Ramblings of a Constipated Mind

Anyway, um, um, where was I?
Kinda lost my train of thought

Uh, well, uh, OK
Anyway I, I know it's kinda been a roundabout way of saying it
But I guess the whole point I'm tryin' to make here is

I HATE SAUERKRAUT!

That's all I'm really tryin' to say
And, by the way, if one day you happen to wake up
And find yourself in an existential quandry
Full of loathing and self-doubt
And wracked with the pain and isolation of your pitiful meaningless existence
At least you can take a small bit of comfort in knowing that
Somewhere out there in this crazy mixed-up old universe of ours
There's still a little place called

Albuquerque
Albuquerque
Albuquerque, Albuquerque
Albuquerque, Albuquerque
Albuquerque, Albuquerque
Albuquerque, Albuquerque

I said "A" (A)
"L" (L)
"B" (B)
"U" (U)
"querque" (querque)

Albuquerque, Albuquerque, Albuquerque, Albuquerque
Albuquerque, Albuquerque, Albuquerque, Albuquerque
Albuquerque, Albuquerque, Albuquerque, Albuquerque
Albuquerque, Albuquerque, Albuquerque, Albuquerque

Albuquerque

(belch)
--Albuquerque, "Wierd Al" Yankovic

And so ends "Albuquerque", the 11 minute and 18 second long story-song.

I went to an allergist today. He basically took one look at me and said, "Wait, you mean you can actually breathe?" That's how bad it was. Five to seven years of built-up inflamation, due to the dust of Central America. Yay. The drugs he'd prescribe better work...maybe they'll completely change me...after all I've been used to this for a long time now...

I hereby decree that the entire world population of dust mites should be exterminated. This will be the Final Solution. Those who resist must be taken to camps and forced to lay in sunlight while they die a slow and painful death.

Quote of Da Moment:
"I believe in Christianity as I believe that the sun has risen: not only because I see it, but because by it I see everything else."
--C.S. Lewis

And then he gets all indignant on me
He's like "Hey man, I was just being sarcastic"
Well, that's just great
How was I supposed to know that?
I'm not a mind reader for cryin' out loud
Besides, now he's got a really cute nickname - Torso-Boy
So what's he complaining about?

Say, that reminds me of another amusing anecdote
This guy comes up to me on the street and says he hasn't had a bite in three days
Well, I knew what he meant
But just to be funny, I took a big bite out of his jugular vein
And he's yellin' and screamin' and bleeding all over
And I'm like "Hey, come on, don'tcha get it?"
But he just keeps rolling around on the sidewalk, bleeding, and screaming
(screaming sounds)
You know, just completely missing the irony of the whole situation
Man, some people just can't take a joke, you know?
--Albuquerque, "Weird Al" Yankovic

I am now the proud owner of a Canon ZR-90 MiniDV Digital Camcorder, complete with tripod, cassettes, Adobe Premiere editing software, a memory card, a firewire card for exporting video to my PC, and other accessories.

Life is good.

Also: talking on the phone to people who happy to be within hearing-range is very strange.

Quote of Da Moment:
"God cannot give us a happiness and peace apart from Himself, because it is not there. There is no such thing."
--C.S. Lewis

Anyway, things really started lookin' up for me
Because about a week later, I finally achieved my lifelong dream
That's right, I got me a part-time job at The Sizzler
I even made employee of the month after I put that grease fire out with my face
Aw yeah, everybody was pretty jealous of me after that
I was gettin' a lot of attitude

OK, like one time, I was out in the parking lot
Tryin' to remove my excess earwax with a golf pencil
When I see this guy Marty tryin' to carry a big ol' sofa up the stairs all by himself
So I, I say to him, I say "Hey, you want me to help you with that?"
And Marty, he just rolls his eyes and goes
"No, I want you to cut off my arms and legs with a chainsaw"

So I did
--Albuquerque, "Weird Al" Yankovic

This morning I finished The Butterfly Effect. Good movie, but not as complex or complicated as it could have been...in other words, it didn't make my head hurt enough. Hehe.

Tonight I went to see Eternal Sunshine with friends. I got there at 6:15...the movie was at 6:55. So I wandered around, got some coffee, chilled out. My friends got there at 6:53. Typical Salvadorean time-keeping. So we bought our tickets, and went inside...and I started to get really annoyed.

Before I continue, it's important one thing is clearly understood about me: I have a pet peeve involving movies. It's just something small, but it really really really really annoys me. It's going to the movie late and missing part of the movie. That really gets on my nerves. I feel like, "Why should I pay to see only part of a movie? And miss the previews, which is one of the best parts about going to the cinema?!"

Now that that is understood, let's compare gringo and Latin American movie-going styles, shall we:

Gringos: Gringos (at least the ones I know), like to arrive at the movies early. We get our tickets, go inside the theater as soon as possible, and sit and talk while waiting for the movie to begin. That way we get to socialize without missing the movie.

Latin Americans: Salvadoreans arrive at the movies right at the scheduled time it's supposed to start. They buy their tickets, casually get their popcorn and drinks, and then stand just inside the cinema and talk for a while before finally going to the theater. When they finally realize, "Oh yeah, we came here to watch a movie, remember?" they get there after the movie has begun.

So yeah, that's what happened. And I felt really out of place. Inside I had to keep reminding myself, "This is Latin America. Plus, you've already seen the movie. Don't freak out. Don't freak out. Don't freeeaaakkk ooouuutttt..."

Anyways, the movie was great (again). It was really funny watching people come out of the theater afterwards. Most of them said, "That was one of the worst movies I've ever seen. I hated it." Fortunately, there were two or three (out of maybe 10-12) that I think really enjoyed it. Souwa is my new best friend of the day, because she has good taste in movies. That also confirms my theory: All pure-blooded Salvadoreans hate Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind (with very few exceptions). Or maybe the European style of filmmaking in general. Gringos, along with those with Chinese and Arabic blood, however, love it.

I could write my Extended Essay on that. And do a huge investigation. But no, the morons won't let me write about film. [/rant]

Also, I noticed some new things this time that I hadn't noticed at first. SPOILER ALERT If you pay very close attention to some of the dialogue, it appears as though by the end of the movie, this is not the second time Joel and Clementine have met. It is the third. Why else would the last shot of the movie play over and over three times? Why does Joel see Clementine at the beach and admit that for some reason he's not sure of, he's attracted to her back and her orange jacket? After she steals his chicken, he claims: "It was though we were already lovers"; this is ambiguous - could it perhaps refer to an even previous relationship with her?

*sigh* That movie's too good. I want it on DVD. Charlie Kaufman rules. I like Eternal Sunshine better than Adaptation, even though the latter I would say has many more layers to it. Eternal Sunshine is just...good. Nearly perfect, I'd say. And inspiring. It makes me want to accept people as who they are, flaws and everything.

After the movie, we went to Burger King, which was fun. And yummy. Yay. Now I'm back home, updating this. Tomorrow I'll go to church and do homework. Then on Monday...who knows. My dad comes back tomorrow! Yay!

Maybe I'll download some more sheet music. Today I got some more music from Amelie. I love it I love it I love it. I really hope I can find some music from Eternal Sunshine, since I noticed tonight that the music is really good. It fits so well with what's happening on screen.

