
to the place where
i find peace again
you are the strength
that keeps me walking
you are the hope
that keeps me trusting
you are the life to my soul
you are my purpose
you are everything
and how can i
stand here with you
and not be moved by you
would you tell me
how could it be
any better than this
you calm the storms
you give me rest
you hold me in your hands
you won't let me fall
you still my heart
and you take my breath away
would you take me in
would you take me deeper now
'cause you're all i want
you are all i need
you are everything
everything

"You were tired out by the length of your road,
Yet you did not say, 'It is hopeless.'
You found renewed strength,
Therefore you did not faint."
~Isaiah 57:10, The Bible

That guy impressed me and I am not easily impressed. Wow. A blue car.

2007-01-02T22:05:00.000-06:00

Okay, so over the last year or so, I've been posting these blogs on my MySpace titled, "Rants On Everything Pissing Me Off: Part ___". The blank is where whatever number I am on goes. Normally, these are just stupid and pointless and just let me yell about some stupid trends or people or rules or whatever. However, I wrote one tonight that's slightly different; it's still really rant-ish, but it makes a lot of other points, too, and I kind of tried to make a point in it. I'm not really sure if I did or not...I kind of started out with more "rant-ish" intentions, and then ended up trying to make a point or a lesson or a message in all of it. Really, I'm not quite sure that I even I get what I ended up writing, but I thought it was worth posting here. If anybody reads this; well, I guess you'll have to let me know what you think of it, because honest to gosh, I have no idea anymore what the point of this whole thing was. Maybe you can
tell me. Then again...maybe not. Whatever...here's the blog (be warned - it's long):

I know what you're all saying: "It's about freaking time you got another one of these out, Caitlin. I was beginning to think that you'd never write another one ever again, and if that were to be the case I think I might just keel over and die." Well, fear not, my lovlies, for I was just inspired to write another one of these darling posts about everyone and everything (but mostly everyone) that's pissing me off right now. This blog, however, is not going to be like my normal ones. I am not going to rant about a bunch of different topics and then just have some type of witty thing to sum it all up. No, this time I'm going to be ranting about one category in particular, and just branch off of that slightly. Why? Because it needs to be done. Badly. And so I'm going to do it, resulting in a slightly different format for my blogs. Note that this doesn't mean that they won't be entertaining and won't contain a point - because they surely will - but this one will have more of a point; a message if you will. And it will be more focused on one particular area. But enough with all of the introduction, right? You want your rant. And you shall have it. Now. So, without further ado then, I give you: Rants On Everything Pissing Me Off at the Moment: Part 5

Let's start at the beginning with what first encouraged me to write this blog, shall we? Freaking gay-arsed douchebag hypocrites. And not just any freaking gay-arsed douchebag hypocrites, oh no. We're talking about a specific type here: stereotypical gothic/emo freaking gay-arsed douchebag hypocrites. Yeah, now you know what I'm talking about. You see, I keep hearing from some of these stereotypical gothic/emo freaking gay-arsed douchebag hypocrites that they, "hate all of the preps," and that, "all of the preps hate me," and, "all of the preps think they're better better than me," and, "all they're concerned about is their appearance." Well guess what? Let me make a few points here about why you retards are being hypocritical. One, you say that you, "hate all of the preps," so really, are you all that surprised that all of these preps really hate you? I mean, it's not like they have nothing to go on. If you hate them, then logically, there's a pretty fair chance that they hate you too. Should you therefore really expect any less? Of course not. If you're not prepared to like someone, don't be prepared for them to like you, stupid. Second, you're complaining about, "all of the preps thinking they're better than you." Well guess what? I'm sure you think you're better than them, too, right? I can't tell you how many countless blogs and rants and profiles I've read where these stupid people write about how much they "hate these preppy people for thinking they're so perfect, when really, they're not, and they think I'm dumb, but I'm really way better than they are because I don't spend $100 on a pair of jeans with holes all over them and are from Abercrombie." You sick, stupid person. Maybe you should take the time to realize that, one, you're doing the exact same thing to them that you claim they're doing to you, and two, that you're making yourself sound like a whiney little four-year-old douchebag. And how about the appearance one - you know, "all the preps are concerned about is their appearance." Well how many of you pansys spend an hour deciding which black t-shirt to wear with your black jeans in the morning, all while trying to put on six pounds of black eye makeup and making sure that you're wearing enough skulls and pentagrams and HIM logos to make you look "dark" enough? Same things, hypocrites. Just because you're putting on black eye makeup instead of brown, or making your hair look all messy instead of "clean-cut and perfect," or because you're putting on Tripp pants or a Morbid Threads skirt instead of ripped jeans or an Abercrombie mini skirt, or you're wearing a Marylin Manson tour shirt instead a Beyonce one - none of that makes any difference. Fact of the matter is, you're doing the exact same thing, just in a slightly modified way. Who cares if someone decides to put on a pink shirt instead of a black one? Nobody. So why should you? Exactly - you shouldn't.

Another thing I keep hearing about is how angry all of the goth/emo/hardcore/punk kids are that there's more and more "preps, jocks, skanks, and whores" that are shopping at Hot Topic. They're all mad because they think that Hot Topic is their store - they're the ones that are "hardcore" and "dark," and all of these little preppy girly-girls and jocks don't know the first thing about what it's like to shop at Hot Topic and to wear the clothing they sell there. They think, "They're all just buying it because it looks cute and because it's trendy, not because they actually like it. They don't know that skulls are not cute, they're dark and hardcore." How do I know this? And how can you be sure that I'm not just making a generalization? Look at half the people's blogs on MySpace - hell, look at the ones just from our school - who are "hardcore kids" and see what they say. Guarantee that at least half of them will mention something along those lines. These stupid people think that all of these preps are destroying the name of Hot Topic. Well, once again, guess what I have to say to all of you douchebags? Grow the f*ck up. Sorry to have to use that word, but honestly, that's what needs to be said. Who cares about where other people shop? How much do you want to bet that the same people that are ranting on these so-called preps that are shopping at Hot Topic and defiling it used to shop at stores like Abercrombie or American Eagle? How about even places like Old Navy or the Gap or Limited Too? It doesn't matter if it was when you were younger or not, the point is, you probably haven't been shopping at Hot Topic all of your life either, which means it doesn't give you the right to say other people can't shop there. Really, who freaking cares where you shop, so long as you get something that you like and it's comfortable? If I'm going to wear something, I don't care where it comes from, so long as it fits, it's comfortable, and I like it. If that means it has to come from American Eagle, so be it. If that means it comes from Hot Topic, good for it. Why does it matter where I - or anyone else - buy something, so long as I like it and I'm going to wear it? It shouldn't, and yet people are making this huge deal about where some people can and cannot shop. It makes me sick...there are so many other things - way more important things - and we're worrying about whether or not someone is qualified to shop at Hot Topic. Give me a break.

Why am I writing about all of this, you might ask? Why am I so bob-gammed passionate about this whole thing, and why have I gone on and on and on about this instead of doing my usual type of a humorous-bashing sort of blog? And why do I keep "hating" on all of these "stereotypical gothic/emo freaking gay-arsed douchebag hypocrites?" The answer is simple: because I used to be like that. Seriously. I'm not going to try to get all sentimental and everything on you now, but what I am going to do is try my best to be honest and blunt. I used to be one of the stereotypical gothic/emo freaking gay-arsed douchebag hypocrites that I've been talking about this whole time: I used to hate all of the preppy people, used to think they all hated me and were plotting against me, used to think that all they cared about were their looks when in reality I was the same way, and used to think that all of these so-called "preps" thought that they were better than me, when in fact I believed that I was better than them. I even used to get mad at all of the "preps" I saw shopping at Hot Topic, because I didn't believe that they deserved to be there. And, fact of the matter is, I still sometimes feel this way about some of the aforementioned things. However, I have gotten way, way better about it, because I've realized that it's all just stupid and hypocritical, and that it all made me sound like a whiney little four-year-old and, quite plainly, a jackass. I've learned that it doesn't matter where someone shops or what they wear or any of that - all that matters is what you want, and what you're comfortable with. Think that all of the preps are out to get you? Well, good for them. Why should you care? If you've got your own group of friends, then why worry about what other people that you don't even talk to think? That's the point - you shouldn't. If you truly don't care about what other people think, then you'll have no reason to judge others either. I know I'm sounding like a hypocrite now too, because in every single one of these rants that I do on here I make fun of goth kids or emo kids or, hell, even slash lovers, and really, I'm just being stupid and judging them when I don't want the same done to me. But, in all seriousness, most of that is just done in fun. Sure, I think it's stupid that some of the emo kids wear pants that are four sizes too small for them, and that the goth boys wear more makeup than I do, and that the slash lovers get off on reading about Harry and Snape doing each other, but really, I'm sure those same emo kids think it's stupid that I wear pants that fit, those goth kids that I don't wear that much makeup, and those slash lovers that I think het pairings are cool. So who cares?

