"Woody, Why Do You Watch Stargate: Atlantis So Much?"

I get asked that question a lot. Sometimes I say it's the stories: body swaps, zombie-creatures that look like the cursed spawn of Arthas and Sephiroth, exploration, hallucinations, amnesia, intrigue, romance, and damned clever solutions. Sometimes it's the action: Gunfights, space battles, manly wrestling matches with rabid Wraith, sparring and sword fights. Then again, it could be the witty one-liners: Well, not always witty, usually the scene is summed up rather well with, "Oh crap." It could be the editing or the music or the writing or any number of other things, but I'd be lying.

It's the hot men.

Meet Doctor Carson Beckett, an adorable Scotsman and the best surgeon in two galaxies. My comment: ...Dimples. Jahfqfanadnanda. *ded*

Next up is Doctor Rodney McKay. He's snarky, he's sexy, and yes, he's much smarter than you. 

I suppose I can't talk about the hot men of Atlantis without mentioning the utterly irresistible Colonel John Sheppard. Hair, scruff, pointy ears. I don't think anymore needs to be said. 

Major Evan Lorne. Just...the bedhead. Oh my god. I can't even say anymore. Just...damn.

So yes, Atlantis has its merits. It has good stories, amazing action, interesting writing, witty dialogue, but those kinds of shows are a dime a dozen without some really hot Sci-Fi men.

Now excuse me, I believe a cold shower is in order.

...Now I Remember Why I Stopped Writing!

I can't finish anything! Even if I only try to write something that's like 1,500 words, it ends up stretching to something that, if ever finished, would be at least 10,000, and I only make it halfway through the plot before I get hung up. 

It's even worse than not being able to write at all because I have all these ideas and I can't make any of them work.

Fuckin' frustrating, that's what it is. 

On another note: Man, The State, and War anagrams to both A Handsaw Treatment and A Shattered Man Want. Fitting, yes?

Question Time!

...Stole this idea from Grace.

1. Do you do anything special with Sara?

2. What was your first impression of Grace?

3. If you and Paige were locked in the same room for longer than a day, what would happen?

4. Who would make a better superhero sidekick between Dakota and Sara, and why?

5. If Brendan played in a movie, what kind of character would they play?

6. Do you love Nikki?

7. What advice would you give Trenton?

8. What musical instrument would Michelle most likely play?

9. In a race between you, Jew, and Brendan, who would win?

10. Autumn suddenly knows all your secrets. What do you have to say about that?

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

1. Oh, lots of things. Squeeing over John Sheppard...um...Sheppard...wait I already said that. Yep, John Sheppard. That's about it.

2. Let's cut to the internal monologue: "Loud...hyper...glasses...likes Final Fantasy...I SENSE A KINDRED SPIRIT."

3. ...Oh God. Oh God. The horror...the horror. Oh God.

4. Sara: Would help me capture sexy male villains, would watch SGA with me while waiting for the Woody-phone to ring, and would have oodles of fun killing zombies with me.

Dakota: Already is my lackey.

I'll take Sara kthxbai.

5. The strong, silent type. With a lightsaber. And an Indy hat. And be very saxy.

6. Yes, dearly, and apparently queerly on Thursdays.

7. Don't drop the soap.

...

...

...O wait.

8. Well, I already know that she plays the piano, but I could SO see her playing a kazoo.

9. Let's see, Nerd vs. Nerd vs. Nerd...I think in the end, we would all lose.

10. Jesus goddamn cockknuckling knobgobbling fuckmints Christ on a bicycle. She better not tell anyone.

I Love Nerds

Woody: Oh god Rodney has super-powers.

Sara: Huh?

Woody: He got zapped by an Ancient weapon and now he has telekinesis, telepathy, superhearing, superstrength, and regenerative abilities.

Woody: And the biggest ego in two galaxies.

Sara: That's badass.

Woody: Yeah. This is better than when he was on crack.

I love Rodney. Even if he is an incorrigible egotistical bastard.

...Probably why I like him so much. Yeah.

Inter Arma Enim Silent Leges...