Quote of Da Moment:
How happy is the blameless Vestal's lot!
The world forgetting, by the world forgot
Eternal sunshine of the spotless mind!
Each pray'r accepted, and each wish resign'd.
--Alexander Pope, Eloisa to Abelard

Fear not, my friend, for though sometimes life is hard and it's as though you're the scum all pressures flock to, you will survive and make it through another day. Wipe away your tears, for He will transform you and never let you go. Hold on tight, and enjoy the time you have, for soon things will pass and it will be as though they never happened..."like tears in the rain"...

Soon you will stand triumphant over your fallen Foe, and smile.

I ran out into the street with these flesh-eating weasels all over my face
Wavin' my arms all around and just runnin', runnin', runnin'
Like a constipated weiner dog
And as luck would have it, that's exactly when I ran into the girl of my dreams
Her name was Zelda
She was a caligraphy enthusiast with a slight overbite and hair the color of strained peaches
I'll never forget the first thing she said to me.
She said "Hey, you've got weasels on your face"

That's when I knew it was true love
We were inseperable after that
Aw, we ate together, we bathed together
We even shared the same piece of mint-flavored dental floss
The world was our burrito
So we got married and we bought us a house
And had two beautiful children - Nathaniel and Superfly
Oh, we were so very very very happy, aw yeah

But then one fateful night, Zelda said to me
She said "Sweetie pumpkin? Do you wanna join the Columbia Record Club?"
I said "Woah, hold on now, baby"
"I'm just not ready for that kinda commitment"
So we broke up and I never saw her again
But that's just the way things go

In Albuquerque
Albuquerque
--Albuquerque, "Weird Al" Yankovic

Wow. It's hard to believe it's only 9:32. It seems like I've done so much today, and it's still not over.

First: school. Blegh. Boring as usual. I have to write this huge essay in History, the first draft of which is due near the end of October. We've been going to the library every Friday for 3 weeks to do research, and I still don't know what I'm gonna write about. First it was going to be about Mao's persecution of religion in China. Then it was gonna be about Stalin's persecution of religion in the USSR...or maybe, Hitler's persecution of religion in Germany? Today I thought maybe I'd write about Hitler's involvement in the "Night of the Broken Glass", during which Jews were terrorized and killed. Then it was Mao's involvement in the assassination of that guy whose name I can't remember...Ling Biao or something.

There is no information on any of those topics. At least not to the extent I need. I found one book that contained a good amount of information on religion in Germany, but that's it. All the web sites I found basically just stated the same thing. I looked through books for information about the "Night of the Broken Glass", and the one book I found with information clearly stated that Hitler definitely knew about it and supported it. So unless I find another source that makes a counter-claim, that won't work. There's nothing to discuss. And who's gonna write a lot of information about whether or not Mao had the plane of this guy sabotaged or whether his death was an accident? I've got nothing. Blegh.

Well, it turned out I had to cancel Film Society today for two reasons:

1) The power was going to be cut off or something at 1:30, making it impossible to run the proyector.
2) Lots of people I know who don't normally come to Film Society want to see "Donnie Darko", but they wouldn't have been able to come today because of this big college expo everyone was invited to.

So, seeing as how I didn't have anything to do after 1:30, I figured I might as well go to the expo. When we got there, it was raining. We basically spent 5 minutes running (or in my case, walking and enjoying every minute of it, since I was gonna get soaked either way), trying to find our way inside. We finally did. It was fun being with people from school, but the Expo-U itself wasn't very exciting. There were only one or two universities from the USA...most were either here in El Salvador or in other parts of Central America.

After that, we went to eat at some restaurant (I didn't catch the name) with some other people from school. The pizza there rules. Note to self: Any pizza that requires me of all people to eat with a fork is awesome.

Next stop: Miguel Chang's house to study for the SAT. We spent an hour or two going over some questions. The one we finished with was so weird neither of us could figure it out. It went something like this: "There's a car with 5 seats, and 5 guys riding in the car. How many seat combinations are possible if only 2 people can drive?" He and I kept coming up with the answer 22. That wasn't even an option. Supposedly the answer's 48. If anyone can explain it to me, it'd be good to know how to figure it out without taking tons of time to draw out each combination.

So now I'm home. My brother went to Friday's Night at Seguidores, but after being out so long I didn't feel like leaving the house again. Tomorrow I plan on going to the movies around 6 with a ton of friends to see Eternal Sunshine again. It will be interesting to see how many hate it or love it.

My mom just went to pick him up. We're in the middle of watching The Butterfly Effect. Awesome movie so far. I have a feeling by the end I'm gonna have a major headache trying to figure it all out. Yay. Headache-inducing movies can be good.

Also, my review of Fight Club is online! Woohoo! It ended up being about 1500 words...longer than some reviews, but not nearly as long as my review of The Passion. It was kinda hard not to go too in-depth in analyzing it. I don't want to spoilt it for people. But at the same time, my review won't make much sense (or be as interesting) without pointing out the basic storyline and key bits of dialogue. So oh well. I did my best. Fight Club is just one of those movies that can't really be put into words.

I feel like jumping out of an airplane wearing a parachute and nothing but a smile, while holding a goldfish bowl inhabited by a baby iguana named Bob and his girlfriend Lizzie, and screaming "I sound my barbaric YAWP on top of the world" before congratulating myself on quoting a movie while it seems like I really am above all of creation.

Quotes of Da Moment:
"You are what you love, not what loves you."
--Adaptation

"A man can no more diminish God's glory by refusing to worship Him than a lunatic can put out the sun by scribbling the word, 'darkness' on the walls of his cell."
--C.S. Lewis

"When you're riding in a time machine way far into the future, don't stick your elbow out the window, or it'll turn into a fossil."
--Jack Handey, Deep Thoughts

So he hands me the box and I open up the lid and the weasels jump out
And they immediately latch onto my face and start bitin' me all over
(rabid gnawing sounds)
Oh man, they were just going nuts
They were tearin' me apart
You know, I think it was just about that time that a little ditty started goin' through my head"
I believe it went a little something like this . . .

Doh
Get 'em off me
Get 'em off me
Oh
No, get 'em off, get 'em off
Oh, oh God, oh God
Oh, get 'em off me
Oh, oh God
Ah, (more screaming)
--Albuquerque, "Weird Al" Yankovic

Today was fine. Tomorrow we're showing "Donnie Darko" in film society. Yay!

I've been meaning to mention for the past few days that...the original Star Wars trilogy is finally out on DVD! YES! After nearly 30 years, it's out! Woohoo! Now I can see the originals in all their glory...

*parties*

Oh, no, wait a sec. I can't see them in all their glory. Because George Lucas, being the moron that he is, decided to change stuff. Again.

Let's back up to 1997, when the original trilogy was re-relesed into theaters as the Special Edition. What was so special? Well, there were a few added changes, some of which made fans happy, others of which didn't. Let's take a look at what didn't work:

1) In the cantina scene of Episode 4, Greedo shot first. Originally, Han did. Supposedly, Mr. Lucas somehow got it into his head that Han would appear more like a "good guy" if he didn't shoot first. Han's a scoundrel. He kills people when he has to. And we love him for it. That was a really stupid mistake.

How It Was Changed for the DVD: Han and Greedo now shoot at nearly the same time. Still not good enough.

