T.O.E. Is Awesome

Rice Boy is all finished up. Go read it. I really enjoyed this series, it does a lot of unusual things, but the character of T.O.E. really intrigues me a lot. 

What are you still doing here? Go read Rice Boy.

Call to Action

So what happened to responsibility?

As my parents and I were leaving our local Grand Central Bakery we noticed that behind our car there was another car parked in such a fashion that it was impossible for us (and the two cars next to ours, as well as the three cars on the other side) to leave. Since this is very illegal, as well as a might annoying and dangerous, I decided to go back into the bakery and ask whose car that was.

Now I'm not saying that I wasn't a little angry, and I certainly wasn't the politest I have ever been, but I didn't yell and I certainly didn't swear. All I did was tell the lady who happened to own this vehicle that she needed to move her car immediately, that it was parked illegally and that it was a hazard. The employees of the establishment even backed me up and told the lady that she couldn't park there and had to move her car. Despite all of this, the woman said that I was a "bastard" and as she left she declared that it was, "people like you who are ruining this country."

Yup.

Everyone, please don't let people like this get away unopposed. If you see someone cut in line, park illegally, jaywalk, anything of that sort, please challenge them. Don't yell, don't swear, just tell them what they're doing is wrong and challenge what they are doing. Most of the time it isn't policeman that keep people from breaking the law, it's fear of social ostracism. Kids go tagging and breaking windows with their friends because they are afraid of being looked down on by their peers. Well guess what, it works the other way too. Don't let these people get away with their habits, go up to them and make them feel that there are consequences.

Hitting the Notes of My Soul

It has been exactly two weeks and one day since I returned home, but today was the first day that I have been able to listen to any of my music. For some people this may not be that big of a deal, but for me it's equivalent to being turned into a robot for two weeks. Something about music just fills me up, it makes me spark. I can write for an hour and get out one, maybe two pages if I'm lucky, but with music I can pump out ten pages of analytical academic writing with quotes pulled from relevant sources.

The reason why I haven't listened to anything is that I have to pump my music up so that it fills the room. I can't stand when music is going but you can still talk to people (a big problem at parties); my music has two volumes available, off and on. This makes it a bit hard to listen when there are people around.

So yeah, today was the first day that I've been, alone.

At all.

For two weeks.

That doesn't really happen to me. I finally feel like I have creativity again. Now if I could just get over this weird problem I have of not playing games when I'm home. I want to, and eventually I do, but it takes me a couple of months (and for those who think it's good because then I'm doing something else, they're wrong, I just sit around thinking about how I want to play games for hours).

By the way, here's three awesome video/songs that made me feel whole again today: 1, 2, 3.

P.S. I've got a new secret project that I'm working on. I don't have any details right now, but expect to see something pretty cool starting late September or so.

Memorial Day

To all those who died fighting, thank you.

To all those who served and survived, thank you.

To all those who are serving today, thank you.

Without you I couldn't do what I do today and I cannot thank you enough.

Fist, Gun and Whip

Go see Indiana Jones and the Crystal Skull it's good clean fun.The movie doesn't preach at you (except get an education), it doesn't have a political message and it doesn't carry some ulterior motive. The only thing this movie does is let you have fun. Sure it's a little unbelievable at times, and it rushes through some of the character interaction, but god damn, it's Indiana Jones and he's punching people!

Between this movie and Iron Man, I'm starting to really like simple plots that don't get in the way of action.

Oh and a stellar cast playing at the top of their game doesn't hurt (seriously, this is the first time I've seen LaBeouf playing a character that isn't Shia LaBeouf).

The En...?

Has anyone else noticed an annoying trend in movie and television writing lately? I swear, almost every movie or season finalé I watch these days has a cliffhanger ending. The movies have it a little less, at least the main villain is dead (well not in Eragon's case but that wasn't a very good movie anyways), but there's always some other, larger problem that remains unsolved. TV is worse though, like the CSI: New York season ender, which, I don't know, didn't end. They pull this cliffhanger and just expect viewers to sit with it until the next season starts? Some part of me has a feeling that people have been forgetting how to end stories, and especially how to conclude them. It used to be that an epilogue was a rare thing, but for the past few years I've been seeing them crop up left and right. And those little snippets that movies have after the credits roll, I remember when those used to come before the credits.

Really this is just a rant about me wanting a remake of FFVII on the PS3. Crisis Core was an amazing prequel (I can't believe I just put those two words together), it's story held on its own, but also deeply enriched the experience you get from FFVII. When they show that opening cinematic at the end of Crisis Core it made me want to pop in my FFVII disc right then and there. Only thing that stopped me was that the graphical downshift would have caused a nasty grinding noise and stalled the emotions that Crisis Core had built up in me.

If you are a fan of FFVII, or just want a fun (albeit easy) PSP game, I cannot recommend Crisis Core enough. Honestly, its the best game I've played on that system yet (also it has new game+ which every game with a good story needs desperately).

Good Riddance

I returned to Portland from school last Monday, but it wasn't until today that I finally felt at home. The day after I got back I got sick and on Wednesday my roommate showed up to crash at my place until his flight. This morning I finally took him to the airport and boy was it a relief. I like my roommate, he's a good friend, but I don't like hanging out with anyone for a week straight. About the only time where we weren't hanging out was when I was asleep. Add on that he lost his laptop's power cable so he was using my laptop and, well let's just say if he had stuck around for another day or two and he wouldn't be going back to Minnesota, ever.

What this means is I'm going to bed, and tomorrow I'm going to go get a job and start actually posting interesting things.

P.S. I still count this guy among my friends, it was just too much for too long to not start going a little crazy (especially with someone who likes to be entirely alone every couple of days).