Honestly, I have no idea what this blog is about anymore, and frankly, I don't care anymore. I'm tired, and I need to get up at 4:00 in the morning to go to work. I'm not going to bother editing this blog at all because I'm too lazy to do it right now, so if this doesn't make sense, blame it on that. Maybe all this is is just me ranting about stupid stuff I can't change and can't control, and maybe nobody understands what in God's name it is I'm trying to get across or talk about here. Maybe everyone reading this now is letting out a collective, "WTF?!" because they have no idea what it is I'm trying to say or think that this was a waste of time. Maybe some people think this is stupid because it's not one of my normal witty, obnoxious, pointless blogs about nothing and yet everything, and maybe they think they want the last five minutes of their life back, or however long it took them to read this. Maybe I'm the retarded one for starting this thing, and maybe I'm stupid for thinking that I was going to be different this time and actually try to make a point and change the way someone thought. Maybe I'm be stupid for making that last sentence sound like I want to be pityed, because maybe, I don't really want that at all and that came out in completely the wrong way and all I really wanted was to make a point. But maybe, just maybe, somebody got what I was talking about, and maybe they understand my point. Or maybe I'm just retarded and need to go to bed so that I can get up in the morning and laugh at how utterly stupid and pointless this entire blog was. Maybe...

We'll just have to see what happens with all of the maybes, won't we?

(I don't know if you care or not, but to read the rest of the blogs in the series, check out my MySpace. Or, if you don't have one, click the following pictures - I tried making them into jpeg files so that you could still view them. I promise they're not as weird or depressing or just downright odd as this one was. In fact, they're quite comical, if I do say so myself. And I do.)

Part 1

Part 2
Part 3
Part 4

"And I have felt the same as you/I've felt the same as you/I've felt the same"
~ Simon, Lifehouse

A Twizzler is not a sprinkle...A Mounds is not a sprinkle...A Jolly Rancher is NOT a sprinkle!!!!

2006-12-30T23:34:00.000-06:00

Okay, so since I didn't do it in my last post, I'm finally going to get around to doing this now (despite the fact that's it's after 12:00am and I have to finish cleaning my room before I go to church tomorrow if I want to have my New Year's party). What am I doing, you ask? Why, updating you on all of the pointless crappy nonsense that's happened since my September 17th post. I'm going to try to split this up into categories so that you, the reader (assuming anyone is actually reading this thing) can skim over the parts that you want. Ready? Too bad, because here we go.

Day-to-Day Life

A couple of okay things have happened since my last "real" post. For one, I had my sixteenth birthday, which was kick arse. Well, my party was anyway. Attendees were Sean, Holly, Jill, Charlie, Nancy, Emily, Anna, Mary, Nancy, Bounkheana, and of course, my lovely muse Ariel. Trent was supposed to come, but the douchbag was in Las Vegas at the time. Butthead. I also got a job about a week before my birthday at Lifetouch, which is also where my mom and my darling brother work. It's pretty sweet, if I must say. And the pay is absolutely lovely, especially for starting wage, let me tell you. Not that money is everything, mind... A few days after my birthday - on October 26th, to be precise - I got my eyebrow pierced. Cost me $50 out of my first paycheck, but it was worth it. I can take out the ring on January 26th and change it. w00t. Another big thing occurred a little while back, when I got the most kick arse pair of boots ever. Observe:Yeah, sweet, right? Those happen to be my lovely Black Cherry boots that have a long story behind them. Care to hear it? Good. Last winter, I saw them at Hot Topic at the MoA for $70 and fell in love with them. Was going to use all of the Christmas money from my dad to buy them, but when I went back to get them a week or two later, they were sold out. Then, last spring, I saw them again the the EP Center Hot Topic on sale for only $50. Was super excited. However, just my luck, they were out of my size. I had given up hope, when a few weeks ago, I was going through my weekly browsing of hottopic.com, and happened to see these in the clearance section for - get this - $25!! I just about crapped my pants. Five minutes later, I had completed the order form for them, and five days after that, they showed up at my house. They are my pride and joy. Less-than-three!! Then, back in September, there was Homecoming. That was just...interesting. And horribly awkward. I won't go into detail, because it will probably scar you for life, as it did me, but it was just...yeah. Here's some lovely pictures, though, of that night and the night before (no, none of that is real alcohol - it's IBC rootbeer, stupids):Then, of course, there was Sadies, which Ariel and I have been waiting for since Fire N Ice of last year, when we decided we were going to go together as gay school girls. Yeah, that's right: gay school girls. However, Holly wasn't going with anyone, so she decided to join us as our gay teacher. It was good times. Again, observe:
Hooray for Sadies pictures (they're all h0tt, am I right? =})! Oh, and then there was this thing called Christmas, which I got a lot of cool stuff for. Hooray for Christmas and Jesus! Ooh, ooh! And then on Thursday this past week, I was sick. It was that one-day stomach flu thing that I got the day we came back from Christmas break last year. You know, the "I-was-perfectly-fine-when-I-went-to-bed-the-night-before-but-then-I-woke-up-in-the-morning-feeling-sick-and-puked-and-then-puked-for-the-rest-of-the-day" thing. I threw up fourteen - or was it fifteen? - different times that day. It was gross. The trailer for Order of the Phoenix came out, and holy crap I could go on forever about how good it looks. Well, except for the Dan-kissing-Katie part...and the Dan-with-his-hair-cut part. *staples it back on* Other than that though, I'm super excited. And might I say that Gary Oldman is one very good-looking Sirius in this movie, too? I am going to bawl at the end of that one. Speaking of HP, too, the title of Book 7 was announced: Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows. Okay, I'm sorry, but WTF?! That title is so...so...not good. Very lacking, in my opinion. I don't like it. Hopefully, the book itself will be much better. I am probably going to cry at the end of that one too, not only because I'm sure there'll be nine-million-billion deaths in it, but because it will be the end. :( Oh well...I s'pose there's always fanfiction... Finally, today I went to Taco Bell and got some burritos. And that's the end of that.