2) In Episode 4, they also added a scene with Han talking to Jabba. Jabba's special effects were really crappy.

How It Was Changed for the DVD: Supposedly the updated effects look much better. Yay.

3) In Episode 5, Luke let out a wimpy scream as he fell down the Cloud City shaft. Not cool.

How It Was Changed for the DVD: No more screaming. Yay. Luke's slightly more masculine now. See, the original way of doing things is better!

4) In Episode 5, the Emperor was played by this really weird old guy.

How It Was Changed for the DVD: They redid the scene with Ian Whatever-His-Name is, the guy who was the Emperor in Episode 6, and Senator Palpatine. However, there's also a scene where he talks to Vader and reveals that *cough*Luke's Anakin's son*cough*. Not cool! You can't just add dialogue to a movie like that! Uuuuggghh.

Of course, a lot of more minor changes were made to the DVDs, those were just a few controversial ones. But the worst change of all, the one that really really really gets on my nerves, and Lucas should be shot dead for changing the originals in this way...

They replaced the ghost of Anakin at the end of Episode 6 with Hayden Christenssen. As in, they've digitally removed an entire actor and put teenage Anakin in. What the heck? It's an entire freakin' actor! Gone! And why oh why would we want to see teenage Anakin again? Aaaggghh. Supposedly it will make sense after Episode 3, but I don't believe it. There's a word for this: stupidity. Of course, our pal George can do whatever he wants with the trilogy - they're his movies, after all. But still, why can't he just release the originals too? For the fans? For the people like me who don't want to see them in all their cinematic glory, as they were originally made? Admittedly, the special effects need some tweaking, but other than that, the originals are fine! Near perfect! You just can't go around changing dialogue and actors like that! Uuuggghhh.

My feelings can basically be summed up in this article. I love George. I hate George. Die George, die.

Hm. I just talked to another friend who saw Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind and hated it. I'm telling you, this has to be a cultural thing. Nearly all the Salvadoreans I know absolutely loathe it and think it's one of the worst movies they've ever seen, but all the gringos I've heard talk about it love it. I don't know, maybe my friends were just expecting something lighter and more fun. If that's the case, they were greatly disappointed.

Or maybe it's that the movies about relationships they're used to seeing are really crappy and shallow and follow the same formula. When they find a movie that actually takes relationships seriously and realistically, they don't get it. I may never find out why they hate it.

Ah, I just talked to my friend and I think I know why. He thought it moved slowly and it was boring. *sigh* People these days have no patience. They're used to seeing movies where the action is fast-paced and they don't have to think about what's going on. They should watch more foreign films, where it's the opposite. Things move slowly, but good things come to go those who wait.

Oh well. I'm still considering buying it on DVD, and I still recommend it to the rest of the world. See it. Now.

Also, I finished my Fight Club review. I'll try to post it this weekend.

Quote of Da Moment:
"Hello, Clarice."
--Silence of the Lambs

Well, to cut a long story short, he got away with my snorkel
But I made a a solemn vow right then and there that I would not rest
I would not sleep for an instant until the one-nostrilled man was brought to justice
But first, I decided to buy some donuts

So I got in my car and I drove over to the donut shop
And I walked on up to the guy behind the counter
And he says "Yeah, what do ya want?"
I said "You got any glazed donuts?"
He said "No, we're outta glazed donuts"
I said "You got any jelly donuts?"
He said "No, we're outta jelly donuts"
I said "You got any Bavarian cream-filled donuts?"
He said "No, we're outta Bavarian cream-filled donuts"
I said "You got any cinnamon rolls?"
He said "No, we're outta cinnamon rolls"
I said "You got any apple fritters?"
He said "No, we're outta apple fritters"
I said "You got any bear claws?"
He said "Wait a minute, I'll go check"
"NO, we're outta bear claws"
I said "Well, in that case - in that case, what do you have?"
He says "All I got right now is this box of one dozen starving, crazed weasels"
I said "OK, I'll take that"
--Albuquerque, "Weird Al" Yankovic

I had PE today. We went swimming...the pool hadn't been heated. What followed was torture so unimaginable that it can only be described as "cruel and unusual punishment". Or, an hour and a half shivering and turning blue. I felt like a camel in the middle of Antarctica...in a blizzard. I wasn't made for that kind of environment! And then it started to rain. After what seemed like an eternity Mario finally let us get out and dry off. If hell ever freezes over, it will be like today in the swimming pool.

I just finished writing an essay for TOK about whether or not ethics are relative. I hope I get a good grade, but that topic was waaayy too hard. They should let us choose our own topic. Ethics and morality are complicated...though at least it means I don't have much trouble writing more than the required 1200 words.

And now I've got to go practice, so I can't continue. Oh well, that was my day.

Quote of Da Moment:
"Love anything and your heart will be wrung and possibly broken. If you want to make sure of keeping it intact you must give it to no one, not even an animal. Wrap it carefully round with hobbies and little luxuries; avoid all entanglements. Lock it up safe in the casket or coffin of your selfishness. But in that casket, safe, dark, motionless, airless, it will change. It will not be broken; it will become unbreakable, impenetrable, irredeemable. To love is to be vulnerable."
--C.S. Lewis

So, finally I go over and I open the door and just as I suspected
It's some big fat hermaphrodite with a Flock-Of-Seagulls haircut and only one nostril
Oh man, I hate it when I'm right
So anyway, he bursts into my room and he grabs my lucky snorkel
And I'm like "Hey, you can't have that"
"That snorkel's been just like a snorkel to me"
And he's like "Tough"
And I'm like "Give it"
And he's like "Make me"
And I'm like "'Kay"
So I grabbed his leg and he grabbed my esophagus
And I bit off his ear and he chewed off my eyebrows
And I took out his appendix and he gave me a colonic irrigation
Yes indeed, you better believe it
And somehow in the middle of it all, the phone got knocked off the hook
And twenty seconds later, I heard a farmiliar voice
And you know what it said?
I'll tell you what it said

It said
"If you'd like to make a call, please hang up and try again"
"If you need help, hang up and then dial your operator"
"If you'd like to make a call, please hang up and try again"
"If you need help, hang up and then dial your operator"

In Albuquerque
Albuquerque
--Albuquerque, "Weird Al" Yankovic

I've been in a good mood so far this week. I have no idea why, considering yesterday was horrible (as all Mondays are), seeing as how I did really bad on an English essay and I probably failed a math test. I have eternal sunshine! Woohoo!

Last night was the last meeting of the Puerta. Waaaaaaahh. But oh well, we'll survive. People need to move on to another stage in their spiritual lives. And we got to have a going away "party", which was fun. There was food and cake, and everyone had a good time. Yay yay yay.

Biology was fun today. Two classes of basically nothing. We did this experiment to test whether or not caffeine raises heart rate. It was basically just drink some Coke, and check your heart rate every 5-10 minutes for an hour. Tough, eh? We should do that every class. It would help use learn about the circulatory system...yeah...

The rest of the day was boring. CAS was boring. And I just realized that I've lost my history book that I need to do my homework for tomorrow. Wonderful. At least I don't think I'm the only one without a book.

