Ramblings of a Constipated Mind

John Carpenter's The Thing is cool. It's like Alien in the snow.

I won't be renting any more movies until the weekend. I've got tons of stuff to work on, and I'll probably even be busy over the weekend too. I plan on only leaving my room to go to class, get food, and go to other commitments I already have, such as InterVarsity and going to see a movie tonight in the campus cinema with friends - I can't be anti-social!

I've got job-work to do. And tons of Calculus assignments. And a Calculus test on Monday. And an English text on Tuesday. And a Sociology test some time soon. And a Sociology project due immediately after fall break. And a Spanish presentation due immediately after fall break. And Spanish homework until then. And reading to do for English. And reading to do for Philosophy.

Plus, let's not forget I still have a script to work on. Deej and I figured out the best way to go wtih the story, and I have until October 10 to write the first draft, though my goal is to get it done by next week. I hammered out three pages yesterday...that's a little less than 1/5 of it. All of the introductory exposition stuff is finished, and now I've got to start getting into the heart and soul of things. The final draft will be cut down to 15 pages, but for now I'm just trying to develop each scene to its fullest potential and see what happens.

Now excuse me while I go chow down on some Pop-Tarts. Yummy!

I woke up today and went to a church that's within walking distance called Vintage 21. It wasn't bad. It'll provide a good place to go if there are any Sundays where I can't find a ride to visit new churches. A guy in my Literature class was there - it seems like I keep running into this guy. He's in my class, he was at that abortion lecture, and now he was at church. He was just visiting because he said he had heard about it from some friends.

I found out his name's Daniel Underwood and he's a columnist for The Technician. I recognized the name - he published a very controversial article a few weeks ago about "sorostitutes" that caused a huge protest by sorority girls, complete with signs and yelling and the whole deal. I didn't bring that up. One, because I didn't think he'd appreciate that, and two, because I actually ageed with what he said in his column. Then again, what do I know about sorority girls?

Anyways, I asked him if it would be possible to get a job with The Technician, and he said he'd ask around at the next staff meeting. I told him I was interestied in being the movie critic, since I'm a movie buff and there's hardly ever a review in the paper. He told me to send him some samples of reviews I've written, and he'll see if there's an available position for me.

Sweet. If I start writing for the campus newspaper, it'll add a little more work for me to do, but it will have various benefits, such as:

a) I'll get to watch movies.
b) I'll be forced to practice my review writing.
c) It'll look good on a resume.

We'll see what happens.

After church, I rented two new movies, got some lunch, and then came back to my room to work my butt off all afternoon. I got a lot of job-related work done - it's only the second day of the new week, and I'm already halfway done completing my weekly hours. Oh yeah.

I saw Old Boy.

It is definitely the most disturbing movie I have seen in a very long time. Magnolia was "this-is-emotionally-draining" disturbing (in other words, not very disturbing, just dramatic). Requiem for a Dream was "this-is-really-dark-and-depressing" disturbing. Old Boy is "oh-my-God-that-is-just-wrong-and-really-messed-up" disturbing. Kinda like when I saw Se7en for the first time, except maybe even more so.

That being said, it's a great movie. The directing was superb; the visuals and sound editing were amazing. The main actor was phenomenal.

But that ending...whoa. I think I'm going to have nightmares tonight about various things. The whole situation just gives me the heeby jeebies.

Quote of Da Moment:
"No waaaaay." --me watching the end of Old Boy

Because I get to sleep till noon. That's always good.

Yesterday I managed to make it to the Credit Union and Blockbuster and be back in my room in less than two hours. It was a lot of walking, and it was really hot, but I was worth it. I deposited two paychecks into my account, and I spent about 20 minutes in paradise at Blockbuster. I was literally in awe at the selection. There are way more movies there than at the Blockbuster in High Point. They must have every film ever made, including the foreign ones. I got a membership card and signed up for the all-you-can-rent-for-a-month deal for thirty bucks. I figure I'll give it a try just this month. If I don't end up renting my money's worth, then I won't do it again. But with movie rentals being around $4.50 each, I figured it'd be worth a shot. As long as I watch 7-10 movies a month I'll be fine.

Last night I saw Layer Cake. It was pretty good, but not as good as Snatch or Lock, Stock... Daniel Craig is supposedly still in the running to be the next Bond. I don't know, I just can't see him in the part. I still think that of all the actors out there today, Clive Owen would make the best 007. Unfortunately, I've heard rumors that either the studios didn't want him or that he refused to take the part. If it's the former, the studios are being morons. If it's the latter - Clive, you're an idiot. What kind of guy turns down the role of James Bond? Everyone knows you'd be perfect!

Today I didn't do much except work on my script outline, write two movie reviews, and upload three (five if you consider that one is a trilogy) reviews onto my website. Oh yeah, I'm good. How's that for an update?

I also just finished watching Magnolia. I'm still kind of in a stupor of some sorts...not quite back in reality yet. It was, to steal a line from Keanu, whoa. Just whoa. I went into the movie expecting it to be graphic and unsettling. It's not graphic in the bloody/sexual/nudity sense of the word. It's just...raw human emotion. That's the only way I can think of to describe it. It is wrenching not because of adult content, but because of the emotion. I came closer to crying than I have while watching any movie since The Passion. It's just filled with so many broken people, and yet at the same time, has one of the most positive and Christian messages of any movie I've ever seen. I was on the edge of my seat during the second half, not because it's an action movie, but because the characters are just so captivating. It really makes you think and asks some very important questions. Are there such things as coincidences, or is everything somehow connected? Why can't we say what we want to say? What can we forgive? Is there such a thing as divine intervention?