...In times of war, the law falls silent.

-Cicero

Just a little food for thought, an idea I have been brooding on ever since I watched a DS9 episode of the same name. 

Is war ever a justification for a deed? Is it ever acceptable to - for example - betray trust and murder a person in order to save the lives of thousands more? I suppose Cicero was a little Utilitarian in his logic, but there is some weight behind is argument. Saddam Hussein died so that thousands more would not have to live under his regime any longer, but the question is, was that the right thing to do? Were we - we as in people, not the US specifically - justified in killing him? Should the law fall silent for us because we are in a time of war?

Perhaps it's not the right thing to do, or the wrong thing either for that matter - perhaps it is merely necessary, or even simpler: it just is.

Art Project Titles

So the names of episodes from The Big Bang Theory have inspired me on how to name my art pieces in order to achieve the maximum confusion from the IB tester:

The Spam Principle

The Doctor Who-Lichtenstein Experiment

The Exploding Guitar Anomaly

The Star Trek Corollary

The iPod Paradigm

The Consumerism Postulate

...Well, that's all I've got for now as far as pieces (or planned pieces), but I will return (eventually) with more!

On Writing: When Something Just Feels...Right.

I can't really explain it, and I won't make a huge effort to try either because I think laying it out perfectly in words would take the magic out of it, but sometime when you write something, it just feels...right. Something you saw so perfectly in your head, down to every wrinkle in a shirt and every enunciation of a syllable, is suddenly there, on paper (document, whatever). Suddenly, it's real. 

It would almost seem to defy the laws of physics. Taking something that only existed in your mind - ingenuity, divine inspiration, call it what you will - and putting it down in words. The creation of something out of nothing. 

Words are tangible, at least to me. They're malleable as clay in the hands of a competent writer, but can strike harder than steel or whisper through your head as soft as you please. Words, with all of their infinite complexities and combinations, are just as alive in their own way as you or I. Surely you have read something where you feel like the book is literally speaking to you. That's because it is. The writer, through his characters, is speaking to you indirectly. 

Words are empathic. 

Books are like old friends. 

A complete stranger can speak to you through a book because you connect with them through words that have deeper meanings when two people have shared the same experiences.

And when you write something perfectly, that's magic.

New Bands!

Yes, it's true. I have finally discovered new bands that have exponentially increased the level of awesome in my iTunes library. Thanks goes to www.musicovery.com, which is one of the coolest websites I have ever seen.

The Boo Radleys

Semisonic

Vai Sola

My American Heart

The Charlatans

Teddybears Sthlm

Robert Post

Remy Zero

Datafolk

Shout Out Louds

Noir Desir

Starsailor

Luke

Ash

Professional Murder Music

Vonray

Leave's Eyes

Egypt Central

Infernal

Kasabian

The Ocean Colour Scene

Blur

Aeroplane, 1929

Other news relevant to my life:

-6 AM tomorrow morning is going to suck beyond all comparison.

-McCoy still has yet to demand Wheaties since my Mum bought a box.

-My Dad and I should never go buy books together. We buy far too many.

-I've taken it upon myself to become The Circle's resident DS9 expert. Give me a few months though, DS9 episodes are hard to find.

-I've decided I need to get Netflix.

-I've resigned myself to the fact that I'm going to be depressingly poor for the next year unless I get a job due to Ani-Magic and Star Trek.

-I finally cleaned my room!

- WoW accomplishments for the summer: Saintmurder (43 Paladin), Noonien (33 Hunter), new gear for my twink Shadowsage (49 Rogue).

-If Matt Damon really does end up playing Vergil, I will go to see it just so I can kill everyone in the theater.

-I will cry the first time I see the full theatrical trailer for Star Trek XI.

-I've been roped into joining Mock Trial. Anyone else want to tag along?

-I finally have a Bowie poster on my wall, all credit goes to Sara and her awesome poster buying skills.

Scratch That...

Y'know what I said about weird people in Costco? Yeah, well I was very mistaken.

The weird people are in Michael's. I had a fifteen minute conversation with two complete strangers about anime while we all picked out paint. Oh, and they were Trekkies. Fantastic people. I should've asked what their names were. 

