Wednesday, August 31, 2005

Lost in thought

With the new Fall Season quickly approaching (hey! Fox! What do you think you're doing starting it so soon? Bastards!), I'm starting to get reexcited about the few returning shows I like, and ...well, pretty much cringing at everything else. I'll have a post later about some thoughts on the upcoming shows. But for now, an observation I had about Lost's first season. (Which comes out on DVD September 6th)

[Begin spoilers for L O S T (see, I was going for the whole floating letters thing like the show has. I don't know that I succeeded, but, what are ya gonna do (starve? hehehe)), anyway, highlight to view.]
It's about our favorite resident nutso, Danielle.
She validates.

When we first met her, it was when Sayid had left the group. He had wandered off because he had just tortured Sawyer, and was feeling guilty. He probably felt as if he should be tortured.
Danielle tortured him.

The next person to meet up with her was Hurley. At this point Hurley had been feeling ..well, kinda crazy, in regard to the "curse" on his lottery numbers. Danielle validated his feelings that he was NOT insane. (Although coming from someone who is as mentally unstable as she is...) But still. She put Hurley at ease in regard to his upset feelings.

Last instance for my...whatever you want to call this. Danielle and Claire. All along Claire's pregnancy she has been worried that "something bad will happen" to the child, especially if she doesn't raise it herself.
Danielle comes along and kidnaps little Turniphead, thus fulfilling the doom and gloom feeling that Claire has been experiencing.

My memory of her interaction with the other castaways is pretty foggy, but it will be interesting to see if this type of thing continues.

[end spoiler]

The new season of Lost begins on ABC on September 21st.

Monday, August 29, 2005

rhymes with 'cruel'

I didn't cry. It's kind of hitting me now, when I'm at work.

I'm doing this wrong.

My day so far.

5am. the alarm went off. I woke up. Laid there for about 30 minutes. Got up. Washed some dishes.
Went online around 6, and saw Jupe's pictures. (Yay!)
Thought about blogging then, opted not to, since I knew today was going to be a long day with lots to talk about.
Started ironing my shirt for work, Steph came into the kitchen, scaring me.
I asked her if she wanted me to wake the girls up, she said not yet. I laid back down. She went into the kitchen to make Saren's lunch.
A few minutes later, I went to take my shower, Saren woke up and came out to eat breakfast with Stephanie.
Saren got dressed - pink shirt with a cat on it, and a cute little skirt. She'd picked out her clothes yesterday - and then Harper and Irina woke up too.
Once everyone was ready, we left the house to begin the walk to the school. It was 8:21 in the morning.
Saren was carrying her purple backpack all the way there, and I felt bad for her, but she never asked for help.
Along the way, I asked twice "Do you want to change your mind?" Once about half way there, and then once we got onto the school grounds.
Her responses were, "I can't not go now." ("Sure you can." I told her. "You just say, 'eh, I don't want to go.' and then we turn around and walk home.") and "No."
When we got to the school, I was overwhelmed by the amount of children there. Loads of them! All lining up, carrying their own little burdens of backpacks filled with papers and pencils, none of them looking overly happy (it was in the mid 90s outside), most of them talking. It was chaotic.
Steph and I wanted to talk to Saren's teacher beforehand, but, of course, she wasn't out there with the other teachers. We waited and waited and waited, and finally she came out of the building. And then she started talking to several other people.
Finally Steph got her attention and introduced Saren to her, telling her that she'd never been to school before. Her teacher said that Saren would be "just fine", and corralled her into the line with the other students.
I went over and gave her a hug and a kiss, told her to have a good day and then went over with Steph to watch them go in.
As the cattle (one of the teachers did sing a verse from the theme from "Rawhide") children began to move inside , I yelled to Saren so that we could wave to her one last time. She didn't hear me, though. [megafrown] Once she got inside, I turned to look at Steph, and she was crying. As I said, I didn't cry then. Although we got maybe 1/4th of a mile away from the school and I had a minor-major panic attack, and I nearly turned back. But, obviously, I didn't.
We walked home in the heat and for 90% of the walk, I carried Harper, who has somehow become very freaking heavy.
We got home, I took another shower, changed into my work clothes, got my lunch, and drove to work.
I talked to Tina for a while when I got in, and now it's just hitting me. While other parents here at work talk about their children and the trials of dropping them off, and how they're "glad to have them go back" ...I just don't get it. My head hurts.
I told Steph before I left to tell Saren when she picks her up that she'll have to tell the story of how her day went twice, because I want to hear about it too. I'm sure that Steph has blogged most of this -undoubtedly told better, as well- or she will. I don't know how to conclude this, I guess because the story hasn't really reached a conclusion yet. I guess "part 2" will be tonight, after I learn more.

Saturday, August 27, 2005

P@pourri

Heh. If I didn't have the title of "The P@rix" for my blog, I think I would go with that instead.

So.

I think I'm going to avoid talking about Saren's decision to go to school. Why? Several reasons.
a) Because Steph has talked about it already - and she says things better than I do anyway.
b) Denial is something I excel at.
c) Steph is already upset about this (as am I) and thinking about it and/or talking about it feels like wallowing in self-pity. Or that's what it would be for me. Why do I suck at cheering people up(anyone- myself included)?

So, yeah. No talking about how it feels like we've failed as parents (why would Saren want to choose school if she were happy at home?). No talking about the numerous numerous fears and worries I have about her going to school. (Please, dont' get me started. I will seriously be here forever talking about things that I'm imagining going wrong. Although I'd probably hit my word goal if I did...) No talking about how the whole fiassco has greatly illustrated just EXACTLY how fucked up the school system is (and we're not even IN it yet).

Nope.

Instead, I'll talk about...I don't know what. The "Saren going to school" issue is like a large elephant sitting in the living room. (Look out, Oreo!)