It is extremely refreshing to watch a movie that actually makes God a central character. If only Hollywood made more stuff like this, maybe the entertainment industry wouldn't be one of the most amoral industries in existence.

Wow. I didn't know a three-hour movie could go by so fast. Pardon me while I go reflect and ponder the mysteries and messages of Magnolia.

Quote of Da Moment:
"I'll tell you everything, and you tell me everything, and maybe we can get through all the piss and shit and lies that kill other people."
--Magnolia

You ever have one of those days? You know, the days that aren't terrible days, but they aren't great days either, and you just want to ignore all your responsibilities and sleep?

Today was one of those days for me. I hate Thursdays.

There's nothing quite like getting up at 7:15, after sleeping for around 5 hours, and not being able to make coffee because the milk went bad a few days ago and you still haven't bought another carton. So you make hot chocolate. But you can't get food yet, because your roommate is still sleeping. So then, when he finally does get up, you quickly munch down a single Pop-Tart and head off to class, trying not to collapse on your way there.

That's bad.

So you survive Sociology class, since that class is always fun. Not to mention that the current topic is sex, which makes for some very interesting discussions, especially when the teacher is extremely liberal ("There's a difference between pornography and erotica. Pornography involves taking advantage of women, which is wrong. Erotica involves the expression of love by two willing individuals. If they want to videotape that and post it on the Internet for the world to see, what's wrong with that?") and always blunt. After class, you go back to your room and take a nap for an hour.

That's good.

After your nap, you wake up, chill out for a while, and then it's off to Calculus. Not only is Calculus extremely boring, but you find that for some reason you're having trouble doing things you already know how to do. Plus, there's a quiz you forgot to study for.

That's bad.

You hope that it'll be like the last quiz, and only used as bonus points. Then you're off to dance class, where the girls tell the professor you're the best leader of the guys.

That's good.

Then you rush back to your room, where you have a 15-minute break before immediately going to Spanish and English. You doze in and out of consciousness during English while listening to the teacher talk about a rather pointless poem of Whitman's.

That's bad.

Then you go to dinner with someone in your English class who's a pretty cool guy. Then you head off to the InterVarsity large group meeting, find out when the small groups meet, and listen to a great message. By now, you're not feeling quite so tired, so you go back to your room to chill out and write a blog entry.

That's good.

So yeah. That was my day. Not great, not terrible, just kinda blegh.

In other news: the group of religious fanatics that invaded the Brickyard yesterday were, according to the school newspaper, went by the name of "Saving Jesus." I've tried finding information on the Internet about them to no avail.

I'm going to spend the weekend working and writing movie reviews. Fun fun fun. I plan on walking a lot tomorrow. For starters, I'll be getting my paycheck, so I need to go cash that one and my first one at the Credit Union, which is a good distance away. I'm also planning on walking to Cameron Village and checking out Blockbuster. That's also a pretty far walk. But hey, you gotta do what you gotta do for money and movies.

I also planning on sleeping. A lot. This week has left me exhausted.

Oh, and before I forget, I might as well update you all on my recent activities in regards to filmmaking. I have been assigned two jobs in the upcoming 2nd NP2K Studio Film Festival. The last one was a success - it's the one I wrote a script for, but the guy who was supposed to direct it bailed out.

For this festival, I was once again assigned a writing position. Basically, there are teams of three people per team: a writer, director, and an editor. My job as writer is to write a script in a month. After that, a guy I've never met is going to direct it, after which someone else is going to edit it. The director this time around is DJ Holloway. He lives in California, has plenty of experience, was an English/Film major in college, and also happens to be a minister. You can find out more about him at the website of his production team, Unseen Hands. We've settled on a basic idea for the movie, and now we're currently working on sorting out the details. I'm excited. All I'll say now is that it's a serious drama about a very serious issue. I've never written pure drama before, so I'm looking forward to starting work on the script.

I leave you now with an entry in today's Police Blotter, a section of the campus newspaper which details all of the crime that was reported the day before. Evidently, this happened yesterday:

"A student reported a non-student was inside Harrelson Hall masturbating. The non-student was trespassed from all NCSU property."

Yup. That's my college.

Today, on my way to Calculus class, I noticed a couple of interesting people at the Brickyard waving signs. One of the signs read, "ALL THAT MATTERS IS THAT YOU'RE GOING TO HELL", and another said something to the effect of, "THESE ARE THE LAST DAYS, COME TO CHRIST."

I've heard of religious fanatics preaching their beliefs on campus before. One individual in particular has earned the nickname "Gary the Brickyard Preacher", and supposedly he'll show up every few weeks to yell at people about how we should purge homosexuals and how Democrats are Communists (which I guess means Republicans are Nazis), etc. However, today was my first time encountering such fanatics in person. It was not a pretty sight. Basically, people just stood around them with expressions on their face like: "What the $*@)!?"

I didn't talk to them personally, but I did hear from people who did. Supposedly, these people were going around saying that all university students are going to hell simply because they're going to college. I heard that one of them was the leader of a homeschooling organization, and that they basically felt people should "learn" directly from Christ rather than man.

Yeah, I can see the logic in that. Christ was definitely a genius when it came to economics/science/English/movies/etc.