Also, it seems like lots of the people I've talked to at school who have seen Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind think it's the worst movie they've ever seen. Some people just don't get it. If it's not funny or have explosions and graphic sex, it's automatically a bad movie to them. *sigh* The world is becoming so shallow. They're so used to seeing simple, easy-to-follow action fests with one-dimensional characters they've forgotten what it's like to watch realistic characters and writing/directing that's completely different from what they normally see. But oh well. It's one of those movies (like most films that use scripts by Charlie Kaufman) that people either love or hate. The only thing you can be sure of when going to one of his movies is that you're going to see something unique that hasn't been done before.

I've started my Fight Club review. It will be finished and posted. Eventually.

*sigh* Blogger messed up my post from yesterday. It's deleting time.

Quotes of Da Moment:
"Don’t let it end like this. Tell them I said something."
--Pancho Villa, last words

So I crawled from the twisted, burnin' wreckage
I crawled on my hands and knees for three full days
Draggin' along my big leather suitcase and my garment bag
And my tenor saxophone and my twelve-pound bowling ball
And my lucky, lucky autographed glow-in-the-dark snorkel
But finally I arived at the world famous Albuquerque Holiday Inn
Where the towels are oh so fluffy
And you can eat your soup right out of the ashtrays if you wanna
It's OK, they're clean

Well, I checked into my room and I turned down the A/C
And I turned on the SpectraVision
And I'm just about to eat that little chocolate mint on my pillow
That I love so very, very much when suddenly, there's a knock on the door

Well now, who could that be?
I say "Who is it?"
No answer
"Who is it?"
There's no answer
"WHO IS IT?"
They're not sayin' anything
--Albuquerque, "Weird Al" Yankovic

Today I saw Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind. I loved it I loved it I loved it. It was even better than I thought it would be. Da Man of Da Week is Jim Carrey. I thought he was possibly even better in this than in The Truman Show. In The Truman Show there were scenes where he got to act a little crazy, kinda like his old comic-funny-guy-self. But not in this one. He was dead serious the entire time. One of my favorite parts was near the beginning when he and Clementine first step out onto the frozen river. If that section of dialogue isn't the perfect metaphor for a relationship, I don't know what is.

Finally, a movie where the characters are flawed! A movie that shows the audience that it's okay to make mistakes. Mistakes make us who we are, and without them part of us is lost. I am going to seriously consider buying this film on DVD, and possibly writing a review of it once I finish (or rather, start) my Fight Club analysis.

Go see this movie. You will not regret it.

Quote of Da Moment:
"Fool me once, shame on you. Fool me twice, prepare to die."
--Klingon Proverb, Star Trek

Oh yeah
You know, I'd never been on a real airplane before
And I gotta tell ya, it was really great
Except that I had to sit between two large Albanian women with excruciatingly severe body odor
And the little kid in back of me kept throwin' up the whole time
The flight attendants ran out of Dr. Pepper and salted peanuts
And the in-flight movie was Bio-Dome with Pauly Shore
And, oh yeah, three of the airplane engines burned out
And we went into a tailspin and crashed into a hillside
And the plane exploded in a giant fireball and everybody died
Except for me
You know why?

'Cause I had my tray table up
And my seat back in the full upright position
Had my tray table up
And my seat back in the full upright position
Had my tray table up
And my seat back in the full upright position

Ah ha ha ha
Ah ha ha
Ahhhh

--Albuquerque, "Weird Al" Yankovic

At last, I got to sleep. I love Saturdays.

I did a practice SAT today. Fun fun fun. There's nothing like the SAT to make a person feel extremely intelligent and excruciatingly stupid all at the same time.

I was considering going to see Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind tonight, but it doesn't look like many people want to go. I decided going alone wouldn't be fun. So maybe next week. Bummer. Maybe tonight I'll watch a movie or write my Fight Club review. Or work on a short script - since yesterday I finally ordered a camera and some accessories! Yay! I need to buy some really strong lights though. I don't want to end up making gritty, washed-out movies.

Yesterday, I went to "Friday's Night" at Seguidores. It was a lot better than I expected - basically just a gigantic puerta. I want to keep going, even though it lasts from 8 to pretty late.

Hm. Time to go download some more sheet music and short films or something.

Quotes of Da Moment:
"A word to the wise ain’t necessary, it is the stupid ones who need all the advice."
--Bill Cosby

"I choose a block of marble and chop off whatever I don’t need."
--Rodin, when asked how he managed to make his remarkable statues

That's when I swore that someday
Someday I would get outta that basement and travel to a magical, far away place
Where the sun is always shining and the air smells like warm root beer
And the towels are oh so fluffy
Where the shriners and the lepers play their ukuleles all day long
And anyone on the street will gladly shave your back for a nickel

Wacka wacka doodoo yeah

Well, let me tell you, people, it wasn't long at all before my dream came true
Because the very next day, a local radio station had this contest
To see who could correctly guess the number of molecules in Leonard Nimoy's butt
I was off by three, but I still won the grand prize
That's right, a first class one-way ticket to

Albuquerque
Albuquerque
--Albuquerque, "Weird Al" Yankovic

I realized something about The Truman Show: the reason most of the movie doesn't have lots of religious imagery is because Peter Weir crammed it all into the last 15 minutes. It was nearly overwhelming.

Also, Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind is finally here. I'm going to see it tomorrow, whether anyone goes with me or not. I've waited too long to postpone it just because my friends have homework or "other plans".

Quote of Da Moment:
"Why shouldn't I work for the N.S.A.? That's a tough one, but I'll give it a shot. Say I'm working at N.S.A. Somebody puts a code on my desk, something nobody else can break. So I take a shot at it and maybe I break it. And I'm real happy with myself, 'cause I did my job well. But maybe that code was the location of some rebel army in North Africa or the Middle East. Once they have that location, they bomb the village where the rebels were hiding and fifteen hundred people I never had a problem with get killed. Now the politicians are sayin', "Send in the marines to secure the area" 'cause they don't give a shit. It won't be their kid over there, gettin' shot. Just like it wasn't them when their number was called, 'cause they were pullin' a tour in the National Guard. It'll be some guy from Southie takin' shrapnel in the ass. And he comes home to find that the plant he used to work at got exported to the country he just got back from. And the guy who put the shrapnel in his ass got his old job, 'cause he'll work for fifteen cents a day and no bathroom breaks. Meanwhile my buddy from Southie realizes the only reason he was over there was so we could install a government that would sell us oil at a good price. And of course the oil companies used the skirmish to scare up oil prices so they could turn a quick buck. A cute little ancillary benefit for them but it ain't helping my buddy at two-fifty a gallon. And naturally they're takin' their sweet time bringin' the oil back, and maybe even took the liberty of hiring an alcoholic skipper who likes to drink martinis and play slalom with the icebergs, and it ain't too long 'til he hits one, spills the oil and kills all the sea life in the North Atlantic. So my buddy's out of work and he can't afford to drive, so he's got to walk to the job interviews, which sucks 'cause the shrapnel in his ass is givin' him chronic hemorrhoids. And meanwhile he's starvin' 'cause every time he tries to get a bite to eat the only blue plate special they're servin' is North Atlantic scrod with Quaker State. So what do I think? I'm holdin' out for somethin' better. Why not just shoot my buddy, take his job and give it to his sworn enemy, hike up gas prices, bomb a village, club a baby seal, hit the hash pipe and join the National Guard? I could be elected president."
--Good Will Hunting

Way back when I was just a little bitty boy living in a box under the stairs in the corner of the basement half a block down the street from Jerry's Bait shop
You know the place
well anyway, back then life was going swell and everything was just peachy

Except, of course, for the undeniable fact that every single morning
My mother would make me a big bowl of sauerkraut for breakfast

Awww - Big bowl of sauerkraut
Every single mornin'
It was driving me crazy

I said to my mom
I said "Hey, mom, what's with all the sauerkraut?"
And my dear, sweet mother
She just looked at me like a cow looks at an oncoming train
And she leaned right down next to me
And she said "IT'S GOOD FOR YOU"
And then she tied me to the wall and stuck a funnel in my mouth
And force fed me nothing but sauerkraut until I was twenty six and a half years old

--Albuquerque, "Weird Al" Yankovic

Today was rather uneventful. Oh, except that when I arrived at school I was told that my group was supposed to perform our act of the Spanish play La Casa de Bernarda Alba TODAY instead of tomorrow...