Friday - yesterday - I was Michigan J. Frog.
Our station has a "frog suit" - I just did a google image search, and found a picture of a frog suit from a WB station in Tulsa, here. The suit we have is exactly the same.
Anyway, for the past 8 weeks our station has been doing a promotion with Meadow Gold Dairy (a local dairy company) where we would hand out free ice cream and the Frog would be there.
Yesterday was the final week, and I was the lucky person to go into the frog suit. (Note, I've done this on two other occassions, just never blogged about it before)
Getting into the frog suit is a difficult ordeal, and then once you're inside (or, rather, once I am inside - you are never going to be in there, most likely) ...once inside the Frog, moving and visibility are several limited. It's also very very hot. (There is a small fan that is constantly blowing, but it still is quite sweat inducing.)

So why do I put myself through it?

Because I am willing to put myself through all sorts of crap for money. Being in the frog for one hour winds up giving me an additional fifty dollars on my check. Well, $44.60 something, after taxes.
So, yeah. Money is the whole rationale behind the humiliation, the discomfort, the sore muscles (the suit is pretty heavy).
Plus, I get lunch out of the deal.

I was thinking about humiliation for money the other day - we were watching Fear Factor - and it's really ...well, really it's sad that people are so willing to belittle themselves for pieces of paper. Correction. Symbollic pieces of paper.

And, you know, I'm not even really in the mood to bitch about it. Or anything. I think I'm going to go take a shower and perhaps have an ice cream sandwich (left over from the Meadow Gold event).

Zokutou word meterZokutou word meter
63,671 / 200,005
(31.0%)

Friday, August 26, 2005

Tuesday, August 23, 2005

Odd.

The car's mileage hit 135791 today.

Monday, August 22, 2005

How was your vacation?

Seven times so far.

It's weird being back. Part of my soul died on the drive in today. That
sounds like a cliche, but in this instance, I think I actually
understand it. While driving down Flamingo, there was this ache in my
heart that sucked beyond the telling of it. I didn't shed tears, but my
eyes did water.

Like I was telling Steph yesterday, we have it backwards. There should
be two weeks out of the year where you go to work, and the rest of the
time you lounge around doing what you want.

Saturday night into Sunday morning I had my only work dream (that I know
of) while on my vacation, which was a sure sign it was over.
In the dream, the General Manager of the station had ordered me to stab
a woman in the heart with a sword. The woman was someone who worked
here, and there was a reason behind it, but I don't recall what it was.
I can't remember specifically who it was, but she was an older blonde
actress. Goldie Hawn or Farrah Fawcett. Someone like that.
Eventually, we dueled each other with our swords, and engaged in the
requisite witty banter that all sword fighters do. Only it wasn't witty
banter. It was me confronting her about emails and telephone calls
regarding work.
Eventually, I did stab her, although she didn't die. My brain has two
versions as to why. One was that I stabbed her more in the shoulder than
in the heart. The second was that she didn't have a heart to begin with.
I'm not sure which I actually dreamt - maybe both.

Anyway, it's not like my subconscious was being particularly subtle with
it's message there. "You are doing things at work you don't really want
to." Gee, thanks for the news flash, inner workings of my mind!

I had more to say, but I should get back to work. Although I'd much
rather be watching The Price is Right. But then, who wouldn't?

Saturday, August 20, 2005

The hell?

It's 5:37?!? Where did the day go? Where did this week go? I want it back. Do over!!

Oh well. Time marches on, waits for no man, flies when you're having fun, and gathers no moss, counts it's chickens before they've flown the coop, and gets out of the kitchen because it spoils the pie. Time is busy, you know.

Friday, August 19, 2005

Ohhhhhhhhh!!!!!

NOW I get it!

I was listening to the radio earlier today, and Adam Ant was on. The DJ was talking about how that wasn't his real name - he was Stuart ..something. Um. Hold on.
AH! Stuart Leslie Goddard.

Anyway, as the DJ was talking it hit me. Adam Ant put together makes the word adamant, which is pretty clever, actually.

Yes, I realize I'm probably the last person in the world to make this connection, but there ya have it.

Guest blogger: Irina

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Thursday, August 18, 2005

There are customers in the cube.

Actually, it's probably "in the queue", but the stupid female mechanical voice isn't entirely clear, despite my having heard it a billion times. And "in the cube" is funnier. [/making sense only to myself. And Steph]

So. I've been on vacation the past four days, and it's only just now ("just now" meaning "today when I woke up around 9 am") feeling like a vacation. Figures.

But, since I've had the past four days (plus the weekend) off, we've had a lot of stuff to do, and I should update, but I'm not really feeling up to it. Plus, Steph is singing, which is making typing very difficult.

So I'll compromise. I'll do a quick synopsis of what's happened the past 48 + 48 hours.

1) Saren turned eight. The Steph pretty much blogged what I was going to. You can read that account (if you haven't already) here. (Question for Amy - can I take credit for the words Steph wrote in that entry? I totally think I should.)

2) The rabbit was saved, and has been officially adopted into SpishCo. The rodent (rabbits are rodents, aren't they?) is named Sunny. (I prefer to think of it as "Sunnydale", but I keep that amusing name to myself.) I'd go into further detail on the ongoings of the bunny, but the Steph wants to blog about it. Which is fine, since she's much more into the animal than I am. So, you know, check her blog in the upcoming days for a detailed rabbit blog. (Although if she uses "Feed the wabbit!" as her blog title I may go insane.)

3) Went swimming - sorta. Wednesday was Life Learners day, and since I didn't have to be cooped up in an office building (yay!) I got to join the rest of the Spish on their weekly outing. This time it was to the Henderson Pool of Poolness. Or something. It was a really big public swimming pool. Saren had a great time, as did Harper (we played Polly Pockets in the pool). Irina liked it for a little while, then got sleepy, but, since she is a valiant soldier in the war against sleep, she fought her instincts and had a semi-miserable time. [frown] Steph and I had a pretty good time too. And I think I'll take this opportunity to mention to Miranda that she still hasn't started up her own blog yet. [Hi, Miranda!]