I also heard that these people were saying that all churches are going to hell. Now, I'm all for the idea that going to church won't save you, and that church/religion can be destructive, but that's an extreme generalization I don't agree with. Going to church isn't evil in and of itself, and the church can be beneficial to spiritual growth.

I also heard some girls talking about how one of them tried to explain to them that such a philosophy isn't present in the Bible. They even used verses (John 3:16, "For God so loved the world that WHOEVER believes in Him -- in other words, college students and church-goers as well -- shall not perish but have eternal life.") to defend their opinion. The response of these religious fanatics was somewhere along the lines of, "You took those verses out of context. You're going to HELL!"

Okay, so let's get this straight. These are the people who are going to hell:

1) People who go to college are going to hell.
2) People who go to church are going to hell.
3) People who don't accept Christ as their personal Lord and Savior are going to hell (see, this is the one thing I agree with.)
4) People who disagree with any of the above statements are going to hell.

In other words, the only people who will be saved are those who are homeschooled and manage to devote their life to Christ without being part of some sort of Christian fellowship, and think that that is indeed the only way to be saved.

Wow. Does God know this? If not, I think he'll be surprised when the Apocalypse arrives and heaven's a pretty empty place...

I spent the weekend in High Point sitting around and watching movies. It was a whole lot of fun...it's been a while since I got to just relax and indulge my film habit. Here are my thoughts on three of the movies:

Sideways: A pretty good movie. It follows two guys as they go on a week-long vacation before one of them gets married. Their mission: relax, taste lots of wine, and get laid if possible. It's interesting. Props to Alexander Payne for directing and helping to write such an intriguing drama. The characters are both fully developed. One of them is a writer who has been depressed ever since his divorce two years ago, and is waiting to hear whether or not his book will be published. The other is a carefree spirit looking to have one last fling before finally tying the knot. The result is a movie that, while slow, maintained my interest and put my IB analytical skills to use. It also has a fitting ending, which is neither depressing nor happy, but merely hopeful. I can see why it was nominated for best picture; it's exactly the kind of movie critics would love.

Coach Carter: A pretty good sports movie based on the true life story of controversial high school basketball coach Ken Carter, who locked the doors of the gym when his players didn't meet their academic responsibilities. It's not bad, and nowhere near as cliched as I thought it would be. Sam Jackson is da man, as usual.

This Is Spinal Tap: Famous for being one of the first of a new genre - the "mockumentary." Basically, it's a fictional film shot like a documentary, that follows the heavy metal Spinal Tap as they go on tour across the USA. It's a bit slow at times, but really funny. It's pretty good, I can see why it's a classic.

I also saw Requiem for a Dream. I ended up having to rent the edited R-rated version since Blockbuster can't lend out the real, Unrated (read: NC-17) version. That was fine though; one of the clerks told me that the only difference between the versions was that the edited version cut a few shots out of a sex scene. That'll work for me - as long as the storyline isn't affected, I can do without a few shots. Besides, personally, I think the edited version might be more effective - it implies what's going on, then leaves the rest to your imagination. It's very effective for establishing the mood.

Edited or not, the movie was still very graphic and disturbing. However, it was excellent. Darren Aronofsky is a genius; this film has some of most visually intriguing shots and editing I've ever seen. The guy can work wonders with the camera. Not only that, but he can get a good performance out of Marlon Wayans - you know a guy's good when he can manage that. I'm definitely going to have to write a full review of this one, whenever I get a chance. It was amazing. Dark and disturbing, but amazing nonetheless. This movie has made me decide more than ever than I will never, ever try drugs. I'd recommend this movie to everyone, as long as they can handle the sometimes graphic content. It's fantastic. Now I plan on being first in line to see Aronofsky's third film, The Fountain, which is supposedly due to be released this year.

In other movie-related news: tomorrow I'll be going to a sneak preview of Tim Burton's Corpse Bride for free on campus. I also intend to write a review for that one, just because it'll be my first opportunity to review a movie before it gets a wide release. Speaking of reviews, I've written one for Desperado. Once Upon A Time in Mexico, Requiem for a Dream, and Corpse Bride will hopefully all be written by Friday and on my website, which I updated today (after nearly a year!) with my review of Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy.

And now...it's sleep time.

Quote of Da Moment:
"As long as there's, you know, sex and drugs, I can do without the rock and roll."
--This Is Spinal Tap

"Half my life is over and I have nothing to show for it. Nothing. I'm a thumbprint on the window of a skyscraper. I'm a smudge of excrement on a tissue surging out to sea with a million tons of raw sewage."
--Sideways

Here's basically what's been going on lately:

1) I finally managed to get in touch with that casting agency. The guy on the other end of the line was very nice. I'm convinced now that it isn't a scam. If it is, they're doing a very good job of acting like "people who wouldn't scam anyone." The guy basically said, "Look. You've got until September 27 before your trial runs out. Why don't you give it a few more days, and see if any casting jobs come up." He seemed genuinely concerned that I wanted a refund so quickly. He also told me how to use the casting database to see if there is anyone in my area looking for actors.

So I did. Turns out there's a casting call for an independent movie tentatively titled "Asheville: The Movie." The guy I talked to said that they needed 300 extras, but I haven't read that anywhere. Filming is going to take place in Asheville between October and December. I'm thinking about contacting them and seeing if they could use any extras. I've decided I'm going to give this casting agency a chance. If I haven't found a possible job in a week, I'm just going to call them and say, "Look. I'm sure your service is great for people pursuing acting carreers, but I'm not one of those people. I don't have any experience, I'm just looking for work as an extra, and I'm a college student so $60 is a lot of money to me."

