inherently different

Archive for February, 2005

Never work on a MT-based site when you’re bored. Never. Seriously. Don’t do it.
I’m still adjusting things, fixing links, wearing a skirt, etc. Comment if you like, just know that I respond best to critique preceeded by the words, “Hey asshole!”

As birthdays go, mine was great. I read, I relaxed, I napped. How is that different than anyother day you may ask? Well, it’s not. The only difference is that it was my birthday and that made it just a little bit better. I don’t know about you, but birthdays just make everything a little bit better.

I guess two things make birthdays special for me. The first is my gf who lets me be me all the time, but lets me be even more me on my birthday. Last year she gave me 30 days of Ed as a birthday present. This year she took me out to eat a huge meal at Buffet Toji, then to see Constantine.

Dinner was great (and cheap since birthday meals are FREE!) and the movie wasn’t as bad as I expected it would be. Some of the effects were cool and Midnight, played by Djimon Hounsou, was the coolest character by far. Based on the comic book Hellblazer, Constantine is a supernatural detective from the UK who has a less than palatable past including stints in prison for child murder. In typical Hollywood fashion, the movie version is about as offensive as a bowl of vanilla icecream. Luckily, they found the perfect inanimate object to play the Americanized John Constantine, Keanu Reeves.

Various things have happened on this day in history. For instance:
In 2003 Fire broke out during a rock concert at a nightclub in West Warwick, R.I., killing one hundred people and injuring about 200 others. The phrase “The band was on fire!” is no longer an acceptable way of complimenting Great White.
In 1997 The “Empire Strikes Back, special edition” premieres. Millions of geeks rejoice.
In 1991 The USSR announces Iraq has agreed to a proposal to end Persian Gulf War. The US calls the plan unacceptable. George Bush snorts his first line of the morning in celebration.
In 1989 Pete Rose meets with Commissioner Ueberroth to discuss his gambling addiction. Vegas takes odds on whether that’s a good idea.
In 1988 During a live TV broadcast, televangelist Jimmy Swaggart (age 52) admitted to visiting a prostitute, then announced he would be leaving his ministry for an unspecified length of time to explore ministering to the pimps and hos he had befriended.
In 1987 Syrian army marches into Beirut under the guise of tourists looking for cheap Falafels.
In 1986 AIDS patient Ryan White returns to classes at Western Middle School where his classmates quickly call him Ryan “No” White “Cells.”
In 1983 NBA San Diego Clippers begin a 29 game road losing streak and San Diegans are surprised to hear they have an NBA team.
In 1981 “Yorkshire Ripper” Peter Sutcliffe, murderer of 13 women, captured. In a display of understatement, Sutcliffe claims he only wanted to be held.
In 1979 2 Iowa girls High School basketball teams play 4 scoreless quarters; the game was won 4-2 in the 4th overtime period.
In 1974 Israeli forces leave western Suez claiming a previous engagement in New York for the opening of Cats on Broadway.
In 1972 Richard Nixon becomes 1st US President to visit China. Unable to hold still for a photo, Nixon inspires a plastic Taiwanese sculptor to invent bobbleheads.
In 1971 Series of tornadoes cuts through Mississippi & Louisiana killing 117. The death toll could have been higher, but the tornadoes couldn’t find anymore trailerparks in the area.
In 1970 Jackson 5 make TV debut on “American Bandstand.” Michael Jackson actually looks black for the last time ever.
In 1969 1st launching of heavy N-1 rocket at Baikonur Kazachstan (explodes). Russians claim the vodka to be used for fuel was instead consumed by the crew.
In 1968 150,000 demonstrate against leftist students in West-Berlin. Rightist students protest the protest calling for equal time.
In 1966 I was born and began my quest to insult as many people as humanly possible.

Today, I will do absolutely nothing in honor of all that has happened before. I just wish my younger brother could be able to take back at least one of the things that happened on his birthday. No one ever seems to pay much attention to you when your birthday falls on September 11.

The common myna is probably the first or second bird you’ll notice on Maui (the zebra dove being the other). Occasionally you’ll see one that is trained. There was an elderly gentleman named Bill in the condo complex where we used to live who had trained one. The myna would fly down off the trees and rest on Bill’s shoulder.

Of course, myna birds can be annoying when trained and released. I’ve seen mynas who have no fear of humans land on their tables of open air restaurants and take whatever food they can steal before the surprised diner reacts.

For 6togo who asked me for a picture of the worst tourist I ran across lately in The One Where You Control The Vertical. I would have taken a picture of the front of her shirt (which had little hearts all over it), but she gave me stinkeye when I raised my camera. I had to settle for taking a shot from down the boardwalk. Notice the little hearts on her socks. This lady knows a thing or two about fashion.

Makes you want to run right out and go for a swim doesn’t it?