4) We looked at travel trailers! This is like the first "step" toward the (going to be abandonded?) goal of RVing across the country for 6 months to a year. It was interesting to actually finally see the inside of one of these vehicles that we may call home in about two years hence. It made the plan a little more real, although it also raised several new fears and/or doubts about the whole situation. Again, I'd go into more detail, but I think I'm going to sign off for now so we can watch Mean Girls.

Sunday, August 14, 2005

Blogging again.

It's like I never stop. [insert whatever the appropriate icon is here]

I found the grey remote. [/boring update]

Our roof is leaking due to the rain, but only in the kitchen (for now). [/boring update]

Tomorrow is
a) Saren's eighth birthday
b) Payday
c) Official beginning of my vacation
d) all of the above

D. Final answer.

And then Meredith Viera would tease me into thinking I got it wrong, but I didn't. Yay!

Saren's party and celebration of her birth will be fun. Unless it gets rained out. We're going to the Las Vegas Mini Gran Prix (yeah, I thought it was "Grand", but turns out I was wrong. You'd think they'd be able to afford the "d" what with their outrageous prices and all, but [shrug]. Maybe keeping maintenance on Go Carts is more expensive than I know.)

Um.

I can't think of anything else to say, and I know I haven't reached my quota of 1002 words yet. Blah blah blah. Heh. Well, that's 4 more. And four more. And another three. Twice. Bringing the grand total of today to...Dude? THat's it? 594? Bloody hell.

Sometime during this week I need to do some serious fiction writing on this blog. Pound out the words. I've got a story idea, too. But I've been saving it for a SS, and we just haven't gotten around to doing that. Which is rather athetic, really. Or pathetic, even. Anyway, the story involves a turtle. And that's all I'm going to give away right now.

Oh! But speaking of turtles! There are now these GIANT statues of desert tortoises (tortoisii? [just kidding. I know it's not really]) along the highway. It's rather disconcerting to be cruising along the 95 and seeing a bronze turtle the size of a Volvo along the shoulder.
Everytime I think this city can't surprise me, it goes and pulls something like this.

Let's see, what else?

I don't know. I really want to meet my quota, but it seems rather silly to just type mindlessly with no real opoint. Um point, that is.

I suppose tomorrow, after Saren's day comes to a close, I'll just have to make up for whatever I don't get tonight, eh?

Cool.

Oh, and.

Where is the grey remote? That thing goes missing way too much. [sigh]

Bunny

I was going to blog about the fact that two rabbits appeared (magically!?!) in our neighborhood today, and Steph had me save one of them.

I was able to rescue it from underneath one of the cars parked on the street. We put it in a box along with some carrots and some leaves for it to munch on. The second rabbit was much more elusive, and as far as I know is still hiding out under the neighbor's car.

The "rescued" rabbit is currently in that box, stored in the shed. We'll be calling the Animal Control people tomorrow or the next day unless we can find the owners. (Speaking of, while we had the rabbit in the box, the neighbor girls talked to a guy walking by and he claimed that the rabbit was his. I dragged the rabbit, the box, and the girls [Steph was out shopping for Saren's birthday presents at the time] all out to where the guy was so that I could return his pet to him. And then he admitted that he was "just kidding". Fucking jerk.)

Anyway, I was going to blog about all that, but I think instead I'll sign off and watch Freaks and Geeks. Yay!

Dear Hollywood,

When you make the sequel to Batman Begins (and we know you will) I really think that the perfect person to play the Joker would be Michael Keaton.

Please consider it.

Thanks,

P@

Thursday, August 11, 2005

Okay, who's screwing around with time again?

Good god.

Today has felt like a week.

Correction. This past hour has felt like a week. D r a g g ing out like
nobody's business.

Yeah, I'm waiting on the computer again. Also, my teeth hurt.

Um.

Oops. I stole my supervisor's pen. Doh. I'll go return that to her. It's
a nice pen, though.

And hey! It's done. Finally. Sheesh. You know, I wonder how I would do
my job if it weren't for computers. Hmm. How did people do this type of
stuff prior to computers? How did they do anything? My guess? They used
potatoes instead. Those things are everywhere, and they can do anything
a computer can. And more! Okay, the potatonet is way more starchy than
the internet, but still. Potatoes, man.

You say computer, I say potator. (HEEEE! that was a typo. Hilarious,
but unintended)
Let's call the whole thing off.

Mundane Update #4210

While I wait for the computer to do it's thing, I'll blog again. I don't have anything to say, though. I did update (earlier) the station's computers into 2006 for the first time this year. Which is kinda crazy. 2006, man. Two. Thousand. Six.

I wonder when people will start saying "Twenty [last two digits of year]" instead of "Two Thousand [last two digits of year]"

I mean, 2006 said as Twenty o' six (or better, twenty aught six) sounds ...actually, I kinda like it. Maybe I'll start saying it that way. Heh. Twenty aught six. If the computers would allow it, I'd start labeling everything at work that way. Spelled out and everything. Sadly, they don't.

Still waiting on the computer. Com. Pew. Ter.

Heh.

Tomorrow is teh Friday. YAY! But, I just know that tomorrow is going to be busy, busy, busy. Oh well. 9 days off will be absolutely wonderful.

What else? I'm wearing mismatching socks today. Nobody's noticed. Or if they have, they've kept quiet.  Of course, I haven't noticed if other people are wearing matching socks either. Maybe EVERYONE wears different colored socks, and I'm just now catching onto the trend. I doubt it though.

Geez, computer, aren't you done yet? How long does it take to put information into a database for the next 15 months? Heh.

When robots are finally given artificial intelligence - or the illusion of it, whatever - I wonder if they'll have something like Asimov's 3 laws of robotics put into place on them.  While that would be nice, I think we also need to make sure that robots can't hurt anybody's feelings. These slaves need to know their place. [/idontknow]

Ooh! Computer's done!