I really don't think it's a scam, and they'll give me a refund as long as I ask for it on time. If it turns out it is a scam, then I deserve to lose sixty dollars, because they're doing a great job of convincing me otherwise. They aren't saying, "This is the deal of the lifetime! Why would you want a refund?", they just seem to genuinely want to provide a good service.

2) I have written a full review of El Mariachi. I've also watched Desperado, plan on watching Once Upon A Time in Mexico soon, and plan on reviewing both of those. So next time I update my reviews site, you can expect at least 4 new additions.

3) The Daily Show is doing a week-long special entitled "Evolution Schmevolution" in which they examine the controversy surrounding evolution and the new "intelligent design" theory. Last night they had Kurt Vonnegut on, which was interesting. For clips, go to Comedy Central and look for The Daily Show with Jon Stewart.

4) I'm 95% certain I'll be going to Washington, D.C. the weekend of October 22 to visit Souwa for our one-year-anniversary.

5) Sociology class continues to be my most intriguing subject. Yesterday we talked about the roles of women have changed, and the two main theories about this. One theory says that women are the problem, the other says that men are the reason society's going to hell.

The first one (structural functionalism) is based on the idea that our society is structured around certain systems, such as political and moral systems. Gender roles are one of the these systems. Basically, supporters of this theory think that all of the main problems today (economic, social, etc.) are caused because of women. Traditionally, women are supposed to stay and home and take care of the kids, while the men are supposed to be the "provider" and head of the household. These are their respective roles, and basically, society is collapsing because that structure isn't being maintained. Now women are free to get an education, work, etc. and they don't even really need men for anything (artificial insemination has basically rendered us guys completely useless in all ways). Society is collapsing because the traditional system changed very quickly instead of gradually. Our problems will be solved if women go back to that traditional role and are submissive to men, because that is part of what gives our society its structure. The professor pointed out that Southern Baptists are one religious group that supports this theory.

The second theory (conflict theory) originates from Karl Marx, who thought that capitalism was only one step on the way to communism. In other words: it's okay if our social structure collapses. Women should rise up and revolt against the traditional system, because this will bring about change and bring about equality. Women aren't the problem, men are, because they're the ones oppressing the workers/women. The professor pointed out something which I figured out a long time ago: ironically, most religions are founded on communist ideas rather than capitalist ones. Take Christianity for example. We call each other "brothers" and "sisters." We're all equal in the eyes of God. We read that "the last shall be first and the first shall be last" and that we should "love our neighbor as ourselves." Those are pretty much in line with Communist doctrine. The irony is that Southern Baptists don't support this theory, and Marx wasn't a big fan of religion.

I'm going to refrain from giving my personal opinion on the matter of women's rights for now. I need to get to work. Suffice to say I'm somewhere in the middle.

6) Bush officially took responsibility for the lack of action in regard to Katrina. Personally, I think it's just a public relations move; he's never accepted responsibility for anything before. He's just hoping to get his approval ratings up a bit more; after all, it's not good to be unpopular while you're running a war. If he really wanted to impress me, he'd actually apologize and be willing to accept just punishment for the mistakes of his administration.

So I'm looking through the school newspaper, right, and I see this ad for movie extras. I think to myself, "Sweet! I wanna do it! It pays good money!" and call the number listed.

Turns out it's this casting organization in California. Fine. The guy tells me that there currently are movie extras needed in the Raleigh area. I'm thinking to myself, "Cool. He'll tell me the details, and I can look into it."

Wrong. There's a catch. And being the naive, unexposed-to-the-harsh-reality-of-life college student that I am, I fell right into it.

Turns out that I need to access the casting agent's web site in order to find jobs in the Raleigh area. That doesn't sound so bad. HOWEVER, there's a $60 registration fee. If I'm not satisfied within 14 days, I can get my money back.

At this point, a little warning bell started to go off in my head. Sixty bucks to be part of this agency? What if I don't wanna be part of this organization? It's not like I want to make a living off of acting or something. What if this is all some sort of scam?

But then part of my brain tells me to stop being paranoid, to have a little faith, that sixty dollars isn't a bad deal if I get even a single job that pays twice as much. So I give them the necessary information, and that's it.

Now I'm thinking that wasn't such a good idea. I don't want to be part of a particular organization. If someone needs movie extras, I just want to be able to volunteer and do the job without having to pay anything. So I called back, and was informed that it takes 24 hours for the information to be processed, and that if I call back tomorrow I'll be able to get a full refund.

A scam or not a scam? That is the question. The way I see it, I've gotten myself into a situation that has various pros and cons:

Pros:
1) There must be some way the NCSU newspaper staff verifies that the ads it puts in the newspaper are for real. Surely they wouldn't knowingly take part in a scam.
2) The website, http://www.searchfortalent.com looks legit.
3) The guy on the phone sounded for real. He wasn't trying to smooth-talk me into it or saying things like, "This is the greatest deal of a lifetime!" His tone seemed to instead say, "Yeah. Here's how it is. Take it or leave it, we don't care." And that's how real casting agencies in Hollywood are supposed to be.