Oh well.

In other new, I did a really kickass art project:

I love James Bond, and he's an iconic symbol of our culture. Yay for fun Pop Art!

New Fiction Idea: Eli White

For some people, chess is more than just a game. It is a life. An all-consuming obsession. It ceases merely to be chess, and becomes Chess - a game with a life all its own, with all the intricacies of a human being, all the infinite decisions of the next move - but without humanity's downside: mortality. With Chess, death is not final. There is always a chance for life anew. All it needs - all it asks for - is two players, black and white, hands to guide it, and the fierce passion to win in order to give it life.

And just now, a player has awakened. Meet Eli White.

"Hey! Hi. I just wanted to say I like your shirt."

There are some weird people in Costco. But weird in the good way.

Weird as in a guy who would recognize the WoW Warlock symbol from a good 40 feet away, walk over, and strike up a ten minute conversation about WoW just...because. Meanwhile, Daddy dearest is ten feet away trying to decide which pair of dress pants to buy; olive or khaki? Oh, the choices.

Weird as in a lady who talks to you endlessly about Dean Koontz because she happens to see you picking up one of his books you're thinking about buying.

Weird as in a guy who gives you advice about the best way to tell when a watermelon is ripe.

Weird as in a 10 year old who has seen as many Bond movies as you have and wants to know which one is your favorite. (By the way, that ten year old so could've been me. I was a Bond-fiend at age ten.)

Weird as in discussing with you why no one ever eats the peach flavored yogurt. (Which, by the way, is a damn good question.)

....

People are so weird sometimes.

Let's Talk About Villains

Anyone ever notice how TV villains always seem more complex than movie villains? I dunno. It seems that way to me sometimes. To me, movie villains always come across as those one-dimensional and their motivation rarely extends beyond one of three things: revenge, power/money (could be considered the same thing), or just for shits 'n giggles. Maybe it's because a main villain in a TV series has a longer amount of time to develop their character. A major TV villain could have anywhere from one episode (half an hour or an hour in length each) to several seasons to develop their motives and personality, whereas the movie villain gets maybe an hour or less of screen time to show the audience all the facets of their personality while also moving the plot along at a fast clip.

I'm going to fall back on an old standby. Star Trek. Beginning with the movies.

I'm skipping TMP. It barely even counts.

2: Khan is a pre-established character, so no time is wasted on his background and therefore you can get right into the deeper parts of his character. Doesn't really count.

3: Kruge was the stereotypical Klingon commander that decided to take advantage of the Federation's 'weapon' and got himself shoved into a pit of lava for his troubles. No big mystery there.

4: The main villain was a space probe that pwned Earth on accident. Really can't blame it.

5: What does God want with a starship? I don't know. God who really isn't such a nice god. Rather typical.

6:Chang was more complex than Khan in many ways I think, because he was very similar to Kirk. But that's really it. He's a mirror for Kirk, and it doesn't go too much farther than that. He enjoys quoting Shakespeare.

7: I think Soran was about on the same level as Chang in complexity given that he too is not a pre-established character like Khan. Soran is that guy that's found paradise and will do anything to get back there. At first appears as shallow, but once Picard begins to fall for the allures of the Nexus, you find out Soran isn't as shallow as it looks. Evil still, because he's willing to kill 300,000,000 people for happiness, but not so shallow anymore.

8: Borg Queen. She a Borg. She assimilates stuff. And gets it on with Data. Frankly, who wouldn't? But she's like the essence of Borg. Very predictable.

9: Ru'afo: Probably the flattest villain of them all. He wants revenge because he got pwnzed my his Mummy and Daddy and he's having rejection issues. So he decides to destroy their planet with the help of the Federation. GG Berman.

10: Shinzon. Oh god, I don't wanna even talk about him. It's so bad I think I'mma go tear my eyes out. Picard's clone...ARE YOU KIDDING? Raised by Reman-retard slaves in a CAVE. Look what he built with a box of scraps! And his ship got owned by one shot from a HAND PHASER. The lameness is so thick it's palpable.