Why does the gringo never get told when there's a change of plans?

I knew my lines, but I didn't have my costume. So I called my mom, and being the great mom she is, she dropped me off some clothes just before I had to perform.

Now, pay attention, because this is important: In the plan all the characters are women. Got that? Which means that me and the other male members of our group were forced to cross-dress in order to make a good grade for Spanish class. Woohoo! But oh well. I just figured I should make the best of it...so I proudly walked on stage wearing a gold and black blouse, a long skirt, and black high heels. I think my classmates considered me the sexiest cross-dresser of the week. I feel so proud!

The play started out well. I said half my lines, walked off stage...then this part where two of the characters have a loooooong argument about each other's love lives starts. This is where things started going downhill. One of the girls kinda stumbled over her lines...this wasn't good for me, since I was supposed to come back in after I heard a certain line. And I didn't hear it. The next thing I knew, everyone was looking around like, "Who's next?" So I figured it was me. I ran out, shouted "Adela!" and never got a chance to say my other three lines. In about 10 seconds the last lines of the play were being recited. But oh well. That's life. I hope I don't get a bad grade.

And I should definitely get extra points for wearing the heels. I have more respect for women now than I ever had before.

So yeah. That was the highlight of my day. The Wests are gone now. The end.

Quotes of Da Moment:
"Most people would sooner die than think; in fact, they do so."
--Bertrand Russell

"The object of war is not to die for your country, but to make the other bastard die for his."
--General George Patton

"A single death is a tragedy, a million deaths is a statistic."
--Joseph Stalin

"Only two things are infinite, the universe and human stupidity, and I’m not sure about the former."
--Albert Einstein

Today is September 15, El Salvador's independece day. So I get to skip school. Hurray!

The Wests are here, which is why I haven't had a chance to update recently. Other than that, not much is going on. Yesterday I went with my class to a volcano in order to prepare for our "Group 4" science project on volcanism. We spent a total of 6 hours on the bus, which was not fun. Thankfully, there were movies. Terminator 3 I had already seen, but it was cool. Hellboy...well, don't believe the critics. It sucks. I had kinda wanted to see it because critics had said it was "just fun" and "in the spirit of Indiana Jones". Indiana Jones? Indiana Jones?! Let's get something straight. Indiana Jones is a fun, campy series that is good. Hellboy is not fun, it's even below campy, and it's just plain stupid. Plus, most of the time, I couldn't figure out what was going on. Hellboy got on earth how? And he's from where? Huh? Don't waste your money watching this piece of crap.

And I hear they're working on a sequel. It's at times like these when I hate Hollywood.

The volcano was cool - basically just a small lake in the middle of a crater. My group just took a variety of samples from everywhere, because we still aren't sure what our specific topic will be. pH, chemicals in the water, fertility...something like that. I took off my shoes and waded into the water up to my ankles. Everyone else were cowards. "Oh no! The water's green! Eeewww!" Relax. A little sulfur never hurt anyone.

I probably won't get to write a review/analysis of Fight Club until this weekend. But it doesn't matter, since I keep thinking about it and realizing new things I hadn't noticed at first.

Until next time...

Quote of Da Moment
"I am become death, shatterer of worlds."
--Robert J. Oppenheimer (citing the Bhagavadgita, about witnessing the world’s first nuclear explosion)

"I'm probably going to be sick tonight."
--Me, in yesterday's post

Yeah. I was right. I slept for about an hour and a half (though it felt like 6) before getting sick. Fun fun fun. Let this be a lesson to all of you. Never eat nothing but sweet and salty stuff for dinner (and in large quantities). You'll regret it.

I ended up going with my dad to a church other than Seguidores today. I really hated it...no offense to the church. Like the majority of hispanic churches, I got the impression it was the ultra-conservative "don't-drink-don't-smoke-don't-dance" type of church. Those types of churches really don't appeal to me. The pastor couldn't seem to figure out what his sermon was on. He kept skipping around to different subjects. He started talking about how television is evil; now, don't get me wrong, the majority of shows these days are terrible and immoral, but not all of them are. Also, maybe he just chose his words poorly, but he came across to me as extremely homo-phobic. I seriously considered getting up and walking out. Not only was I sleepy, but what he said really irritated me. I can't wait to go back to Seguidores next week. They're not as rigid and formal.

Well, I can't find my copy of House of the Spirits, and I can't finish my big English world literature essay until I do. I'll ask for another copy tomorrow. I've written as much as I can without it. The essay is supposed to be between 1450 and 1500 words. I think I've done pretty well without the book. I was able to find most of the general information on the Internet, I just need the book to insert some supporting quotes. I've got 1420 words so far, and it's very possible that once I add more quotations it will be over the word limit. I thought it would be hard to get to 1500 words, but I'll probably end up editing some stuff out. But yay, 97% of the work is done! And I did my Computers homework, so that's all for this weekend. Oh yeah. I'm goooooood.

I finished Fight Club. Awesome. Movie. I want to watch it again already. The best David Fincher movie I've seen...yes, even better than Se7en. There's so much to analyze...if I end up writing a review who knows how long it will be. It has so many true things to say about humanity today, particularly the male "Generation Xers" (20-30 year olds). I was right about the twist ending...stupid tv show. But not all was lost. In the last 60 seconds some really unexpected stuff happened. I didn't really understand it all...the dialogue and mood could imply any number of things. I'll probably watch the last scene again before I try to write a review, so I can make some sense of the ambiguity.

I will never look at soap the same way again.

Quote of Da Moment:
"You laugh at me because I am different, but I laugh at you because you are all the same."
--Unknown

Heh. This afternoon turned out to be not as boring as I thought it would be.

My dad and I got about 3/4 of the way through Fight Club. Then the phone rang. It was Souwa, inviting me to go have coffee with her and some friends. Now, considering the fact that I had really looked forward to going out with them yesterday but didn't get to, of course I immediately said yes. Never mind the fact that I was still in my pajamas (though I had taken a shower) and in the middle of watching a movie I had been waiting to see for a long time. I hurried up, got dressed, then my parents drove me to El Paseo. They decided to just spend time at Florence so they wouldn't have to come pick me up again.