Book/Movie/Album Rants and Reviews
I've read a few books, bought a few albums, and watched a few movies/shows since my last post, so I will talk about them now. Let's get a move on, shall we?
Inkspell by Corneila Funke - Hooray for Inkspell, the second book in the Inkheart trilogy! This was...amazing, for lack of a better word. I can't say whether or not it was better than the first one, because you really can't compare the two, but holyfreakingcrap it was good. I'm not going to really say anything about it, because doing so will not only give away a bunch of stuff in this book, but will complete ruin the first book, Inkheart. Just...read it. For Bob's sake, read this darned book.
Le Morte D'Arthur by Sir Thomas Malory, The Once and Future King by T.H. White, Idylls of the King by Alfred Tennyson, and Camelot (the musical) by Merlin knows who - We read all of these in English at the beginning of the year. Okay, so we really only read all of Idylls of the King and Camelot, and only read sections of Le Morte D'Arthur and The Once and Future King, but still, I really enjoyed all of them. It was interesting to compare the different writing styles of all of the books - one was very high-spirited about war, one was very "Christian," one was highly comical, and one was very brutal and "knightly." I thought it was really interesting trying to compare all of the stories to one another, and finding the things that had had in common and the things that were completely different. All of them were actually very good, and if you're into the whole Arthurian legend thing, these are must reads.
Antigone by Sophocles - Another play that we read in English earlier this year. This was a big shocker for me, because I, despite being a huge mythology buff and lover all things Greek in that category, hated this play. I found Antigone to be unbearably annoying and thick and big-headed in this, and she really just bugged me and completely turned me off from the story. I liked the overall message and idea behind it, but I didn't like the way it was carried out. I realize that Antigone's pride was supposed to be her hubris in the play, but even so - it was just completely and utterly obnoxious to me, and it made me hate her - and the play - with a burning, firey passion. Don't read this - you might vomit.
Wicked Forest by V.C. Andrews - I don't know if I mentioned this one in an earlier post, but since I'm too lazy to check, I'm just going to put it in here anyway. This was the second book in the Debeer's Family series, and the sequel to Willow. This book was just as good as the first, if not better. I loved the way that you never knew what exactly was going to happen, and how everything that did happened surprised you. The whole marriage thing between Thatcher and Willow (the BAD marriage thing, mind you), what happened to Willow's mother, the thing with Willow and her professor, and what ended up happening to Linden - holy. Crap. Everything was just...just...wow. That book had so much packed into it, especially at the end. I did start reading the third one, but have yet to finish it. I need to make time for it, because if the first two were any indication, this one will be amazing. I don't want to say much for fear of giving things in this book and the last one away, but again, wow... Read these books - and any other books by V.C. Andrews - because they are amazing.
Les Miserables by Victor Hugo - Again, I'm technically not finished with this book, but I'm supposed to have it done before break, so I'll just put some stuff up for what I've read. This is another book we're reading for English, and holy crap, this is another fantastic book. Hugo's mix of romanticism and realism are amazing in here - he'll be making something seem so sweet and flowery and happy and just good, and then - BAM! - you're shoved right back down with something blunt and realistic and just...raw. He is able to convey emotion so well in this book, too - I can't tell you how sad the entire book of Cosette made me. The way he makes you feel in this book is amazing - there's so many different emotions that you experience while reading this book, and they all just hit you like a bag of bricks right in the face. Yay, that hard. And the way that he weaves everything together - ohemgee! He'll introduce something or someone to you at one point in the book - perhaps just briefly mention it - and you're like, "WTF? What did he bother putting that in for?" and then, a few chapters or books later, said character or thing will all of a sudden come back and have this huge role, and you're eyes will get all wide and you'll be like, "Holy shite, that's why he mentioned it earlier!" I love it. I'm not even done with it yet, and I love it.
Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest - Yes, we've made it to the movies. I'm sure you've all seen this by now, so let me just say that, despite the fact that, apart from Jill, everyone I know hated this movie, I loved it. It was NOT too long, it was NOT too predictable, and the ending did NOT suck. I am anxiously awaiting the third movie. Also, Johnny Depp was still horrendously good-looking in this, as in every other movie. Nuff sed.
Night at the Museum - Went and saw this for free with Trent last night since he works at AMC, and it would have been worth it even if I would have had to pay. It was that good. This movie was hilarious, and had a lot of really funny jokes and lines and actions in it that were just dumb, random humor. Mickey Rooney, who played Gus, had the best nicknames for Ben Stiller, who starred as Larry, the main character in the movie. The best by far was when he called him "lunchbox." I have now started using that word. :) One of the best lines was said by Owen Wilson, who played Jedidiah, to Steve Coogan, who played Octavius, which was, "I'm not gonna quit on you!" LAWL. I almost peed my pants, and was by far laughing the loudest in the theater. Of course, that could have been because a lot of the people in the theater were either younger kids or parents, most of which probably weren't familiar with Brokeback Mountain. I myself have actually yet to see the movie, but being in High School, I have a line-by-line account of pretty much the whole thing anyway. :) Seriously though, go see this movie while it's still in theaters. It's well worth it.
Neon Genesis Evangelion - Ben bought me a four-disc DVD set for Christmas, which includes every episode of the show, plus both of the movies. WHOO-HOO! I have yet to watch either of the movies, and still have maybe eight or so episodes left, but holy crap, you must watch this series. I don't care if you like anime or not, this show will blow your brains out of the back of your head. It is by far one of the best animes ever. It's highly intelligent, yet still comical and has classic anime aspects to it. Good theme song, too. :) The only thing that I cannot stand is the character Asuka, but she doesn't come in until about a third of the way into the series, so I can deal with her. Still, she's a poopbrick. But other than that, this series r0xorz mah s0x0rz. Watch it.
Sailor Moon: Sailor Stars series - Trent loaned me these, and holy crapola, this is by far the best Sailor Moon series ever. It was only released in Japanese, so it's all subtitled, but it's still SOOOOO good! The transformations are awesome, the classic characters are a million times cooler, the Starlights are sweet, the animations are great, and the fight scenes are hardcore. Overall, it's a top notch series. Oh, and since it's the Japanese version, Uranus and Neptune aren't cousins anymore, if you catch my drift. ;) That parts pretty comical, especially since they're not shy about it at all. And Usagi and Seiya - good Lord, never, NEVER have I been a fan of slash, but I can't help but feel that the two of them are made for each other. Besides, it's not like it's Moon and Fighter - I'm literally talking about Usagi and Seiya, so that's still kind of okay, right? Right. I can't help it - the two of them are so CUTE together!! At first I was like, "WTF?! Hello, DARIEN!!" But now I'm thinking that I like Seiya a little bit better. CrAzY! But yeah... Fan of Sailor Moon? Watch this. You'll be an even bigger fan after doing soon. Evem if you're not a Sailor Moon fan - or, again, an anime fan at all - watch this series. It's well worth it.
Sailor Moon R: The Movie; The Promise of the Rose - Awww, this one was cute...it made me feel all squishy inside. :) I especially loved the flashbacks to their childhoods with the little chibi Serena and Darien. They were uber-cute! Parts of it were a bit cheesy though, such as the beginning. And the end. :P I thought that the ending was way drawn out when they were flying back towards earth, and, again, really cheesy. Especially with the alternate version where they played "The Power of Love." Overall, good movie, especially with the squishy moments in it, but Super S: The Movie was better. Now I just need to see S: The Movie. Hmph.
The Open Door, Evanescence - I know I ranted about this before, and pretty much said I hated it, but I beginning to like it more and more now. The videos are pretty good, too... And I finally bought a copy of it this week with one of my Target giftcards. Hooray. I will rant more about it once I have decided that I love it.

Well, I believe this is the longest blog ever, and since I have spent about an hour and a half trying to compile it and it's already a billion and two words long, I should probably quit. Also, I still have to clean my room. And sleep. Don't forget that. :P

"And I'm still waiting for the rain to fall/Pour real life down on me."
~ Good Enough, Evanescence

Fame was like a drug, but what was even more like a drug were the drugs.

2006-12-12T22:45:00.000-06:00

I can't believe that I, one: actually looked at one of these things, two: actually took the time to fill one of these things out, three: am posting it on here, and four: am posting this instead of an actual blog, especially since a lot has happened since my last blog. But whatever...I'm going to post this anyway, just because it's very witty. Or something like that...

RHS

Who's locker is next to you:
I don't know...nobody important, most likely.

-Are you usually on time to 1st period?:
Everyday, biotches.

-Full size or small sized locker?:
Small. :P

P E R I O D 1

-Who sits behind you?
Sarah Flynn

-What class is it?
Honors English

-Who's your teacher?
Ms. Holle

-Have you ever fallen asleep in class?
This class? No. Every other class? ...Yeah probably.

P E R I O D 2:

-What class is it?
College Prep Chemistry, otherwise known as the bane of my existance.

-Who sits to your left?
Mary Pheng (is h0tt)! :)

-Are you failing this class?
No way Jose!

-Is this your favorite class?
...See the first question.

-Who do you sit in front of?
...Erm, Jeremy, I think...?

P E R I O D 3 :

-What class is it?
Honors math

-Is your best friend in this class with you?
Why yes Ariel Nicole Keeton is in this class with me! *MUAH!*

-Do u hate someone in this class?
Hate is such a strong word... However, if you're talking about disliking someone with an awesome, fangoriously large, gelatinous, all-consuming fire-y passion, then yes, yes I do.