I saw the sign, and it opened up my eyes

Heh. Ace of Base.

Good times. Good times.

Anyway, there's this church near our house - Desert Hills Baptist Church, to be specific - that has a marquee in it's parking lot. The saying they had up there last month was one I wanted to blog so that I wouldn't forget it. Of course, I forgot to blog it. Until now!

So. The saying they had was:

A kicking mule won't pull and a pulling mule won't kick.

I think that the point they were making was that you should choose carefully what type of ass you want to be. But, not attending the church, I guess we'll never know for sure.

The best laid plans of mice and men...

Ha! Eddie Izzard is pretty damn funny. We watched Eddie Izzard: Definite Article last night and there were parts where I didn't think I'd stop laughing. Highlights included: The aforementioned "best laid plans of mice", the queue of murderers ("Twix, please"), the "cycle of cool" ["normal, normal, cool, looking like a dick, cool"], the Mayan bird in the airplane, the Latin accent, Pavlov's cat experiment ("day one - rang bell, cat told me to fuck off"), and the James Bond laugh. Even now, as I'm typing this, the James Bond laugh is making me smile again. It was just brilliantly funny, and can't really be explained unless you see it.

Um. I was going to blog a bunch of other stuff, but I'm not feeling particularly bloggy right now. Plus, there's "work" to be done, or something, so I'll just have to write more later.

Tuesday, August 09, 2005

Autobots, Roll Out!

[take two. This is exactly as it was supposed to have been sent originally. Any additional ...additions will be put in brackets]

Heh.

We're now six weeks away from roll out, which is the term used to describe the beginning of the Fall TV Season. Woo HOO!

And also, Yikes! 6 weeks?!? How the hell did that happen?

Also also, where the hell is my episode schedule for, oh, say, every new show we're premiering? Bernie Mac? Not here yet. Sex and the City? Nope. My Wife and Kids? Well, not like I care, but no, it too has not yet arrived. We'll see if they get here by Wednesday, and then I guess I'll start panicking and calling distributors. Mmm. Work.

I had some weird dream in which Marilyn Manson was trying to drive a vehicle called an Air Walker (derived from Skywalker, maybe?) into a shopping mall. The Air Walker was this hugely ginormous SUV-slash-tank type of thing. I mean, it was BIG. Like building size big.
Except the wheels were the size of skateboard wheels. Really big vehicle, really bitty wheels.

Anyway, as Marilyn was driving this monstrosity toward the building, I was in the direct path. As it was approaching the mall, I tried to stop him saying, "You're not going fast enough!" He didn't take heed, though, and the Air Walker rolled over me (but it didn't hurt because the wheels were so small). The Air Walker bumped into the building and stopped. Apparently he hadn't been going fast enough to do damage to either the building or the Air Walker.

I stood up and looked at the scene while a news reporter (from MTV News, but it was nobody I recognized) came and asked me what I had witnessed.

Then Nirvana woke me up.

Stupid alarm clocks.

In other news, my lunch today is left over Olive Garden food. Mmm. Food.
Sadly, it's only 9:30, so I won't be eating it for a while.

******

So, I've got this bump on my cheek. It's under my beard and I'm not sure how long it's been there. I discovered it yesterday, and of course, now that I'm aware of it, it's constantly bugging me. It's about the size of a quarter, and it's slightly sore to the touch. I just keep telling myself that it's not a too-mah.

******

Holy crap. I'm cleaning off my desk - I want to make sure that it's organized before I go on vacation - and it's amazing how different it looks without papers all over it. It's like...I could do work here! Interesting.
******

6 and one half hours to go.
******

Family Guy probably should have stayed canceled. [/bordering on blasphemy]
The last two weeks that I've watched it, just haven't been funny. It's a mean spirited show and a LOT of it's humor is misogynistic and sexist. Too much of it is simply pop culture references for the sake of pop culture references. Which is not to say that it sometimes isn't funny, it's just ...I don't know. Last night's episode made me laugh twice. Once when God started the fire and said, "Jesus Christ!" and then Jesus Christ was there and said, "What?" God: "Get in the Escalade, we're getting out of here!"
And the other was the end scene which was simply a remake of the final scene from Star Wars: Episode IV: A New Hope.
The week before that - I don't think I laughed at all. At the end of the episode I thought to myself, "Why did I just waste a half hour watching that?"

Meh. Whatever. We don't watch that much television anymore anyway (I was just thinking about this earlier today, how when I was in Master Control, I watched 8 hours of television EVERY DAY, and then would often times come home and watch another two or three. No wonder my brain is so...), so one less half an hour can only help. We do watch lots of movies now, though. Although I think once we get through the next 40ish DVDs in our queue, that we'll slow down on that a bit, too. Or maybe not. I don't know. Movies are good. DVDs, while still a tool of the devil, are good.

Steph just emailed me and informed me that Peter Jennings died. In a half an hour, when I go to lunch, I'll watch the local news, and be pretty irritated that they'll attempt to mix this inbetween vapid non-stories and the weather. 

Like Steph, I will always remember Peter Jennings as the one we watched during 9/11, and how at one point, after having been on the air for like 4000 hours straight, he said, "Come on!!" in a super aggravated voice when he didn't realize he was still on the air. It was a moment that drove home that he was a human being, something I'm not so sure about in regard to most newscasters nowadays.

******
Scared. Little. Monkey.
******
wOw, do I ever suck.
It's just a phone call, Pat. Pick up the phone, dieal (heh. dial, that is) the numbers, talk to the human being on the other end. Simple. Or, you know, keep procrastinating by typing. Whatever works for ya.

Well, yes, I suppose sitting here not typing AND not calling is also an option. Stupid.

Okay. Call. Call, Pat. Pick up the phone and call either Erica or Dominique and ask the questions and get the answers and then you can go back to NOT talking on the phone. But until you do it, it's going to be making you sicker and more nervous because you're not doing it, and you have to.
Pick. Up. The. Phone.
Stop typing.
Go!