Cons:
1) They said it would take 24 hours to verify all my information and activate my account. Well, my account is already activated, and it looks like they've already taken my money. Hmmm. That was quick.
2) Isn't $60 a little high?
3) The website is for creating a portfolio, etc. etc. I don't want to do that. I'm not an actor, just a guy looking for a cool way to make an easy few hundred dollars.

This situation has made me realize a few things:

1) Don't be so trusting. I need to get it through my head that some people are greedy, manipulative phonies who just want to steal my hard-earned money.
2) I don't like casting organizations that require a fee, scam or not.
3) Don't trust the classifieds.

Anyways, hopefully I'll be able to call tomorrow and get my money back and it will be no big deal. If not, I'm gonna feel really stupid. Not to mention the fact that I'll be screwed out of 60 bucks.

I've finished all of my work except for my Spanish news stuff. Yay.

Yesterday I went to a seminar in the Philosophy department. One of the teachers was giving a lecture on Abortion and the Bible: A Fundamental Misconception. It was basically about how the Bible doesn't actually state, or even logically imply, that an unborn human is a person. Which is true, I can buy that. That's not why I oppose abortion. I oppose abortion because I think the Bible implies it's wrong for other reasons.

Example: David writes that we are "fearfully and wonderfully made" before birth. The guy giving the seminar yesterday said that that doesn't mean an unborn human is a person. He's right, it doesn't. A sunset is fearfully and wonderfully made; it's not a person. However, that verse does imply that unborn babies are at least important; they do have some sort of value. Same goes with the verses about how God "knit me together in my mother's womb", etc. etc. They don't indicate that unborn babies are persons, but they do imply other things which in turn imply killing an unborn baby is wrong.

But anyways, next time someone tells me that the Bible says unborn babies are human beings, I'm afraid I'll have to disagree. It doesn't, at least not that I've ever seen.

Anyways...I saw Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy. It was so-so. I wrote a full review of it, so I'm proud of myself, even though I'm out of practice and it shows. Definitely not one of my most well-written reviews.

The plan for tomorrow:

1) Sleep.
2) I don't think I'll be going to church, simply because I haven't seen anyone to ask for a ride. I really want to try out Providence. I think the guys in the rooms around me went home for the weekend or something. That's not to say I won't do anything spiritual. I'll probably set aside a while to read my Bible and meditate, moreso than I do normally. At least it's something. A little more in-depth one-on-one time with God isn't a bad thing.
3) Watch movies.
4) Write.
5) "Whatever I feel like, gosh!"

Hm. It's 2:17. Time to go finish my laundry and hit the sack.

Will it be a weekend of work or a weekend of pleasure? I'm not really sure.

Tomorrow I still have to finish two and a half hours of work for my job. I also have to two Spanish summaries (but that shouldn't take long). I also need to read some stuff for English.

Other than that, I'm not sure if I'll be relaxing or just working on other kinds of work. Tomorrow night (well, technically tonight since it's past 1 AM) I think I'm going to go see The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy at the Campus Cinema. Then, who knows, maybe I'll come back and watch another movie. My plans so far for things not related to school are:

1) Get paid today. My first paycheck. It's only for my first week (which wasn't even a full week), so I'm guessing it'll only be around $30. Isn't that great?

2) Sleep. A lot.

3) Watch movies.

4) Force myself to write at least one full-length review.

5) Work on script.

6) Maybe go buy things I need (like Pop Tarts and water).

7) Do research on airline tickets to see how much it would cost to go to Washington at the end of September/beginning of October. As in, after I've been paid again.

All I know is, I'll be much happier when I've finished all my job-related work for this week. I'll have to space out my time better next week.

Other than work, today the only real thing of interest I did was go to the Intervarsity large group meeting. It was pretty cool. All of the Christian organizations I've visited have their own cool ways of doing things. Campus Crusade is more into evangelizing - because of that, I don't think I'll be attending their meetings often. Not that I think evangelizing is a bad thing, I just don't want to go through the whole "would-you-like-to-accept-Christ" routine every week. The Intervarsity meeting was good, I think I'll probably go again. We'll see. The message was great; the guy talked about what it means to be a true Christian, using the passage in Matthew when Jesus talks about separating the sheep from the goats. It reminded me that in the end, the most important thing we can do as Christians is just to be with others and help them out. That's something I tend to forget, being the introverted person that I am.

Another thing happened today that I feel like ranting about, because it frustrates me. I was talking to another MK, who shall go unnamed, about the Katrina situation and Bush's response. Somewhere along the line, this person said they thought New Orleans needed to be destroyed. This person is extremely conservative, so in many ways I wasn't surprised, but it still caught me off guard.

Personally, that kind of attitude makes me sick.

The person basically argued, "Well New Orleans is a very sinful place, second probably only to Las Vegas. For example, there's tons of casinos. I think it needed to be destroyed - it's God's way of showing that He's still in control."

Pardon me, but did I hear that right? Did someone just claim that the deaths of ten thousand people was needed because they lived in a sinful place?

It reminded me of the time after 9/11 when Jerry Falwell allegedly claimed that the terrorist attack was God's way of getting revenge on homosexuals. What the @*$! kind of logic is that? So, in other words, it doesn't matter that those people died. They were sinners. Better to just let them die and go to hell. They deserve it.

What right do we have to say someone should die because they're sinners when we Christians used to be sinners as well? I seem to recall Christ saying something about loving your neighbor. Or wait, maybe I'm wrong. Maybe He said, "If your neighbor's a sinner, hate him and wish he'd die."