Moving on to the TV villains. I'm afraid I'm going to have to skip over Enterprise because I don't know the series' villains very well other than Arik Soong (Pro-villain? Anti-hero? Both?). I don't know Voyager very well either, or at least I have yet to come across a good villain, recurring or otherwise. Q doesn't count.

TOS: In reality, the only recurring villain that TOS had was Khan, but his recurrence was in a movie. However, there are many villains that showed a surprising amount of depth in a single episode. Apollo from, "Who Mourns For Adonais?" for example. Or the Romulan captain from "Balance of Terror". 

TNG: Moriarty's character, though only a hologram inside the holodeck, managed to evolve from physical representation of the Moriarty made by the ship from Doyle's specifications into, what could arguably be called a sentient being. He learned, through archaic means, to control parts of the Enterprise, and eventually engaged in a debate with Picard about his rights as a sentient being, very reminiscent of Data's struggles to be recognized as a living machine. Moriarty appeared in only two episodes, but could arguably be considered more complex than half of ST's movie villains.

DS9: Damar, in my opinion, is one of the greatest villain turns anti-hero of the entire Star Trek series. He was in a multi-episode arc so I won't get into messy details, but in a nutshell, Damar fought for something he thought he believed in. When he realized he really didn't know what to believe in, he thought about, threw a coup, and became the prime candidate to lead Cardassia from under Dominion rule. And then he died. So it goes. Interestingly enough though, Damar's struggle parallels Worf's as he battles the knowledge that the Klingon Chancellor is corrupt and ill-suited to lead with his Klingon duty to support his superiors in times of war.

All in all, or at least in this case, TV has superior villains to movies. But it is late...or early. I will continue this rant some other time. But in the meanwhile, think about it.

You Know You Watch Too Much Star Trek When...

1. You have dreams involving the characters. In particular, when they begin to demand you keep Wheaties in the house so you ask your mother to buy them next time she goes shopping in order to appease said characters. (Surprisingly enough, it worked. McCoy has not asked for Wheaties in six days.)

2. Over half of the links in your internet history are Star Trek related.

3. You offer your parents what small fraction of your soul they do not yet own in order to buy Star Trek paraphernalia. 

4. You come to the realization that you would be willing to mortgage your soul, since it has already been sold to the parental units, in order to meet William Shatner...or Leonard Nimoy...or Brent Spiner...or Patrick Stewart...or...

5. When your mother orders you to take out the trash, you promise to "Make it so".

6. You giggle anytime someone uses the following words: Bridge, nuclear, vessels, whale, Jim, doctor, bricklayer, Cap'n, or 'warp core manifold'. 

7. You call anyone with pointy ears Spock. Friends, siblings and other relatives are especially subject to this.

8. Your father discovers you watching Voyager at 5:48 AM, and correctly assuming that you are never awake that early, he accuses you of staying up all night watching Star Trek. When you admit to it, he says, "Well, at least you were watching something worth while."

9. You plot to drop Star Trek references into homework, projects, and conversations with teachers in order discern which of them are Trekkies.

10. When someone asks you what your favorite time of year is, you very nearly answer, "Pon Farr time," before you realize that it is A) an inappropriate answer, and B) they will not understand.

11. You notice that you have not been using contractions...at all.

BABIES! Everywhere!

Well, not literally, everywhere. Definitely here. And good god is it weird. Actually, having a baby in the general vicinity is weird. I haven't had a baby within ten feet of me for more than five minutes since I was about 6. 

Also, on another note, I have recently discovered that when I hold a baby I fall asleep. I held my niece today for ten minutes, and then passed out on the couch for an hour. I suppose to be fair though, I've only had 9 hours of sleep in four days. So, sleep deprivation + baby = Sleepy Woody.

Another thing, baby cribs are bloody impossible to put together. I spent 45 minutes wrestling with one that should have been put together in 10. Those directions tell lies. 

And I'm calling her Spock dammit. She has pointy ears, ergo her permanent nickname is Spock. Alicia angsted at for that, but I think it's fair if she's going to insist on telling Kenna that I'm Aunty Pookie. 