P E R I O D 4:

- What class is it?
AP World History

-What do you do during 4th period?
Take notes, watch videos, laugh at Mr. Tabor's stupid jokes, and bug Nancy and Ashley. Good times...

-Anyone you want to shoot during 4th period?
Shoot is such a strong word... However, if you're talking about wanting to cause complete bodily harm by gauging someone's eyes out with your thumbs and ripping their intestines out with a fork and then kicking them in the teeth really hard in a completely friendly, loving way, then yes, yes there is.

-is 4th period your fav class?
Nope. Sorry, Mr. Tabor...

P E R I O D 5

-what is this class?
French II

-who is your teacher?
Madamoiselle Laboe

-is it your favorite?
Err...no...to be honest, I have a lot of friends in that class, which is nice, but since I am incessantly talking to said friends, I have become pretty terrible at French, hence making it one of the subjects I don't care for as much.

P E R I O D 6

-who sits next to you?
Erm...I'm on the side, but the six people that sit around me are Taylor something-or-other, Bryce something-or-other, James Olson, Katelyn Mithun, and Molly Opitz.

-what class is it?
Health

-do you like your teacher?
Oh good Lord no. I can only be blunt on this one.

A F T E R S C H O O L

-Do you have any sports?
Nope...I became lazy after eighth grade and quit basketball after seven years of playing it.

-Clubs?
Nope. Can't be in theater anymore because of work, and there's no more newspaper...wow, I am lazy.

-Do you do your homework right away?
Never. Procrastination is key.

"I'm lower than most animals and fear what might be weird
And all those voices in my head have every right to be there"
~ I Hate Jimmy Page, Mindless Self-Indulgence

Kids, you tried your best and you failed miserably. The lesson is, never try.

2006-09-24T19:59:00.001-05:00

C'est le ciel clair de tes yeux
Qui les gêne
Mais que j'aime tellement
Et mon teint brun dans tes yeux
Ca dérange, mais tu l'aimes tellement
Même si tu ne me le dis pas
Je sais qu'ils jouent avec ta tête en te disant
Que c'est pour ton bien à toi
Qu'il te faudrait peut-être un autre
Moins différent
Mais t'inquiètes, je leur dirai tous que c'est:

[Refrain:]
Toi, toi
Toi et non pas une autre
Que je vois, toi
Et cela peut importe
Que tu sois, ou pas, de ma couleur
Mais d'une autre
Ce sera toi et moi ensemble
Que le monde veuille ou pas
Toi, toi
Toi et non pas une autre
C'est mon choix, toi
Et cela peut importe
Que je sois, ou pas, de ta couleur
Mais d'une autre
Ce sera toi et moi ensemble
Que le monde veuille ou pas
'y en a qu'une comme toi, c'est toi

(écoute ça)
Ton ivoire, coïncidence
Moi je préfère ce qu'il couvre si bien
Ma peau noire quelle importance
Juste une belle peau, c'est deux fois rien
En plus, elle te va si bien
Ca vaut la peine
Car c'est avec toi et moi que les temps changent
Ca vaut vraiment la peine
Demain les hommes feront tout ce qui aujourd'hui semble étange
Mais avant qu'ils comprennent
Je leur dis que c'est

[Refrain 2x]

[Bridge 2x]
C'est parce qu'on s'aime
Que je les oublie
Encore moins parce qu'on s'aime
Que tu les trahis
On sait d'où on vient, ça ne change pas
Mais cela n'a rien à avoir avec toi et moi

[Refrain 4x]

Stupid Corneille had to get stuck in my head. Darn him! :p

The last time the meteors came, we thought the sky was on fire. Naturally, we blamed the Irish. We hanged more 'n a few.

2006-09-17T15:00:00.001-05:00

Well, it’s been quite a while since I’ve made a post on here, so expect this to be horrendously long. That being said, I will continue.

Probably biggest thing that’s happened since my last post is that school’s started. Honestly, I didn’t want school to start, but really, it’s not all that bad. I actually like almost all of my classes, and I like the way my schedule is set up because it makes my day seem a lot shorter. The following is my schedule:
Honors English – Holle
College Prep Chemistry – Kaus
Honors Math – Brown
Advanced Placement World Studies – Tabor
French II – Laboe
Health – Nelson
So, with that, let me talk and rant a bit about each of those. Having English right away in the morning is a complete and total blessing. I mean, I’m not excited to get up in the morning and go to school, but English makes it much more bearable. Plus, Ms. Holle is a great teacher. I really like her. ^_^ CPC isn’t bad either, and Mr. Kaus is a pretty funny guy, so that parts nice. Also, we can hear Mr. Tepp teaching his class from across the hall all the time, even if the door’s closed, which always makes Sam and I laugh. However, it deals with a lot of math, and math = lame, so that part is sucky. Math is, well, like always, math is pretty much just dumb. Like I just mentioned, I don’t like math, so that part is lame, but Miss Brown doesn’t really make it any better. The chick is nice, but she’s so freaking hyper that it makes me want to shoot myself sometimes. However, the subject matter of the class isn’t too bad so far, because we’re just reviewing stuff from last year, which, despite not getting it last year, I completely understand while we’re doing it this year, so that’s okay. However, I may not have gotten any of it last year because I paid attention for, oh, I don’t know, probably about the first three days of the second semester, and either drew, worked on other homework, or slept for the rest of it. I know it’s terrible, but Mr. Zoellmer didn’t care, and I still ended up doing okay, because I’d go home the night before a test or quiz, teach myself how to do everything, and then get either an A or B on it the next day. So really, it didn’t have a bad effect on me. ^_^

AP World Studies is a lot of fun, but a lot of work. I really like the stuff we’re currently learning, because it’s all ancient world stuff from like Mesopotamia and whatever, and I’m a big ancient world buff, so the material we’re going over is interesting. However, that class is pretty much made up of strictly notes, homework, and tests, which can get a bit tiring. Every Wednesday, we get a packet of notes and a chapter to read, and we have to read the chapter and finish the packet by the following Wednesday, when we take a test on everything we read, and then get a new packet to do the same thing over again, though obviously with a new chapter. Our first week, we had a two-page packet, front and back sides, and this past week, we got a three page on instead. :p And the classes pretty much revolve around taking notes. However, like I said, it isn’t as bad as it could be, because I’m at least interested in the material, and Mr. Tabor is hilarious, which makes the class more interesting and seem to go by quicker. After this I have lunch, whom I eat with Nancy, Matt H., Sam, Max, Bounkheana, and her friend Sarah, and it always proves to be an interesting affair. :D After lunch I have French, which is pretty okay. I like it so far, although I have to admit that I really needed the review that we did for the first two weeks, because I forgot most of the French that we learned last year. Mademoiselle Laboe is also really nice, and is pretty funny herself. My last class of the day is Health, and that class is pretty much what I expected it to be: horrendously boring. Middle School Health was boring every year, and High School Health isn’t any better. Ms. Nelson, the teacher, doesn’t really make it any better either, because the lady is sometimes kind of insane, and she scared the crap out of me the first few days of school. She also looks like she smoked a pound of pot before class everyday. But whatever. It’s only for one semester, so I guess I can handle it.

Anyways, that was a lot about school, but since school seems to be taking up virtually all of my time lately between all of the homework and tests and quizzes and essays and speeches I’ve had (yes, I’ve had all of these so far this year :p), school is all that I’ve really had time for. But I still want to move on from that and talk about some more interesting things, such as some more movies I’ve seen/bought, the new Evanescence album and their concert, Project 86, and probably some other pointless stuff. I believe that I informed you this was going to be long at the beginning, and that isn’t changing yet.

