Ramblings of a Constipated Mind

This week is going to be hell. I've got waaaay too much stuff to do before Spring Break. Let's count them down, shall we?

1) Two midterms, one of which is for my film class. Studying will most likely involve reading the dictionary.

2) The second project for my social research class. I will be up most of the night working on this.

3) Internship applications. A lot of them are due Saturday, and since I'm flying to Chicago on Friday (yay!) I pretty much have to have them all submitted by Thursday. The majority of them will involve relocating if I'm accepted (yay!). One of them involves editing a video. As much as I love working with film, this is not the best week for it time-wise.

I also have the usual commitments, like Bible study and whatnot. Tonight I am going to a screening of Semi-Pro, simply because it is the only time I will have for the next few days to turn my brain off. I won't be getting a lot of sleep this week, but I shall endure and emerge triumphant in the end!

***

On Sunday I went to Duke and helped a guy film a short film for his film class. He was shooting on 16mm, so it was cool to learn a bit about how that works. The lead actor didn't show up, so I ended up filling in. It went pretty well, I think, considering I have no acting experience whatsoever. I didn't have to speak any lines, which is unfortunate, since I think I can do a better job of communicating verbally than through non-verbal cues. Basically, I play a gangster or something who strikes a match on a tree and then is metaphorically killed by nature. It's all pretty abstract, but hey, it's a one-minute student film, so that's to be expected. I'll post a link if it ever winds up online so everyone can watch my Oscar-worthy performance as GUY WHO STRIKES MATCH AND DIES.

***

This is one of the best plot summaries ever.

It's just the spirit of 'em, man!

To modify a Jeff Foxworthy punchline: If you're a 20-something male who goes to see Enchanted by himself on a Friday night... you might be single.

In other news, happy Singles Awareness Day! Mine went okay. It's the first time I've celebrated Singles Awareness Day instead of regular ol' Valentines Day in a while, but it wasn't bad. I'm aware. Mission accomplished.

***

It's been a busy week. Tests, projects, reports. I don't have any classes that I really look forward to this semester. Even my film class sucks when we're not watching movies. The professor is still blabbering on about the metaphysics of film watching while the rest of us try to figure out what she's talking about and what it has to do with film history. You know that stereotype of the snobby academic scholar who speaks like her favorite book is the dictionary? That's my professor. I'm guessing there is a 99.9% chance she could explain things in a much simpler way, but I guess she doesn't do it because she wants to sound smart. Either that or that's just how she speaks all the time, in which case she needs more help than I thought. Luckily, I've discovered a good way to keep myself from nodding off: keep a list of all the big words and phrases she uses. Here are a few of them so you get an idea of what I'm talking about. If any of you know what they mean, please let me know.

interregnum
existential spatial environment
quotidian
contradistinction
locus of transcendence
reactionary modernism
minesis
reflexivity
lacuna
frames of historical intelligibility

Whatever that last one is, I don't think this class has it.

***

I've got a busy day tomorrow. Most of the day will be spent at a Men's Conference at Vintage21. Hopefully it'll go well. Then in the evening I'm going to a Caldwell Gala. Then the plan is to spend most of Sunday working. Yay?

***

I think I may have inadvertently crippled myself. I missed class again on Wednesday after my cell phone alarm wasn't set properly (it's the hardest phone to set ever created). I decided not to take it anymore (if I'm going to miss class, it'll be on my terms!), so I went out and got a new one. Problem solved, right?

Sort of. The new alarm works great. I set it to radio, and yesterday morning it went off. Unfortunately, the volume was set to somewhere between Barbarian Warcry and Turn Brain To Mush. Not wanting to wake up everyone in the whole building, I decided to jump down from my bed rather than take the time to climb down. I turned the alarm off and started to get my things in order. No big deal, right?

Wrong. I looked down and noticed some blood on the floor. Turns out when I landed I smashed the third toe of my right foot into the ground. Part of my toenail got torn off and there are a few cuts on top of my foot and around the toe. So I've spent the last two days hobbling around campus and hoping my sock doesn't get too bloody. Amazing how hurting one little toe can hinder your ability to walk. What's really disgusting is that the blood has been coagulating under the rest of my toenail (which I really hope doesn't fall off), so it looks pretty rotten. My toenails are as follows: clear, clear, yellow-brown, clear, clear. It would be funny if it didn't sting to walk.

Huckabee wins Texas, and both parts of Better Know A Lobbyist.







Quote of Da Moment:
"What is it about being gay that makes you want to erode the institution of marriage so badly?"
--Stephen Colbert

Romney dropped out. He said it's because if he keeps running he will somehow divide the Republican party which will make it easier for Hilary or Obama to win in November. He also said that electing them would be a "surrender to terror." Thanks again, Mitt, for proving once again how completely utterly clueless you are, and how inept you would have been at uniting the country as President.