Okay. Going now.

******

Well. That's a little better. You've made two (two!!) phone calls, and it didn't kill you. Of course, you still need to make one more, since neither of the first two wielded much info, but, hey, third time's the charm, right?

Doh. Erica wasn't in. Funny how talking to her machine was a lot easier than talking to an actual person. I wonder what that says about me. And about machines. It probably ain't good, whatever it is.
But! Mission...well, "mission accomplished" only in the Bush Administration sense of the phrase. I completed the phone calls, but I don't have the info I need. Now it becomes a game of waiting for return phone calls. However, the pressure is off me to make the calls, so it's all good. Or something. All I know is I could really go for a Pepsi right about now. Sadly, I don't have any money. Oh! Maybe there's some change in the car. C'mon, universe, work with me here...

******

30 cents. And some pennies.

Doh. Pepsi denied.

In other news, I am on a phone call roll! I've made like 4 now. In the past half hour. Granted, 3 of those have wound up talking to voice mails, but still. You know what this means, right? It means that in about twenty minutes, my phone is going to ring nonstop. Hmm.

******
I never did get around to answering my 2nd boq from last week. I'll have to be sure and do that sometime soon. I wonder if I've hit my word count quota for today. (It's 978, for those playing at home. And as of right ...NOW, this entry is at: 1,222.

Yay! I've made my quota of the day. And then some! Now if I can do this same amount of typing EVERY DAY for the rest of the year, I'll meet the goal of 200,005 words blogged in one year. Piece. of. cake.


Mmmmm. Cake.

******

[at this point was the Ron Weasley test results that are below]

Yay!

*****

And, hey, speaking of word count, if I keep on adding on to this, maybe I'll hit my goal today!

******

The title of this particular blog entry reminded me of this toy I saw at Target. It was this huge Optimus Prime. I believe it was labeled as "Optimus Prime: Energon", and while it was 40 bucks - meaning it was less than the Unicron toy that has been calling my name for over a year - it would totally be worth having. Oh man, I miss my Transformers toys.

And Boglins! I'm sure nobody remembers those (I stand corrected) but they were mini goblin like hand puppets that came in a box shaped like a cage. Oh man, those were cool.

Other cool ass toys from my youth: M.U.S.C.L.E.S., Garbage Pail Kids, Popples (shut up! They were too cool!), Alien in a can (dude. How DID they do that? Anyone who remembers/figured out the secret, let me know. We'll talk.), Army Ants,  and Pogoballs. Ahh. Good times.

Friday, August 05, 2005

if you have some time to kill

Play this.

Warning: addictive, frustrating, and may result in sore wrists. Enjoy!!

Thursday, August 04, 2005

By the numbers

Number of minutes it took me to drive to work today: 61
Number of phone calls I have received so far today: 1
Number of sheets of paper I have personally printed so far today: 65
Number of emails I have received today (so far): 17
Number of emails I have sent out today (so far, not including this one):
3 (one was a mass email, though, and if you count the individuals it
went to, it bumps the total up to 37)
Number of times I have used the phrase "number of" in this message (so
far): 7
Shows that have needed to be edited so far today: 2 (Jerry Springer for
Friday [audience member says, "kick your fucking ass"] and Maury for
Monday [man says "it couldn't be his cum!"])
Amount of food I have eaten today: None
Number of days left in the year: 149
Ways to leave your lover: 50
Days that Irina has been in the world: 185
Standard length of a paid program (infomercial): 28 minutes and 30 seconds
Number of paid programs we run during a typical workday on our two
stations: 19 (10 on KVWB, 9 on KFBT)
Number of paid programs we run during a typical weekend on our two
stations: 63 (27 on KVWB, 36 on KFBT)
Number of miles driven in our car in the month of July, 2005: 858
Number of miles driven in our car in the month of August, 2005 (so far):
81.9
Miles to go before I sleep: About 10, I guess.
Ability to find a humorous way to wrap up this blog entry: Priceless

Wednesday, August 03, 2005

More Potter

I just read this today and was very impressed with it, figured I'd share.
[HBP]
Slughorn was totally RAB's helper.
RAB is probably Regulus, but Regulus couldn't've gotten the horcrux alone. So Slughorn helped him.
This makes sense because Slughorn was the one who told Riddle about horcruxes.
Also, I bet that before going into the cave, that Slughorn drank Felix Felicus.
[/HBP]


The pieces are coming together.

Potter, Harry.

See, when you are writing a series of books, and you're approaching the final one, and the penultimate book has been released, you're going to produce a LOT of speculation on how it's all gonna end.

Even if it is a "children's" book series.

Some of the following came from my brain on it's own. Some I discovered on the net from other people's brains. (Frankly, other people's thoughts amaze and/or disturb me.)

Spoiler time!
[begin speculation on the Harry Potter series, includes spoilers of all the books including Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince]
Where to begin?

A lot of this speculation is going to be wild, way out there stuff that I have no hopes of being true. (I'd be disappointed if some of the things did come to pass. You'll see.)

At the end of Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince, Dumbledore has been murdered before Harry's eyes, by Professor Snape. There has been much speculation as to whether Snape (who has throughout the series been distrusted by Harry, and  completely trusted by Dumbledore (who never gave a reason for trusting him)) is on the side of good or of evil.
When I first read the book, my initial thought was that it was surprising that JK Rowling had opted to finally choose a side for Snape, after doing the whole "is he good, is he bad" thing through the series.
Since then, I've thought about it, and seen some pretty darn convincing evidence that the side Snape is on is still that of the good guys.
And while I'm 98% sure that that will end up being the case, there's still that 2% of doubt that keeps reminding my brain that it's there to be dealt with.
So, here are the cases for why Snape might actually be evil.
1) Harry has distrusted Snape from the get-go. Harry is the protagonist, and to have him wind up being wrong seems ...wrong.
[Snape is Good counter point - Dumbledore has trusted Snape from the get-go. To have Dumbledore be wrong also seems wrong. Although Dumbledore has been wrong before. (see: Not telling Harry all the information, believing that Crouch Jr was Mad Eye Moody) Also...Dumbledore might not be all that he was made out to be. But more on that later.
I guess it really comes down to who was right - Dumbledore or Harry?
Harry has always been a good judge of character - he disliked Draco right away, knew Ron and Hermione were good - so why be off about Snape?
Dumbledore, on the other hand, has always been illustrated as highly intelligent. But, especially in book 6, as perhaps too trusting.