...Babies are so weird. And what's even scarier, is that my Mom is dropping massive hints that she wants more grandkids, and Alicia has made it very clear that she doesn't plan on having anymore in the foreseeable future. Which means...shiiiittttttt. Good thing I'm going to be a doctor and I have an excuse for not having any for at least the next 8 or 9 years.

No Room

I often wonder what it is about people that makes them so...desperate to be perceived as strong and confident all the time. We allow ourselves no room for weakness, no room for brief moments of complete release. No, instead we put on our brave face, stick out our chin, paste on a smile, and utter the often used but seldom believed phrase of, "I'm fine."

I myself am one of these people. There are any number of ploys I use to distract not just others, but myself as well from my woes, and yet I wonder why I continue to do it when the logical side of me very well knows that I would feel better if I just talked to someone about it. But I can't. I seem to be stuck in this rut of self-reliance, though I admit I am not trying too hard to get out of it. Being confident in my ability to handle situations on my own is very important to me, but there is a point where even the most self-reliant person needs help.

So if it is simply self-reliance that holds people back, or an even more basic form - self preservation - than there is little anyone else can do for them. But it can't be that simple. There are other factors to consider...vanity, reputation, appearance, shame, trust, and a whole host of other things generally considered important to people, but not always on a conscious level. 

I suppose there are some people who have no qualms about talking to others about deeply personal issues, but I am not one of those. Everytime I have a personal problem to deal with, a little voice in me says, "You need to do this on your own. No one knows you better than yourself. They'll just mess it all up." And to a certain extent, that little voice is right. But, like I said before, there always comes a point when you have to reach for help. And I have managed to do that a few times...but there have been far more when I simply couldn't force myself to do it.

So, instead, I put on my brave face, stick out my chin, paste on a smile, and tell everyone I'm fine. I laugh and I swear and I grin, and I wonder how many of the people I talk to that day are putting on their brave faces too.

On Writing: Naming Characters

Perhaps one of the most frustrating aspects of writing is choosing a name for a character, especially for people like me. And I think it only gets worse when attempting to write within a canonized, pre-established universe. I'll give you an example that has plaguing me for the last four days straight. 

Not everyone is a huge Trekkie around here, but I've come up with a rather interesting idea for a story about Data's creator - Noonien Soong - and his ancestors. In the canon universe, Noonien's great-grandfather is Arik Soong, a man who lived approximately 125 years before Noonien. This leaves two empty non-canon generations for me to fill in. Now, me being the anal writer I am, I want the names to make sense both lineage-wise as well as what the names themselves actually mean.

After a bit of research I discovered that the name Noonien is a romanticized version of the Chinese name Nunian, meaning "diligently remembering". Arik is Norse for "great leader". So, two generations for me to fill, and basically I'm now left with no way to narrow down my choices into one lineage because one name is Oriental, and the other is European. This leaves me with trying to make the meanings of the names make sense for the actual characters.

Time to add another factor. When figuring out how many years passed between the two canon relatives, I encountered a problem with the length of time, and basically I ended up being backed into a corner so that the only choice to make was that Arik Soong had to die at an extremely old age and clone himself just before he died. Not the solution that I wanted, but changing the canon dates would have pissed me off even more. The clone would be implanted with all of Arik Soong's current knowledge, thus leading to my choice of Kaeto Soong. Kaeto is a romanticized version of Cato, Latin for "all-knowing". I thought this name was particularly fitting since the character would be born with all of his "father's" knowledge already. I changed the spelling for aesthetic purposes; it just looked better to me.

Since I have decided very little about the character of Kaeto Soong's son, I haven't had much to go off of personality or history-wise. For now I have settled on Alem, Arabic for "wise man". Should Alem turn out to be a fool as I write, I may choose to change it to better suit my own anal tendencies, or maybe just leave it as is for ironic purposes.

But just that, just those two names, were the result of four days of research and decisions on my part. I have an entire piece of paper filled with name after name after name, all with various ways of spelling them and lists of descriptive traits from the two canon Soongs as platforms to beginning searches. 