Personally, I think it's obvious why he dropped out. He knows the Democrats are going to win in November. He's trying to fade away so in 2012, after the Democrats have done their "liberal" stuff, he can pop up and be like, "You see? They're liberal, McCain was a liberal, and I'm the true conservative we need to get this country back on track!" He's already planning on how to get the 2012 nomination. You just wait and see.

I can't believe Huckabee is still in. I'm not a huge fan of the guy in terms of the issues, but I have to say in terms of his personality he always struck me as the most likeable of the big three Republican nominees. The guy has major cajones for sticking in the race. He's probably just trying to get a VP nod from McCain, but that's how politics works. If there is one good thing I can say about Huckabee, it's that out of all the Republican nominees (with the exception of Ron Paul), he's the best at targeting young people, at least from what I've seen. He made a campaign ad with Chuck Norris, for crying out loud!



Also: when Jon Stewart, Stephen Colbert and Conan O'Brien cooperated and staged a mock feud because of the writer's strike last week (they say they'll do anything to fill airtime) about which one of them caused Huckabee to win Iowa, Huckabee sent a taped response ("America made me") that was aired after the big showdown.



And furthermore: Huckabee just appeared as a surprise guest on tonight's episode of The Colbert Report. He said a few things about how he's still in the race and can win, but he mainly just played air hockey with Colbert. With Texas as the puck. It's good to see a political candidate who has a sense of humor and isn't afraid to make fun of himself.

It's past 3 AM on Thursday morning, and I just finished the project I have due for my sociology research methods class. That was fun. In a few hours, I'll wake up and get to go look at statistics (how fun)! Followed by Japanese history (I want to get back to China)! Followed by research methods (*yawn*)! Followed by my film class (we're watching a movie, so this one ain't that bad)!

I have to do a series of six projects for this research class, each one building on the previous one and relying on the 2006 national GSS surveys for data. I'm doing mine on attitudes towards premarital sex. Eventually I'll have to pick a specific variable to examine, but for now that's just the general topic. As I've made known here before, sex and gender issues are probably my primary area of interest when it comes to sociology. It's just fascinating to look at how it infiltrates our culture and how religious groups in particular respond to it. Some interesting facts I've uncovered:

1) In 1972, 36.6% of people felt that premarital sex was always wrong, while 27.3% had no problem with it at all. The rest of the people felt it was only wrong sometimes. In 2006, 26.3% felt it was always wrong, while 45.5% felt it wasn't wrong at all. Talk about a change in values!

2) In a study done on African-American high school girls, it was concluded that middle-class girls had more conservative attitudes towards premarital sex than lower-class girls. The surprise: when it came down to actual sexual behavior, the statistics were pretty much the same. Around the same percentage of girls were having sex regardless of class. Perhaps this is due to certain expectations that people of higher class are meant to be more "proper" and conservative, so they pretend they are, even if in reality they don't behave that way?

3) In a study done among Conservative Protestants, Mainline Protestants, and Catholics, it was found that Conservative Protestants are the only group to have stayed consistent in their views about premarital sex over the past few decades. Go Baptists! Holy crap, I never expected to type that. Mainline Protestants and Catholics have gradually become more permissive over time, which to me is unfortunate since premarital sex is one of the few issues I tend to be really conservative about. Is this change because Conservative Protestants have more of an exclusive religious subculture than the other groups, and as so are less likely to be secularized? If so, is that good or bad? Hmm.

4) There might be a double standard among parents in regards to attitudes to premarital sexual behavior. Studies showed there is at least a perception among adolescents that parents are more strict in regards to sex when it comes to daughters rather than sons. I'm going to leave this idea now, before I go off on a lengthy tangent about how Western culture promotes sexuality as a necessary rite of passage, particularly among males. In summary: Three cheers for China and modestly dressed women!

***

While on the subject of sociology and sex/gender issues: I think all the "alternative" or "progressive" professors, at least when it comes to gender and sex issues, work in the sociology department. I'm pretty certain that the grad student who taught my class on gender issues a few semesters ago was a lesbian. At least, she dressed like a man and didn't allude to having a boyfriend (or girlfriend, so who knows). I really don't know what to make of the grad student teaching my lab this semester. She seems like a super cool, nice person, but in regards to her sexual orientation and relationship status she couldn't be more ambiguous. On the one hand, she talks about her "partner." On the other hand, she refers to this partner as "he." On yet another hand, she is pregnant. And on even another hand, she and her partner have agreed not to get married until women everywhere have the right to get married. What does this mean? Is she not married because she is a lesbian and not allowed, or just because they really really support gay rights? Is she pregnant from her male husband, or is she having a baby with her female partner whom she just happens to refer to as her husband? Does it really matter? Not really, I just think it's interesting. Particularly if she's actually heterosexual and would like to get married to her boyfriend/husband/whatever-you'd-call-it but won't as a means of making a statement.

***

Super Tuesday is over. McCain looks like he is the Republican party frontrunner. Meh. At least Romney didn't do well. He reminds me of the G-Man from Half-Life. Creepy.