So, we’ll start with the movies, shall we? And the first movie that I’m going to talk about is Sense and Sensibility. My mom bought the movie for me from Best Buy about a good month and a half ago because I really wanted to see it, and it was only like, five or six bucks. In case you’re not aware, it’s another movie based off of a Jane Austin book of the same name (like Pride and Prejudice, which I watched again, by the way, and Matthew MacFadyen is still h0tt as ever in it), and it fits into the typical Austin theme, revolving around marriage/courting, social status, and typical life for females back during her time. It has a lot of great actors and actresses in it, including Kate Winslet, Emma Thompson, Hugh Grant (who is terribly attractive in that movie), and Alan Rickman. And may I just say that, despite the fact that, again, the guy is freaking old now, he is still attractive, and in this particular movie, absolutely, positively gorgeous. He plays Colonel Brandon, and good Lord, he is fi-ine looking. *nods* Of course, just because of that the movie would be good, but even if you take him out of the equation of the film, the movie was still really good and I really enjoyed it. It’s one of those, “Awwwwwww!” movies, that just makes you feel all warm and squishy on the inside.

Also, I received a $20 giftcard to Best Buy for helping Anna bag groceries for United Way, and I bought two movies with that as well. I was originally going to buy Silent Hill, because that came out in August, and I really wanted to see it again, especially since the bootlegged copy that I got of it in Kosovo was terrible quality-wise, and I couldn’t see anything that was going on. However, once I got there, I decided to get two other movies instead, since I could get two for less than the price that I would pay for just buying Silent Hill. Also, I’m going to go bag groceries again later this month, so I figured I’d either buy the movie with the giftcard that I get then, or wait and see if I get it for my birthday or if not, buy it with money that I get for my birthday instead. Anyway, I ended up buying Monty Python’s Meaning of Life, because despite that I love that movie, I still didn’t have it, so I just decided to buy it since it was only $10, and watched that again when I got home. That movie is still as weird as ever, and the part where they dress up in the weird, crazy costumes and talk about where the fish is still scares the crap out of me. :D

The other movie that I ended up buying was love actually. I had rented it the day before, watched it and loved it, and decided to buy it with the other half of my giftcard. That movie is really good as well, and stars a lot of great British actors, including about half the cast of Sense and Sensibility, including Emma Thompson, Hugh Grant (who is still good-looking), and Alan Rickman. Who is also, once again, very, very good-looking (though still not as good as in Sense and Sensibility), though he plays a doucheface character. The movie also stars Keira Knightley, Colin Firth, Laura Linney, Liam Neeson, and Rowan Atkinson, and almost every one of the guys in that movie is terribly good-looking. *nods* I can’t help it if British guys are all h0tt, and that their accents are very charming as well. But yeah…so the movie was really good, and the ending left me with mixed feelings of depression and happiness, because with most of the characters, you feel all, “Awwwwwwww, that’s so nice and cute,” but with like, Rickman and Thompson’s characters, you feel all, “Nooooooooooo, that shouldn’t be happening.” And like I said, Rickman played a doucheface husband, which made me sad, both because it was really sad in the movie, and because it’s Alan Rickman and I don’t like disliking him in movies. :p

So that’s pretty much the movies I’ve seen (at least that I haven’t seen before), so I’ll move onto Evanescence. Now, first off, I’m a huge Evanescence fan, so when I first found out last spring, that their new album, The Open Door was supposed to drop in October, I was ecstatic. However, my brother cautioned me that it may not be as good, saying, quite bluntly that, “It’ll probably suck.” I reprimanded him, and didn’t want to believe it, but when they released their first video from the album this summer for the song “Call Me When You’re Sober,” I thought again. After watching the video, I wasn’t too sure if I liked the song or not. I mean, there were some things about it that I liked, but for the most part, I wasn’t too thrilled with it. It was really…different. And not in a good way. Right now, I am actually listening to the album, because it got leaked and Ben downloaded the whole thing for me. I figure, I’m going to buy it anyway, so why not just get it early.

Well, as soon as the first song started, I was completely blown away. And not by how good it was. Quite the opposite, in fact. I was completely and utterly blown away by how bad it was. Ben came into my room not even halfway through the song, and my remark was, “This sucks.” Right now, I am listening to the last track of the album, and I can honestly state that, as a whole, this album is not very good. It’s really grungy and raw and, I don’t know, just different. Like I said, it’s completely different than their older stuff, and while I realize that bands are all going to change their style at some point or another – and that they have every right to – and that Evanescence especially was going to change because of the loss of Ben Moody, it’s still way more different than I ever thought it would be. They did change from their Origin and pre-Fallen days to the time that Fallen was actually released, but it wasn’t as big of a change as this, and besides, it was an okay change. I actually prefer the stuff on Origin to Fallen, but Fallen is still one of my favorite albums ever, and it’s still amazing lyrically, melodically, emotionally - everything. The Open Door, on the other hand, is not like this at all. I mean, in my opinion, it is a change for the worse. There’s bits of the albums that are okay, and some things are actually pretty good, but again, overall, I don’t care for the album. The style that Amy Lee sings in is, as mentioned really grungy, and I cannot stand grunge or grungy-type stuff. Also, there’s just really crappy instrumental stuff on here that just doesn’t sound good, and actually makes them sound a lot more like a low-profit, garage band than a professional band. Their previous work was really advanced, intelligent sounding music, and was more about doing what they wanted, trying new things, and doing things people hadn’t done before, while The Open Door sounds like they were trying to sound really mainstream and makes everything seem really low-quality and almost as if they didn’t care as much anymore, which is exactly opposite of what Amy Lee said she was trying to go for and accomplish, and why this album took so long to get released.

Needless to say, after all of this, I’ll still probably buy the album, just because I am a fan of them and their music, and I figure, every band has a bad record at least some point in their career, and that, hopefully they’ll move on from this and turn out even better than before. Look at Bob Dylan – everything that he put out in the 80’s was absolutely terrible, and yet he’s still hugely popular, just put out a new album, and was on tour with Willie Nelson within the last year. However, one thing I can say is that I am definitely not regretting that I can’t go see Evanescence live anymore. They are playing here in October, and at first I was bummed because I couldn’t afford the $25 to buy a ticket since I owe my mom about eighty bucks. But now, after hearing this new album, I don’t really know if I want to go see them play all of this new stuff anymore. *shrugs* Who knows? Maybe the album will grow on me if I give it a little bit more of a chance. All I know is that right now, I’m not digging the album.

So now, let’s move onto what I’m going to make my final thought in here since this is already over four and a half pages in Word: Project 86. Yes, they are playing here again in November, and yes, I will be seeing them again, for I believe the seventh time now. Ben said they are supposed to be releasing a new album again next year, and that Schwab is coming out with another new book. Hooray! At least I can be excited for this band, because, with the five albums that they’ve put out so far, I’ve never been disappointed or letdown, and I don’t ever expect to. I don’t think there is any way that this band cannot be bad, so let’s just hope that that stays true.

Well, because this thing is horrendously long, I’ll end now. Enjoy your day, and combolations Elizagerth if you made it all the way through this post. You have less of a life than even I.

"You shut your mouth/How can you say/I go about things the wrong way/I am human and I need to be loved/Just like everybody else does."
-How Soon is Now?, t.A.T.u.

Call this an unfair generalization if you must, but old people are no good at everything.

2006-08-02T22:53:00.000-05:00

So, I never did around to posting that rant I said I was going to in my last post, and frankly, at this point in time, I don't think I'm going to. I decided the next morning that I was too lazy and didn't really care anymore, and kind of forgot about it until now. I guess you'll never know what the weasels were doing to my mind. ^_^

Now, before I get into what is no doubt going to be a horrendously long post, I'd like to point you in the direction of my new blog, The Pointless Weekly List of a Teenage Nerd. Here I will weekly post reccomendations for one book, movie, and album/playlist that you should check out, as well as a random tidbit of Harry Potter info, just because it is called the Pointless Weekly List of a Teenage Nerd. So definitely check that out. Right, let's move on.

Well, onto other news, I watched a few more movies. Stigmata was on TV on Saturday night, so I watched that, and it was really good. And Gabriel Byrne, who played Father Kiernan, isn't really all that bad-looking. Okay, so he's like 61 years old or something like that, but really, you can't say that the man isn't decent-looking. What the crap is it with all of these old British actors? They can be 60 freaking years old and yet I still find them attractive. What is wrong with this picture?