Souwa was there with her cousin, Karen, and Miguel. I had some coffee, we sat and talked, etc. Then suddenly Souwa said, "Hey do you want to go to the movies with us? We're going to go see Mean Girls in an hour." Naturally I said yes. Wow, what a spontaneous day. Anyways, in the end we decided to go see Collateral instead. I rode with Souwa (who has a cool little red car) and her cousin. In the car she played Chinese music. That is sooooooo awesome! Now I really want to learn it.

Souwa really enjoyed the movie, but the others didn't; they felt it didn't live up to the expectations. Fortunately, Souwa is like me and realizes a great movie when she sees it, hehe. She really got into it. Every once in a while I would look over at her and she would have this look of pure nervousness on her face - this "Oh-no-what's-gonna-happen-someone's-gonna-die-no-no-no look. Karen on the other hand, got bored. But she hates movies and gets bored in every single one, so that wasn't a big surprise. It's kind of funny going to the movies with her though, because something really bad will happen (eg. someone dying, or in this case a cell phone's battery running low), and she'll just start laughing. That's when you realize, "Okay fine, so maybe it is just a kinda cheesy plot device." But oh well. It was still a good movie. Maybe I'll write a review.

I bought this huge box of popcorn and a large soda to share with everyone. But they hardly ate anything, and nobody took a sip of the drink. So I spent the entire movie munching on popcorn. I'm probably going to be sick tonight. But that's life. I might as well enjoy it while I can.

After the movie, we all just kind of stood around while figuring out what to do next. They weren't sure whether or not to go eat something. But the food court was closed, so in the end we just left and Souwa dropped me off at my house. I got to stand outside in the rain. Yay! Standing and dancing in the rain is fun.

On Fight Club: My dad is already in bed so I won't get to finish watching with him until tomorrow. That really sucks because I can't wait to see what happens. I haven't even finished it and I already think it's one of my favorite movies. It's incredible. David Fincher rules. I think there's a twist ending, but I saw something on tv about it a few months ago and so I think I already know it. That really gets on my nerves - why do people have to ruin the movie like that? I hope I'm wrong, though from what I've seen so far, I'm not. But oh well, it's still a great movie. There are so many good quotes. If there's one thing I can say about this movie so far, it's that it really makes me glad I have Jesus. Otherwise, I'd probably be like these characters. *shudders*

Hm. Three blog posts in one day. Is that a record for me?

And so ends the three-year anniversary of September 11. I wasn't going to mention it, but I changed my mind. Even though it gets on my nerves that it seems I can't go a day without someone mentioning that fateful day 3 years ago, that doesn't change the fact that a lot of good people (as well as probably a lot of bad people) died, and they deserve to be remembered. God bless the families of the victims.

Quote of Da Moment:
"You're not your job. You're not how much money you have in the bank. You're not the car you drive. You're not the contents of your wallet. You're not your fucking khakis. You're the all-singing, all-dancing crap of the world."
--Tyler Durden, Fight Club

I just added 50 songs to my Media Library. Whoa.

I am so weak and I'm so tired
It's hard for me to
Find enough strength to feed the fires
That fuel my ego
And consequently all my pride has all but died
Which leaves me
Down on my knees
Back to the place I
Should have started from

Been beat up
Been broken down
Nowhere but up
When you're facedown
On the ground
I'm in last place
If I place at all
But there's hope for this underdog !
That's the way, uh-huh, we like it!
That's the way, uh-huh, we like it!
You can call me the underdog

I'm in this race to win a prize
The odds against me
The world has plans for my demise
What they don't see
Is that a winner is not judged by his small size
But by the substitute he picks to run the race
And mine's already won

--Underdog, Audio Adrenaline

In a few minutes I'm going to go watch Fight Club. I've been wanting to see this for a while, and due to its controversial nature, that means I'll probably be writing a full-fledged review with all my thoughts afterwards. Yay! This means that after months of remaining the same, my movie review website will finally receive a much-needed update. It's not dead, after all.

Toodles.

Words of Da Day: Whippersnapper, Doohickey, and any other gringo words that really don't make much sense.

Quote of Da Moment:
"A patriot must always be ready to defend his country against his government."
--Edward Abbey

TGIS. I love the weekend. Sometimes.

I don't have a lot of plans for the weekend. Andrew West won't be coming down until Monday, which really sucks. Maybe I can call and convince him to come tomorrow, so I at least won't be too bored for the entire weekend.

Maybe I'll watch Fight Club with my dad tonight. That would be awesome. We got about half-way through it on TV before he said he didn't feel comfortable watch it and turned it off. Never mind the fact that James watched it all without my parents' permission. Big mistake. But now that he bought it, this weekend would be a good time for us to try again. Especially considering James won't be back until tomorrow evening.

Hm. I have a lot of mood swings, don't I? Every day I go from serious happiess to serious depression to serious boredom. Maybe that's just part of being a teenager...I wonder why.

*gasp* Oh no! I'm pregnant!

Quotes of Da Moment (since I'm bored and feel like posting more than one):

"If everything is under control, you are going too slow."
--Mario Andretti

"The devil can cite Scripture for his purpose."
--William Shakespeare, The Merchant of Venice, I.iii

"Not only is there no God, but try finding a plumber on Sunday."
--Woody Allen

There is a fogginess behind my eyes
A pounding behind my brain
Perhaps I'm merely exhausted
Or there's a reason for these jumbled thoughts.
My cup is overflowing with the jealousy
Of what might have been and
What could have been and
What is and
What will never be.
Loneliness is but a product of a confused
And troubled soul, wandering aimlessly through
The barren dreamscape of emotion.
Time is forever running away from me
For no matter how hard I try I can never
Seem to catch up and grasp it by the heels,
But I'm forever doomed to stand on the sidelines
And observe thee from afar.
Call me A Discarded Object.
I am the crumpled sheet of music playing
Solemnly in the background of the movie that's your life,
The thing you never realize is there and yet
Has the potential to cause a great effect.
Leave me now for my self has shattered into
Thousands of miniscule pieces and I doubt
You will be able to glue them back together.
May the days change, or
May what once was rest in peace.
Until that day arrives, I hang only by the
thongs of the sandals of He who never left.

Quotes of Da Moment:
"The heart has its reasons which reason does not understand."
--Blaise Pascal

"The young man who has not wept is a savage, and the old man who will not laugh is a fool."
--George Santayana

Film Society went pretty well today. Only half the people expected showed up, and there were sound problems involving lots of noise that could be really annoying, but things could have gone worse. Hopefully that will be fixed next week, for the second half.

Hm. Well, James just left to go on a retreat with Seguidores, and I'm stuck here at home. I didn't sign up because I thought I would be writing my huge English essay this weekend, as well as hanging out with Andrew West. And what do you know...the teacher changed the date to next Thursday instead of Monday. Wonderful. Not to mention that I was planning on hanging out with friends today at the mall, but at the last minute their mom decided to go along and for some reason that screws things up for me. Blegh. It's the minor things that really bother a guy. Especially a guy like me.

But oh well, that's life. Hopefully I'll still get to see friends this weekend, since I don't have much planned. I'll probably write some more of my essay, and do a small computer program, but other than that I'm completely free. At least there's a chance Andrew West might still come down tomorrow, which would be cool.

There's no kind of sorrow quite like the kind that comes when seeing something beautiful look as though it is the most despised of all creations.