A large component in the "Snape is Good" argument is that Dumbledore knew about the Unbreakable Vow that Snape made. I think he probably did. But that doesn't mean that Snape is a good guy. It just means that Dumbledore knew that either Snape or Draco was going to attempt to kill him.

Perhaps, Dumbledore, in his wisdom, knows that Snape is the bad guy, but is okay with that, because he knows that it will come into play somehow. And his "I trust Snape" statement is really meaning, "I trust Snape to play out his role in the bigger scheme of things".

I'm not explaining myself very well.

Another doubt as to why Snape is good.
It seemed that Draco was wavering when Snape and the Death Eaters came into Dumbledore's office.He had also been under huge amounts of stress to commit the act of murder. It seems that Draco is realizing that being a Death Eater is as glamorous as he had believed. This might mean that Draco is going to deflect to the good side.
Now, if Draco is redeemed, and RAB ends up being Regulus Black, AND Snape ends up being a good guy...it's like, dude. Is ANYONE truly evil in this book? Maybe Voldemort will wind up being a good guy too.

Point #3) Making Snape one of the white hats moves too much of the focus of the series onto him. The books are supposed to be about Harry Potter, not Severus Snape.

#4) I want Snape to be evil.

Of course, I also want him to be good.
I want to eat my cake and have it too.

Before I leave from the Snape-talk, a theory that I told Amy I'd mention in this - Snape and Harry's mother, Lily. It's been postulated that Snape liked Lily. I can see this being brought to light in book 7. The wild theorist in me thinks that, hey, maybe Snape is even Harry's true father.
Except that it's been stated over and over again that Harry looks so much like James. (Perhaps Lily used magic to make Harry have James' appearance? Hmmm. Okay, definitely moving into fanfic territory here.)
But, yeah, if Snape had a crush on Lily, it would explain (in part) why he hates Harry so much. Harry is the result of his unrequited love. Plus, Snape is responsible for Lily's death.
It'll be interesting to see what direction JK Rowling takes with Snape. And how much redemption - if any - she gives his character.

Harry the horcrux.

I hate this theory.

The idea that Harry will have the last piece of Voldemort's soul in him just sucks. While there is some compelling evidence to support the theory - the Sorting Hat wanting to put Harry in Slytherin, Harry being a parseltounge, the connection between Voldemort and Harry in the earlier books - it's just too...wrong, somehow.
First, Dumbledore would've known. And he would've found a way to either remove the horcruxness from Harry, or perhaps have Harry destroyed. (Yikes. The killing of an innocent baby? I think Dumbledore would've done it, though, if it meant the complete death of Voldemort.)
Second - if Harry is Voldemort's last horcrux, it means that if Voldemort is to be completely beaten by the end of the series, that either
a) Harry has to be killed to
b) some sort of way to remove the horcrux from Harry's body has to be done [which could be done, it's a fictional story and we don't know much about horcruxes, but I'd take issue with this being the solution since, like I said, Dumbledore would've found this out long ago]
c) Harry won't defeat Voldemort

There is a semi-related theory that only part of Harry is the horcrux - say his eyes, or perhaps the scar - and I can buy that a little easier, since that would mean that Voldemort's death (or total death, rather) would leave Harry alive - but blind or critically injured.  If she goes the Harry is a horcrux route, I think that something like this might be the best way to go. But I'd prefer that it not be touched upon at all.

Speaking of horcruxes...the locket at the end and RAB...Dumbledore was convinced that the horcrux was there in the cave. Which leads me to believe that either - the note is false, and the locket IS the horcrux, or perhaps Dumbledore DRANK the horcrux. Meaning that Voldemort put the horcrux in the potion that Dumbledore drank, rather than in the locket in the potion. Because, really, how did R.A.B. put the potion back after destroying the original?

Blah. I'm done. I've had a hell of a day, and I don't really want to talk Harry Potter anymore. I've lost my train of thought, and I'm not sure what my point(s) is/are/were. But, briefly, crazy theories:

1) Dumbledore is evil. From Book 4 when Harry mentions that Voldemort can touch him, he sees a look of triumph on Dumbledore's face. I've got other evidence to back this up, but if it turns out that Dumbledore IS evil, it would be more of a disappointment than a shock.

2) Hagrid is evil. Hee! Never see that one coming. Similarly, that Hagrid is the last horcrux. There's no way it could happen, but it would be a shock.

3) That Book 7 won't be the end. Or, rather, that the confrontation between Harry and Voldemort won't take place. The books are supposed to chronicle Harry's years at Hogwarts. Nothing says that he'll actually destroy all the horcruxes and face Lord Voldemort before year 7 ends.

4) Harry will be the new Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher. I suspect that this one might happen. This will be how they get Harry back to Hogwarts for the 7th book. It's been hinted at - he was teaching in book 5 - and it makes a lot of sense. Plus, it would just be really cool.

So, yeah. Not the great Harry Potter post I had intended, but rarely do things turn out as planned, eh?

[end speculation discussion]

As always, if you're feeling spoilerphobic, don't read any of  the comments.

Tuesday, August 02, 2005

boqnalia

Wherein I answer yesterday's bunch of questions, and ask a whole new set. Hooray!