Four days, two names. 

Sometimes being an anal writer really sucks. But then again, it may pay off in the long run. I guess I'll just have to wait and see.

My Highly Inappropriate Man-Harem For Men Old Enough To Be My Father/Grandfather

I think it's high time I finally dedicated a post to my Man-Harem. Oh, I rant and  rave about them all the time, I sigh and swoon, I squee and grin; but my Man-Harem as a whole is very rarely discussed. Hell, I bet even I barely know everyone who is in it. So, in realizing this, I have decided to sit down and name them all...I suppose I should start with the original member:

Mr. David Tennant

While it is certainly true that Mr. Tennant was not the first delicious piece of man that I fell in lust with, he was the key factor in my decision to make my own personal Man-Harem, therefore becoming the original member of my...dubious institution. I suppose I owe it to Paige for getting me hooked on Doctor Who, but I stayed for the Tennant. And the show too. Of course.

The Harem quickly grew in size, rapidly gathering members from every corner of the world, from every genre of movies and television. My Harem is little over a year old, but just look who has joined already:

Mr. Ewan McGregor.

Mr. David Bowie

Mr. Brent Spiner

Mr. DeForest Kelley

Mr. Robert Downey Jr.

Mr. Hugh Jackman

Mr. Hugh Grant

Mr. John Cusack

Mr. Johnny Depp

Mr. Pierce Brosnan

There have been many recent additions to my Harem, but there are also many that have been around for awhile, lurking in my mind, just waiting for my Harem to come into existence.

Mr. Sean Connery

Mr. George Eads

Mr. Hugh Laurie

Mr. Harrison Ford

I am certain there are some I have forgotten, and I will probably be augmenting this post soon enough so I will leave my commentary here for now, and let the men do all the talking instead.So long, for now...I've become rather distracted just now...

Everything Relates To Star Trek.

It's true. It is honestly, absolutely, 100% true...at least with my life lately. Since the Circle (as a sum of all of the communicating parts instead of just a few individuals) has been entrenched in it's latest Star Trek obsession, everything has been returning to that one subject lately. I'm watching episodes and being reminded of Circle conversations or activities, or of discussions in ToK, or of things I've never really had the time or inclination to think about before but now find myself unable to think of anything else for hours.

For example, watching an episode of Voyager, the EMH makes a lesson plan in human dating rituals for his Borg friend because she doesn't understand them...which made me think of how Nikki made a Powerpoint presentation for Sara about how woman *ahem* pleasure themselves because she didn't get it. And it was just a really weird coincidence.

And now it's time for an epic Star Trek picture spam.

The crew being retards on the set of Star Trek III I believe...

Lawl, Redshirts.

I found this one chick on Deviant that does awesome Star Trek fanart, and I squeed.

Same chick that did the above fanart did this background. Yes squeeing did occur, and yes, it is my current wallpaper.

Obsession Strikes!

I know it's been bloody forever since I blogged last, but I'm going to blame three things: Italy/Greece Trip, WoW, and sudden, debilitating, time-consuming obsession. 

Yes, it's true, I have added yet another man to my Inappropriate Man-Harem For Men Old Enough To Be My Father/Grandfather. Everybody meet DeForest Kelley, better known as Dr. Leonard McCoy from Star Trek: TOS. And I'm really obsessed. 

Well, other than my usual obsessions and my recent additions of Mr. Kelley and my renewed addiction to WoW, I haven't done a whole lot of anything since I got home from Italy and Greece. The trip was great - two weeks, one in each country - and it was just long enough that I saw a lot of what I wanted to, but by the time the two weeks were over, I was glad to be going home.

For out Hot Man of the Week-athon, we've had Hugh Jackman week (Swordfish, Van Helsing, Someone Like You) and John Cusack week (Martian Child, Grosse Pointe Blank, Pushing Tin), and next week is Alan Rickman week. I think this movie marathon idea was great for further educating our...film knowledge, no nevermind about the hot men.