Quote of Da Moment:
"There is a theory which states that if ever anyone discovers exactly what the Universe is for and why it is here, it will instantly disappear and be replaced by something even more bizarre and inexplicable.

There is another which states that this has already happened."
--Douglas Adams, The Restaurant at the End of the Universe

Yup. We're showing The Truman Show tomorrow at Film Society. Yay! Go Jim Carrey go Jim Carrey go Jim Carrey...

*does cheerleading dance*

I just spent most of the day writing about half of this huge English essay that's due Monday. Aren't you jealous?

Hm. People are running for "Tribal Chief" this week. This one guy in my grade, Javier, had an awesome campaign poster. It shows him, shirtless, flexing his muscles with the words "Vote for Jay" on his back. It was really funny...though his pants were dangerously low. Anyways, near the end of the day he went around to all the classes saying, "Don't show Mr. Morgan my campaign poster, since it goes against school policy....oh yeah, Vote for ME!" It was hiwawious. Though of course, his muscles aren't anything compared to mine.

*flexes*

I could arm wrestle Ah-nold. Really, I could!

I can't guarantee I would win though.

Quote of Da Moment:
"Destiny is not a matter of change, it is a matter of choice; it is not a thing to be waited for, it is a thing to be achieved."
--William Jennings Bryan

Yesterday in Biology class we dissected rats. I was fortunate enough to walk in just in time to see Dr. Jenner finish killing them. He picked them up, and then slammed their heads against the side of the sink multiple times, completely breaking their necks. It was at this point that all the girls started screaming, and I stood there thinking "This is awesome!"

We were split into groups of four. Before we started working, Dr. Jenner poked the rats in the head with some sort of sharp object in order to pierce the brain and make sure they were, in fact, dead. Then we cut the skin off its belly, revealing a thin layer of muscle protecting all the intestines. All of a sudden, we heard:

"Squeak...squeak..."

I nearly had heart attack. Turns out there was just some extra air still in the lungs being pushed out. It wasn't actually alive. *phew*

Anyways, then we sliced through the muscle and got to view all of the wonderful guts and innards of a rat. We figured out which organs were what, and then proceeded to take them all out. The point was to see how long the "gut" actually was. Turns out it's reeeeally long, just folded up inside. We were left with just skin and bones. Fun fun fun. If we had flipped it over, it's possible no one would have realized it was actually dead.

Oh, I forgot to mention that I wasn't wearing gloves. These rats had been specifically bred to be fed to snakes, so they didn't have any diseases. Dr. Jenner poked around without gloves a ton. The only thing I really touched other than scissors was the brain (we got bored, so we thought we'd see what it looked like). It was surprisingly cold.

Also, the heart was still beating. It takes a while for it to stop after death. That was really cool, even though it meant blood eventually got everywhere.

That was the highlight of yesterday. I didn't film anything, and I doubt I will until this weekend. Today was boring.

Also: never quote Dogma to a really traditional Catholic. They'll think you're satanic or something.

This is the part where I go into vent mode: The church is fallible. I repeat: The church is fallible. Church laws are created by man, and men are fallible. Therefore, it's possible for them to be fallible. Any religious person who doesn't admit that the church can and has made some really terrible mistakes (the Crusades, anyone?) is fooling themselves. To quote Dogma, on what kinds of mistakes the church has made that God doesn't really enjoy: "What He really hates is the shit that gets carried out in his name. Wars. Bigotry. Televangelism."

That last one was a joke. At least partially.

The church is not at the same level of God, who is infallible. And it can be quite easy for their "laws" to contradict the Bible. And no, I'm not just talking about any particular denomination (don't get me started on that subject). All denominations can do it, because in the end, they are led by man. Yeah, they all try to do what God wants them to do, but you can't change the fact that the church is run, and made up of, corrupt beings. Unlike the Bible, I do not believe that church laws are dictated by God. Though if anyone shows me a Bible passage disproving me, I'll be happy to change my mind.

I mean, really. God forbid I insult the church, of all things! (end sarcasm)

To conclude: Churches can make mistakes. End of story.

Note: I don't mean to pick on Catholics with the following quote. They're just the ones mentioned.

Quote of Da Moment:

Cardinal Glick: The Catholic Church does not make mistakes.
Rufus: Please. What about the Church's silent consent to the slave trade?
Bethany: And its platform of noninvolvement during the Holocaust?
Cardinal Glick: All right, mistakes were made.
--Dogma

Today was a pretty good day, though rather uneventful. I came home and started my homework, but thankfully I had already done most of it over the weekend, so I didn't have much.

I really want to start filming some short films. Unfortunately, I have no equipment. No tripod, no editing software, no digital camera. Nada. Zip. Zero. However, I did manage to get my hands on this old JVC video camcorder. So this afternoon I spent some time filming random stuff, seeing how the lighting worked, whether or not sound recorded, etc. It's not as bad as I thought it would be. Then James got an idea, and we started filming a little short movie together.

It's supposed to be a dark comedy starring yours truly. We've only shot a few minutes of it so far; it's kind of hard when you don't have any way to edit, so you're forced to shoot each specific shot in sequence. It can take a while. We should be able to finish it up tomorrow, when we shoot the scenes that require being outdoors. At this point, I think it's a bit too dark. There's nothing really funny about it yet, other than my, um, terrific acting skills. Hopefully we'll be able to put in some jokes tomorrow so it doesn't end up being this really depressing short film.

Anywho, that's all for now. Wish me luck with filming. Hopefully next week I'll be able to film something with Andrew West when he comes to visit. I've got an idea brewing.

Quote of Da Moment:
"Filmmaking is a chance to live many lifetimes."
--Robert Altman

I am now stuck in Computers class. We've been working on this one program for at least a week. It's driving me crazy! I've done everything correctly, I'm sure. The computer's broken.

What we're trying to do is be able to save the data we input into a file. For some reason, whenever I save it to the correct Notepad file, the format turns out all wrong. This means that I can't open it using my program either. I have looked at the code of friends whose programs work, and mine should do the same thing. But it doesn't!

WHY?!

Somebody call Microsoft and tell them Notepad screws up.

Quote of Da Moment:
"Do, or do not. There is no ‘try’."
--Yoda, The Empire Strikes Back

Yesterday I saw Following. It was Christopher Nolan's first feature-length film, and shot in black-and-white on a camera with quality that wasn't top-notch (though I guess at this point in time he couldn't afford a better one).

I am now convinced that he is incapable of making a bad movie. This one rocked. He played around with the structure, like he did with Memento, and it really did add to the atmosphere of the story. It's about a wannabe-writer who follows people...just for the heck of it. He wants to see where they go, and what they do. One day one of his subjects notices him, and introduces himself. The guy's name is Cobb, and he's a burglar. Soon he and the protagonist are off breaking into people's homes...but there's more to the story than first meets the eye. Who exactly is the girl whose house they break into, and whose panties he steals? What is Cobb hiding? Who has control over whom?

Gradually the answers are revealed, and the ending, though not quite as shocking or unpredictable as that of Memento, is still fantastic. So he did Following, Memento, and Insomnia. Now he's working on Batman Begins. My anticipation for that movie just doubled.

All right. It's religious rant time! Woohoo!

It's time to vent. Hypocrisy is the name of the game. Raise your hand if you are at times, a hypocrite?