What's your current obsession?
Getting out. 'course, that's not exactly new. Oh. I didn't say "newest". I said "current". So, yeah, getting out.
Harry Potter, to a degree.
I'm sure in a month or so, it'll be Lost again.
Oh, and word counting, of course. [rolleyes]

What's wrong?
I'm cold. It's 98 degrees outside, and I'm freezing, because the air conditioner is left on all the time.

What's the last thing you fixed?
My lunch. ('twas sandwiches [one peanut butter and banana, one peanut butter and jelly] for those who are curious)

What's the last thing you broke?
The news to someone. Heh. Wordplay amuses me greatly. It was breaking news. I broke it.
(I am such a freaking nerd. I'm having to stop myself from giggling over this.)

We built this city on rock and roll. What did you build your city on?
Some dead Indian's land. [/morbid nervous chuckle]
Alternative answer: Shaky foundations.

Who's next?
My money is on either the P@ or, oh, say Annie. (I like long shots.)

Global warming?
I'd say yes, but good freaking hell it's cold in here.

"What's your name? (what's your name?) Who's your daddy? (who's your daddy?)"
Pat.
Heh. That works for all four questions.
("Time of the Season" by The Zombies)

On a scale of one to ten - how hungry are you right now?
1. Go lunch!

What do you think my word count will be at year's end?
174,903.

Is [                ] evil?
Brackets are totally the punctuation of the devil.

and finally...

Done?
Essentially, yes.


And now, today's issuance of questions.

<b>Do clothes make the man?</b>

<b>When is the future?</b>

<b>What website were you at just prior to this one?</b>

<b>What is something that you have noticed is everywhere now?</b>

<b>"Did you do it for love, did you do it for money? Did you do it for spite, did you think you had to, honey?"</b>

<b>What color do you want to be?</b>

<b>If you had a slogan, what would it be?</b>

<b>Why do you hate computers?</b>

and finally...

<b>What's a really good question?</b>

The end. I still need to write up my Harry Potter post. Maybe tomorrow.

Monday, August 01, 2005

bOq

Copy and paste the red text, and then answer the questions. You can provide the answers in my comments, or in your own weblog. (Or both, if you're feeling particularly uppity) Heh. "Weblog". And "uppity". [/introductory preamble]

<b>What's your current obsession?</b>

<b>What's wrong?</b>

<b>What's the last thing you fixed?</b>

<b>What's the last thing you broke?</b>

<b>We built this city on rock and roll. What did you build your city on?</b>

<b>Who's next?</b>

<b>Global warming?</b>

<b>"What's your name? (what's your name?) Who's your daddy? (who's your daddy?)"</b>

<b>On a scale of one to ten - how hungry are you right now?</b>

<b>What do you think my word count will be at year's end?</b>

<b>Is [                ] evil?</b>

and finally...

<b>Done?</b>

Meh. Not my best boq, but I guess I am a little rusty at this type of thing.

August 2005

The year is going by way too quickly.

Today is Irina's half birthday. Halfy Birthday, Baby!!

Two weeks from today is Saren's 8th birthday! Eight! Criminy.

In completely unrelated to birthday news, I just smooshed Shelagorg. (That would be Shelob and Aragog's child. A hugely ginormious spider that was sitting on the wall of my cubicle. Man, that thing was hideous.) Gah. I'm gonna have the heebies for a while now. Stupid ugly looking creature.

The weekend was fun. Sunday was a birthday party for the son of a fellow Las Vegas Life Learner. There were ponies and swimming pools and cake and a pinata. Fun!
The family actually rented a pair of ponies for the children to ride on. Saren and Harper enjoyed that. Irina wasn't too interested, but that's because she's still not a baby. [/paraphrase of a really stupid thing I said yesterday night while in The Pond]
And I should probably explain that:
The Pond is a Stephism. It's her explanation of what my brain is like when I'm overtired or just not thinking clearly. Because in her mind, my vocabulary is a big pond of words, and when I'm in it, I'm just randomly grabbing words to put together, logic be damned.
So. Last night, after the party, I was kinda worn out, and I was in The Pond. And I said that "babies aren't really babies until after at least 9 months."
The reasoning behind that statement was that up until that point, they have more "in-belly experience" than "out in the world experience". It made a kind of sense at the time, but even my underfunctioning brain knew something was off about that.

I had Netflix send us a copy of all the movies we've rented from them so far, and I figured since we've had the service for 8 months now, let's see how we've done. Here's a list of all the movies we've rented from Netflix over the past year, along with any additional comments I felt like adding. A good percentage of these I've mentioned already, but then again, there's nothing new under the sun. So. Movies!