I also think it's funny how he keeps attacking McCain for not being conservative enough. [sarcasm]Yeah, because McCain is definitely what I'd call a liberal.[/sarcasm] Maybe if you're a mega-right-wing-gotta-kill-all-the-illegal-immigrants kinda guy. Does Romney really think he'll win the next Presidential election by being the most conservative? Last time I checked, the vast majority of people wanted less conservative Bushie policies. It just doesn't seem like a smart move to me, especially since the only way the Republicans will win the election is if they miraculously manage to convert Democratic and Independent votes.

Ron Paul is pretty much out at this point. He's no longer even mentioned on CNN. Oh well, I think we all knew it was coming. I guess the Republicans will nominate McCain, who I can't take seriously at all since he said we would potentially be in Iraq for 100 years.

Hilary and Obama are still neck and neck. I still hope Obama winds up getting the nomination, but if it turns out to be Hilary then I guess I will reluctantly have to cast a vote for her. It would be so much easier if her last name wasn't Clinton. Blegh.

***

The Heath Ledger autopsy results are in, aaaaaand... it was an accident. Really, was anyone expecting something else? Maybe now the media will finally let him rest in peace. Especially since Brittany Spears is out of the hospital now. Yet another useless celebrity story to cover! Time to move on to that one!

***

Michael Moore was on Larry King Live. Fun fact: When asked if his religious beliefs influenced his views and his films, he said yes. He was raised Irish-Catholic, still attends mass regularly, and at one time even planned on going to seminary to become a priest. Also, he said his new movie (which I am assuming is still the sequel to Fahrenheit 9/11) will focus on what the giant corporations have been up to for the past 8 years while America has been focused on Bush and the war. On the one hand, I'm glad that with this and Sicko he seems to be returning to the original issue he focused on in Roger And Me: how corporations control America and extreme capitalism screws the little guy. On the other hand... Moore himself helped contribute to the whole Bush-and-war focus that he claims distracted people from the corporations. Hopefully he doesn't blame the people for their ignorance, just the corporations for, uh, doing what they do.

***

Tony Campolo was on The Colbert Report last night, talking about how a large number of evangelical Christians are voting Democrat. I'm glad he was on. Anything that helps the general public stop stereotyping all Christians as extreme-right-wing Republicans - what my friend Mason likes to call "Jesus Nazis" - is okay in my book.

To watch the interview, click here.

Also, for one of the most hilarious interviews I've ever seen on the show, click here to watch this segment from tonight's program. Man, Colbert is quick. I can't believe how he manages to stay in character. When he started talking about "pride" I nearly spit up my Coke.

Quote of Da Moment:
"I'm disappointed that my own Catholic Church has decided that capital punishment is wrong. Which is pretty hypocritical if you think about it, because they wouldn't even have a religion if it wasn't for capital punishment."
--Stephen Colbert

I spent 3-4 hours on Friday night putting up more than a dozen posters and getting them to stay on the wall. The tape I got for the job sucks. Every once in a while a corner will pop off and I'll have to tape it back. Blegh.


Saturday night I went to see The Godfather for free. It is still an amazing movie. Now I need to see the second one again, and finally get around to seeing the third.


Today I slept until 4, went to church at 6, then watched the second half of the Super Bowl. The fourth quarter was pretty good. Poor Patriots, they didn't make history.


I am on a quest to find a date for Valentines Day, so it doesn't become SAD (Single Awareness Day) for me. A date that weekend also counts, as long as it is set by 11:59 on February 14. Once this is achieved, I can begin realizing my plan for world domination.


I also have a new goal. By the end of the semester, I want to have done one of the following:

a) started writing a novel
b) started writing a new feature-length screenplay
c) finished writing, and maybe also shot a new short film
d) started writing, and hopefully finished, a second draft of No Room In Hell

I reread through No Room In Hell. It was good to wait nearly a year before going back to it - the good and bad things stand out more clearly. There are some elements and some lines of dialogue that I really like and think I did a good job with. There are other plot elements that definitely need revision. However, once again, it seems like Hollywood has already beaten me and made a similar movie to my idea (Behind The Mask and Cloverfield). For the record, I was planning on writing a story called Gladiator in sixth grade about a Christian gladiator in Nero's Rome. Then the movie Gladiator came out - the plot was different, but still, both were about gladiator champions and had the same title. I also was going to write a story about a guy who discovers he is actually the character in a book and his life is completely controlled by the author. Then Stranger Than Fiction came out. D'oh.

Oh well, I guess I could always shoot NRIH anyway a few years down the road. It wouldn't take much money at all, just a good makeup artist.

Quote of Da Moment:
"Jesus was a zombie... The guy died, and the next thing you know his body is missing and he's knocking on people's doors, good as new... How is it I'm an atheist and I know this stuff better than you?" --No Room In Hell