How hypocritical can you get? These are the same people who argue that abortion is wrong because it's killing a potential human being. Oh, so it's bad to kill an innocent wad of cells, but once it's an adult, if it sins it deserves to be left to starve for days on a rooftop? So, human life is only valuable if the person is a Christian?

Also, what right do we have to assume natural disasters or terrorist attacks are God's wrath on a group of sinners? Who are we to say what God's motives are in allowing something like that to happen? We can't even come close to fathoming the greatness and wisdom that is God. Yet why is it as soon as there's a chance to condemn sinners, Christians put themselves on the same level as the Creator of the Universe?

Really. Is it any wonder that the world hates Christians and sees them as ignorant, hateful and close-minded hypocriticals? A lot of times, it's true! It amazes me how Christians are able to hate and condemn their fellow man, and then wonder why people hate them in return. Then they assume it's because they're being good Christians, and suffering persecution in the name of Christ. Hello?! Wake up, religious right! Has it ever crossed your minds that in some cases the world can be on the right track and religion can be in the wrong? Has it ever crossed your mind that refusing to love your fellow man, regardless of whether or not they gamble or lie or steal or are homosexual, is more similar to the attitude of the Pharisees rather than Christ?

I was watching Bill Maher's HBO political talk show the other day, in which he discusses and debates various issues with three guests. On this particular episode, one or two of the guests started bashing the conservative, Republican, Christian right. The other guest (who was extremely smart, and a Democrat) spoke up and said, "Hey! I'm an ordained Baptist minister! I know a lot of Christians who aren't like that at all!" This led to a discussion about how the media portrays Christians, and how Christians themselves act. Basically, these conclusions were made:

1) Not all Christians are close-minded hypocritical bigots who go around waving signs that say "I Hate Fags."
2) However, a whole lot are. And these are the ones that the media likes to present to the public. Why? Because it's "sexy."

As a result, Christians have been stereotyped. Our image and reputation are being ruined by Christians who can't seem to realize that being a Christian actually involved being Christ-like. These people can't seem to understand that idea of a democracy. They think we live, or should live, in a Christian theocracy, and that that gives them the right to basically tell anyone who doesn't believe what they believe to go die in a hurricane. It's extremely sad, not to mention frustrating.

So, I guess I'll conclude with these statements:

1) God didn't destroy New Orleans because the people like to gamble. And even if He did, it's not our job to act like we have any clue what His motives are.
2) Christians really can be just as bad as the media makes them out to be. Stereotypes only become stereotypes if they're somewhat true.
3) The conservative, people-hating Christian right sucks. I'm not saying I hate them. I wouldn't be that hypocritical. I understand that they're just doing what they think is right. But man, oh man, is it annoying...

I mean really. We're all sinners. According to the logic I heard today, God should just blow up the entire planet to teach us a lesson.

There's this thing called "tolerance" that lots of Christians seem to be afraid of. It's like they think that by being tolerant, they'll be compromising with sin. Well, here's what the dictionary has to say about tolerance:

"The capacity for or the practice of recognizing and respecting the beliefs or practices of others."

Well, what do you know. Sounds like something Christ would do. I find it telling that in the Bible, when Jesus met a "sinner", he didn't respond like many Christians do today. He didn't go, "You evil person! You're not equal to me! I hope you die in a hurricane!" He would often say that he didn't agree with what they were doing, and try to convince them to change their ways, yes. But he never implied they were somehow inferior or anything less than magnificent creations of God whom He loved. When Jesus interacted with the common sinner, he treated them with kindness and love - he healed them. Some came to have faith in Him, others didn't. But I don't recall Christ ever telling the ones that didn't to go starve to death on a rooftop. I have no reason to believe Christ didn't love even those who spit on Him, cursed His name, and crucified Him.

Actually, it seems to me that the only people he actually yells at (other than Satan) and doesn't seem to have much respect for are the the religious authorities. Go figure.

I finally discovered why Calculus is so boring and somewhat difficult to me.

You see, in the IB, we started Calculus by talking about derivatives. That was fine. But here at NCSU, we just got to derivatives. All of the stuff we've been doing for the past few weeks has been leading up to derivatives. It's basically the long way of doing derivatives, so now we know how and why derivatives act the way they do.

My point of view: Who cares?

I know how to work with derivatives. I already know a much easier way to handle things of that nature. Now, I can understand how some people in the class might need to start from the very beginning, but I never did. In high school, I found out what derivatives were and why they worked how they did, without needing to go into all the little details and long formulas and stuff that becomes pointless once you know how to manipulate derivatives. The worst part of all this is that the stuff leading up to derivatives is harder than derivatives themselves; as a result, I probably won't do as well on the Calculus test I have tomorrow as I would if the test was on things we'll be studying in the coming weeks. Isn't that messed up? Tests are supposed to be hard when you're learning something new, not when you're learning what leads up to something you already know.

Tuesday night I went with Cherry to a brief concert put on by A Cappology, a campus a cappella group. They were pretty good. However, an a cappella group from Oxford, The Alternotives, were also there. They were awesome. Those Brits really know what they're doing. They brought the house down.

I'm discovering that "independence" is tough. Finances are tough. Yesterday I spent at least 25-30 minutes walking to the Credit Union that's "close by." I left at 5:30, and got there around 6:00. I went there so I could go to an ATM without having to pay a $2.00 fee. Yes, I walked for half an hour in order to save two bucks. Guess what? I got there, and discovered that they closed at 5:30. Not to mention the fact that there was not a single ATM around. This is like, the central headquarters of the North Carolina State Employees Credit Union, and there was no ATM. I wasted an hour of my day. Wonderful. Now I'm going to have to figure out how to go inside and demand, "Give me 20 bucks! Now!" or pay a $2 fee at another ATM on campus.