*coughs*

Anyway, so I watched Stigmata, and thought that it was a really good movie. Interesting plotline and everything, and the special effects were great. The ending was quite surprising, and I'm not sure that I really got the last scene all that much, but it was good nonetheless. Bounkheana and Trent came over today and we just hung out and stuff, and BK brought One Hour Photo, which we watched. That movie was...weird. I don't know if you can really call it anything else. It was just...weird. And kind of creepy. Actually, really creepy. And it was also really weird to see Robin Williams playing Sy in it. Not his typical film, which made it just feel...well, to be cliche again, weird. Didn't quite work with me, and yet it did. I dunno....I really have no idea what I'm talking about anymore. All I know is that was a weird movie, yet it was still good. Or something. Yeah, probably something...

I watched Garden State again today, too. Actually, to be more correct, I watched it twice. Once while Trent and I were playing Scrabble, and again after he left since I was only half paying attention to it. Need I say again how much I love that movie? I never fail to be completely shocked and in awe of the amazing, deep lines in that movie. Nor the hilarious, innappropriate ones, either. ^_^ What follows are a list of my favorite ones:

Mark: We'll probably go over there right after we bury your mom.
Random Guy: Well I gotta shower.
Mark: Same.

Kenny: Largeman-Holy sh*t! Oh, man. How you doing?
Large: I'm-I'm great.
Kenny: You're mom just died!
Large: I know.
Kenny: I mean, that's why you're home.
Large: Yeah. Yup.

Tim the Knight-guy: By the way, it says "balls" on your face.

Mark's Mom: Oh. Oh, you guys, don't stay in here all day 'cause I took the batteries out of the carbon monoxide detector. It was beeping all night.

Karl: I thought you killed yourself!
Large: What?
Karl: I thought you killed yourself. That wasn't you?
Large: No, that wasn't me.
Karl: Who killed themselves?
Mark: That was the Gleason kid. Oh, and Tina.
Large: Tina who?
Mark: You remember Tina. She was anorexic, did gymnastics-
Large: Oh, gymnastics Tina? How'd she do it?
Mark: I don't know. She wasn't Jewish. I didn't bury her.
Karl: I think it was sleeping pills, or that car in the garage thing. I forgot.
Sam: *tugs on ear*

Large: ...I don't want this guy taking you to, like some sketchy quarry in the middle of nowhere to find, like, crack whores huffing terpentine or pit bulls raping each other or whatever it is you have us doing!

Sam: He's my knight in shining armor.
Large: Don't talk about knights in front of Mark. It's a sore subject.
Mark: I'm gonna kill that motherfu*ker.
Large: Pun intended?

Large: So knock! Knock and barter for Desert Storm trading cards.
Mark: Don't tease me about my hobbies. I don't tease you about being an a*shole.

Albert: I suppose it's odd that we live down here like this.
Mark: No.
Sam: Not at all.
Large: Never crossed my mind.

Sam: I haven't even lied in like, two days.
Large: Is that tue?
Sam: No.

Large: Hey Albert!
Albert: Yeah?
Large: Good luck exploring the infinite abyss!
Albert. Thank you. ...Hey! You too!

Large: You know that point in your life when you realize that the house you grew up inisn't realy your home anymrore? All of a sudden, even though you have someplace where you put your sh*t that idea of home is gone. You'll see one day when you move out. Just sorta happens one day and it's gone. You feel like you can never get it back. It's like you feel homesick for a place that doesn't even exist. Maybe it's like a rite of passage, you know? You won't ever have that feeling again until you create a new idea of home for yourself. You know, for - For your kids. For the family you start. It's like a cycle or something. I don't know. But I miss the idea of it, you know? Maybe that's all family really is. A group of people that miss the same imaginary place.

Large: Maybe what mom wanted more than anything in the entire world was for it to all be over. And for me? What I want more than anything is for it to be okay with you for me to feel something. Even if it's pain.

"Took a right on Lyndale I'm getting near/But then the road became empty and the people disappeared/The clowds ran away, opened up the sky/And one by one I watched every constellation die/And there I was frozen, standin' in my backyard/Face to face, eye to eye, starin' at the last star/I should've known, walked all the way home/To find that she wasn't here, I'm still all alone"
- Atmosphere, Always Coming Back Home to You

Can we go Catholic so we can get communion wafers and booze?

2006-07-25T01:13:00.001-05:00

Besides all of the books I mentioned before, I am also now reading Julius Caesar by Shakespeare, and would like to begin Dante's Inferno. I swear, I always end up reading a bazillion books at once and then having to go back and re-read stuff because I forget what's going on or get it confused with whatever else I'm reading, but whatever. So far, Julius Caesar is pretty good, though I'm only a few pages into it, so I suppose I can't really judge it. But again, whatever.

Anyway, I have this really long rant that I would love to post right now, but I don't think I have the energy, nor the time for it. It has to do with society and how f****d up it is. Pardon ma francaise, but seriously, I don't think you can really make it any lesser. I am normally not a fan of that word at all, but after hearing what I have to say, you'll probably be able to see exactly why that is putting it in lamest terms. Maybe if I get around to it tomorrow, I'll write it all out during the day and post it tomorrow night. I really want to write it now, because it's been gnawing at my brain like a box of starving, crazed weasels, but like I said, I don't think I have the energy to do it right now. I would like to make it sound decent, and I think it's important to have coherent and full-functioning sentences in it, so I shall wait. The bob gammed weasels will have to gnaw at me for another night. Just prepare for a fangoriously long and horrendously one-sided and probably biased and slightly bitchy post.

Well, I should probably get a move on going to bed soon, since it's almost 2:00am again. As I have mentioned countless times, forced insomnia will be the death of me. Especially when I stay up until four in the morning and then get up again five hours later. Blargh. But that's what happens when you're really busy and can only get online late at night. Once again, whatever. Good night to the three people (if even that) that actually read this retarded thing.

When every word you ever said came true
All I missed
In all of this was you
- Project 86, A Shadow On Me

The sun is out, birds are singing, bees are trying to have sex with them -- as is my understanding ...

2006-07-24T00:03:00.000-05:00

So, went to Universe Games with Ben last night, and we played a bunch of board/card games, such as: Lord of the Fries, Who Killed Dr. Lucky?, Guillitine, Brawl (which I just bought my own deck for - a Tess one, to be specific, which has a bazillion hits but no presses :p), and Munchkin. Actually, I just watched Ben and his friends play Munchkin, because I've never played it before and even if I had I don't think I would have been able to. Freaking hardest game ever to understand.

Erm...watched Spice World tonight. Surprisingly, it was a lot funnier now than it was when I used to watch it every single week when I was younger. I actually got all of the jokes and stuff that I was totally oblivious to when I was little, and recognized more of the bazillion cameos in it. For example; the last time I watched this (which was probably in third grade), I had no idea who Meatloaf was, and upon watching the movie tonight, discovered that he played the bus driver in the movie for the Spice Bus. LAWL.

I've actually been watching a lot of movies that I've already seen this weekend. I watched Pride and Prejudice again, which I believe is the fourth time that I've watched it since I bought it. I'm actually thinking of putting it in while I lay in bed tonight and fall asleep watching it. I teh heart Matthew Macfayden, of course. (Whom I should really be kissing in that picture.) I also watched Corpse Bride again with Ben, and I have to say that I found it funnier the second time. Ben enjoyed it as well. And, I also watched Garden State again last night. Or rather, early this morning, since I didn't get to bed until 4:30 again. (Go figure.) I had forgotten how much I love that movie. Every single person seems like they were made for their role, and I love how it's completely and utterly realiztic and raw, and can still be funny and emotional and entertaining. And it's full of amazing quotes and lines, which are perfect for monologues. Yes, I would know. ^_^

I also watched North Country with my mom today, which was highly depressing, but excellent. It was really sad and horrible, but I admire the women that the movie was based on for their courage, and things ended up okay at the end. Hey, what can I say - I like happy endings! But seriously, it's hard to imagine that a thing like that can happen at all, let alone just a mere twenty or so years ago, and even more so that it happened in Minnesota. I mean, you see movies like this a lot, but somehow I'm always able to find a small fraction of comfort in the fact that "my people" (Lord, now I sound like I'm some civil rights activist...or Moses...^_^) never did any of this. But to sit there and see that these things happened in a place where I'm from (okay, so I'm not from the Iron Range, but I'm from Minnesota) is kind of hard to watch. It makes me feel a lot worse knowing that it happened here, even though none of it was my fault and I couldn't have prevented any of it from happening anyway. *sigh* Such is life... Regardless, it was still a good movie.