Title
Comments
Spider-Man 2 (2004)
I can't believe that Spider-Man 2 was our first Netflix Movie. It seems like so long ago that we first watched it. [sigh] Those were the days. Anyway, I don't have much to say about Spider-Man 2, like I reported originally, it was a pretty forgettable blockbuster flick. Now Spider-Man 3, on the other hand...well, I read somewhere on the net that it might introduce the Clone Saga storyline. Not following the comics, I don't know specifically what that entails, but it'll be interesting to see if they go that route.
Garden State (2004)
Heh. Zach Braff is funny. I'm glad that we picked up Scrubs for next season.
Ella Enchanted (2004)
We totally own this movie now! "Woo hoo! Nobody knows it!"
Shrek 2 (2004)
Hey! We own this movie, too! And I hear they're making a Shrek 3. Cool.
Vanilla Sky (2001)
Did you guys know that Katie Holmes has a (super brief) cameo in this movie? During one of Tom Cruise's dreams, they do a blipvert type of flash, and one of the magazines that he sees has Katie Holmes on the cover. Coincidence? I think not!
The Day After Tomorrow (2004)
Mega-effects blockbuster or documentary of the future? Only time will tell.
The Secret of Roan Inish (1993)
[sigh] I wish some fairies would come and straighten up our house.
Amelie (2001)
This movie was fun.
Annie: Special Anniversary Edition (1982)
I didn't watch this.
The School of Rock (2003)
Jack Black was amusing in this. I keep meaning to check out Tenacious D, and keep forgetting to. Maybe this will serve as a reminder to myself to do so.
Love Actually (2003)
Better than I expected!
Lost in Translation (2003)
Worse than I expected!
Spirit: Stallion of the Cimarron (2002)
I didn't watch this. (So many movies that are just for the girls)
Monty Python and the Holy Grail (1975)
Run away!!!
Bend it Like Beckham (2002)
Moral of the story: Communicate with your children, or they will sneak out behind your back and become world-class soccer players.
Dodgeball: A True Underdog Story (2004)
He's more of a pirate than you'll ever be!
Dodgeball: A True Underdog Story (2004)
We liked this movie so much, we rented it twice! (Actually, the first copy had scratches on it, so we had to get a new one sent to us. Netflix keeps track of EVERYTHING.)
Eddie Izzard: Circle (2000)
"I found me some happiness, now I'm gonna shoot it!" Hee.
Thumblelina (1994)
I didn't watch this.
Month Python's Life of Brian (1979)
Always look on the bright side of life!
The Matrix: Reloaded (2003)
"It's like a video game." ~ Saren, during one of the many, many, many battle scenes. Granted, it looked cool, but monotonous much?
The Matrix: Revolutions (2003)
What. The. Fuck?
Kipper: Pools, Parks & Picnics (1998)
Don't you want a dog, want a dog, want a dog...like Kipper?
The Forgotten (2004)
I'd forgotten we'd watched this.
Heh.
Mulan: Special Edition (1998)
Girl power!!
Mary Poppins (1964)
This movie is hella long. But it is a classic, and for (fairly) good reason.
Kipper: Fun in the Sun (1998)
More Kipper!
Mulan 2 (2004)
I...didn't watch this.
Mona Lisa Smile (2003)
Girl power!
The Village (2004)
I knew the first twist, and saw the second one coming a mile away, but it was still an interesting movie.
SpongeBob SquarePants: The Movie (2004)
Heee!
My Neighbor Totoro (1988)
Miyazaki is awesome.
Hook (1991)
I can't believe that I saw this in the theaters - four times!
Closer (2004)
CRAP!
The Princess Diaries (Widescreen) (2001)
Um. I really dont' have anything to say about this movie.
The Princess Diaries 2: Royal Engagement (2004)
I fell asleep during this one. Not that it was bad - I mean, it seemed to be about the same as the first one, which was enjoyable,  but it just seemed to be exactly like the first one.
Blue's Clues: Bluestock (2004)
I didn't watch this.
I, Robot (2004)
Better than I expected.
Frontier House: Disc 1 (2002)
Interesting.
Frontier House: Disc 2 (2002)
Ditto.
Fairy Tale: A True Story (1997)
I fell asleep during this.
The Phantom of the Opera: Special Edition (2004)
I didn't watch this. Steph did, though, and really enjoyed it.
Nausicaa of the Valley of the Wind (1984)
Mmmm. Miyazaki.
Smoke Signals (1998)
I liked how the flashbacks were incorporated into this movie. And how the symbolism of smoke and fire kept coming into play. Nice little gem.
The Lion King 1 1/2 (2004)
Better than 2.
Spanglish (2004)
I didn't watch (all of) this.
Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl (2003)
Swashbuckling! I'm looking forward to #2.
Tuck Everlasting (2002)
I didn't watch this.
Pooh's Heffalump Movie (2005)
I didn't watch this.
Rabbit-Proof Fence (2002)
Impressive. Especially since it's based on a true story.
Finding Neverland (2004)
I fell asleep.
Cube Zero (2004)
Not up to par with the original, but certainly a nice addition to the Cubeverse. This was the first DVD that I watched the director's commentary on. (I still find those things highly annoying, but this was pretty cool. It added some insight to the movie.) I liked that this was an examination of authority and following orders blindly. Plus, the director told a great way to keep people hooked on movies/series/whatever that are built around mysteries: Give the viewers answers - but then make them question the answers you've given.
Are you listening, Lost people?
National Treasure (2004)
For a while, when I was younger, Nicolas Cage was one of my favorite actors.
The Incredibles (2004)
I've said it before, I'll say it again: Pixar needs to slow down.
The Ring (2002)
I didn't like this movie. Is The Grudge any better?
Fraggle Rock: Dance Your Cares Away (1983)
I didn't watch this. (But I wanted to. [frown])
To Kill a Mockingbird (1962)
I should reread this. Scout's awesome.
The Goonies (1985)
Down here it's our time! Heh.
Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring (2001)
I fell asleep during this, but that's okay, because I'd seen it in the theaters.
Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers (2002)
I fell asleep during this, but that's okay, because I'd seen it in the theaters. Also, it will be shown on the WB on September 18th. [/programming geek]
Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King (2003)
I fell asleep during this, but that's okay, because I woke up during the important parts. The important parts were the parts with Sam, Frodo, and Gollum. The battles? Way too many. Way too not caring.
Oh, and I lost it when [spoiler taggin' it, just in case]everybody bowed at the end. "My friends, you bow to no one"[end spoiler]. Dude, that was incredible.
Super Size Me (2004)
Morgan Spurlock is pretty funny. He seems like a cool guy to hang out with. I think we'll get his FX show, 30 Days, on DVD once it's available.
Indiana Jones and the Raiders of the Lost Ark (1981)
I fell asleep during this, but that's okay, because I've seen it in the theaters.
Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom (1984)
I fell asleep during parts of this, but I've seen it before. I think this was Saren's favorite of the three.
Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade (1989)
I fell asleep during this, because I suck. We either need to start movies earlier, or I need to change my hours at work. Or maybe both.


Whew! Man, that's a lot of movies. At home still waiting to be seen we have King Arthur and Eloise at the Park I think.

In other news, um, I don't think I have anything else right now. Oh! I have a whole Harry Potter ramble to make, but I think I'll save that for another post.