One of the side effects of going to Washington, and Labor Day, and the fact that I've been really busy, is that I've only worked for 1 hour so far this week for my job. The new week begins Saturday. That means I'm going to have to spend 2.5 hours today and tomorrow working on job-related stuff. I also still need to watch and summarize my weekly Spanish news reports. And do my weekly Spanish chat, since I missed it on Monday as a result of being out of town. Not to mention that I have things to do in my spare time, such as:

1) Find a church/Bible study.
2) Work on a script.
3) In the next 2-3 months, I'll most likely be working on a different script for someone else to direct, and directing someone else's script, as part of another film festival.
4) I really need to get back into my movie watching habit. I think I should make it a goal of mine to watch at least 3 movies a week, and fully review at least one of them. My movie reviews site needs to be revived.
5) I need to buy items necessary for survival.
6) I also need to save up money so I'll be able to be able to afford things like trips to Washington, or filmmaking accessories, or a gaming PC. Speaking of which, I don't think I'll be able to have a PC unless I move into an apartment or get a roommate without a television that takes up desk space. Not that I don't like Cherry, it's just that we both already have lots of stuff.

Yup. Independence is slang for "really, really busy." Next time someone asks me to do something I don't have time to do, I think I'll just turn to them and say, "I can't. I'm independent."

Random change of subject: The Daily Show is great. So is whatever that HBO show is that Bill Maher hosts. If we ever stop getting free cable, I'll seriously consider paying just so I can watch those two shows (and Comedy Central in general).

Quotes of Da Moment:
"Women cannot complain about men anymore until they start getting better taste in them."
--Bill Maher

"The president boasted at the top of his press conference that we have the support now of Britain and Spain for our attack on Iraq. You know, when you want to make it perfectly clear to the world that you're not an imperialist, the people you want in your corner are Britain and Spain."
--Bill Maher

I just got back from Washington D.C. Wow. I had a great trip - can't remember the last time in recent months I've been quite as happy.

Cherry dropped me off at the Amtrak station at 5:15 on Saturday morning. I went inside and found out that my train was delayed five hours. Cherry was already gone and wasn't answering his phone (which isn't surprising - he hadn't had a lot of sleep lately, so he was probably unconscious back at the room). I ended up walking to McDonalds for breakfast and sleeping on a station bench. It wasn't a great way to spend five hours, but I survived.

Train food is really overpriced. It was $3.50 for a decent amount of pizza, which was fine. But a can of Mountain Dew cost $1.75. That's insane.

Once I arrived at Union Station, it took a while to find Souwa, but I finally did. I dropped my things off at the hostel I was staying at, and then we went to explore Washington. We visited the Lincoln Memorial and the Washington Monument. The Lincoln Memorial just reminded me of movies (Mr. Smith Goes To Washington, Tim Burton's Planet of the Apes, etc.). Also, if you stand right at the base of the Washington Monument and look straight up, you can't tell how tall it is. It's pretty cool. I wish I had brought a camera.

We ate some Chinese food for dinner, then decided to go watch a movie. We saw The Constant Gardener...missed the first 5 minutes, but that was okay. I felt Salvadoran again. I wanted to see that out of everything else showing since it's already generating early Oscar buzz. Honestly, I don't know why. It was a pretty good movie, but not excellent. It was interesting, and tackled a subject I don't really know much about (the power of pharmaceutical companies in Africa), but it just seemed like something was missing. The action scenes lacked oomph, but the drama/romance was good - the script had some great dialogue at times. The editing was really intriguing; I'm not sure if I liked it or not. I think I'd recommend it more for its technical strengths rather than storytelling ones, but overall it wasn't bad.

After the movie, I went back to the hostel. Yikes. There's nothing quite like walking into a dark room at 2 in the morning and having various pairs of eyes just glare at you. Stumbling around in the dark isn't fun. I think I only survived because there was a nice Swiss guy who came in around the same time I did and helped me out. He helped me find a place to recharge my phone and lent me his towel in the morning. But I don't plan on staying there again any time soon. Sharing a room with strangers isn't my idea of a good time. Plus, they didn't even have soap or shampoo for the showers. It was extremely basic.

On Sunday, Souwa and I went to Starbucks for breakfast. Then we went with a big group of people to this church in Maryland called Agape or something. It was interesting. Very, very contemporary. They definitely catered to a college crowd. There was a lot of technology used (videos, PowerPoint, etc.) and lots of decorations to present a certain theme. Souwa and I both thought the sermon was too short though. Too basic. Especially when I compare it to Kenneth, who liked to speak a lot and really get into the details of things. Supposedly there's an Agape group here at NCSU; I'll probably check it out just to see what's similar/different.

It seemed like on Sunday we didn't get to do anything we wanted to do. We went to the Old Post Office, but the bell tower was closed for maintenance. Then we went to the Smithsonian, but we were only inside a museum for around ten minutes before it closed. Then we headed over to the west law of the Capitol to see the National Symphony Orchestra perform. All the advertisements I saw said it started at 6:30 - we waited for around two hours, and it still hadn't started yet, so we left.