I especially like the icon for “man of war,” which looks suspiciously like huge mutant spermatazoa looking for any opening with which to impregnate the hapless swimmer with their evil spawn. Perhaps someone should suggest Dubya use this icon for his crusade against same sex marriage?

I don’t usually comment on blogs I find on blogexplosion, but I couldn’t help myself. I posted this on a blog I found.

I’m not a fan of rap music… I think most of it is crap from a musical perspective. As social commentary, it doesn’t do much either… but then again, neither does country. And country music popularizes a variety of social ills that are no worse nor better than what you might see in a rap video. The only difference is that there’s a redneck is throwing down the rhymes instead of an OG.

As far as desensitizing and mongering hate is concerned, what about our own government? Anyone can turn on the TV and see pictures of US forces at work in afghanistan and iraq. I know that many people, especially the overly puritanical who find fault with popular music, seem to turn a blind eye toward the hate that is being mongered through the images of our servicemen and women fighting a war against a country that is arguably NOT part of the war on terror. To point out that popular music is causing hate and violence while our country is killing guilty and innocent alike is akin to pointing out a hangnail on a foot that has been severed at the knee.

No, music doesn’t breed hate nor violence… I think we as humans do that well enough through our normal everyday actions. I can understand your passion over an issue you feel is important… the only thing is, passion without understanding is a dangerous thing.

One of the things you find quite often as you read other peoples blogs, is a demented view of one’s self. I’m talking mostly of people (women really) who claim to be something they clearly are not. I know that half the allure of having a blog is that the medium is as anonymous as you want it to be, but sometimes I wonder whether or not a good portion of the blogging community is suffering from some form of psychosis.

A few years ago, it was women who pretended (or wished) they were the character made famous by Audrey Tautou in the French film Le Fabuleux destin d’Amelie Poulain. These days, you’re more likely to find women pretending to be Princesses. Do a google search and you’ll be hammered with about 459,000 different references to or for princess blogs. That is a shitload of women (okay, some can arguably be men) who are under the illusion that they are princesses.

Every once in a while, I’ll get an email or a comment from one of these women after I post something that paints a rather unflattering picture of how disconnected from reality they must be. Yeah, sort of like this post. They usually write to let me know that they call themselves “princesses” (or is it princessi?) because it lets people know that they are special.

To which I usually respond by writing this: You are not special. In fact, by claiming you are a princess or special, you highlight how indelibly average you are. The definition of the word special is “Surpassing what is common or usual; exceptional: a special occasion; a special treat.” I would consider you special if you didn’t claim to be something you clearly are not. It would be refreshing in fact to communicate with a woman who had enough self awareness and confidence, that she was happy with who she was and didn’t need a fantasy to be self actualized. Since you align yourself with the millions of other women who also mistakenly believe they are special, you are actually proving that the opposite is true.

Yeah, I’m an asshole… but at least I’m an honest asshole.

Over the past few weeks I’ve watched about 60 movies either at home (Yay, Netflix!) or at the local cineplex. Here are some highlights & lowlights.

In Cold Blood: The 1967 film that is brought up often by reporters covering the Robert Blake murder trial. After watching this film, you have to wonder if he was acting at all or just being himself.

Without A Paddle: Glad I didn’t waste $8 on this one. Should have been titled, “Without A Laugh.”

Amores Perros: A great movie from Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu, the same guy who brought us 21 Grams. While I’ve seen it before, the DVD has some cool behind the scenes footage.

Confessions of a Dangerous Mind: Having been a huge fan of The Gong Show, the book was a must read. Clooney did a good job of capturing the book. Sam Rockwell did a surprising job of capturing the many faces of Chuck Barris.

I’m Not Scared: There was a time when all movies had a kind of natural innocence that most mainstream movies today seem to have left behind. A lack of self awareness or self-importance if you will. This Italian film features stellar performances from an almost all-child cast and that might be why it reminds me of those classic films from yesterday.

Sideways: Paul Giamatti has recently made a name for himself playing lovable grumps. His turn as Harvey Pekar in 2003’s American Splendor was the first, and now in Sideways he plays Miles, a sadsack middleschool English teacher out for a week-long wine drinking binge.

The Aviator: It is hard to imagine Leonardo Di Caprio doing anything that will make audiences forget his part in Titanic. This might help him on his way. Great performances all around from Di Caprio, Cate Blanchett, Kate Beckinsdale, and Alec Baldwin.

The entries are rolling in (don’t forget to include your email addy as your username if you want to get credit for your picks). If you haven’t already done so, make sure you enter my Oscar Pool. For more information, see The One About The Academy Awards. Keep in mind, the one who gets the most right will win something… Straight from the Valley Isle.

To see everyone’s current picks, click below
Read the rest of this entry »