I'm still working on The Magician's Nephew, but I've also started reading a few short stories by Richard Matheson. He is the genius behind I Am Legend, one of my favorite books ever, and definitely my favorite vampire novel. Oh, and I just started reading The Lone Ranger and Tonto Fist Fight in Heaven by Sherman Alexie. It's a book filled with a collection of short stories that "brilliantly weaves memory, fantasy, and stark realism to paint a complex, grimly ironic portrait of life in and around the Spokane Indian Reservation," according to the back of the book. ^_^ So far, I've only gotten through the first story, titled Every Little Hurricane, but it was amazing, and I am looking forward to reading more.

Well, that's probably about it for now. I have gotten through posting some of my Kosovo pics on my deviantART account, which can be found on the appropriate link on the right side there, and will probably finish with my London ones tomorrow. Other than that, I think that's it. I will talk to yous all later!

"Look, I love those girls, and I'd do anything for them. But I won't do that." ~Meatloaf in Spice World. Can we say LAWL REFERENCE?!

Remember, you can always find East by staring directly at the sun.

2006-07-15T03:20:00.000-05:00

I just finished a 47-chaptered Harry Potter fanfic. It was horrendously long. It is now almost three-thirty in the morning. As the title to one of Ben's mixtapes says, "I Have Come to the Conclusion that Forced Insomnia Will Be the Death of Me." Amen to that. I will now go to bed, after getting only about four hours of sleep last night, or rather, this morning. Maybe I will get more today. Who knows? Not me. All I know is, I'm having trouble coming up with coherant sentences. *nods* Good night, or something of the sort.

"Emo - like a goth only less dark and more like Harry Potter." - Katie on The Nuthouse God Bless that Girl.

They turned the Navy into a floating joke. They ruined all our best names like Bruce and Lance and Julian. Those were the toughest names we had!

2006-07-12T22:17:00.000-05:00

Well, it's been a little while since I've posted on here (which is why you should be prepared for a horrendously long post). But between Kosovo, catching up with people, and working on late English homework that I still have to finish from this past year, I've been kinda busy. Oh, and reading fanfiction too, of course. Can't forget that. Nope.

Anyway, Kosovo was, in lamest terms, amazing. Probably one of the best experiences of my entire life. I learned so much there and got to know so many people. It was just fabulous! ^_^ Considering I am using my brother's computer now and don't have any of the pictures on it, I can't post them yet, but I will eventually. Not like anyone reads this thing anyway, but whatever...

I brought Inkheart with me to Kosovo, though only ended up reading a little bit of it on the way over, and maybe a chapter or two on the way back. However, I took it up to my trailer with me this past weekend and finished it all there, and I have to say that it was pretty amazing. The plotline was incredible, and I loved how Funke kept the whole fantasy thing realistic. Most fantasy books take place in a totally different world that suits the whole "fantasy" mood, and the ones that actually do take place here normally alter reality so much or place a different "world," so to speak, in our own world (such as in Harry Potter where there is the Wizarding World which is located within the rest of the Muggle World) that it doesn't feel as though it's a part of our world at all. Which is okay, because that's normally what makes fantasy fantasy, and since I'm the "fantasy goddess," that's not really a big deal. But in Inkheart, things are quite the opposite. The whole book takes place not only on our own planet, but in our own "world." Yet it still has fantasy elements in it. It's sort of refreshing to have something that seems to deny the rules of its genre, and take a complete step away from the norm. Also, the book is about books, one book in particular which Inkheart was named after, which is sort of odd but very cool if you ask me. The characters are really well-developed and everything, too, and I love that they are not always so typical, either. And the book is full of absolutely amazing quotes, too. Overall, the book was fantastic and I am wanting to go right out an buy the sequel.

I also watched the new Chronicles of Narnia movie. I had, as mentioned earlier on here, bought the special edition before going to Kosovo, but didn't have time to watch it. However, we ended up watching it in Kosovo anyway, so it was all good. As far as my opinion on the movie, I thought that it was really good, and think that it's probably tied with the original. When I first watched it, I thought the original was way better, but then I went back and watched it when I got home, and decided that the new one was just as good. I had forgotten about the terribly cheesy animations for the magical creatures in it. All I have to say about those is LAWL. I happen to prefer the White Witch in the original - in fact, my first thought when I saw the new one was, "HOLY CRAP! SHE'S EVEN SCARIER LOOKING THAN THE FIRST ONE!" Although, when thinking about it, I may have liked the first one better because she was more ridiculous and had a much colder and scarier air about her, while in the new one, she seemed to be a lot more "gentle." Granted, in some parts, she was supposed to be gentle, but I still liked the way the original White Witch did it better. I also thought the beaver's in the new one were kick arse. Seriously, real beavers?! AWESOME!!! The best was when he was wearing the armor. I almost pissed my pants laughing at that... And I also like Tumnus way better in this one. He wasn't as old and it didn't seem as weird when he befriended Lucy. Not to mention the fact that the guy who played him wasn't entirely bad looking, or the fact that he wasn't wearing a shirt. I mean...

Well, nothing else to talk about, I guess. Pathetic, really - I haven't watched any new movies or read any other books besides those since I got home. Although I am reading the Chronicles of Narnia now. I had only read The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe, and even that was quite some time ago, so I'm reading the whole series now. Currently reading The Magician's Nephew, since that's the first book in Lewis' preferred order, so yeah. Um...oh, been doing a bit more writing. More like drabble-type writing, but if you want to check any of it out, go here, and you'll be able to find it. w00t.

Well, since I've already posted a bajillion words, I'll shut up and go read some more fanfiction. Because I am a nerd. Yes.

~Caitlin

My dad's always there/To open all my doors/You have to call a patronus just to catch a glimpse of yours/My mom says she loves me/When she tucks me into bed/How's your mommy doing in the Mirror of Erised?//My dad is rich/And your dad is dead/My dad is rich and your dad is dead
~ My Dad is Rich, Draco and the Malfoys

If The Flintstones has taught us anything, it's that pelicans can be used to mix cement

2006-06-18T00:34:00.000-05:00

Oh yeah, I forgot to post this. I just stole this from Ben's Blog:

Yes... I leave for Kosovo at 7 PM tomorrow. If for some reason you'd like to keep up with what goes on over there, there are a few ways to do so.

1. The Kosovo Group Blog should be updated daily by our youth pastor Micah, as well as random updates from various members of the team. I may make some posts there, although I might also make some posts on here.

2. You can also send a blank e-mail to list@kosova06.com with the subject line "Subscribe News@Kosova06.com". There will probably be daily updates to this as well.

Anyway, have fun whilst I am gone and all that. See you in two weeks.

"My Homer is not a communist. He may be a liar, a pig, an idiot, a communist, but he is not a porn star." ~Grandpa in The Simpsons

dsfdhsfdhshfFIVE DOLLARS?!!!?!?!?!?!?!!!!!!? Get outta here....

2006-06-17T23:38:00.000-05:00

So, I leave for the airport to go to Kosovo in say...oh...I dunno...about sixteen hours or so, give or take a few minutes. Funny thing is, I'm completely calm about it all. I mean, I'm a bit anxious because I feel like I've forgotten to pack something, but that's about it. Other than that, I feel really at ease. I hope and pray that that means that good things are to come from this trip.