I've come up with some great ideas for my art projects this Summer, so I'll probably rant about those next time I do this.

I guess I'll end with: I'm going to ComicCon! YES!

"The Italian Futurists believed" - Oh, screw this. I'm gonna go watch Indy.

Screw the Living Art Show. I am never doing that ever again. It hurts. And I'm not even getting a grade for it.

I had to say this same spiel for an hour straight:

"The Italian Futurists believed that, "War was the sole hygiene of the world.' This aggressive attitude and faith in technology can be observed in this piece by Boccioni, Unique Forms of Continuity in Space. An abstracted soldier forges ahead into the wind as the wind blows his form into a dynamic machine. Valuing speed, mechanical precision, and power, this Futuristic piece expresses an aesthetic for the modern world and the hope for a brighter tomorrow."

And yes, I just wrote that entirely from memory. I still have it lodged in there from yesterday afternoon.

But the good news is, things started looking up immediately after I walked out of the two hundred quad cafeteria. Mainly starting with me and Dakota getting pwned after a failed attempt at a piggy-back ride. I was rofl'ing so hard I couldn't stand up on my own.

Then, after picking up Autumn (who I still hate, you and your damned Wookie noises), Nikki, and Dakota, proceeded to meet 14 more of our friends at Cinemark 22 to see Indiana Jones and The Kingdom of The Crystal Skull, thereby shattering the record of X-Men 3 of 13 people. Comfortably seated between Sara and Dakota, a night of cheesy comebacks, physics-defying scenes, cliched car chases, predictable plot-twists, and incidental innuendoes followed on the heels of popcorn and funnel cake.

We filled the better part of three rows, so the entire theater was able to enjoy their movie experience Circle-style. For example, the incessant giggling at, "Someone came."

All in all though, it was an awesome night.

In other news, there's only nine days left until I leave for Italy/Greece; I have exactly four days left of my Junior year; I will be starting a Paladin on the Dark Iron server with Sara, Dakota, and possibly my sister in a little over two weeks; and I feel completely awesome.

But in general, everyone who was at the movies last night, you are truly awesome.

People Don't Tell One Another That They're Awesome Often Enough.

So I'm sort of making it my mission this summer to tell one person per day that I think they're awesome. 

Think about. How many people look at you every day, hell every week or even every month, and say, "You a

re awesome,"? And mean it.

People don't tell each other that they're awesome anymore. It's a word we throw around like it means nothing. It falls into the same category as 'Love' and 'I'm sorry'. We don't care about those words. They don't mean anything anymore; they're hollow, meaningless, and empty.

I realized today that I hang out with an entire group of exceptionally awesome people, and they probably aren't even aware of how awesome they are. I tested this hypothesis by asking Jew if anyone had told her she's awesome lately. When she said no, I told she was awesome, and that - apparently made her entire day. Are some people truly unaware of how awesome they are?

In that case, I'm making it my mission to let people know that they are awesome. People shouldn't have to live without the knowledge that they are awesome. 

And now I'm sort of wondering how many times I wrote the word 'awesome' in this post. Oh well, have

 a gander at this awesome picture. 

Yes, that is indeed the Bowie smile that Nikki and I dubbed "Yeah-I-fucked-your-mother-and-if-you-were-younger-I'd-fuck-you-too" smile. Because Bowie so did Liv Tyler's Mum. Heehee.

G'night everyone.

Weird Stuff Happens To Me At Barnes And Noble

No, seriously. I'm not joking. B&N is the location for the weirdest conversation with a complete stranger I've ever had, weirdest person I've ever met, weirdest book I've ever seen, weirdest employee I've ever met, longest staring contest with a complete stranger, and most awkward shuffle-past-someone-in-an-aisle moment I've ever had.

And half of those happened today while I was buying books to read while on my Italy/Greece trip. I'll tell you about one of those incidents.

First things first, I was hanging out in the Fantasy/Sci-Fi/Manga section 90% of the time so I was probably asking for it. Even though I am one of those people, the majority of my 'type' of people I guess you would say, still manage to scare the living daylights out of me.

Anyway, on to the weird stuff.