*raises hand*

Now, nobody's perfect, and I'm sure I'm probably hypocritical in ways I don't realize, but I think everybody knows that there are certain aspects in which they aren't hypocrites. For example, a guy might preach against murder, and know that he'll never commit it. That's what I mean. There are some actions you know you will never do.

Jesus said to love everyone, even your enemies. If you know of one reference in the Bible where it says we're supposed to hate people, feel free to stop reading now. Because I've never read that verse, and so I'm going to ignore it.

Christ said love. Therefore, I'm going to love. After an argument I had recently, I want it clearly established that:

I am against homosexuality. I do not hate homosexuals. I am therefore not homophobic.

I disagree with Catholic dogma. I do not hate Catholics. I am therefore not anti-Catholic.

I am against pornography. I do not hate pornographers. I am therefore not anti-pornographer (or whatever the word would be).

Is this clear? Simply because you disagree with someone else's beliefs or their actions, does not give you the right to hate them. And I don't.

On a side note: Just because a character in a book is about a sinful character, does not mean the author is anti-religion, or homosexuals, or whatever. If I write about a homosexual Buddhist pedophile, for example, that does not mean that I am anti-Buddhist, anti-homosexuals, or anti-pedophiles. It means I wrote a book about someone with those characteristics. That's it. I think every author when developing a character tries their hardest not to put themselves in the story. Therefore, characters in a work of literature do not reflect the author's actual values.

Eg. If I write about a serial killer from the serial killer's point of view, the story will automatically be sympathetic to his actions. That does not mean that I support killing.

If there's anything I hate, it's being called a hypocrite for something I know I'm not hypocritical of. So for future reference, when it comes to issues like this, don't do it. You're jumping to baseless conclusions.

/rant

Quote of Da Moment:
"The being we call god is merely a pawn working for a powerful and rational force in some far-off galaxy. This force is trying to weed out people who are irrational by seeing who would be stupid enough to believe in his god illusion so easily. Those that believe in this illusion, he will send to eternal damnation and he will deliver the rational beings, those who stoically refused to believe in a god, to heaven."
--Nicholas Yee

Blegh. I've done most of my homework, and I don't feel like doing any more today. I don't feel like practicing the piano either. I guess I'll just sit here and rot away.

How many licks does it take to get to the center of a jawbreaker?

My guess is 5,247.

efhskvbncjduwiguyvnslfnwoer

Pray for snow.

I think I'll go play with my imaginary friend.

Really Weird Quote of Da Moment:
"The difference between pornography and erotica is lighting."
--Gloria Leonard

Normal Quote of Da Moment:
"There is no reason anyone would want a computer in their home."
--Ken Olson, president, chairman and founder of Digital Equipment Corporation, 1977

The irony is that I am now using one to quote him.

Yeah. I'm just posting because I'm bored and lonely. 'Tis one of those days, one of those days.

I'm going to go get coffee with my dad in a while. Yay. Caffeeeeeiiinneeee!

Question: Is it bad if after nearly three months from going to Toronto, I still can't get the songs we sang out of my head?

I think it is. It's not as bad as before, but it's still very annoying. Why do kids songs about Jesus have to have such annoying tunes, but yet be so catchy?

GET OUT OF MY HEAD! I WANT MY BRAIN BACK YOU...YOU...STUPID SONGS THAT HARDLY ANYBODY SINGS ANYWAY! YEAH, THAT'S IT!

Pardon me while I go imagine what it would be like to shave my head, tattoo it something really intellectually stimulating (like my dog with pink bows in her hair), and run around the streets of El Salvador barking at anyone I meet.

Quote of Da Moment:
"We're all lonely for something we don't know we're lonely for. How else to explain the curious feeling that goes around feeling like missing somebody we've never even met?"
--David Foster Wallace

Hm. School was boring. Except I bought a cardboard-standup of Luke Skywalker for $5 in order to display today. After school, in the auditorium, I had to sit and sign people up for Film Society, and he was great as a marketing tool. About a dozen people signed up, but I'm betting at least half will quit once they find out we're not going to be watching pointless action movies for no reason.

To End All Wars is a great war movie. It's too bad it didn't get a wider release. If you're looking for a movie that is openly Christian and not afraid to show it, rent this one. Although the directing at the beginning was really horrible and distracted me from the film, it didn't take long before it improved and I was really interested in seeing where the story went.

I just got back from seeing The Terminal again with friends. Tom Hanks rules. Catherine-Zeta Jones' acting was horrible. It's still a good movie though, and I wasn't bored, even though I had seen it before. Yay, it was lots of fun.

I'm starting to discover that some Chinese people are just like the majority of Latin Americans. They show up late to everything. Or maybe it's just one in particular. *cough*You know who you are; drive faster!*cough*

Also: never do the "latin-kissy-on-the-cheek-thingy" in a dark theater. It will hurt your face.

Hm. I'm feeling kinda bored. I have homework to do, but not enough that I'll spend the entire weekend doing it. I want to go outside. Run around. Be a psycho. Have fun. Feed a baby seal. Bungee jump off my balcony. Sing in the shower. Walk on my hands for a few blocks in public. Call people just for the heck of it. Tie my shoelaces to a windmill...

I go New York!

Word of Da Day: Nincompoop.

Quote of Da Moment:
"I don’t want to achieve immortality through my work. I want to achieve it by not dying."
--Woody Allen

Da Hardest-Working Man of Da Hour is...

*shines spotlight*

Daniel Salinas. For commenting on, if I looked correctly, every single post this month. Or at least all the ones on this page. That's a lot of reading, and lot of writing. Daniel, you are da man. Da Commenter of Da Year so far.

*sigh*

I'm beat. Everything was going fine, and then my mind and heart got totally ripped out. Fun fun fun. I want to curl up into a ball. Reminds of the book of James...the tongue is the deadliest weapon...

I guess I just need to sleep. All will be fine tomorrow, I hope. Things could be worse. I could be filling this post with tons of profanity, like I felt like doing earlier.

Da Quote of Da Moment:
"I love Mickey Mouse more than any woman I have ever known."
--Walt Disney

Nothing really interesting happened today. Oh, except we finally worked out my Spanish situation. It'll be like it was in 10th grade; I do the normal Spanish class with first-language speakers, but do the really simple second language exam. Oh yeah! Sometimes it's good to be white.

During PE, I swam a little. About 5 minutes ago, I discovered that my entire chest and stomach is sunburned. I don't see how this is possible, since those are the parts of my body that remained underwater a lot. Maybe it's a strange rash or skin disease, and soon it will start to spread throughout all of El Salvador. And then...THE WORLD! Bwahahahaha! Fear me!

Also, I would like to take back yesterday's Da Man of Da Week. I no longer think Mr. Chang deserves it. I'm betting he was only that nice in order to impress his son's classmates. Hmph. It's time for a replacement...

Da New And Improved Man of Da Week: Me.

*gets teary eyed*

Oh...oh...I finally won! I finally made it! This is such an honor! After all this time, I finally get to be Da Man of Da Week!

*sob*

Da Quote of Da Moment:
"In order to keep a true perspective of one’s importance, everyone should have a dog that will worship him and a cat that will ignore him."
--Dereke Bruce

Help! I'm trapped in English class and I can't escape!

Da Quote of Da Moment:
"Help, I need somebody..."
--The Beatles