So anyway, I didn't ever write about my amazing journey on Wednesday that involved me buying a crapload of books for dirt-cheap from the booksale at the library. Because I know you'd all love to hear about it, here's a fantabulous list of what I got:

Katie Maxwell, They Wear What Under Their Kilts?
Stephen R. Lawhead, Avalon: The Return of King Arthur
Dave Gross, Black Wolf
Piers Anthony, Faun & Games
Mel Odom, The Rover
Steven Erikson, Gardens of the Moon
L. E. Modesitt, jr., The Spellsong War
Gerasimos Xenophon Santas, Socrates: Philosophy in Plato's Early Dialogues

I also picked up a set of two very, very old volumes, which are known as The Complete Works of William Shakespeare. They contain all of his plays, poems, and sonnets, which is just fabulous for me, since one of my goals this summer is to read all of his works. They also had an entire set of the Deluxe Edition of The Harvard Classics, which had the likes of all of the old, famous writers, philosophers, etc, and I really, really, really wanted to get the whole set, as the whole thing would have only cost me $4.50, which is horrendously cheap considering what they are and the fact that they're all hardcover, but my mom said I didn't have enough room for them and couldn't buy them. I convinced her into letting me buy at least two, and ended up just getting the books for Homer and Dante. I love the Odyssey, and have always wanted to read Inferno, so I just figured I'd get those two. Poopy...I wanted the whole set. :p

I haven't read any of the books yet, but I'm bringing the philosophy one with me to Kosovo, so yeah. I will probably post more on the books once I actually read them. I shall be going now.

"Books have to be heavy because they hold the whole world inside of them." Meggie in Cornelia Funke's Inkheart, quoting her father Mo

Look at the name of this country... "You Are Gay"

2006-06-14T14:37:00.000-05:00

Yes indeed, I am one trendy poser. I now have a blogspot in addition to a website, a myspace, and a deviantART page. w00t. I suppose that makes me horrendously special or something. Yeah, whatever...

So I guess this blog is here to give congratulations and commiserations to things, whether it be music, movies, books, people, or just life in general. Ranting is what I do best, but if something is good, I will let you know. I guess...

I'm going to start this off right now, and say that last night, I went on a shopping spree to Borders with money I got from Confirmation. I was originally going to buy a portable DVD player to take on the plane ride to Kosovo (which I leave for in 4 days!!!), but that turned out to be 119 bucks by itself, not to mention the $70 extra battery so I could use it for at least half the plane ride. Therefore, I decided to go spend a large portion of the money I was going to use for that at Borders. I was able to buy Wormwood by G.P. Taylor, Inkheart by Cornelia Funke, and The Encyclopedia of Mythology (which contains Norse, Classical, and Celtic myths) by Arthur Cotterell, as well as the movies Corpse Bride, Pride and Prejudice, Monty Python and the Holy Grail Special Edition, and the special edition of The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe for about $98. Oh, and I also bought some Cockroach Clusters. Let's start with the rantings and such, shall we?

Monty Python and the Holy Grail is the best movie ever, and this special edition DVD has so much extra crap that it makes it a billion times better than my VHS version. Nuff said.
Corpse Bride, which I watched this morning, was a really good movie. Typical Burton film, really dark but yet horrendously funny in some parts. I still think that Charlie and the Chocolate Factory is my favorite of his movies, but this one is still good. The plot was great.
Pride and Prejudice is a good movie. I haven't watched it since I bought it, but we watched it in English this year while reading the book, and it was really good. I liked it a lot better than the book, at any rate. And Matthew MacFayden, who plays Mr. Darcy, is a total h0ttie, which doesn't make it any worse either. He's not as good-looking in real-life as he is in the movie, but then again, I'm partial to long hair, which he doesn't have in real life. Saddens me a great deal. Actually, to be honest, he kind of looks like John Cusack in real life, and that is a pretty decent-looking man right there, so I guess he's not too bad. Still...

Well, considering that's all I've gotten around to right now, I'll wrap this up. I'll probably post more on the other things I bought once I read/watch them.

Later taters!

"And in my best behavior/I am really just like him/Look beneath the floorboards/For the secrets I have hid" ~John Wayne Gacy, Jr. by Sufjan Stevens

The Pointless Rantings of a Twenty-Something Nerd

I'm in a place where I don't know where I am!

Dad, start digging some nerd holes!

Your mother seems really upset about something. I better go have a talk with her... during the commercial.

I won't sleep in the same bed with a woman who thinks I'm lazy! I'm going right downstairs, unfold the couch, unroll the sleeping ba...uh, goodnight!

When will I learn? The answers to life’s problems aren’t at the bottom of a bottle, they’re on TV!

I resolve to lose 10 pounds, and then gain it back by Valentine's Day.

Aw, Dad...you've done a lot of great things, but you're a very old man now, and old people are useless, aren't they? Aren't they?

I’m here today as Luke Skywalker, but I’m also here…to talk about Sprint!

I used to rock and roll all night and party every day. Then it was every other day... now I'm lucky to find half an hour a week in which to get funky.

Vampires are make-believe, like elves, gremlins, and Eskimos.

I didn’t think it was physically possible, but this both sucks *and* blows.

God, I know you're busy...you know watching women changing clothes and all...

I’ll keep it short and sweet — Family. Religion. Friendship. These are the three demons you must slay if you wish to succeed in business.

You're as dumb as a mule and twice as ugly. If a strange man offers you a ride, I say take it!

Thats it! If that horse does not start winning soon then we are going on a trip to the glue factory and he won't be invited!

...Try to understand. There are two kinds of college students -- jocks and nerds. As a jock, it is my duty to give nerds a hard time!

When will I learn? The answer to life's problems aren't at the bottom of a bottle, they're on TV!

Have the Rolling Stones killed.

I hope I didn’t brain my damage.

Oh, loneliness and cheeseburgers are a dangerous mix.

I don't know where you pixies came from, but I like your pixie drink!

My cat's name is Mittens.

My cat's breath smells like cat food.

The only difference between our marriage and any one else's is: we know ours is a sham.

Remember, you can always find East by staring directly at the sun.

A woman is a lot like a refrigerator. 6 feet tall, 300 pounds...it makes ice.

Son, when you participate in sporting events, it's not whether you win or lose: it's how drunk you get.

The doctor said I wouldn't have so many nose bleeds if I kept my finger outta there.

Can't we have one meeting that doesn't end with digging up a corpse?

Well, whenever I'm confused, I just check my underwear. It holds the answer to all the important questions.

You couldn't fool your own mother on the foolingest day of your life with an electrified fooling machine!

Let's drown our sorrows with a big bowl of strawberry ice cream!

How is education supposed to make me feel smarter? Besides, every time I learn something new, it pushes some old stuff out of my brain.

Weaseling out of things is important to learn. It's what separates us from the animals ... except the weasel.

I've gone back in time to when dinosaurs weren't just confined to zoos.

The Music Piracy Controversy: A Hindrance or an Aid to the Music Industry?

Works Cited

When I held that gun in my hand, I felt a surge of power...like God must feel when he's holding a gun.

All normal people love meat. ..I'm trying to impress people here. You don't win friends with salad!

I'm normally not a praying man, but if you're up there, please save me Superman!

Woah, slow down there maestro. There's a *New* Mexico?

That guy impressed me and I am not easily impressed. Wow. A *blue car*.

A Twizzler is not a sprinkle...A Mounds is not a sprinkle...A Jolly Rancher is NOT a sprinkle!!!!

Fame was like a drug, but what was even more like a drug were the drugs.

Kids, you tried your best and you failed miserably. The lesson is, never try.

The last time the meteors came, we thought the sky was on fire. Naturally, we blamed the Irish. We hanged more 'n a few.

Call this an unfair generalization if you must, but old people are no good at everything.

Can we go Catholic so we can get communion wafers and booze?

The sun is out, birds are singing, bees are trying to have sex with them -- as is my understanding ...

Remember, you can always find East by staring directly at the sun.

They turned the Navy into a floating joke. They ruined all our best names like Bruce and Lance and Julian. Those were the toughest names we had!

If The Flintstones has taught us anything, it's that pelicans can be used to mix cement

dsfdhsfdhshfFIVE DOLLARS?!!!?!?!?!?!?!!!!!!? Get outta here....

Look at the name of this country... "You Are Gay"

I didn’t think it was physically possible, but this both sucks and blows.

Woah, slow down there maestro. There's a New Mexico?

That guy impressed me and I am not easily impressed. Wow. A blue car.