So, weirdest conversation with a complete stranger: It started like it has been doing a lot lately - this chick thought my shoes were cool. And I'll admit, they are pretty dang spiffy, so I grinned back and fired off the usual, "Yeah, they're awesome," hoping she wouldn't be able to think of anything to say after something like that (I know I never can). But, as fate would have it, she was one of those people who always has something to say. She noticed I was holding a Ray Bradbury book and immediately started nattering on about him. She gushed and ranted and raved and I just kinda stood there, shifting awkwardly and nodding at what I assumed were the right points. 

So far this was turning out to be the average conversation I have with strangers (i.e.: I stand there and nod while they do all the talking). I tried all the tricks to give her the hint that I really didn't want to talk without being rude (surprisingly enough, I'm very polite to people I don't know); I checked my phone for the time, kept throwing glances over my shoulder, ect. Apparently she didn't take hints very well. 

So about five minutes of this one-sided conversation later and she switched subjects like Bond doing a U-turn in an Aston Martin, and suddenly we were talking about my clothes again. She grabbed my right hand to "get a better look at my ring". She continued talking about me, and it took me a whole ten seconds to realize she was hitting on me. My brain instantly starts slamming through the file cabinets looking for the FLIGHT order of the Fight or Flight response. I'm honestly three seconds from pretending that my phone is ringing and answering only to find out my non-existent Great Uncle Jerry just flipped his golf cart doing donuts on the golf course and is being rushed to the hospital for emergency hip surgery when the chick's Mom/Sister/Friend/Partner in Crime (I honestly don't remember how old this person was. I was sort of panicking and I was being touched by a strange woman.) shows up and tells her they need to go.

She waved bye to me and laughed, and my brain collapsed in relief, panting like a flogged racehorse. I counted to 500 before I left the aisle and then hightailed it to the check-out. I even drove home fast. I was going like 85 down the freeway and about 60 down L. 

So, basically, I'm never going to B&N alone ever again. It's dangerous. I get touched by strange women who hit on me. And I don't like it.

Interesting Blurbs.

First things first, a blurb is a short summarizing sentence that reviewers give to a book. Said summary is usually located on the first few inner pages or on the cover of the book. And I've thought of a few interesting ones.

The Plague by Albert Camus: "For the quintessential Existential."

Shogun by James Clavell: "1,200 pages on why to not trust asians."

'Salem's Lot by Stephen King: "If you see a vampire, do not attempt to hold it off with a plastic cross."

Diamonds Are Forever by Ian Fleming: "Proof that if you're suave enough, you don't need to dodge bullets."

Common Sense by Thomas Paine: "Leave us the fuck alone, Mommy."

Hamlet by William Shakespeare: "You're safe as long as you're the best friend of the leading man."

But to count a few..

Anyway, other than dreaming up amusing little summaries of some of the stuff lying around on my shelves, I've been pondering exactly how much tomorrow is going to suck and be filled with win at the same time. I'm going to need a shit ton of coffee in order to stay awake.

Ugh. Going back to reading.

Toodles.

This Is Why I Hate People.

I don't get them. They do stupid, arbitrary, annoying, pointless, ignorant, irksome shit, and frankly - they scare me.

And the Internet only makes them WORSE.

Apparently the Internet gives everybody and their brother license to advertise their ability to contribute absolutely nothing of value. Earlier today I stumbled upon a thread in a forum 650 replies long arguing about the pros and cons of two different types of make-up remover. Do that many people honestly have NOTHING better to talk about? And this assumption of mine is only compounded by the fact that none of them can take the time to properly spell out, "Ur stoopid n u know nuffink bout mak-up", a direct quote by the way. Forgive me for not supplying a link to the website, but I don't want anyone to be harmed by concentrated stupidity.

And, as Smity pointed out earlier today, when given a seemingly impassible obstacle, they are content to jam themselves through a space half the size it normally would be when the problem could be solved in about half a second. Why is that? Why are we content to always opt for the non-thinking option?

People annoy me.

I'm going back to Iron Man where Robert Downey Jr. makes way more sense.