This is about the time I started getting a serious case of the ouchies. I don't know if I was just sitting in a weird position or what, but I started to have sharp, aching pains in my lower abdomen. It was really weird. I don't think I've ever had any major problems down there before. I kept wondering if it was a bladder infection, or a kidney stone, or testicular cancer or something freaky like that. Basically, I think it was like the male version of menstrual cramps. It was like someone had kicked me in the groin really hard. It hurt to sit still, and it really hurt to move.

We got a cab back to Souwa's room. She got me some Tylenol, we ate some leftover Chinese food, and we watched Memento. Yay. At this point it was really late, and I was still feeling like crap. So we decided I wouldn't go back to the hostel - waste of money or not, I didn't want to deal with it feeling like that. So I slept in Souwa's bed, and she slept on a large bean bag chair, God bless her. I wasn't the only guy in there - Souwa's roommate was snuggled up with her boyfriend. So it didn't feel very awkard, and it sure beat sleeping in a room of strangers.

I woke up this morning feeling much better. Until I stood up. Then the pain was back again. Blegh. As a result, we didn't do much before I left except go to Starbucks. But I'm back now, and I'm okay, I think. If the pain starts up again I'll go to the Health Center, but I think I'll be fine.

So, that's about it. I had a great time in Washington. I'm thinking about saving up my money and maybe going back in a few weeks. We'll see. I'll definitely fly next time.

The only other thing I have to say is about Katrina: Bush sucks. Really. New Orleans is in chaos, and he's not doing much about it. This is going to put the economy in an even worse state of affairs. Not to mention the fact that, as someone pointed out to me, this would be the perfect time for another terrorist attack. If that happens (and even if it doesn't), I think I can smell an impeachment. It's just insane. There aren't many soldiers to help out in New Orleans because they're all off fighting Bush's little war that was supposed to be over a long time. Isn't the USA wonderful?

I don't usually agree with Michael Moore (at least not to such an extreme extent), but when it comes to this situation I think he pretty much summed it up with this letter to the President:

"Dear Mr. Bush:

Any idea where all our helicopters are? It's Day 5 of Hurricane Katrina and thousands remain stranded in New Orleans and need to be airlifted. Where on earth could you have misplaced all our military choppers? Do you need help finding them? I once lost my car in a Sears parking lot. Man, was that a drag.

Also, any idea where all our national guard soldiers are? We could really use them right now for the type of thing they signed up to do like helping with national disasters. How come they weren't there to begin with?

Last Thursday I was in south Florida and sat outside while the eye of Hurricane Katrina passed over my head. It was only a Category 1 then but it was pretty nasty. Eleven people died and, as of today, there were still homes without power. That night the weatherman said this storm was on its way to New Orleans. That was Thursday! Did anybody tell you? I know you didn't want to interrupt your vacation and I know how you don't like to get bad news. Plus, you had fundraisers to go to and mothers of dead soldiers to ignore and smear. You sure showed her!

I especially like how, the day after the hurricane, instead of flying to Louisiana, you flew to San Diego to party with your business peeps. Don't let people criticize you for this -- after all, the hurricane was over and what the heck could you do, put your finger in the dike?

And don't listen to those who, in the coming days, will reveal how you specifically reduced the Army Corps of Engineers' budget for New Orleans this summer for the third year in a row. You just tell them that even if you hadn't cut the money to fix those levees, there weren't going to be any Army engineers to fix them anyway because you had a much more important construction job for them -- BUILDING DEMOCRACY IN IRAQ!

On Day 3, when you finally left your vacation home, I have to say I was moved by how you had your Air Force One pilot descend from the clouds as you flew over New Orleans so you could catch a quick look of the disaster. Hey, I know you couldn't stop and grab a bullhorn and stand on some rubble and act like a commander in chief. Been there done that.

There will be those who will try to politicize this tragedy and try to use it against you. Just have your people keep pointing that out. Respond to nothing. Even those pesky scientists who predicted this would happen because the water in the Gulf of Mexico is getting hotter and hotter making a storm like this inevitable. Ignore them and all their global warming Chicken Littles. There is nothing unusual about a hurricane that was so wide it would be like having one F-4 tornado that stretched from New York to Cleveland.

No, Mr. Bush, you just stay the course. It's not your fault that 30 percent of New Orleans lives in poverty or that tens of thousands had no transportation to get out of town. C'mon, they're black! I mean, it's not like this happened to Kennebunkport. Can you imagine leaving white people on their roofs for five days? Don't make me laugh! Race has nothing -- NOTHING -- to do with this!

You hang in there, Mr. Bush. Just try to find a few of our Army helicopters and send them there. Pretend the people of New Orleans and the Gulf Coast are near Tikrit.

Yours,

Michael Moore"

I don't think I'd go as far as to suggest Bush's lack of action is due to racism, but yeah, that pretty much sums things up. No doubt it's going to take years to get out of this economic crisis. Which means it's going to affect me; a bad economy isn't a good thing to have when you're a college student not making much money.

Speaking of which: Washington is expensive. I took around $130 dollars with me for the weekend. I came back with $1. I have no idea where it all went. It's like all my money was mysteriously sucked up by the flailing economy.

I have classes tomorrow. Blegh.

Quote of Da Moment:
"Employee of the month is a good example of how somebody can be both a winner and a loser at the same time."
--Demetri Martin

"My belt holds my pants up, but the belt loops hold my belt up. So which one's the real hero?"
--Mitch Hederg